* Posts by Magius

12 publicly visible posts • joined 11 Apr 2009

IBM PC daddy: 'The PC era is over'

Magius
Facepalm

Pfft, says IBM...

The ones that scoffed at the idea of computer being used at home. "Who would want that?".

I imagine that at some point portables will indeed take over, however that day is not here yet. Portables are still not strong enough to successfully multitask, handle multiple screens, etc.. When the day comes that I can take my cell phone, dock it, and then run all my applications in high resolution on multiple displays then yes I would gladly take my PC to the curb. Otherwise stfu.

All these know-it-all people have been claiming the death of the PC is near since the early 90's. Here we are 21 years later and they try to sing the same song while flogging around their latest toy. *yawn*

Magius
FAIL

Cloud? cloud?

I laugh every time someone waves that term around...

It is a rehash of old technology... so yawn.

True we have re-wrapped it in fancier clothes (and to some extent it has its uses) but it has limitations and vast security implications.

What to do if I am not connected? Sure, you can probably work offline and sync back when you get s connection, but then I can do that right now with a PC without having to pay extra for a cloud service. Which brings us to the next consideration.

How much is it going to cost the users? Surely you what you expect is some company to rent "cloud power" to users (since affording one of those IBM MF is well out of the budget of most people). The how much will it cost a regular person per month? Compare that to what a good computer costs these days. Considering a regular person will keep their PCs for years before upgrading again, who do you think wins in this scenario? The answer is pretty obvious.

True, smaller devices have their uses but they are usually narrow and specific. Also, their absolute reliance on continuous online connection limits their use. Tablets are a dream for IT but then there are some companies out there that do not allow or have wireless connections at work. They are also great for users at home but they are not for everyone.

Tablets such as the iPad are very cool toys, that's about it.

Now one thing can save you and that is very, VERY good marketing. Dazzling regular people with terms like cloud (instead of networked storage, mainframes, etc.). Making them believe they can do anything on their pretty, shiny, pad. My guess is that you either gobbled up the bait with gusto or work for them.

Apple unveils 'World's First Thunderbolt Display'

Magius
Angel

27" lcd displays are affordable

Nah, you can find a decent 27" lcd if you don't care about the delicious high resolution panel. If you stay at 1920x1080 the displays are rather affordable taking into the extra-size.

http://www.google.com/search?q=27%22+lcd+screen&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=lyu&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=djQoTq7_Lsrl0QHL5IzrCg&ved=0CFgQrQQ&biw=1501&bih=838

Windows Phone 7: 'Different, delightful'... and unfinished

Magius

It's a growing OS

Laughable, writer tried to stress the unfinished so much that it feels forced. It took Apple how many years to implement cut & paste? However most sites praised the phone anyway. The writer needs to find tangible proof if he wants readers to take him seriously.

Michelle, sadly big brother is here anyway. Just be smart on how you share your information. XBox Live (or any Live services) should not be mandatory, I think. However, bricking your phone would be past anything big bro should be able to do. Given MS position in the market it is not in their best interest to piss off anyone.

That being said, I am still on the sidelines on the new OS. MS seems to want to control every aspect of the experience, which is both good and bad. Which side it leans on more will decide how well it does in the market. Keep an even presentation and it will be great. Try to tightly control everything users can do and imho it won't go smooth.

Firefox 4 beta gets Sync and Tab Candy Tab Panorama

Magius
Stop

No need, TabGroups Manager trumps them all.

Guys, stop trying to convince one another. People work in different ways, if managing an extensive array of windows on the desktop tickles someone's fancy, more power to them.

However, I like to keep browsing self-contained to its own space. Using TabGroups Manager lets me assign group tab names, icons so I know what is contained inside each. TGM lets me suspend, close, hybernate, and even export the groups I am working on. At a glance, while using a single Firefox instance, I can see which groups are open and I have access to each one without having to bother resizing, re-ordering, etc. any windows.

I am not sure if the Mozilla solution will be as good as TGM, seeing as their implementation forces you to fall back into that visual menu to choose groups, but it will worth a try.

Opera: Firefox tab sets? We've had 'em for years

Magius
Thumb Up

Rather than a Tree view I prefer Tabgroups Manager

Tabgroups Manager lets you create the groups and it resides as a bar (which can be hidden automatically or manually). Whenever you change to a different group the normal tab bar changes to reflect the current group selection. You can also hibernate your groups during or between sessions, so you can come back to a set of tabs later.

Mozilla's implementation is interesting in its potential, however it still seems cumbersome. The tree view is nice, but again there is an extra step involves in opening the sidebar, moving along the tree, ect. It is certainly faster than candy, but I like TBM's implementation better.

Apple iPhone app patent claim 'doesn't feel right'

Magius
WTF?

Nothing like someone patenting what your app does...

So the company doesn't need to worry about Apple stealing their looks, just the functionality of the whole app. I thought that was Microsoft's job? Apparently not.

Corrupt repair engineer jailed for bank fraud attempt

Magius
FAIL

Engineer? More like technician...

He was working at repair, rather than design. He's no hacker and no engineer either.

Palin puts paid to Boob-gate

Magius
FAIL

I find more offensive...

I find it more offensive that you consider her a senior US politician. The most notable REAL thing she has done is leave her job before completing it to pursue her ambitions. What about all those people that voted her into office? They believed she would do a good job to full term.

Should she get a chance at president? Well unless someone comes up with world-president, she would at least finish her term.

Seriously though I am not sure what some people see in her. I guess she's just repeating what some people want to hear and that's enough for some. However she lacks everything the representative of a country should have.

Apple bans competing ads from the iPhone

Magius
Stop

Ads sent using my bandwidth?

Let me state this, as long as ads are not intrusive and let me work without interrupting my flow, I'm fine with them. The moment they make me pause or wait its the moment I throw the phone in the trash bin.

But coming back to what was to be my main point. Are these ads being push to the phone using our (now) limited bandwidth? Do they count towards the monthly limit, be it 200MB or 2GB?

If they do, then there is a problem. No matter how tiny or compressed they are no way they should be allowed to use my (now) limited bandwidth. Just imagine finding out that you run out of the monthly bandwidth allotment because of the continuous bombardment of ads to the phone.

Humanity evolved to cope with 30°C+ heat, says prof

Magius
Headmaster

Sweat does not stink...

But when bacteria start going through it what they leave behind does stink, you know what I am talking about.

Microsoft conjures imaginary 'Apple Tax'

Magius
Thumb Down

Typical, he "made up" his specs so you twisted yours too...

So MS finally decides to defend itself after years of Apple fud (which even you have to admit they were, to the point of being comically deluded) and instead of building up a solid rebuttal you write this? I mean, if you decided to pick a decidedly more expensive BUSINESS workstation to compete with a Mac Pro, why not go with the "boutique" level PCs? They are even more stupidly expensive PCs... However if you are a sensible person and actually look for price AND performance you would pick something like this:

Dell XPS 730x

PROCESSOR: Intel® Core™ i7-920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 64-bit

OFFICE SOFTWARE: Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007

VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB

MEMORY: 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM)

HARD DRIVE: 640GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache

OPTICAL DRIVE: Single Drive: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo

MONITOR: 21.5 inch Dell S2209W Full HD Widescreen Monitor

SOUND CARD: Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium (2x TOS Link)

SPEAKERS: Dell A525 30 Watt 2.1 Speakers with Subwoofer

KEYBOARD: Dell USB Consumer Multimedia Keyboard

MOUSE: Premium Optical USB Mouse

FLOPPY & MEDIA READER: Dell 19-in-1 Media Card Reader with Bluetooth 2.0

EXPANSION PORTS: 8x USB2.0, 2x 1395a, 1x eSATA, 3x PCIe16, 2x PCIe1, 1x PCI

BAYS: 4x 5.25" optical bays, 4x 3.5" internal HDD bays, 2x 3.5" external flex bays (floppy/media reader)

SECURITY SOFTWARE: McAfee Security Center with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 15-months

Dell XPS 730x $2583

Oh wait, you say it is more expensive than your Mac? May I point out the better videocard, the 6GB of memory, Bluray drive, and included LCD monitor? Should I go on? And while there is a limited discount going on at Dell until June, this pricing and sale discounts are very typical across all vendors, except Apple that is.