Posts by Gil Grissum 529 publicly visible posts • joined 6 Aug 2009
As stated by others, requiring BES10 and not launching the Q10 first, were bad ideas. I'd venture that acquiring QNX, was yet another bad idea. BB could've done a fork of Android and called it BBA (Black Berry Android), and had complete compatibility with the entire Google Play ecosystem, eliminating the biggest hangup of BB10.
How could the bloke have been unaware that his laptop was plugged into the giant screen? He was there to work on troubleshooting and resolving a technical issue, or otherwise WORK. What kind of idiot watches porn at work on what is most likely not his personal laptop, but company equipment?? They're going to throw the book at him.
Microsoft's insistence on trying to push the Modern UI, even with what appears to be a half baked start button effort that still doesn't give back the start menu as Classic Shell and Start 8 does, is an annoying strategy that is bound to backfire if they don't properly reinstate full start button functionality. Microsoft apparently doesn't get that consumers and more importantly, businesses, have little to no interest in the Modern UI, in it's current incarnation. I agree with the commenter who said that the DESKTOP should be the default and the Modern UI, a choice. We'll just have to see if Microsoft wakes up from the trance and restores full start button functionality with desktop menu. If it doesn't, I will surely be installing whatever version of Classic Shell will work with 8.1.
I'll reserve judgment until the final becomes available. The couple of niggling inconsistencies in Windows 8 that bother me, may be resolved with 8.1. Creating a new profile cured that but brought other niggling problems, such as apps not working in my new user profile, that worked in my original user profile (The problems with Windows 8 include Modern UI apps that disappeared from Modern UI with no clear way to bring them back. They can't be found by clicking "all apps". Creating a new profile was not a workable solution. The Modern UI apps have only become available to be used by installing "Classic Shell", which gives access to them from the start button desktop menu).
Aside from banning Heins from showing up in photos holding either phone with his "too big hands", they need to focus more on the Q10 and deploy it to all carriers, ASAP. The Android app issues need to be dealt with post haste. Samsung is encroaching on BES10 turf without requiring a server and if Apple does something like that with iOS7, the business customer base that BB is known for will bail on them completely. Heins is asleep at the wheel.
Good luck with that lawsuit. I seriously doubt that you will get far with it. The FBI had been using CARNIVORE since 2005 to sniff web traffic. Now PRISM takes care of that and cell phone sniffing as well. This facial recognition system will get a pass as it's going to be touted as "essential to the preservation of national security and prevention of terrorism".
I'll pass on the preview. I'll wait for the final. Maybe by then, Microsoft will get a clue and put the full functionality of the start button back. To do anything less is to be clueless about what customers want. Businesses aren't going to deploy Windows 8 if 8.1 doesn't bring the full start button functionality back. They'll deploy Windows 7 and call it a day. If they do become interested in RT or Surface Tablets, they'll be used sparingly, at best. Windows 8 isn't winning much love out in the wild. Balmer has got to go. Screw up after screw up and he gets to keep his job? Anyone else in any other firm, would be gone long before now. Vista would've done him in.
I first used Start8 to get the start button and menu functionality back. I switched to Classic shell and it's better. It allows me to open Metro UI apps from the start menu, or desktop apps. I can easily get back to the desktop from my second monitor. If 8.1's start button doesn't give me the Windows Start menu with programs, that I'm getting from Classic Shell, I'll just reinstall that. Not touching the preview. Waiting for the final version.
I once worked as a Network Support Analyst for an insurance company who's idea of "antivirus protection" was installing a local client on each PC, updating them all manually, and being quite surprised when viruses made their way in via e-mail. At first, they thought the suggestion of running antivirus from the server was crazy. That thought process changed after viruses made their way in via e-mail attachments.
I understand how this BES 10.1 security works and am certainly not against it. It's something I would advocate to a company I worked for. Unfortunately, not everyone in IT at companies is as serious about network security as you are and I am. I've been called paranoid about network security until problems occur and people realize I'm not paranoid. Network security is a serious issue that should be taken seriously.
Organizations who require their BYOD users access company intranet and e-mail with their personal devices, could find this useful, but only if the company is willing to buy this BES 10 Server. At this point, there are plenty of companies who allow their employees to access intranet sites with username and password, as well as Exchange E-mail accounts without using any BES Server. So a needs assessment may be done by some companies to determine if these BES secure services are needed.
Maybe Sprint should address why, since April 2013, there have been nationwide service disruptions all across the country. According to Sprint customers service reps, some of that disruption is due to LTE upgrades. Others claim towers have failed and are being repaired. No one at Sprint is being straight with customers and coming clean with the truth, and that begs why we are hearing everything else about Sprint in the media but a story about their nationwide service disruptions half a month from close of the Softbank deal. I'd think such a national service disruption problem at this particular time, would be big news, but apparently no one is willing to report on that. Wonder why?? Check out Sprint's customer service forums to see what I'm talking about. Then go to their Facebook profile to see more complaints.
Besides adding free adapters to ease the pain of movement to a new port architecture, Apple could've moved to Micro USB a long time ago and been more standards compatible. Most of their new customers came from Android, where they already have left over micro USB to USB cables that could be repurposed. That makes more sense than this "lightning port" that really doesn't do anything other than connect or charge the device no better or faster than the 30 pin cable before it. Having to contend with the 30 pin adapter was bad enough.
So an unfinished OS is what we can expect from Ive? That worked out really well for Apple maps, considering how Tim Cook was touting it's superiority to Google maps. Words he eventually had to eat, as Apple maps shortcomings became quite apparently obvious. Let us hope that iOS 7 is a more finished product than Apple Maps was, particularly if it's going to be running on an iPhone 5S with slightly upgraded specs, same size screen, and pretty much the same case design.
This is interesting, particularly as it relates to Sprint's pending Softbank merger. I wonder if the month long nationwide service disruption that Sprint customers have experienced due to "Network Vision" upgrades (LTE) are really due to snooping equipment being installed on towers or in base stations. This might explain why Sprint's nationwide service disruptions have not been reported on in the news, despite the thousands of complaints on Sprint's Customer Support forums and Facebook Website. Service across my local area has become sporadic at best over the past month. It's never been that way before. Perhaps it will get better when the Softbank merger is complete. Sprint is due to turn all of it's Nextel Towers off at the end of June. Can't wait to see how that affects all of us Sprint customers, nationwide...
It would indeed be ironic if Apple released 4.7" and 5.7" iPhones in 2014. They most certainly will not do that this year, as they will no doubt, release an iPhone 5S with the same screen size, case design and incremental upgrades that just don't matter. Apple is always two years behind everyone else's hardware, but those who love and buy the fashion statement tech, just don't care.
In countries where smoking is still allowed, you'll want to post a sign on it so that no one dumps cigarette or cigar ashes in it. Anyone who's Mac Pro isn't failing and is already using PCI-e Flash internal cards, won't see an advantage to replacing them with this, a hailstorm of cables, and a bunch of external devices. I think Apple missed the boat on this one, but time will tell, once it's finally made available to the public. Wall Street wasn't impressed. Neither am I.
I don't think Wallstreet agrees with Apple's vision for the new Mac Pro. The stock is down. Apparently, Tim Cook has forgotten the G4 Cube debacle. This is a similar set of interesting mistakes but it's magnified due to the fact that they've taken consumer focused design ideas and applied them to what should have been a professional desktop Mac with INTERNAL STORAGE as well as Thunderbolt 2 ports. I could see them doing this if Thunderbolt had taken off and there was a large number of peripherals in the marketplace, but Thunderbolt hasn't set the world on fire with desire and this "tube" isn't going to change that.
No thanks.
As others have stated, it's bad enough that muggers are stealing iPhones for their fashion accessory value. NFC makes them far more attractive to steal as electronic wallets. Unless this becomes law and cards and cash are completely done away with, I won't be using my phone to pay for anything anywhere, at any time.
Microsoft should include a Touch Cover with every RT and Surface Pro, by default, and only sell the hard keyboard cover. That is, if they want to sell these things in large quantities. The prices should be dropped to levels that customers are willing to pay for. Who's going to spend more for a Surface than an iPad? Apparently not very many.
If all Windows 8.1 is about is a half assed effort on the Start button and it really doesn't do what the start button should, then I'll just stick with Start8. That gives me a Start button and Windows 7 style program menu, so I can avoid the Metro UI entirely. Maybe Microsoft will change their minds and give a full start button in the final. If so, I'll see how that pans out with others and then consider adopting it, if it's free. If it's not, I won't be buying it.
I think having the Razr line be a Verizon exclusive, didn't help. The exclusive carrier trick only worked for Apple for a time, until Android started catching up and Apple's only hope was to deploy the iPhone on other carriers. For some reason, Nokia thought it would work with AT&T and Moto thought it would work with Verizon, but it hasn't. Deploy to all carriers and surround the enemy.
The legislature missed the point. They should've taxed the internet cafes rather than try to put them out of business. Make some revenue. Keep people working. Instead, a short sighted approach that missed the big picture (increased state revenue), is the direction they went.
The iMessage outage wasn't the same as Blackberry Services going down and affecting your ability to communicate with your e-mail, BBM, and other Blackberry users. With the iMessage outage, you could chat via other services and it didn't affect e-mail. E-mail goes down and you're REALLY screwed. So, between this and the clueless CEO being asleep at the wheel regarding tablets, I'm no longer interested in BB10 anything and will wait for the Note 3.
I'm more interested in a statistic of the profits Microsoft is making from the sale of Android Phones made by OEM's who have a licensing agreement with Microsoft. That is info that is sneaking by under the radar. As for the whole Android versus Apple marketshare/profit discussion, it's true that the Android vendors will have made their profits for most of the year by the time Apple releases the next iPhone. So, if Apple does little more than incrementally upgrade the iPhone 5 with irrellevant upgrades that will only impress a limited number of hard core Apple fans, they will ultimately lose customers to vendors who are producing more compelling phones than Apple and right now, everyone including Blackberry, is producing more compelling phones than Apple. Cook can stick his head in a hole and believe the nonsense he's spouting about his competitors, but he's the only one who believes that nonsense. Customers are proving with their buying choices, that there are better choices out there.
One would think that Android tablet makers would get a clue. They tried pricing their Tablets at or above Apple prices and failed. Attempting to sell convertible tablets at iPad prices won't work because consumers will look at the iPad mini, buy it, get a bluetooth keyboard, and call it a day. Why the Android Tablet makers can't figure this out is beyond me. This is why Windows RT and Surface Tablets aren't selling. PRICE. Drop the price to $299 and $399 and they will fly off shelves like nothing else on the market. Same thing with Ultrabooks. No one is going to buy them at the prices these clowns want to sell them. Consumers won't pay premium prices for any product that isn't Apple.
Not if Microsoft doesn't rethink it's pricing model with RT and Surface. Keep pricing them above the iPads and iPad mini's and they will continue to barely move off shelves. As for Office 365, I have no intention of buying a Microsoft subscription. Not every business and consumer customer will be wiling to help Microsoft make that billion dollars in subscriptions, annually.
If Google's Android and Chrome OS violate Microsoft patents, why hasn't Microsoft sued Google for Google to license those patents? Google is the maker of Android and Chrome OS, not these OEM's. Shouldn't GOOGLE be the one licensing those Microsoft patents? Or is it that Microsoft would make more money from OEM licensing than if just Google were to license those patents. And Google is rather silent about all of this, aren't they??
Make up your mind, author. Is DISH's offer 10% above softbank or 13%? It can't possibly be both.
DISH Network is the worst possible option for Satellite TV. Word has it that their customer service is awful. While DISH is an American company, that doesn't make it the best option for Sprint or more importantly, Sprint's customers (of which, I'm one). And while there appears to be a higher share price in it for stock holders if Sprint considered DISH's offer, DISH has no experience to compete with in Mobile. The Softbank deal has already received regulatory approval and is set to complete later this year. DISH can buy some other phone network. Maybe they should bid for Metro PCS or Virgin Mobile.
Zuckerberg would've done better to design a better Facebook App for all platforms that actually works well and is pleasant to use based on what FACEBOOK USERS WANT, not what he wants to shove down their throats. Everyone keeps trying the Steve Jobs approach without realizing that he's the only one that will EVER work for. Zuckerberg would like to think he's got the mojo of Jobs, but no one in the tech industry does. Facebook Home will fail miserably because, as others have pointed out, no one, including the most obsessed Facebook users, wants their entire phone experience to be Facebook. No one. Sure, some will download and try it and sure, some will even buy an HTC First, but people will quickly find it more annoying than the Facebook Timeline and rush to uninstall it more rapidly than they installed it. Besides, as has been pointed out, none of the big players in the industry will want Facebook Home to succeed in taking over the user experience. That alone guarantees Facebook Home's failure.
Oh yes, Cook must eat Crow and kiss ass. This isn't the first or last time. He will have to do more of it to get China Mobile as a customer. By the way, isn't Foxconn a Chinese manufacturer, who manufactures iPhones and iPads? That not enough state run factory business for China? Guess not. China is going to bend Cook and Apple over in order to get China Mobile as a customer. And China Mobile isn't going to give up any of what USA and EU carriers have, to get the iPhone. China mobile holds all of the cards and can wait Apple out while Android builds momentum there. Apple however, cannot afford to wait.
Is this insanity driven by Balmer or is some other MBA at Microsoft responsible for this nonsense. Affluent customers don't want Windows 8 Tablets. If they did, they'd be selling in higher quantities instead of being crushed by the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, and especially, the iPad mini. The OEM's weren't jumping for joy to develop and sell Windows 8 Tablet's in the 10" size and don't be too shocked if they aren't rushing to market with 7" Windows 8 Tablets either. Someone should be fired at Microsoft for the ridiculous Windows 8 Hip Hop dance Tablet commercials, which are more about some director, choreographer, and dancers showing their performance skills than what Windows 8 Tablets are capable of. Hence tepid public response.
This is why I don't tell neighbors or anyone who isn't attempting to hire me for a job, that I've worked in tech support for years. Helping my mum with her usually self induced or "got a virus from some idiot in an e-mail" type of problem is one thing. Anyone else who needs tech support is expected to pay for it. I don't work for free. The author shouldn't either. Bills to pay and a family to feed. Not a volunteer for charity work.
Who is really so addicted to Facebook that they are willing to go on a two year contract and be stuck with a Facebook-centric phone? I don't call people on my Facebook list. I don't even have them lumped into my current phone's phone book. Given the privacy concerns with Facebook as it is, who's really going to buy into this? They won't sell as many of these as Microsoft and Blackberry has of theirs. This is going to be a huge failure for Facebook.
So that means that Apple and everyone else having their computers and computing devices assembled in China with Chinese parts has to to stop doing business with the people's republic because the people's republic is affiliated with the businesses in their country? Or does Apple get a pass on that for some unknown reason?
Like someone else said- This idiot can find upskirt porn online for free without risking being knocked over the head with a brick weighted purse by an offended victim of his pervertiveness. And with an iPad? Really? Yes, I'd say he's an IDIOT. A perverted idiot, at that. Should be abundantly clear to a woman that a man with an iPad in view following her around, is trying to get point of view pictures of a perverted nature.
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