Posts by BitDr
73 posts • joined Friday 3rd June 2011 11:36 GMT
Re: They're both full of $#!T
In town driving uses the most energy, so taking a two mile trip in down town Manhattan might sound innocent enough, but if you're stuck in stop-and-go in traffic for an hour with the heater going it is going to put a severe dent in your battery capacity.
During an auto show (about 20 years ago) I spoke with a fellow who was promoting electric conversions or some such. His enthusiasm was all well and good, but when asked how the vehicle would perform (range-wise) on a cold Canadian evening (-15C) with heater, headlights, drive-motors, windscreen wipers, marker lights etc. all needing power, subsided slightly. A simple solution to the demands made on the batteries for cabin heat would be to use something other than electric power... perhaps resurrect the old VW gas-heaters (modified for Propane or Natural Gas).
Another point from the story. The Journo says that Tesla put the wrong size tires on the vehicle. Was he trying to imply that this might be the cause for the discrepency in the logged speed and what he said he did? Wouldn't the car record what it is displaying on the instruments?
Re: Windows 7 stock?
"Most Windows 7 machines with touch suffer from awful lag, poor detection around the edges of the screen and often quite low touch resolution."
Ummmm... so would W7 also perform badly with a really kick-butt capacitive touch screen? If so then the problem is not the hardware.
Success...
It was Mr. Gates who said something along the lines of "Success is a lousy teacher, it convinces otherwise smart people that they can't lose". The executives at MS would do well to heed those words.
Three words for MS
Corel Word Perfect
MS allegedly screwed Corel when they were trying to port Word Perfect to Windows 98, not a nice feeling is it MS? Of course nothing has been proven in either instance, it's all allegations and such, but eventually things will work out, and perhaps the phrase "reap what you sow" will become associated with one of the two.
Greedy troll... stupid USPTO
I have a 1988 cell phone with a 'mic-in' jack.
Re: "Quit spreading FUD!" says the chorus of astroturfers.
The ignorance of the consumer is being used to control/ensnare them, walls are being built around them and they can't see it because they see most geeks as frothing-at-the-mouth zealots who talk down to them, usually in tongues they don't understand. Meanwhile the Redmonds of the world offer a glib smile, a warm handshake, a shoulder to lean on, and some nice hot coco just before leading them to their newly-decorated cell and locking them inside.
The man with the smile and handshake will win every time over the rude zealot, he knows this, and he knows that just calling something "security feature" will help him immensely; especially if he controls it and requires it be enabled and others require it disabled. The psychology at work here is more important to the Redomnds of this world than any actual security provided; that lock in can be attained at some future date is just icing on the cake, that hardware manufacturers might have to bend to your will is cherries on the icing.
Re: Skeptical...
"Until its proven that secure boot isn't the anticompetitive scheme that it clearly can be, everyone should be on their guard."
And if it CAN be abused then it eventually WILL be abused.
UEFI is a straight-jacket dressed up as a security blanket.
"make my life easier and allow me to get more done for a cheaper price. Ultimately, isn't that the point of IT?"
Why, yes, yes it is the original point of IT, but the train seems to have gone completely off the rails. Today the point of IT appears to be to keep users on the treadmill spending their hard-earned dosh.
Posted in BOFH: Hasta la Vista... luser
Accurately describes...
Most of my customer base. Just yesterday I cleaned up a browser that had toolbars consuming one third of the available screen real-estate, and that was the least of the issues.
Pirated software...
I refuse to install anything without the install media and licenses, even GPLd software must conform to this rule (although I can create the install media). Many business owners are of the opinion that because they paid for Office or Windows they can install it as many times as they want on as many machines as they want as long as they own the machines. Ummmm.... no. You want to do that then you pay for the licenses or you use Libre or Open office (or some such) and get off the software-crack (sic).
Kicked them to the curb long ago...
I actively discourage UBUNTU to those leaving Windows as my experience with other converts has shown that the Unity Interface drives them quite mad. Fedora is out of the picture because of Gnome 3 (same kind of insanity).
For me, just thinking of using either Unity or the Gnome 3 shell interface as a work environment sets my teeth on edge. I do keep tabs on developments in both to see if sanity is returning to the development teams, as yet there is no reason to be optimistic.
Re: Failboat
While there are manufacturers exploiting the mad rush to tablet utopia (tabletopia?) by offering up poor quality devices rushed to market to take advantage of the public's feeding frenzy; anything which costs upwards of $350.00 is not of low quality. It is generally a bad idea to buy a $149.00 tablet from a manufacturer whose name you first saw on the box in which your treasure was packed. Ignoring warning signs such as improperly translated marketing blurbs replete with stilted grammar and spelling, and you get what you paid for.
The position that all of the class of tablets that run Android are poorly made is an erroneous syllogism that is pythonesque in nature given that even the revered iPad can run the Android OS.
Re: Unusual
I can like the house, I just would not buy into the neighbourhood, so I buy another almost identical house ina more friendly neighbourhood.
Re: Unusual
I think we all agree with the "we use what we like". What we don't like is someone arbitrarily touting that something is useless and can't compete with another similar product because of [insert vague reason here].
I like the iPad, but what keeps me away is boutique pricing and a Gestapo mentality. I would not live in a gated community if I was required to purchase all of my daily consumables from the builder-owned Big-Box-Store, being unable to select even the furnishings unless the builder approved of them.
Feeding the troll....
Google only officially acquired Motorola a few weeks ago, surely that is not enough time for the resources of Motorola to be brought to bear on the Nexus 7 project, design, engineer, and manufacture the device for initial display. All points that were omitted by the "article".
"Without stuff to do tablets are a forgotten niche of computing". Really? My Xoom is my GPS (MapDroid), my mobile email access, is used to invoice customers on-site, manage business expenses as they occur, view PDF files (and some e-books too). It serves as a VNC terminal, an SSH client, a VOIP phone, my appointment calendar, a network analyser, a camera, and much more. Then, when all the work is done, I can (and sometimes do) play a game. Only thing I am disappointed with is that MotoPrint does not work under ICS, it fails to install. Very bad. Motorola/Google... please fix this.
No, I'm afraid the now one year old tablet has quite effectively replaced my laptop.
Content is king for those sell it or are addicted to it. Like most people I love a good movie, not ON my tablet, but FROM my tablet ON my Big-screen TV. Yes I have used the tablet to rent and playback movies, but with the trend to charge premium fees for shuffling data to my device there are still a lot of DVD rentals and trips to the theatre yet to be had.
Re: "By the time it hits shelves, ..."
Agree. Why the vast difference in releasing upgrades? I'm in Canada (where we use the UK dictionary (yes we spell colour and centre correctly... although you won't see many Tyres) and only received the ICS upgrade a few weeks ago. I can't say I like the new unlock screen but "young minds... fresh ideas"... *sigh*. Other than that Ice Cream Sandwich is a tasty treat for my Motorola Xoom.
Notations..
First off, I am not affiliated with any of the companies that make these products.
I think the large 'I'm-not-quite-a-tablet' screen of the Samsung Note is brilliant. Granted when held to the ear it looks silly, but add two more devices (the Pebble smart-watch and a blue-tooth headset) and that large screen can be put to good use while not weighing down your backpack, or laptop bag.
While the large form-factor of the Galaxy-Note looks silly when held to the ear and used as a phone, a bluetooth headset quite neatly eliminates this problem (although they can look pretty silly too). The large screen then becomes useful for taking notes (perhaps during a telephone conversation), reviewing documents, or remotely connecting to your office (VNC || RDP). When someone calls and the phone is tucked away, the pebble provides the info needed (caller ID) to make the decision to answer or not. The pebble can also vibrate to remind of appointments and other notifications as well as display text messages etc.
The Samsung Note (unlocked please) and a Pebble are my next two major purchases.
Re: Metro was designed by experts
WHEW! You almost had me there. Of course you weren't serious were you MonkeyBoyFan, you gotta be smarter than that. Perhaps the MS UI designers are frustrated GNOME 3.0 UI devs. It is so obviously a mistake to think that we came all this way, multiple windows, perhaps on multiple screens, just to return to one screen, one task.
Re: Loony
Run multiple Windows 8 Virtual Machines on your still multiple window-capable LINUX UI, there, fixed that for ya.
Caveat: Anyone doing this will have to purchase multiple copies of Windows 8 to run them in multiple virtual machine windows, so it could be a little on the expensive side, but I'm sure MS won't mind the extra revenue.
Re: "90% reduction of the population.."
I think we should start with them, perhaps put them on Ark 3, then forget about them.
Google has it right...
If a language, something that is used to create expressive works, is copyright able, then by extension all works created with the language are derivitives. Take computing out of the equation, English can be used to create sets of instructions, indeed that was a longtime goal of many computer languages, to make them 'english-like'. Would Oracle consider English copyright able? SQL? COBOL? Esperanto?
This speaks volumes..
This is unconscionable behaviour which says much about the the company doing the asking. Who are the guilty parties? They do not deserve any of our hard-earned money.
Very bad karma
This kind of attitude needs to be stompped on NOW as it will do more to harm Google and the the Android platform than any competitor, legal action, or privacy concerns ever could.
Posted in Android Market morphs into 'Google Play'
This could be bad for Google...
Much time has passed with the 'Android Market' name, it now has value, presence, an identity linked with a concept. I wonder what companies are trying to accomplish when they make these bone-headed decisions. The most (in)famous case I can think of deals with 'Borland Software' renaming themselves to 'Inprise Corporation' in 1998, and then promptly sinking into the swamp of obscurity as the respected and well-known Borland name-brand vanished from the market. Only after being sold to Corel in 2000, was the epically silly 'Inprise' name shredded, replaced with the (by that time) barely remembered 'Borland' in January 2001.
So, what has Google done? Well they've destroyed an identity (marketplace) and replaced it with an activity (Play). A market is a place where one can work OR play, one can find both useful things and recreational activities in a market. Markets are places where you get almost anything. Places of 'Play' are where nothing useful gets done.
A very satisfied Xoom and Nexus 1 owner
I've had a Nexus 1 for almost 2 years, my Xoom will be a year old this month. I use them mostly as business tools, but the Xoom is also used for fun, renting movies from Google, etc. Neither of these devices have given me any difficulty, both work as smoothly today as they did when purchased. The Xoom replaced a netbook and frequently gets used to remote in to servers I manage. When on the road the Nexus One serves as an access point for the tablet. It all works very, giving no reason to replace either of them.
Re: Deja Vu
I vote for all GUI designers with the same disease. The only one that does not seem to think that the desktop is not a tablet is Apple.... but that could change. This head-long rush off the cliff is an opportunity for those who think evolutionary and not revolutionary.
"Turner reckons, because full-screen apps will immerse workers in their spreadsheets, pushing distractions out of sight and ramping up output."
Seems we've come full circle and are back to something more like Software Carousel than Windows.
Re: Google vs Apple
Which of the two big guns will come out of this on top?
Answer: Neither. Only the lawyers win.
Posted in Linux PC-in-a-stick to cost coders £139
Re: Re: Re: Re: Misleading?
It is not complicated, there's just a lot of marketing fog. The term PC is derived from "Personal Computer", as in for the use of one person. Simple really. These can be machines such as;
Commodore 64, 128, Plus 4, Amiga, VIC 20
Apple ][, IIc, III, Mac (all variations), and even the iPad
IBM PC and all of its descendants.
TRS 80 Model 1, 3, CoCo etc.
BBC Micro
Sinclair ZX81, Spectrum etc.
Amstrad
Atari 500ST, 1024ST etc.
Texas Instruments 99/4A
Coleco Adam
Ohio Scientific
NorthStar
IMSAI 8080 (if you really REALLY want that old-school look & feel)
And many many more.
The trouble is that the term Personal Computer has been plastered over the top of the original term "micro-computer", which is a more accurate description of (but not nearly as friendly as) what the machine really is. A Microcomputer can be used as a personal computer but an instance of a personal computer, by definition, would not be capable of being used by more than one person at a time.
The micro-computers of the last 10 years (2002-2012) have been more than powerful enough to support many users at once, making them more along the lines of yesterdays Mini and main-frame computers (but much easier to use & maintain).
Was the credit card mandatory?
You did not say if the creation of the google-wallet and by extension the providing of your credit card details was mandatory or not? Was it? If so then bad on Google, if not then decline Google Wallet and carry-on.
Caution, Spin doctors at work.
"And Microsoft is making its patents -standard essential and otherwise — available to all Android manufacturers on fair and reasonable terms. In fact, more than 70 percent of Android devices are now licensed to use Microsoft’s patent portfolio."
MS (IMHO) appears to be extorting money from manufacturers of Android devices utilizing patents that at least one company (Barnes & Noble) are paying a legal-team to expose as being irrelevant. Other manufacturers signed an NDA (bad move) so we only hear the voice of MS and their allies in cases like these, and of course their competition is being painted as the bad-guy.
The trouble with "Fair and Reasonable Terms" is that it has never been defined. Fair and Reasonable for whom? If I'm a small start-up then I might be able to afford sweat-equity to write software that adheres to a truly open standard, but I might not be able to pay the additional and ongoing costs of licensing.
Re: lies
As my mother used to say, "If everyone was jumping off of a cliff would you do it too"? We must think for ourselves.
On the topic of the gun-registry, the problem is that criminals don't register their guns. For God's sake they're criminals, they don't follow the law. Look to history for the real uses to which gun-registrys have been put.
Berige Box Macs...
Hans 1: Yes, but they never built grey boxes that looked exactly like Compaq's, Dell's or HP's ...
Umm yes they certainly did. But the 'boxes' were beige, not grey. Have a look here
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/06/steve_jobs_bio_1/page11.html
or search Google images for Apple LC 630, MacIntosh II, Mac Performa, Performa 550, 560, 6220, 6400 etc. All beige boxes, all look like any other PC of the day (The Performa 575 actually looks like a model Compaq built with the floppy & CD in the big-beige monitor... can't remember the model).
Anyway, yes they certainly did. Creations that Jonny Ives would never promote. Uninspired designs that crept in while Jobs was away in the pre-iMac days.
Where to start...
IMHO the full harm can not be calculated simply because there isn't any harm. Apple's focus on making great products is slipping into focus on creating a monopoly through litigation. Mr. Jobs knew full well that if you build it correctly then it will sell.
Predictive text. Statistical analysis of a language to predict possible next words in a sentence? The human animal has been annoying each other for generations by intuitively doing this in conversations. Imagine if SIRI tried vocalizing possible next word-choices, that would be really annoying. The only difference here is that you see the choice instead of hearing it.
Voice recognition is an interface. It could be an interface to any application into which you would normally type. See the works of Gene Roddenberry and Arthur C. Clarke for examples. Tech has finally caught up to fiction, rendering it non-fiction.
Using a follower strategy. Some lead, others follow. Those tired of the race focus on protecting the status quo. Xerox had the technology but not the leadership, Apple had the leadership but not the technology, and MS had the savy to let others break-trail and then,... er... become a great artist, not a good artist. Apple might win battles, but ultimately this is a war they will lose. Lessons from the past need to be heeded.
That an OS difficult to switch from is not true when it comes to going from an open (Linux, FreeBSD, Android) to a closed (Apple, Microsoft) system. The information required to create tools to port data from the Android platform to the Apple platform is readily available. Can this be said for those wishing to create tools to migrate from Apple to Android? Where is the problem exactly?
Advertising tactics that poke fun at the fanbois. For examples of Apple doing this to their competition go to you tube and search for Apple advertisements. Apple has been poking fun at and attempting to tarnish their competition in a similar manner for YEARS! Suck it up!
Heh..
Perhaps a 12 gauge would have been more satisfying in the initial carnage it caused, but the 45 leaves the laptop in pretty much one unusable lump for the brat to gaze upon while she considers the errors of her ways. May she grow up to have a child like herself to look after.
Gotten used to...
"I've got used to the new gnome now, so I'm quite happy."
I suppose one could get used to having a pail of cold water thrown on them first thing in the morning too... it does not mean they want to make such an adjustment, or that life would be better for doing so.
The poster is aware MS wants to sell tablets...
The poster is aware MS wants to sell tablets and demonstrated this by writing;
"Oh wait, Microsoft has nothing to compete with but is telling everyone they will, real soon now, so they're attempting to slow the expansion of the existing devices so there's hope of them selling a dozen WinPads come Dec 2012."
Which acknowledges that MS wants to sell tablets, and points out this could be mild FUD to slow down sales of existing tablets.
Eastern Standard Time ...
EST is UTC - 5, so add 5 hours to get UTC.
You can get all time zone names and their UTC offsets here
http://www.worldtimezone.com/wtz-names/timezonenames.html
Even more strangely..
Of the two options that Dave 15 posted, Apple traditionally went with option 'b', which is why the iPhone is/was so popular. They seem to have lost, along with Steve Jobs, their creative spark.
I think gotrdaddy needs their toy taken from them. I'll be moving the domains I have with them as soon as alternates are in place.
Posted in Amazon, MS and Nokia sniff around RIM
Overpriced kit...
Trolling through the tablet section of a Big Box retail operation the problem with RIM's playbook jbecame obvious. The retail price for the 32 GB version of the dimunitive QNX based tablet is $699.00. The 32 GB Android equivalents are $399-$499.
Little wonder Playbooks are not selling.
Count on it...
As the Windows Phone-using population grows, Redmond may well find itself dealing with a mobile malware problem of its own.
Agreed...
No research given, just words.
Nokia was being run by an Ex-Microsoft Exec. It would seem that rather than do the real work of turning the company around he simply handed it to Redmond.
Global rights... like
Sounds like the "unlimited dat data" plans that ISPs love to offer... you kn ow... the ones with the caps that limit them? BAH! A pox on all of their houses.
Movie studios are dumb like a fox...
Hmmmm. Perhaps the studios are planning their own streaming service? The strategy, force the existing streaming companies using Flash to switch to Silverlight. This will tie up resources and reduce the size of their customer base. Flying under the radar get your own streaming service set up and ready using HTML 5. When you go online tout that you're using web-standards based tech and support everyone, while the competition does not.
Well, it's a possibility... I personally don't think the studios are smart enough for this but it is possible.
Gates tells the truth...
What he says is perhaps accurate but it seems it is incomplete. Novell may have been inept, but not at writing code, they were inept in managing Microsoft in that they did not bring Microsoft's alleged manipulations into the light of day when they were happening. Mr. Gates says that they (Novell) "had simply been unable to deliver a version of word processor WordPerfect that was better than Microsoft's Word in time for the launch of Windows 95". What he fails to convey is that Novell's inability was allegedly enhanced by Microsoft imposing license restrictions which made software development with the then new Windows 95 product nearly impossible.
Remember rule #1. Don't deal with Microsoft.
Posted in Fedora 16: A GNOME lover's paradise
"From a lot of irritation at first I have stuck with it on F15"
And that is the problem. When the original Mac was released and Apple ][ and PC users bought one did they do so because they wanted a more irritating experience? Did Commodore 64 owners use GEOS because they wanted something more difficult than archaic CBM-DOS commands to load and use applications? No, they used them because they found the new Graphical User Interfaces were enticing and held the promise of an easier, more intuitive and therefore more pleasant experience. Shortcomings were found (they always are) but it was a better experience right out of the gate.
This can not be said for Gnome 3 or Unity, although the difference between Gnome 3 and 2.X are not as great as the Apple ][ vs Mac/MS-DOS or CBM-DOS vs GEOS examples. Having said that even migrating from KDE 3.X to KDE 4 was a better experience than Gnome 2 to 3. I went to Gnome because KDE 4.0 was driving me round the bend. I found its reorganization of the K menu annoying, it was easy to lose track of where you were (no tree to illutratet the menu heirarchy) and a widget had to be used to simulate being able to put anything on the desktop! Utter silliness, what was a desktop for if not to be able to place things on it. Add to these annoyances a task-bar that seemed to have a mind of its own, and a Dolphin as a file manager and KDE 4 made my computing life painful. I spent far too much time fighting the UI instead of doing productive work. It was easier (and made me more productive) to switch to Gnome.
Ahhh.. Nautilus, while not as flexible as Konqueror (multiple split horizontal & vertical panes AND tabs (Nautilus now it at least can do a split pane with Tabs)) but it was much cleaner than the Aquatic Mammal file manager and didn't waste my precious desk space with instant-previews and the like. Having a task bar at the top and bottom was visually a little different, but it was not irritating, did not impede productivity or get in the way and it took no getting used to.
People who switched from Windows to Linux also liked Gnome, and preferred it over KDE 4.0. Gnome 2.x is actually so familiar to Windows users that in cases of stiff resistance simply applying a Windows XP theme was enough to eliminate all complaints. It was still Gnome 2.X and still worked like Gnome 2.x, but because it looked like XP it was OK. Many of these folks had trouble grasping the multiple desktop idea until they saw COMPIZ. That rotating cube turned on many light-bulbs. Now they understood because they could see the multiple desktops as something 'real'. THe concept was clear and made sense. Wobbly windows are another favourite, perhaps because it gives the window a sense of substance, in any event it is much liked. These things may not immediately contribute to productivity, but they will over the long-haul simply because they make the whole computing experience more pleasant. This is something that Apple designers (still) understand, yet others seem to have trouble coming to grips with. What happens is we end up with things like the idea of using a joystick to steer your car, something that is not so much a soloution to a problem, but rather is in search of one.
Posted in Fedora 16: A GNOME lover's paradise
They have the silly thing in reverse...
Hmmmm.... not integrating things like IM and the like. Are they going to follow Microsoft and integrate the browser next? Speaking of "desktop", the new Gnome "desktop" isn't a desktop at all, it is more a tablet interface, and on a tablet I can see it being somewhat useful, but even my tablet interface could use a task-bar so I can see and rapidly switch between applications, and while they're at it how about overlapping windows and implementing multi-touch (pinch/expand gestures) to resize them? Does the Mac use the iOS UI? No? Do you think it will? Would it benefit the Mac userbase if it did? Look at Win 8.0 and its UI... more like Win 1.0 than anyuthing else... GEM (I'm dating myself) was more useful.... heck apply the computing power and modern graphics to GEOS and it would be pretty fair.
Carriers are bullies...
Like bullies the carriers can dish it out (dictate terms to customers) but can't take it (have terms dictated to them). The person who owns the customer relationship should be... wait for it.... the customer! Only then will the carriers and handset makers have to really work to provide products and services which will attract and retain loyal customers who are happy to pay for the service they receive.
Happy Xoom owner...
I have a Xoom, bought it last April just after release. It is a very functional device which is a pleasure to use and something I can write apps for without having to purchase another computer (Mac) on which to do the development work.
Honeycomb works well and unlike iOS every app on the device is not always on your table-top (you read the term here first), which leaves a nice uncluttered display with only the most frequently used application icons always visible. Less clutter = more focus.
Do I like Apple products? Yes, they are beautifully designed and well executed pieces. Would I purchase an Apple product? No. I disagree with their need for me to sign up to their online service (iTunes) and agree to a rather draconian 60+ page licence to do so. I disagree with their "we own and control the product you bought" attitude, and so I will never own an Apple from this era, but I do like them.
@Sean Baggaley 1; what was that line that Mr. Jobs was so fond of? Oh yes... "good artists copy, great artists steal". I think Android is as much a rip-off of iOS in the same way that the original Mac OS was a rip off of the Xerox Alto. There are subtle differences in the UI and major differences under the hood.
