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Agreed. The web browser in Android is much much better than the one in iOS.

Hmm. Funny then. Why does this review say differently?

Oh, I know. He must be an Apple shill.

Riiiiight.

I agree with you 100%. As a software developer I love it that Apple has popularized the slate format computer. More computers being sold equals more opportunities for me as a developer. I don't particularly like Apple's policies and that's why I'm bullish on Android and WebOS tablets.

I've quite shocked that Microsoft is having so much trouble in this space. They were almost there with pen computing but for some reason were never able to make the jump to touch computing.

In a recent blog entry, Russel Beattie did a pretty good job of explaining why WIMP (windows, icons, mouse, and pointer) doesn't work on a tablet.

I wrote up a blog post about using Sound eXchange (sox) to filter the sound here: http://www.russellbeattie.com/blog/linux-command-line-streaming-vuvuzela-filter , but the short version is this:

rec -d vol .5 equalizer 233 .1o -48 equalizer 466 .03o -48 equalizer 932 .02o -48 equalizer 1864 .2o -24 | play -d

or from a response to my post here: http://www.yusufk.za.net/?p=520

rec -d | play -d vol 0.9 bandreject 116.56 3.4q bandreject 233.12 3.4q bandreject 466.24 3.4q bandreject 932.48 3.4q bandreject 1864 3.4q

After testing, I feel the parameters could be tweaked a bit more - but these definitely make a difference.

-Russ

Whatever you do, don't ask it for a cup of tea while it's connected to the Internet. "Share and enjoy."

I guess he thought that they had had enough of putty knives

The best comment I've heard yet isn't on slashdot (not surprisingly) but from a blog by Russell Beattie...

We've gone from almost no advanced mobile browsers just a few years ago, to a ton of choices. It makes you wonder if Mozilla could do something else to enhance the mobile web, rather than re-creating the wheel with yet another browser that works on the phone.

With that being said, the article also says "Mobile Firefox will arrive later (certainly not before 2008)." That's a lot of time for them to come up with a great product, but it's also enough time for the Mobile hardware industry to completely turn around. Mobile phones are the new laptops people, it's true. Well, ok not yet but real soon now. Minimo (Mozilla's *apparently* failed attempt at a mobile browser) ran like hell on my HTC Wizard (Cingular 8125) but I believe by the time Mobile Firefox is available, things like plugins will be usable. They sure aren't right now...

I'll sure never buy an iPhone, but I thank Apple for motivating everyone else.

The Nokia 6600 has had the capability to run a web server for years.

Internet Connection + Programable OS = Potential for Web Server

It won't be long before we see watches and refridgerators with web servers, too.

Actually, it's not Notes that IBM was on about. It's called Workplace which is Notes' replacement. It's very nice:

http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1004514.htm l

It's in Java and therefore it works on the Linux platform.

A suicide is not a light subject to be throwing it around like it's some joke...
I'm as much of an Apple fanboy as the next guy (3 Macs at home, 2 ipods, 6 converts), but whose head is so far up Apple's ass that they joke about suicide?
Apple has its schedule, and whether they celebrate their 30th anniversary is irrelevant to me. Yes, it would be great and hip, but they already have an outstanding product lineup.

Also the poster for the iPhone looks pretty damn good.
link

So yeah, wake the fuck up whiners and clean the brown from your face.

Screenshots here:
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=13423
Interesting discussion here about how good Opera Mini really is or it is not:
http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1008770.htm l

I'm reminded of a long article, and a reply to that article, on the topic of the usefulness of Anonymous posting on web forums. (If you're worried about the content of the second link, it's actually a blog, not one of the anonymous forums themselves.)

• Noise. The mac mini will produce a lot. The only moving part on my server is the hard drive platters, and they are hermetically sealed and use fluid dynamic bearings. As hard drives go, they are whisper quiet. I've bought a lot of fans in my time, even some rather expensive ultra-quiet ones. Given enough time, all of them eventually get dust in the bearings and start making a racket.
• Size. The Mac mini is small, this thing is smaller.
  
• Heat. There is not a single fan running on my server. The hottest component by far is the hard drives.
  
• Power. This goes along with heat. The power supply's peak sustained output is 60W. I'd be suprised if the unit consumed more than 25W except during hard drive spin up.
  
• Battery back up lifetime. This goes along with power. A standard consumer UPS will run this thing for many hours. It has survived 3 hour power outages.
  

• Read - Russell Beattie
• Read - Macteens
• Read - White Girl Suicide Bomber
• Read - Macrumours forums
• Read - theory.isthereason
• Read - Macworld first impressions

I've recently switched to using OS X, and it'd be nice if Apple were to add an optional multi-button functionality to its laptops (beyond [ctrl][click], which requires two hands to be done comfortably). This program looks like a work-around, though I haven't tried it yet.

Personally, I never understood the big deal about one vs two buttons on the Mac. Apple has supported two buttons via any cheap 3rd party mouse for some time. While my 3-year-old has no problem using a two button mouse, my father in-law has never grasped the concept. I'm a sysadmin and some of the users I support get that deer-in-the-headlights look when I tell them to right-click (these are the same users that don't understand directory hierarchy... but thanks to things like Spotlight, they wont need me to find their files anymore).

So IMHO the one-button mouse is not as stupid and out-dated an idea as some seem to think. I wont be buying a Mighty Mouse, but Apple has provided an elegant solution that allows both power users and novices to work of the same computer.

Here's a review of the new mouse from a guy who rushed out and bought one this morning.

Ok so maybe you are not praying about it but it seems that Nokia has decided to change their ways. The 668* series Nokia phone is a step in the right direction.

Engadget is reporting that there's a Morse Text utility for Series 60 phones. the original story, Preview, download it here

I just picked up a cheap Tapwave Zodiac, and combined with a Palm-based emulator app called Little John Z (http://yoyofr92.free.fr/ljz/), it's a killer handheld emulation device. GB/GBC and NES ROMs play perfectly, and some Genesis and SNES games as well. The best thing is that it doubles the resolution for the games *and* adds antialiasing so no jaggies.

While waiting for the new PSP to be hacked (or for Sony to get a clue and open the platform up) go get yourself a Zodiac.

More thoughts on my weblog: http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1008484.htm l

-Russ

here's a quick hint for you: don't offer 'facts' if you can't check out your facts first before blathering on.

about Apple's warranty:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300 572/ note that they say "...should be installed by an Apple Authorized Service Provider." that's "should" not "only" by an AASP.

and http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=250 97/ "...Adding DRAM, VRAM or other user-installable upgrade or expansion products to an Apple computer is not considered a modification to that Apple product."

of course, that doesn't mean they _want_ you to do it; the case is difficult to open but it can be done if you're patient and careful: http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1008276.htm l/

[rant] it's NOT just about looks: the mini target audience is for "adders" and "switchers" who want a computer that just works, i.e. they want their software to work - iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, Safari/Mozilla, as opposed to learning how to be a systems admin to care for their Windows computer. sure you can get a PC for less, but then you still have to buy XP and all the other software. and it's still XP. They're buying the whole ball of wax for the "computing experience", a consistent, friendly, useful experience, so your statement, "...most of the software that most people want to run out there runs either on Linux..." is crap, since there's no decent equivalent to the iLife suite in Linux(or Windows, provide links if you can.) and due to the nature of Open Source, there will be differences(some significant) in UI for linux apps.
don't forget, all macs COME WITH iLife - you don't have to buy it, install it and learn five different ways to do the same thing(i'm thinking of the OS file browser provided to all apps and navigating directories in Explorer)...

you do non-technical readers/users a disservice by not providing proof of your statements - and your lack of experience with the Mac shows. the mac "experience" is something you realize when the computer and the software don't get in the way of what you're doing. i've got a dual-boot windowsXP/gentoo machine i built myself and several Macs. I've been using, programming, designing and destroying software professionally since 1985; i've used punch cards, TTYs, mainframes, supercomputers, PCs, i've designed my own user interfaces when there wasn't even X/OpenGL(remember the Sun1? the DEC Gigi? character graphics on a vt100? i do.) - so i have a lot of choices, my opinion? the user experience in windows is abysmal(sp?) when compared to the mac, so i'll take the mac every time. when you can get a complete, consistent set of programs that do what is included in iLife for Linux/FOSS, it _will_ be a great day indeed. until then you're saddled with inconsistent applications user-interfaces for both linux and windows. ( p.s. i like MythTV, Gimp(especially with the recent UI hacks...), blender, firefox/thunderbird and use fluxbox, but they're just short of the integration achieved on the mac.)[/rant]

here's a review of the mini that i feel is fair and balanced:
http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=659

to sum up the mini-memory issue: there are _many_ reviews elsewhere and it has been discussed at length in many forums that you can install your own memory, it's just if you break the lid doing it they won't replace it.

back on-topic: the EPIA series are able performers if you're not a demanding user(the dual cpu board displayed at Cebit looks promising); OK, yet another flavor of linux, why?.

a great place for EPIA info is: URL:http://mini-itx.com//

Far from it. This guy ended up passing on a Google interview. I have to admit the google hype is getting to me too. Desktop Search -- does anyone really use? It's not for linux for one, so that rules me out.

And what was with Google jerking around that blogger guy? First they told him to take down his blog, so he did. A few days, after the blogsphere freaked out, Eric & Larry where worried about "looking evil" (never mind acting) and told him it put it back up after being edit by Google, which, again, he did. Then a few days latter, the freakin' fired him anyway!

And why? Because he leaked company information in the form of "we've got some great products coming out & are going to have a great year!" Either that or they didn't like him pointing out that every "perk" they provide is targeted at keeping people at work. ANd when it came to things outside work -- such as healthcare -- they're mediocre at best. (Also with they claim to hire the top 1% but only offer salaries at the 50% range.)

Now they've taken over the Firefox homepage and, oh, and then teased the world with gmail, making it look like some exclusive frat, then the fucked up dejanews (which they had "rebranded" to google groups), and all along the way refusing to discuss blocks of "uncompliant information" in China.

So work there for what? To watch the people lucky enough to have signed on before the IPO buy their BMWs and new houses while I continue to drive a piece of shit? Because when I type a few words into an text input field it's show me a couple of webpages and a bunch of ads?

Pardon my french, but fuck that.

Here's an idea.

Learn how to use your OS before you ditch it.

It's a two-way street. Really.

First off, if your IE has the ability to do such things, you're a moron for letting it. Yes yes other /.'ers whine moan complain about bugs, but guess what? They happen. To the "best" of us. Double standards suck.

Second, under the assumption that you actually knew what you were doing, let's say that you were hit with a really nasty bit of spyware/adware that owned your system as you have outlined. You claim that you're running 10-12 pieces of anti-virus software to remove spyware. First off, you're an ignorant moron, second you have no concept of backing up, less you wouldn't be "losing" all of your data.

Yet the points STILL keep coming. "I have downloaded the latest versions of...GENTOO 4.3". Here's a hint, you're several releases behind. That's by far not the latest. So don't bother.

Oh, and if you're getting those isolinux errors that you describe, you've already answered your own question...your computer hardware is owned, isolinux tries to work, but fails, because your computer is a piece of crap.

Linux is not for you. Windows is not for you. Come back and whine when you have some room to speak about computing sucking all and being insecure. For now, it's clear that you're just a moron :)


(Now there's a piece of flaimbait if I've ever written one...but hey, it felt good, all right?)

just seek out the people who are *doing* things in areas you'd think might have money in them. like, people who's software make the most impact in some niche-subcultures... people that do stuff other people are too lazy to do have often a ton of ideas in the back pocket.

the problem with some genius level stuff is thought that there's no money in it :P(for example, in the mobile-phone soft biz there's *tons* of stuff happening but already I can see that some of them aren't gonna make be around after couple of years, a bubble of sorts is in the making, lot's of ideas but some lack the longevity, on the other hand a lot of these ideas are doable for cheap - but on the other hand lots of companies are going to 'make it').

(dunno really, finance some of russel's ideas.. )

-Russ

This is just more of the same.

When will this nonsense end? Remember the days where it didn't matter so much who was president? I mean sure, you liked one guy better than the other, but if you lost it wasn't the end of the world. I long for those days. When politics existed, but in general everything just worked. But now through combination of media and other factors everything is about ten times worse. I just want to go back to the days when I don't have to worry about government so much. I'm a computer programmer, I want to spend my time thinking about software and gizmos and things without worrying about people dying, lying, cheating, stealing and taking away civil liberties. So let's do our best to get back to those days.

Oh, and anyone who wants to make a joke about those days not ever existing, I present to you the 90's when the internet and technology was more important that politics. And that's just example 1.

• You listen to a song on the radio, and then search for a match from what your brain just heard (and was stored on a portable audio device) with a world database of songs.
  
• You see a person you recognize and are able to get their name, last time you talked to them, etc.
  
• You can take a look at all this data and have software come up with weird trends or coincidences ("Heinz! Your ketchup sells better a week after a victory by the local football team!").
  

I wont complain too much regarding the j2ee (or even j2se), but j2me..... I am telling you, I have 2 phones, and I can tell U it's not easy to find working java application for them. It's not like, "down load this if you have a java phone", it's more like "if you have this phone, download this, if you have that phone, download that, this application doesn't work with those phones bla bla bla. I have to spend to much time trying to find the right download for my phones. How the developers feels... I found an informative blog which sums it up.

Maybe the scripts you are writing will be wanted on the CEO's mobile phone, where there is a perl interpreter.

Nokia seems to think that there'd be more cool apps if there were more and better development tools. I really doubt that this is the problem.

I had the misfortune to work on a USB sync application for a Symbian device, and the development tools are a throwback to the early 1970s. Writing a simple "Hello World" application for Symbian requires hundreds of lines of C++, MMC, IDL, and makefile text.

You mention VC++ as the IDE. Yes, we used the VC++ text editor, but to actually compile a Symbian application requires a specially-customized gcc with no debugger support, and a half-dozen command-line apps with no documentation which have to be customized for every target platform. I'm in hell! I'm in HELL!!!

Think I'm making this up? Check out Russell Beattie's blog. This guy is one of the biggest Symbian boosters on the planet, and even he admits the situation is untenable.

Jeremy Zawodny on this:

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Russell Beattie on this:
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Google is entering the "get rich" phase.

You can get dropped from service (fegettabout gettin' paid) any time without recourse.

Oh, did I mention they have some laywers that probably were cast from the same mold as them RIAA thugs?

Check it out: DynamicObjects Spaces

The mistake is thinking that Palm's decision has only to do with Microsoft - granted M$ now has a 20% share and rising fast of the PDA market, but I don't think that Palm cares much about that market any more. Palm's heading wireless and the competition is more likely going to be Symbian (EPOC) and Java more than Microsoft.

I say this because Palm is going to be launching their 5.0 OS in the first week in February, but despite the addition of BeOS, they're not going to be adding multimedia stuff and instead are concentrating on wireless connectivity and the ARM processor. They've prioritized, and personally, I agree with their priorities.

Just like Handspring's Treo, Palm is thinking about betting the farm on connected devices. Phones, PDAs with WiFi, etc. They'll have to have tremendous battery life and be very secure, etc. but that's one thing that Microsoft doesn't have, so at least this plain is wide open.

I submitted some "research" I did about this to Slashdot a few days ago but it got turned down, you can read it here.

-Russ