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Apple WWDC 2014: Tim Cook Unveils Yosemite

An anonymous reader writes "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has started, and OS X 10.10, officially named Yosemite, and iOS 8 have been officially unveiled. Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, also highlighted iCloud Drive. Although a little late to the party, Apple hopes to compete with the likes of Dropbox and Google Drive."

411 comments

  1. Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've just finished watching this. There were so many new features introduced that I have no idea how other companies are going to compete with this. I bet that one year in the future, they won't have even 25% of those features matched.

    1. Re:Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Too many features take away from the real user experience, IMHO. Too many users are caught up in their devices and not concerned enough with how their devices can be used to enhance their lives instead of owning their lives.

    2. Re:Newness overload by tuppe666 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I've just finished watching this. There were so many new features introduced that I have no idea how other companies are going to compete with this. I bet that one year in the future, they won't have even 25% of those features matched.

      I can only imagine this is sarcasm, many of these features are 8 years old or more on competing platforms. Widgets; Transparency, Cloud integration, (Real) Cross Platform tools (not single Platform, and updated mail and browser application oooh. those are the broad stokes...Look over there they now use Bing, Microsoft outbidded Google Apple users will be so happy.

    3. Re:Newness overload by NotDrWho · · Score: 2

      I almost came in my pants watching it. But then, I have a very specific GUI improvement fetish that most (especially YOU, Dr. Swartz!) just don't understand.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    4. Re:Newness overload by mspohr · · Score: 0

      Wow!
      I just can't believe how Apple is leading the pack! I can now use Bing!
      This is a real breakthrough. It will take years for all of those other lamers to catch up.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    5. Re:Newness overload by jythie · · Score: 2

      It depends on how critical the new features are. Chances are many of the new features will only apply to a certain number of use cases, so it could be that they are spreading the features around, thus it would not be 'too many' for any given individual.

    6. Re: Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      Widgets are an Apple innovation. Introduced in 2006 with Tiger. Before Windows and Linux. Troll harder.

    7. Re: Newness overload by michelcolman · · Score: 0

      I was going to point out the fact that Apple stole the idea of Widgets from Konfabulator, but then I realised you were obviously being ironic.

    8. Re:Newness overload by jovius · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Apple's strategy is not no overwhelm, but to keep the users on an IV drip. And it works; they seem to listen. It stirs up emotions from side to side. It keeps the old users using the products. And more and more it becomes easier for the users of the other platforms to make a switch. Just when the same features have grown old Apple introduces them with their own extra twist and as a companions of their design. There's nothing wrong with that, and judging from the bottom line many of those features were not profitably executed.

      Anyway it's not about the OS anymore, because anybody is able to seamlessly mix operating systems and their native applications together now. It's about the experience and the integration.

    9. Re: Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Widgets? You mean Desk Accessories?

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desk_accessory

    10. Re:Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well then that isn't exactly a new feature and no one should give a shit if they bring them back. The concept is old and been done by everyopne at this point.

    11. Re:Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL, you really are a twat :)

    12. Re: Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      2006? Both Linux and windows had widgets implementations in the 1990s.

      I remember having cpu/memory widgets and the conpulsory mouse following eyes in the desktok of my slackware linux instalation in 97. The linux widgets normally requred you to edit countless obscure config files (like everything on linux in the 90s) but it was there.

      And Microsoft added widgets to Windows 95 with the launch of IE 4.0. It was a very slow, heavy, buggy and crash-prone solution (it used IE rendering engine to draw the desktop, its icons and widgets).

    13. Re: Newness overload by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Just because it's simplistic doesn't make it different, better or new.

      Or well, guess they had "crap on a separate screen" if that make it any better somehow.

      In Workbench I had some stuff in one screen and other things in other screens. Guess you was free to call your program a "tool" if you wanted too..

    14. Re:Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think Apple listens. I think they observe. Apple never does user acceptance testing but by having so much tied down and access to how people use their devices, they can see what goes wrong in the human-computer interaction and work to fix it.

      An example is FCP X. If I wish to move a piece of video in FCP 6 I pick it up, move it up a track (or somewhere free) shrink the timeline down so it all fits, highlight everything else that needs to move to fill the gap, move everything else to fill the gap and drop the video back down. WIth practice I'm quite fast at it, but it's the same moves over and over again, all the time, just to exercise a "what if we put that over there" thought. In FCP X, I pick it up and I move it - everything jumps out of the way for me. I think Apple just watched editors - so proud of their speedy repetitious motions - and thought 'there must be a better way'.

    15. Re:Newness overload by BasilBrush · · Score: 2

      Yes you can use Bing!, more significantly you also have the choice to use DuckDuckGo, the search engine that doesn't track you.

    16. Re:Newness overload by biojayc · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Many of the iOS features mentioned are already in Android and have been for some time.

    17. Re: Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, at least you don't make overly broad generalizations.

    18. Re: Newness overload by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      so let me guess DuckDuckGo motto is do no evil?

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    19. Re:Newness overload by tsa · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      We know. But now they're done well.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    20. Re:Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've just finished watching this. There were so many new features introduced that I have no idea how other companies are going to compete with this. I bet that one year in the future, they won't have even 25% of those features matched.

      The Reality Distortion Field(tm) lives on I see.

    21. Re:Newness overload by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Usually this logic is used to justify removing NEEDED features and complexity in order to appeal to the mouth breather sect..or to remove features that conflict with a new business model, making the software more user hostile.

    22. Re: Newness overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Active desktop: the best way to leave gross porn running on your roommate's machine.. It was about the only useful function it had.

    23. Re:Newness overload by epyT-R · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Fuck your experience and your integration. I'm trying to get work done. These 'User Experience' people are ruining desktop computing..

    24. Re: Newness overload by macs4all · · Score: 0

      2006? Both Linux and windows had widgets implementations in the 1990s.

      And Apple had them on the Mac as "Desk Accessories" in 1984, and even a primitive form on the Lisa in 1983, bitch.

    25. Re: Newness overload by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      We'll leave that motto to Google.

      If DuckDuckGo does ever follow Google towards the dark side, we can swap again.

    26. Re: Newness overload by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      1990's?

      My Mac 512k had Desk Accessories in 1984.

      Get off my lawn.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    27. Re:Newness overload by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      An awful lot of those new features already exist on other devices; other handset makers only have to make up for the few that don't.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  2. It's about time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    The current implementation of iCloud is terrible.
     
    And Slashdot Beta still sucks.

  3. Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista! by tuppe666 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Widgets - (Store Only) how Retro; Linux users are like WTF and Vista users finally can have a laugh!

    Transparency +Dark Theme...Seriously WTF as a member of Gnome Looks Dark themes group seriously...Seriously though rock like its window compositing on linux in 2006...Again Vista Users are now very confused.

    Safari(With Bing?) Mail improvements, More Lock in/Cloud(At a price). Single platform...slight at google, costly cloud applications, even with a few tweaks...like a clone of the awesomebar, and a nice payout from Bing, an updated engine...we have yet to see anything like Steve jobs prediction...no wonder he looks sad http://blog.urbanbohemian.com/... [urbanbohemian.com]

    The only...only positive thing here is free upgrades

  4. Tired of one year release cycle by bradrum · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am tired of this every year release cycle. Wish they would take a couple of years and swing for the fences on their software.

    1. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Multi-year release schedules make for big changes but don't allow you to check back with your users that they are happy with the direction.

      e.g. Windows Vista - 6 years. People hated it.
      Windows 7 - 2 years. Better than Vista.
      Windows 8 - 3 years. People hated it.
      Windows 8.1 - 1 year. Significant improvements on Windows 8.

    2. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by bradrum · · Score: 1

      Constantly evaluating wether a user likes the changes you have made makes for mediocre software. Apple has made some huge changes, System 7, OS X, iMac, and iPhone.all huge risks and has great success with those. Sure big failures are baked in there too, but they Apple has shone when they have taken big chances.

      Microsoft dedicates itself to customers that don't like many changes.

    3. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      I actually prefer it over the windows release method of every few years dropping a steaming pile on us, than taking incremental updates to fix what they broke

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    4. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by Threni · · Score: 1

      Allow me to make a small change:

      Windows Vista - 6 years. People hated it.
      Windows 7 - 2 years. Better than Vista.
      Windows 8 - 3 years. People hated it.
      Windows 8.1 - 1 year. People still hated it.

      There's no point in going to 7 to 8 as it offers nothing (except for the shitty "metro" thing which nobody wants). People were happy with XP and only grudgingly upgraded to 7; they'd be happy with 7 forever. Stop changing shit for the sake of it; it's getting old now.

    5. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by Wovel · · Score: 1

      Why do you care? They aren't charging by release. If this were Microsoft where they charged by the release you would have a point. If this were Gogogle, where the new release had almost no chance of running on your current device, you might also have a point. This is Apple and therefore you have no point.

    6. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I just want them to fix the bugs, and they're adding new features instead of doing that. Same bugs from leopard are still there.

    7. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Why does it matter in either case? Don't want it, don't upgrade.

    8. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by tsa · · Score: 1

      That would indeed be nice. Messages on the Mac is still pretty bad, and the handling of invitations for Calendar is abysmal if you choose not to use Apple's Mail but another email client (Thunderbird in my case because that has some features I really like that Mail misses).

      --

      -- Cheers!

    9. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by AlexSasha · · Score: 1

      Yes - agreed. Instead of Windows 8/8.1 - release SP2 for Win 7 instead!

    10. Re:Tired of one year release cycle by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      Then tell them about the bugs: http://radar.apple.com/

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  5. Yosemite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Confusion with the Blue & White G3 codename in 3... 2... 1...

    1. Re:Yosemite by kthreadd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't think that's going to be a problem. 99+ % of Mac users probably have no idea what a blue and white G3 is, and the rest knows enough to differentiate the two.

    2. Re:Yosemite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Think about it less in terms of people and more in terms of what a search engine will find for you.

      Right now, when I type in "yosemite mac" into a Google search, I get 4 news stories from today's WWDC and the fifth match is the "Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White)" Wikipedia page. In a few hours, those WWDC news articles will fade. Fast forward to 18 months from now, and you will get an unholy mish-mash of results from that somewhat ambiguous search term.

      Apple will probably regret this name overlap, if not at the top of the organization, then at the bottom where they have to deal with customer service as a daily concern. I can just picture someone at the Apple store saying "I did some research on Google and these new Yosemite Macs won't run anything past 10.3! But you're selling 10.10 right next to them! You're ripping me off! I'm clueless!" (Maybe that last part wouldn't be out loud, but it would certainly be understood.)

      Not knowing the difference in a mix of search results is exactly the problem.

    3. Re:Yosemite by Known+Nutter · · Score: 1

      That's a bit of a stretch.

      --
      Beware of the Leopard.
    4. Re:Yosemite by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 2

      Forget code names, they did it with an actual software title with AppleWorks for the Mac and AppleWorks for the Apple ][. Somehow, we survived.

    5. Re:Yosemite by Shadowmist · · Score: 2

      Think about it less in terms of people and more in terms of what a search engine will find for you.

      Right now, when I type in "yosemite mac" into a Google search, I get 4 news stories from today's WWDC and the fifth match is the "Power Macintosh G3 (Blue & White)" Wikipedia page. In a few hours, those WWDC news articles will fade. Fast forward to 18 months from now, and you will get an unholy mish-mash of results from that somewhat ambiguous search term.

      Apple will probably regret this name overlap, if not at the top of the organization, then at the bottom where they have to deal with customer service as a daily concern. I can just picture someone at the Apple store saying "I did some research on Google and these new Yosemite Macs won't run anything past 10.3! But you're selling 10.10 right next to them! You're ripping me off! I'm clueless!" (Maybe that last part wouldn't be out loud, but it would certainly be understood.)

      Not knowing the difference in a mix of search results is exactly the problem.

      What you're not taking into account is that people will be talking, blogging, flaming, etc about OS X Yosemitie from now until the next decade. That's certainly going to push it far above any posts about a machine that's been out of production for almost two decades now.

    6. Re:Yosemite by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      No, it's okay. The spelling's the same, but the pronunciation is different. The old one was "yo-sem-it-ee" but the new one is "yo-sum-ite".

    7. Re:Yosemite by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      Yeah, because every tech rag on the Internet isn't going to be writing articles about the new OS for the next 5 months, and using every trick they know to raise them up in Google PageRank.

      The PowerMac G3 results are going to shrink to irrelevance in a matter of days. For example, it's Wednesday morning now, and I just repeated your search: the Wikipedia article is now #9, and next week it will be off the first page.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  6. A new programming language by eminencja · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yosemite will feature a new icon set. A bigger news is Swift, a new, safe programming language with type inference. Anyone who is able to find a language reference manual (supposedly available on iBooks) will get a lot of mod points.

    1. Re:A new programming language by ArcadeMan · · Score: 4, Informative
    2. Re:A new programming language by tbuddy · · Score: 1
    3. Re:A new programming language by astrokid · · Score: 4, Informative
      --

      Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
    4. Re: A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a sugarcoded lock-in platform trap, just like 'Visual Basic' or Sun's 'Java'.

    5. Re:A new programming language by dasacc22 · · Score: 1

      Here's what I found to show language basics, but I too would like to see something more in depth that I can read for free online. https://developer.apple.com/sw... https://developer.apple.com/li...

    6. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yippee.

    7. Re:A new programming language by MouseR · · Score: 1

      Will be available today but App Store not updated for the Swift manual.

      XCode6 preview includes a syntactical guide (probably the same as what will be on iBooks).

      10 minutes into it and I cringe at a specific feature:

      Support for any unicode glyphs as variable/function names. Down to emoticons.

      That will bode well when I need to use altavista to translate the chinese sources into something I can read.

    8. Re:A new programming language by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      Any idea how to download it without iTunes?

    9. Re:A new programming language by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 4, Interesting

      >A bigger news is Swift, a new, safe programming language with type inference.

      I just took a quick look through the swift language manual on iBooks.
      I like it. It seems to lose some of the annoying features of objective-c and bring in some of the nice features of python.

      E.G. for i in 0..3 { stuff }; or: for i in list_of_things { stuff }; like python.
      and tuples allowing multiple return values, like in python
      and it gets rid of the annoying square bracket method call syntax of objective C, replacing it with normal dot notation. classinstance.methodname()
      and passing functions as arguments like fancy languages
      and getting rid of the need for semicolons, like python
      and type inference from literals in variable declarations.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    10. Re:A new programming language by eminencja · · Score: 1

      Looks somewhat similar to JavaScript/TypeScript. They took parens out of conditionals (so you say if condition {} ). Plus is still used for concatenation and addition. (Maybe that's not a problem, unlike in JavaScript.) Wonder if they will support Swift in Safari (with possible JavaScript generation for non-Apple browsers)

    11. Re:A new programming language by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Support for any unicode glyphs as variable/function names. Down to emoticons.

      Just because it's possible doesn't mean that people generally will. XML tag names allow pretty much any Unicode character that wouldn't cause a parsing error, or would be impossible to distinguish. But people don't generally use emoticons as tag names.

    12. Re:A new programming language by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      Any idea how to download it without iTunes?

      You don't. That would break the whole idea of vendor lock-in, wouldn't it?

    13. Re:A new programming language by otherniceman · · Score: 1

      Yosemite will feature a new icon set. A bigger news is Swift, a new, safe programming language with type inference. Anyone who is able to find a language reference manual (supposedly available on iBooks) will get a lot of mod points.

      Here you go

      https://itunes.apple.com/gb/bo...

    14. Re:A new programming language by Stele · · Score: 0

      I like it. It seems to lose some of the annoying features of objective-c and bring in some of the nice features of python.
      E.G. for i in 0..3 { stuff }; or: for i in list_of_things { stuff }; like python.
      and tuples allowing multiple return values, like in python
      and getting rid of the need for semicolons, like python

      Too bad they didn't just invest their energy into compiling Python to their runtime.

    15. Re:A new programming language by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      >Too bad they didn't just invest their energy into compiling Python to their runtime.

      Agreed. But there is a performance trade off.
      They should have both. Python for a super good language and swift for a faster runtime.
      Objective-C is just horrible and needs to be put to sleep.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    16. Re:A new programming language by John+Bokma · · Score: 2
    17. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      E.G. for i in 0..3 { stuff }; or: for i in list_of_things { stuff }; like python.

      You can do the latter in Objective-C. For the former, not sure if you can auto-gen an int array, but my God how much harder is "for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++)" than "for i in 0..3"?

       

      and passing functions as arguments like fancy languages

      Have you seriously never passed a selector as an argument in Objective-C? It's hard to for me to recall how little experience it took for that to happen. You can also pass function pointers, if that's what you mean.
       
      You sound like you don't know what you're doing, and are too caught up in tiny syntax shit as opposed to learning the languages well.

    18. Re:A new programming language by John+Bokma · · Score: 1

      You can read documentation etc. online: https://developer.apple.com/li... via https://developer.apple.com/sw...

    19. Re:A new programming language by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      if i want to do

      var [poop pile] = 4;

      then by god i should be allowed to

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    20. Re:A new programming language by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      I've written code in many languages on many environments over the past 37 years.

      But I've written Objective-C for 4 days, since getting myself a macbook last week. I found it's syntax compared to other languages to be quite non-intuitive and harder to pick up. So I'm no expert in Objective-C, but I've got lots of experience in picking up new languages. Objective-C seems to want lots of boilerplate. I appreciate it doesn't have some of the ludicrous complexity of C++, but the syntax is just ugly. I didn't like Smalltalk either for the same reason and they seem to share some idioms.

      So today Apple dangled Swift in front of us and I thought it would be nicer to use that to develop applications in.

      For general purpose programming, I usually use Python for it's cross platform goodness and it's nice language.

      >are too caught up in tiny syntax shit
      Tiny syntax shit matters as much as macroscopic language semantics. Good languages get both right.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    21. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The thing about tiny syntax issues is that "right" is in most cases completely subjective. For instance, you're making comparisons with Python as if Python is a good language, while I and many others think it's an awful language and I only use it when it's out of my hands -- e.g., on servers I don't own. If I had to write anything substantial in it (say, 20k+ L.O.C.), I'd probably just find another job instead.
       
      One other thing is that if small syntax changes are the main reasons for using a language, it's probably either going to stay niche or be a fad language. Obviously in this case Apple can push it on people, but unless they start to require it, it's likely going to stay limited mostly to newbies and people who always go with whatever's the latest trend.

    22. Re:A new programming language by theArtificial · · Score: 1
      --
      Man blir trött av att gå och göra ingenting.
    23. Re:A new programming language by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Now you're just trolling.

      Go build straw men somewhere else or read the postings you're responding to.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    24. Re:A new programming language by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      And it is pretty bad. All the good features of the language seem to be taken almost verbatim from Scala, Kotlin and other forerunners. On the other hand, they still manage to fuck things up. Let me just quote parts of the language guide:

      "Immutability has a slightly different meaning for arrays, however. You are still not allowed to perform any action that has the potential to change the size of an immutable array, but you are allowed to set a new value for an existing index in the array. This enables Swift’s Array type to provide optimal performance for array operations when the size of an array is fixed."

      i.e. Swift arrays that are "immutable" actually aren't. Way to rewrite the dictionary. But wait, it gets worse. Here's for some schizophrenia.

      "Structures and Enumerations Are Value Types. A value type is a type that is copied when it is assigned to a variable or constant, or when it is passed to a function. Swift’s Array and Dictionary types are implemented as structures."

      So far so good. I always liked collections that don't pretend to be any more than an aggregate of values, and copy semantics is a good thing in that context (so long as you still provide a way to share a single instance). But wait, it's all lies:

      "If you assign an Array instance to a constant or variable, or pass an Array instance as an argument to a function or method call, the contents of the array are not copied at the point that the assignment or call takes place. Instead, both arrays share the same sequence of element values. When you modify an element value through one array, the result is observable through the other. For arrays, copying only takes place when you perform an action that has the potential to modify the length of the array. This includes appending, inserting, or removing items, or using a ranged subscript to replace a range of items in the array"

      Swift, a language that is naturally designed to let you shoot your foot in the most elegant way possible, courtesy of Apple.

    25. Re:A new programming language by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 0
    26. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scala is garbage and every language will "take" features from Scala because it includes practically every programming language feature ever imagined even if they make absolutely no sense together (ie. implicits and subtyping). Using the JVM is obviously a non-starter anyways.

    27. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Python is slow as molasses and very hard to optimize to an acceptable degree without making significant changes to the language. They also want static typing since they're not fucking idiots.

    28. Re:A new programming language by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I didn't say that it takes all features from Scala, just some of them (and the corresponding syntax). And of course there's no JVM in sight here.

    29. Re:A new programming language by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Python is super handy if you need to solve problems with a quick program you only run a few times. The time spent writing it is longer than the time spent running it.

      If you're writing code to be run billions of times, then using a compiled language that is slower to develop in would be a better choice.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    30. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ahh my mutable friend.
      You will vary to the end.
      But closer to my heart.
      Are these immutable tarts.

    31. Re:A new programming language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow your complaint about immutability here and in the discussion about the language specifically is really really beating a horse for no good reason. The immutability of the array as a whole and the content of each slot is orthogonal; you can have an immutable array of mutable objects, or an immutable array of immutable objects, or a mutable array of immutable objects (although that creates gotchas on grow and shrink ops on the array).

      Orthogonality is usually good, and the swift approach makes sense when you consider the memory layout in a box and arrow diagram SICP-style (which, given that the types you are complaining about are very Scheme-like, is a good place to start reading; nobody familiar with RnRS | n >= 3 or Common Lisp is remotely likely to be confused at all about the semantics of swift arrays).

      If anything, you could raise a doc bug asking for greater clarity and more examples. http://bugreporter.apple.com/ will get you better results than whining on /. Really. I'm not going to raise the bug for you (I don't even agree there is one).

    32. Re:A new programming language by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      The immutability of the array as a whole and the content of each slot is orthogonal

      Not really, at least not in the conventional definition of immutability. The array owns its "slots", so if an array is immutable, then so are the slots. The term for an array that can be mutated but cannot have its size changed is "fixed-size array" or something like that.

      Note also that Swift definition of immutability agrees with mine for everything except for arrays. For example, if you declare an immutable dictionary variable with "let", it's truly and fully immutable - you can neither add new entries, nor change a value associated with an existing key. Similarly, if you define your own struct and declare an immutable variable of that struct type, then all fields are immutable. Clearly, immutability is meant to refer to the owned contents of the object - except for arrays, where it only refers to the type.

      And this has nothing to do with memory layout. If they want their arrays to be mutable but fixed-size so that they can be optimally allocated on the stack, that's fine, just don't call them immutable and don't improperly reuse the syntax that's used to declare actual immutable object. Better yet, split fixed-size arrays and dynamically-sized lists into two distinct types with a common interface, like almost every other OO language out there already does (like array vs ArrayList in Java) - then the two different types can have two different semantics, and there won't be any need for magic.

  7. what about MS by synapse7 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    and skydrive, don't forget skydrive.

    1. Re:what about MS by synapse7 · · Score: 1

      Looks like it's now onedrive..

    2. Re:what about MS by just_another_sean · · Score: 1

      F'in Brits! :-)

      --
      Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
  8. Prediction by njnnja · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not sure which of these technologies will be successful in the coming months, but I am certain that before the year is over we will see many job postings requiring 3 years experience with Swift.

    1. Re: Prediction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3 years experience - for an unpaid full time internship.

    2. Re:Prediction by schlachter · · Score: 1

      Swift coding ability required.
      Check.

      --
      My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
  9. I think I'm something of a psychic by marsu_k · · Score: 2, Funny

    I usually like to think that the physical reality we live in is much more interesting than the supernatural world some people seem to live in. However, I have a precognition. Within seconds, we'll have SuperKendall and BasilBrush telling us how iCloud Drive is much superior to the current offerings. Coming in 3, 2, 1...

    1. Re:I think I'm something of a psychic by Wovel · · Score: 1

      It probably is for iOS users since it allows direct access to the app filespace without copying. If services can do that via extensions (maybe they can, hard to say), then that advantage won't last long. iCloud Drive is cheaper than DropBox and 3.99 a month for 200GB is pretty good.

      There, now they don't have to.

    2. Re:I think I'm something of a psychic by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      ...and I suppose, paying a monthly fee or not, there are clients for Android and Linux too, right?

    3. Re:I think I'm something of a psychic by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      I'm hurt that I'm not considered enough of an apple fanboy to merit mention. :(

      *goes to cry into his pile of daring fireball shirts*

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    4. Re:I think I'm something of a psychic by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      There there, don't feel bad, have an apple. :)

  10. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by armanox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My gripe is the flat look that's getting pushed into OS X. I'm seriously tired of this plague. I happen to like my 3D composited desktops.

    --
    I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
  11. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, we get it, you hate Apple. Thanks for the semi-coherent input.

  12. Off-topic Maybe by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    Swift and its replacement for OpenGL a great but different topic. I am not sure yet why platform specific tools will make a difference when cross platform...is the new platform, especially when Android is now the worlds number one platform after unseating Windows last year, and chasm between it and iOS is set to grow. Personally I'm waiting for the news of proprietary extensions certain BSD codebases by Apple...again, with the inevitable defending by fruit lovers.

    1. Re:Off-topic Maybe by bradrum · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As someone who has worked on several cross platform toolkits I can say that

      "cross platform...is the new platform" == marketing bullshit

    2. Re:Off-topic Maybe by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      If the numbers shown in the Keynote are true, only 10% of Android users run Kit Kat. Most users are stuck with versions that are three or four years old. Given that software updates are sometimes controlled by the cellphone companies, it's not a good situation either for those users.

      And telling them to "install cyanogenmod" will get you blank stares. A phone is just a tool for most people, not something to mess around with.

    3. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Brit_in_the_USA · · Score: 1

      Doesn't matter so much any more. ~99% of active (in use) android devices run v2.3 or above and so get the latest version of Google play services, updated every few weeks (not once a year). Google seems to be pointing developers to target the play services API's in place of newer OS level API's.

    4. Re:Off-topic Maybe by mean+pun · · Score: 2

      Why do you think Swift is platform specific? I think it is will almost certainly not be; Apple will be more interested in getting the new language adopted rather than locking in people. Therefore at least the core language is very likely to be neutral. In fact, there is a pretty good chance it will be available through the llvm channels, and have a BSD license.

      Metal is more likely to be platform specific because the goal is to give more direct access to the hardware.

    5. Re:Off-topic Maybe by dasacc22 · · Score: 1

      kit kat distribution is 8.5% and those numbers are published by Google https://developer.android.com/... As an android developer, I can say that targetting 4.0.3 and higher isn't too big of a deal, regardless of how a user feels about the version they are on. Many new features developed are thrown into the support libraries that end up packaged with the app, and its a rarity to come across something needed from a higher api that's not backported. As an android user, my primary phone is stuck on 4.3 (galaxy nexus) and it really doesn't matter.

    6. Re:Off-topic Maybe by jythie · · Score: 2

      In a way, it is almost preferable that they start taking away the illusion of cross platform tools and be honest about it.

    7. Re:Off-topic Maybe by larry+bagina · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Cross platform is wearing three condoms and then butt fucking, to abstract away the differences between men and women. It's usually a shitty experience for the user (though some people seem to prefer it).

      --
      Do you even lift?

      These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    8. Re:Off-topic Maybe by mrchaotica · · Score: 2

      Google seems to be pointing developers to target the play services API's in place of newer OS level API's.

      You say this as if it were a good thing, but it isn't.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    9. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Apple Developer Page - https://developer.apple.com/swift/
      Welcome to Swift (Guides and Reference) - https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/welcome_to_swift
      The Swift Programming Language (iBooks Store) - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-swift-programming-language/id881256329?mt=11

    10. Re:Off-topic Maybe by bradrum · · Score: 1

      Lol unfortunately that is an apt metaphor. I would say it is also like making love while wearing full body latex condoms (the kind in the naked gun) smothering any of the uniqueness that different hardware and their APIs might give you.

    11. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      It's time for Apple to move on to a new language, as Objective-C bears the marks of having evolved over many years, and still suffers from many of the design snafus of C.

      Yet whatever language they move to must be completely compatible with Objective-C, such that the existing libraries still work, and existing projects can simply add new classes in the new language and keep the existing stuff in Obj-C.

      On top of that there are various design patterns that Apple uses and recommend, that are fully supported in the language.

    12. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's time for Apple to move on to a new language, as Objective-C bears the marks of having evolved over many years, and still suffers from many of the design snafus of C.

      Design snafus such as that pesky performance.

    13. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Cross platform is wearing three condoms and then butt fucking, to abstract away the differences between men and women. It's usually a shitty experience for the user (though some people seem to prefer it).

      This best describes every HTML app ever.

    14. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Objective-C bears the marks of having evolved over many years, and still suffers from many of the design snafus of C.

      Almost everything that is wrong with Objective-C is right in plain C. In that aspect, it has a lot in common with C++.

    15. Re:Off-topic Maybe by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      its not even that, its that SOME phones still "just work" with older versions without issues where putting the new version on it would cripple it, be it lag or battery drain due to the hardware. I would much rather have a tablet or phone that still work fairly well even if its dated (I have an ipod touch first gen still working, as well as android tablets on 2.4 4.0 and kitkat) Each device does its job just fine.

      Now on the other hand all my friends with iphones generally complain when the 2nd update rolls out as it makes the phones unbearable, I mean I guess it forces people to buy new iphones but why get rid of a perfectly working piece of hardware because the vendor wants you to upgrade??

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    16. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Bullshit. There is plenty wrong with plain C. For example there is no defending fall-through by default between cases in switch statements.

    17. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Carewolf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why do you think Swift is platform specific? I think it is will almost certainly not be; Apple will be more interested in getting the new language adopted rather than locking in people. Therefore at least the core language is very likely to be neutral. In fact, there is a pretty good chance it will be available through the llvm channels, and have a BSD license.

      Objective-C is not technically platform specific either, it just is in practice, because there is no room or reason for yet another wannabe C++-killer. There are already plenty of languages better than C++, another one wont make a difference, so Swift will be like Objective-C, Apple only.

    18. Re:Off-topic Maybe by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

      I am not sure yet why platform specific tools will make a difference when cross platform...is the new platform, especially when Android is now the worlds number one platform after unseating Windows last year, and chasm between it and iOS is set to grow.

      Sigh. One of the complaints about learning to code for OS X and iOS was that a developer had to learn Objective-C to use Cocoa especially after Carbon (and hence Java) was deprecated. Swift seems to be a much easier to language to use. How much of it will actually be easier to use, developers will find out when they start to use it.

      Personally I'm waiting for the news of proprietary extensions certain BSD codebases by Apple...again, with the inevitable defending by fruit lovers.

      The BSD license allows this. Get over it. Especially since the BSD license means that Apple has no obligation to release any source code. Yet they release Darwin year after year. Yet Apple contributes to other open source projects year after year.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    19. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cross platform is wearing three condoms and then butt fucking, to abstract away the differences between men and women. It's usually a shitty experience for the user (though some people seem to prefer it).

      That is good, and funny, but then we could say "platform-specific" is:

      - buttfucking the homeless dude (its the only "approved path"!) who hasn't showered in 6 weeks.

      or maybe

      - fucking each town slut individually, one at a time, without any protection

      Good cross-platform is a nice four or fivesome, carefully choosing who you are partnering with; partners
      are vetted beforehand (by you, not the vendor).

      Bad cross-platform is being triple-penetrated against your will.

    20. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but those are tiny wrongs. Things that try to duct-tape HLL concepts over such a low level language are, however, full of huge wrongs.

    21. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Bullshit. There is plenty wrong with plain C. For example there is no defending fall-through by default between cases in switch statements.

      There is plenty wrong with C...but that is such a minor thing, and useful many times.

      Likewise, one of the great things about C is it does not "defend" instead it assumes the programmer is not an idiot.

      For working like the machine, a fall-through case statement is fitting.

      You can say code for a programmer and code for a machine are different,
      but it is silly to act like that is something C deliberately chose, rather than a natural consequence
      of how machines work.

      Pray tell, how many assembly languages have "switch" operations?

      What about case statements requiring an integer value? That would seem a much more credible problem.

      There is a lot more wrong with C, but that is a bullshit example, and simply a compiler warning.

      Why are you not using a compiler that warns about that? Some compilers even have default warning, and you
      have to put a comment (or #pragma or command-line option to disable the warning) that a case statement really
      should fall through.

      A shoddy cratsman blames his tools. Compiler warnings are configurable, and lint tools are your friend.

    22. Re:Off-topic Maybe by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Installing an iOS upgrade is optional for the user. It is not updated without the user's consent.

    23. Re:Off-topic Maybe by immaterial · · Score: 2

      "Yet another wannabe C++ killer"? You say that like Objective-C is some new kid on the block that is out gunning for C++. Neither of those is true - Objective-C has been around as long as C++ and nobody is trying to use it to take out C++. In fact, they work together quite well (even in the same source files) should you need to do so. I do agree that Swift will probably ultimately be Apple-only, but that's the status quo with Objective-C and doesn't seem to have caused a serious lack of developer attention so I don't see that as an issue.

    24. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. There is plenty wrong with plain C. For example there is no defending fall-through by default between cases in switch statements.

      In the "Powerful" section in Apple's sample code, there's an example of a switch statement in Swift. The example doesn't have break statements, so I guess Swift switch statements don't have fall-through.

    25. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... there is no defending fall-through by default between cases in switch statements.

      Bullshit. Lookup "break"

    26. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 0

      There is plenty wrong with C...but that is such a minor thing, and useful many times.

      Case fall through by default is NEVER useful. The most common way it's used is for having multiple case labels for a single block of code. Which is better implemented as a list of case labels rather than fall-through. As seen in Pascal for example.

      In the ugly approach of having one section of code in one case falling through to then execute the next case as well, that would better be done by packaging up the common code into a sperate function and calling it from both places. Or if you are absolutely determined, by having a keyword to cause the fall-through in those very rare cases where it could be done.

      Having it as default behaviour is a candidate for the most obvious bad design in computer language history.

      Likewise, one of the great things about C is it does not "defend" instead it assumes the programmer is not an idiot.

      Like most assumptions, that's a bad one. Most security issues and many of the other bugs too are down to this bad assumption. All programmers make mistakes and programming languages that help stop them are better than those that don't.

      The number of times a fall-through in a switch statement has been useful must be outweighted at least a thousand times by the number of bugs that behaviour has caused.

    27. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      I was refering to Swift. Objective-C is just unused everywhere outside of Apple because it is a horrible language.

    28. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As someone who has worked on several platforms, and has worked solely on iOS for several years, I am so thankful for pthreads, OpenGL, and plain old C. Apple's technical abilities at making software APIs (and, hell, software in general) are far below what you might presume given their resources.

    29. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Wovel · · Score: 1

      It is not the number one platform for developers. At best it is 3rd after Windows (desktop) and iOS. Marketshare is not all it's cracked up to be. There is still very little money in Android developing.

    30. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Wovel · · Score: 1

      This is silly. I am running iOS 8 beta on an iPad 2 and it has not crippled anything. We have 2 iPhone 4 devices here both running 7 without issue. Your friends are cooky.

    31. Re:Off-topic Maybe by immaterial · · Score: 1

      Given that Apple created Swift to (eventually) replace Objective-C, I'm not seeing "wannabe C++ killer" there either.

    32. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Apple was a great language for the 1980s, and still has many things that are better than C++. But we can do a lot better than either of those 30 years on.

      And it's way past time C went the way of COBOL.

    33. Re:Off-topic Maybe by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Real programers engineer software and tae care of that themselves.

      YOU people are so sloppy wouldn't no engineering if it bit you in the ass in accordance to RFC 455.8173

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    34. Re:Off-topic Maybe by NoMaster · · Score: 1

      Personally I'm waiting for the news of proprietary extensions certain BSD codebases by Apple...

      GPL to BSD: "Dad, you're doing it wrong!"

      --
      What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
    35. Re:Off-topic Maybe by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I still have a froyo reader (NST) and a gingerbread phone I use around the house (SEMC Xplay) and I'm starting to run into the case that apps won't support gingerbread, let alone froyo. Kitkat has memory use comparable to gingerbread, if you just skip the crapware. I'm really looking forward to Kitkat for my MK908 because forcing apps to fullscreen only works reliably under Kitkat. You use Xposed Framework and either immerse me to make everything immersive or app settings to control that (and other things) on a per-app basis. Right now I'm using full!screen+ which is highly unreliable, often XBMC decides it doesn't have the full screen.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    36. Re:Off-topic Maybe by mbkennel · · Score: 1


      Swift will be as platform specific as C#. Theoretically not, but practically yes.

      It's just the new-shiny way to access the NeXT/Cocoa API's, like C# was the same for Windows.

      Swift-the-language will probably go everywhere that LLVM goes, but there won't be a significant, and full featured, standard library defined independently of the Apple/Cocoa library. Because then there would be the "Standard" way to do things and then the "Cocoa" way to do things and they wouldn't be entirely compatible.

    37. Re:Off-topic Maybe by mbkennel · · Score: 1

      | Why are you not using a compiler that warns about that? Some compilers even have default warning, and you
      have to put a comment (or #pragma or command-line option to disable the warning) that a case statement really
      should fall through.

      | A shoddy cratsman blames his tools. Compiler warnings are configurable, and lint tools are your friend.

      Craftsmen (the real hardware working ones) get to choose their tools and choose them with a good design. A tool which intrinsically prevents the common human problem, instead of having lighted warning stickers, is better. Should they blame their tools if they're a bad ergonomic design? Yes.

      The solution was obvious---a "fallthrough" statement to designate intentional fallthrough (the rare case).

      The fact that there's a compiler warning for a semantically valid situation---not a known ambiguity or undefined behavior---shows how it's a common problem.

      And stuff like this "A shoddy cratsman blames his tools" is powertalk meant to inhibit rational criticism and imply superior capability of the author.

    38. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      wasn't there a story recently that there's a fundamental security bug that applies to all phones before 4.2? I recall that. If so, then all those phones are insecure, regardless of what Google play can provide.

    39. Re:Off-topic Maybe by NJRoadfan · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for Swift.NET *ducks*

    40. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Woosh" doesn't really cut it, that analogy clearly missed you by a mile.

    41. Re:Off-topic Maybe by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      That's kind of a holy war, some people prefer it that way.

      I'm sure you can find something about C that is much worse.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    42. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Case fall through by default is NEVER useful. The most common way it's used is for having multiple case labels for a single block of code.

      Yeah totally NEVER useful, or maybe you just aren't very experienced:

      case some:
      case similar:
      case cases:
      {
      doSomething();
      break;
      }
      case somethingelse:
      {
      doSomethingElse();
      break;
      }
      case somethingelseentirely:
      {
      doSomethingElseEntirely();
      break;
      }

      Like most assumptions, that's a bad one. Most security issues and many of the other bugs too are down to this bad assumption.

      And you see no equally bad assumptions in Swift?

    43. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A tool which intrinsically prevents the common human problem, instead of having lighted warning stickers, is better.

      So set your compiler to treat warnings as errors and you have it, you dont need a whole new language and compiler for that one simple issue. For fuck sake it's really not that complicated.

      The solution was obvious---a "fallthrough" statement to designate intentional fallthrough (the rare case).

      Oh well thank fuck we had Apple to create a whole new language to rid us of this terrible problem!

      The fact that there's a compiler warning for a semantically valid situation---not a known ambiguity or undefined behavior---shows how it's a common problem.

      errr...youre new to this whole "programming" dealeo aren't you. Implicit behavior - which is semantically valid and not a known ambiguity or undefined behavior - will often trigger a compiler warning too and changing it to explicit doesn't change the behavior even though it removes the warning, that doesn't make it a "common problem". Set your compiler to treat warnings as errors and you get the same requirement for explicit casts (as opposed to implicit ones) in whatever c-based language you choose as you do in Swift.

    44. Re:Off-topic Maybe by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Craftsmen (the real hardware working ones) get to choose their tools and choose them with a good design.

      And any good craftsman who took issue with what you seem to be having such a problem with would learn how to use their tools and set:

      Project > Edit Project Settings the Treat Warnings as Errors

      Which would give them the same behavior as you get in Swift with this case being treated as an error. A good craftsmen won't just use the tools in their default configuration and hope that one day somebody will come out with a tool that has his/her personal preferences as the default configuration. That's why we have the ability to configure tools for our particular workflow, if that error often catches you out then there has always been a solution, and it isn't a new programming language.

    45. Re:Off-topic Maybe by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      So what do do when you have five cases all doing the same thing? Duplicate your code 5 times?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    46. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BitZtream · · Score: 1, Insightful

      BSD to GPL: "Son, you need to learn to share without expectations and stop being a selfish prick while pretending you're the worlds savior"

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    47. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Idiot. That's fall through only because that's the only way C has to do multiple switch values for one case. The right way to do this is to have proper support for multiple values per case. Like for example Pascal. Do you know Pascal, newbie?

      Fall-through by default is NEVER the best design.

    48. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but the problem is with the C language, not the compiler, let alone the IDE. That compilers and IDEs have band-aid solutions to stop yourself creating a common bug just proves what a bad language decision it was.

    49. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      You should probably learn the English language before criticising other people's computer language use.

    50. Re:Off-topic Maybe by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but the problem is with the C language, not the compiler, let alone the IDE. That compilers and IDEs have band-aid solutions to stop yourself creating a common bug just proves what a bad language decision it was.

      Yes all languages have poor design choices somewhere along the line but I seriously cannot believe the big deal being made out of such a small thing, you know what it is and sometimes it is desirable behavior - some compilers will give you a warning about this, if that isn't enough for you you can have it report that as an error. Do you really have that much of a problem with case statements falling through?

    51. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      I simply gave it as an indefensible example of a bad design choice in C. And yes it's pretty bad in that it's bee a significant cause of bugs in C. Not the worst in C by any means, but one of the least defensible.

      But I underestimated Slashdot. The number of people willing to defend the indefensible is surprising. It is NEVER desirable. There is no circumstance in which it is better than a list of values per case, plus a fallthrough statement for those incredibly rare cases where a true fall-through is wanted.

      Why are some people so attached to a language that they can't admit it's deficiencies?

    52. Re:Off-topic Maybe by exomondo · · Score: 1

      But I underestimated Slashdot. The number of people willing to defend the indefensible is surprising.

      Then go tell them that rather than projecting on me, or don't bother with slashdot.

      It is NEVER desirable.

      That behavior is desirable for when a fallthrough case is ideal, I agree that it is a poorer choice than having a specific keyword but it's hardly a massive deal. So like I said, do you really have that much of a problem with it? And if so why aren't you configuring your compiler to pick up on it?

      Why are some people so attached to a language that they can't admit it's deficiencies?

      I don't know, if they do exist then ask them instead of projecting your perceptions of such people onto me.

    53. Re:Off-topic Maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, so now the platform can be incredibly fragmented, and a moving target at the same time?

      That's sounds like a fantastic choice.

    54. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      That behavior is desirable for when a fallthrough case is ideal

      How many times do I have to repeat that my problem is with fallthrough BY DEFAULT. That is never a good idea. If wanted at all (and there is never a true need for it) then that should be the exceptional case, with extra syntax to do it.

      it's hardly a massive deal

      It's an example. One that's real and causes bugs every day. And one that is inarguably bad language design.

      There are plenty of other things wrong with C.

      And if so why aren't you configuring your compiler to pick up on it?

      And then when you *DO* want to fall through? There needs to be some kind of compiler specific extension in the code to suppress the warning you turned on. How much proof do you need that the language is flawed, than that you need to turn on warnings against legal syntax and introduce non-standard code constructs to overcome it?

      "Why are some people so attached to a language that they can't admit it's deficiencies?"
      I don't know, if they do exist then ask them instead of projecting your perceptions of such people onto me.

      Still waiting for your admission that C's switch statement fall through by default is a deficiency...

      Otherwise, if the cap fits, wear it.

    55. Re:Off-topic Maybe by exomondo · · Score: 1

      There are plenty of other things wrong with C.

      No language is perfect, C does have many problems and Swift has some very poor design too. Like the immutability of arrays when actually they aren't immutable, you can still change them. And the reference/copy behavior of arrays where assignment takes a reference but an add/remove operation implicitly makes a copy. All languages have their problems, that's why we have many languages and there is no one perfect language.

      And then when you *DO* want to fall through? There needs to be some kind of compiler specific extension in the code to suppress the warning you turned on.

      And there are, just add a #pragma in the case where you want the fallthrough.

      How much proof do you need that the language is flawed

      Nobody is arguing that it isn't flawed, why are you having so much trouble understanding that?

      Still waiting for your admission that C's switch statement fall through by default is a deficiency...

      It is a deficiency, I never said it wasn't. What I said is it isn't that big a deal, if you have so much trouble with that then don't use C.

    56. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      No language is perfect, C does have many problems and Swift has some very poor design too. Like the immutability of arrays when actually they aren't immutable, you can still change them. And the reference/copy behavior of arrays where assignment takes a reference but an add/remove operation implicitly makes a copy.

      Those two don't seem to be examples, they seem to be the only 2 genuine criticisms. From the point of pure orthoganality, they are not quite right. Presumably they are done that way as a pragmatic thing for performance. The language is has only been public for a few days, so this kind of thing will become clearer. Maybe it'll even change before full release - until XCode 6 is released, it's still beta.

      But they don't rank against the common defects of C.

    57. Re:Off-topic Maybe by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Those two don't seem to be examples, they seem to be the only 2 genuine criticisms.

      At this stage they are, personally I (and probably nobody else) has enough experience to identify it's true strengths and weaknesses.

      But they don't rank against the common defects of C.

      If 30-odd years of experience didn't produce a language that had fewer design defects then Apple would be quite pathetic in the language design area indeed.

    58. Re:Off-topic Maybe by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      If 30-odd years of experience didn't produce a language that had fewer design defects then Apple would be quite pathetic in the language design area indeed.

      Absolutely. So why still use C?

      There's a value as a lowest common denominator when doing cross platform engines. But other than that, it's good to use something more modern.

  13. and it comes with the new NSA "quality control" .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a spanking new release of Carrier IQ

  14. No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Back in the days when Slashdot was technical, the topic would probably have read something like "Apple WWDC 2014: new language Swift to replace Objective C".

    Whereas today the keywords for the topic are the name of the Apple CEO and the all-important name of the next O/S release. And Swift is not even mentioned in TFS, despite being by far the most significant technology-related announcement. Too technical I guess.

    I feel a bit saddened.

    1. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

      Swift is not there to "replace" Objective C, it's there to complement it, as an alternative choice.

    2. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by dasacc22 · · Score: 1

      Swift looks capable of replacing Objective C so that's all that matters. If Apple announced all developers need to learn Swift, everyone would be up in arms. A slow roll out that let's teams slowly try out swift is much more likely to catch on.

    3. Re: No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong. Apple officially announced that Swift IS the replacement for Objective-C. However you can mix-match Swift with Objective-C.

    4. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by organgtool · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Are you sure? Based on Apple's history, they sure don't seem to mind replacing huge parts of their infrastructure while completely deprecating the old:

      Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X
      PowerPC to Intel
      Carbon to Cocoa
      32-bit to 64-bit

      I'm not disagreeing with most of these transitions, but they sure don't mind having their application developers rewrite substantial portions of their applications because of the shiny. I wouldn't be surprised if Objective-C was no longer supported in five years.

    5. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      do you know if it is related to http://swift-lang.org/main or is that another unrelated programming language ? Is apple trying to replicate Go issue #9

    6. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      From the developer perspective, Swift is the future of app development for OSX.

      I've read the 900 page reference manual. Its a very nice and clean language.

      I think that from obj-c to swift will be a very easy transition for most people. Xcode already supports it for a reason.
      Expect new features/apis to be released as swift libraries.

    7. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Swift is not there to "replace" Objective C, it's there to complement it, as an alternative choice.

      LOL, you seriously need to stop believing what you're told to believe. You just make life too easy for those whose job it is to manipulate the opinion of adoring fanbois.

      Swift's purpose is to replace Objective C, period. The reason is simply that Apple engineers are not stupid and they know full well that complex applications should not be written in an unsafe language, so they want to replace Objective C. If it weren't so, Apple wouldn't have spent good money developing Swift. It's only Marketing that modifies uncomfortable statements of fact for the benefit of consumers.

    8. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Youngster!
      68K to PowerPC

    9. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by perpenso · · Score: 1

      Are you sure? Based on Apple's history, they sure don't seem to mind replacing huge parts of their infrastructure while completely deprecating the old:

      Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X

      Are you kidding? Mac OS classic was 16 years old, barely had cooperative multitasking and made Windows NT look good. It was embarrassingly obsolete when OS 9 was being launched and should have been replaced and deprecated years earlier. Not replacing it earlier was one of Apple's great historical failures.

      ... ahh ... I feel better now. To end on a positive, at least it was 32-bit.

    10. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Unrelated. Just what we needed, another ambiguously named language.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    11. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Wovel · · Score: 1

      Apple users can be a strange lot. I have seen a lot of complaints today that the video doesn't stream correctly on PPC based Macs....

    12. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by tsa · · Score: 1

      Your sig is wrong. It's MOST people are idiots and... Otherwise you would never have put that sentence there.
      Unfortunately apart from the 'most' I have to agree with you. Not even on universities you see many people with interests way beyond their field.

      --

      -- Cheers!

    13. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      Since Swift plays nicely with LLVM's runtime, I can't imagine that Objective C will be deprecated. Carbon vs Cocoa or PPC vs Intel etc required one or the other. Unless Swift exclusive APIs become a thing...

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    14. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, OS9 had preemptive multitasking and protected memory.

      Also MacOS classic wasn't originally 32-bit, it was 24-bit and some very old software broke when they made it 32-bit clean.

      Don't cherry pick. You ignore functionality that was added in later OS versions, and then credit it for something else that it didn't have to begin with.

      It was also massively faster and easier to use than OSX, as evidenced by the millions of people still using OS9 five years after it was released.

    15. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Uh, OS9 had preemptive multitasking and protected memory.

      You are wrong. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...:
      "While Mac OS 9 lacks protected memory and full pre-emptive multitasking ...".
      Full protection and multitasking -- like offered by Linux, OS/2 and Windows NT -- was not available until Mac OS X.

      Also MacOS classic wasn't originally 32-bit, it was 24-bit and some very old software broke when they made it 32-bit clean.

      You are wrong. The address bus was 24-bit in some very early Macs. The CPU registers an computations done in these registers were 32-bit. What confuses you is that some programmers used the upper 8-bits of address registers to store data, they weren't used by the hardware originally so this worked. Making an app 32-bit clean meant you had to stop abusing the address registers in this manner. If you did not abuse them in this manner you app did not need to be updated when the address bus eventually went 32-bit.

      It was also massively faster and easier to use than OSX, as evidenced by the millions of people still using OS9 five years after it was released.

      You are wrong. People use old OS versions because people don't buy upgrades. Also some people had no choice. Apple did not include a bunch of systems in the Mac OS X compatibility list, including systems that were part of early Mac OS X testing when the OS was still called Rhapsody.

    16. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, Shittypedia is wrong. And the early Mac roms "abused" the 8 bits of unused address internally.

      And I have used both OS9.5 and OSX on the same G3 iMacs, it most definitely is slower than OS9.5

      After OSX was released, iMacs shipped with both OS9.5 and OSX install CDs, and I know many people who installed OS9.5 because OSX was just too damn slow and the Carbon compatibility layer sucked hard.

      My piano teacher to this day continues to use OS9.5 because the OSX versions of Notator (now called Logic) suck so badly, and there's no point in upgrading to a new Mac when the one he has works just fine with OS9.5.

    17. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, Shittypedia is wrong.

      I developed MacOS 7-9 apps back in the day. Wikipedia is correct.

      And the early Mac roms "abused" the 8 bits of unused address internally.

      Which does not change the fact that the software environment of a Motorola 68000 is 32-bit. Whether RAM addressing is limited to 24-bit or not does not change the architecture of the CPU. Macs ran 32-bit software from day 1 in 1984.

      And I have used both OS9.5 and OSX on the same G3 iMacs, it most definitely is slower than OS9.5 After OSX was released, iMacs shipped with both OS9.5 and OSX install CDs, and I know many people who installed OS9.5 because OSX was just too damn slow and the Carbon compatibility layer sucked hard. My piano teacher to this day continues to use OS9.5 because the OSX versions of Notator (now called Logic) suck so badly, and there's no point in upgrading to a new Mac when the one he has works just fine with OS9.5.

      So you are really arguing that some people used Mac OS 9 because they had classic PowerPC apps that they want to run, and that classic apps being run in an emulated sandboxed environment run slower than when allowed to directly access the hardware. Mac OS X was basically running a copy of classic Mac OS 9 so that the old apps could run. That is hardly evidence of Mac OS X being slow, it is however nice evidence of real protection and real preemption that allowed Mac OS X apps to run in parallel to this Mac OS 9 environment and not be hung or crashed no matter how Mac OS 9 failed.

    18. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Actually, Apple had been working hard for years to replace it, sort of like Longhorn for Windows. They wound up using NeXT software instead. MacOS was getting quite embarrassing technically.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    19. Re:No mention of Swift in topic nor summary by perpenso · · Score: 1

      Actually, Apple had been working hard for years to replace it, sort of like Longhorn for Windows. They wound up using NeXT software instead. MacOS was getting quite embarrassing technically.

      Yeah, I recall Apple's Copland and Gershwin projects, internal attempts at a Mac OS replacement. I also recall running MkLinux and Rhapsody, Apple's development version of Mac OS X.

      I also remember the CHRP project which Apple abandoned, further delaying the arrival of that mythical piece of hardware that could run Windows or Mac OS.

      Man, Apple was just so full of disappointments in the mid to late 90s. I am so glad they eventually got their sh*t together and went NeXT and Intel. I remember NeXT workstations in college, fun stuff.

  15. And one more thing - NOT by Animats · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Kind of a "meh" series of announcements. The Mac interface will look more like the phone interface. (How'd that work out for Microsoft?) FTP that goes through Apple's servers. A new GUI theme. Some other routine GUI churn. A medical interface app with sensors. That's it?

    Last week, Apple execs were promising big announcements, the biggest since the Jobs era. This is all they've got? From the hype, you'd expect a competitor for Google Glass, or a VR system, or a rugged phone with no connectors and inductive charging, or an AI system that runs your life, or NSA-proof security, or something really new, like a direct brain interface or displays in contact lenses.

    1. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Congratulations, you've fallen into the trap that so many other techies here at /. have in thinking that this is consumer stuff targeted at YOU.

      It isn't.

      The people that this is aimed at don't even know what you're talking about when you say 'FTP'. They just want to move their files around easily and transparently. Now they can. They'll like that.

      Take a look at the actual tech stuff if you want to gripe or be excited. But the consumer facing stuff will be really interesting to consumers. They like a bit of GUI change as long as it's not too drastic. (Apple isn't moving the buttons or anything, they're just making a few things more accessible and modifying the design a little; this isn't near the magnitude of the change to the Windows Desktop OS.)

      Apple is very good at selling things to people. For non-essential goods, there is basically no company on the planet that's better at making money from consumers. What is small potatoes to you is a big upgrade to some. And it's free. That tends to smooth out any rough edges that crop up.

    2. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The people that this is aimed at don't even know what you're talking about when you say 'FTP'.

      It's 2014.

      Nobody but crankly old veterans should know what the hell FTP is.

      If you're using FTP in this day and age, you're wrong. Maybe you'd like to log into your system via telnet next, hey?

    3. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that "Handoff", "Continuity", and possibly Swift are all Big Deals. The first two are features I've been clamoring for for years now. The new language, if it's as fast as they claim, could be a huge thing for app development. What's even better is that you can inline it with existing code, making it a lot easier to transition. Also, the updates to Xcode look pretty cool, too.

      I agree that iOS stuff wasn't much on "wow" stuff. I'm happy to finally be getting widgets, though I'll probably never actually use any beyond the eBay one. I'm also happy to finally get quick SMS replies.

      I think a lot of people don't get how Apple does product announcements. They only show stuff that's done or will be released in a matter of months. Other companies, like Google, announce things that are barely beyond the conceptual stage. How long have we been hearing about their self-driving cars? Even the latest announcement only works in Mountain View. It will be years before they ever reach the market (if they even do reach it). This lets them showcase some really cool stuff and look really innovative, but that doesn't mean it's actually a new product that you can get anytime soon. Apple plays things closer to its chest.

    4. Re:And one more thing - NOT by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      you would be shocked at how useful telnet can be at times when other "powertools" dont work

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    5. Re:And one more thing - NOT by sootman · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > Last week, Apple execs were promising big announcements, the biggest since the Jobs era.

      Citation needed. What *I* heard the execs saying was that they're going to have great products this year. They have 7 months left.

      And FFS, this is the DEVELOPER conference. New product announcements here are few and far between. Here's an overview of the last ten years of WWDC. If you can read that list and still be surprised or disappointed at what was or wasn't announced today, you're an idiot.

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    6. Re:And one more thing - NOT by mean+pun · · Score: 1

      Kermit

    7. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I consider myself neither old nor a veteran (as for "cranky", well that I'll admit to).

      I deal with enterprise-level bulk data transfers in volumes that would cripple a web service if hosted on the same hardware used for FTP. Given the multiple different sources of this data and the seemingly random decisions about whether they push data to me or require me to pull data from them, FTP and its encrypted variants are a necessary thing, even in the modern age. Nothing moves several thousand quarter-MB flattened-data text files from point-A to point-B like FTP (or SFTP, or SCP, or god-forbid FTPS).

      Just because you don't need it doesn't mean it's useless to everyone. And just because it's not on port 80, well, that's a good thing. That port is already way overloaded with crap as it is.

      I've also done socket programming, for those times when you absolutely must 1) talk to a label printer, or 2) talk to an AS/400. (Or both.) It's not particularly pleasant, but it's not exactly rocket science. Getting the job done with the tools available is called "being a professional". Whining that the tools aren't shiny is called "being a hipster asshat".

    8. Re:And one more thing - NOT by nine-times · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The Mac interface will look more like the phone interface. (How'd that work out for Microsoft?)

      Well it *looks* more like their phone interface, largely in that it uses a simplified and more "flat" design. Microsoft's problem was that they tried to make their new interface *behave* like their phone interface.

      FTP that goes through Apple's servers.

      Well it's more like a Dropbox competitor, I believe, but with better hooks into the OS for both the desktop and phone. That still might be unimpressive, but it's not the same as a FTP.

      Last week, Apple execs were promising big announcements, the biggest since the Jobs era.

      Were they definitely talking about this conference, or were they just saying that they have major things in the pipeline? I'm honestly asking, because I didn't see the quotes you're talking about, and they apparently still have new iPhone/iPad models to announce, as well as the rumored smartwatch. Also, some of their products (e.g. Mac minis) should be receiving updates soon, and it's possible there are redesigns coming. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new thinner 4K Thunderbolt display soon.

      From the hype, you'd expect a competitor for Google Glass, or a VR system, or a rugged phone with no connectors and inductive charging, or an AI system that runs your life...

      So your idea of "innovating" and "groundbreaking" is a me-too Google Glass product, or inductive charging? That stuff actually doesn't sound innovative to me at all. If you really want inductive charging, you can get a case for that, but I think most people have found that it's not all it's cracked up to be. But an AI that runs your life-- their new home automation stuff, in combination with Siri, edges slightly closer to that kind of thing. Real AI is still a ways out, and I'd expect it to come in small incremental changes instead of a fully fledged AI being announced all at once.

      Meanwhile, Apple has announced health monitoring and home automation. They've announced a new programming language. They've announced various incremental improvements throughout their software lineup. Also interesting, though not unprecedented, is the "Mail Drop" feature, which will automatically throw files onto their "iCloud Drive" Dropbox competitor and include a link to that file in lieu of email attachments. But what I find most interesting is the description of the "Continuity" interaction between various Apple devices-- that your iPhone, iPad, and Mac might all start talking to each other in a more seamless way, allowing you to access the resources of each device from the other devices.

    9. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

      From a WWDC perspective, the big announcement is Swift. This should make it significantly easier to write apps for iOS and OS X. Of course, if they made a Mono-style variant, then it would be truly significant, as you could write once and compile anywhere. Other targets wouldn't get all the bells and whistles of the integrated OS, but at least they'd function... unlike writing something for OpenStep and expecting it to run under OS X/Linux/Windows.

    10. Re:And one more thing - NOT by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      It's a developer conference. A new language as a first-class component of the platform is huge news.

    11. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I log into my system via telnet.
      The only user is root.
      The only way to get files onto it is ftp.
      Sue me.

    12. Re:And one more thing - NOT by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Why do you use telnet and not ssh?

      Serious question, as *from the user perspective*, they seem to accomplish basically the same thing, with ssh being more secure.

    13. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Shadowmist · · Score: 1

      You know this is a week long event, right? You know that they haven't announced iPhone 6 but it's sure to be there, right? You're just looking at a reason to crap on Apple or you'd have known to hold your tongue... not like you're every going to be impressed with anything they release regardless of how good it is, to be sure.

      Hardware announcements would have been made on the keynote. Mind that this is the developer's conference. The hardware announcements people are looking for are probably going to be in the media event later on in the year.

    14. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      You haven't seen archaic until you've tried to talk to a point of sale terminal. In 2014, these things still talk fixed length binary strings over RS232 interfaces, with comma separators and control characters.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    15. Re:And one more thing - NOT by circusboy · · Score: 1

      curiously, it's come up in about half my recent job interviews and was the sticking point for not getting at least one of them.

      --
      -- it's ridiculous how many people misspell ridiculous... (damn, damn, damn...)
    16. Re:And one more thing - NOT by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      What has, telnet? or the same as my question -- why telnet vs ssh?

    17. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Wovel · · Score: 1

      Actually the desktop interface is using some similar style but is clearly moving away from the phone interface. No mention of that launchpad at all.

    18. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Wovel · · Score: 1

      Thank you for saying it much better than I did.

    19. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      As far as I can see, nothing will change in Yosemite, most of the visible changes are in their applications which I never use (outlook instead of mail, firefox instead of safari, android instead of ios).

    20. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      This is also the consumer/corporate OS that comes with a unix shell built in. So it's not at all intended only for the dumb users. Apple seems to be orienting the Mac and XCode as an iphone development platform, which means they'll be used by the above average user.

    21. Re:And one more thing - NOT by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Serious question, as *from the user perspective*, they seem to accomplish basically the same thing, with ssh being more secure.

      Ssh is a highly structured protocol. Telnet has relatively little structure, it just connects to a TCP port and lets you exchange characters. The client actually does substantially more than that, but like the Apple ][ went straight into basic, telnet goes straight into spewing. And it lets you specify a port, ostensibly because you can run the server on any port, so you can connect to things other than a telnet server with it that are also simple TCP interfaces, like a web server.

      Incidentally, ssh does not do the same thing telnet does, it does the same thing rsh does, but with encryption. rsh is the remote shell command, and it has long been deprecated for its lack of security. We all used crappy telnet instead of slightly less crappy rsh because as poor as telnet's security was (no encryption) it was still ahead of rsh, and because rsh was Unix-centric and telnet was cross-platform.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    22. Re:And one more thing - NOT by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Incidentally, ssh does not do the same thing telnet does

      I knew I was going to be technically wrong there somehow. All I meant was that I thought I remembered that "telnet wherever.com" and "ssh wherever.com" would end up at a shell you could type back and forth with. (telnet is disabled on OS X by default AFAIK, so I can't try it between my machines as it says connection refused.)

    23. Re:And one more thing - NOT by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Also interesting, though not unprecedented, is the "Mail Drop" feature, which will automatically throw files onto their "iCloud Drive" Dropbox competitor and include a link to that file in lieu of email attachments.

      Is there an API so we integrate existing solutions like DropBox, Google Drive and OneDrive? I haven't found anything about that which is annoying, you're going to need yet another online storage system just for this feature.

    24. Re:And one more thing - NOT by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I knew I was going to be technically wrong there somehow.

      It is an irrelevant and outdated distinction, because nobody is going to be using rsh for its intended purpose unless they are an antique Unix hobbyist, and same for telnet. Even most rinky-dink routers will now take an ssh connection.

      Of course, you could use telnet with IPSEC, or some other encryption technology which is transparent to the application. But it's typical to just use ssh now, and it really is better. You can redirect output to it, or redirect its output, so you can (for a real-world example I recently employed) run "bzip2 -dc

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    25. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Barlo_Mung_42 · · Score: 1

      "The people that this is aimed at don't even know what you're talking about when you say 'FTP'. They just want to move their files around easily and transparently. Now they can."

      Now they can? There are already several solutions to this problem and I'm sure the consumers who need it are already using one or more of them. I think it's entirely fair to say that people were expecting more from Apple.

    26. Re:And one more thing - NOT by nine-times · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it's unclear, but you can already do the same basic thing, either manually, or with mail client plugins (e.g. CargoLifter, which I haven't used, but seems to do that kind of thing). It won't be quite as seamless, but it's generally a good idea.

      On a side note, I am generally tired of every cloud service trying to get you to use their own storage. There really needs to be a standard set of APIs for cloud storage that all of these different services can use, instead of having to copy/move files to different storage, or writing custom code to deal with APIs between every application combination. Of course, it'll never happen because businesses have abandoned the idea of standards.

    27. Re:And one more thing - NOT by exomondo · · Score: 1

      It's less on that and more about how the applications can now access file storage directly through iCloud Drive.

    28. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      I agree - Continuity is really cool and the utility will likely only become apparent after people use it for a while. Probably after people have used it for a year they'll be like, wow this is huge. similarly, the health and home stuff won'tt become apparent until there's stuff that takes advantage ofit. hey announced a whole bunch of dev tools, and a way for apps to break out of the sandbox, that will likely make much better apps. All this stuff is pretty big. And this is just software and services, i'm sure there's still some hardware in the pipeline.

    29. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      also, the change to spotlight is really awesome. that will be a helpful change!

    30. Re:And one more thing - NOT by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      So your idea of "innovating" and "groundbreaking" is a me-too Google Glass product, or inductive charging?

      It seems to be Apple's idea of innovating. Look at how many Android features they copied for iOS 8. Interactive notifications. Widgets. Third party keyboards. Google keyboard style adaptive next word prediction.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    31. Re:And one more thing - NOT by nine-times · · Score: 1

      Yeah... I'm unimpressed by that argument. They copied a couple of features from Android. Android has copied things from iOS. Any smart technology company will copy the good things from their competition, as much as they can, without compromising their own product or breaking patent/copyright laws. And those features are relatively minor incremental improvements. Arguably obvious improvements. What, you think that Android invented the idea of widgets?

      Google Glass is an experiment with the potential to turn into a good product at some point. Inductive charging is a bit of a gimmick with limited benefits. NFC has a greater capability to turn into something, but apparently the best use Android makers can come up with is swapping music playlists, which is about as silly as the old Zune "squirt" feature.

    32. Re:And one more thing - NOT by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      wow, cool story bro. I totally murdered that, probably with a <

      point is, you can use ssh to send the output of a command on one host to the input of a command on an entirely other host. that's why nobody who bothers to use the commandline dicks around with telnet any more even though you can secure it with ipsec.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    33. Re:And one more thing - NOT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the context that ganjadude is talking about - the telnet client is used to connect to and interact with any text based TCP protocol. You simply cant do that with the SSH client.

    34. Re:And one more thing - NOT by felipou · · Score: 1

      And FFS, this is the DEVELOPER conference. New product announcements here are few and far between. Here's an overview of the last ten years of WWDC. If you can read that list and still be surprised or disappointed at what was or wasn't announced today, you're an idiot.

      Awesome page, thanks for the link!

  16. Why? by TitusC3v5 · · Score: 0

    Why is Apple throwing at us the same flat-UI nonsense that Microsoft has been trying to cram down our throats?

    --
    And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
    1. Re:Why? by narcc · · Score: 1

      It's consumer technology. The rule has always been "follow the leader."

    2. Re:Why? by organgtool · · Score: 4, Funny

      Because they are finally admitting that Microsoft has superior UI design and they are trying to catch up.

    3. Re:Why? by tlhIngan · · Score: 0

      Why is Apple throwing at us the same flat-UI nonsense that Microsoft has been trying to cram down our throats?

      Because many of the mainstream press are fawning over flat, and declaring any UI that hasn't changed significantly in 2 years as "dull, outdated, boring".

      Given Apple's general reluctance to change the UI (some things have changed, but most of the look of Aqua hasn't in nearly 15 years), well, people were calling OS X "outdated" and "needing a refresh to feel new". iOS was a particular victim of it, not having changed significantly appearance wise. Media were calling it outdated and "stuck in the past" while flatness was the new hotness and that "Apple needs to change it up or they're going to lose people to the new shiny".

      And one of the problems is the media form a self-reinforcing feedback loop.

    4. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea Windows 8 is *definitely* the sales leader.

    5. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They already did that with iOS 7.

    6. Re:Why? by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      Because the problem with Windows 8 isn't the Flatness of the UI, it's how Metro(or modern or whatever) tries to shove a fullscreen only mentality on top of keyboard and mouse UIs.

      I don't think that Metro was a bad idea, I just think it was ham handed in execution. I think Apple does full screen apps in a great way. If you want it full screen with no other chrome, then click the little arrows on the top of the screen and get a full screen app.

      It's handy when you want to be isolated and hunker down on something. Whether its a game, browsing or doing Real Work.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    7. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because since Jobs died the rest of Apple has been running around like a headless chicken. Every release has been a simple iterative release, no innovative products and virtually everything they have introduced is a clone of whatever another company has produced just tightly integrated in a way that prevents competition.

      They are becoming cloners and integrators but calling it "innovation" by preventing others from integrating in the same way. For OS X and iOS they are the vendor so should provide APIs that 3rd parties can use to integrate services but rather they introduce their own clone service and integrate it through a proprietary, secret API to lock out competition. This is the playbook of Microsoft in the 90s and IBM in the 80s, innovation goes out the window and it is just poor clones and lockdown.

    8. Re:Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea Windows 8 is *definitely* the sales leader.

      Of course it is, it's currently behind 7 and XP in usage share (while being ahead of OS X and Linux) but it definitely is the sales leader.

  17. It all looks OK... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but I really cannot deal with the fanboism, cult-like ersatz mystique, and stupidly-high capitalist pricing Apple leave in their wake... My cheal $250 Asus laptop runnin Linux does everything I need it to do. I like simple, ascetically so. Give me a terminal windows and a browser and I'm happy. I don't even really care what DM or WM I use, although preferentially, I still love Window Maker most.

    1. Re:It all looks OK... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations. We are totally impressed that you can figure out how to set up a cheap Linux machine. After all, it represents the pinnacle of technologic prowess.

      We stand in awe of you.

      Really.

    2. Re:It all looks OK... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If I dig the 10 year old turd computer out of my closet and boot it, will I be cool too?

    3. Re: It all looks OK... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your requirements, preferences and opinion are irrelevant for the other 6,999,999,999 people on earth.

    4. Re:It all looks OK... by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

      but I really cannot deal with the fanboism, cult-like ersatz mystique, and stupidly-high capitalist pricing Apple leave in their wake... My cheal $250 Asus laptop runnin Linux does everything I need it to do. I like simple, ascetically so. Give me a terminal windows and a browser and I'm happy. I don't even really care what DM or WM I use, although preferentially, I still love Window Maker most.

      I'm with you on the first two, but Apple is only stupidly-high priced in certain areas, such as cables and memory. And as far as what they announced today -- it's all free. Two OSes, a new programming language integrated into a rock solid IDE, various apps, all for free. Of course, the licensing insists that you either own Apple hardware of some sort or you pay $49 or whatever so you can run it in a VM... but the rest of your argument sounds like something from the turn of the century.

      That said, for many people, they can get by with a $250 Asus laptop running a WM Linux -- just fine for any non-graphics tasks that don't stress memory or the CPU. As soon as you get into content creation beyond writing manuscripts though, the Apple hardware/software combo is one of the cheapest solutions with the fewest headaches.

    5. Re:It all looks OK... by exomondo · · Score: 1

      but I really cannot deal with the fanboism, cult-like ersatz mystique

      I'll give you those two, while I do use a Mac and an iPhone and do develop for both I can't stand the idiotic "woo! woo!", wolf-whistles and 2 minute applause for every new feature announcement before they even explain what the feature is, even for the most pedestrian of announcements.
      "Announcing OS X Yosemite" **crowd goes wild with no idea wtf it even is**.

  18. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I loved the Apple ][+.

  19. Its Killer Feature by tuppe666 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am tired of this every year release cycle. Wish they would take a couple of years and swing for the fences on their software.

    Actually I love the idea of regular releases...and free ones too. Ignoring my slights in my other posts the fact that upgrades are free and regular, makes overpriced Apple hardware seem a little more affordable...If I was a new Apple phone user, and found I liked a lot there...and there is a lot to like, I would be tempted to Migrate to a shiny machine...Although you would have to claw Linux running on commodity hardware out of my bleeding hands first.

    1. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      until recently the upgrades haven't been free, they brake compatibility too often.

      as the admin of a mac shop, i am constantly plauged by building working images for our corporate tools then finding when i go to get new hardware to replace damaged machines or accomodate new users, barely even older version of os x can't be installed on the newer hardware and you can count on apple not to release stand alone drivers.

      I used to love Apple, then i was forced to work with them they're fun toys but terrible tools

    2. Re:Its Killer Feature by bradrum · · Score: 2

      I like the idea of free regular releases too. But the reality is that they don't seem to be able to break much technical ground with these. Like moving to ZFS or integrating virtual reality (kinda serious) .

    3. Re:Its Killer Feature by Yaztromo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I like the idea of free regular releases too. But the reality is that they don't seem to be able to break much technical ground with these. Like moving to ZFS or integrating virtual reality (kinda serious) .

      While it is disappointing that their push towards ZFS fizzled and died, OS X 10.9 did make some serious technical improvements under the hood that go well beyond the competition.

      Compressing and decompressing memory pages on the fly being one of them. It's a much (much!) faster operation than paging to disk, and can significantly reduce memory pressure. Many users felt like they had received a free hardware upgrade -- it can be pretty dramatic. AFAIK neither Windows or Linux have transparent page compression like this. Timer coalescing was another significant kernel-level improvement (although certainly one that had been done before on other platforms). App Nap makes some significant adjustments to how threads and processes are allotted compute cycles. The overall effect can be significantly lessened power requirements, particularly on Apple's laptops, leading to increased battery life -- something no other OS vendor that I'm aware of is focussing on in the PC space (mobile being a bit of a different story, of course).

      Perhaps not whiz-bang flashy stuff that end users notice first, but some pretty solid under-the-hood technology none-the-less.

      Yaz

    4. Re:Its Killer Feature by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 1

      Do you know C? Any desire to implement such a feature in Linux? Seems like a good idea, and your claim of dramatic performance improvement has got me thinking. Perhaps this would be a good way to dip my toes into kernel hacking, and perhaps I'm not the only one thinking that.

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
    5. Re: Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Linux has had compressed memory for ages, breathed new life into my laptop. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zram

    6. Re:Its Killer Feature by aliquis · · Score: 1

      But how much news was it?

      Things I remember from some page I read:

      * Changed font from Lucida to Helvetica (likely super huge for Apple people though.)

      * Somewhat transparent windows.
      * Also dark!

      * Calendar information in the notifications.

      * View SMS and calls (from where I have no idea because I didn't really view read it.)

      Yay!! Super exciting.

      I guess if one was there and a developer they may also have talked about something which affected developers.

    7. Re:Its Killer Feature by Yaztromo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do you know C? Any desire to implement such a feature in Linux? Seems like a good idea, and your claim of dramatic performance improvement has got me thinking. Perhaps this would be a good way to dip my toes into kernel hacking, and perhaps I'm not the only one thinking that.

      Yup -- I even wrote an experimental real-time kernel for the Atmel AT90 a few years back.

      To be honest, I have considered it, as I'm also a Linux user (OS X makes a fantastic interface into a bunch of headless Linux servers that do the grunt work around here), and I'd love to have this support there as well. I currently have 285 processes running on my iMac, and while I'm not really putting a lot of memory pressure on the system (7.97GB used out of 8GB, with only 8.76GB of virtual memory active and no swap), however OS X has still managed to compress 395.6MB of memory, and I haven't noticed a thing. Indeed, it's probably saved me from having to page to disk at the moment to the tune of roughly 200MB. That's a lot of pages available for use pretty quickly without the need to load them from disk first.

      What's stopping me? Time. I used to do a lot of Open Source software development, and have had a few projects of my own over the years that have seen some moderate success, and would like to contribute more to the community -- but that was before I had a wife, and before we had a child who has a lot of medical needs. After a long day of commercial application development, and driving my daughter from one appointment to another six days a week, my hobbies currently reflect my desire to get out from behind the keyboard and do things outdoors.

      I lament that things have gone this way -- there's nothing more I'd love than to do some deeper research on the type of compression algorithms Apple is using in their memory compression scheme (WKdm, re-implement it as part of the Linux kernel, look at algorithms to quickly identify candidates for compression, and all that good stuff. I get giddy just thinking about it -- but the last thing I need on my plate right now is another project.

      If someone decides to take this up, they have my moral support. Maybe in a few years I can start working on interesting stuff like this again, but right now it would probably burn me out to take on something of this size.

      Yaz

    8. Re:Its Killer Feature by celebril · · Score: 1

      AFAIK neither Windows or Linux have transparent page compression like this.

      Linux had the likes of zram, zcache, and zswap for years before Mavericks.

    9. Re:Its Killer Feature by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Nothing affects developers as much as a new language. (Swift)

    10. Re:Its Killer Feature by Yaztromo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Linux had the likes of zram, zcache, and zswap for years before Mavericks.

      zram was only merged into the Linux kernel in 3.14, on March 30, 2014 -- well after Mavericks was released. And it's more about using a portion of compressed memory for swap -- it's a compressed RAM disk for swapping to, and isn't the same as Apple's transparent page compression system.

      zswap is much more akin to what Apple's Memory Compression scheme achieves, and it was merged into the Linux kernel mainline in kernel version 3.11, which was released on September 2, 2013, just a few weeks before Mavericks was released.

      So you have my apologies -- I wasn't aware of zswap until now. If the topic comes up again, I'll ensure I only compare that feature to Windows (which AFAIK still has nothing like this available).

      Yaz

    11. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is genuinely hard to keep up with Linux and NT. We get it. But saying "Apple did all THIS stuff and I didn't know anybody else already did them" doesn't amount to innovating no matter how much you love Apple and wish it did.

      Compressed pages, timer coalescing, power priority scheduling, all were done by the competition first. Apple gave them cool brand names, and evidently made sure you knew about them, since you seem to think they invented them, but they were all done first on Linux or NT and most of them were on both long before Apple shipped their copycat.

    12. Re:Its Killer Feature by beojan · · Score: 1

      Isn't the memory compression exactly what the zram kernel module is for?

    13. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      as the admin of a mac shop, i am constantly plauged by building working images for our corporate tools then finding when i go to get new hardware to replace damaged machines or accomodate new users

      Isnt that a bit overkill for a mac shop? The mac shops i've seen have their demo models running the latest software and their staff generally use ipads or ipods (similar to what they use at the Apple shop itself), how much "corporate tools" can you really need?

    14. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From http://lwn.net/Articles/552791/.

      "This is the latest version of the zswap patchset for compressed swap caching.
      This is submitted for merging into linux-next and inclusion in v3.11."

    15. Re:Its Killer Feature by narcc · · Score: 1

      Or as little.

    16. Re:Its Killer Feature by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      you seem to know what you're talking about. can you explain this idea of memory compression, and what the heck the new activity monitor means? the old one made sense. Pie chart, showing free, available, and active. Now it's apparently using up all my memory I have 8 GB but it shows a line chart with a small amount of "memory pressure".

    17. Re:Its Killer Feature by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      the osX connects with your phone automatically, so this means a couple things. you can send and receive sms from the desktop, and place and receive phone calls. also it's one-click sharing a cell connection. Also there's a single folder which means you can transfer any document file from the phone to the desk top and vice versa. it's actually an extraordinarily deep connection.

      I'm also excited about the faster safari that can play netflix through html 5 and save a bunch of battery.

      crazy big expansion of iCloud. now there's iCloud drive which is a dropbox competitor and puts a single folder on all your macs, windows, and phones, allowing to sync automatically. many mail improvements, i like how if you send a big attachment in mail, instead of sending it through the email it will automatically upload it to iCloud and insert the link into the mail. if you send it to another mac mail user, the receiving computer will automatically download the file and attach it to the file again!

      small things, I think it's cool how you can edit and annotate photos anywhere. Like you insert an image in mail, and within mail you can annotate, zoom, etc.
      they also previewed a new "photos" app for the desktop that will be released in early 2015. a quick editor, stores your photos on iCloud so it isn't molasses slow like iPhoto. they have super smart editing where you slide a single slider, and it makes all the adjustments to a dozen properties. deserves a viewing to see.
      that's just the OSX side. all sorts of crazy iOS 8 stuff too.

    18. Re:Its Killer Feature by Yaztromo · · Score: 5, Informative

      you seem to know what you're talking about. can you explain this idea of memory compression, and what the heck the new activity monitor means? the old one made sense. Pie chart, showing free, available, and active. Now it's apparently using up all my memory I have 8 GB but it shows a line chart with a small amount of "memory pressure".

      Sure -- I'll try to explain it the best I can. I won't make any specific judgements as to whether the new controls are better than the old, except to point out that there is more useful information in the new that wasn't present in the old. You're still perfectly welcome to prefer the old pie chart :). I'll try not to stray too far into the esoteric; if you need more details on a specific subject here, feel free to ask.

      First a bit on the theory of memory management in general. In most modern operating systems like Mac OS X, each application appears to get it's own memory space, starting at '0' and running up to 0xffffffffffffffff (a fancy way of saying the addresses go from 0 to somewhere in the neighbourhood of 1.84*10E19 bytes of memory). To make things easier to deal with, the operating system breaks these up into chunks 4096 bytes in size called a 'page'. Now 1.84*10E19 bytes is probably way more memory than you have available on your system, but that's okay -- while conceptually an application can use any of that memory space for pretty much anything it wants, the operating system keeps track only of which pages have actually been allocated to each application. This system is called 'virtual memory': each application has its own virtually memory space to play with that doesn't interact with he memory of any other application. This is the value that shows in the "virtual memory" box in the activity monitor.

      Now of course, you have real, physical memory in your machine, and you don't have a separate set for each application (in a physical sense -- you don't have one set of chips for Safari, and another set of chips for iPhoto, for example). The real memory has to hold the virtual memory somehow, and be able to map from one to the other. The operating system keeps a structure known as the Translation Lookaside Buffer that keeps this mapping for pages stored in physical memory. So it might have a bunch of entires for Safari, saying that the page consisting of what the application sees as memory area starting at 0x0000 and going to to 0x0FFF are stored in memory location 0x40000000 (the 1GB mark), the page of what the application sees as memory area starting at 0x1000 and going to 0x1FFF are in location 0x40096000, etc. In fact, the pages can be all over the place, and not even in order -- the operating system keeps track of all the used memory pages for the application wherever they are stored in memory. The amount of physical memory you have shows in the "Physical Memory" box of the activity monitor.

      If you don't get all that, don't worry -- the main takeaway is that these pages can be stored in memory, and the operating system tracks of them when they are. Because we work with all of these pages, however, the operating system can also store them someplace else. Prior to Mavericks, this was always written to disk in the "swap" file (also sometimes known as a "page file"). This happened when memory pressure gets higher than the operating system can handle in RAM alone; that is, programs are asking for more virtual pages than the operating system can fit into real memory. To try to make room for new requests without unloading applications, the operating system will periodically go through the list of pages if memory pressure is high, find the least-used pages (you might have some application running that you put into the background and haven't touched in hours, for example, or applications which have reserved pages for things such as documents you haven't looked at in hours, even if you've otherwise used the application itself), and write them to disk. This is known as "swap". The pages of c

    19. Re:Its Killer Feature by VValdo · · Score: 1

      If I'm not mistaken, zram was called compcache or ramzswap and existed on the 2.6.28 kernel back in 2008.

      --
      -------------------
      This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    20. Re:Its Killer Feature by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      Wow that's really interesting! I know a lot more about this now.

      I think the thing that was tripping up myself and I imagine many other users was the new definition of "memory used", especially since as you say all the memory should be use for something, either holding app memory or pre-loading files. this is why your app pressure is green even though all your memory is used, and all your memory is used up regardless of what you try to free up more memory.

      from a user perspective, it sounds like the proper flow is this:
      * is your computer slow? then check your memory use in activity monitor.
      * is the memory pressure green? then your memory is fine, look for a problem elsewhere.
      * is the memory pressure yellow or red? then look in the top half of the window to identify apps that are using a bunch of memory, and close them.
      * is your bar yellow or red a lot? then either get used to keeping an eye on apps that take up a lot of memory, or upgrade if you can. it's cheap!

      also, good to know that the memory management is smarter than I give it credit for. I think many of us were exposed to computers in the win 3.1 / win 95 era, when you had to worry about things like defragging your hard drive. Good to know smarter minds are on the job here!

      I wonder how the approach to memory management will change in coming years. Since DOS there's been this idea that RAM is fast but limited and expensive, while HDD is slow but cheap and plentiful. Now with SSDs, HDD is a lot faster than before, but more limited than before and more expensive to upgrade. I imagine this will lead to different optimizations in coming versions.

    21. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > they brake compatibility too often.

      How are they slowing down compatibility? That's a bizarre claim. Care to back it up?

    22. Re:Its Killer Feature by sessamoid · · Score: 1

      Holy hell, that was a great explanation. Somebody mod up parent post. I don't have any mod points today.

      --
      "No, no, no. Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
    23. Re:Its Killer Feature by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I doubt it's high on Microsoft's priority list. Your earlier example shows a saving of a few hundred megabytes out of 8 GB, and RAM is really cheap.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    24. Re:Its Killer Feature by Keyboard+Rage · · Score: 1

      I frankly don't see the use of coming out with major new OS versions when the previous one's latest service pack (which was also FREE) still has major bugs.

      The laptop I'm writing this on is running on OS X 10.4.11. I also have a MacBook Pro, which runs 10.8.5 and has at least two major bugs that aren't fixed in 10.9.2 and that weren't present in 10.4.11 (since they were introduced in 2012). I don't expect them to be fixed in 10.10, even though one means I have to reset my cable modem any time I hook up the MacBook Pro because the DHCP lease renewing is broken. The other bug is a deep sleep issue that appears to corrupt my data upon wake. Sure, these modern OS X versions LOOK nicer, but they are NOT better than older versions of OS X. And instead of fixing such bugs, Apple blames the customer if they complain.

    25. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Firstly, check out http://openzfsonosx.org/ - that's a port of ZFS on Linux, and tracks ZoL as its upstream; ZoL is more closely tracking open-zfs, which is where the illumos, FreeBSD and Linux (and Mac OS X) debs are collaborating on code commonality. Openzfsonosx effectively supersedes ZEVO, which was essentially what Apple had been working on before terminating the project.

      In Apple ZFS fizzled and died quite a long time ago mainly because it was operationally mismatched to how real users were using (and still use) storage, although there were other things in the way too (importantly CEO-to-CEOs friction; never pre-announce that your tech is going to be central to Apple's strategy. Never. Ask ATI about their year 2000.).

      ZFS is happy where there is redundancy in the storage vdevs in a pool, which means two storage devices in a mirror, or some other combination of mirroring or raidzN; it also wants to manage its own (large) pool of memory for ARC and for building outgoing data structures. A 4GiB RAM Mac is barely enough memory for reasonable performance under mild usage conditions. Moreover, no device redundancy in a pool means that errors are unlikely to be automatically repaired (it's possible for some types of error due to ZFS metadata redundancy and optionally setting the dataset copies properly) and that in the presence of errors the pool will be put in FAULTED state with a substantial likelihood of data becoming wholly unavailable and perhaps irretrievable other than via backups. Since a typical case is a single drive, the most obvious trade-off was alerting a user that a threshold handful of errors had occurred, and keeping data available but possibly corrupt, which continues to be the case with JHFS+ (although CoreStorage has some checksum error detection as of 10.8). ZFS with a single disk is not much different in the face of total disk failure than any other single-disk file system supported by Mac OS X.

      That said, ZFS would have been a tremendous advantage over AppleRAID-with-multiple-disks but for two things: firstly, the code base Apple had been working with (roughly pool version 28) did not get zvol support either in Apple or in its direct derivatives; openzfsonosx (O3X) has this now, and it works well enough that it can wholly replace AppleRAID for non-startup volumes functionality wise (in terms of supplying redundant JHFS+ volumes), and is not horrific in terms of performance. O3X with zvols is also arguably easier to manage than CoreStorage, although it will be a while before encrypted zvols are supported.

      Apple likely would have been forced initially to position its ZFS port as an AppleRAID replacement, rather than as something for all its users.

      Additionally, ZFS and USB 2 do not get along at all on any platform (including Oracle's closed source), and there were a lot of users with USB 2 external drives who would have faced data unavailability (and possibly loss) if they tried to use ZFS on them.

      USB 3 (and firewire) are not as problematic, but the kernel's habit of giving a particular device a different device name at each reboot, each disconnect/reconnect, and sometimes after each sleep/wake affects essentially all drives attached to a Mac. All the ZFS ports have been trying to deal with external storage that are deliberately removed and reattached at arbitrary times; each has one or more idiosyncratic approaches, and the one for the Mac is under active development (the vdev-iokit branch on github). Apple's version and ZEVOs used a not-very-compatible-and-not-wholly-reliable hack to provide a stable device name.

      Finally, ZFS trusts that its in-core data structures are safe from corruption, and it typically maintains a large amount of data (gigabytes) in core. Since most of Apple's systems do not support ECC, there is a risk of spectacular pool-destroying corruption. [http://research.cs.wisc.edu/adsl/Publications/zfs-corruption-fast10.pdf -- note that some corruption "merely" finds its way

    26. Re:Its Killer Feature by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 1

      Well said!

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
    27. Re:Its Killer Feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks, that was a nice overview of how it works. Got any good pointers where one can read more about this subject?

    28. Re:Its Killer Feature by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      We know you haven't been affected by a language since BASIC.

    29. Re:Its Killer Feature by MoonFog · · Score: 1

      These are the kind of posts that make me still visit Slashdot regularly, you just don't get this most other sites. Thank you, that was very informative and well written.

    30. Re:Its Killer Feature by narcc · · Score: 1

      Was that really necessary?

      You're free to disagree with me. That is, if you actually believe that new languages are bound to gain a lot of traction.

      You can leave the personal insults at the door.

    31. Re:Its Killer Feature by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      I certainly don't believe all new languages gain traction. Most don't. However this one will. Because Apple supply the standard development environment and language for iOS and OSX development. Which means that this will be shipped to all developers that it's applicable to. By design it's an upgrade over the existing language.

      The only way you could think that this doesn't affect iOS and OSX developers is if your own knowledge of programming languages ended at BASIC.

    32. Re:Its Killer Feature by narcc · · Score: 1

      However this one will. Because Apple supply the standard development environment and language for iOS and OSX development. Which means that this will
      be shipped to all developers that it's applicable to. By design it's an upgrade over the existing language.

      Time will tell if a significant number of iOS and OSX developers take a risk and actually use Swift. After all, It's brand new. No one knows how best to incorporate it into their projects or if doing so with offer them any advantage. No one even knows if Apple will continue to support the language if it doesn't gain significant traction over the next few years. I could easily go on. The point is, there are a lot of factors that developers need to consider beyond "do I have that installed?".

      The only way you could think that this doesn't affect iOS and OSX developers is if your own knowledge of programming languages ended at BASIC.

      That doesn't make any sense at all. Please, explain how "I" could only come to that conclusion (which you came up with all on your own, btw) if my knowledge of programming languages ended at BASIC?

      I haven't heard a good lecture in autodidact logic in a while. I suspect it will be very entertaining.

    33. Re:Its Killer Feature by felipou · · Score: 1
      I was just thinking how much this remembers me of my Operating Systems classes in college, and then I saw your disclaimer:

      When I taught 3rd year Operating Systems at a University

      Although studying it again now, it seemed much more interesting! Maybe my teacher wasn't very good...

    34. Re:Its Killer Feature by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      No one knows how best to incorporate it into their projects or if doing so with offer them any advantage.

      I'm not suggesting many will do that. It's possible to bridge between the two languages, but probably not worth it. What I'm suggesting is that there will be plenty of uptake for new projects.

      No one even knows if Apple will continue to support the language if it doesn't gain significant traction over the next few years.

      And so enterprise programmers who need to write justifications for upper management will continue to use the old technology till the new tech is mainstream. As usual. However the bulk of influential OSX and iOS developers are not that. They are small businesses and indies, that can adopt new technologies quickly and don't have to justify their actions to managers who don't know much about the issues. They will realise that this is a significant improvement over Obj-C in many ways, and so will be adopted.

      Do you want to make a just for fun wager that two years from now, Swift will have widespread adoption amongst iOS and OSX developers? I say it will.

    35. Re:Its Killer Feature by narcc · · Score: 1

      Like I said, time will tell.

      I find this bit a bit surprising:

      They will realise that this is a significant improvement over Obj-C in many ways, and so will be adopted.

      It seems a bit early for anyone to hold such a strong opinion. What about Swift did you find so compelling?

    36. Re:Its Killer Feature by Yaztromo · · Score: 1

      Although studying it again now, it seemed much more interesting! Maybe my teacher wasn't very good...

      Hope I wasn't your teacher the first time around!

      Yaz

    37. Re:Its Killer Feature by Yaztromo · · Score: 1

      I doubt it's high on Microsoft's priority list. Your earlier example shows a saving of a few hundred megabytes out of 8 GB, and RAM is really cheap.

      I should point out that in my example, the memory pressure at the time was quite low. Had I pushed the memory pressure higher, the amount of compressed memory would also have been quite a bit higher.

      RAM may be cheap, but there are still physical limits that can be hit on any given board or system before you reach the theoretical limits. I'm posting this on a 2009 iMac right now, and it has a maximum RAM configuration of 8GB (which is also how much RAM is installed). No matter how cheap RAM gets, this system can't accommodate any more.

      Considering Mavericks was a free upgrade, installing it was like going up to 12GB of RAM or more -- for free. I don't have any metrics in front of me of the useful theoretical maximum compressed memory storage, I can only assume that it's somewhere in the neighbourhood of about (Installed RAM - 1GB)*2 at best (or in my case, 14GB. The 1GB is to ensure space is reserved for wired memory, which can't be swapped or compressed). I suspect it will be a bit less, depending on how compressible your data is (the algorithm used is optimized for a 2:1 compression ratio, however not all pages will be compressible to this degree; my understanding is that if a pair of pages can't be compressed into a single page, the compression routine stops for that pair of pages).

      Note that as memory compression sits between the point where the OS identifies that it may need to evict old pages and the point where the pages are physically swapped to disk, the pages written to disk are also compressed (unless they were incompressible in the first place). This will roughly halve the amount of data that needs to be written to swap, meaning that the slowest operations of the paging to disk procedure is roughly halved in time as well.

      As Windows machines swap as well, being able to halve the time required to read data from and write data to disk would be a huge boost. Being able to get a few million extra pages without the need to swap is an even bigger performance boost. I'll point out this ArsTechnica article on Apple's Compressed Memory subsystem -- note in particular the second graphic which shows a system under much heavier memory pressure, where a machine with 16GB of RAM has over 8GB compressed, and only 26.5MB (not a typo!) of data swapped to disk. That's a lot of data that didn't need to be written to a page file.

      Yaz

    38. Re:Its Killer Feature by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      It's safer, faster and more powerful than Obj-C. And yet is completely interoperable with it, including all existing Obj-C APIs. What's not to like.

      I made some quick notes whilst I was watching the into video. Copied below. Not saying much if any of this stuff is new, but the combination is, and the ability to mix it with Obj-C. I particularly like optionals, references rather than pointers, the override keyword, typed collections, multiple return values via tuples.

      Here's the list:

      No header files or need for boilerplate. This is a complete program:
      println("Hello, world")

      Immutabe types need no extra keyword. Which means programmers are more likely to do it.

      Identifiers can use unicode. Which is good for foreign programmers, and also means you can use a pi character as the identifier for a pi constant, and similar for other math symbols and other users of specialised symbols.

      String interpolation: No need for printf, [NSString stringWithFormat:] or NSLog formatting.
      let foo = 7
      println ("foo is \(foo). foo times 2 is \(foo*2)")

      Typed arrays and dictionaries.

      Ranges. e.g. for i in 0..5 {} rather than for (int i=0;i5;i++) {}

      Extracting both key and value at once when iterating over dictionaries.

      Optionals. Every value either explicitly allows a nil value or doesn't. Not just pointers. And nil and zero is not the same thing.

      Switch works with any type, not just ints and chars.

      No default fallthrough in Switch.

      if statements must use braces.

      All legal cases must be matched in switches.

      Use ranges in cases.

      Default parameters for functions.

      String concatenation with +.

      Tuples.

      Closures.

      Trailing closures.

      No false dichotomy of ivars and properties. Only properties.

      Explicit overriding keyword: override.

      Enums can be any type, not just ints.

      Enums can have associated values.

      Extend any type (add data, functions, operators), including types you don't have the code for or built in types.

      Generics.

    39. Re:Its Killer Feature by narcc · · Score: 1

      Nice notes, but to doesn't really answer the question, does it?

      On faster, we'll need some benchmarks. On "more powerful", well, I'll leave that alone. I agree that it looks safer, though.

    40. Re:Its Killer Feature by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      You asked me why I found it so compelling. I gave you a list of all the improvements I noticed, together with a smaller list of the ones I found most compelling. Not sure what more you're after.

      I absolutely agree we need to confirm speed with benchmarks. But until then I'm happy with the working assumption that it is - it's creating much the same intermediate code for the same compiler, but the language provides more guarantees, such as when a nil is possible and when it's not. And more guarantees means more optimisations are possible. That safety that you accept is there doesn't just mean less bugs, it can mean more speed.

  20. NSA add-on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and a spanking new release of carrier IQ naturally disguised as something else.

  21. Extensions? by SpeedBump0619 · · Score: 1

    So the ability for one app to provide extensions that other apps can use to render specialized content?

    Flash support in 3..2..1...

    1. Re:Extensions? by Red+Herring · · Score: 1

      Nah, Apple doesn't like Flash.

      I think they've just invented something...let's call it the Component Object Model. Next release we'll get Object Linking and Embedding. I'm sure Microsoft couldn't innovate that!

      --
      #include "standard_disclaimer.h"
    2. Re:Extensions? by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Eventually, they'll let you do it from a server and call it Distributed Component Object Model. Maybe we'll even get some kind of Dynamic Data Exchange mechanism?

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    3. Re:Extensions? by Red+Herring · · Score: 1

      When the new widgets are finally introduced in iOS18, it will be in the form of ActiveWidget, ActiveNotification, ActiveSiri... you know, ActiveX...

      --
      #include "standard_disclaimer.h"
  22. Re:and it comes with the new NSA "quality control" by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

    Slashdot periodically gives me nightmarish glimpses of a future, where netizens can do no more than regurgitate random buzzwords in no particular context or order.

    Oh wait thats slashdot, circa today.

  23. Swift by scuzzlebutt · · Score: 1, Informative

    The new Swift language looks like JavaScript and VBScript had an ugly baby.

    --
    In C++, your friends can see your privates.
    1. Re:Swift by mean+pun · · Score: 2

      More like a mixture of functional languages, Python, Java, Objective C, and C#, but you have to know those languages to recognise that.

      A pretty solid mixture, in fact. So far what I see I like a lot!

    2. Re:Swift by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      More perl and ocaml. The syntax is ML like with a severe case of a double Perl and JavaScript infection.

      Who the hell references arguments with $1 and $2?

    3. Re:Swift by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Who the hell references arguments with $1 and $2?

      It's a shortcut for closures. If you don't like:

      reversed = sort(names, { $0 > $1 } )

      You can still write the full version:

      reversed = sort(names, { (string1: String, string2: String) -> Bool in return string1 > string2 })

    4. Re:Swift by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Scala and Clojure both have anonymous function syntax very similar to that.

  24. Yosemite Sam... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    you sure you want that? What's next, the Ted Nugent OS?

  25. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    and the Lisa.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  26. Many topics (Heath, Home, iOS...and Metal) by tuppe666 · · Score: 0

    ...I suspect most of these will be discussed over the next weeks...my favourite topic. Is the one that makes Bill Gates spit coffee over his keyboard and shout "first smartphones, then tablets...now fucking house tech...If he says magical. I will burn their house down"

    cue fanboys chanting "we are first"

    For those who missed the internet(or using ie6) here is my link to Bill Gates The Road Ahead in paperback... http://www.amazon.com/Ahead-My... Which clearly the fuckers at Latte read.

    ...ooh look an update to Safari...another topic.

    1. Re:Many topics (Heath, Home, iOS...and Metal) by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      Are you actually claiming Bill Gates invented home automation? Geez, are you a crazy fucker.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    2. Re:Many topics (Heath, Home, iOS...and Metal) by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Billy G is not a pioneer at that either. Home automation was already commercially available back in the 1980s. Pic related.

  27. Road end` by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know all is lost when Apple is poaching features from WinPhone (sorry Windows 8 tile interface).

  28. 2-D: Says It All About Apple's Direction To Come by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like I'll be using 10.6.8 for at least a decade.

    Hopefully by then Cook and Ive will be history and OS X will to back to being 3-D and UNIX POSIX compatible (for get the iOS crap).

    Ha ha

  29. Humble Bundle With Android 10 by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    "cross platform...is the new platform" == marketing bullshit

    I have been playing https://www.humblebundle.com/ Humble Bundle PC and Android...are all those games available on iOS too, can you install them? At least you can still run them on OS X for now.

    Seriously 10 or as fruit lovers say X

    1. Re:Humble Bundle With Android 10 by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      For the latest HumbleBundle, they choose some games that were available on both PC and Android.

      If instead you wanted to make a different list of games that are available on PC and iOS, you could easily do so.

      Thus the games in the HumbleBundle say precisely nothing about cross-compatibility. It does say something about the business model of HumbleBundle though.

  30. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wrong. Widgets were copied by Linux and Vista. Apple did them first with Tiger. Troll harder.

  31. don't break cs 6 by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 0

    As people don't want to pay mouth to month to keep useing the apps and the not to long ago outage makes people not want to have to trust that the cloud will be working when you need it.

    Also in some places it's easier to pay for / expense an perpetual license vs an mouth to mouth one.

    1. Re: don't break cs 6 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most Mac/ iOS apps work just fine without iCloud; there are other ways to send your info back and forth but they're just not as convenient. When these free updates are released that will become easy as well on a local network or Bluetooth without iCloud. But lots of reasonably important stuff of mine is trusted to third party services that may not always be there. Even my employer's Exchange server. Like many, I'm fine with that. Your point?

    2. Re: don't break cs 6 by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      talking about adobe cloud

  32. Re:and it comes with the new NSA "quality control" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slashdot periodically gives me nightmarish glimpses of a future, where netizens can do no more than regurgitate random buzzwords in no particular context or order.

    Oh wait thats slashdot, circa today

  33. Not so late to the game by Sir+Holo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    FTSummary: ...also highlighted iCloud Drive. Although a little late to the party, Apple hopes to compete with the likes of Dropbox and Google Drive.

    DropBox will drop its pants for the NSA any time, anywhere, with no FISA court order required. Apple, not so much.

    1. Re:Not so late to the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what makes you think that? They're a large company with a lot of political connections that go both ways. Why wouldn't they assist the government when asked "nicely"?

    2. Re:Not so late to the game by Red+Herring · · Score: 1

      Urm...

      “DROPOUT JEEP is a software implant for the Apple iPhone that utilizes modular mission applications to provide specific SIGINT functionality. This functionality includes the ability to remotely push/pull files from the device. SMS retrieval, contact list retrieval, voicemail, geolocation, hot mic, camera capture, cell tower location, etc. Command, control and data exfiltration can occur over SMS messaging or a GPRS data connection. All communications with the implant will be covert and encrypted.”

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/12/30/the-nsa-reportedly-has-total-access-to-your-iphone/

      --
      #include "standard_disclaimer.h"
    3. Re:Not so late to the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Says a document from 2008, presumably referencing *iOS 2,* before all iOS devices had full end-to-end hardware encryption and signed bootloaders, etc.

    4. Re:Not so late to the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Apple fanboys love saying "full end-to-end hardware encryption" when what they mean is "I have a 4 digit PIN so my kid brother can't unlock it"

      That's all that protects your "full end-to-end hardware encryption" the PIN, because that's the only thing you need to enter to unlock the storage. When you drop an iPhone into a _police_ (never mind the NSA, just a local cop who thinks you were looking at his daughter wrong is enough) iPhone unlocker, it tries all 10000 possible 4 digit PINs and unlocks. Done.

      And then the Apple fanboys says "Nuh uh, the phone won't let you keep trying". Well that's nice, but we don't need the phone to help us try, we're breaking your stupid "full end-to-end hardware encryption" remember, not manually typing PINs into the unlock screen of iOS.

    5. Re:Not so late to the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have a clue what you are talking about?

      Things like signed bootloaders are anti-jailbreak devices. An iphone will run anything which is "signed" with the correct key.

      How do you know apple doesnt ship NSA software preinstalled? Can you login to your phone and explore everything on it or does the "end-to-end hardware encryption" prevent you from doing that?

    6. Re:Not so late to the game by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      one big reason is with Condi Rice on the board of dropbox it's basically an open door for NSA. Apple has always emphasized privacy and security, and is the leader in reporting govt data requests and limiting access. If I had to bet on a horse, I'd bet on apple. btw after the condi announcement I switched from dropbox to Sync, and am happy.

    7. Re:Not so late to the game by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      When you drop an iPhone into a _police_ (never mind the NSA, just a local cop who thinks you were looking at his daughter wrong is enough) iPhone unlocker, it tries all 10000 possible 4 digit PINs and unlocks. Done.

      And when you have the phone set to wipe after ten invalid attempts?

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    8. Re:Not so late to the game by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      Urm...

      “DROPOUT JEEP is a software implant for the Apple iPhone that utilizes modular mission applications to provide specific SIGINT functionality. This functionality includes the ability to remotely push/pull files from the device. SMS retrieval, contact list retrieval, voicemail, geolocation, hot mic, camera capture, cell tower location, etc. Command, control and data exfiltration can occur over SMS messaging or a GPRS data connection. All communications with the implant will be covert and encrypted.”

      http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/12/30/the-nsa-reportedly-has-total-access-to-your-iphone/

      Missing quote right following that paragraph: "The initial release of DROPOUTJEEP will focus on installing the implant via close access methods." IOW it was NSA's version of a wired jailbreak for the original iPhone. Something that was not on the phone when Apple shipped it Fuck-dee-whooping-doo.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    9. Re:Not so late to the game by Keyboard+Rage · · Score: 1

      Or so they say. Because when US companies can be coerced into doing things using letters that forbid said company from revealing it received such a letter under the threat of heavy penalties: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...

    10. Re:Not so late to the game by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Apple was listed as being cooperative in leaked NSA documents. The authors of TrueCrypt seem to have warned people off using Apple's disk encryption for some reason. Apple may be relatively slightly better than Dropbox, but neither of them can be trusted.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    11. Re:Not so late to the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can use a full password. I have a 8-digit password with symbols on my work iPhone.

  34. mac mini still almost 2 years old at same price an by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3

    mac mini still almost 2 years old at same price and hardware.

  35. Yosemite? by Bradmont · · Score: 1

    So is this Apple's answer to Vegemite? Definitely a bold move from Mr. Cook.

    1. Re:Yosemite? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So "Vegemite" is actually pronounced to rhyme with "Yosemite"? Who knew?

    2. Re:Yosemite? by vandamme · · Score: 1

      Apple's answer to Gnome 3. Namely, copy it.

  36. HealthKit... I first read it as HeathKit by LurkingSince1999 · · Score: 1

    That would have been awesome!

  37. Is there ever going to be an OS 11? OS XI? by kriston · · Score: 1

    Is there ever going to be an OS 11? OS XI?

    No? Why not?

    --

    Kriston

  38. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Oh dear god. Someone who works on Gnome knocking another company for "copying" what's already been done.

  39. Re:2-D: Says It All About Apple's Direction To Com by Shadowmist · · Score: 1

    Looks like I'll be using 10.6.8 for at least a decade.

    Hopefully by then Cook and Ive will be history and OS X will to back to being 3-D and UNIX POSIX compatible (for get the iOS crap).

    Ha ha

    I built my Hackintosh on Snow Leopard. I'm so much happier with it running on 10.9.3. It does tend to open up the field of running software quite a bit, and I also love notifications. I'm not a big fan of a flat Dock, but I'm assuming that 3d will still be an option, and even if it's not.... it's not a deal breaker for me.

    POSIX compatibility is really only an issue for some nonhuman who thinks that the X Windows, Lynx, and the Terminal should be the only interfaces available on the Mac. In other words the average slashdot geek who's hardly in touch with the human race at all

  40. I agree...but by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    I like the idea of free regular releases too. But the reality is that they don't seem to be able to break much technical ground with these. Like moving to ZFS or integrating virtual reality (kinda serious) .

    Yes...but it allows those same large features to be rolled out sooner...regressions fixed...blah blah blah. In reality many programs are rolled out several times a year. Safari got a massive improvement this release(it had the largest share of news)...firefox/chrome will simply carry on adding features and releasing several times this year.

  41. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by thsths · · Score: 1

    Apple ][e is what you need - with a CPM card.

  42. Re:2-D: Says It All About Apple's Direction To Com by Number42 · · Score: 1

    OS X is still more than POSIX compatible, it's UNIX certified, including the current version.

  43. Re:Is there ever going to be an OS 11? OS XI? by scuzzlebutt · · Score: 1

    They could market it by saying, "This one goes to eleven!"

    --
    In C++, your friends can see your privates.
  44. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by fyngyrz · · Score: 0

    Konfabulator.

    Idiot.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  45. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by ganjadude · · Score: 0

    once again an apple fanboi is convinced that apple invented something they in fact did not invent. widgets were out a long time before tiger Konfabulator for example

    --
    have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  46. Qt by fyngyrz · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's not that much of an illusion. Qt's done some useful work there. I've written one app, quite complex, that runs under both Windows and OSX. The only serious work I had to do was related to USB support, which Qt really hasn't addressed worth a darn. Everything else, though, is just a recompile specifying the target. Sound, networking, file system, GUI and lower level graphics, etc. The apps are a little less efficient, working as they must through a compatibility layer, but they're efficient enough to do the job at hand on even moderately recent hardware, so I'm pretty happy with the whole approach.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    1. Re:Qt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the user interface of your "app" was the most complex part, then it wasn't "quite complex".

      Sorry.

    2. Re:Qt by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

      Good thing that wasn't it, then, eh?

      Do you sell your strawmen in bulk? I've got some hungry cows over here.

      --
      I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  47. It comes with its own lawyer by gelfling · · Score: 1

    Who will sue you for turning the machine on.

  48. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Informative

    iOS 8 will not be available in the STILL ON SALE iPhone 4.

    False. The iPhone 4 was discontinued September 10, 2013.

    It's successor, the iPhone 4S was first on sale October 14, 2011. Everyone who bought an iPhone 4 after that date knew they were buying an older model which would reach it's end of support sooner than the current model.

    Apple stop providing older iPhones with OS updates when they are no longer powerful enough to support current OS release. They got it wrong once, by providing one two many OS updates for the iPhone 3G. And were heavily criticised for it - including by you. You can't have it both ways.

    By contrast most Android phones sold NEVER get an OS update.

  49. Re:Is there ever going to be an OS 11? OS XI? by mean+pun · · Score: 1

    Only after OS 10.99.

  50. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    8 will run on a 4[S] per the slide they had up today. 4 is no longer sold by Apple, and pretty rare NOS in the us market, though they may still be selling through other channels. they've also had a trade-in program for the 4 on steroids for a month, now we see why.

  51. Re:and it comes with the new NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    carrier IQ was proven spyware distritbuted in not just apple mobile phones but also on other manufacturers; if apple "accepted" that wthat make you think it would not allow something of the same nature in their operating systems; if you doubt this statement ask Linus Torvalds on what was he asked to do with Linux.

  52. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by jedidiah · · Score: 0

    > Yeah, we get it, you hate Apple. Thanks for the semi-coherent input.

    If they weren't intent on interfering with my computing experience, I would be merely indifferent to them. Their products are grossly over hyped and not nearly as magical as their overpaid shills in the press like to claim.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  53. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, exactly like what happened to the Motorola Droid and Google. Thanks for reminding me.... even though you can't get a new iPhone 4 from Apple for a few months now. But don't let the facts get in the way of your lies.

  54. Cherry Pick Stats by saleenS281 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Of all the things to chastise them about - software updates isn't one of them. There's frequently and consistently BRAND NEW Android phones that don't support software that's been out for months before before the phone is even announced.

  55. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by aristotle-dude · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Konfabulator.

    Idiot.

    Konfabulator was written by a guy who worked on Copeland at Apple. Not only did he steal the ideas of widgets from Copeland and Opendoc but he also stole themes from Copeland when he released Kalidescope theme engine for Mac OS 9.

    --
    Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  56. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by fyngyrz · · Score: 1

    No, he didn't "steal" them from copeland. Hell, even AmigaDOS had desktop widgetry by late 1986. And more.

    The point is, it wasn't an Apple innovation by any stretch of the imagination.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  57. Mathematicians Freaking Out! by number17 · · Score: 1

    Is 10.10 just a re-release of 10.1 with a 0 tacked on the end? Will version 10.11 be between 10.1 and 10.2?

    1. Re:Mathematicians Freaking Out! by irussel · · Score: 1

      10.10 is just a more precise version of 10.1.

  58. Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by Qbertino · · Score: 1

    The updates seem unspectacular, but they're not neccesarly bad. The Flat UI look is a matter of taste, that's for sure ... and they've kept the green button, the only thing on the inmediate apple UI with no predictable behaviour what-so-ever ... seriously, I'm wondering why MS hasn't been making jokes about this during the last decade.

    However, this Swift PL thing might just be something that turns out in Apples favor. The barrier of entry to native apps probably has been there for some people, and they probably want to prevent HTML5/CSS/JS Apps taking over too much of the market. Xcode 6 looks better than ever and if Apple carries on that way, MS Visual Studio might someday lose its 1st place in simple idiot-proof yet serious development - one of the rare things MS still has going for its ecosystem these days. If the FOSS community adopts Swift and offers compilers and apple isn't a douche about giving the FOSS community some support, I might even learn it. ... Until then I'm currently sticking with JS and FOSS languages though. Web is where everything is at right now and that's increasing - and it's not looking as if anything is going to change in that debt. anytime soon.

    As for the whining about the anual release cycle of OS X: I've just recently updated from Snow Leopard to Maveriks, my first major upgrade in 3.5 years. All worked fine, including using the same TimeMachine with the new system. No one is forcing anyone to upgrade and I certainly won't until Yosemite or a successor to it is well established. In my experience apple systems are among those that keep their value the longest without an update.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
    1. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      No one is forcing anyone to upgrade and I certainly won't until Yosemite or a successor to it is well established. In my experience apple systems are among those that keep their value the longest without an update.

      Hear hear!

      I tend to subscribe to "The Star Trek Theory"--namely, the even numbered ones are the good ones. My laptop runs 10.8 quite happily, I still get updates for Xcode, Safari, and the like. I haven't been "abandoned" by developers.

      So with 10.10 coming along, I'll probably wait 'til after the first bug-fix release or until Apple stops sending out Xcode updates for it (whichever comes first) and then switch to 10.10.

    2. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      the green button, the only thing on the inmediate apple UI with no predictable behaviour what-so-ever

      What the heck are you talking about?

      The zoom button has been 'zoom to fit' forever... (and toggle back to the previous size by hitting it again).

      I don't use Windows enough to remember for sure what it does, but I think the slightly analogous button always zooms the window to the full size of the screen? Even if I'm wrong about that, it sure does the WRONG thing from many people's opinions.

    3. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      If the FOSS community adopts Swift and offers compilers and apple isn't a douche about giving the FOSS community some support, I might even learn it. ... Until then I'm currently sticking with JS and FOSS languages though.

      The thing about the net is that you never really know if someone is being sarcastic, smileys or not. I'm assuming you're not. So, given how hospitable Apple has been to HTML5 (I hate the term, but ok, latest HTML/CSS/JS spec), do you honestly think they'll change course? The Nitro engine used in mobile Safari is quite capable indeed. But should you make a HTML5 app on iOS, it'll run on the nowadays-quite-antiquated JavaScriptCore engine, with some really obvious performance disadvantages.

      Seriously, I'd like to see you present a single example where Apple has been benevolent towards the OSS community. No, Webkit and CUPS are not proper examples; the first one is a fork of KHTML (yes, they've refined it a lot since, but it would not be LGLP out of kindness of Apple) and the latter also is an OSS project Apple bought, again due to the license (GPL) they were unable to close-source it.

    4. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by Wovel · · Score: 1

      Only if you have it run as an app instead of in the browser. I am not sure why they elected to make the sandboxed browser less powerful. The only thing less clear is why you think that has anything at all to do with Apple contributing to FOSS.....

    5. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by immaterial · · Score: 1

      Seriously, I'd like to see you present a single example where Apple has been benevolent towards the OSS community.

      Clang? ALAC? libdispatch? mDNSResponder (Bonjour)? Their CalDAV & CardDAV server? Darwin Streaming Server? ...

    6. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      I think it is pretty obvious why they elected to do so, to hinder cross-platform development (amongst other platforms, iOS is a target for me professionally). But that was a response to the parent, who hoped that "Apple wouldn't be a douche and give the OSS community some support", to paraphrase - I think we've moved beyond the benefit of a doubt quite some time ago.

    7. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by marsu_k · · Score: 1

      Seriously, I'd like to see you present a single example where Apple has been benevolent towards the OSS community.

      Clang? ALAC? libdispatch? mDNSResponder (Bonjour)? Their CalDAV & CardDAV server? Darwin Streaming Server? ...

      Thanks for providing some concrete examples. So let us walk through your list:

      Clang I'll grant you that. ALAC Yes, that was open-sourced at some point. They could have worked on improving FLAC much before that, but at least it is OSS now. libdispatch As a Linux user, not so useful to me, but again, thumbs up. mDNSResponder I really had no idea what this was, had to google it. It seems most of the results are "what the hell is this thing and how do I turn it off" - but yes, I can see it being useful to someone. Their CalDAV & CardDAV server There are quite a few competing implementations, but again kudos for the effort. Darwin Streaming Server Hey, great, we've actually come to an example that seems to be generally beneficial.

      But what I'm getting at is that despite their ample cash flow, you don't see "Apple Summer of Code" (just as an example - there are plenty of things to dislike about Google as well).

    8. Re:Compareatively unspectacular, but not bad. by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      i do not know what to expect if I click on the green button. will it maximize the window? or adjust the size but not maximize it? I don't know. = bad UI.

  59. Cherry Pick Stats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So are the numbers true? Is stating facts now considered ÃoeattackingÃ?
    Do all new Android phones run KitKat? Is that a big fuck you from Google to its customers?
    You sound like an apologist.

  60. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And Apple had them by 1984 with the original Mac. Can I stretch your "imagination" wide open to fit your head into that hole?

  61. Re:2-D: Says It All About Apple's Direction To Com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    POSIX compatibility is really only an issue for some nonhuman who thinks that the X Windows, Lynx, and the Terminal should be the only interfaces available on the Mac

    Clueless user mistakes consistent OS API with applications.

    Likewise, POSIX is an interface and a choice. It does not "magically shut down any other API" .

    Apple user thinks choice is bad, compatibility with the rest of the world is bad, what a shocker!

    POSIX is merely a reaction to vendors not caring about anyone but themselves.

    Please, show us the Microsoft equivalent, or the Apple equivalent...they don't exist, because they don't care
    about cross-platform compatibility at that level. They do not care to make things easier for their competitor.

    Lynx and X have very little to do with POSIX.

    POSIX is a step or 2 below that.

  62. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wrong again. Desktop accessories where introduced in 1984 with Macintosh. Konfabulator did not invent them. But a GNU/GPL/Linux fanboi like you surely wants to convince everyone that everything was ever invented in student dorms.

  63. Re:2-D: Says It All About Apple's Direction To Com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also, the right way to do POSIX, is to build your super amazing OS, and then add a POSIX compatibility layer.

    POSIX in and of itself should not be a goal.

    You can do it the other way too, build your super amazing OS on top of POSIX, but again, POSIX in and of itself is not anything special.

    It is the fact that there is compatibility with the outside world, regardless of how the OS actually works underneath (or on top) that is what POSIX provides.

    Maybe it can be kept an eye to and partially influence some design decisions, but it should not in and of itself be a goal.

    Users don't care about POSIX (they might indirectly care that it makes developers' lives easier).

    Developers do.

    It is a lie that only one API can be supported, and if POSIX is supported that means nothing else can be.

    That, is why you are full of shit.

    About as sensible as saying "we can't support C, because then we wouldn't be able to support C++, nor Java, nor Objective-C", nor Ruby, nor Python, nor Perl, nor .NET, nor Flash, ... .

    Bullshit.

    About as sensible as saying Apple can't allow TCP because then they couldn't support UDP. Bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit.

  64. Falling through cases is quite useful at times ... by perpenso · · Score: 1

    Bullshit. There is plenty wrong with plain C. For example there is no defending fall-through by default between cases in switch statements.

    Actually that is a quite useful feature allowing for the sharing of code, which improves robustness. Sometimes two consecutive cases are related, maybe one a "superset" of the other. Have the superset fall into the base lets them share code.

    case superset :
    { init superset specific stuff }
    /* fall through to base for common initialization */
    case base :
    { init stuff common to base and superset }
    break;

  65. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Desk accessories.

    Cunt.

    Also Konfabulator was initially a Mac-only piece of software - so if you want to list that as a precedent, the Mac still had it first, even if it wasn't an Apple product initially.

    Douche.

  66. Wait.... by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    Cranky is a compliment, right?

  67. Re:Falling through cases is quite useful at times by BasilBrush · · Score: 0

    case superset :
    { init superset specific stuff } /* fall through to base for common initialization */
    case base :
    { init stuff common to base and superset }
    break;

    It's not useful at all. The times you deliberately want to fall through are vastly outnumbered by the times you don't. So rather than have a keyword to stop fall-though it makes more sense to have one that causes fall-through.

    Your code would be:


    case superset :
            { init superset specific stuff }
            fallthrough;
    case base :
            { init stuff common to base and superset }

    The result is better readability. Less lines of code. And many fewer bugs. For exactly the same functionality and execution speed.

  68. Re:2-D: Says It All About Apple's Direction To Com by Shadowmist · · Score: 1

    OS X is still more than POSIX compatible, it's UNIX certified, including the current version.

    I wasn't disputing Posix compatibity, just pointing out that the question is totally irrelevant to what I need from a personal computer.

  69. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Wovel · · Score: 1

    Where is the 4 on sale? 8 runs on the 4s which is still on sale. I believe the 4s is the oldest model sold anywhere on this planet. Perhaps you checked Jupiter?

  70. Re:Falling through cases is quite useful at times by perpenso · · Score: 1

    case superset :
    { init superset specific stuff } /* fall through to base for common initialization */
    case base :
    { init stuff common to base and superset }
    break;

    It's not useful at all. The times you deliberately want to fall through are vastly outnumbered by the times you don't. So rather than have a keyword to stop fall-though it makes more sense to have one that causes fall-through.

    No. If going in your direction both break and fallthrough statements should be required. Assuming no statement is equivalent to break rather than fallthrough makes no sense. At least no statement being equivalent to fallthrough makes some sense.

    Your code would be:

    case superset :
    { init superset specific stuff }
    fallthrough;
    case base :
    { init stuff common to base and superset }

    The result is better readability. Less lines of code. And many fewer bugs. For exactly the same functionality and execution speed.

    There is no better readability. You reformatted my code incorrectly. Note in my original post the comment about the fall through was on its own line, precisely where your fallthrough statement is, intentionally where a break statement would normally be so that the lack of a break is shown to be intentional.

    case superset :
    { init superset specific stuff }
    /* fall through to base for common initialization */
    case base :
    { init stuff common to base and superset }
    break;


    And removing a comment hardly qualifies as one less line of code. :-)

  71. Re: Cherry Pick Stats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Everyone". I do not think this word means what you think it means.

  72. Re: Cherry Pick Stats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apple phones need updating all the time to get new features. Android phones have all the best features already.

  73. Please Wake Me Up... by RevSpaminator · · Score: 1

    When Apple does something innovative again.

  74. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Overpriced compared to..what, exactly?

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  75. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by geekoid · · Score: 1

    It's pretty innovative to be able to create markets.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  76. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

    Apple stop providing older iPhones with OS updates when they are no longer powerful enough to support current OS release. They got it wrong once, by providing one two many OS updates for the iPhone 3G

    So they continue to pimp their new processor power in their phones (we have an A4 in this! That's right, A4, the chip we just invented! Oh wait, now we have the A5, now the A6, A7.) And then keep bogging it down with new features in iOS that really shouldn't make that much of a difference in performance, but grind old phones to a halt, and the difference is a wash comparing new iPhone +new iOS with old iPhone + old iOS?

    At least with Microsoft, while there is a system requirement increase from XP (12.5 years ago) to Vista (7 years ago). The system requirements have been flat for the past 7 years through Win7, 8, 8.1. Third party applications may have bloated in that time, but the base OS hasn't.

  77. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by exomondo · · Score: 1

    My gripe is the flat look that's getting pushed into OS X. I'm seriously tired of this plague. I happen to like my 3D composited desktops.

    What does compositing have to do with it? Pretty sure it still has compositing, just not the faux 3D look.

  78. Re: Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, he didn't "steal" them from copeland. Hell, even AmigaDOS had desktop widgetry by late 1986. And more.

    The point is, it wasn't an Apple innovation by any stretch of the imagination.

    Sorry. Going to mod the previous poster up as you could have started with this info and not been a jackass, but you didn't. Instead, you threw the first thing off the top of you head out as an argument while being a jackass, and then when information is offered against your previous argument, you try and change the subject. Please work on your social abilities.

  79. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Shadowmist · · Score: 1

    iOS 8 will not be available in the STILL ON SALE iPhone 4.

    False. The iPhone 4 was discontinued September 10, 2013.

    It's successor, the iPhone 4S was first on sale October 14, 2011. Everyone who bought an iPhone 4 after that date knew they were buying an older model which would reach it's end of support sooner than the current model.

    Apple stop providing older iPhones with OS updates when they are no longer powerful enough to support current OS release. They got it wrong once, by providing one two many OS updates for the iPhone 3G. And were heavily criticised for it - including by you. You can't have it both ways.

    By contrast most Android phones sold NEVER get an OS update.

    My spouses 4S is working just fine with 7.1. Since 8 is not going to have a greater overhead in it's basic operations, there's no reason not to make it available to any phone that can run the current IOS.

  80. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Shadowmist · · Score: 1

    Of all the things to chastise them about - software updates isn't one of them. There's frequently and consistently BRAND NEW Android phones that don't support software that's been out for months before before the phone is even announced.

    Get with the bandwagon here. This is Slashdot. Whatever Apple does, it has to be wrong... even when we've been screaming for the exact same thing to be done for our Android phones.

  81. RAM Doubler by aeosrhoseihtnewa · · Score: 2

    Win95 had RAM Doubler. 15 years ago. Beat that!

    1. Re:RAM Doubler by VValdo · · Score: 1

      RAMDoubler for Mac, where it started.

      --
      -------------------
      This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  82. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

    If the numbers shown in the Keynote are true, only 10% of Android users run Kit Kat. Most users are stuck with versions that are three or four years old.

    Ignoring the Low class moves of attacking Android, a platform that continues in hypergrowth while Apple continues to fall behind

    “Six months from now you’ll say the opposite. Because ultimately applications vendors are driven by volume. And the volume is favored by the open approach that Google is taking.”

    2 years after the 6 months, and you two bozos are still wrong.

    --
    Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  83. My favorite - "iOS 8, with over 4,000 new APIs"... by Assmasher · · Score: 1

    ...that's quite a typo ;).

    --
    Loading...
  84. Re:Off-topic Swift baggage by elwinc · · Score: 1

    Many sites are reporting Swift as having "none of the baggage of C."

    However, they also report Swift code can still be mixed with standard C and Objective C code in the same project."

    If you can call C routines, C can happily malloc() and free() the heap and leave stale pointers into freed heap. Likewise, C can happily point into the stack and leave pointers into stale stack frames, and point past the end of arrays, etc.. I don't think they can get rid of the "baggage of C" withoud building all kinds of performance killiing safety checks into the C code. If I'm wrong about this, please don't hesitate to let me know!

    --
    --- Often in error; never in doubt!
  85. Re:mac mini still almost 2 years old at same price by creepynut · · Score: 2

    I'm surprised they didn't update it (maybe even give it a modest price drop). With all the negative press Windows 8 has been receiving, Apple could market the Mac Mini as a "drop in" replacement for people who currently have a Windows 8 tower at home.

  86. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    I really like the way that mail attachments are tied to iCloud drive. If I send you a large attachment (up to 5gb) it won't go through the mail system, instead be uploaded to iCloud drive and a link put in the email. if you have apple mail as well, then the file is downloaded automatically and attached back to the email on the other end. Yes, this service could be done before, but it hasn't been invisibly integrated like this. before it was upload file to dropbox, get a link for the file, insert the link in the email. now it's just sending an email, but the mail program decides how the attachment is transmitted.

    I'm also excited about the way the OS is connected to your nearby phone, so you can send and receive SMS from the desktop and even place/recieve calls. Super cool!

  87. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    dude, just don't install the new OS. problem fixed.

  88. Re:Falling through cases is quite useful at times by nneonneo · · Score: 1

    Defaults should be sane, and optimized for the common case. Fall-through-by-default is not the common case, it's the exceptional case. Because C chose fall-through-by-default, programmers are penalized for the much more common case of no-fall-through by having to type "break;" at the end of every frickin' case statement.

    Because of this, common C practice is to annotate intentional fall-through statements with a comment, like so:

    switch(expr) {
        case superset:
    /* superset code ...*/
    /* FALLTHROUGH */
        case base:
    /* base code ...*/
    }

    So, guess what Swift does? That's right, an explicit fallthrough keyword, which you can apply to get the uncommon (but, as you noted, occasionally useful) fallthrough behaviour. This is both wonderfully self-documenting, and eliminates the need for break in the common case. Switch statements in Swift are shorter and safer as a result. (Also, their use of Lisp/Scheme/...-esque matching semantics for switch is a nice touch, as are the genericized Enums...but that's a story for later).

  89. Re:Is there ever going to be an OS 11? OS XI? by nneonneo · · Score: 1

    No, because version 10^100 comes after that, at the same time that Apple and Google merge.

  90. Metal by nneonneo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    One of the updates that folks seem to have overlooked is Metal, Apple's upcoming replacement for OpenGL.

    While I think Apple is likely to continue supporting OpenGL for the foreseeable future, it's somewhat worrying that they've decided to just build a brand-new graphics library. It represents a refocusing of their optimization efforts, certainly, so in the future I would expect devs to have to use Metal in order to obtain decent graphics performance. This in turn will make development even harder, especially for cross-platform shops which expect OpenGL to work reasonably well in all environments...

    1. Re:Metal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "One of the updates that folks seem to have overlooked is Metal, Apple's upcoming replacement for OpenGL."

      Oh man, I can already see S3 lawyers drooling.

      Guess nobody remembers MeTaL 'acceleration' from the late, late 90s and early 2000s.

  91. Desk Accessories? 1984. by rsborg · · Score: 1

    No, he didn't "steal" them from copeland. Hell, even AmigaDOS had desktop widgetry by late 1986. And more.

    The point is, it wasn't an Apple innovation by any stretch of the imagination.

    Um Desk Accessories, circa... 1984? Apple wins again.

    --
    Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    1. Re:Desk Accessories? 1984. by Thumper_SVX · · Score: 1

      Seriously, why attribute this to a corporation and not to the engineers who... you know... actually invented stuff? Apple didn't invent the desk accessories but were the first to bring to a commercial market. Yay. Microsoft was also first in a lot of places, though again they were merely capitalizing on the successes of their engineers. You know... like... capitalism.

      I've been a Mac fan for a LONG time... I made some good money on the stock market through my belief in Apple. But really, the hatred of a lot of "Apple Fans" on this very site really turn me off. It's becoming less like a tech company and more like a religion every day. What happened to using the best tool for the job?

      And I must say that you're going to find this a really unpopular opinion, but Apple right now have yet to come out with anything that competes with my Surface Pro as my "all day computer". More functional than an iPad and more portable/usable in odd environments than my laptop. My only gripe is the relatively short battery life, but even that is fixable. My iPad is languishing in a drawer and while my Macbook Pro still does sterling duty for Photoshop (since I'm a photographer) it's never the computer I throw in my bag when I leave my house for the day any more.

  92. Apple is headed downhill and accelerating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Things like the removal of important features users had become
    accustomed to using without notice, and crap like the several most
    recent versions of iTunes are giving me the distinct idea that I won't be
    buying much more from Apple.

    I am not a "fanboy" nor am I a "hater". I used to really like Apple stuff because most
    of the time it worked well and was reliable. But every version of OS X since Snow Leopard
    has been terrible and important features have been removed from OS X while other bugs
    have been allowed to persist.

    I really wish Tim Cook would disappear. He has led Apple into the shithole and he is a a clueless
    bean counter who wouldn't understand the importance of good design if it bit him in his ass.

    I have used iPhones since the first model. My next phone will NOT be an iPhone. My next
    laptop won't be made by Apple. Nor will I buy much of anything from the iTunes Store if I
    can buy it elsewhere. I simply cannot in good conscience support a company which makes
    crap.

  93. Re:Like GNU Linux/Google Cloud years Ago..or Vista by macs4all · · Score: 1

    Their products are grossly over hyped and not nearly as magical as their overpaid shills in the press like to claim.

    Yeah. Well come back when you can answer a phone call on your shitastic Lin/Win laptop using your Android phone in your bookbag with zero configuration.

  94. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Golden_Rider · · Score: 1

    My spouses 4S is working just fine with 7.1. Since 8 is not going to have a greater overhead in it's basic operations, there's no reason not to make it available to any phone that can run the current IOS.

    I do not understand your problem. The 4S WILL get iOS 8. Like the parent posters wrote, only the 4 (non-S) won't receive the update.

  95. Re:and it comes with the new NSA by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

    Carrier IQ was pushed by the carriers, not NSA, and has zero relevance to the iOS 8 announcement as it wasnt something pushed by Apple in the first place.

  96. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    All Android phones get updates. Google pushes them out via the Play store. That includes OS level updates, just not kernel version number bumps. To be called "Android" the OS must support this.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  97. Theo by 101percent · · Score: 1

    Theo said best; "We make crap, you pay extra."

  98. Apple is brilliant. Apple is horrible... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apple gave me warts.
    Apple will save the world.
    Apple is finally getting around to doing what we did with COBOL, two soup cans and some string 50 years ago.

    That pretty much wraps up this thread.

  99. Now, now, Mr. Ballmer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... go play with your nice new $2B toy.

  100. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    All Android phones get updates. Google pushes them out via the Play store. That includes OS level updates, just not kernel version number bumps. To be called "Android" the OS must support this.

    That's only somewhat true. Google has pushed more and more Android app updates to the Play store but they do not definitely push Android OS updates. From what I know that is still restricted by the manufacturer and the carrier. And that is highly variable depending on model and carrier. Now some would say that you could root your phone and do it yourself. Yes some people can but not everyone has the requisite skill to do so.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  101. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by saleenS281 · · Score: 1

    That is completely and utterly false. There is absolutely no requirement that a phone has to allow Android updates via the play store to be called Android. I've had 3 Android phones. Not a single one ever got an update through the play store, they all come from the carriers - which is why they're generally bloated, slow, and sometimes non-existent. Hell, even the Galaxy Nexus had to get it's updates from Verizon who held back the updates to the point of idiocy. They were well over 6 months behind every other network.

  102. Maybe it's time to switch operating systems? by Imazalil · · Score: 1

    ...

  103. Re:Falling through cases is quite useful at times by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    No. If going in your direction both break and fallthrough statements should be required.

    Nonsense. The following case statement marks the end of a case. There is no need for an extra break statement to mark the obvious and usual flow. Neither for the compiler nor the programmer.

    There is no better readability.

    In most cases there is both better readability and reduced code, because the number of times switch statements fall through is tiny compared with how often they break.

    (Note also: a case with multiple switch values isn't really a fall-through, other than because of C's primitive Other languages such as Pascal allow a list of values, and even ranges per case block.)

    And removing a comment hardly qualifies as one less line of code. :-)

    Removing your comment because there is a fallthrough statement is not what I'm talking about. It's all those break statements that are no longer needed that are the line savings.

  104. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    So they continue to pimp their new processor power in their phones (we have an A4 in this! That's right, A4, the chip we just invented! Oh wait, now we have the A5, now the A6, A7.) And then keep bogging it down with new features in iOS that really shouldn't make that much of a difference in performance, but grind old phones to a halt, and the difference is a wash comparing new iPhone +new iOS with old iPhone + old iOS?

    Your premise that newer phones don't have features that make a difference is simply false.

  105. Re:Off-topic Swift baggage by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    I don't understand your point. Swift having none of the baggage of C doesn't make any promises about other languages that you may have in your project.

    Just as using Javascript in your project doesn't make any promises about the existing PERL code in your project.

    Heck, on Android, you can call C-language APIs from Java. That doesn't mean that the benefits of Java don't exist.

  106. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 1

    So they continue to pimp their new processor power in their phones (we have an A4 in this! That's right, A4, the chip we just invented! Oh wait, now we have the A5, now the A6, A7.) And then keep bogging it down with new features in iOS that really shouldn't make that much of a difference in performance, but grind old phones to a halt, and the difference is a wash comparing new iPhone +new iOS with old iPhone + old iOS?

    Your premise that newer phones don't have features that make a difference is simply false.

    Basic OS operations like switching apps, bog down compared to old versions. Why does the addition of fingerprint scanner, copy & paste, Siri, or removal of Skeuomorph suddenly require a significantly more powerful processor to check email, change applications, and text? I'm not saying new features introduced are without use, but there seems to be a disproportionate increase in CPU horsepower required.

  107. Rip off! by CHIT2ME · · Score: 0

    Sounds like a Rip Off of Android!!!

    --
    My karma is bad. Don't get too close!!!
  108. Perhaps they shouldn't have killed iDisk! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

    I was using iDisk in 2000.

    Meh.

  109. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    Welcome to Moore's law. CPU power increases exponentially, and software uses that extra power. This is not an iOS peculiarity.

  110. Re:mac mini still almost 2 years old at same price by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    apple almost killed the mac mini years ago until the casinos in Vegas asked how many units they would have to buy for apple to keep it in their product line (the security cameras are mostly run on minis)

    just something i heard anecdotally, but seems reliable (i work in the video industry and so does my source, who goes to NAB regularly)

  111. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Shadowmist · · Score: 1

    My spouses 4S is working just fine with 7.1. Since 8 is not going to have a greater overhead in it's basic operations, there's no reason not to make it available to any phone that can run the current IOS.

    I do not understand your problem. The 4S WILL get iOS 8. Like the parent posters wrote, only the 4 (non-S) won't receive the update.

    My quote was in response to the poster that claimed IOS8 was going to obsolete present phones.

  112. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    To be called Android it has to pass the Google checks and have basic Google apps installed, including Play. They can't be broken or otherwise subverted. Otherwise it's just a variant of AOSP.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  113. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by saleenS281 · · Score: 1

    You didn't say apps, I didn't say apps - you said "That includes OS level updates" - that is patently false. They do not push OS updates, and they do not require mfg's to allow OS updates to be included in the Android ecosystem.

  114. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    Yeah, they do. It's patently true. They can update parts of the OS via Play. They have done so multiple times in the past, e.g. when a weakness was found in the PRNG.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  115. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by saleenS281 · · Score: 1
    That is a perfect example of you having no clue what you're talking about. The update for PRNG was *NOT* pushed through the play store. It was pushed via handset vendors at their discretion and the discretion of the mobile network operators who control what patches make it out of the gate. From the horse's mouth:

    http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2289537/google-issues-a-patch-for-android-bitcoin-wallet-app-bug

    However, the patches issued by Google, which ensure that Android's OpenSSL PRNG is initialised correctly, thus fixing the bug, might not be within reach for all Bitcoin users who need to update their mobile operating systems as soon as possible. This is because, as Klyubin explained, the patches have been provided to "OHA partners".

    The term "OHA partners" refers to the Open Handset Alliance, whose members include Android handset makers such as Samsung, HTC and Sony Ericsson, for example, and the respective mobile phone operators.

    Though it's good that these phone makers received the patches, the concern for many Bitcoin users now is whether these partners will roll out the patches to their customer bases.

  116. Gnome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like Gnome to me. Oh gee happy days they ripped off Gnome and call it inovation and new.

    Of course people will buy into this shit and pay out the ass of a desktop they could have gotten for free. Oh I forgot Gnome doesn't start with an "i". Maybe we need an iDebian distro.

  117. Re:Cherry Pick Stats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To be called Android it has to pass the Google checks and have basic Google apps installed, including Play. They can't be broken or otherwise subverted. Otherwise it's just a variant of AOSP.

    Good thing they count for marketshare though.