As a person who just got back from an awesome overseas trip, I took about 1900 photos on my Nikon. I took 200 on my smartphone.
I'm certainly far more proud of the ones coming from my Nikon, but there is an important catch. I had to wait until I was home to really dive into them and put them on the net.
For the life of my, I can't understand why Canon, Nikon and others are not fully embracing this connected world. All $500+ cameras should come with Bluetooth/Direct Wifi and GPS built in. All photos should be geotagged, in a timely manner, and be able to be linked through an open API to a smartphone app that transfers the original RAW files into a JPEG and uploaded instantly to social media.
Smartphones will not be competing with sensor size or quality anytime soon, but they sure make sharing photos a lot easier. That is what people really care about.
What you're describing is a chicken and an egg problem.
"They have/had great smartphone features, particularly around messaging, and they have server software running in most corporations around the world." -- They had to build an OS from the ground up BECAUSE they value these things. Android is great for what it does, but security is not one of it's strong points. Blackberry's name is built on security for those messages.
You can't just throw that out and still have a Blackberry. If they were shooting for another consumer reskin, then they could have waded into the bloody waters of the Android market and sold themselves to the highest bidder. Instead they took the hard road, bought a rock solid kernel and built a new OS from the ground up with messaging, security and the future in mind.
iOS and Android are great, but they're starting to get long in the tooth. They ride the cutting edge, but eventually that will show it's age. Blackberry started over the beginning to build an OS for the next 10 years. If they can launch Mobile Computing, it's a bright future.
You know, the thing that I never understood about the Laptop market is why companies didn't pour the money into the production value.
My wife owns a Macbook Pro, and I flat out refuse to buy a Mac product for a variety of reasons. Her question to me? Then what out there is as nice as my Macbook?
Problem is... not much. Razor has a decent laptop, but it's only 17" - she only wants 13 or 15". Is it really that hard to build a unibody laptop with decent specs (midrange graphics, anyone?), reasonable battery life, and a good screen? With the PC market I can find one or two of those things, but never all of them together, unless it's pricier than the Macbook, or unwieldy in size.
The commodity market that got the PC in the door has gone out the window. I'd love to see a fantastic Windows 7 Laptop come in at a reasonable ($1500-2000) price range that doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart after a month of use.
I work with youth, and so I feel your pain on this one.
In my local town last year there was nearly a dozen suicides, and none of them were broadcast or publicized in any way. That being said, the research, professionally and anecdotally, shows that if you broadcast or glorify the person who has committed suicide, there will be others. Almost do a disproportionate level.
Even without the broadcasting, there were copycats or others suicides that were clearly and directly linked to prior ones.
It has a lot to do with developing minds, and how some teenagers have a fragile sense of self-worth. Their social setting drastically affects the way they view the world, and if all they want is to be noticed, and they see someone who has committed suicide being glorified, or even lifted above the situation, some people take action to get the same attention.
It's a tricky line to walk, and one that is very much in contention.
One thing to make clear though: Just because it's not publicized doesn't mean it is swept under the rug. Counsellors, friends, communities are very much involved in those who are left in the wake of a suicide, and that effort goes unpublicized as much as the suicide itself. It is a long, hard journey for everyone involved.
In fact, the most recent 'controversy' was over social media publishing results of eastern polls before the western provinces could vote. The reason being that if a party were winning in the East, by a narrow margin, voters in the West could drastically change their voting patterns with the sole purpose of voting against that party, rather than for the candidates.
Speed doesn't seem to be an issue up here.
I'm not sure why we're seeing all of this. But if you RTFA, you'll see a totally different message. Heins gets that they are in a lot of trouble. He's simply saying that they aren't going anywhere. They are executing their strategy in the midst of a transition. All of the negativity is expected. But they haven't lost their head, they know where they're going.
The headline should read: "RIM CEO Acknowledges past, hopeful for future"
Nice to see a CEO be candid about their problems.
You must have just missed it. I read through the whole article -- it's written by a researcher working on the project, not just a journalist who's trying to make it understandable for everyone. It's certainly not a white paper on the technical aspects, but it's fairly robust in it's description on the information they have today.
If this catches on (I don't see any Japanese partners in TFA), it could be a sudden outbreak of common sense. Maybe even... convenience for the consumer?
I'm no developer, but from what I've read, this is only partially true.
Up until this point, nearly all development for the Playbook has been done through Adobe Air -- including the keyboard, browser, etc. At BB World, they have released a further iteration of the NDK, with their UI Components (Cascades). So many of the apps that couldn't be written before now have much deeper integration.
The rooting discussion doesn't even come into it -- you can sideload apps, so there is really no need to root, other than for a USB to go integration. Nor is it possible to root the tablet any longer.
What's encouraging to me is that RIM gets it... they are quite self-aware of their position in their market, and finally giving voices to the people inside the company that get it too. They're pivoting -- with a fundamental paradigm change in their design and OS philosophy. Will it pay dividends in 6 months? We'll have to wait to see.
You mean the Android emulator, with documented situations where it doesn't work? Or you're blaming windows for the problems, which is a Microsoft product?
Or developing natively, which hasn't even been fully released yet? You'll have to wait until next week to see the full NDK.
I'm no developer, but from what I've heard about Android 'just working' involves supporting hundreds of devices, and plenty of different versions of Android just to get it working.
Make no mistake, RIM has not been the easiest to develop for in the past, but they're working overtime to get communication working now. Alec Saunders has made himself completely available to developers to work out problems. Name one other company that gives you that kind of access to people who can make the changes needed.
Don't sing the swan song just yet, the bets are still out on this one.
This is standard corporate procedure. You work with a company, they reveal trade secrets, you sign a clause saying that you won't work in the same industry or with a direct competitor for a year.
This guy was treated more than fairly. They didn't kick him to the curb, they offered him a years paid salary to sit out, and he still left the company. When you take into consideration that Apple recently dumped IBM's processors, and some lingering animosity from that, it's no wonder why IBM is being aggressive in it's approach.
While I'm no fan of corporate overlords, you don't just let some high level shirt walk off with all of the trade information about your current and future plans to a competitor and sit idly by. This guy knew exactly what he was doing and decided to roll the dice.
Key thing right now: Unified installers.
There is a serious problem with installers in linux. While.deb has taken it a long way, there are still numerous packages out there that need to be compiled. While I enjoy the research that goes into that, all of the dependent packages, etc. creates quite a mess quickly, and most people give up. Having a single, unified installer package would help tremendously to a user finding OSS they want, downloading it, clicking on it, and then running it.
Unfortunately, that's a very narrow argument. For power users -- yes. Having a command line is awesome. As I've said in other posts, I quite enjoy tinkering with linux and doing the research, it's fun for me.
But for 98% of the population, they don't *want* to touch that. They want their OS to work. They want it to install smoothly, have the drivers, have easy to install programs (which even ubuntu struggles with), and work. They don't want to have to get into the guts of the OS.
Since the discussion is about taking linux 'mainstream' -- that is what I'm talking about. Most people are monkeys who like pre-fab machines.
Mac's would be an option (as would Ubuntu) if it weren't for proprietary software that he has to run for his business.
But again... the issue for me isn't whether he could run it while I'm there. The issue is whether HE could run it. Without any other help.
As hideous as it is, he can buy a desktop from Dell or HP, install his own software and run it on windows. Ubuntu is not so easy.
I'll have to look into that.
My point was less about that though -- I quite enjoy Ubuntu and the tinkering. It's something that *I* like. But as for getting regular pc users to tinker, good luck. The distro has a long way to go before it's ready for prime-time. Ubuntu has taken some momentous steps forward in this direction, but it has a lot further to go.
The strength of the Linux community is that it is user-driven. There is always as solution to the problem. But that is also it's detriment... there is no single place to bring these solutions together into a fluid package.
Totally understand that.
My father sees a black screen, and he freaks out. It's actually pretty funny for a guy with a master's degree.
But especially when I need to compile software to get similar functionality (I'm looking at you, aMSN), that's just too much.
Point being, he's used to GUI. Getting him to type in a web address is interesting enough somedays. While linux is not yet designed for people like that (I understand), without that kind of support, how can you expect a company like Dell or HP to push the OS as it's primary without doubling their support staff?
iirc, there was still a bit of configuration in X that I had to do manually. Which I know has improved drastically in the last 6 months.
Configuration of display settings, the muddle between open source and restricted drivers. Wireless packages, etc.
It was about 8 months ago to a year to get it setup, and there was quite a bit of googling, which turned up most of my answers in the forums. One kernel revision broke my ATI Mobility card, and I had to use an old kernel until the latest revision, which has now rectified the problem.
While it wasn't a huge issue for me, getting someone who isn't literate to walk through it would have been a nightmare.
Honestly, being a casual Linux user, sound card support is not the defining factor holding back Linux adoption. While Ubuntu goes a long way to improving the user experience with Linux, even to get it to a 'standard' setup, I needed to use the console no less than 5 times. That's *needed* to, there was no GUI way to do what I was trying to do.
While I personally have no problem doing that, I shudder at the idea of talking someone like my father through it. The day that I can combine Linux stability with ease of use... that will be the year of the Linux desktop. Driver integration and support goes a long way to doing that, and a flushed out menu system will put it over the top.
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As a person who just got back from an awesome overseas trip, I took about 1900 photos on my Nikon. I took 200 on my smartphone.
I'm certainly far more proud of the ones coming from my Nikon, but there is an important catch. I had to wait until I was home to really dive into them and put them on the net.
For the life of my, I can't understand why Canon, Nikon and others are not fully embracing this connected world. All $500+ cameras should come with Bluetooth/Direct Wifi and GPS built in. All photos should be geotagged, in a timely manner, and be able to be linked through an open API to a smartphone app that transfers the original RAW files into a JPEG and uploaded instantly to social media.
Smartphones will not be competing with sensor size or quality anytime soon, but they sure make sharing photos a lot easier. That is what people really care about.
"Yesterday, former engineer Rob Schultz ***unwillingly*** testified in court against Apple"
I hardly doubt that a future employer would hold him accountable for telling the truth under oath.
From TFA ... researchers have discovered what causes anti-biotic resistance, and HOPE to use that to discover how to stop them from becoming resistant.
The summary suggests that they already have. The summary will be perfect in "a few years time" when the researchers hope to have the solution.
What you're describing is a chicken and an egg problem.
"They have/had great smartphone features, particularly around messaging, and they have server software running in most corporations around the world." -- They had to build an OS from the ground up BECAUSE they value these things. Android is great for what it does, but security is not one of it's strong points. Blackberry's name is built on security for those messages.
You can't just throw that out and still have a Blackberry. If they were shooting for another consumer reskin, then they could have waded into the bloody waters of the Android market and sold themselves to the highest bidder. Instead they took the hard road, bought a rock solid kernel and built a new OS from the ground up with messaging, security and the future in mind.
iOS and Android are great, but they're starting to get long in the tooth. They ride the cutting edge, but eventually that will show it's age. Blackberry started over the beginning to build an OS for the next 10 years. If they can launch Mobile Computing, it's a bright future.
That, however, is a BIG if.
You know, the thing that I never understood about the Laptop market is why companies didn't pour the money into the production value. My wife owns a Macbook Pro, and I flat out refuse to buy a Mac product for a variety of reasons. Her question to me? Then what out there is as nice as my Macbook? Problem is... not much. Razor has a decent laptop, but it's only 17" - she only wants 13 or 15". Is it really that hard to build a unibody laptop with decent specs (midrange graphics, anyone?), reasonable battery life, and a good screen? With the PC market I can find one or two of those things, but never all of them together, unless it's pricier than the Macbook, or unwieldy in size. The commodity market that got the PC in the door has gone out the window. I'd love to see a fantastic Windows 7 Laptop come in at a reasonable ($1500-2000) price range that doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart after a month of use.
I work with youth, and so I feel your pain on this one. In my local town last year there was nearly a dozen suicides, and none of them were broadcast or publicized in any way. That being said, the research, professionally and anecdotally, shows that if you broadcast or glorify the person who has committed suicide, there will be others. Almost do a disproportionate level. Even without the broadcasting, there were copycats or others suicides that were clearly and directly linked to prior ones. It has a lot to do with developing minds, and how some teenagers have a fragile sense of self-worth. Their social setting drastically affects the way they view the world, and if all they want is to be noticed, and they see someone who has committed suicide being glorified, or even lifted above the situation, some people take action to get the same attention. It's a tricky line to walk, and one that is very much in contention. One thing to make clear though: Just because it's not publicized doesn't mean it is swept under the rug. Counsellors, friends, communities are very much involved in those who are left in the wake of a suicide, and that effort goes unpublicized as much as the suicide itself. It is a long, hard journey for everyone involved.
In fact, the most recent 'controversy' was over social media publishing results of eastern polls before the western provinces could vote. The reason being that if a party were winning in the East, by a narrow margin, voters in the West could drastically change their voting patterns with the sole purpose of voting against that party, rather than for the candidates. Speed doesn't seem to be an issue up here.
I'm not sure why we're seeing all of this. But if you RTFA, you'll see a totally different message. Heins gets that they are in a lot of trouble. He's simply saying that they aren't going anywhere. They are executing their strategy in the midst of a transition. All of the negativity is expected. But they haven't lost their head, they know where they're going. The headline should read: "RIM CEO Acknowledges past, hopeful for future" Nice to see a CEO be candid about their problems.
+1
You must have just missed it. I read through the whole article -- it's written by a researcher working on the project, not just a journalist who's trying to make it understandable for everyone. It's certainly not a white paper on the technical aspects, but it's fairly robust in it's description on the information they have today.
If this catches on (I don't see any Japanese partners in TFA), it could be a sudden outbreak of common sense. Maybe even... convenience for the consumer?
I'm no developer, but from what I've read, this is only partially true. Up until this point, nearly all development for the Playbook has been done through Adobe Air -- including the keyboard, browser, etc. At BB World, they have released a further iteration of the NDK, with their UI Components (Cascades). So many of the apps that couldn't be written before now have much deeper integration. The rooting discussion doesn't even come into it -- you can sideload apps, so there is really no need to root, other than for a USB to go integration. Nor is it possible to root the tablet any longer. What's encouraging to me is that RIM gets it... they are quite self-aware of their position in their market, and finally giving voices to the people inside the company that get it too. They're pivoting -- with a fundamental paradigm change in their design and OS philosophy. Will it pay dividends in 6 months? We'll have to wait to see.
You mean the Android emulator, with documented situations where it doesn't work? Or you're blaming windows for the problems, which is a Microsoft product? Or developing natively, which hasn't even been fully released yet? You'll have to wait until next week to see the full NDK. I'm no developer, but from what I've heard about Android 'just working' involves supporting hundreds of devices, and plenty of different versions of Android just to get it working. Make no mistake, RIM has not been the easiest to develop for in the past, but they're working overtime to get communication working now. Alec Saunders has made himself completely available to developers to work out problems. Name one other company that gives you that kind of access to people who can make the changes needed. Don't sing the swan song just yet, the bets are still out on this one.
Doesn't that work for Bill O'Reilly?
They set you up the bomb, obviously.
This is standard corporate procedure. You work with a company, they reveal trade secrets, you sign a clause saying that you won't work in the same industry or with a direct competitor for a year. This guy was treated more than fairly. They didn't kick him to the curb, they offered him a years paid salary to sit out, and he still left the company. When you take into consideration that Apple recently dumped IBM's processors, and some lingering animosity from that, it's no wonder why IBM is being aggressive in it's approach. While I'm no fan of corporate overlords, you don't just let some high level shirt walk off with all of the trade information about your current and future plans to a competitor and sit idly by. This guy knew exactly what he was doing and decided to roll the dice.
Key thing right now: Unified installers. There is a serious problem with installers in linux. While .deb has taken it a long way, there are still numerous packages out there that need to be compiled. While I enjoy the research that goes into that, all of the dependent packages, etc. creates quite a mess quickly, and most people give up. Having a single, unified installer package would help tremendously to a user finding OSS they want, downloading it, clicking on it, and then running it.
Unfortunately, that's a very narrow argument. For power users -- yes. Having a command line is awesome. As I've said in other posts, I quite enjoy tinkering with linux and doing the research, it's fun for me. But for 98% of the population, they don't *want* to touch that. They want their OS to work. They want it to install smoothly, have the drivers, have easy to install programs (which even ubuntu struggles with), and work. They don't want to have to get into the guts of the OS. Since the discussion is about taking linux 'mainstream' -- that is what I'm talking about. Most people are monkeys who like pre-fab machines.
sure! :) That sound about right.
Mac's would be an option (as would Ubuntu) if it weren't for proprietary software that he has to run for his business. But again... the issue for me isn't whether he could run it while I'm there. The issue is whether HE could run it. Without any other help. As hideous as it is, he can buy a desktop from Dell or HP, install his own software and run it on windows. Ubuntu is not so easy.
I'll have to look into that. My point was less about that though -- I quite enjoy Ubuntu and the tinkering. It's something that *I* like. But as for getting regular pc users to tinker, good luck. The distro has a long way to go before it's ready for prime-time. Ubuntu has taken some momentous steps forward in this direction, but it has a lot further to go. The strength of the Linux community is that it is user-driven. There is always as solution to the problem. But that is also it's detriment... there is no single place to bring these solutions together into a fluid package.
Totally understand that. My father sees a black screen, and he freaks out. It's actually pretty funny for a guy with a master's degree. But especially when I need to compile software to get similar functionality (I'm looking at you, aMSN), that's just too much. Point being, he's used to GUI. Getting him to type in a web address is interesting enough somedays. While linux is not yet designed for people like that (I understand), without that kind of support, how can you expect a company like Dell or HP to push the OS as it's primary without doubling their support staff?
iirc, there was still a bit of configuration in X that I had to do manually. Which I know has improved drastically in the last 6 months. Configuration of display settings, the muddle between open source and restricted drivers. Wireless packages, etc. It was about 8 months ago to a year to get it setup, and there was quite a bit of googling, which turned up most of my answers in the forums. One kernel revision broke my ATI Mobility card, and I had to use an old kernel until the latest revision, which has now rectified the problem. While it wasn't a huge issue for me, getting someone who isn't literate to walk through it would have been a nightmare.
Honestly, being a casual Linux user, sound card support is not the defining factor holding back Linux adoption. While Ubuntu goes a long way to improving the user experience with Linux, even to get it to a 'standard' setup, I needed to use the console no less than 5 times. That's *needed* to, there was no GUI way to do what I was trying to do. While I personally have no problem doing that, I shudder at the idea of talking someone like my father through it. The day that I can combine Linux stability with ease of use... that will be the year of the Linux desktop. Driver integration and support goes a long way to doing that, and a flushed out menu system will put it over the top.
Sure doesn't help Microsoft's perception of a corporate bully.