What do people want to do most with computing devices?
games
email
chat
lookup info / read news, books, etc
music
videos
pictures
So, obviously, smartphones, tablets, any device which is mobile is going to be more attractve than a desktop PC, for the casual user, since for the most part, it's cheaper and more convenient to get a mobile computing device than it is to get a Desktop PC.
Netbooks and Laptops or even Desktop Replacements will get more popular as they get lower in price and offer way much better battery life.
The Desktop PC won't go away soon, it has its use in business or for the hardcore "PC" gamers. But it will never again be the dominant form of computer usage, those days are gone.
But there is another reason why Desktop PC sales are down.
In the recent years, hardware specs even at the lower end of the spectrum are more than powerful enough to handle the demands of new software, and thus people have less reasons to upgrade. "Remember: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!":)
Then you see Microsoft trying to get Windows 8 out there, but it's not working, because Windows 8, isn't flying with people. At this point in time, people who use a PC, don't want to use a PC like a mobile device.
Microsoft would have been better to stick to Windows 7 and keep improving it, adding an optional mobile interface layer and get people to purchase touch screen monitors instead.
They could have built a momentum towards a mobile OS experience, without alienating users.
Oh well:)
IF Windows wants back in .. in strength on PCs
on
Windows: Not Doomed Yet
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
For home users, make a free windows version which isn't watered down. But, charge for support however.
With Ubuntu and other OS out there which are FREE, the only way for Microsoft to stay relevant on the PC front is to stop gouging people for money, however, no money, no support, no liabilities, nada, zilch. Use at your own risk.
Also, considering the typical keyboard, mouse, monitor desktop PC configuration, the last thing Windows needs is a new revamp which would make it behave like a tablet or a phone.
The START button IS windows, and that should be back in force.
At the very least, do like Windows 7 and other previous versions and offer the 98 style GUI when you remove all the glitz and bells and whistles.
For now, until desktops and mobile devices are equal in processing powers, they are better off with different types of OS, than trying to do a 'one fits all' OS, which clearly isn't being look well upon.
Here's the awful truth.
Win 95.. we got in.
Win ME... sucked and well and was definitively forgettable
Win 98 second edition, good stuff
Win 2000, until SP4, kinda sucked and wasn't really worth moving too
Win XP SP2, (YES, was good)
Vista (Garbage)
Windows 7, worth the upgrade
Windows 8.. Yawn, not worth it
Windows 7 will become the new XP. Nobody will want to migrate from it and I can't blame them, because I'm in the same boat!
Those who will get new PCs and Laptops, more than likely, will force their suppliers to put on Windows 7. Reason? "My work uses Win 7 and our apps aren't compatible to Win 8, or something like that.
Microsoft's expectation of people wanting to upgrade their OS every 2 or 3 yrs, is simply ludicrous. Consider the amount of time it takes them to 'get it right', meaning the amount of service packs and updates one goes through, eventually, when you have a stable OS, you stick to it.
Let's not forget the old engineer's motto: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Although from a US citizen perspective, they view the extra VIsas as a negative, truth to be told, In the field of programming and application architecture, you must go where the job is.
The reason for more Visas, to me, stems from our own US talent not marketing and/or exposing themselves efficiently and more than likely a reluctance to relocate where the work is..
However, that's not the full truth, it's more often a question of saving money.
For the most part. Also, foreign talent can either be very expensive or very very cheap..
On the Cheap Department, for example, some banking institution(s) will hire a lot of programmers from India, importing them at 15$ per hour..
Well you pay for what you get.. just remember that.
But still, These banking institution don't care about quality code, just make it happen.
So, obviously 15$ an hour for a Java programmer is dirt cheap for sure.
The entire consulting firm/banking institution relationship is based on kickbacks to the hiring managers. But that's another story..:)
Consider this: 30 billion trillion (3x10) stars in the visible universe. (estimated as of 2006).
There are typically more than 1 planet per star. But let's say there is only 1 planet per star for this case.
Even 1 in a billion trillion would be 30 planets in the universe with life!:)
Odds are, I'm being very conservative.
Proof of assertion?
Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch the size of Texas?
Rings a bell?
All the major cities in the US have pollution index, and this air pollution is a direct link to COPD. I have COPD, never smoked in my life. Don't even hang around smokers, but I'm a city boy, or used to, now, because of that, I tend to stay in the country, better air, in my area anyway.
It's common sense, this planet can only do so much to sustain itself when we keep making it worse.
For example, we keep chopping down more trees that we are planting and trees are a major air filtration system.
We keep having oil spills and I don't think you need to know how good that is for our environment.
Pharmaceutical wastes are now becoming a problem affecting our water based life forms.
PH balance of our oceans is skewing the production of plankton
I mean, geez, you want proof? it's everything?
What more do you want?
Sadly, for a people who live in relative isolation, they are getting poisoned by the rest of us.
Even though they ignore our ways of life for their simple one, they end up not being able to trust the air and the water they are surrounded with as it delivers them poisons.
This world is too fractured to come up with viable options for actually cleaning up and reversing the damages we've done.
Yet we must, because eventually, we will cause damages which will be hard to revert from.
We need to normalize our social and political landscape across the entire globe and we need to figure out a true viable global economy which factors in, the proper way of doing business which enforces keeping our environment clean and pollutant free.
We have the technology, but we don't have the maturity. This planet is being exploited to the bones by a few very greedy bastards and the flock of sheeps who won't do nothing about it.
Better grow up folks, because this is the only planet we have.
Profit at the cost of our environment is wrong.
Unless you don't care about the legacy you leave your children and their future progeny.
Having more than one browser should NOT be a deciding factor on your productivity. For all we know, using more than one browser maybe a forced issue simply based on the incompatibilities of some websites towards a preferred browser.
And for all we know, more than 1 browser, could also mean, less work, because being at your desk and producing isn't synonymous with being at your desk and browsing websites.
Microsoft Office is probably even more popular than Windows itself.
Those who use LibreOffice or any other variants, for the most part, come back to Microsoft Office.
Especially when they have to work with complex documents.
So, while the perception is that Microsoft will be losing market share over Google Apps for mobile devices, the truth is, unless Google Apps come to be on-par with Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.., then the moment Office is an option for Android/iOS, it will grab some of the market share back.
That's for the casual users anyways.
Some of the deciding factor towards losing market share comes from companies and corporations who are in the market for a platform for their offices. They can purchase Google Apps and install it on their servers, which has pros and cons, or stick with Microsoft, which has pros and cons.
To me, that's the market share Microsoft could be losing, if these companies have requirements for mobile tablets for their employees for their Android and iOS devices, they may favor Google Apps now, which will be an investment and for which the odds of rolling back to Microsoft will be slight to none.
It's not what you don't know.. It's about how quick, fast, smart and elegant your solutions are. It's a marriage of problem solving meets artistry. And it's not always based on pure experience and knowledge.
True talent is hard to find. It's that simple. Zuckerberg and all the other giants in this industry know that, there are many smart men, but very few geniuses. And that's why they are hard pressed to seek for more visas towards importing the talents here.
Even if you set a curriculum for the skillset they need to fulfill the job, not every has the knowledge, the expertise that goes into the realm of an art-form towards solving various types of programming paradigm.
I never said I want any control What I said is that no ISP wants to be place in a legal position where they allow illegal downloads through their networks.
I don't believe this comment was set at -1: as Flamebait. Clearly someone who is quite bias about piracy. But it doesn't change my point of view. And it doesn't even consider whether I'm for or against piracy to begin with.:)
In a world where information is key, and where it's getting to be overwhelming in its capacity, these more powerful processors will play a key role in analyzing data to retrieve the meaningful and management portions.
The Core Windows interface up to Windows 7 has been the same for approximately 20 yrs.
We always had the choice to tweak the interface to be Win 95 like, and a starting point, also known as a Start Button, made sense.
I can understand that Microsoft wants to 'be cool' and compete against Apple and Android
But even the Apple phone/tablet interface is NOT the same as their Apple PC counterpart
Microsoft could have just improved on Win 7 in terms of performance and power management and add on features for mobile use, such as swiping and other mobile related events
Baby steps
Instead, they went bumbling in with Windows 8 in a bad way, not anticipating that they would be met with fierce resistance.
Here's something which seems to elude Microsoft and other software companies.
There is TONS of software out there for many platforms.
And for the most part, if you have hardware that is less than 5 yrs old, chances are, your hardware specs a good for most stuff available.
It takes a while to get a stable OS, all things considered, such as service packs, etc.
So once you have it, that's it.
You don't want to muck with it.
It's that simple.
Upgrading is normally only an option when you have no choice.
And as consumers we do. We can have Win XP/Vista/7 working with our devices such as Samsung/IPhone/etc.
We don't want to relearn a new interface for using our PCs.
If Microsoft had first and foremost incorporate mobile aspects, while allowing the traditional interface to still work, Windows 8, wouldn't be such a big deal, more people would have embraced it.
Oh well.
Which ISP wants the heat of illegal downloads going through their networks?
PIrate Bay's days will soon end.. E-Mule and these other Peer-to-peer will be targetted next. It's just a matter of time before the 'Wild Wild West' internet, becomes.. uh.. civilized:)
This is really cool. Guess it won't be too long when they will be able to do the same with live brains. Which would more than likely result in the ability to cure many forms of mental issues and illness.
Would dictate that instead of trying to make a system which punishes, one should do a system which enforces. In other terms, automated highways where your cars are regulated and automated for the drive.
To me, that would be a much more worthwhile goal to strive for.
or not only you set the list, but you give them transition proportion (blink speed, larger number = longer stay in that color)
div {
blink: orange, 1, green 2, blue: 1
}
or
blink: url(image1), 10, url(image2), 20
This is where you use images to blink.
Clearly our technological advances are ahead of the law and it's time for those 2 to sync up in a realistic way.
Ok, so this is a guy who does identity fraud.
I'm not crying for him
He's lucky to even have access to due process as far as I'm concerned
However, that your very own devices can be used against you in such ways, which means that the trust you have in your provider is broken, seems unethical.
If the FBI and/or other agencies require such abilities, perhaps then, companies such as Verizon should place this in their contracts something like "authorities can use your devices to track you and/or use your data for any of their investigations as they see fit".
Transparency would be nice.
All I know is that, I've got nothing to hide, so I don't care, but, for those who do, they may have to switch to another provider....
I think that Microsoft, Nokia and Oracle are going in the stand-up comedy business. Because this complaint is certainly the funniest one I've seen.
Open Source is more popular commercially than they are. Gee, who would have thought of that!
For years, I've always advocated that Microsoft should release DOS and then Windows for free at the very least for non-business use. If you need support, buy it from Microsoft.
They've been scoffing at open source for years and now, it's proven to work and its working on devices such as phones and tablets which are consumed even more than PCs, which is why they are sorely pissed and scared.
Eventually all of this means that tablets, phones and new generations of portable laptops/netbooks will have the powers of PCs and more and won't be running on Windows or any other proprietary platforms.
But that's called competition, and well, the thing is, while Google may be the leaders of Android, as we can plainly see, Android is free and customized by all as they see fit, so, it's not an actually anti-competitive at all.
Good Luck to Microsoft, Nokia and Oracle, for they will need it!:)
Slashdot Mirror
I got rejected because of my OCD on sleeping with an opened window.
So, obviously, smartphones, tablets, any device which is mobile is going to be more attractve than a desktop PC, for the casual user, since for the most part, it's cheaper and more convenient to get a mobile computing device than it is to get a Desktop PC.
:)
:)
Netbooks and Laptops or even Desktop Replacements will get more popular as they get lower in price and offer way much better battery life.
The Desktop PC won't go away soon, it has its use in business or for the hardcore "PC" gamers. But it will never again be the dominant form of computer usage, those days are gone.
But there is another reason why Desktop PC sales are down.
In the recent years, hardware specs even at the lower end of the spectrum are more than powerful enough to handle the demands of new software, and thus people have less reasons to upgrade. "Remember: if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Then you see Microsoft trying to get Windows 8 out there, but it's not working, because Windows 8, isn't flying with people. At this point in time, people who use a PC, don't want to use a PC like a mobile device.
Microsoft would have been better to stick to Windows 7 and keep improving it, adding an optional mobile interface layer and get people to purchase touch screen monitors instead.
They could have built a momentum towards a mobile OS experience, without alienating users.
Oh well
With Ubuntu and other OS out there which are FREE, the only way for Microsoft to stay relevant on the PC front is to stop gouging people for money, however, no money, no support, no liabilities, nada, zilch. Use at your own risk.
Also, considering the typical keyboard, mouse, monitor desktop PC configuration, the last thing Windows needs is a new revamp which would make it behave like a tablet or a phone.
The START button IS windows, and that should be back in force.
At the very least, do like Windows 7 and other previous versions and offer the 98 style GUI when you remove all the glitz and bells and whistles.
For now, until desktops and mobile devices are equal in processing powers, they are better off with different types of OS, than trying to do a 'one fits all' OS, which clearly isn't being look well upon.
Here's the awful truth.
Windows 7 will become the new XP. Nobody will want to migrate from it and I can't blame them, because I'm in the same boat!
Those who will get new PCs and Laptops, more than likely, will force their suppliers to put on Windows 7. Reason? "My work uses Win 7 and our apps aren't compatible to Win 8, or something like that.
Microsoft's expectation of people wanting to upgrade their OS every 2 or 3 yrs, is simply ludicrous. Consider the amount of time it takes them to 'get it right', meaning the amount of service packs and updates one goes through, eventually, when you have a stable OS, you stick to it.
Let's not forget the old engineer's motto: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
little insects which can survive space and radiation, almost sounds like the making of a sci-fi horror flick as they mutant into space monsters! :)
Although from a US citizen perspective, they view the extra VIsas as a negative, truth to be told, In the field of programming and application architecture, you must go where the job is.
:)
The reason for more Visas, to me, stems from our own US talent not marketing and/or exposing themselves efficiently and more than likely a reluctance to relocate where the work is..
However, that's not the full truth, it's more often a question of saving money.
For the most part. Also, foreign talent can either be very expensive or very very cheap..
On the Cheap Department, for example, some banking institution(s) will hire a lot of programmers from India, importing them at 15$ per hour..
Well you pay for what you get.. just remember that.
But still, These banking institution don't care about quality code, just make it happen.
So, obviously 15$ an hour for a Java programmer is dirt cheap for sure.
The entire consulting firm/banking institution relationship is based on kickbacks to the hiring managers. But that's another story..
Consider this: 30 billion trillion (3x10) stars in the visible universe. (estimated as of 2006). :)
There are typically more than 1 planet per star. But let's say there is only 1 planet per star for this case.
Even 1 in a billion trillion would be 30 planets in the universe with life!
Odds are, I'm being very conservative.
Proof of assertion?
Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch the size of Texas?
Rings a bell?
All the major cities in the US have pollution index, and this air pollution is a direct link to COPD. I have COPD, never smoked in my life. Don't even hang around smokers, but I'm a city boy, or used to, now, because of that, I tend to stay in the country, better air, in my area anyway.
It's common sense, this planet can only do so much to sustain itself when we keep making it worse.
For example, we keep chopping down more trees that we are planting and trees are a major air filtration system.
We keep having oil spills and I don't think you need to know how good that is for our environment.
Pharmaceutical wastes are now becoming a problem affecting our water based life forms.
PH balance of our oceans is skewing the production of plankton
I mean, geez, you want proof? it's everything?
What more do you want?
Sadly, for a people who live in relative isolation, they are getting poisoned by the rest of us.
Even though they ignore our ways of life for their simple one, they end up not being able to trust the air and the water they are surrounded with as it delivers them poisons.
This world is too fractured to come up with viable options for actually cleaning up and reversing the damages we've done.
Yet we must, because eventually, we will cause damages which will be hard to revert from.
We need to normalize our social and political landscape across the entire globe and we need to figure out a true viable global economy which factors in, the proper way of doing business which enforces keeping our environment clean and pollutant free.
We have the technology, but we don't have the maturity. This planet is being exploited to the bones by a few very greedy bastards and the flock of sheeps who won't do nothing about it.
Better grow up folks, because this is the only planet we have.
Profit at the cost of our environment is wrong.
Unless you don't care about the legacy you leave your children and their future progeny.
Having more than one browser should NOT be a deciding factor on your productivity. For all we know, using more than one browser maybe a forced issue simply based on the incompatibilities of some websites towards a preferred browser.
And for all we know, more than 1 browser, could also mean, less work, because being at your desk and producing isn't synonymous with being at your desk and browsing websites.
Microsoft Office is probably even more popular than Windows itself.
Those who use LibreOffice or any other variants, for the most part, come back to Microsoft Office.
Especially when they have to work with complex documents.
So, while the perception is that Microsoft will be losing market share over Google Apps for mobile devices, the truth is, unless Google Apps come to be on-par with Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.., then the moment Office is an option for Android/iOS, it will grab some of the market share back.
That's for the casual users anyways.
Some of the deciding factor towards losing market share comes from companies and corporations who are in the market for a platform for their offices. They can purchase Google Apps and install it on their servers, which has pros and cons, or stick with Microsoft, which has pros and cons.
To me, that's the market share Microsoft could be losing, if these companies have requirements for mobile tablets for their employees for their Android and iOS devices, they may favor Google Apps now, which will be an investment and for which the odds of rolling back to Microsoft will be slight to none.
It's not what you don't know.. It's about how quick, fast, smart and elegant your solutions are. It's a marriage of problem solving meets artistry. And it's not always based on pure experience and knowledge.
True talent is hard to find. It's that simple. Zuckerberg and all the other giants in this industry know that, there are many smart men, but very few geniuses. And that's why they are hard pressed to seek for more visas towards importing the talents here.
Even if you set a curriculum for the skillset they need to fulfill the job, not every has the knowledge, the expertise that goes into the realm of an art-form towards solving various types of programming paradigm.
I never said I want any control What I said is that no ISP wants to be place in a legal position where they allow illegal downloads through their networks.
I don't believe this comment was set at -1: as Flamebait. Clearly someone who is quite bias about piracy. But it doesn't change my point of view. And it doesn't even consider whether I'm for or against piracy to begin with. :)
In a world where information is key, and where it's getting to be overwhelming in its capacity, these more powerful processors will play a key role in analyzing data to retrieve the meaningful and management portions.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
The Core Windows interface up to Windows 7 has been the same for approximately 20 yrs.
We always had the choice to tweak the interface to be Win 95 like, and a starting point, also known as a Start Button, made sense.
I can understand that Microsoft wants to 'be cool' and compete against Apple and Android
But even the Apple phone/tablet interface is NOT the same as their Apple PC counterpart
Microsoft could have just improved on Win 7 in terms of performance and power management and add on features for mobile use, such as swiping and other mobile related events
Baby steps
Instead, they went bumbling in with Windows 8 in a bad way, not anticipating that they would be met with fierce resistance.
Here's something which seems to elude Microsoft and other software companies.
There is TONS of software out there for many platforms.
And for the most part, if you have hardware that is less than 5 yrs old, chances are, your hardware specs a good for most stuff available.
It takes a while to get a stable OS, all things considered, such as service packs, etc.
So once you have it, that's it.
You don't want to muck with it.
It's that simple.
Upgrading is normally only an option when you have no choice.
And as consumers we do.
We can have Win XP/Vista/7 working with our devices such as Samsung/IPhone/etc.
We don't want to relearn a new interface for using our PCs.
If Microsoft had first and foremost incorporate mobile aspects, while allowing the traditional interface to still work, Windows 8, wouldn't be such a big deal, more people would have embraced it.
Oh well.
Which ISP wants the heat of illegal downloads going through their networks? PIrate Bay's days will soon end.. E-Mule and these other Peer-to-peer will be targetted next. It's just a matter of time before the 'Wild Wild West' internet, becomes.. uh.. civilized :)
This is really cool. Guess it won't be too long when they will be able to do the same with live brains. Which would more than likely result in the ability to cure many forms of mental issues and illness.
Would dictate that instead of trying to make a system which punishes, one should do a system which enforces. In other terms, automated highways where your cars are regulated and automated for the drive.
To me, that would be a much more worthwhile goal to strive for.
So, beside the fact that an airplane is a flying coffin, weather permitting you also get the benefit of a little radiation exposure? sounds.. tingly.
Simple, it's a form of animation, so blink as CSS make sense.
// enable default foreground background blink
div {
for example:
blink: true;
color: white;
background-color: black;
}
or set the color of blink as a list
div {
blink: orange, green, blue
}
or not only you set the list, but you give them transition proportion (blink speed, larger number = longer stay in that color)
div {
blink: orange, 1, green 2, blue: 1
}
or
blink: url(image1), 10, url(image2), 20
This is where you use images to blink.
Clearly our technological advances are ahead of the law and it's time for those 2 to sync up in a realistic way.
Ok, so this is a guy who does identity fraud.
I'm not crying for him
He's lucky to even have access to due process as far as I'm concerned However, that your very own devices can be used against you in such ways, which means that the trust you have in your provider is broken, seems unethical.
If the FBI and/or other agencies require such abilities, perhaps then, companies such as Verizon should place this in their contracts something like "authorities can use your devices to track you and/or use your data for any of their investigations as they see fit".
Transparency would be nice.
All I know is that, I've got nothing to hide, so I don't care, but, for those who do, they may have to switch to another provider....
I think that Microsoft, Nokia and Oracle are going in the stand-up comedy business. Because this complaint is certainly the funniest one I've seen.
:)
Open Source is more popular commercially than they are. Gee, who would have thought of that!
For years, I've always advocated that Microsoft should release DOS and then Windows for free at the very least for non-business use. If you need support, buy it from Microsoft.
They've been scoffing at open source for years and now, it's proven to work and its working on devices such as phones and tablets which are consumed even more than PCs, which is why they are sorely pissed and scared.
Eventually all of this means that tablets, phones and new generations of portable laptops/netbooks will have the powers of PCs and more and won't be running on Windows or any other proprietary platforms.
But that's called competition, and well, the thing is, while Google may be the leaders of Android, as we can plainly see, Android is free and customized by all as they see fit, so, it's not an actually anti-competitive at all.
Good Luck to Microsoft, Nokia and Oracle, for they will need it!
Taxi 'nuff said! :)
That's the only way to be truly secure. Pay attention to every aspect of your setup.