That doesn't sound right at all; the kids knew what they were doing and they were doing specifically to circumvent what little security there may have been, but that doesn't make the violation of the rules "less bad."
Seriously - they are kids. They SHOULD be breaking the rules, pushing the boundaries. Otherwise they will become good little subservients who never question anything, who never see reason to change the world we live in. Is that what you want?
The problem is that "grown-ups" think that violating an "Acceptable use policy" is a BIG DEAL but why? To kids it is probably the LEAST honourable document - kids know stealing, violence and causing real harm are wrong, and I'm sure most would feel terrible about doing any of these things, but I doubt many of them think twice about artificial rules inflicted upon them about computer usage by adults who don't even appreciate what the kids just want to do (usually simply socialise). If we want kids to honour these agreements they need to be more reasonable, or better explained, or given a sense of value, not just 'you will not do this'.
Can we teach kids to use computers in everyday life, see them employing technology to interact with each other and then get pissed off when they actually do this ? *gasp* it's on school time and computers - where do you think kids spend most of their time?? gee, at school??
What's next? If I tell you to turn off the sound, will you up the volume to maximum and play a recording of "SHUTTING SOUND OFF NOW!" in a really whiny voice?
Cell phone manufacturers beat them to it. You're right! How come my phone (v3) has to beep so damn loudly everytime I turn silent-mode on or off?
Only thing I really want to see is files and folders open with the Enter key, enough of this command-O bullshit!
If you want to navigate the Finder with the keyboard, use the damn arrow keys. CMD-DOWN goes into a Folder, or you know, OPENS files. CMD-UP goes up a level (like backspace on Windows - like that key usage makes any sense!)
Try noise cancelling headphones - the big over-the-ear style if you don't like inner ear varieties. They work great to block out plane noise, and don't do a bad job of talking or screaming babies either. Add music and you're all set.:)
You're exactly right - TV is ALREADY free. Perhaps the cable culture of the US is a little different, but in other parts of the world, the latest TV shows are ALL FREE ALL THE TIME over the air, even in digital. The latest series of Lost in Australia is only about 6 weeks behind the US and it is FREE for everyone.
Why would anyone want to pay to download TV shows? There are certainly some reasons - convenience, being up-to-date (not even 6 weeks behind), having it to watch more than once, having it to watch at your own leisure.
BUT the 'TV is free' culture is already highly ingrained in my mind. I would find it hard to justify paying for content unless it was DRM-free, high quality and affordable (even $2/ep is not affordable).
Do I think it costs nothing to make music or TV? No - but if I already get TV for free, music on the radio for free, radio music over the internet (no ads) for free (except for ISP costs) I am not in a position to want to suddenly START forking out huge sums of money to enjoy the wide variety that I already enjoy.
I LOVE my Dyson, especially the turbo-brush head attachment. A Roomba-esque Dyson with a turbo-brush would be awesome - not sure how much my cat would like it though, given her hatred of the standard Dyson.
Do current Roombas pick up pet hair well? And do pets like them? No-one I know owns a Roomba, they haven't really taken off here in Australia AFAIK...
Yes, size does matter. So does form factor. And please correct me if I'm wrong but there are no HP media centres that you would want to fit proudly in around your TV. Small, quiet, stylish. Unobtrusive yet powerful. Something like say, a mac mini...
Seriously, if they expect people to put a full size computer will fans, power requirements and all right next to their TV and surround system (which can be pretty small) no wonder they couldn't sell any.
Sure, that's a good point. But the seller is the phone + music player, not video/photo viewer (granted that is embedded somewhere in the marketing material).
I'd bet most people use their flash music player for music and not photos, and their phone for messaging... and taking photos, which granted is now on the 'music' side and I guess this is where the whole two screen thing gets confusing. I'd still like to be able to see what I'm typing, or reading.
My Ericsson T18 had a screen that big, and while you can certainly SMS with only two lines of text that was the good old days when we SMSd in the snow and liked it, or something. I think we are well past that now - seeing the entire message on the screen is a little more user-friendly.
For music though, you don't need as much space - the iPod nano only has 6 or 7 lines per page and is very usable.
I doubt the iPhone will be heavily subsidised - even in the near (1-2 year) future. The reason, and this is already applied to all Apple products, is that the perceived value of the thing (iPhone/iPod/iMac) is related to how much you pay for it - get it for nothing and it is worth nothing. Never discounting their products, Apple maintains their worth in the consumers eyes (and noone ever waits around to get it on sale).
The price will probably drop a bit - but only when all other iPods do as well. The capacity is likely to go up also, which may negate the need to price cut.
Given you can buy a divx/xvid/dvd/vcd/mp3/etc dvd player from Dick Smith (Australian equiv of RadioShack I guess) for $50AUD (as cheap as the cheapest straight DVD player) I think you underestimate the existing video 'other player' market.
My family bought 3 of them. Not everyone has broadband, but everyone knows someone who does, with a DVD burner.
I don't buy CDs because I don't WANT them - one external harddrive takes up a lots less space and I can find any song instantly in iTunes by typing a few letters. No changing discs, no fumbling with jewel cases, no dust and crap and hideous custom furniture for a billion CDs.
Actually... bottle water is an example of successful MARKETING... and not much else.
Bull - I'd say the number one reason is CONVENIENCE. And the fact that it's hard to buy an alternate cold drink that isn't full of sugar (eg soda or fruit juice) or artificial sweetener.
If you don't own a mobile, I really don't think you are in any position to be making market-wide predictions, or at least expect anyone to value them. How can you gauge the feelings of people who have come to rely on their mobiles having used them for a decade?
It is still possible to lock a phone that takes a SIM card to a particular network.
Whether or not Apple does this is unclear for now - given you have to sign for a two year contract (with, I assume, high early exit fees) they might not bother. Does AT&T currently lock GSM phones?
Most pre-paid (and some on contract) phones in Australia are network-locked. If you put in a SIM card from a different network it just doesn't work.
From my observations, the hardest change for most people is the control/command key and the lack of (forward) delete on some keyboards.
Don't forget Home/End - for new OS X users I tend to just remap them rather than explain the change. Personally I am now used to CMD-arrow for end of line, but it doesnt always work (often changes tabs etc) and given I never use Home/End I might even remap them for myself...
That's why we need a music store like allofmp3 - make it SO CHEAP to download and PAY for music that you would rather do that than search for a torrent.
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Spot on. They are kids, they have fun playing with computers. Should they be taught never to question or experiment?
That doesn't sound right at all; the kids knew what they were doing and they were doing specifically to circumvent what little security there may have been, but that doesn't make the violation of the rules "less bad."
Seriously - they are kids. They SHOULD be breaking the rules, pushing the boundaries. Otherwise they will become good little subservients who never question anything, who never see reason to change the world we live in. Is that what you want?
The problem is that "grown-ups" think that violating an "Acceptable use policy" is a BIG DEAL but why? To kids it is probably the LEAST honourable document - kids know stealing, violence and causing real harm are wrong, and I'm sure most would feel terrible about doing any of these things, but I doubt many of them think twice about artificial rules inflicted upon them about computer usage by adults who don't even appreciate what the kids just want to do (usually simply socialise). If we want kids to honour these agreements they need to be more reasonable, or better explained, or given a sense of value, not just 'you will not do this'.
Can we teach kids to use computers in everyday life, see them employing technology to interact with each other and then get pissed off when they actually do this ? *gasp* it's on school time and computers - where do you think kids spend most of their time?? gee, at school??
Oh I HATE the dog!!! (and Windows search in general, so I get doubly irritated)
Cell phone manufacturers beat them to it. You're right! How come my phone (v3) has to beep so damn loudly everytime I turn silent-mode on or off?
'loaning out' would be what I would say, but 'lending out' would also suffice.
Only thing I really want to see is files and folders open with the Enter key, enough of this command-O bullshit!
If you want to navigate the Finder with the keyboard, use the damn arrow keys. CMD-DOWN goes into a Folder, or you know, OPENS files. CMD-UP goes up a level (like backspace on Windows - like that key usage makes any sense!)
Left/Right of course navigate you in column view.
Can dd be used to auto-partition the new drive while copying over the image?
Or does each partition have to be set up and then the image copied across?
Try noise cancelling headphones - the big over-the-ear style if you don't like inner ear varieties. They work great to block out plane noise, and don't do a bad job of talking or screaming babies either. Add music and you're all set. :)
TV licenses only apply in the UK.
There is no tax or license for TV in Australia.
Some federal funding goes to the ABC network, but it is not separately levied and is simply a portion of standard income tax.
You're exactly right - TV is ALREADY free. Perhaps the cable culture of the US is a little different, but in other parts of the world, the latest TV shows are ALL FREE ALL THE TIME over the air, even in digital. The latest series of Lost in Australia is only about 6 weeks behind the US and it is FREE for everyone.
Why would anyone want to pay to download TV shows? There are certainly some reasons - convenience, being up-to-date (not even 6 weeks behind), having it to watch more than once, having it to watch at your own leisure.
BUT the 'TV is free' culture is already highly ingrained in my mind. I would find it hard to justify paying for content unless it was DRM-free, high quality and affordable (even $2/ep is not affordable).
Do I think it costs nothing to make music or TV? No - but if I already get TV for free, music on the radio for free, radio music over the internet (no ads) for free (except for ISP costs) I am not in a position to want to suddenly START forking out huge sums of money to enjoy the wide variety that I already enjoy.
I LOVE my Dyson, especially the turbo-brush head attachment. A Roomba-esque Dyson with a turbo-brush would be awesome - not sure how much my cat would like it though, given her hatred of the standard Dyson.
Do current Roombas pick up pet hair well? And do pets like them? No-one I know owns a Roomba, they haven't really taken off here in Australia AFAIK...
Yes! I would use all 8GB for text messages (if I could sync them to my computer even better!)
:(
i HATE that my RAZR only stores 100 messages TOTAL.
To top it all off, they aren't really introducing anything new that would be a "even if they fail, at least they brought us ..xyz."
How about simply as the video iPod everyone has been waiting for?
Yes, size does matter. So does form factor. And please correct me if I'm wrong but there are no HP media centres that you would want to fit proudly in around your TV. Small, quiet, stylish. Unobtrusive yet powerful. Something like say, a mac mini...
Seriously, if they expect people to put a full size computer will fans, power requirements and all right next to their TV and surround system (which can be pretty small) no wonder they couldn't sell any.
Sure, that's a good point. But the seller is the phone + music player, not video/photo viewer (granted that is embedded somewhere in the marketing material).
I'd bet most people use their flash music player for music and not photos, and their phone for messaging... and taking photos, which granted is now on the 'music' side and I guess this is where the whole two screen thing gets confusing. I'd still like to be able to see what I'm typing, or reading.
Surely the screen sizes are the wrong way around?
My Ericsson T18 had a screen that big, and while you can certainly SMS with only two lines of text that was the good old days when we SMSd in the snow and liked it, or something. I think we are well past that now - seeing the entire message on the screen is a little more user-friendly.
For music though, you don't need as much space - the iPod nano only has 6 or 7 lines per page and is very usable.
I doubt the iPhone will be heavily subsidised - even in the near (1-2 year) future. The reason, and this is already applied to all Apple products, is that the perceived value of the thing (iPhone/iPod/iMac) is related to how much you pay for it - get it for nothing and it is worth nothing. Never discounting their products, Apple maintains their worth in the consumers eyes (and noone ever waits around to get it on sale).
The price will probably drop a bit - but only when all other iPods do as well. The capacity is likely to go up also, which may negate the need to price cut.
Given you can buy a divx/xvid/dvd/vcd/mp3/etc dvd player from Dick Smith (Australian equiv of RadioShack I guess) for $50AUD (as cheap as the cheapest straight DVD player) I think you underestimate the existing video 'other player' market.
My family bought 3 of them. Not everyone has broadband, but everyone knows someone who does, with a DVD burner.
I don't buy CDs because I don't WANT them - one external harddrive takes up a lots less space and I can find any song instantly in iTunes by typing a few letters. No changing discs, no fumbling with jewel cases, no dust and crap and hideous custom furniture for a billion CDs.
Actually... bottle water is an example of successful MARKETING... and not much else.
Bull - I'd say the number one reason is CONVENIENCE. And the fact that it's hard to buy an alternate cold drink that isn't full of sugar (eg soda or fruit juice) or artificial sweetener.
If you don't own a mobile, I really don't think you are in any position to be making market-wide predictions, or at least expect anyone to value them. How can you gauge the feelings of people who have come to rely on their mobiles having used them for a decade?
It is still possible to lock a phone that takes a SIM card to a particular network.
Whether or not Apple does this is unclear for now - given you have to sign for a two year contract (with, I assume, high early exit fees) they might not bother. Does AT&T currently lock GSM phones?
Most pre-paid (and some on contract) phones in Australia are network-locked. If you put in a SIM card from a different network it just doesn't work.
From my observations, the hardest change for most people is the control/command key and the lack of (forward) delete on some keyboards.
Don't forget Home/End - for new OS X users I tend to just remap them rather than explain the change. Personally I am now used to CMD-arrow for end of line, but it doesnt always work (often changes tabs etc) and given I never use Home/End I might even remap them for myself...
That's why we need a music store like allofmp3 - make it SO CHEAP to download and PAY for music that you would rather do that than search for a torrent.
iTunes DOES make a lot of money - for the record companies!
Not much for Apple (though it's still a profit), but only because they get a tiny cut of the total price.