Microsoft realized after Apple's OSX that their current naming scheme robbed them of the ability to release Windows X, which would be similar to Windows, but more streamlined, and with flames painted on the sides
You realize Microsoft did release Windows X... it just has a little "p" on it.
Even *if* Apple did become a dominant player in the OS market, there is no reason to believe they would be any less abusive of that position than MS has been.
Why do we need a new "dominant" player? Why can't we just have a plethora of OSs that inter-operate at a basic level and let users and companies cater to one or all of the preferred OSs?
The best thing in the world of software will happen when no one company has a stranglehold on innovation... take a look at the web for example... lots of innovation until IE dominated, then Firefox broke the domination and now you have IE, FF, Chrome, Safari, Opera and a whole host of other browsers that adhere standards (for the most part) and web developers write to those standards (and tweak for specific browsers)... innovation is picking up pace again.
To come back to your point, yes Apple would make as evil a monopolist as Microsoft, but I'd prefer if they all had to compete for my $$.
Apple prides itself on some very quality products (both hardware and software) and makes quite a penny. Not to mention BMW, Dyson, etc... the list goes on about companies that spend a lot on design and reap the rewards.
The only way to keep bloated software out is to race to the bottom, the only way to keep Microsoft out is to provide an alternative that surpasses it in desirability.
So you've just described Apple's business model to have Macs compete with Windows PCs.
It amazes me that so many "enterprise" IT companies can sell what are essentially just Linux servers with their brand name tacked-on, at a 5000% mark-up.
Pure captialist thinking defines "best" as in producing the most short-term profit for the ones in power, Not the most happiness, the most ecologically sustainable outcomes, the lowest infant mortality rates, the lowest suicide rates, the highest measures of contentment and satisfaction, the longest lifespans, or anything else.
The big issue is transmission lines to get the energy from the Mojave to LA. Building transmission lines requires political action, and that's slow and uncertain because of NIMBY.
Microsoft has no choice but to allow XP to be used (and very cheaply) or face those companies moving to Linux.
Worst part is, XP sucks on a 600px height screen. Surprisingly, Ubuntu and OSX86 are much nicer feeling at that dimension (but the drivers for the hardware isn't as polished, for obvious reasons).
Please read the dkos comment on this story describing a different view here:
I took a look at the filing referenced. The only thing that happened as far as Obama is concerned is that he was substituted for Bush as a party, under the applicable federal rule. Otherwise, this filing was made by the Bush DOJ. Let's all recall that Eric Holder hasn't even cleared the Judiciary Committee yet before we start saying that Obama is going to continue with the "unitary executive" theory.
This is much ado about nothing. Take my word for it. I play a lawyer in real life.
My take: let's wait this out. It's very important to keep in line, but keep in mind that the AG and new justice dept. aren't even appointed.
I think that to many of the younger kids out there, Obama will just be another guy being sworn into office. They don't notice anything odd or abnormal about a black guy being in power. That in itself might be significant.
Well, it's a boatload of firsts:
First black president
First multi-racial president
First multi-cultural president
First truly progressive president
First poor-kid turned out to be president in recent history
The list could go on and on.
But another huge thing is that this is the real awakening of the progressive movement in America, and consequently (since we only have a 2 party system), the death of the conservative movement. As Obama would say it's a "defining moment".
Given the dtv coupon program is broke, it probably makes sense.
Fact is a lot of people aren't affected by the switch (me included) but I think it's only fair for those who can't get the help transitioning, to be able to have extra time to switch over.
...I think that at the end of the day Apple needs to broaden their market some or face extinction.
You and every other mainstream tech pundit since the 90s. Guess what... you've been wrong for over a decade now. Fashion tech apparently sells and sells well.
That is, why can't there just be a wire that I plug into the mouse just where a normal wired mouse's wire would go. Then I could keep using it while it recharged. As it is I have had to have an extra wired mouse connected to my computer for the few times when I need to keep working when the wireless one is low on charge. So, tell me, why can't somebody do this?
I had one like this a while back (can't remember the name, was a small-time mouse mfr). The mouse took rechargeable AA's and had a USB cord that linked to the front of the mouse so that it looked just like a wired mouse when charging (yes it charged COTS NiMH batteries).
Problem was, it was a wireless mouse (non-BT) that had it's own dongle. Back in the day of 2-USB port laptops, this meant both of my USB ports were used for this one mouse. Also that mouse had spotty usability and sometimes lost connection. I ended up ditching it for a standard USB company-issue mouse after I lost the dongle at a meeting.
The perfect mouse would have:
Good ergonomics
Good precison
A clickable wheel/tilt wheel/rollerball/nipple/trackpad for scrolling/etc
Bluetooth
A USB dock to recharge using laptop power
...with a wire that could connect to the front of the mouse like you mention to alternatively charge while using
Uses/charges standard rechargeables (Eneloop style batteries are almost as good as Li-Poly for maintaining charge)
Once it's compiled and running through a particular state machine to accomplish certain transformations of data, it's most certainly a method and apparatus.
Calling it a state machine doesn't make it any more physical.
There's no particular reason in my mind why a machine has to be physical to somehow magically be patentable.
However we're not discussing "in your mind" (unless you happen to be a judge hearing IP cases) but in terms of the law, which is based on judicial review and jurisprudence. This ruling pretty much aligns with both historical and current popular views, that "virtual" machinery does not constitute "real" machinery. The fact remains that scarcity in real physical goods is inherent and thus patents make sense.
I have never come across a device that allows me to use it how I LIVE, more than the iPhone does. Most every device forces you to adapt to how it works, make changes to how you like to do things in order to get productive use out of the device. The iPhone just seems to fit like a glove to how I like to do things with a smartphone.
I have to disagree with you here. I have had to change a few things to compensate for my iPhone (having previously used an iPod for music and Treo for a smartphone)... it's not as good as the two discrete devices at the things they did best.
Despite that, my iPhone is the one device that I use incessantly throughout my day. Podcasts while driving (hooked up to my old iPod connector for the car), phone and email (IMAP FTW!) during the day, a little gaming or browsing while waiting at meetings or at the docs office, and video for the tot when we don't have any toys or tv around to keep her busy.
Now if AT&T only upgraded their voice network so it didn't suck so much:-)
At least the G1 seems like a decent first start of a phone, but Symbian horror stories abound (the many different standards problem). Apple will continue to keep their cards close and won't license.
As the telecoms are dragged kicking and screaming to the party, they will find out why Android and Mobile OSX will dominate the next-gen hardware.
No mention of jQuery versus other similar JS libraries?
I personally like jQuery (and jQueryUI) because it's more terse and elegant. It is not as self-documenting, but it does css selection much better than prototype (IMHO). Most importantly, it was very easy to tack onto our web-based internal applications by referencing a simple.js script (or two) and adding a few function calls to manipulate existing html/css. Finally, I found the libraries of widgets just much more compelling in jQuery (with the exception of grids).
The wars of the future will not be fought on the battlefield or at sea. They will be fought in space, or possibly on top of a very tall mountain. In either case, most of the actual fighting will be done by small robots. And as you go forth today remember always your duty is clear: To build and maintain those robots
Of course you can get the same effect yourself by rebooting then just putting your machine to sleep when you want to shutdown. Someone could probably even write a simple software solution for this rather than requiring a whole new motherboard.
I fail to see how what they've done is a bad thing. And I don't think it's quite as easy to script, since you'd have to reconfigure how windows works. If you have an inkling of how to do this in a smooth automated fashion, please do tell me.
Big question is, if you pull the cord, does it maintain state? Or will that require a "cold boot"?
He's definitely old-skool, rocking the "computing" idea of a computer as opposed to the utility, I suppose.
However, a hacked iPhone or Android Gi sound like a near-perfect computation device that's highly accessible. Just wish I could get a bluetooth keyboard for my iPhone:-)
And no mention of tablets (or multi-touch, either). I think those will change the way people interact with computers (when the two are put together).
The majority of computer professionals think using a computer to replace/augment paper ballots is just fine. The experts also agreed that these particular computers and the software they ran were improperly designed for the job.
Cite Needed.
I sure as hell would be more comfortable with paper&pen.
If you're going to put the two phones physically together like that anyway, then why not just run a wire between 'em?
That'd be great, 'cept I don;t know of an easy way to cable together two iPhones, or two Blackberries, much less between two different models/manufacturers.
The shake and bake shared secret is a great idea because it requires no additional connectivity. In fact the two devices can have NO network connection, but share only similar readings during an agreed time-window.
Accelerometers are only one way to generate "local data" that becomes a shared secret. Thermometers and other sensory input mechanisms that will (roughly) have the same readings in the same surroundings are also additional factors one can use to form the OTP.
Slashdot Mirror
You realize Microsoft did release Windows X... it just has a little "p" on it.
Why do we need a new "dominant" player? Why can't we just have a plethora of OSs that inter-operate at a basic level and let users and companies cater to one or all of the preferred OSs?
The best thing in the world of software will happen when no one company has a stranglehold on innovation... take a look at the web for example... lots of innovation until IE dominated, then Firefox broke the domination and now you have IE, FF, Chrome, Safari, Opera and a whole host of other browsers that adhere standards (for the most part) and web developers write to those standards (and tweak for specific browsers)... innovation is picking up pace again.
To come back to your point, yes Apple would make as evil a monopolist as Microsoft, but I'd prefer if they all had to compete for my $$.
Apple prides itself on some very quality products (both hardware and software) and makes quite a penny. Not to mention BMW, Dyson, etc... the list goes on about companies that spend a lot on design and reap the rewards.
So you've just described Apple's business model to have Macs compete with Windows PCs.
Don't knock it, it's just the Enterprice!
You know they have drugs for that. The blue pill and all.
I've fixed it for you.
Do you think the $11B in funding for a smart grid will help this effort?
So you could say it's platform limitation is OSX.
Worst part is, XP sucks on a 600px height screen. Surprisingly, Ubuntu and OSX86 are much nicer feeling at that dimension (but the drivers for the hardware isn't as polished, for obvious reasons).
My take: let's wait this out. It's very important to keep in line, but keep in mind that the AG and new justice dept. aren't even appointed.
I live in CA but drive a Prius. I don't miss those stupid smog tests either (wont have to worry till at least 2010).
Well, it's a boatload of firsts:
The list could go on and on.
But another huge thing is that this is the real awakening of the progressive movement in America, and consequently (since we only have a 2 party system), the death of the conservative movement. As Obama would say it's a "defining moment".
Fact is a lot of people aren't affected by the switch (me included) but I think it's only fair for those who can't get the help transitioning, to be able to have extra time to switch over.
You and every other mainstream tech pundit since the 90s. Guess what... you've been wrong for over a decade now. Fashion tech apparently sells and sells well.
I had one like this a while back (can't remember the name, was a small-time mouse mfr). The mouse took rechargeable AA's and had a USB cord that linked to the front of the mouse so that it looked just like a wired mouse when charging (yes it charged COTS NiMH batteries).
Problem was, it was a wireless mouse (non-BT) that had it's own dongle. Back in the day of 2-USB port laptops, this meant both of my USB ports were used for this one mouse. Also that mouse had spotty usability and sometimes lost connection. I ended up ditching it for a standard USB company-issue mouse after I lost the dongle at a meeting.
The perfect mouse would have:
Is that too much to ask?
Calling it a state machine doesn't make it any more physical.
However we're not discussing "in your mind" (unless you happen to be a judge hearing IP cases) but in terms of the law, which is based on judicial review and jurisprudence. This ruling pretty much aligns with both historical and current popular views, that "virtual" machinery does not constitute "real" machinery. The fact remains that scarcity in real physical goods is inherent and thus patents make sense.
I have to disagree with you here. I have had to change a few things to compensate for my iPhone (having previously used an iPod for music and Treo for a smartphone)... it's not as good as the two discrete devices at the things they did best. Despite that, my iPhone is the one device that I use incessantly throughout my day. Podcasts while driving (hooked up to my old iPod connector for the car), phone and email (IMAP FTW!) during the day, a little gaming or browsing while waiting at meetings or at the docs office, and video for the tot when we don't have any toys or tv around to keep her busy.
Now if AT&T only upgraded their voice network so it didn't suck so much :-)
As the telecoms are dragged kicking and screaming to the party, they will find out why Android and Mobile OSX will dominate the next-gen hardware.
I personally like jQuery (and jQueryUI) because it's more terse and elegant. It is not as self-documenting, but it does css selection much better than prototype (IMHO). Most importantly, it was very easy to tack onto our web-based internal applications by referencing a simple .js script (or two) and adding a few function calls to manipulate existing html/css. Finally, I found the libraries of widgets just much more compelling in jQuery (with the exception of grids).
I fail to see how what they've done is a bad thing. And I don't think it's quite as easy to script, since you'd have to reconfigure how windows works. If you have an inkling of how to do this in a smooth automated fashion, please do tell me.
Big question is, if you pull the cord, does it maintain state? Or will that require a "cold boot"?
However, a hacked iPhone or Android Gi sound like a near-perfect computation device that's highly accessible. Just wish I could get a bluetooth keyboard for my iPhone :-)
And no mention of tablets (or multi-touch, either). I think those will change the way people interact with computers (when the two are put together).
Cite Needed.
I sure as hell would be more comfortable with paper&pen.
That'd be great, 'cept I don;t know of an easy way to cable together two iPhones, or two Blackberries, much less between two different models/manufacturers.
The shake and bake shared secret is a great idea because it requires no additional connectivity. In fact the two devices can have NO network connection, but share only similar readings during an agreed time-window.
Accelerometers are only one way to generate "local data" that becomes a shared secret. Thermometers and other sensory input mechanisms that will (roughly) have the same readings in the same surroundings are also additional factors one can use to form the OTP.