It doesn't need another computer. You can program it from a tablet or phone over bluetooth. The software runs off the website and you can even run the software from a browser on a phone if you want. There is even an emulator so it can be program in the absence of the device. I guess that means kids and teachers have a lot of flexibility in how they do assignments.
I don't know what it runs as an OS but I guess for teaching kids it really doesn't matter what runs underneath. What matters is it's easy to use and and easy to learn from. One interesting thing about the bit is it has a GPIO edge connector so I could even it being plugged into other things like robots, weather stations etc. Lots of interesting scenarios.
Automatic vehicles exist but not in significant numbers. Companies like Hertz laugh their asses off by hiring them out to US visitors for a small fortune.
Did you miss the part where the article said CodeWeavers got Steam running on Remix OS [jide.com], a version of Android that can run on regular PCs, which, if you so desire can be cnfigured with hard disks, gigabytes of RAM, top-of-the-line i7 CPUs, GPUs, real keyboards, mice, etc?
Great, so if I buy a top of the range computer, I can make it work just like a poor relation of Windows. Awesome. And no VM support. And I expect sound, graphics and input support suck compared to Windows. Remix is better suited as a replacement for ChromeOS, firmware resident OS or a bootable USB key. Indeed, this appears to be exactly their focus at present.
Wine provides DirectX,.NET, COM, ActiveX and event lets you install the freely downloadable Arial fonts. In fact CrossOver, which is based on Wine, already runs many of the games [codeweavers.com] you say it cannot run.
Getting games to run on Wine is completely hit and miss. If you're lucky they work. If you're not (most of the time) they fall over in a heap or suffer serious performance / graphical problems that render them unplayable. And even when software runs on Wine it is usually necessary to install chunks of Microsoft and other's binaries of one sort or another. Front ends like PlaysForSure have to grab pieces from all over the place.
This may explain why Valve conspicuously didn't bother with Wine when implementing Steam for Linux. Instead they support native applications and leave porting up to developers. Undoubtedly many recompile against winelib or are using portable libraries in the first place. But they're native.
The goal of Remix OS is to replace Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on regular PCs by providing users with the Android GUI they are already used to on their smartphone. They cannot do that if buying a second PC with Windows and streaming is their only answer to providing compatibility with legacy applications.
Remix is about bringing Android to the desktop and not about piss poor Windows emulation.
Wine as used here IS an emulator. It emulates the behaviour of Windows on a host OS in order to allow Windows applications to run. If we were talking of recompiling software winelib then that would not be an emulator since the code would be native to the host OS.
No, my imagination is just fine. I know precisely what's involved in setting up a Pi and it is far more work than one of these bit boards. Especially when multiplied by the number of students in the class.
Frankly that's an absurd assertion. The bit computer is an ultra simple board with a couple of buttons, an grid of lights, bluetooth and a USB power / cable. It's meant to be for teaching kids with a minimal of setup hassle - plug it into a computer or pair it with a tablet and you can program it. There is no flashing dists, or remote shells, or HDMI or network cables. Just plug it in and go.
I realise that some Pi zealots see it as a threat but really its an opportunity. Kids will learn key concepts on the bit and those skills will be transferable to the Pi in time. That's good news and certainly not some grand conspiracy.
Sorry but that's exactly how it works. The Gawker parent company is in distress so someone will come in and buy the websites for a knock down price. It doesn't make the new owner is liable in the suit.
And BTW Gawker has already defensively entered a partnership with a capital firm to put up a bond. I assume the terms of the deal mean they've put the sites up as collateral and they'll be sold if the judgement is upheld.
The complaints about Bit vs Pi are like complaining that a Year 1 maths book somehow competes with a Year 2 maths book.
The bit device is meant to be a simple board that a kid can plug into a PC and run little experiments that teach them the fundamentals of computing. Unlike the Pi it doesn't require teachers or parents to screw around flashing an SD card, or hooking up a network, display, keyboards or whatever to get it working.
And at the end of the day kids who learn the fundamentals on a bit are far better placed continue learning on the Pi or a computer. So I'd see their place in the world as being complementary to each other rather than competitive. But then again I'm looking at this rationally. I suspect some Pi owners have developed some kind of siege mentality and see other boards as a personal threat.
Wine is useful and a major achievement but it's still horribly hit and miss when confronted with some random software. And that's when its running on an OS that is capable of hosting demanding Windows applications. A typical Android device wouldn't have that capacity.
A less palatable alternative but one which produces better results is to port each application with winelib or some commercial derivative so it runs natively on the host OS even if its internally using Win32 APIs. It requires somebody to have the source for the application but they can compile, test, debug and if necessary, modify the code to make it work on the host, e.g. commenting out copy protection or some feature that isn't supported. This is how most Windows games get ported to OS X or Linux - some 3rd party does a port using Cedega or similar.
It may be useful for playing streaming games but emulating games? I doubt it will get far on that front.
Android devices don't have hard disks, don't have virtual memory, don't have much RAM, don't have have very powerful CPU or GPUs, don't have sophisticated support for input devices or controllers. Windows applications & games also have dependencies on runtimes like DirectX,.NET, COM / ActiveX controls, proprietary fonts (even Arial is proprietary) etc. so it's not enough to fool the game but also satisfy these dependencies. And many games would use copy protection libraries that require drivers or background processes to function.
So emulating Windows well enough that you can install some random game and expect it to work is pretty low. If the game is running somewhere else then yeah, Steam by itself might be useful. But then again, what's to stop Valve just throwing streaming onto their existing Steam app for Android?
Let's go through your points. a) They placed the ads and they are responsible for what ads they let through. They could have told their customers to knock it off or moved the ads somewhere less confusing. They did none of these things so they are at fault. b) They assumed ownership of abandoned projects (even projects which had actually just moved elsewhere) and bundled crapware. This is not hard to confirm. c) They also approached popular projects and begged them to bundle crapware d) so this was all part of an intentional push to raise revenues.
As for subversion, it's a perfectly acceptable source control system and certainly better than CVS. And in a lot of respects it is easier to comprehend than git, especially for people who are used to centralized source control systems. But it still sucks compared to git particularly on distributed projects, or projects where branching and merging are used extensively.
There's nothing wrong with Sourceforge except for the fact that they hijacked "abandoned" open source projects in order to bundle crapware into the installer, tried to persuade popular projects to bundle crapware, placed fake download links on project download pages, created fear distrust in their community, and failed to keep up with rival hosting services.
So nothing wrong at all. Even if they're trying to make amends or correct these things, it's too late. The trust is gone. Most active projects have decamped to the likes of Github.
It's not a US phenomena. You'll find plenty of sleaze in UK websites and magazines and probably every other country where a free press is a thing. It's just that most countries have stronger privacy and libel laws so it takes the edge off the sleaze or at least provides some legal redress where it is discovered. e.g. the phone hacking scandal in the UK had serious repercussions.
Those sites won't be put out of business. Gawker will sell them to pay off their debts and they'll carry on just the way they did before. Although the new owners might tighten up their legal / editorial policy a little in the transition. Gawker the corporate entity will be toast though as will the careers of those closely associated with it.
It's not the gradual rise that's the issue but the increased likelihood of extreme events. Events that might be considered "once in a lifetime" will happen with such frequency that insurers simply won't provide cover. People living in at-risk areas will be wiped out so often that they'll be driven to live somewhere else. It doesn't help that Florida is so flat either since it means storm surges could well travel miles inland and do damage.
The reason Blackberry went under is because their devices looked increasingly antiquated compared to iPhone / Android devices and even after they produced a smartphone platform it still flopped because it lacked the apps. They should have concentrated on their value added services instead of throwing money into a pit trying to sustain their own OS.
Now they're finally producing an Android handset they might turn things around. They still have to convince businesses that their device is secure and offers business friendly features that other smartphones don't. If they can do that they might regain some market share.
A wild guess but I expect the people designing the interiors and passenger experience are not the same people who are designing the actual tubes, control systems or pods. There is no reason that these activities can't happen concurrently like they do for aircraft, trains etc.
Anyone who has been on the Hogwart's Express in Universal Studios will know what I mean - it has train compartments with "windows" but the windows are just screens playing a movie in sequence with the journey. So you get to see countryside, flying cars etc instead of the far less impressive sight of the park's backlot.
Yes and riddled implies many and all over the place. e.g. it makes sense to say Sonny Corleone was riddled with bullets. It does not make sense to say Virgil Sollozo was riddled with a bullet.
I'm sure it's a very serious bug but does it mean that the software is "riddled" with bugs? For all anyone knows it was an isolated issue that occurred in an atypical circumstance and was subsequently rectified. And it occurred during testing which is the reason that testing even exists as a thing - to find problems.
If apps can be resizable and specify their dimensions then they can appear in split panes and later on as windows on a desktop. The way that universal apps do in Windows 10. So I see this as part of Google's efforts to kill ChromeOS and merge some of the concepts into Android. I wouldn't be surprised if the Google's app launcher becomes a kind of desktop in future iterations.
Have you seen the amount of bullshit exposition you have to read / click through in Metal Gear games? Having to write an original pastiche of all that would double the development time at least.
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I don't know what it runs as an OS but I guess for teaching kids it really doesn't matter what runs underneath. What matters is it's easy to use and and easy to learn from. One interesting thing about the bit is it has a GPIO edge connector so I could even it being plugged into other things like robots, weather stations etc. Lots of interesting scenarios.
Automatic vehicles exist but not in significant numbers. Companies like Hertz laugh their asses off by hiring them out to US visitors for a small fortune.
Did you miss the part where the article said CodeWeavers got Steam running on Remix OS [jide.com], a version of Android that can run on regular PCs, which, if you so desire can be cnfigured with hard disks, gigabytes of RAM, top-of-the-line i7 CPUs, GPUs, real keyboards, mice, etc?
Great, so if I buy a top of the range computer, I can make it work just like a poor relation of Windows. Awesome. And no VM support. And I expect sound, graphics and input support suck compared to Windows. Remix is better suited as a replacement for ChromeOS, firmware resident OS or a bootable USB key. Indeed, this appears to be exactly their focus at present.
Wine provides DirectX, .NET, COM, ActiveX and event lets you install the freely downloadable Arial fonts. In fact CrossOver, which is based on Wine, already runs many of the games [codeweavers.com] you say it cannot run.
Getting games to run on Wine is completely hit and miss. If you're lucky they work. If you're not (most of the time) they fall over in a heap or suffer serious performance / graphical problems that render them unplayable. And even when software runs on Wine it is usually necessary to install chunks of Microsoft and other's binaries of one sort or another. Front ends like PlaysForSure have to grab pieces from all over the place.
This may explain why Valve conspicuously didn't bother with Wine when implementing Steam for Linux. Instead they support native applications and leave porting up to developers. Undoubtedly many recompile against winelib or are using portable libraries in the first place. But they're native.
The goal of Remix OS is to replace Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on regular PCs by providing users with the Android GUI they are already used to on their smartphone. They cannot do that if buying a second PC with Windows and streaming is their only answer to providing compatibility with legacy applications.
Remix is about bringing Android to the desktop and not about piss poor Windows emulation.
Wine as used here IS an emulator. It emulates the behaviour of Windows on a host OS in order to allow Windows applications to run. If we were talking of recompiling software winelib then that would not be an emulator since the code would be native to the host OS.
No, my imagination is just fine. I know precisely what's involved in setting up a Pi and it is far more work than one of these bit boards. Especially when multiplied by the number of students in the class.
I realise that some Pi zealots see it as a threat but really its an opportunity. Kids will learn key concepts on the bit and those skills will be transferable to the Pi in time. That's good news and certainly not some grand conspiracy.
And BTW Gawker has already defensively entered a partnership with a capital firm to put up a bond. I assume the terms of the deal mean they've put the sites up as collateral and they'll be sold if the judgement is upheld.
The bit device is meant to be a simple board that a kid can plug into a PC and run little experiments that teach them the fundamentals of computing. Unlike the Pi it doesn't require teachers or parents to screw around flashing an SD card, or hooking up a network, display, keyboards or whatever to get it working.
And at the end of the day kids who learn the fundamentals on a bit are far better placed continue learning on the Pi or a computer. So I'd see their place in the world as being complementary to each other rather than competitive. But then again I'm looking at this rationally. I suspect some Pi owners have developed some kind of siege mentality and see other boards as a personal threat.
A less palatable alternative but one which produces better results is to port each application with winelib or some commercial derivative so it runs natively on the host OS even if its internally using Win32 APIs. It requires somebody to have the source for the application but they can compile, test, debug and if necessary, modify the code to make it work on the host, e.g. commenting out copy protection or some feature that isn't supported. This is how most Windows games get ported to OS X or Linux - some 3rd party does a port using Cedega or similar.
Android devices don't have hard disks, don't have virtual memory, don't have much RAM, don't have have very powerful CPU or GPUs, don't have sophisticated support for input devices or controllers. Windows applications & games also have dependencies on runtimes like DirectX, .NET, COM / ActiveX controls, proprietary fonts (even Arial is proprietary) etc. so it's not enough to fool the game but also satisfy these dependencies. And many games would use copy protection libraries that require drivers or background processes to function.
So emulating Windows well enough that you can install some random game and expect it to work is pretty low. If the game is running somewhere else then yeah, Steam by itself might be useful. But then again, what's to stop Valve just throwing streaming onto their existing Steam app for Android?
As for subversion, it's a perfectly acceptable source control system and certainly better than CVS. And in a lot of respects it is easier to comprehend than git, especially for people who are used to centralized source control systems. But it still sucks compared to git particularly on distributed projects, or projects where branching and merging are used extensively.
So nothing wrong at all. Even if they're trying to make amends or correct these things, it's too late. The trust is gone. Most active projects have decamped to the likes of Github.
It's not a US phenomena. You'll find plenty of sleaze in UK websites and magazines and probably every other country where a free press is a thing. It's just that most countries have stronger privacy and libel laws so it takes the edge off the sleaze or at least provides some legal redress where it is discovered. e.g. the phone hacking scandal in the UK had serious repercussions.
Those sites won't be put out of business. Gawker will sell them to pay off their debts and they'll carry on just the way they did before. Although the new owners might tighten up their legal / editorial policy a little in the transition. Gawker the corporate entity will be toast though as will the careers of those closely associated with it.
What the fuck is this about?
It's not the gradual rise that's the issue but the increased likelihood of extreme events. Events that might be considered "once in a lifetime" will happen with such frequency that insurers simply won't provide cover. People living in at-risk areas will be wiped out so often that they'll be driven to live somewhere else. It doesn't help that Florida is so flat either since it means storm surges could well travel miles inland and do damage.
Now they're finally producing an Android handset they might turn things around. They still have to convince businesses that their device is secure and offers business friendly features that other smartphones don't. If they can do that they might regain some market share.
Watch as they get hollowed out and carved up, ripe for a buyout.
But so are anonymous. Their "campaigns" are simply an weak excuse to vandalise websites and cause minor disruption for their own lulz.
A wild guess but I expect the people designing the interiors and passenger experience are not the same people who are designing the actual tubes, control systems or pods. There is no reason that these activities can't happen concurrently like they do for aircraft, trains etc.
Anyone who has been on the Hogwart's Express in Universal Studios will know what I mean - it has train compartments with "windows" but the windows are just screens playing a movie in sequence with the journey. So you get to see countryside, flying cars etc instead of the far less impressive sight of the park's backlot.
Yes and riddled implies many and all over the place. e.g. it makes sense to say Sonny Corleone was riddled with bullets. It does not make sense to say Virgil Sollozo was riddled with a bullet.
I'm sure it's a very serious bug but does it mean that the software is "riddled" with bugs? For all anyone knows it was an isolated issue that occurred in an atypical circumstance and was subsequently rectified. And it occurred during testing which is the reason that testing even exists as a thing - to find problems.
If apps can be resizable and specify their dimensions then they can appear in split panes and later on as windows on a desktop. The way that universal apps do in Windows 10. So I see this as part of Google's efforts to kill ChromeOS and merge some of the concepts into Android. I wouldn't be surprised if the Google's app launcher becomes a kind of desktop in future iterations.
Have you seen the amount of bullshit exposition you have to read / click through in Metal Gear games? Having to write an original pastiche of all that would double the development time at least.