Well, that's pretty stupid, it's the Redmond-mindset, I guess. I have a few machines around and completely reinstalling (and reconfiguring and checking and stuff) every time a new version of my OS comes out would be just too much hassle, so I don't do it. I have a few Debians that I have installed around '97 or so and they are still fine (and up-to-date).
Well, Ctrl+Z/X/C/V are rather arbitrary, yet they work suprisingly well. A shortcut does not have to mean anything but they better be uniform across all languages. It is rather annoying, for example, that UltraEdit's german version uses Alt+E for "Extras", not for the Edit menu (for that, you have to use Alt+B ("Bearbeiten")). Anyway, shortcuts have little to no value as actual mnemonics since they often use the nth letter of a word (to use UltraEdit as an example, the shortcut for "Spalte" (block mode) menu is Alt+l).
Well, I'm looking on my "mp3 player" (actually, a Nokia 6230) and it is not controlled by greedy telcos: its 1 GB memory card is filled with my MP3's. Actually, here in Vienna, I see far more people with Nokia headsets (obviosly used for listening to music, not for phone calls) than white iPod earphones. (And as there's no real paying music service, they must use their own MP3's, too)
Actually, a decent home infrastructure could ease it all and I guess the specs you quote are way off. So, if you have a server in the basement then the media PC does not have to have a HDD at all that cuts down a lot of the price (not just the HDD itself, but you also do not have to worry about cooling it and reducing its noise). For sound card, the onboard one or a $10 CMI-8738 based one will do absolutely fine, as you are going to use the SPDIF connection. Processing power needs are absolutely minimal: an XBOX with its 700 MHz almost-PIII has more than enough power for anything SD. HD requires more, but since newer graphic cards can help with video decoding, you still can get away with an older Pentium M. Also, playing games on your HTPC is not that wise: we are building a media PC, not a console. I know that you want everything, right now, but one must draw the line somewhere. So, all in all, building a media PC is not that expensive - or, if you want it really cheap, then pick up an Xbox for under $100, softmod it, install XBMC on it and you are good to go.
I do not know in which parallel universe do you live but in this one MP3 phones are here to stay. Most of the newer phones are capable of playing back mp3 and can be expanded with memory cards, SE's Walkman line goes strong, Nokia also have a "musicphone" in their N-series (and (almost?) all the S40 and higher phones are capable of mp3 playback). So, mp3 phones are quite well, thank you.
"Just count the number of keypresses (or screens to progress through) to accomplish basic tasks - it's increasing all the time"
That's simply not true. I have a Nokia 6230 - it has all the features that a modern cellphone is supposed to have (camera, music player, java apps, calendar, whatever) but accessing basic functionality actually requires the same or less keypresses than on my old Nokia 3210 (a quite basic phone from the last century). Most of them (entering the phonebook, viewing a newly received SMS, entering the calendar) require a single keypress, but more complicated things, like entering my Inbox now takes 2 keypresses as opposed to 3 on my old phone and entering a calculator now requires only a single keypress while it took 4 on the 3210. So, to summarize it, newer phones DO offer a faster interface.
1. It weighed only 1650 pounds 2. Its engine produced only 20 HPs (allowing a top speed of around 70 km/h)
Today, a car with comparable specifications would produce MPG figures at least four times as much as the old T did (the VW Lupo comes to mind (80 MPG), but compared to the T it's a heavy, overly powerful racecar:) )
"the absolute fastest way to stop is to hit the brake and hold it at the point just before the car starts to slide -- because sliding friction is (usually) much less than static friction, you don't want to slide"
It's true, but on dry road a car does not really slide: it leaves skid marks because small particles of rubber are torn down from the tyre since it does not slide.
Well, it depends. If you plan on watching HD WMV you'd better have some serious CPU power in your HTPC since the current batch of video cards seems to offer only MPEG2 decoding. And how much power you need? My 1400 MHz Pentium M could not decode 1080p in realtime, so a VIA Eden unfortunately does not cut it. P4s are a rather unfortunate choice for this task, since they are the most power hungry and heat generating CPUs that you can but today.
The only specific thing he mentions is that both Windows and Linux are 25 year old... let me see: Windows NT (which is the base for all the current Windowses) was first released in 1993. (Windows 1.0 was released in 1985, but that was not 25 years ago and has little to do with current ones (like, a copletely different codebase and technology)) Linux began in 1991, but if you really want to dig to the roots, UNIX was created in 1969. and, of course, the problems "video internet" has (though these are not critical, as demonstrated by porn sites) these are related to the network, not to the OSes.
"If Nokia made such a device they would sell billions of them, and I don't think this is exaggeration."
And to whom, exactly? Basically, anyone who can afford the cost of calls (which has a lot to do with building an expensive infrastructure) can surely afford some of the basic handsets - like the 1100. Also, I really don't see the point of purchasing mobile phones "by the dozen" - why would anyone do that?
It depends on your driver. If you have like full specs, you can just tweak the registers to your heart's liking - but on the Intel chipset it ain't so. The X driver can only use BIOS calls to set the resolution.
Not quite. I have a Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook with an Intel 845(?) graphic chip driving a 1400x1050 screen - and the BIOS does not support this resolution. That's why we have hacks like 855resolution that overwrite one of the predefined modes with values for 1400x1050.
Well, there's a "protected" flag on some files, the phone does not allow to transfer them, but the rest can be transferred freely. On my phone this P flag is set on the Java applications and the factory-installed midis. (I did not DL anything from the net with my phone though, I transferred all the stuff to it over BT, IR or with a memory card reader)
I think you are not really up to date regarding phones. I have a good old Nokia 6230 and I think it is superior to Rokr in nearly all aspects. Look at your points: 1. It looks good. 2. I could not find a local price for the E398 (the Rokr is basically an E398 with a plus button and updated firmware) and it is not sold here, but I guess the 6230 must be cheaper. 3. The 100 song limit is not present on the Nokia (or on any other mp3-playing phone except for the Rokr)
And now the other extras of my Nokia:
- Songs can be uploaded via Bluetooth
- Songs can be used as ringtones
- Has a radio
- Uses MMC instead of TransFlash memory cards
- Supports EDGE
- Has an IRDA port
- Smaller and lighter
- Better battery-life
- It is a better phone in general
And what has ROKR? It can play AACs with Apple's DRM. Not much.
And, as I said, the Nokia 6230 is relatively old model and it is not pitched as a music phone, or anything. If you want to see some recent MP3 player phones then take a look at SonyEriccson's W800.
"the Win Boot Loader ALWAYS seems to have the same view of your hardware that the OS does"
But this is not a virtue of the Windows boot loader but a shortcoming of Windows: it depends on the BIOS to get the disk geometry and thus Windows users have encountered numerous barriers disk size (the last one was at ~130 GB).
Would it be too much to ask to make the distinction between API and source code? After all, it's a technical site, or at least that's what it's supposed to be.
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Well, that's pretty stupid, it's the Redmond-mindset, I guess.
I have a few machines around and completely reinstalling (and reconfiguring and checking and stuff) every time a new version of my OS comes out would be just too much hassle, so I don't do it. I have a few Debians that I have installed around '97 or so and they are still fine (and up-to-date).
Jesus, is this +5, Interesting?
Of course that would be just as illegal as sending out hitmen in the abovementioned cases.
I guess you just have described DVB-C.
Well, Ctrl+Z/X/C/V are rather arbitrary, yet they work suprisingly well.
A shortcut does not have to mean anything but they better be uniform across all languages. It is rather annoying, for example, that UltraEdit's german version uses Alt+E for "Extras", not for the Edit menu (for that, you have to use Alt+B ("Bearbeiten")).
Anyway, shortcuts have little to no value as actual mnemonics since they often use the nth letter of a word (to use UltraEdit as an example, the shortcut for "Spalte" (block mode) menu is Alt+l).
Well, I'm looking on my "mp3 player" (actually, a Nokia 6230) and it is not controlled by greedy telcos: its 1 GB memory card is filled with my MP3's. Actually, here in Vienna, I see far more people with Nokia headsets (obviosly used for listening to music, not for phone calls) than white iPod earphones. (And as there's no real paying music service, they must use their own MP3's, too)
Actually, a decent home infrastructure could ease it all and I guess the specs you quote are way off.
So, if you have a server in the basement then the media PC does not have to have a HDD at all that cuts down a lot of the price (not just the HDD itself, but you also do not have to worry about cooling it and reducing its noise).
For sound card, the onboard one or a $10 CMI-8738 based one will do absolutely fine, as you are going to use the SPDIF connection.
Processing power needs are absolutely minimal: an XBOX with its 700 MHz almost-PIII has more than enough power for anything SD. HD requires more, but since newer graphic cards can help with video decoding, you still can get away with an older Pentium M.
Also, playing games on your HTPC is not that wise: we are building a media PC, not a console. I know that you want everything, right now, but one must draw the line somewhere.
So, all in all, building a media PC is not that expensive - or, if you want it really cheap, then pick up an Xbox for under $100, softmod it, install XBMC on it and you are good to go.
I do not know in which parallel universe do you live but in this one MP3 phones are here to stay. Most of the newer phones are capable of playing back mp3 and can be expanded with memory cards, SE's Walkman line goes strong, Nokia also have a "musicphone" in their N-series (and (almost?) all the S40 and higher phones are capable of mp3 playback).
So, mp3 phones are quite well, thank you.
Well, it is how it works, and it was also specifically mentioned in the Comission's FAQ.
Jesus, does it have to be asked in every story related to the EU vs MS saga?
It will simply go into the EU budget. The budget's size will remain the same, the member states have to pay less.
Well, I guess, the original X-Box is the perfect platform for running MPlayer and MAME :)
"Just count the number of keypresses (or screens to progress through) to accomplish basic tasks - it's increasing all the time"
That's simply not true.
I have a Nokia 6230 - it has all the features that a modern cellphone is supposed to have (camera, music player, java apps, calendar, whatever) but accessing basic functionality actually requires the same or less keypresses than on my old Nokia 3210 (a quite basic phone from the last century). Most of them (entering the phonebook, viewing a newly received SMS, entering the calendar) require a single keypress, but more complicated things, like entering my Inbox now takes 2 keypresses as opposed to 3 on my old phone and entering a calculator now requires only a single keypress while it took 4 on the 3210.
So, to summarize it, newer phones DO offer a faster interface.
Let me be the first to say: this is stupid, it can't work and - ultimately - it will be rejected.
Well, yes, but:
:) )
1. It weighed only 1650 pounds
2. Its engine produced only 20 HPs (allowing a top speed of around 70 km/h)
Today, a car with comparable specifications would produce MPG figures at least four times as much as the old T did (the VW Lupo comes to mind (80 MPG), but compared to the T it's a heavy, overly powerful racecar
"[MPlayer is missing] dvd menus"
Oh, I thought that was a feature.
Why not just use mplayer and be done with it? From what I've seen, mplayer does everything that xine does, and more, so why bother.
Or am I missing something?
"the absolute fastest way to stop is to hit the brake and hold it at the point just before the car starts to slide -- because sliding friction is (usually) much less than static friction, you don't want to slide"
It's true, but on dry road a car does not really slide: it leaves skid marks because small particles of rubber are torn down from the tyre since it does not slide.
"You certainly don't need a 64bit Athlon CPU"
Well, it depends. If you plan on watching HD WMV you'd better have some serious CPU power in your HTPC since the current batch of video cards seems to offer only MPEG2 decoding. And how much power you need? My 1400 MHz Pentium M could not decode 1080p in realtime, so a VIA Eden unfortunately does not cut it.
P4s are a rather unfortunate choice for this task, since they are the most power hungry and heat generating CPUs that you can but today.
The only specific thing he mentions is that both Windows and Linux are 25 year old... let me see:
Windows NT (which is the base for all the current Windowses) was first released in 1993. (Windows 1.0 was released in 1985, but that was not 25 years ago and has little to do with current ones (like, a copletely different codebase and technology))
Linux began in 1991, but if you really want to dig to the roots, UNIX was created in 1969.
and, of course, the problems "video internet" has (though these are not critical, as demonstrated by porn sites) these are related to the network, not to the OSes.
So, Metcalfe is talking BS as usually.
"If Nokia made such a device they would sell billions of them, and I don't think this is exaggeration."
And to whom, exactly? Basically, anyone who can afford the cost of calls (which has a lot to do with building an expensive infrastructure) can surely afford some of the basic handsets - like the 1100.
Also, I really don't see the point of purchasing mobile phones "by the dozen" - why would anyone do that?
It depends on your driver.
If you have like full specs, you can just tweak the registers to your heart's liking - but on the Intel chipset it ain't so. The X driver can only use BIOS calls to set the resolution.
Not quite.
I have a Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook with an Intel 845(?) graphic chip driving a 1400x1050 screen - and the BIOS does not support this resolution. That's why we have hacks like 855resolution that overwrite one of the predefined modes with values for 1400x1050.
Well, there's a "protected" flag on some files, the phone does not allow to transfer them, but the rest can be transferred freely.
On my phone this P flag is set on the Java applications and the factory-installed midis. (I did not DL anything from the net with my phone though, I transferred all the stuff to it over BT, IR or with a memory card reader)
I think you are not really up to date regarding phones. I have a good old Nokia 6230 and I think it is superior to Rokr in nearly all aspects.
Look at your points:
1. It looks good.
2. I could not find a local price for the E398 (the Rokr is basically an E398 with a plus button and updated firmware) and it is not sold here, but I guess the 6230 must be cheaper.
3. The 100 song limit is not present on the Nokia (or on any other mp3-playing phone except for the Rokr)
And now the other extras of my Nokia:
- Songs can be uploaded via Bluetooth
- Songs can be used as ringtones
- Has a radio
- Uses MMC instead of TransFlash memory cards
- Supports EDGE
- Has an IRDA port
- Smaller and lighter
- Better battery-life
- It is a better phone in general
And what has ROKR? It can play AACs with Apple's DRM. Not much.
And, as I said, the Nokia 6230 is relatively old model and it is not pitched as a music phone, or anything. If you want to see some recent MP3 player phones then take a look at SonyEriccson's W800.
"the Win Boot Loader ALWAYS seems to have the same view of your hardware that the OS does"
But this is not a virtue of the Windows boot loader but a shortcoming of Windows: it depends on the BIOS to get the disk geometry and thus Windows users have encountered numerous barriers disk size (the last one was at ~130 GB).
Would it be too much to ask to make the distinction between API and source code? After all, it's a technical site, or at least that's what it's supposed to be.