I drive a car regularly and have no interest in knowing the ins and outs of its mechanics.
Not trying to troll, but that line really struck me. Do you by any chance happen to drive a Toyota? Your comment definitely makes you come across as the "A car is no different than a toaster, so buy the cheapest one that won't break and who cares what it looks like or what features it has" type.
Ever wonder that maybe the reason there are so many crappy drivers out there is because they don't care to know anything about the car and expect it to be a magic box that "just works"?
I beg you, do a few years doing tech support (whether in house or at a call center). You'll find that, regardless of age, those assertions are dead on for the majority of users. And yes, I say that as someone who's mid-20's and most people I know in my age range are pretty incompetent about technology.
Exactly - it is a repeated game, which after companies proving that every time they will take your money and fuck you over, consumers got to the point where it's better to pirate than to buy.
They had a system that worked fine - cd-keys, disk check, and if it's multiplayer only one cd-key can be logged in at a time. That worked well enough and only a minority of people pirated because there wasn't much of a point unless you just wanted something for free. They changed the rules because they decided that used games were "stealing" from them (no, seriously, look around online and you'll find plenty of interviews with high level people at game companies who say that used games are the same as stealing) so they invented DRM to kill used games. Instead of killing used games, all they've done (so far) is cause their once loyal customers to boycott their new games and an increase in piracy due to the fact that you're punished for buying the game.
You can make all the excuses you want, but you're supporting the assholes in charge of companies who forced things to be this way.
So,lets say over the same lifespan I have to buy two replacement batteries - I just bought a new super battery for my laptop (I don't remember the cells, but it's double the size of the stock battery) and it gives me around 6 hours or so battery life and it cost me a whopping $54. Since I'd need two to match Apple's theoretical numbers, that means it would cost $108 more than the sticker price for the laptop. However, you also have to factor in that 1) my laptop cost $500, not $1,300 (I'll go nice and only use the 13" Macbook Pro for the example here), which means even with the extra $108 for batteries, It's still $692 less than the 13"Macbook Pro. Then there's 2) the insane amount of time wasted getting an appointment, going to the Apple store, waiting for the battery to be replaced, and then driving back from the Apple store (not even counting the fact that Apple probably charges a good $250 or more for the new battery - I've heard that it's cheaper to buy a new iPod than to have a battery replaced).
I never used to pirate games. I still hate pirating games, but I do pirate DRM'd games now. I was content to just not buy their crippled games, but then while having a discussion with an employee of a company that uses DRM (Eidos I believe) around a year ago, they flat out lied to me about the DRM claiming that they just use a cd-key and disk check to try to get me to buy it. Around a month later, I checked online to see what the DRM situation was (the game wasn't released yet when I talked to the employee) and found out that it had the full SecuROM rape going on.
So yes, as someone who's bought hundreds of games over the years and given these companies a lot of money, I am pissed that they want to fuck me over for buying their game. So I started boycotting DRM games - meaning they make $0 from me. After the employee lying to me, I decided, to hell with this - they're getting $0 from me anyways (since I refuse to pay to be treated like shit - same reason I wouldn't hire a dominatrix), so I might as well pirate the game and enjoy the hobby that they're trying to destroy. If you have any knowledge of Game Theory, you'd realize that this is actually the best solution (given that DRM is used) - they make the same profit regardless of if I pirate or not (since I won't buy a DRM'd game) and I get the added benefit of playing the game.
Well my question is - does this game have a demo? If not, then I'm not surprised that they had a lot of people pirate it. I sure as hell won't pay for something I don't get to try first and see if it's worth paying for.
Being able to try before you buy is pretty damn important to a lot of people.
A better question for you - how fast do you throw away your laptop (since you said you've had a LOT of them over the years)? I keep my laptops for 3-5 years and typically go through 2-3 batteries (I use my laptop a lot). So yes, it IS a big deal because 1) it's a hassle to take it to the Apple Store and 2) they charge WAY more than it would cost to buy a battery if you could replace it yourself.
They're typically programs focused on things like animation, art, architecture, fashion design, etc. I haven't seen too many outside of those programs forcing people to buy Mac's (though I have seen a few Comp Sci programs at different schools that require Mac's for Comp Sci majors), but just about every school I've seen / know someone who goes to requires anyone majoring in an artistic / design oriented program to buy a Mac. It's typically not advertised on the main site, you have to go to the section of the site detailing the requirements for the major.
I agree with you about several sticking with Mac due to their software library and because they're used to it. While I'm the first one to point out the huge price discrepancy between PC and Mac, due to the lack of people using a Mac as a gaming system as well as the difference in the type of software used by the average person, Mac's do tend to be able to go a lot longer before they're slow enough (relative to their newer counterparts) that they need to be replaced, which helps cut down on the cost factor some.
I think my biggest issue keeping me from ever buying a Macbook / Macbook Pro is the lack of a user replaceable battery.
I'm not that surprised. I graduated a couple years ago and I'm going back for my masters this fall - there are a LOT of programs at most universities that require you to buy a Mac. So while some degree of the increase in Mac sales are the trendy rich kids who just want to seem cool, most of that change is probably due to the slew of programs that have recently started forcing students to buy a Mac.
I avoided gmail for a very long time because of that. However, I did succumb eventually. I'd gladly use a product from another company that actually gives a fuck about people's rights and privacy - the problem is, those companies don't make software / services worth a damn.
Quite frankly, I think the US military and government are pointing their fingers in the wrong direction here. The people that are really at fault here are those who have still not managed to put adequate controls on the access and export of sensitive data
And you missed the point entirely. The people really at fault are the people who recruit scum into the military and the politicians who use the military for their whims instead of it's actual purpose of defending the nation.
You're just wanting to blame the person who did the right thing and exposed the criminal behavior instead of holding the people responsible for that behavior accountable.
I totally empathize with the failed assignment. I had a similar problem at one point.
Though looking back, it does teach a valuable lesson. Make sure that your product reflects all the initial design requirements. If a customer gives you a design requirement and you ignore it, that's a problem.
Except a professor isn't a customer - they're an employee. That's where we need a few good lawsuits to change things - professors forget that STUDENTS pay THEM to teach and that students should NOT have to put up with their egos or them being assholes over something minor(such as docking points or giving an F due to it being.docx instead of.doc or something similar).
Then again, that's a lesson police and politicians need to learn as well - that THEY work for US - not the other way around.
The individual artist should be able to profit from their work for the rest of their life.
Why? The rest of us actually have to work - we don't get to show up for a few weeks and then say "You have to pay me for the rest of my life for that work". Giving them a few years of copyright to make money off of it, sure, I'm fine with that. However, it's BS for them to get paid to sit back and do nothing for 60+ years because once upon a time, they wrote a few songs.
sure, if you can actually FIND an unlimited "unlimited" data plan.
My Evo has 100% truly unlimited data on Sprint. Yes, Sprint normally caps at 5 GB (like most companies do), but they actually have in the fine print for the Evo that your $10 premium data fee no only lets you access 4G but also gives you 100% unlimited data.
So, using your logic, Ubuntu isn't Linux, is'a bastardization they pass off as Linux.
Things like Sense and Motoblur are just a UI - like Gnome or KDE for Linux. If you want the latest version of Gnome and other default software bundled with Ubuntu, you have to wait for the next Ubuntu release. If you want to download the things separately and hack it together yourself, you're free to try (just like downloading a ROM for Android).
Your complete lack of understanding of the issue at hand makes you the worst troll I've ever seen, and that's saying something since I've spent plenty of time on/b/.
For the end-user; it's not much different than an iPhone.
Except for the fact of being allowed to put in any ringtones you want for free (including MMS / notification sounds, which Apple does NOT let you change), not having to use specific software to sync, an app store that's not ruled by a bi-polar tyrant, not being locked in to a specific app store, many services for free that you only get on iPhone by paying $99 a year for MobileMe, multiple different form factors to suit your personal taste, etc.
Nice troll dude. I love how you ignore everything about being able to install whatever you want and there being no restrictions on what people can develop it just because you can't uninstall Sprint Nascar. News flash - every Sprint phone, regardless of brand, comes with that crap. That's not an OS issue, that's a Sprint issue. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a good troll, eh?
I don't know about the Mac tools (since most people don't own a Mac), but while you can do it for free on Windows, it's a bit of a pain and the average person is not going to take the time to do it.
Android on the other hand lets you make ringtones in just a few seconds with no hassle at all.
You obviously don't understand what they're talking about when they say "open". They're talking about how you're free to install any app you want - not just the apps a specific group says you're allowed to install. Open as in you can make your own ringtones quickly, easily, and for free. Open as in you're free to use what you want on the phone instead of just what a certain company wants you to use.
It's not accurate to add the iPad in there because most people do not own a tablet and will only (for the time being) buy a phone. However, once there are Android tablets for sale, you can do two sets of numbers - one for smartphones and one for tablets.
You don't get it. You think it's about hardware and you're completely wrong. It's about software, more specifically, OS. It doesn't matter how many of any given phone is sold, it's about how many phones with a given OS are sold.
They can't hope to compete with every other smartphone vendor releasing an Android phone.
They could compete if they wanted to. They don't have to be typical tyrannical Apple and insist on controlling everything about the phone. They could easily license iOS to other companies to make iOS phones and still have the iPhone as a separate phone (like how Google did with the Nexus One). Or, they could make multiple product lines - such as an iPhone and an iPhone slider and an iPhone XL (larger screen). However, Apple is too arrogant to make multiple product lines because they think that if they make something, it is perfect and there is no need for any other models.
If you haven't noticed, Apple had a year and a half head start brainwashing the public that the iPhone is THE only smartphone to buy. The fact that Android went from not even existing to having close to 1/3 of new sales in just a year and a half when Apple had such a huge lead is pretty damn impressive.
This is like saying all other PC vendors combined outsold Dell. It's a silly argument.
No, it's not. A good analogy would be if Apple had a huge head start in selling PC's back in the day and then Windows came out of nowhere and in just a year and a half nearly caught up in sales. That type of thing is nearly unheard of - for a brand to be a latecomer to a new market and be able to actually compete. Normally they'll make some profit, but due to not having the extra years of marketing as "the" device to buy, they remain a niche product.
I teach math at a decent university, and I could teach a semester's worth of material in one class using PowerPoint. Nobody would learn anything, of course. But speaking as a math teacher, it's really easy to go far too fast using things like PowerPoint.
Speaking as a former student, it's way too easy for some teachers to go far too fast using just a chalkboard. The medium used to convey the information is irrelevant. It's all about if a professor goes at a reasonable pace and actually makes sure students understand it (such as asking students questions that are similar, but not identical, to what was just presented). Simply asking "Any questions?" when you're going too fast for the students don't work because virtually no one wants to admit that they're completely lost.
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I drive a car regularly and have no interest in knowing the ins and outs of its mechanics.
Not trying to troll, but that line really struck me. Do you by any chance happen to drive a Toyota? Your comment definitely makes you come across as the "A car is no different than a toaster, so buy the cheapest one that won't break and who cares what it looks like or what features it has" type.
Ever wonder that maybe the reason there are so many crappy drivers out there is because they don't care to know anything about the car and expect it to be a magic box that "just works"?
I beg you, do a few years doing tech support (whether in house or at a call center). You'll find that, regardless of age, those assertions are dead on for the majority of users. And yes, I say that as someone who's mid-20's and most people I know in my age range are pretty incompetent about technology.
Exactly - it is a repeated game, which after companies proving that every time they will take your money and fuck you over, consumers got to the point where it's better to pirate than to buy.
They had a system that worked fine - cd-keys, disk check, and if it's multiplayer only one cd-key can be logged in at a time. That worked well enough and only a minority of people pirated because there wasn't much of a point unless you just wanted something for free. They changed the rules because they decided that used games were "stealing" from them (no, seriously, look around online and you'll find plenty of interviews with high level people at game companies who say that used games are the same as stealing) so they invented DRM to kill used games. Instead of killing used games, all they've done (so far) is cause their once loyal customers to boycott their new games and an increase in piracy due to the fact that you're punished for buying the game.
You can make all the excuses you want, but you're supporting the assholes in charge of companies who forced things to be this way.
So,lets say over the same lifespan I have to buy two replacement batteries - I just bought a new super battery for my laptop (I don't remember the cells, but it's double the size of the stock battery) and it gives me around 6 hours or so battery life and it cost me a whopping $54. Since I'd need two to match Apple's theoretical numbers, that means it would cost $108 more than the sticker price for the laptop. However, you also have to factor in that 1) my laptop cost $500, not $1,300 (I'll go nice and only use the 13" Macbook Pro for the example here), which means even with the extra $108 for batteries, It's still $692 less than the 13"Macbook Pro. Then there's 2) the insane amount of time wasted getting an appointment, going to the Apple store, waiting for the battery to be replaced, and then driving back from the Apple store (not even counting the fact that Apple probably charges a good $250 or more for the new battery - I've heard that it's cheaper to buy a new iPod than to have a battery replaced).
I never used to pirate games. I still hate pirating games, but I do pirate DRM'd games now. I was content to just not buy their crippled games, but then while having a discussion with an employee of a company that uses DRM (Eidos I believe) around a year ago, they flat out lied to me about the DRM claiming that they just use a cd-key and disk check to try to get me to buy it. Around a month later, I checked online to see what the DRM situation was (the game wasn't released yet when I talked to the employee) and found out that it had the full SecuROM rape going on.
So yes, as someone who's bought hundreds of games over the years and given these companies a lot of money, I am pissed that they want to fuck me over for buying their game. So I started boycotting DRM games - meaning they make $0 from me. After the employee lying to me, I decided, to hell with this - they're getting $0 from me anyways (since I refuse to pay to be treated like shit - same reason I wouldn't hire a dominatrix), so I might as well pirate the game and enjoy the hobby that they're trying to destroy. If you have any knowledge of Game Theory, you'd realize that this is actually the best solution (given that DRM is used) - they make the same profit regardless of if I pirate or not (since I won't buy a DRM'd game) and I get the added benefit of playing the game.
Well my question is - does this game have a demo? If not, then I'm not surprised that they had a lot of people pirate it. I sure as hell won't pay for something I don't get to try first and see if it's worth paying for.
Being able to try before you buy is pretty damn important to a lot of people.
A better question for you - how fast do you throw away your laptop (since you said you've had a LOT of them over the years)? I keep my laptops for 3-5 years and typically go through 2-3 batteries (I use my laptop a lot). So yes, it IS a big deal because 1) it's a hassle to take it to the Apple Store and 2) they charge WAY more than it would cost to buy a battery if you could replace it yourself.
They're typically programs focused on things like animation, art, architecture, fashion design, etc. I haven't seen too many outside of those programs forcing people to buy Mac's (though I have seen a few Comp Sci programs at different schools that require Mac's for Comp Sci majors), but just about every school I've seen / know someone who goes to requires anyone majoring in an artistic / design oriented program to buy a Mac. It's typically not advertised on the main site, you have to go to the section of the site detailing the requirements for the major.
I agree with you about several sticking with Mac due to their software library and because they're used to it. While I'm the first one to point out the huge price discrepancy between PC and Mac, due to the lack of people using a Mac as a gaming system as well as the difference in the type of software used by the average person, Mac's do tend to be able to go a lot longer before they're slow enough (relative to their newer counterparts) that they need to be replaced, which helps cut down on the cost factor some.
I think my biggest issue keeping me from ever buying a Macbook / Macbook Pro is the lack of a user replaceable battery.
I'm not that surprised. I graduated a couple years ago and I'm going back for my masters this fall - there are a LOT of programs at most universities that require you to buy a Mac. So while some degree of the increase in Mac sales are the trendy rich kids who just want to seem cool, most of that change is probably due to the slew of programs that have recently started forcing students to buy a Mac.
I avoided gmail for a very long time because of that. However, I did succumb eventually. I'd gladly use a product from another company that actually gives a fuck about people's rights and privacy - the problem is, those companies don't make software / services worth a damn.
Quite frankly, I think the US military and government are pointing their fingers in the wrong direction here. The people that are really at fault here are those who have still not managed to put adequate controls on the access and export of sensitive data
And you missed the point entirely. The people really at fault are the people who recruit scum into the military and the politicians who use the military for their whims instead of it's actual purpose of defending the nation.
You're just wanting to blame the person who did the right thing and exposed the criminal behavior instead of holding the people responsible for that behavior accountable.
I totally empathize with the failed assignment. I had a similar problem at one point.
Though looking back, it does teach a valuable lesson. Make sure that your product reflects all the initial design requirements. If a customer gives you a design requirement and you ignore it, that's a problem.
Except a professor isn't a customer - they're an employee. That's where we need a few good lawsuits to change things - professors forget that STUDENTS pay THEM to teach and that students should NOT have to put up with their egos or them being assholes over something minor(such as docking points or giving an F due to it being .docx instead of .doc or something similar).
Then again, that's a lesson police and politicians need to learn as well - that THEY work for US - not the other way around.
The individual artist should be able to profit from their work for the rest of their life.
Why? The rest of us actually have to work - we don't get to show up for a few weeks and then say "You have to pay me for the rest of my life for that work". Giving them a few years of copyright to make money off of it, sure, I'm fine with that. However, it's BS for them to get paid to sit back and do nothing for 60+ years because once upon a time, they wrote a few songs.
sure, if you can actually FIND an unlimited "unlimited" data plan.
My Evo has 100% truly unlimited data on Sprint. Yes, Sprint normally caps at 5 GB (like most companies do), but they actually have in the fine print for the Evo that your $10 premium data fee no only lets you access 4G but also gives you 100% unlimited data.
So, using your logic, Ubuntu isn't Linux, is'a bastardization they pass off as Linux.
Things like Sense and Motoblur are just a UI - like Gnome or KDE for Linux. If you want the latest version of Gnome and other default software bundled with Ubuntu, you have to wait for the next Ubuntu release. If you want to download the things separately and hack it together yourself, you're free to try (just like downloading a ROM for Android).
Your complete lack of understanding of the issue at hand makes you the worst troll I've ever seen, and that's saying something since I've spent plenty of time on /b/.
For the end-user; it's not much different than an iPhone.
Except for the fact of being allowed to put in any ringtones you want for free (including MMS / notification sounds, which Apple does NOT let you change), not having to use specific software to sync, an app store that's not ruled by a bi-polar tyrant, not being locked in to a specific app store, many services for free that you only get on iPhone by paying $99 a year for MobileMe, multiple different form factors to suit your personal taste, etc.
Nice troll dude. I love how you ignore everything about being able to install whatever you want and there being no restrictions on what people can develop it just because you can't uninstall Sprint Nascar. News flash - every Sprint phone, regardless of brand, comes with that crap. That's not an OS issue, that's a Sprint issue. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a good troll, eh?
I don't know about the Mac tools (since most people don't own a Mac), but while you can do it for free on Windows, it's a bit of a pain and the average person is not going to take the time to do it.
Android on the other hand lets you make ringtones in just a few seconds with no hassle at all.
You obviously don't understand what they're talking about when they say "open". They're talking about how you're free to install any app you want - not just the apps a specific group says you're allowed to install. Open as in you can make your own ringtones quickly, easily, and for free. Open as in you're free to use what you want on the phone instead of just what a certain company wants you to use.
It's not accurate to add the iPad in there because most people do not own a tablet and will only (for the time being) buy a phone. However, once there are Android tablets for sale, you can do two sets of numbers - one for smartphones and one for tablets.
You don't get it. You think it's about hardware and you're completely wrong. It's about software, more specifically, OS. It doesn't matter how many of any given phone is sold, it's about how many phones with a given OS are sold.
They can't hope to compete with every other smartphone vendor releasing an Android phone.
They could compete if they wanted to. They don't have to be typical tyrannical Apple and insist on controlling everything about the phone. They could easily license iOS to other companies to make iOS phones and still have the iPhone as a separate phone (like how Google did with the Nexus One). Or, they could make multiple product lines - such as an iPhone and an iPhone slider and an iPhone XL (larger screen). However, Apple is too arrogant to make multiple product lines because they think that if they make something, it is perfect and there is no need for any other models.
If you haven't noticed, Apple had a year and a half head start brainwashing the public that the iPhone is THE only smartphone to buy. The fact that Android went from not even existing to having close to 1/3 of new sales in just a year and a half when Apple had such a huge lead is pretty damn impressive.
This is like saying all other PC vendors combined outsold Dell. It's a silly argument.
No, it's not. A good analogy would be if Apple had a huge head start in selling PC's back in the day and then Windows came out of nowhere and in just a year and a half nearly caught up in sales. That type of thing is nearly unheard of - for a brand to be a latecomer to a new market and be able to actually compete. Normally they'll make some profit, but due to not having the extra years of marketing as "the" device to buy, they remain a niche product.
We get rampant political bias in book form as well. It's just worded so that the bias isn't as obvious.
Definitely. I'm a pretty anti-regulation person for the most part, but I definitely think that should be made a law.
I teach math at a decent university, and I could teach a semester's worth of material in one class using PowerPoint. Nobody would learn anything, of course. But speaking as a math teacher, it's really easy to go far too fast using things like PowerPoint.
Speaking as a former student, it's way too easy for some teachers to go far too fast using just a chalkboard. The medium used to convey the information is irrelevant. It's all about if a professor goes at a reasonable pace and actually makes sure students understand it (such as asking students questions that are similar, but not identical, to what was just presented). Simply asking "Any questions?" when you're going too fast for the students don't work because virtually no one wants to admit that they're completely lost.