I don't know what standard you'd recommend, but I doubt that you are being realistic. Think about this scenario. There is a known murderer/child rapist or what ever named Mr. A. He's wanted for these crimes, maybe he was even convicted and escaped. In any case, Officer Bob spots a guy matching Mr A's description and stops him. He asks him his name. He says he is Mr. B, not Mr. A. Officer Bob asks for identification. The identification says it's Mr B., but it is common for career criminals to have aliases, to lie about their identity and have false identification. So Officer Bob is suspicious and this guy looks a lot like Mr A's description. What would you have Officer Bob do? Walk away? Only arrest or take into custody people he actually sees commit a crime or what? Today Officer Bob would take Mr. B down to the station and assume he's really Mr. A until his identity can be established one way or another. That "way" would be to take Mr. B's fingerprints and compare them with Mr A's which should be on record. If they don't match then Mr. B is released and his fingerprint cards are destroyed soon after. If they do match, Officer Bob has taken a killer/rapist off the streets so he can't hurt anyone else. Do you not think that Officer Bob should have taken Mr. A/B into custody? Do you not agree that if Mr. B was in fact not Mr. A that he would have appreciated getting that established without spending hours at a police station? In your ideal world, how would this play out?
The use case is that the cop thinks you are a guy they've been looking for, but you deny it. Today he'd haul you in until your identity could be confirmed. His probable cause is based on who he thinks you are. The alternative is for him to be able to quickly confirm whether or not you are this guy and to let you go on the spot if you aren't. Sounds like progress to me.
We've been doing this in Iraq and probably Afghanistan for a few years now. It's purpose is to minimize the impact on the local people by quickly determining whether we needed to take someone into custody or not. Before that we would round up everyone that seemed suspicious and cart them off for questioning. Most people were innocent. Everyone was pissed off and sometimes the bad guys got away because they didn't seem suspicious enough to the troops they encountered. Overall it has really helped our relations with the locals while actually increasing our effectiveness combating the bad guys hiding among them.
Why doesn't it need to be pointed out? If one feels it necessary to share their judgment about a post with the entire community, shouldn't they explain why the think that way? This isn't Facebook or Twitter where you just spew random emotions to your real and imagined friends. It is a forum for sharing ideas and information. Tell us what the 3 statements are and why you think they are stupid, please. It may not be as obvious as you think.
Unless you explain why you think his post is dumb/dumber or dumbest, you are just trolling. What exactly do you think is so dumb about what he wrote? Did he get a fact about how the technology works wrong or do you disagree with his analysis of how businesses and the marketplace really work? Or maybe his conclusion conflicts with what you'd like to believe?
Just like in a brick and mortar store except there you can beg for shelf space and if you get it then your cut will be much smaller than the 70% Apple givers you. You can also create your own web site, maintain it, process your payments, pay transaction fees to credit card companies, etc. all the while hoping someone will come to your site - one in a billion or so. In either case you'll need to buy lot's of advertising just to get people to your site or a store willing to stock your product. Effective advertising is extremely expensive. I think 30% is pretty fair especially since you have the option to sell direct or through other retailers if you choose. Get some real world experience and see what marketing, selling and distributing really cost.
I agree with what you wrote, but regardless of your position, if your only rebuttal is an insulting rant then you'll not persuade anyone to your side. You may turn otherwise open minded people against you which is self defeating, isn't it?
Wow! You certainly demonstrated your ability to think, reason and communicate. Well done! You are a fine representative of what the GP was referring to. If you want respect, you might try something other than angry insults or at least append some reasoning and a few facts to them once you've finished venting..
Closing their devices for profit? Yes, they are in business to make a profit. Like all companies they open some things and close others depending on what they think will give them an advantage over their competitors. It is capitalism after all.
I don't know why you had such a problem moving your sister's files, but I've not had a problem exporting my contacts, calendars or anything else from my iPhone or iPad to non-Apple devices. The Contact app explicitly supports VCF. That said, I have also have a Mac which has more robust capabilities for exporting all my data to a variety of formats. I just synch my devices to them. I've found that Apple is very good at supporting internet formats. Their iDisk, Calendar and Contacts all do. If you want problems, try migrating off of Outlook 2003.
Airplay is designed to work over Wifi - much greater range than bluetooth. I use it's predecessor, AirTunes in my house to stream music from my computer downstairs to various 3 different sound systems in different places in my house. And, I can control it all using my iPhone or iPad as a remote. Bluetooth is only good for 30 feet and it's much slower than 803.11n. Video is out of the question. Airplay is open for use by others and is being built into devices so you can stream directly to them. It's a work in progress but there have been some interesting 3rd party utilities developed that support a lot of non-Apple formats, sources and operating systems.Yes, Airplay from Linux or Windows.
You are confusing "open" with "the manufacturer will provide you with tools to do things the device was not designed or sold to do". That's not what "open" means. Nevertheless, I'm not arguing that iOS is open. It's not. My point is that people on Slashdot make all sorts of false statements about what you can or cannot do on Apple products. They also complain a lot about the products being what Apple designs and sells instead of what they would design and buy. Well, if it isn't what you want, don't buy it. However, you're an idiot if you think that your (the ranter in question) "business model" is superior than Apple's. Look who is making billions of dollars with hundreds of millions of happy customers and who is wasting time ranting on this site.
IPod's (not the Touch) have always had the option to be used as USB storage without a jail break. The iOS devices are not sold or advertised as USB storage devices or having the capability. The poster was complaining that he could not do what the device was not intended to do. Well it can be used for things Apple did not intend for it to be use for and for things they do not support. In the case of the non-Jail broken option you can see that someone can not only use the device for a purpose not intended or supported by the manufacturer, but they can do it without you losing that support (i.e. jail break). Apple may limit what they will support you for, but they don't lock down your data or your files or keep you from moving to another OS.
You can use the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPods as USB drives so I don't know what your problem is.
http://iphonehelp.in/2009/10/07/usb-drive-converts-your-iphone-ipod-touch-in-a-pendrive-usb-mass-storage/http://osxdaily.com/2010/02/28/use-your-iphone-as-a-flash-drive/
You can easily get your data on and off any Mac OS or iOS device. There is no secret formula or special connectors you have to buy unless you think USB is a secret add-on or that its proprietary to Apple.
Apple's software can read and write commonly supported formats. I easily move data between my iOS, Mac OS/X, Windows and Linux devices. It's trivial. I have full access to all the files - text messages, voice mails, everything else callers or I create - on my iPhone, can move it to my computer and use it with third party apps on Mac, Windows and Linux.
I swear, all the grousing about Apple being closed that I see on this topic is unbelievable - because it's not true.
"Knowing" history as a set of facts and "understanding" it as insights into humankind and cause and effect are two very different things. Most people "know" some history and "understand" very little if any of it. That's partly a symptom of the problem of how history is taught in primary, secondary schools and the under-class levels in Universities.
As to Twain and Huckleberry Finn - Twain took great pains to accurately capture the dialect and idioms of the characters he wrote about. He took such pains because he thought it was essential to the story he was telling. What's next? Are they going to correct all the grammar and have Huck speak the Queen's English?
Not most models of Mini. There are two base Mini configurations. One has a R/W DVD and one hard drive and is targeted toward the desktop or home. It comes with the desktop version of Mac OS X. The other has 2 hard drives and no DVD. It comes with the server version of Mac OS X. Both models are upgradeable in terms of processor speed and RAM. Both have a full complement of USB 2.0 ports and a Firewire 800 port to which you can attach additional drives - DVD or hard disk or a number of other things. Most consumers who buy the Mini get the one with the DVD. The Mini is very popular in the commercial space where you'll see a lot of the server configuration. The Macbook Air has a USB port and can connect to an external DVD drive or a network drive.
Will win what? What constitutes victory? Does "winning" mean that something else "loses"? What does "lose" mean in this context? Apple makes more money off of their minority share of cell phone sales than any other company. Their share of the total profits on PC sales is over twice their market share. Is that winning or losing? Microsoft makes even more money (for now) with higher margins and they haven't done much in terms of new products in a decade. Are they winners or losers? The largest device manufacturers whether PC or phone have minuscule profit margins per device. They have to sell millions of these things to stay alive. Are they winners or losers? If Android ends up on 60% of all smart devices and the vendors who make and sell them account for only 30% or less of the profits, are they winners or losers?
You both have good points, but I'd like to remind the GP that the legislators who've either taken IP law to absurd lengths or failed to correct it and the Judges who've been enforcing software and business method patents when they don't appear to be included in the intent of the law are almost all lawyers. American society seems to me be be of the Lawyers, by the Lawyers and for the Lawyers. The "Law" and the Legal system have become ends in themselves which is not why they were created. They were created in order to facilitate a more orderly and just society. Unfortunately its all devolved into a religious cult divorced from any higher purpose.
I have no problem with credit card companies refusing to do business with pirate sites or any site that sponsors or encourages illegal activities. If MasterCard bases their decisions on accurate information and is conservative about how they evaluate the evidence, that's not a bad thing. I would be concerned if MasterCard approached this with the same sort of "diligence" characteristic of the MPAA and RIAA where innocent parties are falsely accused and convicted until they prove otherwise. Are they also going to deny services to those who may violate a copyright by posting a video or song to share because they really like it? I guess MasterCard would have to drop Facebook. How much time and effort will MasterCard be spending on insuring they are not denying service to innocent parties? Will they confine this to pirates and criminals and not go after every possible copyright violation?
You only need "a proper mouse and a proper keyboard" if you need a PC and this isn't a PC at all. You can use a "proper keyboard" with an iPad if you like and I do if I have a lot of typing to do and I'm not using my PC. The problem with the laptop form factor - though it's fine for PCs - is that it is more prone to damage and is less "portable" than a pad form factor. With a pad form factor there is nothing to open or close. You just use it directly. You don't have to have a lap or a table or be sitting down. So, tell me why this device is better than a PC type laptop or an iPad type device? It is less powerful than either one.
So why not just get an iPad? This device has less capability and power than an iPad for what? I can browse the internet on an iPad, it's instant on with a long battery life and lot's of storage. Plus it hosts a lot of applications that are as simple to install and maintain and use as you can possibly get. If you don't need the power of a full PC (including netbooks) why would you want this instead of an iPad? It has the disadvantages of a laptop (e.g. form factor) and none of the advantages.
You are so naive. The internet providers will sue your city and lobby the legislature to ban cities and counties from "competing" with them even when they refuse to provide the service themselves.
http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2010/07/north-carolina-kills-moratorium-on-muni-broadband.ars
In this link there was a small victory, but the battle is far from over. Note the states - VA, PA and NV that have defacto bands on city/county internet.
These guys enjoy being monopolies without fulfilling the responsibilities that go with it. They've even successfully argued both sides of the common carrier tag - I can choose what content to transport, but don't hold me responsible for any of it.
Where there are monopolies and the market has high barriers to entry such as this one - it needs government regulation. You could argue that the cable distribution network should be spun off as a regulated monopoly and then let all the ISPs share its use and compete freely and I'd agree with you, but that's not happening.
I don't use the CD Changer anymore. I plug in my iPod or iPhone. I don't have a GPS system because the navigation system on my iPhone works well. I don't watch DVD's while driving and I don't have young kids, but if I did, I'd give them iPads or iPod Touches instead and they could watch or play or whatever. All this stuff works whether it is my car, a friends car or a rental car. It also works when I'm not in a car. Why would I want to pay for something like that if its bolted into a car? Hell I watch all of my video on my iPad or my computer so our TV is gathering dust. So many of the previous generation of entertainment devices are now obsolete. It's funny.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know what standard you'd recommend, but I doubt that you are being realistic. Think about this scenario. There is a known murderer/child rapist or what ever named Mr. A. He's wanted for these crimes, maybe he was even convicted and escaped. In any case, Officer Bob spots a guy matching Mr A's description and stops him. He asks him his name. He says he is Mr. B, not Mr. A. Officer Bob asks for identification. The identification says it's Mr B., but it is common for career criminals to have aliases, to lie about their identity and have false identification. So Officer Bob is suspicious and this guy looks a lot like Mr A's description. What would you have Officer Bob do? Walk away? Only arrest or take into custody people he actually sees commit a crime or what? Today Officer Bob would take Mr. B down to the station and assume he's really Mr. A until his identity can be established one way or another. That "way" would be to take Mr. B's fingerprints and compare them with Mr A's which should be on record. If they don't match then Mr. B is released and his fingerprint cards are destroyed soon after. If they do match, Officer Bob has taken a killer/rapist off the streets so he can't hurt anyone else. Do you not think that Officer Bob should have taken Mr. A/B into custody? Do you not agree that if Mr. B was in fact not Mr. A that he would have appreciated getting that established without spending hours at a police station? In your ideal world, how would this play out?
The use case is that the cop thinks you are a guy they've been looking for, but you deny it. Today he'd haul you in until your identity could be confirmed. His probable cause is based on who he thinks you are. The alternative is for him to be able to quickly confirm whether or not you are this guy and to let you go on the spot if you aren't. Sounds like progress to me.
We've been doing this in Iraq and probably Afghanistan for a few years now. It's purpose is to minimize the impact on the local people by quickly determining whether we needed to take someone into custody or not. Before that we would round up everyone that seemed suspicious and cart them off for questioning. Most people were innocent. Everyone was pissed off and sometimes the bad guys got away because they didn't seem suspicious enough to the troops they encountered. Overall it has really helped our relations with the locals while actually increasing our effectiveness combating the bad guys hiding among them.
Why doesn't it need to be pointed out? If one feels it necessary to share their judgment about a post with the entire community, shouldn't they explain why the think that way? This isn't Facebook or Twitter where you just spew random emotions to your real and imagined friends. It is a forum for sharing ideas and information. Tell us what the 3 statements are and why you think they are stupid, please. It may not be as obvious as you think.
Unless you explain why you think his post is dumb/dumber or dumbest, you are just trolling. What exactly do you think is so dumb about what he wrote? Did he get a fact about how the technology works wrong or do you disagree with his analysis of how businesses and the marketplace really work? Or maybe his conclusion conflicts with what you'd like to believe?
Just like in a brick and mortar store except there you can beg for shelf space and if you get it then your cut will be much smaller than the 70% Apple givers you. You can also create your own web site, maintain it, process your payments, pay transaction fees to credit card companies, etc. all the while hoping someone will come to your site - one in a billion or so. In either case you'll need to buy lot's of advertising just to get people to your site or a store willing to stock your product. Effective advertising is extremely expensive. I think 30% is pretty fair especially since you have the option to sell direct or through other retailers if you choose. Get some real world experience and see what marketing, selling and distributing really cost.
I agree with what you wrote, but regardless of your position, if your only rebuttal is an insulting rant then you'll not persuade anyone to your side. You may turn otherwise open minded people against you which is self defeating, isn't it?
Wow! You certainly demonstrated your ability to think, reason and communicate. Well done! You are a fine representative of what the GP was referring to. If you want respect, you might try something other than angry insults or at least append some reasoning and a few facts to them once you've finished venting..
Oh iMac, let me stroke your mighty mouse!
I don't know why you had such a problem moving your sister's files, but I've not had a problem exporting my contacts, calendars or anything else from my iPhone or iPad to non-Apple devices. The Contact app explicitly supports VCF. That said, I have also have a Mac which has more robust capabilities for exporting all my data to a variety of formats. I just synch my devices to them. I've found that Apple is very good at supporting internet formats. Their iDisk, Calendar and Contacts all do. If you want problems, try migrating off of Outlook 2003.
Airplay is designed to work over Wifi - much greater range than bluetooth. I use it's predecessor, AirTunes in my house to stream music from my computer downstairs to various 3 different sound systems in different places in my house. And, I can control it all using my iPhone or iPad as a remote. Bluetooth is only good for 30 feet and it's much slower than 803.11n. Video is out of the question. Airplay is open for use by others and is being built into devices so you can stream directly to them. It's a work in progress but there have been some interesting 3rd party utilities developed that support a lot of non-Apple formats, sources and operating systems.Yes, Airplay from Linux or Windows.
IPod's (not the Touch) have always had the option to be used as USB storage without a jail break. The iOS devices are not sold or advertised as USB storage devices or having the capability. The poster was complaining that he could not do what the device was not intended to do. Well it can be used for things Apple did not intend for it to be use for and for things they do not support. In the case of the non-Jail broken option you can see that someone can not only use the device for a purpose not intended or supported by the manufacturer, but they can do it without you losing that support (i.e. jail break). Apple may limit what they will support you for, but they don't lock down your data or your files or keep you from moving to another OS.
You can use the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPods as USB drives so I don't know what your problem is. http://iphonehelp.in/2009/10/07/usb-drive-converts-your-iphone-ipod-touch-in-a-pendrive-usb-mass-storage/ http://osxdaily.com/2010/02/28/use-your-iphone-as-a-flash-drive/ You can easily get your data on and off any Mac OS or iOS device. There is no secret formula or special connectors you have to buy unless you think USB is a secret add-on or that its proprietary to Apple. Apple's software can read and write commonly supported formats. I easily move data between my iOS, Mac OS/X, Windows and Linux devices. It's trivial. I have full access to all the files - text messages, voice mails, everything else callers or I create - on my iPhone, can move it to my computer and use it with third party apps on Mac, Windows and Linux. I swear, all the grousing about Apple being closed that I see on this topic is unbelievable - because it's not true.
Why is it horrible? No cars?
If you think Playboy is porn, you really need to get out of the basement. Playboy is to porn what Disneyworld is to authenticity.
As to Twain and Huckleberry Finn - Twain took great pains to accurately capture the dialect and idioms of the characters he wrote about. He took such pains because he thought it was essential to the story he was telling. What's next? Are they going to correct all the grammar and have Huck speak the Queen's English?
Not most models of Mini. There are two base Mini configurations. One has a R/W DVD and one hard drive and is targeted toward the desktop or home. It comes with the desktop version of Mac OS X. The other has 2 hard drives and no DVD. It comes with the server version of Mac OS X. Both models are upgradeable in terms of processor speed and RAM. Both have a full complement of USB 2.0 ports and a Firewire 800 port to which you can attach additional drives - DVD or hard disk or a number of other things. Most consumers who buy the Mini get the one with the DVD. The Mini is very popular in the commercial space where you'll see a lot of the server configuration. The Macbook Air has a USB port and can connect to an external DVD drive or a network drive.
Marrying a clone of yourself who's also your daughter? So is this how the Time Lords masturbate on Gallifrey?
Will win what? What constitutes victory? Does "winning" mean that something else "loses"? What does "lose" mean in this context? Apple makes more money off of their minority share of cell phone sales than any other company. Their share of the total profits on PC sales is over twice their market share. Is that winning or losing? Microsoft makes even more money (for now) with higher margins and they haven't done much in terms of new products in a decade. Are they winners or losers? The largest device manufacturers whether PC or phone have minuscule profit margins per device. They have to sell millions of these things to stay alive. Are they winners or losers? If Android ends up on 60% of all smart devices and the vendors who make and sell them account for only 30% or less of the profits, are they winners or losers?
You both have good points, but I'd like to remind the GP that the legislators who've either taken IP law to absurd lengths or failed to correct it and the Judges who've been enforcing software and business method patents when they don't appear to be included in the intent of the law are almost all lawyers. American society seems to me be be of the Lawyers, by the Lawyers and for the Lawyers. The "Law" and the Legal system have become ends in themselves which is not why they were created. They were created in order to facilitate a more orderly and just society. Unfortunately its all devolved into a religious cult divorced from any higher purpose.
I have no problem with credit card companies refusing to do business with pirate sites or any site that sponsors or encourages illegal activities. If MasterCard bases their decisions on accurate information and is conservative about how they evaluate the evidence, that's not a bad thing. I would be concerned if MasterCard approached this with the same sort of "diligence" characteristic of the MPAA and RIAA where innocent parties are falsely accused and convicted until they prove otherwise. Are they also going to deny services to those who may violate a copyright by posting a video or song to share because they really like it? I guess MasterCard would have to drop Facebook. How much time and effort will MasterCard be spending on insuring they are not denying service to innocent parties? Will they confine this to pirates and criminals and not go after every possible copyright violation?
You only need "a proper mouse and a proper keyboard" if you need a PC and this isn't a PC at all. You can use a "proper keyboard" with an iPad if you like and I do if I have a lot of typing to do and I'm not using my PC. The problem with the laptop form factor - though it's fine for PCs - is that it is more prone to damage and is less "portable" than a pad form factor. With a pad form factor there is nothing to open or close. You just use it directly. You don't have to have a lap or a table or be sitting down. So, tell me why this device is better than a PC type laptop or an iPad type device? It is less powerful than either one.
So why not just get an iPad? This device has less capability and power than an iPad for what? I can browse the internet on an iPad, it's instant on with a long battery life and lot's of storage. Plus it hosts a lot of applications that are as simple to install and maintain and use as you can possibly get. If you don't need the power of a full PC (including netbooks) why would you want this instead of an iPad? It has the disadvantages of a laptop (e.g. form factor) and none of the advantages.
I live in Chicago. In the burbs there is a Route 53. It's heavily congested and often under construction. Is this what Amazon is offering?
You are so naive. The internet providers will sue your city and lobby the legislature to ban cities and counties from "competing" with them even when they refuse to provide the service themselves. http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2010/07/north-carolina-kills-moratorium-on-muni-broadband.ars In this link there was a small victory, but the battle is far from over. Note the states - VA, PA and NV that have defacto bands on city/county internet. These guys enjoy being monopolies without fulfilling the responsibilities that go with it. They've even successfully argued both sides of the common carrier tag - I can choose what content to transport, but don't hold me responsible for any of it. Where there are monopolies and the market has high barriers to entry such as this one - it needs government regulation. You could argue that the cable distribution network should be spun off as a regulated monopoly and then let all the ISPs share its use and compete freely and I'd agree with you, but that's not happening.
I don't use the CD Changer anymore. I plug in my iPod or iPhone. I don't have a GPS system because the navigation system on my iPhone works well. I don't watch DVD's while driving and I don't have young kids, but if I did, I'd give them iPads or iPod Touches instead and they could watch or play or whatever. All this stuff works whether it is my car, a friends car or a rental car. It also works when I'm not in a car. Why would I want to pay for something like that if its bolted into a car? Hell I watch all of my video on my iPad or my computer so our TV is gathering dust. So many of the previous generation of entertainment devices are now obsolete. It's funny.