Nope. Poor breaking behaviour doesn't cause crashes, people not keeping a safe distance causes crashes.
Nope. What causes crashes is hunks of metal ramming into other hunks of metal. It would be complicated except that it's not. We choose to ascribe "cause" to other events that precede the ramming behavior, but it's really arbitrary.
For example, it's widely understood that driving cars is *dangerous* and yet we don't ascribe standard risk factors for *driving at all*.
Skiing is inherently dangerous. In order to use a ski slope, I have to acknowledge this risk. Why aren't car manufacturers covered with a similar legal conract?
Except in this case, the patent is for the use of VFAT, which is a very specific file system format that even Microsoft doesn't use much anymore, but is commonly understood by their systems.
There is no reason, for example, why Microsoft couldn't implement an open file system like EXT4 or UFS and update all their operating systems to recognize it, except that it would mitigate the value of their VFAT patents. So they don't bother.
I remember reading that they make more money on their patents from Android vendors than they make *gross* from their Windows Mobile sales.
I have a Moto Razr Maxx HD, now working on its 3rd year. It's been basically perfect. I reboot it perhaps once every few months, and half of those reboots are due to an OTA OS upgrade.
With it's amazing battery life, and durable, sturdy case, it's a phone that feels like a "partner" that doesn't leave me hanging and even when I'm really putting the screws to it, (EG: on trips) it's "just there" for me.
It is no longer a "flagship" phone, it's not the fastest phone, and it doesn't have the biggest/brightest screen any more, but it's still a very, very good balance for a phone that I probably won't be replacing until it actually dies.
My only honest complaint is that its bluetooth reception seems weak. I use $20 wired headphones as a result.
I write this on a gorgeous Dell Precision M3800 that has it all: powerful i7 processor, space for lots of RAM (16 GB), dual SSD bays, gorgeous 4K screen, and all in a lightweight, svelte case that rivals a Macbook Air in appearance and feel.
Oh, did I mention Linux compatibility? Ubuntu is officially supported. (My fave distro, Fedora runs without issue - literally load and forget)
Not sure what you're looking for in a PC manufacturer, but for Slashbots, isn't this pretty much it?
Honestly, the 'compute stick' makes zero sense for a TV-mounted device. It is far better to just go with a chrome cast stick or an AppleTV for airplay and using a pad or cell in your hand to control it if you want to throw a display up on the TV. Otherwise you will be fumbling around with a horrible remote or you have to throw together a bluetooth keyboard (etc...) and it just won't be a fun or convenient experience.
I have such a stick on my TV, and it works great! It's *not* an ideal general computing device, but it is pretty much ideal for a Smart TV thingie.
As far as input devices, we use either a bluetooth Logitech keyboard/touchpad device, or a "flying mouse" remote. Both work rather well. If you haven't one, you should check out a "flying mouse" remote on Amazon for under $20 and work by waving your hand. It's really easy and rather intuitive once you get past a 1 minute introduction. Oh, and it contains a full QWERTY keyboard too.
I bought an Android "Google TV" HDMI stick on Amazon for $30. I've been using it for a couple years now, and it works great! If I were to do it again, I'd probably spring for a Roku stick.
So, I went to the local Social Security office in smallsville, CA. While waiting, I used my phone, and noticed that (Verizon) I was getting a 1x signal.
There are *no* 1x signal towers in my local area, it's all 100% digital. There aren't even any 3G towers that I know of. And when I left, within a few hundred feet, I resumed seeing 4G signal,like normal.
Desalinization is expensive. It's energy intensive, they're ugly as sin, it results in bad-tasting water, it pollutes the oceans with saline, the resulting water still needs to be pumped hundreds of miles to be used, etc. etc.
It's a raw deal and it's stupid to mention it. Please don't.
Moves like this aren't philanthropic. It's a common tactic for a vested CEO to cut their salary to just $1. But because they are vested (EG: stock options, partial ownership, etc) they make out just fine.
As a company owner, I could cut my salary to just $1 and it probably wouldn't affect my true annual gross income at all, since unpaid salary just becomes profit.
Step 2: Offer it in a cheaper *and* more open way that the competition.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 over and over while network effects kick in. As trust and network effects continue to escalate, you become the "default choice".
Step 4: Only go here when you want to be evil. Stop offering such a good price. Don't be as open as you used to be. Structure your prices around keeping competition out rather than simply being "better". Hire lobbyists and start offering regulatory officials vacations in order to provide "an environment conducive to product education".
Google is now just sticking its toe in the water for Step 4. Microsoft charged into Step 4 as early as they could.
Irregular verbs exist because English is a hack job of a language mashed together from several sources.
Silent letters don't exist to disambiguate homonyms, EG: lead. They exist because the words came from different sources. Compare the derivations of right and rite.
I'd wager that a properly constructed language (if adopted) would probably mutate fairly slowly, about as fast as normal language does.
This is Comcast trying to squelch Google. You are most likely to see them "roll out" Gb+ Internet in areas that Google Fiber is being rolled out, and the reason is *only* to make sure that Google can't make money at it and quit altogether.
This is called "cutting off their air supply"; the assumption is that Google can't fund a literal roll out nationwide. Welcome to the the end-game for your most "free markets" - a monopoly.
If only a domain could publish information about the CA authorized to sign its certificates... perhaps with a record via DNS called "info", and secured with something called DNSSEC so you can be relatively sure it's correct.
I'm a *nix neckbeard, I respect my skills, and I use nano daily. It's a simple, fast, straightforward editor with controls similar to Word Star. Ctl-K to delete line, etc. As I've been busy building my neckbeard for 15 years or so now, and originally learned word processing with WordStar, it's a simple, natural fit.
I code in NetBeans with an IDE but for sysadmin work on any of the 50 or so servers I admin? Nano + mercurial all the way.
It's a company, not a military. Of *course* they're compromised! Or at least, compromisable! I mean, every single employee comes to work because they are getting paid. So the NSA leaves a suitcase full of cash at an employee's house, and is asked to leak data, and is offered full legal immunity for doing so.
You wouldn't take an extra $20,000 risk free? If not, you don't know somebody at work who would? Many people would do this for much less.
PS: My son is an engineering student and has the previous generation, M4500. He says it runs AutoCad "like water" and blows away the workstations provided by the University.
It's not as light but still quite powerful.
And I forgot to mention that the M3800 has support for 2 HDDs as long as one of them is mSata.
I have a Dell Precision M3800. You can buy it from Dell with Ubuntu pre-installed. I didn't know this, I bought with Win 8 and installed Fedora 21, and was surprised when *everything* "just worked" - literally no futzing at all after a yum update and dickering with the sound volume.
Advantages: 1) 4K support right out of the gate. 2) Screen is amazing 3) Fast as f**k 4) Built as an engineering/physics "mobile workstation", and it shows. 5) Very thin, very light! 6) Native Linux support.
Cons: 1) It's a bit spendy. $1200 in the basic config, I think. Mine with 3 years of next-day support and a case came to about $1550. 2) Ethernet is provided via USB3 dongle. It's a full Gb so performance won't suffer but it can be awkward if you really *need* ethernet on the road. I have ethernet at work and wifi everywhere else so it's a non-issue for me.
As SSD cells wear, the problem is that they hold charge for less time. Starting new, the time that the charge will be held would be years, but as the SSD wears, the endurance of the held charge declines.
Consequently, continuous write tests will continue to report "all good" with a drive that is useless in practice, because while the continuous write will re-write a particular cell once every few hours, it might only hold a charge for a few days - meaning if you turned it off for even a day or so, you'd suffer serious data loss.
SSDs are amazing but you definitely can't carry conventional wisdom from HDDs over.
Some 10 years ago, in response to rising blood sugar levels, I lost almost 60 pounds. Although I have an annual 10 pound cycle, (gain in the winter, lose in the summer)
In all that time, there has not been a single day that wasn't filled with angst about eating too much. Satiety is rare, and must be paid for with future deprivation. Most of my family has no idea, only my wife is really aware of the constant struggle I fight.
I would happily transplant fecal material if it would help with this.
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Nope. Poor breaking behaviour doesn't cause crashes, people not keeping a safe distance causes crashes.
Nope. What causes crashes is hunks of metal ramming into other hunks of metal. It would be complicated except that it's not. We choose to ascribe "cause" to other events that precede the ramming behavior, but it's really arbitrary.
For example, it's widely understood that driving cars is *dangerous* and yet we don't ascribe standard risk factors for *driving at all*.
Skiing is inherently dangerous. In order to use a ski slope, I have to acknowledge this risk. Why aren't car manufacturers covered with a similar legal conract?
Except in this case, the patent is for the use of VFAT, which is a very specific file system format that even Microsoft doesn't use much anymore, but is commonly understood by their systems.
There is no reason, for example, why Microsoft couldn't implement an open file system like EXT4 or UFS and update all their operating systems to recognize it, except that it would mitigate the value of their VFAT patents. So they don't bother.
I remember reading that they make more money on their patents from Android vendors than they make *gross* from their Windows Mobile sales.
I have a Moto Razr Maxx HD, now working on its 3rd year. It's been basically perfect. I reboot it perhaps once every few months, and half of those reboots are due to an OTA OS upgrade.
With it's amazing battery life, and durable, sturdy case, it's a phone that feels like a "partner" that doesn't leave me hanging and even when I'm really putting the screws to it, (EG: on trips) it's "just there" for me.
It is no longer a "flagship" phone, it's not the fastest phone, and it doesn't have the biggest/brightest screen any more, but it's still a very, very good balance for a phone that I probably won't be replacing until it actually dies.
My only honest complaint is that its bluetooth reception seems weak. I use $20 wired headphones as a result.
Yeah, no kidding. Anybody else remember PlaysForSure (tm) !?
How is Dell a laugh?
I write this on a gorgeous Dell Precision M3800 that has it all: powerful i7 processor, space for lots of RAM (16 GB), dual SSD bays, gorgeous 4K screen, and all in a lightweight, svelte case that rivals a Macbook Air in appearance and feel.
Oh, did I mention Linux compatibility? Ubuntu is officially supported. (My fave distro, Fedora runs without issue - literally load and forget)
Not sure what you're looking for in a PC manufacturer, but for Slashbots, isn't this pretty much it?
Honestly, the 'compute stick' makes zero sense for a TV-mounted device. It is far better to just go with a chrome cast stick or an AppleTV for airplay and using a pad or cell in your hand to control it if you want to throw a display up on the TV. Otherwise you will be fumbling around with a horrible remote or you have to throw together a bluetooth keyboard (etc...) and it just won't be a fun or convenient experience.
I have such a stick on my TV, and it works great! It's *not* an ideal general computing device, but it is pretty much ideal for a Smart TV thingie.
As far as input devices, we use either a bluetooth Logitech keyboard/touchpad device, or a "flying mouse" remote. Both work rather well. If you haven't one, you should check out a "flying mouse" remote on Amazon for under $20 and work by waving your hand. It's really easy and rather intuitive once you get past a 1 minute introduction. Oh, and it contains a full QWERTY keyboard too.
I bought an Android "Google TV" HDMI stick on Amazon for $30. I've been using it for a couple years now, and it works great! If I were to do it again, I'd probably spring for a Roku stick.
I agree, $100-$150 is a bit high for the market.
So, I went to the local Social Security office in smallsville, CA. While waiting, I used my phone, and noticed that (Verizon) I was getting a 1x signal.
There are *no* 1x signal towers in my local area, it's all 100% digital. There aren't even any 3G towers that I know of. And when I left, within a few hundred feet, I resumed seeing 4G signal,like normal.
Stingray much?
Desalinization is expensive. It's energy intensive, they're ugly as sin, it results in bad-tasting water, it pollutes the oceans with saline, the resulting water still needs to be pumped hundreds of miles to be used, etc. etc.
It's a raw deal and it's stupid to mention it. Please don't.
Moves like this aren't philanthropic. It's a common tactic for a vested CEO to cut their salary to just $1. But because they are vested (EG: stock options, partial ownership, etc) they make out just fine.
As a company owner, I could cut my salary to just $1 and it probably wouldn't affect my true annual gross income at all, since unpaid salary just becomes profit.
Step 1: Offer a compelling product.
Step 2: Offer it in a cheaper *and* more open way that the competition.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 over and over while network effects kick in. As trust and network effects continue to escalate, you become the "default choice".
Step 4: Only go here when you want to be evil. Stop offering such a good price. Don't be as open as you used to be. Structure your prices around keeping competition out rather than simply being "better". Hire lobbyists and start offering regulatory officials vacations in order to provide "an environment conducive to product education".
Google is now just sticking its toe in the water for Step 4. Microsoft charged into Step 4 as early as they could.
That's the thing about standards: there are so many and you don't have to reveal which one you are using!
Irregular verbs exist because English is a hack job of a language mashed together from several sources.
Silent letters don't exist to disambiguate homonyms, EG: lead. They exist because the words came from different sources. Compare the derivations of right and rite.
I'd wager that a properly constructed language (if adopted) would probably mutate fairly slowly, about as fast as normal language does.
This is Comcast trying to squelch Google. You are most likely to see them "roll out" Gb+ Internet in areas that Google Fiber is being rolled out, and the reason is *only* to make sure that Google can't make money at it and quit altogether.
This is called "cutting off their air supply"; the assumption is that Google can't fund a literal roll out nationwide. Welcome to the the end-game for your most "free markets" - a monopoly.
If only a domain could publish information about the CA authorized to sign its certificates... perhaps with a record via DNS called "info", and secured with something called DNSSEC so you can be relatively sure it's correct.
Naw. Stuff like that couldn't happen, could it?
I'm a *nix neckbeard, I respect my skills, and I use nano daily. It's a simple, fast, straightforward editor with controls similar to Word Star. Ctl-K to delete line, etc. As I've been busy building my neckbeard for 15 years or so now, and originally learned word processing with WordStar, it's a simple, natural fit.
I code in NetBeans with an IDE but for sysadmin work on any of the 50 or so servers I admin? Nano + mercurial all the way.
Has RTFA become so absent that we just don't bother with TFA anymore?
It's a company, not a military. Of *course* they're compromised! Or at least, compromisable! I mean, every single employee comes to work because they are getting paid. So the NSA leaves a suitcase full of cash at an employee's house, and is asked to leak data, and is offered full legal immunity for doing so.
You wouldn't take an extra $20,000 risk free? If not, you don't know somebody at work who would? Many people would do this for much less.
You are right about the "natural monopoly" being a thing not necessarily dependent on regulation.
But, in many/most areas, regulations *also* stifle competition.
PS: My son is an engineering student and has the previous generation, M4500. He says it runs AutoCad "like water" and blows away the workstations provided by the University.
It's not as light but still quite powerful.
And I forgot to mention that the M3800 has support for 2 HDDs as long as one of them is mSata.
I have a Dell Precision M3800. You can buy it from Dell with Ubuntu pre-installed. I didn't know this, I bought with Win 8 and installed Fedora 21, and was surprised when *everything* "just worked" - literally no futzing at all after a yum update and dickering with the sound volume.
Advantages:
1) 4K support right out of the gate.
2) Screen is amazing
3) Fast as f**k
4) Built as an engineering/physics "mobile workstation", and it shows.
5) Very thin, very light!
6) Native Linux support.
Cons:
1) It's a bit spendy. $1200 in the basic config, I think. Mine with 3 years of next-day support and a case came to about $1550.
2) Ethernet is provided via USB3 dongle. It's a full Gb so performance won't suffer but it can be awkward if you really *need* ethernet on the road. I have ethernet at work and wifi everywhere else so it's a non-issue for me.
PS: You DO have backups.... right?
As SSD cells wear, the problem is that they hold charge for less time. Starting new, the time that the charge will be held would be years, but as the SSD wears, the endurance of the held charge declines.
Consequently, continuous write tests will continue to report "all good" with a drive that is useless in practice, because while the continuous write will re-write a particular cell once every few hours, it might only hold a charge for a few days - meaning if you turned it off for even a day or so, you'd suffer serious data loss.
SSDs are amazing but you definitely can't carry conventional wisdom from HDDs over.
When you find out about the gerbil, you should also check the gerbil's gut bacteria...
Some 10 years ago, in response to rising blood sugar levels, I lost almost 60 pounds. Although I have an annual 10 pound cycle, (gain in the winter, lose in the summer)
In all that time, there has not been a single day that wasn't filled with angst about eating too much. Satiety is rare, and must be paid for with future deprivation. Most of my family has no idea, only my wife is really aware of the constant struggle I fight.
I would happily transplant fecal material if it would help with this.