Re:it is never worth upgrading a microsoft product
on
PocketPC 2003 Reviewed
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· Score: 4, Insightful
I still use my orginal PocketPC, and am quite content with it. I am guessing about 80% of the people never actually had a REAL NEED to upgrade from PocketPC
Most people never actually had a real need to upgrade from paper and pencil. But we did it anyways. Why? Technological innovation makes certain tasks easier and certain situations more enjoyable. Pocket PC 2003 will be no different. There are many things (for both developers and end users) that it will make easier and more enjoyable. Whether it's suitable for you is simply a question of whether these things are important to you. I'd hold off until full reviews of the changes surface before making that decision.
I never said it wasn't vaporware... just that they *are* real.
While I agree that they really blew it on the business side of things, the problem is that it costs a good deal of money to manufacture these things - especially as a new company with low quantities. So they'd still need to find a serious invester to get these things on store shelves. My guess is that they quickly got turned down by a bunch of investors and switched to the "please buy our company" approach.
I met with the oqo guys at the last Pocket PC Summit (in Hollywood at the end of October). They let me play with their device and it was pretty neat. After some small talk, they let on that the reason we haven't seen these in the consumer market yet is because that isn't their business plan. Their business plan is to get bought up by some large company (Microsoft and Intel were mentioned as potential canditates) and retire. Unfortunately, they forgot to check first on whether or not corresponded with the strategy of any potential buyer. So sadly it appears that while these devices are *real*, we won't be seeing them on store shelves.
This is not new. Microsoft released this long ago in an effort to show that.NET really *is* cross platform. Here are the changes (as listed on the website):
Support for Mac OS X 10.2.
Additional code clean-up and bug fixes.
Debugger improvements.
Class reference documentation (separate archive) and additional samples.
Build system improvements and additional test cases and tool improvements.
Keep an eye on Fonix. They demoed some awesome command-and-control software for Pocket PC devices at the Pocket PC Summit in Philly a couple weeks ago. A representative also said that they will soon be selling an SDK to 3rd party developers.
In case you don't want to download and skim the 105 page PDF, the questions are:
What is the dark matter? What are the masses of the neutrinos, and how have they shaped the evolution of the universe? Are there additional spacetime dimensions? What is the nature of dark energy? Are protons unstable? How did the universe begin? Did Einstein have the last word on gravity? How do cosmic accelerators work and what are they accelerating? Are there new states of matter at exceedingly high density and temperature? Is a new theory of matter and light needed at the highest energies? How were the elements from iron to uranium made?
The PDF gives a detailed explanation for each of these if you're interested: http://www.nationalacademies.org/bpa/reports/cpu/q 2c-public_release_version.pdf
With Visual Basic.NET, ActiveX is being quietly put on the shelf to collect dust with other dated technologies. AFAIK, VB.NET (or any other.NET language) will NOT support the creation or use of (without COM work arounds) ActiveX components. The cross-language features of.NET will provide precisely what you need.
That's it! Now we know what PDA's have been lacking in all this time... a way to tell time! All we need is to figure out some way to create a "clock" program for Palm/PocketPC! I have a feeling that within the next 2 years the available hardware will be capable of such complex calculations
Yeah, but... will prices really drop?
on
RLX Gets Denser
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· Score: 1
If your colocation space requirements drop, they will need to remain profitable somehow... my guess is simply that colocation prices will increase.
We all know how annoying it can be when other people to have their cell phones ring in public places... the last thing we need is people listening to a monotonous computer voice in public. Not to mention the fact that its usually much more convenient to read text which allows for skimming and variable speeds.
It's great that they're doing this - it will certainly allow for some cool games in the future, but not quite yet... the iPaq has a hardware "feature" that prevents programs from detecting simultaneous usage of more than one button. Nothing sucks more than having to stop moving so you can shoot or jump. To counter this, developers have built "virtual buttons" that appear on the touch screen, but this takes up alot of the already limited screen realty. Plues, its hard to get used to not having the underappreciated tactile feedback of physical buttons.
WinXP has a "Compatibilty Mode" setting associated with every executable... using that allows you to tell the OS to act like a previous version of Windows when interacting with that program. The OS's on the list include everything between Win95 and Win2K. I haven't tried this personally, but Microsoft's article about it is at http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/pro/using/howto/gethelp/appcompat.asp. One of the coolest features of XP is that it supposedly overcomes the backwards compatibilty problems that stopped people from upgrading to Win2K.
Everyone else in the real world has to use real age verification systems (be is visual "hmm, he looks like a 11 year old" or "ID please") when it comes to things that can be deemed "harmful" to minors, so why shouldn't online systems?
Because the internet is not the real world - in the real world, a government can easily claim authority over how buisnesses within its jurisdiction function. But how can any single country legitimately determine how certain resources must be accessed without disrupting the fundamental principles behind this global network of ours?
You can get the software ("Web Stalker" aka IOD4)used in making one of those images at http://bak.spc.org/iod/archive.html - sorry, mac and windows only. It lets you basically type a starting URL and then watch the map grow as it is generated - the image I got from using slashdot was quite interesting.
I hope the Mac-on-linux programs refrain from actually looking like Mac programs - otherwise a week from now we'll be reading about another copyright complaint filed by Apple:)
It has been said the the government will be investigating suspicious cell phones calls made during yesterday's events in hopes of finding a conversation between terrorists. This is the first time Carnivore is being used in a well publicized situation - and despite my desire for the protection of free speach, I can't bring myself to flame the government for using it under these circumstances. Is Carnivore now our friend? What distinguishes when it should and should not be used?
Is Carnivore our friend now?
on
More On Tragedy
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· Score: 1
It has been said the the government will be investigating suspicious cell phones calls made during yesterday's events in hopes of finding a conversation between terrorists. This is the first time Carnivore is being used in a well publicized situation - and despite my desire for the protection of free speach, I can't bring myself to flame the government for using it under these circumstances. Is Carnivore now our friend? What distinguishes when it should and should not be used?
Re:Change the rules, be realistic about conflict
on
More On Tragedy
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· Score: 1
You say this, but in a few days we'll all be terribly upset the next time somebody suggests that an ISP is responsible for the actions of the "computer criminals" it hosts. What's the difference?
Slashdot Mirror
I still use my orginal PocketPC, and am quite content with it. I am guessing about 80% of the people never actually had a REAL NEED to upgrade from PocketPC
Most people never actually had a real need to upgrade from paper and pencil. But we did it anyways. Why? Technological innovation makes certain tasks easier and certain situations more enjoyable. Pocket PC 2003 will be no different. There are many things (for both developers and end users) that it will make easier and more enjoyable. Whether it's suitable for you is simply a question of whether these things are important to you. I'd hold off until full reviews of the changes surface before making that decision.
I never said it wasn't vaporware... just that they *are* real.
While I agree that they really blew it on the business side of things, the problem is that it costs a good deal of money to manufacture these things - especially as a new company with low quantities. So they'd still need to find a serious invester to get these things on store shelves. My guess is that they quickly got turned down by a bunch of investors and switched to the "please buy our company" approach.
I met with the oqo guys at the last Pocket PC Summit (in Hollywood at the end of October). They let me play with their device and it was pretty neat. After some small talk, they let on that the reason we haven't seen these in the consumer market yet is because that isn't their business plan. Their business plan is to get bought up by some large company (Microsoft and Intel were mentioned as potential canditates) and retire. Unfortunately, they forgot to check first on whether or not corresponded with the strategy of any potential buyer. So sadly it appears that while these devices are *real*, we won't be seeing them on store shelves.
MS now includes 3 phone support incidents with each MSDN subscription. No $150/hr unless you call and bug them frequently.
This was already covered. See this story:1 1/06/0142232
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/
This is not new. Microsoft released this long ago in an effort to show that .NET really *is* cross platform. Here are the changes (as listed on the website):
Support for Mac OS X 10.2.
Additional code clean-up and bug fixes.
Debugger improvements.
Class reference documentation (separate archive) and additional samples.
Build system improvements and additional test cases and tool improvements.
Keep an eye on Fonix. They demoed some awesome command-and-control software for Pocket PC devices at the Pocket PC Summit in Philly a couple weeks ago. A representative also said that they will soon be selling an SDK to 3rd party developers.
What is the dark matter?
What are the masses of the neutrinos, and how have they shaped the evolution of the universe?
Are there additional spacetime dimensions?
What is the nature of dark energy?
Are protons unstable?
How did the universe begin?
Did Einstein have the last word on gravity?
How do cosmic accelerators work and what are they accelerating?
Are there new states of matter at exceedingly high density and temperature?
Is a new theory of matter and light needed at the highest energies?
How were the elements from iron to uranium made?
The PDF gives a detailed explanation for each of these if you're interested: http://www.nationalacademies.org/bpa/reports/cpu/q 2c-public_release_version.pdf
With Visual Basic.NET, ActiveX is being quietly put on the shelf to collect dust with other dated technologies. AFAIK, VB.NET (or any other .NET language) will NOT support the creation or use of (without COM work arounds) ActiveX components. The cross-language features of .NET will provide precisely what you need.
That's it! Now we know what PDA's have been lacking in all this time... a way to tell time! All we need is to figure out some way to create a "clock" program for Palm/PocketPC! I have a feeling that within the next 2 years the available hardware will be capable of such complex calculations
If your colocation space requirements drop, they will need to remain profitable somehow... my guess is simply that colocation prices will increase.
We all know how annoying it can be when other people to have their cell phones ring in public places... the last thing we need is people listening to a monotonous computer voice in public. Not to mention the fact that its usually much more convenient to read text which allows for skimming and variable speeds.
It's great that they're doing this - it will certainly allow for some cool games in the future, but not quite yet... the iPaq has a hardware "feature" that prevents programs from detecting simultaneous usage of more than one button. Nothing sucks more than having to stop moving so you can shoot or jump. To counter this, developers have built "virtual buttons" that appear on the touch screen, but this takes up alot of the already limited screen realty. Plues, its hard to get used to not having the underappreciated tactile feedback of physical buttons.
WinXP has a "Compatibilty Mode" setting associated with every executable... using that allows you to tell the OS to act like a previous version of Windows when interacting with that program. The OS's on the list include everything between Win95 and Win2K. I haven't tried this personally, but Microsoft's article about it is at http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/pro/using/howto /gethelp/appcompat.asp. One of the coolest features of XP is that it supposedly overcomes the backwards compatibilty problems that stopped people from upgrading to Win2K.
Taking news on the internet serious? Not until they stop Katz from writing!
And how are they giving refunds? "Please send my refund check to [home address] or deposit it directly to my credit card [account number]."
Glad to see you're back!
Because the internet is not the real world - in the real world, a government can easily claim authority over how buisnesses within its jurisdiction function. But how can any single country legitimately determine how certain resources must be accessed without disrupting the fundamental principles behind this global network of ours?
You can get the software ("Web Stalker" aka IOD4)used in making one of those images at http://bak.spc.org/iod/archive.html - sorry, mac and windows only. It lets you basically type a starting URL and then watch the map grow as it is generated - the image I got from using slashdot was quite interesting.
I hope the Mac-on-linux programs refrain from actually looking like Mac programs - otherwise a week from now we'll be reading about another copyright complaint filed by Apple :)
It has been said the the government will be investigating suspicious cell phones calls made during yesterday's events in hopes of finding a conversation between terrorists. This is the first time Carnivore is being used in a well publicized situation - and despite my desire for the protection of free speach, I can't bring myself to flame the government for using it under these circumstances. Is Carnivore now our friend? What distinguishes when it should and should not be used?
It has been said the the government will be investigating suspicious cell phones calls made during yesterday's events in hopes of finding a conversation between terrorists. This is the first time Carnivore is being used in a well publicized situation - and despite my desire for the protection of free speach, I can't bring myself to flame the government for using it under these circumstances. Is Carnivore now our friend? What distinguishes when it should and should not be used?
You say this, but in a few days we'll all be terribly upset the next time somebody suggests that an ISP is responsible for the actions of the "computer criminals" it hosts. What's the difference?
Trash your iPaq? Oh no! Compaq has already announced that since it is built on Flash memory, they will provide a downloadable upgrade to the next OS.
How so? Because it defaulted to 'off' and could be enabled/disabled with the click of a check box?