It wasn't for recurring payments, originally. Their original system used this crazy wallet thing where you'd have to load money onto your account, and then you could spend it.
They changed it so that you later just saved a credit card and could automatically load exactly the amount you needed onto your wallet without going through the whole "load wallet" step. (Which also meant that for the first time you didn't need to spend in $10 increments. Or was it $5? You get the point.)
To make things easier, they automatically - and, as I recall, with no option to opt out - saved your credit card when you used it on PSN.
I certainly don't remember telling Sony to save my credit card, but - well, they did anyway.
Because they make the best stuff, and their biggest competitor is an advertising agency who REALLY DO track your data and sell it.
Apple do the exact same thing. Unless they've changed their Privacy Policy recently. Hold on, I'll check.
Nope. No change since June 2010, according to the page.
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Keep in mind that's under the section describing the "anonymous" user info they collect. Well, they call it "non-personal information" and explain that it can't be used to identify you, specifically.
Just the device you use, through that "unique device identifier" they collect.
Also notice that they don't "use" that information, they "collect" it. Meaning that it's saved.
Or, in other words: they track you, for advertising purposes.
They mean anonymous as in it isn't directly tied to your name.
It turns out they even explicitly explain this. Not quite as clearly, of course, but, from the Apple Privacy Policy again:
We also collect non-personal information -- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:
* We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used...
So, yeah - the unique device ID is gathered along with your location, and this is considered "non personal information" - a.k.a. anonymous information.
So I suppose what Jobs is saying is, technically, true: Apple isn't tracking you. They're just tracking your phone.
You mean besides the link to Apple's privacy policy, where they explicitly tell you that they collect a "unique device identifier" and "location" as "non-personal information -- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual?"
Or the part of the policy where they "collect, use, and share precise location data... to provide and improve location-based products and services?"
Only the second quote is about Location Services. The first bit is information that Apple collects from all Apple devices, period.
The first quote comes from the section on "non-personal information" and is essentially the data that Apple considers to be "anonymous."
Here is that section in full:
Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information
We also collect non-personal information -- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
We also may collect information regarding customer activities on our website, MobileMe service, and iTunes Store and from our other products and services. This information is aggregated and used to help us provide more useful information to our customers and to understand which parts of our website, products, and services are of most interest. Aggregated data is considered non-personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.
If we do combine non-personal information with personal information the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined.
So the unique identifier and location are considered "non personal" and may be collected from any Apple device, and are not related to Location Services, which is an entirely separate part of the policy.
If you're talking about information being sent to Apple then it's a "no". But if you define it as recorded locally, then "yes".
We know the information is being sent to Apple, and we know the official reasons "why" too: for advertising purposes, and to build a competing location database for Skyhook. Essentially, iPhone users are being used to "war drive" for Wi-Fi points and provide GPS coordinates for them.
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services.
Yes, they say it's anonymous in this part of the privacy policy. Unfortunately earlier they explain that it's sent along with a "unique device ID" so while they're correct that it's anonymous by the dictionary definition (your name is not attached) they most certainly can track a single device.
(Oh, and the "for advertising purposes" is higher up in the policy: "We may collect information such as... unique device identifier, location,... where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.")
If Apple doesn't track users, why does their Privacy Policy say that they do:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Right there - unique identifier, and location. Why? To advertise.
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services.
And here we have the other half, where they explicitly say that they share this information with third parties.
They say it's "anonymous" here, but combined with the "unique device identifier" they already said they collect with it, you have to wonder exactly what "anonymous" means in Apple-speak.
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Yep. Apple is storing your location to use for advertising purposes. Somewhere else they mention that they share it with third parties. This part demonstrates that it's tied to a device identifier to track where individual devices go.
Your location most certainly is sent back to Apple. It's in the iOS 4 license and also Apple's privacy policy:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Emphasis mine.
Part of the reason for Apple to use this data is to build a similar database to Skyhook/Google's - but their privacy policy flat-out tells you that they also keep if for advertising, and that it's identifiable by time and device.
Before it was unknown if Apple was actually tracking users, but apparently hidden in the iOS 4 TOS was the fact that Apple will upload your GPS coordinates and nearby wi-fi networks in order to avoid having to license Skyhook's geolocation database. It's easily found in their privacy policy:
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device.
Needless to say this only applies to iOS devices with GPS chips - but then again, Apple already knows your location and timestamp if you're using location services on a device without a GPS chip as it queries their database to determine the location anyway.
So, yes, Apple is tracking you if you use any Apple device, and they share that data with third parties!
It's actually kind of hilarious when they screw it up, though.
Take Just Cause 2. From the title alone you can tell that they're trying to invoke the "just-world hypothesis." But they don't really succeed at it. (And based on the plot twist at the end, this may be intentional.)
Essentially you're playing as an American spy whose job it is to cause chaos and disrupt the despotic regime on the island you're on. The reason is never clearly states (see plot twist) but you're intended to assume it's for the common goal of Spreading Democracy and Peace.
Ways to do this include killing police, killing military officers, and blowing up water towers, gas stations, and power stations. Now the first two you can argue are just. The last are you making the citizens' lives miserable for the sole purpose of causing unrest.
And that kind of calls the first into question. The police are routinely seen threatening to execute civilians for no particular reason, but they're also there to stop this mad man who has been traveling around the island, blowing infrastructure up.
Ultimately the over-the-top nature of the game ensures you stop caring about killing the clones of the three original guards over and over again, and it's a really fun game - but make no mistake: if this were reality, you're playing a freaking psychopath.
I'm hoping that the advertising is to try and get the word out to a larger non-gaming audience.
No "serious gamer" doesn't already know about Portal 2, and I expect most already have the game pre-loaded. But remember that the surprising thing about Portal was that it reached an audience of non-gamers as well as the core FPS crowd.
The advertising is presumably an attempt to let this new audience know about the sequel.
Is it a bit much? Well, yes. I'm not sure why there were Portal 2 ads on every single bus in Boston starting the week after PAX East. (Portal 2 was playable there, but I didn't even bother trying.)
But I think the advertising campaign has more to do with trying to reach an audience Valve doesn't really know how to reach rather than the game necessarily being disappointing.
Not that I know, of course - I've never played it. I guess we'll all find out in a few days.
I - Nintendo Entertainment System II - GameBoy III - Super Nintendo Entertainment System IV - Virtual Boy V - N64 VI - GameBoy Color VII - GameBoy Advance VIII - GameCube IX - Nintendo DS X - Wii XI - Nintendo 3DS
I think it does work!
Note that I decided not to count either the Color TV Game or the Game & Watch as consoles for this list, as - from what I can tell - they only play a single game and didn't have removable media.
I'm also skipping the iQue Player as being a Chinese-specific N64. (Basically, it skirts around regulations that would have banned the actual N64.)
No, they were both related to the graphics chip. Apparently this is a known issue and has something to do with the GPU overheating and damaging itself.
What happens is that the graphics slowly become more and more corrupted, eventually making games unplayable as you can't see anything.
In any case, it happened with my first Wii, so I shipped it back at the very end of the warranty period, and then it happened with the second Wii again. I got an apology letter back when they sent the third Wii back to me.
It hasn't happened with the third Wii (yet) which is now out of warranty.
I have no doubt Nintendo will make a next-gen console, and I have no doubt it'll support HD. None of this is really new or interesting.
However, my questions are:
1. Will it support backwards compatibility with the Wii? (I expect it will.) 2. Will it allow save games to be copied off the Wii onto the new console? (AFAIK, this only applies to games with online components, but some game saves are locked to the console.) 3. Will it allow Virtual Console and WiiWare purchases to be transferred?
That last one is a deal-breaker for me. If you can't copy your existing digital purchases off the Wii onto whatever the next-gen Nintendo console is, forget it.
This is one thing that Microsoft and Sony do right: all you need to do to use your digital purchases on a new console is log in.
With Nintendo, you simply can't use them on anything but the original hardware. And if the hardware fails (which has happened to me twice), your only recourse is to ship it back to Nintendo and have them fix it, or lose any downloaded games you may have purchased.
Drupal 6 code may still run, but surely best practices have changed from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7.
Drupal 6 modules might still run with fairly minimal changes, but they completely changed the theme system.
I lucked out with my theme in that I was able to just ditch the custom HTML templates for the most part and rewrite the existing CSS to use the new Drupal built-in elements.
But, ultimately: yes, everything in this book is going to be basically useless if you want to create a theme for Drupal 7.
And, in my opinion from using both, if you have the option of Drupal 6 or Drupal 7, go with 7. Quite a few of the built-in modules make managing content quite a bit easier.
Yes, there are ways to communicate with people without using Facebook. However, Facebook is easier for people to use (no, I don't understand why either), and the main point was, allows you to reconnect with people you may have lost touch with.
My mom was able to find her childhood best friend through Facebook. Exactly how do you propose she do that using her phone, Skype, or email?
The point is that the social aspect of Facebook is very real - people are able to find people they used to know but lost touch with via Facebook that they'd otherwise be unable to contact.
If you're going to rail against Facebook, at least use the legitimate privacy angle. Your "there are other tools to do the same thing" argument is just ridiculous. Facebook is, ultimately, just another communication tool. Some people prefer it and find it easier to use.
Complaining that people use it instead of alternatives is like saying that everyone should use vi instead of emacs - it's just silly. (Everyone should be using vim.)
AwesomeBar isn't a URL bar, it's a title bar. If the page you're trying to visit doesn't have "forum" in the title, it will first find pages that do.
Which is why if I type in "www." the AwesomeBar comes up with a whole bunch of URLs that don't start with "www.". And URLs that don't have a "w" in them at all. Also, if I start typing "rottentomatoes.com" it comes up with a YouTube video I don't remember watching titled "fuck you Proton Jon." (Because "rot" is in "Proton", you see.)
This makes some amount of sense and is useful for getting to sites I don't remember the URL for. It's kind of strange and annoying if you're planning on using the URL bar to enter URLs, though. But why would you do that?~
And because Firefox does that, I can't use it and anything else at the same time. I'm stuck either running Firefox, or using the computer as a multitasking computer.
Now I will admit that the computer in question is almost three years old, an antique in computing terms, but come on. It has 2GB of RAM, and that's simply not enough to use Firefox in. So I use Chrome instead, which doesn't eat up all my free memory.
This is essentially the insult on top of the "barely upgraded graphics" and "3D gives you a headache and only works if the device and your head are absolutely stationary" injury. (If you don't believe these are true, go try one... Best Buy has demo units. 3D is definitely cool and I'd rather they just used polarized glasses.)
They also had demo units at PAX East. Somewhat strangely, the demo was a 3D Augmented Reality game. You had to aim the 3DS cameras to hit targets displayed in 3D. For example, the AR would generate a hole in the table with a target at the bottom. You'd have to move the 3DS over the hole to be able to aim at the target.
Ultimately, all this moving of the 3DS meant that it was incredibly easy to lose the 3D effect. Especially because the 3DS was tethered to the table, so I at least couldn't hold it up to eye-level.
It was kind of a strange demo to choose. Not sure why they'd choose a demo where you had to wave the 3DS around, thereby guaranteeing you'd lose the 3D effect.
Slashdot Mirror
I can't see why not. I'm sure you'll get the same free PS3 downloadable game that every other PSN user will get.
It wasn't for recurring payments, originally. Their original system used this crazy wallet thing where you'd have to load money onto your account, and then you could spend it.
They changed it so that you later just saved a credit card and could automatically load exactly the amount you needed onto your wallet without going through the whole "load wallet" step. (Which also meant that for the first time you didn't need to spend in $10 increments. Or was it $5? You get the point.)
To make things easier, they automatically - and, as I recall, with no option to opt out - saved your credit card when you used it on PSN.
I certainly don't remember telling Sony to save my credit card, but - well, they did anyway.
Because they make the best stuff, and their biggest competitor is an advertising agency who REALLY DO track your data and sell it.
Apple do the exact same thing. Unless they've changed their Privacy Policy recently. Hold on, I'll check.
Nope. No change since June 2010, according to the page.
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Keep in mind that's under the section describing the "anonymous" user info they collect. Well, they call it "non-personal information" and explain that it can't be used to identify you, specifically.
Just the device you use, through that "unique device identifier" they collect.
Also notice that they don't "use" that information, they "collect" it. Meaning that it's saved.
Or, in other words: they track you, for advertising purposes.
You only get to run your app in an emulator on your Mac for free.
Not any more. XCode is now $5 on the Mac App Store.
And I'm not sure how many updates to XCode that $5 covers.
The first part where the collect your "location" and your "unique device identifier" is not opt-in and is not tied to location services.
They mean anonymous as in it isn't directly tied to your name.
It turns out they even explicitly explain this. Not quite as clearly, of course, but, from the Apple Privacy Policy again:
We also collect non-personal information -- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:
* We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used...
So, yeah - the unique device ID is gathered along with your location, and this is considered "non personal information" - a.k.a. anonymous information.
So I suppose what Jobs is saying is, technically, true: Apple isn't tracking you. They're just tracking your phone.
You mean besides the link to Apple's privacy policy, where they explicitly tell you that they collect a "unique device identifier" and "location" as "non-personal information -- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual?"
Or the part of the policy where they "collect, use, and share precise location data ... to provide and improve location-based products and services?"
Really, I can't think of a better source than Apple themselves. But if you'd rather, how about Wired's "Gadget Lab" blog?
Only the second quote is about Location Services. The first bit is information that Apple collects from all Apple devices, period.
The first quote comes from the section on "non-personal information" and is essentially the data that Apple considers to be "anonymous."
Here is that section in full:
Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information
We also collect non-personal information -- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:
If we do combine non-personal information with personal information the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined.
So the unique identifier and location are considered "non personal" and may be collected from any Apple device, and are not related to Location Services, which is an entirely separate part of the policy.
If you're talking about information being sent to Apple then it's a "no". But if you define it as recorded locally, then "yes".
We know the information is being sent to Apple, and we know the official reasons "why" too: for advertising purposes, and to build a competing location database for Skyhook. Essentially, iPhone users are being used to "war drive" for Wi-Fi points and provide GPS coordinates for them.
But, hey, don't take my word for it. Use Apple's instead:
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services.
Yes, they say it's anonymous in this part of the privacy policy. Unfortunately earlier they explain that it's sent along with a "unique device ID" so while they're correct that it's anonymous by the dictionary definition (your name is not attached) they most certainly can track a single device.
(Oh, and the "for advertising purposes" is higher up in the policy: "We may collect information such as ... unique device identifier, location, ... where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.")
If Apple doesn't track users, why does their Privacy Policy say that they do:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Right there - unique identifier, and location. Why? To advertise.
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services.
And here we have the other half, where they explicitly say that they share this information with third parties.
They say it's "anonymous" here, but combined with the "unique device identifier" they already said they collect with it, you have to wonder exactly what "anonymous" means in Apple-speak.
Google is using the data to sell your PRIVATE INFORMATION to advertisers so they can TARGET YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
So is Apple. From Apple's privacy policy:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Yep. Apple is storing your location to use for advertising purposes. Somewhere else they mention that they share it with third parties. This part demonstrates that it's tied to a device identifier to track where individual devices go.
Your location most certainly is sent back to Apple. It's in the iOS 4 license and also Apple's privacy policy:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
Emphasis mine.
Part of the reason for Apple to use this data is to build a similar database to Skyhook/Google's - but their privacy policy flat-out tells you that they also keep if for advertising, and that it's identifiable by time and device.
Not to mention that thanks to a letter Apple wrote last year, we know this data is being sent to Apple.
Before it was unknown if Apple was actually tracking users, but apparently hidden in the iOS 4 TOS was the fact that Apple will upload your GPS coordinates and nearby wi-fi networks in order to avoid having to license Skyhook's geolocation database. It's easily found in their privacy policy:
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device.
Needless to say this only applies to iOS devices with GPS chips - but then again, Apple already knows your location and timestamp if you're using location services on a device without a GPS chip as it queries their database to determine the location anyway.
So, yes, Apple is tracking you if you use any Apple device, and they share that data with third parties!
It's actually kind of hilarious when they screw it up, though.
Take Just Cause 2. From the title alone you can tell that they're trying to invoke the "just-world hypothesis." But they don't really succeed at it. (And based on the plot twist at the end, this may be intentional.)
Essentially you're playing as an American spy whose job it is to cause chaos and disrupt the despotic regime on the island you're on. The reason is never clearly states (see plot twist) but you're intended to assume it's for the common goal of Spreading Democracy and Peace.
Ways to do this include killing police, killing military officers, and blowing up water towers, gas stations, and power stations. Now the first two you can argue are just. The last are you making the citizens' lives miserable for the sole purpose of causing unrest.
And that kind of calls the first into question. The police are routinely seen threatening to execute civilians for no particular reason, but they're also there to stop this mad man who has been traveling around the island, blowing infrastructure up.
Ultimately the over-the-top nature of the game ensures you stop caring about killing the clones of the three original guards over and over again, and it's a really fun game - but make no mistake: if this were reality, you're playing a freaking psychopath.
Ah well - I just saw the unreasonably long lines, and stayed away entirely. :)
I could have sworn I read some article about someone who played Portal 2 at PAX East, but either that was a media-only thing or I misread it.
I'm hoping that the advertising is to try and get the word out to a larger non-gaming audience.
No "serious gamer" doesn't already know about Portal 2, and I expect most already have the game pre-loaded. But remember that the surprising thing about Portal was that it reached an audience of non-gamers as well as the core FPS crowd.
The advertising is presumably an attempt to let this new audience know about the sequel.
Is it a bit much? Well, yes. I'm not sure why there were Portal 2 ads on every single bus in Boston starting the week after PAX East. (Portal 2 was playable there, but I didn't even bother trying.)
But I think the advertising campaign has more to do with trying to reach an audience Valve doesn't really know how to reach rather than the game necessarily being disappointing.
Not that I know, of course - I've never played it. I guess we'll all find out in a few days.
I - Nintendo Entertainment System
II - GameBoy
III - Super Nintendo Entertainment System
IV - Virtual Boy
V - N64
VI - GameBoy Color
VII - GameBoy Advance
VIII - GameCube
IX - Nintendo DS
X - Wii
XI - Nintendo 3DS
I think it does work!
Note that I decided not to count either the Color TV Game or the Game & Watch as consoles for this list, as - from what I can tell - they only play a single game and didn't have removable media.
I'm also skipping the iQue Player as being a Chinese-specific N64. (Basically, it skirts around regulations that would have banned the actual N64.)
No, they were both related to the graphics chip. Apparently this is a known issue and has something to do with the GPU overheating and damaging itself.
What happens is that the graphics slowly become more and more corrupted, eventually making games unplayable as you can't see anything.
In any case, it happened with my first Wii, so I shipped it back at the very end of the warranty period, and then it happened with the second Wii again. I got an apology letter back when they sent the third Wii back to me.
It hasn't happened with the third Wii (yet) which is now out of warranty.
I have no doubt Nintendo will make a next-gen console, and I have no doubt it'll support HD. None of this is really new or interesting.
However, my questions are:
1. Will it support backwards compatibility with the Wii? (I expect it will.)
2. Will it allow save games to be copied off the Wii onto the new console? (AFAIK, this only applies to games with online components, but some game saves are locked to the console.)
3. Will it allow Virtual Console and WiiWare purchases to be transferred?
That last one is a deal-breaker for me. If you can't copy your existing digital purchases off the Wii onto whatever the next-gen Nintendo console is, forget it.
This is one thing that Microsoft and Sony do right: all you need to do to use your digital purchases on a new console is log in.
With Nintendo, you simply can't use them on anything but the original hardware. And if the hardware fails (which has happened to me twice), your only recourse is to ship it back to Nintendo and have them fix it, or lose any downloaded games you may have purchased.
Drupal 6 code may still run, but surely best practices have changed from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7.
Drupal 6 modules might still run with fairly minimal changes, but they completely changed the theme system.
I lucked out with my theme in that I was able to just ditch the custom HTML templates for the most part and rewrite the existing CSS to use the new Drupal built-in elements.
But, ultimately: yes, everything in this book is going to be basically useless if you want to create a theme for Drupal 7.
And, in my opinion from using both, if you have the option of Drupal 6 or Drupal 7, go with 7. Quite a few of the built-in modules make managing content quite a bit easier.
Wow, talk about missing the point.
Yes, there are ways to communicate with people without using Facebook. However, Facebook is easier for people to use (no, I don't understand why either), and the main point was, allows you to reconnect with people you may have lost touch with.
My mom was able to find her childhood best friend through Facebook. Exactly how do you propose she do that using her phone, Skype, or email?
The point is that the social aspect of Facebook is very real - people are able to find people they used to know but lost touch with via Facebook that they'd otherwise be unable to contact.
If you're going to rail against Facebook, at least use the legitimate privacy angle. Your "there are other tools to do the same thing" argument is just ridiculous. Facebook is, ultimately, just another communication tool. Some people prefer it and find it easier to use.
Complaining that people use it instead of alternatives is like saying that everyone should use vi instead of emacs - it's just silly. (Everyone should be using vim.)
AwesomeBar isn't a URL bar, it's a title bar. If the page you're trying to visit doesn't have "forum" in the title, it will first find pages that do.
Which is why if I type in "www." the AwesomeBar comes up with a whole bunch of URLs that don't start with "www.". And URLs that don't have a "w" in them at all. Also, if I start typing "rottentomatoes.com" it comes up with a YouTube video I don't remember watching titled "fuck you Proton Jon." (Because "rot" is in "Proton", you see.)
This makes some amount of sense and is useful for getting to sites I don't remember the URL for. It's kind of strange and annoying if you're planning on using the URL bar to enter URLs, though. But why would you do that?~
And because Firefox does that, I can't use it and anything else at the same time. I'm stuck either running Firefox, or using the computer as a multitasking computer.
Now I will admit that the computer in question is almost three years old, an antique in computing terms, but come on. It has 2GB of RAM, and that's simply not enough to use Firefox in. So I use Chrome instead, which doesn't eat up all my free memory.
No kidding. Firefox 3.6.15 was using 160MB and 10% CPU to display a set of tabs and just sit there otherwise doing nothing.
Update to Firefox 4.0, and it's now using 280MB and 6% CPU to display the exact same tabs and just sit there otherwise doing nothing.
That's a step in a direction, I guess - it's nice it takes less CPU time to do nothing than before, but...
This is essentially the insult on top of the "barely upgraded graphics" and "3D gives you a headache and only works if the device and your head are absolutely stationary" injury. (If you don't believe these are true, go try one ... Best Buy has demo units. 3D is definitely cool and I'd rather they just used polarized glasses.)
They also had demo units at PAX East. Somewhat strangely, the demo was a 3D Augmented Reality game. You had to aim the 3DS cameras to hit targets displayed in 3D. For example, the AR would generate a hole in the table with a target at the bottom. You'd have to move the 3DS over the hole to be able to aim at the target.
Ultimately, all this moving of the 3DS meant that it was incredibly easy to lose the 3D effect. Especially because the 3DS was tethered to the table, so I at least couldn't hold it up to eye-level.
It was kind of a strange demo to choose. Not sure why they'd choose a demo where you had to wave the 3DS around, thereby guaranteeing you'd lose the 3D effect.