Once any one or two players get to a majority like that, they typically only lose share if 1) they start being stupid, lazy, or ineffective, or 2) something drastically different comes along.
Related to #1 is when there is a strong competitor that gets incrementally better over time and overtakes the leader, but that usually only happens when the market is relatively young and there's lots of room for improvement. We saw it early on with battles over spreadsheets and word processors, and later with things like Quark being retarded for years and letting Adobe eat their lunch.
People don't change when "OMG it's 8% faster and 2 grams lighter!" because change takes effort and brings with it uncertainty. What good is a 1% productivity gain if it takes you a week to get to that point? People change when there is a SUBSTANTIAL gain to be had -- either a 50-100% improvement in some area (usually performance or stability) or a whole crop of new features: "I didn't used to be able to take pictures or listen to music with my phone, now I can."
People still use many-years-old computers because they do just about everything. They evolved from text on monochrome screens to high-res full-color screens, sound playback, video playback -- from 160x120 to 1080p -- and they do 3D gaming. Not much else left to be done there except to make them smaller and cheaper. Cell phones when from brick phones that could only show you the digits you dialed, to the same thing in a flip-phone form factor, to candybars with LCD screens, caller ID, and address books; then texting and cameras, then smartphones with good cameras, browser, email, and all the rest. Now we are where we were with computers a few years ago: not much left to be done there. If you have a current smartphone of ANY kind, you have a very capable device that isn't that different from the rest.
> If the app has been pulled between original install > and new phone, you're out of luck
Really? Is Android's store really that restricted, or do people depend on "the cloud" too much? People bitch a lot about Apple, but BY DEFAULT it will make local copies of your apps when syncing/backing up. I've never lost an iOS app, and there are a handful I use that aren't in the store that have survived multiple rounds of backup/restore and new phone purchases. The only bad thing I've run into is old apps that no longer work on the current OS.
> I've decided to install only apps that won't become obsolete merely > because of the developer's whim or lack of interest... I don't want to > install potential abandonware...
Life is full of uncertainty. Just as "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all", I'd rather use a helpful app and then lose it than not have ever used it at all. If it's important, then by all means, do what you can to keep your data usable if the worst should happen, but even OSS apps can become abandoned. Unless you're willing to code them yourself, there are no guarantees.
Personally, my bigger problem is apps changing over time into something I don't like. This happens with open-souce apps, closed apps from the biggest companies in the world, and everything in between. Such is life.
> For those of us fed up where with where distros are > going these days, it's looking to me like Linux Mint > is probably the place I'm going to end up.
When I started with Linux (early 1998), Red Hat (5.x) had the reputation for being the easiest to install. Then it was Caldera, around 2.2 and 2.3. (That was the one where you'd answer a few questions, then play Tetris while it copied files -- awesome idea to take advantage of multitasking in the installer itself.) Then Knoppix came out and the Live CD thing was born. RedHat 7.0 wasn't well received at first but 7.1/7.2 were pretty popular. RH 8 and 9 were seen as being a little "overdone" (especially with regard to what they did to the desktop) and around that time Fedora came out. Then Ubuntu became the reigning ease-of-use king around 5.10, and there was also Gentoo for those too cool to use Ubuntu. And now everyone is going from Ubuntu to Mint. Enjoy Mint, and I'll see you in a couple years on a new distro!
The problem with your belief is that there are no facts to back it up. We know that Apple make lots of profit on the hardware. But there's no evidence that they make very much profit from iTunes.
How about this? The amount is so (relatively) tiny it's almost a rounding error.
> And it wouldn't be a practical way to unmask the phone number > associated with a particular account, either -- even if you knew > the person's area code, and narrowed down the list of possible > exchange numbers following the area code, you'd still have to > try tens of thousands of possibilities.
That's why God made computers. Even if FB blocks cURL and the like, there are many ways to automate a browser.
> Because you can say that only the named recipient > can sign for the mail by adding restricted delivery.
Rich CEOs -- or, pretty much anyone with their own mail room -- don't have to follow the same rules you and I do.
Besides, even if you do get the USPS to put it into his hand, he's going to say "Thanks" and then hand it to his assistant to open, read, and evaluate. Same thing with a summons: the process server confirms you're you and puts it in your hand, but they don't stand there and watch you read it.
Mod parent up. I came here to say the same thing. Once they demonstrated that they weren't going to give meaningful answers to serious questions, it turned into "well, we may as well use this to entertain ourselves."
News flash: EVERY OTHER GAME has scores that are roughly, but not exactly, aligned with their probability. It's part if the game. Baskets in basketball have 3 values: 1, 2, and 3 points, for the entire court and all circumstances. A dartboard has dozens of scores possible with nearly NO relation to the probability of hitting one. It's what makes the game what it is and it's what leads to different strategies.
All day long, HP tries to make cheaper computers than Dell and GM tries to make cheaper cars than Ford, because that's what they exist for -- to make as much money as they can. But when GM offers some HP employees (I presume) more pay, all of a sudden they want to make a federal* fucking case out of it? Fuck them.
They've been laying off literally thousands of employees -- what the fuck is this "NO! You can't leave! Stay here until we fire you!" shit?!?!? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT GODDAMN MIND would wait around to be treated like that? If you can get a good job, go get it, because HP sure as shit doesn't have any loyalty to you. Who knows when their CEO-of-the-week is going to wake up one morning and decide to shitcan your whole division? Again I say: Fuck them.
* OK, Texas, but still... "state case" isn't a catchy impression.
> The fact that you can't access the school's database mapping from > RFID to student personal information is irrelevant. Someone could > build their own database.
She bought it all: all the fast-passes and priority cards, all of it loaded into a grinning Mickey on a lanyard, a wireless pendant that would take care of her everywhere she went in the park, letting her spend money like water.
Thus girded, she consulted with her bellhop some more and laid out an itinerary. Once she'd showered she found she didn't want to wear any of her European tailored shorts and blouses. She wanted to disappear into the Great American Mass. The hotel gift shop provided her with a barkcloth Hawai'ian shirt decorated with tessellated Disney trademarks and a big pair of loose shorts, and once she donned them, she saw that she could be anyone now, any tourist in the park. A pair of cheap sunglasses completed the look and she paid for it all by waving her Mickey necklace at the register, spending money like water.
OK, so it's a bracelet, not a necklace -- otherwise, pretty much spot-on.
Why even have stories about these petitions anymore? The government has proven repeatedly they don't give a shit about them and they will NOT give a meaningful response. In theory they're a great idea but in practice they are a complete waste of time.
> I always tell people the same thing everytime > they ask this question. Ask them. I am sure > they have a list... If they dont buy them > something retarded. The problem fixes itself > the next year:)
OP is buying for a 90-year-old. There may not be a next year.:-)
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Likely? No.
Once any one or two players get to a majority like that, they typically only lose share if 1) they start being stupid, lazy, or ineffective, or 2) something drastically different comes along.
Related to #1 is when there is a strong competitor that gets incrementally better over time and overtakes the leader, but that usually only happens when the market is relatively young and there's lots of room for improvement. We saw it early on with battles over spreadsheets and word processors, and later with things like Quark being retarded for years and letting Adobe eat their lunch.
People don't change when "OMG it's 8% faster and 2 grams lighter!" because change takes effort and brings with it uncertainty. What good is a 1% productivity gain if it takes you a week to get to that point? People change when there is a SUBSTANTIAL gain to be had -- either a 50-100% improvement in some area (usually performance or stability) or a whole crop of new features: "I didn't used to be able to take pictures or listen to music with my phone, now I can."
People still use many-years-old computers because they do just about everything. They evolved from text on monochrome screens to high-res full-color screens, sound playback, video playback -- from 160x120 to 1080p -- and they do 3D gaming. Not much else left to be done there except to make them smaller and cheaper. Cell phones when from brick phones that could only show you the digits you dialed, to the same thing in a flip-phone form factor, to candybars with LCD screens, caller ID, and address books; then texting and cameras, then smartphones with good cameras, browser, email, and all the rest. Now we are where we were with computers a few years ago: not much left to be done there. If you have a current smartphone of ANY kind, you have a very capable device that isn't that different from the rest.
Nice. And me without mod points. :-) Good one.
> If the app has been pulled between original install
> and new phone, you're out of luck
Really? Is Android's store really that restricted, or do people depend on "the cloud" too much? People bitch a lot about Apple, but BY DEFAULT it will make local copies of your apps when syncing/backing up. I've never lost an iOS app, and there are a handful I use that aren't in the store that have survived multiple rounds of backup/restore and new phone purchases. The only bad thing I've run into is old apps that no longer work on the current OS.
> I've decided to install only apps that won't become obsolete merely
> because of the developer's whim or lack of interest... I don't want to
> install potential abandonware...
Life is full of uncertainty. Just as "It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all", I'd rather use a helpful app and then lose it than not have ever used it at all. If it's important, then by all means, do what you can to keep your data usable if the worst should happen, but even OSS apps can become abandoned. Unless you're willing to code them yourself, there are no guarantees.
Personally, my bigger problem is apps changing over time into something I don't like. This happens with open-souce apps, closed apps from the biggest companies in the world, and everything in between. Such is life.
> Unless the slippers I bought this weekend qualify as
> a "temperature hack for keeping my feet warm."
link?
> For those of us fed up where with where distros are
> going these days, it's looking to me like Linux Mint
> is probably the place I'm going to end up.
When I started with Linux (early 1998), Red Hat (5.x) had the reputation for being the easiest to install. Then it was Caldera, around 2.2 and 2.3. (That was the one where you'd answer a few questions, then play Tetris while it copied files -- awesome idea to take advantage of multitasking in the installer itself.) Then Knoppix came out and the Live CD thing was born. RedHat 7.0 wasn't well received at first but 7.1/7.2 were pretty popular. RH 8 and 9 were seen as being a little "overdone" (especially with regard to what they did to the desktop) and around that time Fedora came out. Then Ubuntu became the reigning ease-of-use king around 5.10, and there was also Gentoo for those too cool to use Ubuntu. And now everyone is going from Ubuntu to Mint. Enjoy Mint, and I'll see you in a couple years on a new distro!
The problem with your belief is that there are no facts to back it up. We know that Apple make lots of profit on the hardware. But there's no evidence that they make very much profit from iTunes.
How about this? The amount is so (relatively) tiny it's almost a rounding error.
> And it wouldn't be a practical way to unmask the phone number
> associated with a particular account, either -- even if you knew
> the person's area code, and narrowed down the list of possible
> exchange numbers following the area code, you'd still have to
> try tens of thousands of possibilities.
That's why God made computers. Even if FB blocks cURL and the like, there are many ways to automate a browser.
> Because you can say that only the named recipient
> can sign for the mail by adding restricted delivery.
Rich CEOs -- or, pretty much anyone with their own mail room -- don't have to follow the same rules you and I do.
Besides, even if you do get the USPS to put it into his hand, he's going to say "Thanks" and then hand it to his assistant to open, read, and evaluate. Same thing with a summons: the process server confirms you're you and puts it in your hand, but they don't stand there and watch you read it.
Mod parent up. I came here to say the same thing. Once they demonstrated that they weren't going to give meaningful answers to serious questions, it turned into "well, we may as well use this to entertain ourselves."
News flash: EVERY OTHER GAME has scores that are roughly, but not exactly, aligned with their probability. It's part if the game. Baskets in basketball have 3 values: 1, 2, and 3 points, for the entire court and all circumstances. A dartboard has dozens of scores possible with nearly NO relation to the probability of hitting one. It's what makes the game what it is and it's what leads to different strategies.
1) Why ship your key fob? Just point a webcam at it. Besides saving on shipping costs, you could quickly revoke access if needed.
2) Learn from your mistakes: set up a proxy inside your house that he can connect to so the VPN logs don't show foreign access.
"Stupidest Proposed Law in Response to a Tragedy" or something? I'm seeing a lot of entries lately.
I've noticed a substantial increase in disagreements over coding styles recently. :-)
All day long, HP tries to make cheaper computers than Dell and GM tries to make cheaper cars than Ford, because that's what they exist for -- to make as much money as they can. But when GM offers some HP employees (I presume) more pay, all of a sudden they want to make a federal* fucking case out of it? Fuck them.
They've been laying off literally thousands of employees -- what the fuck is this "NO! You can't leave! Stay here until we fire you!" shit?!?!? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT GODDAMN MIND would wait around to be treated like that? If you can get a good job, go get it, because HP sure as shit doesn't have any loyalty to you. Who knows when their CEO-of-the-week is going to wake up one morning and decide to shitcan your whole division? Again I say: Fuck them.
* OK, Texas, but still... "state case" isn't a catchy impression.
> SouthingtonSOS originally planned to offer citizens $25
> gift certificates in exchange for their violent games
which would have caused a spike in sales on cheap old games at GameStop the day before the event and accomplished nothing else.
No, it's fine -- ever since Friends popularized phrases like "That is so not fair", it's a perfectly acceptable construction.
> The fact that you can't access the school's database mapping from
> RFID to student personal information is irrelevant. Someone could
> build their own database.
Or just wait until someone loses a laptop.
I just finished re-reading Makers.
She bought it all: all the fast-passes and priority cards, all of it loaded into a grinning Mickey on a lanyard, a wireless pendant that would take care of her everywhere she went in the park, letting her spend money like water.
Thus girded, she consulted with her bellhop some more and laid out an itinerary. Once she'd showered she found she didn't want to wear any of her European tailored shorts and blouses. She wanted to disappear into the Great American Mass. The hotel gift shop provided her with a barkcloth Hawai'ian shirt decorated with tessellated Disney trademarks and a big pair of loose shorts, and once she donned them, she saw that she could be anyone now, any tourist in the park. A pair of cheap sunglasses completed the look and she paid for it all by waving her Mickey necklace at the register, spending money like water.
OK, so it's a bracelet, not a necklace -- otherwise, pretty much spot-on.
Great book, and you can read the whole thing (and all of his books) online for free in a variety of formats.
... but I would have loved to have seen him address one that came up often, along the lines of "Do you think your behavior harms the movement?"
Believe me, there are HUGE amounts of secret data transmitted in the silences in conversations... with your significant other, at least.
Why even have stories about these petitions anymore? The government has proven repeatedly they don't give a shit about them and they will NOT give a meaningful response. In theory they're a great idea but in practice they are a complete waste of time.
Dear Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Dave Heiner,
Please explain to me why the Samba project exists.
Thanks,
Everyone.
What's AGC? Wikipedia was no help. Just want to make sure I know all the things I should be freaking out about. :-)
> I always tell people the same thing everytime :)
> they ask this question. Ask them. I am sure
> they have a list... If they dont buy them
> something retarded. The problem fixes itself
> the next year
OP is buying for a 90-year-old. There may not be a next year. :-)