I one of those links goes to an xbox music faq so i'm assuming when you say he 'couldn't use it' you don't mean the zune, you mean the xbox music service. The other one goes to slashdot.org/microsoft.com so not sure what you were trying to do there.
How many did samsung sell in the same period? How many did apple sell?
Who cares? The Mac isn't a failure just because millions more Windows PCs were sold in the same timeframe.
how many were given away for free with a contract and data plan (those aren't the phones people want those are given and they replace latter)
You don't actually believe carriers that say they're giving you something for free do you? I mean if that's the case you should see all the free iphones i've gotten.
Well yes, like I said the concern would be there only if they were just moving the CPU to an external card - which they aren't doing in the server card spec (they are proposing memory goes on the card as well) and they wouldn't be doing with the Intel technology which provides additional highspeed optical links, either one of those solutions mitigates the issues in the first post i responded to.
The PC isn't dying, it will always have a place, but the market for PCs is declining for two major reasons. The first is the increase in capability, usability and accessibility of mobile devices (tablets and smartphones), where many of the common user tasks such as browsing, email, basic games, maps, reading documents, etc... have become much more convenient rather than sitting at a computer, leaving not much for the PC. There's still a small subset of the gaming market but even then much of that follows the console market. The second is that with the computing power of consumer hardware not advancing at such a rapid pace there is little reason for people to upgrade or replace their existing systems, even if a home user needs/wants more than a tablet or whatever can provide they are probably best off with an ultrabook and perhaps and external monitor, but even that will last many years.
I just can't see the need these days for a desktop PC for the average home user.
The frustrating thing is that the Windows-centricity and fear of anything that could canibalize it has led to the curtailing of innovation and killing off of potentially great products like the Courier.
Given today's multi-gigahertz processors with gigahertz memory access, I would think it would be difficult, if not impossible to effectively separate the CPU and the memory by very much. Similarly, it gets pretty complicated with high speed DMA I/O when you move it away from the memory it is accessing. I'm sure it could be done, but the performance is going to suffer just from the physical distances. Add in connector resistance and noise and you have ample justification for putting the CPU, chipset and RAM in a very small module that then plugs into the rest of the computer for I/O.
If they were just moving the CPU to a card then yes, but apparently they aren't:
Intel, another key member of the Open Compute Project, announced it would release to the group a silicon-based optical system that enables the data and computing elements in a rack of computer servers to communicate at 100 gigabits a second.
More important, it means that elements of memory and processing that now must be fixed closely together can be separated within a rack, and used as needed for different kinds of tasks. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/facebooks-other-big-disruption/
The Xbox has lost boxloads of money and they're about to have to throw billions more into the pit to produce a new version.
A saner company would have dumped it long ago.
XBox360 has been making huge profits since 2008, more than recouping the initial outlay, the xbox is carrying the whole entertainment division. Not sure where you get the idea that they've lost money on it.
Why should all browsers change to communicate with Skype, instead Skype to communicate with browsers?
What an odd statement, all browsers have to change anyway, the only question is should they change to only communicate with other browsers or have a lower level API to communicate with software other than just other browsers...why do you prefer the former over the latter?
No need to look at the past to see what Microsoft is today, present will suffice: they're creating their own walled garden with Windows 8, and the Surface RT is (and all other tablets capable of running Windows RT) have a locked bootloader, preventing the owner from running anything but Windows RT on them.
Can you really blame them? The success of Apple in doing exactly that has demonstrated that that is indeed a part of what many users want, the open alternative is already there with Android so there's no problem unless of course for some reason you really want to use Windows RT and want it not to be locked down - but i can't see any reason for that, can you?
what should replace the AS-IS clause is a simple "Fitness for Purpose Stated" clause
does it
1 perform the function it is for
2 have reasonable steps been taken to ensure that is is safe and stable
3 if it writes files have steps been taken to ensure it writes only to the needed areas and safeguards against deleting an excess amount of files (so no twitch the mouse and delete half the files on the computer type things)
Ok then, take Windows - for example - and define those things. The function it is for, the reasonable steps that need to be take to ensure it is safe and stable (remembering that almost all BSODs are caused by malfunctioning drivers or hardware) and which areas can it write files to? what if i want to easily delete a large amount of files? is that an exception to that rule? are the permissions on system files enough or do they need to restrict the user from being able to override those permissions?
Hasn't the release of Win RT proven that.NET isn't cross-platform, not even on Win8 running on different architectures?
No, because you write WinRT programs in.Net so of course it is cross-platform.
If.NET were at all portable, they wouldn't need to rebuild apps for Win RT.
They don't, if you write.Net apps to the WinRT featureset then they will run on Windows 8 and Windows RT. The language is cross-platform and the implementation of the VM is platform-specific, just like Java. You can write Java programs for your desktop but those programs generally need to be rebuilt to run on Android because the Oracle/Sun Java VM has a different featureset to the Dalvik VM, that doesn't mean Java isn't cross-platform, all it means is that different platforms are different so while the code can mostly stay the same across platforms there are platform-specific idiosyncrasies that need to be catered to.
A better question would be when is somebody gonna step up and stop slapping band aids on the bullet wound that is JavaScript and come up with something better.
What's that got to do with the Java plugin?
JavaScript was never designed for security, nor really built for all this "Web 3.0" crap
And what specifically is it about JavaScript that you oppose that makes it inherently problematic that an alternative wouldn't suffer from?
Frankly its time to come up with something new, something designed with security in mind and by default sandboxing that won't allow a single webpage to call 3 dozen other addresses just to build the page.
Why? Sandboxing can (and should) be done by the browser. Obviously plugins like Flash and Java make that difficult but that's not relevant to JavaScript.
HTML V5 is a mess and worse than Flash in every single way, CPU, memory, bandwidth, its just terrible
Oh yeah Flash is brilliant, so long as you're on Windows or OSX, but a good chunk of browsing these days is done on platforms that Flash either doesn't run on or runs like crap on.
And for quality content, you do not need a giant octo-core monster with a dedicated GPU that will burn through the PCB without a proper heatsink and fan. You need power to produce another shitty cookie cutter game running off UDK, hence the reason for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Then how do you explain Infinity Blade? Just about everyone has at least a low-power PC, it's an open platform with such a large installbase that it's ubiquitous, any talented developer can build a game for it and reach an enormous audience bigger than any console game...and very few do, these low power consoles won't change that.
If the Ouya succeeds in coming out on time, at the expected price point, it will be cheaper than a used Xbox/Wii/PS3. If developers latch onto it, it should quickly gain a large catalogue.
I suspect developers will port existing games to it if the process is simple, i doubt it will have much in the way of exclusivity because it's Android so if you're going to develop for Ouya you might as well develop for all the various Android consoles and devices. As a developer it would be pretty silly to restrict yourself to the Ouya.
But especially, I'd expect a lot of indie games from people who don't want the pain of dealing with MS/Sony/Nintendo - quirkier, edgier games.
I dunno, XBL arcade has worked well for titles that are decent, like Limbo, and since virtually everybody has a PC the install base for an open platform is already there for indie developers. Ouya will probably just be 'all the games you have on Android, on your TV', and it's openness will probably lead to it being used more as an XBMC box than a gaming console.
And the best selling game for the PC? The Sims 2! The second best selling game for the PC? The Sims! Not something I would consider to be 'hardcore' gaming titles. The PC looks a lot more casual gaming than consoles, certainly don't see anything to suggest consoles are more casual-gaming focussed.
Slashdot Mirror
I one of those links goes to an xbox music faq so i'm assuming when you say he 'couldn't use it' you don't mean the zune, you mean the xbox music service. The other one goes to slashdot.org/microsoft.com so not sure what you were trying to do there.
I suspect it's only a matter of time before Apple tie iOS and OSX together and it's laptops get touch screens.
Because Microsoft has done that and are clearly raking it in as a result, so Apple should copy them.
An iPad at $400 cheaper and a MacBook Air for only $100 more.
So then i have to carry 2 devices and it cost me $600 more?
Except the MBA fucking rocks.
Wow i must have bought the wrong one! It's a good computer but I'm not sure i can get that excited about it.
If you know the hardware was perfectly working then why couldn't he use it?
they copied from Gnome-Shell on Gnome 3. Ironicly, copying what was un-popular
What did they copy from gnome shell? They look nothing like eachother - unless you're suggesting they've copied a 'grid of icons'.
How many did samsung sell in the same period? How many did apple sell?
Who cares? The Mac isn't a failure just because millions more Windows PCs were sold in the same timeframe.
how many were given away for free with a contract and data plan (those aren't the phones people want those are given and they replace latter)
You don't actually believe carriers that say they're giving you something for free do you? I mean if that's the case you should see all the free iphones i've gotten.
It's because you said you liked something of Microsoft's.
Well yes, like I said the concern would be there only if they were just moving the CPU to an external card - which they aren't doing in the server card spec (they are proposing memory goes on the card as well) and they wouldn't be doing with the Intel technology which provides additional highspeed optical links, either one of those solutions mitigates the issues in the first post i responded to.
The second is that with the computing power of consumer hardware not advancing at such a rapid pace there is little reason for people to upgrade or replace their existing systems, even if a home user needs/wants more than a tablet or whatever can provide they are probably best off with an ultrabook and perhaps and external monitor, but even that will last many years.
I just can't see the need these days for a desktop PC for the average home user.
The frustrating thing is that the Windows-centricity and fear of anything that could canibalize it has led to the curtailing of innovation and killing off of potentially great products like the Courier.
Only year to date. Xbox has never paid back its development costs.
So how much have they made and how much did they spend?
Given today's multi-gigahertz processors with gigahertz memory access, I would think it would be difficult, if not impossible to effectively separate the CPU and the memory by very much. Similarly, it gets pretty complicated with high speed DMA I/O when you move it away from the memory it is accessing. I'm sure it could be done, but the performance is going to suffer just from the physical distances. Add in connector resistance and noise and you have ample justification for putting the CPU, chipset and RAM in a very small module that then plugs into the rest of the computer for I/O.
If they were just moving the CPU to a card then yes, but apparently they aren't:
Intel, another key member of the Open Compute Project, announced it would release to the group a silicon-based optical system that enables the data and computing elements in a rack of computer servers to communicate at 100 gigabits a second.
More important, it means that elements of memory and processing that now must be fixed closely together can be separated within a rack, and used as needed for different kinds of tasks.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/facebooks-other-big-disruption/
The Xbox has lost boxloads of money and they're about to have to throw billions more into the pit to produce a new version.
A saner company would have dumped it long ago.
XBox360 has been making huge profits since 2008, more than recouping the initial outlay, the xbox is carrying the whole entertainment division. Not sure where you get the idea that they've lost money on it.
There's a reason Microsoft's catch phrase is "Embrace. Extend. Extinguish."
So in this context what is it they are attempting to 'Embrace, Extend and Extinguish'?
Why should all browsers change to communicate with Skype, instead Skype to communicate with browsers?
What an odd statement, all browsers have to change anyway, the only question is should they change to only communicate with other browsers or have a lower level API to communicate with software other than just other browsers...why do you prefer the former over the latter?
No need to look at the past to see what Microsoft is today, present will suffice: they're creating their own walled garden with Windows 8, and the Surface RT is (and all other tablets capable of running Windows RT) have a locked bootloader, preventing the owner from running anything but Windows RT on them.
Can you really blame them? The success of Apple in doing exactly that has demonstrated that that is indeed a part of what many users want, the open alternative is already there with Android so there's no problem unless of course for some reason you really want to use Windows RT and want it not to be locked down - but i can't see any reason for that, can you?
It is more a matter of history. Considering what they have done in the past, I am NOT ready to trust them.
Trust them? Why would you have to trust them?
what should replace the AS-IS clause is a simple "Fitness for Purpose Stated" clause does it
1 perform the function it is for 2 have reasonable steps been taken to ensure that is is safe and stable 3 if it writes files have steps been taken to ensure it writes only to the needed areas and safeguards against deleting an excess amount of files (so no twitch the mouse and delete half the files on the computer type things)
Ok then, take Windows - for example - and define those things. The function it is for, the reasonable steps that need to be take to ensure it is safe and stable (remembering that almost all BSODs are caused by malfunctioning drivers or hardware) and which areas can it write files to?
what if i want to easily delete a large amount of files? is that an exception to that rule? are the permissions on system files enough or do they need to restrict the user from being able to override those permissions?
That clause isn't 'simple' at all.
Hasn't the release of Win RT proven that .NET isn't cross-platform, not even on Win8 running on different architectures?
No, because you write WinRT programs in .Net so of course it is cross-platform.
If .NET were at all portable, they wouldn't need to rebuild apps for Win RT.
They don't, if you write .Net apps to the WinRT featureset then they will run on Windows 8 and Windows RT. The language is cross-platform and the implementation of the VM is platform-specific, just like Java. You can write Java programs for your desktop but those programs generally need to be rebuilt to run on Android because the Oracle/Sun Java VM has a different featureset to the Dalvik VM, that doesn't mean Java isn't cross-platform, all it means is that different platforms are different so while the code can mostly stay the same across platforms there are platform-specific idiosyncrasies that need to be catered to.
A better question would be when is somebody gonna step up and stop slapping band aids on the bullet wound that is JavaScript and come up with something better.
What's that got to do with the Java plugin?
JavaScript was never designed for security, nor really built for all this "Web 3.0" crap
And what specifically is it about JavaScript that you oppose that makes it inherently problematic that an alternative wouldn't suffer from?
Frankly its time to come up with something new, something designed with security in mind and by default sandboxing that won't allow a single webpage to call 3 dozen other addresses just to build the page.
Why? Sandboxing can (and should) be done by the browser. Obviously plugins like Flash and Java make that difficult but that's not relevant to JavaScript.
HTML V5 is a mess and worse than Flash in every single way, CPU, memory, bandwidth, its just terrible
Oh yeah Flash is brilliant, so long as you're on Windows or OSX, but a good chunk of browsing these days is done on platforms that Flash either doesn't run on or runs like crap on.
And for quality content, you do not need a giant octo-core monster with a dedicated GPU that will burn through the PCB without a proper heatsink and fan. You need power to produce another shitty cookie cutter game running off UDK, hence the reason for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Then how do you explain Infinity Blade? Just about everyone has at least a low-power PC, it's an open platform with such a large installbase that it's ubiquitous, any talented developer can build a game for it and reach an enormous audience bigger than any console game...and very few do, these low power consoles won't change that.
If the Ouya succeeds in coming out on time, at the expected price point, it will be cheaper than a used Xbox/Wii/PS3. If developers latch onto it, it should quickly gain a large catalogue.
I suspect developers will port existing games to it if the process is simple, i doubt it will have much in the way of exclusivity because it's Android so if you're going to develop for Ouya you might as well develop for all the various Android consoles and devices. As a developer it would be pretty silly to restrict yourself to the Ouya.
But especially, I'd expect a lot of indie games from people who don't want the pain of dealing with MS/Sony/Nintendo - quirkier, edgier games.
I dunno, XBL arcade has worked well for titles that are decent, like Limbo, and since virtually everybody has a PC the install base for an open platform is already there for indie developers. Ouya will probably just be 'all the games you have on Android, on your TV', and it's openness will probably lead to it being used more as an XBMC box than a gaming console.
Why do people constantly feel the need to update drivers?
Because of bugs the manifest in new games, even the 295.10 drivers aren't particularly old.
And the best selling game for the PC? The Sims 2! The second best selling game for the PC? The Sims! Not something I would consider to be 'hardcore' gaming titles. The PC looks a lot more casual gaming than consoles, certainly don't see anything to suggest consoles are more casual-gaming focussed.