God forbid the man be right about something, even if it is motivated entirely by petty spite. The fact that the partnership is good for the USPS isn't equivalent to it being good for commerce in general. Amazon is too fucking big. It's dangerous.
That might (or might not) be true. But it's not the basis of the claims Trump is trying to make. This would be a very different conversation if it was about Amazon becoming a monopoly, or abusive of its power. That has nothing to do with the USPS.
I mean, how about the Post Office themselves? https://about.usps.com/news/statements/080117.htm. The USPS has been pretty damn clear on this. https://gizmodo.com/former-postmaster-general-says-trump-is-completely-wron-1825025953
You should take the Post's claims with a grain of salt - not because Bezos owns them, but because any single source should be verified. But this has been, repeatedly.
If Windows Phone has anything going for it, it's stellar speed and stability. My Lumia 930 and my wife's Lumia 830 are rock solid and fast - always. If the majority of your time is spent on the basics -- phone, text, email, web, facebook, netflix, games etc - it's the best platform out there.
That said, the OP's question of "Fully Featured" and "Just Works" are pretty tough to reconcile. Most iPhones I have used or see are less stable than the Lumias -- but they can do more, through their app catalog and integration across Apple's vertical ecosystem. [Insert favorite Android model here] is going to be more capable than anything else out there, but it's been a long time since I've seen an Android distribution that didn't lose control of background tasks and require a fair amount of overhead to keep the thing functional. Windows Phones are definitely more stable and consistent over time, but they don't today have the long tail of apps that Android has or the guarantee that everyone is going to support them that Apple has.
OP didn't mention whether it's Windows 7 or 8, but Windows 8 includes A/V out of the box. Lots of other good security best practices listed here, as well.
Wow. I mean, I travel a ton and get annoyed by the TSA as much as the next guy, but you really think it's OK to take a gun onto an airplane? Agree to disagree. People who need to transport their legally owned firearms can do so through the simple act of checking them. There isn't an airline or country the world over that would allow firearms, not to mention loaded _with rounds chambered_ (FTFA) onto a plane.
We can argue all we want to about the cannon (I'm with the anon who thinks if you manage to hijack a plane with it... congrats!), but guns, grenades, large knives... just check it! This isn't a terrorism thing. It's basic safety 101, especially in an already stressful, crowded environment.
I have to wonder how the judge draws the line between something like this conviction and, say, the Simpsons Movie, where Bart is rocking some full frontal on the big screen.
There's a difference, for sure -- one is funny and clearly a cartoon, whereas one sounds like it's purposefully sexualizing children. So the conviction could be grounded in intent. But it's a hell of a slippery slope.
Is there any actual proof that OS decay is still a thing? I'm running Windows 8.1 that was upgraded from a Windows 7 install that was put on years ago, and I've seen zero performance issues.
Shouldn't the person asking this question have actually used Windows 8 before asking if Windows 10 will "finally" fix a problem that may or may not even exist?
Amen brother. I've also seen zero decay on my gaming rig, which has been through the Windows 7 --> 8 --> 8.1 etc without ever a refresh...
In a separate development on Monday, the White House said it wanted all cars and light trucks to be equipped with technology that could prevent collisions.
And finally law enforcements wet dream of being able to remotely disable your car becomes a reality. If you think this is anything but that, you're very naive.
I think this is anything but that, and I think spouting conspiracy theories doesn't really help anyone understand the pros/cons of such a statement.
I'm not naive. I'm also not delusional or paranoid. "Technology that could prevent collisions" doesn't in any way imply remote access or coordination. Today's examples include ABS brakes, collision radar, backup cameras, and yes, side view mirrors. All of those are collision-avoidance technologies. None of those can be easily used to subvert operation of the vehicle.
Yes, of course it's possible that, say, a system to allow a central "Traffic Control" authority to externally intervene to prevent collisions is someday built. And yes, presumably law enforcement could use that system to remotely disable a car. But that's a stretch. Especially when you already have remote-disable solutions built into all kinds of modern cars. Not for traffic safety - but for convenience and theft deterrence. Millions of cars have this built in today, and although I'm not familiar with the laws or case history, I don't see any reason why law enforcement with a warrant or probable cause couldn't use what's there today in Teslas, any car with OnStar, etc etc... and as usual, those capabilities were introduced for convenience (either owner or insurer:)).
All technologies can be misused and abused. Don't see a need to conflate that reality with an effort for additional vehicle safety.
There are similar laws in almost all (but not all - Oregon is a notable exception) US states - on a multi-lane, limited-access highway, it's technically illegal to be in the left lane unless you are actively passing. It's just rarely, rarely enforced the way it is in Europe, which is too bad. Nothing incites road rage more than someone tooling along a few MPH under the speed limit in the left lane. I've seen that enforced just a few times on rural stretches of I-5 in Washington, and once somewhere in the midwest (MN?).
The other variant of that law, also common in US states, is that it's illegal to hold up more than a certain number of cars. Its the "campers have to turn off and let people pass" law. This one, luckily, I see enforced a lot more often on popular tourist roads.
The interesting thing is that in a world without human drivers, both of these laws become redundant, IMO. The vehicles should efficiently get everyone everywhere, and where you have forced bottlenecks -- such as an automated semi truck that can't go as fast on a winding road as a sports car -- presumably the AIs would be written in such a way that the vehicles could coordinate safe passing.
I envision much more efficient, much more boring drives;)
There are a bunch of great options out there, but nothing has ever replaced the Thinkpad line for me. I have spent time with the new Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga, and if you're in the market for a 12.5" device, it's awesome. First thing I did was replace its built in SSD and wifi chip -- took less than 5 minutes -- and it has all the functionality of an amazing Win8.1 convertible as well.
Then as others have said, there's the tried-and-true T series. The T440s is beautiful in its own way, rugged, and super serviceable.
That's one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is: if your UI is so discoverable that all you have to do is hit one key and then type whatever you're looking for and *boom* there it is, you know you have a great UI.
This is the first thing I tell anyone about Windows (7 or 8). So simple...
This reiterates a few previous posts, but here are some comments in a nutshell:
- The T400 won't come close to running WoW, even if it has the premium discrete graphics that were offered at the time it came out. Integrated graphics? WoW won't even load. Build or buy a cheap desktop from a couple of years ago with a decent $50 graphics card and you'll be much better off. - Windows 7 + microsoft security essentials will keep you secure. Then you need to teach your son the same basic internet security you need on any net-connected device -- don't fall for phishing or fake download schemes. There's no reason to buy third party AV. - If you're buying a new OS license, you probably should just get Windows 8. It's less resource intensive than Windows 7 in every way, so if your son is trying to game on legacy hardware, that will help. Additionally it has full antimalware built in, along with a raft of improved security features. And finally, with the special offers these days, it's probably cheaper (if it's not, you're probably not getting a legal Win7 license). - I'm of the opinion you give your son full admin to the computer, and if he breaks it, well, he learns how to fix it. Restricting him to a limited user account just means it's harder for him to learn. You should take other steps to protect your network in case he busts his PC, but that's awfully hard to do with Win7/8 and basic AV software.
Interestingly, this is exactly what T-Mobile is doing now. They have subsidized phone plans, with a contract and a higher monthly price, and they have unsubsidized, no contract plans with a lower price. But expensive phones. It's fantastic.
I just downloaded the demo to try it out and spent an hour. It's like the old bridge building games. Fun with gravity! Not sure how realistic the physics are... but who cares? It's midnight Slashdotting:)
The problem is that the OS is so badly designed and un-optimized that you can't run it on that kind of hardware. There isn't any good reason why Vista should have been slower than XP really, and fancy FX should have been turned on only on premium hardware. Many other OSes can do it after all. Leopard is doing just fine on a core 2 duo with GMA 950 GFX after all...
You've actually hit the nail on the head... except if you'd RTFA, you would realize that the suit is exactly because this is what Vista does today. Vista as a basic OS works fine on lower-end hardware. I run it with no problem on a P3-600, at approximately the same speed as XP. The problem is that a low-end computer, advertised as "Vista-Capable," can't run the fancy (and gorgeous) visual effects that Microsoft has advertised as a feature. The OS just won't let you.
Unfortunately, someone shopping at WalMart or Best Buy for a new machine, who has seen a MSFT ad and the "vista-capable" sticker, is going to be pretty pissed when Flip3D and Aero don't function on their new $300 box, when the sticker seems to indicate it should.
This lawsuit isn't about Vista's problems. It's actually a fine OS - like Server 2008, which shares the code base. This lawsuit is about misleading marketing. I realize the title of the post is equally misleading. RTFA.
I found it a bit worrying that they didn't specifically give a date range to commercialize this. Patents can take a while, and although the article mentioned potential partnerships and the ability to scale up, I would have liked more of the usual hype saying "by 2010, your Wii controller will run for 2 years on a single set of batteries!"
And more seriously, some dates lend more credibility to the tech.
1: if you download with a torrent, it's not typically a legal download. The reason is that by definition, a torrent will upload as long as you are downloading, and typically for some time (seeding) afterwards. You have no way to guarantee that everyone you are uploading to has paid their cable bill. Therefore, you are likely illegally distributing private content.
2: Again as far as i know - and i'm no lawyer - archiving shows in itself is not illegal at all. Fair use rights from VHS days work just as well with PVRs. I record many shows with BeyondTV, and i'm sure that's perfectly legitimate (perhaps the auto ad-stripper isn't, but hey).
All that said, I'm with you -- I regularly download torrents, typically because my PVR was off, or I'm not home and don't feel like recoding the file. I'm of the opinion that this is perfectly ethically legitimate, if not legal, as I pay my overpriced cable bill every month just like the next guy.
Not that I read the article, but the post seems to miss a big difference between "Pro ODF" legislation and "Pro open standards" legislation, which I would imagine both Microsoft and IBM would support. Microsoft backs OpenXML, which is an open, extensible document standard -- IBM backs ODF. Obviously, each company has preferences, but in my humble opinion, Pro-ODF legislation would do more harm than good. Instead, we should be encouraging all companies to continue to back more and more open document formats, which are extensible and usable by 3rd parties. At the moment, Microsoft Office 2007's OpenXML is just as good as ODF in this regards. As far as I'm concerned, as long as "open" is mandated, and not a particular _kind_ of open, then all is well in the world.
... specifically at the socioeconomic numbers. The article mentions how hard it is to survey people with only cell phones (being left out of polls, and such), and then cites the study of households indicating that people with only cell phones are disproportionately lower income - more than just age would account for.
How accurate is this? (I obviously need to go find the original survey). I know my own circle of friends - perhaps thirty people, all mid-20s, all professionals with good incomes and mixed race, and I can't think of a single person who has a landline. Maybe we're all on the cutting edge of pacific northwest young-adult culture, but the survey numbers from this study seemed way low.
I don't even remotely see where you're coming from here. Australia's approach doesn't to anything to change your lifestyle, your comfort, etc - and thus faces the maximum possibility of adoption by the general population.
It's much harder and controversial to dictate behavior - exactly the point that you make - but your conclusion that this is an attempt to dictate behavior doesn't make any sense. Australia wants to reduce energy usage, and so instead of dictating that lights can't be on between certain hours, or a house can't be a given size, they are forcing in a cheaper, longer-lasting and more energy-efficient lighting system. That mega-mansion? Now it will use less energy with the same number of lights installed and turned on...
Where is the problem here? Do you really think a lower electrical bill will lead to more heating expenditure? Most people I know whine about their bill, but they like to stay warm no matter what.
I think this idea is outstanding - if nothing else, many people don't even know that CF bulbs are out there - this is a chance to build that awareness in Australia, and maybe more countries will follow suit.
Let's see... 250 million copies of vista (let's call it $100 each) 200 million copies of office (let's call it $150 each)
$55 billion... in two years... just for Vista and Office on new machines? We can debate whether or not this product will sell well, but I don't see MS going bankrupt with those numbers;)
I would LOVE to see the look on your boss's face when he realized you just lost your entire mail store because you decided to run the thing off a single 500GB IDE drive.
Slashdot Mirror
God forbid the man be right about something, even if it is motivated entirely by petty spite. The fact that the partnership is good for the USPS isn't equivalent to it being good for commerce in general. Amazon is too fucking big. It's dangerous.
That might (or might not) be true. But it's not the basis of the claims Trump is trying to make. This would be a very different conversation if it was about Amazon becoming a monopoly, or abusive of its power. That has nothing to do with the USPS.
I mean, how about the Post Office themselves? https://about.usps.com/news/statements/080117.htm. The USPS has been pretty damn clear on this. https://gizmodo.com/former-postmaster-general-says-trump-is-completely-wron-1825025953
You should take the Post's claims with a grain of salt - not because Bezos owns them, but because any single source should be verified. But this has been, repeatedly.
If Windows Phone has anything going for it, it's stellar speed and stability. My Lumia 930 and my wife's Lumia 830 are rock solid and fast - always. If the majority of your time is spent on the basics -- phone, text, email, web, facebook, netflix, games etc - it's the best platform out there.
That said, the OP's question of "Fully Featured" and "Just Works" are pretty tough to reconcile. Most iPhones I have used or see are less stable than the Lumias -- but they can do more, through their app catalog and integration across Apple's vertical ecosystem. [Insert favorite Android model here] is going to be more capable than anything else out there, but it's been a long time since I've seen an Android distribution that didn't lose control of background tasks and require a fair amount of overhead to keep the thing functional. Windows Phones are definitely more stable and consistent over time, but they don't today have the long tail of apps that Android has or the guarantee that everyone is going to support them that Apple has.
OP didn't mention whether it's Windows 7 or 8, but Windows 8 includes A/V out of the box. Lots of other good security best practices listed here, as well.
Wow. I mean, I travel a ton and get annoyed by the TSA as much as the next guy, but you really think it's OK to take a gun onto an airplane? Agree to disagree. People who need to transport their legally owned firearms can do so through the simple act of checking them. There isn't an airline or country the world over that would allow firearms, not to mention loaded _with rounds chambered_ (FTFA) onto a plane.
We can argue all we want to about the cannon (I'm with the anon who thinks if you manage to hijack a plane with it... congrats!), but guns, grenades, large knives... just check it! This isn't a terrorism thing. It's basic safety 101, especially in an already stressful, crowded environment.
I have to wonder how the judge draws the line between something like this conviction and, say, the Simpsons Movie, where Bart is rocking some full frontal on the big screen.
There's a difference, for sure -- one is funny and clearly a cartoon, whereas one sounds like it's purposefully sexualizing children. So the conviction could be grounded in intent. But it's a hell of a slippery slope.
Amen brother. I've also seen zero decay on my gaming rig, which has been through the Windows 7 --> 8 --> 8.1 etc without ever a refresh...
In a separate development on Monday, the White House said it wanted all cars and light trucks to be equipped with technology that could prevent collisions.
And finally law enforcements wet dream of being able to remotely disable your car becomes a reality. If you think this is anything but that, you're very naive.
I think this is anything but that, and I think spouting conspiracy theories doesn't really help anyone understand the pros/cons of such a statement.
I'm not naive. I'm also not delusional or paranoid. "Technology that could prevent collisions" doesn't in any way imply remote access or coordination. Today's examples include ABS brakes, collision radar, backup cameras, and yes, side view mirrors. All of those are collision-avoidance technologies. None of those can be easily used to subvert operation of the vehicle.
Yes, of course it's possible that, say, a system to allow a central "Traffic Control" authority to externally intervene to prevent collisions is someday built. And yes, presumably law enforcement could use that system to remotely disable a car. But that's a stretch. Especially when you already have remote-disable solutions built into all kinds of modern cars. Not for traffic safety - but for convenience and theft deterrence. Millions of cars have this built in today, and although I'm not familiar with the laws or case history, I don't see any reason why law enforcement with a warrant or probable cause couldn't use what's there today in Teslas, any car with OnStar, etc etc... and as usual, those capabilities were introduced for convenience (either owner or insurer :)).
All technologies can be misused and abused. Don't see a need to conflate that reality with an effort for additional vehicle safety.
There are similar laws in almost all (but not all - Oregon is a notable exception) US states - on a multi-lane, limited-access highway, it's technically illegal to be in the left lane unless you are actively passing. It's just rarely, rarely enforced the way it is in Europe, which is too bad. Nothing incites road rage more than someone tooling along a few MPH under the speed limit in the left lane. I've seen that enforced just a few times on rural stretches of I-5 in Washington, and once somewhere in the midwest (MN?).
The other variant of that law, also common in US states, is that it's illegal to hold up more than a certain number of cars. Its the "campers have to turn off and let people pass" law. This one, luckily, I see enforced a lot more often on popular tourist roads.
The interesting thing is that in a world without human drivers, both of these laws become redundant, IMO. The vehicles should efficiently get everyone everywhere, and where you have forced bottlenecks -- such as an automated semi truck that can't go as fast on a winding road as a sports car -- presumably the AIs would be written in such a way that the vehicles could coordinate safe passing.
I envision much more efficient, much more boring drives ;)
There are a bunch of great options out there, but nothing has ever replaced the Thinkpad line for me. I have spent time with the new Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga, and if you're in the market for a 12.5" device, it's awesome. First thing I did was replace its built in SSD and wifi chip -- took less than 5 minutes -- and it has all the functionality of an amazing Win8.1 convertible as well.
Then as others have said, there's the tried-and-true T series. The T440s is beautiful in its own way, rugged, and super serviceable.
That's one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is: if your UI is so discoverable that all you have to do is hit one key and then type whatever you're looking for and *boom* there it is, you know you have a great UI.
This is the first thing I tell anyone about Windows (7 or 8). So simple...
This reiterates a few previous posts, but here are some comments in a nutshell:
- The T400 won't come close to running WoW, even if it has the premium discrete graphics that were offered at the time it came out. Integrated graphics? WoW won't even load. Build or buy a cheap desktop from a couple of years ago with a decent $50 graphics card and you'll be much better off.
- Windows 7 + microsoft security essentials will keep you secure. Then you need to teach your son the same basic internet security you need on any net-connected device -- don't fall for phishing or fake download schemes. There's no reason to buy third party AV.
- If you're buying a new OS license, you probably should just get Windows 8. It's less resource intensive than Windows 7 in every way, so if your son is trying to game on legacy hardware, that will help. Additionally it has full antimalware built in, along with a raft of improved security features. And finally, with the special offers these days, it's probably cheaper (if it's not, you're probably not getting a legal Win7 license).
- I'm of the opinion you give your son full admin to the computer, and if he breaks it, well, he learns how to fix it. Restricting him to a limited user account just means it's harder for him to learn. You should take other steps to protect your network in case he busts his PC, but that's awfully hard to do with Win7/8 and basic AV software.
Interestingly, this is exactly what T-Mobile is doing now. They have subsidized phone plans, with a contract and a higher monthly price, and they have unsubsidized, no contract plans with a lower price. But expensive phones. It's fantastic.
I just downloaded the demo to try it out and spent an hour. It's like the old bridge building games. Fun with gravity! Not sure how realistic the physics are... but who cares? It's midnight Slashdotting :)
So why wouldn't this person just be fired on the spot? Problem solved.
You've actually hit the nail on the head... except if you'd RTFA, you would realize that the suit is exactly because this is what Vista does today. Vista as a basic OS works fine on lower-end hardware. I run it with no problem on a P3-600, at approximately the same speed as XP. The problem is that a low-end computer, advertised as "Vista-Capable," can't run the fancy (and gorgeous) visual effects that Microsoft has advertised as a feature. The OS just won't let you.
Unfortunately, someone shopping at WalMart or Best Buy for a new machine, who has seen a MSFT ad and the "vista-capable" sticker, is going to be pretty pissed when Flip3D and Aero don't function on their new $300 box, when the sticker seems to indicate it should.
This lawsuit isn't about Vista's problems. It's actually a fine OS - like Server 2008, which shares the code base. This lawsuit is about misleading marketing. I realize the title of the post is equally misleading. RTFA.
I found it a bit worrying that they didn't specifically give a date range to commercialize this. Patents can take a while, and although the article mentioned potential partnerships and the ability to scale up, I would have liked more of the usual hype saying "by 2010, your Wii controller will run for 2 years on a single set of batteries!"
:)
And more seriously, some dates lend more credibility to the tech.
Crossing fingers
There are actually two issues here, AFAIK:
1: if you download with a torrent, it's not typically a legal download. The reason is that by definition, a torrent will upload as long as you are downloading, and typically for some time (seeding) afterwards. You have no way to guarantee that everyone you are uploading to has paid their cable bill. Therefore, you are likely illegally distributing private content.
2: Again as far as i know - and i'm no lawyer - archiving shows in itself is not illegal at all. Fair use rights from VHS days work just as well with PVRs. I record many shows with BeyondTV, and i'm sure that's perfectly legitimate (perhaps the auto ad-stripper isn't, but hey).
All that said, I'm with you -- I regularly download torrents, typically because my PVR was off, or I'm not home and don't feel like recoding the file. I'm of the opinion that this is perfectly ethically legitimate, if not legal, as I pay my overpriced cable bill every month just like the next guy.
Not that I read the article, but the post seems to miss a big difference between "Pro ODF" legislation and "Pro open standards" legislation, which I would imagine both Microsoft and IBM would support. Microsoft backs OpenXML, which is an open, extensible document standard -- IBM backs ODF. Obviously, each company has preferences, but in my humble opinion, Pro-ODF legislation would do more harm than good. Instead, we should be encouraging all companies to continue to back more and more open document formats, which are extensible and usable by 3rd parties. At the moment, Microsoft Office 2007's OpenXML is just as good as ODF in this regards. As far as I'm concerned, as long as "open" is mandated, and not a particular _kind_ of open, then all is well in the world.
... specifically at the socioeconomic numbers. The article mentions how hard it is to survey people with only cell phones (being left out of polls, and such), and then cites the study of households indicating that people with only cell phones are disproportionately lower income - more than just age would account for.
How accurate is this? (I obviously need to go find the original survey). I know my own circle of friends - perhaps thirty people, all mid-20s, all professionals with good incomes and mixed race, and I can't think of a single person who has a landline. Maybe we're all on the cutting edge of pacific northwest young-adult culture, but the survey numbers from this study seemed way low.
is no one else going to take this? in addition to all the other reasons, 10B GBP = $19B, give or take a few bills, for a similar per-kilometer cost
I don't even remotely see where you're coming from here. Australia's approach doesn't to anything to change your lifestyle, your comfort, etc - and thus faces the maximum possibility of adoption by the general population.
It's much harder and controversial to dictate behavior - exactly the point that you make - but your conclusion that this is an attempt to dictate behavior doesn't make any sense. Australia wants to reduce energy usage, and so instead of dictating that lights can't be on between certain hours, or a house can't be a given size, they are forcing in a cheaper, longer-lasting and more energy-efficient lighting system. That mega-mansion? Now it will use less energy with the same number of lights installed and turned on...
Where is the problem here? Do you really think a lower electrical bill will lead to more heating expenditure? Most people I know whine about their bill, but they like to stay warm no matter what.
I think this idea is outstanding - if nothing else, many people don't even know that CF bulbs are out there - this is a chance to build that awareness in Australia, and maybe more countries will follow suit.
I wish I had a color-changing emotive organ! :)
Let's see... 250 million copies of vista (let's call it $100 each)
;)
200 million copies of office (let's call it $150 each)
$55 billion... in two years... just for Vista and Office on new machines? We can debate whether or not this product will sell well, but I don't see MS going bankrupt with those numbers
$1/user?
I would LOVE to see the look on your boss's face when he realized you just lost your entire mail store because you decided to run the thing off a single 500GB IDE drive.