And some more points: Remember why the Mac was such a godsend some 20 years ago? Because it removed the requirement that users remember arcane command line commands. Now what's required in Linux? Yes, same thing. A corollary: arcane program names: The GIMP? WTF, who wants to run that? Or OGG, or YAetc. Stupid names, created by GEEKS who don't know a thing about marketing.
Yes, once Linux is deemed ready for the desktop, it'll have to be marketed. By someone. If it's IBM or RedHat, or Gateway, who knows. The GIMP, OGG, YADVDPLAYER are not a marketable names. Some of you will feel deeply offended at that (as you're probably religiously attached to the names), but the smart ones will realize it's true.
Maybe I'm missing something, but Skype seems to me to be just instant messaging 3.0 or something. It works just like it, you get a buddy list, and make your calls through a computer. I don't see how it's significantly different than something like iChat or talking over other current IM programs other than improved voice quality and the infrastructure is peer-to-peer.
Also, I wouldn't want to have to rely on my computer being turned on all the time in order to get phone calls. The RBOCs always bragged about 5 9s of reliability, the new VoIP companies probably give 1 9 of reliability (I have Vonage and that's been my experience so far) and I'd guess Skype would be lower still (the limiting factor not being the actual Skype program but all the things it relies on to work, my computer, my peer's computer, my mom's computer, and their cable modem, etc).
So just like IM, I'm sure Skype will take off but for day to day usage but my need to connect to people who don't use computers like that will means I stick with Vonage.
but not only that, WTF is kudzu? no, i don't know. and should i have to know? linux people have a desire to make some of the stupidest names for programs in the world! and it just turns people off. ogg, kudzu, yawhatever, all of that is crap. installing hardware shouldn't require a program named kudzu, it should require a program called "add or remove hardware". duh.
of course, this is a perfect example of why joe-windows user doesn't use linux. command line is dead for normal people and has been for years. until linux people get that into their heads, linux will be moot on the desktop.
WMA is supported on more devices and players than Apple's AAC (w/DRM) and the iPod.
BUT
WMA support is IRRELEVANT if the Digital Restrictions Management that infests Microsoft products doesn't allow me to play it anywhere else anyway. I once had a free offer to download WMA files from some music service and found that once the files were copied to any other computer, they were useless anyway. Copying to a player which did play WMAs was fruitless as well.
So the DRM (remember it's Digital RESTRICTIONS Management) is the overriding limiting factor, and not whether WMA is supported or not.
All the other online music services are music RENTAL right? If so, I won't participate regardless of the format.
Microsoft's argument is irrelevant until the WMA-supporting music services offer more lenient restrictions. I don't want my music to stop after I stop paying $19/month, I don't wanna have to worry if I bought the correct license to burn to CD for every single track I buy!
Re:Now, death of PDA, two years later ...
on
Death of the PDA?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
You miss the point of smartphones. It's not that they are gonna replace the paper and pencil or the PS2 or digital cameras. It's that it gives you basic functionality in those areas, all in one device, which you can have with you all the time.
If I'm out one night with friends and we're walking around the city looking for something to do, it's easy enough to go online on a phone and find local spots and even reviews. Or during the train ride, I can take care of replying to emails for work, while listening to streaming Internet radio. I can access my corporate phone and email directories.
So no, I'm not using my phone for decoding DNA sequences but smartphones do alot to untether you.
He makes a valid point though, that the software tested makes a huge difference in the benchmarks. Of course, even in Photoshop though, the 2 processor Mac didn't exactly trounce the single processor Athlon 64.
Why only the phone companies that suck? All the phone companies could potentially lose customers to VoIP considering the potential for lower bills and potential flexibility with VoIP.
Actually, I read the article and saw another one that focused more on the fact that they want video game makers to stop pushing adult games to kids. So in that sense, it's not much different from getting tobacco companies to stop advertising in 321 Contact or Highlights.:) (Yes I am that old.)
And regardless of whether any of us think games should be a scapegoat or not, the companies have already acknowledged it's not suitable for children by creating an industry rating system and rating GTA as for Mature.
But they should be suing the parents and the gunmakers also!
I'm one. I had TiVo years ago. Cancelled it 1 year ago after I started recording programs on my computer.
Basically my TV watching habits changed. I started watching TV on the treadmill instead of my bedroom (where the TiVo is) so I needed a way to watch down there instead. I've now got my main computer recording shows and an old computer down with my treadmill to stream the shows to.
The monthly fee is what finally did me in for cancelling TiVo service though. It was convenient to have the updated scheduling, but that's worthless for things that aren't updated the night before anyway. Season pass for me really wasn't much more than "record every Thursday night 7:58pm to 8:35pm" and others.
Yes, but it's very easy to produce an OS X app that doesn't have anything to do with BSD. So MS producing an OS X app in and of itself shows no bearing on whether they'll be producing BSD (or OSS) apps in the future.
It's the Bronze G3 that's giving you a problem with font smoothing. I know because I have that same computer. I also have a PBG4 and it's so much better, it's unbelievable. Font smoothing on the Bronze G3 is so horrid it makes OS X unusable for me.
3650 was just released for non-Asian markets (Asian market release was late 2002) and they're just coming to the channels as we speak. Expect to pay $450 for a SIM-free, never locked phone with no sub. Probably around $350-$400 with a new contract.
Lots of eBay auctions for the Asian 3650 flashed to English models for anywhere from $400-$500.
No signal strength issues, in fact, maybe they put in a bigger antenna (or just screwed around with the signal meter software) because I get better reception than my other Nokia phones.
Nokia's current phones don't have good BT support. The 6310i was the last Nokia that supported the headset profile. The 3650 supports the HANDSFREE profile which means current headsets don't work with it. The 7650 didn't support BT audio at all.
Maybe his argument wasn't well-put, but Nokia has simply dropped the ball with BT so far.
Watch out, not every Java enabled phone works properly. I'm told the Nokia 7210 has J2ME support, but doesn't support network sockets from Java apps, only forwarding on to URLs.
There's DRM already in place on their current phones. It simply stops you from forwarding on content that you paid for.
For example, if I buy a $.99 ringtone from say T-Mobile and download it to my current T300 (or T68 or 7210 or 3650, etc), it stops me from then putting that ringtone into an MMS and forwarding it to my girlfriend.
However, if I download a free ringtone that I wrote myself, I can forward it on as much as I like.
Same goes for background images and I'm guessing games as well.
This isn't as bad a Verizon's Get $hit Now though!
It's a pretty simple distinction. As far as text entry goes, imaging a person walking up to two different text entry devices. One is a keyboard. They see letters, and hitting the letters puts text on the screen. Simple, fast, obvious.
The other is a Graffiti pad and a stylus. They try what seems natural and start writing letters. Oops, some work, some don't. Hmmm, what's going on.
That's why, although people may not know the "proper" way of typing, they can still use a keyboard. You may not be as efficient, but it still works. With a Palm and Graffiti, you must learn to remember the Graffiti keystrokes to even get it to work.
It was ours to begin with. Record companies were found to be overcharging customers and the courts took action to give it back to consumers. So the lawyers did some work so they should be compensated for their work, I agree, but implying that I should have to earn my money back is rediculous!
These copy protections WILL get implemented, and you know what, no one will care.
Why? Because most people are sheep. They're also pretty stupid. Most can't figure out how to fix the flashing 12:00 on their VCRs. Look at TiVo's market penetration. It's pretty small compared to the number of TVs out there.
That said, while many people will be up in arms, the majority will be happy with the options provided by digital TV: "I missed the show, but now I can watch it on NBC 5." On top of that, my own cable company is now testing Video on Demand and that will only grow as digital TV is introduced.
And while the cable companies aren't against PVRs right now, imagine what will happen when they figure out they can "rent" TV shows to you for 75 cents per play in a nickel and dime Video on Demand scheme. They'll be right there with the movie studios saying PVRs and time shifting are bad!
Those of us who do care about these things will be powerless to change them. We can "vote with our dollars" but the new revenue streams will outweigh any lost revenue from pissing us off.
An acquaintence in NASA once told me all of the satellites he's worked on for NASA (3 of them at the time) were controlled via unencrypted communications. They felt secure with this "security through obscurity" because it's a little harder to actually transmit the commands up to the satellite than it is to simply put up a BUD and start listening to all the data streams out there.
Slashdot Mirror
YAY! Somone who agrees with me!
And some more points: Remember why the Mac was such a godsend some 20 years ago? Because it removed the requirement that users remember arcane command line commands. Now what's required in Linux? Yes, same thing. A corollary: arcane program names: The GIMP? WTF, who wants to run that? Or OGG, or YAetc. Stupid names, created by GEEKS who don't know a thing about marketing.
Yes, once Linux is deemed ready for the desktop, it'll have to be marketed. By someone. If it's IBM or RedHat, or Gateway, who knows. The GIMP, OGG, YADVDPLAYER are not a marketable names. Some of you will feel deeply offended at that (as you're probably religiously attached to the names), but the smart ones will realize it's true.
Maybe I'm missing something, but Skype seems to me to be just instant messaging 3.0 or something. It works just like it, you get a buddy list, and make your calls through a computer. I don't see how it's significantly different than something like iChat or talking over other current IM programs other than improved voice quality and the infrastructure is peer-to-peer.
Also, I wouldn't want to have to rely on my computer being turned on all the time in order to get phone calls. The RBOCs always bragged about 5 9s of reliability, the new VoIP companies probably give 1 9 of reliability (I have Vonage and that's been my experience so far) and I'd guess Skype would be lower still (the limiting factor not being the actual Skype program but all the things it relies on to work, my computer, my peer's computer, my mom's computer, and their cable modem, etc).
So just like IM, I'm sure Skype will take off but for day to day usage but my need to connect to people who don't use computers like that will means I stick with Vonage.
exactly.
but not only that, WTF is kudzu? no, i don't know. and should i have to know? linux people have a desire to make some of the stupidest names for programs in the world! and it just turns people off. ogg, kudzu, yawhatever, all of that is crap. installing hardware shouldn't require a program named kudzu, it should require a program called "add or remove hardware". duh.
of course, this is a perfect example of why joe-windows user doesn't use linux. command line is dead for normal people and has been for years. until linux people get that into their heads, linux will be moot on the desktop.
WMA is supported on more devices and players than Apple's AAC (w/DRM) and the iPod.
BUT
WMA support is IRRELEVANT if the Digital Restrictions Management that infests Microsoft products doesn't allow me to play it anywhere else anyway. I once had a free offer to download WMA files from some music service and found that once the files were copied to any other computer, they were useless anyway. Copying to a player which did play WMAs was fruitless as well.
So the DRM (remember it's Digital RESTRICTIONS Management) is the overriding limiting factor, and not whether WMA is supported or not.
All the other online music services are music RENTAL right? If so, I won't participate regardless of the format.
Microsoft's argument is irrelevant until the WMA-supporting music services offer more lenient restrictions. I don't want my music to stop after I stop paying $19/month, I don't wanna have to worry if I bought the correct license to burn to CD for every single track I buy!
You miss the point of smartphones. It's not that they are gonna replace the paper and pencil or the PS2 or digital cameras. It's that it gives you basic functionality in those areas, all in one device, which you can have with you all the time.
If I'm out one night with friends and we're walking around the city looking for something to do, it's easy enough to go online on a phone and find local spots and even reviews. Or during the train ride, I can take care of replying to emails for work, while listening to streaming Internet radio. I can access my corporate phone and email directories.
So no, I'm not using my phone for decoding DNA sequences but smartphones do alot to untether you.
He makes a valid point though, that the software tested makes a huge difference in the benchmarks. Of course, even in Photoshop though, the 2 processor Mac didn't exactly trounce the single processor Athlon 64.
Why only the phone companies that suck? All the phone companies could potentially lose customers to VoIP considering the potential for lower bills and potential flexibility with VoIP.
Story here
Actually, I read the article and saw another one that focused more on the fact that they want video game makers to stop pushing adult games to kids. So in that sense, it's not much different from getting tobacco companies to stop advertising in 321 Contact or Highlights. :) (Yes I am that old.)
And regardless of whether any of us think games should be a scapegoat or not, the companies have already acknowledged it's not suitable for children by creating an industry rating system and rating GTA as for Mature.
But they should be suing the parents and the gunmakers also!
I'm one. I had TiVo years ago. Cancelled it 1 year ago after I started recording programs on my computer.
Basically my TV watching habits changed. I started watching TV on the treadmill instead of my bedroom (where the TiVo is) so I needed a way to watch down there instead. I've now got my main computer recording shows and an old computer down with my treadmill to stream the shows to.
The monthly fee is what finally did me in for cancelling TiVo service though. It was convenient to have the updated scheduling, but that's worthless for things that aren't updated the night before anyway. Season pass for me really wasn't much more than "record every Thursday night 7:58pm to 8:35pm" and others.
Yes, but it's very easy to produce an OS X app that doesn't have anything to do with BSD. So MS producing an OS X app in and of itself shows no bearing on whether they'll be producing BSD (or OSS) apps in the future.
It's the Bronze G3 that's giving you a problem with font smoothing. I know because I have that same computer. I also have a PBG4 and it's so much better, it's unbelievable. Font smoothing on the Bronze G3 is so horrid it makes OS X unusable for me.
3650 was just released for non-Asian markets (Asian market release was late 2002) and they're just coming to the channels as we speak. Expect to pay $450 for a SIM-free, never locked phone with no sub. Probably around $350-$400 with a new contract.
Lots of eBay auctions for the Asian 3650 flashed to English models for anywhere from $400-$500.
No signal strength issues, in fact, maybe they put in a bigger antenna (or just screwed around with the signal meter software) because I get better reception than my other Nokia phones.
In the US of course...
Nokia's current phones don't have good BT support. The 6310i was the last Nokia that supported the headset profile. The 3650 supports the HANDSFREE profile which means current headsets don't work with it. The 7650 didn't support BT audio at all.
Maybe his argument wasn't well-put, but Nokia has simply dropped the ball with BT so far.
Already have a Nokia 3650, but I agree. It's great having access to Symbian OS apps. I've got a full web browser and IRC client for real chat.
Watch out, not every Java enabled phone works properly. I'm told the Nokia 7210 has J2ME support, but doesn't support network sockets from Java apps, only forwarding on to URLs.
There's DRM already in place on their current phones. It simply stops you from forwarding on content that you paid for.
For example, if I buy a $.99 ringtone from say T-Mobile and download it to my current T300 (or T68 or 7210 or 3650, etc), it stops me from then putting that ringtone into an MMS and forwarding it to my girlfriend.
However, if I download a free ringtone that I wrote myself, I can forward it on as much as I like.
Same goes for background images and I'm guessing games as well.
This isn't as bad a Verizon's Get $hit Now though!
It's a pretty simple distinction. As far as text entry goes, imaging a person walking up to two different text entry devices. One is a keyboard. They see letters, and hitting the letters puts text on the screen. Simple, fast, obvious.
The other is a Graffiti pad and a stylus. They try what seems natural and start writing letters. Oops, some work, some don't. Hmmm, what's going on.
That's why, although people may not know the "proper" way of typing, they can still use a keyboard. You may not be as efficient, but it still works. With a Palm and Graffiti, you must learn to remember the Graffiti keystrokes to even get it to work.
It was ours to begin with. Record companies were found to be overcharging customers and the courts took action to give it back to consumers. So the lawyers did some work so they should be compensated for their work, I agree, but implying that I should have to earn my money back is rediculous!
and then keep on pirating!
The article talks about GUI mods, NOT OS and system tweaks.
And like the parent said, Kaleidescope interfaces were real crap anyway.
These copy protections WILL get implemented, and you know what, no one will care.
Why? Because most people are sheep. They're also pretty stupid. Most can't figure out how to fix the flashing 12:00 on their VCRs. Look at TiVo's market penetration. It's pretty small compared to the number of TVs out there.
That said, while many people will be up in arms, the majority will be happy with the options provided by digital TV: "I missed the show, but now I can watch it on NBC 5." On top of that, my own cable company is now testing Video on Demand and that will only grow as digital TV is introduced.
And while the cable companies aren't against PVRs right now, imagine what will happen when they figure out they can "rent" TV shows to you for 75 cents per play in a nickel and dime Video on Demand scheme. They'll be right there with the movie studios saying PVRs and time shifting are bad!
Those of us who do care about these things will be powerless to change them. We can "vote with our dollars" but the new revenue streams will outweigh any lost revenue from pissing us off.
An acquaintence in NASA once told me all of the satellites he's worked on for NASA (3 of them at the time) were controlled via unencrypted communications. They felt secure with this "security through obscurity" because it's a little harder to actually transmit the commands up to the satellite than it is to simply put up a BUD and start listening to all the data streams out there.
And CompUSA had the no camera version in stock in NJ last time I checked.