I think that's exactly what they want and exactly what is happening right now.
Linux or the various *nixs might run the net and lots of other apps too. Like big DBs, web servers, banking software, (maybe folks who know more than me could list lots of important software being run on *nix platforms),... But the devices the masses will use to look at and interact with the web will be these shiny little locked down things called Iphones, Ipads, Smart phones, netbooks. Mainly because they are relatively cheap and hard to screw up. User can't break it easily.
We used to have a joke in the old days in computer support, (think 1990s here). We said that one day they would make a PC as easy to use as a VCR or a microwave. Well, that day has come. You see with a VCR there were no buttons the user could push that would break the basic functionality of the device. No matter what you did you could always turn it off and back on and it pretty much would do it's job.
Of course, they almost always blinked 12:00 at you.;)
I have to agree with you, that seems to be the pattern. Those little shiny devices are so cute and hard to screw up. If they die you just go get another one. Personally, one of my older PCs just blew it's hard drive and it truly is a pain in the butt to dig up that old CD with XP Home on it and re-install the OS on a new drive and find the damn key so you can register it with the Borg.... Just saying between visiting the local PC junkyard to find a nice little SATA drive on the cheap and install it and do all the Windows patches,... I have seriously considered replacing this PC with an Ipad or something simple because all it does is connect to a flat screen and let the wife watch Netflix or You Tube or listen to Spotify. There is a place for these little shiny devices and they will replace a lot of pain in the butt PCs.
Will they make PCs obsolete? Not any time soon. Can't install Pro-E on an Iphone. Engineers still need to do thermal modeling.
So, if someone like me who supposedly knows how to fix these PCs gets tired of it and starts to consider dropping it in favor of a shiny-shiny, maybe normal people who dont have a clue how to fix a PC will flock to this new tech in droves.
You know I was just about to give up on my normal daily check of SlashDot when I ran across this post by Soulskill. You sir have made my morning. I laughed my ass off and sent this to a bunch of people. Thank You!
Oh, just told my buddy at work about your comments and he had a comment. Being a little older than I am he is looking back to your history. Who was it that bailed your Norwegian ass out of WWII?
Last I checked you don't share a border with Mexico. Or any country that might have a much worse economy and lots of workers willing to stay in your country illegally and work for peanuts. Isn't it like really cold there like all the time? Norway is like 1,000 miles long and really narrow. So, maybe, just maybe people do not want to come to your country? I mean if I was going that far I would try for Sweden. What's the diversification like over there? Looks pretty homogeneous, population wise. Got racism? I think we are doing pretty good over here. We are a young country but we'll sort out this government thing in another 100 years or so.
Usually dont reply to anonymous Cowards. Just feeling all patriotic this morning.:)
Totally agree. The AC posting above with all the expletives has taken a turn down the dark side of IT. Almost went there myself a few years back. Thankfully a good friend showed me the error in my ways. Yesterday I worked on an Iphone and today I am setting up a new 3 thousand dollar MAC. I do this in addition to my normal server, firewall, PC related duties and also help with Itunes, Androids, Ipods, Ipads,... Pretty much anything at all. I love the new stuff the users bring in. It is fun to figure out how to secure it and how to make it work with our systems. Change is fundamental in IT. Accept it or go down fighting.
Hell, I had a Nokia one piece phone back around 2001 that got ran over by a Ford F-350 which was towing a horse trailer with horses in it at the time. All the tires on one side of that rig ground this poor Nokia into the freshly spread white rock gravel. I know cause I had just finished building that entrance to the barn. I barely got finished before the new arrival for my sisters boarding facility arrived. I helped them unload the horse which probably stepped on the phone too for all I know. Then we got that mare settled into her stall and had a bottle of wine, or 3. Went home around midnight and wondered where my phone was. Backtracked back to the barn entrance and started calling the Nokia. Sure enough I heard my ring. Dug it out of the gravel and answered the call. Face plate was cracked and I fixed it by borrowing a body and a used screen. My buddy did phone repair and sales at the time and I could get parts cheap. So, to say it survived? No way. It did however answer and make calls.
The Iphone in this story is junk. It did not survive. Still functional somewhat but give it to a customer and say "here's your phone". See what they say.
It's a plot by the energy companies. They artificially keep the costs of appliances down to get us hooked on their convenience. We should have to put a wheel barrow full of money right next to the appliance to demonstrate the amount of energy the device will use. Make em use ones in the wheel barrow so we got something to use at the titty bar later.
You know back on the farm, imagine the deep country of the south, we had folks who lived in trailers. When the roof got old they did not replace it. The construction of the trailer was so cheap that you really could not do anything about the rusted roof. So, they painted it with this white sticky stuff that covered the rusted metal and slowed down the rust. Then they built a wood frame over the whole trailer and roofed it with shingles or tin. This extra roof sat slightly above the original trailer roof. We all thought what a cheap ass ugly solution. You know what, they basically shaded their trailer all summer and the heating bill went down. Not sure what happened to the heating costs in the winter.
Any one else see anything like that? Maybe we could build double roofs with an air gap to moderate the temp in the summer and a way to close the gap in the Winter. Then put solar panels and your good to go.
Yep, I totally agree. The neighbor from hell who wants to paint his house pink. Then hire a lawyer to fight the HOA when he does not have any defense at all. Yep got to love that guy. Wastes our meager funds. Yep, folks who bitch about HOAs have never dropped 250 grand on a house and watched your neighborhood slowly turn into crack land. If you want freedom get out in the country a bit. Or find a neighborhood that does not have an HOA. You can tell which ones don't cause they usually look like crap and the houses are generally cheaper. Oh don't forget the meth labs proliferating all over the place, like out in the countryside.
Well, if you're in a city like Houston or Miami and you got a spouse, friend(s) or customer along. You get a few drinks down and order an appetizer. You tip big so the staff will remember you next time. If it's food only I do 20%. If there is booze involved I do 30% or so. Then after that 100 dollar tab with a 20-30 dollar tip they inevitably want to go to that new place around the corner,... Now it's time to start getting taxis involved, see what I mean? Lots of fun and you cant take the money with you. Oh well, cya round the ol/. I need some alka seltzer,:)
I was not thinking about security. Property values were my concern. If you have an HOA it tends to make people do their maintenance and mow the yard. You know, kind of make all the McMansions look the same. I see them as a necessary evil because if there is some way your neighbor can screw things up believe me they will. Speaking as an Ex-VP of my own HOA. Did my time in the fish barrel. Do not like HOAs just recognize the need.
Slashdot Mirror
I think that's exactly what they want and exactly what is happening right now.
;)
Linux or the various *nixs might run the net and lots of other apps too. Like big DBs, web servers, banking software, (maybe folks who know more than me could list lots of important software being run on *nix platforms),... But the devices the masses will use to look at and interact with the web will be these shiny little locked down things called Iphones, Ipads, Smart phones, netbooks. Mainly because they are relatively cheap and hard to screw up. User can't break it easily.
We used to have a joke in the old days in computer support, (think 1990s here). We said that one day they would make a PC as easy to use as a VCR or a microwave. Well, that day has come. You see with a VCR there were no buttons the user could push that would break the basic functionality of the device. No matter what you did you could always turn it off and back on and it pretty much would do it's job.
Of course, they almost always blinked 12:00 at you.
I have to agree with you, that seems to be the pattern. Those little shiny devices are so cute and hard to screw up. If they die you just go get another one. Personally, one of my older PCs just blew it's hard drive and it truly is a pain in the butt to dig up that old CD with XP Home on it and re-install the OS on a new drive and find the damn key so you can register it with the Borg. ... Just saying between visiting the local PC junkyard to find a nice little SATA drive on the cheap and install it and do all the Windows patches,... I have seriously considered replacing this PC with an Ipad or something simple because all it does is connect to a flat screen and let the wife watch Netflix or You Tube or listen to Spotify. There is a place for these little shiny devices and they will replace a lot of pain in the butt PCs.
Will they make PCs obsolete? Not any time soon. Can't install Pro-E on an Iphone. Engineers still need to do thermal modeling.
So, if someone like me who supposedly knows how to fix these PCs gets tired of it and starts to consider dropping it in favor of a shiny-shiny, maybe normal people who dont have a clue how to fix a PC will flock to this new tech in droves.
Cheers.
Outcome 7: The Navy Seals bust through the window and take em all to Guantanamo.
You know I was just about to give up on my normal daily check of SlashDot when I ran across this post by Soulskill. You sir have made my morning. I laughed my ass off and sent this to a bunch of people. Thank You!
Oh, just told my buddy at work about your comments and he had a comment. Being a little older than I am he is looking back to your history. Who was it that bailed your Norwegian ass out of WWII?
Last I checked you don't share a border with Mexico. Or any country that might have a much worse economy and lots of workers willing to stay in your country illegally and work for peanuts. Isn't it like really cold there like all the time? Norway is like 1,000 miles long and really narrow. So, maybe, just maybe people do not want to come to your country? I mean if I was going that far I would try for Sweden. What's the diversification like over there? Looks pretty homogeneous, population wise. Got racism? I think we are doing pretty good over here. We are a young country but we'll sort out this government thing in another 100 years or so.
:)
Usually dont reply to anonymous Cowards. Just feeling all patriotic this morning.
Totally agree. The AC posting above with all the expletives has taken a turn down the dark side of IT. Almost went there myself a few years back. Thankfully a good friend showed me the error in my ways. Yesterday I worked on an Iphone and today I am setting up a new 3 thousand dollar MAC. I do this in addition to my normal server, firewall, PC related duties and also help with Itunes, Androids, Ipods, Ipads,... Pretty much anything at all. I love the new stuff the users bring in. It is fun to figure out how to secure it and how to make it work with our systems. Change is fundamental in IT. Accept it or go down fighting.
Cue the pedants.
I type pretty fast. Call me next time you hit submit by mistake.
I can send you an invite to the Internet+. Just post your email and SSN and I'll get right back to you.
It's not the size of the ship that matters. It's the motion of the ocean.
Hell, I had a Nokia one piece phone back around 2001 that got ran over by a Ford F-350 which was towing a horse trailer with horses in it at the time. All the tires on one side of that rig ground this poor Nokia into the freshly spread white rock gravel. I know cause I had just finished building that entrance to the barn. I barely got finished before the new arrival for my sisters boarding facility arrived. I helped them unload the horse which probably stepped on the phone too for all I know. Then we got that mare settled into her stall and had a bottle of wine, or 3. Went home around midnight and wondered where my phone was. Backtracked back to the barn entrance and started calling the Nokia. Sure enough I heard my ring. Dug it out of the gravel and answered the call. Face plate was cracked and I fixed it by borrowing a body and a used screen. My buddy did phone repair and sales at the time and I could get parts cheap. So, to say it survived? No way. It did however answer and make calls.
The Iphone in this story is junk. It did not survive. Still functional somewhat but give it to a customer and say "here's your phone". See what they say.
Saying they lost their faculties implies that they actually possessed faculties at some point.
Some sort of GEO locator app on the phone. The phone was still powered up and giving away it's position.
It's kind of sad but I know exactly where that quote came from. Whale, wasn't it?
Well, with all that sharp glass you could use it to shave. See, it never dies only morphs into a new item you can still use.
Just make a giant tin foil hat and stand on the roof when it's hot.
I hear the Kennedy's are good at smuggling. Maybe we can get them to smuggle toilets in from Canada instead of booze?
It's a plot by the energy companies. They artificially keep the costs of appliances down to get us hooked on their convenience. We should have to put a wheel barrow full of money right next to the appliance to demonstrate the amount of energy the device will use. Make em use ones in the wheel barrow so we got something to use at the titty bar later.
You know back on the farm, imagine the deep country of the south, we had folks who lived in trailers. When the roof got old they did not replace it. The construction of the trailer was so cheap that you really could not do anything about the rusted roof. So, they painted it with this white sticky stuff that covered the rusted metal and slowed down the rust. Then they built a wood frame over the whole trailer and roofed it with shingles or tin. This extra roof sat slightly above the original trailer roof. We all thought what a cheap ass ugly solution. You know what, they basically shaded their trailer all summer and the heating bill went down. Not sure what happened to the heating costs in the winter.
Any one else see anything like that? Maybe we could build double roofs with an air gap to moderate the temp in the summer and a way to close the gap in the Winter. Then put solar panels and your good to go.
You can however keep the pretense of control and preserve the illusion long enough to enjoy your stay here.
Yep, I totally agree. The neighbor from hell who wants to paint his house pink. Then hire a lawyer to fight the HOA when he does not have any defense at all. Yep got to love that guy. Wastes our meager funds. Yep, folks who bitch about HOAs have never dropped 250 grand on a house and watched your neighborhood slowly turn into crack land. If you want freedom get out in the country a bit. Or find a neighborhood that does not have an HOA. You can tell which ones don't cause they usually look like crap and the houses are generally cheaper. Oh don't forget the meth labs proliferating all over the place, like out in the countryside.
Buy some stock in Google maybe?
Well, if you're in a city like Houston or Miami and you got a spouse, friend(s) or customer along. You get a few drinks down and order an appetizer. You tip big so the staff will remember you next time. If it's food only I do 20%. If there is booze involved I do 30% or so. Then after that 100 dollar tab with a 20-30 dollar tip they inevitably want to go to that new place around the corner,... Now it's time to start getting taxis involved, see what I mean? Lots of fun and you cant take the money with you. Oh well, cya round the ol /. I need some alka seltzer, :)
I was not thinking about security. Property values were my concern. If you have an HOA it tends to make people do their maintenance and mow the yard. You know, kind of make all the McMansions look the same. I see them as a necessary evil because if there is some way your neighbor can screw things up believe me they will. Speaking as an Ex-VP of my own HOA. Did my time in the fish barrel. Do not like HOAs just recognize the need.