The original iPhone in 2007 ran on 400mhz Arm with 128mb of RAM. So the FF OS doesn't seem to be that efficient. Even my old HTC Hero ran well on less specs.
"Zuckerberg isn't dumb. This judgement on the whole HTML 5 craze goes to show. Techwise HTML5/CSS3/Ajax is a huge step backwards compared to other approaches, like, for instance, Flash. Flash is proprietary and invites doing all kinds of non-sense (sic), but it *is* a far better x-platform VM."
So by going Flash for mobile one of two things would have happened....
1) They would develop a Flash web app that didn't work on a platform that garners 65.9% of the mobile web traffic and was abandoned by Adobe for the other 35%
or
2) Been forced to used another runtime (Adobe AIR) that would still not be as performant as a native app.
"Would you expect Windows to be easy if you bought a computer from Apple and a regular Windows install disk from, say, Amazon.com? "
Actually, I just did that. I got a regular old copy of Window 7, put it in the drive of my old 2006 1.66Ghz core Duo Mac Mini and it installed without a problem. It recognized the Wifi, Intel graphics, bluetooth, Firewire, Gigabit ethernet and kne it was a MacMini1.2 manufactured by Apple. No drivers were necessary.
"Whilst the agency model might be great for publishers & uncompetitive resellers, it isn't good for me - the reader."
How good do you think it will be for you the reader if Amazon can sell at a loss, run competitors out of business, and then sale at a huge markup?
" iTunes sells a lot of digital music (the large majority) but there are plenty of other companies doing just fine in that space as well (Amazon for one)"
Who are these other companies making profits selling music?
If Apple is only breaking even as they claim, then how well can Amazon be doing with a much smaller volume? Amazon music is not only selling in the US at a smaller volume but hardly sells at all outside of the US.
"If they were a monopoly they wouldn't need to sell below cost."
The Agency model is what caused Amazon's market share to decrease and allowed others -- not just Apple to be able to compete.
"The only reason to do that is to bring people into your store/platform where you hope they'll buy other stuff to make up for your initial losses. If they don't, of course, you eventually go out of business."
Unless you have another business to prop up your losses until all of the smaller competitors go out of business.
" Capitalism is to economics as natural selection is to Darwinism. Would you contend that people should do something un-natural?"
The publisher is not getting smaller profits. What Amazon and the rest are doing are doing are selling books below the cost that publishers are charging them to distribute the book. Amazon is taking a loss on the ebook sell to encourage sales of the Kindle and to run other booksellers out of business. What do you think is going to happen when Amazon gets its monopoly status back?
Unless the company pays way above market rates, why would I go through this? I can understand if you're fresh out of college trying to prove yourself, but otherwise, I would skip it.
"Media Decoder recently looked at the books of Spotify and Pandora, two of the most popular digital music services, and noted that both companies â" despite having very different business models â" wind up paying most of their revenue in music royalties."
" Unit testing fails because if your code changes, you must change your unit tests"
No, if your code changes, and the unit tests fail, and the requirements that the unit tests were designed to test fail. That means your code changed something inadvertently -- the whole point of unit tests.
"Because code contracts ARE CODE, any changes to the requirement of the code requires changes to the code contracts that are tightly coupled to that functional block. Because you describe the purpose of the function in code, you can easily create a system to generate DYNAMIC documentation about the code by updating the rules and requirements of the software in real-time."
Don't forget that Amazon also charges authors a "delivery fee" based on the size of the e-book. That's why they could give away 3G access for free for the Kindle. This fee is charged even for books downloaded over WiFi.
1. You don't know how much Apple charges to license the dock connector. 2. USB also has fees associated. 3. You really think it's cheaper to include a usb host controller chip and software involved than soldering a pin that connects to an analog connection? 4. The iPod/iPhone already has the capability to convert digital media to analog. How do you avoid duplicating the hardware when you have to send and receive digital signals to the device.
I have two portable speaker system with remote controls can control an iPod/iPhone. Change songs, playlist etc.
What about car systems with integrated iPod controls on the steering wheel?
Also, one benefit of the iPod dock connector outside of the controlling the device is that you have an analog line out that can send output to any old device just by correcting the right pin
I once had a $10 cassette adapter for the iPod that connected to the dock connector that would fast forward and rewind songs on the iPod when you pressed the corresponding buttons on the cassette player. It would turn on and turn off the iPod when you started and stopped the cassette player - all via analog signals sent to the correct pins. Do you really think it would be cheaper to create device like that if you had to implement it via USB?
How do you send video signals over USB? Sure you can send the data and let the host device convert it to video, but since the device already has the technology to convert the signal, doesn't it make more sense to just send the converted video?
Every USB solution I've seen involves a proprietary adapter that only works with that model phone.
So how do I control an electronic device over USB via purely analog signals -- i.e. without requiring the connecting component to have a USB host controller and software? I don't think the manufacturer of $20 boombox with a dock connector is going to want to spend the money on the necessary hardware/software.
The last time I asked this question, people posted a lot of solutions involving proprietary docks and connectors that only work with one brand of phone.
"Only if the business acts as a controlled gateway to a very restricted market, which is the case with the current mobile platforms (and only if the content is legal)."
Let's take this to a logical conclusion. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo strictly control what is on their gaming platform. So if someone made a game where you get points for how many people you rape, should the platform vendor be forced to make the game available? Even though the act is illegal, the game isn't.
Slashdot Mirror
"So, basically, they are just stealing the concept and backbone of Android and molding it into their own competing product..."
How is forking an open source project "stealing"? Isn't that the whole purpose of open source?
The original iPhone in 2007 ran on 400mhz Arm with 128mb of RAM. So the FF OS doesn't seem to be that efficient. Even my old HTC Hero ran well on less specs.
You really think that browsers don't check to see if there is network connectivity?
"You do know Android is free, right? "
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2011/10/microsoft-collects-license-fees-on-50-of-android-devices-tells-google-to-wake-up/
"Zuckerberg isn't dumb. This judgement on the whole HTML 5 craze goes to show. Techwise HTML5/CSS3/Ajax is a huge step backwards compared to other approaches, like, for instance, Flash. Flash is proprietary and invites doing all kinds of non-sense (sic), but it *is* a far better x-platform VM."
So by going Flash for mobile one of two things would have happened....
1) They would develop a Flash web app that didn't work on a platform that garners 65.9% of the mobile web traffic and was abandoned by Adobe for the other 35%
or
2) Been forced to used another runtime (Adobe AIR) that would still not be as performant as a native app.
And we all know that never happens.....
"Would you expect Windows to be easy if you bought a computer from Apple and a regular Windows install disk from, say, Amazon.com? "
Actually, I just did that. I got a regular old copy of Window 7, put it in the drive of my old 2006 1.66Ghz core Duo Mac Mini and it installed without a problem. It recognized the Wifi, Intel graphics, bluetooth, Firewire, Gigabit ethernet and kne it was a MacMini1.2 manufactured by Apple. No drivers were necessary.
"Whilst the agency model might be great for publishers & uncompetitive resellers, it isn't good for me - the reader."
How good do you think it will be for you the reader if Amazon can sell at a loss, run competitors out of business, and then sale at a huge markup?
" iTunes sells a lot of digital music (the large majority) but there are plenty of other companies doing just fine in that space as well (Amazon for one)"
Who are these other companies making profits selling music?
If Apple is only breaking even as they claim, then how well can Amazon be doing with a much smaller volume? Amazon music is not only selling in the US at a smaller volume but hardly sells at all outside of the US.
"If they were a monopoly they wouldn't need to sell below cost."
The Agency model is what caused Amazon's market share to decrease and allowed others -- not just Apple to be able to compete.
"The only reason to do that is to bring people into your store/platform where you hope they'll buy other stuff to make up for your initial losses. If they don't, of course, you eventually go out of business."
Unless you have another business to prop up your losses until all of the smaller competitors go out of business.
What competitors? B&N is circling the drain. Who else is left that is a serious competitor?
"Uhhh. . .in a fair market, cheaper competitors emerge?"
How can cheaper competitors emerge when the monopolist is charging less than the cost of goods sold?
" Capitalism is to economics as natural selection is to Darwinism.
Would you contend that people should do something un-natural?"
The publisher is not getting smaller profits. What Amazon and the rest are doing are doing are selling books below the cost that publishers are charging them to distribute the book. Amazon is taking a loss on the ebook sell to encourage sales of the Kindle and to run other booksellers out of business. What do you think is going to happen when Amazon gets its monopoly status back?
Unless the company pays way above market rates, why would I go through this? I can understand if you're fresh out of college trying to prove yourself, but otherwise, I would skip it.
It's not like it's a prestigious company.
"Don't install apps that require internet access"
And in that case most of my apps are completely useless.
"or permission to make phone calls or send texts."
You do notice that this is a problem with only Android?
"on users who don't or won't understand how to manage their own safety."
Why should I have to "manage my safety" on a cell phone?
Wouldn't it be better if third party apps just generally weren't allowed to send SMS messages and make phone calls?
You claimed that these companies were making a net profit -- they are not.
"Pandora still far away from turning a profit"
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/07/us-pandoramedia-idUSTRE8261C520120307
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/spotify-is-said-to-profit-from-its-subscribers-but-lose-more-luring-them/
"Media Decoder recently looked at the books of Spotify and Pandora, two of the most popular digital music services, and noted that both companies â" despite having very different business models â" wind up paying most of their revenue in music royalties."
"apple is still doing the buy music thing when everyone has moved on to the subscription mode"
Everyone has "been moving to the subscription music model" since the late '90's.....
from Wikipedia....
AOL MusicNow (closed)
Yahoo! Music Unlimited (closed)
Spiralfrog (closed)
MTV URGE (closed)
MSN Music (closed)
Musicmatch Jukebox (closed)
Wal-Mart Music Downloads (switched to MP3)
Ruckus Network (closed)
PassAlong Networks (closed)
iMesh (switched to MP3)
BearShare (switched to MP3)
This list doesn't include
Zune
MusicNet
Sony
" Unit testing fails because if your code changes, you must change your unit tests"
No, if your code changes, and the unit tests fail, and the requirements that the unit tests were designed to test fail. That means your code changed something inadvertently -- the whole point of unit tests.
"Because code contracts ARE CODE, any changes to the requirement of the code requires changes to the code contracts that are tightly coupled to that functional block. Because you describe the purpose of the function in code, you can easily create a system to generate DYNAMIC documentation about the code by updating the rules and requirements of the software in real-time."
You just described unit tests.....
Don't forget that Amazon also charges authors a "delivery fee" based on the size of the e-book. That's why they could give away 3G access for free for the Kindle. This fee is charged even for books downloaded over WiFi.
USB host controller chipset:
https://shop.maximintegrated.com/storefront/priceavailable.do?Partnumber=MAX3421EEHJ%252B&event=PartSearch&menuitem=PriceAndAvailability
$4.92
That doesn't include DAC hardware.
1. You don't know how much Apple charges to license the dock connector.
2. USB also has fees associated.
3. You really think it's cheaper to include a usb host controller chip and software involved than soldering a pin that connects to an analog connection?
4. The iPod/iPhone already has the capability to convert digital media to analog. How do you avoid duplicating the hardware when you have to send and receive digital signals to the device.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-14/nokia-apple-payments-to-nokia-settle-all-litigation.html
"no use case"?
I have two portable speaker system with remote controls can control an iPod/iPhone. Change songs, playlist etc.
What about car systems with integrated iPod controls on the steering wheel?
Also, one benefit of the iPod dock connector outside of the controlling the device is that you have an analog line out that can send output to any old device just by correcting the right pin
I once had a $10 cassette adapter for the iPod that connected to the dock connector that would fast forward and rewind songs on the iPod when you pressed the corresponding buttons on the cassette player. It would turn on and turn off the iPod when you started and stopped the cassette player - all via analog signals sent to the correct pins. Do you really think it would be cheaper to create device like that if you had to implement it via USB?
How do you send video signals over USB? Sure you can send the data and let the host device convert it to video, but since the device already has the technology to convert the signal, doesn't it make more sense to just send the converted video?
Every USB solution I've seen involves a proprietary adapter that only works with that model phone.
So how do I control an electronic device over USB via purely analog signals -- i.e. without requiring the connecting component to have a USB host controller and software? I don't think the manufacturer of $20 boombox with a dock connector is going to want to spend the money on the necessary hardware/software.
The last time I asked this question, people posted a lot of solutions involving proprietary docks and connectors that only work with one brand of phone.
"Only if the business acts as a controlled gateway to a very restricted market, which is the case with the current mobile platforms (and only if the content is legal)."
Let's take this to a logical conclusion. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo strictly control what is on their gaming platform. So if someone made a game where you get points for how many people you rape, should the platform vendor be forced to make the game available? Even though the act is illegal, the game isn't.