We forget how bad things were just 15-20 years ago.
Earlier today, I set up a folding panel with sunpower cells; it was literally vertical, in a window, facing South. Total surface area.. maybe 3sqft, weighing 1lb. It was making ~20W for 4 hours, and managed to completely recharge my 130Wh battery pack in 8. Through a window. In the winter, in Canada.
The thing cost $120.
It's easy to get lost in the constant claims of breakthroughs while forgetting what an amazing time we live in. 20 years ago, this panel would have blocked out the sun and cost a months' salary.
As a product improves, it gathers users. This is a mark of continuing success.
Features are added, and users rejoyce.
At some point, the product plateaus. There are no new users coming in, and people start getting nervous.
A UI designer is introduced to the product.
"There's a whole market of learning-disabled children and moderately senile elderly folks we've been ignoring this whole time! They get confused by all of this rich functionality. Burn it to the ground!"
... and they do. They onboard a bunch of users who were formerly confused by features like "close all tabs," while their core fanbase deserts the product. But that fact doesn't become known for some time.
A lot of people don't realize that click-through agreements are mostly unenforceable because they're almost all one-sided contracts.
When you purchase a product, it's your to use. This right is enshrined in all kinds of law in both the US and Canada.
So "click OK to agree to the EULA/contract" is attempting to impose restriction without commensurate compensation. You already have the right to use the software, regardless of whether or not you click OK, so the EULA is not providing you any compensation. That makes it invalid, except when tied to services that you don't own.
But I'd be happy to see a new law introduced (in Canada, at least) that explicitly outlaws EULAs for everything non-service related, and severe restrictions on service agreements as well.
Hell, make onerous service contract agreements themselves taxable assets.
Because we live in nations under the rule of law, we can impose reasonable restriction on those who seek to profit from our vast array of shared resources and capital.
The right to own and repair ones' property shall not be infringed. John Deere shall not impose upon owners, and will honour warranty obligations as required by law. Competitors shall be allowed to thrive, and service all hardware and software.
If after all of that consumer protection you still have a problem with John Deere, then you can take your business elsewhere.
Great news, but I suspect we won't have long to enjoy it. Every time a Google product reaches a rich level of functionality, it's scrapped and replaced with a useless, feature robbed, confusing new beta with a horrendous UI.
Short of a distance measuring tool and a few other odds and ends, Maps is finally approaching the functionality it had 3 years ago, and I bet all kinds of "usability experts" are just itching to scrap it.
I was quite literally just about to buy a Google Home speaker, but will hold off for now to see how this plays out. I don't do ads, and many millions of others also don't do ads.
While I generally run the latest stable AOSP/CM/LineageOS build available for my devices from the day I buy them, I don't routinely use a secure lock screen.
It may sound risky, but I'm one of those all-eggs-in-one-basket types. I keep my birth certificate and SIN card in my wallet, and I keep my phone unlocked. Neither leave my side, ever. Not for a second. Not anywhere.
If I check my coat, my wallet and phone stay with me. If I'm asked to check my phone, I leave the venue and write a negative review. Every time I stand up, I tap my pockets (subtly) - cell phone, keys, wallet. Check!
Because the cost of losing control over my wallet or phone is so high, I take no chances, and to date, have never had it happen. Knock wood, right?:)
Same goes for other items we tend to lose; I buy wickedly overpriced but quality pens, scarves, hats, gloves, etc., so that they're always on the back of my mind.
That said, if I'm at a party or bar, or out camping, I do throw on at least a pin lock.
Never heard the phrase "run it up the flagpole" but if you find the question "how will this scale?" annoying, you may want to choose a new line of business.
Agreed. And, I believe my fellow Canadians who are aware of this law agree for the mostpart as well.
We have a Liberal government at the moment, and they may be amenable to fixing the law. I've already written my MP about it, and hope others will as well.
Covering the entire rooftop of one of these facilities should provide far more electricity than required to operate it. Robots, lighting, and even HVAC should represent fairly modest loads in comparison.
Here's a great opportunity to pick up a sizable new market.
A bunch of us are waiting for a new truly flagship device with a replaceable battery, and a MicroSD slot. We have a lot of money to spend on this device, and the only competition right now is the LG V20.
A well thought out, and great post, but FWIW I'm a kernel developer and maintain my own rom.:)
I'm running a Note 3 with a 10Ah ZeroLemon cell, which lasts about 3 days with minimal screen on time, or 12 hours under heavy load.
Why 3 days? Because I've disabled doze and other power saving measures, because they drive me insane. I do run the interactive frequency governor, however, and my device does also spend a sizable amount of time in deep sleep. I do use many applications,
though they all maintain connections solely through GMS.
Why 12 hours? Navigation. Heh.
For some reason, the GPS processing code (NMEA encoder/decoder, Maps API, LocationServices, and the rest of the stack) uses an ungodly amount of CPU time. I have no idea why Google has foisted Doze on users before fixing their location services code.
With Maps navigation running, I can eat 10Ah in about 12 hours. With backcountry navigation, weather/temperature/barometer recording, a bluetooth link to my satcom device, GSM and wifi radios off, I get around 16 hours. All that's necessary is to mask interrupts on the GPS and allow the NMEA strings (assuming the hardware sends NMEA strings) to buffer. Unmask every 5-10 seconds, using the IMU to dead reckon. It would be perfectly fine for navigation and reduce battery consumption dramatically. Also, don't run every single GPS polling activity through the hungry and complicated LocationServices stack during navigation, which wakes every damned app that is subscribing for updates.
You need to take some of his requirements with a grain of salt, and assume he's exaggerating.
OP here. I want a pony, too.:p
I think the right answer is for manufacturers to start offering multiple battery sizes to suit the user. Everyone wins. It's not exactly difficult to offer a different phone back / battery to a high fit and finish, and they could charge an arm and a leg to people like me.
Slashdot Mirror
It's just some random off-brand from eBay I bought two years ago, but I've had really good luck with most of the modern panels with sunpower cells.
No reviews on it, but it looks identical to this one:
39W folding sunpower panel
Plugged into the PowerAdd version of this power bank:
32,000mAh power bank
... via a cheap "MPPT" controller (non-automatic) floating the panel at 17V.
Modern consumer solar is breathtakingly amazing.
We forget how bad things were just 15-20 years ago.
Earlier today, I set up a folding panel with sunpower cells; it was literally vertical, in a window, facing South. Total surface area.. maybe 3sqft, weighing 1lb. It was making ~20W for 4 hours, and managed to completely recharge my 130Wh battery pack in 8. Through a window. In the winter, in Canada.
The thing cost $120.
It's easy to get lost in the constant claims of breakthroughs while forgetting what an amazing time we live in. 20 years ago, this panel would have blocked out the sun and cost a months' salary.
Narcissism. There are droves of trendy fashionista UI designers that like "clean" "simple" interfaces, and think to themselves:
"I don't need this functionality. So let's get rid of it. Fuck everyone else."
I swear it's that simple.
So, here's what happens:
As a product improves, it gathers users. This is a mark of continuing success.
Features are added, and users rejoyce.
At some point, the product plateaus. There are no new users coming in, and people start getting nervous.
A UI designer is introduced to the product.
"There's a whole market of learning-disabled children and moderately senile elderly folks we've been ignoring this whole time! They get confused by all of this rich functionality. Burn it to the ground!"
... and they do. They onboard a bunch of users who were formerly confused by features like "close all tabs," while their core fanbase deserts the product. But that fact doesn't become known for some time.
Rinse, repeat. Bitter much? Nah.
That's it.
A lot of people don't realize that click-through agreements are mostly unenforceable because they're almost all one-sided contracts.
When you purchase a product, it's your to use. This right is enshrined in all kinds of law in both the US and Canada.
So "click OK to agree to the EULA/contract" is attempting to impose restriction without commensurate compensation. You already have the right to use the software, regardless of whether or not you click OK, so the EULA is not providing you any compensation. That makes it invalid, except when tied to services that you don't own.
But I'd be happy to see a new law introduced (in Canada, at least) that explicitly outlaws EULAs for everything non-service related, and severe restrictions on service agreements as well.
Hell, make onerous service contract agreements themselves taxable assets.
"Why not both?"
Because we live in nations under the rule of law, we can impose reasonable restriction on those who seek to profit from our vast array of shared resources and capital.
The right to own and repair ones' property shall not be infringed. John Deere shall not impose upon owners, and will honour warranty obligations as required by law. Competitors shall be allowed to thrive, and service all hardware and software.
If after all of that consumer protection you still have a problem with John Deere, then you can take your business elsewhere.
But the two options are not mutually exclusive.
Well said.
Make the new "not ads" opt-in. If users want them, they can flip a switch.
If they're not purely for Google profit, they should have no problem with this approach.
Great news, but I suspect we won't have long to enjoy it. Every time a Google product reaches a rich level of functionality, it's scrapped and replaced with a useless, feature robbed, confusing new beta with a horrendous UI.
Short of a distance measuring tool and a few other odds and ends, Maps is finally approaching the functionality it had 3 years ago, and I bet all kinds of "usability experts" are just itching to scrap it.
Nothing more to say, really.
?
Until today, it appeared that there were no ads associated with the device in question.
Google is playing with fire here...
I was quite literally just about to buy a Google Home speaker, but will hold off for now to see how this plays out. I don't do ads, and many millions of others also don't do ads.
Greed may kill this product yet.
Did Google receive any renumeration in exchange for inserting the message? If yes, then it is an ad. Full stop.
While I generally run the latest stable AOSP/CM/LineageOS build available for my devices from the day I buy them, I don't routinely use a secure lock screen.
It may sound risky, but I'm one of those all-eggs-in-one-basket types. I keep my birth certificate and SIN card in my wallet, and I keep my phone unlocked. Neither leave my side, ever. Not for a second. Not anywhere.
If I check my coat, my wallet and phone stay with me. If I'm asked to check my phone, I leave the venue and write a negative review. Every time I stand up, I tap my pockets (subtly) - cell phone, keys, wallet. Check!
Because the cost of losing control over my wallet or phone is so high, I take no chances, and to date, have never had it happen. Knock wood, right? :)
Same goes for other items we tend to lose; I buy wickedly overpriced but quality pens, scarves, hats, gloves, etc., so that they're always on the back of my mind.
That said, if I'm at a party or bar, or out camping, I do throw on at least a pin lock.
Never heard the phrase "run it up the flagpole" but if you find the question "how will this scale?" annoying, you may want to choose a new line of business.
Your comment makes me sadder than the OPs, because truth. :(
Obesity.
Agreed. And, I believe my fellow Canadians who are aware of this law agree for the mostpart as well.
We have a Liberal government at the moment, and they may be amenable to fixing the law. I've already written my MP about it, and hope others will as well.
Shameful ruling on a shameful law. :(
I, as a Canadian, will write my MP, and I encourage others to do the same.
Covering the entire rooftop of one of these facilities should provide far more electricity than required to operate it. Robots, lighting, and even HVAC should represent fairly modest loads in comparison.
Here's a great opportunity to pick up a sizable new market.
A bunch of us are waiting for a new truly flagship device with a replaceable battery, and a MicroSD slot. We have a lot of money to spend on this device, and the only competition right now is the LG V20.
Does anyone honestly think that Apple cares whether other companies drop the headphone jack on their phones?
Of course they do.
Right now, you cannot buy a late-model iPhone with a headphone jack. They don't exist.
If you want a headphone jack, you must by a previous model iPhone (for which they receive no new money), or some other device.
By definition, they have lost market share. Not that they have that much to start with, worldwide, anymore.
A well thought out, and great post, but FWIW I'm a kernel developer and maintain my own rom. :)
I'm running a Note 3 with a 10Ah ZeroLemon cell, which lasts about 3 days with minimal screen on time, or 12 hours under heavy load.
Why 3 days? Because I've disabled doze and other power saving measures, because they drive me insane. I do run the interactive frequency governor, however, and my device does also spend a sizable amount of time in deep sleep. I do use many applications, though they all maintain connections solely through GMS.
Why 12 hours? Navigation. Heh.
For some reason, the GPS processing code (NMEA encoder/decoder, Maps API, LocationServices, and the rest of the stack) uses an ungodly amount of CPU time. I have no idea why Google has foisted Doze on users before fixing their location services code.
With Maps navigation running, I can eat 10Ah in about 12 hours. With backcountry navigation, weather/temperature/barometer recording, a bluetooth link to my satcom device, GSM and wifi radios off, I get around 16 hours. All that's necessary is to mask interrupts on the GPS and allow the NMEA strings (assuming the hardware sends NMEA strings) to buffer. Unmask every 5-10 seconds, using the IMU to dead reckon. It would be perfectly fine for navigation and reduce battery consumption dramatically. Also, don't run every single GPS polling activity through the hungry and complicated LocationServices stack during navigation, which wakes every damned app that is subscribing for updates.
Agreed. 1080P is absolutely adequate for a 5-6" screen.
You need to take some of his requirements with a grain of salt, and assume he's exaggerating.
OP here. I want a pony, too. :p
I think the right answer is for manufacturers to start offering multiple battery sizes to suit the user. Everyone wins. It's not exactly difficult to offer a different phone back / battery to a high fit and finish, and they could charge an arm and a leg to people like me.