Not true, I'm a software engineer I spend all day looking at LCD screens. I read books on my phone (while not tablet size it's 4.7" screen is big enough for me) all the time and backlit screen does not bother me at all. The people that are bothered by it will stick with e-ink. I don't like having to turn on a light at night if I want to read. But the cool reader android app I use lets you set the back light as a slider so it can be very dim for reading in the dark. If it didn't have that feature I would not like reading in the dark with a bright backlight.
Until I've got my eReader and used it for a few days, I would have agreed with you. Of course, having a nice leather case with light on it for night reading for my eReader helps quite a bit. Having to turn on a light at night to be able to read would have been a major problem, I give you that, but I imagined that would be the case, so I've got my leather case with light.
There is no question: anyone who spends more than a few minutes/day reading will agree reading books on LCD is really tiring. That is why I love my e-book reader, I can read for hours and my eyes won't get tired. Before it, I used to read on LCD, and after about 20 minutes my eyes would start bothering me.
On the other hand, I don't think most people read enough to be bothered by it, which is sad in many different levels. But hardcore readers won't give up their e-readers for LCD. Too bad we are a minority.
The consumer market is not "phone and e-mail". It is facebook, twitter, whatsapp, angry birds and instagram. If we are talking purely phone calls, I have a feature phone here (nokia) that does it better than any droid/iPhone/BB around.
I agree with your views regarding the long term goal(s) of BB. It is hard to make technical predictions about public traded companies. Their ultimate "product" is, after all, their stocks.
And no, I don't think MS merging with BB would be they saying ok to Linux. Hotmail was Linux. Nokia was very much a Linux shop. For them getting a Linux shop and turning it into a Win shop is just another day in the park. But that I really don't see happening. It would be easier for them (along with Nokia) to just grab that market. They have the means to do it and, at least until BB10 is released, the market is all open for the taking. After BB10, it might be an entirely different game.
BB10 may resolve this a bit.. the question is is bb going to continue catchup, innovate or die?
Yeah, I've read a little and saw a little about BB10. However, I find it hard to believe it can gain much market at this point. Not with Apple and Google so entrenched, and with Microsoft trying to carve a niche. Too little too late, if you ask me. But hey, Apple raised from the ashes when everyone was saying the same thing about them, so we have to wait and see. However unlikely, it is still possible.
What I don't understand is why Microsoft didn't zero in on Blackberry and, before anything else, took the corporate market, instead of this losing war against BOTH Apple (entrenched positions) and Google (moving target). Blackberry had a big bullseye right in their collective foreheads and MS could have taken their market share and get a consolidated position in the corporate market before either Apple or Google could react. After that, they would be in a much better position to attack the consumer market.
I think most people will agree a good part of corporate phone making is catching up with blackberry.
Not that their phones don't suck (they do), but Blackberry have known what corporations wanted and have been implementing it for a long time. They only forgot about the users. Oops, bad mistake. And off they go.
- Excellent, easy to use GUI. - No Command line shit required to do stuff.
- Easy customization.
Actually, you got your assumptions wrong. Android has GREAT command line support. You can do pretty much anything, including send SMS and initiate phone calls using the command line. It is one of the things I love about it: I can do whatever the hell I want.
Also, regarding customization, that is only true in theory. Phone manufacturers (I'm looking at you, Motorola) go out of their way to stop people from customizing. So, unless you are hacking the hell out of your phone, customization is very limited.
The fact there are so many different GUIs out there, with any manufacturer using a different one - or even multiple ones - also doesn't fit your model.
The reason Android is taking such a huge chunk of global market is mostly commercial. It is easy for manufacturers to use, and relatively cheap. There are great apps out there, and it is well supported by developing houses. It has a very usable interface (GUI). It is not exactly easy but, as far as smartphones go, nothing is really easy - we are just so used to it we don't even notice.
Lets face it, Android was in the right place at the right time, and (most specially) with the right mentality. iOS is apple only, and you are SOL if you are someone else. Windows mobile was a piece of crap, the phone would lock down all the time, and you had to go anything through Microsoft. Either you had to do your own development (like Nokia did), or you were out of the market. Along come Google with Android. In the beginning, not such a great solution, but a much better option.
Me ? I'm just happy for it. I own 2 Android phone, my wife has one, my daughter another... Heck, even my father has one.
No, Joss Whedon is the same as George Lucas: they both work well with supervision. Compare the Firefly comics with the series, so many things are just out of character and wrong in the comics, because Joss was unsupervised.
I will have to dispute that, and submit Dr. Horrible and Much Ado as evidence. Joss Whedon was 100% unsupervised when doing those.
So what you mean it "Different operating systems have different things".
It is an interesting argument, in light of the fact that most barriers have NOTHING to do with the operating system(s). Ask anyone who worked with TMN, inter device communication etc. Heck, even people who work with things as simple as EDIs will tell you that is nonsense.
Everything has different APIs, but in most case those are artificial barriers. Mostly due to lack of (public) documentation. Other times, because of stupid patents.
If you mean different ABIs then yes, that is true, but that's just part of the game. It is like saying different processors have different microcodes.
Don't waste your time replying to him, he is nothing but a stupid troll.
And yes, that is exactly what I meant. Not only that, but I believe in a few decades (if not sooner) China will be known as the creative and technological country, where the good products come from.
As I said, Japanese products were considered crappy knockoffs, with extremely low quality. Then, after a couple decades, they were the producers of great products and technologies. "Made in Japan" started meaning high quality. Even today, there are already some very good products coming from China, created and developed there.
And I have a problem with your stupidity, if you really think I was making a race related comment, instead of a historical one totally unrelated to race, relating only to technological copying, learning and innovation.
Slashdot Mirror
Not true, I'm a software engineer I spend all day looking at LCD screens. I read books on my phone (while not tablet size it's 4.7" screen is big enough for me) all the time and backlit screen does not bother me at all. The people that are bothered by it will stick with e-ink. I don't like having to turn on a light at night if I want to read. But the cool reader android app I use lets you set the back light as a slider so it can be very dim for reading in the dark. If it didn't have that feature I would not like reading in the dark with a bright backlight.
Until I've got my eReader and used it for a few days, I would have agreed with you. Of course, having a nice leather case with light on it for night reading for my eReader helps quite a bit. Having to turn on a light at night to be able to read would have been a major problem, I give you that, but I imagined that would be the case, so I've got my leather case with light.
There, fixed that for you.
Thank you. You are, of course, 100% correct, and I stand corrected.
There is no question: anyone who spends more than a few minutes/day reading will agree reading books on LCD is really tiring. That is why I love my e-book reader, I can read for hours and my eyes won't get tired. Before it, I used to read on LCD, and after about 20 minutes my eyes would start bothering me.
On the other hand, I don't think most people read enough to be bothered by it, which is sad in many different levels. But hardcore readers won't give up their e-readers for LCD. Too bad we are a minority.
Prometheus ? No, that never happened. Just like there are only 3 Starwars movies, and only 1 Highlander.
Mountains of Madness, anyway ?
Also, it is not like Google is the small kid that needs to be protected against Microsoft.
Whatever the reason for the switch, in a nutshell we can simply say: Google dropped the ball.
Wait; I thought /. was controlled by Apple fanboys who down-modded anything that criticised Apple (or didn't criticise Micro$oft).
So which is it?
It kinda is/was. The problem is, Apple pulled so much shit, that even fanboys are pissed at them.
Buy it, and select "All to charity". Meaning nothing for The Humble Bundle team, and nothing for the game publisher.
I just did it. I love voting with my wallet.
Man, this is an amazing project. Congratulations. I will be buying it later tonight.
The consumer market is not "phone and e-mail". It is facebook, twitter, whatsapp, angry birds and instagram. If we are talking purely phone calls, I have a feature phone here (nokia) that does it better than any droid/iPhone/BB around.
I agree with your views regarding the long term goal(s) of BB. It is hard to make technical predictions about public traded companies. Their ultimate "product" is, after all, their stocks.
And no, I don't think MS merging with BB would be they saying ok to Linux. Hotmail was Linux. Nokia was very much a Linux shop. For them getting a Linux shop and turning it into a Win shop is just another day in the park. But that I really don't see happening. It would be easier for them (along with Nokia) to just grab that market. They have the means to do it and, at least until BB10 is released, the market is all open for the taking. After BB10, it might be an entirely different game.
BB10 may resolve this a bit.. the question is is bb going to continue catchup, innovate or die?
Yeah, I've read a little and saw a little about BB10. However, I find it hard to believe it can gain much market at this point. Not with Apple and Google so entrenched, and with Microsoft trying to carve a niche. Too little too late, if you ask me. But hey, Apple raised from the ashes when everyone was saying the same thing about them, so we have to wait and see. However unlikely, it is still possible.
What I don't understand is why Microsoft didn't zero in on Blackberry and, before anything else, took the corporate market, instead of this losing war against BOTH Apple (entrenched positions) and Google (moving target). Blackberry had a big bullseye right in their collective foreheads and MS could have taken their market share and get a consolidated position in the corporate market before either Apple or Google could react. After that, they would be in a much better position to attack the consumer market.
I think most people will agree a good part of corporate phone making is catching up with blackberry.
Not that their phones don't suck (they do), but Blackberry have known what corporations wanted and have been implementing it for a long time. They only forgot about the users. Oops, bad mistake. And off they go.
- Excellent, easy to use GUI.
- No Command line shit required to do stuff.
- Easy customization.
Actually, you got your assumptions wrong. Android has GREAT command line support. You can do pretty much anything, including send SMS and initiate phone calls using the command line. It is one of the things I love about it: I can do whatever the hell I want.
Also, regarding customization, that is only true in theory. Phone manufacturers (I'm looking at you, Motorola) go out of their way to stop people from customizing. So, unless you are hacking the hell out of your phone, customization is very limited.
The fact there are so many different GUIs out there, with any manufacturer using a different one - or even multiple ones - also doesn't fit your model.
The reason Android is taking such a huge chunk of global market is mostly commercial. It is easy for manufacturers to use, and relatively cheap. There are great apps out there, and it is well supported by developing houses. It has a very usable interface (GUI). It is not exactly easy but, as far as smartphones go, nothing is really easy - we are just so used to it we don't even notice.
Lets face it, Android was in the right place at the right time, and (most specially) with the right mentality. iOS is apple only, and you are SOL if you are someone else. Windows mobile was a piece of crap, the phone would lock down all the time, and you had to go anything through Microsoft. Either you had to do your own development (like Nokia did), or you were out of the market. Along come Google with Android. In the beginning, not such a great solution, but a much better option.
Me ? I'm just happy for it. I own 2 Android phone, my wife has one, my daughter another ... Heck, even my father has one.
Fairly stupid, but then again Amazon has free shipping with a $25 order which is about what the world's small violin costs.
No, you are wrong.
It is actually only $9.98 ... http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Smallest-Violin-Akira-Wing/dp/B002IYDTTK
There should be NO default.
Show a dialog with no default option, and force the use to choose. No "Next->Next->Finish".
Seriously ? I would cast Dushku without blinking for that role. Or if we go outside the usual suspects, Jessica Alba.
Glau is another one that would work great either as Empire or Bounty Hunter.
I really don't see NPH as Luke. But you know, Fran Kranz might work.
Could have Alexis Denisof as Obi Wan Kenobi :)
NPH should be someone from the empire.
Knowing the cast is easy :) Figuring out their roles, that is the trick. Anyone care to guess ?
Felicia Day as .... ... ... ... ...
Alexis Denisof as
Summer Glau as
Eliza Dushku as
Fran Kranz as
No, Joss Whedon is the same as George Lucas: they both work well with supervision. Compare the Firefly comics with the series, so many things are just out of character and wrong in the comics, because Joss was unsupervised.
I will have to dispute that, and submit Dr. Horrible and Much Ado as evidence. Joss Whedon was 100% unsupervised when doing those.
You know, if Joss Whedon takes over writing AND directing, it might actually work.
'Included in "etc"' ? Seriously ?
So what you mean it "Different operating systems have different things".
It is an interesting argument, in light of the fact that most barriers have NOTHING to do with the operating system(s). Ask anyone who worked with TMN, inter device communication etc. Heck, even people who work with things as simple as EDIs will tell you that is nonsense.
Everything has different APIs, but in most case those are artificial barriers. Mostly due to lack of (public) documentation. Other times, because of stupid patents.
If you mean different ABIs then yes, that is true, but that's just part of the game. It is like saying different processors have different microcodes.
You make a very compelling argument. Thank you. It is nice seeing intelligent posts here. All to rare, unfortunately.
Don't waste your time replying to him, he is nothing but a stupid troll.
And yes, that is exactly what I meant. Not only that, but I believe in a few decades (if not sooner) China will be known as the creative and technological country, where the good products come from.
As I said, Japanese products were considered crappy knockoffs, with extremely low quality. Then, after a couple decades, they were the producers of great products and technologies. "Made in Japan" started meaning high quality. Even today, there are already some very good products coming from China, created and developed there.
And I have a problem with your stupidity, if you really think I was making a race related comment, instead of a historical one totally unrelated to race, relating only to technological copying, learning and innovation.