Yup, and I'm not about to pay $100 more for another 8GB of internal storage. Internal storage is fine but if it dies on you then you've got to get the thing serviced. If the MicroSD dies I just go buy another (cheap) one.
I used to have an iPhone but I got sick of having to use iTunes to get anything on or off the phone. So I switched to an Android (Samsung Galaxy S2) which has a MicroSD in the back. MicroSD's are cheap and hold a lot of data. Now I just put it in USB mode and I can copy away to my heart's content. I won't buy a phone that doesn't have expandable storage. iPhone had better put one in (fat chance) or I'll be sticking with Android.
This is something that non-programmer manager types just don't get. If you want a programmer to be productive...leave him the fuck alone. Don't invite them to meetings unless it's absolutely necessary. Don't stop by their desk for idle chit chat.
When I encounter a non-programmer I explain it like this...imagine you're at home with a ladder ready to clean the leaves out of the gutter. You get half way up the ladder and your wife calls you for something. So you climb down the ladder and help her out. When you return you don't start half way up the ladder...you have to start again from the bottom. That's what programming is like. Every time you interrupt someone coding they have to drill back down to where ever they were in the code before you interrupted them.
On a few occasions I've had the (dis)pleasure of working with people from IBM...and Ascenture...and Deloitte...and PWC. I can say without reservation that most of them were worthless. It's not so much the people themselves, it's the culture of those companies. Mostly they are hired right out of college and "molded" into the {insert big company name here} way of doing things. They (the companies above) teach them to produce mountains of mostly worthless documentation. They teach them that meetings and politics are more important than banging out some code and getting something for your client that actually works. Many of them seem to have a chip on their collective shoulders - again, a product of the company cultures I'm willing to bet. Most of the real coding is done in some sweatshop offshore.
Here is how they do business...they send in large teams of people, mostly inexperienced. The few experienced ones are the ones that get face time with the client. The rest of the rookies are hidden away somewhere in the back, training on the client's nickel. The experienced ones are being groomed for Partner, at which point they become even bigger assholes than they are now. It's an "up or out" culture, meaning that you either get promoted or you're gone.
I've never met any rock stars from these companies. I suspect that really good programmers would not flourish in that kind of environment. They leave for greener pastures.
Compatibility with MS Office software is the big reason for me. Linux has nothing comparable to MS Project or Visio. Open Office is ok but it's missing some key features. AFAIK, Sharepoint has to be run in IE so that counts out Linux there as well. Getting VPN software set up on Linux is tricky.
My MacbookPro plays much nicer in Windows environments, which is what all my clients have it seems. I like using Linux at home but I just can't rely on it for business use unless I cart along a Windows VM, in which case I might as well just use Windows all the time. I've got a Windows VM on my Mac but I almost never have to use it.
Oh...there was one other item to add to my list. I haven't figured out how to get Linux to play nicely with a Cisco VPN client. Most of my clients seem to use it for remote access to Windows servers. The VPN works fine on Windows and Mac but not Linux.
Yeah, I have to second that. I have Linux installed on my Macs and it runs flawlessly. On my old Dell Latitude I've got Linux Mint installed and everything works - trackpad, wireless, power managment...everything. And it worked the first time, right out of the box. Now, 5 years ago I recall having trouble with wireless drivers, video cards, etc. on Linux builds. I'd try it for a while and give up on it because something didn't work right and I didn't have the desire to fiddle with it any longer. The modern Linux builds have come a long, long way towards getting their device drivers up to snuff. Compared to Windows and Mac, Linux is the fastest hands down. The only thing that keeps me from using Linux exclusively is compatibility with MS Office for work stuff.
Nothing is wrong with it Alex. Just different strokes for different folks. As I said earlier, I like the CLI and use it a lot but I suspect that you and I are in the minority in that respect. Some people would prefer to point and click rather than type I suppose.
I was making a joke but the point is that most people don't care about which processes are running. They are there to perform simple tasks...checking Facebook is an example. You know, it's a good thing that many people are ignorant of "ps -ef"...it keeps us all gainfully employed:-)
The command line is powerful, I'll give you that. But it's also cryptic as all-get-out to the average person. "ps -eo pid,user,args --sort user". Really? Try explaining that one to Aunt Mildred who just wants to check her pictures on facebook. Maybe she can just go check the "man" pages...that should make it as clear as mud to her. To a non technical person that stuff is absolute gibberish. Seriously - it might as well be written in Mandarin.
Look - I like using the CLI and I use it a lot. It's fast and powerful. But for the average user you've got to dumb it down for them. Give them a big button in the middle of the screen and they are happy. That's why tablets are so popular.
CLI expertise gives you geek cred but it will never see mass adoption. The GUI is here to stay. I'm not so sure I like the IOS trend of dumbing things down even further, at the expense of power and usability, but it has clearly been successful.
"Command lines are vastly more powerful than traditional GUIs" - sure but how many people can actually use it? I have to keep reminding myself that most people aren't like us. For whatever reason...lack of time, lack of interest, lack of intellect...they just don't care about the intricacies of how the computer works. They simply want to use it to perform some basic tasks like surf the web or write an email or send an instant message. To them it's like a microwave oven.
Personally I think it's good that computers are now easy enough for just about anyone to use. After all, you shouldn't have to be a mechanic to drive a car. I think back to the days of DOS and there is just no way I could imagine my mom or dad using a computer. Too complex, too abstract, too geeky. But now with a modern Windows or Mac computer tasks become easy and fun. I'd say that's progress.
Thanks for the article link. I certainly don't want to get out of compliance with security updates so at some point I'll either upgrade to ML or just turn it into a Linux box. It is a bit appointing that Apple is pulling the plug on SL so soon. The good news for us Apple users is that the chances of getting viruses on a Mac are infinitely less than on a Windows PC. I'm not saying that it's impossible to get a virus on a Mac but the chances are very, very remote. Still, I'd want to be on the safe side.
From what I understand it's a two step upgrade - SL -> Lion, Lion -> ML. Probably around $40 in total. Not terribly expensive and a lot less than buying a new machine. Just the same, I wish that Apple would stretch out their support cycle a bit longer. Point well taken.
Yes I have to admit that 10.6 was the first version of OSX that I used so I can't comment on earlier versions, only on personal experience. One thing I have noticed is that some software that used to be free (Carbon Copy Cloner, and Growl to name two) are now for purchase on Mountain Lion.
1001. Yup, Macs are expensive but they are well built. The OS is rock solid and no bloatware. I can connect to Windows networks seamlessly and run RDP to Windows servers. Plus I can run all of the great open source Linux based apps too. And if you ever have any trouble with it the support is top notch.
HP and Dell are in a race to the bottom. The have already outsourced everything imaginable with predictable results. Build quality generally sucks and don't even get me started on support. Some of their higher end boxes are nice but the majority of what they sell is commodity class junk.
I remember a time, not that long ago, when Dell had the best support in the business. A time when HP was an innovator, a place where all the best engineers wanted to go to. Sad times we're in.
I'm typing this on a 5 year old iMac. It's running Snow Leopard (two versions behind Mountain Lion). All of my apps work fine. It's a very stable release and I plan on staying on it as long as the hardware still works. I still get software updates from Apple on a regular basis. If I wanted to, I could upgrade this 5 year old machine to Mountain Lion. I kind of see Snow Leopard as kind of the mac equivalent of XP - it's been around for a while, it's stable, I'm used to it and does everything I need. If one day Apple decides to no longer support my iMac I'll just turn it into a nice Linux box.
Way back when, I worked as a CAD operator on an Intergraph graphics workstation. UNIX based. The other guys I worked with had no interest in taking on the System Admin responsibilities so I said I would do it. Having never used UNIX before I had a lot to learn. So I broke open the books, on my own time, and had the good fortune of having a friend that taught me a lot. I started off writing simple shell scripts then moved on to other things. I won't bore you with all the details but basically, the key to getting ahead is being willing to take the jobs that other people don't want. Don't worry about how much money you make initially. If you're good the money will follow you. Just focus on learning as much as you can. Keep your eyes open for opportunities. If you're lucky your employer might be willing to train you if you're keen and they have a need for a particular skill. Once you land the job, always be thinking strategically regarding your career. Don't think so much about what you want to do today or tomorrow, think about 5 years down the road. Work with your manager to set out a plan on how to get there. Above all, have a positive attitude and enjoy what you do.
So after coming out with a reasonably good tablet (Touchpad) HP decides that a fire sale is in order. This is before allowing WebOS to get any traction whatsoever. I still think that WebOS is the best tablet OS around. The problem is that they didn't have any apps - or not enough of them. The hardware was a bit crippled but it could have been jazzed up a bit. Now they're back in the game. Who is going to buy one of them? Who is going to go out and pay $499 only to see them slashed down to $99 a few weeks later?
The problem with HP is that they don't have any vision, any direction. They don't know what they want to be when they grow up. It's just a giant printer company trying to figure out what else to do. If I were an HP stockholder I would be furious at the idiots running this once proud company into the ground. The reason that Apple is kicking everyone's ass is that they know who they are. They know what they do and they do it well. They don't try to get into markets that they don't have a reasonable expectation of dominating. Not following, dominating. A lot of people on here don't like Apple but they execute - and execute extremely well.
HP needs to figure out what it wants to do. Get a solid vision of where they want to go and then hire the best engineers they can find and give them the budget to execute.
I take it you haven't flown Business Class on a US based airline recently? It's not that great, certainly not what it used to be. Sure you get a bigger seat and you get to board first and you get a drink. On the airline I normally fly (admittedly out of convenience) there is no meal served in business class unless the flight is 4 hours or more. Basically you have to be flying cross country to get as much as a salad. No more free movies either, at least on domestic flights. We have WiFi now but you have to pay for it - even in business class.
It's the continuing nickel and dimeing of the airline passenger. Some airlines make more money from the fees than they do from the airline ticket. The glamour is gone from airline travel. It started with Southwest promoting low, low fares. Then the other airlines all followed in lockstep. I really believe that there is a market out there for a business class airline. Every seat would be like the seats in business class now - wide, spacious and comfortable. They would serve good meals, not a bag of peanuts. It would mean fewer seats on each plane so they would have to charge more per seat. I, for one, would be more than willing to cough up more money for a comfortable plane flight.
Air travel is by far the worst part of my job. The hotels treat me well, the rental car agencies treat me well..the airlines treat me like cattle.
This 12-16 hour workday seems to be an oddly American thing. When I think back to my freshly-out-of-college days I recall that it was common place for employers to expect us newbies to work those kinds of hours. Naturally we were on a flat salary so there was no overtime. If you wanted to get promoted you had to ensure the long hours - up or out as the saying goes. Of course, no real thought was given to how productive an individual was. You just had to be there and put in the hours. Numerous studies have shown that actual productivity slips dramatically after about 10 hours, or less for some people.
These days, I work 40 hours a week for my clients. But it is a productive 40 hours. If they want me to work more I can but it's going to cost them. No pay no play. I went to a straight hourly rate and I won't go back to working for any place that pays flat salary. I can virtually guarantee that you will be taken advantage of and asked to work overtime and not get paid for it. I think if more IT people were paid hourly you would see a lot less of the 12-16 hour work days.
Aside from whether or not it is productive I simply don't want to work that many hours in a day. I like my job but it's not my life. Money is nice but there are more important things. I worked one time in Europe. 35 hour work week, nice lunch hour (or more) and low stress. Everything seemed to get done in those 35 hours. I think us Americans could learn a thing or two from our European friends.
Both a tablet and an eBook reader are great for reading books. I've got a tablet, an early Nook and a cheap Kindle. For pure reading I find myself using the Kindle more these days and it's more because of the content than anything else. It seems that Amazon has cheaper prices on the books I'm looking to read. The tablet is good as a secondary reader but it's a bit on the heavy side compared to the Nook or Kindle which seem feather light in comparison. For me, the eInk has no eye strain. I can read comfortably with it for hours. The battery on the Kindle will last for weeks without recharging which is nice as well. The tablet is more versatile, the eReader is single purpose. If you are a serious reader and like to read a lot I'd probably recommend the Kindle. Honestly I couldn't make up my mind so I ended up getting all of them. But I do use them all. I load up books on both the Kindle and Nook and switch between them according to my tastes at the moment. One final big plus for the eReader...it fits in the cargo shorts pocket...let's see you do that with a tablet:-)
If this whole tablet thing actually sticks, instead of being a fad, it might be a good move for Microsoft. I think they could have two OS's - one for desktops (7) and one for tablets (8) - that share a common code base. Apple is doing the same thing with IOS/OSX right now. It also gives MS a chance to do an end run around the hardware makers (DELL, Acer, etc.) and make not only the software but also the hardware. Just like Apple, and Google. Margins on PC's are pathetic but on tablets they seem to be pretty healthy. But - and this is a big but - the tablet is going to have to be priced aggressively. If they come in at $499 for a wi-fi tablet with 16GB of storage people will just get an iPad. The other risk is that they are way behind both Apple and Google on app development and will have to find some way to woo developers to their platform. Otherwise you have nice hardware with nothing to run on it. I'm not sure that the Metro interface is a good idea on desktops but at least it's a bold move from MS - something that has been sorely lacking for some time now.
That's a good point and honestly I don't use Ubuntu that much. I can run all the open source software natively on OSX and OSX is my preferred OS. Part of my build does include VM's - Windows XP, Windows 7 Home and Windows 7 Enterprise - and I like using them although they run just a tad slower than the dual boot option. Of course, having them in a VM means that you don't have to restart the machine and if you are switching a lot it can be a pain. VM's can be a bit memory hungry so you need to make sure that you've got about 8GB total to run the host and VM comfortably, at least in my experience. 4GB will work but it's always better to have more if your PC/budget will allow.
Right on bro...whatever does it for you. When I listen to music with lyrics or something really intense I focus more on the music than the task at hand. But yeah, it's good to mix it up a bit sometime to keep things interesting.
Holding a 7 inch tablet up to my ear would look just about as silly as those original "brick" cellphones. No thanks, I'll stick to the regular form factor.
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Yup, and I'm not about to pay $100 more for another 8GB of internal storage. Internal storage is fine but if it dies on you then you've got to get the thing serviced. If the MicroSD dies I just go buy another (cheap) one.
I used to have an iPhone but I got sick of having to use iTunes to get anything on or off the phone. So I switched to an Android (Samsung Galaxy S2) which has a MicroSD in the back. MicroSD's are cheap and hold a lot of data. Now I just put it in USB mode and I can copy away to my heart's content. I won't buy a phone that doesn't have expandable storage. iPhone had better put one in (fat chance) or I'll be sticking with Android.
This is something that non-programmer manager types just don't get. If you want a programmer to be productive...leave him the fuck alone. Don't invite them to meetings unless it's absolutely necessary. Don't stop by their desk for idle chit chat.
When I encounter a non-programmer I explain it like this...imagine you're at home with a ladder ready to clean the leaves out of the gutter. You get half way up the ladder and your wife calls you for something. So you climb down the ladder and help her out. When you return you don't start half way up the ladder...you have to start again from the bottom. That's what programming is like. Every time you interrupt someone coding they have to drill back down to where ever they were in the code before you interrupted them.
On a few occasions I've had the (dis)pleasure of working with people from IBM...and Ascenture...and Deloitte...and PWC. I can say without reservation that most of them were worthless. It's not so much the people themselves, it's the culture of those companies. Mostly they are hired right out of college and "molded" into the {insert big company name here} way of doing things. They (the companies above) teach them to produce mountains of mostly worthless documentation. They teach them that meetings and politics are more important than banging out some code and getting something for your client that actually works. Many of them seem to have a chip on their collective shoulders - again, a product of the company cultures I'm willing to bet. Most of the real coding is done in some sweatshop offshore.
Here is how they do business...they send in large teams of people, mostly inexperienced. The few experienced ones are the ones that get face time with the client. The rest of the rookies are hidden away somewhere in the back, training on the client's nickel. The experienced ones are being groomed for Partner, at which point they become even bigger assholes than they are now. It's an "up or out" culture, meaning that you either get promoted or you're gone.
I've never met any rock stars from these companies. I suspect that really good programmers would not flourish in that kind of environment. They leave for greener pastures.
Compatibility with MS Office software is the big reason for me. Linux has nothing comparable to MS Project or Visio. Open Office is ok but it's missing some key features. AFAIK, Sharepoint has to be run in IE so that counts out Linux there as well. Getting VPN software set up on Linux is tricky.
My MacbookPro plays much nicer in Windows environments, which is what all my clients have it seems. I like using Linux at home but I just can't rely on it for business use unless I cart along a Windows VM, in which case I might as well just use Windows all the time. I've got a Windows VM on my Mac but I almost never have to use it.
Well played :-)
Oh...there was one other item to add to my list. I haven't figured out how to get Linux to play nicely with a Cisco VPN client. Most of my clients seem to use it for remote access to Windows servers. The VPN works fine on Windows and Mac but not Linux.
Yeah, I have to second that. I have Linux installed on my Macs and it runs flawlessly. On my old Dell Latitude I've got Linux Mint installed and everything works - trackpad, wireless, power managment...everything. And it worked the first time, right out of the box. Now, 5 years ago I recall having trouble with wireless drivers, video cards, etc. on Linux builds. I'd try it for a while and give up on it because something didn't work right and I didn't have the desire to fiddle with it any longer. The modern Linux builds have come a long, long way towards getting their device drivers up to snuff. Compared to Windows and Mac, Linux is the fastest hands down. The only thing that keeps me from using Linux exclusively is compatibility with MS Office for work stuff.
Nothing is wrong with it Alex. Just different strokes for different folks. As I said earlier, I like the CLI and use it a lot but I suspect that you and I are in the minority in that respect. Some people would prefer to point and click rather than type I suppose.
I was making a joke but the point is that most people don't care about which processes are running. They are there to perform simple tasks...checking Facebook is an example. You know, it's a good thing that many people are ignorant of "ps -ef"...it keeps us all gainfully employed :-)
The command line is powerful, I'll give you that. But it's also cryptic as all-get-out to the average person. "ps -eo pid,user,args --sort user". Really? Try explaining that one to Aunt Mildred who just wants to check her pictures on facebook. Maybe she can just go check the "man" pages...that should make it as clear as mud to her. To a non technical person that stuff is absolute gibberish. Seriously - it might as well be written in Mandarin.
Look - I like using the CLI and I use it a lot. It's fast and powerful. But for the average user you've got to dumb it down for them. Give them a big button in the middle of the screen and they are happy. That's why tablets are so popular.
CLI expertise gives you geek cred but it will never see mass adoption. The GUI is here to stay. I'm not so sure I like the IOS trend of dumbing things down even further, at the expense of power and usability, but it has clearly been successful.
"Command lines are vastly more powerful than traditional GUIs" - sure but how many people can actually use it? I have to keep reminding myself that most people aren't like us. For whatever reason...lack of time, lack of interest, lack of intellect...they just don't care about the intricacies of how the computer works. They simply want to use it to perform some basic tasks like surf the web or write an email or send an instant message. To them it's like a microwave oven.
Personally I think it's good that computers are now easy enough for just about anyone to use. After all, you shouldn't have to be a mechanic to drive a car. I think back to the days of DOS and there is just no way I could imagine my mom or dad using a computer. Too complex, too abstract, too geeky. But now with a modern Windows or Mac computer tasks become easy and fun. I'd say that's progress.
Thanks for the article link. I certainly don't want to get out of compliance with security updates so at some point I'll either upgrade to ML or just turn it into a Linux box. It is a bit appointing that Apple is pulling the plug on SL so soon. The good news for us Apple users is that the chances of getting viruses on a Mac are infinitely less than on a Windows PC. I'm not saying that it's impossible to get a virus on a Mac but the chances are very, very remote. Still, I'd want to be on the safe side.
From what I understand it's a two step upgrade - SL -> Lion, Lion -> ML. Probably around $40 in total. Not terribly expensive and a lot less than buying a new machine. Just the same, I wish that Apple would stretch out their support cycle a bit longer. Point well taken.
Yes I have to admit that 10.6 was the first version of OSX that I used so I can't comment on earlier versions, only on personal experience. One thing I have noticed is that some software that used to be free (Carbon Copy Cloner, and Growl to name two) are now for purchase on Mountain Lion.
1001. Yup, Macs are expensive but they are well built. The OS is rock solid and no bloatware. I can connect to Windows networks seamlessly and run RDP to Windows servers. Plus I can run all of the great open source Linux based apps too. And if you ever have any trouble with it the support is top notch.
HP and Dell are in a race to the bottom. The have already outsourced everything imaginable with predictable results. Build quality generally sucks and don't even get me started on support. Some of their higher end boxes are nice but the majority of what they sell is commodity class junk.
I remember a time, not that long ago, when Dell had the best support in the business. A time when HP was an innovator, a place where all the best engineers wanted to go to. Sad times we're in.
I'm typing this on a 5 year old iMac. It's running Snow Leopard (two versions behind Mountain Lion). All of my apps work fine. It's a very stable release and I plan on staying on it as long as the hardware still works. I still get software updates from Apple on a regular basis. If I wanted to, I could upgrade this 5 year old machine to Mountain Lion. I kind of see Snow Leopard as kind of the mac equivalent of XP - it's been around for a while, it's stable, I'm used to it and does everything I need. If one day Apple decides to no longer support my iMac I'll just turn it into a nice Linux box.
Way back when, I worked as a CAD operator on an Intergraph graphics workstation. UNIX based. The other guys I worked with had no interest in taking on the System Admin responsibilities so I said I would do it. Having never used UNIX before I had a lot to learn. So I broke open the books, on my own time, and had the good fortune of having a friend that taught me a lot. I started off writing simple shell scripts then moved on to other things. I won't bore you with all the details but basically, the key to getting ahead is being willing to take the jobs that other people don't want. Don't worry about how much money you make initially. If you're good the money will follow you. Just focus on learning as much as you can. Keep your eyes open for opportunities. If you're lucky your employer might be willing to train you if you're keen and they have a need for a particular skill. Once you land the job, always be thinking strategically regarding your career. Don't think so much about what you want to do today or tomorrow, think about 5 years down the road. Work with your manager to set out a plan on how to get there. Above all, have a positive attitude and enjoy what you do.
So after coming out with a reasonably good tablet (Touchpad) HP decides that a fire sale is in order. This is before allowing WebOS to get any traction whatsoever. I still think that WebOS is the best tablet OS around. The problem is that they didn't have any apps - or not enough of them. The hardware was a bit crippled but it could have been jazzed up a bit. Now they're back in the game. Who is going to buy one of them? Who is going to go out and pay $499 only to see them slashed down to $99 a few weeks later?
The problem with HP is that they don't have any vision, any direction. They don't know what they want to be when they grow up. It's just a giant printer company trying to figure out what else to do. If I were an HP stockholder I would be furious at the idiots running this once proud company into the ground. The reason that Apple is kicking everyone's ass is that they know who they are. They know what they do and they do it well. They don't try to get into markets that they don't have a reasonable expectation of dominating. Not following, dominating. A lot of people on here don't like Apple but they execute - and execute extremely well.
HP needs to figure out what it wants to do. Get a solid vision of where they want to go and then hire the best engineers they can find and give them the budget to execute.
I take it you haven't flown Business Class on a US based airline recently? It's not that great, certainly not what it used to be. Sure you get a bigger seat and you get to board first and you get a drink. On the airline I normally fly (admittedly out of convenience) there is no meal served in business class unless the flight is 4 hours or more. Basically you have to be flying cross country to get as much as a salad. No more free movies either, at least on domestic flights. We have WiFi now but you have to pay for it - even in business class.
It's the continuing nickel and dimeing of the airline passenger. Some airlines make more money from the fees than they do from the airline ticket. The glamour is gone from airline travel. It started with Southwest promoting low, low fares. Then the other airlines all followed in lockstep. I really believe that there is a market out there for a business class airline. Every seat would be like the seats in business class now - wide, spacious and comfortable. They would serve good meals, not a bag of peanuts. It would mean fewer seats on each plane so they would have to charge more per seat. I, for one, would be more than willing to cough up more money for a comfortable plane flight.
Air travel is by far the worst part of my job. The hotels treat me well, the rental car agencies treat me well..the airlines treat me like cattle.
This 12-16 hour workday seems to be an oddly American thing. When I think back to my freshly-out-of-college days I recall that it was common place for employers to expect us newbies to work those kinds of hours. Naturally we were on a flat salary so there was no overtime. If you wanted to get promoted you had to ensure the long hours - up or out as the saying goes. Of course, no real thought was given to how productive an individual was. You just had to be there and put in the hours. Numerous studies have shown that actual productivity slips dramatically after about 10 hours, or less for some people. These days, I work 40 hours a week for my clients. But it is a productive 40 hours. If they want me to work more I can but it's going to cost them. No pay no play. I went to a straight hourly rate and I won't go back to working for any place that pays flat salary. I can virtually guarantee that you will be taken advantage of and asked to work overtime and not get paid for it. I think if more IT people were paid hourly you would see a lot less of the 12-16 hour work days. Aside from whether or not it is productive I simply don't want to work that many hours in a day. I like my job but it's not my life. Money is nice but there are more important things. I worked one time in Europe. 35 hour work week, nice lunch hour (or more) and low stress. Everything seemed to get done in those 35 hours. I think us Americans could learn a thing or two from our European friends.
Both a tablet and an eBook reader are great for reading books. I've got a tablet, an early Nook and a cheap Kindle. For pure reading I find myself using the Kindle more these days and it's more because of the content than anything else. It seems that Amazon has cheaper prices on the books I'm looking to read. The tablet is good as a secondary reader but it's a bit on the heavy side compared to the Nook or Kindle which seem feather light in comparison. For me, the eInk has no eye strain. I can read comfortably with it for hours. The battery on the Kindle will last for weeks without recharging which is nice as well. The tablet is more versatile, the eReader is single purpose. If you are a serious reader and like to read a lot I'd probably recommend the Kindle. Honestly I couldn't make up my mind so I ended up getting all of them. But I do use them all. I load up books on both the Kindle and Nook and switch between them according to my tastes at the moment. One final big plus for the eReader...it fits in the cargo shorts pocket...let's see you do that with a tablet :-)
If this whole tablet thing actually sticks, instead of being a fad, it might be a good move for Microsoft. I think they could have two OS's - one for desktops (7) and one for tablets (8) - that share a common code base. Apple is doing the same thing with IOS/OSX right now. It also gives MS a chance to do an end run around the hardware makers (DELL, Acer, etc.) and make not only the software but also the hardware. Just like Apple, and Google. Margins on PC's are pathetic but on tablets they seem to be pretty healthy. But - and this is a big but - the tablet is going to have to be priced aggressively. If they come in at $499 for a wi-fi tablet with 16GB of storage people will just get an iPad. The other risk is that they are way behind both Apple and Google on app development and will have to find some way to woo developers to their platform. Otherwise you have nice hardware with nothing to run on it. I'm not sure that the Metro interface is a good idea on desktops but at least it's a bold move from MS - something that has been sorely lacking for some time now.
That's a good point and honestly I don't use Ubuntu that much. I can run all the open source software natively on OSX and OSX is my preferred OS. Part of my build does include VM's - Windows XP, Windows 7 Home and Windows 7 Enterprise - and I like using them although they run just a tad slower than the dual boot option. Of course, having them in a VM means that you don't have to restart the machine and if you are switching a lot it can be a pain. VM's can be a bit memory hungry so you need to make sure that you've got about 8GB total to run the host and VM comfortably, at least in my experience. 4GB will work but it's always better to have more if your PC/budget will allow.
Right on bro...whatever does it for you. When I listen to music with lyrics or something really intense I focus more on the music than the task at hand. But yeah, it's good to mix it up a bit sometime to keep things interesting.
Nothing puts me in the right frame of mind for some serious coding than classical music. Can't wait to check this one out.
Holding a 7 inch tablet up to my ear would look just about as silly as those original "brick" cellphones. No thanks, I'll stick to the regular form factor.