I think this is what Sony is afraid of (that people will wait). I think this is also why they decided that Blu-ray *must* be included in the PS3 (even to the point that waiting for the spec to finalize pushed the ship date).
People may be willing to wait on the sidelines to watch who wins the HD format wars before committing, but quite a number of people will be interested in getting the PS3. They may not care about the Blu-Ray drive... but they'll have it all the same, and if that happens to help drive up the total number of units sold, which in turn is something Sony can show content producers to prove "their format is winning"? hey, so much the better from Sony's perspective.
As for HD-DVD... yeah, MS has talked about an Add-On module, but unless there is a killer game that needs it, I don't see people runing out to get one, especially since the 'early adopter' segment already has (will have?) an XBox360 at that point, and will be looking to the PS3 as the "new shiny toy". All in all, its a rather good strategy from Sony, and I bet it will probably work. Unless there are some serious missteps, the next generation format wars could be over before the first shot is really fired, or the first player ships.
There are downsides to the above description.:) 1) The disk they give you will be a 'burned' disk vs a 'pressed' disk. It might have a shorter shelf life, and it will probably be more vulnerable to environmental issues (a downside to the consumer, not to the seller/studio).
2) The above buisness plan has two potential competitors:
i) Netflix and Blockbuster type 'delivered to your door' content. Why go out, when you have to wait only a few days to get a disk this way? (ultimately not something that can be easily answered unless you need a disk 'now', which tends to be a smaller percentage of the possible purchases).
ii) Video on Demand. The natural evolution (assuming the studios allow it to happen), is to download the video you want, and either have a window you can watch it in, a number of times you can watch it, or a limited amount of storage you can keep at one time. TiVo has already started playing with this model, and was rumored to have partnered with Netflix awhile back. I participated in a trial which downloaded "Red Pants" the docu-history of Hong-Kong Stuntmen. I found the download quite good, and would probably consider 'renting' movies this way. The movie, once downloaded to my TiVo was allowed to hang out as long as I wanted, but took up space (a good thing, it took me a few weeks to clear time to watch it). I tried seeing if I could download it via TiVo2Go (so I could watch it on my PSP to/from work), but its locked down as a non-copiable program (the same as RocketBoom is during their current 'VideoCast trial').
Ultimately I believe that this is the future for the rental model... possibly even the purchase model (the way iTunes is for music and trying to be for TV/Video right now).
Depends on the application. If you need the physical object for delivery (say for sale to end users), you're probably right, provided you need the physical object in a compact enough timeframe.
If you just need the information then the only issues is storage at the far end, and the ability to mount the a disk image (which most modern operating systems should be able to do).
Of course, in the hybrid case where you can produce a disk + colateral "relatively" rapidly for sale to a consumer, then the second option becomes even more enticing.
Imagine a "blockbuster-esque" store, where you picked which movie you wanted to view, wanted 2 minutes, and had a copy in your hand for their new "rent it, but if it isn't back within x days your credit card will be charged as if you bought it" policy. Now imagine if the store had a catalog as big as IMDB, was never out of any movie, and you only had to wait a few minutes (3 minutes? 2 minutes?) to be holding the movie you wanted to watch in your hand.
Hadn't thought about that, but I can see the report on the "newest worm outbreak cripples computers across the globe" actually being GAIM shutting down their network.:)
Interesting link, especially this bit in the conclusion:
Windows Vista
Which brings me to Windows Vista (previously Windows Longhorn).
One of the major new features of Windows Vista is the Aero Glass experience (both as an API for applications, and the shell itself). Aero Glass in essence turns your desktop into a video game: Instead of the current model where the GDI draws on a 2D palette, updating the video card memory (making use of acceleration routines that the video card supports) only when changes occur, the model of Aero Glass is that of a traditional game: With every "frame" the scene is wiped clean and re-rendered from scratch, layering "textures" that represent application canvases onto 3-D polygons and building the user experience from there.
This system will attempt to push 60-90FPS of user experience goodness through your video card.
In many cases this will max out even high end video cards. Even where it doesn't, all of the shaders and T&L engines on the video card are engaged - the additional power consumption will be considerable. This could easily add 150W+ to your system power load, and could absolutely devastate battery lifespan for portables. This is on top of the fact that you're suddenly measuring your GUI in frames per second.
In other words the new, shiny user experience in Aero Glass isn't just making use of unleveraged hardware in your PC (which is a valid point - there's a big powerful graphics card there, so why should it go to waste) - It's also considerably adding to the power consumption, heat generation, and cooling requirements. In the mobile world it would be hugely detrimental to the battery lifespan.
All to add a bit of eye candy that, at least as far as I've seen, marginally improves usability.
I hadn't considered that Aero Glass is essentially turning the desktop into a FPS issue.
I could easily see a MMORPG system based around G.U.R.P.S. Yes, it could technically be multiple "play worlds" each devoted to a specific genre (magic and sorcery, cyberpunk, space fantasy), but the underlying mechanics could be set up so that a character COULD transfer between them (although it might be painful as prized skills might now be useless due to technology... or lack there of).
Yes, it would require co-ordination (perhaps at an unprecedented level), but its not all that outrageous. Perhaps rules could be worked out regarding 'swapping out skills'... perhaps for a modest 'handling' fee that allows you to transition between worlds?
Perhaps there is a central avatar and all other are merely 'local' partial identities (similar to Passport) where certain features are universal, and others are only local to a virtual environment, with certain things in any environment kicking back to the central avatar and therefore out to the other environments.
Yeah... I don't expect it to happen tomorrow, but there are a fair amount of interesting ideas there.
(yeah, I did RTFA, I'm quite convinced the article itself is crap though:) )
Here in Old Europe, however, GSM/Umts connect cards are quite popular among execs and road warriors. As of today, there is no such thing as an ExpressCard GSM/Umts modem.
I agree. It does seem like peripherals are a bit slow to come out, but new Dell laptops are also touting ExpressCard so its not like its only Apple (like when FireWire first came out).
On the other hand, GSM connect cards based on ExpressCard are supposed to be out by June or Sept (depends on who you believe and who your provider is). Not great, not terrible. If this is a deal-breaker for you on getting a new MacBook, hold off till they have what you want. Running Mac on Intel is still "early adopter" territory anyway since quite a few apps aren't out in Universal Binary format yet.
... No one uses the MS Office Suite becuase of Access....
Hate to disagree (mostly because I really wish you were right), but a lot of mid-level managers (often an overlapping group who are Excel Power Users), also use Access because even some of them have gotten through the idea, that some things require a database instead of just really complex spreadsheets.
I've had to work with some of them and it was an eye-opening experience to see how much they love their (rather flawed from my perspective) tools, simply because they put tremendous power to simply do what they needed to, without a DBA, Programmer, etc.
Yes, there are some things they do poorly due to lack of knowledge but 90% of the time the power it gives them outweighs any of that. And for the other 1%?:cringe: My wife calls me up when she needs to get Excel or Access to do something, not because I use them (although she uses them both every day and would kick my butt in most contests involving them), but because she knows I'm a programmer and can figure it out for her.:)
Here is a list of things that any phone more advanced than a Nokia 5160 could concievably do (especially with Symbian or other smart phone OSes), but which don't ship from the manufucturer, and are thus relegated to half-written, poorly integrated shareware apps that don't work on different smart phones running the same OS:
* Answering machine. Who needs voice mail on the provider side? Your phone probably has memory onboard + expansion slot memory. It has enough brains to record voice memos, do voice dialing, and play MP3s as ringtones. How hard is this to implement? Plus there's no monthly fee!
You pay a monthly fee for voicemail? Most providers in my area include call-waiting, voicemail, caller-id as part of the "standard low rate" they charge you. Yeah, I'm sure its tacked on, but its not like opting out buys you anything, except no answering machine if you're outside your calling zone or your phone isn't getting reception (indoors, underground, etc.). Yes, it would be nice if they had a local cache of voicemail so if I go into somewhere where I have no reception I can still retrieve any messages I might have had, but thats no biggey.
Also, if you leave a phone turned on, but on silent (I usually have to setup a custom config that disables Vibrate and alert messaging), then you still have the caller log and SMS messages that the phone can log while the phone is unobtrusive.
* Time-of-day call ignore. Are you in a meeting for a certain time? Have lectures or classes? Doctors appointment? Your phone should automatically go into a silent mode (and kick over to the answering machine). Why let yourself be the point of failure?
Okay, this would be nice. I suppose once you start integrating an calender anyway, adding a "mode" pull-down for what mode the phone should be in during the meeting should be possible. Not so much time-of-day tied, but schedule tied (at least in my mind)
* Selective disturb. Studying, working on a project, or otherwise engaged, but don't want to drop off the face of the earth? Make it so that only certain call groups can contact you, just in case.
My (non smart) phone can do this already. Are you sure yours cant?
* Privacy mode. Automatically reject calls from caller-id blocked numbers or long-distance (based on an area code list) numbers, or from people in certain groups.
* Smart synchronization with Palm or WinCE PDAs. Most smart phones have bluetooth, but so far I have yet to find a way to sychronize the smartphone with the PDA in any useful way. Don't we have vcards and other standards for this?
* Smart synchronization with a PC. Even just a stupid Windows client + some documentation would be fine. I can write something that'll let my Linux desktop sync if it's documented! This could be as simple as dumping the data from the internal memory to the expansion memory in a parsable format, and then restoring it the same way -- the PC could have a program to read the memory card and deal with the data.
All good ideas, and things I'd consider 'basic' features.
* Some kind of automation system. I have run across lots of little situations where I need to do something to a lot of contacts (move them into a group, delete duplicates, etc), and have found there's no batch interface. You have to deal with everything one click at a time.
I suppose its due to the fact that they are aiming as add-ons to a computer? (if you really need to do alot of something, we'll just assume you do it on the computers PIM software and re-sync?)
All of this stuff is pretty simple to do, and would elevate a smartphone from a fancy phone with a colour display and better ringtones. No Symbian OS phone I know supports time-based silencing, call ignore lists, answering machine, selective disturb, or sychronizes well. You can fake some of that with
Re:Two Down, One to Go...
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Futurama Returns
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· Score: 3, Informative
Well... on the plus side they seem to have gotten better about their handling of material since the Sliders fiasco (for the fans at least:) ).
They aquired Stargate when it was looking like it was going to wrap up in its 5th season (or was it 6th?), and its now going into its 10th? (and done rather decently including letter the characters grow and evolve).
They spun off Stargate Atlantis, and its now into its 2nd Season and looking forward to a 3rd.
Battlestar Gallactica is looking forward to a 3rd season as well, and getting rave reviews from critics, and some interesting re-imagining that I think most fans are appreciating, except for a few die-hards (Heck, my wife who isn't a big SciFi junky like I am has really gotten into the character driven stories of both SG:Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica! amazes the heck out of me).
Andromeda had already jumped the shark before Sci-Fi got hold of it (some would argue the same for Sliders), so I find it hard to blame them for the shows last season. Rather, I find it encouraging that they at least gave it a home for a last season, and an opportunity to finish telling their story (to admitedly medocre success).
I am also looking forward to their new show "Eureka" that looks very intreaging, and I hope shines as well as "The Invisible Man" and "The Chronicle" did. Granted they didn't last as long as they should have (both being fun and entertaining shows in my opinion), but they were both allowed something rare in the Network world, the chance for a satisfying conclusion and the wrapping of most major plot threads.
They've made mistakes (Farscape not getting a 5th Season for instance, which I think most fans are still sore about, even after the mini-series), but they have certainly made more positive moves as far as dramatic content goes... although with their emphesis on Mini-Series, I would expect to see that as an outlet for a new 'Firefly' story, sooner than a 22 episode full season. (don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to see a new season or three of Firefly)
I won't get into their original half-hour shows which are usually more schlocky (and not so much my taste) considering "Ghost Hunters", "Scare Tactics", and "Tripping the Rift" (the last of which is at least somewhat amusing, while completely offensive... as opposed to Futurama which is always somewhat offensive, while completely amusing:) )
I'm sure, since this is Slashdot, someone will correct my facts if they think they are blatantly out of line with reality:)
Say what you will about KDE's overzelous use of the 'K' (Konqueror, KOffice, Kontact, KDevelop, et al.) at least they're consistant so you know what apps are part of the suite, and might have some idea what they do.
You'd think so, but when I was servicing a friends computer and needed to re-install the OS I found the problem. They hadn't gotten a CD. No problem, I thought, I'll just call the maker (whose name starts with G). They're response? No... I'm sorry, the computer is out of warrenty (1 yr), and if you hadn't received a re-install CD you should have called us with the first 14 days, and no, we you can't have one now (even if we were willing to pay for it).
All OEMS SHOULD have replacement disks available, but just think of how much MS would charge them for the privaledge?
The second one in no way stops you from publishing benchmarks, they just require full disclosure, so that it is reproducible.
Not only do they want full disclosure, but if you are claiming a product's speed vs..Net, they reserve the right to benchmark YOUR product. Gee... I wonder what would happen?
Recently I was building a new machine and ran into a small snag.
I figured since it was being built into a MicroATX case that I would go with all SATA drives. SATA II Hard Drives, and the new Plextor SATA DVD-DL burner. It made sense: Better bandwidth, better airflow == Win, Win... or so I thought.
I also figured I would take advantage of the nVidia chipset's RAID ability to make a more reliable system by going to RAID1 (heck, speed is already fast enough most of the time, and the MicroATX case only had 2 HD bays).
Bought a MotherBoard from ASUS (who I've had really good experiance with), and ran into a small problem. Icould not get WindowsXP to install with the HardDrives in any RAID configuration and the Optical Drive connected. After lots of emails back and forth to ASUS, they finally admitted that the nVidia chipset doesn't support SATA Optical Drives when RAID is enabled.
Rather poor design by nVidia, especially since this is their "latest and greatest" chipset.
I realise SATA Optical is new, but the SIIG PCIe board I picked up recognizes it just fine, and the so does the nVidia chipset if RAID is dissabled. Whose bright idea was that?
So, you may trust nVidia to "Get it right", but I don't.
Probably some wet behind the ears responder (or one with minimal imagination/language barrier), thought they were asking if it was okay to use it as a 'regular' keyboard, as opposed to using the macro-ing capabilities.... just a guess though since I don't play WoW, EQ, or any other MMORPG since the Island of Kesmai (ah to remember the first time you kill and skin a troll).
We ended up covering this sort of topic in OS Design, which, Ironically enough I took in my last semester. In order to take Operating Systems, we had to already have finished the sequence track for programing (including Basic Programing, Alogrithms, Data Structures and Advanced Data Structures), and the Hardware sequence of classes (which included basic logic design, Assembly programming, Intermediate Logic Design and a few other odds and ends).
I already knew about accessing consecutive memory locations to minimize cache hits (was actually back in school finishing up my degree:) ), but it was more or less as you suggested. The class was FULL of interesting things about OS/Hardware design and the trade-offs inherent in all the different approaches. I actually thought it was a lot more fun than some of the previous semesters of work, and it was a good idea of why finishing the degree is a "Good Thing"(tm):)
Ironically, the AMD64 series CPU's have no front side bus. This includes the X2 series. They have a hypertransport bus, which is similar but different. This is one of the premier reasons that the X2/Opterons scale so much better than the Intel equivalents, they do not have a saturated FSB as they have direct HTT links CPU-CPU
Isn't the direct CPU-CPU connections and the direct CPU-Memory connections an evolution of the EVA architecture AMD licensed from DEC? Sure would seem like their long range strategy is starting to pay off (and that they had the vision to see where they needed to go to inovate in the PC field).
BTW, The most striking thing I learned I my first day of OS design (a while ago), was how the computer industry keep re-inventing the wheel.
Mainframes seem to lead the way, PCs seem to be a few generations behind, but developing the same features, in the same general order. Handhelds seem set to follow in the path of their PC breathren.
I suppose we should be surprised, but its amusing to think about things we view as innovative in the PC arena and realize how long some of them have been around in the mainframe world.
It also is a taste of wat the market is going to be like with the 6 flavors of Windows Vista we've been hearing them mention:)
Too bad most people don't think they have an alternative... although considering the push we've been seeing Mac's get in the media, that might not stay true for long:)
If I was a consultant, marketing PC to Mac migration services would probably be a good (and easy/fun) thing to do for a bit.
I remember the rumors recently that the current "iPod Video" is not what Apple really had in mind for the iPod video and that the next generation would have a screen the size of the device, and move the controls to a touch sensitive screen.
If this is true (and I think it likely), then it would also be a perfect opportunity for Apple to upgrade the PDA functions already in the iPod by including better text entry (a soft keyboard, and/or a stylus of some sort?). These small changes could easily turn the iPod into a converged device that would kill 90% of the market for traditional PDAs.
I think most people prefer the idea of keeping their PDA and telephone seperate, mostly due to battery life concerns. On the other hand, since you already connect an iPod regularly to a computer to load up new music, recharge it, etc., it is already being treated as it would need to be to handle most PDA functions. Irronically an iPod/PDA wouldn't have a replacable battery (assuming the follow the previous designs), while a Cell phone would, but one advantage of an iPod/PDA over most PDAs is the large non-volatile storage capacity. With most PDAs, when you run out of power, you data is lost. With an iPod/PDA, running out of power means you ran out of power:) Find an outlet/usb port/firewire port, and your device can be recharged and you can again access your data without having to reload it from a PC. Heck, I've even seen emergency chargers for sale in airports that use the dock connector and a one-time battery to deliver 10 hours of extra life to an iPod (or so they claimed), or the Belkin attachment that runs it using batteries.
Granted, one of the things people like about PDAs is the "add-on" software they put on it, but, after owning various PDAs (mostly Palm), for the past 10 years, I find that the only programs I really use are the Memo, Addressbook, Clock, Calculator, and one "custom app" (eBook Reader). Quite bluntly, I would be surprised if apple didn't offer support for all of those things. In fact, if they had everything BUT the eBook reader, I would still dump my aging PDA (a Sony Clie that I love), in favor of a new iPod. I can read the eBooks on my laptop if I really want.
If Apple is smart they could use the iPod popularity to re-enter the PDA market (everyone remember the Newton?:) ), and use that to further entice people to start using their OS X platform.
Which is one of the reasons why non-volitile main memory could be useful for portable devices where you don't want them on all the time (to conserve battery life), but want them to be instantly on (like hibernate modes).
The way most devices have been dealing with this is be using volitile memory and a hibernate mode that uses only a trickle charge of power.
Non-Volitile memory would allow even small drains on the portable electronics while maintaining the ability to come up right where you left off.
Unless intent can be proven, attempted murder is the wrong charge.
Criminal Negligence would be more approrpriate assuming Chaney's hunting partner lives.
If he dies, Manslaughter would be a more likely charge than Murder (again, since it probably can't be proven that Chaney had intent to shoot his friend).
Personally I like the bumper sticker I've seen floating around: I'd rather go hunting with Chaney, than driving with Kennedy.
Slashdot Mirror
Nice idea.
... but they'll have it all the same, and if that happens to help drive up the total number of units sold, which in turn is something Sony can show content producers to prove "their format is winning"? hey, so much the better from Sony's perspective.
... yeah, MS has talked about an Add-On module, but unless there is a killer game that needs it, I don't see people runing out to get one, especially since the 'early adopter' segment already has (will have?) an XBox360 at that point, and will be looking to the PS3 as the "new shiny toy". All in all, its a rather good strategy from Sony, and I bet it will probably work. Unless there are some serious missteps, the next generation format wars could be over before the first shot is really fired, or the first player ships.
I think this is what Sony is afraid of (that people will wait). I think this is also why they decided that Blu-ray *must* be included in the PS3 (even to the point that waiting for the spec to finalize pushed the ship date).
People may be willing to wait on the sidelines to watch who wins the HD format wars before committing, but quite a number of people will be interested in getting the PS3. They may not care about the Blu-Ray drive
As for HD-DVD
Clippy?
There are downsides to the above description. :)
... possibly even the purchase model (the way iTunes is for music and trying to be for TV/Video right now).
1) The disk they give you will be a 'burned' disk vs a 'pressed' disk. It might have a shorter shelf life, and it will probably be more vulnerable to environmental issues (a downside to the consumer, not to the seller/studio).
2) The above buisness plan has two potential competitors:
i) Netflix and Blockbuster type 'delivered to your door' content. Why go out, when you have to wait only a few days to get a disk this way? (ultimately not something that can be easily answered unless you need a disk 'now', which tends to be a smaller percentage of the possible purchases).
ii) Video on Demand. The natural evolution (assuming the studios allow it to happen), is to download the video you want, and either have a window you can watch it in, a number of times you can watch it, or a limited amount of storage you can keep at one time. TiVo has already started playing with this model, and was rumored to have partnered with Netflix awhile back. I participated in a trial which downloaded "Red Pants" the docu-history of Hong-Kong Stuntmen. I found the download quite good, and would probably consider 'renting' movies this way. The movie, once downloaded to my TiVo was allowed to hang out as long as I wanted, but took up space (a good thing, it took me a few weeks to clear time to watch it). I tried seeing if I could download it via TiVo2Go (so I could watch it on my PSP to/from work), but its locked down as a non-copiable program (the same as RocketBoom is during their current 'VideoCast trial').
Ultimately I believe that this is the future for the rental model
Depends on the application. If you need the physical object for delivery (say for sale to end users), you're probably right, provided you need the physical object in a compact enough timeframe.
If you just need the information then the only issues is storage at the far end, and the ability to mount the a disk image (which most modern operating systems should be able to do).
Of course, in the hybrid case where you can produce a disk + colateral "relatively" rapidly for sale to a consumer, then the second option becomes even more enticing.
Imagine a "blockbuster-esque" store, where you picked which movie you wanted to view, wanted 2 minutes, and had a copy in your hand for their new "rent it, but if it isn't back within x days your credit card will be charged as if you bought it" policy. Now imagine if the store had a catalog as big as IMDB, was never out of any movie, and you only had to wait a few minutes (3 minutes? 2 minutes?) to be holding the movie you wanted to watch in your hand.
Hadn't thought about that, but I can see the report on the "newest worm outbreak cripples computers across the globe" actually being GAIM shutting down their network. :)
I hadn't considered that Aero Glass is essentially turning the desktop into a FPS issue.
Suddenly Microsoft's decision to grab people from the XBox360 dev team makes more sense (to me at least), since they probably have more experiance thinking this way than other GUI developers.
I suppose it all depends on the MMORPG.
... or lack there of).
... perhaps for a modest 'handling' fee that allows you to transition between worlds?
... I don't expect it to happen tomorrow, but there are a fair amount of interesting ideas there.
:) )
I could easily see a MMORPG system based around G.U.R.P.S. Yes, it could technically be multiple "play worlds" each devoted to a specific genre (magic and sorcery, cyberpunk, space fantasy), but the underlying mechanics could be set up so that a character COULD transfer between them (although it might be painful as prized skills might now be useless due to technology
Yes, it would require co-ordination (perhaps at an unprecedented level), but its not all that outrageous. Perhaps rules could be worked out regarding 'swapping out skills'
Perhaps there is a central avatar and all other are merely 'local' partial identities (similar to Passport) where certain features are universal, and others are only local to a virtual environment, with certain things in any environment kicking back to the central avatar and therefore out to the other environments.
Yeah
(yeah, I did RTFA, I'm quite convinced the article itself is crap though
Well
Here in Old Europe, however, GSM/Umts connect cards are quite popular among execs and road warriors. As of today, there is no such thing as an ExpressCard GSM/Umts modem.
I agree. It does seem like peripherals are a bit slow to come out, but new Dell laptops are also touting ExpressCard so its not like its only Apple (like when FireWire first came out).
On the other hand, GSM connect cards based on ExpressCard are supposed to be out by June or Sept (depends on who you believe and who your provider is). Not great, not terrible. If this is a deal-breaker for you on getting a new MacBook, hold off till they have what you want. Running Mac on Intel is still "early adopter" territory anyway since quite a few apps aren't out in Universal Binary format yet.
... No one uses the MS Office Suite becuase of Access. ...
:cringe: My wife calls me up when she needs to get Excel or Access to do something, not because I use them (although she uses them both every day and would kick my butt in most contests involving them), but because she knows I'm a programmer and can figure it out for her. :)
Hate to disagree (mostly because I really wish you were right), but a lot of mid-level managers (often an overlapping group who are Excel Power Users), also use Access because even some of them have gotten through the idea, that some things require a database instead of just really complex spreadsheets.
I've had to work with some of them and it was an eye-opening experience to see how much they love their (rather flawed from my perspective) tools, simply because they put tremendous power to simply do what they needed to, without a DBA, Programmer, etc.
Yes, there are some things they do poorly due to lack of knowledge but 90% of the time the power it gives them outweighs any of that. And for the other 1%?
Here is a list of things that any phone more advanced than a Nokia 5160 could concievably do (especially with Symbian or other smart phone OSes), but which don't ship from the manufucturer, and are thus relegated to half-written, poorly integrated shareware apps that don't work on different smart phones running the same OS:
* Answering machine. Who needs voice mail on the provider side? Your phone probably has memory onboard + expansion slot memory. It has enough brains to record voice memos, do voice dialing, and play MP3s as ringtones. How hard is this to implement? Plus there's no monthly fee!
You pay a monthly fee for voicemail? Most providers in my area include call-waiting, voicemail, caller-id as part of the "standard low rate" they charge you. Yeah, I'm sure its tacked on, but its not like opting out buys you anything, except no answering machine if you're outside your calling zone or your phone isn't getting reception (indoors, underground, etc.). Yes, it would be nice if they had a local cache of voicemail so if I go into somewhere where I have no reception I can still retrieve any messages I might have had, but thats no biggey.
Also, if you leave a phone turned on, but on silent (I usually have to setup a custom config that disables Vibrate and alert messaging), then you still have the caller log and SMS messages that the phone can log while the phone is unobtrusive.
* Time-of-day call ignore. Are you in a meeting for a certain time? Have lectures or classes? Doctors appointment? Your phone should automatically go into a silent mode (and kick over to the answering machine). Why let yourself be the point of failure?
Okay, this would be nice. I suppose once you start integrating an calender anyway, adding a "mode" pull-down for what mode the phone should be in during the meeting should be possible. Not so much time-of-day tied, but schedule tied (at least in my mind)
* Selective disturb. Studying, working on a project, or otherwise engaged, but don't want to drop off the face of the earth? Make it so that only certain call groups can contact you, just in case.
My (non smart) phone can do this already. Are you sure yours cant?
* Privacy mode. Automatically reject calls from caller-id blocked numbers or long-distance (based on an area code list) numbers, or from people in certain groups.
* Smart synchronization with Palm or WinCE PDAs. Most smart phones have bluetooth, but so far I have yet to find a way to sychronize the smartphone with the PDA in any useful way. Don't we have vcards and other standards for this?
* Smart synchronization with a PC. Even just a stupid Windows client + some documentation would be fine. I can write something that'll let my Linux desktop sync if it's documented! This could be as simple as dumping the data from the internal memory to the expansion memory in a parsable format, and then restoring it the same way -- the PC could have a program to read the memory card and deal with the data.
All good ideas, and things I'd consider 'basic' features.
* Some kind of automation system. I have run across lots of little situations where I need to do something to a lot of contacts (move them into a group, delete duplicates, etc), and have found there's no batch interface. You have to deal with everything one click at a time.
I suppose its due to the fact that they are aiming as add-ons to a computer? (if you really need to do alot of something, we'll just assume you do it on the computers PIM software and re-sync?)
All of this stuff is pretty simple to do, and would elevate a smartphone from a fancy phone with a colour display and better ringtones. No Symbian OS phone I know supports time-based silencing, call ignore lists, answering machine, selective disturb, or sychronizes well. You can fake some of that with
Well ... on the plus side they seem to have gotten better about their handling of material since the Sliders fiasco (for the fans at least :) ).
... although with their emphesis on Mini-Series, I would expect to see that as an outlet for a new 'Firefly' story, sooner than a 22 episode full season. (don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to see a new season or three of Firefly)
... as opposed to Futurama which is always somewhat offensive, while completely amusing :) )
:)
They aquired Stargate when it was looking like it was going to wrap up in its 5th season (or was it 6th?), and its now going into its 10th? (and done rather decently including letter the characters grow and evolve).
They spun off Stargate Atlantis, and its now into its 2nd Season and looking forward to a 3rd.
Battlestar Gallactica is looking forward to a 3rd season as well, and getting rave reviews from critics, and some interesting re-imagining that I think most fans are appreciating, except for a few die-hards (Heck, my wife who isn't a big SciFi junky like I am has really gotten into the character driven stories of both SG:Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica! amazes the heck out of me).
Andromeda had already jumped the shark before Sci-Fi got hold of it (some would argue the same for Sliders), so I find it hard to blame them for the shows last season. Rather, I find it encouraging that they at least gave it a home for a last season, and an opportunity to finish telling their story (to admitedly medocre success).
I am also looking forward to their new show "Eureka" that looks very intreaging, and I hope shines as well as "The Invisible Man" and "The Chronicle" did. Granted they didn't last as long as they should have (both being fun and entertaining shows in my opinion), but they were both allowed something rare in the Network world, the chance for a satisfying conclusion and the wrapping of most major plot threads.
They've made mistakes (Farscape not getting a 5th Season for instance, which I think most fans are still sore about, even after the mini-series), but they have certainly made more positive moves as far as dramatic content goes
I won't get into their original half-hour shows which are usually more schlocky (and not so much my taste) considering "Ghost Hunters", "Scare Tactics", and "Tripping the Rift" (the last of which is at least somewhat amusing, while completely offensive
I'm sure, since this is Slashdot, someone will correct my facts if they think they are blatantly out of line with reality
Say what you will about KDE's overzelous use of the 'K' (Konqueror, KOffice, Kontact, KDevelop, et al.) at least they're consistant so you know what apps are part of the suite, and might have some idea what they do.
Someone think of the poor people that will have to read through all the spam that goes through one mailbox!!!
... I can picture the defense getting a 80GB archive tape and being told that was all messages recieved. Yes, 99.999% of them are spam. Enjoy.
Heck
Talk about burying the opposition in paperwork.
You'd think so, but when I was servicing a friends computer and needed to re-install the OS I found the problem. They hadn't gotten a CD. No problem, I thought, I'll just call the maker (whose name starts with G). They're response? No ... I'm sorry, the computer is out of warrenty (1 yr), and if you hadn't received a re-install CD you should have called us with the first 14 days, and no, we you can't have one now (even if we were willing to pay for it).
All OEMS SHOULD have replacement disks available, but just think of how much MS would charge them for the privaledge?
Not only do they want full disclosure, but if you are claiming a product's speed vs.
Recently I was building a new machine and ran into a small snag.
... or so I thought.
I figured since it was being built into a MicroATX case that I would go with all SATA drives. SATA II Hard Drives, and the new Plextor SATA DVD-DL burner. It made sense: Better bandwidth, better airflow == Win, Win
I also figured I would take advantage of the nVidia chipset's RAID ability to make a more reliable system by going to RAID1 (heck, speed is already fast enough most of the time, and the MicroATX case only had 2 HD bays).
Bought a MotherBoard from ASUS (who I've had really good experiance with), and ran into a small problem. Icould not get WindowsXP to install with the HardDrives in any RAID configuration and the Optical Drive connected. After lots of emails back and forth to ASUS, they finally admitted that the nVidia chipset doesn't support SATA Optical Drives when RAID is enabled.
Rather poor design by nVidia, especially since this is their "latest and greatest" chipset.
I realise SATA Optical is new, but the SIIG PCIe board I picked up recognizes it just fine, and the so does the nVidia chipset if RAID is dissabled. Whose bright idea was that?
So, you may trust nVidia to "Get it right", but I don't.
Why should we expect new and different things on the internet when big media companies are still dishing out rehashes and sequels in the movies?
Probably some wet behind the ears responder (or one with minimal imagination/language barrier), thought they were asking if it was okay to use it as a 'regular' keyboard, as opposed to using the macro-ing capabilities. ... just a guess though since I don't play WoW, EQ, or any other MMORPG since the Island of Kesmai (ah to remember the first time you kill and skin a troll).
From my own experiance ...
:)
We ended up covering this sort of topic in OS Design, which, Ironically enough I took in my last semester. In order to take Operating Systems, we had to already have finished the sequence track for programing (including Basic Programing, Alogrithms, Data Structures and Advanced Data Structures), and the Hardware sequence of classes (which included basic logic design, Assembly programming, Intermediate Logic Design and a few other odds and ends).
I already knew about accessing consecutive memory locations to minimize cache hits (was actually back in school finishing up my degree:) ), but it was more or less as you suggested. The class was FULL of interesting things about OS/Hardware design and the trade-offs inherent in all the different approaches. I actually thought it was a lot more fun than some of the previous semesters of work, and it was a good idea of why finishing the degree is a "Good Thing"(tm)
Isn't the direct CPU-CPU connections and the direct CPU-Memory connections an evolution of the EVA architecture AMD licensed from DEC? Sure would seem like their long range strategy is starting to pay off (and that they had the vision to see where they needed to go to inovate in the PC field).
BTW, The most striking thing I learned I my first day of OS design (a while ago), was how the computer industry keep re-inventing the wheel.
Mainframes seem to lead the way, PCs seem to be a few generations behind, but developing the same features, in the same general order. Handhelds seem set to follow in the path of their PC breathren.
I suppose we should be surprised, but its amusing to think about things we view as innovative in the PC arena and realize how long some of them have been around in the mainframe world.
It also is a taste of wat the market is going to be like with the 6 flavors of Windows Vista we've been hearing them mention :)
... although considering the push we've been seeing Mac's get in the media, that might not stay true for long :)
Too bad most people don't think they have an alternative
If I was a consultant, marketing PC to Mac migration services would probably be a good (and easy/fun) thing to do for a bit.
I remember the rumors recently that the current "iPod Video" is not what Apple really had in mind for the iPod video and that the next generation would have a screen the size of the device, and move the controls to a touch sensitive screen.
If this is true (and I think it likely), then it would also be a perfect opportunity for Apple to upgrade the PDA functions already in the iPod by including better text entry (a soft keyboard, and/or a stylus of some sort?). These small changes could easily turn the iPod into a converged device that would kill 90% of the market for traditional PDAs.
I think most people prefer the idea of keeping their PDA and telephone seperate, mostly due to battery life concerns. On the other hand, since you already connect an iPod regularly to a computer to load up new music, recharge it, etc., it is already being treated as it would need to be to handle most PDA functions. Irronically an iPod/PDA wouldn't have a replacable battery (assuming the follow the previous designs), while a Cell phone would, but one advantage of an iPod/PDA over most PDAs is the large non-volatile storage capacity. With most PDAs, when you run out of power, you data is lost. With an iPod/PDA, running out of power means you ran out of power
Granted, one of the things people like about PDAs is the "add-on" software they put on it, but, after owning various PDAs (mostly Palm), for the past 10 years, I find that the only programs I really use are the Memo, Addressbook, Clock, Calculator, and one "custom app" (eBook Reader). Quite bluntly, I would be surprised if apple didn't offer support for all of those things. In fact, if they had everything BUT the eBook reader, I would still dump my aging PDA (a Sony Clie that I love), in favor of a new iPod. I can read the eBooks on my laptop if I really want.
If Apple is smart they could use the iPod popularity to re-enter the PDA market (everyone remember the Newton?
Which is one of the reasons why non-volitile main memory could be useful for portable devices where you don't want them on all the time (to conserve battery life), but want them to be instantly on (like hibernate modes).
The way most devices have been dealing with this is be using volitile memory and a hibernate mode that uses only a trickle charge of power.
Non-Volitile memory would allow even small drains on the portable electronics while maintaining the ability to come up right where you left off.
Unless intent can be proven, attempted murder is the wrong charge.
Criminal Negligence would be more approrpriate assuming Chaney's hunting partner lives.
If he dies, Manslaughter would be a more likely charge than Murder (again, since it probably can't be proven that Chaney had intent to shoot his friend).
Personally I like the bumper sticker I've seen floating around:
I'd rather go hunting with Chaney, than driving with Kennedy.