- Make XP slow - blame it on a "bug". - Drop hints to the user. Windows 8 doesn't have this issue, because, its newer! - Maybe fix it before April 8, 2014, maybe not.
They have been trying to kill XP for years. Force the user to upgrade. Intentional or not, Microsoft are loving this. We all know it.
My pi has been sitting around, doing its business on the home network for over a year. Any chance of getting a Sata port for my Pi would be a worthwhile investment. Add to that a FPGA chip which would allow me to "play" with mining bit/lite coins, is good enough for me.
Great idea for Pi owners who are new to FPGA (eg: me), and, want to try it out on a platform which they are comfortable with.
It didnt work for me. If anything, turned me away from programming in my early life.
I'am the sort of person that needs a task, something enjoyable and a end result that makes it worth the time invested. I remember when i was 12, i created a lottery number generator in Qbasic for my parents. I learnt everything on my own, in my own time, and enjoyed every moment of it.
When i was 26, i had a dream to create a game. I always wanted to make my own game, but, i lacked the knowledge to do so. I found a program called 3Drad http://www.3drad.com/ . A game engine which allows you to quickly add pre-defined objects without using any code. After a year of playing with the engine, and, my knowledge and skills expanded. I wanted to increase the AI count from 2 to 7, and, use vectors/quats + raytracing instead of physx. To do this, i had to start coding by using the script object (anglescript). After a year of being self taught, and, following the community's tips, i re-created the whole game using just over 3k lines of code. Heres the finished product http://www.freankexpo.net/533/tr-zero
Theres alot of features i couldnt add to the 3drad version, due to limitations with the engine. Now, i'am 29, and currently working in a new engine with vs2008 and C++.
The point of this post is to hopefully show some of you that being force fed "hello world", and, boring lessons isnt for everyone. Sometimes, you need that self initiative and drive to make something you enjoy doing. Everyone is different, force fed lessons or not.
I hope code.org turns out "good" future programmers, ones that care about stability and performance. Hopefully get out of this "its a beta" era we live in today, instead of adding to it.
This! It's always the racist Republicans in the USA that whine constantly about free speech.
But where do you draw the line? If the government has the authority to arrest someone for hating Jews, then why can't they also arrest you for hating Republicans?
I love it how you guys from the USA always talk about the USA. Even if the news story is based in the UK.....:)
Now that I exclusively use online streaming services to watch television shows, I find the commercial volume issues there are far more irritating than I ever experienced on actual television.
Enable DRC (dynamic range compression) on your soundcard. Most current soundcards have this feature, and, many more.
--> "The vehicles we drive are getting smarter and smarter, as more and more gadgets are being crammed into them." The people who drive those vehicles, are becoming more reliant on gadgets and gizmos, to do the actual driving for them. Efficiently, reducing the drivers skill at driving.
Driving should take your whole attention, not some of it, or a little bit now and then. If you want everyone else on the road to feel safe, you need to pull your finger out of your ass, and do the simple task of Driving.
Driving is a skill, a skill which you qualified for. Not some glorified peice of paper that allows you to forget everything you learnt in a few days, and then rely on tech to do the job for you.
Offense taken. That's how testing works in the audio industry. Mainly because it's the only thing that makes sense.
Fair comment and i see your reasoning, however, if you want to appeal to more "knowledgeable" users in your tests, you should supply the following info: - What hardware playback device were you using for the tests? - What speakers/headphone devices were tested (DT 990 pro's / Ipod standard) - Were you tests consistent across the board of devices used?
A spectrum tells you almost nothing about how a codec sounds. Thus listening tests.
A spectrum analysis tells you everything regarding a codecs compression/quality ratio. If your aiming for your codec to simply "sound good" but actually "be completely false in reproduction", your codec will be ignored by professionals.
That's what a listening test answers. I know very few people who listen to music by unplugging their speakers, watching the spectrogram scroll by, and pretending to know what it sounds like.
True, but the professionals who actually make that "audio", will use a spectrogram to determine the optimal playback quality for a set device (usually iPod + iPod headphones). If the Opus codec fails in basic "true reproduction" of their audio, it will not be given the light of day.
Only telephony codecs do that; the highpass improves speech intelligibility according the studies done by Bell Labs. Opus has a 3Hz highpass to eliminate spectral leakage in samples with a DC offset.
You could increase that to 20hz for improved quality/compression ratio. 20hz is generally regarded as the cut off point for all audio production, mainly due to the fact its a pure vibration, and, causes unnecessary compression issues in the mix. 40hz for music production. Low pass is 13khz for modern music production.
No. Opus is based on CELT, a music codec, and SILK, a speech codec. You didn't even read the demo page? Dude, tons of pretty pictures. You missed the party hat though.
Pretty pictures might work on most people, but a page full of "hear say" does nothing to help Opus. My feedback was designed to get Opus re-thinking its target audience. Wheter they take some of that on board, or not, is no loss to me..ogg still is my prefered choice. Changing that is down to the quality/information provided in your tests.
" Its first release beat everything else last year at 64kbit/s in a listening test held at HydrogenAudio."
No offence, but this test was solely based on "user preference". - Wheres the Spectrum analysis of each codec? - Which codec is more true to the original.wav, using the above data as comparison? - Which codec cuts below 50hz? - Which codec emphasizes certain frequencies (8-10khz, typical LAME mp3)? - I'll automatically assume, your Opus codec (which is based on a voice codec) prioritizes bitrate quality between 500hz-4khz.
I still trust believe.ogg is the king of audio compression. If you want to encourage more users to try Opus, you actually want to be a "serious" about your work on the codec, you'll need to do at least one "scientific" test.
It is nonsense that artists won't do something for free
"However, its at a price of either £££, or, your time if they dont finish their work (which always happens)." (free)
Hint: don't go and suggest they program everything in 3d according to your specs, and deliver next Friday.
All the artists who joined my project have free reign on time frames (eg: in their own time). Without paying them, you really cant expect it any other way.
Specs need to exist, mainly for engine functionality. Again, i give them free reign on what they create.
The main issue with "free" artists is keeping them active/engaged on the project. Most artists i've found have either uni/full time jobs, as well as, working on about 5 other projects at the same time.
I've spent over 3 weeks of my time helping the artists with all the specs/questions/implementations of their work. From experience, unless your lucky and find that "team member", most of that time is wasted when nothing comes from it.
Simple solution = Paid artists. If you have the funds, its easy. For those of us who dont have the funds, its a lottery to find reliable artists for your game.
ps. I use indieDB for job postings. If you know of any others, please let me know:)
I'am currently working on a pure C++ game engine (vb2008), and, creating a DX11 game (similar to XGRA/Fzero). 40 bikes, network, online deathmatch etc. I've built the games code from scratch over 1/2 years in my spare time, using ray scans and no physx. That was the easy part.
For those of us who are either pure programmers, or, pure artists. Its a nightmare when you simply "have" to do the other. Its takes you more time, more effort, and i'am never happy with my own artist results.
There are others out there who can take on the role of models/art. However, its at a price of either £££, or, your time if they dont finish their work (which always happens).
If your lucky, you might find that "team player" who wants your project to succeed as much as you do. They can see a blank canvas to show off their work. But when theres no initial money involved, alot of their promises are never fulfilled.
So yes, i agree with the AC's post. Making a game is not just about programming, its: - Audio Production (sfx + music) - Texture artist (sprites + 2d textures + envmaps) - 3D modeller
Even if your game code is better than quake3, it wont matter if the above doesnt exist, or, at a quality in which "graphics = sales" world.
Those who are happy: - playing angry birds - tweeting - facebooking and generally adding nothing to society, != end of the desktop. Its just a phase in which the market is flooded with simpletons.
When people realise what a waste of life Facebook/Twitter is, they might use their desktop for something useful. No doubt, the idiot who wrote this article will then feel the need to write more pointless shit.
I used to work for a company with 150 machines, 10+ servers, few lazer cutters running windows (of all things). Programming was outsourced.
That job required 1 IT engineer, and, 1 IT manager. We also operated CCTV systems, when requested by management. Onsite callouts to external users, etc etc. Yeah, it was a family run company. You know the kind, workload piles up whilst you prioritize the family members requests (no matter how silly they were).
It sounds like you have the numbers, just in the wrong place.
"We also have 20 or so custom-made support applications that integrate with the ERP to provide a more streamlined interface to the factory workers in some cases," Theres another problem right there. Sounds like your programmers are simply throwing out quantity, instead of one quality application. It will bite them in the ass later down the line.
I honestly think your company should only have 2 programmers, 2 IT engineers. I wouldnt be surprised if they sacked the extra programmer and made the IT manager focus on IT, instead of programing.
"With little media attention on the recall, Musk might have a point about the unfair treatment Tesla gets in the news."
- Ford builds a combustion engine that relies on explosions to run. - Tesla builds an engine which removes the need for engine combustion completely, yet, still creates an explosion and fire.
Tesla are getting the wrap they deserve. The whole idea of an electrical car is to remove the need for combustion/explosions altogether. Whilst a engine should never "explode", a combustion engine technically is every time its running.
I really find Tesla has a childish attitude "Why do they always pick on us. Our battery life is great, your wrong, look at our internal 200 page report". Maybe a different approach of "How can we resolve this? Lets make electric cars better" would work more in their favour?
- Yes, its not a "MMORPG" - It is a online team based PVE shooter (hellgate london 2013) - it does require "skill/teamplay", and, not just relying on upgrades.
Give it a blast, its actually pretty good fun. If not, at least its something to pass the time until you find your next MMO.
Honestly, why cant they just teach kids C++ at school, instead of Java/HTML/"My language is better than yours but the same, Java 2.0"? - Teach them the "hardest" language first C++ (Minus machine code). - The language that encourages you to write with performance in mind, and, gives you a reward for doing so. - A language that isnt forced full of external functions which allow you to write shit code, and, bog down compiled performance.
- Wait 10 years
- Take note as every application in the world is done professionally, with a C++ writer behind the wheel. - Take note as webpages actually run on a current system without bogging down. - Take note as games/applications no longer kill battery life on your phone.
Whether they are using Java/HTML etc etc, their C++ background will help them understand "true" world performance when creating an application.
Well theres my "Wishful thinking post of the week" lol:)
Winamp served its purpose in version 2. After that, it just got bulkier, slower, and no improvements were made to playback accuracy or DSP quality.
I moved onto XMplay before AOL took over. The audio quality of XMPlay is the best i've ever heard. Even those old MP3s at 128kbit sound much more accurate/true when compared to Winamp.
If you dont believe me, try it for yourself. To quote the XMplay website "Balls-on accurate", and it is. http://www.un4seen.com/
GooBuntu != Ubuntu If Google believed Ubuntu was "fine", they wouldnt need to "optimize" it and create a new distro in the process....
Also, Dell monitors and workstations are the bread and butter of large software companies. Their high end workstations are absolutely fantastic.
Dell monitors, for cheap business use? I agree, they hold no data, easy to replace. Dell workstations, on a domain with roaming profiles and data stored on a HP server? I'd be satisfied with that.
Have you ever looked inside a Dell system, as a engineer? Buy a £60 motherboard on the net, then, look inside your dell system. The £60 motherboard you just brought is going to be more reliable. The majority of Dell motherboards still do not use Solid Capacitors. Also, they use the minimal amount of components for the board to function. And dont even get me started on their power supplies;)
I'll never forget the Dell rack server we used for Redhat Linux. We decided to try Dell due to it costing less than the HP equivalent. Biggest mistake we ever made. The Dell server failed twice in one day (PSU related) It was replaced by a HP equivalent the next day.
I used to work in a PC repair shop prior. 90% of all systems needing hardware repairs (PSU/Motherboards) were Dells. On most occasions, always outside their 1 year warranty by a few months. From experience, trust me, stay away from Dell. Its just not worth the risk.
"The XPS 13 laptop comes preloaded with Ubuntu® 12.04 LTS, a basic set of developer tools and utilities, as well as access to two beta projects: the cloud launcher and the profile tool."
Dell slaps an outdated version of Ubuntu onto a £1k+ laptop, markets it as "Designed for developers" and its news?
Any creditable Developer with experience, Would not: 1. Buy a Dell (which has a well known reputation for cheap parts/failures) 2. Use Ubuntu as their Linux distro (from experience, the slowest/bloated linux OS available)
We (the uk) still have these doing their rounds. The main reason they have declined is due to supermarkets obtaining the customer sales. Nothing to do with how their powered.
Then, send a critical "security" update out for all office products. Change the file structure a little, prevent non-office applications from loading new files.
Slashdot Mirror
BT has no future.
BT has no past.
And now Bruce is leaving? There goes the current.
- Make XP slow
- blame it on a "bug".
- Drop hints to the user. Windows 8 doesn't have this issue, because, its newer!
- Maybe fix it before April 8, 2014, maybe not.
They have been trying to kill XP for years. Force the user to upgrade.
Intentional or not, Microsoft are loving this. We all know it.
My pi has been sitting around, doing its business on the home network for over a year.
Any chance of getting a Sata port for my Pi would be a worthwhile investment. Add to that a FPGA chip which would allow me to "play" with mining bit/lite coins, is good enough for me.
Great idea for Pi owners who are new to FPGA (eg: me), and, want to try it out on a platform which they are comfortable with.
It didnt work for me. If anything, turned me away from programming in my early life.
I'am the sort of person that needs a task, something enjoyable and a end result that makes it worth the time invested.
I remember when i was 12, i created a lottery number generator in Qbasic for my parents. I learnt everything on my own, in my own time, and enjoyed every moment of it.
When i was 26, i had a dream to create a game. I always wanted to make my own game, but, i lacked the knowledge to do so.
I found a program called 3Drad http://www.3drad.com/ . A game engine which allows you to quickly add pre-defined objects without using any code.
After a year of playing with the engine, and, my knowledge and skills expanded. I wanted to increase the AI count from 2 to 7, and, use vectors/quats + raytracing instead of physx.
To do this, i had to start coding by using the script object (anglescript). After a year of being self taught, and, following the community's tips, i re-created the whole game using just over 3k lines of code.
Heres the finished product http://www.freankexpo.net/533/tr-zero
Theres alot of features i couldnt add to the 3drad version, due to limitations with the engine.
Now, i'am 29, and currently working in a new engine with vs2008 and C++.
http://www.indiedb.com/games/tr-zero
The point of this post is to hopefully show some of you that being force fed "hello world", and, boring lessons isnt for everyone. Sometimes, you need that self initiative and drive to make something you enjoy doing.
Everyone is different, force fed lessons or not.
I hope code.org turns out "good" future programmers, ones that care about stability and performance. Hopefully get out of this "its a beta" era we live in today, instead of adding to it.
This! It's always the racist Republicans in the USA that whine constantly about free speech.
But where do you draw the line? If the government has the authority to arrest someone for hating Jews, then why can't they also arrest you for hating Republicans?
I love it how you guys from the USA always talk about the USA. :)
Even if the news story is based in the UK.....
Now that I exclusively use online streaming services to watch television shows, I find the commercial volume issues there are far more irritating than I ever experienced on actual television.
Enable DRC (dynamic range compression) on your soundcard. Most current soundcards have this feature, and, many more.
Control panel, sound, playback, enhancements etc.
--> "The vehicles we drive are getting smarter and smarter, as more and more gadgets are being crammed into them."
The people who drive those vehicles, are becoming more reliant on gadgets and gizmos, to do the actual driving for them. Efficiently, reducing the drivers skill at driving.
Driving should take your whole attention, not some of it, or a little bit now and then.
If you want everyone else on the road to feel safe, you need to pull your finger out of your ass, and do the simple task of Driving.
Driving is a skill, a skill which you qualified for. Not some glorified peice of paper that allows you to forget everything you learnt in a few days, and then rely on tech to do the job for you.
Offense taken.
That's how testing works in the audio industry. Mainly because it's the only thing that makes sense.
Fair comment and i see your reasoning, however, if you want to appeal to more "knowledgeable" users in your tests, you should supply the following info:
- What hardware playback device were you using for the tests?
- What speakers/headphone devices were tested (DT 990 pro's / Ipod standard)
- Were you tests consistent across the board of devices used?
A spectrum tells you almost nothing about how a codec sounds. Thus listening tests.
A spectrum analysis tells you everything regarding a codecs compression/quality ratio.
If your aiming for your codec to simply "sound good" but actually "be completely false in reproduction", your codec will be ignored by professionals.
That's what a listening test answers. I know very few people who listen to music by unplugging their speakers, watching the spectrogram scroll by, and pretending to know what it sounds like.
True, but the professionals who actually make that "audio", will use a spectrogram to determine the optimal playback quality for a set device (usually iPod + iPod headphones).
If the Opus codec fails in basic "true reproduction" of their audio, it will not be given the light of day.
Only telephony codecs do that; the highpass improves speech intelligibility according the studies done by Bell Labs.
Opus has a 3Hz highpass to eliminate spectral leakage in samples with a DC offset.
You could increase that to 20hz for improved quality/compression ratio.
20hz is generally regarded as the cut off point for all audio production, mainly due to the fact its a pure vibration, and, causes unnecessary compression issues in the mix. 40hz for music production.
Low pass is 13khz for modern music production.
No. Opus is based on CELT, a music codec, and SILK, a speech codec. You didn't even read the demo page? Dude, tons of pretty pictures. You missed the party hat though.
Pretty pictures might work on most people, but a page full of "hear say" does nothing to help Opus. .ogg still is my prefered choice. Changing that is down to the quality/information provided in your tests.
My feedback was designed to get Opus re-thinking its target audience. Wheter they take some of that on board, or not, is no loss to me.
" Its first release beat everything else last year at 64kbit/s in a listening test held at HydrogenAudio."
No offence, but this test was solely based on "user preference". .wav, using the above data as comparison?
- Wheres the Spectrum analysis of each codec?
- Which codec is more true to the original
- Which codec cuts below 50hz?
- Which codec emphasizes certain frequencies (8-10khz, typical LAME mp3)?
- I'll automatically assume, your Opus codec (which is based on a voice codec) prioritizes bitrate quality between 500hz-4khz.
I still trust believe .ogg is the king of audio compression.
If you want to encourage more users to try Opus, you actually want to be a "serious" about your work on the codec, you'll need to do at least one "scientific" test.
Just to be clear on a few things.
It is nonsense that artists won't do something for free
"However, its at a price of either £££, or, your time if they dont finish their work (which always happens)." (free)
Hint: don't go and suggest they program everything in 3d according to your specs, and deliver next Friday.
All the artists who joined my project have free reign on time frames (eg: in their own time). Without paying them, you really cant expect it any other way.
Specs need to exist, mainly for engine functionality. Again, i give them free reign on what they create.
The main issue with "free" artists is keeping them active/engaged on the project. Most artists i've found have either uni/full time jobs, as well as, working on about 5 other projects at the same time.
I've spent over 3 weeks of my time helping the artists with all the specs/questions/implementations of their work. From experience, unless your lucky and find that "team member", most of that time is wasted when nothing comes from it.
Simple solution = Paid artists. If you have the funds, its easy.
For those of us who dont have the funds, its a lottery to find reliable artists for your game.
ps. I use indieDB for job postings. If you know of any others, please let me know :)
I actually agree with this AC post.
I'am currently working on a pure C++ game engine (vb2008), and, creating a DX11 game (similar to XGRA/Fzero). 40 bikes, network, online deathmatch etc.
I've built the games code from scratch over 1/2 years in my spare time, using ray scans and no physx. That was the easy part.
For those of us who are either pure programmers, or, pure artists. Its a nightmare when you simply "have" to do the other. Its takes you more time, more effort, and i'am never happy with my own artist results.
There are others out there who can take on the role of models/art. However, its at a price of either £££, or, your time if they dont finish their work (which always happens).
If your lucky, you might find that "team player" who wants your project to succeed as much as you do. They can see a blank canvas to show off their work. But when theres no initial money involved, alot of their promises are never fulfilled.
So yes, i agree with the AC's post. Making a game is not just about programming, its:
- Audio Production (sfx + music)
- Texture artist (sprites + 2d textures + envmaps)
- 3D modeller
Even if your game code is better than quake3, it wont matter if the above doesnt exist, or, at a quality in which "graphics = sales" world.
The users are dead, not the desktop.
Those who are happy:
- playing angry birds
- tweeting
- facebooking
and generally adding nothing to society, != end of the desktop. Its just a phase in which the market is flooded with simpletons.
When people realise what a waste of life Facebook/Twitter is, they might use their desktop for something useful.
No doubt, the idiot who wrote this article will then feel the need to write more pointless shit.
"Is the Porsche Carrera GT Too Dangerous?" = No. Is a Veyron too dangerous? Is a 1000cc motorbike too dangerous?
"Are drivers who break the law dangerous to others?" = Yes
Retard subject of the year on /.
I used to work for a company with 150 machines, 10+ servers, few lazer cutters running windows (of all things).
Programming was outsourced.
That job required 1 IT engineer, and, 1 IT manager.
We also operated CCTV systems, when requested by management.
Onsite callouts to external users, etc etc.
Yeah, it was a family run company. You know the kind, workload piles up whilst you prioritize the family members requests (no matter how silly they were).
It sounds like you have the numbers, just in the wrong place.
"We also have 20 or so custom-made support applications that integrate with the ERP to provide a more streamlined interface to the factory workers in some cases,"
Theres another problem right there. Sounds like your programmers are simply throwing out quantity, instead of one quality application. It will bite them in the ass later down the line.
I honestly think your company should only have 2 programmers, 2 IT engineers.
I wouldnt be surprised if they sacked the extra programmer and made the IT manager focus on IT, instead of programing.
Ear plugs = 10p
Lifes so simple when you think outside the box....
"With little media attention on the recall, Musk might have a point about the unfair treatment Tesla gets in the news."
- Ford builds a combustion engine that relies on explosions to run.
- Tesla builds an engine which removes the need for engine combustion completely, yet, still creates an explosion and fire.
Tesla are getting the wrap they deserve. The whole idea of an electrical car is to remove the need for combustion/explosions altogether.
Whilst a engine should never "explode", a combustion engine technically is every time its running.
I really find Tesla has a childish attitude "Why do they always pick on us. Our battery life is great, your wrong, look at our internal 200 page report".
Maybe a different approach of "How can we resolve this? Lets make electric cars better" would work more in their favour?
- Yes, its not a "MMORPG"
- It is a online team based PVE shooter (hellgate london 2013)
- it does require "skill/teamplay", and, not just relying on upgrades.
Give it a blast, its actually pretty good fun. If not, at least its something to pass the time until you find your next MMO.
Honestly, why cant they just teach kids C++ at school, instead of Java/HTML/"My language is better than yours but the same, Java 2.0"?
- Teach them the "hardest" language first C++ (Minus machine code).
- The language that encourages you to write with performance in mind, and, gives you a reward for doing so.
- A language that isnt forced full of external functions which allow you to write shit code, and, bog down compiled performance.
- Wait 10 years
- Take note as every application in the world is done professionally, with a C++ writer behind the wheel.
- Take note as webpages actually run on a current system without bogging down.
- Take note as games/applications no longer kill battery life on your phone.
Whether they are using Java/HTML etc etc, their C++ background will help them understand "true" world performance when creating an application.
Well theres my "Wishful thinking post of the week" lol :)
Winamp served its purpose in version 2.
After that, it just got bulkier, slower, and no improvements were made to playback accuracy or DSP quality.
I moved onto XMplay before AOL took over.
The audio quality of XMPlay is the best i've ever heard. Even those old MP3s at 128kbit sound much more accurate/true when compared to Winamp.
If you dont believe me, try it for yourself. To quote the XMplay website "Balls-on accurate", and it is.
http://www.un4seen.com/
I guess those schlubs at Google are not credible developers by your definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goobuntu
GooBuntu != Ubuntu
If Google believed Ubuntu was "fine", they wouldnt need to "optimize" it and create a new distro in the process....
Also, Dell monitors and workstations are the bread and butter of large software companies. Their high end workstations are absolutely fantastic.
Dell monitors, for cheap business use? I agree, they hold no data, easy to replace.
Dell workstations, on a domain with roaming profiles and data stored on a HP server? I'd be satisfied with that.
If you don't consider this ( http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cap3610w7p0078ps&model_id=precision-t3610-workstation&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04 ) suitable for use by a "credible" developer, I have to say I am curious what you think is!
Have you ever looked inside a Dell system, as a engineer? ;)
Buy a £60 motherboard on the net, then, look inside your dell system. The £60 motherboard you just brought is going to be more reliable.
The majority of Dell motherboards still do not use Solid Capacitors. Also, they use the minimal amount of components for the board to function.
And dont even get me started on their power supplies
I'll never forget the Dell rack server we used for Redhat Linux. We decided to try Dell due to it costing less than the HP equivalent.
Biggest mistake we ever made. The Dell server failed twice in one day (PSU related)
It was replaced by a HP equivalent the next day.
I used to work in a PC repair shop prior. 90% of all systems needing hardware repairs (PSU/Motherboards) were Dells. On most occasions, always outside their 1 year warranty by a few months.
From experience, trust me, stay away from Dell. Its just not worth the risk.
"The XPS 13 laptop comes preloaded with Ubuntu® 12.04 LTS, a basic set of developer tools and utilities, as well as access to two beta projects: the cloud launcher and the profile tool."
Dell slaps an outdated version of Ubuntu onto a £1k+ laptop, markets it as "Designed for developers" and its news?
Any creditable Developer with experience, Would not:
1. Buy a Dell (which has a well known reputation for cheap parts/failures)
2. Use Ubuntu as their Linux distro (from experience, the slowest/bloated linux OS available)
Get uninstalled, then, manually deleted from my system.
You know, the ones you uninstall and they leave files/folders/reg entries on your system, then claim its a "bug".
We (the uk) still have these doing their rounds.
The main reason they have declined is due to supermarkets obtaining the customer sales. Nothing to do with how their powered.
Completely abused here.
No offence, but a phone that can "flex" 1/2mm by using extreme force is not a breakthrough. Its on the side of pointless.
If we are using LG's definition of "flex", my motherboard does it better, not to mention, my monitor is constantly flexing by 0.01mm on its own.
Have a KitKat.
Then, send a critical "security" update out for all office products.
Change the file structure a little, prevent non-office applications from loading new files.
Happy to help MS!