With a reliance on constant connectivity and no hard drive, a Chrome notebook could be described as an overgrown smart phone with a keyboard.
So, unless the article is mistaken (which is possible)... that would be a dumb terminal, with no storage.
This may not be the device for you, but it may be the device for a lot of people. It's worth pointing out that over half a million people buy smartphones every day that also walk away from a mountain of desktop-computer annoyances.
Hey, I'm all about being able to buy and run whatever device you like. I'm just trying to make sense of this device as it's described -- and, I was responding to the first-post which asked if it was more locked down than Apple's stuff.
From the sounds of it, it's markedly more locked down than my iPad. I can absolutely see this being good for many things. Not sure I'd want one, but it's also a prototype -- so it's a little premature to say anything about it.
Maybe we should all band together to make sure we don't get banned from getting banded. We could have band leaders, banned leaders, and banned banded leaders.
Doesn't that make it even more closed than an iProduct?
If I read the article correctly, a purely "the web browser is everything" simply won't be worth a damn if you have no network connection.
It's also got no storage, so it's not like you could load it up with your MP3s or pictures.
So, it's a dumb-terminal that requires me to have constant access to the internet, can't store files, can't have actual programs installed on it. I just can't see who is going to want this.
Say what you will, but at least my iPad lets me install software, store my photos to browse, add eBooks, movies, and music... and I can use it on an airplane.
I would bet there are *tons* of products that are sold now that used to be covered by patents.
Well, I know they've extended copyright to absurd terms... have they tried doing it to patents yet? I'm sure if some people had their way, those patents would never lapse either.
It seems like the lawmakers keep giving companies what they want at the expense of the rest of us.
There is no "patent war" defense against a company that doesn't make anything. If you don't make anything, you can't be countersued. From a business perspective it's an awesome idea.
Better to nuke the whole site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.:-P
While I'm sure your world is all shiny and pretty, and I don't want to spoil it for you... I'm not convinced what you say is true.
"Intellectual Property" is what America is betting the whole farm on -- I fail to see how it would be possible to rein in the law with regards to copyright, patents, and what-not.
Do you see anything falling into the public domain that was ever published by an American company? Do you see anything to do with "fair use" being upheld? Do you see any moves to rein in patents? In fact, you see all of these things being strengthened and mad more ridiculous.
Sorry man, we're going backwards, not the way you hope we will.
this is the first time they've actually made *themselves* vulnerable.
going through subsidiaries is one thing but the end result here is that IV might get screwed (hopefully).
Wait, I'm confused... the one link the summary mentions nothing about subsidiaries, so I don't understand... how might they be making themselves vulnerable?
Sorry if that's a thick sounding question, not done my first coffee yet.:-P
Will IV allow licensing of their patent portfolio, or will they do like a lot of companies, just get patents so nobody else can use them?
Well, the original Slashdot article linked in TFS indicates that "it doesn't actually use these patents – except to threaten people with. In other words, Intellectual Ventures is a patent troll". They only license their patent portfolio. Expect this to basically be a shakedown.
Man, I hate that a company can exist just to own patents and sue people.
Is there a chance they'd try to monetize the J2EE/JEE container market (hey, they're holding the still-warm corpse of BEA) by being deliberately opaque with their JEE specifications?
It's Oracle, of course they will.
Or at least, trying to extort or marginalize free/libre implementations as much as possible?
Well, following a link that another poster so graciously provided, it would seem that:
To be honest, I'm surprised that the TCK license for Java SE 7 still contains any pretence that it can be implemented in open source by anyone other than Oracle. At least the restrictions are clear (and I suspect, but cannot prove, that very similar restrictions were offered for Java SE 5 in the Sun/Oracle vs Harmony dispute).
. Earlier up in the page, he says:
The definition of a "product" contains what looks like an unusual part (highlighted). It appears that a "product" must meet three criteria beyond the basic ones:
* "have a principal purpose which is substantially different from a stand-alone implementation of that specification"
* "represent a significant functional and value enhancement over any stand-alone implementation of that specification"
* "not be marketed as a technology which replaces or substitutes for a stand-alone implementation of that specification"
I believe that Apache Harmony would fail all three of these tests (were the project to try and implement this JSR, which they probably won't). Since a "stand-alone implementation" would be OpenJDK/OracleJDK, the principal purpose of Harmony is clearly the same (not substantially different), Harmony does not offer significant functional enhancement, and Harmony would be marketed as a replacement for OpenJDK/OracleJDK.
So, what I read is that Oracle basically wouldn't allow anybody else to make a JVM if its sole purpose is to be a replacement for the Oracle one.
So, yes, I think everything you ask is likely true.
Changing the licensing on Java toward the end of Sun's lifespan was the best thing that would have happened for the future of Java innovation.
Or, quite possibly the worst -- if we end up with a bunch of incompatible JVMs, and Oracle screeching that you're not allowed to have OpenJDK because it violates their license... well, then Java as a viable platform would be largely toast, wouldn't it?
So, does this mean we won't be seeing any new versions of Tomcat?
Last I checked, you can run Tomcat with the Sun, er, Oracle JDK.
This seems to be more about alternate implementations of the JVM itself, though, the more Oracle craps all over everybody else, the more I fear some of the goodness about using Java will evaporate.
Sad that it has to come to this... I can't begin to say how useful the Apache libraries have been in past Java development. Why reinvent the wheel and plumbing when Apache is providing really awesome libraries for free that cover much of the "grunt work".
I fear Oracle is doing far more harm than good to Java.
I'm willing to acknowledge the possibility, yes. It's just interesting to me that people are willing to accept their own interpretations of events as fact.
Huh? I've read probably 30 or 40 news stories trying to sift through what is being said by various sources on this one to try to get a handle on what is being reported. I'm not just sitting around saying "Oh, he did/didn't rape those women because that's what I want to believe".
I don't think the allegations are character assassination -- I think the women legitimately did go to police, I just don't think the scale of the response of involving Interpol matches what would be happening for anybody else. I do question the underlying reasons for that. You don't call Interpol because someone wants someone they slept with to have an STD test.
Some people will always cry conspiracy theory. And, equally, some people will always say that if the allegations have been made, they must be true. I don't agree with either standpoint.
Is anyone even remotely willing to acknowledge the slightest possibility that Assange may be, in fact, a scumbag, and that raping women is just something that scumbags do?
I'm willing to acknowledge the possibility... but, these allegations, er, allegedly came about after the two women met up with one another and realized they'd both had unprotected sex with him and wanted him to get tested for STDs. The women (again, allegedly) didn't want him prosecuted.
I seriously question if Interpol and the whole world would have been notified of this if this was anybody else.
Are you willing to accept that the whole thing has escalated beyond a point that would have happened under any other circumstances and that this wasn't rape?
Slashdot Mirror
That doesn't seem like something you'd send in a memo.
You should also refrain from injecting heroin while at work, too. :-P
I don't believe that. ;-)
*laugh* Oh, I thought you meant that consumers getting abused by the law would lead to reform.
I think we're in agreement, then. ;-)
From TFA:
So, unless the article is mistaken (which is possible) ... that would be a dumb terminal, with no storage.
Hey, I'm all about being able to buy and run whatever device you like. I'm just trying to make sense of this device as it's described -- and, I was responding to the first-post which asked if it was more locked down than Apple's stuff.
From the sounds of it, it's markedly more locked down than my iPad. I can absolutely see this being good for many things. Not sure I'd want one, but it's also a prototype -- so it's a little premature to say anything about it.
Maybe we should all band together to make sure we don't get banned from getting banded. We could have band leaders, banned leaders, and banned banded leaders.
And tea; everybody likes tea.
I keep telling people that about iPads, but a lot of people on Slashdot still can't get over it.
By which you mean they expect it to be a standard somewhere around 2022? :-P
If I read the article correctly, a purely "the web browser is everything" simply won't be worth a damn if you have no network connection.
It's also got no storage, so it's not like you could load it up with your MP3s or pictures.
So, it's a dumb-terminal that requires me to have constant access to the internet, can't store files, can't have actual programs installed on it. I just can't see who is going to want this.
Say what you will, but at least my iPad lets me install software, store my photos to browse, add eBooks, movies, and music ... and I can use it on an airplane.
Well, I know they've extended copyright to absurd terms ... have they tried doing it to patents yet? I'm sure if some people had their way, those patents would never lapse either.
It seems like the lawmakers keep giving companies what they want at the expense of the rest of us.
Eh. ;-)
Better to nuke the whole site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. :-P
While I'm sure your world is all shiny and pretty, and I don't want to spoil it for you ... I'm not convinced what you say is true.
"Intellectual Property" is what America is betting the whole farm on -- I fail to see how it would be possible to rein in the law with regards to copyright, patents, and what-not.
Do you see anything falling into the public domain that was ever published by an American company? Do you see anything to do with "fair use" being upheld? Do you see any moves to rein in patents? In fact, you see all of these things being strengthened and mad more ridiculous.
Sorry man, we're going backwards, not the way you hope we will.
Wait, I'm confused ... the one link the summary mentions nothing about subsidiaries, so I don't understand ... how might they be making themselves vulnerable?
Sorry if that's a thick sounding question, not done my first coffee yet. :-P
Well, the original Slashdot article linked in TFS indicates that "it doesn't actually use these patents – except to threaten people with. In other words, Intellectual Ventures is a patent troll". They only license their patent portfolio. Expect this to basically be a shakedown.
Man, I hate that a company can exist just to own patents and sue people.
It's Oracle, of course they will.
Well, following a link that another poster so graciously provided, it would seem that:
.
Earlier up in the page, he says:
So, what I read is that Oracle basically wouldn't allow anybody else to make a JVM if its sole purpose is to be a replacement for the Oracle one.
So, yes, I think everything you ask is likely true.
Or, quite possibly the worst -- if we end up with a bunch of incompatible JVMs, and Oracle screeching that you're not allowed to have OpenJDK because it violates their license ... well, then Java as a viable platform would be largely toast, wouldn't it?
Last I checked, you can run Tomcat with the Sun, er, Oracle JDK.
This seems to be more about alternate implementations of the JVM itself, though, the more Oracle craps all over everybody else, the more I fear some of the goodness about using Java will evaporate.
a) Real Soon Now
b) The square of the processor speed as expressed in Hz.
Sad that it has to come to this ... I can't begin to say how useful the Apache libraries have been in past Java development. Why reinvent the wheel and plumbing when Apache is providing really awesome libraries for free that cover much of the "grunt work".
I fear Oracle is doing far more harm than good to Java.
Tell me about it, the border with the US is only about 50K south from where I'm sitting.
Huh? I've read probably 30 or 40 news stories trying to sift through what is being said by various sources on this one to try to get a handle on what is being reported. I'm not just sitting around saying "Oh, he did/didn't rape those women because that's what I want to believe".
I don't think the allegations are character assassination -- I think the women legitimately did go to police, I just don't think the scale of the response of involving Interpol matches what would be happening for anybody else. I do question the underlying reasons for that. You don't call Interpol because someone wants someone they slept with to have an STD test.
Some people will always cry conspiracy theory. And, equally, some people will always say that if the allegations have been made, they must be true. I don't agree with either standpoint.
No, because more manufacturing jobs have been lost to China than Wal Mart could possibly make up for.
I'm willing to acknowledge the possibility ... but, these allegations, er, allegedly came about after the two women met up with one another and realized they'd both had unprotected sex with him and wanted him to get tested for STDs. The women (again, allegedly) didn't want him prosecuted.
I seriously question if Interpol and the whole world would have been notified of this if this was anybody else.
Are you willing to accept that the whole thing has escalated beyond a point that would have happened under any other circumstances and that this wasn't rape?
Those can happen in parallel. Many of us are neither American nor Chinese, so it's not mutually exclusive.
Or that nature is incredibly complex.
The platypus doesn't show us anything about "God".