I've already addressed the 'stopgap' nonsense, so I won't bother again.
As for the claim that "most users disagree" I'm willing to bet that you can't support that claim with actual facts. On sites like crackberry, the consensus seems to be that the apps available are more than adequate, lacking only a few "key" apps (netflix and skype)
You're 100% wrong on the claim that the playbook sold no units before the os2 update. You're just making things up now.
As for the completely unsupported claim that "most consumers" don't prefer the PlayBook UI I contend that most tablet buyers haven't even tried using a PlayBook, or even seen one used. To say that they don't prefer something they've never seen is just absurd. It's pretty obvious that you've never used one. Again, I recommend you try one out. Even if you bash it after that, at least you'll have some actual basis for comparison!
I should also point out that reviewers nearly universally praise the PlayBook slick UI. Not that you care -- you don't seem interested in actual discussion.
What? When we're talking about DPI, we're talking about clarity. Yes, other devices have a higher DPI than the PlayBook -- consequently, they have sharper displays. This isn't rocket science.
You asked for specs that are higher on the PlayBook than the iPad 2 -- the DPI is indeed higher. Consequently, it has a sharper display.
If you want to ignore that, I really don't care. Though I do wonder why it doesn't count in this instance, when you seem to think it counts when it comes to reading ebooks as you bash lower DPI eInk displays even though they have different screen sizes and resolutions. [ I may have you confused with a different user here. If so, just disregard that last bit. ]
Using higher display DPI is a meaningless metric when comparing a 7" display with a 10" display. All the phones that have 960 x 480 and higher resolutions have a higher display DPI than your PlayBook. But you wouldn't compare them now to a PlayBook, would you?
I wouldn't compare them because those are phones and the other is a tablet. If we were going to compare displays, then yes I would. As you can see above, I unashamedly admit that those displays are sharper than the PlayBook's display. As we're talking about specs between two tablets -- one which has a higher DPI than the other. In that case, the PlayBook clearly has a sharper display.
Why is this so difficult for you to accept? No one product in any category is superior to others on all fronts. The iPad isn't the best tablet for all use cases -- neither is the PlayBook, the Kindle Fire, the Asus Transformer Prime, or any other tablet. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses.
As for RAM yes it was twice that of iPad2. I didnt see that it mattered much when it came to performance.
Try out a PlayBook some time. The difference in performance between that an the iPad 2 is very noticeable -- especially when you're multitasking -- which the PlayBook UI actually encourages you to do -- and/or when you have a lot of tabs open in the browser.
Of course, a lot of that is likely also helped by the next-gen OS that the PlayBook uses.
As for the higher DPI, yes, that's a good thing no matter what size the display is! That is, unless you want to argue that the higher DPI display on the new iPad doesn't offer you anything over the old iPad display? (Of course it does!)
Still when you write:
You are entitled to your opinions however you can't dispute facts.
You were just kidding, right? Because it sure looks like you're disputing facts here!
Please. That tethering thing was a stopgap because it was rushed out. Also at the time of launch those mail and contacts support was promised "summer 2011". That date passed and it wasn't until Spring 2012 that the PlayBook had it.
Odd, I didn't know that they'd take a 'stopgap' measure that actually takes more effort to produce than a native client -- especially one that requires that they make an email, contacts, and calendar app that takes advantage of Bridge!
That's just laughable.
And yes, I prefer Bridge, as do many other happy PlayBook users. Again, if you really really wanted a native client, it was just a download away from day one. Consumers had it even better -- they could actually just use their web mail like they do on their desktop, with the full desktop browsing experience that RIM gave you out of the box.
None of the reviewers complained about the UI, OS, or the hardware -- they complained about the lack of a native email client.
Are you kidding? They all complained about the lack of email. That's why they called it "incomplete."
Reading comprehension fail!
If the small selection of apps is fine for you, that's great. Most people (and I mean consumers) would want more apps.
No, they don't. They've been told that they want more apps. In reality, consumers on average have less than 50 apps installed on their mobile devices. They don't want a zillion apps, they want a few specific ones. App World has over 60,000 apps right now -- a small number compared to iOS and Android, but a number that more than adequately meets the needs of the average consumer. I haven't found App World at all limiting.
An Android or iPad are really the only choices that offer the best long term viability.
LOL! PlayBook sales are up post OS2 and RIM continues to grow their customer base every quarter. Their new OS, back-end tools, and new innovative features (not found on other platforms) are just part of the new RIM -- they're also expanding into new industries where they've shown great potential and have formed great b2b relationships. In short, I highly doubt RIM isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Even if they closed up shop tomorrow, would that make the user experience on the PlayBook any less impressive? That you think they're doomed has no impact at all on how astonishing the PlayBook is today. Just compare something simple like multitasking on the PlayBook to iOS and Android.
Re:So where are the rest of the super hi-res scree
on
Apple Unveils New iPad
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Apple painted themselves into a corner resolution-wise. They have to double it, or not change it at all.
For some reason iOS developers all forgot how to code for multiple screen resolutions -- even though they've (for the most part) been doing it for years, and handling highly variable aspect ratios at the same time.
Even when I'm targeting a specific mobile device, I make sure that the layout adapts correctly to various resolutions and aspect ratios. It takes very little extra work and the rewards are great when your needs change in the future and you need to port it to a different device or class of devices with different resolutions and aspect ratios.
The PlayBook holds it's own really well against the new iPad; not too bad for a year-old device. It's superior in many areas to the iPad 2. Comparing it to the iPad 1 is... just silly. Side-by-side, you'd be hard pressed to find any reason to pick the iPad 1 over the PlayBook.
Also please list which specs of the PlayBook were superior to the iPad.
Opps, I forgot to list the specs that were superior to the iPad (I thought specs didn't matter?)
The higher dpi display and twice the ram of the iPad2 come immediately to mind (four times that of the iPad). I have little doubt that I can hunt down more, these are just off the top of my head.
I didn't notice any missing features at launch. I had email, contacts, calendar, etc. through bridge -- as was intended (remember the "your blackberry, amplified" marketing?)
The UI is still above-par -- it's the best of WebOS with some great extras. The OS is technically superior as well. The hardware is rock-solid and the form-factor is perfect for portability.
None of the reviewers complained about the UI, OS, or the hardware -- they complained about the lack of a native email client. Never mind that you could get one of several email clients from App World or that Bridge met that need perfectly (I still prefer it over native, even without the amazing new features in the new client, it doesn't make any sense to me to have it set up separately on the tablet.)
As for Apps, I've found the selection more than adequate. What apps do you think are missing? (It's up to Microsoft to port Skype, and it's up to Netflix to port Netflix. Other than those two, I'm at a loss to find anything missing -- I'd add Hulu to the list, but Hulu worked just fine in the browser for about a week until they purposefully blocked the playbook!) The only category really lacking is games (which I don't care about), but they still have a good number of AAA titles (Dead Space, Modern Combat 2, Need For Speed, Asphalt 6, etc.) and just about all of the popular mobile games like angry birds and bejeweled.
The web browser is undeniably the best on the market. It's fast, great Flash support (it actually doesn't hurt performance), and has better HTML5 support that many desktop browsers -- and better HTML5 support than all other tablets. (WebGL? That works great too!)
Really, the PlayBook is a fantastic tablet that you'd be foolish to ignore when considering a tablet purchase. Try one out some time -- I guarantee that you'll be both surprised and impressed.
What we never hear about are the things that other tablets do that the iPad doesn't do, or does poorly.
You'll find a variety of Android tablets that have features like USB, SD cards, and HDMI out that many users find essential to their workflow. Other tablets like the PlayBook have near (better, in some cases) desktop quality web-browsing and real multitasking with a UI that makes it easy for users to take advantage of those features.
Let's not forget that Android and QNX allow the user access to a real file system -- which we can all agree is a good thing.
Bridge (between a BlackBerry smartphone and the PlayBook) also offers some clever and useful features that aren't simply possible with an iPad and iPhone pair. (Access to files on the phone, remote control, "open on tablet" for attachments, links, other files, and a host of other features.)
When I look at the iPad and compare it to other tablets on the market, the iPad looks like the "bare-bones" model -- the automobile without any options, if you need a car analogy. Sure it does a few things better than other tablets, but there are many things that other tablets do better -- sometimes significantly so.
Re:Nice upgrade, but no big surprises in the new i
on
Apple Unveils New iPad
·
· Score: 1
sitting on the beach you will probably have an ipad in your hands reading a book
I assume that in your fantasy vision, it's a cloudy day? The iPad fails at visibility in bright sunlight. For reading in sunlight an eInk Kindle, Nook, etc. are going to be infinitely better -- almost as good as (gasp!) an actual book!
or watching a movie
Why even go to the beach if you're just going to watch a movie?
Besides, if you want to watch a movie, why would anyone pick a tablet? If you pick a tablet, why watch outside where you can barely see the display? Why additionally choose an environment that is decidedly hostile to electronics?
Have you ever been to the beach? For that matter, have you ever been outside?
you can take pictures on your phone but you will be careful due to the the data charges.
What? I can take as many pictures as my sd card will hold and not incur any data charges.
Seriously, a dedicated camera makes WAY more sense for a beach vacation than an tablet or mobile phone.
Also, if you're vacationing with your family put down the damn computer screen. Your wife and children will appreciate it greatly.
n short, a kid with a real future in programming wouldn't NEED help. They would already be teaching themselves and planning their own path. They sure as shit wouldn't need some *proxy* to ask me to talk to them. They would already be seeking out knowledge ON THEIR OWN, David Lightman style.
Nonsense! You can't know what you don't know!
Hell, sometimes all it takes is to tell a kid that they can learn to make their own games. Even then, there is no guarantee that they'll even know what to search for to get started. A naive google search for "how to make games" turns up mostly crap and antique "game makers" that (if they still work) are likely more difficult to learn that a good beginner's language.
The kids aren't incapable of learning -- you're just a shit teacher.
Actually Python's a nice choice - object orientation, some function programming features, the syntax is nice and clear and it's easy to learn.
OOP is a failure. The use of OOP cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense.
Also, Python as a beginners language is the biggest joke I've ever seen. Having taught intro programming, I'd rather teach using Javascript (a terrible choice for beginners, btw) than Python.
One mild irritation:
v = range(1, 5) print v
will output: [1, 2, 3, 4] instead of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (While this will make sense later, it's VERY confusing for beginners -- and it will bite them when the move on to other languages.)
See also How Python handles data paying particular attention to the phrase "But this is not guaranteed behavior".
Don't even get me started on the hell whitespace rules cause for beginners.
The only advantage Python offers is an interactive mode -- which is great for beginners -- but its many deficiencies far outweigh that one strength.
the lessons I learned from having to structure programs in PASCAL transferred well to 6502 assembler.
If by Pascal you mean BASIC, then yes. Old unstructured BASIC is where you learned how to structure programs in a way suitable for 6502 assembly.
I've heard the stories and then saw this BBC show or something about a family that had to live with 80 gadgets, and i was sorta amazed how the the two boys just sat there and figured shit out.
I had the same reaction. Oddly enough, it was the "salesman" teaching the boy a few of the basics of programming that convinced the family to select the BBC Micro over the ZX Spectrum! Later in the episode, the boy brings a friend home from school to play at writing computer programs. (Both kids are eagerly searching the manual!).
That's something we've lost in this modern age. That blinking cursor just invited you to create. Even today, it can spark a child's imagination; the novelty of the home computer in the 80's doesn't seem to enter in to it at all.
For anyone interested, the program was called Electric Dreams and took the family through the 70's 80's and 90's one day at a time. The segment with the micro is from the 80's and can be found on youtube.
Had this kid from Vanderbilt used an iPad instead of an Android tablet the headline would read "iPad breaks new ground, allows low vision users access mathematics for the first time."
Instead, the moron used an Android device making the head line read "Tablet" ensuring that this article it will remain obscure, gathering no more than 4 comments in the first 4 hours on the main page.
The parent touts the primary advantage of having a smartphone is... the address book!
Ignoring for the moment that even the dumbest of dumb phones had this feature last century, he's saying that smartphones have allowed us to advance beyond our limited memory by allowing us to write things down.
It seems that he has confused the advent of the smartphone with the advent of written language.
I rarely ever use my phone in bright sunlight. Even if I did, I would never opt for or want a matte display. I prefer glossy hands down.
Why do you even have a cellphone? You've got to get wretched reception in your moms basement.
These are luxury items after all, and I'd suspect at least 25% of American just can't afford them even if they wanted them.
Don't be ridiculous. You can get a smartphone free on contract and unless you're terminally incompetent, you can get a plan that actually costs less than a land-line. Failing that, there are numerous pay-as-you-go plans that are both incredibly inexpensive and still offer reasonably priced smart phones. PAYG dumbphones are practically free, with many costing less than $15.
If you need a phone, like most people do, you'll find that having a cellphone is often the cheapest option.
If he wants to go back to memorizing Rolodexes he can be my guest.
No one memorized their Rolodex. They had a Rolodex for that. They also had this neat thing called an address book for taking that data with them on the go.
Those things had amazing battery life (they never needed charging), the most intuitive UI ever, and a great display that actually looked better in bright sunlight. As a bonus, they could survive countless falls on to concrete from astonishing heights.
If that's not enough, while today's smartphones struggle with decent unicode support, those "obsolete" address books managed even the most obscure con-lang alphabets with ease.
Slashdot Mirror
Why wouldn't you compare gas mileage between a motorcycle and a car? If you're choosing between the two,it's certainly a factor!
It could be a key point when choosing which one to take to work or on a trip. It's perfectly reasonable to compare gas mileage between the two!
You're out of your mind.
I've already addressed the 'stopgap' nonsense, so I won't bother again.
As for the claim that "most users disagree" I'm willing to bet that you can't support that claim with actual facts. On sites like crackberry, the consensus seems to be that the apps available are more than adequate, lacking only a few "key" apps (netflix and skype)
You're 100% wrong on the claim that the playbook sold no units before the os2 update. You're just making things up now.
As for the completely unsupported claim that "most consumers" don't prefer the PlayBook UI I contend that most tablet buyers haven't even tried using a PlayBook, or even seen one used. To say that they don't prefer something they've never seen is just absurd. It's pretty obvious that you've never used one. Again, I recommend you try one out. Even if you bash it after that, at least you'll have some actual basis for comparison!
I should also point out that reviewers nearly universally praise the PlayBook slick UI. Not that you care -- you don't seem interested in actual discussion.
When all you want to do is available on the "toy" is it still a toy?
Yes. Doing all you need to do is a different matter entirely...
What? When we're talking about DPI, we're talking about clarity. Yes, other devices have a higher DPI than the PlayBook -- consequently, they have sharper displays. This isn't rocket science.
You asked for specs that are higher on the PlayBook than the iPad 2 -- the DPI is indeed higher. Consequently, it has a sharper display.
If you want to ignore that, I really don't care. Though I do wonder why it doesn't count in this instance, when you seem to think it counts when it comes to reading ebooks as you bash lower DPI eInk displays even though they have different screen sizes and resolutions. [ I may have you confused with a different user here. If so, just disregard that last bit. ]
Using higher display DPI is a meaningless metric when comparing a 7" display with a 10" display. All the phones that have 960 x 480 and higher resolutions have a higher display DPI than your PlayBook. But you wouldn't compare them now to a PlayBook, would you?
I wouldn't compare them because those are phones and the other is a tablet. If we were going to compare displays, then yes I would. As you can see above, I unashamedly admit that those displays are sharper than the PlayBook's display. As we're talking about specs between two tablets -- one which has a higher DPI than the other. In that case, the PlayBook clearly has a sharper display.
Why is this so difficult for you to accept? No one product in any category is superior to others on all fronts. The iPad isn't the best tablet for all use cases -- neither is the PlayBook, the Kindle Fire, the Asus Transformer Prime, or any other tablet. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses.
As for RAM yes it was twice that of iPad2. I didnt see that it mattered much when it came to performance.
Try out a PlayBook some time. The difference in performance between that an the iPad 2 is very noticeable -- especially when you're multitasking -- which the PlayBook UI actually encourages you to do -- and/or when you have a lot of tabs open in the browser.
Of course, a lot of that is likely also helped by the next-gen OS that the PlayBook uses.
As for the higher DPI, yes, that's a good thing no matter what size the display is! That is, unless you want to argue that the higher DPI display on the new iPad doesn't offer you anything over the old iPad display? (Of course it does!)
Still when you write:
You are entitled to your opinions however you can't dispute facts.
You were just kidding, right? Because it sure looks like you're disputing facts here!
Please. That tethering thing was a stopgap because it was rushed out. Also at the time of launch those mail and contacts support was promised "summer 2011". That date passed and it wasn't until Spring 2012 that the PlayBook had it.
Odd, I didn't know that they'd take a 'stopgap' measure that actually takes more effort to produce than a native client -- especially one that requires that they make an email, contacts, and calendar app that takes advantage of Bridge!
That's just laughable.
And yes, I prefer Bridge, as do many other happy PlayBook users. Again, if you really really wanted a native client, it was just a download away from day one. Consumers had it even better -- they could actually just use their web mail like they do on their desktop, with the full desktop browsing experience that RIM gave you out of the box.
None of the reviewers complained about the UI, OS, or the hardware -- they complained about the lack of a native email client.
Are you kidding? They all complained about the lack of email. That's why they called it "incomplete."
Reading comprehension fail!
If the small selection of apps is fine for you, that's great. Most people (and I mean consumers) would want more apps.
No, they don't. They've been told that they want more apps. In reality, consumers on average have less than 50 apps installed on their mobile devices. They don't want a zillion apps, they want a few specific ones. App World has over 60,000 apps right now -- a small number compared to iOS and Android, but a number that more than adequately meets the needs of the average consumer. I haven't found App World at all limiting.
An Android or iPad are really the only choices that offer the best long term viability.
LOL! PlayBook sales are up post OS2 and RIM continues to grow their customer base every quarter. Their new OS, back-end tools, and new innovative features (not found on other platforms) are just part of the new RIM -- they're also expanding into new industries where they've shown great potential and have formed great b2b relationships. In short, I highly doubt RIM isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Even if they closed up shop tomorrow, would that make the user experience on the PlayBook any less impressive? That you think they're doomed has no impact at all on how astonishing the PlayBook is today. Just compare something simple like multitasking on the PlayBook to iOS and Android.
Apple painted themselves into a corner resolution-wise. They have to double it, or not change it at all.
For some reason iOS developers all forgot how to code for multiple screen resolutions -- even though they've (for the most part) been doing it for years, and handling highly variable aspect ratios at the same time.
Even when I'm targeting a specific mobile device, I make sure that the layout adapts correctly to various resolutions and aspect ratios. It takes very little extra work and the rewards are great when your needs change in the future and you need to port it to a different device or class of devices with different resolutions and aspect ratios.
LOL!
I take it you haven't used a PlayBook?
The PlayBook holds it's own really well against the new iPad; not too bad for a year-old device. It's superior in many areas to the iPad 2. Comparing it to the iPad 1 is ... just silly. Side-by-side, you'd be hard pressed to find any reason to pick the iPad 1 over the PlayBook.
Also please list which specs of the PlayBook were superior to the iPad.
Opps, I forgot to list the specs that were superior to the iPad (I thought specs didn't matter?)
The higher dpi display and twice the ram of the iPad2 come immediately to mind (four times that of the iPad). I have little doubt that I can hunt down more, these are just off the top of my head.
I didn't notice any missing features at launch. I had email, contacts, calendar, etc. through bridge -- as was intended (remember the "your blackberry, amplified" marketing?)
The UI is still above-par -- it's the best of WebOS with some great extras. The OS is technically superior as well. The hardware is rock-solid and the form-factor is perfect for portability.
None of the reviewers complained about the UI, OS, or the hardware -- they complained about the lack of a native email client. Never mind that you could get one of several email clients from App World or that Bridge met that need perfectly (I still prefer it over native, even without the amazing new features in the new client, it doesn't make any sense to me to have it set up separately on the tablet.)
As for Apps, I've found the selection more than adequate. What apps do you think are missing? (It's up to Microsoft to port Skype, and it's up to Netflix to port Netflix. Other than those two, I'm at a loss to find anything missing -- I'd add Hulu to the list, but Hulu worked just fine in the browser for about a week until they purposefully blocked the playbook!) The only category really lacking is games (which I don't care about), but they still have a good number of AAA titles (Dead Space, Modern Combat 2, Need For Speed, Asphalt 6, etc.) and just about all of the popular mobile games like angry birds and bejeweled.
The web browser is undeniably the best on the market. It's fast, great Flash support (it actually doesn't hurt performance), and has better HTML5 support that many desktop browsers -- and better HTML5 support than all other tablets. (WebGL? That works great too!)
Really, the PlayBook is a fantastic tablet that you'd be foolish to ignore when considering a tablet purchase. Try one out some time -- I guarantee that you'll be both surprised and impressed.
I'm pretty sure most iPhone owners aren't going to want to walk around with their iPad all day so that they can receive calls.
I don't see why not. The logo on the back is much bigger and no one will mistake your "phone" for one of those new Android handsets.
What's the point of buying Apple products if no one notices how cool you are?
"the best version" is highly subjective.
What we never hear about are the things that other tablets do that the iPad doesn't do, or does poorly.
You'll find a variety of Android tablets that have features like USB, SD cards, and HDMI out that many users find essential to their workflow. Other tablets like the PlayBook have near (better, in some cases) desktop quality web-browsing and real multitasking with a UI that makes it easy for users to take advantage of those features.
Let's not forget that Android and QNX allow the user access to a real file system -- which we can all agree is a good thing.
Bridge (between a BlackBerry smartphone and the PlayBook) also offers some clever and useful features that aren't simply possible with an iPad and iPhone pair. (Access to files on the phone, remote control, "open on tablet" for attachments, links, other files, and a host of other features.)
When I look at the iPad and compare it to other tablets on the market, the iPad looks like the "bare-bones" model -- the automobile without any options, if you need a car analogy. Sure it does a few things better than other tablets, but there are many things that other tablets do better -- sometimes significantly so.
sitting on the beach you will probably have an ipad in your hands reading a book
I assume that in your fantasy vision, it's a cloudy day? The iPad fails at visibility in bright sunlight. For reading in sunlight an eInk Kindle, Nook, etc. are going to be infinitely better -- almost as good as (gasp!) an actual book!
or watching a movie
Why even go to the beach if you're just going to watch a movie?
Besides, if you want to watch a movie, why would anyone pick a tablet? If you pick a tablet, why watch outside where you can barely see the display? Why additionally choose an environment that is decidedly hostile to electronics?
Have you ever been to the beach? For that matter, have you ever been outside?
you can take pictures on your phone but you will be careful due to the the data charges.
What? I can take as many pictures as my sd card will hold and not incur any data charges.
Seriously, a dedicated camera makes WAY more sense for a beach vacation than an tablet or mobile phone.
Also, if you're vacationing with your family put down the damn computer screen. Your wife and children will appreciate it greatly.
Obligatory:
You might be surprised at the number of boys who have American Girl dolls. It’s not weird ’cause they’re historic figures.
n short, a kid with a real future in programming wouldn't NEED help. They would already be teaching themselves and planning their own path. They sure as shit wouldn't need some *proxy* to ask me to talk to them. They would already be seeking out knowledge ON THEIR OWN, David Lightman style.
Nonsense! You can't know what you don't know!
Hell, sometimes all it takes is to tell a kid that they can learn to make their own games. Even then, there is no guarantee that they'll even know what to search for to get started. A naive google search for "how to make games" turns up mostly crap and antique "game makers" that (if they still work) are likely more difficult to learn that a good beginner's language.
The kids aren't incapable of learning -- you're just a shit teacher.
Actually Python's a nice choice - object orientation, some function programming features, the syntax is nice and clear and it's easy to learn.
OOP is a failure. The use of OOP cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense.
Also, Python as a beginners language is the biggest joke I've ever seen. Having taught intro programming, I'd rather teach using Javascript (a terrible choice for beginners, btw) than Python.
One mild irritation:
v = range(1, 5)
print v
will output: [1, 2, 3, 4] instead of [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (While this will make sense later, it's VERY confusing for beginners -- and it will bite them when the move on to other languages.)
See also How Python handles data paying particular attention to the phrase "But this is not guaranteed behavior".
Don't even get me started on the hell whitespace rules cause for beginners.
The only advantage Python offers is an interactive mode -- which is great for beginners -- but its many deficiencies far outweigh that one strength.
the lessons I learned from having to structure programs in PASCAL transferred well to 6502 assembler.
If by Pascal you mean BASIC, then yes. Old unstructured BASIC is where you learned how to structure programs in a way suitable for 6502 assembly.
I've heard the stories and then saw this BBC show or something about a family that had to live with 80 gadgets, and i was sorta amazed how the the two boys just sat there and figured shit out.
I had the same reaction. Oddly enough, it was the "salesman" teaching the boy a few of the basics of programming that convinced the family to select the BBC Micro over the ZX Spectrum! Later in the episode, the boy brings a friend home from school to play at writing computer programs. (Both kids are eagerly searching the manual!).
That's something we've lost in this modern age. That blinking cursor just invited you to create. Even today, it can spark a child's imagination; the novelty of the home computer in the 80's doesn't seem to enter in to it at all.
For anyone interested, the program was called Electric Dreams and took the family through the 70's 80's and 90's one day at a time. The segment with the micro is from the 80's and can be found on youtube.
The most important thing is to cover your basic needs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs [wikipedia.org]
Personally, I'm currently working on self-actualization. And you ?
Physiological. Er, I was supposed to do this on Twitter, wasn't I?
Had this kid from Vanderbilt used an iPad instead of an Android tablet the headline would read "iPad breaks new ground, allows low vision users access mathematics for the first time."
Instead, the moron used an Android device making the head line read "Tablet" ensuring that this article it will remain obscure, gathering no more than 4 comments in the first 4 hours on the main page.
-- Sent from my BlackBerry PlayBook
I even had a doctor's confirmation of this.
Interesting. Please, go on.
We went to the same Chiropractor.
Fail
Damn, you're thick.
The parent touts the primary advantage of having a smartphone is ... the address book!
Ignoring for the moment that even the dumbest of dumb phones had this feature last century, he's saying that smartphones have allowed us to advance beyond our limited memory by allowing us to write things down.
It seems that he has confused the advent of the smartphone with the advent of written language.
I rarely ever use my phone in bright sunlight. Even if I did, I would never opt for or want a matte display. I prefer glossy hands down.
Why do you even have a cellphone? You've got to get wretched reception in your moms basement.
Smartphones get the full web, and they can multi-task.
Some smart phones get the "full web" (depending on your criteria) and can multitask.
These are luxury items after all, and I'd suspect at least 25% of American just can't afford them even if they wanted them.
Don't be ridiculous. You can get a smartphone free on contract and unless you're terminally incompetent, you can get a plan that actually costs less than a land-line. Failing that, there are numerous pay-as-you-go plans that are both incredibly inexpensive and still offer reasonably priced smart phones. PAYG dumbphones are practically free, with many costing less than $15.
If you need a phone, like most people do, you'll find that having a cellphone is often the cheapest option.
If he wants to go back to memorizing Rolodexes he can be my guest.
No one memorized their Rolodex. They had a Rolodex for that. They also had this neat thing called an address book for taking that data with them on the go.
Those things had amazing battery life (they never needed charging), the most intuitive UI ever, and a great display that actually looked better in bright sunlight. As a bonus, they could survive countless falls on to concrete from astonishing heights.
If that's not enough, while today's smartphones struggle with decent unicode support, those "obsolete" address books managed even the most obscure con-lang alphabets with ease.
What's the matter? Can't manage to use Google without a "helpful" app for you iPad?