You're missing one very important point. Intel & AMD's tech allow the speed of the active cores to go ABOVE the standard processor speed. So say you have a 2.4GHz quad core CPU, yet with only 2 cores active it might run at 2.8GHz. With the older speedstep tech, you can only reduce the speed of cores, you cannot increase them over the rated speed (assuming you're not doing something risky like overclocking via BIOS or something of course)
Except that Flash is an open format...just nobody has felt it valuable to implement their own runtime (besides gnash, but they are pretty far from implementing the full spec)
The spec for SWF is open, anyone could implement an open viewer if they wanted to. There is a project working towards this, but they are far far behind the official player (Supports much of Flash 7 and a bit of 8. The current official version is Flash 10)
http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/
Actually that's not true, you can add SATA drivers onto your XP setup cd. Of course this requires a separate machine to prepare the CD in advance, but generally if someone is manually installing an OS from scratch that's not sold in stores anymore, they should have the expertise to handle this.
Wait, you're claiming that your monitor with one of the highest DPI's on the market is barely readable? (1920x1200 @ 13" = 174 DPI, compare to my desktop monitor which is 96 DPI). I must be missing something here.
#2 is actually what Vista and Windows 7 do, unless the app specifically tells the OS that it is DPI-aware (and this method of telling the OS was added in Vista, and is not set by default on apps)
The Wii part is not true. If you send in a Wii for repairs, Nintendo will transfer your licenses to the new console they send back, allowing you to re-download all your content.
You mean you don't have AdBlockUserBlocker installed? It's awesome, I never have to listen to those AdBlock jerks tell me how awesome their plugin is anymore. In fact I almost forgot how annoying they were, until you reminded me of it.
I'm pretty happy with 720p movies that run around 5-10GB on my 55" 1080p LCD (ie, one DVD5 or one DVD9). The difference between 720p and 1080p is very slight to my eyes. Much smaller than the difference between DVD and 720p.
No, it's the same code, just different project files with different build settings. Imagine if you had one set of.C and.H files, but five different Makefiles for compiling your app to different platforms. Same thing is going on here.
Basically his main complaint is that the new API is not fully backwards compatible with the old API. They came very close, so it's possible to combine the two if you want, but it's not 100%. Generally you will most likely be keeping your old apps in Flex 3, and write new apps in Flex 4.
The new skinning feature is an amazing feature. His example of 51 lines of code to replace 5 isn't really fair, his 51 lines of code has a ton of stuff that isn't required, and yet the new skinning features can do a million things that the old simpler one could not.
Not sure how this random blog post by an inexperienced developer got approved on Slashdot...oh wait, it's critical of Flash and Adobe, now it makes sense.
They are developing a separate 'Mobile' Flex framework. It will share a lot in common with Flex 4, but some heavier parts that don't make sense on mobile platforms will be stripped out, and it will have a few extra features to make it easier to interact with on the specific types of input (eg touchscreens). Info about Flex Mobile
Apart from that, there will be a separate compiler which can compile a Flex Mobile or any Flash app really into an iPhone/iPad app. This will probably be released around the same time as CS5, or very soon after.
The main "issue" I have with flash, is that it closed source (unless i'm completely off base) and closed API (again unless i'm completely off base)
Yeah you're kinda off base here.
The full Flash runtime which executes the movies is closed source.
The spec for the SWF file format is open.
The source for the portion of the runtime dealing with interpreting / executing scripts (the ActionScript VM) is open source.
The flash compiler is open source.
The framework which provides lots of UI components is open source.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'closed API', but the documentation on all the APIs provided by the flash player is completely open, you can browse the full thing on their site, it's pretty well documented with lots of explanation and examples.
1) Why is Flash bad for touchscreen users, but HTML or native apps good? They all have to face the same problems in the same way. Touchscreen inputs appear as mouse clicks by default, works well enough for most things. Flash does have an extended API you can use that will provide additional info such as multitouch support for things that are touchscreen-specific. And yeah, you can detect on the fly if your platform is a touchscreen or not.
2) 99% of people couldn't care less about 'tracking cookies'. It's really a minority that even know how to clear them or configure their browser to not accept any and all cookies.
Sorry I haven't provided 'citations' for any of this, too lazy right now, but if you have specific questions about them I can look up the info for you.
The only problem I've heard is that they've started encrypting a lot of the premium channels, making them not output over firewire, even if you pay for the channels & can watch them on your TV.
I have a home connection with comcast, $45/mo for 16mbit down / 2mbit up (internet only, no savings from bundling with TV or phone or something). I always get 100% of my rated speed, every day, any time of the day.
ING Direct allows you to make electronic transfers from your Checking account to any US checking or savings account at any US bank, for free. It's not instant like wire transfers, it usually takes 2-3 business days.
Also they eased up on UAC a bit...no more getting three confirmation dialogs for one file move action, or after every other click in Control Panel, etc.
The funny thing is my stove violates that principle. My four burners are in a square, but the four knobs are in a row. I can never remember which knob is for left and which knob is for right, so I have to squint at the hard to read text (black on black) above each knob.
It was actually named Aluminum by its discoverer, a British chemist. No idea why a bunch of jerkoffs decided to rename it just because they didn't like his naming.
Slashdot Mirror
You're missing one very important point. Intel & AMD's tech allow the speed of the active cores to go ABOVE the standard processor speed. So say you have a 2.4GHz quad core CPU, yet with only 2 cores active it might run at 2.8GHz. With the older speedstep tech, you can only reduce the speed of cores, you cannot increase them over the rated speed (assuming you're not doing something risky like overclocking via BIOS or something of course)
Except that Flash is an open format...just nobody has felt it valuable to implement their own runtime (besides gnash, but they are pretty far from implementing the full spec)
The courts have decided that what Palin did was not a crime. So I'd say a crime is more significant than a non-crime.
The spec for SWF is open, anyone could implement an open viewer if they wanted to. There is a project working towards this, but they are far far behind the official player (Supports much of Flash 7 and a bit of 8. The current official version is Flash 10) http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/
Not only that, but the main official compiler most developers use is 100% open source (versus artists, who tend to use the closed source IDE to draw and animate). http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Flex+SDK
Weird, I've booted self-burned CDs in dozens of machines over the past 10 years and never had a problem. You must just be unlucky.
Actually that's not true, you can add SATA drivers onto your XP setup cd. Of course this requires a separate machine to prepare the CD in advance, but generally if someone is manually installing an OS from scratch that's not sold in stores anymore, they should have the expertise to handle this.
Wait, you're claiming that your monitor with one of the highest DPI's on the market is barely readable? (1920x1200 @ 13" = 174 DPI, compare to my desktop monitor which is 96 DPI). I must be missing something here.
Keep looking forward...Pandora is this decade's Duke Nukem Forever.
#2 is actually what Vista and Windows 7 do, unless the app specifically tells the OS that it is DPI-aware (and this method of telling the OS was added in Vista, and is not set by default on apps)
The Wii part is not true. If you send in a Wii for repairs, Nintendo will transfer your licenses to the new console they send back, allowing you to re-download all your content.
You mean you don't have AdBlockUserBlocker installed? It's awesome, I never have to listen to those AdBlock jerks tell me how awesome their plugin is anymore. In fact I almost forgot how annoying they were, until you reminded me of it.
Some of the Kingstons ARE rebadged Intel SSDs, but some are not. Depends on which model.
I'm pretty happy with 720p movies that run around 5-10GB on my 55" 1080p LCD (ie, one DVD5 or one DVD9). The difference between 720p and 1080p is very slight to my eyes. Much smaller than the difference between DVD and 720p.
No, it's the same code, just different project files with different build settings. Imagine if you had one set of .C and .H files, but five different Makefiles for compiling your app to different platforms. Same thing is going on here.
Basically his main complaint is that the new API is not fully backwards compatible with the old API. They came very close, so it's possible to combine the two if you want, but it's not 100%. Generally you will most likely be keeping your old apps in Flex 3, and write new apps in Flex 4. The new skinning feature is an amazing feature. His example of 51 lines of code to replace 5 isn't really fair, his 51 lines of code has a ton of stuff that isn't required, and yet the new skinning features can do a million things that the old simpler one could not. Not sure how this random blog post by an inexperienced developer got approved on Slashdot...oh wait, it's critical of Flash and Adobe, now it makes sense.
They are developing a separate 'Mobile' Flex framework. It will share a lot in common with Flex 4, but some heavier parts that don't make sense on mobile platforms will be stripped out, and it will have a few extra features to make it easier to interact with on the specific types of input (eg touchscreens). Info about Flex Mobile
Apart from that, there will be a separate compiler which can compile a Flex Mobile or any Flash app really into an iPhone/iPad app. This will probably be released around the same time as CS5, or very soon after.
The main "issue" I have with flash, is that it closed source (unless i'm completely off base) and closed API (again unless i'm completely off base)
Yeah you're kinda off base here.
The full Flash runtime which executes the movies is closed source.
The spec for the SWF file format is open.
The source for the portion of the runtime dealing with interpreting / executing scripts (the ActionScript VM) is open source.
The flash compiler is open source.
The framework which provides lots of UI components is open source.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'closed API', but the documentation on all the APIs provided by the flash player is completely open, you can browse the full thing on their site, it's pretty well documented with lots of explanation and examples.
1) Why is Flash bad for touchscreen users, but HTML or native apps good? They all have to face the same problems in the same way. Touchscreen inputs appear as mouse clicks by default, works well enough for most things. Flash does have an extended API you can use that will provide additional info such as multitouch support for things that are touchscreen-specific. And yeah, you can detect on the fly if your platform is a touchscreen or not.
2) 99% of people couldn't care less about 'tracking cookies'. It's really a minority that even know how to clear them or configure their browser to not accept any and all cookies.
Sorry I haven't provided 'citations' for any of this, too lazy right now, but if you have specific questions about them I can look up the info for you.
The only problem I've heard is that they've started encrypting a lot of the premium channels, making them not output over firewire, even if you pay for the channels & can watch them on your TV.
Wait, you use a blog quoting the original article as a way to back up the original article? Hilarious.
I have a home connection with comcast, $45/mo for 16mbit down / 2mbit up (internet only, no savings from bundling with TV or phone or something). I always get 100% of my rated speed, every day, any time of the day.
ING Direct allows you to make electronic transfers from your Checking account to any US checking or savings account at any US bank, for free. It's not instant like wire transfers, it usually takes 2-3 business days.
Also they eased up on UAC a bit...no more getting three confirmation dialogs for one file move action, or after every other click in Control Panel, etc.
The funny thing is my stove violates that principle. My four burners are in a square, but the four knobs are in a row. I can never remember which knob is for left and which knob is for right, so I have to squint at the hard to read text (black on black) above each knob.
It was actually named Aluminum by its discoverer, a British chemist. No idea why a bunch of jerkoffs decided to rename it just because they didn't like his naming.