Then buy it from somewhere else. It's easy to upgrade. They've also stopped the annoying practice of filling both slots with cheaper RAM (1GB used to mean 2x 512MB filling up both slots, forcing you by twice the RAM required to upgrade to 2GB etc.).
I have my iPhone on pre-paid (but no data). NZ$20 a year is all I have to pay to Vodaphone to keep my account in credit. If WiFi had the same coverage as GSM/etc. in my area, VOIP over WiFi would be great. Hopefully that happens, because Vodafone are charging way too much for 3G (and data in general), even if you pay full-price for the phone.
That's one thing I didn't like about it -- the virtual chrome buttons are a visual distraction. Part of the advantage of a touchscreen interface is that the design can be simplified and more functional at the same time. They could have had a strong, simple graphical slider for fan speed, but they chose separate buttons, along with all the fake button clutter. As a graphic and UI designer, I'm quite disappointed at all the potential they've missed out on. I know Apple have gone this way with the iPhone, the difference is that they have made a better job at integrating it and using such widgets when it increase usability. One example is the selector that looks like a rolling drum, the advantage is that you can see options above and below the current selection and it hints at the controls behavior.
Why do so many people assume that consciousness is only of a certain level and only applies to humans? For all we know, biologically simple animals may be conscious, but on a very subtle level. And as far as proving consciousness, this is something science has yet to be able to do. And don't confuse more complex neurological reactions as proof of consciousness, either.
As for the "we evolved canines for a reason", that's a pretty lame reason, as we are in a better position to make choices for ourselves, unlike most animals. And if you're so big about following nature, then you should know that meat should only make up a small portion of a human diet. You should also consider selling your car, too. I still eat meat, but at least I'm not kidding myself about the reasons why I do it.
Empathy is not a valid way of knowing if a creature suffers. Empathy requires a more sophisticated world view, so to speak. Just because a crab isn't smart enough to know what is happening to another crab, no reason to think it doesn't suffer when something is happening to itself.
To me, that argument only makes sense if you presume that animals are innately different to us in terms of the experience of suffering. Where is the evidence for that?
I think it looks great -- not dull or unimaginative at all. Much better than the roadster. But then again, I am a fan of conservative design (as well as "out there" designs). What do you think it should have looked like?
I'm not sure you understand good UI design, because it's completely depended on what the interface is used for. If I'm barreling down the motorway and notice that the windscreen is starting to fog up, there should be a reliable way to deal with that that doesn't require me to take my eyes off the road or press more than one button. Perhaps if we're talking about something more complex like the radio, that is different -- A dynamic UI could be much better in that case.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of advantages for a dynamic touchscreen interface in a car, but that doesn't mean you should replace the entire console with a single UI method. Compromise can be a good thing. Of course, without more details, it's hard to say if what they've done here is a good or bad thing.
I own an iPhone and the touchscreen is great because most of the time I'm using it, I'm looking at it. A touchscreen would be great if it also had physical buttons for the important things, such as de-fogging the windscreen.
Call me old fashion, but the center console of a car is a place where I prefer to have physical controls that don't need to be looked at in order to use. Perhaps they plan to back it up with some other type of UI, such as voice recognition or a HUD?
Still, they could at least have grounded them and stripped them for parts. Who doesn't want a water filtration system when starting up on some strange new planet? It just seemed like a bad plot device to have the Earth ending make more sense. I didn't buy the primitivist philosophy they all suddenly adopted.
When the Lost finale hits, the BSG finale will seem like "well thought out" and "carefully planned".
Given that Lost has had a plan for the ending right from the start, I doubt that.
I honestly don't get these people who complain that Lost never answers everything. It's not supposed to. Once, or if, it answers everything, the show is finished. Lost is far from perfect, and I personally don't like it as much as I used to, but I still think it's managed to stay suspenseful after 5 seasons.
Perhaps you need to adjust you mouse settings, because I manage just fine and still have enough resolution for fine pixel work in Photoshop. Yeah, I do run USB Overdrive since I can't stand the default settings. Also, Fitt's law disagrees with your last bit.
Apple may be restrictive when it comes to licensing etc., but at least they have yet to burn their users with DRM the same way Microsoft has. I don't agree with many of the things that Apple does, but I do somewhat trust them. I don't trust Microsoft. That's the difference for me. And I don't think Microsoft are the more open of the two, at least not where it matter for me as a user. When I switched to Mac, I had to use a special program along with a general amount of mucking about to get all my data out of Outlook. Apple's PIM software exports to many open standards, and some actually use open standards. I don't care that Aqua is closed, because none of my personal data is in there.
Sometimes I miss Bill. He at least seemed to understand why OS X was popular, even if he had trouble re-creating the experience in Windows. With Ballmer, I'm not sure if it's all a silly act, or if he really is so clueless about the industry he's in.
Never really worked right for you, perhaps. There was no adjustment period for me, as I seem to lift my index finger automatically. I do find it a problem for games, but for general use, I still can't find a mouse that I prefer over Apple's default -- they all too big for the way I hold a mouse.
I think you'll find it might have less to do with size and more to do with our main exports competing with local produce, which is understandable given the current economic climate.
That's not the point. The point was that New Zealand was recently considering passing a silly law that would have had ISPs terminating people's accounts at the mere accusation of copyright infringement, supposedly because hardly anyone would make false claims simply to get innocent people cut off. Google is offering evidence to the contrary.
I find the calendar itself adequate. But the lack of to-do and syncable notes is really annoying, especially since there is no way to sync 3rd party apps without resorting to wifi hacks. And yes, I'm ignoring clouds, too. I don't care about all the fancy new game capabilities, I just want to a to-do list that works seamlessly with my desktop, or at least the ability for 3rd party developers to fill the gap.
I think this has less to do with Boing Boing being dishonest and more to do with a bad journalism. I have many problems with news sites and professional journalists today (especially most IT journalists), but they do have a very good point when it comes to many bloggers. When your site becomes as popular as Slashdot or Boing Boing, where you make enough money to live off it, shouldn't you also be doing a better job than most of other bloggers when it comes to basic journalistic principles?
I like both sites, and still visit them, but I do get annoyed at all the basic mistakes I see too often. It's almost like they don't even care, as they're more than capable of doing a better job.
Does the neurotic axis even exist anymore? There have been so many studies recently show all sorts of physical neurological differences (which would fit on the biochemical axis) in people with "neurosis" that I have to wonder. Same goes for the biochemical axis, since the brain is quite plastic, thoughts can have a real effect in this area. But then again this is psychiatry and they often seem to be many decades behind the times.
Perhaps you haven't been watching the same show as I have. This point comes up often and the writer seems to be saying that it's not OK and anyone who isn't full of themselves can see that, too. And when it comes to software development, rather than helping to save lives...
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Then buy it from somewhere else. It's easy to upgrade. They've also stopped the annoying practice of filling both slots with cheaper RAM (1GB used to mean 2x 512MB filling up both slots, forcing you by twice the RAM required to upgrade to 2GB etc.).
Why would Apple care about Skype?
I have my iPhone on pre-paid (but no data). NZ$20 a year is all I have to pay to Vodaphone to keep my account in credit. If WiFi had the same coverage as GSM/etc. in my area, VOIP over WiFi would be great. Hopefully that happens, because Vodafone are charging way too much for 3G (and data in general), even if you pay full-price for the phone.
..."a body that gives equal voice to dictatorships and theocracies?"
Isn't that what a democracy does?
That's one thing I didn't like about it -- the virtual chrome buttons are a visual distraction. Part of the advantage of a touchscreen interface is that the design can be simplified and more functional at the same time. They could have had a strong, simple graphical slider for fan speed, but they chose separate buttons, along with all the fake button clutter. As a graphic and UI designer, I'm quite disappointed at all the potential they've missed out on. I know Apple have gone this way with the iPhone, the difference is that they have made a better job at integrating it and using such widgets when it increase usability. One example is the selector that looks like a rolling drum, the advantage is that you can see options above and below the current selection and it hints at the controls behavior.
Why do so many people assume that consciousness is only of a certain level and only applies to humans? For all we know, biologically simple animals may be conscious, but on a very subtle level. And as far as proving consciousness, this is something science has yet to be able to do. And don't confuse more complex neurological reactions as proof of consciousness, either.
As for the "we evolved canines for a reason", that's a pretty lame reason, as we are in a better position to make choices for ourselves, unlike most animals. And if you're so big about following nature, then you should know that meat should only make up a small portion of a human diet. You should also consider selling your car, too. I still eat meat, but at least I'm not kidding myself about the reasons why I do it.
Empathy is not a valid way of knowing if a creature suffers. Empathy requires a more sophisticated world view, so to speak. Just because a crab isn't smart enough to know what is happening to another crab, no reason to think it doesn't suffer when something is happening to itself.
To me, that argument only makes sense if you presume that animals are innately different to us in terms of the experience of suffering. Where is the evidence for that?
I think it looks great -- not dull or unimaginative at all. Much better than the roadster. But then again, I am a fan of conservative design (as well as "out there" designs). What do you think it should have looked like?
I'm not sure you understand good UI design, because it's completely depended on what the interface is used for. If I'm barreling down the motorway and notice that the windscreen is starting to fog up, there should be a reliable way to deal with that that doesn't require me to take my eyes off the road or press more than one button. Perhaps if we're talking about something more complex like the radio, that is different -- A dynamic UI could be much better in that case.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of advantages for a dynamic touchscreen interface in a car, but that doesn't mean you should replace the entire console with a single UI method. Compromise can be a good thing. Of course, without more details, it's hard to say if what they've done here is a good or bad thing.
I own an iPhone and the touchscreen is great because most of the time I'm using it, I'm looking at it. A touchscreen would be great if it also had physical buttons for the important things, such as de-fogging the windscreen.
Call me old fashion, but the center console of a car is a place where I prefer to have physical controls that don't need to be looked at in order to use. Perhaps they plan to back it up with some other type of UI, such as voice recognition or a HUD?
Still, they could at least have grounded them and stripped them for parts. Who doesn't want a water filtration system when starting up on some strange new planet? It just seemed like a bad plot device to have the Earth ending make more sense. I didn't buy the primitivist philosophy they all suddenly adopted.
When the Lost finale hits, the BSG finale will seem like "well thought out" and "carefully planned".
Given that Lost has had a plan for the ending right from the start, I doubt that.
I honestly don't get these people who complain that Lost never answers everything. It's not supposed to. Once, or if, it answers everything, the show is finished. Lost is far from perfect, and I personally don't like it as much as I used to, but I still think it's managed to stay suspenseful after 5 seasons.
Perhaps you need to adjust you mouse settings, because I manage just fine and still have enough resolution for fine pixel work in Photoshop. Yeah, I do run USB Overdrive since I can't stand the default settings. Also, Fitt's law disagrees with your last bit.
Apple may be restrictive when it comes to licensing etc., but at least they have yet to burn their users with DRM the same way Microsoft has. I don't agree with many of the things that Apple does, but I do somewhat trust them. I don't trust Microsoft. That's the difference for me. And I don't think Microsoft are the more open of the two, at least not where it matter for me as a user. When I switched to Mac, I had to use a special program along with a general amount of mucking about to get all my data out of Outlook. Apple's PIM software exports to many open standards, and some actually use open standards. I don't care that Aqua is closed, because none of my personal data is in there.
Sometimes I miss Bill. He at least seemed to understand why OS X was popular, even if he had trouble re-creating the experience in Windows. With Ballmer, I'm not sure if it's all a silly act, or if he really is so clueless about the industry he's in.
Never really worked right for you, perhaps. There was no adjustment period for me, as I seem to lift my index finger automatically. I do find it a problem for games, but for general use, I still can't find a mouse that I prefer over Apple's default -- they all too big for the way I hold a mouse.
I think you'll find it might have less to do with size and more to do with our main exports competing with local produce, which is understandable given the current economic climate.
That's not the point. The point was that New Zealand was recently considering passing a silly law that would have had ISPs terminating people's accounts at the mere accusation of copyright infringement, supposedly because hardly anyone would make false claims simply to get innocent people cut off. Google is offering evidence to the contrary.
Hate to reply to my own post, but looks like Notes syncing is finally in.
I find the calendar itself adequate. But the lack of to-do and syncable notes is really annoying, especially since there is no way to sync 3rd party apps without resorting to wifi hacks. And yes, I'm ignoring clouds, too. I don't care about all the fancy new game capabilities, I just want to a to-do list that works seamlessly with my desktop, or at least the ability for 3rd party developers to fill the gap.
I think this has less to do with Boing Boing being dishonest and more to do with a bad journalism. I have many problems with news sites and professional journalists today (especially most IT journalists), but they do have a very good point when it comes to many bloggers. When your site becomes as popular as Slashdot or Boing Boing, where you make enough money to live off it, shouldn't you also be doing a better job than most of other bloggers when it comes to basic journalistic principles?
I like both sites, and still visit them, but I do get annoyed at all the basic mistakes I see too often. It's almost like they don't even care, as they're more than capable of doing a better job.
Does the neurotic axis even exist anymore? There have been so many studies recently show all sorts of physical neurological differences (which would fit on the biochemical axis) in people with "neurosis" that I have to wonder. Same goes for the biochemical axis, since the brain is quite plastic, thoughts can have a real effect in this area. But then again this is psychiatry and they often seem to be many decades behind the times.
Perhaps you haven't been watching the same show as I have. This point comes up often and the writer seems to be saying that it's not OK and anyone who isn't full of themselves can see that, too. And when it comes to software development, rather than helping to save lives...