Given that my plan for my next smartphone (which will probably be an S4) has been to install a full version of Linux on it to replace using a laptop when travelling, I'm pretty happy about the 8 core processor.
I think you'll probably regret that decision.
An Asus Transformer, yes. That could replace a laptop, but an S4, I wouldn't think so. In my own personal experience, I find that a great smartphone is only complementary to a laptop (and not a complete replacement of it, even if you can run all kind of things on it).
The IR port makes sense since Samsung is currently the largest manufacturer of Smart TVs (and perhaps even normal TVs) in the World (note that I'm not saying that it's a good idea, I don't know either way. I'm just saying that I can understand the reasoning behind their decision).
Between that and the stylus with the Note, it makes me wonder why Samsung wants to drag us back to the bad old days of Windows Mobile.
Sorry, but the resistive stylus of ten to twenty years ago is not the same as the stylus of today.
On a Samsung Note Phone/Device, it knows the distinction between your fingers and the pen. In other words, if you're reading an ebook on it, you can flip the pages with your fingers and at the same time use the pen as a highlighter, or use the pen to write, and then use your finger as an eraser. Not to mention, the pen technology is licensed from Qualcomm, so it's pressure sensitive and can also sense if the pen is just hovering over an item without touching the screen. The user experience is completely different from before.
It's just something that you must try for yourself before you can make a judgement on it (and not on a Note 1, but on a Note 2, the original Note 1 was good, but not great). Personally, I'm currently salivating for a Samsung Note 2 (or the next Note 3). The Samsung S4 however, I'm not too excited about if it doesn't have the pen technology. I already have a Galaxy Nexus that suits me just fine (and a Nexus 7).
Yes, and when "China hacks US companies" we never see how many hacks on that company came from non-China addresses. If 1/100th of the attacks are Chinese in origin, why aren't we invading the US to stop the other 99/100, or wherever they are coming from?
Hacking attempts have different severity levels associated with them. Putting them all in the same bucket as if they were all equivalent would be disingenuous. Besides, no one rational is saying that we should be invading China over this. Also currently, if a hack is severe enough, and coming from the US, the police/FBI goes after them.
It seems to be an irrational nationalistic play, not an evaluation of risk and reasoned response to a threat.
That could be true. I'm not saying that it is, or that it is not. Personally, I just don't know.
Google will simply stop offering free GApps for Education for Massachusetts Schools and Non-Profits. The reason the service is free is google is counting on that data.
Not quite. Google Apps for Non-Profits does show ads, yes, but Google Apps for Education does not show advertisements to students or staff (it's like Google Apps Premier in that regards, except for the increase in quota). Google also goes farther than the bill, because University accounts are free of ads (not just K-12 accounts). Google only asks that once the students become alumni, that the ads get turned on by the University staff. It has always been that way since the very beginning of Google Apps.
May be, this bill is targeted at the Kindle (or perhaps the iPad). I believe these two have made more inroads into the K-12 market than Google Apps anyway.
1.4 Ads. a. Default. The default setting for the Services is one that does not allow Google to serve Ads. Customer may change this setting in the Admin Console, which constitutes Customer’s authorization for Google to serve Ads. If Customer enables the serving of Ads, it may revert to the default setting at any time and Google will cease serving Ads. b. Selectively Showing Ads. Notwithstanding Section 1.4(a), if Customer separates different classifications of End Users by domain or Google provides the capability for Customer to show Ads only to particular sets of End Users within the same domain, then Customer must enable the serving of Ads to End Users who are alumni. c. Selectively Showing Ads. If Customer chooses to separate different classifications of End Users by domain, then Customer must enable the serving of Ads to Alumni. If Google provides the capability for Customer to show Ads only to particular sets of End Users, then Customer must enable Google's serving of Ads to End Users who are not Students or Staff. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/education_terms.html
I tried it out a few weeks ago. It really *is* just a web browser. I have trouble understanding why someone would spent $1300 for a Pixel unless they planned to install a real OS on it.
The price of the Chrome Pixel is minus $500 for some people (that's right, it's a negative number for some).
The people that are already paying $1,800 every three years for Google cloud storage get that three year subscription for free if they buy a Pixel at $1,300. Essentially, the Pixel is a loss leader for CEOs, or CTO, or the tech manager making the purchase decisions. Personally, I don't know anyone else who would use so much cloud storage in the first place except businesses. I suppose they're probably hoping that the Pixel will act as a Trojan horse in the Enterprise. If a CEO really likes his free complimentary supped up $1,300 Chromebook, he may try getting more cloud storage, and cheap $200 Chromebooks for every non-technical person in his company. Company-wide decisions can get made on much less than this.
Nobody can guarantee that third parties, patent trolls especially, wont jump out of nowhere and sue you.
That's not what I was talking about.
I'm talking about non-practicing entities that sue everyone using patents they get from Microsoft. And/or corporate entities that sue everyone, but that depend solely on Microsoft (or Ballmer, or Gates) for most of their funding, or revenue.
Sometimes, it's just a part of the budget, and for all you know, there may be a training budget allocated for that kind of thing. Also if your company has a Foundation, check into that too. For all you know, there could be some scholarship money you could apply for that would otherwise go to the CEO's favorite Ballet school.
It may also be a good idea to try to reframe the question. How is your IT department doing? Most IT departments I've seen do not seem to be doing that well. In many companies, being in IT is just a thankless job. Ask yourself. What's the quality of life like in your department? What's the cost of finding/replacing an IT employee who just quits on you? What's the cost of losing your better employees and only keeping your mediocre employees? Because that's what usually happens if you're just aiming to match the same average rewards that everybody else is offering. In an average company, the above-average employees tend to leave, and the below-average employees tend to stay and hold on for dear life.
It was less than 3 miles from the airport and at 1750 ft altitude. Your average R/C aircraft pilot wouldn't be that stupid unless he/she is intent on getting in trouble.... Most R/C hobbyists are surprisingly aware of the laws related to their hobby.
The only clearly marked R/C hobbyist field in my area is about 200 feet from an international airport. I kid you not.
Not that my drone could even climb up to 1750 ft, I'm just saying.
Yes, the patent laws are a problem but Microsoft has already made legally binding promises not to litigate their patents on core technologies...
Legally binding promises? How can you tell their promises are legally binding?
Microsoft has an history of using proxy corporations to do its dirty work, so it can insulate itself from direct legal reprisals. Do you have some proof that they closed down that possible avenue for themselves?
Look, I know nobody cares, but Microsoft Azure has nothing to do with Windows 8.
Except for the fact that Windows 8 now comes with a secure bootloader.
In other words, Microsoft likes to centralize security. It doesn't matter to them if that means creating a single point of failure. They're like a large government wanting to control everything, even if that means it compromises everything else.
Yes, but that policy doesn't go far enough. We need a law that mandates cross-compatibility between cell networks (just like the laws they have in Europe).
An unlocked Sprint CDMA phone doesn't get me anywhere in the United States. Verizon won't accept it on its own CDMA network. And the other networks are not compatible with CDMA, so they couldn't accept it even if they wanted to.
Recently, my Sprint phone became useless where I live, at least as a data connection, as a phone it still worked. Although, I had an unlimited data plan, the 4G speed where I lived stopped working, a couple of weeks later -- the 3G data stopped working. This was all because Sprint didn't have the money to upgrade/maintain its towers in my area (in other areas, it still works). That's what they told me at my local Sprint store.
It's basic contract law - and it's straight forward. The carriers don't really give a rat's ass what you do with your subsidized phone, as long as you fulfill your 24 months of minimum service.
Or pay the early termination fee which is its equivalent.
If we get superconductors we can use as power transmission lines in normal environmental temperature ranges, that'll be a serious game-changer.
Read the summary again: "...in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials."
To me, this caveat must mean that it can only do as well, or worse, than current engineered materials for transporting electrical current (whatever their definition of "engineered" means to them).
So if you go by the summary description alone (which as a Slashdotter, I often do, since I'm often too lazy to read the actual articles), it's no game-changer at all.
Isn't this how most companies work? In order to get anything done, you form an ad-hoc group of capable people to work on a project.
Yes, and then a new informal hierarchy forms itself.
Everybody bends over backward to work with the people who appear to be competent. And when you receive a phone call from a colleague you don't know requesting something, you check to see how that person fares on that informal pecking order (or how his teammates fare on that pecking order themselves) before you decide what to do with his/her request.
In other words, the workplace may be less hierarchical, but it's still hierarchical to some degree. That's how we are. We're pack animals. We all want to be associated with the winners in the workplace.
Some people who had a 10 in iPad are now migrating to the 7s but the great majority are happier with the larger screen.
Personally, I'm happier with *both* sizes. The smaller form factor is better for me to carry around and hold it while reading in bed, but I'll still use the larger screen size if I need to make a sales presentation, or if I'm home reading manga.
Obviously, the cops in Manhattan should be given iPads and 4G phones, and they should patrol the streets less, and spend more time behind their desk browsing FaceBook, responding to email, looking at Craigslist postings, and watching questionable Youtube videos.
The fact that the content industry has no problems with having the ISP industry monitoring their CUSTOMERS use of the Internet makes me sick.
It may make you sick, but it's nothing new.
The ISP industry has always tried various ways of getting into the double-dipping business.
Hell!! Even my freaking TiVo started inserting interactive ads every time I touch its menu. For some executives, it really doesn't matter if they're killing off their company in the long term, if it means that they can increase their revenue in the short term.
Slashdot Mirror
Given that my plan for my next smartphone (which will probably be an S4) has been to install a full version of Linux on it to replace using a laptop when travelling, I'm pretty happy about the 8 core processor.
I think you'll probably regret that decision.
An Asus Transformer, yes. That could replace a laptop, but an S4, I wouldn't think so. In my own personal experience, I find that a great smartphone is only complementary to a laptop (and not a complete replacement of it, even if you can run all kind of things on it).
What I don't understand is the IR port.
The IR port makes sense since Samsung is currently the largest manufacturer of Smart TVs (and perhaps even normal TVs) in the World (note that I'm not saying that it's a good idea, I don't know either way. I'm just saying that I can understand the reasoning behind their decision).
Between that and the stylus with the Note, it makes me wonder why Samsung wants to drag us back to the bad old days of Windows Mobile.
Sorry, but the resistive stylus of ten to twenty years ago is not the same as the stylus of today.
On a Samsung Note Phone/Device, it knows the distinction between your fingers and the pen. In other words, if you're reading an ebook on it, you can flip the pages with your fingers and at the same time use the pen as a highlighter, or use the pen to write, and then use your finger as an eraser. Not to mention, the pen technology is licensed from Qualcomm, so it's pressure sensitive and can also sense if the pen is just hovering over an item without touching the screen. The user experience is completely different from before.
It's just something that you must try for yourself before you can make a judgement on it (and not on a Note 1, but on a Note 2, the original Note 1 was good, but not great). Personally, I'm currently salivating for a Samsung Note 2 (or the next Note 3). The Samsung S4 however, I'm not too excited about if it doesn't have the pen technology. I already have a Galaxy Nexus that suits me just fine (and a Nexus 7).
Yes, and when "China hacks US companies" we never see how many hacks on that company came from non-China addresses. If 1/100th of the attacks are Chinese in origin, why aren't we invading the US to stop the other 99/100, or wherever they are coming from?
Hacking attempts have different severity levels associated with them. Putting them all in the same bucket as if they were all equivalent would be disingenuous. Besides, no one rational is saying that we should be invading China over this. Also currently, if a hack is severe enough, and coming from the US, the police/FBI goes after them.
It seems to be an irrational nationalistic play, not an evaluation of risk and reasoned response to a threat.
That could be true. I'm not saying that it is, or that it is not. Personally, I just don't know.
Do you know? How do you know? Is this your field?
Searching for Barker works just fine for me (right now, at least). It's not even trying to correct my spelling.
Besides, this is nothing like the HP case, unless this involved their personal email accounts, or their personal cell phone records.
With work email, there is absolutely no expectation of privacy whatsoever.
Google will simply stop offering free GApps for Education for Massachusetts Schools and Non-Profits. The reason the service is free is google is counting on that data.
Not quite. Google Apps for Non-Profits does show ads, yes, but Google Apps for Education does not show advertisements to students or staff (it's like Google Apps Premier in that regards, except for the increase in quota). Google also goes farther than the bill, because University accounts are free of ads (not just K-12 accounts). Google only asks that once the students become alumni, that the ads get turned on by the University staff. It has always been that way since the very beginning of Google Apps.
May be, this bill is targeted at the Kindle (or perhaps the iPad). I believe these two have made more inroads into the K-12 market than Google Apps anyway.
1.4 Ads.
a. Default. The default setting for the Services is one that does not allow Google to serve Ads. Customer may change this setting in the Admin Console, which constitutes Customer’s authorization for Google to serve Ads. If Customer enables the serving of Ads, it may revert to the default setting at any time and Google will cease serving Ads.
b. Selectively Showing Ads. Notwithstanding Section 1.4(a), if Customer separates different classifications of End Users by domain or Google provides the capability for Customer to show Ads only to particular sets of End Users within the same domain, then Customer must enable the serving of Ads to End Users who are alumni.
c. Selectively Showing Ads. If Customer chooses to separate different classifications of End Users by domain, then Customer must enable the serving of Ads to Alumni. If Google provides the capability for Customer to show Ads only to particular sets of End Users, then Customer must enable Google's serving of Ads to End Users who are not Students or Staff. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/education_terms.html
I tried it out a few weeks ago. It really *is* just a web browser. I have trouble understanding why someone would spent $1300 for a Pixel unless they planned to install a real OS on it.
The price of the Chrome Pixel is minus $500 for some people (that's right, it's a negative number for some).
The people that are already paying $1,800 every three years for Google cloud storage get that three year subscription for free if they buy a Pixel at $1,300. Essentially, the Pixel is a loss leader for CEOs, or CTO, or the tech manager making the purchase decisions. Personally, I don't know anyone else who would use so much cloud storage in the first place except businesses. I suppose they're probably hoping that the Pixel will act as a Trojan horse in the Enterprise. If a CEO really likes his free complimentary supped up $1,300 Chromebook, he may try getting more cloud storage, and cheap $200 Chromebooks for every non-technical person in his company. Company-wide decisions can get made on much less than this.
Nobody can guarantee that third parties, patent trolls especially, wont jump out of nowhere and sue you.
That's not what I was talking about.
I'm talking about non-practicing entities that sue everyone using patents they get from Microsoft. And/or corporate entities that sue everyone, but that depend solely on Microsoft (or Ballmer, or Gates) for most of their funding, or revenue.
I'll second the recommendation to ask HR.
Sometimes, it's just a part of the budget, and for all you know, there may be a training budget allocated for that kind of thing. Also if your company has a Foundation, check into that too. For all you know, there could be some scholarship money you could apply for that would otherwise go to the CEO's favorite Ballet school.
It may also be a good idea to try to reframe the question. How is your IT department doing? Most IT departments I've seen do not seem to be doing that well. In many companies, being in IT is just a thankless job. Ask yourself. What's the quality of life like in your department? What's the cost of finding/replacing an IT employee who just quits on you? What's the cost of losing your better employees and only keeping your mediocre employees? Because that's what usually happens if you're just aiming to match the same average rewards that everybody else is offering. In an average company, the above-average employees tend to leave, and the below-average employees tend to stay and hold on for dear life.
It probably wasn't my drone. Mine is black, has four propellers, and is only about one foot wide.
It was less than 3 miles from the airport and at 1750 ft altitude. Your average R/C aircraft pilot wouldn't be that stupid unless he/she is intent on getting in trouble.... Most R/C hobbyists are surprisingly aware of the laws related to their hobby.
The only clearly marked R/C hobbyist field in my area is about 200 feet from an international airport. I kid you not.
Not that my drone could even climb up to 1750 ft, I'm just saying.
The only thing I miss is netflix.
Nowadays, with a little work you can make Netflix run on linux.
Also I'm not sure when this happened, but most Android tablets, phones, and GoogleTVs are also officially supported by Netflix.
Yes, the patent laws are a problem but Microsoft has already made legally binding promises not to litigate their patents on core technologies...
Legally binding promises? How can you tell their promises are legally binding?
Microsoft has an history of using proxy corporations to do its dirty work, so it can insulate itself from direct legal reprisals. Do you have some proof that they closed down that possible avenue for themselves?
Look, I know nobody cares, but Microsoft Azure has nothing to do with Windows 8.
Except for the fact that Windows 8 now comes with a secure bootloader.
In other words, Microsoft likes to centralize security. It doesn't matter to them if that means creating a single point of failure. They're like a large government wanting to control everything, even if that means it compromises everything else.
Yes, but that policy doesn't go far enough. We need a law that mandates cross-compatibility between cell networks (just like the laws they have in Europe).
An unlocked Sprint CDMA phone doesn't get me anywhere in the United States. Verizon won't accept it on its own CDMA network. And the other networks are not compatible with CDMA, so they couldn't accept it even if they wanted to.
Recently, my Sprint phone became useless where I live, at least as a data connection, as a phone it still worked. Although, I had an unlimited data plan, the 4G speed where I lived stopped working, a couple of weeks later -- the 3G data stopped working. This was all because Sprint didn't have the money to upgrade/maintain its towers in my area (in other areas, it still works). That's what they told me at my local Sprint store.
It's basic contract law - and it's straight forward. The carriers don't really give a rat's ass what you do with your subsidized phone, as long as you fulfill your 24 months of minimum service.
Or pay the early termination fee which is its equivalent.
You're totally right.
BPI (British Pornographic Industry)
What is that? Gay porn? Porno actresses with bad teeth?
You mean this picture? I don't see it.
If we get superconductors we can use as power transmission lines in normal environmental temperature ranges, that'll be a serious game-changer.
Read the summary again: "...in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials."
To me, this caveat must mean that it can only do as well, or worse, than current engineered materials for transporting electrical current (whatever their definition of "engineered" means to them).
So if you go by the summary description alone (which as a Slashdotter, I often do, since I'm often too lazy to read the actual articles), it's no game-changer at all.
Sorry, the initial train must have gone right over your head.
Isn't this how most companies work? In order to get anything done, you form an ad-hoc group of capable people to work on a project.
Yes, and then a new informal hierarchy forms itself.
Everybody bends over backward to work with the people who appear to be competent. And when you receive a phone call from a colleague you don't know requesting something, you check to see how that person fares on that informal pecking order (or how his teammates fare on that pecking order themselves) before you decide what to do with his/her request.
In other words, the workplace may be less hierarchical, but it's still hierarchical to some degree. That's how we are. We're pack animals. We all want to be associated with the winners in the workplace.
Some people who had a 10 in iPad are now migrating to the 7s but the great majority are happier with the larger screen.
Personally, I'm happier with *both* sizes. The smaller form factor is better for me to carry around and hold it while reading in bed, but I'll still use the larger screen size if I need to make a sales presentation, or if I'm home reading manga.
Obviously, the cops in Manhattan should be given iPads and 4G phones, and they should patrol the streets less, and spend more time behind their desk browsing FaceBook, responding to email, looking at Craigslist postings, and watching questionable Youtube videos.
Remote Potato Guide server
Is that some kind of Farmville game?
The fact that the content industry has no problems with having the ISP industry monitoring their CUSTOMERS use of the Internet makes me sick.
It may make you sick, but it's nothing new.
The ISP industry has always tried various ways of getting into the double-dipping business.
Hell!! Even my freaking TiVo started inserting interactive ads every time I touch its menu. For some executives, it really doesn't matter if they're killing off their company in the long term, if it means that they can increase their revenue in the short term.