Nope. The idea is that you can use gelatine to make a fake fingerprint and thereby fake identity. So, when you go and spend up with your dad's fingerprint controlled credit card you can duplicate his fingerprint too.
"Looks cool" sells a few to geeks and to wanker CEO types that want the latest toys to show off at meetings. To make it in the real world they need to find a place in real practical use (ie. professional products/vertical systems). Putting them in homes is not real f (we know MS already loses a shitload of money there).
Two areas that have been identified for tablets are healthcare (hospitals) and field workers (utility workers etc). These need good battery life and rugged (waterproof, drop proof etc) devices.
I beleieve that there are two fundamental problems: (a) the technology does not fit the "problem". Battery life is too short and the devices are too fragile.(b) They require major revamps to the current busiuness models (eg. a complete change to the way patient data is managed in a hospital). Hospital administrators are very nervous of the significance of the changes, costs etc.
Tablets fit in the gap between PDA and laptop. As PDAs become more capable they squeeze the Tablet. For most vertical market scenarios most people would rather use a smaller/lighter/longer battery life PDA than a tablet.
Also throw smartphones into the mix. How many mobile devices can you realisticly expect people to buy & carry around? With all this competition it is difficult to see the tablet taking off.
The easy thing for Bill is that since MS don't make these things they don't have to make the hard call to stop production. Right now Bill is backing (ie losing money - but not huge amounts) in all mobile arenas (phone, PDA and tablet) so that he has a toe hold in mobile space.
Steve Jobs is not my precious at all. I think he's a washed-up has-been. All the Mac folk seem to say is "we put a trash bin on our desktop first".
I think though that Steve does have a better handle on ergonomics than Bill Gates. Steve did once say that large format PDAs (newton etc) are the wrong format. Microsoft does not yet get it. The market place does though: the tablet form factor only makes up a few % of laptop and PDA sales. The thing is too big to carry around and has too short a battery life and is just not suitable for professional use on a day-by-day basis.
You miss my point. For most kids, it is going to be a lot easier to gain access to a marker and anonymously write on the boys' room wall than it is to post a web page anonymously.
Bullying is a socail problem, not a technology problem. There are laws that govern stalking, harrassment etc that can be equally applied to sending text messages or written notes.
The Tablet is Bill Gates' pet project. He keeps pushing it even though the world at large does not want it.
Either the Tablet is so bound up in Bill's ego that he needs to push it this hard or else this is a diversion from the fact that MS has absolutely nothing else to show the world in terms of new product etc.
The good news, IMHO, so long as they keep spending and putting attention into the tablet they're keeping out of stuff that matters.
Technology only provides a comms tool. What's the difference if kids text eachother or pass notes? Write "Tammy is easy" on the boy's room wall or a web page? If anything the computer based comms makes it easier to trace and clamp down on.
Surely antitrust law is designed to stop monopolies becoming even stronger than they already are? Surely DOJ should be preventing Microsoft expanding its dominance?
Nope. They'll say "Oh they must be doing it for our own good". Maybe terrorists could get hold of our old videos and record subversive messages on them.
Yes, they'd perform like a Pentium but would only use a small fraction of the energy. An ARM switches less transistors per operation, hence uses less power. It is also register rich, so needs less RAM cycles and a smaller cache too.
The sticking point is software. Same problem is likely to be the case for any "reversable" device too.
Linux runs very nicely on ARM. WinCE does too. XP etc are nailed tp x86 for a long time though.
An ARM processor running at a few hundred MHz uses around 1W and does not even get warm to the touch -- no heatsink required. THe same goes for MIPS, SH4 etc. Most of the heat in an x86 is caused by trying to make an inherently inefficient architecture work faster. Intel, quite long ago, demoed an ARM core running at over 1GHz. Making a 2 or 3 GHz ARM is not impossible, it's just that the ARM niche is portable devices etc and they have not been put into the x86-dominated space
I remember a thread where people were slagging off at SUVs that they don't get better mileage than a Model T and "is this progress?". Well my first PC has a 120W power supply and that was overkill for the job. My latest has a 350W power supply. Now then folks "Is this progress?".
The use of keep suggests that they are currently honest and are showing some trend to veer from the path. They've left the path of honesty long ago.
With lobbying (== bribing) how can one expect an honest politicians and government bodies etc? Step out of line and you lose your financing.
With blatant media control, how can one expect an honest media? While America has a constitution that protects free speech, the White House supresses it by limiting access to friendly press.
Bring along an MBA and what do you get? Normal corporate power-play (which is not OpenSource play). Sure, a company with shareholders is obligues\d to chase a profit, but...
I think this is possibly a play against Lindows. Lindows has de-everythinged Linux (eg. run everything as su by default so that the technically unwashed do not have to bother). This can erode the Linux security message which is important in RedHats biz areas (== servers). For now, RH would love to own server land and don't want Lindows pissing in the pond.
What I think is most cool about this is that it is very likely going to breath new life into the other distros.
Anyone in any industry will resist change if it impacts on their power/money.
When streetlights converted to electricity you can bet the lamp-lighters kicked up a fuss.
I expect the record industry will lose a lot of power. They effectively manipulate the music industry and control who willl make it and who won't. Digital music removes that control since effectively any Joe with a server can sell his music. They also lose revenue. While they send out images of starving artists, their real concern is starving record company execs. Likely the artists can gain out of the new model.
Assuming you're a programmer, how would you feel about being personally liable for every bug and its rammifications?
It is the system at fault, not the workers. If the USPTO was to be hit with damages for bad calls, then their profit/loss would not look as healthy and people might start asking some questions.
The voters don't care about patents because so few are impacted (say compared with tax legislation). Imagine if Bush had said:"Read my lips, no more patents." nobody would have cared a shit.
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Those that can do. Those that can't post to /.. Those that can't even post to /. fix grammar and spelling mistakes.
Nope. The idea is that you can use gelatine to make a fake fingerprint and thereby fake identity. So, when you go and spend up with your dad's fingerprint controlled credit card you can duplicate his fingerprint too.
None, it's a 4 or 8 bitters job.
So far Billy-boy has shown no fear of the Sherman Act. The bundling and competition strangling continues....
Well now the government has your fingerprint the Feds can watch you easier. "Fux just bought a Coke at the Seven Eleven"!
Since that bloke showed how to use gelatine to fool a fingerprint machine, how long before jello becomes a controlled substance?
Two areas that have been identified for tablets are healthcare (hospitals) and field workers (utility workers etc). These need good battery life and rugged (waterproof, drop proof etc) devices.
I beleieve that there are two fundamental problems: (a) the technology does not fit the "problem". Battery life is too short and the devices are too fragile.(b) They require major revamps to the current busiuness models (eg. a complete change to the way patient data is managed in a hospital). Hospital administrators are very nervous of the significance of the changes, costs etc.
Tablets fit in the gap between PDA and laptop. As PDAs become more capable they squeeze the Tablet. For most vertical market scenarios most people would rather use a smaller/lighter/longer battery life PDA than a tablet.
Also throw smartphones into the mix. How many mobile devices can you realisticly expect people to buy & carry around? With all this competition it is difficult to see the tablet taking off.
The easy thing for Bill is that since MS don't make these things they don't have to make the hard call to stop production. Right now Bill is backing (ie losing money - but not huge amounts) in all mobile arenas (phone, PDA and tablet) so that he has a toe hold in mobile space.
I think though that Steve does have a better handle on ergonomics than Bill Gates. Steve did once say that large format PDAs (newton etc) are the wrong format. Microsoft does not yet get it. The market place does though: the tablet form factor only makes up a few % of laptop and PDA sales. The thing is too big to carry around and has too short a battery life and is just not suitable for professional use on a day-by-day basis.
Bullying is a socail problem, not a technology problem. There are laws that govern stalking, harrassment etc that can be equally applied to sending text messages or written notes.
Either the Tablet is so bound up in Bill's ego that he needs to push it this hard or else this is a diversion from the fact that MS has absolutely nothing else to show the world in terms of new product etc.
The good news, IMHO, so long as they keep spending and putting attention into the tablet they're keeping out of stuff that matters.
Technology only provides a comms tool. What's the difference if kids text eachother or pass notes? Write "Tammy is easy" on the boy's room wall or a web page? If anything the computer based comms makes it easier to trace and clamp down on.
Sure, MS makes the excuse that they're "maximising shareholder value", but that should not mean acting immorally.
Surely antitrust law is designed to stop monopolies becoming even stronger than they already are? Surely DOJ should be preventing Microsoft expanding its dominance?
SCO was talking about $35 for every embedded license.
Nope. They'll say "Oh they must be doing it for our own good". Maybe terrorists could get hold of our old videos and record subversive messages on them.
The sticking point is software. Same problem is likely to be the case for any "reversable" device too.
Linux runs very nicely on ARM. WinCE does too. XP etc are nailed tp x86 for a long time though.
They'd do better to use heat pumps.
I remember a thread where people were slagging off at SUVs that they don't get better mileage than a Model T and "is this progress?". Well my first PC has a 120W power supply and that was overkill for the job. My latest has a 350W power supply. Now then folks "Is this progress?".
With lobbying (== bribing) how can one expect an honest politicians and government bodies etc? Step out of line and you lose your financing.
With blatant media control, how can one expect an honest media? While America has a constitution that protects free speech, the White House supresses it by limiting access to friendly press.
Hello! We're geeks. Our personal computers are clusters and supercomputers.
You (probably) don't have the equipment to effectively use the tampon dispensing machines either, bet you won't ask for a refud on that one though.
How long before the service is limited to Windows users and you get thrown from campus for using Linux.
I think this is possibly a play against Lindows. Lindows has de-everythinged Linux (eg. run everything as su by default so that the technically unwashed do not have to bother). This can erode the Linux security message which is important in RedHats biz areas (== servers). For now, RH would love to own server land and don't want Lindows pissing in the pond.
What I think is most cool about this is that it is very likely going to breath new life into the other distros.
When streetlights converted to electricity you can bet the lamp-lighters kicked up a fuss.
I expect the record industry will lose a lot of power. They effectively manipulate the music industry and control who willl make it and who won't. Digital music removes that control since effectively any Joe with a server can sell his music. They also lose revenue. While they send out images of starving artists, their real concern is starving record company execs. Likely the artists can gain out of the new model.
It is the system at fault, not the workers. If the USPTO was to be hit with damages for bad calls, then their profit/loss would not look as healthy and people might start asking some questions.
The voters don't care about patents because so few are impacted (say compared with tax legislation). Imagine if Bush had said:"Read my lips, no more patents." nobody would have cared a shit.