About that number though - from the way it's phrased it seems to refer to 2% of iPhone owners; maybe people who wanted to run 3rd party apps didn't buy iPhones? I really, really wanted to buy an iPhone for the form factor, multi-touch, and other goodies, but I really, really need to run a certain app, which, the developers say, *would* have been ported to the iPhone if Apple would have allowed it. In the end, I bought a Windows Mobile phone (HTC Blue Angel) and I hate it in every possible way (the crashing, the slowness, rough UI) except for the fact that it allows me to use this program, which saves my life every single day.
Apparently, Apple didn't make the iPhone for people like me, but damn I wish they did. Oh, and it would be nice if I could get it some other way than buying it cracked from a shady dealer in Zhongguancun for 6000 yuan. Buying a phone that won't let me substitute the SIM card for a local one when travelling is not an option anyway... In the end, it's Apple's decision what product they want to release, and since they apparently make heaps of money this way through their profit-sharing deal with AT&T, more power to them. Still, though, I wish someone would make a phone for me.
But can new devices replace the laptop's use as a "glorified typewriter"? I'd rather not have to research articles and write papers on a mobile phone. Surfing the web on a max. 3" screen too - not too pleasing. For communication, a mobile phone works, but there are a lot of people who need to use computers to do actual work - writing not the least. Not to mention spreadsheets and all of the other stuff I imagine people do in "offices".
I think I can answer number 3: because Nike makes a shitload of money on them?
I'm currently studying in Beijing, and you can get a pair of fake Nikes (I can't notice a change in quality; often the "fakes" are made at the same factories as the "real" ones, even) for 40-50 yuan (about $6). And it's not just transport fees that make them expensive in other countries either, because they're already being transported over half the country to Beijing from places like Guangzhou.
No. 2 is difficult to answer, as the workers' wages probably consist of 1-2% of the final price of a $150 shoe, so labor, which is now practically free, would be like an entirely new cost. I also think the $0.50 mentioned earlier is a bit optimistic; in the south where the factories are I think a more likely wage is about 2 yuan an hour, which would be about a quarter. In Beijing I think 5 yuan (66 cents) is about what people make an hour. How do they live on this, you ask? Prices aren't *that* cheap here. Well, they live like shit. They eat shit. Food isn't for enjoyment - it's something consumed in order to stay alive. They share a public toilet with 3000 other people. They sleep 6 hours a night and work 18 hours to be able to live. What if they don't put up with it? Well, they steal. Or they die. Or they steal and get executed. Not easy being born in China.
That's cool, though. Wish Firefox would get this feature, because while I'd love to switch from Opera, this is a feature I can't do without for some reason.
I'll second this. The zoom feature of Opera is one of the few ingenious Opera features that haven't been copied by other browsers yet. Everything is increased in size smoothly, even Flash elements. Just get some reasonably high-resolution monitors for the machines (1600 horizontal), and run at 200% default zoom, then you can have blind people browsing the web. Another poster mentioned that only the content is zoomed, and not the application itself, but you will probably want to hide or disable most of the application interface (menu bar, tabs) using kiosk mode http://www.opera.com/support/mastering/kiosk/ anyway. You can set the images in the address bar to large size, and then the only remaining issue (which I admit may be somewhat significant) is the size of the address field, which is still small. It is possible this can be configured using themes, but I don't know.
Isn't this what IDN is, though? I'd link to Yahoo China (Yahu Zhongguo), but Slashdot won't accept the URL... If I type it into the address bar, though, it works. See this screenshot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chinese-domain- name.png
Products made for the Chinese market are often shoddy. I'm using an Amoi phone here in Beijing now, and though it works, it sometimes turns off at random moments. A lot of things I've bought here are pretty good, admittedly: Converse All-Stars (might be fake, might not be, who cares) for 70 yuan (that's with bad haggling, could have gotten them for 60), very comfortable, good quality; "Diesel" (yeah right) manbag for 38 yuan, doesn't look like it's going to go into pieces any time soon. On the other hand, every 3rd DVD I buy (even in big shops, where I assume I'm not even getting fakes), doesn't work well (no subtitles though the back says so, scratches that make the video skip, etc.), the brakes on my brand new electric bike are pretty bad, which made me crash into a car on Thursday (didn't get a scratch, was lucky, but still...), the handle fell off my new (20 yuan for two) badminton rackets, my old manual bike had its pedal fall off when I was riding it to school...
The point is that quality control isn't quite the same. It's all pushed onto the consumer, and if there's a problem they'll just have to complain themselves. Chinese goods in China!=Goods made in China marketed overseas. Sometimes they're as good (my shoes), sometimes they're not (bikes).
So, yeah, you're stupid and know nothing.
A friend of mine said he'd buy the Meizu iPhone (he already has their iPod knockoff) if the rumours they were making it were true, so if it's any good I'm buying one too, to replace my 400 yuan Amoi... looks promising so far!
Yes, the word used in the original Greek can mean either "virgin" or "young lady", and this is a pretty basic fact of the history of Christianity. What "the" Bible says in modern versions is pretty arbitrary and in many cases pretty different from what its constituent texts originally said around 1900 years ago. Not to mention the arbitrariness of what texts were considered canonical, and thus included, and which were not. It's amazing how little Christians know about the history of their little book.
Exactly. They are launching this first in Norway, and I think it will be a success there (I'd say "here", except I'm in China)
1) I know at least Oslo, and probably other cities, have reserved parking spaces for electric cars, with free charging 2) The highest speed limit in all of Norway is 110 km/h, just 10 km/h over this car's max speed 3) This car will be permitted to drive in collective lanes, lanes which otherwise only buses and taxis are allowed to drive in, so you can get past all the traffic 4) In Norway, petrol is expensive, but electricity is abundant and cheap 5) According to the site, you don't have to pay the annual road tax (currently equiv. to $500, to be raised next year) 6) According to the site, insurance is cheaper 7) According to the site, toll charges are cheaper 8) Needs to be serviced less
It's in other words a pretty safe bet that this car will be successful in Norway. The US, though, I'm not as certain about.
I'm driving an electric bike in Beijing. Cost me 1600 yuan (about $200), and gets me to school and back with a speed of about 30 km/h. Vroom vroom.
Well, it's easier to find several books on one subject when they're all in the same area, isn't it? I worked for half a year at the university library, and while the Dewey system wasn't used (except for reference literature and archeology for some reason), we had a homebrewed system that grouped similar books together. It's nice when you go looking for one book, and then find others that look interesting. In my experience, by the way, the youth are very able to find the books they're looking for; for the most part the people who come asking for help to find a book have grey or no hair. So that's that.
I don't know about that. IANAL but Bridgeman v. Corel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeman_v._Corel) was a US case where the court ruled "that exact photographic copies of public domain images could not be protected by copyright because the copies lack originality". And according to the Wikipedia article, the plaintiff argued "that under English and Welsh law, such reproductions seemed to be protected by copyright", (though "recent events have thrown further doubt about the validity of the original rulings under UK law").
Except in the headline? "Virtual Console Reaches 100th Game Milestone; 4.7 Million Sold". From text: "more than 4.7 million games have been downloaded by Wii owners" (not other software: games). RTFA before commenting.
I prefer AAC, really. It consistently beats MP3, and sometimes wins over ogg and sometimes loses in listening tests. And it's supported on the Zune! Hurray! In fact, most new devices coming out, no matter who makes them, support AAC now. It's proprietary, yes, but so is MP3.
Wow, that's an interesting piece of information to know. So in other words, there's no big reason not to buy a Japanese one! I guess I might pick one up, then, for 55000 yen (less than half of what it costs here).
I don't know. I think a lot of people know that they want Windows, even though they might not know what it is, so if they see an opportunity to change Windows to something else, I don't think they'll take it. An acquaintance of mine recently bought a shiny new Mac "because they have Windows now!" and is blissfully using it without problems, though it took her a while to understand that she actually did not have Windows.
The European PS3 is crazy considering the price. I'm going to be in Japan for 2 weeks this July, and am considering picking one up, since it costs the same there that a Wii costs where I live. According to Wikipedia it does after all have a universal power supply with a standard IEC connector, so the only problem will be the games...
I was there for a couple of days in June last year. I was surprised to see that Linux is actually quite popular; they were selling Linux machines in the mall. The people were also very nice, and I enjoyed myself there. A half-litre of Staropramen was about an euro fifty, which added to the enjoyment. We were staying in a school there, and they had a very well-maintained computer lab (the machines weren't the fastest in the world admittedly, but more than adequate) which dual-booted XP and... I think Fedora or something. Now, Estonia is geographically a Baltic state, but culturally and linguistically they are very close to Finland, a Nordic state which as I expect most of you would know is the home of Linus Torvalds. Perhaps they feel a connection to Linus? Any Estonians here who want to shed some light on this?
Slashdot Mirror
Apparently, Apple didn't make the iPhone for people like me, but damn I wish they did. Oh, and it would be nice if I could get it some other way than buying it cracked from a shady dealer in Zhongguancun for 6000 yuan. Buying a phone that won't let me substitute the SIM card for a local one when travelling is not an option anyway... In the end, it's Apple's decision what product they want to release, and since they apparently make heaps of money this way through their profit-sharing deal with AT&T, more power to them. Still, though, I wish someone would make a phone for me.
Chinese people who use the internet often know about the firewall. Well, at least they know how to bypass it to watch porn.
But can new devices replace the laptop's use as a "glorified typewriter"? I'd rather not have to research articles and write papers on a mobile phone. Surfing the web on a max. 3" screen too - not too pleasing. For communication, a mobile phone works, but there are a lot of people who need to use computers to do actual work - writing not the least. Not to mention spreadsheets and all of the other stuff I imagine people do in "offices".
I think I can answer number 3: because Nike makes a shitload of money on them?
I'm currently studying in Beijing, and you can get a pair of fake Nikes (I can't notice a change in quality; often the "fakes" are made at the same factories as the "real" ones, even) for 40-50 yuan (about $6). And it's not just transport fees that make them expensive in other countries either, because they're already being transported over half the country to Beijing from places like Guangzhou.
No. 2 is difficult to answer, as the workers' wages probably consist of 1-2% of the final price of a $150 shoe, so labor, which is now practically free, would be like an entirely new cost. I also think the $0.50 mentioned earlier is a bit optimistic; in the south where the factories are I think a more likely wage is about 2 yuan an hour, which would be about a quarter. In Beijing I think 5 yuan (66 cents) is about what people make an hour. How do they live on this, you ask? Prices aren't *that* cheap here. Well, they live like shit. They eat shit. Food isn't for enjoyment - it's something consumed in order to stay alive. They share a public toilet with 3000 other people. They sleep 6 hours a night and work 18 hours to be able to live. What if they don't put up with it? Well, they steal. Or they die. Or they steal and get executed. Not easy being born in China.
Wikipedia was blocked again on August 29. I have to use a proxy to reach it now.
That's cool, though. Wish Firefox would get this feature, because while I'd love to switch from Opera, this is a feature I can't do without for some reason.
I'll second this. The zoom feature of Opera is one of the few ingenious Opera features that haven't been copied by other browsers yet. Everything is increased in size smoothly, even Flash elements. Just get some reasonably high-resolution monitors for the machines (1600 horizontal), and run at 200% default zoom, then you can have blind people browsing the web. Another poster mentioned that only the content is zoomed, and not the application itself, but you will probably want to hide or disable most of the application interface (menu bar, tabs) using kiosk mode http://www.opera.com/support/mastering/kiosk/ anyway. You can set the images in the address bar to large size, and then the only remaining issue (which I admit may be somewhat significant) is the size of the address field, which is still small. It is possible this can be configured using themes, but I don't know.
Isn't this what IDN is, though? I'd link to Yahoo China (Yahu Zhongguo), but Slashdot won't accept the URL... If I type it into the address bar, though, it works. See this screenshot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chinese-domain- name.png
What's the problem?
Products made for the Chinese market are often shoddy. I'm using an Amoi phone here in Beijing now, and though it works, it sometimes turns off at random moments. A lot of things I've bought here are pretty good, admittedly: Converse All-Stars (might be fake, might not be, who cares) for 70 yuan (that's with bad haggling, could have gotten them for 60), very comfortable, good quality; "Diesel" (yeah right) manbag for 38 yuan, doesn't look like it's going to go into pieces any time soon. On the other hand, every 3rd DVD I buy (even in big shops, where I assume I'm not even getting fakes), doesn't work well (no subtitles though the back says so, scratches that make the video skip, etc.), the brakes on my brand new electric bike are pretty bad, which made me crash into a car on Thursday (didn't get a scratch, was lucky, but still...), the handle fell off my new (20 yuan for two) badminton rackets, my old manual bike had its pedal fall off when I was riding it to school...
The point is that quality control isn't quite the same. It's all pushed onto the consumer, and if there's a problem they'll just have to complain themselves. Chinese goods in China!=Goods made in China marketed overseas. Sometimes they're as good (my shoes), sometimes they're not (bikes).
So, yeah, you're stupid and know nothing.
A friend of mine said he'd buy the Meizu iPhone (he already has their iPod knockoff) if the rumours they were making it were true, so if it's any good I'm buying one too, to replace my 400 yuan Amoi... looks promising so far!
Yes, the word used in the original Greek can mean either "virgin" or "young lady", and this is a pretty basic fact of the history of Christianity. What "the" Bible says in modern versions is pretty arbitrary and in many cases pretty different from what its constituent texts originally said around 1900 years ago. Not to mention the arbitrariness of what texts were considered canonical, and thus included, and which were not. It's amazing how little Christians know about the history of their little book.
Exactly. They are launching this first in Norway, and I think it will be a success there (I'd say "here", except I'm in China)
1) I know at least Oslo, and probably other cities, have reserved parking spaces for electric cars, with free charging
2) The highest speed limit in all of Norway is 110 km/h, just 10 km/h over this car's max speed
3) This car will be permitted to drive in collective lanes, lanes which otherwise only buses and taxis are allowed to drive in, so you can get past all the traffic
4) In Norway, petrol is expensive, but electricity is abundant and cheap
5) According to the site, you don't have to pay the annual road tax (currently equiv. to $500, to be raised next year)
6) According to the site, insurance is cheaper
7) According to the site, toll charges are cheaper
8) Needs to be serviced less
It's in other words a pretty safe bet that this car will be successful in Norway. The US, though, I'm not as certain about.
I'm driving an electric bike in Beijing. Cost me 1600 yuan (about $200), and gets me to school and back with a speed of about 30 km/h. Vroom vroom.
Well, it's easier to find several books on one subject when they're all in the same area, isn't it? I worked for half a year at the university library, and while the Dewey system wasn't used (except for reference literature and archeology for some reason), we had a homebrewed system that grouped similar books together. It's nice when you go looking for one book, and then find others that look interesting. In my experience, by the way, the youth are very able to find the books they're looking for; for the most part the people who come asking for help to find a book have grey or no hair. So that's that.
I don't know about that. IANAL but Bridgeman v. Corel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeman_v._Corel) was a US case where the court ruled "that exact photographic copies of public domain images could not be protected by copyright because the copies lack originality". And according to the Wikipedia article, the plaintiff argued "that under English and Welsh law, such reproductions seemed to be protected by copyright", (though "recent events have thrown further doubt about the validity of the original rulings under UK law").
Someone posted a link above... I assume this is the case you're talking about: http://www.badsoftware.com/hill.htm
Except in the headline? "Virtual Console Reaches 100th Game Milestone; 4.7 Million Sold". From text: "more than 4.7 million games have been downloaded by Wii owners" (not other software: games). RTFA before commenting.
Why doesn't Windows understand that there's no floppy attached in the first place? Is it because BIOS is too old? Will this happen if EFI is used?
I prefer AAC, really. It consistently beats MP3, and sometimes wins over ogg and sometimes loses in listening tests. And it's supported on the Zune! Hurray! In fact, most new devices coming out, no matter who makes them, support AAC now. It's proprietary, yes, but so is MP3.
They gave you a TV but you don't have a TV?
Wow, that's an interesting piece of information to know. So in other words, there's no big reason not to buy a Japanese one! I guess I might pick one up, then, for 55000 yen (less than half of what it costs here).
I don't know. I think a lot of people know that they want Windows, even though they might not know what it is, so if they see an opportunity to change Windows to something else, I don't think they'll take it. An acquaintance of mine recently bought a shiny new Mac "because they have Windows now!" and is blissfully using it without problems, though it took her a while to understand that she actually did not have Windows.
The European PS3 is crazy considering the price. I'm going to be in Japan for 2 weeks this July, and am considering picking one up, since it costs the same there that a Wii costs where I live. According to Wikipedia it does after all have a universal power supply with a standard IEC connector, so the only problem will be the games...
Site works and looks fine in Opera, Firefox and Safari for me... What's wrong?
I was there for a couple of days in June last year. I was surprised to see that Linux is actually quite popular; they were selling Linux machines in the mall. The people were also very nice, and I enjoyed myself there. A half-litre of Staropramen was about an euro fifty, which added to the enjoyment. We were staying in a school there, and they had a very well-maintained computer lab (the machines weren't the fastest in the world admittedly, but more than adequate) which dual-booted XP and... I think Fedora or something. Now, Estonia is geographically a Baltic state, but culturally and linguistically they are very close to Finland, a Nordic state which as I expect most of you would know is the home of Linus Torvalds. Perhaps they feel a connection to Linus? Any Estonians here who want to shed some light on this?
...Except albums are still $9.99 without DRM and at the higher bitrate.
Interesting experiment.