iPods continue to grow, but why not .Mac?
on
60GB iPod Coming?
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· Score: 1
I mean, really - 100 MB for $100 when Google is giving a GB for free... iPods have grown at about 100% extra space per year for the same price, why not.Mac?
Did anyone understand how the system deals with the angle of the retina changing as the user moves their eyes? The retina is (if I understand it correctly) planar, which is how the cornea can focus images on it consistently. Yet the eyes are nearly spherical, meaning that the retina changes its angle as the eyes move.
The reason I ask is that, for this to produce accurate images, it would need to readjust the keystone of the image, much like a LCD projector must do that if it is mounted at an angle to the screen.
If it doesn't correct for this, I can imagine a strange warping effect to images as the eyes are turned.
It's curious. When I was looking at semi companies a few years back, there seemed to be lots of scrappy startups with reconfigurable dreams. I looked at companies that could take c++ code and turn it into silicon, companies that had tools to integrate IP from multiple providers easily, and FPGA producers that wanted to grow beyond the primarily telecom market that they were in.
The idea was plausible, the market and the VCs (at least in Europe) agreed, and lots of money was thrown at the problem.
But if I look at this company, I can't help but feel that it's a bit of deja vu.
Which begs the question, if reconfigurable computing is such a good idea why has it not become as common as the general purpose CPU? I suspect it's because the general purpose CPU is:
1. cheap 2. well understood 3. cheap
Simply put, it's often cheaper to just write code for one of the myriad existing parts or, in the case that you want to have something that's got a custom core, just have it fabbed.
1. Mood related shuffle. Depending on the reading from my Bluetooth mood ring, my portable music player chooses an appropriate genre
2. Temporal shuffle. During the work day, it plays light jazz and easy listening; at night, gothic rock; later, trance music. Time zone information would be critical - would be easy to make a critical mistake if you went on a flight from NYC to say, Hong Kong.
3. Location based shuffle. This would be an improvement on the above: at work, play the easy listening, at home a different set. Bluetooth GPS needed?
4. Pedometer shuffle. Again, that handy Bluetooth link would be linked to a pedometer that indicates running speed and maybe heart rate. That way, if you're slowing down on a workout, it ups the beat; if you're going over your target heartrate, it slows it down
Every time I pass through airports (and I pass through LOTS of them) I spend time thinking about how easy it would be to bypass the many security measures that are visible to the traveller. It is entirely possible to get 'sharps' through scanners or to bring components of something nefarious on board simply because the entire security process is VISIBLE to the user. Of course, I have no intention of doing any of this, but that doesn't make any difference to the level of security that I am subjected to.
What I like about CAPPS is that it makes the security process a lot less visible to the user, and that it will help identify who is MORE likely to be a problem. By itself, it doesn't solve anything, but it maay make life a little bit better for the 99.9999% of travellers who aren't an issue.
PS. European airports are far more rational about security than US ones. If I had to travel regularly within the US, I would seriously consider another job. There seems to be an officious panic which has made US TSA guards particularly aggravating to the traveller.
I'm pretty happy with all of these iApps that Apple kindly includes with the MacOS, but in my mind the biggest glaring omission is the ability to sync with a Windows PC running Outlook. Am I just being obtuse or is there not a real need, particularily for 'switchers' who are still mandated to use a PC at work?
BTW, I know one way around this is to ferry a Palm between a PC and a Mac, but that's hardly a sensible solution. Particularly given that if both PCs and Macs support the Palm syncing protocol, SURELY they could speak to each other...
Microsoft already produces a version of Office for a BSD-like operating system - MacOS X - so the skills are clearly there. Explorer and a few other products are produced through their "Macintosh business unit" which has a supposedly healthy relationship with the rest of MSFT.
Actually, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense for MSFT to have a "Linux business unit". Just like MSFT likes to keep Apple on a leash to provide them with cutting-edge ideas on user interface and applications, they could do the same with Linux in regards to security and server software.
Anybody wonder why the rainiest place in the UK (not exactly the sun capital of the world in general) is working on a rain MAKING project?
Should be easy to claim success, though...
While not strictly a PDA, the RIM BlackBerry has recently replaced my iPAQ which I had for several years. In fact, I'll never go back - the killer app for a PDA is having email and a "live" synchronised appointment book. That way, my admin can add/remove/change meetings and send me a quick email while I'm anywhere in the US, which I can respond to. It even works at 35,000 feet!
Do I miss the colour touchscreen of the iPAQ? No. Do I miss any applications? Well, now that I have AvantGo on it, no I don't. Do I miss handwritiing recognition? Hell, no! (In fact, I can't imagine a worse thing to do with a laptop than take the keyboard away and use only a pen - are you listening, Mr. Gates?)
While you still do have to sync the RIM occasionally to clean out the mailbox and to get contents synchronised with Outlook, it is by far a more "connected" device than either the iPAQ or Palm. And to me, that's what matters: connectivity.
Sadly, as The Register is fond of pointing out by calling them "Lawyers in Motion", RIM has a habit of suing any other company that tries to bring "push" email to PDAs. Nevertheless, it is 100% clear to me that all PDAs (and probably mobile phones, too) will work like BlackBerries in the near future.
Mr. Shatner-
What is your perspective on the Student Union Building at McGill University (your alma mater), renamed in your honour as the 'Shatner Memorial Student Union Building'?
I read on The Register that Mira will not support DVD viewing, apparently as a result of MPAA restrictions. Apparently retargeting the display is the equivalent of copying the DVD in the MPAA's opinion. If true, this is a ridiculous limitation.
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I mean, really - 100 MB for $100 when Google is giving a GB for free... iPods have grown at about 100% extra space per year for the same price, why not .Mac?
Did anyone understand how the system deals with the angle of the retina changing as the user moves their eyes? The retina is (if I understand it correctly) planar, which is how the cornea can focus images on it consistently. Yet the eyes are nearly spherical, meaning that the retina changes its angle as the eyes move.
The reason I ask is that, for this to produce accurate images, it would need to readjust the keystone of the image, much like a LCD projector must do that if it is mounted at an angle to the screen.
If it doesn't correct for this, I can imagine a strange warping effect to images as the eyes are turned.
I would imagine that pixels are irrelevant - it's a vector display. With that in mind, I wonder if it would have Vectrex-like 'dots' at corners?
AKA Where are they now?
It's curious. When I was looking at semi companies a few years back, there seemed to be lots of scrappy startups with reconfigurable dreams. I looked at companies that could take c++ code and turn it into silicon, companies that had tools to integrate IP from multiple providers easily, and FPGA producers that wanted to grow beyond the primarily telecom market that they were in.
The idea was plausible, the market and the VCs (at least in Europe) agreed, and lots of money was thrown at the problem.
But if I look at this company, I can't help but feel that it's a bit of deja vu.
Which begs the question, if reconfigurable computing is such a good idea why has it not become as common as the general purpose CPU? I suspect it's because the general purpose CPU is:
1. cheap
2. well understood
3. cheap
Simply put, it's often cheaper to just write code for one of the myriad existing parts or, in the case that you want to have something that's got a custom core, just have it fabbed.
Am I missing something here?
I can think of a few:
1. Mood related shuffle. Depending on the reading from my Bluetooth mood ring, my portable music player chooses an appropriate genre
2. Temporal shuffle. During the work day, it plays light jazz and easy listening; at night, gothic rock; later, trance music. Time zone information would be critical - would be easy to make a critical mistake if you went on a flight from NYC to say, Hong Kong.
3. Location based shuffle. This would be an improvement on the above: at work, play the easy listening, at home a different set. Bluetooth GPS needed?
4. Pedometer shuffle. Again, that handy Bluetooth link would be linked to a pedometer that indicates running speed and maybe heart rate. That way, if you're slowing down on a workout, it ups the beat; if you're going over your target heartrate, it slows it down
... if I can leave the TiVO on recording it for consumption the following week!
So, does that mean that Ballmer is actually a 'Dwork'?
Every time I pass through airports (and I pass through LOTS of them) I spend time thinking about how easy it would be to bypass the many security measures that are visible to the traveller. It is entirely possible to get 'sharps' through scanners or to bring components of something nefarious on board simply because the entire security process is VISIBLE to the user. Of course, I have no intention of doing any of this, but that doesn't make any difference to the level of security that I am subjected to.
What I like about CAPPS is that it makes the security process a lot less visible to the user, and that it will help identify who is MORE likely to be a problem. By itself, it doesn't solve anything, but it maay make life a little bit better for the 99.9999% of travellers who aren't an issue.
PS. European airports are far more rational about security than US ones. If I had to travel regularly within the US, I would seriously consider another job. There seems to be an officious panic which has made US TSA guards particularly aggravating to the traveller.
BTW, I know one way around this is to ferry a Palm between a PC and a Mac, but that's hardly a sensible solution. Particularly given that if both PCs and Macs support the Palm syncing protocol, SURELY they could speak to each other...
Microsoft already produces a version of Office for a BSD-like operating system - MacOS X - so the skills are clearly there. Explorer and a few other products are produced through their "Macintosh business unit" which has a supposedly healthy relationship with the rest of MSFT.
Actually, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense for MSFT to have a "Linux business unit". Just like MSFT likes to keep Apple on a leash to provide them with cutting-edge ideas on user interface and applications, they could do the same with Linux in regards to security and server software.
Anybody wonder why the rainiest place in the UK (not exactly the sun capital of the world in general) is working on a rain MAKING project? Should be easy to claim success, though...
People at Id don't bother to render and model the organs
Actually, I'd argue that 'rendering' (in the true abattoir sense of the word) is the whole point of Id games...
While not strictly a PDA, the RIM BlackBerry has recently replaced my iPAQ which I had for several years. In fact, I'll never go back - the killer app for a PDA is having email and a "live" synchronised appointment book. That way, my admin can add/remove/change meetings and send me a quick email while I'm anywhere in the US, which I can respond to. It even works at 35,000 feet!
Do I miss the colour touchscreen of the iPAQ? No. Do I miss any applications? Well, now that I have AvantGo on it, no I don't. Do I miss handwritiing recognition? Hell, no! (In fact, I can't imagine a worse thing to do with a laptop than take the keyboard away and use only a pen - are you listening, Mr. Gates?)
While you still do have to sync the RIM occasionally to clean out the mailbox and to get contents synchronised with Outlook, it is by far a more "connected" device than either the iPAQ or Palm. And to me, that's what matters: connectivity.
Sadly, as The Register is fond of pointing out by calling them "Lawyers in Motion", RIM has a habit of suing any other company that tries to bring "push" email to PDAs. Nevertheless, it is 100% clear to me that all PDAs (and probably mobile phones, too) will work like BlackBerries in the near future.
Mr. Shatner- What is your perspective on the Student Union Building at McGill University (your alma mater), renamed in your honour as the 'Shatner Memorial Student Union Building'?
I read on The Register that Mira will not support DVD viewing, apparently as a result of MPAA restrictions. Apparently retargeting the display is the equivalent of copying the DVD in the MPAA's opinion. If true, this is a ridiculous limitation.