But it's a ridiculous false choice. Tech companies can take steps to reduce the likelihood of their devices getting stolen. There is no equivalent actor who can take steps to reduce the likelihood of women getting raped ("men" and "the gummint" really don't count).
My original point being, putting a remote kill switch in every cell phone is a solution to what is largely a non-problem (affecting percentages of the population in low single digits), and it gives government unprecedented control over our access to information. For this reason, government will push for this solution to a very small problem while they continue to ignore much larger problems. Because, if I haven't made it clear yet, it benefits them greatly. While benefiting us hardly at all.
I'm not sure how these thoughts connect, but I was thinking some years ago "If all the jobs went to China because it improves profit margins, who will be able to afford the products that are shipped back to the US?" I mean isn't outsourcing by its very nature a strategy that only work if you're riding the leading edge? Because what comes afterwards is a lot of companies fighting over a smaller and smaller pool of consumer discretionary income.
I notice you dont seem to give a fuck how many female non-college students get raped. What the fuck is so special about crime against college kids than crime against people the same age who arent in college?
I picked that factoid out of the air pretty much at random to demonstrate that there were probably more urgent issues than kids getting their iphones stolen. I happen to agree with your point, although I would have phrased it differently.
How bad their embedded OS is? When was the last time you used a windows phone, back in the Windows Mobile 2003 days? Windows phone is actually a very nice OS. The only real problem with it is traction, or lack thereof. If it actually had enough market penetration to attract developers to make the kind of apps to build marketshare (yeah, vicious circle) then it would be a great phone OS. I've used all 3 major mobile platforms. If I could have the kind of apps I wanted in the MS app store, I'd be on windows phone right now,
There may be some truth to that. I carried a Windows Mobile 6 device for awhile (company issued phone) and the experience was so bad (the phone won't ring because the audio device "has encountered an error and will now close"? Really??) that I vowed never to touch another Microsoft-embedded device if I could possible avoid it.
So even in the (unlikely, sorry) event that Windows Phone 8 is super fantabulous, I just couldn't make myself take a chance on it. Fool me once etc etc.
(Speaking as a very happy Windows 7 user on the desktop. Best product Microsoft ever made, in my opinion.)
Most likely the phone is locked down in hardware so no unlocked boot loader. Maybe can be rooted but that will be a struggle. Definitely no "google approved" app store. Fail.
...and that might be part of the marketing plan. Like the Surface RT attempted to prove to consumers that ARM based devices were carp, perhaps this phone is trying to demonstrate to consumers how dismal an Android experience can be.
I think the comparison is apt. I personally don't care what Microsoft chooses to release, although I must say some of their decisions are downright amusing. I use Windows (7, not 8) daily, and it's a good product. But the company issued me a Windows phone at one point, and after a few weeks I gave it back. I was an early adopter of 8, and after a long frustrating time (admittedly much of which was spent trying to find suitable drivers for the hardware) ended up doing a system restore to 7 so I could get work done. I have been greatly entertained by Microsoft's vivisection of Nokia, and even more entertained by their current attempts to embrace/extend/extinguish Android. It's wayyy to late for that. Yes, I carry an Android phone, but only because the company can no longer keep BES running reliably after outsourcing. Never really got into the iphone fanboi thing.
So, seriously, Microsoft tends to see every competitor as a mortal enemy and themselves at the top of the food chain, as evidenced pretty consistently by their actions. In areas where this is not true, they are at a loss. Microsoft doesn't know how to compete in environments that they don't already have locked down.
I don't think the notion that Surface Pro and Surface RT were aimed at a different demographics. It isn't clear there are many people who would want a combined tablet/laptop. Rather, I think it is the usual MS notion that they won't feel happy owning a market segment if they do not get to destroy someone else's. They are so paranoid that to leave a market segment to someone else means they will let the camel's nose into the tent. So rather than compete in tablet-land, they are trying to convert tablet-land into laptop land. It appears to be the usual MS braindead take on Marketing 101.
One could argue that they did the same with Netbooks. Not willing to let the segment exist, they used their supply chain leverage to force Windows on the devices, which meant the devices needed to have more resources / shorter battery life, thus destroying any advantages that netbooks had.
Personally, I always felt that the Surface RT was meant to muddy and ultimately destroy the ARM segment. It was ultimately unsuccessful. At anything, really.
> Another really huge part is that Apple at least so far has not tried to foist a tub of crap like Windows 8 on their customers, and had their shills call them stupid when they didn't like it. Even Mavericks, which had some birthing pains - at least people could use it coompetently from day one, and it's ended up being great.
I'm not really qualified to talk about this, but it seems that Apple has made some missteps -- "you're holding it wrong" being the most recognizable, but there's nothing to the scale, in my opinion, of the gaffe that was Windows 8. Even IOS 7, (flat icons, parallax effect, etc) was only a mild irritation in comparison. So I don't think it's true that Apple has never tried to foist a tub (or small trendy brushed metal container) of crap on their customers, it is true that Apple so far has not tried to foist a tub of crap like Windows 8 on their customers.
> They Call Me.........Tater Salad
It took me a moment to remember the reference. That was a great story.
The Surface Pro has always been marketed as a laptop replacement, not as just a tablet. This doesn't suddenly change anything.
I think that might to a certain extent be rewriting history. How soon we forget, all of those commercials and all that marketing when the Surface first came out.
> and MS isn't offering as much as the machines could get you on craigslist.
I did not know that, not being an Apple user (except for a couple G4s for Adobe products back in the day). Microsoft is so screwed.
> Trade-ins for the competition's gear are a "try to pull people off the fence onto your side" maneuver, but the problem is it's only going to attract people that have already decided they didn't like their new mac, so it won't really serve its intended purpose.
*especially* since, the Apple consumer is not your average consumer. Apple consumers love Apple products because (at least in part) they are Apple products. Microsoft isn't going to deter too many people from that mindset.
What this tells me is that Microsoft has given up trying to promote the Surface as a tablet. It's a laptop that happens to have a detachable keyboard. Note that they didn't even try to offer a trade-in of ipads for the surface, which would be a more reasonable comparison if the surface was successful as a tablet. The ipad is a different use case, and Microsoft just doesn't play well in that space.
...and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I can still type significantly faster on a physical Blackberry keyboard than I can on any virtual keyboard. Back when I was carrying Blackberry, the difference between the BB and the touch-only devices seemed to be similar to the difference between a laptop and a tablet. The former is for content creation. The latter is for content consumption.
Diesel is made from the sludge left over from refining oil... makes you wonder why it costs more than regular doesn't it?
It didn't used to cost more. My somewhat murky memory was that some portion of the population started to see the popularity of diesel vehicles during the Carter administration, especially since the fuel was so much cheaper. (We had a diesel rabbit... very bad idea for several reason, but I digress...) It seems that shortly after this mild shift in public consciousness, diesel prices started to spike.
That sounds a reasonable assertion, but wouldn't an enterprising landfill owner sitting on millions of pounds of plastic waste want to *additionally* make money converting some of the trash into something he could sell? Assuming it all penciled out, of course.
I second the advice to NOT use a safe deposit box. In some states safe deposit boxes that have been untouched for a certain number of years (sometimes 15 but can be as low as 3) are declared "unclaimed items" and are confiscated by the state. There's been a few high profile cases recently. Burying a coffee can by the tree in the back yard may be a better idea. Or maybe a bus station locker. (At least, that's what they're always using in movies...)
Banks are not safe places for long term storage.
Regarding family fighting over my money after I'm dead. Bwaaaa hahaha. (wiping tears from my eyes) They'll be lucky if there's enough for cremation.
I thought about that, but my daughter classically can't remember passwords she uses every day; there's no way she's going to remember a password she'll only need once.
I struggled with this for awhile, thought about the "pr0n pact" (good friends get together and decide that whomever dies first, the others will get on his machine and delete all his pr0n) but finally decided that anything I would need to hide from my family I probably shouldn't possess anyway. I think it was a good decision.
There's a file on my computer called "for my daughter". It's got everything she needs to know. Also backed up on a CD in the bookcase.
Besides the required stuff, I used the opportunity to also wax long and poetic about my life and how her life changed mine, and wrote about all the interesting things about her childhood that I could remember. Included words of (hopefully) wisdom. I don't remember where I got the idea from, but since I was writing everything else down, decided to include that as well, so her last memories of me wouldn't be dry facts and figures.
> The real issue is just how juicy of a target this makes for hackers... because the ability to destroy a large number of phones is likely to be a pretty tempting target.
This is a very good point. And even if the encryption keys (presuming they even use them) are impossible to derive (unlikely) they'd be so valuable that someone, somewhere will inevitably sell them.
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But it's a ridiculous false choice. Tech companies can take steps to reduce the likelihood of their devices getting stolen. There is no equivalent actor who can take steps to reduce the likelihood of women getting raped ("men" and "the gummint" really don't count).
My original point being, putting a remote kill switch in every cell phone is a solution to what is largely a non-problem (affecting percentages of the population in low single digits), and it gives government unprecedented control over our access to information. For this reason, government will push for this solution to a very small problem while they continue to ignore much larger problems. Because, if I haven't made it clear yet, it benefits them greatly. While benefiting us hardly at all.
I'm not sure how these thoughts connect, but I was thinking some years ago "If all the jobs went to China because it improves profit margins, who will be able to afford the products that are shipped back to the US?" I mean isn't outsourcing by its very nature a strategy that only work if you're riding the leading edge? Because what comes afterwards is a lot of companies fighting over a smaller and smaller pool of consumer discretionary income.
I'm told that "least cost country" is used in manpower discussions so much now, it's been abbreviated to LCC to save time.
I notice you dont seem to give a fuck how many female non-college students get raped. What the fuck is so special about crime against college kids than crime against people the same age who arent in college?
I picked that factoid out of the air pretty much at random to demonstrate that there were probably more urgent issues than kids getting their iphones stolen. I happen to agree with your point, although I would have phrased it differently.
How bad their embedded OS is? When was the last time you used a windows phone, back in the Windows Mobile 2003 days? Windows phone is actually a very nice OS. The only real problem with it is traction, or lack thereof. If it actually had enough market penetration to attract developers to make the kind of apps to build marketshare (yeah, vicious circle) then it would be a great phone OS. I've used all 3 major mobile platforms. If I could have the kind of apps I wanted in the MS app store, I'd be on windows phone right now,
There may be some truth to that. I carried a Windows Mobile 6 device for awhile (company issued phone) and the experience was so bad (the phone won't ring because the audio device "has encountered an error and will now close"? Really??) that I vowed never to touch another Microsoft-embedded device if I could possible avoid it.
So even in the (unlikely, sorry) event that Windows Phone 8 is super fantabulous, I just couldn't make myself take a chance on it. Fool me once etc etc.
(Speaking as a very happy Windows 7 user on the desktop. Best product Microsoft ever made, in my opinion.)
Most likely the phone is locked down in hardware so no unlocked boot loader. Maybe can be rooted but that will be a struggle. Definitely no "google approved" app store. Fail.
Yes, I did say "carp".
Don't get them ideas. Becoming a patent troll may actually further their cause.
Goosestepping hurts my knees.
I think the comparison is apt. I personally don't care what Microsoft chooses to release, although I must say some of their decisions are downright amusing. I use Windows (7, not 8) daily, and it's a good product. But the company issued me a Windows phone at one point, and after a few weeks I gave it back. I was an early adopter of 8, and after a long frustrating time (admittedly much of which was spent trying to find suitable drivers for the hardware) ended up doing a system restore to 7 so I could get work done. I have been greatly entertained by Microsoft's vivisection of Nokia, and even more entertained by their current attempts to embrace/extend/extinguish Android. It's wayyy to late for that. Yes, I carry an Android phone, but only because the company can no longer keep BES running reliably after outsourcing. Never really got into the iphone fanboi thing.
So, seriously, Microsoft tends to see every competitor as a mortal enemy and themselves at the top of the food chain, as evidenced pretty consistently by their actions. In areas where this is not true, they are at a loss. Microsoft doesn't know how to compete in environments that they don't already have locked down.
Buying an android phone from Microsoft? Isn't that a little like buying a firearm from the Brady Campaign?
I don't think the notion that Surface Pro and Surface RT were aimed at a different demographics. It isn't clear there are many people who would want a combined tablet/laptop. Rather, I think it is the usual MS notion that they won't feel happy owning a market segment if they do not get to destroy someone else's. They are so paranoid that to leave a market segment to someone else means they will let the camel's nose into the tent. So rather than compete in tablet-land, they are trying to convert tablet-land into laptop land. It appears to be the usual MS braindead take on Marketing 101.
One could argue that they did the same with Netbooks. Not willing to let the segment exist, they used their supply chain leverage to force Windows on the devices, which meant the devices needed to have more resources / shorter battery life, thus destroying any advantages that netbooks had.
Personally, I always felt that the Surface RT was meant to muddy and ultimately destroy the ARM segment. It was ultimately unsuccessful. At anything, really.
> Another really huge part is that Apple at least so far has not tried to foist a tub of crap like Windows 8 on their customers, and had their shills call them stupid when they didn't like it. Even Mavericks, which had some birthing pains - at least people could use it coompetently from day one, and it's ended up being great.
I'm not really qualified to talk about this, but it seems that Apple has made some missteps -- "you're holding it wrong" being the most recognizable, but there's nothing to the scale, in my opinion, of the gaffe that was Windows 8. Even IOS 7, (flat icons, parallax effect, etc) was only a mild irritation in comparison. So I don't think it's true that Apple has never tried to foist a tub (or small trendy brushed metal container) of crap on their customers, it is true that Apple so far has not tried to foist a tub of crap like Windows 8 on their customers.
> They Call Me.........Tater Salad
It took me a moment to remember the reference. That was a great story.
The Surface Pro has always been marketed as a laptop replacement, not as just a tablet. This doesn't suddenly change anything.
I think that might to a certain extent be rewriting history. How soon we forget, all of those commercials and all that marketing when the Surface first came out.
> and MS isn't offering as much as the machines could get you on craigslist.
I did not know that, not being an Apple user (except for a couple G4s for Adobe products back in the day). Microsoft is so screwed.
> Trade-ins for the competition's gear are a "try to pull people off the fence onto your side" maneuver, but the problem is it's only going to attract people that have already decided they didn't like their new mac, so it won't really serve its intended purpose.
*especially* since, the Apple consumer is not your average consumer. Apple consumers love Apple products because (at least in part) they are Apple products. Microsoft isn't going to deter too many people from that mindset.
What this tells me is that Microsoft has given up trying to promote the Surface as a tablet. It's a laptop that happens to have a detachable keyboard. Note that they didn't even try to offer a trade-in of ipads for the surface, which would be a more reasonable comparison if the surface was successful as a tablet. The ipad is a different use case, and Microsoft just doesn't play well in that space.
We freeze in the dark.
Diesel is made from the sludge left over from refining oil... makes you wonder why it costs more than regular doesn't it?
It didn't used to cost more. My somewhat murky memory was that some portion of the population started to see the popularity of diesel vehicles during the Carter administration, especially since the fuel was so much cheaper. (We had a diesel rabbit... very bad idea for several reason, but I digress...) It seems that shortly after this mild shift in public consciousness, diesel prices started to spike.
> landfill owners make money storing your trash
That sounds a reasonable assertion, but wouldn't an enterprising landfill owner sitting on millions of pounds of plastic waste want to *additionally* make money converting some of the trash into something he could sell? Assuming it all penciled out, of course.
I second the advice to NOT use a safe deposit box. In some states safe deposit boxes that have been untouched for a certain number of years (sometimes 15 but can be as low as 3) are declared "unclaimed items" and are confiscated by the state. There's been a few high profile cases recently. Burying a coffee can by the tree in the back yard may be a better idea. Or maybe a bus station locker. (At least, that's what they're always using in movies...)
Banks are not safe places for long term storage.
Regarding family fighting over my money after I'm dead. Bwaaaa hahaha. (wiping tears from my eyes) They'll be lucky if there's enough for cremation.
I thought about that, but my daughter classically can't remember passwords she uses every day; there's no way she's going to remember a password she'll only need once.
I struggled with this for awhile, thought about the "pr0n pact" (good friends get together and decide that whomever dies first, the others will get on his machine and delete all his pr0n) but finally decided that anything I would need to hide from my family I probably shouldn't possess anyway. I think it was a good decision.
There's a file on my computer called "for my daughter". It's got everything she needs to know. Also backed up on a CD in the bookcase.
Besides the required stuff, I used the opportunity to also wax long and poetic about my life and how her life changed mine, and wrote about all the interesting things about her childhood that I could remember. Included words of (hopefully) wisdom. I don't remember where I got the idea from, but since I was writing everything else down, decided to include that as well, so her last memories of me wouldn't be dry facts and figures.
Same here. Used to use Secret (was a Palm Pilot user) but switched to Keepass.
My stuff is on a CD in the bookcase.
> The real issue is just how juicy of a target this makes for hackers ... because the ability to destroy a large number of phones is likely to be a pretty tempting target.
This is a very good point. And even if the encryption keys (presuming they even use them) are impossible to derive (unlikely) they'd be so valuable that someone, somewhere will inevitably sell them.