Yes, since posting I watched the video embedded in TFA and found that out. I really wish people would stop using PC for things that aren't in the IBM-PC clone family tree. We have a perfectly good term for computers in general. They're called computers. If that's too generic, we used to use the term "microcomputer" for things like Pets, C64, BBC Micro, Spectrum, Apple II etc. And that doesn't carry with it the potential for confusion with X-86 PC architecture computers.
I partially take that back. Having now watched the embedded video, I see that it IS an ARM based device, and they considered and rejected the AVR as not powerful enough. But still, I think it's a mistake to have Linux as an OS. It's way more complex than the old 8-bit computer paradigm.
I'm seeing the RP as something to be used by under-16s to get their introduction to software tinkering -- just as so many of us did with our 8 bit home computers.
That is indeed their stated aim. But in that case, I'd suggest a PC is the wrong choice. The magic of the 8-bit computers was that they were simple enough to feel like you could get complete mastery of them. You could start with the simple build in BASIC language, and if you want to put something on the screen, you could just PRINT or POKE. No vast and complex APIs to master. No creating a window, no getting a device context, no requirement for a draw function that will be called by the system, no components, no dialogs, no MMU getting between you and the hardware ports etc.
10 PRINT "Hello World"
They'd do better to create a simple computer based on a SoC - ARM, Propeller, AVR or something, and put a simple language (not necessarily BASIC) in ROM that comes up on boot. It'd also be far easier to hit the $25 target.
Python or Ruby would make good choices for a modern day simple language.
You do realise that calling someone a sheep isn't actually an argument. And indeed it doesn't even make sense as an insult given that Android sales outnumber iPhone sales. And PC sales outnumber Mac sales too.
Someone could just as easily post:
Kumbaya. Open standards good. Proprietary bad. Bleat bleat.
And that wouldn't be any more or less of an argument.
For years they pushed AppleTalk over TCP/IP, even after OS X.
No, the primary networking for OS X always was TCP/IP. AppleTalk was there for compatibility.
Firewire is an open standard, developed by a few companies, but mainly Apple.
Apple contributed their mini-display port connector to the display port standard, and it was adopted. That's contributing to a standard, not proprietary.
iWhatever doesn't have a proprietary USB connector. It has a proprietary dock connector which carries USB signals along with other signals that USB, and no other connector of the time supported. If USB supported video signals, then they would have used it. Apple quite rightly creates their own thing when there isn't anything currently out there that provides the features they want in their products. That's one of the reasons they stay ahead of the rest of the industry.
MacBooks don't need HDMI and VGA ports when they have a DisplayPort connector. Having multiple obsolete ports is a PC laptop thing. It's one of the reasons PCs are bigger and heavier. But that's nothing to do with rejecting open standards. HDMI is supported on the Mac Mini. And of course DisplayPort itself is an open standard.
You mention ZipDisks as if bundling some third party large removable storage is a crime. Again there was no open standard with high capacity at the time. You say "when everyone else was using floppy disks", neglecting to mention the fact that Apple pioneered the use of 3.5" disks and the rest of the industry followed. And they were the first to dispense with floppies as standard, which again the rest of the industry followed. Apple tends to lead with technologies, others often follow.
If you check out definitions of "open standard", you'll discover that there is no consensus that there must be no cost for licensing. Only that such costs should be reasonable and non-discriminatory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard
'Open Standards' at Apple are seen as avenues to pull in resources from outside the company.
Logically, most companies using open standards are pulling in resources from outside. With the one exception of where a company invents the open standard which is "pulled in" by other companies. You're suggesting that open standards should be like a hair shirt? Unless using them causes pain to a company then their use isn't worthy?
Then they put what they deem the proper proprietary twist on it to keep it theirs. They've been doing that for decades. No amount of fanboy spin will change this.
No amount of open sores whining will make it wrong.
The clue is in the name DOCK connector. The headphone jack isn't connected by dropping an iPod into a dock. Thus without video in the dock connector, no dockable video accessories would work.
It's certainly not hard to work this stuff out. But you never seem able to.
I think after a decade of stubbornly sticking with proprietary connections, you stop saying that they're just being "rather slow on picking up the open standards stuff".
Why the fuck would they change to what you consider to be "open standards stuff", when they are phenomenally successful picking the stuff that works best for the design? Sometimes proprietary, sometimes open standards. Whatever works best in the particular circumstances.
I think after a decade of stubbornly sticking with proprietary connections, you stop saying that they're just being "rather slow on picking up the open standards stuff".
Except for all the many things that they use that ARE open standards. Apparently you aren't very observant.
Bullshit, if that were the case then why did they build it with an intentionally obfuscated file system, and why did they develop proprietary software to act as the only means of getting data on or off of it?
The obfuscated file system only came along when Apple were implementing the iTunes Music Store. In order to get major record labels on board, they had to convince them that they were doing everything they could to discourage casual piracy.
The proprietary software (iTunes) came before the iPod. It was bought in as an easy way for consumers to store and play their music on a Mac. It was an obvious step to have the iPod sync to it. It made the process of getting music onto an MP3 player far easier than with the competition, and was a major component of the success of the iPod.
Why develop a proprietary cable instead if using USB, or even their own Firewire?
Firewire WAS used initially, when the iPod was purely a Mac accessory. When the iPod was so successful they decided to make it PC compatible too, they dropped FIrewire as few PCs had the connector. They DO use USB - it's USB at the computer end of the cable. But it's a proprietary connector at the iPod end because it also has to support video out, which USB doesn't.
Basically the things you mention came along AFTER the iPod had progressed from a "side project" to being an unprecedented success.
The FIrewire connector was removed because whilst contemporary Macs all had Firewire, very few PCs did. So they switched to a USB connector at the computer end of the cable. They created the dock connector at the iPod end because they wanted to add video out, and that's not possible with a standard USB connector.
So yes, it was a value added feature. More compatible with PCs plus it supported video.
Very true. Bottom line is that it takes two things to make a decent work available. An economy that makes it worthwhile employing people, and legislation to make sure that working conditions and levels of pay are reasonable.
For poor people we call it "fractional employment and piecework" For the working class we call it contracting. For the middle class we call it consulting or freelancing.
Surely the classic problem in the third world is not the mechanics of payment for work done. It's that they are poor because there is little work and/or the work is poorly paid. New fair trade initiatives DO incrementally tackle these problems regardless of whether they are piece work, hourly paid or salaried.
From the page he gives, the system is under development. Quantifying a fair wage taking into account locales and currency is far from a trivial problem. So it seems quite reasonable that the answer isn't yet finalised and it's something they want to announce when they're ready.
Whilst you're right that there's nothing we can judge here until those details are announced, the tone of your message does seem to be rather negative. The desire to pay fair wages is something that should be encouraged, not something that should cause one to be treated with suspicion over. When (and if) this is a going concern, and the details are known, then is the time to judge.
The dialog you describe appears only under one set of circumstances.
The dialog you said in capital letters DOES NOT EXIST only a matter of minutes ago? You're full of shit.
In that dialog, do you see the tick box "don't show this again"? So, the only set of circumstances where it doesn't display is when you've told iTunes not to display it again. Your claim that it doesn't show it by default is nothing more than a wishful guess by you. And it's wrong.
Seriously, do you have so much emotionally invested in Apple that you can't accept that perhaps one of their products has a flaw?
Again, iTunes WILL delete music WITHOUT WARNING, as I've repeatedly shown.
You haven't shown any such thing. You've linked to one list of instructions that warn for caution unnecessarily. Whereas I've linked to the actual confirmation dialog that is displayed and you said didn't exist.
Anyone who's followed this (if anyone's bothered) can see you're wrong. Anyone who actually owns an iPod will either know or can experiment to confirm that you are wrong.
Showing your ignorance again. It is indeed simple but a major task. Nothing to do except put CDs in and take CDs out. But given that a CD takes 2 or 3 minutes to rip, it takes a long time to rip a lifetime's collection of CDs. Of course it's a major task that you can do alongside other things.
Yeah, then why there so many tutorials explaining in great detail how to copy music from your ipod to your computer? Did you think I pulled those steps out of my ass?
For the audio files that you DIDN'T purchase from iTMS of course. Those instructions don't confirm the claim that songs purchased on an iPod via wifi are deleted off the iPod.
As for your bullshit about no warning of erasing, once again this is the dialog that you claim doesn't exist: http://www.ipod.org.uk/ipod_sync.gif You're an idiot.
Slashdot Mirror
The answer to the problem you propose is Kindle (or any other ebook platform).
Yes, since posting I watched the video embedded in TFA and found that out. I really wish people would stop using PC for things that aren't in the IBM-PC clone family tree. We have a perfectly good term for computers in general. They're called computers. If that's too generic, we used to use the term "microcomputer" for things like Pets, C64, BBC Micro, Spectrum, Apple II etc. And that doesn't carry with it the potential for confusion with X-86 PC architecture computers.
I partially take that back. Having now watched the embedded video, I see that it IS an ARM based device, and they considered and rejected the AVR as not powerful enough. But still, I think it's a mistake to have Linux as an OS. It's way more complex than the old 8-bit computer paradigm.
I'm seeing the RP as something to be used by under-16s to get their introduction to software tinkering -- just as so many of us did with our 8 bit home computers.
That is indeed their stated aim. But in that case, I'd suggest a PC is the wrong choice. The magic of the 8-bit computers was that they were simple enough to feel like you could get complete mastery of them. You could start with the simple build in BASIC language, and if you want to put something on the screen, you could just PRINT or POKE. No vast and complex APIs to master. No creating a window, no getting a device context, no requirement for a draw function that will be called by the system, no components, no dialogs, no MMU getting between you and the hardware ports etc.
10 PRINT "Hello World"
They'd do better to create a simple computer based on a SoC - ARM, Propeller, AVR or something, and put a simple language (not necessarily BASIC) in ROM that comes up on boot. It'd also be far easier to hit the $25 target.
Python or Ruby would make good choices for a modern day simple language.
You do realise that calling someone a sheep isn't actually an argument. And indeed it doesn't even make sense as an insult given that Android sales outnumber iPhone sales. And PC sales outnumber Mac sales too.
Someone could just as easily post:
Kumbaya.
Open standards good. Proprietary bad.
Bleat bleat.
And that wouldn't be any more or less of an argument.
For years they pushed AppleTalk over TCP/IP, even after OS X.
No, the primary networking for OS X always was TCP/IP. AppleTalk was there for compatibility.
Firewire is an open standard, developed by a few companies, but mainly Apple.
Apple contributed their mini-display port connector to the display port standard, and it was adopted. That's contributing to a standard, not proprietary.
iWhatever doesn't have a proprietary USB connector. It has a proprietary dock connector which carries USB signals along with other signals that USB, and no other connector of the time supported. If USB supported video signals, then they would have used it. Apple quite rightly creates their own thing when there isn't anything currently out there that provides the features they want in their products. That's one of the reasons they stay ahead of the rest of the industry.
MacBooks don't need HDMI and VGA ports when they have a DisplayPort connector. Having multiple obsolete ports is a PC laptop thing. It's one of the reasons PCs are bigger and heavier. But that's nothing to do with rejecting open standards. HDMI is supported on the Mac Mini. And of course DisplayPort itself is an open standard.
You mention ZipDisks as if bundling some third party large removable storage is a crime. Again there was no open standard with high capacity at the time. You say "when everyone else was using floppy disks", neglecting to mention the fact that Apple pioneered the use of 3.5" disks and the rest of the industry followed. And they were the first to dispense with floppies as standard, which again the rest of the industry followed. Apple tends to lead with technologies, others often follow.
If you check out definitions of "open standard", you'll discover that there is no consensus that there must be no cost for licensing. Only that such costs should be reasonable and non-discriminatory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard
Yes, I said they bought it in.
'Open Standards' at Apple are seen as avenues to pull in resources from outside the company.
Logically, most companies using open standards are pulling in resources from outside. With the one exception of where a company invents the open standard which is "pulled in" by other companies.
You're suggesting that open standards should be like a hair shirt? Unless using them causes pain to a company then their use isn't worthy?
Then they put what they deem the proper proprietary twist on it to keep it theirs. They've been doing that for decades. No amount of fanboy spin will change this.
No amount of open sores whining will make it wrong.
The clue is in the name DOCK connector. The headphone jack isn't connected by dropping an iPod into a dock. Thus without video in the dock connector, no dockable video accessories would work.
It's certainly not hard to work this stuff out. But you never seem able to.
The connector doesn't 'HAVE' to support video out. A second connector could have been added for that.
Yes you're right. They could have followed your idea and made the device worse.
I think after a decade of stubbornly sticking with proprietary connections, you stop saying that they're just being "rather slow on picking up the open standards stuff".
Why the fuck would they change to what you consider to be "open standards stuff", when they are phenomenally successful picking the stuff that works best for the design? Sometimes proprietary, sometimes open standards. Whatever works best in the particular circumstances.
I think after a decade of stubbornly sticking with proprietary connections, you stop saying that they're just being "rather slow on picking up the open standards stuff".
Except for all the many things that they use that ARE open standards. Apparently you aren't very observant.
Bullshit, if that were the case then why did they build it with an intentionally obfuscated file system, and why did they develop proprietary software to act as the only means of getting data on or off of it?
The obfuscated file system only came along when Apple were implementing the iTunes Music Store. In order to get major record labels on board, they had to convince them that they were doing everything they could to discourage casual piracy.
The proprietary software (iTunes) came before the iPod. It was bought in as an easy way for consumers to store and play their music on a Mac. It was an obvious step to have the iPod sync to it. It made the process of getting music onto an MP3 player far easier than with the competition, and was a major component of the success of the iPod.
Why develop a proprietary cable instead if using USB, or even their own Firewire?
Firewire WAS used initially, when the iPod was purely a Mac accessory. When the iPod was so successful they decided to make it PC compatible too, they dropped FIrewire as few PCs had the connector. They DO use USB - it's USB at the computer end of the cable. But it's a proprietary connector at the iPod end because it also has to support video out, which USB doesn't.
Basically the things you mention came along AFTER the iPod had progressed from a "side project" to being an unprecedented success.
The FIrewire connector was removed because whilst contemporary Macs all had Firewire, very few PCs did. So they switched to a USB connector at the computer end of the cable. They created the dock connector at the iPod end because they wanted to add video out, and that's not possible with a standard USB connector.
So yes, it was a value added feature. More compatible with PCs plus it supported video.
Very true. Bottom line is that it takes two things to make a decent work available. An economy that makes it worthwhile employing people, and legislation to make sure that working conditions and levels of pay are reasonable.
For poor people we call it "fractional employment and piecework"
For the working class we call it contracting.
For the middle class we call it consulting or freelancing.
Surely the classic problem in the third world is not the mechanics of payment for work done. It's that they are poor because there is little work and/or the work is poorly paid. New fair trade initiatives DO incrementally tackle these problems regardless of whether they are piece work, hourly paid or salaried.
From the page he gives, the system is under development. Quantifying a fair wage taking into account locales and currency is far from a trivial problem. So it seems quite reasonable that the answer isn't yet finalised and it's something they want to announce when they're ready.
Whilst you're right that there's nothing we can judge here until those details are announced, the tone of your message does seem to be rather negative. The desire to pay fair wages is something that should be encouraged, not something that should cause one to be treated with suspicion over. When (and if) this is a going concern, and the details are known, then is the time to judge.
It's not at all clear what you're talking about, or how it relates to what I posted.
iToy owners
You give away with that insight into your biases what your anecdotes are worth. Nothing.
The dialog you describe appears only under one set of circumstances.
The dialog you said in capital letters DOES NOT EXIST only a matter of minutes ago? You're full of shit.
In that dialog, do you see the tick box "don't show this again"? So, the only set of circumstances where it doesn't display is when you've told iTunes not to display it again. Your claim that it doesn't show it by default is nothing more than a wishful guess by you. And it's wrong.
Seriously, do you have so much emotionally invested in Apple that you can't accept that perhaps one of their products has a flaw?
Grow up.
Again, iTunes WILL delete music WITHOUT WARNING, as I've repeatedly shown.
You haven't shown any such thing. You've linked to one list of instructions that warn for caution unnecessarily. Whereas I've linked to the actual confirmation dialog that is displayed and you said didn't exist.
Anyone who's followed this (if anyone's bothered) can see you're wrong. Anyone who actually owns an iPod will either know or can experiment to confirm that you are wrong.
You're an idiot.
The fact that in some instances a dialog box appears is completely irrelevant.
The dialog box that you said didn't exist, until I linked to a picture of it. Now you're claiming to know when it does and doesn't pop up?
You know nothing. You don't even own an iPod. iTunes does not delete the contents of an iPod without warning. You are wrong.
super-simple, yet you think it's a major task
Showing your ignorance again. It is indeed simple but a major task. Nothing to do except put CDs in and take CDs out. But given that a CD takes 2 or 3 minutes to rip, it takes a long time to rip a lifetime's collection of CDs. Of course it's a major task that you can do alongside other things.
That's not a minor task. That's a major task when you move from CDs to computer/MP3 based music.
And it's just an example.
Your analogy is that of a child, an idiot or a troll. Impossible to tell which.
Yeah, then why there so many tutorials explaining in great detail how to copy music from your ipod to your computer? Did you think I pulled those steps out of my ass?
For the audio files that you DIDN'T purchase from iTMS of course. Those instructions don't confirm the claim that songs purchased on an iPod via wifi are deleted off the iPod.
As for your bullshit about no warning of erasing, once again this is the dialog that you claim doesn't exist:
http://www.ipod.org.uk/ipod_sync.gif
You're an idiot.
Who's wilfully ignorant?
http://www.ipod.org.uk/ipod_sync.gif