The thing that makes Windows Phone a no-go for me is that they failed to duplicate what is (arguably) the biggest coup that Apple pulled off with the iPhone: taking the carrier out of the picture for updates. If I buy an iPhone, I can be reasonably sure that I'm going to *reliably* get 2-3 years of updates, fixes, and new functionality.
With Windows Phone (and Android, for that matter), I have no idea if my phone will ever get an update...it all depends on the whim of your carrier.
While a little overlooked (and dated, to be fair) now, The Martian Chronicles were one of the first sci-fi works I read as a kid and were a big part of making me a fan of the genre. Like all of his works, they were simultaneously beautiful and sad.
Farewell, good sir; you put humanity under the microscope with your writing and, whether we liked what we saw or not, we needed to see it.
Not to answer for the original poster, but for me personally, I like having a centrally-stored list of feeds and a reader UI that I can access from any web browser. My favorite news reader app for iOS also happens to only support Google Reader as a feed source.
Despite the (relatively) recent proliferation of tech news blogs, I've continued to read Slashdot over the years because I could be sure that what I was getting was really "stuff that matters". Thanks so much for all of your hard work in making it happen and keeping it going, Rob!
My problem with Microsoft is that they insist on programming everything in-house and lock you in to in-house networks and in-house apps. I prefer a rich ecosystem like the iPhone and Android where people can make their own apps and have them integrate into your social networking life.
I share your feelings about Windows Mobile, but my understanding is that Windows Phone 7 is an entirely new code base and has nothing in common with WinMo.
Here is a video of the presentation at Microsoft's MIX 2008 conference where the Microsoft Office 2007 lead explains the research that went into the creation of the concept of the ribbon as well as the process of designing it. It's actually a pretty fascinating watch if you are interested in user interface design.
C'mon. Why is it that people who are otherwise intelligent, rational thinkers suddenly turn that part of their brains off when it is time to attack Christianity?
Jesus' resurrection is also recounted in the gospels of Matthew (28:1-10) and Luke (24:1-35), passages which are present in the Codex.
Yes, that is exactly what happened. Microsoft's previous comments on the matter basically boiled down to "What problem? This works exactly the way we intended it to."
Pocket Tanks is a great artillery game, similar to the classic Scorched Earth. It is technically shareware, but the unregistered version is relatively nag-free and full-featured. It is lightweight, simple to learn, and can be played alone (against an AI-controlled tank) or with another person. It's great fun to figure out what all of the different weapons do.
I blame Microsoft for perpetuating this misconception, but LINQ (at its core) has nothing to do with SQL or databases.
I too am a little skeptical about LINQ-to-SQL, the implementation of LINQ that allows querying/manipulating SQL databases. But basic LINQ -- the idea of overlaying the.NET class library with a set of generic query operations and then providing new programming language keywords to twiddle them -- is pretty cool. For example, LINQ can work over in-memory collections of objects or XML documents, which allows you to replace lines and lines of arcane search loops with a single LINQ query statement that is infinitely easier to understand and maintain.
I agree that a leaner OS is a good thing -- however that is accomplished. I also think that separating these apps from the OS would allow them to be updated and improved independently (and presumably more often).
But I think that when most people describe Windows as "bloated", they are referring not to applications (which consume resources when run and then go away when closed), but to startup processes and services which the average user has little control over. What would be really nice would be a fool-proof, baked-in version of Black Viper's Windows service guide. That way, users could control exactly what is running on their box without having to worry about shooting themselves in the foot.
Look at the prices for Micro$haft compilers and tools. They quickly run into the thousands of dollars.
Oh, really? Before the snarky replies start flying, I would guess that the vast majority of development projects would be served perfectly well by the Express editions of Microsoft's tools.
I know your comment is tongue-in-cheek...and if "VB" in the results means "pre-.NET, ActiveX-based Visual Basic", then I would be loading up my handgun as well. But Visual Basic.NET, by virtue of having been built on top of the.NET CLR, is actually a much-improved language.
I should start by saying that I am a Christian and a scientist (not to be confused with Christian science).
from the viewpoint of a UK reader, the best way to promote science in the US seems to be to pass it off as a wonderful invention of God.>>
I suspect that you meant this statement sarcastically, but this is exactly the approach that I use when talking to fellow Christians about making sense of the relationship between science and their faith. I point out that most other academic studies (e.g. literature, music, sociology, etc.) consist largely of the study of human endeavors, but that science (or more broadly, the sciences) is the study of God's work and His creation.
I think the core reason why a lot of Christians shy away from science (or worse, are openly antagonistic toward it) is a subconscious fear that science can somehow disprove or invalidate their faith. But if you truly believe in the Christian message (e.g. what is written in the Bible, the existence of God and his Son, etc.), then what are you worried about? What do you think science is going to find?
I have a Dell XPS M1330, and the aluminum keyboard rest area causes my hands to tingle...weirdly though, it only happens when I have a device plugged into the left USB port.
A shame that bizarre build/design flaws mar what is otherwise one of the best laptops Dell has ever made.
Slashdot Mirror
The thing that makes Windows Phone a no-go for me is that they failed to duplicate what is (arguably) the biggest coup that Apple pulled off with the iPhone: taking the carrier out of the picture for updates. If I buy an iPhone, I can be reasonably sure that I'm going to *reliably* get 2-3 years of updates, fixes, and new functionality.
With Windows Phone (and Android, for that matter), I have no idea if my phone will ever get an update...it all depends on the whim of your carrier.
While a little overlooked (and dated, to be fair) now, The Martian Chronicles were one of the first sci-fi works I read as a kid and were a big part of making me a fan of the genre. Like all of his works, they were simultaneously beautiful and sad.
Farewell, good sir; you put humanity under the microscope with your writing and, whether we liked what we saw or not, we needed to see it.
Not to answer for the original poster, but for me personally, I like having a centrally-stored list of feeds and a reader UI that I can access from any web browser. My favorite news reader app for iOS also happens to only support Google Reader as a feed source.
I agree with your point, but the 1982 movie (assuming that's the one you are referring to) probably shouldn't be called "the original".
Despite the (relatively) recent proliferation of tech news blogs, I've continued to read Slashdot over the years because I could be sure that what I was getting was really "stuff that matters". Thanks so much for all of your hard work in making it happen and keeping it going, Rob!
the problem is that windows mobile phones sucked THAT bad. Like Vogon poetry bad.
I hear that even the Azgoths of Kria carry iPhones.
...in the meantime, Apple is rolling in giant piles of cash earned from this "fad".
Um, Windows Phone 7 supports user-developed apps and has an app store.
I share your feelings about Windows Mobile, but my understanding is that Windows Phone 7 is an entirely new code base and has nothing in common with WinMo.
Thankfully, they aren't. They are accepting VB.NET, which has about as much in common with VB6 as Java has with JavaScript.
Chrome added extensions a couple of releases ago. Now granted, in the Chromiverse, a major release seemingly drops every month, but still. :)
Steve Gibson, is that you? :)
Here is a video of the presentation at Microsoft's MIX 2008 conference where the Microsoft Office 2007 lead explains the research that went into the creation of the concept of the ribbon as well as the process of designing it. It's actually a pretty fascinating watch if you are interested in user interface design.
C'mon. Why is it that people who are otherwise intelligent, rational thinkers suddenly turn that part of their brains off when it is time to attack Christianity?
Jesus' resurrection is also recounted in the gospels of Matthew (28:1-10) and Luke (24:1-35), passages which are present in the Codex.
I'm sorry, but it seems ludicrous to me that Google would consider the URL (see Tim Berners-Lee's thoughts on what URLs should and should not contain) when ranking pages. Is there any proof or documentation that this assertion is true?
Yes, that is exactly what happened. Microsoft's previous comments on the matter basically boiled down to "What problem? This works exactly the way we intended it to."
Pocket Tanks is a great artillery game, similar to the classic Scorched Earth. It is technically shareware, but the unregistered version is relatively nag-free and full-featured. It is lightweight, simple to learn, and can be played alone (against an AI-controlled tank) or with another person. It's great fun to figure out what all of the different weapons do.
I blame Microsoft for perpetuating this misconception, but LINQ (at its core) has nothing to do with SQL or databases.
I too am a little skeptical about LINQ-to-SQL, the implementation of LINQ that allows querying/manipulating SQL databases. But basic LINQ -- the idea of overlaying the .NET class library with a set of generic query operations and then providing new programming language keywords to twiddle them -- is pretty cool. For example, LINQ can work over in-memory collections of objects or XML documents, which allows you to replace lines and lines of arcane search loops with a single LINQ query statement that is infinitely easier to understand and maintain.
I agree that a leaner OS is a good thing -- however that is accomplished. I also think that separating these apps from the OS would allow them to be updated and improved independently (and presumably more often).
But I think that when most people describe Windows as "bloated", they are referring not to applications (which consume resources when run and then go away when closed), but to startup processes and services which the average user has little control over. What would be really nice would be a fool-proof, baked-in version of Black Viper's Windows service guide. That way, users could control exactly what is running on their box without having to worry about shooting themselves in the foot.
Ok, I wouldn't use it now, but I really enjoyed it in the eighties.
LSD?I know your comment is tongue-in-cheek...and if "VB" in the results means "pre-.NET, ActiveX-based Visual Basic", then I would be loading up my handgun as well. But Visual Basic.NET, by virtue of having been built on top of the .NET CLR, is actually a much-improved language.
I should start by saying that I am a Christian and a scientist (not to be confused with Christian science).
from the viewpoint of a UK reader, the best way to promote science in the US seems to be to pass it off as a wonderful invention of God.>>
I suspect that you meant this statement sarcastically, but this is exactly the approach that I use when talking to fellow Christians about making sense of the relationship between science and their faith. I point out that most other academic studies (e.g. literature, music, sociology, etc.) consist largely of the study of human endeavors, but that science (or more broadly, the sciences) is the study of God's work and His creation.
I think the core reason why a lot of Christians shy away from science (or worse, are openly antagonistic toward it) is a subconscious fear that science can somehow disprove or invalidate their faith. But if you truly believe in the Christian message (e.g. what is written in the Bible, the existence of God and his Son, etc.), then what are you worried about? What do you think science is going to find?
I have a Dell XPS M1330, and the aluminum keyboard rest area causes my hands to tingle...weirdly though, it only happens when I have a device plugged into the left USB port. A shame that bizarre build/design flaws mar what is otherwise one of the best laptops Dell has ever made.
Granted, there probably aren't a lot of them, but it looks like an album with one very long track only costs the price of one track.