It's usefulness is a mixture of backing up and recovery. If you look at (and this is going to hurt to say it) Windows' Volume Shadow Copy, which does essentially the same thing (stores snapshots), to recover a previous version, you simply right-click a drive, folder or file, select "restore previous version", click a date, and it's done. Or you can restore the files to a different location so you can check them out/compare them, etc. So a decent snapshot-based system doesn't revolve around flying windows or OpenGL, just a sensible way to put data in and to get data out.:)
Re:The iPhone as a weapon against the cell carrier
on
Top Inventions of 2007
·
· Score: 1
Nokia N95 8GB is a substantially better phone. Being a developer, it's clearly superior, as right out of the box I can do whatever I want with it. Built-in AGPS, 5MB Carl Zeiss camera, 1 smaller camera on the front for video calls, 3G, WiFi-tethering (where the phone becomes an access point to share its 3G connection), 2.8" screen. The interface is only part of a phone. Just like the steering wheel in your car - it could have the finest leopard-print cover on it, but if it's still attached to a poor, second-rate engine, it's not doing you any good. All technology is about balance. The iPhone is not balanced, as all the work seems to have been put into making it look good, instead of making it actually function as a phone.
If you believe what technology websites and magazines tell you to believe, then you have bigger problems than someone saying the iPhone is not as great as everyone says it is.
It is possible to be in a car and not be driving it, as indeed I wrote "in a car" not "driving a car".
Re:The iPhone as a weapon against the cell carrier
on
Top Inventions of 2007
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Apple is doing NOTHING to break the hegemony. Apple released a phone which does barely nothing more than other phones on the market (and indeed a lot less than some), tied to a single network (which was THEIR choice), and then charged massive amounts of money for the phones. And what happened? People who either don't use phones a lot, or people who love marketing spiel, or people who love apple, bought the flying shit out of them. Apple is one of the bad guys! This article is saying that a product that isn't better than any others, but which costs more and is locked more and runs less software is somehow better than, say, any other mobile out there? That's what's truly horrifying about this. The only thing Apple is changing is how much people will pay for a mediocre phone. And currently that's $400, with a contract. Jesus.
Exactly! It's not ground-breaking, it won't save lives, it's just (as they say) an "idiot bauble". Converting different blood types to O is fantastic. Having a higher-than-average-DPI screen on your phone is slight progress at best.
Well, I'm not in North America, so that's not an issue for me. It still doesn't explain the fact that Apple offered a crippled device just to protect their "experience", instead of giving users something far more powerful, and giving them the choice to use it if they want to. Your comments about MP3 players too vacuous to even approach.
I should have been more specific. I'm talking about officially-supported unlocking, and an officially-supported SDK. So you can keep your phone under warranty and not have to wait for hacks to use your own SIM or applications. You're not hallucinating, you simply don't make the distinction between official and unofficial.
As for GPS, cell triangulation is NOT GPS. Considering there are phones out there with actual bona fide GPS in them, having to use a rough technology like cell triangulation seems a bit cheap.
I'm not disliking it out of ignorance. Not having an official SDK or an official unlocking method, which can leave your phone inoperable with the latest firmware, is a show-stopper.
Fact: 3G phones can have their 3G radio turned off to preserve battery life, resorting to GPRS/EDGE if needed. Fact: WiFi is not as widespread as 3G. Try finding a wireless signal when you're in a car driving down the freeway. Fact: There are more-technically-advanced phones available from other companies, with decent battery life
iPhone users pay for a decent data package, but then are told to pay for WiFi to get really fast speeds? Even when there are no WiFi hotspots around? How does that make sense? I'm pretty sure you'd like to have 3G on your phone just in case you needed it.
Well, some people like tactile feedback, so it's not a selling point to them.
The iPhone could have had a 3G radio in it, and be configured to only use it when the user specifies. If you want to get some data quickly, regardless of whether you (or anyone else) regularly wants to do it in your current location, you shouldn't be held up by someone else's idea of what you want. If I have an all-singing-all-dancing phone and I need to download a large email from the office, I should have the option of turning on the 3G and downloading it, decimating the battery if need be. Being stuck at 40KB/s is not fun. Considering all iPhone users have an unlimited data plan, and not all hotspots are free, only being able to download at such cripplingly slow speeds doesn't make a lot of sense.
Video capture? Heck, a decent camera would have been a better idea. Considering Nokia managed to slip a 5MP camera (with Carl Zeiss optics), and a second camera at the front for video calls, into their N95, it's a bit conspicuous that Apple couldn't manage the same feat. Not to mention Nokia also added 3G and GPS to the mix.
Then that will be discovered when the iGestapo conclude their iNvestigation. Which is not as funny as it sounds - most likely Apple will try to figure out if this is a legitimate leak, and if it is, where it came from. If it was a partner company that leaked it, their relationship will be put under a lot of strain, and they might possibly part ways.
Many people don't care about the interface, they care about what they can do with the phone. I'm not bashing it, it's just a device doesn't being and end with the interface. The name itself suggests it's the tip of the iceberg. Having a fantastic interface that has a limited back end is less useful than a poor interface with an extensive back end. That's what we've been saying about Windows for decades, isn't it?
The "tax" in "Apple tax" is a joke, alluding to the fact Apple products cost more than comparable products from other companies. Of course sales tax does not go to the company. Christ. I can't believe I'm having to explain this.
Yes - they're called "unlock codes", and are available (freely, under law in some countries). Usually you can buy them, or have a service apply them to your phone.
It didn't fail in the slightest. The swivel keyboard is optional, and is a way to turn a notebook into a tablet. It's not forced on people. You don't buy a nice slimline tablet and Bill Gates turns up on your doorstep threatening your dog with a shotgun, screaming until you swap out your tablet for a notebook/tablet hybrid. Funnily enough, people want those machines, hence them being available to the public. Some folks like being able to draw using a pen on a tablet they hold, and also like using it as a notebook. Some just like the tablet-only computers that don't have a keyboard, which weigh considerably lighter, and run all office software you can shake a stick at.
But please don't let facts get in the way - you were on a roll.
There's a system in the town where I live called stadtmobil, where you share cars. You sign up, use the website to pick what sort of a car you want (small Mercedes A-class, larger VW, large Mercedes van, etc.), and tell it when you need it. It then points you to a car park somewhere nearby, to which you can cycle to or take the tram/bus if it's too far to walk (our nearest is at the end of our street, in the back of an Esso petrol station). You turn up, use your proximity card to open a locker, type in your code, and it releases the car keys. Each car is fitted with an immobiliser. You just return it with over half a tank of petrol, and you pay by the mile. And the cars are spotless. Communism might not work, but sensible folks can do a lot without screwing it up for everyone.
Which is the point of my thread - Apple make terrible PC software, whether on purpose or by accident. Adobe, too. Having Apple buy Adobe wouldn't bode well for the hefty software of either company:)
Well, there is more software available for Windows than OS X volume-wise, and the changes in the subsystem of Vista were much larger than the changes in Leopard, if we're going to compare the two:)
Vista isn't as bad for most folks as lots of the coverage is stressing. I'm no zealot, and I bought a Dell with Vista installed, just so I could check it out (and remove it and put XP on it if what everyone was saying was true). It flies. It uses resources intelligently, is really slick and speedy, and does everything I want. I'd use Ubuntu if it did everything I wanted, and if not I'd use OS X. As it is neither do, so I'm stuck with Windows:)
To be fair, Microsoft has boosted the performance of Vista quite substantially by releasing a performance pack. Both Apple and Microsoft are in the same boat - they release a new OS, get even more feedback about performance from real-world testing, and address problems when they arise. The coverage of the performance boosts for Vista were overshadowed by the coverage of it being slow. I'm not being a fanboy here (best tool for the job and all), I just wanted to offer another perspective:)
Seriously. Currently, my iTunes is using up 205MB and Flash CS3 is using up 126MB. Apple make great machines, but their take on cross-platform development is, quite frankly, ludicrous.
Slashdot Mirror
It's usefulness is a mixture of backing up and recovery. If you look at (and this is going to hurt to say it) Windows' Volume Shadow Copy, which does essentially the same thing (stores snapshots), to recover a previous version, you simply right-click a drive, folder or file, select "restore previous version", click a date, and it's done. Or you can restore the files to a different location so you can check them out/compare them, etc. So a decent snapshot-based system doesn't revolve around flying windows or OpenGL, just a sensible way to put data in and to get data out. :)
Nokia N95 8GB is a substantially better phone. Being a developer, it's clearly superior, as right out of the box I can do whatever I want with it. Built-in AGPS, 5MB Carl Zeiss camera, 1 smaller camera on the front for video calls, 3G, WiFi-tethering (where the phone becomes an access point to share its 3G connection), 2.8" screen. The interface is only part of a phone. Just like the steering wheel in your car - it could have the finest leopard-print cover on it, but if it's still attached to a poor, second-rate engine, it's not doing you any good. All technology is about balance. The iPhone is not balanced, as all the work seems to have been put into making it look good, instead of making it actually function as a phone.
If you believe what technology websites and magazines tell you to believe, then you have bigger problems than someone saying the iPhone is not as great as everyone says it is.
It is possible to be in a car and not be driving it, as indeed I wrote "in a car" not "driving a car".
Apple is doing NOTHING to break the hegemony. Apple released a phone which does barely nothing more than other phones on the market (and indeed a lot less than some), tied to a single network (which was THEIR choice), and then charged massive amounts of money for the phones. And what happened? People who either don't use phones a lot, or people who love marketing spiel, or people who love apple, bought the flying shit out of them. Apple is one of the bad guys! This article is saying that a product that isn't better than any others, but which costs more and is locked more and runs less software is somehow better than, say, any other mobile out there? That's what's truly horrifying about this. The only thing Apple is changing is how much people will pay for a mediocre phone. And currently that's $400, with a contract. Jesus.
Exactly! It's not ground-breaking, it won't save lives, it's just (as they say) an "idiot bauble". Converting different blood types to O is fantastic. Having a higher-than-average-DPI screen on your phone is slight progress at best.
Well, I'm not in North America, so that's not an issue for me. It still doesn't explain the fact that Apple offered a crippled device just to protect their "experience", instead of giving users something far more powerful, and giving them the choice to use it if they want to. Your comments about MP3 players too vacuous to even approach.
I should have been more specific. I'm talking about officially-supported unlocking, and an officially-supported SDK. So you can keep your phone under warranty and not have to wait for hacks to use your own SIM or applications. You're not hallucinating, you simply don't make the distinction between official and unofficial.
As for GPS, cell triangulation is NOT GPS. Considering there are phones out there with actual bona fide GPS in them, having to use a rough technology like cell triangulation seems a bit cheap.
I'm not disliking it out of ignorance. Not having an official SDK or an official unlocking method, which can leave your phone inoperable with the latest firmware, is a show-stopper.
Fact: 3G phones can have their 3G radio turned off to preserve battery life, resorting to GPRS/EDGE if needed.
Fact: WiFi is not as widespread as 3G. Try finding a wireless signal when you're in a car driving down the freeway.
Fact: There are more-technically-advanced phones available from other companies, with decent battery life
iPhone users pay for a decent data package, but then are told to pay for WiFi to get really fast speeds? Even when there are no WiFi hotspots around? How does that make sense? I'm pretty sure you'd like to have 3G on your phone just in case you needed it.
Well, some people like tactile feedback, so it's not a selling point to them.
The iPhone could have had a 3G radio in it, and be configured to only use it when the user specifies. If you want to get some data quickly, regardless of whether you (or anyone else) regularly wants to do it in your current location, you shouldn't be held up by someone else's idea of what you want. If I have an all-singing-all-dancing phone and I need to download a large email from the office, I should have the option of turning on the 3G and downloading it, decimating the battery if need be. Being stuck at 40KB/s is not fun. Considering all iPhone users have an unlimited data plan, and not all hotspots are free, only being able to download at such cripplingly slow speeds doesn't make a lot of sense.
Video capture? Heck, a decent camera would have been a better idea. Considering Nokia managed to slip a 5MP camera (with Carl Zeiss optics), and a second camera at the front for video calls, into their N95, it's a bit conspicuous that Apple couldn't manage the same feat. Not to mention Nokia also added 3G and GPS to the mix.
Not to mention the Tablet PC is a success already, just not by Apple's hand.
Then that will be discovered when the iGestapo conclude their iNvestigation. Which is not as funny as it sounds - most likely Apple will try to figure out if this is a legitimate leak, and if it is, where it came from. If it was a partner company that leaked it, their relationship will be put under a lot of strain, and they might possibly part ways.
Many people don't care about the interface, they care about what they can do with the phone. I'm not bashing it, it's just a device doesn't being and end with the interface. The name itself suggests it's the tip of the iceberg. Having a fantastic interface that has a limited back end is less useful than a poor interface with an extensive back end. That's what we've been saying about Windows for decades, isn't it?
The "tax" in "Apple tax" is a joke, alluding to the fact Apple products cost more than comparable products from other companies. Of course sales tax does not go to the company. Christ. I can't believe I'm having to explain this.
Yes - they're called "unlock codes", and are available (freely, under law in some countries). Usually you can buy them, or have a service apply them to your phone.
You only pay sales tax when you buy something, so I guess that's not a tax, either. :)
I'm not trolling, I swear. It was (is?) lacking a native SDK, GPS, the ability to be unlocked. It most definitely is not lacking a price :)
It didn't fail in the slightest. The swivel keyboard is optional, and is a way to turn a notebook into a tablet. It's not forced on people. You don't buy a nice slimline tablet and Bill Gates turns up on your doorstep threatening your dog with a shotgun, screaming until you swap out your tablet for a notebook/tablet hybrid. Funnily enough, people want those machines, hence them being available to the public. Some folks like being able to draw using a pen on a tablet they hold, and also like using it as a notebook. Some just like the tablet-only computers that don't have a keyboard, which weigh considerably lighter, and run all office software you can shake a stick at. But please don't let facts get in the way - you were on a roll.
True, true - Apple does like to punish those leaking future product details, especially when it's a company they work with. Yikes, Asus!
There's a system in the town where I live called stadtmobil, where you share cars. You sign up, use the website to pick what sort of a car you want (small Mercedes A-class, larger VW, large Mercedes van, etc.), and tell it when you need it. It then points you to a car park somewhere nearby, to which you can cycle to or take the tram/bus if it's too far to walk (our nearest is at the end of our street, in the back of an Esso petrol station). You turn up, use your proximity card to open a locker, type in your code, and it releases the car keys. Each car is fitted with an immobiliser. You just return it with over half a tank of petrol, and you pay by the mile. And the cars are spotless. Communism might not work, but sensible folks can do a lot without screwing it up for everyone.
Which is the point of my thread - Apple make terrible PC software, whether on purpose or by accident. Adobe, too. Having Apple buy Adobe wouldn't bode well for the hefty software of either company :)
Well, there is more software available for Windows than OS X volume-wise, and the changes in the subsystem of Vista were much larger than the changes in Leopard, if we're going to compare the two :)
Vista isn't as bad for most folks as lots of the coverage is stressing. I'm no zealot, and I bought a Dell with Vista installed, just so I could check it out (and remove it and put XP on it if what everyone was saying was true). It flies. It uses resources intelligently, is really slick and speedy, and does everything I want. I'd use Ubuntu if it did everything I wanted, and if not I'd use OS X. As it is neither do, so I'm stuck with Windows :)
Not all /.ers are like that :) Some of us strive to use the right tool for the job and don't sit in any "camp".
To be fair, Microsoft has boosted the performance of Vista quite substantially by releasing a performance pack. Both Apple and Microsoft are in the same boat - they release a new OS, get even more feedback about performance from real-world testing, and address problems when they arise. The coverage of the performance boosts for Vista were overshadowed by the coverage of it being slow. I'm not being a fanboy here (best tool for the job and all), I just wanted to offer another perspective :)
Seriously. Currently, my iTunes is using up 205MB and Flash CS3 is using up 126MB. Apple make great machines, but their take on cross-platform development is, quite frankly, ludicrous.