Yes, so much this. Mobile games seem to fall into two categories - they're either very casual or have very tacked-on controls that simply don't work on a touch screen. The former category can be enjoyable; I've spent way too much time with the likes of Stupid Zombies and Slice It! than I care to admit while commuting, but of the latter category - for example, I find the GTAIII port on Android to be utterly unplayable. Generally, trying to emulate a controller with a touch screen is a pointless excercise in futility. Something along the lines of Eye of the Beholder (or Legend of Grimrock, for a more current example) would work fantastically.
For me it was KDE 4.2 that felt reasonably bearable again.
I made the switch from KDE3 to 4 when 4.2 was released, and I think you're being a bit too kind. It's wasn't quite up to par even then. However, they've since made a lot of progress. Running Arch I get the latest version in a week or two after it is released, and I can't say I've noticed a lot of visible changes in the past few releases, it just keeps getting more polished. For example the kwin resize animations in 4.10 are a nice, if somewhat subtle, touch (and generally I find kwin in its current incarnation to be a wonderful WM, a nice combination of functionality and reasonable eye candy).
Personally, there's no longer anything I miss from 3.x. Wait, scratch that, there is one thing (any KDE devs listening?): the ability to drag a single file from Ark to Konsole and have it extracted there (in the directory where the shell is open, that is). But that is a minor annoyance.
Oh, of that I have no doubt - and the fact that you don't allow access to your email account(s) doesn't mean someone you know and is on LinkedIn wouldn't do so. But (thankfully) web pages can't access other tabs in browsers.
It finally brings the concept of "multiple desktops" to the Windows ecosystem.
Yes, MS has finally implemented virtual desktops (or something along those lines), arguably in a manner that infuriates a large percentage of users. Are we supposed to be impressed?
Google could go a long way to short-circuiting the outrage if they simply included a very visible red "recording" light in the front that glowed while recording
Uhh, they do. There is a led that's on while recording video. I'm not certain having it on for a minute after taking a picture for a minute would be a good solution as people would misinterpret that as recording video, a shorter flash perhaps? I'm willing to bet once this gets released into the general public, and into countries where the shutter sound on camera phones is mandatory, something along the lines will be there.
I'm not saying they didn't blow the launch, they most certainly did. I still decided to subscribe for a year, out of pride I guess as I had ranted so much about not having a legal option. However, I have to ask about this:
What we got was a mandatory yearly subscription, a service that works in HD just on Samsung smart TVs, and a vague promise that HD for other devices is "coming soon".
I haven't tried to view the shows from a browser, but is this (having no HD) really true also for the Android/iOS apps? I find the quality on my Infinity to be very tolerable (it has a 1920x1200 display) - having said that, I very seldom watch HBO on a tablet, usually directly from my (yes, Samsung) TV. I though the main current gripe was that multichannel audio is not available outside Samsung "smart" TVs? Oh, and at least here in.fi they also offer a monthly option, although it's more expensive (10€/mo vs. 15€/mo).
They have this here, called "HBO Nordic" (unsurprisingly, this means that is is available in Nordic countries - basically, it is an almost full back catalog of HBO shows, some shows from other channels as well, and new episodes are added with local subtitles the next day after they've been aired in the US), and I've been lamenting the same thing for ages as well. With the exception that I'm unable to get HBO in any form over here - I can subscribe to a cable package (and get lots of content I'll never watch or wish to pay for), and even then I only get some select shows 4-6 months after the original airing. Which, in our ever-connected global world is an eternity really, you'll get spoiled very easily.
So when HBO Nordic was announced, I was very excited, even went so far as to upgrade my TV for it. But, well, while OK-ish, the service is not as great as they had promised. Beforehand, they said streaming should be available from Windows, OSX and Linux - and when it was actually launched, it turned out it uses the "Widevine" plugin - any guesses which OS is not supported? This was not an issue for me as I upgraded the TV, but otherwise (as my HTPC runs Linux) I would have been very irritated. But the "smart" TV app is quite atrocious as well, it gets the job done but just barely. One very irritating feature is that when you select a show, episodes are displayed in a descending order, newest first. And each with a quite detailed synopsis. Thus, if you're starting to watch a new show, you'll have to scroll to bottom without looking at the screen. Even more annoyingly, the synopsis is displayed when the playback is paused. And unlike Netflix, the app doesn't track properly what you've been watching and what episodes you'd probably like to see next.
And of course, the price isn't what they promised. Yes, it is 10€ / month - if you subscribe for a full year. If you wish to pay on a monthly basis, then it is 15€ / month. I opted to get it for the year, but I'm not really sure it's worth it, Netflix is a better deal (even with the limited selection here compared to the US). So during this year I'll try to get into some unknown (to me) shows, and follow a few that I would pirate otherwise, but I'm not sure I'll renew my subscription after that. Beyond GoT and Boardwalk, there are no current HBO shows I follow religiously, so perhaps I'll just get HBO monthly when they're on.
Uhh, Windows? In my experience KDE is much better with for example unplugging an external monitor. Windows seems to decide that some windows belong off-screen (even when starting new programs without an external monitor plugged in), with no obvious way to move them (activate the program from the task bar, then win + arrow keys, in case you're wondering).
Yeah, while it is annoying that Netflix doesn't work under *general* Linux, it does work under *some* Linux-ish operating systems. Like on my Android phone/tablet, my "smart" TV (which does run Linux) and apparently soon in some Chromebooks. Yes, they should move away from Silverlight. Yes, the UI on the "smart" TV leaves a lot to be desired (why on earth should I plug in a USB keyboard I can only use the arrow keys and enter, instead of you know, typing?). But all in all, I'm not losing any sleep over it. It'll get there eventually, Silverlight is a dead end.
I think you're supposed to install a *woosh* here. But really, what's the problem with systemd? On Arch there were some initial toothing issues if you decided to migrate before it became mandatory, but after that I haven't had issues with it, and the boot times are just staggering (10s from GRUB to KDM, and this includes various daemons as well, not just a plain desktop). Why the hate?
Can't speak for the S2, but yes, soon the S3 will. Not sure if it will make a huge difference though, as far as I can tell most of the features of 4.2 are either for tablets or have been a part of TouchWiz for like always. (Whether TouchWiz is an abomination or not is another debate - personally, I don't get all the hate, there are some nuisances and some genuine improvements, all in all I don't mind. But I've only used it on a S3, haven't tried the older incarnations.)
Here. Not an original accessory, but works fine and includes NFC should you need it. Yes, it does make the phone a bit thicker and heavier - the weight I don't mind (I find the S3 to be too light), the thickness I almost mind, but going from 2100mAh to 4400mAh means I can get three days of my regular use.
Would someone please explain what is the downside of systemd is? I hear a lot of hate for it from some circles (Certainly on Slashdot), but don't understand even what it does. The page on Wikipedia only lists its advantages.
Yeah, I'd like to know this as well. When Arch moved to systemd there was some adjusting to do initially - mainly, not every daemon included scripts for it, so some manual work was required for more exotic packages. But that's long gone, and now I can get from Grub to KDM login within like 10s, there's no way I'm going back to the old init system.
But is it too much to ask for at least something resembling realism? Take the very first episode for example. The heroine (pun not intended but quite appropriate in this case) is placed into an isolation tank, injected with LSD and ketamine, somehow magically is able to mentally connect to her comatose colleague - and moments later, just jumps out of the tank quite sober. "It's sci-fi after all" doesn't work when it's all "fi" and no "sci".
A tablet with a screen that bests every single tablet out there in quality
Please elaborate. The "new" (I'm not sure what it's supposed to be called anymore) iPad and Nexus 10 beat it in PPI; the Transformer Infinity has slightly more vertical pixels and IPS+ mode that allows it to be used outdoors with ease. How does this best every single tablet out there?.
...which they don't. Try this. Granted it doesn't come with Linux preinstalled, but in my experience the only thing that doesn't work out of the box is Optimus (for which there is Bumblebee - a hack, yes, but most of the time discrete graphics is not needed). Not affiliated, just liking mine.
Uhh, what? You're not making any sense. It's debatable whether Javascript is an ideal language for this kind of usage (personally, I'm quite liking Qt Quick/QML), but if your browser has a hole that allows an attacker to run arbitrary commands on your desktop you're screwed, no matter what language your desktop is written with.
I _think_ this is the case with all of the Nordic countries, but at least that is how it's here in Finland (the four weeks during summer, the additional two weeks depend on your contract), and this applies to pretty much any steady job. That is not to say life would be ideal here, you'll pay a lot in taxes (you'll also get a lot in return, but whether this is a worthy trade-off depends on your political stance I guess), it's dark and cold for six months (which causes people to get depressed and drunk), and for another six months there's so much light it makes everybody hyperactive (which again causes people to go nuts and get drunk). Basically, if you enjoy a welfare state and alcohol, welcome aboard.
Slashdot Mirror
But sometimes I just want plain, unadulterated search, based on the terms as entered.
Open a browser, type search terms on the address bar, submit?
Where are all the tile-based RPGs?
Yes, so much this. Mobile games seem to fall into two categories - they're either very casual or have very tacked-on controls that simply don't work on a touch screen. The former category can be enjoyable; I've spent way too much time with the likes of Stupid Zombies and Slice It! than I care to admit while commuting, but of the latter category - for example, I find the GTAIII port on Android to be utterly unplayable. Generally, trying to emulate a controller with a touch screen is a pointless excercise in futility. Something along the lines of Eye of the Beholder (or Legend of Grimrock, for a more current example) would work fantastically.
For me it was KDE 4.2 that felt reasonably bearable again.
I made the switch from KDE3 to 4 when 4.2 was released, and I think you're being a bit too kind. It's wasn't quite up to par even then. However, they've since made a lot of progress. Running Arch I get the latest version in a week or two after it is released, and I can't say I've noticed a lot of visible changes in the past few releases, it just keeps getting more polished. For example the kwin resize animations in 4.10 are a nice, if somewhat subtle, touch (and generally I find kwin in its current incarnation to be a wonderful WM, a nice combination of functionality and reasonable eye candy).
Personally, there's no longer anything I miss from 3.x. Wait, scratch that, there is one thing (any KDE devs listening?): the ability to drag a single file from Ark to Konsole and have it extracted there (in the directory where the shell is open, that is). But that is a minor annoyance.
Oh, of that I have no doubt - and the fact that you don't allow access to your email account(s) doesn't mean someone you know and is on LinkedIn wouldn't do so. But (thankfully) web pages can't access other tabs in browsers.
No browser would allow that, it would be completely retarded from a security viewpoint.
Henceforth you are missing your geek card at least, it has now been revoked. (hint)
It finally brings the concept of "multiple desktops" to the Windows ecosystem.
Yes, MS has finally implemented virtual desktops (or something along those lines), arguably in a manner that infuriates a large percentage of users. Are we supposed to be impressed?
Google could go a long way to short-circuiting the outrage if they simply included a very visible red "recording" light in the front that glowed while recording
Uhh, they do. There is a led that's on while recording video. I'm not certain having it on for a minute after taking a picture for a minute would be a good solution as people would misinterpret that as recording video, a shorter flash perhaps? I'm willing to bet once this gets released into the general public, and into countries where the shutter sound on camera phones is mandatory, something along the lines will be there.
I'm not saying they didn't blow the launch, they most certainly did. I still decided to subscribe for a year, out of pride I guess as I had ranted so much about not having a legal option. However, I have to ask about this:
What we got was a mandatory yearly subscription, a service that works in HD just on Samsung smart TVs, and a vague promise that HD for other devices is "coming soon".
I haven't tried to view the shows from a browser, but is this (having no HD) really true also for the Android/iOS apps? I find the quality on my Infinity to be very tolerable (it has a 1920x1200 display) - having said that, I very seldom watch HBO on a tablet, usually directly from my (yes, Samsung) TV. I though the main current gripe was that multichannel audio is not available outside Samsung "smart" TVs? Oh, and at least here in .fi they also offer a monthly option, although it's more expensive (10€/mo vs. 15€/mo).
They have this here, called "HBO Nordic" (unsurprisingly, this means that is is available in Nordic countries - basically, it is an almost full back catalog of HBO shows, some shows from other channels as well, and new episodes are added with local subtitles the next day after they've been aired in the US), and I've been lamenting the same thing for ages as well. With the exception that I'm unable to get HBO in any form over here - I can subscribe to a cable package (and get lots of content I'll never watch or wish to pay for), and even then I only get some select shows 4-6 months after the original airing. Which, in our ever-connected global world is an eternity really, you'll get spoiled very easily.
So when HBO Nordic was announced, I was very excited, even went so far as to upgrade my TV for it. But, well, while OK-ish, the service is not as great as they had promised. Beforehand, they said streaming should be available from Windows, OSX and Linux - and when it was actually launched, it turned out it uses the "Widevine" plugin - any guesses which OS is not supported? This was not an issue for me as I upgraded the TV, but otherwise (as my HTPC runs Linux) I would have been very irritated. But the "smart" TV app is quite atrocious as well, it gets the job done but just barely. One very irritating feature is that when you select a show, episodes are displayed in a descending order, newest first. And each with a quite detailed synopsis. Thus, if you're starting to watch a new show, you'll have to scroll to bottom without looking at the screen. Even more annoyingly, the synopsis is displayed when the playback is paused. And unlike Netflix, the app doesn't track properly what you've been watching and what episodes you'd probably like to see next.
And of course, the price isn't what they promised. Yes, it is 10€ / month - if you subscribe for a full year. If you wish to pay on a monthly basis, then it is 15€ / month. I opted to get it for the year, but I'm not really sure it's worth it, Netflix is a better deal (even with the limited selection here compared to the US). So during this year I'll try to get into some unknown (to me) shows, and follow a few that I would pirate otherwise, but I'm not sure I'll renew my subscription after that. Beyond GoT and Boardwalk, there are no current HBO shows I follow religiously, so perhaps I'll just get HBO monthly when they're on.
Uhh, Windows? In my experience KDE is much better with for example unplugging an external monitor. Windows seems to decide that some windows belong off-screen (even when starting new programs without an external monitor plugged in), with no obvious way to move them (activate the program from the task bar, then win + arrow keys, in case you're wondering).
Yeah, while it is annoying that Netflix doesn't work under *general* Linux, it does work under *some* Linux-ish operating systems. Like on my Android phone/tablet, my "smart" TV (which does run Linux) and apparently soon in some Chromebooks. Yes, they should move away from Silverlight. Yes, the UI on the "smart" TV leaves a lot to be desired (why on earth should I plug in a USB keyboard I can only use the arrow keys and enter, instead of you know, typing?). But all in all, I'm not losing any sleep over it. It'll get there eventually, Silverlight is a dead end.
I think you're supposed to install a *woosh* here. But really, what's the problem with systemd? On Arch there were some initial toothing issues if you decided to migrate before it became mandatory, but after that I haven't had issues with it, and the boot times are just staggering (10s from GRUB to KDM, and this includes various daemons as well, not just a plain desktop). Why the hate?
Linus himself owns apple machines.
...and he runs Linux on them, your point is?
Can't speak for the S2, but yes, soon the S3 will. Not sure if it will make a huge difference though, as far as I can tell most of the features of 4.2 are either for tablets or have been a part of TouchWiz for like always. (Whether TouchWiz is an abomination or not is another debate - personally, I don't get all the hate, there are some nuisances and some genuine improvements, all in all I don't mind. But I've only used it on a S3, haven't tried the older incarnations.)
Here. Not an original accessory, but works fine and includes NFC should you need it. Yes, it does make the phone a bit thicker and heavier - the weight I don't mind (I find the S3 to be too light), the thickness I almost mind, but going from 2100mAh to 4400mAh means I can get three days of my regular use.
Would someone please explain what is the downside of systemd is? I hear a lot of hate for it from some circles (Certainly on Slashdot), but don't understand even what it does. The page on Wikipedia only lists its advantages.
Yeah, I'd like to know this as well. When Arch moved to systemd there was some adjusting to do initially - mainly, not every daemon included scripts for it, so some manual work was required for more exotic packages. But that's long gone, and now I can get from Grub to KDM login within like 10s, there's no way I'm going back to the old init system.
Torvalds better learn how to duck.
That shouldn't be too hard, he already knows how to penguin.
But is it too much to ask for at least something resembling realism? Take the very first episode for example. The heroine (pun not intended but quite appropriate in this case) is placed into an isolation tank, injected with LSD and ketamine, somehow magically is able to mentally connect to her comatose colleague - and moments later, just jumps out of the tank quite sober. "It's sci-fi after all" doesn't work when it's all "fi" and no "sci".
A tablet with a screen that bests every single tablet out there in quality
Please elaborate. The "new" (I'm not sure what it's supposed to be called anymore) iPad and Nexus 10 beat it in PPI; the Transformer Infinity has slightly more vertical pixels and IPS+ mode that allows it to be used outdoors with ease. How does this best every single tablet out there?.
...which they don't. Try this. Granted it doesn't come with Linux preinstalled, but in my experience the only thing that doesn't work out of the box is Optimus (for which there is Bumblebee - a hack, yes, but most of the time discrete graphics is not needed). Not affiliated, just liking mine.
Uhh, what? You're not making any sense. It's debatable whether Javascript is an ideal language for this kind of usage (personally, I'm quite liking Qt Quick/QML), but if your browser has a hole that allows an attacker to run arbitrary commands on your desktop you're screwed, no matter what language your desktop is written with.
Not that I disagree with you in principle, but BFG != BFR.
I hear rumors that Fedora and Argh have similar solutions.
I run Arch myself, and like it a lot - but perhaps I should give "Argh, Linux!" a go sometimes, it sounds interesting.
I _think_ this is the case with all of the Nordic countries, but at least that is how it's here in Finland (the four weeks during summer, the additional two weeks depend on your contract), and this applies to pretty much any steady job. That is not to say life would be ideal here, you'll pay a lot in taxes (you'll also get a lot in return, but whether this is a worthy trade-off depends on your political stance I guess), it's dark and cold for six months (which causes people to get depressed and drunk), and for another six months there's so much light it makes everybody hyperactive (which again causes people to go nuts and get drunk). Basically, if you enjoy a welfare state and alcohol, welcome aboard.