It isn't about accessibility or to an extent, performance... if you release an application toolset similar to Flex/Flash or Silverlight (VS/Blend) that produce outut as readily, while targetting HTML5, that might be true,,, if you could package html5 apps into a single package to download like SWF or XAP (in the browsers), that might be true as welll. I really enjoy web application development, but those two points are what will hold broader HTML5 support in the wild back... Server-side prorammers prefer a comfortable toolset to develop with, and front end designers don't want to program. I think what is needed is great tooling, and a good standard package system (similar to office docments, or other application packages, xap, odf, etc)
My biggest problem is the handful of things that have to be rebuilt upon a new kernel release (namely VMWare)... It doesn't happen often enough that I always remember the proper command (I think it's vmware-reconfigure.pl)... and happens enough that I remember that I need to do it... especially when my VMs don't come up on my server.
Figuring out which download to actually get for the current rolling ("unstable") since it isn't marked as (Beta|Edge|Unstable), it's marked as sid? (I don't even know what the right one is now)... then the installer itself is a PITA without any good walkthroughs on getting it up and running in the first place... then there's figuring out which packages are needed for even a fairly stock Gnome desktop.... Don't get me wrong, I'd love to run straight Debian over Ubuntu, or Mint... just too many hoops to jump through before you even get to a working desktop. I don't mind hiccups after at a workable OS, usually there's people actively working on the problem... Nobody seems to be working on improving the download process on the Debian website (If I had someone to answer those first questions, and access, I could help with this), or improving the installer...
Happens in the beta channel builds on some of my win 7 machines too, not just linux... really annoying. I use it as my main browser now, but tempted to go back to firefox... chrome works better ovia my employer's proxy than FF, annoying..
I'd love to push chome frame for browsers = ie10... how about supporting linear gradients for backrounds, or any number of other features far more widely useful ocer canvas... css3pie breaks in ie9, and the dx based gradient filter doesn't support stop points, or work with their border radius implementation.
But amazon doesn't pre-consult everyone that wants to use their service... it's largely through automated front end software... When you sign up they don't know your Wikileaks, or The Barbie Doll Fan Club of Antarctica. And at that point, barring breaking the law in a country where Amazon does business, it shouldn't matter to them. The fact is, that although I don't agree with their actions, if mgt has an opinion weighting in this decision, I applaud it. Again, not because I agree with their opinion, it's just nice to see some personal ethics/morality in a business decision. I also don't think that is the case, It's more likely this was pressure from government agencies, and given the amount of infrastructure Amazon has on U.S. soil, it's hard to fault them.
I take it you haven't touched Boxee, MediaPortal or GameEx... All of which offer functionality missing from WMC. Though to be honest, I would love to have the best features of all three in one software.
I always find it funny how many times I see posts on/. and think to myself, "did this person outright fail, not remember or just not pay attention to High School level economics classes?"
Funny how Unicol has now pretty much re-unified most of what was Standard Oil in this country.. Most people don't even realize all those brands (Circle-K, Mobile, Exxon, Chevron, etc.) are all the same parent company.
For that matter, they have advertised bing... I tried it for a couple of minutes, and it was slower, and the results weren't any better... I know many people who install IE, and then go and change the default search to google... Which isn't that easy (not debating the merits of IE here)... Chrome has recently become my browser of choice, and I was hard torn from Firefox at that... I still prefer Firebug over the Chrome/Webkit developer tools. Google has a tendency to offer limited, but rock solid features, and building from there. Honestly, I'm a fan of the iGoogle page, but have tinkered with the my yahoo, and other similar portals in the past... Google isn't the best at everything... I just did a search for "foundem" and got the site in question first in the results... seems they're working to me.
I have to agree on most of your points, and would like to add that $400+ for a console (at initial release), and even more for a modest sized HDD for said system kept people away for a while. Many of the PS3 purchases were for the blue ray functionality as much as gaming. And the 360 limited to DVD discs (since the crash and burn of HD-DVD) has held it back some. I just bought my kid a 360 this last year, waited for the RROD issues to be squared away first. I won't buy a Sony product, so PS3 isn't an option for me. As it stands, the 360 and PS3 are both passable systems, and as Nintendo has shown, playability means a lot more than uber graphics. I do with Nintendo would come out with a Wii+ or something as a second-gen device, which would be nice... even a bump to 1080p, and built in blue ray for an extra $100-150 would be a big seller, would mean a faster CPU, but minimal changes as far as compatability... Maybe an ATI or nVidia discrete graphics chipset... compatability is a must imho, though dropping the Game Cube controller ports wouldn't make me cry..
Well, given that the 360, and PS3 both have released "slim" versions, with updated manufacturing (die shrink, improved thermals etc), I'd say they aren't exactly sticking to the same old technology, just new tech that's 100% backwards compatible.
As for the banking/finance industry... I would have rather let them fail, and bottom out over the bail outs myself. Part of a free market, is letting failures happen. As to Reagan and thatcher, aside from the anti-communist extremism, I think he was one of the better presidents in the recent past.
I don't think it even matters so much in Ubuntu's model where they are doing support licenses, not sales of versions... I think it would be nice to have the software repositories separated from the core libraries... where you can match koala-core-stable with m-apps-latest or koala-apps-stable... or go both unstable... m-core-unstable + m-apps-unstable.. or something like that... I agree, would love to have the latest apps without kernel updates... I hate when a kernel update breaks my apps... having to run the reconfig on vmware, or anything else I dev against on an app level when the kernel updates.
I can't speak for anyone else, but will address the points with the following prefixes... I refuse to spend another dime on AT&T service, ever. I'll start buying Sony products again long before I use AT&T. After owning several devices with bugs, only to discover they are no longer supported, or locked down in such a way that I can't use them in a way that's convenient to me as a user (like use an mp3 file as a ring tone, or download the opera mobile browser, not speaking specifically to apple here), I prefer devices with the potential for end-user support.
1) I don't care if I'll never compile it... as long as there's support for it, I'm happier in 2-3 years when the vendor isn't supporting the device, I can get updates. (Froyo on my G1, though sluggish, works).
2) I don't care... specifically Linux isn't *THE* end all/be all for embedded devices, and there are other similar OSes available that are equally/more open source.
3) Not just ROMs, but anything the company/vendor feels like making unavailable to artificially protect their other channels, or after they drop support for said device. Dropped support tends to happen very quickly on portable devices.
4) Really don't care too much on this... flash on mobile, especially smaller devices is a waste imho... though not being able to play videos is annoying at best.
5) Google has earned a reputation for delivering quality options with far fewer quirks than other companies. This comes at two costs: a. less feature rich, though what they do offer is solid. and b. google tends to do a lot of data mining, which raises some privacy concerns. As long as you are aware of A, and B I don't see the problem.
6) I don't bash apple for their design decisions (often), I happen to like aspects of Windows 7 *AND* OSX... though I think the applications for those platforms is where the differences come into play a bit more... To me, what keeps me from iOS devices is the artificial lock down regarding being able to side-load applications (I am the great and powerful JOBS, and all apps must go through me, giving me my cut). I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but I won't spend my money there... I do own a Macbook.
7) kind of, yes... I can tinker, and my cool toy can do things your cool toy can't... I can do wifi tethering with my phone... For the most part, that was the single biggest selling point for my device is that there was 3rd party dev support, active 3rd party firmware, and the ability to utilize the hardware how *I* see fit.
As much as I like FreeNAS, it doesn't make a network infrastructure... As a storage medium, it's probably suitable, but doesn't resolve their application needs... I would suggest either hosted MS Office/Exchange online, or google docs... It's a rather pragmatic decision... I would not suggest thin clients, without having some in-depth knowledge of their infrastructure needs. The first step in the task at hand would be to define their needs into a tangible list of "Must Have", "Should Have", "Would Like".. from there the options can filter down a bit. I wouldn't be prepared to lean towards any given solution without those requirements. It will probably come down to "Windows Server", "Linux" or some of both. Though I acknowledge FreeNAS is BSD based...
Central authentication is fairly easy though... I wouldn't avoid it, as adding any number of accounts to multiple systems can become a nightmare fairly quickly with even 20 users.
Well, you can deploy C# web apps with mono under Linux, and use postgresql, mysql, or even noSQL tools like mono, or redis. The tying things to windows is mainly in ignorance... though, with the pricing on Windows Server Web Edition, I think it's kind of a waste of time sometimes to use mono for that layer... I'm not a big fan of MS-SQL though. As to VB Scripts and IE only, I think 2001 is calling, and wants it's stereotypes back.
Combinations of skills are helpful too... knowing actionscript, javascript and a few backend platforms and make them work together is far less common than any single language... at least in web... I'd say get skilled in JavaScript, and pair that with a few backend languages. I happen to like C# ASP.Net MVC... I'm also toying with node + expressjs and mongo. Avoiding.Net though, probably python and/or ruby.
I get an average of 2 voicemails and 3 emails from recruiters every day.. they're out there... of course the OP won't do.Net... They're out there, some pay better than others, and I'm not looking to relocate without seeing above average pay involved.. Just the same, right now, if you live in a major metro area, you can find programming jobs.. 2002 was a much different story than today though....
Pretty much... though, many phones were already moving towards mini-usb before the EU standardized on the micro-usb connector... sad part is, most of my existing stuff (Motorolla bluetooth, and G1) use the mini-usb connector... will have to invest in new extra chargers when I upgrade..:( currently keep one charger at work, two at home, and one in my car.
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It isn't about accessibility or to an extent, performance... if you release an application toolset similar to Flex/Flash or Silverlight (VS/Blend) that produce outut as readily, while targetting HTML5, that might be true,,, if you could package html5 apps into a single package to download like SWF or XAP (in the browsers), that might be true as welll. I really enjoy web application development, but those two points are what will hold broader HTML5 support in the wild back... Server-side prorammers prefer a comfortable toolset to develop with, and front end designers don't want to program. I think what is needed is great tooling, and a good standard package system (similar to office docments, or other application packages, xap, odf, etc)
My biggest problem is the handful of things that have to be rebuilt upon a new kernel release (namely VMWare)... It doesn't happen often enough that I always remember the proper command (I think it's vmware-reconfigure.pl)... and happens enough that I remember that I need to do it... especially when my VMs don't come up on my server.
Figuring out which download to actually get for the current rolling ("unstable") since it isn't marked as (Beta|Edge|Unstable), it's marked as sid? (I don't even know what the right one is now)... then the installer itself is a PITA without any good walkthroughs on getting it up and running in the first place... then there's figuring out which packages are needed for even a fairly stock Gnome desktop.... Don't get me wrong, I'd love to run straight Debian over Ubuntu, or Mint... just too many hoops to jump through before you even get to a working desktop. I don't mind hiccups after at a workable OS, usually there's people actively working on the problem... Nobody seems to be working on improving the download process on the Debian website (If I had someone to answer those first questions, and access, I could help with this), or improving the installer...
Happens in the beta channel builds on some of my win 7 machines too, not just linux... really annoying. I use it as my main browser now, but tempted to go back to firefox... chrome works better ovia my employer's proxy than FF, annoying..
I'd love to push chome frame for browsers = ie10... how about supporting linear gradients for backrounds, or any number of other features far more widely useful ocer canvas... css3pie breaks in ie9, and the dx based gradient filter doesn't support stop points, or work with their border radius implementation.
How else were they going to get a release of Chrome 9, before IE9 comes out?
But amazon doesn't pre-consult everyone that wants to use their service... it's largely through automated front end software... When you sign up they don't know your Wikileaks, or The Barbie Doll Fan Club of Antarctica. And at that point, barring breaking the law in a country where Amazon does business, it shouldn't matter to them. The fact is, that although I don't agree with their actions, if mgt has an opinion weighting in this decision, I applaud it. Again, not because I agree with their opinion, it's just nice to see some personal ethics/morality in a business decision. I also don't think that is the case, It's more likely this was pressure from government agencies, and given the amount of infrastructure Amazon has on U.S. soil, it's hard to fault them.
I take it you haven't touched Boxee, MediaPortal or GameEx... All of which offer functionality missing from WMC. Though to be honest, I would love to have the best features of all three in one software.
I always find it funny how many times I see posts on /. and think to myself, "did this person outright fail, not remember or just not pay attention to High School level economics classes?"
My Bad... it's "Chevron Phillips" now...
Funny how Unicol has now pretty much re-unified most of what was Standard Oil in this country.. Most people don't even realize all those brands (Circle-K, Mobile, Exxon, Chevron, etc.) are all the same parent company.
For that matter, they have advertised bing... I tried it for a couple of minutes, and it was slower, and the results weren't any better... I know many people who install IE, and then go and change the default search to google... Which isn't that easy (not debating the merits of IE here)... Chrome has recently become my browser of choice, and I was hard torn from Firefox at that... I still prefer Firebug over the Chrome/Webkit developer tools. Google has a tendency to offer limited, but rock solid features, and building from there. Honestly, I'm a fan of the iGoogle page, but have tinkered with the my yahoo, and other similar portals in the past... Google isn't the best at everything... I just did a search for "foundem" and got the site in question first in the results... seems they're working to me.
I can totally see a political-cartoon with Steve (with big head) looking at the statue... "I mean, it looks nothing like me... I'll sue!"
I have to agree on most of your points, and would like to add that $400+ for a console (at initial release), and even more for a modest sized HDD for said system kept people away for a while. Many of the PS3 purchases were for the blue ray functionality as much as gaming. And the 360 limited to DVD discs (since the crash and burn of HD-DVD) has held it back some. I just bought my kid a 360 this last year, waited for the RROD issues to be squared away first. I won't buy a Sony product, so PS3 isn't an option for me. As it stands, the 360 and PS3 are both passable systems, and as Nintendo has shown, playability means a lot more than uber graphics. I do with Nintendo would come out with a Wii+ or something as a second-gen device, which would be nice... even a bump to 1080p, and built in blue ray for an extra $100-150 would be a big seller, would mean a faster CPU, but minimal changes as far as compatability... Maybe an ATI or nVidia discrete graphics chipset... compatability is a must imho, though dropping the Game Cube controller ports wouldn't make me cry..
Well, given that the 360, and PS3 both have released "slim" versions, with updated manufacturing (die shrink, improved thermals etc), I'd say they aren't exactly sticking to the same old technology, just new tech that's 100% backwards compatible.
As for the banking/finance industry... I would have rather let them fail, and bottom out over the bail outs myself. Part of a free market, is letting failures happen. As to Reagan and thatcher, aside from the anti-communist extremism, I think he was one of the better presidents in the recent past.
I don't think it even matters so much in Ubuntu's model where they are doing support licenses, not sales of versions... I think it would be nice to have the software repositories separated from the core libraries... where you can match koala-core-stable with m-apps-latest or koala-apps-stable... or go both unstable... m-core-unstable + m-apps-unstable.. or something like that... I agree, would love to have the latest apps without kernel updates... I hate when a kernel update breaks my apps... having to run the reconfig on vmware, or anything else I dev against on an app level when the kernel updates.
I can't speak for anyone else, but will address the points with the following prefixes... I refuse to spend another dime on AT&T service, ever. I'll start buying Sony products again long before I use AT&T. After owning several devices with bugs, only to discover they are no longer supported, or locked down in such a way that I can't use them in a way that's convenient to me as a user (like use an mp3 file as a ring tone, or download the opera mobile browser, not speaking specifically to apple here), I prefer devices with the potential for end-user support.
1) I don't care if I'll never compile it... as long as there's support for it, I'm happier in 2-3 years when the vendor isn't supporting the device, I can get updates. (Froyo on my G1, though sluggish, works).
2) I don't care... specifically Linux isn't *THE* end all/be all for embedded devices, and there are other similar OSes available that are equally/more open source.
3) Not just ROMs, but anything the company/vendor feels like making unavailable to artificially protect their other channels, or after they drop support for said device. Dropped support tends to happen very quickly on portable devices.
4) Really don't care too much on this... flash on mobile, especially smaller devices is a waste imho... though not being able to play videos is annoying at best.
5) Google has earned a reputation for delivering quality options with far fewer quirks than other companies. This comes at two costs: a. less feature rich, though what they do offer is solid. and b. google tends to do a lot of data mining, which raises some privacy concerns. As long as you are aware of A, and B I don't see the problem.
6) I don't bash apple for their design decisions (often), I happen to like aspects of Windows 7 *AND* OSX... though I think the applications for those platforms is where the differences come into play a bit more... To me, what keeps me from iOS devices is the artificial lock down regarding being able to side-load applications (I am the great and powerful JOBS, and all apps must go through me, giving me my cut). I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but I won't spend my money there... I do own a Macbook.
7) kind of, yes... I can tinker, and my cool toy can do things your cool toy can't... I can do wifi tethering with my phone... For the most part, that was the single biggest selling point for my device is that there was 3rd party dev support, active 3rd party firmware, and the ability to utilize the hardware how *I* see fit.
Heh, I managed to fit FizzBuzz in a tweet, written in JS... :)
As much as I like FreeNAS, it doesn't make a network infrastructure... As a storage medium, it's probably suitable, but doesn't resolve their application needs... I would suggest either hosted MS Office/Exchange online, or google docs... It's a rather pragmatic decision... I would not suggest thin clients, without having some in-depth knowledge of their infrastructure needs. The first step in the task at hand would be to define their needs into a tangible list of "Must Have", "Should Have", "Would Like" .. from there the options can filter down a bit. I wouldn't be prepared to lean towards any given solution without those requirements. It will probably come down to "Windows Server", "Linux" or some of both. Though I acknowledge FreeNAS is BSD based...
Central authentication is fairly easy though... I wouldn't avoid it, as adding any number of accounts to multiple systems can become a nightmare fairly quickly with even 20 users.
Well, you can deploy C# web apps with mono under Linux, and use postgresql, mysql, or even noSQL tools like mono, or redis. The tying things to windows is mainly in ignorance... though, with the pricing on Windows Server Web Edition, I think it's kind of a waste of time sometimes to use mono for that layer... I'm not a big fan of MS-SQL though. As to VB Scripts and IE only, I think 2001 is calling, and wants it's stereotypes back.
Combinations of skills are helpful too... knowing actionscript, javascript and a few backend platforms and make them work together is far less common than any single language... at least in web... I'd say get skilled in JavaScript, and pair that with a few backend languages. I happen to like C# ASP.Net MVC... I'm also toying with node + expressjs and mongo. Avoiding .Net though, probably python and/or ruby.
I get an average of 2 voicemails and 3 emails from recruiters every day.. they're out there... of course the OP won't do .Net ... They're out there, some pay better than others, and I'm not looking to relocate without seeing above average pay involved.. Just the same, right now, if you live in a major metro area, you can find programming jobs.. 2002 was a much different story than today though....
Pretty much... though, many phones were already moving towards mini-usb before the EU standardized on the micro-usb connector... sad part is, most of my existing stuff (Motorolla bluetooth, and G1) use the mini-usb connector... will have to invest in new extra chargers when I upgrade.. :( currently keep one charger at work, two at home, and one in my car.