Are they trying to drive me to Chrome? I don't want any of that crap.
They need to fix the massive memory leaks. I don't need any features. Spending a year making it more robust.
Right now with 4 simple tabs open(Win7-64), FF4 is consuming 650 MBs. I have to restart it every hour or two as it just keeps growing and growing.
It is my favorite browser for features, but the memory leaks are ridiculous (note the Windows build seems to leak more than Linux/Mac builds from what I read).
If FF5 adds a bunch of lame features and doesn't fix the fundamentals, I am gone.
PS: From the time I typed 650MB above till I previewed and ready to submit, FF4 memory usage as increased to 725 MB...
This seems odd, since Microsoft has been trying to get people into tablets for about 10 years. UMPC/Slates/Etc. I remember this was a keynote item for Bill Gates.
Now someone else actually makes a success out of it, and it's a fad?
That seems like the very definition of sour grapes.
Re:All good except DirectWrite font rendering.
on
Firefox 4 Released!
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· Score: 1
Yeah. I already did. That deals with the fat fonts, but it doesn't fix the kerning, which I suspect is supposed to be more paper typeface like, but running letters together on an LCD isn't pretty and is still irritating enough to disable HW Acceleration for.
Re:All good except DirectWrite font rendering.
on
Firefox 4 Released!
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· Score: 1
As I already indicated. I already disabled the HW acceleration and the solves the problem. But it would be nice to have HW acceleration.
Playing with CT doesn't as this is a separate system and one major issue is the change in Kerning which has nothing to do with CT either.
I am just curious if this is supposed to be an improvement to most eyes, it certainly isn't for me, and if we can expect improvements in DirectWrite font rendering.
All good except DirectWrite font rendering.
on
Firefox 4 Released!
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· Score: 4, Insightful
When I first fired it up, my first thought was: "Yuk, What happened to the fonts?"
Some searching revealed this is the MS Win7 DirectWrite Font rendering(IE 9 does the same thing).
Disable HW acceleration and all is well with my fonts.
Why does DirectWrite font rendering look so awful? Do other people actually prefer this (fonts are thicker and closer to together).
It is amazing how the conversation changes. I remember a year ago, there was a lot of people dumping on the iPad as overpriced, that they could get a more powerful netbook for hundreds less.
Now today, it is all about how is Apple making them so inexpensive.
Battery life is now 7 hours, IIRC it used to be 10 hours on the 13".
I really think the 13" is the biggest let down. Likely a downgrade on graphics (even if similar raw capability Intel integrated drivers are problematic). More CPU performance, but a significant cut in battery life.
Overall I think I like the old 13" MBP better than the new one.
It doesn't make sense for any PC vendor. IBM maybe
on
AMD Sale to Dell Rumored
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· Score: 5, Interesting
Any PC Vendor would risk putting itself at a performance disadvantage to it's Intel using competition.
Not only that, it would make competing PC vendors leery of using AMD chips.
This would be massive strategic failure for any PC vendor, hastening the slide of both the vendor business and the CPU business.
There are few potential companies that might have a good fit. IBM might be one. IBM might have the silicon expertise, funds and neutrality to keep AMD viable in the CPU industry.
Actually I think I read that you can make closed source apps without a commercial license now. But that may be revocable. Under the circumstances I could see why anyone might be leery of doing so.
I have media drives that hold the bulk and they are easily organized into games/pictures/books/movies/tv/music. Smaller document/coding directories are on my C drive for source/text/spreadsheets I make myself.
I don't tag anything. For my pictures. I simply name the directories Year_date_mainContent. (ex 2010_12_25_Xmas). Media names are self evident, but I also run XBMC for video, so I guess that has internal tagging. But still easy to find video outside of XBMC which I only use about 50% of the time.
I almost never even use search to find things, because the layout is very logical and it is pretty much obvious where everything is.
Everything is online and in my computer, multiple TB drives. No raid.
For backup I simply use external esata multiple TB drives and FreeFileSync, that I run once/week.
IANAL, so I really can't make heads or tails of the myriads of licensing agreements and don't know the detail of what is open sourced at this time and what isn't.
IIRC Nokia paid something like a $150 Million for Trolltech.
So I assume that they must still maintain control of licensing, didn't completely open source everything.
Something that prevents a simple Fork and ignore Nokia move??
Elop will certainly go down as a Hero for Microsoft, he managed to give Microsoft everything it would want from a Nokia Purchase, but without spending a dime.
No small coincidence that he is a former Microsoftie.
Or it could have gone this way: Apple: We like the 10" screen you make; we'd like to buy out all of them for the next year.
There are many screen suppliers. Apple has a long standing relationship with LG. Apple didn't pick a screen off the shelf. They ordered a custom designed one and likely ordered a few million to cover the custom design.
This would have no effect if you wanted to get a screen from anyone other than LG.
It was more like the iPad drops and others were scrambling, there was likely no good ready made Tablet screens. You would need to either to order a custom design, but that takes significant time and you will pay a much higher unit costs, so last years competing tablets were often using crappy netbook screens.
This year shows many using what looks like tablet specific designs. The Asus new tablets are all using good IPS screens. I don't think this is what is driving prices. The transformer model is using a 10" IPS screen and starts at $399 and most of the same specs as the Xoom. I have no idea why the Xoom is double the price of the Asus Transformer.
I think the days are numbered for dedicated game machines when you can get Phones and tablets that will do games "good enough" for most and do much more besides.
If I stack a 7" Android tablet against the NGP. I see an open computer with plenty of free, low cost software vs a proprietary game machine with expensive proprietary apps, expensive proprietary media. I just don't think this model is really going to remain relevant anymore.
SGU was a clear attempt to clone BSG. Dark set on a ship in the middle of nowhere, excess shaky cam.
But in an amateur attempt to clone the dramatic elements of BSG, they created a ship of fools, the characters were written as unlikable, incompetent, shrieking morons. That regularly engaged in reality show histrionics.
It was like the cast of big brother sent into space, where they ham up interpersonal conflict for TV, heck they even had confession cameras. They had a bunch of lame cookie cutter stereotypes, the chubby nerd genius, the teen queen who cried through every episode....
No show can survive unlikeable protagonists. And this show made every character unlikeable and had them in regular shouting matches/fist fights with each other.
I know what you mean, but their is no good, hard Sci Fi.
Fringe has good characters (chemistry), acting, directing, production values and writing.
But yes the "science" is eye-rolling pseudo-science nonsense that sort makes it just plain silly after getting so much right.
My other gripe is that JJ Abrams keeps repeating himself, this feels a lot like Alias. With all the body double nonsense and now it looks like they are gather Rimbaldi artifacts...
I still watch it for characters and acting, but I wish we could have had less pseudo science nonsense and less Alias rehash.
It's often touted as the main advantage of Windows, but I don't think it really is. When I look at what apps people I know use on their Windows desktops and laptops, I can't actually recall any "legacy" stuff except, possibly, games.
Really you must be living in a different universe. Because I am in the one where when a few applications broke under Vista, the mob broke out the torches and pitchforks.
Now a windows that breaks ALL software... That is a completely insane idea.
There is no way that NT Kernel is being ported to ARM, it is just nonsense. A miscontrued bit of info.
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Are they trying to drive me to Chrome? I don't want any of that crap.
They need to fix the massive memory leaks. I don't need any features. Spending a year making it more robust.
Right now with 4 simple tabs open(Win7-64), FF4 is consuming 650 MBs. I have to restart it every hour or two as it just keeps growing and growing.
It is my favorite browser for features, but the memory leaks are ridiculous (note the Windows build seems to leak more than Linux/Mac builds from what I read).
If FF5 adds a bunch of lame features and doesn't fix the fundamentals, I am gone.
PS: From the time I typed 650MB above till I previewed and ready to submit, FF4 memory usage as increased to 725 MB...
This seems odd, since Microsoft has been trying to get people into tablets for about 10 years. UMPC/Slates/Etc. I remember this was a keynote item for Bill Gates.
Now someone else actually makes a success out of it, and it's a fad?
That seems like the very definition of sour grapes.
Yeah. I already did. That deals with the fat fonts, but it doesn't fix the kerning, which I suspect is supposed to be more paper typeface like, but running letters together on an LCD isn't pretty and is still irritating enough to disable HW Acceleration for.
As I already indicated. I already disabled the HW acceleration and the solves the problem. But it would be nice to have HW acceleration.
Playing with CT doesn't as this is a separate system and one major issue is the change in Kerning which has nothing to do with CT either.
I am just curious if this is supposed to be an improvement to most eyes, it certainly isn't for me, and if we can expect improvements in DirectWrite font rendering.
When I first fired it up, my first thought was: "Yuk, What happened to the fonts?"
Some searching revealed this is the MS Win7 DirectWrite Font rendering(IE 9 does the same thing).
Disable HW acceleration and all is well with my fonts.
Why does DirectWrite font rendering look so awful? Do other people actually prefer this (fonts are thicker and closer to together).
It is amazing how the conversation changes. I remember a year ago, there was a lot of people dumping on the iPad as overpriced, that they could get a more powerful netbook for hundreds less.
Now today, it is all about how is Apple making them so inexpensive.
Strange...
They were claiming 9-10 hours on the white Macbook and 13" MPB. But I notice now they have changed the estimate on the white MB to 7 hours as well.
So perhaps no change, just a change in the way they estimate.
Battery life is now 7 hours, IIRC it used to be 10 hours on the 13".
I really think the 13" is the biggest let down. Likely a downgrade on graphics (even if similar raw capability Intel integrated drivers are problematic). More CPU performance, but a significant cut in battery life.
Overall I think I like the old 13" MBP better than the new one.
They essentially have doubled the core count 2 cores, to 4 cores. They are essentially they same cores.
Are they running at 2.5X the clock speeds as well?? I seriously doubt it.
Really this goes beyond exaggeration, it is more like pure false advertising.
There is Inertia in the industry, but AMD gained a lot of market share when they had better processors and they lost it again when behind.
It would be a mistake to risk you PC business going exclusive. There is a definite Halo effect that sells processors.
Dell doesn't only sell Consumer machines. What about workstation class machines:
http://www.dvhardware.net/article46769.html
[i]Jon Peddie Research reports Intel owned 99.9 percent of the processor market for workstations in Q3 2010. [/i]
Any PC Vendor would risk putting itself at a performance disadvantage to it's Intel using competition.
Not only that, it would make competing PC vendors leery of using AMD chips.
This would be massive strategic failure for any PC vendor, hastening the slide of both the vendor business and the CPU business.
There are few potential companies that might have a good fit. IBM might be one. IBM might have the silicon expertise, funds and neutrality to keep AMD viable in the CPU industry.
If Dell buys AMD, goes AMD exclusive, and AMD can't match Intel, Dell will lose out to all it's Intel using competitors.
This is much too big a risk to take, given that odds are in favor of Intel staying ahead.
Actually I think I read that you can make closed source apps without a commercial license now. But that may be revocable. Under the circumstances I could see why anyone might be leery of doing so.
I have media drives that hold the bulk and they are easily organized into games/pictures/books/movies/tv/music. Smaller document/coding directories are on my C drive for source/text/spreadsheets I make myself.
I don't tag anything. For my pictures. I simply name the directories Year_date_mainContent. (ex 2010_12_25_Xmas). Media names are self evident, but I also run XBMC for video, so I guess that has internal tagging. But still easy to find video outside of XBMC which I only use about 50% of the time.
I almost never even use search to find things, because the layout is very logical and it is pretty much obvious where everything is.
Everything is online and in my computer, multiple TB drives. No raid.
For backup I simply use external esata multiple TB drives and FreeFileSync, that I run once/week.
I assume Nokia has some legal mumbo jumbo in the licensing to prevent them losing control after spending millions to buy QT.
IANAL, so I really can't make heads or tails of the myriads of licensing agreements and don't know the detail of what is open sourced at this time and what isn't.
IIRC Nokia paid something like a $150 Million for Trolltech.
So I assume that they must still maintain control of licensing, didn't completely open source everything.
Something that prevents a simple Fork and ignore Nokia move??
Elop will certainly go down as a Hero for Microsoft, he managed to give Microsoft everything it would want from a Nokia Purchase, but without spending a dime.
No small coincidence that he is a former Microsoftie.
QT will not be used for Window Phone development. It was in one of the many links at Engadget.
So does this mean LG plans to stay out of the Blu Ray pool and sue everyone making Blu Ray drives?
http://www.one-blue.com/patent-coverage/
Or it could have gone this way:
Apple: We like the 10" screen you make; we'd like to buy out all of them for the next year.
There are many screen suppliers. Apple has a long standing relationship with LG. Apple didn't pick a screen off the shelf. They ordered a custom designed one and likely ordered a few million to cover the custom design.
This would have no effect if you wanted to get a screen from anyone other than LG.
It was more like the iPad drops and others were scrambling, there was likely no good ready made Tablet screens. You would need to either to order a custom design, but that takes significant time and you will pay a much higher unit costs, so last years competing tablets were often using crappy netbook screens.
This year shows many using what looks like tablet specific designs. The Asus new tablets are all using good IPS screens. I don't think this is what is driving prices. The transformer model is using a 10" IPS screen and starts at $399 and most of the same specs as the Xoom. I have no idea why the Xoom is double the price of the Asus Transformer.
I think the days are numbered for dedicated game machines when you can get Phones and tablets that will do games "good enough" for most and do much more besides.
If I stack a 7" Android tablet against the NGP. I see an open computer with plenty of free, low cost software vs a proprietary game machine with expensive proprietary apps, expensive proprietary media. I just don't think this model is really going to remain relevant anymore.
SGU was a clear attempt to clone BSG. Dark set on a ship in the middle of nowhere, excess shaky cam.
But in an amateur attempt to clone the dramatic elements of BSG, they created a ship of fools, the characters were written as unlikable, incompetent, shrieking morons. That regularly engaged in reality show histrionics.
It was like the cast of big brother sent into space, where they ham up interpersonal conflict for TV, heck they even had confession cameras. They had a bunch of lame cookie cutter stereotypes, the chubby nerd genius, the teen queen who cried through every episode ....
No show can survive unlikeable protagonists. And this show made every character unlikeable and had them in regular shouting matches/fist fights with each other.
I did a happy dance when the canceled this drek.
I know what you mean, but their is no good, hard Sci Fi.
Fringe has good characters (chemistry), acting, directing, production values and writing.
But yes the "science" is eye-rolling pseudo-science nonsense that sort makes it just plain silly after getting so much right.
My other gripe is that JJ Abrams keeps repeating himself, this feels a lot like Alias. With all the body double nonsense and now it looks like they are gather Rimbaldi artifacts...
I still watch it for characters and acting, but I wish we could have had less pseudo science nonsense and less Alias rehash.
I can't believe they just announced this without any user or developer story.
It looks more like Port and Pray. It deprives MS of its most significant competitive OS advantage: Legacy Apps.
So now MS will compete on resource usage, and innovation speed with NT on ARM, against iOS/Android.
This should be really entertaining.
It's often touted as the main advantage of Windows, but I don't think it really is. When I look at what apps people I know use on their Windows desktops and laptops, I can't actually recall any "legacy" stuff except, possibly, games.
Really you must be living in a different universe. Because I am in the one where when a few applications broke under Vista, the mob broke out the torches and pitchforks.
Now a windows that breaks ALL software... That is a completely insane idea.
There is no way that NT Kernel is being ported to ARM, it is just nonsense. A miscontrued bit of info.
This is almost certainly a Win CE relaunch.