I agree that what you suggest would be better than the current iPhone policy of only allowing market apps, but you'll also probably agree that an even better system is to let the user use his hardware however he sees fit, including letting him install whatever he wishes to, even if it is a binary installation file.
I mean, we do it everyday in our computers (even in Linux -- otherwise no Skype, Picasa or even decent nvidia drivers) and somehow it seems to work.
Why can't the users do the same on their mobile phones?
(The same thing goes for Android: either trust the app store tied to your phone or compile the code yourself)
No, it doesn't. In Android I can load an.apk (android install package) from anywhere and install it on my device. The only caveat is that I must enable this functionality in some option menu, otherwise I get an error message suggesting me to enable said option if I want to install the application.
Not to mention that if you go to a support site, you're bound to see people with problems.
I mean, it's not like I ever felt the urge to go to the Ubuntu forums to say how great my experience has been. (BTW, my experience after upgrading to the latest Karmic beta has been amazing. Those guys are really doing a great job!)
For example, what does ability to run "widgets" really mean? I think most people get "applications" and know that Apple iPhone has a ton of them...so what is this?
What exactly is open development to the average user? Again, I can get lots of applications from Apple so what is this specifically saying to me the consumer?
Maybe they're not targeting only the "average user"? One big feature of the Android platform is exactly open development, so maybe they expect to attract new devs to the platform, while perhaps taking a jab at Apple's app approval process.
Now as an aside...I really don't like the generate "hype" ads that don't really say anything about the product before release. I remember the G commercials for Gatorade last year. Is it a new sport clothing line, shoe, what...then turns out to be just a sports drink. Seen these for cars, perfume, etc. and I think they are counter productive for most viewers (bigger hype, bigger disappointment).
100% agreed. I have an Android phone and I believe that they have the right vision, but I hate these kinds of attack ads. You want to sell your product? Make it better than the competition, and people will notice.
A smear campaign makes it look like you don't have confidence in the product itself and need to resort to low blows.
Then why aren't there a lot of apps out there for Symbian? It's by far the most popular phone operating system out there. And Windows Mobile used to be pretty popular too... so where are the apps for that one?
I suspect that there are many, many more apps both for the Symbian and the Windows Mobile platforms than for the iPhone, they're just not conveniently centralized in an app store. And that's without even considering JavaME apps.
Of course, otherwise you risk one day mistyping bankofamerica.com and ending up in a phishing site which looks just like the real thing.
If you can't trust your bookmarks, you can't trust your computer. If you can't trust your computer, you shouldn't be accessing your online bank on it in any case.
something that vaccinated against AIDS would have to be a cure for HIV because people can have HIV for years before they develop AIDS.
Not necessarily. A "cure for AIDS" could simply be something which stops the HIV virus from developing the AIDS simptoms. Meaning you still have the virus, but it's not attacking you.
Because he doesn't have freedom to explore, and the actor of that restriction is artificial. If you don't want your child to run around in a busy setting, you could pick him up, hold his hand, or follow him closely.
I don't use one on my toddler but I wouldn't hesitate to do so in certain situations.
As I said in another comment: I'm not a parent, and I'm not going to tell you how to raise your child. I do know that my parents didn't use that stuff on my or my brother while growing up on one of the most crowded cities in the world. Neither did my friend's parents, and somehow we all survived.
In the end, for me it's also a problem of the way it looks. I may not be a parent, but I'm a dog owner, and to me seeing a child on a leash just looks wrong.
It's not about respecting their freedom, but about not having them 1) depend too much on you to keep them safe, and 2) not restricting their freedom too much.
What happens when the leash comes off? Won't they seek the freedom they never had? If it happens, they won't be prepared to fend off by themselves.
Again, this is all uninformed opinion. I'm not a parent and I don't pretend to tell people who are how to raise their little terrorists. I just think that the GPS bracelet gives you basically the same peace of mind without imposing too much on the child's development.
That's funny, I was having a discussion with my mother about how I thought child leashes were stupid and too invasive on the child's freedom.
My mother told me she used to think like that too, until the day she lost one of her children (either me or my brother, don't remember) in a busy place. When that happened she realized that maybe the leashes are stupid, but at least you'll never lose your child in one moment of distraction. Thankfully, she never went though with it:-)
I think a GPS bracelet is a nice compromise between having peace of mind and being too imposing on your child's ability to move and sense of independence. At least when they really are children -- for teenagers it's a different story, IMHO.
Microsoft's MSN client started getting so bloated and ugly that just opening the window to see which of my contacts were online would take ~5 seconds on a modern, powerful machine (4GB ram). And some of that time was for those anoying flash advertisements.
I got fed up with is, and installed Pidgin. Now it opens instantly, the interface is better and simpler, and it's consistent with my Ubuntu box at home.
iTunes was the same. Taking ages to open, wouldn't sync with non-apple players, demanding that I install quicktime (that piece of shit software) and installing god knows how many background processes which load on startup for doing god knows what. Not to speak of the fact that iTunes routinely skipped songs when the cpu load got just a bit higher than usual (like when loading a complex webpage). It was the first MP3 player to do that since I got a Pentium II some 10 years ago.
Compare with Banshee (which unfortunately doesn't exist for Windows, so I have make due with SongBird) which while it also takes a bit to startup, it's nowhere near as long as iTunes, and is better in every respect. Especially how it supports any MP3 player under the sun (except some of the most recent iPods -- go figure) and it will even let me simply select songs from my list and drag them directly onto my SDcard to play in my car.
For me, that last parts sums up the problem with commercial software. The companies have an agenda, and they're pushing it on your computer. In the case of media players, they don't want to make it too easy to copy music around, so they restrict a perfectly valid use case (drag-and-drop music from playlists) because even though you're paying for the software, it seems you're not their true customer.
The strength of OSS is that it's not beholden to those agendas, so you will get useful features as long as someone who's able to code also wants it. The downsides are well known, but my experience with mature OSS projects has been pretty good.
I read somewhere that one of the rules for working in the Linux kernel is that if your patch breaks code somewhere else, you have to go there and fix it before submitting (that's actually proper procedure in any project).
So I can imagine that one guy (or team) working on core stuff will sometimes impact the way drivers work, and will have to dive in that code to fix it.
I have to wonder why you would wait for someone to start trying to crack your password before you used a strong one?
I knew this was comming:-) My passwords are what I'd consider "safe enough" -- no dictionary words, some characters in upper case, and there are some numbers involved.
On the other hand, they tend to be short (~8chars), and I don't mix too many upper case letters and numbers in order to simplify typing, which is where I'm kind of trading security for convenience.
Now, if I knew that someone was actively trying to crack my password, It'd be the motivation needed to start using longer, more randomized passwords.
Just from the song I'm listening to now: iWu2km!W&tW@Wis#t
I couldn't dream of having to type that every time I wanted to long in to my server to restart some service (which happens quite often -- crappy iguanaIR drivers and deluge daemon). Make that twice for each restart: logging in to the SSH server + sudoing.
It'd be even nicer if they stated the location (at least the country) of origin of the IP address. One hit from Russia, and I'd be changing my password to military strength.
Looking forward to that multitouch, and hopefully for those spring animations when a list reaches the end (in Android there isn't any visual feedback when you reach the end of a list except for the mini scrollbar on the right).
Wasn't the euphoria engine used in GTA IV? From the (impressive) tech demo I seemed to recognise the same kind of reaction from the actors. I remember being completely blown away in GTA when I inadvertently pushed a guy near some stairs and he fumbled trying to keep his balance for a while before finally falling down the stairs. I don't think it could've been more realistic if it were keyframed.
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I agree that what you suggest would be better than the current iPhone policy of only allowing market apps, but you'll also probably agree that an even better system is to let the user use his hardware however he sees fit, including letting him install whatever he wishes to, even if it is a binary installation file.
I mean, we do it everyday in our computers (even in Linux -- otherwise no Skype, Picasa or even decent nvidia drivers) and somehow it seems to work.
Why can't the users do the same on their mobile phones?
(The same thing goes for Android: either trust the app store tied to your phone or compile the code yourself)
No, it doesn't. In Android I can load an .apk (android install package) from anywhere and install it on my device. The only caveat is that I must enable this functionality in some option menu, otherwise I get an error message suggesting me to enable said option if I want to install the application.
Your homepage link is broken.
Not to mention that if you go to a support site, you're bound to see people with problems.
I mean, it's not like I ever felt the urge to go to the Ubuntu forums to say how great my experience has been. (BTW, my experience after upgrading to the latest Karmic beta has been amazing. Those guys are really doing a great job!)
For example, what does ability to run "widgets" really mean? I think most people get "applications" and know that Apple iPhone has a ton of them...so what is this?
What exactly is open development to the average user? Again, I can get lots of applications from Apple so what is this specifically saying to me the consumer?
Maybe they're not targeting only the "average user"? One big feature of the Android platform is exactly open development, so maybe they expect to attract new devs to the platform, while perhaps taking a jab at Apple's app approval process.
Now as an aside...I really don't like the generate "hype" ads that don't really say anything about the product before release. I remember the G commercials for Gatorade last year. Is it a new sport clothing line, shoe, what...then turns out to be just a sports drink. Seen these for cars, perfume, etc. and I think they are counter productive for most viewers (bigger hype, bigger disappointment).
100% agreed. I have an Android phone and I believe that they have the right vision, but I hate these kinds of attack ads. You want to sell your product? Make it better than the competition, and people will notice.
A smear campaign makes it look like you don't have confidence in the product itself and need to resort to low blows.
The new Android SDK attempts to solve this problem by allowing developers to specify screen size profiles. Check out the blog post.
Then why aren't there a lot of apps out there for Symbian? It's by far the most popular phone operating system out there. And Windows Mobile used to be pretty popular too... so where are the apps for that one?
I suspect that there are many, many more apps both for the Symbian and the Windows Mobile platforms than for the iPhone, they're just not conveniently centralized in an app store. And that's without even considering JavaME apps.
Some phones feature cameras with auto-focus.
My Android-based Samsung Galaxy is one of them.
I can't wait for my Linux installation to become at least 80% more efficient with this scheduler.
I know that I become more efficient by at least that amount when a deadline approaches!
Of course, otherwise you risk one day mistyping bankofamerica.com and ending up in a phishing site which looks just like the real thing.
If you can't trust your bookmarks, you can't trust your computer. If you can't trust your computer, you shouldn't be accessing your online bank on it in any case.
Shortly the manager offered to drop both charges. I told him no thanks, choke on your $70.
I would've let them drop the charges, and then close my account anyway.
Since they are used to identify the client?
something that vaccinated against AIDS would have to be a cure for HIV because people can have HIV for years before they develop AIDS.
Not necessarily. A "cure for AIDS" could simply be something which stops the HIV virus from developing the AIDS simptoms. Meaning you still have the virus, but it's not attacking you.
It's a big difference.
In most of the United States, you can't even take a piss in public! How's that for freedom of expression?
Actually, you can't piss in public in Germany either.
Thankfully :-)
Depends. I see the GPS not as an active child control device, but as a backup in case you get distracted and the child wanders off.
If you're a bad parent, no amount of technology will save your child.
Why is a leash too invasive on a child's freedom?
Because he doesn't have freedom to explore, and the actor of that restriction is artificial. If you don't want your child to run around in a busy setting, you could pick him up, hold his hand, or follow him closely.
I don't use one on my toddler but I wouldn't hesitate to do so in certain situations.
As I said in another comment: I'm not a parent, and I'm not going to tell you how to raise your child. I do know that my parents didn't use that stuff on my or my brother while growing up on one of the most crowded cities in the world. Neither did my friend's parents, and somehow we all survived.
In the end, for me it's also a problem of the way it looks. I may not be a parent, but I'm a dog owner, and to me seeing a child on a leash just looks wrong.
It's not about respecting their freedom, but about not having them 1) depend too much on you to keep them safe, and 2) not restricting their freedom too much.
What happens when the leash comes off? Won't they seek the freedom they never had? If it happens, they won't be prepared to fend off by themselves.
Again, this is all uninformed opinion. I'm not a parent and I don't pretend to tell people who are how to raise their little terrorists. I just think that the GPS bracelet gives you basically the same peace of mind without imposing too much on the child's development.
That's funny, I was having a discussion with my mother about how I thought child leashes were stupid and too invasive on the child's freedom.
My mother told me she used to think like that too, until the day she lost one of her children (either me or my brother, don't remember) in a busy place. When that happened she realized that maybe the leashes are stupid, but at least you'll never lose your child in one moment of distraction. Thankfully, she never went though with it :-)
I think a GPS bracelet is a nice compromise between having peace of mind and being too imposing on your child's ability to move and sense of independence. At least when they really are children -- for teenagers it's a different story, IMHO.
Exactly.
Microsoft's MSN client started getting so bloated and ugly that just opening the window to see which of my contacts were online would take ~5 seconds on a modern, powerful machine (4GB ram). And some of that time was for those anoying flash advertisements.
I got fed up with is, and installed Pidgin. Now it opens instantly, the interface is better and simpler, and it's consistent with my Ubuntu box at home.
iTunes was the same. Taking ages to open, wouldn't sync with non-apple players, demanding that I install quicktime (that piece of shit software) and installing god knows how many background processes which load on startup for doing god knows what. Not to speak of the fact that iTunes routinely skipped songs when the cpu load got just a bit higher than usual (like when loading a complex webpage). It was the first MP3 player to do that since I got a Pentium II some 10 years ago.
Compare with Banshee (which unfortunately doesn't exist for Windows, so I have make due with SongBird) which while it also takes a bit to startup, it's nowhere near as long as iTunes, and is better in every respect. Especially how it supports any MP3 player under the sun (except some of the most recent iPods -- go figure) and it will even let me simply select songs from my list and drag them directly onto my SDcard to play in my car.
For me, that last parts sums up the problem with commercial software. The companies have an agenda, and they're pushing it on your computer. In the case of media players, they don't want to make it too easy to copy music around, so they restrict a perfectly valid use case (drag-and-drop music from playlists) because even though you're paying for the software, it seems you're not their true customer.
The strength of OSS is that it's not beholden to those agendas, so you will get useful features as long as someone who's able to code also wants it. The downsides are well known, but my experience with mature OSS projects has been pretty good.
Is that really true?
I read somewhere that one of the rules for working in the Linux kernel is that if your patch breaks code somewhere else, you have to go there and fix it before submitting (that's actually proper procedure in any project).
So I can imagine that one guy (or team) working on core stuff will sometimes impact the way drivers work, and will have to dive in that code to fix it.
I have to wonder why you would wait for someone to start trying to crack your password before you used a strong one?
I knew this was comming :-)
My passwords are what I'd consider "safe enough" -- no dictionary words, some characters in upper case, and there are some numbers involved.
On the other hand, they tend to be short (~8chars), and I don't mix too many upper case letters and numbers in order to simplify typing, which is where I'm kind of trading security for convenience.
Now, if I knew that someone was actively trying to crack my password, It'd be the motivation needed to start using longer, more randomized passwords.
Just from the song I'm listening to now: iWu2km!W&tW@Wis#t
I couldn't dream of having to type that every time I wanted to long in to my server to restart some service (which happens quite often -- crappy iguanaIR drivers and deluge daemon).
Make that twice for each restart: logging in to the SSH server + sudoing.
That's pretty cool.
It'd be even nicer if they stated the location (at least the country) of origin of the IP address. One hit from Russia, and I'd be changing my password to military strength.
I'm happy for these news because rumours have it that Google didn't implement some features such as multitouch in Android at Apple's request.
Now that they aren't buddy-buddy anymore, maybe Google will say fuck it and implement those features anyway (much as Palm did with the Pré).
Looking forward to that multitouch, and hopefully for those spring animations when a list reaches the end (in Android there isn't any visual feedback when you reach the end of a list except for the mini scrollbar on the right).
Not to speak of the danger when one of the wheels lock, or loses power.
Even at slow speeds, you're going to go face-first into the pavement.
Wasn't the euphoria engine used in GTA IV?
From the (impressive) tech demo I seemed to recognise the same kind of reaction from the actors.
I remember being completely blown away in GTA when I inadvertently pushed a guy near some stairs and he fumbled trying to keep his balance for a while before finally falling down the stairs. I don't think it could've been more realistic if it were keyframed.
Incredible technology.