Am I the only one who's starting to be completely saturated by iPhone stories posted left and right and how it's awesome and shiny and great?
I swear it's like the damn thing is going to save the world. Even for nerds there must be other topics of conversation, right?
You are not the only one. Unfortunately for us, nothing drives up web traffic like topics which are prone to start flame wars (ie. iPhone, Palm Pre, Apple, Microsoft, PS3, Xbox 360).
I don't think it is as clearly defined as you think.
Ubuntu does have a default terminal depending on your choice of Ubuntu, Xbuntu, or Kubuntu, and it does have a default browser. It does allow you to install Firefox and it's installed by default too. Ubuntu does allow you to install any program you want.
Speaking of Firefox, Google pays Firefox to make Google the default search engine. How does this fit within your moral equation?
Microsoft comes with a default terminal, browser, etc. and Windows also allows you to install any program you want just like Ubuntu.
Microsoft also being the author of IE is immaterial. In fact, by Microsoft offering so many "accessories" with its Windows OS from the beginning is what helped Windows succeed. It was the only way Microsoft could solve the "chicken and the egg" problem. They couldn't sell an OS with no applications and no applications would be made for Windows without the market share to justify the expense.
Microsoft is not without guilt and they have done some shitty things to maintain a majority market share. However neither Canonical nor Apple have room to complain about bundling.
I'll bite, and yes I know I will regret it. Let me preface this with the fact that I have a Mac and use Linux and rarely use a Windows program, so I don't think I qualify as a MS fanboy. In fact I'm their worst critic when it comes to software quality.
I see this as the EU putting the screws to another US company, and this behavior has continued to escalate since it started with the creation of the EU. I think it's getting a little out of hand when one US company can file a grievance with the EU against another US company. Of course, the EU is happy to oblige since it means more money for them and as a bonus they get to punish a US company.
Anyway, back to the immediate topic of Microsoft's so-called monopoly. Since you are not required to buy a computer with Windows this can't be a monopoly. I would call this more of a unfair market advantage based upon past behavior to accrue market share. Who knew that being the only operating system that a consumer would want, could afford, and ran on a standard PC would be considered bad behavior.
In other words, there was always an opportunity for another OS to exist look at Linux for example. Just don't expect that OS to become the market leader overnight. Everyone forgets how long it took for window's market share to get this large. Not to mention that even with the advancements toward end-user friendliness done by Ubuntu, it's not the best computing experience available out of the box.
To be clear, the updates to OS X referred to are features of OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) which will ship in September and cost $29. It is not an update to 10.5 and is not yet available outside of developer previews.
To further clarify your clarification. Safari 4 for OS X was released today for OS X 10.5. It popped up on my Software update app.
Re:Carrier Exclusivity Might Kill It
on
Palm Pre Reviewed
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· Score: 1
The iPhone is *STILL* exclusive to AT&T. Didn't seem to kill the iPhone. The G1/Android is effectively exclusive to T-Mobile.
I don't think it was the decision of being exclusive to a single carrier that troubled the GP about the Pre. I believe it was the carrier they decided to be exclusive with.
When I save something on my DVR, that is for personal use. It is by me for me.
When I get something from the cable company, that is distribution. If that is not distributed in the manner as the owner of the copyright desires, that is a copyright violation on face. Copyright is ABOUT distribution.
View something "on demand" is an example of distributing video. By the way, Cartoon Network already have such agreements in place with Comcast that do not offer centralized recording of shows.
However, this is more about moving the storage device from the subscriber's home to a central server. My understanding is the set-top box still operates as a DVR and you only have access to the shows that you asked to be recorded prior or during its broadcast. Since you contracted the cable provider to record the show for you, and you are the only one able to view the show then the cable company is TRANSPORTING your recording to you for your viewing.
Now if the cable company recorded all the shows in anticipation that you may want to view it later (without your active participation) than that would be distribution, since they are creating a product with the intent to make available to potential viewers.
It changes the value that the audience aggregator is charging the advertiser. The audience aggregator is unable to charge for another ad, and is unable to control the distribution method. When Adult Swim is on, they want you to watch Adult Swim. GO SHAKE!
Not really. This is the same as you recording the show on a VCR. In fact, this helps Cartoon Network since their rating is based on your desire to record or have your television tuned to their broadcast not by you actually watching the show. Not that Cartoon Network has that much value to lose.;)
The dot-com crash happened in late 1999 and continued into 2000
The dot-com crash was really a correction. Sure it hit the high-tech industry, but they had it coming. Internet was the big new thing, and people would throw money at anything that had a ".com" in the company name. If you invested money in a dot-com, eventually you will need to show a profit otherwise don't be surprise to see your stock plummet.
The dot-com bust had more to do with people trying to make a fast buck than any real economic factors. It didn't have any real effect on the general economy and the GDP continued to grow.
1998: 8747
1999: 9268.4
2000: 9817
A symptom of bad economic times on the way is the trade deficit:
The dip in the trade deficit in 2008 is from a drop in consumer spending.
Republicans will spin the numbers to say that the ballooning trade deficit was a sign of increased consumer confidence/spending encouraged by cheaper products being imported from China.
While in reality, we were exporting wealth for trinkets and running on a credit card economy. In the end, we have a huge debt and a lot of cheap goods while China has all our money and loaning it back to us.
To make things worse, we committed ourselves to two wars in the middle east that drives the national debt even higher, and it wasn't until the Obama administration that any effort was made to include the war cost in the national budget. This makes the budget appear even worse, even though it's more accurate than the tricks with smoke and mirrors performed by the Bush administration.
BTW despite what the media say, there is more to the economy than the stock market. Maybe this is why things seems so illogical to you...
Is it a problem with the C standard that I can embed Pascal in a C comment?
YES! If the C standard considered compilers that executed arbitrary code within comments to be compliant and the goals of the C standard was to allow any compiler that met the C standard make the same resultant object code.
The problem is not that you could put any text within a comment. It's a problem if your Pascal code is required to produce the desired object code.
If the goals of the ODF was to make file formats readable by other office suites then they technically succeeded, but if they intended to have a format that enforce rules that made the file interoperable with other office suites then they obviously didn't meet that goal.
I know a lot a people here on Slashdot feel personally invested in ODF, but that only makes it uncomfortable to point out the obvious.
All I'm saying is that you can't just fault Microsoft for having the ability to produce a file that other software can't use and still be ODF 1.1 compliant.
Obama can't take full credit for all the trillions being spent. Bush approved the vast majority of the first trillion without any strings attached because the financial system was too big to fail.
Too bad Obama had to inherit the problems created under the 8 years of Bush.
I loathe party politics and the left versus right BS, but come on just look at the facts.
I guess the only thing the remaining republicans can do is just stir up crap in hopes that maybe they can trick people into thinking their way is better.
If Microsoft is ODF 1.1 compliant, and other ODF 1.1 compliant software can't use the software, then it looks like the ODF committee didn't get it right and has something busted and broken.
I think the ODF committee was more concerned about getting their standard approved quickly than having a complete specification.
Re:I wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it? Here it
on
OpenBSD 4.5 Released
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· Score: 1
For some strange reason I was thinking Camptown Races (the song)...
Please explain how your context shows he was being anything but a hypocrite.
Reading a senate bill is like reading the Bible. Anyone can selectively look at a bill to support their opinion about a senator. Usually a bill will have something very important, something very controversial, and a whole lot of earmarks. Until the senate grows some balls and actually start pruning down the bills, we will continue have bills designed to affirm one's parties beliefs and insult the other party while having some important stuff attached somewhere in the middle of all that bullshit.
In the Windows market, reality has a way of kicking you in the balls.
Actually, Windows has a way of kicking you in the balls. How would running XP in a virtual machine be any different from the usual windows experience?
I think this is the smartest move Microsoft has done in a long time. They need to relegate the backwards compatibility to a virtual machine, and make the next Windows OS much leaner and secure.
I agree with the GP that Apple had little problems with this and their market is of sufficient size to assume that Microsoft would fare just as well.
I realize not everyone has such little dependence on the USPS. I'm just saying that they should.
Why?
USPS provides a service with no cost to the taxpayer, and at a much cheaper price than commercial alternatives. The USPS is an important asset to the US Government and its citizens.
Every household in the US has mail delivery and pickup. If this was a commercial enterprise we would be asking congress to subsidize the "last mile" postal link to rural customers. After which, rural customers would still suffer from unreliable service.
No one is forcing you to mail a letter. I personally had no problems with the USPS handling my letters, postcards, and bill payments.
I find it more apprehensible for private enterprises making profits from government subsidized infrastructure. Why are our broadband costs so high, especially with all the money the FCC collects from the "Universal Access Fee"?
Well your milage may vary. I used to buy Sony laptops, and my office uses Dell and for a time Gateway laptops.
I purchased a 15" Macbook Pro three years ago to replace my comparably priced Sony laptop that died while I was out in the field. I have not had a single issue with my laptop. It has logged over 44000 miles of being tossed in a satchel, thrown in the back of a car, and used at many locations. I spent more months than I care to admit using it in the middle of nowhere in the fine state of New Mexico, and I used it while outside during hot and extremely humid days on the gulf coast. My laptop has operated at a variety of temperature and humidity levels. This is my one and only personal computer and it's been on almost constantly during the past three years.
If my laptop failed today, I would immediately buy another one from Apple. This laptop has lasted a year longer than my similarly priced Sony laptop.
During the same 3 year period, some of my friends and colleagues replace their much younger Dell laptops because they failed prematurely. My sister's Dell laptop is a little over a year and a half old, and she's looking at replacing a $250 battery. Most of my non-apple work laptops stay in the office because either they're now too slow (hard drive issues), the plastic clam shell case is broken, or the cheap ass hinges they use have failed.
In addition, my boss still uses his 12" powerbook, and pretty much all the Apple users where I work are not only happy with their current Apple computers, but continue to purchase Apple computers for themselves or their interns (much to the dismay of our Windows centric IT department).
I believe the reason Dell has been more troublesome for my friends and family is the fact that Dell tries to fit as many features as possible to make the laptop look good in a print ad while using the cheapest parts available to meet a price point that their marketing department determine that people are willing to pay.
You know it's been a long day when you mentally delete the word "making" rather than actually doing it in the sentence "... by making enforcing a patent claim..." above.
Slashdot Mirror
You are not the only one. Unfortunately for us, nothing drives up web traffic like topics which are prone to start flame wars (ie. iPhone, Palm Pre, Apple, Microsoft, PS3, Xbox 360).
I don't think it is as clearly defined as you think.
Ubuntu does have a default terminal depending on your choice of Ubuntu, Xbuntu, or Kubuntu, and it does have a default browser. It does allow you to install Firefox and it's installed by default too. Ubuntu does allow you to install any program you want.
Speaking of Firefox, Google pays Firefox to make Google the default search engine. How does this fit within your moral equation?
Microsoft comes with a default terminal, browser, etc. and Windows also allows you to install any program you want just like Ubuntu.
Microsoft also being the author of IE is immaterial. In fact, by Microsoft offering so many "accessories" with its Windows OS from the beginning is what helped Windows succeed. It was the only way Microsoft could solve the "chicken and the egg" problem. They couldn't sell an OS with no applications and no applications would be made for Windows without the market share to justify the expense.
Microsoft is not without guilt and they have done some shitty things to maintain a majority market share. However neither Canonical nor Apple have room to complain about bundling.
I'll bite, and yes I know I will regret it. Let me preface this with the fact that I have a Mac and use Linux and rarely use a Windows program, so I don't think I qualify as a MS fanboy. In fact I'm their worst critic when it comes to software quality.
I see this as the EU putting the screws to another US company, and this behavior has continued to escalate since it started with the creation of the EU. I think it's getting a little out of hand when one US company can file a grievance with the EU against another US company. Of course, the EU is happy to oblige since it means more money for them and as a bonus they get to punish a US company.
Anyway, back to the immediate topic of Microsoft's so-called monopoly. Since you are not required to buy a computer with Windows this can't be a monopoly. I would call this more of a unfair market advantage based upon past behavior to accrue market share. Who knew that being the only operating system that a consumer would want, could afford, and ran on a standard PC would be considered bad behavior.
In other words, there was always an opportunity for another OS to exist look at Linux for example. Just don't expect that OS to become the market leader overnight. Everyone forgets how long it took for window's market share to get this large. Not to mention that even with the advancements toward end-user friendliness done by Ubuntu, it's not the best computing experience available out of the box.
What? WoW works on the Mac, and the XBOX 360 is for everything else...
To further clarify your clarification. Safari 4 for OS X was released today for OS X 10.5. It popped up on my Software update app.
I don't think it was the decision of being exclusive to a single carrier that troubled the GP about the Pre. I believe it was the carrier they decided to be exclusive with.
Sprint is the Chrysler of wireless...
You seem smarter than the average kindergartener...
View something "on demand" is an example of distributing video. By the way, Cartoon Network already have such agreements in place with Comcast that do not offer centralized recording of shows.
However, this is more about moving the storage device from the subscriber's home to a central server. My understanding is the set-top box still operates as a DVR and you only have access to the shows that you asked to be recorded prior or during its broadcast. Since you contracted the cable provider to record the show for you, and you are the only one able to view the show then the cable company is TRANSPORTING your recording to you for your viewing.
Now if the cable company recorded all the shows in anticipation that you may want to view it later (without your active participation) than that would be distribution, since they are creating a product with the intent to make available to potential viewers.
Not really. This is the same as you recording the show on a VCR. In fact, this helps Cartoon Network since their rating is based on your desire to record or have your television tuned to their broadcast not by you actually watching the show. Not that Cartoon Network has that much value to lose. ;)
Why do I get the uncomfortable feeling that we are the frogs in the slowly warming pot of water?
The dot-com crash was really a correction. Sure it hit the high-tech industry, but they had it coming. Internet was the big new thing, and people would throw money at anything that had a ".com" in the company name. If you invested money in a dot-com, eventually you will need to show a profit otherwise don't be surprise to see your stock plummet.
The dot-com bust had more to do with people trying to make a fast buck than any real economic factors. It didn't have any real effect on the general economy and the GDP continued to grow.
1998: 8747
1999: 9268.4
2000: 9817
A symptom of bad economic times on the way is the trade deficit:
1990 - 1999: -78.0, -27.5, -33.2, -65.0, -93.6, -91.4, -96.2, -101.6, -159.9, -260.5
But under the more corporate friendly republican presidency (outsourcing, more import of goods from China):
2000 - 2008: -379.5, -367.0, -424.4, -499.4, -615.4, -713.6, -757.3, -707.8, -669.2
The dip in the trade deficit in 2008 is from a drop in consumer spending.
Republicans will spin the numbers to say that the ballooning trade deficit was a sign of increased consumer confidence/spending encouraged by cheaper products being imported from China.
While in reality, we were exporting wealth for trinkets and running on a credit card economy. In the end, we have a huge debt and a lot of cheap goods while China has all our money and loaning it back to us.
To make things worse, we committed ourselves to two wars in the middle east that drives the national debt even higher, and it wasn't until the Obama administration that any effort was made to include the war cost in the national budget. This makes the budget appear even worse, even though it's more accurate than the tricks with smoke and mirrors performed by the Bush administration.
BTW despite what the media say, there is more to the economy than the stock market. Maybe this is why things seems so illogical to you...
YES! If the C standard considered compilers that executed arbitrary code within comments to be compliant and the goals of the C standard was to allow any compiler that met the C standard make the same resultant object code.
The problem is not that you could put any text within a comment. It's a problem if your Pascal code is required to produce the desired object code.
If the goals of the ODF was to make file formats readable by other office suites then they technically succeeded, but if they intended to have a format that enforce rules that made the file interoperable with other office suites then they obviously didn't meet that goal.
I know a lot a people here on Slashdot feel personally invested in ODF, but that only makes it uncomfortable to point out the obvious.
All I'm saying is that you can't just fault Microsoft for having the ability to produce a file that other software can't use and still be ODF 1.1 compliant.
because it made the Republicans look really foolish for squandering all that economic growth.
There fixed it again for ya.
Obama can't take full credit for all the trillions being spent. Bush approved the vast majority of the first trillion without any strings attached because the financial system was too big to fail.
Too bad Obama had to inherit the problems created under the 8 years of Bush.
I loathe party politics and the left versus right BS, but come on just look at the facts.
I guess the only thing the remaining republicans can do is just stir up crap in hopes that maybe they can trick people into thinking their way is better.
What we really need is more than two parties...
If Microsoft is ODF 1.1 compliant, and other ODF 1.1 compliant software can't use the software, then it looks like the ODF committee didn't get it right and has something busted and broken.
I think the ODF committee was more concerned about getting their standard approved quickly than having a complete specification.
For some strange reason I was thinking Camptown Races (the song)...
Reading a senate bill is like reading the Bible. Anyone can selectively look at a bill to support their opinion about a senator. Usually a bill will have something very important, something very controversial, and a whole lot of earmarks. Until the senate grows some balls and actually start pruning down the bills, we will continue have bills designed to affirm one's parties beliefs and insult the other party while having some important stuff attached somewhere in the middle of all that bullshit.
what?
Actually, Windows has a way of kicking you in the balls. How would running XP in a virtual machine be any different from the usual windows experience?
I think this is the smartest move Microsoft has done in a long time. They need to relegate the backwards compatibility to a virtual machine, and make the next Windows OS much leaner and secure.
I agree with the GP that Apple had little problems with this and their market is of sufficient size to assume that Microsoft would fare just as well.
How in the hell is racist comments insightful?
Why?
USPS provides a service with no cost to the taxpayer, and at a much cheaper price than commercial alternatives. The USPS is an important asset to the US Government and its citizens.
Every household in the US has mail delivery and pickup. If this was a commercial enterprise we would be asking congress to subsidize the "last mile" postal link to rural customers. After which, rural customers would still suffer from unreliable service.
No one is forcing you to mail a letter. I personally had no problems with the USPS handling my letters, postcards, and bill payments.
I find it more apprehensible for private enterprises making profits from government subsidized infrastructure. Why are our broadband costs so high, especially with all the money the FCC collects from the "Universal Access Fee"?
I think you may have confused the renting of downloaded games, with the ownership of games on physical media.
Hey I found 3 references so it must be true that this is extremely bad news for lazy students everywhere.
Of course Asia isn't a country, it's a rock band.
Sorry I replied in the heat of the moment.
Well your milage may vary. I used to buy Sony laptops, and my office uses Dell and for a time Gateway laptops.
I purchased a 15" Macbook Pro three years ago to replace my comparably priced Sony laptop that died while I was out in the field. I have not had a single issue with my laptop. It has logged over 44000 miles of being tossed in a satchel, thrown in the back of a car, and used at many locations. I spent more months than I care to admit using it in the middle of nowhere in the fine state of New Mexico, and I used it while outside during hot and extremely humid days on the gulf coast. My laptop has operated at a variety of temperature and humidity levels. This is my one and only personal computer and it's been on almost constantly during the past three years.
If my laptop failed today, I would immediately buy another one from Apple. This laptop has lasted a year longer than my similarly priced Sony laptop.
During the same 3 year period, some of my friends and colleagues replace their much younger Dell laptops because they failed prematurely. My sister's Dell laptop is a little over a year and a half old, and she's looking at replacing a $250 battery. Most of my non-apple work laptops stay in the office because either they're now too slow (hard drive issues), the plastic clam shell case is broken, or the cheap ass hinges they use have failed.
In addition, my boss still uses his 12" powerbook, and pretty much all the Apple users where I work are not only happy with their current Apple computers, but continue to purchase Apple computers for themselves or their interns (much to the dismay of our Windows centric IT department).
I believe the reason Dell has been more troublesome for my friends and family is the fact that Dell tries to fit as many features as possible to make the laptop look good in a print ad while using the cheapest parts available to meet a price point that their marketing department determine that people are willing to pay.
But like I said, your milage may vary.
You know it's been a long day when you mentally delete the word "making" rather than actually doing it in the sentence "... by making enforcing a patent claim..." above.