I remember back in the late 90s when Lotus put together that Java-based office suite that was supposed to change the desktop. Write once run everywhere was promised, OS/2 users would be saved and there was even talk of Microsoft's stranglehold on the office suite would be broken. What we got instead was an office suite that took near 5 minutes to open a document with no OS hotkeys, no OS interaction with other apps and an overall terrible interface.
Since those days we've heard about Java's improvements and how it's "just as good if not better than C", etc. But every time anyone downloads a desktop app for Java they find it still takes long to load, run sluggishly, doesn't match the native OS UI at all and generally has a terrible interface.
I'm well aware that Java works great for server, I'm sure it works great on phones, but for the last 15 years on the desktop it's never been good enough.
Flashy eyecandy (that's really just an improved tile/untile) of little practical value over the Taskbar and Alt+TAB. I was wowed by Expose when it first arrived, but after using it for a while decided it was little more than another example of form over function."
No it isn't just flashy eyecandy that isn't functional.
With Expose I can select a document icon from the desktop and drag it to an email as an attachment all while never removing my finger from the mouse button. I can quickly see all my open documents without having to play the maximize-minimize game or Alt-Tab musical chairs.
You must be thinking of Vista's imitated version of this feature which I do agree is flashy with little function, as you cannot see the full contents of the windows before you switch tasks.
"The damn OS came out in 2001. Nobody would be running a Linux from that time on their desktop and nobody would be running a MacOS version from that year, either."
But yet masses of Windows users are still running it.
No, Jobs recognizes the tinkerers and knows how to collect them into a cohesive group and set them on a path. Woz gets the glory while Ives and his team still go mostly unrecognized.
Mac comes with Preview, which is more than adequate for viewing images and other filetypes.
As for IrfanView I was not aware people were still using it or that it was still required on the Windows platform. The last time I was aware people used IrfanView was the same time ICQ was the best instant messenger and Pegasus was the best email app.
The summary mentioned Google will be going up against Kindle owners but didn't mention the Kindle app for iPhone.
As of August 31 2009 the Kindle app for the iPhone was the 4th most popular app in the App Store, with estimates of 3 million Kindle for iPhone users out there.
Google will be going against this as well as Stanza and the B&N ebook readers. Apparently there's a rather large market for ebooks on the iPhone/iPod touch.
It would also be quite impossible to play FPS or other kinds of games with this type of setup.
Are we all really that stuck in our ways that this is how we judge possibly revolutionary ways to interface with our computers? By how well it stacks up to an already poor approximation of shooting guns in a computer game?
Better yet, how about the router companies like Linksys and D-Link installing ROM-based AV scanners onto home internet routers and letting users set the router up to scan all the PCs on its network?
They've been around "for decades" but haven't taken off until recently because they haven't been implemented properly. This goes for voice command as well as mentioned in another reply.
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This is possibly the most disturbing software-to-real-life-object analogy I have ever seen on the Internet.
An example, please? You must be thinking of Windows releases and Service Packs.
I bought the 1.0 version of the iPod shuffle and it was indeed my gateway drug into more iPods.
For years I've heard this from the Java camp.
I remember back in the late 90s when Lotus put together that Java-based office suite that was supposed to change the desktop. Write once run everywhere was promised, OS/2 users would be saved and there was even talk of Microsoft's stranglehold on the office suite would be broken. What we got instead was an office suite that took near 5 minutes to open a document with no OS hotkeys, no OS interaction with other apps and an overall terrible interface.
Since those days we've heard about Java's improvements and how it's "just as good if not better than C", etc. But every time anyone downloads a desktop app for Java they find it still takes long to load, run sluggishly, doesn't match the native OS UI at all and generally has a terrible interface.
I'm well aware that Java works great for server, I'm sure it works great on phones, but for the last 15 years on the desktop it's never been good enough.
Hong Kong makes money. Tibet does not.
"Exposé,
Flashy eyecandy (that's really just an improved tile/untile) of little practical value over the Taskbar and Alt+TAB. I was wowed by Expose when it first arrived, but after using it for a while decided it was little more than another example of form over function."
No it isn't just flashy eyecandy that isn't functional.
With Expose I can select a document icon from the desktop and drag it to an email as an attachment all while never removing my finger from the mouse button. I can quickly see all my open documents without having to play the maximize-minimize game or Alt-Tab musical chairs.
You must be thinking of Vista's imitated version of this feature which I do agree is flashy with little function, as you cannot see the full contents of the windows before you switch tasks.
"The damn OS came out in 2001. Nobody would be running a Linux from that time on their desktop and nobody would be running a MacOS version from that year, either."
But yet masses of Windows users are still running it.
Why is a defense needed? Windows has been playing catchup in features for that entire time period.
But for God's sake man stop sending me pokes, the crew is starting to talk.
He'll probably need to try 20,000 times or so.
You're really running a PC built in 1999?
Really?
Because if they let people decide they would decide to run pirated copies of Windows XP on netbooks until the year 2049. And then where would we be? :)
No, Jobs recognizes the tinkerers and knows how to collect them into a cohesive group and set them on a path. Woz gets the glory while Ives and his team still go mostly unrecognized.
Calling IE insecure means you're a fanboy?
Interesting.
One window maximized = MS-DOS.
OS X only maximizes the window to accommodate the content, nothing more. Gray space covering the desktop is not very useful.
It's not about getting software to work in those different ways, it's about changing it, repacking it and selling it on your own hardware.
Mac comes with Preview, which is more than adequate for viewing images and other filetypes.
As for IrfanView I was not aware people were still using it or that it was still required on the Windows platform. The last time I was aware people used IrfanView was the same time ICQ was the best instant messenger and Pegasus was the best email app.
Wow, I didn't realize that there are people that still believe in that 'security through obscurity' nonsense.
I must be playing too much WoW because now I'm starting to believe the upcoming expansion Cataclysm is a real even that will take place in Africa.
Peanuts? The ITMS is the largest music retailer on the planet. I'm sure that's making somebody some money.
The summary mentioned Google will be going up against Kindle owners but didn't mention the Kindle app for iPhone.
As of August 31 2009 the Kindle app for the iPhone was the 4th most popular app in the App Store, with estimates of 3 million Kindle for iPhone users out there.
Google will be going against this as well as Stanza and the B&N ebook readers. Apparently there's a rather large market for ebooks on the iPhone/iPod touch.
It would also be quite impossible to play FPS or other kinds of games with this type of setup.
Are we all really that stuck in our ways that this is how we judge possibly revolutionary ways to interface with our computers? By how well it stacks up to an already poor approximation of shooting guns in a computer game?
Of course IBM didn't hand out copies of Warp. Even IBM didn't want to use the OS.
"Ubuntu" "desktop" and "/. community" just described about 20 people. Perhaps that's why.
Better yet, how about the router companies like Linksys and D-Link installing ROM-based AV scanners onto home internet routers and letting users set the router up to scan all the PCs on its network?
They've been around "for decades" but haven't taken off until recently because they haven't been implemented properly. This goes for voice command as well as mentioned in another reply.