My in-laws heard me mention that my house, which when originally built in 1910 had cedar shingle siding, was re-shingled in the 1940's with asbestos concrete shingles. My mother-in-law freaked out and became afraid to come to the house. This of course put me in a quandary. On one hand, because of my inherent arrogance and vastly superior intellect, I was compelled to inform her that unless I took a skill saw or angle grinder to the side o the house, the chances on any asbestos fibers, buried under multiple coats of paint (some of which are undoubtedly lead based) entering her lungs is somewhere around zero. On the other hand, if I left her in her ignorance...
Of course I told her. I just couldn't help my self.
If "the game" happens to be played up their ass, then yes, Microsoft has it's head in the game.
I'll take full implementation of current standards and a commitment to rapidly adopt emerging standards. Designing websites for IE is like putting a designer gown on a turd.
In any given market there are somewhere between 5 and 15 vendors of Android based smart phones and 2, 3 or more carriers. People looking for an Android based phone have a choice. They can pay from $0 to $200 and get a phone with a 2 or 3 year contract that might be in various ways locked down to a particular carrier and a particular version of the Android OS + Mfg's UI. Or they can do a bit of research and buy a locked down phone that is fairly simple to root and re-flash (but still has a 2 or 3 year contract) or they can pay as much as $600 and get a smartphone that is completely unencumbered.
People looking for an iPhone, Blackberry or Nokia smartphone don't have that choice.
People looking for a Windows Mobile based smartphone, well, they after their long wait, they will no doubt deserve what they get.
My choice was to get a subsidized phone that was very easy to root and re-flash. If at some point in the future I want to switch carriers, I know I can also unlock it.
The US is a joke. Corruption, brutal torture of prisoners, climate science deniers. I mean seriously, this is the job I want. Sit around collecting a check for something that will not happen in my lifetime.
This is to be expected to some extent since Android has been on the steep portion of both the adoption and development curves. Early adopters of any new technology should expect this.
Android 1.5 (Cupcake) released 30 April 2009
Android 1.6 (Donut) released 15 September 2009
Android 2.0 (Eclair) released 26 October 2009
Android 2.1 (Eclair) released 12 January 2010
Android 2.2 (Froyo) released 20 May 2010
Five releases in a 13 month period, the next release (Android 3.0 - Gingerbread) is not due out until November/December.
The pace of OS development has created a moving target for handset makers, carriers, developers and users alike. Many manufacturers and/or carriers who shipped phones with 1.6 had planned on skipping 2.1 and going straight to 2.2. to minimize the costs of integration and testing 2x in 1 year. Consumer "pull" however in many cases forced their hands. The good news is that that the pace is slowing. Froyo (2.2) has basically all of the features and functionality of the iPHone 4, so for many users, there may not be any big push to adopt 3,0 (which is really targeted towards tablets) when it is released.
Fragmentation however doesn't really concern me. Unless app developers start developing apps the depend upon MotoBlurr or Sense, there is little to be concerned about. Even these skins are going to be less important as time goes by and Google focuses on standardizing the UI (at least the wigets and api's).
I did the same. I have an Acer Liquid E - by all accounts a mid-range phone that sells at a low end price because of cheap looking packaging.
Acer ships it with a pretty generic Android 2.1 UI, but my carrier, Rogers, installed a bunch of bloatware I wanted to get rid of, and Google Navigation was crashing frequently. So after a bit of research, I rooted the phone and put a generic Android 2.1 (Eclair) image on it (first I backed up my original image so that I can reload it if I need to return the phone for warranty purposes).
I couldn't be happier with my phone. The community developed Android image is rock stable - my only complaint is battery life. There is now an Android 2.2 rom/image available for my phone (not from Acer yet, but community developed) and I will likely upgrade once I feel it is stable enough.
Fragmentation is not such a worry unless developers start developing apps that only run on Sense, MotoBlur, TouchWiz or Timescape, etc. But these custom UIs are really living on borrowed time. In the next release of Android, Google is said to be focusing on improving the user experience. Vendors will likely still "skin" their devices, but these skins will be very thin and based on a standardized set of UI wigets and interfaces.
The public relies upon high quality, independent science (research) in government agencies to inform and direct public policy. Scientists who do science in government agencies are recruited with the assurances that they will still be able to conduct science. Science relies upon independence, peer review and publication. The fact that the scientist in question co-authored a study with 4 other authors from Canada and the UK and that the study was published in a peer reviewed journal indicates that he was/is doing independent research.
When you interfere with independence and take the "public" out of publication you undermine and cast doubt on the science. This is what has happened in Alberta with the Government monitoring chemical contaminants from tar sands development in the Athabasca basin. As as result of government interference and "vetting" of the results, the public has lost confidence in the "science".
This is not surprising from a federal government that has cabinet ministers (Stockwell Day) who believe that humans and dinosaurs co-existed.
My wife is a university based, grant funded, tenured faculty in a major Canadian university who does health policy research. A memo was distributed to her department saying that they would all be required to register as lobbyists with the Provincial government.
I wouldn't under estimate Apple's cache and branding advantage. Apple could stick "i" in front of a toaster right now and probably generate a lot of buzz (and possibly even sales). The iPod has about 75% of the stand-alone MP3 player market. This means that an awful lot of iPeople who already have iTunes and have an easy and familiar path to iTouch, iPhone, iPad, iToaster. Apple has always excelled at the user experience and brand loyalty from its core of zealots who will pay a premium for the brand and experience.
I have an HTC Desire Android phone (recently replaced my Blackberry). I've had a number of people look at my phone, actually hold it in their hand and say "is this the new iPhone?" My wife (who currently doesn't have a smart phone) is adamant about waiting for the iPhone 4 release in Canada (now released). She is a smart woman but the reasoning for her blind preference for an iPhone is, as far as I can tell, because it's an iPhone.
Microsoft's programming talent isn't really deep with developers experienced with writing tight, efficient, real time, embedded, re-entrant applications.
But the same could be said for Apple and Google.
But my Lotus 1-2-3 R3.1 doesn't like XMS. I have to load EMM386.EXE from the CONFIG.SYS to allocate Extended Memory to EMS.
Fortunately I was able to do this with my Quarterdeck Memory Manager (QEMM-386) in TSR mode. As a bonus I get SideKick!!
Do you think I should DoubleSpace my hard drive?
With my new Expanded Memory board I've blown way past the 640K barrier to almost a FULL MEGABYTE OF RAM.
Of course in DOS real mode there are few programs that can take advantage of the High Memory Area.
Slashdot Mirror
There is far too much hysteria about asbestos.
...
My in-laws heard me mention that my house, which when originally built in 1910 had cedar shingle siding, was re-shingled in the 1940's with asbestos concrete shingles. My mother-in-law freaked out and became afraid to come to the house. This of course put me in a quandary. On one hand, because of my inherent arrogance and vastly superior intellect, I was compelled to inform her that unless I took a skill saw or angle grinder to the side o the house, the chances on any asbestos fibers, buried under multiple coats of paint (some of which are undoubtedly lead based) entering her lungs is somewhere around zero. On the other hand, if I left her in her ignorance
Of course I told her. I just couldn't help my self.
If "the game" happens to be played up their ass, then yes, Microsoft has it's head in the game.
I'll take full implementation of current standards and a commitment to rapidly adopt emerging standards. Designing websites for IE is like putting a designer gown on a turd.
And who thought up that UI?
Because Apple really does know SHIT about security.
Mac users wouldn't recognize a womb it it sat in their face.
One word - choice.
In any given market there are somewhere between 5 and 15 vendors of Android based smart phones and 2, 3 or more carriers. People looking for an Android based phone have a choice. They can pay from $0 to $200 and get a phone with a 2 or 3 year contract that might be in various ways locked down to a particular carrier and a particular version of the Android OS + Mfg's UI. Or they can do a bit of research and buy a locked down phone that is fairly simple to root and re-flash (but still has a 2 or 3 year contract) or they can pay as much as $600 and get a smartphone that is completely unencumbered.
People looking for an iPhone, Blackberry or Nokia smartphone don't have that choice.
People looking for a Windows Mobile based smartphone, well, they after their long wait, they will no doubt deserve what they get.
My choice was to get a subsidized phone that was very easy to root and re-flash. If at some point in the future I want to switch carriers, I know I can also unlock it.
The US is a joke. Corruption, brutal torture of prisoners, climate science deniers. I mean seriously, this is the job I want. Sit around collecting a check for something that will not happen in my lifetime.
Fixed.
Most Malaysians speak Malay, Chinese and English.
This is a red herring argument. The VAST majority of android apps run on virtually all android phones.
This is to be expected to some extent since Android has been on the steep portion of both the adoption and development curves. Early adopters of any new technology should expect this.
Android 1.5 (Cupcake) released 30 April 2009
Android 1.6 (Donut) released 15 September 2009
Android 2.0 (Eclair) released 26 October 2009
Android 2.1 (Eclair) released 12 January 2010
Android 2.2 (Froyo) released 20 May 2010
Five releases in a 13 month period, the next release (Android 3.0 - Gingerbread) is not due out until November/December.
The pace of OS development has created a moving target for handset makers, carriers, developers and users alike. Many manufacturers and/or carriers who shipped phones with 1.6 had planned on skipping 2.1 and going straight to 2.2. to minimize the costs of integration and testing 2x in 1 year. Consumer "pull" however in many cases forced their hands. The good news is that that the pace is slowing. Froyo (2.2) has basically all of the features and functionality of the iPHone 4, so for many users, there may not be any big push to adopt 3,0 (which is really targeted towards tablets) when it is released.
Fragmentation however doesn't really concern me. Unless app developers start developing apps the depend upon MotoBlurr or Sense, there is little to be concerned about. Even these skins are going to be less important as time goes by and Google focuses on standardizing the UI (at least the wigets and api's).
The Acer Liquid E and Liquid Metal (soon to be released) are pretty darn close to vanilla.
I did the same. I have an Acer Liquid E - by all accounts a mid-range phone that sells at a low end price because of cheap looking packaging. Acer ships it with a pretty generic Android 2.1 UI, but my carrier, Rogers, installed a bunch of bloatware I wanted to get rid of, and Google Navigation was crashing frequently. So after a bit of research, I rooted the phone and put a generic Android 2.1 (Eclair) image on it (first I backed up my original image so that I can reload it if I need to return the phone for warranty purposes). I couldn't be happier with my phone. The community developed Android image is rock stable - my only complaint is battery life. There is now an Android 2.2 rom/image available for my phone (not from Acer yet, but community developed) and I will likely upgrade once I feel it is stable enough. Fragmentation is not such a worry unless developers start developing apps that only run on Sense, MotoBlur, TouchWiz or Timescape, etc. But these custom UIs are really living on borrowed time. In the next release of Android, Google is said to be focusing on improving the user experience. Vendors will likely still "skin" their devices, but these skins will be very thin and based on a standardized set of UI wigets and interfaces.
The difference is far more subtle than you infer.
The public relies upon high quality, independent science (research) in government agencies to inform and direct public policy. Scientists who do science in government agencies are recruited with the assurances that they will still be able to conduct science. Science relies upon independence, peer review and publication. The fact that the scientist in question co-authored a study with 4 other authors from Canada and the UK and that the study was published in a peer reviewed journal indicates that he was/is doing independent research.
When you interfere with independence and take the "public" out of publication you undermine and cast doubt on the science. This is what has happened in Alberta with the Government monitoring chemical contaminants from tar sands development in the Athabasca basin. As as result of government interference and "vetting" of the results, the public has lost confidence in the "science".
This is not surprising from a federal government that has cabinet ministers (Stockwell Day) who believe that humans and dinosaurs co-existed.
My wife is a university based, grant funded, tenured faculty in a major Canadian university who does health policy research. A memo was distributed to her department saying that they would all be required to register as lobbyists with the Provincial government.
For smartphones, the AMOLED technology makes a lot of sense because you often have to view in sunlight where these dispays (pun intended) shine.
A Macintosh SE. or am I splitting hairs?
Did you mean subconscious? Last time I had a unconscious slip of the tongue I got slapped.
I wouldn't under estimate Apple's cache and branding advantage. Apple could stick "i" in front of a toaster right now and probably generate a lot of buzz (and possibly even sales). The iPod has about 75% of the stand-alone MP3 player market. This means that an awful lot of iPeople who already have iTunes and have an easy and familiar path to iTouch, iPhone, iPad, iToaster. Apple has always excelled at the user experience and brand loyalty from its core of zealots who will pay a premium for the brand and experience.
I have an HTC Desire Android phone (recently replaced my Blackberry). I've had a number of people look at my phone, actually hold it in their hand and say "is this the new iPhone?" My wife (who currently doesn't have a smart phone) is adamant about waiting for the iPhone 4 release in Canada (now released). She is a smart woman but the reasoning for her blind preference for an iPhone is, as far as I can tell, because it's an iPhone.
It's pretty bad when the Dept. of Justice has amateur lawyers.
Microsoft's programming talent isn't really deep with developers experienced with writing tight, efficient, real time, embedded, re-entrant applications. But the same could be said for Apple and Google.
Thanks Steve. Say what happened the first time Apple tried to lock down their hardware and abuse developers. I think they lost a bit of market share.
Windows 7 and small sized do not belong in the same sentence.
Great! Microsoft, the next patent troll.
But my Lotus 1-2-3 R3.1 doesn't like XMS. I have to load EMM386.EXE from the CONFIG.SYS to allocate Extended Memory to EMS. Fortunately I was able to do this with my Quarterdeck Memory Manager (QEMM-386) in TSR mode. As a bonus I get SideKick!! Do you think I should DoubleSpace my hard drive?
With my new Expanded Memory board I've blown way past the 640K barrier to almost a FULL MEGABYTE OF RAM. Of course in DOS real mode there are few programs that can take advantage of the High Memory Area.
One word. Latency.