> Have you actually used a Mac? Yes, you can get the same specs for less, but can you get the same specs with the same kind of build quality, battery life, driver support (on both OS X and Windows), display quality, and overall integration with an entire ecosystem for less on anything else?
Yes. Owned 2. Mananged to sell them, fortunately.
Again, yes. I currently have a dell XPS 15 with an HD display. The display is better than all MBPs short of the 17" 1920x1200 with matte display. It has a better sound system with integrated subwoofer, and I opted for the 9 cell batter which is giving me 6-7 hours of real-world performance despite the XPS having a quad core SB i7. Build quality? Let's qualify that: Build materials of the case of the MBP are better. Quality and fitment is the same: The XPS is well-built, but has some plastic. Considering the XPS is outfitted like a MBP that is twice the price, I don't care at all.
> OK, pretty strong statement, let's see your proof.
The first macbook pro with IVB processors came out about a week ago. Dell already put out an IVB-based laptop almost a month earlier. You can get a decent video card in any macbook, save for the new 15" retina, and even then your best option is mid-range, however Acer has already had a kepler GPU in a laptop since march. Apple is often last to deploy the latest hardware, unless it something like thunderbolt. Of course, there is almost nothing in the market for thunderbolt still, so it's not exactly the most useful technology outside of apple thunderbolt displays.
That must be why all those macbook pros have the specs of laptops that are up to $1000 cheaper. Either that or there is something to the case that we don't know about.
Apple is a key innovator for sure, but they never seem to make it "all the way there". People like the iPad, for example, and for some it's all they need. For the rest of us, it falls way short. What the iPad in a redirection of the path portable computers are going to take: We want things that are portable like iPads, but powerful like desktops. The value is not in the iPad itself, it's in the fact that people like it.
Besides, the iPad was really made in response to a project within microsoft - SJ thought MS was going it wrong, and set out to do it right.
Not only is desktop development not dead, but the OP contradicts himself by saying it's dead in the title and then telling everyone how to do desktop development on Win8, then you go and filled in the rest...
What is with the ridiculous sensationalism on/. these days?
It could be more insidious than that. By flooding Google with requests, Google will automate the process. In fact, I bet they already have. This means less human oversight, and a greater chance that anything can be censored.
Following the scientific method exposes bias over time. There is no quick fix, but eventually the models have to make other predictions to graduate their way to theory. Sooner or later, the biased ones get found out.
There is a whole separate problem where over-eager journalists misrepresent early experimental findings. That type of behaviour probably does more damage than positive bias alone.
This is exactly what I was saying: Studies alone don't have enough rigor to be called 'science'. I partly blame whoever the OP was for his choice of words when titling this discussion "Positive bias could erode public trust in science", because he chose a phrase that is symantecly ambiguous. It's easy to apply the positive bias to this concept of studies. A better title would have been "Positive bias of common studies could erode public trust of science" - not great but a definite improvement. Even/. doesn't seem to be able to get away from sensationalism, or at the very least, poor titles and descriptions.
By reading, you would have seen that I said the article in question considers your typical study to be science. I hope I don't need to offer further explanation.
I don't agree. There is a distinction between proper science and these so-called "studies". Physics, for example, is a science that is properly executed and routes out bias in experimentation. Chemistry is the same. Biology has some facets that are susceptible, but as Einstein once said, "In science there is only physics. The rest is stamp collecting."
There are "studies", and then there is observation, modelling, prediction, model testing which is this thing called science. "Studies" are bullshit. Scientific research functions as it should. I believe the OP's article is just a chunck of sensationalist BS, or utterly ignorant of what science is (and is not).
MS dodges taxes in the same way every large corporation in america does. Taxes are defined by the government, and loopholes exist. MPEG-LA does not have such loopholes. Saying MS avoids paying licensing fees in the same way it avoids taxes in like saying you can get good at basketball by playing tiddlywinks.
I don't think you understand exactly why they are giving the option of charging for this. MS, as a US entity, has to pay MPEG-LA for things like their h264 decovers, DVD/Bluray encryption, etc. Until Win8, this was built-in to the cost of windows when you bought it. Now, as long as they reduce the price by those licenses, you can activate it by paying for it. Your $5 chewbacca bios modification argument doesn't hold water here.
I'm not sure where you're getting your versions from, but MSVS Express 2008 did do all the optimizations that the pro version did. The current version also has a full optimizing compiler. The main difference nowadays seems to be that the express editions don't have profilers (except for XNA studio, which is C#). However, the next version of C++/C# express are going to come with MS's code analyzers, which are some of the best in the business. I know that resource editing is not available on the express IDEs, and I know that there are more project types (such as installers) in the professional releases, but those aren't show-stoppers. I've done a few projects using a combination of VC++ Express, Git, and NSIS, that worked well in an enterprise environment.
MS is a company in the US. They have to pay MPEG-LA for licenses for things like their h.264 decoder, DVD/Blu-Ray decoder stacks. They can't avoid it. GNU/Linux can, because it's an international effort, and US organizations like MPEG-LA can't do anything outside of the USA - not for lack of trying. MS is within their reach, so MS has to comply with their pricing. Google is in the same boat with Chome.
If you run Linux, then technically YOU are on the hook to get the licenses required if you pull down the av decoders. Ubuntu, for example, isn't packaged with everything you need to play encrypted DVDs or Blu-Rays, but those things are easily added. If you live in the US, just be aware that MPEG-LA could sue you if they find out.
BTW, if you use XNA studio, you get profiling and the much more expensive code analysis for free. The caveat is that you're only allowed to use C#, since it for XBox,Windows, and Windows Phone development only.
Solar activity from decade to decade does not change enough to cause a significant change in surface temperature. If Mars's icecaps are melting (which I presume you're referring to when you say "other planets"), it is likely for a reason unrelated to solar activity, which would be the only common cause of warming between earth and mars.
Of course, just because other planets may be warming doesn't automagically discount that our warming could be strongly influenced by us digging pretty huge amounts of carbon out of the ground and putting in our air.
But if it makes you feel better, keep driving your truck to work. Canadians will appreciate your contribution to lengthening their growing season (or not). Also remember that the price of petrol is only going to up with time.
I once worked at a company that moved in to an office space before heating was installed. It was the middle of winter, in Canada, and all the equipment was brought up via crane through an opening in the side of the building.
I used a computer running a busy loop program to heat my office. It worked well as a space heater.
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> Have you actually used a Mac? Yes, you can get the same specs for less, but can you get the same specs with the same kind of build quality, battery life, driver support (on both OS X and Windows), display quality, and overall integration with an entire ecosystem for less on anything else?
Yes. Owned 2. Mananged to sell them, fortunately.
Again, yes. I currently have a dell XPS 15 with an HD display. The display is better than all MBPs short of the 17" 1920x1200 with matte display. It has a better sound system with integrated subwoofer, and I opted for the 9 cell batter which is giving me 6-7 hours of real-world performance despite the XPS having a quad core SB i7. Build quality? Let's qualify that: Build materials of the case of the MBP are better. Quality and fitment is the same: The XPS is well-built, but has some plastic. Considering the XPS is outfitted like a MBP that is twice the price, I don't care at all.
> OK, pretty strong statement, let's see your proof.
The first macbook pro with IVB processors came out about a week ago. Dell already put out an IVB-based laptop almost a month earlier. You can get a decent video card in any macbook, save for the new 15" retina, and even then your best option is mid-range, however Acer has already had a kepler GPU in a laptop since march. Apple is often last to deploy the latest hardware, unless it something like thunderbolt. Of course, there is almost nothing in the market for thunderbolt still, so it's not exactly the most useful technology outside of apple thunderbolt displays.
That must be why all those macbook pros have the specs of laptops that are up to $1000 cheaper. Either that or there is something to the case that we don't know about.
Apple is a key innovator for sure, but they never seem to make it "all the way there". People like the iPad, for example, and for some it's all they need. For the rest of us, it falls way short. What the iPad in a redirection of the path portable computers are going to take: We want things that are portable like iPads, but powerful like desktops. The value is not in the iPad itself, it's in the fact that people like it.
Besides, the iPad was really made in response to a project within microsoft - SJ thought MS was going it wrong, and set out to do it right.
Not only is desktop development not dead, but the OP contradicts himself by saying it's dead in the title and then telling everyone how to do desktop development on Win8, then you go and filled in the rest...
What is with the ridiculous sensationalism on /. these days?
I don't follow. So more malware is written for windows? Hasn't that always been the case?
It could be more insidious than that. By flooding Google with requests, Google will automate the process. In fact, I bet they already have. This means less human oversight, and a greater chance that anything can be censored.
Yes. Looking down the nose of your notoriety at those who disagree with you is never a good idea.
Do you now feel you've sufficiently added to the discussion?
Following the scientific method exposes bias over time. There is no quick fix, but eventually the models have to make other predictions to graduate their way to theory. Sooner or later, the biased ones get found out.
There is a whole separate problem where over-eager journalists misrepresent early experimental findings. That type of behaviour probably does more damage than positive bias alone.
This is exactly what I was saying: Studies alone don't have enough rigor to be called 'science'. I partly blame whoever the OP was for his choice of words when titling this discussion "Positive bias could erode public trust in science", because he chose a phrase that is symantecly ambiguous. It's easy to apply the positive bias to this concept of studies. A better title would have been "Positive bias of common studies could erode public trust of science" - not great but a definite improvement. Even /. doesn't seem to be able to get away from sensationalism, or at the very least, poor titles and descriptions.
Yes. But it was, I dunno, too circular to mention.
I'm not as verbose as you may like. I prefer to be laconic. Fewer words *usually* begets fewer misinterpretations.
By reading, you would have seen that I said the article in question considers your typical study to be science. I hope I don't need to offer further explanation.
I don't agree. There is a distinction between proper science and these so-called "studies". Physics, for example, is a science that is properly executed and routes out bias in experimentation. Chemistry is the same. Biology has some facets that are susceptible, but as Einstein once said, "In science there is only physics. The rest is stamp collecting."
There are "studies", and then there is observation, modelling, prediction, model testing which is this thing called science. "Studies" are bullshit. Scientific research functions as it should. I believe the OP's article is just a chunck of sensationalist BS, or utterly ignorant of what science is (and is not).
MS dodges taxes in the same way every large corporation in america does. Taxes are defined by the government, and loopholes exist. MPEG-LA does not have such loopholes. Saying MS avoids paying licensing fees in the same way it avoids taxes in like saying you can get good at basketball by playing tiddlywinks.
I don't think you understand exactly why they are giving the option of charging for this. MS, as a US entity, has to pay MPEG-LA for things like their h264 decovers, DVD/Bluray encryption, etc. Until Win8, this was built-in to the cost of windows when you bought it. Now, as long as they reduce the price by those licenses, you can activate it by paying for it. Your $5 chewbacca bios modification argument doesn't hold water here.
I'm not sure where you're getting your versions from, but MSVS Express 2008 did do all the optimizations that the pro version did. The current version also has a full optimizing compiler. The main difference nowadays seems to be that the express editions don't have profilers (except for XNA studio, which is C#). However, the next version of C++/C# express are going to come with MS's code analyzers, which are some of the best in the business. I know that resource editing is not available on the express IDEs, and I know that there are more project types (such as installers) in the professional releases, but those aren't show-stoppers. I've done a few projects using a combination of VC++ Express, Git, and NSIS, that worked well in an enterprise environment.
MS is a company in the US. They have to pay MPEG-LA for licenses for things like their h.264 decoder, DVD/Blu-Ray decoder stacks. They can't avoid it. GNU/Linux can, because it's an international effort, and US organizations like MPEG-LA can't do anything outside of the USA - not for lack of trying. MS is within their reach, so MS has to comply with their pricing. Google is in the same boat with Chome.
If you run Linux, then technically YOU are on the hook to get the licenses required if you pull down the av decoders. Ubuntu, for example, isn't packaged with everything you need to play encrypted DVDs or Blu-Rays, but those things are easily added. If you live in the US, just be aware that MPEG-LA could sue you if they find out.
BTW, if you use XNA studio, you get profiling and the much more expensive code analysis for free. The caveat is that you're only allowed to use C#, since it for XBox,Windows, and Windows Phone development only.
> Maybe the current cycle is the same cause as back in ancient times. We. Just. Don't know.
You're right. So the right course of action is to just do what we're currently doing until we do know.
Ah, the old "science doesn't agree with my belief system so I'll discount it with a conspiracy theory" trick.
Solar activity from decade to decade does not change enough to cause a significant change in surface temperature. If Mars's icecaps are melting (which I presume you're referring to when you say "other planets"), it is likely for a reason unrelated to solar activity, which would be the only common cause of warming between earth and mars.
Of course, just because other planets may be warming doesn't automagically discount that our warming could be strongly influenced by us digging pretty huge amounts of carbon out of the ground and putting in our air.
But if it makes you feel better, keep driving your truck to work. Canadians will appreciate your contribution to lengthening their growing season (or not). Also remember that the price of petrol is only going to up with time.
A bit cold?
I once worked at a company that moved in to an office space before heating was installed. It was the middle of winter, in Canada, and all the equipment was brought up via crane through an opening in the side of the building.
I used a computer running a busy loop program to heat my office. It worked well as a space heater.