It depends on what you are looking for. I got a Windows Mobile phone because i wanted office integration. I tried using the web browser for playing, I've used Google maps. I sync e-mail using Intellisync software.
After a little over two years, I'm ready for an iPhone. Why? The Internet browsing experience is better. I rarely use the office apps. I use Word to jot notes down, I can use the appropriate program on the iPhone for this purpose. I tried using Excel, the cell size is so small it is practically useless. With an iPhone I can VNC my desktop and use Excel from their on a largers screen with zoom functionality. That's better than my WM experience.
Copy and paste is coming and it's the only feature I'd really want. Tethering is again coming. MMS I could care less about personally.
Well, I'm not trolling, it's my opinion. I don't own an iPhone. I have a Cingular 8525. I've done some browsing on it. Pretty much useless unless the site has a special wap stylesheet. I used Opera for a bit, and it was better. I could actually read some pages Internet Explorer couldn't format, but it still sucked.
I have helped several people set up their iPhones and the browsing did not come close to sucking. Pages format EXACTLY like they would on my PC. Zooming, scrolling all intuitive.
Yes Blackberry and Windows mobile are "catching up." I haven't used the newer devices but I am on WM6, the last release for the 8525. When I look at how I've used my phone and what an iPhone can do versus other smart phones, my plan is to upgrade to an iPhone this summer after I know if they are releasing upgraded hardware or not.
One thing is for sure. The iPhone changed the rules. Would Blackberry and WM be improving the browsing experience if it wasn't for the iPhone? And this is compounding AT&T's problem, and it will soon be all cell carriers problem. As people start using their "unlimited" data, the wireless companies will be screwed. How do you provide a fat pipe to mobile users and scale it as people switch towers constantly?
This is not about iPhone versus Blackberry. This is 1990 ISPs all over again. AT&T wants to sell "unlimited" data plans knowing you'll pay more for unlimited. It works great because people just check their e-mail on it. Why? Cause the Internet sucks on a Blackberry/Windows Mobile device. The problem is, iPhone users ACTUALLY use the Internet/data other than e-mail. Why? Cause it doesn't suck. Result, oversold bandwidth. Same old story.
Here is my idea. Add an SSL record to DNS similar to the MX record. Have the browser check the DNS SSL record for authorized CAs for the domain. This way, I can set up my own CA server, but I can only issue certs for my domain. I could issue a microsoft.com cert, but if there is no SSL record for my server in Microsoft's DNS, the browser will tell you it is an unauthorized cert.
Honestly, you know no one that has ever entered credit card information into a non-SSL form? EVER? The average person that does not expect HTTP to be secure is someone who has had their credit card number stolen before via the web. Most people don't know the difference between HTTP, HTTPS and EV-SSL.
I would pay for a Root Cert if I was taking personal information or credit card numbers. But I just want an encrypted (not secure) login to a read only site.
Having made the switch about 6 months ago, I have to say I love OS X and go into my boot camp partition less and less each day. It does take some getting used to. I understand your complaints. I thought the same thing until I changed some of my bad behaviors. You only get a small window in the dock when you minimize a window. Stop minimizing. It's a waste of time. Set up expose and use it to switch between windows. It is a lot more efficient than reading text heading in the taskbar looking for the right program. I used to maximize everything. But then I got dual monitors on my Windows box and the MacBook was my first wide screen monitor. To be honest I've found I hate maximizing in wide screen and am more productive without it. Screens are at resolutions where it does not make sense to maximize every program. At 1280x1024 you can work with multiple windows visible at the same time and cut down on program switching.
If I buy a VHS I can't play it on my DVD player. I can record it an burn it to a DVD and then play it in my DVD player. Likewise, I can burn my ACC-FairPlay files to CD and re-rip them to any format I want. Transportability has nothing to do with the medium in which you buy the product.
I read the law and the 4 criteria that were list are not mandatory, they are factors to be considered when choosing a file format. As long as you consider the fact that they are not a true "open" standard, you can still standardize on them. It's still a good law, because at least you can get the "text" of the document without having Microsoft Programs.
If you archive the items immediately after you tag them they are removed from the inbox, just as if you moved them to another folder. Then you can click on the label to find them. In fact, inbox, is just a label and archive only removes it. Click on a label and you'll see inbox as a label for the items not archived.
I used Gmail exclusively for my e-mailing needs. I have a free yahoo account through SBC. I tried the new interface for a few days and I didn't care for it. To be fair though it was mostly personal preferance. I like having my e-mail take up the whole window rahter than scroll down the text utilizing only 1/2 of the screen to accomadate the list of e-mails in my inbox that I'm not reading at the moment. I also did feel that Gmail is faster. I also like the way you can set up grouping in gmail and easily pull up e-mails by group.
The last *CD* I bought (Foo Fighters - In Your Honor) Played fine on my computer (held shift when it loaded) However it has problems in my car CD Player because the disk is thicker than an audio CD and it get's stuck when you try to eject it.
Don't think 90 degree water surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are normal, even cyclically though I'd be curious if anyone can point me to a historical record of Gulf water temperatures.
We only have "accurate" weather data going back less than 100 years. What does this prove? That we know absolutely nothing about weather.
What I do know, is that the Earth has had several ice ages. I know that the ice melted. I know that there was no mankind with their internal combustion engines and freon when the ice melted... So what do we know about "global warming"?
Per user licensing breaks down when you throw it on a webserver. Should Slashdot have to pay for 1 million licenses since there are 1 million people who come to this site? Better yet, how do you know there are 1 million people that come to this site. How do you differentiate one AC from another? What if I have two logins and use whichever I feel like?
If you can't determine the number of users on a webserver, or if webserver users aren't counted, then the company ports all apps to web based javascript/php/asp and buys one license for the whole company.
It's not hard to spot a bad teacher, the problem is what do you do about it. The reason we have bad teachers is not the salary, which was my point. The reason we have bad teachers is the same reason every job has bad employees. But teachers are especially bad:
First, there is now way to objectively quantify their performance. Sure, we can all spot a bad teacher, but the labor board will chew up any manager that fires an employee without objective proof of failure to perform their job.
Second, teacher unions are fairly strong and well connected. Which leads to...
Third, Teaschers have TENURE. You can't fire them, even if you want to.
So how does raising teacher salaries help? I understand your personal experience, but this isn't a teacher quitting to go into the private sector because they can't feed their family. It's a teacher leaving for a higher paying teacher position. It's hardly a case to prove that nationally teachers are not getting paid fairly. In your district that may be the case, but take that up with the school board. Don't lobby the US Department of Ed to raise all teachers' salaries...
If we can't tell what students are "underperforming," then how do we know our teachers are bad? Maybe it's just the kids...
I work for a school district and our teachers are fairly well paid if you ask me. The range goes from around 35,000 to 65,000 depending on years of service and level of education. Remember that's to work approximately 180 days, and even though they are supposed to be at school for 8 hours, most show up at 8:00 before the bell and leave at 3:00 when the last class ends. They get an hour prep period each day. They get paid extra for teaching a class on their prep. Plus the benefits are hard to beat. $5 for brand name prescriptions. $10 co-pay on an doctor visit.
We have about the same ratio of "good" and "bad" teachers as I remember from school. It's a lot better than the "good" "bad" ratio from my first job in fast food. So really, why do we think teachers are so underpaid? Of course I live in a rural area where there aren't many jobs that pay 6 figures. But that's part of the point. People in L.A., San Fransisco, and New York may balk at the national average salary for a teacher around $40,000, but remeber, there are teachers EVERYWHERE. A teacher in New Mexico or Montana doesn't need $100,000 a year.
Say I buy a gun and I don't get a gun lock, I leave the gun loaded and in a drawer by my bed. Now say my kid gets the gun and decides to play with his friend with it. The gun goes off and one kid is dead, I am criminally liable in this situation. No getting a gun lock and properly securing your gun could be considered gun enthusiast logic, yet as with all laws, iggnorance of the law is not a defense.
IMHO, sitting outside someone's home for several hours is dubious, but not illegal. If open WAPs promote kiddie porn and other nefarious activities, then it is the WAPs owner responible for the securing of the WAP that should be liable.
Also, in this case the argument is poor anyways. The owner of the WAP confessed to reporters that he knew how to secure the WAP but chose to leave it open for his neighbors to use. Si he is guilty of stealing from the broadband provider by intentionally allowing unauthorized access.
How does this effect Common Carrier? Brodband companies have commercials about downloading music. They don't specify which service, but the only way to download copyrighted music with just your broadband payment is illegally. Should a broadband company that gets new customers by the promise of free/on demand music lose comon carrier status and be liable for infringement on their networks?
The cost of software is development cost. The cost of selling another copy of the software is minimal. If you are selling software at a *loss*, then increasing volume can make your same price point not a loss.
There is a huge difference between saying OS X for Intel will only run on Apple hardware, and saying cheap webcams, wireless cards, etc won't work. You can always replace a NIC or webcam with one that is "supported." Nothing supports everything, but then again, didn't someone with too much time on their hands actually get a winmodem to work under Linux?
They don't have to support every piece of hardware in the world to allow OS X to run on "generic" equipment. And once the OS X market share ballons, the generic hardware companies will make sure their product works with OS X.
As far as the fabled, Macs are stable because of the lack of cheap hardware... I don't buy it personally. Sure some advanced programs might make raw system calls, but for the most part, programs should call the driver API's. That the whole point right? So either the driver is unstable, the hardware is defective, or the OS is unstable. Frankly, my windows computer is reasonably stable. It's been stable in Linux. It would be stable in OS X.
I disagree. Apple can let OS X run on "generic" hardware with absolutely no ramifications to their bottom line. Why?
First, the iPod has become their cash cow. They make more on iPods than they do on "Mac Hardware."
Second, Apple currently is credited with a 10%-15% "market share." Most Mac users are considered "zealots" that buy Mac because Macs are "better." Sony Viao computers are 10-20% more expensive than "generic hardware." how many computers sold are Sonys? Mac is a "Brand" name. Even if 100% of computers can install OS X, Apple can still manage their same 10% market share on Brand name status alone. Meaning they lose nothing in hardware sales. They gain in OS install base and revenue. This pressures Windows developers to support OS X. Broader software support will increase the OS X marketshare even more.
Third, Getting drivers for the generic hardware should be no problem since they run on a BSD kernel anyways. The drivers for the most part will already be there. Just a few tweaks and optimizations and you're set.
There is no reason not to do this. Apple could have 30-40% of the OS market in one years time if they allow OS X to run on any intel computer.
Slashdot Mirror
It depends on what you are looking for. I got a Windows Mobile phone because i wanted office integration. I tried using the web browser for playing, I've used Google maps. I sync e-mail using Intellisync software.
After a little over two years, I'm ready for an iPhone. Why? The Internet browsing experience is better. I rarely use the office apps. I use Word to jot notes down, I can use the appropriate program on the iPhone for this purpose. I tried using Excel, the cell size is so small it is practically useless. With an iPhone I can VNC my desktop and use Excel from their on a largers screen with zoom functionality. That's better than my WM experience.
Copy and paste is coming and it's the only feature I'd really want. Tethering is again coming. MMS I could care less about personally.
I have helped several people set up their iPhones and the browsing did not come close to sucking. Pages format EXACTLY like they would on my PC. Zooming, scrolling all intuitive.
Yes Blackberry and Windows mobile are "catching up." I haven't used the newer devices but I am on WM6, the last release for the 8525. When I look at how I've used my phone and what an iPhone can do versus other smart phones, my plan is to upgrade to an iPhone this summer after I know if they are releasing upgraded hardware or not.
One thing is for sure. The iPhone changed the rules. Would Blackberry and WM be improving the browsing experience if it wasn't for the iPhone? And this is compounding AT&T's problem, and it will soon be all cell carriers problem. As people start using their "unlimited" data, the wireless companies will be screwed. How do you provide a fat pipe to mobile users and scale it as people switch towers constantly?
This is not about iPhone versus Blackberry. This is 1990 ISPs all over again. AT&T wants to sell "unlimited" data plans knowing you'll pay more for unlimited. It works great because people just check their e-mail on it. Why? Cause the Internet sucks on a Blackberry/Windows Mobile device. The problem is, iPhone users ACTUALLY use the Internet/data other than e-mail. Why? Cause it doesn't suck. Result, oversold bandwidth. Same old story.
Here is my idea. Add an SSL record to DNS similar to the MX record. Have the browser check the DNS SSL record for authorized CAs for the domain. This way, I can set up my own CA server, but I can only issue certs for my domain. I could issue a microsoft.com cert, but if there is no SSL record for my server in Microsoft's DNS, the browser will tell you it is an unauthorized cert.
Honestly, you know no one that has ever entered credit card information into a non-SSL form? EVER? The average person that does not expect HTTP to be secure is someone who has had their credit card number stolen before via the web. Most people don't know the difference between HTTP, HTTPS and EV-SSL. I would pay for a Root Cert if I was taking personal information or credit card numbers. But I just want an encrypted (not secure) login to a read only site.
Having made the switch about 6 months ago, I have to say I love OS X and go into my boot camp partition less and less each day. It does take some getting used to. I understand your complaints. I thought the same thing until I changed some of my bad behaviors. You only get a small window in the dock when you minimize a window. Stop minimizing. It's a waste of time. Set up expose and use it to switch between windows. It is a lot more efficient than reading text heading in the taskbar looking for the right program. I used to maximize everything. But then I got dual monitors on my Windows box and the MacBook was my first wide screen monitor. To be honest I've found I hate maximizing in wide screen and am more productive without it. Screens are at resolutions where it does not make sense to maximize every program. At 1280x1024 you can work with multiple windows visible at the same time and cut down on program switching.
If I buy a VHS I can't play it on my DVD player. I can record it an burn it to a DVD and then play it in my DVD player. Likewise, I can burn my ACC-FairPlay files to CD and re-rip them to any format I want. Transportability has nothing to do with the medium in which you buy the product.
I read the law and the 4 criteria that were list are not mandatory, they are factors to be considered when choosing a file format. As long as you consider the fact that they are not a true "open" standard, you can still standardize on them. It's still a good law, because at least you can get the "text" of the document without having Microsoft Programs.
If you archive the items immediately after you tag them they are removed from the inbox, just as if you moved them to another folder. Then you can click on the label to find them. In fact, inbox, is just a label and archive only removes it. Click on a label and you'll see inbox as a label for the items not archived.
I used Gmail exclusively for my e-mailing needs. I have a free yahoo account through SBC. I tried the new interface for a few days and I didn't care for it. To be fair though it was mostly personal preferance. I like having my e-mail take up the whole window rahter than scroll down the text utilizing only 1/2 of the screen to accomadate the list of e-mails in my inbox that I'm not reading at the moment. I also did feel that Gmail is faster. I also like the way you can set up grouping in gmail and easily pull up e-mails by group.
The last *CD* I bought (Foo Fighters - In Your Honor) Played fine on my computer (held shift when it loaded) However it has problems in my car CD Player because the disk is thicker than an audio CD and it get's stuck when you try to eject it.
What I do know, is that the Earth has had several ice ages. I know that the ice melted. I know that there was no mankind with their internal combustion engines and freon when the ice melted... So what do we know about "global warming"?
Per user licensing breaks down when you throw it on a webserver. Should Slashdot have to pay for 1 million licenses since there are 1 million people who come to this site? Better yet, how do you know there are 1 million people that come to this site. How do you differentiate one AC from another? What if I have two logins and use whichever I feel like?
If you can't determine the number of users on a webserver, or if webserver users aren't counted, then the company ports all apps to web based javascript/php/asp and buys one license for the whole company.
It's not hard to spot a bad teacher, the problem is what do you do about it. The reason we have bad teachers is not the salary, which was my point. The reason we have bad teachers is the same reason every job has bad employees. But teachers are especially bad:
First, there is now way to objectively quantify their performance. Sure, we can all spot a bad teacher, but the labor board will chew up any manager that fires an employee without objective proof of failure to perform their job.
Second, teacher unions are fairly strong and well connected. Which leads to...
Third, Teaschers have TENURE. You can't fire them, even if you want to.
So how does raising teacher salaries help? I understand your personal experience, but this isn't a teacher quitting to go into the private sector because they can't feed their family. It's a teacher leaving for a higher paying teacher position. It's hardly a case to prove that nationally teachers are not getting paid fairly. In your district that may be the case, but take that up with the school board. Don't lobby the US Department of Ed to raise all teachers' salaries...
If we can't tell what students are "underperforming," then how do we know our teachers are bad? Maybe it's just the kids...
I work for a school district and our teachers are fairly well paid if you ask me. The range goes from around 35,000 to 65,000 depending on years of service and level of education. Remember that's to work approximately 180 days, and even though they are supposed to be at school for 8 hours, most show up at 8:00 before the bell and leave at 3:00 when the last class ends. They get an hour prep period each day. They get paid extra for teaching a class on their prep. Plus the benefits are hard to beat. $5 for brand name prescriptions. $10 co-pay on an doctor visit.
We have about the same ratio of "good" and "bad" teachers as I remember from school. It's a lot better than the "good" "bad" ratio from my first job in fast food. So really, why do we think teachers are so underpaid? Of course I live in a rural area where there aren't many jobs that pay 6 figures. But that's part of the point. People in L.A., San Fransisco, and New York may balk at the national average salary for a teacher around $40,000, but remeber, there are teachers EVERYWHERE. A teacher in New Mexico or Montana doesn't need $100,000 a year.
Just a devil's advocate position on "nerd logic."
Say I buy a gun and I don't get a gun lock, I leave the gun loaded and in a drawer by my bed. Now say my kid gets the gun and decides to play with his friend with it. The gun goes off and one kid is dead, I am criminally liable in this situation. No getting a gun lock and properly securing your gun could be considered gun enthusiast logic, yet as with all laws, iggnorance of the law is not a defense.
IMHO, sitting outside someone's home for several hours is dubious, but not illegal. If open WAPs promote kiddie porn and other nefarious activities, then it is the WAPs owner responible for the securing of the WAP that should be liable.
Also, in this case the argument is poor anyways. The owner of the WAP confessed to reporters that he knew how to secure the WAP but chose to leave it open for his neighbors to use. Si he is guilty of stealing from the broadband provider by intentionally allowing unauthorized access.
How does this effect Common Carrier? Brodband companies have commercials about downloading music. They don't specify which service, but the only way to download copyrighted music with just your broadband payment is illegally. Should a broadband company that gets new customers by the promise of free/on demand music lose comon carrier status and be liable for infringement on their networks?
The cost of software is development cost. The cost of selling another copy of the software is minimal. If you are selling software at a *loss*, then increasing volume can make your same price point not a loss.
There is a huge difference between saying OS X for Intel will only run on Apple hardware, and saying cheap webcams, wireless cards, etc won't work. You can always replace a NIC or webcam with one that is "supported." Nothing supports everything, but then again, didn't someone with too much time on their hands actually get a winmodem to work under Linux? They don't have to support every piece of hardware in the world to allow OS X to run on "generic" equipment. And once the OS X market share ballons, the generic hardware companies will make sure their product works with OS X. As far as the fabled, Macs are stable because of the lack of cheap hardware... I don't buy it personally. Sure some advanced programs might make raw system calls, but for the most part, programs should call the driver API's. That the whole point right? So either the driver is unstable, the hardware is defective, or the OS is unstable. Frankly, my windows computer is reasonably stable. It's been stable in Linux. It would be stable in OS X.
I disagree. Apple can let OS X run on "generic" hardware with absolutely no ramifications to their bottom line. Why?
First, the iPod has become their cash cow. They make more on iPods than they do on "Mac Hardware."
Second, Apple currently is credited with a 10%-15% "market share." Most Mac users are considered "zealots" that buy Mac because Macs are "better." Sony Viao computers are 10-20% more expensive than "generic hardware." how many computers sold are Sonys? Mac is a "Brand" name. Even if 100% of computers can install OS X, Apple can still manage their same 10% market share on Brand name status alone. Meaning they lose nothing in hardware sales. They gain in OS install base and revenue. This pressures Windows developers to support OS X. Broader software support will increase the OS X marketshare even more.
Third, Getting drivers for the generic hardware should be no problem since they run on a BSD kernel anyways. The drivers for the most part will already be there. Just a few tweaks and optimizations and you're set.
There is no reason not to do this. Apple could have 30-40% of the OS market in one years time if they allow OS X to run on any intel computer.