The article is inaccurate. Google does not bias search results, the results which appear on top aren't regular search results, they are more like services.
If I search for "the social network" as the article provides as proof of bias, I am happy to see a service presenting me with additional info which is certainly NOT a search result, but rather dynamically generated content. No search result can provide that, only google can because after all its their site.
Besides, how awful would it be to have that special "generated" information not showing up first?? why would it be displayed in the 3rd, 4th, 6th position? It makes no sense! Because it ISN'T a web search result. It would also be an awful user experience.
If I wasn't new here I would ask: "Why is this even news in slashdot land?":P
You are right. Where did i mention anyyhing about anonymity? That was not the point at all.
Fact is, when comparing google to apple regarding app stores, i dont have to enter my cc info for browsing the android market or dling free apps.
Of course most users dont care about dev phones! Fact is, you can get phones with out of the box unlocked bootloaders. Not with iphones. Its just an example. Parent mentioned fighting locked bootloaders. Was just trying to make a point how google is not as mad as apple about total control because they give you freedoms and choices that apple wont even think of.
Excuse me, but last time I checked the android market did NOT require me to enter my private information, much less my CREDIT CARD info just for going into the market or downloading free apps.
Moreover, you can install apps from third parties whenever you like on all android devices, which simply is not the case for apple devices.
Thirdly, you can purchase developer phones with google's propietary stuff and unlocked bootloaders if you want to. Do you really expect google to force all manufacturers to have their device unlocked and still have them feel comfortable putting android in all of their high end devices? Android is overtaking all other mobile OSs for a reason.
Sure. even if the OS is open and available to download from a git repository, not all hardware running android is open. No big news there. But Apple is clearly much more on the "dictatorship"(yes I know you can chose not to buy an iphone, thats what I do) side with their much stronger policies for total control.
To sum up, no they are clearly not nearly as "bad" as Apple, like I have shown
Whats worse? Apple taking a YEAR AND A HALF to approve an app, the google voice app. Or Google for still not offering the service outside the US? I'm kinda upset by both of them...
Having said that, IMHO apple is just giving in because of the latest governmental inquiries...
Since when does DRM work to prevent piracy? The phones will get rooted/jailbroken/hacked anyways.
Maybe they just want that to cover their asses when someone actually starts ripping netflix movies, so they can't be pointed at because they used DRM? Or maybe they just want to look secure to their partners because they "use DRM"?
Who knows, but fact is that is just a smokescreen and the bubble will pop sooner or later, and they are making a lot of noise about nothing. They look like idiots in our eyes, but they would need to look like idiots to everyone, including themselves. I hope they do sooner than later.
I fail to understand why that failing was related to the methodology?
"Due to changing demands"
It doesn't matter which methodology you use, if your goal is constantly changing you won't get anything finished, almost "by definition". If it wasn't that bad, maybe they weren't familiar enough with the methodology?
In fact, I'd say that agile software development methodologies work best for such projects, because they are aimed at constantly changing demands. That's why almost all startups use agile software development, because *every* startup goes through a process like (very grossly, mind you):
1. search a business model 2. execute business model 3. realize 1) wasn't realistic, change it 4. goto 1
The transition process (usually referred to as pivoting) needs to occur *rapidly* and *continuously*, hence the agile software development.
Of course, if you keep changing the initial goal, you will never get finished, doesn't matter which methodology you use.
why not host it on the same distributed system you will get the content from? P2P.
I am sure there has already been developed something like this (and if not, there is probably a reason on why its a bad idea), and I suspect there are many drawbacks like high latency, low bandwidth/throughput meaning very slow page loads etc...
I'm too lazy to look it up now, but just putting this thought out:
But why not just make some websites run on the same distributed DHTs such as Vuze or other existing P2P technologies? We'd all be sharing part of the content and everyone would be able to access the content too (eventually), resulting in (slow) low-cost, ideally SPOF-free web hosting.
Nothing new there, for better or worse the appstore is ruled under dictatorship-like rules. Apple's rules.
The publishing of the emulator was obviously an unfortunate mistake from someone at apple, since they would be getting lots of request from other emulator writers who previously got their app rejected.
So they have dropped default support for flash, then java, now they just launched their app store.
This is really starting to look more and more like the iphone. I just hope they don't start dropping multitasking and third party software sources. As long as users are able to install non-appstore apps, install flash and install java, I'm fine with it.
Yep, already did. I think appinventor is great, but i dont like the ui semi-wysiwyg part at all.
I find it easier to just code the xml than to use appinventor to produce a really nice ui (if thats even possible with the tool, it didnt work well for me)
Well put, i agree with that. But the way this samples are structured makes it difficult to directy contribute to aosp:
I think at most you could contribute some xmls and 9patches but the idea is to have a lot of themes and pngs and different resources put together into a samole activity so others can actually (and effortlessly) see whay it looks like.
It could be cobtributed as a new project as a whole maybe.
Either way, i think this isnt mature enough to be contributed. I agree that excellent themes could/should be contributed to aosp.
In an effort to make creating a nice Android UI less painful I started this small project called Android Theme Samples.
Its just like the Android Samples, where many examples are combined into a single downloadable app so you can browse it, try it and get those parts that better fit your own app.
I just got started and only a "light" theme and an "Action Bar" UI pattern are included. (Mind the design, I am not a designer). Would be really great if others contributed their own design:)
but google wants to compete with google talk video chat with the rest of video providers.
They better have API support for front cameras and all that new stuff, because thats something that is clearly missing in todays API, while there are already several phones with front-facing cameras in the market. Its possible to interact with them by setting the appropiate parameters in the API, but those parameters are not consistent across devices.
Overall, I think the biggest 3.0 change should be look&feel.
And I hope they don't just overhaul the UI and write beautiful google apps. I hope they do a complete UI tools overhaul so develpers can effortlessly create beautiful apps. Im not buying any of that fragmentation nonsense crap. The real issue is a lack of a "Interface builer" so we can build beautiful apps with no extra effort. Combine a really good "interface builder", "default layout settings" or whatever it might be with Android's customization and we got a clear winner in the UI and UX space.
Yes, and Steve Jobs mentioned that as the only example of how fragmentation is an issue for development. Very funny because the report he referred to was actually a praise to Android.
Big fail there. I would like to know if he said that due to ignorance or if he was just that bad at lying.
please read the rest of TFA, not just that sentence.
He just discovered it but did not exploit it in a malicious way. It was others who did that. I don't think he needs any "defense" for doing an alert('uh oh');
He probably means that its their responsibility that others abused the exploit that he did NOT write.
Personally, I *hate* the fact that neither the xbox or the PS3 can play MKVs. I don't know why I would want a HD-compatible media center without support for HD video formats.
(Yes, I know, for streaming the video from the PC media center to the console, but IMHO that's cheating since the console isn't decoding the video and you need to put two machines "to work" just to playback some vid -- I'd really like to play things "natively")
Slashdot Mirror
The article is inaccurate. Google does not bias search results, the results which appear on top aren't regular search results, they are more like services.
If I search for "the social network" as the article provides as proof of bias, I am happy to see a service presenting me with additional info which is certainly NOT a search result, but rather dynamically generated content. No search result can provide that, only google can because after all its their site.
Besides, how awful would it be to have that special "generated" information not showing up first?? why would it be displayed in the 3rd, 4th, 6th position? It makes no sense! Because it ISN'T a web search result. It would also be an awful user experience.
If I wasn't new here I would ask: "Why is this even news in slashdot land?" :P
Thats funny, because its similar to what Woz said about iOS vs Android. Quantity over Quality (in his opinion).
So Angry Birds can't run on lower end phones, "a lightweight Angry Birds in the works". - news at 11.
You are right. Where did i mention anyyhing about anonymity? That was not the point at all.
Fact is, when comparing google to apple regarding app stores, i dont have to enter my cc info for browsing the android market or dling free apps.
Of course most users dont care about dev phones! Fact is, you can get phones with out of the box unlocked bootloaders. Not with iphones. Its just an example. Parent mentioned fighting locked bootloaders.
Was just trying to make a point how google is not as mad as apple about total control because they give you freedoms and choices that apple wont even think of.
Excuse me, but last time I checked the android market did NOT require me to enter my private information, much less my CREDIT CARD info just for going into the market or downloading free apps.
Moreover, you can install apps from third parties whenever you like on all android devices, which simply is not the case for apple devices.
Thirdly, you can purchase developer phones with google's propietary stuff and unlocked bootloaders if you want to. Do you really expect google to force all manufacturers to have their device unlocked and still have them feel comfortable putting android in all of their high end devices? Android is overtaking all other mobile OSs for a reason.
Sure. even if the OS is open and available to download from a git repository, not all hardware running android is open. No big news there. But Apple is clearly much more on the "dictatorship"(yes I know you can chose not to buy an iphone, thats what I do) side with their much stronger policies for total control.
To sum up, no they are clearly not nearly as "bad" as Apple, like I have shown
Whats worse? Apple taking a YEAR AND A HALF to approve an app, the google voice app. Or Google for still not offering the service outside the US? I'm kinda upset by both of them ...
Having said that, IMHO apple is just giving in because of the latest governmental inquiries ...
Since when does DRM work to prevent piracy? The phones will get rooted/jailbroken/hacked anyways.
Maybe they just want that to cover their asses when someone actually starts ripping netflix movies, so they can't be pointed at because they used DRM?
Or maybe they just want to look secure to their partners because they "use DRM"?
Who knows, but fact is that is just a smokescreen and the bubble will pop sooner or later, and they are making a lot of noise about nothing. They look like idiots in our eyes, but they would need to look like idiots to everyone, including themselves. I hope they do sooner than later.
agree with this completely. Mod parent up! :)
I fail to understand why that failing was related to the methodology?
"Due to changing demands"
It doesn't matter which methodology you use, if your goal is constantly changing you won't get anything finished, almost "by definition". If it wasn't that bad, maybe they weren't familiar enough with the methodology?
In fact, I'd say that agile software development methodologies work best for such projects, because they are aimed at constantly changing demands.
That's why almost all startups use agile software development, because *every* startup goes through a process like (very grossly, mind you):
1. search a business model
2. execute business model
3. realize 1) wasn't realistic, change it
4. goto 1
The transition process (usually referred to as pivoting) needs to occur *rapidly* and *continuously*, hence the agile software development.
Of course, if you keep changing the initial goal, you will never get finished, doesn't matter which methodology you use.
why not host it on the same distributed system you will get the content from? P2P.
I am sure there has already been developed something like this (and if not, there is probably a reason on why its a bad idea), and I suspect there are many drawbacks like high latency, low bandwidth/throughput meaning very slow page loads etc...
I'm too lazy to look it up now, but just putting this thought out:
But why not just make some websites run on the same distributed DHTs such as Vuze or other existing P2P technologies?
We'd all be sharing part of the content and everyone would be able to access the content too (eventually), resulting in (slow) low-cost, ideally SPOF-free web hosting.
Nothing new there, for better or worse the appstore is ruled under dictatorship-like rules. Apple's rules.
The publishing of the emulator was obviously an unfortunate mistake from someone at apple, since they would be getting lots of request from other emulator writers who previously got their app rejected.
For example, the famous psx emulator writer tweeted the following just a couple hours ago: http://twitter.com/#!/zodttd/status/28814884233 followed by http://twitter.com/#!/zodttd/status/28817744190
with drop default support I meant "not installed by default", could also mean stopped supporting, I'm not sure
So they have dropped default support for flash, then java, now they just launched their app store.
This is really starting to look more and more like the iphone. I just hope they don't start dropping multitasking and third party software sources.
As long as users are able to install non-appstore apps, install flash and install java, I'm fine with it.
Yep, already did.
I think appinventor is great, but i dont like the ui semi-wysiwyg part at all.
I find it easier to just code the xml than to use appinventor to produce a really nice ui (if thats even possible with the tool, it didnt work well for me)
Well put, i agree with that.
But the way this samples are structured makes it difficult to directy contribute to aosp:
I think at most you could contribute some xmls and 9patches but the idea is to have a lot of themes and pngs and different resources put together into a samole activity so others can actually (and effortlessly) see whay it looks like.
It could be cobtributed as a new project as a whole maybe.
Either way, i think this isnt mature enough to be contributed. I agree that excellent themes could/should be contributed to aosp.
Speaking of effortless nice Android UIs:
In an effort to make creating a nice Android UI less painful I started this small project called Android Theme Samples.
Its just like the Android Samples, where many examples are combined into a single downloadable app so you can browse it, try it and get those parts that better fit your own app.
Its up in github for anyone to take and contribute: http://github.com/pllopis/AndroidThemeSamples
I just got started and only a "light" theme and an "Action Bar" UI pattern are included. (Mind the design, I am not a designer). :)
Would be really great if others contributed their own design
but google wants to compete with google talk video chat with the rest of video providers.
They better have API support for front cameras and all that new stuff, because thats something that is clearly missing in todays API, while there are already several phones with front-facing cameras in the market.
Its possible to interact with them by setting the appropiate parameters in the API, but those parameters are not consistent across devices.
Overall, I think the biggest 3.0 change should be look&feel.
And I hope they don't just overhaul the UI and write beautiful google apps. I hope they do a complete UI tools overhaul so develpers can effortlessly create beautiful apps. Im not buying any of that fragmentation nonsense crap. The real issue is a lack of a "Interface builer" so we can build beautiful apps with no extra effort.
Combine a really good "interface builder", "default layout settings" or whatever it might be with Android's customization and we got a clear winner in the UI and UX space.
Thats my 2c
Yes, and Steve Jobs mentioned that as the only example of how fragmentation is an issue for development.
Very funny because the report he referred to was actually a praise to Android.
Big fail there. I would like to know if he said that due to ignorance or if he was just that bad at lying.
Also, regarding: "And 30 percent remember their passwords by writing them down and hiding them somewhere like a desk drawer."
I think writing down your password isn't that bad of a choice (especially for online passwords, not the one that logs you into your computer).
I'm not the only one who thinks that way: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/06/write_down_your.html
From TFA:
" 30 percent logged into a site requiring a password over public WiFi (vs. 21 percent overall)"
So what? thats what SSL and Certificates are for. Entering your password in a public computer - well, thats another story.
was the "with passwords" part actually needed in the title? ;)
Wow, where is the "+1 Insightful for the original article's author" button when you really need it?
You might want to check your sarcasm-detector, I think its not working right ;)
please read the rest of TFA, not just that sentence.
He just discovered it but did not exploit it in a malicious way. It was others who did that. I don't think he needs any "defense" for doing an alert('uh oh');
He probably means that its their responsibility that others abused the exploit that he did NOT write.
That's a very good question indeed.
Personally, I *hate* the fact that neither the xbox or the PS3 can play MKVs. I don't know why I would want a HD-compatible media center without support for HD video formats.
(Yes, I know, for streaming the video from the PC media center to the console, but IMHO that's cheating since the console isn't decoding the video and you need to put two machines "to work" just to playback some vid -- I'd really like to play things "natively")