Not USB is a plus in my book. USB keyboards can have issues with ghosting, which PS/2 doesn't (at least on modern, "high-end" keyboards). Also, most (all?) modern motherboards still have at least one PS/2 port, which means you're freeing up a USB port for something that actually needs it. Unless, of course, your keyboard is from before 1987.
If a keyboard still works, why replace it? I know $8 isn't exactly breaking the bank, but I still see no reason to just waste it. I'd rather spend that money on a book.
With that said, I have a das Keyboard. It's mechanical, so it should last a damn long time. It was also $120, so I plan on keeping it for a while.
It's still not the same as Safari, though. Safari on iOS has access to Nitro, Apple's fast Javascript engine. UIWebView (which is what Chrome and other browsers must use--except for Opera Mini, which is an OBML reader) does not have Nitro, so Chrome, Dolphin, etc. are all inherently slower than Safari. However, UIWebView is still plenty quick for the vast majority of options, which is why I find myself using Chrome (for its better UI) and Opera Mini (though at the moment I'm just testing it--due to its nature, it's not as good as it should be).
Personally, I use an iPhone (5) because I prefer its UI and the fit and finish of its hardware over the Android options I've tried (fairly wide variety, but not comprehensive). At this point, there are really only two things I wish Apple would change from an ideology standpoint:
1. Allow competing web rendering engines. Browsers that provide different chrome for UIWebView don't count (even though Chrome on iOS has a very nice interface--superior to Safari's). This is because I want the full version of Opera Mobile, not just Mini. 2. Allow users to change the default web browser, email client, etc.
Yes, Android does this. No, they aren't big enough issues for me to jump ship at this time. Maybe in two years it will be--who knows?
I think he was talking about your Internet access, not what customs agents do to pretend to make sure you're not bringing in a bomb. With that said, as a US citizen, I can say they have actually gotten less stringent on laptop checks--at least for domestic flights. It used to be that you had to turn it on in front of the security agent (prior to TSA's existence). Now I don't even need to take it out of its neoprene sleeve. Wish I could say they were as lenient on shoes.
The money has to come from somewhere--it's not as if Disney will simply give the streaming rights away. So if you don't want to pay more, you have to hope that Netflix is able to attract more customers because of this deal.
"Best viewed with" is still alive and well. Just today I had to change my user agent string on three different sites that claimed my browser was too old (Opera 12.11), including Google.
I guess I like seeing the announcement of new features that typically coincided with the release of a new major version, coupled with a "What's new!" window.
Yada yada, "preference" is the wrong word here. Anyway...
I know there are many articles saying that iOS has more overall web usage, but I'm still surprised to see that it's even the case with a demographic like Slashdot. Of course, it doesn't mean there are more iOS Slashdot users, but it's still interesting.
Chrome has lots of point releases, actually. You're right that they update the major version number quickly, though. I miss the days when a major version number change meant new features, not bug fixes or speedups.
Well, I enjoyed Crysis 2. It was nothing too special, but I got it on a Steam sale for somewhere under $10, so it was worth it. It actually had a decent gameplay mechanism for allowing multiple different kinds of approaches to areas, from stealth to brute force, and the level design facilitated this aspect. I'll get Crysis 3...but not until it's on sale for $20 or less. Given how quickly PC games drop in price, I'm expecting that to be only a couple months after release (or sooner! Some games have steep discounts if you preorder them).
I guess most people haven't noticed, because nobody else has said anything about it. The link you describe are so far to the right of the song listings that there's no chance of accidentally clicking it. I actually had to open it up to see if you were right, and I've used it every day since Thursday. Furthermore, I actually like it! It's a really quick way to see more songs by an artist, without having to leave your library.
Regardless of what you think about it, it's only two links on the screen at any given time. As for "buy now" on everything in the store, well...it's a store. What do you expect?
The iPad might be a bit large for books, but I actually liked it in iBooks: put it in landscape mode and it shows two pages at once, just like a paper book.
I read a few books on my iPad before I sold it. While I did manage to several long novels (The Way of Kings, most of the Death Gate Cycle, Malazan series, etc.), I agree that there's a huge temptation to do other stuff on it. I imagine it would only be worse now, what with seemingly every app using push notifications.
They still sell the Kindle DX, though it hasn't been updated in a long time (which is too bad), so it doesn't have the newer features--it's a lower PPI display and no backlight. Searching for it on amazon.co.uk yields nothing, so it looks like that's a no-go. You could undoubtedly get one off eBay, but I'm not 100% sure it would work outside the US, so I'd check on that before doing anything.
As for why PDFs are so tricky... I've never looked at the spec, nor tried to write an eReader app, but PDFs are designed to be print-ready, which I would assume to mean that the layout of elements (text, graphics) is specified absolutely. In an eBook file, such as MOBI or EPUB, the text is actually basically stored as web pages. Where an eBook file says "next have this chapter division", the PDF probably says "put this text at coordinate (500,250), bold," etc.
Once again, I could be wrong; maybe someone else can chime in. But if what I described is indeed the case, it makes sense that it's hard to translate it to something that reflows well--there's no semanticity like there is in a proper eBook file.
Much as I love my Kindle, it's not quite there for PDFs. While great for text (e.g. novels), it can't reflow a PDF well (or at all?), and the screen size makes it too small to reasonably view most PDFs at full size. A Kindle DX might be better, but still not ideal. Obviously color will be a no-go.
I would recommend an iPad or something similar for technical documents and most other PDFs. Goodreader + Dropbox is a great combination.
This is why I bought a Wii U. I can already play 90% of 360 and PS3 games on my gaming PC (and they will look nicer to boot, have modding abilities, etc.), but I can't play Nintendo's exclusives anywhere else. When I considered it that way, it was a no-brainer.
Much as I agree it would be a cool thing at that price, $250 isn't much more than a full version of Office. Remember that Microsoft makes its money from software sales. I just don't see this happening, but it would be interesting to be wrong on this count.
Slashdot Mirror
Not USB is a plus in my book. USB keyboards can have issues with ghosting, which PS/2 doesn't (at least on modern, "high-end" keyboards). Also, most (all?) modern motherboards still have at least one PS/2 port, which means you're freeing up a USB port for something that actually needs it. Unless, of course, your keyboard is from before 1987.
They may not run out of ammo, but they only have 101 keys...
Furthermore, most modern motherboards still have at least one PS/2 port--you don't even need an adapter unless you're using a laptop (or a Mac).
If a keyboard still works, why replace it? I know $8 isn't exactly breaking the bank, but I still see no reason to just waste it. I'd rather spend that money on a book.
With that said, I have a das Keyboard. It's mechanical, so it should last a damn long time. It was also $120, so I plan on keeping it for a while.
It's still not the same as Safari, though. Safari on iOS has access to Nitro, Apple's fast Javascript engine. UIWebView (which is what Chrome and other browsers must use--except for Opera Mini, which is an OBML reader) does not have Nitro, so Chrome, Dolphin, etc. are all inherently slower than Safari. However, UIWebView is still plenty quick for the vast majority of options, which is why I find myself using Chrome (for its better UI) and Opera Mini (though at the moment I'm just testing it--due to its nature, it's not as good as it should be).
Personally, I use an iPhone (5) because I prefer its UI and the fit and finish of its hardware over the Android options I've tried (fairly wide variety, but not comprehensive). At this point, there are really only two things I wish Apple would change from an ideology standpoint:
1. Allow competing web rendering engines. Browsers that provide different chrome for UIWebView don't count (even though Chrome on iOS has a very nice interface--superior to Safari's). This is because I want the full version of Opera Mobile, not just Mini.
2. Allow users to change the default web browser, email client, etc.
Yes, Android does this. No, they aren't big enough issues for me to jump ship at this time. Maybe in two years it will be--who knows?
Honestly, when I was quoting the Abyss, I never even considered the hentai angle. Now I can never look at that movie the same way...
I think he was talking about your Internet access, not what customs agents do to pretend to make sure you're not bringing in a bomb. With that said, as a US citizen, I can say they have actually gotten less stringent on laptop checks--at least for domestic flights. It used to be that you had to turn it on in front of the security agent (prior to TSA's existence). Now I don't even need to take it out of its neoprene sleeve. Wish I could say they were as lenient on shoes.
I'm pretty sure those are Russian Water Tentacles. Better send in the SEALs.
I remember first encountering it in a political comic about Bush in 2003. Not sure that it's the first instance, though.
The money has to come from somewhere--it's not as if Disney will simply give the streaming rights away. So if you don't want to pay more, you have to hope that Netflix is able to attract more customers because of this deal.
"Best viewed with" is still alive and well. Just today I had to change my user agent string on three different sites that claimed my browser was too old (Opera 12.11), including Google.
I guess I like seeing the announcement of new features that typically coincided with the release of a new major version, coupled with a "What's new!" window.
So, Hollywood is actively trying to push itself into obscurity?
Yada yada, "preference" is the wrong word here. Anyway...
I know there are many articles saying that iOS has more overall web usage, but I'm still surprised to see that it's even the case with a demographic like Slashdot. Of course, it doesn't mean there are more iOS Slashdot users, but it's still interesting.
Chrome has lots of point releases, actually. You're right that they update the major version number quickly, though. I miss the days when a major version number change meant new features, not bug fixes or speedups.
Well, I enjoyed Crysis 2. It was nothing too special, but I got it on a Steam sale for somewhere under $10, so it was worth it. It actually had a decent gameplay mechanism for allowing multiple different kinds of approaches to areas, from stealth to brute force, and the level design facilitated this aspect. I'll get Crysis 3...but not until it's on sale for $20 or less. Given how quickly PC games drop in price, I'm expecting that to be only a couple months after release (or sooner! Some games have steep discounts if you preorder them).
It's undead, obviously. Better get some garlic.
I guess most people haven't noticed, because nobody else has said anything about it. The link you describe are so far to the right of the song listings that there's no chance of accidentally clicking it. I actually had to open it up to see if you were right, and I've used it every day since Thursday. Furthermore, I actually like it! It's a really quick way to see more songs by an artist, without having to leave your library.
Regardless of what you think about it, it's only two links on the screen at any given time. As for "buy now" on everything in the store, well...it's a store. What do you expect?
The iPad might be a bit large for books, but I actually liked it in iBooks: put it in landscape mode and it shows two pages at once, just like a paper book.
I read a few books on my iPad before I sold it. While I did manage to several long novels (The Way of Kings, most of the Death Gate Cycle, Malazan series, etc.), I agree that there's a huge temptation to do other stuff on it. I imagine it would only be worse now, what with seemingly every app using push notifications.
They still sell the Kindle DX, though it hasn't been updated in a long time (which is too bad), so it doesn't have the newer features--it's a lower PPI display and no backlight. Searching for it on amazon.co.uk yields nothing, so it looks like that's a no-go. You could undoubtedly get one off eBay, but I'm not 100% sure it would work outside the US, so I'd check on that before doing anything.
As for why PDFs are so tricky... I've never looked at the spec, nor tried to write an eReader app, but PDFs are designed to be print-ready, which I would assume to mean that the layout of elements (text, graphics) is specified absolutely. In an eBook file, such as MOBI or EPUB, the text is actually basically stored as web pages. Where an eBook file says "next have this chapter division", the PDF probably says "put this text at coordinate (500,250), bold," etc.
Once again, I could be wrong; maybe someone else can chime in. But if what I described is indeed the case, it makes sense that it's hard to translate it to something that reflows well--there's no semanticity like there is in a proper eBook file.
Much as I love my Kindle, it's not quite there for PDFs. While great for text (e.g. novels), it can't reflow a PDF well (or at all?), and the screen size makes it too small to reasonably view most PDFs at full size. A Kindle DX might be better, but still not ideal. Obviously color will be a no-go.
I would recommend an iPad or something similar for technical documents and most other PDFs. Goodreader + Dropbox is a great combination.
This is why I bought a Wii U. I can already play 90% of 360 and PS3 games on my gaming PC (and they will look nicer to boot, have modding abilities, etc.), but I can't play Nintendo's exclusives anywhere else. When I considered it that way, it was a no-brainer.
Odd. I was just about to say that the slideshow doesn't work in Opera--12.11. Only the first picture shows up.
Much as I agree it would be a cool thing at that price, $250 isn't much more than a full version of Office. Remember that Microsoft makes its money from software sales. I just don't see this happening, but it would be interesting to be wrong on this count.