Are these employees necessarily responsible for the Maps UI? That's where I think most innovation can happen in this particular area, and the UI tends to be what Apple excels at. What if they worked on the tile server, routing algorithms, etc.? It's entirely possible to hire talent from Google and churn out an original product. The new Maps app is similar to the old one, but has some much-needed new features. Apparently* some data needs fixing; maybe that's what Apple wants these guys for?
*I haven't run into issues, personally, since running developer preview 3. Then again, I live in California, and pretty close to the bay area; it's entirely possible that Apple has my area mapped out better.
What measures should we take to stop the browser from leaking our information? Is there any way to do so without losing functionality, such as saved sessions?
The Android update situation raises an interesting question: Who should wear "the pants" in the carrier/vendor relationship? I can see arguments for both sides, but I have to think it would be better if the vendors had a bigger say in things.
Don't forget to get the new youtube app, since apple dumped the native one for no good reason.
And thank God. The old one was really outdated--a relic from when Apple needed a custom solution in order to even play Youtube videos (during the whole "no Flash" debacle)--and borderline terrible. The new one on the App Store is loads better.
And yeah, the license they had with Google expired. Sounds like a good reason to drop it. Besides, if you don't want it, why should it be taking up space on your screen? (Now, if only I could drop Stocks and Newsstand. They just added Passbook, but it looks like it has some potential.)
I'm sorry, but requiring proof of identity for voting, as well as eligibility for the same, should absolutely be required. The first is to make sure you're not impersonating--and thus taking away--the vote of someone else. It happens, and it's not some sort of "clansman" conspiracy. The second is to make sure you are actually a citizen of the country you're trying to vote in. Anything else is insanity. Nobody is arguing for the type of immoral registration laws they had in the south after Reconstruction. We just want to make sure the people ostensibly deciding the direction the country is moving in are actually allowed to do so.
I have to show my ID to board an airplane, but not when I vote?
A few years ago, there were rumors Apple was going to have ads on OS X. There was huge amounts of ridicule and scorn on this site (and rightfully so!). With this article, there's a surprising amount of ambivalence and even acceptance. Whither the complaints, Slashdot? Or is this not a case of hypocrisy and merely the reflection of changing attitudes?
You realize paying for a prime membership is useless, since you can have 3 months for free with a a new account? Just keep making new accounts every 3 months.
Or, you could be, you know, honest.
Side note: I signed up for Amazon Student in January, which gave me a free, six-month Prime membership with the option to continue using it for $40/year instead of the usual $75/year (or however much it is). I cancelled the auto-renew, but even now, nine months later, I still have Prime. Not sure what's going on, but I'm also not going to complain if Amazon wants to give me free shipping. I know it didn't just self-renew, because I still don't have access to free Instant Videos, and I never got a confirmation email or even a charge.
I would hope that large systems are taking measures against theoretical systems that could theoretically guess 100 billion passwords a second, such as by using PBKDF2:
Now I await someone much more knowledgeable in this area to come in and tell me why I'm wrong. (I welcome it, too; I don't want to be wrong any longer than I have to be.)
That sounds strange at first glance. I'm guessing the reason is taxes. I wonder if that metric would change at all, now that Amazon is collecting tax in more states. I know that Amazon has lost some of its edge for me in California, especially if the items are the same price in-store and online.
There we go--a well-reasoned explanation for why it's annoying the new connector is proprietary.
Personally, I think that #2 would have been the best option--try to make Lightning an industry standard. My boss got the new iPhone 5 today, and I got to play with it for a few minutes (very nice phone; feels great). The new connector is pretty slick. It is much easier to insert than micro-USB, feels durable, and being reversible is a nice little plus. I buy Apple products, but I do wish they would work more with the industry. Of course, sometimes they try and the industry lashes out against them (or at least some of the players). See the whole nano-SIM thing for an example.
As for why they didn't go with micro-USB, the linked articles above go into the possible reasons--namely, that it would have required more space (micro-USB 3 would have required a lot more space, both on the logic board and with the plug).
That's like saying they shouldn't sell computers because you can shop online with them. Android/Apple phones and tablets can also access the Walmart app and visit walmart.com. So can Kindle tablets, by the way. The difference is that the Kindle devices are much more proactive about you trying to buy from someone that isn't Walmart.
With that said, I'm sure there's another (possibly bigger) reason for the decision. Retail stores have to maximize earnings per square foot. The Kindle either didn't sell well enough in Walmart stores, or the margins on the sales were too low (or some combination of the two). That makes sense to me--someone who wants to buy an Amazon tablet likely already shops at Amazon, and will just buy it directly from the amazon.com website.
More important than the battery size is battery life. The iPhone 5 seems to get better life than the Indulge, even though the Indulge has a much larger battery.
Maybe for you, the ability to swap out batteries is an important feature. I think that Apple's sales prove that it isn't a big factor for their customers. I wonder if there's any data on how many people tote around extra batteries for their phones?
Thanks for those articles. Some interesting reading.
With that said, I still don't understand the hangup with the cable being proprietary. In six years of owning iPods and iPhones, as well as random devices that use micro-USB, I've never been annoyed at having to use two different cables. Honestly, the Lightning connector, despite the silly name, looks to be a better cable than micro-USB--namely, that should be easier to insert and is reversible. Is it really that big a deal, or are people looking for reasons to get upset?
It's perfectly logical: Making it easier to repair makes it cheaper (for the tech) to repair.
1. They sell more iPhones than they do MacBooks. 2. iPhones break more than MacBooks--there's #1, and also the fact that people carry their phones everywhere. 3. The most common breaking point of an iPhone is the screen. 4. Making the screen easier to remove makes it cheaper to replace.
MacBooks don't have nearly the number of accidents, so they can lock it down a bit more in their quest for nicely fitting and ultra-thin hardware.
I love all the angst over a cable. Isn't this the day and age of wireless syncing? Of online syncing? The only reason I've ever needed my iPhone cable in the past year is to charge it--and before iOS5, I only ever used it for software updates.
Peripherals? People act as though every iPhone user is now going to have to spend hundreds of dollars buying new peripherals. This ignores two things:
1. The obvious. There's an adapter you can buy. The Apple one is $30, but you can find them much cheaper on Amazon. 2. Not every iPhone user will have to spend hundreds on new peripherals. Personally, I will have to spend exactly $0. Of people I know, only one friend will need to buy a $30 set of speakers (that is--if he still uses them).
I've always found micro-USB a bit annoying to actually plug in. It's not an arduous task or anything, but it sometimes takes a couple tries if the cable manages to go in at an angle. That the new connector is reversible is pretty nifty.
Yeah, it's kind of an odd choice, especially because I'm sure the average person who uses DDG is of a more tech-oriented nature. Maybe #amazon would be better?
I started using DuckDuckGo exclusively just a couple days ago. So far I'm liking it a lot--search results seem just as good as Google's, if not better in some cases. With that said, I actually miss Google's Instant search in Chrome. On the other hand, the bang keywords are nice on those rare occasions I'm not using Chrome (for the uninitiated, adding "!amazon", for example, opens the Amazon.com search result page for your query).
Some courses don't need pictures, you're right. But I think an art history book would be on the shortlist of those that do need pictures. If you look at the images on TFA, you can even see that the book has arrows pointing to various elements on the (not pictured) artwork.
Slashdot Mirror
Are these employees necessarily responsible for the Maps UI? That's where I think most innovation can happen in this particular area, and the UI tends to be what Apple excels at. What if they worked on the tile server, routing algorithms, etc.? It's entirely possible to hire talent from Google and churn out an original product. The new Maps app is similar to the old one, but has some much-needed new features. Apparently* some data needs fixing; maybe that's what Apple wants these guys for?
*I haven't run into issues, personally, since running developer preview 3. Then again, I live in California, and pretty close to the bay area; it's entirely possible that Apple has my area mapped out better.
Then here's the question:
What measures should we take to stop the browser from leaking our information? Is there any way to do so without losing functionality, such as saved sessions?
The Android update situation raises an interesting question: Who should wear "the pants" in the carrier/vendor relationship? I can see arguments for both sides, but I have to think it would be better if the vendors had a bigger say in things.
Don't forget to get the new youtube app, since apple dumped the native one for no good reason.
And thank God. The old one was really outdated--a relic from when Apple needed a custom solution in order to even play Youtube videos (during the whole "no Flash" debacle)--and borderline terrible. The new one on the App Store is loads better.
And yeah, the license they had with Google expired. Sounds like a good reason to drop it. Besides, if you don't want it, why should it be taking up space on your screen? (Now, if only I could drop Stocks and Newsstand. They just added Passbook, but it looks like it has some potential.)
Because you're not "making use of" the system, you're abusing it.
I'm sorry, but requiring proof of identity for voting, as well as eligibility for the same, should absolutely be required. The first is to make sure you're not impersonating--and thus taking away--the vote of someone else. It happens, and it's not some sort of "clansman" conspiracy. The second is to make sure you are actually a citizen of the country you're trying to vote in. Anything else is insanity. Nobody is arguing for the type of immoral registration laws they had in the south after Reconstruction. We just want to make sure the people ostensibly deciding the direction the country is moving in are actually allowed to do so.
I have to show my ID to board an airplane, but not when I vote?
A few years ago, there were rumors Apple was going to have ads on OS X. There was huge amounts of ridicule and scorn on this site (and rightfully so!). With this article, there's a surprising amount of ambivalence and even acceptance. Whither the complaints, Slashdot? Or is this not a case of hypocrisy and merely the reflection of changing attitudes?
You realize paying for a prime membership is useless, since you can have 3 months for free with a a new account?
Just keep making new accounts every 3 months.
Or, you could be, you know, honest.
Side note: I signed up for Amazon Student in January, which gave me a free, six-month Prime membership with the option to continue using it for $40/year instead of the usual $75/year (or however much it is). I cancelled the auto-renew, but even now, nine months later, I still have Prime. Not sure what's going on, but I'm also not going to complain if Amazon wants to give me free shipping. I know it didn't just self-renew, because I still don't have access to free Instant Videos, and I never got a confirmation email or even a charge.
I would hope that large systems are taking measures against theoretical systems that could theoretically guess 100 billion passwords a second, such as by using PBKDF2:
http://blog.agilebits.com/2011/05/05/defending-against-crackers-peanut-butter-keeps-dogs-friendly-too/
Now I await someone much more knowledgeable in this area to come in and tell me why I'm wrong. (I welcome it, too; I don't want to be wrong any longer than I have to be.)
That sounds strange at first glance. I'm guessing the reason is taxes. I wonder if that metric would change at all, now that Amazon is collecting tax in more states. I know that Amazon has lost some of its edge for me in California, especially if the items are the same price in-store and online.
There we go--a well-reasoned explanation for why it's annoying the new connector is proprietary.
Personally, I think that #2 would have been the best option--try to make Lightning an industry standard. My boss got the new iPhone 5 today, and I got to play with it for a few minutes (very nice phone; feels great). The new connector is pretty slick. It is much easier to insert than micro-USB, feels durable, and being reversible is a nice little plus. I buy Apple products, but I do wish they would work more with the industry. Of course, sometimes they try and the industry lashes out against them (or at least some of the players). See the whole nano-SIM thing for an example.
As for why they didn't go with micro-USB, the linked articles above go into the possible reasons--namely, that it would have required more space (micro-USB 3 would have required a lot more space, both on the logic board and with the plug).
Why not get the adapter?
There was also that Amazon bug a few years ago that made it so capital/lowercase in a password was treated the same.
http://www.ghacks.net/2011/01/31/amazon-login-may-accept-password-variants/
They also used to drop anything after the 8th character:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Eight-Character-Password-Bug-Identified-on-Amazon-181109.shtml
Thank you! I had to go through several AmEx passwords before I gave up and used a shorter one. Now I know I wasn't crazy.
That's like saying they shouldn't sell computers because you can shop online with them. Android/Apple phones and tablets can also access the Walmart app and visit walmart.com. So can Kindle tablets, by the way. The difference is that the Kindle devices are much more proactive about you trying to buy from someone that isn't Walmart.
With that said, I'm sure there's another (possibly bigger) reason for the decision. Retail stores have to maximize earnings per square foot. The Kindle either didn't sell well enough in Walmart stores, or the margins on the sales were too low (or some combination of the two). That makes sense to me--someone who wants to buy an Amazon tablet likely already shops at Amazon, and will just buy it directly from the amazon.com website.
I'm sorry, there's way more rage over the cable than makes sense.
More important than the battery size is battery life. The iPhone 5 seems to get better life than the Indulge, even though the Indulge has a much larger battery.
Maybe for you, the ability to swap out batteries is an important feature. I think that Apple's sales prove that it isn't a big factor for their customers. I wonder if there's any data on how many people tote around extra batteries for their phones?
Thanks for those articles. Some interesting reading.
With that said, I still don't understand the hangup with the cable being proprietary. In six years of owning iPods and iPhones, as well as random devices that use micro-USB, I've never been annoyed at having to use two different cables. Honestly, the Lightning connector, despite the silly name, looks to be a better cable than micro-USB--namely, that should be easier to insert and is reversible. Is it really that big a deal, or are people looking for reasons to get upset?
Yes, they could have done this. And then the phone would be bigger.
It's perfectly logical: Making it easier to repair makes it cheaper (for the tech) to repair.
1. They sell more iPhones than they do MacBooks.
2. iPhones break more than MacBooks--there's #1, and also the fact that people carry their phones everywhere.
3. The most common breaking point of an iPhone is the screen.
4. Making the screen easier to remove makes it cheaper to replace.
MacBooks don't have nearly the number of accidents, so they can lock it down a bit more in their quest for nicely fitting and ultra-thin hardware.
Well, this article supposedly covers some of it: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-lightning-vs-micro-usb-2012-9
However, not owning a phone with micro-USB, I'm not sure how accurate it is. Anyone care to chime in?
I love all the angst over a cable. Isn't this the day and age of wireless syncing? Of online syncing? The only reason I've ever needed my iPhone cable in the past year is to charge it--and before iOS5, I only ever used it for software updates.
Peripherals? People act as though every iPhone user is now going to have to spend hundreds of dollars buying new peripherals. This ignores two things:
1. The obvious. There's an adapter you can buy. The Apple one is $30, but you can find them much cheaper on Amazon.
2. Not every iPhone user will have to spend hundreds on new peripherals. Personally, I will have to spend exactly $0. Of people I know, only one friend will need to buy a $30 set of speakers (that is--if he still uses them).
I've always found micro-USB a bit annoying to actually plug in. It's not an arduous task or anything, but it sometimes takes a couple tries if the cable manages to go in at an angle. That the new connector is reversible is pretty nifty.
Yeah, it's kind of an odd choice, especially because I'm sure the average person who uses DDG is of a more tech-oriented nature. Maybe #amazon would be better?
I started using DuckDuckGo exclusively just a couple days ago. So far I'm liking it a lot--search results seem just as good as Google's, if not better in some cases. With that said, I actually miss Google's Instant search in Chrome. On the other hand, the bang keywords are nice on those rare occasions I'm not using Chrome (for the uninitiated, adding "!amazon", for example, opens the Amazon.com search result page for your query).
Some courses don't need pictures, you're right. But I think an art history book would be on the shortlist of those that do need pictures. If you look at the images on TFA, you can even see that the book has arrows pointing to various elements on the (not pictured) artwork.