I had a quick look, not that I care these posts should be reserved for forums/irc or paid support to Ubuntu of h4rr4r(sic). The reality is after a 5 second google I get results of this highly specialised audio kit working on UBUNTU three years ago. I've looked through the instructions, and they seem trivial then. There is whole communities geared around serious audio on who would love to help you. I suspect you haven't really tried, although whining on Slashdot, that your exotic hardware won't work(sic) is not the best method of getting going.
Open source is not a religion. It is a development model, and works, and with what your talking about the kernel works very very well, you see major changes in each new revision, released about every three months. Its not to punish anyone, but its been made quite clear that progress will not be help back by binary drivers. In fact it shows how successful Open source is that the binary drivers cannot keep up with changes. It was once true that I had to sacrifice fps/just works to get new technology by choosing a an open source driver, now I can get all three. Nvidia have gone from the goto guyes for working fast video to troublesome binary blob, and this is only a recent change. The I think you meant was "Successful development model making massive progress will not be impeded by single hardware manufacture who refuses to adopt new technology"
It has two ALSA+Pulseaudio, and they work very well together...NOW. The only reason I say now is the transition from OSS to ALSA was painful for many, but that was years ago now, and Pulseaudio which adds features, you can see the advantages everywhere, sound mixing being the one people use, although its functionality you could get already. Again Pulseaudio was thrust on a world that didn't want or need it, and more importantly broke what was working before, with everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, but again this is mature technology now, massive forum threads of users reverting ALSA to legacy OSS, or removing Pulseaudio to get sound are at an end. Your more likely to get posts about sound being muted in alsa/pulsaudio through upgrading than anything else, and it shouldn't do that. That is not to say people don't still have problems with certain cards, but I suspect Linux audio has had its reputation damaged by these transitions, unfortunately these major changes should have been held as an example of how not to launch revolutionary software on its users, but similar mistakes were made with Intel KMS and Compiz and its likely to happen again with Unity/Gnome 3.
I think your a little confused about the version numbers, although if it does help with marketing their product I am all for it, although you point to the opposite(its confusing). The version numbering is about feature delivery. Getting good features out to users sooner rather than later, 2 years is simply too long a time between releases...and as we have seen its been difficult to coordinate this many major changes in one release, Releasing often simply has many advantages.
LOL the reality is Android is the most popular, Selling WOLDWIDE twice that of the iPhone. You can argue many things about Android, but it is the No.1 smartphone platform and growing, and it is because of the massive advantage of "fragmentation". You simply cannot buy a iPhone with a built-in unique input device.
I agree with it being a business decision, whether its a good one or not is a different matter. MS have a track record of stuffing everyone it has ever partnered with...for business reasons. Microsoft will only act in Nokias interest as long as it is their interest to do so. If I were a share holder thats exactly how I would want them to behave.
N900 is a lovely phone. Hardware limitation include a resistive screen and 256mb of ram. The main problem with the N900 has been the lack of support from Nokia. The platform has not moved in a year and a half, Nokia abandoned its N900 users so the developers unsurprisingly moved to Meego or Android. Personalty I would get rid of mine in a heartbeat I am just not seeing anything good enough to press me to switch.
Its interesting to see responses regarding windows dominance or even x86 as an advantage esp in this context. Intel is watching from the sidelines. It simply does not have a CPU+GPU that can compete in the mobile market. Chances are that you next device will be ARM
I you can't see the problem of running a two year old browser, with an unpopular plugin which has functionality replicated by other extensions better, then basically update your browser and use tab utilities:)
Which Extensions don't work. I have been shocked that I have been able to run a beta copy of Firefox for months with my plug-ins working, considering these are not under Mozilla control I find it remarkable. In fact the extensions page tells you if the plugin works with your version of Firefox. I suspect if your dunning 3.6.* everything works:).
SO, at present the most secure browsers on Windows are Chrome and IE8+
I'd love to see you back this claim up. Windows Integrity Controls are used only in a small share of Windows Users, Internet Explorers integration with Windows will mean that Internet Explorer 8 and its insecurities will continue until users update or move away from XP. Perhaps if Windows was not so closely tied to the machine, easy to install and offered cheaper than the price of a second hand car separately the would be more secure.
I loved your post so much. It must sting that you talk about differentiation when your companies phones sport a Microsoft Logo on them. Why would I care whether its an LG or Samsung or a HTC.
60% of the market is currently XP that's a lot of people to insult. XP was sold on many machines esp those running the atom processor in the last year. I own one.
Stop lying. h.264 certainly has some protection from submarine patents - namely a huge body of patents held for it. You know who has the patents, and they will sue the living shit out of anyone who tries to bring forth a patent for it. You have someone on your side, and that someone has very big guns.
WebM? Not so much... Google isn't offering wide indemnification, only for their own patents no?
Patents don't work like that you can't sue someone for having a patent, you have to pay them for using it...or they sue you. Which is why I am I am concerned about Microsoft suing ME for using a codec.
Nobody uses multiple browsers.
Also, once you switch you can't change your mind.
I use FF and IE on my main monitor and chrome on the 2nd. IMO Firefox got worse in the last release and IE9beta is better than it was. I am indifferent about Chrome. I'm not going to lie and say I use IE a whole lot, I don't. I wouldn't be a geek if I didn't at least look at it and form my own opinion though.
I'm only one more failure from dropping Firefox again though. Go ahead Mozilla, lose all my bookmarks during a crash again. I dare you.
You use multiple browsers and have never backed up your bookmarks...not really showing off any geek cred there.
I have a criticism. I cannot predict even the next few months of what will happen. We know both Firefox and Internet Explorer and coming out shortly. Firefox is a fairly major revision...Will that mean more users less users. IE9 coming out...but its only for Vista and above to pressure XP users to getting a new OS, will that drive users from these alternative browsers by being good enough on their current offering in that 40%, or will users of XP switch to a HTML5 browser...or both. Hell if you look at countries there is vastly different usage pattens, each driven for different reasons. Thats ignoring the unknown factors IE/Chrome could be do something abusive with their browsers that go too far. Facebook could launch a browser etc etc Thats ignoring the biggest chisel to Microsofts unshakable monopoly mobile internet...Currently Microsoft have nothing in that substantial in that space, certainly we expect a rise in everything but Microsoft in that space, and the launch of the Googles iPad competitor is today! These are exciting times for browsers. Now would be a good time for Govenments to step in and cut IE oout of the OS once and for all.
"...Redmond's cloud and mobile strategies don't seem to be paying off."
This statement assumes that they actually have a strategy.
They have clearly pushed themselves to the media, and have received pretty positive press. They have had a half billion Marketing Campaign. Launched on multiple Phones/Carriers/Counties/Manufacturers. As well as various patent threats payouts for their FAT filesystem and ability to get emails from exchange to make the golden boy Android look more tarnished. Thrown in a bit of Monopoly fun Xbox Live/Office...all done on high end hardware to make it perform well. I think they have pretty much done everything other than produce an OS that Customers are willing choose a phone with.
He is running the beta...and it is smooth as silk. I suspect and benchmarks tend to agree the difference in speeds are negligible. I use Firefox and IMO its the best browser. Chromes strength the thing that tugging me more and more towards me making it my main browser is it being able to consistently release.
I am a little at a loss depending on what site you read the sources differ vastly http://www.androlib.com/appstats.aspx for example posts 240,000 applications that's over double that mentioned in the article. I would love some real figures as the conclusion for this article just seems bonkers. Even if the figures are true 100,000 vs 350,000 how many programmers can Google hire to release applications to make up the shortfall, development takes time and effort even for a pretty basic application...and these are developers producing applications for Android now that Google does not pay for. The resources needed are insane. Its interesting that the other conclusion is Google is going for quantity over quality. That is not going to work. We are talking applications...there is a numbers game...but people talk about that damn bird game all the time, or google goggles, 250,000 torch/wallpaper/quote is not going sell android..Google could use application developers in a variety of ways, building development support network, code snippets, game engines, quality first party applications maybe for Google TV/Google Pads, advisers for creating RAD development tools
Why are they different audiences!? I am considering buying one or the other. I did with the current generation of "portable handhelds" I went for the DS then after trying “Elite Beat Agents”. Last generation they were marketed at different groups which hurt both consoles. Microsoft and Sony have learnt from there mistakes after having been soundly slaughtered in units ships by a last generation hardware from Nintendo.
westlake is pointing out it is NOT just about the HTML5 video (not image) tag. It is about video formats in general. Even the PSP has a chip dedicated to H.264 decoding.
And my point was these devices are essentially computers, with no reason not to offer support for WebM whatever definition of open you choose. Through both a firmware or software update. Theora is supported by Chrome...WebM is simply a lot better codec.:)
No. But they have tons and tons of patents on h.264, and h.264 and WebM are very, very similar. So we can quite safely assume that WebM is infringing on a substantial number of patents. At least we can assume that there are tons of patents where a claim that WebM infringes is not unreasonable. And you don't even need a _reasonable_ claim to sue for patent infringement.
Or Vice versa On2 has been doing codecs for a long time
In fact fun article of why flash chose VP6 over H.264 in 2005 my favourite bit is "Risks for Macromedia. We had to know exactly what we were getting into. A codec with an open ended license agreement which has to be renegociated every few years simply bear incalculable risks for a company the size of Macromedia."
http://www.kaourantin.net/2005/08/quest-for-new-video-codec-in-flash-8.html
Slashdot Mirror
I had a quick look, not that I care these posts should be reserved for forums/irc or paid support to Ubuntu of h4rr4r(sic). The reality is after a 5 second google I get results of this highly specialised audio kit working on UBUNTU three years ago. I've looked through the instructions, and they seem trivial then. There is whole communities geared around serious audio on who would love to help you. I suspect you haven't really tried, although whining on Slashdot, that your exotic hardware won't work(sic) is not the best method of getting going.
Open source is not a religion. It is a development model, and works, and with what your talking about the kernel works very very well, you see major changes in each new revision, released about every three months. Its not to punish anyone, but its been made quite clear that progress will not be help back by binary drivers. In fact it shows how successful Open source is that the binary drivers cannot keep up with changes. It was once true that I had to sacrifice fps/just works to get new technology by choosing a an open source driver, now I can get all three. Nvidia have gone from the goto guyes for working fast video to troublesome binary blob, and this is only a recent change. The I think you meant was "Successful development model making massive progress will not be impeded by single hardware manufacture who refuses to adopt new technology"
It has two ALSA+Pulseaudio, and they work very well together...NOW. The only reason I say now is the transition from OSS to ALSA was painful for many, but that was years ago now, and Pulseaudio which adds features, you can see the advantages everywhere, sound mixing being the one people use, although its functionality you could get already. Again Pulseaudio was thrust on a world that didn't want or need it, and more importantly broke what was working before, with everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, but again this is mature technology now, massive forum threads of users reverting ALSA to legacy OSS, or removing Pulseaudio to get sound are at an end. Your more likely to get posts about sound being muted in alsa/pulsaudio through upgrading than anything else, and it shouldn't do that. That is not to say people don't still have problems with certain cards, but I suspect Linux audio has had its reputation damaged by these transitions, unfortunately these major changes should have been held as an example of how not to launch revolutionary software on its users, but similar mistakes were made with Intel KMS and Compiz and its likely to happen again with Unity/Gnome 3.
I think your a little confused about the version numbers, although if it does help with marketing their product I am all for it, although you point to the opposite(its confusing). The version numbering is about feature delivery. Getting good features out to users sooner rather than later, 2 years is simply too long a time between releases...and as we have seen its been difficult to coordinate this many major changes in one release, Releasing often simply has many advantages.
LOL the reality is Android is the most popular, Selling WOLDWIDE twice that of the iPhone. You can argue many things about Android, but it is the No.1 smartphone platform and growing, and it is because of the massive advantage of "fragmentation". You simply cannot buy a iPhone with a built-in unique input device.
I agree with it being a business decision, whether its a good one or not is a different matter. MS have a track record of stuffing everyone it has ever partnered with...for business reasons. Microsoft will only act in Nokias interest as long as it is their interest to do so. If I were a share holder thats exactly how I would want them to behave.
N900 is a lovely phone. Hardware limitation include a resistive screen and 256mb of ram. The main problem with the N900 has been the lack of support from Nokia. The platform has not moved in a year and a half, Nokia abandoned its N900 users so the developers unsurprisingly moved to Meego or Android. Personalty I would get rid of mine in a heartbeat I am just not seeing anything good enough to press me to switch.
Its interesting to see responses regarding windows dominance or even x86 as an advantage esp in this context. Intel is watching from the sidelines. It simply does not have a CPU+GPU that can compete in the mobile market. Chances are that you next device will be ARM
I you can't see the problem of running a two year old browser, with an unpopular plugin which has functionality replicated by other extensions better, then basically update your browser and use tab utilities :)
Which Extensions don't work. I have been shocked that I have been able to run a beta copy of Firefox for months with my plug-ins working, considering these are not under Mozilla control I find it remarkable. In fact the extensions page tells you if the plugin works with your version of Firefox. I suspect if your dunning 3.6.* everything works :).
SO, at present the most secure browsers on Windows are Chrome and IE8+
I'd love to see you back this claim up. Windows Integrity Controls are used only in a small share of Windows Users, Internet Explorers integration with Windows will mean that Internet Explorer 8 and its insecurities will continue until users update or move away from XP. Perhaps if Windows was not so closely tied to the machine, easy to install and offered cheaper than the price of a second hand car separately the would be more secure.
lol yes it would be so incredibly difficult to say simply include the source at the same time. That's like unheard of!
I loved your post so much. It must sting that you talk about differentiation when your companies phones sport a Microsoft Logo on them. Why would I care whether its an LG or Samsung or a HTC.
60% of the market is currently XP that's a lot of people to insult. XP was sold on many machines esp those running the atom processor in the last year. I own one.
Stop lying. h.264 certainly has some protection from submarine patents - namely a huge body of patents held for it. You know who has the patents, and they will sue the living shit out of anyone who tries to bring forth a patent for it. You have someone on your side, and that someone has very big guns.
WebM? Not so much... Google isn't offering wide indemnification, only for their own patents no?
Patents don't work like that you can't sue someone for having a patent, you have to pay them for using it...or they sue you. Which is why I am I am concerned about Microsoft suing ME for using a codec.
Nobody uses multiple browsers. Also, once you switch you can't change your mind.
I use FF and IE on my main monitor and chrome on the 2nd. IMO Firefox got worse in the last release and IE9beta is better than it was. I am indifferent about Chrome. I'm not going to lie and say I use IE a whole lot, I don't. I wouldn't be a geek if I didn't at least look at it and form my own opinion though.
I'm only one more failure from dropping Firefox again though. Go ahead Mozilla, lose all my bookmarks during a crash again. I dare you.
You use multiple browsers and have never backed up your bookmarks...not really showing off any geek cred there.
I have a criticism. I cannot predict even the next few months of what will happen. We know both Firefox and Internet Explorer and coming out shortly. Firefox is a fairly major revision...Will that mean more users less users. IE9 coming out...but its only for Vista and above to pressure XP users to getting a new OS, will that drive users from these alternative browsers by being good enough on their current offering in that 40%, or will users of XP switch to a HTML5 browser...or both. Hell if you look at countries there is vastly different usage pattens, each driven for different reasons. Thats ignoring the unknown factors IE/Chrome could be do something abusive with their browsers that go too far. Facebook could launch a browser etc etc Thats ignoring the biggest chisel to Microsofts unshakable monopoly mobile internet...Currently Microsoft have nothing in that substantial in that space, certainly we expect a rise in everything but Microsoft in that space, and the launch of the Googles iPad competitor is today! These are exciting times for browsers. Now would be a good time for Govenments to step in and cut IE oout of the OS once and for all.
"...Redmond's cloud and mobile strategies don't seem to be paying off."
This statement assumes that they actually have a strategy.
They have clearly pushed themselves to the media, and have received pretty positive press. They have had a half billion Marketing Campaign. Launched on multiple Phones/Carriers/Counties/Manufacturers. As well as various patent threats payouts for their FAT filesystem and ability to get emails from exchange to make the golden boy Android look more tarnished. Thrown in a bit of Monopoly fun Xbox Live/Office...all done on high end hardware to make it perform well. I think they have pretty much done everything other than produce an OS that Customers are willing choose a phone with.
He is running the beta...and it is smooth as silk. I suspect and benchmarks tend to agree the difference in speeds are negligible. I use Firefox and IMO its the best browser. Chromes strength the thing that tugging me more and more towards me making it my main browser is it being able to consistently release.
IE9 will only work on 40% of Computers
I am a little at a loss depending on what site you read the sources differ vastly http://www.androlib.com/appstats.aspx for example posts 240,000 applications that's over double that mentioned in the article. I would love some real figures as the conclusion for this article just seems bonkers. Even if the figures are true 100,000 vs 350,000 how many programmers can Google hire to release applications to make up the shortfall, development takes time and effort even for a pretty basic application...and these are developers producing applications for Android now that Google does not pay for. The resources needed are insane. Its interesting that the other conclusion is Google is going for quantity over quality. That is not going to work. We are talking applications...there is a numbers game...but people talk about that damn bird game all the time, or google goggles, 250,000 torch/wallpaper/quote is not going sell android..Google could use application developers in a variety of ways, building development support network, code snippets, game engines, quality first party applications maybe for Google TV/Google Pads, advisers for creating RAD development tools
Same market, different audiences
Why are they different audiences!? I am considering buying one or the other. I did with the current generation of "portable handhelds" I went for the DS then after trying “Elite Beat Agents”. Last generation they were marketed at different groups which hurt both consoles. Microsoft and Sony have learnt from there mistakes after having been soundly slaughtered in units ships by a last generation hardware from Nintendo.
westlake is pointing out it is NOT just about the HTML5 video (not image) tag. It is about video formats in general. Even the PSP has a chip dedicated to H.264 decoding.
And my point was these devices are essentially computers, with no reason not to offer support for WebM whatever definition of open you choose. Through both a firmware or software update. Theora is supported by Chrome...WebM is simply a lot better codec. :)
Are the h.264 people offering indemnity?
No. But they have tons and tons of patents on h.264, and h.264 and WebM are very, very similar. So we can quite safely assume that WebM is infringing on a substantial number of patents. At least we can assume that there are tons of patents where a claim that WebM infringes is not unreasonable. And you don't even need a _reasonable_ claim to sue for patent infringement.
Or Vice versa On2 has been doing codecs for a long time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VP8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VP7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VP6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VP5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VP3
In fact fun article of why flash chose VP6 over H.264 in 2005 my favourite bit is "Risks for Macromedia. We had to know exactly what we were getting into. A codec with an open ended license agreement which has to be renegociated every few years simply bear incalculable risks for a company the size of Macromedia." http://www.kaourantin.net/2005/08/quest-for-new-video-codec-in-flash-8.html
"It is already absolutely a non-issue. MPEG LA has made H.264 content royalty-free in perpetuity."
Sorry, I meant to say that free content has been made royalty-free.
A.
Perhaps you meant non-commercial streamed video does not require significant License fees.