But you could hardly say that an "application for tracking my blood sugar" is something that cannot be done as well on any other phone. Most of the things that the GP listed were simple apps from the early days of smartphones. Hardly proof of how much better the iPhone is.
You could, if by "done as well" you meant "done on hardware that doesn't lag, with a UI that's not frustrating to use, on a screen that's easy to read in broad daylight, in a phone that's not bulky..." etc etc.
I think you're confusing "the technical abilities of an iPhone" with "the experience of using an iPhone." Yes, in theory, you could make or find a Windows Mobile app that tracks blood sugar. His point was, "of all the phones I've tried, this one let me most easily find and use the features/apps I personally want." That IS proof that the iPhone is better - FOR HIM. The thing that makes it popular is that lots of people are in the same boat.
All that really matters is people saying "I like this better." Whether their reasons are valid to you is irrelevant.
Also, from a Darwinian perspective... it's still e-coli, not some new organism. Is this really a proof of anything?
"E. Coli" is an arbitrary name that people gave to "those organisms with the following list of qualities..." If it becomes useful to give a different name for "the ones who can eat X" or "the ones who aren't killed by Y" or "the ones who behave like Z" then they'll get a new name. At what point they are a "new organism" is really a judgment call.
To put it another way, saying "the group of E. Coli that can eat X" is no more or less arbitrary a distinction as "the group of mammals that lay eggs." We could call every human a different species, because we all have unique DNA - and maybe that would be useful if there were clones. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we could divide the world into "makes its own food" and "eats other creatures" and not get any more specific than that. ("Run! It's a giant Eats-Other-Creatures!") It's all about what names are useful to us.
I can't dispute your anecdotal evidence, but I see a lot of interracial couples and families in Augusta, and I haven't noticed them being treated differently. Who knows, maybe they would tell a different story. But the fact that they're together says something.
Best case scenario is you get the same bandwidth for maybe a couple bucks less a month.
Two other possible effects:
The new companies offer better prices. As a counter-attack, the old companies offer more bandwidth or services for the same price.
The new companies make enough money to start adding some infrastructure of their own - WiMax, fiber, backbone, whatever. Now there's bandwidth competition.
That said, if you think that a sign like you describe would be a death sentence for a business, you should take a trip to Georgia. There are lawsuits filed there constantly because business owners blatantly discriminate based on race and have to be forced by the courts to stop because "the marketplace" doesn't apply any such force on them.
As a Georgian, I'd like to say this: I can't confirm/deny your statement about employer discrimination. My own workplace is racially diverse.
However, I'm confident that a "no blacks allowed" sign on a restaurant would cause riots. Most people here are anti-racism.
Look at it from their point of view - all they want to do is win their games, too. The only difference is, instead of bet/no bet, their choice is bar/don't bar from the premises.
No, it's different. They're saying "come play our game of skill! If you're good, you can win money!" But that's a lie. If you're good, they kick you out.
To put it another way, you're not allowed to use your brains to win, but they ARE allowed to use computer analysis to win. That's like tying your hands in a boxing match against a gorilla.
I can SOMEWHAT understand BES but honestly with ActiveSync and EWS, there's no point to BES anymore.
Does Activesync let your IT department control whether you can use your phone's camera, or reply to text messages? Does it let them require you to use a password on the device, or wipe its data remotely if it's lost or stolen?
A lot of what BlackBerry has going for it is not consumer-oriented, but plays well with businesses. BlackBerry trying to compete with the iPhone seems a bit misguided, to me. But since iPhone is trying to move into the corporate space, maybe they feel they have to move into the consumer space.
...peer to peer telephony. If it got big enough we could put the cell companies out of business.
I've thought about this too, and it's REALLY cool idea, but I'm not sure if it would work. Even with the internet, not every user's computer is also a server or switch. Phones add the complication of intermittent connections and limited battery power.
Could a mesh network of cell phones function independent of towers? Does anybody who has more knowledge of networking than I do want to chime in?
With no ads, it's not real at all. With generic ads, it's a little better.
Maybe. But generic ads can be humorous, too. Real ads have to take themselves seriously.
'Now imagine Times Square with ads you just saw on television or read in a newspaper--the latest movie release or television show or a new car model,' he said. 'Imagine further that it is up-to-the-minute, whether you played your game today or six months from now. That is much more realistic.'
FAIL. Using the CUSTOMER'S bandwidth pulling down up-to-the-minute ads, so you can get paid for advertising in a game the CUSTOMER already bought? Advertising that will always change, thereby distracting from the game itself? And pitching that as an improvement? FAIL, sir.
Besides which, realism is only good when it makes a game more fun. Realistic explosions? Good. Realistic insurance claims afterwards? Bad. Some aspects of reality suck, and people play games to escape them.
Why presume that the artist is guilty? Having your content taken down and having to fight to get it back is pretty sucky. Wouldn't this be fairer?
1. WB sends DMCA complaint 2. MySpace notifies artist 3. Artist goes WTF and sends in a DMCA counter notice 4. MySpace tells WB "take it up with the courts"
Will a bill such as this endanger publishing companies in the same way Internet journalism endangers traditional journalism?"
Not exactly. They could still be hired to put the textbooks together, and could negotiate their fee. They'd just get paid once instead of 100 times. Probably the profits would be smaller, but payments would be negotiated up front, so nobody would be shortchanged.
It's also possible we'd get better textbooks. In IP issues, people often argue that removing copyright takes away incentives to create. But it also takes away obstacles to creation. Imagine a textbook that combines all the best information and illustrations from 10 previous, competing editions. That's what you could have if all 10 of those had been open sourced.
We could aggregate data from the Android comparison-shopping app, and use it to map out product locations in a store. Then you could walk into a grocery store and punch in "cream of coconut" and see where it is.
Of course, to make this practical, the store would have to be "indexed" frequently by lots of shopper activity. Or the store itself could cooperate and scan stuff into the map as they stock the shelves. But generally their motives are against giving you a direct route, since they want you to wander around and see more things you want.
It's also good news if you like competition. Now you've at least got an option to switch, which puts some pressure on Microsoft. And if Google can do this, someone else could, too.
This isn't "good vs evil." It's "choice vs no choice." And it looks like choice just scored a point.
Half a century later, Micro Focus published research which showed people still use COBOL at least 10 times throughout the course of an average working day in Australia. Only 18 per cent of those surveyed, however, had ever actually heard of COBOL.
And I bet they were so grateful to learn! Now lets bring in the accountants, to open our eyes to all the lovely ways that double-entry bookkeeping touches our lives, and the concrete pourers, to explain how frequently we take reinforced concrete for granted.
Seriously, it's supposed to be surprising that most non-programmers haven't heard of your programming language? Most people don't even know what their own organs do.
Clearly, the only way to honor these deep cultural traditions is to put a video camera in the kitchen of every American, and send in the cops the moment anyone makes tabouli.
Of course, since the grapes aren't actually grown in the oakanagan, the whole thing is a complete farce. But these wines are ending up on "BC wine lists", and being sold out liquor stores as "BC Wines" I don't know offhand but I wouldn't be surprised if California's good name is being similarly tainted by this practice.
Deception is bad. On the other hand, can you taste the difference? And if not, does it matter?
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This was one of the most interesting and well-written posts I've read in a long time.
You could, if by "done as well" you meant "done on hardware that doesn't lag, with a UI that's not frustrating to use, on a screen that's easy to read in broad daylight, in a phone that's not bulky..." etc etc.
I think you're confusing "the technical abilities of an iPhone" with "the experience of using an iPhone." Yes, in theory, you could make or find a Windows Mobile app that tracks blood sugar. His point was, "of all the phones I've tried, this one let me most easily find and use the features/apps I personally want." That IS proof that the iPhone is better - FOR HIM. The thing that makes it popular is that lots of people are in the same boat.
All that really matters is people saying "I like this better." Whether their reasons are valid to you is irrelevant.
For a second I thought your sig was referring to whether illegal immigrants should get licenses.
"E. Coli" is an arbitrary name that people gave to "those organisms with the following list of qualities..." If it becomes useful to give a different name for "the ones who can eat X" or "the ones who aren't killed by Y" or "the ones who behave like Z" then they'll get a new name. At what point they are a "new organism" is really a judgment call.
To put it another way, saying "the group of E. Coli that can eat X" is no more or less arbitrary a distinction as "the group of mammals that lay eggs." We could call every human a different species, because we all have unique DNA - and maybe that would be useful if there were clones. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we could divide the world into "makes its own food" and "eats other creatures" and not get any more specific than that. ("Run! It's a giant Eats-Other-Creatures!") It's all about what names are useful to us.
I can't dispute your anecdotal evidence, but I see a lot of interracial couples and families in Augusta, and I haven't noticed them being treated differently. Who knows, maybe they would tell a different story. But the fact that they're together says something.
Two other possible effects:
Does that sound possible?
As a Georgian, I'd like to say this: I can't confirm/deny your statement about employer discrimination. My own workplace is racially diverse.
However, I'm confident that a "no blacks allowed" sign on a restaurant would cause riots. Most people here are anti-racism.
No, it's different. They're saying "come play our game of skill! If you're good, you can win money!" But that's a lie. If you're good, they kick you out.
To put it another way, you're not allowed to use your brains to win, but they ARE allowed to use computer analysis to win. That's like tying your hands in a boxing match against a gorilla.
This is also known as "cheating."
Casinos are scum and should be avoided.
Does Activesync let your IT department control whether you can use your phone's camera, or reply to text messages? Does it let them require you to use a password on the device, or wipe its data remotely if it's lost or stolen?
A lot of what BlackBerry has going for it is not consumer-oriented, but plays well with businesses. BlackBerry trying to compete with the iPhone seems a bit misguided, to me. But since iPhone is trying to move into the corporate space, maybe they feel they have to move into the consumer space.
I've thought about this too, and it's REALLY cool idea, but I'm not sure if it would work. Even with the internet, not every user's computer is also a server or switch. Phones add the complication of intermittent connections and limited battery power.
Could a mesh network of cell phones function independent of towers? Does anybody who has more knowledge of networking than I do want to chime in?
...who works for EFF.
So what's their interest in this? Is it cryptography related?
I am so tired of laptops with zero height. I mean besides the lousy ergonomics, the screen is totally unusable.
That's because a BlackBerry lets them control their company data. And decide to allow/deny every little function of the device.
Unfortunately, with phones, fun != good for business. Though they sometimes overlap.
Maybe. But generic ads can be humorous, too. Real ads have to take themselves seriously.
FAIL. Using the CUSTOMER'S bandwidth pulling down up-to-the-minute ads, so you can get paid for advertising in a game the CUSTOMER already bought? Advertising that will always change, thereby distracting from the game itself? And pitching that as an improvement? FAIL, sir.
Besides which, realism is only good when it makes a game more fun. Realistic explosions? Good. Realistic insurance claims afterwards? Bad. Some aspects of reality suck, and people play games to escape them.
Why presume that the artist is guilty? Having your content taken down and having to fight to get it back is pretty sucky. Wouldn't this be fairer?
1. WB sends DMCA complaint
2. MySpace notifies artist
3. Artist goes WTF and sends in a DMCA counter notice
4. MySpace tells WB "take it up with the courts"
I bought a Dell with Ubuntu back in April. It was cheaper than the equivalent Windows machine AND came with a bigger monitor.
It's like if you lease a car, and if you stop making payments, the car implodes.
Not exactly. They could still be hired to put the textbooks together, and could negotiate their fee. They'd just get paid once instead of 100 times. Probably the profits would be smaller, but payments would be negotiated up front, so nobody would be shortchanged.
It's also possible we'd get better textbooks. In IP issues, people often argue that removing copyright takes away incentives to create. But it also takes away obstacles to creation. Imagine a textbook that combines all the best information and illustrations from 10 previous, competing editions. That's what you could have if all 10 of those had been open sourced.
We could aggregate data from the Android comparison-shopping app, and use it to map out product locations in a store. Then you could walk into a grocery store and punch in "cream of coconut" and see where it is.
Of course, to make this practical, the store would have to be "indexed" frequently by lots of shopper activity. Or the store itself could cooperate and scan stuff into the map as they stock the shelves. But generally their motives are against giving you a direct route, since they want you to wander around and see more things you want.
It's also good news if you like competition. Now you've at least got an option to switch, which puts some pressure on Microsoft. And if Google can do this, someone else could, too.
This isn't "good vs evil." It's "choice vs no choice." And it looks like choice just scored a point.
"How To Save $1 Trillion a Year With Open Source." Step 1: be the sum of all IT organizations worldwide.
And I bet they were so grateful to learn! Now lets bring in the accountants, to open our eyes to all the lovely ways that double-entry bookkeeping touches our lives, and the concrete pourers, to explain how frequently we take reinforced concrete for granted.
Seriously, it's supposed to be surprising that most non-programmers haven't heard of your programming language? Most people don't even know what their own organs do.
Clearly, the only way to honor these deep cultural traditions is to put a video camera in the kitchen of every American, and send in the cops the moment anyone makes tabouli.
Deception is bad. On the other hand, can you taste the difference? And if not, does it matter?
Well played, sir. :)