Didn't know those shortcuts either, thanks. Ctrl-l works in Chrome too, and it doesn't need a separate search menu as the address bar doubles as the menu.. actually I do use keyboard shortcuts all the time for opening and closing tabs anyway, and when you open a new tab the address bar is autofocused so perhaps knowing this shortcut is a little pointless anyway.
I've used several versions of Amiga OS, BBC Micro OS, several versions of Mac OS, OSX, DOS, every version of Windows apart from 2/Me/Server 2008, and a few different Linux distros over the years. I'm quite comfortable using any of them effectively, but I think Ubuntu is better than any of them at providing a usable system right off the bat. I don't see anything particularly childish about it being a well designed and polished distribution. Ubuntu works great for a lot of experienced computer users who appreciate an OS that just works and lets them get on with the more important things. It also works well for the noobs, because they appreciate exactly the same thing.
There’s no point in acting surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for 50 of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energise the demolition beams.
You should maybe say "the iPhone" instead of simply "Apple products", since there are a few Apple products that I have loved over the years, though I've never owned one beginning with "i" (apart from an iPod shuffle that I randomly "won" without even entering a competition) as there have always been better alternatives available.
I am tempted by the iPad but I'll wait until my flatmate gets his and try it before deciding whether to splash out myself (they're not available yet in the UK). I'm thinking it'll be fun, but essentially pointless for me considering my Mini 9 has all the features I want - small, light, good battery life, good screen and keyboard, SSD. I've always liked the idea of tablet PCs, but there hasn't been anything that really has had the right kind of interface for it until now, and I don't have any killer app for one either. One of the things I thought they would be really cool for was messing around in paint apps, but that really needs a stylus for fine detail control and I don't think anyone has worked out a decent way of doing that with capacitive touch-screens yet?
I'm honestly thankful to the iPhone for forcing phone OS designers to get a fscking grip and design more responsive and intuitive UIs, but I still do have some issues with how locked down things are, no matter how many fun apps there are available. I think installing the DropBox app may get around some of my issues with lack of file storage on the iPhone and therefore the iPad. I haven't asked my flatmate how he's found it yet though. I'm definitely not getting an iPhone unless they make a version with a real keyboard, but I'd be happy to have a separate keyboard for an iPad.
I don't think all of the updates are just for security issues, they also do stuff like add in completely new features, ie PS3 Home, and they also can add extra functionality to existing features - ie some recent-ish ones were adding movie rental into the PS3 Store, extra slideshow functionality to the picture viewer in the XMB, then you'll have stuff like blu-ray spec updates from time to time etc. It would be possible to store the updates on the HDD instead but they seem to want the updates to be non-reversible hence flashing the BIOS or whatever the equivalent is on the PS3..
Re:Like Woz didn't move on a LONG time ago?
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You should be able to get one in black surely? I got my Mini 9 with a nice cream&black tattoo kind of design since it was the same price as black that month, I think it's quite funky.
Re:Like Woz didn't move on a LONG time ago?
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The Apple Two
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My Dell Mini 9 running 9.10 serves me great for both 99% of my work use and 100% of my home use too, what's your point?:)
I don't think there are that many people who have made the move to have their netbook as their sole computer (especially with no optical drive) although there will doubtless be some, I'll wager it's not the norm.
Haha, I'm actually one of those people;) This little netbook is the best computer I've ever had - Dell Mini 9 with Ubuntu 9.10, 32GB SSD, 1GB of RAM (which never goes to swap). I use it as is at home, and connect it up to a monitor, keyboard and mouse at work. I can do all my web app development and network admin type stuff from it fine. Admittedly when I develop for Windows (which isn't very often, maybe one month of it in the last 12 months for a one-off for one of our clients, and another week for some in-house stuff) I tend to do that on another machine, but I do that by remote desktopping into another computer from my netbook. The computer I connect into is actually a VM running on my old MBP, which is also running Ubuntu. Convoluted, I know! The MBP is powerful enough, but just too damn noisy and hot so I use it as a server for various thing now, with bonus built in UPS:P
I use a PS3 for all my gaming needs in case you're wondering what I actually do for entertainment!
Still tempted to buy a more powerful laptop from time to time, but I know I don't need it. If I did need more power I could just drag my old X2 desktop out of retirement. I still have it in the corner of my room but I haven't ever powered it up in my current residence.
Oh I accept the doorstop issue if it actually means the device isn't useful for anything. It's the way the article seemed to claim that the device would become a doorstop even if you do nothing that was pissing me off. It's always been the case that you can't get onto PSN if you don't install the latest updates. There's too much sensationalism going on.
The manufacture didn't intend it to do any of those things but there they are.
Does your washer/dryer or toaster have the capability of being upgraded to do turn by turn navigation?
Not the best argument as Apple included a GPS receiver in the device, but yes, intend wasn't quite the right word to use there. And the device may not be locked down to a specific application as an appliance is, but there are specific applications that the device is artificially limited to not perform by Apple, which is I suspect where the feelings that it is an appliance come from. Not to mention that keyboardless devices by their very nature are limited in the first place unless you buy a separate keyboard attachment - and yes my toaster could function as a satnav if I attached extra devices to it. I could have one pop for left, two pops for right, and switch on the heating elements when I need to perform a legal U-turn.
Just FYI I don't think any netbooks have a CD drive.
A netbook is just as convenient on the couch or in bed (I should know, I'm using mine while slouched down on the couch right now), and a phone sized device would be much better for a shopping list. I would either cringe or simply laugh if I saw anyone walking around consulting their iPad when doing their shopping.
The iPad does look like a fun device, but the only times I see it being truly better than a netbook are for pure consumption tasks like watching a movie, playing certain types of game, or reading. If you get a decent bluetooth keyboard to use with it then it almost can compete with netbooks as an all round useful device, but you'd probably have to sit in an awkward position. Then you have to consider that it's still twice the price of a decent netbook (not even including the keyboard), and you are much more limited in terms of what you are "allowed" to do with it. That of course can be seen as either a benefit or a drawback depending on how advanced a user you are, and whether you're willing to jailbreak the device.
My washer/drier is an appliance, and it does two tasks... in computing terms the iPad is a bit of an appliance as it only does what the manufacturer intends it to do unless you start seriously frakkin with it.
Re:Like Woz didn't move on a LONG time ago?
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The Apple Two
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· Score: 1
The 10 inch Dell netbook gets 10 hours of use on a single charge too. Though it will obviously be heavier, and has no touch screen.
I suspect the iPad doesn't have a replaceable battery either.
It kind of does. Get them playing something stupidly arcadey like Ridge Racer against the best gamers and things would be very different. If games like GT weren't so close to real life then the race drivers' skills would not apply. Sure some elements in the game are simpler than real life (thinking of stuff like modelling temperature and wear in tyres and the condition of the road surface etc, but some games even attempt to simulate that stuff), but the overall handling characteristics of cars in games these days is very similar to real life.
There's some definite ignorance there for sure. Such as calling the Other OS option a "widget", it definitely doesn't fall anywhere near that category. The whole thing just seems to be a couple of steps above your average youtube comment when it comes to journalistic research. I expect it was written by someone who calls that thing under their desk a "hard drive".
That's pretty cool, but too late D: I'm one of the people that isn't affected by the update though. I love teh lunix, but I already have Ubuntu on my netbook and prefer to keep my PS3 for gaming and multimedia consumption.
Interweb is just a common colloquialism for the internet, it doesn't excuse any logical fallacies in the sentence. I quite often communicate perfectly legitimate sentiments to my friends using lolcat style language.
Indeed, this is no different to the problems with any of the earlier updates, but people love their insane conspiracy theories. I wonder if those stuck in infinite loops have tried the "hold the power button down for 10 seconds on boot up" trick, which resets a few things like switching from HDMI output to the default video output.
Sounds like Sony could be more thorough with testing, but what with all the different versions of the "fat" PS3 that they've had, or say people losing power midway through the installation etc there are bound to be some issues. I actually thought my PS3 had frozen during the upgrade the first time and had to power it down and on again, because it wouldn't respond to my remote and the background animation wasn't moving. After cycling the power I realised the background was meant to be a still image, and things probably would have been fine if I'd just tried my normal controller the first time.
Actually the first paragraph does. It is very poorly worded:
The 3.21 firmware upgrade, which removes the security hole provided by the 'Install Other OS' widget used by lots of educational institutions and hackers alike, also removes the console's ability to play games or connect to the Interweb according to forum posts, turning it into a very expensive doorstop.
Emphasis mine. There is no also about it. The two outcomes are mutually exclusive depending on whether or not you install the update.
It is always the case that if you don't install a required system updated, that you can no longer use online features. I've got no idea why some users are saying that their PS3 suddenly "refuses to play or eject blu-ray discs" though. With the standard of reporting in the article I wouldn't be surprised if one person has had a hardware failure in his optical drive and then has reported that this is a result of not installing the update, which is complete BS.
Will be malfunctioning? My PS3 and my flatmate's are both working fine. No doubt there is a very vocal minority who are experiencing problems, but it is definitely not breaking PS3s across the board. Both of our PS3s are still working fine at full res via HDMI to our HDTVs and hi-fi system.
We already knew that installing the update would cause Other OS to not function.
We already knew that not installing the update would disable online capabilities, including certain games.
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Didn't know those shortcuts either, thanks. Ctrl-l works in Chrome too, and it doesn't need a separate search menu as the address bar doubles as the menu.. actually I do use keyboard shortcuts all the time for opening and closing tabs anyway, and when you open a new tab the address bar is autofocused so perhaps knowing this shortcut is a little pointless anyway.
Nice to see that some people are doing their part for recycling.
I'm saying that all those features are already there on both versions of the PS3, but those are a few of the possible hardware changes in the process.
Nah it wouldn't be able to run many of the previously available games with that amount of RAM. It still has 256MB
Ethernet, wifi, bluetooth and HDD controllers are some obvious possibilities.
I've used several versions of Amiga OS, BBC Micro OS, several versions of Mac OS, OSX, DOS, every version of Windows apart from 2/Me/Server 2008, and a few different Linux distros over the years. I'm quite comfortable using any of them effectively, but I think Ubuntu is better than any of them at providing a usable system right off the bat. I don't see anything particularly childish about it being a well designed and polished distribution. Ubuntu works great for a lot of experienced computer users who appreciate an OS that just works and lets them get on with the more important things. It also works well for the noobs, because they appreciate exactly the same thing.
"Will" is such a strong word.. the law means diddly squat unless you can enforce it effectively.
There’s no point in acting surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for 50 of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energise the demolition beams.
You should maybe say "the iPhone" instead of simply "Apple products", since there are a few Apple products that I have loved over the years, though I've never owned one beginning with "i" (apart from an iPod shuffle that I randomly "won" without even entering a competition) as there have always been better alternatives available.
I am tempted by the iPad but I'll wait until my flatmate gets his and try it before deciding whether to splash out myself (they're not available yet in the UK). I'm thinking it'll be fun, but essentially pointless for me considering my Mini 9 has all the features I want - small, light, good battery life, good screen and keyboard, SSD. I've always liked the idea of tablet PCs, but there hasn't been anything that really has had the right kind of interface for it until now, and I don't have any killer app for one either. One of the things I thought they would be really cool for was messing around in paint apps, but that really needs a stylus for fine detail control and I don't think anyone has worked out a decent way of doing that with capacitive touch-screens yet?
I'm honestly thankful to the iPhone for forcing phone OS designers to get a fscking grip and design more responsive and intuitive UIs, but I still do have some issues with how locked down things are, no matter how many fun apps there are available. I think installing the DropBox app may get around some of my issues with lack of file storage on the iPhone and therefore the iPad. I haven't asked my flatmate how he's found it yet though. I'm definitely not getting an iPhone unless they make a version with a real keyboard, but I'd be happy to have a separate keyboard for an iPad.
I don't think all of the updates are just for security issues, they also do stuff like add in completely new features, ie PS3 Home, and they also can add extra functionality to existing features - ie some recent-ish ones were adding movie rental into the PS3 Store, extra slideshow functionality to the picture viewer in the XMB, then you'll have stuff like blu-ray spec updates from time to time etc. It would be possible to store the updates on the HDD instead but they seem to want the updates to be non-reversible hence flashing the BIOS or whatever the equivalent is on the PS3..
You should be able to get one in black surely? I got my Mini 9 with a nice cream&black tattoo kind of design since it was the same price as black that month, I think it's quite funky.
My Dell Mini 9 running 9.10 serves me great for both 99% of my work use and 100% of my home use too, what's your point? :)
I don't think there are that many people who have made the move to have their netbook as their sole computer (especially with no optical drive) although there will doubtless be some, I'll wager it's not the norm.
Haha, I'm actually one of those people ;) This little netbook is the best computer I've ever had - Dell Mini 9 with Ubuntu 9.10, 32GB SSD, 1GB of RAM (which never goes to swap). I use it as is at home, and connect it up to a monitor, keyboard and mouse at work. I can do all my web app development and network admin type stuff from it fine. Admittedly when I develop for Windows (which isn't very often, maybe one month of it in the last 12 months for a one-off for one of our clients, and another week for some in-house stuff) I tend to do that on another machine, but I do that by remote desktopping into another computer from my netbook. The computer I connect into is actually a VM running on my old MBP, which is also running Ubuntu. Convoluted, I know! The MBP is powerful enough, but just too damn noisy and hot so I use it as a server for various thing now, with bonus built in UPS :P
I use a PS3 for all my gaming needs in case you're wondering what I actually do for entertainment!
Still tempted to buy a more powerful laptop from time to time, but I know I don't need it. If I did need more power I could just drag my old X2 desktop out of retirement. I still have it in the corner of my room but I haven't ever powered it up in my current residence.
Oh I accept the doorstop issue if it actually means the device isn't useful for anything. It's the way the article seemed to claim that the device would become a doorstop even if you do nothing that was pissing me off. It's always been the case that you can't get onto PSN if you don't install the latest updates. There's too much sensationalism going on.
I have three map applications[...]
The manufacture didn't intend it to do any of those things but there they are.
Does your washer/dryer or toaster have the capability of being upgraded to do turn by turn navigation?
Not the best argument as Apple included a GPS receiver in the device, but yes, intend wasn't quite the right word to use there. And the device may not be locked down to a specific application as an appliance is, but there are specific applications that the device is artificially limited to not perform by Apple, which is I suspect where the feelings that it is an appliance come from. Not to mention that keyboardless devices by their very nature are limited in the first place unless you buy a separate keyboard attachment - and yes my toaster could function as a satnav if I attached extra devices to it. I could have one pop for left, two pops for right, and switch on the heating elements when I need to perform a legal U-turn.
Just FYI I don't think any netbooks have a CD drive.
A netbook is just as convenient on the couch or in bed (I should know, I'm using mine while slouched down on the couch right now), and a phone sized device would be much better for a shopping list. I would either cringe or simply laugh if I saw anyone walking around consulting their iPad when doing their shopping.
The iPad does look like a fun device, but the only times I see it being truly better than a netbook are for pure consumption tasks like watching a movie, playing certain types of game, or reading. If you get a decent bluetooth keyboard to use with it then it almost can compete with netbooks as an all round useful device, but you'd probably have to sit in an awkward position. Then you have to consider that it's still twice the price of a decent netbook (not even including the keyboard), and you are much more limited in terms of what you are "allowed" to do with it. That of course can be seen as either a benefit or a drawback depending on how advanced a user you are, and whether you're willing to jailbreak the device.
My washer/drier is an appliance, and it does two tasks... in computing terms the iPad is a bit of an appliance as it only does what the manufacturer intends it to do unless you start seriously frakkin with it.
The 10 inch Dell netbook gets 10 hours of use on a single charge too. Though it will obviously be heavier, and has no touch screen.
I suspect the iPad doesn't have a replaceable battery either.
It kind of does. Get them playing something stupidly arcadey like Ridge Racer against the best gamers and things would be very different. If games like GT weren't so close to real life then the race drivers' skills would not apply. Sure some elements in the game are simpler than real life (thinking of stuff like modelling temperature and wear in tyres and the condition of the road surface etc, but some games even attempt to simulate that stuff), but the overall handling characteristics of cars in games these days is very similar to real life.
There's some definite ignorance there for sure. Such as calling the Other OS option a "widget", it definitely doesn't fall anywhere near that category. The whole thing just seems to be a couple of steps above your average youtube comment when it comes to journalistic research. I expect it was written by someone who calls that thing under their desk a "hard drive".
That's pretty cool, but too late D: I'm one of the people that isn't affected by the update though. I love teh lunix, but I already have Ubuntu on my netbook and prefer to keep my PS3 for gaming and multimedia consumption.
Interweb is just a common colloquialism for the internet, it doesn't excuse any logical fallacies in the sentence. I quite often communicate perfectly legitimate sentiments to my friends using lolcat style language.
Indeed, this is no different to the problems with any of the earlier updates, but people love their insane conspiracy theories. I wonder if those stuck in infinite loops have tried the "hold the power button down for 10 seconds on boot up" trick, which resets a few things like switching from HDMI output to the default video output.
Sounds like Sony could be more thorough with testing, but what with all the different versions of the "fat" PS3 that they've had, or say people losing power midway through the installation etc there are bound to be some issues. I actually thought my PS3 had frozen during the upgrade the first time and had to power it down and on again, because it wouldn't respond to my remote and the background animation wasn't moving. After cycling the power I realised the background was meant to be a still image, and things probably would have been fine if I'd just tried my normal controller the first time.
Actually the first paragraph does. It is very poorly worded:
The 3.21 firmware upgrade, which removes the security hole provided by the 'Install Other OS' widget used by lots of educational institutions and hackers alike, also removes the console's ability to play games or connect to the Interweb according to forum posts, turning it into a very expensive doorstop.
Emphasis mine. There is no also about it. The two outcomes are mutually exclusive depending on whether or not you install the update.
It is always the case that if you don't install a required system updated, that you can no longer use online features. I've got no idea why some users are saying that their PS3 suddenly "refuses to play or eject blu-ray discs" though. With the standard of reporting in the article I wouldn't be surprised if one person has had a hardware failure in his optical drive and then has reported that this is a result of not installing the update, which is complete BS.
Will be malfunctioning? My PS3 and my flatmate's are both working fine. No doubt there is a very vocal minority who are experiencing problems, but it is definitely not breaking PS3s across the board. Both of our PS3s are still working fine at full res via HDMI to our HDTVs and hi-fi system.
We already knew that installing the update would cause Other OS to not function.
We already knew that not installing the update would disable online capabilities, including certain games.