The reason you'll never satisfy the masses is because the principals of "User Friendly" bare little relation to the expectations of those Windows Users crying out for it.
The reality is that the overwhelming majority of PC users are used to doing things the Windows way. We can argue and scream and shout as much as we like about how wrong the Windows way is, but it's what they know. Introducing one of these people to a new system will always result in some pain or disappointment because *it doesn't work like Windows*. Naturally, the sensible/willing to learn types will adjust and probably be better off for it. But the screams will continue unabated in the mean time.
So if we're interested in improving user friendliness, we have but two choices. Follow proper HCI guidelines and do what we feel is right (but if we do no one will thank us for it) or play pass-the-photocopier with Redmond's view which will satisfy the masses but leave us with a hollow victory.
I pretty much agree.
Although, playing devils advocate and all, advertising *is* useful if used right. I can live with the "Look, we've made something new, so I'm telling you it exists" type.
But no, that's too easy - that leaves the final choice to me. So instead we get the "Look at me! I'm shiny! All the cool people have me! What? You don't? Ah, you just haven't got round to it yet...no? Why not? What's wrong with you? Why don't you want to be cool? Are you ill? Mentally deficient? My god, you must be the scum of the earth...." ego stroke/guilt trip/mind control type.
I'm off to install a pop-up blocker into my frontal lobes....
OK, I'm waxing lyrical here but sorry, nature isn't a closed system the way you seem to think it is. Every species has some (however convoluted) link to the others. You say this won't affect you? Please tell me how you know this.
It may be true that this particular extinction will be nothing more than a sad footnote. But what about the next species? The next over-grazed land turned to desert. The next non-indigenous insect forcing out the native species. The next dead river due to a chain of events that leads to uncontrolled algae growth.
The whole "survival of the fittest" and "life is tough" attitude isn't wholly wrong but I think you miss a key point here. The so called balance of nature is exactly that - Natural. Through intelligence and belligerence, we exceed nature. We are not always limited by natural checks and boundaries since we use technology and science to get past them.
And since there are no longer any natural balances to what we do to the environment and to the planet in general, we *have* to take on that responsibility ourselves. Not because of any touchy-feely animal rights reasons, or because of some notion of karma, but for purely practical reasons - nature requires balance and we're now outside that system. We're are capable of destroying it without even trying. And in doing so we destroy ourselves.
Nonono, I wasn't agreeing or disagreeing about the presence of additional batteries, but noting that if you think your battery is dry, it probably isn't. A point you've just backed up for me, thank you.
Woah there - Copyright exists for some very good reasons! The basic principles behind copyright aren't wrong, it's the abuse and misuse of copyrights and copyright law that's causing the problems!
There's nothing unreasonable in offering content producers ("creators of culture") some limited protection for a limited time.
It's just that it's no longer reasonable. And no longer just about the content creators.
But, to be fair - you can set the dock to autohide so it's only there when needed. And if you drag a folder to the dock you can treat it like a hierachial menu if you right-click it.
Right-click? Yes! OS X has context menus all over the place. If you don't like using the keyboard to emulate a right-click, just buy a half decent USB mouse instead. It'll work seamlessly.
I agree about finder though. Although that column view is only one of several views.
Well, my latest Nokia phone refuses to start up when the battery's too low yet it'll actually switch itself on long enough to blast my clock alarm sound at me. So whatever internal battery/reserve power it has, it's more than just enough to keep the clock ticking...
Hmm, I have to say that particular argument is a new one to me - Good point, well made!
However, I would still suggest that the froth-at-the-mouth-whore-of-Babylon scaremongering that tends to surround sexually explicit content (in all media) is perhaps a little disproportionate to that found around violent imagery.
I see your point and agree that the emulation of sex acts is more likely than those of violent acts but bare in mind that there is little substantial evidence that emulation is an issue anyway. If you're worried your child may be susceptible to the point of emulating such things, surely a responsible parent should take steps to both limit exposure *and* ensure the child learns about these things properly.
Ah, but a key point to remember is that the features that will allow for new play styles - the "Wii-mote" is a standard peripheral - it comes part and parcel.
History will tell you that if you want developers to use some specific hardware feature, it needs to be there from the start. Yes, such motion sensing systems can and will come to the PS3 and XBox but the vast majority of games won't use them. Why will a developer write a game utilising a feature that only a small percentage of console owners have? They won't - they'll write games based on the guaranteed features present at sale.
Take the eye-toy - a fantastic add-on with lots of potential but hardly used outside of the games that were bundled with it.
If success is based on games, and original games rely on new genres/original peripherals then the Wii will have the most success in that regard since these new features will be available on every single console.
Of course, it relies on the developers having the interest and skill to pursue such new genres.
Mixed feelings on this really. You're not entirely wrong - we shouldn't expect people to know or learn (beyond the basics) about the nitty gritty details of a FOSS OS. Yes, people have as much right to just expect a "product" and have it "just work" as they do with a car, a house, or any kind of service (utilities, legal etc.), but there's a significant difference between "product" and "hobby".
No one knows it all. There's just not enough time in the world.
But here's where you're rubbing me up the wrong way. Let's use the house analogy, shall we?
You buy a house. You want it furnished. You go to your nearest carpet store. You want a pale green carpet with a blue diamond motif. Oh - no, look, they only have yellow with red diamonds! Well, you're relying on someone elses skills and expertise to create the carpet, so you just have to deal with it and pay the piper.
Now you want a conservatory added. You decide against paying a contractor - you'd rather save some money and do it yourself. Also, you didn't like the limited design choices you had available. So you build your conservatory. It takes a *long* time and you have to look up all sorts of building techniques.
You find that it leaks in winter.
See any parallels? It's a real cliche here on/. but Linux is not a "product". The fact that it is anyway near as "user-friendly" as it currently is id almost besides the point. If you *don't* want to have to know how your PC works or worry about various low-level idiosyncrasies, then purchase a pre-defined, packaged OS. Honestly, moral and ethical issues asside, you have two established commercial OSes to choose from.
Like any consumer product, you pay for the convenience of not having to bother with understanding something's construction. You pay for the privelage of having someone else put prior effort into making it easy to use. And you hand off responsibilty for how a product will evolve and change to the company that sells it to you.
The usability of Linux is a thin layer over something that was created for those who *do* know about how computers work, who *are* interested in the small details and who *do* have the time and skills to handle an OS that forgoes simplification in preference to openess. The fact that something like Ubuntu is as easy to use as it is is a testament to the efforts of those who have donated an incalculable amount of free time.
How does the saying go? You get what you pay for. That makes Linux (or BSD etc.) based OSes very good value for money.
Incidentally, refering back to your examples, yes, you might not expect someone to know how to make an engine, but they still need to learn how to drive a car;)
You raised a very interesting point there - one I jealously admit that I've missed!
We all know MS relies on lock in. Regardless of how we feel about that. MS views an Open Standards based Internet as a threat to that lock-in. Hence IE brokeness and the number of IE only sites out there. Sure, there's now a good deal more non IE clients but we all know that there's still a depressing number of sites that are "Best viewed using Internet Explorer 6".
The PSP, PS3, DS and Wii browsers certainly aren't using Internet Explorer 6. How many copies of non-IE browsers will that put into the hands of teh general public? It's certainly going to be a substantial number.
Now I'd suspect the console browers won't get anything like the kind of use you'd get with a PC browser. But even then it could be that the numbers are substantial enough to encourage sites and developers to be more "standards friendly" in the near future.
I don't think there's any doubt that the "target market" (yay marketing speak!) for each console is different. I do think you misjudge how close the targets of the 360 and PS3 are though. Yes, there will be some for who the PS3's "unique" features will be a sure fire selling point.
But how many?
You see, that's the point, isn't it? It's not so much the eternal console flamefest that's the problem. This isn't a "my console is better than yours" situation - it's about the fact that Sony *may* have horribly misjudged their console - in terms of price, features and image.
At the end of the day, a large number of those aren't flaming the PS3 because they prefer another console - they're flaming it because they are insulted that Sony would think that such a package would sell. They're not flaming Sony's technical ability (well, not entirely) - they're flaming Sony's apparent and complete lack of business sense.
Trying to justify the beast as a "PC replacement", "Blu-Ray Player" or a "premium product" is band-aid marketing. It's supposed to be a games console. That's how it will be greeted first and foremost. And as a games console, it seems massively overpriced. So much so that many are arguing only dedicated Sony loyalists will buy it. That's a very risky and ultimately unknown target group - if that's a deliberate decision, it's undoubtedly a poor one.
Default language? I'm sure it does - after the GameCube does this. You choose your preferred language in the inbuilt system manu and then any multi-language games will use that preference without one of those "Choose your language" screens.
I mean, they wouldn't take *away* useful features, would they? What self respecting technology company would do such a crazy thing....
Ah, but that's the point, see? This isn't about migrating to a single format or the like - it's about knowing that whatever changes happen to the software that you use, the format and rules for reading and writing data are *well known* - open, in fact.
The commercial interoperation you speak of is something that has been painfully bought by those who worked for it. Even now, OpenOffice.org has problems opening Word documents because parts of the format are unknown. It had to be reverse engineered - there was no guide or manual about how to read or write it. Or (getting old now) Lotus Notes and Excel - they certainly didn't convert easily to each other. Both closed formats. I have clients who wanted to review some old financial spreadsheets. They were very old password protected Lotus 1-2-3 files. The client only had Excel. Guess the outcome there...
But most of all, by relying on a closed format, by being tied to a single program to reliably read and write your data, you are effectively putting your work in a lockbox and handing someone else the key. You have to trust them not to lose that key, or decide that your model of lockbox is no longer supported. You also have to hope that the person who has your key never vanishes.
Maybe a bad analogy, and certainly it's an argument with strong moralistic aspects, but there are sound, practical reasons for me to have my data in a format I can access easily and look up the specs for.
On a more pragmatic level, an open format makes it extremely easy to write software that can use that format. I could write a web order system that update an ODF spreadsheet with data on each new order. Or create a custom mail merge program using a template ODF document to automate mail shots from a mailing list. Not the best examples but valid ones - *I know how to edit the contents of the document myself if I need to*.
And just one final note - OfficeXML is NOT OPEN. The spec doesn't explain the parts that contain binary data - data that could include vital formating information for example.
Personally, I feel the more open formats the better. The best will always win through. But if just one part of a file format spec is held back, it's not "Open". And that's where we stand with ODF vs DOC/DOCX. And since it *is* a battle, maybe falling in line behind one certain format is better than pushing several at the same time.
Hmmm...Well, I'm no MS fan. They drove me into the arms of Steve and Linus (figuratively of course) long ago.
But I have to say from a useability point of view, the new ribbon approach is actually quite good. I find it far easier and quicker to perform formatting and the like. Scary to say, but I think MS have actually had an original idea... I hope their headaches pass soon!
My concerns over the new version are more about it's performance - they really need to optimise it since I've seen a few cheap XP systems (the kind you'd buy en masse) choke on this beta release.
Oh, and training all the muscle-memory MS Office users in to using a completely new interface is going to be a complete bastard.
Subjective of course, but I think it's a good idea that just needs fine tuning - overall is a brave new approach that I think will pay off. I also think it will never sit on my own PCs since OO.o is perfectly happy there at the moment and doesn't use proprietary standards (DOCX *is* still closed, thank you!) - But then I'd be getting all ideological then...;)
Some hardware is well supported by an OS, some isnt. The advantage MS has is that hardware manufacturers will doo all the tweaking, tuning and loading of horribly bloated software (sorry, couldn't resist) before the user presses the "On" switch.
Someone trying out an alternetive OS (BSD, Linux etc) will often face the unpleasany prospect of doing this themsleves.
Combined with the fact that they will have to troubleshoot in a new environment with unfamiliar conevntions, it's understandable how people come to the conclusion "Linux is difficult" and "Linux has crappy hardware support".
But if a company that sold PCs with Linux pre-installed, pre-configured I'm sure you'd find those users claiming how smoothly their system runs and how they've never had any problems.
By the way, Linux's suitability as a primary OS is still fairly circumstantial. There's no point denying that in some areas it loses in the "Feature tick-box" race. But I don't think it's "worse than Windows" in any way, just that due to it's nature there's more exposure to the dark arts of hardware configuration. Windows has it's share too, but it's normally dealt with by a stranger on a factory floor somewhere...
A publicly broadcast documentary about FOSS? This sounds awfully...mainstream? How will I continue to arrogantly lord it over the unwashed masses with my greater knowledge of FOSS if they just start talking about it publicly?
Hehe...
Actually, I did smile at this bit from the article:
"Intel, IBM, Sun and Microsoft all seem to agree that FOSS is a welcome presence in computer software."
I like the idea of alternative inputs. I own a DS and some of the stylus-based games are just fantastic.
Likewise the console-formerly-know-as-Revolution appears to have a fantastic, full-spatial motion sensing system and, from video clips at least, is very responsive, natural and open to all sorts of innovative uses.
Sony's implementation is poor by comparison. It uses a gyro and accelerometers to calculate movement. There is no absolute spatial positioning. And, most damning aof all, from the video, it looks to be awkward and imprecise. Oh, and the took out the rumble feature to fit the movement sensors in.
Now, devil's advocate and all, finished, polished games using Sony's controller may be as smooth to use as Nintendo's. We'll have to wait and see.
But I meant half-assed as in "We paniced and decided to copy our competitor and had to do a rush job to make it in time for E3".
So let's get this straight. Instead of having two price points consisting of A:) The console and B:) The console with extras, We have *two different consoles*.
Gee, I hope you know, that they weren't expecting anything innovative in the way of games that might rely of features that half of shipped PS3s won't have.
This is the same shoot-yourself-in-the-foot mistake that MS made with the 360. Only, at least with the 360 you can actually upgrade your "core" system later. You know, buy a hardrive.
Oh wait...I get it, Sony will release upgrade kits consisting of some prebuilt ICs, a hacksaw, a soldering iron and a 300-page manual!
I'm not gonna mention the half-assed motion sensor implementation...
I'm no fan of Sony, not since their arrogantly stupid root kit stunt in particular but I'm always interested to see what such companies can do in terms of pushing out new technology. But this is turning into a complete shambles so far...
Bah..One console is gonna be a pile'o'poo, one violates my (admitedly shaky) code of ethics and the third sounds like part of my early morning wake-up ritual. Although it's clear which one I'll end up purchasing.
I get about 30 days on average a year (UK). And, some years, it still seems like a pittance. I've had a really bad couple of years (personal life) and despite that time off, I haven't been on holiday as most of my spare time is taklen up with dealing with my family's problems (you could view it as another kind of work). There is no doubt that I have felt worse, been ill more often and generally performed badly because of this extra pressure.
It hasn't gone unnoticed, either.
If I hadn't been able to take off a week here and there, I doubt I'd still have a job - I needed that breathing space to "re-boot", as it were. And this is despite having previously been viewed as a very valuable employee.
So, although everyone's job and personal situation is unique, we need breathing space. Stress/overwork/lack of relaxation time noticeably affects health. I think the parent post is spot on - too much work will kill you.
(Looks at parent post's "4 months holiday" with severe envy:P )
Yeah. But it's not an "Open Standard". It's a spec of how to read the XML format, not how to write it. Some of the XML fields contain binary encoded data which isn't documented. So it's not open. They've just deigned to let people be able to pull some data from their format (like being able to only query half the tables in a database).
Gosh! You mean...read the labels? On the games our children play?..But...but...that sounds scarily like Parental Responsibility! Nonono...we need laws to deal with this. The government should be looking after our children!
Ok, ok...couldn't resist. But is is refeshing to see a little common sense and objectivity for a change. Politicians are just far to eager to legislate and jump on the latest turbo-charged bandwagon these days. On both sides of the Atlantic...
Ah. That'd be the...er..."Open Standard" XML format? The one MS let's you write but won't tell you how to read it?
Good idea! Sounds much more open than this silly ODF format....
Apologies for sarcasm, but even if you're not into the political and social reasons for Open Standards, a closed, pervasive document format is A Bad Thing(TM). And when you get past the poor PR attempts, Office XML is still a closed, soon to be pervasive format. Hence it's A Bad Thing(TM).
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Better yet, "Windows User Friendly".
The reason you'll never satisfy the masses is because the principals of "User Friendly" bare little relation to the expectations of those Windows Users crying out for it.
The reality is that the overwhelming majority of PC users are used to doing things the Windows way. We can argue and scream and shout as much as we like about how wrong the Windows way is, but it's what they know. Introducing one of these people to a new system will always result in some pain or disappointment because *it doesn't work like Windows*. Naturally, the sensible/willing to learn types will adjust and probably be better off for it. But the screams will continue unabated in the mean time.
So if we're interested in improving user friendliness, we have but two choices. Follow proper HCI guidelines and do what we feel is right (but if we do no one will thank us for it) or play pass-the-photocopier with Redmond's view which will satisfy the masses but leave us with a hollow victory.
I pretty much agree. Although, playing devils advocate and all, advertising *is* useful if used right. I can live with the "Look, we've made something new, so I'm telling you it exists" type. But no, that's too easy - that leaves the final choice to me. So instead we get the "Look at me! I'm shiny! All the cool people have me! What? You don't? Ah, you just haven't got round to it yet...no? Why not? What's wrong with you? Why don't you want to be cool? Are you ill? Mentally deficient? My god, you must be the scum of the earth...." ego stroke/guilt trip/mind control type. I'm off to install a pop-up blocker into my frontal lobes....
OK, I'm waxing lyrical here but sorry, nature isn't a closed system the way you seem to think it is. Every species has some (however convoluted) link to the others. You say this won't affect you? Please tell me how you know this.
It may be true that this particular extinction will be nothing more than a sad footnote. But what about the next species? The next over-grazed land turned to desert. The next non-indigenous insect forcing out the native species. The next dead river due to a chain of events that leads to uncontrolled algae growth.
The whole "survival of the fittest" and "life is tough" attitude isn't wholly wrong but I think you miss a key point here. The so called balance of nature is exactly that - Natural. Through intelligence and belligerence, we exceed nature. We are not always limited by natural checks and boundaries since we use technology and science to get past them.
And since there are no longer any natural balances to what we do to the environment and to the planet in general, we *have* to take on that responsibility ourselves. Not because of any touchy-feely animal rights reasons, or because of some notion of karma, but for purely practical reasons - nature requires balance and we're now outside that system.
We're are capable of destroying it without even trying. And in doing so we destroy ourselves.
Nonono, I wasn't agreeing or disagreeing about the presence of additional batteries, but noting that if you think your battery is dry, it probably isn't. A point you've just backed up for me, thank you.
Woah there - Copyright exists for some very good reasons! The basic principles behind copyright aren't wrong, it's the abuse and misuse of copyrights and copyright law that's causing the problems!
There's nothing unreasonable in offering content producers ("creators of culture") some limited protection for a limited time.
It's just that it's no longer reasonable. And no longer just about the content creators.
YMMV.
But, to be fair - you can set the dock to autohide so it's only there when needed. And if you drag a folder to the dock you can treat it like a hierachial menu if you right-click it.
Right-click? Yes! OS X has context menus all over the place. If you don't like using the keyboard to emulate a right-click, just buy a half decent USB mouse instead. It'll work seamlessly.
I agree about finder though. Although that column view is only one of several views.
Well, my latest Nokia phone refuses to start up when the battery's too low yet it'll actually switch itself on long enough to blast my clock alarm sound at me. So whatever internal battery/reserve power it has, it's more than just enough to keep the clock ticking...
Hmm, I have to say that particular argument is a new one to me - Good point, well made!
However, I would still suggest that the froth-at-the-mouth-whore-of-Babylon scaremongering that tends to surround sexually explicit content (in all media) is perhaps a little disproportionate to that found around violent imagery.
I see your point and agree that the emulation of sex acts is more likely than those of violent acts but bare in mind that there is little substantial evidence that emulation is an issue anyway. If you're worried your child may be susceptible to the point of emulating such things, surely a responsible parent should take steps to both limit exposure *and* ensure the child learns about these things properly.
Ah, but a key point to remember is that the features that will allow for new play styles - the "Wii-mote" is a standard peripheral - it comes part and parcel.
History will tell you that if you want developers to use some specific hardware feature, it needs to be there from the start. Yes, such motion sensing systems can and will come to the PS3 and XBox but the vast majority of games won't use them. Why will a developer write a game utilising a feature that only a small percentage of console owners have? They won't - they'll write games based on the guaranteed features present at sale.
Take the eye-toy - a fantastic add-on with lots of potential but hardly used outside of the games that were bundled with it.
If success is based on games, and original games rely on new genres/original peripherals then the Wii will have the most success in that regard since these new features will be available on every single console.
Of course, it relies on the developers having the interest and skill to pursue such new genres.
OK, I'm biting...
/. but Linux is not a "product". The fact that it is anyway near as "user-friendly" as it currently is id almost besides the point. If you *don't* want to have to know how your PC works or worry about various low-level idiosyncrasies, then purchase a pre-defined, packaged OS. Honestly, moral and ethical issues asside, you have two established commercial OSes to choose from.
;)
Mixed feelings on this really. You're not entirely wrong - we shouldn't expect people to know or learn (beyond the basics) about the nitty gritty details of a FOSS OS. Yes, people have as much right to just expect a "product" and have it "just work" as they do with a car, a house, or any kind of service (utilities, legal etc.), but there's a significant difference between "product" and "hobby".
No one knows it all. There's just not enough time in the world.
But here's where you're rubbing me up the wrong way. Let's use the house analogy, shall we?
You buy a house. You want it furnished. You go to your nearest carpet store. You want a pale green carpet with a blue diamond motif. Oh - no, look, they only have yellow with red diamonds! Well, you're relying on someone elses skills and expertise to create the carpet, so you just have to deal with it and pay the piper.
Now you want a conservatory added. You decide against paying a contractor - you'd rather save some money and do it yourself. Also, you didn't like the limited design choices you had available. So you build your conservatory. It takes a *long* time and you have to look up all sorts of building techniques.
You find that it leaks in winter.
See any parallels? It's a real cliche here on
Like any consumer product, you pay for the convenience of not having to bother with understanding something's construction. You pay for the privelage of having someone else put prior effort into making it easy to use. And you hand off responsibilty for how a product will evolve and change to the company that sells it to you.
The usability of Linux is a thin layer over something that was created for those who *do* know about how computers work, who *are* interested in the small details and who *do* have the time and skills to handle an OS that forgoes simplification in preference to openess. The fact that something like Ubuntu is as easy to use as it is is a testament to the efforts of those who have donated an incalculable amount of free time.
How does the saying go? You get what you pay for. That makes Linux (or BSD etc.) based OSes very good value for money.
Incidentally, refering back to your examples, yes, you might not expect someone to know how to make an engine, but they still need to learn how to drive a car
You raised a very interesting point there - one I jealously admit that I've missed!
We all know MS relies on lock in. Regardless of how we feel about that. MS views an Open Standards based Internet as a threat to that lock-in. Hence IE brokeness and the number of IE only sites out there. Sure, there's now a good deal more non IE clients but we all know that there's still a depressing number of sites that are "Best viewed using Internet Explorer 6".
The PSP, PS3, DS and Wii browsers certainly aren't using Internet Explorer 6. How many copies of non-IE browsers will that put into the hands of teh general public? It's certainly going to be a substantial number.
Now I'd suspect the console browers won't get anything like the kind of use you'd get with a PC browser. But even then it could be that the numbers are substantial enough to encourage sites and developers to be more "standards friendly" in the near future.
Interesting idea, I think...
I don't think there's any doubt that the "target market" (yay marketing speak!) for each console is different. I do think you misjudge how close the targets of the 360 and PS3 are though.
Yes, there will be some for who the PS3's "unique" features will be a sure fire selling point.
But how many?
You see, that's the point, isn't it? It's not so much the eternal console flamefest that's the problem. This isn't a "my console is better than yours" situation - it's about the fact that Sony *may* have horribly misjudged their console - in terms of price, features and image.
At the end of the day, a large number of those aren't flaming the PS3 because they prefer another console - they're flaming it because they are insulted that Sony would think that such a package would sell. They're not flaming Sony's technical ability (well, not entirely) - they're flaming Sony's apparent and complete lack of business sense.
Trying to justify the beast as a "PC replacement", "Blu-Ray Player" or a "premium product" is band-aid marketing. It's supposed to be a games console. That's how it will be greeted first and foremost. And as a games console, it seems massively overpriced. So much so that many are arguing only dedicated Sony loyalists will buy it. That's a very risky and ultimately unknown target group - if that's a deliberate decision, it's undoubtedly a poor one.
Default language? I'm sure it does - after the GameCube does this. You choose your preferred language in the inbuilt system manu and then any multi-language games will use that preference without one of those "Choose your language" screens.
I mean, they wouldn't take *away* useful features, would they? What self respecting technology company would do such a crazy thing....
Dapper Drake installed flawlessly on my MacBook.
I used the Debian presets and didn't encounter any issues.
Try the full release - were you using once of the betas?
OK, I'm gonna bite.
Ah, but that's the point, see? This isn't about migrating to a single format or the like - it's about knowing that whatever changes happen to the software that you use, the format and rules for reading and writing data are *well known* - open, in fact.
The commercial interoperation you speak of is something that has been painfully bought by those who worked for it. Even now, OpenOffice.org has problems opening Word documents because parts of the format are unknown. It had to be reverse engineered - there was no guide or manual about how to read or write it. Or (getting old now) Lotus Notes and Excel - they certainly didn't convert easily to each other. Both closed formats. I have clients who wanted to review some old financial spreadsheets. They were very old password protected Lotus 1-2-3 files. The client only had Excel. Guess the outcome there...
But most of all, by relying on a closed format, by being tied to a single program to reliably read and write your data, you are effectively putting your work in a lockbox and handing someone else the key. You have to trust them not to lose that key, or decide that your model of lockbox is no longer supported. You also have to hope that the person who has your key never vanishes.
Maybe a bad analogy, and certainly it's an argument with strong moralistic aspects, but there are sound, practical reasons for me to have my data in a format I can access easily and look up the specs for.
On a more pragmatic level, an open format makes it extremely easy to write software that can use that format. I could write a web order system that update an ODF spreadsheet with data on each new order. Or create a custom mail merge program using a template ODF document to automate mail shots from a mailing list. Not the best examples but valid ones - *I know how to edit the contents of the document myself if I need to*.
And just one final note - OfficeXML is NOT OPEN. The spec doesn't explain the parts that contain binary data - data that could include vital formating information for example.
Personally, I feel the more open formats the better. The best will always win through. But if just one part of a file format spec is held back, it's not "Open". And that's where we stand with ODF vs DOC/DOCX. And since it *is* a battle, maybe falling in line behind one certain format is better than pushing several at the same time.
Hmmm...Well, I'm no MS fan. They drove me into the arms of Steve and Linus (figuratively of course) long ago.
;)
But I have to say from a useability point of view, the new ribbon approach is actually quite good. I find it far easier and quicker to perform formatting and the like.
Scary to say, but I think MS have actually had an original idea... I hope their headaches pass soon!
My concerns over the new version are more about it's performance - they really need to optimise it since I've seen a few cheap XP systems (the kind you'd buy en masse) choke on this beta release.
Oh, and training all the muscle-memory MS Office users in to using a completely new interface is going to be a complete bastard.
Subjective of course, but I think it's a good idea that just needs fine tuning - overall is a brave new approach that I think will pay off. I also think it will never sit on my own PCs since OO.o is perfectly happy there at the moment and doesn't use proprietary standards (DOCX *is* still closed, thank you!) - But then I'd be getting all ideological then...
It often comes down to familiarity and support.
Some hardware is well supported by an OS, some isnt. The advantage MS has is that hardware manufacturers will doo all the tweaking, tuning and loading of horribly bloated software (sorry, couldn't resist) before the user presses the "On" switch.
Someone trying out an alternetive OS (BSD, Linux etc) will often face the unpleasany prospect of doing this themsleves.
Combined with the fact that they will have to troubleshoot in a new environment with unfamiliar conevntions, it's understandable how people come to the conclusion "Linux is difficult" and "Linux has crappy hardware support".
But if a company that sold PCs with Linux pre-installed, pre-configured I'm sure you'd find those users claiming how smoothly their system runs and how they've never had any problems.
By the way, Linux's suitability as a primary OS is still fairly circumstantial. There's no point denying that in some areas it loses in the "Feature tick-box" race. But I don't think it's "worse than Windows" in any way, just that due to it's nature there's more exposure to the dark arts of hardware configuration. Windows has it's share too, but it's normally dealt with by a stranger on a factory floor somewhere...
A publicly broadcast documentary about FOSS? This sounds awfully...mainstream? How will I continue to arrogantly lord it over the unwashed masses with my greater knowledge of FOSS if they just start talking about it publicly?
Hehe...
Actually, I did smile at this bit from the article:
"Intel, IBM, Sun and Microsoft all seem to agree that FOSS is a welcome presence in computer software."
Oh, how loaded can a statement be?
Sorry, I may have come across wrong there.
I like the idea of alternative inputs. I own a DS and some of the stylus-based games are just fantastic.
Likewise the console-formerly-know-as-Revolution appears to have a fantastic, full-spatial motion sensing system and, from video clips at least, is very responsive, natural and open to all sorts of innovative uses.
Sony's implementation is poor by comparison. It uses a gyro and accelerometers to calculate movement. There is no absolute spatial positioning. And, most damning aof all, from the video, it looks to be awkward and imprecise. Oh, and the took out the rumble feature to fit the movement sensors in.
Now, devil's advocate and all, finished, polished games using Sony's controller may be as smooth to use as Nintendo's. We'll have to wait and see.
But I meant half-assed as in "We paniced and decided to copy our competitor and had to do a rush job to make it in time for E3".
So let's get this straight. Instead of having two price points consisting of A:) The console and B:) The console with extras, We have *two different consoles*.
Gee, I hope you know, that they weren't expecting anything innovative in the way of games that might rely of features that half of shipped PS3s won't have.
This is the same shoot-yourself-in-the-foot mistake that MS made with the 360. Only, at least with the 360 you can actually upgrade your "core" system later. You know, buy a hardrive.
Oh wait...I get it, Sony will release upgrade kits consisting of some prebuilt ICs, a hacksaw, a soldering iron and a 300-page manual!
I'm not gonna mention the half-assed motion sensor implementation...
I'm no fan of Sony, not since their arrogantly stupid root kit stunt in particular but I'm always interested to see what such companies can do in terms of pushing out new technology. But this is turning into a complete shambles so far...
Bah..One console is gonna be a pile'o'poo, one violates my (admitedly shaky) code of ethics and the third sounds like part of my early morning wake-up ritual. Although it's clear which one I'll end up purchasing.
So disapointing...I need a hug!
I get about 30 days on average a year (UK). And, some years, it still seems like a pittance. I've had a really bad couple of years (personal life) and despite that time off, I haven't been on holiday as most of my spare time is taklen up with dealing with my family's problems (you could view it as another kind of work). There is no doubt that I have felt worse, been ill more often and generally performed badly because of this extra pressure.
:P )
It hasn't gone unnoticed, either.
If I hadn't been able to take off a week here and there, I doubt I'd still have a job - I needed that breathing space to "re-boot", as it were. And this is despite having previously been viewed as a very valuable employee.
So, although everyone's job and personal situation is unique, we need breathing space. Stress/overwork/lack of relaxation time noticeably affects health. I think the parent post is spot on - too much work will kill you.
(Looks at parent post's "4 months holiday" with severe envy
Oh no..mental image..here it comes.... Thank you, thank you - you just made my day!
Yeah. But it's not an "Open Standard". It's a spec of how to read the XML format, not how to write it. Some of the XML fields contain binary encoded data which isn't documented. So it's not open. They've just deigned to let people be able to pull some data from their format (like being able to only query half the tables in a database).
So no, it's not Open...sigh...
Gosh! You mean...read the labels? On the games our children play? ..But...but...that sounds scarily like Parental Responsibility! Nonono...we need laws to deal with this. The government should be looking after our children!
Ok, ok...couldn't resist. But is is refeshing to see a little common sense and objectivity for a change. Politicians are just far to eager to legislate and jump on the latest turbo-charged bandwagon these days. On both sides of the Atlantic...
Ah. That'd be the...er..."Open Standard" XML format? The one MS let's you write but won't tell you how to read it?
Good idea! Sounds much more open than this silly ODF format....
Apologies for sarcasm, but even if you're not into the political and social reasons for Open Standards, a closed, pervasive document format is A Bad Thing(TM). And when you get past the poor PR attempts, Office XML is still a closed, soon to be pervasive format. Hence it's A Bad Thing(TM).