The long term answer is boring. They need to keep refining, adding great features, and stay current with hardware design. Once they hit critical app+mindshare mass, things get easier. This is what they are good at, but it seems v3 is always where Microsoft finds its pace. WP8 is only v2.
Would it really offer more charging opportunities for mobile users in coffee shops who are today hamstrung by how many outlets are available? And then there's the added cost and reduced efficiency.
The first part is a genuine question - it hasn't identified an actual problem. It could very well be that it would offer more charging opportunities. The second part is definitely a problem. I don't see why the OP joins with an "And" here. It makes the first part sound like an actual problem, when it is anything but. This should read:
It might offer more charging opportunities for mobile users in coffee shops who are today hamstrung by how many outlets are available. But then there's the added cost and reduced efficiency.
It is nearly impossible to travel interstellar distances with any foreseeable technology. Very, very nearly impossible. It would be extremely improbable. HEY, that gives me an idea!
Alternatively, there seems to be an abundance of bad news, which does seem to travel ftl, so maybe we could do something with that. Definitely in the next 100 years there will be more bad news than we know what to do with!
I'd like to see a Meat Tree. With enough genetic engineering, we can have a mammalian tree with bones for branches and skin for bark. It would grow "fruit" which are bundles of meat. Its mind would be connected among several trees, and hopefully wouldn't evolve into a Zerg hivemind.
Though I wouldn't touch it with a 1000 foot pole, it'd be cool. A complete monstrosity and affront to nature, and possibly the purest expression of evil, but might solve our food problems, nonetheless.
I've been using W8RP on an Acer W500. This unit is thick, slow, with an outdated touch panel that leads to various quirks doing gestures.
And yet, I've found even this substandard tablet is transformed into something quite usable with Win8. Once I became accustomed to Win8's general flow, I've been a happy camper. The swipe-ins became second nature, and browsing has been mostly a joy. And plugging it into my 24" monitor via HDMI? Works great, and things like Blender, Gimp, and Handbrake all work. Strangely enough, I even run iTunes on it.
And more than once I needed to plug in peripherals. My DVD burner, my Fujitsu ScanSnap, my Samsung printer, my camera, all work great. No cloudy stuff needed.
Again, this is with substandard hardware. When Surface Pro arrives, I'll be first in line to get one.
I've been using Win8 Release Preview for the past month, and I definitely understand the initial, visceral reaction from many critical of the new UI. However, I've discovered since then that it's nowhere near as bad as people say. In fact, I find navigation to be quite easy. First, the 8 major apps I use are all pinned to the Task Bar. I almost never have to leave the desktop. When I do need to run another app, switching to the start screen and typing the app's name is actually pretty quick. Jarring, yes. I don't like the full context switch, but it's not really time consuming.
The performance improvements are very tangible. The desktop feels quicker, and Metro apps are very fluid. They are also very BUGGY. In fact, there are a LOT of glitches that I hope Microsoft works out before release. Mail is abysmal, and given that Thunderbird is all but being retired, the lack of a great mail client is a major red flag for me. Again, hope Microsoft steps up to the plate and fixes Mail. Music is also abysmal, so I run iTunes (which is 5% less abysmal, but hey).
What I find interesting is that the side-by-side view of a Metro app with the Desktop is actually pretty useful. It kind of fits the 75% working, 25% dicking around model pretty well. The major problem here is that docking IE on the side is all but useless. What they really need to do is have it act like a *mobile* browser in that mode.
Overall, some major issues with it, but I find the overall model to be not bad at all.
And yet, there are so many other scenarios where such toys would end up in kids mouths despite their parents being perfectly good parents. Bad preschools. Older siblings. Kids climbing up on Daddy's computer desk while Daddy's in the toilet. These things happen, and in the case of these toys, the effect is much worse than it would seem due to the strong magnetics.
Let me get this straight: A bunch of geeks are all pissed because the prevention of harm and death to young kids is preventing them from buying more of the toys they already have.
Seriously, get a clue. Find another toy and stfu plz.
Jesus, these initial comments bore the hell out of me.
Here's the way I see it: Microsoft has finally gotten off their asses and recognized that efficiency really does matter when dealing with power efficient mobile GPU's. Given that Metro's ethos is stark simplicity, it'll be entertaining to watch how developers exploit the new capabilities. If the result is silky smooth navigation in nearly all apps, that'll be a big win. If the result is a rebirth of gradients, glows, glass, and other crap, I'll be pretty disappointed.
Hats off to Microsoft for focusing not just on Metro speed, but speed for all apps.
To boil it down, does it ever make sense to say fuck you to somebody you will never see again? Some may even draw satisfaction from that response. Sometimes, a respectful farewell is the biggest fuck you of all.
You have it backwards. It's *because* Microsoft doesn't believe tablets will replace PC's that Windows 8 is designed the way it is. If they believed that, it wouldn't have a desktop. It wouldn't have a mouse pointer or trackpad integration.
Microsoft believes tablets *are* PC's with a special, popular use case.
Also, tablets should be perfectly fine for doing spreadsheets. The problem is that spreadsheets like Excel just haven't been designed for tablets. Eventually, someone will get it right.
When people bought GOOG, they thought, "this is the next Microsoft, I'd better get in now."
When people bought FB, they thought, "this is what a bunch of other people probably think is the next GOOG. It's not, but I can't be the greatest fool."
What the article almost implies is that it's silly and outdated to represent today's abstract computing concepts with icons of physical items. What then, to represent them with? I agree that some of the items need to evolve to use more modern objects (e.g. the floppy disk). But when a visual representation is needed, almost by definition the visual needs to represent something either physical, or a widely accepted glyph (e.g. a question mark, or a star).
What would be a better icon for saving a file? How about a diagram of a function being called that opens an I/O api that causes the file system to start writing bits at a particular sector and track using a magnetic head? Oh wait, with SSD's that's already outdated. Ok, how about a pictogram of an SSD drive? Oh wait, it looks like a nondescript box with chips inside.
Perhaps Microsoft is actually onto the ultimate solution to all this: maybe icons themselves need to go. Maybe the UI should just say "Save".
Don't know who's right, but I do know that the Android developers I know basically call it Java. "Hey, how do you program apps for Android?" Answer is usually: "It's Java." "What's Dalvik?" Answer: "Oh, it's Google's own Java VM that runs on handsets."
Really. Programmers call it what it is.
Trying to get developers to get developers to differentiate between the Java platform and Java the language is asking us to put on legal hats that we don't want to wear.
And please don't misread this post. This isn't meant to at all say that what Google is doing is illegal. Just that when you make something that looks like A, acts like A, people tend to call it A, even though you tried to call it B.
I think that something is only an API if we call it an API. However, I think once an entity labels something as an API, that should be the same as saying, "this subset of our source code is freely implementable and modifiable by anybody." It should be the same as saying, "we as a company are opting out of claiming this part of our source code is our IP."
How about this for an API:
size_t count_chickens(const egg_vector_t& eggs);
Ok, got a copyright on that. Don't even *think* about implementing that without licensing from me.
Please abandon your entire Linux infrastructure, like, right after you read this. I know the market is hypercompetitive, but we really need you to spend 2 years rebuilding everything from scratch on Windows Server, because if word got out that one of our divisions is using Linux, the slashdot community will go ape shit. In the meanwhile, you'll still be accountable to shareholders for revenue, so figure out how to make money after your service goes down for 2 years. Maybe you can sell chocolate bars or have a bake sale or something.
Or better yet, if I received orders from him to suicide bomb an embassy, how would I know I'm not just being pranked by my co-suicide-bomber-in-waiting?
If I knew that the USB key I had would only be obtained after they shoot me on sight, screw encryption. They're not likely going to pickpocket me. They are going to put a bullet in my head, take the key, and let the NSA sic their supercomputers on it full time. If I lose the key, either no one will find it, or someone will and they will locate me in no time, and then put a bullet in my head.
If I am asked to suicide bomb, I'm probably not going to be carrying data with me. If I am stopped, they will torture me into confessing anyways. If I escaped, I didn't do my job right, and someone will put a bullet in my head.
Slashdot Mirror
Is this another case of don't hate the player, hate the game?
The long term answer is boring. They need to keep refining, adding great features, and stay current with hardware design.
Once they hit critical app+mindshare mass, things get easier. This is what they are good at, but it seems v3 is always where Microsoft finds its pace. WP8 is only v2.
Would it really offer more charging opportunities for mobile users in coffee shops who are today hamstrung by how many outlets are available? And then there's the added cost and reduced efficiency.
The first part is a genuine question - it hasn't identified an actual problem. It could very well be that it would offer more charging opportunities. The second part is definitely a problem. I don't see why the OP joins with an "And" here. It makes the first part sound like an actual problem, when it is anything but. This should read:
It might offer more charging opportunities for mobile users in coffee shops who are today hamstrung by how many outlets are available. But then there's the added cost and reduced efficiency.
Much clearer.
It is nearly impossible to travel interstellar distances with any foreseeable technology. Very, very nearly impossible. It would be extremely improbable. HEY, that gives me an idea!
Alternatively, there seems to be an abundance of bad news, which does seem to travel ftl, so maybe we could do something with that. Definitely in the next 100 years there will be more bad news than we know what to do with!
Why would they need to lift that much beer on the moon??
Drop a keg or two and it might fly.
I'd like to see a Meat Tree. With enough genetic engineering, we can have a mammalian tree with bones for branches and skin for bark. It would grow "fruit" which are bundles of meat. Its mind would be connected among several trees, and hopefully wouldn't evolve into a Zerg hivemind.
Though I wouldn't touch it with a 1000 foot pole, it'd be cool. A complete monstrosity and affront to nature, and possibly the purest expression of evil, but might solve our food problems, nonetheless.
Probably by looking at the ratio of original tweets versus unique user retweets. I'd imagine the ratio to be far higher for a legitimate news outlet.
I've been using W8RP on an Acer W500. This unit is thick, slow, with an outdated touch panel that leads to various quirks doing gestures.
And yet, I've found even this substandard tablet is transformed into something quite usable with Win8. Once I became accustomed to Win8's general flow, I've been a happy camper. The swipe-ins became second nature, and browsing has been mostly a joy. And plugging it into my 24" monitor via HDMI? Works great, and things like Blender, Gimp, and Handbrake all work. Strangely enough, I even run iTunes on it.
And more than once I needed to plug in peripherals. My DVD burner, my Fujitsu ScanSnap, my Samsung printer, my camera, all work great. No cloudy stuff needed.
Again, this is with substandard hardware. When Surface Pro arrives, I'll be first in line to get one.
I've been using Win8 Release Preview for the past month, and I definitely understand the initial, visceral reaction from many critical of the new UI. However, I've discovered since then that it's nowhere near as bad as people say. In fact, I find navigation to be quite easy. First, the 8 major apps I use are all pinned to the Task Bar. I almost never have to leave the desktop. When I do need to run another app, switching to the start screen and typing the app's name is actually pretty quick. Jarring, yes. I don't like the full context switch, but it's not really time consuming.
The performance improvements are very tangible. The desktop feels quicker, and Metro apps are very fluid. They are also very BUGGY. In fact, there are a LOT of glitches that I hope Microsoft works out before release. Mail is abysmal, and given that Thunderbird is all but being retired, the lack of a great mail client is a major red flag for me. Again, hope Microsoft steps up to the plate and fixes Mail. Music is also abysmal, so I run iTunes (which is 5% less abysmal, but hey).
What I find interesting is that the side-by-side view of a Metro app with the Desktop is actually pretty useful. It kind of fits the 75% working, 25% dicking around model pretty well. The major problem here is that docking IE on the side is all but useless. What they really need to do is have it act like a *mobile* browser in that mode.
Overall, some major issues with it, but I find the overall model to be not bad at all.
I got an idea - tell us how to implement such a ban and you've got yourself a deal.
And yet, there are so many other scenarios where such toys would end up in kids mouths despite their parents being perfectly good parents. Bad preschools. Older siblings. Kids climbing up on Daddy's computer desk while Daddy's in the toilet. These things happen, and in the case of these toys, the effect is much worse than it would seem due to the strong magnetics.
Let me get this straight: A bunch of geeks are all pissed because the prevention of harm and death to young kids is preventing them from buying more of the toys they already have.
Seriously, get a clue. Find another toy and stfu plz.
Jesus, these initial comments bore the hell out of me.
Here's the way I see it: Microsoft has finally gotten off their asses and recognized that efficiency really does matter when dealing with power efficient mobile GPU's. Given that Metro's ethos is stark simplicity, it'll be entertaining to watch how developers exploit the new capabilities. If the result is silky smooth navigation in nearly all apps, that'll be a big win. If the result is a rebirth of gradients, glows, glass, and other crap, I'll be pretty disappointed.
Hats off to Microsoft for focusing not just on Metro speed, but speed for all apps.
To boil it down, does it ever make sense to say fuck you to somebody you will never see again? Some may even draw satisfaction from that response. Sometimes, a respectful farewell is the biggest fuck you of all.
You have it backwards. It's *because* Microsoft doesn't believe tablets will replace PC's that Windows 8 is designed the way it is. If they believed that, it wouldn't have a desktop. It wouldn't have a mouse pointer or trackpad integration.
Microsoft believes tablets *are* PC's with a special, popular use case.
Also, tablets should be perfectly fine for doing spreadsheets. The problem is that spreadsheets like Excel just haven't been designed for tablets. Eventually, someone will get it right.
I wonder if a simple adding can fix this. Just walk the menus and change the labels?
When people bought GOOG, they thought, "this is the next Microsoft, I'd better get in now."
When people bought FB, they thought, "this is what a bunch of other people probably think is the next GOOG. It's not, but I can't be the greatest fool."
What the article almost implies is that it's silly and outdated to represent today's abstract computing concepts with icons of physical items. What then, to represent them with? I agree that some of the items need to evolve to use more modern objects (e.g. the floppy disk). But when a visual representation is needed, almost by definition the visual needs to represent something either physical, or a widely accepted glyph (e.g. a question mark, or a star).
What would be a better icon for saving a file? How about a diagram of a function being called that opens an I/O api that causes the file system to start writing bits at a particular sector and track using a magnetic head? Oh wait, with SSD's that's already outdated. Ok, how about a pictogram of an SSD drive? Oh wait, it looks like a nondescript box with chips inside.
Perhaps Microsoft is actually onto the ultimate solution to all this: maybe icons themselves need to go. Maybe the UI should just say "Save".
Don't know who's right, but I do know that the Android developers I know basically call it Java. "Hey, how do you program apps for Android?" Answer is usually: "It's Java." "What's Dalvik?" Answer: "Oh, it's Google's own Java VM that runs on handsets."
Really. Programmers call it what it is.
Trying to get developers to get developers to differentiate between the Java platform and Java the language is asking us to put on legal hats that we don't want to wear.
And please don't misread this post. This isn't meant to at all say that what Google is doing is illegal. Just that when you make something that looks like A, acts like A, people tend to call it A, even though you tried to call it B.
Lucky guess.
I think that something is only an API if we call it an API. However, I think once an entity labels something as an API, that should be the same as saying, "this subset of our source code is freely implementable and modifiable by anybody." It should be the same as saying, "we as a company are opting out of claiming this part of our source code is our IP."
How about this for an API:
size_t count_chickens(const egg_vector_t& eggs);
Ok, got a copyright on that. Don't even *think* about implementing that without licensing from me.
Dear Recently Acquired Skype Division:
Please abandon your entire Linux infrastructure, like, right after you read this. I know the market is hypercompetitive, but we really need you to spend 2 years rebuilding everything from scratch on Windows Server, because if word got out that one of our divisions is using Linux, the slashdot community will go ape shit. In the meanwhile, you'll still be accountable to shareholders for revenue, so figure out how to make money after your service goes down for 2 years. Maybe you can sell chocolate bars or have a bake sale or something.
Yours,
Steve Ballmer
Or better yet, if I received orders from him to suicide bomb an embassy, how would I know I'm not just being pranked by my co-suicide-bomber-in-waiting?
Wasn't this folder one of the standard library folders in Windows, anyways? Music, Pictures, Documents, Evil Plans. That's what my Start menu shows.
If I knew that the USB key I had would only be obtained after they shoot me on sight, screw encryption. They're not likely going to pickpocket me. They are going to put a bullet in my head, take the key, and let the NSA sic their supercomputers on it full time. If I lose the key, either no one will find it, or someone will and they will locate me in no time, and then put a bullet in my head.
If I am asked to suicide bomb, I'm probably not going to be carrying data with me. If I am stopped, they will torture me into confessing anyways. If I escaped, I didn't do my job right, and someone will put a bullet in my head.
Hmm, maybe just put all the files up on DropBox?