Don't trust the caps with the 'X' pattern. The 'K' pattern is more reliable.
Ask any of the many who had Dell machines from about 2000-2004. And HP/Compaq. And Acer. Not so much IBM/Lenovo. I have no reports for Gateway.
Also affected ASUS, MSI, AOpen, Gigabyte motherboards, pretty much all brands.
For a period of time, there werw substandard caps being used, but the maker either faked the testing or used different component parts in production runs than in certification. If you got stung by these, you and I were the QA.
"If Android phones don't step up to the plate app-wise, AND touch-wise, accelerometer-wise, GPS-wise, compass-wise, iTunes-wise... "
My Android phone has touch, acclerometer, GPS, and a compass. They all work magnificently, except the compass, which if you have a magnetic clasp on your iPhone case, you have similar issues.
If iTunes was let out of the box by Apple, then that would be a non-issue. Oh, wait, it is anyways, since I do not want or need iTunes. In fact, iTunes is not the only source of music. My G1 hooks up with Amazon, though I acquire my music the old-fashioned way mostly. So a non-sequiter for me. Or something like that.
Now for apps, I have a few thousand apps to choose from, everything from games to fart apps. How many fart apps are there in the iPhone store? And how many are free? The iPhone store suffers from app bloat in a big way, with countless copies and duplicates of mortgage calculators, fart apps, stupid phone tricks, and such. The raw count of apps isn't nearly as important as the variety of unique and useful apps. I suspect Android is already very close to the iPhone in that regard.
The reality is that Android is doing pretty well, and is damned good.
Now for the bad.
So far, every OTA update has caused me to do a factory wipe, and I lose data from apps that don't give me the option to save it. I don't see this changing.
The Bluetooth stack is somewhat flaky, and A2DP is very poor - reception and streaming cutout problems. Interested? I may start a blog dedicated to this. I'm understanding the hardware limitations. But I bet the iPhone has some of the same issues, which makes it a BT problem.
My G1 doesn't have enough RAM to do what I really want it to do. Sadly, it was too little, too soon. Ask some iPhone 1st Gen users how they feel. But I do like the keyboard. Sometimes, buttons are better.
I'm betting before 2012 Android will surpass all other platforms. It's free, as in beer. Just add a few developers, and you are jammin with your new models. Motorola grokked this, and will save money both in licensing and staff.
"way to apply force to a car's wheels from an electric motor or internal combustion engine"
Isn't there plenty of prior art on this?
BTW, the patent app is flawed. They specify a 2-speed transmission. My hybrid will NOT have a 2-speed transmission, I assure you. And it will have mechanical braking with an auxiliary regenerative system. Looks like i have a great chance at getting a patent on that, or some combination thereof.
Joking aside, this is continuing evidence of our patent system being pretty well hosed.
...and Adobe claimed they would have flash on Android this Fall.
October is here. Now they say next year.
I am not hopeful that they can get flash on Android. Possibly they are waiting for better devices so they don't have to shoehorn it into the G1, which could use more RAM, but it is what it is.
In fact, I predict, no Flash for the G1 ever. And many of the other platforms as well. Adoby wants to FUD the developers and keep HTML5 on the shelf as long as possible, since stuff like Canvas will pretty much eat their lunch and dinner if they don't watch out.
Seriously, HURD is pointless. If I want more CPUs, I buy a bigger chip. If I want more cores, I code it for GPGPU and get more cores on more video cards. If I want more drives, I get SASI or some other expensive SAN technology.
HURD doesn't solve anything. Of course, that makes it a great open source project. And some day, somewhere, someone will make something useful out of it.
"even the simplest minded consumer will put together that all they really paid for was that key and the other stuff costs really nothing"
Yep, that is still as dumb as a blade of grass.
And then you say:
"So they make people think they are paying for a DVD, manual and box in addition to the software."
Um, if you go to the store/buy online/send in the coupon, and they send you back a DVD, manual, and box, then yep, you *did* pay for that stuff. And the key. Your point was, again? Microsoft has far more serious flaws than their distribution models.
Modding me 'Troll' is a poor excuse for 'disagree'. But I can take it.
When you buy a new house, or rent an apartment, do you really think you paid all that money just for two shiny (or not)keys, and the bathroom is superfluous, even worth nothing more than what you think two keys at the Wal-Mart should cost?
Grow up and stop sniffing the anti-copyright glue. When you buy a copy of Windows whatever, you get more than a key to enter into your computer. Playing word games doesn't change that, and pretending that Windows is exclusively a scheme to ransom your computer is also. Microsoft doesn't have to do much now to make a new version of Windows desireable except pay a few thousand developers to make the code. Since we expect (and need) ongoing support to stomp out the inevitable security flaws, this money also goes towards that effort. Discussions about how much and when we should pay Microsoft will cement the reality that if you use Windows, you pay Microsoft. Probably.
Now, if you want free, go load your favorite Linux distribution. Bound to be able to get your hands on a live CD distro to get you started. Free.
And if you want to avoid both, consider Apple. Great product. Oh, and you won't need to pay a couple hundred dollars to get a key that unlocks the software. You'll need a whole new computer. Not a cheap one either.
Really, grow up and stop with the gratuitous copyright-bashing. It's disingenuous, false, and naive. If you really hate it, choose a copyright ot license that better suits you. They are out there, and mostly free.
Me? I have to use Microsoft products, that's what the people that pay me need me to use. For my own pleasure, amusement, and purposes, I use other stuff.
Next thing you know, you'll be whining about how the Internet should be free to you.
1. Basic customer service skills. I'm assuming you will also be teaching some about fixing stuff. Get your victim's/customer's/friend's name, and use it. Pay attention to what they say. Rephrase your responses until the understand. Try to leave them with a solution that not only works, but that they can see works, and can see if it fails. Stand behind your work. Be focused on your customer first, and then do the techie stuff.
2. Ethics. Same scenario as above. Don't go snooping around their hard drive looking for music and warez.
I come at this as a service tech, so I'm usually making stuff for people to use. Sometimes they have no idea what it is, just that it does whatever they need.
Of course, since you're more into the DIY stuff;
3. Safety. Glasses, gloves, long-sleeved shirts, safe work area, flammable precautions, etc. Oh, and tool safety, like how not to stab yourself with a screwdriver, and how to use a table saw (which the short version is, as if it will reach out and steal your fingers, cause it will).
All the other stuff is way more fun, so feel free to leave my suggestions until the last day of school.
I'm probably about 70% off-topic. Sorry bout that.
Until I realized that it was more netbook than it was cell phone.
Now I have my expectations set correctly, and I'm not so disappointed with the battery life. Oh, it could be better, maybe, and I would like more than about 9 hours typical life before it goes into the low battery profile, but I now know it is just not a cell phone.
It's more.
And that takes more power.
And we don't have batteries that do that.
Can we squeeze some methane fuel cells into the available form factor? I wish...
Which will cut you six times whenever you open it up to figure out why the 3rd drive still isn't showing a week after you bundled it up and scrunched it into that space next t your desk where you cannot see any of the design features that seemed so cool in the ad.
And of course the PSU cover will drool a little as it's melted slowly - like cheddar cheese in a greenhouse.
You won't mind that in fact Asus does use more than one shade of black for their plastic parts.
And you won't mind not being able to get a spare part for it. Ever.
And I won't mind seeing one by the side of the road in a very few years, and thinkin 'no, thanks..."
"way it works is if you're a threat to us, or a region "
There, fixed that for ya.
RCA: There is no region on Earth where the use of nuclear weapons would have an impact, that does NOT contain friends of ours. More to the point, there is no region on earth where ther use of nuclear weapons would have an impact, that we should not be concerned about, and therefore should make every effort ot prevent the use of nuclear weapons.
We know the consequences of having used nuclear weapons. We're stuck with them, for now. Hopefully our leaders and others will exercise the leadership we hope for from them, and make it possible for us and all other nations to eliminate nuclear weapons, and we can then have the unquestioned moral authority to deny others such weapons.
Until then, it is a game of logic and reason, which is always difficult.
"I have never seen an insult or wrong solution ever presented."
Well, wrong answers are par for the course. It happens, often because the question was badly phrased.
But insults are less frequent, though not yet zero.
By 'insult', do you mean for example "you must be a moron..." or "Can't you read the documentation..."?
For me, insulting does not always include "Have you read the documentation..." when I stated that I had read through the documentation, or "have you tried..." when I stated that I had tried "...". It also includes referencing my apparent skills, abilities, knowledge, intentions, or resources in ways that tend to place the fault upon me. Sometimes it is my fault. Sometimes not. The reponses don't seem to vary depending on which is actually true.
Defending the Linux community as a whole, however, is pointless. I am getting better at avoiding forums where abuse is common. it is easier now.
You haven't been searching for solutions to Linux problems very long if you've *never* been insulted. It wasn't that long ago that insults were common...
"20:03] google just cease and desisted me [20:15] cyanogenmod is probably going to be dead [20:16] i'm opening a dialogue with them [20:20] no they are talking specifically about the closed-source google apps [20:20] and how i am not licensed to distribute them [20:20] my argument is that i only develop for google-experience devices which are already licensed for these apps [20:20] so we'll see what they say [20:20] maybe we can work something out [20:24] maps, market, talk, gmail, youtube"20:03] google just cease and desisted me [20:15] cyanogenmod is probably going to be dead [20:16] i'm opening a dialogue with them [20:20] no they are talking specifically about the closed-source google apps [20:20] and how i am not licensed to distribute them [20:20] my argument is that i only develop for google-experience devices which are already licensed for these apps [20:20] so we'll see what they say [20:20] maybe we can work something out [20:24] maps, market, talk, gmail, youtube"
Probably he will have to drop those apps. This will make loading Cyanogen a little more difficult. Next, will Google prevent him from using those apps to test his distro, or will they make it impossible to run them under his ROMs?
Somehow, this is beginning to look like the end of Google the Nice. The beginning of the open Google the Evil.
Kinda sad, but now that Android is important, the game changes.
As in the Phoenix area, this seems to be as much about revenue as it is about safety and enforcement.
I don't begrudge them the revenue (after all, you get caught speeding, you be speeding generally) but the process doesn't allow for any meaningful appeal. And here in Phoenix, process servers that go out to actually serve those drivers that ignore the mail sometimes don't do a good job of service, like giving the papers to the 12-year-old, or even the wrong address. And that speaks to the general attitude that this system is just abusive.
Then again, we are speeding. If it's important, it's important enough to do right.
Except for the 'technical' audience stuff. Oh, gotcha.
Another myth - everyday users aren't technical. Except for the ones using laptops,WiFi, and Ubuntu.
If they can get through this, then they are technical. And if you're thinking this isn't much worse than Windows, well, now that we've set the standard, we know what you're aiming for.
Slashdot Mirror
Don't trust the caps with the 'X' pattern. The 'K' pattern is more reliable.
Ask any of the many who had Dell machines from about 2000-2004. And HP/Compaq. And Acer. Not so much IBM/Lenovo. I have no reports for Gateway.
Also affected ASUS, MSI, AOpen, Gigabyte motherboards, pretty much all brands.
For a period of time, there werw substandard caps being used, but the maker either faked the testing or used different component parts in production runs than in certification. If you got stung by these, you and I were the QA.
It was not pretty.
"I still fail to understand how any sane human being could actually LIKE Windows."
Apparently, you have not been exposed to SCO or SYS V.
Or AIX.
Or DeskMate.
Or DOS.
There have been worse things, just not many, nor so recently. Except maybe Gentoo, but I'm biased and beyond redemption in this area.
"If Android phones don't step up to the plate app-wise, AND touch-wise, accelerometer-wise, GPS-wise, compass-wise, iTunes-wise... "
My Android phone has touch, acclerometer, GPS, and a compass. They all work magnificently, except the compass, which if you have a magnetic clasp on your iPhone case, you have similar issues.
If iTunes was let out of the box by Apple, then that would be a non-issue. Oh, wait, it is anyways, since I do not want or need iTunes. In fact, iTunes is not the only source of music. My G1 hooks up with Amazon, though I acquire my music the old-fashioned way mostly. So a non-sequiter for me. Or something like that.
Now for apps, I have a few thousand apps to choose from, everything from games to fart apps. How many fart apps are there in the iPhone store? And how many are free? The iPhone store suffers from app bloat in a big way, with countless copies and duplicates of mortgage calculators, fart apps, stupid phone tricks, and such. The raw count of apps isn't nearly as important as the variety of unique and useful apps. I suspect Android is already very close to the iPhone in that regard.
The reality is that Android is doing pretty well, and is damned good.
Now for the bad.
So far, every OTA update has caused me to do a factory wipe, and I lose data from apps that don't give me the option to save it. I don't see this changing.
The Bluetooth stack is somewhat flaky, and A2DP is very poor - reception and streaming cutout problems. Interested? I may start a blog dedicated to this. I'm understanding the hardware limitations. But I bet the iPhone has some of the same issues, which makes it a BT problem.
My G1 doesn't have enough RAM to do what I really want it to do. Sadly, it was too little, too soon. Ask some iPhone 1st Gen users how they feel. But I do like the keyboard. Sometimes, buttons are better.
I'm betting before 2012 Android will surpass all other platforms. It's free, as in beer. Just add a few developers, and you are jammin with your new models. Motorola grokked this, and will save money both in licensing and staff.
Sure. 'Radioisotope batteries' will put the public at ease.
Let the Luddites plod along on diesel. I want my nucular car!
"way to apply force to a car's wheels from an electric motor or internal combustion engine"
Isn't there plenty of prior art on this?
BTW, the patent app is flawed. They specify a 2-speed transmission. My hybrid will NOT have a 2-speed transmission, I assure you. And it will have mechanical braking with an auxiliary regenerative system. Looks like i have a great chance at getting a patent on that, or some combination thereof.
Joking aside, this is continuing evidence of our patent system being pretty well hosed.
"The version of Android with Flash hasn't been ported to the G1."
Like I said. Flash on the G1? Never. Certainly not now. My point exactly, thank you for confirming it.
And on the iPhone? We'll see, but I'm not hopeful. Technical challenge on the G1, political challenge on the iPhone.
...and Adobe claimed they would have flash on Android this Fall.
October is here. Now they say next year.
I am not hopeful that they can get flash on Android. Possibly they are waiting for better devices so they don't have to shoehorn it into the G1, which could use more RAM, but it is what it is.
In fact, I predict, no Flash for the G1 ever. And many of the other platforms as well. Adoby wants to FUD the developers and keep HTML5 on the shelf as long as possible, since stuff like Canvas will pretty much eat their lunch and dinner if they don't watch out.
Wait a minit. HURD is just another Plan 9.
You WANT to do that? BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Seriously, HURD is pointless. If I want more CPUs, I buy a bigger chip. If I want more cores, I code it for GPGPU and get more cores on more video cards. If I want more drives, I get SASI or some other expensive SAN technology.
HURD doesn't solve anything. Of course, that makes it a great open source project. And some day, somewhere, someone will make something useful out of it.
Open Source Wins! Yaaaaaah!
Whatever.
From the post I replied to:
"even the simplest minded consumer will put together that all they really paid for was that key and the other stuff costs really nothing"
Yep, that is still as dumb as a blade of grass.
And then you say:
"So they make people think they are paying for a DVD, manual and box in addition to the software."
Um, if you go to the store/buy online/send in the coupon, and they send you back a DVD, manual, and box, then yep, you *did* pay for that stuff. And the key. Your point was, again? Microsoft has far more serious flaws than their distribution models.
Modding me 'Troll' is a poor excuse for 'disagree'. But I can take it.
I was hoping someone had bitten the bullet and writen an Access replacment.
Back to the salt mines... grrr....
That's as dumb as a blade of grass.
When you buy a new house, or rent an apartment, do you really think you paid all that money just for two shiny (or not)keys, and the bathroom is superfluous, even worth nothing more than what you think two keys at the Wal-Mart should cost?
Grow up and stop sniffing the anti-copyright glue. When you buy a copy of Windows whatever, you get more than a key to enter into your computer. Playing word games doesn't change that, and pretending that Windows is exclusively a scheme to ransom your computer is also. Microsoft doesn't have to do much now to make a new version of Windows desireable except pay a few thousand developers to make the code. Since we expect (and need) ongoing support to stomp out the inevitable security flaws, this money also goes towards that effort. Discussions about how much and when we should pay Microsoft will cement the reality that if you use Windows, you pay Microsoft. Probably.
Now, if you want free, go load your favorite Linux distribution. Bound to be able to get your hands on a live CD distro to get you started. Free.
And if you want to avoid both, consider Apple. Great product. Oh, and you won't need to pay a couple hundred dollars to get a key that unlocks the software. You'll need a whole new computer. Not a cheap one either.
Really, grow up and stop with the gratuitous copyright-bashing. It's disingenuous, false, and naive. If you really hate it, choose a copyright ot license that better suits you. They are out there, and mostly free.
Me? I have to use Microsoft products, that's what the people that pay me need me to use. For my own pleasure, amusement, and purposes, I use other stuff.
Next thing you know, you'll be whining about how the Internet should be free to you.
1. Basic customer service skills. I'm assuming you will also be teaching some about fixing stuff. Get your victim's/customer's/friend's name, and use it. Pay attention to what they say. Rephrase your responses until the understand. Try to leave them with a solution that not only works, but that they can see works, and can see if it fails. Stand behind your work. Be focused on your customer first, and then do the techie stuff.
2. Ethics. Same scenario as above. Don't go snooping around their hard drive looking for music and warez.
I come at this as a service tech, so I'm usually making stuff for people to use. Sometimes they have no idea what it is, just that it does whatever they need.
Of course, since you're more into the DIY stuff;
3. Safety. Glasses, gloves, long-sleeved shirts, safe work area, flammable precautions, etc. Oh, and tool safety, like how not to stab yourself with a screwdriver, and how to use a table saw (which the short version is, as if it will reach out and steal your fingers, cause it will).
All the other stuff is way more fun, so feel free to leave my suggestions until the last day of school.
I'm probably about 70% off-topic. Sorry bout that.
"You or your neighbors may be unwittingly using this already, as most pre-finished wood flooring uses aluminum oxide as a protective coating."
Finally, I can get rid of that kid in the basement!
BAHAHAHAHAHA! PWNAGE!
"This defeats one of the most important ways in which a browser can help people manage their [Web] experience.'"
I don't want to manage my Web experience.
I want to enjoy it.
I know there are all sorts of reasons why different browsers have to be accomodated. But it's still wrong.
They are doing it wrong.
My G-1 had horrible battery life.
Until I realized that it was more netbook than it was cell phone.
Now I have my expectations set correctly, and I'm not so disappointed with the battery life. Oh, it could be better, maybe, and I would like more than about 9 hours typical life before it goes into the low battery profile, but I now know it is just not a cell phone.
It's more.
And that takes more power.
And we don't have batteries that do that.
Can we squeeze some methane fuel cells into the available form factor? I wish...
Which will cut you six times whenever you open it up to figure out why the 3rd drive still isn't showing a week after you bundled it up and scrunched it into that space next t your desk where you cannot see any of the design features that seemed so cool in the ad.
And of course the PSU cover will drool a little as it's melted slowly - like cheddar cheese in a greenhouse.
You won't mind that in fact Asus does use more than one shade of black for their plastic parts.
And you won't mind not being able to get a spare part for it. Ever.
And I won't mind seeing one by the side of the road in a very few years, and thinkin 'no, thanks..."
Worth $50? Maybe.
For one, they agreed NOT TO.
And they have not yet rescinded that agreement.
They can certainly withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty if they wish. I believe so, anyways.
"way it works is if you're a threat to us, or a region "
There, fixed that for ya.
RCA: There is no region on Earth where the use of nuclear weapons would have an impact, that does NOT contain friends of ours. More to the point, there is no region on earth where ther use of nuclear weapons would have an impact, that we should not be concerned about, and therefore should make every effort ot prevent the use of nuclear weapons.
We know the consequences of having used nuclear weapons. We're stuck with them, for now. Hopefully our leaders and others will exercise the leadership we hope for from them, and make it possible for us and all other nations to eliminate nuclear weapons, and we can then have the unquestioned moral authority to deny others such weapons.
Until then, it is a game of logic and reason, which is always difficult.
Keep this shit up, and we're gonna have to make nice with Cuba...
"I have never seen an insult or wrong solution ever presented."
Well, wrong answers are par for the course. It happens, often because the question was badly phrased.
But insults are less frequent, though not yet zero.
By 'insult', do you mean for example "you must be a moron..." or "Can't you read the documentation..."?
For me, insulting does not always include "Have you read the documentation..." when I stated that I had read through the documentation, or "have you tried..." when I stated that I had tried "...". It also includes referencing my apparent skills, abilities, knowledge, intentions, or resources in ways that tend to place the fault upon me. Sometimes it is my fault. Sometimes not. The reponses don't seem to vary depending on which is actually true.
Defending the Linux community as a whole, however, is pointless. I am getting better at avoiding forums where abuse is common. it is easier now.
You haven't been searching for solutions to Linux problems very long if you've *never* been insulted. It wasn't that long ago that insults were common...
Yep. that's one I forgot.
From TMONews:
"20:03] google just cease and desisted me
[20:15] cyanogenmod is probably going to be dead
[20:16] i'm opening a dialogue with them
[20:20] no they are talking specifically about the closed-source google apps
[20:20] and how i am not licensed to distribute them
[20:20] my argument is that i only develop for google-experience devices which are already licensed for these apps
[20:20] so we'll see what they say
[20:20] maybe we can work something out
[20:24] maps, market, talk, gmail, youtube"20:03] google just cease and desisted me
[20:15] cyanogenmod is probably going to be dead
[20:16] i'm opening a dialogue with them
[20:20] no they are talking specifically about the closed-source google apps
[20:20] and how i am not licensed to distribute them
[20:20] my argument is that i only develop for google-experience devices which are already licensed for these apps
[20:20] so we'll see what they say
[20:20] maybe we can work something out
[20:24] maps, market, talk, gmail, youtube"
Probably he will have to drop those apps. This will make loading Cyanogen a little more difficult. Next, will Google prevent him from using those apps to test his distro, or will they make it impossible to run them under his ROMs?
Somehow, this is beginning to look like the end of Google the Nice. The beginning of the open Google the Evil.
Kinda sad, but now that Android is important, the game changes.
As in the Phoenix area, this seems to be as much about revenue as it is about safety and enforcement.
I don't begrudge them the revenue (after all, you get caught speeding, you be speeding generally) but the process doesn't allow for any meaningful appeal. And here in Phoenix, process servers that go out to actually serve those drivers that ignore the mail sometimes don't do a good job of service, like giving the papers to the 12-year-old, or even the wrong address. And that speaks to the general attitude that this system is just abusive.
Then again, we are speeding. If it's important, it's important enough to do right.
Git yer wordz right
It's extortion.
Oh, you mean gamers.
Except for the 'technical' audience stuff. Oh, gotcha.
Another myth - everyday users aren't technical. Except for the ones using laptops,WiFi, and Ubuntu.
If they can get through this, then they are technical. And if you're thinking this isn't much worse than Windows, well, now that we've set the standard, we know what you're aiming for.