"Agile" is -whatever you want it to be-, and that's part of my problem with it.
My favorite definition doesn't prescribe any rigid methodology rules at all, but rather a set of values[1]. In fact, one could even follow a waterfall methodology and just make some adaptations in the spirit of some of the Agile Manifesto values.
It wasn't an oversight - it was a design decision to meet their price target. Mounting holes take up a surprising amount of PCB routing real estate (and through every single layer of the board) and PCB real estate costs money. That's just how budget constrained this concept is.
In my experience the funds aren't actually "whisked out" of my checking account. They (surprisingly) charge the bill to my CC very near the due date, which gives me plenty of time to review the bill that gets emailed to me and resolve any charges before I let the auto payment go through.
You can, but it adds another step (more $$) to the manufacturing process if all you don't have homogeneous component type (e.g. all SMD or all through hole).
I've never had a problem with mini USB SMD connectors that come with two through-hole mechanical support posts (not soldered to anything - just snugly fit through holes you provide) plus four tabs that are soldered to big pads to provide the strong board attachment. Inside most consumer products this is how the mini and micro USB connectors are attached and it doesn't seem to be an issue.
So, now it is good to always update working software to the newestestest version available? I thought we had the mantra of "if it is working don't fix it".
If a security vulnerability is discovered, then that piece of software is decidedly no longer working. A good update system allows you to choose whether you want minimal updates to fix just security updates, just bug fixes, or new features. In Ubuntu these channels are -security, -updates, and -backports. By default -security and -updates are enabled, but you are in control based on your needs. For example, you might choose to disable -updates (though I've personally had nothing but good come from the -updates channel)
But, if you want automatically updated Windows programs I suggest you go with LiberKey. You can install it in your PC and if you even want to reinstall your OS you just have to move one folder to a temporary position. Oh, and it detects and installs software from PortableApps too.
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a cool project that definitely fills a need.
Why do I need Linux when all the best open source programs have easy-to-install Windows binaries?
Good point. However, don't forget the downside of this system - software updates are a pain with each vendor adding their own software update daemon that nags you about updates. Or (for better or worse) no update system at all. Mac users have the same problem but it's not as bad because typically almost all their applications come from the same vendor - the same vendor that makes their OS.
The software repository system is part of the reason Linux distributions (Debian, in particular) have a reputation for better security.
I agree that Linux could use some more stability - and I think the LTS releases from Ubuntu are a good step in the right direction. Simply enable the "backports" software channel in these releases and you'll get fairly up-to-date versions of all the big name applications while keeping the core something stable that proprietary software vendors can target.
If I saw this hypothetical post, my reaction would be "Hm, since Microsoft knows exactly how many copies/licenses of Windows it has sold, so this must be a tactic to count how many *stolen* copies there are (and possibly pursue prosecutions)"
When I read the real article about canonical-census, my reaction was "Hm, it must be really difficult to track usage of this operating system that they are distributing free of charge without a tool like this"
They are comparing platforms. It's just as valid as comparing computers sold running Windows versus computers sold run OS X. If you want to fault the article on technical grounds, you could argue that they should have said "Android outsells iOS phones".
Not just free calls to Canada, but cheap international calls. There are lots of ways to save money on international calls, but GV on an Android phone is by far the easiest I have found. Wife tested. Geek approved.
Windows 7 or Vista instructions: Right-click on the little speaker icon in the bottom right. Click "Playback devices". Right-click on the device you want to use instead of you current device. Click "Set as Default Device". The audio output will instantly switch to that device.
I assumed the GP was referring to the ability to move sound from between output devices on different computers. In the middle of playing. (Both machines running PulseAudio, of course) This is what makes PulseAudio worth the growing pains that it has been.
If they use the same technology as they use for the Google Voice transcriptions then it won't be so useful.
This is largely due to the poor sound quality of voices over phone networks. My experience with my Droid is that if it gets good voice input, I get good text output. The dual-mic hardware on this thing should be very helpful with input filtering.
Seems pretty obvious to me. They're just going to write a new window manager so all window decorations look like those Chrome currently uses. Right now Chrome sticks out like sore thumb on any operating system you use.
I'm pretty sure the trillions spent on the pointless "Drug War" could have been used to develop some simple test - With billions left over to spend on things like education, national deficit, etc...
"Agile" is -whatever you want it to be-, and that's part of my problem with it.
My favorite definition doesn't prescribe any rigid methodology rules at all, but rather a set of values[1]. In fact, one could even follow a waterfall methodology and just make some adaptations in the spirit of some of the Agile Manifesto values.
[1] http://www.agilemanifesto.org/
They actually have taken X-ray images of the board - I'm know they are floating around on the internet somewhere...
It wasn't an oversight - it was a design decision to meet their price target. Mounting holes take up a surprising amount of PCB routing real estate (and through every single layer of the board) and PCB real estate costs money. That's just how budget constrained this concept is.
In my experience the funds aren't actually "whisked out" of my checking account. They (surprisingly) charge the bill to my CC very near the due date, which gives me plenty of time to review the bill that gets emailed to me and resolve any charges before I let the auto payment go through.
You can, but it adds another step (more $$) to the manufacturing process if all you don't have homogeneous component type (e.g. all SMD or all through hole).
I've never had a problem with mini USB SMD connectors that come with two through-hole mechanical support posts (not soldered to anything - just snugly fit through holes you provide) plus four tabs that are soldered to big pads to provide the strong board attachment. Inside most consumer products this is how the mini and micro USB connectors are attached and it doesn't seem to be an issue.
Only in the U.S.... so really, who cares?
The 300 million people living in the U.S.
Last I checked, pirating music was way easier than buying it legitimately.
Pirating music is definitely NOT easier than Google Music.
So, now it is good to always update working software to the newestestest version available? I thought we had the mantra of "if it is working don't fix it".
If a security vulnerability is discovered, then that piece of software is decidedly no longer working. A good update system allows you to choose whether you want minimal updates to fix just security updates, just bug fixes, or new features. In Ubuntu these channels are -security, -updates, and -backports. By default -security and -updates are enabled, but you are in control based on your needs. For example, you might choose to disable -updates (though I've personally had nothing but good come from the -updates channel)
But, if you want automatically updated Windows programs I suggest you go with LiberKey. You can install it in your PC and if you even want to reinstall your OS you just have to move one folder to a temporary position. Oh, and it detects and installs software from PortableApps too.
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a cool project that definitely fills a need.
Why do I need Linux when all the best open source programs have easy-to-install Windows binaries?
Good point. However, don't forget the downside of this system - software updates are a pain with each vendor adding their own software update daemon that nags you about updates. Or (for better or worse) no update system at all. Mac users have the same problem but it's not as bad because typically almost all their applications come from the same vendor - the same vendor that makes their OS.
The software repository system is part of the reason Linux distributions (Debian, in particular) have a reputation for better security.
I agree that Linux could use some more stability - and I think the LTS releases from Ubuntu are a good step in the right direction. Simply enable the "backports" software channel in these releases and you'll get fairly up-to-date versions of all the big name applications while keeping the core something stable that proprietary software vendors can target.
So someone with $9k and six months time would have access to your password?
Where do I get the separately-sold remote as was promised so many months ago?
If I saw this hypothetical post, my reaction would be "Hm, since Microsoft knows exactly how many copies/licenses of Windows it has sold, so this must be a tactic to count how many *stolen* copies there are (and possibly pursue prosecutions)"
When I read the real article about canonical-census, my reaction was "Hm, it must be really difficult to track usage of this operating system that they are distributing free of charge without a tool like this"
They are comparing platforms. It's just as valid as comparing computers sold running Windows versus computers sold run OS X. If you want to fault the article on technical grounds, you could argue that they should have said "Android outsells iOS phones".
Free call to Canada.
Not just free calls to Canada, but cheap international calls. There are lots of ways to save money on international calls, but GV on an Android phone is by far the easiest I have found. Wife tested. Geek approved.
By the way, if every person in the world sends me 1 penny (just ONE penny) via paypal to me at gurps_npc (at) hotmail.com, then I will be very happy.
From: service@paypal.com
Your payment for $0.01 USD to gurps_npc@hotmail.com has been sent.
Windows 7 or Vista instructions: Right-click on the little speaker icon in the bottom right. Click "Playback devices". Right-click on the device you want to use instead of you current device. Click "Set as Default Device". The audio output will instantly switch to that device.
I assumed the GP was referring to the ability to move sound from between output devices on different computers. In the middle of playing. (Both machines running PulseAudio, of course) This is what makes PulseAudio worth the growing pains that it has been.
?
If they use the same technology as they use for the Google Voice transcriptions then it won't be so useful.
This is largely due to the poor sound quality of voices over phone networks. My experience with my Droid is that if it gets good voice input, I get good text output. The dual-mic hardware on this thing should be very helpful with input filtering.
Apple products carry a price premium that nobody can reasonably explain... you just pay more because it's an Apple.
It can be easily explained. Whenever you buy an iPod/iPhone/MacBook you are paying a premium to fund the massive Apple ad campaign.
As part of the Beta we also changed the underlying graphic library on Windows from OpenGL to DirectX
Despite what MS would like you to think, Windows XP is not obsolete.
That's interesting because that's exactly what the NPR report said Radio Shack is doing well - closing the doors on failing locations.
... They wonder why they are going out of business ...
Acutally they are doing quite well.
Seems pretty obvious to me. They're just going to write a new window manager so all window decorations look like those Chrome currently uses. Right now Chrome sticks out like sore thumb on any operating system you use.
I'm pretty sure the trillions spent on the pointless "Drug War" could have been used to develop some simple test - With billions left over to spend on things like education, national deficit, etc...
Turns out that the amount of bugs in a given amount of lines of code is fairly constant, regardless of language.
I'm not sure if this applies to Perl. It's probably one of the few languages, where you can have about 10 different bugs in one single line of code.