I am as big a tech geek as anyone here, but I have other devices to hack.
Perhaps you simply have a different philosophy on hacking to the rest of us? I don't hack my gadgets just because I can, I do so to make them do what I want them to do. i.e. to increase their utility. The iPad's utility is limited to what Apple dictates, but a more open device would be more flexible. To give you an example, what if you want to play back music/video in an unsupported (perhaps FOSS) format? If the device is open, you could install/port myplayer/VLC to it. If it's locked down, you have to convert it first. Given the size of the iPad means you need a bag if you're going to carry it around, Gates is probably right about netbooks being more popular. But then I'm not allowing for the massive hype surrounding anything Apple craps out.
If it's anything like my N900, it'll let you use it as an external hard drive. Don't know if they'll actually do this though, since the partition has to be unmounted on the device before it becomes accessible to the PC (N900 has separate partitions for the OS and user's files).
But of course, all of those 5.700.000.000 people from outside America aren't as smart or deserving as real Americans...
You know, I'm sick of the fine and dandy people that somehow seem to think that they are entitled to sell their products from around America. If these 5.7 billion people around the world are so damned smart, why are they unable to build up their fricking countries rather than unload all their crap on us. Frankly, I would just as soon bar all imports of any good whatsoever and just have the USA explore space and deep seas to get needed raw materials. The rest of the world can go fuck itself.
Ban all imports, huh? Exactly what would that leave you with, beyond a bunch of intellectual property? Even if you were to revive America's manufacturing industry, the price of everything would soar. Although I have to admit, it would work out rather well for the rest of us.
Actually, I've found that installing Linux is much faster than installing Windows. This is especially true when you consider that reinstalling all your software takes a single apt-get install... whereas on Windows it's an endless succession of wizards that takes at least a day. But then, by Linux, I mean Ubuntu. No idea what the experience would be like with other distros.
If it's such a big deal, perhaps you should consider removing the EULA from the service pack before installing it. I don't know what it would mean legally though.
Technically they do have port blocking enabled on ports 25, 80, 135, 139, 443 & 445, but you can disable it by going to their website. Seems like a good way to protect users from botnets, etc. without limiting the ones who know what their doing.
That would be Stephen Conroy - the Internet Villain of the Year. We were hoping that the National Broadband Network would keep busy, but apparently not...
The going out of their way part would be the crypto. In order to use the iPhone with non Apple software, you literally have to break the crypto used to hash the database. A simple CRC would have been sufficient if they just wanted to prevent corruption, but they're actively investing time and effort into working against people who are developing iTunes alternatives. There's plenty of info here.
MKV files don't work on bloody anything reliably except VLC, even though they're theoretically an h264 variant
Setting aside the fact that MKV is a container, not a codec, try using SMPlayer. It seems to handle MKVs better, and it's also cross platform and (IIRC) FOSS.
Why, oh why, won't Apple let me push music to it like every other, non-Apple, media player that we own?
Because most people don't want to do it that way and Apple doesn't want to spend the extra time supporting a feature that only a few nerds are going to use.
iTunes works fine for me, BTW.
The issue isn't that Apple's not willing to support it, the issue is that Apple is going out of their way to force people to use iTunes . It's this kind of behaviour that makes me fervently anti-Apple.
They simply expose some partition through USB as a block device, but the partition is unmounted by the embedded OS before being handled to the USB host. From the host point of view, the device is like a removable disk drive, and when the user chooses to switch the partition to the PC side, it's like if someone just inserted a disk in the removable drive.
FWIW, Maemo does the same thing as well. It was actually a little confusing at first, until I thought of looking at the output of mount.
Except for the fact that the n900 uses a resistive screen, as where the Droid uses a capacitave screen.
Which basically means that N900 screen is more precise, and can be operated with gloves on, or with a stylus (think handwriting input), while Droid cannot.
Oh, but Droid can do multitouch! Except... no stock applications support it, anyway.
D'oh.
It actually comes with a stylus, which is very useful for high precision stuff (e.g. clicking on links in the browser if you can't be bothered zooming in). It also has the advantage of not leaving your screen covered in fingerprints. It's also ideal for handwriting recognition, although the N900 doesn't have that (yet).
There was also a useful bit in the summary judgement that would be of great use to any individuals who get sued:
This follows from my finding that, on the evidence and on a proper interpretation of the law, a person makes each film available online only once through the BitTorrent system and electronically transmits each film only once through that system.
In other words, each torrent counts as a single infringement, which significantly reduces the (theoretical) damages.
Mod parent up. Development with C++/Qt is insanely easy (using Qt Creator) - it took me less than 3 days to learn the basics (no prior experience with C++). Development can occur on the phone itself or on a Linux system with scratchbox, although naturally the phone's small keyboard is pretty limiting.
Everything I've read about Firefox Mobile says that it is significantly slower than the native Maemo browser, MicroB. Since MicroB is based on Firefox anyway (and supports several addons), I don't really see what the point is. What I'd really like to see ported is Opera Mini - at least it compresses the data for me.
I actually understood that, and it was a terrible analogy. Try this one: the difference between C and C# is like the difference between a manual and automatic transmission - while a manual (C) is preferred when you need better performance and more control, most people prefer automatic (C#) because it's a lot easier to use, still achieves decent performance and has some nice new features like cruise control (LINQ, anonymous methods, etc.).
The real issue is enforcement. AFAIK, almost no effort has been made to actually enforce these laws. If they were to post cops watching for people on their phone during peak times to ticket them, then we'd start to see some change. Until then, a law that isn't enforced isn't going to have any real effect.
I agree, the N900 was the first thing that came to my mind (probably because I own one). To add to what the parent said, I believe you can connect it to a TV via a cable that comes with it if you want a bigger screen. The N900 has a decent resolution, but if you're going to be reading a lot you would want a bigger screen.
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I am as big a tech geek as anyone here, but I have other devices to hack.
Perhaps you simply have a different philosophy on hacking to the rest of us? I don't hack my gadgets just because I can, I do so to make them do what I want them to do. i.e. to increase their utility.
The iPad's utility is limited to what Apple dictates, but a more open device would be more flexible. To give you an example, what if you want to play back music/video in an unsupported (perhaps FOSS) format? If the device is open, you could install/port myplayer/VLC to it. If it's locked down, you have to convert it first.
Given the size of the iPad means you need a bag if you're going to carry it around, Gates is probably right about netbooks being more popular.
But then I'm not allowing for the massive hype surrounding anything Apple craps out.
If it's anything like my N900, it'll let you use it as an external hard drive. Don't know if they'll actually do this though, since the partition has to be unmounted on the device before it becomes accessible to the PC (N900 has separate partitions for the OS and user's files).
But of course, all of those 5.700.000.000 people from outside America aren't as smart or deserving as real Americans...
You know, I'm sick of the fine and dandy people that somehow seem to think that they are entitled to sell their products from around America. If these 5.7 billion people around the world are so damned smart, why are they unable to build up their fricking countries rather than unload all their crap on us. Frankly, I would just as soon bar all imports of any good whatsoever and just have the USA explore space and deep seas to get needed raw materials. The rest of the world can go fuck itself.
Ban all imports, huh? Exactly what would that leave you with, beyond a bunch of intellectual property? Even if you were to revive America's manufacturing industry, the price of everything would soar.
Although I have to admit, it would work out rather well for the rest of us.
For the record, the system in question did have current AV (Norton 360)
For the record, I wouldn't consider that AV. Consider replacing it with Avira.
adding that AI "is likely to eliminate almost all of today's decently paying jobs
Stories like this just keep reminding me of Manna. If this happens in my lifetime it's going to be an interesting time to be alive.
Actually, I've found that installing Linux is much faster than installing Windows. This is especially true when you consider that reinstalling all your software takes a single apt-get install ... whereas on Windows it's an endless succession of wizards that takes at least a day.
But then, by Linux, I mean Ubuntu. No idea what the experience would be like with other distros.
If it's such a big deal, perhaps you should consider removing the EULA from the service pack before installing it. I don't know what it would mean legally though.
Technically they do have port blocking enabled on ports 25, 80, 135, 139, 443 & 445, but you can disable it by going to their website. Seems like a good way to protect users from botnets, etc. without limiting the ones who know what their doing.
Sounds like Australia has a silly tit in office.
That would be Stephen Conroy - the Internet Villain of the Year. We were hoping that the National Broadband Network would keep busy, but apparently not...
But are they trying to stop other manufacturers from making iTunes-like software that works with their own or other non-Apple devices?
Yes, for with Apple devices. That would be the crypto.
The going out of their way part would be the crypto. In order to use the iPhone with non Apple software, you literally have to break the crypto used to hash the database. A simple CRC would have been sufficient if they just wanted to prevent corruption, but they're actively investing time and effort into working against people who are developing iTunes alternatives. There's plenty of info here.
MKV files don't work on bloody anything reliably except VLC, even though they're theoretically an h264 variant
Setting aside the fact that MKV is a container, not a codec, try using SMPlayer. It seems to handle MKVs better, and it's also cross platform and (IIRC) FOSS.
Once I'm forced to use iTunes a few more times my hatred will probably reach the level of a holy war.
That actually sounds likes a decent idea for a game. If anyone wants to write it, I'm guessing there would be quite popular here.
Why, oh why, won't Apple let me push music to it like every other, non-Apple, media player that we own?
Because most people don't want to do it that way and Apple doesn't want to spend the extra time supporting a feature that only a few nerds are going to use.
iTunes works fine for me, BTW.
The issue isn't that Apple's not willing to support it, the issue is that Apple is going out of their way to force people to use iTunes . It's this kind of behaviour that makes me fervently anti-Apple.
They simply expose some partition through USB as a block device, but the partition is unmounted by the embedded OS before being handled to the USB host. From the host point of view, the device is like a removable disk drive, and when the user chooses to switch the partition to the PC side, it's like if someone just inserted a disk in the removable drive.
FWIW, Maemo does the same thing as well. It was actually a little confusing at first, until I thought of looking at the output of mount.
Except for the fact that the n900 uses a resistive screen, as where the Droid uses a capacitave screen.
Which basically means that N900 screen is more precise, and can be operated with gloves on, or with a stylus (think handwriting input), while Droid cannot.
Oh, but Droid can do multitouch! Except... no stock applications support it, anyway.
D'oh.
It actually comes with a stylus, which is very useful for high precision stuff (e.g. clicking on links in the browser if you can't be bothered zooming in). It also has the advantage of not leaving your screen covered in fingerprints. It's also ideal for handwriting recognition, although the N900 doesn't have that (yet).
There was also a useful bit in the summary judgement that would be of great use to any individuals who get sued:
This follows from my finding that, on the evidence and on a proper interpretation of the law, a person makes each film available online only once through the BitTorrent system and electronically transmits each film only once through that system.
In other words, each torrent counts as a single infringement, which significantly reduces the (theoretical) damages.
You didn't consider a PDF? Seems like the standard way to go, if .doc wasn't working...
I hear that some progress is being made here: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=38372
Mod parent up. Development with C++/Qt is insanely easy (using Qt Creator) - it took me less than 3 days to learn the basics (no prior experience with C++). Development can occur on the phone itself or on a Linux system with scratchbox, although naturally the phone's small keyboard is pretty limiting.
Mininova also complied with takedown requests. They got sued, and now they're effectively dead.
Everything I've read about Firefox Mobile says that it is significantly slower than the native Maemo browser, MicroB. Since MicroB is based on Firefox anyway (and supports several addons), I don't really see what the point is.
What I'd really like to see ported is Opera Mini - at least it compresses the data for me.
I actually understood that, and it was a terrible analogy. Try this one: the difference between C and C# is like the difference between a manual and automatic transmission - while a manual (C) is preferred when you need better performance and more control, most people prefer automatic (C#) because it's a lot easier to use, still achieves decent performance and has some nice new features like cruise control (LINQ, anonymous methods, etc.).
The real issue is enforcement. AFAIK, almost no effort has been made to actually enforce these laws. If they were to post cops watching for people on their phone during peak times to ticket them, then we'd start to see some change. Until then, a law that isn't enforced isn't going to have any real effect.
I agree, the N900 was the first thing that came to my mind (probably because I own one). To add to what the parent said, I believe you can connect it to a TV via a cable that comes with it if you want a bigger screen. The N900 has a decent resolution, but if you're going to be reading a lot you would want a bigger screen.