That is fucking horrible! Why do they even need to disperse a crowd of only a few hundred people!? I know that if I were there, it would just piss me off, and make me want to attack the vehicles! I'm normally a peaceful guy, but when people unfairly fuck with me, I just makes me pissed off.
Plus, seems like some $0.50 earplugs would be a good defense against this, if someone had the forethought to bring them... Or maybe that would be "resisting... something" and you'd get arrested? Ugh, this is really fucked up. -Taylor
I am all for developement of greener alternatives! But why the fuck are we giving loans and grants to companies to build these cars outside the US? These loans were designed to stimulate the economy. The only thing we are doing is stimulating the UK and Finland while we have 10% fucking unemployment. Our current president is no better than Bush. This angers me to no end. We are still giving money away with No Strings Attached that we will never see again. More wealthcare! I, for one, am just puke sick and tired of it. Anyone else?
Some of our loans were to stimulate the economy, but economics is not the only problem that we have right now. We also have an environmental crisis that is worldwide, so why shouldn't we loan some money to another promising inventor of a technology that could help us all?
The summary stupidly "forgets" to mention that Tesla is working on an awesome electric family sedan, and i think Fisker is too. The more electric vehicles are developed by companies that CARE about them (i.e. not the big 3, who we gave *billions* to even though they've avoided electric cars like the plague) the better off we are.
Not all government money is spent for the economy. -Taylor
If we were going to use them, we would have done so already while oil was cheap. Now it is not and won't be again. Solar/Wind/Tidal are just tools built from oil for increasing the EROEI of the invested oil. They are fundamentally not a replacement for oil.
WTF? I can't possibly see what you mean... When oil was cheap, we used oil... Makes sense to me. Now oil is not cheap, so we look for alternatives. Put enough money into research, and we'll figure this whole solar thing out. Same with tidal - there is massive energy there and a LOT of coastline in the world.
I seriously don't understand your argument that if we were going to use it, we would have used it already, it really doesn't make any sense. -Taylor
But why can't we just build hydroelectric dams or fission reactors right into the car itself? Or better yet...wind powered cars. Just think how fast a wind turbine would spin on top of a car going 80MPH. The thing would practically power itself.
I was listening to the radio a couple days ago, and I literally heard someone, in all seriousness, call in and ask the guy:
"Why don't we just make one big windmill, and have it blow at the little windmills so they're always turning? Wouldn't that give us free electricity?"
The state of science in our country is sooooooooo goddamn appalling... -Taylor
its mere existence makes the world a less knowable place either way
Well said.
I find it disturbing, too, that the media just reports the polling companies' results, without reporting things like what questions were asked, in what order, how the poll was conducted or who commissioned it, all of which can have a big effect on the results. A lot of "push polling" goes on, especially when the polls are commissioned by special interest groups, business associations, unions or political parties themselves.
I'm not in the US, so I don't know this polling company, but I've had a municipal, provincial and federal election in the past 12 months (with another possible federal election imminent) and I think polling and radio call in shows have a great deal of effect on people's opinions these days, more so than traditional newspaper and television newscasts.
If Strategic Vision was conducting fraudulent poles, I would be looking at their client list and going after whoever paid for them as well.
its mere existence makes the world a less knowable place either way
Well said.
I find it disturbing, too, that the media just reports the polling companies' results, without reporting things like what questions were asked, in what order, how the poll was conducted or who commissioned it, all of which can have a big effect on the results. A lot of "push polling" goes on, especially when the polls are commissioned by special interest groups, business associations, unions or political parties themselves.
I'm not in the US, so I don't know this polling company, but I've had a municipal, provincial and federal election in the past 12 months (with another possible federal election imminent) and I think polling and radio call in shows have a great deal of effect on people's opinions these days, more so than traditional newspaper and television newscasts.
If Strategic Vision was conducting fraudulent poles, I would be looking at their client list and going after whoever paid for them as well.
Push Polling!? That's absurd! Are you saying you're PRO grinding up puppies then too!? -Taylor
Bah, sorry, i meant to say summary. I always say article, but no, my point was that the slashdot summary was biased, because it makes a big deal out of no open store, without clarifying that there will at least be a closed store to start.
And I agree with everything you said, I'm really only griping about the summary. I agree that they are now competing with an established store and they should have come out with one immediately that was open, but that wasn't what I was complaining about. -Taylor
Really? The current market leader won by also not having an app store right away.
While that is true, the new low bar to entry is an app store. Also included is the touch screen, camera, etc...
And the slashdot summary fails to mention that there WILL be an app store, with facebook, twitter, project gotham racing, and all kinds of games. It just won't be *open* at first, a subtlety that the summary does not properly articulate. -taylor
Erm... Calm the accusations of bias there. From all of the info I have scanned on the web concerning teh Zune HD, the OP's article is 100% correct in that no 3rd party app store has been announced. I noticed a link you posed above to engadget above, which does say that there will be apps, but if you read further you find-out that these apps are in-house developed (or contracted).
See, there are a lot of developers here on slashdot. There is a big difference between in-house apps and 3rd party apps. I could potentially decide to run the Appstore gauntlet, paying a meager developer's fee for the opportunity to develop apps in my spare time. To develop apps for the Zune HD, I'd practically have to get a job in-house at Microsoft.
Actually, that's not true. The article flat out claims that there will not be an open app store. That makes it sound like there will *never* be an open app store, but they've clearly said there might be in the future. That would be worth mentioning, unless you wanted to just make MS look bad. Plus, it would at least be pertinent to mention that there will be a closed app store at first, something the article also overlooks. Its not as good as an open app store, but it should still be mentioned. Otherwise it just seems like they don't even care about apps, which would be dumb, but isn't true.
Three pages of detailed explanation, and the best you can come with for an attack is to say that "here is no such thing as a transflective color LCD"?
Maybe you should have thought to plug the following words into Google before making your statement:
transflective color LCD iPod touch
What's next, complaints about global warming, evolution, and the Round Earth Theory?
Nope, just busy at work, and I am wasting enough time keeping up this thread on Slashdot. Like I said, I was just repeating what I was told by a manufacturer when I was doing some research on LCDs recently. -Taylor
Fair enough, I agree with that, but it's not a suicide move either, or a sign of non-commitment, as some suggested.
At this point something like the Zune HD, built to compete primarily against the Touch, is a suicide move without an App Store answer. A handful of included 3rd-party apps, is not that answer. The Touch has Need For Speed and Assassins Creed, for crying out loud!
Yes some individual parts seem cool - primarily the OLED screen. But I think at that size it's going to be a pretty marginal improvement over the screens the Touch has today, and it's just not enough to woo away most consumers anymore.
The sign of non-commitment is the lack of will to knock heads together at Microsoft to build that App Store answer today (really, yesterday). In my mind if they were serious about the Zune it would be the flagship for a Microsoft App Store, which would then expand to support the totally redesigned Windows Mobile next year. It's certainly a sexier leader than Windows Mobile.
The problem is the Zune guys have no pull, and Windows Mobile people insist everything begins and ends with them. Since Microsoft has had good success with the 360 it's amazing to me they don't give the consumer products divisions like the Zune more say in the direction things take.
Which is why I wish this article wasn't so damn biased. It leaves out so much good information that engadget didn't, like:
"Later this year, Zune plans to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, in addition to fun 3-D games such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf(TM) Tilt." Games can be added to Zune HD via Zune Marketplace over the Wi-Fi connection or when connected to the Zune PC software."
Microsoft has had a model to follow since Jan 2007. They've had an SDK to copy since Jun 2008.
Microsoft has been in the Zune game for longer than Apple has had the iPhone. At some point, you have to stop bending over for the grand monopolist of the tech world, as it doesn't deserve your pity sex.
Come on, this sort of irrational fandom should be reserved for the Amiga and Cowon and Ogg Vobis.
Actually, that article is pretty damn biased too. Or wrong. Check this part out:
"OLED also performs considerably worse in bright light because OLED is 100% emissive rather than being partially transflective.A good quality LCD actually uses ambient light to make its image brighter and more vibrant; OLED does not."
There is no such thing as a transflective color LCD, only black an white. At least, that's what i was told by our LCD manufacturer. Color LCDs are transmissive only, which is why they ALSO wash out in ambient light.
If you can't even recognize FUD, you're as blind as the summary writer. -Taylor
This is a major oversight if Microsoft isn't going to allow 3rd party apps. Maybe when they get around to supporting it, you'll be able to install apps without using an iTunes-style interface. Directly from app's website perhaps?
It's just "Not Yet". This article is extremely biased, check out the Engadget article for actual info, not fanboy FUD.
I would argue that the current market leader won despite not having an app store right away. The griping about the lack of one and Apple's 'you just develop using Web widgets' strategy was loud and prolonged.
The iPod Touch/iPhone was lucky in that it didn't have an entrenched direct competitor with a full app store to compete against. The Zune isn't that lucky.
Fair enough, I agree with that, but it's not a suicide move either, or a sign of non-commitment, as some suggested.
Someone is very biased, but I'm not sure it was the submitter. The very fact that Zune even has a headline on Slashdot considering its 1% market share and fourth-place finish behind iPod, Sandisk, and "Other" comes close to astroturfing in my book. Zune is irrelevant in the market and pretending this is a viable product launch at ALL is awfully biased in a pro-Microsoft way.
They don't have an app store yet because it's hard and they don't want to invest in it for a potentially dying platform.
They aren't merging with Windows Mobile because that strategy is a mess (6.5? 7.0?) and a moving target. ("Make extra sure the Zune is perfect"? What does that even mean?)
The marketing folks at Microsoft are trying hard to spin, but their explanations make no sense if you examine how the current market leader won.
Really? The current market leader won by also not having an app store right away.
And this isn't astroturfing, as far as I'm concerned. I'm genuinely excited about the ZuneHD. Builtin HD radio, the first device with NVidia's Tegra processor for mobile 3D graphics, and a supposedly beautiful OLED screen are all reasons why this device is worth reporting on.
And I'm not a MS fanboy, I dumped windows mobile YEARS ago (thank god) for my iPhone, which I eventually dumped for Android. I just think it looks genuinely promising. -Taylor
They aren't merging with windows mobile's store because they want to make extra sure the Zune is perfect, and I absolutely don't blame them.
Yeah, Apple's version totally ruined the iPhone, what were they thinking.
Apple *also* didn't come out with an app store right away, to make sure everything was perfect. This article also fails to mention that they intend to have one when the time is right. For apple that was an entire year. -Taylor
You know, I know this is slashdot and all, but this is a VERY biased article.
They don't have an open app store yet because they want all the games to be free, and developed in house, which isn't as bad as this summary makes it sound.
They aren't merging with windows mobile's store because they want to make extra sure the Zune is perfect, and I absolutely don't blame them.
I'm pretty annoyed that whoever wrote this summary was this biased, the Zune HD looks awesome and its really unfair to try to make it look bad on a site that gets 2 million hits a day. If it ends up being bad, that's one thing, but give it a freakin chance.
And forget about trialing it off a bootable cd or usb key to see if it does what you want or breaks on your hardware...
Hah, it's really funny to see someone who loves linux complain that you can't test windows to see if it breaks... You're so used to doing that with Linux you've forgotten that as annoying as windows can be, one thing it does do is work (except vista) on anything that's not ancient. I know that's not so much MS as everyone having to support MS, but still, everyone does support windows, I've never had an install that I couldn't get working. -Taylor
I actually laughed out loud when I scrolled down the article and saw the picture of the man wearing the glasses. While I'm sure it looks lovely when you're wearing them, as long as your 3D display technology requires headgear it will never replace or even slightly displace mainstream conventional displays. Period.
Instead of wasting their time developing this kind of technology they should be working on developing alternatives.
This technology is pretty much ready for primetime, so they wanna see how people like it. The future will be glasses-free 3D and they are working on it but plenty of people don't mind the glasses, so it's worth a shot for them to produce these things. For people like you, well, wait. At least when it's all ready, these TV's will have driven the content production.
During the last 30 years, the brands possessing the most value (for the money) for the typical customer has changed dramatically. In 1979, heaven for the consumer was Sony audio and visual appliances and Honda cars. Now, heaven for the consumer is Panasonic audio and visual appliances and Toyota cars.
30 years from now, what will be heaven for the consumer?
Maybe Daewoo? They make cars and microwaves and forklifts and assault rifles, that's all you could ever want! -Taylor
Having to wear special glasses, especially ones that need batteries or cords is just a deal breaker for me.
It's a novelty item and maybe an impressive one at that. But if you're going to sit down and watch a few tv shows or a movie or two, do you really want to have to find your 3D glasses and some batteries first?
I'm thinking not having to deal with the hassle will trump the initial "fun" factor of having "3D" television.
I dunno, I wear sunglasses when driving, safety glasses at work, goggles when swimming, and plenty of people wear glasses when reading, if not all the time. I don't see how wearing glasses when watching TV is really any less convenient than all the other things I wear them for, if it means I get a 3D TV sooner, rather than later.
Plus, I already wear a silly headset when playing Xbox. You could pretty much put my head in a fishbowl if that made anything cooler, I'm not trying to impress anyone in my living room. -Taylor
Gaming on 6 screens seems a bit ridiculous. I mean for PC gaming you're at most 5 feet away from your screen, if that. When I first upgraded to a 22" LCD monitor from my 15" I felt a bit overwhelmed. It almost made me nauseous playing games on it at first. I got used to it, but it still takes up most of my field of view at my desk. Anything over 24" just seems to be over the top.
Well, I'm pretty sure real life takes up more than 22" of my view, but it never overwhelms me.
But then, video games are made assuming you can see the whole screen, not just peripheral vision, so some things like indicators may be too far out.
Either way, my 25.5" and the 19" next to it work out great for me. -Taylor
I'm almost positive that a pound of human hair is a hell of a lot more expensive and harder to come by than a pound of silicon.
Not true. Hair is actually already a commercial product. There is some company that makes mats out of human hair for preventing weeds from growing in your yard. They have an arrangement with barbershops in china to buy the waste hair. It wouldn't be hard to do the same for solar panels, and with almost 7 billion people on the planet, a LOT of hair is being grown daily. -Taylor
Slashdot Mirror
That is fucking horrible! Why do they even need to disperse a crowd of only a few hundred people!? I know that if I were there, it would just piss me off, and make me want to attack the vehicles! I'm normally a peaceful guy, but when people unfairly fuck with me, I just makes me pissed off.
Plus, seems like some $0.50 earplugs would be a good defense against this, if someone had the forethought to bring them... Or maybe that would be "resisting... something" and you'd get arrested? Ugh, this is really fucked up.
-Taylor
I am all for developement of greener alternatives! But why the fuck are we giving loans and grants to companies to build these cars outside the US? These loans were designed to stimulate the economy. The only thing we are doing is stimulating the UK and Finland while we have 10% fucking unemployment. Our current president is no better than Bush. This angers me to no end. We are still giving money away with No Strings Attached that we will never see again. More wealthcare! I, for one, am just puke sick and tired of it. Anyone else?
Some of our loans were to stimulate the economy, but economics is not the only problem that we have right now. We also have an environmental crisis that is worldwide, so why shouldn't we loan some money to another promising inventor of a technology that could help us all?
The summary stupidly "forgets" to mention that Tesla is working on an awesome electric family sedan, and i think Fisker is too. The more electric vehicles are developed by companies that CARE about them (i.e. not the big 3, who we gave *billions* to even though they've avoided electric cars like the plague) the better off we are.
Not all government money is spent for the economy.
-Taylor
If we were going to use them, we would have done so already while oil was cheap. Now it is not and won't be again. Solar/Wind/Tidal are just tools built from oil for increasing the EROEI of the invested oil. They are fundamentally not a replacement for oil.
WTF? I can't possibly see what you mean... When oil was cheap, we used oil... Makes sense to me. Now oil is not cheap, so we look for alternatives. Put enough money into research, and we'll figure this whole solar thing out. Same with tidal - there is massive energy there and a LOT of coastline in the world.
I seriously don't understand your argument that if we were going to use it, we would have used it already, it really doesn't make any sense.
-Taylor
But why can't we just build hydroelectric dams or fission reactors right into the car itself? Or better yet...wind powered cars. Just think how fast a wind turbine would spin on top of a car going 80MPH. The thing would practically power itself.
I was listening to the radio a couple days ago, and I literally heard someone, in all seriousness, call in and ask the guy:
"Why don't we just make one big windmill, and have it blow at the little windmills so they're always turning? Wouldn't that give us free electricity?"
The state of science in our country is sooooooooo goddamn appalling...
-Taylor
Well said.
I find it disturbing, too, that the media just reports the polling companies' results, without reporting things like what questions were asked, in what order, how the poll was conducted or who commissioned it, all of which can have a big effect on the results. A lot of "push polling" goes on, especially when the polls are commissioned by special interest groups, business associations, unions or political parties themselves.
I'm not in the US, so I don't know this polling company, but I've had a municipal, provincial and federal election in the past 12 months (with another possible federal election imminent) and I think polling and radio call in shows have a great deal of effect on people's opinions these days, more so than traditional newspaper and television newscasts.
If Strategic Vision was conducting fraudulent poles, I would be looking at their client list and going after whoever paid for them as well.
Well said.
I find it disturbing, too, that the media just reports the polling companies' results, without reporting things like what questions were asked, in what order, how the poll was conducted or who commissioned it, all of which can have a big effect on the results. A lot of "push polling" goes on, especially when the polls are commissioned by special interest groups, business associations, unions or political parties themselves.
I'm not in the US, so I don't know this polling company, but I've had a municipal, provincial and federal election in the past 12 months (with another possible federal election imminent) and I think polling and radio call in shows have a great deal of effect on people's opinions these days, more so than traditional newspaper and television newscasts.
If Strategic Vision was conducting fraudulent poles, I would be looking at their client list and going after whoever paid for them as well.
Push Polling!? That's absurd! Are you saying you're PRO grinding up puppies then too!?
-Taylor
Did you even read TFA?
Bah, sorry, i meant to say summary. I always say article, but no, my point was that the slashdot summary was biased, because it makes a big deal out of no open store, without clarifying that there will at least be a closed store to start.
And I agree with everything you said, I'm really only griping about the summary. I agree that they are now competing with an established store and they should have come out with one immediately that was open, but that wasn't what I was complaining about.
-Taylor
While that is true, the new low bar to entry is an app store. Also included is the touch screen, camera, etc...
And the slashdot summary fails to mention that there WILL be an app store, with facebook, twitter, project gotham racing, and all kinds of games. It just won't be *open* at first, a subtlety that the summary does not properly articulate.
-taylor
Erm... Calm the accusations of bias there. From all of the info I have scanned on the web concerning teh Zune HD, the OP's article is 100% correct in that no 3rd party app store has been announced. I noticed a link you posed above to engadget above, which does say that there will be apps, but if you read further you find-out that these apps are in-house developed (or contracted).
See, there are a lot of developers here on slashdot. There is a big difference between in-house apps and 3rd party apps. I could potentially decide to run the Appstore gauntlet, paying a meager developer's fee for the opportunity to develop apps in my spare time. To develop apps for the Zune HD, I'd practically have to get a job in-house at Microsoft.
Actually, that's not true. The article flat out claims that there will not be an open app store. That makes it sound like there will *never* be an open app store, but they've clearly said there might be in the future. That would be worth mentioning, unless you wanted to just make MS look bad. Plus, it would at least be pertinent to mention that there will be a closed app store at first, something the article also overlooks. Its not as good as an open app store, but it should still be mentioned. Otherwise it just seems like they don't even care about apps, which would be dumb, but isn't true.
So yes, its biased.
-Taylor
Three pages of detailed explanation, and the best you can come with for an attack is to say that "here is no such thing as a transflective color LCD"?
Maybe you should have thought to plug the following words into Google before making your statement:
transflective
color
LCD
iPod touch
What's next, complaints about global warming, evolution, and the Round Earth Theory?
Nope, just busy at work, and I am wasting enough time keeping up this thread on Slashdot. Like I said, I was just repeating what I was told by a manufacturer when I was doing some research on LCDs recently.
-Taylor
Fair enough, I agree with that, but it's not a suicide move either, or a sign of non-commitment, as some suggested.
At this point something like the Zune HD, built to compete primarily against the Touch, is a suicide move without an App Store answer. A handful of included 3rd-party apps, is not that answer. The Touch has Need For Speed and Assassins Creed, for crying out loud!
Yes some individual parts seem cool - primarily the OLED screen. But I think at that size it's going to be a pretty marginal improvement over the screens the Touch has today, and it's just not enough to woo away most consumers anymore.
The sign of non-commitment is the lack of will to knock heads together at Microsoft to build that App Store answer today (really, yesterday). In my mind if they were serious about the Zune it would be the flagship for a Microsoft App Store, which would then expand to support the totally redesigned Windows Mobile next year. It's certainly a sexier leader than Windows Mobile.
The problem is the Zune guys have no pull, and Windows Mobile people insist everything begins and ends with them. Since Microsoft has had good success with the 360 it's amazing to me they don't give the consumer products divisions like the Zune more say in the direction things take.
Which is why I wish this article wasn't so damn biased. It leaves out so much good information that engadget didn't, like:
"Later this year, Zune plans to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, in addition to fun 3-D games such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf(TM) Tilt." Games can be added to Zune HD via Zune Marketplace over the Wi-Fi connection or when connected to the Zune PC software."
Read this article (really, it's better) and tell me the slashdot one isn't biased for leaving out the good stuff:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/zune-hd-3d-gaming-and-app-downloads-confirmed/
-Taylor
Microsoft has had a model to follow since Jan 2007. They've had an SDK to copy since Jun 2008.
Microsoft has been in the Zune game for longer than Apple has had the iPhone. At some point, you have to stop bending over for the grand monopolist of the tech world, as it doesn't deserve your pity sex.
Come on, this sort of irrational fandom should be reserved for the Amiga and Cowon and Ogg Vobis.
From OLED to Tegra: Five Myths of the Zune HD
Actually, that article is pretty damn biased too. Or wrong. Check this part out:
"OLED also performs considerably worse in bright light because OLED is 100% emissive rather than being partially transflective.A good quality LCD actually uses ambient light to make its image brighter and more vibrant; OLED does not."
There is no such thing as a transflective color LCD, only black an white. At least, that's what i was told by our LCD manufacturer. Color LCDs are transmissive only, which is why they ALSO wash out in ambient light.
If you can't even recognize FUD, you're as blind as the summary writer.
-Taylor
here is the Engadget article, which gives all the info, not just the part that looks bad. And this coming from some guys that have a huge love for Apple...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/zune-hd-3d-gaming-and-app-downloads-confirmed/
-Taylor
This is a major oversight if Microsoft isn't going to allow 3rd party apps. Maybe when they get around to supporting it, you'll be able to install apps without using an iTunes-style interface. Directly from app's website perhaps?
It's just "Not Yet". This article is extremely biased, check out the Engadget article for actual info, not fanboy FUD.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/zune-hd-3d-gaming-and-app-downloads-confirmed/
-Taylor
I would argue that the current market leader won despite not having an app store right away. The griping about the lack of one and Apple's 'you just develop using Web widgets' strategy was loud and prolonged.
The iPod Touch/iPhone was lucky in that it didn't have an entrenched direct competitor with a full app store to compete against. The Zune isn't that lucky.
Fair enough, I agree with that, but it's not a suicide move either, or a sign of non-commitment, as some suggested.
-Taylor
Someone is very biased, but I'm not sure it was the submitter. The very fact that Zune even has a headline on Slashdot considering its 1% market share and fourth-place finish behind iPod, Sandisk, and "Other" comes close to astroturfing in my book. Zune is irrelevant in the market and pretending this is a viable product launch at ALL is awfully biased in a pro-Microsoft way.
They don't have an app store yet because it's hard and they don't want to invest in it for a potentially dying platform.
They aren't merging with Windows Mobile because that strategy is a mess (6.5? 7.0?) and a moving target. ("Make extra sure the Zune is perfect"? What does that even mean?)
The marketing folks at Microsoft are trying hard to spin, but their explanations make no sense if you examine how the current market leader won.
Really? The current market leader won by also not having an app store right away.
And this isn't astroturfing, as far as I'm concerned. I'm genuinely excited about the ZuneHD. Builtin HD radio, the first device with NVidia's Tegra processor for mobile 3D graphics, and a supposedly beautiful OLED screen are all reasons why this device is worth reporting on.
And I'm not a MS fanboy, I dumped windows mobile YEARS ago (thank god) for my iPhone, which I eventually dumped for Android. I just think it looks genuinely promising.
-Taylor
Yeah, Apple's version totally ruined the iPhone, what were they thinking.
Apple *also* didn't come out with an app store right away, to make sure everything was perfect. This article also fails to mention that they intend to have one when the time is right. For apple that was an entire year.
-Taylor
You know, I know this is slashdot and all, but this is a VERY biased article.
They don't have an open app store yet because they want all the games to be free, and developed in house, which isn't as bad as this summary makes it sound.
They aren't merging with windows mobile's store because they want to make extra sure the Zune is perfect, and I absolutely don't blame them.
I'm pretty annoyed that whoever wrote this summary was this biased, the Zune HD looks awesome and its really unfair to try to make it look bad on a site that gets 2 million hits a day. If it ends up being bad, that's one thing, but give it a freakin chance.
-Taylor
I know VISTA sucks hard in that regard.
That is my experience with Vista64 exactly. Nothing but pain and misery.
Somehow that reminds me of Mos Eisley Spaceport. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."
-Taylor
Yep. http://xkcd.com/612/
http://xkcd.com/528/ :)
-Taylor
And forget about trialing it off a bootable cd or usb key to see if it does what you want or breaks on your hardware ...
Hah, it's really funny to see someone who loves linux complain that you can't test windows to see if it breaks... You're so used to doing that with Linux you've forgotten that as annoying as windows can be, one thing it does do is work (except vista) on anything that's not ancient. I know that's not so much MS as everyone having to support MS, but still, everyone does support windows, I've never had an install that I couldn't get working.
-Taylor
I actually laughed out loud when I scrolled down the article and saw the picture of the man wearing the glasses. While I'm sure it looks lovely when you're wearing them, as long as your 3D display technology requires headgear it will never replace or even slightly displace mainstream conventional displays. Period.
Instead of wasting their time developing this kind of technology they should be working on developing alternatives.
This technology is pretty much ready for primetime, so they wanna see how people like it. The future will be glasses-free 3D and they are working on it but plenty of people don't mind the glasses, so it's worth a shot for them to produce these things. For people like you, well, wait. At least when it's all ready, these TV's will have driven the content production.
-Taylor
During the last 30 years, the brands possessing the most value (for the money) for the typical customer has changed dramatically. In 1979, heaven for the consumer was Sony audio and visual appliances and Honda cars. Now, heaven for the consumer is Panasonic audio and visual appliances and Toyota cars.
30 years from now, what will be heaven for the consumer?
Maybe Daewoo? They make cars and microwaves and forklifts and assault rifles, that's all you could ever want!
-Taylor
Having to wear special glasses, especially ones that need batteries or cords is just a deal breaker for me.
It's a novelty item and maybe an impressive one at that. But if you're going to sit down and watch a few tv shows or a movie or two, do you really want to have to find your 3D glasses and some batteries first?
I'm thinking not having to deal with the hassle will trump the initial "fun" factor of having "3D" television.
I dunno, I wear sunglasses when driving, safety glasses at work, goggles when swimming, and plenty of people wear glasses when reading, if not all the time. I don't see how wearing glasses when watching TV is really any less convenient than all the other things I wear them for, if it means I get a 3D TV sooner, rather than later.
Plus, I already wear a silly headset when playing Xbox. You could pretty much put my head in a fishbowl if that made anything cooler, I'm not trying to impress anyone in my living room.
-Taylor
Gaming on 6 screens seems a bit ridiculous. I mean for PC gaming you're at most 5 feet away from your screen, if that. When I first upgraded to a 22" LCD monitor from my 15" I felt a bit overwhelmed. It almost made me nauseous playing games on it at first. I got used to it, but it still takes up most of my field of view at my desk. Anything over 24" just seems to be over the top.
Well, I'm pretty sure real life takes up more than 22" of my view, but it never overwhelms me.
But then, video games are made assuming you can see the whole screen, not just peripheral vision, so some things like indicators may be too far out.
Either way, my 25.5" and the 19" next to it work out great for me.
-Taylor
I'm almost positive that a pound of human hair is a hell of a lot more expensive and harder to come by than a pound of silicon.
Not true. Hair is actually already a commercial product. There is some company that makes mats out of human hair for preventing weeds from growing in your yard. They have an arrangement with barbershops in china to buy the waste hair. It wouldn't be hard to do the same for solar panels, and with almost 7 billion people on the planet, a LOT of hair is being grown daily.
-Taylor