I just removed it from my login items yesterday... it's nice, but I never used any of the "cool" features that always seem to be highlighted on TUAW. It's also kinda slow and heavier on the CPU than I would like. As always, YMMV.
What, you can't get the latest version of Windows Media Player on XP? I was fairly sure it was the same version... just checked, and it is.
Just because she hadn't updated to WMP11 on her old machine doesn't mean that Vista has some new "usability tweaks" -- the same tweaks can be had on XP.
It was said earlier in the thread, but I think it bears repeating.
"You can't fight the future".
As OO.org or other, more nimble alternatives (like KOfice 2, which is coming to Windows) get better and better, it will approach (and perhaps even overtake) Microsoft's functionality.
Look at what happened with IE6; Firefox and Opera aren't just arguably better than IE6, they are a lot better. Obviously Microsoft put some money into making IE7 better, but Firefox and Opera are still better at rendering CSS web pages.
I'm sure as OpenOffice and KOffice get better, we'll see investment (in the form of code, or programmers, or money) from companies that are friendly to open source (IBM maybe?), which will increase features and code quality.
Would someone be willing to use a product that is better than a product that costs $351 (for the "Standard" version), and is free?
I'm sure they would.
Microsoft is already at it's peak, it has nowhere to go but down.
Give OpenOffice (or the lighter (but less feature filled, but prettier and more elegant feeling KOffice) out. Think of it as Firefox, back when it was called "Phoenix".
You could also install Ubuntu as a disk image on your hard drive. You will still need to boot into it (it's not a VM), but it's a very easy install (ie hit next a few times, like most Windows apps).
Autoupdate + blocking old versions would solve that "version" nightmare quite easily. All the clients are running Windows anyway, there is really no need to tie it to Windows and IE.
Computers are only getting faster, as well as more varied. Is it really worth it for a third party plugin manufacturer to base a technology around native code when CPUs are only getting faster (and clients change)? The biggest new addition to the internet in coming years will be phones that run disparate OSes; Java is generally a common denominator among them, and is far simpler than coding a "native" solution for every phone.
And computers are getting faster, Java is already "fast enough" (see Azureus), and it's likely fine for a browser app/plugin.
Why not just make it a Windows app then? I'm sure any company that has a Intranet also has VPN, so offsite computing isn't a problem. Also, a Windows app would work even if Apache/IIS went down, but the DB backend stayed up.
It's disengenuous to ignore that ActiveX is a technology that is meant to use MS's dominant presence on computing to balkanize the web.
Flash is implemented in non MS browsers (maybe even MS browsers) as a plugin, not an ActiveX applet. You're right that it works fine, but I'm not convinced that Java wouldn't have worked as effectively. What's loading up a Java applet vs. loading up a Flash one?
Either way, this doesn't help your case for ActiveX at all, since plugins are not the same as ActiveX applets.
Mac OS has had this far longer than NT alternate streams, they are basically the old "data" and "resource" forks of the Classic Mac era. Mac OS X still uses them.
Most of the people out there with iPods probably think Family Guy is hilarious (and original!), and wouldn't get half the jokes on South Park, let alone watch C-SPAN for more than 5 minutes.
I've had an iPod for a pretty long time, and I do happen to think that Family Guy is pretty funny. But I also get (all?) the jokes on South Park, and I watch CSPAN on occasion (for more than 5 minutes at a stretch).
Personally, I think it's laughable to consider South Park that much higher than Family Guy; with the exception of a small number of episodes, South Park requires no great intelligence to interpret, and they are both fairly funny.
I think it's more just OO.org devs trying to cut down on support calls for formats that they don't have the resources to support. Support one (open, documented) format and support it well.
If you want to be sneaky and still avoid using the doc format, you can always create a document in whatever your favorite word processor is, save it as rtf, and change the file extension.
Works perfectly, and no one is the wiser.
I've been doing it for ages with no problems whatsoever.
Not that it matters much, since you already picked up another DAP, but...
The idea that the iPod's sound is subpar is never substantiated. For example, the shuffle reportedly has excellent audio quality.
The iPod also shows up as a standard mass storage device, but it uses a database to store the music that it will play (probably to save on having to scan the device on boot to generate the tag based menus). It also works on Linux via gtkpod as well as other tools.
People will pay for the privilege of a wide selection, high quality, and good availability. (The availability thing is an issue with Bittorrent and p2p, and quality is also variable).
If the iTunes/other music stores were not DRMed, lossless, and cheaper, you can be sure a hell of a lot more people would use those services.
AAC is slightly better than WMA at similar bitrates, and isn't locked into MS vendor lock-in.
See here for the results of a multiformat 128kbit/s test, and here for the results of a 64kbit/s test.
AAC also works with the iPod (featuring gapless) and on Winamp, foobar2000, etc. I think it also works on the Zune, according to some reviews that I have seen.
A. Competing companies are free to develop a "standard" way to connect to "remote control" devices (which is what the car basically is in this instance.
B. Are you choosing to simply ignore the other (obvious) choice that car manufacturers have?
Slashdot Mirror
I just removed it from my login items yesterday... it's nice, but I never used any of the "cool" features that always seem to be highlighted on TUAW. It's also kinda slow and heavier on the CPU than I would like. As always, YMMV.
not sure whether this should be modded "funny" or "troll". ;)
A link detailing these improvements would be nice, as I can't find any info on this...
What, you can't get the latest version of Windows Media Player on XP? I was fairly sure it was the same version... just checked, and it is. Just because she hadn't updated to WMP11 on her old machine doesn't mean that Vista has some new "usability tweaks" -- the same tweaks can be had on XP.
It was said earlier in the thread, but I think it bears repeating.
"You can't fight the future".
As OO.org or other, more nimble alternatives (like KOfice 2, which is coming to Windows) get better and better, it will approach (and perhaps even overtake) Microsoft's functionality.
Look at what happened with IE6; Firefox and Opera aren't just arguably better than IE6, they are a lot better. Obviously Microsoft put some money into making IE7 better, but Firefox and Opera are still better at rendering CSS web pages.
I'm sure as OpenOffice and KOffice get better, we'll see investment (in the form of code, or programmers, or money) from companies that are friendly to open source (IBM maybe?), which will increase features and code quality.
Would someone be willing to use a product that is better than a product that costs $351 (for the "Standard" version), and is free?
I'm sure they would.
Microsoft is already at it's peak, it has nowhere to go but down.
Give OpenOffice (or the lighter (but less feature filled, but prettier and more elegant feeling KOffice) out. Think of it as Firefox, back when it was called "Phoenix".You could also install Ubuntu as a disk image on your hard drive. You will still need to boot into it (it's not a VM), but it's a very easy install (ie hit next a few times, like most Windows apps).
The files also have the extension .m4p for audio.
Autoupdate + blocking old versions would solve that "version" nightmare quite easily. All the clients are running Windows anyway, there is really no need to tie it to Windows and IE.
Computers are only getting faster, as well as more varied. Is it really worth it for a third party plugin manufacturer to base a technology around native code when CPUs are only getting faster (and clients change)? The biggest new addition to the internet in coming years will be phones that run disparate OSes; Java is generally a common denominator among them, and is far simpler than coding a "native" solution for every phone.
And computers are getting faster, Java is already "fast enough" (see Azureus), and it's likely fine for a browser app/plugin.
Why not just make it a Windows app then? I'm sure any company that has a Intranet also has VPN, so offsite computing isn't a problem. Also, a Windows app would work even if Apache/IIS went down, but the DB backend stayed up.
It's disengenuous to ignore that ActiveX is a technology that is meant to use MS's dominant presence on computing to balkanize the web.
Flash is implemented in non MS browsers (maybe even MS browsers) as a plugin, not an ActiveX applet. You're right that it works fine, but I'm not convinced that Java wouldn't have worked as effectively. What's loading up a Java applet vs. loading up a Flash one?
Either way, this doesn't help your case for ActiveX at all, since plugins are not the same as ActiveX applets.
Cross browser/OS compatibility isn't important at all?
Troll.
Mac OS has had this far longer than NT alternate streams, they are basically the old "data" and "resource" forks of the Classic Mac era. Mac OS X still uses them.
I've had an iPod for a pretty long time, and I do happen to think that Family Guy is pretty funny. But I also get (all?) the jokes on South Park, and I watch CSPAN on occasion (for more than 5 minutes at a stretch).
Personally, I think it's laughable to consider South Park that much higher than Family Guy; with the exception of a small number of episodes, South Park requires no great intelligence to interpret, and they are both fairly funny.
Is this supposed to get a "Funny" mod?
It comes up when you save in rtf too.
I think it's more just OO.org devs trying to cut down on support calls for formats that they don't have the resources to support. Support one (open, documented) format and support it well.
I don't mind that philosophy.
If you want to be sneaky and still avoid using the doc format, you can always create a document in whatever your favorite word processor is, save it as rtf, and change the file extension. Works perfectly, and no one is the wiser. I've been doing it for ages with no problems whatsoever.
mod parent up...
...insanity later
Not to disagree with the gist of your post, but as far as I know, iTunes has never been bundled with any Java VM.
How about being an Ignostic?
Not that it matters much, since you already picked up another DAP, but...
The idea that the iPod's sound is subpar is never substantiated. For example, the shuffle reportedly has excellent audio quality.
The iPod also shows up as a standard mass storage device, but it uses a database to store the music that it will play (probably to save on having to scan the device on boot to generate the tag based menus). It also works on Linux via gtkpod as well as other tools.
Look at the success of allofmp3.
People will pay for the privilege of a wide selection, high quality, and good availability. (The availability thing is an issue with Bittorrent and p2p, and quality is also variable).
If the iTunes/other music stores were not DRMed, lossless, and cheaper, you can be sure a hell of a lot more people would use those services.
See here for the results of a multiformat 128kbit/s test, and here for the results of a 64kbit/s test.
AAC also works with the iPod (featuring gapless) and on Winamp, foobar2000, etc. I think it also works on the Zune, according to some reviews that I have seen.
A. Competing companies are free to develop a "standard" way to connect to "remote control" devices (which is what the car basically is in this instance.
B. Are you choosing to simply ignore the other (obvious) choice that car manufacturers have?
Hint: It's 3.5mm in length.