the utter bullshit productivity killer that is on screen keyboards is utterly unsuited for business communication
You've obviously never seen anyone who can really thumb-type. I am certain that they can match, or even exceed, the best BB keyboard typists.
Add to that the fact that an on-screen keyboard usually actually has larger "targets" for your fingers than physical keyboards, and the advantages of WELL-DONE onscreen keyboards are clear to most people.
Any data can be claimed to be anecdotal. But it is a lot better sample than Slashdot comments, and far better than your average Political Poll. Deal with it.
Of course it's "do-able" or it used to be when the supply chain was all in a local area. Parts of California and Texas would still come close to being able to do that. Foxxcon provides a major chunk of the process without Apple having to plan things out and sold it as a package instead of Apple having to do a lot of logistics themselves.
Germany manages to do a lot of manufacturing despite high labor costs because when it comes down to it if high labor costs add to a significant chunk of the cost of the product you are doing far too much manual handling.
I know whatcha mean about the supply chain. But a company the size of Apple "makes its own weather", and Tim Cook is purportedly first-and-foremost a supply-chain and logistics wizard; so I am sure that, if Apple want sto build it, they will come...
Add to that the fact that they already have some sort of facility for the Mac Pros (or at least a good relationship with a large Contract Manufacturer), and I believe that is in Texas. Apple used to do some assembly in Austin, IIRC, likely started when Apple had a tight relationship with Motorola, who used to be based there. That's probably where they are assemblng the Pros.
Interesting point about Germany.
Of course, I am only guessing about the amount of manual assembly needed for an iPhone; but as an embedded designer, I have had to deal with Contract Manufacturers and Internal Manufacturing matters. I just figure that the PCBs are obviously stuffed with robotic Pick and Place, and the IR reflow soldering is also completely automated; but assembling the battery and PCB "modules" into the "tub", then placing the Home Button, Display/Digitizer, and Glass is done by hand. I could be surprised, and only the digitizer/glass step is done by hand; but knowing how things are done in China, I would bet that I am about right about the amount of hand-assembly.
In addition the all the iOS products, I also think that the manufacturing and assembly of Apple's desktop Macs could be done here, or at least the Mac mini; which if I had to guess is almost completely robotic assembly, and could likely be slightly repackaged to allow for completely automated assembly. Same for the iMac (maybe). However, I don't think that laptops will ever be practical to assemble Stateside; but maybe Apple could at least shop around for a more friendly Third-World country in which to develop a facility.
You are learning grasshopper. That means none of them have the home team advantage, to be sure to be sure.
I wonder REALLY how much an iPhone would have to cost if it was assembled in USA?
Only the final assembly is done by hand; so that is really the only part of the labor costs that would be significantly higher. It might actually be do-able. Afterall, Apple already assembles the Mac Pro in USA; but it is obviously a higher-margin product, which helps make that practical.
With the tiniest modification of your irrational hates, it's more functional.
We have a few servers that use Server 2012 with the Windows 8-style Tile Interface. So I know what it's into. I like the ability to make those big ol' palm-button-sized "Tiles" for shortcuts to often-used Applications. However, that doesn't make up for the rest of the fugly POS.
Being primarily a Mac user, I don't really like the Start Menu either; but having used it on work computers since, well, since it appeared in Windows 95 (?), I am at least familiar with its particular "features". But I hate, hate, HATE the "Windowless" Windows UI. I have to jump through giant hoops to have multiple application windows available (or at least more than 2, right?), and compared with OS X's/macOS' several elegant ways of doing window and "multi-desktop" management, Windows always seems like a trip back to... well, a trip back to a UI that never should have made it off the bench in the first place.
To block telemetry, you should have a firewall.
No. That's COMPLETELY backwards.
There simply shouldn't be a NEED to "block Telemetry". That's one of my biggest bitches about W10. And your "solution" is to try and play whack-a-mole with port-blocking? Bitch, please!
One of the problems with that stupid non-solution is that I am SURE that the owners of Skype (MS) know VERY well how to do "tunneling", and so can simply push stuff out of a port you CAN'T afford to block, like 80, just like Skype did with its SIP packets, when it was a Peer-Peer network.
it seems plausible that someone might have changed some settings, installed some updates, broken something, then reverted to the first (and potentially only) restore point, the one Windows itself creates at the end of the install process. This would, of course, revert the settings, as the restore point was made before the settings changed.
I can see that, too.
So you admit you perform nefarious acts in teh interbewbz? Got it.
For me, "nefarious activities" == Porn.;-)
It's really not as bad as some people make it out to be.
I know. There are actually a lot of under-the-hood improvements over W7, like a rewritten TCP/IP stack for one. I would have already upgraded my work laptop (or simply allow my employer to buy me a new one with W10 installed) if it weren't for the Tiles an the Telemetry. But, if I can get past that stuff, I may take you up on the "offer".
Win 10 brought me back to Windows after nearly 6 years of being Mac-only.
Yeah, I know. I'm still working on that little peccadillo you have...;-)
Most people myself included, get a new VCR because the old one is acting wonky and they still have a large library of tapes, much of it old home movies that they haven't had the time or inclination to transfer to digital. As the equipment gets harder to find and the film on the tapes degrades, eventually I will have to force myself to tacked the mammoth task of converting it all to digital
I am in this boat right now. My nice old Toshiba VCR bit the dust, and I would like to gain access to my mountain of VCR tapes.
So my question is: Does this mean that there will not be any more VCR/DVD Combo machines either?
The problem is that your dataset is both flawed and too small.
The real data set is worldwide devices sold. Android has about 84% in Q1 2016. There is no reliable data set on users who used both.
I agree the dataset is not a statistically significant sample-size. But the relative marketshare percentages don't mean squat, either, because that doesn't measure "switchers" (in either direction).
In looking for that number, I found several interesting articles in this search, which is at least a step in the right direction. But this graph makes it look like, quite frankly, both platforms are equally healthy.
The only thing you can't turn off is crash reports, and the developer in me fully understands why.
I get that, too. However, isn't one of the complaints that W10 Updates tend to "helpfully fix" stuff like disabled Telemetry?
I don't even use my Macs for nefarious activities (which aren't very nefarious anyway); I use my iPad; because Mobile Safari doesn't keep browser history, per se.
But Microsoft actually did the right thing here and brought back the proper desktop and start menu as the default.
That IS much better. Glad to hear it. Yeah, the W7 Start Menu is what I want; so Classic Shell it is! Thanks for the Link(s)...
For the record, I would have also suggested Never10 except that many users are reporting that it either stops working and needs to be run again, or simply didn't work for them. Never10 is less intrusive, for sure, so it may be worthwhile to try it first, though I'm not sure if it does anything to stop the telemetry updates.
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured. I think that the GWX Control Panel people are "on it" more diligently.
Might I ask what your objection is?
I have two:
1. Telemetry. I DESPISE being data-mined at the level that MS had planned. It smacks of NSA involvement.
2. The "modern" UI. I haven't seen pix of W10 in the "Desktop" mode; so I am afraid that it will be like the Server 2012 R2 installations we have: That AWFUL "Tile" interface, or something just SLIGHTLY less obtrusive. I am a macOS guy, and am much more comfortable with a "traditional" Desktop metaphor. Yes, I'm old, shut up!;-)
Yeah, he was explaining how Windows just isn't ready for the desktop, what with all the cryptic registry bullshit you have to do to solve simple problems like this one.
At least I can use my choice of text editors to fix Linux problems with cryptic configuration file bullshit.
So the answer is: "No, he was just bitching about Windows."
What does anyone actually use iTunes for, anyway? Other than if my OS gets borked (which honestly hasn't happened to me since probably iOS 4 or 5), or syncing local music, which it does, everything else can be done on the device itself.
Are we talking about Desktop use of iTunes.app or Mobile use of the "Music" App?
I use iTunes on OS X primarily as a (gasp!) Music Librarian/Player. I don't use it for Videos, though. And I haven't "synced" with it since I wanted to download a bunch of vacation pix from my phone to my computer, and before I went on that vacation to load up a bunch of music onto my phone for use in the car.
Try GWX Control Panel [ultimateoutsider.com], which should not only stop the Win 10 nags, but also allow you to block the telemetry updates without fully disabling Windows Update. Since it doesn't rely on being signed into a domain, it should work for all versions of Win 7, 8, and 8.1, and not just Pro and Enterprise releases. Hope this helps!
Thanks! That's now 2 "votes" for GWX Control Panel, and 1 for "Never 10". I guess there are multiple solutions!
See? THAT's what an HELPFUL ANSWER looks like, AK NARC! Is that so hard?
Thanks to BronsCon, and the others who have ACTUALLY provided HELPFUL and PRACTICAL suggestions.
As for the rest, who met my serious call for help only with derision and/or word-salad: Piss Off!!!
Only an idiot would call flash STORAGE, memory. "memory" is not a nebulous term as you indicate.
And only an simpleton would call someone who refers to Flash MEMORY an idiot for not using the word "Storage".
If you look at this article, for example (picked because it was the first one that caught my eye), other than the first paragraph, the word "memory" appears a LOT more than the word "Storage".
And if you were to design Flash into a device (as I have), you will find that all the device datasheets (at least all the ones I have seen) refer to the components as "Flash MEMORY". For example, look at this typical electronics distributor page (again, picked entirely at random from a Google search for "flash memory chips"); note that everything from EEPROMs to large-scale Flash chips are referred to as "Flash MEMORY". Now, I notice that Samsung sometimes DOES refer to its Flash Memory as "Flash Storage"; but that is a recent thing, and if you peruse their websites, you will find that even they are inconsistent in their mixing of the terms "Memory" and "Storage". So, they are "idiots" too, I guess...
An idiot is someone who refers to a Hard Drive as "memory" (we've all seen that); but to call me an idiot because they use a different form of a term in which both are in common use says much more about your lack of experience and intelligence than it does mine.
You are seriously using anecdotal evidence to say that "most" prefer iOS?
So, when does anecdotal evidence become data?
So, using the same "dataset" (Slashdot comments to this story), show me the examples where people who have tried both Android and iOS actually prefer the performance and security of Android.
You're a stupid motherfucker, but as a SUPER HARDCORE MAC FANBOY we shouldn't be surprised. Go suck Tim Cook's gay dick and hope he gives you an upgrade sans the Apple tax.
Which is more than can be said of Samsung, LG, HTC, and every other unpronounceable cellphone mfg. you can think of. Even Motorola is owned by non-US interests.
Yup! I just popped at 256GB sd card to supplement my 32gb for a total of 288GB!
And this is on a 3ish year old Galaxy S5 which also has water and dust resistance certification... you know, something that might be important when in the middle of a desert or really humid environments.
Oh, you mean those alleged certifications that are now being called into question?
And BTW, an an open SD slot and SD cards is the LAST thing you want in a device in a hostile combat zone; as a security vulnerability, and as a point of failure through dirt and water intrusion.
And I would imagine that it also helps that Apple is the only U.S.-based cellphone manufacturer
Foxxcon makes stuff in the USA and not China?
Your "point" is actually a major disadvantage to Apple and everyone else who does not manufacture in the USA.
So which cellphone OEM actually MANUFACTURES their product in the USA?
The Windows update functionality and behavior is geared towards making it easy for the average user. It simplifies the process to make sure the user is up to date with the security patches. And for the numb nut up a few posts you can get rid of the Windows update icon on your task bar by making a minor tweak in the registry. Takes about 30 seconds to implement if you know what you are doing. And please remember that your average user do not give a shit about what OS they are running. The only thing care about is running their applications. If you were to migrate a user from Windows to Linux the user will most likely get pissed off when they try to use Open Office and realize they have to be retrained and figure out how to export all their MS Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations into Open Office. And for any one that has already done this you should remember how all of your Excel scripts and worksheets often require manual intervention. You also probably ran into the problem of losing your document formatting which also requires manual intervention. The average user can not fix all these type of issues.
Excuse me AC; but was there actually an attempt to HELP *ME* in all that word-salad you just posted?
Download and run Never10. It uses the official Microsoft registry key to disable Windows 10 updates (likely demanded by corporate customers, because obviously they sure as hell don't listen to *us*), and cleans up any downloads you might have incurred. Best of all, it's a use-it-and-discard it program, not something you have to install and keep around.
Slashdot Mirror
Apples position is essentially, we want to sell you a phone - access to your data is between you and who ever is asking for it.
Which is a laudable position, indeed.
the utter bullshit productivity killer that is on screen keyboards is utterly unsuited for business communication
You've obviously never seen anyone who can really thumb-type. I am certain that they can match, or even exceed, the best BB keyboard typists.
Add to that the fact that an on-screen keyboard usually actually has larger "targets" for your fingers than physical keyboards, and the advantages of WELL-DONE onscreen keyboards are clear to most people.
It's OUR data, not yours, and CERTAINLY not the Government's.
You graph is again anecdotal evidence.
Any data can be claimed to be anecdotal. But it is a lot better sample than Slashdot comments, and far better than your average Political Poll. Deal with it.
And it's a Username. Grow up.
Of course it's "do-able" or it used to be when the supply chain was all in a local area. Parts of California and Texas would still come close to being able to do that. Foxxcon provides a major chunk of the process without Apple having to plan things out and sold it as a package instead of Apple having to do a lot of logistics themselves. Germany manages to do a lot of manufacturing despite high labor costs because when it comes down to it if high labor costs add to a significant chunk of the cost of the product you are doing far too much manual handling.
I know whatcha mean about the supply chain. But a company the size of Apple "makes its own weather", and Tim Cook is purportedly first-and-foremost a supply-chain and logistics wizard; so I am sure that, if Apple want sto build it, they will come...
Add to that the fact that they already have some sort of facility for the Mac Pros (or at least a good relationship with a large Contract Manufacturer), and I believe that is in Texas. Apple used to do some assembly in Austin, IIRC, likely started when Apple had a tight relationship with Motorola, who used to be based there. That's probably where they are assemblng the Pros.
Interesting point about Germany.
Of course, I am only guessing about the amount of manual assembly needed for an iPhone; but as an embedded designer, I have had to deal with Contract Manufacturers and Internal Manufacturing matters. I just figure that the PCBs are obviously stuffed with robotic Pick and Place, and the IR reflow soldering is also completely automated; but assembling the battery and PCB "modules" into the "tub", then placing the Home Button, Display/Digitizer, and Glass is done by hand. I could be surprised, and only the digitizer/glass step is done by hand; but knowing how things are done in China, I would bet that I am about right about the amount of hand-assembly.
In addition the all the iOS products, I also think that the manufacturing and assembly of Apple's desktop Macs could be done here, or at least the Mac mini; which if I had to guess is almost completely robotic assembly, and could likely be slightly repackaged to allow for completely automated assembly. Same for the iMac (maybe). However, I don't think that laptops will ever be practical to assemble Stateside; but maybe Apple could at least shop around for a more friendly Third-World country in which to develop a facility.
You are learning grasshopper. That means none of them have the home team advantage, to be sure to be sure.
I wonder REALLY how much an iPhone would have to cost if it was assembled in USA?
Only the final assembly is done by hand; so that is really the only part of the labor costs that would be significantly higher. It might actually be do-able. Afterall, Apple already assembles the Mac Pro in USA; but it is obviously a higher-margin product, which helps make that practical.
With the tiniest modification of your irrational hates, it's more functional.
We have a few servers that use Server 2012 with the Windows 8-style Tile Interface. So I know what it's into. I like the ability to make those big ol' palm-button-sized "Tiles" for shortcuts to often-used Applications. However, that doesn't make up for the rest of the fugly POS.
Being primarily a Mac user, I don't really like the Start Menu either; but having used it on work computers since, well, since it appeared in Windows 95 (?), I am at least familiar with its particular "features". But I hate, hate, HATE the "Windowless" Windows UI. I have to jump through giant hoops to have multiple application windows available (or at least more than 2, right?), and compared with OS X's/macOS' several elegant ways of doing window and "multi-desktop" management, Windows always seems like a trip back to... well, a trip back to a UI that never should have made it off the bench in the first place.
To block telemetry, you should have a firewall.
No. That's COMPLETELY backwards.
There simply shouldn't be a NEED to "block Telemetry". That's one of my biggest bitches about W10. And your "solution" is to try and play whack-a-mole with port-blocking? Bitch, please!
One of the problems with that stupid non-solution is that I am SURE that the owners of Skype (MS) know VERY well how to do "tunneling", and so can simply push stuff out of a port you CAN'T afford to block, like 80, just like Skype did with its SIP packets, when it was a Peer-Peer network.
it seems plausible that someone might have changed some settings, installed some updates, broken something, then reverted to the first (and potentially only) restore point, the one Windows itself creates at the end of the install process. This would, of course, revert the settings, as the restore point was made before the settings changed.
I can see that, too.
So you admit you perform nefarious acts in teh interbewbz? Got it.
For me, "nefarious activities" == Porn. ;-)
It's really not as bad as some people make it out to be.
I know. There are actually a lot of under-the-hood improvements over W7, like a rewritten TCP/IP stack for one. I would have already upgraded my work laptop (or simply allow my employer to buy me a new one with W10 installed) if it weren't for the Tiles an the Telemetry. But, if I can get past that stuff, I may take you up on the "offer".
Win 10 brought me back to Windows after nearly 6 years of being Mac-only.
Yeah, I know. I'm still working on that little peccadillo you have... ;-)
Most people myself included, get a new VCR because the old one is acting wonky and they still have a large library of tapes, much of it old home movies that they haven't had the time or inclination to transfer to digital. As the equipment gets harder to find and the film on the tapes degrades, eventually I will have to force myself to tacked the mammoth task of converting it all to digital
I am in this boat right now. My nice old Toshiba VCR bit the dust, and I would like to gain access to my mountain of VCR tapes.
So my question is: Does this mean that there will not be any more VCR/DVD Combo machines either?
The problem is that your dataset is both flawed and too small. The real data set is worldwide devices sold. Android has about 84% in Q1 2016. There is no reliable data set on users who used both.
I agree the dataset is not a statistically significant sample-size. But the relative marketshare percentages don't mean squat, either, because that doesn't measure "switchers" (in either direction).
In looking for that number, I found several interesting articles in this search, which is at least a step in the right direction. But this graph makes it look like, quite frankly, both platforms are equally healthy.
The only thing you can't turn off is crash reports, and the developer in me fully understands why.
I get that, too. However, isn't one of the complaints that W10 Updates tend to "helpfully fix" stuff like disabled Telemetry?
I don't even use my Macs for nefarious activities (which aren't very nefarious anyway); I use my iPad; because Mobile Safari doesn't keep browser history, per se.
But Microsoft actually did the right thing here and brought back the proper desktop and start menu as the default.
That IS much better. Glad to hear it. Yeah, the W7 Start Menu is what I want; so Classic Shell it is! Thanks for the Link(s)...
For the record, I would have also suggested Never10 except that many users are reporting that it either stops working and needs to be run again, or simply didn't work for them. Never10 is less intrusive, for sure, so it may be worthwhile to try it first, though I'm not sure if it does anything to stop the telemetry updates.
Yeah, that's kind of what I figured. I think that the GWX Control Panel people are "on it" more diligently.
Might I ask what your objection is?
I have two:
1. Telemetry. I DESPISE being data-mined at the level that MS had planned. It smacks of NSA involvement.
2. The "modern" UI. I haven't seen pix of W10 in the "Desktop" mode; so I am afraid that it will be like the Server 2012 R2 installations we have: That AWFUL "Tile" interface, or something just SLIGHTLY less obtrusive. I am a macOS guy, and am much more comfortable with a "traditional" Desktop metaphor. Yes, I'm old, shut up! ;-)
Yeah, he was explaining how Windows just isn't ready for the desktop, what with all the cryptic registry bullshit you have to do to solve simple problems like this one.
At least I can use my choice of text editors to fix Linux problems with cryptic configuration file bullshit.
So the answer is: "No, he was just bitching about Windows."
What does anyone actually use iTunes for, anyway? Other than if my OS gets borked (which honestly hasn't happened to me since probably iOS 4 or 5), or syncing local music, which it does, everything else can be done on the device itself.
Are we talking about Desktop use of iTunes.app or Mobile use of the "Music" App?
I use iTunes on OS X primarily as a (gasp!) Music Librarian/Player. I don't use it for Videos, though. And I haven't "synced" with it since I wanted to download a bunch of vacation pix from my phone to my computer, and before I went on that vacation to load up a bunch of music onto my phone for use in the car.
Try GWX Control Panel [ultimateoutsider.com], which should not only stop the Win 10 nags, but also allow you to block the telemetry updates without fully disabling Windows Update. Since it doesn't rely on being signed into a domain, it should work for all versions of Win 7, 8, and 8.1, and not just Pro and Enterprise releases. Hope this helps!
Thanks! That's now 2 "votes" for GWX Control Panel, and 1 for "Never 10". I guess there are multiple solutions!
See? THAT's what an HELPFUL ANSWER looks like, AK NARC! Is that so hard?
Thanks to BronsCon, and the others who have ACTUALLY provided HELPFUL and PRACTICAL suggestions.
As for the rest, who met my serious call for help only with derision and/or word-salad: Piss Off!!!
It's not so much where they were founded and where their largest user base is
Well yes, yes it is.
Only an idiot would call flash STORAGE, memory. "memory" is not a nebulous term as you indicate.
And only an simpleton would call someone who refers to Flash MEMORY an idiot for not using the word "Storage".
If you look at this article, for example (picked because it was the first one that caught my eye), other than the first paragraph, the word "memory" appears a LOT more than the word "Storage".
And if you were to design Flash into a device (as I have), you will find that all the device datasheets (at least all the ones I have seen) refer to the components as "Flash MEMORY". For example, look at this typical electronics distributor page (again, picked entirely at random from a Google search for "flash memory chips"); note that everything from EEPROMs to large-scale Flash chips are referred to as "Flash MEMORY". Now, I notice that Samsung sometimes DOES refer to its Flash Memory as "Flash Storage"; but that is a recent thing, and if you peruse their websites, you will find that even they are inconsistent in their mixing of the terms "Memory" and "Storage". So, they are "idiots" too, I guess...
An idiot is someone who refers to a Hard Drive as "memory" (we've all seen that); but to call me an idiot because they use a different form of a term in which both are in common use says much more about your lack of experience and intelligence than it does mine.
You are seriously using anecdotal evidence to say that "most" prefer iOS?
So, when does anecdotal evidence become data?
So, using the same "dataset" (Slashdot comments to this story), show me the examples where people who have tried both Android and iOS actually prefer the performance and security of Android.
I'll wait.
You're a stupid motherfucker, but as a SUPER HARDCORE MAC FANBOY we shouldn't be surprised. Go suck Tim Cook's gay dick and hope he gives you an upgrade sans the Apple tax.
Grow up.
Also Apple is Irish to be sure.
Not according to their Articles of Incorporation.
Which is more than can be said of Samsung, LG, HTC, and every other unpronounceable cellphone mfg. you can think of. Even Motorola is owned by non-US interests.
Yup! I just popped at 256GB sd card to supplement my 32gb for a total of 288GB!
And this is on a 3ish year old Galaxy S5 which also has water and dust resistance certification... you know, something that might be important when in the middle of a desert or really humid environments.
Oh, you mean those alleged certifications that are now being called into question?
And BTW, an an open SD slot and SD cards is the LAST thing you want in a device in a hostile combat zone; as a security vulnerability, and as a point of failure through dirt and water intrusion.
Foxxcon makes stuff in the USA and not China? Your "point" is actually a major disadvantage to Apple and everyone else who does not manufacture in the USA.
So which cellphone OEM actually MANUFACTURES their product in the USA?
The Windows update functionality and behavior is geared towards making it easy for the average user. It simplifies the process to make sure the user is up to date with the security patches. And for the numb nut up a few posts you can get rid of the Windows update icon on your task bar by making a minor tweak in the registry. Takes about 30 seconds to implement if you know what you are doing. And please remember that your average user do not give a shit about what OS they are running. The only thing care about is running their applications. If you were to migrate a user from Windows to Linux the user will most likely get pissed off when they try to use Open Office and realize they have to be retrained and figure out how to export all their MS Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations into Open Office. And for any one that has already done this you should remember how all of your Excel scripts and worksheets often require manual intervention. You also probably ran into the problem of losing your document formatting which also requires manual intervention. The average user can not fix all these type of issues.
Excuse me AC; but was there actually an attempt to HELP *ME* in all that word-salad you just posted?
Download and run Never10. It uses the official Microsoft registry key to disable Windows 10 updates (likely demanded by corporate customers, because obviously they sure as hell don't listen to *us*), and cleans up any downloads you might have incurred. Best of all, it's a use-it-and-discard it program, not something you have to install and keep around.
Cool, thanks!
No.
https://tech.slashdot.org/stor...
WTF does OPERA have to do with this???