I think the whole situation is actually pretty scary. All these lockdowns (ITunes and the App Store, AT&T only allowing Android to use its marketplace and no 3rd party apps), are starting a scary trend. The companies are pushing for it because it gives them total control to rip you off more. And the people are applauding it and asking for more.
I think overall we should totally drop any smartphone product that doesn't have openness, and support those that do (Blackberries, Android--but not on AT&T, Palm). Otherwise, mobile computing won't flourish. Why do you think IBM-compatible PCs flourished when Apple and IBM PS/2's did not. Openness.
To use/.'s beloved car analogies, tight closed policies (e.g. Apple), are akin to Honda saying you can only EVER get your car serviced at a Honda dealership, with Honda parts, for the life of the entire car, and you can only buy gas at a Honda gas station. You are not allowed even to bring it to a repair shop to get something as simple as an oil change done for a little cheaper. You must use Honda's dealership, must use Honda synthetic oil, and MUST pay $100 more than the repair shop down the street.
Maybe you just had some unscrupulous salespeople using fear to intimidate you to get the sale. Ever think they could have lied to your corporation(s) even though they had absolute 0 authority to revoke or raise the software bills?
Instead of complaining on/. that MS screws you, instead you could have just fired a paragraph e-mail to their supervisors, they'd be screwed, and everything would be kosher, and you maybe even would have gotten some nice discount.
I'm with you on the repos. I think synaptic and yum are one of the best things ever created. And they don't have any of the problems they used to have. But when they do, they show the problems with repos. When something doesn't work, it's a total bitch to get it to work. I remember the hoops I had to jump through to get Firefox (not an obscure package, and on another machine it worked) to upgrade, on the next-to-newest ubuntu, was hell. Then I remembered why I stopped using Linux years ago.
Not to belittle your point, because it's very valid, but there have been tons of times I found that it said hardware was supported and it just didn't work anyway. It's Linux, it happens.
Even something as simple as this. I have standard 15 and 17 inch laptops (meaning Intel graphics, no SSDs, on-board audio--not the unsupported creative stuff). The newest Ubuntu won't even boot on it, never mind do particular specific things.
Don't worry, just Ignore Lars. He's the typical Apple troll and fanboy. You can tell by the fact that all his shit-brained posts are modded 2 that he has another account and is modding himself up.
Let the morons like Lars have their money taken from them for an inferior product. Let the rest of us not be duped and enjoy our open, full-featured, and efficient phones. Which by the way, *gasp* we use as phones and communication tools.
Enjoy your MacOS 8-9 mobile reincarnation Lars. That MS guy really is right--but in my own words--IPhone 4 and iOS4 are Apple's Quicktime and ITunes client (which are quite possible the worst pieces of software ever in existence).
Your post gave me a good chuckle. Scary thing is, is that is almost 100% will come true. NeXTStep all over again. Apple never changes, history just keeps repeating itself.
Forgive me. That last paragraph was meant for all those who will almost 100% decide to flame me because I knocked their precious deity, Apple. It wasn't directed to you. You are spot on and correct.
Nope. Wrong. I have 1. Doesn't do it. I think you have a problem with accepting that precious Apple seriously screwed up. And this time I just don't get. I can't understand all the people defending the piece of garbage that is Iphone 4 and iOS4.
Take a step back for a second past the fact that the Iphone has massive design defects and quite frankly is one of the worst phones to ever be released (how can you say a phone which can't make calls be a good phone?) How many actually use your smartphone? I get texts, e-mails, IM's, etc. I have a 3GS. I get bombarded 24x7 with alerts that interrupt me and won't go away until I touch a button. People hate pop-ups, but when iOS gives them, they "love their Apple experience." Anyway, this gets real annoying for someone who actually uses their phone and gets more than 1 IM, e-mail, etc., and doesn't spend their day jerking off to playing a piano on his Iphone. Meanwhile, Android and Blackberry have a nice little non-intrusive alert. Android even elegantly sorts a drop-down box if you would like to see items at a glance. And it doesn't interrupt what I'm doing.
And don't get me started on multitasking. IOS has limited multitasking and the programmer has to enable it. This reminds me of back in the day when shit-brained Apple still had cooperative multi-tasking while the entire world was on true pre-emptive multitasking. Apple left it to the coders to do multitasking. Look at how well that worked out back then. Most coders are not that good, and as we see from the App Store (don't get me started on that one--95% are a buggy featureless mess), most of those developers are downright awful. Presently, thousands of apps now handle multitasking like garbage. And history repeats itself.
I only got the 3GS because I wanted a change at the time. I used Blackberries for years (which I absolutely loved; the Bold 9700 is quite possible the best phone in existence for people who actually use their phone, and don't play games or need 10,000 fart/flashlight apps), but I just felt like eating chicken instead of steak. I regret ever being duped by the hype ("but-but-Apple gives the best experience") and believing that Apple actually made a good product.
Mod me down. Argue with me until you're blue in the face. I don't really care what morons think. For the rest of us, who actually want a superior product, stick with RIM and Google people.
Totally spot on. And this time I just don't get. I can't understand all the people defending the piece of garbage that is Iphone 4 and iOS4.
Take a step back for a second past the fact that the Iphone has massive design defects and quite frankly is one of the worst phones to ever be released (how can you say a phone which can't make calls be a good phone?) How many actually use your smartphone? I get texts, e-mails, IM's, etc. I have a 3GS. I get bombarded 24x7 with alerts that interrupt me and won't go away until I touch a button. People hate pop-ups, but when iOS gives them, they "love their Apple experience." Anyway, this gets real annoying for someone who actually uses their phone and gets more than 1 IM, e-mail, etc., and doesn't spend their day jerking off to playing a piano on his Iphone. Meanwhile, Android and Blackberry have a nice little non-intrusive alert. Android even elegantly sorts a drop-down box if you would like to see items at a glance. And it doesn't interrupt what I'm doing.
And don't get me started on multitasking. IOS has limited multitasking and the programmer has to enable it. This reminds me of back in the day when shit-brained Apple still had cooperative multi-tasking while the entire world was on true pre-emptive multitasking. Apple left it to the coders to do multitasking. Look at how well that worked out back then. Most coders are not that good, and as we see from the App Store (don't get me started on that one--95% are a buggy featureless mess), most of those developers are downright awful. Presently, thousands of apps now handle multitasking like garbage. And history repeats itself.
I only got the 3GS because I wanted a change at the time. I used Blackberries for years (which I absolutely loved; the Bold 9700 is quite possible the best phone in existence for people who actually use their phone, and don't play games or need 10,000 fart/flashlight apps), but I just felt like eating chicken instead of steak. I regret ever being duped by the hype ("but-but-Apple gives the best experience") and believing that Apple actually made a good product.
Mod me down. Argue with me until you're blue in the face. I don't really care what morons think. For the rest of us, who actually want a superior product, stick with RIM and Google people.
Maybe the U.S. will then start some patent reform if they see millions leaving its tax coffers. Hurt them in the pocketbook, and people change *real* quick.
Um because 90% of the apps on the ITunes store are featureless, buggy pieces of garbage? And the 10% that aren't are missing about 70% of the functionality of the bigger cousins. And yet apps for Blackberry, WinMo, and Android don't have this problem
I agree 100%. It just hit me as I was watching that Ubuntu on Android video the other day. And I thought to myself, I would kill for a full features Ubuntu distro on a phone. I miss using software that isn't watered down from its big brother counterparts.
All this Iphone hype is garbage. My HP Ipaq was doing everything the Iphone did and more back in *2005*. And it had software with more features. It was like using a real computer, with all the functionality. Sure, the Iphone is meant to be easy. Well, anything is easy when you remove 90% of the functionality.
Apple has its app store. That's great. One problem. Ever notice that 90% of the software on it is garbage. The other 10% is software that's missing 50% of its functionality and features. And don't give me 4 examples and say "oh here!" 4 examples out of a supposed 150,000 apps. Worthless.
I made a grave mistake when I bought the Iphone 3GS because I didn't feel like paying $520 for the Nexus One. I should have known.
So true. It keeps the sheep waiting so they don't switch to get the other product (in this case to AT&T or for Apple's sake, to Android). This is most definitely a plant story by either AT&T or Apple.
Thing is, with this new faulty IPhone (bad antannae, bad reception, dropped calls just by holding it, yellow spots on the screen, easily shatterable and scratchable), who the hell would want it?
Here's my question: what are your experiences with VoIP/wireless VoIP? I ask because maybe because the submitter is asking the wrong question. *Should* he even set up a non-cell VoIP solution?
The reason I bring this up is because recently I've tried them all. Cell service on multiple carriers, Skype, and POTS. What I found is that nothing can beat POTS, Skype is basically unusable (a hiccup noise ever 2 seconds, awful quality, things just cut out completely instead of degrade nicely in quality like a cell). And this was on a fast computer with a *wired* gigabit ethernet connection. I can't even imagine wireless VoIP would be usable.
Maybe the submitter instead should find another cell provider. Or, what I'm finding, is simply modify his habits if all 6 major providers don't work. By this, I mean switch to texts, or utilize the phone's Wi-Fi and instead contact all friends via a chat protocol, which in college pretty much everybody has on nowadays (you can even send SMS's through chat).
Personally, I've never even worried if there were people available to play, because I found over the years 95% of on-line gamers suck. I either play with real life friends or don't bother.
You're free to do that. And I agree that Steam is the best answer out there.
I was just saying that for everyone else, they have to realize that games are now rentals, and should be purchased with that in mind. Would you pay $50-60 for a rental? I don't want people paying $60 for what is in essence a rental.
With everything that is going on these past few years with DRM, I do not disagree with you whatsoever. More power to you.
This is directed to all Slashdotters, not you. I've said it before, I think we should stop think of PC games as owning them, and treating them as rentals. That's how the companies are treating us, so we should respond in kind. And I don't mean to just roll over and accept it. I mean the following:
Only buy games, new or used, at a rental price-point. When there is a special on Steam like when Bioshock was out for $5, then you buy it. Or wait until it gets to $15-20 new. Most games nowadays hit the mark around 6 mo. - 1 yr. It has an added benefit of having all the bugs ironed out and the game is fully playable.
This way when they screw you (no, the servers will *not* be still on for games like RE5, AC2 in 5-7 years and you can't play then), you are out the appropriate amount. And they only receive what the game is truly worth.
As a side note, something helpful: I find when they hype a game I want it right now. But it's only because it's on your mind. If you focus on something else, you don't even remember you want it. So to still get the game, what I do is when I see a game I want right now, I just put it on a list. I have a list of like 20 games right now. Then you pick it up when its super cheap. I have about 30 games on steam right now that I haven't paid more than $10 now (and good ones, like Bioshock, Dead Space, etc.).
I agree with you. When games are so cheap, I think nothing of picking them up, skipping any research to see if it's any good or not. If it sucks, eh, I'm only out $5-10.
Example: Ass-creed 1. I didn't really want it, I thought it wouldn't be worth it for only an hour or two and then I'd get bored. It was on steam for like $5 one day. Picked it up. Turned out I liked it. I will most likely buy #2 as a result (although only at $5-10--I refuse to support at full price the worst form of DRM I've ever seen, save for the EA 5-install limit of yore).
However, just an FYI, "make it up in volume" never works in business reality.
Slashdot Mirror
Who cares. Does Apple share all that extra revenue with you and put it in your pocket?
No.
I'm going to buy then the best phone, not the one with the most sales.
I think the whole situation is actually pretty scary. All these lockdowns (ITunes and the App Store, AT&T only allowing Android to use its marketplace and no 3rd party apps), are starting a scary trend. The companies are pushing for it because it gives them total control to rip you off more. And the people are applauding it and asking for more.
I think overall we should totally drop any smartphone product that doesn't have openness, and support those that do (Blackberries, Android--but not on AT&T, Palm). Otherwise, mobile computing won't flourish. Why do you think IBM-compatible PCs flourished when Apple and IBM PS/2's did not. Openness.
To use /.'s beloved car analogies, tight closed policies (e.g. Apple), are akin to Honda saying you can only EVER get your car serviced at a Honda dealership, with Honda parts, for the life of the entire car, and you can only buy gas at a Honda gas station. You are not allowed even to bring it to a repair shop to get something as simple as an oil change done for a little cheaper. You must use Honda's dealership, must use Honda synthetic oil, and MUST pay $100 more than the repair shop down the street.
Maybe you just had some unscrupulous salespeople using fear to intimidate you to get the sale. Ever think they could have lied to your corporation(s) even though they had absolute 0 authority to revoke or raise the software bills?
Instead of complaining on /. that MS screws you, instead you could have just fired a paragraph e-mail to their supervisors, they'd be screwed, and everything would be kosher, and you maybe even would have gotten some nice discount.
Nah, blaming MS on /. is too easy.
I'm with you on the repos. I think synaptic and yum are one of the best things ever created. And they don't have any of the problems they used to have. But when they do, they show the problems with repos. When something doesn't work, it's a total bitch to get it to work. I remember the hoops I had to jump through to get Firefox (not an obscure package, and on another machine it worked) to upgrade, on the next-to-newest ubuntu, was hell. Then I remembered why I stopped using Linux years ago.
Not to belittle your point, because it's very valid, but there have been tons of times I found that it said hardware was supported and it just didn't work anyway. It's Linux, it happens.
Even something as simple as this. I have standard 15 and 17 inch laptops (meaning Intel graphics, no SSDs, on-board audio--not the unsupported creative stuff). The newest Ubuntu won't even boot on it, never mind do particular specific things.
Don't worry, just Ignore Lars. He's the typical Apple troll and fanboy. You can tell by the fact that all his shit-brained posts are modded 2 that he has another account and is modding himself up.
Let the morons like Lars have their money taken from them for an inferior product. Let the rest of us not be duped and enjoy our open, full-featured, and efficient phones. Which by the way, *gasp* we use as phones and communication tools.
Enjoy your MacOS 8-9 mobile reincarnation Lars. That MS guy really is right--but in my own words--IPhone 4 and iOS4 are Apple's Quicktime and ITunes client (which are quite possible the worst pieces of software ever in existence).
Who?
Steve Jobs press conference on Friday doesn't count buddy.
Your post gave me a good chuckle. Scary thing is, is that is almost 100% will come true. NeXTStep all over again. Apple never changes, history just keeps repeating itself.
Forgive me. That last paragraph was meant for all those who will almost 100% decide to flame me because I knocked their precious deity, Apple. It wasn't directed to you. You are spot on and correct.
Nope. Wrong. I have 1. Doesn't do it. I think you have a problem with accepting that precious Apple seriously screwed up. And this time I just don't get. I can't understand all the people defending the piece of garbage that is Iphone 4 and iOS4.
Take a step back for a second past the fact that the Iphone has massive design defects and quite frankly is one of the worst phones to ever be released (how can you say a phone which can't make calls be a good phone?) How many actually use your smartphone? I get texts, e-mails, IM's, etc. I have a 3GS. I get bombarded 24x7 with alerts that interrupt me and won't go away until I touch a button. People hate pop-ups, but when iOS gives them, they "love their Apple experience." Anyway, this gets real annoying for someone who actually uses their phone and gets more than 1 IM, e-mail, etc., and doesn't spend their day jerking off to playing a piano on his Iphone. Meanwhile, Android and Blackberry have a nice little non-intrusive alert. Android even elegantly sorts a drop-down box if you would like to see items at a glance. And it doesn't interrupt what I'm doing.
And don't get me started on multitasking. IOS has limited multitasking and the programmer has to enable it. This reminds me of back in the day when shit-brained Apple still had cooperative multi-tasking while the entire world was on true pre-emptive multitasking. Apple left it to the coders to do multitasking. Look at how well that worked out back then. Most coders are not that good, and as we see from the App Store (don't get me started on that one--95% are a buggy featureless mess), most of those developers are downright awful. Presently, thousands of apps now handle multitasking like garbage. And history repeats itself.
I only got the 3GS because I wanted a change at the time. I used Blackberries for years (which I absolutely loved; the Bold 9700 is quite possible the best phone in existence for people who actually use their phone, and don't play games or need 10,000 fart/flashlight apps), but I just felt like eating chicken instead of steak. I regret ever being duped by the hype ("but-but-Apple gives the best experience") and believing that Apple actually made a good product.
Mod me down. Argue with me until you're blue in the face. I don't really care what morons think. For the rest of us, who actually want a superior product, stick with RIM and Google people.
Totally spot on. And this time I just don't get. I can't understand all the people defending the piece of garbage that is Iphone 4 and iOS4.
Take a step back for a second past the fact that the Iphone has massive design defects and quite frankly is one of the worst phones to ever be released (how can you say a phone which can't make calls be a good phone?) How many actually use your smartphone? I get texts, e-mails, IM's, etc. I have a 3GS. I get bombarded 24x7 with alerts that interrupt me and won't go away until I touch a button. People hate pop-ups, but when iOS gives them, they "love their Apple experience." Anyway, this gets real annoying for someone who actually uses their phone and gets more than 1 IM, e-mail, etc., and doesn't spend their day jerking off to playing a piano on his Iphone. Meanwhile, Android and Blackberry have a nice little non-intrusive alert. Android even elegantly sorts a drop-down box if you would like to see items at a glance. And it doesn't interrupt what I'm doing.
And don't get me started on multitasking. IOS has limited multitasking and the programmer has to enable it. This reminds me of back in the day when shit-brained Apple still had cooperative multi-tasking while the entire world was on true pre-emptive multitasking. Apple left it to the coders to do multitasking. Look at how well that worked out back then. Most coders are not that good, and as we see from the App Store (don't get me started on that one--95% are a buggy featureless mess), most of those developers are downright awful. Presently, thousands of apps now handle multitasking like garbage. And history repeats itself.
I only got the 3GS because I wanted a change at the time. I used Blackberries for years (which I absolutely loved; the Bold 9700 is quite possible the best phone in existence for people who actually use their phone, and don't play games or need 10,000 fart/flashlight apps), but I just felt like eating chicken instead of steak. I regret ever being duped by the hype ("but-but-Apple gives the best experience") and believing that Apple actually made a good product.
Mod me down. Argue with me until you're blue in the face. I don't really care what morons think. For the rest of us, who actually want a superior product, stick with RIM and Google people.
Forgot to add:
Maybe the U.S. will then start some patent reform if they see millions leaving its tax coffers. Hurt them in the pocketbook, and people change *real* quick.
And watch as the world's software companies incorporate in NZ, and hence leave the U.S. out of its taxes. If they're smart, that is.
Slashdotters can have a huge argument until they're blue in the face. I say, don't bother arguing. Just give the business to people who want it.
Sure Apple's stuff is easier to use. Anything is easier to use when you remove %80 of its features.
Um because 90% of the apps on the ITunes store are featureless, buggy pieces of garbage? And the 10% that aren't are missing about 70% of the functionality of the bigger cousins. And yet apps for Blackberry, WinMo, and Android don't have this problem
The analogy doesn't work. Apple doesn't make Lamborgini's. They make poor excuses for smart-phones.
A better analogy is that Apple put's a Honda civic 4 cyl engine into a lamborghini frame and sells it for $200,000
Please don't use the word "high-value" for Apple products. High price, yes. But high value, and great product, no.
I agree 100%. It just hit me as I was watching that Ubuntu on Android video the other day. And I thought to myself, I would kill for a full features Ubuntu distro on a phone. I miss using software that isn't watered down from its big brother counterparts.
All this Iphone hype is garbage. My HP Ipaq was doing everything the Iphone did and more back in *2005*. And it had software with more features. It was like using a real computer, with all the functionality. Sure, the Iphone is meant to be easy. Well, anything is easy when you remove 90% of the functionality.
Apple has its app store. That's great. One problem. Ever notice that 90% of the software on it is garbage. The other 10% is software that's missing 50% of its functionality and features. And don't give me 4 examples and say "oh here!" 4 examples out of a supposed 150,000 apps. Worthless.
I made a grave mistake when I bought the Iphone 3GS because I didn't feel like paying $520 for the Nexus One. I should have known.
So true. It keeps the sheep waiting so they don't switch to get the other product (in this case to AT&T or for Apple's sake, to Android). This is most definitely a plant story by either AT&T or Apple.
Thing is, with this new faulty IPhone (bad antannae, bad reception, dropped calls just by holding it, yellow spots on the screen, easily shatterable and scratchable), who the hell would want it?
How is the quality of the call?
Here's my question: what are your experiences with VoIP/wireless VoIP? I ask because maybe because the submitter is asking the wrong question. *Should* he even set up a non-cell VoIP solution?
The reason I bring this up is because recently I've tried them all. Cell service on multiple carriers, Skype, and POTS. What I found is that nothing can beat POTS, Skype is basically unusable (a hiccup noise ever 2 seconds, awful quality, things just cut out completely instead of degrade nicely in quality like a cell). And this was on a fast computer with a *wired* gigabit ethernet connection. I can't even imagine wireless VoIP would be usable.
Maybe the submitter instead should find another cell provider. Or, what I'm finding, is simply modify his habits if all 6 major providers don't work. By this, I mean switch to texts, or utilize the phone's Wi-Fi and instead contact all friends via a chat protocol, which in college pretty much everybody has on nowadays (you can even send SMS's through chat).
Nothing to worry about. This is just Vaughn-Nichols. He's an anti-MS zealot.
Vaughn-Nichols, we got tired of your Linux fanaticism and MS bashing years ago. Are you seriously still doing this? Give it up already.
Forgot to add:
Personally, I've never even worried if there were people available to play, because I found over the years 95% of on-line gamers suck. I either play with real life friends or don't bother.
You're free to do that. And I agree that Steam is the best answer out there.
I was just saying that for everyone else, they have to realize that games are now rentals, and should be purchased with that in mind. Would you pay $50-60 for a rental? I don't want people paying $60 for what is in essence a rental.
With everything that is going on these past few years with DRM, I do not disagree with you whatsoever. More power to you.
This is directed to all Slashdotters, not you. I've said it before, I think we should stop think of PC games as owning them, and treating them as rentals. That's how the companies are treating us, so we should respond in kind. And I don't mean to just roll over and accept it. I mean the following:
Only buy games, new or used, at a rental price-point. When there is a special on Steam like when Bioshock was out for $5, then you buy it. Or wait until it gets to $15-20 new. Most games nowadays hit the mark around 6 mo. - 1 yr. It has an added benefit of having all the bugs ironed out and the game is fully playable.
This way when they screw you (no, the servers will *not* be still on for games like RE5, AC2 in 5-7 years and you can't play then), you are out the appropriate amount. And they only receive what the game is truly worth.
As a side note, something helpful: I find when they hype a game I want it right now. But it's only because it's on your mind. If you focus on something else, you don't even remember you want it. So to still get the game, what I do is when I see a game I want right now, I just put it on a list. I have a list of like 20 games right now. Then you pick it up when its super cheap. I have about 30 games on steam right now that I haven't paid more than $10 now (and good ones, like Bioshock, Dead Space, etc.).
I agree with you. When games are so cheap, I think nothing of picking them up, skipping any research to see if it's any good or not. If it sucks, eh, I'm only out $5-10.
Example: Ass-creed 1. I didn't really want it, I thought it wouldn't be worth it for only an hour or two and then I'd get bored. It was on steam for like $5 one day. Picked it up. Turned out I liked it. I will most likely buy #2 as a result (although only at $5-10--I refuse to support at full price the worst form of DRM I've ever seen, save for the EA 5-install limit of yore).
However, just an FYI, "make it up in volume" never works in business reality.