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In a South Florida bereft of rain, even the dirt burns | 145 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
India unblocks The Pirate Bay and other sharing sites
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, June 23 2012 @ 09:35 AM EDT
The order of interim injunction dated 25/04/2012 is hereby clarified that the interim injunction is granted only in respect of a particular URL where the infringing movie is kept and not in respect of the entire website

Source: BBC News (link shortened with goo.gl)

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

In a South Florida bereft of rain, even the dirt burns
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, June 23 2012 @ 02:12 PM EDT
That "dirt" is more like peat, but why let little details stand in the
way of a sensational headline.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Surface v iPad
Authored by: Tolerance on Saturday, June 23 2012 @ 07:24 PM EDT
In the Newspick on Microsoft's vapourware "Surface", PJ highlighted
that it could be a success. I agree.

My wife's iPad2 is a wonderful toy but unusable for most of my purposes - touch
typing the virtual keyboard is awfully inconvenient. Vapourware or not, that
"keyboard" cover or something like it would turn either iPad or
Surface into a usable and desirable device.

---
Grumpy old man

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Microsoft Surface keynote full video now online
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, June 24 2012 @ 12:49 AM EDT
[PJ: I have to say that the hardware, particularly the keyboard, looks lovely and useful. Assuming the eventually available product does all they say, I wonder if you can put GNU/Linux on the Pro version, the Ivy Bridge one?]

The keyboard and stand isn't something new. You can get aftermarket "keyboard cases" for iPad and Android tablets which do the same thing. Microsoft are simply bundling one with their "Surface". Most people however don't do enough typing on their tablet to make it worth the extra cost.

Until people can actually get their hands on one of these tablets though, we don't know how well the package works. The overall balance on a tablet is a lot different than on a lap-top. We don't know if it will keep falling over if you're not careful how you touch it. Another problem is that according to reports, the keyboard is directly attached to the tablet, rather than using Bluetooth. That saves some money, but it probably loses flexibility in how you can rest it, or where you can use it. Adding a keyboard doesn't turn the tablet into a laptop.

From what little information that I could see about the MS Surface, I'm not very impressed with the specs. You can buy better iPads or Andriod tablets right now. The only real news about this is that it's from Microsoft.

The price referenced was (para-phrased) "comparable to an ultra-book". That would put it in the $900 to $1200 range. At that price, only the most rabid Microsoft fan-boys will be buying them. That's assuming it ever launches. At this point, it's just vapour-ware.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

The Microsoft Surface Tablet Is Going To Be A Total Flop
Authored by: jplatt39 on Sunday, June 24 2012 @ 12:57 AM EDT
I disagree with you PJ about the chances of success for this device. I believe
that the key to success is going to be the support they offer it and I don't
feel they have been good with support since the 1980's. Look at the Zune for an
example of what people who buy it from them can expect. The Xbox may be a
success but even the Windows users I know who have it don't expect much from the
company (and admitting it is a biased sample most of the ones I've actually seen
were in the homes of Linux users who guess what?).

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

The Microsoft Surface Tablet Is Going To Be A Total Flop
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, June 24 2012 @ 01:33 AM EDT
[PJ: You know, after viewing the keynote, I disagree. (...), I think the hardware looks like a winner, because it meets a need that some actually do have. I'd use it.]

There's nothing exceptional about the hardware that I could see. If you want to sell a "PJ Tablet", there's lots of companies in China who will make similar ones for you with your logo on them.

What will make the difference between a success or failure is whether you can line up enough licensed content (apps, books. music, movies, etc.) for your "walled garden". That's why the iPad succeeded where the original netbooks failed (this is what the original Linux netbooks were supposed to be, not cheap laptops). This is why Amazon is in the tablet business. It's a delivery platform.

Microsoft could try focusing on niche business markets, but I don't see how that could get the production volumes which would make that competitive. That's leaving aside the fact that the software isn't designed for business use. Keep in mind that Microsoft has been tilting the "tablet" windmill for at least ten years, and failing miserably at it.

What could explain the reason for the MS Surface is Nokia's finances. One or more Nokia managers talked about putting out a tablet. Nokia's phone business however is circling the drain and they can't afford to launch a tablet. The Microsoft board of directors were specifically unhappy about how Balmer was handling the phone/tablet market. Balmer desperately needs to show some sort of "success" for the mobile/tablet market if he wants to keep his job, and Nokia isn't delivering it. You have probably noticed the current party line from Microsoft that Windows Phone is failing because the hardware vendor's aren't making good enough hardware designs (it's funny how they can seem to make Android phones that sell like hotcakes however). Microsoft has apparently decided that they need to take the reins in their own hands.

The computing industry has gone through several major generational changes. We went from mainframes to mini-computers, to workstations, to commodity PCs, and now to mobile/tablet devices. At each stage, one company tended to dominate the industry, dictating it's direction, and making most of the money. After each transition however, the company which dominated the previous stage would fall behind and a new leader take over. Microsoft had a good run during the PC era. The post-PC era however could belong to someone else. At this point, it's too early to see who that will be.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

nVidia loses order due to being closed source
Authored by: IMANAL_TOO on Sunday, June 24 2012 @ 05:02 AM EDT
From http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php%3fpage=news_item&px=MTEyNTE

"NVIDIA Loses Huge GPU Order Due To Linux Blob. [...] The order was at
least for ten million GPUs, which given the current low-end parts, would value
the order at least 250 to 350 million dollars (USD). However, I've heard from a
separate source that it was closer to the half billion dollar mark. This money
will now be handed over to AMD since they have the officially-based open-source
driver for their products."

Open source (http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php%3fpage=news_item&px=MTA3NDE) has
apparently paid off for AMD!


---
______
IMANAL


.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

MS-surface-keynote vid: Wow doesn’t Ballmer look old these days!
Authored by: SilverWave on Sunday, June 24 2012 @ 06:30 AM EDT
http://hexus.net/mobile/news/tablets/41197-microsoft-surface-keynote-full-video-
now-online/

I#m used to pictuing him as 'Steve Ballmer "Dance Monkeyboy" video'

He looked a lot more intimidating then and a lot more aggressive.

Now he just looks tired.

hmm it comes to us all.

---
RMS: The 4 Freedoms
0 run the program for any purpose
1 study the source code and change it
2 make copies and distribute them
3 publish modified versions

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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