“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not
rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for
hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid
of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” — Martin Luther
King Jr.
After reflecting on the new iOS App Store subscription model for a while, I realized that there's a simple way to deal with Apple here. Publishers and developers should limit iOS App Store subscriptions to iOS devices. In order to comply with Apple's guidelines, the same iOS-only product should also be made available from the publisher/developer web site. However, a second product - only available from the publisher/developer web site - should be available to customers that allows access from any supported device. The key is whether this can be mentioned and linked to from within the app.
Apple will eventually become a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator). iPhone customers will port their phone numbers to Apple and pay month-to-month for unlimited mobile service. Apple will introduce a true world phone that supports most frequencies and wireless technologies. They will use VoIP to allow seamless roaming across WiFi and carrier networks. Apple will handle all voicemail and SMS for the iPhone. But mainly, Apple will force the mobile carriers to compete for iPhone user bandwidth. This will allow Apple to beat the mobile carriers over the head with onerous bandwidth contracts. All the pieces are pointing in this direction. There are no big technology innovations here. These are huge business and market innovations that bring enormous value to consumers. This is Apple redefining the mobile marketplace.
Steve Kroft reports on the precarious financial conditions many states are facing and what they're doing about it.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7166293n&tag=api Sent from 60 Minutes on iPad
My non-Android friends have been asking about typing on the Nexus One. Is it better or at least equal to the iPhone? Not a frigging chance. The portrait mode is just plain awful. Landscape is better but just barely. Using after-market keyboards doesn't much improve the situation.
Accuracy is weak. Fast typing almost always leads to skipped keystrokes or worse, hitting a button or zone off of the keyboard. I find that the spacebar is the key that is skipped the most - a nuisance that leads to a lot of editing. My biggest complaint is that cursor positioning is plain awful. There is no positioning magnifier such as on the iPhone so it requires either repeated taps or using the trackball.
Overall it's a very frustrating experience coming from the iPhone. Some have suggested that its a small price to pay in order to escape Apple's ecosystem. I couldn't disagree more. Text entry is the most basic smartphone function. If that sucks, then there's almost no point to the device. As it stands, Android isnt making much of a marketshare dent in the US market. But I really think Android will dominate quickly if Google improves keyboard entry to be on par or better than the iPhone.
I've been using the V-MODA Duo in-ear headphones with microphone with my iPhone for about a year and a half. In that time, I've been mostly satisfied with these headphones. Since purchasing the iPhone 3G S I've run into a strange problem where I can't skip to the next song. Instead the iPhone 3G S thinks I'm trying to activate the Voice Control feature. This wouldn't be so bad, but when I say "play next song", nothing happens. I also have a pair of Shure E210 headphones, but the cabling is extremely thick and frustrating for mobile urban use. I keep these for home use now.
So after reading some rave reviews, I decided to purchase the Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic. The remote and microphone features are only compatible with the iPhone 3G S and the iPod Touch 2nd/3rd generation so in the past I hadn't considered these headphones. Since they're compatible with the iPhone 3G S, they suit my purpose.
Upon opening the packaging the first thing I noticed is the nice solid plastic case that comes with these headphones. You simply put the earbuds in the middle and wrap the cord down and around snap the clear plastic cover over the case. Simple and ergonomic design. The second thing is the nice little capsule that contains the alternate size silicon earbud covers. Most manufacturers deliver these spares/alternates in a crappy little plastic bag that invariably gets lost. In typical form, Apple's designers seemed to recognize that if you give people a simple little plastic case - a nicely designed one - the consumer is much more likely to take care of it. Nice touch.
Upon inserting the earbuds into my ears, I was really surprised at the firm fit and comfort. I gave a little tug on the cord and the earbuds stayed in place. Also quite nice is the fact that I couldn't hear much ambient sound on the street. This used to be a big problem with my V-MODA Duo headphones because they had a strange metallic texture and the wind would create a subtle whistle while walking on the street. The V-MODA Duos typically required the volume to be cranked higher to obscure ambient noise as well as the whistle. On the Apple In-Ear Headphones, the earbud is designed well. The earbud itself doesn't protrude far out of the ear, it's cable is protected by a graduated rubber casing to ease wear and tear, the cable angles straight down (instead of out or sideways), and the texture is smooth. Again, simple and elegant design. After wearing them for a few days, I forgot I was wearing headphones while listening to some baroque music on my couch.
I listen to a large variety of music and spoken word audio. So far, the audio quality of the Apple In-Ear Headphones has been very satisfying. When listening to electronica or hip-hop, the bass is solid and deep. Jazz bass and orchestral timpani both also have a clean sound without losing much texture. Vocals pop out beautifully along with mid-tone notes. And I'm most critical of headphones that can't deliver crisp textures in the high-range. I want to hear them as clearly as possible without ripping my CD's at 320kbps. I put them to the test listening to some remastered swing from the 1940's. Apple's In-Ear Headphones delivered beautifully. Listening to audiobooks and spoken podcasts I was really happy with the fullness of the sound and the lack of tinniness.
The remote control feature includes three buttons: volume up, volume down, and a center button that can be clicked quickly to pause/play, double-clicked to switch to the next track, triple-clicked to switch to the previous track, and held down to activate the Voice Control feature on the iPhone 3G S. All the buttons are crisp and responsive as expected.
Because it's an Apple product, it's also backed by a high level of customer service. If the headphones fail in any way in the next year or two, I know Apple will replace them on the spot. Certainly, there are better in-ear headphones on the market. The Shure E-series are truly majestic and second-to-none. The V-MODA Vibe 2 headphones are also quite excellent but the cabling is poorly designed and tends to flake out after minimal use. Apple's In-Ear headphones are higher-value because they deliver an excellent balance of audio quality, ergonomic design, and low price. Oh yes... they're $79.
Citing an internal Intel study that tracked kernel releases, Bottomley said Linux performance had dropped about two per centage points at every release, for a cumulative drop of about 12 per cent over the last ten releases. "Is this a problem?" he asked.via Linus calls Linux 'bloated and huge' • The Register. Linus goes onto say that kernel bloat is unacceptable but it's also probably unavoidable. Personally, I think this is one peril of a monolithic kernel. Can't really fault Linus for this even though the releases go out with his blessing. Feature inclusion is a by-product of preventing forking. We want everyone to use and contribute back to the same kernel sources. Perhaps it's time that the gentoo system is more closely examined and made more user-friendly?
