There's absolutely no reason you should be waiting the three-plus minutes it takes your computer to boot up Windows, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies. And indeed, if Hobbs has his way, you may not have to endure those waits much longer. Phoenix says its new technology, HyperSpace, will offer mobile PC users the ability to instantly fire up their most used apps - things like e-mail, web browsers and various media players - without using Windows, simply by pressing the F4 button.
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Member since:2006-05-26
Do you honestly expect that Linux would fare any better if average users used it, where "average users" are the ones just as likely to install all that excess crap that they do?
The big reason Linux isn't nearly as likely to be loaded down with all those things to slow things down on bootup has absolutely nothing to do with the design and everything to do with the educational level of the user and their expectations: therefore, Linux is as flawed as Windows by design, but it's only the more typical Linux user that keeps that equally flawed design from becoming as blatant, that's all.
Member since:2005-07-06
Do you honestly expect that Linux would fare any better if average users used it, where "average users" are the ones just as likely to install all that excess crap that they do?
Yes, I do. Linux software doesn't do all the nasty stuff Windows software does, so installing stuff randomly won't screw things up. Moreover, the platform itself is more secure (no ActiveX or silly things like that), so all the virus scanners and whatnot that slow down Windows machines are unnecessary.
Macs are largely the same way. When I switched my mom from a PC to a Mac, my "support incidents" went from a couple a month, to a couple a year. She hasn't gotten any better with computers in that time --- the system just better handles abuse at the hands of a novice user. No need to defrag, no need to update virus definition files, no need to run spyware and ad blockers, no need for preventative maintenance, etc. The only thing I have to do with that machine is run "Software Update" once every three or four months.
Now, as for who is to blame about the problems Windows has a platform, that's a matter of debate. Microsoft deserves a lot of blame for making such a complex system, and indeed, embracing a "culture of complexity" from bottom to top. At the same time, Windows application authors deserve a lot of blame, for well, being mean-spirited assholes who like to torture their users.
Member since:2007-09-06
"The big reason Linux isn't nearly as likely to be loaded down with all those things to slow things down on bootup has absolutely nothing to do with the design and everything to do with the educational level of the user and their expectations: therefore, Linux is as flawed as Windows by design, but it's only the more typical Linux user that keeps that equally flawed design from becoming as blatant, that's all."
... and distrobution maintainer's vetting of software before it's included into the repositories or install disks for use by "average users". Well, that and the differences in architectural design which limit the damage a user can do to the overall *nix system without intentionally becoming root.
It's not realy relevant though unless there is some way that "do you honestly expect Linux would fare any better" somehow relates to Phoenix's intentions to develop this solution.
Member since:2007-07-31
people are stupid.
You are stupid. I am stupid - we are all stupid in the context of things we know nothing about. Although you could suggest the guy could have said 'computer illiterate' instead.
Are you suggesting I'm going to lug my hibernating laptop round about with me all day and expect it to be fully charged when I open it? fast-forward 2030
I find that windows does indeed heavily slow down from normal use, registry filling up, files not automatically installed/removed correctly. Windows has never been able to optimise its application structure and all you really have to do with both XP and vista is install Office 2k7 and Adobe apps and you'll find your shiny new computer boots like treacle. Add Maya to that and your asking for trouble.
Member since:2007-07-31
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are also in 6.1."
Member since:
2005-07-06
Here's a newsflash for you: after using Windows for many years, but not allowing everything to run in the background (Check for updates for this app, etc. as well as all spyware or such) Windows doesn't degrade in a significant way, especially if you run the defragger once a month
Newsflash for you: all those provisos invalidate your point for 99% of users out there. Phoenix's technology might not bring any benefit to the 1% of people that can take care of a Windows machine, but that hardly matters to them.
Windows isn't nearly as bad as you'd like to imply: it all comes down to understanding and preventing all the crap that people typically install from getting stuck in the startup sequence.
Windows (as a platform --- the OS plus its apps) is bad because it requires that kind of TLC to perform well. The normal use-case is with an inexperienced user. If a product cannot cope with "expected wear and tear", it's flawed by design.
Windows apologists complaining about "stupid users" always strikes me as entertaining. "If users weren't stupid, Windows would be great!" It's like saying "If we didn't have gravity, designing airplanes would be easy!" Bitching about reality is pointless. Users are what they are and gravity is what it is. A product can only be judged by how well it functions in the context of reality (which can be a surprisingly hard concept for people to grasp). Yeah, designing products to accommodate reality is hard, but that's why engineers get paid the big bucks, right?
Edited 2007-11-06 02:14