Linked by robojerk on Thu 30th Dec 2010 00:09 UTC
I have often wondered why there wasn't a flood of Android portable media players - now the WSJ Reports: "With the move, Samsung will round out a series of Galaxy-named gadgets that matches product for product with Apple Inc.'s line of iPods, iPad and iPhone. Samsung will have the Galaxy Player, Galaxy Tab and Galaxy smartphone. All use a variation of Google Inc.'s Android operating system and work with apps developed for it."
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RE[3]: Comment by kaiwai
by Bill Shooter of Bul on Thu 30th Dec 2010 21:57
in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by kaiwai"
Member since:2006-07-14
Well, the abandonment issue is pretty misleading.
There are two different issues with abandonment:
OS updates:
It runs android, an open source operating system for mobile devices. There are third party providers of updates that can be installed in the most popular devices to keep them up to date. Relying on the carrier or manufacturer of the devices for updates is not always necessary.
Applications:
You can write your own! No third party approval. If switching to a third party OS is too much for you, you can improve the device itself through writing apps for it, or finding apps online and installing them. Screw the App store review!
RE[4]: Comment by kaiwai
by kaiwai on Fri 31st Dec 2010 00:28
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by kaiwai"
Member since:2005-07-06
Well, the abandonment issue is pretty misleading.
There are two different issues with abandonment:
OS updates:
It runs android, an open source operating system for mobile devices. There are third party providers of updates that can be installed in the most popular devices to keep them up to date. Relying on the carrier or manufacturer of the devices for updates is not always necessary.
There are two different issues with abandonment:
OS updates:
It runs android, an open source operating system for mobile devices. There are third party providers of updates that can be installed in the most popular devices to keep them up to date. Relying on the carrier or manufacturer of the devices for updates is not always necessary.
I have a Vodafone 845 - I suggest you look at the 'third party roms' that require one to jump through several flaming hoops just to get upgraded and if things go wrong then your forfeit your warranty. Sorry I expect the hardware vendor to provide updates for at least 3 years. If Microsoft can support their products for more than 5 years, and Apple can keep providing iOS upgrades to devices over 2 years old then I think at the very least the Android vendors should at least match Apple.
You can write your own! No third party approval. If switching to a third party OS is too much for you, you can improve the device itself through writing apps for it, or finding apps online and installing them. Screw the App store review!
Too bad if the phone or pad is locked down and requiring a hack to get around the restrictions. The existence of Android on a device doesn't preclude vendor lock in.
RE[4]: Comment by kaiwai
by dakohli on Fri 31st Dec 2010 07:20
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by kaiwai"
Member since:2010-12-30
Abandonment - In this case the music player will not be connected with a particular service provider. This will make it very easy for Samsung to provide updates. My guess is, that as long as the Hardware can support it, the updates will come. Of course the other thing is that with Android, there is an awful lot of functionality that can be added by third party apps. There are no restrictions like Apple has, so in the end, large updates may not be as big a player as they might be otherwise.
Member since:2005-08-09
You can write your own! No third party approval. If switching to a third party OS is too much for you, you can improve the device itself through writing apps for it, or finding apps online and installing them. Screw the App store review!
So what is wrong with App Store?
I don't need to wander through web for some obscure apps. In AppStore I can easily buy/download what I need with one click. And I need to enter my credit card in one trusted place to buy software. On PC it is Steam. Too bad they don't distribute other software than games through it.
AppStore prices are very low. For a price of typical PC-shareware game you can buy a few blockbuster titles on iPhone.
If someone is just asking $1 for a nice app or game, only fcking morons will pirate.
Edited 2010-12-31 15:45 UTC
RE[3]: Comment by kaiwai
by JAlexoid on Fri 31st Dec 2010 02:00
in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by kaiwai"
Member since:2009-05-19
Apple i-device 1 year ago you're at least assured you're going to receive a iOS update compared to all the Android vendors who have told their customers to go f--k themselves when it comes to Android 2.2/2.3 upgrades.
Yeah... So since you actually need an iPod Classic, why would you care for iOS updates?
This BTW sounds like the top-of-the-line device, witch usually do get updates.
And those updates is not as big an issue as some claim it to be.
Edited 2010-12-31 02:00 UTC
RE[4]: Comment by kaiwai
by kaiwai on Fri 31st Dec 2010 07:24
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by kaiwai"
Member since:2005-07-06
Yeah... So since you actually need an iPod Classic, why would you care for iOS updates?
This BTW sounds like the top-of-the-line device, witch usually do get updates.
And those updates is not as big an issue as some claim it to be.
This BTW sounds like the top-of-the-line device, witch usually do get updates.
And those updates is not as big an issue as some claim it to be.
I'm looking at getting an iPod Touch in the future hence I do a comparison between the iPod Touch and what else is out there hence accessibility to operating system upgrades and updates tells me how long the usefulness of the device will be. Android devices have a shelf life of 6 months where by after that you might as well smash it up with a hammer and throw away where as with iOS devices on average there is a shelf life of at least 2-3 years.
Imagine if I told you that if you wanted to upgrade your operating system every 6 months you had to buy a computer - what would you say in response? you'd probably ask why can't it be provided on your current device. Peoples love for Android and hatred for Apple seems to have blinded them to the fact that they're being ripped off - that the whole idea of 'open source' is a load of crap based on the reality that I unable to simply go, download the source, untar it, compile it and then copy it to my android device then click 'firmware upgrade'.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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Member since:
2005-07-06
1. Mass Storage Class - I'm not completely familiar with this one. I use drag and drop to put media on the phone. I use winamp, which I understand will sync over wifi/usb without any issues. Also Double Twist is available. So there are lots of choices here.
MSC means dragging and dropping like you do - as soon as you transfer more than say around 20gb worth of music the reboot and subsequent indexing takes for ages and due to the inefficient way the indexing managed the whole device slows to a crawl because the whole thing is loaded into the physical memory. I've yet to see a company develop a device that doesn't have all the draw backs of MSC - it is simple but it is only useful for people who quite frankly have bugger all music and stuff to sync with it.
Now if they said, "ok lets go MTP" then I'll be happy, as long as they work with the libmtp and Songbird developers to make synchronisation happen both on Mac OS X and Windows without any problems.
Media support
The Galaxy S comes with support for many multimedia file formats, including audio codecs (FLAC, WAV, Vorbis, MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MID, AC3, XMF), video codecs (mpeg4, H.264, H.263, Sorenson codec, DivX HD/ XviD, VC-1) and video formats (3GP (MPEG-4), WMV (Advanced Systems Format), AVI (divx), MKV, FLV).
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S#Media_support
Good to see they support AAC, so that is already putting them in a good position as a replacement for my iPod Classic.
So, I think we would see something very close to the Apple price point. The key here is that with android, the sky is the limit. You don't like the core functionality of the OS, you just change it. The real question here is, can Samsung get out of the box approval to run the Google Android Market. If this is the case, then I think Apple will have a fight on its hands.
But will it be abandoned within 6 months? Android 2.3 is released and no update provided only to be told you've got to upgrade your hardware, then 3.0 is just around the corner, will Galaxy sit in obscurity as Samsung tells its customers of a few months that they should throw away their old devices because they can't be bothered providing firmware upgrades? We've already seen the racket being run by phone vendors who refuse to provide updates even though they can well and truly run Android 2.2. Sorry but when you compare the situation in the Android market on phones to the Apple world - at least when you purchase an Apple i-device 1 year ago you're at least assured you're going to receive a iOS update compared to all the Android vendors who have told their customers to go fuck themselves when it comes to Android 2.2/2.3 upgrades.