Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 23rd Sep 2011 15:45 UTC
It might be common, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to wail against it - especially since I was not familiar with this particular case. As it turns out, several of Adobe products' download pages have opt-out checkboxes to also install Google Chrome. This was spyware-like behaviour when Apple did it with Safari and the iPhone Configuration Utility, and it is still spyware-like behaviour when Adobe and Google do it with Chrome.
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RE[2]: Google and Flash Player
by J. M. on Fri 23rd Sep 2011 22:19
in reply to "RE: Google and Flash Player"
Member since:2005-07-24
Google and Adobe signed a deal last year. Google agreed to help Adobe bring Flash to Android, among other things (http://www.osnews.com/story/23193/Google_Adobe_Partner_on_Bringing_...). They also started bundling the Flash Player with Chrome etc., said YouTube would still use Flash, even though there were speculations they wanted to get rid of Flash before.
Now, this was all good for Adobe. The Flash-free iPhone was a big threat to them, just like the Flash-free Metro IE in W8 is. If Google products were Flash-free, too, it could have been a nail in Flash's coffin. Adobe needed to do something to stop its decline.
But why did Google sign the agreement? Well, at least now we see something in it for Google, too: Google helps Adobe spread Flash, Adobe helps Google spread Chrome.
Edited 2011-09-23 22:23 UTC
RE[3]: Google and Flash Player
by molnarcs on Sat 24th Sep 2011 05:33
in reply to "RE[2]: Google and Flash Player"
Member since:2005-09-10
Google and Adobe signed a deal last year. Google agreed to help Adobe bring Flash to Android, among other things (http://www.osnews.com/story/23193/Google_Adobe_Partner_on_Bringing_...). They also started bundling the Flash Player with Chrome etc., said YouTube would still use Flash, even though there were speculations they wanted to get rid of Flash before.
Now, this was all good for Adobe. The Flash-free iPhone was a big threat to them, just like the Flash-free Metro IE in W8 is. If Google products were Flash-free, too, it could have been a nail in Flash's coffin. Adobe needed to do something to stop its decline.
But why did Google sign the agreement? Well, at least now we see something in it for Google, too: Google helps Adobe spread Flash, Adobe helps Google spread Chrome.
Now, this was all good for Adobe. The Flash-free iPhone was a big threat to them, just like the Flash-free Metro IE in W8 is. If Google products were Flash-free, too, it could have been a nail in Flash's coffin. Adobe needed to do something to stop its decline.
But why did Google sign the agreement? Well, at least now we see something in it for Google, too: Google helps Adobe spread Flash, Adobe helps Google spread Chrome.
Thanks. Now just dunno why you scream liaaar at Google for that - seems to be a fair deal.
RE[3]: Google and Flash Player
by DigDug2k on Mon 26th Sep 2011 01:14
in reply to "RE[2]: Google and Flash Player"
Member since:2011-09-26
Word on the street from random Adobe employees is that Google pays for every Chrome download that comes through the Adobe site. I don't think this has anything to do with the Chrome or Android deals going on (which rummer has Google also essentially funds entirely).
I'm not sure how you could really claim that Flash on Android only helps Adobe though. A lot of Android phones are attempting to sell themselves entirely on the fact they support Flash.
I also find it really funny that people want to claim this is ok because its standard industry practice right now, or because there's a freaking checkbox? I know Google's motto is "don't be evil" and not "be good", but I don't think that somehow means they're free from taking criticism when they aren't doing the good thing.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Member since:
2005-09-10
So can you share your understanding with us? I still don't get it. I suspect there were some technical reasons, but have no clue. Another guess is that flash is ubiquitous and works across different browsers and platforms. Adobe declared VP8 support, so I thought Google might need Adobe to deliver their royalty-free video codec to as many desktops as possible via flash. But that's just a guess. So what's your understanding of the Adobe-Google relationship? You didn't elaborate on that part...