With WebOS out of the picture and the Blackberry Playbook as good as gone as well, we really only have iOS and Android left until Windows 8 comes out. I’ve finally gotten around to getting an Android device myself and spent the last week trying to see if my theoretical knowledge of the system and what I remember from the last Android device I had (which ran 1.6, viewed as ancient in Android land) fits reality. Read on for a full tear down and comparison on the two OSes.
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Member since:2005-06-29
Well that's a bit melodramatic. To my knowledge none of the three companies I mentioned have killed anyone, though I believe some blame Apple for a factory worker's suicide a few years back.
My reasons for each differ, but all three companies have done things that pissed me off on a personal level in the past. I can tell you what I consider the worst for each:
Microsoft flexed their monopolistic muscle and convinced Compaq not to sell computers with BeOS, which helped to finish off the dying software company.
Apple has been using their patent portfolio to try to put other tablet makers out of business in Europe, since they can't get away with it here in the US. As far as I'm concerned it would be no different from trying to stop Dell or HP from making computers, or HTC and Motorola from making phones. Oh wait...
And as for Sony, well those bastards put Lik-Sang out of business overtly because they were selling Sony hardware without "permission", but it's an open secret they did it to stop Lik-Sang from selling Sega and Nintendo products, as they were a real threat to Sony's market share in Asia and Europe. That flies in the face of logic as Sony was making money off of Lik-Sang and their own executives in Europe enjoyed the fact that they could get Sony gear there when their own company prevented it otherwise.
Of course that wasn't my only reason for hating Sony; there's the rootkit debacle and the fact that for years they tried to cover up serious hardware issues with the Vaio laptop series. But the Lik-Sang deal personally affected me, as it was the only place I could find certain Sega products.
So, hardly a "blood diamond" situation on all counts, but I still have serious issues with each company. I know I don't have to justify my purchasing decisions, but in the case of Windows Phone 7, thanks to Microsoft's patent wizardry they would get more money from me if I bought an Android phone than a WP7 phone anyway, and I get a better interface with WP7.
As for Apple, I haven't bought anything new from the company since 2005 but there's no reason to give up what products I do still own and use. In fact, hanging on to this Mac mini I bought used in 2007 and my 2nd gen iPod shuffle prevents me from buying new products from them. Gotta love the fact that their own high product quality and lasting value actually prevents sales! 
Member since:2010-06-08
I was referring to it allegorically, saying that these companies are known for their dishonest monopolistic practices (which you already listed quite a few above). I'd just avoid buying their products when possible, in order not to support "dark empires".
Edited 2011-12-01 21:25 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.
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.
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).
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?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.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.
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.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.
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.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!
Member since:
2010-06-08
Bloody diamonds?