Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 5th Jan 2013 14:53 UTC
And so this situation is starting to get ridiculous - and consumers are, as usual, caught in the middle of it all. Google has just blocked Windows Phone devices from accessing Google Maps on their phones. In addition, it also seems Windows Phone users are now restricted to the basic HTML version of the mobile GMail website. While understandable from a defensive perspective - Microsoft's extortion scheme targeting Android device makers and all that - it's still a massive dick move that only hurts consumers. Update: the media attention has worked - Google is backpedalling, and will remove the redirect. "We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users. In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that’s why there is no redirect for those users. Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect. We will continue to test Google Maps compatibility with other mobile browsers to ensure the best possible experience for users."
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Member since:2007-03-26
Why does HTML5 exist if Google is just going to optimize their websites for their own browser?
Google is literally, with this, killing the promise of the mobile web. When Microsoft did it with IE6 they were rightly criticized for it.
This is not understandable. Not by any stretch of imagination. It is unbelievable, and further reinforces the notion that Google is systematically locking out competing platforms.
I'm interested in how some of you will spin this.
Google is literally, with this, killing the promise of the mobile web. When Microsoft did it with IE6 they were rightly criticized for it.
This is not understandable. Not by any stretch of imagination. It is unbelievable, and further reinforces the notion that Google is systematically locking out competing platforms.
I'm interested in how some of you will spin this.
To be fair, they do optimise their sites to run a number of other browsers, including later versions of Internet Explorer. This is just a petty move by Google backed by an even weaker argument from Google.
That said, there is still an increasing issue of sites being developed that do specifically target webkit. And not just from Google nor Apple web developers either.
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by Nelson on Sat 5th Jan 2013 16:00
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2005-11-29
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by lucas_maximus on Sun 6th Jan 2013 00:42
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2009-08-18
RE: Why does HTML5 exist?
by microFawad on Sat 5th Jan 2013 17:17
in reply to "Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2005-12-09
That's the only reason I don't support Chrome and IE. I have always supported Mozilla because of their philosophy of Open Web. Mozilla is non-profit foundation and they had never done anything bad to create monopoly.
I fully support and promote their new mobile OS (Firefox OS) because they are working hard to keep the mobile platform open and promoting the use of open technologies to build mobile apps.
Member since:2005-08-10
I'm interested in how some of you will spin this.
It is definitely a dick move, and the people with Windows Phone shouldn't suffer because of this IP war between corporations.
However, there is a part of me that hopes this puts some hurt on Microsoft, and that they learn something about how it is not nice to do such things to others.
I can dream, can't I?
Member since:2009-05-19
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by judgen on Sat 5th Jan 2013 18:55
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2006-07-12
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by Delgarde on Sun 6th Jan 2013 23:21
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2008-08-19
I believe it's only for mobile versions? So HTML5 isn't really at issue here. I don't believe that their site is actually only WebKit optimized.
Their mobile site? It probably is, actually - WebKit is basically the only browser engine of interest on mobile platforms, seeing as that covers both iOS and Android devices. So given that, I'd say yes, it's entirely plausible that their mobile site relies on WebKit-only features...
Member since:2011-07-13
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by Deviate_X on Sun 6th Jan 2013 22:30
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2005-07-11
RE: Why does HTML5 exist?
by bassbeast on Sun 6th Jan 2013 03:27
in reply to "Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2007-11-11
Because we are going back to the days of "This site works best in" thanks to corporate douchebaggery? To be fair the W3C is slow as Xmas but the answer there is obvious, fire their behinds and start a new standards org that doesn't take 3 forevers to get new features into the spec.
But of course that wouldn't let big corps like Google lock people into their platform, can't have none of that. does anybody else find it ironic that after years of having to fake user string with FF and Opera thanks to IE 6 that now its IE that is gonna have to fake user strings? Doesn't make it any less douchebaggy though and I think this can finally lay to rest that whole "do no evil" bit, since locking down the web with platform specific crap and redirects is pretty damned evil in my book.
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by lucas_maximus on Sun 6th Jan 2013 12:04
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2009-08-18
Member since:2005-10-19
RE[2]: Why does HTML5 exist?
by WereCatf on Mon 7th Jan 2013 08:52
in reply to "RE: Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2006-02-15
RE: Why does HTML5 exist?
by segedunum on Tue 8th Jan 2013 09:46
in reply to "Why does HTML5 exist?"
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2006-02-06
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:11 UTC, submitted by Drumhellar
"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."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:06 UTC
"At the end of a week in which Electronic Arts confirmed it wasn't developing a thing for the Wii U, one of the software engineers in EA Sports' Canada studio, in a series of since-deleted tweets, disparaged the console as 'crap' and suggested Nintendo should give up on hardware altogether. 'The Wii U is crap. Less powerful than an Xbox 360. Poor online/store. Weird tablet', tweeted Bob Summerwill, listed as a senior software engineer at EA Canada, in a reply to a tweet posting a link about EA's no-Wii U news. 'Nintendo are walking dead at this point'." The Wii U is turning into the 21st century's Virtual Boy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 7:37 UTC
"In NixOS, the entire operating system - the kernel, applications, system packages, configuration files, and so on - is built by the Nix package manager from a description in a purely functional build language. The fact that it's purely functional essentially means that building a new configuration cannot overwrite previous configurations. Most of the other features follow from this." Interesting approach. A Linux distribution, sure, but with some very refreshing ideas about system configuration.
Linked by fran on 05/18/13 1:38 UTC
Appfour added, among other features, C/C++ support to its new version of AIDE. From Android-IDE, "Now you can write parts of your app or your whole app in C/C++ on your device. AIDE supports the Standard Android NDK toolchain (GCC 4.6 + Bionic, STL, ...). No changes are necessary if you want to build an app developed on a PC with Eclipse. C/C++ development is fully integrated: Build errors appear in the error list and files can easily be navigated to with Go to file. The editor supports C/C++ syntax highlighting."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/17/13 23:35 UTC, submitted by kragil
Ars nails it: "The answer is that Google did announce what amounts to a fairly substantial Android update yesterday. They simply did it without adding to the update fragmentation problems that continue to plague the platform. By focusing on these changes and not the apparently-waiting-in-the-wings update to the core software, Google is showing us one of the ways in which it's trying to fix the update problem."
Linked by MOS6510 on 05/17/13 22:22 UTC
"It is good for programmers to understand what goes on inside a processor. The CPU is at the heart of our career. What goes on inside the CPU? How long does it take for one instruction to run? What does it mean when a new CPU has a 12-stage pipeline, or 18-stage pipeline, or even a 'deep' 31-stage pipeline? Programs generally treat the CPU as a black box. Instructions go into the box in order, instructions come out of the box in order, and some processing magic happens inside. As a programmer, it is useful to learn what happens inside the box. This is especially true if you will be working on tasks like program optimization. If you don't know what is going on inside the CPU, how can you optimize for it? This article is about what goes on inside the x86 processor's deep pipeline."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/17/13 22:15 UTC, submitted by Tom
"It was the only moment I heard regret slip into Otellini's voice during the several hours of conversations I had with him. 'The lesson I took away from that was, while we like to speak with data around here, so many times in my career I've ended up making decisions with my gut, and I should have followed my gut,' he said. 'My gut told me to say yes.'" The world would've been a much different place - Apple would have been less dependant on Samsung for its chips, which probably would've meant less money for Samsung to develop its Galaxy business.More News »
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Member since:
2005-11-29
Why does HTML5 exist if Google is just going to optimize their websites for their own browser?
Google is literally, with this, killing the promise of the mobile web. When Microsoft did it with IE6 they were rightly criticized for it.
This is not understandable. Not by any stretch of imagination. It is unbelievable, and further reinforces the notion that Google is systematically locking out competing platforms.
I'm interested in how some of you will spin this.