Recent Comments:
Review: Heroes - The Fifth Stage {TV Squad}
Dec 2nd 2009 12:07PM Watching the episode, it was all I could do to not yell at the screen. I kept repeating these two lines:
"Claire, you're an idiot."
"Peter, you dumbass, kill Sylar."
If Nathan was saying goodbye, he should have told Peter to kill him and Sylar's consciousnesses, and end it, using Renee's powers. Then Sylar becomes a blank slate, and an object of manipulation. Far more interesting to have everyone fighting to control the most powerful empowered person than to have that person be a villain.
Since it did not happen, we're stuck with one-dimensional bogeyman Sylar. For season 5.5, I'd like Claire to finally become the "bad guy" / true believer her future held for her, Peter to meet up with Suresh and gain his full sponge abilities, and Sylar to become more conflicted as the Nathan consciousness merges into his own. I'd also like Hiro to ALSO get some brains, and threaten to strand Samuel in the past/future until he gives up Charlie.
Come on Kring and Co... Treat your characters like thoughtful adults, please.
Nokia promises to take "Symbian user interface to a new level" in 2010, Maemo 6 in 2H {Engadget}
Dec 2nd 2009 11:35AM @Jasonj Perhaps they bough the rights to use this artwork? It exists under a royalty-free license with one-time cost.
http://www.vladstudio.com/royaltyfree/image.php?filename=rainbows
Nokia promises to take "Symbian user interface to a new level" in 2010, Maemo 6 in 2H {Engadget}
Dec 2nd 2009 10:49AM I first fell for Nokia because of the intuitive and simple UI back in the 90s. Everything they have now is an evolution of the old Nokia OS, which makes everything accessible to the end-user while trying to make everything fit within an old-school menu system.
The problem they face (like all other device makers) is the increasingly-complex and powerful featureset in mobile devices, while keeping the UI clean and straightforward. Even Apple has failed to make things both powerful and simple, crippling the software to make UI somewhat simple.
In terms of R&D, Nokia has the wherewithal to create a truly simple and powerful UI if they wanted, and they have (I think) tried to let the market decide which direction to take regarding Symbian Series 40, S60, Maemo, or any other UI avenue. This directed approach will, I bet, be more akin to Samsung's Touchwiz (which overlays on top of an OS) rather than replacing the underlying kernel.
Apple dings Psystar for $2.67m, round two heads to Florida {Engadget}
Dec 1st 2009 6:49PM @Nilay Patel I understood that they got dinged for ACTUAL copyright violations, but I'm wondering about the future implications of the fringes which were not clearly answered, specifically the efficacy of EULAs and DMCA protections in this type of situation.
For example, now that TV is digital, can Comcast/NBC sue Slingbox or TiVo under DMCA for illegally enabling the copying of a television program (a la Napster)?
Moreover, in your opinion, how should lawmakers/the judiciary create a reasonable test that protects copyrights while also protecting the after-market (e.g., paying someone to tweak my OS, or install it where it doesn't normally go, etc.)?
Entelligence: What's the future of Nokia? {Engadget}
Dec 1st 2009 6:34PM Let me add that a boutique (like Apple) fails when it does its one thing badly (1996). A multi-segment company (like Nokia) fails when it does most things badly, like GM. Nokia's willingness to adapt to the market, and facility in building innovative and forward-thinking phones, means that they're not GM.
Entelligence: What's the future of Nokia? {Engadget}
Dec 1st 2009 6:28PM "Without a clear platform strategy, it's going to be difficult for Nokia to get the developer mindshare required to stay relevant to the mass market"
I'm pretty sure that Nokia's platform strategy is this: use multiple platforms, and let the best one win. Please note, also, that the E71 is one of the most successful phones in the world. And that most N97 users swear by the keyboard layout. They don't like its lack of tactility. Moreover, the E-series is perhaps the most mature business phone line out there, both in design and interface. I should also note that Ovi is a single thing that serves multiple devices, and not the other way around.
Because of the sheer volume of phones, they will always have enough developers making relevant apps, including those developers employed in-house. Since most apps can be built on the well-known Python platform, it's not like Nokia is trying to get people to use a new system.
I get the sense, once again, that Mr. Gartenberg is trying to play that "aw, shucks, this is common sense" card, and failing, as it was with Chrome OS. This isn't about fake common sense, competing in the saturated US market, or having a single, unified, strategy. It's about making profit and having brand strength.
As I have mentioned before (here:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/18/nokias-maemo-5-equipped-n900-on-sale-in-america-for-649/comments/23208995/ ), Nokia is Toyota, and is best served taking many strategies at once. It would be idiotic to suggest that Toyota should, on the success of the Prius, make every car a hybrid, and abandon all other avenues. It would likewise be absurd to tell Tesla to build a car in every market segment, gas-powered or not.
RIM and Apple can't compete on the low-end, low-margin dumbphones, and LG can't compete on high-end smartphones. Nokia can. If Nokia so chooses, they can have a single phone in every market segment, and compete competently.
Finally, Nokia phones are still reliably the sturdiest out there. This matters in the world of 6 billion people who can't simply afford to replace iPhones with ease.
Apple dings Psystar for $2.67m, round two heads to Florida {Engadget}
Dec 1st 2009 5:30PM @Nilay Does this mean that Psystar is different from an aftermarket car modder? I'm trying to understand the precedent here.
If I go to Shelby and buy a souped-up Mustang, they have right to profit from the service, plus the cost of parts, right? Likewise, assuming Psystar did things properly (which they admitted they didn't), couldn't they build a machine, soup it up, and sell me the parts along with charging me for service? As long as Psystar is installing the specific copy I buy from them onto the machine, shouldn't that be okay?
I worry about the slippery slope, wherein creators of all products can dictate to me how I may (and may not) use them, without allowing me to improvise. Moreover, given that a copy to RAM is considered an infringing copy of OS X, I worry about the ability to, say, record TV shows and watch on my own schedule. Can TiVo be sued under DMCA for enabling people to infringe copyright? Slingbox?
If this decision is not an implicit statement that I cannot use what I purchase how I choose (without profiting from other people's work), then how is it different?
Welcome to the next Engadget {Engadget}
Nov 20th 2009 5:30PM Love the new design. Really user-centric. One thing - please allow users to decide if they want the comment thread replies to be "open" or "closed" globally.
It's not the nicest website experience to open and close replies to comments, especially when only one or two are there.
Otherwise, bang-up job.
Entelligence: Chrome OS, babies, and bathwater {Engadget}
Nov 20th 2009 5:22PM Sigh... It's not a replacement OS. I have a couple major concerns about this, but this is a slim OS focused on the way people, most of the time, use netbooks. It's the same thing as a dumbphone NOT running iPhone OS - they serve different functions. Or why some families have one sedan and one pickup - they serve different, custom, functions.
When I'm sitting on the couch, putzing around on the web, ChromeOS is exactly what I want.
When I'm managing media, playing games, watching DVD/BD movies, or doing any other processor-intensive stuff, I go to my desktop/laptop.
Entelligence: Chrome OS, babies, and bathwater {Engadget}
Nov 20th 2009 5:10PM @G Not so sir. Google said it will print, and they've got some "interesting innovative ideas" on how to make that work.
My bet: they'll handle all drivers on server side, and after your first printing, the appropriate driver is cached. Then, anytime you're connected, the background updates this as well as anything else that's core to your ChromeOS. Not technically a "stateless" solution, but nearly so - realtime access without needing to install those heavy HP driver packages.
