Gadget & Tech Discussions @ SlashGear » Tag: editorials

Gadget & Tech Discussions @ SlashGear » Tag: editorials - Recent Posts http://discuss.slashgear.com/tags/editorials Discuss Gadgets! en-US Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:14:31 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://discuss.slashgear.com/search.php Chris Davies on "Dumbing down: the price of a good UX?" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/dumbing-down-the-price-of-a-good-ux#post-8854 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:15:27 +0000 Chris Davies 8854@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote>Microsoft has caught some grief this past week over the latest stage of the <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/microsoft-confirm-copy-paste-in-windows-phone-7-is-coming-1878201/" target="_blank">copy & paste debacle</a>, a meme that began when Apple omitted the functionality from the iPhone (and took two years to add it in) and was resurrected upon the admission that <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/windows-phone-7" target="_blank">Windows Phone 7 series</a> wouldn’t ship with the ability to snip text from one app and paste it into another. In fact, copy & paste is just one example of Microsoft locking down their new smartphone experience, slicing a great deal of OEM and user customisation out in the process. They’re not the only firm to do so, however; merely the latest to seemingly decide that users want delineated – perhaps even prescriptive – experiences rather than flexibility. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-78353" title="rotary_phone" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/rotary_phone-540x358.jpg" alt="rotary phone 540x358" width="540" height="358" /> </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/dumbing-down-the-price-of-a-good-ux-1978352/">Dumbing down: the price of a good UX?</a> quicksite on "Breaking Windows is a good idea" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/breaking-windows-is-a-good-idea#post-8852 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:54:47 +0000 quicksite 8852@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ 2 Comments: (1) This sounds like shoe-horned logic. How to cram a good argumuent into a bad sceanrio. (2) I will bet money you were paid to write this piece. I can’t prove it but it stinks like that. If there was a balanced presentation that acknowledged some of the complexity of this decision and it ramifications, then sure, it would be a worthwhile perspective. But given it’s a cheerleading story, my guess if you derive benefit from being a WIndowsPhone developer. I’ve been an active member at XDA-developers.com for 4 years. You trivialize all the concerns raised by people, and swipe them off the table as though presented by immature babies. Who do you think helped prop up a sorely behind the times Windows Mobile in a post-iPhone world, where they wisely re-thought the whole user experience by making a touchscreen respond to finger navigation, not tiny little checkboxes you need glasses to read? Did you ever wonder why XDA was never shut down with Cease & Desist orders? because many a Microsoft Windows Mobile developer were members of XDA and got many a cue as to how to adapt their own obsolete O.S. to stay competitive in an increasingly non-stylus-based world? When Ballmer himself acknowledged that MS had blundered seriously by failing to focus on a new OS, while instead doing amazingly innovative things to WM 6, like the revolutionary honeycomb staggered column idea, it was clear all was not right in Ballmer Forest up north. Remember when WM7 was due to market, to make up for these blunders, in Feb 2010 ? That data came and past and now it’s officially September. WHo wants to take bets it’s more like October or November 2010? But more important, your whole argument is predicated upon making tough decisions that enable whole new platforms of innovation for the future. Guess who did that right over a decade ago? That’s right, the man people love to hate, Steve Jobs — when he assessed the OS they were using for desktop computing, and decided to stop development of System 9 — and to rip it all up to build OS X and make it unix based. You better believe that caused an uproar. And similarly many intransigent Mac users at the time refused to give up their precious System 9 or 8 or even 7, because they didn’t want to pay more money and replace all apps. But Jobs made that tough call at a time when they weren’t behind some 8-ball of someone else’s innovation, and it was “Be radical or die”. It was a huge gamble but he was prepping his company for the next 20 years. Most people eventually got on board with OS X when Apple eventually entered the realm of affordability — with cheaper iMacs or notebook computers. But that wasn’t the only radical move Jobs made. Enjoy a great presentation one day and google for YouTube of Job’s announcement of the switch to Intel processor… And the BIG REVEAL when Jobs, a showman for sure, showed the slides that proved that from DAY 1, OS X was mandated to run on an Intel chipset, long before they were ever in production. THAT’S vision, and that’s smart gambling for the future. Jobs amazingly solved the issue of people complaining about “why should I switch to Mac when I have all this PC software” by — surprise — a dual boot piece of machinery. These were not 9th inning radical decisions after the PANIC BUTTON was pushed, like in Ballmer’s world and mini-brain. They were long-term gameplans executed with exquisite precision. But you have provided no similar strong payoff for this alleged brave decision of Microsoft in jettisoning its creaky aging WM6 OS. You have avoided all talk of usability and increased productivity for consumers — or the offering of whole new experiences. No, you have constructed your shoe-horned paid cheerleading piece around some kind of economies of scale rationale… with some presumption that in this more advanced computer-aged world we live in today, consumers GIVE a rat’s ass about “ooh, I’ve got a Windows computer, better have a windows phone too, and an X box”…. Are you kidding me? How many consumers do you know who behave in that way today? The walls have broken down. Many Windows PC owners use iPhones. Many Mac owners (and PC owners) like me use Windows Mobile phones, and now Android phones. iTunes is cross platform. People download the same HD episodes of LOST or MADMEN on Windows machines and on Macs, it doesn’t matter to them. While you’re still stuck in 1999, when consumers dared not cross the brand-name divide, whether out of brand loyalty or fear of incompatibility, or relearning from ground zero. I think your whole argument is as puffy as popcorn, and about as nutritious. But great you got a paycheck to spread some propaganda. You deserve a night out at Pizza Hut as your prize. Chris Davies on "HTC Desire vs. Google Nexus One" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-desire-vs-google-nexus-one/page/2#post-8787 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:32:58 +0000 Chris Davies 8787@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ I didn’t, actually, Monther – thanks for the reminder, I’ll chase it up again. Monther on "HTC Desire vs. Google Nexus One" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-desire-vs-google-nexus-one/page/2#post-8769 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:34:00 +0000 Monther 8769@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ Hi Chris, Didi you recieve any answer from htc regarding V2T in htc Desire? Thanks Roy Wall on "Breaking Windows is a good idea" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/breaking-windows-is-a-good-idea#post-8762 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:55:53 +0000 Roy Wall 8762@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ Less apps is never a good idea. BC would have given WM7 a distinct advantage. Without it, there are many apps WM7 will never see. Michael Gartenberg on "Breaking Windows is a good idea" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/breaking-windows-is-a-good-idea#post-8743 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:16:23 +0000 Michael Gartenberg 8743@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote>I have been reading a lot of critiques of Microsoft’s mobile strategy lately, especially among those who think that <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/windows-phone-7-gets-silverlight-xna-but-no-old-winmo-apps-0576802/" target="_blank">breaking compatibility</a> with older versions of Windows Mobile is a bad idea. Some of these opinions are just wrong, showing little knowledge of technical architectures. (If it’s CE based, how come I can’t run my old apps? Sheesh; CE was used in many different mobile devices, none of which could run Windows Mobile apps). For those that are dependent on some Windows Mobile app, Microsoft is wisely keeping the 6.5.x platform around for a while meaning folks can make a smooth transition as they need to. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-78068" title="windows_phone_7_marketplace_hub" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/windows_phone_7_marketplace_hub-540x385.jpg" alt="windows phone 7 marketplace hub 540x385" width="540" height="385" /> </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/breaking-windows-is-a-good-idea-1778067/">Breaking Windows is a good idea</a> Ben Bajarin on "The Connected TV Reality" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/the-connected-tv-reality#post-8674 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:53:40 +0000 Ben Bajarin 8674@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote><img class="size-full wp-image-77921 alignright" title="connected_tv_experiment" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/connected_tv_experiment.jpg" alt="connected tv experiment" width="268" height="338" />In March of last year, I canceled my service with DISH Network to embark on a simple experiment. The question was, did I need my television service provider, and the experiment was to see if streaming shows from the Internet could satisfy my television habits. I connected one of my more powerful notebooks as elegantly as possible to my TV via HDMI and the experiment began. The TV shows they are a-streaming… In the first few weeks of this experiment, I came to find out that 90% of the TV shows my wife and I watched on a regular basis were available online from either the networks’ websites themselves or from <a href="http://www.hulu.com/" target="_blank">Hulu</a>. What suffered however was live sports and shows for our kids, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as kids probably get enough TV as it is. </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/the-connected-tv-reality-1677920/">The Connected TV Reality</a> Michael Gartenberg on "The Palm Paradox" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/the-palm-paradox#post-8548 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:41:46 +0000 Michael Gartenberg 8548@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote>It’s been a rough few weeks for the folks at <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/palm" target="_blank">Palm</a>. First false rumors about Palm shutting down production lines, followed by less than stellar results have once again started the usual suspects putting Palm on either some death watch or have them about to be sold to (insert vendor’s name here _____). Regarding the second, I don’t believe Jon Rubenstein came out of retirement to build a world class product only to have it sold to (insert vendor’s name here _____). But with regards to the whole death watch theme, Palm reminds me a lot of TiVo these days. It’s not just the death watch meme that’s plagued <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/tivo" target="_blank">TiVo</a> for years, it’s the fact that Palm suffers from their own version of the TiVo paradox. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-77548" title="Palm-Pixi-Pre-14-r3media-540x309" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Palm-Pixi-Pre-14-r3media-540x3091.jpg" alt="Palm Pixi Pre 14 r3media 540x3091" width="540" height="309" /> </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/the-palm-paradox-1277547/">The Palm Paradox</a> Michael Gartenberg on "Dirty Fingers Sexy Screen Wash and ET: more in common than you think" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/dirty-fingers-sexy-screen-wash-and-et-more-in-common-than-you-think#post-8280 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:10:25 +0000 Michael Gartenberg 8280@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote>It’s a great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_video_game_burial" target="_blank">urban legend</a>. In September 1983, the Alamogordo Daily News of Alamogordo, New Mexico, reported in a series of articles that between ten and twenty semi-trailer truckloads of Atari boxes, cartridges, and systems from an Atari storehouse in El Paso, Texas were crushed and buried at the landfill within the city… it has been speculated that most unsold copies of E.T. are buried in this landfill, crushed and encased in cement. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-76563" title="atari_dirty_fingers" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/atari_dirty_fingers-540x499.jpg" alt="atari dirty fingers 540x499" width="540" height="499" /> </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/dirty-fingers-sexy-screen-wash-and-et-more-in-common-than-you-think-0376562/">Dirty Fingers Sexy Screen Wash and ET: more in common than you think</a> StÃ©phane Koch on "HTC Desire vs. Google Nexus One" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-desire-vs-google-nexus-one/page/2#post-8149 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:39:23 +0000 StÃ©phane Koch 8149@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ Thanks for this really good review :) As HTC Hero owner, I have to admit that I’m really unsatisfied with the HTC’s update behavior. HTC didn’t event update to Donuts, which mean that Hero’s owner are not able to use the last services from Google like Goggles or Buzz, moreover some of those services are priorly available on iphone that on a Hero… I did send tweets to complaint about that situation (@ to HTC Europe, Hero, etc): no reaction from HTC, which mean they don’t really care of their existing customers. So for those various reasons, I’m going to switch to Google… By the way, it was a question (up in the comments) about the FM radio feature. Do you have more info about it ? It’s a “Wired Headset” antenna needed, or it will be a real FM radio you can eventually listen through Bluetooth Headset or hands-free on the phone speaker ? Is the Ram memory difference making a real difference between both models ? When Google presented NexusOne, they mentioned that later users will be allowed to install applications on the Micro SD card instead than to be forced to install it on the phone memory… Do you have more info about that ? hamzax7x on "HTC Legend: I need a Hero" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-legend-i-need-a-hero#post-8115 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:14:00 +0000 hamzax7x 8115@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ The HTC Legend seems quite better than the hero actually because for one, the 600 mhz CPU is a platform for SNAPDRAGON CPU’s where as the 528 mhz was not, it looks better, the screen is amazing, more memory, and sense 2.1 would run natively better on it heldros on "HTC Legend: I need a Hero" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-legend-i-need-a-hero#post-8114 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:43:13 +0000 heldros 8114@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ I was about to buy a HTC Hero for my wife but I will wait for the HTC Legend. The Sense update and the Android 2.1 are worth the wait even if it will cost 100€ more. Apostol Georgiev Apostolov on "HTC Legend: I need a Hero" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-legend-i-need-a-hero#post-8113 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:52:03 +0000 Apostol Georgiev Apostolov 8113@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ HTC Legend is not supposed to hold its place in the high-end such as HTC Hero. It is supposed to gently phase out HTC Hero first-gen Android specs towards mid-tier, compensating with luxury design decisions and boosting what matters – such as the memory, and screen for clarity and contrast. Probably, the camera will also be a step-up from HTC Hero. The author is asking a wrong question, assuming HTC Legend is supposed to compete for high-end tier market. Chris Davies on "HTC Legend: I need a Hero" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/htc-legend-i-need-a-hero#post-8112 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:26:25 +0000 Chris Davies 8112@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote>You could well argue that the <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/htc-hero" target="_blank">HTC Hero</a> was the <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/android" target="_blank">Android</a> smartphone of 2009. While <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/motorola-droid" target="_blank">Motorola’s DROID</a> brought with it a larger display, newer version of the OS and arguably more functional hardware keyboard, HTC led the pack months in advance. Multitouch-capable, distinctly designed and outfitted with a genuinely compelling UI in the shape of <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/htc-sense" target="_blank">HTC Sense</a>, the Hero fast became the poster-child of Android. Now, the company are hoping to follow that success with the <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/htc-legend" target="_blank">HTC Legend</a>, a slick Hero update with a tactile unibody aluminum shell. Is it a worthy sequel or has the <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/htc-desire" target="_blank">HTC Desire</a> stolen the Legend’s flagship thunder; more importantly, is it sufficiently different from the smartphone it replaces? <img class="alignnone" title="HTC Legend and HTC Hero" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/HTC-Legend-SlashGear-3-540x387.jpg" alt="HTC Legend SlashGear 3 540x387" width="540" height="387" /> </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/htc-legend-i-need-a-hero-2875929/">HTC Legend: I need a Hero</a> Chris Davies on "Next-gen Chipsets: next-gen convergence" http://discuss.slashgear.com/topic/next-gen-chipsets-next-gen-convergence#post-8099 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:22:52 +0000 Chris Davies 8099@http://discuss.slashgear.com/ <blockquote>Even before you leave an event like <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/mwc-2010" target="_blank">Mobile World Congress 2010</a> you get used to people asking you what the most interesting or exciting thing you’ve seen at the show has been. This year, while there was no shortage of impressive hardware imminent to the market, the real promise for me was in next-gen chipsets. <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/texas-instruments" target="_blank">Texas Instruments</a>, <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/nvidia" target="_blank">NVIDIA</a>, <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/freescale" target="_blank">Freescale</a>, <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/marvell" target="_blank">Marvell</a>, <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/tags/qualcomm" target="_blank">Qualcomm</a> and others had all brought their wares along to demo, and the promises – not to mention the step up from existing platforms – were flowing thick and fast. So, what sort of devices can we expect using these new chipsets? <img class="alignnone" title="TI Blaze" src="http://www.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Texas_Instruments_Blaze_OMAP4_7-540x339.jpg" alt="Texas Instruments Blaze OMAP4 7 540x339" width="540" height="339" /> </blockquote> Full Story: <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/next-gen-chipsets-next-gen-convergence-2775907/">Next-gen Chipsets: next-gen convergence</a>