I'm beginning to change my tune on Windows Vista.

[Pirate King Atomsk]

i smashed the end of my pinky finger.  and when i say smashed, i literally mean smashed.

Worst finger to smash. I got mine stuck in between a door and the wall where the hinges are because I was being a dumbass, then someone closed the door and...yeeaahhh..*crack!* I still shudder when I recall it.

[MV/Liberace!]

I think I will go from XP to Win7.

i think you are making a wise decision to skip vista in favor of win7.  most people describe windows 7 as being vista IF they'd bothered to make vista the way it was supposed to be.

I haven't actually tried the 7 Beta yet, but here's generally what I'm hearing:

god damn is that funny.

[MV/Liberace!]

OMG!  Have you ever seen that cartoon figure designed to show the number of nerve endings in various pats of the human body?  Each part is created as a relative size based on tactile reception, not surface area.  Other than the lips - the hands are the most disproportionately HUGE parts of the body.

OUCH!

Here is a model:

i have a problem with this model.  it suggests i'm better off to smash my cock than to smash my pinky.

[MV/Liberace!]

by the way, ev... i accidentally clicked the "modify" button on your earlier post, hence the edit note.

[Pirate King Atomsk]

i have a problem with this model.  it suggests i'm better off to smash my cock than to smash my pinky.

AHAHANAHJAHWDWQIJFEWIJ XddD AWW MANG.

[danDNA]

coffee and Macs! i go away for a few days and this place goes all starbucks on me. i hope you dont all start leaving your taps running 24/7 as well.

[MV/Liberace!]

AHAHANAHJAHWDWQIJFEWIJ XddD AWW MANG.

thank you!  thank you!  i'll be here all weekend!

[MV/Liberace!]

scrap my previous ubuntu praise.  if given the option to use windows 7, you're fucking crazy to choose ubuntu as your primary OS today.


sadly and unexpectedly, the newest ubuntu, 10.04, is a disppointment. 
it's sloooow.
for instance, you can double click the title bar of a window to maximize it, and 3 or 4 seconds later, it maximizes.  this has been a problem for as long as i've tried ubuntu.
navigating to a hard drive and accessing it is sluggish and needlessly delayed.  why?
also, ubuntu 10.04 seems, from what i've read, to fare poorly against windows 7 in multiple benchmark tests.  this is largely due, from what i gather, to crappy linux graphics drivers.
even linus torvalds (the guy who started linux) came out a year ago and said the linux kernel is bloated and ridiculous.


there are still, after all these years, far too many situations that require a user to open the command terminal (why bother having a GUI if it's not going to be used?).  this isn't acceptable in 2010.  sorry.  it's not.  most people aren't server administrators...  nor do they want to become one.


the sound architecture sucks.  there's some shit-bag audio management package called "pulseaudio" which comes preinstalled with the OS.  it causes you to be unable to choose an input/output sound card in skype because the only thing that shows up in skype is pulseaudio, regardless of how many sound cards are installed on your machine.  the only way to fix the problem is to remove pulseaudio, at which point you'll find your audio settings to be inaccessible through the system settings menu.  great.  thanks for that.  epic fail.





bottom line:  i keep trying each new release of ubuntu, hoping against hope that it will have improved upon the problems that in the past have prevented its adoption as my primary OS.  every time i try ubuntu, i end up removing it from my system after a few hours, choosing to wait for the next version.  ubuntu has had plenty of years to advance beyond its humble beginnings, and it's also had tens of millions of dollars in backing from canonical.  despite all of this, it has failed to become a legitimate alternative to windows... particularly when facing off against windows 7.  there's just no debate, if you ask me.


if a linux distribution ever succeeds on the desktop or laptop or netbook or tablet, it will be either chromeOS or android.  ubuntu is a joke, and it continually does nothing but play catch-up with windows and macOS.  it will never close that gap.


ubuntu sucks.

[Pirate King Atomsk]

I have a couple of friends in school that swear by Ubuntu, but I've recently been using Win7 x64 Ultimate and it's freaking great. I'm not really sure how any version of Ubuntu could be much better. Microsoft can still be a pain in the ass, but I think 7 fixes many of the issues of Vista and incorporates the user-friendly "prettiness" of MacOS. Lately I've been operating a lot on Server 2k8 machines (a real pain) and going back to my Win7 Asus laptop feels almost like a treat.

[MV/Liberace!]

I have a couple of friends in school that swear by Ubuntu, but I've recently been using Win7 x64 Ultimate and it's freaking great. I'm not really sure how any version of Ubuntu could be much better. Microsoft can still be a pain in the ass, but I think 7 fixes many of the issues of Vista and incorporates the user-friendly "prettiness" of MacOS. Lately I've been operating a lot on Server 2k8 machines (a real pain) and going back to my Win7 Asus laptop feels almost like a treat.

if not for my complicated audio setup requirements, ubuntu might work for me, as well.  however, it's just one of the big gaping holes that ubuntu has never adequately addressed.

furthermore, many of the improvements of ubuntu are amalgamations of windows and macOS.  why bother when for only $65 anybody with a .edu email address can get win7 professional?

yes, microsoft can be (and sometimes is) a pain in the ass.  however, since the departure of bill gates, their tendency to annoy seems to be continually decreasing.

ubuntu has this reputation for being far snappier than windows.  back in the vista days, that undoubtedly was true.  however, i find win7 to be faster on my production machine.  nothing scientific about that observation.  it just is what it is.

[KnyeGuy]

Why are so many people so gaga over windows 7?
Why have all software companies decided to add FLUFF to their programs instead of useful options or more stable code?

At any rate a few things about Windows 7 that are pissing me off (and they are the same for Vista):

1)They dropped the arrow to go up a folder in the explorer window. Instead you can only go 'back' and 'forward' or use the keyboard shortcut, ALT + UpArrow.

2) the Search option sucks ass... There isn't a feature to quickly fill in some areas for an advanced search?
And sometimes the search DOES NOT actually work. That's right, it won't actually search but will still display "No items found." Vista was doing this ALOT for me and it's pretty sad that Win 7 has the same problem.
XP never screwed up the search.

3) the PERMISSIONs DO NOT work properly (on Vista they were FINE).
Case in point, I try to MOVE or DELETE a folder/files and it prompts me that I don't have permission to do so when I am using a user account with Administrative privileges and have GRANTED this account FULL control over entire folders.
Bullshit I say.

4) (like #3, this one doesn't occur in Vista) My external Hard Drives take FOREVER to copy files...I'm talking like 100kb per second after they've been running for a number of minutes. This goes for both the USB and Firewire 400 connections that are available. These are Western Digital MyBook 1TB External Drives btw.


At any rate, if anyone wants to point out why they love windows 7 or to give some cool tips or whatever, I am all ears. I just got it a week ago.

Oh yeah, and one more before I go:
5)with the Windows AERO type theme, you CANNOT customize the look of your windows like you could in every other version of Windows...AND WHO in the F*** CARES about having the window border Transparent? Really,...WHO?

[MV/Liberace!]

Why are so many people so gaga over windows 7?
Why have all software companies decided to add FLUFF to their programs instead of useful options or more stable code?

i have to say, with zero doubt, that the code behind win7 feels far more stable than anything thus far from microsoft.  more importantly, the updates provided for win7 don't seem to be bulking down the OS as was the case with previous versions of windows.

1)They dropped the arrow to go up a folder in the explorer window. Instead you can only go 'back' and 'forward' or use the keyboard shortcut, ALT + UpArrow.

i agree completely.  this pisses me off to no end.  there is, however, a keyboard shortcut for this:  alt + up arrow

2) the Search option sucks ass... There isn't a feature to quickly fill in some areas for an advanced search?
And sometimes the search DOES NOT actually work. That's right, it won't actually search but will still display "No items found." Vista was doing this ALOT for me and it's pretty sad that Win 7 has the same problem.
XP never screwed up the search.

while i generally like the search in win7, there are some times it frustrates me.  for example, sometimes you can be typing a search term, and the OS begins searching before you finish typing, and then the cursor leaves the search box in mid type as focus is assigned elsewhere.  GOD DAMN this is frustrating.  it seems not to have happened to me in a while, though.  i wonder if this was fixed in an update.

3) the PERMISSIONs DO NOT work properly (on Vista they were FINE).
Case in point, I try to MOVE or DELETE a folder/files and it prompts me that I don't have permission to do so when I am using a user account with Administrative privileges and have GRANTED this account FULL control over entire folders.
Bullshit I say.

as a security measure (remember, inconvenience inherently accompanies security), you are never truly running an "administrator" account.  you're running a sort of hybrid type of account.  however, if you disable UAC, then i think you actually ARE running as a true admin user.  however, this is generally not advisable.

4) (like #3, this one doesn't occur in Vista) My external Hard Drives take FOREVER to copy files...I'm talking like 100kb per second after they've been running for a number of minutes. This goes for both the USB and Firewire 400 connections that are available. These are Western Digital MyBook 1TB External Drives btw.

i do not have this problem with any of the external drives i use... be they flash or rotating platter.  are you only having this problem with a single external drive?  if so, then it might be a problem with the controller board on the hard drive.  could also be an issue with power to the drive, or i could present you with the standard, shot in the dark answer to the problem:  drivers.  this is most likely a hardware issue of some sort.

Oh yeah, and one more before I go:
5)with the Windows AERO type theme, you CANNOT customize the look of your windows like you could in every other version of Windows...AND WHO in the F*** CARES about having the window border Transparent? Really,...WHO?

specifically what type of customization are you referring to?

[krepta3000]

OMG!  Have you ever seen that cartoon figure designed to show the number of nerve endings in various pats of the human body?  Each part is created as a relative size based on tactile reception, not surface area.  Other than the lips - the hands are the most disproportionately HUGE parts of the body.

OUCH!

Here is a model:

I think the model is missing a very valuable body part, the Foreskin, which has a lot of nerve endings, which I'm guessing would make the penis on that model look bigger than it does here.  But I'm just guessing.

[KnyeGuy]

i have to say, with zero doubt, that the code behind win7 feels far more stable than anything thus far from microsoft.  more importantly, the updates provided for win7 don't seem to be bulking down the OS as was the case with previous versions of windows.

Alright point taken here.
Although, I have had numerous issues with installation of software. I'm running win7 Pro 64 Bit, so the issue could be the compatibility with the 64 bit OS...However, most of the software that I have installed officially claims to run fine on 64 bit windows and certainly did on Vista 64bit.
I'm talking things like image viewers, an online game application (Steam), various file managment software, etc.
Approx 6 of these apps caused Windows to fail to load upon reboot and forced me to go into a system restore (which incidentally DOES cause the loss of some files/data--Why is this exactly? I understand that it will remove recent Program installations, but I lost some various, albeit not very important files from my desktop as well).

The solution to these problems was to install programs one by one and to reboot after each installation 'before' reinstalling another program... Mind you, these programs didn't require reboot to finalize their installations either.

i agree completely.  this pisses me off to no end.  there is, however, a keyboard shortcut for this:  alt + up arrow

Yes...Thankfully a quick search on the net (I refuse to use the verb, Google) led me to this solution.
It's still damn annoying to have to hit 2 hotkeys. I did find some software that promises to add the up-arrow to the interface, but the reviews from people having problems with it, led me to the resolve of grinning and bearing it.

while i generally like the search in win7, there are some times it frustrates me.  for example, sometimes you can be typing a search term, and the OS begins searching before you finish typing, and then the cursor leaves the search box in mid type as focus is assigned elsewhere.  GOD DAMN this is frustrating.  it seems not to have happened to me in a while, though.  i wonder if this was fixed in an update.

Yes, I forgot to mention that in my rant! It occurred on Vista too, and still occurs for me in Win 7.

as a security measure (remember, inconvenience inherently accompanies security), you are never truly running an "administrator" account.  you're running a sort of hybrid type of account.  however, if you disable UAC, then i think you actually ARE running as a true admin user.  however, this is generally not advisable.

Yeah, I found someone on a  techforum that explained that it is best to use a regular user account for daily work and to keep a separate Admin account on Vista and Win7 for everything else. Win 7 and Vista don't allow "true" user admin accounts. However, I did find it really strange that I had to then scour the techforum for an answer as to HOW I could enable my default Admin account! LOL. I had to run a line or two in CMD Prompt to be able to see my Admin account on the login screen. At any rate, this solved the problems I was having copying and deleting files...I just executed such tasks via my Admin account. This is kind of ridiculous still, considering I was just trying to move/copy/delete regular files that were saved on a couple of hard disks from my other computer. I suspect that because these were existing files that were created under Vista, they somehow raised permissions issues on Win 7

i do not have this problem with any of the external drives i use... be they flash or rotating platter.  are you only having this problem with a single external drive?  if so, then it might be a problem with the controller board on the hard drive.  could also be an issue with power to the drive, or i could present you with the standard, shot in the dark answer to the problem:  drivers.  this is most likely a hardware issue of some sort.
specifically what type of customization are you referring to?

I don't have this problem with any regular USB drives that range from 4GB to 16GB.
I have 2 Western Digtial MYBook 2TB drives, and it occurs on both of them. However, it occurs almost 100% of the time on one of them, while on the other it happens maybe 50% of the time.
Also, if I'm only copying a couple of Gigs of data to or from these drives, it transfers as fast as it should. It's only when I'm trying to transfer 10s or 100s of gigs at once; It will start off fast for the few minutes then slow down to a crawl of 100kb/sec.
I've checked the Western Digital website and many others are having the same issue, without any resolution or response from WD.
The driver inlcuded in Win 7 is fairly recent and no update exists.
I haven't tested any other large capacity external USB drives, so I have no idea if it's Western Digital's fault or not.
I guess I just included this in my Win 7 rant just 'cause...




 

specifically what type of customization are you referring to?

I mean customizing the window borders and background color. If you use the Aero Theme, you can't do this. I know this isn't a huge deal, but I would expect a higher level of customization in the swanky new Aero theme than just choosing one color for windows and whether or not they are transparent.


I was tempted to complain about the absence of the "Quick Launch" bar and the "show DeskTop" button being located on the right side of the screen (and not being able to move it) but lo and behold, I have gotten used to these 2 changes.



Some good points I've noticed so far would have to be:
1) A faster loading time than previous Windows versions
2) Better Driver locating and installation than Vista had

[MV/Liberace!]

knyeguy...
i believe this might help you with your file ownership issues:
http://www.blogsdna.com/2159/how-to-take-ownership-grant-permissions-to-access-files-folder-in-windows-7.htm

[KnyeGuy]

Yeah from a quick skimming it looks like that link may help, thx.

Damn, I just had another non-loading issue happen again. I installed a Windows Defender Update requiring a reboot, and Windows just hung. After turning off the comp, it again went into system restore and upon rebooting, it LOST a bunch of files I had moved/arranged on my desktop. This happened before so in preparation for it I have been saving my own restore points. However, it seems like the 'auto restore' upon reboot ISN't using my own most recently saved restore points.
Thus I invoked a system restore myself, and used my last saved restore point and everything was fine.
Wtf? Why wouldn't Windows grab THAT restore point too?

Actually, the fact that I'm using system restore so much lately is very much a negative point for Windows 7, as I have never had to use it before in any version of windows, even in Vista! (well maybe 1 or 2 times total over the past 5 years).

I just don't get it...
arghhh! ! ! ! !

I'll be searching for some answers regarding the whole dynamics of system restore...


________________________________

Oh, and I agree that the picture above seems to have disregarded the sensitivity of the male nether-regions.

[MV/Liberace!]

knyeguy...
you need to uninstall ALL security software you're running (Norton, McAffee, any 3rd party firewalls, etc.) and then install microsoft security essentials.  don't run any other security software (except maybe for an occasional manual scan by malwarebytes).  security essentials will automatically disable windows defender, as well.


this is all you need:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/


make sure to remove all other security software BEFORE installing this.

[Pirate King Atomsk]

After accepting the most recent updates yesterday for Win7 Ultimate, my PC rebooted and then NOTHING would be clickable (executable). Couldn't even CTRL+ALT+DELETE. I believe it was a pirated copy...I'm wondering if they're sending updates to mess with detected non-genuine copies. I just went back to my vista partition, got a new Win 7 and reinstalled it. Working fine now, but I killed the Automatic Updates. They always just seem to fuck things up more than anything. x.x

[KnyeGuy]

knyeguy...
you need to uninstall ALL security software you're running (Norton, McAffee, any 3rd party firewalls, etc.) and then install microsoft security essentials.  don't run any other security software (except maybe for an occasional manual scan by malwarebytes).  security essentials will automatically disable windows defender, as well.


this is all you need:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/


make sure to remove all other security software BEFORE installing this.

Have you been using this for awhile? Just curious about your impression of it.
I'm a little leery of using a security suite that's free 'and' from microsoft.
However, I'm currently using Kapsersky Internet security 2010 and my license is running out in 60 days, so I have been considering looking into something else anyways. Kaspersky hasn't given me any real problems per se, but it's a bitch to figure out all the inner workings of it. It certainly isn't very user friendly like ZoneAlarm was in its day.


Do you by any chance use Spybot with ms security essentials? Just wondering if it's compatible.
I've never heard of malwarebytes, but I'll look into it.

I have considered that perhaps I may have ended up with some nasty virus/trojan.
At any rate, I have just performed a clean install of Win7 and everything seems to be running much better. Installing multiple applications hasn't caused a load error (knock on wood).

[MV/Liberace!]

...I killed the Automatic Updates. They always just seem to fuck things up more than anything. x.x

bad idea.  you're inevitably going to wind up with some nasty malware on your machine if you don't update the OS.  if you have a pirated copy of win7, just use your student email address and grab a legit copy of win7 professional for $65.  well worth it.

Have you been using this for awhile? Just curious about your impression of it.

i have.  MS security essentials is on all of my machines here on the network, and i install it on all of my clients' machines, regardless of whatever paid antivirus software they have (unless they absolutely insist otherwise, in which case i'll still try to convince them to just use MS security essentials).

I'm a little leery of using a security suite that's free 'and' from microsoft.

don't be.  every test shows security essentials to be ahead of the pack.  it leads in detection.  it does a better job of avoiding false positives than the others (unlike mcafee, who just recently tagged svchost.exe as malware).  security essentials is lightweight and doesn't noticeably slow the system down.  it doesn't nag you every time it farts.  the fact that it's made by microsoft is primarily the reason i DO want to use it.  i'd think that if anyone knows how best to protect windows, it would be the people who wrote windows and have access to the kernel and the proprietary code behind it.  the added "features" of paid antivirus suites are nothing but unnecessary bloatware, and with a properly/routinely updated copy of windows, security essentials is all you'll need.  fullstop.

Do you by any chance use Spybot with ms security essentials? Just wondering if it's compatible.
I've never heard of malwarebytes, but I'll look into it.

spybot has for some time been considered by people "in the know" to be at the bottom of the heap in terms of effectiveness.  it is outdated and fails to provide any meaningful protection in 2010.  furthermore, spybot's real-time agent INCESSANTLY nags you, as i recall from the days when i used it.  malwarebytes is the way to go if you want to have a manual scan utility installed in tandem with your antivirus software.



how not to get infected:
1)don't download software from strangers
2)don't click links in email
3)don't open email attachments.  ever.
4)allow windows to automatically update
5)use a router.  it will serve as a hardware firewall, insulating your machine from the outside world.


if you don't adhere to the 5 rules above, all of the aforementioned advice about antivirus software can become irrelevant because you're on a fast track to wreck your windows installation.


happy computing.

[KnyeGuy]

Hey MV,

Alright, point taken on trusting MS to be the best at securing its own OS. Makes sense.
I'll give it a shot seeing as how Kaspersky's license is ending soon.

Some Points below:

"1)don't download software from strangers"
Now this one is just plain impossible. Another reason that Jotti.org and sandboxes are great!


"2)don't click links in email
3)don't open email attachments.  ever."

Yup...I only click links from people I know and only if the message seems like it was actually written by them.
I don't even open email from addresses I don't recognize.


"4)allow windows to automatically update"
As far as this goes, I agree that you need to do updates but I always configure updates to be manual, just in case one of them causes a system crash or I hear from someone warning me to not install a certain update quite yet
I've had enough updates in the past screw up my system before a fix was released.


"5)use a router.  it will serve as a hardware firewall, insulating your   machine from the outside world."
I have a D-Link Dir615 wireless router for a home network. Now, I never quite understood just HOW much protection these type of regular routers really offer. I know you can get all-in-one firewall routers that are WAY too expensive ($600 and up) but what kind protection do the regular, cost-effective ones have?
And btw, I do have wireless security turned on and only allow the mac addresses of my 2 computers to access the wireless network.
Can you explain what regular routers possess as far as firewall capabilities?


Thanks for the tips. I consider myself decently knowledgeable when it comes to computer issues, but I'm by no means an expert.
Do you run a computer business? You mentioned assembling comps for customers...

[Pirate King Atomsk]

"4)allow windows to automatically update"
As far as this goes, I agree that you need to do updates but I always configure updates to be manual, just in case one of them causes a system crash or I hear from someone warning me to not install a certain update quite yet
I've had enough updates in the past screw up my system before a fix was released.

Ditto. Some security packs are important, sure - but some are initially detrimental and others (like WAT) will mess up perfectly working (albeit non-genuine) copies. I'd rather pick and choose manually in most cases after reading up on the bad updates.

[MV/Liberace!]

"1)don't download software from strangers"
Now this one is just plain impossible.

i agree with you on that.  i rarely follow my own advice on this one.

I know you can get all-in-one firewall routers that are WAY too expensive ($600 and up) but what kind protection do the regular, cost-effective ones have?

a $40 router from walmart is going to provide all the protection you'll need.  essentially, all routers are firewall routers.  i think the expensive ones just come with some additional configurability.

And btw, I do have wireless security turned on and only allow the mac addresses of my 2 computers to access the wireless network.

mac address filtering is useless on a wireless network because mac addresses can be easily spoofed.  i'd just turn on WPA2 with AES, use a strong password, and be done with it.  anything else is just useless.  and whatever you do... don't use WEP.  it can be bypassed within seconds.

Do you run a computer business? You mentioned assembling comps for customers...

sure do.  i have a shit ton of residential customers, and i'm just beginning to attract some business customers.  i generally do not build or sell computers because it is not profitable to do so in 2010.  most of what i do is comprised of network maintenance and security, hardware replacement, and OS (re)installations.  you might be surprised to know... when i encounter customers who keep getting bitten again and again by malware, i introduce them to Ubuntu and they always end up being thoroughly pleased with it.  one of the customers for whom i did this was an 80 year old man.  yup, an 80 year old using linux.  while ubuntu has some more growing up to do for my purposes, it certainly has passed the grandpa test.  that's saying something.

[KnyeGuy]

Thanks for the info MV.

Yeah, I do have WPA2 set to either AES or the other one, with a good password. I tossed in the mac filtering just because I thought it would make it more airtight.


Out of curiousity, what's your take on using clean-up utilities? Any suggestions on programs?
I've been using CCleaner for a long time now, and used to use Winaso. I tried out Comodo System Cleaner at one point with Vista, but the program seemed a little too "unsafe" to use, specifically when it came to registry cleaning.
On that note, what do you think of using the registry cleaning functions that are usually bundled in these types of programs?

[MV/Liberace!]

Out of curiousity, what's your take on using clean-up utilities? Any suggestions on programs?
I've been using CCleaner for a long time now, and used to use Winaso. I tried out Comodo System Cleaner at one point with Vista, but the program seemed a little too "unsafe" to use, specifically when it came to registry cleaning.
On that note, what do you think of using the registry cleaning functions that are usually bundled in these types of programs?

cCleaner is the only one i'd trust, particularly as far as registry maintenance is concerned.  usually it's best not to mess with the registry at all, particularly on win7 since it's less necessary than ever, unless you're encountering a specific problem that you believe to be linked to errant registry entries.  i sure do wish MS would just dump this whole registry thing and move on.  the registry was the worst idea MS ever came up with for windows.  the registry and internet explorer have done more to screw over windows users than anything else MS has done.  well, maybe we could also add license activation in there, too.

[unclejim]

MV, you are so right on. I agree with at least 99% of your advice in this thread.

I especially enjoyed your comments about Apple near the beginning of this thread. I almost bought a macbook pro/pro tools/m-audio package a couple years ago, but I knew that I would still have to get a pc for almost everything else. In light of the recent "scandal" involving the iphone prototype...I'm glad I didn't. I mean, I know apple sort of shops around new products and stuff with insiders, but I don't for one second believe anybody could ever get a prototype like that off property without authorization. I betcha that sort of thing gets locked in a safe whenever it's not being worked on, with one or more witnesses who sign for each other, and nobody is allowed to bring any packages, or cameras, whatsoever, in or out of the lab, and everyone going in or out is thouroghly searched, and every unit has an rfid tag hidden in it. So an engineer takes one out to a bar, gets drunk, and loses it? And it ends up in the hands of a tech blogger? I don't believe it. I think it was a really, really, nasty, unforgivable stunt.

Makes google and facebook and even GN look positively benevolent.

[MV/Liberace!]

So an engineer takes one out to a bar, gets drunk, and loses it? And it ends up in the hands of a tech blogger? I don't believe it. I think it was a really, really, nasty, unforgivable stunt.

Makes google and facebook and even GN look positively benevolent.

i KNOW.  it's really just quite difficult to absorb it all at face value. 

oh, and speaking of the new iPhone, have you seen this?
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16407/apple_statement_on_iphone_4_reception_flaw

eesh.

[unclejim]

Ha! Thanks. We don't have AT&T in Boise, so not so many -fonz and -padz...I hear the reception is REALLY bad!

[MV/Liberace!]

Ha! Thanks. We don't have AT&T in Boise, so not so many -fonz and -padz...I hear the reception is REALLY bad!

i just discovered this iPhone left-hand reception news this morning.  it would seem my delay in awareness has resulted from the fact that i've not been keeping up with my regularly followed technology podcasts.

i've noticed a general murmur here and there within the tech community speculating that the long decried, legendarily pathetic iphone service on at&t might not be at&t at all... but, rather, it might be THE GOD DAMNED IPHONE!!  wow.  maybe that's why apple surprisingly hasn't allowed verizon a shot at the device yet.  perhaps apple KNOWS their cover would be blown if the phone moved to a more reliable network and service didn't improve proportionally.  then again, this is all speculation.

let me be clear:  while i am not a fan of apple, it's products, or steve jobs (in particular), i do acknowledge apple's space within the market.   i acknowledge and respect the innovations apple has brought to the fore in both conventional computing and mobile.  we've all benefited from it as consumers (i hate that word).  apple has recast our expectations of what a phone should/could do... and the competition has been playing catch-up for three years. 

unfortunately for apple, the "catch-up" phase is over, and they are losing their once insurmountable position of mobile dominance piece by piece, bit by bit.  it's happening daily.  sure, the new iphone might have sold around 1.5 million units (or something in that ballpark) in three days, but google's android devices are moving about 160,000 PER DAY... ALL YEAR... not just following corporate sponsored announcement ceremonies.   it's an android growth trend that won't end any time soon.  i believe the long term outlook for apple in the mobile sphere is gloomy, at best.  we are watching the 1990s pc-vs.-mac war play its self out all over again, only this time it's in mobile computing and microsoft isn't a player.  at all.  do you own apple stock?  sell.

think about it:  just a year ago, android was a joke... a red headed step child... a buffoonish caricature of what apple had already successfully germinated.  apple arrogantly and dismissively sneered and cackled at the prospect of this otherwise irrelevant mobile operating system posing a threat.  and today?  android is every bit as useful, enjoyable, practical, advanced, and desirable as anything apple is peddling on the mobile side.  new and improved android phones are released again and again in tandem with an onslaught of android iterations, and iphone is squeezed out like some diabetic neuropathy BM once per year.  apple can't continue to keep up with android's breakneck development and evolution frequency.  they won't.  case in point: every "advancement" announced for iPhone 4G will be bested by an android device within 4 to 6 months, and from there, android will only push the envelope further against iphone. 

lesson:  don't doubt the google.  once they put serious man hours and serious money behind something, it's more than likely going to rule the world.

the above was written after being awake now for over 24 hours.  please excuse errors.

[unclejim]

Amen, brother. I have recently forgiven google. facebook has still got me by the balls.

LOL, one of my best friends works at Adobe. He and some others had been buzzing about iPad for a week. The morning of the release, I heard on NPR that there was no flash player on iPod, so IM'd him with a friendly wtf? Get this: It pissed him off. He bent over backwards DEFENDING Apple...from his office at Adobe!

I told him I've always been a GPL-GNU fanatic, not just because it works well (mostly), and not just because it's free, but because I believe in the principle. I like it that Adobe gives away flash player (I use it everyday), and that google gives away all their stuff. That pissed him off even more.

I may have mentioned Android, but I do remember my parting shot: I predicted that google will build a (practically) universal WiMax network...and (practically) give it away! Gated communities and internet islands, and that whole business model will not last.