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The real difference between a desktop pc and every other gadget you have.

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40hz:
What's

What's interesting about this is that with the current shift to mobile devices, we are now moving away from the multipurpose device.  I mean, apps are ok, but they are not as useful as a full blown desktop application.  but that's the same with the mobile device, which is not as capable as a desktop.
-superboyac (June 03, 2013, 09:51 PM)
--- End quote ---

Exactly right.  :Thmbsup:  There is a concerted effort to move the general public away from a flexible "anything box" and get them back into a closed "computing appliance" as quickly as possible. It's an issue of control and turf protection.



Sad really. But there ya have it.

TaoPhoenix:

I'll second the emphasis on the run toward "politics". One problem I see is that in a very rough sense Android was "supposed to be" the DIY phone - universal(ish!) open source(ish!) OS running on anyone's hardware? That sounds familiar!

But then the forces that be managed to steer the mindshare away from that by playing hard on the "it's too hard for average people" theme. And yes, in many ways, while vehemently objecting to other "political" philosophies involved, I for one do want my phone to "just shut up and make phone calls plus run my cute 25 apps". I don't see it as a computer, it's more like the name says - a phone that then can give you a calendar, a calculator, a GPS, a music player, and a fun little game of your choice.

A far bigger split is the (unfortunately!) *brilliant* PR job to get people to see tablets as ... wait for it ... not a small laptop, but an overgrown phone! But with the mind-washing how people like to "consume because it's relaxing", they have sold tablets as everyone's cute go to device. And yes, hurling a grumpy charge at MS, to me there's no "legit" reason a tablet can't have a dual OS - Tablet Factor and then hook up the dock and stuff and out comes the laptop!

superboyac:
I used to get angrier at the companies for "conspiring" together and limit our technology options, progress, etc.  But after talking to a lot of people, now I'm angry at how little most people care, so they are just completely rolling over and going along with everything.

Normally, I'd attribute such behavior to personal preferences.  Not all people are geeks and care about computers and technology.  But here's the issue I see: the people that don't care still rely and need these devices.  But they almost go out of their way to refuse to learn anything about it.  I don't get it.  They scoff at the geeks and technology like it's beneath them, they curse devices out when it doesn't work they way they expected.  Their expectations are completely uninformed (hilarious that they get so worked up about it!).  They proactively hassle those who do know more than them.  There's a whole culture around it like that...it's like an aggressive ignorance.

I'm consistently surprised by this sort of situation:
--A friend complains that the youtube that comes on his cable box has a limited content compared to the normal youtube on the web.
--I explain that the copyrights and stuff limit it, and you can only get everything through a normal browser.
--I show him how some devices can be hooked together so the tv can get access to unadulterated internet.  It involves some cables, some little pc device, a remote. done.
--friend not interested.

Again, i get it.  People are busy with their lives.  But this is all stuff that will make your life a little easier.  And you are complaining about it!  But this is how it goes.  And eventually we end up in the situation that we are in.

40hz:
they are just completely rolling over and going along with everything.
-superboyac (June 04, 2013, 11:37 AM)
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Hmm...

The Birds and the Foxes


by James Thurber

Once upon a time there was a bird sanctuary in which hundreds of Baltimore orioles lived together happily. The refuge consisted of a forest entirely surrounded by a high wire fence. When it was put up, a pack of foxes who lived nearby protested that it was an arbitrary and unnatural boundary. However, they did nothing about it at the time because they were interested in civilizing the geese and ducks on the neighbouring farms. When all the geese and ducks had been civilized, and there was nothing else left to eat, the foxes once more turned their attention to the bird sanctuary. Their leader announced that there had once been foxes in the sanctuary but that they had been driven out. He proclaimed that Baltimore orioles belonged in Baltimore. He said, furthermore, that the orioles in the sanctuary were a continuous menace to the peace of the world. The other animals cautioned the foxes not to disturb the birds in their sanctuary.

So the foxes attacked the sanctuary one night and tore down the fence that surrounded it. The orioles rushed out and were instantly killed and eaten by the foxes.

The next day the leader of the foxes, a fox from whom God was receiving daily guidance, got upon the rostrum and addressed the other foxes. His message was simple and sublime. " You see before you," he said, "another Lincoln. We have liberated all those birds!"

Moral: Government of the orioles, by the foxes, and for the foxes, must perish from the earth.
--- End quote ---

 ;)

superboyac:
^^ very interesting.
Question: who built the fence, and whose idea was it?  'cuz it wasn't the foxes or orioles.  :huh:

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