Technology catch-all thread

[3E8]

I got a Dell in '02 and it's just starting to show its age now, 8 years later. But I'm also really smart about protecting my PC online

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Instead of buying an iPad I decided to buy Apple stock and make money off all the people that actually do buy them, since I really don't have much use/desire for one. So far so good. I'm not an Apple fan or hater, but they know how to make money. Apple likes to keep everything closed and make everyone do things through them, and to control everything. Google on the other hand is the opposite of Apple, they want everything to be open and free, and to Apple this seems like insanity but it's been working wonders for Google so far. Google is too expensive to invest in for most people, though.

 

Also, am I the only one that has a Zune and actually likes it?

 

I have a Zune HD. I love that thing, and so do all my friends who own iPods.

[southsider2k5]

My PC has done everything I've needed it to do and hasn't stopped me from doing anything I couldn't. There has never been a time where I looked at my computer and said, s***, if only I had a mac I could do this or if only I had a mac I wouldn't have this issue.

 

Never has that ever happened to me. So since that is the case, I can't really justify paying double for a machine that for all intents and purposes to me, will do nothing better for me.

 

And I'm not referring to an Ipad, I'm referring to a Mac compared with a PC.

 

This has been my experience too.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Eric Schmidt spreading word of an Android-based Google tablet

According to a report by The New York Times, Google's apparently looking to get into the tablet game itself. Eric Schmidt was reportedly talking up the device at a party in LA recently, saying that it would run Android exclusively -- which seems odd given that Google has been working on Chrome (a concept Chrome tablet is pictured above), but then again, we don't attend parties in LA so what do we know? Other people with "direct knowledge" of the project say Google is also hunting down publishers, operating in a "stealth mode." NY Times is also reporting that HP will be building another tablet outside the Slate, which will also run Android and has been nicknamed "the half-pint" for its 6-inch screen size (and, presumably, a feisty spirit / heart of gold). We're still unconvinced that Android is exactly appropriate for a tablet device, but if Google is indeed building its own, we're guessing we could see some tablet-friendlier software that could make Android into a true tablet contender -- how 'bout starting with the browser, Google?

[Y2HH]

I have a Zune HD. I love that thing, and so do all my friends who own iPods.

 

The Zune HD is meh, my friend has one. It's nothing more than a glorified MP3 player now, just like the iPOD Touch. I don't see the point in these devices anymore...it should also be a phone, mobile internet communicator, etc. I'm not one that sees the point in carrying around a device for every little thing when 1 android or 1 iphone can do all of it plus more.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Y2HH

[StrangeSox]

I have nothing against the Zune, it's just that the iPod has so many more 3rd party devices and can be integrated much more into other systems. The network effect there is strong. The stereo in my fiance's car and my receiver at home can both directly control the iPod; there's more charges available; more speaker systems are made for it; more cases, protectors, etc.; more car stereo systems integrate directly. That's what made me pick the iPod over a competitor.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

The Zune HD is meh, my friend has one. It's nothing more than a glorified MP3 player now, just like the iPOD Touch. I don't see the point in these devices anymore...it should also be a phone, mobile internet communicator, etc. I'm not one that sees the point in carrying around a device for every little thing when 1 android or 1 iphone can do all of it plus more.

 

Because I am not going to pay for an iphone, use an apple product, AND pay a monthly data charge for it.

[flippedoutpunk]

The Zune HD is meh, my friend has one. It's nothing more than a glorified MP3 player now, just like the iPOD Touch. I don't see the point in these devices anymore...it should also be a phone, mobile internet communicator, etc. I'm not one that sees the point in carrying around a device for every little thing when 1 android or 1 iphone can do all of it plus more.

 

i agree, my iphone is my all-in-one device, my source of music, my phone, emergency GPS, my swiss army knife of technology

[Y2HH]

Because I am not going to pay for an iphone, use an apple product, AND pay a monthly data charge for it.

 

Then get an Android, or a Pre. There are many other choices that do the same things in all-in-one devices that are very affordable. Carrying around an MP3 player that does nothing but play MP3's, while having to carry around a separate phone, and a separate computer is just...so 1995.

 

Maybe you should get yourself a walkman like Bartman and sport that ... cuz then you wouldn't have to pay for an overpriced MP3 player.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Y2HH

[bmags]

having a separate ipod is much more convenient for bbqs and parties.

[BigSqwert]

The German WePad already sounds better to me than the iPad.

[Y2HH]

The German WePad already sounds better to me than the iPad.

 

They always do -- until you get them and there are 4 apps total, and nothing new coming out because nobody cares about developing for it.

 

This will come down to Apple vs Google, nobody else is stepping in with the necessary support/user base/developer base to make a table worth a damn, including this one.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Y2HH

[BigSqwert]

They always do -- until you get them and there are 4 apps total, and nothing new coming out because nobody cares about developing for it.

No one cares to develop for an open sourced device that isn't even out yet? Let me use your time machine this weekend.

[BigSqwert]

...any app that exists for Android also runs on the WePad. Right out of the box.

 

 

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I thought there were more than 4 Android apps.

 

via

Edited April 13, 2010 by BigSqwert

[Y2HH]

No one cares to develop for an open sourced device that isn't even out yet? Let me use your time machine this weekend.

 

Oh, I didn't even realize it was android based...but meh, I'd still be willing to put my money where my mouth is.

 

That device will fail, miserably.

 

Back to this being an iPad thread now.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Y2HH

[BigSqwert]

Oh, I didn't even realize it was android based...but meh, I'd still be willing to put my money where my mouth is.

 

That device will fail, miserably.

 

Back to this being an iPad thread now.

An open sourced tablet with a bigger screen, Android based, has two usb ports, is flash compatible, and full 1080P HD playback will fail miserably?

[bmags]

at this point it kinda seems like starting up a fast food restaurant to directly compete nationally with McDonalds and Subway. I just don't see anyone with the brand loyalty/recognition that can compete.

[Y2HH]

Ok, I read up on this device now...upon release, it'll be dead on arrival. Like the ipad, no great shakes to me...but unlike the ipad, it doesn't have Apple backing it, nor the "must have" cool factor that somehow goes along with it.

 

I think the ipad is a total fail, too. It's missing a few key things before I'd be interested.

[Y2HH]

An open sourced tablet with a bigger screen, Android based, has two usb ports, is flash compatible, and full 1080P HD playback will fail miserably?

 

Yes.

 

How much would you like to bet on it?

 

Also, you aren't playing back 1080P on that, the screen isn't big enough to play 1080P. It may try to "output" 1080p, and even that'll fail...it takes a LOT of processor to do that, and if that device tried, it'd be dry on power in 5 minutes. Once more, another device that does everything that will end up doing nothing.

[Y2HH]

at this point it kinda seems like starting up a fast food restaurant to directly compete nationally with McDonalds and Subway. I just don't see anyone with the brand loyalty/recognition that can compete.

 

Exactly. This device won't fail because it sucks, it'll fail because nobody will care about buying from an unknown, with unknown support, unknown methods to fix it if it breaks (and it will), and a whole lot of other reasons.

 

I stand by my claim.

 

This device fails, despite being able to do everything an ipad can't do.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Y2HH

[Steve9347]

1080p on a screen of that size is so utterly pointless it's hilarious.

[bmags]

I still say in a year i'll have an ipad...contingent on getting a job. And within ten years everyone will have ipads taped to their chests and are programmed through them. In 20...in 20 we're all f***ing dead.

[Y2HH]

1080p on a screen of that size is so utterly pointless it's hilarious.

 

It's a technical impossibility. It's another manufacturer foregoing battery life for every feature under the sun, including features that can't even work within the technical limits of the device (such as 1080p).

 

The only way that device has any sort of battery life (ipad has 10+ hours of actual use), is if it's not being used for ANYTHING, and every feature they packed in it is disabled to conserve power.

 

This is what it will do:

 

20 hours of battery life if you do nothing with it!

 

1 hour of battery life if you try to watch a movie in 1080p.

 

IE. useless.

 

More features for devices like this does not always = good. Sometimes you have to fore go things so the device is f***ing usable for a reasonable amount of time.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Y2HH

[BigSqwert]

Oh and it has an integrated webcam.

[Y2HH]

Oh and it has an integrated webcam.

 

This is a feature missing from the iPad I think it should have had from the onset. But it's the only feature that this thing sports that the ipad truly needs without sacrificing usability/battery.