Computer Talk

Re: Computer Talk!!

Some short computer and telecom related quips.

Dell's attempt to make a Windows Mobile smartphone apparently has been rejected by the carriers. Reason: Too boring. It seems that being a PC maker---well all PC makers---have yet to demonstrate the flair for consumer product design. I haven't been impressed by the looks of Acer's and Asus smartphones either.

nVidia has introduced its own processor for smartphones and HTC plans to use it.

Many rumors of the next generation iPhone going on now.

No one ever told Nintendo that a recession is going on. Sales of Wii are up by at least 10% compared to last year.

Ditto with Activision/Blizzard. Its stock is 29% higher this year than last year.

Re: Computer Talk!!

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Re: Computer Talk!!

IE8 has a released version now, right? When I tried its beta 2, I had to uninstall it after a few uses. It crashed all the time and many bugs. Currently, I use Firefox and Chrome. Firefox works well for me, while I use Chrome for surfing fun for its fast speed and ease of use. Maybe I'll try IE8 later. For now, too busy with my work.

Re: Computer Talk!!

Yeah I heard some not very good things about IE 8. There was a hacking contest with all the browsers, and only Google Chrome survived it. Also the number of users of IE8 dropped off about 28% since it was introduced. There was a Java spec test i read about, and only Safari, Opera beta 10 and Chrome managed to reach the finish line, though Safari I must mention, was the first to fall in the hacking contest.

I really don't use IE browsers. Even in my Windows Mobile phone, I use Opera 9.5, not IE 6 which has the IE 8's java execution engine. IE 6 is just plain slow in rendering and script execution. IMO, Microsoft needs to change the way it does things.

Re: Computer Talk!!

SteelBird said:

IE8 has a released version now, right? When I tried its beta 2, I had to uninstall it after a few uses. It crashed all the time and many bugs. Currently, I use Firefox and Chrome. Firefox works well for me, while I use Chrome for surfing fun for its fast speed and ease of use. Maybe I'll try IE8 later. For now, too busy with my work.

Click to expand...

I use Firefox and Chrome as well. After noticing that Chrome was significantly faster I got hooked, though I do miss Adblock and the ability to download YouTube video. I'd expect Chrome to support add-ons as the product completes beta, though in a sense it's awkward because people like to block the ads that Google itself receives revenue from...

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I do use Firefox for some years now, and currently in it's latest version, and I never had any stability problems with it.
I also don't like IE or Chrome for that matter. It's very hard to add some features, esp. when Microsoft or Google don't want those because they block surveys or adds.

Re: Computer Talk!!

Now your are discussing something I understand..

I asked my wife not to use IE and use Firefox..She won't. So I think she downloaded IE 8 and last night our Norton was goffing up but we fixed that.

To my dear wife..STOP using IE!! ..pretty please!?

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I'm afraid you can't expect much from that! Every software has its users and supporters. Otherwise Microsoft should change its name to DoomedSoft. It's still the biggest software money maker. In short, among the browsers that I've used, Firefox is my favorite one.

Re: Computer Talk!!

Microsoft didn't get to their position with product excellence. They get to their position by muscling developers, suppliers and system integrators. Want to get Windows OEM for a lower price? Stop installing this and that on your PC. Like alternative operating systems, and browsers. Like packaging a different browser on your PC line rather than IE. That's why Microsoft got into trouble with antitrust from the Feds to the US, to the regulatory bodies in Europe. If it weren't for the lawsuits, nobody can bundle this and that with their Windows PC without Microsoft's approval. At the same time, Microsoft cannot do things like alter API behavior to break competitors products running in Windows, whether its iTunes, Open Office, AOL, or Firefox. Yes, the Feds watch Microsoft like a hawk for any antitrust behavior.

In truth, IE's share of the browser market is actually going down, although they still have a majority share.

Here is some latest news about how bonehead Microsoft is getting to be.

Right now, in the mobile tel business, everyone wants to do an App store on their own. Believe it or not, but Apple's App store alone gets like 165 new apps every day. So RIM wants to do an app store for their Blackberries, Google for their Google Phones and Microsoft for their Windows Mobile.

Apple charges $99 dollars if a developer hosts his application into the App store with unlimited upgrades. Google is trying to undercut Apple, like $75 dollars for hosting, with unlimited upgrades.

Microsoft? $99 dollars for hosting, with only 5 upgrades. That means if the developer upgrades his application after the fifth time, anymore than that, he has to pay.

Re: Computer Talk!!

Let me clarify that.

Apple Apps store. Terms are $99 per year per application, unlimited upgrades, 70% developer's take, 30% kept for hosting fees. If the application is free, Apple will host it free. (Don't know what the freeware terms for the other app stores are).

Google Apps store. Terms are $25 per year per application, unlimited upgrades, 70% developer's take, 30% for hosting fees.

RIM Apps store. Terms are $99 per year per application, unlimited upgrades, 80% developer's take, 20% for hosting fees.

Microsoft Apps store. Terms are $99 per year per application, 70% developer's take, 30% hosting fees. Each upgrade is considered a full application, but they have a promo for five upgrades free.

I have not figured out what Nokia's planned app store for Symbian is.

Microsoft is basically telling developers, screw you. That's going to hurt the user base for Windows Mobile, and it puts developers working on WM on a distinct disadvantage versus the other platforms.