The update HAS come from the OS vendor in the form of a point release. This isn't a case of not supporting windows XP. It's a case of complaining that you want a specific patch without installing a service pack.

The OS vendor has done their bit.

My device (Galaxy series) shipped with 4.2. I got an update to 4.3, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, and 4.4.4 with a promise that 5.0 is in the works.

And this is Samsung who are apparently bad at this.

You need to pick your vendors a bit more carefully if updates are what you care about.

Except when did Microsoft end support for Windows XP without a service pack?

Seriously 4.3 to 4.4 can be largely considered just like a service pack. A few new features, plenty of bug fixes and clearly some security issues were fixed too. Ever try and install Windows XP and apply all sorts of updates without a service pack? The updates refuse to work saying you need SP1.

This is no different except that in the PC world it would be like Dell preventing you from installing Service Pack 1.

I ask, what's the difference between Windows XP Service Pack 1 and the a point release upgrade for Android?

Looks like they fixed the bug in 4.3 by releasing 4.4. The fact that you can't get it ... well that is something to take up with the device vendor, and I'm sure you wouldn't be blaming Linus if Dell was blocking an upgrade of a point release for the Linux Kernel.

So Microsoft released a service pack for windows and Dell prevented you from installing it, do you attack Microsoft or Dell?

Google gets a nice pass because they are not requesting the end user to pay money, because they have systems in place for updates, because they fixed the problem along with providing some new features just like a service pack does all while providing a point release in version number.

The problem is solved from Google's end. They've even put systems in place so in the future they can resolve it without doing a point upgrade on Android. The problem now is that some asshats in the middle are preventing the updates from filtering down to the users.

Lame excuses like what? They have provided an update, the update changes the API somewhat. The bug is fixed and developers and vendors don't want to fix their end of the system, and now it's all Google's fault?

I'm not entirely sure who you're blaming for what.

Except it's not just the browser. Webview is used by MANY applications for various reasons. The attack surface is actually quite large.

They have fixed that, they have been fixing that for a while now. Best of all the more core components they move from the OS to the Play Store so they can control the upgrade path the more developers and open source fanatics moan something about evil and monopoly.

Except for the MANY Android applications which use Webview.

This isn't about a browser, it's about a rendering engine within the OS.

The driver model isn't changing appreciably between versions. This is why Cyanogen is capable of cranking out new versions of android for a lot of devices within a few days of release, it is why they can move binary blobs from one device to another without major hassles.

Blaming this on drivers is not the right approach. The fault lies squarely at the feet of the vendors who refuse to push updates because they are too interested in crapping out yet more phones instead of supporting the ones they have on the market.

Ahh yes a classic internet toughguy. When was the last time you were served a US federal warrant by a US judge to hand over data stored by a US company in the US about a customer who doesn't pay you anything at all, and then decide to "fight it".

I'm guessing never since we don't get many brave slashdot ACs posting from prison.

You know when i first heard I was going to china that's the first site I went to. I ended up clicking on the second of his recommended links. That provider gives some 18 different chinese dedicated VPN servers which they bounce through various cdns, and provide a further 18 others. On their knowledge base and using their own dedicated vpn software they say in order of preference to try OpenVPN on TCP 443, UDP, and lastly L2TP.

My own experience when I first got here L2TP didn't work at all. Not to this VPN, not to my home network. PPTP worked sporadically to this VPN, and seemed to work consistently to my home. OpenVPN worked reliably with the exception that they detect the network and reset it occasionally (like every 2 hours, but auto-reconnection in the client takes care of that). It's really only been the past 3 days I have had any issue with OpenVPN and found that L2TP has worked at all.

You found links claiming otherwise? Great. Thanks for sharing, the information may come in handy. But right now I can only offer you what I have been experiencing the past month.

- Connected to a server in Seattle on OpenVPN TCP port 8333

Oh.

Well honestly I didn't think it was going to happen anyway :-)

Interesting assertion. The number of 3D players is on the rise, the number of 3D TVs is on the rise and the number of content in 3D is on the rise. What a colossal failure.

You don't need to provide a value proposition to the user at all. You just need to bundle, market or provide no alternative. For example do you know anyone who actually subscribes to cable TV solely to get shopping channels? Of course not. Yet the number of people who effectively pay money to have shopping channels on their TV are in the millions.

TL;DR

Twitter is not about a thesis on your life. It's about a quick thought.