Comment Re:No, it's $594 if you are in Europe (Score 2, Informative) 219
FWIW, the word is that the "shipping" charge also includes customs duties and taxes.
Comment Re:When will it become *our* phones? (Score 3, Interesting) 176
there's no sign yet of a phone that is completely hackable by the end user
If you're referring to the ability to replace the firmware, that is definitely a disappointment. However, that's between HTC and T-Mobile. With Android published under the Apache License 2.0, there's not much anyone can do to force HTC and T-Mobile to allow self-signed firmware. My hope, though, is that some of these non-carrier devices, like the one cited in the OP, will allow replacement firmware. Only time will tell.
The docs are out there, such as The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development.
Thanks for the shout-out!
so we could see a utopia of community-driven apps, but it seems like Google is uninterested in the end user's extendibility of the platform, which was supposedly it's raison d'etre.
On the apps front, I suspect part of the hang-up is that the Android Market — the closest counterpart to the iPhone App Store — is only supporting free apps right now. Vendors interested in turning a buck (or yen or euro or whatever) either need to use one of the other markets or wait for the Android Market to start supporting paid-for apps. That's reputedly coming in Q1.
Even given that, the Android Market has a fair number of apps there. I don't remember the release rates for the iPhone apps when its SDK was released, but I'd be a bit surprised if Android is dramatically off the pace. Yes, many of the apps are trivial (umpteen tip calculators, flashlights, etc.), but it's not like every iPhone or WinMo app is a blockbuster. Considering hardware has been available for 5-6 weeks, I'm relatively pleased with the response to date, for what my opinion is worth.
Comment Re:Differences with vendors, Java, BREW (Score 2, Interesting) 119
As my sig notes, I'm somewhat biased on this topic, but I still think you're taking a narrow, short-term view of what the iPhone is.
Yup. Android still has the same problems that drove my company away from mobile development for years.
iPhone will have most of those same problems too. Just a bit more slowly.
Sure there's only one Android phone now, but a year from now...
Sure, there's only two iPhones now, plus an iPod Touch or two, but a year from now...
Do you honestly expect Apple will forevermore keep the same resolution, aspect ratio, RAM, CPU speed, system events, input methods, and whatnot that they have today? I think Apple is going to keep innovating, and that means new devices with new characteristics, characteristics that will differ from the current iPhone and will need to be taken into account by developers.
If Apple changes specs with future iPhone models, you will need to either support only a subset of iPhone models, or you will need to make sure your applications work well across all relevant iPhone models. No different from the scenarios you were just kvetching about.
Android will have a far wider range of device characteristics far sooner, because there are several manufacturers and carriers involved, let alone the possibility of more homebrew efforts like porting it to existing devices. But it's not like iPhone will be immune from this. If it is, then iPhone is toast in a decade.
Submission + - `Public' online spaces don't carry speech, rights
mikesd81 writes: "The Associated Press writes about a Dutch photographer, Maarten Dors, who had this picture deleted by flickr. Without prior notice, Yahoo deleted the photo on grounds it violated an unwritten ban on depicting children smoking. While Dors' eventually got the photo restored, after the second time it was deleted, this underscores another consequence of having online commons controlled by private corporations. Rules aren't always clear, enforcement is inconsistent, and users can find content removed or accounts terminated without a hearing. Appeals are solely at the service provider's discretion. Users get caught in the crossfire as hundreds of individual service representatives apply their own interpretations of corporate policies, sometimes imposing personal agendas or misreading guidelines. First Amendment protections generally do not extend to private property in the physical world, allowing a shopping mall to legally kick out a customer wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a smoking child."
Submission + - Nick Hornby writes off eBooks (pcpro.co.uk) 2
Barence writes: "Author Nick Hornby has launched a stinging attack on eBook readers, claiming they are so expensive that even multi-millionaire stars don't want them. "A member of staff at Borders told me that he attempted to persuade a young and famous comedian to buy an Iliad last week. He seemed interested, until he was told the price, at which point he swore loudly and walked away. So at the moment, they are priced too high for millionaire showbusiness entertainers.""
Submission + - Duluth paper terms anti-RIAA decision "admirab (blogspot.com) 1
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The Duluth News Tribune has devoted the entire front page of its Sunday Metro section to the new proceedings in Capitol v. Thomas. The paper termed Judge Davis's May 15th decision, indicating that he may have committed a 'manifest error of law' both 'extraordinary' and 'admirable'. It also mentioned something none of the legal briefs have mentioned, which is that the Atlantic v. Howell decision upon which the RIAA relied at the trial had been vacated 5 days before the trial, not months after the trial as Judge Davis has seemingly assumed. Commentaries from RIAA spokesperson Cara Duckworth, from NYCL, and from Jammie Thomas herself, also appeared on the page."
Submission + - Supplies of rare earth elements exhaused by 2017
tomhudson writes: "While we bemoan the current oil crisis, this editorial led me to research about a more immediate threat. Ramped-up production of flat-panel displays means the material to make them, as well as other electronics, will be "extinct" by 2017.
The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany's University of Augsburg. He estimates that our planet's stock of indium will last no more than another decade. All the hafnium will be gone by 2017 also, and another twenty years will see the extinction of zinc. Even copper is an endangered item, since worldwide demand for it is likely to exceed available supplies by the end of the present century.
More links here."
Submission + - US Has Spent 400 Million on Iranian War Already
copponex writes: Looks like we're at it again: the New Yorker reports that President Bush sought and received 400 million dollars for covert operations against Iran last year. And if that's not enough deja vu for you, they have rejected the findings from US intelligence that claims Iran has halted their nuclear weapons programs. The last commander of CENTCOM, Admiral William Fallon, resigned under pressure after publicly denouncing a possible attack on Iran, and it looks like the only group of people dumb enough to continue with a full scale assault are within the White House itself — against the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intelligence community, and even their new Secretary of Defense.
Submission + - Law v. Public Policy: Which degree for a /.er?
An anonymous reader writes: I'm an aspiring /.er interested in public policy, particularly as it applies to technology and communications. I think I'd like to work at an agency like the FCC or FTC, or perhaps a non-governmental organization like the Center for Democracy and Technology. I'm trying to decide whether to pursue a law degree, or a master's degree in public affairs or public policy. What advice can the /. community offer as to which degree would be more valuable given my interests and ambitions?
Submission + - North Pole May Be Ice Free This Summer (nationalgeographic.com)
caffeinated seattlelite writes: ""Arctic warming has become so dramatic that the North Pole may melt this summer, report scientists studying the effects of climate change in the field. "We're actually projecting this year that the North Pole may be free of ice for the first time [in history]," David Barber, of the University of Manitoba, told National Geographic News aboard the C.C.G.S. Amundsen, a Canadian research icebreaker.""
Submission + - EU proposes government regulation of blogs (europa.eu)
denoir writes: The European Parliament will in September vote for a law that will in effect mean that blogs will have to be registered with and approved by the government. MEP Marianne Mikko, who drafted the proposal says that "I think the public is still very trusting towards blogs, it is still seen as sincere. And it should remain sincere. For that we need a quality mark, a disclosure of who is really writing and why." Another part of the proposal is a forced "right to reply" for which the comment system of blogs is deemed to be insufficient. The law proposal also seeks to regulate private ownership of media ranging from TV stations and newspapers to blogs.
While it is too early to say if the law will pass in its current form, it is a real possibility. Will the US again become "the land of the free" — not by improving its laws and practices but simply by Europe and the rest of the world introducing even worse laws?
While it is too early to say if the law will pass in its current form, it is a real possibility. Will the US again become "the land of the free" — not by improving its laws and practices but simply by Europe and the rest of the world introducing even worse laws?
Submission + - Follow up report on hearing on laptop searches (nextgov.com)
StuckeyItToMe writes: Privacy analysts told a Senate panel on Wednesday that while random laptop searches at U.S. borders is legal, the practice of downloading data or seizing computers poses serious privacy violation.
At a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, privacy advocates said U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the legal authority to randomly search the laptops of travelers returning to the United States from a foreign country. The practice has helped prevent crimes such as terrorism and trade in child pornography, they said.
"It's a grave mistake to create any technology as a sanctuary, or to impede [Customs'] ability to search any technology," said James Carafano, assistant director of the Davis Institute for International Studies at the Heritage Foundation. Carafano, who testified before the subcommittee, said random searches were a critical element to prevent potential terrorists and criminals from recognizing a pattern and circumventing the search process.
Submission + - Apple's SproutCore, OSS Javascript-based Web Apps (appleinsider.com)
99BottlesOfBeerInMyF writes: AppleInsider published an article about Apple's new SproutCore Web application development framework, utilizing Javascript and some nifty HTML 5 to create a "cocoa-inspired" way to create powerful Web applications. Apparently Apple built upon the OSS SproutIt framework developed for an online e-mail manager called 'Mailroom'.
Apple used this framework to build their new Web application suite (replacing .Mac) called MobileMe. Since SproutCore applications rely upon JavaScript, it seems Apple had good reason to focus on Squirrelfish for faster JavaScript interpretation in Webkit. Apple, reportedly, hosted a session last Friday at WWDC introducing SpoutCore to developers, but obviously NDAs prevent developers from revealing the details of that presentation. Perhaps Apple is getting serious about Web applications and services or perhaps they're just worried about the Web becoming even more proprietary as Silverlight and Flash battle it out to make the Web application market built upon one proprietary format or another. Either way, this is a potential alternative, which should make the OSS crowd happy.
Apple used this framework to build their new Web application suite (replacing
Submission + - DoJ Requires Verizon to Divest for Merger (infoworld.com)
snydeq writes: "The Department of Justice will require Verizon to sell off portions of Unicel's mobile network in order to complete its $2.7 billion acquisition of the company. The DoJ will require Verizon to sell off Unicel's mobile phone infrastructure in six geographic areas in Vermont, New York state and Washington state, including Burlington, Vermont, the agency said. The acquisition, as proposed, would have "substantially lessened competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services in those areas, potentially resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced network investments," the DoJ said . The ruling comes less than a week after Verizon announced its acquisition of Alltel for $28 billion."
Submission + - What happened to steganography software? 1
Matthai writes: I was looking for some good steganography tools, and it seems many websites hosting this software have just dead links or development of steganography tools never got finished.
So my question is — do you know for any good and free steganography software for Linux, Windows or Mac platform available today?
So my question is — do you know for any good and free steganography software for Linux, Windows or Mac platform available today?
