Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Biotech

First Halophile Potatoes Harvested 117

Razgorov Prikazka writes "A Dutch-based company from Groningen is trying to create a potato race that is able to survive in a saline environment. The first test-batch was just harvested (English translation of Dutch original) on the island Texel and seem to be in good shape. The company states that rising sea-levels will create a demand for halophile crops. I do wonder if one still has to put salt on ones potatoes when they are grown in salt water."

Comment Re:They'd better do it soon (Score 1) 568

There is a major problem with the way other handset makers are doing it. For example look at the EVO. They included a front facing camera but didn't provide a useful way to use it. They just tack stuff on and leave it to the app developers to use it. This is why Apple "just works", they make their features effortlessly useable.

Comment Re:ya a a awn (Score 1) 285

Most places that rate these things don't go by simply using user surveys. They look at number of calls to call centers, how easy the call center is to navigate, how well the call centers diagnose problems, and several other factors. One thing that really helps Apple is the retail locations. I've been able to get same day service at an Apple store after running into an issue.

Comment Re:OUseless without an unlimited data plan (Score 1) 190

I'm not so sure. Apple just recently posted a ton of HTML 5 demos on there website. One of the key features is "all of the text is HTML, so it is searchable and accessible". There is at least once a week that I am pissed that a flash page has broken scrolling, unselectable text, or unsearchable text. I'm sure those depending on Google adwords (and soon iAds) will like that feature.

Comment Re:Apple is Evil (Score 1) 252

High resale is a huge point. I've known dozens of people that bought an Apple after seeing a friend sell an Apple that was a year or two old. If it is in good condition you can almost always get over 50% of what you paid for it. On the other hand I have had Toshiba, HP, and Dell laptops I couldn't get practically anything for (one I even gave away to get rid of it). I've NEVER been able to sell a used desktop. I've seen friends sell iMacs, iBooks, MacBooks, and PowerMacs for a good chuck of money - some even completely paid for a refurbished machine that replaced it.

Comment Re:surprising? (Score 1) 668

They don't sell to teenagers. They sell to teenager's parents and let them set up monthly limits on purchases from the iTunes store. I still think until someone makes something similar to iTunes it will be a while before the iPhone is way behind (not in the least because users don't update on their own - unless you push updates like Palm or nag users when they sync like Apple your average Joe will not flash his/her device to the latest Android version).

Comment Re:surprising? (Score 1) 668

I think you are a little bit off target. They don't want to be a luxury brand, but they want to sell to people with disposable income. They want someone who is willing to buy midgrade fuel and a fuel additive every know and then. I think the problem is there is an overlap of the affluent and trendsetters/fashion, and the iPhone's success is at appearing premium is due to these people - not due to Apple (if you are looking to stand out or have a phone out of reach to the average plebe the N900 would be a better choice).

Comment Re:After a month of daily use... (Score 1) 911

Just because something is capable of something doesn't mean it is good at it. My Netbook is capable of running Photoshop, but I would rather be stabbed with a dull knife. For downloading I have no idea where I can download and install Office, Quicken, or TurboTax legally. And sleep is not instant on. Hibernate is closer, but still not there. I have had countless times I've gone to boot a Netbook or Laptop that I left in sleep for a week only to find the battery had completely drained. I have yet to find a Netbook with a 10 hour battery life (and idling on the lowest brightness while muted with WiFi turned off doesn't count). My friend's iPad gets close to 10 hours watching movies streamed over WiFi. I would much rather surf the web on an iPad. There are several things I would say an iPad does better. The current generation isn't for me, but it is a pretty neat device.

Slashdot Top Deals

Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip around the Sun.

Working...