>In fact, Google has effectively stopped publishing the breakdown percentage of which Android devices are running which version of Android entirely

I've found that Google's Android Stuidio app creator regularly provides an updated summary showing percent of devices running various versions of Android. Android Studio 4.0 was released in May 2020. Just go to create a new project in Android Studio and it shows you this summary:

Min Android Version Percent of Devices
4.1 Jelly Bean 99.80%
4.4 KitKat 98.10%
5.0 Lollipop 94.10%
6.0 Marshmallow 84.90%
7.0 Nougat 73.70%
8.0 Oreo 60.80%
9.0 Pie 39.50%
10 Android 10 8.20%

Agree on the up to $650. I went to the trade-in site and see an old Macbook A1181 trade-in is only $75. Of course that device was released in 2009.

We need to better address security implications before autonomous cars become mainstream. How do you stop someone from programming a car to drive to a destination and then explode? If the driver doesn't have to be in the car, that same single "driver" can continue to cause mayhem with multiple cars.

Plenty of people have people are already running Windows 10. Anyone can signup and download it for free: http://windows.microsoft.com/e...

I'm running it on this 2008 laptop right now. This box was previously running Windows 7 and was running slow after several years without a clean OS install. Windows 10 seems pretty snappy and is much more intuitive as a desktop OS than Windows 8.

A few features I like better than Windows 7 in my first 24 hours of usage:
*Improved task manager detail (looks like the Windows 8 version at a quick blush)
*Improved file transfer speed information (same as Windows 8)
*The start menu is back, and it's easy to add/remove items from the quick access list

Features I don't like as much:
*I can see bars of strength for my wifi connection but I haven't figured out how to easily see whether I'm connected via G, N, or AC and current Mbps settings of the connection
*The news application has potential, but is so slow starting up most people won't bother with it

The apps that almost every day release an update with no apparent change in functionality really get under my skin. I hate getting notified that there is a new update or a new version installed for special events the vendors have way too often. Those are the first ones to go for me.

Here's a summary of some of the most insightful discussions posted on slashdot when this discussion came up last week:

nVidia Issues:
*Proprietary drivers that don’t always survive kernel upgrades. So people who rely on nVidia's proprietary binary drivers can't always update their kernel or they lose their graphics until nVidia puts out an update. (from UnknowingFool) nVidia only provide a binary blob driver which makes bug fixing for it dependent on Nvidia's whims. (from AC)
*open source drivers – nVidia refuses to provide specs and API's for their hardware which make writing open drivers much more difficult and time-consuming because of having to reverse-engineer everything to get a workable driver. (from AC) As a result, open source drivers are unable to use full card functionality like full 3D acceleration (from UnknowingFool)

Summary of graphic chip vendor support (from Lonewolf666):
*AMD provides specifications and a small developer team that actually works on open source drivers.
*Intel provides open source drivers.
*NVIDIA makes good binary drivers, but those have problems when a new kernel version comes out with changed interfaces: Only NVIDIA can adapt them, and until they get around to it, NVIDIA may not work with the latest kernel version.

From rajafarian: If the kernel maintainers have a question about the hardware, they can't ask NVIDIA they have to test and reverse engineer to find the answer whereas with other companies, they may get an answer directly from the manufacturer. Get it? "...NVIDIA just made the damn drivers. Now that is not good enough." Not from a kernel maintainer's or Stallman's point of view, I'm pretty sure.

From jmorris42 : Name another major chip vendor who hasn't figured out that getting into the Linux kernel is a required checkoff for market success. Doubly so for any product used in the enterprise vs the fanboi market. NVidia's CUDA is about the entire list these days, the last major holdout.

From basscomm: Windows users who have SLI and multiple monitors have been able to enable SLI and use both of their monitors at the same time since about 2008. But under Linux, no dice. So if I had two monitors (which I do), and two Nvidia GPUs in SLI mode (which I do), and I wanted to run some 3D app that took advantage of SLI, I would have to: reconfigure X to disable my second monitor and enable SLI, restart X, play the game/use the app I wanted, when I was done I would have to reconfigure X again to enable my second monitor and disable SLI, restart X again, and reopen all my apps. Hardly ideal.

Given all of this discussion, here are a few ways nVidia could work better with the community:
*Open Source drivers - 1) provide specs 2) provide developer team that works on the OS drivers 3) provide rep to interface with the OS community 4) provide enough detail to get 3D working well
*Proprietary drivers - 1) monitor upcoming kernel builds and proactively update drivers before the next kernel release or 2) have a dedicated nVidia contact to work on updating drivers ASAP when notified that an upcoming kernel build breaks them
*Overall - enhannce SLI and multiple monitor support,

The only problem here is that most large companies won't actually pay an invoice to an entity (company) that isn't somehow a "registered vendor" or whatever label they decide to stick on the "account". And don't think it will be a slam dunk for small claims either, the court would likely side with company in the fact that you can't just go invoicing a company because you feel like they owe you money (even if you do). Normally an invoice is related to some form of contract (verbal, written, whatever) and without that, well, good luck.

If you are lucky, they will send you back the requisite paper work to become a registered vendor. More likely they will ignore the invoice.

This would be a crown jewel in the Wii Homebrew scene. Not that there aren't plenty of amazing titles already there - this game was [unintentionally] designed to be played with a nunchuck and wiimote.

Some of the nicer boards will tolerate ECC memory being inserted, but won't actually do any meaningful error correction (like scrubbing) - but a disturbingly large number of consumer boards (BIOS limitation perhaps?) don't actually do ANYTHING with ECC memory, and the really cheap ones won't even boot with it present. I used to have the same mindset of purchasing only ECC RAM for the same reason - but the unfortunate truth is that hardware support for it just isn't there without spending $$$ on a decent board too.

It isn't simply about cost - though I understand that is the specific issue you are trying to address:

Try sending a letter or small package through the USPS, UPS, and FedEx (and DHL and a local courier service for good measure)
- See which one was more cost effective
- See which one was fastest (or slowest)
- Which offered the best service (up to date tracking, delivery confirmation + signature, etc.)
- Sends thousands of parcels and see which was the most reliable with fewest lost/late arrivals
- See how the service varies by region, distance traveled, etc...

There are a lot of variables, and while cost is certainly and important one - it isn't the only one.

They still use flash unfortunately, but as you describe - it isn't ActiveX Flash for IE, it is the "plugin" version for Firefox/Chrome. It only reared its ugly head in a couple of places for me - specifically the game details / videos and one or two animated marketing things.

The marketing things could easily be addressed in HTML - they are all just sliding/fading/hovering type effects.

The video could be easily addressed using the tag, though the whole h.264 patent nonsense may scare them off from actually doing that.

This is a beta, I am hopeful that they will address these concerns. I am very happy with the new interface personally.