Posts by Darren Mansell 17 publicly visible posts • joined 21 Dec 2007
Something has to give. These devices are more powerful than many laptops from 3 years ago yet you wouldn't have expected them to last all day.
If you have a normal usage pattern for the phones, they're fine with 1 charge a day. You go home, plug it in overnight and you will get a whole day tomorrow.
I use powermanager and get about 3 days from my Dream (G1) with normal use.
TBH, it's not the fact that it was IE that shocked, it's that people in Google are using Windows. I really don't see any need for them to be using it at all? They won't be using Exchange and I doubt they have their whole documentation library in Word format with lots of dodgy macros so why wouldn't they all be using something like Ubuntu?
It's essential for web browsing on a touchscreen. To accurately tap links on the screen without one you have to zoom right in, then you can still press the wrong one and end up paying twice for things or canceling an order or something. With the trackball you can zoom around the page straight to links and press it in to select. Again something the iPhone doesn't have which is overlooked in reviews, but is a definite requirement. Being able to finger-gesture your way zooming in and out helps a bit but without that you need absolutely need a trackball.
@ Richard Drysdall : The video is actually fine and is as good as can be expected. Just something else this review has wrong.
The slide-out keyboard is the best thing about an Android phone. T-Mobile pushed cupcake out to the G1 this morning so I've had a play with the on-screen keyboard and it's very similar to the iPhone. If I had to use it to write every email and text I would go insane. I'll keep my G1 (Dream) thanks.
I'm amazed by the amount of people who keep saying "I'm waiting for the HTC Magic" when they see my HTC Dream AKA G1. The 1 major feature that puts the G1 ahead of an iPhone is the keyboard. They keyboard is absolutely invaluable. I see iPhone users struggling to type emails, URLs, texts etc. where I just slide out my keyboard and type at almost normal speed.
Without this Android has to compete with the iPhone on features and UI. The features of the Dream are better in my opinion, but the interface isn't quite as polished. So now all prospective users will see is 2 phones with on-screen keyboards, about the same features but one is trendy and all their mates have one. What are they gonna choose?
There's a lot less kernel compiling going on these days, but can some explain why, exactly, I can not install a module compiled for 2.6.18 on 2.6.20? Is the architecture that different? It's a point release for god's sake.
-- You can. Ubuntu now ships DKMS by default and as long as the modules are built as DKMS modules (which they soon all will be) then different versions will work fine.
VMWare (and anyone else that needs to provide a kernel module) should be able to provide a 2.4.x module, a 2.6.x module and that's that - but they can't, which is the fault of Linux. Granny doesn't know where her kernel headers are, and she shouldn't have to.
-- It's the fault of Linux but it can be no other way. It ensures the kernel remains high quality. Look at what happens when binary blobs for graphics cards that we have no control over get loaded.
But to be fair using Ubuntu as an example, to install vmware server you need to install the build-essential package and then run sudo ./vmware-install.pl. Press enter about 10 times and it's installed, including compiling the modules. If vmware were providing a package for Ubuntu (which they did for a while, you could just install it from add/remove programs) then they could easily put a front end GUI on the installer, install the build-essential package and hide the nasty module compilation away from the user.
By Neil Posted Friday 10th October 2008 07:30 GMT
reasons Linux isn't suitable for *me* yet:
Outlook
Exchange
Active Directory
It's not windows itself that stops me from switching full time, it's the functionality that's available to me in an understandable and accessible way. God knows Windows is flawed, and Linux has the potential to destroy it, but these 3 things are what keep me with Windows
----------------------------------------------
I'm in a Microsoft centred company here and I use a Kubuntu desktop. Most other people are using Outlook to connect to the Exchange server but I use Evolution and I find it works much better. (Better performance, nicer features, nicer feel). I can log onto the domain if I want to using likewise (packaged into (K)ubuntu) but I prefer to just use static CIFS mounts on my machine or browse using smb://netbiosname/share in Dolphin and entering domain\username to access them.
The only problem I encounter is OpenOffice.org 2.4 sometimes can't correctly format some word docs. But I quietly laugh when Windows users send docs to other Windows users in .docx format and argue about not being able to open it. I open it for them and send it back in .doc :)
> I'm going to get shot at I'm sure and that's fine.
No shooting I promise :)
>My experience, which is about thirty people, was an overwhelming rejection of >Linux as their desktop OS. The major cause was not being able to play a DVD >movie immediately after installation. I'm sure this is a minor point to many Linux >devotees but this is what happened to me. Once I showed them the repositories >and how to get to them and the two or three programs that had to be installed >and the codecs that were needed I just got blank stares. More than once I was >asked why the capability wasn't preinstalled. It may be in Ubuntu 8.04; I stopped >at 7.10. A few even asked where were the .exe files. Some even read the >"warning" messages when installing the files to play DVD movies and asked >would they be doing anything illegal! It was a surreal experience to say the least.
I had an interesting experience similar to that while trying to play a DVD in Windows. I installed Windows XP, put a DVD in and nothing happened. After I researched it I found out apparently I had to pay for some software to play DVD's. What kind of operating system is this?! It won't open Word documents either, I thought they were Microsofts own format?
While searching I found out that apparently in Ubuntu you have to just click add/remove programs and tick VLC to play DVD's. Still, at least if you buy a Linux computer from Dell you won't even have to do that.
>I had the exact same experience when certain web sites "didn't work right". Java >and various video players had to be installed separately. And again I was asked >why do we have to do that? Why isn't it included? They may be in some distros, >but you have to pick just one to demo.
Yep I can see how having to click add/remove then tick Java may be confusing. Flash just installs on mine the first time it hits a page that needs flash. If I try and play a video file that needs a codec I don't have installed it pops a window up asking if I want to install it, I say yes and they video starts playing.
>But the point is this. I learned that even the people I knew to be very intelligent >weren't willing to work to learn a product even though it was safer, cheaper, >faster, and etc. To a person they simply didn't want to venture outside their >comfort zone of Windows. I know, I know, "Windows" and "comfort" seem to be >at odds with each other. But the people I introduced Linux to simply wanted a >computer that ran well, was a known, and was relatively inexpensive. Please >note the term "relatively". The fact that Linux was a no cost OS was not a factor. >They wanted XP; Apple was never mentioned by anybody.
Exactly. Its not the ease of use or the difficulty using one system or another, its just outside peoples comfort zone. They can be encouraged for a while until they hit a snag like 'My phone software won't install' then panic.
>So what did I do? Using the retail license of those systems needing rebuilding I >installed a slipstreamed retail XP SP3. I installed Comodo Pro free firewall, free >antivirus, the ShieldsUp free programs from grc.com, anti-malware programs >and started the Windows update process. My deal was I'd set up XP for the few >that needed it if they allowed me to demo Ubuntu. which I did by the way as a >group and not separately.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you look after Windows computers you have to endure hours of trying to clear all manner of crap off it once it hits the Internet. (Cue 'I've used Windows for years and never got a virus or spyware bleat bleat')
>Maybe my tact was all wrong, but calling on my teaching degree and >experience, I think I did a pretty good job. It's kind of like the old saying, "The >operation was a success, but the patient died".
Linux (I'm referring to Ubuntu mainly) isn't perfect but all things equal its a lot easier than Windows. Any problems people have using it are down to incorrect expectations or their misfortunate choice of hardware. Its currently perfect for `Grandma` or an IT expert. The self-confessed pseudo-experts with Windows knowledge really aren't going to get on with it though.
Curtis Wong, manager of Microsoft's Next Media Research Group, joined the love-in with: "WorldWide Telescope brings to life a dream that many of us in Microsoft Research have pursued for years, and we are proud to release this as a free service to anyone who wants to explore the universe.
I want to explore the universe but I don't want to pay for Windows. How can I use this?
Long ago I had the pleasure of using a Nokia 6210 as my main mobile for a couple of years then decided to have a look at what Sony Ericsson offered. I chose the T68i and regretted it every day until I could get rid of the nasty piece of crap. I couldn't get another Nokia quick enough.
Since then I've only used Nokia phones and I have been getting progressively more frustrated with them until I recently decided to take another look at Sony Ericsson with this phone. Its a breath of fresh air and made me realise how bad the current Nokia phones are.
I completely agree with all of this review, pretty much got it spot on. The motion sensing is actually very good and surprisingly accurate. Its a great party trick to give the phone to someone and ask them to try and play Marble Madness 3d then watch as they finally figure out they have to move the phone like a table.
Really nice phone.
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