Posts by El Scotto

Is Facebook worth more than Google?

Ah, the amusement that comes from Op-Ed pieces...

$1 Trillion? Really? I'm not sure Microsoft's peak value combined with Apple's could quite reach that figure. And this is one of the more poorly informed Op-Ed pieces I've seen in a while. Makes me feel like an expert for some of the commentary I've done on podcasts.

Among other things, there is a developing watershed moment with social networking sites. In April alone, Facebook lost over 6 million users. They didn't even have Google+ to blame for it. They just up and left.

And to claim Google as being a peer to Facebook is preposterous and entirely out of bounds. Facebook and Google+ do clearly compete. But, that's pretty much where the comparison stops. Past that, Facebook requires you have an external email address to create an account; Google GIVES you one. Facebook displays your geographical location with "check in" by way of Bing; Google made their own map and location system. The comparison braking could go on and on.

While, Facebook is worth a large amount of money, it's very conditional. It is dependent upon subscriber uptake and retention. And within that, it's dependent upon those subscribers clicking ads. And a lot of us are using software to block ads and behavioural marketing tracking apps and the like. To that end, Facebook will continue to incrementally lose it's hypothetical value. And as that carries on, it will continue to lose real-world valuation.

In the end, it is extraordinarily unlikely that Facebook has or ever will reach as high a value as the author of this article seems to think.

Linus Torvalds doesn't hate the Googlephone

Forking off

So, where's the part where Linus specifically digs on Google's fork of Linux? Or was that second header just a meager attempt to tie back to the previous article about Google's code being flushed out of the main Linux kernel?

All I see here is the man digging on some added functionality and interface philosophy. Granted, Linus is a little fickle and does favor Linux-based iterations of things that may have already been done on other platforms. But, there's nothing particularly G-Fork about his fascination. It's not like he commented on how solid or worthy their code was.

Steve Jobs rescues freetards from BBC iPlayer wilderness (for now)

What about the poor bastards running Amiga? O, the outrage!

Perhaps I've missed an extra point or two, here... It is 2:30am, here in the states, after all. But, I seem to recall installing the h.264 codec on Kubuntu64. And I've run some MP4 files on here. To that end, why all the whining?

Furthermore, considering the typical self-styled outsider stance of the Linux community, why the shock and overwrought indignation that the 3rd most popular OS among consumers is being prioritized as exactly that? You seem to forget you're dealing with an entity that survives by appealing to demographics. Thinking outside the windowpane does have disadvantages.

Finally, on the offence taken at the nebulous 2 year timeline for a linux version... When did Linux users actually expect shit to be made for them by anyone other than themselves? I sure as hell don't. And when the HELL did they conceive that their small numbers are socially irrelevant to their choice to snub the vastly more embraced behemoth? I've been waiting and waiting to see someone lend some gravity and momentum to this OS, so as to break the stagnation of duelling distros. But, until such time as one definitive, superior flavor of Linux emerges (pun somewhat intended), any public entity looking to appease the growing masses of penguinistas has to identify the best, most distributable installation format. So, what's the best one to go with? .deb? What about rpms? Ooooo, wait. I've got it! E-builds... No. Wait... Oh, hell. None of them are universal across all distros of Linux. Binary? 'Cause I'm sure all the users out there are that damn good...

Now, I know it's not THAT damn hard to make installer variations from decent source code. But, that says nothing of creating universal code that can comply with all versions of Linux out there. It's also likely to take them a while because nobody is that good at writing shit for Linux except other Linux users. And that's because most coders, especially ones getting paid public salaries, probably stopped learning somewhere in the vicinity of Visual Basic. Most colleges stateside still defer to Windows 2000 for IT training. Taking that into consideration, what damn distro of Linux should any college teach for development? For IT, that question is less than a challenge. But, for programming, there's no clear choice. It's not unlike arguing for a school uniform, but falling into debate over the shirt: arrow collar, tabbed or oxford button-down. All the while, the process has been halted until something shakes out... Think of what effect this phenomenon has on outsiders.

Intel walks out of OLPC project

I don't know what Intel expected.

They're late to the party and offering computer bits that are already covered by other members. Retooling right now is not going to happen and there isn't going to be a set of second tier specs, either. So, their presence was largely a waste of time for all parties involved and largely redundant to boot.

Macworld invites kiddies to 'Make Bouncy Bouncy'

Evidently, Mac developers don't know Monty Python...

The Hungarian to English Dictionary sketch?

"Would you like to come up to my room..? Bouncy bouncy!"