* Posts by RipRagged

3 publicly visible posts • joined 28 Nov 2008

Hanging's too good for 'em - so what do you suggest?

RipRagged

Quite Simple

First of all, we should make all inmates earn any luxury beyond bare subsistence - bare walls, a flat, horizontal surface to sleep on, and unadorned nutrition. Physical work. The kind that is currently done by illegal immigrants. Ten prisoners competing for five steak dinners.

Make those who have committed capital crimes earn the right to earn luxuries. Have them do jobs the other inmates find distasteful. Have them clean the other inmates' toilets.

Note: We need to stop putting people in prison for smoking pot. That's just stupid.

Beatles on iTunes? 'Don't hold your breath' says Yoko

RipRagged

Meh.

I have all The Beatles songs I want, ripped from CDs already in my iTunes library. Everyone who considers The Beatles worth the effort already has the whole catalog on their hard drives and iPods.

All this bickering is going to do is ensure that the Beatles become less and less relevant. Also, it will pretty much guarantee that Paul, Ringo, Yoko and Mrs. Harrison miss out on tons of money while the songs are downloaded for free from the torrents. Steve Jobs and Apple lose nothing except the cachet of selling 40+ year-old music from a defunct band whose former members and members widows are taking themselves far too seriously.

Sons of Macintosh - shaking the Apple family tree

RipRagged

Sons of Macintosh

Rik,

I've been reading your work since MacUser days. As a general thing, I agree with your observations a majority of the time. This time, however, it looks like you have an odd standard against which you've rated all things Apple. Your take on the iPhone was particularly harsh.

I agree the iPhone is not perfect. Nothing ever is. It is, however, the best phone there is for the demographic it is aimed at. Non-geeks.

There are lots of people out there who have never typed a line of code, not even so much as the command (*70, ) to turn off call waiting in the dialup number. Those folks only know what they're getting, not what they're missing; when we (old geeks) explain what they're missing they just look at us hoping for an English translation.

There are more of them than there are of us. The day of the geek as the dominant force in digital electronics is over. Nobody buys magazines anymore with a Basic Program for a spinning, multicolor beachball in the back.

The iPhone – measured against the standard of "reality," meaning, "the marketplace," – really is the Alpha and Zulu of smartphones. You can measure it by the following metrics:

Name a device against which every smartphone is measured. (hint: it isn't Centro or Pearl).

Find articles for Storm Killer, N95 Killer, Android Killer. There might be a few. Now look up "iPhone Killer." No contest.

Peace,

Rip.