Posts by PrivateCitizen 180 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Apr 2010
@Philip Lewis:
Good points but:
Previously, Nokia was very big in many languages most Americans cannot even spell, and which constitute substantial markets.
Not substantial enough to save Nokia.
The non-English language market is almost certainly bigger than the English language market, but for some reason people the world over still want access to the AppStore and Google Play (and as far as I can tell, both support non-English languages..)
If you talk to average non technical people, you'll find you're mistaken. The article is correct, most people don't really know what "Android" is, they are buying a Samsung phone, not Android.
I think this is only partly correct.
I agree that most people (probably even most technical minded people) arent looking for an Android device first, they are looking for a device they like the look of, they like using and is at a price they are willing to pay. This sort of explains why Samsung is (currently) demolishing the competition from other Android manufacturers.
However, people are going for the Galaxy brand rather than (for example) Wave, which means the OS must have some impact over and above the Samsung brand.
This could be how the OS works, it could be how the OS looks, or more likely it is about what the OS provides in the way of apps and stuff. There is no reason to assume that this would transfer equally to a different OS - and given that one of the remaining arguments for iOS is the sheer volume of its AppStore, going to an OS with a much more niche app selection would be a very bizarre move for Samsung (minimal gain potential, massive loss potential).
Realistically, there is no strong motivation for Samsung to move to cut google out. Samsung is not a software development brand, its strength lies very much elsewhere and the costs of developing and maintaining their own ecosystem appear to monumentally outweigh any potential increase in profit share they would drive. Even if Samsung did create its own system, it would still be paying Google for some things (maps etc).
Mmmmm, the downside to this is that you get supplied the cheapest crap possible with which to do your work. It will be slow, so loaded down with "management" services that you can just about run notepad if your lucky, takes an age to boot, is tied to the network with some desperately unreliable synchronization software that means you have to reboot your hideously slow to boot POC just to get undocked.
Frequent complaint about company supplied hardware, however I dont think BYOD is the solution.
If you are wasting an hour a day because the device is slow, then you company needs to be made aware of this (1 hour per day per employee = lots of new hardware) so management can make a decision.
If your time is profitable to the company, then this wasted time is costing them (not you) so they really should cough up and get you a better device to work on. Anything else is losing them money.
It may be that your time isnt as valuable to management as you think, in which case it isnt cheaper for them to improve your hardware - if this is the case, then make the most of the enforced breaks and enjoy the more relaxed pace of work.
Last I checked, you had to join the Google borg to do anything worthwhile with an Android.
Not strictly true.
Meanwhile my iPhone cruises happily along with all my calendars and contacts plugged into it and syncing both ways via CardDAV and CalDAV, to a server I set up for myself and I administer.
If you have the know how to set up and admin a server, you can do this on droid devices as well.
But if officialdom wants reports, then officialdom should send a 'policeman' out to respond.
Excellent point - but before the policeman can respond, people have to start reporting the crimes and show that it is happening enough to make police responses necessary.
Implementing good security is an individual company responsibility. Tracking down and punishing the perpetrators is a police responsibility. At the moment, there is a bit of a disconnect because in lots of (although far from all) situations, the company decides to not mention the breach and deal with it using its own resources.
At the moment, this makes sense for lots of companies - is this what the EU is trying to change?
What web browser features can fix the fact that my 46 year old eyes struggle to read text on my phone or that my fingers (not fat fingers either) sometimes hit the wrong link?
This is a really good point - and all too often designers are too heavily focused on their massive displays to remember that accessibility is very important.
However, this isnt a problem solely focussed on web browsers or solved with apps. If they are going to the trouble of developing an android and iOS app to provide better accessibility, they should have just put a bit more effort in to the front end design in the first place.
Do any browsers support orientation detection? Properly, I mean, not just re-flowing the text. A dedicate app will often adopt an entirely different layout in horizontal mode than vertical mode. Putting buttons along the top instead of down the side for instance.
This isnt the browser - it is down to the design.
Good responsive layouts will identify that the screen dimensions have changed and reformat its CSS appropriately. There are lots of pretty good frameworks to make responsive design trivially easy (320andup is one of the better known) and these all allow for a full reformatting at breakpoints.
Perhaps all of that could be done in a browser if HTML supports it but how many web designers actually do bother to think about that kind of thing?
It does, but not enough developers think about it - they are too busy designing a website for browsers then coding an app for phones.
It's second nature for a phone developer but the most you can really expect a web page to do is flow properly so that page items aren't obscuring other page items.
Phone and web interface developers are, or at least should be, the same beasts.
The latest Sony devices look, feel and work great. The coming tablet looks awesome!
Excellent - see the open market works for everyone's benefits. If Sony do manage to pull off a superb device at an equivalent price point, then well done for them and Samsung's business will suffer.
This is the "good" thing about free market capitalism. Companies try to encourage brand loyalty because that is what allows them to sell rubbish to customers who still keep ranting about it being the greatest thing ever (until the next one comes out and fixes all the previous faults because until the new one does it they arent faults).
Realistically, if Apple could produce a decent enough tablet which did the things I want a tablet to do, at a reasonable price, I would buy it. So far, they haven't and my old iPads are gathering dust now.
If you sell enough you will get some problems / faults.
No one is disputing that.
Friend has a Samsung - it developed a fault and kept rebooting randomly but many times per day.
A friend of mine had an S3 which developed camera problems - it was refusing to take pictures. He had a short call with Samsung tech support and picked up a new phone the next day. All docs, data and apps were sync'd over seamlessly.
YMMV.
Can you genuinely and accurately claim Android is safer than iOS? Nope.
Nope. Where did I claim that?
I said being locked in wasnt the same as having access to the largest and safer app store.
Being locked in is being tied to an ecosystem which means should you become dissatisfied with either the direction the OS is going in, or the quality of the devices manufactured, you find it very hard to migrate to another platform. Pretty much every app you have purchased is lost and depending on how you have stored your data it becomes a pain in the arse to move it over to your new ecosystem.
So, given this, it is understandable that for people looking to take their first footsteps in the new world order, that the open environment of Android is more appealing.
Yes, there is more malware hiding in the android space, but the number of compromises of android devices is not scaling up in line with the doom and gloom predictions.
Maybe it is because 99% of apps in either iOS or Android repositories wont see the light of day so it doesnt matter if they have malware on them or not.
When I go to clients I would take my 15" Macbook Retina - it has Thunderbolt / Displayport out which can pretty much go to anything and HDMI. I can also take an Apple TV and setup wirelessly with little fuss if I needed to.
Good for you. I am sure you dont mind spending that additional outlay and having multiple devices in your car and your bag.
On the other hand, I am looking for a single device that allows me to do all the things I need there and then and ideally remains cost effective.
Spending £500 for something which does the job makes (to me) an awful lot more sense than spending £2000 for three things which, together, deliver the goods.
YMMV.
Don't think anyone is suggesting an iPad (or Android Pad) could do everything for everyone?
Which is the point - and the reason why knee jerk criticism of Android / Samsung / Whoever is pretty pointless.
Well family member got a new 64gb iPad (nearly full) - the old one was backed up - restored the new one - took less than an hour to restore the lot.
Over what type of connection?
64 gigabytes in under 60 minutes means weren't far off Gigabit Ethernet speeds. Normally you would expect 802.11n to take about 6.5 hours to do this without any other issues on the network and by being able to treat it all as a single chunk.
Did you get this over 3g or Wifi? What time of day did you do this?
Was it really under an hour? Unless I have borked the maths (which is always possible) it seems to me that 64gigabytes in an hour is over the maximum theoretical transfer rates for anything other than wired connections and I didnt realise the iPad had an RJ45 port.
Or did you mean over USB?
Ask an android user if they would buy android again - the answer from the survey was about 60% would (or 40% would not).
You keep trotting this out, even though it is older than most Android models.
Now of those that would they then have to make the second decision of will it be a Samsung - would anyone really say today their next phone will definitely be a Samsung when who knows what Sony, Motorola, some as of now unknown to us Chinese company comes up with??
Which is still a good thing as it will keep companies pushing hard to produce good stuff.
Are you actually saying that Apple can bring out a shite phone, worse than any other manufacturer, and you would still buy it?
If you think that can never happen, then it is just as reasonable to assume Samsung wont do it.
Yeah that's representative - a survey done by a single person who has a S3 themselves of 16 people all composed of people at the same company (Samsung PR perhaps) or in the same family.
That was my point and clearly stated at the time.
The fact you missed the underling point is probably due to the frothing rage you have against Samsung and Android. Its a shame you need to validate your like of Apple products by attacking everything else.
And no, no one I know works at, or for, Samsung. Most dont work in IT related spheres but about half the S3 users I know do. In my IT-related office, there are more android users than iOS users by about 3:1.
Three years ago this was obviously not the case and it was almost entirely iOS with a smattering of Nokia and Blackberry devices.
However, corporate issued devices are still predominately iOS / Blackberry - it is only people who have to pay out of their own pockets that have gone for Androids.
Samsung have to try and push their BRAND as ultimately that's all they have that is unique.
Well , ultimately that is what most companies have that is unique. Its why branding (and brand loyalty) is important to companies.
Anyone else could come up with an equally good, better and / or cheaper Android phone.
ACs (you?) have said this a few times. Yes it is true and it is what is good about the market and forces Samsung to keep trying hard. Go back an re-read the previous replies if you have forgotten what people said last time.
Anyone else could come up with an equally good or better handset but so far they havent. There are cheaper ones but at the moment Samsung seems to have hit the sweet spot of setting the price at a point at which people are willing to pay for the goodies.
Does sound like steaming BS to me.
Any reason why this didnt go into the first post? They are only a couple of minutes apart and a lot of that will have been typing time, so its not as if you did hours of research here.
One survey says 84% of Apple users would buy Apple again
One old survey remember.
Sounds like Samsung PR
Android, not Samsung.
Of course if you ask someone who just wasted £400 on a Samsung would you change to iPhone they would say no - it's like admitting you were wrong.
Yet you also claimed hordes of people were returning their Android devices - which is exactly like admitting you were wrong. Getting a freebie swap to the more expensive device is a certain win if you really dont like the droid.
Apple support is great
What did you have to ring them for if the device is reliable and just works?
How many Samsung phone / tablet owners reading this could genuinely say YES I would definitely buy another Samsung next time?
It is a misleading question based on your flitting between Android and Samsung in an effort to spread confusion.
Every Samsung phone user I knows likes it and will give Samsung first shot at a future upgrade. If something amazing happens and Samsung brings out a dog, they will either skip the upgrade or change brands.
Do you think Apple owners are so sheep like they will upgrade to a crap device just to stay with Apple or do you think they will do the same?
The S2 was a better phone than the iPhone 3GS (the last iOS phone I had) by an order of magnitude and the Asus eeepad is a better tablet than the iPad 1 or 2.
Dear AC @ 1602
3GS to 5 - what do you expect.
Something to justify the change.
What you are basically saying here is the same as I have said - the iPhone 3GS was a good enough device for anyone wanting to use an iOS phone and there is no point them ever upgrading again.
I bet that is exactly what Apple want to hear and it is a great way to justify spending a few hundred quid every 12 / 24 months.
That's a bit like saying that the sun would not rise tomorrow.
So why do you assume Samsung will drop the ball and alienate customers more than Apple will? Apple can pick and choose the best components, but Samsung make most of the best ones anyway.
You are trying to argue two opposing points here - which is a bit strange.
Samsung & Android users in general are a bit more honest in saying that when they change devices, they will go with the one that best suits them at the time.
Apple users (you in a zillion AC guises) seem to say "we are brand loyal" but that this means you will still go with the best device, just that you assume it will automatically be an iShiny.
The fact is when it comes to upgrade time, people will almost always look to the newer version of the thing they have - Nokia relied on this for decades - and only if that is below par will they look elsewhere. Samsung or Apple, iOS or Android.
Brand loyalty is a problem when the customer ignores the mediocre latest release (iPhone 5) and still buys it because its the BRAND they want. However you seem to think that is a good thing.
Look at the malware stats for Android - it's absolutely shocking - that alone would put me off Android.
I thought you were trying to make this about Samsung, not Android in general? Try to be at least a bit consistent.
Dear AC @ 1553
Except Apple are the ones that moved to remove DRM on music,
After being the ones to use it in the most oppressive manner imaginable first. If it wasnt for the early incarnation of iTunes forcing a DRM'd format on everything I got, I would have had much more access to my OWN music six years ago.
they let you 'Match' your music in the cloud (whereever you got it from!!)
Great if you dont have much music or a magically faster internet connection than most people on the planet. I store all my MP3s on my NAS which streams to any device in the house and allows me to tunnel in when I am on the move.
Much easier than using an iCloud.
Kindles are far more locked in than Apple
I dont get the point here.
If being locked in is having access to the largest and safer app store
It isnt.
@ AC 1430
I know plenty of people with iPhone 3GS and original iPads,
Doesnt bode well for Apple's sales does it? There is a finite market of newcomers which was the thrust of the big rant about Android users supposedly not sticking with Samsung.
Not buying a new release is the same as not sticking with the brand.
I have an iPad and went to an iPad 2 - that was (for me) the end of the line there as nothing else was an improvement, so when new models came out, I migrated to Android.
Dear AC @ 1549
Are you deliberately missing the point?
Yes SD slot is SO important many non-Apple tablets don't have them either - Nexus 7 perhaps?
The SD card slot is indeed important for many other people who buy tablets that have them, or end up spending extra on ways to get round the missing bit.
My Asus eeepad is still going strong even though it is years old because it has the ability to do the things I need to do.
There is nothing worse than facing a client and realising you cant get files off him or her, or that you cant show your presentation on their screen cos your device doesnt have a suitable monitor output.
The whole point of having different types of devices is that people have different needs. For me a lack of a USB port and SD card renders a portable device useless for anything other than home browsing. Obviously you think differently and thankfully there is a big enough market for manufactures of devices to cater for both our needs. Its a shame you think this is a bad thing.
The reality is most peoples media libraries are far larger than their phone / tablet memory and even carrying an extra SD card is not going to change that. I have a pretty large library - what I should carry perhaps 20 SD cards - impractical.
This is still completely missing the point.
When I buy device X, I might think that 16GB is great and more than I will ever need. However, a while later, I realise I need to load 18GB worth of "sfuff" (apps, maps, documents, photos, music, videos etc) onto it.
With a device that has an SD card slot, I spend a fiver and get a 32gb card to expand it.
With a device that doesnt have a card slot, I spend £400 to replace it.
Yeah, sure you can upload it all to the cloud and access it that way but mobile bandwidth is nowhere near fast enough to compete with the speed of an SD card and if you travel, roaming fees make this impossible.
You may be pleased that you are locked into one set way of using your device, but not everone else is.
@AC 0741
Isnt this the whole point of most of the objections about Apple's ecosystem?
I agree that Samsung have to work bloody hard to keep sales, but the alternative is a bad thing for everyone (including Samsung in the long term).
All Apple releases have been pretty minor for years now (iPad 2 and iPhone 3GS were the biggies IMHO, others may well think differently) and this is largely because they have a loyal customer base which removes their drive to really innovate.
You may think this is good for the company but it isn't. It opens up the possibility that a new player can appear and suddenly shift lots of products in a way Apple havent anticipated (and I am not necessarily saying Samsung - or anyone - has done this yet) and if Apple is unable to innovate quickly enough it suffers (again, say Hi to Nokia).
Over the last three years, Apple has gone from being an uncontested leader in the smartphone and tablet space to actually following the direction taken by other companies (iPad mini for example). This does not spell doom and gloom for Apple but it shows what happens when a company relies on customer loyalty.
It is much better for the market, for the industry, for customers, for everything even, if manufacturers are forced to keep producing good stuff if they want to retain customers.
At a fundamental level, there is as much unique and special about the S3 as there is an iPhone 5. There are apps to do the same things (frequently the same apps) on both Android and iOS - gmail and google docs works on both... - for the average user Android is secure enough for their activities (even the US Government has a hardened version of android for the ultra paranoid).
This more or less leaves the "Beauty" of the design and the price. There is no point me arguing over which is nicer looking between the S3 and iPhone5 as it is very much a personal choice, but the lawsuits seem to imply they are similar now.
So its down to price. Apple would be actually insane to try and compete on price because it's main selling point is the "prestige" value where is allows the owner to show the world how rich s/he is. This is a bit diluted by the fact it seems like world + dog at the benefit office seems to have an iPhone, but it is still the strongest aspect to the Apple brand.
You mean 'when' Samsung drop the ball you will buy another Android handset - that's fine - but it does make Samsungs position more precarious.
As is should be.
Blind fanboi loyalty to crap products is counterproductive for everyone.
If Apple fans were more able to move around, then maybe we would see a return to the groundbreaking improvements of the early iPhones. The difference between a 3GS and a 5 is pretty pitiful.
So bottom line is for every S3 sold today how many would definitely buy a new Sx in 2 years time whereas for every iPhone 4/5 user far more would buy an iPhone x in 2 years time.
Because they are locked into the iOS ecosystem and changing will be painful.
That is a really good way to do business. Its not like it isnt going to eventually start to reduce the number of new entrants to the ecosystem or anything, is it?
AC @ 0632
Wow yes that really makes all the difference a SD card slot.
Yes it does, for lots of people - it is not just about being able to just download your MP3 collection (but that is a significant factor for some people and its cheaper to buy a 64gb card than go for that option of phone) - its about being able to share file and access resources in more ways.
My media library is over 3Tb - how many Sd cards is that and how do you organise it / keep it up to date.
How long would it take to stream over your data tariff? (assuming it is a totally unmetered one)
Apple do actually do the camera connection kit BTW - it's not internal but you can copy files onto the device.
So, what you mean is, the iPhone is so good that people should pay extra to allow it to do something most Samsungs do out of the box?
Yeah, that makes sense for me - its always good to pay more for things.
Dear multiposting AC @ 2013 (1 Feb)
Contrary to the belief that all Apple users are frenzied upgraders I know plenty of people still using a 3GS day-in-day-out
Kind of implies that
So - yes - I can perfectly see why 80% of people would almost certainly buy another iPhone.
Means they will buy a new iPhone but not for decades.
Not really the point you wanted to make, was it? Its a shame you are so busy trying to say different arguments, in a dozen different posts, that you are starting to argue with yourself....
Samsung can be successful without Apple being rubbish, people can like Android or Samsung without it making your love affair with iOS "wrong" and vice versa. Get over yourself.
RE AC @ 2024
Exactly - INTEND TO CONSIDER means squat. 60% would select Android and of those some would buy Samsung but why not Sony but why not HTC but why not Motorola but why not [insert almost anyone].
You are missing the point in your crusade to use numbers here.
If Samsung drop the ball and produce a bag of shite handset, then no one will buy it. They are not zombies obsessed with making sure the things they buy all are from the same brand, they are people who want the best device that fits their needs.
This means they will look at the latest Samsung device first. If it sucks, they will go elsewhere. It is the miracle of choice and it is what creates the market forces that drive development.
If people would just buy the next Samsung handset, whatever it was, then the devices would end up being total shite. (Hi Nokia....)
Android isnt a race to the bottom - devices are not getting worse, or less featured - it does, however, keep pressure on the costs which is one of the reasons why Android devices tend to be significantly cheaper than iOS ones (one, not the only).
If you like Apple and think iOS devices are the greatest thing ever, then good for you - there are lots like you - but why do you need to bolster your use of iOS by denigrating Samsung / Android? Are you that insecure about your brand choice?
RE AC @ 1940
Samsung's opinion seems to be whatever Apple are doing. Their hardware is ok but nothing others could not do better
Nothing about the iPhone 5 is something others couldnt do better, but Apple fans will claim others havent and the same can be said about the S3. Other can produce better, but they havent.
Most other manufacturers would end up using Samsung components when they tried to do better anyway...
I can win the lottery, but I havent.
they have no USP and are effectively just passing customers to Google.
Possibly, but I doubt this is entirely for free and even if it is, it is a risk for the company not the customer.
For customers it is actually a bonus cos if a miracle happens and Samsung goes titsup, all the user has to do is move to HTC (or whoever).
If a miracle happens and Apple goes titsup, iPhone users are stranded.
They make no ongoing revenue and their position could change rapidly. Apple are building the whole lot - they sell you the hardware, the OS and the media and add-ons like Apple TV etc. I'd say Apple's position is a bit more secure than Samsungs?
Only because they trap people into an ecosystem. Its like saying AOL's position is a bit more secure than the Internets.
RE AC @ 2231
But you and most people on here are the exception - proven by "I know Android". Most people don't know / care if it's Android - it's just a full screen phone to them.
I disagree.
All the android device owners I know, know it is android. They know they have a google account and they know that they can use it on any other android device (some even know they can use it on Chromebooks as well).
Re AC @ 2021
S3 is a decent enough phone but nothing someone else could do not and probably will - cheaper.
Good. From the customers point of view that is great and we should applaud it.
From Samsung's POV it is also good because by the time they do, Samsung will have moved on and as long as enough people want the "good" sooner, they will be profitable.
The iPhone 3 was a decent enough phone, but nothing someone else couldnt do and did a lot cheaper.
Sadly the same can be said about the iPhone 5.
there is no loyalty to Samsung specifically - if anything it's to Google.
So? Why should people be loyal to any brand if it isnt delivering the goods people want? If Samsung continue to delivery a device that does what I want at a price I want to pay, I will buy it. When it stops, I will stop.
I am glad Samsung have used Android because that gives me the flexibility to move to other platforms if and when they are better.
Are you suggesting the "brand loyalty" to Apple is good because it encourages people to buy products that are not significantly better than the competition at the same price point?
If you really are, I am surprised.
If you arent, clarification would be nice. Ideally in one post at a time but it is up to you.
Re AC @ 2030
Good for you - not good for Samsung is it?
It depends.
It forces Samsung to keep trying to produce something worth getting, which is certainly good for the customer.
If Samsung drops the ball, the miracle of the market economy will punish it and give another supplier the opportunity.
The annoying thing about Apple is that it tries to avoid this and looks to lock people in. Once you are in the iOS ecosystem, when it comes to time for new hardware, if you dont like the Apple version, you dont have the same choice.
If it wasnt for the likes of Samsung putting pressure on Apple, and HTC etc putting pressure on Samsung, we would all be worse off, so your apparent campaign against Samsung is a bit strange.
Well, limited sample size it may be, but 100% of the S3 users I know (13 people at work, 3 in my immediate family) intend to consider Samsung droid devices when their existing contracts run out (in around 16 - 22 months).
I went from an iPhone 4 to an S3 and have been fully satisfied. I know of three other people who have done that and only one person who went from an S2 to an iPhone 5.
Let's assume Motorola make the next best phone - Q: would you buy chips, flash and screens from Samsung (a competitor) or someone else? A: Someone else.
Are you saying apple users stick with apple when the phone is not the best, simply because it is apple?
Surprisingly honest if you are. (And, as I have said elsewhere, I have both sets of devices at home).
I have two iPads (a 1 and a 2), a (now old) Asus eee pad and a Nexus 7.
Unlike A lot of Reg readers, most of the general public actually want something that works, has an ecosystem of Apps, is upgradeable (OS-wise) and doesn't require a degree to maintain it.
If you think this doesnt equally apply to android devices as well as the iShiny then you are sorely mistaken.
Having a majillion apps is irrelevant when ten million of them are variations on notepad, a bajillion are twitter interfaces and another hundred million are just instagram rip offs.
It doesnt matter how many apps are in the ecosystem - what is important is the app for the things you want to do, and for the majority (not all, by any stretch of the imagination) the core apps most people would use are available on both platforms. People consume content on tablets and phones and most of this content is available via the web (yeah, old fashioned, I know).
Android upgrades are frequent enough - even the Asus pad gets them, unlike my older iPad which wont let me upgrade the OS.
None of the devices - iOS or Droid - require any effort or skill to maintain, certainly not a degree. My 8 year old uses the Nexus 7 as if he was born attached to it.
There is a lot less difference between the devices than people (in either camp) seem willing to admit.
More products can (in some circumstances) be self defeating.
Apple is slightly cannibalising its own iPad sales as people buy iPad Minis instead but this also opens up the idea that size can be a significant difference and there will be a significant percentage of people who think the iPad mini is too big or too small now.
Increasing choice like this creates new battleground for competitors to take on Apple - which is a good thing and I think it will be interesting to see how it develops.
They may have sold more than other manufacturers, Samsung etc. but this is talking about the global market.
Very true, but I think this is just the sales through outlets and resellers - Apple has a traditionally strong market of direct sales which doesnt get counted in figures like this.
When you are the only person who makes X, you have 100% of the market. You have no way to increase market share and it is only ever going to go down when others come in - every single sale of another brand is a reduction in market share.
Losing market share in a growing market is not normally a problem for a business, but will still be something Apple needs to keep an eye on. Apart from anything else, people have been crowing about Apple's market share for years.
More positively, a reduced market share for Apple is probably a good thing (unless they somehow manage to epically fuck things up) as it implies there is enough competition to keep driving improvements and developments.
The real risk Apple faces is people buying very cheap end devices, getting used to Android (or whatever) and then, when they finally decide its time to spunk out £400 they decide they want to keep to what they know.
Apple may be relying on the fact cheapo tablets are horrendous to use and will put people off sticking with Android, but this is just as likely going to stop people using tablets at all.
I like Excel, the only issue I have is with people using it as a feckin' database instead of using an actual DB.
Well said. Excel is great, but for some reason people turn it into a word processor, data base, project management chart, and much more bizarre home-grown applications rather than just using the right tool in the first place.
@KingZongo
I agree and office has been able to export to PDFs for a long time now (IIRC, 2003 version allows it).
However, the hurdle has always been importing PDF data and that is a significant improvement if it works.
Unfortunately, as a few others have suggested, lots of PDFs on the web tend to be weirdly saved as PDF images..... (especially ones from HMG who seem obsessed with saving the document, printing it out, then scanning it back in as a PDF'd JPEG........ MADNESS).
Geographically, Aberdeen and Swansea had the worst luck with the average speed in the Scottish city being only 6.08Mbps at 9pm. In Swansea city it was 6.99Mbps.
I dream of speeds like that (Cheshire) at the best of times.
Generally speaking, things like iPlayer and on-demand TV are unusable where I live as it can take four or five minutes to download every minute of video.
"find ways of evading tax ", is against the law. What has been discussed here is paying the legally required tax according to the law of the land. There is no right or wrong amount, just correct or incorrect. This is not a moral issue, it is a legal issue.
Evading tax is illegal, however the point here isnt clear cut evasion, it is dodgy tax minimisation approaches.
For example, if you set up a parent corporation in a low-tax country then transfer your companies assets and claim it charges you an inflated price to use the brand / assets, you can claim this as a cost of doing business and legally minimise your tax burden in the UK. This is not against the law, it is just often a complete fabrication with no purpose other than to avoid tax.
This allows you to - as others have said - take advantages of the things paid for in the UK by taxpayers (roads, healthcare, policing, fire brigade, educated workforce etc) while not paying into the tax system yourself.
Legal but immoral.
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