Commentary
More Nokia N900 Photography
I’ve continued to experiment with the N900′s camera, and it continues to impress. I know iPhone users are excited for the camera improvements coming in iOS 4, but I gotta be honest – after looking through the official iPhone 4 sample photos, I’m not seeing anything beyond what the N900 already offers.
Cost Analysis of the Nokia N900
I can safely say that my Nokia N900 is the first mobile phone I’ve truly loved. It’s a brilliant device – and having a phone/netbook/camera/iPod/game system on me at any given time is hugely addicting. I also find the N900 to be a fine example of a device that “sells itself” – anyone who plays with it for more than 30 seconds is likely to want one. Unfortunately, the sticker shock of a $549 phone (at the time of this writing; I’ve seen it as low as $469) can be hard to stomach in the U.S. Because the N900 can only be bought unlocked, its price doesn’t compare very favorably to similar smartphones. (The Motorola Droid, for example, is a similar price unlocked – but only $19.99 with a 2-year contract.) Most Americans have a false sense of what a “fair” smartphone price is, since all advertising focuses on the price of phones subsidized by a two-year contract. So it got me thinking – if an individual were to individually purchase all the separate “features” of the N900, how much would it cost?
What can Linux learn from Toyota?
(Special thanks to coronastx for the image.) Toyota’s recent missteps in safety and reliability have certainly harmed Toyota – no doubt there – but they also sent shockwaves through the entire Japanese auto industry. When the all-star member of a team displays weakness, the entire team suffers. So it is with desktop Linux. Love it or hate it, Canonical has been very successful in positioning Ubuntu as THE desktop Linux OS to try. In 2008, when I again decided to try desktop Linux after several years away, the obvious choice of distro was Ubuntu. Many, many blogs pointed to it as the best place to experience Linux, and since then Canonical and its throngs of loyal fans have only strengthened that message. Frankly, I think the users of every other distro should be concerned. When Canonical positions Ubuntu as the best incarnation of desktop Linux, then proceeds to release multiple problematic versions in a row, it reflects poorly on ALL desktop distros…
Some Nokia N900 Photography
Now that Utah weather is FINALLY improving, my wife and I were finally able to take a road trip out to Red Butte Garden. All photos here were taken with my Nokia N900. The phone has a 5mp sensor, but these were all taken at the 3.5mp setting (widescreen). Not bad for a phone, eh?
Dear Ubuntu: I Have Some Concerns
Dear Ubuntu: For the last couple years, life has been good. Every time I’ve shown you to a friend or family member, they’ve compared you to what they’re familiar with – Windows XP or Vista, mostly – and by comparison you’ve looked brilliant. Yeah, your ugly brown color scheme was a bit off-putting at first, but once people saw how secure, simple, and reliable you were, the response was almost universally positive. But recently, things have changed…
Dear Hulu: You Have a Problem
Dear Hulu: I’m intervening because I care. We’ve had some good times together, but if you continue down the road you’re on, you are going to die. What am I talking about? I think you know. I’m talking about your asinine leadership, including such figures as Chase “Diarreah of the Mouth” Carey and Rupert “I Lost $4.3 Billion This Year” Murdoch. These people are not helping you, Hulu. These people are hurting you. Maybe even killing you…
Why I Use and Promote Ubuntu Linux
I’ve been pretty hard on Ubuntu lately. Considering that the product is free, is it appropriate for me to do things like insult its appearance and request huge lists of fixes? I believe it is. The first statement in the Ubuntu Philosophy reads: Every computer user should have the freedom to download, run, copy, distribute, [...]
Day 10 – 10 Days of Ubuntu 10.10 Feature Requests
Today is the final day of my “10 Days of Ubuntu 10.10 Feature Requests” series, and the topic is paper cuts. (Paper cut: a trivially fixable usability bug.) I have saved this discussion for last because I believe it is the single biggest challenge Ubuntu faces. Conversely, if the Ubuntu development team is successful in solving the majority of desktop Linux’s many paper cuts, it will end up being the most significant contribution they make to the Linux ecosphere…
Day 9 – 10 Days of Ubuntu 10.10 Feature Requests
Today is day 9 of my “10 Days of Ubuntu 10.10 Feature Requests” series, and the topic is Ubuntu marketing. Many people have thrown out opinions as to why Linux companies don’t market directly to the masses, and the opinions usually settle on a handful of ideas – Linux is already free, so marketing is irrelevant. There’s no money to be made with the Linux desktop, so Linux companies should focus on servers and services instead. Hardware support still isn’t where it needs to be, so marketing is premature. I find all of these excuses irrelevant…
Day 8 – 10 Days of Ubuntu 10.10 Feature Requests
Today is day 8 of my “10 Days of Ubuntu 10.10 Feature Requests” series, and the topic is creating a better online video experience. This is a diverse problem with a number of components, so bear with me as we tackle each aspect in turn…
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