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Columns Cult of personality

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Tim S, 8 Jul 2007.

  1. Ramble

    Ramble Ginger Nut

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    h.264 is part of the mpeg-4 spec just as divx and xvid is.
    No argument on Mpeg-2, but it does require FAR lower processing power to decode the stream.
     
  2. Da Dego

    Da Dego Brett Thomas

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    Hey Hells_Bliss,

    First of all, I wrote the piece, not Tim. ;) But second, I wanted to argue with a point above. Not everything on the iphone IS on other phones - they lack the one thing that makes it special, which is the interface.

    Apple doesn't claim macs to be more powerful than any computer with windows on it. The specs are the specs. What makes a mac a mac is its interface. Are designer jeans some magical golden cloth? Of course not. And yet they DO do something differently to standard jeans.

    Microsoft looked to OSX when it came time to build Vista. Many linux GUIs use it as an example, too. Why? Not because it was sold on a machine with the top specs.

    The point of my article was just that - it's not about building the fastest phone with all the bells and whistles. As Nexxo said, the entire functionality of an apple product IS that its interface is so transparent, which is almost unquantifiable. You don't see that in a spec sheet, the same way you can't see "this will flow on you" in a designer clothes tag.

    For anyone thinking Apple's steam is entirely form over function, you should definitely look again. It's the same function as you find on a windows PC, or most of the function you find on a cell phone (the lack of 3g does confuse me, too). It's just that the functionality is laid out differently so that you interact differently with it. Apple isn't a hardware maker - it is an industrial design powerhouse that turns out excellent interface software...and might as well make the thing it runs on pretty, too.

    To sum up, my basic point is this - what makes a mac product great will never sit on the spec sheet - it's not the lacking 3g, included bluetooth, blah blah blah. It is an interface design that i can assure you will end up in part or whole everywhere in the industry. It's functional fashion, and that should be respected - it has an incredibly important role all its own.
     
  3. completemadness

    completemadness What's a Dremel?

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    i guess that depends on the person alot, Personally, i find windows quite intuitive, im probably one of a few, and having used it for quite some time probably helps alot, but im just using windows as an example, i find most things reasonably easy to use, aslong as they are atleast 1/2 well designed

    However, having used apple products (ok the ipod and mac (a bit) mainly) i dont really find them that intuitive, their simplicity is a barrier to the power user, sure i can see people who have trouble using a pc might find it easy, but to people who pick things up very quickly, they just slow you down

    Now im not saying apple products arent pretty good, and they do look pretty cool, but the final nail in the coffin is the price, ok i can but a 90% finished windows product, or a 99% finished apple product, but the windows product is 2/3 to 1/2 the price of the apple product, i dont know about you but i will take the windows product every time

    And if you really want the best of the best, why not go with somone who really knows what their doing, like blackberry

    Yeah but how much larger are files using the h.264 codec, Don't forget, xvid/divx are really popular because they produce pretty good picture quality, at low processing power, and produce small files

    People aren't that interested by quality, as is proven by MP3's, and don't forget, an xvid/divx can actually be done properly, just like an mp3, and make pretty damn good videos
     
  4. Hells_Bliss

    Hells_Bliss What's a Dremel?

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    sorry, fixed :blush:

    as to the functionality, i really couldn't really argue since I haven't played with one. Sure it's got a pretty interface, and you can apparently get from point a to b pretty quick...but you can do that on most phones. example, i have a SE W710i, if I want to get to my contacts, i press the down cursor. If i want my mp3s, I press the walkman button. If I want the camera, I open the lense. If I want to send a friend a picture of the hot girl at the bar, I take the photo, press more, send now, choose contact, send. if I want silent I press up and then down 4 times. Isn't that functionality? Once again, i can't say how the iphone does it, but probably through a bunch of menus since I don't see a lot of hotkeys.

    Is it better than windows mobile? yep, i've definately played with those and I don't like them at all.

    would an iPhone "flow" on me, maybe if my name was Nicole Richi or Paris Hilton wearing prada this gucci that and believed in the holy word of "Branding"...other than that, why spend more for a media-hyped smartphone which is behind the times?
     
  5. Bladestorm

    Bladestorm What's a Dremel?

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    I understand the iphone interface is a touch-screen, so presumably to make a call you touch the call button then the icon for the person you want to call. Main advantage presumably is you can fit a lot of nice large hot-keys on the phone at a time and have them usefull and imediately obvious as to function on every screen .. if that makes sense ?
     
  6. 2JSC

    2JSC What's a Dremel?

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    I'm sorry but that is hilarious!!! :hehe:
     
  7. Hugo.B

    Hugo.B What's a Dremel?

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    I agree with Nexxo up there,^^^ first time I saw a mac mini in a public library, I was thinking "how does it come apart?" and "how can I get safari to crash?"
    I tried my hardest... I went on forbiden websites, but I couldn't make it malfunction.
    I felt disappointed: I can usually crash any OS through it's browser.


    H.B.
     
  8. Aankhen

    Aankhen What's a Dremel?

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    Yes. However, the difference in quality is drastic. :)
    That's true.
    I never could understand why people assume H.264 encoded videos will be larger than DivX or XviD videos. It depends on the quality, compression, and resolution, just as the file size depends on these parameters when a video is encoded using DivX or XviD.

    A movie encoded as a 700 MB H.264 video will have drastically better quality than a movie encoded as a 700 MB XviD, assuming all other parameters are constant and the source material is high quality itself (DVDs aren't).
     
  9. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    As you said, you have used it quite a lot, so you have learned its quirks and take them for granted. But the general public does not find it nearly as intuitive.

    You struggle with the Mac OS because you approach it like Windows, which it is not. However I reckon that a total newbie will get the hang of OS X quicker than of Windows. Moreover, portable devices like iPod and iPhone do not run a miniature version of OS X with desktop etc. because that would be inappropriate for the device. However Windows Mobile insists on being a miniature Windows Desktop.

    Depends on how much you value out-of-the-box useability and productivity. We are geeks, so a 90% finished product is no problem for us --even attractive, because we can mod and personalise the remaining 10%. But the general public wants a 100% finished product they can use.
     
  10. oasked

    oasked Stuck in (better) mud

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    Apparently when the iPhone is released in the EU it will have 3G, the US version is 2.5G only though. Don't ask me for sources, I probably read it on theinquirer. :D
     
  11. qupada

    qupada What's a Dremel?

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  12. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    It's MPEG-4 AVC or AVHD iirc, which is different to MPEG-4 Divx/Xvid. Dvix and Xvid don't bode well for HD, which h264 is better designed for. For the same file size, h264 can do a better job that anything else.
     
  13. Hells_Bliss

    Hells_Bliss What's a Dremel?

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    I think it's mainly to do with the power consumption of 3g networks, I remember reading somewhere that that was the reason, just can't remember where :wallbash:
     
  14. zero0ne

    zero0ne Minimodder

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    Windows won't be falling any time soon....

    They make PEANUTS from the standard user such as you and I, they make ALL their money from the endless businesses that use their software.

    My university is basically all Windows, and were working on switching most peoples machines to vista within the next 2 years. we just recently finished migrating our exchange servers to 2003, and are probably in the works to bump that to Exchange 2007 (or whatever MS is calling their next one)

    With Tens of thousands of LARGE organizations (be it a fortune 500 company, or a school) using Windows, you will never see the downfall of them. it just Won't happen.
     
  15. Amon

    Amon inch-perfect

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    Indeed. Due to a special software license, I can just go to the University's front counter and receive a free authentic copy of Windows XP. I can't imagine how much that cost the school.
     
  16. Hells_Bliss

    Hells_Bliss What's a Dremel?

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    200 dollars probably
     
  17. completemadness

    completemadness What's a Dremel?

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    of the 3 universitys i went to while looking to study (imperial, surrey and southhampton) they were all 90% linux 10% mac - no windows atall

    Its quite possible, but as i said its not just windows, i can pick up almost anything and just work it (phones, computers, laptops, pda's, tv's etc etc) and yet my dad on the other hand usually has problems with a lot of things

    So i actually find it quite hard to judge usability, because as long as its reasonably designed, i usually have no problem working it

    Oh and as to the 3g thing, i read that 3G consumes a magnitude more power, so apple didn't want to put it in because it would lower their battery life figures
     
  18. SPQQKY

    SPQQKY Evil Modder

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    It probably doesn't cost the school anything if they give it for free.....oh wait, is your school tuition free too? At my friends University, they charged him $20 about two years ago, then he got mad because it dropped to $10, then to $5 and now it's free. WindowsXP is obsolete now in the eyes of MS, so they probably dump loads of disk's at the schools now at no cost. Just like buying a PC at Best Buy, they are loaded with FREE software, mostly because it's junk anyway. Just like getting a free antivirus and powerDVD with a new motherboard, it's old and obsolete, so give it away for mostly advertising.

    Back on subject, the hype for iPhone is functionality and a stepping stone as to the way things should be, user friendly. People scoffed at Intel with HyperThreading, but it was a stepping stone and test base for what we have now, dual and quad core cpu's and no one is scoffing at that. When more products begin to follow suite and we take the functionality for granted, no one will be complaining.
     
  19. Dr. Strangelove

    Dr. Strangelove What's a Dremel?

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    Well first of all, I just use my phone for actually calling people and maybe sending a SMS every now and then.. thats it. Sure my current phone has camera, mp3 player and probably a whole lot more that I don't know of. But I never use it:eyebrow:

    BTW. Did the battery work? even though the color was wrong :duh:
     
  20. completemadness

    completemadness What's a Dremel?

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    i would assume it did, the only difference (from the article) was the paint job on the thing

    that was the point he was trying to make, its the exact same battery, but the colour doesn't fit his laptop
     
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