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Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

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Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#151
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly did not realize that the adoption of them was that widespread. Thank you for the correction, that definitely does make a difference to my post. Still, don't you think that video chat at no extra cost will be a rather huge innovation? If part of the reason it isn't used is because of the cost, wouldn't make it free help that? I know that video calling isn't necessarily better in plenty of cases, so I don't…

Yea, who knows. At least it'll set the trend to put front cameras in smart phones. Eventually the capability will spread enough that you can use it when you want, but I suspect that after the novelty wears off people will go back to regular calls, even if it's free. Why? People are really good at perceiving presence even if we can't see someone. It's just not necessary. Think about this: What fraction of time do you…

Not to mention: Are you really going to do video chat while you're walking down the street? Driving in your car (god I hope not)?

The 'mobile' in 'mobile phone' seems directly at odds with the whole concept.

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but why didn't they use directional antennas to get a demo-dedicated network on the stage? Which would be a good permanent feature for any big conference room come to think of it.

That doesn't eliminate the problem of interference from all of the other networks on the same channel (or on the neighboring channel that shares part of the spectrum), which are all using omnidirectional antennas. It can help, certainly, but 570 Wi-Fi networks in one ballroom is going to be hell on any network chip trying to sort through all the noise.

No, I'm including all the antennas in that - why not use directional ones for all the networks in the room to keep the stage free of extra networks?

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#153
post #15

I'm not really clear on what the gyroscope adds that wasn't there before, can someone clarify?

Accelerometers can only detect orientation relative to gravity, gyros can detect it relative to themselves. This is the same thing that Nintendo added to their controllers a few months ago. For example I wrote an app that calculates Horsepower based on weight and acceleration, however it's hard to determine if detected acceleration is due to the vehicle or gravity (if the device tips or tilts during the test). By hav…

Also, astronauts can now use the iPhone effectively in space.

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't eliminate the problem of interference from all of the other networks on the same channel (or on the neighboring channel that shares part of the spectrum), which are all using omnidirectional antennas. It can help, certainly, but 570 Wi-Fi networks in one ballroom is going to be hell on any network chip trying to sort through all the noise.

No, I'm including all the antennas in that - why not use directional ones for all the networks in the room to keep the stage free of extra networks?

There's an antenna in the iPhone too you know...

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is the parent being downvoted? It's true! This are just evolutionary improvements for some things and playing catch-up with others. Doesn't stop it from being a great product, but it's not the aweomest thing Steve wants you to believe.

In what way isn't it awesome? It's faster, smaller, brighter, screenier, cameraier, videoier, batterier, storagier, more sensor laden, better looking, and runs better more useful software. I agree that it's not spouting a coffee filter and electric razor, but strongly disagree that you can step to "not innovative" "meh, useless catchup". One part of not being measured at features/$ checklist is not being measured at…

> In what way isn't it awesome? It's faster, smaller, brighter, screenier, cameraier, videoier, batterier, storagier, more sensor laden, better looking, and runs better more useful software.

It's about on par on quality as the HTC Evo or Droid Incredible, which is great, but not astoundingly spectacular in my opinion. And as we all know, two months from now HTC will probably be releasing some newer and better.

It's a competitive product, but in my eyes it's comparable to what's already out there, improving in the same way other products do when they're released (screen resolution, thickness, etc). It's just not worthy of getting your panties in a bunch, and certainly not worthy of migrating to it from a n Incredible, Evo, or Desire. Just not enough advantages to make it worth it.

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#156

I am beginning to wonder whether iAds is the reason Apple don't want Flash on their mobile devices.

When half a dozen easy non-conspiratorial technical reasons just aren't enough, make up some unverifiable accusations of unfair play instead!

There aren't any technical reasons that can't be said to exist with HTML5. If you think so you obviously haven't looked at many of the HTML5 demos that are supposed to be as good as Flash.

Second of all. I am an Apple fanboy. I have more or less everything they do and don't care whether flash is on there or not.

That does not mean that I have to buy weak arguments just because they come from Jobs. And they are in my opinion weak I would gladly explain in further detail.

I call it as I see it and given that Apple has now both entered the ad space and is said to be developing a new framework for HTML5 I frankly don't see why that would be conspiracy theory.

Last but not least. I never ever talked about unfair play, so why you would claim such a thing is beyond meaning.

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly did not realize that the adoption of them was that widespread. Thank you for the correction, that definitely does make a difference to my post. Still, don't you think that video chat at no extra cost will be a rather huge innovation? If part of the reason it isn't used is because of the cost, wouldn't make it free help that? I know that video calling isn't necessarily better in plenty of cases, so I don't…

This really isn't that big of a shift from Skype et al. until it's available on 3G. And you know what? I haven't used a webcam in years. Not an extraordinarily useful piece of technology, and it's still not the best experience even on wired networks (because the wired networks have been frozen in time here in the States.) And as for it being at normal data rates on 3G, I'll believe it when I see it. (It can't be free…

Speaking of Skype, it's free to make calls over 3G now on the iPhone with (Skype v2). HOWEVER, that will change in September when at&t will start charging a monthly skype fee. I seriously doubt at&t will let anyone do videoconferencing without getting a piece of the pie.

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#158
post #57

The FaceTime thing is epic. That said, it just gets more and more dangerous to go out and get hammered and start drunk-dialing people . . . The number of post-bender apologies that I usually have to make will probably go up by at least 50%.

"FaceTime" is Apple's code name for video calls. We've had videocalls available in Eastern Europe for 4-5 years at least - on most phones. Nobody uses it. It eats the battery very fast and is more of an inconvenience than a feature.

Except for the father videocalling mother + baby use case I can't think of a single instance where I would want the other person to see what I am doing OR where I would want to see what they are doing.

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#159
post #70
post #53

I can't believe that the demo isn't being run off of its own network. Seriously, if you can't get good reception inside, at least run your own dedicated wifi network. What were they thinking?

You don't understand WIFI. All WIFI devices share the same 2.4/5GHz bandwidth and thus if you have too many devices in one physical location you're screwed.

There are three channels in 2.4GHz, so presumably Apple could have put Steve on one channel and everybody else on the other two. (This problem is not as bad in 5GHz, but AFAIK the iPhone doesn't support it.)

Re: Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2010

#160
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The N900 has skype and google talk video calling already, and people don't call that epic. It also works on 3G, unlike the iphone.

You and many others are missing the point of why this is epic. When was the last time a device with so much market penetration and insane adoption rates allowed video chat in such a simple way? The reason it is epic is because this is the first time it'll actually work. Who cares about N900s? Does my grandma know what an N900 is?

I believe the answer to your question is "three years ago", except it wasn't a single device, it was most phones.

I've owned "dumb"phones that could do this five years ago as easy as regular calls.

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