Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds • Hacker News Board

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#61

Post by progrock » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 11:40 AM UTC

scorpioxy wrote: post #16

His comment about 10-inch tablets being too big got my attention. I am in the market for a tablet that I am going to replace my dead Sony e-reader(6 inch I think). But i think the 7-inch ones are just too small for reading. Has anyone tried to compare both sizes? I am mainly interested in using it for reading tech books and the occasional email. Currently leaning towards a transformer.

You don't need to have a large screen for reading. It's more important that it's easy to page back and forth through the text - and that it reflows well and is easy on the eyes.

I watched someone trying to read Hacker news on their Android phone's web browser and it looked like the most horrific experience. Doesn't seem to put people off of smartphones though.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#62

Post by progrock » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 11:44 AM UTC

zem wrote: post #3

my kindle has kind of spoilt me - i know it's unreasonable for a tablet to feel as light in my hand as a kindle, but subconsciously i'm noticing the weight all the time.

To be fair, some books can be difficult to hold aloft. The tech will miniturise in time (probably not long either.)

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#63

Post by redthrowaway » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 11:51 AM UTC

progrock wrote: post #52

redthrowaway wrote: post #33

Completely OT, but I'm really starting to like G+. I deactivated my FB account (reactivated because of a girl--go figure), and found myself browsing G+ for the first time in months. I was shocked by the difference in content quality. My FB newsfeed is full of inane posts by family and a few friends, whereas my G+ feed is almost a reddit/HN replacement. Quite impressed, although I don't see it replacing FB simply due…

> My FB newsfeed is full of inane posts by family and a few friends You can't really blame that on Facebook.

I can, though. It's built into FB's newsfeed algo.

I interact with family and friends I don't often see for geographical reasons quite often on FB. Unfortunately, Zuck et al make the erroneous assumption that this means I care about their daily goings-on. I don't.

My FB feed currently consists of:

1) Instagram pictures from a friend I've known since birth

2) Location checkins from someone I have good banter with but haven't seen in 10 years

3) My cousin's wife talking about getting hammered tonight

4) An ecard

5) Somebody getting tagged.

Conversely, my G+ feed consist of:

1) The same photographer friend, but with better pics

2) Tim O'Reilly talking about MakerCamp

3) Zach Weiner posting an SMBC comic

4) Some random doing something I don't care about

5) Matt Cutts explaining a change in spam detection behaviour.

In short, G+ makes me want to come back because there's interesting stuff to see. FB makes me want to come back so I don't lose touch with some people I care about.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#64

Post by wslh » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 11:51 AM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #50

mjfern wrote: post #11

> I prefer the plain android look, and dislike the various skins manufacturers have used (I really don't understand the "pee in the snow" model of skinning android to look and act horrible just so that the different manufacturers can make their mark on it - I'm pretty sure the majority of people tend to prefer plain android). Tablet and smartphone manufacturers are doing this because they are trying to differentiate…

People chose the Lumia 900 because of the design, not because of the specs and the OS (it used the same hardware and OS version as others 6 months before it, so why weren't they so interested in those?). They also chose the Galaxy S3 because of its (mostly) top notch hardware, not because of its "Nature UX" skin. People also tend to buy the iPhone because of how good it looks. In fact I think there are 3 main reasons…

You forgot the upgrade factor. Brands delay upgrades because they need to test their own customized stuff

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#65

Post by nl » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 11:54 AM UTC

jbrechtel wrote: post #48

mjfern wrote: post #11

> I prefer the plain android look, and dislike the various skins manufacturers have used (I really don't understand the "pee in the snow" model of skinning android to look and act horrible just so that the different manufacturers can make their mark on it - I'm pretty sure the majority of people tend to prefer plain android). Tablet and smartphone manufacturers are doing this because they are trying to differentiate…

I can understand this reasoning, but is it really the case? In practice does anyone actually stick to HTC or Motorola because of their skins? I know that the feedback I usually hear has a huge selection bias in this regard (almost all techies) which is why I'm asking the question. Even considering the selection biased, I'd be surprised if people preferred these skins. I think that people who are aware of these skins,…

Some do prefer (some) of the skins. There are always active threads about reapplying the skins onto custom ROMS. HTC and Samsung skins are the most popular.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#66

Post by antidoh » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 12:46 PM UTC

bicknergseng wrote: post #21

Linus, man... the number of people who auto delete html emails is on the same order as the number of people who disable javascript or run desktop linux and don't know how to program.

He has a good technical reason for not liking html mail, but the number of people who care about this are vanishingly small and a device maker doesn't really need to care about them. There'll be an app to come along soon I imagine.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#67

Post by padenot » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 12:54 PM UTC

guelo wrote: post #26

My main disappointment is with the lack of Flash. Flash is still needed on a lot of websites and every time I've needed it it's a reminder that Adobe has cost Android one of its big advantages over iOS.

Firefox for Android supports Flash, fwiw.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#68

Post by giulianob » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 1:09 PM UTC

jiggy2011 wrote: post #49

charliesome wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why don't manufacturers compete on quality instead? I can walk into a store and see the Apple computers on one side and the Windows computers on the other. All the Apple computers look and feel beautiful, but the Windows computers are plastered with stickers and 'Beats by Dr Dre' branding. They're made out of what looks like the cheapest plastic ever. I can understand why Apple is absolutely killing it at the moment…

This is kind of a chicken/egg perception problem. The perception is that if you want to buy a "posh" computer you should get a Mac. Therefor Mac=Expensive , PC=Cheap. This is I guess part of the reason that auto manufacturers will use different brand names for different market segments. Because it's difficult to signal "I am successful and buy nice cars" with a Skoda badge. An example of a "high end" PC would be Alie…

Thinkpads have great quality but I have to say I have not seen any touch pads that come anywhere close to the quality of the ones on a Mac. Luckily I prefer the Lenovo "nipple" over a touchpad but most people hate it and bringing a high quality touchpad to a PC would be a big deal IMO.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#69

Post by zerohp » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 1:31 PM UTC

Andrenid wrote: post #18

roopeshv wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i am not sure why everyone is feeling that it is hard to open the box. there were 2 tapes on the box, which I cut with my room keys and everything was fine, it wasn't hard. Is it just me that feels everyone is just too idiotic when it comes to opening boxes?

Myself and my wife had absolutely no problem sliding it out of it's sleeve and then slicing the 2 tabs with a knife and lifting the top off. Only thing i can think of, is maybe there was a defective batch of boxes that were slightly too tight? The complaints I had been reading for days definitely confused me once I got it and opened it with ease.

A more likely explanation is that that the paper expands at slightly different rates. People who had no trouble, like you and me, received the package after it sat in a hot UPS truck all day. The sleeve was slightly larger than the box due to heat expansion.

Re: Quick Nexus 7 Comments By Linus Torvalds

#70

Post by bconway » Sat, Jul 21, 2012, 1:31 PM UTC

But the %^$ thing still cannot be set to send just plain-text emails. Why, google, why? Good technical mailing lists all know that html email is just spam or marketing people, and auto-delete html crap. Just give me the option to send text-only, ok?*

I have the opposite problem: My Gmail app only sends in plain text, and I have no way to change that on my Galaxy Nexus. Perhaps it's taking the default from my web Gmail sessions?