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Microsoft Band

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Re: Microsoft Band

#291

Post by k-mcgrady »

joosters wrote: post #284
molmalo wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the site, "Get a quick read of the UV Index so you can decide to apply sunscreen before you hit the road."

Couldn't you just look up at the sky to answer this question?

As much as I agree with you the same thing is often said about weather apps. However the really accurate ones (e.g. Dark Sky) that can predict to the minute and give intensity are really useful. For example I was able to plan my lunch break using it yesterday so I was out of the office in the 30 mins of dry weather between rain showers. The the UV sensor you could probably work out what strength suncream you need and if people apply the correct strength maybe in the long term skin cancer rates will fall. Small change in behaviour due to better information, big improvement for society.

Re: Microsoft Band

#292

Post by somberi »

blumkvist wrote: post #285
ethomson wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To compare Microsoft Band to a FitBit doesn't do the Band justice. FitBit is a toy - counting footsteps isn't "fitness" and a few LEDs isn't feedback. With GPS and an actual display, the Band actually has the ability to compete against Garmin and Suunto and actual fitness watches. My Garmin is bulky, can't lock a signal in a neighborhood with tall buildings and has software reminiscent of an Atari. And it was more ex…

Hey, you seem to know to be an enthusiast about fitness tracking, can you give me a quick advice? I want a fitness tracker, but I don't want the display. I want it to be lightweight and comfortable to wear, ideally wrapping around my wrist. Sweat-proof. Pedometer, accelerometer, and have decent sleep tracking. A killer feature for me for me would be measuring jumps, as in rope jumps. Does something resembling this ex…

@blumkvist.

I own and use Argus (on the Iphone), FitBit and a Garmin Forerunner and in that order. The way I "teach" Argus is to first create a sample set of data and add it as an "new" exercise. In your case, I would count the number of jumps you do in a minute, obtain the calories burned online, and feed both into Argus. With Garmin afaik you cannot do that. FitBit has a funky "Steps climbed". I don't know what to make of the number it shows.

Re: Microsoft Band

#293

Post by CHY872 »

jacquesm wrote: post #276
gadders wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stack Overflow seem to be doing OK: http://highscalability.com/blog/2014/7/21/stackoverflow-upda... I think there is a case for an open stack, but I think unless you pick a real dog of a platform good people can make it work well. It comes down to a "can I get good people for stack X?" as much as "Does stack X work or cost too much?"

Just like in the case of Trello if you already have the experience you can probably save money if you use what you already know how to use. In almost all other cases open source stacks are cheaper. Stackoverflow and Trello are always held up as the shining examples of how the Microsoft stack is able to hold its own. That's great, I even know people that insist on running their web servers on Apple hardware. Whatever…

Big names mean nothing. You are not Google, they have very different requirements to you and their scale is much larger than your startup will ever be.

Microsoft aren't stupid - the costs they charge for Azure are largely competitive, and the benefits it provides are tangible.

Picking what technology will run your business is something that really needs to be done on a case by case basis, based on your knowledge and your business. Certainly I don't think it's desirable to make a permanent choice when you are still a startup.

Of course you'd use CentOS, unless you had need of the specific features that licensing it gave you.

Re: Microsoft Band

#294

Post by ghshephard »

annnnd wrote: post #192
math0ne wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does prevent that but it also prevents my device from ever being dead because whenever I'm at my desk I just put it on the charger. With the wired chargers in the past it was a paint to plug and unplug so my phone was always low but with the wireless stuff my device is naturally juicy all the time.

Have the batteries progressed enough that this kind of charging is no longer a problem? (I am talking about memory effect)

Memory effect was mostly folklore, and, regardless, was only specific to one very specific type of nickel-cadmium battery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_effect

"True memory effect is specific to sintered-plate nickel-cadmium cells, and is exceedingly difficult to reproduce, especially in lower ampere-hour cells. In one particular test program designed to induce the effect, none was found after more than 700 precisely-controlled charge/discharge cycles"

Re: Microsoft Band

#295

Post by blumkvist »

orbifold wrote: post #175
Void_ wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be happy to share my data with Microsoft or NSA for that matter, I'm pretty sure nobody there cares how I spend my days, and I don't think they're interested in your days either...

Well western governments are experts in keeping their population docile and politically disinterested. So I'm not surprised a growing percentage of their population is fine with being monitored and spied on. The majority of the population might not really need protection from the state, but the few that do, dissidents, political activists definitely do. By establishing a culture, where people are happy to share their…

>because the government thought they had to keep taps on far left student organisations.

That's a perfectly sensible thing to do. I would do the same thing. Any enlightened person would do it.

Re: Microsoft Band

#296

Post by phreeza »

darklajid wrote: post #215

- Click on 'Buy' - See 'you need a store to find out the right size' (reasonable) - Click on 'Find store' - Notice 'Only available in the US' - Close tab. Fail.

There are many services that offer forwarding of such orders. They charge a fee of course.

Re: Microsoft Band

#297

Post by reboog711 »

TillE wrote: post #201
DiggityDug7 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rather than being gutsy, I think it looks like it belongs in the Fitbit ecosystem (which maintains 69% of wearables marketshare, according to NPD Group). It doesn't appear to be hand-specific. Most fitness trackers suggest you should wear on your non-dominant hands, because they give a more accurate step count. I actually appreciate the fact that its not marketing as an entire smart phone on my wrist. I don't want to…

This is more or less exactly what I hoped the Apple Watch would be: a sensor platform with simple notifications. Too bad it doesn't look as nice as a Fitbit, though; that screen is way too long.

It looks as thick as my Fitbit Flex; which has no screen. The Fitbit Force which has a screen is a much thicker device in order to accommodate a LED screen that will tell you details.

I think this is an interesting compromise.

Re: Microsoft Band

#298

Post by vijaykiran »

darthg0d wrote: post #222
darklajid wrote: post #215

- Click on 'Buy' - See 'you need a store to find out the right size' (reasonable) - Click on 'Find store' - Notice 'Only available in the US' - Close tab. Fail.

There is an order online link just below the 'Find Store'. Check it out.

Looks like online ordering is also US only for now.

Re: Microsoft Band

#299

Post by reboog711 »

ethomson wrote: post #257
somberi wrote: post #243

Quoting an article from The Economist.com: "... Strikingly, one-third of users discard their devices after six months, according to research by Endeavour Partners, a consultancy. Some industry insiders speculate that the true number may be much higher than that. ...The novelty of being able to track your steps, calories or other metrics is appealing at first, but swiftly wears off. ..." Full article - http://goo.gl/h…

To compare Microsoft Band to a FitBit doesn't do the Band justice. FitBit is a toy - counting footsteps isn't "fitness" and a few LEDs isn't feedback. With GPS and an actual display, the Band actually has the ability to compete against Garmin and Suunto and actual fitness watches. My Garmin is bulky, can't lock a signal in a neighborhood with tall buildings and has software reminiscent of an Atari. And it was more ex…

All the 'newer' Fitbit models have displays including the Fitbit Force; the Charge (which appears to have replaced the Force), and the Surge (Which also has a GPS).

The big benefit I see to the MS product is that it is available before the Surge, and is a little cheaper.

Re: Microsoft Band

#300

Post by klausjensen »

jacquesm wrote: post #280
mattmanser wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're talking about their business arm as if it were the consumer arm. To the best of my knowledge, no-one who bought the Zune ended up paying $50k to MS for it.

I'm not talking about their consumer arm at all. No idea where the Zune came from, I was talking about their $50K credits for using their cloud platform.

I am curious, what is that 50k for Azure hosting program?

The regular Bizspark is 100USD/month.

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