Live data from Hacker News

Google’s not-so-secret new OS

techspecs.blog

461–470 of 561 posts

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#461
post #59
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percent of people regularly use them as tablets without the keyboard?

I think there are several different characteristics that make us categorise a device as a tablet vs. a laptop, input methods being just one of them; there are many others e.g. form-factor, weight, battery life etc.

My point is I don't think people are buying Surface Tablets, I think they're buying Surface Computers (that can operate as Tablets).

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#462
post #459

So Google is going with a DartVM on this one. Dart is cool and all, but why DartVM? It's the same restrictive model we have with Android (dalvikVM) where you can only develop with languages that can compile down to Java bytecode. In this case, however, we will be using languages that can transpile to Dart source instead! Why not JavaScript engine? With the current movement with WebAssembly, I see a lot potential use…

Dart can compile to JS, so that edge is covered. Dart bytecode is arguably an easier target for other language compilers than, say, assembly. The DartVM's byte code is fully specified, there is some adoption, it's openly accessible, and there's a bold, production-ready reference implementation. For wasm, only half of that is true.

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#463
post #462
post #459

So Google is going with a DartVM on this one. Dart is cool and all, but why DartVM? It's the same restrictive model we have with Android (dalvikVM) where you can only develop with languages that can compile down to Java bytecode. In this case, however, we will be using languages that can transpile to Dart source instead! Why not JavaScript engine? With the current movement with WebAssembly, I see a lot potential use…

Dart can compile to JS, so that edge is covered. Dart bytecode is arguably an easier target for other language compilers than, say, assembly. The DartVM's byte code is fully specified, there is some adoption, it's openly accessible, and there's a bold, production-ready reference implementation. For wasm, only half of that is true.

Compiling Dart to JS is a very different problem than compiling JS or other languages to Dart.

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#464
post #456
post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but when you talk to regular people and their needs for web pages, apps, they are often either very trivial or unbearably complex. You can potentially automate away those very trivial with the current state of ML already, and there is a bulk of money there that goes to a lot of independent developers and smaller companies. And once you have such a system built, you can extend it as new advances in ML/GPU come, a…

Yes, some are very easy to implement, just look at squarespace's customers. One could build an NLP interface (bot?) to configure squarespace sites and this would take you quite far. Not sure I'd call that AI though.

It's a good start ;-) To get better you'd then have to enhance your meta-programming abilities as you see new possible cases opening in front of you. Will see how far would this go soon.

It's not general AI but even less-than-general AI can erode our ability to earn money from developing software.

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#466
post #393
post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any research on how many do that across Europe, including new devices versus 2nd hand ones?

My anecdoticat evidence from even poor European countries suggest phones are renewed quite often (~2years). The horrible manufacturing quality of most modern devices ensures the market for 2nd hand devices stays small, because these things break easily. To be honest, subjected to a "mildly aggressive & negligent" usage pattern, like mine, even an iphone will barely last more than 3 years and it will be in "far from g…

Personally, 5 of the 6 phones I've used in the last 14 years were still in great condition after the ~2 year contract period that I used them for (plus the one I'm currently using, but I don't get credit for that yet as it's only 4 months old). The one exception got dropped on a bus, and still works fine, but has a cracked but still functional screen.

I think most people are more like me, but there are indeed a non-negligible segment of the population like you (and my sister) who just destroy their phones. Based on everything I've seen, it's definitely more of a you thing than a modern phone thing.

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#468
I updated the article with the following clarification at the top:

I use Andromeda equivalently with Fuchsia in this article. Andromeda could refer to combining Android and Chrome OS in general, but it's all the same OS for phones, laptops, etc. - Fuchsia. I make no claims about what the final marketing names will be. Andromeda could simply be the first version of Fuchsia, and conveniently starts with "A." Google could also market the PC OS with a different name than for the mobile OS, or any number of alternatives. I have no idea. We'll see.

Re: Google’s not-so-secret new OS

#469
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You listed windowing/UI concerns. And, while they may commonly come bundled with the OS, they're not the same thing.

They're a platform concern. Not only does the OS UI reflect the input method, every single application you run does as well. A touch-optimized application will be clumsy and primitive when using a mouse; a mouse-optimized application will be miserable when using a finger. If an application can be written once for both, often it'll be a poor compromise or only properly support one of the two input methods. Look at how…

I think a single platform for all our devices: mobile, tablet, desktop, etc, is a mistake. The word platform means more than just the OS and includes the entire L&F/experience with the UI.

I think a single OS for them all is fine.

Consider gnome+linux vs android+linux. They're both linux, and they're not the same platform.

Post reply on HN