In a way it has happened already with the XBox. After (in my opinion) winning the previous generation of console wars, they set out to ignore their main audience to appeal to the ones their marketing team has decide to target. The only thing I really liked seeing from MS recently was Sharepoint 2013, which really is very good, especially for developers.
Yeah, their password policy is silly, especially for Office 365 accounts. They don't allow space characters either; its like nobody there reads xkcd, let alone any modern recommendations. I suppose they rely on their lockout verification policies, like a lot of banks (your bank password is likely not case sensitive, as an example)
I always try to tell people what an awesome product the Klipfolio v.5 was. I have kept it since I first got it years ago and find it to be the absolute best for RSS at a time when everyone is bemoaning the death of Google Reader. You guys are really dropping the ball by not trying to grab them. I suppose you have moved on from consumer-facing products, but damn, its a shame because the KlipFolio desktop that I am clinging on to is awesome.
It loads fast, but there is something wrong with the layout - it seems to be fixed at a huge width and so it doesn't let words wrap around. So you're forced to zoom in to read and then you have to scroll around to read.
Also, making it mobile-friendly! Reading HN on my phone is actually painful. Unfortunately I mostly read HN on my phone. Long-pressing the link to open in a new tab is totally wrong for usability. The font size and zooming is also really bad.
What should really ruffle your feathers then is that at some airports (like Toronto Pearson, but I have seen this at some American airports too) anyone can walk in from the street and wander into the baggage area.
I still can't get over the choice to push in Bing. I know that both companies are hoping that the collaboration is going to equal good things for both of them but really, it is likely going to go the other way.
They're going to have to pry Klipfolio 5 from my cold, dead, internet-hands. I still find it the most awesome RSS reader - as a bonus, you can program it to do pretty much anything as it is a full-fledged KPI program. v.5 is the last consumer-oriented one they put out, after which it disappeared, but you are still able to find it about. Give it a try if you like a desktop version!
This is probably just me, but I would learn javascript itself first, so that the frameworks are not a black-box. It is not very complicated or expansive, so it will not take that much time, but it will save you a lot of time in the long run if you are able to just go look at the source for any of the libraries you mentioned, and see for yourself what is there. There is a lot of bad javascript code and using a framework first would only encourage bad habits, but that is my personal viewpoint.YMMV
To me, it has always felt like there is a difference in how tangibles and intangibles are priced. A cup of coffee might be $4 but it is a tangible thing that I consume. A song on the other hand is (nowadays anyway) intangible in that it actually doesn't take any effort in creating a copy for me. So asking me to pay the same $4 for that song would be different. I have no answers here - I have been on both sides of the fence as a consumer and producer of content. It does seem to me though that we should all try and come to grips with the new world where it doesn't take much to create copies of some things, but where the initial cost to create it still needs to be recouped somehow.
I wouldn't say it is dying, but I would agree that there are many better alternatives out there for any type of project you would be considering. I think the old allure was that you could be virtually sure that there would be a pool of talented developers to draw upon, but now there are talented developers on many different platforms that offer efficiencies by working well modularly: there is no need for a single behemoth like .net
Ironically, the .map example is actually a bit of a waste. A better function in that case is to use .filter: .map really should be used when your resultant array is the same length as the initial array, except with different elements i.e. [1,2,3,4] to [2,4,6,8], where the same function was applied to each element. For array manipulation, it is often better to use underscore.js
Edit: I just read the bit about how grep was better than your .map usage. I still think filter is better than grep in a lot of cases, esp. when you are trying to chain methods when working with an array of (jQuery) elements
I can't believe that this was from CNN. I think I would have expected a more thorough analysis. That graph in particular is hilarious, starting at 2013 and going forward. The theory also that "since Apple users have stayed with Apple all these years, that they will do so forever" is fundamentally flawed. Just look at what happened to the Blackberry in the past (and Palm and Winmo6 before that). I suppose there hasn't been a compelling reason to switch from iOS in the past, but that is changing fast. Apple hasn't released anything really special in the last iteration, and they need to really scramble to keep up with the Galaxy line.
An email address is not part of a painless signup as we don't know what type and quantity of emails we will receive. As a result, I will sign up with a disposable email and never return. As it happens, I went there on an android phone and found lots of problems with the layout. On that note though, HN is pretty bad for browsing on a phone too.
I would disagree that you can escape from all data mining companies. For instance, I would be willing to bet a lot on the fact that a company like Acxiom knows a hell of a lot about you that you don't know yourself. And they are not that well known.Facebook uses Acxiom, but you would never know that. You would really only look at Facebook's privacy policy where Axiom would just be listed as a "third party" in there.
It is very difficult not to be tracked at all, unless you are using Tor or other anonymizer.
I am ok with targeted ads. I actually think that most people would be ok with targeted ads too, since a lot of my searches would have been averted by a good well-placed ad. For instance, I see something on TV that I want to buy; I have to Google "what was so-and-so character wearing in this episode" or search for the soundtrack to a particular ad. These are things that could have been targeted to me. A pure audio ad that plays 10 seconds of a song from an artist's new album is an effective ad, if that is an artist I actually like.
The lock-screen widget would be more useful if you could check/uncheck items without unlocking the phone (you are able to add new notes and checklists, so I am not sure why this functionality was not added).
I think the main reason to go to a conference is to immerse yourself in a certain type if culture. I attended a query conference last weekend and I came out of it so motivated to work on new things. It is easy to get bogged down sometimes by the daily grind at work and these events feature speakers who can show you a different side of things - things that excite you. And the best part is that you are there with others that share your enthusiasm. It is sometimes infectious.
I would say that the type of person that attends a Google i/o conference appreciates the cutting edge in terms of mobile and web technologies.
There are always going to be people better than you and worse than you. I think if you have the ability to teach yourself, you will be fine no matter what your age is.I am 33 now and I constantly try and stay on top of things. It is impossible to stay on top of anything for very long in this business, but it is important that you keep trying. I would not be discouraged about that particular age, since that is exactly when I turned mine around. Doubt is your worst enemy.
From what I have seen of the Googleplex, that could make a really amazing shopping experience. Imagine a playground for gadgets and tech - I would love to see it.
This is a very poignant article. personally, it doesn't bother me as much since I actually know what each platform is capable of. Most people don't bother to research and rely on friends or media telling them what to think. Either way, all that should probably matter is that they spend their money on apps and spend their free time using apps :)