fanboy nonsense about netbook vs. iPad debunked

On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 14:38:58 +0000, in
<[email protected]>, Larry <[email protected]>
wrote:

>nospam <[email protected]> wrote in news:130620100038521497%
>[email protected]:
>
>> it is also twice the weight and a little more than half the battery
>> life.
>
>Oh, horse****. It weighs 2oz and runs for days, far longer than you'll be
>traveling unless you're an over-the-road truck driver.
>
>It's greatest benefit is you can sit the GPS puck in the window so it can
>see the satellite cluster, then only have to have the netbook/tablet in 10
>meters of it so Bluetooth can connect. You don't HAVE to sit in the window
>using the shiny screen piece of **** you can't see in the sunlight just to
>get a decent GPS signal that's not jerking around all over the place.
>
>Now, tell us about your ****pad being clairvoyant and can see GPS
>satellites 16000 miles away through a solid steel roof perfectly....(sigh)

"Never argue with an idiot. He'll drag you down to his level
and then beat you with experience." -Dr. Alan Zimmerman

---

› See More: fanboy nonsense about netbook vs. iPad debunked

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
<[email protected]> wrote:

> > it is also twice the weight and a little more than half the battery
> > life.
>
> Oh, horse****. It weighs 2oz and runs for days, far longer than you'll be
> traveling unless you're an over-the-road truck driver.

bull****.

the samsung nc10 weighs 2.8 pounds. the ipad weights 1.5 pounds.

<http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/o...g/netbooks/NP-
NC10-KA02US/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=spec>

In article <[email protected]>, John Navas
<[email protected]> wrote:

> To be fair, you can buy non-Apple add-on battery packs for iToys that

the fact that you resort to name calling says more about you than it
does about the product, namely that you're a hypocrite.

> will greatly extend their runtime while charging their main batteries at
> the same time. But it's nonetheless more convenient to swap batteries,
> especially when the battery needs to be replaced.

except that in typical use, it rarely needs to be replaced. most people
can go a week without recharging. unless you live in a forest, it's not
a problem.

In message <[email protected]> John Navas
<[email protected]> was claimed to have wrote:

>I have never seen a single documented Flash crash in either my personal
>or professional experience. Have I just been lucky? Or is it because
>I keep all software properly updated?

Either luck, inability to determine that a browser crash was flash
related, or you simply don't use flash much.

On 12/06/10 9:38 PM, nospam wrote:

> in other words, the gps is *external*. thanks for confirming what i
> said.

There's actually a big advantage to the external GPS pucks, or at least
external GPS antennas that connect to an internal GPS receiver.

In article <[email protected]>, DevilsPGD
<[email protected]> wrote:

> In message <[email protected]> John Navas
> <[email protected]> was claimed to have wrote:
> >I have never seen a single documented Flash crash in either my personal
> >or professional experience. Have I just been lucky? Or is it because
> >I keep all software properly updated?
>
> Either luck, inability to determine that a browser crash was flash
> related, or you simply don't use flash much.

or he's lying.

In article <[email protected]>, SMS
<[email protected]> wrote:

> > in other words, the gps is *external*. thanks for confirming what i
> > said.
>
> There's actually a big advantage to the external GPS pucks, or at least
> external GPS antennas that connect to an internal GPS receiver.

there is flexibility in putting a gps puck someplace that's optimum
with the tablet/netbook/laptop elsewhere, but on the other hand, it's
an extra item to lose.

people make a big fuss over the camera connector and other accessories
on the ipad, but somehow it's ok for a gps puck?

On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:36:32 -0700, in
<[email protected]>, DevilsPGD
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In message <[email protected]> John Navas
><[email protected]> was claimed to have wrote:
>
>>I have never seen a single documented Flash crash in either my personal
>>or professional experience. Have I just been lucky? Or is it because
>>I keep all software properly updated?
>
>Either luck, inability to determine that a browser crash was flash
>related, or you simply don't use flash much.

I use the Web at least as intensively as anyone else.
My browsers don't crash. My friends and clients likewise.
Perhaps you've got system problems unrelated to Flash.

--
Best regards,
John

If the iPhone and iPad are really so impressive,
then why do iFans keep making excuses for them?

On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:43:55 -0700, in
<[email protected]>, SMS
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On 14/06/10 1:41 AM, nospam wrote:

>> there is flexibility in putting a gps puck someplace that's optimum
>> with the tablet/netbook/laptop elsewhere, but on the other hand, it's
>> an extra item to lose.
>>
>> people make a big fuss over the camera connector and other accessories
>> on the ipad, but somehow it's ok for a gps puck?
>
>Yes, because the GPS puck (or external antenna) adds extremely useful
>functionality that is not possible to build into the base unit. I have a
>tablet PC and I've used a Cardbus GPS in it. Without the external
>antenna it's very difficult to use in a car as a GPS because it's too
>large to have on top of the dashboard (where it has a clear view of the
>sky), but if you mount it to the right of the driver in front of the
>dashboard it usually does not pick up enough satellites (even with the
>sun roof open!).

Then it's a poor GPS receiver.
Better GPS receivers (e.g., SiRF) have no such hassles.

--
Best regards,
John

"A little learning is a dangerous thing." -Alexander Pope
"It is better to sit in silence and appear ignorant,
than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." -Mark Twain
"Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn."
-Benjamin Franklin

On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 05:40:27 -0400, in
<[email protected]>, Todd Allcock
<[email protected]> wrote:

>At 13 Jun 2010 00:38:52 -0400 nospam wrote:
>
>> > > for some things, but not for others. how well does that netbook help
>> > > you navigate without a gps or compass?
>> >
>> > What the hell are you talking about? My Samsung NC10 has a 20 channel,
>
>> > WAAS-compensated, bluetooth GPS receiver so accurate it will place the
>> > little GPS puck in the exact parking space at the mall.
>>
>> it does not have a gps or a compass.
>>
>> > It's the same
>> > little pocket puck I use on my Nokia N800 Linux tablets.
>>
>> in other words, the gps is *external*. thanks for confirming what i
>> said.
>
>Well, to be fair, the GPS is only included with the iPad 3G, ...

That's because it's (cheaper) A-GPS (Assisted GPS),
which isn't as accurate as (mor expensive) standalone GPS.

--
Best regards,
John

If the iPhone and iPad are really so impressive,
then why do iFans keep making excuses for them?

Larry wrote:
> John Navas <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> Then it's a poor GPS receiver.
>> Better GPS receivers (e.g., SiRF) have no such hassles.
>>
>>
>
> I'm surprised at you, John. GPS isn't a problem for receivers, by its
> very analog nature, GPS requires a CLEAR, UNOBSTRUCTED, DIRECT PATH to
> the birds.
>
> GPS works on the time it takes the signal to move from the bird to the
> receiver....Anything that upsets that timing path, trashes the timing
> and trashes the fix. It's pure physics.
>
> If you have a multipath signal from the bird, a weak or no direct
> signal, the time it takes the pulse train to arrive from the bird is
> LONGER by microseconds. The path from 8 is really long, the path from
> 12 is shorter, but still not direct. The path from 10 is direct but
> fades in and out. The path from 13 is direct and strong. The
> convergence of all these multiple odd length timing paths, makes the
> calculation each second horribly wrong. And I can prove it to you.
>
> Go to any fast food joint you like that has a roof loaded with AC units,
> preferably one with a steel roof to block all the direct signal to make
> the problem worse. Pick one on a busy highway near a busy airport so we
> don't have to wait to see the effect of the passing trucks/cars/planes
> and reflective other buildings like hotels around the restaurant.
>
> Sit in the middle of the restaurant and boot up any GPS. Set the
> display in very close so only the restaurant and surrounding properties
> are on the display. Set tracking to on so we can watch the trail.
>
> Set and watch it. The fix is constantly in motion because the only
> signal the GPS is receiving is a reflected signal soup off nearby
> objects, moving vehicles, passing airplanes you can see out the windows,
> but no good fix through the blocking roof. It's very easy to see the
> fix sucks.
>


Drive the Interstates among metal-sheathed semi-trailers and this
becomes quite apparent.

In article <[email protected]>, John Navas
<[email protected]> wrote:

> That's because it's (cheaper) A-GPS (Assisted GPS),
> which isn't as accurate as (mor expensive) standalone GPS.

absolute nonsense. assisted gps gets a fix faster and just as accurate.

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I'm surprised at you, John. GPS isn't a problem for receivers, by its
> very analog nature, GPS requires a CLEAR, UNOBSTRUCTED, DIRECT PATH to
> the birds.

it doesn't with the better gps chipsets.

> Go to any fast food joint you like that has a roof loaded with AC units,
> preferably one with a steel roof to block all the direct signal to make
> the problem worse. Pick one on a busy highway near a busy airport so we
> don't have to wait to see the effect of the passing trucks/cars/planes
> and reflective other buildings like hotels around the restaurant.
>
> Sit in the middle of the restaurant and boot up any GPS. Set the
> display in very close so only the restaurant and surrounding properties
> are on the display. Set tracking to on so we can watch the trail.
>
> Set and watch it. The fix is constantly in motion because the only
> signal the GPS is receiving is a reflected signal soup off nearby
> objects, moving vehicles, passing airplanes you can see out the windows,
> but no good fix through the blocking roof. It's very easy to see the
> fix sucks.

nope. i've gotten a fix inside a steel frame building.

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
<[email protected]> wrote:

> My puck stays in the car, plugged into a cig lighter USB charger when the
> car is running. I think I took it out to show a guy with an iPhone and no
> GPS about a year ago. There's a cover on my dash and the puck is under it
> to keep it out of the sun. The heat doesn't seem to bother it.

which means it won't work outside of the car. that's a huge drawback.

> Why would you carry it, unless you're going for a walk in a strange city?

location aware software.

In article <[email protected]>, Larry
<[email protected]> wrote:

> For mobile, the bluetooth GPS is better...no wires and you can leave it in
> the car. It even works into a restaurant still from the car, but I don't
> see the point.

yes, that's true. you don't see the point.