Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 78 Editor's Choice: 28
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I don't think its a good phone...or revolutionary
[Read the article: Why the iPhone matters]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ok, lets look at this
WiFi on cellphone.
Nokia and other handset manufacturers have this in some phones. Is it revolutionary? Actually yes…if they were able to integrate it into the rest of the phone to provide VoIP (free or cheap “internet calls”). They could integrate it. But they don’t because the carriers would really not be happy if the phones they sell with service contracts allow users to make free internet calls on open networks. Hence, Wifi on cell-phones – including the iPhone – is there just for web-browsing. In fact, the iPhone is even more limited than other WiFi phones because it does not allow 3rd party apps that can take advantage of this feature. Make no mistake though… sooner or later one of the Chinese cell-phone manufacturers will finally get smart and integrate WiFi with VoIP function (in China, telco carriers are not that strong because most phones are not sold with a service contract).
(BTW, check out this link: http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/06/27/t-mobile-goes-national-with-hotspot-home-wifi-calling/ TMobile is getting in the action with WiFi hybrid service. Don’t think its completely integrated yet, but they are starting down that path. I wonder if this will force AT&T to go this route, or will they keep it closed?)
iPod iPhone / music phone
Fine. Except now a lot of devices come out with A2DP Bluetooth profile on the phone, but iPhone does not have this. Which means you can use wireless headsets. This is a feature I like in my current phone (Moto Krzr) because I can listen to music, answer a call, AND I don’t get tangled up in wires. Furthermore, you can’t customize your ringtones with MP3 (or at least, that’s what I heard). Now, I can imagine that A2DP support might be added later in a patch. But why leave out the customize ringtones? That’s a standard function already two years old. I believe the reason might be to let AT&T sell ringtones. And that, to me, is a big deal-breaker in terms of the ethics of the company. They are intentionally limiting their product in order to milk the consumer later on with features that are free to other phone users.
Business Usage
Cannot cut and paste. Keypad (in current form) is unwieldy. This would be OK if they allowed third-party applications to cut and paste and have land-scape keyboard. We will see how it develops in the future, but on launch, this thing cannot replace even mid-range cell-phones in business functionality.
Other:
No video recording. No Adobe Flash support. No 3G. The first two may be patched later. Otherwise many websites will not display and the the multi-media capabilities of the device are less than mid-range non-smart phones. No 3G means that for internet to be available and usable, it has to be in a WiFi spot. See WiFi above.
All of the defects of this phone may be changed later with incremental improvements. But right now, in all but visual design, this device is inferior to other smart phones (and some non-smart phones), heavily proprietary (no 3rd party programs, no VoIP), and very expensive. And definitely not revolutionary.
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How is this a virtual reality or "alternate reality" game?
[Read the article: Play peak oil before you live it]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Does not seem like either to me. Virtual reality implies that players play in a "made-up" reality (usually aided by computers). This "game" seems like its about 15% role-play, 15% case-study analysis, and 70% web-based scavenger-hunt/web phenomena.
I’m not saying that this is a bogus game, or its not good in any way. But I don’t think its so revolutionary either. It does not produce the intense, creative interaction of a traditional role-playing game. It does not give the user a taste of sensory stimulation and vicarious identity that a MMORPG offer. Its just a bunch of people with similar interests participating in a massive, unstructured case-study.
I guess I’m just not impressed as the author of this article.
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a little more about LuXun
[Read the article: The true story of Ah Q and semiconductors]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Andrew, I do not know what the words ontological or exegesis mean. I suspect I do not understand these words because, when it comes down to it, I am a poorly educated American. I never heard these words spoken in conversation, and my readings and vocabulary tend to revolve around things that I am interested in (video games, movies, new business ideas, hot women other than my wife).
My memory for details is not that good…it has been a long long time since I tried to read AhQ…and since then I have lost my Chinese reading ability. But I think there are some things about LuXun that your readers may want to know. He is regarded as one the greatest of Chinese authors. That is partly because he was a reformer and social critic respected by the Communist Party. But more importantly, he wrote in a very “vernacular” style. He wrote sentences in a way that would make sense to common people if read aloud. Before him, most Chinese books were not written in this way. Note that Chinese writing is ideographic – characters are essentially pictures with no inherent sound. So a lot of Chinese literature was – how should I say it? Non-verbal. People had to know many characters (there are thousands), and writing rarely had a narrative voice. Hence, LuXun is considered one of the first “modern” Chinese authors
I cannot say he was the first to write in a vernacular style, but he was certainly the most influential. I have heard that he incorporated grammar, style, and structure from both English and Japanese authors. Modern Chinese grammar was more or less “standardized” around the style that LuXun used in his writings. In a sense, LuXun is credited for bringing Chinese writing into the Modern era.