Which Are You?

[Clancy_s]

Trending for what?

phone = android (try Titanium Backup for your apps btw)
reader = Sony
computer = ubuntu...

none of the above I guess

[Spock96]

I'm biased here. in the thought of I've never experienced the android OS. Would like to sometime though.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I absolutely agree. But my experience is Apple and Android don't play nice together, and when it comes to Apps, it is a nightmare. I wish I had a program like Calibre manage my apps.

Its called Doubletwist and will sync music and find your apps. It accesses the Google app store, as iTunes accesses the app store for Apple. I found it invaluable when I wanted to play with Android. There's also a doubletwist app for android devices, but its not actually *needed*. Its not bad though.

Then, to the original question... I tend to be Apple, but I am dual booting Ubuntu and Windows on a netbook (my main machine is my Macbook Pro), and I have a sony reader, two iPhones (one of which is the original) and an ipad3, two android phones, and two nokia phones. That's why I chose the last option. I dont want to choose.

[5thWiggle]

Originally Posted by jabberwock_11

Santa Claus is NOT Canadian!!! even a quick search on wikipedia will show just how insane that idea is...

"Under international law, no country currently owns the North Pole or the region of the Arctic Ocean surrounding it. The five surrounding Arctic countries, Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark (via Greenland), and the United States (via Alaska), are limited to a 200-nautical-mile (370 km; 230 mi) exclusive economic zone around their coasts, and the area beyond that is administered by the International Seabed Authority."

Beavers are evil.

Someone is getting coal in their stocking...

Santa has had his very own postal code, H0H 0H0, since 1982, which also belongs to Canada. Technically this postal code indicates that Santa Claus lives somewhere in Montreal. Over the years, this postal code gained so much popularity that employee elves at Montreal’s Post Office started answering wish list letters with more than a million replies each year, in more than 25 different languages. This might be the reason for Canada claiming Santa’s citizenship. Another claim that has been made to back up the idea that Santa is Canadian is that Canada’s flag resembles Santa’s robe. Also, the famous NOARD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), which has 'tracked' Santa for more than 50 years, apparently has records which show that his flight originates from the Canadian portion of the Arctic region.

Santa moved south to Montreal years ago. The North Pole operation was turned into a warehouse and left in an International zone for tax purposes. Santa wanted to become Canadian coz we're so nice

BTW, Santa has recruited beavers to carve wooden toys. Much faster than elves. Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for singing cockroaches you. I'm sure he'll forgive the "beavers are evil" remark.

[CWatkinsNash]

Best off-topic debate ever.

[Teknikal]

I'd have to say Droid I gave Apple a good shot but there are really just to many thing's about them that rub me up the wrong way and despite still owning a few older Apple devices I've been buying solely Android recently.

I just don't like Apple as a company or how they do business.

[jabberwock_11]

So what you're saying is that, at best Santa outsources jobs and at worst he is a tax evader and that the government of Canada encourages this activity...I'm betting the beavers gave him the idea. Why would he move to Montreal? The best thing to come out of Montreal is the Washington Nationals (heh, so long Expos) and that's not saying much.

Wooden toys...that has got to be a HUGE demand for today's kids..."Mommy, I wanna wooden ducky, but only if it's using Android 4.1. I've got too many android ducky apps to switch to one of those weird iDucks."

[Harmon]

Actually, for me it's "Apple whenever possible" rather than "Apple all the way". The fragmented hardware market resulting from allowing Apple, Amazon et. al. to tie their software and content to specific pieces of hardware guarantees that none of the resulting ecosystems will fully satisfy everyone's - or anyone's - needs, except for those people who don't really need ecosystems in the first place and can take a piece of each and be happy.

In my case, I'm happy with the Apple hardware ecosystem, except for its failure to include an eInk based EBR, or any reasonable substitute (such as a 7 inch lcd in an EBR form factor). I am also fairly happy with the software and content systems, though now & then I hear of an app I'd like on another system that's not available or is better than its analog on Apple.

On the hardware side, Apple rules, albeit at premium prices. On the software side, Apple is the best (meaning easiest) for anyone who doesn't care to spend time tweaking around with other systems. On the content side, Apple seems to accomodate the most content from other sources with the least bother.

To some extent, all this stuff is a matter of personal comfort. My introduction to computers was back in the early 80s (remember the Wang?) and my office stabilized on IBM based computers during that decade. I learned how to manipulate the OS, and deal with hardware, to the point where my knowledge was about as good as any of our tech support staff's. Then, in 1991, I spent a month at a place that had Macs, and those computers just made immediate sense to me. Kind of like finding a store where all the clothes fit right without alterations.

And this comfort level has persisted ever since.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by jabberwock_11

There are quite a few folks out there who seem confused by this rather simple poll. The question is not about phones (not primarily in any event), it's not about forcing any allegiance, and it's not about extolling the virtues of one OS over another. What it was about was to get a feel for how folks felt about the various OSs and which ones they decided to primarily use.

Oh, well in that case... I primarily use the Amazon OS, then. What's it called again?

[=X=]

My household has a composer of heterogeneous devices. We have a little bit of everything Linux, Windows, Android, iOS. My preference is Linux/Android because they make life easier. They're easy to use and play nice with the world because they rely on open standards. I find iOS is like pulling teeth hard to get these devices to work well and difficult to integrate in the network, Tough as stand alone devices they work great, once you get past hurdle of setting them up.


I always find it interesting when folks say "I'm too invested..." in solution xyx. I don't know if they truly feel like they are or are using that as an excuse for not opening up to a new alternative. Kind of like when I hear "I'm too busy..."

When looking at how much one has invested in the software most folks don't spend all that much maybe $50, $100 in apps over the course of several years. Yet tablets and phones cost several hundred and folks are often buying several of them for their family or for upgrades. The point I'm making is the software cost is much smaller than the actual hardware, folks really shouldn't get held up by the cost of the software. Look more at if the system hardware & software meet you need then make the transition. And don't think twice about having to repurchase the software.

=X=

[Pomtroll]

I have a Droid phone & use the google apps, I have an iMac, a Kindle & a Sony reader. So I use all 3.

[jabberwock_11]

The investment into a particular OS or ecosystem is not just one of money, but also time and experience. It takes time and effort to learn how to manipulate the systems in a way that makes them work in the way that you want them to work. It takes time and effort to learn which programs/apps are a good fit and how to use them. It takes time to become comfortable in a system.

The money for apps is also a large factor, in spite of the surface argument discounting it as important. $100 dollars worth of apps gets compounded wth the prospect of having to buy yet another $100 worth of apps to replace the abandoned ones. Not everyone who buys a tablet has a ton of disposable income. If it took months to save the money for the hardware then the idea of spending even more money to purchase apps equivalent to the ones which you have already purchased is a large consideration.

In the end the real argument against switching is this: why spend money and time to learn something new when it does not considerably improve upon the old, which works quite nicely? I have met next to no one who, having used multiple systems, honestly feels that ipads/iphones or android tablets/phones are all that much different from each other. Of course windows tablets nd computers are a whole different ball game, but that is not what we are talking about. We are discussing mobile systems and why people decide on one system over another.

[Laridae]

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

I'm not a robot or a piece of fruit. I don't worship penguins, mountian lions, or panes of glass. And I don't know Bill, Jeff, Tim or Larry from Fortune 500, although I'm certain they're really, really nice. I have a tablet, not a life style. I speak Android and iOS, not fanboyism. And nobody should face scorn for their personal choice. I use what works best for me at the time. I believe in choice, not domination. Diversity, not assimilation. And...and...er...um...and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch. And it is pronounced zed, not zee, zed. Canada is the second largest landmass, the first nation of hockey and the best part of North America. My name is 5thWiggle, and I am Canadian!

[after losing his place in his rant and getting caught up in an old beer commercial, 5thWiggle wonders vaguely if it's too early for a drink...]

Well said, eh?



As for my personal response to the survey question, we use a mixture of devices for reading (see profile) that none of the answers quite covered. Tending toward Android with a minor in the RIM PlayBook's very slick but underused QNX O/S.

Strongly averse to Apple's "walled garden" form of digital claustrophobia, while acknowledging that my son uses them and swears by them.

[Nexutix]

The "your" in last poll option is eerily unnerving.

[bevdeforges]

As someone else already said, "resent" is too strong a term, but I do resent being tied to one supplier for content on these electronic gadgets. (If you haven't read Jaron Lanier's "You are Not a Gadget" or Jonathan Zittrain's "The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It" you really should!)

I got a non-wireless Sony Reader (actually two of them) specifically because I wanted to have a selection in my sources of books. (Thanks, too, to Apprentice Alf and Calibre!)

I only got a smartphone (Android) when I switched my mobile service to a "bargain brand" that offered unlimited calling to 40 countries plus 3 GB a month for the same price I had been paying for 1 hour of calls-only with no Internet access. And I bought an "entry level" smart phone for about 1/4 the price of an iPhone and only really use the "smart" features for keeping track of my agenda, maintaining a to-do list and running a favorite shopping list program I used to have on my PDA. I have the (free) apps for a couple of magazines I subscribe to, but prefer downloading the content to my reader using Calibre - sure, I have to do so via my PC, but I don't find that a huge inconvenience cause it assures that I've charged the reader, too.