0815
Apr 25, 09:01 AM
Call me naive (or perhaps paranoid) but I've been assuming my location is being tracked since I bought my first smart phone years ago.
I guess the fine point of difference is: It is stored on your phone (and computer where you do the backup), but it is never send to anyone ... so Apple is not tracking you since they never see that information. Saying Apple tracks you would mean that information collected is send to Apple, which is not the case.
I guess the fine point of difference is: It is stored on your phone (and computer where you do the backup), but it is never send to anyone ... so Apple is not tracking you since they never see that information. Saying Apple tracks you would mean that information collected is send to Apple, which is not the case.
appleguy123
May 3, 11:40 PM
Then I want Don't panic(is this a reference to hitchhiker's guide?) to be our leader.
shelterpaw
Aug 7, 08:15 PM
Apple's $400 price for 500GB HDs is Absurd. Fry's $99 for 400GB Maxtor SATA/300 on Memorial Day is more reasonable wouldn't you say?
.
It is quite a hight price, but when looking into hard drives keep in mind how loud they are. Apple tends to choose quiet drives and Maxtor tends to make really loud drives. Would be a shame to buy such a lovely machine only to put a bunch of loud and whinig drives in it. silentpcreview.com is a good place to go to see which drives are the best. http://www.silentpcreview.com/
Seagate tends to do a good job of keeping the noise down.
.
It is quite a hight price, but when looking into hard drives keep in mind how loud they are. Apple tends to choose quiet drives and Maxtor tends to make really loud drives. Would be a shame to buy such a lovely machine only to put a bunch of loud and whinig drives in it. silentpcreview.com is a good place to go to see which drives are the best. http://www.silentpcreview.com/
Seagate tends to do a good job of keeping the noise down.
ehoui
May 6, 08:45 AM
Yes, you are correct - once you are in science or engineering. But how many children never get there because of a system that over-complicates even simple calculations. All it takes is a couple of bad years/teachers/experiences to put a kid totally off of math. Truly brilliant kids will likely overcome these set-backs, but most kids are not brilliant.... they are good to competent. And good to competent engineers are needed as much as the ones who put landers on the Mars... oh, wait wasn't there a problem with one of those that involved non-metric measurements? (what is the smiley for "snarky" and "tongue in cheek"?)
I can understand the intuitive justification of this argument, but I'd like to see something more rigorous before I accept it. My own intuitive sense is that learning measurement systems, while important to early child development, don't, in of themselves (i.e., imperial or metric), have a causal relationship with math and science success (or failure) in school. I think there are other much stronger factors to success in math and engineering. One example: "male malaise" in the UK and the USA (a general problem in elementary and secondary schools); also, public school math programs are not rigorous and set the bar relatively low.
I can understand the intuitive justification of this argument, but I'd like to see something more rigorous before I accept it. My own intuitive sense is that learning measurement systems, while important to early child development, don't, in of themselves (i.e., imperial or metric), have a causal relationship with math and science success (or failure) in school. I think there are other much stronger factors to success in math and engineering. One example: "male malaise" in the UK and the USA (a general problem in elementary and secondary schools); also, public school math programs are not rigorous and set the bar relatively low.
AZREOSpecialist
Apr 18, 03:16 PM
Wow apple is way out of line here, this is not right. That's like if the first company to create a netbook sued every other company who made a netbook afterward.
Apple does not license elements of its OS to others, unlike Microsoft. There is no reason for one netbook maker to sue another when they both license their OS from Microsoft. The only IP among netbook makers is any proprietary software and hardware design. The two issues are completely different. Apple actually owns the patents to those things they are suing over.
Apple does not license elements of its OS to others, unlike Microsoft. There is no reason for one netbook maker to sue another when they both license their OS from Microsoft. The only IP among netbook makers is any proprietary software and hardware design. The two issues are completely different. Apple actually owns the patents to those things they are suing over.
NAG
Apr 25, 10:07 AM
It's inaccurate because it doesn't track YOUR location, just the location of your nearest Cell Tower.
Your context is incorrect. I was referring to the website that supposedly has a lot of information about you, not the location database.
Thank you for the demonstration as to how almost everyone here is acting irrationally, though.
Your context is incorrect. I was referring to the website that supposedly has a lot of information about you, not the location database.
Thank you for the demonstration as to how almost everyone here is acting irrationally, though.
grahamperrin
Nov 17, 04:04 PM
sounds more like a internet security and windows virus detector then a mac AV.
ESET Cybersecurity for Mac
http://www.eset.com/home/cybersecurity-for-mac
�*unless I'm missing something, no on-access scanning
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 Business Edition for Mac OS X FAQ
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN2504
mentions ESET Cybersecurity (Home Edition) for Mac OS X
I'm not looking at the ESET stuff in detail but at a glance, the product range is confusing.
ESET Cybersecurity for Mac
http://www.eset.com/home/cybersecurity-for-mac
�*unless I'm missing something, no on-access scanning
ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 Business Edition for Mac OS X FAQ
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN2504
mentions ESET Cybersecurity (Home Edition) for Mac OS X
I'm not looking at the ESET stuff in detail but at a glance, the product range is confusing.
tablo13
Apr 25, 09:59 AM
Turn off location services, encrypt backup, or turn off phone. Problem solved? The backup contains more private things anyways. But the media has scared people again, the same people who complain about facebook's privacy while they post all their info on Facebook for everyone to see.
ticman
Jan 25, 08:37 AM
I am using the Barely There case mate. I got the case that is slightly rubberized as the smooth ones I thought would get very fingerprinted and be slippery.
Happy with my red case.
Happy with my red case.
drakino
Apr 5, 01:55 PM
2010 - Apple Loses #1 Mobile OS spot to Android OS
2011 - Apple pisses off their JB customers and loses 10% more
2012 - Apple loses #2 and #3 spot to Windows Mobile & HP OS
Within 12 months Apple will own the same market share as their computers, 9% ... and it'll have been the same story: rose to glory, abuse the customer and business partners, people get sick of the rulebook and leave for more open pastures.
This is all deja vu from the 80s repeating itself, wow.
I dumped iPhone at xmas, now I'll likely dump iPad 2 if this trend continues. If they really push the washington involvement to stop jailbreaking, I'll get rid of my 3 iMac\MB Air\MB Pro... I don't support companies who attack me. They're here because of me, not the opposite. If they don't get that, adios.
2010 - Wrong. Mobile OS implies iOS, and all the stats ignore the iPad and iPod Touch. Apple is behind Android only in mobile phone side, and not by much when looking at a world view.
2011 - I know a number of people who are in that 10% of jailbreakers, and they would still stick with Apple even if it was closed off. They enjoy the tinkering, but understand that they are hacking into their devices via exploits that Apple has a responsibility to close from a security standpoint.
2012 - Doubtful. Windows Mobile share of the market is still dropping even with WP7. Microsoft is likely to mismanage WP7 just like their other products. WebOS? It's practically dead right now, and would take a lot for it to approach anywhere near iOS next year.
Apple is still very much focused on the consumer. Yes, they control their environment well, but your particular complaint is a no win situation for them. They could ignore jailbreaking, leaving security exploits in the OS, and people would bash them for poor security. But if they close those exploits, people complain their freedom is being taken away, or being attacked. Yes, Apple could allow more customization, and other features jailbreaking brings. But it would require engineering time, and that time is currently being spent on trying to keep the platform advancing to stay competitive. It's all about priorities, and I think we all here can agree a better notification system and other nagging iOS issues are much higher on the list then letting people skin the screen with Scion icons.
2011 - Apple pisses off their JB customers and loses 10% more
2012 - Apple loses #2 and #3 spot to Windows Mobile & HP OS
Within 12 months Apple will own the same market share as their computers, 9% ... and it'll have been the same story: rose to glory, abuse the customer and business partners, people get sick of the rulebook and leave for more open pastures.
This is all deja vu from the 80s repeating itself, wow.
I dumped iPhone at xmas, now I'll likely dump iPad 2 if this trend continues. If they really push the washington involvement to stop jailbreaking, I'll get rid of my 3 iMac\MB Air\MB Pro... I don't support companies who attack me. They're here because of me, not the opposite. If they don't get that, adios.
2010 - Wrong. Mobile OS implies iOS, and all the stats ignore the iPad and iPod Touch. Apple is behind Android only in mobile phone side, and not by much when looking at a world view.
2011 - I know a number of people who are in that 10% of jailbreakers, and they would still stick with Apple even if it was closed off. They enjoy the tinkering, but understand that they are hacking into their devices via exploits that Apple has a responsibility to close from a security standpoint.
2012 - Doubtful. Windows Mobile share of the market is still dropping even with WP7. Microsoft is likely to mismanage WP7 just like their other products. WebOS? It's practically dead right now, and would take a lot for it to approach anywhere near iOS next year.
Apple is still very much focused on the consumer. Yes, they control their environment well, but your particular complaint is a no win situation for them. They could ignore jailbreaking, leaving security exploits in the OS, and people would bash them for poor security. But if they close those exploits, people complain their freedom is being taken away, or being attacked. Yes, Apple could allow more customization, and other features jailbreaking brings. But it would require engineering time, and that time is currently being spent on trying to keep the platform advancing to stay competitive. It's all about priorities, and I think we all here can agree a better notification system and other nagging iOS issues are much higher on the list then letting people skin the screen with Scion icons.
Hattig
Jul 30, 09:43 AM
How successful are MVNOs? Last I heard ESPN and Disney mobile are rumored to be shutting down due to low subscriber numbers.
Disney -> Steve Jobs -> Apple ;)
Who'd get a mobile phone on an ESPN or Disney network anyway? Free sport clips or Mickey Mouse backgrounds?
Hey dude, with all due consideration, bad fake screenshots don't even rank along side a rumour of a rumour as far as a useful source of information.
David:cool:
I don't usually have the time to find out if something's fake or not, but the /point/ of my post remains.
Disney -> Steve Jobs -> Apple ;)
Who'd get a mobile phone on an ESPN or Disney network anyway? Free sport clips or Mickey Mouse backgrounds?
Hey dude, with all due consideration, bad fake screenshots don't even rank along side a rumour of a rumour as far as a useful source of information.
David:cool:
I don't usually have the time to find out if something's fake or not, but the /point/ of my post remains.
kiljoy616
Mar 26, 11:05 PM
What crack-addled mind seriously thinks it'd be sensible or probable that Apple would come out with a new iPad 5 months after... coming out with a new iPad?
I mean, I suppose, if they just wanted to take the biggest splashiest attention grabber product they have and not bother capitalizing on all the time & money they spent on iPad2, and just completely hamfist the frickin thing up it's own arse for the sheer bloody hell of it, then yea, sure it makes total sense.
Or you could look at it this way, considering that the new ipad 2 is a capable graphic gpu its possible that the big difference to the ipad will be some retina like upgrade only. :)
I was feeling( I know :p ) the ipad 2 and its so thin that it actually felt nice in my hand :) more so than the ipad 1 :o so making the ipad 3 even more thinner to me would not really be a sell considering how thing it is now and rather see an upgrade in resolution with maybe more memory. I can see apple making the ipad 3 more of a finishing touch to the ipad 2 than a whole new revamp. :D
I mean, I suppose, if they just wanted to take the biggest splashiest attention grabber product they have and not bother capitalizing on all the time & money they spent on iPad2, and just completely hamfist the frickin thing up it's own arse for the sheer bloody hell of it, then yea, sure it makes total sense.
Or you could look at it this way, considering that the new ipad 2 is a capable graphic gpu its possible that the big difference to the ipad will be some retina like upgrade only. :)
I was feeling( I know :p ) the ipad 2 and its so thin that it actually felt nice in my hand :) more so than the ipad 1 :o so making the ipad 3 even more thinner to me would not really be a sell considering how thing it is now and rather see an upgrade in resolution with maybe more memory. I can see apple making the ipad 3 more of a finishing touch to the ipad 2 than a whole new revamp. :D
BlizzardBomb
Jul 23, 05:59 AM
I posted this question in another thread but no one has answered it, so... I was wondering what thoughts you had on this:
Will this upgrade to Core 2 Duo be considered a RevB strictly speaking, for the iMacs? I mean, since it's a new generation of Intel chip as opposed to a speed bump of an existing chip, is it likely to cause any unknown bugs or dramas that the Core Duos didn't?
I'm in the market for a new iMac when they put the new chips in, but I want to be confident that this time they'll have ironed out all the bugs from the initial release of Intel iMacs, plus not be likely to have new bugs caused by the new architecture of the Core 2 Duos.
Thoughts?
Chuck.
If iMacs get Merom its highly likely there'll be 0 new problems. If they get Conroe there is a very very small possibility of heat issues.
Will this upgrade to Core 2 Duo be considered a RevB strictly speaking, for the iMacs? I mean, since it's a new generation of Intel chip as opposed to a speed bump of an existing chip, is it likely to cause any unknown bugs or dramas that the Core Duos didn't?
I'm in the market for a new iMac when they put the new chips in, but I want to be confident that this time they'll have ironed out all the bugs from the initial release of Intel iMacs, plus not be likely to have new bugs caused by the new architecture of the Core 2 Duos.
Thoughts?
Chuck.
If iMacs get Merom its highly likely there'll be 0 new problems. If they get Conroe there is a very very small possibility of heat issues.
wovel
Apr 7, 03:23 PM
I feel like im taking crazy pills...I think theres some confusion as to my feelings on the topic. Apple SHOULD include a discrete GPU in all of it's PRO Macbook line. Period. If you want a more exotic upgrade, fine. But to give a high end, expensive notebook integrated graphics is pure rubbish! Now, does Apple make more money by their status quo? Absolutely. Is is the right thing for the consumer? NO.
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yamabushi
May 3, 02:35 AM
There is a strong economic argument for completing the switch now in the U.S. as it can help promote more trade. With the current weak dollar this is a good time to make a stronger push for more exports. Having products with measurement units that already match those of most of the rest of the world reduces costs and enables more products to be exposed to the international market. This means that short term costs to switch should be a good investment for the country overall. U.S. consumers likewise can benefit from reduced prices for some products and a greater variety of products available.
There are also benefits from reduced time spent on education of the outdated system and more natural proficiency with the newer more universal system. Students, scientists, and engineers in particular can have a more intuitive grasp of work done internationally and save time spent on performing conversions. This makes them more productive and competitive when compared to international colleagues. The cost in time and money for conversions of data and products is actually quite significant in certain industries.
There are also benefits from reduced time spent on education of the outdated system and more natural proficiency with the newer more universal system. Students, scientists, and engineers in particular can have a more intuitive grasp of work done internationally and save time spent on performing conversions. This makes them more productive and competitive when compared to international colleagues. The cost in time and money for conversions of data and products is actually quite significant in certain industries.
George Carlin
Apr 7, 08:11 PM
I don't know if I buy this whole shortage thing.
If there is such a big shortage, why aren't people/businesses creating more production plants and capitalizing on the demand (which is only getting started from the looks of it). Where there is serious demand there is serious $$$ to be made!
It seems like basic economics to me but I've been wrong before...
Lg and Samsung both are completing multi billion $ plants mid 2011 for OLED panels that next gen iPhones and iPad's will use - Apple has already ordered over $7 billion $ of production to run on these lines.
If there is such a big shortage, why aren't people/businesses creating more production plants and capitalizing on the demand (which is only getting started from the looks of it). Where there is serious demand there is serious $$$ to be made!
It seems like basic economics to me but I've been wrong before...
Lg and Samsung both are completing multi billion $ plants mid 2011 for OLED panels that next gen iPhones and iPad's will use - Apple has already ordered over $7 billion $ of production to run on these lines.
goMac
Apr 21, 09:48 PM
doubtful, this is a key switcher market... it would be crazy to axe the very thing that will continue to switch the PC builders/gamers over the next 5 years... this is a key ingredient to apple taking the industry over with time.
My sarcasm must not have been obvious enough. :)
My sarcasm must not have been obvious enough. :)
ghostlines
Mar 31, 06:22 AM
Sounds just like some bloke from Apple. Snow Leopard's the last of the true desktop OS's. Lion is the bridge, and whatever follows will either be primarily iOS, or so close it's of little consequence. I'm so glad I hung onto my 2010 MBP.
Let's not forget it was the iPod that saved Apple and marked it's beginning as a gadget & entertaiment company. I had a nasty feeling then it would mark the decline of Apples great computers & here we are. How ironic it is that most people are unaware that a Brit actually invented the iPod and like so many other things, Apple stole the thing and ran with it. True "innovators" at Apple, yeah right.
iOS has good features like full screen, launchpad, invisible scrollbars, AppStore. And Apple is just incorporating those features, and so far so good imo.
I doubt they'll lock down OS X because we still need to use it to develop on, don't be afraid just embrace the new features you like.
Let's not forget it was the iPod that saved Apple and marked it's beginning as a gadget & entertaiment company. I had a nasty feeling then it would mark the decline of Apples great computers & here we are. How ironic it is that most people are unaware that a Brit actually invented the iPod and like so many other things, Apple stole the thing and ran with it. True "innovators" at Apple, yeah right.
iOS has good features like full screen, launchpad, invisible scrollbars, AppStore. And Apple is just incorporating those features, and so far so good imo.
I doubt they'll lock down OS X because we still need to use it to develop on, don't be afraid just embrace the new features you like.
Dunepilot
Nov 23, 04:43 AM
I personally don't see why Palm would actually be concerned about an iPhone anyway. It'll be a product targeted towards the consumer market, not the business market.
Palm's main market these days looks to be corporate, and their main competitor must surely be RIM. If you look at how many corporations (and public bodies, like local councils) are providing their employees with Blackberries, not Treos, that must be concerning for Palm.
I've never been in the sort of job where my employer would provide me with a Crackberry, but push-email seems to have taken off at a corporate level in a big way.
Incidentally, I just bought a Treo for my personal organisation and I love it (my last PalmOS device was an IBM C3). I'm sure Apple isn't interested in this though. The first iPhone will integrate the iTunes/phone experience, and also give slightly extended functionality to accessing Address Book. I also predict it'll have some sort of 'menu' button like the Apple Remote
Palm's main market these days looks to be corporate, and their main competitor must surely be RIM. If you look at how many corporations (and public bodies, like local councils) are providing their employees with Blackberries, not Treos, that must be concerning for Palm.
I've never been in the sort of job where my employer would provide me with a Crackberry, but push-email seems to have taken off at a corporate level in a big way.
Incidentally, I just bought a Treo for my personal organisation and I love it (my last PalmOS device was an IBM C3). I'm sure Apple isn't interested in this though. The first iPhone will integrate the iTunes/phone experience, and also give slightly extended functionality to accessing Address Book. I also predict it'll have some sort of 'menu' button like the Apple Remote
theosib
Apr 21, 04:19 PM
That comment about two-drive sleds makes me nervous. Apple seems to sometimes sacrifice function for form. Hense the tendency for the smaller notebooks to get REALLY HOT. This is a problem for gamers, because most 3G games just use 100% CPU all of the time, and some Macs (mine for instance) have been known to develop faults as a result of prolongued exposure to heat.
So, here they're going to pack the hard drives in more tightly? Fine for SSDs, but mechanical hard drives are unreliable beasts. Packing them closer is just going to make it harder to cool them properly. And in fact, it appears that most PC makers (Apple is no exception) pay very little attention to hard drive cooling. Why do you think there were so many Time Capsule failures? Apple III all over again. No fans, no airflow, component failure.
So, here they're going to pack the hard drives in more tightly? Fine for SSDs, but mechanical hard drives are unreliable beasts. Packing them closer is just going to make it harder to cool them properly. And in fact, it appears that most PC makers (Apple is no exception) pay very little attention to hard drive cooling. Why do you think there were so many Time Capsule failures? Apple III all over again. No fans, no airflow, component failure.
mmoosa
Mar 28, 09:43 AM
That's just getting complacent in my opinion, people like myself like changing phones yearly, no new iPhone means no return business, I'll try something else instead, bad move if true.
bruceleroy
Apr 20, 07:12 AM
If it comes in white I'll update
logandzwon
Mar 29, 09:46 AM
I seem to remember the "backing up your library" to the "cloud" was tried by someone before. They had software that scanned the CD in your drive and then either ripped it to their servers, or just unlocked access to that album in your account. RIAA brought them down. This seems a little different, and highly wasteful of space. If 500 people upload a copy of "whatever," Amazon has to store 500x the space of "whatever," rather then just unlocking one copy for 500x people. Keep in mind 1 meg of cloud space is easily over 10 megs of physical storage. (RAID, redundancy, geographical peers, backups, etc...)
Amazon... not sure what to make them. They seem to be doing things which obviously will get them sued. I guess they figure if any ONE takes off they will make bank. Either way, I'm excited about this because Apple is great at being the best. The better the competition, the better the Apple product.
Amazon... not sure what to make them. They seem to be doing things which obviously will get them sued. I guess they figure if any ONE takes off they will make bank. Either way, I'm excited about this because Apple is great at being the best. The better the competition, the better the Apple product.
CalBoy
May 3, 03:39 PM
I see no reason why 99, 99.5, and 100 are easier to track than 37.2, 37.5, and 37.7. As you said, we accept body temp to be 98.6 and 37.0 in Celsius. If decimals are difficult to remember, then clearly we should pick the scale that represents normal body temp as an integer, right? ;)
It doesn't matter what normal body temperature is because that's not what people are looking for when they take a temperature; they're looking for what's not normal. If it can be helped, the number one is seeking should be as flat as possible.
There is a distinctive quality about 100 that is special. It represents an additional place value and is a line of demarcation for most people. For a scientist or professional, the numbers seem the same (each with 3 digits ending in the tenths place), but to the lay user they are very different. The average person doesn't know what significant digits are or when rounding is appropriate. It's far more likely that someone will falsely remember "37.2" as "37" than they will "99" as "98.6." Even if they do make an error and think of 98.6 as 99, it is an error on the side of caution (because presumably they will take their child to the doctor or at least call in).
I realize this makes me seem like I put people in low regard, but the fact is that most things designed for common use are meant to be idiot-proof. Redundancies and warnings are hard to miss in such designs, and on a temperature scale, one that makes 100 "dangerous" is very practical and effective. You have to keep in mind that this scale is going to be used by the illiterate, functionally illiterate, the negligent, the careless, the sloppy, and the hurried.
The importance of additional digits finds its way into many facets of life, including advertising and pricing. It essentially the only reason why everything is sold at intervals of "xx.99" instead of a flat price point. Marketers have long determined that if they were to round up to the nearest whole number, it would make the price seem disproportionately larger. The same "trick" is being used by the Fahrenheit scale; the presence of the additional digit makes people more alarmed at the appropriate time.
Perhaps your set of measuring cups is the additional piece of equipment. Indeed you wouldn't need them. For a recipe in SI, the only items you would need are an electronic balance, graduating measuring "cup," and a graduated cylinder. No series of cups or spoons required (although, they do of course come in metric for those so inclined).
Of course any amateur baker has at least a few cups of both wet and dry so they can keep ingredients separated but measured when they need to be added in a precise order. It just isn't practical to bake with 3 measuring devices and a scale (which, let's be real here, would cost 5 times as much as a set of measuring cups).
This also relies on having recipes with written weights as opposed to volumes. It would also be problematic because you'd make people relearn common measurements for the metric beaker because they couldn't have their cups (ie I know 1 egg is half a cup, so it's easy to put half an egg in a recipe-I would have to do milimeter devision to figure this out for a metric recipe even though there's a perfectly good standard device for it).
It might seem that way to you, but the majority of the world uses weight to measure dry ingredients. For them it's just as easy.
Sure when you have a commercial quantity (which is also how companies bake in bulk-by weight), but not when you're making a dozen muffins or cupcakes. The smaller the quantity, the worse off you are with weighing each ingredient in terms of efficiency.
Why would you need alternative names? A recipe would call for "30ml" of any given liquid. There's no need to call it anything else.
So what would you call 500ml of beer at a bar? Would everyone refer to the spoon at the dinner table as "the 30?" The naming convention isn't going to disappear just because measurements are given in metric. Or are you saying that the naming convention should disappear and numbers used exclusively in their stead?
Well, no one would ask for a 237ml vessel because that's an arbitrary number based on a different system of units. But if you wanted, yes, you could measure that amount in a graduated measuring cup (or weigh it on your balance).
In that case, what would I call 1 cup of a drink? Even if it is made flat at 200, 250, or 300ml, what would be the name? I think by and large it would still be called a cup. In that case you aren't really accomplishing much because people are going to refer to it as they will and the metric quantity wouldn't really do anything because it's not something that people usually divide or multiply by 10 very often in daily life.
I suspect people would call it a "quarter liter," much like I would say "quarter gallon."
No, that would be 1/4 of a liter, not 4 liters. I'm assuming that without gallons, the most closely analogous metric quantity would be 4 liters. What would be the marketing term for this? The shorthand name that would allow people to express a quantity without referring to another number?
And no, you wouldn't call 500ml a "pint" because, well, why would you? :confused:
Well I'm assuming that beer would have to be served in metric quantities, and a pint is known the world over as a beer. You can't really expect the name to go out of use just because the quantity has changed by a factor of about 25ml.
...But countries using SI do call 500ml a demi-liter ("demi" meaning "half").
Somehow I don't see that becoming popular pub lingo...
This is the case with Si units as well. 500, 250, 125, 75, etc. Though SI units can also be divided by any number you wish. Want to make 1/5 of the recipe? ...Just divide all the numbers by five.
Except you can't divide the servings people usually take for themselves very easily by 2, 4, 8, or 16. An eighth of 300ml (a hypothetical metric cup), for example, is a decimal. It's not very probable that if someone was to describe how much cream they added to their coffee they'd describe it as "37.5ml." It's more likely that they'll say "1/4 of x" or "2 of y." This is how the standard system was born; people took everyday quantities (often times as random as fists, feet, and gulps) and over time standardized them.
Every standard unit conforms to a value we are likely to see to this day (a man's foot is still about 12 inches, a tablespoon is about one bite, etc). Granted it's not scientific, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be practical to describe everyday units, much like "lion" is not the full scientific name for panthera leo. One naming scheme makes sense for one application and another makes sense for a very different application. I whole heartedly agree that for scientific, industrial, and official uses metric is the way to go, but it is not the way to go for lay people. People are not scientists. They should use the measuring schemes that are practical for the things in their lives.
Not that OS X Panthera Leo doesn't have a nice ring to it, of course. ;)
No, but it is onerous for kids to learn SI units, which is a mandatory skill in this global world. Like I said, why teach kids two units of measure if one will suffice?
It's onerous to learn how to multiply and divide by 10 + 3 root words? :confused: Besides, so many things in our daily lives have both unit scales. My ruler has inches and cm and mm. Bathroom scales have pounds and kg. Even measuring cups have ml written on them.
You could be right for international commerce where values have to be recalculated just for the US, but like I said, I think those things should be converted. I don't really care if I buy a 25 gram candy bar as opposed to a 1 ounce candy bar or a 350ml can of soda.
Perhaps true, but just because you switch to metric, doesn't mean you need to stop using tablespoons and teaspoons for measurements. It's all an approximation anyway, since there are far more than 2 different spoon sizes, and many of them look like they're pretty much equal in size to a tablespoon.
I'm sorry, but which tablespoons do you use that aren't tablespoons? The measuring spoons most people have at home for baking are very precise and have the fractions clearly marked on them.
Other than that, there's a teaspoon, tablespoon, and serving spoon (which you wouldn't use as a measurement). The sizes are very different for each of those and I don't think anyone who saw them side by side could confuse them.
So if you're cooking, do what everyone else does with their spoons; if you need a tablespoon, grab the big-ish one and estimate. If you needed more precision than that, why wouldn't you use ml? :confused:
Because it's a heck of a lot easier to think, "I need one xspoon of secret ingredient" than it is to think, "I need xml of secret ingredient." You think like a scientist (because you are one). Most people aren't. That's who the teaspoons and tablespoons are for.
It doesn't matter what normal body temperature is because that's not what people are looking for when they take a temperature; they're looking for what's not normal. If it can be helped, the number one is seeking should be as flat as possible.
There is a distinctive quality about 100 that is special. It represents an additional place value and is a line of demarcation for most people. For a scientist or professional, the numbers seem the same (each with 3 digits ending in the tenths place), but to the lay user they are very different. The average person doesn't know what significant digits are or when rounding is appropriate. It's far more likely that someone will falsely remember "37.2" as "37" than they will "99" as "98.6." Even if they do make an error and think of 98.6 as 99, it is an error on the side of caution (because presumably they will take their child to the doctor or at least call in).
I realize this makes me seem like I put people in low regard, but the fact is that most things designed for common use are meant to be idiot-proof. Redundancies and warnings are hard to miss in such designs, and on a temperature scale, one that makes 100 "dangerous" is very practical and effective. You have to keep in mind that this scale is going to be used by the illiterate, functionally illiterate, the negligent, the careless, the sloppy, and the hurried.
The importance of additional digits finds its way into many facets of life, including advertising and pricing. It essentially the only reason why everything is sold at intervals of "xx.99" instead of a flat price point. Marketers have long determined that if they were to round up to the nearest whole number, it would make the price seem disproportionately larger. The same "trick" is being used by the Fahrenheit scale; the presence of the additional digit makes people more alarmed at the appropriate time.
Perhaps your set of measuring cups is the additional piece of equipment. Indeed you wouldn't need them. For a recipe in SI, the only items you would need are an electronic balance, graduating measuring "cup," and a graduated cylinder. No series of cups or spoons required (although, they do of course come in metric for those so inclined).
Of course any amateur baker has at least a few cups of both wet and dry so they can keep ingredients separated but measured when they need to be added in a precise order. It just isn't practical to bake with 3 measuring devices and a scale (which, let's be real here, would cost 5 times as much as a set of measuring cups).
This also relies on having recipes with written weights as opposed to volumes. It would also be problematic because you'd make people relearn common measurements for the metric beaker because they couldn't have their cups (ie I know 1 egg is half a cup, so it's easy to put half an egg in a recipe-I would have to do milimeter devision to figure this out for a metric recipe even though there's a perfectly good standard device for it).
It might seem that way to you, but the majority of the world uses weight to measure dry ingredients. For them it's just as easy.
Sure when you have a commercial quantity (which is also how companies bake in bulk-by weight), but not when you're making a dozen muffins or cupcakes. The smaller the quantity, the worse off you are with weighing each ingredient in terms of efficiency.
Why would you need alternative names? A recipe would call for "30ml" of any given liquid. There's no need to call it anything else.
So what would you call 500ml of beer at a bar? Would everyone refer to the spoon at the dinner table as "the 30?" The naming convention isn't going to disappear just because measurements are given in metric. Or are you saying that the naming convention should disappear and numbers used exclusively in their stead?
Well, no one would ask for a 237ml vessel because that's an arbitrary number based on a different system of units. But if you wanted, yes, you could measure that amount in a graduated measuring cup (or weigh it on your balance).
In that case, what would I call 1 cup of a drink? Even if it is made flat at 200, 250, or 300ml, what would be the name? I think by and large it would still be called a cup. In that case you aren't really accomplishing much because people are going to refer to it as they will and the metric quantity wouldn't really do anything because it's not something that people usually divide or multiply by 10 very often in daily life.
I suspect people would call it a "quarter liter," much like I would say "quarter gallon."
No, that would be 1/4 of a liter, not 4 liters. I'm assuming that without gallons, the most closely analogous metric quantity would be 4 liters. What would be the marketing term for this? The shorthand name that would allow people to express a quantity without referring to another number?
And no, you wouldn't call 500ml a "pint" because, well, why would you? :confused:
Well I'm assuming that beer would have to be served in metric quantities, and a pint is known the world over as a beer. You can't really expect the name to go out of use just because the quantity has changed by a factor of about 25ml.
...But countries using SI do call 500ml a demi-liter ("demi" meaning "half").
Somehow I don't see that becoming popular pub lingo...
This is the case with Si units as well. 500, 250, 125, 75, etc. Though SI units can also be divided by any number you wish. Want to make 1/5 of the recipe? ...Just divide all the numbers by five.
Except you can't divide the servings people usually take for themselves very easily by 2, 4, 8, or 16. An eighth of 300ml (a hypothetical metric cup), for example, is a decimal. It's not very probable that if someone was to describe how much cream they added to their coffee they'd describe it as "37.5ml." It's more likely that they'll say "1/4 of x" or "2 of y." This is how the standard system was born; people took everyday quantities (often times as random as fists, feet, and gulps) and over time standardized them.
Every standard unit conforms to a value we are likely to see to this day (a man's foot is still about 12 inches, a tablespoon is about one bite, etc). Granted it's not scientific, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be practical to describe everyday units, much like "lion" is not the full scientific name for panthera leo. One naming scheme makes sense for one application and another makes sense for a very different application. I whole heartedly agree that for scientific, industrial, and official uses metric is the way to go, but it is not the way to go for lay people. People are not scientists. They should use the measuring schemes that are practical for the things in their lives.
Not that OS X Panthera Leo doesn't have a nice ring to it, of course. ;)
No, but it is onerous for kids to learn SI units, which is a mandatory skill in this global world. Like I said, why teach kids two units of measure if one will suffice?
It's onerous to learn how to multiply and divide by 10 + 3 root words? :confused: Besides, so many things in our daily lives have both unit scales. My ruler has inches and cm and mm. Bathroom scales have pounds and kg. Even measuring cups have ml written on them.
You could be right for international commerce where values have to be recalculated just for the US, but like I said, I think those things should be converted. I don't really care if I buy a 25 gram candy bar as opposed to a 1 ounce candy bar or a 350ml can of soda.
Perhaps true, but just because you switch to metric, doesn't mean you need to stop using tablespoons and teaspoons for measurements. It's all an approximation anyway, since there are far more than 2 different spoon sizes, and many of them look like they're pretty much equal in size to a tablespoon.
I'm sorry, but which tablespoons do you use that aren't tablespoons? The measuring spoons most people have at home for baking are very precise and have the fractions clearly marked on them.
Other than that, there's a teaspoon, tablespoon, and serving spoon (which you wouldn't use as a measurement). The sizes are very different for each of those and I don't think anyone who saw them side by side could confuse them.
So if you're cooking, do what everyone else does with their spoons; if you need a tablespoon, grab the big-ish one and estimate. If you needed more precision than that, why wouldn't you use ml? :confused:
Because it's a heck of a lot easier to think, "I need one xspoon of secret ingredient" than it is to think, "I need xml of secret ingredient." You think like a scientist (because you are one). Most people aren't. That's who the teaspoons and tablespoons are for.