Slashdot Mirror

Or, in other words, "I saw it on the Internet, so it must be true..."

A perfectly valid point, but that's the beauty of Google's PageRank (when it works, of course). One raving lunatic could put up a page describing how he got screwed by, say, ThinkGeek. He could detail how he bought a shirt and it arrived too small and the company refused to issue a refund, etc etc.

If it's a real problem, then others will probably have had similar experiences, write about them, link to each others blogs, and so on... until the pat-on-the-back web gets dense enough to move up the Google rankings.

If the truth is that the guy ordered a medium shirt for his 400-lb carcass, and tried to return it after a 4-hour pizza buffet binge, and sent it by carrier pigeon with a note saying "SEND ME ONE MILLION DOLLARS OR ILL BLOG!"... then nobody else will link to his blog in a "me too!" context, and it will have no effect.

So, it's not "I saw it on the Internet, so it must be true." It's "I saw it in the first page of Google results, so it must be true." :)

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/7470/

Not trying to plug ThinkGeek here, but this Crossover adapter turns any straight Ethernet cable into a crossover cable, and it fits on a keychain.

"A $500 LAN Card? Oh my God, Stevie, thats almost as much as my GeForce9900XTLSI+ cost!" Said the kid with the Lone Gunmen T-Shirt.*

"That's nothing, This 8-Track-ROM player off of ThinkGeekcost almost a cool grand" Stevie said, as the other nerds bowed around his glowing and chromed Frag Machine.

*Lone Gunmen T-Shirts coming soon. 8-Track-ROM's, too.

"A $500 LAN Card? Oh my God, Stevie, thats almost as much as my GeForce9900XTLSI+ cost!" Said the kid with the Lone Gunmen T-Shirt.*

"That's nothing, This 8-Track-ROM player off of ThinkGeekcost almost a cool grand" Stevie said, as the other nerds bowed around his glowing and chromed Frag Machine.

*Lone Gunmen T-Shirts coming soon. 8-Track-ROM's, too.

I also like ThinkGeek's rendition.

... there's always the PlusDeck..

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/drives/6908/
(hey, it was the first relevant google hit)

Not sure if there's a linux driver tho :p

You can connect the line out of a tape deck to the line in of your computer and use any tool that allows you to record from line in (for example, sox on Unix or Sound Recorder on Windows). ThinkGeek also has a drive for this.

Once it is in your computer, editing, cleaning, and splitting tracks can be done with Audacity, which is covered under the GPL. I've used this to convert several tapes and LPs to CD and MP3, and it works quite well.

If you're looking to program software for it, the obvious places to start would be the audiofile library, and perhaps libao for playback, but I haven't found this necessary.

Perhaps you need to look at this.

This is lame. Why doesn't the backside read "deae"?

If I coded closed source software, I think I would probably deliberately load my code up with funnier comments. Something like:

/* I'm feeling lazy today, so I'll just kludge this for now and let the smart open source people figure out a better way to do it in a few years when it's released. Good luck, guys. */

or...

/* This is probably a HUGE security hole, but since the software is closed source, security doesn't matter much. */

or even something corny (a blatant ripoff of a ThinkGeek t-shirt I have):

/* Q. What's the difference between dead coders and me? A. 57,004 programmers. */

Any better suggestions? Reply, because I need something amusing to read this afternoon!

I think that the best keyboard for many slashdotters is probably a one-handed keyboard. It just so happens that ThinkGeek has one here.

...For all those special one-handed moments.

By the way, if anybody can figure out why it is called the FrogPad please enlighten us.

Being what you are then, is there anything within your level of expertise you could suggest as an alternative?

I agree with you, you're pulling the heat of the drives onto the cpu. Perhaps use something along the lines of a reserator to cool the cpu(s), and run the hoses out a card slot in the back? Then you could perhaps deal with the airflow issues.

Just throwing out ideas. Then again, when you consider placing a reserator outside, you might as well look at external drive enclosures. *shrug*

That is so true. And if everybody became a "service provider", who'd write the new software?

I also am a programmer, and I develop proprietary software for a living. I also develop OSS, but as a hobby.

General users don't seem to understand the tremendous amount of work there is behind every piece of software they use. Therefore, they're not half as grateful as they should be towards the programmers. When people see a street performer doing some music on the corner, they can do a direct link between the enjoyment they're having on the moment and that guy over there, so they're more willing to put money in the hat. When it comes to software, they don't see the programmer(s), it just came "from the Internet", and they are already paying for the Internet (paying the ISP that is), so they feel like the downloaded software is part of the deal they got with their ISP, so very few will think about donating to OSS projects.

As I said, most users (or most people, since just about everybody is a user of some software) just don't know what a programmer does, and they take all their software for granted. It may sound pretentious, but I do wear this T-shirt every now and then to remind people that there are human beings behind every computer program they use every day, that my job is to make their lives somewhat easier, and that they should be grateful for that.

Oh, this is shameless what I'm about to post, but here it goes.

If you want confirmation that geeks are at least somewhat popular with the ladies, check out the ThinkGeek web page that sells an "I [heart] My Geek" women's T-shirt. They have a whole bunch of shots of actual customers (girls) wearing the shirt, and some of them are babes. I mean, do girls this hot really date geeks? Apparently so, although I never knew.

give me a frogpad and a mouse with some programable buttons on it. and let me loose.

Now, if it were something really clever, like, say, taping a camera to an R/C tank and calling it a 'basement exploring robot', that would be totally different. Why, anyone who would do that would be pure genius!

Yea!!! I'm a genuis!!
http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/59eb/

As an aside, the camera is clipped, not taped, so I guess I would lose some points for that....

Why do I think they have a right to? Simple, I have to trust them with my personal financial information as does practically anyone who uses a credit card, thus I want them to protect it. That protection is an obligation, not an invasion of my own or anyone else's privacy.

Furthermore encrypting doesn't necessarily protect your privacy on a work computer.

Encrypting only stops them from decyphering what was sent, not what was originally created as it was in the process of the creation. With a solid security scheme in place, I expect the system records everything and flags long numbers, curse words and clipboard pastes. I certainly hope it does anyway.

Bottom line. Don't trust anything to be secure unless you own the box and know how to keep it secure yourself. Even then, assume somebody smarter than you might figure out a way past it and try to keep the damage potential to a minimum just in case.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/frustrations/31fb /

If you want practical 3D displays for something like an airport, you CAN use stereo goggles along with a trackball to rotate around the y axis. A setup like that would work well sitting at a desk, rather then this setup which would require everone standing around the center of the room, getting in each other's way. (Or each person with their own table to walk around)

Stereo goggles only require 2 3D graphics cards, which can easily be run by a single computer, and they end up giving you more freedom, since you can rotate an object quicker with a knob (or trackball) then you could walking around the display.

So why haven't they done this yet? Price sure isn't an issue. Though the price of reprogramming their systems might.

It may be because they want them to be able to see other stats other then just the view of the planes. But if they give multiple views on a single "screen", then use a device like the Nostromo SpeedPad to switch between them, then they'd have just as much control as they have now. Left hand on the screen controls, right hand on the rotation knob.

3D technology has been around for a long time. The problem isn't with the hardware, it's with the software. Hopefully, that's why the PS3 has two screen outputs: for 3D graphics in games. (If the PS3 has built in 3D goggle support, I'm getting a 3rd mortgage)

the old model on http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/display/price/d esc/0/25

may be "RipAGeek" would be a better name for that webshop...

Well, besides the travel-by-plane thingy, look at victorinox knifes:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/3653/

http://www.victorinox.com/newsite/en/index.htm

Think Geek's Tool page has most of the things you want on a swiss army knife, or a leatherman tool. You just have to go look for it.

Kirby

Think Geek's Tool page has most of the things you want on a swiss army knife, or a leatherman tool. You just have to go look for it.

Kirby

Welcome to Blackbeard's weapons emporium. You will see we have the finest collection of AK-47s, anti-aircraft missiles, and Airzookas. Oh, and over here we have wholesale zombie PCs.

Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case? Hmmmm..dunno that id own up to wearing a fedora, might prefer my /. hat and shirt -- http://www.thinkgeek.com/apparel/hats/2996/ http://www.thinkgeek.com/apparel/golfshirts/6620/

Does this mean I get to wear a cool fedora and carry my distro CDs in a violin case? Hmmmm..dunno that id own up to wearing a fedora, might prefer my /. hat and shirt -- http://www.thinkgeek.com/apparel/hats/2996/ http://www.thinkgeek.com/apparel/golfshirts/6620/

PVP said it first

Thats why they have magical products like this http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/294 0/

Which makes this gadget a brillant device. :-)

That /. would post a story on the awesomeness of water shortly after ThinkGeek begins selling a Water Powered Clock and a Mini Water Dispenser

Stupid planted articles...I'll buy what I want!...oooh...clock...

That /. would post a story on the awesomeness of water shortly after ThinkGeek begins selling a Water Powered Clock and a Mini Water Dispenser

Stupid planted articles...I'll buy what I want!...oooh...clock...

Input methods and battery life have been the two major reasons I haven't purchased a PDA since the Palm V. You could go weeks between recharging your Palm, while you're lucky to get through a day with the latest crop. I got sick of grafitti after a while, too. Sony's Clie looked promising but the ones with the keyboards were inevitably more than I wanted to pay for a PDA. So I'm doing without until I can get one with all the features I want.

I love my Mx1000. I have an Aqua3 Gaming Pad and as a pair, they're great.

I use the Nyko Airflow Mouse http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/6afa/, and I find that it works well. It has a 2 speed fan in it that cools your hand while you work. The fan is ever so slightly out of balance, so it vibrates just enough to massage your hand too.

Do you leave your car unlocked on the driveway? Locking your laptop takes no time and would prevent someone stealing your work.

Alternatively you could just use this ;>

Get a password keyring and stop worring about it.

Actually I have the first version of the keyring, which didn't come with a dock and was a whole lot cheaper ($60 if I remember correctly). The new version sounds better for businesses but not a great improvement for individuals.

Still. These completely solve the problem of creating and remembering secure passwords. What more d'you want?

i could carry one of these....

You don't need 197 lasers to annoy aircraft, you just need one automatic aircraft tracking laser

-Adam

Force FX LightSabers
My cousin has a pair of these, and my wife and I checked them out about a week ago. He paid about 99$US each at a chain movie store. This would have covered their visuals and their sound effects (at least so much as you would need for a home movie). And, according to the guys at ThinkGeek, they will hold up to some small-scale combat.

200$US has to be less expensive than their medical bills will be...

For the uninformed.

If WiFi was as power-stingy as Bluetooth (which isn't really all that stingy), I'd have no issue. The few tests I've seen of WiFi on Palms shows a battery life of only a few hours--often worse for PocketPC devices. The Tungsten C seems to be one of the best performers here, but it has a 1500 mah battery and a clever WiFi implementation. I'm not saying that WiFi isn't nifty or useful, but I am saying that obsessing over the need for it in a PDA misses the point of a PDA. For email, a Palm + GPRS phone is an adequate solution: email, especially if you use IMAP, is lightweight. I've done it a few times on my IIIxe with the 14.4 Palm modem. Not something I relish doing, but adequte. Web browsing on a Palm of all flavors is best limited to emergencies only. For testing WiFi availability, a smaller, cheaper device may be more useful. Streaming music? No thanks. I don't even do that on my desktop.

I'm not opposed to having WiFi as an option, which is why I mention the Enfora. I'm looking to upgrade my Palm now, probably to the Tungsten E2, and I'll likely pick up an Enfora at some point, so I'm not a purist. But the lack of WiFi is constantly listed as a "Con". Might as well tick it for not including a laser pointer--it's useful on some level, sure, but not if it makes the device more than a couple hundred bucks. I have no doubt that I can come up with gobs of Neat Things To Do With WiFi, but the fact is I'm very unlikely to do any of them with any regularity, and I think I'm closer to the average consumer in this matter.

Well, you have me there on the iPod issue--of course, I don't own an iPod for the same reason. Perhaps I am simply a marketeer's worst nightmare.

I'm not unaware of the purpose of reviews as a vehicle for advertising, but I am really puzzled by the dearth of honest and reliable reviewers. Especially in the Internet age. I'm a bit sensitive to this as I've been searching hard for a replacement cell phone, and cell phone reviews are particularly lame and worthless.

I guess I complain mostly because I think the PalmOS is so incredibly nifty, and that Palm is shooting itself in the foot by not: a) focussing on their developers, which in the end make their platform useful; and b) forgoing the Mac and Linux/BSD/Free Unix market altogether. If anybody is going to appreciate a useful, clever device, it's Mac users. Windows users are going to default to the PocketPC devices, simply because there are so damn many of them, and they'll likely get one from Dell when they buy their new desktop. Palm would do well to satisfy these markets rather than chase after PocketPC.

Been on Think Geek for ages... http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/6e04/

Remember the old mainframe(?) "animals" game in which you pick an animal, and it would keep asking you questions to differentiate between two types, until it guessed your animal, or didn't have your animal in it's list?

I remember. This classic game actually went a long way from the mainframe right to your pocket. See The Pocket Mind Reader.

I suggest one of these.

When done (or if the government busts in!), reboot your computer - no traces left.

I'd be extra paranoid and make sure to power off the computer, not just reboot it, to be sure all the RAM is reset. If they're super-cunning they could salvage incriminating data from it.

You could also go one step further on the keylogger protection and have your own USB keyboard that you carry around with you. Keylog that! :D Or even just buying a keyboard that you can't take apart might work. Have a look at this and this for ideas.

When done (or if the government busts in!), reboot your computer - no traces left.

I'd be extra paranoid and make sure to power off the computer, not just reboot it, to be sure all the RAM is reset. If they're super-cunning they could salvage incriminating data from it.

You could also go one step further on the keylogger protection and have your own USB keyboard that you carry around with you. Keylog that! :D Or even just buying a keyboard that you can't take apart might work. Have a look at this and this for ideas.

I wonder how customizable this whole audio set up will be. Will the annoying Holo flavored start menu be replaced and can we play our own music while it sits idle? I'm tired of the creepy sounds.

The Lightsynth is a great addition but I like a simpler Ambient Light. Now, if only the hard drive weren't so loud...

tHere wAs always supposed to be oNly Six... He said "nine" back in the eighties, because the technOlogy To make only six Films dId not Really exiSt at The time.

Been there, done that, gotta get the T-shirt.

ThinkGeek has something similar to what your mechanic uses to read your cars computer.

Because they are comparing Post-It Notes to the Internet wouldn't it be fun (and time-comsuming) to create an Internet Map using just Post-It Notes? Of course, Post-It Notes stock would go through the roof since it would require billions of stickies but it would be fun!