Learn to read? Really? How about leran to read critically? Yes, he said you can buy players for less with the features he listed, but he also stated those features make it "better". The things he listed don't make a cheap iPod knock off better by adding a bunch of half-assed feature sets to the device. It makes it easier for the marketers to add feature lists to the packaging.
Physical buttons and removable memory make an mp3 player better just like a digital clock and a food scale make a toaster better. I suppose the lack of FM tuner is a deal-breaker as well? And no external 8-track adapter either. Pffff..
you're picking and choosing your comparison points. you can - buy tablets much cheaper than the iPad, with stronger specs in some aspects (SD flash, cameras, ports, bluetooth stack...)
If you think SD flash and USB ports make a product better than an iPad, I bet you think a Chevy Cruze is better than BMW M3 because the Cruze has On Star and more cup holders (and gets better gas mileage as well).
- there are MP3 players with better functionnality (iTunes-less upload, removable flash, actual buttons that you can feel and click...) and better sound quality that are much cheaper
Equally laughable. You do realize its pretty easy to add music to an iDevice without iTunes? This is a geek site. How can you not know this?
It just happens many people care less when it's their desktop computer that it looks like cheep junk.
The thing I don't understand about this mentaility is that it doesn't cost any more to make something not ugly, so why not make it, you know, not ugly?
I'm a designer and work with engineers. There are no engineers on the planet that understand user interface design (ok, hyperbole, but still). Proof is in the kitchen at work (purchased by an engineer obviously). There are no less than three dials and buttons to engage just to toast some bread with the toaster oven. If designed by users, there would probably be one dial, but it was designed by engineers, so it has about five.
It's starting to look like Apple has set the bar too high for it's competitors in the pad market. Everything is starting to look like cheap junk or else it has problems with costing about what the iPad does or even more.
Welcome to 2001? Still waiting for those iPod killers.
No, what I'm saying is you can't use the fact I broke Facebook's TOS against me as a crime, when the only thing I did was break the FB TOS.
So I put some false information on Facebook. I've broken the Facebook terms...ban me. It's not a US law punishable by jail time to bullshit on Facebook, is all I'm saying.
1990-1991 Germany. I drive my exchange family's car through a red light camera and Gunther gets the ticket. They didn't care it was their American exchange friend, only that the owner of the car was liable for the action of the person driving it.
Heh, just like my 12 year old who defriended us, but doesn't realize we can still read all the stuff he posts by going to his wall. I will never show him how to hide his posts and only make it available to friends. My intel is too good right now.
Yes because nobody else could ever be driving my car. I hated that in Europe (German and England). Here's your ticket, even though we don't even know if it was you driving or not.
Having worked for ambulance chas.....err, personal injury lawyers, I can attest that it's our stupid insurance laws that cause our overly litigous society--not some desire to "get rich quick".
When they say "tort reform" what they really mean is "insurance reform". If your mom comes over to visit (or comes down to the basement for some of you) and slips and gets injured, the only way she can get assistance with medical bills is not through her OWN insurance (unless you are the basement dweller), but through the insurance of the property owner (that makes you basement dwellers safe). If we could insure ourselves, when we get injured, our OWN insurance companies would have to pay. You know all those premiums they are taking from us that most of us will never use? Yeah, most of us see that as a way to pay for accidents, but insurance companies see that as profit that is being taken away.
Facebook TOS and US Law are not the same thing. So I lied about something on Facebook. Cancel my account, fine, but you can't use that as TRUTH against me in court.
Two things have various degrees of correlation, measured in positive and negative. Everything can be correlated, but causation cannot be inferred based solely on the coefficient. The classic Logic 101 example that murder rates go up in NY city when ice cream sales go up. High positive correlation? Yep. Causation? Nope. High temperatures make people cranky (and apt to kill each other) and high temps drive higher ice cream sales. Or, my favorite conclusion, probably something else altogether that is not seen by the casual observer. Maybe ice cream does cause murder, through some sort of chemical induced imbalance. The interesting thing with causation and correlation is that you can identify correlation (and give it a coefficient), but you can't identify causation based on the coefficient alone, without further investigation. In other words, correlation is just a number and means nothing without context and further scrutiny.
I much prefer this explanation to the abrasive "CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION!!!" that the people-skills-deficient types around here like to throw around.
While the initial implication that automatics might be the cause is silly, you can't really say that it is "unknown" how many manuals and automatics there are in each country. It's well known everywhere in Europe that we Americans prefer automatics, and it's not even close, even though I'm doing my part an have owned nothing but manual transmissions for the past 23 years...every car I've ever owned.
When we took our American spec Ford Ranger pickup to England, the English mechanics were amazed we had a right hand drive manual. They figured all Americans drive automatics (which is a safe bet, but just wrong in this instance).
The actual quality of the road surface affects stopping distance as well. More importantly the driver's awareness and ability to modulate the braking as required by the changing surface and weight load of the car matter. The GranTurismo stopping thing is just dumb, because all you do is pick up your braking point and mash the brake pedal down (and down shift). The surface doesn't undulate and the braking is stupid-linear-smooth (unrealistic). The sort of "seat of the pants" driving you'll never be able to get in a video game can be simulated decently with visual and audio cues, but few game companies make it easy to lock up and skid (like Gran Prix Legends), because most people apt to pay money wouldn't find that sort of thing fun. Of course I do, and gladly would pay $100 or more for a good sim. GT5 is fun, but not a great sim (that stupid Lotus-on-ice-Top-Gear level made me want to sell the damn game).
Car physics become important when you take a corner too fast...
Completely untrue. Car physics are important at every speed, because car physics cause a car to react differently at every speed. Understanding this is the first step to being a good driver.
- Doing the posted speed limits when safe to do so, as opposed to being the only a-hole going 30 in a 45. - Staying out of the left lane except for passing, and, if you are in the left lane, you better be going faster than the car in the right lane - Not freaking the hell out when it rains (yes, Texans, I'm looking at you), and turning your headlights on in the rain (you may be able to see, but i can't see your gray pickup in the fog). - Actually accelerating on the on-ramp to get up to freeway speed instead of going 30 and merging with a -30 mph difference - Not pulling out in front of me from a side street when there's not another car in sight - If you must pull out in front of me, accelerate to the speed limit - Defensive driving courses are shit. Race driving courses teach you far more about the limits and capabilities than a defensive driving course that bores you with insurance laws and drunk driving facts. - Keeping more space between the car in front of you so that you can decelerate by lifting off the gas and NOT by tapping the brakes. People (read: large cars and SUV drivers) drive with their left foot on the brake, causing every car in a 10 mile line behind them jamming on their brakes. - It's a broken-down vehicle, nothing to see here. - If a cop pulls you over, GET OFF THE DAMNED ROAD. Pull into a parking lot or a side street. Stopping on the left shoulder of the Interstate should not be an option.
Shall I continue? I haven't even gotten into the aspect of people not even knowing the basics of car control, because people don't know the basics of getting along with other drivers on the road first.
Slashdot Mirror
Learn to read? Really? How about leran to read critically? Yes, he said you can buy players for less with the features he listed, but he also stated those features make it "better". The things he listed don't make a cheap iPod knock off better by adding a bunch of half-assed feature sets to the device. It makes it easier for the marketers to add feature lists to the packaging.
Physical buttons and removable memory make an mp3 player better just like a digital clock and a food scale make a toaster better. I suppose the lack of FM tuner is a deal-breaker as well? And no external 8-track adapter either. Pffff..
you're picking and choosing your comparison points. you can
- buy tablets much cheaper than the iPad, with stronger specs in some aspects (SD flash, cameras, ports, bluetooth stack...)
If you think SD flash and USB ports make a product better than an iPad, I bet you think a Chevy Cruze is better than BMW M3 because the Cruze has On Star and more cup holders (and gets better gas mileage as well).
- there are MP3 players with better functionnality (iTunes-less upload, removable flash, actual buttons that you can feel and click...) and better sound quality that are much cheaper
Equally laughable. You do realize its pretty easy to add music to an iDevice without iTunes? This is a geek site. How can you not know this?
It just happens many people care less when it's their desktop computer that it looks like cheep junk.
The thing I don't understand about this mentaility is that it doesn't cost any more to make something not ugly, so why not make it, you know, not ugly?
I'm a designer and work with engineers. There are no engineers on the planet that understand user interface design (ok, hyperbole, but still). Proof is in the kitchen at work (purchased by an engineer obviously). There are no less than three dials and buttons to engage just to toast some bread with the toaster oven. If designed by users, there would probably be one dial, but it was designed by engineers, so it has about five.
Best analogy ever.
Please explain to me why an iPad isn't a big cellphone.
Because it doesn't make phone calls? You don't get a voice plan with it? It's form factor is not condusive to being a cell phone?
It's starting to look like Apple has set the bar too high for it's competitors in the pad market. Everything is starting to look like cheap junk or else it has problems with costing about what the iPad does or even more.
Welcome to 2001? Still waiting for those iPod killers.
No, what I'm saying is you can't use the fact I broke Facebook's TOS against me as a crime, when the only thing I did was break the FB TOS.
So I put some false information on Facebook. I've broken the Facebook terms...ban me. It's not a US law punishable by jail time to bullshit on Facebook, is all I'm saying.
Well, your anecdote differs from mine:
1990-1991 Germany. I drive my exchange family's car through a red light camera and Gunther gets the ticket. They didn't care it was their American exchange friend, only that the owner of the car was liable for the action of the person driving it.
2005-2007 England - See 1990-1991 Germany.
Private information is always used in court. Facebook is not special.
Well, if he only *shook* Mr. Jones, I imagine the charges could be dropped.
Heh, just like my 12 year old who defriended us, but doesn't realize we can still read all the stuff he posts by going to his wall. I will never show him how to hide his posts and only make it available to friends. My intel is too good right now.
Yes because nobody else could ever be driving my car. I hated that in Europe (German and England). Here's your ticket, even though we don't even know if it was you driving or not.
Having worked for ambulance chas.....err, personal injury lawyers, I can attest that it's our stupid insurance laws that cause our overly litigous society--not some desire to "get rich quick".
When they say "tort reform" what they really mean is "insurance reform". If your mom comes over to visit (or comes down to the basement for some of you) and slips and gets injured, the only way she can get assistance with medical bills is not through her OWN insurance (unless you are the basement dweller), but through the insurance of the property owner (that makes you basement dwellers safe). If we could insure ourselves, when we get injured, our OWN insurance companies would have to pay. You know all those premiums they are taking from us that most of us will never use? Yeah, most of us see that as a way to pay for accidents, but insurance companies see that as profit that is being taken away.
After all, the person who takes offense is never the one who needs to change, no, not even when they actively sought out the things which offend them.
Best post this year.
For the same reason that taking stuff from your house is still illegal even if you leave your door unlocked.
Yes, people should be more careful, but that doesn't excuse such intrusions.
So I have to leave my door locked in order to take stuff out of it, or I am never allowed to take any of my stuff outside of my house?
Your post is actually more accurate without the sarcasm tag.
Facebook TOS and US Law are not the same thing. So I lied about something on Facebook. Cancel my account, fine, but you can't use that as TRUTH against me in court.
Yeah, because the video in the story wasn't cool at all because it only went up 30km and not 100km. Riiiiiight.
To fully confuse the thing: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Oh yeah? PROVE it!
Two things have various degrees of correlation, measured in positive and negative. Everything can be correlated, but causation cannot be inferred based solely on the coefficient. The classic Logic 101 example that murder rates go up in NY city when ice cream sales go up. High positive correlation? Yep. Causation? Nope. High temperatures make people cranky (and apt to kill each other) and high temps drive higher ice cream sales. Or, my favorite conclusion, probably something else altogether that is not seen by the casual observer. Maybe ice cream does cause murder, through some sort of chemical induced imbalance. The interesting thing with causation and correlation is that you can identify correlation (and give it a coefficient), but you can't identify causation based on the coefficient alone, without further investigation. In other words, correlation is just a number and means nothing without context and further scrutiny.
I much prefer this explanation to the abrasive "CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION!!!" that the people-skills-deficient types around here like to throw around.
While the initial implication that automatics might be the cause is silly, you can't really say that it is "unknown" how many manuals and automatics there are in each country. It's well known everywhere in Europe that we Americans prefer automatics, and it's not even close, even though I'm doing my part an have owned nothing but manual transmissions for the past 23 years...every car I've ever owned.
When we took our American spec Ford Ranger pickup to England, the English mechanics were amazed we had a right hand drive manual. They figured all Americans drive automatics (which is a safe bet, but just wrong in this instance).
The actual quality of the road surface affects stopping distance as well. More importantly the driver's awareness and ability to modulate the braking as required by the changing surface and weight load of the car matter. The GranTurismo stopping thing is just dumb, because all you do is pick up your braking point and mash the brake pedal down (and down shift). The surface doesn't undulate and the braking is stupid-linear-smooth (unrealistic). The sort of "seat of the pants" driving you'll never be able to get in a video game can be simulated decently with visual and audio cues, but few game companies make it easy to lock up and skid (like Gran Prix Legends), because most people apt to pay money wouldn't find that sort of thing fun. Of course I do, and gladly would pay $100 or more for a good sim. GT5 is fun, but not a great sim (that stupid Lotus-on-ice-Top-Gear level made me want to sell the damn game).
Car physics become important when you take a corner too fast...
Completely untrue. Car physics are important at every speed, because car physics cause a car to react differently at every speed. Understanding this is the first step to being a good driver.
More for your list of what makes a better driver:
- Doing the posted speed limits when safe to do so, as opposed to being the only a-hole going 30 in a 45.
- Staying out of the left lane except for passing, and, if you are in the left lane, you better be going faster than the car in the right lane
- Not freaking the hell out when it rains (yes, Texans, I'm looking at you), and turning your headlights on in the rain (you may be able to see, but i can't see your gray pickup in the fog).
- Actually accelerating on the on-ramp to get up to freeway speed instead of going 30 and merging with a -30 mph difference
- Not pulling out in front of me from a side street when there's not another car in sight
- If you must pull out in front of me, accelerate to the speed limit
- Defensive driving courses are shit. Race driving courses teach you far more about the limits and capabilities than a defensive driving course that bores you with insurance laws and drunk driving facts.
- Keeping more space between the car in front of you so that you can decelerate by lifting off the gas and NOT by tapping the brakes. People (read: large cars and SUV drivers) drive with their left foot on the brake, causing every car in a 10 mile line behind them jamming on their brakes.
- It's a broken-down vehicle, nothing to see here.
- If a cop pulls you over, GET OFF THE DAMNED ROAD. Pull into a parking lot or a side street. Stopping on the left shoulder of the Interstate should not be an option.
Shall I continue? I haven't even gotten into the aspect of people not even knowing the basics of car control, because people don't know the basics of getting along with other drivers on the road first.