The docking station idea sounds plausible, although maybe a solution where you take the battery out of the laptop to charge it would be more suitable (I'm thinking along the lines of those rapid AA chargers that have fans built into them).
Maybe companies could provide two chargers - a larger heavy duty one to charge the battery quickly and a smaller one that takes longer for use on the road (or just for use as an AC adapter when you reach your destination).
Are there any implications for charging a battery using different combinations of voltage and current in different circumstances?
Melee weapons probably seem to get more criticals as people will tend to switch to them after winning a map to finish off the other team in a humiliating way - all weapon hits after you win are critical.
For freight, HMRC has developed the Freight
Targeting System (FTS) to provide real-time risk
assessment of freight movements. It allows all
freight movements to be electronically checked
against intelligence databases before the freight
arrives in the UK. It draws together data from ferry operators and shippers with a range of
other information to identify travel movements
of interest to the border agencies, allowing
more effective targeting of cross-border
criminality, whilst expediting legitimate traffic.
Based on its initial successes in the roll-onroll-
off freight environment, FTS has already
been extended to cover ferry passenger traffic
and will be extended further to cover other
modes of transport. This will mean that the vast
majority of goods and freight entering the UK
will be risk assessed by a single, coherent and
effective system.
The UK already do everything described in this article too for Sea and Channel Tunnel passengers (it's done by HMRC). Air passengers will be covered by the new eBorders system coming in a couple of years.
Vista Home Basic would run fine on that config. When someone says Vista runs like a champ their definition of 'champ' isn't necessarily the same as yours.
Actually my dad hadn't played Half-Life 2 even though he's enjoyed various FPS games over the years (starting with Wolf 3D). He has no interest in paying for new PC games, but was grateful to receive one as a gift. His rig isn't really good enough to play most modern FPSs as he's more into Photoshop and doesn't have a decent graphics card, but it has got enough poke to play a 3 year old game at decent settings.
So yeah, HL2 is a great gift for those family members who aren't really into PC gaming but have a fairly old PC and might want to play a game once in a while.
I believe that all this means is that when an application screws up your Mac in some way it should be possible to trace the dodgy application back to the developer who signed it. Whether 3rd Parties have to register with Apple before they can sign applications or not, I have no idea.
I don't think textbooks are that overpriced. The market isn't as big as that for your average novel, and the quality of the paper and binding tends to be a lot higher as the book is likely to be re-read a lot more.
Your average [insert topic here] for Dummies or Learn [insert programming language here] in 21 days book is usually just as expensive as an average college textbook. Colleges tend to get discounts for course books too (at least my University over here in the UK used to) - of course that raises issues about whether the best books are being used as course texts or just the ones the college can get a discount on.
I think college books as eBooks are a good idea as long as they are priced appropriately (i.e. the price takes into account the reduced publishing and distribution costs). Personally I didn't re-sell any of my Computer Science course texts and I've found some of them useful over the years since I graduated. I didn't bother buying the ones I didn't think I'd use again and got them from the library as I needed them instead.
What happens if someone uses my broadband connection to access an illegal site? Can I prove that it wasn't me accessing the sites?
Yes, their access to the internet will be through a separate channel, so it is easy to identify that the access was through the visitor channel.
It's kind of a moot point, as BT Total Broadband customers (the ones who can sign up for this service) must be on BT infrastructure.
Also, exchanges in cities are the ones most likely to have been through LLU as I understand it (and as you imply). Cities are the places most likely to already have Wi-Fi coverage, so the fact that you're likely to get more BT customers out in the countryside where there it's less likely you'll find a standard hotspot would seem to another benefit of the scheme.
Well, it's definitely happening, very shortly. BT are my ISP and I signed up on Friday, apparently my router will receive a firmware update today, automatically and I've already used the free access at an Openzone (BT's wireless service) hotspot.
Not true, you can open Euro bank accounts in the UK and request to be paid your salary in Euros. Also, a lot of shops in tourist destinations such as London will accept Euro notes (but not coins). High street stores will often have the price of a garment shown in Euros on the tag as well as pounds (probably because they have stores in the ROI too) and some stores will accept card payments for that amount for cards from Euro-zone countries. Payphones in airports and train stations usually accept Euro coins too.
The warranty is irrelevant. If he's been sold a deficient product then he's probably entitled to a repair, refund or replacement as long as he has proof of purchase. His rights are laid out in the UK Sale of Goods Act 1979 amongst other things.
Ahh the good old days, when you had to take the weird paper rivet from between two sheets of card and photocopy them so you could play your pirated (*snigger*) copy of Monkey Island 2.
I quite liked the copy protection in Sam and Max Hit the Road, where there was a picture of Sam and Max in fancy dress on each page of the manual and the game asked you to dress them on screen to match page X of the manual. Maybe this guy could take a load of photos of himself in different fancy dress outfits and put them on a section of his website that required registration!:-)
I love the idea of a prequel, but the fact that we already know what happens to Rapture kinda blows the whole 'multiple ending' thing out of the water (if you'll excuse the pun!).
I believe Microsoft have gone some way to support indie games developers (who could feasibly be called the 2nd party as you say) through downloads on X-Box live and the provision of a free toolkit for games development.
Interestingly, I think the 1st party is harder to define on the PC platform than the 2nd and 3rd parties! No one company is responsible for the complete PC package including hardware and software as with consoles. I guess Microsoft would like to be considered 1st Party, but not all games are based on DirectX and not all PC games are 'Games for Windows' despite their recent efforts.
Hmm, I suppose I assumed it wasn't just PS2 hardware inside the PS3 box, but a different chip to allow the PS3 to perform the operations that weren't possible natively on the cell processor. Not sure why I thought this, maybe because the PS3 claims to improve the graphics of the PS2 games it supports, but in hindsight that could just be upscaling of the TV signal before it leaves the PS3.
It's probably easier to produce a patch for the software emulation that enables more titles to be played on the PS3. There are still games being made for the PS2 after all and it's entirely possible that newer titles might mean re-work to the backwards compatibility.
As stated elsewhere in the comments, it is configurable and the automatic e-mail check is off by default. These guys turned it on, went on holiday and forgot to turn it off, resulting in a big bill.
Seems like the real option that's needed is a 'don't make data calls on a foreign network' option.
World of Warcraft is a pretty good example of how loading screens can be (mostly) avoided. The game world is huge and you can travel from zone to zone seamlessly.
Actually there are loading screens between the three 'continents' (Outland isn't really a continent), and between the main zones and instances, but even then the loading is pretty quick. I guess Blizzard thought the lack of loading screens (and hence a more immersive world) was more important than bleeding edge graphics.
Yes! I completely forgot about MS Calculator, I probably use that ten times a day without even thinking about it! My logitech keyboard has a dedicated keyboard button for opening Windows Calculator just above the Numeric Pad, so someone else obviously thinks it's great too.
(Yes I know that button could be re-mapped to any other Calcuator application, and there's probably a better calculator on Linux/OSX blah blah blah)
Yeah I agree, it's probably one of the most useful apps ever, but it could use a bit of an update. For example, the zooming functions aren't great, and I get annoyed when trying to make a selection of something that doesn't fit on the screen. I'm not suggesting anyone goes and adds extra bloat to Paint though, as that would disqualify it from being my favourite bloat-free application!
Woah, bit OTT I think! Just because someone admits to finding paint quite useful for achieving simple tasks it doesn't make them a "Windows noob".
no need for MS Paint, no need for cropping. By no cropping, do you mean that achieves the same thing as Alt-PrtSc?
There's actually a nice tool for taking screen shots built into Vista too that can output PNGs and the like for those that are after something a bit more powerful than a complete screendump.
I'm glad you're enjoying your OS, now please leave people in peace to discuss their favourite little apps.
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Maybe companies could provide two chargers - a larger heavy duty one to charge the battery quickly and a smaller one that takes longer for use on the road (or just for use as an AC adapter when you reach your destination).
Are there any implications for charging a battery using different combinations of voltage and current in different circumstances?
Melee weapons probably seem to get more criticals as people will tend to switch to them after winning a map to finish off the other team in a humiliating way - all weapon hits after you win are critical.
Link: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/reports/border_review.pdf. Search for "Freight Targeting System".
From the report (emphasis mine):
For freight, HMRC has developed the Freight Targeting System (FTS) to provide real-time risk assessment of freight movements. It allows all freight movements to be electronically checked against intelligence databases before the freight arrives in the UK. It draws together data from ferry operators and shippers with a range of other information to identify travel movements of interest to the border agencies, allowing more effective targeting of cross-border criminality, whilst expediting legitimate traffic. Based on its initial successes in the roll-onroll- off freight environment, FTS has already been extended to cover ferry passenger traffic and will be extended further to cover other modes of transport. This will mean that the vast majority of goods and freight entering the UK will be risk assessed by a single, coherent and effective system.The UK already do everything described in this article too for Sea and Channel Tunnel passengers (it's done by HMRC). Air passengers will be covered by the new eBorders system coming in a couple of years.
Vista Home Basic would run fine on that config. When someone says Vista runs like a champ their definition of 'champ' isn't necessarily the same as yours.
So yeah, HL2 is a great gift for those family members who aren't really into PC gaming but have a fairly old PC and might want to play a game once in a while.
I believe that all this means is that when an application screws up your Mac in some way it should be possible to trace the dodgy application back to the developer who signed it. Whether 3rd Parties have to register with Apple before they can sign applications or not, I have no idea.
Your average [insert topic here] for Dummies or Learn [insert programming language here] in 21 days book is usually just as expensive as an average college textbook. Colleges tend to get discounts for course books too (at least my University over here in the UK used to) - of course that raises issues about whether the best books are being used as course texts or just the ones the college can get a discount on.
I think college books as eBooks are a good idea as long as they are priced appropriately (i.e. the price takes into account the reduced publishing and distribution costs). Personally I didn't re-sell any of my Computer Science course texts and I've found some of them useful over the years since I graduated. I didn't bother buying the ones I didn't think I'd use again and got them from the library as I needed them instead.
What happens if someone uses my broadband connection to access an illegal site? Can I prove that it wasn't me accessing the sites?
Yes, their access to the internet will be through a separate channel, so it is easy to identify that the access was through the visitor channel.
It's kind of a moot point, as BT Total Broadband customers (the ones who can sign up for this service) must be on BT infrastructure.
Also, exchanges in cities are the ones most likely to have been through LLU as I understand it (and as you imply). Cities are the places most likely to already have Wi-Fi coverage, so the fact that you're likely to get more BT customers out in the countryside where there it's less likely you'll find a standard hotspot would seem to another benefit of the scheme.
Well, it's definitely happening, very shortly. BT are my ISP and I signed up on Friday, apparently my router will receive a firmware update today, automatically and I've already used the free access at an Openzone (BT's wireless service) hotspot.
Not true, you can open Euro bank accounts in the UK and request to be paid your salary in Euros. Also, a lot of shops in tourist destinations such as London will accept Euro notes (but not coins). High street stores will often have the price of a garment shown in Euros on the tag as well as pounds (probably because they have stores in the ROI too) and some stores will accept card payments for that amount for cards from Euro-zone countries. Payphones in airports and train stations usually accept Euro coins too.
The warranty is irrelevant. If he's been sold a deficient product then he's probably entitled to a repair, refund or replacement as long as he has proof of purchase. His rights are laid out in the UK Sale of Goods Act 1979 amongst other things.
Ahh the good old days, when you had to take the weird paper rivet from between two sheets of card and photocopy them so you could play your pirated (*snigger*) copy of Monkey Island 2.
:-)
I quite liked the copy protection in Sam and Max Hit the Road, where there was a picture of Sam and Max in fancy dress on each page of the manual and the game asked you to dress them on screen to match page X of the manual. Maybe this guy could take a load of photos of himself in different fancy dress outfits and put them on a section of his website that required registration!
I love the idea of a prequel, but the fact that we already know what happens to Rapture kinda blows the whole 'multiple ending' thing out of the water (if you'll excuse the pun!).
Very true :-)
I believe Microsoft have gone some way to support indie games developers (who could feasibly be called the 2nd party as you say) through downloads on X-Box live and the provision of a free toolkit for games development.
Interestingly, I think the 1st party is harder to define on the PC platform than the 2nd and 3rd parties! No one company is responsible for the complete PC package including hardware and software as with consoles. I guess Microsoft would like to be considered 1st Party, but not all games are based on DirectX and not all PC games are 'Games for Windows' despite their recent efforts.
Sure, the first party and third party publishers are doing OK, but won't someone please think of the second party!
Hmm, I suppose I assumed it wasn't just PS2 hardware inside the PS3 box, but a different chip to allow the PS3 to perform the operations that weren't possible natively on the cell processor. Not sure why I thought this, maybe because the PS3 claims to improve the graphics of the PS2 games it supports, but in hindsight that could just be upscaling of the TV signal before it leaves the PS3.
It's probably easier to produce a patch for the software emulation that enables more titles to be played on the PS3. There are still games being made for the PS2 after all and it's entirely possible that newer titles might mean re-work to the backwards compatibility.
As stated elsewhere in the comments, it is configurable and the automatic e-mail check is off by default. These guys turned it on, went on holiday and forgot to turn it off, resulting in a big bill.
Seems like the real option that's needed is a 'don't make data calls on a foreign network' option.
World of Warcraft is a pretty good example of how loading screens can be (mostly) avoided. The game world is huge and you can travel from zone to zone seamlessly.
Actually there are loading screens between the three 'continents' (Outland isn't really a continent), and between the main zones and instances, but even then the loading is pretty quick. I guess Blizzard thought the lack of loading screens (and hence a more immersive world) was more important than bleeding edge graphics.
Yes! I completely forgot about MS Calculator, I probably use that ten times a day without even thinking about it! My logitech keyboard has a dedicated keyboard button for opening Windows Calculator just above the Numeric Pad, so someone else obviously thinks it's great too.
(Yes I know that button could be re-mapped to any other Calcuator application, and there's probably a better calculator on Linux/OSX blah blah blah)
Err, what are you talking about?
I said "I know it's a bit crap" which translates as "I know it is a bit crap", i.e. the correct usage.
Yeah I agree, it's probably one of the most useful apps ever, but it could use a bit of an update. For example, the zooming functions aren't great, and I get annoyed when trying to make a selection of something that doesn't fit on the screen. I'm not suggesting anyone goes and adds extra bloat to Paint though, as that would disqualify it from being my favourite bloat-free application!
no need for MS Paint, no need for cropping. By no cropping, do you mean that achieves the same thing as Alt-PrtSc?
There's actually a nice tool for taking screen shots built into Vista too that can output PNGs and the like for those that are after something a bit more powerful than a complete screendump.
I'm glad you're enjoying your OS, now please leave people in peace to discuss their favourite little apps.