Frankly, I agree with the concept that class-action lawsuits only make the lawyers rich, but it does often change a company's behavior for the better. If Toshiba was paid off and left its HD-DVD customers in the dark, they should be sued so some of those early adopters get some remuneration.
Here's a hypothetical example... Let's say HD-DVD won the format war, and Sony gave up and started including HD-DVD drives with their PS3s. To add, it's confirmed that Toshiba paid off Sony. Sony says all new games would be released in HD-DVD format only and those who bought PS3s containing Blu-Ray drives were SOL. So, what's the difference? PS3-BluRay owners would definitely sue.
On the surface, I think this is a form of collusion, eerily similar to the rumor that Microsoft approached Netscape to split the market and not develop their browser for Win95. Only, it looks like this may have actually happened. I call anti-trust violation here--"You stop selling HD-DVD, leaving Blu-Ray as the only game in town, and we'll give you a fat manufacturing contract..."
That's what I hate about Microsoft products. The stupid program assumes you're stupid.
This is why, at home, I still use WordPerfect and not Word. I don't need a program that changes fonts, text, formatting, tabs, etc. when I don't want it to and least expect that it will... God, I hate Word!
...why a Microsoft OS Service Pack has a prerequisite update??? Up until now, you could install a NT service pack onto an RTM/Gold/"SP0" installation of an OS (NT 3.1, 3.5x, 4.0, 2000, XP)... Not anymore???
What about slipstreaming SP1 onto the installation media? I can't see how that's possible anymore if you need to now install RTM (which may have serious compatibility problems with a piece of hardware) then have to pray that SP1 can be applied...
IMHO, the programs that should work out of the box on Linux with wine is quicken, quickbooks, peachtree, and photoshop. This would open up so many home and small business users who would love to use Linux but can't.
Don't forget MS-Office--especially Access & Outlook... Corporate America is really in a bind--Vista vs. Linux/WINE. Both offer poor hardware and Win32 app compatibility (sorry, but the ability to run World of Warcraft as a "platinum" app in WINE just doesn't cut it for Corporate America), yet a move to Linux running MS-Office 2003 on WINE would be less of a training hassle than Vista & Office 2007...
Bullshit... The amount of hardware variability has declined over the past 15-odd years due to consolidation and Microsoft's insistence...
* How many CPU makers are out there today? 2. (Transmeta is dead).
* How many companies make chipsets (north/southbridges) today? 4(?)
* GPU makers? 3.
* BIOS vendors? 3(?)
* Sound cards? 2 (Intel & Creative)
* Expansion interfaces? 2 (PCI, PCI-Express)
Now, look back to 1993-1995. How many no-name brand BIOSes caused problems? How many brands of VGA chipsets were there? CPU makers? (Think Intel, AMD, Cyrix, NexGen, C&T,...) How many expansion interfaces were there (ISA, VLB, PCI, MCA). How many brands had their own incompatible hardware, where Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS had special switches for (AST, Everex, IBM PS/2, etc.) All of these worked well with DOS/Win3.x and Win95.
No, this is Microsoft's way of saying "we don't know what's wrong with Vista!"
Seriously, with this plan, we will have cars that shit!!! I can see the "Cousin Eddie"s of the world standing in the cold with hoses, dumping the carbon sludge down the local storm sewer--while smoking cigars. "Car wouldn't go--shitter was full!"
Agreed. What's the point of studying gridlock in an area that has 1) have no alternatives (i.e. getting from the Edens & Lake-Cook to downtown Chicago), 2) all of the alternatives are just as gridlocked (Midtown Manhattan or London, UK)??? Sure, companies and employees are using more flex-time but soon those times will be just as gridlocked...
Frankly, it's time for cities to put together some sort of urban & suburban planning--and those WILL involve more lanes of highway, additional roadways, public transportation, and eminent domain. Of course the environmentalists will complain bitterly about more roads but we might actually save fuel by reducing congestion...
Explain to me how a MacBook Air is a subnotebook... Because Stevie J. says so? An OQO is a subnotebook, a Toshiba Libretto is a subnotebook. Tiny screens, width less than 12'', etc. A MacBook air is not a subnotebook.
I also don't see the usefulness of this machine--it's still wide and deep. Sure, it's not very tall when closed but that just shows technical innovation (a small plus) but no practicality (a huge minus). Granted, many people, especially Apple fanbois, buy things that aren't practical... But when I look at a notebook/subnotebook, I look at the "total space required" to use that machine. That's the total cubic volume, including the empty space between the keyboard and the top of the screen.*** How much less physical space does an opened MacBook Air require compared with other small notebooks? Slightly less. All this for several hundred $$$ more??? I'm impressed the technology exists where a notebook can be put in an envelope but at the same time, whoop-dee-doo. When in use, it still takes the same amount of space on an airplane tray or desk as other small notebooks. If anyone needs to ship a MacBook Air, it's not going to be thrown in an envelope--it'll be put in a box with a shitload of packing peanuts like any other notebook...
The MacBook air... Much ado about nothing.
***Imagine a sub/notebook with the display angled 90 degrees from the base. Now, imagine a cube based on that entire form. That is how much physical space is needed to use the laptop--otherwise you won't be able to type or see the screen.
Toshiba CEO: I've got it, put in one of those Cell processor thingies. Get me Sony on the phone now! Sony: Hello? Oh yes we've got a giant bin in the back with all of the cell processors that didn't make the grade for our PS3. Oh you'd like to buy some? Excellent!
Talk about ironic! Toshiba uses Sony techonology to improve on a laptop. Hmmmm, HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray anyone???
What happens if someone underage (intentionally) posts pictures of themselves drinking ginger ale out of red plastic cups and a school decides to discipline that student for what they believe to be a beer??? I smell major lawsuit! Hell, that student could even have that administrator arrested for filing a false police report! (After all, if a student were to make an unfounded claim like "this teacher touched me", that student would be in deep shit. What's the difference if a school administrator makes an unfounded claim like "this student was underage drinking" just because they saw something yellowish in a cup???)
Which division in Comcast do you work for? Must be Comcast customer service... After all, anybody who uses a decent amount of bandwidth IS a criminal and should be treated as such.
...the low, low price of $1000/month. But if you also sign up basic cable, home phone, and HBO/Starz, the package will cost $1050/month (for the first 3 months)--plus taxes and regulatory fees. It's Comcastic!
Apple has Microsoft Office, Linux doesn't; Apple has Adobe Creative Suite, Linux doesn't;
Mod me down if you want to, but a lot of the "failings" of desktop Linux have to do with, what I consider to be, WINE's screwed up priorities. Yes, I know it's free software and they have put together an amazing product. However, until the code is in place for a recent version of M$-Office (XP or 2003) flawlessly running on Linux with WINE, (and that includes the entire suite, including MS-Access), desktop Linux adoption will continue at its piddly rate.
For many people and companies, myself included, WINE's ability to run WoW on Linux as a "platinum" app shows technical expertise, but a lack of vision. There would be much more interest in the project (and possibly a cash infusion) if they publicly declared something like "WINE v0.9.xx will fully support MS-Office 2003 on Linux by this summer..."
Wishful thinking on my part... I doubt that CodeWeavers (a big sponsor of WINE) would allow that.
I would ask that all antivirus/anti-malware companies use Sears.ComScore to ID this virus (oops, I mean "service"). Sears will have free advertising in all anti-malware apps just like Sony.Rootkit does!
Then again, Sears' lawyers may request to have it changed to Sears®.ComScore.
Let's see, there are still millions of people using W2K yet there's no Silverlight for it. I guess those people won't be allowed to access Microsoft.com... (Read the system requirements--Silverlight 1.1 will supposedly support W2K, but that's months away...)
What about Windows Update? Will there be a special "Windows Update for W2K" until Silverlight 1.1 appears?
Why is M$ only supporting PowerPC Macs with Silverlight 1.0 and not 1.1?
How will corporations take to having Silverlight installed on their W2K, XP, & Vista PCs--in all likelihood against their wills by way of an automatic update--despite having automatic updates disabled? (Microsoft recently did this...)
Could all of this be due to a lack of trust in Microsoft???
You think of Vinyl records as a lossless format and believe they have a higher quality than CDs?
By definition--yes, but that all depends on the quality of the copy... Most vinyl is a copy of a copy of a copy of the master. CDs generally have been exact digital copies of the master. But get an unusually good copy from an analog source and vinyl will beat a CD. But remember, the music industry set the bar so low with poor-quality vinyl that CDs sound like an improvement...
For example, strum (?) a guitar. In one second, there is technically an infinite number of samples that can be gained, not just 44,100 as is the case with a CD. There are also "sounds" that are outside the normal range of hearing (i.e. extremely deep bass that you feel in your chest but don't necessarily hear) that are cut off by CDs. Talk to most audiophiles and vinyl is the way to go. 44.1KHz was chosen as a compromise between the technology of the day (the early '80s) and the hearing capabilities of non-audiophiles.
Forget Apple... I updated my iPod's firmware to Rockbox (which natively offers several lossless formats, and a slew of other features) and haven't looked back.
I did this for 3 reasons... 1) iTunes stopped supporting Windows 2000. (Yes, I know it's old, but I don't have to deal with the stupid BS Microsoft has built into XP, like WGA). 2) The 1.2.1 Apple firmware for iPod Videos gave me trouble with a bunch of my MP3s--cutting off the song at the 75% marker and refusing to seek within the track. (Of course, the catch-22 is that I can't get a newer iPod firmware from Apple since they refuse to support W2K). 3) I never liked the way iTunes worked in the first place...
I don't hold out much hope that a lossless format sold thru iTunes will truly be lossless. After all, converting an LP to 16-bit 44.1KHz WAV is, by definition, lossy (but outside of the perceptions of 95+% of the people out there)... To add, part of the reason that iTunes even sells DRM-free music is because the record companies can say "if you want higher quality, buy the CD or, better yet, vinyl!" So, I doubt many record companies will be selling uber-high-quality lossless tracks through iTunes...
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Frankly, I agree with the concept that class-action lawsuits only make the lawyers rich, but it does often change a company's behavior for the better. If Toshiba was paid off and left its HD-DVD customers in the dark, they should be sued so some of those early adopters get some remuneration.
Here's a hypothetical example... Let's say HD-DVD won the format war, and Sony gave up and started including HD-DVD drives with their PS3s. To add, it's confirmed that Toshiba paid off Sony. Sony says all new games would be released in HD-DVD format only and those who bought PS3s containing Blu-Ray drives were SOL. So, what's the difference? PS3-BluRay owners would definitely sue.
On the surface, I think this is a form of collusion, eerily similar to the rumor that Microsoft approached Netscape to split the market and not develop their browser for Win95. Only, it looks like this may have actually happened. I call anti-trust violation here--"You stop selling HD-DVD, leaving Blu-Ray as the only game in town, and we'll give you a fat manufacturing contract..."
...why a Microsoft OS Service Pack has a prerequisite update ??? Up until now, you could install a NT service pack onto an RTM/Gold/"SP0" installation of an OS (NT 3.1, 3.5x, 4.0, 2000, XP)... Not anymore???
What about slipstreaming SP1 onto the installation media? I can't see how that's possible anymore if you need to now install RTM (which may have serious compatibility problems with a piece of hardware) then have to pray that SP1 can be applied...
Vista seems more clusterfuck-ish every day!
But a Dell is a gateway drug; using one will lead to a life of crappy jobs. Just look what happened to the Dell Dude...
Bullshit... The amount of hardware variability has declined over the past 15-odd years due to consolidation and Microsoft's insistence...
* How many CPU makers are out there today? 2. (Transmeta is dead).
* How many companies make chipsets (north/southbridges) today? 4(?)
* GPU makers? 3.
* BIOS vendors? 3(?)
* Sound cards? 2 (Intel & Creative)
* Expansion interfaces? 2 (PCI, PCI-Express)
Now, look back to 1993-1995. How many no-name brand BIOSes caused problems? How many brands of VGA chipsets were there? CPU makers? (Think Intel, AMD, Cyrix, NexGen, C&T,...) How many expansion interfaces were there (ISA, VLB, PCI, MCA). How many brands had their own incompatible hardware, where Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS had special switches for (AST, Everex, IBM PS/2, etc.) All of these worked well with DOS/Win3.x and Win95.
No, this is Microsoft's way of saying "we don't know what's wrong with Vista!"
Seriously, with this plan, we will have cars that shit!!! I can see the "Cousin Eddie"s of the world standing in the cold with hoses, dumping the carbon sludge down the local storm sewer--while smoking cigars. "Car wouldn't go--shitter was full!"
Did the lab collapse into oblivion or is it impossible to see???
...so can I have his picture removed from Wikipedia? --No? --Looks like I gotta learn to live with that fact.
Agreed. What's the point of studying gridlock in an area that has 1) have no alternatives (i.e. getting from the Edens & Lake-Cook to downtown Chicago), 2) all of the alternatives are just as gridlocked (Midtown Manhattan or London, UK)??? Sure, companies and employees are using more flex-time but soon those times will be just as gridlocked...
Frankly, it's time for cities to put together some sort of urban & suburban planning--and those WILL involve more lanes of highway, additional roadways, public transportation, and eminent domain. Of course the environmentalists will complain bitterly about more roads but we might actually save fuel by reducing congestion...
Explain to me how a MacBook Air is a subnotebook... Because Stevie J. says so? An OQO is a subnotebook, a Toshiba Libretto is a subnotebook. Tiny screens, width less than 12'', etc. A MacBook air is not a subnotebook.
I also don't see the usefulness of this machine--it's still wide and deep. Sure, it's not very tall when closed but that just shows technical innovation (a small plus) but no practicality (a huge minus). Granted, many people, especially Apple fanbois, buy things that aren't practical... But when I look at a notebook/subnotebook, I look at the "total space required" to use that machine. That's the total cubic volume, including the empty space between the keyboard and the top of the screen.*** How much less physical space does an opened MacBook Air require compared with other small notebooks? Slightly less. All this for several hundred $$$ more??? I'm impressed the technology exists where a notebook can be put in an envelope but at the same time, whoop-dee-doo. When in use, it still takes the same amount of space on an airplane tray or desk as other small notebooks. If anyone needs to ship a MacBook Air, it's not going to be thrown in an envelope--it'll be put in a box with a shitload of packing peanuts like any other notebook...
The MacBook air... Much ado about nothing.
***Imagine a sub/notebook with the display angled 90 degrees from the base. Now, imagine a cube based on that entire form. That is how much physical space is needed to use the laptop--otherwise you won't be able to type or see the screen.
...after the mistake of moving to Iceland.
"Dude, you've got a Dell!"
Sounds like Ford is taking a page from the RIAA playbook... Could the RIAA patent such a legal strategy to prevent others from using it???
Apple??? Sounds like something Apple would do, instead of a company that could use all the free publicity it can get...
What happens if someone underage (intentionally) posts pictures of themselves drinking ginger ale out of red plastic cups and a school decides to discipline that student for what they believe to be a beer??? I smell major lawsuit! Hell, that student could even have that administrator arrested for filing a false police report! (After all, if a student were to make an unfounded claim like "this teacher touched me", that student would be in deep shit. What's the difference if a school administrator makes an unfounded claim like "this student was underage drinking" just because they saw something yellowish in a cup???)
Which division in Comcast do you work for? Must be Comcast customer service... After all, anybody who uses a decent amount of bandwidth IS a criminal and should be treated as such.
...the low, low price of $1000/month. But if you also sign up basic cable, home phone, and HBO/Starz, the package will cost $1050/month (for the first 3 months)--plus taxes and regulatory fees. It's Comcastic!
Comcast - We own you.
For many people and companies, myself included, WINE's ability to run WoW on Linux as a "platinum" app shows technical expertise, but a lack of vision. There would be much more interest in the project (and possibly a cash infusion) if they publicly declared something like "WINE v0.9.xx will fully support MS-Office 2003 on Linux by this summer..."
Wishful thinking on my part... I doubt that CodeWeavers (a big sponsor of WINE) would allow that.
I would ask that all antivirus/anti-malware companies use Sears.ComScore to ID this virus (oops, I mean "service"). Sears will have free advertising in all anti-malware apps just like Sony.Rootkit does!
Then again, Sears' lawyers may request to have it changed to Sears®.ComScore.
Let's see, there are still millions of people using W2K yet there's no Silverlight for it. I guess those people won't be allowed to access Microsoft.com... (Read the system requirements--Silverlight 1.1 will supposedly support W2K, but that's months away...)
What about Windows Update? Will there be a special "Windows Update for W2K" until Silverlight 1.1 appears?
Why is M$ only supporting PowerPC Macs with Silverlight 1.0 and not 1.1?
How will corporations take to having Silverlight installed on their W2K, XP, & Vista PCs--in all likelihood against their wills by way of an automatic update--despite having automatic updates disabled? (Microsoft recently did this...)
Could all of this be due to a lack of trust in Microsoft???
For example, strum (?) a guitar. In one second, there is technically an infinite number of samples that can be gained, not just 44,100 as is the case with a CD. There are also "sounds" that are outside the normal range of hearing (i.e. extremely deep bass that you feel in your chest but don't necessarily hear) that are cut off by CDs. Talk to most audiophiles and vinyl is the way to go. 44.1KHz was chosen as a compromise between the technology of the day (the early '80s) and the hearing capabilities of non-audiophiles.
Forget Apple... I updated my iPod's firmware to Rockbox (which natively offers several lossless formats, and a slew of other features) and haven't looked back.
I did this for 3 reasons... 1) iTunes stopped supporting Windows 2000. (Yes, I know it's old, but I don't have to deal with the stupid BS Microsoft has built into XP, like WGA). 2) The 1.2.1 Apple firmware for iPod Videos gave me trouble with a bunch of my MP3s--cutting off the song at the 75% marker and refusing to seek within the track. (Of course, the catch-22 is that I can't get a newer iPod firmware from Apple since they refuse to support W2K). 3) I never liked the way iTunes worked in the first place...
I don't hold out much hope that a lossless format sold thru iTunes will truly be lossless. After all, converting an LP to 16-bit 44.1KHz WAV is, by definition, lossy (but outside of the perceptions of 95+% of the people out there)... To add, part of the reason that iTunes even sells DRM-free music is because the record companies can say "if you want higher quality, buy the CD or, better yet, vinyl!" So, I doubt many record companies will be selling uber-high-quality lossless tracks through iTunes...