You probably want something like an M-Audio firewire unit. Another poster recommended the 2496 box, which is excellent. Their other models work well, too.
An external unit will prevent the electric noise from your PC from causing issues, and using firewire instead of USB will mean less CPU usage for the same work.
I agree that the distinction is faulty. The only reason there IS a distinction is to map between existing artificial classifications of animals.
The point isn't whether evolution occurs or not. It's "Where did man come from?" and "How far has life evolved, and what was its origin?"
Assuming the absence of a creator, it's natural to assume that humans evolved from their closest genetic relatives, and that all life itself began from one point, from which everything else evolved. We don't have concrete evidence of that, but barring other evidence, there's no issue with making assumptions based on suggestive evidence.
Religious folks, though, believe that there is a creator. Based on what they believe about that creator, they believe that humans did not evolve from apes and that life itself did not evolve from one point, but several (early humans being one of the original points).
But saying "x doesn't believe in evolution" is terribly unclear, and causes further divide.
Micro-evolution has been observed. I don't know any one of ANY religious persuasion who disputes that.
The real issues are whether humans evolved from apes, whether life as a whole evolved from single-celled organisms, etc, etc.
Many people find it easy to dismiss religious folks by saying they reject the concept of evolution, period. No, by not differentiating between evolutionary theories and referring to them as one whole, people find it easier to dismiss those religious people by not understanding what they believe.
When I've been to Mexico and Peru (and I'm sure they do it in many other countries), each person in line had to press a button underneath a light, which would light up at random.
It gets hectic enough around those points that fixing it to light up for one person is VERY hard, so it's likely to be legit.
NOT having such a system just leaves it open for abuse.
Actually, being an ethically run business (believe it or not!), we oversubscribe, but do our best to ensure that if you want all the bandwith you've subscribed for, you can have it. We just expect that you won't be running it at full blast 24/7.
Our outside pipe is big enough so that, under normal circumstances, we never have service-wide slowdowns from exceeding our available bandwidth. We also take every step we can to not limit based on service-type (the only exception we have at present is for usenet, and we have an overall speed cap to our outside usenet servers--not per customer). We would like to prioritize latency-sensitive traffic, but that's not a bad thing at all, I don't think.
We flat out don't reduce connection speed just because some one actually uses their available bandwidth.
Many other ISPs do happen to do all those nasty things. I'm just glad I don't have service from them.
I work for an ISP. Yes, we oversubscribe. It's the way the business works. We only see problems when many people use their bandwidth *at the same time*.
Moving more data total does not cost any more many than for the electricity to move it. What costs more money is having more available bandwidth so that more can be moved at one time.
We get our bandwith from first-tier providers. They do not charge us by the amount we transfer, but they charge us for the speed of the port. They don't care how much we transfer in total, they only care how much they use at once. We do likewise for our customers, with the exception that we oversubscribe.
Oversubscribing doesn't cause problems as long as there's enough available bandwidth out and the hardware to handle it. Some people expect dedicated bandwidth, and for them there are the options of lower speeds or more money.
I want to see oversubscription come to an end, but I don't see it happening. The dropping price of bandwidth and network equipment is primarily driven by increasing customer demand for higher speeds rather than by an increased number of customers. Unless prices drop as customer demand for higher speed remains static (or at least grows slower than the prices drop), dedicated bandwidth at today's consumer-appropriate speeds and prices isn't going to happen.
I suppose two questions I would have for you would be...
a) How difficult would it be to transition from the homebrew SDK to the official one? Would it be worth doing any real work to begin with before transitioning? b) Is the official SDK significantly better to be worth using?
I might also suggest anonymous posting for those NDA issues. But if I actually signed my name to one, I might feel a bit more bound to respect them.
I've done a fair bit of reading on the subject, actually. (Although I do admit I'm not as inspired to read any "new proof" considering the trend the old proof follows.)
We don't have a complete fossil record. Heck, the pieces of the *incomplete* fossil record is generally explained away (the Nebraska Man, the Piltdown man, etc, etc, etc). Yes, any conclusive evidence would be lost to time, but that doesn't lend any credence to that conclusion.
The DNA evidence really doesn't prove anything at all. Yes, it's similar. Most creatures have DNA that is strikingly similar, and considering how similar humans and apes are, it would be a surprise if it were drastically different.
Poor-to-nonexistent evidence in the case of the fossil record, and poor conclusions in the case of DNA.
It's sad, but most scientists aren't. My problem isn't just with the evolution debate. It ranges over all the sciences. It's the problem of being human: People tend to believe what they want to, and invent their reasoning. I say as a person of faith: Religion bothers me, in the church or in secular fields.
There have been numerous fossils purported to document the evolution of ape to man, but I've yet to hear of one that wasn't disproven (although that never stopped people from referencing them).
We just don't seem to have evidence either way. I agree: Science should stay out of belief and religion out of proof and theory. I would add, though, that a desire to prove or disprove any religion, theory, or hypothesis should stay out of scientific interpretations and conclusions.
See, we don't really have evidence that humans evolved from apes.
Micro-evolution is a theory. Human evolution from apes is a hypothesis.
People are free to believe what they would like. But the growing anti-religion sentiment common among scientists certainly encouraged the idea of human evolution from apes.
The PS2 was certainly a success--no denying that. But it really failed to live up to its potential.
If the PS2 had included just a BIT more video memory and had good network support out of the box (including a good service behind it, like Live), I dare say the XBox might not have been a success.
The PSP, while expensive, was absolutely an incredible system. Too bad Sony didn't care to use it.
Games? Most games suffer from the "portable" curse of generally being very bad products, but that's the developers' fault. A poor analog "nub" aside, this can partly be blamed on third parties, but Sony certainly didn't take any initiative here.
Video? UMD movies failed, of course. But for our own videos we have to deal with low-resolution files that can't be produced by a standard encoder because it uses non-standard headers, and then there's the weird naming scheme that's required. And there's no purpose behind these aggravations except to prevent consumers from using the system's abilities to its fullest extent. Aggravating your customers and preventing them from using your product doesn't win you any fans.
Music? It sounds very nice, but the interface is no better than the cheapest of MP3 players. It doesn't manage your music, but it doesn't allow directories deeper than one level, so you can't organize your music, either. A decent music player interface is *not hard*. They just didn't care.
Network features? How long did it take for a decent web browser? RSS feeds? RSS feeds *that allow you to save anything*? Having these is GREAT, but the fact that it took so long to get them shows us the issues Sony has. But how many games actually have decent online play? 90% of games that only support local play should be able to be played online.
Sony made some great hardware crippled by idiotic management. I feel insulted as a customer. Some where in Sony, there is some one with a lot of vision whose great leaps are constantly struck down by some moron. Find the moron and fire him, and Sony will be OK.
The same thing happened with the PS2. Great hardware crippled by a few moronic decisions (the almost-but-not-quite enough video memory and the absolute failure to make use of network or multimedia features spring to mind). Why should I believe the PS3 will be any different?
I had a copy of the Castlevania II spin-off novel as a child. I was very interested in it, but that may have had more to do with wishing I could play the game than anything else.
I do a lot of virus removal for "average Joe" PCs, too. I've seen viruses slip right by Norton, myself.
In fact, I've seen viruses slip by ALL of the AV products I've seen. AVG has the better track record for us, though, by far. Lately, it's been much improved over older versions, as well.
Even if they were all equal, though, I couldn't recommend another product due to their crippling bugs. It's not uncommon to see one of our customers suspect a virus only to find that it was the AV software itself malfunctioning. Not counting Norton Corporate, of course. As you said, it's excellent.
The level editor was quite easy, and I'm sure that they had to worry less about having PCs capable of handling more recent games. It was the most logical choice.
However, I have to wonder, do any more recent games have such easy to use level editors? Aside from Second Life, I mean.
1. Not all driving is done on trafficed roads with unexpecting passengers. Some of us drive for fun in ways that may not be dangerous to others or ourselves, but are inaccessible with these safety features.
2. Sometimes these "safety features" are dangerous. I have anti-lock brakes and traction control. Both have NEARLY KILLED ME. It's a miracle I'm still alive after these "safety features" tried to protect me.
All in all, I'd rather be able to turn them off when appropriate. Even if the computer controlled systems become perfect, there will still be circumstances in which they are not appropriate.
It's true that Nintendo hasn't pushed the upper limits, but they certainly abuse pricing on the low end.
$20 to $30 for GBA ports of NES games? No, I'm not talking about the versions with new graphics and sound. I mean the original Zelda and Excitebike, etc. Some people talked about these prices being reasonable. That's ridiculous.
Most GBA games were far to expensive, but then the DS came. Naturally prices had to be hire. They just tacked $10 on there. Never mind that few games had any of the content or development time of the console titles that sold for the same price!
I've bought a total of three DS games. One I sold for being complete garbage, and the two others I traded in exchange for another game. I have no plans to buy new DS games, as the value just isn't there.
I've bought ONE GBA title, and it was a reissue packaging two other games together for the normal cost of one game. I won't be buying any others.
The PSP and DS are similar in that they are handheld gaming systems, but the similarities end there.
No one argued that the Game Gear competed with the Super Nintendo. It's slowly becoming clear that the PSP and DS are just as different.
A DS is the next-generation of Game Boy. A PSP is a console system and media center squeezed down into a handheld package.
There is some overlap, of course, but at least there's not as much confusion any more. They have different markets. The PSP's market is going to be slower-growing because of the price--not only the price of console and games, but also of memory sticks, which is where the system's real flexibility comes into play. I think it's curious to see how sales compare, but I don't think it's as relevant as people imagine.
Nintendo has publicly said as much with the Revolution. They're letting Sony and Microsoft have the market they love, but Nintendo's after a different one.
You may not be the best teacher out there, but you can probably be the best teacher for her.
I got to spend a lot of good time with my younger sisters as I taught them to play chess at around your daughter's age. Once they had an interest, all I had to do was tell them how each piece moved, then help them by explaining moves for each side. Just a couple of games later, and all I had to do was watch them to make sure they were making valid moves, and occasionally give them pointers when they were losing (or about how I won).
There may be better teachers, but the time you get to share is incredibly valuable. I really couldn't stand doing it, as I hate playing competitive games with a passion, but I wouldn't trade that time with them for anything. Chess allows for a very unique bonding.
At my company, when we see virus/spyware activity, we call the customer and give them instructions on how to fix it. If it recurs or doesn't get fixed--or if we can't get in touch with them and it's particularly nasty--we'll shut off service and require that we verify the computer is clean before turning their service back on.
Which sounds pretty strict, except that we'll clean their computers for free.
Those who complain about it most are usually doing so for emotional reasons more than logical reasons. Much like those complaining that the new notebook should be referred to as a "Powerbook." They like Apple; Apple came out with firewire; ergo they like firewire. Nevermind that few new peripherals support firewire, and even fewer support only firwire and not USB. Nevermind that similar USB only peripherals are generally cheaper and perform as well as if not better than the equivilant firewire peripheral. Firewire lost in the market. Apple has acknowledged that. Let's move on.
Almost anyone in the music or video production field can tell you that USB *cannot* replace FireWire everywhere. The performance isn't there in terms of throughput or CPU usage. There is a LOT of space between "USB for casually importing camcorder video and syncing iPods" and "HD-SDI and Fiberchannel connections". That space is filled by IEEE1394.
The lack of Firewire 800 has hacked a lot of people off, but won't make a difference for most people who need Firewire. Most who NEED 800 already have their systems. If they drop 800 it in the future models, there will be backlash, and if they drop it entirely, they'll be shooting themselves in the foot.
Slashdot Mirror
You probably want something like an M-Audio firewire unit. Another poster recommended the 2496 box, which is excellent. Their other models work well, too.
An external unit will prevent the electric noise from your PC from causing issues, and using firewire instead of USB will mean less CPU usage for the same work.
I agree that the distinction is faulty. The only reason there IS a distinction is to map between existing artificial classifications of animals.
The point isn't whether evolution occurs or not. It's "Where did man come from?" and "How far has life evolved, and what was its origin?"
Assuming the absence of a creator, it's natural to assume that humans evolved from their closest genetic relatives, and that all life itself began from one point, from which everything else evolved. We don't have concrete evidence of that, but barring other evidence, there's no issue with making assumptions based on suggestive evidence.
Religious folks, though, believe that there is a creator. Based on what they believe about that creator, they believe that humans did not evolve from apes and that life itself did not evolve from one point, but several (early humans being one of the original points).
But saying "x doesn't believe in evolution" is terribly unclear, and causes further divide.
Micro-evolution has been observed. I don't know any one of ANY religious persuasion who disputes that.
The real issues are whether humans evolved from apes, whether life as a whole evolved from single-celled organisms, etc, etc.
Many people find it easy to dismiss religious folks by saying they reject the concept of evolution, period. No, by not differentiating between evolutionary theories and referring to them as one whole, people find it easier to dismiss those religious people by not understanding what they believe.
When I've been to Mexico and Peru (and I'm sure they do it in many other countries), each person in line had to press a button underneath a light, which would light up at random.
It gets hectic enough around those points that fixing it to light up for one person is VERY hard, so it's likely to be legit.
NOT having such a system just leaves it open for abuse.
Actually, being an ethically run business (believe it or not!), we oversubscribe, but do our best to ensure that if you want all the bandwith you've subscribed for, you can have it. We just expect that you won't be running it at full blast 24/7.
Our outside pipe is big enough so that, under normal circumstances, we never have service-wide slowdowns from exceeding our available bandwidth. We also take every step we can to not limit based on service-type (the only exception we have at present is for usenet, and we have an overall speed cap to our outside usenet servers--not per customer). We would like to prioritize latency-sensitive traffic, but that's not a bad thing at all, I don't think.
We flat out don't reduce connection speed just because some one actually uses their available bandwidth.
Many other ISPs do happen to do all those nasty things. I'm just glad I don't have service from them.
Bandwidth accounting isn't necessary.
I work for an ISP. Yes, we oversubscribe. It's the way the business works. We only see problems when many people use their bandwidth *at the same time*.
Moving more data total does not cost any more many than for the electricity to move it. What costs more money is having more available bandwidth so that more can be moved at one time.
We get our bandwith from first-tier providers. They do not charge us by the amount we transfer, but they charge us for the speed of the port. They don't care how much we transfer in total, they only care how much they use at once. We do likewise for our customers, with the exception that we oversubscribe.
Oversubscribing doesn't cause problems as long as there's enough available bandwidth out and the hardware to handle it. Some people expect dedicated bandwidth, and for them there are the options of lower speeds or more money.
I want to see oversubscription come to an end, but I don't see it happening. The dropping price of bandwidth and network equipment is primarily driven by increasing customer demand for higher speeds rather than by an increased number of customers. Unless prices drop as customer demand for higher speed remains static (or at least grows slower than the prices drop), dedicated bandwidth at today's consumer-appropriate speeds and prices isn't going to happen.
I suppose two questions I would have for you would be...
a) How difficult would it be to transition from the homebrew SDK to the official one? Would it be worth doing any real work to begin with before transitioning?
b) Is the official SDK significantly better to be worth using?
I might also suggest anonymous posting for those NDA issues. But if I actually signed my name to one, I might feel a bit more bound to respect them.
I've done a fair bit of reading on the subject, actually. (Although I do admit I'm not as inspired to read any "new proof" considering the trend the old proof follows.)
We don't have a complete fossil record. Heck, the pieces of the *incomplete* fossil record is generally explained away (the Nebraska Man, the Piltdown man, etc, etc, etc). Yes, any conclusive evidence would be lost to time, but that doesn't lend any credence to that conclusion.
The DNA evidence really doesn't prove anything at all. Yes, it's similar. Most creatures have DNA that is strikingly similar, and considering how similar humans and apes are, it would be a surprise if it were drastically different.
Poor-to-nonexistent evidence in the case of the fossil record, and poor conclusions in the case of DNA.
It's sad, but most scientists aren't. My problem isn't just with the evolution debate. It ranges over all the sciences. It's the problem of being human: People tend to believe what they want to, and invent their reasoning. I say as a person of faith: Religion bothers me, in the church or in secular fields.
There have been numerous fossils purported to document the evolution of ape to man, but I've yet to hear of one that wasn't disproven (although that never stopped people from referencing them).
We just don't seem to have evidence either way.
I agree: Science should stay out of belief and religion out of proof and theory. I would add, though, that a desire to prove or disprove any religion, theory, or hypothesis should stay out of scientific interpretations and conclusions.
See, we don't really have evidence that humans evolved from apes.
Micro-evolution is a theory.
Human evolution from apes is a hypothesis.
People are free to believe what they would like. But the growing anti-religion sentiment common among scientists certainly encouraged the idea of human evolution from apes.
Wasn't it the politicization of science what convinced every one of human evolution from apes in the first place?
(Please note that micro-evolution is not disputed by any great number.)
The PS2 was certainly a success--no denying that. But it really failed to live up to its potential.
If the PS2 had included just a BIT more video memory and had good network support out of the box (including a good service behind it, like Live), I dare say the XBox might not have been a success.
The PSP, while expensive, was absolutely an incredible system. Too bad Sony didn't care to use it.
Games? Most games suffer from the "portable" curse of generally being very bad products, but that's the developers' fault. A poor analog "nub" aside, this can partly be blamed on third parties, but Sony certainly didn't take any initiative here.
Video? UMD movies failed, of course. But for our own videos we have to deal with low-resolution files that can't be produced by a standard encoder because it uses non-standard headers, and then there's the weird naming scheme that's required. And there's no purpose behind these aggravations except to prevent consumers from using the system's abilities to its fullest extent. Aggravating your customers and preventing them from using your product doesn't win you any fans.
Music? It sounds very nice, but the interface is no better than the cheapest of MP3 players. It doesn't manage your music, but it doesn't allow directories deeper than one level, so you can't organize your music, either. A decent music player interface is *not hard*. They just didn't care.
Network features? How long did it take for a decent web browser? RSS feeds? RSS feeds *that allow you to save anything*? Having these is GREAT, but the fact that it took so long to get them shows us the issues Sony has. But how many games actually have decent online play? 90% of games that only support local play should be able to be played online.
Sony made some great hardware crippled by idiotic management. I feel insulted as a customer. Some where in Sony, there is some one with a lot of vision whose great leaps are constantly struck down by some moron. Find the moron and fire him, and Sony will be OK.
The same thing happened with the PS2. Great hardware crippled by a few moronic decisions (the almost-but-not-quite enough video memory and the absolute failure to make use of network or multimedia features spring to mind). Why should I believe the PS3 will be any different?
More information here:4 /8-bit-lit-worlds-of-power-series/
http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2006/08/0
I had a copy of the Castlevania II spin-off novel as a child. I was very interested in it, but that may have had more to do with wishing I could play the game than anything else.
You may want to reevaluate AVG.
I do a lot of virus removal for "average Joe" PCs, too. I've seen viruses slip right by Norton, myself.
In fact, I've seen viruses slip by ALL of the AV products I've seen. AVG has the better track record for us, though, by far. Lately, it's been much improved over older versions, as well.
Even if they were all equal, though, I couldn't recommend another product due to their crippling bugs. It's not uncommon to see one of our customers suspect a virus only to find that it was the AV software itself malfunctioning. Not counting Norton Corporate, of course. As you said, it's excellent.
It's not a rumor any longer. Though it's only been a minor note, they've revealed the shell.
l er.html
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2006/wii/control
That's right, it shouldn't be your responsibility.
But the problem isn't with the OS. It's that the applications side-step the proper installation methods. That happens on every OS.
The level editor was quite easy, and I'm sure that they had to worry less about having PCs capable of handling more recent games. It was the most logical choice.
However, I have to wonder, do any more recent games have such easy to use level editors? Aside from Second Life, I mean.
1. Not all driving is done on trafficed roads with unexpecting passengers. Some of us drive for fun in ways that may not be dangerous to others or ourselves, but are inaccessible with these safety features.
2. Sometimes these "safety features" are dangerous. I have anti-lock brakes and traction control. Both have NEARLY KILLED ME. It's a miracle I'm still alive after these "safety features" tried to protect me.
All in all, I'd rather be able to turn them off when appropriate. Even if the computer controlled systems become perfect, there will still be circumstances in which they are not appropriate.
It's true that Nintendo hasn't pushed the upper limits, but they certainly abuse pricing on the low end.
$20 to $30 for GBA ports of NES games? No, I'm not talking about the versions with new graphics and sound. I mean the original Zelda and Excitebike, etc. Some people talked about these prices being reasonable. That's ridiculous.
Most GBA games were far to expensive, but then the DS came. Naturally prices had to be hire. They just tacked $10 on there. Never mind that few games had any of the content or development time of the console titles that sold for the same price!
I've bought a total of three DS games. One I sold for being complete garbage, and the two others I traded in exchange for another game. I have no plans to buy new DS games, as the value just isn't there.
I've bought ONE GBA title, and it was a reissue packaging two other games together for the normal cost of one game. I won't be buying any others.
You have no inherent right to do so, which does, indeed, make it a privilege.
The PSP and DS are similar in that they are handheld gaming systems, but the similarities end there.
No one argued that the Game Gear competed with the Super Nintendo. It's slowly becoming clear that the PSP and DS are just as different.
A DS is the next-generation of Game Boy.
A PSP is a console system and media center squeezed down into a handheld package.
There is some overlap, of course, but at least there's not as much confusion any more. They have different markets. The PSP's market is going to be slower-growing because of the price--not only the price of console and games, but also of memory sticks, which is where the system's real flexibility comes into play. I think it's curious to see how sales compare, but I don't think it's as relevant as people imagine.
Nintendo has publicly said as much with the Revolution. They're letting Sony and Microsoft have the market they love, but Nintendo's after a different one.
You may not be the best teacher out there, but you can probably be the best teacher for her.
I got to spend a lot of good time with my younger sisters as I taught them to play chess at around your daughter's age. Once they had an interest, all I had to do was tell them how each piece moved, then help them by explaining moves for each side. Just a couple of games later, and all I had to do was watch them to make sure they were making valid moves, and occasionally give them pointers when they were losing (or about how I won).
There may be better teachers, but the time you get to share is incredibly valuable. I really couldn't stand doing it, as I hate playing competitive games with a passion, but I wouldn't trade that time with them for anything. Chess allows for a very unique bonding.
At my company, when we see virus/spyware activity, we call the customer and give them instructions on how to fix it. If it recurs or doesn't get fixed--or if we can't get in touch with them and it's particularly nasty--we'll shut off service and require that we verify the computer is clean before turning their service back on.
Which sounds pretty strict, except that we'll clean their computers for free.
Those who complain about it most are usually doing so for emotional reasons more than logical reasons. Much like those complaining that the new notebook should be referred to as a "Powerbook." They like Apple; Apple came out with firewire; ergo they like firewire. Nevermind that few new peripherals support firewire, and even fewer support only firwire and not USB. Nevermind that similar USB only peripherals are generally cheaper and perform as well as if not better than the equivilant firewire peripheral. Firewire lost in the market. Apple has acknowledged that. Let's move on.
Almost anyone in the music or video production field can tell you that USB *cannot* replace FireWire everywhere. The performance isn't there in terms of throughput or CPU usage. There is a LOT of space between "USB for casually importing camcorder video and syncing iPods" and "HD-SDI and Fiberchannel connections". That space is filled by IEEE1394.
The lack of Firewire 800 has hacked a lot of people off, but won't make a difference for most people who need Firewire. Most who NEED 800 already have their systems. If they drop 800 it in the future models, there will be backlash, and if they drop it entirely, they'll be shooting themselves in the foot.