I'll add a little to this, since others have asked why anyone WOULDN'T go with Apple:
We've always used Gateways where I work. 2 months ago, all 200 employees got their 3-year-old Gateways replaced with brand new Gateways. Same OS (Windows XP Pro), same software, drive mapping, everything. I spent a full month just answering support calls people had about these new, nearly-identical-to-the-old-ones computers. Why? Because files weren't exactly where they'd left them, setting (esp. browser settings) weren't exactly the same, desktop shortcuts were 'missing', keyboard had a few extra keys, etc.
I shudder to think what would happen if we'd given them a whole new, unfamiliar OS, with a completely different software package.
Is it surprising that 99% these people choose Dells and Gateways as their home computer?
The company said that during the next five years, a "wave of connectivity" between vehicles and roadways will help keep traffic flowing smoothly
Yeah the theoretical technology might exist, but major improvements to the national infrastructure will take decades to implement. Agreed. They can't even get the lights timed properly where I live; it's unlikely that any vehicle/roadway interfacing will happen anytime soon.
And smart appliances? This has been predicted as an up & coming technology since the early '80s, and I still haven't thought of (or read of) a decent reason for it.
I don't see how I could be more clear: The guy used to be interesting (when it came to electronics, anyway) and now just says whatever will drive traffic (in other words, which will inflame the emotions of his readership, leading to mention in other places like/., and give him publicity). I've read him for 4 years, and quit a few months ago.
I used to like David Pogue. He never showed much computer savvy, but he really knew entertainment gear and gadgets. In the past 2 or 3 years, though, he's become John C. Dvorak -- making ridiculous and inflammatory statements in his column or on his blog just to drive traffic.
And like Dvorak, it's unfortunate that/. sends more traffic his way.
ARM mortgages aren't bad. It put people into houses that couldn't have bought a house any other way. The problem is those people didn't try to improve their credit and find more steady employment before the rate started adjusting in 2 years. Had they improved their credit and got a better job they could have refinanced within 2 years to a 30 year fixed. I couldn't agree more. I bought my house 3 years ago with TWO of these mortgages that people are so up in arms about. I even lied like hell on my application to get the mortgages.But because I wasn't an idiot (I did lots of homework beforehand):
I bought a house in one of the few areas of my city (Las Vegas) where I was relatively certain that the housing values would continue to grow (they have - I've gained 40% in property value since then while much of the city has declined), and
I now make lots more money than I did then, as I expected when I took out the loans.
2 months ago, I refinanced into a single mortgage at a great rate. Had things worked out the other way, I wouldn't wine about it -- it was my choice to lie, after all.
BTW- I've seen lots of ridiculous reasons here for the crisis, but really the reason is simple: banks who made the original loan had no impetus to make sure that buyers could actually pay back their loans, because wealthy fund owners (Bear Stearns, for instance) were buying up mortgages without doing due diligence. My mortgages were sold a total of 6 times in the first 2.5 years I had them. That's just ridiculous.
Since no money is created by a bunch of rich people selling loans to each other, eventually something has to give.
Al Qaeda did have connections to Iraq, though not strong. Al Qaeda had extremely strong ties to the U.S., particularly Florida, where they learned how to fly airplanes. Perhaps we should have invaded Florida as well.
Or how about we invade Saudi Arabia, where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from? Or get rid of the Taliban, which hid Bin Laden and now enjoys relative comfort in large swaths of Afghanistan?
How about we go to war with every country that has WMDs and ties to terrorism? Ruling out the U.S. (who supported Hussein and the Taliban for years) and Israel just to be nice, we then have Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, India, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. Am I forgetting anyone? All present the same threat that Iraq did when we invaded - none.
You may think it's enough to say "mistakes were made" and continue sending Americans to die there for nothing. I don't.
You mention the "front" in Africa -- it's a joke. We could have ended Malaria with the money we've spent killing Iraqis. How might that have affected the War on Terror in Africa, do you think?
There is a great deal of information on the internet, but it's all a surface gloss of "knowledge", and there is very little depth on anything, anywhere. Actually, nearly every peer-reviewed journal is on the internet, and often the electronic version is considered the version of record (that is, more correct than the paper one, because it can be updated and fixed).
Additionally, more and more books are being put online, as are digitized primary sources.
The internet is a fabulous source of information; Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers, on the other hand, are not.
I am a librarian, and my worst nightmare is the same as everyone else's: going to the circus and getting fisted by midgets in the back of the clown car.
The multitude of sites that offer 'answers' for a fee is a non-issue.
By "worthless welfare addicts" you must mean U.S. corporations (especially, but not limited to, farming and defense companies) since that's where a much larger portion of your tax dollars go than to individuals.
The number of people on welfare has steadily diminished (by about 8-million) since 1993, while we've continued to throw ever-increasing amounts of tax dollars at industry.
There are real problems in this country -- lazy people getting a free ride on your dime isn't one of them (I actually thought this ridiculousness died out when Newt was ousted in the '90s). Education is, so at least you got that part right. The amount of tax dollars spent on social programs like welfare is barely a drop in the bucket (see food assistance and unemployment on this chart from 2005).
The amount we've already spent on Iraq is greater than the top expenditure on that chart. The amount we're expected to spend in the next 10 years is over 4 times the top expenditure on that chart. In return, we get nothing.
I feel ya. It's always baffled me that layouts that are dead easy using HTML tables are a PITA using CSS, which is (among other things) supposed to replace the use of HTML tables for placement.
How about just adding table-like functionality to CSS?
Problem with most kids is, who is going to be their teacher? Ask any teacher -- the smart kids' parents show up 90% of the time on parent teacher night. The idiot kids' parents never, ever show up. All it takes is a little positive parent involvement.
I'm a conservative, too. Which is why I loathe the man for helping turn TV news into infotainment.
Even if you agree with the right-ward slant of Fox news (and, being a conservative -- rather than a neocon -- I do not), you gotta admit, there just ain't much news there.
Being anti-gov't or anti-teacher is just a way of parroting something you heard from someone else -- it's not a legitimate position to argue from. Actually, either position (and really, they're just about the same, since most teachers work for the government and carry out a government mandate) is a perfectly legitimate position to argue from. In fact, any position is legitimate, as long as it can be argued effectively and intelligently.
Unlike making ridiculous comments like
Being anti-gov't or anti-teacher is just a way of parroting something you heard from someone else -- it's not a legitimate position to argue from. and not even trying to back them up.
It's open source. If Google wanted to be in control, they would just release their own version.
I RTFA'd, and the whole issue reads like tin-foil hat paranoia or just plain old FUD. Where are the examples of Mozilla bowing to Google's wishes (outside of making them the default search, which they're paying for)?
I get some decent recommendations and occasionally accept one or two, but they could improve their relevance 100% just by not recommending titles I've already gotten from Netflix.
This should be an obvious fix -- where's my million?
Ideally, I'd just like the OS to be as configurable as possible, so I can configure it to get out of my way and stop hounding me every time I want to do something it doesn't like.
More than anything, though, I want one single version. XP already irritated me by having a crippled home version, a professional version, and a Media Center. Just the Media Center (which is pro with the added software) would have been fine, thanks. With Vista, not only were there too many versions, but because their names are not descriptive ("Ultimate!"), you need an effing chart just to see what the effing difference is.
Also, it is perfectly acceptable to cite an encyclopedia as a 'primary source'... Not only is it NOT acceptable to to cite any encyclopedia as a primary source, but Wikipedia specifically forbids original research in its articles, meaning that it's not even an acceptable secondary source.
I think you're misunderstanding what a 'primary source' is. You can look here.
I would tell you to RTFA -- where you'd see that he specifically (and with much ridiculous exposition) excludes the iPhone from his comments on "smart phones" -- but driving traffic to a Dvorak article isn't a good thing, IMHO.
Slashdot Mirror
Agreed. I do lots of home improvement and use Sketchup for planning everything. Easy to use, even for someone who's never done any 3D modeling.
As long as motorcycles are legal, seatbelt laws are ridiculous.
I'll add a little to this, since others have asked why anyone WOULDN'T go with Apple:
We've always used Gateways where I work. 2 months ago, all 200 employees got their 3-year-old Gateways replaced with brand new Gateways. Same OS (Windows XP Pro), same software, drive mapping, everything. I spent a full month just answering support calls people had about these new, nearly-identical-to-the-old-ones computers. Why? Because files weren't exactly where they'd left them, setting (esp. browser settings) weren't exactly the same, desktop shortcuts were 'missing', keyboard had a few extra keys, etc.
I shudder to think what would happen if we'd given them a whole new, unfamiliar OS, with a completely different software package.
Is it surprising that 99% these people choose Dells and Gateways as their home computer?
Yeah the theoretical technology might exist, but major improvements to the national infrastructure will take decades to implement. Agreed. They can't even get the lights timed properly where I live; it's unlikely that any vehicle/roadway interfacing will happen anytime soon.
And smart appliances? This has been predicted as an up & coming technology since the early '80s, and I still haven't thought of (or read of) a decent reason for it.
I don't see how I could be more clear: The guy used to be interesting (when it came to electronics, anyway) and now just says whatever will drive traffic (in other words, which will inflame the emotions of his readership, leading to mention in other places like /., and give him publicity). I've read him for 4 years, and quit a few months ago.
Spelled out enough for ya?
I used to like David Pogue. He never showed much computer savvy, but he really knew entertainment gear and gadgets. In the past 2 or 3 years, though, he's become John C. Dvorak -- making ridiculous and inflammatory statements in his column or on his blog just to drive traffic.
/. sends more traffic his way.
And like Dvorak, it's unfortunate that
- I bought a house in one of the few areas of my city (Las Vegas) where I was relatively certain that the housing values would continue to grow (they have - I've gained 40% in property value since then while much of the city has declined), and
- I now make lots more money than I did then, as I expected when I took out the loans.
2 months ago, I refinanced into a single mortgage at a great rate. Had things worked out the other way, I wouldn't wine about it -- it was my choice to lie, after all.BTW- I've seen lots of ridiculous reasons here for the crisis, but really the reason is simple: banks who made the original loan had no impetus to make sure that buyers could actually pay back their loans, because wealthy fund owners (Bear Stearns, for instance) were buying up mortgages without doing due diligence. My mortgages were sold a total of 6 times in the first 2.5 years I had them. That's just ridiculous.
Since no money is created by a bunch of rich people selling loans to each other, eventually something has to give.
Or how about we invade Saudi Arabia, where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from? Or get rid of the Taliban, which hid Bin Laden and now enjoys relative comfort in large swaths of Afghanistan?
How about we go to war with every country that has WMDs and ties to terrorism? Ruling out the U.S. (who supported Hussein and the Taliban for years) and Israel just to be nice, we then have Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, India, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. Am I forgetting anyone? All present the same threat that Iraq did when we invaded - none.
You may think it's enough to say "mistakes were made" and continue sending Americans to die there for nothing. I don't.
You mention the "front" in Africa -- it's a joke. We could have ended Malaria with the money we've spent killing Iraqis. How might that have affected the War on Terror in Africa, do you think?
Additionally, more and more books are being put online, as are digitized primary sources.
The internet is a fabulous source of information; Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers, on the other hand, are not.
I am a librarian, and my worst nightmare is the same as everyone else's: going to the circus and getting fisted by midgets in the back of the clown car.
The multitude of sites that offer 'answers' for a fee is a non-issue.
By "worthless welfare addicts" you must mean U.S. corporations (especially, but not limited to, farming and defense companies) since that's where a much larger portion of your tax dollars go than to individuals.
The number of people on welfare has steadily diminished (by about 8-million) since 1993, while we've continued to throw ever-increasing amounts of tax dollars at industry.
There are real problems in this country -- lazy people getting a free ride on your dime isn't one of them (I actually thought this ridiculousness died out when Newt was ousted in the '90s). Education is, so at least you got that part right. The amount of tax dollars spent on social programs like welfare is barely a drop in the bucket (see food assistance and unemployment on this chart from 2005).
The amount we've already spent on Iraq is greater than the top expenditure on that chart. The amount we're expected to spend in the next 10 years is over 4 times the top expenditure on that chart. In return, we get nothing.
I feel ya. It's always baffled me that layouts that are dead easy using HTML tables are a PITA using CSS, which is (among other things) supposed to replace the use of HTML tables for placement.
How about just adding table-like functionality to CSS?
Lists of customers' credit card numbers are non-copyrightable. Maybe that's what it was.
The idiot kids' parents never, ever show up.
All it takes is a little positive parent involvement.
I'm a conservative, too. Which is why I loathe the man for helping turn TV news into infotainment.
Even if you agree with the right-ward slant of Fox news (and, being a conservative -- rather than a neocon -- I do not), you gotta admit, there just ain't much news there.
Unlike making ridiculous comments like Being anti-gov't or anti-teacher is just a way of parroting something you heard from someone else -- it's not a legitimate position to argue from. and not even trying to back them up.
That's called "trolling".
It's open source. If Google wanted to be in control, they would just release their own version.
I RTFA'd, and the whole issue reads like tin-foil hat paranoia or just plain old FUD. Where are the examples of Mozilla bowing to Google's wishes (outside of making them the default search, which they're paying for)?
Can your kid sister or retarded cousin or ancient gramma use your system to share their pics?
If not, your post is off-topic.
I get some decent recommendations and occasionally accept one or two, but they could improve their relevance 100% just by not recommending titles I've already gotten from Netflix.
This should be an obvious fix -- where's my million?
Ideally, I'd just like the OS to be as configurable as possible, so I can configure it to get out of my way and stop hounding me every time I want to do something it doesn't like.
More than anything, though, I want one single version. XP already irritated me by having a crippled home version, a professional version, and a Media Center. Just the Media Center (which is pro with the added software) would have been fine, thanks. With Vista, not only were there too many versions, but because their names are not descriptive ("Ultimate!"), you need an effing chart just to see what the effing difference is.
I have one on my keyboard (HP - XP Media Center) and another on the remote. Both close and open the DVD drive.
I think you're misunderstanding what a 'primary source' is. You can look here.
I would tell you to RTFA -- where you'd see that he specifically (and with much ridiculous exposition) excludes the iPhone from his comments on "smart phones" -- but driving traffic to a Dvorak article isn't a good thing, IMHO.