Seems to me like it was your typical "I don't agree with something someone posted in a forum so I'm going to call them retarded, stupid, moronic, or otherwise insult their intelligence for daring to say something I didn't like" post...
You want intolerance in this day and age, look no farther than almost any discussion forum. No one argues opinions anymore, they just attack the poster. Because if someone posts something "stupid", rather than "something I don't agree with", then the poster must be a slobbering mental case, and therefore whatever they have to say is automatically null and void.
But whatever. I've tried over the years to not do the same myself (with varying degrees of success) and I still clearly remember the time I asked a fair, logical question of someone here only to be attacked over my political views and called an idiot and unpatriotic and more... just for daring to question someone on why they believed something. I never said it was wrong. I just asked "why do you believe that?" because I genuinely wanted to know.
"Dell has tried to keep him quiet about the problem and has even gone so far as to have him banned from a few websites, and threatened him with legal action if he tells people about the problem."
On what grounds would this be a valid case? Once you sell something to someone that they own (not license), you cannot tell them what they can and cannot do with it so long as you do not cross any other lines and violate someone's privacy (which is why I suppose selling stuff you bought at auction from a storage company is illegal -- although I think most of what those guys did was OK, and the judge overreached). So this guy has every right to say "My computer shocks me, here's what kind of machine it is" because it's not slander, it's the truth.
Seems to me like this guy can file under anti-SLAPP rules, can't he? This company is trying to shut up someone who is exposing their mistakes -- and yes, it is a valid complaint (why wasn't he given a grounded power supply when it is known that failing to ground electronic devices can shock users?) and yes he has the right to be publicly heard if he wishes to. No one has the right to not be offended by what he has to say.
And count on them to get something like this right? They won't. Besides, the whole point of online activation is that that's not necessary. Forcing calls is just unacceptable, and just adds one more reason on the "why I won't use their software" pile.
Not only that but what about hearing-impaired people like me who find the phone an aggravation and want to be able to do it all online because it's a lot easier to read than it is to listen? Why can't we use the OS' automated activation tools? Why are we in some cases forced to call?
Seems to me like someone might have a good ADA case here -- why should I not be allowed to use something legally purchased because I am forced to jump through hoops that I can't jump through because of a physical disability? To me, this is as bad as a failure to install a wheelchair ramp.
"When I put advertisements in my signature line, I try not to be invasive, fraudulent or deceptive. But yet people treat me like I'm hell incarnate. I think that's wrong."
This is a discussion forum, not an interstate highway. We're here to talk, flame, whatever. Not to be marketed to. I see advertising in ridiculous places and I don't need to see ads in discussion forums, too. Ever think about the fact that you're being hit by the "enough is enough" backlash? There are places that are appropriate for advertising. And there are places that are not.
"I've done this a few times when I've forgotten my phone at work or a friend's house."... Why not just drive back to where you left your phone and get it? That's got to be faster and cheaper.
Besides, knowing Verizon they charge you for that.
How would they know that you're moving your SIM card to another phone? If you buy the phone elsewhere they have no way of knowing about it. That's one of the whole points of SIM cards -- that you can easily make changes like this by yourself without having to have someone else set it up for you like you do with CDMA.
"but they demand total control of their phones and what you put on them in return."
That's exactly why Verizon would never accept the iPhone. Apple wants total control over the phone and its design and how it looks. Verizon wants the same.
What do you get when two immovable objects stare across a room at each other?
The third one that realizes that denying people the ability to do what they want with what they pay for gets the big deal. Cingular doesn't cripple its phones.
Verizon getting the iPhone would have shocked me.
I'm also glad it didn't go CDMA in general -- I don't want to have to call support just to do something simple like change phones.
"I think one reason they're quoting the same hard date is that they really do need to phase out the Shuttle even if that means not completing the International Space Station"
So why would it be impossible to simply say "We will retire it when the station is done" and still meet the goal of completing it in a timely fashion? The point is, the attitude of blindly quoting a 2010 date is a symptom of the same problem -- date-driven goals instead of readiness-driven goals. The continual parroting of the same date can, and possibly will, lead to corners being cut in the name of finishing the job by 2010. There is a schedule in place that should accommodate a 2010-2012 time frame -- but by blindly focusing on that date there doesn't even seem to be a thought of acknowledging that some wiggle space may be necessary.
In other words... I'm not saying 2010 is impossible. I'm not saying that the station can't be completed by then. I'm saying that the 2010 "attitude" is all wrong.
If you think institutional head-in-sand attitudes are not a common cause between all three, well let me tell you, that bridge is for sale -- want to buy it?
They are already violating their own "rules". One important factor in both shuttle losses was the mindset of "We need to get this done, we don't have time to do it right." Challenger had to get off the ground as soon as possible. Columbia's loss was in part due to "we don't have time to check that" attitudes from those who could have looked for damage while the orbiter was still in orbit (i.e. photography from other spacecraft) and the assumption that there was no real problem.
Yet, NASA continues to insist it will retire the fleet not when it is actually good and ready to do so (i.e. when it is truly safe to, when the station is done, not just rushing to an arbitrary deadline) in 2010. Every time this is brought up, they say 2010.
Why, if they claim to have learned from these deadly accidents, are they continuing to be inflexible and continuing to cite the same hard date?
The correct answer is, "When the station has been safely completed according to all our rules, including safety requirements."
I've been a space buff for years and their repeated failure to learn even though they've lost THREE CREWS is mind-boggling. Going to a new design that doesn't have the design flaws (sidemount etc.) the Shuttle system does may help. But continuing to make the same mistakes, even after all this... that's just amazing.
It's running at 720p here. I guess you can call that "enhanced definition" since the full capability of HD is 1080i. It's not as shockingly crisp as, say, Jeopardy is, but there's more detail and it does look better, even though it's not jaw-dropping "Wow".
Don't you just love how they jacked our bills at the same time? I lost CSI and Cold Case in HD, and NEVER have been able to watch Star Trek in HD (remastered TOS)... until I blew $50 on an antenna for my Series 3 TiVo. ON TOP OF being charged over $80/month.
I'm leaving this place this summer and not looking back except to visit family, and then only staying as long as I have to.
Thank $deity I'm missing the I-64/Highway 40 hellhole.
You forget something important: what's worth it to one person may not be worth it to the next. I could get a lot of sports stuff in HD -- if I were a sports fan. I'm not. I'm a geek; I love documentaries. I'd love to have the History Channel in HD. I get CSI in HD. I get Cold Case in HD. I get Heroes in HD. I get PBS in HD. I get (some) Discovery in HD. But I don't get History in HD, SciFi in HD, etc.
So there's a lot less "content" out there for me than there is for the football/baseball fan.
Oh, yes, and the local cable company isn't carrying the HD station around here that will be showing the Super Bowl. It didn't carry it last year either even though it was a different station that carried it last year.
They also jacked our bills at the same time they told us that local football fans would have to buy an antenna to watch the game. That's a $50 expenditure for most people who are paying a lot of money (I just got jacked to $80+/mo just for TV service) for the cable company to provide the signal so they don't have to fight with antennas, if they can even GET signal via an antenna!
Fuck St. Louis. I'm looking forward so much to leaving this place. It's not just because of the cable service debacle but it's just one more inch on the virtual crap pile.
Tell me about it. I just got my bill jacked to over $80/mo just for TV service and at the same time, I lost CBS HD (I like CSI and Cold Case). They have also never carried ABC HD since I got my Series 3 box.
I'm so sick of St. Louis not catching up and being left behind on everything. I'm moving to Florida this summer and I'm not sorry. (I was born and grew up here in STL, so that's saying a lot).
Our airport sucks ass anyway. The main terminal hasn't been rebuilt in decades and shows it. The airport doesn't have a lot of traffic, and yet a brand new shiny runway that NO ONE EVER USES (with the occasional exception) got built (and killed the spotters' lot that people like me enjoyed for decades before that). A nice fat waste of money that could have gone to actually improving what visitors see when they get off their flight.
I fly Southwest out of the East Terminal, which is much easier to navigate. Oh, and I'm looking forward to moving this summer. I grew up in St. Louis, but it can't get its shit together. That, and I have a love interest elsewhere...
(Yes. I'm on Slashdot, female, and have a love life.)
And it's attitudes like that that are contributing to shitty air quality all over the country, including where I life, because people are too selfish to think about doing the right thing and just care about how fast they can cut off those of us who obey speed laws.
The cause isn't "mysterious" at all. According to the NTSB report, the crash was caused when vapor in the center-wing tank of the 747 ignited and the explosion caused the forward fuselage of the plane to be blown free, and of course a plane with that kind of damage is no longer flyable, even if the cockpit still had anything to control. The NTSB recommended that design changes be made to reduce ignition hazards in partially-empty fuel tanks as well as changes to procedures, training, and a few other items.
Don't be so happy to let ignorance, stupidity, fearmongering, and the conspiracy bandwagon get in the way of understanding the facts. It is refusal like this to confront what actually happens in crashes like this that reduce the effectiveness of the work being done to save lives in the future.
I ignore the greeters (if I want to talk to you, idiot, I'll approach you, GO AWAY), but Walmart is one of the few that does carry clothes that are in a good size for me -- and I'm not one of those people you look at and go "ewwwwwww". Instead, I'm not rail-thin like a supermodel. (Though, fortunately, I'm finding more places to get clothes that are not Wal-Mart, and this is a good thing because I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart unless I have to).
I don't get the line thing because there are always twice as many registers at nearly any store than are actually in use. If you don't plan to use the registers why are they there?
Industrial fluorescent lights are always horrid. That's a lot of why it's taking so long for them to be used at home. I'd like nice, warm incandescent light too. That's why I refuse to convert my reading lamp to CCFL even though I use them everywhere else in my house. I'll be happy when golden-white LED takes over.
Sounds like all you see is "Low prices! Wow! Look at all the money I'm saving!!" Except... not really. And you're also causing harm to others. Why?
Have you ever paused to think about what Wal-Mart's business practices do to American businesses (I am guessing you are in the US since they do most of their business there)? Wal-Mart does a great job of driving wages down, and doesn't pay its employees anywhere near enough and overprices health care, thus causing a lot of Wal-Mart employees to use state-funded healthcare or just walk into emergency rooms -- which also is paid for from taxpayer funds?
That is why Wal-Mart is so reviled -- as it rightfully should be. Take a moment to ask why those prices are so low and think about what your supporting those unethical business practices is doing to your fellow citizens.
"The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."
Yes, it will. In billions of years when the Sun becomes a red giant and envelops the Earth. Then there will be nothing left of us but a cinder block.
Seriously, WTF is it with things that have been proven (as far as science ever definitively proves anything; due to the way it works everything IS still a "theory", but a scientific "theory" is not the same thing as a layman's "theory") being left out of schools?
No wonder education is so shitty in the US. We leave out things that are vital to the future of our very society, and then we think standardized testing will solve everything. Try actually properly teaching children!
My father is a college chemistry professor and my mother was a grade school and special-ed (home-bound students) teacher. They're nothing less than shocked and ashamed at how sad the state of US education is today.
My kids, when I have them, will be home-schooled unless the public schools in the area are damn good; I refuse to be extorted out of too much cash for private schools, nor will I send my kids to be exposed to religious FUD.
However, it can't do pay-per-view because it can't send data back with info about the order and so forth. That is what is meant by "CableCard 1.0 is one-way".
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Seems to me like it was your typical "I don't agree with something someone posted in a forum so I'm going to call them retarded, stupid, moronic, or otherwise insult their intelligence for daring to say something I didn't like" post ...
... just for daring to question someone on why they believed something. I never said it was wrong. I just asked "why do you believe that?" because I genuinely wanted to know.
You want intolerance in this day and age, look no farther than almost any discussion forum. No one argues opinions anymore, they just attack the poster. Because if someone posts something "stupid", rather than "something I don't agree with", then the poster must be a slobbering mental case, and therefore whatever they have to say is automatically null and void.
But whatever. I've tried over the years to not do the same myself (with varying degrees of success) and I still clearly remember the time I asked a fair, logical question of someone here only to be attacked over my political views and called an idiot and unpatriotic and more
So I guess I'm a pinko commie or something.
What-fucking-ever.
"Dell has tried to keep him quiet about the problem and has even gone so far as to have him banned from a few websites, and threatened him with legal action if he tells people about the problem."
On what grounds would this be a valid case? Once you sell something to someone that they own (not license), you cannot tell them what they can and cannot do with it so long as you do not cross any other lines and violate someone's privacy (which is why I suppose selling stuff you bought at auction from a storage company is illegal -- although I think most of what those guys did was OK, and the judge overreached). So this guy has every right to say "My computer shocks me, here's what kind of machine it is" because it's not slander, it's the truth.
Seems to me like this guy can file under anti-SLAPP rules, can't he? This company is trying to shut up someone who is exposing their mistakes -- and yes, it is a valid complaint (why wasn't he given a grounded power supply when it is known that failing to ground electronic devices can shock users?) and yes he has the right to be publicly heard if he wishes to. No one has the right to not be offended by what he has to say.
And count on them to get something like this right? They won't. Besides, the whole point of online activation is that that's not necessary. Forcing calls is just unacceptable, and just adds one more reason on the "why I won't use their software" pile.
Not only that but what about hearing-impaired people like me who find the phone an aggravation and want to be able to do it all online because it's a lot easier to read than it is to listen? Why can't we use the OS' automated activation tools? Why are we in some cases forced to call?
Seems to me like someone might have a good ADA case here -- why should I not be allowed to use something legally purchased because I am forced to jump through hoops that I can't jump through because of a physical disability? To me, this is as bad as a failure to install a wheelchair ramp.
"When I put advertisements in my signature line, I try not to be invasive, fraudulent or deceptive. But yet people treat me like I'm hell incarnate. I think that's wrong."
This is a discussion forum, not an interstate highway. We're here to talk, flame, whatever. Not to be marketed to. I see advertising in ridiculous places and I don't need to see ads in discussion forums, too. Ever think about the fact that you're being hit by the "enough is enough" backlash? There are places that are appropriate for advertising. And there are places that are not.
"I've done this a few times when I've forgotten my phone at work or a friend's house." ... Why not just drive back to where you left your phone and get it? That's got to be faster and cheaper.
Besides, knowing Verizon they charge you for that.
How would they know that you're moving your SIM card to another phone? If you buy the phone elsewhere they have no way of knowing about it. That's one of the whole points of SIM cards -- that you can easily make changes like this by yourself without having to have someone else set it up for you like you do with CDMA.
"but they demand total control of their phones and what you put on them in return."
That's exactly why Verizon would never accept the iPhone. Apple wants total control over the phone and its design and how it looks. Verizon wants the same.
What do you get when two immovable objects stare across a room at each other?
The third one that realizes that denying people the ability to do what they want with what they pay for gets the big deal. Cingular doesn't cripple its phones.
Verizon getting the iPhone would have shocked me.
I'm also glad it didn't go CDMA in general -- I don't want to have to call support just to do something simple like change phones.
"I don't even know where you can buy the normal, unlocked phones without a contract)."
... on the website of the company that manufactures them.
Like a zillion other things
Who would have ever imagined that?
"I think one reason they're quoting the same hard date is that they really do need to phase out the Shuttle even if that means not completing the International Space Station"
... I'm not saying 2010 is impossible. I'm not saying that the station can't be completed by then. I'm saying that the 2010 "attitude" is all wrong.
So why would it be impossible to simply say "We will retire it when the station is done" and still meet the goal of completing it in a timely fashion? The point is, the attitude of blindly quoting a 2010 date is a symptom of the same problem -- date-driven goals instead of readiness-driven goals. The continual parroting of the same date can, and possibly will, lead to corners being cut in the name of finishing the job by 2010. There is a schedule in place that should accommodate a 2010-2012 time frame -- but by blindly focusing on that date there doesn't even seem to be a thought of acknowledging that some wiggle space may be necessary.
In other words
If you think institutional head-in-sand attitudes are not a common cause between all three, well let me tell you, that bridge is for sale -- want to buy it?
They are already violating their own "rules". One important factor in both shuttle losses was the mindset of "We need to get this done, we don't have time to do it right." Challenger had to get off the ground as soon as possible. Columbia's loss was in part due to "we don't have time to check that" attitudes from those who could have looked for damage while the orbiter was still in orbit (i.e. photography from other spacecraft) and the assumption that there was no real problem.
... that's just amazing.
Yet, NASA continues to insist it will retire the fleet not when it is actually good and ready to do so (i.e. when it is truly safe to, when the station is done, not just rushing to an arbitrary deadline) in 2010. Every time this is brought up, they say 2010.
Why, if they claim to have learned from these deadly accidents, are they continuing to be inflexible and continuing to cite the same hard date?
The correct answer is, "When the station has been safely completed according to all our rules, including safety requirements."
I've been a space buff for years and their repeated failure to learn even though they've lost THREE CREWS is mind-boggling. Going to a new design that doesn't have the design flaws (sidemount etc.) the Shuttle system does may help. But continuing to make the same mistakes, even after all this
It's running at 720p here. I guess you can call that "enhanced definition" since the full capability of HD is 1080i. It's not as shockingly crisp as, say, Jeopardy is, but there's more detail and it does look better, even though it's not jaw-dropping "Wow".
Don't you just love how they jacked our bills at the same time? I lost CSI and Cold Case in HD, and NEVER have been able to watch Star Trek in HD (remastered TOS) ... until I blew $50 on an antenna for my Series 3 TiVo. ON TOP OF being charged over $80/month.
I'm leaving this place this summer and not looking back except to visit family, and then only staying as long as I have to.
Thank $deity I'm missing the I-64/Highway 40 hellhole.
"Now of course, most of this discussion goes away when CableCard ver 2.0 comes out and everyone buys their own cable box"
My TiVo Series 3 with two CableCards says you don't need v2.0 to receive HD channels with your own thirdparty box.
"Why do you join in on the lack of content?"
You forget something important: what's worth it to one person may not be worth it to the next. I could get a lot of sports stuff in HD -- if I were a sports fan. I'm not. I'm a geek; I love documentaries. I'd love to have the History Channel in HD. I get CSI in HD. I get Cold Case in HD. I get Heroes in HD. I get PBS in HD. I get (some) Discovery in HD. But I don't get History in HD, SciFi in HD, etc.
So there's a lot less "content" out there for me than there is for the football/baseball fan.
Oh, yes, and the local cable company isn't carrying the HD station around here that will be showing the Super Bowl. It didn't carry it last year either even though it was a different station that carried it last year.
They also jacked our bills at the same time they told us that local football fans would have to buy an antenna to watch the game. That's a $50 expenditure for most people who are paying a lot of money (I just got jacked to $80+/mo just for TV service) for the cable company to provide the signal so they don't have to fight with antennas, if they can even GET signal via an antenna!
Fuck St. Louis. I'm looking forward so much to leaving this place. It's not just because of the cable service debacle but it's just one more inch on the virtual crap pile.
Tell me about it. I just got my bill jacked to over $80/mo just for TV service and at the same time, I lost CBS HD (I like CSI and Cold Case). They have also never carried ABC HD since I got my Series 3 box.
I'm so sick of St. Louis not catching up and being left behind on everything. I'm moving to Florida this summer and I'm not sorry. (I was born and grew up here in STL, so that's saying a lot).
Our airport sucks ass anyway. The main terminal hasn't been rebuilt in decades and shows it. The airport doesn't have a lot of traffic, and yet a brand new shiny runway that NO ONE EVER USES (with the occasional exception) got built (and killed the spotters' lot that people like me enjoyed for decades before that). A nice fat waste of money that could have gone to actually improving what visitors see when they get off their flight.
...
I fly Southwest out of the East Terminal, which is much easier to navigate. Oh, and I'm looking forward to moving this summer. I grew up in St. Louis, but it can't get its shit together. That, and I have a love interest elsewhere
(Yes. I'm on Slashdot, female, and have a love life.)
And it's attitudes like that that are contributing to shitty air quality all over the country, including where I life, because people are too selfish to think about doing the right thing and just care about how fast they can cut off those of us who obey speed laws.
Thanks.
The cause isn't "mysterious" at all. According to the NTSB report, the crash was caused when vapor in the center-wing tank of the 747 ignited and the explosion caused the forward fuselage of the plane to be blown free, and of course a plane with that kind of damage is no longer flyable, even if the cockpit still had anything to control. The NTSB recommended that design changes be made to reduce ignition hazards in partially-empty fuel tanks as well as changes to procedures, training, and a few other items.
Don't be so happy to let ignorance, stupidity, fearmongering, and the conspiracy bandwagon get in the way of understanding the facts. It is refusal like this to confront what actually happens in crashes like this that reduce the effectiveness of the work being done to save lives in the future.
Why do you think Wal-Mart can afford to sell that drill press for a third to half of what everyone else charges?
I ignore the greeters (if I want to talk to you, idiot, I'll approach you, GO AWAY), but Walmart is one of the few that does carry clothes that are in a good size for me -- and I'm not one of those people you look at and go "ewwwwwww". Instead, I'm not rail-thin like a supermodel. (Though, fortunately, I'm finding more places to get clothes that are not Wal-Mart, and this is a good thing because I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart unless I have to).
I don't get the line thing because there are always twice as many registers at nearly any store than are actually in use. If you don't plan to use the registers why are they there?
Industrial fluorescent lights are always horrid. That's a lot of why it's taking so long for them to be used at home. I'd like nice, warm incandescent light too. That's why I refuse to convert my reading lamp to CCFL even though I use them everywhere else in my house. I'll be happy when golden-white LED takes over.
Sounds like all you see is "Low prices! Wow! Look at all the money I'm saving!!" Except... not really. And you're also causing harm to others. Why?
Have you ever paused to think about what Wal-Mart's business practices do to American businesses (I am guessing you are in the US since they do most of their business there)? Wal-Mart does a great job of driving wages down, and doesn't pay its employees anywhere near enough and overprices health care, thus causing a lot of Wal-Mart employees to use state-funded healthcare or just walk into emergency rooms -- which also is paid for from taxpayer funds?
That is why Wal-Mart is so reviled -- as it rightfully should be. Take a moment to ask why those prices are so low and think about what your supporting those unethical business practices is doing to your fellow citizens.
"The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."
Yes, it will. In billions of years when the Sun becomes a red giant and envelops the Earth. Then there will be nothing left of us but a cinder block.
Seriously, WTF is it with things that have been proven (as far as science ever definitively proves anything; due to the way it works everything IS still a "theory", but a scientific "theory" is not the same thing as a layman's "theory") being left out of schools?
No wonder education is so shitty in the US. We leave out things that are vital to the future of our very society, and then we think standardized testing will solve everything. Try actually properly teaching children!
My father is a college chemistry professor and my mother was a grade school and special-ed (home-bound students) teacher. They're nothing less than shocked and ashamed at how sad the state of US education is today.
My kids, when I have them, will be home-schooled unless the public schools in the area are damn good; I refuse to be extorted out of too much cash for private schools, nor will I send my kids to be exposed to religious FUD.
However, it can't do pay-per-view because it can't send data back with info about the order and so forth. That is what is meant by "CableCard 1.0 is one-way".