Yeah, you may be sued if you are caught looking at a t-shirt with DeCSS source code, so you may want to keep blinders on hand just in case.
Or, if you live outside the U.S. and come over for a visit, make sure you don't look at a t-shirtwith encryption algorithm source code - or you will be guilty of arms dealing.
And if your friends decide
To program for Windows
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
Got a Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro, a single-reciever keyboard and mouse combo. Both are wireless via RF, I stuck the reciver behind my printer out of the way (close to the monitor, in fact, and I have a 22" monitor!) and the keyboard and mouse work perfectly. Responsive, great feel. Both are ergonomic (basically what the pro is for, the plain cordless desktop is not ergonomic) and the keyboard has Internet keys (which I barely use) and CD/volume controls (which I use constantly). The CD player controls are compatible with most popular players, just get the newest drivers every so often to improve compatibiliy with more and more apps. No linux yet though:(
I seriously wouldn't know this was wireless if I hadn't checked for the cable.:) No problems at all. You DO have to replace the batteries every so often, but changes are few and far between an the software alerts you when the batteries are on their last legs. I think I've replaced the mouse batteries 5 or 6 times in the last year, and I use the mouse A LOT. I think I've only replaced the keyboard 2 or 3 times. Use renewable alkaline batteries (the best batteries for a PDA anyway) and you spend about $10 a year on power.
Range is good, fresh batteries can get as much as 15 feet from the reciever (but that's pushing it.) Weak batteries can still pull 5 feet with no problems.
Cool mouse software, depending on your preferences. Thumb button, mouse wheel acts as a third button. Excellent feel with the buttons, unlike the M$ laser mouse you don't hit the thumb button by simply holding the mouse:)
The keyboard's feel is PERFECT. Doesn't have the flimsy feel of the MS Natural keyboards (or the rest of their hardware, for that matter) the keys have just the right amount of resistance, feedback, and they don't feel squishy at the end of a stroke the way some do. Quiet, yet you still here a nice click. It took me about an hour to make the transition from an old generic Compaq keyboard and I can't stand to use most other keyboards now.
I recommend this to anyone who can afford it (cost me $110, but I haven't looked back.) I tend to splurge on stuff that I know wil last a long time, and this product sure as hell will.
Hmmm... If 18 year-olds didn't already know that politicians in general were idiots who basically (for the most part) got to where they are by being wealthy mofos and good public speakers, then we have a problem. Anyone who didn't realize that Bush was an idiot from day one, in my opinion, needs to have their IQ knocked down a few (dozen) points. At least Gore started off with a solid game plan, and said straight out "this is where I stand, this is what I plan on doing, this is how I will do it." Bush waited until his numbers began to fall before he said or did anything besides trash talk and shovel you-know-what - and when he did form a solid plan, it seemed to be formed with Gore's plans in mind - an attempt to exploit the potential weaknesses of Gore's agenda. His talk of education is pure BS - one of the largest problems with education today is funding, where the schools cannot afford the supplies they need or enough teachers to go around - and the few teachers they do have are underpaid, making the field undesirable in most areas. Teaching is an inportant role and vital to the nation's economy both now and in the distant future, and the teachers deserve real pay. They can't even go on strike! "Expecting more" will get us nothing but dissapointment, especally in a world where money rules all. Just look at Texas - one of the worst, if not the worst, educational systems in the country. His brother, Jeb, is now the governor of Florida - my current home state - and has not done much there either, especially considering his bold claims of education reform. "education my top priority" my @$$. But, that's Jeb, not George. But, do we see a pattern here?:) (sorry for the cheap shot, please don't flame me)
I personally think that the only thing that got Bush into the elections to begin with is his father's popularity (at least among Republicans) - he simply rode George bush's coattails. On the other hand, Gore has to work against Clinton's reputation just to build his own. Bush knows this, and has attacked the Clinton administration a number of times - almost as though Gore ran it. Bush repeatedly tries to connect Gore to Clinton - which is probably the biggest weapon he has. He does it in subtle ways, but he still does it.
I'm not saying that Gore is the ideal candidate here - far from it - but I'd vote Gore just to keep Bush out of office. I wasn't originally planning to vote this year simply for lack of a truly good candidate (I think that's the major problem with the last 10 or so elections) but I will vote now, just to keep Bush out. Gore is, at least, a competent, intelligent individual, which is more than I can say about Bush. He has the potential to make a decent president.
He may not have created the Internet, but I do believe he had a role (albeit a small one) in fostering its popularity - and I'm willing to bet he understands it a heck of a lot more than Bush does. And, at least, he has a clue about education. Expectations and "testing" get nowhere, and "accountablity" has been shown in the past (and in Florida, it's called the FCAT) not to make a real difference. It becomes a case of the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
I just hope that if Bush does get elected, he doesn't waste billions on kissing the upper 1%'s asses. Put the money into the defecit and education, where it is needed most. And give the lower classes a break. They actually have to consider taxes when planning a budget - and don't have the lawyers to cut that down. The upper 1% considers it when buying new sports cars, and hire lawyers to keep it as low as possible. Do you think these people really FEEL the effects of taxation? I know low-income families do. Taxes make a difference in what they buy and when they buy it, especially major expenses.
Sorry for the long post, I have a habit of ranting.
Just think... Once everybody stops buying Windows and uses one of the many viable alternatives out there, mainly MacOS and Linux. BeOS could become a contender if the software support improves. Between MacOS and Linux, few businesses or end users will have trouble geting work done - all it would come down to are custom applications that require a Wintel box. And, once mini-M$ has this wake-up call, it's only a matter of time before they work to drop the price to a normal level and rework the OS into something USABLE, STABLE, and - gasp - EFFICIENT. Of course, that's assuming it lasts long enough after the breakup to be ale to pull it's head out of it's ass (it may just end up with Gates and a few student programmers hacking away in an apartment somewhere on a Java port!)
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, you may be sued if you are caught looking at a t-shirt with DeCSS source code, so you may want to keep blinders on hand just in case.
Or, if you live outside the U.S. and come over for a visit, make sure you don't look at a t-shirtwith encryption algorithm source code - or you will be guilty of arms dealing.
And if your friends decide
To program for Windows
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
Got a Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro, a single-reciever keyboard and mouse combo. Both are wireless via RF, I stuck the reciver behind my printer out of the way (close to the monitor, in fact, and I have a 22" monitor!) and the keyboard and mouse work perfectly. Responsive, great feel. Both are ergonomic (basically what the pro is for, the plain cordless desktop is not ergonomic) and the keyboard has Internet keys (which I barely use) and CD/volume controls (which I use constantly). The CD player controls are compatible with most popular players, just get the newest drivers every so often to improve compatibiliy with more and more apps. No linux yet though :(
I seriously wouldn't know this was wireless if I hadn't checked for the cable. :) No problems at all. You DO have to replace the batteries every so often, but changes are few and far between an the software alerts you when the batteries are on their last legs. I think I've replaced the mouse batteries 5 or 6 times in the last year, and I use the mouse A LOT. I think I've only replaced the keyboard 2 or 3 times. Use renewable alkaline batteries (the best batteries for a PDA anyway) and you spend about $10 a year on power.
Range is good, fresh batteries can get as much as 15 feet from the reciever (but that's pushing it.) Weak batteries can still pull 5 feet with no problems.
Cool mouse software, depending on your preferences. Thumb button, mouse wheel acts as a third button. Excellent feel with the buttons, unlike the M$ laser mouse you don't hit the thumb button by simply holding the mouse :)
The keyboard's feel is PERFECT. Doesn't have the flimsy feel of the MS Natural keyboards (or the rest of their hardware, for that matter) the keys have just the right amount of resistance, feedback, and they don't feel squishy at the end of a stroke the way some do. Quiet, yet you still here a nice click. It took me about an hour to make the transition from an old generic Compaq keyboard and I can't stand to use most other keyboards now.
I recommend this to anyone who can afford it (cost me $110, but I haven't looked back.) I tend to splurge on stuff that I know wil last a long time, and this product sure as hell will.
Hmmm... If 18 year-olds didn't already know that politicians in general were idiots who basically (for the most part) got to where they are by being wealthy mofos and good public speakers, then we have a problem. Anyone who didn't realize that Bush was an idiot from day one, in my opinion, needs to have their IQ knocked down a few (dozen) points. At least Gore started off with a solid game plan, and said straight out "this is where I stand, this is what I plan on doing, this is how I will do it." Bush waited until his numbers began to fall before he said or did anything besides trash talk and shovel you-know-what - and when he did form a solid plan, it seemed to be formed with Gore's plans in mind - an attempt to exploit the potential weaknesses of Gore's agenda. His talk of education is pure BS - one of the largest problems with education today is funding, where the schools cannot afford the supplies they need or enough teachers to go around - and the few teachers they do have are underpaid, making the field undesirable in most areas. Teaching is an inportant role and vital to the nation's economy both now and in the distant future, and the teachers deserve real pay. They can't even go on strike! "Expecting more" will get us nothing but dissapointment, especally in a world where money rules all. Just look at Texas - one of the worst, if not the worst, educational systems in the country. His brother, Jeb, is now the governor of Florida - my current home state - and has not done much there either, especially considering his bold claims of education reform. "education my top priority" my @$$. But, that's Jeb, not George. But, do we see a pattern here? :) (sorry for the cheap shot, please don't flame me)
I personally think that the only thing that got Bush into the elections to begin with is his father's popularity (at least among Republicans) - he simply rode George bush's coattails. On the other hand, Gore has to work against Clinton's reputation just to build his own. Bush knows this, and has attacked the Clinton administration a number of times - almost as though Gore ran it. Bush repeatedly tries to connect Gore to Clinton - which is probably the biggest weapon he has. He does it in subtle ways, but he still does it.
I'm not saying that Gore is the ideal candidate here - far from it - but I'd vote Gore just to keep Bush out of office. I wasn't originally planning to vote this year simply for lack of a truly good candidate (I think that's the major problem with the last 10 or so elections) but I will vote now, just to keep Bush out. Gore is, at least, a competent, intelligent individual, which is more than I can say about Bush. He has the potential to make a decent president.
He may not have created the Internet, but I do believe he had a role (albeit a small one) in fostering its popularity - and I'm willing to bet he understands it a heck of a lot more than Bush does. And, at least, he has a clue about education. Expectations and "testing" get nowhere, and "accountablity" has been shown in the past (and in Florida, it's called the FCAT) not to make a real difference. It becomes a case of the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
I just hope that if Bush does get elected, he doesn't waste billions on kissing the upper 1%'s asses. Put the money into the defecit and education, where it is needed most. And give the lower classes a break. They actually have to consider taxes when planning a budget - and don't have the lawyers to cut that down. The upper 1% considers it when buying new sports cars, and hire lawyers to keep it as low as possible. Do you think these people really FEEL the effects of taxation? I know low-income families do. Taxes make a difference in what they buy and when they buy it, especially major expenses.
Sorry for the long post, I have a habit of ranting.
Just think... Once everybody stops buying Windows and uses one of the many viable alternatives out there, mainly MacOS and Linux. BeOS could become a contender if the software support improves. Between MacOS and Linux, few businesses or end users will have trouble geting work done - all it would come down to are custom applications that require a Wintel box. And, once mini-M$ has this wake-up call, it's only a matter of time before they work to drop the price to a normal level and rework the OS into something USABLE, STABLE, and - gasp - EFFICIENT. Of course, that's assuming it lasts long enough after the breakup to be ale to pull it's head out of it's ass (it may just end up with Gates and a few student programmers hacking away in an apartment somewhere on a Java port!)
Friends don't let friends use 'doze