Original poster is right. Its not FUD. Its a fact. I was sent xlsx documents recently. Couldn't read them. No converters available - the file format readers on Microsofts site could only handle.doc files and.xls files - nothing to read.docs or.xlsx.
It also forces you onto an unending upgrade treadmill where you pay again for the next version even if you don't care about the new features simply so that you can continue to interoperate with others.
Now that is FUD, plain and simple. With their latest change in file formats (to docx), Microsoft even put out free to download converters that worked at least back to Word XP (which was what we were stuck with at work at the time). One of MS' biggest problems has been people not willing to upgrade. Office 2007's biggest competitor is Office 2003.
If I had an old 17mpg pickup I would be allowed to get a 19mpg SUV and get the free congressional money,
Wrong! The new car has to get at least 10 mpg more than the trade in to get the maximum rebate and at least 4 mpg more to get anything at all. So 17 -> 19 mpg gets you a whole lot of jack shit.
1) Term limits: They suck. I used to support them, but I was wrong. Term limits result in a legislature that doesn't know WTF it's doing at any time. There is no institutional memory, and once someone understands the complex process of creating and passing legislation - they get the boot. Additionally, because no one exactly knows their jobs, term limits result in a weak branch of government, so the executive tends to dominate. This is not what our respective state constitutions intended. I wish people would put two and two together on this.
Not only that, but they pretty much guarantee that whoever is in government now, is planning for their career after government. They really have no choice with term limits.
Send some dudes to America with some cash and buy some nice computing equipment. Do you have some serious computing to do? Or do you have a serious need to build new computers?
I think the later. It's more a question of national pride than a pressing need to do some super computing. That and a fear of falling too far behind in technology.
Security for starters. Vista changed a lot under the hood to improve security. So if your netbook is only for accessing the internet, there is actually more, not less, reason for dumping XP.
Didn't they release a new Bard's Tale game a couple of year ago? I never played it, but from what I remember the reviews were mostly meh and it wasn't true to the originals at all.
Rubbish, you best anti-piracy tool is lack of quality. Make the game so shit that nobody in their right mind would even want to waste their time downloading it. Many publishers seem to be currently working on this strategy.
They could be selling it for $1.00 and still they would pirate it.
They could try paying people to take their games. That would beat the pirates! I guess that would be a pyrrhic victory.
But no, I actually agree with you. If you don't like the price and/or DRM scheme the appropriate response is to not buy it and not pirate it. Pirating the game just adds fuel to the fire and will lead to an escalating arms race between publishers and pirates that ultimately only hurts the honest consumer.
Millipedes use a very simplified walking strategy (their legs move in a wave from one end to the other) and have very little "brain" power for anything else, nor do they really need much brain power. Millipedes are not very fast either, their main defense consists of rolling up and tasting bad (some species have poisonous or highly irritating secretions).
Yes, I know they have a prototype unpowered version
So the current powered version has all the disadvantages of being powered coupled with all the disadvantages of traditional barcodes (you need a line-of-sight). Passive RFID tags need no battery and need no line-of-sight to the tag, although their range is limited.
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So there isn't any shred of evidence for a universe that was created by an intelligent being? None? A bit dogmatic don't you think?
I noticed that you avoided posting any.
Okay, now it makes sense.
Does anybody know WTF "Now is the time fob" is supposed to mean on this one?
Yes, but trucks bringing truck loads just didn't look right. I wrote myself into a corner and couldn't be bother rewriting the whole thing!
The Sims 3: Money printing edition.
Your sims get to churn out endless expansion packs while trucks bring bucket loads of money to your door.
I think your last comment contradicts your basic statement.
No it doesn't. People don't upgrade because they don't need to. It's not an upgrade treadmill, which was my FUCKING POINT!
Original poster is right. Its not FUD. Its a fact. I was sent xlsx documents recently. Couldn't read them. No converters available - the file format readers on Microsofts site could only handle .doc files and .xls files - nothing to read .docs or .xlsx.
Really? Guess you didn't look very hard.
We're stuck with Lotus Notes (and what a nightmare that POS is), and we still use Word. Outlook isn't the reason for Word's popularity.
I dream of the day we switch to Outlook!
It also forces you onto an unending upgrade treadmill where you pay again for the next version even if you don't care about the new features simply so that you can continue to interoperate with others.
Now that is FUD, plain and simple. With their latest change in file formats (to docx), Microsoft even put out free to download converters that worked at least back to Word XP (which was what we were stuck with at work at the time). One of MS' biggest problems has been people not willing to upgrade. Office 2007's biggest competitor is Office 2003.
If I had an old 17mpg pickup I would be allowed to get a 19mpg SUV and get the free congressional money,
Wrong! The new car has to get at least 10 mpg more than the trade in to get the maximum rebate and at least 4 mpg more to get anything at all. So 17 -> 19 mpg gets you a whole lot of jack shit.
Try looking it up first!
My experience to date has been that the output of Alpha is mostly underwhelming.
1) Term limits: They suck. I used to support them, but I was wrong. Term limits result in a legislature that doesn't know WTF it's doing at any time. There is no institutional memory, and once someone understands the complex process of creating and passing legislation - they get the boot. Additionally, because no one exactly knows their jobs, term limits result in a weak branch of government, so the executive tends to dominate. This is not what our respective state constitutions intended. I wish people would put two and two together on this.
Not only that, but they pretty much guarantee that whoever is in government now, is planning for their career after government. They really have no choice with term limits.
Did you miss the part where they'd lease back the building? No moving required.
Don't be silly. Why would patriots think their country is worth paying for?
Send some dudes to America with some cash and buy some nice computing equipment. Do you have some serious computing to do? Or do you have a serious need to build new computers?
I think the later. It's more a question of national pride than a pressing need to do some super computing. That and a fear of falling too far behind in technology.
Security for starters. Vista changed a lot under the hood to improve security. So if your netbook is only for accessing the internet, there is actually more, not less, reason for dumping XP.
But it's okay, so long as we have guns to shot the cracked iPhone wielding outlaws!
the best thing to ever happen to Silverlight?
Didn't they release a new Bard's Tale game a couple of year ago? I never played it, but from what I remember the reviews were mostly meh and it wasn't true to the originals at all.
Ditto to this. They recently redid Colonization with the latest Civ engine. They need to redo MOO, MOM and Alpha Centauri
That's why I said that it only hurts the honest consumer. But I like your analogue too.
Rubbish, you best anti-piracy tool is lack of quality. Make the game so shit that nobody in their right mind would even want to waste their time downloading it. Many publishers seem to be currently working on this strategy.
They could be selling it for $1.00 and still they would pirate it.
They could try paying people to take their games. That would beat the pirates! I guess that would be a pyrrhic victory.
But no, I actually agree with you. If you don't like the price and/or DRM scheme the appropriate response is to not buy it and not pirate it. Pirating the game just adds fuel to the fire and will lead to an escalating arms race between publishers and pirates that ultimately only hurts the honest consumer.
Millipedes use a very simplified walking strategy (their legs move in a wave from one end to the other) and have very little "brain" power for anything else, nor do they really need much brain power. Millipedes are not very fast either, their main defense consists of rolling up and tasting bad (some species have poisonous or highly irritating secretions).
Yes, I know they have a prototype unpowered version
So the current powered version has all the disadvantages of being powered coupled with all the disadvantages of traditional barcodes (you need a line-of-sight). Passive RFID tags need no battery and need no line-of-sight to the tag, although their range is limited.