FYI - I regularly purchase 50-packs of DVD-R and DVD+R discs for less than $20 US. I often times can find them on sale for $15.
That brings the price down to a bit less than "a bit less than $1 US".
If you shop at SuperMediaStore.com you can find dual-layer (A.K.A DVD-9, A.K.A. DVD+R DL) blanks for as little as $5.50 each (Qty 5 or greater). In another 6 months, DVD-9 prices should be down closer to DVD-5 prices. At least I hope so...
Not trying to call you out, just pointing out that your prices a little out of date.
For my last home-built PC I did buy Kingston RAM and my system was completely unstable, wouldn't stay booted for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Found out about MemTest86 and used it to determine that both sticks of RAM were bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.
I RMAed them back to NewEgg and went to the local Mom & Pop computer store and bought two unmarked sticks of cheap RAM and tested them - 0 errors. They've been running rock solid for almost 3 years now.
You are for the most part correct, with one minor discrepancy.
Turbine was the developer and Microsoft was the publisher. Microsoft provided the servers, Microsoft provided the bandwidth, Microsoft provided the in-game and out-of-game technical support. Microsoft handled the billing. Microsoft provided the login servers (via Passport - Ick!).
The people at Turbine have on numerous occassions stated that they wanted to put an end to most of the 'cheating' and 'hacking', even going so far as to writing the code to do so, only to be told "No" by Microsoft. Microsoft did not want to piss off it's customers (as hard as that is to believe) and Microsoft basically ran Asheron's Call into the ground until they didn't see any future profits.
At that point the gang at Turbine bought back the rights to the AC franchise, bought the servers and moved them to their own location, transitioned the billing away from Microsoft and put all new rules and code in place to put a stop to the 'cheating' and 'hacking'.
Bottom line: Turbine does not approve of any cheating or hacking and it's really unfair to them that their first big game got such a bad reputation for them.
I have started and stopped playing Asheron's Call (not AC2!) at least 3 times to play other MMORPGs and will probably start again on time #4 when the new expansion pack is released in May. I get lured away by flashy, newer games, but I keep coming back to it. It has the best, most detailed and most player-involved background and history of any on-line game world I've ever played (and believe me, I've played *all* the popular MMORPGs).
I was at EB yesterday and they are sold out and have a ton of pre-orders awaiting their next shipment, so if you plan to only shop at EB Games, then he was mostly correct...
So why do we have to pass new laws. Why not just enforce the existing laws?
First rule of politics - Noone ever gets re-elected for enforcing existing laws. Always make a new law that better "meets the needs" of your political contributors so they'll continue to contribute.
I got the largest number of minutes plan (2000 Anywhere, I think) and share it across two phones. I get my unlimited Vision plus Picture Pack for free as part of that plan.
Yes, it does look like you're talking into your PDA, but I usually use either a wired headset or a bluetooth headset I just purchased. The Treo 600 isn't BT enabled, but I purchased a Jabra A210 BT dongle that plugs into the headset jack and it allows me to use my choice of BT dongles. Personally I don't mind that it looks like I'm talking into a wide phone, but appearances aren't important to me.
While I agree with your statment that demand for WiFi should drive manufacturers to add it, the problem is that very few people buy their phone from the manufacturer but from the phone company themselves, and the phone companies have very little desire to give up a lucrative part of their market.
There are WiFi options available for most of the newer smart phones, but usually through an SDIO card or other external accessory.
1) Go with Spring PCS and get the Unlimited Vision package for $10 per month for all you can eat internet access on your phone - then you don't have to worry about it. I have a Treo 600 with Sprint and I can download a whole lot o' data for only $10 per month.
2) The only way most people are going to be able to get one of these phones is to buy it through their cellular provider - almost every (if not every) smart phone out there is carrier specific and has custom firmware that ties it to the carrier. Most carriers are not going to enable features that allow their users to get free access to anything that they could be selling them instead. Sure, a lot of these phones can be unlocked and used on another carrier using the same cell technology, but only if they install the custom firmware for that provider. Very few people buy an unlocked phone directly from the manufacturer (with no discount) and use it this way.
3) There are alternatives to having 802.11 built in that make better sense to the manufacturer/retailer of the phone. Building it into the phone increases the cost of the phone and if the phones are too expensive, noone will buy them, thus reducing possible profits. Either add a WiFi SDIO card (like the Treo 650 allows) or other WiFi accessory (the Treo 600, for example, has a WiFi Sled available) that gives you 802.11 connectivity.
Perhaps you've forgotten the Bill of Rights and how the right to bear arms is second only to the right to free speech.
Guns are not the problem - people who illegally use guns (and who don't care about laws to begin with) are the problem. Making new laws will not stop these people from continuing to illegally use guns. Just as new laws will not stop P2P file sharing, drugs, etc. People that break existing laws will not stop simply because there are brand new laws that further outlaw the illegal activities they are already performing.
I suppose you feel we should be out arresting the people who wrote Napster, Grokster, Kazaa, etc. because that has a chance of working?
100s of billions of DVDs annually $27.5 billion in sales annually
If we assume that 100s only means 100, then that means that each DVD sold in America sells for an average price of $0.28. Now, I've personally never seen a new DVD sell for anything less than $10 on sale, so this must mean that there are billions and billions of DVDs being sold for $0.01 or LESS in order to bring down the average cost.
Or else the people at Macrovision are idiots (DING, DING, DING! We have a winner!) and can't perform simple arithmetic.
When my brother got arrested for identity fraud (this was way back in 1989, before it was called that) and was being transported from the police station to the county jail, the two sherrifs in the front of the car were asking him what he was arrested for.
When he explained that he was using his computer (a C-64) to look at random strangers credit reports so he could use their credit card info to buy stuff, the driver said something to the effect of "whoo-ee, you need to show us how to do that - it costs us $20 every time we run a credit report to try and find someone"...
To answer your first question, I can only speak for the company I'm familiar with and, yes, they do send technicians out to install and configure the software and hardware. They train the salesforce to do it, plus they have a group of uber-IT-geeks who report through Marketing instead of IT and there job is to travel all over the country and do that.
I don't know details about how or why, but I've heard that on a few occassions when the office/clinic PC wasn't powerful enough, or didn't have the right ports, etc, to support the latest software, that they would buy a new PC for them, but I don't know if they'll just buy one for any doctor's office/clinic that wants one.
Unless it's some sort of free-clinic catering to low-income families, the Doctor should have more than enough money to buy an eMachine to put on the desk.
1) Any doctor's office or clinic can call up most major diagnostics companies and receive a set of cables/cradles/ports and software products absolutely free. By providing the office/clinic with these devices, the doctors/nurses have reason to recommend that brand of product to their patients. It's just like the free prescription pads that most pharma companies give out, the free pens, drug samples, etc. It's part of the cost of doing business.
2) The main reason that meters are not more standardized is cost. To add IRDA or HL7 protocols costs money - not much, but it adds up fast. If you're planning to turn out 4,000,000 meters this year and only 1,500 customers will likely want IRDA, is it really worth even $0.01 in additional cost to add it to all 4,000,000 meters? No, it's not.
Check again, there is an Accu-Chek brand meter for people with limited or no vision - it's called Voicemate. It reads the barcode on insulin vials as well to make sure the patient has the right bottle.
Also, I don't know of a single Accu-Chek meter that takes more than 30 seconds to give you a result - you must have a very fast meter.
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FYI - I regularly purchase 50-packs of DVD-R and DVD+R discs for less than $20 US. I often times can find them on sale for $15.
That brings the price down to a bit less than "a bit less than $1 US".
If you shop at SuperMediaStore.com you can find dual-layer (A.K.A DVD-9, A.K.A. DVD+R DL) blanks for as little as $5.50 each (Qty 5 or greater). In another 6 months, DVD-9 prices should be down closer to DVD-5 prices. At least I hope so...
Not trying to call you out, just pointing out that your prices a little out of date.
AC2 expansion went gold
AC1 expansion has been pushed back.
Two different expansions, two different outcomes.
For my last home-built PC I did buy Kingston RAM and my system was completely unstable, wouldn't stay booted for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Found out about MemTest86 and used it to determine that both sticks of RAM were bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.
I RMAed them back to NewEgg and went to the local Mom & Pop computer store and bought two unmarked sticks of cheap RAM and tested them - 0 errors. They've been running rock solid for almost 3 years now.
I'd like to be able to call my mom, thanks
You can call 1-900 numbers on VOIP phones?
You are for the most part correct, with one minor discrepancy.
Turbine was the developer and Microsoft was the publisher. Microsoft provided the servers, Microsoft provided the bandwidth, Microsoft provided the in-game and out-of-game technical support. Microsoft handled the billing. Microsoft provided the login servers (via Passport - Ick!).
The people at Turbine have on numerous occassions stated that they wanted to put an end to most of the 'cheating' and 'hacking', even going so far as to writing the code to do so, only to be told "No" by Microsoft. Microsoft did not want to piss off it's customers (as hard as that is to believe) and Microsoft basically ran Asheron's Call into the ground until they didn't see any future profits.
At that point the gang at Turbine bought back the rights to the AC franchise, bought the servers and moved them to their own location, transitioned the billing away from Microsoft and put all new rules and code in place to put a stop to the 'cheating' and 'hacking'.
Bottom line: Turbine does not approve of any cheating or hacking and it's really unfair to them that their first big game got such a bad reputation for them.
I have started and stopped playing Asheron's Call (not AC2!) at least 3 times to play other MMORPGs and will probably start again on time #4 when the new expansion pack is released in May. I get lured away by flashy, newer games, but I keep coming back to it. It has the best, most detailed and most player-involved background and history of any on-line game world I've ever played (and believe me, I've played *all* the popular MMORPGs).
I actually read the Lord of the Rings for the first time entirely on my iPaq 3760 and found it quite enjoyable.
I have since replaced it and my Samsung A620 cellphone with a Treo 600 smarth phone and I'm currently on book 9 of 10 of Roger Zelazny's Amber series.
I prefer reading on my PDA now as it's so much more convenient.
Forth? Forth is an entirely different language than C...
Or did you mean Fourth?
I was at EB yesterday and they are sold out and have a ton of pre-orders awaiting their next shipment, so if you plan to only shop at EB Games, then he was mostly correct...
So why do we have to pass new laws. Why not just enforce the existing laws?
First rule of politics - Noone ever gets re-elected for enforcing existing laws. Always make a new law that better "meets the needs" of your political contributors so they'll continue to contribute.
I got the largest number of minutes plan (2000 Anywhere, I think) and share it across two phones. I get my unlimited Vision plus Picture Pack for free as part of that plan. Yes, it does look like you're talking into your PDA, but I usually use either a wired headset or a bluetooth headset I just purchased. The Treo 600 isn't BT enabled, but I purchased a Jabra A210 BT dongle that plugs into the headset jack and it allows me to use my choice of BT dongles. Personally I don't mind that it looks like I'm talking into a wide phone, but appearances aren't important to me. While I agree with your statment that demand for WiFi should drive manufacturers to add it, the problem is that very few people buy their phone from the manufacturer but from the phone company themselves, and the phone companies have very little desire to give up a lucrative part of their market. There are WiFi options available for most of the newer smart phones, but usually through an SDIO card or other external accessory.
You forgot to add:
In the event that you ignore our advice to not do $something, a simple Google search turned up rand(10000) responses that should answer your question.
SPRINT PCS, Not SPRING...
dang, I previewed it and still missed my glaring typo
1) Go with Spring PCS and get the Unlimited Vision package for $10 per month for all you can eat internet access on your phone - then you don't have to worry about it. I have a Treo 600 with Sprint and I can download a whole lot o' data for only $10 per month.
2) The only way most people are going to be able to get one of these phones is to buy it through their cellular provider - almost every (if not every) smart phone out there is carrier specific and has custom firmware that ties it to the carrier. Most carriers are not going to enable features that allow their users to get free access to anything that they could be selling them instead. Sure, a lot of these phones can be unlocked and used on another carrier using the same cell technology, but only if they install the custom firmware for that provider. Very few people buy an unlocked phone directly from the manufacturer (with no discount) and use it this way.
3) There are alternatives to having 802.11 built in that make better sense to the manufacturer/retailer of the phone. Building it into the phone increases the cost of the phone and if the phones are too expensive, noone will buy them, thus reducing possible profits. Either add a WiFi SDIO card (like the Treo 650 allows) or other WiFi accessory (the Treo 600, for example, has a WiFi Sled available) that gives you 802.11 connectivity.
It specifically says that you do NOT earn dishonor for killing low level players, only trivial NPCs.
Would you mind sharing where exactly you found it for this price? Best I've seen is 3 packs for $20+
If I could get them for $1 each, I'd be buying spindle packs full right now.
Why go after the legit guys, the gun makers?
What have they done that's illegal?
Perhaps you've forgotten the Bill of Rights and how the right to bear arms is second only to the right to free speech.
Guns are not the problem - people who illegally use guns (and who don't care about laws to begin with) are the problem. Making new laws will not stop these people from continuing to illegally use guns. Just as new laws will not stop P2P file sharing, drugs, etc. People that break existing laws will not stop simply because there are brand new laws that further outlaw the illegal activities they are already performing.
I suppose you feel we should be out arresting the people who wrote Napster, Grokster, Kazaa, etc. because that has a chance of working?
Scorching leads to burning.
Burning leads to fear, fear leads to hate, yada yada dark side yada yada...
Give it a rest, Yoda, we've heard it all before.
100s of billions of DVDs annually
$27.5 billion in sales annually
If we assume that 100s only means 100, then that means that each DVD sold in America sells for an average price of $0.28. Now, I've personally never seen a new DVD sell for anything less than $10 on sale, so this must mean that there are billions and billions of DVDs being sold for $0.01 or LESS in order to bring down the average cost.
Or else the people at Macrovision are idiots (DING, DING, DING! We have a winner!) and can't perform simple arithmetic.
Don't forget a stamp. Any questions?
When my brother got arrested for identity fraud (this was way back in 1989, before it was called that) and was being transported from the police station to the county jail, the two sherrifs in the front of the car were asking him what he was arrested for.
When he explained that he was using his computer (a C-64) to look at random strangers credit reports so he could use their credit card info to buy stuff, the driver said something to the effect of "whoo-ee, you need to show us how to do that - it costs us $20 every time we run a credit report to try and find someone"...
You should wait for the Super-Tiger-Dragon Edition http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=2002 1112
To answer your first question, I can only speak for the company I'm familiar with and, yes, they do send technicians out to install and configure the software and hardware. They train the salesforce to do it, plus they have a group of uber-IT-geeks who report through Marketing instead of IT and there job is to travel all over the country and do that. I don't know details about how or why, but I've heard that on a few occassions when the office/clinic PC wasn't powerful enough, or didn't have the right ports, etc, to support the latest software, that they would buy a new PC for them, but I don't know if they'll just buy one for any doctor's office/clinic that wants one. Unless it's some sort of free-clinic catering to low-income families, the Doctor should have more than enough money to buy an eMachine to put on the desk.
1) Any doctor's office or clinic can call up most major diagnostics companies and receive a set of cables/cradles/ports and software products absolutely free. By providing the office/clinic with these devices, the doctors/nurses have reason to recommend that brand of product to their patients. It's just like the free prescription pads that most pharma companies give out, the free pens, drug samples, etc. It's part of the cost of doing business.
2) The main reason that meters are not more standardized is cost. To add IRDA or HL7 protocols costs money - not much, but it adds up fast. If you're planning to turn out 4,000,000 meters this year and only 1,500 customers will likely want IRDA, is it really worth even $0.01 in additional cost to add it to all 4,000,000 meters? No, it's not.
Check again, there is an Accu-Chek brand meter for people with limited or no vision - it's called Voicemate. It reads the barcode on insulin vials as well to make sure the patient has the right bottle.
Also, I don't know of a single Accu-Chek meter that takes more than 30 seconds to give you a result - you must have a very fast meter.
Logan's Run