i signed up for a computers course here at kent state titled "computer applications." this is the exact course description:
"develop competency in the operation of contemporary software and hardware applications. To develop an appreciation for the contibution of computers, software and the internet society."
surprise surprise, when I went to class today, i discovered it is nothing but a long drawn out course covering excel.
sure~ it hits on other areas of the pc world, and even goes so far as to mention that apple computers exist. but when i asked if i could get a copy of office for osx... my operating system... i was told that the bookstore may still have a copy of office 98 for mac for me to purchase.
i can buy office xp for $20~ via kent state.
i then went on to say that i didn't have a floppy drive and was met with scorn. "well i guess you'll have to use a lab comptuer then. your computer isn't adequate for our class."
i think i have every right to be pissed at this point. microsoft abusing monopoly power? sure. look at kent state.
128MB SDRAM; Upgradable to 256MB
~One 144pin DIMM slot for PC100/PC133 SDRAM
~10GB UDMA hard drive
~24X Max. CD-ROM drive ( swap for dvd / cd-rw )
~56k modem & 10/100 ethernet
~Intel 82810E built-in full motion video accelerator w/ 4MB shared video memory
~Supports 1280 x 1024 pixels resolution at 24bit color
~S-Video / RCA composite Out ports
~Speakers and Audio: Built-in 16-bit stereo (Sound Blaster / Adlib compatible)
~Built-in speaker
~microphone in / line out port
~IrDA
~Peripheral Connections: Two USB, one 9-pin serial port, one 25 pin parallel port (EPP / ECP) PS/2 mouse & keyboard ports
~Dimensions: 157mm x 146mm x 45mm (6.18" x 5.75" x 1.77") & approx. 950g (2 lbs)
* One Year Manufacturer Warranty
* No Operating System Included
i'm happy for the freedoms i have in america. very happy.
but at the same time, few know what happened at kent state.
i used to be annoyed when people would say "hey watch out for bullets up there" when my school would come into the conversation. now i find it distressing when people *don't* say anything about it at all. or worse... don't know what happened there on those fateful few days in may 1970.
i go to kent state. i probably know the history of that day more than you would like to position yourself as knowing.
...by the way... 60 shots hardly constitutes much of an "accident" triggered by jittery ohio guardsmen. but that's just my huble opinion. i guess.
furthermore, it was governor james a. rhodes who ordered the men to be sent to kent. last time i checked, the position of a governor is that of a government office.
funny... in a not-so-funny, painfully-ironic way... how americans love to shake our finger a the chinese, yet we have had our own 1989-style tienemen square...
I would like to happily note that two high-class consumer electronic companies notice that people want mp3 playback from custom-mixed cds. one of which, already tried the SDMI route.
now that we have 2390482398 copies of the same general idea posted... i have a new one to add to the melee.
what is going to happen when the people who use operating systems produced by people outside this company... aren't able to access the music on a copy-protected cd?
"no, i'm sorry mom. you can't use your imac to listen to that cd because the record companies don't want you to."
but when i go to mtv.com, i expect to see music videos... on ANY computer. it seems that they are using realmedia because of corporate alliances.
fuck that.
they should be creating content for everone, not a select few who choose to buy/use certain software.
the same holds true to msnbc and almost all nbc affiliates. i can't look at video feed because... gee-whiz... nbc is in bed with microsoft.
sorry guys - i have mac os x. i expect to be supported. if you expect to be supported as well, take a page from cnn.com's playbook. that's about the only site i can think of that's both large, and (to a good extent) platform-independent.
Slashdot Mirror
i didn't expect it to be linux. i hate linux, for all intensive purposes.
i didn't expect it to be platform dependent at all.
am i right in assuming this is the case in schools across the country? yeah. why? because it's true.
i signed up for a computers course here at kent state titled "computer applications." this is the exact course description:
"develop competency in the operation of contemporary software and hardware applications. To develop an appreciation for the contibution of computers, software and the internet society."
surprise surprise, when I went to class today, i discovered it is nothing but a long drawn out course covering excel.
sure~ it hits on other areas of the pc world, and even goes so far as to mention that apple computers exist. but when i asked if i could get a copy of office for osx... my operating system... i was told that the bookstore may still have a copy of office 98 for mac for me to purchase.
i can buy office xp for $20~ via kent state.
i then went on to say that i didn't have a floppy drive and was met with scorn. "well i guess you'll have to use a lab comptuer then. your computer isn't adequate for our class."
i think i have every right to be pissed at this point. microsoft abusing monopoly power? sure. look at kent state.
i have yet to see an imac go for under $300 on ebay. i would know... i've been looking for one for quite some time now.
Specs (truncated)
128MB SDRAM; Upgradable to 256MB
~One 144pin DIMM slot for PC100/PC133 SDRAM
~10GB UDMA hard drive
~24X Max. CD-ROM drive ( swap for dvd / cd-rw )
~56k modem & 10/100 ethernet
~Intel 82810E built-in full motion video accelerator w/ 4MB shared video memory
~Supports 1280 x 1024 pixels resolution at 24bit color
~S-Video / RCA composite Out ports
~Speakers and Audio: Built-in 16-bit stereo (Sound Blaster / Adlib compatible)
~Built-in speaker
~microphone in / line out port
~IrDA
~Peripheral Connections: Two USB, one 9-pin serial port, one 25 pin parallel port (EPP / ECP) PS/2 mouse & keyboard ports
~Dimensions: 157mm x 146mm x 45mm (6.18" x 5.75" x 1.77") & approx. 950g (2 lbs)
* One Year Manufacturer Warranty
* No Operating System Included
question- if it's legal to copy a music cd under the banner of "fair use," then why aren't DVD's treated the same way that CD-DA is/should be??
now all we need is congress to reduce the legal drinking age to eighteen!
eliminate the possibility to create fake IDs and eliminate the need for one.
:)
" It's just something they have to use, wether they like it or not. "
last time i checked... nobody forced a gun to anybodys head, forcing people to buy sony, dell, gateway, hp, compaq, et al.
i wonder what WiredCanada posted prematurely on their website...
:)
maybe the assassination stuff is a stretch, but everything else is fact.
go search around the web already. i already gave you a link. use it.
i understand. thank you. :)
i'm happy for the freedoms i have in america. very happy.
but at the same time, few know what happened at kent state.
i used to be annoyed when people would say "hey watch out for bullets up there" when my school would come into the conversation. now i find it distressing when people *don't* say anything about it at all. or worse... don't know what happened there on those fateful few days in may 1970.
i go to kent state. i probably know the history of that day more than you would like to position yourself as knowing.
...by the way... 60 shots hardly constitutes much of an "accident" triggered by jittery ohio guardsmen. but that's just my huble opinion. i guess.
furthermore, it was governor james a. rhodes who ordered the men to be sent to kent. last time i checked, the position of a governor is that of a government office.
why were the men armed with real bullets?
funny... in a not-so-funny, painfully-ironic way... how americans love to shake our finger a the chinese, yet we have had our own 1989-style tienemen square...
may 4th 1970 - kent state university
this summer i hear the drumming... four dead in o-hi-o...
uhm.... anything that carries a "Compact Disc - Digital Audio" logo on it damn well better play my music cd. be it my walkman, shelftop, powermac...
I would like to happily note that two high-class consumer electronic companies notice that people want mp3 playback from custom-mixed cds. one of which, already tried the SDMI route.
Sony
Bose
People want simplicity... not the ball-and-chain "digital rights management" approach of WindowsMedia.
now that we have 2390482398 copies of the same general idea posted... i have a new one to add to the melee.
what is going to happen when the people who use operating systems produced by people outside this company... aren't able to access the music on a copy-protected cd?
"no, i'm sorry mom. you can't use your imac to listen to that cd because the record companies don't want you to."
sorry- just noticed this is redundant. :(
check this out
the guy ahead of the above site is trying to piece together a frontlight kit for people to install in their own gba.
give it a look & your support.
why wasn't mp3 disabled in windows xp...? i heard all sorts of nasty rumors that it would either be severely crippled, or disabled altogether.
at any rate... it's forward-looking patents like these that help strengthen my fondness for my macintosh.
boy! the kids over at google sure are pro-macintosh, aren't they... :)
those bags that doritos come in are great for microwave hijinx!
they'll sparkle and shrink down to fractions of their original size!
... you need the ones that are lined with some sort of metallic-looking stuff on the inside....
never tried the plastic-only ones, but i'm sure it wouldn't me much of a show... just a pain in the ass to clean up.
add some buttons... and you could have a gameboy-style videogame player!
put a roll of nintendo gameboy paper in your bathroom...
see where i'm going with this?!
... or not
and perhaps some will this i'm childish.
but when i go to mtv.com, i expect to see music videos... on ANY computer. it seems that they are using realmedia because of corporate alliances.
fuck that.
they should be creating content for everone, not a select few who choose to buy/use certain software.
the same holds true to msnbc and almost all nbc affiliates. i can't look at video feed because... gee-whiz... nbc is in bed with microsoft.
sorry guys - i have mac os x. i expect to be supported. if you expect to be supported as well, take a page from cnn.com's playbook. that's about the only site i can think of that's both large, and (to a good extent) platform-independent.
another pointless cell phone. how about making the networks better before trying to make kick-ass phones?