Loads of older, substandard computers will have their own problems -- they won't be a monoculture, so they'll be harder to administer and maintain, especially at a school where IT is often the typing teacher and his smartest student. They'll be on their way to failure and will need to constantly have parts replaced, probably at great cost because, as a government entity, the school will probably have a preferred vendor where they'll buy $100 250 GB drives and $20 case fans. They'll cost more to ship. The Pi costs $7 to ship. A 30 lb. computer would cost closer to $25 or more.
I understand if you think the Pi is underpowered for Excel, but it's perfectly adequate for its purpose: To teach basic computer science skills. Can it run Python? Yes. Can it compile C? Yes. Can it hook up to a keyboard, mouse and TV? Yes. (Note: It was an informed decision to choose TV over composite or HDMI over VGA. Yes, I own VGA monitors. Yes, they can be found cheap. Everyone with a TV has a composite input though and more people have a TV than have a monitor.)
Just because you don't want some small charity to successfully disseminate cheap computers and just because you're butthurt you can't get one for yourself right now (*wah, I want it/nooowwwwwwwwwww/*) doesn't mean it is of no value.
The OLPC failed because they couldn't hit their price point, not because it's underpowered.
To be fair, the $1000 also goes towards attempting to convict a thief which may in this case itself recover more stolen goods or prevent other goods from being stolen. In the wider world it may also produce a deterrent effect against future crime. I imagine that if cops never went after any stolen goods there would be even more theft.
So go break some windows to drum up the economic activity of your home town.
I think this could lead to valuable research, but to say that dumping a billion dollars into a do-nothing project is useful in and of itself is a fallacy.
And if you get an important phone call while your phone is off... I'm sorry, you shouldn't be doing something you want to remain private at the same time your loved ones might get into a car accident.
I can stop using Facebook or Google without uprooting my life. I can't stop using the United States of America without uprooting my life.
I choose what I give over to Facebook or Google. The government is choosing what it takes from me.
Facebook and Google are only beholden to me insomuch as I fund their operations. The government is beholden to me by the mere fact that I am a citizen and they should be implementing things for my best interest.
Facebook and Google are interested in connecting someone with a product with someone who could make use of that product. The government is interested in many things including harassing people that don't agree with it.
If Facebook or Google wrongs me I can sue them in open court and, if the wrong is great enough, I can have others join my suit. The government can, without input, shut down my suit before anyone sees it through a variety of means.
I love that they could indefinitely detain for "unknowingly supporting terrorism." Oh, that plumber you hired to fix your pipes was actually a terrorist? You supported him therefore you supported terrorism. WAT?
Keeping on the freeway analogy, most users of the freeway speed. Driving 70 in a 65 is something that many, if not most, believe OUGHT not be illegal, but it is and they do. Downloading the first 3 episodes of a new serial series because you happened to catch episode 4 on TV the other night is something that many, if not most, believe OUGHT not be illegal, but is.
How about I can whine about an always-on internet requirement just the same as you can whine about my whining? And how about I whine about it and not buy the game so that when the suits see the game sales are low they don't assume it's just because they didn't pay for enough advertising.
I will beat you within an inch of your life unless you best me in a game of bloody knuckles while I'm wearing metal studded leather gloves. You cannot decline this game. You win but your hand is broken in the process of the game and you may never be able to write again. Wouldn't you call it a "hollow victory" considering that I forced you to play an unfair game without good reason and you still received possibly irreversible damages?
Curiously, I've never played NetHack despite having heard of it. DF just released another version though, so I'll probably go back to some dwarfly horror, but when I'm bored of dwarves I'll give NetHack a toss.
The fun of the action-RPG genre comes from a number of sources. First is crafting a character through a selection of choices. This is analogous to having a backpack that can only hold so many items and a large selection of tools to bring along. In a backpacking situation this would be something like: Perhaps you want a very sturdy shovel so that you can dig a very good fire pit and latrine, but then you don't have room for a comfortable chair.
The trade-offs involved make it entertaining to find a character loadout that fits your play style and preferences while also being "viable".
Beyond character selection there is skill in the "clicking and walking" where you're trying to keep track of what spells and abilities are activated at any given time and in what manner you approach enemies to ensure you efficiently dispatch them. Or, if you prefer, just running into combat and wading through it all with reckless abandon.
Thirdly, there's usually an aspect of item collection where you find new items that have different abilities attached and you try to find the synergy between different items and your character's strengths and weaknesses.
Finally there is usually a story associated with the game and, in the really good games, your actions modify the story and show some effect upon the game world.
Personally, I'm much more a fan of character creation and item discovery than the actual hack-and-slash or story parts, but it's all pretty fun for me.
I guess that actually makes quite a bit of sense. But even given that many of the banks would have imploded if not for the bail out, GM would be gone if not for the bail out and plenty of marginally successful companies have gone through quite a bit of economic turmoil that MS has avoided, IBM, for example, is laying of a ton of people and has been for some time now.
Even in money-making-game, I think coming up red or having to be bailed out is worse than not being black enough.
Yeah, why are we ignoring the many companies that have failed either because they failed to adapt or underwent gross negligence. I have a feeling that the CEOs of the major banks in the US have actively harmed every human on Earth. Ballmer has merely failed to maintain a near-monopoly status in a highly transient industry.
He's not. He's making the mildly snarky point that a driver talking on his cell phone is as good as no driver at all, not that it's equivalent to a driver AI. Personally, I think this is a "-1 flame..., no, +1 funny" post.
What he's saying is that if I claim Apple's tax rate was 208% because I'm assuming they paid $2.08 in taxes but only had $1 in profits you don't know that the final figure I came up with (208%) is wrong because through some obscene coincidence it could come to pass that Apple pays 208% in taxes. What you do know is that my calculation used really stupid inputs so my methodology is almost undoubtedly incorrect.
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Loads of older, substandard computers will have their own problems -- they won't be a monoculture, so they'll be harder to administer and maintain, especially at a school where IT is often the typing teacher and his smartest student. They'll be on their way to failure and will need to constantly have parts replaced, probably at great cost because, as a government entity, the school will probably have a preferred vendor where they'll buy $100 250 GB drives and $20 case fans. They'll cost more to ship. The Pi costs $7 to ship. A 30 lb. computer would cost closer to $25 or more.
I understand if you think the Pi is underpowered for Excel, but it's perfectly adequate for its purpose: To teach basic computer science skills. Can it run Python? Yes. Can it compile C? Yes. Can it hook up to a keyboard, mouse and TV? Yes. (Note: It was an informed decision to choose TV over composite or HDMI over VGA. Yes, I own VGA monitors. Yes, they can be found cheap. Everyone with a TV has a composite input though and more people have a TV than have a monitor.)
Just because you don't want some small charity to successfully disseminate cheap computers and just because you're butthurt you can't get one for yourself right now (*wah, I want it /nooowwwwwwwwwww/*) doesn't mean it is of no value.
The OLPC failed because they couldn't hit their price point, not because it's underpowered.
To be fair, the $1000 also goes towards attempting to convict a thief which may in this case itself recover more stolen goods or prevent other goods from being stolen. In the wider world it may also produce a deterrent effect against future crime. I imagine that if cops never went after any stolen goods there would be even more theft.
Shit, juries get bribes? I need to stop trying to skip out on jury duty!
I think he was stuffing his shirt with straw on that one.
So go break some windows to drum up the economic activity of your home town.
I think this could lead to valuable research, but to say that dumping a billion dollars into a do-nothing project is useful in and of itself is a fallacy.
And if you get an important phone call while your phone is off... I'm sorry, you shouldn't be doing something you want to remain private at the same time your loved ones might get into a car accident.
"You can have ice cream and cake."
"But I just want cake."
"Too bad, only ice cream in addition to cake is allowed."
Hmm. The English language doesn't seem to always use its conjunctions in a manner that unambiguously maps to their mathematical usage.
I can stop using Facebook or Google without uprooting my life. I can't stop using the United States of America without uprooting my life.
I choose what I give over to Facebook or Google. The government is choosing what it takes from me.
Facebook and Google are only beholden to me insomuch as I fund their operations. The government is beholden to me by the mere fact that I am a citizen and they should be implementing things for my best interest.
Facebook and Google are interested in connecting someone with a product with someone who could make use of that product. The government is interested in many things including harassing people that don't agree with it.
If Facebook or Google wrongs me I can sue them in open court and, if the wrong is great enough, I can have others join my suit. The government can, without input, shut down my suit before anyone sees it through a variety of means.
Anyone else want to add a few more distinctions?
A carve-out for law enforcement.
I feel this is more relevant: http://xkcd.com/1047/
I love that they could indefinitely detain for "unknowingly supporting terrorism." Oh, that plumber you hired to fix your pipes was actually a terrorist? You supported him therefore you supported terrorism. WAT?
When you download the show it bypasses the ads leaving the show with pissed off advertisers.
So you're saying that the publishers should release free downloads of their shows that include ads? Works for me.
Keeping on the freeway analogy, most users of the freeway speed. Driving 70 in a 65 is something that many, if not most, believe OUGHT not be illegal, but it is and they do. Downloading the first 3 episodes of a new serial series because you happened to catch episode 4 on TV the other night is something that many, if not most, believe OUGHT not be illegal, but is.
What about when I use a more powerful, discrete graphics card?
How about I can whine about an always-on internet requirement just the same as you can whine about my whining? And how about I whine about it and not buy the game so that when the suits see the game sales are low they don't assume it's just because they didn't pay for enough advertising.
I will beat you within an inch of your life unless you best me in a game of bloody knuckles while I'm wearing metal studded leather gloves. You cannot decline this game. You win but your hand is broken in the process of the game and you may never be able to write again. Wouldn't you call it a "hollow victory" considering that I forced you to play an unfair game without good reason and you still received possibly irreversible damages?
Curiously, I've never played NetHack despite having heard of it. DF just released another version though, so I'll probably go back to some dwarfly horror, but when I'm bored of dwarves I'll give NetHack a toss.
The fun of the action-RPG genre comes from a number of sources. First is crafting a character through a selection of choices. This is analogous to having a backpack that can only hold so many items and a large selection of tools to bring along. In a backpacking situation this would be something like: Perhaps you want a very sturdy shovel so that you can dig a very good fire pit and latrine, but then you don't have room for a comfortable chair.
The trade-offs involved make it entertaining to find a character loadout that fits your play style and preferences while also being "viable".
Beyond character selection there is skill in the "clicking and walking" where you're trying to keep track of what spells and abilities are activated at any given time and in what manner you approach enemies to ensure you efficiently dispatch them. Or, if you prefer, just running into combat and wading through it all with reckless abandon.
Thirdly, there's usually an aspect of item collection where you find new items that have different abilities attached and you try to find the synergy between different items and your character's strengths and weaknesses.
Finally there is usually a story associated with the game and, in the really good games, your actions modify the story and show some effect upon the game world.
Personally, I'm much more a fan of character creation and item discovery than the actual hack-and-slash or story parts, but it's all pretty fun for me.
I guess that actually makes quite a bit of sense. But even given that many of the banks would have imploded if not for the bail out, GM would be gone if not for the bail out and plenty of marginally successful companies have gone through quite a bit of economic turmoil that MS has avoided, IBM, for example, is laying of a ton of people and has been for some time now.
Even in money-making-game, I think coming up red or having to be bailed out is worse than not being black enough.
Yeah, why are we ignoring the many companies that have failed either because they failed to adapt or underwent gross negligence. I have a feeling that the CEOs of the major banks in the US have actively harmed every human on Earth. Ballmer has merely failed to maintain a near-monopoly status in a highly transient industry.
I propose that here at /. we equate "bonch" with "shill" as new slang.
He's not. He's making the mildly snarky point that a driver talking on his cell phone is as good as no driver at all, not that it's equivalent to a driver AI. Personally, I think this is a "-1 flame..., no, +1 funny" post.
What he's saying is that if I claim Apple's tax rate was 208% because I'm assuming they paid $2.08 in taxes but only had $1 in profits you don't know that the final figure I came up with (208%) is wrong because through some obscene coincidence it could come to pass that Apple pays 208% in taxes. What you do know is that my calculation used really stupid inputs so my methodology is almost undoubtedly incorrect.
... they didn't see it coming.
YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
Skynet, oh you! :P