Hear hear! I second, third and fourth that motion! My ReplayTV 4504 is the best electronics purchase I've ever made, and the fact that I could upgrade the hard drive in it was icing on the cake. It's been wonderful being able to use DVArchive to store programs on my PC, to be able to send shows to my friend, and vice versa, and last night I discovered www.poopli.com - which is a fantastic way to find people who have recorded a show I missed and have them send it to me! The only thing I regret is them not making the 4500 series anymore.
Ok, I guess I'm finally getting into the "old-fogie" age of 37, and it's pointless to get into the whole "I graduated from college with a Computer Science degree, and I never even owned a PC!" argument, but I at least have to wonder what's the big deal with having a laptop? Surely I, even in my old age, can understand the need for a computer of some kind at home or in the dorm to do whatever needs to be done during the course of a semester, but for what reason would I want or need to lug a laptop around campus all day? And if I don't have to be portable, then why would I need a laptop? Why is a desktop unacceptable?
I noticed that feeling too - the fingertip tenderness. But I've found on my newer Thinkpad, they've made the trackpoint "eraser" larger (i.e. wider) and a bit flatter, so it's not so pointy. definitely a lot more comfortable. I wouldn't buy a laptop without a trackpoint, personally.
Yeah, if you're going to go after bittorrent (which is really just a glorified FTP protocol), then it should be time to go after everyone using FTP, right?
My guess is that this is exactly the rationale that most companies follow when open-sourcing their code. I'm sure Interplay, etc., felt the same way when they opened the source to their games like Descent and Descent 2 - no way they're going to be making money off them anymore, so thow it to the fishes! I'm sure there are many many more examples of this.
In my experience, being on the user-side of Java applications, it's not so much the quality of the language itself, but of the (apparently) poor programmers they must have developing these Java applicatiosn I have to use (typically internal-use-only tools within my place-of-business). Bad/non-intuitive user interfaces, illogical layouts, slow performance, and if I had a nickel for each time I got some sort of incompatibility problem based on what Java VM my browser is configured to use (or WHICH browser I'm using)!!!!
Yes, it is the small things - and for me, it's still a few of these small things that PREVENT me from going over to Firefox from IE. I use a mouse with a little trackpoint on it, and use that to scroll the contents of my browser windows - for me, I love IE's nice smooth scrolling motions, but Firefox still has a very choppy line-by-line scrolling motion (vs. IE's nearly pixel-by-pixel scrolling). It's been a while since i've used Firefox, but I'll try again - it seems better so far, but still choppy.
I can't remember how Hubble was put up there - was it on a shuttle? If so, how feasible is it to just rope the thing in and bring it back? Is it worth the effort to do so and just fix it up, retrofit it, and re-launch, vs. dropping it out of the sky and building a new one?
If I remember correctly, wasn't October of this year supposed to be when they re-issued, (for free, presumably) the turbo-tax for 2002 without the DRM features, so that you could later use it in the future to look back on your past tax returns? I'd think that explains the timing.
One of the questions I've pondered over the years was why Outlook was never a proper super-set of Outlook Express. I have both available to me, but I still simply use Outlook Express because Outlook lacks the Newsreader function that Outlook Express has (and I use other software for my calendar, etc.). Can anyone explain to my why they never folded this support into the full-blown Outlook? I'm sure it can't be difficult!
I agree with you, but I'd even take the step a bit farther, although I'll admit some ignorance on my part (never having used a library-based computer)...and also to play devil's advocate. Namely... do libraries even NEED computers? Isn't the role of a library to be a repository of information in physical form? (i.e. books, magazines, newspapers, and the like)? Do the computers somehow enhance this ability? Or is it simply a case of the library simply being a default location to set up free computers for personal use? If so, isn't this possibly stretching the role of libraries into a place where they may not necessarily need to be, thus burdening the lowly taxpayer with additional costs? It seems to be following the same chain of logic that is leading public schools into roles they were not originally intended for (babysitters, daycare, whatever...) and therefore doing nothing to help their original role (i.e. teaching kids) but increasing the tax burden on the local population. Wow, I hope I didn't stray too far off track.
One thing I've never understood is why everyone seems to want to differentiate between on-line sales (which are relatively new) and catalog sales (been around forever). After all, they're essentially the SAME THING. The only difference is that in one case the order is phoned in, and the other, the order is basically e-mailed in. NO DIFFERENCE. If people are going to talk about taxing it, at LEAST talk about it for what it simply is: out-of-state purchases. Just pass a simple freakin' law that says "tax applies per the state the product is ordered from" or drop it! Cripes - such a simple problem with two very simple solutions.
Re:suit up or ship out (my email to the editors)
on
Suit Up Or Ship Out?
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· Score: 1
Yes, you may not be a slob, but as with everything, there are so many people dropping below the line of what is acceptable in ANY company, it's only natural and expected that somebody somewhere will pull the reigns in too far to the other end of the spectrum. I started here in Big Blue in 1990, when although the didn't expect a suit, we did all wear slacks, shirts & ties. It wasn't that much of a big deal, but working in a branch of IT that dealt with the systems used on the manufacturing floors, I can tell you that I felt quite uncomfortable in such dress when interacting with these people - made me feel too pompous. Now, it's jeans and a decent shirt every day. About once a week I wear a simple, but nice, t-shirt, and I think that's fine and dandy for everyone. But for every 10 of us, there is that one clown that comes in wearing the grungy shorts, bearing hairy pasty-white legs, and sandals (no SOCKS!) showing off those disgusting brown toenails. This is WAY out of line, if only considering common decency! Cripes, there are guys that sit at their desk and clip their toenails. Might as well be sitting there picking their noses & eating it. Thankfully, the one guy we had like that is no longer with us. These guys just need some common sense slapped into their heads.
This is definitely true. Once we got broadband at home, it wasn't just the fact that we could download the things we wanted much faster....it totally altered our on-line behavior. No longer did we have to connect, do our business, and disconnect. We could then boot our computers, and leave them on. We now keep our IM's running all the time, and are, for the most part, reachable all day long.
Pastwatch
on
ChronoSpace
·
· Score: 2, Informative
A VERY good book along a similar plot-line is Orson Scott Card's "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus", in which future observers watch events in the past, and eventually come to the conclusion that their own miserable future all stemmed from the events of Columbus discovering America, and their subsequent attempt to go into the past and alter it for a better future. It's a very good read.
Wow, that was an amazing piece of Deja Vu. All my life I've had that phrase buried in my head, but could not put my finger on where it came from!
Thanks for dusting the cobwebs out of another part of my brain!
Re:1984? More of a Brave New World
on
Want Freedom?
·
· Score: 1
Christ. I'm *SO* sick of hearing references to 1984 everytime this topic comes up. Make a statement about information gathering, criminal investigations, and whatnot, and count the freakin' milliseconds before everyone start crying "Big Brother" and "1984".
This is very similar to what happened in our school back in 1985 or so - our senior-year "math" teacher wanted to offer a Calculus class - a full-blown freshman-year calculus class, but the rest of the school district wanted to each some sort of watered-down "pre-calculus" or some such thing. In the end, he got the go-ahead and taught us, using the same textbook and class outline that the local Purdue branch used in the their first-semester calc class. Once we all excelled at the class, he was fortunately able to prove to the schools that it was the right thing to do. I will always thank him for that - not to mention the 10 credit hours that I was able to test out of before starting college - saving me time and money down the road. People have to realize that if you push kids to excel at something, they will rise to the occasion to do it. You don't have to dumb everything down.
Wow. This is such a wonderful trip down memory lane. One thing that jumped out at me right away, looking at the covers for the modules, was how amazing some of the artwork on the covers is! Just think how many there were, and how much effort went into these wonderful covers. It'd be really interesting to see a compendium book simply featuring the artwork of D&D, including all the small pictures featured throughout all the manuals, etc.
The point isn't that all these people are dumping their time & effort to produce a game that is years behind in graphics & technology, etc., to make money or be better than the top-of-the-line stuff coming down the road to an EB near you... Most of them see and play a game that they love, and if they see anything they want to change or improve, they can do it themselves. I'm convinced a lot of it stems from the fact that so many of (us) want to do development of some sorts, but most of us don't have the opportunity to do _real_ development in our jobs, that so many times turns to maintenance, red-tape untangling, and what-not. I can relate - many of us play the game Stars!, which has been out for ages....it's obviously at the end of it's life cycle, but I would KILL to have the game made open-source so that we could all add the enhancements that we are all begging for - enhancements that will never happen as long as it's shelved by the current developers. In short - I think it's more of a hobby for many open-source contributors/developers.
yes, but given the computers are not at home - they are in libraries where kids can access them freely and without supervision - then how does a parent protect them from that? Stop their kids from going to the library?
I can say it's not a hoax based on a product we are currently working on in conjunction with Microsoft involving the new tech Infiniband. Everything *is* being put on hold from Microsoft for the next month.
The real question is - will this make much of a difference? Maybe in clearing any backlogs of reported bugs, but I can't believe that by changing their focus for a month they can uncover AND fix all possible security flaws in their products. It will help, but I'm sure it won't be the end-all for security breeches.
Slashdot Mirror
Hear hear! I second, third and fourth that motion!
My ReplayTV 4504 is the best electronics purchase I've ever made, and the fact that I could upgrade the hard drive in it was icing on the cake. It's been wonderful being able to use DVArchive to store programs on my PC, to be able to send shows to my friend, and vice versa, and last night I discovered www.poopli.com - which is a fantastic way to find people who have recorded a show I missed and have them send it to me!
The only thing I regret is them not making the 4500 series anymore.
Ok, I guess I'm finally getting into the "old-fogie" age of 37, and it's pointless to get into the whole "I graduated from college with a Computer Science degree, and I never even owned a PC!" argument, but I at least have to wonder what's the big deal with having a laptop?
Surely I, even in my old age, can understand the need for a computer of some kind at home or in the dorm to do whatever needs to be done during the course of a semester, but for what reason would I want or need to lug a laptop around campus all day? And if I don't have to be portable, then why would I need a laptop? Why is a desktop unacceptable?
Educate this old dog!
I noticed that feeling too - the fingertip tenderness. But I've found on my newer Thinkpad, they've made the trackpoint "eraser" larger (i.e. wider) and a bit flatter, so it's not so pointy. definitely a lot more comfortable.
I wouldn't buy a laptop without a trackpoint, personally.
That's all fine and well until they go down to Circuit City to buy a new printer and discover that they won't be able to get it to work.
Yeah, if you're going to go after bittorrent (which is really just a glorified FTP protocol), then it should be time to go after everyone using FTP, right?
My guess is that this is exactly the rationale that most companies follow when open-sourcing their code. I'm sure Interplay, etc., felt the same way when they opened the source to their games like Descent and Descent 2 - no way they're going to be making money off them anymore, so thow it to the fishes! I'm sure there are many many more examples of this.
In my experience, being on the user-side of Java applications, it's not so much the quality of the language itself, but of the (apparently) poor programmers they must have developing these Java applicatiosn I have to use (typically internal-use-only tools within my place-of-business). Bad/non-intuitive user interfaces, illogical layouts, slow performance, and if I had a nickel for each time I got some sort of incompatibility problem based on what Java VM my browser is configured to use (or WHICH browser I'm using)!!!!
Yes, it is the small things - and for me, it's still a few of these small things that PREVENT me from going over to Firefox from IE. I use a mouse with a little trackpoint on it, and use that to scroll the contents of my browser windows - for me, I love IE's nice smooth scrolling motions, but Firefox still has a very choppy line-by-line scrolling motion (vs. IE's nearly pixel-by-pixel scrolling).
It's been a while since i've used Firefox, but I'll try again - it seems better so far, but still choppy.
Note that there are two differnet standards - PCI-X is different than "PCI Express".
I can't remember how Hubble was put up there - was it on a shuttle? If so, how feasible is it to just rope the thing in and bring it back? Is it worth the effort to do so and just fix it up, retrofit it, and re-launch, vs. dropping it out of the sky and building a new one?
If I remember correctly, wasn't October of this year supposed to be when they re-issued, (for free, presumably) the turbo-tax for 2002 without the DRM features, so that you could later use it in the future to look back on your past tax returns? I'd think that explains the timing.
One of the questions I've pondered over the years was why Outlook was never a proper super-set of Outlook Express. I have both available to me, but I still simply use Outlook Express because Outlook lacks the Newsreader function that Outlook Express has (and I use other software for my calendar, etc.).
Can anyone explain to my why they never folded this support into the full-blown Outlook? I'm sure it can't be difficult!
I agree with you, but I'd even take the step a bit farther, although I'll admit some ignorance on my part (never having used a library-based computer)...and also to play devil's advocate. Namely... do libraries even NEED computers? Isn't the role of a library to be a repository of information in physical form? (i.e. books, magazines, newspapers, and the like)? Do the computers somehow enhance this ability? Or is it simply a case of the library simply being a default location to set up free computers for personal use? If so, isn't this possibly stretching the role of libraries into a place where they may not necessarily need to be, thus burdening the lowly taxpayer with additional costs?
It seems to be following the same chain of logic that is leading public schools into roles they were not originally intended for (babysitters, daycare, whatever...) and therefore doing nothing to help their original role (i.e. teaching kids) but increasing the tax burden on the local population.
Wow, I hope I didn't stray too far off track.
One thing I've never understood is why everyone seems to want to differentiate between on-line sales (which are relatively new) and catalog sales (been around forever). After all, they're essentially the SAME THING. The only difference is that in one case the order is phoned in, and the other, the order is basically e-mailed in. NO DIFFERENCE.
If people are going to talk about taxing it, at LEAST talk about it for what it simply is: out-of-state purchases. Just pass a simple freakin' law that says "tax applies per the state the product is ordered from" or drop it! Cripes - such a simple problem with two very simple solutions.
Yes, you may not be a slob, but as with everything, there are so many people dropping below the line of what is acceptable in ANY company, it's only natural and expected that somebody somewhere will pull the reigns in too far to the other end of the spectrum.
I started here in Big Blue in 1990, when although the didn't expect a suit, we did all wear slacks, shirts & ties. It wasn't that much of a big deal, but working in a branch of IT that dealt with the systems used on the manufacturing floors, I can tell you that I felt quite uncomfortable in such dress when interacting with these people - made me feel too pompous.
Now, it's jeans and a decent shirt every day. About once a week I wear a simple, but nice, t-shirt, and I think that's fine and dandy for everyone. But for every 10 of us, there is that one clown that comes in wearing the grungy shorts, bearing hairy pasty-white legs, and sandals (no SOCKS!) showing off those disgusting brown toenails. This is WAY out of line, if only considering common decency! Cripes, there are guys that sit at their desk and clip their toenails. Might as well be sitting there picking their noses & eating it. Thankfully, the one guy we had like that is no longer with us.
These guys just need some common sense slapped into their heads.
This is definitely true. Once we got broadband at home, it wasn't just the fact that we could download the things we wanted much faster....it totally altered our on-line behavior.
No longer did we have to connect, do our business, and disconnect. We could then boot our computers, and leave them on. We now keep our IM's running all the time, and are, for the most part, reachable all day long.
A VERY good book along a similar plot-line is Orson Scott Card's "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus", in which future observers watch events in the past, and eventually come to the conclusion that their own miserable future all stemmed from the events of Columbus discovering America, and their subsequent attempt to go into the past and alter it for a better future.
It's a very good read.
Wow, that was an amazing piece of Deja Vu. All my life I've had that phrase buried in my head, but could not put my finger on where it came from!
Thanks for dusting the cobwebs out of another part of my brain!
Christ. I'm *SO* sick of hearing references to 1984 everytime this topic comes up. Make a statement about information gathering, criminal investigations, and whatnot, and count the freakin' milliseconds before everyone start crying "Big Brother" and "1984".
This is very similar to what happened in our school back in 1985 or so - our senior-year "math" teacher wanted to offer a Calculus class - a full-blown freshman-year calculus class, but the rest of the school district wanted to each some sort of watered-down "pre-calculus" or some such thing. In the end, he got the go-ahead and taught us, using the same textbook and class outline that the local Purdue branch used in the their first-semester calc class.
Once we all excelled at the class, he was fortunately able to prove to the schools that it was the right thing to do. I will always thank him for that - not to mention the 10 credit hours that I was able to test out of before starting college - saving me time and money down the road.
People have to realize that if you push kids to excel at something, they will rise to the occasion to do it. You don't have to dumb everything down.
Gotta be El Nino. Gotta be. After all, it's to blame for just about everything else...
Unless it's La Nina. That's to blame for all the other stuff.
Wow. This is such a wonderful trip down memory lane. One thing that jumped out at me right away, looking at the covers for the modules, was how amazing some of the artwork on the covers is! Just think how many there were, and how much effort went into these wonderful covers. It'd be really interesting to see a compendium book simply featuring the artwork of D&D, including all the small pictures featured throughout all the manuals, etc.
The point isn't that all these people are dumping their time & effort to produce a game that is years behind in graphics & technology, etc., to make money or be better than the top-of-the-line stuff coming down the road to an EB near you... Most of them see and play a game that they love, and if they see anything they want to change or improve, they can do it themselves. I'm convinced a lot of it stems from the fact that so many of (us) want to do development of some sorts, but most of us don't have the opportunity to do _real_ development in our jobs, that so many times turns to maintenance, red-tape untangling, and what-not.
I can relate - many of us play the game Stars!, which has been out for ages....it's obviously at the end of it's life cycle, but I would KILL to have the game made open-source so that we could all add the enhancements that we are all begging for - enhancements that will never happen as long as it's shelved by the current developers.
In short - I think it's more of a hobby for many open-source contributors/developers.
yes, but given the computers are not at home - they are in libraries where kids can access them freely and without supervision - then how does a parent protect them from that? Stop their kids from going to the library?
I can say it's not a hoax based on a product we are currently working on in conjunction with Microsoft involving the new tech Infiniband. Everything *is* being put on hold from Microsoft for the next month.
The real question is - will this make much of a difference? Maybe in clearing any backlogs of reported bugs, but I can't believe that by changing their focus for a month they can uncover AND fix all possible security flaws in their products. It will help, but I'm sure it won't be the end-all for security breeches.