Well, if you gonna do that... you should at least make it easy for people transfer their profile data to a new account. To, you know... encourage people to do it. That would be openly acknowledging that the real reason they're making this change is to force you to have two accounts. They'd rather be able to claim they're doing it to "improve the Netflix website for all their customers", even if the reason makes no sense.
Which brings up another interesting issue - customization. With WoW, you can have 60-odd buttons placed to your liking thanks to various add-ons - the game has a very rich scripting interface for that sort of thing. Console makers are not historically fond of scripting interfaces, lest the script writer find their way into parts of the system they shouldn't have access to.
A second issue is that every time I hear a console dev is going to make an MMO, they're going to make it "console-friendly"; the result is usually some kind of RPG-FPS hybrid. I'd be much happier with a straight RPG. Oblivion worked fine on a console (albeit with the lack of user customization noted above). The 360 and PS3 have more than enough horsepower to handle WoW or even LotRo (although you'd probably want to attach a keyboard).
Any USB keyboard will work with the XBox360. Not sure about the Wii or PS2, though... With a $5 dongle that converts the USB plug to the right shape (or you can build one yourself), a USB keyboard works fine on the original Xbox as well.
This doesn't make sense to me. Apple makes their money selling hardware. If you could run all desirable Mac apps under a cheap Windows box that costs that much less than its Apple equivalent, why would you buy a Mac?
FYI, Diablo II runs flawlessly in wine. Thanks for mentioning this. Most of Blizzard's games are written with OpenGL support (probably to provide a Mac version), so the Diablo I & II/LOD, Starcraft, World of Warcraft all run well under WINE.
Once advertisers and web sites see a sizable percentage of their advertising being siphoned off and replaced by ads financially benefitting nobody but the ISP's, you'll start seeing more web sites using https.
Also, if my web page travels across the servers of a half-dozen major ISP's the ads from one ISP may be overwritten by another, etc., with whomever has the last "hop" being the "winner", so even if my ISP isn't replacing ads, all it takes is one ISP using this tactic and I will not see the ads the ads that actually pay the bills for the web service in question.
I find it particularly odious that BT chose to replace charity ads for their test run. Bastards.
Anybody have any idea why Microsoft would want to limit the amount of HDD space on a machine? They want Vista on all larger machines. The only reason they (reluctantly) extended the life of XP was to have something to put on a UMPC-class machine to prevent Linux from becoming the de facto standard OS for that entire class of PC's. To prevent PC builders from using this as a loophole to keep pre-installing XP on full-blown PC's, they're limiting the HD size on which it can be installed. I expect this to change once UMPC's start shipping with >80GB HDD's though.
I find it amazing that CC companies want customer sigs on the back of the card. I add CID and SIGN it. About half of the ppl will now check for my ID. Good idea. I wrote "See License" on the back of my credit card. I'm still amazed by the number of vendors who don't look, so I make sure to thank the ones that do, and chide the ones that don't.
I've been playing WoW relibably on Linux for years. Works great under WINE. Producing an OpenGL version of the client (mostly in order to provide a Mac version) of WoW pretty much bought Blizzard the lion's share of MMO users running Linux.
Not sure if this meets your needs or not, but Ubuntu 8.04 is fully capable of reading and writing to NTFS partitions, so you should be able to read to and write from your windows drive or partition.
- I can reinstall it, move it new hardware, run it on multiple boxes without having to get on the phone and beg someone for an additional license.
- Most of the applications I use daily come with the base install of Ubuntu (office apps, web browser, IM client, etc).
- When they don't, I can easily download and install full-scale robust applications safely from the internet in seconds.
- updating to the latest versions of software after reinstalling from disc can be done in one pass rather than having to launch an updater multiple times (eg, Windows Update).
- all of the software on the entire machine can be updated from one source all at once. No need to go to separate company websites and log in for updates.
- WoW runs fine under Ubuntu with WINE. I've been running it that way for a couple of years now.
- Since it can connect to a Microsoft VPN and run a remote desktop client, I can use Ubuntu at home to take over my Windows desktop at work, so I can work from home using Ubuntu.
- Privilege separation, combined with the fact that Ubuntu is not targeted by malware makers, makes it more secure to run than Windows. No need to pay ransom to Norton or McAfee to be safe on teh intraweb either.
- Ubuntu at this point seems to require about half the memory footprint of Vista. YMMV.
Since I don't run any very specific software that requires Windows, I can't imagine why I would want to.
Another possibility: the only time I tried to use an (admittedly beta) version of Vista to upgrade an XP box, it trashed my hard drive. Since this was just test hardware, I wasn't concerned, and just did a clean install. I'd be pretty ticked off if it happened on my main machine, but I'd be even madder if I couldn't install it on my now-hosed drive without having to reinstall XP first. Hell, I might just stay with XP (definitely not something MS wants to see happen), especially if my copy of XP was actually a restore disc (which probably won't allow you to verify an OS upgrade), or even a restore partition, either of which I may or may not still have... turning my $149 upgrade disc into a very expensive coaster while simultaneously wiping my hard drive.
Microsoft may just be trying to save themselves some support headaches by making each upgrade disc able to authenticate itself.
Many of the "Lexmark drivers" are available too, if you know how to look for them. My wife's old Lexmark X73 multifunction printer has no formal Linux driver, yet prints just fine with Ubuntu if you tell Ubuntu it's an IBM Z42.
Good thought. I find it amusing that someone added the "spelchek" tag to this, since a spell checker would not have caught it, "weary" being a valid word. That having been said, it won't be for a while after the national ID card goes through that Canadians will be weary of it.
That's awesome! My 4 year old son recently received the LEGO recycling truck as a gift. It took me a half hour to build it for him via the directions, and the first thing he did was rip it apart, and put together his own version of it (far less sophisticated, but a running car nonetheless). This was a learning experience for both of us! Meanwhile, he has a huge bin full of all the large-size basic building blocks (2x2 and 2x4's mostly), and after playing with the truck for an hour or so, he went back to building pyramids, stairs, planes and robots with the big blocks. Good times.
There's a Firefox registry setting you can use to turn on automatic NTLM authentication.
Type "about:config" into the address box in Firefox and the list of registry settings will appear. Then type "ntlm" into the filter box, and the list of settings will shrink to three. Choose:
network.automatic-ntlm-auth.trusted.uris
by right-clicking it, and choose Modify. Add to this string a list of URL's for sites that require NTLM authentication, separated by commas (eg, "http//intranet, http://wwwpost/"). URL's "below" the ones spoecified (such as "http://intranet/news") will inherit the authentication).
Since it helps keep users from picking up malware, Firefox has been adopted as the Windows browser of choice at our 2000-employee computer firm.
Dream user. One extra attribute of the dream user I didn't see mentioned in the article: "knowledgeably helps out his co-workers on occasion, deflecting simple issues that never even have to reach the IT help desk." It seems like many small groups within large companies have their own "computer guy/girl" who serves this function. This benefits IT, who don't have to handle a (minor) call, and the end users, who generally find it easier to ask the person in the next cubicle a question than to log to the helpdesk.
When the peak hits, why don't e-commerce sites switch to a simpler interface?
My favorite example of this: when the pope died, and the College of Cardinals met to vote on the new pope. Once the white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney (indicating that the ballots had been burned and a new pope elected), the Vatican web site got HAMMERED. I looked, and then looked back a little later, and instead of seeing the web site, I only saw two words at the top of the screen:
When you buy any Sunday paper, you get masses of leaflets and spam etc. I'd happily pay 10p more for the paper if it came without any ads or pamphlets.
Yes, but unlike the DVD, you can skip the ads in the newspaper (or feed them to your wood burning stove and let them heat your house). Ironically, the only time I buy the paper these days is if I want the ads (eg, Black Friday).
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I used one of these for a few years. While these are great for your back and posture, I found it started bothering my knees once I got a little older.
You hook the USB dongle up to a hub, then hook your keyboard and mouse up to the hub. I should've said that from the get-go :-)
Which brings up another interesting issue - customization. With WoW, you can have 60-odd buttons placed to your liking thanks to various add-ons - the game has a very rich scripting interface for that sort of thing. Console makers are not historically fond of scripting interfaces, lest the script writer find their way into parts of the system they shouldn't have access to.
A second issue is that every time I hear a console dev is going to make an MMO, they're going to make it "console-friendly"; the result is usually some kind of RPG-FPS hybrid. I'd be much happier with a straight RPG. Oblivion worked fine on a console (albeit with the lack of user customization noted above). The 360 and PS3 have more than enough horsepower to handle WoW or even LotRo (although you'd probably want to attach a keyboard).
This doesn't make sense to me. Apple makes their money selling hardware. If you could run all desirable Mac apps under a cheap Windows box that costs that much less than its Apple equivalent, why would you buy a Mac?
Also, if my web page travels across the servers of a half-dozen major ISP's the ads from one ISP may be overwritten by another, etc., with whomever has the last "hop" being the "winner", so even if my ISP isn't replacing ads, all it takes is one ISP using this tactic and I will not see the ads the ads that actually pay the bills for the web service in question.
I find it particularly odious that BT chose to replace charity ads for their test run. Bastards.
According to their website, a key is good for up to three registrations, so a warez'd key is going to become useless very quickly.
I've been playing WoW relibably on Linux for years. Works great under WINE. Producing an OpenGL version of the client (mostly in order to provide a Mac version) of WoW pretty much bought Blizzard the lion's share of MMO users running Linux.
The Hugos are voted on by SF readers. The Nebulas are voted by SF authors. Occasionally the same title will win both honors.
Thank you, both for your response and your work on Konsole.
Not sure if this meets your needs or not, but Ubuntu 8.04 is fully capable of reading and writing to NTFS partitions, so you should be able to read to and write from your windows drive or partition.
Where to start? Let's see:
- It's free.
- I can reinstall it, move it new hardware, run it on multiple boxes without having to get on the phone and beg someone for an additional license.
- Most of the applications I use daily come with the base install of Ubuntu (office apps, web browser, IM client, etc).
- When they don't, I can easily download and install full-scale robust applications safely from the internet in seconds.
- updating to the latest versions of software after reinstalling from disc can be done in one pass rather than having to launch an updater multiple times (eg, Windows Update).
- all of the software on the entire machine can be updated from one source all at once. No need to go to separate company websites and log in for updates.
- WoW runs fine under Ubuntu with WINE. I've been running it that way for a couple of years now.
- Since it can connect to a Microsoft VPN and run a remote desktop client, I can use Ubuntu at home to take over my Windows desktop at work, so I can work from home using Ubuntu.
- Privilege separation, combined with the fact that Ubuntu is not targeted by malware makers, makes it more secure to run than Windows. No need to pay ransom to Norton or McAfee to be safe on teh intraweb either.
- Ubuntu at this point seems to require about half the memory footprint of Vista. YMMV.
Since I don't run any very specific software that requires Windows, I can't imagine why I would want to.
Another possibility: the only time I tried to use an (admittedly beta) version of Vista to upgrade an XP box, it trashed my hard drive. Since this was just test hardware, I wasn't concerned, and just did a clean install. I'd be pretty ticked off if it happened on my main machine, but I'd be even madder if I couldn't install it on my now-hosed drive without having to reinstall XP first. Hell, I might just stay with XP (definitely not something MS wants to see happen), especially if my copy of XP was actually a restore disc (which probably won't allow you to verify an OS upgrade), or even a restore partition, either of which I may or may not still have ... turning my $149 upgrade disc into a very expensive coaster while simultaneously wiping my hard drive.
Microsoft may just be trying to save themselves some support headaches by making each upgrade disc able to authenticate itself.
Many of the "Lexmark drivers" are available too, if you know how to look for them. My wife's old Lexmark X73 multifunction printer has no formal Linux driver, yet prints just fine with Ubuntu if you tell Ubuntu it's an IBM Z42.
Good thought. I find it amusing that someone added the "spelchek" tag to this, since a spell checker would not have caught it, "weary" being a valid word. That having been said, it won't be for a while after the national ID card goes through that Canadians will be weary of it.
That's awesome! My 4 year old son recently received the LEGO recycling truck as a gift. It took me a half hour to build it for him via the directions, and the first thing he did was rip it apart, and put together his own version of it (far less sophisticated, but a running car nonetheless). This was a learning experience for both of us! Meanwhile, he has a huge bin full of all the large-size basic building blocks (2x2 and 2x4's mostly), and after playing with the truck for an hour or so, he went back to building pyramids, stairs, planes and robots with the big blocks. Good times.
There's a Firefox registry setting you can use to turn on automatic NTLM authentication.
Type "about:config" into the address box in Firefox and the list of registry settings will appear.
Then type "ntlm" into the filter box, and the list of settings will shrink to three. Choose:
network.automatic-ntlm-auth.trusted.uris
by right-clicking it, and choose Modify. Add to this string a list of URL's for sites that require NTLM authentication, separated by commas (eg, "http//intranet, http://wwwpost/"). URL's "below" the ones spoecified (such as "http://intranet/news") will inherit the authentication).
Since it helps keep users from picking up malware, Firefox has been adopted as the Windows browser of choice at our 2000-employee computer firm.
I thought about this, and the only one I could think of is the 1/1A/16 rotary just outside Portsmouth. Which ones were you thinking of?
My favorite example of this: when the pope died, and the College of Cardinals met to vote on the new pope. Once the white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney (indicating that the ballots had been burned and a new pope elected), the Vatican web site got HAMMERED. I looked, and then looked back a little later, and instead of seeing the web site, I only saw two words at the top of the screen:
It's Ratzinger.
Now that's a simplified interface.
Yes, but unlike the DVD, you can skip the ads in the newspaper (or feed them to your wood burning stove and let them heat your house). Ironically, the only time I buy the paper these days is if I want the ads (eg, Black Friday).