"no human would ever have left the Earth if it was left up to the short-sighted corporate world"
I don't necessarily think that's a good example. To a very good approximation, nobody has in fact left the Earth.
(You can take that two ways...either the insignificant number of people who have left the earth's gravity behind is a rounding error, or by virtue of the fact that they CAME BACK, nobody has left the Earth.)
Slots? How many computer users put things in slots?
Seriously. I use expansion slots, and you probably use expansion slots, but for the overwhelming majority of computer users out there, having expansion slots is a complete non-issue.
You seem to think people don't use the features that are included with the mini. The sales numbers of the computers that you design vs. the ones that Apple designs tells me that they might be on to something here.
Which ideas are those? I mean, which ideas were unique to these two books, and to no others?
I've read Feist's Magician. Great stuff. I did get tired of waiting for him to continue the story, but it was really good until I caught up to his publishing schedule. I didn't see any unique ideas from Magician in Harry Potter.
Wizards go to school? That's a unique notion? Come on.
Umm, just about every chapter of HBHG opens with "This information is our speculation. It fits all the facts we've found, but it should not be confused with Historical Fact."
Have you read the book, or are you just parroting what other people say about it?
Having said that, after pulling this stunt, I'm going to find a copy to steal rather than buying a new edition. : )
"it is to produce engineers that know how to solve engineering problems."
What problem does this solve? If I drop my coffee, I don't really care if the mug can hold another cup of coffee (and oh by the way have jagged stabbythings stick out the bottom), I care if I have to clean up a coffee spill and shards of ceramic everywhere.
This thing solves zero problems that aren't addressed better by having a metal or plastic coffee mug.
It's not a matter of abusing the rules, it's a matter of failing to understand the problem space. It doesn't matter how elegant the design is if it doesn't perform better than other alternatives (according to whatever performance metrics you're interested in...price, durability, thermal efficiency, aesthetics, etc.).
If it contained the coffee spill, it'd be great. If it had a clever way of preventing breakage, it'd be great. As it is, it's a bulky one-shot solution that provides a bunch of problems on its own, not the least of which is that it creates a much bigger mess than just plain ol' ceramic coffee mugs.
You're missing my point. Of course you have to think laterally. But, if you design an "unbreakable" coffee cup that a) breaks and b) doesn't do a very good job of holding coffee, you're not going to get the contract.
This coffee mug is not clever thinking. This is a failure to understand the problem space. If I were to design this really nifty airplane that didn't actually, you know, fly, it doesn't matter how clever it is.
Engineers solve problems. This mug is a silly solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
But an engineer's JOB is frequently to solve a problem of limited and arbitrary scope. If you can't do that, you're not a good engineer.
Yes, there are indeed opportunities for clever lateral thinking, but if you don't solve the problem to the customer's satisfaction, you don't get your money.
Huh. When I did the egg drop, parachutes were allowed, but the scoring was set such that you'd never win the competition with one. The folks who used Nerf footballs did pretty well, but I used a pantyhose egg stuffed with styrofoam packing peanuts, and I won the day.
Score was inversely proportional to fall time. I never actually threw the egg down, but it survived falls from twice the contest height.
"thinking outside the box" isn't an end in itself. It's only valuable if you get a valid solution to the problem. (IE within spec and budget)
Having said that, I wouldn't have failed you, had it been my competition and I had written the spec poorly.
Ooooh, aren't you a big scary man? Other logins? Whatever shall I do? I'm a-quakin' over here. Hang on...I need to go make sure my doors are locked. I feel just so darn intimidated.
Slashdot Mirror
"upgrade the RAMs"
*snicker*
You just let me know how you're going to upgrade that laptop's video card. I'll be fascinated to find out what you come up with.
What exactly can you upgrade on a PC laptop that you can't upgrade on a Powerbook?
I don't think I've ever laughed harder than I did at the end of Sam Jackson's motivational speech.
I was totally rooting for the shark the whole time.
I don't know about you, but after seeing this gem, I cannot wait for Snakes on a Plane.
Please specify a major field of human endeavor and achievement that is not, at least partly, motivated by "machismo".
And if you think that space travel is "phenomenally expensive", I think you haven't seen the numbers on agriculture subsidies.
"no human would ever have left the Earth if it was left up to the short-sighted corporate world"
I don't necessarily think that's a good example. To a very good approximation, nobody has in fact left the Earth.
(You can take that two ways...either the insignificant number of people who have left the earth's gravity behind is a rounding error, or by virtue of the fact that they CAME BACK, nobody has left the Earth.)
Why does any one person bear the responsibility of exonerating somebody else?
You're painting with a pretty broad brush.
My religion has no pomp, no circumstance, and no social divisions.
"I find it hard to imagine it won't be full of DRM crap"
I'm sure there are a lot of things that are hard to imagine, but are very true.
All you have to do to not have any "drm crap" on your Mac would be to not buy anything from the iTunes music store. Done.
"programs have free PC equivalents "
You get what you pay for.
Slots? How many computer users put things in slots?
Seriously. I use expansion slots, and you probably use expansion slots, but for the overwhelming majority of computer users out there, having expansion slots is a complete non-issue.
You seem to think people don't use the features that are included with the mini. The sales numbers of the computers that you design vs. the ones that Apple designs tells me that they might be on to something here.
That's OK. I got my copy while it was a free download on iTunes.
Oh yeah, because that sort of story has NEVER been told before.
Come on...
Which ideas are those? I mean, which ideas were unique to these two books, and to no others?
I've read Feist's Magician. Great stuff. I did get tired of waiting for him to continue the story, but it was really good until I caught up to his publishing schedule. I didn't see any unique ideas from Magician in Harry Potter.
Wizards go to school? That's a unique notion? Come on.
Umm, just about every chapter of HBHG opens with "This information is our speculation. It fits all the facts we've found, but it should not be confused with Historical Fact."
Have you read the book, or are you just parroting what other people say about it?
Having said that, after pulling this stunt, I'm going to find a copy to steal rather than buying a new edition. : )
"it is to produce engineers that know how to solve engineering problems."
What problem does this solve? If I drop my coffee, I don't really care if the mug can hold another cup of coffee (and oh by the way have jagged stabbythings stick out the bottom), I care if I have to clean up a coffee spill and shards of ceramic everywhere.
This thing solves zero problems that aren't addressed better by having a metal or plastic coffee mug.
It's not a matter of abusing the rules, it's a matter of failing to understand the problem space. It doesn't matter how elegant the design is if it doesn't perform better than other alternatives (according to whatever performance metrics you're interested in...price, durability, thermal efficiency, aesthetics, etc.).
If it contained the coffee spill, it'd be great. If it had a clever way of preventing breakage, it'd be great. As it is, it's a bulky one-shot solution that provides a bunch of problems on its own, not the least of which is that it creates a much bigger mess than just plain ol' ceramic coffee mugs.
This mug does not prevent the coffee from spilling. You also fail to understand the problem space.
Good thought, assuming you can afford a trial.
You're missing my point. Of course you have to think laterally. But, if you design an "unbreakable" coffee cup that a) breaks and b) doesn't do a very good job of holding coffee, you're not going to get the contract.
This coffee mug is not clever thinking. This is a failure to understand the problem space. If I were to design this really nifty airplane that didn't actually, you know, fly, it doesn't matter how clever it is.
Engineers solve problems. This mug is a silly solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
"It's also possible that the typist only chose those documents that looked the worst for Diebold'
That's why Diebold gets to mount what they like to call a "defense".
You're pretending like juries only get one side of the story. That's not the case.
Part of my definition of "functional coffee cup" specifies that it doesn't have jaggedy stabby bits pointing out from the bottom.
This seems like a really silly solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
But an engineer's JOB is frequently to solve a problem of limited and arbitrary scope. If you can't do that, you're not a good engineer.
Yes, there are indeed opportunities for clever lateral thinking, but if you don't solve the problem to the customer's satisfaction, you don't get your money.
Huh. When I did the egg drop, parachutes were allowed, but the scoring was set such that you'd never win the competition with one. The folks who used Nerf footballs did pretty well, but I used a pantyhose egg stuffed with styrofoam packing peanuts, and I won the day.
Score was inversely proportional to fall time. I never actually threw the egg down, but it survived falls from twice the contest height.
"thinking outside the box" isn't an end in itself. It's only valuable if you get a valid solution to the problem. (IE within spec and budget)
Having said that, I wouldn't have failed you, had it been my competition and I had written the spec poorly.
"by using new software that mimics what is found in powerful PC's."
Say what?
If you don't like the terms, don't buy the stock. What's the problem?
Ooooh, aren't you a big scary man? Other logins? Whatever shall I do? I'm a-quakin' over here. Hang on...I need to go make sure my doors are locked. I feel just so darn intimidated.
Can I please have a hug?
You wouldn't be able to moderate a discussion you're participating in, genius.