Other peoples' opinions of me are not relevant to me. I do not define myself by my ability to accomplish tasks, and I am the only person competent to define myself. Therefore...
Certainly, other people might judge me based on my abilities, but they are not the whole of my person.
you're probably right. I like the idea of the new extensions system, but it sure is a pain in my ass to get everything set up right again after nuking my profile and all.
I like firefox...I can't wait until it's less of a problem child.
Nevertheless, the capabilities are there, and many people learn to use them to a greater and greater degree.
Particularly consider the children that grow up with computers, and computer literate parents.
Whether things are headed towards or away from this "convergence" thing, I don't know. I do know that devices are getting smarter, and people have a long history of doing clever things with tools.
Tabbrowser Extensions and Googlebar are non-starters.
While we're on the subject, how can I get ctrl-mousewheel to zoom text and ctrl-enter in the address bar open a location in a new tab? I've been through about:config to no avail. And the forums are not helpful.
Flat pack duct tape. Get it at The Container Store. I've also been known to wrap a couple dozen yards around a pencil and carry that. I used it to repair a performer's sign at Scarborough Faire. They were very grateful.
Sometimes I carry a little folding hammer that also has a screwdriver and nut driver attachment. It also has an adjustable closed-end wrench on one end for big stubborn bolts. I always carry an LED flashlight, bottle opener, and usually a Leatherman Micra.
I took that Boy Scout motto pretty seriously. I knew that it was all worthwhile when I repaired a potato gun with my Leatherman, a Red Stripe bottle cap, and some duct tape. While I was drunk.
OK, I'm totally stupid. PCs are very focused devices that are only good at managing and sorting data. I guess it's all in my imagination that I'm using my PC as a TV and a DVD player and a monitor for my PS2 and my primary communications device and my recipe book and my primary means of income.
I think I'll swap it out for a nice Chia Pet. Can't believe I was so dumb for so long.
You are making an argument based on how people use devices, which has very little to do with those devices' capabilities.
I just don't understand where you got the notion that all of these devices are going to have a PC in them. They're going to have some rudimentary data processing and communications abilities. There will be some storage. All of these things are attributes shared by PCs, but they are abilities that can be had for a lot less than the cost of a PC.
The coffee pot won't be able to control the furnace. You are being intentionally dense.
I don't know who exactly you think is taking away your rheostats and coil springs. I don't really understand the fetish: If something works right, and keeps working right, I don't care if it's a rheostat controlling stuff or a Cray 1. It's irrelevant to me, and the cost difference between a rheostat and a closed-loop PID controller circuit talking through an LCD and a WiFi blaster is going to be pretty close to zero percent of the cost of your new fridge.
Don't like these features? Don't buy them. How many cell phones just make and receive calls? No idea. I don't own a cell phone. If all you want is the ability to make and receive calls, how many different models that do just that do you need? If more features can be added for zero cost, why do you care if they're there? Just don't use them.
Fine, you're a Jedi chef and you cook psychically. Me, I know how difficult it is to coordinate meal plans and shopping for a family, and I'd like some technological tools to make that easier. You don't. Cool. Don't like these features? Don't buy them.
What say do I have over the marketers? Why do I care what YOUR desires are? How many cell phones just make and receive calls? No idea. I don't own a cell phone. If all you want is the ability to make and receive calls, how many different models that do just that do you need? If more features can be added for zero cost, why do you care if they're there? Just don't use them.
I'm not totally sure what you're on about. A PC (like one I can buy in a box at the store) is a general purpose system. It does lots of stuff. Just because it's made of components doesn't make the system any less "general use".
Maybe companies working on convergence ARE making devices that work together. And maybe they percieve a market desire for more all in one products.
Well, duh. But I can solve more problems with my hands and my Leatherman than I can with my hands alone, and I don't have to wear a nine inch scabbard on my waist, and I don't get arrested for carrying a Leatherman. So, gosh, maybe there are problems that your wunderknife isn't very good at solving either...
Nothing is the answer to all problems. My Wave (and the other tools I carry around most places I go) solve a good number of problems, and aren't too cumbersome and unwieldy.
Why don't we have a network of devices, all independent, that can share data and control? Kind of like, oh I dunno, an Internet?
So you don't want to fix the problem. Nobody's going to take away your rheostats and coil springs...what are you worried about?
Me, I think it would be convenient to have a database of the contents of my fridge and pantry that I can match against my recipe database, and build my grocery list according to what's missing.
That might not be convenient to you. I encourage you to not buy one.
I don't care where the processor is. Processors and memory are cheap.
I have no problem whatsoever with my refrigerator's microprocessor being able to communicate with my PC. I think forcing the fridge to depend on my PC all the time (what if my PC is a laptop?) is not an advantage.
As long as there's more to your life than watching TV, cooking dinner, and paying bills, I'd say your life will still have meaning.
I'd say if there's not more to your life than those three things, it's not meaningful to begin with.
I am not defined by my ability to accomplish tasks.
Re:Call me old fashioned if you want, but...
on
Big Bang of Convergence
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· Score: 3, Insightful
Make a product that does its intended main function and does it well.
If I want the best knife or the best scissors, I don't get a Swiss Army knife.
When I want a good enough knife or a good enough pair of scissors or a decent screwdriver or a not bad pair of pliers and I'm far from my toolbox, I pull out my Leatherman Wave.
There are well designed multi-function devices and poorly designed multi-function devices. That doesn't mean the entire concept is silly. (Or smart.)
Yeah, because Apple has really clamped down on thosee poor X11 using bastards.
Excuse me, but wtf?
Re:The sound of one hand clapping...
on
Meet Joe Blog
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I shouldn't have to explain to you that there are some things a person might write about on the Internet, and some things that they might not. It's absurd to think that anybody who writes a blog should not also like to have privacy about things they don't write about.
There are good blogs, and bad blogs. Sturgeon's Law still applies.
I love iTunes greatly, so using it to create playlists is not an issue for me. I seem to recall reading that the latest rev of the iPod firmware allows on-the-fly playlist creation (which my Sony MP3 CD player can not do, FYI).
So a Windows formatted iPod can be serviced by iTunes on Macintosh, and also accessed by a Windows PC as a hard drive? Sounds perfect to me.
No, that's not a contract. A contract is something that both parties sign. A "licensing agreement" is a software manufacturer's exercise in free speech, meaning that they're allowed to say pretty well anything they damn well please, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the law or with my rights, particularly since I am not a party to the agreement, since it's not possible for me to read it, since I don't have X-Ray vision. (Enough commas for you?)
And, in point of fact, the last several games I've bought had no such seal at all. So, you feel free to be bound by whatever "contract" these guys seem to have convinced you that you've signed. Me, I have no such obligations. Neither does the owner of this cafe.
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And, I had to uninstall .8 in order to be able to get .9 to work with extensions.
*sigh*
Maybe they'll have this unfucked by 1.0. And maybe I'll have an army of trained flying monkeys.
Oh well. Still easier to configure than Opera.
Hm....don't see any of those but the first in Firefox .9 for WinXP. Wonder if they've cottoned to your nefarious plan...
Other peoples' opinions of me are not relevant to me. I do not define myself by my ability to accomplish tasks, and I am the only person competent to define myself. Therefore...
Certainly, other people might judge me based on my abilities, but they are not the whole of my person.
Grumble grumble. Don't wanna.
you're probably right. I like the idea of the new extensions system, but it sure is a pain in my ass to get everything set up right again after nuking my profile and all.
I like firefox...I can't wait until it's less of a problem child.
Yes. I tried those, and Googlebar wouldn't appear at the top of the screen, and I couldn't open the prefs for TBE.
I do appreciate the link. I'm trying to solve the problems, not be an asshole about them. : )
Nevertheless, the capabilities are there, and many people learn to use them to a greater and greater degree.
Particularly consider the children that grow up with computers, and computer literate parents.
Whether things are headed towards or away from this "convergence" thing, I don't know. I do know that devices are getting smarter, and people have a long history of doing clever things with tools.
Yeah, I know, it's supposed to be default behaviour. I just can't make it do it. : /
Tabbrowser Extensions and Googlebar are non-starters.
While we're on the subject, how can I get ctrl-mousewheel to zoom text and ctrl-enter in the address bar open a location in a new tab? I've been through about:config to no avail. And the forums are not helpful.
WinXP version.
Flat pack duct tape. Get it at The Container Store. I've also been known to wrap a couple dozen yards around a pencil and carry that. I used it to repair a performer's sign at Scarborough Faire. They were very grateful.
Sometimes I carry a little folding hammer that also has a screwdriver and nut driver attachment. It also has an adjustable closed-end wrench on one end for big stubborn bolts. I always carry an LED flashlight, bottle opener, and usually a Leatherman Micra.
I took that Boy Scout motto pretty seriously. I knew that it was all worthwhile when I repaired a potato gun with my Leatherman, a Red Stripe bottle cap, and some duct tape. While I was drunk.
OK, I'm totally stupid. PCs are very focused devices that are only good at managing and sorting data. I guess it's all in my imagination that I'm using my PC as a TV and a DVD player and a monitor for my PS2 and my primary communications device and my recipe book and my primary means of income.
I think I'll swap it out for a nice Chia Pet. Can't believe I was so dumb for so long.
You are making an argument based on how people use devices, which has very little to do with those devices' capabilities.
We are talking around each other.
I just don't understand where you got the notion that all of these devices are going to have a PC in them. They're going to have some rudimentary data processing and communications abilities. There will be some storage. All of these things are attributes shared by PCs, but they are abilities that can be had for a lot less than the cost of a PC.
The coffee pot won't be able to control the furnace. You are being intentionally dense.
I don't know who exactly you think is taking away your rheostats and coil springs. I don't really understand the fetish: If something works right, and keeps working right, I don't care if it's a rheostat controlling stuff or a Cray 1. It's irrelevant to me, and the cost difference between a rheostat and a closed-loop PID controller circuit talking through an LCD and a WiFi blaster is going to be pretty close to zero percent of the cost of your new fridge.
Don't like these features? Don't buy them. How many cell phones just make and receive calls? No idea. I don't own a cell phone. If all you want is the ability to make and receive calls, how many different models that do just that do you need? If more features can be added for zero cost, why do you care if they're there? Just don't use them.
Fine, you're a Jedi chef and you cook psychically. Me, I know how difficult it is to coordinate meal plans and shopping for a family, and I'd like some technological tools to make that easier. You don't. Cool. Don't like these features? Don't buy them.
What say do I have over the marketers? Why do I care what YOUR desires are? How many cell phones just make and receive calls? No idea. I don't own a cell phone. If all you want is the ability to make and receive calls, how many different models that do just that do you need? If more features can be added for zero cost, why do you care if they're there? Just don't use them.
How does this threaten you?
I'm not totally sure what you're on about. A PC (like one I can buy in a box at the store) is a general purpose system. It does lots of stuff. Just because it's made of components doesn't make the system any less "general use".
Maybe companies working on convergence ARE making devices that work together. And maybe they percieve a market desire for more all in one products.
I think both avenues are worth exploring.
Well, duh. But I can solve more problems with my hands and my Leatherman than I can with my hands alone, and I don't have to wear a nine inch scabbard on my waist, and I don't get arrested for carrying a Leatherman. So, gosh, maybe there are problems that your wunderknife isn't very good at solving either...
Nothing is the answer to all problems. My Wave (and the other tools I carry around most places I go) solve a good number of problems, and aren't too cumbersome and unwieldy.
Why don't we have a network of devices, all independent, that can share data and control? Kind of like, oh I dunno, an Internet?
So you don't want to fix the problem. Nobody's going to take away your rheostats and coil springs...what are you worried about?
Me, I think it would be convenient to have a database of the contents of my fridge and pantry that I can match against my recipe database, and build my grocery list according to what's missing.
That might not be convenient to you. I encourage you to not buy one.
I don't care where the processor is. Processors and memory are cheap.
I have no problem whatsoever with my refrigerator's microprocessor being able to communicate with my PC. I think forcing the fridge to depend on my PC all the time (what if my PC is a laptop?) is not an advantage.
As long as there's more to your life than watching TV, cooking dinner, and paying bills, I'd say your life will still have meaning.
I'd say if there's not more to your life than those three things, it's not meaningful to begin with.
I am not defined by my ability to accomplish tasks.
There are well designed multi-function devices and poorly designed multi-function devices. That doesn't mean the entire concept is silly. (Or smart.)
Of course, you're typing your missive on the ultimate counterpoint to your argument.
Hard to imagine a more general purpose tool than a PC.
Yeah, because Apple has really clamped down on thosee poor X11 using bastards.
Excuse me, but wtf?
I shouldn't have to explain to you that there are some things a person might write about on the Internet, and some things that they might not. It's absurd to think that anybody who writes a blog should not also like to have privacy about things they don't write about.
There are good blogs, and bad blogs. Sturgeon's Law still applies.
I love iTunes greatly, so using it to create playlists is not an issue for me. I seem to recall reading that the latest rev of the iPod firmware allows on-the-fly playlist creation (which my Sony MP3 CD player can not do, FYI).
So a Windows formatted iPod can be serviced by iTunes on Macintosh, and also accessed by a Windows PC as a hard drive? Sounds perfect to me.
Thanks for the reply!
What card? This card is a fantasy. It doesn't exist. There is no card.
How can I be "found guilty" when breaking a "license agreement" (assuming one exists) is a civil offense?
You are talking out of your ass.
Sounds like somebody needs a hug.
Contracts that I can't see before I "sign" them are void on their face, period. I'm sorry if you disagree. You're welcome to your opinion.
No, that's not a contract. A contract is something that both parties sign. A "licensing agreement" is a software manufacturer's exercise in free speech, meaning that they're allowed to say pretty well anything they damn well please, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the law or with my rights, particularly since I am not a party to the agreement, since it's not possible for me to read it, since I don't have X-Ray vision. (Enough commas for you?)
And, in point of fact, the last several games I've bought had no such seal at all. So, you feel free to be bound by whatever "contract" these guys seem to have convinced you that you've signed. Me, I have no such obligations. Neither does the owner of this cafe.
You are obfuscating the point. Democracies select laws by popular vote. That rarely happens in the US.
The Presidency certainly isn't a democratic institution: If it were, there would be no electoral college.
Whether that would be better or worse than our current system is a separate discussion.