Eh, the Red Sox and White Sox would have to win consecutive World Series before we should really worry about the end of the world. I don't think we have anything to worry about.
When the Cubs win a World series, then I'll be worried...
...to see the Zork series in a new, and better interface!
Seriously though, I have to admit that most games have lost my favor because they have simply become too detailed. For me, (and I admit I'm and old fart at 39) games are those things that are the most fun when they are limited in scope, provide diversion, entertainment, and overall, let me have fun in a short period of time. Challenges like Zork, and "classic" arcade games like Road Blasters, Tempest, and Centipede, really held my attention. Don't get me wrong, current games are certainly quite interesting, but to me, a "quest" or "campaign" or "mission" is not what I tend to look for.
There was a great show on G4TV (Icons, I think) a couple months back that detailied the history of arcade games, how they have evolved into what are now current console games, and how the arcade industry is struggling. It was interesting to see that when arcades bring back the "classic" games, revenue spikes.
But then again, retro isn't always the best thing. I'd like to see more innovation and new concepts and designs.
It is an EXCELLENT way to maintain a common bookmark list across multiple Firefox installations.
I REALLY wish the same concept could be created for profiles. Every time I install FireFox, it's the same routine: Download extensions, configure everyting, tweak the interface, adjust settings...
But It would be nice if some sort of remote synchronization to maintain profiles.
...to also challenge him with other things to develop his imagination and creativity.
"Old school" stuff like drawing on paper with crayons, playing with blocks, creating with Tinker Toys, Flying paper airplanes, playing with toys that have no electronic gizmos...anything to make him create and imagine, instead of following a pre-programmed toy.
By all means, take advantage of the latest gadgets, but at least suppliment them with creativity-boosting toys.
While your responses were interesting (though several points are quite unfounded) the fact remains that news reporting (or at least the theoretical intent of news reporting) has degraded from factual reporting to editorial bias and opinion that is passed off as fact. News reporting carries with it an ethical obligation to impart information that is unbiased and true--something of which most news reporting falls far too short. And for a company to claim foul because their growth has slowed or flattened is simply evidence of irrational expectations. Entrepeneurial thinking rarely concedes to anything less than success, but the reality is that sales and growth trends fluctuate. The article is nothing more than hype about a sector that refuses to innovate.
OK, I'm certainly no economist, but so what? The article says that the growth is flat. Companies and industries that expect constant growth are kidding themselves. There are bound to be flat and negative growth periods in all industries. Maybe it's time that they start looking for better innovation like, oh, I don't know, real reporting instead of the biased, sensationalistic, editorial spin that has crept in over the last couple decades. It used to be that news was reported, not opinionated and editorialized at every chance. I would take printed news (or any news for that matter) a lot more seriously if it gave the facts instead of trying to sway me.
Specific to movie theater releases and the eventual DVD releases, I am continually pissed by the editing that the studies do. This comes up over and over again, yet the studios refuse to listen to those who are paying them good money.
Changing and editing the theatrical release to something different for the DVD release, and refusing to release the theatrical release version on DVD is just bad business. How many would pay for the original version of the Star Wars Trilogy? Or Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Or an originally scored version of Animal House? Or the non-PC version of E.T.? The answer is easily more than enough to justify the production costs.
Because of some holier-than-thou attitiudes at the studios, we will NEVER AGAIN see these movies as we saw them originally. Maybe they weren't "as the director envisioned them", but it's how we saw tham, how we enjoyed them, and how many of us want to see them again. DVD's are so cheap to produce, that studios are really missing tons of potential revenue by limiting to horrible "special editions" that do nothing more than create a false demand for an inferior product.
And these revisions are nothing short of historical revisionism, and it sets a precident that could be very dangerous. Where does it end?
I know you are looking for solutions, but the reality is that you are now experienceing the real world of IT. Many companies are simply not nor never will be structured by-the-book, and things like "defined career paths", "structured promotion 'triggers'" and the like are often more pipe dreams and corporate-speak than reality.
First and foremost, thicken your skin and be prepared for either no change or having to move elsewhere to get a change. While your IT organization may improve (and I certainly hope it does) it also may not. By all means, do what you can to help to improve things (which you are obviously doing in this article.) Just don't get blindsided by something that may not change, and don't be blinded by theoretical corporate structures that often don't and won't exist in many organizations.
OK, this may be off topic, but does anyone else find the word "Technopolis" to be really cool? It has a great blend of ancient and modern all in one...
You are correct that the VMWare Player must first be installed on the host PC, but the Browser Appliance Virtual Machine then could definitely be run from USB key.
You may not realize this, but if you currently have a GMail account, you already have a GoogleMail account. Next time you login to Gmail, append googlemail.com to your username, and it will let you in. Have someone send you an email addressed to your.address@GoogleMail.com instead of your.address@GMail.com, and you will receive it.
So, for those of you who are concerned about losing your coveted gmail address when "switching" to GoogleMail, don't fret. You already have it on GoogleMail!
Some 97 million households still have at least one VCR...
But how many households actually use them? Yes, you can record with a VCR, so certainly the DVR has killed the VCR recording market, but it is the DVD player that has truely killed the VCR market--in a much greater way than TiVo.
That said, I simply couldn't live without my ReplayTV and Moxi DVRs!
Now, if it could only be released in a "Portable" version. While I certainly love the current concept, to me, having an option of installing these apps as "portable" versions simply rocks. Yes, many users want Firefox and Thunderbird to be installed so that they become the "default" apps, but having it available in a completely transportable format has been invaluable to me.
Specific to Firefox, one thing I would love to see developed is some sort of "web-syncable profile". I simply love the current implementation of the Bookmark Synchronizer extension, and I would like to see a similar concept developed that would let me sync my profile (less the cache) with an FTP site. Build this concept into the Firefox core (that would securely sync, manage, and clean up after itself), and you would have a reasonably secure, truely portable "Web Workspace" wherever you are. I have several PC's located at both work and home, and synchronizing everything is often a pain. I end up just moving around with a Portable Firefox installation. having an online profile sync would be wonderful!
It's for Windows only, but I stumbled upon TrueCrypt found at http://www.truecrypt.org/ and really like it. And it's not only useful for USB drives, but can be used to create encrypted logical drives on a Hard Drive. For the really paranoid, the documentation even covers lots of stealthy ways to use it so as not to be detected.
I'm certainly no expert at encryption, but it seems pretty solid. Basically, it creates an encrypted container file and then mounts it as a logical drive when you open the file through the app. I've seen commercial counterparts such as StealthDisk, and I think TrueCrypt's interface is easier to use and its execution is more solid.
I see several recommendations of Wikis, and I personally love the idea, but in a typical department/team setting, you end up woth email, Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, HTML,.txt,.rtf, and a host of other files and file types generated for various reasons. Can any of the existing Wiki apps include these types of files? What I'm looking for is an app to not only catalog and store these files (ala Wiki) but also index the content (ala Google Desktop) so that the information contained within the files is easily searchable and accessible.
It's one thing to enter knowledge data into a Wiki (as most of the current Wiki implementations require) but ut us another to be able to have searchable access to the myriad of file types that get generated. Most of the current Wiki implementations are simply stunning in their capability, but can any really ieasily nclude, index, and search the varied data that offices generate?
I have to agree with this one, especially the Enterprise version that llows for searching Lotus Note (yes, we're stuck using Notes.)
Google's Desktop search really works well for me, is very fast, and has saved me TONS of time loooking for information. And the fact that it'll also index mapped network drives is a boon.
A colleague of mine purchased an OQO to test in our work environment, and though it worked well overall, the MAJOR shortcoming was its VERY limited WiFi range. We could not hit access points with the OQO that we could easily hit with several PalmOS and PocketPC PDAs. This was a real deal killer, because of its limited range.
Also, while its all-in-one cable was nice for travel purposes (minimizing what you have to carry) it was cumbersome on the desktop. We would have rather seen a nice docking station/cradle instead of the kludgy "friction-hold" stand/all-on-one cable combination.
It is certainly a stunning and elegant device, but it still needs some improvements here and there.
I cut my PDA teeth on a Zoomer. It was so cool at the time being able to have a write-on PDA. The availability of Graffiti really made it shine. And it was quite hackable. Lots of goodies and tools out there to hack GEOS and run DOS programs. I remember writing on one of the Zoomer mailing lists with some buddies about features we would have loved to see developed in PDA's. Lo and behold, within a year later, the Pilot 1000 surfaced, and had much of what we discussed. I'm certainly not saying we were influential in the Pilot's design, but it was great to see that we were thinking along the same lines as the Pilot 1000 developers!
Later, I upgraded from the Zoomer to a US Robotics Pilot 1000, and was hooked ever since, later owning a Palm III, Palm Vx, Sony Clie SJ20, Sony Clie NX70V, Palm Tungsten T3, and currently, a Palm Tungsten C.
But is was the Zoomer that got me hooked. In fact, I purchased two, and gave one to my wife. She just loved it. I really wish I hadn't sold them off years ago. Did anyone else just love the neat rubbery feel of the Zoomer's case? Something about it just made it pleasing to hold and use...
I agree. In the 12+ years I've been working on and off with EDI, I can say that it certainly is a pain, it can be cumbersome, and complex, but in some industries, it is essential. This is not a task I recommend tackling solo. Hire consultants and work with the experts. Expect to spend a lot, and expect headaches.
Just remember that EDI is not the system but a component in a larger process. Don't confuse EDI with the business process. You need to establish business policies and practices that incorporate ERP, EDI, warehouse management, and a host of other things.
The real issue is that about half the country believes in moral and ethical absolutes, and the other half believes in moral and ethical relativism. Very contradictory philosophies.
The question that needs to be answered is, "Is society defined by morals and ethics, or are morals and ethics defined by society?"
"...call me lowtech but it works for what i need."
Sometimes, lowtech is best. I find myself too often getting caught up in the wow-ness of technology that I find myself not actually using the technology. You know, getting excited about features, extendibility, wizz-bang stuff, but not actually using it as it to get stuff done. (The curse of a bleading-edge technophile!) My biggest hurdle is finding somthing that works and works well, but doesn't suck me into is inner workings, distracting me from its usefulness.
Slashdot Mirror
...to see the Zork series in a new, and better interface!
Seriously though, I have to admit that most games have lost my favor because they have simply become too detailed. For me, (and I admit I'm and old fart at 39) games are those things that are the most fun when they are limited in scope, provide diversion, entertainment, and overall, let me have fun in a short period of time. Challenges like Zork, and "classic" arcade games like Road Blasters, Tempest, and Centipede, really held my attention. Don't get me wrong, current games are certainly quite interesting, but to me, a "quest" or "campaign" or "mission" is not what I tend to look for.
There was a great show on G4TV (Icons, I think) a couple months back that detailied the history of arcade games, how they have evolved into what are now current console games, and how the arcade industry is struggling. It was interesting to see that when arcades bring back the "classic" games, revenue spikes.
But then again, retro isn't always the best thing. I'd like to see more innovation and new concepts and designs.
C'mon, you have a year to plan either to move with them or find something else. We should all be so lucky.
It is an EXCELLENT way to maintain a common bookmark list across multiple Firefox installations.
I REALLY wish the same concept could be created for profiles. Every time I install FireFox, it's the same routine: Download extensions, configure everyting, tweak the interface, adjust settings...
But It would be nice if some sort of remote synchronization to maintain profiles.
...to also challenge him with other things to develop his imagination and creativity.
"Old school" stuff like drawing on paper with crayons, playing with blocks, creating with Tinker Toys, Flying paper airplanes, playing with toys that have no electronic gizmos...anything to make him create and imagine, instead of following a pre-programmed toy.
By all means, take advantage of the latest gadgets, but at least suppliment them with creativity-boosting toys.
While your responses were interesting (though several points are quite unfounded) the fact remains that news reporting (or at least the theoretical intent of news reporting) has degraded from factual reporting to editorial bias and opinion that is passed off as fact. News reporting carries with it an ethical obligation to impart information that is unbiased and true--something of which most news reporting falls far too short. And for a company to claim foul because their growth has slowed or flattened is simply evidence of irrational expectations. Entrepeneurial thinking rarely concedes to anything less than success, but the reality is that sales and growth trends fluctuate. The article is nothing more than hype about a sector that refuses to innovate.
OK, I'm certainly no economist, but so what? The article says that the growth is flat. Companies and industries that expect constant growth are kidding themselves. There are bound to be flat and negative growth periods in all industries. Maybe it's time that they start looking for better innovation like, oh, I don't know, real reporting instead of the biased, sensationalistic, editorial spin that has crept in over the last couple decades. It used to be that news was reported, not opinionated and editorialized at every chance. I would take printed news (or any news for that matter) a lot more seriously if it gave the facts instead of trying to sway me.
Specific to movie theater releases and the eventual DVD releases, I am continually pissed by the editing that the studies do. This comes up over and over again, yet the studios refuse to listen to those who are paying them good money.
Changing and editing the theatrical release to something different for the DVD release, and refusing to release the theatrical release version on DVD is just bad business. How many would pay for the original version of the Star Wars Trilogy? Or Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Or an originally scored version of Animal House? Or the non-PC version of E.T.? The answer is easily more than enough to justify the production costs.
Because of some holier-than-thou attitiudes at the studios, we will NEVER AGAIN see these movies as we saw them originally. Maybe they weren't "as the director envisioned them", but it's how we saw tham, how we enjoyed them, and how many of us want to see them again. DVD's are so cheap to produce, that studios are really missing tons of potential revenue by limiting to horrible "special editions" that do nothing more than create a false demand for an inferior product.
And these revisions are nothing short of historical revisionism, and it sets a precident that could be very dangerous. Where does it end?
I know you are looking for solutions, but the reality is that you are now experienceing the real world of IT. Many companies are simply not nor never will be structured by-the-book, and things like "defined career paths", "structured promotion 'triggers'" and the like are often more pipe dreams and corporate-speak than reality.
First and foremost, thicken your skin and be prepared for either no change or having to move elsewhere to get a change. While your IT organization may improve (and I certainly hope it does) it also may not. By all means, do what you can to help to improve things (which you are obviously doing in this article.) Just don't get blindsided by something that may not change, and don't be blinded by theoretical corporate structures that often don't and won't exist in many organizations.
-Jim
GmailTips.com
OK, this may be off topic, but does anyone else find the word "Technopolis" to be really cool? It has a great blend of ancient and modern all in one...
You are correct that the VMWare Player must first be installed on the host PC, but the Browser Appliance Virtual Machine then could definitely be run from USB key.
You may not realize this, but if you currently have a GMail account, you already have a GoogleMail account. Next time you login to Gmail, append googlemail.com to your username, and it will let you in. Have someone send you an email addressed to your.address@GoogleMail.com instead of your.address@GMail.com, and you will receive it.
So, for those of you who are concerned about losing your coveted gmail address when "switching" to GoogleMail, don't fret. You already have it on GoogleMail!
-Jim
http://gmailtips.com/
The solution presupposes, of course, that the light bulbs are within reach...
That said, I simply couldn't live without my ReplayTV and Moxi DVRs!
-Jim
http://gmailtips.com/
http://jimstips.com/
Now, if it could only be released in a "Portable" version. While I certainly love the current concept, to me, having an option of installing these apps as "portable" versions simply rocks. Yes, many users want Firefox and Thunderbird to be installed so that they become the "default" apps, but having it available in a completely transportable format has been invaluable to me.
Specific to Firefox, one thing I would love to see developed is some sort of "web-syncable profile". I simply love the current implementation of the Bookmark Synchronizer extension, and I would like to see a similar concept developed that would let me sync my profile (less the cache) with an FTP site. Build this concept into the Firefox core (that would securely sync, manage, and clean up after itself), and you would have a reasonably secure, truely portable "Web Workspace" wherever you are. I have several PC's located at both work and home, and synchronizing everything is often a pain. I end up just moving around with a Portable Firefox installation. having an online profile sync would be wonderful!
It's for Windows only, but I stumbled upon TrueCrypt found at http://www.truecrypt.org/ and really like it. And it's not only useful for USB drives, but can be used to create encrypted logical drives on a Hard Drive. For the really paranoid, the documentation even covers lots of stealthy ways to use it so as not to be detected.
I'm certainly no expert at encryption, but it seems pretty solid. Basically, it creates an encrypted container file and then mounts it as a logical drive when you open the file through the app. I've seen commercial counterparts such as StealthDisk, and I think TrueCrypt's interface is easier to use and its execution is more solid.
It's OSS and free as in beer and as in speech.
I see several recommendations of Wikis, and I personally love the idea, but in a typical department/team setting, you end up woth email, Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, HTML, .txt, .rtf, and a host of other files and file types generated for various reasons. Can any of the existing Wiki apps include these types of files? What I'm looking for is an app to not only catalog and store these files (ala Wiki) but also index the content (ala Google Desktop) so that the information contained within the files is easily searchable and accessible.
It's one thing to enter knowledge data into a Wiki (as most of the current Wiki implementations require) but ut us another to be able to have searchable access to the myriad of file types that get generated. Most of the current Wiki implementations are simply stunning in their capability, but can any really ieasily nclude, index, and search the varied data that offices generate?
I have to agree with this one, especially the Enterprise version that llows for searching Lotus Note (yes, we're stuck using Notes.)
Google's Desktop search really works well for me, is very fast, and has saved me TONS of time loooking for information. And the fact that it'll also index mapped network drives is a boon.
A colleague of mine purchased an OQO to test in our work environment, and though it worked well overall, the MAJOR shortcoming was its VERY limited WiFi range. We could not hit access points with the OQO that we could easily hit with several PalmOS and PocketPC PDAs. This was a real deal killer, because of its limited range.
Also, while its all-in-one cable was nice for travel purposes (minimizing what you have to carry) it was cumbersome on the desktop. We would have rather seen a nice docking station/cradle instead of the kludgy "friction-hold" stand/all-on-one cable combination.
It is certainly a stunning and elegant device, but it still needs some improvements here and there.
...but at least it made the cut. That was one of our favorite shows. Too bad only a few others on the planet appreciated it too.
Two glaring omissions: Blake's 7, and DS9--two classics that certainly merit recogintion.
I cut my PDA teeth on a Zoomer. It was so cool at the time being able to have a write-on PDA. The availability of Graffiti really made it shine. And it was quite hackable. Lots of goodies and tools out there to hack GEOS and run DOS programs. I remember writing on one of the Zoomer mailing lists with some buddies about features we would have loved to see developed in PDA's. Lo and behold, within a year later, the Pilot 1000 surfaced, and had much of what we discussed. I'm certainly not saying we were influential in the Pilot's design, but it was great to see that we were thinking along the same lines as the Pilot 1000 developers!
Later, I upgraded from the Zoomer to a US Robotics Pilot 1000, and was hooked ever since, later owning a Palm III, Palm Vx, Sony Clie SJ20, Sony Clie NX70V, Palm Tungsten T3, and currently, a Palm Tungsten C.
But is was the Zoomer that got me hooked. In fact, I purchased two, and gave one to my wife. She just loved it. I really wish I hadn't sold them off years ago. Did anyone else just love the neat rubbery feel of the Zoomer's case? Something about it just made it pleasing to hold and use...
I agree. In the 12+ years I've been working on and off with EDI, I can say that it certainly is a pain, it can be cumbersome, and complex, but in some industries, it is essential. This is not a task I recommend tackling solo. Hire consultants and work with the experts. Expect to spend a lot, and expect headaches.
Just remember that EDI is not the system but a component in a larger process. Don't confuse EDI with the business process. You need to establish business policies and practices that incorporate ERP, EDI, warehouse management, and a host of other things.
The real issue is that about half the country believes in moral and ethical absolutes, and the other half believes in moral and ethical relativism. Very contradictory philosophies.
The question that needs to be answered is, "Is society defined by morals and ethics, or are morals and ethics defined by society?"
...do we see cheese?