Sounds similar plot to Sterling's book, Holy Fire, where humanity struggles with technology that allows them to reach medical immortality and the tension that exists between the younger generation that will have this mortality and the older generation that is at its limits of using life-extension technology.
After reading through both articles, I'm still not quite clear on how much to bill clients. He mentions that you shouldn't bill home users by the hour but instead by the visit. So how much? I know it's all relative depending on where it is you live. How long should a normal visit typically last?
For small business, how do you come up with a fair price? I'm thinking that looking at what a competing business charges for repair (bestbuy) might be a good starting point. Does this sound reasonable?
What should one do about fees for home users versus small businesses? Ideally you would want to be able to account for both of them come tax time. Are their liability issues (besides tax stuff) that you would want to be aware of if you kept the home user "off the books?"
What type of software would work best for billing? I'd like something that I could use on my Palm that could sync up with "the office" back at home. Are there any good templates out there for billing statements?
I think overall his articles are very informative and have some important steps for getting started.
"In addition to playing games like that, I love going to play paintball, and play violent paper role playing games. Now, am I violent? No. I wouldn't want to touch a real gun, let alone fire one, or use one to harm or kill another person."
Sure, but give you a couple Stone Rings of Jordan, an Elven cloak of Invisibility, and a Staff of Apocalypse and I'm sure you'd become a real menace in the local mall or computer store in a heartbeat.
I've been a happy owner of a ReplayTV for over a year now and I'll second everyone's conclusion that it changes your viewing habits. Gone is the time that you zone out in front of the tv. Now, anytime I sit down to watch, I have something I really want to watch (minus the commercials). Not having to suffer through lame commercials means for every hour-long tv show I watch, twenty minutes are not spent watching commercials.
Want to watch a football but don't want to spend the nice afternoon? Record it and watch it that evening in one hour (I know it's not the same but if you want to watch pure football, it's the fastest option).
I ran across this article that shows how someone put together their own TIVO for fairly cheaply (if you don't want to drop as much money on a tivo or replayTV). Personally, I think there are more ways to cut corners on his PVR to further drop the price but it's a good attempt--especially with the software that he chose.
"This is why cutting down trees (which shade the streams) causes a decline
in salmon runs. That's just one of many examples."
I'm not sure if this statement is entirely true. Salmon are sensitive to water temperature (which trees might help buffer through shade) and oxygen levels but the real problem with deforestation is uncontrolled runoff into streams which can block the sunlight to plants causing them to die and use up oxygen. Less oxygen plus warming water (warm water holds less oxygen) make for inhospitable streams for fish like salmon and trout.
Cool. I can't wait to see who hooks up with who because I'm sure that will be the angle PBS takes on it. I mean, why else would anyone watch a show like this?
I was at the library the other night going through some past issues of MaximumPC and ran across a great do-it-yourself article on building a home theater unit. They used a rack-mount case complete with a dvd burner and RAID to create a kickass PVR that is accessible via remote. I wasn't able to find the article online. Anyone know of any similar setups?
Ebert & Roeper reviewed it this weekend and loved it. They said that kids will really like it but adults will probably enjoy it more. Apparently Miyazaki almost didn't make this movie.
You can hear the review here:
http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/tod ay.html
Seems like a lot of trouble to go through (although I"m impressed by the big screen). I picked up a Kodak picture frame last winter when computergeeks was blowing them out for $100. It has no subscription and reads compact flash. The screen's not huge (4x6) but it looks great in its cherry wood frame. Just set it on slide show and away it goes. There is about a four-second space between each slide. I especially like the fact that it doesn't crash on me.
Straight razors, successors to leeches that eliminate the
frustration of watching small parasites engorge themselves with your blood
have crossed a popularity threshold, raising alarm among leech growers
who see the devices as a threat to the economics of bloodletting.
Oh, boy. I can't wait to be in the middle of my favorite video game while recording my favorite TV show when the crappy thing hangs up. Maybe MS can create a colorful error screen that informs the user that they "get" to start their game at his/her last save point (you did save recently, didn't you) and that they will need to catch the remainder of the show you were recording in three weeks when they repeat it.
As a fan of the animated show, I was really disappointed in a lame made-for-tv-series they came out with. It might not have had a great time to view, but hey, it wasn't that good to begin with (too bad).
I don't know about anyone else out there but I'm still plugging away with TI's PDA known as the Avigo. I got it at Office Max when they began clearancing them three years ago for $90 (keep in mind the Palm III was still selling for $250+). I'm still happy with it though and I can sync it with Outlook and there has been tons of free software created by dedicated enthusiasts that still keep it floating (check out http://avigo.dhs.org/portal/).
It's an extremely sturdy PDA and has withstood some major falls (unlike the delicate Visor my wife owns). Actually, I think the HP Jornadas have borrowed a lot from the original Avigo design.
I did my homework when it came down between the ReplayTV and Tivo. If money hadn't been an option, I probably would have gone with the more flexible Tivo. It lacks the annoying Macrovision protection that keeps me from recording videos I don't get to watching before I have to return them. Tivo also has a ethernet option that can be added if you want to mess with it.
That being said, the lifetime membership for the Tivo only covers the life of that Tivo. If it tanks one week after the warranty expires, too bad. On the other hand, I was able to get a 20-hour ReplayTV from Best Buy clearanced at $299 with a $100 rebate = $199 for as long as I own it. How much was that membership for Tivo again? Yes, it is only 20 hours but it's just a matter of time before I swap out a 40 gig hd in my computer to allow me more recording time or at least more time at a higher recording level.
But only 3 record levels? How many do you need? I record most of my stuff at the lowest setting because I'm tollerant of a less than perfect picture since my reception is always bad. Medium is fine for everything else--but especially for anything with action or movement(games, action flicks). High, well I don't use it much expect when I dump footage from a video camera that I want to selectively and easily record.
Regardless of whether or not what type of PVR you get, it's still a cool technoogy that will change your viewing habits.
MTV Press Release:
Following in the footsteps of the controversial show "Jackass," MTV proudly presents a similar show for those of the chemical persuasion: "Jackass Chemistry." Tune in each week to see your favorite nerds mix things that should not be mixed together. Watch the halarious explosions and poisonous gas clouds that follow! For mature audiences only.
WIK
Yes! I agree. I had a super-short message on my machine and ended with the same results. I can't say whether or not there was a decrease in calls but it was amusing to come home at night and listen to three or four "hello...hello?" messages. The best part was when the telemarketers thought that you had hung up on them and would then have a private disussion with their neighbor before hanging up.
WIK
Sounds like a really good reason to patch your media. Don't like those commercials? Rip it to your hard drive, patch & off you go, no more commercials. Too bad it will come to this. It makes me upset to spend $8.50 on a movie only to be bombarded with commericials at the beginning and fifteen more minutes of previews. I can't wait for that feature to pop up in the games I love to play!
Videogames that have pumped out in the last several years have been some of the best and some of the worst. I'm mainly a console gamer and have been thrilled with some great games on the Playstation that have had a lot of depth. Metal Gear Solid was the first game that I've played that had a cinematic feel to it. Yes, the plot was rather linear but the first time through it was a blast. The character development and overall style make it one of the best in my book.
Another big game for me was Tenchu (the Japanese version--the game has much more atmosphere in Japanese). This was a similar game to MGS but it didn't have a strong plotline. But let me spend hours stalking baddies from rooftops and I was one happy Ninja. Free roaming around levels was an amazing departure from the stale Tomb Raider series. The Tomb Raider series are good examples of aimless wandering that you MUST have a guide for unless you want to walk around with pistols for the whole game. Silent Hill bordered at times on the aimlessness at the beginning but it made up for it in atmosphere. I can't walk down the alley behind my apartment thinking looking babies with knives.
Certain RPG's have the danger of aimlessness. Diablo, etc. of course are based on this wandering about from level to level. I've burned more hours playing this game but it wasn't necessarily for the plot. I was obsessed with tweaking out my characters. This becomes more of an illness than anything else. I found many a good item by saving my game before a boss, killing the boss, getting magic or rare item, and if I didn't like item, I just reloaded. Of course, being the masochist I was at the time, this was all done on the Playstation (ie loooong load times).
Xenogears was one of my all time favorite games. It's an RPG that lets you tweak with your character & giant mech (ooh, 2x the tweaking) but has an amazing plot that goes for hours and hours. Successful games blend this RPG tweaking, building up your characters and building on the story. Games like this seem to be few and far between which is disappointing because games have the opportunity to be entertaining stories that completely immerse the player.
Well, just my.$10.
Wik
So you want something pretty
on
OS X on x86?
·
· Score: 1
Mac OS X does look nice but porting it over would be a mess. Does anyone remember at one time that Apple opened things up for Mac clones? Are there any Mac clones out there today or did a certain company buy them out. What makes you think that Apple would want to revisit open hardware after that venture?
If what you're looking for something to make your Windows machine look nice, check out http://www.stardock.com to see some of their nifty programs (Windowblinds, DesktopX, etc) to enhance your desktop & make it look like what it isn't.
Sure, it's not without flaws but at least it will recognize your hardware.
-Wicky
"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos." -Homer Simpson
Check out http://www.divx-digest.com/ for the latest regarding this "newly discovered" technology. They even have clips and trailers for you to try out so you can see how it looks for yourself.
Slashdot Mirror
Sounds similar plot to Sterling's book, Holy Fire, where humanity struggles with technology that allows them to reach medical immortality and the tension that exists between the younger generation that will have this mortality and the older generation that is at its limits of using life-extension technology.
What's the main by-product? Salt. And lots of it. Hopefully they have a use for it but if they don't, it can be just another source of pollution.
After reading through both articles, I'm still not quite clear on how much to bill clients. He mentions that you shouldn't bill home users by the hour but instead by the visit. So how much? I know it's all relative depending on where it is you live. How long should a normal visit typically last? For small business, how do you come up with a fair price? I'm thinking that looking at what a competing business charges for repair (bestbuy) might be a good starting point. Does this sound reasonable? What should one do about fees for home users versus small businesses? Ideally you would want to be able to account for both of them come tax time. Are their liability issues (besides tax stuff) that you would want to be aware of if you kept the home user "off the books?" What type of software would work best for billing? I'd like something that I could use on my Palm that could sync up with "the office" back at home. Are there any good templates out there for billing statements? I think overall his articles are very informative and have some important steps for getting started.
"In addition to playing games like that, I love going to play paintball, and play violent paper role playing games. Now, am I violent? No. I wouldn't want to touch a real gun, let alone fire one, or use one to harm or kill another person."
Sure, but give you a couple Stone Rings of Jordan, an Elven cloak of Invisibility, and a Staff of Apocalypse and I'm sure you'd become a real menace in the local mall or computer store in a heartbeat.
Want to watch a football but don't want to spend the nice afternoon? Record it and watch it that evening in one hour (I know it's not the same but if you want to watch pure football, it's the fastest option).
I ran across this article that shows how someone put together their own TIVO for fairly cheaply (if you don't want to drop as much money on a tivo or replayTV). Personally, I think there are more ways to cut corners on his PVR to further drop the price but it's a good attempt--especially with the software that he chose.
I'm not sure if this statement is entirely true. Salmon are sensitive to water temperature (which trees might help buffer through shade) and oxygen levels but the real problem with deforestation is uncontrolled runoff into streams which can block the sunlight to plants causing them to die and use up oxygen. Less oxygen plus warming water (warm water holds less oxygen) make for inhospitable streams for fish like salmon and trout.
Cool. I can't wait to see who hooks up with who because I'm sure that will be the angle PBS takes on it. I mean, why else would anyone watch a show like this?
I was at the library the other night going through some past issues of MaximumPC and ran across a great do-it-yourself article on building a home theater unit. They used a rack-mount case complete with a dvd burner and RAID to create a kickass PVR that is accessible via remote. I wasn't able to find the article online. Anyone know of any similar setups?
I can explain it. It is an actual Chrono Trigger that was left there by accident by some purple-haired boy from the future.
Ebert & Roeper reviewed it this weekend and loved it. They said that kids will really like it but adults will probably enjoy it more. Apparently Miyazaki almost didn't make this movie. You can hear the review here: http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/tod ay.html
Seems like a lot of trouble to go through (although I"m impressed by the big screen). I picked up a Kodak picture frame last winter when computergeeks was blowing them out for $100. It has no subscription and reads compact flash. The screen's not huge (4x6) but it looks great in its cherry wood frame. Just set it on slide show and away it goes. There is about a four-second space between each slide. I especially like the fact that it doesn't crash on me.
Straight razors, successors to leeches that eliminate the frustration of watching small parasites engorge themselves with your blood have crossed a popularity threshold, raising alarm among leech growers who see the devices as a threat to the economics of bloodletting.
How about the Simpsons roughing it out in wild Montanna in "Frontier House" fashion? Or how about a "Survivor" episode. They are both ripe for satire.
Oh, boy. I can't wait to be in the middle of my favorite video game while recording my favorite TV show when the crappy thing hangs up. Maybe MS can create a colorful error screen that informs the user that they "get" to start their game at his/her last save point (you did save recently, didn't you) and that they will need to catch the remainder of the show you were recording in three weeks when they repeat it.
As a fan of the animated show, I was really disappointed in a lame made-for-tv-series they came out with. It might not have had a great time to view, but hey, it wasn't that good to begin with (too bad).
I don't know about anyone else out there but I'm still plugging away with TI's PDA known as the Avigo. I got it at Office Max when they began clearancing them three years ago for $90 (keep in mind the Palm III was still selling for $250+). I'm still happy with it though and I can sync it with Outlook and there has been tons of free software created by dedicated enthusiasts that still keep it floating (check out http://avigo.dhs.org/portal/).
It's an extremely sturdy PDA and has withstood some major falls (unlike the delicate Visor my wife owns). Actually, I think the HP Jornadas have borrowed a lot from the original Avigo design.
Just my off-topic two cents.
I did my homework when it came down between the ReplayTV and Tivo. If money hadn't been an option, I probably would have gone with the more flexible Tivo. It lacks the annoying Macrovision protection that keeps me from recording videos I don't get to watching before I have to return them. Tivo also has a ethernet option that can be added if you want to mess with it.
That being said, the lifetime membership for the Tivo only covers the life of that Tivo. If it tanks one week after the warranty expires, too bad. On the other hand, I was able to get a 20-hour ReplayTV from Best Buy clearanced at $299 with a $100 rebate = $199 for as long as I own it. How much was that membership for Tivo again? Yes, it is only 20 hours but it's just a matter of time before I swap out a 40 gig hd in my computer to allow me more recording time or at least more time at a higher recording level.
But only 3 record levels? How many do you need? I record most of my stuff at the lowest setting because I'm tollerant of a less than perfect picture since my reception is always bad. Medium is fine for everything else--but especially for anything with action or movement(games, action flicks). High, well I don't use it much expect when I dump footage from a video camera that I want to selectively and easily record.
Regardless of whether or not what type of PVR you get, it's still a cool technoogy that will change your viewing habits.
MTV Press Release: Following in the footsteps of the controversial show "Jackass," MTV proudly presents a similar show for those of the chemical persuasion: "Jackass Chemistry." Tune in each week to see your favorite nerds mix things that should not be mixed together. Watch the halarious explosions and poisonous gas clouds that follow! For mature audiences only. WIK
Yes! I agree. I had a super-short message on my machine and ended with the same results. I can't say whether or not there was a decrease in calls but it was amusing to come home at night and listen to three or four "hello...hello?" messages. The best part was when the telemarketers thought that you had hung up on them and would then have a private disussion with their neighbor before hanging up. WIK
Sounds like a really good reason to patch your media. Don't like those commercials? Rip it to your hard drive, patch & off you go, no more commercials. Too bad it will come to this. It makes me upset to spend $8.50 on a movie only to be bombarded with commericials at the beginning and fifteen more minutes of previews. I can't wait for that feature to pop up in the games I love to play!
How about pr0n WITHOUT links to Britney Spears?
Videogames that have pumped out in the last several years have been some of the best and some of the worst. I'm mainly a console gamer and have been thrilled with some great games on the Playstation that have had a lot of depth. Metal Gear Solid was the first game that I've played that had a cinematic feel to it. Yes, the plot was rather linear but the first time through it was a blast. The character development and overall style make it one of the best in my book.
.$10.
Another big game for me was Tenchu (the Japanese version--the game has much more atmosphere in Japanese). This was a similar game to MGS but it didn't have a strong plotline. But let me spend hours stalking baddies from rooftops and I was one happy Ninja. Free roaming around levels was an amazing departure from the stale Tomb Raider series. The Tomb Raider series are good examples of aimless wandering that you MUST have a guide for unless you want to walk around with pistols for the whole game. Silent Hill bordered at times on the aimlessness at the beginning but it made up for it in atmosphere. I can't walk down the alley behind my apartment thinking looking babies with knives.
Certain RPG's have the danger of aimlessness. Diablo, etc. of course are based on this wandering about from level to level. I've burned more hours playing this game but it wasn't necessarily for the plot. I was obsessed with tweaking out my characters. This becomes more of an illness than anything else. I found many a good item by saving my game before a boss, killing the boss, getting magic or rare item, and if I didn't like item, I just reloaded. Of course, being the masochist I was at the time, this was all done on the Playstation (ie loooong load times).
Xenogears was one of my all time favorite games. It's an RPG that lets you tweak with your character & giant mech (ooh, 2x the tweaking) but has an amazing plot that goes for hours and hours. Successful games blend this RPG tweaking, building up your characters and building on the story. Games like this seem to be few and far between which is disappointing because games have the opportunity to be entertaining stories that completely immerse the player.
Well, just my
Wik
Mac OS X does look nice but porting it over would be a mess. Does anyone remember at one time that Apple opened things up for Mac clones? Are there any Mac clones out there today or did a certain company buy them out. What makes you think that Apple would want to revisit open hardware after that venture?
If what you're looking for something to make your Windows machine look nice, check out http://www.stardock.com to see some of their nifty programs (Windowblinds, DesktopX, etc) to enhance your desktop & make it look like what it isn't.
Sure, it's not without flaws but at least it will recognize your hardware.
-Wicky
"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos." -Homer Simpson