I happen to be a sysadmin here, and I know what you're saying about customisation overkill. But then, every machine I've had since 1996 has been set up to my liking.
Every so often, my boss or another I/T person will try to use my machine. Two minutes later, they give up and go elsewhere. It's largely the trackball (why does everybody hate these?) but also the total lack of desktop icons and reorganised Windows Start menu (but my other disk boots Mandrake!).
...it would have been a good present for my brother's kids, and then I would have had an excuse to see it too.:)
I rented Totoro for my boys (4 and 2) since they like all kinds of movies. I was hoping they'd really dig it and then I could use it as an excuse to beef up *my* collection.
They liked what they saw but I liked it even more when I watched it later that night in peace and quiet!
On Grave of the Fireflies: I read Ebert's comments on this one months ago and found a SunCoast with it in stock. I bought it, took it home, watched it (subbed of course), and now I don't know if I can watch it again with my wife, who wants to see it. That movie really hit me hard.
GTRacer
- Still looking for non-pirated Lain Lunchbox set...
I bought a PSX in 1998 for Gran Turismo after having seen my cousin play it. I was a rabid Nintendo fanboy at the time and promised myself the PSX was acceptable because it played a transcendent game. I wind up buying over 40 PSX games.
Fast-forward to October 2000. I pick up a PS2 expressly for GT3 A-Spec. Which was delayed. Repeatedly. In the meantime, I grabbed Tekken Tag and swore I'd not buy anything else until GT3. I now have something like 15 PS2 games.
I didn't abandon Nintendo completely, nor become a Sony loyalist. I still grab the occasional bargain-binner for the N64 and I'm getting a Cube for Perfect Dark: Zero and Conker's. I also bought a DC a few months ago and already it's collecting games. Damn, Ferrari must've been a GATEWAY game...
Anyhoo, if you can't tell, it's all about the games.
Huh...I guess I never knew I had a problem using my computer. Thanks Mr. Computer Whiz! Now I can finally get the most out of the machine I have!
C'mon! I read the article and I still have no idea why I should care. I don't even use my desktop (WinNT). I have the bare minimum 3 icons plus Apache. I do everything through Explorer or keybindings to whatever app I need.
And I've used the same org scheme for my files and directories for like 7 years now. I have no problem finding things, even if I occasionally have to go more than 2 layers below Progra~1.
GTRacer
- Now if I could just organise my bills...
For the simple reason that Joe User and his Gramma don't know better. The shiny new Dell or Gateway or HP comes with MSN shit all over it, so that's what they use.
The majority of computer users aren't privacy-conscious techno-heads like us. They turn it on, send some email and check stocks. They don't install patches, OSes or distros.
Interesting...My mom's friend recently got hit with Badtrans and a copy wound up in my mom's Juno inbox. I told her it was safe and to forward it to me. I use LookOut 2000 and IE 5.5 SP2. I also use WinNT and an Intellimouse Explorer trackball. I also use Mandrake. So what?
Before I opened Outlook I made sure Norton was up-to-date. I had thought the IE 5.5 SP *1* patch took care of this auto-execute problem, so I wanted to see a presumably-neutered example of Badtrans. WRONGO. Apparently, it's SP2. Norton did its job however and all was safe. Except that even after patching IE to SP2, those messages in Outlook STILL auto-open in Notepad. Now they just have some Norton warning, but still, I thought I was done with auto-opens.
Anyone know why this is still happening? And don't say "Because you're using M$, fucktard!"
GTRacer
- Will switch to Konq when someone tells me how to fix the fonts
I heard the fanboy blathering that went on with XG and finally found a video store renting it. After a slow start, I played right through the due date. 3 times, for a total of 22 dollars in rental fees. I beat the game but didn't finish all the side quests.
The gameplay was pretty cool with the new-for-its-time combo system and giant mecha always rock. What really got me was the story, and more importantly, the presentation of said story. I had DREAMS about these people! I was that into their pasts, the deceptions, and where things were going.
Also, and this may be a negative for some, when I got to Disc 2, I thought it was almost over. Nope, like 20 more hours of play! Yay!
So I recently scored a used copy and a strat guide for like 20 bucks, before the FF movie - rerelease of all Square RPGs at $50. I also got Vagrant Story (awesome) and Front Mission 3 (good start).
There's a small crew where I work that burns all kinds of movies and swaps 'em. I've watched a few, but for me there's nothing like sitting third row center at an AMC Torus screen with the THX thumpin'.
My wife and I average 2 movies per month and almost all of those are full-price Friday evening shows. And you know what? I don't care. I get that much value out of the sensory and crowd experience. Obviously, YMMV.
GTRacer
- I hate storm drains
Re:Cant say I'm too disappointed here.
on
Aussies Ban GTA3
·
· Score: 3, Funny
WTF is up with the sick fucks over DMA Design?
They're Scottish?
GTRacer
- Games beginning with "GT" rock!
Re:first analog, now this
on
Binary Watch
·
· Score: 2
HA! I'm a fairly intelligent guy and I'm now 29 years old. And I STILL have a tendency to "round up" an hour on an analog clock when it's between 1 and 6.
I can't count the number of times I got dropped off at a game room (when I was younger) and thinking I only had 10 minutes left, ripped through the quarters. Fifteen minutes later I realise what I'd done and then have to figure out what to do for the next 55 minutes...
GTRacer
- "It's closer to the 4. Why wouldn't I round up?"
Huh...sounds like the kind of crap they tried to pull my freshman year of college. There was a madatory "social event" after class that all freshmen were supposed to attend.
When I get there, the socialising takes the form of stupid "get to know each other" games like that ^^^ one. There was even a deal where we were suppoed to form a circle, slowly sit, and through the power of teamwork and trust, form a ring of dorky freshmen sitting on each other's knees.
At that point, I made up an excuse about having to pick up my wife and left. I have never cared for "forced socialisation" either at school or work. I don't find other people terribly interesting. And I get enough "get to know you" time during work hours.
Maybe it's because I don't drink. My wife and I have noticed that our drinking friends tend to do these sorts of things after school or work. Whatever.
I used to have a FirstUSA credit card and they sold our name to a list. Funny thing was, they had my wife's name on the card INORRECTLY, and as she was the primary, the telemarketing weasels would call asking for her by the wrong name - dead giveaway.
To make things more fun, they'd swear they WERE FirstUSA and all they needed was our address. Su-u-u-ure you're at FirstUSA Corporate...where do you think the bills get sent? Anyhoo, I cancelled FirstUSA and told a supervisor I didn't appreciate the telemarketers, the lies, and the fraudulent charges for "services" we never agreed to.
God Bless America!
GTRacer
- "If I could have just a few moments of your time..."
OK, I'm a total retard when it comes to crypto. So bear with:
How does Rijndael's 256-bit key compare to PGP's 4,096-bit key (assuming a well-chosen passphrase)? Can I assume that my PGP key is safer than Rijndael from brute-forcing? Or is there something about PGP's crypto that reduces the key/search space?
Perhaps we're talking about two different amounts. I wasn't including dev costs, nor advertising. Just manufacturing costs per unit.
I doubt that current PS2s cost $300. And what they've sunk into development comes back in the form of the insanely-priced PSTool SDKs and the foundation for GSCube (multiprocessor workstation) and PS3.
Even the factories they've built in Japan and China to meet demand can be used for cranking out other products with some retooling.
And are you sure PS2 was the costliest to develop? What about Xbox? And I don't mean the.5 billion advert budget...
True, nobody really expects a CEO to have a hand in day-to-day operations. They're the "big picture" people".
BUT...they should have at least a marginal understanding of what goes on around them, and if you're in a tech-driven company, I'd hope that would include knowing how to print from IE or logging into an email client.
I've worked for PHB's that couldn't. It's one thing to surround yourself with great minds. It's another entirely when they serve as a replacement, not an augmentation!
I was going to ignore the "all consoles sell at a loss" threads but I have to speak up:
I am not in the industry, nor do I have concrete sources available, so if I'm wrong, prove it and I'll apologise
Consoles sell at a loss when new. Over time, efficiencies of scale and market prices for components bring the price per unit below the selling point. You don't honestly think PSones still cost Sony $300 to make do you?
With 20 million PS2s in the world and what, three plants cranking them out, I'd be surprised if Sony wasn't pocketing at least 25 bucks off each system - maybe $50.
Well, as someone who recently completed GTA3 and has in fact flown the Dodo (stubby-winged plane), let me tell you that if you don't mind a bit (or a lot) of violence and crave mostly-open-ended action, GTA3 is for you!
FWIW, the Dodo (and other vehicles when the Dodo flight cheat is used) CAN be flown for extended periods with very careful and small inputs. The Tank just has the added benefit of rocket power!
GTRacer
- Steal a cab, deliver fares, and then shoot them (in GTA3, of course)!
Well this is certainly turning into an interesting sociological exploration now, isn't it?
I'd think it would be hard to live in a group/community for any extended period of time and not have their collective values impress upon you. That's not to say they're all the same; like with any large population, there will be those in the standard deviation and there will be outliers.
Almost by definition, "community standards" are an average of individual beliefs. Some people care more than others what those averages are. As for me, I'd be thrown out of my neighborhood if my neighbors knew what I liked.
I'm still an individual despite living in a community - I just have to watch what I share with whom.
Slashdot Mirror
Every so often, my boss or another I/T person will try to use my machine. Two minutes later, they give up and go elsewhere. It's largely the trackball (why does everybody hate these?) but also the total lack of desktop icons and reorganised Windows Start menu (but my other disk boots Mandrake!).
GTRacer
- too tired...
I rented Totoro for my boys (4 and 2) since they like all kinds of movies. I was hoping they'd really dig it and then I could use it as an excuse to beef up *my* collection.
They liked what they saw but I liked it even more when I watched it later that night in peace and quiet!
On Grave of the Fireflies: I read Ebert's comments on this one months ago and found a SunCoast with it in stock. I bought it, took it home, watched it (subbed of course), and now I don't know if I can watch it again with my wife, who wants to see it. That movie really hit me hard.
GTRacer
- Still looking for non-pirated Lain Lunchbox set...
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant "Frag". Or perhaps "Lag".
GTRacer
- Wants *real* IoA Superhero Island OST!
I bought a PSX in 1998 for Gran Turismo after having seen my cousin play it. I was a rabid Nintendo fanboy at the time and promised myself the PSX was acceptable because it played a transcendent game. I wind up buying over 40 PSX games.
Fast-forward to October 2000. I pick up a PS2 expressly for GT3 A-Spec. Which was delayed. Repeatedly. In the meantime, I grabbed Tekken Tag and swore I'd not buy anything else until GT3. I now have something like 15 PS2 games.
I didn't abandon Nintendo completely, nor become a Sony loyalist. I still grab the occasional bargain-binner for the N64 and I'm getting a Cube for Perfect Dark: Zero and Conker's. I also bought a DC a few months ago and already it's collecting games. Damn, Ferrari must've been a GATEWAY game...
Anyhoo, if you can't tell, it's all about the games.
GTRacer
- Will import GTC if need be
Yeah, but the boy can dance like no pasty overweight man before or since! "Give me a D! Give me an E!"
GTRacer
- Doin' it for the tech writers!
What, you mean Microsoft Product Activation and Passport subscriptions?
GTRacer
- How much for WinXP Corporate?
C'mon! I read the article and I still have no idea why I should care. I don't even use my desktop (WinNT). I have the bare minimum 3 icons plus Apache. I do everything through Explorer or keybindings to whatever app I need.
And I've used the same org scheme for my files and directories for like 7 years now. I have no problem finding things, even if I occasionally have to go more than 2 layers below Progra~1.
GTRacer
- Now if I could just organise my bills...
GTRacer
- not pc
The majority of computer users aren't privacy-conscious techno-heads like us. They turn it on, send some email and check stocks. They don't install patches, OSes or distros.
GTRacer
- Boycott 'em all and telnet your mail!
Before I opened Outlook I made sure Norton was up-to-date. I had thought the IE 5.5 SP *1* patch took care of this auto-execute problem, so I wanted to see a presumably-neutered example of Badtrans. WRONGO. Apparently, it's SP2. Norton did its job however and all was safe. Except that even after patching IE to SP2, those messages in Outlook STILL auto-open in Notepad. Now they just have some Norton warning, but still, I thought I was done with auto-opens.
Anyone know why this is still happening? And don't say "Because you're using M$, fucktard!"
GTRacer
- Will switch to Konq when someone tells me how to fix the fonts
I heard the fanboy blathering that went on with XG and finally found a video store renting it. After a slow start, I played right through the due date. 3 times, for a total of 22 dollars in rental fees. I beat the game but didn't finish all the side quests.
The gameplay was pretty cool with the new-for-its-time combo system and giant mecha always rock. What really got me was the story, and more importantly, the presentation of said story. I had DREAMS about these people! I was that into their pasts, the deceptions, and where things were going.
Also, and this may be a negative for some, when I got to Disc 2, I thought it was almost over. Nope, like 20 more hours of play! Yay!
So I recently scored a used copy and a strat guide for like 20 bucks, before the FF movie - rerelease of all Square RPGs at $50. I also got Vagrant Story (awesome) and Front Mission 3 (good start).
GTRacer
- FFVI was the only good FF
There's a small crew where I work that burns all kinds of movies and swaps 'em. I've watched a few, but for me there's nothing like sitting third row center at an AMC Torus screen with the THX thumpin'.
My wife and I average 2 movies per month and almost all of those are full-price Friday evening shows. And you know what? I don't care. I get that much value out of the sensory and crowd experience. Obviously, YMMV.
GTRacer
- I hate storm drains
They're Scottish?
GTRacer
- Games beginning with "GT" rock!
I can't count the number of times I got dropped off at a game room (when I was younger) and thinking I only had 10 minutes left, ripped through the quarters. Fifteen minutes later I realise what I'd done and then have to figure out what to do for the next 55 minutes...
GTRacer
- "It's closer to the 4. Why wouldn't I round up?"
When I get there, the socialising takes the form of stupid "get to know each other" games like that ^^^ one. There was even a deal where we were suppoed to form a circle, slowly sit, and through the power of teamwork and trust, form a ring of dorky freshmen sitting on each other's knees.
At that point, I made up an excuse about having to pick up my wife and left. I have never cared for "forced socialisation" either at school or work. I don't find other people terribly interesting. And I get enough "get to know you" time during work hours.
Maybe it's because I don't drink. My wife and I have noticed that our drinking friends tend to do these sorts of things after school or work. Whatever.
GTRacer
- Would rather socialise at home
I used to have a FirstUSA credit card and they sold our name to a list. Funny thing was, they had my wife's name on the card INORRECTLY, and as she was the primary, the telemarketing weasels would call asking for her by the wrong name - dead giveaway.
To make things more fun, they'd swear they WERE FirstUSA and all they needed was our address. Su-u-u-ure you're at FirstUSA Corporate...where do you think the bills get sent? Anyhoo, I cancelled FirstUSA and told a supervisor I didn't appreciate the telemarketers, the lies, and the fraudulent charges for "services" we never agreed to.
God Bless America!
GTRacer
- "If I could have just a few moments of your time..."
How does Rijndael's 256-bit key compare to PGP's 4,096-bit key (assuming a well-chosen passphrase)? Can I assume that my PGP key is safer than Rijndael from brute-forcing? Or is there something about PGP's crypto that reduces the key/search space?
IOW, just how does PGP compare? Thanks!
GTRacer
- I'll stick with Enigma, thanks.
I doubt that current PS2s cost $300. And what they've sunk into development comes back in the form of the insanely-priced PSTool SDKs and the foundation for GSCube (multiprocessor workstation) and PS3.
Even the factories they've built in Japan and China to meet demand can be used for cranking out other products with some retooling.
And are you sure PS2 was the costliest to develop? What about Xbox? And I don't mean the .5 billion advert budget...
GTRacer
- Loves gaming
BUT...they should have at least a marginal understanding of what goes on around them, and if you're in a tech-driven company, I'd hope that would include knowing how to print from IE or logging into an email client.
I've worked for PHB's that couldn't. It's one thing to surround yourself with great minds. It's another entirely when they serve as a replacement, not an augmentation!
GTRacer
- This has "long day" written all over it
I am not in the industry, nor do I have concrete sources available, so if I'm wrong, prove it and I'll apologise
Consoles sell at a loss when new. Over time, efficiencies of scale and market prices for components bring the price per unit below the selling point. You don't honestly think PSones still cost Sony $300 to make do you?
With 20 million PS2s in the world and what, three plants cranking them out, I'd be surprised if Sony wasn't pocketing at least 25 bucks off each system - maybe $50.
GTRacer
- mmmmmm...Linux....
FWIW, the Dodo (and other vehicles when the Dodo flight cheat is used) CAN be flown for extended periods with very careful and small inputs. The Tank just has the added benefit of rocket power!
GTRacer
- Steal a cab, deliver fares, and then shoot them (in GTA3, of course)!
GTRacer
- It's the 8th letter of the alphabet
Hands up who remembers complaining about "ain't"? Now that it's in many dictionaries, even as a colloquialism, what's the diff?
Virus pl. -es, virii (col) ... ...
n.
Find something else to bitch about, please. Like "Pr0n" or "b0xen".
GTRacer
- Protecting my pr0n b0xen from virii with my l33t n3kk1d 5k1llz!
GTRacer
- O'Reilly: Promoting zoological awareness one book at a time!
I'd think it would be hard to live in a group/community for any extended period of time and not have their collective values impress upon you. That's not to say they're all the same; like with any large population, there will be those in the standard deviation and there will be outliers.
Almost by definition, "community standards" are an average of individual beliefs. Some people care more than others what those averages are. As for me, I'd be thrown out of my neighborhood if my neighbors knew what I liked.
I'm still an individual despite living in a community - I just have to watch what I share with whom.
GTRacer
- still freaky