The Blackberry Playbook was frustrating to use in the most basic thing - the Home button.
I saw it for the first time on display at an Office Depot store. When I approached it, I opened an application, a web browser, and navigated to a few sites. Ok, standard stuff.
Then, I wanted to go back to the home screen, but for the life of me, for about 5 to 10 minutes, I had no idea how to do that. I looked all over for a home button that I could press. I tried to close the application; I tried to use different gestures, but I couldn't. There was no obvious button on top, in front, on the side, on the back. It was a moment of incredible frustration for 5 to 10 minutes.
Then, I looked at the front of the display. And at the bottom, was the Blackberry logo. Nothing about this logo screamed out "Touch me! I'm the Home Button", like the iPhone/iPad does.
Then through some miracle (or deductive reasoning, as there was no other button to press), I wondered if that was a touch sensitive button, or something. So I touched it. And lo and behold, it was. It was the home button. And it was camouflaged behind the Blackberry logo, as if someone new to the device was supposed to know it was the home button.
I was dumb-founded as I had wasted 5 to 10 minutes looking for it. And I was irritated that Blackberry would design something so non-intuitive.
So, in my irritation, I put the device down. And walked away. They had lost a potential customer forever.
I was interested in the Playbook as it was a cheaper device than the iPad, and Blackberry had a reputation of making solid phones. But those 5-10 minutes of frustration while I searched for the Home Button, was enough to send me running back to my "expensive" iPhone and iPad.
Blackberry must have failed to test the device with a completely new user. And that made me think, if they messed up on such a basic thing, then what else did they overlook. Turns out, they overlooked a lot of necessary things.
I'm still happy with my first generation iPad. It's a bit slower than my iPhone 4S, but it still can read my emails, browse my PDF eBooks, watch Netflix, and play Candy Crush.
And I'm waiting to hand $500 over to Apple again for their rumored iPad Mini with Retina screen. =)
Note: Admittedly, a touch sensitive home button is good, since it is not mechanical, and is less error prone to breaking. But I wish they had enclosed their Blackberry logo in a circle, or something, to make it appear like a home button.
Learning math is like adding an extra tool to your toolbox.
You may never need to use it, but one day, you may come across a problem which you cannot solve or understand, unless you have that tool in your toolbox. You may need to dust off the tool a little, but it is still there, and you can use it.
Personally, I ran into a few instances in business where I had to answer some seemingly basic questions. And without a background in Calculus, I would have never been able to understand it, or to see a more elegant solution.
For example, a coworker shared a problem with me once. If a customer adopts our software product across their enterprise, how long will it take for the customer to get their return on investment (ROI)? This is useful as a sales tool to help convince customers to invest in our product to help make their business more efficient.
This was a problem that I solved using Excel. But I had to use brute-force to solve it, and I created over 1000 lines of formulas to find my answer. Not very elegant, but it worked.
However, I noticed a pattern in the Excel formulas. And the only reason, was because it seemed similar to a math problem I studied in Calculus II, about Series and Sequences.
I found my old Calculus book from college, dusted it off, and re-studied Series and Sequences. Then, I was able to create a solution to my problem using a simplified math formula. Success!!
Next, I plugged in my new math formula into Excel. Now, I was able to solve my problem and model it across different variables. I could modify each variable independently to identify when the customer would achieve their ROI, based on different circumstances.
So, you may not always use Calculus everyday, but one day, it will be a life-saver. And you get to be the hero for your team.
I did find that I had to use Calculus once, about 12 years afterward in the real world.
I had to calculate summations; learned in Calculus II. Either I could do it in Excel, and take 50 pages to calculate it, or I could summarize it into a nice little Calculus formula.
I couldn't figure out how to create the formula at the time, so I went ahead with the brute force method and created 50 pages of Excel to get my answer. Thank heavens for Excel.
Then the following day, I looked at the problem again, and derived my simple formula to solve my problem. A skill which I had once learned 12 years prior in some Calculus class I took in College; while questioning, when the heck was I ever going to use such a knowledge in my life.
Now, I can plug that formula into a program, and it will help me solve more questions that would take me 200 pages of Excel to brute force calculate.
Times like that is when you appreciate the beauty of math.
... and you may use 'any application that pleases you' to play music and video, a clear edge over Apple's limitation to iTunes."
Please explain to me the logic or rationality behind using the iPad as a portable music player. Seriously. Is anyone going to really plug into the iPad while they are running on the treadmill? Or maybe it's better to use it as a desktop music player?
Although, admitedly, I would like to view my XviD movie files and have access to an expandable SD Card. I am already hit the 16 GB limitation of the internal storage.
So far, all I am interested in using it for is to read my PDF books, do some light web surfing, read news via iPad news apps, or stream a quick Netflix.
The 10 hour battery life on it is fantastic. The thing practically lasts all day. The $500 price point practically kills the Nook and Kindle as an eBook reader.
I loved that character. It was cute and tried to act intelligent. It was useful, and provided some animated relief humor to amuse my train of thought during long hours of working on Word documents or Excel spreadsheets.
Even if you Google how to map the Windows key, the solutions are not supported, or isn't exactly very natural.
The power of the Windows Run command, allows you to quickly execute a command line program, without the need to open up a command prompt. Or it allows you to open up a specific program directly, without having to navigate for it through the myriad of menus and sub-menus. Quick and easy.
This is one of most annoying things about Linux. It sometimes tries to copy Windows, but instead, does a half-assed job.
Why not just use the WIN+R command? Microsoft created the Run command, and the Windows Key makes the keystroke very easy. It is certainly easier than reaching for Alt+F2.
Even Apple created their launch application using the command+spacebar keystroke.
Why can't this be made standard? Instead of having to add some other unsupported key application just to get that mapping to use the Windows Key. Practically all keyboards have the Windows key standard.
Africa has cultural, societal, and leadership problems. When you look at the societies that have succeeded and emerged in the modern world, like the western countries, and the Asian countries - it was because these countries built great societies that worked together. They enabled their people to do great things. They became the producers and contributors to the world and to humanity itself.
The problem with food relief, is it doesn't give them a means to escape their poverty. They still remain dependent on the handouts.
The OLPC leaves this problem to other agencies that tries to help feed the poor. The idea is to give a means to help them succeed in the future. To foster in the young minds of children the ability to learn and to produce, and to hope for a better future for themselves and the world they live in.
Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for the rest of his life.
Granted, there are probably easier ways to teach the children, but the power of a computer like this allows them to network and communicate with each other. And to build valuable technical skills which can allow them to learn and collaborate.
Or, maybe it will become another fluke. Whatever the case, the African countries need to learn how to stand on their own feet.
GMail is still lacking. They purposefully excluded some natural features, like sorting by date.
I just ran into this problem with GMail now.
I was trying to look for an email that I sent over 15 months ago. I didn't know who I sent it to. And I wasn't even sure what words to search for. All I knew was the month I sent/received it.
Since I now have thousands of emails in GMail, I had to click through over 25 pages just to go that far back.
I've been reading all these articles for years now. And I find it laughable how these so called "analysts" predict future growth potential for their industries.
Then it looks like these industries seem to think they are entitled to this money, that they should be getting. And if they aren't hitting the numbers, then something must be wrong! People must be stealing their music, or their movies, or their video games. Perhaps, maybe there's just too much competition in their industry - and a lot of the players must die off?
In reality, people face an increased rise in the cost of living. But they're not making any more money. So these entertainment industries are competing for precious dollars that need to be spent elsewhere.
How about some breakdowns:
- Salaries are stagnant across the nation. LA, SF, and NYC are the large cities. The salaries there should be higher than anywhere else, but companies hate, and I emphasize "hate" to pay any more than $50k/year for a person. $70k/year starts to afford you a mini-comfortable life, but you still got to watch your expenses. Six-figure incomes seems to be the holy grail that everyone wants to achieve - but not everyone can. And most people with good jobs, are already working 50-60 hours a week, this also includes travel time, lunch time, and preparation time in the mornings.
- Property values in the large cities have skyrocketed. You need to make over $125,000 annually just to qualify for a $500k home. This started after the dot-com boom. People with extra money buying up property. Then everyone tried to get into the house flipping craze, which really artificially jacked up property value. People are signing off on 30 and 40 year mortgages now.
- So this jacks up the rent. Rent keeps increasing. California is quickly becoming a land of renters. $1050/month is the minimum you can expect to pay for a tiny 1-bedroom apartment in LA. The only way to keep your cost of living low is to have 2 or 3 roommates. Unless you want to live in the ghettos with ghetto-birds always flying around your neighborhood at night. There you might find a 1-bedroom apartment for $700 - make sure to wear a bullet-proof vest.
- Energy costs have gone up. LA's average for gasoline is $2.50/gallon for 87 octane. $2.90/gallon for 91 octane. People are spending $125/month on gasoline now just to commute to work.
- Anyone with a job has car expenses. If they have a newer car, they'll have monthly car payments. If they have an older car, all paid off, they'll have maintenance expenses, and risk of the car breaking down. And there's the insurance cost to drive in LA.
- Most people have a cell phone now, which is $60/month. - Internet - cable modem is $50/month. - Cable TV - Basic cable is now $50/month. - Food will cost you $300/month, if you want to eat cheap.
- And most people with a good job, also has student loans to pay off - which can range from $25k to $60k. And whatever credit card expenses they incurred during college when they didn't have a job.
- And if you're a guy, and you want a girlfriend, then you've got "dating expenses." Clubs love to charge guys $25 for cover, and let the girls in for free. Drinks in Hollywood are $13/piece.
And now... I can get to the entertainment expenses. - A movie ticket is $10/piece. - Then there are all the other fun things that you want to do to enjoy
My college library designed the building so that the lights would shine up and hit the ceiling, and the light would reflect off the white paint. Maybe you should buy a vertical upright lamp.
Even if it lasts only 4 months, it'll be an experience you'll never forget. Plus, it'll help make you a more well rounded person, as opposed to remaining a boring propellorhead geek clicking a mouse all day. No offense to those who do this tho. =P
Give yourself a meaningful and praiseworthy title, like a Systems Engineer - you have to know how all the electronics and computers work right? Or you can put on your resume that you were a Consultant working for 4 months, doing IT and systems work with an entertainment performance group. Come up with some creative engineering to fluff up your resume.
And most importantly, make friends with your band manager. Drink beers with him after work, so that when you need his reference, he can back you up.
I seriously think that PostgreSQL needs a marketing name change.
Take a look at all the popular databases, they all have cool names: o Oracle o SQL Server o DB2 o FileMaker Pro o Access o MySQL o FoxPro o Informix o FireBird
And then there's PostgreSQL. You read it for the first time, and you're like, "post-what???"
Maybe it should be named something more phoenetic. Examples, idea? What about: o Matrix DB o Echelon 2004 o Defiant DB
Who knows? I'm not their marketing droid. PostgreSQL is incredibly powerful and well suited for small and medium database operations. To a carpenter, everything is a nail. Choose your tool wisely.
People often forget that, it's not the language you know, but the system that you program for that's important.
Learning the syntax of any programming language is incredibly easy, and once you understand the fundamental concepts of programming, you can apply it to any new language that comes out. Whether you're a C++ genius, a Java guru, a Perl hacker, a VB monkey, a Python hippie, or a Microsoft.NET evangelist. All of the concepts are the same.
What's much more harder, and what takes much more time, is to learn the intricacies of the system that you're programming for.
Writing solid C++ code for Linux, is incredibly different than writing solid C++ MFC code for Windows. The syntax might look alike, but the system calls and whatever else you need is different. The same goes for Java, except with that language, you are more abstracted from the hardware layer, and you program for the Java platform. But still.. you gotta know the "Java system of programming."
Perhaps its time for U.S. engineers and programmers to consider a major paradigm shift. A technical degree from a certified American engineering college is probably still considered very valuable in the world.
Maybe its time for American engineers and programmers to consider a migration to India or China, and start a new life and career there.
When I saw the video of the impact simulation, I was amazed how a tiny (but fast) little David was able to take down Goliath. It's amazing something like this didn't happen sooner in the shuttle's 20 year lifetime.
Also sometimes called "nearline" storage. This kind of storage solution is usually implemented by large enterprises. There are a few that are available, but you gotta know where to look. Here are some links that you might want to check out (or Google).
HSM is the process where files that have not been modified for a specific amount of time (say 3-6 months) have been migrated off to secondary storage, and usually, less volatile media like DVDs, CDROMs, Tape, etc. The point is to get that data off a spinning hard drive that can crash and burn at any time. But, this file is still available on the network. (There is much more that you can do of course, but that's the nutshell)
HSM is actually in my line of computer work. You can email me if you need more information. scottie512@yahoo.com
If you clicked on the given link above and downloaded the trailer directly, then you can skip Step 1. Go directly to Step 3.
1. View the HTML source, search for the name "T3-internation-tlr_480.mov"
1a. Change this to "T3-internation-tlr_m480.mov"
2. You should now have the http address:
http://a772.g.akamai.net/5/772/51/a518c4ff1125bc/1 a1a1aaa2198c627970773d80669d84574a8d80d3cb12453c02 589f25382f668c9329e0375e8178ef01f93c6f55ecc40a5178 5e65ac332a0016d/T3-international-tlr_m480.mov
Open it up in a web browser, and let it your browser download the trailer.
3. Open up a command prompt.
4. Go to the location: "C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\"
5. Do a "dir" search with the/a/s switches enabled. Like: dir/a/s *.mov
6. Hopefully this will come up with something. For my system, I downloaded the high resolution trailer. So my search came up with: "T3-international-tlr_m480[1].mov"
7. Copy this to another location on your hard drive. copy "T3-international-tlr_m480[1].mov" C:\Temp
8. Simple as that right?
I always wondered, but what is the difference between FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD? What are the pros/cons? What are the strengths/weaknesses of each distribution?
MySQL is good for certain applications, where you only read data, and don't write too much data. This works out especially well for most web sites, since they serve information, but doesn't necessarily allow too much information to be posted by the user.
Lots of message boards on the web use MySQL as their database, because even though people are uploading comments, the amount of data that they upload isn't all that much. Slashdot for example, a popular discussion could prompt 500 messages to be posted in 15 minutes, but still, that's not that much information.
The key word here is transactions, the constant reading/writing, downloading/uploading of information on a massive scale, where each occurence is audited. And I think that's where MySQL has its weakness. PostgreSQL is supposed to be a bit slower, but it takes transactions into account. Red Hat's database software runs on the PostgreSQL engine specifically because of this.
Banking and finance applications require this accountability, because it's just that important. Websites don't need that accountability and overhead, which is why MySQL shines for web servers.
I believe a college, especially a Computer Science department, should mimic what is in the real world.
And in the real world, Microsoft dominates the desktop, while Unix dominates the high end server market. Have the servers all running Linux, and have the desktops running a dual boot Linux/Windows installation.
Slashdot Mirror
The Blackberry Playbook was frustrating to use in the most basic thing - the Home button.
I saw it for the first time on display at an Office Depot store. When I approached it, I opened an application, a web browser, and navigated to a few sites. Ok, standard stuff.
Then, I wanted to go back to the home screen, but for the life of me, for about 5 to 10 minutes, I had no idea how to do that. I looked all over for a home button that I could press. I tried to close the application; I tried to use different gestures, but I couldn't. There was no obvious button on top, in front, on the side, on the back. It was a moment of incredible frustration for 5 to 10 minutes.
Then, I looked at the front of the display. And at the bottom, was the Blackberry logo. Nothing about this logo screamed out "Touch me! I'm the Home Button", like the iPhone/iPad does.
Then through some miracle (or deductive reasoning, as there was no other button to press), I wondered if that was a touch sensitive button, or something. So I touched it. And lo and behold, it was. It was the home button. And it was camouflaged behind the Blackberry logo, as if someone new to the device was supposed to know it was the home button.
I was dumb-founded as I had wasted 5 to 10 minutes looking for it. And I was irritated that Blackberry would design something so non-intuitive.
So, in my irritation, I put the device down. And walked away. They had lost a potential customer forever.
I was interested in the Playbook as it was a cheaper device than the iPad, and Blackberry had a reputation of making solid phones. But those 5-10 minutes of frustration while I searched for the Home Button, was enough to send me running back to my "expensive" iPhone and iPad.
Blackberry must have failed to test the device with a completely new user. And that made me think, if they messed up on such a basic thing, then what else did they overlook. Turns out, they overlooked a lot of necessary things.
I'm still happy with my first generation iPad. It's a bit slower than my iPhone 4S, but it still can read my emails, browse my PDF eBooks, watch Netflix, and play Candy Crush.
And I'm waiting to hand $500 over to Apple again for their rumored iPad Mini with Retina screen. =)
Note: Admittedly, a touch sensitive home button is good, since it is not mechanical, and is less error prone to breaking. But I wish they had enclosed their Blackberry logo in a circle, or something, to make it appear like a home button.
Learning math is like adding an extra tool to your toolbox.
You may never need to use it, but one day, you may come across a problem which you cannot solve or understand, unless you have that tool in your toolbox. You may need to dust off the tool a little, but it is still there, and you can use it.
Personally, I ran into a few instances in business where I had to answer some seemingly basic questions. And without a background in Calculus, I would have never been able to understand it, or to see a more elegant solution.
For example, a coworker shared a problem with me once. If a customer adopts our software product across their enterprise, how long will it take for the customer to get their return on investment (ROI)? This is useful as a sales tool to help convince customers to invest in our product to help make their business more efficient.
This was a problem that I solved using Excel. But I had to use brute-force to solve it, and I created over 1000 lines of formulas to find my answer. Not very elegant, but it worked.
However, I noticed a pattern in the Excel formulas. And the only reason, was because it seemed similar to a math problem I studied in Calculus II, about Series and Sequences.
I found my old Calculus book from college, dusted it off, and re-studied Series and Sequences. Then, I was able to create a solution to my problem using a simplified math formula. Success!!
Next, I plugged in my new math formula into Excel. Now, I was able to solve my problem and model it across different variables. I could modify each variable independently to identify when the customer would achieve their ROI, based on different circumstances.
So, you may not always use Calculus everyday, but one day, it will be a life-saver. And you get to be the hero for your team.
I did find that I had to use Calculus once, about 12 years afterward in the real world.
I had to calculate summations; learned in Calculus II.
Either I could do it in Excel, and take 50 pages to calculate it, or I could summarize it into a nice little Calculus formula.
I couldn't figure out how to create the formula at the time, so I went ahead with the brute force method and created 50 pages of Excel to get my answer. Thank heavens for Excel.
Then the following day, I looked at the problem again, and derived my simple formula to solve my problem. A skill which I had once learned 12 years prior in some Calculus class I took in College; while questioning, when the heck was I ever going to use such a knowledge in my life.
Now, I can plug that formula into a program, and it will help me solve more questions that would take me 200 pages of Excel to brute force calculate.
Times like that is when you appreciate the beauty of math.
Please explain to me the logic or rationality behind using the iPad as a portable music player. Seriously. Is anyone going to really plug into the iPad while they are running on the treadmill? Or maybe it's better to use it as a desktop music player?
Although, admitedly, I would like to view my XviD movie files and have access to an expandable SD Card. I am already hit the 16 GB limitation of the internal storage.
So far, all I am interested in using it for is to read my PDF books, do some light web surfing, read news via iPad news apps, or stream a quick Netflix.
The 10 hour battery life on it is fantastic. The thing practically lasts all day. The $500 price point practically kills the Nook and Kindle as an eBook reader.
What happened to the Einstein helper?
I loved that character. It was cute and tried to act intelligent. It was useful, and provided some animated relief humor to amuse my train of thought during long hours of working on Word documents or Excel spreadsheets.
"Scientists Need Volunteers To Look At the Sun"
There's a spot burning a hole in my eye from just reading that title..
My comment wasn't supposed to be a flamebait.
It's an "opportunity for improvement".
Even if you Google how to map the Windows key, the solutions are not supported, or isn't exactly very natural.
The power of the Windows Run command, allows you to quickly execute a command line program, without the need to open up a command prompt. Or it allows you to open up a specific program directly, without having to navigate for it through the myriad of menus and sub-menus. Quick and easy.
Alt+F2
This is one of most annoying things about Linux. It sometimes tries to copy Windows, but instead, does a half-assed job.
Why not just use the WIN+R command? Microsoft created the Run command, and the Windows Key makes the keystroke very easy. It is certainly easier than reaching for Alt+F2.
Even Apple created their launch application using the command+spacebar keystroke.
Why can't this be made standard? Instead of having to add some other unsupported key application just to get that mapping to use the Windows Key. Practically all keyboards have the Windows key standard.
I know this ride! (Or at least by your descriptions.)
It's DeJa Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.
http://www.rollercoasters.org/six-flags-magic-mountain/dejavu.html/
They need both to succeed
Africa has cultural, societal, and leadership problems. When you look at the societies that have succeeded and emerged in the modern world, like the western countries, and the Asian countries - it was because these countries built great societies that worked together. They enabled their people to do great things. They became the producers and contributors to the world and to humanity itself.
The problem with food relief, is it doesn't give them a means to escape their poverty. They still remain dependent on the handouts.
The OLPC leaves this problem to other agencies that tries to help feed the poor. The idea is to give a means to help them succeed in the future. To foster in the young minds of children the ability to learn and to produce, and to hope for a better future for themselves and the world they live in.
Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for the rest of his life.
Granted, there are probably easier ways to teach the children, but the power of a computer like this allows them to network and communicate with each other. And to build valuable technical skills which can allow them to learn and collaborate.
Or, maybe it will become another fluke. Whatever the case, the African countries need to learn how to stand on their own feet.
GMail is still lacking. They purposefully excluded some natural features, like sorting by date.
I just ran into this problem with GMail now.
I was trying to look for an email that I sent over 15 months ago. I didn't know who I sent it to. And I wasn't even sure what words to search for. All I knew was the month I sent/received it.
Since I now have thousands of emails in GMail, I had to click through over 25 pages just to go that far back.
I've been reading all these articles for years now. And I find it laughable how these so called "analysts" predict future growth potential for their industries.
- "Study Predicts $42.8 Billion Music Market by 2005"
http://www.stereophile.com/news/10837/
http://p2pnet.net/story/1167?PHPSESSID=b43903d88ca b374c1c0915849c2c4c92
- "The video game industry will grow to $50 billion by 2008"
http://blogs.business2.com/business2blog/2005/02/v ideo_game_grow.html
Then it looks like these industries seem to think they are entitled to this money, that they should be getting. And if they aren't hitting the numbers, then something must be wrong! People must be stealing their music, or their movies, or their video games. Perhaps, maybe there's just too much competition in their industry - and a lot of the players must die off?
In reality, people face an increased rise in the cost of living. But they're not making any more money. So these entertainment industries are competing for precious dollars that need to be spent elsewhere.
How about some breakdowns:
- Salaries are stagnant across the nation. LA, SF, and NYC are the large cities. The salaries there should be higher than anywhere else, but companies hate, and I emphasize "hate" to pay any more than $50k/year for a person. $70k/year starts to afford you a mini-comfortable life, but you still got to watch your expenses. Six-figure incomes seems to be the holy grail that everyone wants to achieve - but not everyone can. And most people with good jobs, are already working 50-60 hours a week, this also includes travel time, lunch time, and preparation time in the mornings.
- Property values in the large cities have skyrocketed. You need to make over $125,000 annually just to qualify for a $500k home. This started after the dot-com boom. People with extra money buying up property. Then everyone tried to get into the house flipping craze, which really artificially jacked up property value. People are signing off on 30 and 40 year mortgages now.
- So this jacks up the rent. Rent keeps increasing. California is quickly becoming a land of renters. $1050/month is the minimum you can expect to pay for a tiny 1-bedroom apartment in LA. The only way to keep your cost of living low is to have 2 or 3 roommates. Unless you want to live in the ghettos with ghetto-birds always flying around your neighborhood at night. There you might find a 1-bedroom apartment for $700 - make sure to wear a bullet-proof vest.
- Energy costs have gone up. LA's average for gasoline is $2.50/gallon for 87 octane. $2.90/gallon for 91 octane. People are spending $125/month on gasoline now just to commute to work.
- Anyone with a job has car expenses. If they have a newer car, they'll have monthly car payments. If they have an older car, all paid off, they'll have maintenance expenses, and risk of the car breaking down. And there's the insurance cost to drive in LA.
- Most people have a cell phone now, which is $60/month.
- Internet - cable modem is $50/month.
- Cable TV - Basic cable is now $50/month.
- Food will cost you $300/month, if you want to eat cheap.
- And most people with a good job, also has student loans to pay off - which can range from $25k to $60k. And whatever credit card expenses they incurred during college when they didn't have a job.
- And if you're a guy, and you want a girlfriend, then you've got "dating expenses." Clubs love to charge guys $25 for cover, and let the girls in for free. Drinks in Hollywood are $13/piece.
And now... I can get to the entertainment expenses.
- A movie ticket is $10/piece.
- Then there are all the other fun things that you want to do to enjoy
My college library designed the building so that the lights would shine up and hit the ceiling, and the light would reflect off the white paint.
Maybe you should buy a vertical upright lamp.
The smileys on AIM look better. =) =P =/
Does NASA also have a group for the
"Most Advanced NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts" as well?
Even if it lasts only 4 months, it'll be an experience you'll never forget. Plus, it'll help make you a more well rounded person, as opposed to remaining a boring propellorhead geek clicking a mouse all day. No offense to those who do this tho. =P
Give yourself a meaningful and praiseworthy title, like a Systems Engineer - you have to know how all the electronics and computers work right? Or you can put on your resume that you were a Consultant working for 4 months, doing IT and systems work with an entertainment performance group. Come up with some creative engineering to fluff up your resume.
And most importantly, make friends with your band manager. Drink beers with him after work, so that when you need his reference, he can back you up.
I seriously think that PostgreSQL needs a marketing name change.
Take a look at all the popular databases, they all have cool names:
o Oracle
o SQL Server
o DB2
o FileMaker Pro
o Access
o MySQL
o FoxPro
o Informix
o FireBird
And then there's PostgreSQL. You read it for the first time, and you're like, "post-what???"
Maybe it should be named something more phoenetic. Examples, idea?
What about:
o Matrix DB
o Echelon 2004
o Defiant DB
Who knows? I'm not their marketing droid. PostgreSQL is incredibly powerful and well suited for small and medium database operations. To a carpenter, everything is a nail. Choose your tool wisely.
People often forget that, it's not the language you know, but the system that you program for that's important.
.NET evangelist. All of the concepts are the same.
Learning the syntax of any programming language is incredibly easy, and once you understand the fundamental concepts of programming, you can apply it to any new language that comes out. Whether you're a C++ genius, a Java guru, a Perl hacker, a VB monkey, a Python hippie, or a Microsoft
What's much more harder, and what takes much more time, is to learn the intricacies of the system that you're programming for.
Writing solid C++ code for Linux, is incredibly different than writing solid C++ MFC code for Windows. The syntax might look alike, but the system calls and whatever else you need is different. The same goes for Java, except with that language, you are more abstracted from the hardware layer, and you program for the Java platform. But still.. you gotta know the "Java system of programming."
Perhaps its time for U.S. engineers and programmers to consider a major paradigm shift. A technical degree from a certified American engineering college is probably still considered very valuable in the world.
Maybe its time for American engineers and programmers to consider a migration to India or China, and start a new life and career there.
Just an alternative point of view.
When I saw the video of the impact simulation, I was amazed how a tiny (but fast) little David was able to take down Goliath. It's amazing something like this didn't happen sooner in the shuttle's 20 year lifetime.
Also sometimes called "nearline" storage. This kind of storage solution is usually implemented by large enterprises. There are a few that are available, but you gotta know where to look. Here are some links that you might want to check out (or Google).
www.optical.com
diskxtender
qstar
HSM is the process where files that have not been modified for a specific amount of time (say 3-6 months) have been migrated off to secondary storage, and usually, less volatile media like DVDs, CDROMs, Tape, etc. The point is to get that data off a spinning hard drive that can crash and burn at any time. But, this file is still available on the network. (There is much more that you can do of course, but that's the nutshell)
HSM is actually in my line of computer work. You can email me if you need more information. scottie512@yahoo.com
Here are the saving instruction for Windows XP and IE6.
1 a1a1aaa2198c627970773d80669d84574a8d80d3cb12453c02 589f25382f668c9329e0375e8178ef01f93c6f55ecc40a5178 5e65ac332a0016d/T3-international-tlr_m480.mov
1 a1a1aaa2198c627970773d80669d84574a8d80d3cb12453c02 589f25382f668c9329e0375e8178ef01f93c6f55ecc40a5178 5e65ac332a0016d/T3-international-tlr_m480.mov
/a /s switches enabled. Like: /a /s *.mov
I downloaded the high resolution trailer, so it's about 14 MB
Here is the direct link, hopefully it hasn't expired yet.
http://a772.g.akamai.net/5/772/51/a518c4ff1125bc/
If you clicked on the given link above and downloaded the trailer directly, then you can skip Step 1. Go directly to Step 3.
1. View the HTML source, search for the name "T3-internation-tlr_480.mov"
1a. Change this to "T3-internation-tlr_m480.mov"
2. You should now have the http address:
http://a772.g.akamai.net/5/772/51/a518c4ff1125bc/
Open it up in a web browser, and let it your browser download the trailer.
3. Open up a command prompt.
4. Go to the location:
"C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\"
5. Do a "dir" search with the
dir
6. Hopefully this will come up with something. For my system, I downloaded the high resolution trailer. So my search came up with:
"T3-international-tlr_m480[1].mov"
7. Copy this to another location on your hard drive.
copy "T3-international-tlr_m480[1].mov" C:\Temp
8. Simple as that right?
I always wondered, but what is the difference between FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD? What are the pros/cons? What are the strengths/weaknesses of each distribution?
Anyone care to take a stab at this?
MySQL is good for certain applications, where you only read data, and don't write too much data. This works out especially well for most web sites, since they serve information, but doesn't necessarily allow too much information to be posted by the user.
Lots of message boards on the web use MySQL as their database, because even though people are uploading comments, the amount of data that they upload isn't all that much. Slashdot for example, a popular discussion could prompt 500 messages to be posted in 15 minutes, but still, that's not that much information.
The key word here is transactions, the constant reading/writing, downloading/uploading of information on a massive scale, where each occurence is audited. And I think that's where MySQL has its weakness. PostgreSQL is supposed to be a bit slower, but it takes transactions into account. Red Hat's database software runs on the PostgreSQL engine specifically because of this.
Banking and finance applications require this accountability, because it's just that important. Websites don't need that accountability and overhead, which is why MySQL shines for web servers.
I believe a college, especially a Computer Science department, should mimic what is in the real world.
And in the real world, Microsoft dominates the desktop, while Unix dominates the high end server market. Have the servers all running Linux, and have the desktops running a dual boot Linux/Windows installation.