Sorry, but you're a moron. A well encoded, high bit rate (or VBR) mp3 is audibly indistinguishable to virtually anyone. Sure, a "cd-quality" 128kbps mp3 may have artifacts, but that is the fault of the encoding, not the format. Go download LAME and encode a file using it's standard settings & I challenge you to tell the difference from the source. Of course, for the test to be fair, you need to listen to the source on the same system (ie, your computers speakers). Most people tend to listen to the CD out of there stereo system & mp3's out of there $10 computer speakers, & wonder why the mp3's sound so bad.
The Archos Jukebox Recorder with the Rockbox open-source replacement firmware has several features designed for blind. I haven't used them, so I can't comment, but you might try posting a question on the rockbox list for further details.
I'm as much of a capitalist as the next guy. But the point to lending libraries is that they are free, as in beer. So all you need to borrow anything is your library card, and zero dollars. Just borrow the CD, install on your system, and bring it back.
This is a great idea, but not a realistic one. Sure you can (and should) have a few distros in the lending library, but the point of this system is that you can have several distributions, as well as other things such as Open Office for Windows, GIMP for Windows, etc. Trying to keep lending copies of all of these things in stock is silly-- libraries will either have only one or two copies of everything, meaning that things will be checked out all the time, or they'll have several copies, but they'll always be so out of date that there useless. Charging someone $.50 for a blank CD is a perfectly reasonable compromise. As someone else already pointed out, not everything in the library is free.
Windows adds ALOT to the price. I'm not sure what MS actually charges for a license for Wince (or whatever they're calling it this week), but I seriously doubt it's less then $50 & I wouldn't be surprised if it was over $100.
Linux PDA's are expensive for two reasons: their target market, and their sales. One, most Linux PDA's aim for the high end of the market. Sure you can buy a (slightly) cheaper Ipaq, but does t have the same features as the Zaurus?
Second, the market for Linux PDA's is currently fairly small. Because of this, the price is artificially high. Once sales volumes go up, the price will come down. Sales volumes will only go up once the product reaches a certain level of maturity, and that will only happen once they have been on the market a while. Every new Linux PDA increases product awareness & improves the market.
I have had top of the line Palms and PPCs with all the fixings and nowhere near paid that much. And these devices have *Loads* of software free and purchased on the market.
RTFA. This isn't a PDA. What was the last PDA you bought that had a built in CD-ROM?
This is a product aimed squarely at vertical markets. If you've ever priced vertical market hardware, you'll know that they don't intend to compete pricewise with consumer hardware. People who need the features will pay the premium.
BTW, $645 may be a lot for a PDA, but it's certainly not unheard of. Most companies offer a model priced at or above $600. The only exception in the major brands is probably Palm-- they top out at $500.
Once again, you need to consider the target market that NEC is aiming for. Just because you don't see a use for this device, doesn't mean that there isn't one.
I'm not quire sure I'd want to carry something around if it was bigger than a normal PDA.
But you're not the target market. You're problem is that you are only seeing the way you would use it.
There are numerous people/industries who'd love something a bit more potent then a PDA, but don't need a full laptop. There are many similar products on the market already, and they do very well. They just aren't sold at retail. They are sold to vertical markets, often with custom software, and are usually sold at a substantial profit margin. If the price point is correct, and the features are reasonable, this will do well.
Personally, I'd buy one of these right now if they were available. This would make the ideal car-pc. While that might not be a big enough market to sustain the production for a long period, I'm willing to bet that they could easily sell 4000 units a year.
Another potential market: Replacing portable DVD players (judging from the number on the market, this seems like a reasonable market segment to aim for). This is no bigger, not much more expensive, and can be used for something other then playing DVDs. The article only mentions a cd player, but if they offer a DVD, that could be it's killer app.
Oh so Clinton never presided over a low unemployment rate, he just was president while a lot of people fell off the unemployment insurance dole and took crap jobs. My that IS a convenient explanation, I'll have to remember that.
Certainly, some people were forced to take crap jobs during the Clinton administration. But there's no comparison to what's happened under Bush.
Under Clinton, most Americans saw their net worth grow. The prosperity of the average american was greater under Clinton then at anytime in the past.
Bush has done an absolutely horrible job of managing the economy. Unless you are very rich, it's likely that you are in worse financial shape now then you were under the Clinton administration. In addition, unless you are rich, you most likely have a higher overall tax burden now then you did under Clinton.
This goes hand in hand with a discussion in another forum I visit about kids being told to not win every race they take part in on a school sports day. To borrow an acronym from the latest poll, WTF? If you are capable of winning, spelling, coding or earning money, you should do it to the best of your abilities at all times, as with everything in life. Let those people who can't do it to the same standard as you rot.
I'm not arguing that you should throw the race. I'm arguing that you shouldn't gloat over those who you defeated. If you can spell well, you absolutely should do so. If you want to privately, politely correct someones spelling, fine. But don't publicly post a correction.
Think of it this way-- would you publicly correct a silly error such as misspelling corporate if it were your boss making the error? Most likely no, you'd wait & do it privately. So why would you do it to a total stranger than?
Actually, by politely correcting an honest mistake, the foreign poster learns a valuable tip and avoids misuse in the future. It's better than letting a learner of the language eventually embarrass himself by misusing a word in an important situation. As long as we're not being vicious about typos, everyone wins!
The problem is that there is no such thing as a polite correction on Slashdot. This thread is a perfect example. While the original correction may have had nothing but the best of intentions, you can see where it lead.
Content is meaningless if the presentation obscures its meaning. In fact, it frequently occurs where someone thinks he learned something, but in fact he learned the incorrect thing because the spelling and grammar implied something else.
I do not find misspelling "corporate" to be a grievous crime. I do not correct misspellings on Slashdot out of habit. But when people argue that misspelling is a-okay in some contexts, of course I will jump in to set things straight.
I agree completely. In fact, in the post that you are responding to I said "Certainly, if the spelling is so bad that it's content is obscured, then there is a problem. But misspelling "corporate" doesn't rise to that level for me." I basically agree with the majority of what you are saying. People should take pride in what they write. But at the same time, people should accept that not everyone has great spelling skills. That lack, while it may be annoying, is not a reason to dismiss what someone is saying.
Since when does poor spelling equal an inability to communicate? Einstein was dyslexic. Was he dumb? How about Edison? You seem to be under the impression that the only form of communication is written, and that proofreaders don't exist. Fortunately you're wrong.
Then & than has always been one of my weaknesses. But you're actually reinforcing my point here. Did my misspelling in any way confuse the meaning of my post? If not, pointing out my error is simply being pedantic.
No, it's anal reactionaries like you who dilute the English language to the point of nonsense. Things have gotten so bad, college students commonly submit resumes riddled with typos, newspaper letters to the editor are incomprehensible, and business proposals look wholly unprofessional.
As I said, there are places where good spelling & grammar are important. These are perfect examples of such places. Fortunately, it's largely a self correcting problem-- People who submit such resumes don't get hired, their letters to the editor don't get published, and their proposals are rejected.
And it all stems from slack usage of English in casual settings such as Slashdot.
Bullshit. I actually agree with you that there is a problem, but Slashdot isn't the cause, just a symptom. Where I disagree is with the public lambasting of anyone who doesn't spell perfectly.
By the way, have you ever considered readers not fluent in English? When they encounter a misspelled word, they have no way of initially telling if the word is misspelled or if it is a word they just haven't encountered before. How about having some consideration for foreign readers?
By the way, have you considered that the poster may not have been fluent in English? How about having some consideration for foreign posters?
There is a difference between making an honest mistake and continually choosing not to care. You encourage this recklessness.
No, I don't encourage recklessness. I just find people bitching about spelling more annoying then I find the people who have difficulty spelling. As I said, content is more important to me then presentation. It's not the only factor, but of the two, it's the more important. Certainly, if the spelling is so bad that it's content is obscured, then there is a problem. But misspelling "corporate" doesn't rise to that level for me.
He's not being anal - bad spelling does detract from the message. For instance, I can't actually tell whether the original poster made all the mistakes they did on purpose or not.
You're right to a point. However, as long as a message is clear, I don't really care about spelling. One of my best friends is dyslexic, and can't spell worth a crap. But she's also one of the smartest, most articulate people I know.
The problem with the post that started this thread wasn't that the spelling was bad, but that the content was. Such messages will naturally be filtered out by the Slashdot moderation system. Pointing out that the poster has bad spelling serves no one except to pump up the complainers ego.
Try talking to some authors/writers, or anyone who relies on good communication in their job.
As I said, there are times that spelling & grammar ARE important. But in those situations, you usually have some easy way to deal with the issue: A spell-checker, proofreader, etc. I agree completely with those who say that/. needs to include a spellchecker. I can't imagine why one hasn't been added already. But it hasn't, so I will allow a little leeway in the meantime.
That's a nice theory, and it is true the human brain can adjust for misspellings, but spelling errors distract the reader from the message and make one look uneducated. Every time (and it is pretty dratted often) I read some idiot using "loose" for "lose" I immediately think just that: "Idiot." Almost certainly unfair, but it's still my reaction.
No, it's anal morons like you who distract the reader, not the spelling. I honestly hadn't noticed the misspelling until you pointed it out (and I have better then average spelling abilities). What you need to remember is that most people posting to Slashdot aren't English majors. We're usually people posting a thought fairly quickly. Even if we know the correct spelling, it's easy to make a typo when you're typing quickly. Sure, you should catch the error when you preview, but not everyone will.
What you need to learn is that spelling & grammar != intelligence. I know several people who are smarter then me, but who can't spell worth crap. At least one is dyslexic, the others may just have actual important things on there minds.
Good spelling important in many contexts. Fortunately for us, slashdot isn't one of them. If you're that bothered by the problem, I suggest that you go elsewhere since the problem is fairly pervasive here.
Re:Free of Floating Window
on
Gimp Hits 2.0
·
· Score: 1
As a follow up, just so you don't think I'm just some luser, see this editorial by Eric S. Raymond, linked in todays Slashback...
Re:Free of Floating Window
on
Gimp Hits 2.0
·
· Score: 1
Sure, it's not hard. But not everyone knows how. Those of us who do know how may not want to. I personally don't like multiple desktops. I prefer to simply switch apps with alt-tab, rather then having to remember to use ctrl-tab to switch desktops. Each user interacts with the system in their own way. A program that forces me to use multiple desktops to overcome it's shortcomings is silly.
Re:Free of Floating Window
on
Gimp Hits 2.0
·
· Score: 1
That's all fine and dandy if you want the window to always be on top. I don't. I want the toolbox windows to follow the app-- when the app is active, they are on top, when it's not they're not.
Perhaps you should stop being an idiot, or just learn to read ("All they really need to do is change the app so that if any GIMP window is brought to the front, then they all are.")?
Re:Free of Floating Window
on
Gimp Hits 2.0
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
My problem with GIMP is that I lose the main toolbar window. It gets lost behind various images, layer windows, tool property windows, etc.. When I need to change tools I have to go hunting for the right window.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. If they would just automatically bring that window to the front when your image window is focused, it would eliminate about 90% of the complaints that I have heard.
Re:Free of Floating Window
on
Gimp Hits 2.0
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
I disagree. I prefer it. I think the "window within a window" style that microsoft often employs is cumbersome. I want to be able to put a window anywhere on the screen that I want to put it. It's much more managable. I guess when using windows it could get confusing if you have multiple apps open, and the gimp windows are scattered around. With Linux though I keep my apps spread out over multiple virtual workspaces so it's not an issue.
This shouldn't be an issue for anyone. All they really need to do is change the app so that if any GIMP window is brought to the front, then they all are. It's a nusicance to have to manually move three (or more) seperate windows to the front everytime you want to switch apps. The Mac uses a similar windowing style, except for this key difference. On the Mac, toolbox windows are not considered first-class windows. They only get focus when their parent app is active, and then they automatically become active. If GIMP handled things this way, no one would complain. But instead, each window is managed completely indepently, so you must manually activate each window.
Sure, you can move GIMP to a seperate desktop, but there are numerous reasons that people may not want to do so. For example, new users won't know how. In my case, I don't like switching desktops since it's considerably slower then just switching apps (at least on my system).
Actually, if you read the fine print, it is $1000 up front, then $10 a year on the anniversary, so that you have a rolling 100 year registration - in effect, even a greater headache because instead of having to pay an invoice every ten years, you now get stuck with it every year.
No, you're reading the site wrong. They register the domain annually, but you're only charged once.If you can document otherwise, please provide a link.
There's one other factor that no one seems to have accounted for. This plan locks customers into using NetSol. Even if they lose money relative to their one year rates, they will likely come out ahead due to the extra revenue due to accounts that they would have lost to other registrars, companies going out of business, etc.
Also, remember that the actual cost of a registration from the perspective of NetSol is virtually nil. They have large fixed costs, but there actual cost-per-transaction is quite low. In addition, this lowers their overhead even further by making the renewal process completely automatic, lowering administrative, marketing & customer service costs.
So locking you in will benefit them greatly. Certainly it's a gamble, but it very well coiuld be a good one.
Magnatune may be better in some ways, but it's a completely different beast. Magnatune is a record label. AudioLunchbox.com is more like a record store-- they offer music from many different labels. Magnatune is a great idea, and I hope to see more companies like them in the future, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a place for AudioLunchbox.
This is a good point. The magic price point for music is that it needs to be cheap enough to get as many people as possible to buy, but no cheaper. You also want to avoid reaching the point of diminishing returns (ie. if you sell 1,000,000 copies at $5, or 1,250,000 at $2.50, you're better off selling it at $5).
So what is that price point? That's the big question. However, I think it's safe to say that it's alot less then $10. $10 is a large enough amount of money that you need to think about whether you are willing to spend it. I personally think that the magic amount is about $4.95. Unfortunately, until some record label is willing to gamble & try selling their records at this price, we'll never know.
BSDHosting.net offers all of these features on all of their packages, starting at $4.95 (except no dedicated IP's on the cheapest packages). I've had a Root Server with them for about a year now and I've been extremely pleased. They're service is the best I've ever had from any hosting provider. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry, but you're a moron. A well encoded, high bit rate (or VBR) mp3 is audibly indistinguishable to virtually anyone. Sure, a "cd-quality" 128kbps mp3 may have artifacts, but that is the fault of the encoding, not the format. Go download LAME and encode a file using it's standard settings & I challenge you to tell the difference from the source. Of course, for the test to be fair, you need to listen to the source on the same system (ie, your computers speakers). Most people tend to listen to the CD out of there stereo system & mp3's out of there $10 computer speakers, & wonder why the mp3's sound so bad.
The Archos Jukebox Recorder with the Rockbox open-source replacement firmware has several features designed for blind. I haven't used them, so I can't comment, but you might try posting a question on the rockbox list for further details.
I'm as much of a capitalist as the next guy. But the point to lending libraries is that they are free, as in beer. So all you need to borrow anything is your library card, and zero dollars. Just borrow the CD, install on your system, and bring it back.
This is a great idea, but not a realistic one. Sure you can (and should) have a few distros in the lending library, but the point of this system is that you can have several distributions, as well as other things such as Open Office for Windows, GIMP for Windows, etc. Trying to keep lending copies of all of these things in stock is silly-- libraries will either have only one or two copies of everything, meaning that things will be checked out all the time, or they'll have several copies, but they'll always be so out of date that there useless. Charging someone $.50 for a blank CD is a perfectly reasonable compromise. As someone else already pointed out, not everything in the library is free.
If this is paradise I wish I had a lawnmower.
Windows adds ALOT to the price. I'm not sure what MS actually charges for a license for Wince (or whatever they're calling it this week), but I seriously doubt it's less then $50 & I wouldn't be surprised if it was over $100.
Linux PDA's are expensive for two reasons: their target market, and their sales. One, most Linux PDA's aim for the high end of the market. Sure you can buy a (slightly) cheaper Ipaq, but does t have the same features as the Zaurus?
Second, the market for Linux PDA's is currently fairly small. Because of this, the price is artificially high. Once sales volumes go up, the price will come down. Sales volumes will only go up once the product reaches a certain level of maturity, and that will only happen once they have been on the market a while. Every new Linux PDA increases product awareness & improves the market.
I have had top of the line Palms and PPCs with all the fixings and nowhere near paid that much. And these devices have *Loads* of software free and purchased on the market.
RTFA. This isn't a PDA. What was the last PDA you bought that had a built in CD-ROM?
This is a product aimed squarely at vertical markets. If you've ever priced vertical market hardware, you'll know that they don't intend to compete pricewise with consumer hardware. People who need the features will pay the premium.
BTW, $645 may be a lot for a PDA, but it's certainly not unheard of. Most companies offer a model priced at or above $600. The only exception in the major brands is probably Palm-- they top out at $500.
Once again, you need to consider the target market that NEC is aiming for. Just because you don't see a use for this device, doesn't mean that there isn't one.
I'm not quire sure I'd want to carry something around if it was bigger than a normal PDA.
But you're not the target market. You're problem is that you are only seeing the way you would use it.
There are numerous people/industries who'd love something a bit more potent then a PDA, but don't need a full laptop. There are many similar products on the market already, and they do very well. They just aren't sold at retail. They are sold to vertical markets, often with custom software, and are usually sold at a substantial profit margin. If the price point is correct, and the features are reasonable, this will do well.
Personally, I'd buy one of these right now if they were available. This would make the ideal car-pc. While that might not be a big enough market to sustain the production for a long period, I'm willing to bet that they could easily sell 4000 units a year.
Another potential market: Replacing portable DVD players (judging from the number on the market, this seems like a reasonable market segment to aim for). This is no bigger, not much more expensive, and can be used for something other then playing DVDs. The article only mentions a cd player, but if they offer a DVD, that could be it's killer app.
Oh so Clinton never presided over a low unemployment rate, he just was president while a lot of people fell off the unemployment insurance dole and took crap jobs. My that IS a convenient explanation, I'll have to remember that.
Certainly, some people were forced to take crap jobs during the Clinton administration. But there's no comparison to what's happened under Bush.
Under Clinton, most Americans saw their net worth grow. The prosperity of the average american was greater under Clinton then at anytime in the past.
Bush has done an absolutely horrible job of managing the economy. Unless you are very rich, it's likely that you are in worse financial shape now then you were under the Clinton administration. In addition, unless you are rich, you most likely have a higher overall tax burden now then you did under Clinton.
This goes hand in hand with a discussion in another forum I visit about kids being told to not win every race they take part in on a school sports day. To borrow an acronym from the latest poll, WTF? If you are capable of winning, spelling, coding or earning money, you should do it to the best of your abilities at all times, as with everything in life. Let those people who can't do it to the same standard as you rot.
I'm not arguing that you should throw the race. I'm arguing that you shouldn't gloat over those who you defeated. If you can spell well, you absolutely should do so. If you want to privately, politely correct someones spelling, fine. But don't publicly post a correction.
Think of it this way-- would you publicly correct a silly error such as misspelling corporate if it were your boss making the error? Most likely no, you'd wait & do it privately. So why would you do it to a total stranger than?
Actually, by politely correcting an honest mistake, the foreign poster learns a valuable tip and avoids misuse in the future. It's better than letting a learner of the language eventually embarrass himself by misusing a word in an important situation. As long as we're not being vicious about typos, everyone wins!
The problem is that there is no such thing as a polite correction on Slashdot. This thread is a perfect example. While the original correction may have had nothing but the best of intentions, you can see where it lead.
Content is meaningless if the presentation obscures its meaning. In fact, it frequently occurs where someone thinks he learned something, but in fact he learned the incorrect thing because the spelling and grammar implied something else.
I do not find misspelling "corporate" to be a grievous crime. I do not correct misspellings on Slashdot out of habit. But when people argue that misspelling is a-okay in some contexts, of course I will jump in to set things straight.
I agree completely. In fact, in the post that you are responding to I said "Certainly, if the spelling is so bad that it's content is obscured, then there is a problem. But misspelling "corporate" doesn't rise to that level for me." I basically agree with the majority of what you are saying. People should take pride in what they write. But at the same time, people should accept that not everyone has great spelling skills. That lack, while it may be annoying, is not a reason to dismiss what someone is saying.
Since when does poor spelling equal an inability to communicate? Einstein was dyslexic. Was he dumb? How about Edison? You seem to be under the impression that the only form of communication is written, and that proofreaders don't exist. Fortunately you're wrong.
Then & than has always been one of my weaknesses. But you're actually reinforcing my point here. Did my misspelling in any way confuse the meaning of my post? If not, pointing out my error is simply being pedantic.
No, it's anal reactionaries like you who dilute the English language to the point of nonsense. Things have gotten so bad, college students commonly submit resumes riddled with typos, newspaper letters to the editor are incomprehensible, and business proposals look wholly unprofessional.
As I said, there are places where good spelling & grammar are important. These are perfect examples of such places. Fortunately, it's largely a self correcting problem-- People who submit such resumes don't get hired, their letters to the editor don't get published, and their proposals are rejected.
And it all stems from slack usage of English in casual settings such as Slashdot.
Bullshit. I actually agree with you that there is a problem, but Slashdot isn't the cause, just a symptom. Where I disagree is with the public lambasting of anyone who doesn't spell perfectly.
By the way, have you ever considered readers not fluent in English? When they encounter a misspelled word, they have no way of initially telling if the word is misspelled or if it is a word they just haven't encountered before. How about having some consideration for foreign readers?
By the way, have you considered that the poster may not have been fluent in English? How about having some consideration for foreign posters?
There is a difference between making an honest mistake and continually choosing not to care. You encourage this recklessness.
No, I don't encourage recklessness. I just find people bitching about spelling more annoying then I find the people who have difficulty spelling. As I said, content is more important to me then presentation. It's not the only factor, but of the two, it's the more important. Certainly, if the spelling is so bad that it's content is obscured, then there is a problem. But misspelling "corporate" doesn't rise to that level for me.
He's not being anal - bad spelling does detract from the message. For instance, I can't actually tell whether the original poster made all the mistakes they did on purpose or not.
/. needs to include a spellchecker. I can't imagine why one hasn't been added already. But it hasn't, so I will allow a little leeway in the meantime.
You're right to a point. However, as long as a message is clear, I don't really care about spelling. One of my best friends is dyslexic, and can't spell worth a crap. But she's also one of the smartest, most articulate people I know.
The problem with the post that started this thread wasn't that the spelling was bad, but that the content was. Such messages will naturally be filtered out by the Slashdot moderation system. Pointing out that the poster has bad spelling serves no one except to pump up the complainers ego.
Try talking to some authors/writers, or anyone who relies on good communication in their job.
As I said, there are times that spelling & grammar ARE important. But in those situations, you usually have some easy way to deal with the issue: A spell-checker, proofreader, etc. I agree completely with those who say that
That's a nice theory, and it is true the human brain can adjust for misspellings, but spelling errors distract the reader from the message and make one look uneducated. Every time (and it is pretty dratted often) I read some idiot using "loose" for "lose" I immediately think just that: "Idiot." Almost certainly unfair, but it's still my reaction.
No, it's anal morons like you who distract the reader, not the spelling. I honestly hadn't noticed the misspelling until you pointed it out (and I have better then average spelling abilities). What you need to remember is that most people posting to Slashdot aren't English majors. We're usually people posting a thought fairly quickly. Even if we know the correct spelling, it's easy to make a typo when you're typing quickly. Sure, you should catch the error when you preview, but not everyone will.
What you need to learn is that spelling & grammar != intelligence. I know several people who are smarter then me, but who can't spell worth crap. At least one is dyslexic, the others may just have actual important things on there minds.
Good spelling important in many contexts. Fortunately for us, slashdot isn't one of them. If you're that bothered by the problem, I suggest that you go elsewhere since the problem is fairly pervasive here.
As a follow up, just so you don't think I'm just some luser, see this editorial by Eric S. Raymond, linked in todays Slashback...
Sure, it's not hard. But not everyone knows how. Those of us who do know how may not want to. I personally don't like multiple desktops. I prefer to simply switch apps with alt-tab, rather then having to remember to use ctrl-tab to switch desktops. Each user interacts with the system in their own way. A program that forces me to use multiple desktops to overcome it's shortcomings is silly.
That's all fine and dandy if you want the window to always be on top. I don't. I want the toolbox windows to follow the app-- when the app is active, they are on top, when it's not they're not.
Perhaps you should stop being an idiot, or just learn to read ("All they really need to do is change the app so that if any GIMP window is brought to the front, then they all are.")?
My problem with GIMP is that I lose the main toolbar window. It gets lost behind various images, layer windows, tool property windows, etc.. When I need to change tools I have to go hunting for the right window.
That's exactly what I'm talking about. If they would just automatically bring that window to the front when your image window is focused, it would eliminate about 90% of the complaints that I have heard.
I disagree. I prefer it. I think the "window within a window" style that microsoft often employs is cumbersome. I want to be able to put a window anywhere on the screen that I want to put it. It's much more managable. I guess when using windows it could get confusing if you have multiple apps open, and the gimp windows are scattered around. With Linux though I keep my apps spread out over multiple virtual workspaces so it's not an issue.
This shouldn't be an issue for anyone. All they really need to do is change the app so that if any GIMP window is brought to the front, then they all are. It's a nusicance to have to manually move three (or more) seperate windows to the front everytime you want to switch apps. The Mac uses a similar windowing style, except for this key difference. On the Mac, toolbox windows are not considered first-class windows. They only get focus when their parent app is active, and then they automatically become active. If GIMP handled things this way, no one would complain. But instead, each window is managed completely indepently, so you must manually activate each window.
Sure, you can move GIMP to a seperate desktop, but there are numerous reasons that people may not want to do so. For example, new users won't know how. In my case, I don't like switching desktops since it's considerably slower then just switching apps (at least on my system).
Actually, if you read the fine print, it is $1000 up front, then $10 a year on the anniversary, so that you have a rolling 100 year registration - in effect, even a greater headache because instead of having to pay an invoice every ten years, you now get stuck with it every year.
No, you're reading the site wrong. They register the domain annually, but you're only charged once.If you can document otherwise, please provide a link.
There's one other factor that no one seems to have accounted for. This plan locks customers into using NetSol. Even if they lose money relative to their one year rates, they will likely come out ahead due to the extra revenue due to accounts that they would have lost to other registrars, companies going out of business, etc.
Also, remember that the actual cost of a registration from the perspective of NetSol is virtually nil. They have large fixed costs, but there actual cost-per-transaction is quite low. In addition, this lowers their overhead even further by making the renewal process completely automatic, lowering administrative, marketing & customer service costs.
So locking you in will benefit them greatly. Certainly it's a gamble, but it very well coiuld be a good one.
Magnatune may be better in some ways, but it's a completely different beast. Magnatune is a record label. AudioLunchbox.com is more like a record store-- they offer music from many different labels. Magnatune is a great idea, and I hope to see more companies like them in the future, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a place for AudioLunchbox.
Because maybe the volume isn't there.
This is a good point. The magic price point for music is that it needs to be cheap enough to get as many people as possible to buy, but no cheaper. You also want to avoid reaching the point of diminishing returns (ie. if you sell 1,000,000 copies at $5, or 1,250,000 at $2.50, you're better off selling it at $5).
So what is that price point? That's the big question. However, I think it's safe to say that it's alot less then $10. $10 is a large enough amount of money that you need to think about whether you are willing to spend it. I personally think that the magic amount is about $4.95. Unfortunately, until some record label is willing to gamble & try selling their records at this price, we'll never know.
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