OK serious question. I've been using my Powerbook in the car for the last few months with my USB GPS. Unfortunately I can't find any decent Mac mapping/GPS software, which means I'm using the incredibly slow Virtual PC. This is the only reason why I expect to run Windows on my car computer other than Mac OS X or Linux.
While I'm on a roll, how are people solving the problem of booting up and shutting down? For this reason, I was planning on using a laptop (I have one with a broken screen that will likely be perfect). I can have it run on battery power when the car shuts off, and automatically hibernate after an hour or so of inactivity. Of course, they also take DC naturally which is another bonus. Most people seem to be using desktop-based computers though which makes me wonder what I'm missing on this front.
OK, well I have a 12" Powerbook without a PCMCIA slot, and I really miss having one. For instance, I have a PCMCIA GPRS card with T-Mobile service. I can't use it with my notebook (I was using another notebook when I got it). Sure I can use a bluetooth phone instead, but the speeds aren't as great.
I also have a PCMCIA adapter for my microdrive. I can use the USB 2 on my camera but when you have a GB or so of images to transfer, the extra speed of the PC Card slot would be nice.
Yeah, when I got a Sony Vaio about 3.5 years ago I called tech support to tell them my laptop was burning my legs it was so hot. They told me "it's not a laptop, it's a notebook". Thanks a lot.
While I'm at it, I'll put in a plug and say that I love my POWERbook:-)
I don't want to start a holy war here, but I've been sitting here in my kitchen for the last 17 hours trying to cook an apple pie made from these apples. Using any other type of apple, Golden Delicious for example, I'd be able to cook this pie in 20 minutes flat.
Not only that, but I've had to convert to an entirely different type of sugar AND pie crust. These apples are completely incompatible with anything else in my standard kitchen.
In short, I don't understand why anybody would choose to eat or cook with these apples.
Well when *I* was in school, I had to run Netscape on HP/UX, displayed on my local X Server running on a Windows 3.1 box. Displayed over a 2400 baud modem. Uphill. Both ways. In the rain.
With NOBODY to hold my hands. Because the life of the geek is a lonely life.
Well, gee. It sounds like MAYBE you might not be the target market for either:
a) ITMS
b) iTunes
c) iPod
d) Codeweaver's Crossover
However, there are other people out here who:
a) Like to listen to music using iTunes
b) Want to use ITMS, and/or
c) Own and iPod, and
d) wish to use iTunes for at least one of the above items using Linux, with a minimum of further hassles.
Sounds like this might be news for THEM, if not for YOU.
Granted I haven't spent a lot of time looking at the details here so I could be missing something, but why the heck is Yahoo providing search results to Microsoft? This reminds me of an African fable called "Little Leopards Become Big Leopards and Big Leopards Kill" about the boy who brought a cute baby leopard into the villiage. They fed it and brought it up, and then it turned on them and killed a bunch of people (that's part 1 of the story, anyway).
It seems like Yahoo is just shooting themselves in the head here. They're obtaining some short-term revenue at the expense of growing up a competing search engine, from a company that is not exactly known for playing fair in the competitive marketplace... You'd think that as soon as Yahoo figured what Microsoft was up to, they'd have yanked their license right then and there.
I just looked at the list of presidential candidates, and there were too many to easily count. Why vote for the lesser of two evils? Vote for the least of 30 evils!;-)
Really, in the end that's what voters are doing, choosing the person who disagrees least with what we believe. If you haven't voted yet, I urge you to consider all the options before making your vote. Be informed. Discover that the two options you're considering start to only look like one when you see the spectrum of possibility before you. There ARE alternatives out there beyond the two you hear about on NPR and CNN. Some of them, to be sure, are crackpots, but nobody in power (read: Democrats and Republicans) have any real incentive to change as long as nobody is providing a serious threat to their authority.
I belive our definitions of "left" and "right" have become very narrow and are more different shades of "centrist". IF this is truly where you stand, good for you, and please vote there. If you don't identify with either mainline party or their candidates, please find a party you can support, and get involved. If not for this election, then at least for the next one.
1. Partisan politics aside, how can such an inane comment get modded +5? Once you're able to actually decipher the grammar and spelling (hella?! Don't they make lights?), you realize that absolutely nothing was said.
2. Why is it that 90 percent of people who "support" Kerry cite their primary reason for their support as "I don't like Bush"? Whatever happened to a candidate running on their OWN record? What is it about KERRY that you DO support? Do you even know? Bush isn't above reproach here either, by any means. Thanks to Cheney, I'd be scared to vote for Kerry otherwise we could have terrorists overrunning our country. The whole thing just makes me sad and tired. If you're going to exercise your "right" to vote, please at least do so with some modicum of information beyond a vague yet undefined antipathy towards the current president. BTW Adian, this isn't all directed at you personally but more at the attitude in general so many people hold.
3. This, as I see it, is one of the fundamental flaws of Democracy, or at least Democracy as Americans define it. We have a bunch of people who know very little about the issues or the candidates making decisions about who will become the next president. As long as you're an American, 18+ and not a felon, you get to vote. That's great, but as I alluded above, if you're going to make the effort to vote, perhaps it's worth making the effort to place an INFORMED vote.
Disclaimer: As you may notice from my.sig, I'm a Canadian, yes. So I can't vote in this election. I've lived in the US now for 8+ years and I feel in many ways like this is "my" country. Which is why I feel so much frustration about what I see around me. Finally, for the record, between Bush & Kerry I'd vote for Bush every time. However, between all the options, I'm pretty sure if I could vote, I'd vote for neither. There has to be a better candidate on the ballot SOMEWHERE. However, since I can't vote anyway I haven't taken the time to look.
1. With so many heroes possessing herculean strength (hence the term "herculean", of course), are there special structural considerations you have to make when designing buildings? I mean, it only takes a few pissed-off Samson types pulling over columns before your "City of Heroes" is more like a "Ruin of Heroes". I realize this may be more a question for the "City of Heroes Chief Engineer" but hey, you're the one answering the questions...
2. Also, do you have the city apportioned off according to ability, cloak colour, age, or what? How do you deal with disagreements between various heroic neighbours? For instance, my cousin Freddy's a hero who lives in the older planned hero community of Superville. His neighbour two doors down is the only one on the block who can fly, and he's always zooming in drunk in the middle of the night, making a racket and showing off. He'd like to move to a neighbourhood where the flying heroes live somewhere else. Just an example.
Better than a whole new lane for cars and keeping out motorcycles would be a new lane for motorcycles and keeping out CARS (and of course trucks and SUVs).
In warm climates like Southern California, they could easily convert the left shoulder and part of a lane of every major freeway into a motorcycle-only lane. They could provide tax incentives for people to purchase and ride motorcycles, and require EVERY driver to take and pass a stringent motorcycle-awareness class.
Motorcycles are cheaper to produce and purchase (overall), use fewer raw materials, less fuel, take up less space on the free way, and, let's face it, are more fun to ride. If we even took 10% of drivers out of SUVs and other vehicles and put them on motorcycles, we'd help reduce congestion, fuel consumption and pollution, as well as putting smile on peoples' faces:-) With a dedicated lane and heightened driver training and awareness, it might even be safer to ride a bike, too.
Of course it will never happen here in litigation-happy USA. Little Billy will crash his stupid ass into an embankment and his mother will sue the "government" for killing him by giving him a tax break to ride a motorcycle. And thus ends another great idea.
Hehe... you'll love it if/when I get my 18-19" street rims for my '96 Discovery. My truck is lifted, beaten up and heavily off-roaded but my off-road tires make for a bit of a scary ride on the street. Not to mention being loud and gas-sucking. So a slightly larger set of rims and street tires would make sense.
I do know exactly what you're saying though; just pointing myself out as the exception to the rule. I laugh at huge rims on SUVs as much as you do.
You're right about the 2.4GHz phone - I bought one and returned it a couple days later. I got a 5.6Ghz DSS model though and it doesn't seem to interfere at all with my 802.11g network. My microwave, cordless phone, wireless LAN and Bluetooth all seem to play very nicely together.
SAMSUNG's MTBF for HDDs is 500,000 hours. That means that if you use your PC for 9 hours every day, your HDD should operate for 152 years. In imperfect, non-test conditions, however, please note that the real life span of an HDD varies because of fluctuating operating environments. Now, let us show you have the MTBF value is calculated.
MTBF Values are Derived From Arithmetic Calculation MTBF valuation by arithmetic calculation is used in the early stages of product development-it is the sum of all of an HDD's components. After the initial test phase, the MTBF value is reconfigured to account for the following factors: design faults, manufacturing faults, software bugs, and other environmental problems.
While protecting your credit card data from crackers is an admirable sentiment, it's likely misapplied in this instance. Many, if not most, e-commerce sites are going to be storing your credit card number regardless of whether you check "remember my number".
Usually that check is for whether you want it displayed to YOU next time you purchase something. They'll still be keeping it in their databases for communication with their processing bank in the case of voids, chargebacks, multiple auth/capture sets on the same order, etc. So if unchecking the box gives you a sense of added security, that's nice, but it's likely false.
BTW, as far as I know it's legal for companies to store your credit card number and expiration date. This is where strong encryption with the keys stored off the server are of course very important. It's generally against bank rules to store the Card Verification Number (that 3-4 digit code people have started asking for) though for more than a specific period of time.
Where are you getting the assumption that you are not running the device until it "just wears out"? My understanding of MTBF is that it's the "mean time before failure" although Wikipedia calls it the "Mean Time Between Failures" so I'm sure they're right and I'm wrong.
Regardless, my understanding is that MTBF is the average amount of time a properly maintained item will last up to the point of failure. Wearing out would be a type of failure, wouldn't it?
I had my $2500 mountain bike stolen out of my locked apartment in university. So it happens, and boy was I PISSED. In this case, the saving grace was that my dad's homeowner's insurance covered the loss. *phew*.
So the moral of my story is, yes, protect your stuff, but a good insurance policy makes for more peace of mind.
I couldn't see right away from their web site, but I'm 99% positive they're using a 2.5" laptop drive. So a better comparison would be something like a 40GB Drive for $100
Just so you know, every 3.5" drive enclosure I've ever seen requires a separate power supply. 3.5" disks require too much power to be reliably run from USB or firewire. This is one reason why a 2.5" drive solution is much better for portability.
So, take $130 of hardware and add $90 for my time to put the drive in the enclosure, install Mandrake, etc. and it doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me.
Hey, AC, nice comment for all the moderators who DIDN'T RTFA.
To add to the irony of www.wehavethewayout.com, the background image shows what appears to be a way out of a window, whereas the whole point of the site is to show you a way into Windows (TM). Interesting mixed metaphor. Oh well.
Slashdot Mirror
While I'm on a roll, how are people solving the problem of booting up and shutting down? For this reason, I was planning on using a laptop (I have one with a broken screen that will likely be perfect). I can have it run on battery power when the car shuts off, and automatically hibernate after an hour or so of inactivity. Of course, they also take DC naturally which is another bonus. Most people seem to be using desktop-based computers though which makes me wonder what I'm missing on this front.
I also have a PCMCIA adapter for my microdrive. I can use the USB 2 on my camera but when you have a GB or so of images to transfer, the extra speed of the PC Card slot would be nice.
While I'm at it, I'll put in a plug and say that I love my POWERbook :-)
Not only that, but I've had to convert to an entirely different type of sugar AND pie crust. These apples are completely incompatible with anything else in my standard kitchen.
In short, I don't understand why anybody would choose to eat or cook with these apples.
With NOBODY to hold my hands. Because the life of the geek is a lonely life.
Well, gee. It sounds like MAYBE you might not be the target market for either: a) ITMS b) iTunes c) iPod d) Codeweaver's Crossover However, there are other people out here who: a) Like to listen to music using iTunes b) Want to use ITMS, and/or c) Own and iPod, and d) wish to use iTunes for at least one of the above items using Linux, with a minimum of further hassles. Sounds like this might be news for THEM, if not for YOU.
It seems like Yahoo is just shooting themselves in the head here. They're obtaining some short-term revenue at the expense of growing up a competing search engine, from a company that is not exactly known for playing fair in the competitive marketplace... You'd think that as soon as Yahoo figured what Microsoft was up to, they'd have yanked their license right then and there.
Really, in the end that's what voters are doing, choosing the person who disagrees least with what we believe. If you haven't voted yet, I urge you to consider all the options before making your vote. Be informed. Discover that the two options you're considering start to only look like one when you see the spectrum of possibility before you. There ARE alternatives out there beyond the two you hear about on NPR and CNN. Some of them, to be sure, are crackpots, but nobody in power (read: Democrats and Republicans) have any real incentive to change as long as nobody is providing a serious threat to their authority.
I belive our definitions of "left" and "right" have become very narrow and are more different shades of "centrist". IF this is truly where you stand, good for you, and please vote there. If you don't identify with either mainline party or their candidates, please find a party you can support, and get involved. If not for this election, then at least for the next one.
1. Partisan politics aside, how can such an inane comment get modded +5? Once you're able to actually decipher the grammar and spelling (hella?! Don't they make lights?), you realize that absolutely nothing was said.
2. Why is it that 90 percent of people who "support" Kerry cite their primary reason for their support as "I don't like Bush"? Whatever happened to a candidate running on their OWN record? What is it about KERRY that you DO support? Do you even know? Bush isn't above reproach here either, by any means. Thanks to Cheney, I'd be scared to vote for Kerry otherwise we could have terrorists overrunning our country. The whole thing just makes me sad and tired. If you're going to exercise your "right" to vote, please at least do so with some modicum of information beyond a vague yet undefined antipathy towards the current president. BTW Adian, this isn't all directed at you personally but more at the attitude in general so many people hold.
3. This, as I see it, is one of the fundamental flaws of Democracy, or at least Democracy as Americans define it. We have a bunch of people who know very little about the issues or the candidates making decisions about who will become the next president. As long as you're an American, 18+ and not a felon, you get to vote. That's great, but as I alluded above, if you're going to make the effort to vote, perhaps it's worth making the effort to place an INFORMED vote.
Disclaimer: As you may notice from my .sig, I'm a Canadian, yes. So I can't vote in this election. I've lived in the US now for 8+ years and I feel in many ways like this is "my" country. Which is why I feel so much frustration about what I see around me. Finally, for the record, between Bush & Kerry I'd vote for Bush every time. However, between all the options, I'm pretty sure if I could vote, I'd vote for neither. There has to be a better candidate on the ballot SOMEWHERE. However, since I can't vote anyway I haven't taken the time to look.
I'm not the biggest fan of John Kerry, but even I wouldn't wish a LANDSLIDE on him...
1. With so many heroes possessing herculean strength (hence the term "herculean", of course), are there special structural considerations you have to make when designing buildings? I mean, it only takes a few pissed-off Samson types pulling over columns before your "City of Heroes" is more like a "Ruin of Heroes". I realize this may be more a question for the "City of Heroes Chief Engineer" but hey, you're the one answering the questions...
2. Also, do you have the city apportioned off according to ability, cloak colour, age, or what? How do you deal with disagreements between various heroic neighbours? For instance, my cousin Freddy's a hero who lives in the older planned hero community of Superville. His neighbour two doors down is the only one on the block who can fly, and he's always zooming in drunk in the middle of the night, making a racket and showing off. He'd like to move to a neighbourhood where the flying heroes live somewhere else. Just an example.
Eagerly awaiting your responses,
- Andrew.
... It's just pining for the fjords.
Well, I dunno. This one sounds pretty ... err ... cool.
In warm climates like Southern California, they could easily convert the left shoulder and part of a lane of every major freeway into a motorcycle-only lane. They could provide tax incentives for people to purchase and ride motorcycles, and require EVERY driver to take and pass a stringent motorcycle-awareness class.
Motorcycles are cheaper to produce and purchase (overall), use fewer raw materials, less fuel, take up less space on the free way, and, let's face it, are more fun to ride. If we even took 10% of drivers out of SUVs and other vehicles and put them on motorcycles, we'd help reduce congestion, fuel consumption and pollution, as well as putting smile on peoples' faces :-) With a dedicated lane and heightened driver training and awareness, it might even be safer to ride a bike, too.
Of course it will never happen here in litigation-happy USA. Little Billy will crash his stupid ass into an embankment and his mother will sue the "government" for killing him by giving him a tax break to ride a motorcycle. And thus ends another great idea.
I dunno, your comment didn't sound very "evil" to me. How can we be sure you are who you say you are?
I do know exactly what you're saying though; just pointing myself out as the exception to the rule. I laugh at huge rims on SUVs as much as you do.
You're right about the 2.4GHz phone - I bought one and returned it a couple days later. I got a 5.6Ghz DSS model though and it doesn't seem to interfere at all with my 802.11g network. My microwave, cordless phone, wireless LAN and Bluetooth all seem to play very nicely together.
Also, of course, MTBFs for hard drives are tested and calculated in laboratory conditions, and real-world usage data may paint a different picture. More interesting info from http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/whit epapers/WhitePaper_05.htm:
Usually that check is for whether you want it displayed to YOU next time you purchase something. They'll still be keeping it in their databases for communication with their processing bank in the case of voids, chargebacks, multiple auth/capture sets on the same order, etc. So if unchecking the box gives you a sense of added security, that's nice, but it's likely false.
BTW, as far as I know it's legal for companies to store your credit card number and expiration date. This is where strong encryption with the keys stored off the server are of course very important. It's generally against bank rules to store the Card Verification Number (that 3-4 digit code people have started asking for) though for more than a specific period of time.
Regardless, my understanding is that MTBF is the average amount of time a properly maintained item will last up to the point of failure. Wearing out would be a type of failure, wouldn't it?
- Andrew.
The dude's userID 56. Of course he's right and you're wrong. That's all there is to it.
BTW, FWIW, YMMV, etc.
So the moral of my story is, yes, protect your stuff, but a good insurance policy makes for more peace of mind.
Just so you know, every 3.5" drive enclosure I've ever seen requires a separate power supply. 3.5" disks require too much power to be reliably run from USB or firewire. This is one reason why a 2.5" drive solution is much better for portability.
So, take $130 of hardware and add $90 for my time to put the drive in the enclosure, install Mandrake, etc. and it doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me.
To add to the irony of www.wehavethewayout.com, the background image shows what appears to be a way out of a window, whereas the whole point of the site is to show you a way into Windows (TM). Interesting mixed metaphor. Oh well.