Actually, what I said is "this piece actually sums up the good things about XP -- good device detection, multiple users set up from the install, improved network configuration -- better than anything else I've seen."
The summary of the good things about XP is what it better than I've seen -- I didn't say that those things themselves are groundbreaking:)
FWIW, I agree that the Mac OS is way ahead in most aspects of user interface and ease of setup, and has been since, oh, System 7 or so ;... the Windows 95 = Mac 85 ads had a good point, considering all the nice things the Mac had even way back then.
Macs are great machines -- G4s have the most accessable cases going too -- and until I discovered Free operating systems, I was not interested in PC-clone hardware. Now that there are a few Free OSes that will run on Mac hardware, I may save toward a Mac again.
I can't think of any reason I'd particularly want XP even if I was into Windows.
Completely agreed with you that under the surface (and in the development model, philosophy etc) that XP is full of privacy problems, untouchable code and general hassle anyhow, but that's just not what this article addressed.
... I've found the service to be middlin' but the people on the phone easy to reach, friendly and courteous.
The usual problem with the service I've found (in a small town East of knoxville) is that the cable modem's signal is weak, and sometimes needs to reacquire. Unplug AC to modem, whistle a short song, replug, works again.
A few weeks ago, there was a heavy storm, and the service was up and down and up and down (etc etc). But as you say, it's the only choice in some places for wired high-speed access. One way to know the modem won't work is to turn on the giant diagnostic box with a blue screen. When the cable service is connected, moving images dance across it, with sound. When it's down, the screen just remains blue.
Most people (joe sixpack, joe average, joe professor, all of whom have sisters jane and kids bobby and susie -- my family, the folks down the block, 'normal' people in the world) use a computer as an interesting, more interactive television and storage locker.
They print papers for school, keep addresses handy on (electronic) sticky notes, click on interesting things they see on the web, draw picures, archive photos, send notes, play music -- all the things AT&T commercials want them to do. That's why they bought a computer.
For them, and for more informed computer users, people who spend hours a day at it, the same thing is true... *All operating systems are bad for most people.*
I'm not that familiar with Windows (though I do use it sometimes) because the guts, even the outer guts, of Windows just aren't all that interesting to me compared to other things I'd like to know about in the world. I don't find the windows interface particularly intuitive, and I enjoy learning its particular brand of not being intuitive much less than I do the non-intuitive interfaces to various Linux environments;)
I can see a user who installs an app from one dialogue box expect symmetry in its removal -- "Hey, I hit 'install Bingo' to put it on, so I can hit 'uninstall Bingo' to get it off, right?" -- and their expectation I think would be reasonable. It's not fair or reasonable to expect them to understand the assumptions made by a badly labeled, poorly-placed remove option, especially when programs are put on specifically to hide. (Installation puts on 10 programs, de-installation takes off one... huh?) I've used the de-installer on Windows two or three times, didn't find it all that helpful or intuitive, in keeping with the rest of Windows;)
For computer jocks (like other enthusiasts in any field) things that are esoteric and obscure to the newbie may be obvious, because they have insider's knowledge, have devoted time and study to it. A lot of them seem to think that only they deserve to use computers.
For *most* users, programs like kazaa's spyware tie-in are sufficiently difficult to detect that the users don't even know they're there.
The esoteric aspect of computers are cool -- it's neat to discover how things work (see Gary Brown's site, and ask him to stop submitting every single thing on it to slashdot;)) and to be interested in the inner workings of electronic things, but there's no good reason to expect people to jump in high on the learning curve of computers, and every reason not to.
Ignorance, not stupidity, is what's being preyed on here, and ignorance is curable, but not by osmosis. Bad interfaces make people feel stupid, so they never care to correct their ignorance in favor of doing other things with their time. So they end up with crud software on their disk, and don't feel like learning how or why it got there, have no idea that it's reporting info to others. ("but it would be trivial to monitor the ports that it might --") No. Again -- Jocks, yes. Most users, No. That's what's so slimy about this stuff.
uninstalling Kazaa itself still leaves the reporting-in-sir software hidden on the disk.
That seems like something to bitch about. If the uninstall program doesn't uninstall all components that the installer put on, that's pretty snarky. (And it's sure not confined to sneaky programs -- as I understand it, lots of programs don't uninstall cleanly.)
Most of the sircam victim's email addresses reach mailboxes that are over-quota, probably because people have bounced the thing back to them.
I've been sending the headers and filenames (of the files Sircam has so nicely sent to me) to the sender, yes, in addition to abuse departments. But I guess you're a troll anyhow, so you don't care, do you?:)
When they're alerted that a particular customer's documents are being sent to other users without that user's consent, Yes -- I think it's incumbent on the ISP to take action, not only because they can reduce the spread of the virus, but because their customer's privacy is being violated every time one of their documents is sent out randomly across the internet.
Filtering for it is something that I'd like to be able to choose, but not everyone would. I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about letting their customer know that her files aren't private any more. Especially considering that a lot of the mailboxes belonging to infectees are full (give you one guess why;) ), ISPs are perhaps the best place to contact, or shoud be -- they have the users telephone number, at least generally, and should IMO contact the user to let her know why.
Most people who run Linux (I assert, can't prove but someone can probably cite some numbers quicker than I have time to spend right now) also run Windows. There are some people who never do (a minority), some people who may use Windows for work (Outlook, or custom in-house applications that only run on Windows), others who can't drop the gaming habit with Windows games.
So for all those people who use both, it's a reasonable question -- how much does each cost, and in what form is it paid?
The OEM version is apparently further along than the boxed version, for which there is no publisher yet.
In the short term, it appears that Tux Racer 1.0 will be Windows-only and closed source. What happens after that... happens after that. It's hinted that the 1.0 source code will be released at some point as well. That would be good; I hope it does happen.
Well, No, I didn't really think AV:PD had a shocker ending, but I'm just saying I didn't think 6th Sense or Yawnshank Resumption (sorry... I wanted my money back after that one;) )had endings that were at all surprising. Not that the details were known in advance, but the actual ending was just one of several plausible scenarios, no real disconnect.
I was just kidding about AV:PD! (But Jim C. does make me laugh, banal as many people find his physical comedy.)
To tell the truth, I thought Ace Ventura: Pet Detective had more of a shock ending than Shawshank Redeption or the 6th Sense... tell me you didn't get the idea that Willis was dead throughout 6th Sense?
I'm trying to think of better examples of shock endings though without much success.
What Lies Beneath had a little shocker toward the end, I'd day. There's a movie about Voodoo / Santeria starring Charlie Sheen ("The Believers"? I dunno English title, saw it only in German) which has what I thought was a pretty gruesome shocking ending. And unlike Angelheart, it was much less strongly hinted at. Angelheart though -- YOIKS! Scary movie.
A nameless, spineless, quivering hunk of sea-jelly (just kidding, I see the smiley!) wrote: "You'd written this beforehand, hadn't you?;)"
No, but perhaps I should have. I didn't know this beta was out until I saw the story on the page and started reading the comments.
Since it's a predictable genre of comment whenever software releases are mentioned on/., perhaps I should just keep it handy for easy changing and pasting! Complaining that slashdot is too much like freshmeat is sort of silly, IMO... completely different types of forum, even when the subjects overlap. Plus, the people who work on freshmeat are weird.
Added to which, there's just something weirdly negative about complaining when something in the world doesn't perfectly conform to some arbitrary vision of what it *should* be based on prior experiences... if you visit a place (IRL, on the web, in reading an involving book, whatever)it should strike you as odd if things *aren't* different, if there aren't signs of change and vitality. Otherwise, we could just pick the Ultimate Average Slashdot Story and just run it every 58.7 minutes, and robotically post averaged-out comments, applying averaged-out moderation points...
that would be boring and dumb;)
(note -- by 'places in the world' I mean ones not under your own direct complete control -- it would be weird to come home and find Weird Al feeding your kitten anchovies from a tin, especially if you don't have a kitten already.)
At least, if you're saying that Slashdot reports "EVERY NEW SOFTWARE RELEASE!!!";)
In fact, relatively few software releases reach Slashdot (a few more if you count the sections, where slightly more esoteric releases might reach, say, the Apache section).
A 1.0 version (OK, a 1.0 beta in this case) of what is one of the most-awaited pieces of software in the Free software world is not the typical announcement you'd find on Freshmeat -- are you nodding along with me, or shaking your head in disagreement?
Yesterday, Freshmeat listed around 70 pieces of software, and doubtless other sites (like the apps page of KDE, or the recent software of GNOME's site) listed apps which were not also listed at freshmeat. Some of that software is probably just as interesting overall as Evolution, and a lot of smaller pieces are certainly interesting when viewed for what they might turn into (sound aps plus video aps, some cool possibilities for the near future).
Slashdot has a lot of other types of stories, but heck, since a lot of people here are interested in Free / Open Source software, is it not appropriate that occasionally we mention... Free / Open Source software?
Also, completely serious, if you know of stories you'd rather see here, submit them:). That's where the vast majority of stories on this site come from. A lot of people pointed out the release of Evolution, and besides, it's something that's been the topic of both excitement and criticism for a long time. Outside of mailing lists, how many other places do you get to see comments from Miguel explaining in near-real time his company's software / plans? I think that's pretty cool.
And as a last resort, you can also choose not to see the stories in categories where software might be announced or talked about; just go to your user preferences. I'm personally glad to see this announcement here (just logged in after 4 hours of driving), but tastes differ violently. If we had a "sports" section, I'd probably block that;)
An appropriately anonymous coward wrote: "'When will unmetered low-earth satellite coverage get here instead?' jesus christ, you're not willing to pay for ANYTHING, are you. No wonder Ricochet went under."
Uhh... actually, I'd be happy to pay for unmetered low-earth orbit satellite coverage. Which is why I named that. Why do you think?:)
Right now I'm paying for two types of connectivity (well, depending on how you count, paying for a few others as well), but that's what I'd really like. Not this dollars-per-MB, limited coverage stuff.
If Ricochet was available over even 60% of the country (and including my primary places of residence) I would happily pay what they were asking for it, even slightly more.
Who knows how accurate my GPS is? Soundslike it did about as well as I'd expect;)
There are blackberries growing just off the backyard here, and the area is not yet converted into 100% suburban wasteland. (Though this development is certainly doing its part... oh well.) Since I'm not a golfer nor have any burning desire to become one, the hat you see is not mine. Whereas if you'd had a camera on a certain spot a few miles southeast of here on the 4th of July you might have gotten some good aerial shots;)
my favorite candidate withdrew from the race. She was all the good things that you'd hope a girl to be (pretty, smart, nice, funny, etc) except (despite hints otherwise) into me.
Wasn't me -- I think those cruisers are pretty hideous. (And automatic transmission, too.)
I like my 95 escort a lot better than that -- if I were to win a cruiser in a contest, I'd sell it immediately (but not disassembled) and put the money into a nice trip to Nepal and an engagement ring for Ms. Right.
I wouldn't mind it, and I've seen a few choices under a grand (including used) which have been tempting. However, the BikeE was $500 (demo unit) and available, and served me well as a commuter bike for a while. Right now the gears are a little locked up and the brakes less than perfect, but soon I will seek out a bike shop to fix those things;)
A nice Vision would be the next step probably, but I do like certain trikes... I'd like to ride across the country one day, and really I wouldn't object to the Bike E for that. In the meantime, I'll test-ride a few others and save up my money;)
timothy
that Brinkman is nice, really
on
LED Flashlights
·
· Score: 1
I paid the usual early adopter price and bought a few of the Holly Solar lights -- while they're nice enough, a) they were expensive and b) the one-LED brinkman blows away even the 3-LED Holly light for beam quality.
I understand that Holly's lights now have better reflectors (mine are around 2 years old), but boy, for what I paid for those, I wish I had a brinkman to give to all my friends;)
Minor gripes about the brinkman (and most flashlights, really):
a) too round -- rolls away easily. I have not yet added any sort of bumper system to prevent this, and hey, round is aesthetically pleasing, I must admit.
b) a screw-in filter adapter would be nice. White light is at least a good choice to start from, and I suppose it wouldn't be hard to jury-rig in an amber or red filter... but it would be a nice improvement to have a decent system for that built in.
c) the bottom mounted switch is not recessed enough, and the thing can't be set upright as a "candle mode."
d) the diameter. It's not a bad feel, but hard to use headmounted etc.
You probably know about Steve Roberts and his various tricked-out vehicles, but they're always worth a mention:)
that's at http://www.microship.com/ (microship.com) and sheesh, this guy deserves even more than the ample attention he gets:)
I like my lo-end bikeE though, only wish it was more of a true recumbent, which I have not yet had a chance to ride. But they certainly look even more comfortable than mine:) I'm leaving now to get my GPS receiver, which I have determined will be a magellan GPS315, for better or worse. $150 at local walmart.*
I have the twiddler, and something like a vaio picturebook would add little to the weight of the bike... really, it's reasonable access that's missing. Merlin sucks (sorry, Verizon -- YOU SUCK, your coverage map is a transparent lie, and your customer service reps aren't paid enough to pretend to care), ricochet is spotty if speedy, and the 2-way satellite links require stock-stillness. When there is affordable, ubiquitous, unmetered wireless access (hey, I'd settle for North America, even a nice broad swatch of it!), *then* I could bike to work, and just keep biking...
timothy
*I know some people hate walmart, and they have their reasons. I happen to rather like the place, especially to watch how formerly esoteric technology trickles into widely accessable retail stores.
The phoney "consumer demand" I complained about is the sort that contrives features, then tries to justify them as "what people want."
The Mandrake donations thing I consider genuine and positive -- they actually *are* providing a good means to simultaneously gather / understand what people want and actually help effect it. It makes good sense to me, and I've been seeing it for a little while mentioned on mandrakeforum as well.
Slashdot Mirror
I guess it was Windows 95 = Mac 89.
;)
Point the same though
timothy
Actually, what I said is "this piece actually sums up the good things about XP -- good device detection, multiple users set up from the install, improved network configuration -- better than anything else I've seen."
:)
... the Windows 95 = Mac 85 ads had a good point, considering all the nice things the Mac had even way back then.
The summary of the good things about XP is what it better than I've seen -- I didn't say that those things themselves are groundbreaking
FWIW, I agree that the Mac OS is way ahead in most aspects of user interface and ease of setup, and has been since, oh, System 7 or so ;
Macs are great machines -- G4s have the most accessable cases going too -- and until I discovered Free operating systems, I was not interested in PC-clone hardware. Now that there are a few Free OSes that will run on Mac hardware, I may save toward a Mac again.
timothy
cavemanf16 --
I can't think of any reason I'd particularly want XP even if I was into Windows.
Completely agreed with you that under the surface (and in the development model, philosophy etc) that XP is full of privacy problems, untouchable code and general hassle anyhow, but that's just not what this article addressed.
timothy
... I've found the service to be middlin' but the people on the phone easy to reach, friendly and courteous.
The usual problem with the service I've found (in a small town East of knoxville) is that the cable modem's signal is weak, and sometimes needs to reacquire. Unplug AC to modem, whistle a short song, replug, works again.
A few weeks ago, there was a heavy storm, and the service was up and down and up and down (etc etc). But as you say, it's the only choice in some places for wired high-speed access. One way to know the modem won't work is to turn on the giant diagnostic box with a blue screen. When the cable service is connected, moving images dance across it, with sound. When it's down, the screen just remains blue.
timothy
Just tell them, No, I don't want the OS installed, can you please deduct that cost from the machine, since I won't be needing a license?
timothy
Most people (joe sixpack, joe average, joe professor, all of whom have sisters jane and kids bobby and susie -- my family, the folks down the block, 'normal' people in the world) use a computer as an interesting, more interactive television and storage locker.
... *All operating systems are bad for most people.*
;)
... huh?) I've used the de-installer on Windows two or three times, didn't find it all that helpful or intuitive, in keeping with the rest of Windows ;)
They print papers for school, keep addresses handy on (electronic) sticky notes, click on interesting things they see on the web, draw picures, archive photos, send notes, play music -- all the things AT&T commercials want them to do. That's why they bought a computer.
For them, and for more informed computer users, people who spend hours a day at it, the same thing is true
I'm not that familiar with Windows (though I do use it sometimes) because the guts, even the outer guts, of Windows just aren't all that interesting to me compared to other things I'd like to know about in the world. I don't find the windows interface particularly intuitive, and I enjoy learning its particular brand of not being intuitive much less than I do the non-intuitive interfaces to various Linux environments
I can see a user who installs an app from one dialogue box expect symmetry in its removal -- "Hey, I hit 'install Bingo' to put it on, so I can hit 'uninstall Bingo' to get it off, right?" -- and their expectation I think would be reasonable. It's not fair or reasonable to expect them to understand the assumptions made by a badly labeled, poorly-placed remove option, especially when programs are put on specifically to hide. (Installation puts on 10 programs, de-installation takes off one
For computer jocks (like other enthusiasts in any field) things that are esoteric and obscure to the newbie may be obvious, because they have insider's knowledge, have devoted time and study to it. A lot of them seem to think that only they deserve to use computers.
For *most* users, programs like kazaa's spyware tie-in are sufficiently difficult to detect that the users don't even know they're there.
The esoteric aspect of computers are cool -- it's neat to discover how things work (see Gary Brown's site, and ask him to stop submitting every single thing on it to slashdot;)) and to be interested in the inner workings of electronic things, but there's no good reason to expect people to jump in high on the learning curve of computers, and every reason not to.
Ignorance, not stupidity, is what's being preyed on here, and ignorance is curable, but not by osmosis. Bad interfaces make people feel stupid, so they never care to correct their ignorance in favor of doing other things with their time. So they end up with crud software on their disk, and don't feel like learning how or why it got there, have no idea that it's reporting info to others. ("but it would be trivial to monitor the ports that it might --") No. Again -- Jocks, yes. Most users, No. That's what's so slimy about this stuff.
timothy
uninstalling Kazaa itself still leaves the reporting-in-sir software hidden on the disk.
That seems like something to bitch about. If the uninstall program doesn't uninstall all components that the installer put on, that's pretty snarky. (And it's sure not confined to sneaky programs -- as I understand it, lots of programs don't uninstall cleanly.)
timothy
Most of the sircam victim's email addresses reach mailboxes that are over-quota, probably because people have bounced the thing back to them.
:)
I've been sending the headers and filenames (of the files Sircam has so nicely sent to me) to the sender, yes, in addition to abuse departments. But I guess you're a troll anyhow, so you don't care, do you?
timothy
When they're alerted that a particular customer's documents are being sent to other users without that user's consent, Yes -- I think it's incumbent on the ISP to take action, not only because they can reduce the spread of the virus, but because their customer's privacy is being violated every time one of their documents is sent out randomly across the internet.
;) ), ISPs are perhaps the best place to contact, or shoud be -- they have the users telephone number, at least generally, and should IMO contact the user to let her know why.
Filtering for it is something that I'd like to be able to choose, but not everyone would. I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about letting their customer know that her files aren't private any more. Especially considering that a lot of the mailboxes belonging to infectees are full (give you one guess why
timothy
Most people who run Linux (I assert, can't prove but someone can probably cite some numbers quicker than I have time to spend right now) also run Windows. There are some people who never do (a minority), some people who may use Windows for work (Outlook, or custom in-house applications that only run on Windows), others who can't drop the gaming habit with Windows games.
So for all those people who use both, it's a reasonable question -- how much does each cost, and in what form is it paid?
timothy
The OEM version is apparently further along than the boxed version, for which there is no publisher yet.
... happens after that. It's hinted that the 1.0 source code will be released at some point as well. That would be good; I hope it does happen.
In the short term, it appears that Tux Racer 1.0 will be Windows-only and closed source. What happens after that
timothy
Well, No, I didn't really think AV:PD had a shocker ending, but I'm just saying I didn't think 6th Sense or Yawnshank Resumption (sorry ... I wanted my money back after that one;) )had endings that were at all surprising. Not that the details were known in advance, but the actual ending was just one of several plausible scenarios, no real disconnect.
I was just kidding about AV:PD! (But Jim C. does make me laugh, banal as many people find his physical comedy.)
timothy
To tell the truth, I thought Ace Ventura: Pet Detective had more of a shock ending than Shawshank Redeption or the 6th Sense ... tell me you didn't get the idea that Willis was dead throughout 6th Sense?
I'm trying to think of better examples of shock endings though without much success.
What Lies Beneath had a little shocker toward the end, I'd day. There's a movie about Voodoo / Santeria starring Charlie Sheen ("The Believers"? I dunno English title, saw it only in German) which has what I thought was a pretty gruesome shocking ending. And unlike Angelheart, it was much less strongly hinted at. Angelheart though -- YOIKS! Scary movie.
Maybe tablets, actually.
Cartoons! Cartoons! I bet they're not drawing them with TeX.
("Arrrh -- why we didn't have 'pens' in my day -- we had to make do with elaborate descriptions and charcoal-tipped bones, and we *liked* it!")
timothy
A nameless, spineless, quivering hunk of sea-jelly (just kidding, I see the smiley!) wrote: "You'd written this beforehand, hadn't you? ;)"
/., perhaps I should just keep it handy for easy changing and pasting! Complaining that slashdot is too much like freshmeat is sort of silly, IMO ... completely different types of forum, even when the subjects overlap. Plus, the people who work on freshmeat are weird.
... if you visit a place (IRL, on the web, in reading an involving book, whatever)it should strike you as odd if things *aren't* different, if there aren't signs of change and vitality. Otherwise, we could just pick the Ultimate Average Slashdot Story and just run it every 58.7 minutes, and robotically post averaged-out comments, applying averaged-out moderation points ...
;)
No, but perhaps I should have. I didn't know this beta was out until I saw the story on the page and started reading the comments.
Since it's a predictable genre of comment whenever software releases are mentioned on
Added to which, there's just something weirdly negative about complaining when something in the world doesn't perfectly conform to some arbitrary vision of what it *should* be based on prior experiences
that would be boring and dumb
(note -- by 'places in the world' I mean ones not under your own direct complete control -- it would be weird to come home and find Weird Al feeding your kitten anchovies from a tin, especially if you don't have a kitten already.)
Anyhow.
timothy
In fact, relatively few software releases reach Slashdot (a few more if you count the sections, where slightly more esoteric releases might reach, say, the Apache section).
A 1.0 version (OK, a 1.0 beta in this case) of what is one of the most-awaited pieces of software in the Free software world is not the typical announcement you'd find on Freshmeat -- are you nodding along with me, or shaking your head in disagreement?
Yesterday, Freshmeat listed around 70 pieces of software, and doubtless other sites (like the apps page of KDE, or the recent software of GNOME's site) listed apps which were not also listed at freshmeat. Some of that software is probably just as interesting overall as Evolution, and a lot of smaller pieces are certainly interesting when viewed for what they might turn into (sound aps plus video aps, some cool possibilities for the near future).
Slashdot has a lot of other types of stories, but heck, since a lot of people here are interested in Free / Open Source software, is it not appropriate that occasionally we mention ... Free / Open Source software?
Also, completely serious, if you know of stories you'd rather see here, submit them :). That's where the vast majority of stories on this site come from. A lot of people pointed out the release of Evolution, and besides, it's something that's been the topic of both excitement and criticism for a long time. Outside of mailing lists, how many other places do you get to see comments from Miguel explaining in near-real time his company's software / plans? I think that's pretty cool.
And as a last resort, you can also choose not to see the stories in categories where software might be announced or talked about; just go to your user preferences. I'm personally glad to see this announcement here (just logged in after 4 hours of driving), but tastes differ violently. If we had a "sports" section, I'd probably block that ;)
Cheers,
timothy
Christianfreak wrote:
:)
""Low budgets, encouraging volunteer participants -- now that's the way to run a space program!"
I would defenatly agree, but why do we have so much ranting here about NASA's low budget?"
Well, you won't hear that from me
I don't think the government should be in the space business at all, except insamuch as it is necessary for national defense.
Darnit.
timothy
Uhh ... actually, I'd be happy to pay for unmetered low-earth orbit satellite coverage. Which is why I named that. Why do you think? :)
Right now I'm paying for two types of connectivity (well, depending on how you count, paying for a few others as well), but that's what I'd really like. Not this dollars-per-MB, limited coverage stuff.
If Ricochet was available over even 60% of the country (and including my primary places of residence) I would happily pay what they were asking for it, even slightly more.
But since I suppose that was a troll anyhow ...
timothy
Who knows how accurate my GPS is? Soundslike it did about as well as I'd expect;)
... oh well.) Since I'm not a golfer nor have any burning desire to become one, the hat you see is not mine. Whereas if you'd had a camera on a certain spot a few miles southeast of here on the 4th of July you might have gotten some good aerial shots ;)
There are blackberries growing just off the backyard here, and the area is not yet converted into 100% suburban wasteland. (Though this development is certainly doing its part
Cheers,
timothy
my favorite candidate withdrew from the race. She was all the good things that you'd hope a girl to be (pretty, smart, nice, funny, etc) except (despite hints otherwise) into me.
Taking suggestions.
timothy
Wasn't me -- I think those cruisers are pretty hideous. (And automatic transmission, too.)
I like my 95 escort a lot better than that -- if I were to win a cruiser in a contest, I'd sell it immediately (but not disassembled) and put the money into a nice trip to Nepal and an engagement ring for Ms. Right.
Just to clarify things.
timothy
I wouldn't mind it, and I've seen a few choices under a grand (including used) which have been tempting. However, the BikeE was $500 (demo unit) and available, and served me well as a commuter bike for a while. Right now the gears are a little locked up and the brakes less than perfect, but soon I will seek out a bike shop to fix those things;)
... I'd like to ride across the country one day, and really I wouldn't object to the Bike E for that. In the meantime, I'll test-ride a few others and save up my money;)
A nice Vision would be the next step probably, but I do like certain trikes
timothy
I paid the usual early adopter price and bought a few of the Holly Solar lights -- while they're nice enough, a) they were expensive and b) the one-LED brinkman blows away even the 3-LED Holly light for beam quality.
... but it would be a nice improvement to have a decent system for that built in.
I understand that Holly's lights now have better reflectors (mine are around 2 years old), but boy, for what I paid for those, I wish I had a brinkman to give to all my friends;)
Minor gripes about the brinkman (and most flashlights, really):
a) too round -- rolls away easily. I have not yet added any sort of bumper system to prevent this, and hey, round is aesthetically pleasing, I must admit.
b) a screw-in filter adapter would be nice. White light is at least a good choice to start from, and I suppose it wouldn't be hard to jury-rig in an amber or red filter
c) the bottom mounted switch is not recessed enough, and the thing can't be set upright as a "candle mode."
d) the diameter. It's not a bad feel, but hard to use headmounted etc.
timothy
You probably know about Steve Roberts and his various tricked-out vehicles, but they're always worth a mention :)
:)
:) I'm leaving now to get my GPS receiver, which I have determined will be a magellan GPS315, for better or worse. $150 at local walmart.*
... really, it's reasonable access that's missing. Merlin sucks (sorry, Verizon -- YOU SUCK, your coverage map is a transparent lie, and your customer service reps aren't paid enough to pretend to care), ricochet is spotty if speedy, and the 2-way satellite links require stock-stillness. When there is affordable, ubiquitous, unmetered wireless access (hey, I'd settle for North America, even a nice broad swatch of it!), *then* I could bike to work, and just keep biking ...
that's at http://www.microship.com/ (microship.com) and sheesh, this guy deserves even more than the ample attention he gets
I like my lo-end bikeE though, only wish it was more of a true recumbent, which I have not yet had a chance to ride. But they certainly look even more comfortable than mine
I have the twiddler, and something like a vaio picturebook would add little to the weight of the bike
timothy
*I know some people hate walmart, and they have their reasons. I happen to rather like the place, especially to watch how formerly esoteric technology trickles into widely accessable retail stores.
The phoney "consumer demand" I complained about is the sort that contrives features, then tries to justify them as "what people want."
The Mandrake donations thing I consider genuine and positive -- they actually *are* providing a good means to simultaneously gather / understand what people want and actually help effect it. It makes good sense to me, and I've been seeing it for a little while mentioned on mandrakeforum as well.
timothy