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User: Gizzmonic

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Comments · 1,694

  1. What the braap? on Last Chance for Slashdot T-Shirt Contest · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "Residents of Vermont, Arizona, Tennessee and Puerto Rico are not eligible to participate in the Contest.

    Why not?

  2. Re:Troubling. on Linksys and the GPL, Again · · Score: 1

    One of the benefits of using the GPL is that it provides a self-protection mechanism to ensure that Linux is not closed off and fragmented into opaque binary distros.

    So...Linux is instead closed off and fragmented into a jillion open-source distros, many that brag about the difficulty of installation.

    Sorry, but the GPL does not prevent 'forking,' as a matter of fact, it encourages them. Whether you think this is good or bad, you must admit that /etc is a very different place in different Linux distros.

    I prefer the uniformity of other operating systems, it makes me more productive. Yeah, I could 'just use' one Linux distro, but there's nothing that Linux does especially well compared to other operating systems, so I'm constantly trying different distributions. But it ultimately leads to confusion, especially in terms of system preferences and differences between GUI apps.

    It makes me hungry for a pop-tart.

  3. Re:Microsoft shouldn't have been broken up. on Tim O'Reilly Interview · · Score: 1


    There's no way to ethically limit marketshare. Despite what certain types around here might think, consumers determine the marketshare of a company. If you don't buy Product A from Company Foo, Company Foo's marketshare is going to be nothing. If you buy Product A, Company Foo's marketshare increases, naturally.


    Here's how you break up Microsoft:

    Break them into 3 or more companies with all the rights to Microsoft's product line. They all have equal access to everything, and thus, competition is reborn. These new companies will have to be watched, of course, to make sure they don't "share notes," but each would have to actually compete to win competitors.

  4. he bends reality into his own crappy metaphor on The Evolution Of Games · · Score: 1
    I won't list every error here, but it's clear that the metaphor came first, and he had to rewrite video game history to make it seem like his metaphor was correct.

    Most telling is the part about "Gauntlet" and "pump n play" opening up the arcades to the masses.

    Truth is, arcades peaked in about 1983, and it's been all downhill since then (except very recently, when DDR has helped a little). Some people argue that the "continue" function killed the popularity of games, some say the novelty of video games simply wore off, and some say that games got too complex to understand without first reading instructions. It's open to debate, but one thing is for sure: "pump n play" did not in fact open arcades to the masses as this clown asserts.

    Bad metaphor, bad history, and loads of pedantry. Can't say that I enjoyed it!

  5. Too little, too late on Apple Cuts Prices for Educational Customers · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Apple just lost New York City's school district to Dell. Funding cuts are stabbing at the heart of our educational system...as it's the Republican's plan to 'phase out' public education for a voucher system (don't worry about the children who get a crappy education during this period, they'll do fine!).

    In the short term, it seems to make financial sense to drop Apple for Dell. Just like it seems to make financial sense to pass $300 billion in 'tax cuts,' (actually just deferring payments until somebody else is in office). But the board of education will soon find out that the human costs of IT will far outweigh the benefits of a one-time savings.

    All in all, this is just another case of immediate gratification over future growth and stability. Sorry Apple, but the price cuts are hitting hard up against IT propellerheads looking for job security.

  6. Re:Express or Pro? on Apple Offers Discounts to Adobe Premiere Users · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, if you capture an entire tape, you're looking at huge amounts of hard disk space...you get maybe 5 minutes per GB with uncompressed DV.

    Even for a user with lots of hard drive space, that limits your focus. Making a list also saves huge amounts of time.

    If you're a consumer user that's just manipulating small clips anyway, then iMovie is the way to go. I still don't think that FC Express is worth $299...

  7. Re:Express or Pro? on Apple Offers Discounts to Adobe Premiere Users · · Score: 2, Insightful

    two words:

    BATCH CAPTURE.

    In other words, if you're using something that supports device control (like any DV cam), you can run along your tape and mark input and output points, then press the shiny red button and have your editing program do the capturing for you.

    This method saves a lot of time as you don't have to be at the computer every second, nor do you have to ride the "start" and "stop" buttons to get perfect in and out points.

    for some it's not a big deal, but there is no way in hell i'm paying for an editing program that can't do batch capture. i started editing on a controller system (destructive, linear editing) and i'm too spoiled.

    that being said, final cut pro is 10 times better than premiere. but final cut express is just a cash-in. i don't think there's really a need for a program between Final Cut Pro and iMovie, and even if there is, Final Cut Express does NOT get the job done, at least not nearly well enough to be worth $300. Hate to say it, but Premiere has much more features, and if you're gonna spend $300 on an editing program, you may as well plop down $200 more and get Premiere.

  8. Pirate Radio? on Low Power FM Report Rejects Interference Concerns · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think we all know what this report is all about:

    Justification for pirate radio! I highly suggest that anyone and everyone buy a transmitter, and don't just absorb the radio: be the radio!

    Also, read Radio as a Means of Communication, A Talk on the Function of Radio, by Berthold Brecht. He seems to get it.

    The technical aspect of radio modulation has improved over the year. There's no reason why we can't trash FM/AM and adopt a digital technology that uses the same spectrum-that way, we wouldn't even have to trash your antennas.

    Your radio sets would probably be gone though. Oh well, I threw away my old style roller skates when I got some Rollerblades (R). Let's join hands and fart into the future!

  9. And rock n rollers can't make good music past 30 on Marriage May Tame Genius · · Score: 1

    This is study is fully of implied ageism. Seriously, getting married isn't that big of a step anymore...most people live with their spouse before they get married. And now, how's it happening?

  10. Whoa to those who abuse moderation on FreeBSD 5.1 Review and BSD Roundup · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    This is obviously a little too sophisticated for some people here. It might not be a joke about SCO owning/suing everyone, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a right to exist.

    Please exercise caution when moderating, and if you're unsure about what it is, read the moderator guidelines.

    The important thing to ask yourself is: Am I making Slashdot a better place by using this mod point? And if the question is "no" or even "maybe," you should probably spend it one something else. Thanks for reading and have a pleasant morning (or whatever time of day it is, depending on your geometric location).

  11. A great idea on F-Zero Draws Console Gamers To Arcades? · · Score: 1

    Midway did this with some versions of their NFL blitz arcade machines, but they required the N64 memory card for connectivity (and who had that?).

    I like the idea of arcade connectivity much better than Nintendo's current strategy of game boy advance connectivity (I don't want to buy a game boy advance...i have a game boy player, but that doesn't work unless you have 2 gamecubes). This seems like less of a cash-in with more tangible benefits.

  12. Re:YOU NAILED IT! on Linux vs. SCO: The Decision Matrix · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Your post...it's working! I can feel it here, and here!

    I'm all set to conquer the world, now!

  13. post early on Linux vs. SCO: The Decision Matrix · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    and post often, that's what I say! Postliness next to Godliness! A-yup.

  14. Re:Oh Nintendo... on Nintendo Dismisses Online For GC Successor · · Score: 1

    The SegaCD sold 500,000 copies in the US alone. It was the most successful video game add-on in history.

    If you're trying to say that the success of the SegaCD goaded Sega into releasing crap like the 32x, CD-X, and pulling the shenangins they did with the Saturn, then I might agree. But taken on its own, the SegaCD was a hit.

  15. Wellington L.S. da Silva is a known troll on JSP and Tag Libraries for Web Development · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Don't trust him! He goes on Usenet all the time and he dynamically amalgamates posts about Java servlets and HTTP, passing the comments out for his own.

    Sad that this hack actually got a book deal(!). The truth is, I've met Wellington...he's actually a nice man. He lives in Mombasa, and he's happiest when he's on safari. He really fills out field khakis and a pith helmet, let me tell you...

    But if you ever see him on USENET, beware! His foppish charm doth not extend to the virtual realm.

  16. Re:Is n't this normally reserved for MS? on Adobe Drops Mac Support For Premiere · · Score: 1

    Well, "true professionals" is such a loaded term. If you mean people in broadcast, then I tend to agree with you.

    But there are certainly a ton of professionals (such as wedding/event videographers) who are happy using Premiere, FCP, or Avid Xpress DV. I know one person who uses iMovie. I am not convinced that there's a market space between FCP and iMovie. And if there is...Final Cut Express fares far worse than Premiere.

  17. Re:Is n't this normally reserved for MS? on Adobe Drops Mac Support For Premiere · · Score: 1

    Except that it doesn't support batch capture! What a joke, I don't care about other features, but I'm not gonna spend $300 on something that doesn't do batch capture.

    Apple bills Final Cut Express as "Final Cut Pro, for people who work solely in DV" but the truth is, it's missing enough features to be worthless to professionals. Without any color correction or batch capture, you may as well spend your money on an old copy of FCP 3.

    And if you don't need batch capture, then iMovie will probably do you just fine. Final Cut Express is NOT by any stretch of the imagination a better video app than Premiere. It's a cash-in on Apple's part for people who are too stupid to know any better.

  18. Holy crap, we knew this day was coming on Xbox Linux Made Possible Without a Modchip · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Let's watch EX-treeme dating and then masturbate!

  19. Re:I agree with Lexmark on Lexmark DMCA Case Winds On · · Score: 2

    I don't see anything wrong with Lexmark doing something like this to ensure the quality of their inkjet cartridges.

    There's certainly nothing that prevents you or anyone else from marketing your own "refillable" link of inkjets. So do it!

  20. long awaited replacement to RS-232? on Electronic Giants Form CE Linux Forum · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I like this CE Linux idea. Personally, I'm still waiting for a new alternative to the venerable RS-232. USB can't do it since it requires a computer, and Firewire is too expensive still. And yeah, there's all manner of proprietary connections out there, but you have to have a home theater that's made up entirely of one brand (and that really sucks).

    Having a Linux CE (not to be confused with Windows CE =) to work with consumer electronics might be a good idea. So that if my DVD player runs Linux, my TIVO runs Linux, and my TV set runs Linux, I can automate recordings, get them to turn each other on, and that kinda stuff.

    Since Linux is (relatively) free, it shouldn't take it forever to "trickle-down" into consumer-grade stuff. With a little luck, RS-232 device control will go the way of the dodo (/me kicks his old n busted Sony VTR).

  21. Deciphering and the hacker mystique on Cracking the Quicksilver Code · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Although he doesn't seem to understand a lot of the underlying technicalities, Stephenson seems to have a poking hard-on for crytography. The science of "hacking" has become the sexy niece of the more stolid scientific arts, validating anyone who's ever pushed a slide rule or logged on to a serial console.

    Bestselling yarns from Stephenson, Tom Clancy, and others get a lot of praise from geeks. Geeks are usually notoriously persnickety about minutae, but it seems that beloved authors like Stephenson and the late Douglas Adams get a free pass.

    What is it about the relationship between geeks and authors? The author takes a relatively mundane scientific field and uses it as a base for a typical hollywood story, usually betraying his interest and love for the scientific field (sometimes begun in his/her childhood).

    In response, geeks buy the book en masse, and they don't pick apart the bad science (like they usually do in lesser books). They become fans-for-life of the author who has tipped the cap to them.

    So there's like a symbiotic relationship at work. The author who's looking for new frontiers, new avenues of masculinity (a great race car driver is dull and trite, but a great hacker is new and sexy). And the geek who might not have the most exciting job in the world, but he loves it...and he loves his job being validating in a book or movie more than anything else.

    Is this cultural phenomenon unique to the US? Or do the schlocky escapist maestros in Japan, Germany, or Italy mix so well with the taciturn gadgeteers of those locales? It's really an interesting parasocial relationships.

  22. here it is, 3 am on The Sentient Office Is Coming · · Score: 1

    my arm hurts. do i have SARS?

    I'm gonna hitup the bathroom, like now

  23. Re:All of /. in one post. on Hacking the XBox · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    you say that like it was a bad thing...

  24. Re:Lame. on Postal Wins Court Case Brought by USPS · · Score: 1

    I enjoyed your quote. It's my sig now, check it out.

  25. Lame. on Postal Wins Court Case Brought by USPS · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't know which is lamer, the game Postal or the US Postal Service for trying to bring a lawsuit...

    Although I would like to point out that the US postal service has much more utility. You can use any mailbox, and they'll get it there for you.

    It's kind of like a game in itself, like you know, you try not to use the same mailbox for any letter. Like you could just put your bills in the mailbox in front of your house, but that's boring! For fun, how about mailing your gas bill in the one in the mailbox in front of the supermarket, your electric bill in the mailbox in front of the bank, etc etc. The fun never stops! And the mail still gets there, incredibly, no matter which box you choose!

    Once you've done that around your town for a few weeks, you're ready for the big fun. It's time to take a road trip...where? It doesn't matter! North, South, East, West....drive 900 miles and mail a different bill in every town you come across! Why, last Christmas, I mailed my utility bills (due in Texas) from Washington State! And they got there! Amazing, and just a testament to the hardworking men and women who work hard to bring you the absolute uniformity of those true-blue boxes, all marked with "US Mail" and just a sprinkle of magic.

    Thanks, US postal service, for making us laugh about love.