1.) I would've cut my losses at approximately -1. Did any doctor tell you the risks of having a "touch-up"? A lot of people I've talked to say you can never get your vision "perfect" through surgery, but can get it well enough to see most objects without glasses.
2.) The site you mentioned, while informative, seems to have a very dated story. The guy's diary mentions procedures in early 1990s. As far as I know, lasik changed dramatically since then. IANAES (I am not an eye surgeon) but I'd think some of the stuff he issues he mentioned are now muted.
"Where do you think the bulk of those compromised machines reside?"
You're going to tell me that spammers use Earthlink's SMTP servers (for example) instead of setting up their own on compromised boxes? Sure, the machines may be on Earthlink's network, but they're not using Earthlink's mail servers to send out their garbage.
This "caller ID", from what I understand, will identify Earthlink's main SMTP servers as legitimate, while marking all the compromised machines as illegitimate. Earthlink may also allow some clients to mark their servers as legitimate. However, any other "servers" that show up on Earthlink's network will be marked as illegitimate, and their mail will be held to greater scrunity.
Yes, it's a pain in the ass to administrate, particularly with small ISPs (I'm surprised you guys still exist). I'm not looking forward to adding my company's email servers. But it's a step in the right direction (and should've been taken years ago).
Uh, no. Release candidate means "This is a version we think is close to done, but KNOW isn't. It's close to final." They even refer to it as beta software on the site, and MS goes out of their way to prevent people installing it on the perceived basis that it's stable.
That's why there's usually (almost always) more than one RC: to get a feel for what's happening outside the test environments. Also, this is 5 different machines tested by one company. That's not indicative of the thousands of other machines the service pack is being tested on, so "40% failure rate" (60% success rate, not 60% failure rate as you mentioned) isn't really accurate anyway.
In my own tests, I've seen SP2 work well on a variety of machines. I've also seen it crash an Athlon 64 rig horrifically. I'm not pleased with that at all, and it better be fixed, but I certainly wasn't expecting every computer to work right with SP2.
"Ultimately, this is bad. It makes the largest ISPs, who can afford to offer SMTP and all other services, easier to work with, and the smaller guys have more of an administrative overhead to keep up with DNS management."
You're missing the point. Most spammers don't use large ISPs (and if they do, they certainly don't use their mail services, unless they want to be caught almost immediately). The bulk of spam out there is being sent by compromised home machines and quickly set-up workstations. In other words, "the smaller guys".
Yes, this will be a headache for smaller ISPs. Hell, it'll be a headache for anyone who runs a mail server. But almost all security requires headaches to initially set up. I'd much rather have a few initial months of confusion over setup than having to consistently and aggravatingly clean out my inbox every few hours of my life.
None of the products you mentioned use the cord as the selling point. The whole point of the Apple setup is ease of use. Selling a product where one of the main features requires an additional part is bad business.
I read a post on Anandtech that referred to ATI cards as "the poor man's video card", and it was essentially correct. Over time, their cards tend to become cheaper than nVidia's in the same generation, and are usually easier to overclock.
However, if you don't have the time or inclination to overclock, nVidia usually is the better choice (particularly for image quality). This is particularly evident this generation.
That said, I wouldn't count ATI out. They're doing the graphics chipsets for both the next GameCube AND Xbox. They've made real inroads, particurally with younger gamers who can't afford $400 video cards. You're right: they don't have the features. But they have tremendous mindshare right now.
That said, I'm extremely happy with my 6800GT. The quality it outputs is amazing (FarCry looks particularly great), and I think I made a solid purchase.
"The handwriting recognition software was not installed on the unit that we received"
Then it wasn't a Tablet PC. MS Tablet PC's have built-in (although not too great) handwriting recognition.
Although, MS has never made that the selling point. The selling point was that you could edit/doodle your thoughts on already existing documents/email/etc. That's why Onenote was so crucial (and why I wonder they don't ship it as part of the standard Tablet PC software suite).
Quite frankly, I can't see an executive using something like this at all. A writer, on the other hand (like myself) like to explore this kind of stuff. It isn't there yet, but it's a good overall idea.
And yet Blizzard, arguably the most successful PC gaming company of all time, continually releases games that require average hardware or only slightly above-average hardware. You didn't need the world's best machine to play StarCraft/WarCraft 3/Diablo II when they came out. And yet they're still being played today regularly (try to say the same about Quake II).
"Translation: "God damn it I should've waited a little while longer and gotten 5 more gigs, new firmware, and a better case design for the same price""
Not really. I could care less about the 5 GB, the case isn't better (in my opinion) and why should I care about the firmware?
I agree with Taco. I just bought my first iPod last week, and I don't really see anything amazing with this one. Battery life? I'm not having any problems with mine. Button design? I LIKE the button design on the current 15 GB iPod (makes pressing buttons through pants pockets easier). The only thing I could've used was an extra 5 GB of space, but I'm having trouble filling 15 GB with music as it is (I'm using the extra space to store DVDs).
I'm not really sure why NewsWeek (or Slashdot) feels that this story needed to be front page. Vindication of the success of the iPod? We already knew about that. Call me when they make a video one.:)
Congratulations. No, seriously. Mainstreaming online gaming is anything but a small feat. I have Xbox Live (along with PS2 online and play PC games online) and aside from Blizzard games, Xbox Live commands my most online gaming attention.
"But one should not compare Macs to $200 piece of junk since Apple doesn't make low quality computers."
Eh. I disagree. I recently bought an iBook and iPod. Cool design, but the iBook's battery doesn't sit flush with the case (look it up in Google) and my iPod gave me a magnifying disk icon last night -- after 3 days of use. There was also that issue with the stereo component disconnecting internally.
I'm not saying their products fall apart: I imagine most don't. But when you pay extra for design, you kind of expect the design to be the best it can be.
Morality this and that, the rest of us will buy an Xbox 2. Why? Good games you can't get anywhere else, just like GC, just like PS. Gamers will buy all 3 (like they did this round) and we'll all be happy.
"The problem with these laws is that they really create abusable monopolies"
You know, I'm not really sure where people get this from. Laws like these have never really been tested. What company, for example, maintains a monopoly on CD DRM? Or digital signatures? None that I know of (although I'd be interested in hearing about one).
"Theft means that your 'victim' starts out having something, and ends up not having it anymore."
Funny, that's not the definition at all.
Steal:
1. To take (the property of another) without right or permission. 2. To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully
Look at defintion 2. In other words, if I have a conversation with Quintin Tarrantino about some movie idea involving a "bride" who avenges murders, and I tell him not to take it and make it into a major motion picture, and he does, that's stealing.
If the recording industry says "don't copy X product, that's stealing" (which is correct by the above defintion) and you attempt to do it with X product, guess what?
If you haven't played all the various incarnations of UT on Linux (including the latest, which has the cute Tux logo right on the box) you're solely missing out on a great gaming experience.
Just an FYI.. I used to write for a variety of gaming rags. PC Gamer is known (hell, famous) for reviewing beta software as "official". Considering the game just went gold, I can't imagine they have anything better than a release candidate.
A lot can change between RC and gold. Stability, performance. Things can actually get worse. I would take their reviews with a heavy dose of Sodium Chloride.
Eh. I've found there's something about watching TV and movies on a computer that just doesn't "feel right". I recently purchased a 20" LCD for the box I built, and it pales in comparison to my 40" HDTV.
On the other hand, movies on a laptop rock. I love taking my iBook to bed and watch episodes of MST3K. In that instance, I think it's better than a bedroom TV.
"Windows' (The OS) horrific boot-loading/suspend/power-management stability issue.
In OSX, no such problem exists: the system is stable, and manages its power in such a way that it need not interfere with instant-on operation."
Really? I have both Windows XP and OS X laptops and they boot from power-save near identically. In fact, the OS X one is a little trickier, in that there's some kind of a timeout value (I don't know where to set it) that controls how long the password screen stays up. Often I'll start the machine, step away for a second and find it went back to sleep.
Well, that and everything up to 10.2 didn't require a password screen to boot up, which was just silly. Oh, and ever trying closing the case while iTunes's full screen visualization is running? Good luck entering your password when you come back (it doesn't always show the dialog box!)
I think it's too early to call this a failure. CD players and fax machines didn't take off initially, yet you can go into any electronics store nowadays and find both. Tablet PCs will take off when they get lighter and the performance gap between them and laptops closes.
Slashdot Mirror
Two points:
1.) I would've cut my losses at approximately -1. Did any doctor tell you the risks of having a "touch-up"? A lot of people I've talked to say you can never get your vision "perfect" through surgery, but can get it well enough to see most objects without glasses.
2.) The site you mentioned, while informative, seems to have a very dated story. The guy's diary mentions procedures in early 1990s. As far as I know, lasik changed dramatically since then. IANAES (I am not an eye surgeon) but I'd think some of the stuff he issues he mentioned are now muted.
"Where do you think the bulk of those compromised machines reside?"
You're going to tell me that spammers use Earthlink's SMTP servers (for example) instead of setting up their own on compromised boxes? Sure, the machines may be on Earthlink's network, but they're not using Earthlink's mail servers to send out their garbage.
This "caller ID", from what I understand, will identify Earthlink's main SMTP servers as legitimate, while marking all the compromised machines as illegitimate. Earthlink may also allow some clients to mark their servers as legitimate. However, any other "servers" that show up on Earthlink's network will be marked as illegitimate, and their mail will be held to greater scrunity.
Yes, it's a pain in the ass to administrate, particularly with small ISPs (I'm surprised you guys still exist). I'm not looking forward to adding my company's email servers. But it's a step in the right direction (and should've been taken years ago).
Uh, no. Release candidate means "This is a version we think is close to done, but KNOW isn't. It's close to final." They even refer to it as beta software on the site, and MS goes out of their way to prevent people installing it on the perceived basis that it's stable.
That's why there's usually (almost always) more than one RC: to get a feel for what's happening outside the test environments. Also, this is 5 different machines tested by one company. That's not indicative of the thousands of other machines the service pack is being tested on, so "40% failure rate" (60% success rate, not 60% failure rate as you mentioned) isn't really accurate anyway.
In my own tests, I've seen SP2 work well on a variety of machines. I've also seen it crash an Athlon 64 rig horrifically. I'm not pleased with that at all, and it better be fixed, but I certainly wasn't expecting every computer to work right with SP2.
"Ultimately, this is bad. It makes the largest ISPs, who can afford to offer SMTP and all other services, easier to work with, and the smaller guys have more of an administrative overhead to keep up with DNS management."
You're missing the point. Most spammers don't use large ISPs (and if they do, they certainly don't use their mail services, unless they want to be caught almost immediately). The bulk of spam out there is being sent by compromised home machines and quickly set-up workstations. In other words, "the smaller guys".
Yes, this will be a headache for smaller ISPs. Hell, it'll be a headache for anyone who runs a mail server. But almost all security requires headaches to initially set up. I'd much rather have a few initial months of confusion over setup than having to consistently and aggravatingly clean out my inbox every few hours of my life.
None of the products you mentioned use the cord as the selling point. The whole point of the Apple setup is ease of use. Selling a product where one of the main features requires an additional part is bad business.
I read a post on Anandtech that referred to ATI cards as "the poor man's video card", and it was essentially correct. Over time, their cards tend to become cheaper than nVidia's in the same generation, and are usually easier to overclock.
However, if you don't have the time or inclination to overclock, nVidia usually is the better choice (particularly for image quality). This is particularly evident this generation.
That said, I wouldn't count ATI out. They're doing the graphics chipsets for both the next GameCube AND Xbox. They've made real inroads, particurally with younger gamers who can't afford $400 video cards. You're right: they don't have the features. But they have tremendous mindshare right now.
That said, I'm extremely happy with my 6800GT. The quality it outputs is amazing (FarCry looks particularly great), and I think I made a solid purchase.
"First of all, lots of people still pay Quake 2."
I stopped there. If you think the number of people playing Quake 2 is anywhere near StarCraft, you're quite mistaken.
"The handwriting recognition software was not installed on the unit that we received"
Then it wasn't a Tablet PC. MS Tablet PC's have built-in (although not too great) handwriting recognition.
Although, MS has never made that the selling point. The selling point was that you could edit/doodle your thoughts on already existing documents/email/etc. That's why Onenote was so crucial (and why I wonder they don't ship it as part of the standard Tablet PC software suite).
Quite frankly, I can't see an executive using something like this at all. A writer, on the other hand (like myself) like to explore this kind of stuff. It isn't there yet, but it's a good overall idea.
And yet Blizzard, arguably the most successful PC gaming company of all time, continually releases games that require average hardware or only slightly above-average hardware. You didn't need the world's best machine to play StarCraft/WarCraft 3/Diablo II when they came out. And yet they're still being played today regularly (try to say the same about Quake II).
"Translation: "God damn it I should've waited a little while longer and gotten 5 more gigs, new firmware, and a better case design for the same price""
Not really. I could care less about the 5 GB, the case isn't better (in my opinion) and why should I care about the firmware?
I agree with Taco. I just bought my first iPod last week, and I don't really see anything amazing with this one. Battery life? I'm not having any problems with mine. Button design? I LIKE the button design on the current 15 GB iPod (makes pressing buttons through pants pockets easier). The only thing I could've used was an extra 5 GB of space, but I'm having trouble filling 15 GB with music as it is (I'm using the extra space to store DVDs).
:)
I'm not really sure why NewsWeek (or Slashdot) feels that this story needed to be front page. Vindication of the success of the iPod? We already knew about that. Call me when they make a video one.
Several months delayed. Although, the same could be said about iTunes. Predictions are never reliable.
Congratulations. No, seriously. Mainstreaming online gaming is anything but a small feat. I have Xbox Live (along with PS2 online and play PC games online) and aside from Blizzard games, Xbox Live commands my most online gaming attention.
P.S. Don't screw this up.
"But one should not compare Macs to $200 piece of junk since Apple doesn't make low quality computers."
Eh. I disagree. I recently bought an iBook and iPod. Cool design, but the iBook's battery doesn't sit flush with the case (look it up in Google) and my iPod gave me a magnifying disk icon last night -- after 3 days of use. There was also that issue with the stereo component disconnecting internally.
I'm not saying their products fall apart: I imagine most don't. But when you pay extra for design, you kind of expect the design to be the best it can be.
Morality this and that, the rest of us will buy an Xbox 2. Why? Good games you can't get anywhere else, just like GC, just like
PS. Gamers will buy all 3 (like they did this round) and we'll all be happy.
Dictionary.com. Look up "steal".
"The problem with these laws is that they really create abusable monopolies"
You know, I'm not really sure where people get this from. Laws like these have never really been tested. What company, for example, maintains a monopoly on CD DRM? Or digital signatures? None that I know of (although I'd be interested in hearing about one).
"Theft means that your 'victim' starts out having something, and ends up not having it anymore."
Funny, that's not the definition at all.
Steal:
1. To take (the property of another) without right or permission.
2. To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully
Look at defintion 2. In other words, if I have a conversation with Quintin Tarrantino about some movie idea involving a "bride" who avenges murders, and I tell him not to take it and make it into a major motion picture, and he does, that's stealing.
If the recording industry says "don't copy X product, that's stealing" (which is correct by the above defintion) and you attempt to do it with X product, guess what?
"Fired"? Hell no. Just got into a more lucrative field (standard IT). Game reviewing (hell, any freelancing) is a tough industry.
If you haven't played all the various incarnations of UT on Linux (including the latest, which has the cute Tux logo right on the box) you're solely missing out on a great gaming experience.
Just an FYI.. I used to write for a variety of gaming rags. PC Gamer is known (hell, famous) for reviewing beta software as "official". Considering the game just went gold, I can't imagine they have anything better than a release candidate.
A lot can change between RC and gold. Stability, performance. Things can actually get worse. I would take their reviews with a heavy dose of Sodium Chloride.
There goes my 3 grand for a new system.
Actually, I just built one. Curious to see how it performs with this.
"I think this would rock"
Eh. I've found there's something about watching TV and movies on a computer that just doesn't "feel right". I recently purchased a 20" LCD for the box I built, and it pales in comparison to my 40" HDTV.
On the other hand, movies on a laptop rock. I love taking my iBook to bed and watch episodes of MST3K. In that instance, I think it's better than a bedroom TV.
"Windows' (The OS) horrific boot-loading/suspend/power-management stability issue.
In OSX, no such problem exists: the system is stable, and manages its power in such a way that it need not interfere with instant-on operation."
Really? I have both Windows XP and OS X laptops and they boot from power-save near identically. In fact, the OS X one is a little trickier, in that there's some kind of a timeout value (I don't know where to set it) that controls how long the password screen stays up. Often I'll start the machine, step away for a second and find it went back to sleep.
Well, that and everything up to 10.2 didn't require a password screen to boot up, which was just silly. Oh, and ever trying closing the case while iTunes's full screen visualization is running? Good luck entering your password when you come back (it doesn't always show the dialog box!)
I think it's too early to call this a failure. CD players and fax machines didn't take off initially, yet you can go into any electronics store nowadays and find both. Tablet PCs will take off when they get lighter and the performance gap between them and laptops closes.