Steve Jobs did found the Steven P. Jobs Foundation shortly after being forced out of Apple, but it went away when he chose to focus on NeXT instead.
More importantly, he did get California's DMV to force the question of organ donation, hugely increasing the number of potential donors, something which is saving lots of lives and making many more better and longer.
I don't see that his personal income tax statements were public, so no idea on how much he personally donated.
_Space Cadet_ (just don't get the Tor ebook from the Sony store --- it has so many errors it's unreadable) _Have Spacesuit Will Travel_ _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ (for those over 16 --- agree w/ your sexual agenda comment)
Optional for those who agree w/ or are not put off by his politics, or want to have their own challenged:
I think we mean different things by ``button-mashing'' --- to me it's any activity which happens when one presses a button, to you, I believe that it's wildly pressing a button, and Dark Souls isn't button-mashing since it requires strategizing and planning of which button to press when. I want motion controls. I want to stand and pretend to use weapons (and practice using weapons which I do use --- Wii Sports Resort's archery has actually helped me improve my focus when using my recurve and horse bows) --- I'd dearly love to have an RPG where one controls the pace of one's movement by walking in place on the Wii Balance Board and can dodge blows by leaning to one side or other.
Fortunately, Nintendo isn't the only company doing games for the Wii, or the Wii U. Already for the Wii, Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga had the character generation and open-ended play and network connectivity, Red Steel 2 the visual appearance and decent story, so I think there's some justification in my hope.
Skyward Sword will hopefully validate the idea of more games in these veins, hopefully games combining them.
I find the Wii Motion Plus controls to have precise controls, and I _don't_ want control reduced to just pushing buttons and I _do_ like standing and swinging the Wii Remote, or manipulating it to pretend to use a bow (when I can't get to the range to shoot).
The Dark Souls controls seem to not be universally praised, ``Dark Souls wants you to deal with its awkward controls.'' and reduce to just button-mashing, ``Lock on is handled with R3, you have two main attacks (light and heavy) mapped to R1 and R2 (or L1 and L2 if you use your off-hand), and a dodge roll tied to the circle button.'' (from http://www.damnlag.com/dark-souls-review/ ).
I'm glad that there are multiple games, w/ different control systems, and I _really_ hope that both games are successful enough that one day (hopefully soon) there's a game for the Wii U which is a full-fledged RPG, w/ compleat character generation, an excellent story line, open-ended play (w/ the ability to add to it via downloadable content), network play (a persistent, multi-player experience would be great), a wide variety of weaponry, and motion plus controls.
Social Security wouldn't have a funding problem if there weren't caps on what people put in each year --- remove those caps and the well-heeled will no longer pay in for 2 months, max out their contribution and then get what amounts to a pay raise / free ride for the balance of the year.
It has however leap-frogged the competition in the one area which matters to me, gameplay / controls.
I've had my fill of sitting and mashing buttons.
I'm hoping to enjoy Skyward Sword until someone creates an open-ended RPG w/ full character creation / customization (a wider variety of weapons would be a nice bonus) and a persistent on-line environment that has motion controls as good as or better than Skyward Sword.
Thus far, the only decent Motion Plus game (as opposed to collection of mini games like Wii Sports Resort) is Red Steel 2 which is a lot of fun, but too short, w/ only Challenge Mode after beating the game).
That said, IR pointing games are fun and I've enjoyed:
Red Steel 2 Marvel Ultimate Alliance (doing attacks by moving the Wii Remote is engaging) The Conduit Link's Crossbow Training Metroid Prime Trilogy
Typical button-mashing games don't interest me --- I spend too much time at work sitting.
I use a mixture of Evernote (collect web clippings), AutoDesk Sketchbook (draw bitmaps), FutureWave SmartSketch (the program which grew up to be Flash --- Flash still has the nifty note-book organization option last I checked --- I use it for quick vector sketches) and InftyReader (for math, freely available from http://www.inftyreader.org/ ) as well as WinTeXShell (for actual writing using LaTeX which is where I collect everything else).
Actually, if I could still be running Windows 2000 I would --- it was great, lean, small, efficient (in comparison to XP and everything later) but still had enough plug-play and games support to be usable by a consumer.
Your #3 strikes a chord for me --- I've been using pen computers since NCR's 3125 pen computer was available and dual-booting Go Corp.'s PenPoint OS and Windows for Pen Computing.
I've since switched to Fujitsus --- currently using a Stylistic ST-4121 w/ daylight viewable display (I use it as a map reader when traveling) and solid state drive (which increased the performance and battery life tremendously).
I did try installing Linux on it when I first got the SSD, but the pen functionality only worked in safe mode, and there simply weren't apps available which were equivalent to the ones I use (Macromedia FreeHand, ArtRage, AutoDesk Sketchbook, Evernote).
While I agree w/ the idea of taxing large transactions (esp. when money crosses a national border), I think the implementation needs to be carefully worded and reviewed and to have a lengthy virtual test phase (where transactions over a reasonably long period of time are evaluated as to how much the tax would have been on same, who would have been affected, and what effect the tax would have had on whether or no the transaction would have occurred).
In particular, the definition of large transaction has to be such that it will move upward w/ inflation.
Apparently the Slate has been selling pretty steadily since its announcement --- mostly to business, but Amazon is listing just 4 in stock at the moment.
There aren't that many competitors in the Windows Tablet PC slate-format since Fujitsu quit. I really wish HP would revive the form-factor of the critically-acclaimed Compaq TC-1x00 though:
The question is when these machines become reliable and affordable enough for general purchase. Additional potential early adopters:
- car dealerships for use in their service department (print a replacement part rather than waiting on delivery of it)
- architects (the current project on _This Old House_ has prominently featured models of the house AIUI, made by the homeowner's company Z Corporation)
- jewelers (print off a 3D model in wax for lost wax casting)
Jerry Kaplan's _StartUp_ should be required reading for anyone in the tech industry who has to do business / compete w/ Microsoft.
Short version --- Microsoft initially supported a dual-boot BIOS which allowed pen computers to be built which would run both Windows and PenPoint (and other operating systems), then pulled support after the initial generation.
Guns in fireproof safes are usually rusted by the water used to extinguish the flame getting into the safe which is warped by the temperature changes of the fire and extinguishing efforts --- be sure to have them covered at replacement value in your insurance..
Put documents in a small water-resistant, fire-rated document container in a larger fire-rated safe.
Yeah, but we still have farms bordering many U.S. suburbs which are up for sale to housing developers who will then build McMansions, necessitating the building of a new school system (and the closing of one closer to the city center), and then the people living in the new homes w/ the postage-stamp lawns too small for a back-yard garden are going to wonder why their grocery bill is higher (when the food is being trucked in from farther away).
What's even more interesting is to go further back and compare Mac and NeXT Expo keynote addresses and to watch Mac users applaud the announcement of features which NeXTstep had had for over a decade.
By way of NeXTstep --- which licensed \textsc{unix} (and a lot of other software --- the $299 an educational copy cost was pretty much all licensing fees paid to Adobe, AT&T, PANTONE, &c.).
One of the reasons Mac OS X was so long in coming was the need to move to a \textsc{unix} version which wasn't encumbered by such licensing.
and before the Dauphin DTR-1 there was the NCR-3125 which ran PenPoint (or Windows 3.1 for Pen Computing) and had gestures --- PenPoint's user interface design guidelines are very interesting reading:
>You could say, he (God/Jesus) were elected to their currently held positions in A.D. 325 >at the First Council of Nicaea, where Jesus got promoted from just being a human to >exclusive God privileges by a, albeit tight, vote by those present at the council. >y extension, his now official Father (sorry, Joseph!) got simultaneously a vote of confidence >(of existence and supreme rule).
You do realize that Dan Brown's a _fiction_ author? And that he created an alternate history to make his story work?
Slashdot Mirror
Steve Jobs did found the Steven P. Jobs Foundation shortly after being forced out of Apple, but it went away when he chose to focus on NeXT instead.
More importantly, he did get California's DMV to force the question of organ donation, hugely increasing the number of potential donors, something which is saving lots of lives and making many more better and longer.
I don't see that his personal income tax statements were public, so no idea on how much he personally donated.
The Heinlein books I'd recommend:
_Space Cadet_ (just don't get the Tor ebook from the Sony store --- it has so many errors it's unreadable)
_Have Spacesuit Will Travel_
_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ (for those over 16 --- agree w/ your sexual agenda comment)
Optional for those who agree w/ or are not put off by his politics, or want to have their own challenged:
_Starship Troopers_
_Friday_
William
I think we mean different things by ``button-mashing'' --- to me it's any activity which happens when one presses a button, to you, I believe that it's wildly pressing a button, and Dark Souls isn't button-mashing since it requires strategizing and planning of which button to press when. I want motion controls. I want to stand and pretend to use weapons (and practice using weapons which I do use --- Wii Sports Resort's archery has actually helped me improve my focus when using my recurve and horse bows) --- I'd dearly love to have an RPG where one controls the pace of one's movement by walking in place on the Wii Balance Board and can dodge blows by leaning to one side or other.
Fortunately, Nintendo isn't the only company doing games for the Wii, or the Wii U. Already for the Wii, Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga had the character generation and open-ended play and network connectivity, Red Steel 2 the visual appearance and decent story, so I think there's some justification in my hope.
Skyward Sword will hopefully validate the idea of more games in these veins, hopefully games combining them.
William
I find the Wii Motion Plus controls to have precise controls, and I _don't_ want control reduced to just pushing buttons and I _do_ like standing and swinging the Wii Remote, or manipulating it to pretend to use a bow (when I can't get to the range to shoot).
The Dark Souls controls seem to not be universally praised, ``Dark Souls wants you to deal with its awkward controls.'' and reduce to just button-mashing, ``Lock on is handled with R3, you have two main attacks (light and heavy) mapped to R1 and R2 (or L1 and L2 if you use your off-hand), and a dodge roll tied to the circle button.'' (from http://www.damnlag.com/dark-souls-review/ ).
I'm glad that there are multiple games, w/ different control systems, and I _really_ hope that both games are successful enough that one day (hopefully soon) there's a game for the Wii U which is a full-fledged RPG, w/ compleat character generation, an excellent story line, open-ended play (w/ the ability to add to it via downloadable content), network play (a persistent, multi-player experience would be great), a wide variety of weaponry, and motion plus controls.
William
Social Security wouldn't have a funding problem if there weren't caps on what people put in each year --- remove those caps and the well-heeled will no longer pay in for 2 months, max out their contribution and then get what amounts to a pay raise / free ride for the balance of the year.
It has however leap-frogged the competition in the one area which matters to me, gameplay / controls.
I've had my fill of sitting and mashing buttons.
I'm hoping to enjoy Skyward Sword until someone creates an open-ended RPG w/ full character creation / customization (a wider variety of weapons would be a nice bonus) and a persistent on-line environment that has motion controls as good as or better than Skyward Sword.
William
Thus far, the only decent Motion Plus game (as opposed to collection of mini games like Wii Sports Resort) is Red Steel 2 which is a lot of fun, but too short, w/ only Challenge Mode after beating the game).
That said, IR pointing games are fun and I've enjoyed:
Red Steel 2
Marvel Ultimate Alliance (doing attacks by moving the Wii Remote is engaging)
The Conduit
Link's Crossbow Training
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Typical button-mashing games don't interest me --- I spend too much time at work sitting.
Looking forward to picking this up tomorrow.
William
No need to puzzle --- just write it out in a tool like MathJournal or InftyReader and convert to LaTeX later.
Lots of excellent note-taking software, including things like MathJournal for specialty-usages (mathematics), or Corel Grafigo for diagramming (v1 is still freely available from Archive.org --- http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/showthread.php?35645-Corel-Grafigo-1.0-(corelgrafigo.exe) ).
I use a mixture of Evernote (collect web clippings), AutoDesk Sketchbook (draw bitmaps), FutureWave SmartSketch (the program which grew up to be Flash --- Flash still has the nifty note-book organization option last I checked --- I use it for quick vector sketches) and InftyReader (for math, freely available from http://www.inftyreader.org/ ) as well as WinTeXShell (for actual writing using LaTeX which is where I collect everything else).
William
Actually, if I could still be running Windows 2000 I would --- it was great, lean, small, efficient (in comparison to XP and everything later) but still had enough plug-play and games support to be usable by a consumer.
Your #3 strikes a chord for me --- I've been using pen computers since NCR's 3125 pen computer was available and dual-booting Go Corp.'s PenPoint OS and Windows for Pen Computing.
I've since switched to Fujitsus --- currently using a Stylistic ST-4121 w/ daylight viewable display (I use it as a map reader when traveling) and solid state drive (which increased the performance and battery life tremendously).
I did try installing Linux on it when I first got the SSD, but the pen functionality only worked in safe mode, and there simply weren't apps available which were equivalent to the ones I use (Macromedia FreeHand, ArtRage, AutoDesk Sketchbook, Evernote).
William
Here:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111019/17424316421/louisiana-makes-it-illegal-to-use-cash-secondhand-sales.shtml
While I agree w/ the idea of taxing large transactions (esp. when money crosses a national border), I think the implementation needs to be carefully worded and reviewed and to have a lengthy virtual test phase (where transactions over a reasonably long period of time are evaluated as to how much the tax would have been on same, who would have been affected, and what effect the tax would have had on whether or no the transaction would have occurred).
In particular, the definition of large transaction has to be such that it will move upward w/ inflation.
William
Apparently the Slate has been selling pretty steadily since its announcement --- mostly to business, but Amazon is listing just 4 in stock at the moment.
More positive and informative article here:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-33200_3-57317842-290/surprise-hps-slate-pc-is-a-success/
There aren't that many competitors in the Windows Tablet PC slate-format since Fujitsu quit. I really wish HP would revive the form-factor of the critically-acclaimed Compaq TC-1x00 though:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Compaq_TC1100
which truly offered the best of all possible worlds.
William
The question is when these machines become reliable and affordable enough for general purchase. Additional potential early adopters:
- car dealerships for use in their service department (print a replacement part rather than waiting on delivery of it)
- architects (the current project on _This Old House_ has prominently featured models of the house AIUI, made by the homeowner's company Z Corporation)
- jewelers (print off a 3D model in wax for lost wax casting)
William
Jerry Kaplan's _StartUp_ should be required reading for anyone in the tech industry who has to do business / compete w/ Microsoft.
Short version --- Microsoft initially supported a dual-boot BIOS which allowed pen computers to be built which would run both Windows and PenPoint (and other operating systems), then pulled support after the initial generation.
William
No, early in the history of pen computers there were a number of operating systems and interfaces esp. created for tablets:
- PenPoint - Go Corp.
- Momenta
- Newton - Apple Computer, Inc.
William
The minimum of $10 is probably a threshold negotiated w/ the credit card companies so as to make it worth their while.
Guns in fireproof safes are usually rusted by the water used to extinguish the flame getting into the safe which is warped by the temperature changes of the fire and extinguishing efforts --- be sure to have them covered at replacement value in your insurance..
Put documents in a small water-resistant, fire-rated document container in a larger fire-rated safe.
Yeah, but we still have farms bordering many U.S. suburbs which are up for sale to housing developers who will then build McMansions, necessitating the building of a new school system (and the closing of one closer to the city center), and then the people living in the new homes w/ the postage-stamp lawns too small for a back-yard garden are going to wonder why their grocery bill is higher (when the food is being trucked in from farther away).
Not if you're buying a Lamborghini:
http://usa.indiandrives.com/lamborghini-to-discontinue-use-of-manual-transmission.html
(an apparently some other makes)
I'd also be curious as to how one is going to make a stick-shift hybrid.
What's even more interesting is to go further back and compare Mac and NeXT Expo keynote addresses and to watch Mac users applaud the announcement of features which NeXTstep had had for over a decade.
By way of NeXTstep --- which licensed \textsc{unix} (and a lot of other software --- the $299 an educational copy cost was pretty much all licensing fees paid to Adobe, AT&T, PANTONE, &c.).
One of the reasons Mac OS X was so long in coming was the need to move to a \textsc{unix} version which wasn't encumbered by such licensing.
Jobs did design work. An example:
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Calculator_Construction_Set.txt
and before the Dauphin DTR-1 there was the NCR-3125 which ran PenPoint (or Windows 3.1 for Pen Computing) and had gestures --- PenPoint's user interface design guidelines are very interesting reading:
http://www.guidebookgallery.org/books/thepowerofpenpoint
http://www.amazon.com/Penpoint-Interface-Reference-Technical-Library/dp/0201608588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319204076&sr=1-1
(ob. discl. I'm selling some copies which I have left on Amazon)
William
muckracer wrote:
>You could say, he (God/Jesus) were elected to their currently held positions in A.D. 325
>at the First Council of Nicaea, where Jesus got promoted from just being a human to
>exclusive God privileges by a, albeit tight, vote by those present at the council.
>y extension, his now official Father (sorry, Joseph!) got simultaneously a vote of confidence
>(of existence and supreme rule).
You do realize that Dan Brown's a _fiction_ author? And that he created an alternate history to make his story work?
``The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly (of the estimated 250–318 attendees, all but two voted against Arius''
--- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea
William