Re:G4's, the Megahertz Myth and the BPI Myth
on
Itanium Update
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· Score: 1
Well, you're reading a lot into the comment there. The speed of a system depends on so many factors, it's amazing that you can even compare across systems.
Rather than extolling the virtues of bits per instruction, the post we're both replying to is actually being skeptical about the whole BPI/Megahertz thingy, and adding a parting shot about how he loves his Mac.
(BTW, I love my Mac, too, mainly because Apple has managed to make a system that actually lets me get things done without a hassle. It's this foresight in the architecture that lets my old 200Mhz 604e keep on trucking as a productive workstation!)
Re: Size ... and battery consumption
on
HP Jornada 560 Series
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· Score: 3, Informative
Another thing to consider is that HP handelds are reasl guzzlers, a fact that is more important than most people realise.
One of the major reasons why I chose the Handspring was the fact that I can get up to a month between battery changes. THis means less chance of losing my data if I'm away from my home computer for a week or so. (The downside is that it uses AAA alkalines, so it's not as green as I'd like).
Unless HP, Casio and Microsoft address these issues, I'm sticking with Palm-based handhelds.
Apple's concept for this new interface is what they're calling the "cumulative user manipulation." The C.U.M. interface right now is travelling all over the net, in short little batches like spreading seed. It's swallowed by remote nodes, called "sister objects" in the C.U.M. heirarchy.
Like I've said, I've been CUMing for almost two years now and have no desire to stop. OSX rocks, and I think it will re-establish Apple's desktop dominance.
CUM swallowed by sisters? Spreading seed? Since I'd never heard of this being in MacOSX, I'm going 'to make an "ass" out of "u" and "me"' and chalk this up as a joke that went over the heads of too many sex-deprived geeks...
That is highly unlikely, as the USPS took over a State service from Great Britain. Not only that, but enfocing such a rule would be nigh impossible, and hurt oh so many other US firms.
What might otherwise be possible is the siezure of some or all MS software assets, and thrusting their code into the Public Domain. The company could be left in one piece, but the cash cows would be carcasses. Then US coders would be encouraged by politicians to improve "Public Domain Windows", instead of that foreign Linux stuff.
Or Microsoft could make good on its threat to leave the USA. It would burn a lot of bridges, but greed has always been more important than friendships...
As for Apple? They're concentrating on their hardware. Rather than opening of the system, they're sneaking their hardware into the *NIX camp, and driving hard at the home entertainment market...
where the CIA helps out real bad ass dictators to launch a coup against the democratically elected government
This has not happened in the real world. Perhaps you are reading stalinist propaganda?
Methinks you are not too good at reading what the CIA really has admitted to. They have openly admitted toppling the governments in Guatemala and Panama during the height of the cold war, and were very instrumental in Pinochet's coup against Salvador Allende. There are more cases, all of them openly (albiet reluctantly) admitted to by the CIA today. They have always been active to protect USA business interests.
But to come back on point, the whole "kick 'em when they're down" approach is despicable, whether a software agency is suing a cash-strapped school, or a pharmaceutical giant is putting the squeeze on a shaky economy. The method used is the same and is morally wrong.
I recommend the term jackers, as a short form of "Junk Mail Hackers".
It has the advantage of already being loaded with negative, even criminal connotations. First, it could be associated with hijack (they're stealing storage space, potentially clogging your mailbox); second, it could associated with jacking off ("Those scumbags keep jacking off on my POP account!" or "My Hotline account just keeps getting jacked")
Well, to be honest, I hated the series precisely because it ignored so many laws of physics, military realities and other social constraints. I can't think of one thing that wasn't sidlined in favored of what the writers thought was a good plot.
My two pet peeves? First, why have pilots doing ground missions? The protagonists had officer's rank, yet they had gone though a simple boot camp instead of any sort of academy. If anything, roles in a military group are going to get more specialised, not less. Either have the heroes be pilots or groundpounders, not both!
Another problem was the old cliché: sound and shockwaves in vacuum. The worst example that comes to mind was finding a timebomb on a shuttle and throwing it out of the cargo door at the Last Second. That wasn't in itself so bad, but the "boom" and shaking camera were just too unrealistic. Instead, I would expect a flash followed by the white noise of shrapnel impacting on the hull (or even tearing micropunctures in the vacc suits of the heroes as they stand unprotected in the doorway!).
If you bring back Space, then fix those problems. Take care of the little things, like remembering the effects of thrust in a zero-G vacuum environment, the special stuff that happens on reentry, and whatnot. A good story (which Space did have) needs sound underpinnings to maintain Suspension of Disbelief.
After all, "2001" was suspenseful precicesly because Clarke and Kubrik tried to show just how alien an environment outer space is...
I'll admit to not reading all of these articles/arguments mentioned, so forgive me for repeating somebody else's comments...
The real reason why micropayments have such a tough time is because people are afraid of them. The fear may have little to do with logic, but it is there.
Think about it: don't you prefer flat rates? Aren't "all you can eat" offers popular? What about subscription offers? People like paying just once. Making a payment almost always involves some amount of nervousness. You're giving something up, and that's uncomfortable.
Micropayments mean to most people that the discomfort of paying is constant. There's no threshold, but a constant sucking; the wallet can't shut all the way. To some, it can be like Chinese water torture.
Another problem that a lot of people have with micropayments it that their finances are in a constant state of flux. How can you tell how much money is in your acount if it keeps flowing? Granted, the changes are minimal, but I like knowing how much money is in my account.
Customers don't want micropayments. They want lump sums, where the transaction of money happens only once. People do realise that they're thus paying more than might be necessary, but they feel it's a small price to pay for security and clarity. The FUD factor is just too strong at the moment, and may stay that way.
The Mac isn't all that better, but it has the Edge in cost-effectiveness and from-the-box usability. Sure, the average/.'er can do all of this with Linux or Windows, but it all means "some assembly required".
Once more, the argument in a nutshell:
If you like to fiddle around, get a mainstream PC.
If you just want to get the job done, get a Mac.
Your arguments are, shall we say, slightly broken, for the following reasons:
FireWire imports are less of a hassle on Mac equipment. No hacking with the innards required.
All Macs come with iMovie2 and iDVD editing sowtware for free. If you still want to buy professional software, (you did pay for Premiere, right?) then you'd be better off with Final Cut Pro. Adobe Premiere may be good, but it's just not the choice of most video professionals.
The Apple hardware components are consistently of a better quality than the average PC. This is probably the biggest reason why Classic Mac OS crashes less than Win9x. It's not less buggy, but the equipment it steers isn't as quirky.
In short, you can use a PC, if you're willing to jump through hoops, waste time tweaking settings and whatnot. But if you just want to get your work done...
One of the reasons Apple is so much quieter is because the current development teams are paying a lot of attention to noise and ventilation. This isn't just where you place the vent holes and/or fans, but also the materials used in the chassis: how much noise do they conduct?
Apple has always tried to work without fans, but hasn't always been successful: it was one of the main problems of the Apple///, f'rinstance.
However, as much of a Mac fan that I am, I have to admit that there are other hardware developers out there that make quiet systems. My work computer is a Fujitsu/Siemens Celsuis 400, and it rivals my home Cube for quietness. It may not be as sexy, and it has a larger footprint, but whatever!
There's even hope for older computers. My 3rd Mac (still up and running with Linux instead of MacOS) has a thermostat-controlled fan retrofitted, and I took care to make sure that it is out of the way, but still gets good air circulation. Putting your minitower under the desk instead of on top also helps (it also gets your computer away from those warm monitors and desk lamps!)
Whoever you chuck it on cares. Nothing you throw away disappears. A lot of those old machines floating around (Commodore 64's, Ataris, and even those little Timex Sinclairs) are packed with poisonous parts. Simply "chucking them" merely shifts the problem on the Next Guy, and is a horrid waste of resources.
What the Germans are trying to do is prevent all of this waste from piling up in the first place. Disposing with old electronics is (under current law) expensive, because they are classified as toxic waste. You have to pay the recycling company to get them to teke it off of your hands.
Just because the landfill that's leaking lethal liquids isn't in your neighborhood doesn't mean that it doesn't exist...
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Well, you're reading a lot into the comment there. The speed of a system depends on so many factors, it's amazing that you can even compare across systems.
Rather than extolling the virtues of bits per instruction, the post we're both replying to is actually being skeptical about the whole BPI/Megahertz thingy, and adding a parting shot about how he loves his Mac.
(BTW, I love my Mac, too, mainly because Apple has managed to make a system that actually lets me get things done without a hassle. It's this foresight in the architecture that lets my old 200Mhz 604e keep on trucking as a productive workstation!)
Another thing to consider is that HP handelds are reasl guzzlers, a fact that is more important than most people realise.
One of the major reasons why I chose the Handspring was the fact that I can get up to a month between battery changes. THis means less chance of losing my data if I'm away from my home computer for a week or so. (The downside is that it uses AAA alkalines, so it's not as green as I'd like).
Unless HP, Casio and Microsoft address these issues, I'm sticking with Palm-based handhelds.
Apple's concept for this new interface is what they're calling the "cumulative user manipulation." The C.U.M. interface right now is travelling all over the net, in short little batches like spreading seed. It's swallowed by remote nodes, called "sister objects" in the C.U.M. heirarchy.
Like I've said, I've been CUMing for almost two years now and have no desire to stop. OSX rocks, and I think it will re-establish Apple's desktop dominance.
CUM swallowed by sisters? Spreading seed? Since I'd never heard of this being in MacOSX, I'm going 'to make an "ass" out of "u" and "me"' and chalk this up as a joke that went over the heads of too many sex-deprived geeks...
That is highly unlikely, as the USPS took over a State service from Great Britain. Not only that, but enfocing such a rule would be nigh impossible, and hurt oh so many other US firms.
What might otherwise be possible is the siezure of some or all MS software assets, and thrusting their code into the Public Domain. The company could be left in one piece, but the cash cows would be carcasses. Then US coders would be encouraged by politicians to improve "Public Domain Windows", instead of that foreign Linux stuff.
Or Microsoft could make good on its threat to leave the USA. It would burn a lot of bridges, but greed has always been more important than friendships...
As for Apple? They're concentrating on their hardware. Rather than opening of the system, they're sneaking their hardware into the *NIX camp, and driving hard at the home entertainment market...
where the CIA helps out real bad ass dictators to launch a coup against the democratically elected government
This has not happened in the real world. Perhaps you are reading stalinist propaganda?
Methinks you are not too good at reading what the CIA really has admitted to. They have openly admitted toppling the governments in Guatemala and Panama during the height of the cold war, and were very instrumental in Pinochet's coup against Salvador Allende. There are more cases, all of them openly (albiet reluctantly) admitted to by the CIA today. They have always been active to protect USA business interests.
But to come back on point, the whole "kick 'em when they're down" approach is despicable, whether a software agency is suing a cash-strapped school, or a pharmaceutical giant is putting the squeeze on a shaky economy. The method used is the same and is morally wrong.
Period.I recommend the term jackers, as a short form of "Junk Mail Hackers".
It has the advantage of already being loaded with negative, even criminal connotations. First, it could be associated with hijack (they're stealing storage space, potentially clogging your mailbox); second, it could associated with jacking off ("Those scumbags keep jacking off on my POP account!" or "My Hotline account just keeps getting jacked")
Well, to be honest, I hated the series precisely because it ignored so many laws of physics, military realities and other social constraints. I can't think of one thing that wasn't sidlined in favored of what the writers thought was a good plot.
My two pet peeves? First, why have pilots doing ground missions? The protagonists had officer's rank, yet they had gone though a simple boot camp instead of any sort of academy. If anything, roles in a military group are going to get more specialised, not less. Either have the heroes be pilots or groundpounders, not both!
Another problem was the old cliché: sound and shockwaves in vacuum. The worst example that comes to mind was finding a timebomb on a shuttle and throwing it out of the cargo door at the Last Second. That wasn't in itself so bad, but the "boom" and shaking camera were just too unrealistic. Instead, I would expect a flash followed by the white noise of shrapnel impacting on the hull (or even tearing micropunctures in the vacc suits of the heroes as they stand unprotected in the doorway!).
If you bring back Space, then fix those problems. Take care of the little things, like remembering the effects of thrust in a zero-G vacuum environment, the special stuff that happens on reentry, and whatnot. A good story (which Space did have) needs sound underpinnings to maintain Suspension of Disbelief.
After all, "2001" was suspenseful precicesly because Clarke and Kubrik tried to show just how alien an environment outer space is...
I'll admit to not reading all of these articles/arguments mentioned, so forgive me for repeating somebody else's comments...
The real reason why micropayments have such a tough time is because people are afraid of them. The fear may have little to do with logic, but it is there.
Think about it: don't you prefer flat rates? Aren't "all you can eat" offers popular? What about subscription offers? People like paying just once. Making a payment almost always involves some amount of nervousness. You're giving something up, and that's uncomfortable.
Micropayments mean to most people that the discomfort of paying is constant. There's no threshold, but a constant sucking; the wallet can't shut all the way. To some, it can be like Chinese water torture.
Another problem that a lot of people have with micropayments it that their finances are in a constant state of flux. How can you tell how much money is in your acount if it keeps flowing? Granted, the changes are minimal, but I like knowing how much money is in my account.
Customers don't want micropayments. They want lump sums, where the transaction of money happens only once. People do realise that they're thus paying more than might be necessary, but they feel it's a small price to pay for security and clarity. The FUD factor is just too strong at the moment, and may stay that way.
I think you just made my argument for me.
The Mac isn't all that better, but it has the Edge in cost-effectiveness and from-the-box usability. Sure, the average /.'er can do all of this with Linux or Windows, but it all means "some assembly required".
Once more, the argument in a nutshell:
If you like to fiddle around, get a mainstream PC.
If you just want to get the job done, get a Mac.
Your arguments are, shall we say, slightly broken, for the following reasons:
In short, you can use a PC, if you're willing to jump through hoops, waste time tweaking settings and whatnot. But if you just want to get your work done...
Get a Mac.
One of the reasons Apple is so much quieter is because the current development teams are paying a lot of attention to noise and ventilation. This isn't just where you place the vent holes and/or fans, but also the materials used in the chassis: how much noise do they conduct?
Apple has always tried to work without fans, but hasn't always been successful: it was one of the main problems of the Apple ///, f'rinstance.
However, as much of a Mac fan that I am, I have to admit that there are other hardware developers out there that make quiet systems. My work computer is a Fujitsu/Siemens Celsuis 400, and it rivals my home Cube for quietness. It may not be as sexy, and it has a larger footprint, but whatever!
There's even hope for older computers. My 3rd Mac (still up and running with Linux instead of MacOS) has a thermostat-controlled fan retrofitted, and I took care to make sure that it is out of the way, but still gets good air circulation. Putting your minitower under the desk instead of on top also helps (it also gets your computer away from those warm monitors and desk lamps!)
Whoever you chuck it on cares. Nothing you throw away disappears. A lot of those old machines floating around (Commodore 64's, Ataris, and even those little Timex Sinclairs) are packed with poisonous parts. Simply "chucking them" merely shifts the problem on the Next Guy, and is a horrid waste of resources.
What the Germans are trying to do is prevent all of this waste from piling up in the first place. Disposing with old electronics is (under current law) expensive, because they are classified as toxic waste. You have to pay the recycling company to get them to teke it off of your hands.
Just because the landfill that's leaking lethal liquids isn't in your neighborhood doesn't mean that it doesn't exist...