As near as I can tell, the cell phone feature (and Internet, and WAP, and...) only work with Cingular, AT&T, and T-Mobile. I have two cell phones (one personal, one work), and neither are through any of those providers.
There's Sprint and Verizon (at least), and a number of local cell carriers that haven't been bought out yet (Cricket, First Cellular, etc.) Those people are even more screwed than the rest of the N-Gage buyers...
I can't find any official mention of how hard it is to set up the cell phone features -- while I expect it's about as easy as "call your phone company, give 'em the new ESN, wait five minutes," I can only wonder.
If you're plugging your device as a cell phone, you should make sure it's compatible with damn near everyone. Omitting the mom'n'pop carriers (First Cellular, etc.) is excusable; omitting Sprint and Verizon isn't.
Since the article doesn't include sources or citations or anything, we can't even be sure if they're referring to calendar year 2004, or fiscal year 2004 (which, for MSFT, I believe runs from July 2003 through June 2004).
If they're referring to fiscal year 2004, that's between January and March of next year, which isn't nearly so bad.
Note the keyword "claimed" to have one mile, even without LOS...
I'll be honest, I never worked with the Ricochet stuff. Right now, though, my company (small local ISP, we also do wireless) does have some of the Waverider 900MHz hardware deployed. We have FOUR customers using it, as opposed to several hundred using the 2.4GHz stuff. Heck, I'm about half a mile away from one of the Waverider CCUs (basically, their equivalent of an access point), and I have to deal with the competition for my broadband because the 900MHz stuff just doesn't cut it, and (as I don't own the property) I can't put up an external 2.4GHz antenna.
First, for those interested in the subject, get them a basic "how to
program" book. One that's gotten fairly good reviews among the (few)
teachers I know is How To Design
Programs. It has the remarkable benefit of being free (as in beer)
online, and I believe its learning environment is equally free also.
(OTOH, it's Scheme. Some people are allergic to parentheses.)
Second, once they've got the basics down, get them something a bit more
practical. Cygwin is free, and comes with gcc/gc++ and friends. Or even
break down and spend a few bucks on Visual Basic (or, if they're really
bright, a second hard drive with Linux/*BSD/whatever, so they can pick up
GTK+ or QT or whichever widget set is trendy these days).
Most of the advogato article's suggestions are at best silly. I think he's
promoting the return of LOGO, or whatever that language was where you did
everything with a "turtle". Except that e apparently expects Microsoft,
Sony, Nintendo, and everyone else to agree on a single standard, which is
at best laughable. None of those game consoles even come with a keyboard
any more, and I don't think you can even get keyboards for the
GameCube...
This depends very much upon your jurisdiction. At least in my part of the United States (and I think this actually is a state law, not a federal law), if you're a "bona fide professional" -- a vague description, but most IT people would be included -- and paid on a salary basis instead of a per-hour basis, they're not required to pay you for overtime.
This is why, even though I've been given the opportunity to become a salaried employee (with a ~5k/year raise) at the current job, I've declined. I end up working enough overtime that the pay raise really isn't that spectacular, and the ability to leave my work at the office is actually quite refreshing.
How about a copy of Windows where the install disk fries itself after install?
Hell, I've already got one of those. Seriously. A couple years ago, I got a free (and legal, even) copy of Windows XP, and threw it on a spare system for giggles. In the middle of the install, the CD-ROM drive just popped open, without spinning down the disc first. Many scratches and concentric circles. Looks like a bullseye.
Good thing I made a (legal, I think) backup copy of the disc first, so I could actually finish the install...
Is there such a thing as degrees of Slashdot? (Kinda like that old "degrees of Kevin Bacon" thing.) I don't think I've ever been Slashdotted, but the linked article was written by me (as votetaker), so is that like two degrees from Slashdot?
You mean my d30 doesn't exist? Jeepers. I wonder what else I own that doesn't exist?
It's been around for a while - I got mine at a con in Indianaplis in, oh, 1993 or so. (I honestly don't remember the exact year.) There was a kooky huckster who had this cheesy "things to do with a d30" book that made no sense, but the book and the die were like five bucks total.
Improbable at best. She's happily married and some twenty years older than I. (Not to mention, I asked for the whole day off -- she wouldn't have any way of knowing which of the several hundred showings (15-20 per theater, times a dozen or so theaters) I would be attending.
Interesting thought, though.
I told the folks at my job, over a month ago, that I simply would not be available to work on May 16th. They simply said, "okay, thanks for giving us plenty of advance notice," and that was that.
The HR person later asked why I was taking the day off, and I declined to tell her (citing "personal reasons").
(The kicker is, I saw said HR person in the theater. I think *she* actually "called in". Oh, sweet irony.)
Inside the tar file is another tar file (with code) and a.bz2 file (with Web pages). I haven't uncompressed the latter yet, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was two or three gigs after being unwrapped. (This is 900,000 Web pages we're talking about here...)
Okay, that link is now broken. And since I host it, I should know.:-)
This appears to be one doozy of a hoax. I just snagged the file and uploaded it to Mr. Web Server - I haven't even virus-scanned it. Which, since the "xbox.vxd" file appears to come right outta Quake 3, you may want to do.
I don't know if it does ANYTHING, much less anything good or bad. I don't have a Windows box to test it on.
The summary posted here promises more than the article delivers. Though making some vague gestures towards the end, the bulk of the article just focuses on money. For that, of course, Linux wins hands-down. Nice tables, though.
Aside from the fact that Winamp/Linux is only made available as an RPM, it's so alpha, it barely even works!
At least on my system (K6-3/333MHz, 192M RAM), XMMS plays everything I throw at it flawlessly, whereas this alpha of Winamp was slow and choppy under the same conditions. Slow and choppy to the point of being utterly unusable. And ugly, but that's something I could forgive from an alpha, if it actually worked.
First, do the benchmarks, and see if it's needed/useful under Linux (I'm sorta assuming x86 here). The benchmarks page mentioned above (it's here, btw) lists their VectorC compiler, Intel's compiler, and MS Visual C. Add a column to that labeled "GCC 3.0". Let me see just how much of a performance boost I'll get out of your product over the one I'm using (as opposed to these other products I'm not using).
Yeah, this'll probably require doing much of the porting work before determining whether there's a market for it. It's called R&D, and it does sometimes lead to dead-ends. Deal.
Slashdot Mirror
True, but then you can't troll Wal-Mart tech support, saying "why won't this music I just purchased from you play in this PC I bought from you?"
Is anyone else mildly amused by the fact that a Wal-Mart PC can't play Wal-Mart music files?
Don't worry about logging in, we trust you, just click here.
Hey, neat. Are they planning to implement that for their next version of Everquest?
If the first thing you thought of when you saw this article was this Game of Life, you are automatically disqualified. :-)
As near as I can tell, the cell phone feature (and Internet, and WAP, and...) only work with Cingular, AT&T, and T-Mobile. I have two cell phones (one personal, one work), and neither are through any of those providers.
There's Sprint and Verizon (at least), and a number of local cell carriers that haven't been bought out yet (Cricket, First Cellular, etc.) Those people are even more screwed than the rest of the N-Gage buyers...
I can't find any official mention of how hard it is to set up the cell phone features -- while I expect it's about as easy as "call your phone company, give 'em the new ESN, wait five minutes," I can only wonder.
If you're plugging your device as a cell phone, you should make sure it's compatible with damn near everyone. Omitting the mom'n'pop carriers (First Cellular, etc.) is excusable; omitting Sprint and Verizon isn't.
Somehow, I think this review of what I think is the same game sums it up a little better.
If they're referring to fiscal year 2004, that's between January and March of next year, which isn't nearly so bad.
I'll be honest, I never worked with the Ricochet stuff. Right now, though, my company (small local ISP, we also do wireless) does have some of the Waverider 900MHz hardware deployed. We have FOUR customers using it, as opposed to several hundred using the 2.4GHz stuff. Heck, I'm about half a mile away from one of the Waverider CCUs (basically, their equivalent of an access point), and I have to deal with the competition for my broadband because the 900MHz stuff just doesn't cut it, and (as I don't own the property) I can't put up an external 2.4GHz antenna.
Second, once they've got the basics down, get them something a bit more practical. Cygwin is free, and comes with gcc/gc++ and friends. Or even break down and spend a few bucks on Visual Basic (or, if they're really bright, a second hard drive with Linux/*BSD/whatever, so they can pick up GTK+ or QT or whichever widget set is trendy these days).
Most of the advogato article's suggestions are at best silly. I think he's promoting the return of LOGO, or whatever that language was where you did everything with a "turtle". Except that e apparently expects Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and everyone else to agree on a single standard, which is at best laughable. None of those game consoles even come with a keyboard any more, and I don't think you can even get keyboards for the GameCube...
This is why, even though I've been given the opportunity to become a salaried employee (with a ~5k/year raise) at the current job, I've declined. I end up working enough overtime that the pay raise really isn't that spectacular, and the ability to leave my work at the office is actually quite refreshing.
disk fries itself after install?
Hell, I've already got one of those. Seriously. A couple years ago, I got a free (and legal, even) copy of Windows XP, and threw it on a spare system for giggles. In the middle of the install, the CD-ROM drive just popped open, without spinning down the disc first. Many scratches and concentric circles. Looks like a bullseye.
Good thing I made a (legal, I think) backup copy of the disc first, so I could actually finish the install...
April Fools jokes are only really funny when posted on April Fools Day. At least here, that day has been over for about half an hour.
Is there such a thing as degrees of Slashdot? (Kinda like that old "degrees of Kevin Bacon" thing.) I don't think I've ever been Slashdotted, but the linked article was written by me (as votetaker), so is that like two degrees from Slashdot?
CowboyNeal isn't a new race, really; probably just a powerful NPC (vague, mysterious, versatile... sorta like Elminster, actually).
I'm actually starting to take this seriously. That's a bad sign...
It's been around for a while - I got mine at a con in Indianaplis in, oh, 1993 or so. (I honestly don't remember the exact year.) There was a kooky huckster who had this cheesy "things to do with a d30" book that made no sense, but the book and the die were like five bucks total.
Obviously it'll need to be expanded a little bit, but I think it can be turned into a setting easily enough.
Improbable at best. She's happily married and some twenty years older than I. (Not to mention, I asked for the whole day off -- she wouldn't have any way of knowing which of the several hundred showings (15-20 per theater, times a dozen or so theaters) I would be attending. Interesting thought, though.
The HR person later asked why I was taking the day off, and I declined to tell her (citing "personal reasons").
(The kicker is, I saw said HR person in the theater. I think *she* actually "called in". Oh, sweet irony.)
Inside the tar file is another tar file (with code) and a .bz2 file (with Web pages). I haven't uncompressed the latter yet, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was two or three gigs after being unwrapped. (This is 900,000 Web pages we're talking about here...)
Okay, that link is now broken. And since I host it, I should know. :-)
This appears to be one doozy of a hoax. I just snagged the file and uploaded it to Mr. Web Server - I haven't even virus-scanned it. Which, since the "xbox.vxd" file appears to come right outta Quake 3, you may want to do.
I don't know if it does ANYTHING, much less anything good or bad. I don't have a Windows box to test it on.
Exercise caution...
(This mirror may only be good for a few hours! Grab it whilst you can!)
No, I don't think hash is involved. Maybe LSD, but no hash.
The summary posted here promises more than the article delivers. Though making some vague gestures towards the end, the bulk of the article just focuses on money. For that, of course, Linux wins hands-down. Nice tables, though.
At least on my system (K6-3/333MHz, 192M RAM), XMMS plays everything I throw at it flawlessly, whereas this alpha of Winamp was slow and choppy under the same conditions. Slow and choppy to the point of being utterly unusable. And ugly, but that's something I could forgive from an alpha, if it actually worked.
Yeah, this'll probably require doing much of the porting work before determining whether there's a market for it. It's called R&D, and it does sometimes lead to dead-ends. Deal.