Laws that remove rights to "protect us from ourselves" are often ignored because of the dictates of common sense. For example, here is a list of the laws I have broken this morning:
1. This morning I shoveled my driveway and threw some of the snow into the road. 2. I also threw some of the snow on the sidewalk. 3. I failed, however, to shovel out the area near the fire hydrant in front of my house. 4. I then proceeded to start my car and loudly rev the engine several times to warm it up a little. (Local noise ordnance forbids doing this.) 5. My car is missing one of the turn signal lenses, but I drove it anyway because it wont come in until tomorrow. 6. I exceeded the speed limit numerous times so as not to impede the flow of traffic, which is also illegal. 7. I failed to use my turn signal on a number of occasions, seeing as how it doesnt have a lens anyway. 8. I threw an apple core out the window into a large field. 9. I parked in a spot labeled "patient parking only" even though I am an employee, since every employee spot was taken. 10. I threw out a soda can because we dont have any recycle bins at work. 11. I listened to several MP3s ripped off of CDs of friends. 12. I used some windex in a manner inconsistant with its labeling.
I'm sure I've done even more "bad" things, but those probably demonstrate the most blatant disregard for the laws that I am supposed to hold so dear.
Honestly, I doubt there many persons in America, lawmakers/enforcers included, that would not be guilty of breaking some of the laws that violate common sense.
If you bought a garage door, by god its yours and you can paint it whatever color you want to. Living in fear of the consequences of using your own property, in a way that does not harm others, is a product of mass paranoia manifested in lawmakers extreme knee-jerk reactions to local upsets or other tragedies. My observation is that the larger the tragedy/upset, the more extreme the reaction.
Sure, just ruin the hopes of most of us IT professionals!
Playability
on
Nethack 3.4.0
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Heres a game that has real playability. You could play nethack for 100 hours+ and still not "master" it. I consider this to be more entertaining than playing some shoot-em-up that can be solved in 10 hours or less. Other games may be pretty, but this game has SOUL.
The infocom games were similar... many hours of playability. If new game authors would make games with the same appeal and infinite replayability as nethack, I might *never* go outside again!:D
I use a really strong belt to hold all my stuff (not unlike Luke's belt-o-stuff in A New Hope):
Tamrac 5218 camera case (fits a PalmIIIx+batts and spare styli perfectly)
Leatherman Wave
Keys
Walkman (when appropriate)
Once hidden under a sport coat, its not noticable.
Then again theres Mike Cobb's solution.
I personally spend a lot of time playing them on my Palm, using one of the PalmOS interpreters.
Text-based games are great for their small size and infinite enjoyability. Infocom games and rogue-like games have a perfect home on handhelds. Some people I have beamed the original Adventure to have never seen an infocom game before (believe it or not!).
It is all dark here. You will most likely be eaten by a grue.
>Open can of whoopass
I see no can of whoopass here!
>Open can of whoopass
Realizing your peril, you decide not to open the can of whoopass and then pat yourself on the back.
>Open can of whoopass
Ok, can opened.
What about filename changers such as the ever-famous pig-latin convertor? Will Napster have to individually monitor each and every file? We can all see the handwriting on the wall for Napster's future.
I hate to say it, but field day is long over now. I had a lot of fun, going out into the middle of nowhere with nothing but a generator, a radio, and 4 other fat, balding men to stay up all night and prove that emergency communications are not an issue in america.
After the 260th contact we really started to fatigue, so even though we had good intentions, the "staying up all night" bit didnt pan out.
Anyway, congrats to all the big-scoring stations.
73s
Picking a PDA is not unlike picking a PC, due to many similarities.
First, you should choose which operating system you prefer.
Without over-generalizing, PalmOS has a task-specific focus. Hence, there is only rudimentary multi-tasking, and you cannot run two full programs at once. That said, most Palm programs accomplish what they are going to accomplish simply and quickly. I have found that I can accomplish my scheduling tasks on a Palm much quicker than I can on a Windows CE based machine. (Yes, I know that they are called "Windows Powered" but they still run Windows CE.)
Windows CE on the other hand is power focused. Multimedia is no challenge to the current crop of CE devices, due to the large amount of memory in most machines. In addition, CE devices have much faster processors than Palm devices. This leads to superior video speed when dealing with a color device. The built-in applications with CE are not focused on the scheduling capabilities of the device, unlike Palm.
Once you have picked your OS, then you can move onto devices. For the Palm corner: there are basically 4 contenders: Palm (duh), Handspring (the Visor line of handhelds), Sony, and TRG/Handera. (For the most part, battery life is not an issue and will not be mentioned for the Palm handhelds.) I will quickly outline the difference of the brands:
Palm: Sets the standard. You know that your device will be supported by all hardware/software innovations to come. However, the screens leave much to be desired. In addition, the SD slot initiative of the new m50x devices makes it difficult to buy cheap memory addons for the device. In addition, many Palm devices nowadays do not sport Flash ROM, necessary to upgrade the OS.
Handspring: Handspring has a great selection of handhelds, including the primo Prism, which IMHO has one of the best screens on any PDA for its size. Handspring's Springboard expansion slot is very powerful, but proprietary, therefore making most additions rather expensive. My primary concern with Handspring is the lack of upgradibility concerning the OS. You can only use "system patches" written specifically by Handspring, and cannot upgrade the OS due to the lack of Flash ROM.
Sony: Sony's latest offerings are very impressive, with the screens being some of the sharpest examples of both black+white and color around. Sony devices sport the Memory Stick. Memory Stick technology, while being proprietary, has been around for a little while, therefore it is an established medium for storage. However, you cannot run installed programs directly from the Memory Stick, limiting its functionality. Sony also has a proprietary double-resolution screen incorporated into the latest stock of color handhelds. I do not personally put much stock into this technology, since it has yet to be standardized and incorporated into the OS by Palm.
TRG/Handera: The Handera 330 is a long-awaited device, and rightly so. Its CompactFlash slot capability is a carryover from the old TRGPro. The CF slot does not suffer from the same restriction of not being able to run programs directly from it as the Sony devices do. This one feature is very significant. This will allow you to expand your device infinitely and cheaply. In addition it also has a SD/MMC slot that may be useful in the future. The 330 has a larger screen pixel-wise than the other current models (excluding the color Sony with the double resolution.). In addition, the input panel normally dedicated to Graffiti is now software controlled vs silkscreened, making a significantly larger area available for whatever application you are running. The downside to this is that it is proprietary technology that needs special programs to take advantage of its capabilities.
For CE, the choices are fewer. The major manufacturers are HP, Casio, and Compaq.
HP: HP has a long history with CE, and therefore knows quite a bit about it. It unfortunately did not make much use of it in its latest crop of slow handhelds. The screens are decent. The bundled software leaves much to be desired. Battery life is average.
Casio: Another long-time CE handheld manufacturer. Its Pocket PC's are very feature rich, but suffer from relatively slow processor performance. The screens are top-notch. Battery life is poor to average.
Compaq: The newcomer to the field. Its iPaq is a state of the art device. The screen is very vibrant and easily viewable, the processor is very fast, and it has a above-average battery life. I do have one complaint: its akward and expensive expansion system. The "sleeves" you must purchase add considerable bulk to the device.
Conclusion: For a student, PalmOS is definitely the way to go. It will save time as well as go easy on the pocketbook.
For an enthausiast, I have to recommend a the iPaq. Its multimedia capabilities are a sight to behold.
For the business user, its a toss-up. Go with what your colleagues use so that you are compatible.
Slashdot Mirror
I am seriously offended. The poster has broken our most sacred traditions by linking to the previous post instead of posting it all over again.
I am appalled. Whats next? Spell checking? What is this world coming to?
Man, get with the program
In SOVIET RUSSIA, Nigerians send bank account information to YOU!
I am looking at a diebold ATM right now
There you have it! If you can post to slashdot from an ATM, it definitely uses TCP/IP.
About time! Now instead of posting dupes in ignorance, they check to see if it is a dupe and post it anyway with a note saying so right in the post!
See, it's mine. I can do with it what I want.
Laws that remove rights to "protect us from ourselves" are often ignored because of the dictates of common sense. For example, here is a list of the laws I have broken this morning:
1. This morning I shoveled my driveway and threw some of the snow into the road.
2. I also threw some of the snow on the sidewalk.
3. I failed, however, to shovel out the area near the fire hydrant in front of my house.
4. I then proceeded to start my car and loudly rev the engine several times to warm it up a little. (Local noise ordnance forbids doing this.)
5. My car is missing one of the turn signal lenses, but I drove it anyway because it wont come in until tomorrow.
6. I exceeded the speed limit numerous times so as not to impede the flow of traffic, which is also illegal.
7. I failed to use my turn signal on a number of occasions, seeing as how it doesnt have a lens anyway.
8. I threw an apple core out the window into a large field.
9. I parked in a spot labeled "patient parking only" even though I am an employee, since every employee spot was taken.
10. I threw out a soda can because we dont have any recycle bins at work.
11. I listened to several MP3s ripped off of CDs of friends.
12. I used some windex in a manner inconsistant with its labeling.
I'm sure I've done even more "bad" things, but those probably demonstrate the most blatant disregard for the laws that I am supposed to hold so dear.
Honestly, I doubt there many persons in America, lawmakers/enforcers included, that would not be guilty of breaking some of the laws that violate common sense.
If you bought a garage door, by god its yours and you can paint it whatever color you want to. Living in fear of the consequences of using your own property, in a way that does not harm others, is a product of mass paranoia manifested in lawmakers extreme knee-jerk reactions to local upsets or other tragedies. My observation is that the larger the tragedy/upset, the more extreme the reaction.
Ahhhh, the land of the free...
Sure, just ruin the hopes of most of us IT professionals!
Heres a game that has real playability. You could play nethack for 100 hours+ and still not "master" it. I consider this to be more entertaining than playing some shoot-em-up that can be solved in 10 hours or less. Other games may be pretty, but this game has SOUL.
... many hours of playability. If new game authors would make games with the same appeal and infinite replayability as nethack, I might *never* go outside again! :D
The infocom games were similar
I use a really strong belt to hold all my stuff (not unlike Luke's belt-o-stuff in A New Hope): Tamrac 5218 camera case (fits a PalmIIIx+batts and spare styli perfectly) Leatherman Wave Keys Walkman (when appropriate) Once hidden under a sport coat, its not noticable. Then again theres Mike Cobb's solution.
I personally spend a lot of time playing them on my Palm, using one of the PalmOS interpreters. Text-based games are great for their small size and infinite enjoyability. Infocom games and rogue-like games have a perfect home on handhelds. Some people I have beamed the original Adventure to have never seen an infocom game before (believe it or not!). It is all dark here. You will most likely be eaten by a grue. >Open can of whoopass I see no can of whoopass here! >Open can of whoopass Realizing your peril, you decide not to open the can of whoopass and then pat yourself on the back. >Open can of whoopass Ok, can opened.
What about filename changers such as the ever-famous pig-latin convertor? Will Napster have to individually monitor each and every file? We can all see the handwriting on the wall for Napster's future.
I hate to say it, but field day is long over now. I had a lot of fun, going out into the middle of nowhere with nothing but a generator, a radio, and 4 other fat, balding men to stay up all night and prove that emergency communications are not an issue in america. After the 260th contact we really started to fatigue, so even though we had good intentions, the "staying up all night" bit didnt pan out. Anyway, congrats to all the big-scoring stations. 73s
Picking a PDA is not unlike picking a PC, due to many similarities.
First, you should choose which operating system you prefer.
Without over-generalizing, PalmOS has a task-specific focus. Hence, there is only rudimentary multi-tasking, and you cannot run two full programs at once. That said, most Palm programs accomplish what they are going to accomplish simply and quickly. I have found that I can accomplish my scheduling tasks on a Palm much quicker than I can on a Windows CE based machine. (Yes, I know that they are called "Windows Powered" but they still run Windows CE.)
Windows CE on the other hand is power focused. Multimedia is no challenge to the current crop of CE devices, due to the large amount of memory in most machines. In addition, CE devices have much faster processors than Palm devices. This leads to superior video speed when dealing with a color device. The built-in applications with CE are not focused on the scheduling capabilities of the device, unlike Palm.
Once you have picked your OS, then you can move onto devices. For the Palm corner: there are basically 4 contenders: Palm (duh), Handspring (the Visor line of handhelds), Sony, and TRG/Handera. (For the most part, battery life is not an issue and will not be mentioned for the Palm handhelds.) I will quickly outline the difference of the brands:
Palm: Sets the standard. You know that your device will be supported by all hardware/software innovations to come. However, the screens leave much to be desired. In addition, the SD slot initiative of the new m50x devices makes it difficult to buy cheap memory addons for the device. In addition, many Palm devices nowadays do not sport Flash ROM, necessary to upgrade the OS.
Handspring: Handspring has a great selection of handhelds, including the primo Prism, which IMHO has one of the best screens on any PDA for its size. Handspring's Springboard expansion slot is very powerful, but proprietary, therefore making most additions rather expensive. My primary concern with Handspring is the lack of upgradibility concerning the OS. You can only use "system patches" written specifically by Handspring, and cannot upgrade the OS due to the lack of Flash ROM.
Sony: Sony's latest offerings are very impressive, with the screens being some of the sharpest examples of both black+white and color around. Sony devices sport the Memory Stick. Memory Stick technology, while being proprietary, has been around for a little while, therefore it is an established medium for storage. However, you cannot run installed programs directly from the Memory Stick, limiting its functionality. Sony also has a proprietary double-resolution screen incorporated into the latest stock of color handhelds. I do not personally put much stock into this technology, since it has yet to be standardized and incorporated into the OS by Palm.
TRG/Handera: The Handera 330 is a long-awaited device, and rightly so. Its CompactFlash slot capability is a carryover from the old TRGPro. The CF slot does not suffer from the same restriction of not being able to run programs directly from it as the Sony devices do. This one feature is very significant. This will allow you to expand your device infinitely and cheaply. In addition it also has a SD/MMC slot that may be useful in the future. The 330 has a larger screen pixel-wise than the other current models (excluding the color Sony with the double resolution.). In addition, the input panel normally dedicated to Graffiti is now software controlled vs silkscreened, making a significantly larger area available for whatever application you are running. The downside to this is that it is proprietary technology that needs special programs to take advantage of its capabilities.
For CE, the choices are fewer. The major manufacturers are HP, Casio, and Compaq.
HP: HP has a long history with CE, and therefore knows quite a bit about it. It unfortunately did not make much use of it in its latest crop of slow handhelds. The screens are decent. The bundled software leaves much to be desired. Battery life is average.
Casio: Another long-time CE handheld manufacturer. Its Pocket PC's are very feature rich, but suffer from relatively slow processor performance. The screens are top-notch. Battery life is poor to average.
Compaq: The newcomer to the field. Its iPaq is a state of the art device. The screen is very vibrant and easily viewable, the processor is very fast, and it has a above-average battery life. I do have one complaint: its akward and expensive expansion system. The "sleeves" you must purchase add considerable bulk to the device.
Conclusion: For a student, PalmOS is definitely the way to go. It will save time as well as go easy on the pocketbook.
For an enthausiast, I have to recommend a the iPaq. Its multimedia capabilities are a sight to behold.
For the business user, its a toss-up. Go with what your colleagues use so that you are compatible.