ok I bought an ibook last year (switcher), it's a wonderful machine, apart from a technical problem that forced it into service for 2 months (reed switch needed to be replaced).
That aside, I'd rather have an Apple and be able to get it repaired locally than deal with the hell that is IBM tech support (my dad works at IBM, I know) or Dell et cetera.
Plus the thought of having a Windows blue screen of death on the road terrifies me.
If you can't support your site you should do either one of three things -
shut down the site change to a different plan that is cheaper beg off your readers for money
Sites that don't have ads and provide good content to their readers tend to be quite successful at the third. a radiohead site had to raise money recently to pay server costs, and this was successful. Why? Because the site provides an enormous amount of value to its readers.
Salon.com uses this if you want the daypass to view full articles. It's easy to get around. Click on link to ad, go to another browser window and surf for 30 seconds, come back and voila, you're through to the article. These ads are even more pointless than banner ads.
I can't think of any test that would absolutely require this design. Why not just rent some tablet PCs? Or use desktop computers?
If the students are encountering the technology for the first time when you administer a test, you are asking for trouble. Stick to computers that they already know and use.
If you don't even know what you'd do with a NFP, steer clear of the rocks and do NOT do it. The world does not need another NFP. The more that are created for a similar cause, the smaller the pool of volunteers and money are. It makes it very difficult to be successful.
Remember that volunteering is not about getting recognition for doing good deads, or a pat on the back. You'll get to meet new people, and learn new skills, and sometimes it will suck and sometimes it will be really rewarding. But also, don't just do it because you feel obligated. I recently met with a library to volunteer to teach database skills, but I really didn't feel like I fitted in there. It is ok to say no to a group if you don't feel like the experience will be mutually rewarding.
An idea you may not have thought of... why not help out a local public radio station? They are always in need of computers and technical help.
When governments are happy to throw money at computers in classrooms but refuse to increase salaries for teachers you have to ask 'what's wrong here?'.
I'm sure that in a decade or so we'll find out that kids who grew up with computers from day 1 will not have the writing, comprehension and reading skills that those who grew up without did.
Computers are needed in schools, but yes you're right, they should be in a lab.
Actually one of the other main reasons for knockbacks is that a very large number of libraries already receive PCs through grants/donations etc. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation provides lots of computers with all the software too so they don't need to look elsewhere (anti-Windows feelings aside, it helps a lot of communities).
The other issue that that those libraries that don't get computers this way get them via sponsorship arrangements or commercial deals with computer vendors. It's a stupid arrangement, and one that should stop, because it is stifling a lot of innovation in the library software sector IMHO.
And you're right about the storage issue, this is the main reason why book donations get knocked back frequently, too.
When I buy a walkman I make sure it can be recharged in the machine without needing another charging device. This serves two purposes - it's easier to use and easier to port around when travelling. I tend to buy Sony audio stuff because the rechargeable batteries last for a long time in those things, I can get a week of commuting on one set of AAs. They're NiCad so YMMV.
My digital camera doesn't use regular AAs. I'm a little dissapointed with the battery life, I get maybe two-three hours of active viewing and usage before I have to recharge. This can be a pain when overseas. It uses Lithium-ion but sometimes it would be nice to be able to use regular batteries when I run out at the beach or whatever.
figure skating boot technology has not changed in around 50 years now. Sure, the new boots are now heat mouldable, so you throw them in an oven and they fit better, but they don't work any different from decades ago.
Some blade companies have slightly changed the design of toepicks or whatever, but the basic shape is the same from even 100 years ago.
There was some talk a few years ago that the current technology will see an end to innovation in the sport, with the weight of the boots and blades preventing further advances in jumping.
And furthermore, the boots break down fast and can be quite dangerous, with athletes prone to hip, back and ankle injuries due to stiff, heavy landings compacted by boots that are absolutely unforgiving.
in a laptop. You need to be able to think during a lecture, not be tap tap tapping away all the time trying to get every word on the page. So buy yourself a really good pen and a nice pad of paper. Added advantage - when you do type up your lecture notes after the lecture this gives you a change to clarify your thoughts and revisit the subject, thus being a form of revision mid-semester before exams.
Unless you're in mathematics, engineering, or doing a statistical class, you won't need much more than a word processor, so save your cash for living expenses. I'm a thesis student and use only SPSS, Word, Endnote, and the Internet which doesn't require too much processing power (thesis submitted for examination TODAY! yay!).
A list I'm on is currently discussing the value of tablet PCs for journalism students. I don't see the advantage. The hallmark of a good journalist is a listener and someone who can initiate a dialogue, not create fancy charts.
It's practical to have lots of skills. In the past, you used them all the time. Now, we're lazy and get other people to do everything for us, even hemming pants fercrissakes. It's not hard!
I love making my own clothes. I like to plant vegetables out on my balcony, with the pots sitting on a planter that my husband made. I like learning new things. One day, I want to learn how to make shoes.
My husband desperately wants to learn bookbinding. We have a lot of antiquarian books that need some work. Unfortunately, it's a trade only practiced by archivists these days.
This isn't unique to hackers or whatever, it's just that we recognise that some skills are still useful and practical to have.
Streetcar companies would buy cheap land at what was then the city limits, built streetcar (or elevated) lines out to the land, parcel it up, and sell it off.
Ironic, since here in Australia, land developments get built, all the houses go up, and then all the cars pour in. When, if, public transport becomes available (usually only a bus, train lines are no longer extended into new areas) it doesn't happen for many years.
It should be required that developers pay to extend public transport before selling land.
All inner-city houses in Sydney, Australia are row or semi-detached houses. They are 100+ years old, and crumbling. They are difficult to maintain due to the cramped quarters in which they are built. The front of the houses are right on the footpath, and the backyards are the size of an apartment balcony. Yet, they go for a small fortune at auctions. Those that gentrify these areas are to blame. Baby boomers, predominantly.
First home buyers like me are being told that we 'deserve' to live an hour or more away from work and the city, and to live in outer, outer suburbia where the houses are weatherboard and in crime ridden areas. We will be 'allowed' to live close to the city when we have spent 10 years in the gulag.
Now this whole situation seems ridiculous to me. I definitely think people should be able to afford to live closer to their work. I'll never be able to get less than half an hour away, there's no way I'll ever earn enough to buy within that radius of where I work now. But it is ludicrous that inner-city housing has become so expensive given that it's the most logical place for city workers to live.
I like little houses. I want a little house. I will just never be able to afford one.
There's a lot of good comments about how data matching works, does anyone have links for finding out more about this process? I'm interested from the POV that I'm a librarian and of course one of the big issues we're faced with is do we allow law enforcement and others to know what people have borrowed? How are crimes connected with reading habits? etc.
I still have an original gameboy. I never saw the need to replace it. Tetris in colour? Who cares! I think the best games are the simplest ones. The game I played most on my Sega Megadrive was the rip-off of Tetris, I don't recall its name.
This talk is making me nostalgic, I might go home and find my GB.
Of course, due to digital TV, the station where I work has dumped Betacam for DVC Pro. Tried and tested? We'll see in 5 years.
We too had plenty of reels and such lying around that are just fine. So why the change? The government got on some stupid bandwagon that noone has taken up.
While I like to tinker with my iBook, and install things, and occasionally design things on computers, I wouldn't want it to be the only thing I did in a job. Lots of people at work think I'm a major computer nerd and ask why I didn't become a programmer or whatever. I guess I can do a lot of things with them, but I don't want computers to be the only thing I do in my day. So I became a librarian, which means I get to use computers and help people in a direct way that I can see.
CS would be more attractive to women I think, if it was promoted as something that you can do, learn, be good at in combination with something else at the same time.
almost all Indian universities are of notoriously poor quality. My partner interviews teachers for the post-secondary level. MBAs in India are just a smidge above high school level in the US, Australia, etc. We all know that MBAs are worthless anyway, but theirs are even worse!
while shopping for wedding rings myself last week, I saw that many jeweller's now sell a copy of the LOTR ring. Um, not the best omen for a good relationship, I would think;-)
think about it way in advance. I'm getting hitched in 2 weeks and being a procrastinator, put off the ring buying stuff until Thursday. There were some lovely patterned bands at the jewellers, but they would take 3 weeks to order in, too late (My fiancee's getting his late father's ring so he's all taken care of). So I'm just having a $50 plain-as gold band and then maybe later we'll both get something custom made up for a 10th anniversary gift or something.
I work for a multicultural broadcaster, I'm a librarian. I'm surrounded by music from 80+ countries. You name it, we've got it.
Ordering stuff from some countries can be tough though. For stuff from Lebanon, Korea, Russia etc etc we get that stuff from people who know people who will go to the actual store in that country and send the CDs to us. Most countries' Internet catalogues are rudimentary at best.
this is the problem. Many 9 users expect 10 to be the same. but isn't 10 supposed to be completely different?
I really think they should have called it something else and not had integration with 9 (classic). That way maybe people would realise it is a different operating system and is supposed to behave differently from 9.
Incidentally, I'm a switcher (almost a year ago) and I still don't know any keyboard commands apart from apple-s to save and apple-q to quit. I don't even know what the symbols are in the menus. This is a problem for me because I like to use the keyboard. I'll be damned if there's an easy way to work it out.
Slashdot Mirror
ok I bought an ibook last year (switcher), it's a wonderful machine, apart from a technical problem that forced it into service for 2 months (reed switch needed to be replaced).
That aside, I'd rather have an Apple and be able to get it repaired locally than deal with the hell that is IBM tech support (my dad works at IBM, I know) or Dell et cetera.
Plus the thought of having a Windows blue screen of death on the road terrifies me.
huh? we all knew iTunes for windows was coming, months and months ago.
If you can't support your site you should do either one of three things -
shut down the site
change to a different plan that is cheaper
beg off your readers for money
Sites that don't have ads and provide good content to their readers tend to be quite successful at the third. a radiohead site had to raise money recently to pay server costs, and this was successful. Why? Because the site provides an enormous amount of value to its readers.
Salon.com uses this if you want the daypass to view full articles. It's easy to get around. Click on link to ad, go to another browser window and surf for 30 seconds, come back and voila, you're through to the article. These ads are even more pointless than banner ads.
I can't think of any test that would absolutely require this design. Why not just rent some tablet PCs? Or use desktop computers?
If the students are encountering the technology for the first time when you administer a test, you are asking for trouble. Stick to computers that they already know and use.
If you don't even know what you'd do with a NFP, steer clear of the rocks and do NOT do it. The world does not need another NFP. The more that are created for a similar cause, the smaller the pool of volunteers and money are. It makes it very difficult to be successful.
Remember that volunteering is not about getting recognition for doing good deads, or a pat on the back. You'll get to meet new people, and learn new skills, and sometimes it will suck and sometimes it will be really rewarding. But also, don't just do it because you feel obligated. I recently met with a library to volunteer to teach database skills, but I really didn't feel like I fitted in there. It is ok to say no to a group if you don't feel like the experience will be mutually rewarding.
An idea you may not have thought of... why not help out a local public radio station? They are always in need of computers and technical help.
Agreed.
When governments are happy to throw money at computers in classrooms but refuse to increase salaries for teachers you have to ask 'what's wrong here?'.
I'm sure that in a decade or so we'll find out that kids who grew up with computers from day 1 will not have the writing, comprehension and reading skills that those who grew up without did.
Computers are needed in schools, but yes you're right, they should be in a lab.
Actually one of the other main reasons for knockbacks is that a very large number of libraries already receive PCs through grants/donations etc. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation provides lots of computers with all the software too so they don't need to look elsewhere (anti-Windows feelings aside, it helps a lot of communities).
The other issue that that those libraries that don't get computers this way get them via sponsorship arrangements or commercial deals with computer vendors. It's a stupid arrangement, and one that should stop, because it is stifling a lot of innovation in the library software sector IMHO.
And you're right about the storage issue, this is the main reason why book donations get knocked back frequently, too.
When I buy a walkman I make sure it can be recharged in the machine without needing another charging device. This serves two purposes - it's easier to use and easier to port around when travelling. I tend to buy Sony audio stuff because the rechargeable batteries last for a long time in those things, I can get a week of commuting on one set of AAs. They're NiCad so YMMV.
My digital camera doesn't use regular AAs. I'm a little dissapointed with the battery life, I get maybe two-three hours of active viewing and usage before I have to recharge. This can be a pain when overseas. It uses Lithium-ion but sometimes it would be nice to be able to use regular batteries when I run out at the beach or whatever.
figure skating boot technology has not changed in around 50 years now. Sure, the new boots are now heat mouldable, so you throw them in an oven and they fit better, but they don't work any different from decades ago.
Some blade companies have slightly changed the design of toepicks or whatever, but the basic shape is the same from even 100 years ago.
There was some talk a few years ago that the current technology will see an end to innovation in the sport, with the weight of the boots and blades preventing further advances in jumping.
And furthermore, the boots break down fast and can be quite dangerous, with athletes prone to hip, back and ankle injuries due to stiff, heavy landings compacted by boots that are absolutely unforgiving.
in a laptop. You need to be able to think during a lecture, not be tap tap tapping away all the time trying to get every word on the page. So buy yourself a really good pen and a nice pad of paper. Added advantage - when you do type up your lecture notes after the lecture this gives you a change to clarify your thoughts and revisit the subject, thus being a form of revision mid-semester before exams.
Unless you're in mathematics, engineering, or doing a statistical class, you won't need much more than a word processor, so save your cash for living expenses. I'm a thesis student and use only SPSS, Word, Endnote, and the Internet which doesn't require too much processing power (thesis submitted for examination TODAY! yay!).
A list I'm on is currently discussing the value of tablet PCs for journalism students. I don't see the advantage. The hallmark of a good journalist is a listener and someone who can initiate a dialogue, not create fancy charts.
...why did we ever stop doing those things?
It's practical to have lots of skills. In the past, you used them all the time. Now, we're lazy and get other people to do everything for us, even hemming pants fercrissakes. It's not hard!
I love making my own clothes. I like to plant vegetables out on my balcony, with the pots sitting on a planter that my husband made. I like learning new things. One day, I want to learn how to make shoes.
My husband desperately wants to learn bookbinding. We have a lot of antiquarian books that need some work. Unfortunately, it's a trade only practiced by archivists these days.
This isn't unique to hackers or whatever, it's just that we recognise that some skills are still useful and practical to have.
Streetcar companies would buy cheap land at what was then the city limits, built streetcar (or elevated) lines out to the land, parcel it up, and sell it off.
Ironic, since here in Australia, land developments get built, all the houses go up, and then all the cars pour in. When, if, public transport becomes available (usually only a bus, train lines are no longer extended into new areas) it doesn't happen for many years.
It should be required that developers pay to extend public transport before selling land.
All inner-city houses in Sydney, Australia are row or semi-detached houses. They are 100+ years old, and crumbling. They are difficult to maintain due to the cramped quarters in which they are built. The front of the houses are right on the footpath, and the backyards are the size of an apartment balcony. Yet, they go for a small fortune at auctions. Those that gentrify these areas are to blame. Baby boomers, predominantly.
First home buyers like me are being told that we 'deserve' to live an hour or more away from work and the city, and to live in outer, outer suburbia where the houses are weatherboard and in crime ridden areas. We will be 'allowed' to live close to the city when we have spent 10 years in the gulag.
Now this whole situation seems ridiculous to me. I definitely think people should be able to afford to live closer to their work. I'll never be able to get less than half an hour away, there's no way I'll ever earn enough to buy within that radius of where I work now. But it is ludicrous that inner-city housing has become so expensive given that it's the most logical place for city workers to live.
I like little houses. I want a little house. I will just never be able to afford one.
There's a lot of good comments about how data matching works, does anyone have links for finding out more about this process? I'm interested from the POV that I'm a librarian and of course one of the big issues we're faced with is do we allow law enforcement and others to know what people have borrowed? How are crimes connected with reading habits? etc.
I still have an original gameboy. I never saw the need to replace it. Tetris in colour? Who cares! I think the best games are the simplest ones. The game I played most on my Sega Megadrive was the rip-off of Tetris, I don't recall its name.
This talk is making me nostalgic, I might go home and find my GB.
Of course, due to digital TV, the station where I work has dumped Betacam for DVC Pro. Tried and tested? We'll see in 5 years.
We too had plenty of reels and such lying around that are just fine. So why the change? The government got on some stupid bandwagon that noone has taken up.
While I like to tinker with my iBook, and install things, and occasionally design things on computers, I wouldn't want it to be the only thing I did in a job. Lots of people at work think I'm a major computer nerd and ask why I didn't become a programmer or whatever. I guess I can do a lot of things with them, but I don't want computers to be the only thing I do in my day. So I became a librarian, which means I get to use computers and help people in a direct way that I can see.
CS would be more attractive to women I think, if it was promoted as something that you can do, learn, be good at in combination with something else at the same time.
almost all Indian universities are of notoriously poor quality. My partner interviews teachers for the post-secondary level. MBAs in India are just a smidge above high school level in the US, Australia, etc. We all know that MBAs are worthless anyway, but theirs are even worse!
while shopping for wedding rings myself last week, I saw that many jeweller's now sell a copy of the LOTR ring. Um, not the best omen for a good relationship, I would think ;-)
think about it way in advance. I'm getting hitched in 2 weeks and being a procrastinator, put off the ring buying stuff until Thursday. There were some lovely patterned bands at the jewellers, but they would take 3 weeks to order in, too late (My fiancee's getting his late father's ring so he's all taken care of). So I'm just having a $50 plain-as gold band and then maybe later we'll both get something custom made up for a 10th anniversary gift or something.
SMH is owned by Fairfax, not News Ltd.
services like 'books in print'? they've done much of the hard yards for you.
I work for a multicultural broadcaster, I'm a librarian. I'm surrounded by music from 80+ countries. You name it, we've got it.
Ordering stuff from some countries can be tough though. For stuff from Lebanon, Korea, Russia etc etc we get that stuff from people who know people who will go to the actual store in that country and send the CDs to us. Most countries' Internet catalogues are rudimentary at best.
this is the problem. Many 9 users expect 10 to be the same. but isn't 10 supposed to be completely different?
I really think they should have called it something else and not had integration with 9 (classic). That way maybe people would realise it is a different operating system and is supposed to behave differently from 9.
Incidentally, I'm a switcher (almost a year ago) and I still don't know any keyboard commands apart from apple-s to save and apple-q to quit. I don't even know what the symbols are in the menus. This is a problem for me because I like to use the keyboard. I'll be damned if there's an easy way to work it out.