This would actually be pretty cool for Spinning. For those of you who aren't familiar, you basically sit in a class of networked excer-cycles and a psychotic instructor that keeps breaking promises.
Two more minutes...Three, two, one... OK... Now just one more...[sound of several BFGs]
The problem is that you typically do not want your space project going to the "lowest bidder". I can see some advantages as long as things are executed properly (i.e. - real standards to comply to and perhaps a fed funded oversight team). Maybe they could hire Argenbright Security while they are at it.
In case you "could care less" about this, I would be quick to remind you that its your tax money (if you're indeed a US citizen) and this could potentially save quite a bit of it.
Please note that laptop security cables are no longer allowed as carry on pieces. Apparently they can be used as a weapon (noose). The airports *will* conficate them if you have one in a carry on bag. Check it and save yourself the money (around $40)...
What options are there for people who need to run Windows? There is NT and 2000 which come with stability but have their own set of quirkiness and complexity to learn. Then there is the 9x series (including ME). These aren't stable at all. What do I recommend?
Well, as a computer science major, you soon become the "friend" that everyone calls during computer troubles. After years of this, I reluctantly recommend XP. Fuck 11 percent. Its not worth some poor soul calling me at 11pm because they've never seen scandisk before. Sure - Microsoft has built themselves into these sales, "our other OS'es suck or are too complex for you so buy XP" - but what else can you recommend?
UNRELATED CONTENT
While all these open source companies were busy making whatever (*), Microsoft was fixing what had gone wrong in desktop land. As far as I am concerned, the WinXP interface - good and bad - should be the new GUI system standard for all desktop-targetted Linux distros. There is currently too much of a learning curve to warrant development of anything else and expect nothing short of non-penetration onto the desktop.
(*) Although I am impressed with the advances of Linux, I cannot see how any consumer could ever use it without significant improvements to the UI.
Re:Why no USB then (Apple PC required)?
on
The Guts Of An iPod
·
· Score: 1, Flamebait
Apple is subsidizing the cost of this player in order to promote the Apple Computer. From Apple's iPod spec page:
Requirements
- Apple computer with built-in FireWire port
- Mac OS 9.2.1 (or later) or Mac OS X v10.1 (or later)
- iTunes 2 software (included)
So basically, you wind up paying less than what Apple is putting into the product for the sheer promotion of Apple's other products. However, I'm sure that some l337 h4x0r will figure out how to make this work with real PCs and Apple will cancel the whole program.
Microsoft is on top of the game. They'll have an Xbox variant soon that will do all this and then some for lots less. Why does everyone ignore the potential of this market? I'd *love* to have a single box that I could plug the phone, satellite (from any provider, or cable if I prefer), run MP3s, play games, surf the web, and time shift TV content. I'm sure that there is more that I am forgetting, but processing is cheap.
Sure, there are small projects to bring Linux into this arena but MS is close to making them all dead in the water. Just like IE, I'll be quick to support it since there are no other solutions.
If only someone in the industry would pull their head out of their ass. Maybe when all the million distros die off... There's just too much duplication of work right now and not enough in the way of making actual inroads.
Similar story - and even in the Haloween timeframe...
During my time in college, the engineering and computer science student societies had their own room in one of the buildings. Although is was technically there for administrative purposes, we ended up using it as a hangout. We'd do homework and stuff but when it filled up with geeks, not much got done. Speaking of geeks, nothing bad really ever happened there simply because of the intellectual types (namely the Tau Beta Pi honors society) wouldn't stand for it. Hell, smart people don't seek out trouble, do they? Well, on one particularly full moon, we did.
Most of us were under-aged so we'd always be jealous of those who could steal off to the bar after a difficult test or 50 hour jam session in the lab (I actually did this but the official record is two weeks without leaving the building or showering). Anyway... On this particular night, we decided that it was time to do some non-constructive mid-term "venting" (read: beer). Because of the underaged thing, we ended up designating the office for the location of choice. It started out with an innocent 12 pack. Then the stories started flying and everyone was enjoying the social lubricant that is beer. By the arrival of the second batch of beer, we had gained a new drinking partner - the quiet "guy in the corner" who was there working on his lab in apparent disapproval of our actions. He had just given up on a lab report that was going nowhere quickly so alcohol was the natural choice (cause of, solution to all of life's problems).
Time lapse:
Two cases of beer later, we've now got a lovely "beer-a-mid" on the table and were all having a good time. Someone mentioned that it would be a neat idea to run up to the roof top of the new engineering building and piss off of the top. The rest is history... After we returned, we had all pretty much calmed down and the guy who was working on his lab returned to the work. The most notable quote from the night ocurred shortly after he started working again:
We drove to Florida once. In like 11 hours (from Michigan - that's fast)... After being awake for a LONG time we just jumped in the van and decided to drive to Florida.
Long story short... We were all strung out on caffine and ephedrine (diet pills) to stay awake when we encountered a stop light in the Florida "pan handle". This particular stoplight was on a "surface road" that had very few stop lights. Few and far between... In any event, this area had been previously designated a "fog zone". We saw the signs but did not know what this meant in terms of changes in actual equipment used on the highway. I dunno if anyone else is familiar but they equip some of the stoplights with a VERY intense flash sorta like a camera flash but lots brighter... They proceed to flash these when the light turns red and there is fog out. Kinda like an extra warning.
I don't know if it was the drugs or lack of sleep (combination maybe?) but we were pretty freaked out when we witnessed this light at 3:00am after driving for 10 hours. It took us like 15 minutes (several stoplight changes) to figure out that these weren't aliens but rather a safety feature implemented by FDOT.
The problem with iPod is that you need to buy an Apple PC to go with it. The bottom line is that Apple and Imation have subsidized their product for the sake of other interests! In the case of Imation, they are supporting an open standard so I will take their product over Apple's (technologically superior) product any day.
I haven't seen any mini CD-R media laying around but I would imagine that it costs more than regular sized CD-R media. At this point, you'd be better off buying a portable CD burner and getting a separate MP3 player. Neat concept though.
While picking through some of the links at the manufacturer's site, I stumbled across this. Not a bad read. The interesting part is that most HDTVs don't even come close to the 1920 x 1080 standard but rather sample the image down to a lower resolution. Talk about a waste of bandwidth!
If I was to purchase an HDTV, could I use it as a 1920 x 1080 (1080i standard) monitor? I have seen that some of the high end units have DB15 inputs on the back. This would make for the ultimate entertainment center when equipped with any of the new high end Dolby Digital sound cards.
Has anyone actually put together a PC that will control fuel injection, ignition and/or ABS/traction control or what not? PCs are so cheap these days that it would be very cost effective to put together a real time Linux (perhaps BIOS-based?) box with a bunch of RAM for data logging... There would be extra CPU cycles for playing MP3s and what not as well. Hell, maybe hook up a GPS sensor and record mileage. While that GPS sensor is in there, you could interface with suspension components and plot pot holes for people. ABS goes off? Why not create a system that would find redundant ABS occurances and warn drivers of slippery road conditions? Air bag? Call the ambulance!
Just make sure that you get a *real* copy of it. Microsoft, as of late, doesn't seem to allow the vendors to sell anything other than a restore CD. The vendors then put the license info and hologram directly on the PC. This means that, unless you can get the license off of the PC, that you will lose permission to use XP when you get rid of the PC in question. Not only that, but you still have to source a real CD that you can install from (not just a PC specific restore number).
When people say that MS is not a monopoly, I point them to these things... Most users simply don't know any better...
You can sell an internet "appliance" and make money if you (a) subsidize the cost with internet service or (b) charge an arm & leg. We all know that the former doesn't seem to work too well (*cough* iOpener *cough*) and charging an arm/leg doesn't work well because laptops can replace the devices with more functionality and practicality.
As I've said before, we need an open "disposable" PC form factor standard. Get rid of the ZIF socket, dimms and expansion slots and go with an embedded (as in soldered on the board) processor, ram, video, etc type of solution. Hell, with RAM going as cheap as it is, I don't see why the cheap end of the PC spectrum hasn't gone to this already. You could probably do 1Ghz, 256Mb, video, TV-out, audio, ethernet & 56K for under $150 in quantity.
What happens when nForce and its variants is small enough to sell to CPU manufacturers as an on-chip option? This is probably happening already. Didja ever wonder why nVidia and AMD are so buddy/buddy when the Xbox is Intel-based? Expect to see an AMD system-on-a-chip soon...
What I am getting at is that the open PC architecture is one of the things that made the damn thing so popular. However, its also the very thing that makes it large (ever priced a latop motherboard?). BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE. The market could obviously bring the economies of scale to a small PC solution. This could be used in anything from the appliance to a laptop (or TVs and radios).
Our company had over 7000 of the CPx units and they kept repeatedly breaking. The buttons for the trackpoint repeadedly fell off and the motherboard would fail in such a manner that would cause some keys not to work (not to mention the other problems). Then they recalled all of the batteries because of possibly issues with starting on fire. Last January, 900 of the 7000 units needed service - many of them more than once. Since it was costing Dell $150 - $200 for on site service (depending on the provider) on *top* of the parts in question, they finally broke down and decided to replace all 7000 units with Latitude C600s which are a much better PC. Bottom line was that they were lemons. Call Dell and demand satisfaction (have your glove handy). If none is achieved, visit the BBB Online and let them know what you are going through.
Make note that this is a subscription, not just a flat, one-time fee. This looks like the beginning of Microsloth's relationship with everyone's wallet.
Slashdot Mirror
This would actually be pretty cool for Spinning. For those of you who aren't familiar, you basically sit in a class of networked excer-cycles and a psychotic instructor that keeps breaking promises.
Two more minutes...Three, two, one... OK... Now just one more...[sound of several BFGs]
Class over!
The problem is that you typically do not want your space project going to the "lowest bidder". I can see some advantages as long as things are executed properly (i.e. - real standards to comply to and perhaps a fed funded oversight team). Maybe they could hire Argenbright Security while they are at it.
In case you "could care less" about this, I would be quick to remind you that its your tax money (if you're indeed a US citizen) and this could potentially save quite a bit of it.
Danger Will Robinson
Please note that laptop security cables are no longer allowed as carry on pieces. Apparently they can be used as a weapon (noose). The airports *will* conficate them if you have one in a carry on bag. Check it and save yourself the money (around $40)...
I'm sure that the server that the article is posted on is getting a nice "attack" on port 80 right now!
Here it is!
MONEY = SQRT(EVIL) (money is the root of all evil)
GIRLS = TIME * MONEY (girls are time and money)
TIME = MONEY (time is money)
Therefore...
GIRLS = MONEY * MONEY
GIRLS = MONEY^2
Substitute in the first equation...
MONEY^2 = EVIL
Therefore...
GIRLS = EVIL
Hell,
What options are there for people who need to run Windows? There is NT and 2000 which come with stability but have their own set of quirkiness and complexity to learn. Then there is the 9x series (including ME). These aren't stable at all. What do I recommend?
Well, as a computer science major, you soon become the "friend" that everyone calls during computer troubles. After years of this, I reluctantly recommend XP. Fuck 11 percent. Its not worth some poor soul calling me at 11pm because they've never seen scandisk before. Sure - Microsoft has built themselves into these sales, "our other OS'es suck or are too complex for you so buy XP" - but what else can you recommend?
UNRELATED CONTENT
While all these open source companies were busy making whatever (*), Microsoft was fixing what had gone wrong in desktop land. As far as I am concerned, the WinXP interface - good and bad - should be the new GUI system standard for all desktop-targetted Linux distros. There is currently too much of a learning curve to warrant development of anything else and expect nothing short of non-penetration onto the desktop.
(*) Although I am impressed with the advances of Linux, I cannot see how any consumer could ever use it without significant improvements to the UI.
Apple is subsidizing the cost of this player in order to promote the Apple Computer. From Apple's iPod spec page:
Requirements
- Apple computer with built-in FireWire port
- Mac OS 9.2.1 (or later) or Mac OS X v10.1 (or later)
- iTunes 2 software (included)
So basically, you wind up paying less than what Apple is putting into the product for the sheer promotion of Apple's other products. However, I'm sure that some l337 h4x0r will figure out how to make this work with real PCs and Apple will cancel the whole program.
Does anyone remember that Saturday Night Live episode with Tom Hanks posing as one of those "flea market electronics hustlers"?
Sony Guts!
Microsoft is on top of the game. They'll have an Xbox variant soon that will do all this and then some for lots less. Why does everyone ignore the potential of this market? I'd *love* to have a single box that I could plug the phone, satellite (from any provider, or cable if I prefer), run MP3s, play games, surf the web, and time shift TV content. I'm sure that there is more that I am forgetting, but processing is cheap.
Sure, there are small projects to bring Linux into this arena but MS is close to making them all dead in the water. Just like IE, I'll be quick to support it since there are no other solutions.
If only someone in the industry would pull their head out of their ass. Maybe when all the million distros die off... There's just too much duplication of work right now and not enough in the way of making actual inroads.
Sigh...
Similar story - and even in the Haloween timeframe...
During my time in college, the engineering and computer science student societies had their own room in one of the buildings. Although is was technically there for administrative purposes, we ended up using it as a hangout. We'd do homework and stuff but when it filled up with geeks, not much got done. Speaking of geeks, nothing bad really ever happened there simply because of the intellectual types (namely the Tau Beta Pi honors society) wouldn't stand for it. Hell, smart people don't seek out trouble, do they? Well, on one particularly full moon, we did.
Most of us were under-aged so we'd always be jealous of those who could steal off to the bar after a difficult test or 50 hour jam session in the lab (I actually did this but the official record is two weeks without leaving the building or showering). Anyway... On this particular night, we decided that it was time to do some non-constructive mid-term "venting" (read: beer). Because of the underaged thing, we ended up designating the office for the location of choice. It started out with an innocent 12 pack. Then the stories started flying and everyone was enjoying the social lubricant that is beer. By the arrival of the second batch of beer, we had gained a new drinking partner - the quiet "guy in the corner" who was there working on his lab in apparent disapproval of our actions. He had just given up on a lab report that was going nowhere quickly so alcohol was the natural choice (cause of, solution to all of life's problems).
Time lapse:
Two cases of beer later, we've now got a lovely "beer-a-mid" on the table and were all having a good time. Someone mentioned that it would be a neat idea to run up to the roof top of the new engineering building and piss off of the top. The rest is history... After we returned, we had all pretty much calmed down and the guy who was working on his lab returned to the work. The most notable quote from the night ocurred shortly after he started working again:
Beer made my lab work!
We drove to Florida once. In like 11 hours (from Michigan - that's fast)... After being awake for a LONG time we just jumped in the van and decided to drive to Florida.
Long story short... We were all strung out on caffine and ephedrine (diet pills) to stay awake when we encountered a stop light in the Florida "pan handle". This particular stoplight was on a "surface road" that had very few stop lights. Few and far between... In any event, this area had been previously designated a "fog zone". We saw the signs but did not know what this meant in terms of changes in actual equipment used on the highway. I dunno if anyone else is familiar but they equip some of the stoplights with a VERY intense flash sorta like a camera flash but lots brighter... They proceed to flash these when the light turns red and there is fog out. Kinda like an extra warning.
I don't know if it was the drugs or lack of sleep (combination maybe?) but we were pretty freaked out when we witnessed this light at 3:00am after driving for 10 hours. It took us like 15 minutes (several stoplight changes) to figure out that these weren't aliens but rather a safety feature implemented by FDOT.
Sigh...
So this is basically proof that total cost of ownership is higher with Microsoft's products.
Are they still allowed to print that propoganda anymore or does this set some sort of precedent?
There's no "bzzzt" about it. Apple lists the requirement for the Apple Computer in the specs at the official iPod site. To quote:
Requirements - Apple computer with built-in FireWire port
- Mac OS 9.2.1 (or later) or Mac OS X v10.1 (or later)
- iTunes 2 software (included)
The problem with iPod is that you need to buy an Apple PC to go with it. The bottom line is that Apple and Imation have subsidized their product for the sake of other interests! In the case of Imation, they are supporting an open standard so I will take their product over Apple's (technologically superior) product any day.
I haven't seen any mini CD-R media laying around but I would imagine that it costs more than regular sized CD-R media. At this point, you'd be better off buying a portable CD burner and getting a separate MP3 player. Neat concept though.
While picking through some of the links at the manufacturer's site, I stumbled across this. Not a bad read. The interesting part is that most HDTVs don't even come close to the 1920 x 1080 standard but rather sample the image down to a lower resolution. Talk about a waste of bandwidth!
If I was to purchase an HDTV, could I use it as a 1920 x 1080 (1080i standard) monitor? I have seen that some of the high end units have DB15 inputs on the back. This would make for the ultimate entertainment center when equipped with any of the new high end Dolby Digital sound cards.
Has anyone actually put together a PC that will control fuel injection, ignition and/or ABS/traction control or what not? PCs are so cheap these days that it would be very cost effective to put together a real time Linux (perhaps BIOS-based?) box with a bunch of RAM for data logging... There would be extra CPU cycles for playing MP3s and what not as well. Hell, maybe hook up a GPS sensor and record mileage. While that GPS sensor is in there, you could interface with suspension components and plot pot holes for people. ABS goes off? Why not create a system that would find redundant ABS occurances and warn drivers of slippery road conditions? Air bag? Call the ambulance!
I'm sorry... Have I wandered?
Sure, I'm going out tonight to buy XP
Just make sure that you get a *real* copy of it. Microsoft, as of late, doesn't seem to allow the vendors to sell anything other than a restore CD. The vendors then put the license info and hologram directly on the PC. This means that, unless you can get the license off of the PC, that you will lose permission to use XP when you get rid of the PC in question. Not only that, but you still have to source a real CD that you can install from (not just a PC specific restore number).
When people say that MS is not a monopoly, I point them to these things... Most users simply don't know any better...
No more BSOD?
Does XP come with some sort of a utility to chage the color of the screen of death?
I could go for a nice mauve or perhaps a pale green (easy on the eyes).
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER:<BR><BR>
QUEUE: REM - ITS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT.WMA<BR><BR>
Sigh...
Lets see,
You can sell an internet "appliance" and make money if you (a) subsidize the cost with internet service or (b) charge an arm & leg. We all know that the former doesn't seem to work too well (*cough* iOpener *cough*) and charging an arm/leg doesn't work well because laptops can replace the devices with more functionality and practicality.
As I've said before, we need an open "disposable" PC form factor standard. Get rid of the ZIF socket, dimms and expansion slots and go with an embedded (as in soldered on the board) processor, ram, video, etc type of solution. Hell, with RAM going as cheap as it is, I don't see why the cheap end of the PC spectrum hasn't gone to this already. You could probably do 1Ghz, 256Mb, video, TV-out, audio, ethernet & 56K for under $150 in quantity.
What happens when nForce and its variants is small enough to sell to CPU manufacturers as an on-chip option? This is probably happening already. Didja ever wonder why nVidia and AMD are so buddy/buddy when the Xbox is Intel-based? Expect to see an AMD system-on-a-chip soon...
What I am getting at is that the open PC architecture is one of the things that made the damn thing so popular. However, its also the very thing that makes it large (ever priced a latop motherboard?). BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE. The market could obviously bring the economies of scale to a small PC solution. This could be used in anything from the appliance to a laptop (or TVs and radios).
All in a cheap, open standard...
That just means that less cool stuff will be produced then I suppose.
Does that mean the Microsoft "freedom to innovate" is now the "subscription to innovate"?
Our company had over 7000 of the CPx units and they kept repeatedly breaking. The buttons for the trackpoint repeadedly fell off and the motherboard would fail in such a manner that would cause some keys not to work (not to mention the other problems). Then they recalled all of the batteries because of possibly issues with starting on fire. Last January, 900 of the 7000 units needed service - many of them more than once. Since it was costing Dell $150 - $200 for on site service (depending on the provider) on *top* of the parts in question, they finally broke down and decided to replace all 7000 units with Latitude C600s which are a much better PC. Bottom line was that they were lemons. Call Dell and demand satisfaction (have your glove handy). If none is achieved, visit the BBB Online and let them know what you are going through.
Make note that this is a subscription, not just a flat, one-time fee. This looks like the beginning of Microsloth's relationship with everyone's wallet.