"Bottom line is, you start depending on the features unique to opera and you WILL become dependant on the browser. "
Agreed. It's a pity they don't show the cartoons in the advertising bar anymore. I actually switched back to the ad supported version hoping to encourage them to keep plopping them in there. Wouldn't it be cool if they took comics like Dilbert or Get Fuzzy and had them appear regularly there? Certainly made me more attentive to the ads. Small price to pay for some entertainment.
"Thank you once again for a definitive statement about what others should be doing and thinking."
You missed the point of my post entirely. I'm not sure it's even worth bothering with the rest of your post. Since you didn't read my previous post very carefully, I doubt I can expect you to do anything with my reply other than argue with it.
I'm open to a serious non-hostile discussion, but I don't have a whole lotta time for ya if you're going to read "My way or the highway!" in a message that was written as "don't be a jerk".
"then the codecs aren't there automatically, but AFAIK in 2000 or XP they are (defo in XP)."
Not in 2k, no. I had to go dl it.
"As for the audio recordings not syncing to the pc, you just have to turn on Sync Files in activesync, and you can get everything in my documents on the pocketpc backed up to a folder on your desktop automatically. "
Yep, that works, but it's really lame that it's not part of the notes sync.
"Not only that...you just got modded informative. What slashdot mods want to be informed of any time some AC is sick?!? "
I think they modded him up for pointing out that treating Linus like a deity is a little overboard. Who was it that said "I'm surprised Mr. Torvalds let's you talk with your mouth full"?
"Random fucking Windows fucking technical support? What the hell is going on here? Really... this place used to be Slashdot... "
"Today's Slashdot story was, without a doubt, the worst submission ever. Rest assured that I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world. As a loyal reader, I feel Slashdot owes me."
"Why don't you not make a blatant grab for karma by taking the pro-tek position and post anonymously? "
So I can get an email every time I read idiotic replies like yours?
Besides, I wasn't going for the karma (I'm maxed out), I was trying to convince people to stop posting these seemingly insightful yet truthfully ignorant replies. I remember a couple of years ago, the big fad was for people to say "This is not news!!!" If there was a story like "New 1,000x CD Burner released by Sony", then somebody'd reply with "All they did was make the disc spin a lot faster, this is not news!!" So today it's "do what the Flintstones did!" Um, yeah. Thank you Captain Fucking Obvious.
On a side note, it's funny how brave people are when they hit the 'Post Anonymously' button, but nobody has the balls to use their nick. Reminds me of a Pomeranian I had that used to bark and snarl when he was behind a fence, but once the door was open he'd suddenly be the nicest most polite dog.
"If it was exploitable and used in an *email* client (a la Outlook using the MSIE rendering engine), *then* I could see some serious cause for concern, as the worm potential is severe."
Actually, Outlook exploits aren't posted because of severity, it's because it's "further proof that Microsoft is completely incompetent, doesn't care, and everybody's karma is a little low anyway."
Frankly, it's nice to hear that other platforms have their issues, too. Slashdot put me into a false sense of security using Linux as an Apache server. I built one for my company's website. 2 weeks later it was rooted. If I had heard a little more than "Use Linux and you'll be secure" then I might have had the sense to at least look into the security updates more carefully.
(Note: It's my fault not Slashdot's that the server was compromised. I'm just annoyed that a little more objectivity here would have made me a more responsible n00b in the Linux world.)
"You can't possibly question the motives of a country trying to protect against spies from friendly countries, when those friendly countries actually ARE spying on them."
"You'll need a monster pda to have enough memory to record your travel diary as.wav... (even at shitty 11khz 8bit mono so bad you can barely recognise your own voice)..."
You bring up a good point, but I don't think you meant to. Pocket PC's used compressed audio. I don't remember the data rate, but it's pretty darned low. And I have personally used a PocketPC this way so I can personally verify it works just fine.
So what's the good point you inadvertently brought up? Desktop PCs don't come with the codec, and the audio recordings don't automatically sync to the PC (?!) so you have to manually back them up. You can find the codec, and you can manually back it up, but I do want to stuff my foot in MS's... for that little oversight.
These aren't "No!!! Don't do it!" reasons, but more like "pay attention or you could lose important stuff" reasons. If I got back into that type of work again, I'd still use a PocketPC for that purpose.
"and you'll actually save money not buying a stupid electronic device just to jot down some words. "
I really hate when people get modded up for saying "do it the old fashioned way!" Not only is it not the nerd/geek way, but it's also a cheap shot at gaining a +5 Insightful.
Never mind that PDA's are smaller than journals, that it's hard to organize what you've got since a journal is sorted only in chronological order, that there's value in having digital backups, and the other benefits of having tools such as voice recorder, no no no, the oversimplified pen and paper answer is the real solution to his problem.
Why don't you use a little brain power to help this guy instead of trying to gain karma by making this guy's request sound non-sensical?
"There are cheap pdas. And you can buy keyboards for them. I doubt you will find anything much better than a pda. "
Get one with a voice recorder then use the keyboard on your pc. And before everybody comes by saying "Why not use a tape recorder?", think about what a PITA it'd be to scroll around an audio tape instead of clicking on a filename.wav with a time and date stamp that can be renamed to anything you like.
" Every time I add some new story ideas, I quickly go read up on how few writers actually make a living writing and how hard it is to live on a poverty level."
Perhaps that's the way it is. But if you write something in your spare time and get it published, you start getting a fairly regular check for a while. Content is an interesting way to generate income. Doing it exclusively, though, is a bit worrisome. I wouldn't call it futile.
I used to have a PocketPC, and I've also been collecting ideas for stories I've been wanting to write. During my 15 minute walk home, I used to always be inspired with new ideas. I started taking my PocketPC with me and using the voice recorder function to record my notes. (I didn't wanna stop and tap tap tap.) When I found some time, I'd go one by one down the audio files and set the filename to something meaningful for the note.
I just wanted to suggest this to you because you may see a good workflow improvement like I did. You could listen to the PocketPC and type on the comfy keyboard on your desktop/laptop.
"Is it just me or am I the only one not sold on the whole 2 screen thing? and The product pictures I have seen look really plasticky"
You don't like having an extra PocketPC'esque dedicated touch screen for interface doodads, on-line chat, etc? Sorry to be blunt, but I think it is just you. Try imagining taking the PSP on-line and tell me you wouldn't miss that screen.
Can't comment on the 'plasticy' bit, though, other than Nintendo's stated that the design's still being worked on. The basic design is the same, but like they don't have room for a stylus yet.
"Wow. Then it'd be just like the new sign system in Kansas City. The one with the always blank signs."
Back in 96/97, there at least used to be a sign there (unrelated to what you mention, I think...) that would measure how fast you're going and tell ya to slow down. I think it was on I-70 just east of Downtown, but my memory is REALLY faded on that. The reason they put it there was the speeed limit coming in was like 70mph, but then the road got really windy and congested. You got a flashing "Slow down!" light. I liked that light.
NFI if it's still there or not, but I do remember wishing they'd do that in more places.
"Yes, but Sony kicking the crap out of Nintendo in the console market could prove to be a glimpse of things to come (PS1 over N64, PS2 over Gamecube)."
Yep. It's for this reason I'm not being all that dismissive of PSP. (Unfortunately, you'd have to see some of my previous posts to really undestand a fleshed out reason of what I think...) Let me put it to you this way: I'm a Nintendo fanboy/zealot. Nintendo can do no wrong with me. Despite that, I'm still afraid of the PSP. (At the same time, I feel there's a decent chance one day I'll own one... I don't have a PS2 right now if that helps understand the depth of what I'm saying here.)
"Do you think Sony has learned nothing in these past couple years?"
I'm worried that what they 'learned' is what could drive the PSP into the ground. They think that the magic formula for the PS2 was the DVD player. The problem is, I'm not convinced they realize that the year they released the PS2 was DIRECTLY related to why the DVD playback was important. Today, it's ridiculous. It's a 'nice-to-have' feature, but nobody'd want it if it saved $50-$100 off the cost of the system today. Now they're adding a variant of it to the PSP. The system will cost more than a solid-state system, and the battery life is dramatically affected. I'm worried that their arrogance will make it a still-born system. (I'll continue on this point, but I want to quote something you said...)
"All in all, its great to have competition in the marketplace."
You're right. And despite being a self-described Nintendo zealot, I *want* Sony to be successful here. If they can make the market more attuned towards paying more for portable systems, then imagine what the next Nintendo portable will be like. Wouldn't it be slick if it played GameCube games?
My only concern is that I don't want Sony to obliterate Nintendo. I doubt that'll happen (especially after watching the DS at E3) but we'd all feel the loss a generation or two later.
Slashdot Mirror
"Please tell me they are leaving that dreadful theme song behind. "
Boy do I wish this stupid complaint would finally die.
"SCO's new restaurant"
Man, once I mispronounced the name of that restaraunt once and earned a fwap from my mom.
"Bottom line is, you start depending on the features unique to opera and you WILL become dependant on the browser. "
Agreed. It's a pity they don't show the cartoons in the advertising bar anymore. I actually switched back to the ad supported version hoping to encourage them to keep plopping them in there. Wouldn't it be cool if they took comics like Dilbert or Get Fuzzy and had them appear regularly there? Certainly made me more attentive to the ads. Small price to pay for some entertainment.
"Thank you once again for a definitive statement about what others should be doing and thinking."
You missed the point of my post entirely. I'm not sure it's even worth bothering with the rest of your post. Since you didn't read my previous post very carefully, I doubt I can expect you to do anything with my reply other than argue with it.
I'm open to a serious non-hostile discussion, but I don't have a whole lotta time for ya if you're going to read "My way or the highway!" in a message that was written as "don't be a jerk".
"then the codecs aren't there automatically, but AFAIK in 2000 or XP they are (defo in XP)."
Not in 2k, no. I had to go dl it.
"As for the audio recordings not syncing to the pc, you just have to turn on Sync Files in activesync, and you can get everything in my documents on the pocketpc backed up to a folder on your desktop automatically. "
Yep, that works, but it's really lame that it's not part of the notes sync.
"Finally! A day will come where I can get a processor with MM and NX bit on a mobile motherboard featuring MXM interface. "
Rats, my universal translator is broken.
RTS game.... Gap Generator.. hidden post...
:P
Bah, this is not off-topic. Overrated, maybe.
"First Post.. I win, you lose"
Actually, my first post is protected by a Gap generator.
"Not only that...you just got modded informative. What slashdot mods want to be informed of any time some AC is sick?!? "
I think they modded him up for pointing out that treating Linus like a deity is a little overboard. Who was it that said "I'm surprised Mr. Torvalds let's you talk with your mouth full"?
"Random fucking Windows fucking technical support? What the hell is going on here? Really... this place used to be Slashdot... "
"Today's Slashdot story was, without a doubt, the worst submission ever. Rest assured that I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world. As a loyal reader, I feel Slashdot owes me."
"Install *nix." ... and donate your game library to Salvation Army.
"OK. How come Slashdot doesn't have a comedy section? "
Because if it did, this story would have been rejected.
"Why don't you not make a blatant grab for karma by taking the pro-tek position and post anonymously? "
So I can get an email every time I read idiotic replies like yours?
Besides, I wasn't going for the karma (I'm maxed out), I was trying to convince people to stop posting these seemingly insightful yet truthfully ignorant replies. I remember a couple of years ago, the big fad was for people to say "This is not news!!!" If there was a story like "New 1,000x CD Burner released by Sony", then somebody'd reply with "All they did was make the disc spin a lot faster, this is not news!!" So today it's "do what the Flintstones did!" Um, yeah. Thank you Captain Fucking Obvious.
On a side note, it's funny how brave people are when they hit the 'Post Anonymously' button, but nobody has the balls to use their nick. Reminds me of a Pomeranian I had that used to bark and snarl when he was behind a fence, but once the door was open he'd suddenly be the nicest most polite dog.
"If it was exploitable and used in an *email* client (a la Outlook using the MSIE rendering engine), *then* I could see some serious cause for concern, as the worm potential is severe."
Actually, Outlook exploits aren't posted because of severity, it's because it's "further proof that Microsoft is completely incompetent, doesn't care, and everybody's karma is a little low anyway."
Frankly, it's nice to hear that other platforms have their issues, too. Slashdot put me into a false sense of security using Linux as an Apache server. I built one for my company's website. 2 weeks later it was rooted. If I had heard a little more than "Use Linux and you'll be secure" then I might have had the sense to at least look into the security updates more carefully.
(Note: It's my fault not Slashdot's that the server was compromised. I'm just annoyed that a little more objectivity here would have made me a more responsible n00b in the Linux world.)
"You can't possibly question the motives of a country trying to protect against spies from friendly countries, when those friendly countries actually ARE spying on them."
And the UK isn't spying on us?
"I am constructing a shopping cart from polymerized strands of my own DNA!"
Yeah, I'm unemployed too.
"You'll need a monster pda to have enough memory to record your travel diary as .wav... (even at shitty 11khz 8bit mono so bad you can barely recognise your own voice)..."
... for that little oversight.
You bring up a good point, but I don't think you meant to. Pocket PC's used compressed audio. I don't remember the data rate, but it's pretty darned low. And I have personally used a PocketPC this way so I can personally verify it works just fine.
So what's the good point you inadvertently brought up? Desktop PCs don't come with the codec, and the audio recordings don't automatically sync to the PC (?!) so you have to manually back them up. You can find the codec, and you can manually back it up, but I do want to stuff my foot in MS's
These aren't "No!!! Don't do it!" reasons, but more like "pay attention or you could lose important stuff" reasons. If I got back into that type of work again, I'd still use a PocketPC for that purpose.
"and you'll actually save money not buying a stupid electronic device just to jot down some words. "
I really hate when people get modded up for saying "do it the old fashioned way!" Not only is it not the nerd/geek way, but it's also a cheap shot at gaining a +5 Insightful.
Never mind that PDA's are smaller than journals, that it's hard to organize what you've got since a journal is sorted only in chronological order, that there's value in having digital backups, and the other benefits of having tools such as voice recorder, no no no, the oversimplified pen and paper answer is the real solution to his problem.
Why don't you use a little brain power to help this guy instead of trying to gain karma by making this guy's request sound non-sensical?
"There are cheap pdas. And you can buy keyboards for them. I doubt you will find anything much better than a pda. "
Get one with a voice recorder then use the keyboard on your pc. And before everybody comes by saying "Why not use a tape recorder?", think about what a PITA it'd be to scroll around an audio tape instead of clicking on a filename.wav with a time and date stamp that can be renamed to anything you like.
" Every time I add some new story ideas, I quickly go read up on how few writers actually make a living writing and how hard it is to live on a poverty level."
Perhaps that's the way it is. But if you write something in your spare time and get it published, you start getting a fairly regular check for a while. Content is an interesting way to generate income. Doing it exclusively, though, is a bit worrisome. I wouldn't call it futile.
I used to have a PocketPC, and I've also been collecting ideas for stories I've been wanting to write. During my 15 minute walk home, I used to always be inspired with new ideas. I started taking my PocketPC with me and using the voice recorder function to record my notes. (I didn't wanna stop and tap tap tap.) When I found some time, I'd go one by one down the audio files and set the filename to something meaningful for the note.
I just wanted to suggest this to you because you may see a good workflow improvement like I did. You could listen to the PocketPC and type on the comfy keyboard on your desktop/laptop.
"Is it just me or am I the only one not sold on the whole 2 screen thing? and The product pictures I have seen look really plasticky"
You don't like having an extra PocketPC'esque dedicated touch screen for interface doodads, on-line chat, etc? Sorry to be blunt, but I think it is just you. Try imagining taking the PSP on-line and tell me you wouldn't miss that screen.
Can't comment on the 'plasticy' bit, though, other than Nintendo's stated that the design's still being worked on. The basic design is the same, but like they don't have room for a stylus yet.
"What's a 'teet' attitude"
It's where you're cold, like a which's 7337. Duh.
"Wow. Then it'd be just like the new sign system in Kansas City. The one with the always blank signs."
Back in 96/97, there at least used to be a sign there (unrelated to what you mention, I think...) that would measure how fast you're going and tell ya to slow down. I think it was on I-70 just east of Downtown, but my memory is REALLY faded on that. The reason they put it there was the speeed limit coming in was like 70mph, but then the road got really windy and congested. You got a flashing "Slow down!" light. I liked that light.
NFI if it's still there or not, but I do remember wishing they'd do that in more places.
"Yes, but Sony kicking the crap out of Nintendo in the console market could prove to be a glimpse of things to come (PS1 over N64, PS2 over Gamecube)."
Yep. It's for this reason I'm not being all that dismissive of PSP. (Unfortunately, you'd have to see some of my previous posts to really undestand a fleshed out reason of what I think...) Let me put it to you this way: I'm a Nintendo fanboy/zealot. Nintendo can do no wrong with me. Despite that, I'm still afraid of the PSP. (At the same time, I feel there's a decent chance one day I'll own one... I don't have a PS2 right now if that helps understand the depth of what I'm saying here.)
"Do you think Sony has learned nothing in these past couple years?"
I'm worried that what they 'learned' is what could drive the PSP into the ground. They think that the magic formula for the PS2 was the DVD player. The problem is, I'm not convinced they realize that the year they released the PS2 was DIRECTLY related to why the DVD playback was important. Today, it's ridiculous. It's a 'nice-to-have' feature, but nobody'd want it if it saved $50-$100 off the cost of the system today. Now they're adding a variant of it to the PSP. The system will cost more than a solid-state system, and the battery life is dramatically affected. I'm worried that their arrogance will make it a still-born system. (I'll continue on this point, but I want to quote something you said...)
"All in all, its great to have competition in the marketplace."
You're right. And despite being a self-described Nintendo zealot, I *want* Sony to be successful here. If they can make the market more attuned towards paying more for portable systems, then imagine what the next Nintendo portable will be like. Wouldn't it be slick if it played GameCube games?
My only concern is that I don't want Sony to obliterate Nintendo. I doubt that'll happen (especially after watching the DS at E3) but we'd all feel the loss a generation or two later.