I remember years ago, probably a decade or more, filling all USB ports with epoxy so they were unable to be used for this very reason. If any USB devices needed to be used, the cables were epoxied directly to the device and computer (i.e. make them virtually impossible to remove, except for the extremely motivated)
The last game I had any real interest in was the Hitman series. While fairly linear in game play (one mission leads to another, and so on), the numerous different ways that you could complete the mission (go for a silent assassin kill, go gang busters and kill everything, or something in between). That variety is what kept me interested.
Most of the RPG type games I lost my interest extremely fast. The one notable exception was Evil Islands. This required to you do some planning when completing missions - if you tried to hack and slash everything, you would die. You would need to sneak, crawl, run, coordinate with other characters to complete a mission. Not your typical Hack-N-Slash game. I found it to be a refreshing change.
Otherwise, I enjoy good old Wolfenstien Enemy Territory for my FPS fix. It's a game I can pick up, play for a couple hours (or less) and be done with it. It's based on the old Return to Castle Wolfenstien, with mods out of the wazoo, and it's free.
I miss some of the good old text/graphic based adventure games from my Apple ][+ days. Every so often I will head over to www.virtualapple.org and play some of the classic games. Despite the lack of eye candy graphics, I find the game play to be far superior to most things that come out today. Fancy isn't always better.
I'm also in the same boat. My game mojo is on the decline also. Seems like there is nothing to stimulate it anymore. Everything seems to be the same old, same old. Quality game play seems to be a thing of the past.
What is next? No steel rulers because they can be used as a knife and sword? What about paper? It can be used to give paper cuts. What about a winter scarf, it could be used as a weapon to strangle someone.
What is next? TSA screening before children enter the school? ohh, wait, that's already happened
You are not the only one. I have the same issues with the cloud. You don't know who has access, you likely will not know (or be told) if your data has been compromised, and access to your date is dependent on single link (aka your internet connection). Besides, how effective is the cloud for working with large amounts of data such as video in it's raw form. I know locally on my system to work with a 2 or 3gig video file is a time consuming process - but through a internet connection? Might as well be back on dial-up.
Granted, if you are talking about small sets of data, such as word documents, or spreadsheets, it will work nicely for you - but that problem is still there with someone else being responsible for your data. Works nicely for personal or other stuff where things are not "MISSION CRITICAL".
This is just the first step until publishers are going to shut down libraries. They will use the same RIAA/MPAA mentality that loaning a book = lost sale, and therefore should be illegal.
It is just a matter of time before your going to have to pay a fee (to the publishers) to borrow a book from the library. The switching to e-texts is the first step. Imagine what the next step will be?
I constantly reference my old textbook. In fact, in several classes, I've been asked by the prof why I rarely reference our e-texts and all these other ones. The reason? Because I can find information much easier in physical text after I have read it. I can look at a physical text and type while reading it. Can't do that two easily when flipping from window to window on a computer screen.
The other reason is, when it's on a computer screen, I have the tendency to only to skim the content rather than read it - call this an unintended consequence of the web, and all the damn advertising that goes along with it. It is a tough habit to break. Thank goodness my graduate school is entirely physical textbooks - their accreditation body specifically disallow online and e-texts (although online journals and such are permitted).
And don't forget, odds are it is *NOT* an e-text that you purchase, but a license that will only be good for x number of years. The last 3 semester of my undergrad went entirely to e-texts with this "course material fee" hoopla. My texts that I paid for are only licensed for use for 5 years (DRM toasts them after that), are only installable on two computers, do not backup or allow transfers to different computers or operating systems (ie: no Linux).
Ohh yeah, perhaps you want to print them? Better enjoy doing it at only 5 pages at a time.... And don't even think about trying to print to a PDF or the likes - this type of printer is not supported. I won't even mention the pain in the ass it is to find something in them. Physical texts you have an idea approximately where you might have read something; very difficult to do that with e-texts. And the search functions are virtually useless. They are text searches, not indexed searches. Talk about getting too many hits to be useful, even if you have the exact words your looking for.
It's just a bad idea all around. Especially if you need to do any heavy duty, thoughtful reading for any length of time on a screen. Talk about your eyes going buggy
I would be less offended by this if I was given the choice - If I want the physical book, I can buy the book without being forced to also purchase e-text also. As it stands now, you have the option to purchase the physical book, but you don't get your material fees for the e-text refunded.
While brute force is not particularly practical with large encryption keys, it doesn't mean that is it is impossible. One never knows, the key itself could be in the early portion of algorithm the attack. Just like if someone had their briefcase set at 0-0-1 it wouldn't take that long for sequential attack to break. [Obligatory Spaceballs reference: 1-2-3-4-5? That's the same combination I have on my luggage]
Someone once told me, "Never underestimate the motivation of an ingenious idiot. To them, even the probability of impossibility is not a limiting factor."
In other words, brute force, RE, leaked key, etc., why are we even surprised at this? Or perhaps the better question is, why are "they" surprised?
Did they honestly expect that no one would get a hold of the key, reverse engineer it, or even just brute force it - when will they realize that locks only keep honest and unmotivated people out.
This is so true - I encountered the same thing countless times and I very much miss that.
Online does have its place - but not for the reasons that are often given. Flexibility is often touted yet I have yet to experience that, in fact have found the exact opposite. I tend to spend about twice the time on my online classes when compared to a traditional classroom. I have on average 3-4 deadlines per week, as compared to 1 or 2 in a regular classroom. Many of the forum discussions are based the response to others; I post early, and generally don't have a opportunity to respond to other until the deadline has passed - my flexibility is determined by others.
Yeah, sure, I can read an online lecture at midnight, or at 4 in the morning. Big deal, I can do the same with a text book, or lecture notes. I'm still dictated by the three or four deadlines.
The biggest thing I don't like is the fact to face interaction - creating a study group, working with others to understand the material, others helping you understand the material - having immediate feedback on questions, etc. An online environment does not readily facilitate that interaction.
Simply, online education is a compromise - is it a compromise that everyone is willing to make? I would say not. Typically the tuition rate is the same for online vs. classroom - unless there is a huge difference, I personally don't think it is worth it.
Case and point, I'm here on Slashdot, when I should be finishing up some online classwork.
Due to a set of $#!77y circumstances, I've had to complete my last 8 courses of my bachelors online - and it has been the most miserable experience in my life. Yeah, I have been getting good grades throughout, but I feel that the quality and quantity of what I have learned has dropped by about 70% since having switched to an online format.
I learn far more from face to face discussions that I do from an online forum discussion. Face to face encourages interaction; online is just a bunch of parroting of the same crap that was in the lecture/textbook. I spend more time looking up references to what I type in a discussion rather than "interacting and discussing" the material. Hell some of my "discussions" have had more citations than actual content. This doesn't facilitate an environment for learning
I start my masters in September, at a professional school for psychology (yeah, yeah, I know admitting I'm taking psych on Slashdot - talk about a way to burn karma), in a real classroom with a class size of no larger than 24 students. No online classes, no electronic textbooks (don't get me started on those), discussions about the course material rather than just citing material - I can't wait.
Online has it's place - had it not been there I would not have been able to finish out my bachelors in a timely fashion - would have added approximately an additional year and a half to my degree if I transferred
And there is the stigma that online education has. And having experienced both formats, I can completely understand why there is that stigma exists - there is no comparison in the quality and quantity of the material being taught, the amount of retention, and the environment between traditional classroom and online. In my experience, traditional classroom will win every time... even with a $#!77y prof or TA.
Yeah, yeah, Bill Gates may be one of the richest guys on the planet, but does doesn't mean that he is an expert on eduction. Heck, one could argue that he has a bias against formal education/university considering he dropped out of Harvard during his undergrad years. Granted he has gone on to do arguably great things and built one of the largest software companies known to this world - but during all that, when did he become an expert on education?
and what happens when they decide to sign it with a Microsoft certificate? Will they then just revoke Microsoft certificate? I doubt it, but thinking about it, it could be a good start
People have that attitude that tattoos are easy to remove with lasers. But one also needs to remember that tattoos themselves are a wound - depending on the talent of the artist, wounds tend to scar. The ink my get lightened (removal is a bit of a misnomer); the laser breaks up the pigment molecule which is then removed through the body's lymphatic system.
Laser removal is also a long process, and generally is not a one time process either. Generally a person needs to go through a series of sessions, and depending on the color of the inks used, that are different wavelengths required for the requirements. Not all laser machines are created the same. Also hope that you don't have a lot of white (Titanium Dioxide) since that has a tendency to turn complete black when laser removal is done.
The lasers themselves also have the danger of creating scaring. So even though you might not have the ink there, you still can often see the scaring that is left.
Consider very carefully before getting a tattoo, and if you go into with the attitude that "Ohh, I can get it laser removed if I don't like it in the future" don't get one. There are so many factors that are very rarely considered.
I speak from observed experience, research and from attending educational seminars. My girlfriend owns a tattoo studio and also runs (executive director) an international tattoo association. I've learned far more about tattooing and the body modification industry than I ever wanted to know.
Laser is not the answer. Carefully consideration and placement are your best options.
I'm not surprised we are discussing the issues of searching through electronic documentation. I have had electronic documentation for years with computer software (early 1990s), and this was always my issues. The search function is great providing you have the *EXACT* phrase your looking for. Even then, you may come up with dozens or dozens of results.
Even worse, is when you are searching for some particular topic, and absolutely nothing comes up, or what does come up is complete wrong and so far out of left field that is isn't even in the same ballpark, let alone the same state. Try and find how to operate "scissors" when they are indexed only as "shears." Extraordinary frustrating.
My university went to e-texts for their undergrad programs. It has been the most annoying switch that I have had to make. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm extremely spatial, to try and find stuff yet again, becomes a complete pain in the ass; yet to flip back between pages or chapters in physical books is less time consuming than on the electronic version. What is even worse, you don't own the text book, we have a 4 year license to view the text on only two computers.
I've even had profs comment that I have never used any of my e-texts as references in my papers, and I've told them, if I have something that is in hard-copy, I will use that first over anything that is electronic. The electronic sources are just simply cumbersome; I don't want to be switching to a dozen different windows when I'm writing a paper.
Hear ye! Hear ye! I also have a whackload of keys on my keyring also. Carry them in your pocket, or spend the 3 or 4 bucks on a belt key clip. Perhaps it doesn't bother me since I worked security for many years in my early twenties where I could carry rings of keys with 20-40 keys on them.
Like you said, if it bothers you, carry less keys, divide them up. It's not that hard. I wish I had the free time to worry about the pocket bulge that a key ring would make... now that I think about it a bit more, I think I just want the free time; worrying about a key ring pocket bulge would be a waste of time.
... who will now be checked, audited and examined by the department who's mission is to stamp out, reduce and eliminate all forms of excess, unnecessary and repeated forms of redundancy.
I would add - get a college physics text. There's almost no better way to get some algebra/trig/basic calc practice than to work on physics problems. I remember thinking that my Physics 1 class at the University level was really just an algebra/trig class in disguise. Helps to get some practice.
I wish I had mod points. I struggled with math, algebra and trig in high-school. The concepts didn't make sense, no matter how much practice I did, how many hours I spend after school with the instructors, etc. The way things were being taught were extremely abstract; abstract and my mind don't tend to mix that well.
I was told by guidance counselors to not take physics unless I had at least a B in algebra. Not a chance, I failed out of Intro Algebra, with 13% for course. Not due to lack of effort. I spend more extra time in class trying to get these concepts than I spent working. It didn't help me at all.
Until I took physics. Everything that was so abstract in algebra and trig suddenly came into focus. Suddenly factoring made sense, and there was a reason do factor an equation other than just because it was in the textbook. Why one would use scientific notation made sense. *EVERYTHING* that I fought with so hard in trying to understand algebra and trig suddenly made sense. This didn't happen until several years after high school. Physics was my Savior (sorry Jesus).
The manner in how math, algebra, trig, calculus is taught makes all the difference in the world. I learned and understood more in the first 10 minutes with my physics teacher than I had in all my math classes, extra time, tutoring, etc. combined.
It's amazing how an instructor can make all the difference in the world
Regardless, placebo or not, it is an effect. The "scientific/medical" community would have said, lyme disease? Sorry, your F'd. I'm sorry, I will take a placebo effect over no effect.
When I pooched my back with a bulged disk, I ended up in the hospital for a bit. They jacked me up with morphine for pain management. Medically/scientifically it should have relieved my pain. It didn't do a damn thing, so they jacked me up with even more until they reached the maximum dose. And because of that, they couldn't give me anything more or anything else. I tell you, I would have welcomed a placebo effect. Science doesn't always equal truth; if it did, my pain would have been gone and I would have been flying high without a care in the world. That clearly didn't happen.
Just because something can't be proven scientifically doesn't mean it doesn't exist or can be effective. Show me all the scientific documentation, evidence, experiments, past success history on how morphine is an effective for pain management, and I will still call it BS. If it turns out that you are the exception, the rule doesn't apply no matter how much supporting evidence you might have.
I think that people who fetishize physical books are expressing a reactionary fear of losing control, of losing something familiar to them that they regard as an eternal constant. The problem with that attitude is, physical books are just another form for holding content. Before books, it was the storyteller in the square, before them it was paintings on cave walls. I'm sure there were people who said, "I don't hold with these here books, they destroy the whole storytelling experience."
The problem is, technology changes. We've seen it, we've experienced it, and we will run into it with digital readers.
This is my biggest problem. Being forced to buy into a device. Right now, there are so many different version of readers and the DRM protected content only works of a select few. This is my problem. Look the way that the floppy drive has gone. What will happen in 5 or 10 years? Is you reader still going to exist, let alone be in serviceable (usable) condition? Will Amazon/B&N/Sony/etc. continue to support all those "old" devices? Will you be able to take your content from old device and put it into a new differing device? READ: I like Sony's digital reader better than my Kindle, can I put my Kindle content on my Sony reader? Or am I at the mercy of what Amazon/Sony/other choose to support?
Look how difficult now it is to find a computer with a 3.5" floppy drive? How about a 5.25" floppy (SD, DD, HD). I can pretty much promise you that your electronic reader is going to go the same way. Just like your computer of 5 years ago. Just like the Nintendo 8-bit, or Intellivision. Heck, are there any CDs or DVD that you've burnt 5 years ago that are still readable?
At a Thanksgiving dinner this year, I held a first printing of Bram Stokers Dracula. It was really quite something. Over 100+ years old, it was in just as readable condition as it was when it was printed. Will your e-book reader be able to do the same?
This is more than just a reactionary response to change. Electronic != Better tends to be the slogan, but it isn't always the case. E-readers/DRM Content/etc fall into this category. All my college textbooks have gone to electronic format (not by choice either, I have to pay for the e-texts regardless and can only be DLed to 2 single computers. No Kindel, Sony Reader, etc.) and it drives me nuts. Four hours of reading content on screen gets tiresome really fast. Since this switch, I have purchased a print copy over every text that I've needed. Its quite sad, since most of the time I can get the used copy for less than the electronic.
As you argue, content is the most important. But an Audio CD (content holder) is completely useless without a CD player. A locked safe (content holder) is completely useless if you don't have the combination. An MP3 (content) is useless without a MP3 player. A physical book will always be accessible. Content that is not accessible is not content at all; let alone useful content.
"There are two kinds of fools. One kind says, 'This is new and therefore good.' The other kind says, 'This is old and therefore better.'"
So which do you fall under? Your missing the third option that looks at the appropriateness of the development and considers *IF* it is good and should be used. I personally fall into that third category
I saw it *years* ago... Perhaps 1982 or so. It was on a old computer geek mug that I had. I can't take credit for it, and couldn't even credit who came up with it. Regardless, it is a brilliant statement.
Slashdot Mirror
I remember years ago, probably a decade or more, filling all USB ports with epoxy so they were unable to be used for this very reason. If any USB devices needed to be used, the cables were epoxied directly to the device and computer (i.e. make them virtually impossible to remove, except for the extremely motivated)
The last game I had any real interest in was the Hitman series. While fairly linear in game play (one mission leads to another, and so on), the numerous different ways that you could complete the mission (go for a silent assassin kill, go gang busters and kill everything, or something in between). That variety is what kept me interested.
Most of the RPG type games I lost my interest extremely fast. The one notable exception was Evil Islands. This required to you do some planning when completing missions - if you tried to hack and slash everything, you would die. You would need to sneak, crawl, run, coordinate with other characters to complete a mission. Not your typical Hack-N-Slash game. I found it to be a refreshing change.
Otherwise, I enjoy good old Wolfenstien Enemy Territory for my FPS fix. It's a game I can pick up, play for a couple hours (or less) and be done with it. It's based on the old Return to Castle Wolfenstien, with mods out of the wazoo, and it's free.
I miss some of the good old text/graphic based adventure games from my Apple ][+ days. Every so often I will head over to www.virtualapple.org and play some of the classic games. Despite the lack of eye candy graphics, I find the game play to be far superior to most things that come out today. Fancy isn't always better.
I'm also in the same boat. My game mojo is on the decline also. Seems like there is nothing to stimulate it anymore. Everything seems to be the same old, same old. Quality game play seems to be a thing of the past.
I feel for you.
Cheers,
Xyst
What is next? No steel rulers because they can be used as a knife and sword? What about paper? It can be used to give paper cuts. What about a winter scarf, it could be used as a weapon to strangle someone.
What is next? TSA screening before children enter the school? ohh, wait, that's already happened
first post?
You are not the only one. I have the same issues with the cloud. You don't know who has access, you likely will not know (or be told) if your data has been compromised, and access to your date is dependent on single link (aka your internet connection). Besides, how effective is the cloud for working with large amounts of data such as video in it's raw form. I know locally on my system to work with a 2 or 3gig video file is a time consuming process - but through a internet connection? Might as well be back on dial-up.
Granted, if you are talking about small sets of data, such as word documents, or spreadsheets, it will work nicely for you - but that problem is still there with someone else being responsible for your data. Works nicely for personal or other stuff where things are not "MISSION CRITICAL".
This is just the first step until publishers are going to shut down libraries. They will use the same RIAA/MPAA mentality that loaning a book = lost sale, and therefore should be illegal.
It is just a matter of time before your going to have to pay a fee (to the publishers) to borrow a book from the library. The switching to e-texts is the first step. Imagine what the next step will be?
I constantly reference my old textbook. In fact, in several classes, I've been asked by the prof why I rarely reference our e-texts and all these other ones. The reason? Because I can find information much easier in physical text after I have read it. I can look at a physical text and type while reading it. Can't do that two easily when flipping from window to window on a computer screen.
The other reason is, when it's on a computer screen, I have the tendency to only to skim the content rather than read it - call this an unintended consequence of the web, and all the damn advertising that goes along with it. It is a tough habit to break. Thank goodness my graduate school is entirely physical textbooks - their accreditation body specifically disallow online and e-texts (although online journals and such are permitted).
And don't forget, odds are it is *NOT* an e-text that you purchase, but a license that will only be good for x number of years. The last 3 semester of my undergrad went entirely to e-texts with this "course material fee" hoopla. My texts that I paid for are only licensed for use for 5 years (DRM toasts them after that), are only installable on two computers, do not backup or allow transfers to different computers or operating systems (ie: no Linux).
Ohh yeah, perhaps you want to print them? Better enjoy doing it at only 5 pages at a time.... And don't even think about trying to print to a PDF or the likes - this type of printer is not supported. I won't even mention the pain in the ass it is to find something in them. Physical texts you have an idea approximately where you might have read something; very difficult to do that with e-texts. And the search functions are virtually useless. They are text searches, not indexed searches. Talk about getting too many hits to be useful, even if you have the exact words your looking for.
It's just a bad idea all around. Especially if you need to do any heavy duty, thoughtful reading for any length of time on a screen. Talk about your eyes going buggy
I would be less offended by this if I was given the choice - If I want the physical book, I can buy the book without being forced to also purchase e-text also. As it stands now, you have the option to purchase the physical book, but you don't get your material fees for the e-text refunded.
Cheers,
Xyst
While brute force is not particularly practical with large encryption keys, it doesn't mean that is it is impossible. One never knows, the key itself could be in the early portion of algorithm the attack. Just like if someone had their briefcase set at 0-0-1 it wouldn't take that long for sequential attack to break. [Obligatory Spaceballs reference: 1-2-3-4-5? That's the same combination I have on my luggage]
Someone once told me, "Never underestimate the motivation of an ingenious idiot. To them, even the probability of impossibility is not a limiting factor."
In other words, brute force, RE, leaked key, etc., why are we even surprised at this? Or perhaps the better question is, why are "they" surprised?
Cheers,
Xyst
Did they honestly expect that no one would get a hold of the key, reverse engineer it, or even just brute force it - when will they realize that locks only keep honest and unmotivated people out.
This is so true - I encountered the same thing countless times and I very much miss that. Online does have its place - but not for the reasons that are often given. Flexibility is often touted yet I have yet to experience that, in fact have found the exact opposite. I tend to spend about twice the time on my online classes when compared to a traditional classroom. I have on average 3-4 deadlines per week, as compared to 1 or 2 in a regular classroom. Many of the forum discussions are based the response to others; I post early, and generally don't have a opportunity to respond to other until the deadline has passed - my flexibility is determined by others. Yeah, sure, I can read an online lecture at midnight, or at 4 in the morning. Big deal, I can do the same with a text book, or lecture notes. I'm still dictated by the three or four deadlines. The biggest thing I don't like is the fact to face interaction - creating a study group, working with others to understand the material, others helping you understand the material - having immediate feedback on questions, etc. An online environment does not readily facilitate that interaction. Simply, online education is a compromise - is it a compromise that everyone is willing to make? I would say not. Typically the tuition rate is the same for online vs. classroom - unless there is a huge difference, I personally don't think it is worth it.
Case and point, I'm here on Slashdot, when I should be finishing up some online classwork.
Due to a set of $#!77y circumstances, I've had to complete my last 8 courses of my bachelors online - and it has been the most miserable experience in my life. Yeah, I have been getting good grades throughout, but I feel that the quality and quantity of what I have learned has dropped by about 70% since having switched to an online format.
I learn far more from face to face discussions that I do from an online forum discussion. Face to face encourages interaction; online is just a bunch of parroting of the same crap that was in the lecture/textbook. I spend more time looking up references to what I type in a discussion rather than "interacting and discussing" the material. Hell some of my "discussions" have had more citations than actual content. This doesn't facilitate an environment for learning
I start my masters in September, at a professional school for psychology (yeah, yeah, I know admitting I'm taking psych on Slashdot - talk about a way to burn karma), in a real classroom with a class size of no larger than 24 students. No online classes, no electronic textbooks (don't get me started on those), discussions about the course material rather than just citing material - I can't wait.
Online has it's place - had it not been there I would not have been able to finish out my bachelors in a timely fashion - would have added approximately an additional year and a half to my degree if I transferred
And there is the stigma that online education has. And having experienced both formats, I can completely understand why there is that stigma exists - there is no comparison in the quality and quantity of the material being taught, the amount of retention, and the environment between traditional classroom and online. In my experience, traditional classroom will win every time... even with a $#!77y prof or TA.
Yeah, yeah, Bill Gates may be one of the richest guys on the planet, but does doesn't mean that he is an expert on eduction. Heck, one could argue that he has a bias against formal education/university considering he dropped out of Harvard during his undergrad years. Granted he has gone on to do arguably great things and built one of the largest software companies known to this world - but during all that, when did he become an expert on education?
Cheers,
Xyst
and what happens when they decide to sign it with a Microsoft certificate? Will they then just revoke Microsoft certificate? I doubt it, but thinking about it, it could be a good start
People have that attitude that tattoos are easy to remove with lasers. But one also needs to remember that tattoos themselves are a wound - depending on the talent of the artist, wounds tend to scar. The ink my get lightened (removal is a bit of a misnomer); the laser breaks up the pigment molecule which is then removed through the body's lymphatic system.
Laser removal is also a long process, and generally is not a one time process either. Generally a person needs to go through a series of sessions, and depending on the color of the inks used, that are different wavelengths required for the requirements. Not all laser machines are created the same. Also hope that you don't have a lot of white (Titanium Dioxide) since that has a tendency to turn complete black when laser removal is done.
The lasers themselves also have the danger of creating scaring. So even though you might not have the ink there, you still can often see the scaring that is left.
Consider very carefully before getting a tattoo, and if you go into with the attitude that "Ohh, I can get it laser removed if I don't like it in the future" don't get one. There are so many factors that are very rarely considered.
I speak from observed experience, research and from attending educational seminars. My girlfriend owns a tattoo studio and also runs (executive director) an international tattoo association. I've learned far more about tattooing and the body modification industry than I ever wanted to know.
Laser is not the answer. Carefully consideration and placement are your best options.
Perhaps he should be watching V from the early 1980's and then he would have reason to be scared.
I'm not surprised we are discussing the issues of searching through electronic documentation. I have had electronic documentation for years with computer software (early 1990s), and this was always my issues. The search function is great providing you have the *EXACT* phrase your looking for. Even then, you may come up with dozens or dozens of results.
Even worse, is when you are searching for some particular topic, and absolutely nothing comes up, or what does come up is complete wrong and so far out of left field that is isn't even in the same ballpark, let alone the same state. Try and find how to operate "scissors" when they are indexed only as "shears." Extraordinary frustrating.
My university went to e-texts for their undergrad programs. It has been the most annoying switch that I have had to make. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm extremely spatial, to try and find stuff yet again, becomes a complete pain in the ass; yet to flip back between pages or chapters in physical books is less time consuming than on the electronic version. What is even worse, you don't own the text book, we have a 4 year license to view the text on only two computers.
I've even had profs comment that I have never used any of my e-texts as references in my papers, and I've told them, if I have something that is in hard-copy, I will use that first over anything that is electronic. The electronic sources are just simply cumbersome; I don't want to be switching to a dozen different windows when I'm writing a paper.
Hear ye! Hear ye! I also have a whackload of keys on my keyring also. Carry them in your pocket, or spend the 3 or 4 bucks on a belt key clip. Perhaps it doesn't bother me since I worked security for many years in my early twenties where I could carry rings of keys with 20-40 keys on them.
Like you said, if it bothers you, carry less keys, divide them up. It's not that hard. I wish I had the free time to worry about the pocket bulge that a key ring would make... now that I think about it a bit more, I think I just want the free time; worrying about a key ring pocket bulge would be a waste of time.
... who will now be checked, audited and examined by the department who's mission is to stamp out, reduce and eliminate all forms of excess, unnecessary and repeated forms of redundancy.
I wish I had mod points. I struggled with math, algebra and trig in high-school. The concepts didn't make sense, no matter how much practice I did, how many hours I spend after school with the instructors, etc. The way things were being taught were extremely abstract; abstract and my mind don't tend to mix that well.
I was told by guidance counselors to not take physics unless I had at least a B in algebra. Not a chance, I failed out of Intro Algebra, with 13% for course. Not due to lack of effort. I spend more extra time in class trying to get these concepts than I spent working. It didn't help me at all.
Until I took physics. Everything that was so abstract in algebra and trig suddenly came into focus. Suddenly factoring made sense, and there was a reason do factor an equation other than just because it was in the textbook. Why one would use scientific notation made sense. *EVERYTHING* that I fought with so hard in trying to understand algebra and trig suddenly made sense. This didn't happen until several years after high school. Physics was my Savior (sorry Jesus).
The manner in how math, algebra, trig, calculus is taught makes all the difference in the world. I learned and understood more in the first 10 minutes with my physics teacher than I had in all my math classes, extra time, tutoring, etc. combined.
It's amazing how an instructor can make all the difference in the world
Regardless, placebo or not, it is an effect. The "scientific/medical" community would have said, lyme disease? Sorry, your F'd. I'm sorry, I will take a placebo effect over no effect.
When I pooched my back with a bulged disk, I ended up in the hospital for a bit. They jacked me up with morphine for pain management. Medically/scientifically it should have relieved my pain. It didn't do a damn thing, so they jacked me up with even more until they reached the maximum dose. And because of that, they couldn't give me anything more or anything else. I tell you, I would have welcomed a placebo effect. Science doesn't always equal truth; if it did, my pain would have been gone and I would have been flying high without a care in the world. That clearly didn't happen.
Just because something can't be proven scientifically doesn't mean it doesn't exist or can be effective. Show me all the scientific documentation, evidence, experiments, past success history on how morphine is an effective for pain management, and I will still call it BS. If it turns out that you are the exception, the rule doesn't apply no matter how much supporting evidence you might have.
Something to think about.
Cheers,
Xyst
Where are my mod points when I need them?!?!??! This should undoubted be modded +1 Innovative use of Duct tape
Cheers,
Xyst
PS: I think the OP deserves an obligatory Simpson's comic book guy quote..."The absolute worst comic book sale... evverr."
The problem is, technology changes. We've seen it, we've experienced it, and we will run into it with digital readers.
This is my biggest problem. Being forced to buy into a device. Right now, there are so many different version of readers and the DRM protected content only works of a select few. This is my problem. Look the way that the floppy drive has gone. What will happen in 5 or 10 years? Is you reader still going to exist, let alone be in serviceable (usable) condition? Will Amazon/B&N/Sony/etc. continue to support all those "old" devices? Will you be able to take your content from old device and put it into a new differing device? READ: I like Sony's digital reader better than my Kindle, can I put my Kindle content on my Sony reader? Or am I at the mercy of what Amazon/Sony/other choose to support?
Look how difficult now it is to find a computer with a 3.5" floppy drive? How about a 5.25" floppy (SD, DD, HD). I can pretty much promise you that your electronic reader is going to go the same way. Just like your computer of 5 years ago. Just like the Nintendo 8-bit, or Intellivision. Heck, are there any CDs or DVD that you've burnt 5 years ago that are still readable?
At a Thanksgiving dinner this year, I held a first printing of Bram Stokers Dracula. It was really quite something. Over 100+ years old, it was in just as readable condition as it was when it was printed. Will your e-book reader be able to do the same?
This is more than just a reactionary response to change. Electronic != Better tends to be the slogan, but it isn't always the case. E-readers/DRM Content/etc fall into this category. All my college textbooks have gone to electronic format (not by choice either, I have to pay for the e-texts regardless and can only be DLed to 2 single computers. No Kindel, Sony Reader, etc.) and it drives me nuts. Four hours of reading content on screen gets tiresome really fast. Since this switch, I have purchased a print copy over every text that I've needed. Its quite sad, since most of the time I can get the used copy for less than the electronic.
As you argue, content is the most important. But an Audio CD (content holder) is completely useless without a CD player. A locked safe (content holder) is completely useless if you don't have the combination. An MP3 (content) is useless without a MP3 player. A physical book will always be accessible. Content that is not accessible is not content at all; let alone useful content.
So which do you fall under? Your missing the third option that looks at the appropriateness of the development and considers *IF* it is good and should be used. I personally fall into that third category
Cheers,
Xyst
Obligatory IT Crowd Reference:
Roy: "We are just a bunch of drugeons to them. Drugeons I tell you.."
Moss: "And if drugeons was a word, that's what we would be."
I saw it *years* ago... Perhaps 1982 or so. It was on a old computer geek mug that I had. I can't take credit for it, and couldn't even credit who came up with it. Regardless, it is a brilliant statement.
Add another tick to the latter group...
There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and those that don't.