... Dust off your VCR and get on with your life?
Does it really matter that the recorded quality isn't quite as good as TiVo? Its not like you're going to archive that episode of Fear Factor to share with your grandkids with your TiVo anyway...
(Yeah yeah, we all know videophiles won't like this idea)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this thing meant to spur interest in computers in "poor" countries? Poor as in "I don't have any food, water, or shelter, so I can't afford WinXP Pro" kind of poor?
So lets say that someone out there finds enough money to get a computer... What makes the 'Soft think that their "first" computer will even have enough chest-hair to run XP? I mean, if you're having a hard enough time finding food or shelter, IF you have a computer, it's probably something I (or my capitalist friends in a 'rich' country) threw away 5~10 years ago...
I hope it runs on a 486!
We all know that anyone "unfortunate" enough to use this thing won't be interested in quick-time, norton-anti-virus and zone-labs firewall. It's not meant for "computer people", it's not meant to be 37337 or whatever the kids say these days...
It's meant to be a cheap way to turn people in poor countries onto Windows... Interestingly enough, it'll probably just end up turning them away from it...
And even more interestingly, if they don't have a computer at all already, what makes the 'Soft think that their "first" computer will even have enough chest-hair to run XP? I mean, if you're having a hard enough time finding food or shelter, IF you have a computer, it's probably something I threw away 5~10 years ago... I hope it runs on a 486!:)
What part of Canada do you live in? Saying that most Canadians are bilingual is like saying all Americans speak Spanish.
Bilingualism isn't actually that common outside of Quebec or the Ottawa/Hull region; only a small fraction of Canada.
And of course, the further west you go, the less likely bilingualism becomes, and the move likely forced french study become resented.
Take Vancouver, for example. What good is force teaching the kids there French, with Quebec thousands of KM away? They'd be better off learning Chinese.
And even in Ontario, you only HAVE to take French in school until Grade 9. After that, you can forget it all, as if it was some horrible horrible nightmare, like Calculus.
If you want to succeed in the Federal Government/Civil Service though, you'd best learn to parlez-vous. (They'll usually pay to have you taught...)
I'll see your 12" wobble, and raise you 3 screens!
on
12" PowerBook Wobble?
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· Score: 2, Informative
Here's my powerbook 12" story... It started on March 4th, and it STILL hasn't ended.
I go to my University's (Queen's) computer store, interested in buying a 12" powerbook. They have one in stock, and reluctantly unpack it from the factory case so that I can look at it. Its tiny size, fit, and finish challenge and excite me, so I pull out my credit card, ready to buy!
But on the way out, the saleswoman notices a scratch on the screen - a very large one. They try cleaning the screen (with a swiffer pad), but it doesn't come off. Not willing to pay full price for damaged goods (or willing to wait for this unit to be repaired), I reluctantly place an order for a different unit.
Three weeks later to the day, I get a call saying the new unit is in! I hurry to the store and pick it up... I take it to work, and show it off to all the co-workers. I notice that it doesn't sit flat on tables, and wobbles noticeably... Then, I notice there's a scratch on the screen of this unit as well, near the right hand side, vertical down almost the entire length.
Disgusted, I call the Campus Computer Store and tell them this. They "look into it", and ask me if there was a protective film on the screen of the unit when I unpacked it. There was not, just a piece of foam between the keyboard and the screen. The salesman said that there was a recall on such units, as this film is supposed to be placed on the unit during assembly so that the screen isn't scratched during assembly, and that if I return the unit, they'll happily order me another one. But not until I return it. And it'll take another 3 weeks.
Apple is a reasonable company, and I hoped they could do better than 3 weeks. So I called them, and talked to their hardware support people. After about an hour of whining, they recommended that I take the computer to the local Authorized Service Provider for repair, rather than replacement of the unit. At the time, this was the best Apple was willing to offer. This did not sit well, as that would make the unit the equivalent of a factory reconditioned machine by the time I'd get to use it... If I had wanted a factory recon, I would have bought one and paid less for it.
Anyway, I called the service provider to inquire, and they said that it would take 7 weeks at least for the parts to come in, as a supply chain for repair parts has not yet been established. They also pointed out that the screen is assembled with glue, not screws and snaps... So to replace the LCD panel, they'd have to pry it apart and re-glue it, resulting in something that would not be like the original unit at all in terms of fit and finish. I noticed this machine had other problems, too. It got very hot, and randomly locked up (not a kernel panic, a complete freeze). I wasn't able to run the quick-restore DVD, as it kept freezing during the restore process. The very next day I returned the unit, which did not even boot by this time, as the quick-restore was a failure and refused to work. The store was good enough to give me a full refund while waiting for the replacement.
Three weeks later, the store called to inform me another unit was in. This would be the THIRD 12inch powerbook I'd come in contact with. I paid them, and excitedly took the unit home. Imagine my suprise when THREE WEEKS LATER, the THIRD unit had a severely scratched screen as well! Again, no film on the panel, just the foam spacer. The likelyhood of this machine and the one from three weeks previous being "next to each other" on the assembly line seemed very remote, so I called Apple again.
At first, the hardware tech strongly recommend that I repair the unit. Out of general principals, this suggestion offended me. I explained the story to them again, calmly, claiming I didn't understand how this could have happened again (as I really didn't). I told them about the recall the saleman told me about, and stressed that this was the THIRD time this had happend to me. The woman transferred me to a customer relations specialist...
The customer relations people are great! They have the power to get things
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... Dust off your VCR and get on with your life? Does it really matter that the recorded quality isn't quite as good as TiVo? Its not like you're going to archive that episode of Fear Factor to share with your grandkids with your TiVo anyway... (Yeah yeah, we all know videophiles won't like this idea)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this thing meant to spur interest in computers in "poor" countries? Poor as in "I don't have any food, water, or shelter, so I can't afford WinXP Pro" kind of poor? So lets say that someone out there finds enough money to get a computer... What makes the 'Soft think that their "first" computer will even have enough chest-hair to run XP? I mean, if you're having a hard enough time finding food or shelter, IF you have a computer, it's probably something I (or my capitalist friends in a 'rich' country) threw away 5~10 years ago... I hope it runs on a 486!
We all know that anyone "unfortunate" enough to use this thing won't be interested in quick-time, norton-anti-virus and zone-labs firewall. It's not meant for "computer people", it's not meant to be 37337 or whatever the kids say these days... It's meant to be a cheap way to turn people in poor countries onto Windows... Interestingly enough, it'll probably just end up turning them away from it... And even more interestingly, if they don't have a computer at all already, what makes the 'Soft think that their "first" computer will even have enough chest-hair to run XP? I mean, if you're having a hard enough time finding food or shelter, IF you have a computer, it's probably something I threw away 5~10 years ago... I hope it runs on a 486! :)
What part of Canada do you live in? Saying that most Canadians are bilingual is like saying all Americans speak Spanish. Bilingualism isn't actually that common outside of Quebec or the Ottawa/Hull region; only a small fraction of Canada. And of course, the further west you go, the less likely bilingualism becomes, and the move likely forced french study become resented. Take Vancouver, for example. What good is force teaching the kids there French, with Quebec thousands of KM away? They'd be better off learning Chinese. And even in Ontario, you only HAVE to take French in school until Grade 9. After that, you can forget it all, as if it was some horrible horrible nightmare, like Calculus. If you want to succeed in the Federal Government/Civil Service though, you'd best learn to parlez-vous. (They'll usually pay to have you taught...)
Here's my powerbook 12" story... It started on March 4th, and it STILL hasn't ended. I go to my University's (Queen's) computer store, interested in buying a 12" powerbook. They have one in stock, and reluctantly unpack it from the factory case so that I can look at it. Its tiny size, fit, and finish challenge and excite me, so I pull out my credit card, ready to buy! But on the way out, the saleswoman notices a scratch on the screen - a very large one. They try cleaning the screen (with a swiffer pad), but it doesn't come off. Not willing to pay full price for damaged goods (or willing to wait for this unit to be repaired), I reluctantly place an order for a different unit. Three weeks later to the day, I get a call saying the new unit is in! I hurry to the store and pick it up... I take it to work, and show it off to all the co-workers. I notice that it doesn't sit flat on tables, and wobbles noticeably... Then, I notice there's a scratch on the screen of this unit as well, near the right hand side, vertical down almost the entire length. Disgusted, I call the Campus Computer Store and tell them this. They "look into it", and ask me if there was a protective film on the screen of the unit when I unpacked it. There was not, just a piece of foam between the keyboard and the screen. The salesman said that there was a recall on such units, as this film is supposed to be placed on the unit during assembly so that the screen isn't scratched during assembly, and that if I return the unit, they'll happily order me another one. But not until I return it. And it'll take another 3 weeks. Apple is a reasonable company, and I hoped they could do better than 3 weeks. So I called them, and talked to their hardware support people. After about an hour of whining, they recommended that I take the computer to the local Authorized Service Provider for repair, rather than replacement of the unit. At the time, this was the best Apple was willing to offer. This did not sit well, as that would make the unit the equivalent of a factory reconditioned machine by the time I'd get to use it... If I had wanted a factory recon, I would have bought one and paid less for it. Anyway, I called the service provider to inquire, and they said that it would take 7 weeks at least for the parts to come in, as a supply chain for repair parts has not yet been established. They also pointed out that the screen is assembled with glue, not screws and snaps... So to replace the LCD panel, they'd have to pry it apart and re-glue it, resulting in something that would not be like the original unit at all in terms of fit and finish. I noticed this machine had other problems, too. It got very hot, and randomly locked up (not a kernel panic, a complete freeze). I wasn't able to run the quick-restore DVD, as it kept freezing during the restore process. The very next day I returned the unit, which did not even boot by this time, as the quick-restore was a failure and refused to work. The store was good enough to give me a full refund while waiting for the replacement. Three weeks later, the store called to inform me another unit was in. This would be the THIRD 12inch powerbook I'd come in contact with. I paid them, and excitedly took the unit home. Imagine my suprise when THREE WEEKS LATER, the THIRD unit had a severely scratched screen as well! Again, no film on the panel, just the foam spacer. The likelyhood of this machine and the one from three weeks previous being "next to each other" on the assembly line seemed very remote, so I called Apple again. At first, the hardware tech strongly recommend that I repair the unit. Out of general principals, this suggestion offended me. I explained the story to them again, calmly, claiming I didn't understand how this could have happened again (as I really didn't). I told them about the recall the saleman told me about, and stressed that this was the THIRD time this had happend to me. The woman transferred me to a customer relations specialist... The customer relations people are great! They have the power to get things