I've had a 256mb Fuji for 18 months now, and a 8mb DiskOnKey for 2 years before that (the Fuji is a re-branded DiskOnKey drive). The complaints from Ars Technica are only valid if you keep your flash drive on a lanyard. As I can't stand anything hanging off my neck (too much like a tie!), I keep mine clipped to my keyring. I've never had it come unclipped, nor have I lost the drive part (the clip is on the cover, not the drive itself). In fact, having the clip on the cover is very useful, as I can leave it connected to my keyring while the drive is in use.
I'm surprised the review didn't cover performance under GnuPG and PGP -- I keep my keyrings on it, as well as my Quicken backups. Plus tons of room left for mp3s to listen while at work. The SiSoft benchmarks are nice, but I'd like to know how slow/fast they are relative to an IDE drive.
There are people who complain that the machines are "so complicated", but publically admitting that you couldn't figure it out is equivalent to admitting that you are stupid, and people don't like to do that.
Dude, in America, we're like, so not into being like smart and all.
Awww! You made me miss the best part of my favorite show!
It's really a shame -- TV has really stupefied the youth. I'm not blaming Beavis & Butthead -- I'm blaming the parents who have a TV in every room, and allow their children to become drooling idiots while they watch it.
The Bill enables consumers to cancel their wireless contracts within 30 days of signing on.
Shouldn't that be something like within 10 days after the end of the first billing cycle? If the cell company is going to screw you, you won't know it until you receive your first statement.
Basically, you use the ramen to suspend some fish above a soy-sauce/vege-broth mix, so that the fish gets steamed, not poached. As a side-benefit, you get some yummy ramen to slurp down. It's one of his most complex recipies (a ton of chopping), but very worthwhile.
The IBM ProPrinter was built in it's Charlotte NC facility. The plans were drawn up, the prototypes were complete, the samples had been shipped -- the only problem remaining was that the robotic assembly line wasn't finished.
So IBM hired temp workers to come in and assemble the printers manually. What they discovered was that parts that had been designed for automated assembly made it even easier for humans to put them together. It even made it easier for the printers to be repaired in the field. Their SE's could order a new print head, platen, interface card, etc., and just snap it in place, resulting in faster time-to-repair.
I worked in a record store in college, and had a woman try the "I bought this and I want to return it, but I lost my receipt" scam. It turns out she had picked the one video off the shelf that I had special-ordered for myself, only for it to arrive in VHS when I had wanted 12" laserdisc.
Ooops!
The cops were there in 15 minutes, while I stalled the thief, pretending to look up the original sales sheet (there are sometimes advantages to using a paper-based system). The lady skipped on her bail, so I never got the chance to testify against her.
Honestly, I could care less about A4 vs. Letter. Both are fine to me (although the geek in me admires the elegance of A4, and I would probably choose that if given a choice).
What I hate with a passion is the EU tendency to use a two-hole punch on the side of the paper to hold it in notebooks. The holes aren't far enough apart to give the paper some structural integrity, thus requiring a paper clamp be integrated into the notebook. Why can't they use a 3-hole punch, which distributes the force to hold it more evenly?
(Incidentally, this is of course why one of the older civilizations used base 60 - it's divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and it's the reason we have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour).
What is "The Ancient Babylonians", Alex.
The thing that is really bizarre is how did everyone agree on 24 hours in a day? It's not a multiple of 60 or 10 or 5. But it *is* divisible into 360. Which in the days before knowing the world was round, raises the question: "How did they know?"
The screen resolution on all of them (from what I can tell) is only 1024x768 -- big disappointment when the submitter referred to them as "widescreen". I liked the orange color too -- pretty funky.
Their "A" series have higher resolution screens, but since I don't read Japanese, I'm not sure if they're laptops, or home all-in-one units.
Microsoft used to add features via service packs, but stopped doing it around the time of NT 4.0 SP5, as it got to be a hassle to manage (especially for the corporate clients). At that time they said they'd only add new functionality with point-releases (although they've slipped a bit in recent months). Their reasoning is that service packs are for bug-fixes, and releases are for new functionality.
That's my take on it as well. I like the "chasing butterflys" quote, too -- can I steal it?
Once you realize that softare costs are heavily front-loaded, the need for having a Plan are easily visible. If I'm getting ready to write some code that will take 6 months of my time, that's $100,000 spent (allowing for salary, medical benefits, a place to sit, caffeinated drinks, depreciation on the servers, etc.). So who's going to throw $100-grand at something without some idea of what they want out of it? And yet it happens.
But once people realize how the economics of software works -- your first copy costs you $100,000, but burning your second copy only costs you $0.49 -- the need for good planning becomes obvious. Because until you ship that first copy, the 2nd copy isn't there to make you any money.
So, give the rest of the workers some more options as an incentive to stay. With a potential $2.7 billion to play with, they shouldn't be too worried about dilution.
The Franklin/Rex PCMCIA-sized PDA. You hold down the "back" button to turn it off. It runs off two watch batteries, so it meets the "low power" requirement, too.
Mine is about 5 years old, and still works (from the bottom of the "obsolete electronics" drawer).
If a new safe & abundant energy source was discovered (cold fusion, zero-point energy, nano-sized black-holes, whatever), their first question will be: "How can we make money off this?" Anything other than that would be irresponsible towards their stockholders.
If you look at BP, they've changed their tagline to "Beyond Petroleum". They invest a fair amount of money in the development of hybrid vehicles, fuel-cells, and so on. Why? Because the oil won't last forever, and they want the corporation to survive the drying up of their North Sea fields.
Slashdot Mirror
I've had a 256mb Fuji for 18 months now, and a 8mb DiskOnKey for 2 years before that (the Fuji is a re-branded DiskOnKey drive). The complaints from Ars Technica are only valid if you keep your flash drive on a lanyard. As I can't stand anything hanging off my neck (too much like a tie!), I keep mine clipped to my keyring. I've never had it come unclipped, nor have I lost the drive part (the clip is on the cover, not the drive itself). In fact, having the clip on the cover is very useful, as I can leave it connected to my keyring while the drive is in use.
I'm surprised the review didn't cover performance under GnuPG and PGP -- I keep my keyrings on it, as well as my Quicken backups. Plus tons of room left for mp3s to listen while at work. The SiSoft benchmarks are nice, but I'd like to know how slow/fast they are relative to an IDE drive.
Chip H.
There are people who complain that the machines are "so complicated", but publically admitting that you couldn't figure it out is equivalent to admitting that you are stupid, and people don't like to do that.
Dude, in America, we're like, so not into being like smart and all.
Awww! You made me miss the best part of my favorite show!
It's really a shame -- TV has really stupefied the youth. I'm not blaming Beavis & Butthead -- I'm blaming the parents who have a TV in every room, and allow their children to become drooling idiots while they watch it.
Chip H.
The Bill enables consumers to cancel their wireless contracts within 30 days of signing on.
Shouldn't that be something like within 10 days after the end of the first billing cycle? If the cell company is going to screw you, you won't know it until you receive your first statement.
Chip H.
Alton Brown has a recipe in his "I'm just here for the food" cookbook that makes use of a couple of ramen bricks.
Basically, you use the ramen to suspend some fish above a soy-sauce/vege-broth mix, so that the fish gets steamed, not poached. As a side-benefit, you get some yummy ramen to slurp down. It's one of his most complex recipies (a ton of chopping), but very worthwhile.
Chip h.
Just practice your "Duck and Cover" drill like Bert the Turtle
Or get one of the 1950's vintage A-Bomb-proof school desks.
Chip H.
So, how is NFC any different from Dallas Semiconductor's iButton which has been around for years and is a proven technology?
Chip H.
They'll be going to the MGM Grand in geosync orbit. Billy Crystal will have 2 shows nightly.
Chip H.
Hey Microsoft, how about letting us write a cluster resource DLL in .NET? It's a real pain to dig out VC++ 6.0 to do it.
Some better examples wouldn't hurt, either.
Chip H.
The IBM ProPrinter was built in it's Charlotte NC facility. The plans were drawn up, the prototypes were complete, the samples had been shipped -- the only problem remaining was that the robotic assembly line wasn't finished.
So IBM hired temp workers to come in and assemble the printers manually. What they discovered was that parts that had been designed for automated assembly made it even easier for humans to put them together. It even made it easier for the printers to be repaired in the field. Their SE's could order a new print head, platen, interface card, etc., and just snap it in place, resulting in faster time-to-repair.
Chip H.
I worked in a record store in college, and had a woman try the "I bought this and I want to return it, but I lost my receipt" scam. It turns out she had picked the one video off the shelf that I had special-ordered for myself, only for it to arrive in VHS when I had wanted 12" laserdisc.
Ooops!
The cops were there in 15 minutes, while I stalled the thief, pretending to look up the original sales sheet (there are sometimes advantages to using a paper-based system). The lady skipped on her bail, so I never got the chance to testify against her.
Chip H.
They're also used by people who have lost their license after being convicted of driving while intoxicated.
Chip H.
Honestly, I could care less about A4 vs. Letter. Both are fine to me (although the geek in me admires the elegance of A4, and I would probably choose that if given a choice).
What I hate with a passion is the EU tendency to use a two-hole punch on the side of the paper to hold it in notebooks. The holes aren't far enough apart to give the paper some structural integrity, thus requiring a paper clamp be integrated into the notebook. Why can't they use a 3-hole punch, which distributes the force to hold it more evenly?
Chip H.
(Incidentally, this is of course why one of the older civilizations used base 60 - it's divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and it's the reason we have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour).
What is "The Ancient Babylonians", Alex.
The thing that is really bizarre is how did everyone agree on 24 hours in a day? It's not a multiple of 60 or 10 or 5. But it *is* divisible into 360. Which in the days before knowing the world was round, raises the question: "How did they know?"
Chip H.
The screen resolution on all of them (from what I can tell) is only 1024x768 -- big disappointment when the submitter referred to them as "widescreen". I liked the orange color too -- pretty funky.
Their "A" series have higher resolution screens, but since I don't read Japanese, I'm not sure if they're laptops, or home all-in-one units.
Chip H.
It may be a CoolerMaster case, but I'll bet it still uses the Torx screws that Compaq PCs are infamous for.
Chip H.
So, does this mean that the Ansari X-Prize is now fully funded?
Chip H.
The story I always heard was that Mercedes steering columns, and strangely, Volkswagen door hinges, gave problems to the cutters. Chip H.
Microsoft used to add features via service packs, but stopped doing it around the time of NT 4.0 SP5, as it got to be a hassle to manage (especially for the corporate clients). At that time they said they'd only add new functionality with point-releases (although they've slipped a bit in recent months). Their reasoning is that service packs are for bug-fixes, and releases are for new functionality.
Chip H.
I knew an IBM SE in Nashville, who had a doper come up to him and try & sell him a very nice Tek oscilloscope for $50:
"Yeah, man, it gets all the cable channels, and this here's for your satellite TV!"
Chip H.
That's my take on it as well. I like the "chasing butterflys" quote, too -- can I steal it?
Once you realize that softare costs are heavily front-loaded, the need for having a Plan are easily visible. If I'm getting ready to write some code that will take 6 months of my time, that's $100,000 spent (allowing for salary, medical benefits, a place to sit, caffeinated drinks, depreciation on the servers, etc.). So who's going to throw $100-grand at something without some idea of what they want out of it? And yet it happens.
But once people realize how the economics of software works -- your first copy costs you $100,000, but burning your second copy only costs you $0.49 -- the need for good planning becomes obvious. Because until you ship that first copy, the 2nd copy isn't there to make you any money.
Chip H.
So, give the rest of the workers some more options as an incentive to stay. With a potential $2.7 billion to play with, they shouldn't be too worried about dilution.
Chip H.
The Franklin/Rex PCMCIA-sized PDA.
You hold down the "back" button to turn it off. It runs off two watch batteries, so it meets the "low power" requirement, too.
Mine is about 5 years old, and still works (from the bottom of the "obsolete electronics" drawer).
Chip H.
... not oil companies these days.
/ New_Delhi/documents/nd_05_gissing.pdf
If a new safe & abundant energy source was discovered (cold fusion, zero-point energy, nano-sized black-holes, whatever), their first question will be: "How can we make money off this?" Anything other than that would be irresponsible towards their stockholders.
If you look at BP, they've changed their tagline to "Beyond Petroleum". They invest a fair amount of money in the development of hybrid vehicles, fuel-cells, and so on. Why? Because the oil won't last forever, and they want the corporation to survive the drying up of their North Sea fields.
See: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2001/RETA5937
Chip H.
True. But when you need to input surrogate pairs you can use a tool like Unipad, which gives you a virtual keyboard. (windows only, sorry).
Chip H.
My hard drive cannon is twice as good because I use 4gb drives.
None of those wimpy IDE drives, either -- I use Ultra-Wide SCSI drives (the extra circuitry makes them fly further).
Chip H.
(isn't one-upsmanship fun?)