Well, until the iPod Apple had a long history of introducing 'new' gadgets, which were basically stylised rehashes of PC equipment. Even the Ipod isn't an innovation, but its a slickly packaged device whose usability trumped its competitors.
Apple gets credit for doing interesting things, but a minor change in Dell's lineup will see many more customers and far more sales. So which one is really newsworthy?
I'm still trying to comprehend why here in Toronto they're attempting to adapt the LOTR into a stage musical. The books are over 1000 pages long...and they're going to put them to song and cover the whole work in 3-4 hrs.
I am fairly certain if Tolkien was alive today, he'd have regretted selling his movie rights...he only did it to get out of a bind from back-taxes, resulting in some weird accounting mistakes from foreign LOTR sales.
In contrast, a Princess Bride musical makes alot more sense.
PS Adaptations from screen to stage is really just a sign of the talent bankruptcy on Broadway in recent years. Where's the next Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Rogers and Hammerstein when you need them!?!?
Granted your comment may be relevant, but I'm interested in finding the mythical corporation in which the conditions you describe do NOT exist.
Size = bureacracy. Can't be avoided. But where many many other organisations have been choked by their own paperwork, IBM continues to be relevant in a very fast paced industry. Not a perfect company by any means, but better than most based on its track record.
Generally speaking, the weight of "IBM Fellow" on your business card is worth more than a PhD IMHO.
Given the costs of DSLRs vs point'n'shoots, Sony better pray to god that those don't have similar problems. I figure replacing the world's supply of Digital Rebels, Rebel XTs, and 20Ds will pretty much destroy any hope of profit that fiscal year...
I agree with all of your comments. Ultimately I think this generation is the one to skip and wait until the r580 chipset due out early next year...that will be 32 pies. This is kind of a proof-of-concept generation IMHO.
As for the price difference, I suspect ATI will milk the fanboi market for a month or two, then rapidly lower the price to compete w/ the 7800s.
I just wouldn't count this as a failed generation. This x1000 series maps fairly well against 6800s and 7800s, whereas the 59xx series came late and was outclassed immediately. For Nvidia customers to get nailed by the GeForce 4400mx (really a Geforce3) *then* immediately after by the weak 59xx series, it shook alot of people's faith.
I don't think it will be *that* bad. Other sites like DriverHeaven are giving a marginal nod of the X1800XT over the 7800GTX even with the new Nvidia drivers. One thing that Nvidia has been fortunate about is by getting to market 6 mos earlier, they have 6 mos of driver tweaking to boost their performance. I trust ATI driver development more than Nvidia,and suspect a similar 5-10% boost over the lifetime of the card will occur.
At the lower end though you're right, the 1600 and 1300 models aren't very strong contenders. But given the lower number of pipes on the X1800 (16), theoretically this chipset has ALOT more headroom if it goes to 24 or 32 down the road.
On the whole you're right, PC World has long since outlived its usefulness... it focuses on the merchandising and mainstream products but usually only catches onto a new, cool device months (years?) after the fact. By the time PC World is trumpeting the 6600GT Graphics Board, the 7800GT is released making it obsolete.
At one point it was THE magazine to read if you were a home mod hobbiest, or you wanted to know what's going on in the industry. The internet has killed these types of magazines off for the most part... Wired got smart and went more for trend-spotting and reporting. But PCWorld is at the bottom of my list of consults after HardOCP, Anandtech, Toms Hardware, DriverHeaven, etc.
For what its worth, most good writers, even great writers, have large bodies of work out of which only a portion ever is considered successful, or receives widespread popularity. Even the great writers / directors / artists have clunkers. Scorcese has New York, New York... Spielberg has 1941... Heinlein has books he refused to have republished... Neil Stephenson has rejected alot of his earlier writing, etc.
I consider Buffy to be vastly overrated, and he's also brought us dreck such as Titan A.E. and Alien 4 (ouch)... but he's also written Toy Story and Firefly. He'll be remembered for the later two and Buffy, and he still has lots of productivity in him.
That was painful to see, but when Battlestar Galactica (new) after ONE SEASON ranked higher than both is ridiculous in the extreme.
I loved the old Dr Who, but I can see reasons why you'd give Star Trek or Twilight Zone a leg up. Unfortunately most of what passes for "Sci Fi" nowadays is Space Opera w/ Wild On chicks given scientist roles. IMHO the last decent sci-fi series was the first half of the X-Files... nothing in the past 5+ years has much to do with science at all... is space-fantasy at best.
Keep in mind this list also includes "Lost", and "Xena Warrior Princess"... not very sci-fi IMHO.
PS Where's "Max Headroom"? "Probe"? There's _lots_ of short-lived TV series that had more legitimate SF themes.
I'm not one to immediately yell "constitutional rights!" anytime a peace officer attempts to do their job. I think under the recent circumstances it reasonable for a police officer to stop someone and ask them what their purpose is, and assuming its done in a non-discrimatory manner to ask to look through your concealed possessions.
However, the en-mass encirclement of a single person (unnecessary use of intimidation/force), and the incarceration (handcuffs!) of a citizen w/o any evidence of a criminal act is preposterous. I am unsure of the legal system available to those in the UK, but at the very least I would consult a barrister to confirm what you real rights are... many times police officers use their authority to intimindate people into compliance, even if their own behaviour is illegal.
critical data files (e.g. mpegs of baby's first steps) should be backed up on DVDs or removeable, static media. but the data-sorting exercise is fairly big with 500gb, so you're best off just getting another drive and doing an image copy on a regular basis.
Nah, we're all still on Mosaic. Slashdot is the only site we can still visit coincidentally, and the lack of flash support means we don't have to read MS adverts ontop of Linux articles.
My facts might be dated, but in the mid-90s I believe that IBM was the 2nd largest publishing company in the world next to the US Government.
IBM has taken documentation and turned it into an artform... if you can't get documentation for a product from IBM, then your sales rep is incompetent.
Surprisingly lots of people are opting out of immunisation, due to fear resulting from ignorant propaganda about the 'dangers' of immunisations. Despite there being NO causal link EVER scientifically proven, people like Robert F Kennedy Jnr go around raising conspiracy theories that immunisations lead to autism or mercury poisoning...also there's lots of people that think immunisations are no longer necessary, and that its just a scam by pharmaceuticals. its the
slacker attitude... 'well everyone else is immunised, so i don't need to be since i'll never come into contact with the disease'.
My kids will never miss a scheduled shot, because I know that although vaccinations aren't 100% safe, that the chances of getting mumps or measles or scarlet fever or polio are 1000x more likely than a possible side effect.
I can understand AOL users, but... Belgians? Huh? Why Belgians? I've been to Belgium, and it's actually a very nice country with very nice (in general) people. Or are there any cliches I'm not aware of?
That's the joke. Belgium is a very pleasant, mostly harmless country..on the whole Belgians themselves are extremely polite, well mannered, but just idiosynchratic enough to warrant notice by people from most english speaking countries.
His comment was intended to be a sly remark on how irrelevant you can make your filter... there's no reason why you would want to specifically filter Belgians...and ESPECIALLY 52% of Belgians.
Gaaaah...i read your post and cringe. I think every developer should be forced to work in a computing operations department for one year before they're allowed to write code or design an application.
I'll grant you that personal preference is a big factor in deciding to be on the software or hardware side of things, but i think both practices need an intimate knowledge of what the other side does in order to do their own work well.
Hardware without software is useless; software written without knowledge of hardware doesn't run, or runs badly.
The biggest thing I notice between developers and computing operations is the knowledge of the business case... operations is always worried about getting the most bang for the buck, optimising the environment, managing risk. Developers are more concerned with finishing the project, and if they optimise its for their own benefit -- they don't play well with others, and resent sharing 'their environment' when necessary.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, until the iPod Apple had a long history of introducing 'new' gadgets, which were basically stylised rehashes of PC equipment. Even the Ipod isn't an innovation, but its a slickly packaged device whose usability trumped its competitors.
Apple gets credit for doing interesting things, but a minor change in Dell's lineup will see many more customers and far more sales. So which one is really newsworthy?
I'm still trying to comprehend why here in Toronto they're attempting to adapt the LOTR into a stage musical. The books are over 1000 pages long...and they're going to put them to song and cover the whole work in 3-4 hrs.
I am fairly certain if Tolkien was alive today, he'd have regretted selling his movie rights...he only did it to get out of a bind from back-taxes, resulting in some weird accounting mistakes from foreign LOTR sales.
In contrast, a Princess Bride musical makes alot more sense.
PS Adaptations from screen to stage is really just a sign of the talent bankruptcy on Broadway in recent years. Where's the next Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Rogers and Hammerstein when you need them!?!?
Granted your comment may be relevant, but I'm interested in finding the mythical corporation in which the conditions you describe do NOT exist.
Size = bureacracy. Can't be avoided. But where many many other organisations have been choked by their own paperwork, IBM continues to be relevant in a very fast paced industry. Not a perfect company by any means, but better than most based on its track record.
Generally speaking, the weight of "IBM Fellow" on your business card is worth more than a PhD IMHO.
my bad, you're right...its the Nikons that use Sony CMOS sensors. Which is just as bad since there's a heck of alot of D70s out there. ;)
Given the costs of DSLRs vs point'n'shoots, Sony better pray to god that those don't have similar problems. I figure replacing the world's supply of Digital Rebels, Rebel XTs, and 20Ds will pretty much destroy any hope of profit that fiscal year...
I agree with all of your comments. Ultimately I think this generation is the one to skip and wait until the r580 chipset due out early next year...that will be 32 pies. This is kind of a proof-of-concept generation IMHO.
As for the price difference, I suspect ATI will milk the fanboi market for a month or two, then rapidly lower the price to compete w/ the 7800s.
I just wouldn't count this as a failed generation. This x1000 series maps fairly well against 6800s and 7800s, whereas the 59xx series came late and was outclassed immediately. For Nvidia customers to get nailed by the GeForce 4400mx (really a Geforce3) *then* immediately after by the weak 59xx series, it shook alot of people's faith.
I don't think it will be *that* bad. Other sites like DriverHeaven are giving a marginal nod of the X1800XT over the 7800GTX even with the new Nvidia drivers. One thing that Nvidia has been fortunate about is by getting to market 6 mos earlier, they have 6 mos of driver tweaking to boost their performance. I trust ATI driver development more than Nvidia ,and suspect a similar 5-10% boost over the lifetime of the card will occur.
At the lower end though you're right, the 1600 and 1300 models aren't very strong contenders. But given the lower number of pipes on the X1800 (16), theoretically this chipset has ALOT more headroom if it goes to 24 or 32 down the road.
On the whole you're right, PC World has long since outlived its usefulness... it focuses on the merchandising and mainstream products but usually only catches onto a new, cool device months (years?) after the fact. By the time PC World is trumpeting the 6600GT Graphics Board, the 7800GT is released making it obsolete.
At one point it was THE magazine to read if you were a home mod hobbiest, or you wanted to know what's going on in the industry. The internet has killed these types of magazines off for the most part... Wired got smart and went more for trend-spotting and reporting. But PCWorld is at the bottom of my list of consults after HardOCP, Anandtech, Toms Hardware, DriverHeaven, etc.
Damn I hate to do this..but... i can't subvert my geek curiosity any further.
Isn't the force-crush a dark-side trick? A la Darth Vader in Star Wars?
Lightning, force crush, ability to dress only in black = dark side
Ability to confuse, telekentics, future sense, bad names = light side
For what its worth, most good writers, even great writers, have large bodies of work out of which only a portion ever is considered successful, or receives widespread popularity. Even the great writers / directors / artists have clunkers. Scorcese has New York, New York... Spielberg has 1941... Heinlein has books he refused to have republished... Neil Stephenson has rejected alot of his earlier writing, etc.
I consider Buffy to be vastly overrated, and he's also brought us dreck such as Titan A.E. and Alien 4 (ouch)... but he's also written Toy Story and Firefly. He'll be remembered for the later two and Buffy, and he still has lots of productivity in him.
That was painful to see, but when Battlestar Galactica (new) after ONE SEASON ranked higher than both is ridiculous in the extreme.
I loved the old Dr Who, but I can see reasons why you'd give Star Trek or Twilight Zone a leg up. Unfortunately most of what passes for "Sci Fi" nowadays is Space Opera w/ Wild On chicks given scientist roles. IMHO the last decent sci-fi series was the first half of the X-Files... nothing in the past 5+ years has much to do with science at all... is space-fantasy at best.
Keep in mind this list also includes "Lost", and "Xena Warrior Princess"... not very sci-fi IMHO.
PS Where's "Max Headroom"? "Probe"? There's _lots_ of short-lived TV series that had more legitimate SF themes.
I'm not one to immediately yell "constitutional rights!" anytime a peace officer attempts to do their job. I think under the recent circumstances it reasonable for a police officer to stop someone and ask them what their purpose is, and assuming its done in a non-discrimatory manner to ask to look through your concealed possessions.
However, the en-mass encirclement of a single person (unnecessary use of intimidation/force), and the incarceration (handcuffs!) of a citizen w/o any evidence of a criminal act is preposterous. I am unsure of the legal system available to those in the UK, but at the very least I would consult a barrister to confirm what you real rights are... many times police officers use their authority to intimindate people into compliance, even if their own behaviour is illegal.
there's only one answer: another harddrive.
critical data files (e.g. mpegs of baby's first steps) should be backed up on DVDs or removeable, static media. but the data-sorting exercise is fairly big with 500gb, so you're best off just getting another drive and doing an image copy on a regular basis.
Its not even as good as the iPod Flea.
Nah, we're all still on Mosaic. Slashdot is the only site we can still visit coincidentally, and the lack of flash support means we don't have to read MS adverts ontop of Linux articles.
The difference between NO and feudal society, is that feudal societies had order.
5 days and command & control is not firmly established yet in the city. This is a disgrace. Where's MacArthur when you need him?
Well, Star Search has come back as American Idol, so i'm guessing this other 1980s gem isn't far behind....
My facts might be dated, but in the mid-90s I believe that IBM was the 2nd largest publishing company in the world next to the US Government.
IBM has taken documentation and turned it into an artform... if you can't get documentation for a product from IBM, then your sales rep is incompetent.
Surprisingly lots of people are opting out of immunisation, due to fear resulting from ignorant propaganda about the 'dangers' of immunisations. Despite there being NO causal link EVER scientifically proven, people like Robert F Kennedy Jnr go around raising conspiracy theories that immunisations lead to autism or mercury poisoning...also there's lots of people that think immunisations are no longer necessary, and that its just a scam by pharmaceuticals. its the slacker attitude... 'well everyone else is immunised, so i don't need to be since i'll never come into contact with the disease'.
My kids will never miss a scheduled shot, because I know that although vaccinations aren't 100% safe, that the chances of getting mumps or measles or scarlet fever or polio are 1000x more likely than a possible side effect.
I *knew* token ring wasn't yet dead...
I'm waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop out from behind my cubicle and tell me i've been punk'd.
I can understand AOL users, but... Belgians? Huh? Why Belgians? I've been to Belgium, and it's actually a very nice country with very nice (in general) people. Or are there any cliches I'm not aware of?
/big fan of David Suchet
That's the joke. Belgium is a very pleasant, mostly harmless country..on the whole Belgians themselves are extremely polite, well mannered, but just idiosynchratic enough to warrant notice by people from most english speaking countries.
His comment was intended to be a sly remark on how irrelevant you can make your filter... there's no reason why you would want to specifically filter Belgians...and ESPECIALLY 52% of Belgians.
A better test would be a short quiz on the meaning of that day's Dilbert cartoon.
No fair... I find your anti-Vulcan bias to be discriminatory to say the least.
Gaaaah...i read your post and cringe. I think every developer should be forced to work in a computing operations department for one year before they're allowed to write code or design an application.
I'll grant you that personal preference is a big factor in deciding to be on the software or hardware side of things, but i think both practices need an intimate knowledge of what the other side does in order to do their own work well.
Hardware without software is useless; software written without knowledge of hardware doesn't run, or runs badly.
The biggest thing I notice between developers and computing operations is the knowledge of the business case... operations is always worried about getting the most bang for the buck, optimising the environment, managing risk. Developers are more concerned with finishing the project, and if they optimise its for their own benefit -- they don't play well with others, and resent sharing 'their environment' when necessary.
nah, you'll just be able to keep running one cpu with one Nvidia/ATI Super GeForce Platinum FUDO Extreme OC Limited Edition 7800XT.
The alternative would have been to run a Pentium V with a Cirrus Logic EGA card.