I started my own "digitician" business (in the boston area no less), and I went through your original thought too. After a lot of thinking "Im charging too much" or "This is something I would do for free" I realized that my 13~ years (from age of 5) of making computers work, is worth twice what I charge, easily.
I make people not have to deal with the same issues that plague other "normal" people. No more email viruses, no more crashing, no more spyware, porn pop ups, etc. I don't often get repeat customers, I get referrals. People who have been using computers for years (mostly Doctors, Lawyers, other professional high income people) tell me after I've been to their house and "fixed" their computers how nice it is to not have to deal with all the shit they did before.
I have come to understand that these people who are not at all stupid, in fact are mostly exceptionally bright, do not want to deal with the crap aol/ms/etc let happen. No one is there to tell them what software to use that lets them do what they want easily. No one is there to explain to them how to deal with spam, or that they can have easily setup encrypted emails. No one is there to make their computer work, or know how to deal with dell tech support so that they can get an RMA.
That $300 is worth a lot more than an $800 computer. That $300 can be freedom to use a expensive tool to do what you want, not what bonzi buddy wants. That $300 dollars lets someone who makes 50-500 dollars a day be able to get more work done on their computer more easily without distractions or thinking they screwed up.
I've gotten a few jobs that pay anywhere from 100-700 dollars. And each of those jobs netted me another job by word of mouth. Imagine paying 1500 dollars to dell and because of massive software flaws and expected understanding of years of how computers work and are used ends up being nigh useless because of hackers who install irc file servers to abuse your bandwidth, or make your computer reset every 3 minutes.
At first I thought It was my duty to help anyone with their computers that I knew. Then I found out what paying my own bills was like, and how this is how the real world works. Knowledge based jobs beat the hell out of labour based.
I don't just fix computers, I retrain people into not being afraid of them. I teach them that anything they want to do should be easy, and show them how. I make their lives easier in a small way, it gives them more free time rather than spending hours not getting what they want to do done. And between highschool, rent, food, college applications, and my own life. I tend to think I am well worth what I charge.
You bought a cheap laser printer from the same company pulling the same overpriced cartridge crap. If you buy an expensive laser printer (quality) you get cheaper cartridges, and if you do any serious amount of printing it brings the cost down by at least 2/3rds and pays for itself in a few months. I've got a $1100~ colour laser, its costing me less than 1/4th as much in a year than continuing to use inkjets.
Admittedly I do not know what their motives are, but management and keeping multiple forks that are incompatible from existing are two very possible and good reasons for closing it.
If you are interested in getting something to work, you really do not want to deal with having to manage an open source project if you do not need the mind share. I do not know why they did it, but I don't really care either, the product is important, not the politics.
Re:Open Source Energy Initiatives
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You should REALLY look into your history book for answers to those laws. The homestead act, and the utter failure that it was (the railroad would bring rain by changing the electromagnetic fields on the prairie, or that there was a 7 year or so wet spell when they drew up the plans for that area) and the extreme need of water in your area caused that legislation. If someone messed with your water you could kill them and tell the sherriff in the morning, no harm no foul.
Those laws, as limiting as they are to you now, back in the day helped make your area of the US livable and less chaotic.
And I have played a game that neither RPG gamers (even the hardcore s.w.a.t. style groups) nor FPS hardcore players can be good at with the inherent skills required in each to be effective.
Allegiance (www.alleg.net) is a game where you cannot win unless you work together, and matches can go on for hours if two teams with 2 good commanders constantly play for the team. This is a game where teamwork is required to win, but single handed plays can tip the balance in the favor of one team.
I have played with RPG gamers who are exceptionally precise at assaults on high level monster spawns (even with mid/low level player chars in the group), and I've played twitch style quake/unreal/etc. This game merges the best aspects of hardcore playing from both and packages it up with a steep learning curve but exceptional gameplay.
Hell, MS' Mac Business Unit had a massive g4 (maybe g3) setup that was hauling ass on seti@home. Its pretty public knowledge as far as/. is concerned that MS uses macs.
I do not need to "hope" for a G5 powerbook. We all know they are coming. We just do not all know when. I would assume that the G5 powerbook will come when the consumer product lines are upped a bit.
I want a G5 powerbook because I cannot afford both a workstation and a decent laptop for what I do yet (student), and will not need the power a G5 mac until about the time the powerbook comes out (not heavy into Vector Works, and they havent updated it for the G5 yet either).
Never ask Mac users to lay off asking for the G5 powerbook, if they intend to buy one when it comes out, ship them a good product asap because the market is there. If people don't ask for it, companies wont sell it.
I do. bluetooth cell phone internet connection for my ibook. Love it, works great. Also like syncing my contacts/etc to my phone for easy editing and whatnot wirelessly.
... is that this is the most complete source opening of any commercial computer game I have ever heard of. Artwork, server tools, dev tools, etc.
For those of us who spent hours trying to mod alleg working on getting KGJV's tools to know what they were doing this is a great win. For Joel Dehlin, the creator of allegiance and all around great guy this is a great win, as his pet project will continue to grow. For the players who never gave up on the best game never supported, this is a great win.
And for me, a mac switcher who misses this game, this is a fucking awesome win.
How about cross platform easy to setup poker game (with many rule types) for OS X, Windows, and Linux. My old game group and I used to play on game spy, but we went our separate OS paths and some didn't like gamespy in general.
I am a Mac-Lover, but their quality is indeed not that of IBM or Toshiba, Ibook has had to be returned 3 times for logic board failure, and should it fail again, state law says I get my money back in full (the price I bought it for), regardless of time.
What would I do? I would take that 1800 bucks and a little savings a buy a 15 powerbook. The quality isn't great, but the support doesn't think I am lying, and have been extremely helpful getting my files back to me.
Given my families experience with MIT people, and my parent's friends all being frat brothers of my father from there, I totally understand what you are talking about.
MIT is a place for very, very different people. Generally MIT students (most successful ones I know dropped out, and I know quite a few), are very good at what they do, but usually have some majorly lacking social graces. Not saying they are anti social, but I know some people who cannot drive in downtown boston because so many streets are one way. And that is the most personal thing I would say, as these are my friends.
Generally, MIT people, in the right environment for them, will simple astound you, but many I've met cannot handle the real world.
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I started my own "digitician" business (in the boston area no less), and I went through your original thought too. After a lot of thinking "Im charging too much" or "This is something I would do for free" I realized that my 13~ years (from age of 5) of making computers work, is worth twice what I charge, easily.
I make people not have to deal with the same issues that plague other "normal" people. No more email viruses, no more crashing, no more spyware, porn pop ups, etc. I don't often get repeat customers, I get referrals. People who have been using computers for years (mostly Doctors, Lawyers, other professional high income people) tell me after I've been to their house and "fixed" their computers how nice it is to not have to deal with all the shit they did before.
I have come to understand that these people who are not at all stupid, in fact are mostly exceptionally bright, do not want to deal with the crap aol/ms/etc let happen. No one is there to tell them what software to use that lets them do what they want easily. No one is there to explain to them how to deal with spam, or that they can have easily setup encrypted emails. No one is there to make their computer work, or know how to deal with dell tech support so that they can get an RMA.
That $300 is worth a lot more than an $800 computer. That $300 can be freedom to use a expensive tool to do what you want, not what bonzi buddy wants. That $300 dollars lets someone who makes 50-500 dollars a day be able to get more work done on their computer more easily without distractions or thinking they screwed up.
I've gotten a few jobs that pay anywhere from 100-700 dollars. And each of those jobs netted me another job by word of mouth. Imagine paying 1500 dollars to dell and because of massive software flaws and expected understanding of years of how computers work and are used ends up being nigh useless because of hackers who install irc file servers to abuse your bandwidth, or make your computer reset every 3 minutes.
At first I thought It was my duty to help anyone with their computers that I knew. Then I found out what paying my own bills was like, and how this is how the real world works. Knowledge based jobs beat the hell out of labour based.
I don't just fix computers, I retrain people into not being afraid of them. I teach them that anything they want to do should be easy, and show them how. I make their lives easier in a small way, it gives them more free time rather than spending hours not getting what they want to do done. And between highschool, rent, food, college applications, and my own life. I tend to think I am well worth what I charge.
The best part is that violence for teens is at an all time low (from my social science class), as compared to the last 50 years.
You bought a cheap laser printer from the same company pulling the same overpriced cartridge crap. If you buy an expensive laser printer (quality) you get cheaper cartridges, and if you do any serious amount of printing it brings the cost down by at least 2/3rds and pays for itself in a few months. I've got a $1100~ colour laser, its costing me less than 1/4th as much in a year than continuing to use inkjets.
Admittedly I do not know what their motives are, but management and keeping multiple forks that are incompatible from existing are two very possible and good reasons for closing it.
If you are interested in getting something to work, you really do not want to deal with having to manage an open source project if you do not need the mind share. I do not know why they did it, but I don't really care either, the product is important, not the politics.
I think they were trying to point out there were 2 pat richards... Which would make a lot of sense to the locals reading the paper.
I thought it was the volume button, sorry!
You should REALLY look into your history book for answers to those laws. The homestead act, and the utter failure that it was (the railroad would bring rain by changing the electromagnetic fields on the prairie, or that there was a 7 year or so wet spell when they drew up the plans for that area) and the extreme need of water in your area caused that legislation. If someone messed with your water you could kill them and tell the sherriff in the morning, no harm no foul.
Those laws, as limiting as they are to you now, back in the day helped make your area of the US livable and less chaotic.
And I have played a game that neither RPG gamers (even the hardcore s.w.a.t. style groups) nor FPS hardcore players can be good at with the inherent skills required in each to be effective.
Allegiance (www.alleg.net) is a game where you cannot win unless you work together, and matches can go on for hours if two teams with 2 good commanders constantly play for the team. This is a game where teamwork is required to win, but single handed plays can tip the balance in the favor of one team.
I have played with RPG gamers who are exceptionally precise at assaults on high level monster spawns (even with mid/low level player chars in the group), and I've played twitch style quake/unreal/etc. This game merges the best aspects of hardcore playing from both and packages it up with a steep learning curve but exceptional gameplay.
Hell, MS' Mac Business Unit had a massive g4 (maybe g3) setup that was hauling ass on seti@home. Its pretty public knowledge as far as /. is concerned that MS uses macs.
Well, compared to what they call food there, can you blame them?
Honestly voting with your dollars against the most profitable thing the movie industry ever sold is kinda pointless in of itself.
They are making such obscene amounts of money with DVDs that your boycott is at best laughed at. (not trying to be insulting, I just doubt they care).
I do not need to "hope" for a G5 powerbook. We all know they are coming. We just do not all know when. I would assume that the G5 powerbook will come when the consumer product lines are upped a bit.
I want a G5 powerbook because I cannot afford both a workstation and a decent laptop for what I do yet (student), and will not need the power a G5 mac until about the time the powerbook comes out (not heavy into Vector Works, and they havent updated it for the G5 yet either).
Never ask Mac users to lay off asking for the G5 powerbook, if they intend to buy one when it comes out, ship them a good product asap because the market is there. If people don't ask for it, companies wont sell it.
you used the plural form, you assume there will be at least one other chick there....
apple makes about 27% profit margin on all hardware, ipods included. Their PR for investors explains this.
I do. bluetooth cell phone internet connection for my ibook. Love it, works great. Also like syncing my contacts/etc to my phone for easy editing and whatnot wirelessly.
He was probably referring to the great firewall of china. Just didn't compose his statements well.
So, it is alright for a company to abandon their users and sell out to MS.
It is alright for their premiere platform to be the last one they port it to, years later.
It is alright for them to make the buyers unable to play with their PC friends who got the game years earlier.
It is alright for the game to run like complete ass showing it was quick port.
Is that all right?
... is that this is the most complete source opening of any commercial computer game I have ever heard of. Artwork, server tools, dev tools, etc.
For those of us who spent hours trying to mod alleg working on getting KGJV's tools to know what they were doing this is a great win. For Joel Dehlin, the creator of allegiance and all around great guy this is a great win, as his pet project will continue to grow. For the players who never gave up on the best game never supported, this is a great win.
And for me, a mac switcher who misses this game, this is a fucking awesome win.
I take it you do not play any online games then, because they all need some ports open to play.
I guess you dont use your aim nick in ichat? Because .mac is not required for ichat.
Power, Heat, simd, price. G5s are probably about the same if not cheaper to make.
or next week for the dupe.
How about cross platform easy to setup poker game (with many rule types) for OS X, Windows, and Linux. My old game group and I used to play on game spy, but we went our separate OS paths and some didn't like gamespy in general.
I am a Mac-Lover, but their quality is indeed not that of IBM or Toshiba, Ibook has had to be returned 3 times for logic board failure, and should it fail again, state law says I get my money back in full (the price I bought it for), regardless of time. What would I do? I would take that 1800 bucks and a little savings a buy a 15 powerbook. The quality isn't great, but the support doesn't think I am lying, and have been extremely helpful getting my files back to me.
Given my families experience with MIT people, and my parent's friends all being frat brothers of my father from there, I totally understand what you are talking about. MIT is a place for very, very different people. Generally MIT students (most successful ones I know dropped out, and I know quite a few), are very good at what they do, but usually have some majorly lacking social graces. Not saying they are anti social, but I know some people who cannot drive in downtown boston because so many streets are one way. And that is the most personal thing I would say, as these are my friends. Generally, MIT people, in the right environment for them, will simple astound you, but many I've met cannot handle the real world.