Is anyone surprised about this? Frankly, the most surprising thing about this to me is the fact that they acknowledge that other platforms exist that people might want to use instead. It's not like there aren't thousands of applications that ignore non-windows users and a similarly (unnecessarily) large number of websites that limit themselves to only being viewed on IE (often times also being incompatible with IE for mac even).
Now that I think of it, I know exactly what you're talking about. I've had the same thing, it was from an italian pastry shop, only this was a chocolate drink, not a coffee drink. You press in the bottom and it's all set in less than a minute (maybe you had to shake it or something, I forget). I would think though that anything made from a container like that couldn't taste any better than regular instant coffee and, well, I'm far from a coffee connoisseur, but even I think instant coffee is straight crap.
Why the hell such abominations as the Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Latte and just about everything they serve at Starbacks are permitted to exist is beyond me.
Here is why: Most people in America drown their coffee in milk or cream and saturate it with sugar. People don't like coffee, they like a slight coffee flavor. Wolfgang Puck's gourmet latte is the same thing most peoples' coffee tastes like but chilled. Quite frankly, I think it's a little gross, these people are putting so much crap in their coffee that it ceases to be coffee and becomes almost like hot chocolate. Hell, I once worked somewhere where we prepared two different chocolate flavored blends! People that got them were consistently the worst offenders in regards to cream and sugar over-use. I mean, I can understand somebody preferring their coffee with a bit of milk or cream and a packet of sugar, but you go somewhere and watch what people put in their coffee, in my experience it's not uncommon to fill a quarter of the cup with milk and put in three or more packets of sugar. Certainly there are plenty of people who put less or none (and a few who put more) but I would say the average is about as I have stated. I suppose it depends on where you get your coffee though, starbucks would be a little better and most other coffee houses would be a lot better. My experience comes from having worked in a convenience store -- a more average sampling of coffee drinkers in my opinion
Also, when I said "Americans" before, I didn't mean to imply that this is something that only Americans do, but instead I said that just because that's where my experience is. I understand that people in plenty of other places do the same thing to a lesser or greater degree.
Your figures fail to take into account the materials used in its development. That type of stuff could get expensive pretty quick. When you're prototyping something like this you're using some uncommon materials so they're more expensive to deal with, add onto this that some of those materials are being used in similarly uncommon ways and that even common materials (i.e. plastics) are being used in a low volume (molds can be expensive) and it just raises the cost. Beyond that, these are all prototypes, they want to find the one that works the best, so they have to spend this money several times over to get it just right and have a variety of design choices. I'm not saying that their number of $25,000,000 isn't inflated just to impress people, I'm almost certain it is, I'm just saying it's not an outrageous idea that it might cost that much. I mean, developing a product like this is very expensive, they make up for the development cost because the cost to produce the final product is rather cheap and they sell it in a large volume (or at least hope to).
Exactly, Linux from scratch is on there. Real men make their own distros... and they compile their programs by hand! Only wimps can't optimize for their architechture in their heads!
This is true, I wasn't thinking right. Still though, there are similarly priced SBCs with bluetooth and PC card slots. You might have to pay a little more, but still well under half the cost of a Junxion box.
Now that I think about it, an even better solution is to just plug the cellular card into your laptop and then plug a wireless card into it as well. What's that you say? The Voltaic Systems bag won't power your laptop for long? Well considering you've eliminated the $700 Junxion system, why not buy two more? Or deck out the one you bought with more solar panels?
Yeah, I was thinking that too, that the PVCs aren't really necessary and batteries would be better, but I think solar power has kind of a neat appeal with people. People like the idea of pulling energy out of thin air and such. Still though, if I were designing such a system I would incorporate a regular battery cell as well, that way you could use solar power and get your kicks from that, but if/when that power runs out you'd still be able to keep using it. It'd be a minimal cost for the battery when you think about what you've already spent on the solar cells.
This article seems like an ad. The project is essentially just plugging a Junxion Box into a Voltaic Systems backpack. If you were looking to make something like this, why would you choose to use something like the Junxion Box? Surely a mini-itx system would do just as well in this situation at a fraction of the cost (half as much?). Who on here was even familiar with this product before this article was posted?
This solar powered hotspot is $1,000. Maybe an alright price for a consumer product, but a little much for something you'd build yourself, here's a cheaper solution:
$189 - Gum Stix Connex 400xm-bt, a small xscale system running embedded linux
$25 - CFstix, an expansion board for the above system allowing connection of Compact flash cards
$70 - Netgear MA701 802.11b Wireless Compact Flash Adapter
Subtotal: $284
That ought to be a good replacement for the junxion system in this case, for 40% of the cost.
As for the solar power, you might want to use the same Voltaic Systems bag they used in the article, but you could deck out a bag you already have with solar panels and such and it might be a little cheaper. Hell, if you wanted you could put their solar panels and batteries in your bag, they sell them seperately!
This thing, as made in the article, costs over $1000, I would have thought a project slashdot would link to would have somebody rigging up their own solar panels instead of paying $230 for a bag with solar panels on it and setting up their own system (mini itx or some such) instead of paying $700 for a Junxion Box.
I've been making my own solar powered hotspots for years, all you need is a magnifying glass. Place it an appropriate distance from the ground and it becomes ideal for heating up small areas with only the power of the sun!
So to clarify, running over people, shooting people, killing police officers, stealing cars, etc. are all okay if you're 17. Consensual sex, on the other hand, you have to be 18 for.
Clearly this game was misrated! It's rated "M" implying that it's suitable for no one under 17 when obviously it should get the highest rating of "AO" to reflect that no one under 18 should play it.
While I think it was probably bad judgement for the creators of the game to put this in the game, it's not like this is really part of the game anyways, kids aren't going to come across the in normal play or anything. I mean, surely any person who would go through the trouble it takes to get to this easter egg would be able to find far more graphic things on the web.
Slashdot Mirror
Is anyone surprised about this? Frankly, the most surprising thing about this to me is the fact that they acknowledge that other platforms exist that people might want to use instead. It's not like there aren't thousands of applications that ignore non-windows users and a similarly (unnecessarily) large number of websites that limit themselves to only being viewed on IE (often times also being incompatible with IE for mac even).
Now that I think of it, I know exactly what you're talking about. I've had the same thing, it was from an italian pastry shop, only this was a chocolate drink, not a coffee drink. You press in the bottom and it's all set in less than a minute (maybe you had to shake it or something, I forget). I would think though that anything made from a container like that couldn't taste any better than regular instant coffee and, well, I'm far from a coffee connoisseur, but even I think instant coffee is straight crap.
Finally I can get a hot cup of coffee anywhere I go, because, you know, it's not like there's a place to buy coffee on every corner.
Oh wait, Starbucks...
...and a million other convenience stores, restaurants, cafes and coffeeshops.
Also, when I said "Americans" before, I didn't mean to imply that this is something that only Americans do, but instead I said that just because that's where my experience is. I understand that people in plenty of other places do the same thing to a lesser or greater degree.
Your figures fail to take into account the materials used in its development. That type of stuff could get expensive pretty quick. When you're prototyping something like this you're using some uncommon materials so they're more expensive to deal with, add onto this that some of those materials are being used in similarly uncommon ways and that even common materials (i.e. plastics) are being used in a low volume (molds can be expensive) and it just raises the cost. Beyond that, these are all prototypes, they want to find the one that works the best, so they have to spend this money several times over to get it just right and have a variety of design choices. I'm not saying that their number of $25,000,000 isn't inflated just to impress people, I'm almost certain it is, I'm just saying it's not an outrageous idea that it might cost that much. I mean, developing a product like this is very expensive, they make up for the development cost because the cost to produce the final product is rather cheap and they sell it in a large volume (or at least hope to).
Longhorn? More like shoehorn, the way they're trying to cram all these new "features" into it.
With all the visual frosting MS is laying on Longhorn is turning into an episode of "Pimp my OS"
Exactly, Linux from scratch is on there. Real men make their own distros... and they compile their programs by hand! Only wimps can't optimize for their architechture in their heads!
This is true, I wasn't thinking right. Still though, there are similarly priced SBCs with bluetooth and PC card slots. You might have to pay a little more, but still well under half the cost of a Junxion box.
That's the point, to put all your expensive gear inside a small bag so that it's nice and portable for the mugger who decides to swipe it from you.
Now that I think about it, an even better solution is to just plug the cellular card into your laptop and then plug a wireless card into it as well. What's that you say? The Voltaic Systems bag won't power your laptop for long? Well considering you've eliminated the $700 Junxion system, why not buy two more? Or deck out the one you bought with more solar panels?
Yeah, I was thinking that too, that the PVCs aren't really necessary and batteries would be better, but I think solar power has kind of a neat appeal with people. People like the idea of pulling energy out of thin air and such. Still though, if I were designing such a system I would incorporate a regular battery cell as well, that way you could use solar power and get your kicks from that, but if/when that power runs out you'd still be able to keep using it. It'd be a minimal cost for the battery when you think about what you've already spent on the solar cells.
This article seems like an ad. The project is essentially just plugging a Junxion Box into a Voltaic Systems backpack. If you were looking to make something like this, why would you choose to use something like the Junxion Box? Surely a mini-itx system would do just as well in this situation at a fraction of the cost (half as much?). Who on here was even familiar with this product before this article was posted?
This solar powered hotspot is $1,000. Maybe an alright price for a consumer product, but a little much for something you'd build yourself, here's a cheaper solution:
$189 - Gum Stix Connex 400xm-bt, a small xscale system running embedded linux
$25 - CFstix, an expansion board for the above system allowing connection of Compact flash cards
$70 - Netgear MA701 802.11b Wireless Compact Flash Adapter
Subtotal: $284
That ought to be a good replacement for the junxion system in this case, for 40% of the cost.
As for the solar power, you might want to use the same Voltaic Systems bag they used in the article, but you could deck out a bag you already have with solar panels and such and it might be a little cheaper. Hell, if you wanted you could put their solar panels and batteries in your bag, they sell them seperately!
This thing, as made in the article, costs over $1000, I would have thought a project slashdot would link to would have somebody rigging up their own solar panels instead of paying $230 for a bag with solar panels on it and setting up their own system (mini itx or some such) instead of paying $700 for a Junxion Box.
I've been making my own solar powered hotspots for years, all you need is a magnifying glass. Place it an appropriate distance from the ground and it becomes ideal for heating up small areas with only the power of the sun!
bankofE89: wtf? something blew up
treasury49: yep i know treasury49: r u ok?
bankofE89: ya
bankofE89: it wasnt nearby
treasury49: ok
bankofE89: a/s/l?
"M" is no one under 17
"AO" is no under 18
So to clarify, running over people, shooting people, killing police officers, stealing cars, etc. are all okay if you're 17. Consensual sex, on the other hand, you have to be 18 for.
Clearly this game was misrated! It's rated "M" implying that it's suitable for no one under 17 when obviously it should get the highest rating of "AO" to reflect that no one under 18 should play it.
THAT EXTRA YEAR MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
While I think it was probably bad judgement for the creators of the game to put this in the game, it's not like this is really part of the game anyways, kids aren't going to come across the in normal play or anything. I mean, surely any person who would go through the trouble it takes to get to this easter egg would be able to find far more graphic things on the web.
Sounds like bad news for Microsoft, who will use .net now?
.net? Okay, nevermind.
Oh wait, that
Looks like somebody mistakenly posted a story from http://slashdot.jp/ onto Slashdot.com!