I've seen a one weblink that mentions the feasibility of the original mac mini for home studio recording. No one has even mentioned the macintels for it. I couldn't care less about dvr/pvr whatever. I don't watch tv. I want to know about how the specs affect Logic/Pro-Tools/Core Audio and all that. Anyone have any answers? I can't find any, and I've read all the hot links. Someone who wants to be clued in here.
Just appreciate the since of progression the simple act of turning the page gives?
I used to think I'd like eBooks as a concept, but simply find it more of a tangible, qualitative, and quantitave experience to be able to actually turn the page.
Further, until they produce an affordable (and by that I mean sub $100) reader that approximates the size of a large format paperback, with close to the same heft, and the ubiquitous availability of ALL the subjects I'm apt to read (not just oprah's book club, ny times best sellers, or random obscure titles) I'm just not interested.
It isn't worth it.
I'll also ditto mark up, book marks (the digital dog ear), and bad lighting. Battery life be damned, the thing better mimick the actual reading experience.
Wasn't the central question of the blurb about how this will affect news sites and blogging. From my perspective, I doubt seriously that it will have a negative impact in terms of how many "news" sites will do it. Obviously there is technology available (as is evidenced by this site) that will eliminate much of the problem encountered in this situation (trolling, profanity, &tc.)
the Repbulican/Democratic sibling rivalry is irrelevant.
that I can now charge the federal gov't for using my information in the national census? I mean, after all, where I live, what I do for a living, who I live with, and how much I paid for everything I own is my intellectual property right?
This is complete bullshit! If that kid ever gets his shit together he will need to learn to be comfortable with who he is. He will NEVER learn that trying to dress to someone else's standards who he doesn't respect.
Yes, people do judge by appearance in the beginning. But often enough, like minds travel like paths. If he can get himself involved with people of like minds but of more extroverted spirits (typically this means people older than his peer group), he will learn to look inward to expanding his social self, and that will eventually include his appearance.
But no matter what he wears, if he's not comfortable, NO ONE will be comfortable with him. He has to be motivated by the confidence of socializing successfully to find what works for him both physically (dress wise) and socially.
Google does not come up first in a list using the same search in its system either.
http://www.google.com
search: search engine
results:
Altavista
Search Engine Watch: Tips About Internet Search Engines & Search...
My Excite
Google
Dogpile
Lycos
Yahoo...
I'd heard it while watching the WWF (don't gag, I'm so over it) and spent the rest of the next week figuring out mp3's in general and downloading and burning in particular, plus it took me all the next work day to find it. I remember it as clearly as most people remember where they were when it was announced that Kennedy was dead. Strange the things that affect each generation... almost sad/scary in a way.
Re:Stop looking for "programming" jobs
on
Exporting Myself?
·
· Score: 1
The BA may also have been a limitation of the schools available to him (as well as his financial/academic standing) in the area he was limited to. Not everyone can pick up and move to the city with the big BS programs and afford to pay the tuition as an out of state student. I was in the same position and eventually just gave up. I should add, I was interested in completing my BS at an accredited school to go on to and engineering MS solely to get a better salary, but now that the economy has gone to hell in a handbasket and I still HAVE a job, it really doesn't matter. In fact, with the limited time I've been professionally employed in this field (8 yrs) many people look at my resume and assume I'm lying about my experience, but the truth is, most employers are looking for experience and in the area where I live (where the tech industry is extremely low) there's just not a lot of it. So when I do get hired, based on my age/gender/experience most managers feel like they're taking a chance. The question of my education almost NEVER comes up.
Though you've already written off Lexmark for what I think is only barely a legit beef, try their laser printers. I purchased a Lexmark Optra E310 for under $300 almost 5 years ago. I have yet to replace the toner cartridge and I tend to go through at least 10 reams of paper a year [video game walk through can be lengthy:-)]. The main reason for your switch is the main reason I never bought an inkjet. All of the manufacturers face the same problem. It's the technology not the company. So, give Lexmark another chance.
Whether or not you can buy a Mac without paying for an Apple OS is irrelevant to me. I'd rather pay the "Apple Tax" for an OS that is reliable and that I will actually use rather than the "M$ Tax" for an OS I have no intention of using at all.
As a Linux user/advocate and recent Mac "switcher", the issue of free software was not the one the deal maker for me when I decided on a PowerBook instead of an x86 lappy (i.e. Dell, Acer, Toshiba, etc). I didn't appreciate Dell, and many other reputable laptop makers telling me, "We're tacking an extra $200 to the bottom line for software you don't intend to use, you have no choice in the matter, and you have to agree to some arcane license just to take it off". The Microsoft Tax is what finally pushed me in the direction of the Mac. I use Linux exclusively at work, and had been running Windoze at home simply because I didn't feel like teaching my family how to use Linux systems. The last virus that hit our intranet was the straw that broke that camel's back and we went to a strictly 'Nix shop at home. So no, free was never an issue for me, reliability and integrity (both of which M$ has displayed less and less of IN SPITE of recent Anti-trust findings) is what sealed the deal for me.
Not that I agree with much (or anything for that matter) of the article (yes I did rtfa), but your complaint is invalid. At no point did he claim that exploitation of the iTms DRM would bring Apple to its knees. What he pointed out (validly I think) is that until Apple had a massively popular product that broke the 10% niche market barrier, no one was really interested in hacking or writing worms to attack products in the Apple community. That is about the most valid thing he has to say in the article which is the only point I'll defend.
still held at bay by price...
I still find $2K+ a lil expensive for an ereader. Don't get me wrong, reading my emails and such with a tablet would be no more or less cool that doing it from a laptop, but what I really see this hardware good for (outside of obvious photoshop-type applications) is an ereader. At their current smaller sizes, it's the perfect electronic replica of large-format paperbacks. Anyone who reads as much as I do can empathize with the desire not to have to hold a 1200 page book and flip pages and do other things. It's a repetitive stress injury waiting to happen. I admit, if it worked, I would miss the sensation of turning the page (adds to the feeling of progressing through the plot) but it would definitely be something I could get over. Plust it would also be great because it would be easier to prop up. Anybody ever use a book stand? They suck! Finally, the software would have to let you highlight and bookmark, as well as search. I think that would just rock. Course, I'm just a geek, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
My company relies largely on IM for communication,whether from home or in the office. Most of the programmers don't even have and "office" phone in their workspace. I like it this way, although I find it strange that in the settings I have been placed in with this company in the three years I've been there (cube - very short lived, office with three people, office with two people) we tend to be averse to communicating verbally even with our office mates (the people who share the same room with us).
I've lost count of the times I've asked someone to relay a message because the person I was trying to contact was not at his/her desk only to be told email him or IM him when he gets back. YOU'RE SITTING RIGHT THERE FOR CHRIST SAKE!! Is it really that hard to turn around and say so and so was looking for you?
I think the social effects of IM as a primary communication tool is something we ignore all too much. Programmers, as a geek species in particular, tend to be somewhat solitary people. The added convenience of not having to talk to someone face to face only makes these habits worse IMHO. Sure, it's great for productivity. I get a massive amount of work done just from the benefit of not having to talk to anyone. I can answer and instant message by touch typing without even thinking about it (especially in linux as opposed to finding the window in the start bar in windows which distracts me greatly), but there is more to everyone's heirarchy of needs than just being productive.
Cutting off the sociable ability of being able to physically converse with someone face to face is something we should not let deteriorate without consideration. I can go for hours (at least 4 at most 6) without even using my vocal chords. I, for one, think this is a very dangerous trend.
It's a sad sad day when a record company executive can (even if in jest) refer to "trusting the customer" as a novelty. I'd boycott it for this cavalier attitude alone. However, as I have not purchased any new cd's in over 5 years, it's a non issue for me. Further, instead of "trusing the customer" on the DRM front, I think executives should be focusing on pumping quality out of the artists they sign. To paraphrase his quote, "If you give people what they want in terms of value," you'd five them music they actually wanted to hear instead of two or three singles on a cd chock full of crap.
This is a ridiculous attempt, at best, to justify small mindedness by the gaming company's (both hardware and software). Do you honestly think they haven't researched this or aren't currently? Obviously it's not working. And it's not simply because they aren't doing it right. You have to remember, in retail the bottom line is "whatever sells the most wins". Period. No discussions.
What has been winning for the past several years is GTA and UT/Counter-Strike style games. Period. The games that people are actually PAYING for, are what is determining the market these companies go after. Honestly, I am a girl gamer (even though the term offends me). I can tell you that while I prefer the Crash Bandicoot/Mario/Sonic platform/adventure game genre, those are exactly the types of games I'm more apt to RENT as opposed to BUY. I can finish that game in the 5 day rental period. There isn't an awful lot of replay value in those games as opposed to the ones I am apt to buy (e.g. Tony Hawk, WakeBoarding, DDR). I can play THPS online as many times as I can count and never get board. DDR lends itself to tournaments and parties, and I just like Extreme Sports games like Wakeboarding Unleashed. How many times would you go back and try to beat the boss in Mario Sunshine. It gets old and boring really fast.
I bought a GameCube because quite honestly, Nintendo is more willing to put money into these kind of games because that's their target and they do it well, so I have more gaming choice as a result. I still prefer to play extreme sports games like SSX on the Playstation because Sony does that well, but I've played more on the GC since I bought it than the PS2 because there are more games to my taste to choose from than on the PS2. I have yet to find enough games on the XBox that AREN'T also on the GC or PS (or that the others don't have a better version of) to justify purchasing that. I also have a bunch of games for the GBA that lend themselves to the quick burst of play action that a portable system depends on (though I have a hard time with the small buttons on the SP becuase of my fingernails).
So I think there is enough of a choice out there for "Grrl Gamers" IF you understand the players and who they market to. The ONLY point those markets are going to change is when we start buying. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to participate or even be ASKED to participate in the marketing research/polls etc to be counted. Lets face it, how many of us actually think about filling out those registration cards? And of those who do, how many get offended when asked a demographic question (i.e. gender/race/age)? If more girls who actually bought games, actually filled these out, these companies would be faced with numbers they couldn't ignore. As it stands, they'll ignore us until we put our considerable purchasing power where our mouths are.
But I also haven't shared a file or even connected to a P2P network since the lawsuits came out. The biggest reason for that is that I haven't had the time. The second biggest is I got a virus. And the third biggest is there hasn't been anything I've wanted to download too particularly badly. As an aside, I personally haven't "purchased" a cd since roughly '98, and don't plan on it. I currently "own" over 500 cd's. And when I was downloading it was mostly what would be considered "oldies but goodies" circa '92 and back. Most of these wouldn't even be found in the record store unless it was on a compilation of equally as obscure but largely ignored tracks. To date I've only received a cease and desist from the MPAA NOT the RIAA so I don't believe any efforts the RIAA has made thus far has had any measurable impact. I just don't have the time to be bothered with worrying about it. I don't listen to the radio, so generally the only new music I hear is either in a tv show, movie, commercial, or retail overhead speaker. Good riddance RIAA.
I think his analagy, though flawed, is fairly accurate. I find that most of the time industry people talk about gaming is tends to be skewed toward the technical aspect of it rather than the general end user experience.
Another way to word his analogy that may make it clearer is that in movie production you basically have a story to tell, and a process of coming up with an recording the visualizations to tell it. Every time a studio makes a movie, they certainly don't recreate the camera they use to film it. Contraspectively, every time a game is developed, the engine (a la doom, ut, etc) is either tweaked, redesigned, or scrapped entirely in favor of the new. On rare occaissions, the movie industry has come up with Matrix-esque innovation ( a la the bullet scenes NOT the fight choreography) that can be viewed upon as fresh. The main point is, that is something the end user can be physically shown, as in this is how we were able to show you Neo dodging bullets. The very nature of gaming, which is to say, programming and computer engineering, does not lend itself to explaining to the user that we feel excited about this new gaming product because we coded it in such a new and fascinating way as to take advantage of the equipment it runs on thereby saving us tons of money and giving you a better gaming experience. You can't SHOW anybody that, so everyone complains about all games being the same thing over and over again. If we look at it honestly, there has been quite a bit of innovation going on in gaming that we can't even (as end users) really appreciate.
I've worked in all sorts of environments. Suffice it to say, despite the CURRENT economy, most of these places were turning a quite decent profit whilst I was there. The following is a list of the bonuses typical of these places (which were both professional - eg Attorney's Office, laborious - eg Manufacturing Plant, and retail):
1. $400-$700 (from the isp that I currently work for)
2. $2500 raise (from the law firm - biggest bonus yet - and I call it a bonus because I got it at Christmas in lieu of a cash bonus for perfomance, and raises were done at the end of fiscal in april.)
3. One 8-12lb turkey (that was from the zoo)
4. $50 Gift Cert to the local grocer (TV Station)
That being said, my expectation is quite a lot lower than what I've seen of the responses so far. However, I think the key here IS expectations. If you set them, be sure to set them early and reasonably. And NEVER fail to meet them. Beyond that, whatever you do decide to give should be sufficient (particularly as this is the first time you've done it.)
Rational people do not rely upon bonuses as a functional part of their budget, and if you give those who do enough early warning that they aren't to expect one, everyone will be apprciative of whatever they get.
Nice to see someone in government finally waking up to the fact that the anti-terrorism bandwagon is not the one to jump on. Double bonus for actually doing something about it. Our legislature needs to take some time to reason things out and actually LISTEN to its constituates before writing bold laws to fight terrorism. What's out there now is just not working.
I have moved the same installation of Mandrake between three different pc's with completely different hardware set ups multiple times over the last three years (frying athlon procs is entirely too easy...) and never had to do anything other than boot the machine. I've only moved RedHat 7.3 and BSD 5 once with approximately the same result. Yeah I may have had to manually edit my XConfig file with the last two, but other wise smooth sailing. Try that with Windoze and I guarantee you, there will be a fresh install, or os repair in your future.
FYI, the amount a particular publication can charge for said advertisement is inextricably linked to the size of it's subscriber base. IOW, if your subscriber base gets smaller, the amount you can charge for an ad gets smaller, ergo you make less money. So yes, technology in the long run (cable, inet, this cellphoto thing) will eventually kill off print news media. At least in terms of it being a viable resource for timely info. It may still survive for keepsakes, and wedding announcements, and such.
It disturbs me when reports begin to come out regarding usage trends/statistics about games... and people take them seriously. Worse yet, they extrapolate theorems from the data and apply them to reality.
IT'S A GAME! Ok so the male avatars are more expensive. One could easily apply the law of supply and demand to the statistical data. But, that would be taking this GAME waay to seriously.
I'm sure someone is going to post about how insignificant the reported statistics are in the face of the statistics about how many people get far too involved in rpg's, and Everquest in particular, to the point of losing touch with reality, committing suicide, etc. Again, people who take the game waay to seriously.
Please stop reporting such bunk as news, thereby ceasing to encourage people to push the game beyond what its intended purpose. It's a game. It's just there to entertain us.
Slashdot Mirror
I've seen a one weblink that mentions the feasibility of the original mac mini for home studio recording. No one has even mentioned the macintels for it. I couldn't care less about dvr/pvr whatever. I don't watch tv. I want to know about how the specs affect Logic/Pro-Tools/Core Audio and all that. Anyone have any answers? I can't find any, and I've read all the hot links. Someone who wants to be clued in here.
Just appreciate the since of progression the simple act of turning the page gives? I used to think I'd like eBooks as a concept, but simply find it more of a tangible, qualitative, and quantitave experience to be able to actually turn the page. Further, until they produce an affordable (and by that I mean sub $100) reader that approximates the size of a large format paperback, with close to the same heft, and the ubiquitous availability of ALL the subjects I'm apt to read (not just oprah's book club, ny times best sellers, or random obscure titles) I'm just not interested. It isn't worth it. I'll also ditto mark up, book marks (the digital dog ear), and bad lighting. Battery life be damned, the thing better mimick the actual reading experience.
Wasn't the central question of the blurb about how this will affect news sites and blogging. From my perspective, I doubt seriously that it will have a negative impact in terms of how many "news" sites will do it. Obviously there is technology available (as is evidenced by this site) that will eliminate much of the problem encountered in this situation (trolling, profanity, &tc.) the Repbulican/Democratic sibling rivalry is irrelevant.
that I can now charge the federal gov't for using my information in the national census? I mean, after all, where I live, what I do for a living, who I live with, and how much I paid for everything I own is my intellectual property right?
This is complete bullshit! If that kid ever gets his shit together he will need to learn to be comfortable with who he is. He will NEVER learn that trying to dress to someone else's standards who he doesn't respect.
Yes, people do judge by appearance in the beginning. But often enough, like minds travel like paths. If he can get himself involved with people of like minds but of more extroverted spirits (typically this means people older than his peer group), he will learn to look inward to expanding his social self, and that will eventually include his appearance.
But no matter what he wears, if he's not comfortable, NO ONE will be comfortable with him. He has to be motivated by the confidence of socializing successfully to find what works for him both physically (dress wise) and socially.
Google does not come up first in a list using the same search in its system either. http://www.google.com search: search engine results: Altavista Search Engine Watch: Tips About Internet Search Engines & Search ...
My Excite
Google
Dogpile
Lycos
Yahoo ...
That story has been up on salon.com for MONTHS.
I'd heard it while watching the WWF (don't gag, I'm so over it) and spent the rest of the next week figuring out mp3's in general and downloading and burning in particular, plus it took me all the next work day to find it. I remember it as clearly as most people remember where they were when it was announced that Kennedy was dead. Strange the things that affect each generation... almost sad/scary in a way.
The BA may also have been a limitation of the schools available to him (as well as his financial/academic standing) in the area he was limited to. Not everyone can pick up and move to the city with the big BS programs and afford to pay the tuition as an out of state student. I was in the same position and eventually just gave up. I should add, I was interested in completing my BS at an accredited school to go on to and engineering MS solely to get a better salary, but now that the economy has gone to hell in a handbasket and I still HAVE a job, it really doesn't matter. In fact, with the limited time I've been professionally employed in this field (8 yrs) many people look at my resume and assume I'm lying about my experience, but the truth is, most employers are looking for experience and in the area where I live (where the tech industry is extremely low) there's just not a lot of it. So when I do get hired, based on my age/gender/experience most managers feel like they're taking a chance. The question of my education almost NEVER comes up.
Though you've already written off Lexmark for what I think is only barely a legit beef, try their laser printers. I purchased a Lexmark Optra E310 for under $300 almost 5 years ago. I have yet to replace the toner cartridge and I tend to go through at least 10 reams of paper a year [video game walk through can be lengthy :-)]. The main reason for your switch is the main reason I never bought an inkjet. All of the manufacturers face the same problem. It's the technology not the company. So, give Lexmark another chance.
Whether or not you can buy a Mac without paying for an Apple OS is irrelevant to me. I'd rather pay the "Apple Tax" for an OS that is reliable and that I will actually use rather than the "M$ Tax" for an OS I have no intention of using at all.
As a Linux user/advocate and recent Mac "switcher", the issue of free software was not the one the deal maker for me when I decided on a PowerBook instead of an x86 lappy (i.e. Dell, Acer, Toshiba, etc). I didn't appreciate Dell, and many other reputable laptop makers telling me, "We're tacking an extra $200 to the bottom line for software you don't intend to use, you have no choice in the matter, and you have to agree to some arcane license just to take it off". The Microsoft Tax is what finally pushed me in the direction of the Mac. I use Linux exclusively at work, and had been running Windoze at home simply because I didn't feel like teaching my family how to use Linux systems. The last virus that hit our intranet was the straw that broke that camel's back and we went to a strictly 'Nix shop at home. So no, free was never an issue for me, reliability and integrity (both of which M$ has displayed less and less of IN SPITE of recent Anti-trust findings) is what sealed the deal for me.
Not that I agree with much (or anything for that matter) of the article (yes I did rtfa), but your complaint is invalid. At no point did he claim that exploitation of the iTms DRM would bring Apple to its knees. What he pointed out (validly I think) is that until Apple had a massively popular product that broke the 10% niche market barrier, no one was really interested in hacking or writing worms to attack products in the Apple community. That is about the most valid thing he has to say in the article which is the only point I'll defend.
You can right a shell script to parse the whois based on a list of domains and have it email you if the date is close.
still held at bay by price... I still find $2K+ a lil expensive for an ereader. Don't get me wrong, reading my emails and such with a tablet would be no more or less cool that doing it from a laptop, but what I really see this hardware good for (outside of obvious photoshop-type applications) is an ereader. At their current smaller sizes, it's the perfect electronic replica of large-format paperbacks. Anyone who reads as much as I do can empathize with the desire not to have to hold a 1200 page book and flip pages and do other things. It's a repetitive stress injury waiting to happen. I admit, if it worked, I would miss the sensation of turning the page (adds to the feeling of progressing through the plot) but it would definitely be something I could get over. Plust it would also be great because it would be easier to prop up. Anybody ever use a book stand? They suck! Finally, the software would have to let you highlight and bookmark, as well as search. I think that would just rock. Course, I'm just a geek, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
My company relies largely on IM for communication,whether from home or in the office. Most of the programmers don't even have and "office" phone in their workspace. I like it this way, although I find it strange that in the settings I have been placed in with this company in the three years I've been there (cube - very short lived, office with three people, office with two people) we tend to be averse to communicating verbally even with our office mates (the people who share the same room with us).
I've lost count of the times I've asked someone to relay a message because the person I was trying to contact was not at his/her desk only to be told email him or IM him when he gets back. YOU'RE SITTING RIGHT THERE FOR CHRIST SAKE!! Is it really that hard to turn around and say so and so was looking for you?
I think the social effects of IM as a primary communication tool is something we ignore all too much. Programmers, as a geek species in particular, tend to be somewhat solitary people. The added convenience of not having to talk to someone face to face only makes these habits worse IMHO. Sure, it's great for productivity. I get a massive amount of work done just from the benefit of not having to talk to anyone. I can answer and instant message by touch typing without even thinking about it (especially in linux as opposed to finding the window in the start bar in windows which distracts me greatly), but there is more to everyone's heirarchy of needs than just being productive.
Cutting off the sociable ability of being able to physically converse with someone face to face is something we should not let deteriorate without consideration. I can go for hours (at least 4 at most 6) without even using my vocal chords. I, for one, think this is a very dangerous trend.
It's a sad sad day when a record company executive can (even if in jest) refer to "trusting the customer" as a novelty. I'd boycott it for this cavalier attitude alone. However, as I have not purchased any new cd's in over 5 years, it's a non issue for me. Further, instead of "trusing the customer" on the DRM front, I think executives should be focusing on pumping quality out of the artists they sign. To paraphrase his quote, "If you give people what they want in terms of value," you'd five them music they actually wanted to hear instead of two or three singles on a cd chock full of crap.
This is a ridiculous attempt, at best, to justify small mindedness by the gaming company's (both hardware and software). Do you honestly think they haven't researched this or aren't currently? Obviously it's not working. And it's not simply because they aren't doing it right. You have to remember, in retail the bottom line is "whatever sells the most wins". Period. No discussions.
What has been winning for the past several years is GTA and UT/Counter-Strike style games. Period. The games that people are actually PAYING for, are what is determining the market these companies go after. Honestly, I am a girl gamer (even though the term offends me). I can tell you that while I prefer the Crash Bandicoot/Mario/Sonic platform/adventure game genre, those are exactly the types of games I'm more apt to RENT as opposed to BUY. I can finish that game in the 5 day rental period. There isn't an awful lot of replay value in those games as opposed to the ones I am apt to buy (e.g. Tony Hawk, WakeBoarding, DDR). I can play THPS online as many times as I can count and never get board. DDR lends itself to tournaments and parties, and I just like Extreme Sports games like Wakeboarding Unleashed. How many times would you go back and try to beat the boss in Mario Sunshine. It gets old and boring really fast.
I bought a GameCube because quite honestly, Nintendo is more willing to put money into these kind of games because that's their target and they do it well, so I have more gaming choice as a result. I still prefer to play extreme sports games like SSX on the Playstation because Sony does that well, but I've played more on the GC since I bought it than the PS2 because there are more games to my taste to choose from than on the PS2. I have yet to find enough games on the XBox that AREN'T also on the GC or PS (or that the others don't have a better version of) to justify purchasing that. I also have a bunch of games for the GBA that lend themselves to the quick burst of play action that a portable system depends on (though I have a hard time with the small buttons on the SP becuase of my fingernails).
So I think there is enough of a choice out there for "Grrl Gamers" IF you understand the players and who they market to. The ONLY point those markets are going to change is when we start buying. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to participate or even be ASKED to participate in the marketing research/polls etc to be counted. Lets face it, how many of us actually think about filling out those registration cards? And of those who do, how many get offended when asked a demographic question (i.e. gender/race/age)? If more girls who actually bought games, actually filled these out, these companies would be faced with numbers they couldn't ignore. As it stands, they'll ignore us until we put our considerable purchasing power where our mouths are.
But I also haven't shared a file or even connected to a P2P network since the lawsuits came out. The biggest reason for that is that I haven't had the time. The second biggest is I got a virus. And the third biggest is there hasn't been anything I've wanted to download too particularly badly. As an aside, I personally haven't "purchased" a cd since roughly '98, and don't plan on it. I currently "own" over 500 cd's. And when I was downloading it was mostly what would be considered "oldies but goodies" circa '92 and back. Most of these wouldn't even be found in the record store unless it was on a compilation of equally as obscure but largely ignored tracks. To date I've only received a cease and desist from the MPAA NOT the RIAA so I don't believe any efforts the RIAA has made thus far has had any measurable impact. I just don't have the time to be bothered with worrying about it. I don't listen to the radio, so generally the only new music I hear is either in a tv show, movie, commercial, or retail overhead speaker. Good riddance RIAA.
I think his analagy, though flawed, is fairly accurate. I find that most of the time industry people talk about gaming is tends to be skewed toward the technical aspect of it rather than the general end user experience.
Another way to word his analogy that may make it clearer is that in movie production you basically have a story to tell, and a process of coming up with an recording the visualizations to tell it. Every time a studio makes a movie, they certainly don't recreate the camera they use to film it. Contraspectively, every time a game is developed, the engine (a la doom, ut, etc) is either tweaked, redesigned, or scrapped entirely in favor of the new. On rare occaissions, the movie industry has come up with Matrix-esque innovation ( a la the bullet scenes NOT the fight choreography) that can be viewed upon as fresh. The main point is, that is something the end user can be physically shown, as in this is how we were able to show you Neo dodging bullets. The very nature of gaming, which is to say, programming and computer engineering, does not lend itself to explaining to the user that we feel excited about this new gaming product because we coded it in such a new and fascinating way as to take advantage of the equipment it runs on thereby saving us tons of money and giving you a better gaming experience. You can't SHOW anybody that, so everyone complains about all games being the same thing over and over again. If we look at it honestly, there has been quite a bit of innovation going on in gaming that we can't even (as end users) really appreciate.
I've worked in all sorts of environments. Suffice it to say, despite the CURRENT economy, most of these places were turning a quite decent profit whilst I was there. The following is a list of the bonuses typical of these places (which were both professional - eg Attorney's Office, laborious - eg Manufacturing Plant, and retail):
1. $400-$700 (from the isp that I currently work for)
2. $2500 raise (from the law firm - biggest bonus yet - and I call it a bonus because I got it at Christmas in lieu of a cash bonus for perfomance, and raises were done at the end of fiscal in april.)
3. One 8-12lb turkey (that was from the zoo)
4. $50 Gift Cert to the local grocer (TV Station)
That being said, my expectation is quite a lot lower than what I've seen of the responses so far. However, I think the key here IS expectations. If you set them, be sure to set them early and reasonably. And NEVER fail to meet them. Beyond that, whatever you do decide to give should be sufficient (particularly as this is the first time you've done it.)
Rational people do not rely upon bonuses as a functional part of their budget, and if you give those who do enough early warning that they aren't to expect one, everyone will be apprciative of whatever they get.
Nice to see someone in government finally waking up to the fact that the anti-terrorism bandwagon is not the one to jump on. Double bonus for actually doing something about it. Our legislature needs to take some time to reason things out and actually LISTEN to its constituates before writing bold laws to fight terrorism. What's out there now is just not working.
I have moved the same installation of Mandrake between three different pc's with completely different hardware set ups multiple times over the last three years (frying athlon procs is entirely too easy...) and never had to do anything other than boot the machine. I've only moved RedHat 7.3 and BSD 5 once with approximately the same result. Yeah I may have had to manually edit my XConfig file with the last two, but other wise smooth sailing. Try that with Windoze and I guarantee you, there will be a fresh install, or os repair in your future.
FYI, the amount a particular publication can charge for said advertisement is inextricably linked to the size of it's subscriber base. IOW, if your subscriber base gets smaller, the amount you can charge for an ad gets smaller, ergo you make less money. So yes, technology in the long run (cable, inet, this cellphoto thing) will eventually kill off print news media. At least in terms of it being a viable resource for timely info. It may still survive for keepsakes, and wedding announcements, and such.
It disturbs me when reports begin to come out regarding usage trends/statistics about games... and people take them seriously. Worse yet, they extrapolate theorems from the data and apply them to reality.
IT'S A GAME! Ok so the male avatars are more expensive. One could easily apply the law of supply and demand to the statistical data. But, that would be taking this GAME waay to seriously.
I'm sure someone is going to post about how insignificant the reported statistics are in the face of the statistics about how many people get far too involved in rpg's, and Everquest in particular, to the point of losing touch with reality, committing suicide, etc. Again, people who take the game waay to seriously.
Please stop reporting such bunk as news, thereby ceasing to encourage people to push the game beyond what its intended purpose. It's a game. It's just there to entertain us.