It's just politics. Servicing Hubble isn't good for the politicians. Wasting billions of dollars to show video of some guy putting an American flag on Mars is good for politicians. These "manned missions" are the stupidest idea ever.
Another Greyhawk book...
on
D&D Is 30
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· Score: 1
"Quag Keep" by Andre Norton was also an old Greyhawk-related fantasy book.
bkr
The 33s isn't a 15C, and it isn't made by HP, but despite some minor annoyances it seems to be a decent effort at a fair price. I got my 33s ASAP, and I'm VERY glad to have it. My beloved 15C was a vital classroom and lab tool for 10 years, and now it can assume the place of honor (and safety) on my desk while the 33s does hazardous duty in the lab and field. I don't get why some people insist on pronouncing that the calc is dead - I'm still using mine to bang out calculations on-the-fly wherever I'm working. Yeah, numbers - some of us still work with them, you know? The calculator is the right tool for the job, was perfected many years ago, and still serves its purpose quite well thanks.
Apparently they realized earlier than most that looking out for the health of their passengers and crew was more important than pandering to your toxic addiction. Good for them.
bkr
PostScript and maybe a PDF viewer is all ya need..
on
PowerPoint Makes You Dumb
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Who needs "Presentation Software"? If you know how to program in PostScript you can do all of this in a much more simple and portable way...
bkr
I'll stop using transparencies when I can finally be 100% sure that a) disks won't fail b) projector hardware will be compatible and c) interpreter software will be compatible. Last thing I want to do before a critical presentation is spend 15 minutes trying to figure why my laptop won't talk to their projector or why their PDF viewer isn't displaying the fonts properly.
This is very plainly both a money-grab by the FCC and a DRM-grab by the media industry.
I gave up the ridiculous $500/year cable 5 years ago, and I guess I'll also be giving up broadcast soon. I'll miss PBS, but on balance it's not that much of a loss I guess. NPR and the internet are a better value.
My speedometer is off by about 5mph. My gas guage is off by about 1/8 tank. What if the "black box" is out of wack too, and by more? Will I be convicted of driving 100 in a 65 zone when I was really only going 63? A machine makes a poor witness in many cases....
IMHO the 15C is still the best there's ever been. RPN is The True Path, and new-style graphing calculators are WAY overblown. My 11C died in 1994, and I was lucky to get the last 15C in town. If the 15C dies, I don't know what I'll do..."normal" calculators are so much more difficult to use, in comparison...
Plain Jane for me. Function uber alles. Screw style, all I care is that it's cheap and runs X11, VIM, AWK, GCC, GDB, DDD, XV, MUTT, SLRN, and all the other essential tools of life...
Who modded this flamebait? Autodesk is one of the biggest software-lockin whores there is, beyond even Micro$haft. They charge $700 for software to make a simple line drawing that was perfected over a decade ago. (doesn't help that the competition sucks)
bkr,
who still has to bug people to save their DWG files in R13 format...
Don't forget that many tele-scammers are switching their marketing scripts to include a survey to get around the law. They'll just add the DNC list to their database and have MORE numbers to call. Putting your phone number on the DNC also puts it in the database of every tele-scammer, charity and seedy politician in the world.
bkr
They've been telemarketing my cellphone for years. Good thing it has caller ID - if I don't recognize the number they get to speak to my voicemail box.
You'll VERY seldom need the latest edition of a text for most classes. Just go by an older edition for $15 on eBay or half.com. Don't support the textbook racket. Textbook prices are outrageous - especially since 95% of the info in them has been in print for decades. We had perfectly good texts in the 1980's, and by browsing my pop's bookshelf I see that they had quite serviceable texts in the 1960's.
>Computers should work well for the first 5 years of their life, and then... who cares what.
Sorry Charlie, but not all computers are bought by Gam3rB0yz and CD-R1pperZ for lame leisureware or running the latest M$ Office bloatware. Most of my computers, including laptops, are 5+ years old and still have many years to go. They're a snap to work with due to the time I've invested in them and the stack of cheap spare parts in my closet. I recently worked at a radio observatory where much of the control system ran on vintage 8086-class machines. They were adequate for their tasks and optimized into the system through many years of experience, and to replace them and re-test the system would have been a huge waste of valuable time.
A microphone and tape recorder can't copy down diagrams, equations, proofs, figures, references, etc, etc, etc... It can't include your own comments, corrections, additions or notes, either.
Basically, a light tablet computer that can function like the pad of paper normally used
for notes would be a breakthrough. Especially if you can read your e-mail to boot. However, screen resolution could still use some improvement - writing on my tablet is still a bit grainy and skittery.
Slashdot Mirror
The Robert Jordan franchise may yet outlast the Star Trek Franchise!
It's just politics. Servicing Hubble isn't good for the politicians. Wasting billions of dollars to show video of some guy putting an American flag on Mars is good for politicians. These "manned missions" are the stupidest idea ever.
"Quag Keep" by Andre Norton was also an old Greyhawk-related fantasy book. bkr
The 33s isn't a 15C, and it isn't made by HP, but despite some minor annoyances it seems to be a decent effort at a fair price. I got my 33s ASAP, and I'm VERY glad to have it. My beloved 15C was a vital classroom and lab tool for 10 years, and now it can assume the place of honor (and safety) on my desk while the 33s does hazardous duty in the lab and field. I don't get why some people insist on pronouncing that the calc is dead - I'm still using mine to bang out calculations on-the-fly wherever I'm working. Yeah, numbers - some of us still work with them, you know? The calculator is the right tool for the job, was perfected many years ago, and still serves its purpose quite well thanks.
Annoying maybe, but really, sound cards are so NOT important.
I lived in Massachusetts for 8 years and only set foot in the boston metro area 5 times. Boston isn't everything. Backwoods New England is VERY purty.
Apparently they realized earlier than most that looking out for the health of their passengers and crew was more important than pandering to your toxic addiction. Good for them.
bkr
Who needs "Presentation Software"? If you know how to program in PostScript you can do all of this in a much more simple and portable way... bkr
I'll stop using transparencies when I can finally be 100% sure that a) disks won't fail b) projector hardware will be compatible and c) interpreter software will be compatible. Last thing I want to do before a critical presentation is spend 15 minutes trying to figure why my laptop won't talk to their projector or why their PDF viewer isn't displaying the fonts properly.
bkr
he was awesome, even if they did put way too much makeup on him so he looked somewhat like a zombie
This is very plainly both a money-grab by the FCC and a DRM-grab by the media industry.
I gave up the ridiculous $500/year cable 5 years ago, and I guess I'll also be giving up broadcast soon. I'll miss PBS, but on balance it's not that much of a loss I guess. NPR and the internet are a better value.
My speedometer is off by about 5mph. My gas guage is off by about 1/8 tank. What if the "black box" is out of wack too, and by more? Will I be convicted of driving 100 in a 65 zone when I was really only going 63? A machine makes a poor witness in many cases....
IMHO the 15C is still the best there's ever been. RPN is The True Path, and new-style graphing calculators are WAY overblown. My 11C died in 1994, and I was lucky to get the last 15C in town. If the 15C dies, I don't know what I'll do..."normal" calculators are so much more difficult to use, in comparison...
Hello? Bueller?
Plain Jane for me. Function uber alles. Screw style, all I care is that it's cheap and runs X11, VIM, AWK, GCC, GDB, DDD, XV, MUTT, SLRN, and all the other essential tools of life...
bkr
Who modded this flamebait? Autodesk is one of the biggest software-lockin whores there is, beyond even Micro$haft. They charge $700 for software to make a simple line drawing that was perfected over a decade ago. (doesn't help that the competition sucks)
bkr,
who still has to bug people to save their DWG files in R13 format...
Don't forget that many tele-scammers are switching their marketing scripts to include a survey to get around the law. They'll just add the DNC list to their database and have MORE numbers to call. Putting your phone number on the DNC also puts it in the database of every tele-scammer, charity and seedy politician in the world. bkr
They've been telemarketing my cellphone for years. Good thing it has caller ID - if I don't recognize the number they get to speak to my voicemail box.
bkr
There's nothing "weirdo" about using Lynx. It's very effective for many tasks, and far more efficient for using certain websites than Mozilla, et al.
bkr
fsckers
Who hires these Gee-Wizz techno-boobs? Last thing I want to do is talk to a computer or hear anyone else doing it.
bkr
You'll VERY seldom need the latest edition of a text for most classes. Just go by an older edition for $15 on eBay or half.com. Don't support the textbook racket. Textbook prices are outrageous - especially since 95% of the info in them has been in print for decades. We had perfectly good texts in the 1980's, and by browsing my pop's bookshelf I see that they had quite serviceable texts in the 1960's.
>Computers should work well for the first 5 years of their life, and then ... who cares what.
Sorry Charlie, but not all computers are bought by Gam3rB0yz and CD-R1pperZ for lame leisureware or running the latest M$ Office bloatware. Most of my computers, including laptops, are 5+ years old and still have many years to go. They're a snap to work with due to the time I've invested in them and the stack of cheap spare parts in my closet. I recently worked at a radio observatory where much of the control system ran on vintage 8086-class machines. They were adequate for their tasks and optimized into the system through many years of experience, and to replace them and re-test the system would have been a huge waste of valuable time.
bkr
PBS is the only channel worth my time, and it's broadcast. $40 a month for TV? I think not.
bkr
A microphone and tape recorder can't copy down diagrams, equations, proofs, figures, references, etc, etc, etc... It can't include your own comments, corrections, additions or notes, either. Basically, a light tablet computer that can function like the pad of paper normally used for notes would be a breakthrough. Especially if you can read your e-mail to boot. However, screen resolution could still use some improvement - writing on my tablet is still a bit grainy and skittery.