I agree. I've bought too many aac files to want to burn them all off to cd to convert them to mp3s. I'd love to get an iriver ihp140 to replace my first generation ipod, but...no aac support.
Apple must really be holding the aac info close. Then again..if apple finally releases an ipod with better a better s/n ratio and true playlist creation from the player...I'd be happy to buy one of those instead of the iriver or zen xtra.
Still...I wish Apple would find a way to make some money from selling music and not just ipods. That way more players would be able to play aac files and use iTunes to sync. Hell, I'd pay for iTunes, if it'd let me use any digital player on the market.
I recently bought a fujitsu N5010 for a desktop replacement. It's got a radeon 9600 mobility chip with 64mb of vram. Sure...it doesn't beat a desktop, but considering the type of work I do and the games I play, it fit the bill. This computer has a screen to die for. It's a 600:1 contrast ratio...bring on full sun. No problem.
For more folks, raw speed is irrelevant now. I would have preferred a centrino or amd based system so I could have had better battery life, but once I saw this screen....I had to have this one. The screen on this laptop beats anything I've ever seen. Sony's x-Brte is probably very similar.
FWIW, I have a very small desk space (dining table) and I need to put a computer away very frequently to use the space for other things. So ten pound laptop is just fine. Portablity isn't everything. Getting rid of cables, separate monitors and the abilty to put it up at the end of the day, out weigh the power of a desktop. Probably not only for me, but for quite a few other folks too.
The market for these kind of machines has got to be growing as people discover that they don't need uber power in order to process words. A tidy desk is qutie a triumph!
Hahaha!:-) I'm laughing with you, not at you. I see your point. Hmmm, how about this one? Perhaps we *don't* know the full future ramifications of our technological actions? Yes, we're much "smarter" than elephants in certain ways and one can posit that we should take responsibility, but it's very doubtful that we truely understand what or if our technology will exert any impact or significant reshaping of the world over millenial timeframes. We definately know short term consequences...much moreso than the elephants....over hundreds of years, but we have no clue as to our impact over thousands or millions.
On the short term, we're all pretty much on the same sheet of music. We actually love this place called earth whether we admit it or not and I expect that our natural tendencies to protect what we love will come into play eventually.....even with those who seem "clueless" or cruel at the moment.
So, I agree with you that we have a larger perspective and understanding than....say the elephants and we should try to operate within this world in as neutral a way as possible. But I can't shake the notion that there's a *much* more vast equation and we don't have a clue about that, just as the elephant doesn't have a clue about how his behaviour fits into a bigger picture.
So....back to the star trek episode... perhaps we can do what we can with our technology as we see morally fit at any given timepoint in our evolution. (morality is constantly in flux) Do what you want and let the big picture take care of itself. Don't back yourself into a corner and limit your choices over issues that may be beyond our perspective at the moment.
I know many people will disagree with me, but when a person or a group of people are involved in a situation such as postulated in the trek episode, acting is like playing God and not acting is like playing God. Either way, thousands of lives are in your hands. So, like I said above...just do what you feel is best, don't artificially limit your choices and let the big picture sort itself out.
Yup...understood. I'm just trying and idea on for size. Mass extinctions have always occurred and somehow nature survives. The form may be completely different and eons may be required for rebuilding, but nature does survive. Man may use technology tip the balance for far longer and steeper than more natural approaches but balance *will* be restored. Now...we might not like what happens when that restoration begins....there will probably be a mass die off of humanity and much social and economic upheaval. But balance will prevail.
The fact that man is part of nature doesn't justify raping and pillaging the planet, but in the television show mentioned, the use of technology was not going to be used for pillaging. That was why I mentioned "man as a part of nature" idea.
Man may cause himself to become extinct, but that won't destroy nature. Even if we destroy much biodiversity, it'll rebuild just like it did after the dinosaurs. We just may not be here to see it. No big loss to the world really.
The conclusion to not interfere seems valid if you consider "humanity" to be outside of nature. If you consider "human-ness" to be part and parcel of how nature works, then our technological advances are no different than a thunderstorm, earthquake, or healing summer shower....metaphorically speaking.
In other words, perhaps "interfering" could also be part of nature's plan or "natural evolution". Humanity is a part of nature too...just as elephants are both destructive and constructive. We just use technology as our agent of change.
Re:Netscape (spyware) busted under OS X / Jaguar
on
Netscape 7.0 is Out
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· Score: 1
I'm using OS X 10.2 and running chimera. It's essentially a cocoa native version of mozilla's browser. It's working really well for me so far. Installation was painless, and it imported all of my IE bookmarks perfectly. I only got it today, but so far I haven't run into any web site that's thrown it for a loop. It also blocks pop-ups. The first time a web site tries to load a non-requested pop-up, the program prompts you with a dialog box where you can answer "yes" to blocking all future non-requested pop-ups. I can vouch for the fact that it's pop-up blocking is working for me.
So...if Netscape is a bust for mac users, and mozilla is too slow due to being carbonized, perhaps try chimera.
Mac users can keep using mozilla or give Chimera a look.
http://chimera.mozdev.org/installation.html
Chimera is a browser only program that's essentially mozilla's browser, but it's not just carbonized like mozilla, it's Cocoa. I just downloaded it today and so far I'm liking it. The first web site that tries to load a pop-up will trigger a dialog box where you can answer yes to reject all future unrequested pop-ups. So far so good for me. It imported my bookmarks perfectly and I'm liking the interface.
Ok...I understand that Apple includes the software with those macs that have superdrives....and the increased price of the computer essentially "pays" for the iDVD software.
So, for those of us like myself who just (one month ago) bought a new Tibook or some other mac w/o a superdrive, how about creating a version of iDVD to sell. It would give folks without a superdrive an option to burn DVDs and it would be a revenue stream. I can't afford Final Cut Pro or Studio DVD, but I COULD afford a low cost version of iDVD.
Lesseee....what would be reasonable?...$20...$50? If I were Apple, I wouldn't sneeze at the opportunity to sell another version of iDVD. There's obviously a demand for it.
You can buy what Apple calls a family license for $199. That authorizes you to install it on as many family machines as you want. Since a single license runs $129, it's a good deal. Now...you don't *have* to since Apple doesn't resort to strong arm tactics like Microsoft. But you'd be surprised at how many people are ponying up for a family license pack. It gives them a fairly inexpensive way to "do the right thing", and they're taking it.
On another note, I just looked up the xserve's (Apple's 1U rack mounted server) tech specs and found that OSX server comes with *unlimited* client licenses. Sweet!
Yup...I agree totally. I just finished watching several rented DVDs that I'd waited months to see. Why? I had to wait until my spouse went out of town since every movie that had a plot I was interested in was rated R.
Sigh....sad thing is...maybe *one* of those flicks needed an R rating to tell it's story. All the others could easily have been PG-13. Movies I saw....? Mulholland Drive, Vanilla Sky, Amelie, Waking Life, and Bound.
I (as a nearly 40 year old) find it odd that I'm waiting for alone time in my house so I can watch some movies and not offend the rest of my family. I know that even a movie like The Sixth Sense was rated PG-13, but I found it quite gory despite it's supposed rating. (particularly the scene with the boy who'd shot himself in the head)
I'm not a prude, but I very much DON'T welcome the gratuitous insertions of a nude sex scene, ultra fowl language, or a flash of gore, just to get a particular rating. I can get the point without having see a rape or muder. FWIW, all the movies I watched recently were good, but I felt most of them didnt' need nearly so much rated R material to make their points. I, for one, would love to go to PG-13 movies. I just wish studios would release PG-13 versions of their "mature" movies. Maturity aint about sex and violence. Apparently the way of hollywood now is to be a shocking as possible. Ugh.
Sometimes the best story telling isn't about what you say or show, it's about what you DON'T say or show. It lets the viewer's imagination get a workout.
Re:The most important thing developers must note:
on
The Future of MMORPGs
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· Score: 1
This is not an online rpg but it meets the criteria of good story telling.
Planescape torment...
Is this type of good storytelling not ready for online primetime? I've never played an rpg online, it has no appeal to me right now. It has the appearance of a chat space with some hack and slash thrown in.
Yeah...I'm moved to write a cliche. But there's truth in those words. The world is filled with whackos, charletans, manipulators...you name it. This particular case may be a hoax, but the number of messages generated here let's us all know just how much we all want to discover a new energy source. (deep down we want to find some new cosmic secret that's been there all along if we only had been able to decode it)
Just look for the germ of truth in these speculations. No need to deride anyone. There's so much energy available "out there"...the sun's energy creating plasma in the atmosphere to create the aurora,...how do the typical interactions of the earth just existing create such massive energies as thunderstorms? (we know some of the mechanisms, but still don't know how)
Many "crazy" people have great inspirations, but just lack the ability to get their idea packaged up for the "real world". The messenger is essentially irrelevant...listen to the message.
Slashdot Mirror
Apple must really be holding the aac info close. Then again..if apple finally releases an ipod with better a better s/n ratio and true playlist creation from the player...I'd be happy to buy one of those instead of the iriver or zen xtra.
Still...I wish Apple would find a way to make some money from selling music and not just ipods. That way more players would be able to play aac files and use iTunes to sync. Hell, I'd pay for iTunes, if it'd let me use any digital player on the market.
I recently bought a fujitsu N5010 for a desktop replacement. It's got a radeon 9600 mobility chip with 64mb of vram. Sure...it doesn't beat a desktop, but considering the type of work I do and the games I play, it fit the bill. This computer has a screen to die for. It's a 600:1 contrast ratio...bring on full sun. No problem. For more folks, raw speed is irrelevant now. I would have preferred a centrino or amd based system so I could have had better battery life, but once I saw this screen....I had to have this one. The screen on this laptop beats anything I've ever seen. Sony's x-Brte is probably very similar. FWIW, I have a very small desk space (dining table) and I need to put a computer away very frequently to use the space for other things. So ten pound laptop is just fine. Portablity isn't everything. Getting rid of cables, separate monitors and the abilty to put it up at the end of the day, out weigh the power of a desktop. Probably not only for me, but for quite a few other folks too. The market for these kind of machines has got to be growing as people discover that they don't need uber power in order to process words. A tidy desk is qutie a triumph!
Ummmm, why didn't you just use imovie to make your movie and go get Toast for a hundred bucks or so to burn it off to DVD?
On the short term, we're all pretty much on the same sheet of music. We actually love this place called earth whether we admit it or not and I expect that our natural tendencies to protect what we love will come into play eventually. ....even with those who seem "clueless" or cruel at the moment.
So, I agree with you that we have a larger perspective and understanding than ....say the elephants and we should try to operate within this world in as neutral a way as possible. But I can't shake the notion that there's a *much* more vast equation and we don't have a clue about that, just as the elephant doesn't have a clue about how his behaviour fits into a bigger picture.
So....back to the star trek episode... perhaps we can do what we can with our technology as we see morally fit at any given timepoint in our evolution. (morality is constantly in flux) Do what you want and let the big picture take care of itself. Don't back yourself into a corner and limit your choices over issues that may be beyond our perspective at the moment.
I know many people will disagree with me, but when a person or a group of people are involved in a situation such as postulated in the trek episode, acting is like playing God and not acting is like playing God. Either way, thousands of lives are in your hands. So, like I said above...just do what you feel is best, don't artificially limit your choices and let the big picture sort itself out.
The fact that man is part of nature doesn't justify raping and pillaging the planet, but in the television show mentioned, the use of technology was not going to be used for pillaging. That was why I mentioned "man as a part of nature" idea.
Man may cause himself to become extinct, but that won't destroy nature. Even if we destroy much biodiversity, it'll rebuild just like it did after the dinosaurs. We just may not be here to see it. No big loss to the world really.
In other words, perhaps "interfering" could also be part of nature's plan or "natural evolution". Humanity is a part of nature too...just as elephants are both destructive and constructive. We just use technology as our agent of change.
I'm using OS X 10.2 and running chimera. It's essentially a cocoa native version of mozilla's browser. It's working really well for me so far. Installation was painless, and it imported all of my IE bookmarks perfectly. I only got it today, but so far I haven't run into any web site that's thrown it for a loop. It also blocks pop-ups. The first time a web site tries to load a non-requested pop-up, the program prompts you with a dialog box where you can answer "yes" to blocking all future non-requested pop-ups. I can vouch for the fact that it's pop-up blocking is working for me.
So...if Netscape is a bust for mac users, and mozilla is too slow due to being carbonized, perhaps try chimera.
http://chimera.mozdev.org/installation.html
Mac users can keep using mozilla or give Chimera a look.
http://chimera.mozdev.org/installation.html
Chimera is a browser only program that's essentially mozilla's browser, but it's not just carbonized like mozilla, it's Cocoa. I just downloaded it today and so far I'm liking it. The first web site that tries to load a pop-up will trigger a dialog box where you can answer yes to reject all future unrequested pop-ups. So far so good for me. It imported my bookmarks perfectly and I'm liking the interface.
So, for those of us like myself who just (one month ago) bought a new Tibook or some other mac w/o a superdrive, how about creating a version of iDVD to sell. It would give folks without a superdrive an option to burn DVDs and it would be a revenue stream. I can't afford Final Cut Pro or Studio DVD, but I COULD afford a low cost version of iDVD.
Lesseee....what would be reasonable? ...$20...$50? If I were Apple, I wouldn't sneeze at the opportunity to sell another version of iDVD. There's obviously a demand for it.
On another note, I just looked up the xserve's (Apple's 1U rack mounted server) tech specs and found that OSX server comes with *unlimited* client licenses. Sweet!
Sigh....sad thing is...maybe *one* of those flicks needed an R rating to tell it's story. All the others could easily have been PG-13. Movies I saw....? Mulholland Drive, Vanilla Sky, Amelie, Waking Life, and Bound.
I (as a nearly 40 year old) find it odd that I'm waiting for alone time in my house so I can watch some movies and not offend the rest of my family. I know that even a movie like The Sixth Sense was rated PG-13, but I found it quite gory despite it's supposed rating. (particularly the scene with the boy who'd shot himself in the head)
I'm not a prude, but I very much DON'T welcome the gratuitous insertions of a nude sex scene, ultra fowl language, or a flash of gore, just to get a particular rating. I can get the point without having see a rape or muder. FWIW, all the movies I watched recently were good, but I felt most of them didnt' need nearly so much rated R material to make their points. I, for one, would love to go to PG-13 movies. I just wish studios would release PG-13 versions of their "mature" movies. Maturity aint about sex and violence. Apparently the way of hollywood now is to be a shocking as possible. Ugh.
Sometimes the best story telling isn't about what you say or show, it's about what you DON'T say or show. It lets the viewer's imagination get a workout.
This is not an online rpg but it meets the criteria of good story telling. Planescape torment... Is this type of good storytelling not ready for online primetime? I've never played an rpg online, it has no appeal to me right now. It has the appearance of a chat space with some hack and slash thrown in.
Just look for the germ of truth in these speculations. No need to deride anyone. There's so much energy available "out there"...the sun's energy creating plasma in the atmosphere to create the aurora, ...how do the typical interactions of the earth just existing create such massive energies as thunderstorms? (we know some of the mechanisms, but still don't know how)
Many "crazy" people have great inspirations, but just lack the ability to get their idea packaged up for the "real world". The messenger is essentially irrelevant...listen to the message.
Look for the diamond in the rough.