I wouldn't say that's a one for one. I love Archer but do not like Venture Brothers at all. However, if you love Archer, check out the short lived Frisky Dingo...it was a fantastic show (by the same people) that no one watched. And then there's Sealab, but everyone watched that:p
It made a lot of peoples Best of 2009 list, including mine. It wasn't made to appeal to the hardcore FPS crowd, it was made to appeal to a more general audience and a cross over hack 'n' slash rpg audience and it did a great job of it. Borderlands 2 is definitely sitting on the top of my most wanted list, right next to Diablo III.
And they're overpriced because major publishing houses are still involved and they're trying to use this as a way to offset their losses on hard and soft bound books. Every ebook bought is a hardbound book not bought, which means more inventory on shelves and eventual losses. It's basically throwing a monkey wrench into an already broken, antiquated system. This will be fixed overtime (publishers will have to change their infrastructure or become irrelevant), but it's going to be a bit of an uphill battle.
Best case scenario, we see a rise in legit independent publishing houses that focus on authors who want to publish only digitally. There will always be the need for editors and pr, but there's really not the need for the absurdly high overhead of major publishing houses. It's really an efficient way to do business.
I'm sure this guy is going to hire an editor, I wouldn't worry about that. If nothing else, the editing process might go better due to lack of interference from the publisher. I'm sure the guy can sign on with an independent agent that will work on booking him book signings (although, what will there be to sign?) and other appearances for PR. He's an established author, so it won't be difficult to book him.
I will say this, the current book model is BS and doesn't work for anyone, including publishers. I managed a bookstore for a year after I got out of college (thanks 9/11), and I can tell you that a mom & pop book store pays 50% of the cover price for a book. Larger book stores/chains probably pay quite a bit less. So, the publisher is getting $10 off of that $20 book, minus shipping fees, paying for their bureaucratic system, editor, page layout, PR, the author's cut, and gambling on a specific title (more books will loose money than make money, but the books that make money make a LOT of money). The entire industry is based around eventually hitting the jackpot and publishing a Harry Potter or Steven King.
We've moved on to a different era. People don't learn about music from tv or the radio these days, people hear about it via word of mouth, social networking, and viral advertisement. A major label can get you exposure on a site like Pitchfork, but smart viral advertisement and working your way up the ladder via smaller music blogs also works. Major established artists, such as Radiohead, have made the switch and it works just fine for them. This should translate just fine over into the book world as time goes on and more people are using eReaders. At this point, I think that's the major stumbling block...the adoption rate of eReaders just isn't there yet and probably won't be until we have good eInk based ereaders readily available for about $50-75.
Anyway, as a summary, self-promotion and self-publication does work these days and it will only become more prevalent. Like this author or not, kudos to him for trying to help pave the path for the future. I personally think it's exciting seeing this change in media distribution in action.
$300 for a midi guitar isn't bad, but I don't have the slightest interest in a midi guitar. I have a nice regular guitar and it gives me great sound through a real amp, something that's a lot more useful to me.
Rock Band has this but, as you stated, you have to buy a $300 guitar. I already have a $300 guitar, I'm not gonna plunk down $300 for their SPECIAL guitar. This is a great option for me as they've stated you only need to buy a cheapo guitar USB adapter like one that you'd use with Garage Band.
I would be ecstatic if my next laptop gave me the option to press one button to launch windows or one button to launch an "instant boot" version of webOS. webOS would be much easier on the battery and, under most normal situations, webOS would offer all I need. A web browser and a few distractions.
It will never supplant a full blown OS and that's not the goal. But it would be great for those moments when you just want to reply to some e-mails real quick or browse the web.
Traditional cooking is more of an art than a science. It's a lot easier to eyeball volume than it is weight. I rarely cook from recipes, but when I do I rarely ever use measuring devices. I know what a cup of liquid or a teaspoon or tablespoon of this or that looks like. A pinch or a dash is a perfectly fine measurement for cooking. In other words, it just makes sense.
This new style of chemical cooking is exactly that, chemistry, and things need to be very precise to get the wanted result. You need a scale to properly measure the ingredients to make gels, bubbles, etc. correctly.
As a side note, baking is less cooking and more of a science. Sometimes you will see bakers using scales and you need the right proportions of leavening, salt, etc. to gain the desired effect. It's very easy to make flat bread if things aren't done correctly.
I'm curious about the anti-trust aspects of this. There's no problem making your own CPUs, the issue comes when you make them and sell them to others and set prices for your competitors.
These were kind of my thoughts, but it's nice to see them reiterated by someone a bit closer to the situation. Symbian, as great as it was, has sat stagnant for years. I've often wondered what the development team was doing myself; however, when you put it into perspective of thousands of developers, it really makes no sense.
I think the partnership with Microsoft could be strategic for both companies. Microsoft really needs a company to grab onto WP7 and bring it full force to the market. HTC is the biggest pusher of the OS at the minute and they're basically just making handsets to entertain the small portion of the market that sees the potential in the WP7 platform. Nokia needs someone to keep them on life support. WP7 really is a terrific platform, especially seeing how young it is. People like to write off Microsoft, but they've come a long way as far as modernizing their brand goes. I, personally, look forward to potentially using a Nokia WP7 device some day. It's the only platform, other than WebOS (my current mobile OS), that really interests me.
I would rather be "limited" to the functionality of Android than limited to the "functionality" of iOS. And that's not even a matter of preference, that comes down to pure functionality...
Or a hard drive. Or thinks they're really smart and refers to the computer as the hard drive and the monitor as the "computer" or "cpu" or even "the tv."
Never do tech support. I did it for 3 months in the 90s and had all the fun I could take.
They could get the rights to stream it if they were willing to invest in content. Don't get me wrong, I find plenty to watch, although I could see how the average user would be disappointed in their streaming selection. The issue seems to be that they're picking out bargin bin titles with the occasional A list film thrown in for good measure. It all comes down to money in the long run and I believe Netflix is waiting for critical mass before they start dropping the big bucks on content.
Movie studios don't see that only 5000 people may watch a title, they see that Netflix has a million subscribers (these numbers are arbitrary) and that a million people could potentially watch the movie. The more people who use the streaming service, the more titles they'll get because they'll be forced to buy less physical dvd's and will have more money to put towards streaming.
VIII wasn't all that bad, it just had a different pace. I'm actually in the minority that like it better than VII (which was a huge disappointment to me, coming off of VI). To me, XIII and X share the crown for the worst of the series. X-2 is just in its own little special category...that should have never been born.
I'd really love to see Square do another throwback game like they did with IX. IX captured the essence of what make Square's 16 bit games so special. As long as square didn't screw around much with the battle system, I'd actually be EXCITED to see a FF VI remake with current gen graphics...and remakes usually make me cringe.
Yeah, this is BS. I remember way more of what I read on my Sony e-reader than I do from books. Probably because I don't have to read into the cracks of books and I can up the font so my eyes don't skip lines. I read so much more than I used to now that I have an e-reader its not funny. It's definitely my best purchase of 2010.
I've had many ideas on this subject over the years. One of the easiest and least objectionable ways to start making a difference would be to offer free vasectomies/tube tying on a voluntary basis. We could also offer a tax credit for people who voluntarily do this. I think you'd see this being a popular option with young men, especially seeing that the operation is usually reversible and is a quick and easy procedure these days. It would also be popular with couples who have the one kid that they planned on having.
More of us than we know are the product of accidents / unplanned pregnancies. And there's nothing wrong with that, we all have to get here somehow. But when we start planning our population, it becomes easier for us to provide for our children as parents and as a society. Many social issues (that are fueled by being impoverished) go away. We have to rely less on massive corporations and it becomes easier to be community focused and produce food locally (with our population as large as it is now, it's impossible to provide for everyone via local food routes). It's not like we have to procreate to help move ourselves to the top of the food chain anymore, we won that fight. We have such a great opportunity now to change our focus on family and community and return to society of people who eat what they make and take pride in their sustenance. At this rate, our unemployment rate is just going to keep getting worse and worse. Technology is great, but it should aid us in creating our food, not replace us in making our food.
Hold up buddy, the second they start breeding BIG insects, you know some are going to get loose and we're going to have another issue on our hands. I don't need to have nuclear fallout size giant roaches running around. It's bad enough here in Florida as it is.
Anyway, you don't want wings or legs or eyes or heads. It looks like you might be better adapted at eating grubs/maggots. Apparently if you saute them, they have a pleasant nutty taste. It's the closest you're going to get to a "meaty" insect.
The grossest thing about meat in the grocery store is all the chemicals they have to spray the meat down with to kill all the bad stuff and disease picked up from the animal from living in such poor conditions. These animals are sickly, yet we slaughter them, spray them down, and eat them. It's a terrible system, but it's what you get living in a society of heavy meat eaters that demand low cost over quality. It's really a shame.
I think you guys are missing the point. The 6 month CD isn't to earn money, the 6 month CD is so you can't touch the money for 6 months. That way you'll avoid making the mistake of buying one of the current (crappy) offerings on the market.
I guess if you're road work is surfing the net. If your work requires any kind of typing outside of inputting URLs and doing 2 line responses to e-mails, a netbook is better in every possible way.
Because Google understands the importance of a good UI that does what it's meant to do, easily. Android is designed around a touch screen concept. Chrome OS is designed around a standard mouse/touch pad and keyboard input combination. It's one of the reasons why Win Mobile failed all these years. They tried to force a desktop interface onto a device that most definitely could not be used as a desktop. It's also the reason why tablets didn't become popular when they were first introduced 5-6 years ago running Windows XP.
"I find it hilarious that folks today are buying turntables to play music that was originally recorded digitally."
This. There's a lot of music coming out today that's recorded and mastered analog and pressed to vinyl. But the stuff that the kids are going crazy about most certainly isn't.
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I wouldn't say that's a one for one. I love Archer but do not like Venture Brothers at all. However, if you love Archer, check out the short lived Frisky Dingo...it was a fantastic show (by the same people) that no one watched. And then there's Sealab, but everyone watched that :p
It made a lot of peoples Best of 2009 list, including mine. It wasn't made to appeal to the hardcore FPS crowd, it was made to appeal to a more general audience and a cross over hack 'n' slash rpg audience and it did a great job of it. Borderlands 2 is definitely sitting on the top of my most wanted list, right next to Diablo III.
And they're overpriced because major publishing houses are still involved and they're trying to use this as a way to offset their losses on hard and soft bound books. Every ebook bought is a hardbound book not bought, which means more inventory on shelves and eventual losses. It's basically throwing a monkey wrench into an already broken, antiquated system. This will be fixed overtime (publishers will have to change their infrastructure or become irrelevant), but it's going to be a bit of an uphill battle.
Best case scenario, we see a rise in legit independent publishing houses that focus on authors who want to publish only digitally. There will always be the need for editors and pr, but there's really not the need for the absurdly high overhead of major publishing houses. It's really an efficient way to do business.
I'm sure this guy is going to hire an editor, I wouldn't worry about that. If nothing else, the editing process might go better due to lack of interference from the publisher. I'm sure the guy can sign on with an independent agent that will work on booking him book signings (although, what will there be to sign?) and other appearances for PR. He's an established author, so it won't be difficult to book him.
I will say this, the current book model is BS and doesn't work for anyone, including publishers. I managed a bookstore for a year after I got out of college (thanks 9/11), and I can tell you that a mom & pop book store pays 50% of the cover price for a book. Larger book stores/chains probably pay quite a bit less. So, the publisher is getting $10 off of that $20 book, minus shipping fees, paying for their bureaucratic system, editor, page layout, PR, the author's cut, and gambling on a specific title (more books will loose money than make money, but the books that make money make a LOT of money). The entire industry is based around eventually hitting the jackpot and publishing a Harry Potter or Steven King.
We've moved on to a different era. People don't learn about music from tv or the radio these days, people hear about it via word of mouth, social networking, and viral advertisement. A major label can get you exposure on a site like Pitchfork, but smart viral advertisement and working your way up the ladder via smaller music blogs also works. Major established artists, such as Radiohead, have made the switch and it works just fine for them. This should translate just fine over into the book world as time goes on and more people are using eReaders. At this point, I think that's the major stumbling block...the adoption rate of eReaders just isn't there yet and probably won't be until we have good eInk based ereaders readily available for about $50-75.
Anyway, as a summary, self-promotion and self-publication does work these days and it will only become more prevalent. Like this author or not, kudos to him for trying to help pave the path for the future. I personally think it's exciting seeing this change in media distribution in action.
$300 for a midi guitar isn't bad, but I don't have the slightest interest in a midi guitar. I have a nice regular guitar and it gives me great sound through a real amp, something that's a lot more useful to me.
Rock Band has this but, as you stated, you have to buy a $300 guitar. I already have a $300 guitar, I'm not gonna plunk down $300 for their SPECIAL guitar. This is a great option for me as they've stated you only need to buy a cheapo guitar USB adapter like one that you'd use with Garage Band.
This is what should and probably will happen.
I would be ecstatic if my next laptop gave me the option to press one button to launch windows or one button to launch an "instant boot" version of webOS. webOS would be much easier on the battery and, under most normal situations, webOS would offer all I need. A web browser and a few distractions.
It will never supplant a full blown OS and that's not the goal. But it would be great for those moments when you just want to reply to some e-mails real quick or browse the web.
Traditional cooking is more of an art than a science. It's a lot easier to eyeball volume than it is weight. I rarely cook from recipes, but when I do I rarely ever use measuring devices. I know what a cup of liquid or a teaspoon or tablespoon of this or that looks like. A pinch or a dash is a perfectly fine measurement for cooking. In other words, it just makes sense.
This new style of chemical cooking is exactly that, chemistry, and things need to be very precise to get the wanted result. You need a scale to properly measure the ingredients to make gels, bubbles, etc. correctly.
As a side note, baking is less cooking and more of a science. Sometimes you will see bakers using scales and you need the right proportions of leavening, salt, etc. to gain the desired effect. It's very easy to make flat bread if things aren't done correctly.
I'm curious about the anti-trust aspects of this. There's no problem making your own CPUs, the issue comes when you make them and sell them to others and set prices for your competitors.
Why not Palm's WebOS? It's a fantastic platform and they leave it open for custom modification by the user.
These were kind of my thoughts, but it's nice to see them reiterated by someone a bit closer to the situation. Symbian, as great as it was, has sat stagnant for years. I've often wondered what the development team was doing myself; however, when you put it into perspective of thousands of developers, it really makes no sense.
I think the partnership with Microsoft could be strategic for both companies. Microsoft really needs a company to grab onto WP7 and bring it full force to the market. HTC is the biggest pusher of the OS at the minute and they're basically just making handsets to entertain the small portion of the market that sees the potential in the WP7 platform. Nokia needs someone to keep them on life support. WP7 really is a terrific platform, especially seeing how young it is. People like to write off Microsoft, but they've come a long way as far as modernizing their brand goes. I, personally, look forward to potentially using a Nokia WP7 device some day. It's the only platform, other than WebOS (my current mobile OS), that really interests me.
Does this also apply to gas pumps? I actually like the fact that gas pumps and self checkout lines make you put in your zip code for security reasons.
I would rather be "limited" to the functionality of Android than limited to the "functionality" of iOS. And that's not even a matter of preference, that comes down to pure functionality...
Or a hard drive. Or thinks they're really smart and refers to the computer as the hard drive and the monitor as the "computer" or "cpu" or even "the tv."
Never do tech support. I did it for 3 months in the 90s and had all the fun I could take.
They could get the rights to stream it if they were willing to invest in content. Don't get me wrong, I find plenty to watch, although I could see how the average user would be disappointed in their streaming selection. The issue seems to be that they're picking out bargin bin titles with the occasional A list film thrown in for good measure. It all comes down to money in the long run and I believe Netflix is waiting for critical mass before they start dropping the big bucks on content.
Movie studios don't see that only 5000 people may watch a title, they see that Netflix has a million subscribers (these numbers are arbitrary) and that a million people could potentially watch the movie. The more people who use the streaming service, the more titles they'll get because they'll be forced to buy less physical dvd's and will have more money to put towards streaming.
VIII wasn't all that bad, it just had a different pace. I'm actually in the minority that like it better than VII (which was a huge disappointment to me, coming off of VI). To me, XIII and X share the crown for the worst of the series. X-2 is just in its own little special category...that should have never been born.
I'd really love to see Square do another throwback game like they did with IX. IX captured the essence of what make Square's 16 bit games so special. As long as square didn't screw around much with the battle system, I'd actually be EXCITED to see a FF VI remake with current gen graphics...and remakes usually make me cringe.
Yeah, this is BS. I remember way more of what I read on my Sony e-reader than I do from books. Probably because I don't have to read into the cracks of books and I can up the font so my eyes don't skip lines. I read so much more than I used to now that I have an e-reader its not funny. It's definitely my best purchase of 2010.
I've had many ideas on this subject over the years. One of the easiest and least objectionable ways to start making a difference would be to offer free vasectomies/tube tying on a voluntary basis. We could also offer a tax credit for people who voluntarily do this. I think you'd see this being a popular option with young men, especially seeing that the operation is usually reversible and is a quick and easy procedure these days. It would also be popular with couples who have the one kid that they planned on having.
More of us than we know are the product of accidents / unplanned pregnancies. And there's nothing wrong with that, we all have to get here somehow. But when we start planning our population, it becomes easier for us to provide for our children as parents and as a society. Many social issues (that are fueled by being impoverished) go away. We have to rely less on massive corporations and it becomes easier to be community focused and produce food locally (with our population as large as it is now, it's impossible to provide for everyone via local food routes). It's not like we have to procreate to help move ourselves to the top of the food chain anymore, we won that fight. We have such a great opportunity now to change our focus on family and community and return to society of people who eat what they make and take pride in their sustenance. At this rate, our unemployment rate is just going to keep getting worse and worse. Technology is great, but it should aid us in creating our food, not replace us in making our food.
Hold up buddy, the second they start breeding BIG insects, you know some are going to get loose and we're going to have another issue on our hands. I don't need to have nuclear fallout size giant roaches running around. It's bad enough here in Florida as it is.
Anyway, you don't want wings or legs or eyes or heads. It looks like you might be better adapted at eating grubs/maggots. Apparently if you saute them, they have a pleasant nutty taste. It's the closest you're going to get to a "meaty" insect.
The grossest thing about meat in the grocery store is all the chemicals they have to spray the meat down with to kill all the bad stuff and disease picked up from the animal from living in such poor conditions. These animals are sickly, yet we slaughter them, spray them down, and eat them. It's a terrible system, but it's what you get living in a society of heavy meat eaters that demand low cost over quality. It's really a shame.
I think you guys are missing the point. The 6 month CD isn't to earn money, the 6 month CD is so you can't touch the money for 6 months. That way you'll avoid making the mistake of buying one of the current (crappy) offerings on the market.
I guess if you're road work is surfing the net. If your work requires any kind of typing outside of inputting URLs and doing 2 line responses to e-mails, a netbook is better in every possible way.
Because Google understands the importance of a good UI that does what it's meant to do, easily. Android is designed around a touch screen concept. Chrome OS is designed around a standard mouse/touch pad and keyboard input combination. It's one of the reasons why Win Mobile failed all these years. They tried to force a desktop interface onto a device that most definitely could not be used as a desktop. It's also the reason why tablets didn't become popular when they were first introduced 5-6 years ago running Windows XP.
Then please explain why a dog will growl at it's tail and chase it in a circle.
"I find it hilarious that folks today are buying turntables to play music that was originally recorded digitally."
This. There's a lot of music coming out today that's recorded and mastered analog and pressed to vinyl. But the stuff that the kids are going crazy about most certainly isn't.