The only off-the-shelf machines I buy are laptops. I've been doing my own builds since the late '90s. I don't think I'm necessarily getting something better than an off-the-shelf machine, I just enjoy doing the build. I probably end up spending more money than I would have otherwise. That's all right too. If at some point the build-your-own market no longer exists, will I still be able to buy an off the-shelf machine? If not, will I be able to buy a laptop that I can plug a mouse and a full sized keyboard into? If yes to either of those, I'll be happy. The only scenario I really wouldn't like would be being stuck with some handheld thing and the only input device is a touch screen. I don't see that happening any time soon, if ever. So... I know this change in the market is news, but I kind of don't care.
Though I enjoy reading books on my tablet very much, I've been buying fewer ebooks recently. This is mainly because many of the things I want to read are not available in any ebook format. So I've already bought many books as epubs (even things I already have in print version), but as I look for more obscure things, I'm not having as much luck. I can understand why a publisher wouldn't want to go to all the trouble of converting the complete short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, for example, to electronic format at high risk (few likely buyers). So I get the print version. Profits can be pretty slim in the publishing business, so I think electronic and print will coexist for some time. I have no desire for "digital detox" though.
They tell me I'm buying the book, but I do not actually own even the copy on my "device" in any meaningful sense. But... if somebody obtains a copy without permission of the copyright holder, somehow that becomes theft of "intellectual property."
I know a few people who have Apple Watches. They like them all right, but at least one says that it's seriously overpriced for what you get. And at least the Series I can be painfully slow. I have no interest in owning a smart watch of any kind, but if I did, I would do what I did with Android phones. I would start off with the cheapest one I could buy that would do what I want it to do, then slowly work my way up to something more expensive that's a really good fit for me. You can't do that with Apple stuff. At any given time there's basically one of everything they sell. That has it's good points (potential at least for better quality control, and some people just don't want to spend the time figuring out what to buy). I imagine the Apple Watch will end up a niche item, which I think the iPod has been for some time.
If I had mod points right now, I would mod you up with "insightful." You make two excellent points. Let's take the first one. Until we get a sample size larger than 1, we're speculating. Some of that speculation may turn out to be useful in the future, so why not keep doing it? I can't imagine how it could hurt anyone. Thanks for your post.
Your little tirade there was only a little less annoying than an argument about whether an Imperial Star Destroyer could beat the Enterprise-D in battle. I imagine building a time machine into a DeLorean is impossible. I know that an X-Wing banking into a turn makes no sense in terms of real space flight. But these thing can be enormous fun. I've often found that books with similarly ridiculous scenarios are quite a bit of fun to read; that is to say, I enjoy them whether you do or not. Columns, articles, books, and documentaries about how the science in much science fiction is silly (e.g. your piece on science-fictional shibboleths) are a tedious waste of time.
Gargoyles represent the embarrassing side of the Central Intelligence Corporation. Instead of using laptops, they wear their computers on their bodies, broken up into separate modules that hang on the waist, on the back, on the headset. They serve as human surveillance devices, recording everything that happens around them. Nothing looks stupider; these getups are the modern-day equivalent of the slide-rule scabbard or the calculator pouch on the belt, marking the user as belonging to a class that is at once above and far below human society. They are a boon to Hiro because they embody the worst stereotype of the CIC stringer. They draw all the attention. The payoff for this self-imposed ostracism is that you can be in the Metaverse all the time, and gather intelligence all the time.
Okay, I'm going to assume that you mean Linux + GNU + X.org + GNOME/KDE/Xfce/LXDE or whatever.
I do. It's all I use. I have Windows XP and Windows 7 in VirtualBox because occasionally a friend or family member will call me and ask me something like, "How do I... whatever whatever."
If I buy a copy of a paper book then I own that copy. On an e-reader or a tablet I buy a license that lets me have a copy on a device. Unless I back up my copy, the seller can take it away from me without even asking. Also, there's something about a nice solid bound book that you don't get from an electronic copy. Personally I prefer electronic formats for more ephemeral things (news, computer books that are out of date before they're published, etc.) and bound paper copies for longer lasting things, e.g. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I suppose we'll see how things turn out.
All right, I'm in. Just on principle, I'm not buying any more Linksys/Cisco hardware until this gets reversed.
On the slightly brighter side, this looks like multiple class action lawsuits waiting to happen.
Okay, let's roll:
"General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire..."
Never is a really long time. And who said anything about "infinite progress?" That your dreams haven't been fulfilled, and probably won't be in your lifetime, doesn't mean anything about what will or won't happen in the future. Maybe we'll destroy ourselves. Maybe we'll build nuclear pulse propulsion ships (probably not a good idea, but...), maybe a lot of things. You don't actually know, and so you say "never."
Of all the sources of science reporting that are available in English, New Scientist is close to the bottom of the pile in terms of accuracy. Quite a few times I've read something they've reported, thought "that can't be right," then gone to the original study or press release and found that in fact, no, what they reported was not correct.
I have a Nook. I mostly use it for reference stuff and for when I'm traveling (I generally prefer paper books, but well, the world changes). I like it, and I like Barnes & Noble. Now I'm really rooting for B&N.
As a side note... there was a thread a few days ago about "what's keeping you on Windows?" This is one of the reasons I don't use Windows. I know Windows 7 works well, probably better than any previous version. But I won't buy a product from a company that does stuff like this, i.e. abusing the patent system.
But... but... I just learned in another thread that all versions of Linux were totally worthless and unusable and that anybody with any sense used Windows 7. Now I'm confused, somebody tell me what to think!:-(
Yes, I know this was some years later...
Comic Book Guy:
"Oh, Captain Janeway. Lace: The Final Brassiere.Oh hurry up, I'm a busy man. Ugh, this high-speed modem is intolerably slow."
Slashdot Mirror
I think the word you want is "ostensibly."
There have been many very bad "horror in space" movies, but that one was among the worst.
I bet some of it is a "diverted" shipment from the naquadah mines on P3X-4C3.
The only off-the-shelf machines I buy are laptops. I've been doing my own builds since the late '90s. I don't think I'm necessarily getting something better than an off-the-shelf machine, I just enjoy doing the build. I probably end up spending more money than I would have otherwise. That's all right too. If at some point the build-your-own market no longer exists, will I still be able to buy an off the-shelf machine? If not, will I be able to buy a laptop that I can plug a mouse and a full sized keyboard into? If yes to either of those, I'll be happy. The only scenario I really wouldn't like would be being stuck with some handheld thing and the only input device is a touch screen. I don't see that happening any time soon, if ever. So ... I know this change in the market is news, but I kind of don't care.
Though I enjoy reading books on my tablet very much, I've been buying fewer ebooks recently. This is mainly because many of the things I want to read are not available in any ebook format. So I've already bought many books as epubs (even things I already have in print version), but as I look for more obscure things, I'm not having as much luck. I can understand why a publisher wouldn't want to go to all the trouble of converting the complete short stories of W. Somerset Maugham, for example, to electronic format at high risk (few likely buyers). So I get the print version. Profits can be pretty slim in the publishing business, so I think electronic and print will coexist for some time. I have no desire for "digital detox" though.
They tell me I'm buying the book, but I do not actually own even the copy on my "device" in any meaningful sense. But ... if somebody obtains a copy without permission of the copyright holder, somehow that becomes theft of "intellectual property."
I know a few people who have Apple Watches. They like them all right, but at least one says that it's seriously overpriced for what you get. And at least the Series I can be painfully slow. I have no interest in owning a smart watch of any kind, but if I did, I would do what I did with Android phones. I would start off with the cheapest one I could buy that would do what I want it to do, then slowly work my way up to something more expensive that's a really good fit for me. You can't do that with Apple stuff. At any given time there's basically one of everything they sell. That has it's good points (potential at least for better quality control, and some people just don't want to spend the time figuring out what to buy). I imagine the Apple Watch will end up a niche item, which I think the iPod has been for some time.
If I had mod points right now, I would mod you up with "insightful." You make two excellent points. Let's take the first one. Until we get a sample size larger than 1, we're speculating. Some of that speculation may turn out to be useful in the future, so why not keep doing it? I can't imagine how it could hurt anyone. Thanks for your post.
Missing Manual:
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-...
Microsoft Books:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/micros...
Dear Mr. Stross,
Your little tirade there was only a little less annoying than an argument about whether an Imperial Star Destroyer could beat the Enterprise-D in battle. I imagine building a time machine into a DeLorean is impossible. I know that an X-Wing banking into a turn makes no sense in terms of real space flight. But these thing can be enormous fun. I've often found that books with similarly ridiculous scenarios are quite a bit of fun to read; that is to say, I enjoy them whether you do or not. Columns, articles, books, and documentaries about how the science in much science fiction is silly (e.g. your piece on science-fictional shibboleths) are a tedious waste of time.
Your books are quite good though
S.
Those Berserker novels were okay, but not great.
Gargoyles represent the embarrassing side of the Central Intelligence Corporation. Instead of using laptops, they wear their computers on their bodies, broken up into separate modules that hang on the waist, on the back, on the headset. They serve as human surveillance devices, recording everything that happens around them. Nothing looks stupider; these getups are the modern-day equivalent of the slide-rule scabbard or the calculator pouch on the belt, marking the user as belonging to a class that is at once above and far below human society. They are a boon to Hiro because they embody the worst stereotype of the CIC stringer. They draw all the attention. The payoff for this self-imposed ostracism is that you can be in the Metaverse all the time, and gather intelligence all the time.
Okay, I'm going to assume that you mean Linux + GNU + X.org + GNOME/KDE/Xfce/LXDE or whatever. I do. It's all I use. I have Windows XP and Windows 7 in VirtualBox because occasionally a friend or family member will call me and ask me something like, "How do I ... whatever whatever."
See subject line.
If I buy a copy of a paper book then I own that copy. On an e-reader or a tablet I buy a license that lets me have a copy on a device. Unless I back up my copy, the seller can take it away from me without even asking. Also, there's something about a nice solid bound book that you don't get from an electronic copy. Personally I prefer electronic formats for more ephemeral things (news, computer books that are out of date before they're published, etc.) and bound paper copies for longer lasting things, e.g. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I suppose we'll see how things turn out.
Just put 'em in the autodoc.
All right, I'm in. Just on principle, I'm not buying any more Linksys/Cisco hardware until this gets reversed. On the slightly brighter side, this looks like multiple class action lawsuits waiting to happen.
Okay, let's roll: "General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire ..."
Never is a really long time. And who said anything about "infinite progress?" That your dreams haven't been fulfilled, and probably won't be in your lifetime, doesn't mean anything about what will or won't happen in the future. Maybe we'll destroy ourselves. Maybe we'll build nuclear pulse propulsion ships (probably not a good idea, but ...), maybe a lot of things. You don't actually know, and so you say "never."
Of all the sources of science reporting that are available in English, New Scientist is close to the bottom of the pile in terms of accuracy. Quite a few times I've read something they've reported, thought "that can't be right," then gone to the original study or press release and found that in fact, no, what they reported was not correct.
I have a Nook. I mostly use it for reference stuff and for when I'm traveling (I generally prefer paper books, but well, the world changes). I like it, and I like Barnes & Noble. Now I'm really rooting for B&N. As a side note ... there was a thread a few days ago about "what's keeping you on Windows?" This is one of the reasons I don't use Windows. I know Windows 7 works well, probably better than any previous version. But I won't buy a product from a company that does stuff like this, i.e. abusing the patent system.
What I really need is one that understands the binary language of moisture vaporators. I wonder if they have any plans to make one.
But ... but ... I just learned in another thread that all versions of Linux were totally worthless and unusable and that anybody with any sense used Windows 7. Now I'm confused, somebody tell me what to think! :-(
I installed Linux on a vellum codex! I even included X11, but went with Xfce instead of GNOME 3. It's sweet, man ... very illuminated.
Yes, I know this was some years later ...
Comic Book Guy:
"Oh, Captain Janeway. Lace: The Final Brassiere.Oh hurry up, I'm a busy man. Ugh, this high-speed modem is intolerably slow."