Be sure to obey all speed limits, (no matter how stupid they seem) here in PA - especially in small towns. This form of revenue is common here and a lot of cops here have this kind of attitude. I'll be interested to see how this particular case goes down, but I have a feeling it'll be much like the nearby Mechanicburg justice system I experienced a few years back: "Well... That's some good proof there, but I'm going to find you guilty." (judge turns to officer) "So Jim, how's the wife and kids these days?"
I knew this was coming. Russell Davies is directly or indirectly responsible for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, and god knows how many events. It's a terrific show and if Davies thinks he can only handle Torchwood then he should give over control of Dr. Who to those competent enough to do so. Dr. Who is a terrific show and should be good for many, MANY more seasons...
You might not want it, but I know of at least one vertical market that will. I'm the TC at a small all-girls school in PA. We have been closely watching other schools who use full-blown laptops and have come to the conclusion that it won't work for us. Why?
Full-on XP (or God help us) Vista is too much. It's slow to start, gets messy fast (kids do take these things home ya know), and the bigger machines are prone to breakage.
Some schools have tried PDAs, but it seems they are mostly used as an address book and IM center.
This form factor is EXACTLY what we've been looking for. Instant on, 10" screen, full sized keys for in-class notetaking, wi-fi, a secure OS (hopefully lockdownable), and only 2.5 lbs. For what the students need in classroom, it's perfect! I hope Palm is paying attention to this because I think they might have something special here for the educational market. The cell phone connectivity is a bonus, but it's not what we'd want it for...
I'm not sure 56k flies anymore. If your computer is connected to the Internet it needs current patches to keep it afloat. Sure, I know some older folks that pretty much do nothing but email, but every once in a while they venture out on the WWW. And then.... BAM!
{Pop-Up} "Your computer has been infected! Buy Spyware Cleaner Deluxe 2.0 - now with more cleaning power!"
If you are on a slower client, you now have the option of selecting 'Basic Client' when logging in - it's MUCH faster. The functionality is close to that of Exchange 2000's web component, not much interactivity, but when you're on a slow computer it's handy.
We've been using Zimbra for over a year now and I'm totally blown away by how much the system is continually improved upon. The Basic Client is a terrific example of how Zimbra user's needs are being gauged and met by the organization. Outstanding!
Any of this matters. Don't buy their music - doesn't matter. Are you also:
- Not going to any movies, or purchase DVD's that have copyrighted tracks in them?
- Not going to the supermarket or Best Buy because they have ASCAP/BMI/Harry Fox licenses?
- Not going out to a bar that has a public performance license that directly benefits the music fat cats?
Etc, etc, etc...
Do not be fooled - boycotting will not work. These bastards are worked into our culture, our very way of life - like a termite burrows into soft wood. Nothing short of Congressional action will solve this problem. Feel hopeless yet? Don't feel bad, I do also.
...there was a return to honesty. Even a little bit.
I wish that more people could see the hypocracy on both sides and not believe that the other side is all evil. The truth is, no one side has all the answers. No one side wants to kill the children and poison the water either.
I wish the Dems would tell what it really is they stand for. I wish the Reps would STFU enough to let them.
I wish a white man could say what a black man can say and not be persecuted for it.
I think the difference here is that the U.S. isn't 'growing' the next generation of virus as a cash crop. Not that Indonesia is doing it purposely, but it IS now charging us for the privilege. The other alternative, should the price be too high, would be to blockade the country.
Via seems to have a problem delivering what they promise - at least in any reasonable amount of time. Anyone remember the Nano-ITX boards? What did that take, 2 years or so before you could buy one?
If this isn't released to OEMs only I'd be surprised if mere mortals such as you and I will be able to purchase this anytime before 2009. Seriously.
What... Exactly... Were they thinking?! How could any form of quality control allow the sort of thing that is Star Trek Legacy to happen? Did they let ANYONE play test the thing before putting it in the box? It's one thing to have shoddy A.I. or make bad choices about interface - but to LEAVE OUT controls or have them marked like you're on a console... Ouch!
And what was with the top down tac view anyway? You use the mouse to move around, but trying to actually TARGET a ship... Well, that was an exercise in frustration. I had this reserved at an EB but declined it after playing it. Such a missed opportunity for a great game. How could they do this to themselves? SHAME!
One of the first jobs I was a part of early on in my networking career involved 'updating' these lovely OS/2 machines to DOS/Windows 3.1.
My consulting company assigned me to a bank that had just purchased a competitor. The competitor's system was ALL OS/2. Man, that was the most beautiful, efficient system I had ever seen. The tellers, ATMs, office computers, servers - all OS/2. Our banks? DOS/Novell/Windows 3.1.
It was bad enough to arrive at a building full of distrustful (and rightfully so given the fact that many of their coworkers were fired, salaries slashed, and meanwhile the execs got cushy bonuses), openly hostile people, but you should have seen the look on their faces when these systems were converted. All booting occurred off of the network; well considering their network was a 4 Mbit Token Ring, it could take 10-15 MINUTES for the pointer in Win 3.1 to even show up!
Then there was the 'in your faceness' of the new corporate overload logo that appeared while things were loading. It was miserable for them and for me. That saddest thing was, I was an Amiga user who understood why multitasking was so important to many of these people. They didn't have the computer knowhow or terminology to explain to their bosses exactly why this new system sucked (other than the load times). Funny how time is always money to businesses, and yet they typically ignore the amount of time a user has to wait in frustration to get their job done!
It was an ugly job, and I quit shortly after starting that project - mostly out of disgust.
I have an 8 year old son who I love to play games with. After spending 8 hours in the freezing cold I managed to pick up a Wii for us both. My little buddy just loves the thing and was playing the bowling and baseball games constantly. Then I got a few games on the Virtual Console... Now, I can't pry him from Super Mario 64. He is convinced that it's really Super Mario Wii. Amazing how a game made before he was born totally thrills him.
But it makes sense. Those older games seem to work out a lot better with the younger kids. Even my Atari Flashback has gotten a great deal of use. The games were simpler then - shoot this, capture that - and not much in the way of reading to worry about. Just point and shoot.
Even non-gamers were alerted to problems with their MP3 players, exploding batteries and rootkit-based copy protection schemes. As the technical people generally advise the non-technical it's usually not a good idea to anger that base.
There is every indication that Sony is hurting financially from all of this, not to mention increased competition from China and Korea in their electronics department.
...supplies are in limited quantity in the States too. I waited in a long line the night before release and got one of the few that were around. I imagine they'll be enough by January though.
There's no meat here at all. No discussion as to how to get themselves out of the hole, or at the very least stop digging new ones. As I see it, it's the friction between the different divisions that's causing all the problems. Useless MP3 players (when they should be OWNING that market), lagging media sales (DVD and CD), bad press due to various stumblings, PS3 waiting for Blu-Ray, and more, have caused the once-mighty Sony to stumble. They've managed to alienate all but the most rabid fans with their stupid and uncoordinated moves.
Either Sony has to REALLY reorganize and focus on what they do best, or they need to give the CEO carte blanche to make the tough choices. Toes will be stepped on, feelings will be hurt, but if they don't do this things won't be any better by this time next year (even if the PS3 is in good supply).
Is $50 that bad for a game? I mean, I remember in 1979 paying $49.95 for 'Thunderball', a game cartridge for the Magnavox Odyssey 2. I thought it was excessive then, but of course, that didn't stop me from wanting to play a pinball game on my O2. Take a look at the 3K cart today and you just can't believe how expensive that was - especially considering the fact that it was $50 of 1979 dollars!
And yet, development time of the earlier games also took time. Just because today's data files are gigabytes instead of bytes doesn't mean that there's any more effort being made by the programmers. Today we have graphic artists (both 2D and 3D), motion capture people, even soundtrack people. But back then, it was all on one guy to take six months to write a 3K masterpiece. It's all relative isn't it?
How about SOFTWARE? No, not the shovelware that Dell and Gateway shove up your ass, slowing your 3+ GHz machine to sub-megahertz levels (McAfee and/or Norton, anyone?)
I mean useful stuff - Mac haters always forget this. Yes, the younger set want more software than the basics, but at least with Macs you GET the basics - and most of it's actually pretty damn good too! And please, while you're thinking about money, how about the year upon year fee you'll pay for a good AV/Anti-Spyware/Firewall solution - money that you save with the Mac.
And when we talk about software - what are we really talking about? Games? Been to an EB lately? Have you seen the incredibly shrinking PC section? Do you really think that trend is going to change anytime soon? Gaming companies are increasingly saving the best for the consoles. No, I don't like it either, but it's the way it appears to be going.
Slashdot Mirror
Power trip? Uh... Yeah.
Be sure to obey all speed limits, (no matter how stupid they seem) here in PA - especially in small towns. This form of revenue is common here and a lot of cops here have this kind of attitude. I'll be interested to see how this particular case goes down, but I have a feeling it'll be much like the nearby Mechanicburg justice system I experienced a few years back: "Well... That's some good proof there, but I'm going to find you guilty." (judge turns to officer) "So Jim, how's the wife and kids these days?"
And just how will NC handle that problem?
I knew this was coming. Russell Davies is directly or indirectly responsible for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, and god knows how many events. It's a terrific show and if Davies thinks he can only handle Torchwood then he should give over control of Dr. Who to those competent enough to do so. Dr. Who is a terrific show and should be good for many, MANY more seasons...
You might not want it, but I know of at least one vertical market that will. I'm the TC at a small all-girls school in PA. We have been closely watching other schools who use full-blown laptops and have come to the conclusion that it won't work for us. Why?
Full-on XP (or God help us) Vista is too much. It's slow to start, gets messy fast (kids do take these things home ya know), and the bigger machines are prone to breakage.
Some schools have tried PDAs, but it seems they are mostly used as an address book and IM center.
This form factor is EXACTLY what we've been looking for. Instant on, 10" screen, full sized keys for in-class notetaking, wi-fi, a secure OS (hopefully lockdownable), and only 2.5 lbs. For what the students need in classroom, it's perfect! I hope Palm is paying attention to this because I think they might have something special here for the educational market. The cell phone connectivity is a bonus, but it's not what we'd want it for...
I'm not sure 56k flies anymore. If your computer is connected to the Internet it needs current patches to keep it afloat. Sure, I know some older folks that pretty much do nothing but email, but every once in a while they venture out on the WWW. And then.... BAM!
{Pop-Up} "Your computer has been infected! Buy Spyware Cleaner Deluxe 2.0 - now with more cleaning power!"
"Could this help to stem the tide of the approximate $400 million dollars in losses from brick and mortar stores?"
No.
Well... Unless they find a way to completely break XViD/DiVX.
If you are on a slower client, you now have the option of selecting 'Basic Client' when logging in - it's MUCH faster. The functionality is close to that of Exchange 2000's web component, not much interactivity, but when you're on a slow computer it's handy.
We've been using Zimbra for over a year now and I'm totally blown away by how much the system is continually improved upon. The Basic Client is a terrific example of how Zimbra user's needs are being gauged and met by the organization. Outstanding!
He purchases Carbon Credits (tm)! That's an automatic 'get out of controversy free' card, isn't it?
Any of this matters. Don't buy their music - doesn't matter. Are you also:
- Not going to any movies, or purchase DVD's that have copyrighted tracks in them?
- Not going to the supermarket or Best Buy because they have ASCAP/BMI/Harry Fox licenses?
- Not going out to a bar that has a public performance license that directly benefits the music fat cats?
Etc, etc, etc...
Do not be fooled - boycotting will not work. These bastards are worked into our culture, our very way of life - like a termite burrows into soft wood. Nothing short of Congressional action will solve this problem. Feel hopeless yet? Don't feel bad, I do also.
...And return them. Wash, rinse, repeat...
...there was a return to honesty. Even a little bit.
I wish that more people could see the hypocracy on both sides and not believe that the other side is all evil. The truth is, no one side has all the answers. No one side wants to kill the children and poison the water either.
I wish the Dems would tell what it really is they stand for. I wish the Reps would STFU enough to let them.
I wish a white man could say what a black man can say and not be persecuted for it.
I wish for too much...
meh.
I think the difference here is that the U.S. isn't 'growing' the next generation of virus as a cash crop. Not that Indonesia is doing it purposely, but it IS now charging us for the privilege. The other alternative, should the price be too high, would be to blockade the country.
Double Ditto...
Via seems to have a problem delivering what they promise - at least in any reasonable amount of time. Anyone remember the Nano-ITX boards? What did that take, 2 years or so before you could buy one?
If this isn't released to OEMs only I'd be surprised if mere mortals such as you and I will be able to purchase this anytime before 2009. Seriously.
What... Exactly... Were they thinking?! How could any form of quality control allow the sort of thing that is Star Trek Legacy to happen? Did they let ANYONE play test the thing before putting it in the box? It's one thing to have shoddy A.I. or make bad choices about interface - but to LEAVE OUT controls or have them marked like you're on a console... Ouch!
And what was with the top down tac view anyway? You use the mouse to move around, but trying to actually TARGET a ship... Well, that was an exercise in frustration. I had this reserved at an EB but declined it after playing it. Such a missed opportunity for a great game. How could they do this to themselves? SHAME!
One of the first jobs I was a part of early on in my networking career involved 'updating' these lovely OS/2 machines to DOS/Windows 3.1.
My consulting company assigned me to a bank that had just purchased a competitor. The competitor's system was ALL OS/2. Man, that was the most beautiful, efficient system I had ever seen. The tellers, ATMs, office computers, servers - all OS/2. Our banks? DOS/Novell/Windows 3.1.
It was bad enough to arrive at a building full of distrustful (and rightfully so given the fact that many of their coworkers were fired, salaries slashed, and meanwhile the execs got cushy bonuses), openly hostile people, but you should have seen the look on their faces when these systems were converted. All booting occurred off of the network; well considering their network was a 4 Mbit Token Ring, it could take 10-15 MINUTES for the pointer in Win 3.1 to even show up!
Then there was the 'in your faceness' of the new corporate overload logo that appeared while things were loading. It was miserable for them and for me. That saddest thing was, I was an Amiga user who understood why multitasking was so important to many of these people. They didn't have the computer knowhow or terminology to explain to their bosses exactly why this new system sucked (other than the load times). Funny how time is always money to businesses, and yet they typically ignore the amount of time a user has to wait in frustration to get their job done!
It was an ugly job, and I quit shortly after starting that project - mostly out of disgust.
I have an 8 year old son who I love to play games with. After spending 8 hours in the freezing cold I managed to pick up a Wii for us both. My little buddy just loves the thing and was playing the bowling and baseball games constantly. Then I got a few games on the Virtual Console... Now, I can't pry him from Super Mario 64. He is convinced that it's really Super Mario Wii. Amazing how a game made before he was born totally thrills him.
But it makes sense. Those older games seem to work out a lot better with the younger kids. Even my Atari Flashback has gotten a great deal of use. The games were simpler then - shoot this, capture that - and not much in the way of reading to worry about. Just point and shoot.
I guess feelings aren't worth much these days... Yeah.. Nothin' :)
Not really necessary... No. :)
Even non-gamers were alerted to problems with their MP3 players, exploding batteries and rootkit-based copy protection schemes. As the technical people generally advise the non-technical it's usually not a good idea to anger that base.
There is every indication that Sony is hurting financially from all of this, not to mention increased competition from China and Korea in their electronics department.
240 FREE HOURS!
\Wonder if they'd give me a pony to sign up now...
...supplies are in limited quantity in the States too. I waited in a long line the night before release and got one of the few that were around. I imagine they'll be enough by January though.
There's no meat here at all. No discussion as to how to get themselves out of the hole, or at the very least stop digging new ones. As I see it, it's the friction between the different divisions that's causing all the problems. Useless MP3 players (when they should be OWNING that market), lagging media sales (DVD and CD), bad press due to various stumblings, PS3 waiting for Blu-Ray, and more, have caused the once-mighty Sony to stumble. They've managed to alienate all but the most rabid fans with their stupid and uncoordinated moves.
Either Sony has to REALLY reorganize and focus on what they do best, or they need to give the CEO carte blanche to make the tough choices. Toes will be stepped on, feelings will be hurt, but if they don't do this things won't be any better by this time next year (even if the PS3 is in good supply).
Is $50 that bad for a game? I mean, I remember in 1979 paying $49.95 for 'Thunderball', a game cartridge for the Magnavox Odyssey 2. I thought it was excessive then, but of course, that didn't stop me from wanting to play a pinball game on my O2. Take a look at the 3K cart today and you just can't believe how expensive that was - especially considering the fact that it was $50 of 1979 dollars!
And yet, development time of the earlier games also took time. Just because today's data files are gigabytes instead of bytes doesn't mean that there's any more effort being made by the programmers. Today we have graphic artists (both 2D and 3D), motion capture people, even soundtrack people. But back then, it was all on one guy to take six months to write a 3K masterpiece. It's all relative isn't it?
How about SOFTWARE? No, not the shovelware that Dell and Gateway shove up your ass, slowing your 3+ GHz machine to sub-megahertz levels (McAfee and/or Norton, anyone?)
I mean useful stuff - Mac haters always forget this. Yes, the younger set want more software than the basics, but at least with Macs you GET the basics - and most of it's actually pretty damn good too! And please, while you're thinking about money, how about the year upon year fee you'll pay for a good AV/Anti-Spyware/Firewall solution - money that you save with the Mac.
And when we talk about software - what are we really talking about? Games? Been to an EB lately? Have you seen the incredibly shrinking PC section? Do you really think that trend is going to change anytime soon? Gaming companies are increasingly saving the best for the consoles. No, I don't like it either, but it's the way it appears to be going.