Slashdot Mirror


User: jcostantino

jcostantino's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
261
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 261

  1. Re:I wish XBMC would get some coverage... on Boxee Hack Restores Hulu Support (Sort Of) · · Score: 1
    I tried the 4350 first but it was PCI-E 2.0 and the Dell I used would only take original PCI-E cards; which the NVidia is. The ATI card has a passive fan which I had preferred.

    It is amazing that a tiny corner of the chip is dedicated to decoding H264 and without that, the CPU is pegged at 100% with out of sync audio and jerky video.

  2. Re:I wish XBMC would get some coverage... on Boxee Hack Restores Hulu Support (Sort Of) · · Score: 2, Informative

    I bought a GeForce 8400 video card for a HTPC I made running MediaPortal on XP. The card I bought was $50 and has VGA, DVI, component, S-video, and composite output. The CPU (a 2.8HT P4) literally idles at about 3% when displaying 1080P.

  3. Re:New screen resolution a few days before release on Agora Android Phone Delayed By Glitches · · Score: 1

    Google Earth? You're thinking of the iPhone, that isn't out for Android.

  4. But... on Wal-Mart Asked to Drop Christian Video Game · · Score: 3, Funny

    But is there a God Mode?

  5. Re:Will MS respond? Yes. on Wal-Mart Leaks Zune Price · · Score: 1

    Microsoft killed IE a couple years ago (around OS 10.3) when Safari started to really take off. MS's official explanation on this was that they couldn't complete on the Macintosh platform because Apple was using undocumented internal commands to better integrate Safari and thus give it a performance boost over a 3rd party competitor.
    Sounds familiar? It ought to...

  6. Re:Acer affected? on Toshiba to Exchange 340,000 Laptop Batteries · · Score: 1

    Lithium Ion batteries don't have the graceful decline in capacity that other battery chemistries have. Their lifespan drops off quickly when they start to lose charge capacity.

    I looked in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery) and found an interesting fact - lithium ion cells lose their lifespan yearly just from being charged up! That article suggests that 20% is lost every year regardless of wether the battery is used at all!

  7. Re:Screw the Q, give me an A1200 running linux! on Unmaking Motorola's Q · · Score: 1
    Well, here you go: http://www.myworldphone.com/motorolaa1200.html $479

    The only sucky thing about it is the lack of EDGE and no 802.11. Otherwise it looks like a fantastic phone.

  8. Re:those evil Wiccans on Gangs on the Internet · · Score: 1

    Regarding the scooting - You need to "express the anal glands" which is the foulest thing I have ever had to do. Google it to find out what it is and use your imagination to guess how much filth comes out of a 9 year old dog that has never had it done.

  9. Super Chicken? on The Physics of Superman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Super Grover unavailable for comment.

  10. Re:I'm skeptical - T-Mobile service is great on Has My Cell Number Been Cloned? · · Score: 1

    I'm with Cingular and have a 2125 Smartphone but pretty much all current phones have POP3 email clients built in. You can just get a data plan ($15/month unlimited data is what I have) and use Gmail or something similar which allows you to send through their SMTP servers.

  11. Re:Xbox 360 - 1,245??? on Quantifying the DS Lite's Japanese Dominance · · Score: 1
    Microsoft has the $$$ to stay in Japan as long as they like until localized games come out. Both Xboxes have been traditionally poor sellers there, well under any other Japanese console - mostly due to the fact that the Japanese consoles have more Japanese games since they are serving their primary market. To a lesser extent, it's also due to the fact that Japanese prefer Japanese-built products.

    I have a DS, my wife has a DS (though - only to play Animal Crossing), my nieces, nephews and both brother-in-law's have DSs. I only know two people personally who own PSPs and I have only seen a handful of other PSPs "in the wild."

    I'm not a fanboy by any respect but the DS has the games. Maybe the PSP has more games now, I don't know... don't really follow it. Last big deal was GTA for the PSP.. everyone raved and then I didn't hear anything else about it. I assume more good games have been developed though like I said, I don't follow it. The PSP's big deal is homebrew, which the DS is lacking. Hopefully more people will develop for the DS since Nintendo doesn't seem to care if you flash your DS.

  12. Re:Now we know on HomeStar - 21st Century Home Planetarium Review · · Score: 1

    The last clear view of the sky I had was during the two week long power outage from hurricane Katrina. Around here, you're lucky to see the moon and Orion.

  13. Re:I think everybody's missing the point on Katamari Creator Critical of Revolution · · Score: 2, Informative
    I agree. I think the problem is that people are pigeonholing the Revolution controller just like they did the DS's dual screens. Hell, even I sneered at the DS when it was being shown. I thought it screamed "GIMICK!" and then I bought one a few months ago... the touch screen does three things: It enables games that would be impossible or extremely difficult to use without it for direct input, it provides an auxiliary screen for additional control buttons, and it provides a second status screen instead of an overlay.

    The Rev controller will (or should) do three similar things... It'll function as a gamepad for standard games, it can be a positional input for 3D games, and it can accept peripherals to act like different controllers altogether. Just because this system has a new fancy controller doesn't mean that every game has to exploit it. I'm pleased that most of the DS games haven't made unnecessary use of the touch screen. Quite a few games are very playable without ever picking up the stylus but those that need it make it an integral part of the game experience.

  14. Re:interesting on Pregnancy In Second Life · · Score: 2, Interesting
    One person I knew was pregnant for a month, and then abruptly went back to normal. Their response was that they had broken up with their partner and had no more reason to have a baby.

    Ouch, better in a simulation than in real life.

    I gave SL a try a few years ago when it was in beta, it was neat, I did stuff... The only problem (at least then, I suppose it still is now) was that EVERYONE was out making a buck trying to sell you a book or some other stupid crap. It's like the entire game's pretense was its economy and everything else was second to it.

    I've been playing Animal Crossing on my DS and was really into it, I was upgrading my house, collect things to sell and buy more stuff, communicate with my neighbors... and then I realized that was the stuff I was already doing in real life. Then I kind of shelved AC and went back to games that weren't blurring the line between "fun" and "toil."

  15. TomTom on GPS for the Windows Mobile 5? · · Score: 2, Interesting
    TomTom has great navigation instructions and the routing is great. But the database is terrible! I bought the most recent Fort Lauderdale database and entire subdivisions STILL don't show up! On top of that, the POI database is limited and sometimes inaccurate.


    I've noticed that it's not very helpful getting you to where you have to go unless you already know how to get there! We drove to Orlando, couldn't find the subdivision (existed for 5 years) because it wasn't on the map. On top of that, the only thing that almost none of the Disney hotels showed up on the map.

  16. What a useless article... on How Bill Gates Works · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Self aggrandize much, Bill Gates? Holy shit! The article could have been summed up as, "Be organized, email is good, collaboration is good."

  17. Re:Huh? How can it be the "most expensive"... on World's Most Expensive Mp3 Player · · Score: 1
    Now do you really think that guy hooked that server up in his car or was he just transporting it and decided to take pictures for a joke project? I would hate to see the size of the power inverter required to keep that running.

    It's a shame that the majority of comments on that were in the realm of "You are a moron!!!!!!!one!!!!" and not, "Ha ha, funny joke!" since it is very likely a joke.

    There are audio interfaces for the VW cd changer interface and if the car is so equipped, could send serial commands from the head unit back to the server to switch songs and play/pause. It's entirely possible, just not very practical.

  18. Re:please shut up with this *42* crap on 42 *IS* The answer to Life, the Universe and Zeta · · Score: 1
    Jeeze, no kidding... I have idiot friends who still drag it out way too frequently.

    http://www.sportbikes.com/UBBimages3/840937-Beatin gadeadhorse.gif

  19. Re:Is not the kids its the parents on Babies Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months · · Score: 1
    I agree, you only get out what you put in when it comes to kids. Of course, that goes for everything else as well. Our 1 year old daughter has been identifying things since 6 months old. She knows what the ceiling fan is, the sounds of airplanes, the moon, etc... She's been speaking her labels for things since 9-10 months old and can identify dogs, cats, cows, babies, etc...

    She's funny with certain things, too. She LOVES phones and remote controls. I tried to give her an old remote that we weren't using and she INSISTED on the universal remote we were using at the time. Nothing else was acceptable because she wanted the one we were using. When that one got lost (don't ask, it's a small house) the other remote because the object of her desire.

    In spite of having to wake up at 6:30 in the morning when she does, I'm usually greeted with a "HI DADA!" so all the hard work pays off in the end.

    I don't know if it's "good" or "bad" but she LOVES those Baby Einstein DVDs. I can have 30 minutes of peace when she watches one from her play yard or we can interact and have fun watching it. For the past month or two she's been associating the clicks and beeps of the Media Center with a movie being played. If I'm rotting her brain with TV, at least it's educational.

  20. Re:Sign language on Babies Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months · · Score: 1

    My wife (who works w/ developmentally disabled people) tells me that signing can actually degrade verbal skills because it reduces the need to speak. I don't know about that personally but it makes sense in theory.

  21. Re:In this case here is a more interesting questio on Beware Your Online Presence · · Score: 1
    I'm amazed at the amount of people in this thread that defend drug use in the workplace.

    I used to work with a couple at a past job, they were husband and wife. Nicest people you've ever met, by the way. They had to go to the methadone clinic every morning because they were addicted to opiates. Then they would drop their kid off at school and go to work. During work they would go out to their car to smoke some pot at 3 hour intervals plus lunch.

    They were having some issues with the CFO (of an 8 person company, go fig..) and he was stressing them out along with other personal stuff in their lives. At one point, the wife (presumably high) smashed their (only) car into a sign on the interstate with their daughter in the car. With no car and a lot of stress, their combined performance went into the shitter quick. The CFO (who later bankrupted the company, go fig again) fired the wife which caused the husband to go into a tailspin.

    I don't know what he was on but I've never seen a person so wasted at work before. He would space out for 15 minutes at a time. Once he fell asleep holding a broom while he was sweeping the same spot aimlessly for 20 minutes. Eventually he was canned for his (lack of) performance. I don't know what happened to them after that but it really was a shame. Everyone saw it... they apparently didn't. If you do drugs long enough, you just lose the part of you that is ashamed of doing bad things.

    That said, I'm no angel either.. or at least I wasn't. I was for lack of a better word addicted to ecstasy for 5 years. It almost got me fired from a job or two because I was constantly late and useless during the day. I would get fucked up Friday and Saturday night every weekend, sleep through Sunday on occasion and head in on Monday waiting to do it all again next weekend.

    BUT I NEVER DID ANYTHING ON THE JOB DURING THE WEEK. So I'm OK, right? No... My drug use was OBVIOUS to everyone, including myself. Fortunately (and perhaps a little late) I outgrew the pills and bullshit like that two years ago. Maybe it was because it was getting old? Maybe it was because I was getting old? Maybe because supplies dried up? More than likely it was because my wife got pregnant and my daughter turned 1 yesterday. I don't smoke pot or do pills, I don't even drink. All I do that's "bad" is smoke cigarettes.

    At my current job, there is one guy especially who is almost never here. He is late 90% of the time and more than half the times he is late - it is more than 30 minutes late. He likes to party on the weeknights and people at the office have to pay the price of his choices when he doesn't show up on time or at all.

    If you look at this and think I'm some kind of straightedge "Say No to Drugs" kind of person, you're wrong. Drugs are fun, experiment, whatever... do it on your own time when it doesn't affect anyone but yourself. Regardless of wether you don't show up for work on Thursday because you were drinking, doing coke, smoking pot, shooting heroin, popping pills or you just stayed up all night to watch the sun rise sober and didn't wake up to go to work, you didn't fucking make it in to work and the people who depend on you will suffer.

    There are still times when I wish I could get fucked up beyond words for just one night..... But I can't - with my daughter, wife, family, dogs, fish, house, friends, coworkers and employer all depending on me to be at my best 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - I couldn't even consider it.

  22. Are you kidding me? on Gates Mocks MIT's $100 Laptop · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Seriously, are you fucking KIDDING me? Sure it's useless to families who can afford to buy $1000 computers and call tech support when their computer blows up from spyware and they can't connect to the internet because their DSL is down. Yeah, it's next to worthless to people who can afford better.

    This is for 3rd world and 2nd world countries where they can't afford "real" PCs with "real" OS's and most likely don't have a phone line to use dialup internet or even be able to call up Dell or HP or whoever. This needs to "just work" and by "just work" be able to relay to others who have net access, be able to work without batteries or mains power and be able to perform its tasks without spyware and viruses corrupting the OS.

    Obviously he wants to pitch a solution with XP or CE because that's where he makes his money... hell, even if hardware were a minor cost - which apparently it ISN'T since there is a huge difference between a standard laptop and this one - is he really going to give away XP/CE and Office? Hell no! He wants his piece of the pie and there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is that he doesn't understand that the target audience for this laptop are people who have probably never seen a laptop, much less used a computer.

    I'd hate to be there when the villagers are using their HP notebooks and the battery craps out. They would probably use it for kindling after that.

  23. Re:Odd, shows how little I know about the world on 1001 Islamic Inventions · · Score: 1
    Oh, and those who think that hatred against muslims is extreme right. Consider this. What do nazi's hate? Homosexuals, equal rights for women, jews, etc. What do muslims hate?

    Don't forget the conservative nutbags in the US... Really, the Bush family should be friends with the Arabs... oh wait.

  24. #'s 1002 and #1003 on 1001 Islamic Inventions · · Score: 5, Funny
    Flying carpet

    Magic Lamp

    (rimshot)

  25. I don't get it. on iTunes Sales Ban Does Increase CD Sales · · Score: 2, Insightful
    They're proud of selling a CD for $8 at Target with all the costs of shipping, printing, materials, markups, etc... instead of selling it for $9.99 on ITMS where it's (from what I recall seeing, I could be wrong) 90% profit for the publisher?

    I don't get it...