Quite a few people at my work have Tivo/Sky+ and are constantly raving on about all the features they have, the things they can do with them, how it's changed their TV viewing habits, blah de blah... and all I'm left thinking is "I can do all that with my VCR and the weekend copy of the Guardian Guide."
Anyone want to try to convince me i) why I should get one of these gizmos other than sheer techno-fetishism, and ii) why I should get one rather than a DVD recorder?
How could any s-s-s-self-respecting ggggggggeek not have h/AH!/AH!/AH!/[strange laugh] have heard of M-M-M-Max Head(ead/ead)room? Haven't you seenN!/N!/N! BTTF2? (Ach!/Ach!) 2? [crrrk] 2?
I can't tell the difference between a song recorded on a $100 mic or a $5000 one, or a studio and production team that cost $50 per hour or $5000.
For that matter, I can't hear any difference between an MP3 at a bitrate of 96, 128 or 196.
I must be one of the lucky ones. If it sounds good *to me* then that's all I care about!
(BTW, in the past two years I've bought exactly *one* brand-new chart CD, and that was because it was by my favourite band of all time. Everything else has either been back catalogue at a discount, or compilations. Nothing else has caught my interest. Modern music sucks...)
Same thing Fox did to Firefly (which I haven't seen yet) and Futurama (which I *have* seen, and love). They make more profit from Glutton Bowl, Temptation Island and When Fax Machines Malfunction, so to a programming executive, it's a no-brainer.
In fact, Fox programming executives *are* no-brainers...
...is that I just use it to *talk* to people, rather than watch videos, take photos, listen to MP3s, play games, control the space shuttle or whatever. Does this mean I'm no longer cool/geeky enough to visit/.?
>1. Bombardment of ads for the show.
>2. Ads for freedomofinfo.org (checkout the whois)
>3. The Abduction Diaries ???
>4. A Geraldo style show about Roswell
>5. And now, paying off the Brits to unleash their hype^H^H^H^Hinfo.
You forgot the next line...
6. Profit!
Re:What about bitter/loner Sims?
on
Virtual Simerica
·
· Score: 0
Wow, judging from the above comment about the whole introvert/extrovert meter thing, The Sims sucks. (Never played it myself.) I have maybe two close friends, and I'm not hanging out with them every night, and I'm happy. (Well, not *un*happy.)
Unless you count Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel and Monica, at least. I don't like Phoebe that much. She's mean.;)
Anyway, how many computer programmers do *you* know with 18 friends who party every night? Sounds like someone's living in a little fantasy world!
I still use my Psion Series 5 a lot, because as a journalist who travels to London frequently (about 1 3/4 hours train journey) it means I can type up my work on the way back without hauling my laptop around with me.
Oh, wait. A Series 5 isn't a PDA, it's an actual computer that does, like, useful stuff and that I can type on and even program. Never mind.;)
If they have all the old copies of Crash complete with the injunction-drawing 'Unclear User' spoof (which I used to own, dammit!) I might consider having a look...
Own (pretty good) apartment, brand-new cool car, very cool and decently-paid job, inherent geekiness suppressed in social situations, good hygiene, ideal weight for height, aforementioned apartment not dominated by hardware. (Well, not *completely*. There's only two computers and three consoles in the living room. Okay, four if you count the GBA...)
Gorgeous women are still not queueing up to have sex with me, though. I don't think the state of the apartment makes a difference as they never see it. Damn, there's still that annoying 'personality' thing to sort out. Can I pick one up cheap on eBay?
... the times I've used it, it's been like a damn drinking game! Some native apps seem okay if not especially zippy, but since I work in publishing, where the absolute key application is Quark XPress, converting to X is currently about as likely as Osama Bin Laden announcing a goodwill tour of the United States!
"If it costs Nintendo more to operate in the Germany than in the UK"...
Nintendo's European headquarters are *based* in Germany. I know, I've visited them (and they're in the arse-end of nowhere, at that, a good 30 miles from Frankfurt in an industrial estate on the outskirts of a small village).
If it cost Nintendo more to operate in Germany than the UK (Europe's biggest videogames market by quite a large margin, even though Germany has a much bigger population), they wouldn't even *be* there. As a former videogames journalist with years of direct experience of dealing with Nintendo, I can assure you they never spend one penny more than they absolutely have to on anything!
It's of absolutely no interest to me, then. Even with just two fingers I can type a hell of a lot faster than I can write (and my handwriting is barely readable anyway), so a computer without a keyboard is to me - as a professional writer - as much use as a car without an engine. If I want to take a small computer with me on the road, I'll stick with my Psion Series 5, thanks!
"Nintendo didn't think it was worth the cost to translate it, but THQ thought the sales potential of an English language version was worth it."
Um... Conker's Bad Fur Day was *programmed* in England! I know Rare's been on a bit of a recruitment drive of late, but I didn't know they'd been hauling in coders from Japan...
1: I want an Xbox, because I want to play Halo. But...
2: The Xbox is made by Microsoft, a thoroughly unpleasant company which behaves in pretty despicable and frankly illegal ways, and also produces some shitty, bug-ridden bloatware.
Solution: Buy Xbox, which as has been established is currently sold at a loss, thus causing even more harm to M$ than buying a second-hand Xbox. Buy Halo second-hand, either at Game or via Ebay. Both ways, Microsoft loses money, and I get to play Halo. Problem solved!
This is yet another reason why I will never buy a Windows PC.
Of course, the way Apple's going at the moment I might never get another Mac either, because it won't be able to run any of my FRICKIN' SOFTWARE!
(First person to whine "But you can always use Claaaaassiiic..." gets a slap):p
...so that's £200 a month I'm no longer spending on CDs, DVDs, games or anything of that sort. I guess in the eyes of the RIAA, the MPAA and their buddies that makes me EEEEVILLLLLL and should be forced to sell my car and spend all the money on Britney CDs.
It appears the phrase 'opportunity cost' is unknown in certain organisations...
Slashdot Mirror
Quite a few people at my work have Tivo/Sky+ and are constantly raving on about all the features they have, the things they can do with them, how it's changed their TV viewing habits, blah de blah... and all I'm left thinking is "I can do all that with my VCR and the weekend copy of the Guardian Guide."
Anyone want to try to convince me i) why I should get one of these gizmos other than sheer techno-fetishism, and ii) why I should get one rather than a DVD recorder?
How could any s-s-s-self-respecting ggggggggeek not have h/AH!/AH!/AH!/[strange laugh] have heard of M-M-M-Max Head(ead/ead)room? Haven't you seenN!/N!/N! BTTF2? (Ach!/Ach!) 2? [crrrk] 2?
And heaven help the ship if the captain's son were to be knifed by hairy terrorists!
For that matter, I can't hear any difference between an MP3 at a bitrate of 96, 128 or 196.
I must be one of the lucky ones. If it sounds good *to me* then that's all I care about!
(BTW, in the past two years I've bought exactly *one* brand-new chart CD, and that was because it was by my favourite band of all time. Everything else has either been back catalogue at a discount, or compilations. Nothing else has caught my interest. Modern music sucks...)
...will I get to see the Blue Sky Of Death?
Ah, an automatic assumption of criminal behaviour without any evidence to support it. There's a job waiting for you at the RIAA!
In fact, Fox programming executives *are* no-brainers...
Feh, /.'s just not what it used to be...
...is that I just use it to *talk* to people, rather than watch videos, take photos, listen to MP3s, play games, control the space shuttle or whatever. Does this mean I'm no longer cool/geeky enough to visit /.?
Jam a bit of turned steel into her ear and she'll get a fix on those aliens faster than you can say "Hailing frequencies open..."
Windows *does* have voice recognition, right? [BUDDA BUDDA BUDDA] AAAARGHHHH!
(And just today I was reading something in the paper that said one in five people believe robots will take over the world. Pish tosh!)
You forgot the next line...
6. Profit!
Unless you count Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel and Monica, at least. I don't like Phoebe that much. She's mean. ;)
Anyway, how many computer programmers do *you* know with 18 friends who party every night? Sounds like someone's living in a little fantasy world!
Oh, wait. A Series 5 isn't a PDA, it's an actual computer that does, like, useful stuff and that I can type on and even program. Never mind. ;)
If they have all the old copies of Crash complete with the injunction-drawing 'Unclear User' spoof (which I used to own, dammit!) I might consider having a look...
Gorgeous women are still not queueing up to have sex with me, though. I don't think the state of the apartment makes a difference as they never see it. Damn, there's still that annoying 'personality' thing to sort out. Can I pick one up cheap on eBay?
... the times I've used it, it's been like a damn drinking game! Some native apps seem okay if not especially zippy, but since I work in publishing, where the absolute key application is Quark XPress, converting to X is currently about as likely as Osama Bin Laden announcing a goodwill tour of the United States!
Wow, a hell of a lot more than me. I need to get a life... (sniff)
Nintendo's European headquarters are *based* in Germany. I know, I've visited them (and they're in the arse-end of nowhere, at that, a good 30 miles from Frankfurt in an industrial estate on the outskirts of a small village).
If it cost Nintendo more to operate in Germany than the UK (Europe's biggest videogames market by quite a large margin, even though Germany has a much bigger population), they wouldn't even *be* there. As a former videogames journalist with years of direct experience of dealing with Nintendo, I can assure you they never spend one penny more than they absolutely have to on anything!
It's of absolutely no interest to me, then. Even with just two fingers I can type a hell of a lot faster than I can write (and my handwriting is barely readable anyway), so a computer without a keyboard is to me - as a professional writer - as much use as a car without an engine. If I want to take a small computer with me on the road, I'll stick with my Psion Series 5, thanks!
"Nintendo didn't think it was worth the cost to translate it, but THQ thought the sales potential of an English language version was worth it." Um... Conker's Bad Fur Day was *programmed* in England! I know Rare's been on a bit of a recruitment drive of late, but I didn't know they'd been hauling in coders from Japan...
1: I want an Xbox, because I want to play Halo. But... 2: The Xbox is made by Microsoft, a thoroughly unpleasant company which behaves in pretty despicable and frankly illegal ways, and also produces some shitty, bug-ridden bloatware. Solution: Buy Xbox, which as has been established is currently sold at a loss, thus causing even more harm to M$ than buying a second-hand Xbox. Buy Halo second-hand, either at Game or via Ebay. Both ways, Microsoft loses money, and I get to play Halo. Problem solved!
This is yet another reason why I will never buy a Windows PC. Of course, the way Apple's going at the moment I might never get another Mac either, because it won't be able to run any of my FRICKIN' SOFTWARE! (First person to whine "But you can always use Claaaaassiiic..." gets a slap) :p
...will the cases be glued shut to prevent piracy as well?
...so that's £200 a month I'm no longer spending on CDs, DVDs, games or anything of that sort. I guess in the eyes of the RIAA, the MPAA and their buddies that makes me EEEEVILLLLLL and should be forced to sell my car and spend all the money on Britney CDs. It appears the phrase 'opportunity cost' is unknown in certain organisations...