I use my xbox for DVDs (as well) and it can fast-forward through all the intro crap on movies. Or at least on the ones I've been watching lately. I need to test my theories a bit more later. I'm also wondering if the xbox uses macrovision.. anyone test it out?
I bought a dell desktop in 98 and beat the crap out of the poor thing for at least 2 years. I even shorted out the board once but luckily it still worked. I overclocked it (SL2W8), added ram, hard drive, videoa card, blah blah, and nothing ever went wrong to the point of calling customer support. Or at least no hardware failures.
Everyone else in my family bought Dells, too. And they have all had to call customer support at least once for hardware failures. From what they told me, the only way a customer can get replacements is to blantantly ignore what the service tech tells em to do.
So the mother board is fried? Ok, so does Windows start?
No, the motherboard is fried. The computer doesn't start. Ok, is the computer plugged in?
Hmm, gee. I would never have thought of that, let me check YES it's plugged in. Alright, when you start the computer, press Control-Delete to enter the BIOS menu
Ok, I might be able to do that if you send me a working motherboard. Sir, i can't send you a motherboard until you press Control-Delete
Okay, whatever... I'm pressing Control-Delete now .....
continues for about 15 minutes or until tech gets tired of talking and just sends the part
All in all, I was very satisfied with Dell hardware and the fact I never had to call support. Considering that I would know as much or more than the person on the other line, I find tech support to be more of a comedic relief than anything else. Not only will you eventually get a new part, but you get to make fun of the guy on the phone and their crappy advice. I just might start calling tech support more often...
For almost thirty years, user interface design has been defined as the design of graphical user interfaces, with an emphasis on the visual appearance of the user's choices.
because it works.
Gestural interfaces have largely vanished
because its time consuming, unweildy, and too device specific.
A mouse and a keyboard might be outdated, but dammit, they're simple. I can only try to imagine someone trying to type on a computer with a Barney Plush doll! And the thought of someone hacking a force feedback mouse and throwing my arm out of socket if I bumped over a window border... okay so thats a little far fetched.
Sometimes I think we spend too much time trying to invent shit we don't need and not enough time making the stuff we use now actually work.
Step 1: Stare at this part of the rendition: Escher and the Droste effect Step 2: Get up off the floor. Stop trying to turn your head upside down to view the center
I was very interested to find out that this work was considered a Droste picture. Without the center, there is no clear definition between recursions, so it appears to be one continuous drawing, whereas you can clearly see a repeated picture in most every other Droste effect.
My favorite Escher piece is Up and Down . The symmetry is very easy to see, although it never ceases to amaze me how he drew 2 point of perspective of the same scene in one fluid picture, a ceiling and a floor existing as one and the same. If he had drawn the sketch as if he was halfway up/down the tower, the top and bottom portion of the picture could be taped together in a loop, connecting the floor to the ceiling again!
lay face down on the ground, and put your hands behind your head!"
I dunno, with this new bill, I'll finally be able to plug in my USB Sentry Gun and not need to worry about potential hackers killing all my co-workers and leaving me with 32 counts of murder one for negligence!
A mouse is just as dangerous? Well, yeah. I could simply beat everyone to death with this thing. I suppose they shouldn't allow mice on airplanes now, either. Hell, you could hijack an airplane from your laptop without ever leaving your seat.
Wire tapping. How exactly does wiretapping my phone and broadband without just cause make me feel more secure than when they weren't? Quite frankly, I don't trust the US government anymore than a man on a plane with a mouse, i mean a gun.
And what happens when some guy working for the air traffic controller is running routine tests on their network, oops, unintended typo, planes go down by the dozen. Total mishap, (catastrophic yes). Does the agency claim liabilty or does Joe Schmo get 99 for malicious hacking after federal prosecution?
hmm. Unless you count zero inclusively, you can only count to 31 on one hand, much the same as only getting to 255 not 256 in 8 digits. Why not base 16? Using your thumb as a carry from 15 could be fairly useful since its on the side...
Slashdot Mirror
I use my xbox for DVDs (as well) and it can fast-forward through all the intro crap on movies. Or at least on the ones I've been watching lately. I need to test my theories a bit more later. I'm also wondering if the xbox uses macrovision .. anyone test it out?
Everyone else in my family bought Dells, too. And they have all had to call customer support at least once for hardware failures. From what they told me, the only way a customer can get replacements is to blantantly ignore what the service tech tells em to do.
So the mother board is fried? Ok, so does Windows start?
.....
No, the motherboard is fried. The computer doesn't start.
Ok, is the computer plugged in?
Hmm, gee. I would never have thought of that, let me check YES it's plugged in.
Alright, when you start the computer, press Control-Delete to enter the BIOS menu
Ok, I might be able to do that if you send me a working motherboard.
Sir, i can't send you a motherboard until you press Control-Delete
Okay, whatever... I'm pressing Control-Delete now
continues for about 15 minutes or until tech gets tired of talking and just sends the part
All in all, I was very satisfied with Dell hardware and the fact I never had to call support. Considering that I would know as much or more than the person on the other line, I find tech support to be more of a comedic relief than anything else. Not only will you eventually get a new part, but you get to make fun of the guy on the phone and their crappy advice. I just might start calling tech support more often ...
Bionic hand, bah. I'll stick with my amputee-modified chainsaw.
I bet those 10 million users are thinking, "You mean I could have gotten this for FREE?? Dammit!"
because it works.
Gestural interfaces have largely vanished
because its time consuming, unweildy, and too device specific.
A mouse and a keyboard might be outdated, but dammit, they're simple. I can only try to imagine someone trying to type on a computer with a Barney Plush doll! And the thought of someone hacking a force feedback mouse and throwing my arm out of socket if I bumped over a window border ... okay so thats a little far fetched.
Sometimes I think we spend too much time trying to invent shit we don't need and not enough time making the stuff we use now actually work.
I'll be more interested when they can autonomously go to work for me while I stay home and read slashdot.
Step 2: Get up off the floor. Stop trying to turn your head upside down to view the center
I was very interested to find out that this work was considered a Droste picture. Without the center, there is no clear definition between recursions, so it appears to be one continuous drawing, whereas you can clearly see a repeated picture in most every other Droste effect.
My favorite Escher piece is Up and Down . The symmetry is very easy to see, although it never ceases to amaze me how he drew 2 point of perspective of the same scene in one fluid picture, a ceiling and a floor existing as one and the same. If he had drawn the sketch as if he was halfway up/down the tower, the top and bottom portion of the picture could be taped together in a loop, connecting the floor to the ceiling again!
"Hi, I'd like the Number 2: 2 Cheeseburger Deal."
[khhh] Ok, what sides would you like with that?
"Uh, a medium Coke and 15 gallons of cooking oil."
[khhh] Would you like to SuperSize your order, large Coke and 20 gallons of filtered oil for 39 cents more?
"No thanks"
[khhh] All right, your total will be $4.23. Please drive around
lay face down on the ground, and put your hands behind your head!" I dunno, with this new bill, I'll finally be able to plug in my USB Sentry Gun and not need to worry about potential hackers killing all my co-workers and leaving me with 32 counts of murder one for negligence! A mouse is just as dangerous? Well, yeah. I could simply beat everyone to death with this thing. I suppose they shouldn't allow mice on airplanes now, either. Hell, you could hijack an airplane from your laptop without ever leaving your seat. Wire tapping. How exactly does wiretapping my phone and broadband without just cause make me feel more secure than when they weren't? Quite frankly, I don't trust the US government anymore than a man on a plane with a mouse, i mean a gun. And what happens when some guy working for the air traffic controller is running routine tests on their network, oops, unintended typo, planes go down by the dozen. Total mishap, (catastrophic yes). Does the agency claim liabilty or does Joe Schmo get 99 for malicious hacking after federal prosecution?
hmm. Unless you count zero inclusively, you can only count to 31 on one hand, much the same as only getting to 255 not 256 in 8 digits. Why not base 16? Using your thumb as a carry from 15 could be fairly useful since its on the side ...