Same as if we decided a program to teach kids in country x to improve their mechanical knowledge and allow them to explore new fuels. We come up with an easy to understand vehicle design and engine that is efficient and runs on fuels of tomorrow. More importantly they can look under the hood and easily experiment with / modify parts at will.
Here comes big oil and subverts the platform by swapping out the (hydrogen/electric/whatever) engines with gas burning engines, welding shut the hood. Governement X praises it because "The rest of the world burns oil, why shouldn't we".
People pop out of the woodworks to state how these cars are better at getting people around, they "conform". The argument now moves from "Let's deliver educational tools" to "let's deliver transportation". The kids/adolescents no longer learn about the inner workings of engines, instead they learn to conform.
A hi-res version of that would be real handy in a laptop. I can't count all the times there has been a laptop around but no project or monitor available to share the display with everyone else.
Be careful what you wish for. You may one day be visiting some personal sites while the projector built into your laptop is on and happily displaying to the world the deepest darkest recesses of your mind.....
Step 1: Keep a professional "personal" site up where you praise your prior employers and you extol the virtues of work and your pride in your accomplishments at your job. Step 2: (Optional) Keep a separate social site for your friends (which doesn't explicitly list you by name), also set to private. Step 3: Get the names of the other applicants and set them up facebook accounts where they list their exploits stealing office supplies, being lazy/napping on the job, and taking pot breaks/drinking at work. Extra Credit for including the phrase "Man, I was so WASTED at work the other day!" anywhere in their profile. Step 4: ???* Step 5: Hired!
* Depending on state, Step 4 may be "Get sued for libel" (Do not go to step 5, do not collect a monthly paycheck).
If I buy a ford, how do i put a Mazda engine it it from the getgo and not pay the Ford tax?
True that an OS is to a computer akin of what an engine is to a car, but that is not a good comparison for this case. What would be a good comparison is say if when you bought any car it came only with a Bose sound system. For many, a Bose system will sound "awesome" or good enough. But many others would rather have a system with a better range, or better MP3 support, or at a much lower cost. They see the true product being the car and the premium stereo being pushed on you would be a frivolous tie in.
Now imagine the dealer still charged you the 1 to 1.5k for the Bose sound system even if you returned it or if you decided to go with a generic factory system... (And FYI some dealerships will credit you ~$300 if you decline the built in head unit - did this with a Saturn a few years ago).
Now expanding on our analogy, imagine they refuse to give you the right to re-sell the sound system, if they systematically looked for "OEM Bose sound systems" sales on like ebay and had them pulled?
This is a better example of what Microsoft is like in the PC hardware world. They'd be like a particular stereo you were forced to buy with *almost any* new car you pick up (and were practically forbidden to resell).
** Note I"m not endorsing Bose or trying to rip on them. I just picked them as an example because many believe them to be a good choice for audio equipment (they're in the top 4 speaker manufacturers in the US) while a seemingly more (audio) educated group can see flaws in their designs and benefits for lesser expensive systems.
This issue interests me regarding MythTV setups. There's already a feature to backup DVDs (rip option when you load a dvd), but I was pondering adding an option to "time-shift" rentals. In other words say you get some movies out of order from Netflix, you could simply have it automatically backup the dvd and hold it for a maximum of x days (then delete it after being viewed or when the time is up).
Currently you can do this manually, but adding a feature that does this explicitly would run afoul of some companies (though many would argue there's no real harm done). But will adding (ease of use) features to a product that violates the DMCA also put you in further liability? What if instead of a rental time shifting feature you just add a system to streamline ripping to xvid or h264 (with presets for movies, tv shows, animation, etc)?
None of the carriers I've been with guarantee the delivery of text messages (3 out of the 4 main ones).
Someone higher up asked about operational costs involved in sending text messages. Consider the amount of data that makes it to your phone to make it ring (Incoming call) when you add in Caller ID data. Now that costs you nothing if you don't answer. Now compare it to the slight difference in data to a SMS (text message) which now cost.20 every time you receive one.
>>"really what the Romans did was throw jerks to the lions."
OMFG, you just called 85% of the Saints "jerks". I can't even begin to calculate how many "Our Fathers" and "Hail Mary's" that comes up to....
(Dabs holy water in DI Rebus' direction)
Speaking of which, since God sees everything... wouldn't it be awesome for all Catholics to get a monthly statement detailing how much penance is due to the Lord? Nothing would make me a believer than a thick statement itemizing my sins for the month!
6th or 7th. But an understandable mistake, they were the first wildly successful optical media based game system.
Just off the top of my head, 1. Sega CD 2. TurboGrafx CD 3. Sega Saturn 4. 3DO (Panasonic and Goldstar Models) 5. Phillips CDI 6. Neo Geo CD (First Version - not CDZ) 7. Sega CD derivatives (CD-X; Wondermega 1&2 (X-Eye in US))
I believe most of these preceded the Playstation.
That said, getting back on topic, other that newegg I don't know who to recommend but I can say that if you shop pricewatch you may see one company in particular consistently as the lowest price in many categories: 3btech.net DO NOT buy from these jokers. I made the mistake of giving them a try, I ordered two items I ordered (which were listed as OEM), what I received were two used and non-functional items. One was a keyboard which had liquid spilled inside it, but the exterior of the keyboard had been wiped clean (as evidenced by streaks visible when lit at an angle). Though they did go through the effort of packaging it in an oem box and even including a manual and CD.
Best part was that I got no apology from 3btech. I can understand a shipping mistake from time to time, but instead they tried to assure me that OEM = used/refurbished! So they ended up refusing to pay for return shipping. But for some odd reason their Pricewatch profile (which was in the dumps a while ago) is now flooded with generic positive comments....
(In summary, Sony was not alone and in fact late to CD party, 3btech BAD!)
Just look at the stones form the Moissanite link you quoted and compare it to pictures of Silicone Carbide . Calling it Moissanite can serve as a distinction between gem quality and the SiC used for abrasives.
Just the same way we don't call Diamonds C40 and we make the distinction between gem quality diamonds and Bort .
Then there's this: "Silicon carbide was named moissanite in honor of Moissan". So yeah you can call it by the molecule name, but really most people will use it's formal name (like calling water - water, not dihidrogen monoxide. Henri Moissan died in 1907, so SiC being named Moissanite (1905) preceeded jewel quality SiC by about 90 years. So the jewelers didn't up and decide to call SiC Moissanite just to be pretentious. Their granparents would have called it that... And remember, before SiC was only produced as a powder, only recently (~10 years) has it been made into gems.
Oh and someone mentioned brilliance of the stone, this link has the picture that best illustrates that point. Just scroll down and you'll see a picture where they shine light through a diamond and moissanite.
Ah, good to know that it may not be possible to do it onsite, good info, thanks! I remember the observation that something that would bend or distort a titanium ring would propably do horrible things to your hands if you didn't have that ring on in the first place. Regarding ERs, an article I read spoke of high speed saws (similar to a dremmel) that could cut through these rings. Snopes is one among many sites that dispel this rumor.
While I'm at it, I screwed up the link for Moissanite . There's also the link for the company that produces Moissanite, however I really don't want to link to a flash only site... But JC Penney and some other local shops sell it (and have it to view in person). To the submitter, whichever center stone you choose, go for the beauty and durability. Even Sapphire (and Ruby), carbon coated Cubic Zirconia, Sythetic Diamonds can make for a great wedding ring center stone. By the way, you can find synthetic diamonds in yellow, blue, red, and white. If you just Google for "Synthetic Diamond" you should get mostly good hits.
Oh and make sure that Iridium is scratch resistant (or choose a finish that would better mask future wear and tear). Again in my quest for the perfect ring, I was dissuaded from going with platinum due to this one fact (and one very passionate jeweler who had the old platinum rings to prove it!).
Suggestion 2, don't buy the ring at Zales, (or any mall store for that matter). They do have some nice designs, but they pass on very low quality diamonds (usually SI2 ) onto their customers while charging a much higher price. Note that most reputable places won't even sell SI2 diamonds as imperfections and flaws (like a chunk of black carbon) can be seen by the naked eye and grossly affect the diamonds fire (amount of light that is reflected internally then broken apart in a prismatic effect and sent back out to the eye).
I know this because the first ring I got my wife was from Zales, but luckily they had a 30 day return policy ^_^ (I returned it before I proposed and got something much better).
Now as to what to do, 1. Decide what kind of ring, design, and materials best describe her and appeal to her tastes. For example, my wife is geeky, just like me, but does like sapphires, white gold or silver jewelry and can appreciate technology and such, so I endeavored to have a ring custom made with white gold, sapphires, and for the center stone I used a very geeky stone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moissanite"> Moissanite . All and all it did cost me as much as much as a diamond ring, but it ended up being a beautiful, unique, and fitting ring (beautiful and geeky!). a) Find out what is her favorite cut or shape (or if she even wants a center stone) b) Find out what color metal she likes (it is a ring, and it is mainly a thing of beauty, so find out what metals she finds beautiful). Iridium does sound interesting. c) Find out what her favorite colors are, you can find stones in these colors (even "Cultured" or "Synthetic" diamonds"). And don't fall for the birthstone nonsense or even diamond engagement ring tradition (both marketing fabrications). d) Find out what type of band design (stone arrangement, etched designs, side elevation) she likes. Heck if she's a Lord of the Rings geek there's a even a band she may like! 2. Now shop around, find a design that you like (don't settle for what's in the store), if you don't see it in a store, some can order it or make it. I ended up looking through literally over 2000 ring designs. 3. Buy a loupe and carry it with you (they cost $10). Even if you're not buying a diamond, the moment a jeweler sees you with a loupe they'll know they can't pawn off crap on you. 4. Shop around, pay attention to small but established stores in your area. Those will typically be able to accomodate custom orders.
I wont' go much into stones since you just mentioned a band, but If you do decide to get a stone added into that ring then do your research. Find out if she'll care about a synthetic vs natural grown stone (don't confuse synthetic with simulant, a simulant is something that isn't the original but tries to approximate it, a synthetic is just a man made (or cultured) version. So the difference between a synthetic and a natural stone is just like the difference between say a banana grown in a jungle (in a natural environment) vs a banana grown in a farm or greenhouse, they're both bananas (except the synthetic product has less defects). If she's a geology freak she'll probably want a natural stone, otherwise it shouldn't matter. Heck even jewelers can't tell the difference between say a synthetic diamond and one that was pulled from the earth. Only diamond certification labs have the equipment necessary to tell the difference.
Materials? Well Platinum is nice and valuable, but also easy to ding and hard to keep looking good. Titanium is very cool (and is what my band is made out of), and don't believe the FUD about it, it is safe, emergency rooms have equipment to cut through it if needed (they don't have to cut off your finger as one jeweler claimed....) . Gold
Otherwise the only taxes are property tax and a sales tax of 4.5%
There's been a big issue with rising property taxes in Florida. Part of it is due to some counties overspending on their budgets (and thus raising the tax rate), the other part was the rising cost in home values. There's an article about the crisis here.
The article cites one individual who's property taxes jumped from $2800 to $7400 in one year (thankfully capped due to new legislation), however if he were to sell the house the new owner would be paying $20,000 in property tax a year (since they no longer qualify for the new exemption).
So the tax rates being tied to (at the time) rising property values, compounded with rising hurricane insurance premiums have sadly made things a bit tougher in Fl.
Another interesting quote from the article:
according to a new Zogby International poll, half of South Floridians and 37% of all Floridians say they're considering moving out of the state.
Maybe now with the mortgage crisis the property values will hopefully re-settle.
You are correct that high Voltage transformers are AC to AC (on the power grid) and normal wall adapters AC to DC have different types of losses. Were talking about DC to DC here. The above estimate holds true for 2 of 3 types of DC regulators (passive and linear). Now when we look at switching regulator (like a buck converter) things change a bit and we can get to 95% efficiency but this comes at the cost of more control circuitry and addition of ripple control (logic elements in particular will be very sensitive to this).
Now note there is a difference between the DC to DC converter used internally in a phone and the type that is typically used in higher current applications (such as battery charging). First thing to look at would be the rated capacity of the phone battery (ex: RAZRs are 780mAH) and look at the difference between charge time and phone battery life (slow bleed vs fast charge). Compounding that difference is the fact that charging a battery requires more current due to losses in the charge process (believe the rule of thumb is 1.5 * (Battery Capacity / Charge Time). The 1.5 is indicative of the loss induced in the charging process.
Now if anybody has links regarding they types (and designs) of voltage regulators used in RF applications (cell phones and such), please *do* share ^_^
I do know that part of the issue is power dissipation. When you're converting 5V (from usb) to what the charger circuit in the cell phone needs, the difference ends affecting power dissipation (in the form of heat). Voltage difference between power source and charger times max current draw = amount of power you need to dissipate at that stage (or simply P=I*V). A charger made specifically with that battery in mind would minimize power wasted (on charging) and would mean less electronics on the phone.
Now as technology evolves were moving electronics to lower and lower voltages , the batteries that power these would follow suit, and so old power adapters would quickly become excessive. The link shows the trend for RF devices, but the same thing is observed with CPUs.
Why not include the tool to read the document with the document?
That's how they make their money! It's brilliant! Give away the media for free, then in 2,000 years, sell the 500x microscope "readers" for a *huge* profit! Just make sure the teaser text and critical reviews are readable by the naked eye.
"Then, 12 years later someone says, "Oh, sorry! Your rights to that device are up! Ours now bitch!" and hauls it away." Physical property != to IP. Going by your analogy, that person would have had 12 years to market the product and find a place in the market for it, build units, sell them, etc. Nobody would come in and seize their current inventory.
Also as the original inventor he would retain any attached trademarks, could market new versions with improvements (instead of laying on his/her laurels for 12 years) and would be the best equipped to set up/ offer support for that product.
Same thing with the Beatles (say the copyright *had* expired) they could release *authorized* anthologies (with value added material to set their product apart from the competition). Collectors would dig this up, and heck, people would pick up the "official" version of something vs the brand x item if the price is close enough (see grocery stores for example - people still buy Kellogs brand corn flakes, Coke brand cola, Advil brand Ibuprofen, hell even Bayer brand aspirin!).
So lets say the copyright of these Nintendo games were expired? Then Nintendo could just continue selling older games for the Wii and people would pay for the convenience (granted Nintendo would be more pressured to add value by either: including a large anthology of games, delivering a higher quality product than the competition, charge a decent price (that isn't $5 per 25 year old game...), or a combination of the above.
You do know that OEMs (and yeah, a small shop or reseller qualifies) get Windows for dirt cheap, right?
Yes, between $35-85 (depending if you're Dell or Joe's computers). On a used machine that sells for $100 to $200 (with no prior validated windows install) it can be a significant price increase (or loss of profits). Heck on a $400 machine that is close to 10% (on the low end) of the sale that goes to Microsoft. Once ReactOS is viable then a lot of these small vendors would have a choice to sell the machine for say $400 w/ React OS or $400 w/ windows (and lose 9%-20% profit margin or risk getting busted by the BSA if they try to "recycle" a Windows install).
Also, lets not forget charities that repair and recycle old machines.
why the hell should anyone bother dual-booting ReactOS and Linux?
Because it came with the cheap machine they bought from the shop down the street. I believe part of the idea behind ReactOS was to provide a viable (cheap and legal) alternative for small shops and resellers of used PCs.
Many others are experiencing issues. This is one of many threads like this on the Ubuntu forums where people are having serious issue with flash (especially compared to earlier versions (before 9.048). Version 9.112 and beyond (and even Beta) still are really slow, consume a crapload of cpu cycles and are in general unusable.
I've been researching this issue (mainly to get Hulu.com videos playable in fullscreen on a Mythbuntu setup) and have found no recourse other than playing the video at normal size, but using Firefox's zoom or turning on Compiz and using the fullscreen zoom to enlarge the video. Even so the video gets choppy occasionally and of course, is kind of a pain.
Right now full screen videos (using Flash's full screen option) use 90% CPU (out of 2 CPUs on an Athlon 64x2 4800+) and beat to death the poor Sempron 2800 I have on my Mythbuntu setup. Funny enough, the puny Sempron can play HD videos at 1080p with little or no issue.
After following countless threads (and the official bug report on Adobe's website), trying every 9 version and 10 beta, and so on I've pretty much given up on getting Flash to behave for now. Don't get me wrong, I believe you when you say it's playing fine for you, but either the issue is genuinely not affecting your system, or you haven't paid attention to cpu usage while playing flash. As always YMMV.
BTW, any hints not covered in the forums greatly appreciated. Getting fullscreen flash working is the last step in getting a web video based MythTV setup working.
Correct, the Genesis/Megadrive (1988) came out 2 years before the SNES (1990). So yeah, after 2 years ninendo was able to put better hardware into the SNES (and among other things be able to simultaneously display 256 colors vs the 64 the genesis could).
Sega did develop some really cool hardware that sadly didn't get to meet it's full potential. The Sega CD for example added a 2nd 68000 processor at over 150% the speed of the genesis' own 68000, more internal memory, better audio, and of course 640MB of storage vs less than 3 MB seen in cartridges. Sadly the Sega CD was inundated with a slew of crappy fmv games and genesis ports that simply added redbook audio (and little else). The main thing is they didn't increase the amount of displayable colors,which I think would have really made it worthwhile add-on to consumers.
And of course the coolest (IMO) handheld ever put out was by Sega. I mean, how many other manufacturers have put out a handheld that lets you use your existing game library? Granted battery life kinda sucked, but that's what the car adapter was for!
Nothing that can be done now, short of Dr. Samuel Beckett leaping into Hayao Nakayama body and fixing a few things...
"T-Mobile said 20,546 workers at 13 call centers, including one in Salem, were required to perform "preparatory activities" prior to the beginning of their normal shifts. Such activities -- and any other work-related activity beyond 40 hours per week -- must be compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to an announcement."
T-Mobile lost to the tune of 4.8 Million. Can we say precedence?
Slashdot Mirror
The goal was to deliver an educational platform.
Same as if we decided a program to teach kids in country x to improve their mechanical knowledge and allow them to explore new fuels. We come up with an easy to understand vehicle design and engine that is efficient and runs on fuels of tomorrow. More importantly they can look under the hood and easily experiment with / modify parts at will.
Here comes big oil and subverts the platform by swapping out the (hydrogen/electric/whatever) engines with gas burning engines, welding shut the hood. Governement X praises it because "The rest of the world burns oil, why shouldn't we".
People pop out of the woodworks to state how these cars are better at getting people around, they "conform". The argument now moves from "Let's deliver educational tools" to "let's deliver transportation". The kids/adolescents no longer learn about the inner workings of engines, instead they learn to conform.
Big oil gets a few 100,000 more customers.
Thank you. For the rest of my life now I won't be able to keep a straight face in front of an economist...
Be careful what you wish for. You may one day be visiting some personal sites while the projector built into your laptop is on and happily displaying to the world the deepest darkest recesses of your mind.....
see:
http://www.asylum.com/2008/09/12/teacher-accidentally-screens-porno-to-classroom/
Spoke too soon. I knew some friends at TI had mentioned seeing prototypes of compact DLP projectors. Seems they're already marketing them to cell phone companies:
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/9849/10873/hands-on-dlp-mobile-phone-projector.phtml
Soon... very soon we'll have our tricorders!
The article didn't list any specs but a little digging found this:
3M MPRO 110M
640x480 Resolution
LCoS Technology (supposedly similar to DLP)
VGA and composite in
150g weight
Considering how small 1080p DLP chips are, and now that they're using LEDs as lightsources, I was suprised that a DLP model wasn't first to market...
That said, 3M has a smaller model for cell phone use: here .
So...
Step 1: Keep a professional "personal" site up where you praise your prior employers and you extol the virtues of work and your pride in your accomplishments at your job.
Step 2: (Optional) Keep a separate social site for your friends (which doesn't explicitly list you by name), also set to private.
Step 3: Get the names of the other applicants and set them up facebook accounts where they list their exploits stealing office supplies, being lazy/napping on the job, and taking pot breaks/drinking at work. Extra Credit for including the phrase "Man, I was so WASTED at work the other day!" anywhere in their profile.
Step 4: ???*
Step 5: Hired!
* Depending on state, Step 4 may be "Get sued for libel" (Do not go to step 5, do not collect a monthly paycheck).
True that an OS is to a computer akin of what an engine is to a car, but that is not a good comparison for this case. What would be a good comparison is say if when you bought any car it came only with a Bose sound system. For many, a Bose system will sound "awesome" or good enough. But many others would rather have a system with a better range, or better MP3 support, or at a much lower cost. They see the true product being the car and the premium stereo being pushed on you would be a frivolous tie in.
Now imagine the dealer still charged you the 1 to 1.5k for the Bose sound system even if you returned it or if you decided to go with a generic factory system... (And FYI some dealerships will credit you ~$300 if you decline the built in head unit - did this with a Saturn a few years ago).
Now expanding on our analogy, imagine they refuse to give you the right to re-sell the sound system, if they systematically looked for "OEM Bose sound systems" sales on like ebay and had them pulled?
This is a better example of what Microsoft is like in the PC hardware world. They'd be like a particular stereo you were forced to buy with *almost any* new car you pick up (and were practically forbidden to resell).
** Note I"m not endorsing Bose or trying to rip on them. I just picked them as an example because many believe them to be a good choice for audio equipment (they're in the top 4 speaker manufacturers in the US) while a seemingly more (audio) educated group can see flaws in their designs and benefits for lesser expensive systems.
This issue interests me regarding MythTV setups. There's already a feature to backup DVDs (rip option when you load a dvd), but I was pondering adding an option to "time-shift" rentals. In other words say you get some movies out of order from Netflix, you could simply have it automatically backup the dvd and hold it for a maximum of x days (then delete it after being viewed or when the time is up).
Currently you can do this manually, but adding a feature that does this explicitly would run afoul of some companies (though many would argue there's no real harm done). But will adding (ease of use) features to a product that violates the DMCA also put you in further liability? What if instead of a rental time shifting feature you just add a system to streamline ripping to xvid or h264 (with presets for movies, tv shows, animation, etc)?
None of the carriers I've been with guarantee the delivery of text messages (3 out of the 4 main ones).
Someone higher up asked about operational costs involved in sending text messages. Consider the amount of data that makes it to your phone to make it ring (Incoming call) when you add in Caller ID data. Now that costs you nothing if you don't answer. Now compare it to the slight difference in data to a SMS (text message) which now cost .20 every time you receive one.
>>"really what the Romans did was throw jerks to the lions."
OMFG, you just called 85% of the Saints "jerks". I can't even begin to calculate how many "Our Fathers" and "Hail Mary's" that comes up to....
(Dabs holy water in DI Rebus' direction)
Speaking of which, since God sees everything... wouldn't it be awesome for all Catholics to get a monthly statement detailing how much penance is due to the Lord? Nothing would make me a believer than a thick statement itemizing my sins for the month!
6th or 7th. But an understandable mistake, they were the first wildly successful optical media based game system.
Just off the top of my head,
1. Sega CD
2. TurboGrafx CD
3. Sega Saturn
4. 3DO (Panasonic and Goldstar Models)
5. Phillips CDI
6. Neo Geo CD (First Version - not CDZ)
7. Sega CD derivatives (CD-X; Wondermega 1&2 (X-Eye in US))
I believe most of these preceded the Playstation.
That said, getting back on topic, other that newegg I don't know who to recommend but I can say that if you shop pricewatch you may see one company in particular consistently as the lowest price in many categories: 3btech.net DO NOT buy from these jokers. I made the mistake of giving them a try, I ordered two items I ordered (which were listed as OEM), what I received were two used and non-functional items. One was a keyboard which had liquid spilled inside it, but the exterior of the keyboard had been wiped clean (as evidenced by streaks visible when lit at an angle). Though they did go through the effort of packaging it in an oem box and even including a manual and CD.
Best part was that I got no apology from 3btech. I can understand a shipping mistake from time to time, but instead they tried to assure me that OEM = used/refurbished! So they ended up refusing to pay for return shipping. But for some odd reason their Pricewatch profile (which was in the dumps a while ago) is now flooded with generic positive comments....
(In summary, Sony was not alone and in fact late to CD party, 3btech BAD!)
Just look at the stones form the Moissanite link you quoted and compare it to pictures of Silicone Carbide . Calling it Moissanite can serve as a distinction between gem quality and the SiC used for abrasives.
Just the same way we don't call Diamonds C40 and we make the distinction between gem quality diamonds and Bort .
Then there's this: "Silicon carbide was named moissanite in honor of Moissan". So yeah you can call it by the molecule name, but really most people will use it's formal name (like calling water - water, not dihidrogen monoxide. Henri Moissan died in 1907, so SiC being named Moissanite (1905) preceeded jewel quality SiC by about 90 years. So the jewelers didn't up and decide to call SiC Moissanite just to be pretentious. Their granparents would have called it that... And remember, before SiC was only produced as a powder, only recently (~10 years) has it been made into gems.
Oh and someone mentioned brilliance of the stone, this link has the picture that best illustrates that point. Just scroll down and you'll see a picture where they shine light through a diamond and moissanite.
Ah, good to know that it may not be possible to do it onsite, good info, thanks! I remember the observation that something that would bend or distort a titanium ring would propably do horrible things to your hands if you didn't have that ring on in the first place. Regarding ERs, an article I read spoke of high speed saws (similar to a dremmel) that could cut through these rings. Snopes is one among many sites that dispel this rumor.
While I'm at it, I screwed up the link for Moissanite . There's also the link for the company that produces Moissanite, however I really don't want to link to a flash only site... But JC Penney and some other local shops sell it (and have it to view in person). To the submitter, whichever center stone you choose, go for the beauty and durability. Even Sapphire (and Ruby), carbon coated Cubic Zirconia, Sythetic Diamonds can make for a great wedding ring center stone. By the way, you can find synthetic diamonds in yellow, blue, red, and white. If you just Google for "Synthetic Diamond" you should get mostly good hits.
Oh and make sure that Iridium is scratch resistant (or choose a finish that would better mask future wear and tear). Again in my quest for the perfect ring, I was dissuaded from going with platinum due to this one fact (and one very passionate jeweler who had the old platinum rings to prove it!).
resized at Zales.
Suggestion 2, don't buy the ring at Zales, (or any mall store for that matter). They do have some nice designs, but they pass on very low quality diamonds (usually SI2 ) onto their customers while charging a much higher price. Note that most reputable places won't even sell SI2 diamonds as imperfections and flaws (like a chunk of black carbon) can be seen by the naked eye and grossly affect the diamonds fire (amount of light that is reflected internally then broken apart in a prismatic effect and sent back out to the eye).
I know this because the first ring I got my wife was from Zales, but luckily they had a 30 day return policy ^_^ (I returned it before I proposed and got something much better).
Now as to what to do,
1. Decide what kind of ring, design, and materials best describe her and appeal to her tastes. For example, my wife is geeky, just like me, but does like sapphires, white gold or silver jewelry and can appreciate technology and such, so I endeavored to have a ring custom made with white gold, sapphires, and for the center stone I used a very geeky stone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moissanite"> Moissanite . All and all it did cost me as much as much as a diamond ring, but it ended up being a beautiful, unique, and fitting ring (beautiful and geeky!).
a) Find out what is her favorite cut or shape (or if she even wants a center stone)
b) Find out what color metal she likes (it is a ring, and it is mainly a thing of beauty, so find out what metals she finds beautiful). Iridium does sound interesting.
c) Find out what her favorite colors are, you can find stones in these colors (even "Cultured" or "Synthetic" diamonds"). And don't fall for the birthstone nonsense or even diamond engagement ring tradition (both marketing fabrications).
d) Find out what type of band design (stone arrangement, etched designs, side elevation) she likes. Heck if she's a Lord of the Rings geek there's a even a band she may like!
2. Now shop around, find a design that you like (don't settle for what's in the store), if you don't see it in a store, some can order it or make it. I ended up looking through literally over 2000 ring designs.
3. Buy a loupe and carry it with you (they cost $10). Even if you're not buying a diamond, the moment a jeweler sees you with a loupe they'll know they can't pawn off crap on you.
4. Shop around, pay attention to small but established stores in your area. Those will typically be able to accomodate custom orders.
I wont' go much into stones since you just mentioned a band, but If you do decide to get a stone added into that ring then do your research. Find out if she'll care about a synthetic vs natural grown stone (don't confuse synthetic with simulant, a simulant is something that isn't the original but tries to approximate it, a synthetic is just a man made (or cultured) version. So the difference between a synthetic and a natural stone is just like the difference between say a banana grown in a jungle (in a natural environment) vs a banana grown in a farm or greenhouse, they're both bananas (except the synthetic product has less defects). If she's a geology freak she'll probably want a natural stone, otherwise it shouldn't matter. Heck even jewelers can't tell the difference between say a synthetic diamond and one that was pulled from the earth. Only diamond certification labs have the equipment necessary to tell the difference.
Materials? Well Platinum is nice and valuable, but also easy to ding and hard to keep looking good. Titanium is very cool (and is what my band is made out of), and don't believe the FUD about it, it is safe, emergency rooms have equipment to cut through it if needed (they don't have to cut off your finger as one jeweler claimed....) . Gold
Otherwise the only taxes are property tax and a sales tax of 4.5%
There's been a big issue with rising property taxes in Florida. Part of it is due to some counties overspending on their budgets (and thus raising the tax rate), the other part was the rising cost in home values. There's an article about the crisis here.
The article cites one individual who's property taxes jumped from $2800 to $7400 in one year (thankfully capped due to new legislation), however if he were to sell the house the new owner would be paying $20,000 in property tax a year (since they no longer qualify for the new exemption).
So the tax rates being tied to (at the time) rising property values, compounded with rising hurricane insurance premiums have sadly made things a bit tougher in Fl.
Another interesting quote from the article:
according to a new Zogby International poll, half of South Floridians and 37% of all Floridians say they're considering moving out of the state.
Maybe now with the mortgage crisis the property values will hopefully re-settle.
You are correct that high Voltage transformers are AC to AC (on the power grid) and normal wall adapters AC to DC have different types of losses. Were talking about DC to DC here. The above estimate holds true for 2 of 3 types of DC regulators (passive and linear). Now when we look at switching regulator (like a buck converter) things change a bit and we can get to 95% efficiency but this comes at the cost of more control circuitry and addition of ripple control (logic elements in particular will be very sensitive to this).
Now note there is a difference between the DC to DC converter used internally in a phone and the type that is typically used in higher current applications (such as battery charging). First thing to look at would be the rated capacity of the phone battery (ex: RAZRs are 780mAH) and look at the difference between charge time and phone battery life (slow bleed vs fast charge). Compounding that difference is the fact that charging a battery requires more current due to losses in the charge process (believe the rule of thumb is 1.5 * (Battery Capacity / Charge Time). The 1.5 is indicative of the loss induced in the charging process.
Now if anybody has links regarding they types (and designs) of voltage regulators used in RF applications (cell phones and such), please *do* share ^_^
I do know that part of the issue is power dissipation. When you're converting 5V (from usb) to what the charger circuit in the cell phone needs, the difference ends affecting power dissipation (in the form of heat). Voltage difference between power source and charger times max current draw = amount of power you need to dissipate at that stage (or simply P=I*V). A charger made specifically with that battery in mind would minimize power wasted (on charging) and would mean less electronics on the phone.
Now as technology evolves were moving electronics to lower and lower voltages , the batteries that power these would follow suit, and so old power adapters would quickly become excessive. The link shows the trend for RF devices, but the same thing is observed with CPUs.
Why not include the tool to read the document with the document?
That's how they make their money! It's brilliant! Give away the media for free, then in 2,000 years, sell the 500x microscope "readers" for a *huge* profit! Just make sure the teaser text and critical reviews are readable by the naked eye.
"Then, 12 years later someone says, "Oh, sorry! Your rights to that device are up! Ours now bitch!" and hauls it away."
Physical property != to IP. Going by your analogy, that person would have had 12 years to market the product and find a place in the market for it, build units, sell them, etc. Nobody would come in and seize their current inventory.
Also as the original inventor he would retain any attached trademarks, could market new versions with improvements (instead of laying on his/her laurels for 12 years) and would be the best equipped to set up/ offer support for that product.
Same thing with the Beatles (say the copyright *had* expired) they could release *authorized* anthologies (with value added material to set their product apart from the competition). Collectors would dig this up, and heck, people would pick up the "official" version of something vs the brand x item if the price is close enough (see grocery stores for example - people still buy Kellogs brand corn flakes, Coke brand cola, Advil brand Ibuprofen, hell even Bayer brand aspirin!).
So lets say the copyright of these Nintendo games were expired? Then Nintendo could just continue selling older games for the Wii and people would pay for the convenience (granted Nintendo would be more pressured to add value by either: including a large anthology of games, delivering a higher quality product than the competition, charge a decent price (that isn't $5 per 25 year old game...), or a combination of the above.
You do know that OEMs (and yeah, a small shop or reseller qualifies) get Windows for dirt cheap, right?
Yes, between $35-85 (depending if you're Dell or Joe's computers). On a used machine that sells for $100 to $200 (with no prior validated windows install) it can be a significant price increase (or loss of profits). Heck on a $400 machine that is close to 10% (on the low end) of the sale that goes to Microsoft. Once ReactOS is viable then a lot of these small vendors would have a choice to sell the machine for say $400 w/ React OS or $400 w/ windows (and lose 9%-20% profit margin or risk getting busted by the BSA if they try to "recycle" a Windows install).
Also, lets not forget charities that repair and recycle old machines.
why the hell should anyone bother dual-booting ReactOS and Linux?
Because it came with the cheap machine they bought from the shop down the street. I believe part of the idea behind ReactOS was to provide a viable (cheap and legal) alternative for small shops and resellers of used PCs.
Many others are experiencing issues. This is one of many threads like this on the Ubuntu forums where people are having serious issue with flash (especially compared to earlier versions (before 9.048). Version 9.112 and beyond (and even Beta) still are really slow, consume a crapload of cpu cycles and are in general unusable.
I've been researching this issue (mainly to get Hulu.com videos playable in fullscreen on a Mythbuntu setup) and have found no recourse other than playing the video at normal size, but using Firefox's zoom or turning on Compiz and using the fullscreen zoom to enlarge the video. Even so the video gets choppy occasionally and of course, is kind of a pain.
Right now full screen videos (using Flash's full screen option) use 90% CPU (out of 2 CPUs on an Athlon 64x2 4800+) and beat to death the poor Sempron 2800 I have on my Mythbuntu setup. Funny enough, the puny Sempron can play HD videos at 1080p with little or no issue.
After following countless threads (and the official bug report on Adobe's website), trying every 9 version and 10 beta, and so on I've pretty much given up on getting Flash to behave for now. Don't get me wrong, I believe you when you say it's playing fine for you, but either the issue is genuinely not affecting your system, or you haven't paid attention to cpu usage while playing flash. As always YMMV.
BTW, any hints not covered in the forums greatly appreciated. Getting fullscreen flash working is the last step in getting a web video based MythTV setup working.
They should have sent a poet...
Correct, the Genesis/Megadrive (1988) came out 2 years before the SNES (1990). So yeah, after 2 years ninendo was able to put better hardware into the SNES (and among other things be able to simultaneously display 256 colors vs the 64 the genesis could).
Sega did develop some really cool hardware that sadly didn't get to meet it's full potential. The Sega CD for example added a 2nd 68000 processor at over 150% the speed of the genesis' own 68000, more internal memory, better audio, and of course 640MB of storage vs less than 3 MB seen in cartridges. Sadly the Sega CD was inundated with a slew of crappy fmv games and genesis ports that simply added redbook audio (and little else). The main thing is they didn't increase the amount of displayable colors,which I think would have really made it worthwhile add-on to consumers.
And of course the coolest (IMO) handheld ever put out was by Sega. I mean, how many other manufacturers have put out a handheld that lets you use your existing game library? Granted battery life kinda sucked, but that's what the car adapter was for!
Nothing that can be done now, short of Dr. Samuel Beckett leaping into Hayao Nakayama body and fixing a few things...
Man, if that's what they were doing they are screwed, from:
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2003/11/24/daily21.html
"T-Mobile said 20,546 workers at 13 call centers, including one in Salem, were required to perform "preparatory activities" prior to the beginning of their normal shifts. Such activities -- and any other work-related activity beyond 40 hours per week -- must be compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to an announcement."
T-Mobile lost to the tune of 4.8 Million. Can we say precedence?