The digital paper sounds exactly like the scenario used by the printer industry: "sell the printers cheap, make a killing on the ink." How long will it take before we see an economicaly feasible method of generating your own microdot paper (assuming there is a true demand for this product)?
I am experimenting with using waste CDs as an alternative to the common roofing shingle, and I have a few other ideas too... AOL is my largest contributor of raw materials! I sure would be sad to see those disks disappear altogether!
I tried out a stealth lp for a few weeks before returning it and will say that although it is a very cool idea, it was of little practical application. It me took about two weeks to get used to the zero-force surface for typing, but I picked up the mousing and gesture sets right away.
I had problems with the high sensitivity (annoying "bonus" characters suddenly started appearing in my code...) and non-standard placement of some of the "keys". I also did not like the fact that when mousing, you have to lift your fingertips off of the pad to "click"... running a long line of check boxes or such can really make your wrists ache. The device does not register as pressure sensitive with Adobe photoshop and other graphics/multimedia packages that can take advantage of such devices, and I found "finger-painting" to be difficult.
I didn't have a single problem returning it though, and their customer service is good. It was an expensive "trial" though... with the 15% restocking fee and additional shipping costs it put me back about $100.
The fact that ProComp is claiming that the Java and.Net runtimes are "interchangeable components" shows how little they understand the technology involved. A true Java app will not work on a machine without a Java Virtual Machine; and a.Net app will not work on a machine without the.NET Runtime.
It sickens me that companies and organizations are choosing to cry and complain to the DOJ in an attempt to resolve the inadequacies of their products and/or market share. If they wanted to "solve" this problem in a meaningful way; they should build a better product (Now if only Microsoft would disclose meaningful API's...). It's obvious that Microsoft products have problems; but most of the time they can still get the job done better/faster/etc. than the alternatives.
Don't get me wrong; I use Java and.Net; Windows and Linux; whatever works for the task at hand. If a business gives me what I want, I'll buy it. If they try to sell me what they think I need, I'll walk away and find what I want (and may their market share be ground to dust).
I have a trusty Canon BJC-6000 for about 4 years. It is still performing to this day. The main thing that originally sold me is the individual color cartridges and replaceable print heads (one for black, one for color). It also has a special print head (and ink cartridges) for photography printing that can be swapped with the black print head. I run a lot of documents, full-color labels, and glossy prints; the quality is more than acceptable. If the quality starts to slip, replace the print head. Problem solved.
While it is expensive to replace the print head ($40 for black, $60 a pop for color/photo, full set of ink included), they last about 2 years of heavy use. Off-the-shelf ink is expensive, so I buy refills from http://www.extracartridges.com for $5 each.
I found this a worthy enough read to bookmark it. The author has some good ideas about preparing for an interview and formulating a meaningful evaluation of that individual's skills beyond the basic text-book Q/A dialogue.
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog00000000 73.html
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The digital paper sounds exactly like the scenario used by the printer industry: "sell the printers cheap, make a killing on the ink." How long will it take before we see an economicaly feasible method of generating your own microdot paper (assuming there is a true demand for this product)?
I am experimenting with using waste CDs as an alternative to the common roofing shingle, and I have a few other ideas too... AOL is my largest contributor of raw materials! I sure would be sad to see those disks disappear altogether!
I tried out a stealth lp for a few weeks before returning it and will say that although it is a very cool idea, it was of little practical application. It me took about two weeks to get used to the zero-force surface for typing, but I picked up the mousing and gesture sets right away.
I had problems with the high sensitivity (annoying "bonus" characters suddenly started appearing in my code...) and non-standard placement of some of the "keys". I also did not like the fact that when mousing, you have to lift your fingertips off of the pad to "click"... running a long line of check boxes or such can really make your wrists ache. The device does not register as pressure sensitive with Adobe photoshop and other graphics/multimedia packages that can take advantage of such devices, and I found "finger-painting" to be difficult.
I didn't have a single problem returning it though, and their customer service is good. It was an expensive "trial" though... with the 15% restocking fee and additional shipping costs it put me back about $100.
It sickens me that companies and organizations are choosing to cry and complain to the DOJ in an attempt to resolve the inadequacies of their products and/or market share. If they wanted to "solve" this problem in a meaningful way; they should build a better product (Now if only Microsoft would disclose meaningful API's...). It's obvious that Microsoft products have problems; but most of the time they can still get the job done better/faster/etc. than the alternatives.
.Net; Windows and Linux; whatever works for the task at hand. If a business gives me what I want, I'll buy it. If they try to sell me what they think I need, I'll walk away and find what I want (and may their market share be ground to dust).
Don't get me wrong; I use Java and
I have a trusty Canon BJC-6000 for about 4 years. It is still performing to this day. The main thing that originally sold me is the individual color cartridges and replaceable print heads (one for black, one for color). It also has a special print head (and ink cartridges) for photography printing that can be swapped with the black print head. I run a lot of documents, full-color labels, and glossy prints; the quality is more than acceptable. If the quality starts to slip, replace the print head. Problem solved.
While it is expensive to replace the print head ($40 for black, $60 a pop for color/photo, full set of ink included), they last about 2 years of heavy use. Off-the-shelf ink is expensive, so I buy refills from http://www.extracartridges.com for $5 each.
I found this a worthy enough read to bookmark it. The author has some good ideas about preparing for an interview and formulating a meaningful evaluation of that individual's skills beyond the basic text-book Q/A dialogue. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog00000000 73.html