Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound like MS is sharing this with the world. They are sharing it with "startups". So if I want to tinker with one of their technologies I read about in the paper today -- e.g. something that is supposed to make junk speakers sound really good -- I can't do that in my spare time in my garage. I have to be a "startup company" with plans on making a product. So comparing this to IBM, who shared their stuff with the world, is a bit like comparing loan sharks to people who donate to the poor. Sure, the loan shark might give you $10 to buy food, but he wants $20 back next week. A "do gooder" does it for the warm fuzzy feeling.
This is just my impression of MS's offer. I'd be happy to know I'm wrong, and have a link to the site showing what this speaker technology is so I can fiddle with it for my own non-commercial reasons.
After recently extracting the neodymium magnets from a hard drive, I wanted MORE. So I picked up these bad boys. They're awsome! I made the mistake of letting them stick together -- impossible to pull apart. I had to resort to wedging one against the plastic floor mat under my chair and pushing on the other one to slide it off. I had a blood blister within 30 minutes of opening the package. Before that, I had thought this bone crusher would be fun. Now, I'd be terrified to have it around. It'll hold 587 pounds.
Note -- I have no business relationship with this place -- google for neodymium or rare earth magnets for your own sources if you like.
Well, the talk was about desktops, not laptops. The imac seems somewhere between in terms of "upgradeability". But if you read what I said, I was talking about how doing an upgrade on a PC frequently requires installing an almost completely new system -- that's what happened to me on my last upgrade at least. So, the criticism that many make of Apple computers, that they don't allow upgrades - you can only purchase of new systems, is really kind of moot. Even in PC land that is often the case.
FWIW, I love my 15" 1.5ghz PB. I don't doubt that a 20" iMac is in my future -- even stopped by my local store today but they don't have it in stock yet.
You do make some valid points about upgrade potential with component based systems compared things like the iMac. I tend to see the iMac as more akin to a laptop than a desktop for this very reason.
On the other hand, PC hardware changes so rapidly that sometimes an upgrade is practically new system anyway. About a year and a half ago, my 800mhz duron system failed -- cpu fried. I decided I'd use that opportunity to move to an athlon -- this meant a new video card due to incompatability between MB and video card, new ram because old ram wouldn't fit, and a new power supply just to be safe (old one was a 350, I moved up to 500). So by the time I got done, all I had of the "old" computer was the case, burner, and hard drive.
Anyway, it is also true that if you want to upgrade the video on a PC, you might just have to change out the motherboard as well because of rapidly changing plug shapes, voltage levels, or what have you.
Washington DC's earlier naming does not speak to the unreality of the place. Washington State is a real place with pretty stuff in it. Washington DC is a land frightful fantasy and fairy tales.
God didn't give us brains -- Satan did. That's what the whole apple thing is about. I suppose if I wasn't an athiest, I'd have to worship the better diety.
Thing is, trees that high are very common here in Washington (the real one -- the one with trees and mountains). The background for this cell tower is a forested hill with many tall Doug Fir -- it blends well. Obviously though, it would stick out like a sore thumb amoungst trees that don't grow quite so tall. But for some places, it's quite workable.
In my town, there is a cell tower that looks like a Douglas Fir tree. If you know it is a cell tower, you can tell that it's false, but people usually don't notice it until being told it is a cell tower. Something like -- "do you see something odd on that hill over there?" isn't usually enough. Something like "see that tree next to the _____ and up from the _____, that's a cell tower." That's usually enough to help people pick it out.
I think the price is fine right now. I suspect that if it became too low, the good service I get with Netflix would suffer. Realistically, the cost is about what I'd expect to pay to rent 4 or 5 movies per month. It's easy to get 3 movies a week if you watch and return quickly so the price can be roughtly 4x cheaper than renting at a store. That's a bargain.
But the real value is in the selection. Netflix stocks a lot of things that aren't easily found locally. If the price becomes too low, they won't be able to afford buying anything but the most in demand titles. That would suck.
Finally, I did a free trial w/ Blockbuster. They were missing an entire season of one of the Star Treks (a middle season like season three or four -- I can understand not having the last season, but why have 1,2,3,__,5... crazy!). The selection wasn't as diverse as netflix's. And finally, Blockbuster's website was annoying and ugly -- it looked like a WinAmp skin designer had made it up after huffing glue. In contrast, Netflix websitte is very useable, very simple. It isn't gaudy and flashy, but conveys information efficiently and accepts user input efficiently. I really like it.
So, while I don't think of myself as Netflix zealot -- I will become one if it means keeping Blockbuster from dominating the DVD by mail rental market.
I can't think of a worse place to buy computers/expensive electronics from than eBay. It's fine for picking up cheap crap, but I've never been happy with anything I got off there. Perhaps it is OK w/ individual sellers, but it seems like most everyone selling electronics is some pawn shop/liquidator/or other crap peddler making a living shitting on people who buy thier turds.
Yes, I've been unlucky at the eBay lottery. I think it's just cheaper to buy new than it is to buy used on eBay, pay inflated shipping, not get what the person advertised, pay to have it fixed up or toss it away and buy something that works. eBay blows.
If you gave me a microwave I would donate it to the Goodwill. I refuse to own one because food cooked in a microwave is lousy and believe it or not, I prefer my leftovers cold.
Oh, and it's true, I don't watch television. Free since about '92. And proud.
A 5 or 6 quart heavy bottomed pan works great. Use Med-High heat, make sure there is about a milimeter depth of oil over the entire bottom surface, place two kernals in the pan, put the lid on and then turn on the stove. When you hear 1 or both pop, pour in popcorn so there is one layer of corn on the entire bottom surface of the pan. Then gently shake the pan -- no need to go nuts, move it a tiny bit back and forth about 2 strokes per second and in two more minutes, you'll have a pan full of corn. Towards the end, it helps to lift the pan off the heat source a bit - the heavy bottom pan transfers plenty of heat to pop the last few kernals, but lifting it off the burner a little prevents the risk of burnt corn.
Like all things, popcorn engineered to look better or pop better in a microwave isn't necessarily your best tasting corn, either.... If eating popcorn at home I'm more likely to air pop some good stuff...
I refuse to even own a microwave. When it comes to popcorn, I can make perfect popcorn on the stovetop in a pan in 4-5 minutes. That's from cold stove to a bowl of piping hot fluffy popped corn. Personally, I like it better cooked in a little oil than from an air popper. I skip the butter but use plenty of sea salt.
Anyway, microwave corn is a scam. You get very little, it leaves a pasty film on the roof of your mouth, and when I've made it at the office, I find I still have to stand around and watch else it tends to burn. So making it on the stove results in a better product, takes only slightly longer, and shaking the pan while it cooks is much more fun than tapping my toe waiting for the microwaveable junk to be done.
Homosexuality is not a religion. It is a choice you can make.... If you feel that Religion should not have protections on this, then you should move to a different country
Generally, religion is a choice. Here are some christian options (please note -- other religions also exist): 1 2 3
Anyway, I hope I can someday live in a country where "freedom reigns from sea to shining sea". Any advice on where in the world an American such as myself can find such a country?
I don't think I've ever actually known anyone to do the classic accidental rm -Rf / as root.
I did.
I had two hard drives with RH on them, one slightly newer. I didn't want to upgrade my main system and risk it going all screwy, so I just took out the HD, put in a blank one, and installed the new system. Then I put my old HD in usb enclosure, copied over everything I needed, and then decided I'd erase the old drive. I had it in/mnt/usbhd, and of course, the directory structure looked practically identical to my new system from there on down. I mucked about making sure I had copied over everything I wanted, figured I was all set, and then, with the intent of going to / of the usb drive, I typed "cd/" and them "rm -rf *". I walked away for a while....
So I get back -- anyway, you can imagine the sick sort of dizy feeling that mistake can generate as one slowly begins to comprehend the magnitude of one's error. It only takes a second, one stray thought - "do I want a coke or a coffee" - while typing and out comes a "cd/" instead of a "cd/mnt/usbhd".
Slashdot Mirror
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound like MS is sharing this with the world. They are sharing it with "startups". So if I want to tinker with one of their technologies I read about in the paper today -- e.g. something that is supposed to make junk speakers sound really good -- I can't do that in my spare time in my garage. I have to be a "startup company" with plans on making a product. So comparing this to IBM, who shared their stuff with the world, is a bit like comparing loan sharks to people who donate to the poor. Sure, the loan shark might give you $10 to buy food, but he wants $20 back next week. A "do gooder" does it for the warm fuzzy feeling.
This is just my impression of MS's offer. I'd be happy to know I'm wrong, and have a link to the site showing what this speaker technology is so I can fiddle with it for my own non-commercial reasons.
After recently extracting the neodymium magnets from a hard drive, I wanted MORE. So I picked up these bad boys. They're awsome! I made the mistake of letting them stick together -- impossible to pull apart. I had to resort to wedging one against the plastic floor mat under my chair and pushing on the other one to slide it off. I had a blood blister within 30 minutes of opening the package. Before that, I had thought this bone crusher would be fun. Now, I'd be terrified to have it around. It'll hold 587 pounds.
Note -- I have no business relationship with this place -- google for neodymium or rare earth magnets for your own sources if you like.
"...rediculous..."
Personally, I think it's greeniculous although I can understand how one might see red over Monster's ridiculous behavior.
Well, the talk was about desktops, not laptops. The imac seems somewhere between in terms of "upgradeability". But if you read what I said, I was talking about how doing an upgrade on a PC frequently requires installing an almost completely new system -- that's what happened to me on my last upgrade at least. So, the criticism that many make of Apple computers, that they don't allow upgrades - you can only purchase of new systems, is really kind of moot. Even in PC land that is often the case.
FWIW, I love my 15" 1.5ghz PB. I don't doubt that a 20" iMac is in my future -- even stopped by my local store today but they don't have it in stock yet.
You do make some valid points about upgrade potential with component based systems compared things like the iMac. I tend to see the iMac as more akin to a laptop than a desktop for this very reason.
On the other hand, PC hardware changes so rapidly that sometimes an upgrade is practically new system anyway. About a year and a half ago, my 800mhz duron system failed -- cpu fried. I decided I'd use that opportunity to move to an athlon -- this meant a new video card due to incompatability between MB and video card, new ram because old ram wouldn't fit, and a new power supply just to be safe (old one was a 350, I moved up to 500). So by the time I got done, all I had of the "old" computer was the case, burner, and hard drive.
Anyway, it is also true that if you want to upgrade the video on a PC, you might just have to change out the motherboard as well because of rapidly changing plug shapes, voltage levels, or what have you.
Ah yes -- the dangers of being a spelling nazi. ;-)
"Bite me"
You meant to reply to the grandparent correct?
"Libratarians
I'm a Scorporiotarian --- what should I do??
Washington DC's earlier naming does not speak to the unreality of the place. Washington State is a real place with pretty stuff in it. Washington DC is a land frightful fantasy and fairy tales.
God didn't give us brains -- Satan did. That's what the whole apple thing is about. I suppose if I wasn't an athiest, I'd have to worship the better diety.
Thing is, trees that high are very common here in Washington (the real one -- the one with trees and mountains). The background for this cell tower is a forested hill with many tall Doug Fir -- it blends well. Obviously though, it would stick out like a sore thumb amoungst trees that don't grow quite so tall. But for some places, it's quite workable.
In my town, there is a cell tower that looks like a Douglas Fir tree. If you know it is a cell tower, you can tell that it's false, but people usually don't notice it until being told it is a cell tower. Something like -- "do you see something odd on that hill over there?" isn't usually enough. Something like "see that tree next to the _____ and up from the _____, that's a cell tower." That's usually enough to help people pick it out.
I think the price is fine right now. I suspect that if it became too low, the good service I get with Netflix would suffer. Realistically, the cost is about what I'd expect to pay to rent 4 or 5 movies per month. It's easy to get 3 movies a week if you watch and return quickly so the price can be roughtly 4x cheaper than renting at a store. That's a bargain.
... crazy!). The selection wasn't as diverse as netflix's. And finally, Blockbuster's website was annoying and ugly -- it looked like a WinAmp skin designer had made it up after huffing glue. In contrast, Netflix websitte is very useable, very simple. It isn't gaudy and flashy, but conveys information efficiently and accepts user input efficiently. I really like it.
But the real value is in the selection. Netflix stocks a lot of things that aren't easily found locally. If the price becomes too low, they won't be able to afford buying anything but the most in demand titles. That would suck.
Finally, I did a free trial w/ Blockbuster. They were missing an entire season of one of the Star Treks (a middle season like season three or four -- I can understand not having the last season, but why have 1,2,3,__,5
So, while I don't think of myself as Netflix zealot -- I will become one if it means keeping Blockbuster from dominating the DVD by mail rental market.
From the pictures, it looks like the interface is practically an ipod clone.
I can't think of a worse place to buy computers/expensive electronics from than eBay. It's fine for picking up cheap crap, but I've never been happy with anything I got off there. Perhaps it is OK w/ individual sellers, but it seems like most everyone selling electronics is some pawn shop/liquidator/or other crap peddler making a living shitting on people who buy thier turds.
Yes, I've been unlucky at the eBay lottery. I think it's just cheaper to buy new than it is to buy used on eBay, pay inflated shipping, not get what the person advertised, pay to have it fixed up or toss it away and buy something that works. eBay blows.
Done ranting.
It's all wrong -- but that's damn funny!
Now, off to light a fire in my y2k surplus wood fired kitchen stove
Hey dork - I shower at least 4 times per week.
You know the government uses bugs planted in microwaves to spy on us right? Why do you think they invented microwave antennas??
If you gave me a microwave I would donate it to the Goodwill. I refuse to own one because food cooked in a microwave is lousy and believe it or not, I prefer my leftovers cold.
Oh, and it's true, I don't watch television. Free since about '92. And proud.
A plain old pan is very easy to wash.
A 5 or 6 quart heavy bottomed pan works great. Use Med-High heat, make sure there is about a milimeter depth of oil over the entire bottom surface, place two kernals in the pan, put the lid on and then turn on the stove. When you hear 1 or both pop, pour in popcorn so there is one layer of corn on the entire bottom surface of the pan. Then gently shake the pan -- no need to go nuts, move it a tiny bit back and forth about 2 strokes per second and in two more minutes, you'll have a pan full of corn. Towards the end, it helps to lift the pan off the heat source a bit - the heavy bottom pan transfers plenty of heat to pop the last few kernals, but lifting it off the burner a little prevents the risk of burnt corn.
I refuse to even own a microwave. When it comes to popcorn, I can make perfect popcorn on the stovetop in a pan in 4-5 minutes. That's from cold stove to a bowl of piping hot fluffy popped corn. Personally, I like it better cooked in a little oil than from an air popper. I skip the butter but use plenty of sea salt.
Anyway, microwave corn is a scam. You get very little, it leaves a pasty film on the roof of your mouth, and when I've made it at the office, I find I still have to stand around and watch else it tends to burn. So making it on the stove results in a better product, takes only slightly longer, and shaking the pan while it cooks is much more fun than tapping my toe waiting for the microwaveable junk to be done.
AMEN brother!
Homosexuality is not a religion. It is a choice you can make.
Generally, religion is a choice. Here are some christian options (please note -- other religions also exist):
1
2
3
Anyway, I hope I can someday live in a country where "freedom reigns from sea to shining sea". Any advice on where in the world an American such as myself can find such a country?
Bowing to the "good" pastor's influence is merely further proof that MS is evil.
I did.
I had two hard drives with RH on them, one slightly newer. I didn't want to upgrade my main system and risk it going all screwy, so I just took out the HD, put in a blank one, and installed the new system. Then I put my old HD in usb enclosure, copied over everything I needed, and then decided I'd erase the old drive. I had it in
So I get back -- anyway, you can imagine the sick sort of dizy feeling that mistake can generate as one slowly begins to comprehend the magnitude of one's error. It only takes a second, one stray thought - "do I want a coke or a coffee" - while typing and out comes a "cd