Unfortunately the subject is a little misleading, because of how hard it is to get the particular keyboard I'm talking about. I'm lucky enough to have family and friends in Korea, and there was a company (which looks like it went out of business) called ARON Tech or ARON Digital that made mechanical keyboards. One of their models was an ergonomic (split middle) one, which I managed to snag. I love it. When I purchased mine, it ran for about $60 after the exchange rate. The USB version (which is what I should have gotten) ran for about $80, IIRC. Unfortunately it is supposedly tough to find these keyboards in Korea now.
The reason I mention this is because it looks like ARON just farmed out their manufacturing to a Chinese firm, and it appears that you can still get these keyboards:
I'm also interested in a mechanical ergonomic, specifically for the USB interface. My current mechanical ergo is PS/2, and while it works great, and will for the foreseeable future, I'd also like to have a USB one.
I'm not too familiar with the Catholic way of doing things, but I can say that the Presbyterian Church (at least PCUSA, the denomination I'm familiar with) has a democratic process where deacons, elders, and other positions are elected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterian_Church_(U.S.A.)#Constitution
Some requirements might be necessary for certain positions just as a person running for judge or DA should probably have a law degree.
I know it is a favorite pastime of Slashdot to bash on religions, but I would like to remind those who do so that not every Christian is a radical right-wing Christian, they just happen to be the loudest. Just as I recognize that not all Slashdot posters bash on religion, those that do just happen to stick out.
And as others have pointed out, most mainstream religions do not require any payment for access to religious materials (perhaps other than the cost of creation) or for attendance. The Bible, the Quran, the Torah, the Talmud, and most other religious works are available for free for public perusal without the worry of infringing on copyright (most works that are copyrighted have very liberal licensing terms). This may not have always been the case, but it has been for quite some time.
And in Grim Fandango (mostly for the controls, I like the look of it)
And in Gunship 2000 (PLEASE!)
X-COM and Gunship 2000 would be the ones I would like most to see revived in the spirit of the original (none of this X-COM: Interceptor or things like that).
I'd like to post something in reply to your comment that I posted a bit ago:
Where are the games of yore?
That captured you in an experience like never before,
and when completed, left you wanting for more?
Used to be that in box was a map made of cloth.
Nowadays when opened, out of the box comes a moth.
In a game like Command & Conquer, even the installation was a treat.
But now its all boring wizards. I guess the programmers just aren't that 1337.
Where are the games that are deep, like Zork and Chrono Trigger?
Now they all seem to be shallow and simple, but they are a lot bigger.
I loved playing with friends, in games like System Shock 2 (with patch)
But now its all against friends, seems like there's only deathmatch.
These games of old came with books that were a joy to read.
Now they won't even print it, they just put it on the CD.
The graphics weren't great, but they had a great story and they were immersive.
Nowadays you have to do it yourself for games that have multiplayer that's massive.
I want to go back to Monkey Island or command X-COM to save us from alien attacks.
And I'd like to thank Telltale Games for the fun revival of Sam and Max.
Oh how I yearn for the games of yore
That captured you in an experience like never before,
and when completed, left you wanting for more?
Now one of the replies to this was that a "Games of Yore" mindset is the same thing as a "Back in my day" mindset. What I find curious is that people apply that to games very easily, but not to movies as much. How many people here can talk about classic movies such as "Twelve Angry Men (Henry Fonda)" or "Casablanca" or "The Sound of Music" or something similar, and say that they don't make movies like that anymore, and not be called an old fogie? I'm 24, and I've sought out those old movies, and they are GOOD. Much better than most of the crap nowadays. Just like the games. Arguably, Zork and such are before my time, but I sought them out, and they are GOOD. Much better than the games that come out nowadays. Very curious thing (at least to me).
There isn't much "back in my day" sort of thing. I'd like to think I'm still "in my day", if you will, since I'm 24 years old. I have played these old games, and quite frankly, a good number of them are better than a lot of the games that come out nowadays. Also, you'll see that there are actual PHYSICAL properties of games that don't exist now that I have mentioned. Cloth maps, hefty manuals, campaign co-op are just some of the things I have named.
Where are the games of yore? That captured you in an experience like never before, and when completed, left you wanting for more?
Used to be that in box was a map made of cloth. Nowadays when opened, out of the box comes a moth.
In a game like Command & Conquer, even the installation was a treat. But now its all boring wizards. I guess the programmers just aren't that 1337.
Where are the games that are deep, like Zork and Chrono Trigger? Now they all seem to be shallow and simple, but they are a lot bigger.
I loved playing with friends, in games like System Shock 2 (with patch) But now its all against friends, seems like there's only deathmatch.
These games of old came with books that were a joy to read. Now they won't even print it, they just put it on the CD.
The graphics weren't great, but they had a great story and they were immersive. Nowadays you have to do it yourself for games that have multiplayer that's massive.
I want to go back to Monkey Island or command X-COM to save us from alien attacks. And I'd like to thank Telltale Games for the fun revival of Sam and Max.
Oh how I yearn for the games of yore That captured you in an experience like never before, and when completed, left you wanting for more?
I don't talk much (I don't think much of what I could say would add much to the conversation), but I thought I'd add my two cents in here.
If creation is just a metaphor then so is god, jesus and everything else in the bible. Either believe it all or none of it. I hate pick and choose believers. Too cowardly to abandon an ancient book yet too sensible to believe it.
From the Wikipedia article on the Bible, it says the Bible is "the collection of religious writings of Judaism and of Christianity." "Collection of religious writings" being the key here. I don't see why there is a problem with saying that some of the religious writings are literal, and some are not. As a for instance, I think something like the book of Acts is to be read literally, while the book of Revelation is most likely metaphorical.
This isn't the best example, but when I read a collection of short stories, and one of them is based on a true story, while another is science fiction, I don't discount the true story. They are separate stories that may have been collected because they share an over-arching theme.
Clearly there are some things in the Bible that can be taken literally. A quick look at Bible archaeology (thanks Wikipedia!) reveals that.
And finally, I just want to comment on your the other part of your post:
I'm sure i'll get modded down for bashing the religious folk. Before you do, re-read it and pretend i was talking about a religion you don't like such as satanism or.... wicca.
Maybe you aren't reading the same/. that I read, but it seems to me that many posts that bash religious folk are modded up. Maybe its just perception though. Curiously, I don't think I've seen too many posts about satanism or wicca.
Teaching abstinance helps no one, teaching safe sex helps everyone.
Teaching safe sex DOES help everyone, but I don't see why teaching safe sex and abstinence must be mutually exclusive. Why wouldn't instruction of safe sex also include abstinence? Or vice-versa? If parents want to teach their kids safe sex, but ALSO stress abstinence, I see no problem. As long as they are not interfering with your ability to teach your kids safe sex how you would like to. After all, putting into the hands of parents is what we're going for, right?
Before I begin, I'd like to say that I graduated from a public high school and went on to a state university to get my degree. I agree that many public schools are in trouble. I also agree that teachers can be bad. However to say that, "People want alternatives, Public schools suck, Teachers do not do their jobs, administrators do as little as possible to get by..." seems a little over the top.
I am sure that you will find that those areas that are more affluent tend to have better performing students. There are multitude of factors for this, which include more opportunities, better teachers, etc. I am NOT saying that poor people are stupid, but I am a firm believer that they are not given as many opportunities to advance themselves because of their circumstances (i.e. they need to worry more about whether they'll be able to afford the rent/food/whatever over their grade in class). The reason more affluent areas tend to have the better teachers is because they tend to pay more.
I was lucky enough to go through my high school years in a more affluent county and I can say that I have been very happy with my public school education. The computer science teacher I had was a great mentor and I honestly had no major problems with the other teachers I took classes with. That being said, I did hear horror stories about other teachers, so I know that bad teachers exist. But to say that public schools in general suck, and that teachers don't do their jobs, and administrators barely do enough to get by is false. Again, I'm sure it occurs, but it doesn't occur everywhere.
You also said that: Private schooled kids are better educated. Charter schooled kids are better educated. Home schooled kids are better educated. finally I will bet that computer schooled kids are better educated. when compared to public schools.
Well I can't really say anything about charter schools, but I did have a conversation with a friend of mine regarding private schools. I personally believe that the reason private schools are "better educated" is because the more affluent kids tend to go there and they happen to have more opportunities. With public schools, kids who don't want to be in schools are forced to go there, and those kids will perform badly, and the schools "performance" is lowered. Whereas private schools can just kick out any kid that they don't like.
I believe that home schooled kids do better because of the higher level of parental involvement. If you look at kids in a public school that have really involved parents, you'll notice that those kids also tend to perform very well.
So we have two factors that I've identified (among many others) that heavily influence a student's performance. Socioeconomic status and parental involvement. Private schools get those students with a higher socioeconomic status, while home schooled students have the higher parental involvement. Public schools are basically forced with what's left. It seems that it's no wonder that public schools "perform" poorer than their private/home counterparts.
Naturally there will always be exceptions to the rule, but I'm sure you'll find that most of what I've just said to be "written in stone fact..."
Even if the peer review program became mandatory for all applications, who in the public is going to take the time to review 1,000 patent applications a week, search for prior art, and send the relevant art to the USPTO? Patent examiners are paid to perform this task (read patent applications and search for prior art), and their work product is usually half-assed (which results in bad patents being issued).
I think the USPTO is also relying on companies to check and see if a competitor (or some submarine patent corp) is trying to sneak a patent into the system that the company already has prior art for.
Here's an example. Maybe a company like Sony puts in a patent for say... a controller that can sense movement, it gets up on the wiki, Nintendo comes around, checks the wiki, and shows its prior art with the Wii controller (sorry, couldn't resist). Thus, Sony doesn't get the patent, and it doesn't just fall on individuals.
I have a few Samsung products in my family. I can comment as a semi-casual consumer/geek. First up, their cell phones. I've only owned one of the cell phones given out free with rebate, but I've never had a problem with it. It felt kind of flimsy though (it was small). I prefer a more "solid" feel. I've heard good things about their Palm phones, although I have never owned one so I can't comment.
In terms of memory, I've never had a problem with Samsung memory chips, which are routinely found in memory brands such as Corsair and stuff. You can find Samsung chips on cheaper brands too if you look hard enough.
I have a Samsung LCD monitor. It has not given me any problems. Compared to two MAG LCDs that I got a while ago which started developing dead pixels. I've heard that Hyundai's LCDs are the best, and that Samsung's are a close second, but I've never owned a Hyundai one.
The Samsung VCR/DVD player combo I have works pretty well. The DVD portion of it sucks though. It reads commercial DVDs fine, but has a lot of trouble with DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs. Also its pretty strict on what you can control and can't. Also the remote isn't very intuitive. Actually Samsung seems to have problems with optical drives in general. I have a Samsung DVD burning drive that coasters a lot of discs. Or makes discs that can't be read in other drives. I use Ritek media too, so I know its not that. I wouldn't suggest Samsung optical drives to anyone. I'd suggest Lite-On instead. Also for a DVD player I would suggest the Philips DVP-642. Cheap DivX playing DVD player.
I pay a bit more attention to Samsung, Hyundai, LG, etc because they are Korean companies and well, I'm Korean.
I have a reply to make to this, but another slashdotter put it in much better terms. The comment can be found here. It is posted below:
If Sony didn't want to milk its name recognition for every dime it's worth, they wouldn't have "SONY" written on everything they sell. Even if they didn't want to spin off their hardware division, they still could have followed Disney's example of "Touchstone," et al.
They want to make money on the Sony name, period. If there's going to be a consumer response, then the response should show the industry just what that "SONY" nameplate is worth.
And how will this even attempt to address the environmental issues concerned with smoking?
Not only is it a useless and harmful pastime to people, it greatly hurts the environment. Up here in New England (USA) we even have stories of deer venturing onto roads to eat cigarette butts and causing accidents, all because they are addicted. It is also just unsightly to see them all over roads and sidewalks. All things considered it is harmful to everything and everyone.
An easy way to prevent animals from being addicted to cigarettes is to stop growing tomacco.
Not quite an SNES controller. As said earlier by another poster, the SNES 4 button layout had two concave and two convex buttons. This makes it incredibly easy to determine which button you are pushing without looking.
I still have to look at the controller when a PS or PS2 game says push the [triangle|square|circle|x] button. Granted I don't own a PS2 or a PS, but I don't own a Sega Genesis, but I can determine the buttons by touch (braille-ish type dots on the surface of the button).
This really isn't an issue with Nintendo controllers. Whoever designs those things is a genius.
Smurf 1: Yo, you have a good time last night?
Smurf 2: Smurftacular!
Smurf 1: Yeah I saw you leave with Smurfette.
Smurf 2: Oh man, as soon as we got out of the bar, she started smurfing me.
Smurf 1: Shut the smurf up!
Smurf 2: Yeah!
Smurf 1: Right in the smurfin' parking lot?
Smurf 2: Smurf yeah!
Smurf 1: Oh that is freakin' smurf.
Smurf 2: You smurf it.
Smurf 1: That is freakin' smurf
Smurf 2: Yeah...
Don't like the job? QUIT! If the job is so horrible, EA will eventually have trouble filling it and change their practices. Magic of a free market.
... OR
You can get together and unionize, and rally for better conditions. Like back in the day, when factory conditions in the US were horrible. Quitting didn't do anything. Banding together against the employers did.
Look at your property tax bill (in Ontario) about a third of your taxes go towards the school board. Even if you don't have kids in school or whatnot.
This happens in the US also. I would like to say that I went through the public school system and am currently in my third year at a major uuniversity. I must also say that the school system is not without its faults.
But let me say this: You're taxes are an investment in the future of America (or Canada in your case). You never know when the doctor who performs your surgery is a graduate of the public school system, if the person who takes care of your finances is a graduate of the public school system, or if the person who defends you in court of law is a graduate of the public school system. In any of those cases, I would want that person to have had the best education possible. That's why I don't, and will not mind paying taxes for a public school system.
Does the GC have regional lockouts? If so, how do people get round them without modchips?
Yes it does. You can use the Action Replay product, or its derivative, Freeloader. That's what I use to play import games.
The problem has never been the mod chips, it's been the fact that Nintendo uses a custom media disc, not the CDs/DVDs that the PS2 uses, or the DVDs that the Xbox uses.
If the GCN could take commodity media, then I'm sure a mod chip would be forthcoming. However, Nintendo stopped you from getting to the point where a mod chip would be useful.
You do have to admire the fact that they, unlike Microsoft or Sony, managed to beat the piracy problem on the cube.
IIRC, the GameCube uses standard off-the-shelf miniDVDs (1.5GB). The thing is, the discs are written backwards. Spinning the other way. That is what prevents the burning of GameCube DVDs.
I just got off of the phone with a Verizon rep and asked a few questions. He said that they do indeed block port 80, but mentioned that they do not block any other ports.
Another downside, dynamic IP.
Its PPPoE (haven't used PPPoE personally, but sounds like a hassle).
He said that they are working on static IPs for business accounts.
So then what happens to DeCSS? IIRC, the main defense of DeCSS was that no Linux player existed. Well... now one exists, but I'm sure people don't want to give up their ability to use open-source alternatives. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
and supporting those who put it in place to begin with? Good job. Pat yourself on the back. Sorry, about the only solution I see outside of revolution is "Reelect No One".
If you look who voted and how, the majority of those for amendment were Democrats. Also if a Democrat is elected president, the Democrats in Congress are more likely to vote along with the president, rather than against.
You're right though, everybody is at fault for allowing this to pass. Let's not make the same mistake again, shall we?
Actually, while the naming was done to promote "unity" or some such (it was passed after the 9/11 attacks after all), it is actually an acronym. The real name is "USA PATRIOT Act" and the "USA PATRIOT" stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."
It sucks either way. Does anyone know if there's a list somewhere of how the representatives voted? My representative is going to get a phone call if he voted against amendment. I urge you all to do the same. Keep the people you voted for accountable! Takes only but a few minutes. AND/OR, join the EFF. I'm a f***in' proud member.
I could have sworn making something and selling it was a business model.
Making something and selling it != forcing people to purchase a hard copy or go through unnecessary legal terms just to install it.
Allow me to explain. We are quickly entering a world where "perfect" copies of the original can be made with little effort by a layman. A few years ago, this was not the case (number of floppies, immaturity of the internet, low bandwidth to end-users, etc).
Let's take for instance books. Books can be easily made into a digital form and distributed quickly, with very little cost (bandwidth is the main cost I see, offset by some sort of p2p). However, there is a market for the "dead tree" version. Somebody who wants to hold actual paper in their hands. Incidentally, most people do prefer to purchase a book rather than download (which is why I believe digital books haven't taken off yet). This might be due in part to the fact that books are portable and easy to read (in terms of eyes). Computers on the other hand are either not portable and easy to read, or portable and hard to read. Basically, books are more convenient for the consumer than digital books are.
In the case of music, generally people don't care to purchase a "hard copy". They just want to music. There is a market for the CD though, but it is slowly dwindling. People want to listen to music wherever they happen to be. Such as people who make copies of CDs to put in their car, work, and leave the original at home. Who wants to lug around CDs wherever you go? In this case, digital music is more convenient for the consumer. We have seen people embrace iTunes and other digital music offerings. People are willing to pay if the product is convenient to them.
Movie industry has seen DVD sales soar even with movie trading. Perhaps because people saw that the movies were good prior to purchasing a DVD that they might not be able to return. In addition, DVDs generally offer extras that are not available on file-sharing networks. This is added value to purchasing a "hard copy".
Now we come to software. CDs are going by the wayside. People don't want to have to go to a store to purchase a CD. In the case of games, one has to put in a play CD whenever you want to play. That is inconvenient. It's a helluva lot easier just to download a game and not even have to worry about CDs. Now, there is a market for a "hard copy". To me, nothing beats a thick, informative manual and/or a cloth map. If a game I want offers that, you bet they got my money. But back to the convenience factor. People look at the price of a CD-R. It's what, not even a dollar? Yet there's software out here that costs what, a helluva lot more. Of course there's the distribution costs, payment of employees, etc. But I don't think most people see why a CD has to be marked up 5,000% ($1 to $50). Something like $20 or $10 would be seen as more reasonable. And you also have to worry about crappy software. In almost every store now, once you open software, you CANNOT return it. So if you just bought some software that doesn't work because it was made in one month by some crappy developer or forced out by some crappy publisher, you can't do a thing about it. That is inconvenient. People will not pay for that.
If there is some system where people can pay like $5-$10 per download (utilizing p2p bandwidth, of course) for premium software (not bargain bin card games), I think it would take off (possibly Steam). Or perhaps a monthly fee to download software. I'm just offering some suggestions. Maybe the killer business model is something that I wouldn't think of in a million years. Either way though, the current one that requires a "hard copy" is slowly dwindling. It just isn't convenient for the consumer, and money talks.
I would like to touch on more aspect. In the case of online games (especially MMORPGs), there is generally a CD-Key
Slashdot Mirror
Unfortunately the subject is a little misleading, because of how hard it is to get the particular keyboard I'm talking about. I'm lucky enough to have family and friends in Korea, and there was a company (which looks like it went out of business) called ARON Tech or ARON Digital that made mechanical keyboards. One of their models was an ergonomic (split middle) one, which I managed to snag. I love it. When I purchased mine, it ran for about $60 after the exchange rate. The USB version (which is what I should have gotten) ran for about $80, IIRC. Unfortunately it is supposedly tough to find these keyboards in Korea now.
You can see a photo of the keyboard here: http://fv521.egloos.com/2791639
Web archive also has a good set: http://web.archive.org/web/20030202083656/http://arontech.com/
The reason I mention this is because it looks like ARON just farmed out their manufacturing to a Chinese firm, and it appears that you can still get these keyboards:
http://www.diytrade.com/china/2/products/3290484/%E8%AF%9A%E6%8B%9B%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E9%94%AE%E7%9B%98_%E6%9C%BA%E6%A2%B0%E9%94%AE%E7%9B%98_%E8%A5%BF%E5%8D%97%E5%8C%BA%E5%9F%9F%E4%BB%A3%E7%90%86%E5%8A%A0%E7%9B%9F.html
OR
http://www.fzsky.com/aron/us/Pro_Show.asp?ArticleID=91
I'm also interested in a mechanical ergonomic, specifically for the USB interface. My current mechanical ergo is PS/2, and while it works great, and will for the foreseeable future, I'd also like to have a USB one.
I'm not too familiar with the Catholic way of doing things, but I can say that the Presbyterian Church (at least PCUSA, the denomination I'm familiar with) has a democratic process where deacons, elders, and other positions are elected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterian_Church_(U.S.A.)#Constitution
Some requirements might be necessary for certain positions just as a person running for judge or DA should probably have a law degree.
I know it is a favorite pastime of Slashdot to bash on religions, but I would like to remind those who do so that not every Christian is a radical right-wing Christian, they just happen to be the loudest. Just as I recognize that not all Slashdot posters bash on religion, those that do just happen to stick out.
And as others have pointed out, most mainstream religions do not require any payment for access to religious materials (perhaps other than the cost of creation) or for attendance. The Bible, the Quran, the Torah, the Talmud, and most other religious works are available for free for public perusal without the worry of infringing on copyright (most works that are copyrighted have very liberal licensing terms). This may not have always been the case, but it has been for quite some time.
Pretty interesting system. Checking out my achievements now.
I would like to see this in X-COM also.
And in Wing Commander
And in SimTower
And in SimAnt
And in Dungeon Keeper (Evil Genius doesn't count)
And in Theme Hospital
And in Grim Fandango (mostly for the controls, I like the look of it)
And in Gunship 2000 (PLEASE!)
X-COM and Gunship 2000 would be the ones I would like most to see revived in the spirit of the original (none of this X-COM: Interceptor or things like that).
I'd like to post something in reply to your comment that I posted a bit ago:
Where are the games of yore?
That captured you in an experience like never before,
and when completed, left you wanting for more?
Used to be that in box was a map made of cloth.
Nowadays when opened, out of the box comes a moth.
In a game like Command & Conquer, even the installation was a treat.
But now its all boring wizards. I guess the programmers just aren't that 1337.
Where are the games that are deep, like Zork and Chrono Trigger?
Now they all seem to be shallow and simple, but they are a lot bigger.
I loved playing with friends, in games like System Shock 2 (with patch)
But now its all against friends, seems like there's only deathmatch.
These games of old came with books that were a joy to read.
Now they won't even print it, they just put it on the CD.
The graphics weren't great, but they had a great story and they were immersive.
Nowadays you have to do it yourself for games that have multiplayer that's massive.
I want to go back to Monkey Island or command X-COM to save us from alien attacks.
And I'd like to thank Telltale Games for the fun revival of Sam and Max.
Oh how I yearn for the games of yore
That captured you in an experience like never before,
and when completed, left you wanting for more?
http://9xrnet.com/blog_gaming/where_are_the_games_of_yore
Now one of the replies to this was that a "Games of Yore" mindset is the same thing as a "Back in my day" mindset. What I find curious is that people apply that to games very easily, but not to movies as much. How many people here can talk about classic movies such as "Twelve Angry Men (Henry Fonda)" or "Casablanca" or "The Sound of Music" or something similar, and say that they don't make movies like that anymore, and not be called an old fogie? I'm 24, and I've sought out those old movies, and they are GOOD. Much better than most of the crap nowadays. Just like the games. Arguably, Zork and such are before my time, but I sought them out, and they are GOOD. Much better than the games that come out nowadays. Very curious thing (at least to me).
Lol, I don't use a cane/walker quite yet, I'm 24 years old.
There isn't much "back in my day" sort of thing. I'd like to think I'm still "in my day", if you will, since I'm 24 years old. I have played these old games, and quite frankly, a good number of them are better than a lot of the games that come out nowadays. Also, you'll see that there are actual PHYSICAL properties of games that don't exist now that I have mentioned. Cloth maps, hefty manuals, campaign co-op are just some of the things I have named.
Where are the games of yore?
That captured you in an experience like never before,
and when completed, left you wanting for more?
Used to be that in box was a map made of cloth.
Nowadays when opened, out of the box comes a moth.
In a game like Command & Conquer, even the installation was a treat.
But now its all boring wizards. I guess the programmers just aren't that 1337.
Where are the games that are deep, like Zork and Chrono Trigger?
Now they all seem to be shallow and simple, but they are a lot bigger.
I loved playing with friends, in games like System Shock 2 (with patch)
But now its all against friends, seems like there's only deathmatch.
These games of old came with books that were a joy to read.
Now they won't even print it, they just put it on the CD.
The graphics weren't great, but they had a great story and they were immersive.
Nowadays you have to do it yourself for games that have multiplayer that's massive.
I want to go back to Monkey Island or command X-COM to save us from alien attacks.
And I'd like to thank Telltale Games for the fun revival of Sam and Max.
Oh how I yearn for the games of yore
That captured you in an experience like never before,
and when completed, left you wanting for more?
http://9xrnet.com/blog_gaming/where_are_the_games_of_yore
Teaching safe sex DOES help everyone, but I don't see why teaching safe sex and abstinence must be mutually exclusive. Why wouldn't instruction of safe sex also include abstinence? Or vice-versa? If parents want to teach their kids safe sex, but ALSO stress abstinence, I see no problem. As long as they are not interfering with your ability to teach your kids safe sex how you would like to. After all, putting into the hands of parents is what we're going for, right?
Before I begin, I'd like to say that I graduated from a public high school and went on to a state university to get my degree. I agree that many public schools are in trouble. I also agree that teachers can be bad. However to say that, "People want alternatives, Public schools suck, Teachers do not do their jobs, administrators do as little as possible to get by..." seems a little over the top.
I am sure that you will find that those areas that are more affluent tend to have better performing students. There are multitude of factors for this, which include more opportunities, better teachers, etc. I am NOT saying that poor people are stupid, but I am a firm believer that they are not given as many opportunities to advance themselves because of their circumstances (i.e. they need to worry more about whether they'll be able to afford the rent/food/whatever over their grade in class). The reason more affluent areas tend to have the better teachers is because they tend to pay more.
I was lucky enough to go through my high school years in a more affluent county and I can say that I have been very happy with my public school education. The computer science teacher I had was a great mentor and I honestly had no major problems with the other teachers I took classes with. That being said, I did hear horror stories about other teachers, so I know that bad teachers exist. But to say that public schools in general suck, and that teachers don't do their jobs, and administrators barely do enough to get by is false. Again, I'm sure it occurs, but it doesn't occur everywhere.
You also said that:
Private schooled kids are better educated.
Charter schooled kids are better educated.
Home schooled kids are better educated.
finally I will bet that computer schooled kids are better educated.
when compared to public schools.
Well I can't really say anything about charter schools, but I did have a conversation with a friend of mine regarding private schools. I personally believe that the reason private schools are "better educated" is because the more affluent kids tend to go there and they happen to have more opportunities. With public schools, kids who don't want to be in schools are forced to go there, and those kids will perform badly, and the schools "performance" is lowered. Whereas private schools can just kick out any kid that they don't like.
I believe that home schooled kids do better because of the higher level of parental involvement. If you look at kids in a public school that have really involved parents, you'll notice that those kids also tend to perform very well.
So we have two factors that I've identified (among many others) that heavily influence a student's performance. Socioeconomic status and parental involvement. Private schools get those students with a higher socioeconomic status, while home schooled students have the higher parental involvement. Public schools are basically forced with what's left. It seems that it's no wonder that public schools "perform" poorer than their private/home counterparts.
Naturally there will always be exceptions to the rule, but I'm sure you'll find that most of what I've just said to be "written in stone fact..."
I think the USPTO is also relying on companies to check and see if a competitor (or some submarine patent corp) is trying to sneak a patent into the system that the company already has prior art for.
Here's an example. Maybe a company like Sony puts in a patent for say... a controller that can sense movement, it gets up on the wiki, Nintendo comes around, checks the wiki, and shows its prior art with the Wii controller (sorry, couldn't resist). Thus, Sony doesn't get the patent, and it doesn't just fall on individuals.
I have a few Samsung products in my family. I can comment as a semi-casual consumer/geek. First up, their cell phones. I've only owned one of the cell phones given out free with rebate, but I've never had a problem with it. It felt kind of flimsy though (it was small). I prefer a more "solid" feel. I've heard good things about their Palm phones, although I have never owned one so I can't comment.
In terms of memory, I've never had a problem with Samsung memory chips, which are routinely found in memory brands such as Corsair and stuff. You can find Samsung chips on cheaper brands too if you look hard enough.
I have a Samsung LCD monitor. It has not given me any problems. Compared to two MAG LCDs that I got a while ago which started developing dead pixels. I've heard that Hyundai's LCDs are the best, and that Samsung's are a close second, but I've never owned a Hyundai one.
The Samsung VCR/DVD player combo I have works pretty well. The DVD portion of it sucks though. It reads commercial DVDs fine, but has a lot of trouble with DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs. Also its pretty strict on what you can control and can't. Also the remote isn't very intuitive. Actually Samsung seems to have problems with optical drives in general. I have a Samsung DVD burning drive that coasters a lot of discs. Or makes discs that can't be read in other drives. I use Ritek media too, so I know its not that. I wouldn't suggest Samsung optical drives to anyone. I'd suggest Lite-On instead. Also for a DVD player I would suggest the Philips DVP-642. Cheap DivX playing DVD player.
I pay a bit more attention to Samsung, Hyundai, LG, etc because they are Korean companies and well, I'm Korean.
Not quite an SNES controller. As said earlier by another poster, the SNES 4 button layout had two concave and two convex buttons. This makes it incredibly easy to determine which button you are pushing without looking. I still have to look at the controller when a PS or PS2 game says push the [triangle|square|circle|x] button. Granted I don't own a PS2 or a PS, but I don't own a Sega Genesis, but I can determine the buttons by touch (braille-ish type dots on the surface of the button). This really isn't an issue with Nintendo controllers. Whoever designs those things is a genius.
Smurf 1: Yo, you have a good time last night?
Smurf 2: Smurftacular!
Smurf 1: Yeah I saw you leave with Smurfette.
Smurf 2: Oh man, as soon as we got out of the bar, she started smurfing me.
Smurf 1: Shut the smurf up!
Smurf 2: Yeah!
Smurf 1: Right in the smurfin' parking lot?
Smurf 2: Smurf yeah!
Smurf 1: Oh that is freakin' smurf.
Smurf 2: You smurf it.
Smurf 1: That is freakin' smurf
Smurf 2: Yeah...
You can get together and unionize, and rally for better conditions. Like back in the day, when factory conditions in the US were horrible. Quitting didn't do anything. Banding together against the employers did.
But let me say this: You're taxes are an investment in the future of America (or Canada in your case). You never know when the doctor who performs your surgery is a graduate of the public school system, if the person who takes care of your finances is a graduate of the public school system, or if the person who defends you in court of law is a graduate of the public school system. In any of those cases, I would want that person to have had the best education possible. That's why I don't, and will not mind paying taxes for a public school system.
IIRC, the GameCube uses standard off-the-shelf miniDVDs (1.5GB). The thing is, the discs are written backwards. Spinning the other way. That is what prevents the burning of GameCube DVDs.
I just got off of the phone with a Verizon rep and asked a few questions. He said that they do indeed block port 80, but mentioned that they do not block any other ports.
Another downside, dynamic IP.
Its PPPoE (haven't used PPPoE personally, but sounds like a hassle).
He said that they are working on static IPs for business accounts.
So then what happens to DeCSS? IIRC, the main defense of DeCSS was that no Linux player existed. Well... now one exists, but I'm sure people don't want to give up their ability to use open-source alternatives. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
You're right though, everybody is at fault for allowing this to pass. Let's not make the same mistake again, shall we?
Actually, while the naming was done to promote "unity" or some such (it was passed after the 9/11 attacks after all), it is actually an acronym. The real name is "USA PATRIOT Act" and the "USA PATRIOT" stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."
It sucks either way. Does anyone know if there's a list somewhere of how the representatives voted? My representative is going to get a phone call if he voted against amendment. I urge you all to do the same. Keep the people you voted for accountable! Takes only but a few minutes. AND/OR, join the EFF. I'm a f***in' proud member.
Making something and selling it != forcing people to purchase a hard copy or go through unnecessary legal terms just to install it.
Allow me to explain. We are quickly entering a world where "perfect" copies of the original can be made with little effort by a layman. A few years ago, this was not the case (number of floppies, immaturity of the internet, low bandwidth to end-users, etc).
Let's take for instance books. Books can be easily made into a digital form and distributed quickly, with very little cost (bandwidth is the main cost I see, offset by some sort of p2p). However, there is a market for the "dead tree" version. Somebody who wants to hold actual paper in their hands. Incidentally, most people do prefer to purchase a book rather than download (which is why I believe digital books haven't taken off yet). This might be due in part to the fact that books are portable and easy to read (in terms of eyes). Computers on the other hand are either not portable and easy to read, or portable and hard to read. Basically, books are more convenient for the consumer than digital books are.
In the case of music, generally people don't care to purchase a "hard copy". They just want to music. There is a market for the CD though, but it is slowly dwindling. People want to listen to music wherever they happen to be. Such as people who make copies of CDs to put in their car, work, and leave the original at home. Who wants to lug around CDs wherever you go? In this case, digital music is more convenient for the consumer. We have seen people embrace iTunes and other digital music offerings. People are willing to pay if the product is convenient to them.
Movie industry has seen DVD sales soar even with movie trading. Perhaps because people saw that the movies were good prior to purchasing a DVD that they might not be able to return. In addition, DVDs generally offer extras that are not available on file-sharing networks. This is added value to purchasing a "hard copy".
Now we come to software. CDs are going by the wayside. People don't want to have to go to a store to purchase a CD. In the case of games, one has to put in a play CD whenever you want to play. That is inconvenient. It's a helluva lot easier just to download a game and not even have to worry about CDs. Now, there is a market for a "hard copy". To me, nothing beats a thick, informative manual and/or a cloth map. If a game I want offers that, you bet they got my money. But back to the convenience factor. People look at the price of a CD-R. It's what, not even a dollar? Yet there's software out here that costs what, a helluva lot more. Of course there's the distribution costs, payment of employees, etc. But I don't think most people see why a CD has to be marked up 5,000% ($1 to $50). Something like $20 or $10 would be seen as more reasonable. And you also have to worry about crappy software. In almost every store now, once you open software, you CANNOT return it. So if you just bought some software that doesn't work because it was made in one month by some crappy developer or forced out by some crappy publisher, you can't do a thing about it. That is inconvenient. People will not pay for that.
If there is some system where people can pay like $5-$10 per download (utilizing p2p bandwidth, of course) for premium software (not bargain bin card games), I think it would take off (possibly Steam). Or perhaps a monthly fee to download software. I'm just offering some suggestions. Maybe the killer business model is something that I wouldn't think of in a million years. Either way though, the current one that requires a "hard copy" is slowly dwindling. It just isn't convenient for the consumer, and money talks.
I would like to touch on more aspect. In the case of online games (especially MMORPGs), there is generally a CD-Key