I too got my mom a Mac Mini. Along with it, I paid the $100 for the Apple 1 to 1 training service. It works for her, since she has an apple store near her home. She can go in every week, and get one on one instruction on how to do pretty much anything she wants to learn how to do, and they're very helpful when she has questions outside of those training sessions. I realize it's not exactly what the OP was asking to do, but it's worked out very well for her, and she's been much happier/productive with the mac than she ever was with her old PC. The amount of questions I've had to field since I did this has been almost non-existent.
I too have a bit of a problem with OOo3. I am currently deployed, and my leadership puts out a newsletter to families back home every month to let them know what we're up to, how we're doing, etc. They write it in word, as some sort of a publication format (not written in publisher, but similar style). These newsletters NEVER format correctly in OOo3. Now this is not really OOo3's fault, so much as microsoft and their propriety, but it still illustrates the existing compatibility problems. I hope this type of thing is fixed in the future, but for now, it just doesn't work for me for everything.
Yeah, we ended up using an UPS to try to alleviate the issue. It works alright, only problem being that the thing is a bit of a power hog. The entire system consists of the dish itself, the modem that it mounts onto, a NIPR box (regular non-secure internet), and the SIPR box (secure internet). Both the NIPR and SIPR boxes have their own routers, toughbooks, and various other electronic items. It all adds up to a healthy draw, so the issue we run into is when power is out for more than a few minutes, the UPS has trouble keeping up. While a bigger UPS would likely solve the problem, it was hard enough to get the government to buy the ones we got. We did find the running a seperate ground from the dish helps, which tells me that the generator likely is not grounded properly, but that's not my department.
I am currently deployed to Iraq. Dues to the specialty of my job, my 3 man team rates our own VSAT uplink. The system we use is made by GCS and is their Cheetah model. Not 100% sure whose birds we use, but I believe Intelsat. This system in general works pretty good, auto acquire dish, integrated router, VOIP, etc. Since it is military, it also provides an uplink to SIPR, also with VOIP capability. The system works alright, but it has been known to be quite finicky, particularly with power sources. While the system is allegedly rated for a wide range, both AC and DC sources, in reality, it sometimes has a problem with generator AC power. Because of my remote location, generators are all there is for power, and anyone who has lived off of generators for an extended period of time can tell you that the power isn't always steady. In the past, power outages due to generator outages have killed the system, requiring one or more components to be replaced. Bandwidth is so so but it does do VOIP fine. Only other gripe I have with it is the management of it. Have to jump through a few hoops to connect to slashdot (something about non-work related . ..).
Well, not exactly. I don't know enough about how the chemical works (it will likely be found to cause cancer in the state of california at a later date), but part of manufacturing urea nitrate is indeed to distill ones urine. My guess is that it would have to be at a relatively high concentration in order to react, but that may not be the case, which would cause a large number of false positives. Another thing to keep in mind is that urea nitrate is only one of a large number of homemade explosives, and not really the most common, so while it is a promising advance, it really is not the be all end all of bombmaker detection. One also has to raise questions about its effects on personal privacy, but likely in the areas this is going to be employed, it may be a secondary consideration.
ah, my mistake. Rather confusing, as my current bluetooth keyboard is nearly identical to the old wired keyboard. It does make sense, but I would like it if they made a wireless version of the full keyboard in the new style. It contributes to my uncluttered look on my desktop, and when I watch a movie on my mac, gives me control from the couch, as I am too cheap to buy an apple TV. Rather I spend my money on frivolous upgrades to my already fine system:)
Indeed, this is one place where I felt apple was really lagging. While I am a.Mac subscriber, for the ease of collaboration it offers, I never felt the iDisk very useful, since it was so small. I only used it to back up my user preferences and backed up my actual files to another, larger harddrive on an old computer I now use as a server. Finally, it is actually a useful amount of space, not as large as I would like, and I feel perhaps it should be for the $100 a year I pay, but still not too bad. My gripe with the new keyboard is this: The wired version is a full size keyboard, while the wireless version removes everything to the right of the return key. I HATE not having a 10-key pad, and I use the keys directly above the arrow keys alot too, so this instantly made me decide not to get it. I don't really get the reasoning for this other than to fit in with a media center type configuration, but then that sorta steps on the apple TV's toes, so I really don't know what they were going for there.
The thing about DOE is that their primary business is nukes. They are in charge not only of all the nuclear power plants nation wide, but they also have a lot to do with our nuclear weapons. The oakridge facility is a main hub of this research, tracing back to the manhattan project. Therefore, a super computer makes sense, as nuclear physics is some pretty super-computery stuff.
Method 2: In urban settings, just string a bunch of ropes or cables between buildings at around camera mast height. The operator would see them but it wouldn't matter the robot couldn't proceed.
The operator would simply lower the mast or power through it. both are viable options, and even on the old talons before the mast was controllable, it was on a spring, so you could still proceed.
Method 3 Tip it over
While it is possible, the robot is somewhat heavy. Not sure how much with the gun, but the EOD version is about 100 lbs. Gunned version likely heavier. Not super heavy, one man can do it, but you can't just casually walk by and tip it over without being noticed. Also, I know at least with the EOD version, I can get the robot to right itself again using the arm. Obviously this doesn't have the arm, but I'll bet there would be tricks to be able to do it by maneuvering the weapon.
Curiosity killed the Iraqi? Now THAT is the way to win hears and minds.
Rather, the fact is that Iraqi's are very familiar with our robots, since they continue to see fit to support and harbor terrorists killing our troops, and therefore they are routinely used to clear IEDs that they place. They know they are ours, and they can clearly see a gun mounted to it. If they think that walking up to it and screwing with it is ok, then they are stupid. If you haven't been there you don't understand, and you can sit on your idealistic high horse all day long and bitch about it, but the only way to identify the enemy is through their actions. Someone screwing with one of our armed robots is a hostile act, just like someone walking up to an american vehicle and tampering with it is a hostile act. If you want to go screw with an armed soldier's equipment be my guest, but don't come crying to me when you find out what the consequences are. THIS IS WAR. More likely they are trying to steal it, as they try to steal everything else from our troops. We give them all we can, terrorists blow up their marketplaces and commerce centers WE built for them, then use that to incite resentment in the common-folk about how we are not concerned about their safety. And the stupid people continue to harbor the fugitives and complain that we are horrible. I don't know if you understand the way these robots work but they are not automated. An american soldier is controlling it on the other end. It just give that soldier some standoff from a dangerous situation rather than having to be in the middle of it.
the robot in question is the talon, manufactured by foster-miller. As an EOD tech, I am very familiar with this line of robots. It is actually quite rugged, and powerful as far as a robot it's size. However, you do raise a valid point. While disabling it would be somewhat difficult without being very familiar with the robot, it certainly could be a concern. However, in the time it would take an enemy to figure out how to disable the device, he would likely be dead. This is because, regardless of whatever claims the army or manufacturer may claim, the range is rather limited, and wherever these robots are deployed, there will be troops on the ground near it. Since you're not gonna send it into a crowd of people, anyone approaching or tinkering with the robot would be considered an enemy, and would be sacrificing themselves to 5.56mm of hot lead. The robots are not developed to the point that we will just send a large number of them out to roam about on their own and engage targets as they see fit, humans are still not that far away.
Let me start out by saying I use a mac as my main machine, and my other two machines are linux. I don't run windows at all. However, Lets not kid ourselves into thinking that once the next system becomes big, be it OSX or Linux, hatred will simply be shifted there. Historically, the big guy in the computer industry is the guy everyone claims to hate, and the underdog is our salvation. Not trying to start a flame war here, just saying . . .
My wife has a 2005 Corolla with a 6 disc in-dash CD changer, and there is no aux input. I can't replace the head unit because it's all proprietary wiring that is dependent on several other systems. I may be wrong (too lazy to actually research this before posting), But it seems that about 6 months ago when I bought a replacement head unit for my car that had an iPOD interface, Best buy had a selection of add-on iPOD interfaces for various makes and models of vehicles. You may want to check this, as I could almost swear toyota had the biggest selection to choose from.
For heaven's sake, it is just about writing documents and it is also 2007. Shouldn't most of the essential features be identified and standardized by now ? Not to defend Microsoft or their choices in UI implementation, but alot of people here seem to be forgetting something. While alot of people really only buy office for word, and even then rarely to do anything they couldn't do on notepad besides spell and grammar check, that's not everyone. Microsoft is making office for a large and diverse audience, and in order to be dominant in as large a market as possible, is continually adding features that perhaps only a small segment of the market actually uses or finds helpful at all. However, that set of users greatly appreciates this, and is pretty much now locked into office, being the only suite to offer said mythical feature. This is where all the clutter comes from, just because you don't use it all, doesn't mean no one else does. Now perhaps microsoft should offer more customization for the UI itself, I.E. "classic mode", "Basic Mode", "advanced mode", and "everything mode".
If I remember correctly, in the US at least, this was the basis of the so-called "music CD-R". A standalone cd recorder would only use these music CD-R's, which cost more than their standard counterparts. Aside from a small piece of data on these which enables their use in standalone cd recorders, they are identical to a standard CD-R and can be used in a computer for all the uses of a regular CD-R. The extra cost goes to the RIAA for the nefarious purposes you surely have for such media. However, the less informed consumer will often purchase these over their standard counterparts, as it says "MUSIC" on it, so they think it is somehow superior for recording music on, or more compatible in standalone players. Gotta love the RIAA . . .
Am I the only one who finds this story, for lack of a better word, alarmist. I'm sure there is a better word, but I can't think of it at the moment. This article is all about AMD shipping a 3 GHZ chip. 3 GHZ chips are not exactly breaking news, and while it is a high for AMD, again, not news. Now were AMD to push the envelope farther than intel has previously gone, then I would find this story more insteresting, but the fact the AMD is only now shipping 3 GHZ processors I find quite ho-hum, and perhaps a desperate attempt to imnprove their financial situation, rather than any kind of real innovation.
I stand corrected. I have been away from this scene for a number of years. I just remember 5 or 6 years ago, all of my DJ friends would balk at DJs using anything other than tech 12's. Clearly, the industry has come a long way, and while it may become more accepted to use digital formats, I still doubt that it will ever dissapear completely from this scene.
vinyl is also the de-facto standard for DJ's at parties and clubs. CD equivalents that allow you to mix and scratch are somewhat frowned upon in these areas, and while the rave scene has lost most of it's popularity, there are still quite a few fans out there of this type of entertainment. I don't think that anyone's arguing that vinyl is going to overtake CDs or other digital formats in popularity, merely acknowledging that the format is still thriving, and shows no signs of disappearing any time soon.
Does it cut down on piracy? Yes, it does. Does it stop a large number of private citizens from continually circumventing it? No, it doesn't. This has been evidenced in the past With WGA. While it does make it a pain in the ass to use a pirated copy of windows, it certainly does not prevent a large number of people from doing it. Microsoft's own numbers indicate this, and while I believe their numbers to be somewhat inflated for the purposes of making the problem seem bigger than it is, there certainly is a large number of people who still use pirated copies of windows XP, and probably vista. Another example of pirating media content where countermeasures are constantly being deployed is satellite TV. While companies like DirecTV and Dish Network constantly fry people's pirated smart cards, users still constantly employ new solutions to pirate the content. It has reached a point where their countermeasures may only stop pirates for a couple of hours or less before they are back up and running. I agree with the first poster, people will consistently find new ways to pirate content as long as the content itself is available.
well, as to your first question, the game already has a built-in macro system, so I don't think blizzard would take issue with this. as far as the third question, if I had mod points I would mod you insightful, one of the few times this mod is actually called for. This question does raise questions as to when it stops being legitimate playing and when it becomes cheating.
Man, in november I bought a 2.66 GHZ Quad core mac pro w/ 4 GB of RAM, and had bragging rights ever since among everyone I knew for my sweet machine. Now the 8 core version comes out. Not that anyone I know will have one, but crap, I hope they have some sort of upgrade processors us current mac pro owners can buy, I can't afford to buy a top end machine again so soon. Since the chips this beast uses aren't even part of Intel's standard offering, the only place I would be able to buy them is from Apple.
Slashdot Mirror
OS/2?? Really?
I too got my mom a Mac Mini. Along with it, I paid the $100 for the Apple 1 to 1 training service. It works for her, since she has an apple store near her home. She can go in every week, and get one on one instruction on how to do pretty much anything she wants to learn how to do, and they're very helpful when she has questions outside of those training sessions. I realize it's not exactly what the OP was asking to do, but it's worked out very well for her, and she's been much happier/productive with the mac than she ever was with her old PC. The amount of questions I've had to field since I did this has been almost non-existent.
I too have a bit of a problem with OOo3. I am currently deployed, and my leadership puts out a newsletter to families back home every month to let them know what we're up to, how we're doing, etc. They write it in word, as some sort of a publication format (not written in publisher, but similar style). These newsletters NEVER format correctly in OOo3. Now this is not really OOo3's fault, so much as microsoft and their propriety, but it still illustrates the existing compatibility problems. I hope this type of thing is fixed in the future, but for now, it just doesn't work for me for everything.
Yeah, we ended up using an UPS to try to alleviate the issue. It works alright, only problem being that the thing is a bit of a power hog. The entire system consists of the dish itself, the modem that it mounts onto, a NIPR box (regular non-secure internet), and the SIPR box (secure internet). Both the NIPR and SIPR boxes have their own routers, toughbooks, and various other electronic items. It all adds up to a healthy draw, so the issue we run into is when power is out for more than a few minutes, the UPS has trouble keeping up. While a bigger UPS would likely solve the problem, it was hard enough to get the government to buy the ones we got. We did find the running a seperate ground from the dish helps, which tells me that the generator likely is not grounded properly, but that's not my department.
I am currently deployed to Iraq. Dues to the specialty of my job, my 3 man team rates our own VSAT uplink. The system we use is made by GCS and is their Cheetah model. Not 100% sure whose birds we use, but I believe Intelsat. This system in general works pretty good, auto acquire dish, integrated router, VOIP, etc. Since it is military, it also provides an uplink to SIPR, also with VOIP capability. The system works alright, but it has been known to be quite finicky, particularly with power sources. While the system is allegedly rated for a wide range, both AC and DC sources, in reality, it sometimes has a problem with generator AC power. Because of my remote location, generators are all there is for power, and anyone who has lived off of generators for an extended period of time can tell you that the power isn't always steady. In the past, power outages due to generator outages have killed the system, requiring one or more components to be replaced. Bandwidth is so so but it does do VOIP fine. Only other gripe I have with it is the management of it. Have to jump through a few hoops to connect to slashdot (something about non-work related . . .).
Well, not exactly. I don't know enough about how the chemical works (it will likely be found to cause cancer in the state of california at a later date), but part of manufacturing urea nitrate is indeed to distill ones urine. My guess is that it would have to be at a relatively high concentration in order to react, but that may not be the case, which would cause a large number of false positives. Another thing to keep in mind is that urea nitrate is only one of a large number of homemade explosives, and not really the most common, so while it is a promising advance, it really is not the be all end all of bombmaker detection. One also has to raise questions about its effects on personal privacy, but likely in the areas this is going to be employed, it may be a secondary consideration.
But does it run Linux?
ah, my mistake. Rather confusing, as my current bluetooth keyboard is nearly identical to the old wired keyboard. It does make sense, but I would like it if they made a wireless version of the full keyboard in the new style. It contributes to my uncluttered look on my desktop, and when I watch a movie on my mac, gives me control from the couch, as I am too cheap to buy an apple TV. Rather I spend my money on frivolous upgrades to my already fine system:)
Indeed, this is one place where I felt apple was really lagging. While I am a .Mac subscriber, for the ease of collaboration it offers, I never felt the iDisk very useful, since it was so small. I only used it to back up my user preferences and backed up my actual files to another, larger harddrive on an old computer I now use as a server. Finally, it is actually a useful amount of space, not as large as I would like, and I feel perhaps it should be for the $100 a year I pay, but still not too bad. My gripe with the new keyboard is this: The wired version is a full size keyboard, while the wireless version removes everything to the right of the return key. I HATE not having a 10-key pad, and I use the keys directly above the arrow keys alot too, so this instantly made me decide not to get it. I don't really get the reasoning for this other than to fit in with a media center type configuration, but then that sorta steps on the apple TV's toes, so I really don't know what they were going for there.
The thing about DOE is that their primary business is nukes. They are in charge not only of all the nuclear power plants nation wide, but they also have a lot to do with our nuclear weapons. The oakridge facility is a main hub of this research, tracing back to the manhattan project. Therefore, a super computer makes sense, as nuclear physics is some pretty super-computery stuff.
Method 2:
The operator would simply lower the mast or power through it. both are viable options, and even on the old talons before the mast was controllable, it was on a spring, so you could still proceed.In urban settings, just string a bunch of ropes or cables between buildings at around camera mast height.
The operator would see them but it wouldn't matter the robot couldn't proceed.
Method 3
While it is possible, the robot is somewhat heavy. Not sure how much with the gun, but the EOD version is about 100 lbs. Gunned version likely heavier. Not super heavy, one man can do it, but you can't just casually walk by and tip it over without being noticed. Also, I know at least with the EOD version, I can get the robot to right itself again using the arm. Obviously this doesn't have the arm, but I'll bet there would be tricks to be able to do it by maneuvering the weapon.Tip it over
Curiosity killed the Iraqi? Now THAT is the way to win hears and minds.
Rather, the fact is that Iraqi's are very familiar with our robots, since they continue to see fit to support and harbor terrorists killing our troops, and therefore they are routinely used to clear IEDs that they place. They know they are ours, and they can clearly see a gun mounted to it. If they think that walking up to it and screwing with it is ok, then they are stupid. If you haven't been there you don't understand, and you can sit on your idealistic high horse all day long and bitch about it, but the only way to identify the enemy is through their actions. Someone screwing with one of our armed robots is a hostile act, just like someone walking up to an american vehicle and tampering with it is a hostile act. If you want to go screw with an armed soldier's equipment be my guest, but don't come crying to me when you find out what the consequences are. THIS IS WAR. More likely they are trying to steal it, as they try to steal everything else from our troops. We give them all we can, terrorists blow up their marketplaces and commerce centers WE built for them, then use that to incite resentment in the common-folk about how we are not concerned about their safety. And the stupid people continue to harbor the fugitives and complain that we are horrible. I don't know if you understand the way these robots work but they are not automated. An american soldier is controlling it on the other end. It just give that soldier some standoff from a dangerous situation rather than having to be in the middle of it.the robot in question is the talon, manufactured by foster-miller. As an EOD tech, I am very familiar with this line of robots. It is actually quite rugged, and powerful as far as a robot it's size. However, you do raise a valid point. While disabling it would be somewhat difficult without being very familiar with the robot, it certainly could be a concern. However, in the time it would take an enemy to figure out how to disable the device, he would likely be dead. This is because, regardless of whatever claims the army or manufacturer may claim, the range is rather limited, and wherever these robots are deployed, there will be troops on the ground near it. Since you're not gonna send it into a crowd of people, anyone approaching or tinkering with the robot would be considered an enemy, and would be sacrificing themselves to 5.56mm of hot lead. The robots are not developed to the point that we will just send a large number of them out to roam about on their own and engage targets as they see fit, humans are still not that far away.
Let me start out by saying I use a mac as my main machine, and my other two machines are linux. I don't run windows at all. However, Lets not kid ourselves into thinking that once the next system becomes big, be it OSX or Linux, hatred will simply be shifted there. Historically, the big guy in the computer industry is the guy everyone claims to hate, and the underdog is our salvation. Not trying to start a flame war here, just saying . . .
If I remember correctly, in the US at least, this was the basis of the so-called "music CD-R". A standalone cd recorder would only use these music CD-R's, which cost more than their standard counterparts. Aside from a small piece of data on these which enables their use in standalone cd recorders, they are identical to a standard CD-R and can be used in a computer for all the uses of a regular CD-R. The extra cost goes to the RIAA for the nefarious purposes you surely have for such media. However, the less informed consumer will often purchase these over their standard counterparts, as it says "MUSIC" on it, so they think it is somehow superior for recording music on, or more compatible in standalone players. Gotta love the RIAA . . .
No, the manilla folder people infringed on their patent fora system of representing directories graphically.
Am I the only one who finds this story, for lack of a better word, alarmist. I'm sure there is a better word, but I can't think of it at the moment. This article is all about AMD shipping a 3 GHZ chip. 3 GHZ chips are not exactly breaking news, and while it is a high for AMD, again, not news. Now were AMD to push the envelope farther than intel has previously gone, then I would find this story more insteresting, but the fact the AMD is only now shipping 3 GHZ processors I find quite ho-hum, and perhaps a desperate attempt to imnprove their financial situation, rather than any kind of real innovation.
I stand corrected. I have been away from this scene for a number of years. I just remember 5 or 6 years ago, all of my DJ friends would balk at DJs using anything other than tech 12's. Clearly, the industry has come a long way, and while it may become more accepted to use digital formats, I still doubt that it will ever dissapear completely from this scene.
vinyl is also the de-facto standard for DJ's at parties and clubs. CD equivalents that allow you to mix and scratch are somewhat frowned upon in these areas, and while the rave scene has lost most of it's popularity, there are still quite a few fans out there of this type of entertainment. I don't think that anyone's arguing that vinyl is going to overtake CDs or other digital formats in popularity, merely acknowledging that the format is still thriving, and shows no signs of disappearing any time soon.
Does it cut down on piracy? Yes, it does. Does it stop a large number of private citizens from continually circumventing it? No, it doesn't. This has been evidenced in the past With WGA. While it does make it a pain in the ass to use a pirated copy of windows, it certainly does not prevent a large number of people from doing it. Microsoft's own numbers indicate this, and while I believe their numbers to be somewhat inflated for the purposes of making the problem seem bigger than it is, there certainly is a large number of people who still use pirated copies of windows XP, and probably vista. Another example of pirating media content where countermeasures are constantly being deployed is satellite TV. While companies like DirecTV and Dish Network constantly fry people's pirated smart cards, users still constantly employ new solutions to pirate the content. It has reached a point where their countermeasures may only stop pirates for a couple of hours or less before they are back up and running. I agree with the first poster, people will consistently find new ways to pirate content as long as the content itself is available.
well, as to your first question, the game already has a built-in macro system, so I don't think blizzard would take issue with this. as far as the third question, if I had mod points I would mod you insightful, one of the few times this mod is actually called for. This question does raise questions as to when it stops being legitimate playing and when it becomes cheating.
Man, in november I bought a 2.66 GHZ Quad core mac pro w/ 4 GB of RAM, and had bragging rights ever since among everyone I knew for my sweet machine. Now the 8 core version comes out. Not that anyone I know will have one, but crap, I hope they have some sort of upgrade processors us current mac pro owners can buy, I can't afford to buy a top end machine again so soon. Since the chips this beast uses aren't even part of Intel's standard offering, the only place I would be able to buy them is from Apple.
You may want to check with his school. Often schools offer windows either free, or at a very steep discount for their students.