Yes, if you ran as a normal User. Unfortunately, 2000 and XP defaulted to Administrator.
Fixed that for you.
However, users don't default to Administrator in an Active Directory domain, which is somewhat standard for mid-size businesses or larger running Microsoft products.
Microsoft launched Games On Demand (Downloadable versions of full Xbox/Xbox 360 games you could buy in stores) a few months ago, so I don't expect that they'd put any games on sale through it quite yet.
Having said that, the Xbox 360 titles on it are usually $19.99-$29.99, cheaper than you find them in stores. They also have the old Xbox original titles on it for $15 or so.
They only did this for one package, the Orange Box. Half Life 2 and the Half Life 2 episodes are the only items that you can get extra copies of and "gift" them to other people. I had the entire half-life 1 backcatalog when I bought the Valve Complete Pack and it didn't allow me to re-gift the games I already had copies of. It was still a good deal (I went in knowing full well that I would be "wasting" all of the games in the pack that I already had copies of) but apart from HL2 and its direct sequels you can't give anything to friends.
I kind of feel sorry for you, as I bought the Valve Source pack in early 2008, before it was discontinued. It was the Valve Complete Pack minus the HL1 games. It was also $79.99, as opposed to $99.99 for the Valve Complete Pack.
As I recall, it got discontinued shortly before Left 4 Dead came out.
When I saw this article, my first thought was this was something Microsoft was doing just to show the EU that they would work on outside "vendors" to get them to work with their protocols.
Vendors is in quotes, as an open source project team really isn't a vendor.
Or did you mean other than the Xbox Live Marketplace? Of course, that would make the comparison unfair, since XBLM is the 360's Digital Distribution system.
Wait... are you telling me I could have gotten free stuff by signing up as a host?
Damn it, if I'd have known that, I would have signed up for it! The Windows 7 playing cards would be great for work, since we're not allowed to have Solitaire on our computers!
Aren't you making a huge assumption? You're assuming the DLC was something that existed when the game finished testing and went to manufacturing. If they had waited for this DLC to be ready before sending it to testing and then production, it would simply have delayed the game.
You're assuming that it would take longer to test, manufacture, and ship the final game than it would be to test the game, QA the DLC hooks, QA the DLC installer across 3 different systems, negotiate a contract with 3 different companies to put the DLC on their networks, and create an advertisement campaign for the DLC.
This is also ignoring that Bioware stated they had a separate team working on DLC.
This allows for neat features that require cooperation between several system components, which would be more difficult to implement in the Linux world. For instance, in FreeBSD you can press ^T while cp is copying some huge file, and this will send SIGINFO to cp, causing it to print a progress report to STDERR. Handy.
I've looked up SIGINFO (which doesn't exist as such on Linux), and I'm not sure why this would require several components to work together. I imagine it works just like SIGINT does. You know, SIGINT, the signal sent to the running process when you hit ^C?
Or did you mean this when cp is running in the background?
'course, on Linux, the standard shell (GNU bash) and the standard cp (part of GNU coreutils) are by the same people, so if they really wanted to, there's nothing stopping them from linking the two.
I don't know how come. but here I can't select the 2.26GHz but it goes automatically to the 2.66GHz one, same specs as you: $5643, then I go and upgrade the Mac Pro to 2.66GHz: $4699. Actually it seems that the price goes up slightly for Education or Business store (where I should shop). It seems like Dell can't get it's pricing straight.
When I click Customize on the Base Model's page here at work, it defaults to the Dual (2) Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5502 1.86GHz,4M L3, 4.8GT/s processors, just like it did when I was at home yesterday.
I've never bought a Dell computer, so I shouldn't have any cookies or other strange things affecting the price.
Again, upon changing the Processor, RAM, HDD, and DVD options to the ones I mentioned earlier, I get $3,241.
Exact same hardware? I'm afraid not. The Dell Precision line uses the high-end nVidia Quadro or ATI Fire graphics cards, not the consumer-level GeForce GT 120 / ATI Radeon HD 4870.
Oh, and comparing the Mac Pro with a Dell depends entirely on how you enter Dell's site. Dell seems to start off with a number of different base prices.
The Single Processor Mac Pro is cheaper than the Dell of the same price. But then again, Dell's prices are sort of wacky, too.
However, when it comes to dual processors...
Dual Processor (Base Model): Dual Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5520 2.26GHz,8M L3,5.8GT/s,turbo 6GB, 1066MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (6 DIMMS) 512MB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 580, DUAL MON, 2 DP & 1 DVI 750GB SATA 3Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache(TM) 16X DVD+/-RW w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD(TM) and Roxio Creator(TM) Dell Ed Vista Business w/ XP downgrade option
Oh, and here's the crazy thing. The model of the above that corresponds to the Mac Pro single processor? $3,396. Yes, it's more expensive on Dell's site to get a single processor Xeon 2.66GHz and 3GB of RAM than it is two quad core 2.25GHz processors and 6GB of RAM.
That Media Center functionality is also present in the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Vista and 7. Maybe the Home Basic edition, too, but knowing Microsoft it probably isn't.
If that's true it's the opposite of how every other industry works. Business rates for electricity arecheaper than for citizens. Business rates for phone service are also much cheaper (like unlimited long distance calling) than for citizens like us. It seems to me that the internet hookup for a business would follow the same routine, and be cheaper per gigabyte.
So take my 19 cent estimate, multiply by 2, and you get 38 cents which is cheaper than mailing a physical disc.
It is different than other industries because, not only is the usage ratio flipped, but business-class connections have guaranteed-uptime contracts. The higher that guaranteed uptime, the higher that price is. Of course, that's because:
99% uptime = max downtime of 5259.6 minutes (87.66 hours / 3.6525 days) per year
99.9% uptime = max downtime of 525.96 minutes (8.766 hours) per year
99.99% uptime = max downtime of 52.596 minutes per year
99.999% uptime = max downtime of 5.2596 minutes per year
with penalties for missing those guarantees.
They also have guaranteed connection speeds, while home connections usually don't (go read your ISP's fine print).
Now, having said all this, Microsoft pays Akamai for the use of their content delivery network for MSDN downloads.
You can't be serious. I pay $15 a month for a 750k connection, or 240 gigabytes* total data if I max it out. If you do the math that's 19 cents for a three gigabyte download of Windows 7, and therefore not "a lot more expensive" than shipping a disc.
* * By a strange coincidence that's Comcast's maximum allowable download, except they charge $50 a month. Hmmm. I'm glad I picked the cheaper $15 Verizon instead.
Internet connections are charged at both ends, and businesses pay a hell of a lot more than consumers do.
Slashdot Mirror
Fixed that for you.
However, users don't default to Administrator in an Active Directory domain, which is somewhat standard for mid-size businesses or larger running Microsoft products.
Microsoft launched Games On Demand (Downloadable versions of full Xbox/Xbox 360 games you could buy in stores) a few months ago, so I don't expect that they'd put any games on sale through it quite yet.
Having said that, the Xbox 360 titles on it are usually $19.99-$29.99, cheaper than you find them in stores. They also have the old Xbox original titles on it for $15 or so.
I kind of feel sorry for you, as I bought the Valve Source pack in early 2008, before it was discontinued. It was the Valve Complete Pack minus the HL1 games. It was also $79.99, as opposed to $99.99 for the Valve Complete Pack.
As I recall, it got discontinued shortly before Left 4 Dead came out.
When I saw this article, my first thought was this was something Microsoft was doing just to show the EU that they would work on outside "vendors" to get them to work with their protocols.
Vendors is in quotes, as an open source project team really isn't a vendor.
While I agree that Valve is hardly a monopoly, companies like Electronic Arts, 2K Games, UbiSoft, Rockstar Games, LucasArts, and iD Software are hardly indies.
For that matter, nearly everything in the Xbox Live Arcade is between 400 ($5) and 1600 ($20) MS Points.
You mean like Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, which costs 800 MS Points ($10) on the Xbox Live Marketplace?
Or did you mean other than the Xbox Live Marketplace? Of course, that would make the comparison unfair, since XBLM is the 360's Digital Distribution system.
Wait... are you telling me I could have gotten free stuff by signing up as a host?
Damn it, if I'd have known that, I would have signed up for it! The Windows 7 playing cards would be great for work, since we're not allowed to have Solitaire on our computers!
Most new games cost me $40-$60 USD at retail.
Last time I checked, our currency hadn't devalued enough to consider that cheap.
Steam can tell which region you're currently in and restrict which keys you can use based on that.
Worse yet, they can do it retroactively and deactivate games you've already purchased.
See: Orange Blocked on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
You're assuming that it would take longer to test, manufacture, and ship the final game than it would be to test the game, QA the DLC hooks, QA the DLC installer across 3 different systems, negotiate a contract with 3 different companies to put the DLC on their networks, and create an advertisement campaign for the DLC.
This is also ignoring that Bioware stated they had a separate team working on DLC.
I've looked up SIGINFO (which doesn't exist as such on Linux), and I'm not sure why this would require several components to work together. I imagine it works just like SIGINT does. You know, SIGINT, the signal sent to the running process when you hit ^C?
Or did you mean this when cp is running in the background?
'course, on Linux, the standard shell (GNU bash) and the standard cp (part of GNU coreutils) are by the same people, so if they really wanted to, there's nothing stopping them from linking the two.
That depends on how long copyright was in France in the 1800s. It could also depend on which book.
I mean, his oldest book was published 186 years ago, according to Wikipedia.
When I click Customize on the Base Model's page here at work, it defaults to the Dual (2) Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5502 1.86GHz,4M L3, 4.8GT/s processors, just like it did when I was at home yesterday.
I've never bought a Dell computer, so I shouldn't have any cookies or other strange things affecting the price.
Again, upon changing the Processor, RAM, HDD, and DVD options to the ones I mentioned earlier, I get $3,241.
Right, but the person I replied to said "you will see that the Dell comes out somewhere between $1000 to $2000 more expensive."
You underestimate the power of the Dork Side!
Exact same hardware? I'm afraid not. The Dell Precision line uses the high-end nVidia Quadro or ATI Fire graphics cards, not the consumer-level GeForce GT 120 / ATI Radeon HD 4870.
Oh, and comparing the Mac Pro with a Dell depends entirely on how you enter Dell's site. Dell seems to start off with a number of different base prices.
The Single Processor Mac Pro is cheaper than the Dell of the same price. But then again, Dell's prices are sort of wacky, too.
However, when it comes to dual processors...
Dual Processor (Base Model):
Dual Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processors E5520 2.26GHz,8M L3,5.8GT/s,turbo
6GB, 1066MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (6 DIMMS)
512MB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 580, DUAL MON, 2 DP & 1 DVI
750GB SATA 3Gb/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache(TM)
16X DVD+/-RW w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD(TM) and Roxio Creator(TM) Dell Ed
Vista Business w/ XP downgrade option
Total Price: $3,241
Mac Pro price? $3,299
Oh, and here's the crazy thing. The model of the above that corresponds to the Mac Pro single processor? $3,396. Yes, it's more expensive on Dell's site to get a single processor Xeon 2.66GHz and 3GB of RAM than it is two quad core 2.25GHz processors and 6GB of RAM.
If I had mod points, I'd mod this up as +1 Funny, just because it made me laugh.
Having had to work with EXTJS and its controls where I work, here's what I think.
-- R. Bemrose. With apologies to Jamie Zawinski.
That Media Center functionality is also present in the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Vista and 7. Maybe the Home Basic edition, too, but knowing Microsoft it probably isn't.
It is different than other industries because, not only is the usage ratio flipped, but business-class connections have guaranteed-uptime contracts. The higher that guaranteed uptime, the higher that price is. Of course, that's because:
with penalties for missing those guarantees.
They also have guaranteed connection speeds, while home connections usually don't (go read your ISP's fine print).
Now, having said all this, Microsoft pays Akamai for the use of their content delivery network for MSDN downloads.
I know MSDNAA is available to students in technical programs, but as I understand it, non-technical students don't get that option.
Win741 is available to all students.
Internet connections are charged at both ends, and businesses pay a hell of a lot more than consumers do.
Oh, and hey, if you have an email address ending in .edu, you can get another copy of Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional for $30!
Or your first copy if you didn't just buy a PC.
The latter yes, but they do edit summaries from time to time, even removing vital information in some cases.