Sometime in the late 90's I pulled a 2.5 inch drive out of a desktop computer. I believe it was a CTX brand (known more for their monitors). The drive was connected to the IDE cable using a notebook-to-IDE adapter. I replaced the drive with a 5.25" HDD and kept the IDE adapter for using a desktop computer to recover data off of laptop drives. It has been very useful.
Hey Creative! It's the marketing stupid!
on
Apple Sues Creative
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Winning a patent won't help Creative corner the mp3 player market, but I suppose it might get them a nice settlement and a share of Apple's profits. Apple owns the mp3 player market because of excellent design and marketing.
Me? I'm actually a Creative user. I still use the Jukebox III I bought several years back. At the time it was much cheaper than the iPod, had more storage than the iPod, two battery bays, easily replaceable batteries, and better sound quality. Of course it was bulkier, heavier, and... it's kind of frumpy looking since it appears that Creative simply took the chassis from one of their portable CD players and installed a hard drive and some mp3 player innards. The desktop software also kind of sucked. I invested another 30 or 40 bucks for the NotMad Explorer, but my overall investment was still much less than the iPod of the day. I've been quite happy with it. I don't mind the bulk since it sits in my shoulder bag. Battery life is great. It's rugged as all get out (it has been dropped). It sounds great too.
Meanwhile Apple cornered the market with a much more attractive design, easier controls, better software, and kick-ass marketing. Apple's cult status among creative folks has also helped. I know many poor artists and actors who could have purchased a much cheaper mp3 player, but they shelled out more for the iPod because it is sexier. And there is nothing wrong with that... every iPod has been a fantastic looking device. And if you use something every day, why not use something that looks and feels good?
My fiancee also has a Creative Zen Xtra, which she loves. It's definitely more stylish than my old Jukebox 3, but it was the start of Creative moving towards an iPod rip-off sort of look. If Creative wants to hold on, or even slightly increase, their piddly market share: They need to invest in some hotshot designers and better marketing. The technology and actual user interface are secondary. It just has to play music, sound good, look good; and it has to be marketed well. Then again, perhaps that boat has already sailed. The iPod may suffer slightly from a "gee, everyone's got one" backlash, but it was also an instant classic.
>I don't understand why Slashbots assume that >people who support Bush are dumb.
I assume that Bush supporters are often dumb because when asked why they like Bush they say things like, "He'll look ya in th' eye," and "He's a straight shooter."
Kerry supporters cite real issues far more often than Bush supporters, who are often unaware of issues beyond the war on terror. Since Bush is screwing up that war, just like so many other things, it tells me that his supporters on the whole must lack the critical thinking skills necessary to come to a logical conclusion regarding their President's performance.
We should dump the electoral college and require voters to pass an issues quiz before casting a ballot. If you can correctly match the major candidates to their positions on a dozen or so issues, you get to vote. Sound a bit fascist? To paraphrase our nimrod leader, "It's hard work." You should do your homework if you have the responsibility to choose a leader who can make or break so much in the world. We really should be more careful.
Our office has experienced a lot of heat problems with Dell and Apple laptops (The Dells are actually fine as long as they aren't docked...the docking station covers up the air intake. Nice design Dell).
Our Toshiba's and Fujitsus might get hot, but they don't require motherboard replacements after 18 months like some of the Dell and Apple machines. My Fujitsu Lifebook P-2110 doesn't get hot at all on the bottom... no fan either! Of course it runs a modest 900MHz Crusoe... so it's pretty sluggish compared to most of the toasters currently on the market.
My advice to people is to stay away from high end processor speeds on new laptops... go for something that will run a little slower and cooler... but will last you much longer (and give you fewer burn marks on the legs).
I think the powerbooks are beautiful, but damn they run hot! I've seen so many with warped cases that it makes me wonder how well they age.
I love my Fujitsu P-2110. I think it's just as attractive, doesn't get hot, runs for over six hours on the single extended battery, and it's smaller and lighter than a 12-inch Powerbook. It's not as fast as my AMD Duron 850Mhz desktop, but it gets the job done.
And while the Mac may still be the preferred platform in the music, graphic design, and publishing industry... it's important to note that XP handles these things quite well. My Duron 850 kicks the butt of my roommate's G3 when it comes to rendering in Photoshop. The only problem with XP is that you have to watch your color-matching if you are using brand-x video card with brand-y monitor. But that's only a concern for a graphics professional.
Nothing against the Mac. OS-X has made the Mac a whole lot more attractive to me, but not enough so to switch. I already have too much invested in Windows software and hardware. The only thing that drives me nuts about Macs are the over-zealous Mac Cult followers who act like people who use Windows are idiots. It's just ones and zeros folks! If you want to express your individuality buy some red shoes!
Re:Anybody that thinks they *need* a PDA.....
on
Palm to Buy Handspring
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Are you kidding? Most of my life I was one of those types who wrote things I needed to remember down on random pieces of paper that I shoved in my pocket, lost on my desk, threw away by accident, etc. I lack organizational skills, have a hard time remembering things, and I like gadgets. I tried carrying a paper & pen organizer in college. It worked okay, but I had a hard time finding notes I had written... was it two weeks ago or two months ago?
With a PDA I can jot random notes and find them later in an instant with the search feature. I can have all the same addresses in my computer for e-mail and in my PDA for when I need to send a package from the post office. With the calendar, task list, and reminders I no longer suffer from as much anxiety about what I'm forgetting. Plus I've got a pocket calculator, pocket games, free databases that include conversion charts, drink recipes, a basic Spanish dictionary, and anything else I decide to download. Not bad for a hundred bucks.
The Handspring Visor Deluxe was the best PDA I ever owned for the money. I had been using a PocketPC on loan from the office, but switched back to the Handspring soon after. The PocketPC was neat, but it just doesn't handle the simple organizational stuff as well.
The artist might see a full penny from a 99cent song, but the real value may be the marketing potential. The Amazon-like approach of "others who downloaded this song also downloaded..." is an incredible marketing tool. Personally, I prefer independent review sites. I don't trust Amazon or Apple to tell me what people are really buying. All of my mp3s are either ripped from my own CDs or downloaded for free from an independent artist's website. Fine... I'm a music lover. The Apple site will likely draw thousands of people who were afraid of file sharing into the mp3 scene. The part I don't like is that the RIAA is loving it because there is still a need for a middle-man as long as big corporate names are behind it. I think it's time for the music industry to die a quick death...and let artists make a living by playing live. Their current options aren't that great. Click the link below to see where the money goes...
I live around the corner from the National Cathedral, and let me tell you that Vader is not easy to spot. A few years ago I remember a kid walking around the cathedral grounds handing out photocopies of hand-drawn instructions telling you how to spot the Sith-lord. I tried to follow, but never could find him.
I wasn't sure if the kid was was telling the truth, until I went into the Cathedral's gift shop and found a book of gargoyles with Darth Vader featured next to another icon familiar with the dark side: A lawyer carrying a briefcase.
If you ever visit the Cathedral, bring your binoculars and plan to spend some time searching the highest towers. He's way up there.
Slashdot Mirror
Sometime in the late 90's I pulled a 2.5 inch drive out of a desktop computer. I believe it was a CTX brand (known more for their monitors). The drive was connected to the IDE cable using a notebook-to-IDE adapter. I replaced the drive with a 5.25" HDD and kept the IDE adapter for using a desktop computer to recover data off of laptop drives. It has been very useful.
Winning a patent won't help Creative corner the mp3 player market, but I suppose it might get them a nice settlement and a share of Apple's profits. Apple owns the mp3 player market because of excellent design and marketing. Me? I'm actually a Creative user. I still use the Jukebox III I bought several years back. At the time it was much cheaper than the iPod, had more storage than the iPod, two battery bays, easily replaceable batteries, and better sound quality. Of course it was bulkier, heavier, and... it's kind of frumpy looking since it appears that Creative simply took the chassis from one of their portable CD players and installed a hard drive and some mp3 player innards. The desktop software also kind of sucked. I invested another 30 or 40 bucks for the NotMad Explorer, but my overall investment was still much less than the iPod of the day. I've been quite happy with it. I don't mind the bulk since it sits in my shoulder bag. Battery life is great. It's rugged as all get out (it has been dropped). It sounds great too. Meanwhile Apple cornered the market with a much more attractive design, easier controls, better software, and kick-ass marketing. Apple's cult status among creative folks has also helped. I know many poor artists and actors who could have purchased a much cheaper mp3 player, but they shelled out more for the iPod because it is sexier. And there is nothing wrong with that... every iPod has been a fantastic looking device. And if you use something every day, why not use something that looks and feels good? My fiancee also has a Creative Zen Xtra, which she loves. It's definitely more stylish than my old Jukebox 3, but it was the start of Creative moving towards an iPod rip-off sort of look. If Creative wants to hold on, or even slightly increase, their piddly market share: They need to invest in some hotshot designers and better marketing. The technology and actual user interface are secondary. It just has to play music, sound good, look good; and it has to be marketed well. Then again, perhaps that boat has already sailed. The iPod may suffer slightly from a "gee, everyone's got one" backlash, but it was also an instant classic.
>I don't understand why Slashbots assume that >people who support Bush are dumb. I assume that Bush supporters are often dumb because when asked why they like Bush they say things like, "He'll look ya in th' eye," and "He's a straight shooter." Kerry supporters cite real issues far more often than Bush supporters, who are often unaware of issues beyond the war on terror. Since Bush is screwing up that war, just like so many other things, it tells me that his supporters on the whole must lack the critical thinking skills necessary to come to a logical conclusion regarding their President's performance. We should dump the electoral college and require voters to pass an issues quiz before casting a ballot. If you can correctly match the major candidates to their positions on a dozen or so issues, you get to vote. Sound a bit fascist? To paraphrase our nimrod leader, "It's hard work." You should do your homework if you have the responsibility to choose a leader who can make or break so much in the world. We really should be more careful.
Our office has experienced a lot of heat problems with Dell and Apple laptops (The Dells are actually fine as long as they aren't docked...the docking station covers up the air intake. Nice design Dell). Our Toshiba's and Fujitsus might get hot, but they don't require motherboard replacements after 18 months like some of the Dell and Apple machines. My Fujitsu Lifebook P-2110 doesn't get hot at all on the bottom... no fan either! Of course it runs a modest 900MHz Crusoe... so it's pretty sluggish compared to most of the toasters currently on the market. My advice to people is to stay away from high end processor speeds on new laptops... go for something that will run a little slower and cooler... but will last you much longer (and give you fewer burn marks on the legs).
I think the powerbooks are beautiful, but damn they run hot! I've seen so many with warped cases that it makes me wonder how well they age.
I love my Fujitsu P-2110. I think it's just as attractive, doesn't get hot, runs for over six hours on the single extended battery, and it's smaller and lighter than a 12-inch Powerbook. It's not as fast as my AMD Duron 850Mhz desktop, but it gets the job done.
And while the Mac may still be the preferred platform in the music, graphic design, and publishing industry... it's important to note that XP handles these things quite well. My Duron 850 kicks the butt of my roommate's G3 when it comes to rendering in Photoshop. The only problem with XP is that you have to watch your color-matching if you are using brand-x video card with brand-y monitor. But that's only a concern for a graphics professional.
Nothing against the Mac. OS-X has made the Mac a whole lot more attractive to me, but not enough so to switch. I already have too much invested in Windows software and hardware. The only thing that drives me nuts about Macs are the over-zealous Mac Cult followers who act like people who use Windows are idiots. It's just ones and zeros folks! If you want to express your individuality buy some red shoes!
Are you kidding? Most of my life I was one of those types who wrote things I needed to remember down on random pieces of paper that I shoved in my pocket, lost on my desk, threw away by accident, etc. I lack organizational skills, have a hard time remembering things, and I like gadgets. I tried carrying a paper & pen organizer in college. It worked okay, but I had a hard time finding notes I had written... was it two weeks ago or two months ago? With a PDA I can jot random notes and find them later in an instant with the search feature. I can have all the same addresses in my computer for e-mail and in my PDA for when I need to send a package from the post office. With the calendar, task list, and reminders I no longer suffer from as much anxiety about what I'm forgetting. Plus I've got a pocket calculator, pocket games, free databases that include conversion charts, drink recipes, a basic Spanish dictionary, and anything else I decide to download. Not bad for a hundred bucks. The Handspring Visor Deluxe was the best PDA I ever owned for the money. I had been using a PocketPC on loan from the office, but switched back to the Handspring soon after. The PocketPC was neat, but it just doesn't handle the simple organizational stuff as well.
The artist might see a full penny from a 99cent song, but the real value may be the marketing potential. The Amazon-like approach of "others who downloaded this song also downloaded..." is an incredible marketing tool. Personally, I prefer independent review sites. I don't trust Amazon or Apple to tell me what people are really buying. All of my mp3s are either ripped from my own CDs or downloaded for free from an independent artist's website. Fine... I'm a music lover. The Apple site will likely draw thousands of people who were afraid of file sharing into the mp3 scene. The part I don't like is that the RIAA is loving it because there is still a need for a middle-man as long as big corporate names are behind it. I think it's time for the music industry to die a quick death...and let artists make a living by playing live. Their current options aren't that great. Click the link below to see where the money goes...
http://www.negativland.com/albini.html
I live around the corner from the National Cathedral, and let me tell you that Vader is not easy to spot. A few years ago I remember a kid walking around the cathedral grounds handing out photocopies of hand-drawn instructions telling you how to spot the Sith-lord. I tried to follow, but never could find him. I wasn't sure if the kid was was telling the truth, until I went into the Cathedral's gift shop and found a book of gargoyles with Darth Vader featured next to another icon familiar with the dark side: A lawyer carrying a briefcase. If you ever visit the Cathedral, bring your binoculars and plan to spend some time searching the highest towers. He's way up there.