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User: toddestan

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  1. Re:Why is design so expensive for PCs? on Sexy Intel Computer Design Worth Big Bucks · · Score: 1

    Because the cheapest tower you're refering to isn't aimed at Joe Sixpack.

    Obviously not, at that price tag.

  2. Re:Missing out on the real features... on A Mac Fan's Take On Vista · · Score: 1

    Comparing Widgets to Active Desktop? Are you on crack? You have to understand that most of the people on /. know a little about computing history, and will call BS when they smell it. Next time, try comparing apples to something remotely comparable.

    Yeah, that would be like comparing Widgets to something arcane thing from the past like Desktop Accessories. Sure, they seem crude in comparison, but I knew people back in the Windows 98 days who did things like make an auto-updating weather page in HTML and make it their desktop background. The idea is hardly new.

  3. Re:Why is design so expensive for PCs? on Sexy Intel Computer Design Worth Big Bucks · · Score: 1

    Why is it that PC folks used to go on forever about how expensive Macs were, and now that Apple switched to Intel processors (and kept their prices almost exactly the same) comparable systems are so much more expensive from Dell?

    Of course the novelty form factor PCs are the ones that cost so much, as the volumes are low since most people opt for the cheaper, faster, and more upgradeable biege/grey/black boxes instead. Besides, why does the cheapest tower from Apple cost $2500?

  4. Re:ahem on Sexy Intel Computer Design Worth Big Bucks · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So give Apple props for the iMac design instead.

    Why? It's basically a big, ugly, white slab. You can't adjust the height of the display, and like a PC from 1998, all the ports are on the back. You have to move the entire computer to point the iSight camera at something. Open it up, and there isn't any thing you can add except for more ram. I don't really see the appeal of the iMac's design myself.

  5. Re:Office? on WGA — Too Many False Positives · · Score: 1

    Do home users actually buy Office?

    No, most people I know with a legit copy of Office at home had it purchased by the company they work for, so they can do stuff from home. My guess is that Microsoft is chasing after the people who tell their employers "No need, I already have a copy of Office." (which is pirated, of course). That, and the businesses out there that try to install Office on more than one computer, or companies that turn a blind eye when an employee "borrows" the install disk for a home computer.

  6. Re:Seems 80 cores isn't enough to resist the /. ef on Intel IDF Day 1 - Quad Core, Santa Rosa And More · · Score: 1

    Actually, I find when loading a web page, my web browser works more on the model of:

    1. Wait until it has enough data to do something.
    2. Do it as quickly as possible.
    3. Go back to step 1 until the web page is completely rendered.

    The net effect is that if the web browser has the CPU to itself, it will be constantly spiking the CPU to 100% for short amounts of time. If you are doing something like requires a bit of CPU usage, like playing a game, you'll notice it skip and jitter when a webpage is loading. Most CPU monitoring programs smooth out these bumps (including Windows task manager), so it looks like the web browser never grabs more than 20% or so.

  7. Re:Ok, it HAS to be said... on Intel Pledges 80 Core Processor in 5 Years · · Score: 1

    Only maniacs are going to wait five years to buy a new computer because of this announcement.

    It's not that unreasonable. The computer I'm typing this on is nearly 5 years old, and I don't have any plans to replace it as it's still perfectly adequate. However, if I replaced it anyway with something more current (say, 64bit and dual core), I could imagine using the replacement computer 5 years at which point I might replace it with one of those 80 core machines.

  8. Re:We don't need any steenkin' new paradigms... on GUIs Get a Makeover · · Score: 1

    The problem today is that so much software leaves you gasping with amazement at the seeming perversity of their design. It's been observed since the day Windows 95 was introduced that it is stupid to turn off your computer from a button labelled "Start." Microsoft has had over a decade and one, two, three, four, five major software releases to do something about it, and they haven't. If they don't get it yet, all the pie menus and gestures and voice recognition isn't going to help them.

    The problem was solved years ago when ATX power supplies became the norm. Nowadays, most people turn the computer off the same way they turn it on - by pressing the button on the front of the case. This even worked in Windows 95 provided the hardware supported it. Sure, the option is still there in the start menu for the people who like to do it that way, or need it for their ancient kludged together box, but most people don't turn their computer off this way.

    Besides atleast it's consistent with just about every other OS out there that also has a "general computer stuff" menu, except that it says "Start" in the corner of the screen instead of a giant K or an Apple icon.

  9. Re:subaru on iPod Car Integration Reality Check at Apple Expo · · Score: 1

    Your Mazda 6 is made by Subaru?

  10. Re:Two more words on iPod Car Integration Reality Check at Apple Expo · · Score: 1

    Well, the one advantage to the box-on-wheels design is that it is atleast roomy - something you can't really say about many other inexpensive cars.

  11. Re:Honda Music Link on iPod Car Integration Reality Check at Apple Expo · · Score: 1

    New cars still come with tape players?

    Sadly, they still do.

  12. Re:It does not matter if they are concerned on Students Protest Turnitin.com · · Score: 1

    The truth is, as a student you basically don't own the work you turn in for a grade.

    That's funny, given the emphasis they put on doing your own work at such places.

  13. Re:my school on Students Protest Turnitin.com · · Score: 1

    You just got fucked for having a similar writing style and chosen topic as some other kid who wrote a paper 5 years ago.

    Heck, with the service adding papers submitted to the database, you may even get flagged by your own previous work, if the subject matter is similar enough.

  14. Re:my school on Students Protest Turnitin.com · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Here in Minnesota, there is a program called PSEO which allows high school seniors (and some juniors) to attend college and get college credit while still technically high school students. The state picks up the tuition and even the cost of books if I remember right. Most of the high schools were pretty quiet about it, as everytime a student in their school enrolled into it, the high school lost funding. I didn't even know about it until I got into college, and noticed high school students running around campus (I was then able to tell my little sister about it, who was extremely bored in high school, and she got accepted into the program and was quite happy about it).

    I don't know where you live, but you might check to see if there is a similar program you can get into.

  15. Re:Aesthetic problem with iTV on Apple's Moment — Consumers Want To Download To TV · · Score: 1

    The most obvious solution would be to put the display on the remote, and have the remote communicate wirelessly with the iTV or whatever you want to call it in your component stack. And having to browse your music collection through a small LCD screen? Luckily, Apple has already solved that problem too, take a look at the iPod.

  16. Re:Oh for the love of..... on California Sues Automakers for Global Warming · · Score: 1

    I'm sure the original Hummer can last 300,000 miles. They are designed for the military, and they know that the military is going to push them hard. And they are also designed to be easily repaired and rebuilt. I would guess that a Hummer, properly taken care of, will easily last 300,000 miles. If you baby it, it's going to last decades.

    Now, for the Hummer H2 and H3, I would doubt that they would last half as long.

  17. Re:Bah! Vinyl will never replace on Analog Revival Means Vinyl Will Outlive CD · · Score: 1

    oh crap!!! what do i do!! what do i do???!!!

    Don't worry, just color the outside of the record with a Sharpie.

  18. Re:I sure hope not. on Can Linux Pick Up Users Abandoning Win98? · · Score: 1

    Alternatively, they should just stick with Win98. All jokes aside, their boxes are probably so full of spyware and shit after up to 8 YEARS of operation, that if they can go this far, they can probabably go a little further.

    That's assuming they even connect to the internet. A good portion of the people I know still running Windows 95/98 aren't on the internet. Not even dial up. Without outside interference, most of these machines will continue to run for years to come without needing any security updates.

  19. Re:What's "the market?" on Noise Over Mac OS Market Share "Slip" · · Score: 1

    A Cessna Skylane 172 cannot do what a Boeing 747-400 or a Airbus A340 can do. It physically can't. Not by any 'redefinition' of market etc. And vice versa.

    You're telling me that a Cessna 172 can't generate lift by deflecting air with its wings like a Boeing 747-400 or a Airbus A340? Heh, this 'redefinition' thing is fun :)

  20. Re:How to gain marketshare on Noise Over Mac OS Market Share "Slip" · · Score: 1

    What about 5. The group of Mac users that generally prefer Apple hardware, but at the same time want a computer that Apple doesn't offer - something like a headless iMac, or an inexpenive system with expansion slots and drive bays, or a AMD based system, etc. - so end up buying a PC and installing OSX on it to get what they want? I would guess that this would take a chunk out of group 1.

  21. Re:It's those stupid comercials. on Noise Over Mac OS Market Share "Slip" · · Score: 1

    Goodness! How those commercials twist the knickers of the geeks 'round here! Methinks they hit a nerve? *wink*

    Well, the ads did a great job of riling up both the Apple faithful crowd and the PC crowd at the same time. It's no wonder that they became a hot topic around here.

  22. Re:Price much? on Noise Over Mac OS Market Share "Slip" · · Score: 1

    My space isn't worthless, but I'll easily give up an extra 2-3 cubic feet of it for a cheaper computer - not to mention nice things like expansion slots, extra drive bays, and a 3.5" harddrive.

  23. Re:I feel like a horrible person... on PS3 Downtime To Fight Disease · · Score: 1

    Buy the biggest, meanest processor you can find for $400. Buy a cheap motherboard and some memory (256MB would probably be OK, 512MB would be plenty). Grab an ATX case, power supply, optical drive, old PCI video card, etc. from the scrap pile. Build the computer, and set it up with a minimalist Linux distro to do nothing but folding at home. I would set it up with an old USB flash drive myself, and run folding at home from a ram drive, but you could have it boot from CD too, or boot from an old harddrive then spin it down after a few minutes. I would guess that you wouldn't have a problem outperforming the PS3, and the system would probably come out to about 100W, I'm guessing.

  24. Re:Cheating is natural on An Interview with a Cheater · · Score: 1

    Good sportsmanship is an arbitrary social construct. There is nothing natural about it. It takes an act of self-denial to be a good sport, and to not cheat. Now, this may be ethically and socially superior...it may be the more enlightened path...but it is not natural and as such most people don't walk it.

    This isn't always the case. Say I have a disagreement with someone, and we decide to "settle the score" with a fist fight. Being about 6 1/2 feet tall and 300 pounds, I'll probably have an advantage over most opponents due to my sheer size and weight. Thus, it would be in my best interest to keep it as a fist fight. I could cheat, and pull a gun out. But then, my opponent might pull a gun out too, and this would end up making the playing field a lot more even (or I might even be at a disadvantage due to being a bigger and possibly slower target to hit). Sometimes, it does make sense to follow the rules.

  25. Re:Can't find any used cars on Much Ado About Gas Prices · · Score: 1

    Given how bad the minivans were back in the mid-nineties, and the fact that the station wagon was dead back then too, if you want something larger than a sedan, you'll probably end up with a SUV. Though a RAV4 or a CRV wouldn't be a bad choice.