I've been working in computers and IT for the past 12 years and I have never had to work on a Windows machine. I've been using a Mac since 1985 and have been able to eek a living based on that alone.
The few times that I have had to use the Windows OS I get so indignant and pissed off that I embarrass those around me, so I try to avoid it. This utter disdain of Windows that I used to evangelize and now just imbue has kept me from honestly evaluating it and, for the most part, I honestly just feel badly for people that have it forced on them, which seems to be the majority of PC users.
However, this same reliance/insistence on the Mac OS has limited my exposure to Linux and BeOs, but thankfully, OS X has helped me appreciate the wily ways of the terminal...
The special edition of "Empire" is actually, for me, the least intrusive and the "best" of all of 'em. Very subtle changes, mostly in Bespin, and the improvements to the hoth battle sequences are welcome (you used to be able to see right through the speeders).
The newer "Jedi" one has the biggest changes, mostly at the end, with footage of other planets celebrating the fall of the Empire and a new song at the end. The beginning part of the movie (the best part, methinks) is fairly unchanged.
The saddest part for me is that I have the original on tape as well--the long box, with the letter boxed versions, etc.
But the tapes are gonna disintegrate. I just know it. In a few years, even though I have only watched them once or twice, the particles will slide off the tape and render the movies useless. Lucas knows this--I remember him commenting about this in some article about how, 10-15 years in the future, the only versions out there will be the new "special edition" versions.
Of course, the laserdiscs are gonna be out there, so that's cool, but I don't have one.
it's like asking why get all those fancy CDs when I got all the tapes I want right here? My cassettes hold 26 more minutes, dude!
Carrying around a bunch of CDs is lame. You can drop them, they hard to sort through while you are driving, the melt in the car, people steal them, you have to keep them in your back or your car.
I was given an iPod after wondering, really, if I really needed it. I didn't like the pauses between tracks or the 25-26 minute buffer.
Seriously, I got the thing and there's no looking back. My CDs, are in my bookshelf in my apartment, safe, never to be lost again. My iPod has ALL the music I want, in one little tiny box. I can search by album, by artist...I can make lists in iTunes and play music for different moods and times..
I know, it's kinda macho to knock the iPod, but I gurantee, you hang out with one for awhile and you will never go back to CDs.
(and playing with one in the store doesn't really do it justice--it's better when it's YOUR music in there and then you see why it works)
and is that the whole point of computing? getting different solutions, figuring out which ones work best for you? I find it tragic that already MS is ripping on iTunes--I mean, I bet the guy hasn't even used it. Sure, there might be better MP3 players out there--but what is "better"? I used to use SoundJam, now I use iTunes. It does everything I want. Hopefully Windows users will have a problem free, fantastic user experience that encourages people to spend more time on solid UI, performance and functionality.
I laughed when I read about the Windows users being used to "choice" and all that--choice is fantastic, but the numbers don't lie: the other services are not appealing to users! Yes, Napster might do well, but honestly, after my experience with Windows Media Player on the Mac, I can only hope that the Windows version is VASTLY superior.
It is always useful to learn about alternatives and I, for one, look forward to the feedback and innovation that the Windows users suggest for iTunes. This "us" versus "them" mentality is just so incredibly tiring. we should all be just working together to make things WORK...
(forgive the brief "I just woke up and feel like ranting" moment)
I was surprised to read the list of various little applications that the writer had to use to make things work. As a very long time Mac user, I was hoping this article would illustrate how things "just worked" in this Windows environment--this is still, unfortunately not the case.
Why should he have to run extra apps to see other machines on the network? I thought OSX was suppsed to just work automatically. And is running half of your normally used apps in Virtual PC REALLY a solution?
I am psyched he go it to work, but I am frustrated that he had to do so much work just to get email and such working. I am particularly chagrinned that his primary network issues just disappeared randomly. Much better if there was a cause/solution.
It will be interesting to see if there is a followup article once Panther comes out...
this whole "extreme" moniker is getting so damn tired. When I first heard about "Airport Extreme" I kept thinking of some kind of ice cream dessert, with nuts and marshmallow cream.
Pentium Extreme Edition makes me think of some kind of fiber supplement--when your Pentium needs "extreme" cleaning or something.
are there "exteme" computer users out there? what, do they take the cover off the machine and play speed metal while surfing in bike pants and sunglasses?
I ran into this problem a lot when I was an IT Director at this design company. We would get a call that a freelancer was showing up that morning, who would need a machine with Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark and other applications and we would have ZERO time to get it done. It was hard enough finding a machine but it was much harder to explain that technically we couldn't put the required software on the machine. Of course, we would get (ahem) "push back" and be told that we would just work it out later, etc.
Of course, we would bring it up, but the accounting people would just look at us blankly at tell us to get the project to deal with the budgeting, etc, but by then, the freelancer was gone, or we got a litany of excuses why they couldn't afford "real" copies (never budgeted into project) and "what did it matter anyway, it still works, doesn't it?"
When my company was finally purchased, it was up to me and another guy to go through the software license situation and it cost a BUNDLE. We had to stick the absorbing company with the cost to finally get us legal and it was just horrid.
So, as far as what's the right thing to do, I think that by the time you are asking that question, it might be too late. Best to snag the various higher ups and explain the situations before any of this arises and see if they react to you being "proactive" and all that. I was able to explain the fines and how the company could lose a ton of money, which you would THINK would work, but this was right around everything falling apart...
I guess my only suggestion is to write a document explaining that you are indeed using short cuts and there might be some fallout later on--and have the producer or the project leader or whomever SIGN it to make sure people know the implications of their decision...hopefully it will make them think twice when budgeting and scheduling future projects...
I completely agree. Interestingly enough, Phantasy Star Online came with a coupon for a free USB adaptor for use with a keyboard, ostensibly for chatting and stuff on XBox Live. I am hoping that developers will "come back" to the keyboard/mouse paradigm...I guess the thinking is that some folks won't want to put the keyboard on their coffee table, won't have room for the mouse, etc.
But I think people who are actually gonna use a keyboard and mouse with the console aren't going to have a problem with it.
I actually was at E3 this morning (first time, I was pretty impressed, I will admit) and saw the Halo 2 demo. It was amazing...
the real trick is finding TIME for all these games...
I though the whole deal was, at least for apple, that people should just put their computers to sleep instead of shutting down.
sure, if you are in development or QA or something you have to reboot machines all the time, which is a pain, but most people can just use the sleep option.
anyway, sorry to be so off topic but hey; it's monday and I am avoiding work.
it's cool man--what are you gonna do? it's instinct to want to gather information on this. the psychic/mental baggage that will be released once the third film is released will be mighty indeed. I feel the powers of all my brain will be finally unLEASED for the first time in 33 years (can I be that old when that damn movie comes out??)
anyway, slightly off topic--Xmen 2 is fantastic.
(memory wipe--well, we all knew it was coming. literally a deus ex machina!)
I guess, but he DOES say he did not remember owning a droid...so he does try to think of a droid named "R2"--but yeah, I can see your point. And I guess he never "really" owned R2, but he seemed to hang out with him a lot.
But perhaps R2 could have said, "Hey Obi Wan, what's up? Haven't seen you in years"---but we will never know.
ever.
(and I won't tell anyone about the star wars geekiness if you don't)
I gotta agree--I think it's more of a ploy than anything else. Sure, Chewie's supposed to be 200 years old, so fine, it fits. It still feels forced (sorry) and a bit trite.
Of course, it's impossible to know the context in which he will appear, but if Obi-Wan meets Chewbacca, then perhaps when we meet him in Star Wars, he's suffering from Alzheimer's or something. He's already met R2 but forgotten (unless there's a wink wink nudge nudge that we're supposed to imply) and if he meets Chewbacca for the first time..
ah, well, that doesn't matter. I must admit I find it hard to care as well, but I guess I feel like still care enough to watch one more film on opening night.
It just seems a bit desperate, I guess--"hey, look, remember 'Star Wars'? It's still cool, Right??"
I saw Star Wars II on IMAX and I have to admit, it wasn't all that impressive. My main issues with this process of converting 16x9 movies to IMAX's 4:3 (or whatever it is);
- the films are basically getting blown up to Pan & Scan, like on TV, so you are missing a lot of the picture
- I guess the process is digital (or perhaps it was the Star Wars source material) so I saw a LOT of pixelization, to the point of distraction. Fleshtones and large swaths of color looked HORRIBLE depending on the lighting. It was like watching a poorly compressed MPEG--4 stories high.
- the films are not DIRECTED to be IMAX films. IMAX films tend to really immersive, one is often floating in water, in space, walking around the desert or the snow--the films use the format to create an experience, a realistic and true environment, where your eyes are tricked to see things "life size". Regular films are directed to be stories, the camera is usually an observer, not a participant.
- Your eyes adjust really, really quickly--the first few minutes of Star Wars were cool, but the whole IMAX effect kind of disappeared, again (I think), because the films are not designed to be IMAX films. Only a few other scenes (the meteor scene in particular) made me go, "oh, right! this is IMAX."
- The sound IS dope, but one must remember that the films need to be remixed--the vast majority of the sound comes from 2 speakers above and behind the viewers (they're super massive, though).
- One good thing, at least for Star Wars, is that the film apparently cannot be longer than 2 hours, so "Clones" was actually a LOT better in IMAX--a lot of the lamer scenes were cut and it felt like a much tighter film.
This will be cool, but mostly as a supplement to first seeing it in the regular theatre...
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I've been working in computers and IT for the past 12 years and I have never had to work on a Windows machine. I've been using a Mac since 1985 and have been able to eek a living based on that alone.
The few times that I have had to use the Windows OS I get so indignant and pissed off that I embarrass those around me, so I try to avoid it. This utter disdain of Windows that I used to evangelize and now just imbue has kept me from honestly evaluating it and, for the most part, I honestly just feel badly for people that have it forced on them, which seems to be the majority of PC users.
However, this same reliance/insistence on the Mac OS has limited my exposure to Linux and BeOs, but thankfully, OS X has helped me appreciate the wily ways of the terminal...
0
Meant to post this earlier--there is a site featuring some pretty cool "algorithmic jazz" pieces by John Clavin here
http://www.algorithmicjazz.com/
The compositions (computer programs) are written in Java and use the Jsyn software engine. (Plug in available on the website)
Best quote:
"The soul of the machine is the collection of algorithms that give it life."
There are three pieces of varying complexity--mood music for sensitive robots, methinks.
The special edition of "Empire" is actually, for me, the least intrusive and the "best" of all of 'em. Very subtle changes, mostly in Bespin, and the improvements to the hoth battle sequences are welcome (you used to be able to see right through the speeders).
The newer "Jedi" one has the biggest changes, mostly at the end, with footage of other planets celebrating the fall of the Empire and a new song at the end. The beginning part of the movie (the best part, methinks) is fairly unchanged.
The saddest part for me is that I have the original on tape as well--the long box, with the letter boxed versions, etc.
But the tapes are gonna disintegrate. I just know it. In a few years, even though I have only watched them once or twice, the particles will slide off the tape and render the movies useless. Lucas knows this--I remember him commenting about this in some article about how, 10-15 years in the future, the only versions out there will be the new "special edition" versions.
Of course, the laserdiscs are gonna be out there, so that's cool, but I don't have one.
Good luck ripping them!
it's like asking why get all those fancy CDs when I got all the tapes I want right here? My cassettes hold 26 more minutes, dude!
Carrying around a bunch of CDs is lame. You can drop them, they hard to sort through while you are driving, the melt in the car, people steal them, you have to keep them in your back or your car.
I was given an iPod after wondering, really, if I really needed it. I didn't like the pauses between tracks or the 25-26 minute buffer.
Seriously, I got the thing and there's no looking back. My CDs, are in my bookshelf in my apartment, safe, never to be lost again. My iPod has ALL the music I want, in one little tiny box. I can search by album, by artist...I can make lists in iTunes and play music for different moods and times..
I know, it's kinda macho to knock the iPod, but I gurantee, you hang out with one for awhile and you will never go back to CDs.
(and playing with one in the store doesn't really do it justice--it's better when it's YOUR music in there and then you see why it works)
anyway,
I really, really like the stuff at spire. I use one of their backpacks and have no complaints.
http://spireusa.com/
and is that the whole point of computing? getting different solutions, figuring out which ones work best for you? I find it tragic that already MS is ripping on iTunes--I mean, I bet the guy hasn't even used it. Sure, there might be better MP3 players out there--but what is "better"? I used to use SoundJam, now I use iTunes. It does everything I want. Hopefully Windows users will have a problem free, fantastic user experience that encourages people to spend more time on solid UI, performance and functionality.
I laughed when I read about the Windows users being used to "choice" and all that--choice is fantastic, but the numbers don't lie: the other services are not appealing to users! Yes, Napster might do well, but honestly, after my experience with Windows Media Player on the Mac, I can only hope that the Windows version is VASTLY superior.
It is always useful to learn about alternatives and I, for one, look forward to the feedback and innovation that the Windows users suggest for iTunes. This "us" versus "them" mentality is just so incredibly tiring. we should all be just working together to make things WORK...
(forgive the brief "I just woke up and feel like ranting" moment)
nah, it's just getting treated nicely. You'll get used to it...
(did you get the same feeling when installing QuickTime?)
I was surprised to read the list of various little applications that the writer had to use to make things work. As a very long time Mac user, I was hoping this article would illustrate how things "just worked" in this Windows environment--this is still, unfortunately not the case.
Why should he have to run extra apps to see other machines on the network? I thought OSX was suppsed to just work automatically. And is running half of your normally used apps in Virtual PC REALLY a solution?
I am psyched he go it to work, but I am frustrated that he had to do so much work just to get email and such working. I am particularly chagrinned that his primary network issues just disappeared randomly. Much better if there was a cause/solution.
It will be interesting to see if there is a followup article once Panther comes out...
this whole "extreme" moniker is getting so damn tired. When I first heard about "Airport Extreme" I kept thinking of some kind of ice cream dessert, with nuts and marshmallow cream.
Pentium Extreme Edition makes me think of some kind of fiber supplement--when your Pentium needs "extreme" cleaning or something.
are there "exteme" computer users out there? what, do they take the cover off the machine and play speed metal while surfing in bike pants and sunglasses?
who does the marketing for these losers?
I ran into this problem a lot when I was an IT Director at this design company. We would get a call that a freelancer was showing up that morning, who would need a machine with Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark and other applications and we would have ZERO time to get it done. It was hard enough finding a machine but it was much harder to explain that technically we couldn't put the required software on the machine. Of course, we would get (ahem) "push back" and be told that we would just work it out later, etc.
Of course, we would bring it up, but the accounting people would just look at us blankly at tell us to get the project to deal with the budgeting, etc, but by then, the freelancer was gone, or we got a litany of excuses why they couldn't afford "real" copies (never budgeted into project) and "what did it matter anyway, it still works, doesn't it?"
When my company was finally purchased, it was up to me and another guy to go through the software license situation and it cost a BUNDLE. We had to stick the absorbing company with the cost to finally get us legal and it was just horrid.
So, as far as what's the right thing to do, I think that by the time you are asking that question, it might be too late. Best to snag the various higher ups and explain the situations before any of this arises and see if they react to you being "proactive" and all that. I was able to explain the fines and how the company could lose a ton of money, which you would THINK would work, but this was right around everything falling apart...
I guess my only suggestion is to write a document explaining that you are indeed using short cuts and there might be some fallout later on--and have the producer or the project leader or whomever SIGN it to make sure people know the implications of their decision...hopefully it will make them think twice when budgeting and scheduling future projects...
good luck!
m
I completely agree. Interestingly enough, Phantasy Star Online came with a coupon for a free USB adaptor for use with a keyboard, ostensibly for chatting and stuff on XBox Live. I am hoping that developers will "come back" to the keyboard/mouse paradigm...I guess the thinking is that some folks won't want to put the keyboard on their coffee table, won't have room for the mouse, etc.
But I think people who are actually gonna use a keyboard and mouse with the console aren't going to have a problem with it.
I actually was at E3 this morning (first time, I was pretty impressed, I will admit) and saw the Halo 2 demo. It was amazing...
the real trick is finding TIME for all these games...
I though the whole deal was, at least for apple, that people should just put their computers to sleep instead of shutting down.
sure, if you are in development or QA or something you have to reboot machines all the time, which is a pain, but most people can just use the sleep option.
anyway, sorry to be so off topic but hey; it's monday and I am avoiding work.
it's cool man--what are you gonna do? it's instinct to want to gather information on this. the psychic/mental baggage that will be released once the third film is released will be mighty indeed. I feel the powers of all my brain will be finally unLEASED for the first time in 33 years (can I be that old when that damn movie comes out??)
anyway, slightly off topic--Xmen 2 is fantastic.
(memory wipe--well, we all knew it was coming. literally a deus ex machina!)
WOW!
You have any idea of how many people will know these facts after I "slip them in" whilst I wait in line for the third film?
That's amazing. 112 years old, Luke was 43rd master.
fantastic. well done.
(so much for keeping the replies in keeping with the original post.)
But I am just going to assume that, at some point, C-3PO gets his memory wiped so he doesn't remember Luke, Tatooine, Obi-Wan, etc.
when in doubt, memory wipe!
I guess, but he DOES say he did not remember owning a droid...so he does try to think of a droid named "R2"--but yeah, I can see your point. And I guess he never "really" owned R2, but he seemed to hang out with him a lot.
But perhaps R2 could have said, "Hey Obi Wan, what's up? Haven't seen you in years"---but we will never know.
ever.
(and I won't tell anyone about the star wars geekiness if you don't)
I gotta agree--I think it's more of a ploy than anything else. Sure, Chewie's supposed to be 200 years old, so fine, it fits. It still feels forced (sorry) and a bit trite.
Of course, it's impossible to know the context in which he will appear, but if Obi-Wan meets Chewbacca, then perhaps when we meet him in Star Wars, he's suffering from Alzheimer's or something. He's already met R2 but forgotten (unless there's a wink wink nudge nudge that we're supposed to imply) and if he meets Chewbacca for the first time..
ah, well, that doesn't matter. I must admit I find it hard to care as well, but I guess I feel like still care enough to watch one more film on opening night.
It just seems a bit desperate, I guess--"hey, look, remember 'Star Wars'? It's still cool, Right??"
I saw Star Wars II on IMAX and I have to admit, it wasn't all that impressive. My main issues with this process of converting 16x9 movies to IMAX's 4:3 (or whatever it is);
- the films are basically getting blown up to Pan & Scan, like on TV, so you are missing a lot of the picture
- I guess the process is digital (or perhaps it was the Star Wars source material) so I saw a LOT of pixelization, to the point of distraction. Fleshtones and large swaths of color looked HORRIBLE depending on the lighting. It was like watching a poorly compressed MPEG--4 stories high.
- the films are not DIRECTED to be IMAX films. IMAX films tend to really immersive, one is often floating in water, in space, walking around the desert or the snow--the films use the format to create an experience, a realistic and true environment, where your eyes are tricked to see things "life size". Regular films are directed to be stories, the camera is usually an observer, not a participant.
- Your eyes adjust really, really quickly--the first few minutes of Star Wars were cool, but the whole IMAX effect kind of disappeared, again (I think), because the films are not designed to be IMAX films. Only a few other scenes (the meteor scene in particular) made me go, "oh, right! this is IMAX."
- The sound IS dope, but one must remember that the films need to be remixed--the vast majority of the sound comes from 2 speakers above and behind the viewers (they're super massive, though).
- One good thing, at least for Star Wars, is that the film apparently cannot be longer than 2 hours, so "Clones" was actually a LOT better in IMAX--a lot of the lamer scenes were cut and it felt like a much tighter film.
This will be cool, but mostly as a supplement to first seeing it in the regular theatre...