The biggest culprits are the two-way cables with internally unshielded composite video lines (i.e., not mini co-ax, not even foil wrapped around the core). Many modern TVs, when in AV mode, will output the signal from their tuner to the composite out pin of their SCART connectors. The unused wire in the cable then induces this signal in the video in line(s), giving ghosting. I've had to cut this unnecessary line on most of my SCART cables.
I feel that I should point out here that SCART is a terrible idea. The majority of SCART cables are cheaply made without proper RF shielding giving terrible cross-talk between the lines.
Maybe not only the computer is real, but so is their time travel device!;^)
Yeah, I bet Jon Titor would be so pissed off at having to go back and get that old IBM knowing he could've just bought an 6,8 GHz atomchip laptop with 2 TB of NvlOpRAM.
My HP zx5000 has two smaller fans in it and they need dusting after about 10 months' hard use. And 200W?! This thing could wind up needing the air-duster kiss of life every three weeks.
"Back in the day," computers were ugly, huge, clunky, off-white boxes that people generally kept out of sight of guests...
Now if your average citizen could afford an SGI workstation, that would've been different. Where's the knightnood — nay, the acknowledgement — for the person who designed the beautiful O2?
Of course women will gather when a whole new world of "Shopping!!!!" is at their fingertips.
Yes, and never underestimate the testicular fortitude of a dolls'-house enthusiast granny armed with an Internet connection and an account on eBay. They way they snipe, they should be working for MI6.
Yes, but would you buy a machine with Linux pre-installed by some Dell muppet? I wouldn't. However, I would buy a blank one and install it myself. And I don't see how it would be major inconvenience for 'normal' consumers, since most of them have to re-install Windows at some point anyway.
I would think that taxing Free Software would be an affront to the "freedom to use, for whatever purpose seen fit" maxim most of Free Software philosophies.
Well, given that the attitude of the US in Britain is "all your intelligence are belong to us", I wager that the poor bastard will be totaled by an F-16 at around 3 a.m.
Your ricer analogy is quite apt. The case-modding scene isn't exactly a research forum for good taste.
I think the last great innovation I saw in a case was on the blue apple G3 tower. I hate macs, but man, the swingout motherboard on that case was sweet.
SGI knew a thing or two about decent case design as well. I think their offerings are sorely overlooked in favour of the crazy furore that surrounded the iMac (in itself an ugly little runt).
You make a very good, and very important point which a lot of people seem to have ignored today. Having thought about the frustrations of modern UIs, I arrived at similar conclusions myself.
ST:TNG's LCARS was tuned to its tasks: storage and analysis of data, and the management of a vessel in compartmentalised functions, and this is the key. LCARS's paradigm is functional, or as you put it job-centric, in contrast to today's interfaces which are more object-oriented. I'd love to see more job-centricity in modern interfaces; my biggest frustration is having to go around the houses to do something, when doing things should be a UI's top priority. I'm not advocating a complete disposal of object-orientation, but the emphasis should definitely shift from these objects to what one can do with them (take, e.g., the HP 48 calculator's interface: it shows a nice balance of function and object, even more important in limited screen space).
I think mobile phone interface designers could learn many lessons from this. OK, so these things are generally compartmentalised menus, but they weave a hierarchy of objects, not functions. For instance, mine has a menu that goes "1. Downloads, 2. Messages, 3. Contacts, 4. Organiser, 5. Ring-Tones,...". But it's a phone! It should have a menu that starts with the things I most commonly do with it: "1. Call,...", leading to "1.1. from contacts, 1.2 manual dial,...", and so-on. Some might argue that these differences trivial, but until they come up with a phone with a CLI, I'd consider it an improvement.
I also agree with your point about 3D. It's great for visualisation, but should be used in moderation. It has very little use in a user interface (functional or object-oriented) as a means of invoking actions or manipulating data — least of all because you can't see through things (and alpha overlays just add to confusion). If 3D interfaces are desired, they will have to be tactile.
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The biggest culprits are the two-way cables with internally unshielded composite video lines (i.e., not mini co-ax, not even foil wrapped around the core). Many modern TVs, when in AV mode, will output the signal from their tuner to the composite out pin of their SCART connectors. The unused wire in the cable then induces this signal in the video in line(s), giving ghosting. I've had to cut this unnecessary line on most of my SCART cables.
I feel that I should point out here that SCART is a terrible idea. The majority of SCART cables are cheaply made without proper RF shielding giving terrible cross-talk between the lines.
Yeah, I bet Jon Titor would be so pissed off at having to go back and get that old IBM knowing he could've just bought an 6,8 GHz atomchip laptop with 2 TB of NvlOpRAM.
Yeah, well just how far does your partial control extend?!
Seven Sony rootkits,
Six keystroke loggers,
Five porn diallers!
Four Exploit.WMFs,
Three Mytobs,
Two Bifrose-Ds,
And a homepage stuck on goatse.
My HP zx5000 has two smaller fans in it and they need dusting after about 10 months' hard use. And 200W?! This thing could wind up needing the air-duster kiss of life every three weeks.
Now if your average citizen could afford an SGI workstation, that would've been different. Where's the knightnood — nay, the acknowledgement — for the person who designed the beautiful O2?
Yeah, except for that JPEG with the— nevermind, it's probably high treason or something...
Yes, and never underestimate the testicular fortitude of a dolls'-house enthusiast granny armed with an Internet connection and an account on eBay. They way they snipe, they should be working for MI6.
This has all the hallmarks of a known troll. In fact, it has appeared as this post before. Silly person with nothing better to do.
Is Slashdot now being used as a ruddy numbers station or something?
Fuck off back to 11545 and 12603 kHz.
Yes, but would you buy a machine with Linux pre-installed by some Dell muppet? I wouldn't. However, I would buy a blank one and install it myself. And I don't see how it would be major inconvenience for 'normal' consumers, since most of them have to re-install Windows at some point anyway.
It might not be a prank, but I think Forbes.com are really scraping the bottom of the barrel in absentia professionals...
I would think that taxing Free Software would be an affront to the "freedom to use, for whatever purpose seen fit" maxim most of Free Software philosophies.
Oh, you bitter quasi-misogynistic sod!
Well, given that the attitude of the US in Britain is "all your intelligence are belong to us", I wager that the poor bastard will be totaled by an F-16 at around 3 a.m.
Your ricer analogy is quite apt. The case-modding scene isn't exactly a research forum for good taste.
SGI knew a thing or two about decent case design as well. I think their offerings are sorely overlooked in favour of the crazy furore that surrounded the iMac (in itself an ugly little runt).
Just how can the EU make Microsoft pay this?
good samaritan who made a difference n. Rich bastard in need of a tax break.
Apart from the smudges.
You make a very good, and very important point which a lot of people seem to have ignored today. Having thought about the frustrations of modern UIs, I arrived at similar conclusions myself.
ST:TNG's LCARS was tuned to its tasks: storage and analysis of data, and the management of a vessel in compartmentalised functions, and this is the key. LCARS's paradigm is functional, or as you put it job-centric, in contrast to today's interfaces which are more object-oriented. I'd love to see more job-centricity in modern interfaces; my biggest frustration is having to go around the houses to do something, when doing things should be a UI's top priority. I'm not advocating a complete disposal of object-orientation, but the emphasis should definitely shift from these objects to what one can do with them (take, e.g., the HP 48 calculator's interface: it shows a nice balance of function and object, even more important in limited screen space).
I think mobile phone interface designers could learn many lessons from this. OK, so these things are generally compartmentalised menus, but they weave a hierarchy of objects, not functions. For instance, mine has a menu that goes "1. Downloads, 2. Messages, 3. Contacts, 4. Organiser, 5. Ring-Tones, ...". But it's a phone! It should have a menu that starts with the things I most commonly do with it: "1. Call, ...", leading to "1.1. from contacts, 1.2 manual dial, ...", and so-on. Some might argue that these differences trivial, but until they come up with a phone with a CLI, I'd consider it an improvement.
I also agree with your point about 3D. It's great for visualisation, but should be used in moderation. It has very little use in a user interface (functional or object-oriented) as a means of invoking actions or manipulating data — least of all because you can't see through things (and alpha overlays just add to confusion). If 3D interfaces are desired, they will have to be tactile.
Someone should give these models a virtual toilet where they can kneel down over the virtual lid and virtually snort virtual cocaine.
..Space Race rides you!
Welcome! You are among friends.
"I'm a mog — half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend!"