most of my friends are on for about that per day. The admin's among us are generally using the net in some way for 8 hours at work and my friends still in college are playing Call of Duty or Unreal Tournament for a minimum of 12 hours/day. Of course, the rest of us usually join in after work. Does that count as social activity? I sure hope so, cause I rarely ever go outside anymore.
FWIW, I have two pc's on my desk here at work to go with two T1 lines. At home I have 3 pc's doing various things (messageing, emule, bit torrent, web server, blah, blah, blah) but they can do their thing even when I'm not there. I also have a TV in sight that's always on and tuned to espnews but muted unless I see something interesting. Can you say 'information overload'? I knew that you could.
My guess is that Clue Computing had been named such in the real world for quite some time. Therefore, it's reasonable that they would seek out that domain name for legitimate reasons.
However, I'm willing to bet that Candyland.com had no prior connection to the name candyland and hence no valid claim to use the domain. They just thought, hey, candyland is a well known name and we can make money off it.
Make sense? I have no actual knowledge of either case and didn't even bother to click your links. But it seems logical to me that Clue Computing didn't even think about Clue the Hasbro game whereas candyland.com was specifically profiting off Hasbro's name recognition.
why not s-video out instead of an attachment? most places you go are going to have tv's with s-video nowadays anyway and if your on a bus or something your not going to want to pull out a screen attachment.
I agree on the feature creep. Why would I choose this device over an HP iPaq? Doesn't the iPaq do all this and more? I prefer simplicity in my devices though. I would prefer a small, cheap simple device that plays music really well. I can't see a need for the video. If I need to take video to someone I can burn a DVD/CD or put it on a usb hdd or usb key drive or use my high speed connection to just download it when I get there.
The only reason I can think of that I might use the video portion of this device is if I'm on a long trip and want something to watch or I'm working in the field (literally outdoors and not connected to anything else). But I already have a laptop that serves that purpose.
You can say it was my fault because I don't know how to plug an IDE cable in, but that is just bullshit.
There is a lot more to building a pc than plugging in an ide cable. If that's your understanding of it then it's no wonder your system was flaky.
I have bought many many Dell/HP/Gateway/IBM machines that worked just fine. But If I'm getting something for myself I'm going to put together exactly what I want, not what Dell or Gateway offers me. My current system was built for one purpose, to play Unreal Tournament 2k3 in my very hot upstairs room. Special case, special heat sink, special fans, etc. It is ROCK solid and plays most new games just fine even though it's almost a year and a half old. It was also ~$500 cheaper than anything Dell had that I would have accepted.
Sure, I spent many hours reading reviews, scouring forums and comparing bits and pieces, but that's part of what I do anyway. Putting everything together and getting the system up and running took about 2 hours. Again, that's what I do anyway, I'm not going to skimp on my own system.
If I'm buying 200 pc's that I will have to support then I'm going to buy Dell and make sure they are all exactly alike and are easy to take apart. If I'm buying a pc to make myself happy I'm going to invest some time and energy into it and make sure I get exactly what I want/need.
Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I can build a better system that Dell anyday.
I could likely get a new cable channel funded by just mentioning that was my slogan. Really, the male genetalia is an evolutionary afterthought... just look at it... or don't.
When a woman flashes the kitty in public it's sexy. If a man tries the same thing it's disturbing and will likely be laughed at.
This message brought to you by the Homophobic-Men-For-More-Naked-Women-on-TV Society.
Re:key to Commodore 64 success
on
First Computers
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· Score: 1
now that I think about it, pirating games is what got me a start in computers. My first computer was a Apple ][ with two (count'em two!) floppy drives. I don't even remember where I got it, but Copy II Plus made me king of the geeks (at my school). I didn't buy anything, everyone else just brought games to me and I would make copies for everyone else.
Next I had to figure out how to crack the games and put my logo in them. w00t!
Bang! 20 years later I'm a sysadmin with a cushy rolling chair and sea of cubicles to lord over. All because I couldn't afford to buy games as a kid.
oh yes, it was horrible wasn't it, "I can't read this huge text document with a crappy free reader, the world is coming to an end"
and WinXP recognizing that and forcefully terminating the program.
And M$, and myself, look at it like this. The program couldn't handle the data, an error msg is displayed and log generated. Does it really make much difference after that? If it were anything more than a text reader, maybe, but it's not. WordPad was not designed to read a document like this and it doesn't and an error msg is produced (albiet not from wordpad itself, but tell me, how many other OS's does wordpad run on?)
For me, I have two basic choices: Notepad or WordPad.
well, that's your choice isn't it? you could install open office or maybe even M$'s own free doc reader.
Look, my whole point was that some programs can't handle certain data. As long as some type of notification is given and it doesn't bring the entire system down.... who freaking cares?? Sure, some handle it a bit more 'gracefully' but they still can't do the job you want them to do.
I don't see any difference other than wordpad closed. And I don't see any problem with that. Basically wordpad just said "I can't do this, bye".
Wordpad is really really old and is not used for much of anything. The crash didn't effect anything else, gave an error msg and generated a log. What's the problem?
I believe Comcasts current marketing slogan is "No Limits" which would seem to push even further the idea that they do not impose any sort of limitations on the end user.
However, before I signed up with Comcast I had called and asked various questions about the different service levels and received varied answers depending on who I talked to. I asked a good friend, who already had comcast HSI, why this was. His answer:
I think so. First, dialup isn't dead, at least not for a few more years, so they still have several million people sending in $23.90/month (or whatever it is now). That at least gives them a little time.
Second, they have some killer brand names: AOL, WinAmp, AIM. Don't underestimate the power of a brand name (see napster). They have the opportunity to spin off into other area's (hopefully not spyware). Why doesn't AOL have a music download service like iTunes? They had TimeWarner's music catalog available but didn't do anything with it. Hell, they could even offer video downloads of TimeWarner movies and shows, that's a huge draw. I'm sure they were concerned with piracy, but I'm sure they could work some DRM into the AOL client, plus, it's not like AOL users are a bunch of warez junkies.
Which brings me to my third point. Convenience. AOL is very convenient for non-techie folk. I don't use AOL because I know how to install and configure seperate components that will do the same thing better. But many people don't know how to configure an email client, or even know what a newsreader is, much less care that they have a choice in browsers. AOL is like your corner convenience store, everything in one place. Sure, it cost a little more, and the selection isn't that great, but it's right here. And that's what many people like about AOL, everything they want is right in front of them in one happy, fun-time, colorful interface.
I won't even go into my idea of how AOL and WalMart could brand their own pc's running linux and crush M$ in the long run. Unfortunetly, as these layoffs show, it appears AOL is run by the PHB's and are content to milk what they can from the beast while it slowly dies. The CEO's and accountants will make a few million and destroy the company, leaving all the minions out in the cold.
I've had the JenniCam slashbox for as long as I can remember and your post is the most information I've ever actually gotten about her.
I had read/. for a year or so and finally got around to getting an id. Started setting preferences and noticed the option for JenniCam. Having no idea what it was I checked it just to see. She has been there ever since. I never actually took time (or cared) to find out anything more about her, but it was comforting to see her (or at least her cat) everyday when I checked/.
It's weird, but I've been 'seeing' her longer than any relationship I've ever had, even longer than my marriage (you don't want to know), and I have no idea who she is or what she does. And yes, I realize what that says about me and relationships.
I guess I'll miss seeing her here, but I'm sure it'll pass. I wonder if they have plans to add any other cams as a slashbox?
The last person that told me he was an 'expert on computers' also told me his computer was a 486/pentium.
Honestly, I've had no problems with Dell support, but I know people who have. Hey it's a big company and I'm sure they can't keep everyone happy. However, a friend of my Mom's bought a Dell, it had some problems and she called me for help. I thought 'oh crap how much time am i going to have to spend on this.' The answer was about 10 minutes, because Dell just sent her a new machine and said replace the parts that don't work, ship back what you don't need. All I had to do was plug everything back in. I'd say that's pretty good.
I do agree that Dell is saying no to removing spyware for legal reasons and I see no problem with it. What would happen if someone took advice on removing something, used it and completly trashed their own system. Don't you think most of the morons out there would blame Dell?
Also, just so we can get this into as many posts as possible, Dell is NOT pre-installing spyware. Repeat, Dell is NOT pre-installing spyware. RTFA.
Specifically, all of us fat lazy Americans. See, all the fat people in the US are actually preparing to (selflessly) save the rest of the world through our own sloth and gluttony. Once there are enough of us ready we will all enter a matrix like hive to have our energy (read fat) extracted to power the rest of the world. Sally Stouthers will be sacrificed to feed the hungry.
So the next time you snoddy foreigners start mouthing off about fat, lazy Americans, remember, were doing it all for you.
Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle... nah, it's gotta be one or the other, no way that both sides could have valid points.
To get this on topic, I predict that in the future there will be a police reality tv show called "Big Brother Beats your Ass" and protesters will make money from a line of video's called "When Cops Attack"
I'm all for moving jobs back to the US and I've been severely frustrated trying to speak with foreign tech support folks.... but
- Good English skills - must understand and speak WELL
most people in the US can't do that. Look, I'm southern, very southern (born in Buzzard Roost, Al) and I know some yankee's have a hard time understanding me. But also, I can't understand them most of the time. I remember a trip to Boston where I got lost and stopped to ask for directions and a nice lady had to translate for me and the guy at the gas station. Neither of us had any idea what the other was saying (I needed to find Paul Revere St, not RaVEH, it's a freaking R man, say it).
My point is that even those speaking the same language are going to have differences in speech patterns and pronunciation that make communication difficult. We need regionalized tech support, so that both ends of the conversation can be understood.
- No scripting - must be knowledgeable on the topic and products/services offered
Now that would be great wouldn't it. Imagine a world where you call tech support and get someone who not only speaks the same dialect that you do, but can actually help you fix the problem you have.
It has been before. when code red hit. Although the link given in that article is no longer working there are plenty of screen shots of www.windowsupdate.com with 'hacked by chinese' on it out there somewhere.
You cannot blindly trust anything, from anyone. I don't care if Mom says her apple pie is just dandy I'm gonna run my own tests.
would not only pay off the remainder of my loan in the event that my car is stolen, it also gives me $5000.
I'll take two please!!
your unlocked door story reminded me of my own funny, yet off topic, story. I used to drive a Jeep Wrangler and left the top down much of the time meaning anything left in it was likely gone when I returned. The radio didn't work anyway so I never worried about it, but one day I noticed that someone had stolen the knobs! Not the radio, just the knobs.
i also had some of those carpeted truck speakers, the really crappy kind you can get at wal-mart. they got rained on all the time (top off) and were generally worthless. I was walking up to my jeep one day and noticed something in the road. it was the side panel of one of the speakers. someone had stolen them from the back of my jeep and they were so rain-soaked and rotten that when they picked them up they fell apart. i really hope they tried to sell them to a pawn shop and got laughed at.
ok, uh, what were we talking about? ahh, I might as well go do some work:)
That the guy seemed genuinely startled when I pointed out this obvious problem tells me that we've already lost.
Did he install it even though you said you didn't want it? If not then I don't see a problem. As long as your not forced to use something like this what's the big deal? Some people really like and need services like Lo-Jack, OnStar, etc. And you would likely get better insurance rates if you do have one installed.
Some of us don't have to worry about it though. No one seems to want my car. It's actually been broken into and then left in the same spot. Maybe the thief got spooked but I figure they broke in, sat down and looked around then thought "aw, fuck this" and left.
I do, however, kinda see your point about it becoming commonplace. First it's Lo-Jack then we are inserting transmitters into newborns because "think of the chiiillldryyyyyyn." Still, I give this a firm 'meh'
Go to WalMart (or any place that has those big displays with free AOL cds) and just grab as many as you can hold.
I do this every so often just to see the look on the security guys face. He looks like he wants to stop me sooo bad, but can't think of any reason why he should. They are free after all.
There are endless uses for those things. I use them mostly as coasters and for throwing at people.
Slashdot Mirror
most of my friends are on for about that per day. The admin's among us are generally using the net in some way for 8 hours at work and my friends still in college are playing Call of Duty or Unreal Tournament for a minimum of 12 hours/day. Of course, the rest of us usually join in after work. Does that count as social activity? I sure hope so, cause I rarely ever go outside anymore.
FWIW, I have two pc's on my desk here at work to go with two T1 lines. At home I have 3 pc's doing various things (messageing, emule, bit torrent, web server, blah, blah, blah) but they can do their thing even when I'm not there. I also have a TV in sight that's always on and tuned to espnews but muted unless I see something interesting. Can you say 'information overload'? I knew that you could.
My guess is that Clue Computing had been named such in the real world for quite some time. Therefore, it's reasonable that they would seek out that domain name for legitimate reasons.
However, I'm willing to bet that Candyland.com had no prior connection to the name candyland and hence no valid claim to use the domain. They just thought, hey, candyland is a well known name and we can make money off it.
Make sense? I have no actual knowledge of either case and didn't even bother to click your links. But it seems logical to me that Clue Computing didn't even think about Clue the Hasbro game whereas candyland.com was specifically profiting off Hasbro's name recognition.
Are you trolling or just stupid? I bet you think six times nine isn't forty-two either.
My child might be writing a report for school about money.
Better be real careful with that report.
why not s-video out instead of an attachment? most places you go are going to have tv's with s-video nowadays anyway and if your on a bus or something your not going to want to pull out a screen attachment.
I agree on the feature creep. Why would I choose this device over an HP iPaq? Doesn't the iPaq do all this and more? I prefer simplicity in my devices though. I would prefer a small, cheap simple device that plays music really well. I can't see a need for the video. If I need to take video to someone I can burn a DVD/CD or put it on a usb hdd or usb key drive or use my high speed connection to just download it when I get there.
The only reason I can think of that I might use the video portion of this device is if I'm on a long trip and want something to watch or I'm working in the field (literally outdoors and not connected to anything else). But I already have a laptop that serves that purpose.
Home built PCs can be flaky as hell.
so can the owners/builders
You can say it was my fault because I don't know how to plug an IDE cable in, but that is just bullshit.
There is a lot more to building a pc than plugging in an ide cable. If that's your understanding of it then it's no wonder your system was flaky.
I have bought many many Dell/HP/Gateway/IBM machines that worked just fine. But If I'm getting something for myself I'm going to put together exactly what I want, not what Dell or Gateway offers me. My current system was built for one purpose, to play Unreal Tournament 2k3 in my very hot upstairs room. Special case, special heat sink, special fans, etc. It is ROCK solid and plays most new games just fine even though it's almost a year and a half old. It was also ~$500 cheaper than anything Dell had that I would have accepted.
Sure, I spent many hours reading reviews, scouring forums and comparing bits and pieces, but that's part of what I do anyway. Putting everything together and getting the system up and running took about 2 hours. Again, that's what I do anyway, I'm not going to skimp on my own system.
If I'm buying 200 pc's that I will have to support then I'm going to buy Dell and make sure they are all exactly alike and are easy to take apart. If I'm buying a pc to make myself happy I'm going to invest some time and energy into it and make sure I get exactly what I want/need.
Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I can build a better system that Dell anyday.
I could likely get a new cable channel funded by just mentioning that was my slogan. Really, the male genetalia is an evolutionary afterthought ... just look at it ... or don't.
When a woman flashes the kitty in public it's sexy. If a man tries the same thing it's disturbing and will likely be laughed at.
This message brought to you by the Homophobic-Men-For-More-Naked-Women-on-TV Society.
now that I think about it, pirating games is what got me a start in computers. My first computer was a Apple ][ with two (count'em two!) floppy drives. I don't even remember where I got it, but Copy II Plus made me king of the geeks (at my school). I didn't buy anything, everyone else just brought games to me and I would make copies for everyone else.
Next I had to figure out how to crack the games and put my logo in them. w00t!
Bang! 20 years later I'm a sysadmin with a cushy rolling chair and sea of cubicles to lord over. All because I couldn't afford to buy games as a kid.
The difference is it's not WordPad doing it.
.... who freaking cares?? Sure, some handle it a bit more 'gracefully' but they still can't do the job you want them to do.
so?
It's WordPad dying a painful implosive death
oh yes, it was horrible wasn't it, "I can't read this huge text document with a crappy free reader, the world is coming to an end"
and WinXP recognizing that and forcefully terminating the program.
And M$, and myself, look at it like this. The program couldn't handle the data, an error msg is displayed and log generated. Does it really make much difference after that? If it were anything more than a text reader, maybe, but it's not. WordPad was not designed to read a document like this and it doesn't and an error msg is produced (albiet not from wordpad itself, but tell me, how many other OS's does wordpad run on?)
For me, I have two basic choices: Notepad or WordPad.
well, that's your choice isn't it? you could install open office or maybe even M$'s own free doc reader.
Look, my whole point was that some programs can't handle certain data. As long as some type of notification is given and it doesn't bring the entire system down
I don't see any difference other than wordpad closed. And I don't see any problem with that. Basically wordpad just said "I can't do this, bye".
Wordpad is really really old and is not used for much of anything. The crash didn't effect anything else, gave an error msg and generated a log. What's the problem?
Oh, right, M$ SuxxoRs
what happens to your programs when you push a bunch of data they can't handle into them?
I believe Comcasts current marketing slogan is "No Limits" which would seem to push even further the idea that they do not impose any sort of limitations on the end user.
However, before I signed up with Comcast I had called and asked various questions about the different service levels and received varied answers depending on who I talked to. I asked a good friend, who already had comcast HSI, why this was. His answer:
"It's simple. They lie."
Yes, I do.
But M$ promises to put out a patch immediately if it's "critical".
I think so. First, dialup isn't dead, at least not for a few more years, so they still have several million people sending in $23.90/month (or whatever it is now). That at least gives them a little time.
Second, they have some killer brand names: AOL, WinAmp, AIM. Don't underestimate the power of a brand name (see napster). They have the opportunity to spin off into other area's (hopefully not spyware). Why doesn't AOL have a music download service like iTunes? They had TimeWarner's music catalog available but didn't do anything with it. Hell, they could even offer video downloads of TimeWarner movies and shows, that's a huge draw. I'm sure they were concerned with piracy, but I'm sure they could work some DRM into the AOL client, plus, it's not like AOL users are a bunch of warez junkies.
Which brings me to my third point. Convenience. AOL is very convenient for non-techie folk. I don't use AOL because I know how to install and configure seperate components that will do the same thing better. But many people don't know how to configure an email client, or even know what a newsreader is, much less care that they have a choice in browsers. AOL is like your corner convenience store, everything in one place. Sure, it cost a little more, and the selection isn't that great, but it's right here. And that's what many people like about AOL, everything they want is right in front of them in one happy, fun-time, colorful interface.
I won't even go into my idea of how AOL and WalMart could brand their own pc's running linux and crush M$ in the long run. Unfortunetly, as these layoffs show, it appears AOL is run by the PHB's and are content to milk what they can from the beast while it slowly dies. The CEO's and accountants will make a few million and destroy the company, leaving all the minions out in the cold.
I've had the JenniCam slashbox for as long as I can remember and your post is the most information I've ever actually gotten about her.
/. for a year or so and finally got around to getting an id. Started setting preferences and noticed the option for JenniCam. Having no idea what it was I checked it just to see. She has been there ever since. I never actually took time (or cared) to find out anything more about her, but it was comforting to see her (or at least her cat) everyday when I checked /.
I had read
It's weird, but I've been 'seeing' her longer than any relationship I've ever had, even longer than my marriage (you don't want to know), and I have no idea who she is or what she does. And yes, I realize what that says about me and relationships.
I guess I'll miss seeing her here, but I'm sure it'll pass. I wonder if they have plans to add any other cams as a slashbox?
recognize me as an expert on computers
The last person that told me he was an 'expert on computers' also told me his computer was a 486/pentium.
Honestly, I've had no problems with Dell support, but I know people who have. Hey it's a big company and I'm sure they can't keep everyone happy. However, a friend of my Mom's bought a Dell, it had some problems and she called me for help. I thought 'oh crap how much time am i going to have to spend on this.' The answer was about 10 minutes, because Dell just sent her a new machine and said replace the parts that don't work, ship back what you don't need. All I had to do was plug everything back in. I'd say that's pretty good.
I do agree that Dell is saying no to removing spyware for legal reasons and I see no problem with it. What would happen if someone took advice on removing something, used it and completly trashed their own system. Don't you think most of the morons out there would blame Dell?
Also, just so we can get this into as many posts as possible, Dell is NOT pre-installing spyware. Repeat, Dell is NOT pre-installing spyware. RTFA.
The KFA even made a trip to Arkansas. Apparently, it was a very efficient communist hoedown.
Maybe not HTML skill, but he'll lay the smack down in ping pong.
I want a table tennis badge from the souvenirs section.
Specifically, all of us fat lazy Americans. See, all the fat people in the US are actually preparing to (selflessly) save the rest of the world through our own sloth and gluttony. Once there are enough of us ready we will all enter a matrix like hive to have our energy (read fat) extracted to power the rest of the world. Sally Stouthers will be sacrificed to feed the hungry.
So the next time you snoddy foreigners start mouthing off about fat, lazy Americans, remember, were doing it all for you.
Looks like a good, old fashion Hippie Ass Whooping to me. Not everyone seems to agree about it though.
... nah, it's gotta be one or the other, no way that both sides could have valid points.
Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle
To get this on topic, I predict that in the future there will be a police reality tv show called "Big Brother Beats your Ass" and protesters will make money from a line of video's called "When Cops Attack"
I'm all for moving jobs back to the US and I've been severely frustrated trying to speak with foreign tech support folks .... but
- Good English skills - must understand and speak WELL
most people in the US can't do that. Look, I'm southern, very southern (born in Buzzard Roost, Al) and I know some yankee's have a hard time understanding me. But also, I can't understand them most of the time. I remember a trip to Boston where I got lost and stopped to ask for directions and a nice lady had to translate for me and the guy at the gas station. Neither of us had any idea what the other was saying (I needed to find Paul Revere St, not RaVEH, it's a freaking R man, say it).
My point is that even those speaking the same language are going to have differences in speech patterns and pronunciation that make communication difficult. We need regionalized tech support, so that both ends of the conversation can be understood.
- No scripting - must be knowledgeable on the topic and products/services offered
Now that would be great wouldn't it. Imagine a world where you call tech support and get someone who not only speaks the same dialect that you do, but can actually help you fix the problem you have.
Sometimes I like to daydream too.
Their update server wasn't compromised
It has been before. when code red hit. Although the link given in that article is no longer working there are plenty of screen shots of www.windowsupdate.com with 'hacked by chinese' on it out there somewhere.
You cannot blindly trust anything, from anyone. I don't care if Mom says her apple pie is just dandy I'm gonna run my own tests.
would not only pay off the remainder of my loan in the event that my car is stolen, it also gives me $5000.
:)
I'll take two please!!
your unlocked door story reminded me of my own funny, yet off topic, story. I used to drive a Jeep Wrangler and left the top down much of the time meaning anything left in it was likely gone when I returned. The radio didn't work anyway so I never worried about it, but one day I noticed that someone had stolen the knobs! Not the radio, just the knobs.
i also had some of those carpeted truck speakers, the really crappy kind you can get at wal-mart. they got rained on all the time (top off) and were generally worthless. I was walking up to my jeep one day and noticed something in the road. it was the side panel of one of the speakers. someone had stolen them from the back of my jeep and they were so rain-soaked and rotten that when they picked them up they fell apart. i really hope they tried to sell them to a pawn shop and got laughed at.
ok, uh, what were we talking about? ahh, I might as well go do some work
That the guy seemed genuinely startled when I pointed out this obvious problem tells me that we've already lost.
Did he install it even though you said you didn't want it? If not then I don't see a problem. As long as your not forced to use something like this what's the big deal? Some people really like and need services like Lo-Jack, OnStar, etc. And you would likely get better insurance rates if you do have one installed.
Some of us don't have to worry about it though. No one seems to want my car. It's actually been broken into and then left in the same spot. Maybe the thief got spooked but I figure they broke in, sat down and looked around then thought "aw, fuck this" and left.
I do, however, kinda see your point about it becoming commonplace. First it's Lo-Jack then we are inserting transmitters into newborns because "think of the chiiillldryyyyyyn." Still, I give this a firm 'meh'
Go to WalMart (or any place that has those big displays with free AOL cds) and just grab as many as you can hold.
I do this every so often just to see the look on the security guys face. He looks like he wants to stop me sooo bad, but can't think of any reason why he should. They are free after all.
There are endless uses for those things. I use them mostly as coasters and for throwing at people.