My father has been a Mac fan my entire life, and he was disappointed to find that I was a DOS and later Windows user. But it was to be expected; I wanted to play games and I wanted the BBS software of the time.
Once I got into college and started studying computer science, my respect for unix grew. I played with an ancient laptop installed with Linux over the summer and really learned a lot about this exciting area. But due to (in my opinion) poor applications, it would not be a desktop OS to me. All it really took to switch me to the Mac was a few evenings on my dad's Powerbook playing with OS X.
The interface was intuitive and clever. The whole thing looked professional and yet beautiful at the same time, not much like the previous Mac OS I'd remembered. The apps worked together, had really cool features, and were generally more pleasant to use and look at than on Windows; plus, most of them actually came with the machine as standard. Mail's junk mail filtering and simple interface had me entranced. The way iTunes automatically sorted and managed all of your mp3s based on their id3, while providing ripping and burning support, amazed me (I can stick an audio CD in my computer, it'll rip it in iTunes, add it to the library appropriately, and eject it automatically). For some reason, even Microsoft apps such as Office and IE look and feel much nicer, and even have added functionality! And, of course, I could access a unix terminal at any time.
On the unix side, there's plenty to be done. You can load an entire KDE installation and run it on top of Aqua. While in Cocoa-based apps such as Safari -- where I type this -- I can use emacs-style keys like ctrl-a, ctrl-e, ctrl-k, ctrl-y in this comment field. And I was finally free of the registry.
And it's all packaged. It's all so easy. It removes a huge portion of the headaches, the real currency of computers. There are a huge number of "little things" I could say I prefer about the Mac that add up to a really pleasant overall experience. If I was a gamer or multimedia expert I might be disappointed with the recent hardware speed issues, but don't be mistaken. The 1 Ghz G4 is fast as hell, and I can play Warcraft III (and many other mainstream games) or use Photoshop very smoothly.
I don't think it's perfect. I've had crashes and have been frustrated by a lack of some Windows app I wanted. But I will say I do think it is better. At this point, I'm fairly certain my next machine will be a Mac. Ideologically, it appeals to me more than Microsoft. I genuinely feel that Apple is out to make good stuff and change things for the better, while Microsoft seems more purely capitalist.
OK, this has way too long, but it's helped me put off studying for a test;)
Not sure if you can do that, but by using Fink and Apple X11 you can run a ton of stuff, including a complete KDE 3.1 implementation inside Aqua. Here's a screenshot of what it can look like.
I know this wasn't what you were asking for, but if you didn't know about this stuff, hopefully you can find it helpful.
For those of you too lazy to search Google for "Japanese invisibility cloak", here is the link that started it and the project home page (with movies).
The objects are NOT truly transparent. They just appear that way due to optical tricks. Basically, they project what is behind an object to what is on the front of it using cameras, projectors, and mirrors. It's a neat idea, and he suggests some useful applications, but nothing like most were expecting upon seeing the pictures. Still, makes for some kick-ass videos.
Re:Buddha
on
AI in Sci-Fi
·
· Score: 2, Informative
It is my understanding that the Buddhist seeks nirvana (sanskrit: blowing out, as of a candle) so they may no longer have to reincarnate as there will be nothing left to reincarnate. It is believed that emotional ties lead to dukkha (pain), and that is the constant of life, for life is defined by your emotional ties. They are your self.
Thus, by disassocation of all things, one can remove the ties and alleviate the pain, and in doing so cease to exist.
Buddhism has been redefined to be more approachable over time, but the original premise is that life is painful, so we must escape life.
Quiet you! After all the work we've gone to in order to trick the other nations into believing that Nazi Germany once existed, you go ahead and give away the true cause of World War II. Great, just great. Now how are we going to promote our hidden agenda to enslave the world?
What would really be more effective in assuring the Australian people don't think impure thoughts would be to implement the Orwellian idea of removing certain words from their vocabulary, such as "freedom," "liberty," etc. Hey, it worked with "Fosters."
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My father has been a Mac fan my entire life, and he was disappointed to find that I was a DOS and later Windows user. But it was to be expected; I wanted to play games and I wanted the BBS software of the time.
Once I got into college and started studying computer science, my respect for unix grew. I played with an ancient laptop installed with Linux over the summer and really learned a lot about this exciting area. But due to (in my opinion) poor applications, it would not be a desktop OS to me. All it really took to switch me to the Mac was a few evenings on my dad's Powerbook playing with OS X.
The interface was intuitive and clever. The whole thing looked professional and yet beautiful at the same time, not much like the previous Mac OS I'd remembered. The apps worked together, had really cool features, and were generally more pleasant to use and look at than on Windows; plus, most of them actually came with the machine as standard. Mail's junk mail filtering and simple interface had me entranced. The way iTunes automatically sorted and managed all of your mp3s based on their id3, while providing ripping and burning support, amazed me (I can stick an audio CD in my computer, it'll rip it in iTunes, add it to the library appropriately, and eject it automatically). For some reason, even Microsoft apps such as Office and IE look and feel much nicer, and even have added functionality! And, of course, I could access a unix terminal at any time.
On the unix side, there's plenty to be done. You can load an entire KDE installation and run it on top of Aqua. While in Cocoa-based apps such as Safari -- where I type this -- I can use emacs-style keys like ctrl-a, ctrl-e, ctrl-k, ctrl-y in this comment field. And I was finally free of the registry.
And it's all packaged. It's all so easy. It removes a huge portion of the headaches, the real currency of computers. There are a huge number of "little things" I could say I prefer about the Mac that add up to a really pleasant overall experience. If I was a gamer or multimedia expert I might be disappointed with the recent hardware speed issues, but don't be mistaken. The 1 Ghz G4 is fast as hell, and I can play Warcraft III (and many other mainstream games) or use Photoshop very smoothly.
I don't think it's perfect. I've had crashes and have been frustrated by a lack of some Windows app I wanted. But I will say I do think it is better. At this point, I'm fairly certain my next machine will be a Mac. Ideologically, it appeals to me more than Microsoft. I genuinely feel that Apple is out to make good stuff and change things for the better, while Microsoft seems more purely capitalist.
OK, this has way too long, but it's helped me put off studying for a test ;)
Not sure if you can do that, but by using Fink and Apple X11 you can run a ton of stuff, including a complete KDE 3.1 implementation inside Aqua. Here's a screenshot of what it can look like.
I know this wasn't what you were asking for, but if you didn't know about this stuff, hopefully you can find it helpful.
For those of you too lazy to search Google for "Japanese invisibility cloak", here is the link that started it and the project home page (with movies).
The objects are NOT truly transparent. They just appear that way due to optical tricks. Basically, they project what is behind an object to what is on the front of it using cameras, projectors, and mirrors. It's a neat idea, and he suggests some useful applications, but nothing like most were expecting upon seeing the pictures. Still, makes for some kick-ass videos.
It is my understanding that the Buddhist seeks nirvana (sanskrit: blowing out, as of a candle) so they may no longer have to reincarnate as there will be nothing left to reincarnate. It is believed that emotional ties lead to dukkha (pain), and that is the constant of life, for life is defined by your emotional ties. They are your self.
Thus, by disassocation of all things, one can remove the ties and alleviate the pain, and in doing so cease to exist.
Buddhism has been redefined to be more approachable over time, but the original premise is that life is painful, so we must escape life.
If you log out and view the front page, the number of comments appears normally.
Quiet you! After all the work we've gone to in order to trick the other nations into believing that Nazi Germany once existed, you go ahead and give away the true cause of World War II. Great, just great. Now how are we going to promote our hidden agenda to enslave the world?
What would really be more effective in assuring the Australian people don't think impure thoughts would be to implement the Orwellian idea of removing certain words from their vocabulary, such as "freedom," "liberty," etc. Hey, it worked with "Fosters."