I grew up in a place where median home price was in that range and for some reason, everyone in town seemed to have a fully loaded/lifted truck, a 5th wheel, dirt bikes, classic car, you name it. These were blue collar working class folk. A fully loaded pickup with mods is a good $50,000 easy these days and I see plenty of people in rural/suburban areas ponying up that kinda cash. I'm not sure how a luxury car (and 60k is barely that) is any different than a pickup. They both suck up gas at the same rate, have about the same horsepower but just appeal to different crowds. Cost of housing in an area is no way to measure this stuff.
Here here.When I was in Vietnam a few years back documenting a charity bike ride for the treatment of land mine victims and I would ask people there how they felt about the US. The most common answer I heard was that the US was there for such a short time, we barely register in the history books. Same goes for the French. Where they did manage to hold a grudge was for the Chinese who they have been fighting with for thousands of years. Vietnam is a beautiful country with some of the kindest and happiest people I have ever met in my travels. There is a lot to be said for having nothing. Ho Chi Minh City on the other hand was the same sort of major metropolis you'd find in any other country. I had no love for it.
Atwood is pretty good at depressing, even if she doesn't consider herself a sci-fi author. If you like Margaret Atwood, I suggest you DO NOT listen to this interview. She apparently isn't familiar with the work of Orson Scott Card.
FTFY. The saddest part of the human condition is every generation thinking that their experience is new. Here on slashdot, there was a quote from a greek philosopher (I forget which) disparaging the dangerous and uncontrollable youth of the day and pining for yesteryear. The only thing that changes in the technology.
Truth be told we haven't gotten that far yet. I built an HTPC this summer to pull all the same (plus extra) duty the xbox was handling for media viewing and game playing. I've been snatching up all the humble bundles and been playing a few steam games with the controller solo (space marine). Steam (I SWEAR I don't work for Valve) has a few dozen titles that have local co-op but that is certainly where consoles shine though even that is fading. Many have bemoaning the lack of console games supporting local co-op and now that so many consoles are online I imagine the trend will continue.
I will not weigh in here on the ethical implications of emulators but if you are willing to play in the console back catalog almost all emulators support multiple controllers. It is borrowing heavily on the legacy of consoles but as I stated in my first post, I'm pro-console. I'm just not sure they are delivering on the same promise of turn key gaming like they used to and the value proposition isn't what it used to be now that PC games are so inexpensive (comparatively). What we have been playing together on the PC has been things like bookworm (PopCap) and Railroad Tycoon and Railworks which is a train simulator.
Yes, I have a child and playing together is completely awesome and something the console (kinect and ipad in particular) is very well suited for. PC gaming with mouse and keyboard is beyond him still but using the xbox controller on the PC is a great transition.
Regarding the laptop, it is irrelevant whether or not MS makes a portable console since few consoles have ever allowed you to play the same console game on a portable (the turbographx 16 comes to mind though). With Steam cloud saves and a laptop I can play the same game at home or on the road without buying the software twice. It is a huge advantage in my case. While getting away from the original point, I think I'm with MS on this in that portable gaming has been completely ceded to the iOS and Android at this point. MS could do it if they packed enough power to play standard pc games on a portable game centric device. Sounds like a loss leader to me though.
I'm a long time gamer that has come full circle. The xbox was the first console I've ever owned and was purchased largely because of the mess that was PC gaming in the late 90s early 2000s: game that took an hour to install and didn't work out of the box, CS map packs that had to be downloaded from the server you were connected to, games that only ran on 3DFX voodoo cards, the list could go on forever. I had less time to game as I was now an adult and I just wanted things to work.
The trade was well worth it. Now a decade later it seems all those same issues have crept into consoles. I can't play CoD with friends unless I've bought the map packs, games are coming out not fully operational, I have to PAY to play online. Taken individually I can get over most but in the meantime the price of a PC (desktop and laptop) has fallen BELOW what I paid for my 360 (and PS3, I have one of those too) at launch. Steam has made digital distribution and patching a reality and with Steam sales, has brought the cost of the software WAY down. Laptops make my gaming platform portable and self contained.
I'm not saying I won't buy the next generation of consoles but I'm going to think long and hard about doing so. I am definitely ready for the resurgence of PC gaming, not that it ever went away, but a lot of us migrated and are ready to come back. I admire the console's attempt to integrate the indie community into fold but it was a slippery slope and the repercussions of that decision are unfolding. I don't blame microsoft or the dev in this scenario, I'm just not positive that it was ever a good marriage to begin with.
I work for a major university and every two weeks at our surplus store (open to the public) they have at least 3-5 racks. Now, we are an R1 institution so aside from computers, racks for science equipment abound. You can pick up what would easily be $500-600 rack for $25. Everything I've seen has been on wheels. The only downside is it will likely be 42U. Max flexibility if you have the space.
Phalanx = cooperation therefore, same handedness. Of course I didn't RTFA but I believe the author was referring to single combat and having a lefty advantage. Competition, not cooperation.
You and all your fellow EU citizens should boycott. Maybe something will change then. It is very easy to forget but the common man doesn't get a say in this. I sincerely doubt the common man also thinks the EU is in love with the US either. The internet is an amazing communications amplifier, the result of which is worldwide rhetoric is at an all time high. Extremism of every sort is the new religion. Be above it. I implore all thinkers to not judge the citizenry based on their government.
the difference is I'm spending more of my money on the product and less on time and acquisition. Where I would need to drive to as many as 3 or 4 stores to find (or just as likely not find) a product I'm looking for, I can now order it on my lunch break and it's at my house the next day. It's never been easier to spend my money but I can find reviews to buy the right product for my need, I have more direct access to the company that provides the warranty or tech support, I can comparison shop to find the lowest price and I don't have to buy gas to pick it up. I'd call that a fair trade.
"And this is a sequel to a 1988 game, we're talking about. You're telling me that in 24 years nobody's thought "I'll make a game, like this really cool RPG I saw when I was younger"? Anybody could have written that game in-between, and if it were good enough and sold enough, they could have vied with Konami to sell it as a Wasteland sequel. They didn't. That's not because of lack of funding, that's because of lack of interest. Nobody could even be bothered to make a semi-rip-off of it at home."
They did make a sequel and just like you said. That game was called Fallout, you might have heard of it. The kickstarter project has now employed the creators of this spiritual sequel as well. It was a great idea. Sometimes properties get held up by fledgling companies and literal sequels are not feasible. I believe some of the old sierra games fall into that category currently (they are trying to remake the leisure suit larry franchise as we speak).
I think that "ktchuck" (maybe the "vwhoom")sound was the screen degausser. Never knew what it was for until some poorly shielded desktop speakers got a little too close to my samsung syncmaster...
I checked out good old games and they don't have the title. Is there a good/easy/legal way to play this on a modern system? I was a huge fan of bards tale 1 and 2 and fallout 1/2/3 but somehow I managed to miss wasteland back in the day. I'd love a crack at it before the new one comes out.
Name of the Wind, part 1 of the King Killer Chronicles is an unbelievably good read. Not great for airplanes though since you will be forced to read it in a sitting, it is that good. This is a young guy and his first novel. The greatest knock I can give it is that it is a trilogy and the 3rd book has not yet been released. It was 4 years between book 1 and 2 and book two was released this year. Yikes! As a general rule I never read new authors, I let time do the vetting for me. This book has changed my mind. I'm trying not to gush but it replaced Dune as my all time favorite and I'm not even a fan of the fantasy genre!
Yes, truly funny but I think the better punchline would have been "but one investor was quoted as saying, "A++++++++ FAST SHIPPING! WOULD BUY FROM AGAIN"
Your comment is almost not worth replying to. I also did not say they keep things for years and years but I like your note about reading comprehension. Backups would also be included under a warrant so no, they don't keep backups of that data either. The data doesn't exist in any fashion for it to be discovered. If it did and they didn't comply, it would be serious legal trouble. The work around is to simply destroy everything. Many libraries run triple i, (III) which is a local installation, no outsourcing. All data is controlled of the library itself. I can't speak for all libraries in this regard, I'm sure there is plenty of outsourcing, interlibrary loan probably also falls into this category if the loaning library does not have the same records retention policy. Fouth is pure tin foil hat territory and Fifth is spot on. I am in Washington State which generally speaking is extremely liberal. I have heard of other states (florida comes to mind) where the libraries have turned data over. As always, YMMV depending on your local.
I know this is slash so I fully expect a bias towards science/math/engineering but college as a vocational school is just one route. I was a music major with every intention of being a music teacher but I instead went into IT. I was and am in demand not because of my degree (obviously) but because of my people skills. Not every job in a technical field requires a technical background. Some people still need to meet with clients, provide customer service, manage the work and generally not be the typical asocial IT nerd we are so used to see being stereotyped. I am a technically inclined person with a solid capacity to learn and a critical mind to think problems through and find solutions. These type of people will always find work regardless of their degree. The degree is a formality, a certification that you are willing to learn and are disciplined enough to complete a long term goal. Some of the smartest people I know dropped out of college and went into coding and network engineering because they learned everything they needed to know by teaching themselves, which is a completely different route. Their ROI is a lot better than mine.
You are clearly NOT a librarian. Yes they are subject to FISA warrants but records are immediately destroyed or unlinked when a piece of media is returned (book, movie, etc). So yes, they do turn over the records but that is only for what is currently checked out. As other commentors have mentioned, the libraries in most (but not all) states are likely our greatest protectors of civil liberties. Even if you have never used your library you have benefited from them directly. FWIW, I am not a librarian but have worked closely with them for last 15 years. I have great respect for what they do.
While not FM modulated for whole house video, wireless HDMI has become rather cheap recently. Asus makes a kit available on amazon for about $130 for both Rx/Tx that it HDMI input independent; doesn't requires a special chipset like the intel WiDi devices do. Pretty sweet, full motion 1080p video in nearly realtime, too much lag for a video game but great for movies. I don't think multiple receivers can decode it though, but you can send it to different discreet receivers individually. I was impressed because like you, I've balked at the price of digital modulators. Definitely not for the average home AV person.
Slashdot Mirror
I grew up in a place where median home price was in that range and for some reason, everyone in town seemed to have a fully loaded/lifted truck, a 5th wheel, dirt bikes, classic car, you name it. These were blue collar working class folk. A fully loaded pickup with mods is a good $50,000 easy these days and I see plenty of people in rural/suburban areas ponying up that kinda cash. I'm not sure how a luxury car (and 60k is barely that) is any different than a pickup. They both suck up gas at the same rate, have about the same horsepower but just appeal to different crowds. Cost of housing in an area is no way to measure this stuff.
Jones soda is brewed, bottled and headquartered in Seattle, at least, it used to be.
I was in the same boat as you. I am a musician and wanted a stand up desk for my audio workstation to make it easier to play guitar and record. I already had an X-type keyboard stand sitting around so I bought a second platform for it to make it a two tier stand. I put my laptop on the second tier using a scrap piece of lumber. Works great and cheap. This is basically exactly what I have.
http://www.amazon.com/On-Stage-Stands-Deluxe-2-Tier-Keyboard/dp/B0002M3OUO/ref=sr_1_9?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1346966758&sr=1-9&keywords=onstage+keyboard+stand
Here here.When I was in Vietnam a few years back documenting a charity bike ride for the treatment of land mine victims and I would ask people there how they felt about the US. The most common answer I heard was that the US was there for such a short time, we barely register in the history books. Same goes for the French. Where they did manage to hold a grudge was for the Chinese who they have been fighting with for thousands of years. Vietnam is a beautiful country with some of the kindest and happiest people I have ever met in my travels. There is a lot to be said for having nothing. Ho Chi Minh City on the other hand was the same sort of major metropolis you'd find in any other country. I had no love for it.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129324791
a dictatorship (under benevolent, enlightened dictator) is the best form of government.
yes, that is a big qualification.
Which is why I for one welcome our new (benevolent) robotic overlords. It's the only way to be sure.
It's how politics works.
FTFY. The saddest part of the human condition is every generation thinking that their experience is new. Here on slashdot, there was a quote from a greek philosopher (I forget which) disparaging the dangerous and uncontrollable youth of the day and pining for yesteryear. The only thing that changes in the technology.
Truth be told we haven't gotten that far yet. I built an HTPC this summer to pull all the same (plus extra) duty the xbox was handling for media viewing and game playing. I've been snatching up all the humble bundles and been playing a few steam games with the controller solo (space marine). Steam (I SWEAR I don't work for Valve) has a few dozen titles that have local co-op but that is certainly where consoles shine though even that is fading. Many have bemoaning the lack of console games supporting local co-op and now that so many consoles are online I imagine the trend will continue.
I will not weigh in here on the ethical implications of emulators but if you are willing to play in the console back catalog almost all emulators support multiple controllers. It is borrowing heavily on the legacy of consoles but as I stated in my first post, I'm pro-console. I'm just not sure they are delivering on the same promise of turn key gaming like they used to and the value proposition isn't what it used to be now that PC games are so inexpensive (comparatively). What we have been playing together on the PC has been things like bookworm (PopCap) and Railroad Tycoon and Railworks which is a train simulator.
Yes, I have a child and playing together is completely awesome and something the console (kinect and ipad in particular) is very well suited for. PC gaming with mouse and keyboard is beyond him still but using the xbox controller on the PC is a great transition.
Regarding the laptop, it is irrelevant whether or not MS makes a portable console since few consoles have ever allowed you to play the same console game on a portable (the turbographx 16 comes to mind though). With Steam cloud saves and a laptop I can play the same game at home or on the road without buying the software twice. It is a huge advantage in my case. While getting away from the original point, I think I'm with MS on this in that portable gaming has been completely ceded to the iOS and Android at this point. MS could do it if they packed enough power to play standard pc games on a portable game centric device. Sounds like a loss leader to me though.
I'm a long time gamer that has come full circle. The xbox was the first console I've ever owned and was purchased largely because of the mess that was PC gaming in the late 90s early 2000s: game that took an hour to install and didn't work out of the box, CS map packs that had to be downloaded from the server you were connected to, games that only ran on 3DFX voodoo cards, the list could go on forever. I had less time to game as I was now an adult and I just wanted things to work.
The trade was well worth it. Now a decade later it seems all those same issues have crept into consoles. I can't play CoD with friends unless I've bought the map packs, games are coming out not fully operational, I have to PAY to play online. Taken individually I can get over most but in the meantime the price of a PC (desktop and laptop) has fallen BELOW what I paid for my 360 (and PS3, I have one of those too) at launch. Steam has made digital distribution and patching a reality and with Steam sales, has brought the cost of the software WAY down. Laptops make my gaming platform portable and self contained.
I'm not saying I won't buy the next generation of consoles but I'm going to think long and hard about doing so. I am definitely ready for the resurgence of PC gaming, not that it ever went away, but a lot of us migrated and are ready to come back. I admire the console's attempt to integrate the indie community into fold but it was a slippery slope and the repercussions of that decision are unfolding. I don't blame microsoft or the dev in this scenario, I'm just not positive that it was ever a good marriage to begin with.
I work for a major university and every two weeks at our surplus store (open to the public) they have at least 3-5 racks. Now, we are an R1 institution so aside from computers, racks for science equipment abound. You can pick up what would easily be $500-600 rack for $25. Everything I've seen has been on wheels. The only downside is it will likely be 42U. Max flexibility if you have the space.
Phalanx = cooperation therefore, same handedness. Of course I didn't RTFA but I believe the author was referring to single combat and having a lefty advantage. Competition, not cooperation.
You and all your fellow EU citizens should boycott. Maybe something will change then. It is very easy to forget but the common man doesn't get a say in this. I sincerely doubt the common man also thinks the EU is in love with the US either. The internet is an amazing communications amplifier, the result of which is worldwide rhetoric is at an all time high. Extremism of every sort is the new religion. Be above it. I implore all thinkers to not judge the citizenry based on their government.
the difference is I'm spending more of my money on the product and less on time and acquisition. Where I would need to drive to as many as 3 or 4 stores to find (or just as likely not find) a product I'm looking for, I can now order it on my lunch break and it's at my house the next day. It's never been easier to spend my money but I can find reviews to buy the right product for my need, I have more direct access to the company that provides the warranty or tech support, I can comparison shop to find the lowest price and I don't have to buy gas to pick it up. I'd call that a fair trade.
They did make a sequel and just like you said. That game was called Fallout, you might have heard of it. The kickstarter project has now employed the creators of this spiritual sequel as well. It was a great idea. Sometimes properties get held up by fledgling companies and literal sequels are not feasible. I believe some of the old sierra games fall into that category currently (they are trying to remake the leisure suit larry franchise as we speak).
Are you sure about that? http://www.toyota.com/prius-plug-in/
Tell that to Anwar al-Awlaki. Oh wait, you can't. They blew him up.
I think that "ktchuck" (maybe the "vwhoom")sound was the screen degausser. Never knew what it was for until some poorly shielded desktop speakers got a little too close to my samsung syncmaster...
I checked out good old games and they don't have the title. Is there a good/easy/legal way to play this on a modern system? I was a huge fan of bards tale 1 and 2 and fallout 1/2/3 but somehow I managed to miss wasteland back in the day. I'd love a crack at it before the new one comes out.
Name of the Wind, part 1 of the King Killer Chronicles is an unbelievably good read. Not great for airplanes though since you will be forced to read it in a sitting, it is that good. This is a young guy and his first novel. The greatest knock I can give it is that it is a trilogy and the 3rd book has not yet been released. It was 4 years between book 1 and 2 and book two was released this year. Yikes! As a general rule I never read new authors, I let time do the vetting for me. This book has changed my mind. I'm trying not to gush but it replaced Dune as my all time favorite and I'm not even a fan of the fantasy genre!
Yes, truly funny but I think the better punchline would have been "but one investor was quoted as saying, "A++++++++ FAST SHIPPING! WOULD BUY FROM AGAIN"
Your comment is almost not worth replying to. I also did not say they keep things for years and years but I like your note about reading comprehension. Backups would also be included under a warrant so no, they don't keep backups of that data either. The data doesn't exist in any fashion for it to be discovered. If it did and they didn't comply, it would be serious legal trouble. The work around is to simply destroy everything. Many libraries run triple i, (III) which is a local installation, no outsourcing. All data is controlled of the library itself. I can't speak for all libraries in this regard, I'm sure there is plenty of outsourcing, interlibrary loan probably also falls into this category if the loaning library does not have the same records retention policy. Fouth is pure tin foil hat territory and Fifth is spot on. I am in Washington State which generally speaking is extremely liberal. I have heard of other states (florida comes to mind) where the libraries have turned data over. As always, YMMV depending on your local.
I know this is slash so I fully expect a bias towards science/math/engineering but college as a vocational school is just one route. I was a music major with every intention of being a music teacher but I instead went into IT. I was and am in demand not because of my degree (obviously) but because of my people skills. Not every job in a technical field requires a technical background. Some people still need to meet with clients, provide customer service, manage the work and generally not be the typical asocial IT nerd we are so used to see being stereotyped. I am a technically inclined person with a solid capacity to learn and a critical mind to think problems through and find solutions. These type of people will always find work regardless of their degree. The degree is a formality, a certification that you are willing to learn and are disciplined enough to complete a long term goal. Some of the smartest people I know dropped out of college and went into coding and network engineering because they learned everything they needed to know by teaching themselves, which is a completely different route. Their ROI is a lot better than mine.
You are clearly NOT a librarian. Yes they are subject to FISA warrants but records are immediately destroyed or unlinked when a piece of media is returned (book, movie, etc). So yes, they do turn over the records but that is only for what is currently checked out. As other commentors have mentioned, the libraries in most (but not all) states are likely our greatest protectors of civil liberties. Even if you have never used your library you have benefited from them directly. FWIW, I am not a librarian but have worked closely with them for last 15 years. I have great respect for what they do.
While not FM modulated for whole house video, wireless HDMI has become rather cheap recently. Asus makes a kit available on amazon for about $130 for both Rx/Tx that it HDMI input independent; doesn't requires a special chipset like the intel WiDi devices do. Pretty sweet, full motion 1080p video in nearly realtime, too much lag for a video game but great for movies. I don't think multiple receivers can decode it though, but you can send it to different discreet receivers individually. I was impressed because like you, I've balked at the price of digital modulators. Definitely not for the average home AV person.