IE/MSN can go ___ themselves. I'm tired of the security holes. I've switched to Firefox, and I'm never coming back. IE used to be fast. That was the main reason I left Netscape. But now, with all the firewall, anti-popup, anti-advertisement, anti-script crap that's necessary to run IE, it's NOT worth it.
Firefox, with a few extensions blows IE away.
Hopefully the rest of the planet tells MS/MSN to go ____ themselves.
Hockey, there's no competition because it's not that popular. Look at TV coverage. Even ESPN would rather put college basketball up against pro hockey. The reason no one competed against EA was because no one wanted to for such a small market.
The truth is, at $20, ESPN was putting the hurt on EA. EA's entire business model depends on $50 a game. With the reviews given to ESPN, the average teenager with $20 in his pocket is going to buy ESPN and tell EA to go ____ themselves, especially when EA stays at $50 a title.
ESPN put out a good product, competed on price, and EA couldn't stand seeing their sales drop. EA waited 3 months, then finally dropped the price to $20. That tells me that they felt the pain, and as a result, they went after exclusive rights to NFL gaming. No more ESPN. Next season, you'll see the game back at $50 or even higher.
DPReview.com is ok. Remember, it's an equipment forum, and people there have opinions.
It's like walking into a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge dealership and asking them, "Hey, what's best?" You can predict what might happen.
Lately, there are fewer and fewer "experts" and more and more newbies. More and more complaints about Canon, Nikon and the lack of progress on this or that. Lots of rumors. If you like rumors, give the place a try. Especially with PMA coming in February.
If you want to hear people whine and complain about this, or that, you can hear that too!
Frankly, fredmiranda.com and robgalbraith.com are seem more civilized. If the search engine were worth $.25 at DPReview, I'd say go there, but it's got to be the worst search engine ever. Someone should volunteer to help good ole Phil on that search engine.
People will spend $900 to $1500 on a digital SLR, then spend $130 on a "consumer" zoom lens, and find that the images produced are not very good.
There are 2 reasons for this:
The "average" lens is really good at "average" conditions.
Few people realize how much "post-processing" is done "in-camera" with a point & shoot. With a DSLR, most of it is taken care of afterwards in software, Photoshop, Capture1, or some other software. Sure, you can set a DSLR to do sharpening, saturation, contrast, and a few others in-camera... but letting the camera decide defeats part of the purpose of having almost infinite control that a DSLR offers.
There are a lot of things to learn with a DSLR. Consumer-grade lenses are not going to be much help in adverse conditions. Yet, many people bought a DSLR for just that reason. They don't understand that a great lens is 50% of the deal. Trying to take wedding pictures in a dimly lit church with a $130 zoom lens ins't going to cut it. Wait til the bride finds out that Uncle Ted and his new toy didn't get any "dreamy" shots of the wedding. He got a bunch of dark, gloomy junk! Suddenly, the $3000 she saved on a pro wedding photographer doesn't seem like such a bargain.
Low light means you need better lenses. Fast action indoors (basketball, volleyball, etc) means you need something better than that $130 75-300 f4-5.6. You can do ok, probably better than the average point and shoot, but it takes some skill, and it takes time to learn how to handle the equipment, and most people don't have the patience. They just want a point and shoot that will do it for them. For those willing to learn, it's worth it.
If you buy the latest craptastic teenager album out there, maybe 1 or 2 songs get airplay on the radio, the rest combined aren't worth $.05. So, by buying 2 songs at $.99, it's way cheaper than your $3.00 for an entire disc.
Let's face it. Hijacked Paypal accounts are common. Most of them are used to try and steal expensive electronics, shipping to 3rd party addresses. The easiest way to stop this is to match the ship-to address to the billing address of the account.
Think about online music purchases for a moment. They don't care about the ship-to address, so there's not going to be any address verification. And even if there was, there's nothing to ship!
If you think Paypal is going to eat the loss on hijacked accounts, you've got another thing coming. The only thing Paypal is concerned about is Paypal. Apple will eat a lot of losses from stolen Paypal accounts. The only question is how many Paypal hijackers are music thieves? Maybe not many, but while they're waiting for their electronics scams to materialize, they can certainly buy a crapload of music.
I think that if it becomes a problem, you might see the occasional backlash. I can see the occasional annoyed passenger do something like this:
"Gosh, I'm really sorry for dumping my __insert sticky beverage of choice__ on you!
I feel so..... terrible.
Here, how about some club soda? Let me hold that phone while you clean up!"
I've got several windoze machines, 2 of which have not been "re-installed" in quite some time, and both load IE almost instantly, whereas Firefox is a slow boat to... I'm curious why... but the more I use Firefox, the more I don't care.
If you dig deep, the record labels cut CD production by 20% for the statistical time period quoted in RIAA documents. They only tout the 12% reduction in sales during the Napster hayday. Do the math. Cut production by 20%, and see only a 12% loss in sales? That's a net increase. But they don't tell you that. In fact, they've recently reported a net increase during the past several years.
While I don't believe music downloading is right, I also don't believe that the services that provide the capability are responsible. If we think that the filesharing service is responsible, then the USPost, FedEx, and UPS are responsible as well. You know damn well that people are sending CDs and DVDs by mail. Same thing.
In my opinion, there's no one better than ARG.
I've taken about a dozen classes from them. I've used others, but ARG is tops. (They're changing names to Global Knowledge.
http://www.globalknowledge.com/
Look at their course catalog. They publish "Virtual Classrooms" at significant savings over classroom schools.
If you live in a remote area, you may need to travel for the classrooms. They're held in hotel ballrooms, 8:30 to 4:30 or 5pm. Many of the classes involve equipment and hands-on. The classes are interesting, the instructors are colorful and have real world experience. I've yet to find a "dud" in their inventory.
You might also try the University of Phoenix. Online, telecommunications classes. I've not done it, but I know others that have.
Beg to differ. I'd rather see nothing... that way I know that there isn't time/resources wasted loading worthless splash info. Frankly, I don't care who worked on Photoshop, if I really wanted to know, I'd go to Help, About ---- and read til I was blue in the face.
At the very most, I would settle for a "loading" with a status bar.
I can get 1 gig wireless transfer rate.... but only 112k download rate, and I have to pay PER megabyte charges if I connect my phone to a laptop. Now, if you could get wireless phone to wireless phone transfer rates... that would be interesting! With bandwidth like that, you could set up your own long distance network. Use a mux to send all kinds of different data and voice connections over wireless, and make a bazillion dollars. Certainly more than an unlimited wireless account.
Dell is squeezing every penny from all their subs. When times are tight, manufacturers go back to every supplier or partner and try to cut costs. When that doesn't work, they issue press releases claiming costs are too high, or "concern for the customers that Red Hat Linux is out of touch with prices for Windows..."
Dell has a long track record of being in bed with Intel and MS. Customer demand finally led them to reluctantly handle Linux. I'm sure MS beats them up about it all the time.
The PC market is tight. IBM has seen the future and sold out. What's Dell going to do? Sell everything? Doubtful. They'll play the game, pinch their suppliers as much as possible.
Dell is not concerned about the consumers or small business, they are concerned with staying alive. They want to increase profits for now, but stay alive in the long run.
Too much competition from overseas no-name equipment has reduced margins.
Personally, I don't find buying a Dell (or any pre-built machine) a good idea.
I've built my own machines since AMD was offering the 286-20 and the 386-40 CPUs were cutting edge alternatives to Intel's 386SX-16.
Personally, I think the manufacturers need to sell solid machines without bloatware, nagware, etc. They need to go back to putting a Windows CD in the package. I can't stand the "restore" CDs. Who wants all those music downloading and ISP services put back on their machine? It's sick. I routinely help people with their machines, and it's such a waste.
People in cardboard houses shouldn't throw matches.
Seriously, I don't get this. We've got a reasonable solution for temporary housing, and it's not as wasteful as this. Mobile homes! They are cheaper, last longer, and are easier to setup and/or move. Admitted, a cardboard house is recycled, so we aren't chopping down a small stand of trees to produce it, but can't we re-use cardboard in another fashion? Is there a need to build a home out of cardboard? Overall, it seems like a good idea until bad things happen, and then a cardboard house isn't very appealing. Thieves, arsonists, storms, and the high cost make this unappealing.
The entertainment industry will drive this technology. And, if the MPAA and/or RIAA have anything to do with it, it'll be EXPENSIVE.
It won't be like VHS movies. It'll be more like your PCS phone. Per minute useage sound familiar? Or pay-per-view?
Everyone has seen the advertising. Plans are sold with free unlimited in-network calling.
If you read the boilerplate in your service agreement, you'll see something that reads (paraphrased) abuse of the network (re:unlimited free calling) is subject to termination.
Unlimited free in-network calling doesn't mean UNLIMITED. It means unlimited until they choose to see otherwise, labelling it as "abuse" of their network. They have the right to terminate you for such abuse.
What kind of abuse? It is up to your provider. Don't like it? Walk away. Or live with it. Most people don't abuse it. But there are plenty that try.
You mean so I can spend $240 on the phone, and then another $30 to $50 for a VoIP subscription that's about as restrictive as most landline phones?
At least it's mobile. But I think it's not worth the early investement.
Pantheon's idea shows promise. But Sprint, Verizon, etc. won't let this last. It's going to hurt their bottom line, and they'll put the kibosh on free in-network calling quick.
About Google. As much as they are an information powerhouse (scary!), I trust them that they aren't going to leave my machine WIDE OPEN TO THE INTERNET!. Implementing a "MSN Messenger" function is gonna be tough. Patents are going to get in the way. But also, security is going to be tough. Instant SPAM is a problem.
I give Google credit for waiting... and maybe NOT putting out a messenging product at all? One thing about google: They don't seem to want to repeat the mistakes of others. To MS's defense, Google has never built an OS and sold it to the public.
Google has good ideas, and they don't implement them until they have security figured out. In contrast, MS rolls out products and lets the real world figure out security for them. It's cheaper that way, faster to market, and how does it damage their reputation? It doesn't. MS and security are oxymorons.
Wall Street seems to respect MS's behavior, as it adds to the bottom line. Every day we hear about a new security problem, and everyday, MS's stock price is steadily climbing.
I can't believe Piggly Wiggly is still around. I remember it as a kid. That's like Bob's Big Boy. I know of one Big Boy. Bismarck, North Dakota, and I've not been there in years.
Do you really want a government run network?
I don't trust the government to buy toilet seats for under $1000, or hammers for under $500. Why would I want them to supply wireless network services to me?
What happens in 2 or 3 years when it's out-of-date and desperately needs an upgrade? Do you expect your local city council person to just vote? These people aren't technical. They hire contractors and consultants and pay them scads of money to do nothing.
Free enterprise is the way to go. I'd rather have 3 or 4 telephone companies putting up competing products.
Think about ethernet cards. If the government stepped into the ethernet card business, they'd be $200 a piece. And you wouldn't get any choice. But instead, we've got 93 companies making a bazillion ethernet cards all for less than $20. And 3Com sells the 905B for $50.
Hopefuly, Philly is allowing multiple vendors. If they operate like Cable TV franchises, then we're all fucked. We'll pay whatvever they want us to pay, and there's no choice.
The thing about solar power... you're going to piss off all the plant lovers. If you think that the PETA people are fanatical, wait until you start putting solar panels everywhere, and we see plant people start to organize.
Eventually, you end up with the entire planet covered in solar panels. Think of all the plants that will be on the endangered species list. It'll get ugly.
On the plus side, we could all benefit from George Hamilton, learning proper skin care while still using a tanning booth several times a day to get that nice crispy tan.
Don't bother to sniff out terrorists. Don't bother stopping criminals. Stop the researchers. Make them the targets! Yeah.! Because of those researchers, I'm losing my... what am I losing? I forgot...
There are more people that switch to PC's from Apple due to work environment than there are PC users that switch to Apple because of the Ipod.
Most Apple users, out of college, get jobs and end up buying a PC because that's what they have at work. Or that's what their clients use.
I deal with it everyday. My friends come to me asking questions about getting a PC, ditching their Apple.
They resist... they resist for awhile. But the struggle is there.
I've been an Apple fan sine 1979, I bought my first Apple ][+. Cost me $1707 from a mail order shop in Portland, OR. I bought a 16k memory card as soon as I could afford it. The school district used to call me to get help with their computers.
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IE/MSN can go ___ themselves. I'm tired of the security holes. I've switched to Firefox, and I'm never coming back. IE used to be fast. That was the main reason I left Netscape. But now, with all the firewall, anti-popup, anti-advertisement, anti-script crap that's necessary to run IE, it's NOT worth it.
Firefox, with a few extensions blows IE away.
Hopefully the rest of the planet tells MS/MSN to go ____ themselves.
Hockey, there's no competition because it's not that popular. Look at TV coverage. Even ESPN would rather put college basketball up against pro hockey. The reason no one competed against EA was because no one wanted to for such a small market.
The truth is, at $20, ESPN was putting the hurt on EA. EA's entire business model depends on $50 a game. With the reviews given to ESPN, the average teenager with $20 in his pocket is going to buy ESPN and tell EA to go ____ themselves, especially when EA stays at $50 a title.
ESPN put out a good product, competed on price, and EA couldn't stand seeing their sales drop. EA waited 3 months, then finally dropped the price to $20. That tells me that they felt the pain, and as a result, they went after exclusive rights to NFL gaming. No more ESPN. Next season, you'll see the game back at $50 or even higher.
DPReview.com is ok. Remember, it's an equipment forum, and people there have opinions.
It's like walking into a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge dealership and asking them, "Hey, what's best?" You can predict what might happen.
Lately, there are fewer and fewer "experts" and more and more newbies. More and more complaints about Canon, Nikon and the lack of progress on this or that. Lots of rumors. If you like rumors, give the place a try. Especially with PMA coming in February.
If you want to hear people whine and complain about this, or that, you can hear that too!
Frankly, fredmiranda.com and robgalbraith.com are seem more civilized. If the search engine were worth $.25 at DPReview, I'd say go there, but it's got to be the worst search engine ever.
Someone should volunteer to help good ole Phil on that search engine.
People will spend $900 to $1500 on a digital SLR, then spend $130 on a "consumer" zoom lens, and find that the images produced are not very good.
There are 2 reasons for this:
The "average" lens is really good at "average" conditions.
Few people realize how much "post-processing" is done "in-camera" with a point & shoot. With a DSLR, most of it is taken care of afterwards in software, Photoshop, Capture1, or some other software. Sure, you can set a DSLR to do sharpening, saturation, contrast, and a few others in-camera... but letting the camera decide defeats part of the purpose of having almost infinite control that a DSLR offers.
There are a lot of things to learn with a DSLR. Consumer-grade lenses are not going to be much help in adverse conditions. Yet, many people bought a DSLR for just that reason. They don't understand that a great lens is 50% of the deal.
Trying to take wedding pictures in a dimly lit church with a $130 zoom lens ins't going to cut it. Wait til the bride finds out that Uncle Ted and his new toy didn't get any "dreamy" shots of the wedding. He got a bunch of dark, gloomy junk! Suddenly, the $3000 she saved on a pro wedding photographer doesn't seem like such a bargain.
Low light means you need better lenses. Fast action indoors (basketball, volleyball, etc) means you need something better than that $130 75-300 f4-5.6. You can do ok, probably better than the average point and shoot, but it takes some skill, and it takes time to learn how to handle the equipment, and most people don't have the patience. They just want a point and shoot that will do it for them. For those willing to learn, it's worth it.
Itunes... you buy the songs you want. That's it.
If you buy the latest craptastic teenager album out there, maybe 1 or 2 songs get airplay on the radio, the rest combined aren't worth $.05. So, by buying 2 songs at $.99, it's way cheaper than your $3.00 for an entire disc.
Let's face it. Hijacked Paypal accounts are common. Most of them are used to try and steal expensive electronics, shipping to 3rd party addresses. The easiest way to stop this is to match the ship-to address to the billing address of the account.
Think about online music purchases for a moment. They don't care about the ship-to address, so there's not going to be any address verification. And even if there was, there's nothing to ship!
If you think Paypal is going to eat the loss on hijacked accounts, you've got another thing coming. The only thing Paypal is concerned about is Paypal. Apple will eat a lot of losses from stolen Paypal accounts. The only question is how many Paypal hijackers are music thieves? Maybe not many, but while they're waiting for their electronics scams to materialize, they can certainly buy a crapload of music.
I think that if it becomes a problem, you might see the occasional backlash. I can see the occasional annoyed passenger do something like this:
"Gosh, I'm really sorry for dumping my __insert sticky beverage of choice__ on you!
I feel so..... terrible.
Here, how about some club soda? Let me hold that phone while you clean up!"
150,000 jobs? Doing what? Manufacturing? Installation? Sales? Answering the phone?
I've got several windoze machines, 2 of which have not been "re-installed" in quite some time, and both load IE almost instantly, whereas Firefox is a slow boat to... I'm curious why... but the more I use Firefox, the more I don't care.
If you dig deep, the record labels cut CD production by 20% for the statistical time period quoted in RIAA documents. They only tout the 12% reduction in sales during the Napster hayday. Do the math. Cut production by 20%, and see only a 12% loss in sales? That's a net increase. But they don't tell you that. In fact, they've recently reported a net increase during the past several years.
While I don't believe music downloading is right, I also don't believe that the services that provide the capability are responsible. If we think that the filesharing service is responsible, then the USPost, FedEx, and UPS are responsible as well. You know damn well that people are sending CDs and DVDs by mail. Same thing.
In my opinion, there's no one better than ARG. I've taken about a dozen classes from them. I've used others, but ARG is tops. (They're changing names to Global Knowledge.
http://www.globalknowledge.com/ Look at their course catalog. They publish "Virtual Classrooms" at significant savings over classroom schools.
If you live in a remote area, you may need to travel for the classrooms. They're held in hotel ballrooms, 8:30 to 4:30 or 5pm. Many of the classes involve equipment and hands-on. The classes are interesting, the instructors are colorful and have real world experience. I've yet to find a "dud" in their inventory.
You might also try the University of Phoenix. Online, telecommunications classes. I've not done it, but I know others that have.
Beg to differ. I'd rather see nothing... that way I know that there isn't time/resources wasted loading worthless splash info. Frankly, I don't care who worked on Photoshop, if I really wanted to know, I'd go to Help, About ---- and read til I was blue in the face.
At the very most, I would settle for a "loading" with a status bar.
Super! Just what I needed!
I can get 1 gig wireless transfer rate.... but only 112k download rate, and I have to pay PER megabyte charges if I connect my phone to a laptop.
Now, if you could get wireless phone to wireless phone transfer rates... that would be interesting! With bandwidth like that, you could set up your own long distance network. Use a mux to send all kinds of different data and voice connections over wireless, and make a bazillion dollars. Certainly more than an unlimited wireless account.
Dell is squeezing every penny from all their subs.
When times are tight, manufacturers go back to every supplier or partner and try to cut costs. When that doesn't work, they issue press releases claiming costs are too high, or "concern for the customers that Red Hat Linux is out of touch with prices for Windows..."
Dell has a long track record of being in bed with Intel and MS. Customer demand finally led them to reluctantly handle Linux. I'm sure MS beats them up about it all the time.
The PC market is tight. IBM has seen the future and sold out. What's Dell going to do? Sell everything? Doubtful. They'll play the game, pinch their suppliers as much as possible.
Dell is not concerned about the consumers or small business, they are concerned with staying alive. They want to increase profits for now, but stay alive in the long run.
Too much competition from overseas no-name equipment has reduced margins. Personally, I don't find buying a Dell (or any pre-built machine) a good idea.
I've built my own machines since AMD was offering the 286-20 and the 386-40 CPUs were cutting edge alternatives to Intel's 386SX-16.
Personally, I think the manufacturers need to sell solid machines without bloatware, nagware, etc. They need to go back to putting a Windows CD in the package. I can't stand the "restore" CDs. Who wants all those music downloading and ISP services put back on their machine? It's sick. I routinely help people with their machines, and it's such a waste.
People in cardboard houses shouldn't throw matches.
Seriously, I don't get this. We've got a reasonable solution for temporary housing, and it's not as wasteful as this. Mobile homes! They are cheaper, last longer, and are easier to setup and/or move. Admitted, a cardboard house is recycled, so we aren't chopping down a small stand of trees to produce it, but can't we re-use cardboard in another fashion? Is there a need to build a home out of cardboard? Overall, it seems like a good idea until bad things happen, and then a cardboard house isn't very appealing. Thieves, arsonists, storms, and the high cost make this unappealing.
The entertainment industry will drive this technology. And, if the MPAA and/or RIAA have anything to do with it, it'll be EXPENSIVE.
It won't be like VHS movies.
It'll be more like your PCS phone. Per minute useage sound familiar? Or pay-per-view?
Everyone has seen the advertising. Plans are sold with free unlimited in-network calling. If you read the boilerplate in your service agreement, you'll see something that reads (paraphrased) abuse of the network (re:unlimited free calling) is subject to termination.
Unlimited free in-network calling doesn't mean UNLIMITED. It means unlimited until they choose to see otherwise, labelling it as "abuse" of their network. They have the right to terminate you for such abuse.
What kind of abuse? It is up to your provider. Don't like it? Walk away. Or live with it. Most people don't abuse it. But there are plenty that try.
You mean so I can spend $240 on the phone, and then another $30 to $50 for a VoIP subscription that's about as restrictive as most landline phones?
At least it's mobile. But I think it's not worth the early investement.
Pantheon's idea shows promise. But Sprint, Verizon, etc. won't let this last. It's going to hurt their bottom line, and they'll put the kibosh on free in-network calling quick.
About Google. As much as they are an information powerhouse (scary!), I trust them that they aren't going to leave my machine WIDE OPEN TO THE INTERNET!. Implementing a "MSN Messenger" function is gonna be tough. Patents are going to get in the way. But also, security is going to be tough. Instant SPAM is a problem.
I give Google credit for waiting... and maybe NOT putting out a messenging product at all?
One thing about google: They don't seem to want to repeat the mistakes of others. To MS's defense, Google has never built an OS and sold it to the public.
Google has good ideas, and they don't implement them until they have security figured out. In contrast, MS rolls out products and lets the real world figure out security for them. It's cheaper that way, faster to market, and how does it damage their reputation? It doesn't. MS and security are oxymorons.
Wall Street seems to respect MS's behavior, as it adds to the bottom line. Every day we hear about a new security problem, and everyday, MS's stock price is steadily climbing.
When your box is hacked, not only will the hacker get your tax records, passwords, and email, they'll also get all of your thoughts and wishes.
You might as well unlock the front door of your residence.
Thanks Bill.
I can't believe Piggly Wiggly is still around. I remember it as a kid. That's like Bob's Big Boy. I know of one Big Boy. Bismarck, North Dakota, and I've not been there in years.
Do you really want a government run network? I don't trust the government to buy toilet seats for under $1000, or hammers for under $500. Why would I want them to supply wireless network services to me? What happens in 2 or 3 years when it's out-of-date and desperately needs an upgrade? Do you expect your local city council person to just vote? These people aren't technical. They hire contractors and consultants and pay them scads of money to do nothing.
Free enterprise is the way to go. I'd rather have 3 or 4 telephone companies putting up competing products.
Think about ethernet cards. If the government stepped into the ethernet card business, they'd be $200 a piece. And you wouldn't get any choice. But instead, we've got 93 companies making a bazillion ethernet cards all for less than $20. And 3Com sells the 905B for $50.
Hopefuly, Philly is allowing multiple vendors. If they operate like Cable TV franchises, then we're all fucked. We'll pay whatvever they want us to pay, and there's no choice.
The thing about solar power... you're going to piss off all the plant lovers. If you think that the PETA people are fanatical, wait until you start putting solar panels everywhere, and we see plant people start to organize.
Eventually, you end up with the entire planet covered in solar panels. Think of all the plants that will be on the endangered species list. It'll get ugly.
On the plus side, we could all benefit from George Hamilton, learning proper skin care while still using a tanning booth several times a day to get that nice crispy tan.
Don't bother to sniff out terrorists. Don't bother stopping criminals. Stop the researchers. Make them the targets! Yeah.! Because of those researchers, I'm losing my ... what am I losing? I forgot...
There are more people that switch to PC's from Apple due to work environment than there are PC users that switch to Apple because of the Ipod.
Most Apple users, out of college, get jobs and end up buying a PC because that's what they have at work. Or that's what their clients use.
I deal with it everyday. My friends come to me asking questions about getting a PC, ditching their Apple.
They resist... they resist for awhile. But the struggle is there.
I've been an Apple fan sine 1979, I bought my first Apple ][+. Cost me $1707 from a mail order shop in Portland, OR. I bought a 16k memory card as soon as I could afford it. The school district used to call me to get help with their computers.