This particular outbreak really has me freaking out. I shut down all my XP machines after seeing this and I hope this issue is addressed in a hotfix and soon! I don't know what I'll do if I have to wait for SP3 to fix this.
"If not, the real God is going to be much more upset with you than me."
Why? I doubt if there is a god that it's more interested in attachment to dogma than treatment of others. The parent wasn't mocking you and was preaching general tolerance and understanding.
You, however, are just being a dick. Nothing new with your kind though.
You say, "We're just mocking you and your silly beliefs." Why not say, "We're just mocking you and your silly [culture/skin color/language/clothing/gender/whatever]." You're a dick no matter what you put in there.
Well... actually. Rent, maybe, but certainly NOT housing costs. The tools and materials generally come from somewhere else and, as someone who works in that industry, half the low end labor in the field is filled with illegals that can't even speak fucking English.
Actually, I wouldn't have even bothered replying to your statement except for:
"I generally hate to make sweeping statements about any group of people, but mormons are quite fucked up."
That was my issue along with the bias that is made obvious by that statement. You weren't trying to do anything but continue to portray Mormons as "fucked up." Which, alone, I have no problem with. However, when it's done under the guise of being purely "educational" and when you make a statement that contradicts your own normal actions, I have issue.
Had you just said: "Mormons are retards, see the following website." Fine. Just fine. But you try to be a dick while not trying to sound like one. If you're gonna be a prick, just be one.
(And what is up with other posters on slashdot telling anyone to get a life when it comes to anything concerning slashdot?)
As a result of the latter one, you can vote here in Nevada without an SSN.
Government says, "Follow X rule."
I say, "Show me your legal authority to authorize such a rule then show me where you even have the power to enforce it shithead."
Here's a quick list of other ways to say no (directly and roundabout):
1. Run for public office (I'm running for Congress in 2006). While it's pretty close to impossible to win when you actually represent "real" human beings, it instantly makes you more vocal. Yesterday you were a guy with an opinion. Today the newspaper is actually going to publish some of what you say. It's a very effective way to get your ideas out there. So "no" to giving people no choice when voting.
2. Be active in local petition drives. (At least for the petitions that say "no" to bad law.)
3. Show up to testify at legislative hearings and let them know what a bunch of bullshit their newest laws are. Tell them "no." If you think it makes no difference, you're wrong. Very wrong. That's the excuse people make to themselves so they never have to try.
4. Good old fashioned civil disobediance is always exciting. Think a law is bad? Put your money where your mouth is. It is the essence of saying "no."
5. Sue the government when they fuck with your rights. (I'm in the process of doing just that and have successfully won twice before and changed laws.) "No," you can't fuck with me.
6. Be active in local protests. Shout "no!" Only, don't be a dumbass that shows up to a protest with no idea what's going on.
7. Work with groups that actively oppose things you disagree with. (ACLU, Mothers Against the Draft or whoever fits your section of the political spectrum.) Say "no" to bad policy and law.
8. Join or form a third party. Say "no" to the two party monopoly.
9. Vote. That was easy. Only vote "no" to the established bullshit.
10. Jury duty. Say "no" to injustice and, when you have to, practice jury nullification.
11. Say "no" to government benefits. Do not take loans, grants, medicare, medicade, welfare or social security. Don't be dependant on a welfare state.
---
"Liberal guilt" may make a person popular with the girls but actual activism does not. Especially when you're the kind of person that is willing to face to jail time to take a stand. Incidentally, you don't have to lean to the left to care about the plight of other human beings. (Though it does seem like you have to be a malicious, self interested prick to lean to the right.)
And as for the people having "no choice" when going into sweatshops... that's exactly the problem. The people who allow them no choice need to be given the same ultimatum. By refusing to do business with them, they have to conform... period.
Simply "saying" you care and exercising what you call "liberal guilt" is ineffective. You are right about that. However, assholes who decide to simply accept this shit as "the way it is" are an even bigger problem on any society.
Just because I post to slashdot doesn't mean that's the extent of my activism. But when I'm up at 2:00am and cranky, it's the best I can do.
(Unfortunately, the cynic in me thinks there's a good chance a lot of the people working for this company are "undocumented worker" or whatever the hell they're calling illegals now. I HOPE that isn't the case and I'll definitely check it out though.)
One of the problems is that when you go to Wal-Mart or an expensive department store, odds are its all sweat shop goods. It's sickening, but in a modern society it's unreasonable to live "backwoods" by making your own clothing and such. Sorry, show up to a job interview dressed like a relic from a few 100 years ago and you can't afford to live because you can't work.
Historically the wealthy or noble--whatever you want to call the actual or de facto ruling class in any society--force or effectively force the "peons" to do things. When the average American is starting to look forward to nothing but working FOR Wal-Mart, where else are they going to shop? Increases in wages in this country are not proportionate to the increase in taxes over the past few decades. Not even close. While the "average" American may be the one buying things that support slave labor, it's the fascist combination of the wealthy, the coporations and the governments that have, more or less, made too expensive for "regular" people to do anything else.
A lot of us would like to "buy American" just as much as we'd like to "eat organic." However, in the end things like "wearing any clothing" and "eating anything" and oh, I don't know, "paying rent" win out. This is not to say that the average American is blameless, but placing all the blame on your minimum to low wage workers who have little choice is like blaming European serfs for the vile imperialism of their leaders in the middle ages. Yes, they could have stood as one to fight back and revolt (and did at times), but few people are willing to die and suffer for such things. Are you?
Wal-Mart is just the 21st century "company" store, only the greedy bastards that run these corporations have become far more sophisticated in the last century. For instance, in the USA a lot of people think we "defeated" slavery with the civil war. When, in fact, the industrialists of the north had figured out that it was much more effective to have slaves who had the illusion of freedom.
I mean you're on a computer and so am I. Certainly it's not just clothing made in China and other portions of Asia that's sweat shop material. Thanks to allowing corporations to tap into the high profit margins yielded by nations who allow their people to be treated with few rights and no dignity there's almost nothing you or I can buy in an industrialized nation that doesn't fuel sweat shops in some way. Even if it's "Made In America" or wherever, odds are tons of the parts and raw materials are imported from slave labor camps.
What I do agree with is that we need to take a stand in industrialized nations and particularly in America where it's our damn birth right and DUTY. The best way to take a stand isn't to grow cotton or live like the Amish. All you end up doing in that case is looking like a crazy person who, while taking a personal stand, isn't really doing anything to change the injustice he/she is opposed to.
The best way to take a stand is to simply say, "No." Say no to government. Say no to all the things that create this blight in industrialized nations. I really admire Rosa Parks. She demonstrated how much a simple "no" could change things. Until the people of this country are willing, in a large number, to stand up against income tax, foreign fars, corporate rampages, and similar problems and face the consequences of doing so, like their forefathers did, like the brave minorities during the civil rights movement, we're simply going to dwindle. It's not just a matter for standing up for ourselves either. It's a matter of telling these greedy tyrants all over the world that we will not stand for putting children to work for 16 hours a day making sneakers!
When a nation has no factories at home and is totally dependant on foreign labor, it's in trouble. Dependancy on a thing makes you a slave and a servant to that thing. The solution is easy, deregulate small business (lower their prices and increase their employee wages), penalize corporations with taxes for setting up shops
Because, obviously, the best place to go for fair and unbiased information about something is to visit a bunch of people who hate them. I mean seriously, when I want information on evolution I look on Baptist websites. And certainly when I want a fair view of the Catholic church I head down to my local Calvinist church and ask them about what the Catholics "really believe."
Give me a break. You "generally hate to make sweeping statements" but, of course, when I decide to violate your own standard operating procedure we should really listen to you.
If you want to learn about anything you need to study both sides, not one. Anyone who says otherwise is not only deluding themselves but must be a great "believer" and have a lot of "faith." What you really should do, if you want a fine education on the so-called "Mormons," is read multiple "anti-Mormon" groups and watch them cut each others' throats. The Tanners (of Lighthouse Ministry fame) are absolutely fantastic for cutting apart liars like the late Dr. Walter Martin. The list goes on.
As someone who has studied this issue in and out, being raised in a very Mormon brainwashed extended family, I know it. You're an amateur and an idiot to boot.
"I only use the scroll wheel if I need to do something fast."
What... the... fuck? Is it just me or does this fucking defy stupidity? I like the slow way better because it's the Apple way!? Does she churn her own butter too!?
(Sorry, this part has little to do with your post, but now I feel like griping a bit.)
This PC/Apple 1/2/37+4 wheels+a motion sense+a toaster button mouse thing is ridiculous. Like I give a shit what something ships with by default. I got my Mac, I plugged in the $20 Logitech I'd been using for years on my Windows PC and my Linux box. Amazingly enough, I had a scroll wheel that worked and a second and third button that worked in all of them. It's like magic.
Also, the next hardware ignorant jackass Mac user that tells me that moving to Intel is some virus gateway is just getting gunned down. Aren't these retards supposed to be SO ignorant of the hardware that they don't even know about the switch? It's like the worst of both worlds.
Could be worse though. Could be someone who thinks multibutton mice are a viral gateway. Don't touch those mice! They're like cheap hookers!
"Finally, don't flame me for being anti-apple, I am not. I am anti-mac fanboys/girls because they are such idiots sometimes."
No, it's cool to hate the fanboys. There is a difference between a fanboy and someone who supports/likes something. I own a Mini. I love it. I love OS X. However, I don't make offerings to the Church of Jobs or take it as a personal insult if someone doesn't like Apple. It's just a fucking computer. I don't pull out a jihad on people who buy Ford instead of Dodge either.
2. Yeah, it is a computer, not a way of life. Which makes me wonder, why did this mouse get your panties in such a twist that you had to get on Slashdot and bitch about it?
I haven't figured out what's more annoying, fanboys or their equally retarded antagonists (such as yourself). (And the parent was certainly NOT a fanboy.)
"They even ripped the name for it from an old cartoon series."
Seriously, now you're just pushing it.
Please name one other computer platform out there (or OS or hardware vendor or whatever) that doesn't make bogus/exaggerated claims. Microsoft is the king, Linux slapdicks aren't far behind, BSD does it, Sun does it, HP does it, Mozilla does it, Adobe does it, does it, etc.
Apple doesn't seem to pride itself on originally so much as it does for the best user experience. In that sense it actually delivers, unlike a number of other vendors that come to mind.
I mean, fucking-a, it's their marketing page! What marketing department is every going to say, "Hey we just copied this because we thought maybe it was time to catch up with the rest of the universe?" No one. At least no one that is selling something to make money.
Why do half the people here hold Apple to some special standard? They certainly don't misuse the word "innovation" more than the Microsoft camp or, heaven forbid I say it here, the Linux/GNU camp.
I haven't used this mouse yet so I don't know about its merits or whether it's just a gimic. Whatever. However, just because cars were invented back in the day doesn't mean that modern cars are devoid of innovation. This mouse might be a joy to work with. If it works better than anything I've used, it's innovative.
Even then, a lot of the "bloat" people complain about is in the standard install, but a lot of distros let you fine tune what you install. Don't want the games? Don't install them. Wow, that was hard.
kio_slaves is awesome. It's just awesome. Gnome's attempt at something similar is a joke and OS X doesn't come close either. It's one of the things I really miss about KDE. (And Windows... heh... I don't even need to say anything beyond that.)
It's really strange, about 2 years ago I picked up a 15" Inspiron 8k on eBay. I paid something like $800 for it. 1600 x 1200 on a laptop. It weighs a ton, but seriously, I feel your irritation. I've been running 1600 x 1200 on all three of my machines for years and I hate to drop it down.
And seriously, am I the only person who perfers 4:3 over 16:9?
Install Linux on an Apple portable!? Yeah, and while you're at it why not buy a Porsche and replace the engine with that of a Honda Civic to improve gas mileage.
Install Linux PURELY to deal with anti-aliasing? And I'm sorry, I ran Linux on my desktop and laptop for two years before buying a Mac (and putting Win2k back on the laptop) and the anti-aliasing isn't that great. It has its own funky irritations and spacing issues. It's not bad, it's not great though. Every single font smoothing method I've looked at his its issues.
The Mac has the nicest and most consistent smoothing of any platform I've used. Oh yeah, and I can actually get GOOD graphic arts software for it. (The GIMP sucks, deal with it.) I can't even BUY good graphic arts or video editting software on a Linux box.
Don't get me wrong, KDE was an excellent environment to work in, but it still lacks software. And I don't care what distro you're using, it's not going to be as hassle free as a Mac.
I recently switched my primary webserver from Linux to FreeBSD and I'm not looking back. The number one reason is the documentation coupled with consistantcy. Hands down. When I get a book on FreeBSD it can be far more specific than a book on Linux, simply because there is just FreeBSD and not X distro. When I have a problem, I google it and I have an answer. I don't have to read through similar issues on similar distros and try to make similar changes to my setup.
And seriously, people can say what they want about FreeBSD being for servers and all, but I'll take a FreeBSD box running KDE over any desktop distro of Linux I've run. Ubuntu was pretty good but dog ass slow (and I was running Gnome with it too). I've found FreeBSD to be much more responsive.
One thing, and I wonder if anyone noticed this, but compiling ports on a FreeBSD box with identical hardware seems to go a whole lot faster than Gentoo. Is this just me imagining things?
No, it doesn't. I'm afraid of very little to be quite honest, but there are things I hate. Do you think a lot of religious zealots out there are filled with fear toward the things they hate? Nope, they're way too afraid of their god to fear a lot of other things. They hate on command.
On a simpler note, I *hate* stepping in dog shit. I am, in no way, "afraid" of dog shit nor do I have dogshitphobia. There are plenty of things out there that we hate or even just plain don't like that do not stem from fear.
The thing that really pisses me off about the "phobia" shit anyway is that maybe, just maybe, if the politically motivated radical gays (and they're different than run of the mill homosexuals who end up being the real victims of BOTH sides) would spend a little more time portraying themselves as victims of hate (that many of the innocent, peaceful ones are) and a little less time trying to tell people like me that I "fear" them for whatever fucking stupid reason they assemble in their little miswired brains then they might have more inroads.
Instead, moronic liberal assholes tell me that I'm "phobic" or something because I would rather eat dog shit than "experience" Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Why is it always a "phobia?" That's what kills me. If someone has an issue with gays they must be "homophobic" or "transphobic" (if we're talking about the transgender types). Most of the gay hating rednecks I know don't have a "phobia." It's hate. It's not fear. Not by any stretch of the human imagination. People in the KKK are not called "negrophobes" so what the fuck is up with everyone being "afraid" of gays?
When I got my ass kicked in high school we called those assholes "bullies" not "geekphobes."
It's a 4:3. Like I said it was 1600x1200. But seriously, the Apple screen is 80 pixels wider but 150 pixels shorter. The Samsung is bigger and brighter as well. The Apple does have USB and Firewire ports, which is a nice touch but the Samsung has both digital and analog in which is kinda nice because it currently serves me as a kind of KVM without the K or the M. Oh yeah, and the Samsung can rotate 90 degrees which can be handy on occasion.
I could be wrong, but at the time, I believe the Apple 20" was going for $899. It might have been $799 though, I don't remember. The Samsung was $650 with a $100 rebate (which Newegg didn't bother sending me the papers for).
Really though, if I've just plain got more pixels does the aspect ratio make a difference? And also, if there are fewer pixels, why on earth should the aspect ratio change the cost in any way? That just seems ridiculous to me.
Honestly, I was agnostic about the aspect ratio. I was looking for the most pixels, reasonable brightness, decent response time, digital out and something in the 20" - 22" range for a reasonable price. The Samsung 213T fit the bill. (And it comes in black and silver. Ironically, I went with black.)
Let me say that I don't think the Apple displays are crap, because they aren't. I think the 20" model is over priced though. Now, after reading your post and taking a look at the 23" Apple and the 24" Samsung, I see what you're talking about. (And Apple's pricing handily defeats Sony, but I do believe Sony's 23" offering has a better response time, brightness, etc.)
Sadly, I think if I was in your shoes I would probably go with the Apple display at 23" for the following reasons:
1. I've become a brand whore.
2. To get a good price on the Samsung I can't buy it locally. (Fry's charges a lot more than Newegg.) I can buy the Apple display for the price listed at Fry's or my local Apple store.
3. Apple items generally have more attention to detail. There's the USB hub and Firewire connection. Its cable management is also better.
4. The Samsung has a better contrast ratio but the Apple has a much better response time.
5. It matches other Apple stuff.
Apple isn't the clear winner. Sometimes size trumps pretty much everything else. Anyway, I don't know why I felt the need to get into this, but I do have to revise what I said before. Apple's 20" screen is overpriced, but the 23" is very competative (as in, not just for fanboys). I didn't bother looking at the 30" and doing any comparisons since at that point, cost isn't really an issue anyway.
Apple sells their displays at a premium because fanboys will buy them and people will pay for the brand. It's good business.
I was almost stupid enough to purchase the 20" Apple display with my Mini a couple months ago. Then... in a moment of clarity... I pulled my head out of my ass and did a bit of research and ended up getting a Samsung 21.3" screen with a MUCH better resolution (1600 x 1200) and brightness for like $200 cheaper.
Seriously, the only reason I was even considering the Apple display is so everything would "match." Again, I pulled my head out and remembered I was going to use my Logitech mouse and unmatching speakers. For a moment though, it was like my computer was making me go all "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
Anyway, I'm not really defending Apple except to say that their reasons are fiscally sound for them. I love my Mac, but I also have no illusions about the fact that Apple is a business.
Slashdot Mirror
This particular outbreak really has me freaking out. I shut down all my XP machines after seeing this and I hope this issue is addressed in a hotfix and soon! I don't know what I'll do if I have to wait for SP3 to fix this.
"If not, the real God is going to be much more upset with you than me."
Why? I doubt if there is a god that it's more interested in attachment to dogma than treatment of others. The parent wasn't mocking you and was preaching general tolerance and understanding.
You, however, are just being a dick. Nothing new with your kind though.
You say, "We're just mocking you and your silly beliefs." Why not say, "We're just mocking you and your silly [culture/skin color/language/clothing/gender/whatever]." You're a dick no matter what you put in there.
As Balthor says concerning hell:
http://www.loservillex.com/backtohell.htm
The end of this pretty much explains things.
Well... actually. Rent, maybe, but certainly NOT housing costs. The tools and materials generally come from somewhere else and, as someone who works in that industry, half the low end labor in the field is filled with illegals that can't even speak fucking English.
Actually, I wouldn't have even bothered replying to your statement except for:
"I generally hate to make sweeping statements about any group of people, but mormons are quite fucked up."
That was my issue along with the bias that is made obvious by that statement. You weren't trying to do anything but continue to portray Mormons as "fucked up." Which, alone, I have no problem with. However, when it's done under the guise of being purely "educational" and when you make a statement that contradicts your own normal actions, I have issue.
Had you just said: "Mormons are retards, see the following website." Fine. Just fine. But you try to be a dick while not trying to sound like one. If you're gonna be a prick, just be one.
(And what is up with other posters on slashdot telling anyone to get a life when it comes to anything concerning slashdot?)
How do you just say no? By doing just that.
The government says, "Federal income tax please?"
I say, "Go fuck yourself."
Government says, "Get a social security number."
I say, "Go fuck yourself."
As a result of the latter one, you can vote here in Nevada without an SSN.
Government says, "Follow X rule."
I say, "Show me your legal authority to authorize such a rule then show me where you even have the power to enforce it shithead."
Here's a quick list of other ways to say no (directly and roundabout):
1. Run for public office (I'm running for Congress in 2006). While it's pretty close to impossible to win when you actually represent "real" human beings, it instantly makes you more vocal. Yesterday you were a guy with an opinion. Today the newspaper is actually going to publish some of what you say. It's a very effective way to get your ideas out there. So "no" to giving people no choice when voting.
2. Be active in local petition drives. (At least for the petitions that say "no" to bad law.)
3. Show up to testify at legislative hearings and let them know what a bunch of bullshit their newest laws are. Tell them "no." If you think it makes no difference, you're wrong. Very wrong. That's the excuse people make to themselves so they never have to try.
4. Good old fashioned civil disobediance is always exciting. Think a law is bad? Put your money where your mouth is. It is the essence of saying "no."
5. Sue the government when they fuck with your rights. (I'm in the process of doing just that and have successfully won twice before and changed laws.) "No," you can't fuck with me.
6. Be active in local protests. Shout "no!" Only, don't be a dumbass that shows up to a protest with no idea what's going on.
7. Work with groups that actively oppose things you disagree with. (ACLU, Mothers Against the Draft or whoever fits your section of the political spectrum.) Say "no" to bad policy and law.
8. Join or form a third party. Say "no" to the two party monopoly.
9. Vote. That was easy. Only vote "no" to the established bullshit.
10. Jury duty. Say "no" to injustice and, when you have to, practice jury nullification.
11. Say "no" to government benefits. Do not take loans, grants, medicare, medicade, welfare or social security. Don't be dependant on a welfare state.
---
"Liberal guilt" may make a person popular with the girls but actual activism does not. Especially when you're the kind of person that is willing to face to jail time to take a stand. Incidentally, you don't have to lean to the left to care about the plight of other human beings. (Though it does seem like you have to be a malicious, self interested prick to lean to the right.)
And as for the people having "no choice" when going into sweatshops... that's exactly the problem. The people who allow them no choice need to be given the same ultimatum. By refusing to do business with them, they have to conform... period.
Simply "saying" you care and exercising what you call "liberal guilt" is ineffective. You are right about that. However, assholes who decide to simply accept this shit as "the way it is" are an even bigger problem on any society.
Just because I post to slashdot doesn't mean that's the extent of my activism. But when I'm up at 2:00am and cranky, it's the best I can do.
Thanks for the link!
(Unfortunately, the cynic in me thinks there's a good chance a lot of the people working for this company are "undocumented worker" or whatever the hell they're calling illegals now. I HOPE that isn't the case and I'll definitely check it out though.)
One of the problems is that when you go to Wal-Mart or an expensive department store, odds are its all sweat shop goods. It's sickening, but in a modern society it's unreasonable to live "backwoods" by making your own clothing and such. Sorry, show up to a job interview dressed like a relic from a few 100 years ago and you can't afford to live because you can't work.
Historically the wealthy or noble--whatever you want to call the actual or de facto ruling class in any society--force or effectively force the "peons" to do things. When the average American is starting to look forward to nothing but working FOR Wal-Mart, where else are they going to shop? Increases in wages in this country are not proportionate to the increase in taxes over the past few decades. Not even close. While the "average" American may be the one buying things that support slave labor, it's the fascist combination of the wealthy, the coporations and the governments that have, more or less, made too expensive for "regular" people to do anything else.
A lot of us would like to "buy American" just as much as we'd like to "eat organic." However, in the end things like "wearing any clothing" and "eating anything" and oh, I don't know, "paying rent" win out. This is not to say that the average American is blameless, but placing all the blame on your minimum to low wage workers who have little choice is like blaming European serfs for the vile imperialism of their leaders in the middle ages. Yes, they could have stood as one to fight back and revolt (and did at times), but few people are willing to die and suffer for such things. Are you?
Wal-Mart is just the 21st century "company" store, only the greedy bastards that run these corporations have become far more sophisticated in the last century. For instance, in the USA a lot of people think we "defeated" slavery with the civil war. When, in fact, the industrialists of the north had figured out that it was much more effective to have slaves who had the illusion of freedom.
I mean you're on a computer and so am I. Certainly it's not just clothing made in China and other portions of Asia that's sweat shop material. Thanks to allowing corporations to tap into the high profit margins yielded by nations who allow their people to be treated with few rights and no dignity there's almost nothing you or I can buy in an industrialized nation that doesn't fuel sweat shops in some way. Even if it's "Made In America" or wherever, odds are tons of the parts and raw materials are imported from slave labor camps.
What I do agree with is that we need to take a stand in industrialized nations and particularly in America where it's our damn birth right and DUTY. The best way to take a stand isn't to grow cotton or live like the Amish. All you end up doing in that case is looking like a crazy person who, while taking a personal stand, isn't really doing anything to change the injustice he/she is opposed to.
The best way to take a stand is to simply say, "No." Say no to government. Say no to all the things that create this blight in industrialized nations. I really admire Rosa Parks. She demonstrated how much a simple "no" could change things. Until the people of this country are willing, in a large number, to stand up against income tax, foreign fars, corporate rampages, and similar problems and face the consequences of doing so, like their forefathers did, like the brave minorities during the civil rights movement, we're simply going to dwindle. It's not just a matter for standing up for ourselves either. It's a matter of telling these greedy tyrants all over the world that we will not stand for putting children to work for 16 hours a day making sneakers!
When a nation has no factories at home and is totally dependant on foreign labor, it's in trouble. Dependancy on a thing makes you a slave and a servant to that thing. The solution is easy, deregulate small business (lower their prices and increase their employee wages), penalize corporations with taxes for setting up shops
And there are the minis as well. Dual core may be here, but Apple's low end products are still toting a previous generation processor. Woopie-doo.
There's something funny about the "Pentium V." Maybe they should call it the Pentium^2 or something.
Because, obviously, the best place to go for fair and unbiased information about something is to visit a bunch of people who hate them. I mean seriously, when I want information on evolution I look on Baptist websites. And certainly when I want a fair view of the Catholic church I head down to my local Calvinist church and ask them about what the Catholics "really believe."
Give me a break. You "generally hate to make sweeping statements" but, of course, when I decide to violate your own standard operating procedure we should really listen to you.
If you want to learn about anything you need to study both sides, not one. Anyone who says otherwise is not only deluding themselves but must be a great "believer" and have a lot of "faith." What you really should do, if you want a fine education on the so-called "Mormons," is read multiple "anti-Mormon" groups and watch them cut each others' throats. The Tanners (of Lighthouse Ministry fame) are absolutely fantastic for cutting apart liars like the late Dr. Walter Martin. The list goes on.
As someone who has studied this issue in and out, being raised in a very Mormon brainwashed extended family, I know it. You're an amateur and an idiot to boot.
I actually met a guy the other day that MISSED the hockey puck. Dunno WTF was up with that.
"I only use the scroll wheel if I need to do something fast."
What... the... fuck? Is it just me or does this fucking defy stupidity? I like the slow way better because it's the Apple way!? Does she churn her own butter too!?
(Sorry, this part has little to do with your post, but now I feel like griping a bit.)
This PC/Apple 1/2/37+4 wheels+a motion sense+a toaster button mouse thing is ridiculous. Like I give a shit what something ships with by default. I got my Mac, I plugged in the $20 Logitech I'd been using for years on my Windows PC and my Linux box. Amazingly enough, I had a scroll wheel that worked and a second and third button that worked in all of them. It's like magic.
Also, the next hardware ignorant jackass Mac user that tells me that moving to Intel is some virus gateway is just getting gunned down. Aren't these retards supposed to be SO ignorant of the hardware that they don't even know about the switch? It's like the worst of both worlds.
Could be worse though. Could be someone who thinks multibutton mice are a viral gateway. Don't touch those mice! They're like cheap hookers!
"Finally, don't flame me for being anti-apple, I am not. I am anti-mac fanboys/girls because they are such idiots sometimes."
No, it's cool to hate the fanboys. There is a difference between a fanboy and someone who supports/likes something. I own a Mini. I love it. I love OS X. However, I don't make offerings to the Church of Jobs or take it as a personal insult if someone doesn't like Apple. It's just a fucking computer. I don't pull out a jihad on people who buy Ford instead of Dodge either.
1. You're the troll, not the parent.
2. Yeah, it is a computer, not a way of life. Which makes me wonder, why did this mouse get your panties in such a twist that you had to get on Slashdot and bitch about it?
I haven't figured out what's more annoying, fanboys or their equally retarded antagonists (such as yourself). (And the parent was certainly NOT a fanboy.)
"They even ripped the name for it from an old cartoon series."
Seriously, now you're just pushing it.
Please name one other computer platform out there (or OS or hardware vendor or whatever) that doesn't make bogus/exaggerated claims. Microsoft is the king, Linux slapdicks aren't far behind, BSD does it, Sun does it, HP does it, Mozilla does it, Adobe does it, does it, etc.
Apple doesn't seem to pride itself on originally so much as it does for the best user experience. In that sense it actually delivers, unlike a number of other vendors that come to mind.
I mean, fucking-a, it's their marketing page! What marketing department is every going to say, "Hey we just copied this because we thought maybe it was time to catch up with the rest of the universe?" No one. At least no one that is selling something to make money.
Why do half the people here hold Apple to some special standard? They certainly don't misuse the word "innovation" more than the Microsoft camp or, heaven forbid I say it here, the Linux/GNU camp.
I haven't used this mouse yet so I don't know about its merits or whether it's just a gimic. Whatever. However, just because cars were invented back in the day doesn't mean that modern cars are devoid of innovation. This mouse might be a joy to work with. If it works better than anything I've used, it's innovative.
Why is everyone who works for a Fortune XXX company an anonymous coward?
Even then, a lot of the "bloat" people complain about is in the standard install, but a lot of distros let you fine tune what you install. Don't want the games? Don't install them. Wow, that was hard.
kio_slaves is awesome. It's just awesome. Gnome's attempt at something similar is a joke and OS X doesn't come close either. It's one of the things I really miss about KDE. (And Windows... heh... I don't even need to say anything beyond that.)
It's really strange, about 2 years ago I picked up a 15" Inspiron 8k on eBay. I paid something like $800 for it. 1600 x 1200 on a laptop. It weighs a ton, but seriously, I feel your irritation. I've been running 1600 x 1200 on all three of my machines for years and I hate to drop it down.
And seriously, am I the only person who perfers 4:3 over 16:9?
You have got to be kidding.
Install Linux on an Apple portable!? Yeah, and while you're at it why not buy a Porsche and replace the engine with that of a Honda Civic to improve gas mileage.
Install Linux PURELY to deal with anti-aliasing? And I'm sorry, I ran Linux on my desktop and laptop for two years before buying a Mac (and putting Win2k back on the laptop) and the anti-aliasing isn't that great. It has its own funky irritations and spacing issues. It's not bad, it's not great though. Every single font smoothing method I've looked at his its issues.
The Mac has the nicest and most consistent smoothing of any platform I've used. Oh yeah, and I can actually get GOOD graphic arts software for it. (The GIMP sucks, deal with it.) I can't even BUY good graphic arts or video editting software on a Linux box.
Don't get me wrong, KDE was an excellent environment to work in, but it still lacks software. And I don't care what distro you're using, it's not going to be as hassle free as a Mac.
I heard Netcraft even confirmed it.
I recently switched my primary webserver from Linux to FreeBSD and I'm not looking back. The number one reason is the documentation coupled with consistantcy. Hands down. When I get a book on FreeBSD it can be far more specific than a book on Linux, simply because there is just FreeBSD and not X distro. When I have a problem, I google it and I have an answer. I don't have to read through similar issues on similar distros and try to make similar changes to my setup.
And seriously, people can say what they want about FreeBSD being for servers and all, but I'll take a FreeBSD box running KDE over any desktop distro of Linux I've run. Ubuntu was pretty good but dog ass slow (and I was running Gnome with it too). I've found FreeBSD to be much more responsive.
One thing, and I wonder if anyone noticed this, but compiling ports on a FreeBSD box with identical hardware seems to go a whole lot faster than Gentoo. Is this just me imagining things?
No, it doesn't. I'm afraid of very little to be quite honest, but there are things I hate. Do you think a lot of religious zealots out there are filled with fear toward the things they hate? Nope, they're way too afraid of their god to fear a lot of other things. They hate on command.
On a simpler note, I *hate* stepping in dog shit. I am, in no way, "afraid" of dog shit nor do I have dogshitphobia. There are plenty of things out there that we hate or even just plain don't like that do not stem from fear.
The thing that really pisses me off about the "phobia" shit anyway is that maybe, just maybe, if the politically motivated radical gays (and they're different than run of the mill homosexuals who end up being the real victims of BOTH sides) would spend a little more time portraying themselves as victims of hate (that many of the innocent, peaceful ones are) and a little less time trying to tell people like me that I "fear" them for whatever fucking stupid reason they assemble in their little miswired brains then they might have more inroads.
Instead, moronic liberal assholes tell me that I'm "phobic" or something because I would rather eat dog shit than "experience" Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
It MUST be the decoder. My bloody Mac Mini is playing it just fine! There's no way in hell my hardware has yours beat.
Why is it always a "phobia?" That's what kills me. If someone has an issue with gays they must be "homophobic" or "transphobic" (if we're talking about the transgender types). Most of the gay hating rednecks I know don't have a "phobia." It's hate. It's not fear. Not by any stretch of the human imagination. People in the KKK are not called "negrophobes" so what the fuck is up with everyone being "afraid" of gays?
When I got my ass kicked in high school we called those assholes "bullies" not "geekphobes."
It's a 4:3. Like I said it was 1600x1200. But seriously, the Apple screen is 80 pixels wider but 150 pixels shorter. The Samsung is bigger and brighter as well. The Apple does have USB and Firewire ports, which is a nice touch but the Samsung has both digital and analog in which is kinda nice because it currently serves me as a kind of KVM without the K or the M. Oh yeah, and the Samsung can rotate 90 degrees which can be handy on occasion.
I could be wrong, but at the time, I believe the Apple 20" was going for $899. It might have been $799 though, I don't remember. The Samsung was $650 with a $100 rebate (which Newegg didn't bother sending me the papers for).
Really though, if I've just plain got more pixels does the aspect ratio make a difference? And also, if there are fewer pixels, why on earth should the aspect ratio change the cost in any way? That just seems ridiculous to me.
Honestly, I was agnostic about the aspect ratio. I was looking for the most pixels, reasonable brightness, decent response time, digital out and something in the 20" - 22" range for a reasonable price. The Samsung 213T fit the bill. (And it comes in black and silver. Ironically, I went with black.)
Let me say that I don't think the Apple displays are crap, because they aren't. I think the 20" model is over priced though. Now, after reading your post and taking a look at the 23" Apple and the 24" Samsung, I see what you're talking about. (And Apple's pricing handily defeats Sony, but I do believe Sony's 23" offering has a better response time, brightness, etc.)
Sadly, I think if I was in your shoes I would probably go with the Apple display at 23" for the following reasons:
1. I've become a brand whore.
2. To get a good price on the Samsung I can't buy it locally. (Fry's charges a lot more than Newegg.) I can buy the Apple display for the price listed at Fry's or my local Apple store.
3. Apple items generally have more attention to detail. There's the USB hub and Firewire connection. Its cable management is also better.
4. The Samsung has a better contrast ratio but the Apple has a much better response time.
5. It matches other Apple stuff.
Apple isn't the clear winner. Sometimes size trumps pretty much everything else. Anyway, I don't know why I felt the need to get into this, but I do have to revise what I said before. Apple's 20" screen is overpriced, but the 23" is very competative (as in, not just for fanboys). I didn't bother looking at the 30" and doing any comparisons since at that point, cost isn't really an issue anyway.
Apple sells their displays at a premium because fanboys will buy them and people will pay for the brand. It's good business.
I was almost stupid enough to purchase the 20" Apple display with my Mini a couple months ago. Then... in a moment of clarity... I pulled my head out of my ass and did a bit of research and ended up getting a Samsung 21.3" screen with a MUCH better resolution (1600 x 1200) and brightness for like $200 cheaper.
Seriously, the only reason I was even considering the Apple display is so everything would "match." Again, I pulled my head out and remembered I was going to use my Logitech mouse and unmatching speakers. For a moment though, it was like my computer was making me go all "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
Anyway, I'm not really defending Apple except to say that their reasons are fiscally sound for them. I love my Mac, but I also have no illusions about the fact that Apple is a business.