How many times have we seen the iPod killer story? If it's not the sony "walkman" it's the MS Zune. There've been iPod killer stories ever since Gen 1 hit it big. And yet everyone keeps buying iPods, more or less ignoring the so-called competition.
Something, somewhere will make the iPod obsolete, but it isn't going to be another mp3 player, and it's definitely not the Zune; having said that, I can't wait to see what it's going to be. Til it gets here, I'll just continue adding to my iPod collection. The latest edition just arrived Friday morning by Fed Ex and it's gorgeous. Sorry, MS.
I'm the only girl (and the team lead) in an all-male IT department. I've honestly never had any issues; it really does tend to be the women who are more cliquish than the men. In my experience, the best bets are:
1) Never flirt. It's just bad news all around,and encourages the office males to view you as a sexual being instead of a coworker. Not good. 2) Be friendly and just hang out. Go for coffee if they ask, invite everyone out for after-work beers. Ask if anyone's going out for lunch so you can all go somewhere together. 3) Be good at what you do. Do your work with care and deliver what you promise. Nothing helps break down barriers in the office like proving your worth. 4) Don't try to bullshit your way past someone who knows more about a given area than you do. One of my team members runs circles around me when it comes to java, I kick his ass at perl; it's all give and take, and we both know it. I give him the respect he deserves for that and don't try to pretend to know more than he does about java, and he does the same for me. Though, I think this goes regardless of gender.
Having said that, there are still areas of discrimination out there. The most telling comment I got was from the HR rep that hired me for my current contract. Her comment was something along the lines of "When I ask the guys if you're any good, they just say 'Yes, she really knows her stuff. She's good at what she does.' I knew that meant you were exceptional, because they didn't qualify it with 'Yes, she's good, for a girl.'"
The fact that there's still that kind of mentality in some places is just disheartening.
Charges for filing false police reports are all fine and good, but how much do you think that's going to mitigate circumstances?
Eg:
"Headline news: Alleged pedophile Joe Sixpack arrested and detained after revolutionary new feature in MSN allows users to report for soliciting sex from underaged kids."
Two months later, page 38, buried somewhere beneath an ad for preperation H: "Joe Sixpack acquitted of all charges. Fanny Jones arrested for filing a false police report."
Once you're accused of being a pedophile, the damage is already done.
Any bit of "real" stuff that I need to do online, I can feasibly do during the day while I'm at work. I pay my bills once a month, which takes less than five minutes; any emergency communication comes in on my cellphone, and all emails are non-critcal and can really wait til Monday. Perhaps if I didn't spend all day every day at work on a PC, I'd feel the same way. Or maybe if I had kids, but as I never plan on having them, I don't forsee this changing anytime in the near future.
Though, if someone took away my ability to shop online when I wanted to, they'd have to die. I will not live without my black phoenix alchemy labs, dang it.
I did PvP enough to make sergeant to get the discounts on mounts. I think I'm back down to corporal now. I saw people in my realm grind all the way up the rankings, and it was just... wow. They did NOTHING else. Every loss was a painful event because it affected their honour rankings, every night was spent in queues for all the BGs.
The whole "guild needs me" thing is a major reason why I limit myself to a supporting role. I would never ever be a class or guild leader because I won't devote that kind of time and effort to a raid.
The raid I run in is successful because most of the people (who I'd classify as addicts in a lot of cases) come with their alts and raid as a second group 5 nights a week on their mains, using our raid as a feeder for gearing up and getting experience for new players. I already know that I will never join the main raiding group; they play too often, they're fiercely competitive, and are always getting into angsty drama-laden bickering with the other top raiding guilds on the server.
Personally, I'm happy with alternately raiding BWL and MC once a week, with the odd ZG raid in the middle if people catch me online and ask if I'll be around. Because we've got so many good players we have no trouble clearing the instances and getting geared. But because it's a feeder raid group, we're also not crazy-serious-all-the-time-raiding either. Balance. I like it.
1) skipping work to play WoW 2) Avoiding RL friends to play WoW 3) Neglecting real life things like cleaning, shopping, eating to play WoW
you're ok. The one thing I'd look out for is replacing real friends with online ones. Some of the people I've met online are great, but they're no substitute for someone you can actually see and touch.
Hah! Nuh uh. Coffee for me isn't about caffeine, it's about the sensual experience. Specifically, a cappuccino made to perfection with the combination of aromas, textures, and flavours. I'll skip it if I'm running late for work, or it's too hot for coffee, but in general, I drink my cappuccino slowly and really enjoy it.
I play WoW (yes, a real girl with boobs and everything playing WoW! Who'da thunk it!), and at first, it was kind of addicting. There was so much to explore, so many things to see and do. I think that first weekend, I played til 4 or 5 AM both nights. When I realised how unhealthy that was, I stopped, and vowed that if I EVER refused a social engagement in real life to play WoW, or neglected my real life duties for it, I'd uninstall it immediately. I'm now in a casual raiding guild (we raid once a week on Fridays), and log in at other times only to play with (local) people I know if they need some help.
But I'm one of those people who's lucky enough to not have an addictive personality. I didn't get addicted to IRC or the 'net. I can go weeks without logging into a computer outside of work without any problem. When my laptop (my only computer) crashed at home two months ago, I puttered for a few weeks before even bothering to reinstall the OS; WoW got reinstalled a few days later when I felt like it. I can even go without coffee for days on end if I choose to.
Honestly, I'm thankful for that. The LAST thing I want to be is one of those people who lives and breathes on a videogame. It's scary to think that it's so addicting; I have to wonder why, though? There's nothing physical there to draw you in. It isn't like alcohol or nicotine. Is it the social aspects? Being able to completely control your surroundings, as you can't in real life? What is it about a videogame like WoW or Everquest that sucks people in so completely that it makes them ignore friends, family, and real life?
I think, as someone who's not an addict, I'll never really understand it.
I buy those packs all the time. That sticker is BRILLIANT! I love pears, absolutely adore them, but I've always had trouble because I want to eat them now, not a week from now, when they might get ripe. Then I tend to forget about them and they just go rotten.
Those packs let me buy them exactly at the stage I want (just before they turn to the final ripeness stage). Well worth it.
I'm bothered. I'd be making a call to Bell to cancel my sympatico account (which I've had since 2000) and move over to Videotron but I don't think Videotron will be any better at protecting their customers' data. I do remember Bell refusing to turn over ISP records to the CRIA, which I really respected; IIRC Videotron capitulated and said they would do it without a warrant.
So what does one do? Obviously voting with your wallet doesn't work if both options are equally bad. I'm not sure anymore.
"Then again, with modern technology they might start editing old tv shows inserting new scenes to do product placement or just dubbing over them with new brand names."
They already do. I think it was Bladerunner? There was a big stink from the original advertisers because they digitally edited the movie to include a new sponsor on some major billboard in a background shot.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind more targetted advertising in the TV world. I'd be willing to submit basic, non-identifiable data & interests in exchange for something worthwhile (like a discount). It'd be worth it to me to avoid all the stupid diaper and formula commercials usually aimed at women, and get ads for nifty tech toys instead.
Their "Sports" models were popular for a while, with the shiny yellow impact-proof plastics.
I had one of those when I was 12. I LOOOOOOVED that thing. It was my prize possession for a good few years, before it got replaced by a shiny new pink and white one.
Seriously though, I really hate it when the US pushes in on the sovereignty of another nation. And this isn't just speaking as a Canadian.
Canadian law has developed some VERY different precedents from American law, and I think the finest example of that difference is how we deal with copyright, and privacy. We actually HAVE the right to copy music for ourselves, and decent privacy laws respecting our rights.
The website I work for, a very large, very traditional 'user-facing customer portal' for a telco, now officially supports IE6 and Firefox 1.0. The announcement came last week. A year ago, we couldn't even get them to acknowledge that firefox EXISTED, much less provide full support for it.
And why did it happen? Tons of customer feedback directly on the site, and metrics showing that firefox use was climbing. Rapidly. And here i thought those 'feedback forms' wouldn't actually lead to any change.
Oh, it's completely true. It's a well established fact that the porn industry leads the rest of the pack when it comes to embracing technology and making money off of it.
Print, phone sex lines, cinemas, VCRs, dvd players... you name it, the porn industry is making money off of it long before anyone else is.
I have heard it argued that the reason HDTV hasn't taken off as quickly as expected is because porn just can't stand up to such high quality images. Those 'perfect' bodies show their many flaws when displayed under high definition, and for most porn 'connaisseurs' , that ruins the fantasy aspect. If ms. X suddenly has zits all over her ass and acne scars on her face, it just ain't that sexy anymore.
Whether that's true or not, i've no idea. But it's food for thought.
O CANADA
A GREAT BIG EMPTY LAND
WE LOOK TO AMERICA
FOR A HELPING HAND
WITH BANNOCK BREAD
AND CARIBOU EGGS
AND TRUE NORTH BIG AND COLD
O CANADA
WE ARE ON TOP
WE'RE CLOSE TO
THE NORTH POLE
FERMEZ LA BOUCHE
MANGEZ POUTINE
CANADA
A LOVELY WINTER DREAM
O CANADA
LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA
Tell me about it. I'm unfortunate enough to have to deal with Amdocs through work. The amount of power they hold translates directly into a piss poor attitude which makes them a NIGHTMARE to deal with in any business situation.
It's not anything close to an exact translation of the english. here you go:
O Canada! Land of our forefathers Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers. As in thy arm ready to wield the sword, So also is it ready to carry the cross. Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits. Thy valour steeped in faith Will protect our homes and our rights Will protect our homes and our rights.
Slashdot Mirror
How many times have we seen the iPod killer story? If it's not the sony "walkman" it's the MS Zune. There've been iPod killer stories ever since Gen 1 hit it big. And yet everyone keeps buying iPods, more or less ignoring the so-called competition.
Something, somewhere will make the iPod obsolete, but it isn't going to be another mp3 player, and it's definitely not the Zune; having said that, I can't wait to see what it's going to be. Til it gets here, I'll just continue adding to my iPod collection. The latest edition just arrived Friday morning by Fed Ex and it's gorgeous. Sorry, MS.
I'm the only girl (and the team lead) in an all-male IT department. I've honestly never had any issues; it really does tend to be the women who are more cliquish than the men. In my experience, the best bets are:
1) Never flirt. It's just bad news all around,and encourages the office males to view you as a sexual being instead of a coworker. Not good.
2) Be friendly and just hang out. Go for coffee if they ask, invite everyone out for after-work beers. Ask if anyone's going out for lunch so you can all go somewhere together.
3) Be good at what you do. Do your work with care and deliver what you promise. Nothing helps break down barriers in the office like proving your worth.
4) Don't try to bullshit your way past someone who knows more about a given area than you do. One of my team members runs circles around me when it comes to java, I kick his ass at perl; it's all give and take, and we both know it. I give him the respect he deserves for that and don't try to pretend to know more than he does about java, and he does the same for me. Though, I think this goes regardless of gender.
Having said that, there are still areas of discrimination out there. The most telling comment I got was from the HR rep that hired me for my current contract. Her comment was something along the lines of "When I ask the guys if you're any good, they just say 'Yes, she really knows her stuff. She's good at what she does.' I knew that meant you were exceptional, because they didn't qualify it with 'Yes, she's good, for a girl.'"
The fact that there's still that kind of mentality in some places is just disheartening.
Charges for filing false police reports are all fine and good, but how much do you think that's going to mitigate circumstances?
Eg:
"Headline news: Alleged pedophile Joe Sixpack arrested and detained after revolutionary new feature in MSN allows users to report for soliciting sex from underaged kids."
Two months later, page 38, buried somewhere beneath an ad for preperation H: "Joe Sixpack acquitted of all charges. Fanny Jones arrested for filing a false police report."
Once you're accused of being a pedophile, the damage is already done.
Now compare my slashdot number to yours.
Any bit of "real" stuff that I need to do online, I can feasibly do during the day while I'm at work. I pay my bills once a month, which takes less than five minutes; any emergency communication comes in on my cellphone, and all emails are non-critcal and can really wait til Monday. Perhaps if I didn't spend all day every day at work on a PC, I'd feel the same way. Or maybe if I had kids, but as I never plan on having them, I don't forsee this changing anytime in the near future.
Though, if someone took away my ability to shop online when I wanted to, they'd have to die. I will not live without my black phoenix alchemy labs, dang it.
If you want to be impressed, ask me how long I've been coding perl :P
I did PvP enough to make sergeant to get the discounts on mounts. I think I'm back down to corporal now. I saw people in my realm grind all the way up the rankings, and it was just... wow. They did NOTHING else. Every loss was a painful event because it affected their honour rankings, every night was spent in queues for all the BGs.
The whole "guild needs me" thing is a major reason why I limit myself to a supporting role. I would never ever be a class or guild leader because I won't devote that kind of time and effort to a raid.
The raid I run in is successful because most of the people (who I'd classify as addicts in a lot of cases) come with their alts and raid as a second group 5 nights a week on their mains, using our raid as a feeder for gearing up and getting experience for new players. I already know that I will never join the main raiding group; they play too often, they're fiercely competitive, and are always getting into angsty drama-laden bickering with the other top raiding guilds on the server.
Personally, I'm happy with alternately raiding BWL and MC once a week, with the odd ZG raid in the middle if people catch me online and ask if I'll be around. Because we've got so many good players we have no trouble clearing the instances and getting geared. But because it's a feeder raid group, we're also not crazy-serious-all-the-time-raiding either. Balance. I like it.
I'd say as long as you're not:
1) skipping work to play WoW
2) Avoiding RL friends to play WoW
3) Neglecting real life things like cleaning, shopping, eating to play WoW
you're ok. The one thing I'd look out for is replacing real friends with online ones. Some of the people I've met online are great, but they're no substitute for someone you can actually see and touch.
Hah! Nuh uh. Coffee for me isn't about caffeine, it's about the sensual experience. Specifically, a cappuccino made to perfection with the combination of aromas, textures, and flavours. I'll skip it if I'm running late for work, or it's too hot for coffee, but in general, I drink my cappuccino slowly and really enjoy it.
I'm in Canada. Our mountain dew has no caffeine :)
Convince? You're the parent, you don't convince, you dictate.
"Give me your password so I can set up controls, or I will cancel your subscription/cut off internet access/remove computer from the house."
At least tell me you don't let him keep his PC in his room.
I play WoW (yes, a real girl with boobs and everything playing WoW! Who'da thunk it!), and at first, it was kind of addicting. There was so much to explore, so many things to see and do. I think that first weekend, I played til 4 or 5 AM both nights. When I realised how unhealthy that was, I stopped, and vowed that if I EVER refused a social engagement in real life to play WoW, or neglected my real life duties for it, I'd uninstall it immediately. I'm now in a casual raiding guild (we raid once a week on Fridays), and log in at other times only to play with (local) people I know if they need some help.
But I'm one of those people who's lucky enough to not have an addictive personality. I didn't get addicted to IRC or the 'net. I can go weeks without logging into a computer outside of work without any problem. When my laptop (my only computer) crashed at home two months ago, I puttered for a few weeks before even bothering to reinstall the OS; WoW got reinstalled a few days later when I felt like it. I can even go without coffee for days on end if I choose to.
Honestly, I'm thankful for that. The LAST thing I want to be is one of those people who lives and breathes on a videogame. It's scary to think that it's so addicting; I have to wonder why, though? There's nothing physical there to draw you in. It isn't like alcohol or nicotine. Is it the social aspects? Being able to completely control your surroundings, as you can't in real life? What is it about a videogame like WoW or Everquest that sucks people in so completely that it makes them ignore friends, family, and real life?
I think, as someone who's not an addict, I'll never really understand it.
I buy those packs all the time. That sticker is BRILLIANT! I love pears, absolutely adore them, but I've always had trouble because I want to eat them now, not a week from now, when they might get ripe. Then I tend to forget about them and they just go rotten.
Those packs let me buy them exactly at the stage I want (just before they turn to the final ripeness stage). Well worth it.
I'm bothered. I'd be making a call to Bell to cancel my sympatico account (which I've had since 2000) and move over to Videotron but I don't think Videotron will be any better at protecting their customers' data. I do remember Bell refusing to turn over ISP records to the CRIA, which I really respected; IIRC Videotron capitulated and said they would do it without a warrant.
So what does one do? Obviously voting with your wallet doesn't work if both options are equally bad. I'm not sure anymore.
Yep, you nailed it. With crap like this, it makes me wonder if MS even HAS a usability department. Or does Marketing decide what's user-friendly?
"Then again, with modern technology they might start editing old tv shows inserting new scenes to do product placement or just dubbing over them with new brand names."
They already do. I think it was Bladerunner? There was a big stink from the original advertisers because they digitally edited the movie to include a new sponsor on some major billboard in a background shot.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind more targetted advertising in the TV world. I'd be willing to submit basic, non-identifiable data & interests in exchange for something worthwhile (like a discount). It'd be worth it to me to avoid all the stupid diaper and formula commercials usually aimed at women, and get ads for nifty tech toys instead.
Their "Sports" models were popular for a while, with the shiny yellow impact-proof plastics.
I had one of those when I was 12. I LOOOOOOVED that thing. It was my prize possession for a good few years, before it got replaced by a shiny new pink and white one.
*looks at pink & white iPod mini*
I think I see a trend here.
I reject your reality and substitute my own!
Seriously though, I really hate it when the US pushes in on the sovereignty of another nation. And this isn't just speaking as a Canadian.
Canadian law has developed some VERY different precedents from American law, and I think the finest example of that difference is how we deal with copyright, and privacy. We actually HAVE the right to copy music for ourselves, and decent privacy laws respecting our rights.
And I for one love it.
The website I work for, a very large, very traditional 'user-facing customer portal' for a telco, now officially supports IE6 and Firefox 1.0. The announcement came last week. A year ago, we couldn't even get them to acknowledge that firefox EXISTED, much less provide full support for it.
And why did it happen? Tons of customer feedback directly on the site, and metrics showing that firefox use was climbing. Rapidly. And here i thought those 'feedback forms' wouldn't actually lead to any change.
Yeah i remember those days. Waiting for the bus in the pitch dark wasn't fun, but it didn't kill me.
It was fantastic in summer. Light out til 11PM. LOOOOVED that.
Oh, it's completely true. It's a well established fact that the porn industry leads the rest of the pack when it comes to embracing technology and making money off of it.
Print, phone sex lines, cinemas, VCRs, dvd players... you name it, the porn industry is making money off of it long before anyone else is.
I have heard it argued that the reason HDTV hasn't taken off as quickly as expected is because porn just can't stand up to such high quality images. Those 'perfect' bodies show their many flaws when displayed under high definition, and for most porn 'connaisseurs' , that ruins the fantasy aspect. If ms. X suddenly has zits all over her ass and acne scars on her face, it just ain't that sexy anymore.
Whether that's true or not, i've no idea. But it's food for thought.
i always enjoyed the rick mercer version.
O CANADA
A GREAT BIG EMPTY LAND
WE LOOK TO AMERICA
FOR A HELPING HAND
WITH BANNOCK BREAD
AND CARIBOU EGGS
AND TRUE NORTH BIG AND COLD
O CANADA
WE ARE ON TOP
WE'RE CLOSE TO
THE NORTH POLE
FERMEZ LA BOUCHE
MANGEZ POUTINE
CANADA
A LOVELY WINTER DREAM
O CANADA
LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, LA
Tell me about it. I'm unfortunate enough to have to deal with Amdocs through work. The amount of power they hold translates directly into a piss poor attitude which makes them a NIGHTMARE to deal with in any business situation.
It's not anything close to an exact translation of the english.
here you go:
O Canada!
Land of our forefathers
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers.
As in thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.