I had the same problem a while back w/ an older Sony handycam and a blue and white G3 mac. The solution turned out to be a "Media Converter" breakout box that turned the signal into a DV signal that the mac could import.
The one we used was a Sony model, but there are others listed on apple's Made For Mac site, including one by Canopus (search for Media Converter)
Here's a link to the one we used: http://dv411.com/sondvmcda2dv.htm
There must be cheaper ones on the market by now, as this was at least 4 years ago.
I want to study a field that involves a lot of interaction between people and technology (mainly computers)... Any suggestions for a technologically intensive field that doesn't require ungodly amounts of coding
The statements above are going to cover nearly EVERY professional field and field of study in the next few years. Psychology, Economics, statistics, law, medicine, and even English are all using computers way more than they ever did, and that trend is only going to continue.
However, I recognize that there are lots of technically inclined people who aren't cut out for the particular mindset involved in programming (and programmming well.) Here are some job descriptions that I think incorporate both a love of technology and computers, but don't require programming:
Log/traffic analysis: Almost every company has a Web site. Many don't make much use of their web logs to do much more than count hits or visitors. Logfiles, with lots of massaging, can reveal lots of data about the patterns of visitor behavior. These data can help develop new site features to increase return visitors or clickthrough ratios, improve upon text or navigation, etc. You can use commercial or open-source software packages to glean the information you need, but the real challenge isn't in finding the right data, it's in asking the right questions.
Usability/Human-computer Interaction: HCI is one of the sections of the ACM computer science curriculum. Carnegie Mellon has a grad program devoted to this (I believe.) It's a growing field, combining software and cognitive psychology. It's everything from designing the User Interface to software programs or Operating systems, to figuring out the right button configuration on a new mouse design. Study cognitive psychology, take some electives in HCI from the Comp Sci department, and whatever likely courses appear in the Engineering department. Also look under ergonomics (a slightly related field.) My personal theory here is that desktop computers in business are more than fast enough to run the programs we typically use them for. Gains in productivity from faster processor and more RAM are going to be minimal. The real productivity gains of the future are going to come in making it faster and easier to do the things we do by creating better designed, more intuitive software.
QA: Every technology shop needs QA. A lot of the time it's done by programmers. To me, that sucks. The programming mindset is a "problem-solving" one. The QA mindset is a different one, and one that programmers are almost diametrically opposed to... finding potential problems, breaking software, etc. A good coder learns how to anticipate and code for these things as part of their practices. They build in validation, check internal validity of data, prevent buffer overflows, and avoid making assumptions. A good QA tester will run circles around a good programmer in this area though. I think there's definitely a "knack" for QA that some people have, and others don't... and these people are often not the most computer savvy. At our company, we have a copy-editor who we have test out new apps, maybe because she's a copy-editor and has a good attention to detail, or maybe it's just her super-power, but she never fails to find problems that coders have missed.
Tech support: I don't mean answering the phones for AOL... i mean find a software company that makes products targeted at end-users with better than average computer skills, more of a B-to-B than a B-to-C company. You become an expert in their software product or products, you learn to solve simple and advanced problems that users might have. You become a god and savior in times of need... there are Tech Support reps, and then there are GOOD tech support reps (although many slashdotters may disagree with me regarding the latter, but trust me, they are out there, albeit in small numbers.) We need more GOOD reps. It's a different mindset than programming, again, but we need them.
If you ever travel with a companion, having a 3 dollar headphone splitter can allow two people to watch a DVD on your laptop at the same time. Of course, you'll probably also want an extra battery. I've never made it through an entire DVD without running out of battery power...
Some airlines have power cables under the seats, but they use a special airplane power adaptor, which can range from 30 to 99 USD.
I second the iPod as External HD idea.
I've used a London Fog case for over 2 years now. It's expandable, has an internal padded laptop sleeve, provides quick access to the laptop in airports, and is made of high quality leather. I swapped the strap for a Victorinox strap which is bouncier and softer... good for extra load.
I use a docking station at work (although a port replicator would work just as well), plugged into 21" montitor, keyboard, and mouse. I keep an extra power brick in the laptop case, like many others here have mentioned.
Or Rainbow Six 3 as some people persist in calling it;-) is an incredible multiplayer experience. The realism of the game surpasses that of some of the newer "realistic" shooters (e.g. America's Army, Vietnam), although not quite as good as Operation Flashpoint (although I find RS more enjoyable than OF, personally.)
You should definitely make this one of your first gaming purchases.
One of my favorite online features is coop play. Taking down 30 terrorists with a team of players is only surpassed in excitement by taking out 30 terrorists with a team of players who are all on voice comms!
But the Zalman product page that you linked to in your post had links to several online reviews. Were those insufficient? I found them to give me all the information that I would need to make a $40 purchase...
We use Ektron's eWebEditPro, which has an XML-based customization scheme. You can allow users to post HTML, or simply allow them to do some more advanced things w/ plain text.
I have one of these at home and one at work. I've used dozens of different keyboards, and this is the best I've ever found. I picked it after extensive research and reading of reviews.
It's by Keytronic and it's called the LT Designer (almost the same as LT Classic but w/ more of an angle to it.)
A friend of mine had her Toyota Tacoma in the shop and was lent a Prius as a loaner vehicle by the dealership.
I got to drive it around town a little, and I didn't experience a problem with pickup at all.
I'm used to driving a 200hp Audi, so I figured a tiny little 67hp electric-powered engine would stink...
I was surprised by two things. The low end torque of the electric motor is more than sufficient. The power/weight ratio is such that you don't need a ton of hp to get the car moving. This was with three adults in the car, as well.
I wasn't able to test high-end torque, hill climbing, or highway passing power, however (some of which would use the gasoline assist.)
But as someone who likes to drive and takes cars seriously, I was favorably impressed.
Keep in mind that this was in the earliest model Prius, and the later model do even better.
Adobe Acrobat Reader Plugin Quicktime Plugin Not sure if RealPlayer still uses Plugin architecture per-se Java applets could conceivably be considered Plugins
From reading the descriptions, some of the following may be too introductory... I'm assuming your students all have bachelor degrees in CS, and are picking up Java as a 3rd or 4th language...
However, anyone can type paragraph after paragraph of key combinations, all lowercase, with no numbers or punctuation, and get 100 wpm consistently.
Being a programmer, though, means you need to learn not only where all of the letters are and how to type them in both upper and lower case, but you need to learn how to make extensive use of the number and symbol keys. These are the least emphasized in many typing programs, which are more geared towards the letter/number/symbol ratios you would see in taking dictated correspondence.
There ought to be a "touch typing for perl programmers" type program, or a plugin or exercise set for popular programs that lets you practice symbols, newlines, indenting, commenting, etc;-)
With that in mind, use Mavis, and stick with it. I type 90 wpm, closer to 75 when coding C++ or Perl. Spend lots of extra time on the number and symbol keys, and it will pay long dividends.
My whiteboard helps a lot with this. I keep a list of projects on the board. It changes frequently but it's always full. When I get a new request, I point to it and say, "sure, I'll put it on the list."
Then I ask when they need it done by... If they give me a date that's in the near future, I let them know what else is on the list for that period of time, and ask them to decide where this project falls in priority in regards to those projects. Now they'll always feel that their project is more important than that for another business unit or department. So then you simply say: well, why don't you go check with "Director of that Business Unit/Department" and/or "The VP who is both of their bosses" and clear it with them that this bumps their project's schedule back, and if they're OK w/ it, then that's fine.
They rarely come back insisting on the same date.
You've got a couple other choices as well. It sounds like you are completely understaffed, so consider outsourcing, and shaking down their budgets for the cash to do so. If they want it so damn fast, then they can pay the big bucks to get it done.
Also, consider finding a new job. Any company that underfunds IT is going to have long term problems as a result, including financial stability. While the last IT guy will be one of the last to go, do you really want to be there when that happens?
In my case, I've gone from a staff of 0 to a staff of 3 full time people, and a huge backlog of work to actually getting to tackle some of the gravy projects and doing future-looking stuff. I was lucky in that the company understood the value of technology.
By the way, there are industry average stats for # of computers per support staff. I've heard of 20 Windows boxen per tech, although that seems extreme. My small company ( 150 employees) uses a total staff of 8: 1 Senior Director who is also a DBA, 3 network/server and desktop support techs, 3 programmers for external and internal Web development, and a designer.
The main flaw in SPEWS is that it has a serious problem with accountability.
There's no reasonably transparent process for assuring removal. Say an Internet service provider gets notified by customers who are being blocked by SPEWS that they have a spammer on their network, and at first tries to get the spammer to stop. The spammer doesn't stop and finally they get booted off.
The ISP then goes to n.a.n-a.e and posts that the spammer has been removed. And they wait. And no one from SPEWS responds. And they wait some more. And they wait indefinitely, but they are never removed.
So the next time they get a report of a spammer on their network, and a second block of IPs blocked by SPEWS, how likely are they going to be to go through the trouble of policing that spammer to get try and get that block de-listed?
I agree with the concept behind SPEWS of forcing ISPs to deal with spammers or face irate customers. I don't think they handle(d) the de-listing process very well. Without violating their confidentiality, having some mechanism to see how the process of de-listing works would have helped. For example, you can see all sorts of details about what specific infractions got you listed in the first place, why not post something like "x ISP has gone 3 months w/o any spam... they'll be delisted in another 3 months."
An alternate means of solving the problem would have been to set up a Web-based form for agreeing to a contract of sorts. The ISP contracts to take action (or prove that it has taken action) and SPEWS contracts to remove the listing withing a specific, defined time period.
Just a little more accountability and transparency could have won the ISPs over. They hate spam as much as the end-user. But if the time and money it takes to get rid of the listings doesn't bear results or even hope of results, they're going to give up.
I know it's an anal little point, but it's Viet Nam, not Vietnam...
I agree with the injustice of the Viet Nam war, but not all aspects of the conduct of the Allies in WWII are above reproach. There's ample documentation of the Soviet soldiers being given orders to rape German women and murder captured German civilians as they advanced on Berlin. The fire-bombing of Dresden stands out as an atrocity committed by the Allies, and even though I appreciate arguments for the use of nuclear weapons, I still have a hard time feeling comfortable with what we did to the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Just a question though... how often do video games make a point of being sensitive towards avoiding sensitive subjects and cultural stereotypes? I'm not saying that they shouldn't make an effort to do so more, and that I don't applaud the efforts the do make... just that it isn't their primary focus, and I don't know that it should be. Gandhi, Boy's Don't Cry, Philadelphia and Schindlers List all make great movies... but I'd imagine they wouldn't be that much fun as video games...
From personal experience, I have to disagree with both of your recommendations...
The Bluetooth functionality may be cool, but I have the T68i with AT&T, and for some reason, whether it's antenna, circuitry, or something, it has crap reception, even when other AT&T users with different phones have decent reception.
Also, at work we use the Sprint PCS cards (specifically the Novatel Wireless Merlin C201) which has a max THEORETICAL speed of 144 kBITS/sec, so your claimed speed of 230 KBytes/sec is 13 times the theoretical max. The other cards, including their top of the line Sierra Wireless AirCard, offer the same theoretical max, and their claimed maximum practical speed is 40-60kbits/sec.
From personal experience, I'd say that those peak rates are accurate (about as fast as a decent 56k modem connection) although most of the time I get a slower connection than that, around 4KBytes/sec download (so 32kbps).
On the other hand, maybe you're using some special sprint PCMCIA hardware that isn't available to the rest of us yet...
On the flip side, Sprint's network is fantastic, and the external antennas on these things mean you can pick up a signal ANYWHERE. I've seen a weak signal at 30,000 feet cruising across country, although I didn't attempt any downloads from the plane;-)
Slashdot Mirror
My bad.. i didn't see the model number in the subject.
But his question's been answered numerous times already so...
I had the same problem a while back w/ an older Sony handycam and a blue and white G3 mac. The solution turned out to be a "Media Converter" breakout box that turned the signal into a DV signal that the mac could import.
The one we used was a Sony model, but there are others listed on apple's Made For Mac site, including one by Canopus (search for Media Converter)
Here's a link to the one we used:
http://dv411.com/sondvmcda2dv.htm
There must be cheaper ones on the market by now, as this was at least 4 years ago.
I'm not sure about the Mac client, but eFax is fantastic. For a while it was free, too.
You use Webmail to send the message, and it gets sent from Customer C, your own domain.
I want to study a field that involves a lot of interaction between people and technology (mainly computers)... Any suggestions for a technologically intensive field that doesn't require ungodly amounts of coding
The statements above are going to cover nearly EVERY professional field and field of study in the next few years. Psychology, Economics, statistics, law, medicine, and even English are all using computers way more than they ever did, and that trend is only going to continue.
However, I recognize that there are lots of technically inclined people who aren't cut out for the particular mindset involved in programming (and programmming well.) Here are some job descriptions that I think incorporate both a love of technology and computers, but don't require programming:
Log/traffic analysis: Almost every company has a Web site. Many don't make much use of their web logs to do much more than count hits or visitors. Logfiles, with lots of massaging, can reveal lots of data about the patterns of visitor behavior. These data can help develop new site features to increase return visitors or clickthrough ratios, improve upon text or navigation, etc. You can use commercial or open-source software packages to glean the information you need, but the real challenge isn't in finding the right data, it's in asking the right questions.
Usability/Human-computer Interaction: HCI is one of the sections of the ACM computer science curriculum. Carnegie Mellon has a grad program devoted to this (I believe.) It's a growing field, combining software and cognitive psychology. It's everything from designing the User Interface to software programs or Operating systems, to figuring out the right button configuration on a new mouse design. Study cognitive psychology, take some electives in HCI from the Comp Sci department, and whatever likely courses appear in the Engineering department. Also look under ergonomics (a slightly related field.) My personal theory here is that desktop computers in business are more than fast enough to run the programs we typically use them for. Gains in productivity from faster processor and more RAM are going to be minimal. The real productivity gains of the future are going to come in making it faster and easier to do the things we do by creating better designed, more intuitive software.
QA: Every technology shop needs QA. A lot of the time it's done by programmers. To me, that sucks. The programming mindset is a "problem-solving" one. The QA mindset is a different one, and one that programmers are almost diametrically opposed to... finding potential problems, breaking software, etc. A good coder learns how to anticipate and code for these things as part of their practices. They build in validation, check internal validity of data, prevent buffer overflows, and avoid making assumptions. A good QA tester will run circles around a good programmer in this area though. I think there's definitely a "knack" for QA that some people have, and others don't... and these people are often not the most computer savvy. At our company, we have a copy-editor who we have test out new apps, maybe because she's a copy-editor and has a good attention to detail, or maybe it's just her super-power, but she never fails to find problems that coders have missed.
Tech support: I don't mean answering the phones for AOL... i mean find a software company that makes products targeted at end-users with better than average computer skills, more of a B-to-B than a B-to-C company. You become an expert in their software product or products, you learn to solve simple and advanced problems that users might have. You become a god and savior in times of need... there are Tech Support reps, and then there are GOOD tech support reps (although many slashdotters may disagree with me regarding the latter, but trust me, they are out there, albeit in small numbers.) We need more GOOD reps. It's a different mindset than programming, again, but we need them.
I've found them on Midwest Express, Business class on some airlines, and certain rows in Coach on some planes on American, which I fly most often.
I always ask the gate agent for a seat w/ power, and I get one about 50% of the time. Depends v. much on the age of the plane, I think.
If you ever travel with a companion, having a 3 dollar headphone splitter can allow two people to watch a DVD on your laptop at the same time. Of course, you'll probably also want an extra battery. I've never made it through an entire DVD without running out of battery power...
Some airlines have power cables under the seats, but they use a special airplane power adaptor, which can range from 30 to 99 USD.
I second the iPod as External HD idea.
I've used a London Fog case for over 2 years now. It's expandable, has an internal padded laptop sleeve, provides quick access to the laptop in airports, and is made of high quality leather. I swapped the strap for a Victorinox strap which is bouncier and softer... good for extra load.
I use a docking station at work (although a port replicator would work just as well), plugged into 21" montitor, keyboard, and mouse. I keep an extra power brick in the laptop case, like many others here have mentioned.
Or Rainbow Six 3 as some people persist in calling it ;-) is an incredible multiplayer experience. The realism of the game surpasses that of some of the newer "realistic" shooters (e.g. America's Army, Vietnam), although not quite as good as Operation Flashpoint (although I find RS more enjoyable than OF, personally.)
You should definitely make this one of your first gaming purchases.
One of my favorite online features is coop play. Taking down 30 terrorists with a team of players is only surpassed in excitement by taking out 30 terrorists with a team of players who are all on voice comms!
Apparently they were $39.99 on NewEgg, but are now listed at $54.99.
But the Zalman product page that you linked to in your post had links to several online reviews. Were those insufficient? I found them to give me all the information that I would need to make a $40 purchase...
www.rbmods.com
www.hardextreme.org
http://www.fastlanehw.com
www.itpro.no
www.hardware-testdk.com
ohls-place.com
Are you sure you don't own stock in the company? Wow.. you're really impressed.
Those numbers might be accurate if you look at % of population and not % of recipients of each SPAM mailing.
i.e. if, lifetime, 3 out of every 10 people respond to any SPAM message once, that's 30%...
I agree that 30% of each mailing would be ridiculous, making spamming the single most profitable business on earth...
We use Ektron's eWebEditPro, which has an XML-based customization scheme. You can allow users to post HTML, or simply allow them to do some more advanced things w/ plain text.
I have one of these at home and one at work. I've used dozens of different keyboards, and this is the best I've ever found. I picked it after extensive research and reading of reviews.
It's by Keytronic and it's called the LT Designer (almost the same as LT Classic but w/ more of an angle to it.)
http://www.keytronic.com/home/products/specs/ltdes igner.htm
Good review here
A friend of mine had her Toyota Tacoma in the shop and was lent a Prius as a loaner vehicle by the dealership.
I got to drive it around town a little, and I didn't experience a problem with pickup at all.
I'm used to driving a 200hp Audi, so I figured a tiny little 67hp electric-powered engine would stink...
I was surprised by two things. The low end torque of the electric motor is more than sufficient. The power/weight ratio is such that you don't need a ton of hp to get the car moving. This was with three adults in the car, as well.
I wasn't able to test high-end torque, hill climbing, or highway passing power, however (some of which would use the gasoline assist.)
But as someone who likes to drive and takes cars seriously, I was favorably impressed.
Keep in mind that this was in the earliest model Prius, and the later model do even better.
Also:
Adobe Acrobat Reader Plugin
Quicktime Plugin
Not sure if RealPlayer still uses Plugin architecture per-se
Java applets could conceivably be considered Plugins
HR 3057 already sounds like the name of a spacecraft...
From reading the descriptions, some of the following may be too introductory... I'm assuming your students all have bachelor degrees in CS, and are picking up Java as a 3rd or 4th language...
http://computerscience.jbpub.com/languages/java/
http://computerscience.jbpub.com/cs1/java/
However, anyone can type paragraph after paragraph of key combinations, all lowercase, with no numbers or punctuation, and get 100 wpm consistently.
Being a programmer, though, means you need to learn not only where all of the letters are and how to type them in both upper and lower case, but you need to learn how to make extensive use of the number and symbol keys. These are the least emphasized in many typing programs, which are more geared towards the letter/number/symbol ratios you would see in taking dictated correspondence.
There ought to be a "touch typing for perl programmers" type program, or a plugin or exercise set for popular programs that lets you practice symbols, newlines, indenting, commenting, etc
With that in mind, use Mavis, and stick with it. I type 90 wpm, closer to 75 when coding C++ or Perl. Spend lots of extra time on the number and symbol keys, and it will pay long dividends.
Don't you think that the screen and keyboard are going to be the mitigating factors in laptop size?
Unless everyone's going to use Twiddlers ( http://www.handykey.com/ ) and retinal projection screens...
Video here: http://www.utias.utoronto.ca/test/res/fm/fda-proj
My whiteboard helps a lot with this. I keep a list of projects on the board. It changes frequently but it's always full. When I get a new request, I point to it and say, "sure, I'll put it on the list."
Then I ask when they need it done by... If they give me a date that's in the near future, I let them know what else is on the list for that period of time, and ask them to decide where this project falls in priority in regards to those projects. Now they'll always feel that their project is more important than that for another business unit or department. So then you simply say: well, why don't you go check with "Director of that Business Unit/Department" and/or "The VP who is both of their bosses" and clear it with them that this bumps their project's schedule back, and if they're OK w/ it, then that's fine.
They rarely come back insisting on the same date.
You've got a couple other choices as well. It sounds like you are completely understaffed, so consider outsourcing, and shaking down their budgets for the cash to do so. If they want it so damn fast, then they can pay the big bucks to get it done.
Also, consider finding a new job. Any company that underfunds IT is going to have long term problems as a result, including financial stability. While the last IT guy will be one of the last to go, do you really want to be there when that happens?
In my case, I've gone from a staff of 0 to a staff of 3 full time people, and a huge backlog of work to actually getting to tackle some of the gravy projects and doing future-looking stuff. I was lucky in that the company understood the value of technology.
By the way, there are industry average stats for # of computers per support staff. I've heard of 20 Windows boxen per tech, although that seems extreme. My small company ( 150 employees) uses a total staff of 8: 1 Senior Director who is also a DBA, 3 network/server and desktop support techs, 3 programmers for external and internal Web development, and a designer.
The main flaw in SPEWS is that it has a serious problem with accountability.
There's no reasonably transparent process for assuring removal. Say an Internet service provider gets notified by customers who are being blocked by SPEWS that they have a spammer on their network, and at first tries to get the spammer to stop. The spammer doesn't stop and finally they get booted off.
The ISP then goes to n.a.n-a.e and posts that the spammer has been removed. And they wait. And no one from SPEWS responds. And they wait some more. And they wait indefinitely, but they are never removed.
So the next time they get a report of a spammer on their network, and a second block of IPs blocked by SPEWS, how likely are they going to be to go through the trouble of policing that spammer to get try and get that block de-listed?
I agree with the concept behind SPEWS of forcing ISPs to deal with spammers or face irate customers. I don't think they handle(d) the de-listing process very well. Without violating their confidentiality, having some mechanism to see how the process of de-listing works would have helped. For example, you can see all sorts of details about what specific infractions got you listed in the first place, why not post something like "x ISP has gone 3 months w/o any spam... they'll be delisted in another 3 months."
An alternate means of solving the problem would have been to set up a Web-based form for agreeing to a contract of sorts. The ISP contracts to take action (or prove that it has taken action) and SPEWS contracts to remove the listing withing a specific, defined time period.
Just a little more accountability and transparency could have won the ISPs over. They hate spam as much as the end-user. But if the time and money it takes to get rid of the listings doesn't bear results or even hope of results, they're going to give up.
I know it's an anal little point, but it's Viet Nam, not Vietnam...
I agree with the injustice of the Viet Nam war, but not all aspects of the conduct of the Allies in WWII are above reproach. There's ample documentation of the Soviet soldiers being given orders to rape German women and murder captured German civilians as they advanced on Berlin. The fire-bombing of Dresden stands out as an atrocity committed by the Allies, and even though I appreciate arguments for the use of nuclear weapons, I still have a hard time feeling comfortable with what we did to the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Just a question though... how often do video games make a point of being sensitive towards avoiding sensitive subjects and cultural stereotypes? I'm not saying that they shouldn't make an effort to do so more, and that I don't applaud the efforts the do make... just that it isn't their primary focus, and I don't know that it should be. Gandhi, Boy's Don't Cry, Philadelphia and Schindlers List all make great movies... but I'd imagine they wouldn't be that much fun as video games...
From personal experience, I have to disagree with both of your recommendations...
;-)
The Bluetooth functionality may be cool, but I have the T68i with AT&T, and for some reason, whether it's antenna, circuitry, or something, it has crap reception, even when other AT&T users with different phones have decent reception.
Also, at work we use the Sprint PCS cards (specifically the Novatel Wireless Merlin C201) which has a max THEORETICAL speed of 144 kBITS/sec, so your claimed speed of 230 KBytes/sec is 13 times the theoretical max. The other cards, including their top of the line Sierra Wireless AirCard, offer the same theoretical max, and their claimed maximum practical speed is 40-60kbits/sec.
From personal experience, I'd say that those peak rates are accurate (about as fast as a decent 56k modem connection) although most of the time I get a slower connection than that, around 4KBytes/sec download (so 32kbps).
On the other hand, maybe you're using some special sprint PCMCIA hardware that isn't available to the rest of us yet...
On the flip side, Sprint's network is fantastic, and the external antennas on these things mean you can pick up a signal ANYWHERE. I've seen a weak signal at 30,000 feet cruising across country, although I didn't attempt any downloads from the plane