A PSP and a DS duking it out? No -- not going to waste my time on any of the 3 articles unless a PSP owner is beating the shit out of a DS owner -- to the death.
"Duking it out" my ass (which would also hurt) -- they're fucking tiny portable video game consoles.
If anything, they might prissy slap each other. But no "duking it out."
I thought I fell into the "knob" category that you mentioned above, but then I thought about it. I always considered putting specs (not damned coolers and computer bling) into your sig was helpful in forums when you were there for technical support.
That's how I've always approached a technical/hardware forum sig -- you put what you have in the box, including minor BIOS and OS information -- so you don't have to repeat it every friggin' time you have a question about your rig.
The true "knobs" are the ones with damned graphic treatment sigs who share the shit you mentioned -- Zalman coolers, LED bling memory coolers, etc. That's horseshit -- you're just bragging/showing off at this point.
But, no -- showing forum users that I'm running ABC motherboard (BIOS rev. XYZ), XYZ processor (XYZ competes w/ AMD, by the way -- wink wink, nod nod), etc. helps them get a quick overview of my rig before they start filling up a thread with redundant questions about the setup. You just don't need a fucking Gundam background to explain that you run a P4 2.4GHz w/ PC3200 Crucial RAM in a WinXP SP2 box on an Abit motherboard.
Checking again -- hmmm...I might be a "knob," but not because of my forum sig.;-)
Playing HALO PC multiplayer from 30K feet kind of gives me immunity from "no0b" accusations, seeing as I'm a l337 airborne hax0r with this service. Sadly, I will get my ass kicked with those pings, but, by god, I'll be a pioneer of the Mile High Gaming Club.
IronChefMorimoto
P.S. - Wait a minute. I suck at HALO PC multiplayer on the ground.
Both Autoweek http://www.autoweek.com/ and Car & Driver http://www.caranddriver.com/ have had some excellent reviews about Honda's new top-o-the-line Honda Accord Hybrid V-6. Both magazines noted that, for buyers who want to get more MPG for their money without something as unconventional looking as an EV1 or a Prius, the Accord may fit the bill.
Not to mention the fact that the new hybrid Accord sits at the TOP of the Accord lineup for Honda. Friggin' $30K for a hybrid V-6, but you DO get 255HP and a nice car.
I wonder, though, if this prices what could be a very nice, standard hybrid sedan out of the reach of the consumers that Honda hopes to reach -- those that want something "normal" instead of a stylized Prius. Certainly, the Civic hybrid is an excellent, cheaper alternative, but it's not nearly as roomy, and for long trips, it's gonna be cramped/inadequate, say, for a family of 4.
The Ford Escape Hybrid has also gotten lots of good press from these magazines. And the hybrid Lexus RX400 (2006? yes? no?) is supposed to be a marvel of hybrid innovation and luxury technology.
I guess we'll have to see how the hybrid phenomenon goes forward. I thought this morning, as I sat behind a Civic Hybrid on my morning commute, about how soon hybrids are going to NOT BE ENOUGH to help with an emerging energy crisis. This while I'm listening to an NPR report on the US Senate vote on drilling in ANWAR for oil. It's going to be an interesting next few years, I'm afraid. Hope my rather inefficient Subaru Forester doesn't become a MPG killing liability.
These organizations are clueless. Video games beget violent behavior? Riiiiiight.
Like I've ever considered walking into my office with a portable photon torpedo launcher (Elite Force), blown away my boss' office desk, turned on him with a plasma pistol (HALO), shot off his head, walked back into the main office area, put a BFG (Doom 3) round through the cubicle area of my co-workers, walked out of the building, and launched the car, of the fucker in the office next door who insists on parking real close to my driver's door, into the woods with an anti-gravity gun (Half-Life 2).
If anything, video games beget violent thoughts that, sadly, we can never act out upon.
Now back to that prototype rocket launcher equipped assault rifle (Far Cry).
...that this service will weed out the following movie types, since doing reviews on these are pretty pointless anyway:
- Ben Affleck movies - anything with "Spy" and "Kids" in the title - all anime movies based on children's playing cards - all new Star Trek movies involving Berman or Braga in the production - movies dealing with George W. or Jesus Christ - sequels to movies where characters are played by different actors/actresses - chick flicks (so my wife won't find a good one to force me into)
I work about 2 miles from a Panera in Atlanta adjacent to Emory University. The Panera is within walking distance from the university. Let me be the first to say that free WiFi and a nearby college student population pretty much guarantee that you will be in a line of 30-40 college kids carrying various WiFi-enabled laptops.
Thankfully, many of the college girls wear their PJs to class and lunch, so it makes the line seem a little shorter. Ahhh..."hot buttered buns at Panera." Oh shit! Who turned on the mic?
Best Buy -- they friggin' raise/lower the price every week, sometimes 2-3 times. The week before I bought it, it was listed at retail of $1399 on the BB website. $1499 or something higher in store. The week I bought it, it was still retail online, but it was $1098 before $40 delivery fee. This past weekend (2 weeks later), it was up to $1599 in the store.
The pricing fluctuations are NUTS!
IronChefMorimoto
Too much integration = big, expensive TV to repair
on
A Brief FAQ on CableCards
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· Score: 3, Insightful
I just purchased the cheapest Toshiba rear projection HDTV out there -- the plain ol' 46H84 (???). It's a big-ass 46" rear projection HDTV monitor with just the right amount of inputs for the crap that I have. I paid just over $1000 for it to be delivered. Not the best price, but not ridiculous either, given that it replaced a 5-year old 27" Magnavox tube television.
So, I saw this News.com FAQ the other day, and I had a talk with my boss before Christmas about this CableCard crap and when the best time buy an HDTV will be. When I talked with my boss, I researched the CableCard ready Toshiba DLP projection HDTVs that are in their lineup. Pricing was higher than their entry level DLP projection HDTVs, and certainly a lot more than my dinky rear projection HDTV that I just bought.
Anyway, my conversation with my boss got me thinking...what happens when the CableCard slot shorts out or fails after the first year of warranty coverage? What happens if one of these new integrated card readers on some of these HDTVs stops reading SD cards from your camera?
My thinking is this -- you just paid $3000+ for a nice HDTV with CableCard a year ago. Now, if you didn't get sucked into a bullshit store service plan for $500 which might not cover a failed CableCard slot, you're stuck with a relatively new TV that has trouble getting digital cable or satellite services. Or you've got a TV that, 1-2 more years, will have this nice little HOLE in the front of the console for that SD card that it can't read, thus screwing up your pricing if you decide to sell it used.
I say stop the integration with the most expensive piece of hardware in my entertainment center. I'm not paying $3000 for a receiver or a DVD player. Those are relatively inexpensive items that I can replace in a pinch if need be. But a $3000 TV ought to be stable enough -- in terms of integrated features -- that it won't require replacement or a repair for something that can just as easily reside in a satellite or cable receiver in my A/V rack.
Not to mention the fact that, if I DO have a service plan that will fix it, I run the risk of sending off my nice $3000+ HDTV to someplace that may F--- it up in transit or during repairs, or, based on stories about Best Buy service plans, not come back for 3-4 months. The TV should stay put, and keeping it simple -- without all this extra crap built in -- is the safer bet, I say.
Or at least make it a modular add-on to the back of the TV that can be purchased for a reasonable price and, thus, replaced if broken at a reasonable price.
...my wife SWEARS that I can't add/subtract/count for shit.
She says I can't tell the REAL difference between a $1500 HDTV and $700 CRT TV. I see no difference there mathematically -- it's all in the quality of the picture, right? Right? Come on guys, back me up.
I got Vonage a few weeks ago at a new house where I had no intention of paying for a landline (went from DSL to cable). My wife was pissed after we learned that our entire end of the cul-de-sac is in a cell hole from hell. We couldn't make/receive cell phone calls for longer than 2-3 minutes in our home. Oops!
So, we debated for 1-2 weeks after we moved and finally got Vonage. Forthwith -- the pros/cons from a new user:
VONAGE PROS:
- easy setup (took 10 minutes to install Motorola VT1005) - call quality is good so far (using QoS on a Linksys WTR54G router w/ voice terminal BEHIND router) - no trouble dialing most local and long distance #'s - straightforward billing - very clean web interface - nice basic features
VONAGE CONS:
- voice mail is choppy/hard to hear over the phone - hard to find the better-reviewed Motorola VT1005 (Radio Shack tried to make me ACTIVATE IN STORE???) - instructions for using services are in FAQ format mixed with a lot of technical installation stuff - basic features are limited compared to AT&T
Now, I got Vonage, and then the next day after telling my boss about it, he got AT&T Callvantage for his home business line. He let me call in and access his web-based interface.
AT&T PROS:
- SUPERB feature set -- many more features than Vonage - web-based interface integrated with phone (click-to-dial -- no outside apps required) - call quality is good from boss' overloaded DSL connection (some servers behind his router) - faxing is officially supported, from what I could tell (have to jerry rig it sometimes with Vonage) - voicemail interface is really powerful - automatic phone book setup based on incoming calls that become part of account (click on # to add it after you ID the caller) - WebEx-ish conference call scheduling/notification feature
AT&T CONS:
- web-based interface is buggy (Javascript errors w/ FireFox -- no problems with MSIE) - cost is higher - really cool features aren't included standard -- expect lots of side charges
So far, my boss likes AT&T for his business line. He's thinking about getting all of us AT&T voice terminals for our small business. The conference calling costs $.35/minute for 10 people, which isn't really bad, I guess, considering that you're doing it from your own network + an outside call-in line from AT&T.
Vonage seems, to me, to be good for the home. It's simple and works, but I've read many a report of bad customer service and other weird issues. If you don't have to have the features for a business, then it's probably a better deal, but AT&T CV is close with only a $5/month difference for a more fully featured unlimited calling plan.
I did my research on Vonage at http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/voip before buying in. The regulars in the forum are very helpful and have a lot of diverse consumer-grade VoIP experience. For example, I learned that, in my new house, I can unwire my outline phone connection at the box and then plug in the Motorola VT1005 into a jack inside the house to power my phones. Going to try that in the next 2-3 days, I think, barring weather issues.
My company is considering the Avaya IP Office Small Office Edition standalone VoIP system. It's basically a box the size of a small router or other piece of network hardware + (I believe) an external computer/server that runs the voicemail storage.
I saw the product demonstrated at a local vendor and found it to be rather impressive -- move phones around, customize voicemail prompts/forwarding, conferencing, etc. And it was all inclusive in this box. The add-ons included analog device plug-in cards, a pro version of the IP software to allow phone control from computers, etc. I'm getting pricing later this week on the system.
My question is -- is Asterisk secured/encrypted like a proprietary system? Like Avaya IP Office? One of the bigs things we were told is the security of the calls from the system vs. other, more open standards VoIP systems.
Read this page -- http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/ -- and look at footnote #2 at the bottom that corresponds with the photo of the iPod Shuffle with sticks of gum:
The Mac Mini is a great deal, but if you want to add memory and WiFi, the minimum price for the low-end model goes from $499 to $653 w/ 512MB of RAM and the AirPort Express card. Tack on nearly $500 on $499 if you want 1GB of Apple's nitpicky memory. Damn.
I'd get one, but not unless I couldn't get the memory upgrade from Crucial and have it work flawlessly without lockups (seen this often in a co-worker's memory anemic PowerBook 15").
My wife has always been paranoid about her privately held company's e-mail policies. She warns me about sending lewd e-mails to her at work. I shouldn't waste the time to do it anyway, I guess, seeing as it doesn't get me any at home.
Seriously, though, as an assistant manager, she was asked to go into two employees' e-mail accounts and print out profane e-mail exchanges between the two guys. Just two 'tards being stupid on e-mail. The idiots were behavior problems for her branch regardless of their e-mail conversations. She used the e-mails, however, to help her manager write up the documentation for the termination of the two employees.
This is serious stuff, though, and the company does have a right to control the content going across its network and e-mail system. The idiots form the story cited got what they deserved, to some degree. Not to mention that they saved a lot of potential investors the hassle of doing business with them.
Why? Would YOU invest in their new spinoff company if you knew they were dumb enough to get caught using corporate e-mail like they did? Uh...no.
...into a Philips or HP "let's make a DRM DVD player to comply with the new bullsh*t FCC guidelines" idea person's ass? 'cause if this happens, I have a Toshiba that will wedge in just nicely with a good swift kick.
Talk about dumb ideas. Philips is also the company that came up with that AMBI-LIGHT technology on plasma TVs, I believe. The color of the program on the screen causes colored light to shoot out around the edge of the screen.
Unless someone can tell me that it works to "enhance" your viewing experience despite watching a $5000 plasma in your shitty $800/month 600 sq. ft. downtown apartment, then I'd say that Philips, at least, has experience in dumb home electronics ideas like this.
Uh -- that was the sound of the brick falling from my ass.
W...T...F?
First off, if Browder is coming in to replace Richard Dean Anderson, I'd have to recommend that the writer who conjured up THAT storyline be told to stand in front of the gate during an incoming traveler event -- preferably FACING the event horizon.
Anderson is integral to the SG-1 universe, and ending the series with Browder replacing his character would sort of suck. Although, General Hammond managed to snag a role on NCIS as the head of MTAC (the communications room at NCIS) along with the great cast on that show (as of last week's episode). Perhaps Anderson will find a spot on that show as well as the entire SG-1 cast migrates to CBS.
I also wonder -- does Amanda Tapping's character (assuming she doesn't leave the show to be a FT mommy) suddenly, upon realizing that O'Neil is chaste, find comfort in the arms of Browder, a.k.a. the better looking SG-1 team addition?
This could be a trick to bring back Farscape. Crichton won't be on Earth when he joins SG-1. No -- SG-1 opens a wormhole that Crichton finds with whatever is left of his wormhole-hunting-ability. Poof -- SG-1 finds themselves floating around with a MALP and Moya picks them up. O'Neil (or whomever is leading the team) makes a few comments about the floating, farting dominar, and Crichton is like, "What's up, folks -- where the frell are you guys from?" Moya starbursts to the Pegasus galaxy, and the Farscape + SG-1 + Atlantis team starts the all out war on the baddies from THAT show. The vampire dudes. Whatever they're called.
I just wrote SG-1: Season 9, Atlantis: Season 2, and Farscape: The Atlantis Vampire Thingy Wars. Where the frell is my paycheck? "Indeed," as T'ealc would say.
Seriously speaking, though, I am sad to see that Anderson will be leaving the show and only showing up piecemeal. I hope and pray SG-1 does not end the way The X-Files did. I don't have enough Maalox in the cabinet for that again.
I saw the title -- WEP And PPTP Password Crackers Released -- and thought perhaps it was time to try out some new Christmas party tray snack crackers. Very geeky food.
Alas, I shall have to return my Publix-brand caviar and this goose pate I bought frozen from SAM's Club. I'm keeping the cheese ball, though. And the cocktail weiners.
Before anyone makes fun of this guy for not just using PowerPoint or something else, just think about what a teleprompter is being used for. Someone is reading a script that they've either not had in their possession long enough to read it or contains content that's new enough to NOT allow for memorization (i.e. breaking news).
A friend of mine shot a documentary last December whose narrator was none other than Ben Jones, former US congressman and, more famously, Cooter, the mechanic from The Dukes of Hazzard. Mr. Jones had only had the script for a few days, and he wanted to make minor changes as he went along to facilitate his own personal style.
I was asked to be a production assistant. I ended up, for the most part, being responsible for a low-end teleprompter we were using for the documentary script. In order to keep up or slow down depending on Mr. Jones' reading speed, a thumbwheel type control was used off camera to move the script up and down at variable speeds. Mr. Jones finally asked me to do it since, after trying it once, he found that I kept up with his rate of speech much better than the other production assistant.
Sure enough, documentary narration that was requiring retakes and retakes suddenly wrapped up a helluva lot more quickly. We would end up taking so much time in earlier takes because the precision required for the thumbwheel control was just not there. And we couldn't give the control to Mr. Jones, since he had to walk in and out of shots for the various narration scenes. The cord to the teleprompter was NOT long enough for him to be on the other side of a room and walk in.
I think the worst part about the whole experience was trying to do takes in the middle of a small town courthouse square in the middle of 15F temperatures, freezing rain, and wind. The teleprompter was pretty damned useless then because the glass kept fogging up due to the temperature changes.
"Just to make things a little more interesting, GCHQ will be offering copies of 'Big Bang' the latest book by Simon Singh, the well known mathematician and code expert, to six successful solvers whose names will be drawn from a hat."
Screw that. If a bunch of secret agents are running a contest, I expect to win at least a friggin' mini-missile launching pen or some C4 toothpaste w/ detonator toothbrush.
Wait -- maybe the books are hollowed out and contain flasks that convert into single-shot 9mm pistols!
Too bad I can't even balance my checkbook, let alone compete in this contest. If you win, let us know if the books including an expandable titanium katana sword bookmark.
Would it not be sick, evil irony if we all found out that, after Symantec purchases Veritas, Symantec's "other" software lines include:
- Symantec Virus DevStudio 7 - Symantec Spam Server 5 - Symantec Gator - Symantec Hard Drive Eraser 4 - Symantec Registry Hoser XP - Symantec Network Trojan 5.5 - Symantec EZ Spyware 4 - Symantec RAID Drive Ejector 3
That would pretty much cover their business development needs for the OTHER product line that we're already aware of.
IronChefMorimoto
Thanks, Honda -- now I have to learn to RUN!!!
on
Honda Updates ASIMO
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· Score: 1
Just f---ing great. I finally get up the gumption to start jogging and losing some of this computer ass of mine, and Honda invents a f---ing robot that can jog -- as fast, if not faster, than me.
This is bigger than advancing movement technologies.
When thousands of ASIMOs at the Honda plant f---ing become sentient and decide to take over the world, poke-ass "joggers" like me are going to die. We won't be able to get away from them.
Damn you, Honda. Damn you. Where do I sign up to be a human battery?
Slashdot Mirror
A PSP and a DS duking it out? No -- not going to waste my time on any of the 3 articles unless a PSP owner is beating the shit out of a DS owner -- to the death.
"Duking it out" my ass (which would also hurt) -- they're fucking tiny portable video game consoles.
If anything, they might prissy slap each other. But no "duking it out."
IronChefMorimoto
I thought I fell into the "knob" category that you mentioned above, but then I thought about it. I always considered putting specs (not damned coolers and computer bling) into your sig was helpful in forums when you were there for technical support.
;-)
That's how I've always approached a technical/hardware forum sig -- you put what you have in the box, including minor BIOS and OS information -- so you don't have to repeat it every friggin' time you have a question about your rig.
The true "knobs" are the ones with damned graphic treatment sigs who share the shit you mentioned -- Zalman coolers, LED bling memory coolers, etc. That's horseshit -- you're just bragging/showing off at this point.
But, no -- showing forum users that I'm running ABC motherboard (BIOS rev. XYZ), XYZ processor (XYZ competes w/ AMD, by the way -- wink wink, nod nod), etc. helps them get a quick overview of my rig before they start filling up a thread with redundant questions about the setup. You just don't need a fucking Gundam background to explain that you run a P4 2.4GHz w/ PC3200 Crucial RAM in a WinXP SP2 box on an Abit motherboard.
Checking again -- hmmm...I might be a "knob," but not because of my forum sig.
IronChefMorimoto
Playing HALO PC multiplayer from 30K feet kind of gives me immunity from "no0b" accusations, seeing as I'm a l337 airborne hax0r with this service. Sadly, I will get my ass kicked with those pings, but, by god, I'll be a pioneer of the Mile High Gaming Club.
IronChefMorimoto
P.S. - Wait a minute. I suck at HALO PC multiplayer on the ground.
Both Autoweek http://www.autoweek.com/ and Car & Driver http://www.caranddriver.com/ have had some excellent reviews about Honda's new top-o-the-line Honda Accord Hybrid V-6. Both magazines noted that, for buyers who want to get more MPG for their money without something as unconventional looking as an EV1 or a Prius, the Accord may fit the bill.
Not to mention the fact that the new hybrid Accord sits at the TOP of the Accord lineup for Honda. Friggin' $30K for a hybrid V-6, but you DO get 255HP and a nice car.
I wonder, though, if this prices what could be a very nice, standard hybrid sedan out of the reach of the consumers that Honda hopes to reach -- those that want something "normal" instead of a stylized Prius. Certainly, the Civic hybrid is an excellent, cheaper alternative, but it's not nearly as roomy, and for long trips, it's gonna be cramped/inadequate, say, for a family of 4.
The Ford Escape Hybrid has also gotten lots of good press from these magazines. And the hybrid Lexus RX400 (2006? yes? no?) is supposed to be a marvel of hybrid innovation and luxury technology.
I guess we'll have to see how the hybrid phenomenon goes forward. I thought this morning, as I sat behind a Civic Hybrid on my morning commute, about how soon hybrids are going to NOT BE ENOUGH to help with an emerging energy crisis. This while I'm listening to an NPR report on the US Senate vote on drilling in ANWAR for oil. It's going to be an interesting next few years, I'm afraid. Hope my rather inefficient Subaru Forester doesn't become a MPG killing liability.
IronChefMorimoto
It's more entertaining to see the asshole's car in a ravine than with broken windows. 'cause, in one of those cases, he ain't drivin' home.
IronChefMorimoto
These organizations are clueless. Video games beget violent behavior? Riiiiiight.
Like I've ever considered walking into my office with a portable photon torpedo launcher (Elite Force), blown away my boss' office desk, turned on him with a plasma pistol (HALO), shot off his head, walked back into the main office area, put a BFG (Doom 3) round through the cubicle area of my co-workers, walked out of the building, and launched the car, of the fucker in the office next door who insists on parking real close to my driver's door, into the woods with an anti-gravity gun (Half-Life 2).
If anything, video games beget violent thoughts that, sadly, we can never act out upon.
Now back to that prototype rocket launcher equipped assault rifle (Far Cry).
IronChefMorimoto
I'd like to personally thank the jerk who came up with this idea (get a Ph.D by curing cancer for Christ's sake!).
/.'ers barely have wives let alone mistresses.
Now I gotta buy a new computer every time my wife figures out which unique PC I'm using when I'm surfing the 'net at my mistress' house.
IronChefMorimoto
P.S. - I'm screwing with your mind --
...that this service will weed out the following movie types, since doing reviews on these are pretty pointless anyway:
- Ben Affleck movies
- anything with "Spy" and "Kids" in the title
- all anime movies based on children's playing cards
- all new Star Trek movies involving Berman or Braga in the production
- movies dealing with George W. or Jesus Christ
- sequels to movies where characters are played by different actors/actresses
- chick flicks (so my wife won't find a good one to force me into)
IronChefMorimoto
I work about 2 miles from a Panera in Atlanta adjacent to Emory University. The Panera is within walking distance from the university. Let me be the first to say that free WiFi and a nearby college student population pretty much guarantee that you will be in a line of 30-40 college kids carrying various WiFi-enabled laptops.
Thankfully, many of the college girls wear their PJs to class and lunch, so it makes the line seem a little shorter. Ahhh..."hot buttered buns at Panera." Oh shit! Who turned on the mic?
IronChefMorimoto
G'nok: "Dammit, G'nariak -- I told you to calibrate the Star Destructor targeting computers yesterday!"
G'nariak: "Sorry, sir. I had to take the wife to her obstetrician yesterday during lunch; I was in a rush; it won't happen again."
G'nok: "Damned right it won't. The Earthlings SAW the Star Destructor test! They were supposed to EXPERIENCE the test!"
G'nariak: "Again, sorry sir -- I'll make it up to you."
G'nok: "You damn well will -- we have to explain to G'tariak why his vacation home at the edge of the galaxy isn't there anymore. Dumbass!"
IronChefMorimoto
Best Buy -- they friggin' raise/lower the price every week, sometimes 2-3 times. The week before I bought it, it was listed at retail of $1399 on the BB website. $1499 or something higher in store. The week I bought it, it was still retail online, but it was $1098 before $40 delivery fee. This past weekend (2 weeks later), it was up to $1599 in the store.
The pricing fluctuations are NUTS!
IronChefMorimoto
I just purchased the cheapest Toshiba rear projection HDTV out there -- the plain ol' 46H84 (???). It's a big-ass 46" rear projection HDTV monitor with just the right amount of inputs for the crap that I have. I paid just over $1000 for it to be delivered. Not the best price, but not ridiculous either, given that it replaced a 5-year old 27" Magnavox tube television.
So, I saw this News.com FAQ the other day, and I had a talk with my boss before Christmas about this CableCard crap and when the best time buy an HDTV will be. When I talked with my boss, I researched the CableCard ready Toshiba DLP projection HDTVs that are in their lineup. Pricing was higher than their entry level DLP projection HDTVs, and certainly a lot more than my dinky rear projection HDTV that I just bought.
Anyway, my conversation with my boss got me thinking...what happens when the CableCard slot shorts out or fails after the first year of warranty coverage? What happens if one of these new integrated card readers on some of these HDTVs stops reading SD cards from your camera?
My thinking is this -- you just paid $3000+ for a nice HDTV with CableCard a year ago. Now, if you didn't get sucked into a bullshit store service plan for $500 which might not cover a failed CableCard slot, you're stuck with a relatively new TV that has trouble getting digital cable or satellite services. Or you've got a TV that, 1-2 more years, will have this nice little HOLE in the front of the console for that SD card that it can't read, thus screwing up your pricing if you decide to sell it used.
I say stop the integration with the most expensive piece of hardware in my entertainment center. I'm not paying $3000 for a receiver or a DVD player. Those are relatively inexpensive items that I can replace in a pinch if need be. But a $3000 TV ought to be stable enough -- in terms of integrated features -- that it won't require replacement or a repair for something that can just as easily reside in a satellite or cable receiver in my A/V rack.
Not to mention the fact that, if I DO have a service plan that will fix it, I run the risk of sending off my nice $3000+ HDTV to someplace that may F--- it up in transit or during repairs, or, based on stories about Best Buy service plans, not come back for 3-4 months. The TV should stay put, and keeping it simple -- without all this extra crap built in -- is the safer bet, I say.
Or at least make it a modular add-on to the back of the TV that can be purchased for a reasonable price and, thus, replaced if broken at a reasonable price.
IronChefMorimoto
...my wife SWEARS that I can't add/subtract/count for shit.
She says I can't tell the REAL difference between a $1500 HDTV and $700 CRT TV. I see no difference there mathematically -- it's all in the quality of the picture, right? Right? Come on guys, back me up.
Guys?
IronChefMorimoto
I got Vonage a few weeks ago at a new house where I had no intention of paying for a landline (went from DSL to cable). My wife was pissed after we learned that our entire end of the cul-de-sac is in a cell hole from hell. We couldn't make/receive cell phone calls for longer than 2-3 minutes in our home. Oops!
So, we debated for 1-2 weeks after we moved and finally got Vonage. Forthwith -- the pros/cons from a new user:
VONAGE PROS:
- easy setup (took 10 minutes to install Motorola VT1005)
- call quality is good so far (using QoS on a Linksys WTR54G router w/ voice terminal BEHIND router)
- no trouble dialing most local and long distance #'s
- straightforward billing
- very clean web interface
- nice basic features
VONAGE CONS:
- voice mail is choppy/hard to hear over the phone
- hard to find the better-reviewed Motorola VT1005 (Radio Shack tried to make me ACTIVATE IN STORE???)
- instructions for using services are in FAQ format mixed with a lot of technical installation stuff
- basic features are limited compared to AT&T
Now, I got Vonage, and then the next day after telling my boss about it, he got AT&T Callvantage for his home business line. He let me call in and access his web-based interface.
AT&T PROS:
- SUPERB feature set -- many more features than Vonage
- web-based interface integrated with phone (click-to-dial -- no outside apps required)
- call quality is good from boss' overloaded DSL connection (some servers behind his router)
- faxing is officially supported, from what I could tell (have to jerry rig it sometimes with Vonage)
- voicemail interface is really powerful
- automatic phone book setup based on incoming calls that become part of account (click on # to add it after you ID the caller)
- WebEx-ish conference call scheduling/notification feature
AT&T CONS:
- web-based interface is buggy (Javascript errors w/ FireFox -- no problems with MSIE)
- cost is higher
- really cool features aren't included standard -- expect lots of side charges
So far, my boss likes AT&T for his business line. He's thinking about getting all of us AT&T voice terminals for our small business. The conference calling costs $.35/minute for 10 people, which isn't really bad, I guess, considering that you're doing it from your own network + an outside call-in line from AT&T.
Vonage seems, to me, to be good for the home. It's simple and works, but I've read many a report of bad customer service and other weird issues. If you don't have to have the features for a business, then it's probably a better deal, but AT&T CV is close with only a $5/month difference for a more fully featured unlimited calling plan.
I did my research on Vonage at http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/voip before buying in. The regulars in the forum are very helpful and have a lot of diverse consumer-grade VoIP experience. For example, I learned that, in my new house, I can unwire my outline phone connection at the box and then plug in the Motorola VT1005 into a jack inside the house to power my phones. Going to try that in the next 2-3 days, I think, barring weather issues.
IronChefMorimoto
My company is considering the Avaya IP Office Small Office Edition standalone VoIP system. It's basically a box the size of a small router or other piece of network hardware + (I believe) an external computer/server that runs the voicemail storage.
I saw the product demonstrated at a local vendor and found it to be rather impressive -- move phones around, customize voicemail prompts/forwarding, conferencing, etc. And it was all inclusive in this box. The add-ons included analog device plug-in cards, a pro version of the IP software to allow phone control from computers, etc. I'm getting pricing later this week on the system.
My question is -- is Asterisk secured/encrypted like a proprietary system? Like Avaya IP Office? One of the bigs things we were told is the security of the calls from the system vs. other, more open standards VoIP systems.
Just curious.
IronChefMorimoto
Read this page -- http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/ -- and look at footnote #2 at the bottom that corresponds with the photo of the iPod Shuffle with sticks of gum:
"Do not eat iPod shuffle."
ROFLMAO!
IronChefMorimoto
The Mac Mini is a great deal, but if you want to add memory and WiFi, the minimum price for the low-end model goes from $499 to $653 w/ 512MB of RAM and the AirPort Express card. Tack on nearly $500 on $499 if you want 1GB of Apple's nitpicky memory. Damn.
I'd get one, but not unless I couldn't get the memory upgrade from Crucial and have it work flawlessly without lockups (seen this often in a co-worker's memory anemic PowerBook 15").
IronChefMorimoto
My wife has always been paranoid about her privately held company's e-mail policies. She warns me about sending lewd e-mails to her at work. I shouldn't waste the time to do it anyway, I guess, seeing as it doesn't get me any at home.
Seriously, though, as an assistant manager, she was asked to go into two employees' e-mail accounts and print out profane e-mail exchanges between the two guys. Just two 'tards being stupid on e-mail. The idiots were behavior problems for her branch regardless of their e-mail conversations. She used the e-mails, however, to help her manager write up the documentation for the termination of the two employees.
This is serious stuff, though, and the company does have a right to control the content going across its network and e-mail system. The idiots form the story cited got what they deserved, to some degree. Not to mention that they saved a lot of potential investors the hassle of doing business with them.
Why? Would YOU invest in their new spinoff company if you knew they were dumb enough to get caught using corporate e-mail like they did? Uh...no.
IronChefMorimoto
...into a Philips or HP "let's make a DRM DVD player to comply with the new bullsh*t FCC guidelines" idea person's ass? 'cause if this happens, I have a Toshiba that will wedge in just nicely with a good swift kick.
Talk about dumb ideas. Philips is also the company that came up with that AMBI-LIGHT technology on plasma TVs, I believe. The color of the program on the screen causes colored light to shoot out around the edge of the screen.
Unless someone can tell me that it works to "enhance" your viewing experience despite watching a $5000 plasma in your shitty $800/month 600 sq. ft. downtown apartment, then I'd say that Philips, at least, has experience in dumb home electronics ideas like this.
IronChefMorimoto
[splat]
Uh -- that was the sound of the brick falling from my ass.
W...T...F?
First off, if Browder is coming in to replace Richard Dean Anderson, I'd have to recommend that the writer who conjured up THAT storyline be told to stand in front of the gate during an incoming traveler event -- preferably FACING the event horizon.
Anderson is integral to the SG-1 universe, and ending the series with Browder replacing his character would sort of suck. Although, General Hammond managed to snag a role on NCIS as the head of MTAC (the communications room at NCIS) along with the great cast on that show (as of last week's episode). Perhaps Anderson will find a spot on that show as well as the entire SG-1 cast migrates to CBS.
I also wonder -- does Amanda Tapping's character (assuming she doesn't leave the show to be a FT mommy) suddenly, upon realizing that O'Neil is chaste, find comfort in the arms of Browder, a.k.a. the better looking SG-1 team addition?
This could be a trick to bring back Farscape. Crichton won't be on Earth when he joins SG-1. No -- SG-1 opens a wormhole that Crichton finds with whatever is left of his wormhole-hunting-ability. Poof -- SG-1 finds themselves floating around with a MALP and Moya picks them up. O'Neil (or whomever is leading the team) makes a few comments about the floating, farting dominar, and Crichton is like, "What's up, folks -- where the frell are you guys from?" Moya starbursts to the Pegasus galaxy, and the Farscape + SG-1 + Atlantis team starts the all out war on the baddies from THAT show. The vampire dudes. Whatever they're called.
I just wrote SG-1: Season 9, Atlantis: Season 2, and Farscape: The Atlantis Vampire Thingy Wars. Where the frell is my paycheck? "Indeed," as T'ealc would say.
Seriously speaking, though, I am sad to see that Anderson will be leaving the show and only showing up piecemeal. I hope and pray SG-1 does not end the way The X-Files did. I don't have enough Maalox in the cabinet for that again.
IronChefMorimoto
I saw the title -- WEP And PPTP Password Crackers Released -- and thought perhaps it was time to try out some new Christmas party tray snack crackers. Very geeky food.
Alas, I shall have to return my Publix-brand caviar and this goose pate I bought frozen from SAM's Club. I'm keeping the cheese ball, though. And the cocktail weiners.
IronChefMorimoto
Before anyone makes fun of this guy for not just using PowerPoint or something else, just think about what a teleprompter is being used for. Someone is reading a script that they've either not had in their possession long enough to read it or contains content that's new enough to NOT allow for memorization (i.e. breaking news).
A friend of mine shot a documentary last December whose narrator was none other than Ben Jones, former US congressman and, more famously, Cooter, the mechanic from The Dukes of Hazzard. Mr. Jones had only had the script for a few days, and he wanted to make minor changes as he went along to facilitate his own personal style.
I was asked to be a production assistant. I ended up, for the most part, being responsible for a low-end teleprompter we were using for the documentary script. In order to keep up or slow down depending on Mr. Jones' reading speed, a thumbwheel type control was used off camera to move the script up and down at variable speeds. Mr. Jones finally asked me to do it since, after trying it once, he found that I kept up with his rate of speech much better than the other production assistant.
Sure enough, documentary narration that was requiring retakes and retakes suddenly wrapped up a helluva lot more quickly. We would end up taking so much time in earlier takes because the precision required for the thumbwheel control was just not there. And we couldn't give the control to Mr. Jones, since he had to walk in and out of shots for the various narration scenes. The cord to the teleprompter was NOT long enough for him to be on the other side of a room and walk in.
I think the worst part about the whole experience was trying to do takes in the middle of a small town courthouse square in the middle of 15F temperatures, freezing rain, and wind. The teleprompter was pretty damned useless then because the glass kept fogging up due to the temperature changes.
My 2 cents.
IronChefMorimoto
From the challenge page:
Screw that. If a bunch of secret agents are running a contest, I expect to win at least a friggin' mini-missile launching pen or some C4 toothpaste w/ detonator toothbrush.
Wait -- maybe the books are hollowed out and contain flasks that convert into single-shot 9mm pistols!
Too bad I can't even balance my checkbook, let alone compete in this contest. If you win, let us know if the books including an expandable titanium katana sword bookmark.
IronChefMorimoto
Would it not be sick, evil irony if we all found out that, after Symantec purchases Veritas, Symantec's "other" software lines include:
- Symantec Virus DevStudio 7
- Symantec Spam Server 5
- Symantec Gator
- Symantec Hard Drive Eraser 4
- Symantec Registry Hoser XP
- Symantec Network Trojan 5.5
- Symantec EZ Spyware 4
- Symantec RAID Drive Ejector 3
That would pretty much cover their business development needs for the OTHER product line that we're already aware of.
IronChefMorimoto
Just f---ing great. I finally get up the gumption to start jogging and losing some of this computer ass of mine, and Honda invents a f---ing robot that can jog -- as fast, if not faster, than me.
This is bigger than advancing movement technologies.
When thousands of ASIMOs at the Honda plant f---ing become sentient and decide to take over the world, poke-ass "joggers" like me are going to die. We won't be able to get away from them.
Damn you, Honda. Damn you. Where do I sign up to be a human battery?
IronChefMorimoto