If anything, they're even less trustworthy because we can't vote them out of office without cutting off the very service we wish to save.
While this is true for a lot of people, in other major metro areas you can always look at the cometition. Whether it's DSL, cable, SAT, whatever. There is usually more than one option in metro areas. Different technology, yes, but certainly more than one option.
I'm in the process of switching from SBC to Speakeasy (and using Broadvoice for VoIP), and it's pretty satisfying to be able to tell SBC bye-bye and the reasons I'm leaving - mainly support. Sorry, but talking to "Jason" in India just isn't cutting it.
That's good to know, actually. I'm currently with SBC (been with them since '97). Up until this year, I'd been happy with them. This year, things have changed, so I've been looking at other DSL, and Speakeasy is an option.
One of the other things that they offer is "Onelink DSL", which means you don't even have a phone number assigned to your DSL line. I've got a Broadvoice account that I've been pretty happy with and had thought to combine it with Speakeasy's DSL. Yet another use for bandwidth.
Anyway... off-topic, but it's good to know that Speakeasy backs up what they say.
All this does is stiffle the voices of people who actually have a point. If you want to advocate Linux, the best way to do so is:
1) Present concrete, real reasons that Linux does X better than Y.
My situation is unique I suppose (I'm the sole Unix/Linux admin in a mostly-windows shop), but the best way to advocate Linux for me has been to just use it. In meetings, on the job, fixing things. Meetings are especially helpful, since we have VGA hookups to flat panels. People see that I can do my job effectively - including admining some Windows boxes - with Linux, and they start to ask questions. I don't even mention Linux until people start asking.
English speakers, no. But Latin America and a good portion of non-English speaking Europe uses "thousand million". Probably more, but those are my only direct experience.
I would LOVE to be able to download content from other countries - mostly from Spain, Italy and Norway, but I just can't. Can't find much content.
It's really pretty easy to find torrents of shows produced here in the US, but what about shows produced in Europe (or anywhere else, for that matter)? I have been able to find BBC shows and other British specials, but non-English is few and far between.
Granted, I'm probably in the minority, but people looking for U.S.-based content have it pretty good compared to those of us looking for original non-English content.
Do you work in this industry? Do you read any of the trade publications? Good God, man. Google for "Laura Didio" and "PC (your favorite magazine)" or "Wall St. Journal" or any other trade publication.
Number of original game experiences on PSP... 0 Whoops, better stick to my laptop for the airplane and my mp3 player for walking around.
Yes, because they're not original titles, everything sucks.
Good grief. So you don't like the PSP. We get it. Seems there are plenty of people out there who do, though.
Re:Game Machine?
on
IRC On The PSP
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· Score: 3, Informative
Maybe Sony should have realized that no one really wanted to play games with the PSP, and released a PSP that includes a Linux OS, and has the ability to work just like a standard computer, only smaller.
Someone else already did, in Japan - Sharp, with their Zaurus C3000.
An excellent handheld, BTW.
Re:A simple solution:
on
IRC On The PSP
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· Score: 3, Funny
Would they have heard of your band if you'd signed the contract?
Maybe, maybe not. That's not an indicator.
You've probably never heard of 95 percent of the bands that have signed on to a record label. Many, many times, the label simply does nothing with the band/artist. And they'll still prevent you from actually doing anything else creative.
They had a bunch of egotisical engineers who refused to build what the market wanted.
Egotistical engineers aside (BTW, MS, Apple, HP, IBM and Sun have them too - have I forgotten any?), the market usually doesn't know what it wants until it's told what it wants.
What about Novell was "awful" in the past? Remember, they never did desktops before the SUSE deal. They were strictly server, albeit with a pretty fat client. And their server stuff (NDS) rocked. Since SUSE, they've started to go towards the desktop. Not a bad, thing, if you ask me.
Redhat is fine for servers (although I've had my share of problems with RHAS3, mainly NFS), but Novell offers something that RH has NEVER offered: out of the box Flash, Mpeg, Java, Real (yeah, I know - they're supposedly evil). These things are actually important for a desktop users. True, you could go out on your own and find all thiese things and install them yourself, but for a corporate "Give me a decent out-of-the-box desktop setup", Novell does nicely. And in my experience, Wireless as well as ACPI just work with MANY more laptops than RH.
Any high quality movie is going to be several gigabytes of data.
No it won't. A two hour show/movie encoded in DivX is around 650-700 meg, 640x480 resolution, which is twice the resolution needed on the PSP. 320x240 is really all you need for good quality on that size screen. Hell, broadcast streams are 640x480 (unless they're high-definition, of course).
.
The screen, while being fairly large for a portable game console, is WAY TOO SMALL for movies.
Have you actually sat and watched anything on the screen? It's quite watchable, in my opinion. Couple that with the fact that the screen is twice as big as those little portable TVs from a few years back (Remember those? - I had a Casio).
I'm all for downloadable movies, or heck, extended trailers or synopses, but people don't buy iPods so they can go buy music from the iTMS -- they use the iTMS because they already have iPods.
While you and I might think that way, not everybody does. My sister, who is pretty illiterate, technologically speaking, recently was asking what kind of iPod she should get so she could download songs.
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While this is true for a lot of people, in other major metro areas you can always look at the cometition. Whether it's DSL, cable, SAT, whatever. There is usually more than one option in metro areas. Different technology, yes, but certainly more than one option.
I'm in the process of switching from SBC to Speakeasy (and using Broadvoice for VoIP), and it's pretty satisfying to be able to tell SBC bye-bye and the reasons I'm leaving - mainly support. Sorry, but talking to "Jason" in India just isn't cutting it.
What's new is that it's now widely known. It was very easy to refute before you could so easily find the money trail.
One of the other things that they offer is "Onelink DSL", which means you don't even have a phone number assigned to your DSL line. I've got a Broadvoice account that I've been pretty happy with and had thought to combine it with Speakeasy's DSL. Yet another use for bandwidth.
Anyway... off-topic, but it's good to know that Speakeasy backs up what they say.
My situation is unique I suppose (I'm the sole Unix/Linux admin in a mostly-windows shop), but the best way to advocate Linux for me has been to just use it. In meetings, on the job, fixing things. Meetings are especially helpful, since we have VGA hookups to flat panels. People see that I can do my job effectively - including admining some Windows boxes - with Linux, and they start to ask questions. I don't even mention Linux until people start asking.
English speakers, no. But Latin America and a good portion of non-English speaking Europe uses "thousand million". Probably more, but those are my only direct experience.
The iPod is heavily marketed as an MP3 player - that takes downloads from iTunes. It's only natural for people to make that connection.
You can't selectively call the average user "stupid", yet expect them to sort different formats out.
I think that's exactly the point. Raising prices might actually get some of us thinking about alternatives.
It's really pretty easy to find torrents of shows produced here in the US, but what about shows produced in Europe (or anywhere else, for that matter)? I have been able to find BBC shows and other British specials, but non-English is few and far between.
Granted, I'm probably in the minority, but people looking for U.S.-based content have it pretty good compared to those of us looking for original non-English content.
Maybe I just have an enlightened boss, but...
Do you work in this industry? Do you read any of the trade publications? Good God, man. Google for "Laura Didio" and "PC (your favorite magazine)" or "Wall St. Journal" or any other trade publication.
She's been around for a while.
Depends on where you're from, I would guess. Here in Northern California, Indian casinos a big issue (or problem, depending on your point of view).
But, yeah. Obviously a troll. And an uninformed one, at that.
The new Red Grocer game's out? Cool!
You're right, of course.
But it 's always nice to have a precedent to point to when everybody gets to babbling.
Yes, because they're not original titles, everything sucks.
Good grief. So you don't like the PSP. We get it. Seems there are plenty of people out there who do, though.
Someone else already did, in Japan - Sharp, with their Zaurus C3000.
An excellent handheld, BTW.
L1/R1 = "OMGLOLU2??!!"
Maybe, maybe not. That's not an indicator.
You've probably never heard of 95 percent of the bands that have signed on to a record label. Many, many times, the label simply does nothing with the band/artist. And they'll still prevent you from actually doing anything else creative.
Sometimes it's in your best interest not to sign.
I'll come back tomorrow to pick up where we left off yesterday :-)
Egotistical engineers aside (BTW, MS, Apple, HP, IBM and Sun have them too - have I forgotten any?), the market usually doesn't know what it wants until it's told what it wants.
Careful. You're showing your ignorance.
What about Novell was "awful" in the past? Remember, they never did desktops before the SUSE deal. They were strictly server, albeit with a pretty fat client. And their server stuff (NDS) rocked. Since SUSE, they've started to go towards the desktop. Not a bad, thing, if you ask me.
Redhat is fine for servers (although I've had my share of problems with RHAS3, mainly NFS), but Novell offers something that RH has NEVER offered: out of the box Flash, Mpeg, Java, Real (yeah, I know - they're supposedly evil). These things are actually important for a desktop users. True, you could go out on your own and find all thiese things and install them yourself, but for a corporate "Give me a decent out-of-the-box desktop setup", Novell does nicely. And in my experience, Wireless as well as ACPI just work with MANY more laptops than RH.
No it won't. A two hour show/movie encoded in DivX is around 650-700 meg, 640x480 resolution, which is twice the resolution needed on the PSP. 320x240 is really all you need for good quality on that size screen. Hell, broadcast streams are 640x480 (unless they're high-definition, of course). .
Have you actually sat and watched anything on the screen? It's quite watchable, in my opinion. Couple that with the fact that the screen is twice as big as those little portable TVs from a few years back (Remember those? - I had a Casio).
While you and I might think that way, not everybody does. My sister, who is pretty illiterate, technologically speaking, recently was asking what kind of iPod she should get so she could download songs.
The power of marketing.
And works beautifully, I might add.