While they will never lose some game franchises that they themselves own (Zelda, Mario), Nintendo's unhealthy fear of piracy has caused them problems in the past.
Fear of piracy was one reason that Nintendo stayed with cartridges for the N64. (Load lag was another more valid reason) Because of that decision, Square switched over to Sony for future releases. Final Fantasy VII can at least be partially credited to the Playstation's success - Let's face it, lots of people bought Playstations for that one game alone. Lots of people would have bought N64s instead if the 64 had been more conducive to Square's desires.
Fear of piracy is also hurting the Gamecube - One of the primary reasons stated for the oddball mini-DVD format used by the GC is piracy.
Problem - In this day and age, people are consolidating their devices. Why buy a game console AND a DVD player when the game console can do a good job of playing DVD movies? The Cube is the only one of the modern consoles that can't play DVD movies (unless you buy the import Panasonic combo unit), and that's hurting it too.
Try playing EVE Online - The game has changed so much since the guide was released that it isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.
There is NOTHING in that guide that is accurate anymore. Ore locations have changed drastically, system security ratings have changed drastically, EVERYTHING is different.
Even if things hadn't changed, the guide had nothing but a brief summary of all systems in a single region of the game. Considering that the game has 5-6 different starting regions, the guide sucked to begin with.
I had nothing but pleasant experiences with the in-store staff in Ithaca, NY, and also with their customer service number both in upstate NY and central NJ.
Every Verizon phone I have had has been rock-solid. Admittedly my first phone (LG/BAM 330) sucked accessory-wise, but it worked fine. The Kyocera 2035a that followed it was a great phone, and my current Kyo 6035 Smartphone is simply incredible.
I'm actually surprised you had problems with a Verizon phone - VZW puts all of their phones through VERY tough QA testing, which is why their phone selection is usually much smaller than Sprint's - Some Sprint phones just didn't make the grade quality-wise, even if they might have had sexy new featurs.
Linux is a bitch to learn, but once you feel the power and get accustomed to the system, few people ever want to go back.
It's the same with HP48s and RPN - RPN is *weird* and does take time to learn, but anyone who learns it usually swears by it and never wants to go back.
I like being able to put 5 numbers on the stack and then keep hitting + to add them up, rather than 5 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 219092 + 329230, etc.
AT&T used to have the best network in the country.
But they shot themselves in the foot with the GSM rollout. True, D-AMPS (The true name for non-GSM TDMA digital service in the US) needed replacing, but unfortunately, switching over to GSM killed AT&T's biggest advantage, their GSM network has nothing on their old D-AMPS network coverage-wise.
Worse for AT&T, rolling out GSM when it's clear that it has no upgrade path to 3G technology (UMTS is the "3G" variant of GSM, but requires new phones, basestations, and frequency allocations, whereas cdmaOne phones will work with CDMA2000 basestations and CDMA2000 phones will work with cdmaOne basestations) is shooting themselves in the foot. To roll out true 3G, AT&T must replace their ENTIRE network *AGAIN*, meanwhile Verizon and Sprint PCS only need to roll out upgrades as demand dictates, because as said before, people with old cdmaOne phones will be able to use the new CDMA2000 network infrastructure, and people with CDMA2000 phones will still have the ability to use cdmaOne basestations without the need for adding another frequency band.
But assuming that one chooses the optimum plan for a given provider, Verizon is significantly more expensive per minute - With other providers, you get more minutes for the same price.
Nonetheless, minutes aren't everything. Having tons of minutes is worthless when you waste them due to dropped calls or can't use them because you're roaming. Per-minute, Verizon is much more expensive, but they are worth every penny.
That said, calculators in engineering ARE slowly being replaced by Matlab. Where I work, a lot of people have no calculators, they just use Matlab on lab PCs.
Still, having a real calculator is very convenient when you're not near a lab PC or there are no free network licenses for Matlab.
And that's all they're good for. They are piddly toys for students.
The HP 48GX, despite being far older and slower than the TI-92, is dominant in engineering. At my company, there are two types of calculators people use: HP 48s and PCs running Matlab. I have NEVER seen an engineer here using a TI.
Even in my high school, almost everyone who was planning on going into engineering disciplines bought an HP48. As to your comment, "And part of this is HP's fault -- when the TI-92 came out, a colleague of mine was at a math teachers' conference and asked HP if they had anything coming out that could compare with it, and their answer was a resigned "Nope"."
Then why did at least two people I know in high school buy TI-92s, only to replace them one year later with the *significantly older* HP-48? The TI-92 sucked. It was a monstrosity that was DOA in the education market because it had a QWERTY keyboard and hence was not legal on any standardized tests. The HP48 was legal on most tests if you blocked its IR port, and most proctors didn't even bother checking that. (It was widely known that the 48's IR receiver was very weak and only good for calc-to-calc communications of 6" or so. There's an ongoing debate as to whether this was done for power savings or to keep the calc test legal.)
I prefer beer that tastes good to beer that gets me drunk.
Nothing by Molson, Labatt's, or any of the "major" US breweries with the exception of Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada are even tolerable to me. SA and SN are OK, some of their beers are pretty good, some are just average.
On both sides of the border, the real good stuff is the microbrews.
USA - New Jersey: High Point Brewery brews some *amazing* wheat beers. River Horse is kinda blah, too watery for me. One brewery in NJ (I forget which one, I think it's in Princeton) has a rye ale that is VERY unusual and quite good. New York State: Lots of breweries all over. In the Finger Lakes region, both Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca, NY) and Wagner Valley Brewery (Part of Wagner Vineyards in Lodi, NY) are amazing. Ithaca Stout and Wagner Sled Dog are my two favorite beers.
Up in Canada, there are plenty of good microbrews too. If you're in the Canadian Rockies (Near Yoho National Park in BC), look for a honey pilsner called Fire Weed. Good stuff, the ONLY pilsner I've ever liked.
I work at an engineering firm. (They build transmitters for cell towers)
The only calculators I've ever seen in use here are 48Gs and 48GXes. It's either that or Matlab on a lab PC, not many other options for serious engineers. No one has a TI or Casio here - those are calculators for middle school students.
I'm worried that this new 49GX will not be as sturdy as the old 48GX, given HP's recent build quality track record (Seems like all the people who gave a damn about quality went over to Agilent, who still make some nice gear). Plus, the picture shown of this potential new 49G+ looks way too TI-ish.
The only equipment I can think of that have such restrictions due to low internal resistance are a select few LED flashlights that are specifically (and intentionally) designed to only run on alkalines. These are direct-drive non-resistored lights that factor the internal resistance of an AA battery into their design.
I have not seen any such non-resistored lights sold commercially though, only some specialty lights where the buyer is well aware of the intentional design decision to direct-drive.
In most cases, the restriction against rechargables is due to the lower voltage (1.2v/cell instead of 1.5).
Thomas Distributing (linked to elsewhere in this article) has a fast charger and 2100s for the same price, BUT the charger is Maha's latest. (I think the model number is 401???)
It's regarded as one of the best fast chargers on the market.
For Li-Ion cells, the charging voltage can be either 4.1v/cell or 4.2v/cell depending on the electrode type. (Nominal voltage is 3.6-3.7, charging voltage is 4.1 or 4.2)
Slashdot Mirror
VW appears to be running some new deal: Buy a VW car (Might just be the New Beetle), get an iPod free.
Similar to what you describe.
While they will never lose some game franchises that they themselves own (Zelda, Mario), Nintendo's unhealthy fear of piracy has caused them problems in the past.
Fear of piracy was one reason that Nintendo stayed with cartridges for the N64. (Load lag was another more valid reason) Because of that decision, Square switched over to Sony for future releases. Final Fantasy VII can at least be partially credited to the Playstation's success - Let's face it, lots of people bought Playstations for that one game alone. Lots of people would have bought N64s instead if the 64 had been more conducive to Square's desires.
Fear of piracy is also hurting the Gamecube - One of the primary reasons stated for the oddball mini-DVD format used by the GC is piracy.
Problem - In this day and age, people are consolidating their devices. Why buy a game console AND a DVD player when the game console can do a good job of playing DVD movies? The Cube is the only one of the modern consoles that can't play DVD movies (unless you buy the import Panasonic combo unit), and that's hurting it too.
For a nuclear winter.
Try playing EVE Online - The game has changed so much since the guide was released that it isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.
There is NOTHING in that guide that is accurate anymore. Ore locations have changed drastically, system security ratings have changed drastically, EVERYTHING is different.
Even if things hadn't changed, the guide had nothing but a brief summary of all systems in a single region of the game. Considering that the game has 5-6 different starting regions, the guide sucked to begin with.
My first thought was honestly a male enhancement product...
But easier to keep track of. I like being able to make sure I've got all the numbers I want and no dupes before adding them all up.
A syringe with an RJ11... It just makes no sense...
I had nothing but pleasant experiences with the in-store staff in Ithaca, NY, and also with their customer service number both in upstate NY and central NJ.
Every Verizon phone I have had has been rock-solid. Admittedly my first phone (LG/BAM 330) sucked accessory-wise, but it worked fine. The Kyocera 2035a that followed it was a great phone, and my current Kyo 6035 Smartphone is simply incredible.
I'm actually surprised you had problems with a Verizon phone - VZW puts all of their phones through VERY tough QA testing, which is why their phone selection is usually much smaller than Sprint's - Some Sprint phones just didn't make the grade quality-wise, even if they might have had sexy new featurs.
Even more appropriate, Linux vs. Windows
Linux is a bitch to learn, but once you feel the power and get accustomed to the system, few people ever want to go back.
It's the same with HP48s and RPN - RPN is *weird* and does take time to learn, but anyone who learns it usually swears by it and never wants to go back.
I like being able to put 5 numbers on the stack and then keep hitting + to add them up, rather than 5 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 219092 + 329230, etc.
AT&T used to have the best network in the country.
But they shot themselves in the foot with the GSM rollout. True, D-AMPS (The true name for non-GSM TDMA digital service in the US) needed replacing, but unfortunately, switching over to GSM killed AT&T's biggest advantage, their GSM network has nothing on their old D-AMPS network coverage-wise.
Worse for AT&T, rolling out GSM when it's clear that it has no upgrade path to 3G technology (UMTS is the "3G" variant of GSM, but requires new phones, basestations, and frequency allocations, whereas cdmaOne phones will work with CDMA2000 basestations and CDMA2000 phones will work with cdmaOne basestations) is shooting themselves in the foot. To roll out true 3G, AT&T must replace their ENTIRE network *AGAIN*, meanwhile Verizon and Sprint PCS only need to roll out upgrades as demand dictates, because as said before, people with old cdmaOne phones will be able to use the new CDMA2000 network infrastructure, and people with CDMA2000 phones will still have the ability to use cdmaOne basestations without the need for adding another frequency band.
That's why I'm glad this 49G+ is coming out (IF it's a decent calc, as worthy as the 48 series) - In case my 48GX ever dies.
Um, I have NEVER defended Sprint PCS in my life. Sprint PCS sucks.
Hell, until my junior or senior year at Cornell, Sprint didn't even HAVE service in Ithaca for anyone to defend.
That's part of why Verizon rocks.
But assuming that one chooses the optimum plan for a given provider, Verizon is significantly more expensive per minute - With other providers, you get more minutes for the same price.
Nonetheless, minutes aren't everything. Having tons of minutes is worthless when you waste them due to dropped calls or can't use them because you're roaming. Per-minute, Verizon is much more expensive, but they are worth every penny.
Matlab doesn't run on PDAs.
That said, calculators in engineering ARE slowly being replaced by Matlab. Where I work, a lot of people have no calculators, they just use Matlab on lab PCs.
Still, having a real calculator is very convenient when you're not near a lab PC or there are no free network licenses for Matlab.
TI calculators are dominant in schools.
And that's all they're good for. They are piddly toys for students.
The HP 48GX, despite being far older and slower than the TI-92, is dominant in engineering. At my company, there are two types of calculators people use: HP 48s and PCs running Matlab. I have NEVER seen an engineer here using a TI.
Even in my high school, almost everyone who was planning on going into engineering disciplines bought an HP48. As to your comment, "And part of this is HP's fault -- when the TI-92 came out, a colleague of mine was at a math teachers' conference and asked HP if they had anything coming out that could compare with it, and their answer was a resigned "Nope"."
Then why did at least two people I know in high school buy TI-92s, only to replace them one year later with the *significantly older* HP-48? The TI-92 sucked. It was a monstrosity that was DOA in the education market because it had a QWERTY keyboard and hence was not legal on any standardized tests. The HP48 was legal on most tests if you blocked its IR port, and most proctors didn't even bother checking that. (It was widely known that the 48's IR receiver was very weak and only good for calc-to-calc communications of 6" or so. There's an ongoing debate as to whether this was done for power savings or to keep the calc test legal.)
"Also, it has buttons just for calculator."
That's all you need to say.
I just hope they're sturdy buttons like my 48GX.
Isn't everything.
I prefer beer that tastes good to beer that gets me drunk.
Nothing by Molson, Labatt's, or any of the "major" US breweries with the exception of Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada are even tolerable to me. SA and SN are OK, some of their beers are pretty good, some are just average.
On both sides of the border, the real good stuff is the microbrews.
USA - New Jersey: High Point Brewery brews some *amazing* wheat beers. River Horse is kinda blah, too watery for me. One brewery in NJ (I forget which one, I think it's in Princeton) has a rye ale that is VERY unusual and quite good.
New York State: Lots of breweries all over. In the Finger Lakes region, both Ithaca Beer Co. (Ithaca, NY) and Wagner Valley Brewery (Part of Wagner Vineyards in Lodi, NY) are amazing. Ithaca Stout and Wagner Sled Dog are my two favorite beers.
Up in Canada, there are plenty of good microbrews too. If you're in the Canadian Rockies (Near Yoho National Park in BC), look for a honey pilsner called Fire Weed. Good stuff, the ONLY pilsner I've ever liked.
Verizon is significantly more expensive than most other US-based providers.
It has always been (in my opinion) worth the extra money, so I'm not surprised they were ranked #1.
I work at an engineering firm. (They build transmitters for cell towers)
The only calculators I've ever seen in use here are 48Gs and 48GXes. It's either that or Matlab on a lab PC, not many other options for serious engineers. No one has a TI or Casio here - those are calculators for middle school students.
I'm worried that this new 49GX will not be as sturdy as the old 48GX, given HP's recent build quality track record (Seems like all the people who gave a damn about quality went over to Agilent, who still make some nice gear). Plus, the picture shown of this potential new 49G+ looks way too TI-ish.
I have a Palm that can do HP48 emulation (to some degree). It also has its own custom RPN calculator.
Can't touch my HP48GX - You can emulate buttons in software all you want, it will never compare to the nice buttons of the 48.
The 3 hour one is the "pressure cooker".
I've seen many reports of batteries that became too hot to hold. The Maha chargers charge faster but the batteries don't get as warm.
And good batteries.
Maha just released a new charger (CH-401FS I think?) that is EXCELLENT. $50 for the charger and a set of 4 Maha 2100 mAh NiMHs.
The only equipment I can think of that have such restrictions due to low internal resistance are a select few LED flashlights that are specifically (and intentionally) designed to only run on alkalines. These are direct-drive non-resistored lights that factor the internal resistance of an AA battery into their design.
I have not seen any such non-resistored lights sold commercially though, only some specialty lights where the buyer is well aware of the intentional design decision to direct-drive.
In most cases, the restriction against rechargables is due to the lower voltage (1.2v/cell instead of 1.5).
Thomas Distributing (linked to elsewhere in this article) has a fast charger and 2100s for the same price, BUT the charger is Maha's latest. (I think the model number is 401???)
It's regarded as one of the best fast chargers on the market.
For Li-Ion cells, the charging voltage can be either 4.1v/cell or 4.2v/cell depending on the electrode type. (Nominal voltage is 3.6-3.7, charging voltage is 4.1 or 4.2)