Its a Box. For shipping. Lots of people having fun with reviews. Some good Pros and Cons right from the start are "Good for Fort building", and "Doesn't play Crisis" or "Not a sphere!"...
There are a bunch. NCIX is actually great for reviews both positive and negative. You just can't post deals from other companies on their forums, though many still do.
I know I have posted both positive and negative reviews and they have all gone in. Most of mine have been positive, however I usually do an insane amount of research before purchasing and do not just rely on user reviews. Only negative I remember was a Seagate HD that failed after about a month, and I think I changed it to positive after receiving a new replacement HD after like a week which is working fine today.
My biggest issue is not stores posting good or bad reviews, is the fact that you have to take most of these with a gain of salt, and many of the people that post reviews do not have a clue about what they are talking about. In fact many allude that they know more about what they are talking about than they really do. Anyway these types of reviews are good to get a general impression, but unless you can get enough detail out of them to know the person knows anything about what he is talking about, that is about all it is good for.
Also remember one mans "Terrorist" is another mans "Freedom Fighter".
Sadly the irony that the USA supported Bin Laden (against evil Russia!) is lost on many.
Remember that adage your History Professor used to say? Something about without an understanding of history the world is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past... Ya well it just show how much he knows. I am sure the Political professor is smiling smugly behind him all condescending like. What a jerk.
I would agree with you. Vista's big problem was with its launch and poor initial support by third party vendors. None of this is really applicable, as by now all the hardware folks have retail stuff on the shelf that supports vista fine out of the box. I know my only problem was on my initial install having to spend more time downloading and installing 3rd party vendor vista updated drivers from online than I spent actually installing the OS.
I have no problems now. A reinstall would likely still suck some, but wouldn't be nearly as bad as it was.
I seriously wonder what the boardroom sounds when they make their half cocked decisions. I love how they get phones and then disable any features that consumers might want, usually on the idea of squeezing every last penny out of them. Hmmm why do none of their phones have WiFi? Jerks. For those that care, you can buy the exact same phone with working features like WiFi (different model really) at Rogers. Different mind set I guess, one looks at opportunity, the other tries to resist change to maximize short term profit. Not that I am a huge fan of Rogers at all, I just want to kick Bell Canada in the balls.
People can be idiots, and salesmen try to sell things.
Particularly when on commission playing a little hard and fast with the truth is common, and not in the least limited to the computer hardware industry.
Even when not on commission many times employees are pressured to sell by not making quotas and have to face cut hours or termination.
Heck it isn't just limited to shady 19 year olds at best buy trying to pull a fast one. Companies actively advertise inaccurate, misleading, or just down right wrong stuff all the time for the sake of sales. Every single time it is them taking advantage or someone who doesn't know any better, and misleading them.
Two of my favorite examples:
One was a local computer hardware seller, it may have even been MGD, can't remember now. In any case they were advertising some pretty stupid clock speeds, which I new very well were impossible outside some OC freaks with LN2. Anyway what they were doing is selling a core 2 duo and adding up the cores, which is absurd in every meaning of that word. So a Core 2 Duo with a 2.5Ghz clock they would say has a 5Ghz clock speed. Dumb. However would my dad know the difference? Probably not.
The second one is from Futureshop. I noticed the other day that they are STILL doing it. I even complained, and they had the gall to defend their advertizing methods. Basically they would sell netbooks with either Linux or Windows XP installed. Yet in the actual photo of the computer it would show a screen with Windows Vista installed. Misleading to say the least. However these are netbooks with 1.6Ghz Atom and 1GB ram. So not only are they misleading about what is installed on the product, but about what is appropriate to install on the product. How well do you think Vista is going to run on that kind of machine? Bad is how. When I wrote futureshop about this practice they defended their methods saying they were stock photos, the specs are listed elsewhere, and that technically that software could be installed on the machine by the owner of they so choose. All of which is BS. It is blatantly a way to mislead the unknowing into making a purchase based on false information. At the very least underhanded and sneaky.
Hmmm.... "defeating" sort of implies that someone is wining or achieving something. A better word might just be to say also destroy or obliterate.
For me it is a matter or morality. Nukes are horribly immoral in war. Sure atrocities happen in war. Killing civilians is bad. Genocide is worse. Nukes are basically genocide on a grand scale. They are used to kill vast amounts of civilians. The only times they were used, it was in an attempt to end the largest war of all time sooner and save lives. That doesn't mean it was right, but that was the justification behind it.
Iran has a history of supporting the kinds or people that expressly specialized in that sort of exact thing. They blow themselves up to kill innocents. Now imagine them with nukes.
I mean sure N. Korea has Kim who is a bit wacky and has some crazy ideas. However I generally didn't get the "I want to wipe another people off the face of the Earth" kind of crazy. I can understand someone who wants more power, political, resources etc... Religious zealots however are another cup of tea altogether.
The whole thing about the cold war is that it worked because the other side also generally didn't want to die. You take one half of that away and what do you have? Automatic preemptive first strike.
If I were Iran, I would not be so quick to think getting nukes is a good idea. They should think it through. Look who currently has them. In worst case situation the reaction out of fear could be very bad. Of course being a crazy loony zealot usually precludes thinking very much.
16,402 volunteers 2006 74 Infected Placebo 51 Infected Vaccine...is that I can travel to Thailand and have sex with random people for 3 years, and I only have a 0.9% chance of getting HIV?
This isn't so much a medical study as it is a tourism promotion aimed at a target audience. Supply and Demand!
Simply subscribing to Slashdot makes you statistically 50% less susceptible to HIV!
I will take my 1 million dollar award in ten 100,000 dollar bills.
Seriously the study needs to be repeated and verified before anyone gets too excited.
It is not surprising that this was developed in Thailand due to the large sex trade there. Which makes me wonder about the demographic of the test subjects. Because of the large number of sex trade workers, any significant number in one group or the other will taint the results. If they were ALL sex trade workers that would be something different, however the article does not examine that detail. It could be that one group just happened to get 30% more sex trade workers than the other.
Also Slashdot I hate you and your stupid editor (not the person, the thing I am trying to type in).
Yeah, because committing a crime in one State, and then being prosecuted or sued in another because its laws allow for it is crazy. I mean that would just be stupid, right?
Government Healthcare. In the medium/long term there are going to be some big contracts to be had. This is likely Dell positioning for these potential contracts. Having a global footprint doesn't hurt. Also HP did it so it must be a good idea. 4B is nothing to shake a stick at so one must think this was a very carefully thought out acquisition.
They wonder why their customers are going away in droves, and they are losing money? They can't adapt to the changing technology apparently, and when another company comes around and HELPS them, they try and torpedo them. They must be idiots. It is the only logical answer. I don't mean the kind you poke fun at for the occasional blunder. I am talking about the village kind that you feel really sorry for.
"Personally, I don't see why we need to grade a bloody PE class."
Agreed. While we are on it I know at least when I was in PE (back in the 1990's) it was very sexist.
Our PE teacher was also a big fat lesbian. Now I have nothing against fat people, or lesbians, or people who happen to be both, just giving context.
My memory of Gym class was like this: Girls got to do "cheerleading" which was basically they got a boom box out and danced (badly). Guys ran the track. Girls mark was based on some artistic value and most of them seemed to get 90's if they showed up. Guys were graded on how many laps they could do in 30min. I remember that a tally was always posted on the wall to keep track just so everyone could see.
Besides fat people others have difficulty at certain things as well. I was born with a club foot. It was "fixed" when I was a baby. However that foot is about an inch shorter, as is my leg. The muscle mass on one is about half the other due to scar tissue. I also have about half the ankle movement (the degree in which you can lean forward without your heal leaving the ground). So add it all up, and I am a terrible runner. Horrible in fact. I can run don't get me wrong, but I am not all that fast, and over long distances I will be in pain.
Ironically enough I am decently athletic. I was on the Hockey, rugby, school teams, and also played baseball and soccer when I was younger. (Soccer was the only sport that running really bothered me.... Hockey never bothered me, tape the ankle, it is a side motion not up and down, though I did get a leg cramp if I didn't keep my fitness up and strained it).
Anyway all that said I was also an Honors student in high school as well with something like an 84 or 86 average. That is however getting a low 60's mark in PE which always pissed me off as unfair and completely useless and stupid and pulling my grades down effecting all sorts of things like scholarships and university applications. Lame.
Anyway it is likely different now and more progressive (or perhaps our PE instructor was just a bitch, who knows).
I believe PE is important if done right, however getting a mark or grade seems stupid to me. The point is to be healthy and active and to impart those values. Nutrition would have been a good idea as well.
I know this all happens! Its just like when you go to the gym and get on the exercise bike or treadmill or whatever cardio machines they might have did you know they actually measure your heart rate! With out your express permission. They try and hide it in very likely places so they can easily steal the rate of your heart, innocent things like handles and bars that you need to hold on to or fall off or over. Just by Touching these surfaces they gather all your personal heart rate information! I know all this information is then send to a large central database on a super computer where it is shared by all sorts of evil empires. Insurance companies, The Government, CIA, FBI, you name it they have your heart rate! Who knows what nefarious uses they are using it for! I have a secret though, before I go to the gym I scotch tape my hands so that when I grip things they can't steal my heart rate. Keep that on the down low however I don't want the heart rate police squads using tasked satellites to track my movements, I use a tinfoil hat disguised as a bike helmet (which means I need to wear spandex around a lot, a sacrifice I am willing to make!) to fool them!
Anyway I have to go offline. I try to limit my internet connect to 60 second intervals to keep the NSA on their toes! Good Luck!
Well there are a lot of very entertaining TV shows that contain science and or education out there. Most of the designed with kids in mind. Mythbusters also comes to mind for all age levels. Now I would hesitate to call it "hard" science, but it certainly is fun, AND promotes science.
Problem is both the kids and adults that watch these shows are ALREADY interested in science. The difficulty is attracting people who normally don't care.
Compounding this problem there is a GLUT of programs on TV which are totally absurd from a science or technology perspective. They basically prey on the watchers ignorance to get by. This is pretty much any mainstream program featuring any sort of technology. They don't even TRY to be correct, it is more about cool effect and look. NCIS, all the CSI's, etc... To compound this they all continue the same lies, and to invoke Goodwin it was Goebbels that said the number one rule or propaganda is repatition as most politicians are well aware. So if you ask some dumb idiot on the street they will think something is true because they say the same thing on 10 TV shows and 3 movies, so it must be true... Hence another goodwill point for Mythbusters.
I also know They Might be Giants recently came out with a science album, which is nice, but again only those already interested will buy it. The problem is not content, as that is already out there, it is a cultural one in society at least in the west anyway. I think something needs to be done at the National level, something big to promote it. Competitions with large rewards, more university scholarships, prestige awards with big attention, icons and individual achievement, I am sure there are plenty of things that can be done at both the public and private level. The problem is that this is a long term problem that isn't on the radar. So politically no one cares, so no one is going to do anything about it unless they personally feel it needs to be done (and even then to do it justification would be difficult). Also there will not be immediate results and measurable gains in the short term. I think this is something that has to happen nationally, but the problem is that national governments tend to suck at anything long term pretty much because at least here in Canada the political system rewards short term results and terms are 4 years or less, then it is someone elses problem. It seems to me that the solution is the education or promotion of the public that this is a real issue or problem so that eventually it will become s hot topic politically and will force some politition to do something about it from a policy perspective.
Slashdot Mirror
Well that's great for the Algae.
My personal favorite is:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?mode=productreviewread&product_id=11843
Its a Box. For shipping. Lots of people having fun with reviews. Some good Pros and Cons right from the start are "Good for Fort building", and "Doesn't play Crisis" or "Not a sphere!"...
There are a bunch. NCIX is actually great for reviews both positive and negative. You just can't post deals from other companies on their forums, though many still do.
I know I have posted both positive and negative reviews and they have all gone in. Most of mine have been positive, however I usually do an insane amount of research before purchasing and do not just rely on user reviews. Only negative I remember was a Seagate HD that failed after about a month, and I think I changed it to positive after receiving a new replacement HD after like a week which is working fine today.
My biggest issue is not stores posting good or bad reviews, is the fact that you have to take most of these with a gain of salt, and many of the people that post reviews do not have a clue about what they are talking about. In fact many allude that they know more about what they are talking about than they really do. Anyway these types of reviews are good to get a general impression, but unless you can get enough detail out of them to know the person knows anything about what he is talking about, that is about all it is good for.
Also remember one mans "Terrorist" is another mans "Freedom Fighter".
Sadly the irony that the USA supported Bin Laden (against evil Russia!) is lost on many.
Remember that adage your History Professor used to say? Something about without an understanding of history the world is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past... Ya well it just show how much he knows. I am sure the Political professor is smiling smugly behind him all condescending like. What a jerk.
Pakistan = US Ally.
Iran = Not.
Hence "Problem".
I would agree with you. Vista's big problem was with its launch and poor initial support by third party vendors. None of this is really applicable, as by now all the hardware folks have retail stuff on the shelf that supports vista fine out of the box. I know my only problem was on my initial install having to spend more time downloading and installing 3rd party vendor vista updated drivers from online than I spent actually installing the OS.
I have no problems now. A reinstall would likely still suck some, but wouldn't be nearly as bad as it was.
I just have to Patent Patents, then the world will be mine!
That is unless someone figures out that you can Patent Patent Patents, then I am screwed!
Awww you beat me to my Bell Canada joke.
I seriously wonder what the boardroom sounds when they make their half cocked decisions. I love how they get phones and then disable any features that consumers might want, usually on the idea of squeezing every last penny out of them. Hmmm why do none of their phones have WiFi? Jerks. For those that care, you can buy the exact same phone with working features like WiFi (different model really) at Rogers. Different mind set I guess, one looks at opportunity, the other tries to resist change to maximize short term profit. Not that I am a huge fan of Rogers at all, I just want to kick Bell Canada in the balls.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dm=DEBUG&sku_id=0665000FS10128876&catid=#
With Areo on no less... lol. Good luck with that.
People can be idiots, and salesmen try to sell things.
Particularly when on commission playing a little hard and fast with the truth is common, and not in the least limited to the computer hardware industry.
Even when not on commission many times employees are pressured to sell by not making quotas and have to face cut hours or termination.
Heck it isn't just limited to shady 19 year olds at best buy trying to pull a fast one. Companies actively advertise inaccurate, misleading, or just down right wrong stuff all the time for the sake of sales. Every single time it is them taking advantage or someone who doesn't know any better, and misleading them.
Two of my favorite examples:
One was a local computer hardware seller, it may have even been MGD, can't remember now. In any case they were advertising some pretty stupid clock speeds, which I new very well were impossible outside some OC freaks with LN2. Anyway what they were doing is selling a core 2 duo and adding up the cores, which is absurd in every meaning of that word. So a Core 2 Duo with a 2.5Ghz clock they would say has a 5Ghz clock speed. Dumb. However would my dad know the difference? Probably not.
The second one is from Futureshop. I noticed the other day that they are STILL doing it. I even complained, and they had the gall to defend their advertizing methods. Basically they would sell netbooks with either Linux or Windows XP installed. Yet in the actual photo of the computer it would show a screen with Windows Vista installed. Misleading to say the least. However these are netbooks with 1.6Ghz Atom and 1GB ram. So not only are they misleading about what is installed on the product, but about what is appropriate to install on the product. How well do you think Vista is going to run on that kind of machine? Bad is how. When I wrote futureshop about this practice they defended their methods saying they were stock photos, the specs are listed elsewhere, and that technically that software could be installed on the machine by the owner of they so choose. All of which is BS. It is blatantly a way to mislead the unknowing into making a purchase based on false information. At the very least underhanded and sneaky.
Hmmm.... "defeating" sort of implies that someone is wining or achieving something. A better word might just be to say also destroy or obliterate.
For me it is a matter or morality. Nukes are horribly immoral in war. Sure atrocities happen in war. Killing civilians is bad. Genocide is worse. Nukes are basically genocide on a grand scale. They are used to kill vast amounts of civilians. The only times they were used, it was in an attempt to end the largest war of all time sooner and save lives. That doesn't mean it was right, but that was the justification behind it.
Iran has a history of supporting the kinds or people that expressly specialized in that sort of exact thing. They blow themselves up to kill innocents. Now imagine them with nukes.
I mean sure N. Korea has Kim who is a bit wacky and has some crazy ideas. However I generally didn't get the "I want to wipe another people off the face of the Earth" kind of crazy. I can understand someone who wants more power, political, resources etc... Religious zealots however are another cup of tea altogether.
The whole thing about the cold war is that it worked because the other side also generally didn't want to die. You take one half of that away and what do you have? Automatic preemptive first strike.
If I were Iran, I would not be so quick to think getting nukes is a good idea. They should think it through. Look who currently has them. In worst case situation the reaction out of fear could be very bad. Of course being a crazy loony zealot usually precludes thinking very much.
http://xkcd.com/538/
Seriously.
Also who the hell would want to hack a grade 9-12 students netbook.
I can see this going something like this:
Bully: "Give me your password or I will punch you in the face!"
Student: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5"
16,402 volunteers ...is that I can travel to Thailand and have sex with random people for 3 years, and I only have a 0.9% chance of getting HIV?
2006
74 Infected Placebo
51 Infected Vaccine
This isn't so much a medical study as it is a tourism promotion aimed at a target audience. Supply and Demand!
I have developed my own vaccine to HIV!
Simply subscribing to Slashdot makes you statistically 50% less susceptible to HIV!
I will take my 1 million dollar award in ten 100,000 dollar bills.
Seriously the study needs to be repeated and verified before anyone gets too excited.
It is not surprising that this was developed in Thailand due to the large sex trade there. Which makes me wonder about the demographic of the test subjects. Because of the large number of sex trade workers, any significant number in one group or the other will taint the results. If they were ALL sex trade workers that would be something different, however the article does not examine that detail. It could be that one group just happened to get 30% more sex trade workers than the other.
Also Slashdot I hate you and your stupid editor (not the person, the thing I am trying to type in).
Yeah, because committing a crime in one State, and then being prosecuted or sued in another because its laws allow for it is crazy. I mean that would just be stupid, right?
Sometimes manned.
Probably depends if anyone is firing on a large slowly moving target.
Government Healthcare. In the medium/long term there are going to be some big contracts to be had. This is likely Dell positioning for these potential contracts. Having a global footprint doesn't hurt. Also HP did it so it must be a good idea. 4B is nothing to shake a stick at so one must think this was a very carefully thought out acquisition.
Just be glad that is all we are cutting off...
-Imadinnerjacket OUT!
9 Years ago for me.... Wonder if they are still teaching it.
How it REALLY happens behind closed doors:
http://ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20090916
In a word: Idiots.
They wonder why their customers are going away in droves, and they are losing money? They can't adapt to the changing technology apparently, and when another company comes around and HELPS them, they try and torpedo them. They must be idiots. It is the only logical answer. I don't mean the kind you poke fun at for the occasional blunder. I am talking about the village kind that you feel really sorry for.
"Personally, I don't see why we need to grade a bloody PE class."
Agreed. While we are on it I know at least when I was in PE (back in the 1990's) it was very sexist.
Our PE teacher was also a big fat lesbian. Now I have nothing against fat people, or lesbians, or people who happen to be both, just giving context.
My memory of Gym class was like this: Girls got to do "cheerleading" which was basically they got a boom box out and danced (badly). Guys ran the track. Girls mark was based on some artistic value and most of them seemed to get 90's if they showed up. Guys were graded on how many laps they could do in 30min. I remember that a tally was always posted on the wall to keep track just so everyone could see.
Besides fat people others have difficulty at certain things as well. I was born with a club foot. It was "fixed" when I was a baby. However that foot is about an inch shorter, as is my leg. The muscle mass on one is about half the other due to scar tissue. I also have about half the ankle movement (the degree in which you can lean forward without your heal leaving the ground). So add it all up, and I am a terrible runner. Horrible in fact. I can run don't get me wrong, but I am not all that fast, and over long distances I will be in pain.
Ironically enough I am decently athletic. I was on the Hockey, rugby, school teams, and also played baseball and soccer when I was younger. (Soccer was the only sport that running really bothered me.... Hockey never bothered me, tape the ankle, it is a side motion not up and down, though I did get a leg cramp if I didn't keep my fitness up and strained it).
Anyway all that said I was also an Honors student in high school as well with something like an 84 or 86 average. That is however getting a low 60's mark in PE which always pissed me off as unfair and completely useless and stupid and pulling my grades down effecting all sorts of things like scholarships and university applications. Lame.
Anyway it is likely different now and more progressive (or perhaps our PE instructor was just a bitch, who knows).
I believe PE is important if done right, however getting a mark or grade seems stupid to me. The point is to be healthy and active and to impart those values. Nutrition would have been a good idea as well.
I know this all happens! Its just like when you go to the gym and get on the exercise bike or treadmill or whatever cardio machines they might have did you know they actually measure your heart rate! With out your express permission. They try and hide it in very likely places so they can easily steal the rate of your heart, innocent things like handles and bars that you need to hold on to or fall off or over. Just by Touching these surfaces they gather all your personal heart rate information! I know all this information is then send to a large central database on a super computer where it is shared by all sorts of evil empires. Insurance companies, The Government, CIA, FBI, you name it they have your heart rate! Who knows what nefarious uses they are using it for! I have a secret though, before I go to the gym I scotch tape my hands so that when I grip things they can't steal my heart rate. Keep that on the down low however I don't want the heart rate police squads using tasked satellites to track my movements, I use a tinfoil hat disguised as a bike helmet (which means I need to wear spandex around a lot, a sacrifice I am willing to make!) to fool them!
Anyway I have to go offline. I try to limit my internet connect to 60 second intervals to keep the NSA on their toes! Good Luck!
Like the movie.
Smart people (aka people of science) have few kids. Those kids they have the tend to be raised like minded.
Dumb people (aka unbelievers) have a ton of kids. Those kids they have tend to be raised like minded.
Repeat.
Its a numbers game you can't win. Also blame parents.
Now if only there was a way to make smart people have more kids...
I see some sort of mineshaft type solution to this problem.
Either that or a dystopia where the state raises all kids not to be idiotic morons. The only think I can think of is little Kurt Russell in Soldier.
Well there are a lot of very entertaining TV shows that contain science and or education out there. Most of the designed with kids in mind. Mythbusters also comes to mind for all age levels. Now I would hesitate to call it "hard" science, but it certainly is fun, AND promotes science.
Problem is both the kids and adults that watch these shows are ALREADY interested in science. The difficulty is attracting people who normally don't care.
Compounding this problem there is a GLUT of programs on TV which are totally absurd from a science or technology perspective. They basically prey on the watchers ignorance to get by. This is pretty much any mainstream program featuring any sort of technology. They don't even TRY to be correct, it is more about cool effect and look. NCIS, all the CSI's, etc... To compound this they all continue the same lies, and to invoke Goodwin it was Goebbels that said the number one rule or propaganda is repatition as most politicians are well aware. So if you ask some dumb idiot on the street they will think something is true because they say the same thing on 10 TV shows and 3 movies, so it must be true... Hence another goodwill point for Mythbusters.
I also know They Might be Giants recently came out with a science album, which is nice, but again only those already interested will buy it. The problem is not content, as that is already out there, it is a cultural one in society at least in the west anyway. I think something needs to be done at the National level, something big to promote it. Competitions with large rewards, more university scholarships, prestige awards with big attention, icons and individual achievement, I am sure there are plenty of things that can be done at both the public and private level. The problem is that this is a long term problem that isn't on the radar. So politically no one cares, so no one is going to do anything about it unless they personally feel it needs to be done (and even then to do it justification would be difficult). Also there will not be immediate results and measurable gains in the short term. I think this is something that has to happen nationally, but the problem is that national governments tend to suck at anything long term pretty much because at least here in Canada the political system rewards short term results and terms are 4 years or less, then it is someone elses problem. It seems to me that the solution is the education or promotion of the public that this is a real issue or problem so that eventually it will become s hot topic politically and will force some politition to do something about it from a policy perspective.
Duh!