I was one of Cablevision's very first internet subscribers. I saw their service degrade heavily over the years. They finally started secretly capping their users to balance out the bandwidth usage. It became unbearable.
I moved to verizon FIOS asap and i've been in heaven since. Its a quality service, that doesnt cap you for uploading or downloading.
I work in 3d animation and special fx here in NY, and i often need to tranfer large batches of frames at film res from home to clients or from home to the office... Optonline became a nightmare to live with. Verizon Fios is the solution for me.
No hassle, no bullshit. I absolutely hate cablevision as a result and i've also since moved my TV service to FIOS TV service as well.
This is just typical of how all corporations view their customers (cash batteries).
You dont own what you buy, you liscense it. Thats the new mentality. You cant take a picture of yourself and print it, if you're wearing a hat that says ford on it:)
"Oh, I'd never claim otherwise. They're definitely good, just not (IMHO) so good that they'd outsell everything else on features alone. And as a counterexample, my wife wanted an iPod because she saw one in pink."
hehehe... There certainly is a sense of design and fashion that is inspiring when buying devices. I'll infer that pink was the only reason she wanted it? Was it after iPod had earned its trendy reputation or before?
I actually like what apple has done design wise. I work in the art field (3d character animation) and the one thing i'm quite impressed by with apple is their sense of doing things in style. Definitely influenced heavily by Steve Jobs. I'm not a mac user at all and i'm still impressed by the way they present and design their image, be it hardware, software and advertising.
Early on a lot of the mp3 players before ipod (and there werent that many solid ones at the time) were rather hard to look at. Pink may have been the answer!
I bought an iPod rather late in the game. I bought the 5th generation iPod (iPod Video).
I bought it because, I like to listen to Opie and Anthony (XM radio show) which is 4 hours long. After doing my research, if found that few mp3 players (hardware and video) lacked a "remember last position" option, which basically remembers the position in an mp3 that stopped at when turning off the ipod etc.
I also bought the iPod because it is capable of fast forwarding and rewinding very fast... which helps a lot with a 4 hour mp3...
There maybe good players out there... but when i bought the ipod, this was the feature that sold me on it.
Still to this day, i cant find a remember last position option in windows media player, or winamp... iTunes has it... and iTunes also has the auto folder management feature which i like a lot.
I'm not saying that what you said, isnt true... but its not entirely true in all cases. Absolutely the iPod is a fashion statement, a trendy thing to own... but it won me over because of features.
Oh i'm with you on the "using whatever file manager you want" comment.
iTunes for windows is the worst peice of programming i have ever seen in my entire 31 years of life, and i go back to apple 2es, c64s, vic20s, atari basic computers etc. Its just ridiculously slow. One of my Pc's runs Crysis extremely well on very high... and itunes can barely scroll on it:) I mean thats just not acceptable.
I actually like itunes as a music manager and player... It could always be better but i like the auto management features etc. It needs to completely drop the DRM shit. I feel its holding it back.
I'm ok with using an Apple program to sync the phone as long as the program is well designed and coded to work right. Currently, Apple is not supporting Vista 64bit, which means they're trying to hold back pc users... since 64bit is the future and 32bit is dead.
Apple is purposely not supporting Itunes enough on windows, so that their marketing appears truthful. They want people to think the pc is slower etc.
People keep asking and asking but Apple has done nothing to improve the performance and support of iTunes for Windows.
So yes then the next option is... when can we sync it with other applications. That will hopefully be figured out by someone soon. But again, i tend to like iTunes because it manages folders well, and it also has a "remember position in song" option which i use for The Opie and Anthony show, which is a 4 hour radio show on XM and CBS radio. Its nice to remember were you pressed stop, so you can easily resume listening.
hehehe Very true... but in my case, i went early to the apple store, and waited behind one person who was talking to the apple clerk about her laptop. I didnt wait long at all. It took about an hour from the time i left my house til the time i got back home.
But you are right... the Apple store is a ridiculous wait sometimes. But you can order online... and of course you can buy them at an AT&T store as well.
"Pray tell me, what's so great about having to download an application that is almost totally unrelated to your phone to have to activate it?"
The application is related to your phone, it is how you put music and other things on the phone. Now i think Apple does need to improve iTunes a lot, but the application does relate to the phone. The phone is not just a telephone but an mobile media player as well.
You still do have the option of going to an AT&T store and activating it there as well.
It's just nice to buy the phone and go home and activate it. Its a very simple process that is far better than waiting in line at any store.
I love how Apple has managed to sell the phone at their apple stores, and all you need to do is pick it up, plug it into itunes and fill out a form and you're all setup on at&t very easily.
The setup is a very nice experience. No need to go to some at&t store for anything. If you dont have an apple store, you can order from apple online, have it shipped to your house and you can turn on the at&t service yourself through itunes. Its just a nice way to do things.
The iphone is awesome, but its not everything it could or should be. Apple has created a great platform but they have fallen short in features. It looks as if Apple is going to continue to support the iPhone by adding more applications thanks to the upcoming SDK, and they will be adding new features to existing phones as well as future versions. The iPhone looks like a platform, rather than a phone.
Right now, the iphone is lacking a lot, but it does somethings extremely well. Whats interesting is how people are willing to look past the shortcomings just to have an iPhone. In my case, and in many others, we werent aware of the shortcomings. I mean come on, how can it not have cut and paste?
Apple isnt being aggressive enough in adding features that the iphone lacks. Copycat phones are showing up, they're stealing a lot of ideas from Apple, and they are adding more functionality faster than Apple is. Granted these copycat ui's arent as elaborate or graphical, but they a made by the known players in the cell industry... and they can move very fast.
btw i'm all for opening up the formats. It doesnt mean that they will be cross application friendly, but it does atleast give a coder a data file they could possibly atleast read!. I'm with you on that.
yeah but different applications often do things differently. I'm not entirely sure all data is as cross compatible between applications of similar genre if you will.
An office format is a little easier than a cad file.
But it is interesting. I find it interesting how photoshop has managed to put a lot of its native PSD like info into TIFF files with layers.
I didnt say it wasnt possible, but i dont think an open format can apply to all applications and easily translate between them. I'm definatly speaking for a 3d animation point of view because things do get quite complex in each data scene... and each program does things a bit different so its not really easy to create an open format. Many have tried.
Dont get me wrong. You can browse, email, im and listen to music in linux. But the average home windows user who does more than just that will find linux not entirely fulfilling.
Its still not there yet.
Again think iPhone, no itunes in linux to sync your phone. Linux is a capable os, and it is useable. It does a hell of a lot for the computer world as we know it, but it is still a very specialized os that hits a limit when it comes to the majority of desktop users who go a little beyond the basic uses.
Linux definitely hits a wall as a workstation os for content creators.
Apple will win more users over, than linux will, just because of ease of use... and there is a giant single corporation there to hold your hand at the Apple Store when you need it.
With Linux, you're alone on your own, in a world with many flavors and scary config files, dependencies etc
Linux will never win the desktop in 2008, until it supports the dam iphone, itunes, adobe applications, and any of the other billions of windows apps that people use.
They wont go to linux.
Linux is still a pain in the ass to configure compared to windows. The average person isnt going to linux... They're going to APPLE.
Just go to your local Apple store if you have one. The one in NYC, and the one out here on the island... (long island) Is Jam packed from the minute it opens.
Apple is winning my friend.
I dont own a mac, and the times i've had to use them for work (video post production), i've found it to be rather odd, and apps do crash btw... but anyways i found it odd... but i'm not saying i couldnt switch. Apple makes it a lot easier than any linux flavor will ever.
But lets not kid ourselves, Apple is just as evil as Microsoft. They purposely fuck up windows iTunes, to drive Mac sales.
Us Geeks know how to do some very cool stuff with media in our own homes with media servers, portables etc...
Just let us.
Dont worry, we'll see need to get the music and films somewhere. Most likely from the company that offers them at a fair price, without restrictions, and at the highest quality possible.
A good product is worth buying... as long as you're not trying to abuse the consumer.
These companies have been trying to control the consumer, when we the consumer know what we want... and we do not want to be told what to do with our media. We are intelligent enough to invent new ways, and we know what we want.
I said bluray appears to be the winner technology wise. My reasoning is because of the capacity of a bluray disk vs hddvd. Bluray wins with 50GB versus HD-DVD's 30GB disc.
I know they said they got hd-dvd to 51 Gigs, but from what i understand (and i could be wrong) is that they're not sure it will make it out in the market due to capability problems. It was more of a PR stunt than a reality.
Slashdot Mirror
The slot on my 500GB seagate SATA drive snapped. Instead of RMA'ing it, i stuck it in an external enclosure and fixed the connector with crazy glue :)
Atleast in the external ESATA case, it isnt likely to wiggle out or anything. Its in there pretty dam secure.
try backing up your data to external 1TB drives through USB2. You'll soon see the importance of ESATA :)
SPEED.
USB is painful for disk transfers!
ESATA is the way.
They also snap off and break! The piece of shit plastic slot on the hard drives, snaps off with ease.
The durability of Sata connectors suck.
Business plans are subject to caps at cablevision optonline.
I was one of Cablevision's very first internet subscribers. I saw their service degrade heavily over the years. They finally started secretly capping their users to balance out the bandwidth usage. It became unbearable.
I moved to verizon FIOS asap and i've been in heaven since. Its a quality service, that doesnt cap you for uploading or downloading.
I work in 3d animation and special fx here in NY, and i often need to tranfer large batches of frames at film res from home to clients or from home to the office... Optonline became a nightmare to live with. Verizon Fios is the solution for me.
No hassle, no bullshit. I absolutely hate cablevision as a result and i've also since moved my TV service to FIOS TV service as well.
This is just typical of how all corporations view their customers (cash batteries).
:)
You dont own what you buy, you liscense it. Thats the new mentality. You cant take a picture of yourself and print it, if you're wearing a hat that says ford on it
That is how crazy it is.
Dont you trust our American Government? They know whats best for us.
The wealthy rule the poor. Get used to it.
"Oh, I'd never claim otherwise. They're definitely good, just not (IMHO) so good that they'd outsell everything else on features alone. And as a counterexample, my wife wanted an iPod because she saw one in pink."
;)
hehehe... There certainly is a sense of design and fashion that is inspiring when buying devices. I'll infer that pink was the only reason she wanted it? Was it after iPod had earned its trendy reputation or before?
I actually like what apple has done design wise. I work in the art field (3d character animation) and the one thing i'm quite impressed by with apple is their sense of doing things in style. Definitely influenced heavily by Steve Jobs. I'm not a mac user at all and i'm still impressed by the way they present and design their image, be it hardware, software and advertising.
Early on a lot of the mp3 players before ipod (and there werent that many solid ones at the time) were rather hard to look at. Pink may have been the answer!
And Apple was bold enough to try it.
I bought an iPod rather late in the game. I bought the 5th generation iPod (iPod Video).
I bought it because, I like to listen to Opie and Anthony (XM radio show) which is 4 hours long. After doing my research, if found that few mp3 players (hardware and video) lacked a "remember last position" option, which basically remembers the position in an mp3 that stopped at when turning off the ipod etc.
I also bought the iPod because it is capable of fast forwarding and rewinding very fast... which helps a lot with a 4 hour mp3...
There maybe good players out there... but when i bought the ipod, this was the feature that sold me on it.
Still to this day, i cant find a remember last position option in windows media player, or winamp... iTunes has it... and iTunes also has the auto folder management feature which i like a lot.
I'm not saying that what you said, isnt true... but its not entirely true in all cases. Absolutely the iPod is a fashion statement, a trendy thing to own... but it won me over because of features.
Oh i'm with you on the "using whatever file manager you want" comment.
:) I mean thats just not acceptable.
iTunes for windows is the worst peice of programming i have ever seen in my entire 31 years of life, and i go back to apple 2es, c64s, vic20s, atari basic computers etc. Its just ridiculously slow. One of my Pc's runs Crysis extremely well on very high... and itunes can barely scroll on it
I actually like itunes as a music manager and player... It could always be better but i like the auto management features etc. It needs to completely drop the DRM shit. I feel its holding it back.
I'm ok with using an Apple program to sync the phone as long as the program is well designed and coded to work right. Currently, Apple is not supporting Vista 64bit, which means they're trying to hold back pc users... since 64bit is the future and 32bit is dead.
Apple is purposely not supporting Itunes enough on windows, so that their marketing appears truthful. They want people to think the pc is slower etc.
People keep asking and asking but Apple has done nothing to improve the performance and support of iTunes for Windows.
So yes then the next option is... when can we sync it with other applications. That will hopefully be figured out by someone soon. But again, i tend to like iTunes because it manages folders well, and it also has a "remember position in song" option which i use for The Opie and Anthony show, which is a 4 hour radio show on XM and CBS radio. Its nice to remember were you pressed stop, so you can easily resume listening.
hehehe Very true... but in my case, i went early to the apple store, and waited behind one person who was talking to the apple clerk about her laptop. I didnt wait long at all. It took about an hour from the time i left my house til the time i got back home.
But you are right... the Apple store is a ridiculous wait sometimes. But you can order online... and of course you can buy them at an AT&T store as well.
"Pray tell me, what's so great about having to download an application that is almost totally unrelated to your phone to have to activate it?"
The application is related to your phone, it is how you put music and other things on the phone. Now i think Apple does need to improve iTunes a lot, but the application does relate to the phone. The phone is not just a telephone but an mobile media player as well.
You still do have the option of going to an AT&T store and activating it there as well.
It's just nice to buy the phone and go home and activate it. Its a very simple process that is far better than waiting in line at any store.
I love how Apple has managed to sell the phone at their apple stores, and all you need to do is pick it up, plug it into itunes and fill out a form and you're all setup on at&t very easily.
The setup is a very nice experience. No need to go to some at&t store for anything. If you dont have an apple store, you can order from apple online, have it shipped to your house and you can turn on the at&t service yourself through itunes. Its just a nice way to do things.
The iphone is awesome, but its not everything it could or should be. Apple has created a great platform but they have fallen short in features. It looks as if Apple is going to continue to support the iPhone by adding more applications thanks to the upcoming SDK, and they will be adding new features to existing phones as well as future versions. The iPhone looks like a platform, rather than a phone.
Right now, the iphone is lacking a lot, but it does somethings extremely well. Whats interesting is how people are willing to look past the shortcomings just to have an iPhone. In my case, and in many others, we werent aware of the shortcomings. I mean come on, how can it not have cut and paste?
Apple isnt being aggressive enough in adding features that the iphone lacks. Copycat phones are showing up, they're stealing a lot of ideas from Apple, and they are adding more functionality faster than Apple is. Granted these copycat ui's arent as elaborate or graphical, but they a made by the known players in the cell industry... and they can move very fast.
Why should we trust them?
btw i'm all for opening up the formats. It doesnt mean that they will be cross application friendly, but it does atleast give a coder a data file they could possibly atleast read!. I'm with you on that.
"Our network works just fine... please somebody use it"
yeah but different applications often do things differently. I'm not entirely sure all data is as cross compatible between applications of similar genre if you will.
An office format is a little easier than a cad file.
But it is interesting. I find it interesting how photoshop has managed to put a lot of its native PSD like info into TIFF files with layers.
I didnt say it wasnt possible, but i dont think an open format can apply to all applications and easily translate between them. I'm definatly speaking for a 3d animation point of view because things do get quite complex in each data scene... and each program does things a bit different so its not really easy to create an open format. Many have tried.
"As soon as theis has happened, I can run Linux, you can run something else and it does not matter, because we cans till exchange documents!"
Thats assuming the application is on both linux and windows. Even if its an open format, it doesnt mean there is an application to use it on linux.
In my field of 3d animation, i see the application still playing an important roll in each apps unique format.
Dont get me wrong. You can browse, email, im and listen to music in linux. But the average home windows user who does more than just that will find linux not entirely fulfilling.
Its still not there yet.
Again think iPhone, no itunes in linux to sync your phone. Linux is a capable os, and it is useable. It does a hell of a lot for the computer world as we know it, but it is still a very specialized os that hits a limit when it comes to the majority of desktop users who go a little beyond the basic uses.
Linux definitely hits a wall as a workstation os for content creators.
Apple will win more users over, than linux will, just because of ease of use... and there is a giant single corporation there to hold your hand at the Apple Store when you need it.
With Linux, you're alone on your own, in a world with many flavors and scary config files, dependencies etc
linux doesnt even have the everything but entertainment. It lacks a lot in the area of content creation as well.
Gimp is a peice of shit folks. Lets be real.
Linux will never win the desktop in 2008, until it supports the dam iphone, itunes, adobe applications, and any of the other billions of windows apps that people use.
They wont go to linux.
Linux is still a pain in the ass to configure compared to windows. The average person isnt going to linux... They're going to APPLE.
Just go to your local Apple store if you have one. The one in NYC, and the one out here on the island... (long island) Is Jam packed from the minute it opens.
Apple is winning my friend.
I dont own a mac, and the times i've had to use them for work (video post production), i've found it to be rather odd, and apps do crash btw... but anyways i found it odd... but i'm not saying i couldnt switch. Apple makes it a lot easier than any linux flavor will ever.
But lets not kid ourselves, Apple is just as evil as Microsoft. They purposely fuck up windows iTunes, to drive Mac sales.
I do like my iphone and ipod though.
I run Vista 64, because XP64 has no printer drivers for my printer (s9000). I blame Canon. Canon wrote one for Vista64, but not XP64.
I hope Canon gets the big aids dick.
I like Vista in general. Yes it is slow, but there are some nice things about it. SOME.
I've been debating on going back to XP64, but i cant until i know for sure that Vista SP1 is a disaster.
I need SP1 to come out soon because i really need to know if it will actually improve Vista64, back to XP64 quality levels.
The sooner it comes out, the quicker i can decide whether or not to go back to XP64... printer be damned.
Maybe these media giants will finally learn that?
Us Geeks know how to do some very cool stuff with media in our own homes with media servers, portables etc...
Just let us.
Dont worry, we'll see need to get the music and films somewhere. Most likely from the company that offers them at a fair price, without restrictions, and at the highest quality possible.
A good product is worth buying... as long as you're not trying to abuse the consumer.
These companies have been trying to control the consumer, when we the consumer know what we want... and we do not want to be told what to do with our media. We are intelligent enough to invent new ways, and we know what we want.
I said bluray appears to be the winner technology wise. My reasoning is because of the capacity of a bluray disk vs hddvd. Bluray wins with 50GB versus HD-DVD's 30GB disc.
I know they said they got hd-dvd to 51 Gigs, but from what i understand (and i could be wrong) is that they're not sure it will make it out in the market due to capability problems. It was more of a PR stunt than a reality.
yeah but are they releasing many films on VHS these days?