Frankly, I don't get the point of forcing them to offer the service - at least in Los Angeles. Every time I've had to call 911 in LA, I had to wait at least 15 minutes before an operator came on. Fortunately, I wasn't like, suffocating at the time.
No, just 3 times. After a split, all prices are adjusted for the split. Back in 2003 Apple was in the 20's, but in order to make meaningful evaluations, they adjusted that number after the split. Otherwise, relative comparisons would be a nightmare.
You're out of your mind if you think FreeHand is so bad. It does have a few minor issues and it's because I think Macromedia gave up on it that I finally stopped using it after 13 years. Even now, for highly precise, technical drawing I still use it.
FreeHand's masking blows Illustrator's out of the water. It's precision drawing ability is far superior to Illustrator. It launches in a fraction of the time of Illustrator. It's files are a third of the size of Illustrator's, it's customizable toolbars and keyboard shortcuts meant I was able to use a 17" CRT for YEARS before I had to finally get a Cinema display - to accomodate Illustrator's hulky bevy of toolbars and redundant windows!
Anyway, I do understand people liking Illustrator, I said I finally switched, but any of my employees who've been exposed to FreeHand for any length of time wish for a hybrid of the two. Unfortunately, this new merger (or buyout or whatever) probably won't give us that. Competition is a good thing.
This would be helpful to a designer. I can't memorize the names of the 13,000+ fonts on our server, but it'd be great if I could scan a sample that we need to match and have the computer tell me which font it is. It beats the hell out of playing 20 questions with some type foundry's website only to get a result that's completely off.
Word. This is why I drive a '65 Mustang. From a pile of parts when I purchased it three years ago, to the growling little monster I drive today it's cost $4500 all told including purchase price. And that was the point. By buying an old Mustang I could be sure that my husband would be able to fix 98% of anything that went wrong with it. It tackles the LA freeways daily and has never left me stranded. The 1990 Toyota Camry I used to drive on the other hand, did leave me stranded, had to go to the shop whenever something went wrong, and never came back out of the shop for less than $300.
I do long for the advances technology could give me in fuel economy, a cooling system, an AC system that doesn't involve hand-cranking a window. But the trade off in being able to fix the a break problem and get back home from Boyle Heights without the assistance of the nearest bum is well worth it.
It's bad enough that when a light comes on in the dashboard of his Explorer, he has to take it someplace and pay someone to hook it up to a diagnostic computer in order to find out what's wrong. I think if it got to the point where he couldn't take things apart himself, we'd cease buying new cars.
(Of course, the question of whether or not I've ever "paid" my husband for his work on the Mustang is open to debate, but probably not in this forum.)
Maybe I'm retarded, but I have to ask: Why does everyone keep saying this will help Apple?
If Real has made it possible to put Real tracks on an iPod that only means that people will be more likely to buy tracks from Real. It doesn't benefit Apple at all because who now owns or wants an iPod but is holding out because they can't put Real tracks on it? Anyone?
I can't say I like the idea of Apple pursuing litigation under the DMCA, however, Real and everyone else are joking if they think Apple should be delighted.
ANYONE who doesn't like Apple's DRM has the complete freedom to put any tracks they like on their iPod in one of several other file formats, including MP3. So any music service interested in taking advantage of iPod popularity need only make their tracks available in one of THOSE formats.
Why they gotta have the fruit of the one tree God forbade them?
OH YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT - it's the record labels that won't allow their tracks to be sold without the DRM. Apple's not the evil mofos insisting on the DRM - without it, the record labels wouldn't play. If Apple doesn't agressively protect the DRM upon which their agreements with the record lables hinge, then they're in breech of contract no doubt. The labels will walk and bye-bye ITMS.
I'm just going to cut and paste from my blog this morning:
What's next? Are you going to make Adobe Photoshop illegal? I mean, I could use Photoshop to fake legal documents - sure they've made copying currency harder, but it's a lot easier to create fake insurance documents, phony immigration papers, false birth certificates and vehicle registrations.
But do I do any of that? NO. I use it to make a living. I use it to create works of art, which in case they forgot, is one of the things that makes human beings noble and worth anything at all.
I'm sure that a lot of people use it for nefarious purposes. Adobe would be hard-pressed to make an application that's useful and yet could hinder people's evil plans for it. So they leave that to the user and the criminal justice system - as it should be.
Same thing with P2P networks. They just didn't realize how very many people are willing to bend or break the law given the chance. What, they thought everyone's basically GOOD at heart? SUCKER! P2P networks are handy. They have legitimate uses. The most valuable one to me is that heretofore unknown artists can make their work available and with just a little word of mouth, garner a lot of attention and notice they wouldn't previously have had.
And I think that, more than anything, is the crux of it. The establishment has made hoards of money and holds a lot of power based on the fact that previously it was difficult to even make a minor success of yourself. It was like the old system of banks and checking accounts. You couldn't open an account unless someone vouched for you. Similarly, before computers and the internet took over, you couldn't be a success unless someone already rich and powerful vouched for you. (Or you were extraordinarilly lucky. This wouldn't preclude talent, but any talented artist that was successful under the old system will first admit they were lucky to get there.) Frankly, it's mostly the same now, but it's changing. Bands are putting songs they can't get onto the radio on their websites. Videos MTV won't let you see are available online. I don't have to listen to KROQ's corporate-sanctioned IDEA of alternative rock - I can listen to KEXP Seattle right through my computer. Rather than wait several weeks for the "official" release, people globally can get the media they want today. I no longer get suckered into paying $16-18 for a whole CD of crap when all I wanted was one song that frankly, I'd be sick of in three weeks flat anyway. Wifey and Hubby get 10-20,000 subscribers a month and they have a nice house and take fabulous trips. Mark one for everyone.
Early in my Internet days I realized the great thing about it was, that with a little know how, a small investment, and a few ideas, anyone could make a few bucks. Some with better ideas would make a whole lot more. Sure enough a lot of people, it turns out, were actually quite willing to take their clothes off and start inserting all manner of objects in front of a camera - if they got paid for it. Did anyone realize how many whores there were out there before it became so easy to set up a subscription site? The free market used to be such a sacred cow with the conservatives. Suddenly they've had the rose-tinted glasses removed and realized the cow's a three-input bovine and they freak out and start legislating the use of inputs.
OK, I ramble, I get off topic. Score me a -1. But the point is, they see things getting out of control. They see their precious status-quo shaken. And rather than adapt and take this opportunity to finally and truthfully get to know their audience for the slightly-slimey and occasionally downright dirty hos they are, they freak out and start taking liberties away. They only way they can see to staunch the flow of blood is to put a tourniquet on technological advances.
We've got to stop this crap or else we're doomed to live with Brittany Spears and her ilk forever.
Yeah, but you also have Slashdot id in the 100 thousands. I had no idea what Ogg Vobis was the first time I saw it mentioned on Slashdot and I still don't except from the context other Slashdot users mention it in. I'd guess that anyone who does know what it is, has a Slashdot ID. How many iPod owners do, though?
I can't get upset if I can't find Jones Juice in Pavilions or Trader Joes - It's great juice, but it's hard to find support for my habit. I knew that going in.
I love this community, but sometimes it's a lot like New York: Thinking it's the world.
Actually, I have the opposite experience. I've been creating a lot of webpages using xhtml transitional and they always preview as expected in Safari, usually as expected in Mozilla, and are completely HOSED in IE Mac. I'm constantly having to re-tool, rethink, or otherwise add in IE hacks to make the things work.
Also, it's very rare that Safari incorrectly renders a page when I'm browsing the web. The only occasions this ever happens to me is if the site relies heavilly on Javascript optimized for IE. Some Javascript-heavy sites work fine, so I know it's not just Safari not playing nice with Javascript.
On the other hand, I've had serious issues with IE's poor interpretation of CSS. It's unpredictable (at least to my simple mind) and makes a gorgeous site look awful.
If it weren't for the fact that I have to design for customers so that I get paid, I'd say to hell with IE and it's users.
I can do you one better - I once bought a $20 pair of speakers from them. The guy helping me said he wouldn't bother offering the service plan (even though he was supposed to) because the service plan was $20. We had a bit of a laugh over that one.
When I went to check out, though, the cashier offered me the plan. I pointed out that the plan cost the same as the speakers and she said, "Yes, but if they break you can replace them for free."
I pointed out that I could just buy them now for $20, no service plan, and IF they broke, I could come back and buy new ones and still come out even. That's IF they broke. Chances were, I'd buy a better stereo for the car before they broke and then I'd want better than $20 speakers.
She still didn't get it and she kept trying (somewhat angrily at this point) to push the service plan on me. At that point I left the whole transaction with my husband and walked out.
Slashdot Mirror
Frankly, I don't get the point of forcing them to offer the service - at least in Los Angeles. Every time I've had to call 911 in LA, I had to wait at least 15 minutes before an operator came on. Fortunately, I wasn't like, suffocating at the time.
No, just 3 times. After a split, all prices are adjusted for the split. Back in 2003 Apple was in the 20's, but in order to make meaningful evaluations, they adjusted that number after the split. Otherwise, relative comparisons would be a nightmare.
You're out of your mind if you think FreeHand is so bad. It does have a few minor issues and it's because I think Macromedia gave up on it that I finally stopped using it after 13 years. Even now, for highly precise, technical drawing I still use it.
FreeHand's masking blows Illustrator's out of the water. It's precision drawing ability is far superior to Illustrator. It launches in a fraction of the time of Illustrator. It's files are a third of the size of Illustrator's, it's customizable toolbars and keyboard shortcuts meant I was able to use a 17" CRT for YEARS before I had to finally get a Cinema display - to accomodate Illustrator's hulky bevy of toolbars and redundant windows!
Anyway, I do understand people liking Illustrator, I said I finally switched, but any of my employees who've been exposed to FreeHand for any length of time wish for a hybrid of the two. Unfortunately, this new merger (or buyout or whatever) probably won't give us that. Competition is a good thing.
This would be helpful to a designer. I can't memorize the names of the 13,000+ fonts on our server, but it'd be great if I could scan a sample that we need to match and have the computer tell me which font it is. It beats the hell out of playing 20 questions with some type foundry's website only to get a result that's completely off.
I do long for the advances technology could give me in fuel economy, a cooling system, an AC system that doesn't involve hand-cranking a window. But the trade off in being able to fix the a break problem and get back home from Boyle Heights without the assistance of the nearest bum is well worth it.
It's bad enough that when a light comes on in the dashboard of his Explorer, he has to take it someplace and pay someone to hook it up to a diagnostic computer in order to find out what's wrong. I think if it got to the point where he couldn't take things apart himself, we'd cease buying new cars.
(Of course, the question of whether or not I've ever "paid" my husband for his work on the Mustang is open to debate, but probably not in this forum.)
If Real has made it possible to put Real tracks on an iPod that only means that people will be more likely to buy tracks from Real. It doesn't benefit Apple at all because who now owns or wants an iPod but is holding out because they can't put Real tracks on it? Anyone?
I can't say I like the idea of Apple pursuing litigation under the DMCA, however, Real and everyone else are joking if they think Apple should be delighted.
ANYONE who doesn't like Apple's DRM has the complete freedom to put any tracks they like on their iPod in one of several other file formats, including MP3. So any music service interested in taking advantage of iPod popularity need only make their tracks available in one of THOSE formats.
Why they gotta have the fruit of the one tree God forbade them?
OH YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT - it's the record labels that won't allow their tracks to be sold without the DRM. Apple's not the evil mofos insisting on the DRM - without it, the record labels wouldn't play. If Apple doesn't agressively protect the DRM upon which their agreements with the record lables hinge, then they're in breech of contract no doubt. The labels will walk and bye-bye ITMS.
Didn't anyone see JFK? Think who benefits.
What's next? Are you going to make Adobe Photoshop illegal? I mean, I could use Photoshop to fake legal documents - sure they've made copying currency harder, but it's a lot easier to create fake insurance documents, phony immigration papers, false birth certificates and vehicle registrations.
But do I do any of that? NO. I use it to make a living. I use it to create works of art, which in case they forgot, is one of the things that makes human beings noble and worth anything at all.
I'm sure that a lot of people use it for nefarious purposes. Adobe would be hard-pressed to make an application that's useful and yet could hinder people's evil plans for it. So they leave that to the user and the criminal justice system - as it should be.
Same thing with P2P networks. They just didn't realize how very many people are willing to bend or break the law given the chance. What, they thought everyone's basically GOOD at heart? SUCKER! P2P networks are handy. They have legitimate uses. The most valuable one to me is that heretofore unknown artists can make their work available and with just a little word of mouth, garner a lot of attention and notice they wouldn't previously have had.
And I think that, more than anything, is the crux of it. The establishment has made hoards of money and holds a lot of power based on the fact that previously it was difficult to even make a minor success of yourself. It was like the old system of banks and checking accounts. You couldn't open an account unless someone vouched for you. Similarly, before computers and the internet took over, you couldn't be a success unless someone already rich and powerful vouched for you. (Or you were extraordinarilly lucky. This wouldn't preclude talent, but any talented artist that was successful under the old system will first admit they were lucky to get there.) Frankly, it's mostly the same now, but it's changing. Bands are putting songs they can't get onto the radio on their websites. Videos MTV won't let you see are available online. I don't have to listen to KROQ's corporate-sanctioned IDEA of alternative rock - I can listen to KEXP Seattle right through my computer. Rather than wait several weeks for the "official" release, people globally can get the media they want today. I no longer get suckered into paying $16-18 for a whole CD of crap when all I wanted was one song that frankly, I'd be sick of in three weeks flat anyway. Wifey and Hubby get 10-20,000 subscribers a month and they have a nice house and take fabulous trips. Mark one for everyone.
Early in my Internet days I realized the great thing about it was, that with a little know how, a small investment, and a few ideas, anyone could make a few bucks. Some with better ideas would make a whole lot more. Sure enough a lot of people, it turns out, were actually quite willing to take their clothes off and start inserting all manner of objects in front of a camera - if they got paid for it. Did anyone realize how many whores there were out there before it became so easy to set up a subscription site? The free market used to be such a sacred cow with the conservatives. Suddenly they've had the rose-tinted glasses removed and realized the cow's a three-input bovine and they freak out and start legislating the use of inputs.
OK, I ramble, I get off topic. Score me a -1. But the point is, they see things getting out of control. They see their precious status-quo shaken. And rather than adapt and take this opportunity to finally and truthfully get to know their audience for the slightly-slimey and occasionally downright dirty hos they are, they freak out and start taking liberties away. They only way they can see to staunch the flow of blood is to put a tourniquet on technological advances.
We've got to stop this crap or else we're doomed to live with Brittany Spears and her ilk forever.
Yeah, but you also have Slashdot id in the 100 thousands. I had no idea what Ogg Vobis was the first time I saw it mentioned on Slashdot and I still don't except from the context other Slashdot users mention it in. I'd guess that anyone who does know what it is, has a Slashdot ID. How many iPod owners do, though?
I can't get upset if I can't find Jones Juice in Pavilions or Trader Joes - It's great juice, but it's hard to find support for my habit. I knew that going in.
I love this community, but sometimes it's a lot like New York: Thinking it's the world.
Actually, I have the opposite experience. I've been creating a lot of webpages using xhtml transitional and they always preview as expected in Safari, usually as expected in Mozilla, and are completely HOSED in IE Mac. I'm constantly having to re-tool, rethink, or otherwise add in IE hacks to make the things work. Also, it's very rare that Safari incorrectly renders a page when I'm browsing the web. The only occasions this ever happens to me is if the site relies heavilly on Javascript optimized for IE. Some Javascript-heavy sites work fine, so I know it's not just Safari not playing nice with Javascript. On the other hand, I've had serious issues with IE's poor interpretation of CSS. It's unpredictable (at least to my simple mind) and makes a gorgeous site look awful. If it weren't for the fact that I have to design for customers so that I get paid, I'd say to hell with IE and it's users.
I can do you one better - I once bought a $20 pair of speakers from them. The guy helping me said he wouldn't bother offering the service plan (even though he was supposed to) because the service plan was $20. We had a bit of a laugh over that one.
When I went to check out, though, the cashier offered me the plan. I pointed out that the plan cost the same as the speakers and she said, "Yes, but if they break you can replace them for free."
I pointed out that I could just buy them now for $20, no service plan, and IF they broke, I could come back and buy new ones and still come out even. That's IF they broke. Chances were, I'd buy a better stereo for the car before they broke and then I'd want better than $20 speakers.
She still didn't get it and she kept trying (somewhat angrily at this point) to push the service plan on me. At that point I left the whole transaction with my husband and walked out.