There are a lot of PHBs, and retired hippie/yuppie engineers around here that think they're cool by riding those big ol' crates-on-wheels. The motorcycles with full windshield, massive fuel-tank, and 3 or more storage bins on the back... Anyway, i've seen them with a mug of coffee in the cupholder(yes, they have cupholders too!), and chatting away on a handsfree cellphone wired to their helmet. On a side note, I avoid 101 at all costs and take 280 instead. It's more scenic, people drive 60-90mph instead of 1-45mph, the road surface is better maintained, and you don't run over gardening tools that fell out of a Mazda pickup truck being driven by some illegal immigrant. The only downside, is that no matter what lane you get in, there is always one idiot driving under the speed limit that you''l end up behind, but i'll take that over the horrors of 101 any day.
With the current low dollar value, wouldn't it be cheaper for Europeans to buy their PSPs from the US anyway? If you're pissed, just get someone in the states, or an import shop near you, to pre-order all of ours for yourselves! Personally, I'm waiting for the inevitable $50+ price drop that'll probably come in the summer or winter of 2006, and picking up an XBOX and/or PS2 this year to tide me over until the next-gen consoles drop in price as well.
"Now he is trying another venu, Digital Chocolate.. A Pocket-Computer game developer.."
Hmmm, someone that came from someplace once great(EA), started another company and drove it into the ground(3DO), then switched to Pocket Games(Digital Chocolate). Remind you of anyone?
.....John Romero!
Came from someplace once great? (id Software!) Check! Started another company and drove it into the ground? (ION Storm!) Check! Switched to Pocket Games? (MonkeyStone!) Check!
Nichol's Research in Sunnyvale, CA was doing a focus group for them. We got to drive it around the block(literally), and it wasn't all that fun.
-It had no power steering(according to Zap!'s site it's an option)
-It didn't feel like it had power brakes(might've, but it didn't feel like it)
-Rear visibility was blocked by the head rests
-It took damn near 3 seconds for it to change down gears, and 2 seconds to change up(using the manual shift mode)
Lastly, the people overseeing the testdrives, never mentioned that the speedo was in KMH instead of MPH. Thought I was doing 45 in a 25mph zone for a few heart pounding seconds.
I can't remember if this was back in '98 or '99. If they've improved since then, I'd be interested in buying one as a second car for around town, but there's no way in hell I'd get rid of my SUV for one.
...so I can put it on Ebay? Hell, I even have the memory upgrade module(64k???), but the damn thing is only worth pennies! Oh well, there should be a poll asking what system people first learned to program on. I think a lot of people learned to program on a Sinclair in the 80's long before their families ever bought their first PC.
On a side note, could anyone ever get the Monopoly game in the back of the Timex Sinclair manual to work? I must've tried 4-5 times, but no luck.
I was with my parents at a funeral home, scheduling services for my grandfather whom had passed away, and when the director totalled upp the costs it came out to $666 exactly! We added an extra $50 for the priest to "fix" the number and pay for some piece of mind.
There would be no reason to post a sign, if an emergency occured in the theater, everyone would rush to the plentiful emergency exits, where they would be outside and able to use their phones. Your personal life does not take priority over the 100's of people that paid $10 to see, AND HEAR, a goddamn movie/performance.
Yes we are fat, and that's the problem with the Segway, it can't support our weight so we can't buy it! They need to make Segways and Centaurs that can support 350lbs(I weigh 320), so the TRUE geek population can buy them!
"The internet, a global thing, is supposed to make it all better, except that I have to move to a single point in space - California - to make that global revolution happen?"
During the boom, the most common argument that companies made for setting up in Slicon Valley, was that the skill base of the average worker here was much higher than eleswhere. More people here had grown up with computers at home than, argueably, anywhere else(this just happens to be the result of so many tech companies having set up here in the 70's).
During, and after the boom, people around the world realized that the internet was the next big thing and started studying CIS and other tech related fields. Now, it's considered unusual for someone not to have a computer at home, and the average computer skills of people around the world has gone up. As a result, it is now possible to start a tech related company elsewhere, and have a highly skilled worker base to hire from.
However, many companies still get started here. I would argue that this is becuase, many people here not only have the skills to create UberProduct10k, but also that many people here know what it takes to start a company as a result of experience gained from the boom.
If you want to start a company offering a service people can't live without, how many people in your area will apply for jobs to help you create that service? How many of those that apply will actually have experience creating such services? Do you know of any companies in your area that specialize in helping people fund and start new companies? I'm surrounded by such companies, and by such people.
I'm surprised at your observation of the somewhat transitory natures of friendships here. I've not been here long enough to notice that, so it's interesting. To what would you attribute that?
In my experience, the transitory nature of friendships, is a direct result of the transitory nature of people that come here. I was born and raised in Silicon Valley, and i've seen plenty of people come and go. Many people in IT and other professions move here with the gold-rush mentality that they'll get rich, but in the end they leave. Typically, once they realize they can't afford the quality of life they desire, they'll split.
As a result, I don't put much value in transplants. Why invest(emotionally) in someone that isn't going to stick around? It is much easier to simply make friends with the newest transplant, than to spend time keeping in touch with people that have left. To a great extent it's a "convenience" mentality. It was convenient for me to hang out and shoot the breeze with you, but you've moved on and I've got other things to do.
Of course, i'm glad to see someone again, or send an occasional email, but that doesn't add much value to my immediate life. Whereas, chatting regularly with someone that's still here pays off in employment(job networking), and having someone to hang out with. It would take many years to build a lifelong friendship, but It's a rare thing for someone to work more than 2-5 years at any one company around here.
Well, that's been my experience, but California is an EXTREMELY diverse place. Different people will have different experiences.
The availability of RealPlayer 10 is only useful to a small subset of linux users that have any desire to listen RA feeds. I was personally a subscriber to the Radio OpenPass, but between Bastard-Bush(no jobs=no money) and (Buffering), I got fed up and dropped it. The ads never bothered me, although the message center refusing to die did irk me a little.
IMHO the one thing a commercially developed media player needs, to get any notice on Linux is DVD support. It's the one thing all geeks need, and the one thing that would make me eager to download and try out your latest player.
I don't think most people have any desire to download Helix, or anything based on it right now, since they've already got MPlayer/Xine/Etc... isntalled and humming along nicely. About the only thing you can hope for is that enough people will try out your latest player, when it's included free and pre-installed with future linux distros, to make it successful/respected.
"Looks like somebody's got a case of the Munndays."
God no, keep them away from the devs. My last job was nothing but: "What did you do for the weekend?", "(so & so) brought in some (insert random poorly made dip with tortilla chips here) go get some?", "Aren't you gonna get some?", "Go get some?", "Come on, and eat!", and "you're so quiet, say something!!!".
There's nothing worse than a cube with only 2 walls.
I never played any of the games, so I had no bias going in to see it. The entire presentation was captivating, with the only minor flaws being the black-haired(?) one-liner chick, and the poor quality of the laser grid defense thingy. Everything else made sense, and kept me on the edge of my seat. I even bought the soundtrack CD for the movie. It was one of my favorite movies of the year.
The notion of 2 screens is nothing more than a gimmick, but what's most important about this announcement is the specs: 2 processors and up to a gigabit of memory. If the DS is far more powerful than the GBA, it might be worth consideration.
Slashdot Mirror
"On a motorcycle?!"
There are a lot of PHBs, and retired hippie/yuppie engineers around here that think they're cool by riding those big ol' crates-on-wheels. The motorcycles with full windshield, massive fuel-tank, and 3 or more storage bins on the back... Anyway, i've seen them with a mug of coffee in the cupholder(yes, they have cupholders too!), and chatting away on a handsfree cellphone wired to their helmet. On a side note, I avoid 101 at all costs and take 280 instead. It's more scenic, people drive 60-90mph instead of 1-45mph, the road surface is better maintained, and you don't run over gardening tools that fell out of a Mazda pickup truck being driven by some illegal immigrant. The only downside, is that no matter what lane you get in, there is always one idiot driving under the speed limit that you''l end up behind, but i'll take that over the horrors of 101 any day.
With the current low dollar value, wouldn't it be cheaper for Europeans to buy their PSPs from the US anyway? If you're pissed, just get someone in the states, or an import shop near you, to pre-order all of ours for yourselves! Personally, I'm waiting for the inevitable $50+ price drop that'll probably come in the summer or winter of 2006, and picking up an XBOX and/or PS2 this year to tide me over until the next-gen consoles drop in price as well.
-It had no power steering(according to Zap!'s site it's an option)
-It didn't feel like it had power brakes(might've, but it didn't feel like it)
-Rear visibility was blocked by the head rests
-It took damn near 3 seconds for it to change down gears, and 2 seconds to change up(using the manual shift mode)
Lastly, the people overseeing the testdrives, never mentioned that the speedo was in KMH instead of MPH. Thought I was doing 45 in a 25mph zone for a few heart pounding seconds.
I can't remember if this was back in '98 or '99. If they've improved since then, I'd be interested in buying one as a second car for around town, but there's no way in hell I'd get rid of my SUV for one.
Q: What is your annual income, and what makes up that income(ads, freelance projects, donations, book sales...)?
On a side note, could anyone ever get the Monopoly game in the back of the Timex Sinclair manual to work? I must've tried 4-5 times, but no luck.
I was with my parents at a funeral home, scheduling services for my grandfather whom had passed away, and when the director totalled upp the costs it came out to $666 exactly! We added an extra $50 for the priest to "fix" the number and pay for some piece of mind.
There would be no reason to post a sign, if an emergency occured in the theater, everyone would rush to the plentiful emergency exits, where they would be outside and able to use their phones. Your personal life does not take priority over the 100's of people that paid $10 to see, AND HEAR, a goddamn movie/performance.
Yes we are fat, and that's the problem with the Segway, it can't support our weight so we can't buy it! They need to make Segways and Centaurs that can support 350lbs(I weigh 320), so the TRUE geek population can buy them!
If I'm not mistaken, many places(hotels, convention centers, community centers) won't rent space to someone unless they have insurance.
CNN reported that a chainsaw was used in an attack in California today. Something like an ex-husband going after the ex-wife and her boyfriend.
During the boom, the most common argument that companies made for setting up in Slicon Valley, was that the skill base of the average worker here was much higher than eleswhere. More people here had grown up with computers at home than, argueably, anywhere else(this just happens to be the result of so many tech companies having set up here in the 70's).
During, and after the boom, people around the world realized that the internet was the next big thing and started studying CIS and other tech related fields. Now, it's considered unusual for someone not to have a computer at home, and the average computer skills of people around the world has gone up. As a result, it is now possible to start a tech related company elsewhere, and have a highly skilled worker base to hire from.
However, many companies still get started here. I would argue that this is becuase, many people here not only have the skills to create UberProduct10k, but also that many people here know what it takes to start a company as a result of experience gained from the boom.
If you want to start a company offering a service people can't live without, how many people in your area will apply for jobs to help you create that service? How many of those that apply will actually have experience creating such services? Do you know of any companies in your area that specialize in helping people fund and start new companies? I'm surrounded by such companies, and by such people.
As a result, I don't put much value in transplants. Why invest(emotionally) in someone that isn't going to stick around? It is much easier to simply make friends with the newest transplant, than to spend time keeping in touch with people that have left. To a great extent it's a "convenience" mentality. It was convenient for me to hang out and shoot the breeze with you, but you've moved on and I've got other things to do.
Of course, i'm glad to see someone again, or send an occasional email, but that doesn't add much value to my immediate life. Whereas, chatting regularly with someone that's still here pays off in employment(job networking), and having someone to hang out with. It would take many years to build a lifelong friendship, but It's a rare thing for someone to work more than 2-5 years at any one company around here.
Well, that's been my experience, but California is an EXTREMELY diverse place. Different people will have different experiences.
IMHO the one thing a commercially developed media player needs, to get any notice on Linux is DVD support. It's the one thing all geeks need, and the one thing that would make me eager to download and try out your latest player.
I don't think most people have any desire to download Helix, or anything based on it right now, since they've already got MPlayer/Xine/Etc... isntalled and humming along nicely. About the only thing you can hope for is that enough people will try out your latest player, when it's included free and pre-installed with future linux distros, to make it successful/respected.
God no, keep them away from the devs.
My last job was nothing but: "What did you do for the weekend?", "(so & so) brought in some (insert random poorly made dip with tortilla chips here) go get some?", "Aren't you gonna get some?", "Go get some?", "Come on, and eat!", and "you're so quiet, say something!!!".
There's nothing worse than a cube with only 2 walls.
All I ever get are cookies and cash!
This show jumped the shark during the opening song of the pilot episode.
I never played any of the games, so I had no bias going in to see it. The entire presentation was captivating, with the only minor flaws being the black-haired(?) one-liner chick, and the poor quality of the laser grid defense thingy. Everything else made sense, and kept me on the edge of my seat. I even bought the soundtrack CD for the movie. It was one of my favorite movies of the year.
The notion of 2 screens is nothing more than a gimmick, but what's most important about this announcement is the specs: 2 processors and up to a gigabit of memory. If the DS is far more powerful than the GBA, it might be worth consideration.