Most of the everyday tasks, like homework and job search, have migrated to the Web as well.
When I graduated and was planning on moving to a new area, I did about the most thorough internet job search I can imagine. It came up with very little of relevance to anything I wanted to do. I applied for a couple horribly boring jobs, and thankfully didn't get them. I ended up getting the job I have now by plodding around in the January frost looking for places I would like to work.
Of course, now that I have a job and learn about other interesting-sounding places, I've realized that you really just have to look at the web pages of specific companies, which might be hard for graduates without a good frame of reference (i.e. already being in the industry) to locate. On the whole, I've found sites dedicated to job searching to be utterly worthless.
If only Wal-mart would be so responsible as to admit their mistakes.
Like EA, Wal-mart took great pains to deny its workers overtime (or promotion, if you happen to be female), and like EA they were eventually called out on it. Unlike EA, they are maintaining that it is necessary to their business model of offering a gallon jar of pickles for $3 that they not deviate from paying minimum wage. And if the employees don't get the store cleaned up in their allotted time slot, well then they better not object to working the overtime for free.
So, really, props to EA for admitting they were wrong. Publicity stunt or no, they've done something not every company is willing to do and should be lauded for that.
Sending spam to my email account is no different that stealing the stereo from my car.
Well, one difference would be that no amount of spam will cause you to lose physical assets, unless of course you fill in your info on a fake ebay email. I get a lot of spam, too, but I've still got my stereo.
Your point about losing valuable emails in the midst of spam is well taken. But most spam is pretty easy to spot and shouldn't be much trouble to weed out.
While this argument certainly has merit, I would say just because a practice has "stood the test of time" does not necessarily mean it is a good practice. Another way to describe such a practice would be "stagnant."
I work for a publisher, and we send out targeted marketing mail. We consider a.05% return to be successful. I have to think there's a more efficient, cost effective way. I don't know what that might be (it's not something I've studied, or have any particular interest in studying), but there's got to be one. And no, it's not spam.
I'm no fan of spam, but really how much of an inconvenience is it to delete unwanted email? I wish more effort would be put into stopping Chase and Discover from sending me credit card offers through the post every day of the week.
Physical spam is actually more of a nuissance IMO because it is wasteful of real resources and takes up space in my trash bin (requiring me to empty it more frequently, requiring me to buy more trash bags). Also, I live in an apartment building in which the communal area is regularly a trash heap from tenants who refuse to take their unwanted flyers and catalogues with them when they retrieve their mail.
Wow, I'm actually rather shocked nobody's tried this before. It's a famous bit of trivia that da Vinci "invented" the helicopter, it was only a matter of time (~500 yrs) before somebody set his theories into practice.
TiVo's the killer
on
The VHS is Dead
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· Score: 3, Insightful
Yep, hard drive-based recorders pretty much put the nail in the coffin. Easy to use, better features-TiVo and its ilk removed the last viable argument for keeping the VHS format alive.
I, of course, still have mine around. I already pay enough for TV services without a monthly DVR bill... (grumble, grumble)
When a private entity owns something, decisions are made based on the ideals of the private entity. If you don't like the decisions made about the resource,
you can buy your own.
Can I really? But what if other "private entities" whose ideals I don't like have bought up all the "resource" and charge more than I can afford for a piece of my own?
I'm not exactly happy with how the current US government is handling certain publicly-owned commodities, like air, water, and national parkland, but I sure as hell don't want them privatized.
Well, for one, if someone is waving around a digital camera it's pretty obvious what they're doing. If I wander around a clothing store pushing buttons on a cell phone I might be trying to find a phone number or I might be manoeuvering to take photos into the dressing room.
I hear a lot of whining but no better suggestions. Jamming cell phones would put a financial burden on shops (and homeowners?) and it's unlikely everywhere would bother with it. Could just ban phones in those stores altogether, but again there's the matter of enforcement.
Maybe cell phone manufacturers should just install a wolf-whistle that goes off whenever you take a picture.
... is to sell advertising. Although it runs contrary to how we as consumers think, the TV was invented as an advertising tool. How do you get people to watch commercials? Sandwich them between entertainment segments.
The advent of TiVo undermined this quite a bit, of course, which is why there's a bit of backlash now. Again, I think more people are in it to save time (although there is that "skip annoying commercials" aspect to it...), but circumventing advertisements that pay for the shows you enjoy is a bit of a grey area.
Also interesting is that TFA doesn't make it clear whether the banner ads will be equivalent to the commercial being skipped over, which would raise some issues if advertisers making payments to TiVo overruled those who had paid for a certain time slot. Even if the ads=the commercials, there is some question of who will end up profiting from the exposure-Should Tivo share its money with NBC because one of its banner ads was triggered by a commercial broadcast during one of NBC's programs?
So when can I expect to see this for Mac? Another five years or so? Awesome.
Seriously, I love HL in college (and HL2 was first meant to come out in my junior year...) but I can't imagine it being as much fun without being able to hear friends shouting four letter and extended four-letter words across three floors of dorm.
I'm not so sure the PSX was inferior to the N64. They specialized in very different types of games-when a game existed for both platforms it tended to look better on the N64, but I've been given to understand that the major reason Squaresoft jumped to Sony was that Final Fantasy VII would not have been possible on Nintendo's system.
I've seen pictures, sometime a while back, of what FF7 on N64 would look like, but can't find them now. Here's an article about it instead.
Although minidisk failed miserably in its initial launch, it experienced a bit of a resurgence among aspiring musicians and is still used pretty widely by that set.
Don't ask me for details, I can't even play kazoo.
The preorder ship date for all of the games on Ebgames has been creeping up one day at a time since the system was announced. It's been quite funny to watch.
I wouldn't bet on seeing any of these games in December, since the US launch (still unannounced) is thought to be around March.
I don't know if I trust a Sim with the issues, but perhaps MMORPG worlds could stage elections with "stand in" characters for the candidates. Perhaps these characters could even explore issues that their real-life counterparts try to avoid.
Game players could vote for their candidate in the world of Vana'diel or wherever, which would get them more interested in the *real* elections.
I'm pretty sure this is mentioned in the Gmail FAQ that, when this feature was added, it would only be free for a little while. I'm fine with that. Most other free email services have "premium" upgrades, which has puzzled me-if I wanted to pay for an email service, it sure as hell wouldn't be Hotmail!
I'm more interested to learn when/if Gmail will be compatible with Thunderbird, and how much that will cost...
The DS is shaping up to be an interesting experiment, if nothing else. I'm not convinced all of its "innovations" will make for a better gaming experience, but portable online gaming is certainly a step in the right direction.
Although it is strange that the big N consistently derides online gaming in its home consoles but will embrace it for the new portable...
McSweeneys.net has a section titled "Open Letters to People or Entities Unlikely to Respond." This is longer than the typical McSweeney's letter, but with the same sensibility. Check it out for a laugh.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course, now that I have a job and learn about other interesting-sounding places, I've realized that you really just have to look at the web pages of specific companies, which might be hard for graduates without a good frame of reference (i.e. already being in the industry) to locate. On the whole, I've found sites dedicated to job searching to be utterly worthless.
Like EA, Wal-mart took great pains to deny its workers overtime (or promotion, if you happen to be female), and like EA they were eventually called out on it. Unlike EA, they are maintaining that it is necessary to their business model of offering a gallon jar of pickles for $3 that they not deviate from paying minimum wage. And if the employees don't get the store cleaned up in their allotted time slot, well then they better not object to working the overtime for free.
So, really, props to EA for admitting they were wrong. Publicity stunt or no, they've done something not every company is willing to do and should be lauded for that.
Your point about losing valuable emails in the midst of spam is well taken. But most spam is pretty easy to spot and shouldn't be much trouble to weed out.
I work for a publisher, and we send out targeted marketing mail. We consider a .05% return to be successful. I have to think there's a more efficient, cost effective way. I don't know what that might be (it's not something I've studied, or have any particular interest in studying), but there's got to be one. And no, it's not spam.
Physical spam is actually more of a nuissance IMO because it is wasteful of real resources and takes up space in my trash bin (requiring me to empty it more frequently, requiring me to buy more trash bags). Also, I live in an apartment building in which the communal area is regularly a trash heap from tenants who refuse to take their unwanted flyers and catalogues with them when they retrieve their mail.
Wow, I'm actually rather shocked nobody's tried this before. It's a famous bit of trivia that da Vinci "invented" the helicopter, it was only a matter of time (~500 yrs) before somebody set his theories into practice.
I take it you didn't pick up the lovely "Cow flavored" iMac, then?
Does this make the iPod a gateway Mac?
I, of course, still have mine around. I already pay enough for TV services without a monthly DVR bill... (grumble, grumble)
I'm not exactly happy with how the current US government is handling certain publicly-owned commodities, like air, water, and national parkland, but I sure as hell don't want them privatized.
I hear a lot of whining but no better suggestions. Jamming cell phones would put a financial burden on shops (and homeowners?) and it's unlikely everywhere would bother with it. Could just ban phones in those stores altogether, but again there's the matter of enforcement.
Maybe cell phone manufacturers should just install a wolf-whistle that goes off whenever you take a picture.
The advent of TiVo undermined this quite a bit, of course, which is why there's a bit of backlash now. Again, I think more people are in it to save time (although there is that "skip annoying commercials" aspect to it...), but circumventing advertisements that pay for the shows you enjoy is a bit of a grey area.
Also interesting is that TFA doesn't make it clear whether the banner ads will be equivalent to the commercial being skipped over, which would raise some issues if advertisers making payments to TiVo overruled those who had paid for a certain time slot. Even if the ads=the commercials, there is some question of who will end up profiting from the exposure-Should Tivo share its money with NBC because one of its banner ads was triggered by a commercial broadcast during one of NBC's programs?
Thank Christ I'm not in advertising!
So when can I expect to see this for Mac? Another five years or so? Awesome.
Seriously, I love HL in college (and HL2 was first meant to come out in my junior year...) but I can't imagine it being as much fun without being able to hear friends shouting four letter and extended four-letter words across three floors of dorm.
Duh indeed. I would maintain, though, that the Playstation's lack of cartridge-based limitations kept it from being an inferior product.
Let's /. King George's site so Americans can't look at either!
I've seen pictures, sometime a while back, of what FF7 on N64 would look like, but can't find them now. Here's an article about it instead.
Don't ask me for details, I can't even play kazoo.
I wouldn't bet on seeing any of these games in December, since the US launch (still unannounced) is thought to be around March.
"This appears to have come from an Epson C66! Now we just need to track down everybody who got one free with their computer!"
Game players could vote for their candidate in the world of Vana'diel or wherever, which would get them more interested in the *real* elections.
I'm more interested to learn when/if Gmail will be compatible with Thunderbird, and how much that will cost...
Although it is strange that the big N consistently derides online gaming in its home consoles but will embrace it for the new portable...
McSweeneys.net has a section titled "Open Letters to People or Entities Unlikely to Respond." This is longer than the typical McSweeney's letter, but with the same sensibility. Check it out for a laugh.
If it's going to be as far-reaching as the first, we might have to wait another couple thousand years.
Although I am rather anxious to see Jews... in... SPAAAAAAAAAACE!