Personally, I'm happy about this news because my employer buys all desktops and notebooks from Dell
Hey, if your employer buys garbage and is willing to handle the warranty claims, hassle, and aggravation, good for him. BTW- Dell desktops are fine -- I just have had major issues with their low-end notebooks in the past.
I guess there are people who cannot afford a more expensive notebook, as well as people who do NOT need a more expensive notebook.
The issue isn't features. It's fragility and quality, which is lacking on the lower-end Inspirons. As far as affording a notebook, there's an abundance of good used Thinkpads for $500-750 -- why anyone would choose a new crappy Dell instead boggles the mind.
It's time to stop your moaning! And time to start your credit cards!!
I actually do need a new notebook, but there'll be a blizzard in Hell before I buy a low-end notebook from Dell. Too many problems with clients' notebooks and my sister's Inspiron to feel comfortable with that.
Why only ship their most cheaply-made, crappiest notebook with Linux? Are they trying to give Linux a bad rep. by bundling it with that kind of hardware? Dell's higher-end notebooks may be OK, but the $500-600 range Inspirons aren't on that list.
A judge will sometimes accept a 11-1 or (rarely) a 10-2 verdict.
So a judge can basically set aside a jury verdict in Britain and impose his own decision?! In the US, the fraction of a jury required to convict is set down by law, and it's normally a unanimous vote for conviction. I think that only 3 states have allowed non-unanimous verdicts to stand: Oregon, Oklahoma, and Louisiana -- not sure if they still do.
We've had on the spot fines for callign a police horse gay, dropping two crisps, and calling a metal detector a "piece of shit".
What does an "on the spot" fine mean? Do you have to pay it immediately, otherwise you're taken to jail and booked? Sounds like a bad opportunity for bribery and extortion if this is true. Also, can you fight those fines in court, or are they solely at police discretion?
My mother was on a jury who convicted a man of assult. She didn't think he was guilty, but vital CCTV evidence was "lost".
The prosecution didn't prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, yet she voted to convict rather than either convincing the other jurors to acquit or hanging the jury?!? So due to her actions an innocent man (in her opinion) likely spent some time in jail and has a record? Slap her in the face for me -- she just perverted justice completely.
So ultimately, what I think would go a long way to help reduce crime would be to have police officers patrolling on foot, perhaps in pairs and with a patrol car nearby to respond to emergencies.
Or on either bicycles or motor scooters. This has the added advantage that two-wheeled vehicles can actually move faster than cars in congested traffic areas, and their vehicle is always with them. Since they're not encased in a soundproof cage, they're less intimidating to the public IMHO and can actually see and hear more.
There seems to be an underpant gnome gap in the logic regarding cameras. Something like...
1. Cameras record things that happen in public
Totalitarians have learned since the 1950s or so. The totalitarian states that shot and disappeared people wholesale ended up getting overthrown or falling in war eventually (since some of the best military and scientific minds fled the country or ended up arrested).
However, "soft" totalitarianism is also a risk. They don't execute you, they just fine the crap out of you for any actions that violate the social norm, or they waste your time by sending you to "anger management" or "sensitivity" training. Big Schoolmarm rather than Big Brother....
So why do I keep reading that citizens may not film police officers, but the opposite is just peachy?
Outside of a few idiotic jurisdictions (Pennsylvania for one, I think) I don't think that this is true, at least not legally. Then again, cops might just harass you and smash your camera, which is why sending the footage to a secure server in real time via wi-fi link is recommended.
we don't have any room in our jails (see the recent debacle about moving to 'prison ships' as an emergency measure to increase capacity) and so the judges - who are complicit in following 'goverment recommendations' that suggest not putting people in jail - will turn them free with some 40 hours community service at best.
What about just giving immediate punishment for vandalism and minor crimes? Riot after a football match and burn stuff? 5 strokes on the arse with a rattan cane, with jail time being only as appeals and recovery take.
Now, as far as more powerful firepower... an overwhelming guerrilla-style force, such as the "militia" of the United States will not go quitely into the night. Instead, it would trounce the US military if needed be.
Also, who says that people in the military would fight their friends, neighbors, etc. Soldiers aren't raised in a vacuum, and if they're called upon to kill Americans, they probably would rebel.
My Powerbook G4 is the nicest computer I've ever owned
Powerbook G4's are 6-bit too:)
If you're ok with your G4's display, you'll likely be fine with a MacBook. For intensive graphics work, you may want to invest in a high-quality desktop LCD anyway.
You are really run by poorly educated barbarians with suprising amounts of superstition often following an extremely dumbed down religeon that has been perverted to focus a great deal on wealth.
Don't confuse a few vocal morons with all American politicians (or, worse, Americans in general).
Why yes, actually Dell laptops *are* better, if you want better hardware that is.
I've had atrocious experience with the reliability of Dell's laptops. First of all, the cheaper ones come pre-loaded with crap, necessitating a long software removal process after purchase if you want a computer that isn't dog-slow. Time is worth something too, remember.
My sister's Dell laptop had to go back to Dell 5x for repair. Nipple mouse went crazy, then it was freezing randomly, then the DVD drive broke, then it needed a new HDD, finally it just died. After the fifth time and after she screamed at their support morons for 1/2 hour, they finally sent her a new $4000 high-end Dell. So far this one has been working fine.
A client had a similar experience, though without the free laptop (yet).
... there are so many people willing to worship at the altar of Steve Jobs, and buy whatever he sells, even if it is crap.
You think that Dell or HP laptops are that much better? At least MacBooks are slim enough to be portable and pretty rugged, unlike the above mentioned brands.
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Not everyone does professional-quality PAPER graphic design. For most Web work, GIMP is just fine.
-b.
And I'll be laughing at you when I buy a better-quality used laptop for $300-400 and install Ubuntu on it.
-b.
Hey, if your employer buys garbage and is willing to handle the warranty claims, hassle, and aggravation, good for him. BTW- Dell desktops are fine -- I just have had major issues with their low-end notebooks in the past.
-b.
The issue isn't features. It's fragility and quality, which is lacking on the lower-end Inspirons. As far as affording a notebook, there's an abundance of good used Thinkpads for $500-750 -- why anyone would choose a new crappy Dell instead boggles the mind.
-b.
"First in the world?" Really?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_of _1917
-b.
I actually do need a new notebook, but there'll be a blizzard in Hell before I buy a low-end notebook from Dell. Too many problems with clients' notebooks and my sister's Inspiron to feel comfortable with that.
-b.
-b.
So a judge can basically set aside a jury verdict in Britain and impose his own decision?! In the US, the fraction of a jury required to convict is set down by law, and it's normally a unanimous vote for conviction. I think that only 3 states have allowed non-unanimous verdicts to stand: Oregon, Oklahoma, and Louisiana -- not sure if they still do.
-b.
What does an "on the spot" fine mean? Do you have to pay it immediately, otherwise you're taken to jail and booked? Sounds like a bad opportunity for bribery and extortion if this is true. Also, can you fight those fines in court, or are they solely at police discretion?
-b.
So they're the equivalent of a "meter maid" (or parking enforcement dude, if you want to be P.C.) in US cities?
The prosecution didn't prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, yet she voted to convict rather than either convincing the other jurors to acquit or hanging the jury?!? So due to her actions an innocent man (in her opinion) likely spent some time in jail and has a record? Slap her in the face for me -- she just perverted justice completely.
-b.
Or on either bicycles or motor scooters. This has the added advantage that two-wheeled vehicles can actually move faster than cars in congested traffic areas, and their vehicle is always with them. Since they're not encased in a soundproof cage, they're less intimidating to the public IMHO and can actually see and hear more.
-b.
1. Cameras record things that happen in public
Totalitarians have learned since the 1950s or so. The totalitarian states that shot and disappeared people wholesale ended up getting overthrown or falling in war eventually (since some of the best military and scientific minds fled the country or ended up arrested).
However, "soft" totalitarianism is also a risk. They don't execute you, they just fine the crap out of you for any actions that violate the social norm, or they waste your time by sending you to "anger management" or "sensitivity" training. Big Schoolmarm rather than Big Brother....
-b.
Outside of a few idiotic jurisdictions (Pennsylvania for one, I think) I don't think that this is true, at least not legally. Then again, cops might just harass you and smash your camera, which is why sending the footage to a secure server in real time via wi-fi link is recommended.
-b.
What about just giving immediate punishment for vandalism and minor crimes? Riot after a football match and burn stuff? 5 strokes on the arse with a rattan cane, with jail time being only as appeals and recovery take.
-b.
Crime has *decreased* in the US over the past 15 years. Why do we need to have more invasive technology now?
-b.
That can always be arranged. 220V across the power adapter input contacts, among other methods....
-b.
Also, who says that people in the military would fight their friends, neighbors, etc. Soldiers aren't raised in a vacuum, and if they're called upon to kill Americans, they probably would rebel.
-b.
Assuming your story is verifiably true, I'd hire you up in NYC.
-b.
Powerbook G4's are 6-bit too :)
If you're ok with your G4's display, you'll likely be fine with a MacBook. For intensive graphics work, you may want to invest in a high-quality desktop LCD anyway.
-b.
Don't confuse a few vocal morons with all American politicians (or, worse, Americans in general).
I've had atrocious experience with the reliability of Dell's laptops. First of all, the cheaper ones come pre-loaded with crap, necessitating a long software removal process after purchase if you want a computer that isn't dog-slow. Time is worth something too, remember.
My sister's Dell laptop had to go back to Dell 5x for repair. Nipple mouse went crazy, then it was freezing randomly, then the DVD drive broke, then it needed a new HDD, finally it just died. After the fifth time and after she screamed at their support morons for 1/2 hour, they finally sent her a new $4000 high-end Dell. So far this one has been working fine.
A client had a similar experience, though without the free laptop (yet).
-b.
Unlikely to be that extreme -- then 90% of all Americans would be on the list and employers would have to hire illegals to take up the slack!
-b.
You think that Dell or HP laptops are that much better? At least MacBooks are slim enough to be portable and pretty rugged, unlike the above mentioned brands.
-b.
I wonder how many politicians or their spouses employ illegal household help. As they say about glass houses and stones...
-b.