Though I hate to prove you wrong, I, a long time Windows advocate, bought a MacBook Pro solely because of Boot Camp. Yes, Boot Camp convinced me to switch.
I found myself in a position that required that I buy a laptop, and intead of going with a boring old Windows box I was able to experiment. I still get the Windows access that my position requires, but I can play around with an entirely new (to me) toy.
I have to agree. I'm not looking for professional level maps. Something simple and tile-based is all most people need. Nothing that I have seen posted here has addressed the issues that I (and apparently Thenomain) find to be most important.
Give me a program that allows the GM to create a map, including creatures, traps, doors, passages, etc. Let the players view the bits of the map (remotely even, possibly through this thing they call the "Internet"?) that I want them to see. Allow the GM to reveal things as we go along.
The closest program I've found is OpenRPG which is good, but not great, and has been promising an update for a while now. I would welcome any suggestions.
That is true, but keep in mind that 4th Quarter numbers are, for some unknown reason, viewed to be the most important by investors. Companys know this, and therefore do whatever they can to make their 4th quarter numbers look nice and shiny. If they are going to discount and dump inventory, chances are they will do it during the first quarter.
Keep in mind that UTD is not the only educational institution that has banned WAP. Dickinson College http://lis.dickinson.edu/AboutLIS/Policies/wireles s.htm here in Pennsylvania is, I imagine, one of many others. It may be a small little place, but we should be just as worried. It would be a shame if the enforcement of it's WAP policy were to be used as precedent. Yes, it violates federal law, but I'm not sure how much it would take to convince the FCC (either current or Kerry's) that the college was right and law had to be changed... Does anyone know of other institutions that have violated this law?
Seeing this post, I was reminded of the offices in which I work. The company is SEI Investments, and its campus has won many awards for architecture and design. On top of that, Fortune magazine has ranked it number 26 in its "Top 100 Companies to Work For" list. Allow me to list some basic features of our offices.
Artwork: The company has hired a part time curator to bring in new art exhibits. There is not a place in the building that does not display some series of sculptures, paintings, photographs, or whatever. All of it is modern art, so although everyone may not appreciate it, it certainly makes for good conversation.
Furniture: All of our furniture is on wheels. The desks, the cabinets, the chairs (yes, Aeron), the printers, etc. All of the office spaces are completely open. No one has an office, including the CEO of the company. Yes, it can make things a bit noisy, but in the end it is white noise and easy to ignore.
Technology: The computers we use are not outstanding, but they let us get our work done, and are suited to our needs. For those of us to work with spreadsheets, they are enough to run Excel, Outlook, and other programs just fine, but you'd never be able to get a decent game running on one of them. Yes, we use the Microsoft Office suite. No, I do not care about how much better Linux is, and I don't think that we are looking to move to an open-source system. Take that argument up with someone else, in some other post. We use all of the features that Office, particularly Outlook, offers to us. Conference rooms are booked through Outlook, and schedules are visible to anyone with a company e-mail address, making it easy to pencil in meetings. VoIP phones make up our telecommunication network, allowing cheap local and long distance calls to our clients.
Food: Everyone has access to some standard office kitchen with soda machines, microwaves, a fridge, etc. We also have a cafeteria open, preparing fresh food for breakfast, lunch, and late lunch. No, it is not free. This is not the dot-com boom anymore. We do not have excess money to spend on things like free espresso machines, etc. However, all of the food is subsidized. For example, a (good) cheese steak, french fries, and soda will run you $5. We are not talking about small portions, either.
Dress: The dress is business casual. The only people I have seen wearing a tie are people coming in to interview for a job. Well, and our CEO - he is apparently fond of bow ties. Friday's are jeans day. All of this keeps the atmosphere comfortable, and can really help blur the line between peons and upper-management in a very good way.
Location: We are about 30 mintues north-west of Philadelphia, just a minute off 422. I could not find a good picture of the campus to share, so you may have to do some Googling of your own.
I am sorry for going on like this, but I wanted to put it out there that an outstanding office was very doable.
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Wii Fit. If you're a geek looking for a half-way decent workout at home, that'll fit the bill quite nicely.
Though I hate to prove you wrong, I, a long time Windows advocate, bought a MacBook Pro solely because of Boot Camp. Yes, Boot Camp convinced me to switch. I found myself in a position that required that I buy a laptop, and intead of going with a boring old Windows box I was able to experiment. I still get the Windows access that my position requires, but I can play around with an entirely new (to me) toy.
Give me a program that allows the GM to create a map, including creatures, traps, doors, passages, etc. Let the players view the bits of the map (remotely even, possibly through this thing they call the "Internet"?) that I want them to see. Allow the GM to reveal things as we go along.
The closest program I've found is OpenRPG which is good, but not great, and has been promising an update for a while now. I would welcome any suggestions.
That is true, but keep in mind that 4th Quarter numbers are, for some unknown reason, viewed to be the most important by investors. Companys know this, and therefore do whatever they can to make their 4th quarter numbers look nice and shiny. If they are going to discount and dump inventory, chances are they will do it during the first quarter.
Keep in mind that UTD is not the only educational institution that has banned WAP. Dickinson College http://lis.dickinson.edu/AboutLIS/Policies/wireles s.htm here in Pennsylvania is, I imagine, one of many others. It may be a small little place, but we should be just as worried. It would be a shame if the enforcement of it's WAP policy were to be used as precedent. Yes, it violates federal law, but I'm not sure how much it would take to convince the FCC (either current or Kerry's) that the college was right and law had to be changed... Does anyone know of other institutions that have violated this law?
Artwork: The company has hired a part time curator to bring in new art exhibits. There is not a place in the building that does not display some series of sculptures, paintings, photographs, or whatever. All of it is modern art, so although everyone may not appreciate it, it certainly makes for good conversation.
Furniture: All of our furniture is on wheels. The desks, the cabinets, the chairs (yes, Aeron), the printers, etc. All of the office spaces are completely open. No one has an office, including the CEO of the company. Yes, it can make things a bit noisy, but in the end it is white noise and easy to ignore.
Technology: The computers we use are not outstanding, but they let us get our work done, and are suited to our needs. For those of us to work with spreadsheets, they are enough to run Excel, Outlook, and other programs just fine, but you'd never be able to get a decent game running on one of them. Yes, we use the Microsoft Office suite. No, I do not care about how much better Linux is, and I don't think that we are looking to move to an open-source system. Take that argument up with someone else, in some other post. We use all of the features that Office, particularly Outlook, offers to us. Conference rooms are booked through Outlook, and schedules are visible to anyone with a company e-mail address, making it easy to pencil in meetings. VoIP phones make up our telecommunication network, allowing cheap local and long distance calls to our clients.
Food: Everyone has access to some standard office kitchen with soda machines, microwaves, a fridge, etc. We also have a cafeteria open, preparing fresh food for breakfast, lunch, and late lunch. No, it is not free. This is not the dot-com boom anymore. We do not have excess money to spend on things like free espresso machines, etc. However, all of the food is subsidized. For example, a (good) cheese steak, french fries, and soda will run you $5. We are not talking about small portions, either.
Dress: The dress is business casual. The only people I have seen wearing a tie are people coming in to interview for a job. Well, and our CEO - he is apparently fond of bow ties. Friday's are jeans day. All of this keeps the atmosphere comfortable, and can really help blur the line between peons and upper-management in a very good way.
Location: We are about 30 mintues north-west of Philadelphia, just a minute off 422. I could not find a good picture of the campus to share, so you may have to do some Googling of your own.
I am sorry for going on like this, but I wanted to put it out there that an outstanding office was very doable.