And Microsoft's innovations always seem to hurt the consumer in the long run. Granted, they have made some significant contributions and ideas to the software industry, but MS seems more concerned about catering to the companies that demand to impose regulations on digital media (**AA, et al.) while most of the open-source and freeware community listens to their users and tries to help them all the more, instead of partially helping, and partially hating.
I suppose I just prefer unconditional love, than a love-hate relationship.
Well, this is probably going to come off as sounding idiotic, especially here on Slashdot, but it's been reccomended to me by many employees of HP (Parent works there as a Mech Engineer), and a couple in-town software companies that I should head into business. Now, I'm by no means a smart cookie, I didn't even make it out of high school with a math higher than our final algebra class (read: not calc/pre-calc), so this may be a better choice for me than the general super geniuses we have running around here; but is the tech firm in a decline? I keep on reading that a company can hire an Indian programmer for less than a US one and still get equal or better results. Same goes with EE's, ME's, and tech support (besides the accents, Dell decided to keep some call centers in the US due to customers not being able to understand them, IIRC). So, my question is this: With all the layoffs that keep coming at most tech firms, is it a good idea to get involved with a degree that may only last one a decade or so? Or do the majority of you predict this is as bad as it's getting, and the US tech firm biz has been getting better? It doesn't really matter to me, I suppose- I wouldn't stand a chance at most jobs Slashdotters want to get into; heck, I'm thinking of taking up a career at McDonalds, if my current job proves to be something that I would like to do. (They offer a thing where they can actually pay for my schooling, as long as I decide to stay in the company, et al.) And while many will scoff, I know that there will always be a job there for me. And apparently it's not too hard to move up into corporate after you've had enough experience in the restraunt. I guess it simply comes down to job security for me. Do the majority of/.'ers care about Security, or do you all want to try switching around a lot? And I realise this is a pretty big generalization, so I welcome any input into the subject, especially those who are already in tech careers that are paying off right now.
Metroid Prime Hunters? Better played with the stylus? You obviously haven't played the game that much. It's totally unplayable with the stylus. More than five minutes of gameplay using it makes me want to throw my DS across the room. The wrist strap is inherently better on most games (minus Warioware and the like, for obvious reasons). It just takes a little getting used to.
Is either having VNC installed or Remote Desktop Connection enabled so I can help them when and wherever I am. Why in the world would I want them to spend a monthly subscription on a PC that they really can't do much with? I can build them a decent computer for around $300, and if they ever have a problem or a question, they always can come to me. Besides, my grandparents utilise their CD-Burner, and they like to install new software, like Microsoft Word, Quicken, or some other such office program from time-to-time.
Actually, the Gasoline + Heat chemical reaction produces water as one of its' main by products. The only problem is it produces an assortment of other toxic gasses, but mainly carbon monoxide. So, when Hydrogen really does come around, you'll be seeing that same cloud coming out of everybody's exhaust pipes on a brisk winter day.
Seems to me that the only thing, if anything happens legally, will be a simple smack on the wrist, like a $50 fine or something. I doubt there will be arrests, kids getting thrown in jail and the like; it's much more likely to be a 'I wouldn't want that letter in my PO Box..' type thing. And for people outside the US, meh, we'll just keep on banning. There's also a few interesting ideas about a counter-attack script type thing floating around, but only has as much credibility as any other rumor, I suppose.
I recently read that Bill Gates has the most spammed e-mail address in the world. Microsoft is simply following a game-plan to sue all the spammers that aggravate Mr. Gates.
Well, I've been looking around at the official site, (Flash-based.. Eugh!) and it seems that they have some screenies taken directly from the in-game level available for you to look at. Not amazingly impressive, but definetely an upgrade to current consoles.
Check them out at the official site.
Not readily available on the market as of yet, but in the next month or two, you will be seeing nForce4 boards that support PCI-E and some of them even support SLI. Obviously, SLI isn't an ATi thing, yet.. But, just so you know.
Correct, there are systems in place that can detect gunshots and make an approxomation of where the shooting took place, but according to the article:
"A microphone surveillance system now is using his insights to recognize - instantly, and with high accuracy - the sound of a gunshot within a two-block radius. The system can then locate, precisely, where the shot was fired, turn a camera to center the shooter in the camera viewfinder and make a 911 call to a central police station."
So, this system can locate exactly where a shot was fired, as well as turn local cameras in the area of the shot towards the shooter.
Think about it. Since this will most likely be deployed by cities, therefore big brother / government, there isn't going to be just *one camera. Thank you, George Orwell.
I don't give a rat's ass about the online experience, as I usually only play the single-player campaign in my games. I wouldn't mind having steam on my computer to play multiplayer, but when I need to have it on my PC just to play the single player campaign, it's a whole different fucking ball game. Let me play the single-player game that *I* purchased legitimately without an internet connection. Is that so damn hard for Valve to grasp?
While I think all these benchmarks that are being used on the big sites like [H]ard|OCP, Anandtech, and Extremetech are a big part of an overall score when it comes to deciding what to buy and what not to buy; but when it comes to the people that use Photoshop, Premiere, and the other numerous digital content creation applications out there, they're pretty much left in the cold, and then buy a Mac because they know Macs perform these functions excellently. Is it possible for Adobe to make a benchmark based on Premiere or Photoshop? Anywho, this is getting off-topic..
I'd like to see if this chip outperformed the AMD competitors in this arena. Don't get me wrong, I love AMD, I'd just like to see a bit more of the story.
Well, theoretically, since you already know how to send and recieve messeges, as well as turn the service on and off, when you're over at a friend's house on a LAN, or at nearly any LAN, for that matter, you could always instruct the people on how to turn it back on and use it. That way, there's no spam by default, and if the service is necesary, it's nearly painless to turn it on.
Besides, not many 'layman' users are going to know what the Windows Messenger Service is, what it does, or how to turn it off. I believe this is why it has been since changed to be off by default, since Windows is still made to be used by my grandparents and good ol' Janitor Joe from across the street.
So, this kid gets a free video game for being stupid? While it sucks this happened to him, I still don't think he should be rewarded for it. If anything, it calls for a long talking-to from his parental units about how dumb it is to impersonate movies.
While I didn't like Interplay for their business tactics or their snotty reputation, I do feel extremely sorry that the people of Interplay have lost their jobs. My dad works at HP, and he barely escaped with his job intact. For those of you happy to see Interplay go, consider this: What if you/your family lost a prominent job like that? Would you be happy? Would you be even happier that people were cheering your demise? I certainly think not. I'm able to live in my house, visit slashdot as much as I want, and eat when I want, because of my dad's job at HP. These people that just got fired from Interplay deserve at least a little respect. There may even be some slashdotters out there who can offer these guys a temporary job.. I certainly hope the gamer/nerd community comes together for these employees of a once-great company. They deserve it.
I agree. Companies like getting money back on their hard work in R&D, but, as has always been my view, there are always going to be people that want the latest and greatest. I believe these companies know this, and have known it for quite some time. I may not buy an OLED display now, but there's going to be plenty of people out there who rush out with their loads of cash for them. Besides, each product that a company comes out with is a risk; OLED's are obviously no exception. But, I believe that when someone stumbled on this, they knew it was groundbreaking, and would probably become the main technology to replace computer screens, TV's, etc. Not to mention all the money they had already lost if everyone took on my stance- Kodak and DuPont have put a ton of money into OLED's, even months before a retail priduct was in the works. I highly doubt that they'll just abondon it if no one buys the first generation of products. I've seen it happen: Like I said before: Just look at Wi-Fi. There were people extremely eager to get wireless networking right when it came out, and bought the first generation of products. I waited until it eventually got cheaper, easier, and better before I finally put up the cash to put wireless networking in my home. It will be the same thing with OLED's. It was/is the same thing with Athlon 64's, it will be the same thing with PCI-Express. The cycle goes on and on, and it shows no sign of stopping.
I've been building computers for quite some time now, and am very glad AMD has prospered with their Athlon 64 line. And, as I've seen with nearly any computer part, this is just the next (if not final) phase of maturity that Athlon 64 will go through. The technology is getting more powerfull, as well as less expensive. And, since this socket will most likely be put on chipsets with PCI-Express and DDR2 support, I think this is a very good time to upgrade. And don't fret- some motherboard manufactures are starting to add backwards-compatibility for AGP and DDR, while adding the new features, such as PCI Express (16x and 1x), and DDR2. I know I'm saving what little cash I have for these products. It's time to upgrade.
While it is nice that the home robotics field is getting some attention, I believe this is a nearly useless device. Most of us (even us uber-geeks) saw our mothers iron clothes once or twice in our lives. I could easily spend $30 on a nice iron, and learn a new ironing technique (Google, anyone?) and iron my clothes from time to time. There is probably a.3% market demand for this robot that simply irons clothes, mainly because of the price and the size.. Seems like an enormous waste of space to me, when an iron is 1/30th of the size, and can fit easily in my closet on a shelf or in a drawer, for that matter. Come on, you researchers: Work on something that I can use in my every day life that will help me, yet won't break the bank. As of yet, I have not seen any robotic piece of equipment that does this. (Don't bother mentioning the robotic vacuum, I've read reviews.)
However, I can't have my post be all negative: I am happy that some research is being put into these things. Once the technology matures, heck.. I may be finding myself buying something similar to one of these. =)
Slashdot Mirror
Pi = 3.
How about bring them back with a geeky Wi-Fi vengeance?
Possibly even attach an LED headband to it to tell others how close to a hotspot they're in. C'mon, I see profits galore!
And Microsoft's innovations always seem to hurt the consumer in the long run. Granted, they have made some significant contributions and ideas to the software industry, but MS seems more concerned about catering to the companies that demand to impose regulations on digital media (**AA, et al.) while most of the open-source and freeware community listens to their users and tries to help them all the more, instead of partially helping, and partially hating.
I suppose I just prefer unconditional love, than a love-hate relationship.
Well, this is probably going to come off as sounding idiotic, especially here on Slashdot, but it's been reccomended to me by many employees of HP (Parent works there as a Mech Engineer), and a couple in-town software companies that I should head into business. /.'ers care about Security, or do you all want to try switching around a lot? And I realise this is a pretty big generalization, so I welcome any input into the subject, especially those who are already in tech careers that are paying off right now.
Now, I'm by no means a smart cookie, I didn't even make it out of high school with a math higher than our final algebra class (read: not calc/pre-calc), so this may be a better choice for me than the general super geniuses we have running around here; but is the tech firm in a decline? I keep on reading that a company can hire an Indian programmer for less than a US one and still get equal or better results. Same goes with EE's, ME's, and tech support (besides the accents, Dell decided to keep some call centers in the US due to customers not being able to understand them, IIRC).
So, my question is this: With all the layoffs that keep coming at most tech firms, is it a good idea to get involved with a degree that may only last one a decade or so? Or do the majority of you predict this is as bad as it's getting, and the US tech firm biz has been getting better?
It doesn't really matter to me, I suppose- I wouldn't stand a chance at most jobs Slashdotters want to get into; heck, I'm thinking of taking up a career at McDonalds, if my current job proves to be something that I would like to do. (They offer a thing where they can actually pay for my schooling, as long as I decide to stay in the company, et al.) And while many will scoff, I know that there will always be a job there for me. And apparently it's not too hard to move up into corporate after you've had enough experience in the restraunt.
I guess it simply comes down to job security for me. Do the majority of
For the majority of the pr0n sites out there? I know Googling is much easier (and cheaper).
Metroid Prime Hunters? Better played with the stylus? You obviously haven't played the game that much. It's totally unplayable with the stylus. More than five minutes of gameplay using it makes me want to throw my DS across the room. The wrist strap is inherently better on most games (minus Warioware and the like, for obvious reasons). It just takes a little getting used to.
Is either having VNC installed or Remote Desktop Connection enabled so I can help them when and wherever I am. Why in the world would I want them to spend a monthly subscription on a PC that they really can't do much with? I can build them a decent computer for around $300, and if they ever have a problem or a question, they always can come to me.
Besides, my grandparents utilise their CD-Burner, and they like to install new software, like Microsoft Word, Quicken, or some other such office program from time-to-time.
Actually, the Gasoline + Heat chemical reaction produces water as one of its' main by products. The only problem is it produces an assortment of other toxic gasses, but mainly carbon monoxide.
So, when Hydrogen really does come around, you'll be seeing that same cloud coming out of everybody's exhaust pipes on a brisk winter day.
Seems to me that the only thing, if anything happens legally, will be a simple smack on the wrist, like a $50 fine or something. I doubt there will be arrests, kids getting thrown in jail and the like; it's much more likely to be a 'I wouldn't want that letter in my PO Box..' type thing. And for people outside the US, meh, we'll just keep on banning. There's also a few interesting ideas about a counter-attack script type thing floating around, but only has as much credibility as any other rumor, I suppose.
I recently read that Bill Gates has the most spammed e-mail address in the world. Microsoft is simply following a game-plan to sue all the spammers that aggravate Mr. Gates.
Well, I've been looking around at the official site, (Flash-based.. Eugh!) and it seems that they have some screenies taken directly from the in-game level available for you to look at. Not amazingly impressive, but definetely an upgrade to current consoles. Check them out at the official site.
Believe it or not, this card barely outperforms the X800XT AGP. The only thing this one might do better is with cooling. See for yourself [H]ard|OCP.
Not readily available on the market as of yet, but in the next month or two, you will be seeing nForce4 boards that support PCI-E and some of them even support SLI. Obviously, SLI isn't an ATi thing, yet.. But, just so you know.
Correct, there are systems in place that can detect gunshots and make an approxomation of where the shooting took place, but according to the article:
"A microphone surveillance system now is using his insights to recognize - instantly, and with high accuracy - the sound of a gunshot within a two-block radius. The system can then locate, precisely, where the shot was fired, turn a camera to center the shooter in the camera viewfinder and make a 911 call to a central police station."
So, this system can locate exactly where a shot was fired, as well as turn local cameras in the area of the shot towards the shooter.
Think about it. Since this will most likely be deployed by cities, therefore big brother / government, there isn't going to be just *one camera.
Thank you, George Orwell.
I don't give a rat's ass about the online experience, as I usually only play the single-player campaign in my games. I wouldn't mind having steam on my computer to play multiplayer, but when I need to have it on my PC just to play the single player campaign, it's a whole different fucking ball game.
Let me play the single-player game that *I* purchased legitimately without an internet connection. Is that so damn hard for Valve to grasp?
Indestructable AOL disks.. *Shivers*
While I think all these benchmarks that are being used on the big sites like [H]ard|OCP, Anandtech, and Extremetech are a big part of an overall score when it comes to deciding what to buy and what not to buy; but when it comes to the people that use Photoshop, Premiere, and the other numerous digital content creation applications out there, they're pretty much left in the cold, and then buy a Mac because they know Macs perform these functions excellently. Is it possible for Adobe to make a benchmark based on Premiere or Photoshop? Anywho, this is getting off-topic.. I'd like to see if this chip outperformed the AMD competitors in this arena. Don't get me wrong, I love AMD, I'd just like to see a bit more of the story.
Have you ever heard of something called Skynet?
Well, theoretically, since you already know how to send and recieve messeges, as well as turn the service on and off, when you're over at a friend's house on a LAN, or at nearly any LAN, for that matter, you could always instruct the people on how to turn it back on and use it. That way, there's no spam by default, and if the service is necesary, it's nearly painless to turn it on.
Besides, not many 'layman' users are going to know what the Windows Messenger Service is, what it does, or how to turn it off. I believe this is why it has been since changed to be off by default, since Windows is still made to be used by my grandparents and good ol' Janitor Joe from across the street.
So, this kid gets a free video game for being stupid? While it sucks this happened to him, I still don't think he should be rewarded for it. If anything, it calls for a long talking-to from his parental units about how dumb it is to impersonate movies.
While I didn't like Interplay for their business tactics or their snotty reputation, I do feel extremely sorry that the people of Interplay have lost their jobs. My dad works at HP, and he barely escaped with his job intact. For those of you happy to see Interplay go, consider this: What if you/your family lost a prominent job like that? Would you be happy? Would you be even happier that people were cheering your demise? I certainly think not. I'm able to live in my house, visit slashdot as much as I want, and eat when I want, because of my dad's job at HP. These people that just got fired from Interplay deserve at least a little respect. There may even be some slashdotters out there who can offer these guys a temporary job.. I certainly hope the gamer/nerd community comes together for these employees of a once-great company. They deserve it.
I agree. Companies like getting money back on their hard work in R&D, but, as has always been my view, there are always going to be people that want the latest and greatest. I believe these companies know this, and have known it for quite some time. I may not buy an OLED display now, but there's going to be plenty of people out there who rush out with their loads of cash for them. Besides, each product that a company comes out with is a risk; OLED's are obviously no exception. But, I believe that when someone stumbled on this, they knew it was groundbreaking, and would probably become the main technology to replace computer screens, TV's, etc. Not to mention all the money they had already lost if everyone took on my stance- Kodak and DuPont have put a ton of money into OLED's, even months before a retail priduct was in the works. I highly doubt that they'll just abondon it if no one buys the first generation of products. I've seen it happen: Like I said before: Just look at Wi-Fi. There were people extremely eager to get wireless networking right when it came out, and bought the first generation of products. I waited until it eventually got cheaper, easier, and better before I finally put up the cash to put wireless networking in my home. It will be the same thing with OLED's. It was/is the same thing with Athlon 64's, it will be the same thing with PCI-Express. The cycle goes on and on, and it shows no sign of stopping.
I've been building computers for quite some time now, and am very glad AMD has prospered with their Athlon 64 line. And, as I've seen with nearly any computer part, this is just the next (if not final) phase of maturity that Athlon 64 will go through. The technology is getting more powerfull, as well as less expensive. And, since this socket will most likely be put on chipsets with PCI-Express and DDR2 support, I think this is a very good time to upgrade. And don't fret- some motherboard manufactures are starting to add backwards-compatibility for AGP and DDR, while adding the new features, such as PCI Express (16x and 1x), and DDR2. I know I'm saving what little cash I have for these products. It's time to upgrade.
While it is nice that the home robotics field is getting some attention, I believe this is a nearly useless device. Most of us (even us uber-geeks) saw our mothers iron clothes once or twice in our lives. I could easily spend $30 on a nice iron, and learn a new ironing technique (Google, anyone?) and iron my clothes from time to time. There is probably a .3% market demand for this robot that simply irons clothes, mainly because of the price and the size.. Seems like an enormous waste of space to me, when an iron is 1/30th of the size, and can fit easily in my closet on a shelf or in a drawer, for that matter. Come on, you researchers: Work on something that I can use in my every day life that will help me, yet won't break the bank. As of yet, I have not seen any robotic piece of equipment that does this. (Don't bother mentioning the robotic vacuum, I've read reviews.)
However, I can't have my post be all negative: I am happy that some research is being put into these things. Once the technology matures, heck.. I may be finding myself buying something similar to one of these. =)