I've been thinking on and off about replacing my old Thinkpad A31 -- it's a good machine but the battery (I'm on my second battery) is just about shot and replacing the darn thing is going to be anywhere from a hundred bucks up, and the extended service warranty pretty much expires at the end of the year. It lacks USB 2 but I've yet to find a need for it -- I carry a Firewire PC card because I do video work -- and as long as I keep the laptop sufficiently cooled it won't overheat doing things like playing Final Fantasy XI.
If I replace this machine I'd like to look into a tablet PC, but the X41 and the Fujitsu T4000 are nearly $2000. Are there any non-HP tablet PCs out there in the sub $1500 range that are good (or at least decent) for replacing my laptop, or should I just stay with what I have?
It was pointed out that Civ for the family is hard because it would require multiple computers. I was in the Discovery Channel Store over the weekend at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and they had Civilization the board game -- I don't know for how many players but it was [obviously] multiplayer and looked a lot like Risk. If it wasn't selling for $49.99 I would've bought it.
If you miss the first airing, you won't see it -- ever -- unless the show goes into syndication or it gets released on DVD. When people are interested in a show, they'll make an effort to watch it on broadcast. Making episodes available commercial free in a lower-quality format results in no lost revenue for the networks, especially if the show will not be aired again for some time. And with the popularity of iPods, it will be much, much easier for someone to get a friend hooked on a show, because all they have to do is have their iPod with them and let them watch. Voila -- another set of eyes to soak in that wonderful commercialism that takes up five minutes of every half-hour of programming.
Re:It's not technology or other things,it's econom
on
TiVo Buries the VCR
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· Score: 1
As you may or may not know, widescreen and cinemascreen exist as they mimic much more accurately the standard viewing ratio of a 2-eyed human being.... despite eyes on the front of our heads, we have a huge peripheral vision and 4:3 causes extreme eyestrain (even if you do not notice it, it's there) due to that fact that it forces your eyes to naturally cross slightly. I now wouldn't be seen dead with a non-widescreen PC monitor as since buying only widescreens, my eyestrain has decreased to zero.
but you'll never hear someone say, "Hey, that 5th episode of Lost was really outstanding, I think I'd like to have a permanent copy of that on my computer."
I'd have to disagree with that. There's one episode of The West Wing I would love to have a copy of, but I'm not willing to buy the entire season on DVD; the one that aired after 9/11 in place of their regularly-scheduled episode, titled "Issac and Ishmael," talking about religious extremism. Granted, one of the cast members notes in the intro that the episode doesn't fall in any particular place in the series -- it's meant to stand alone -- but nonetheless, it's one particular episode that I want to see.
Why should the consumer be forced to buy a product from a second supplier when the original supplier is willing to add that feature on for free?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't OneCare a subscription service, and therefore, requires consumers to pay after a set period of time or once it comes out of beta?
Allows the BBC a much better idea of what people want to watch - rather than relying on proportional figures from viewership boxes, they can directly access what people are watching
I'll disagree with you on that point. They may have exact numbers, but viewership boxes can be placed to record the widest range of their audience as possible; I don't live in the UK but I'm willing to bet that, like the U.S., not everyone has broadband Internet (or a computer, for that matter).
Re:Originality
on
Ask Sid Meier
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Sometimes "sequels," if you will, are redundant and add very little to the original game *cough*Madden*cough*. IMO a sequel or continuation of a game is okay if it doesn't feel like the same game rehashed. I personally haven't played Civ, but seeing magazine ads for Age of Empires 3 make me want to buy it because it's so different from the original AoE (which I still enjoy and occasionally play). This is apparent in the Final Fantasy "series"; yes, there may be eleven FF games (excluding games like Crystal Chronicles and Tactics), with a twelfth in the production pipeline, but each one is different. FF7 != FF8 != FF9 etc. Don't pull an Electronic Arts and give me the same damn football game with updated rosters (which will be outdated soon anyway) year after year after year.
So I am supposed to go out and buy a CD player that is strictly for playing audio CDs, *and* shell out money for these glass disks with holes burned by frickin lasers that don't actually conform to what the standard defines as an audio CD? I claim false advertising.
And as usual, they manage to not only steal the Apple look but do everything to cheapen it and make it look as ugly as possible. Is there really nobody within the Microsoft moloch who has some feeling for style?
I don't see a reason why the PIN couldn't be provided over the phone using this system:
1. Send activation PIN through mail to be used for phone verification.
2. Computer system for phone verification provides the actual PIN over the phone if the phone number where the call originates matches the one on the account and correct activation PIN is provided.
3. If phone # or activation PIN does not match, call is connected to a CSR who must verify the caller's identity before releasing the PIN -- and the PIN is read over the phone by the computer, not the CSR, so they can't steal PINs from the inside.
I would think that this type of a system not only thwarts your average pickpockets and mail thieves, but also more ambitious criminals who are willing to go a step further. You'd have to 1) either fake the originating phone #, 2) break into the owner's home and get the actual PIN using their own phone, or 3) have personal details like last four of a SSN-type number, address, birthdate, etc., and by that time the problem is bigger than a stolen PIN.
Feel free to poke holes and criticise this; I thought of this on a whim and I'm not by any means an expert on security.
I don't have the link to the NYT article, but the jest of it was that EA is in a creative slump; something like all but two of their titles for this year are either annual releases (Madden 2006 et al) or parts of series (LotR games) and/or sequels. That's right, two original titles from EA this entire year.
Those interviewed by NYT had the same reaction to this year's Madden; too much money for a game that's basically a rehash.
I have this second hard drive that alternates between holding my rips of DVDs
Well, no wonder your version of Windows doesn't work. Microsoft could get sued by the MPAA because you're using programs designed for their operating system to violate the DMCA and circumvent DVD copy protection!:p
I'm pretty sure that the MPAA discontinued use of the "X" rating in favor of NC-17 because it doesn't have such a negative connotation to it (NC-17 just doesn't imply "adults-only film" like X does). That's why I said M = R and AO = NC-17 because anyone under 17 can get into a rated R film and buy a rated M game as long as they have someone else with them who is over 17, while anyone under 17 cannot get into an NC-17 film and anyone under 18 cannot buy a rated AO game even if they are with someone who meets the age limit.
Okay, found what I was looking for on Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPAA_film_rating_sys tem and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-rated). The ratings system never officially included "X" and it was never trademarked by the MPAA; it was acknowledged for some time when the pornography industry started using it, but because of the stigma attached to it, MPAA officially trademarked NC-17 and is the only body that can apply that rating to a movie (anyone can call their movie "Rated X" but cannot say it is rated "G," "PG," "PG-13," "R," or "NC-17" as these are the MPAA's trademarks). The highest recognized movie rating, therefore, is NC-17, and the highest recognized game rating is AO.
IMO it's like movies that are rated R and NC-17. Restricted ("R") "requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" under age 17 -- you could theoretically take a six-year-old to see a rated R movie. NC-17 means "no one 17 and under admitted" -- that same six-year-old would not be allowed into that theater, assuming the place upholds the movie's rating. These ratings cite the same age, but one (if it is enforced) places an actual age limit.
M (mature) = R (restricted) AO (adults only, 18+) = NC-17 (no admission under 17)
I'm being nitpicky but I have to point out the problem with this analogy:
Should I be charged twice the parking fee because my 2001 Excursion has twice as many cylinders as the car beside it? I don't think so.
You are not getting more out of your parking space because you have more cylinders. As long as your vehicle fits within that one space, you are using up the same amount of space as a tiny little Honda Civic.
A better analogy would be "Should I be charged a higher toll because my car has twice as many cylinders as the car beside it?" (Assume they have the same number of axles, two.) They are roughly the same size (compared to vehicles with different numbers of axles -- a small desktop compared to a huge Blade or Beowulf cluster) but one could travel quicker with the extra cylinders (do more work than the other). The companies need to charge based on utilization, not on CPUs, with the advent of consumer dual-core CPUs. A consumer may have a dual-core proc but more than likely they won't be trying to push it for commercial purposes, while a server is designed to serve as many people as possible, and usually to generate a profit.
I watched this robot on a Japanese morning news show about a week ago, and I have to admit, it's laughable at best and funny as hell in reality. They put it in a demo mode to show what it does when it detects a theft. It kept following one of the hosts, saying "Thief!" in Japanese at random intervals. Being only two or three feet high doesn't help its case.
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I've been thinking on and off about replacing my old Thinkpad A31 -- it's a good machine but the battery (I'm on my second battery) is just about shot and replacing the darn thing is going to be anywhere from a hundred bucks up, and the extended service warranty pretty much expires at the end of the year. It lacks USB 2 but I've yet to find a need for it -- I carry a Firewire PC card because I do video work -- and as long as I keep the laptop sufficiently cooled it won't overheat doing things like playing Final Fantasy XI.
If I replace this machine I'd like to look into a tablet PC, but the X41 and the Fujitsu T4000 are nearly $2000. Are there any non-HP tablet PCs out there in the sub $1500 range that are good (or at least decent) for replacing my laptop, or should I just stay with what I have?
The one I saw was titled "Sid Meier's Civilzation: The Board Game."
It was pointed out that Civ for the family is hard because it would require multiple computers. I was in the Discovery Channel Store over the weekend at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and they had Civilization the board game -- I don't know for how many players but it was [obviously] multiplayer and looked a lot like Risk. If it wasn't selling for $49.99 I would've bought it.
If you miss the first airing, you won't see it -- ever -- unless the show goes into syndication or it gets released on DVD. When people are interested in a show, they'll make an effort to watch it on broadcast. Making episodes available commercial free in a lower-quality format results in no lost revenue for the networks, especially if the show will not be aired again for some time. And with the popularity of iPods, it will be much, much easier for someone to get a friend hooked on a show, because all they have to do is have their iPod with them and let them watch. Voila -- another set of eyes to soak in that wonderful commercialism that takes up five minutes of every half-hour of programming.
As you may or may not know, widescreen and cinemascreen exist as they mimic much more accurately the standard viewing ratio of a 2-eyed human being.... despite eyes on the front of our heads, we have a huge peripheral vision and 4:3 causes extreme eyestrain (even if you do not notice it, it's there) due to that fact that it forces your eyes to naturally cross slightly. I now wouldn't be seen dead with a non-widescreen PC monitor as since buying only widescreens, my eyestrain has decreased to zero.
Interesting...can you cite a source?
I hate to be OT but...
Just change the VCR channel to "Input" or "Line" and Viola!
Viola is the name of the ficticious woman Shakespeare screwed in "Shakespeare in Love."
My friend made this same mistake but verbally, rather than written -- he [obviously] got a lot of questionable looks.
but you'll never hear someone say, "Hey, that 5th episode of Lost was really outstanding, I think I'd like to have a permanent copy of that on my computer."
I'd have to disagree with that. There's one episode of The West Wing I would love to have a copy of, but I'm not willing to buy the entire season on DVD; the one that aired after 9/11 in place of their regularly-scheduled episode, titled "Issac and Ishmael," talking about religious extremism. Granted, one of the cast members notes in the intro that the episode doesn't fall in any particular place in the series -- it's meant to stand alone -- but nonetheless, it's one particular episode that I want to see.
Why should the consumer be forced to buy a product from a second supplier when the original supplier is willing to add that feature on for free?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't OneCare a subscription service, and therefore, requires consumers to pay after a set period of time or once it comes out of beta?
Allows the BBC a much better idea of what people want to watch - rather than relying on proportional figures from viewership boxes, they can directly access what people are watching
I'll disagree with you on that point. They may have exact numbers, but viewership boxes can be placed to record the widest range of their audience as possible; I don't live in the UK but I'm willing to bet that, like the U.S., not everyone has broadband Internet (or a computer, for that matter).
Sometimes "sequels," if you will, are redundant and add very little to the original game *cough*Madden*cough*. IMO a sequel or continuation of a game is okay if it doesn't feel like the same game rehashed. I personally haven't played Civ, but seeing magazine ads for Age of Empires 3 make me want to buy it because it's so different from the original AoE (which I still enjoy and occasionally play). This is apparent in the Final Fantasy "series"; yes, there may be eleven FF games (excluding games like Crystal Chronicles and Tactics), with a twelfth in the production pipeline, but each one is different. FF7 != FF8 != FF9 etc. Don't pull an Electronic Arts and give me the same damn football game with updated rosters (which will be outdated soon anyway) year after year after year.
So I am supposed to go out and buy a CD player that is strictly for playing audio CDs, *and* shell out money for these glass disks with holes burned by frickin lasers that don't actually conform to what the standard defines as an audio CD? I claim false advertising.
And as usual, they manage to not only steal the Apple look but do everything to cheapen it and make it look as ugly as possible. Is there really nobody within the Microsoft moloch who has some feeling for style?
According to Steve Jobs, no:
You know it's true, it's true you [Bill Gates] have no taste.
To which Gates replied:
Steve, I may have no taste, but that doesn't mean my entire company has no taste.
What is this, a Baskin Robbins?
I don't see a reason why the PIN couldn't be provided over the phone using this system:
1. Send activation PIN through mail to be used for phone verification.
2. Computer system for phone verification provides the actual PIN over the phone if the phone number where the call originates matches the one on the account and correct activation PIN is provided.
3. If phone # or activation PIN does not match, call is connected to a CSR who must verify the caller's identity before releasing the PIN -- and the PIN is read over the phone by the computer, not the CSR, so they can't steal PINs from the inside.
I would think that this type of a system not only thwarts your average pickpockets and mail thieves, but also more ambitious criminals who are willing to go a step further. You'd have to 1) either fake the originating phone #, 2) break into the owner's home and get the actual PIN using their own phone, or 3) have personal details like last four of a SSN-type number, address, birthdate, etc., and by that time the problem is bigger than a stolen PIN.
Feel free to poke holes and criticise this; I thought of this on a whim and I'm not by any means an expert on security.
1015: 20 year anniversary of Windows 95
I think you meant:
1015: 14 year anniversary of Y2K
I don't have the link to the NYT article, but the jest of it was that EA is in a creative slump; something like all but two of their titles for this year are either annual releases (Madden 2006 et al) or parts of series (LotR games) and/or sequels. That's right, two original titles from EA this entire year.
Those interviewed by NYT had the same reaction to this year's Madden; too much money for a game that's basically a rehash.
I have this second hard drive that alternates between holding my rips of DVDs
:p
Well, no wonder your version of Windows doesn't work. Microsoft could get sued by the MPAA because you're using programs designed for their operating system to violate the DMCA and circumvent DVD copy protection!
I'm pretty sure that the MPAA discontinued use of the "X" rating in favor of NC-17 because it doesn't have such a negative connotation to it (NC-17 just doesn't imply "adults-only film" like X does). That's why I said M = R and AO = NC-17 because anyone under 17 can get into a rated R film and buy a rated M game as long as they have someone else with them who is over 17, while anyone under 17 cannot get into an NC-17 film and anyone under 18 cannot buy a rated AO game even if they are with someone who meets the age limit.
s tem and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-rated). The ratings system never officially included "X" and it was never trademarked by the MPAA; it was acknowledged for some time when the pornography industry started using it, but because of the stigma attached to it, MPAA officially trademarked NC-17 and is the only body that can apply that rating to a movie (anyone can call their movie "Rated X" but cannot say it is rated "G," "PG," "PG-13," "R," or "NC-17" as these are the MPAA's trademarks). The highest recognized movie rating, therefore, is NC-17, and the highest recognized game rating is AO.
Okay, found what I was looking for on Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPAA_film_rating_sy
IMO it's like movies that are rated R and NC-17. Restricted ("R") "requires accompanying parent or adult guardian" under age 17 -- you could theoretically take a six-year-old to see a rated R movie. NC-17 means "no one 17 and under admitted" -- that same six-year-old would not be allowed into that theater, assuming the place upholds the movie's rating. These ratings cite the same age, but one (if it is enforced) places an actual age limit.
M (mature) = R (restricted)
AO (adults only, 18+) = NC-17 (no admission under 17)
I'm being nitpicky but I have to point out the problem with this analogy:
Should I be charged twice the parking fee because my 2001 Excursion has twice as many cylinders as the car beside it? I don't think so.
You are not getting more out of your parking space because you have more cylinders. As long as your vehicle fits within that one space, you are using up the same amount of space as a tiny little Honda Civic.
A better analogy would be "Should I be charged a higher toll because my car has twice as many cylinders as the car beside it?" (Assume they have the same number of axles, two.) They are roughly the same size (compared to vehicles with different numbers of axles -- a small desktop compared to a huge Blade or Beowulf cluster) but one could travel quicker with the extra cylinders (do more work than the other). The companies need to charge based on utilization, not on CPUs, with the advent of consumer dual-core CPUs. A consumer may have a dual-core proc but more than likely they won't be trying to push it for commercial purposes, while a server is designed to serve as many people as possible, and usually to generate a profit.
...between their UI design team and their customer feedback team.
Oh wait, they don't have a customer feedback team...and obviously QC will sign off on anything *cough*Windowsingeneral*cough*
I watched this robot on a Japanese morning news show about a week ago, and I have to admit, it's laughable at best and funny as hell in reality. They put it in a demo mode to show what it does when it detects a theft. It kept following one of the hosts, saying "Thief!" in Japanese at random intervals. Being only two or three feet high doesn't help its case.
71% of /. readers say that 87% of /. "news" is not news.
I can see it now...a big red button on the printer labeled "STOP". And when you hit it alarms go off.
I for one welcome our new, confused corporate overlords. McAfee, meet Apple.