Go to Cheapbooks search engine and you find that Amazon seldom has the cheapest books anyway. Just use things like amazon and borders and B&N to use their excellent search facitilies/reviews, get the ISBN number and enter it above. I recently saved $9.50 on a plumbing how-to book I bought. ---
With all the "Magnets as healing" crap ...
on
Moldable Magnets
·
· Score: 5
I'm ready for the "Magna-condom": See Your Sexual Powers Increase Twentyfold! Let the scientifically acclaimed powers of magnets regain some of the "attraction" you've lost! "I can't believe it," said 62-year-old Ed Powers. "I haven't felt this randy since I was 17! I pop it on and 'Poof, we have liftoff, if ya know what I'm saying!'" Only $29.95 for a 6 pack! CALL NOW, 1-800-GET-LIFT ---
I mean, what more can you say? you ROCK! This reminded me of abusing CD's in another way. When I went to school and worked at the campus newspaper, we got a LOT of music cd's for "review." It was cool when you got good ones but there was inevitably a lot of crap. I mean you put it on and listend to three songs, everyone either agreed it sucked or some poor soul took it home. Then we went to the parking lot after the press ran and had "the CD Discus Olympics (open division)". Cd's from the local pressing plant were extremely light and cheap and if you threw 'em high, they would shatter into a goodly number of pieces upon impact with the asphault.....:) ---
I was a journalism major and worked for five years at a 25000 circulation daily in a city of 80,000 in the midwest/south central U.S. The reason I got into newspapers was I thought you made a difference. In reality you don't. General observations about papers:
A Big thing is what Jon mentioned, they still act as if they are in the breaking news bussiness. More analysis, etc. pieces needed, but they are scary for publishers because it blurs the news/opinion line.
This leads to the Really Big Point. Newspapers in particular have been led down a path of "objectivity" in the U.S. mostly because of the constant attacks from the right for "bias." As a result, "objectivity" in U.S. papers has led to what I call "quote counting". Our political reporter at the paper I worked for (who covered state legislature as well), always made sure to present both (i.e., Dem & GOP) sides to an issues, often to the point of counting the number of quotes he gave each side. If a Dem called him with a "story", he called a Republican rep and "got both sides".
What's wrong with that? Well, too often reporters don't do the obvious which is to say "that's crap!". The reason they don't is alluded to above. If a Dem proposes a bill and the reporter does a lengthy investigation, talks with experts, files Freedom of Information requests, etc, all to (ultimately) write a piece that says "this is probably not a good idea is you look at all the facts", they get reamed even if they have a Republican quoted many times in favor of the idea. They get reamed by the GOP, they get reamed by the publisher, etc. Reverse the parties? Doesn't matter (I know the right will hate that). I could take the exact same political story to my rabid GOP booster neighbor and to my left-wing mother and BOTH OF THEM WOULD SAY IT WAS BIASED!
Anyway, so the reporter is not ALLOWED to share the context of the story with the reader. This is what NPR does, for instance, that makes it so good. One reason, I think, is that it is easier for a reporter to use their voice to make a point about whether they believe a person is telling the truth.
Anyway, I've gone on and on here. I'll wrap up with this summary: Papers fall into one of four categories these days:
1. Big city dailies. These are sometimes locally owned, mostly chain. All mass and no substance for the most part. The above, fully research analysis piece would probably get sent back for several rewrites, but published. Unfortunately, it would be buried well in the back and very few people would see it. Note: In a family-owned paper, it would only get published if it jibed with the publisher's political beliefs.
2: Medium size papers, locally owned. The above article would not get published. Locally owned small papers can't afford to piss off ANYONE. They are doing too poorly financially and can't lose advertising revenue. Almost all businessmen of any stature in a medium to small town are active politically (on both sides). They buy the ads. Also, sometimes the publisher's family is split politically, which makes in even worse. The paper I worked at, for instance, could not publish ANY stories on Abortion, because the brothers were split on the issue. POOF! A major issue in America is never mentioned. Isn't the news fun?
3: Medium to small papers, chain owned. The above article would never get written because they would never have someone on staff to do it. Chains cut paper staff to the bone and salaries too. Maybe a talented person is at the paper, but chances are they do a zillion things besides reporting and don't have weeks to spend on a story like that.
4: Alternative weeklies, etc.: The above story would get written if it jibed with the publishers political beliefs, but readership (as opposed to circulation) at these papers is tiny. Very few would read it, and many would reject it's conclusions because the paper is "biased"
I really liked the part about people using studies like these because they feel out of control. I look around and see people who are scared of computers and the 'net all the time. Folks seem to be grasping hard at the illusion of control these days. I was reminded recently of this theme in my favorite book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (you can read it online here.) Every time I read this book I get something new. Now, I get things about programming and computers. Anyway, here's a good quote: That attitude is not hard to come to. You go through a heavy industrial area of a large city and there it all is, the technology. In front of it are high barbed-wire fences, locked gates, signs saying NO TRESPASSING, and beyond, through sooty air, you see ugly strange shapes of metal and brick whose purpose is unknown, and whose masters you will never see. What it's for you don't know, and why it's there, there's no one to tell, and so all you can feel is alienated, estranged, as though you didn't belong there. Who owns and understands this doesn't want you around. All this technology has somehow made you a stranger in your own land. Its very shape and appearance and mysteriousness say, ``Get out.'' You know there's an explanation for all this somewhere and what it's doing undoubtedly serves mankind in some indirect way but that isn't what you see. What you see is the NO TRESPASSING, KEEP OUT signs and not anything serving people but little people, like ants, serving these strange, incomprehensible shapes. And you think, even if I were a part of this, even if I were not a stranger, I would be just another ant serving the shapes. So the final feeling is hostile, and I think that's ultimately what's involved with this otherwise unexplainable attitude of John and Sylvia. Anything to do with valves and shafts and wrenches is a part of that dehumanized world, and they would rather not think about it. They don't want to get into it. ---
Re:Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
on
Brainball!
·
· Score: 2
Or you could just drink a few Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters.....
... like hitting yourself in the head with a slick of lemon wrapped around a very large gold brick. And -- dark I say it -- a drink almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.
Seriously, if there any geeks here who have NOT read the HHGTTG series, you need to. funny stuff. ---
Man, I've went off on this more times then I can count. Many right here on Slashdot.
People look at me like I'm crazy when I say I only want to work 40 hours per week. When I interviewed for my latest job, I said this in interviews, word for word: "If you're looking for somebody to work 45 or 50 hours per week, don't hire me. I have to get home to my real job, being a husband and a father." Result? I'm sure I lost out on some positions. Instead took a job with a consulting firm that now (3 months later) does what? Pressures we to bill more than 40 hours a week!
As for after hours work? I've done it a few times to get something done, but I bill it and try to take comp time. Mostly, I'll surf or play games or study for a certification test if I get on the computer.
We work more hours per year here in the USA than in almost all industrialized nations. And then we wonder why our divorce rate is so high. Why our teen suicide rate is so high. We don't spend time with our families, that's why! When we do get home, we watch something like 30 hours of tv a week, plus we have to work out, 'cause God forbid we're not skinny and perfect!
A freind of mine recently said to me "You're just gonna have to realize that professionals work a lot of hours. That's what we do." This is from a guy having serious marital problems!
I tell ya, my employer clears over $1500 a week beyond my salary easy with me billing 38 hours. They're not hurting. They need to get over it. ---
What do you mean a "real" 450? A PII450 benches about 3 to 5 percent faster than a Celeron bumped to 450. It has a larger cache (512k) than the Celeron's 128K, but the celeron's runs at the chip speed. Multipliers are the same. Actually a 300a celeron bumped to 450 runs about the same benchmarks as a 466 Celeron. Why? The 466 is running at a 66mhz Motherboard Bus speed. The 300 is bumped to 100 mhz, so it's almost a wash. Visiti www.overclocking.com or Tom's hardware to see the above benchmarks. ---
I agree. I used to be a graphic artist. I know there is no such thing as too much speed or RAM for those users. I'm just talking about what I do now. ---
I mean, I can't tell the difference between my Celeron running at 450mhz or 300mhz! I can, I guess, If I turn on the FPS count on games I'm playing (revolt improves noticably). But honestly, I can't detect frame rate changes once it gets above 20 fps. Others can, but I can't.
So why bother? I turn my overclocking down unless I'm gonna 3d render or something....... ---
I thought it was the new MSDE (m$ Data Engine, the single user SQL server that can be installed INSTEAD of Jet on Access 2k with a custom install). In this case the only "user" of the database is Exchange, so it's OK. MSDE is completely file compatible with SQL Server, you can turn a MSDE database to a SQL server just by using SQL's "attach database" statement. I might be wrong. It seems like the feature set of M$ products keeps changing every time I look. First COM+ is part of Win2k, then it's not, then it's back in...... ---
Seriously, Cheap Gigabit ethernet could really help out in the office setting. With Buttloads of server space, you could actually implement those roaming profiles on NT, for instance, without clogging your network to bits. ---
Yep. I agree this is going to be a bigger issue. Here's why:
As more and more "telecommuting" and things like corporations buying computers and real videoconferencing to the home (sponsored by the corporation, of course), become a reality, the boundary between "work" and "home" will fade even more. What if you have your own computer, but your employer provides a high-speed ADSL line as a fringe benefit and to help you telecommute? Are they allowed to sniff packets?
Of course, here in the U.S. we already work more hours a year than in any other industrialized countries. And yet people look at me like I'm nuts when I say I'm not interested in working more than 40 hours a week (especially in this industry) because I have to get home to my real job -- being a husband and a father. An engineer friend of mine recently said "You're just gonna have to learn that you're just gonna have to work 45 or 50 hours a week, 'cause that's what professionals do." This from a guy who is having serious marital problems.... anyway,
This was the point I was trying to make when/. had the recent article about Marathon being Open Sourced. (Which I got reamed for).
Another post below somebody said they can recall details of death matches more than one-player "stories". Well, I don't think that holds true over time. I played a LOT of multiplayer marathon, and while I can recall favorite maps we downloaded and played, I can't recall details of the matches (this was four, five years ago), but I can cite parts of the plot story that was spread out over three parts of Marathon. I can also talk about Sim Cities I built for days. That's the kind of game I like (but I also don't have time for these days, which I guess is why I don't play many games these days).
Oh man, don't open that bag of worms here. Almost all of 'em will tell you Perl or whatever is the same thing/just as good/better.
A lot of these folks just don't understand it. UNTIL YOU HAVE VB, LINUX WILL NEVER HIT THE DESKTOP IN CORPORATE AMERICA. Maybe elsewhere, but not here. ---
I just can't believe that source code wouldn't be considered "speech". In the U.S., the Supreme Court has ruled, at one time or another, that all of the things below are "speech":
Flag Burning. Political contributions. Television commercials. Hair Styles. Nose rings. Bumper stickers. ... ---
I've been following this story with interest. Why can't you guys just build a "real Text" to C converter. You know, turn it into real sentences (just substitute words for command/functions/whatever the hell C uses, spell out numbers etc).
It would seem to me this would clearly bring about the distinction you want. Any restrictions on it would be the same as restricting speech.
Worst case? They hold the "decryptor" is a "cracking tool that exists soley to 'steal' copyrighted material" under those absurd new laws. Fine, put the decryptor on a site in a country that doesn't do patents/copyrights and you're in business. ---
Last year on NBC, 133 million Americans tuned in, and millions more watched in 144 countries around the world. This year, the National Football League expects 800 million world-wide viewers in 180 countries.
1. Commercials are better than the vast majority of PROGRAMMING. And they are almost always better than the actual game.
2. Corporations have no moral, ethicial, or practical need to have "democratic representation." If you don't like the one you work for, start your own!
3. The super bowl is the single most-watched televised event in the world. The author made an assumption that 99% of the people would know the Super Bowl was yesterday. ---
Slashdot Mirror
Go to Cheapbooks search engine and you find that Amazon seldom has the cheapest books anyway. Just use things like amazon and borders and B&N to use their excellent search facitilies/reviews, get the ISBN number and enter it above. I recently saved $9.50 on a plumbing how-to book I bought.
---
I'm ready for the "Magna-condom": See Your Sexual Powers Increase Twentyfold! Let the scientifically acclaimed powers of magnets regain some of the "attraction" you've lost! "I can't believe it," said 62-year-old Ed Powers. "I haven't felt this randy since I was 17! I pop it on and 'Poof, we have liftoff, if ya know what I'm saying!'" Only $29.95 for a 6 pack! CALL NOW, 1-800-GET-LIFT
---
I mean, what more can you say? you ROCK! This reminded me of abusing CD's in another way. When I went to school and worked at the campus newspaper, we got a LOT of music cd's for "review." It was cool when you got good ones but there was inevitably a lot of crap. I mean you put it on and listend to three songs, everyone either agreed it sucked or some poor soul took it home. Then we went to the parking lot after the press ran and had "the CD Discus Olympics (open division)". Cd's from the local pressing plant were extremely light and cheap and if you threw 'em high, they would shatter into a goodly number of pieces upon impact with the asphault..... :)
---
I was a journalism major and worked for five years at a 25000 circulation daily in a city of 80,000 in the midwest/south central U.S. The reason I got into newspapers was I thought you made a difference. In reality you don't.
General observations about papers:
A Big thing is what Jon mentioned, they still act as if they are in the breaking news bussiness. More analysis, etc. pieces needed, but they are scary for publishers because it blurs the news/opinion line.
This leads to the Really Big Point. Newspapers in particular have been led down a path of "objectivity" in the U.S. mostly because of the constant attacks from the right for "bias." As a result, "objectivity" in U.S. papers has led to what I call "quote counting". Our political reporter at the paper I worked for (who covered state legislature as well), always made sure to present both (i.e., Dem & GOP) sides to an issues, often to the point of counting the number of quotes he gave each side. If a Dem called him with a "story", he called a Republican rep and "got both sides".
What's wrong with that? Well, too often reporters don't do the obvious which is to say "that's crap!". The reason they don't is alluded to above. If a Dem proposes a bill and the reporter does a lengthy investigation, talks with experts, files Freedom of Information requests, etc, all to (ultimately) write a piece that says "this is probably not a good idea is you look at all the facts", they get reamed even if they have a Republican quoted many times in favor of the idea. They get reamed by the GOP, they get reamed by the publisher, etc. Reverse the parties? Doesn't matter (I know the right will hate that). I could take the exact same political story to my rabid GOP booster neighbor and to my left-wing mother and BOTH OF THEM WOULD SAY IT WAS BIASED!
Anyway, so the reporter is not ALLOWED to share the context of the story with the reader. This is what NPR does, for instance, that makes it so good. One reason, I think, is that it is easier for a reporter to use their voice to make a point about whether they believe a person is telling the truth.
Anyway, I've gone on and on here. I'll wrap up with this summary: Papers fall into one of four categories these days:
1. Big city dailies. These are sometimes locally owned, mostly chain. All mass and no substance for the most part. The above, fully research analysis piece would probably get sent back for several rewrites, but published. Unfortunately, it would be buried well in the back and very few people would see it. Note: In a family-owned paper, it would only get published if it jibed with the publisher's political beliefs.
2: Medium size papers, locally owned. The above article would not get published. Locally owned small papers can't afford to piss off ANYONE. They are doing too poorly financially and can't lose advertising revenue. Almost all businessmen of any stature in a medium to small town are active politically (on both sides). They buy the ads. Also, sometimes the publisher's family is split politically, which makes in even worse. The paper I worked at, for instance, could not publish ANY stories on Abortion, because the brothers were split on the issue. POOF! A major issue in America is never mentioned. Isn't the news fun?
3: Medium to small papers, chain owned. The above article would never get written because they would never have someone on staff to do it. Chains cut paper staff to the bone and salaries too. Maybe a talented person is at the paper, but chances are they do a zillion things besides reporting and don't have weeks to spend on a story like that.
4: Alternative weeklies, etc.: The above story would get written if it jibed with the publishers political beliefs, but readership (as opposed to circulation) at these papers is tiny. Very few would read it, and many would reject it's conclusions because the paper is "biased"
---
I really liked the part about people using studies like these because they feel out of control. I look around and see people who are scared of computers and the 'net all the time. Folks seem to be grasping hard at the illusion of control these days. I was reminded recently of this theme in my favorite book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (you can read it online here .) Every time I read this book I get something new. Now, I get things about programming and computers. Anyway, here's a good quote:
That attitude is not hard to come to. You go through a heavy industrial area of a large city and there it all is, the technology. In front of it are high barbed-wire fences, locked gates, signs saying NO TRESPASSING, and beyond, through sooty air, you see ugly strange shapes of metal and brick whose purpose is unknown, and whose masters you will never see. What it's for you don't know, and why it's there, there's no one to tell, and so all you can feel is alienated, estranged, as though you didn't belong there. Who owns and understands this doesn't want you around. All this technology has somehow made you a stranger in your own land. Its very shape and appearance and mysteriousness say, ``Get out.'' You know there's an explanation for all this somewhere and what it's doing undoubtedly serves mankind in some indirect way but that isn't what you see. What you see is the NO TRESPASSING, KEEP OUT signs and not anything serving people but little people, like ants, serving these strange, incomprehensible shapes. And you think, even if I were a part of this, even if I were not a stranger, I would be just another ant serving the shapes. So the final feeling is hostile, and I think that's ultimately what's involved with this otherwise unexplainable attitude of John and Sylvia. Anything to do with valves and shafts and wrenches is a part of that dehumanized world, and they would rather not think about it. They don't want to get into it.
---
Or you could just drink a few Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters.....
... like hitting yourself in the head with a slick of lemon wrapped around a very large gold brick. And -- dark I say it -- a drink almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.
Seriously, if there any geeks here who have NOT read the HHGTTG series, you need to. funny stuff.
---
I was insulted/disgusted that they took the bit about "pi" out. I mean, if the average american can't grasp that, we're in deep sh*t.
---
Sorry, but the movie was pretty lame. One of my favorite books ever.
---
Man, I've went off on this more times then I can count. Many right here on Slashdot.
People look at me like I'm crazy when I say I only want to work 40 hours per week. When I interviewed for my latest job, I said this in interviews, word for word: "If you're looking for somebody to work 45 or 50 hours per week, don't hire me. I have to get home to my real job, being a husband and a father." Result? I'm sure I lost out on some positions. Instead took a job with a consulting firm that now (3 months later) does what? Pressures we to bill more than 40 hours a week!
As for after hours work? I've done it a few times to get something done, but I bill it and try to take comp time. Mostly, I'll surf or play games or study for a certification test if I get on the computer.
We work more hours per year here in the USA than in almost all industrialized nations. And then we wonder why our divorce rate is so high. Why our teen suicide rate is so high. We don't spend time with our families, that's why! When we do get home, we watch something like 30 hours of tv a week, plus we have to work out, 'cause God forbid we're not skinny and perfect!
A freind of mine recently said to me "You're just gonna have to realize that professionals work a lot of hours. That's what we do." This is from a guy having serious marital problems!
I tell ya, my employer clears over $1500 a week beyond my salary easy with me billing 38 hours. They're not hurting. They need to get over it.
---
What do you mean a "real" 450? A PII450 benches about 3 to 5 percent faster than a Celeron bumped to 450. It has a larger cache (512k) than the Celeron's 128K, but the celeron's runs at the chip speed. Multipliers are the same. Actually a 300a celeron bumped to 450 runs about the same benchmarks as a 466 Celeron. Why? The 466 is running at a 66mhz Motherboard Bus speed. The 300 is bumped to 100 mhz, so it's almost a wash. Visiti www.overclocking.com or Tom's hardware to see the above benchmarks.
---
I agree. I used to be a graphic artist. I know there is no such thing as too much speed or RAM for those users. I'm just talking about what I do now.
---
I mean, I can't tell the difference between my Celeron running at 450mhz or 300mhz! I can, I guess, If I turn on the FPS count on games I'm playing (revolt improves noticably). But honestly, I can't detect frame rate changes once it gets above 20 fps. Others can, but I can't.
So why bother? I turn my overclocking down unless I'm gonna 3d render or something.......
---
I thought it was the new MSDE (m$ Data Engine, the single user SQL server that can be installed INSTEAD of Jet on Access 2k with a custom install). In this case the only "user" of the database is Exchange, so it's OK. MSDE is completely file compatible with SQL Server, you can turn a MSDE database to a SQL server just by using SQL's "attach database" statement. I might be wrong. It seems like the feature set of M$ products keeps changing every time I look. First COM+ is part of Win2k, then it's not, then it's back in......
---
FYI: Exchange 2000 ( in beta now) uses SQL server as database, btw.
---
I want.
Seriously, Cheap Gigabit ethernet could really help out in the office setting. With Buttloads of server space, you could actually implement those roaming profiles on NT, for instance, without clogging your network to bits.
---
Sorry if this is redundant, but I hadn't seen it noted yet. Score one for the community.
Due to flagrant inaccuracies this article has been pulled and is being re-written.
Occasionally one of these slips through the editorial process. Computer Currents regrets the error.
....
---
Of course, within a few weeks of it's release on the Mac there was a "mod chip" patch which bypassed the PSX "bad sector" copy protection.
---
Yep. I agree this is going to be a bigger issue. Here's why:
As more and more "telecommuting" and things like corporations buying computers and real videoconferencing to the home (sponsored by the corporation, of course), become a reality, the boundary between "work" and "home" will fade even more. What if you have your own computer, but your employer provides a high-speed ADSL line as a fringe benefit and to help you telecommute? Are they allowed to sniff packets?
Of course, here in the U.S. we already work more hours a year than in any other industrialized countries. And yet people look at me like I'm nuts when I say I'm not interested in working more than 40 hours a week (especially in this industry) because I have to get home to my real job -- being a husband and a father. An engineer friend of mine recently said "You're just gonna have to learn that you're just gonna have to work 45 or 50 hours a week, 'cause that's what professionals do." This from a guy who is having serious marital problems.... anyway,
---
Does this does attack have anything to do with the fact that the N et has sucked for the last four-five days here in North America?
---
This was the point I was trying to make when /. had the recent article about Marathon being Open Sourced. (Which I got reamed for).
Another post below somebody said they can recall details of death matches more than one-player "stories". Well, I don't think that holds true over time. I played a LOT of multiplayer marathon, and while I can recall favorite maps we downloaded and played, I can't recall details of the matches (this was four, five years ago), but I can cite parts of the plot story that was spread out over three parts of Marathon. I can also talk about Sim Cities I built for days. That's the kind of game I like (but I also don't have time for these days, which I guess is why I don't play many games these days).
---
Oh man, don't open that bag of worms here. Almost all of 'em will tell you Perl or whatever is the same thing/just as good/better.
A lot of these folks just don't understand it. UNTIL YOU HAVE VB, LINUX WILL NEVER HIT THE DESKTOP IN CORPORATE AMERICA. Maybe elsewhere, but not here.
---
Both points you make are good ones.
I just can't believe that source code wouldn't be considered "speech". In the U.S., the Supreme Court has ruled, at one time or another, that all of the things below are "speech":
Flag Burning.
Political contributions.
Television commercials.
Hair Styles.
Nose rings.
Bumper stickers.
...
---
I've been following this story with interest. Why can't you guys just build a "real Text" to C converter. You know, turn it into real sentences (just substitute words for command/functions/whatever the hell C uses, spell out numbers etc).
It would seem to me this would clearly bring about the distinction you want. Any restrictions on it would be the same as restricting speech.
Worst case? They hold the "decryptor" is a "cracking tool that exists soley to 'steal' copyrighted material" under those absurd new laws. Fine, put the decryptor on a site in a country that doesn't do patents/copyrights and you're in business.
---
http://www.abqtrib.com/arc/013099_super .htm
Last year on NBC, 133 million Americans tuned in, and millions more watched in 144 countries around the world. This year, the National Football League expects 800 million world-wide viewers in 180 countries.
---
This has GOT to be a troll.
1. Commercials are better than the vast majority of PROGRAMMING. And they are almost always better than the actual game.
2. Corporations have no moral, ethicial, or practical need to have "democratic representation." If you don't like the one you work for, start your own!
3. The super bowl is the single most-watched televised event in the world. The author made an assumption that 99% of the people would know the Super Bowl was yesterday.
---