I third these statements. Used MS Office for a relatively good amount of time and not having to navigate huge amounts of menus in order to get to some option is extremely nice. (In fact, the Ribbon UI actually brought me back to Office.)
I very much agree with you regarding OpenOffice. While it works okay for many tasks, that's about it - it only works okay. Microsoft Office is a very polished tool.
As for your opinion on web application, I have to wonder a couple things:
1. Are you on high speed internet? If so, what? 2. Have you used any web e-mail lately? Specifically, Gmail? It is far faster and easier to use than most e-mail applications. 3. If you lose your internet connection, e-mail tends to be kind of a dud anyway. 4. What sort of privacy do you expect from e-mail? It eventually has to go through servers anyway, so you never have any real privacy. I might just be missing something here.
I'm not trying to be a troll. I just found your comments somewhat interesting given the current state of web applications (and they are quickly improving).
When I was in high school, I was working at a large office superstore and I was running the register while the regular cashier was taking a lunch break.
Anyway, this guy comes up and buys a couple things and while I was ringing up his purchases, he asked me: "Do you guys take Federal Reserve Notes?" As I had never heard "cash" called "Federal Reserve Notes," I returned his question with a blank stare. He repeated his question and I responded with something like, "Ummmm...I'm not sure." So he responded with, "What!? You mean you guys don't take dollar bills! Bwahahahaha!" And he bursts out laughing thinking he's the funniest person in the world because I didn't know what he was talking about.
I'm typically pretty easy going with customer stupidity, but at that moment, I felt like it would have been appropriate to punch a customer in the face.
Personally, I prefer on-line versions. With hyper-links and video, the content can be greatly enriched.
While I tend to agree with you, there is something nice about holding printed material in your hand and reading that instead of being in front of a screen. I can't really put my finger on it, though...but it's difficult to "curl up with a good computer."
Plus none of those pesky issues with storing old magazines, or recycling, or worse, land-fill.
Definitely correct here. However, this assumes that their magazine can be downloaded (PDF?) or that they store it to their site for a long amount of time.
Carefully timed jerks could power space elevator? Hmmm...I'm not too sure about that. I've been to frat parties and those guys can't even play beer pong all that well.
Not sure how you got modded informative, but since I'll try to get modded informative off people who did not understand your funny, for people who didn't understand the reference, then you missed the Christmas marathon on TBS of this movie.
From the article: "Ralphie receiving his Secret Society decoder pin, and learning a lesson about being ripped off (his first secret message with the pin turned out to be an Ovaltine radio commercial)."
The TV had a physical on/off switch, but the designers had decided to "hide" it between the speaker and display enclosures on the back of it.
and
And invariably about half of them would complain that they already hung it on the wall and couldn't reach the bloody switch. Boo f*ing hoo - read the manual before assembling your unit.
How is that the customer's fault? Yeah, it would have been good if they had read the instructions, but people miss instructions. And, seriously, a TV shouldn't really *require* instructions. It's a pretty simple device.
It sounds to me that bad design was at fault here (as the first quote indicates). The fact that many people had to call and ask about it only demonstrate this.
My mistake, then. That's the freaken tough thing about forums/e-mail - it's darn near impossible to tell what the person's voice is. (In fact, I think a study about this said people mistake the voice ~90% of the time although I can't seem to find that study.)
Having an alternate opinion is not trolling. I was not referring to your differing opinion at all, actually. (In fact, I tend to stick up for Microsoft which is not the normal opinion for a Slashdotter.)
And, your point is valid - Nintendo was not the first to release old games. The reason I picked them is just because their games have a lot of mindshare (all the YouTube videos of live Mario games, the Nintendo Acappella, the pianist who plays Nintendo songs, etc only demonstrate this). But, again, your point is correct. Nintendo is not the first. (With that said, you don't always need to be the first, you only need to be the best. Google is a perfect example of this.)
The reason I thought you were trolling is because of lines like these:
I know this is Slashdot, and therefore BOW BEFORE NINTENDO OUR GOD AND SAVIOR!!!!!
and
Really, IMO, this is more a case of, "I was a huge old-school gamer, then ignored every game console until the Wii came out, and now I'm really impressed by something that's existed for ages on other consoles!"
If you had responded in a different tone, I would have never suggested (or even considered) that you were trolling.
Hmmm...no. Actually, I don't even own a Wii. PS2 has been my console of choice for quite awhile.
The reason I specifically picked out Nintendo is because they have the games that many people of the 20s generation (AKA, people who are buying games now) grew up on. It's the perfect group to pick for re-release of these games as this is the group that has the memories of those games.
Maybe you're trolling - I'm not always good at telling. Slashdot has a pretty good variety of opinion on video games. We have fanatics for all systems (including PC gaming).
Nintendo's release of old games to the Wii is absolute genius. Those games were so popular for a reason. It wasn't for their killer graphics - it was because they held your attention and entertained you for hours. Good graphics are nice, but good graphics are a dime a dozen and are relatively easy to reproduce. But to have the storyline and the immersion of a game like "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" is rare thing.
Like you said, your son laughed at Pac-Man graphics, but Pac-Man is a very good game. Same as the many other "oldies but goodies" that exist out there. I think, as players become bored with their new Wii games, they'll start checking out some of the old titles and will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of those games that captured my generation's attention. And, of course, at $5.00 a pop, it's hard not to do an impulse buy.
Is anyone else totally disillusioned with consumers for things like this? The worldwide economy is crumbling because people didn't know how much was too much. And now, after people know that, they *keep* *buying*. Big screen TVs, _thousands_ in gift cards, other expensive purchases, when they should be starting to save up, conserve. When will people learn?
I think the key isn't "don't buy anything" but the key is "live within your means." The unfortunate thing is that, too many people don't know what their means are. They have no idea about their budget, or what they can afford, or how much they actually spend on X Y or Z each month. (Seriously, ask someone who doesn't budget how much they think they spend on eating out each month.)
Once a person sits down and figures out a good solid budget, money, surprisingly does not present as many issues because, instead of spending it willy-nilly, it's being managed.
And, as you suggested, saving (and investing, if your finances allow for it), is a definite must. Once you are saving and paying your bills then you can go and make that fun purchase.
Of course, that's boring. So what the heck am I saying? SPEND! SPEND MY PRETTIES!
Yea, design an email system that is immune to spam and make the ISPs responsible for blocking spam, phishing and such attacks..
So, I know people sometimes DRTFA. It happens. Life is busy. But, you know, it's always good to RTFS because it has fancy little tidbits of information such as:
While searching for plugins or extensions to spamassassin etc I have had little luck finding anything not tied into the email framework.
Yes, I feel that the iPod is just eye candy. The UI is abysmal, that damn wheel is annoying, and whatever happened to something as logical as what my Sansa c240 with Rockbox uses?
Well, I must first admit that I have not used a Sansa c240 or Rockbox, so I cannot speak to their interfaces. However (and yes, I do a lot of work with user interfaces), the interface of the iPod is sheer genius. Every person I know who owns the iPod picked it up quickly and naturally without having to read the instructions (and these are non-tech people I'm talking about). That, right there, defines an excellent interface.
As for driving a Geo Metro over a Honda Civic...well...I have to wonder if you have actually tried to drive both cars and compare them, or if you're just arguing for arguing sake.
I mean, have the major labels actually put out that much good music in the last 10 years to even download? It seems like the bar has gotten awfully low.
Possibly. Or maybe you've just aged and your tastes have changed as they've become more refined (a nice way of saying you've become pickier). That sort of makes sense since you, being older now, are not the RIAA's primary target market (which tends to be in the teens, younger 20s, etc). Additionally, being older, you're also not as impressionable. A song that would have affected you at age 15 (when emotions were high, and many experiences were imprinting themselves on your mind) would barely make a dent now or may not even be noticeable.
There has been good stuff produced in the past 10 years. I know names like Britney Spears pops to mind when you think about the crap out there, but there are a lot of artists who are part of the big labels who don't get the same face or radio time for whatever reason.
All in all, Vista isn't terrible, and definitely usable but suffers from some very poor design decisions.
A couple remarks about this...
First, I do agree that Vista changed a lot of stuff (such as the renaming of things that people were familiar with). However, this does not signify bad usability design decisions, per se. It's just a change that you are not familiar with.
Secondly, many of the usability changes in Vista are excellent. For example, the ability to search your Start menu, rather than having to use the mouse and look around for a program you want to launch is probably the best change from a usability perspective. The ability to "click" through folders in the address bar is also a very nice upgrade to usability (although, I will admit that it took me a little bit to become used to it, given the change from XP).
Whether or not some of these changes were needed or not, I don't know. I wasn't part of the usability studies (and, unless you were, you can't really speak to whether the changes were necessary). But, there are times that change is definitely good, despite most people wanting to avoid it. For example, Apple redid their entire interface (pretty much) with the release of OSX. Was it needed? Maybe. Maybe not. Did it help them a lot in the long run? Definitely.
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I third these statements. Used MS Office for a relatively good amount of time and not having to navigate huge amounts of menus in order to get to some option is extremely nice. (In fact, the Ribbon UI actually brought me back to Office.)
I very much agree with you regarding OpenOffice. While it works okay for many tasks, that's about it - it only works okay. Microsoft Office is a very polished tool.
As for your opinion on web application, I have to wonder a couple things:
1. Are you on high speed internet? If so, what?
2. Have you used any web e-mail lately? Specifically, Gmail? It is far faster and easier to use than most e-mail applications.
3. If you lose your internet connection, e-mail tends to be kind of a dud anyway.
4. What sort of privacy do you expect from e-mail? It eventually has to go through servers anyway, so you never have any real privacy. I might just be missing something here.
I'm not trying to be a troll. I just found your comments somewhat interesting given the current state of web applications (and they are quickly improving).
Cougars kill an average of 0.8 people per year in the US, and most attacks are during the daytime.
Well, the reason it's 0.8 people is because 0.2 of that person is hanging from the cougar's jaws.
(Alright, quit your groaning...)
Anyway, fatal cougar attacks are even less than 0.8 people/year according to Wikipedia's List of fatal cougar attacks in North America by decade. (Is there anything Wikipedia doesn't have an article about?)
So, quick story.
When I was in high school, I was working at a large office superstore and I was running the register while the regular cashier was taking a lunch break.
Anyway, this guy comes up and buys a couple things and while I was ringing up his purchases, he asked me: "Do you guys take Federal Reserve Notes?" As I had never heard "cash" called "Federal Reserve Notes," I returned his question with a blank stare. He repeated his question and I responded with something like, "Ummmm...I'm not sure." So he responded with, "What!? You mean you guys don't take dollar bills! Bwahahahaha!" And he bursts out laughing thinking he's the funniest person in the world because I didn't know what he was talking about.
I'm typically pretty easy going with customer stupidity, but at that moment, I felt like it would have been appropriate to punch a customer in the face.
Personally, I prefer on-line versions. With hyper-links and video, the content can be greatly enriched.
While I tend to agree with you, there is something nice about holding printed material in your hand and reading that instead of being in front of a screen. I can't really put my finger on it, though...but it's difficult to "curl up with a good computer."
Plus none of those pesky issues with storing old magazines, or recycling, or worse, land-fill.
Definitely correct here. However, this assumes that their magazine can be downloaded (PDF?) or that they store it to their site for a long amount of time.
No, thanks. I'd rather eat red-hot nails
Fortunately for you, Walmart sells those, too!
Carefully timed jerks could power space elevator? Hmmm...I'm not too sure about that. I've been to frat parties and those guys can't even play beer pong all that well.
Not sure how you got modded informative, but since I'll try to get modded informative off people who did not understand your funny, for people who didn't understand the reference, then you missed the Christmas marathon on TBS of this movie.
From the article: "Ralphie receiving his Secret Society decoder pin, and learning a lesson about being ripped off (his first secret message with the pin turned out to be an Ovaltine radio commercial)."
they stress to each employee not to work with certain companies (and Iran is on the list)
Ah, yes. The great company of Iran.
The TV had a physical on/off switch, but the designers had decided to "hide" it between the speaker and display enclosures on the back of it.
and
And invariably about half of them would complain that they already hung it on the wall and couldn't reach the bloody switch. Boo f*ing hoo - read the manual before assembling your unit.
How is that the customer's fault? Yeah, it would have been good if they had read the instructions, but people miss instructions. And, seriously, a TV shouldn't really *require* instructions. It's a pretty simple device.
It sounds to me that bad design was at fault here (as the first quote indicates). The fact that many people had to call and ask about it only demonstrate this.
My mistake, then. That's the freaken tough thing about forums/e-mail - it's darn near impossible to tell what the person's voice is. (In fact, I think a study about this said people mistake the voice ~90% of the time although I can't seem to find that study.)
Having an alternate opinion is not trolling. I was not referring to your differing opinion at all, actually. (In fact, I tend to stick up for Microsoft which is not the normal opinion for a Slashdotter.)
And, your point is valid - Nintendo was not the first to release old games. The reason I picked them is just because their games have a lot of mindshare (all the YouTube videos of live Mario games, the Nintendo Acappella, the pianist who plays Nintendo songs, etc only demonstrate this). But, again, your point is correct. Nintendo is not the first. (With that said, you don't always need to be the first, you only need to be the best. Google is a perfect example of this.)
The reason I thought you were trolling is because of lines like these:
I know this is Slashdot, and therefore BOW BEFORE NINTENDO OUR GOD AND SAVIOR!!!!!
and
Really, IMO, this is more a case of, "I was a huge old-school gamer, then ignored every game console until the Wii came out, and now I'm really impressed by something that's existed for ages on other consoles!"
If you had responded in a different tone, I would have never suggested (or even considered) that you were trolling.
Hmmm...no. Actually, I don't even own a Wii. PS2 has been my console of choice for quite awhile.
The reason I specifically picked out Nintendo is because they have the games that many people of the 20s generation (AKA, people who are buying games now) grew up on. It's the perfect group to pick for re-release of these games as this is the group that has the memories of those games.
Maybe you're trolling - I'm not always good at telling. Slashdot has a pretty good variety of opinion on video games. We have fanatics for all systems (including PC gaming).
Exactly.
Nintendo's release of old games to the Wii is absolute genius. Those games were so popular for a reason. It wasn't for their killer graphics - it was because they held your attention and entertained you for hours. Good graphics are nice, but good graphics are a dime a dozen and are relatively easy to reproduce. But to have the storyline and the immersion of a game like "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" is rare thing.
Like you said, your son laughed at Pac-Man graphics, but Pac-Man is a very good game. Same as the many other "oldies but goodies" that exist out there. I think, as players become bored with their new Wii games, they'll start checking out some of the old titles and will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of those games that captured my generation's attention. And, of course, at $5.00 a pop, it's hard not to do an impulse buy.
Is anyone else totally disillusioned with consumers for things like this? The worldwide economy is crumbling because people didn't know how much was too much. And now, after people know that, they *keep* *buying*. Big screen TVs, _thousands_ in gift cards, other expensive purchases, when they should be starting to save up, conserve. When will people learn?
I think the key isn't "don't buy anything" but the key is "live within your means." The unfortunate thing is that, too many people don't know what their means are. They have no idea about their budget, or what they can afford, or how much they actually spend on X Y or Z each month. (Seriously, ask someone who doesn't budget how much they think they spend on eating out each month.)
Once a person sits down and figures out a good solid budget, money, surprisingly does not present as many issues because, instead of spending it willy-nilly, it's being managed.
And, as you suggested, saving (and investing, if your finances allow for it), is a definite must. Once you are saving and paying your bills then you can go and make that fun purchase.
Of course, that's boring. So what the heck am I saying? SPEND! SPEND MY PRETTIES!
Yea, design an email system that is immune to spam and make the ISPs responsible for blocking spam, phishing and such attacks ..
So, I know people sometimes DRTFA. It happens. Life is busy. But, you know, it's always good to RTFS because it has fancy little tidbits of information such as:
While searching for plugins or extensions to spamassassin etc I have had little luck finding anything not tied into the email framework.
Yes, I feel that the iPod is just eye candy. The UI is abysmal, that damn wheel is annoying, and whatever happened to something as logical as what my Sansa c240 with Rockbox uses?
Well, I must first admit that I have not used a Sansa c240 or Rockbox, so I cannot speak to their interfaces. However (and yes, I do a lot of work with user interfaces), the interface of the iPod is sheer genius. Every person I know who owns the iPod picked it up quickly and naturally without having to read the instructions (and these are non-tech people I'm talking about). That, right there, defines an excellent interface.
As for driving a Geo Metro over a Honda Civic...well...I have to wonder if you have actually tried to drive both cars and compare them, or if you're just arguing for arguing sake.
Presumably someone DID review this and deny it an oral, but didn't follow up with the program committee to make sure it was pulled entirely.
Sounds like my attempts to get laid last night!
Ba dum tsh! I'll be here all week! Try the veal!
I mean, have the major labels actually put out that much good music in the last 10 years to even download? It seems like the bar has gotten awfully low.
Possibly. Or maybe you've just aged and your tastes have changed as they've become more refined (a nice way of saying you've become pickier). That sort of makes sense since you, being older now, are not the RIAA's primary target market (which tends to be in the teens, younger 20s, etc). Additionally, being older, you're also not as impressionable. A song that would have affected you at age 15 (when emotions were high, and many experiences were imprinting themselves on your mind) would barely make a dent now or may not even be noticeable.
There has been good stuff produced in the past 10 years. I know names like Britney Spears pops to mind when you think about the crap out there, but there are a lot of artists who are part of the big labels who don't get the same face or radio time for whatever reason.
Teach Yourself C++ Programming in 21 Days
What? No? Alright then...
The C++ Programming Language, 3rd Edition is pretty excellent.
I love this remark from the article about notifications -
They are gone like a mystery girl on the bus you didnâ(TM)t get on, and they enrich your life in exactly the same way!
The first thing I thought of was, "So...they don't."
All in all, Vista isn't terrible, and definitely usable but suffers from some very poor design decisions.
A couple remarks about this...
First, I do agree that Vista changed a lot of stuff (such as the renaming of things that people were familiar with). However, this does not signify bad usability design decisions, per se. It's just a change that you are not familiar with.
Secondly, many of the usability changes in Vista are excellent. For example, the ability to search your Start menu, rather than having to use the mouse and look around for a program you want to launch is probably the best change from a usability perspective. The ability to "click" through folders in the address bar is also a very nice upgrade to usability (although, I will admit that it took me a little bit to become used to it, given the change from XP).
Whether or not some of these changes were needed or not, I don't know. I wasn't part of the usability studies (and, unless you were, you can't really speak to whether the changes were necessary). But, there are times that change is definitely good, despite most people wanting to avoid it. For example, Apple redid their entire interface (pretty much) with the release of OSX. Was it needed? Maybe. Maybe not. Did it help them a lot in the long run? Definitely.
I can't believe sueing (sic) people like the RIAA does is a viable business model.
Suing people has NEVER been the RIAA's business model. Suing is what the RIAA is/was doing to protect their old, antiquated business model.
Make sure you distinguish the two.
Is there that much recorded music in the world?
Potentially. He didn't say whether those songs were in 128kbps MP3 format, or in a raw WAV format. That would make quite a difference.
(Still a freaken lot of data...)
So with 10^23 vehicles...how the frack do you do traffic control?
That's pretty much the same question the city of Los Angeles asks every day. I'm pretty sure they've given up.