Exactly. I purchased a $200 SD card from a seller with ~500 feedback, 99.8%. I guess he decided to just screw it one day, and never shipped his last auctions (his feedback plummeted within two days). I never got the SD card, but at least paypal gave me some money back (-$25 filling fee).
"This is crap. If you are the seller, you have the advantage. You have every ability to ensure that the payment you recieve is genuine before you ship the item, so there is literally *nothing to lose* from shipping abroad. The only excuse you could have for not shipping abroad is laziness because you don't want to fill out the extra customs declaration."
Bullshit, I will never again ship abroad and here is why:
Every single item (granted only 4) that I've sold on ebay to people in foreign countries has taken MONTHS to get to the final destination, being held up in customs (yes I filled out the paperwork correctly). During this time the buyers are hassling you (rightly so, I'd be pissed too), threatening to report you as fraud, and it just gets frustrating and annoying. I'm sure these were exceptions, and not the rule, but these experiences have made me sour to ship abroad.
I have Alesis M1 Active Mk2 studio monitors, and they really bring out the compression artifacts. On my PDA, home stereo, and car 192kps is perfect, but anything below 320k I swear I hear the difference on my studio monitors (and with 320 it sounds great, but I notice a slight loss of stereo with my studio headphones). Perhaps I'm a freak, or maybe it is just placebo, but either way FLAC cures the problem.
Some of them offer FLAC, and send it back on DVDs, so you would have an additional hardcopy of all your tunes incase something ever happened. I would have considered this if it was a bit cheaper, and may be worth it for professionals that don't have hours to burn their entire collection.
I know I can do it myself, but I've already ripped my entire collection at 128 mp3 (yes I was stupid), then 320 mp3, and THEN I found out about FLAC and figured it would be good to have a lossless backup of everything. However, I really don't feel like burning everything over again. I guess I'll just take and weekend and do it all over again (it'd be just as much of a hassle to ship everything, wait awhile, then pick it up [UPS/Fedex NEVER leaves anything at my apartment]).
Perhaps, but if one thing MS is about, it's money. Most of the players out there are ipods, and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe ipods play wma files.
If they charge $0.25 per song, or even approach allofmp3.com (although I doubt they'll go that low) I might actually start purchasing music online. Or allow my choice of format.
If this service allows different formats (including lossless), is compatible with multiple players, has minimum DRM, and enters a pricewar with itunes it would be a good thing.
I even might consider paying $1 a song if they sell FLAC or another lossless format.
My browser of choice is opera or firefox (I like them both) but honestly, IE is more stable than both of them. It may be more prone to attacks and spyware, but never crashes on me.
Whoops, sorry about that. Correct formatting below:
One of the problems with bundling 3rd party apps is support. Right now, if someone buys a copy of XP and has a problem with windows media player, they can call MS, and might get it fixed (MS support has been quite helpful for me in the past, but who knows).
With 3rd party apps people are going to call MS, MS is going to tell them it is a problem with real player (and to call them), real player is going to tell them it is a problem with windows and to call MS, and users hate this shit. Companies always want to load off their problems onto another company.
People are also going to see these 3rd party apps as "windows software" regardless if they are 3rd party, and you never know what the support for these companies is going to be down the road. If these 3rd parties end up with shit support, it is just going to make MS look bad. The issue is control, and with bundling of 3rd party apps, MS loses control over support. Heck, I used to consider realplayer spyware, and I'd hate to have it bundled if I pay for an OS.
As a user, I expect my OS to come with a media player. I may not use WMP (I prefer j.river), but it should come with that functionality.
The only issue I see is they should make it easier to remove (permanently) messenger and media player. (Are distributers like DELL and HP not allowed to [or foreced by MS not to] bundle 3rd party apps? I remember last time I bought a compaq it came with a bunch of useless crap bundled, like musticmatch demos).
Linux doesn't have this problem because the free distros don't have mainstream support. Sure, they have forums and IRC, but for the non-tech this can be intimidating. Grandma can't just call up Ubuntu (actually, she can, for a nominal fee of $100, but few people are going to pay this for tech support that may or may not help).
One of the problems with bundling 3rd party apps is support. Right now, if someone buys a copy of XP and has a problem with windows media player, they can call MS, and might get it fixed (MS support has been quite helpful for me in the past, but who knows).
With 3rd party apps people are going to call MS, MS is going to tell them it is a problem with real player (and to call them), real player is going to tell them it is a problem with windows and to call MS, and users hate this shit. Companies always want to load off their problems onto another company.
People are also going to see these 3rd party apps as "windows software" regardless if they are 3rd party, and you never know what the support for these companies is going to be down the road. If these 3rd parties end up with shit support, it is just going to make MS look bad. The issue is control, and with bundling of 3rd party apps, MS loses control over support. Heck, I used to consider realplayer spyware, and I'd hate to have it bundled if I pay for an OS.
As a user, I expect my OS to come with a media player. I may not use WMP (I prefer j.river), but it should come with that functionality.
The only issue I see is they should make it easier to remove (permanently) messenger and media player. (Are distributers like DELL and HP not allowed to [or foreced by MS not to] bundle 3rd party apps? I remember last time I bought a compaq it came with a bunch of useless crap bundled, like musticmatch demos).
Linux doesn't have this problem because the free distros don't have mainstream support. Sure, they have forums and IRC, but for the non-tech this can be intimidating. Grandma can't just call up Ubuntu (actually, she can, for a nominal fee of $100, but few people are going to pay this for tech support that may or may not help).
Whoops. Here is the same comment, but I fixed the formatting.
First off, ignore the trolls. Many gamers go against stereotype and some are just like "normal" people. For instance, I'm a doctor currently DMing a game, one of my players is a professor, and another is a police officer. We're all sucessful and married. Hardly people living in their parents basement. RPGs can be a great way to be social, make friends, and play a game that can stimulate your mind and imagination.
Your location may have a local game shop where they sell RPGs. They should have a bulletin board where people will be looking for gamers. Either contact an ad that looks interesting or put up your information. Make sure you notify the person (or put in your ad) that you are a beginner. Groups are starting up all the time, and IME getting into a game is never a problem.
Ignore any games going on at the game store. They can be good for beginners, and some game shops may have excellent games going on, but more likely they are pit stops for desperate gamers, and a breeding ground for bad DMs and players. You will likely be put off if your first impression is from one of these games.
If you go to a game and don't enjoy it, politely notify the DM, and find another. Not all games cater to all people, and while one group may be horrible for you, another may be a perfect match.
First off, ignore the trolls. Many gamers go against stereotype and some are just like "normal" people. For instance, I'm a doctor currently DMing a game, one of my players is a professor, and another is a police officer. We're all sucessful and married. Hardly people living in their parents basement. RPGs can be a great way to be social, make friends, and play a game that can stimulate your mind and imagination.
Your location may have a local game shop where they sell RPGs. They should have a bulletin board where people will be looking for gamers. Either contact an ad that looks interesting or put up your information. Make sure you notify the person (or put in your ad) that you are a beginner. Groups are starting up all the time, and IME getting into a game is never a problem.
Ignore any games going on at the game store. They can be good for beginners, and some game shops may have excellent games going on, but more likely they are pit stops for desperate gamers, and a breeding ground for bad DMs and players. You will likely be put off if your first impression is from one of these games.
Another option is to put your information on the wizards of the coast bulletin board: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347
If you go to a game and don't enjoy it, politely notify the DM, and find another. Not all games cater to all people, and while one group may be horrible for you, another may be a perfect match.
Have fun!
For a "media center", my modded xbox with xbox media center (the open source software, not the MS one) does all this and more, and cost significantly less than a mac mini.
In my experience, users never upgrade anything unless it is automatic or they are prompted, which is why I prefer to install Opera on computers I fix (it automatically shows a popup when an upgrade is ready).
I know firefox has the icon change near the upper-right of the screen, but for me it never worked (the upgrade would always freeze, on 3 different machines), and I always had to install a fresh copy from the firefox website.
Is this common for other people, or has anyone else experienced this problem?
I don't have anything from apple, but I love the tablet PC so much I'd be willing to try their version of it, as long as it didn't cost that much more than the competitors.
Everyone complains that MS are not innovators, but where are the linux and apple tablets? I'd be willing to give them a try if they were available.
Slashdot Mirror
Any good artists from these genres? I'm always open to broaden my music.
Mind letting us in on what some of these excellent albums are?
I havn't come across a CD with 80% good tracks in 10 years.
Exactly. I purchased a $200 SD card from a seller with ~500 feedback, 99.8%. I guess he decided to just screw it one day, and never shipped his last auctions (his feedback plummeted within two days). I never got the SD card, but at least paypal gave me some money back (-$25 filling fee).
"This is crap. If you are the seller, you have the advantage. You have every ability to ensure that the payment you recieve is genuine before you ship the item, so there is literally *nothing to lose* from shipping abroad. The only excuse you could have for not shipping abroad is laziness because you don't want to fill out the extra customs declaration."
Bullshit, I will never again ship abroad and here is why:
Every single item (granted only 4) that I've sold on ebay to people in foreign countries has taken MONTHS to get to the final destination, being held up in customs (yes I filled out the paperwork correctly). During this time the buyers are hassling you (rightly so, I'd be pissed too), threatening to report you as fraud, and it just gets frustrating and annoying. I'm sure these were exceptions, and not the rule, but these experiences have made me sour to ship abroad.
I have Alesis M1 Active Mk2 studio monitors, and they really bring out the compression artifacts. On my PDA, home stereo, and car 192kps is perfect, but anything below 320k I swear I hear the difference on my studio monitors (and with 320 it sounds great, but I notice a slight loss of stereo with my studio headphones). Perhaps I'm a freak, or maybe it is just placebo, but either way FLAC cures the problem.
Some of them offer FLAC, and send it back on DVDs, so you would have an additional hardcopy of all your tunes incase something ever happened. I would have considered this if it was a bit cheaper, and may be worth it for professionals that don't have hours to burn their entire collection.
I know I can do it myself, but I've already ripped my entire collection at 128 mp3 (yes I was stupid), then 320 mp3, and THEN I found out about FLAC and figured it would be good to have a lossless backup of everything. However, I really don't feel like burning everything over again. I guess I'll just take and weekend and do it all over again (it'd be just as much of a hassle to ship everything, wait awhile, then pick it up [UPS/Fedex NEVER leaves anything at my apartment]).
Unfortunately your vision is more likely than mine.
Last time I was in Nogalas, they were still showing Headbanger's Ball. It was awesome. I doubt american MTV even has the show on anymore.
Perhaps, but if one thing MS is about, it's money. Most of the players out there are ipods, and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe ipods play wma files.
If they charge $0.25 per song, or even approach allofmp3.com (although I doubt they'll go that low) I might actually start purchasing music online. Or allow my choice of format.
If this service allows different formats (including lossless), is compatible with multiple players, has minimum DRM, and enters a pricewar with itunes it would be a good thing.
I even might consider paying $1 a song if they sell FLAC or another lossless format.
My browser of choice is opera or firefox (I like them both) but honestly, IE is more stable than both of them. It may be more prone to attacks and spyware, but never crashes on me.
Whoops, sorry about that. Correct formatting below:
One of the problems with bundling 3rd party apps is support. Right now, if someone buys a copy of XP and has a problem with windows media player, they can call MS, and might get it fixed (MS support has been quite helpful for me in the past, but who knows).
With 3rd party apps people are going to call MS, MS is going to tell them it is a problem with real player (and to call them), real player is going to tell them it is a problem with windows and to call MS, and users hate this shit. Companies always want to load off their problems onto another company.
People are also going to see these 3rd party apps as "windows software" regardless if they are 3rd party, and you never know what the support for these companies is going to be down the road. If these 3rd parties end up with shit support, it is just going to make MS look bad. The issue is control, and with bundling of 3rd party apps, MS loses control over support. Heck, I used to consider realplayer spyware, and I'd hate to have it bundled if I pay for an OS.
As a user, I expect my OS to come with a media player. I may not use WMP (I prefer j.river), but it should come with that functionality.
The only issue I see is they should make it easier to remove (permanently) messenger and media player. (Are distributers like DELL and HP not allowed to [or foreced by MS not to] bundle 3rd party apps? I remember last time I bought a compaq it came with a bunch of useless crap bundled, like musticmatch demos).
Linux doesn't have this problem because the free distros don't have mainstream support. Sure, they have forums and IRC, but for the non-tech this can be intimidating. Grandma can't just call up Ubuntu (actually, she can, for a nominal fee of $100, but few people are going to pay this for tech support that may or may not help).
One of the problems with bundling 3rd party apps is support. Right now, if someone buys a copy of XP and has a problem with windows media player, they can call MS, and might get it fixed (MS support has been quite helpful for me in the past, but who knows). With 3rd party apps people are going to call MS, MS is going to tell them it is a problem with real player (and to call them), real player is going to tell them it is a problem with windows and to call MS, and users hate this shit. Companies always want to load off their problems onto another company. People are also going to see these 3rd party apps as "windows software" regardless if they are 3rd party, and you never know what the support for these companies is going to be down the road. If these 3rd parties end up with shit support, it is just going to make MS look bad. The issue is control, and with bundling of 3rd party apps, MS loses control over support. Heck, I used to consider realplayer spyware, and I'd hate to have it bundled if I pay for an OS. As a user, I expect my OS to come with a media player. I may not use WMP (I prefer j.river), but it should come with that functionality. The only issue I see is they should make it easier to remove (permanently) messenger and media player. (Are distributers like DELL and HP not allowed to [or foreced by MS not to] bundle 3rd party apps? I remember last time I bought a compaq it came with a bunch of useless crap bundled, like musticmatch demos). Linux doesn't have this problem because the free distros don't have mainstream support. Sure, they have forums and IRC, but for the non-tech this can be intimidating. Grandma can't just call up Ubuntu (actually, she can, for a nominal fee of $100, but few people are going to pay this for tech support that may or may not help).
75 limit near Tuscon, and I swear I've seen 80 before.
Whoops. Here is the same comment, but I fixed the formatting.
First off, ignore the trolls. Many gamers go against stereotype and some are just like "normal" people. For instance, I'm a doctor currently DMing a game, one of my players is a professor, and another is a police officer. We're all sucessful and married. Hardly people living in their parents basement. RPGs can be a great way to be social, make friends, and play a game that can stimulate your mind and imagination.
Your location may have a local game shop where they sell RPGs. They should have a bulletin board where people will be looking for gamers. Either contact an ad that looks interesting or put up your information. Make sure you notify the person (or put in your ad) that you are a beginner. Groups are starting up all the time, and IME getting into a game is never a problem.
Ignore any games going on at the game store. They can be good for beginners, and some game shops may have excellent games going on, but more likely they are pit stops for desperate gamers, and a breeding ground for bad DMs and players. You will likely be put off if your first impression is from one of these games.
Another option is to put your information on the wizards of the coast bulletin board: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347
If you go to a game and don't enjoy it, politely notify the DM, and find another. Not all games cater to all people, and while one group may be horrible for you, another may be a perfect match.
Have fun!
First off, ignore the trolls. Many gamers go against stereotype and some are just like "normal" people. For instance, I'm a doctor currently DMing a game, one of my players is a professor, and another is a police officer. We're all sucessful and married. Hardly people living in their parents basement. RPGs can be a great way to be social, make friends, and play a game that can stimulate your mind and imagination. Your location may have a local game shop where they sell RPGs. They should have a bulletin board where people will be looking for gamers. Either contact an ad that looks interesting or put up your information. Make sure you notify the person (or put in your ad) that you are a beginner. Groups are starting up all the time, and IME getting into a game is never a problem. Ignore any games going on at the game store. They can be good for beginners, and some game shops may have excellent games going on, but more likely they are pit stops for desperate gamers, and a breeding ground for bad DMs and players. You will likely be put off if your first impression is from one of these games. Another option is to put your information on the wizards of the coast bulletin board: http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=347 If you go to a game and don't enjoy it, politely notify the DM, and find another. Not all games cater to all people, and while one group may be horrible for you, another may be a perfect match. Have fun!
A good point I never considered, as I do not yet have HD tv.
Perhaps you missed the part of my comment where I mentioned that it can do MORE than frontrow.
$300 + a small amount of time and effort > $500 for a 1/2 assed media center
For a "media center", my modded xbox with xbox media center (the open source software, not the MS one) does all this and more, and cost significantly less than a mac mini.
Does anyone know how to show longer bookmark names for FF? That's the one thing holding me back from switching from Opera.
In my experience, users never upgrade anything unless it is automatic or they are prompted, which is why I prefer to install Opera on computers I fix (it automatically shows a popup when an upgrade is ready).
I know firefox has the icon change near the upper-right of the screen, but for me it never worked (the upgrade would always freeze, on 3 different machines), and I always had to install a fresh copy from the firefox website.
Is this common for other people, or has anyone else experienced this problem?
the xbox component connector has optical audio out.
I don't have anything from apple, but I love the tablet PC so much I'd be willing to try their version of it, as long as it didn't cost that much more than the competitors. Everyone complains that MS are not innovators, but where are the linux and apple tablets? I'd be willing to give them a try if they were available.
"Firefox with 25 tabs"
Has firefox fixed the memory bug yet (just curious as I mainly use opera now)?
I have screenshots of FF taking up hundreds of mb just by itself with that many tabs open.
82% of the systems scanned by the Game Advisor rank higher in performance than your system.
I guess my tablet PC sucks as a gamebox. Likely due to the intel graphics card.