The people complaining that there is no way that this will ever fit into their entertainment cabinets appear to be misinformed.
“Rest assured the Boxee Box will fit into your entertainment center. If the look doesn’t quite fit with your decor, not to worry. The RF remote means you can place the box out of sight and still control it. Of course, the Boxee Box prefers being on top.”
http://mashable.com/2009/12/09/boxee-box-2/
It's no taller than a can of Coke. If you don't appreciate the design, you can hide it. It uses an RF remote and Wireless N. No line of site is necessary.
On the popular TV show Chuck the main characters, supposedly tech experts, repeatedly refer to desktop PCs as "hard drives."
I assume that millions of viewers adopt this misuse of vocabulary under the assumption that the fictional Nerd Herd employees actually know what they are talking about.
It kinda bugs me that the show's writers could be so lazy/ignorant when it comes to simple tech vocabulary.
This would have been around 1989 actually. Both TI-99s were hand-me-downs. My dad eventually broke down and bought an IBM PS/1 two years later, so I could finally have a real pc to work with.
I was hardly touch typing back then, but I was certainly competent enough to write a few lines of code. Nevertheless, your nitpicking hits on the exact point I'm trying to make. The teacher could have turned that incident into a teaching opportunity. I knew more about that computer than she did. Instead of applauding my skills, I was scolded out of ignorance. She had the same attitude as you: How could a 9 year old possibly know how to properly use a computer?
There's a reason why I vividly remember this event nearly 20 years later. I might be a different person today if I hadn't been made to feel so guilty.
I can still remember the moment that may have destroyed my aspiration to become a programmer.
I was in 3rd grade and lucky enough to go to a private school where they actually had a computer. Sure, it wasn't much, but that little Texas Instruments TI-99 was a powerful tool in its day. My family had a TI at home and I was always fiddling with it. I would endlessly type lines of code that I couldn't even save because we didn't have a floppy drive.
Anyways, one day during our designated free time, a classmate and I were using the computer. I was showing him some of the basic commands I had learned, PRINT, CALL COLOR, CALL SOUND, etc. I accidentally typed too many zeros or something and a CALL SOUND command resulted in an angry-sounding low pitched noise from the console.
The teacher immediately came over and scolded me for "breaking the computer." I remember how guilty she made me feel for making use of an skill I had learned. She didn't even bother asking me what I was doing or what had happened. She just turned the computer off and made me feel ashamed.
OK, 20 years ago many teachers didn't understand technology. I would hope that this ignorance has subsided, but I'm doubtful that even today, a student wouldn't still be discouraged from demonstrating any advanced knowledge or programming skills. A stigma still exists regarding technology in the classroom.
Technology can be a great learning tool. But just as the article says, students are ill-served by the same old-fashioned mindset that once discouraged me from typing code into a TI-99.
Yes, Mythbusters tested this and proved that extra metal does not increase your likelihood of being struck by lightning. However, this is not what the article is talking about. The study states that you are more likely to be hurt or killed when struck by lightning if you are holding a cell phone because of the disrupted flashover.
"if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal injuries and death."
Essentially, if you are holding a metal object such as a cell phone you are more likely to die from a lightning strike if you are struck. Personally, I believe this is just more silly hype from the "mobile phones will kill you" people. Not that many people are hit by lightning to make this all that significant.
I have never understood why people are so damn lazy that they can't do a little research into what they are doing. People juat want results, not knowlege about what they are doing.
You mean like when people are too lazy to spell check their posts on Slashdot? Look, most people can usually excuse spelling and grammar mistakes but your argument would be much stronger without the brazen hypocrisy.
I think one of the most revealing examples of this loss of spark was LucasArt's cancellation of Sam and Max II. Yes, granted Sam and Max II is a sequel, but at least it would have been a departure from the FPS, MMORPG, RTS, and driving games that seem to be dominating the gaming market today. Adventure is an incredibly versatile genre, yet seems to be underappreciated by today's developers. I believe adventure games will ultimately save the gaming industry when everything else has become hackneyed and stale.
Well, the PSP doesn't have a hard drive and they've had several network patches/firware updates. I guess Microsoft assumes that everyone will have a network connection to be able to do this. You make a good point about games, though. Microsoft seems to be designing the system from the perspective that people design PC games rather than how consoles have been in the past. The result seems to be that they assume it will be ok to fix bugs on an ongoing basis rather than pre-release.
the Earth has been around for hundereds of millions
Yes it has. Just like those automobiles and factories that have been pumping waste into the atmosphere for hundreds of millions of years. Nothing at all to worry about.
Same as email received is the property of the owner, isn't signal received property of the receiver?
Yeah, I would have thought so too. But this kind of property is "intellectual", so apparently it is no longer allowed to work that way. Gone will be the days of teenagers recording tracks off the radio to make mix tapes to pass along to their friends. Those crafty little thieves.
It is so baffling. They want to somehow dictate how, when and where people can listen to the same music that they are trying to shove down our throats 24/7 when commercial music radio is really just one big advertisement anyway.
It seems that the RIAA's ultimate goal it to completely banish the right of consumers to "own" recordings. That is, they seek to one day create a world where the only way to gain access to their music would be to pay a fee each time something is listened to. The evidence of this is all over the place in the way that DRM controls are currently being implemented.
I applaud Nintendo for actually innovating. There is so much new technology out there and most of it is going untapped. I think the concern is similar to that of people's issue with the DS. Is it gimmicky for the sake of being gimmicky or is it really something special?
I hadn't really considered that there was much money on the side of those that actually believe in global warming. That makes a little more sense now. Still, it seems that if you are to consider this as a fight between good and evil, the people people concerned about global warming would be on the side of the environment. I usually consider this to be an altruistic position. That is, the tree hugging granolas that are concerned about deforestation, etc. tend to be very different than the oil and auto companies out to make a profit.
Could someone explain to me why scientists would want to exaggerate the threat of global warming? What self-serving purpose could it possibly serve to be concerned about the global environment? So what if they're wrong about global warming. Even if they are incorrect, are they really such crackpots for advocating cleaner air?
Sorry, I wasn't meaning that as a troll. I was just joking. But seriously, what are people actually using the psp browser for? I find that whenever I'm somewhere that has a wireless access point I am near a pc or laptop anyway. I doubt anybody who has used the psp browser would use it over something with a keyboard. I still love my psp but I don't know that I'll be using the browser feature that much unless I'm somewhere with no computers that also happens to have wifi access.
The Japanese 2.0 firmware was also updated slightly. However, it still shares the same version number as the update released earlier.
More info here: PSP Updates
Oh, and if you updated to the Japanese 2.0 firmware already, you cannot update to the US version released today.
With the DS and the PSP around, who is gonna pay $200 for a sub-par gaming handheld like the n-gage? That said, I have to replace my mobile phone soon and I'm definitely more inclined to buy the n-gage now with this price drop.
Look, when I download something online, it is out of convenience more than simply because it is free. If you ask me, the music and movie industries have made their products inferior to that of the so-called "pirates". That is, if I purchase a movie from the store I have much less freedom with it than if I downloaded the same film via bittorrent. I'm not trying to rip anyone off. I have a subscription to netflix, I purchase DVDs and CDs regularly. I will buy music and movies because I feel bad not supporting artists. However, if I want something that is gonna play on a handheld media player, or keep me from having to change disks repeatedly and skip through advertisements, I would much prefer a "pirate version" to a legit copy. At this point, I think 99 cents is a bit much for a per-track fee. 5 cents certainly sounds reasonable. Compare 99 cents for a DRM protected copy that is still restricted to 0 cents for a copy that I can play whenever I want on any device. Which would you choose???
Again, the music an movie industries are peddling inferior products compared to that of pirates, that is why they are losing this battle.
Have they done studies on the correlation between violent behavior and aggressive sports? I get the impression that people are worried about video games because they are associated with "nerds" or "goths" like the kids who murdered their classmates at Columbine. It's not socially acceptable for the nerdy kids to be violent. However, it has always been acceptable for a football or lacrosse player to be physically violent. I realize these are stereotypes, but I think most teens in America would agree with this assessment.
Any country that truly values freedom should find the thought of "criminalizing" any form of communication like this "criminal" in itself. This goes for VOIP, file-sharing, and the Internet in general.
Slashdot Mirror
The people complaining that there is no way that this will ever fit into their entertainment cabinets appear to be misinformed.
“Rest assured the Boxee Box will fit into your entertainment center. If the look doesn’t quite fit with your decor, not to worry. The RF remote means you can place the box out of sight and still control it. Of course, the Boxee Box prefers being on top.” http://mashable.com/2009/12/09/boxee-box-2/
It's no taller than a can of Coke. If you don't appreciate the design, you can hide it. It uses an RF remote and Wireless N. No line of site is necessary.
It happens all the time.
(to Sarah and John, who are arguing.)
Chuck: Mom. Dad. Can we get on with it? I have hard drives to fix.
(later on)
Chuck: Right then. I'm gonna fix some hard drives. Good luck with the spy stuff.
Source: http://www.tv.com/chuck/chuck-versus-the-tango/episode/1137950/trivia.html
On the popular TV show Chuck the main characters, supposedly tech experts, repeatedly refer to desktop PCs as "hard drives."
I assume that millions of viewers adopt this misuse of vocabulary under the assumption that the fictional Nerd Herd employees actually know what they are talking about.
It kinda bugs me that the show's writers could be so lazy/ignorant when it comes to simple tech vocabulary.
Perhaps most relevant to this article is this particular simulation made last year which actually demonstrates flocking birds.
http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~paul/publications/boids/index.html
You can even play with the settings panel on the right side and set off "gunshots."
But yeah, this stuff is far from news.
I won't be interested until these things can generate at least 1.21 gigawatts.
{sigh} only on slashdot...
This would have been around 1989 actually. Both TI-99s were hand-me-downs. My dad eventually broke down and bought an IBM PS/1 two years later, so I could finally have a real pc to work with.
I was hardly touch typing back then, but I was certainly competent enough to write a few lines of code. Nevertheless, your nitpicking hits on the exact point I'm trying to make. The teacher could have turned that incident into a teaching opportunity. I knew more about that computer than she did. Instead of applauding my skills, I was scolded out of ignorance. She had the same attitude as you: How could a 9 year old possibly know how to properly use a computer?
There's a reason why I vividly remember this event nearly 20 years later. I might be a different person today if I hadn't been made to feel so guilty.
I can still remember the moment that may have destroyed my aspiration to become a programmer.
I was in 3rd grade and lucky enough to go to a private school where they actually had a computer. Sure, it wasn't much, but that little Texas Instruments TI-99 was a powerful tool in its day. My family had a TI at home and I was always fiddling with it. I would endlessly type lines of code that I couldn't even save because we didn't have a floppy drive.
Anyways, one day during our designated free time, a classmate and I were using the computer. I was showing him some of the basic commands I had learned, PRINT, CALL COLOR, CALL SOUND, etc. I accidentally typed too many zeros or something and a CALL SOUND command resulted in an angry-sounding low pitched noise from the console.
The teacher immediately came over and scolded me for "breaking the computer." I remember how guilty she made me feel for making use of an skill I had learned. She didn't even bother asking me what I was doing or what had happened. She just turned the computer off and made me feel ashamed.
OK, 20 years ago many teachers didn't understand technology. I would hope that this ignorance has subsided, but I'm doubtful that even today, a student wouldn't still be discouraged from demonstrating any advanced knowledge or programming skills. A stigma still exists regarding technology in the classroom.
Technology can be a great learning tool. But just as the article says, students are ill-served by the same old-fashioned mindset that once discouraged me from typing code into a TI-99.
Uhhh, I'm a little confused here. This article from Toshiba's website seems to conflict with that. No?
Yes, Mythbusters tested this and proved that extra metal does not increase your likelihood of being struck by lightning. However, this is not what the article is talking about. The study states that you are more likely to be hurt or killed when struck by lightning if you are holding a cell phone because of the disrupted flashover.
"if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal injuries and death."
Essentially, if you are holding a metal object such as a cell phone you are more likely to die from a lightning strike if you are struck. Personally, I believe this is just more silly hype from the "mobile phones will kill you" people. Not that many people are hit by lightning to make this all that significant.
I have never understood why people are so damn lazy that they can't do a little research into what they are doing. People juat want results, not knowlege about what they are doing.
You mean like when people are too lazy to spell check their posts on Slashdot? Look, most people can usually excuse spelling and grammar mistakes but your argument would be much stronger without the brazen hypocrisy.
I think one of the most revealing examples of this loss of spark was LucasArt's cancellation of Sam and Max II. Yes, granted Sam and Max II is a sequel, but at least it would have been a departure from the FPS, MMORPG, RTS, and driving games that seem to be dominating the gaming market today. Adventure is an incredibly versatile genre, yet seems to be underappreciated by today's developers. I believe adventure games will ultimately save the gaming industry when everything else has become hackneyed and stale.
Well, the PSP doesn't have a hard drive and they've had several network patches/firware updates. I guess Microsoft assumes that everyone will have a network connection to be able to do this. You make a good point about games, though. Microsoft seems to be designing the system from the perspective that people design PC games rather than how consoles have been in the past. The result seems to be that they assume it will be ok to fix bugs on an ongoing basis rather than pre-release.
the Earth has been around for hundereds of millions
Yes it has. Just like those automobiles and factories that have been pumping waste into the atmosphere for hundreds of millions of years. Nothing at all to worry about.
Same as email received is the property of the owner, isn't signal received property of the receiver?
Yeah, I would have thought so too. But this kind of property is "intellectual", so apparently it is no longer allowed to work that way. Gone will be the days of teenagers recording tracks off the radio to make mix tapes to pass along to their friends. Those crafty little thieves.
It is so baffling. They want to somehow dictate how, when and where people can listen to the same music that they are trying to shove down our throats 24/7 when commercial music radio is really just one big advertisement anyway.
It seems that the RIAA's ultimate goal it to completely banish the right of consumers to "own" recordings. That is, they seek to one day create a world where the only way to gain access to their music would be to pay a fee each time something is listened to. The evidence of this is all over the place in the way that DRM controls are currently being implemented.
I applaud Nintendo for actually innovating. There is so much new technology out there and most of it is going untapped. I think the concern is similar to that of people's issue with the DS. Is it gimmicky for the sake of being gimmicky or is it really something special?
I hadn't really considered that there was much money on the side of those that actually believe in global warming. That makes a little more sense now. Still, it seems that if you are to consider this as a fight between good and evil, the people people concerned about global warming would be on the side of the environment. I usually consider this to be an altruistic position. That is, the tree hugging granolas that are concerned about deforestation, etc. tend to be very different than the oil and auto companies out to make a profit.
Could someone explain to me why scientists would want to exaggerate the threat of global warming? What self-serving purpose could it possibly serve to be concerned about the global environment? So what if they're wrong about global warming. Even if they are incorrect, are they really such crackpots for advocating cleaner air?
Sorry, I wasn't meaning that as a troll. I was just joking.
But seriously, what are people actually using the psp browser for? I find that whenever I'm somewhere that has a wireless access point I am near a pc or laptop anyway. I doubt anybody who has used the psp browser would use it over something with a keyboard. I still love my psp but I don't know that I'll be using the browser feature that much unless I'm somewhere with no computers that also happens to have wifi access.
Is one of their hints: "Don't use the psp browser." ?
The Japanese 2.0 firmware was also updated slightly. However, it still shares the same version number as the update released earlier.
More info here: PSP Updates
Oh, and if you updated to the Japanese 2.0 firmware already, you cannot update to the US version released today.
With the DS and the PSP around, who is gonna pay $200 for a sub-par gaming handheld like the n-gage? That said, I have to replace my mobile phone soon and I'm definitely more inclined to buy the n-gage now with this price drop.
The folks at slashdot can take down a webserver just by making a few scribbles on their website.
Look, when I download something online, it is out of convenience more than simply because it is free. If you ask me, the music and movie industries have made their products inferior to that of the so-called "pirates". That is, if I purchase a movie from the store I have much less freedom with it than if I downloaded the same film via bittorrent. I'm not trying to rip anyone off. I have a subscription to netflix, I purchase DVDs and CDs regularly. I will buy music and movies because I feel bad not supporting artists. However, if I want something that is gonna play on a handheld media player, or keep me from having to change disks repeatedly and skip through advertisements, I would much prefer a "pirate version" to a legit copy. At this point, I think 99 cents is a bit much for a per-track fee. 5 cents certainly sounds reasonable. Compare 99 cents for a DRM protected copy that is still restricted to 0 cents for a copy that I can play whenever I want on any device. Which would you choose???
Again, the music an movie industries are peddling inferior products compared to that of pirates, that is why they are losing this battle.
Have they done studies on the correlation between violent behavior and aggressive sports? I get the impression that people are worried about video games because they are associated with "nerds" or "goths" like the kids who murdered their classmates at Columbine. It's not socially acceptable for the nerdy kids to be violent. However, it has always been acceptable for a football or lacrosse player to be physically violent. I realize these are stereotypes, but I think most teens in America would agree with this assessment.
Any country that truly values freedom should find the thought of "criminalizing" any form of communication like this "criminal" in itself. This goes for VOIP, file-sharing, and the Internet in general.