It really bothers me that we're supposed to have to cross-check the music we like to make sure it's not on some RIAA member list before deciding if we should purchase it and enjoy it.
This runs counter to what music's all about in the first place. It should simply be heard and enjoyed.
There is lots of great "underground" music out there, and always will be - but it takes a certain amount of effort to dig through it to find what you like. Some people really enjoy the digging part itself. (Many people take a certain pride in listening to music that they know most other people won't have heard of yet. Maybe they just like feeling more musically "elite" by listening to something unique? Or maybe they really enjoy finding that awesome, previously unheard of, track - buried amongst a bunch of 2nd. rate garbage?) Whatever the case though, these people are in the minority.
The majority of people are more "casual" music listeners. If it's not presented right in front of them with next to zero effort on their part, they won't go the extra mile to find it. That's why the "major labels" have importance. (Don't forget - there's also a group of people who like knowing they're enjoying the same music that the majority of their peers are listening to. It gives them something in common to discuss.)
Yeah, to be honest,it often irks me too. I see lots of positions get filled with some real morons, all because they had connections.
But this is human nature and it's never gonna change. When you interview with someone you'll be directly working with if hired, you can count on the fact that they're trying to figure out if they like your personality. Since I've rarely held a "management" title, I haven't done lots of interviewing - but I've been asked to do a few of them before. The people I turned away were often rejected because I just couldn't get a feel of who they really were. They were so busy trying to impress me with their knowledge, and fake an excessive level of interest in anything I said that I just didn't feel like I had any idea how they'd be to work with on a daily basis.
Putting this to the test with my last job, I went to the interview with a very casual attitude about the whole thing. I did say that I was excited about the company and really liked what they were doing - but this was the truth. I didn't candy-coat things and spout fake compliments. The interviewer actually seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, realizing this was going more like a chat between old friends than an interview.... but you know what? He called me back the next day, wanting to talk some more over lunch - and I was offered the job.
Look, I *do* use water every day, as well as the roads pretty much each day, and of course I use electricity. Do I think these things would just vanish into thin air without paying income tax to the U.S. govt. though? Nope!!
If all the money siphoned from my paychecks was invested into mutual funds/stocks/etc. instead of forcibly placed in the horrible investment called "Social Security" - I'd be MUCH better off when I finally retire.
We already (hopefully) believe in the concept of "supply and demand"... Why does this have to go away when it comes to issues like our roads? If people find the roads and highways useful, we'll be willing to pay for their care and maintenance by private companies. (Heck, this might even encourage a little more fairness in the respect that businesses dispatching 18-wheelers all over the country could pay a higher road maintenance fee than the average citizen driving a small car! Right now, I feel like my taxes going towards the roads are paying largely for damage done to them by large trucks and buses.) Same with electricity and the rest of the utilities. I think we might see some really interesting things happen if we opened them up to competition. Maybe we'd have small, local electric power companies that actually *cared* about their customers? Where I live right now, AmerenUE sure doesn't! They let the trees entangle the power lines and cause regular outages, and their attitude is "We'll worry about fixing it when it goes out. We don't have the money to keep paying tree trimmers to prevent it." I had a power line going in to my house that wasn't even insulated. Every time it got windy and rainy, you could see the thing touch a tree and create a shower of sparks. I complained numerous times and they told me they wouldn't do anything about it unless the line actually snapped.
You're right about there always being small shops needing computer help. But what I've seen is that this void is being filled by the on-call computer service companies. I work for a firm that does that right now. I initially suspected we'd mostly get residential work, but at least half of our customers are small to medium-sized law firms, doctor's offices, specialty retail shops, and the like. They don't want to pay to hire themselves a computer guy, so they pay for X number of hours in advance on a service contract with us, and then we come out whenever they need help.
This is all well and good, but it's interesting to note that in the past, things didn't typically work this way. It used to be, someone with computer experience couldn't find a job with an employer, or he/she would start out on their own, handing out business cards and talking to people to see if they could do some work for them at a given hourly rate. Now, even this has become more "formalized". As an individual on his/her own, it's getting tougher to freelance. You'll encounter resistance from businesses saying "Nah... we feel more comfortable working with this on-site service business because they always have someone answering their phones, and they have more resources to give us a fast turn-around time."
I think the time is coming where self-checkout lanes will roughly cut in half the number of cashiers employed. But right now, self-checkout is as much an intimidation tool by the stores as anything else.
(EG. Right after the strike by all the union grocery store workers, the "Shop and Save" stores by me installed several new self-checkout lanes. I have to believe this was a retaliation move, basically saying "Fine, if we have to pay you more money, we'll use fewer of you!")
As self-checkout currently works, I don't think it's "user friendly" enough. I've tried it a couple times, and found it frustrating and confusing. It seems like it's always telling you to put an item back on the counter, or to wait for assistance, etc. etc. Often times, when you do have to wait for assistance, it takes forever for someone to come over and help you. (There's no way around waiting for help if you're trying to buy alcohol, for example. The machine doesn't automatically make sure you're of legal drinking age.)
I do think that RFID tags will make much of the hassle disappear. The system of ringing people out needs to become practically invisible. When that day comes, retail is definitely going to see some changes.
In the 14 or so years I've worked in I.T. (in various capacities, ranging from a tech. behind the counter in a small "mom and pop" store, to support specialist in a multi-company corporate environment, to freelance consulting, to on-site service companies), I've run into the whole spectrum of "computer professionals".
Almost without exception, the highest paid of them didn't correlate with the most knowledgeable of them.
Also, finding a correlation between having multiple certs. and being "better than the other I.T. guys" at performing their job was difficult. Quite frankly, some of the "best and brightest" I.T. people I've ever run across weren't certified in anything at all. They simply worked with the stuff "hands on" for years and years, learning the facts that really matter, without the "fluff" and largely useless theory that comes with the certs. (If you get your MCSE for example, much of it will test your ability to construct a complete LAN/server infrastructure that best meets the needs of a group of hypothetical users. That's all well and good, but it's utterly useless 99% of the time. How often do you get hired on with your MCSE to build a network and infrastructure for a company from the ground up?? If they're hiring, it's because they already HAVE that set up and they need help administering it! You simply don't have to concern yourself with all the small details of why everything was set up. In fact, your MCSE knowledge might well tell you things are designed poorly - but trying to change that upsets some office politics and then you're booted out the door.)
What I guess I'm getting at is - the MOST VALUABLE thing you can have on your side is KNOWING PEOPLE. Make connections! A good friend who has some hiring power in a company that needs another computer guy is worth 10 certifications. Looking back on it now, I believe every job I ever had was at least partially due to knowing somebody. (Heck, even my very first job doing telemarketing for a carpet cleaners was obtained because a good friend's girlfriend already worked there, and told me they had openings if I was interested. Then, she put in a good word or two for me - and I was hired.)
Ok, not that this is legal or anything - but has anyone considered cloning the serial number in the chip on the TiVo motherboard? Is thing just a socketed EPROM, or is it much more complex than that?
It seems like if this was possible, someone could at least xfer their lifetime subscription to any other receiver they purchased later.
That's over simplification to the extreme.... Nobody would argue against picking option #1 in your scenario, but we're really just debating the proper way for stores to handle their discount cards here.
What I think would make sense is for the store to give you the ability to select whether you'd like to be notified of product recalls via your discount card signup information at the time you apply for the card. (Existing cardholders should be given a method to select their preference too.)
There are plenty of good reasons why people might opt not to be notified in this manner. Perhaps they signed up for their discount card using an address that's not the best place to really get ahold of them, for example? Maybe the items they buy at that particular store aren't things they're concerned about (EG. paper towels, toilet paper or light bulbs)?
IMHO, it would really suck if a store falsely believed they notified me of a dangerous food item I just bought - when in reality, they contacted some fake address (or maybe a previous address) I had on my discount card signup info.
Quite so... and this is probably why it's no small coincidence that the freshly released developer notes for the PowerMac G5 points out its ability to handle 2GB memory sticks, for a total capacity of 16GB of RAM in one machine. (Currently, the advertising claims the G5 can utilize "up to 8GB of RAM" - but this is apparently only because it's pretty tough getting ahold of a 2GB PC3200 DIMM right now; not because of a limitation of the motherboard.)
Wow! I can't say that I can beat that one... But I do have my own Mac workplace horror story of sorts.
After I went for 6+ months without a job (laid off in an I.T. support role for a corporation that was going through hard times), I finally found a job from a newspaper classified ad that simply said "Computer technician wanted." (plus something about Mac experience needed). Although I'd been in the computer field for 12 years by this time, the last time I worked on a Mac was a Performa system I had back in 1996 (for all of 3 months, before I decided I didn't like it, and resold it). Still, I figured most of the basics would be the same as the PC (bad RAM is bad RAM, and so forth) - so I applied.
To prepare for the interview, I gathered up anything I thought might be relevant. I had my CompTIA A+ certification paperwork, some Dell certified technician papers, a certificate proving I completed a management development course, and so on. When I arrived, it turned out the guy had his business running out of his home - and he really had no clue what he needed. He never heard of CompTIA, and didn't know there was such a thing as the A+ certification. He explained that he had been collecting up older Macs for quite a while, and was trying to get a start-up business going refurbishing them and reselling them (primarily as starter computers for kids). Well, I liked the idea of seeing old machines recycled for a good cause - so I was willing to give it a shot. (He hired me on the spot, probably because it was obvious I knew more than he did about computers in general. Nevermind I had to figure out most of the Mac stuff from scratch while I worked!)
Well, things really got interesting at this point. The "workshop" was an oversized garage, heated in the winter by a wood burning stove. It became one of my primary job responsibilities to make sure the stove was always fed with wood, and I had to mess with the logs every 15 or 20 minutes to keep them burning properly. It never did heat the place effectively though - so I had to wear a winter coat the whole time I worked.
The majority of the systems were Mac Classics, LCII's and LC550/575's - mostly in really poor shape. It turned out he was buying these things at auctions by the truckload and everything was sold strictly "as-is". Many systems didn't even have RAM or hard drives in them, and he never bought spare drives. I was just supposed to make it all work by "scavenging parts from the machines in the worst condition". After I got the first 20 or so complete Macs going in this manner, it was obvious we needed more parts. PRAM batteries were dead in just about ALL the systems, and again - my boss never bought any spares. (Heck, he didn't even know what kind to get until I taught him about them!)
Finally, we started getting decent numbers of the things finished - but I quickly realized this had no way of being a profitable business. The time invested in getting a single Mac back up and running cost more in payroll than what we could sell it for afterwards. (Not to mention the hundreds of dollars I had to put on his charge card to order batteries, working used SCSI drives, additional RAM, and the like!)
Every week, I wondered if he was going to just give up and tell me it was over - but nope! He just didn't want to "run the numbers" and refused to believe it couldn't magically become profitable somehow. So I stuck around for about a year, building and selling these things at a loss until I finally got a better job and quit. (To this day, though, I still have a few "regular" customers from daycare centers who call my cellphone, trying to place orders for more used Macs. So once in a while, I make a trip back out there on a weekend to build a few Macs and deliver them, and throw a few bucks his way for them.) Last time I was out there, he hired a Bulgarian lady who couldn't speak English to help clean up the machines and tag them with prices. I guess he still thinks he can make some money out of the mess....
Excellent points. I'd also add that sometimes, being polite and faking interest in someone you find really boring or obnoxious has indirect payoffs. Just because you don't like that one person doesn't mean you might not like their friends. If you act like a jerk to them, what's the chances the people who do get along well with them will think much of you?
I don't think a "love detector" will end up being much more than an entertainment device. Sounds like it could be a blast at a party or something.... but even when it's right and it sniffs out someone who is currently infatuated with you, would that person be ready to admit that the machine is correct? (After all, if they didn't make a strong effort to let you know they have a thing for you, maybe there are underlying reasons? Maybe they know it might strain/jeopardize a friendship they have with another person to make that announcement public at that time? Maybe they're not the impulsive type and they want more time to think through what they're feeling? I bet many people would flat out deny that a detector of this sort was correct, even though it was.)
I can tell you first hand (since this happened to me), you can generally expect to get your machines back in reasonably good condition - but it'll probably be long after they've depreciated to zero value. You're also likely to be missing a few odds and ends (connecting cables, power cords, and that sort of thing), and might even get a few items thrown in that weren't yours in the first place. (When I finally got my systems back, I found a pair of headphones I never owned before, and a pair of Compaq speakers, minus their AC adapter.)
And yes, it *will* piss you off, immensely, for at least the first year or so -- but like most things, you eventually get over it. By the time you see your stuff again (if you ever do), you'll own much better hardware anyway.
Umm... I'm very much inclined to believe they did have guns drawn when he opened the door.
Why do I say that?
Personal experience. I ran a multi-line BBS for quite some time, and my parents' place was raided by the FBI, over suspicion of "copyright infringement" on the BBS. I wasn't even home at the time, but my parents told me a team of at least 8 federal agents came in with guns drawn, and one of them waving a search warrant.
Even more ridiculous, at least one of the agents was apparently there just to learn more about how to conduct these types of raids. She was picking up CDs in my room with such things as Linux distros and asking the other agents if they were pirated software or not.
(A couple of them even had a debate over whether or not they should confiscate one of my stereo speakers.... a bass subwoofer on the floor that was in a black wood enclosure. One of them seemed to think it might be a part of a computer.)
Seriously, I've met just as many Windows users who don't want to read a manual as Mac users. If there really is a difference between the average user of both platforms, it's probably that the Mac user is more likely to be a more creative type, where the PC user may lean more towards a technical background. Of course, this is just a generalization - but Macs tend to dominate graphic arts departments, photography labs, video editing studios, music production/recording rooms, and so on. They're also used quite a bit by writers and columnists. All of these people are more likely to demand that printed documentation be somewhat entertaining and easy to read. The technical types are less inclined to randomly guess at what options or menu functions do - and want the procedures documented, as a default condition of using the software. Therefore, they might not *like* a given printed manual - but they'll suffer through it anyway. The creative folks say "Sorry, that thing's dry as dust and I'd rather just play around with this program until I figure out how it works, on my own!"
I don't believe this either, based on my own personal observations. But even if I'm wrong, all that tells me is that Radio Shack has really gotten away from its "roots". I'd bet 10 to 1 that female Radio Shack shoppers are mainly in there to pick up cellphones or supplies (paper, ink for their inkjet printer, etc.) - as opposed to any of the hard tech that R.S. was originally known for (electronics repair parts and tools, C.B. and Ham radio, etc.).
Well, yes, and quite a few of us have also learned that it runs much deeper than just a simple decision made by the current president.
There's a REAL good chance that no matter who becomes president, this sort of thing will continue. The leaders of govt. organizations (you know, the typical 3 letter bureaus like the FBI, CIA, IRS, NSA, ATF) want more tools at their disposal to do their jobs -- "privacy" be dammed.
The president simply can't wave his hand or sign a piece of paper and make all of this go away. All of those groups serve useful purposes and nobody's likely to just abolish them completely while in their term of office.
While it IS true that the lines are quite blurred between "Democrat" and "Republican" nowdays - it's simple-minded thinking to blame these "big brother" issues squarely on the president, no matter what their supposed allegiance is politically. You've got all those senators and congressmen getting paid off/bribed to vote one way or the other, and legislation being written with sneaky, unrelated legal changes constantly trying to be snuck through. You've got huge power struggles between governmental agencies, and lots of "behind the scenes" bargaining for the "lesser of two evils" that the general public never sees when we ask "Why the h*ll did the president just sign THAT into law??"
All we can really do is speak out loudly and often when we see these injustices happen - so they can't just start running everything right past us.
Actually, despite all the Rush Limbaugh bashing that goes on - I think the guy has generally done a remarkably good job of backing up his commentary and statements/conclusions with relevant sound bytes and news clips!
One of the reason people first got hooked on his TV show was the ability he then had to actually air video clips of people in politics making statements (and the facial expressions they had while doing so).
Is he right ALL the time? Obviously not! Who is? But regarding your specific statement about styrofoam being biodegradable - at best, I'd say the jury's still out on that. I believe it was just a year ago or so, I read an article in Popular Science talking about concerns an art museum had about plastic furniture in their collection from the 1950's and 60's. Some of it was actually breaking down at the molecular level and basically turning into a puddle of goo! This was a real shocker, as it was previously assumed plastic would pretty much last forever. Some chemists started analyzing it and they're now starting to believe plastic may have a certain "shelf life" before it begins breaking down on its own.
As a long-time gamer who considers himself pretty "in control" of things, it's perhaps a litte bit tough to admit this. But I think the gaming industry really is working towards outright addiction as their best marketing tool.
For example, take the MMORPGs. They're addictive by design. Just like a casino, which has you perform repetitive behaviors (while paying for the privilege the entire time), with the lure of a reward - MMORPGs use every trick in the book to keep people hooked on them and renewing their monthly subscriptions.
Multiplayer online games create some of this same "addiction factor", because they tap into people's competitive nature and desire for social interaction. With traditional "you vs. the computer/game console" games, most people would eventually tire of playing them simply because they started feeling guilty about not being social with people around them, or just plain "lazy". In multiplayer gaming, these "issues" are practically eliminated - because #1, you can type (or even voice chat) with your competition, so you *are* being social. #2, it's less likely you'll stop playing out of pure guilt that you're "just sitting around instead of getting some exercise", because you know all those characters on the other end are putting just as much time into the gaming as you are.
I found it very interesting watching my wife play the Shadowbane MMORPG, and listening to what the other players kept saying. Many people didn't even enjoy playing anymore, yet they spend hours each night online, and even bought the expansion pack. Mostly, it was because they felt some sort of duty to stay online and assist their teammates. (It became more "work" than "play", in other words - but they developed such complex interactions with other players and achieved such a high "rank" and "status" in the game, they couldn't bear to walk away from it and "lose it all".)
Now that game companies realize they have these factors on their side, why would they see good reason to go back to physical media (cartridges, etc.)? They know they'll get their revenue stream as long as they can hook you on the initial game environment - whether they make you enter a unique CD key, download the thing online, or keep paying monthly subscription fees.
Hmm.... generally true, but the fans in the G5 spin according to heat/processor load. It's not a "guaranteed quiet" machine so much as it's a "normally quiet" machine.
For something like a recording studio, this could pose problems because they might put the CPU under high load with virtual instruments and such, and suddenly have the fans speed up - making it noisier at just the wrong time.
The G5's are also suffering from other noise issues. Many (my dual 2Ghz G5 included) suffer from electrical chirping sounds coming from the motherboard or power supply. It's sort of a "cricket chirping" noise you hear when the CPU is crunching on data (such as uncompressing files). It's not a loud noise, mind you, but it's audible and could get annoying in a very quiet room.
In my experience, the flat panel iMacs are actually the most quiet machines Apple makes right now.
Sure... Most of the major PC builders try to use heatsinks without fans wherever it's possible. It just makes sense from an RMA perspective. Why bother with warranty replacements of fans that got clogged up with lint and pet hair and failed?
Every Dell Optiplex desktop I've worked with since the days of the XMT and GXMT series of Pentium 90-100Mhz boxes used oversized heatsinks for the CPUs with no fans attached to them. Even on the slot 1 Pentium II and III Optiplex models, they attached big heatsinks to the cartridges instead of the usual cooling fans. In more recent models, though, they can't seem to draw enough heat off of the CPU with just a passive heatsink - so they generally use a regular-sized case fan mounted to the back of the case, and attach a plastic duct that snaps over the CPU heatsink. This isn't a bad solution since the larger fan can move air while spinning at slower RPMs, making it quieter - and is less likely to clog up with lint/dust and fail.
Every one of the newer flat panel iMacs I've used has been pretty much dead silent while running. If I was ready to spend $1400 for quiet computing, I'd rather get a whole machine for around that price than just a case for one!
Although it's really not a big issue for me, I did upload 6 or 7 songs to MP3.com a while back (mostly electronica or trance/house genre tunes). It's pretty weird to think someone might be reviewing my work to decide if it's good elevator music to put in retail outlets though!
Quite frankly, I suspect the vast majority of songs taken from MP3.com won't lend themselves well to this purpose at all. They'll probably just focus on certain genres first, review the songs, and trim the list down considerably from there - picking and choosing what works best for non-offensive background music at the appropriate tempos.
I'm not sure of this either, but I have a hunch that with only a *few* exceptions, most artists on MP3.com were just trying to find a way to break into the music scene - and never generated very big royalty payments from their uploads anyway. If they had, then you'd probably see a much larger outcry about this.
Honestly, the last time I saw a rush of people buying Kodak *film* cameras was many years ago, when the "Kodak disc camera" fad appeared.
The folks interested in the advantages film gives are using more "pro quality" cameras with interchangeable lenses and SLR bodies. Kodak doesn't really cater to that market. They're doing the "point and shoot" consumer grade stuff - and that's where digital makes the most sense.
Actually, Dell's initial response when asked their opinion on the HP iPod deal was "no comment". That tells me they were either caught off-guard by the whole thing and didn't really know what to say yet, or they were quite displeased that *they* didn't get to strike the same deal, and weren't sure yet what they could state publically without getting in trouble.
(I mean, really, when's the last time you heard Dell simply say "No comment!" when asked about something related to their industry??)
This type of thing irritates me, but not because I feel these laptop owners were getting less video performance than the box promised.
It's more of the principle. PC hardware makers seem like they're doing more of this in recent years. They bend the truth about exactly what's in a product, in an effort to fool those who know "just enough about computers to be dangerous".
There is a difference between a 9000 and a 9200; support for 8x AGP bus. If the laptop doesn't do 8x AGP, then it's probably using a 9000 - and it should be labeled as such. This is just an attempt to confuse. (EG. People who don't necessarily know much about what each motherboard supports may at least know that 8x AGP bus is supposed to move data faster than 4x. If they do a little video card research and see that the 9200 is 8x, they might just assume a laptop using it does 8x AGP - making it better than a competitor's laptop with similar specs, but only stating it has a 9000 in it.)
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It really bothers me that we're supposed to have to cross-check the music we like to make sure it's not on some RIAA member list before deciding if we should purchase it and enjoy it.
This runs counter to what music's all about in the first place. It should simply be heard and enjoyed.
There is lots of great "underground" music out there, and always will be - but it takes a certain amount of effort to dig through it to find what you like. Some people really enjoy the digging part itself. (Many people take a certain pride in listening to music that they know most other people won't have heard of yet. Maybe they just like feeling more musically "elite" by listening to something unique? Or maybe they really enjoy finding that awesome, previously unheard of, track - buried amongst a bunch of 2nd. rate garbage?) Whatever the case though, these people are in the minority.
The majority of people are more "casual" music listeners. If it's not presented right in front of them with next to zero effort on their part, they won't go the extra mile to find it. That's why the "major labels" have importance. (Don't forget - there's also a group of people who like knowing they're enjoying the same music that the majority of their peers are listening to. It gives them something in common to discuss.)
Yeah, to be honest,it often irks me too. I see lots of positions get filled with some real morons, all because they had connections.
But this is human nature and it's never gonna change. When you interview with someone you'll be directly working with if hired, you can count on the fact that they're trying to figure out if they like your personality. Since I've rarely held a "management" title, I haven't done lots of interviewing - but I've been asked to do a few of them before. The people I turned away were often rejected because I just couldn't get a feel of who they really were. They were so busy trying to impress me with their knowledge, and fake an excessive level of interest in anything I said that I just didn't feel like I had any idea how they'd be to work with on a daily basis.
Putting this to the test with my last job, I went to the interview with a very casual attitude about the whole thing. I did say that I was excited about the company and really liked what they were doing - but this was the truth. I didn't candy-coat things and spout fake compliments. The interviewer actually seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, realizing this was going more like a chat between old friends than an interview.... but you know what? He called me back the next day, wanting to talk some more over lunch - and I was offered the job.
Look, I *do* use water every day, as well as the roads pretty much each day, and of course I use electricity. Do I think these things would just vanish into thin air without paying income tax to the U.S. govt. though? Nope!!
... Why does this have to go away when it comes to issues like our roads? If people find the roads and highways useful, we'll be willing to pay for their care and maintenance by private companies. (Heck, this might even encourage a little more fairness in the respect that businesses dispatching 18-wheelers all over the country could pay a higher road maintenance fee than the average citizen driving a small car! Right now, I feel like my taxes going towards the roads are paying largely for damage done to them by large trucks and buses.) Same with electricity and the rest of the utilities. I think we might see some really interesting things happen if we opened them up to competition. Maybe we'd have small, local electric power companies that actually *cared* about their customers? Where I live right now, AmerenUE sure doesn't! They let the trees entangle the power lines and cause regular outages, and their attitude is "We'll worry about fixing it when it goes out. We don't have the money to keep paying tree trimmers to prevent it." I had a power line going in to my house that wasn't even insulated. Every time it got windy and rainy, you could see the thing touch a tree and create a shower of sparks. I complained numerous times and they told me they wouldn't do anything about it unless the line actually snapped.
If all the money siphoned from my paychecks was invested into mutual funds/stocks/etc. instead of forcibly placed in the horrible investment called "Social Security" - I'd be MUCH better off when I finally retire.
We already (hopefully) believe in the concept of "supply and demand"
You're right about there always being small shops needing computer help. But what I've seen is that this void is being filled by the on-call computer service companies. I work for a firm that does that right now. I initially suspected we'd mostly get residential work, but at least half of our customers are small to medium-sized law firms, doctor's offices, specialty retail shops, and the like. They don't want to pay to hire themselves a computer guy, so they pay for X number of hours in advance on a service contract with us, and then we come out whenever they need help.
This is all well and good, but it's interesting to note that in the past, things didn't typically work this way. It used to be, someone with computer experience couldn't find a job with an employer, or he/she would start out on their own, handing out business cards and talking to people to see if they could do some work for them at a given hourly rate. Now, even this has become more "formalized". As an individual on his/her own, it's getting tougher to freelance. You'll encounter resistance from businesses saying "Nah... we feel more comfortable working with this on-site service business because they always have someone answering their phones, and they have more resources to give us a fast turn-around time."
I think the time is coming where self-checkout lanes will roughly cut in half the number of cashiers employed. But right now, self-checkout is as much an intimidation tool by the stores as anything else.
(EG. Right after the strike by all the union grocery store workers, the "Shop and Save" stores by me installed several new self-checkout lanes. I have to believe this was a retaliation move, basically saying "Fine, if we have to pay you more money, we'll use fewer of you!")
As self-checkout currently works, I don't think it's "user friendly" enough. I've tried it a couple times, and found it frustrating and confusing. It seems like it's always telling you to put an item back on the counter, or to wait for assistance, etc. etc. Often times, when you do have to wait for assistance, it takes forever for someone to come over and help you. (There's no way around waiting for help if you're trying to buy alcohol, for example. The machine doesn't automatically make sure you're of legal drinking age.)
I do think that RFID tags will make much of the hassle disappear. The system of ringing people out needs to become practically invisible. When that day comes, retail is definitely going to see some changes.
In the 14 or so years I've worked in I.T. (in various capacities, ranging from a tech. behind the counter in a small "mom and pop" store, to support specialist in a multi-company corporate environment, to freelance consulting, to on-site service companies), I've run into the whole spectrum of "computer professionals".
Almost without exception, the highest paid of them didn't correlate with the most knowledgeable of them.
Also, finding a correlation between having multiple certs. and being "better than the other I.T. guys" at performing their job was difficult. Quite frankly, some of the "best and brightest" I.T. people I've ever run across weren't certified in anything at all. They simply worked with the stuff "hands on" for years and years, learning the facts that really matter, without the "fluff" and largely useless theory that comes with the certs. (If you get your MCSE for example, much of it will test your ability to construct a complete LAN/server infrastructure that best meets the needs of a group of hypothetical users. That's all well and good, but it's utterly useless 99% of the time. How often do you get hired on with your MCSE to build a network and infrastructure for a company from the ground up?? If they're hiring, it's because they already HAVE that set up and they need help administering it! You simply don't have to concern yourself with all the small details of why everything was set up. In fact, your MCSE knowledge might well tell you things are designed poorly - but trying to change that upsets some office politics and then you're booted out the door.)
What I guess I'm getting at is - the MOST VALUABLE thing you can have on your side is KNOWING PEOPLE. Make connections! A good friend who has some hiring power in a company that needs another computer guy is worth 10 certifications. Looking back on it now, I believe every job I ever had was at least partially due to knowing somebody. (Heck, even my very first job doing telemarketing for a carpet cleaners was obtained because a good friend's girlfriend already worked there, and told me they had openings if I was interested. Then, she put in a good word or two for me - and I was hired.)
Ok, not that this is legal or anything - but has anyone considered cloning the serial number in the chip on the TiVo motherboard? Is thing just a socketed EPROM, or is it much more complex than that?
It seems like if this was possible, someone could at least xfer their lifetime subscription to any other receiver they purchased later.
That's over simplification to the extreme.... Nobody would argue against picking option #1 in your scenario, but we're really just debating the proper way for stores to handle their discount cards here.
What I think would make sense is for the store to give you the ability to select whether you'd like to be notified of product recalls via your discount card signup information at the time you apply for the card. (Existing cardholders should be given a method to select their preference too.)
There are plenty of good reasons why people might opt not to be notified in this manner. Perhaps they signed up for their discount card using an address that's not the best place to really get ahold of them, for example? Maybe the items they buy at that particular store aren't things they're concerned about (EG. paper towels, toilet paper or light bulbs)?
IMHO, it would really suck if a store falsely believed they notified me of a dangerous food item I just bought - when in reality, they contacted some fake address (or maybe a previous address) I had on my discount card signup info.
Quite so... and this is probably why it's no small coincidence that the freshly released developer notes for the PowerMac G5 points out its ability to handle 2GB memory sticks, for a total capacity of 16GB of RAM in one machine.
(Currently, the advertising claims the G5 can utilize "up to 8GB of RAM" - but this is apparently only because it's pretty tough getting ahold of a 2GB PC3200 DIMM right now; not because of a limitation of the motherboard.)
Wow! I can't say that I can beat that one... But I do have my own Mac workplace horror story of sorts.
After I went for 6+ months without a job (laid off in an I.T. support role for a corporation that was going through hard times), I finally found a job from a newspaper classified ad that simply said "Computer technician wanted." (plus something about Mac experience needed). Although I'd been in the computer field for 12 years by this time, the last time I worked on a Mac was a Performa system I had back in 1996 (for all of 3 months, before I decided I didn't like it, and resold it). Still, I figured most of the basics would be the same as the PC (bad RAM is bad RAM, and so forth) - so I applied.
To prepare for the interview, I gathered up anything I thought might be relevant. I had my CompTIA A+ certification paperwork, some Dell certified technician papers, a certificate proving I completed a management development course, and so on. When I arrived, it turned out the guy had his business running out of his home - and he really had no clue what he needed. He never heard of CompTIA, and didn't know there was such a thing as the A+ certification. He explained that he had been collecting up older Macs for quite a while, and was trying to get a start-up business going refurbishing them and reselling them (primarily as starter computers for kids). Well, I liked the idea of seeing old machines recycled for a good cause - so I was willing to give it a shot. (He hired me on the spot, probably because it was obvious I knew more than he did about computers in general. Nevermind I had to figure out most of the Mac stuff from scratch while I worked!)
Well, things really got interesting at this point. The "workshop" was an oversized garage, heated in the winter by a wood burning stove. It became one of my primary job responsibilities to make sure the stove was always fed with wood, and I had to mess with the logs every 15 or 20 minutes to keep them burning properly. It never did heat the place effectively though - so I had to wear a winter coat the whole time I worked.
The majority of the systems were Mac Classics, LCII's and LC550/575's - mostly in really poor shape. It turned out he was buying these things at auctions by the truckload and everything was sold strictly "as-is". Many systems didn't even have RAM or hard drives in them, and he never bought spare drives. I was just supposed to make it all work by "scavenging parts from the machines in the worst condition". After I got the first 20 or so complete Macs going in this manner, it was obvious we needed more parts. PRAM batteries were dead in just about ALL the systems, and again - my boss never bought any spares. (Heck, he didn't even know what kind to get until I taught him about them!)
Finally, we started getting decent numbers of the things finished - but I quickly realized this had no way of being a profitable business. The time invested in getting a single Mac back up and running cost more in payroll than what we could sell it for afterwards. (Not to mention the hundreds of dollars I had to put on his charge card to order batteries, working used SCSI drives, additional RAM, and the like!)
Every week, I wondered if he was going to just give up and tell me it was over - but nope! He just didn't want to "run the numbers" and refused to believe it couldn't magically become profitable somehow. So I stuck around for about a year, building and selling these things at a loss until I finally got a better job and quit. (To this day, though, I still have a few "regular" customers from daycare centers who call my cellphone, trying to place orders for more used Macs. So once in a while, I make a trip back out there on a weekend to build a few Macs and deliver them, and throw a few bucks his way for them.) Last time I was out there, he hired a Bulgarian lady who couldn't speak English to help clean up the machines and tag them with prices. I guess he still thinks he can make some money out of the mess....
Excellent points. I'd also add that sometimes, being polite and faking interest in someone you find really boring or obnoxious has indirect payoffs. Just because you don't like that one person doesn't mean you might not like their friends. If you act like a jerk to them, what's the chances the people who do get along well with them will think much of you?
I don't think a "love detector" will end up being much more than an entertainment device. Sounds like it could be a blast at a party or something.... but even when it's right and it sniffs out someone who is currently infatuated with you, would that person be ready to admit that the machine is correct? (After all, if they didn't make a strong effort to let you know they have a thing for you, maybe there are underlying reasons? Maybe they know it might strain/jeopardize a friendship they have with another person to make that announcement public at that time? Maybe they're not the impulsive type and they want more time to think through what they're feeling? I bet many people would flat out deny that a detector of this sort was correct, even though it was.)
I can tell you first hand (since this happened to me), you can generally expect to get your machines back in reasonably good condition - but it'll probably be long after they've depreciated to zero value. You're also likely to be missing a few odds and ends (connecting cables, power cords, and that sort of thing), and might even get a few items thrown in that weren't yours in the first place. (When I finally got my systems back, I found a pair of headphones I never owned before, and a pair of Compaq speakers, minus their AC adapter.)
And yes, it *will* piss you off, immensely, for at least the first year or so -- but like most things, you eventually get over it. By the time you see your stuff again (if you ever do), you'll own much better hardware anyway.
Umm... I'm very much inclined to believe they did have guns drawn when he opened the door.
Why do I say that?
Personal experience. I ran a multi-line BBS for quite some time, and my parents' place was raided by the FBI, over suspicion of "copyright infringement" on the BBS. I wasn't even home at the time, but my parents told me a team of at least 8 federal agents came in with guns drawn, and one of them waving a search warrant.
Even more ridiculous, at least one of the agents was apparently there just to learn more about how to conduct these types of raids. She was picking up CDs in my room with such things as Linux distros and asking the other agents if they were pirated software or not.
(A couple of them even had a debate over whether or not they should confiscate one of my stereo speakers.... a bass subwoofer on the floor that was in a black wood enclosure. One of them seemed to think it might be a part of a computer.)
Seriously, I've met just as many Windows users who don't want to read a manual as Mac users. If there really is a difference between the average user of both platforms, it's probably that the Mac user is more likely to be a more creative type, where the PC user may lean more towards a technical background. Of course, this is just a generalization - but Macs tend to dominate graphic arts departments, photography labs, video editing studios, music production/recording rooms, and so on. They're also used quite a bit by writers and columnists. All of these people are more likely to demand that printed documentation be somewhat entertaining and easy to read. The technical types are less inclined to randomly guess at what options or menu functions do - and want the procedures documented, as a default condition of using the software. Therefore, they might not *like* a given printed manual - but they'll suffer through it anyway. The creative folks say "Sorry, that thing's dry as dust and I'd rather just play around with this program until I figure out how it works, on my own!"
I don't believe this either, based on my own personal observations. But even if I'm wrong, all that tells me is that Radio Shack has really gotten away from its "roots". I'd bet 10 to 1 that female Radio Shack shoppers are mainly in there to pick up cellphones or supplies (paper, ink for their inkjet printer, etc.) - as opposed to any of the hard tech that R.S. was originally known for (electronics repair parts and tools, C.B. and Ham radio, etc.).
Well, yes, and quite a few of us have also learned that it runs much deeper than just a simple decision made by the current president.
There's a REAL good chance that no matter who becomes president, this sort of thing will continue. The leaders of govt. organizations (you know, the typical 3 letter bureaus like the FBI, CIA, IRS, NSA, ATF) want more tools at their disposal to do their jobs -- "privacy" be dammed.
The president simply can't wave his hand or sign a piece of paper and make all of this go away. All of those groups serve useful purposes and nobody's likely to just abolish them completely while in their term of office.
While it IS true that the lines are quite blurred between "Democrat" and "Republican" nowdays - it's simple-minded thinking to blame these "big brother" issues squarely on the president, no matter what their supposed allegiance is politically. You've got all those senators and congressmen getting paid off/bribed to vote one way or the other, and legislation being written with sneaky, unrelated legal changes constantly trying to be snuck through. You've got huge power struggles between governmental agencies, and lots of "behind the scenes" bargaining for the "lesser of two evils" that the general public never sees when we ask "Why the h*ll did the president just sign THAT into law??"
All we can really do is speak out loudly and often when we see these injustices happen - so they can't just start running everything right past us.
Actually, despite all the Rush Limbaugh bashing that goes on - I think the guy has generally done a remarkably good job of backing up his commentary and statements/conclusions with relevant sound bytes and news clips!
One of the reason people first got hooked on his TV show was the ability he then had to actually air video clips of people in politics making statements (and the facial expressions they had while doing so).
Is he right ALL the time? Obviously not! Who is? But regarding your specific statement about styrofoam being biodegradable - at best, I'd say the jury's still out on that. I believe it was just a year ago or so, I read an article in Popular Science talking about concerns an art museum had about plastic furniture in their collection from the 1950's and 60's. Some of it was actually breaking down at the molecular level and basically turning into a puddle of goo! This was a real shocker, as it was previously assumed plastic would pretty much last forever. Some chemists started analyzing it and they're now starting to believe plastic may have a certain "shelf life" before it begins breaking down on its own.
As a long-time gamer who considers himself pretty "in control" of things, it's perhaps a litte bit tough to admit this. But I think the gaming industry really is working towards outright addiction as their best marketing tool.
For example, take the MMORPGs. They're addictive by design. Just like a casino, which has you perform repetitive behaviors (while paying for the privilege the entire time), with the lure of a reward - MMORPGs use every trick in the book to keep people hooked on them and renewing their monthly subscriptions.
Multiplayer online games create some of this same "addiction factor", because they tap into people's competitive nature and desire for social interaction. With traditional "you vs. the computer/game console" games, most people would eventually tire of playing them simply because they started feeling guilty about not being social with people around them, or just plain "lazy". In multiplayer gaming, these "issues" are practically eliminated - because #1, you can type (or even voice chat) with your competition, so you *are* being social. #2, it's less likely you'll stop playing out of pure guilt that you're "just sitting around instead of getting some exercise", because you know all those characters on the other end are putting just as much time into the gaming as you are.
I found it very interesting watching my wife play the Shadowbane MMORPG, and listening to what the other players kept saying. Many people didn't even enjoy playing anymore, yet they spend hours each night online, and even bought the expansion pack. Mostly, it was because they felt some sort of duty to stay online and assist their teammates. (It became more "work" than "play", in other words - but they developed such complex interactions with other players and achieved such a high "rank" and "status" in the game, they couldn't bear to walk away from it and "lose it all".)
Now that game companies realize they have these factors on their side, why would they see good reason to go back to physical media (cartridges, etc.)? They know they'll get their revenue stream as long as they can hook you on the initial game environment - whether they make you enter a unique CD key, download the thing online, or keep paying monthly subscription fees.
Hmm.... generally true, but the fans in the G5 spin according to heat/processor load. It's not a "guaranteed quiet" machine so much as it's a "normally quiet" machine.
For something like a recording studio, this could pose problems because they might put the CPU under high load with virtual instruments and such, and suddenly have the fans speed up - making it noisier at just the wrong time.
The G5's are also suffering from other noise issues. Many (my dual 2Ghz G5 included) suffer from electrical chirping sounds coming from the motherboard or power supply. It's sort of a "cricket chirping" noise you hear when the CPU is crunching on data (such as uncompressing files). It's not a loud noise, mind you, but it's audible and could get annoying in a very quiet room.
In my experience, the flat panel iMacs are actually the most quiet machines Apple makes right now.
Sure... Most of the major PC builders try to use heatsinks without fans wherever it's possible. It just makes sense from an RMA perspective. Why bother with warranty replacements of fans that got clogged up with lint and pet hair and failed?
Every Dell Optiplex desktop I've worked with since the days of the XMT and GXMT series of Pentium 90-100Mhz boxes used oversized heatsinks for the CPUs with no fans attached to them. Even on the slot 1 Pentium II and III Optiplex models, they attached big heatsinks to the cartridges instead of the usual cooling fans. In more recent models, though, they can't seem to draw enough heat off of the CPU with just a passive heatsink - so they generally use a regular-sized case fan mounted to the back of the case, and attach a plastic duct that snaps over the CPU heatsink. This isn't a bad solution since the larger fan can move air while spinning at slower RPMs, making it quieter - and is less likely to clog up with lint/dust and fail.
Every one of the newer flat panel iMacs I've used has been pretty much dead silent while running. If I was ready to spend $1400 for quiet computing, I'd rather get a whole machine for around that price than just a case for one!
Although it's really not a big issue for me, I did upload 6 or 7 songs to MP3.com a while back (mostly electronica or trance/house genre tunes). It's pretty weird to think someone might be reviewing my work to decide if it's good elevator music to put in retail outlets though!
Quite frankly, I suspect the vast majority of songs taken from MP3.com won't lend themselves well to this purpose at all. They'll probably just focus on certain genres first, review the songs, and trim the list down considerably from there - picking and choosing what works best for non-offensive background music at the appropriate tempos.
I'm not sure of this either, but I have a hunch that with only a *few* exceptions, most artists on MP3.com were just trying to find a way to break into the music scene - and never generated very big royalty payments from their uploads anyway. If they had, then you'd probably see a much larger outcry about this.
Honestly, the last time I saw a rush of people buying Kodak *film* cameras was many years ago, when the "Kodak disc camera" fad appeared.
The folks interested in the advantages film gives are using more "pro quality" cameras with interchangeable lenses and SLR bodies. Kodak doesn't really cater to that market. They're doing the "point and shoot" consumer grade stuff - and that's where digital makes the most sense.
Actually, Dell's initial response when asked their opinion on the HP iPod deal was "no comment". That tells me they were either caught off-guard by the whole thing and didn't really know what to say yet, or they were quite displeased that *they* didn't get to strike the same deal, and weren't sure yet what they could state publically without getting in trouble.
(I mean, really, when's the last time you heard Dell simply say "No comment!" when asked about something related to their industry??)
This type of thing irritates me, but not because I feel these laptop owners were getting less video performance than the box promised.
It's more of the principle. PC hardware makers seem like they're doing more of this in recent years. They bend the truth about exactly what's in a product, in an effort to fool those who know "just enough about computers to be dangerous".
There is a difference between a 9000 and a 9200; support for 8x AGP bus. If the laptop doesn't do 8x AGP, then it's probably using a 9000 - and it should be labeled as such. This is just an attempt to confuse. (EG. People who don't necessarily know much about what each motherboard supports may at least know that 8x AGP bus is supposed to move data faster than 4x. If they do a little video card research and see that the 9200 is 8x, they might just assume a laptop using it does 8x AGP - making it better than a competitor's laptop with similar specs, but only stating it has a 9000 in it.)