I couldn't agree with you more about the Firefly movie. Joss Whedon seems to be of two minds. There is the guy who can write compelling characters and pretty clever dialogue (like his adult crews in Alien Resurrection/Firefly, and much of the banter between them), and then there is the lame teeny-soap-opera guy who keeps falling back on silly cliches like "90-lb anorexic girl who KICKS SOME ASS!" I get the sense of a guy who WANTS to write adult television and movies, but just can't seem to get past his awkward teenage years. He can't seem to decide if he wants to write for Battlestar Galactica or Hannah Montana.
One word: money. Fox, as a major network, pays their show-runners a *LOT* more than any cable network would. Big network means big money. Just ask Jon Stewart, who makes a fraction of what network late-night hosts like O'Brien, Letterman, and Leno make (a TINY fraction--we're talking $1.5 million a year vs. $30+ million).
The fact that so many great shows have been canceled on Fox over the years and yet MadTV somehow KEEPS GOING ON AND ON FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON was what finally turned me into an atheist.
Fox is NOTORIOUS for not sticking with their series (and have been for at least 15 years now). I can name a dozens of great shows just off the top of my head that they've abandoned over the years (usually after moving them around, not promoting them, etc.). In the new millenium, they've gotten even worse. They will cancel series now before they even finish a full season, even if they have the season already "in the can" (Firefly and Wonderfalls are two prime examples). Basically, if you agree to do a show for Fox, you better go into it knowing that it's probably not going to last long (count yourself lucky if they don't pull the plug after just a few episodes have aired).
I once heard an explanation of why networks do this sort of thing. There is a lot of executive turnover at networks, and when a new programming exec comes in, the first thing he wants to do it to advance his own projects. You see, on his own pet projects, he gets to take full credit for them if they succeed. But if one of his predecessor's pet projects succeeds, he doesn't get to take any credit for it. That means that incoming execs have every motivation to kill off all their predecessor's projects (no matter how sucessful they may be) to make room for their own. So they will often take a show that is successful and start fucking around with it, just so they can justify cancelling it. You take your predecessor's big show, move it around to a shitty night, force a bunch of stupid "notes" down the show-runner's throat ("Hey, can you bring in a sassy robot? How about a cute, wise-cracking kid?"), and then don't promote it at all. Bingo! The show's ratings tank, and you get to go before the studio president and say "Gee, look's like my predecessor's show didn't have any legs. Now let me tell you about *MY* great new show..."
Judging by how much this happens at Fox, apparently they have a *LOT* of turnover.
Oh, and a special R.I.P. to my beloved "Strange Luck," cancelled after just 17 episodes.
Had the same experience. Even when it said it installed a program, most of the time it either didn't install it at all, or put it in some weird place. And I also forgot to mention in my previous post about one of the biggest annoyances of trying to sell Linux to mainstream users--trying to explain the concept of "distros" and how, even when a given piece of software is available for "Linux" that doesn't necessarily mean it will have an installation package for your given distro. I suspect that may be to blame for some of these programs that mysteriously don't seem to install, though I didn't stick with Linux long enough to test it out or figure out why.
If the Apple motto is "It just works," then the Linux motto should be "It just doesn't work...and you'll never be able to figure out why."
I was against it because I've had nothing but trouble out of every Dell computer I've used for the last several years. I have a Latitude D800 laptop whose DVD drive and spare hard drive both came DOA (and the second DVD drive they sent to replace it lasted about a month). And I've seen several other laptops and desktops here at work with similar bullshit issues that suggest cheap parts and poor quality control. It finally turned me off to Dell completely. These weren't a few isolated incidents, I've had serious issues with four of the last five Dell computers I've used or owned. In the late-90's I was a tech and oversaw a bank of maybe 16-20 new Dells. They almost never gave me any problems (and with the one or two problems I did have, they would do stuff like ship a whole new system out to me in response, with only a few questions asked).
As for "It isn't Dell's fault that 75% of the new computers they sent you won't even recognize a standard usb drive" statement--well I don't even know how to *respond* to that. Do you work for Dell or do you just type without even thinking?
Trying to reason with a Linux true believer is like trying to reason with a true believer in anything: pointless. I can sit and tell them that, even with years of experience as a PC technician (and one-time Apache webserver admin), that even *I* had trouble installing and configuring Ubuntu (supposedly the most user-friendly distro), but the message will not be received. Simple questions like "How do a set it up for dual monitors?" elicit lengthy explanations involving complex manual edits to your xorg config file that may or may not even work (and never did the last time I tried, merely crashing my GUI and leaving me with a command line only interface that led me straight back to Windows). Questions like "Can I use Photoshop/Office/etc. in Linux?" are met with cries of "Oh, GIMP/OpenOffice/etc. are just as good!" (they're not) or slightly more helpful suggestions about which version of Photoshop is LEAST wonky running under Wine.
And now I am now going to get 100 responses saying "Oh, it's just as easy as Windows" and "It's easier in newer version X" and "What's so hard about manually editing a config file?" and "Linux Program X is just as good as Windows Program Y! How DARE you say otherwise!" Then, since this is/., I'll also get modded down as a -20 troll and flamer for even daring to raise these questions.
Telling a Linux true believer that Linux is a pain in the ass for the average user is like telling a Christian that his religion makes no fucking sense, telling a politico that his favorite party/cause/politician is just as scummy as that of his opposition, or telling a sports fan that his "team" could give a shit less whether he lives or dies.
So who do we get to appeal to when we've been falsely accused. The power company can't cut off my electricity without some legal recourse. The city can't turn off my water or sewer without some legal recourse. Who do I appeal to when my only ISP shuts me off because someone spoofed my IP address or botted my machine, or hijacked my router?
It's sad, but I can remember back in the 90's when I was recommending Dell to everyone. Back then, their quality and incredible customer service were legendary--whereas it was companies like Compaq and Packard Bell who were the ones to avoid. Talk about being ruined by success, though. Today I wouldn't recommend a Dell to my worst enemy. My company recently (against my advice) bought a shitload of Dell OptiPlex 700 series desktops. The damn things are wonky as hell. About 75% of them won't even recognize an inserted thumb drive without a complete reboot.
Did anyone catch "Attack of the Show" last night? They showed another one of these increasingly trendy "drop proof" laptops. Every time they dropped it (even from just two or three feet), the battery and dvd drive went flying off (requiring a reboot and, of course, costing you any unsaved data).
The problem with many of these things is that they build bullet-proof titanium super-duper-armour plating for the shell, but use the same old components for the hard drives, battery connections, drive bay connections, etc. The skin of the thing is the LEAST problematic part. I'm more interesting in how you built the hard drive than the SKIN. An adamantium skin won't help your laptop survive if it's using some standard off-the-shelf hard drive and battery.
I've often wondered if "kdawson" is like the/. equivalent of Allan Smithee (a pseudonym used by directors who want to take their names off a bad film). Maybe all the questionable stories and bad summaries just get the generic "kdawson" label to avoid embarrassing the real editors.
Between your new "WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?" Firewall and this, it makes me wonder WTF is going on in the UK? I thought things were getting bad in the U.S. with the RIAA/MPAA and their thugs, but lately it seems like the UK and Australia are outpacing everyone on this sort of stuff.
Actually, lately it seems like Australia, the UK, and a lot of other European countries' governments are becoming way worse than the U.S. The U.S. government is far from a beacon of freedom, but at least our government isn't trying to firewall the whole country (not yet anyway).
If it's a proprietary system where some insecure company or insecure government agency has the keys, why even bother? If anything, it's only providing you with a dangerously false sense of "security."
I'd say a distant 3rd-place for three Christmases in a row for a console whose predecessor had something like 70%-80% of the console marketshare in the previous generation would fairly qualify as a "flop."
I feel for the innocent workers who lost their jobs, but I will *NOT* feel any sympathy for the end of the company that openly tried to kill DVD in its early days with their bastard version (co-created with a Hollywood law firm, no less).
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I couldn't agree with you more about the Firefly movie. Joss Whedon seems to be of two minds. There is the guy who can write compelling characters and pretty clever dialogue (like his adult crews in Alien Resurrection/Firefly, and much of the banter between them), and then there is the lame teeny-soap-opera guy who keeps falling back on silly cliches like "90-lb anorexic girl who KICKS SOME ASS!" I get the sense of a guy who WANTS to write adult television and movies, but just can't seem to get past his awkward teenage years. He can't seem to decide if he wants to write for Battlestar Galactica or Hannah Montana.
Dr. Dusku's Horrible acting ability
There is an old Hollywood adage that Joss Whedon would be well-served to memorize for future projects: Never cast with your dick.
One word: money. Fox, as a major network, pays their show-runners a *LOT* more than any cable network would. Big network means big money. Just ask Jon Stewart, who makes a fraction of what network late-night hosts like O'Brien, Letterman, and Leno make (a TINY fraction--we're talking $1.5 million a year vs. $30+ million).
That and Obama, all in the same month? Maybe there is a God.
No, it was toilet seat girl. She went all soft and weepy again.
The fact that so many great shows have been canceled on Fox over the years and yet MadTV somehow KEEPS GOING ON AND ON FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON was what finally turned me into an atheist.
Fox is NOTORIOUS for not sticking with their series (and have been for at least 15 years now). I can name a dozens of great shows just off the top of my head that they've abandoned over the years (usually after moving them around, not promoting them, etc.). In the new millenium, they've gotten even worse. They will cancel series now before they even finish a full season, even if they have the season already "in the can" (Firefly and Wonderfalls are two prime examples). Basically, if you agree to do a show for Fox, you better go into it knowing that it's probably not going to last long (count yourself lucky if they don't pull the plug after just a few episodes have aired).
I once heard an explanation of why networks do this sort of thing. There is a lot of executive turnover at networks, and when a new programming exec comes in, the first thing he wants to do it to advance his own projects. You see, on his own pet projects, he gets to take full credit for them if they succeed. But if one of his predecessor's pet projects succeeds, he doesn't get to take any credit for it. That means that incoming execs have every motivation to kill off all their predecessor's projects (no matter how sucessful they may be) to make room for their own. So they will often take a show that is successful and start fucking around with it, just so they can justify cancelling it. You take your predecessor's big show, move it around to a shitty night, force a bunch of stupid "notes" down the show-runner's throat ("Hey, can you bring in a sassy robot? How about a cute, wise-cracking kid?"), and then don't promote it at all. Bingo! The show's ratings tank, and you get to go before the studio president and say "Gee, look's like my predecessor's show didn't have any legs. Now let me tell you about *MY* great new show..."
Judging by how much this happens at Fox, apparently they have a *LOT* of turnover.
Oh, and a special R.I.P. to my beloved "Strange Luck," cancelled after just 17 episodes.
Had the same experience. Even when it said it installed a program, most of the time it either didn't install it at all, or put it in some weird place. And I also forgot to mention in my previous post about one of the biggest annoyances of trying to sell Linux to mainstream users--trying to explain the concept of "distros" and how, even when a given piece of software is available for "Linux" that doesn't necessarily mean it will have an installation package for your given distro. I suspect that may be to blame for some of these programs that mysteriously don't seem to install, though I didn't stick with Linux long enough to test it out or figure out why.
If the Apple motto is "It just works," then the Linux motto should be "It just doesn't work...and you'll never be able to figure out why."
Something tells me Fuller won't be nearly as big into the big-breasted ladies as you might think. I think we're more likely to see buff dudes.
Sometimes a soul should just be allowed to pass over. Let that field lie fallow for a decade or so at least.
I was against it because I've had nothing but trouble out of every Dell computer I've used for the last several years. I have a Latitude D800 laptop whose DVD drive and spare hard drive both came DOA (and the second DVD drive they sent to replace it lasted about a month). And I've seen several other laptops and desktops here at work with similar bullshit issues that suggest cheap parts and poor quality control. It finally turned me off to Dell completely. These weren't a few isolated incidents, I've had serious issues with four of the last five Dell computers I've used or owned. In the late-90's I was a tech and oversaw a bank of maybe 16-20 new Dells. They almost never gave me any problems (and with the one or two problems I did have, they would do stuff like ship a whole new system out to me in response, with only a few questions asked).
As for "It isn't Dell's fault that 75% of the new computers they sent you won't even recognize a standard usb drive" statement--well I don't even know how to *respond* to that. Do you work for Dell or do you just type without even thinking?
Trying to reason with a Linux true believer is like trying to reason with a true believer in anything: pointless. I can sit and tell them that, even with years of experience as a PC technician (and one-time Apache webserver admin), that even *I* had trouble installing and configuring Ubuntu (supposedly the most user-friendly distro), but the message will not be received. Simple questions like "How do a set it up for dual monitors?" elicit lengthy explanations involving complex manual edits to your xorg config file that may or may not even work (and never did the last time I tried, merely crashing my GUI and leaving me with a command line only interface that led me straight back to Windows). Questions like "Can I use Photoshop/Office/etc. in Linux?" are met with cries of "Oh, GIMP/OpenOffice/etc. are just as good!" (they're not) or slightly more helpful suggestions about which version of Photoshop is LEAST wonky running under Wine.
And now I am now going to get 100 responses saying "Oh, it's just as easy as Windows" and "It's easier in newer version X" and "What's so hard about manually editing a config file?" and "Linux Program X is just as good as Windows Program Y! How DARE you say otherwise!" Then, since this is /., I'll also get modded down as a -20 troll and flamer for even daring to raise these questions.
Telling a Linux true believer that Linux is a pain in the ass for the average user is like telling a Christian that his religion makes no fucking sense, telling a politico that his favorite party/cause/politician is just as scummy as that of his opposition, or telling a sports fan that his "team" could give a shit less whether he lives or dies.
So who do we get to appeal to when we've been falsely accused. The power company can't cut off my electricity without some legal recourse. The city can't turn off my water or sewer without some legal recourse. Who do I appeal to when my only ISP shuts me off because someone spoofed my IP address or botted my machine, or hijacked my router?
It's sad, but I can remember back in the 90's when I was recommending Dell to everyone. Back then, their quality and incredible customer service were legendary--whereas it was companies like Compaq and Packard Bell who were the ones to avoid. Talk about being ruined by success, though. Today I wouldn't recommend a Dell to my worst enemy. My company recently (against my advice) bought a shitload of Dell OptiPlex 700 series desktops. The damn things are wonky as hell. About 75% of them won't even recognize an inserted thumb drive without a complete reboot.
Did anyone catch "Attack of the Show" last night? They showed another one of these increasingly trendy "drop proof" laptops. Every time they dropped it (even from just two or three feet), the battery and dvd drive went flying off (requiring a reboot and, of course, costing you any unsaved data).
The problem with many of these things is that they build bullet-proof titanium super-duper-armour plating for the shell, but use the same old components for the hard drives, battery connections, drive bay connections, etc. The skin of the thing is the LEAST problematic part. I'm more interesting in how you built the hard drive than the SKIN. An adamantium skin won't help your laptop survive if it's using some standard off-the-shelf hard drive and battery.
Not everyone lives outside YOUR door.
For the hundredth time, Gary, bloody stools DO NOT necessarily mean you "have cancer."
Their stupidity isn't intentional. It is not to be confused with strategy.
I've often wondered if "kdawson" is like the /. equivalent of Allan Smithee (a pseudonym used by directors who want to take their names off a bad film). Maybe all the questionable stories and bad summaries just get the generic "kdawson" label to avoid embarrassing the real editors.
Don't worry. You privacy is totally safe, Mr. Richardson. Just finish your bagel and stop worrying so much.
Between your new "WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?" Firewall and this, it makes me wonder WTF is going on in the UK? I thought things were getting bad in the U.S. with the RIAA/MPAA and their thugs, but lately it seems like the UK and Australia are outpacing everyone on this sort of stuff.
Actually, lately it seems like Australia, the UK, and a lot of other European countries' governments are becoming way worse than the U.S. The U.S. government is far from a beacon of freedom, but at least our government isn't trying to firewall the whole country (not yet anyway).
If it's a proprietary system where some insecure company or insecure government agency has the keys, why even bother? If anything, it's only providing you with a dangerously false sense of "security."
I'd say a distant 3rd-place for three Christmases in a row for a console whose predecessor had something like 70%-80% of the console marketshare in the previous generation would fairly qualify as a "flop."
I feel for the innocent workers who lost their jobs, but I will *NOT* feel any sympathy for the end of the company that openly tried to kill DVD in its early days with their bastard version (co-created with a Hollywood law firm, no less).