I've corresponded with Roger Ebert several times over the years.
I like and respect him.
I completely disagree with him on 3D in the cinema.
For me, Toy Story 3 was an excellent example of what is possible. Meet The Robinsons was underrated but also had several excellent scenes where the use of 3D made them work better than 2D could have. For the most part, live 3D has a learning curve that hasn't been mastered yet, but I believe that will change.
I don't own a 3D television...yet, but I think I certainly will in another couple of generations of the technology.
I do wear glasses, but don't have headaches or issues with 3D glasses. Maybe I'm lucky or perhaps my cavemen ancestors were blessed with 3D wiring in their brains.
I'm fairly sure that banks choose to advertise their places of business, rather than having them helpfully outed by the local government...
Further, while retail establishments, banking and otherwise, are made as public as possible for obvious reasons, it is quite common for actors in a wide variety of legitimate industries to be somewhat cagey about the locations and precise purposes of their various "back office" facilities. Keeps security costs lower, provides less information to competitors, and so forth. Most of this stuff isn't truly "secret"(in the sense that it is nothing a PI or decent reporter couldn't dig up with a bit of work); but there are tens, probably hundreds, of thousands of industrial parks and office complexes around the country, often gated and typically deliberately understated, quietly doing assorted stuff, under the (small) placards of various corporations that may or may not be under some other umbrella entirely. In addition to static facilities, things like shipments of cash, high-value consumer or industrial goods, hazardous chemicals, and pharmaceuticals are quite commonly done quietly. Again, not secret; but the local government sure doesn't "accidentally" reveal the time and route that the next shipment of medical opiates is going to be taking into the local oncology hospice...
Obviously, this isn't the end of the world; but conflating retail and backend operations is pretty misleading.
I quite agree.
And yes, while I (or random miscreant) can see the Fritos or Budweiser truck at the 7-11, they're rarely hijacked or robbed. The Wells Fargo truck is heavily armored and has men with guns.
The relative value is quite different for that which is munchies, that which causes munchies or that which buys munchies.
If the 7-11, Fritos truck, or Wells Fargo truck are assailed, police response and serious media coverage are virtually guaranteed. I don't know that would be the case with the pot grower.
I have had several Mazdas and my son is driving a 2004 Mazda3 currently.
Just last week, I took a look at the current Mazda2, which is indeed rated 35mpg for highway driving. I really don't care if a 2013-14 model gets 70mpg as 35mpg is better than the 25mpg I get with my current car.
I have an 80 mile round trip commute to work, so the "extra" 10mpg is something to consider.
Mostly, I just like the way it looks and drives and it's $3-5000 cheaper than the Ford Fiesta. They're not siblings like the Ford Fusion/Mazda 6 cars; the Mazda2 and Fiesta only share a few parts.
We're a Dell shop at work and by default, all "road warriors" have Computrace installed on their machines.
While it doesn't happen often, we do suffer a loss due to theft now and then.
My experience has been that the local PD is very helpful and sends a copy of the police report to Computrace, exchanges contact data, and at least professes interest in recovering the laptop.
Worst case; we get a check in 6 months if the unit is not found.
I know this is a little late for you now, but if your insurance replaces the unit, you might want to add the $$ for CT.
Apparently, EVERY damn thing that is fun,entertaining, or otherwise distracts us from reality is DANGEROUS.
And you know what? I'm pushing 60 and simply don't give a shit if it kills me anymore.
So, I think I'll pour a drink of good bourbon, load the bong, and watch 3D movies until my eyes explode or the Surgeon General kicks in my door...whichever comes first.
I read about the original research and hadn't heard anything for a while and wondered if HP was still working on this.
Personally, I feel this is OUTSTANDING news. RTFA, they think they'll get 20GB on a square centimeter. And have a viable competitor to flash memory in 3 years.
Instead of "coming on Blu-Ray Tuesday!", it'll be "coming on MR-Chip Tuesday!"
Of course, when they get the 4D version working, that'll change to "coming last week on MR-Chip!"
I'd had my 3GS for 2 months. Was in my shirt pocket while I was changing the oil in my John Deere tractor.
It was the first oil change on the tractor. I had run the engine for 15 minutes and had just started draining the oil when my hand slipped pulling the filter.
When I yanked my hand back and jumped up, the phone tumbled out of my shirt and did a gainer into the drain pan and sank.
Of course, I burned my OTHER hand fishing the phone out, then dropped the very slick and hot phone onto the concrete driveway.
Blotted the oil off with paper towels and used Q-tips to wick oil from the speakers and dock connector.
Let it dry for 4-5 hours and then checked it out. No harm and it's still working.
Just glad no one witnessed the impromptu slapstick routine in the driveway.
I looked hard at the Sony and Kindle units and got neither.
I use my 3GS, Stanza, and Comixology . Also have the USA Today and NY Times apps for news.
I like the single device aspect, and readibility is good. Not excellent...I'm > 50 and have reading glasses.
So, I'm considering the iPad. I did look at the latest Sony readers at Best Buy just yesterday and I still think color (especially for comics and news) and the larger form factor are what I want.
Actually had to do the phone activation with Win 7 Pro 3 weeks ago.
I had installed the license I got for Xmas on a dual-core Athlon tower. It ran 4 days, then the motherboard decided it no longer had USB ports. (I live on a farm with power made by gophers pedaling bikes apparently)
So, I built a new box, salvaged HDs and GPU from the "mostly dead" PC, and reinstalled Win 7. Got the "couldn't activate Windows" message, so I called the robot in Redmond.
Took 3-4 minutes and I was "legal" once again.
The WAT bit gives me some concern that I could get ID'd as a false positive at some point.
Actually, the iPhone and the iPad DO multi-task, just not with 3rd party apps. Flash is ugly; HTML5 or even SilverLight is a better choice. People have found methods for an iPad camera in the SDK; what else is in there that's not enabled....yet?
The reasons for WHEN and WHAT the iPad is and is not are not technical at all. It's financial. Apple wanted to get in front of the buying public with the iPad before some competing tablets hit the market. The price isn't the $999 some predicted; even the 64GB/3G model is less than that.
If they enabled multi-tasking out of the box, they risk performance and reliability issues with the 1st gen release and lose some revenue from the closed ecosystem of iTunes, etc. and bad press. Basically, I think Apple is gambling a bit until OS 4.0 is ready, at which time they'll allow/turn on all the "stuff" people are crying about being absent.
And no one I know has any problem saying "Gonna play with my Wii" with a straight face.
I would not pirate an app for my iPhone or any machine I own.
I have a lot of friends and co-workers with iPhones and I don't think a single one of them has a jailbroken device OR any pirated apps. Considering a fair amount of them (and myself) have the technical ability to do so, I wonder about the "rule", regardless of whether they're Pinch-based apps or not.
And honestly, most of the apps are so cheap that anyone and everyone should just pay the $2. I bought RedLaser for $1.99 a while back and saved far more than that shopping with it the first weekend. Bought Pocket Universe for $2.99 last week and have certainly gotten more than 3 bucks of enjoyment from it.
Pirates...whether they're stealing apps or cargo ships...are the lowest form of life.
Yes kids, the card is FAST, but the better news is DirectX 11 support and the ability to run up to 3 displays at high resolutions.
Tom's Hardware has some metrics on overclocking and power consumption in their review, BTW.
At $600 MSRP, this is not a cheap card, but the performance is pretty amazing.
I'm still using an nVidia 8800 in my primary PC and a 7600 in my backup box, and both do OK with most games. I should point out that I don't have Crysis or many of the games used for benchmarks, with the exception of Left 4 Dead (1 and 2).
COD2, the L4D's, and Borderlands all run fine on my current setups, so I'll wait until something dies before I look at a new nVidia or ATI card.
Good to know, this plus Left 4 Dead 2 and Borderlands are all making compelling cases for me to finally build out a gaming PC.
Indeed! I "salvaged" some parts to build a dual-core PC with 4GB of RAM and an nVidia 8800GT to play Left 4 Dead.
I pre-ordered L4D2 to play the demo...pretty good stuff, by the way...then bought Borderlands because my son was raving about it.
Spent this last weekend taking a Soldier up to Level 15. I was doing the "Sledge's Safehouse" mission, got the Mine Key, fought my way out, and couldn't remember where I parked my car. No problem, I think, I'll trot back to turn in the mission and just kill more stuff on the way.
I was leaning over a cliff to snipe skags and accidently fell into the midst of about 12 Adult and Spitter Skags. Bad news for me...my Scorpio Turret got some before I went down under 5-6 beasties. Got a Second Wind twice, but eventually died and was eaten.
I started to head the post with DISCLOSURE, but suffered an unfortunate grammar collision while typing. (No lives were lost and only minor injuries were reported)
DISCLAIMER: I bought an iPhone 3GS in July, the first one I've owned. My wife got one in August. We like the phones, but are not Apple zealots.:END DISCLAIMER
I think the prediction, if true, is good news. I don't see Apple, or anyone else non-Android, idly standing by the next 2-3 years. It should result in better hardware, better OS, better apps, and better user experience at a lower cost due to competition among the players.
Wishful thinking perhaps, but not completely. The typical customer will be an existing device owner. Since their current (non-AT&T) carrier may well offer an Android phone, Apple will have to be available on more carriers than AT&T OR have an iPhone "5GS" that's so compelling people would (still) line up to get one. I don't think Apple can "out-hardware" anyone. The 3GS is neat and capable, but as several others have pointed out, there are other phones as good or better right now.
So, I would think that the entire Apple "food chain"; hardware, iTunes, App Store, iPhone OS, and carrier partner, will have to change and adapt to compete. There may well be many phone models, from multiple manufacturers by 2012 running Android. If Google rolls out "gTunes" or something that competes decently with iTunes with the content Google could bring to the table, Apple will have to react. Ultimate winner should be the consumer.
For my part, if there's an Android phone available a year from July (when my AT&T contract is up) that is better than an iPhone is at that time, I'll likely get it. My consumer loyalty lies with me, period. I feel that's probably the case with most people. iTunes doesn't make or break the deal for me either.
Use this RAH short story and have the students compare characters, events, and society to today's Republicrats, and "prophets" like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Barsoom books...any of them. Ask the question "how would John Carter fare in 21st century America"
Asimov - "I,Robot". Bonus points for including the Harlan Ellison screenplay as part of the reading, followed by a discussion of science fiction adaptations to the big screen.
The above will burn up a couple of weeks at the least.
...an inkjet I've fallen in love with; the HP OfficeJet 8500.
If you can find a working LJ4, get it. Best thing HP made, other than the venerable LJ II. I sold my last one 2-3 years ago. Stilled worked and toner carts were still available. The 5 series weren't bad, either.
I recently went back and forth on laser versus inkjet and ended up coming home with the OfficeJet 8500. I needed color capability, so price was an issue. Got the wireless-capable model for $199, on sale.
It's an all-in-one and while speed and print quality were my primary drivers, I did have to send a 40 page fax this week and have used the copier feature more than I thought I would.
This is a big printer..bigger than some lasers...but the print quality and features are excellent.
I started my first IT job in 1978. Managed a DEC PDP 11/70 and a slew of large impact printers. I can recall MANY times where I was a "hero", which actually got me better jobs more than once.
My last stint, and my longest in one place at 13 years, was to build a global WAN for a household name company. My team did an AMAZING job; good, fast, and definitely NOT cheap. We did our jobs so well in fact, the entire team got laid off by new ownership earlier this year. Two of us (out of 11) have found employment close to our old wage. The rest of us are doing something other than IT or have retired altogether.
For myself, I got several offers, most of which were for less money and involved moving to the East or West Coast. People looked at my excellent resume and string of successes and in every case asked one question: "would you be willing to work for less money?" Nothing about challenging work, interesting people, big projects, or how my decades of experience and 200 I.Q. would be an asset. Simply $$$.
In the end, I decided I'm done with IT. Had planned to teach college and actually lined up a gig at a major university, but passed on that as well.
Now, I play poker for a living and do quite well. No, I haven't been on TV yet, but it's a matter of time. I also play bass in 2 bands and just bought a little farm on 5 acres. These days, my RTFM is the John Deere tractor maintenance guide.
Do I miss it? Saving the world, even when they don't understand that's what happened? No, I don't. IT, at least for me, is no longer fun or "glorious" or even interesting.
I couldn't care less about MMS. Don't use it, won't use it.
Unfortunately, I'm in the minority, based on AT&T network behavior since late Thursday. Typically, I DON'T get dropped calls or "unable to contact mail server" or text messages that take hours to send/receive. Since early Friday a.m., I've gotten all of that and both of our iPhones have gone "brick" on us; won't make or take a call.
Might be coincidence, but doubtful. We did get iPhone OS 3.1 and iTunes 9.0.x in the last 2-3 weeks, so there may be some issue there. Again, I don't think so. Several of my friends with iPhones and folks WITHOUT iPhones, but on AT&T have had issues. I've also noticed the DNS servers at AT&T are flakey as hell right now. Did some WireShark caps and offered to send them to AT&T Support, but so far, no takers or response of any kind. Straight NSLOOKUPs are timing out, which is annoying to say the least.
So, I think there are some ripples in the network pond and they (AT&T) SHOULD be nervous.
My wife and I are considering an RV next spring and plan to take 1-4 week trips all over North America.
I did some research and concluded that a combination of satellite, 3G, and a WiFi repeater would give us reasonable results. The difference is that we DON'T have a business to mind, don't need low-latency links for gaming, and don't plan on going to the middle of nowhere. I figured that even the TiVO would work while driving, with a $2500 mobile satellite antenna rig on the roof.
You're asking for a "perfect" solution, which is your case, does not exist.
The simple solution is the 7P rule; "Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance".
Decide which is more important on any jaunt...going where no man has gone before OR grinding some quests in WoW.
Put another way...and most technology adheres to THIS rule; the three variables are GOOD, FAST, and CHEAP - pick the two that are most important for YOU to have.
>>Bottom line: Sony, Amazon, Asus, etc. will never see a nickel from me for their readers. They missed any opportunity with me.
What did they do to you?
Wow...a perfect example of "Johnny can't read" in your AC post.
The implied point, if you had actually read my entire post, was that device convergence has rendered the purchase of a dedicated e-reader moot, at least for me.
I prefer Sony televisions... I own 2 currently...shop Amazon frequently (Amazon Prime rocks!), and build Asus barebones PCs for family and friends all the time. They are fine vendors and manufacturers. NO issues with any of them. But, in the SPECIFIC case of e-readers, I'm no longer a potential customer.
I am a life-long reader; I love reading a book or newspaper as much as anything in life. I was very ill as a child and spent most of ages 4-6 in bed. We didn't own a TV, so my only companions were books from the local library and the daily papers. (That was back when you got a morning AND an evening paper on your doorstep.) When I could get out, I bought all the comic books my allowance would allow. That was when an Action Comics Superman from DC was a whopping 10 cents. I was highly pissed when the price went to 12 cents an issue, as I recall.
One of the gadgets I've wanted for years is a decent e-reader with lots of content. I passed on the Sony and Kindle machines because they were "close, but no cigar" for my taste. Color was a requirement for me as I still love comics and graphic novels.
Recently, I got an iPhone 3GS and discovered Stanza, Comics (Comixology), NYTimes, and NPR News. I had assumed the small screen on the phone would be terrible for reading. Instead, I find that I read something with ALL of those apps, everyday. Just finished reading ALL of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels with Stanza. Absolutely loved them. Coincidentally, the Science Fiction Book Club (of which I've been a member since 1972) is offering a reissue of those same books in hardcover.
Cost from SFBC = $50, plus shipping. Cost of the ebook versions on Stanza = $0. Also recently read the entire Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes books and stories, again for a cost of $0.
The Comics app, even bereft of titles from DC and Marvel (so far), is excellent. I'm currently reading Omega Chase and loving it. I've spent about $10 on various comics thus far and haven't regretted a single penny.
The point is, I'm no longer "waiting" for an e-reader; I have all I need.
One could argue that I own a +$2000 e-reader in the iPhone, but since it IS a nice phone, game machine (finally getting good at F.A.S.T.), web and e-mail appliance, AND a decent e-reader, I am still happy. Plus, I only have to carry and manage ONE device.
Bottom line: Sony, Amazon, Asus, etc. will never see a nickel from me for their readers. They missed any opportunity with me.
My wife and I both got 3GS units in early July. In early August, we bought a house on 5 acres in the country ( of course, since this is Oklahoma, most everything IS country! ). AT&T actually has DSL, but not U-Verse, in our area, so we ordered it to come up when we moved.
Being AT&T, and unaware of right hand / left hand, the DSL took a week to get provisioned AFTER we moved. So, our only link with the world was our iPhones. We had no issues handling e-mail, surfing the net, and so on. 5 bars, all the time. There IS a cell tower about 1.5 miles west of us, so maybe we were lucky.
Still, this does concern me as we travel a bit and are definitely spoiled. If the phones turn into bricks whilst traveling, we'll be unhappy campers. We use the hell out of UrbanSpoon and Yellow Pages for instance, and would NEED them someplace we're not familiar with.
Hopefully, AT&T will get their infrastructure act together and alleviate some of this.
Slashdot Mirror
Several things.
I'm over 50 years old.
I've corresponded with Roger Ebert several times over the years.
I like and respect him.
I completely disagree with him on 3D in the cinema.
For me, Toy Story 3 was an excellent example of what is possible. Meet The Robinsons was underrated but also had several excellent scenes where the use of 3D made them work better than 2D could have. For the most part, live 3D has a learning curve that hasn't been mastered yet, but I believe that will change.
I don't own a 3D television...yet, but I think I certainly will in another couple of generations of the technology.
I do wear glasses, but don't have headaches or issues with 3D glasses. Maybe I'm lucky or perhaps my cavemen ancestors were blessed with 3D wiring in their brains.
I'm fairly sure that banks choose to advertise their places of business, rather than having them helpfully outed by the local government...
Further, while retail establishments, banking and otherwise, are made as public as possible for obvious reasons, it is quite common for actors in a wide variety of legitimate industries to be somewhat cagey about the locations and precise purposes of their various "back office" facilities. Keeps security costs lower, provides less information to competitors, and so forth. Most of this stuff isn't truly "secret"(in the sense that it is nothing a PI or decent reporter couldn't dig up with a bit of work); but there are tens, probably hundreds, of thousands of industrial parks and office complexes around the country, often gated and typically deliberately understated, quietly doing assorted stuff, under the (small) placards of various corporations that may or may not be under some other umbrella entirely. In addition to static facilities, things like shipments of cash, high-value consumer or industrial goods, hazardous chemicals, and pharmaceuticals are quite commonly done quietly. Again, not secret; but the local government sure doesn't "accidentally" reveal the time and route that the next shipment of medical opiates is going to be taking into the local oncology hospice...
Obviously, this isn't the end of the world; but conflating retail and backend operations is pretty misleading.
I quite agree.
And yes, while I (or random miscreant) can see the Fritos or Budweiser truck at the 7-11, they're rarely hijacked or robbed. The Wells Fargo truck is heavily armored and has men with guns.
The relative value is quite different for that which is munchies, that which causes munchies or that which buys munchies.
If the 7-11, Fritos truck, or Wells Fargo truck are assailed, police response and serious media coverage are virtually guaranteed. I don't know that would be the case with the pot grower.
I have had several Mazdas and my son is driving a 2004 Mazda3 currently.
Just last week, I took a look at the current Mazda2, which is indeed rated 35mpg for highway driving. I really don't care if a 2013-14 model gets 70mpg as 35mpg is better than the 25mpg I get with my current car.
I have an 80 mile round trip commute to work, so the "extra" 10mpg is something to consider.
Mostly, I just like the way it looks and drives and it's $3-5000 cheaper than the Ford Fiesta. They're not siblings like the Ford Fusion/Mazda 6 cars; the Mazda2 and Fiesta only share a few parts.
Interesting reading on this subject; enjoying the comments.
I actually did some design work on a 3D television solution that does not require glasses similar to Phillips.
As such, I can agree and disagree on a lot of the posts about TECHNOLOGY, but I won't.
I wholeheartedly agree with "it's the content, stupid!"
Excluding the 800 pound blue gorilla called "Avatar", I would offer two other current films as examples: Piranha 3D and Toy Story 3.
We're a Dell shop at work and by default, all "road warriors" have Computrace installed on their machines.
While it doesn't happen often, we do suffer a loss due to theft now and then.
My experience has been that the local PD is very helpful and sends a copy of the police report to Computrace, exchanges contact data, and at least professes interest in recovering the laptop.
Worst case; we get a check in 6 months if the unit is not found.
I know this is a little late for you now, but if your insurance replaces the unit, you might want to add the $$ for CT.
...may be hazardous to your health.
Apparently, EVERY damn thing that is fun,entertaining, or otherwise distracts us from reality is DANGEROUS.
And you know what? I'm pushing 60 and simply don't give a shit if it kills me anymore.
So, I think I'll pour a drink of good bourbon, load the bong, and watch 3D movies until my eyes explode or the Surgeon General kicks in my door...whichever comes first.
I read about the original research and hadn't heard anything for a while and wondered if HP was still working on this.
Personally, I feel this is OUTSTANDING news. RTFA, they think they'll get 20GB on a square centimeter. And have a viable competitor to flash memory in 3 years.
Instead of "coming on Blu-Ray Tuesday!", it'll be "coming on MR-Chip Tuesday!"
Of course, when they get the 4D version working, that'll change to "coming last week on MR-Chip!"
( And yes, I just copyrighted "MR-Chip"...)
...in a pan of hot motor oil.
I'd had my 3GS for 2 months. Was in my shirt pocket while I was changing the oil in my John Deere tractor.
It was the first oil change on the tractor. I had run the engine for 15 minutes and had just started draining the oil when my hand slipped pulling the filter.
When I yanked my hand back and jumped up, the phone tumbled out of my shirt and did a gainer into the drain pan and sank.
Of course, I burned my OTHER hand fishing the phone out, then dropped the very slick and hot phone onto the concrete driveway.
Blotted the oil off with paper towels and used Q-tips to wick oil from the speakers and dock connector.
Let it dry for 4-5 hours and then checked it out. No harm and it's still working.
Just glad no one witnessed the impromptu slapstick routine in the driveway.
I looked hard at the Sony and Kindle units and got neither.
I use my 3GS, Stanza, and Comixology . Also have the USA Today and NY Times apps for news.
I like the single device aspect, and readibility is good. Not excellent...I'm > 50 and have reading glasses.
So, I'm considering the iPad. I did look at the latest Sony readers at Best Buy just yesterday and I still think color (especially for comics and news) and the larger form factor are what I want.
Actually had to do the phone activation with Win 7 Pro 3 weeks ago.
I had installed the license I got for Xmas on a dual-core Athlon tower. It ran 4 days, then the motherboard decided it no longer had USB ports. (I live on a farm with power made by gophers pedaling bikes apparently)
So, I built a new box, salvaged HDs and GPU from the "mostly dead" PC, and reinstalled Win 7. Got the "couldn't activate Windows" message, so I called the robot in Redmond.
Took 3-4 minutes and I was "legal" once again.
The WAT bit gives me some concern that I could get ID'd as a false positive at some point.
Actually, the iPhone and the iPad DO multi-task, just not with 3rd party apps. Flash is ugly; HTML5 or even SilverLight is a better choice. People have found methods for an iPad camera in the SDK; what else is in there that's not enabled....yet?
The reasons for WHEN and WHAT the iPad is and is not are not technical at all. It's financial. Apple wanted to get in front of the buying public with the iPad before some competing tablets hit the market. The price isn't the $999 some predicted; even the 64GB/3G model is less than that.
If they enabled multi-tasking out of the box, they risk performance and reliability issues with the 1st gen release and lose some revenue from the closed ecosystem of iTunes, etc. and bad press. Basically, I think Apple is gambling a bit until OS 4.0 is ready, at which time they'll allow/turn on all the "stuff" people are crying about being absent.
And no one I know has any problem saying "Gonna play with my Wii" with a straight face.
My 2 cents...
...I'd buy THAT for a dollar!
Actually, if this thing ever becomes an actual product, I'll buy one.
I can always get the laser in the aftermarket.
I would not pirate an app for my iPhone or any machine I own.
I have a lot of friends and co-workers with iPhones and I don't think a single one of them has a jailbroken device OR any pirated apps. Considering a fair amount of them (and myself) have the technical ability to do so, I wonder about the "rule", regardless of whether they're Pinch-based apps or not.
And honestly, most of the apps are so cheap that anyone and everyone should just pay the $2. I bought RedLaser for $1.99 a while back and saved far more than that shopping with it the first weekend. Bought Pocket Universe for $2.99 last week and have certainly gotten more than 3 bucks of enjoyment from it.
Pirates...whether they're stealing apps or cargo ships...are the lowest form of life.
Yes kids, the card is FAST, but the better news is DirectX 11 support and the ability to run up to 3 displays at high resolutions.
Tom's Hardware has some metrics on overclocking and power consumption in their review, BTW.
At $600 MSRP, this is not a cheap card, but the performance is pretty amazing.
I'm still using an nVidia 8800 in my primary PC and a 7600 in my backup box, and both do OK with most games. I should point out that I don't have Crysis or many of the games used for benchmarks, with the exception of Left 4 Dead (1 and 2).
COD2, the L4D's, and Borderlands all run fine on my current setups, so I'll wait until something dies before I look at a new nVidia or ATI card.
Good to know, this plus Left 4 Dead 2 and Borderlands are all making compelling cases for me to finally build out a gaming PC.
Indeed! I "salvaged" some parts to build a dual-core PC with 4GB of RAM and an nVidia 8800GT to play Left 4 Dead.
I pre-ordered L4D2 to play the demo...pretty good stuff, by the way...then bought Borderlands because my son was raving about it.
Spent this last weekend taking a Soldier up to Level 15. I was doing the "Sledge's Safehouse" mission, got the Mine Key, fought my way out, and couldn't remember where I parked my car. No problem, I think, I'll trot back to turn in the mission and just kill more stuff on the way.
I was leaning over a cliff to snipe skags and accidently fell into the midst of about 12 Adult and Spitter Skags. Bad news for me...my Scorpio Turret got some before I went down under 5-6 beasties. Got a Second Wind twice, but eventually died and was eaten.
I love this game.....
LOL...you are correct.
I started to head the post with DISCLOSURE, but suffered an unfortunate grammar collision while typing. (No lives were lost and only minor injuries were reported)
DISCLAIMER: I bought an iPhone 3GS in July, the first one I've owned. My wife got one in August. We like the phones, but are not Apple zealots. :END DISCLAIMER
I think the prediction, if true, is good news. I don't see Apple, or anyone else non-Android, idly standing by the next 2-3 years. It should result in better hardware, better OS, better apps, and better user experience at a lower cost due to competition among the players.
Wishful thinking perhaps, but not completely. The typical customer will be an existing device owner. Since their current (non-AT&T) carrier may well offer an Android phone, Apple will have to be available on more carriers than AT&T OR have an iPhone "5GS" that's so compelling people would (still) line up to get one. I don't think Apple can "out-hardware" anyone. The 3GS is neat and capable, but as several others have pointed out, there are other phones as good or better right now.
So, I would think that the entire Apple "food chain"; hardware, iTunes, App Store, iPhone OS, and carrier partner, will have to change and adapt to compete. There may well be many phone models, from multiple manufacturers by 2012 running Android. If Google rolls out "gTunes" or something that competes decently with iTunes with the content Google could bring to the table, Apple will have to react. Ultimate winner should be the consumer.
For my part, if there's an Android phone available a year from July (when my AT&T contract is up) that is better than an iPhone is at that time, I'll likely get it. My consumer loyalty lies with me, period. I feel that's probably the case with most people. iTunes doesn't make or break the deal for me either.
As I said, good news.
Use this RAH short story and have the students compare characters, events, and society to today's Republicrats, and "prophets" like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Barsoom books...any of them. Ask the question "how would John Carter fare in 21st century America"
Asimov - "I,Robot". Bonus points for including the Harlan Ellison screenplay as part of the reading, followed by a discussion of science fiction adaptations to the big screen.
The above will burn up a couple of weeks at the least.
Good luck with the class....
...an inkjet I've fallen in love with; the HP OfficeJet 8500.
If you can find a working LJ4, get it. Best thing HP made, other than the venerable LJ II. I sold my last one 2-3 years ago. Stilled worked and toner carts were still available. The 5 series weren't bad, either.
I recently went back and forth on laser versus inkjet and ended up coming home with the OfficeJet 8500. I needed color capability, so price was an issue. Got the wireless-capable model for $199, on sale.
It's an all-in-one and while speed and print quality were my primary drivers, I did have to send a 40 page fax this week and have used the copier feature more than I thought I would.
This is a big printer..bigger than some lasers...but the print quality and features are excellent.
I started my first IT job in 1978. Managed a DEC PDP 11/70 and a slew of large impact printers. I can recall MANY times where I was a "hero", which actually got me better jobs more than once.
My last stint, and my longest in one place at 13 years, was to build a global WAN for a household name company. My team did an AMAZING job; good, fast, and definitely NOT cheap. We did our jobs so well in fact, the entire team got laid off by new ownership earlier this year. Two of us (out of 11) have found employment close to our old wage. The rest of us are doing something other than IT or have retired altogether.
For myself, I got several offers, most of which were for less money and involved moving to the East or West Coast. People looked at my excellent resume and string of successes and in every case asked one question: "would you be willing to work for less money?" Nothing about challenging work, interesting people, big projects, or how my decades of experience and 200 I.Q. would be an asset. Simply $$$.
In the end, I decided I'm done with IT. Had planned to teach college and actually lined up a gig at a major university, but passed on that as well.
Now, I play poker for a living and do quite well. No, I haven't been on TV yet, but it's a matter of time. I also play bass in 2 bands and just bought a little farm on 5 acres. These days, my RTFM is the John Deere tractor maintenance guide.
Do I miss it? Saving the world, even when they don't understand that's what happened? No, I don't. IT, at least for me, is no longer fun or "glorious" or even interesting.
I couldn't care less about MMS. Don't use it, won't use it.
Unfortunately, I'm in the minority, based on AT&T network behavior since late Thursday. Typically, I DON'T get dropped calls or "unable to contact mail server" or text messages that take hours to send/receive. Since early Friday a.m., I've gotten all of that and both of our iPhones have gone "brick" on us; won't make or take a call.
Might be coincidence, but doubtful. We did get iPhone OS 3.1 and iTunes 9.0.x in the last 2-3 weeks, so there may be some issue there. Again, I don't think so. Several of my friends with iPhones and folks WITHOUT iPhones, but on AT&T have had issues. I've also noticed the DNS servers at AT&T are flakey as hell right now. Did some WireShark caps and offered to send them to AT&T Support, but so far, no takers or response of any kind. Straight NSLOOKUPs are timing out, which is annoying to say the least.
So, I think there are some ripples in the network pond and they (AT&T) SHOULD be nervous.
My wife and I are considering an RV next spring and plan to take 1-4 week trips all over North America.
I did some research and concluded that a combination of satellite, 3G, and a WiFi repeater would give us reasonable results. The difference is that we DON'T have a business to mind, don't need low-latency links for gaming, and don't plan on going to the middle of nowhere. I figured that even the TiVO would work while driving, with a $2500 mobile satellite antenna rig on the roof.
You're asking for a "perfect" solution, which is your case, does not exist.
The simple solution is the 7P rule; "Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance".
Decide which is more important on any jaunt...going where no man has gone before OR grinding some quests in WoW.
Put another way...and most technology adheres to THIS rule; the three variables are GOOD, FAST, and CHEAP - pick the two that are most important for YOU to have.
>>Bottom line: Sony, Amazon, Asus, etc. will never see a nickel from me for their readers. They missed any opportunity with me.
What did they do to you?
Wow...a perfect example of "Johnny can't read" in your AC post.
The implied point, if you had actually read my entire post, was that device convergence has rendered the purchase of a dedicated e-reader moot, at least for me.
I prefer Sony televisions... I own 2 currently...shop Amazon frequently (Amazon Prime rocks!), and build Asus barebones PCs for family and friends all the time. They are fine vendors and manufacturers. NO issues with any of them. But, in the SPECIFIC case of e-readers, I'm no longer a potential customer.
I am a life-long reader; I love reading a book or newspaper as much as anything in life. I was very ill as a child and spent most of ages 4-6 in bed. We didn't own a TV, so my only companions were books from the local library and the daily papers. (That was back when you got a morning AND an evening paper on your doorstep.) When I could get out, I bought all the comic books my allowance would allow. That was when an Action Comics Superman from DC was a whopping 10 cents. I was highly pissed when the price went to 12 cents an issue, as I recall.
One of the gadgets I've wanted for years is a decent e-reader with lots of content. I passed on the Sony and Kindle machines because they were "close, but no cigar" for my taste. Color was a requirement for me as I still love comics and graphic novels.
Recently, I got an iPhone 3GS and discovered Stanza, Comics (Comixology), NYTimes, and NPR News. I had assumed the small screen on the phone would be terrible for reading. Instead, I find that I read something with ALL of those apps, everyday. Just finished reading ALL of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels with Stanza. Absolutely loved them. Coincidentally, the Science Fiction Book Club (of which I've been a member since 1972) is offering a reissue of those same books in hardcover.
Cost from SFBC = $50, plus shipping. Cost of the ebook versions on Stanza = $0. Also recently read the entire Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes books and stories, again for a cost of $0.
The Comics app, even bereft of titles from DC and Marvel (so far), is excellent. I'm currently reading Omega Chase and loving it. I've spent about $10 on various comics thus far and haven't regretted a single penny.
The point is, I'm no longer "waiting" for an e-reader; I have all I need.
One could argue that I own a +$2000 e-reader in the iPhone, but since it IS a nice phone, game machine (finally getting good at F.A.S.T.), web and e-mail appliance, AND a decent e-reader, I am still happy. Plus, I only have to carry and manage ONE device.
Bottom line: Sony, Amazon, Asus, etc. will never see a nickel from me for their readers. They missed any opportunity with me.
My wife and I both got 3GS units in early July. In early August, we bought a house on 5 acres in the country ( of course, since this is Oklahoma, most everything IS country! ). AT&T actually has DSL, but not U-Verse, in our area, so we ordered it to come up when we moved.
Being AT&T, and unaware of right hand / left hand, the DSL took a week to get provisioned AFTER we moved. So, our only link with the world was our iPhones. We had no issues handling e-mail, surfing the net, and so on. 5 bars, all the time. There IS a cell tower about 1.5 miles west of us, so maybe we were lucky.
Still, this does concern me as we travel a bit and are definitely spoiled. If the phones turn into bricks whilst traveling, we'll be unhappy campers. We use the hell out of UrbanSpoon and Yellow Pages for instance, and would NEED them someplace we're not familiar with.
Hopefully, AT&T will get their infrastructure act together and alleviate some of this.