In other words, you said very succinctly what I have been trying to express to my friends and family. For some people, this (the iPhone) is a fairly-to-very attractive gadget. We will get one the 29th or soon after.
My situation is:
Contract with AllTel expires in early July. The phone is a basic Motorola with a tiny screen. I have a 1GB iPod Shuffle, which has no screen, of course. I have an excellent, older 4MP Canon SureShot. Takes great photos, but is pretty big in comparison to an iPhone. I have a dead Compaq iPaq somewhere that I hated because it was the size of a TOS tricorder among other things and had an unusable Web experience.
Since I've had many occasions to carry all of those things around, along with a pager, NexTel radio, etc. as needed, the appeal of the iPhone is obvious. I don't text, so the $60 plan (a whole $11 more than my current AllTel plan) actually works perfect for me.
Do I KNOW anything about the iPhone? Other than it makes perfect sense to me for my needs and usage profile....nope!
On the "surface", this looks pretty neat, but there's quite a bit of hardware to this thing. My feeling is that they haven't figured out how to do this in a smaller form factor.
It could be simply a factor of not wanting anyone to know (outside of MS) and thus, MS didn't shop around for someone to create ASICs, etc. to get this down to a reasonable size.
On the other hand, maybe what the world really, really needs to a $10K coffee table that your kid can lay your BlackBerry on and transfer your life to Nigeria, Estonia, etc.
This doesn't surprise me. Steve is a hands-on, brain-actually-functions kind of guy. I've had and used Macs since day one. At one point in my life, I had all the training and certs one could attain for Apple gear, including the original LaserWriter. Spent some time developing NeXT applications and that put me into direct contact with Steve on several occasions. This sounds like something he would do.
As an Apple customer, I have ZERO issues with their support and service operations. In 23+ years of owning and using Apple (and NeXT) gear, I've had ONE hardware issue that required repair and no software issues other than a weird thing with iTunes on Windows with an obscure album I'd purchased. The support tech had me "fixed" in about 3 minutes on that one.
Considering I once unboxed 20 brand new IBM PS/2 Model 80's and had 17 OOB failures ranging from dead floppy drive to dead mainboard, Apple has no major issues across the product line.
I don't hesitate to recommend Apple computers and iPods to people because I feel they won't need much support and if they do, it'll likely be very good.
Oh, and I do have two HP/Compaq laptops for work and both died within the first 12 months of service. Only one was able to be resurrected. HP/Compaq Support is pretty useless on occasion and this was one such instance. And Carly was sitting in the big chair when this happened and never called, wrote, sent flowers or ANYTHING.
Seriously, humans + technology = something WILL get hosed, sooner or later. Apple does a better job of dealing with that. Whether or not Steve is holding the screwdriver.
I had actually read something about the Disney Digital 3D "system" before "Meet The Robinsons" came out and was intrigued. I've done some design work for a 3D system that I can't talk about and I'm old enough to remember the flood of "bad" 3D from the 50's.
So, I was in chair in see the Disney flick.
Kids...this is pretty good. The movie was actually cute, but I was blown away by how well the depth of field held up throughout the movie.
Interestingly enough, there was a 1955 Disney cartoon...Donald Duck with Chip and Dale...that Walt shot in "Stereoscopic 3-D" shown before the movie. Made for a nice contrast as virtually EVERY 3D offering back then did the same "look!...this is right in your face!!!" stuff. With few exceptions, the new RealD process (and the way Disney did the film) stayed away from this.
I took the polarized glasses off a couple of times during the movie just to compare the 2D image to the 3D. Yes, you can do that as there's no red/blue halos around the screen image. I've since compared this to going from B&W to color or NTSC to High Def...it's that compelling.
If Indy 4, Spiderman 4, etc. is shot and shown using this, movie goers will flip out. This may very well be what gets people back into theatres....in droves.
And, as this matures, it's only going to get better!
BTW, my temp sig is in honor of a terrifically funny sequence from the movie.
....Bill will indeed fly into space and following in the tradition of John Denver and Sonny Bono, die stupidly in an accident.
Sure there are no pine trees in space, but he'll be going a bit faster than the 40-50 mph Sonny Bono was when he snacked on instant pine nuts.
And everyone knows that the quality of Russian spacecraft is nothing like John Denver's ultralight plane that pinwheeled into the Pacific...it's probably worse.
I am somewhat knowledgeable about audio and video systems...worked as an "electronic assembly engineer" for a big A/V house in the early 80's while completing college. The job was pre-wiring, constucting, and testing A/V systems for everything from the airports to discos to churches. I've kept up over the years and have a pretty nice system in my new home that I designed from scratch. I did have the wiring and speaker installations done by some pros I know and it was well worth the money. I did, however, calibrate the audio and video myself.
So, I have friends and family frequently ask me "what set" and "what resolution" questions. My answer is simple and stays away from seating distance and ambient light calculations. I tell them to take several DVDs they know and love that vary in content...action, comedy, drama, etc. so they can see how the set performs over a range of material...to the store with them and WATCH the TVs they think they want. I refuse to go with them or recommend specifics for the most part. I will on occasion suggest LCD or plasma sets based on their viewing area and light sources, but again, I don't go into gory detail.
This is primarily because I believe it's very subjective and since I already have a great TV, they need to pick the one they love. Plus, this has the benefit of me not having to hear "dude, that TV you TOLD me to get sucks, killed the cat, etc." when buyer's remorse kicks in.
I do recommend they get any HD set properly set up either by me (for free...I'm an idiot) or a ISF-certified tech. Again, no long discourses on color temperature, etc. I just tell them "it will look better and your set will last longer" and that's almost always good enough.
That's why articles like this typically just irritate me. You can quibble over every little thing as well as the larger issues forever and at the end of the day, it comes down to whether or not the buyer likes what they see. Most really have no clue about 720p or 1080p...it's usually just "ohh....pretty!"
On a side note, I saw the new Disney flick, "Meet The Robinsons" in Disney Digital 3-D last week and THAT got me excited about display technology. The movie itself is cute and the kids will like it. The 3-D was as good as I've ever seen and for the most part, refrained from shoving things in your face for the "see? it IS 3-D!" effect. You still have to wear glasses, but they're not the old red/blue cardboard jobbies. Instead, they're plastic, dark (polarized) "sunglasses" that make everyone look like Roy Orbison and were quite comfortable to wear for 2+ hours. Even if you hate the thought of sitting through a kiddie cartoon movie, you might want to go just to see the 3-D...it's that good.
I wrote a white paper in 1990 about voice recognition where I predicted that it would difficult to impossible to become the predominant method of human/computer interaction.
Why? Unrealistic depictions in popular entertainment.
I called this the "Star Trek Syndrome" because that show and the Star Wars films that followed a decade later set the bar way too high and created an expectation for the average consumer that can't be met anytime soon.
Granted, there are voice solutions for many things ranging from voice-dialing your cell, GPS and audio systems in cars, Speech tools in XP, Vista, and so on. The problem arises in that Average Joe has the expectation that you can speak natural language on a crowded bridge, with Khan shooting the hell out of your ship, and have the computer pick out your voice from an ambient noise floor of around 100dB, and parse the command(s) PERFECTLY every time.
Ain't gonna happen anytime soon, kids. Yes, very narrow applications work well and have for some time. The technology for speech recognition is very good. It's the EXPECTATION of the average consumer that's the issue. And unfortunately, if it doesn't work that way, Billy Ray Trailer Park won't buy it.
So, while computer interaction in sci-fi movies ranges from almost right to wildly stupid, the real issue is what it does to the consumer mindset.
Wow. I had exactly the opposite experience during Viet Nam.
I was a fairly religious, God-fearing type from the Bible Belt. Went to Chapel in Basic even though that got me some grief from some of the others in my platoon.
After 4 years as a medic, I pretty much became an agnostic. When people ask me my religious preference these days, my reply is 'Druid'.
And I've said for years that church is poorly organized group therapy run by idiots.
That said, there probably is a survival benefit to the different belief structures that exist. The other thing living 50+ years has taught me is there are 3 basic types of people in the world; Alphas, Betas, and Gammas. There's a direct correlation to basic personality type to belief adherence. No, I don't have a publishable study or tons of empirical data, just a lot of observation and interaction with people all over the world.
Basically, the weaker the mind and ability to encompass higher order thinking, the greater potential to thump a Bible, Quran, etc. Of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part, if you can't entertain thoughts that we are the "boogers of a booger of a booger" in the grand scheme of the Universe, then you will most likely glom onto some religion (or equally pointless activity) to be safe and comfortable.
I feel that most cases of hearing voices, seeing angels, visions, etc. are simply schizophrenia. Modern medicine has done a lot of good, but it's also screwed with natural selection. Village idiots didn't get many dates in the Middle Ages but now we give them Viagra and put them on TV as newscasters, in the White House, and so on.
OK, I've offended 90% of planet Earth, so I'll stop while I'm behind. Even so, while believing in a load of crap may confer an advantage, it's not necessarily a positive thing.
Uhhh....since I'm really old, I know that the "Electric Slide" is actually "The Hustle" that was all the rage during the Dark Ages when Disco ruled the dance floor.
I would claim "ownership" of "The Hustle", but it's about the LAST thing in the Universe I want to be known for.
This guy is a liar. Although, I agree than someone should stop Ellen Degeneres from dancing...ever.
I've played thousands of games of SC and still do.
Almost always play Protoss, but occasionally play Terran as Marines and Tanks are just flat fun. Never did get proficient with the Zerg; don't like bugs, I guess.
It would be excellent to play at a screen resolution higher than 800x600 as well!
As for WoW...my son started playing recently and we set up a TeamSpeak server for his play group last weekend. I watched them play for a while and decided I can live without WoW.
We did Diablo I and II to DEATH so I'm at the point where hacking and slashing and trying to get to level 50, 60, 1 zillion, is mostly boring.
I'm currently running a 61 inch Sony WEGA LCD set for my home theatre setup. I looked at DLP, Plasma, and LCD before choosing the Sony.
I also bought from a speciality store rather than Best Buy, etc. They matched the price that everyone else had, so that was not a consideration.
What was "better" was that they were willing to set up a Pioneer Elite Plasma set, an LG DLP set, and the Sony LCD in the same room with hi-def sources and a DVD player identical to the one I own. I brought in DVDs that I know and love, with a wide range of "challenges"; fast motion, dark scenes, etc.
We spent about 4-5 hours playing with all 3 sets and chose the Sony. Still like it, even though it's "only" 720P.
For my next set...in about 1-2 years...I'm thinking about the Sony SXRD sets. Like LCOS, but apparently better. By that time, some SED sets may be out and they'll get a look.
In any and EVERY case, do a lot of homework, gather up some material (DVD is easiest, of course), and go WATCH the sets you're thinking about. Check the menu settings with the remotes...if the set looks "nice and bright", check to see if the Bright and Picture settings are maxed...you won't like that set at home. Check Color Temp settings. "Warm" on most sets SHOULD be close to 6500K. Turn OFF all the noise reduction and other "cool" stuff in the menus as they can add more problems than they "fix".
And, since the world still has 98% standard def programming on cable, etc., check out how the 5 o'clock news looks as well.
Lastly, invest in the Avia software or put aside $2-300 bucks for an ISF-certified tech to calibrate your set when it's installed. Hey, if you're spending $3-5000 on a nice set (or projector), get it dialed in perfectly. It will make a great set a fantastic set, extend the life of the bulb, and always make guests say "man, your TV looks way better than mine!"
I've read about the SpyderTV unit and while it's pretty neat, it's technically something you'll use ONCE. So, I would spend the cash for a pro calibration and be done with it. My Sony was so close to spec, it required almost no adjustments. Color Temp was a smidge low and that was about it.
So, rather than embrace plasma, LCD, smoke and mirrors, etc., I vote for getting the best picture for the material you're going to be viewing the most.
I think the article is ludicrious. The number of people who would download HD content versus the vast, unwashed, technophobic masses is a big delta. At least in the U.S., we're all about the convenient, easy thing to do. Basically, I think there will always be people who are spoiled to putting a disc in a machine and having it work with a huge degree of success, every time. (Scratched rental and NetFlix DVDs notwithstanding)
Plus, there's the issue of cost. To build out a 100Mb - 1Gb content delivery infrastructure is very doable technically, but not economically. It will price out most users until the costs are recovered and there's some competitive pressure to reduce the price of admission.
Optical media, HD or Standard, is amazingly cheap and easy to make these days. I use the analog loophole on my SciAtl DVR to burn DVDs via the S-Video outputs for about 12 cents a pop. If I bought blank media in higher volume, the cost would drop more. I have an excellent network and lots of disk space at home but for stuff "I gotta keep", I burn to stable, won't crash or get eaten by some DRM scheme blank DVDs.
And in checking my Amazon Wish List, the majority of items are DVDs, Standard and HD-DVD (giving Blu-Ray a pass for now), that I want to own and plan on keeping for decades. I absolutely expect to have some device and/or method to view them for a long, long time. I do NOT expect to be using spinning ceramics with iron bits for storage in 10-20 years. I personally think we'll be using high density synthetic crystal data lattices, but that's another topic!
I don't think I'm atypical in preferring to have a 'hard copy' of some movies instead a Media Center PC or iTV box.
I was more than a little concerned that I would run into a license validation issue recently.
The motherboard in my son's PC went tits up, so he ordered an ASUS barebones box and an Athlon 64 CPU from NewEgg. We took everything else from his old eMachine chassis. (hey, it was a gift from his uncle)
Anyway, we booted from an original XP CD we've owned for years. The PC it was originally installed on has long since been salvaged for parts and is no more. We installed the OS, an SP2 CD I keep handy, then connected to the net to get another 68 updates and such. Windows Update did it's "Genuine Advantage" update and....validated the XP license with no problem.
I was prepared to browbeat an MS employee into realizing the original PC the license was installed on was like the snows of yesteryear, but it a non-event.
The box has been running for 2 weeks with no issues. It's been through at least one Windows Update pass since then with no alarms or MS Gestapo banging on the door, black helicopters circling, etc.
I would think a completely new system build (the eMachine came with a restore CD that only works on an eMachine) would have tripped an alarm for MS but that's apparently not the case.
First, I am biased. I've been a poker player for 40 years now. I don't play any other casino games, bet on sports, horse racing, etc. There are 3 casinos with 10 miles of my home. In the last year, I've played poker tournaments and cash games in casinos all over the U.S.
While I'm not ready to quit the day job, I have submitted 1099G forms and paid taxes on my winnings for the last 3 years. Before that, I didn't win enough money to need to file a 1099G. This was a function of not having casino poker in my state until last year and the fact that I was playing in private games. Now technically, those "home games" were and are illegal. My win rate is about 85% in the private games and I do very well at the casinos...about $150 an hour playing $1-2 and $2-5 no limit hold 'em.
I have no issue paying taxes on poker winnings.
I've also been playing on-line poker on Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, and Full Tilt on a daily basis. The advantages are many. I can play 3-5 tables at the same time, listen to music or T.V., get a snack, etc. I also GREATLY improved my game by virtue of being able to play thousands of hands much more quickly and cheaply than driving to a smokey, crowded, loud casino.
Poker is unquestionably a game of skill. Yes, there is an element of luck, but it's very, very small. Playing poker at a high level requires concentration, memory, and very good math skills. There's also the psychological component of reading your opponents and making plays designed to make them make mistakes. At some level, poker is simply making fewer mistakes than your opponent. Even the supposedly random element of shuffling and dealing the cards can be adjusted for. There is something known as "shuffle tracking" which involves recognizing repeatable patterns of card distribution by a human dealer or an automatic shuffler. That's one of the reasons there's a dealer change every 30 minutes...to defeat shuffle tracking.
There are two primary problems with the government prohibiting on-line poker.
First, they're pissing away several billion dollars in tax revenue that will only increase. Real money that could help offset deficits, the cost of the stinkin' war in Iraq, fund social programs, go to education (like lottery dollars in my state) and so on.
Secondly, this legislation puts private industry...banks and credit card companies...in the position of enforcing the law. That's just plain wrong. Their business is money, not enforcing gambling laws.
Now, is gambling bad? I don't know personally...I don't gamble. My standard response when someone says "oh, you're a gambler" is "no, I'm a poker player...and since you don't understand the difference, how about a game?"
Personally, I've never met anyone with a gambling problem, but then I don't know any meth heads or heroin addicts either. I've known a fair number of alcoholics...and there are more of them than any other addiction out there. And yet, liquor stores are still open. You can buy beer and wine at the grocery store. Most restaurants have a bar area. Hmmmm....what exactly is the new online gambling law really supposed to achieve? Prohibition in the last century actually created many more problems than it supposedly solved. I'm betting (pun intended) this new law has a similar effect. When some grandma in Des Moines gets busted for playing nickel poker on PartyPoker, can anyone say, with a straight face, that she's a criminal?
Well, my thoughts on it. If you do play poker on the Internet, you might check out the Poker Player's Alliance. They are actively seeking an exemption for poker in the new law. I've given them money, sent letters to my congressmen, and called their offices. So far, they're climbing a steep hill in Crisco boots, but I support their efforts just the same.
You hit the nail on the head. I'm old enough to remember TOS in first run on NBC. The show was so "out there" for Oklahoma City, where I grew up, that they ran it on Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m. That, and the fact that the Oklahoma University football coach's show got the prime time slot where Trek was supposed to run.
And when TNG premiered, when did the local NBC affiliate run it? Sunday nights at 10:30! In fact, after the show started getting ratings, they tried to move it to a more lucrative Friday prime time slot and got inundated by calls and letters DEMANDING "their Trek" be put back on Sundays.
I was enthralled by TOS, even though I had to watch it in the dark with the volume at a whisper because it was school night. Even then, some of the effects were laughable to downright embarrassing. Cleaning up the video and audio is a good thing. I usually reserve my DVD purchase dollars for "cleaned up" re-issues like Lawrence of Arabia, etc. I can't see how this "damages" TOS at all. And, since I do have a 61 inch Sony WEGA HD television, I would be in a position to appreciate the result.:o)
Feature-wise, there's nothing compelling. The wireless feature seems not well thought out and is so limited I doubt most buyers would have that as the top reason to purchase.
And, without a distribution system like iTunes, why would an iPod owner or even a 1st time buyer choose a Zune?
Some others have made points about accessories. That's a good question; what's available from MS? 3rd party support? Retailers signed up to give over shelf space?
Repair policy!
My wife had the screen on her iPod Mini crack while under warranty. Had a brand new unit from Apple in 72 hours. I bought a Shuffle like day one and it malfunctioned about 8 months out. Apple shipped me a new one and I returned the old one...in the same box...at their cost. Got the Shuffle in 48 hours! I opened both cases on the Apple site in about a minute with no hassle whatsoever.
What will Microsoft offer? Do they have the equivalent of AppleCare?
If they (MS) were smart, they'd have made the wireless work for an optional headset. No cords or dongles hanging from your player. Extra bucks for the "upgrade" from earplugs. Maybe they should let the Xbox marketing folks loose on this.
No...I don't think Steve Jobs will lose any sleep...or money...over Zune.
...I guess.
I've flipped between ATI and Nvidia for years. Currently, I have an ATI part in my primary desktop at home. Plays COD2 pretty well. BUT, it's an older mobo with AGP...no PCI-E. So, if I want more "ohhh....pretty!" from Doom3, FarCry, HL2, etc., I'll be buying an Nvidia 7800GS AGP part.
ATI has indeed had driver issues and I've experienced them with the Radeon 9800 Pro I've got now. OTOH, my older Athlon machine is STILL running an old Nvidia Ti4200 and loving it.
So, unless ATI offers up some love for those of us who have decent hardware but no PCI-E slots, I'm giving my money to Nvidia for XMAS!
Read an editorial in the current issue of Sound & Vision magazine. (yes, actual print on dead trees!)
The writer pointed out that the old Sprint telephone ads for their land lines suggested they were so clean, you could hear a pin drop. Now, Cingular is advertising they drop the fewest calls for cell users. (they don't say they don't drop ANY, just fewer than the competition)
He states that most cell call voice quality is AWFUL and that he thinks the "culprit" is convenience. Typical consumer will choose convenience over quality appears to be the point.
If that's true and Apple intros an iPhone that's excellent technology, but pricey and restricted in some fashion, then it will go the way of Newton, the TeleCompaq (Compaq built a really neat PBX console in the 80's...died an immediate death) and peace in the Middle East.
For me, I prefer a phone, that's simply a phone, that works. Period. I have an iPod for music...I don't need or want it to be a telephone, garage door opener, or sex toy. (the shape is ALL wrong, etc.)
A friend at work just replaced an "old" 3G Pod with the new 60GB unit and I am impressed with the video on it. I actually watched a couple of ABC News podcasts and a few minutes of the movie 'Monsters, Inc.' and liked it.
So if Steve wants my vote, I would buy an iVideo before an iPhone. Note, my phone does music and can play video, but I have a smaller screen than a Nano, so it's useless for watching anything, doesn't have the capacity for a movie, and the music sounds worse than a crystal radio set I built 40 years ago.
An iPod I could carry on one of the zillion plane flights I take every year would be "convenient" for me as I could listen to high quality music or watch the 'Lost' episode I missed as I chose. And I could use it on a plane whereas the flight attendants always get twitchy about phones.
Well, everything in orbit is moving at considerable speed.
The question would be: "at what relative speed does the impact occur?"
For example:
One object...a space station, inflatable or otherwise is moving at 17,500 mph. It is overtaken by an object...a 2cm bit of metal with a mass of 5g...moving at 17,520 mph.
The math would suggest the metal bit would do little to no damage.
Now, if that same 5g metal bit MET rather than overtook the space station and the speeds were identical, there would be a much more significant result.
Actually, it's not your fault...I didn't include some important details.
In situations 1 & 2, these were low income, high-crime areas. Most "burglars" were stealing to support drug habits, so a logical reaction of bolting when surprised was unlikely. It was far more likely that I would have been injured or killed; it happened to more than one neighbor in the time I lived there. The cops refused to run solo, day or night, in this area. And while I am a skilled martial artist, and have fought multiple opponents in controlled conditions, facing 4 people high on drugs unarmed would have been idiotic. The nearest police assistance was 6 to 11 miles distant, depending on which station responded. In both cases, the police WERE called, but the miscreants were long gone. Still, a report was filed and hopefully made a difference.
In situation 3, we were ALONE, near dusk, at an isolated rest stop with little traffic on the main highway. We had stopped for the facilities and to stretch our legs. The person who approached us was between us and the car and behaved in a threatening manner. And remember, when he exited stage left and we got in our car and drove to the next town, we reported the incident to the State Troopers, who informed us that someone not unlike the description we gave HAD been preying on motorists in that area.
Now, knowing this may not change your opinion of me or how I chose to handle the situations. But, I could have shot and killed any or all of those people and likely faced no prosecution or even arrest. I chose to bark, but not to bite or end a human life needlessly. That's part of the rationale to carrying a spring-loaded baton instead of a gun now. I'm UNLIKELY to kill anyone with it and should they disarm me, they could certainly hurt me, but likely NOT kill me with my own weapon. The same is not true of a gun or knife. Just because I made a judgement call...3 times in 30 years...doesn't make me stupid. I've been in more than 3 confrontations in my 50 years on Earth, and rarely have had to escalate beyond strong rhetoric and body language.
Oh, I've also been in far worse places on the planet than Johannesburg; the military saw to that. Plus, I've been to New York City on vacation! And hey, this stupid Okie is still breathing.:o)
Thanks for the feedback; I was imprecise in the information initially given, so thank you for pointing that out, albeit in a somewhat insulting manner.
Count me in on the "brandishing" scenario. Three times in the last 30 years, but all three could have turned out MUCH worse had I not been armed.
One (1977) - watching T.V. late at night when my German Shepard alerts on the back door. I see a small light and the outline of someone working the lock. I got my 12 gauge bolt-action shotgun, pointed it at the door, and cycled a 00 round. The screen door slammed and the would-be burglar bolted for the fence. My dog nearly caught him...so fast, I couldn't get a clear shot at the guy.
Two (1983) - Four (4!) crackheads started banging on the front door at 5:00 a.m. demanding a ride to someone's house. I answered the door with a Colt Python leveled at the closest asshole's head. Looked like the Olympic relay team leaving the yard.
Three (1985) - Driving in a remote part of Texas with the wife and newborn son. A guy at the isolated rest stop, who looks scary, starts moving towards us. His body language and facial expression just screamed BAD NEWS, so I pulled my carry weapon, a.410/.45 cal Derringer and held it down at my side. He looked, he turned, he ran. We called the Texas Highway Patrol when we hit Paris (Texas) and gave them a description. Sure enough, they had reports of people being accosted and robbed in that area.
BTW, I live in Oklahoma and we have a "Make My Day" law and citizens are allowed to carry and use a firearm. I don't know the current statistics, so I don't know if the crime rate has changed, up or down, since the law took effect. I suspect it's down, but really have no idea...just an impression. I do know that I almost certainly AVOIDED being a victim by virtue of being armed in the above situations.
Interestingly enough, I don't currently carry a firearm. I do carry an ASP police baton as it's non-lethal and I can drive to Texas or Kansas without getting hassled by the law for having a hand cannon in the truck.
No, I don't belong to the N.R.A. or anything. Just raised on a farm and trained to hunt and use firearms correctly from about age 6 on. I'm also a VietNam vet and did qualify as a Marksman. Basically, a gun is a tool, not a religious experience.
Well, I didn't have LASIK...I had RK.(Radial Keratotomy) 2 cuts to my right eye, 4 to my left. (the extra 2 corrected my astigmatism in that eye)
I indeed asked about the danger of a "boot to the head" and was told that lab testing of RK involved hitting cats and rabbits in the eye. The result? The force required to damage an RK'd eye was the same required to damage a "normal" eye.
He did have me wear racquetball goggles for 6 months. Of course, I was seeing so well, I didn't get hit with any full power shots...punch or kick. After that, I went "naked" and obviously have had no problems.
I don't know about impact damage with LASIK....didn't choose that, so I didn't ask a zillion questions like I did with RK.
My particular style is some old-school Karate...my teacher (Terry Smith) was trained by Chuck Norris and was on his team that fought in Leningrad in 1990....with some Muay Thai, BJJ, Aikido, and plain old boxing mixed in. So, we don't do 720 reverse spin kicks and crap like that. Just good solid fighting techniques. In fact, we don't encourage head kicks as the risk / reward ratio is too low for street or bar fighting.
But when you're in the ring or a tournament, there's always some TKD types that go for the flashy point-getters. As a rule, I stayed away from tourneys because they allowed the showy stuff with no power and frowned on knocking people out cold.
I do have a cool photo someone snapped of me doing something completely stupid...a reverse spinning backfist...and getting away with it. Clocked the guy so hard he went down and nearly out. He recovered, but was so messed up he lost the match 2-0. He was bigger, stronger and much younger, so I went for the head instantly and lucked out. In the picture, you can see he's trying to get a shot into my body, but I picked off the punch and he went down. I was lucky not to get some broken ribs or my head knocked off.
But I digress...the point is that having 20/20 vision...especially peripheral vision, helped me out tremendously when I started fighting seriously.
Oh, someone else asked about this: I have had to get reading glasses recently, but that's age-related. (I'm 50) But, they're the lowest magnification possible and I ONLY need them to read small text really close to me. I was told that was likely, so I'm not unhappy. I started wearing glasses at age 5, so 10 years without ANY was excellent. And the readers are super light compared to the coke bottle bottom things I had to wear for 35 years prior to the RK.
Get a 2nd opinion about your eyes and consider wearing some low profile goggles for a while until you're healed. That worked great for me.
My doctor told me that I probably would need "readers" at some point...like 50 or so.
Sure enough, I had to get a pair about 6-8 months ago. The $5 lowest magnification models at CVS work great, but are really UGLY.
So, I actually got a prescription pair with Transitions lenses so I could wear them in any situation...like reading out on the patio, etc.
Believe it or not, I don't mind the reading glasses. I don't need them to drive, play sports, or use a computer since I have 19" LCDs and can sit back a bit. And, they are a fraction of the weight of my old glasses, so I actually forget I'm wearing them sometimes.
And, a benefit of eye surgery folks rarely mention...20/20 peripheral vision...is unaffected with or without the readers. It's great for my martial arts, basketball, and especially racquetball being able to see clearly out of the corners of my eyes!
BTW, I opted for RK instead of the laser surgery. Radial Keratomoty.
Slashdot Mirror
Amen and Hallelujah!
In other words, you said very succinctly what I have been trying to express to my friends and family. For some people, this (the iPhone) is a fairly-to-very attractive gadget. We will get one the 29th or soon after.
My situation is:
Contract with AllTel expires in early July. The phone is a basic Motorola with a tiny screen.
I have a 1GB iPod Shuffle, which has no screen, of course.
I have an excellent, older 4MP Canon SureShot. Takes great photos, but is pretty big in comparison to an iPhone.
I have a dead Compaq iPaq somewhere that I hated because it was the size of a TOS tricorder among other things and had an unusable Web experience.
Since I've had many occasions to carry all of those things around, along with a pager, NexTel radio, etc. as needed, the appeal of the iPhone is obvious. I don't text, so the $60 plan (a whole $11 more than my current AllTel plan) actually works perfect for me.
Do I KNOW anything about the iPhone? Other than it makes perfect sense to me for my needs and usage profile....nope!
On the "surface", this looks pretty neat, but there's quite a bit of hardware to this thing. My feeling is that they haven't figured out how to do this in a smaller form factor.
It could be simply a factor of not wanting anyone to know (outside of MS) and thus, MS didn't shop around for someone to create ASICs, etc. to get this down to a reasonable size.
On the other hand, maybe what the world really, really needs to a $10K coffee table that your kid can lay your BlackBerry on and transfer your life to Nigeria, Estonia, etc.
Yeah...that's gotta be the case.
[tongue firmly in cheek]
Folks,
This doesn't surprise me. Steve is a hands-on, brain-actually-functions kind of guy. I've had and used Macs since day one. At one point in my life, I had all the training and certs one could attain for Apple gear, including the original LaserWriter. Spent some time developing NeXT applications and that put me into direct contact with Steve on several occasions. This sounds like something he would do.
As an Apple customer, I have ZERO issues with their support and service operations. In 23+ years of owning and using Apple (and NeXT) gear, I've had ONE hardware issue that required repair and no software issues other than a weird thing with iTunes on Windows with an obscure album I'd purchased. The support tech had me "fixed" in about 3 minutes on that one.
Considering I once unboxed 20 brand new IBM PS/2 Model 80's and had 17 OOB failures ranging from dead floppy drive to dead mainboard, Apple has no major issues across the product line.
I don't hesitate to recommend Apple computers and iPods to people because I feel they won't need much support and if they do, it'll likely be very good.
Oh, and I do have two HP/Compaq laptops for work and both died within the first 12 months of service. Only one was able to be resurrected. HP/Compaq Support is pretty useless on occasion and this was one such instance. And Carly was sitting in the big chair when this happened and never called, wrote, sent flowers or ANYTHING.
Seriously, humans + technology = something WILL get hosed, sooner or later. Apple does a better job of dealing with that. Whether or not Steve is holding the screwdriver.
Folks,
I had actually read something about the Disney Digital 3D "system" before "Meet The Robinsons" came out and was intrigued. I've done some design work for a 3D system that I can't talk about and I'm old enough to remember the flood of "bad" 3D from the 50's.
So, I was in chair in see the Disney flick.
Kids...this is pretty good. The movie was actually cute, but I was blown away by how well the depth of field held up throughout the movie.
Interestingly enough, there was a 1955 Disney cartoon...Donald Duck with Chip and Dale...that Walt shot in "Stereoscopic 3-D" shown before the movie. Made for a nice contrast as virtually EVERY 3D offering back then did the same "look!...this is right in your face!!!" stuff. With few exceptions, the new RealD process (and the way Disney did the film) stayed away from this.
I took the polarized glasses off a couple of times during the movie just to compare the 2D image to the 3D. Yes, you can do that as there's no red/blue halos around the screen image. I've since compared this to going from B&W to color or NTSC to High Def...it's that compelling.
If Indy 4, Spiderman 4, etc. is shot and shown using this, movie goers will flip out. This may very well be what gets people back into theatres....in droves.
And, as this matures, it's only going to get better!
BTW, my temp sig is in honor of a terrifically funny sequence from the movie.
....Bill will indeed fly into space and following in the tradition of John Denver and Sonny Bono, die stupidly in an accident.
Sure there are no pine trees in space, but he'll be going a bit faster than the 40-50 mph Sonny Bono was when he snacked on instant pine nuts.
And everyone knows that the quality of Russian spacecraft is nothing like John Denver's ultralight plane that pinwheeled into the Pacific...it's probably worse.
I am somewhat knowledgeable about audio and video systems...worked as an "electronic assembly engineer" for a big A/V house in the early 80's while completing college. The job was pre-wiring, constucting, and testing A/V systems for everything from the airports to discos to churches. I've kept up over the years and have a pretty nice system in my new home that I designed from scratch. I did have the wiring and speaker installations done by some pros I know and it was well worth the money. I did, however, calibrate the audio and video myself.
So, I have friends and family frequently ask me "what set" and "what resolution" questions. My answer is simple and stays away from seating distance and ambient light calculations. I tell them to take several DVDs they know and love that vary in content...action, comedy, drama, etc. so they can see how the set performs over a range of material...to the store with them and WATCH the TVs they think they want. I refuse to go with them or recommend specifics for the most part. I will on occasion suggest LCD or plasma sets based on their viewing area and light sources, but again, I don't go into gory detail.
This is primarily because I believe it's very subjective and since I already have a great TV, they need to pick the one they love. Plus, this has the benefit of me not having to hear "dude, that TV you TOLD me to get sucks, killed the cat, etc." when buyer's remorse kicks in.
I do recommend they get any HD set properly set up either by me (for free...I'm an idiot) or a ISF-certified tech. Again, no long discourses on color temperature, etc. I just tell them "it will look better and your set will last longer" and that's almost always good enough.
That's why articles like this typically just irritate me. You can quibble over every little thing as well as the larger issues forever and at the end of the day, it comes down to whether or not the buyer likes what they see. Most really have no clue about 720p or 1080p...it's usually just "ohh....pretty!"
On a side note, I saw the new Disney flick, "Meet The Robinsons" in Disney Digital 3-D last week and THAT got me excited about display technology. The movie itself is cute and the kids will like it. The 3-D was as good as I've ever seen and for the most part, refrained from shoving things in your face for the "see? it IS 3-D!" effect. You still have to wear glasses, but they're not the old red/blue cardboard jobbies. Instead, they're plastic, dark (polarized) "sunglasses" that make everyone look like Roy Orbison and were quite comfortable to wear for 2+ hours. Even if you hate the thought of sitting through a kiddie cartoon movie, you might want to go just to see the 3-D...it's that good.
I wrote a white paper in 1990 about voice recognition where I predicted that it would difficult to impossible to become the predominant method of human/computer interaction.
Why? Unrealistic depictions in popular entertainment.
I called this the "Star Trek Syndrome" because that show and the Star Wars films that followed a decade later set the bar way too high and created an expectation for the average consumer that can't be met anytime soon.
Granted, there are voice solutions for many things ranging from voice-dialing your cell, GPS and audio systems in cars, Speech tools in XP, Vista, and so on. The problem arises in that Average Joe has the expectation that you can speak natural language on a crowded bridge, with Khan shooting the hell out of your ship, and have the computer pick out your voice from an ambient noise floor of around 100dB, and parse the command(s) PERFECTLY every time.
Ain't gonna happen anytime soon, kids. Yes, very narrow applications work well and have for some time. The technology for speech recognition is very good. It's the EXPECTATION of the average consumer that's the issue. And unfortunately, if it doesn't work that way, Billy Ray Trailer Park won't buy it.
So, while computer interaction in sci-fi movies ranges from almost right to wildly stupid, the real issue is what it does to the consumer mindset.
Wow. I had exactly the opposite experience during Viet Nam.
I was a fairly religious, God-fearing type from the Bible Belt. Went to Chapel in Basic even though that got me some grief from some of the others in my platoon.
After 4 years as a medic, I pretty much became an agnostic. When people ask me my religious preference these days, my reply is 'Druid'.
And I've said for years that church is poorly organized group therapy run by idiots.
That said, there probably is a survival benefit to the different belief structures that exist. The other thing living 50+ years has taught me is there are 3 basic types of people in the world; Alphas, Betas, and Gammas. There's a direct correlation to basic personality type to belief adherence. No, I don't have a publishable study or tons of empirical data, just a lot of observation and interaction with people all over the world.
Basically, the weaker the mind and ability to encompass higher order thinking, the greater potential to thump a Bible, Quran, etc. Of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part, if you can't entertain thoughts that we are the "boogers of a booger of a booger" in the grand scheme of the Universe, then you will most likely glom onto some religion (or equally pointless activity) to be safe and comfortable.
I feel that most cases of hearing voices, seeing angels, visions, etc. are simply schizophrenia. Modern medicine has done a lot of good, but it's also screwed with natural selection. Village idiots didn't get many dates in the Middle Ages but now we give them Viagra and put them on TV as newscasters, in the White House, and so on.
OK, I've offended 90% of planet Earth, so I'll stop while I'm behind. Even so, while believing in a load of crap may confer an advantage, it's not necessarily a positive thing.
Uhhh....since I'm really old, I know that the "Electric Slide" is actually "The Hustle" that was all the rage during the Dark Ages when Disco ruled the dance floor.
I would claim "ownership" of "The Hustle", but it's about the LAST thing in the Universe I want to be known for.
This guy is a liar. Although, I agree than someone should stop Ellen Degeneres from dancing...ever.
Geez, I'd love to see a new StarCraft release.
I've played thousands of games of SC and still do.
Almost always play Protoss, but occasionally play Terran as Marines and Tanks are just flat fun. Never did get proficient with the Zerg; don't like bugs, I guess.
It would be excellent to play at a screen resolution higher than 800x600 as well!
As for WoW...my son started playing recently and we set up a TeamSpeak server for his play group last weekend. I watched them play for a while and decided I can live without WoW.
We did Diablo I and II to DEATH so I'm at the point where hacking and slashing and trying to get to level 50, 60, 1 zillion, is mostly boring.
I have wild swings between early adoption and toasters.
This phone will cause me to dump the Motorola toaster I have now and go for TRICORDER, THE ORIGINAL SILICON!
I may build a Bluetooth Communicator badge remote for the thing.
Impressive, well-designed device.
Since I have a 1GB Shuffle, the 4 or 8 on the iPhone will seem spacious to me. Plus, I go from no screen to color.
I don't like Cingular, but even that is outweighed by wanting one of these things.
FWIW
I'm currently running a 61 inch Sony WEGA LCD set for my home theatre setup. I looked at DLP, Plasma, and LCD before choosing the Sony.
I also bought from a speciality store rather than Best Buy, etc. They matched the price that everyone else had, so that was not a consideration.
What was "better" was that they were willing to set up a Pioneer Elite Plasma set, an LG DLP set, and the Sony LCD in the same room with hi-def sources and a DVD player identical to the one I own. I brought in DVDs that I know and love, with a wide range of "challenges"; fast motion, dark scenes, etc.
We spent about 4-5 hours playing with all 3 sets and chose the Sony. Still like it, even though it's "only" 720P.
For my next set...in about 1-2 years...I'm thinking about the Sony SXRD sets. Like LCOS, but apparently better. By that time, some SED sets may be out and they'll get a look.
In any and EVERY case, do a lot of homework, gather up some material (DVD is easiest, of course), and go WATCH the sets you're thinking about. Check the menu settings with the remotes...if the set looks "nice and bright", check to see if the Bright and Picture settings are maxed...you won't like that set at home. Check Color Temp settings. "Warm" on most sets SHOULD be close to 6500K. Turn OFF all the noise reduction and other "cool" stuff in the menus as they can add more problems than they "fix".
And, since the world still has 98% standard def programming on cable, etc., check out how the 5 o'clock news looks as well.
Lastly, invest in the Avia software or put aside $2-300 bucks for an ISF-certified tech to calibrate your set when it's installed. Hey, if you're spending $3-5000 on a nice set (or projector), get it dialed in perfectly. It will make a great set a fantastic set, extend the life of the bulb, and always make guests say "man, your TV looks way better than mine!"
I've read about the SpyderTV unit and while it's pretty neat, it's technically something you'll use ONCE. So, I would spend the cash for a pro calibration and be done with it. My Sony was so close to spec, it required almost no adjustments. Color Temp was a smidge low and that was about it.
So, rather than embrace plasma, LCD, smoke and mirrors, etc., I vote for getting the best picture for the material you're going to be viewing the most.
FWIW.........
I think the article is ludicrious. The number of people who would download HD content versus the vast, unwashed, technophobic masses is a big delta. At least in the U.S., we're all about the convenient, easy thing to do. Basically, I think there will always be people who are spoiled to putting a disc in a machine and having it work with a huge degree of success, every time. (Scratched rental and NetFlix DVDs notwithstanding)
Plus, there's the issue of cost. To build out a 100Mb - 1Gb content delivery infrastructure is very doable technically, but not economically. It will price out most users until the costs are recovered and there's some competitive pressure to reduce the price of admission.
Optical media, HD or Standard, is amazingly cheap and easy to make these days. I use the analog loophole on my SciAtl DVR to burn DVDs via the S-Video outputs for about 12 cents a pop. If I bought blank media in higher volume, the cost would drop more. I have an excellent network and lots of disk space at home but for stuff "I gotta keep", I burn to stable, won't crash or get eaten by some DRM scheme blank DVDs.
And in checking my Amazon Wish List, the majority of items are DVDs, Standard and HD-DVD (giving Blu-Ray a pass for now), that I want to own and plan on keeping for decades. I absolutely expect to have some device and/or method to view them for a long, long time. I do NOT expect to be using spinning ceramics with iron bits for storage in 10-20 years. I personally think we'll be using high density synthetic crystal data lattices, but that's another topic!
I don't think I'm atypical in preferring to have a 'hard copy' of some movies instead a Media Center PC or iTV box.
I was more than a little concerned that I would run into a license validation issue recently.
The motherboard in my son's PC went tits up, so he ordered an ASUS barebones box and an Athlon 64 CPU from NewEgg. We took everything else from his old eMachine chassis. (hey, it was a gift from his uncle)
Anyway, we booted from an original XP CD we've owned for years. The PC it was originally installed on has long since been salvaged for parts and is no more. We installed the OS, an SP2 CD I keep handy, then connected to the net to get another 68 updates and such. Windows Update did it's "Genuine Advantage" update and....validated the XP license with no problem.
I was prepared to browbeat an MS employee into realizing the original PC the license was installed on was like the snows of yesteryear, but it a non-event.
The box has been running for 2 weeks with no issues. It's been through at least one Windows Update pass since then with no alarms or MS Gestapo banging on the door, black helicopters circling, etc.
I would think a completely new system build (the eMachine came with a restore CD that only works on an eMachine) would have tripped an alarm for MS but that's apparently not the case.
Hopefully, Vista will be as well designed! LOL.
First, I am biased. I've been a poker player for 40 years now. I don't play any other casino games, bet on sports, horse racing, etc. There are 3 casinos with 10 miles of my home. In the last year, I've played poker tournaments and cash games in casinos all over the U.S.
While I'm not ready to quit the day job, I have submitted 1099G forms and paid taxes on my winnings for the last 3 years. Before that, I didn't win enough money to need to file a 1099G. This was a function of not having casino poker in my state until last year and the fact that I was playing in private games. Now technically, those "home games" were and are illegal. My win rate is about 85% in the private games and I do very well at the casinos...about $150 an hour playing $1-2 and $2-5 no limit hold 'em.
I have no issue paying taxes on poker winnings.
I've also been playing on-line poker on Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, and Full Tilt on a daily basis. The advantages are many. I can play 3-5 tables at the same time, listen to music or T.V., get a snack, etc. I also GREATLY improved my game by virtue of being able to play thousands of hands much more quickly and cheaply than driving to a smokey, crowded, loud casino.
Poker is unquestionably a game of skill. Yes, there is an element of luck, but it's very, very small. Playing poker at a high level requires concentration, memory, and very good math skills. There's also the psychological component of reading your opponents and making plays designed to make them make mistakes. At some level, poker is simply making fewer mistakes than your opponent. Even the supposedly random element of shuffling and dealing the cards can be adjusted for. There is something known as "shuffle tracking" which involves recognizing repeatable patterns of card distribution by a human dealer or an automatic shuffler. That's one of the reasons there's a dealer change every 30 minutes...to defeat shuffle tracking.
There are two primary problems with the government prohibiting on-line poker.
First, they're pissing away several billion dollars in tax revenue that will only increase. Real money that could help offset deficits, the cost of the stinkin' war in Iraq, fund social programs, go to education (like lottery dollars in my state) and so on.
Secondly, this legislation puts private industry...banks and credit card companies...in the position of enforcing the law. That's just plain wrong. Their business is money, not enforcing gambling laws.
Now, is gambling bad? I don't know personally...I don't gamble. My standard response when someone says "oh, you're a gambler" is "no, I'm a poker player...and since you don't understand the difference, how about a game?"
Personally, I've never met anyone with a gambling problem, but then I don't know any meth heads or heroin addicts either. I've known a fair number of alcoholics...and there are more of them than any other addiction out there. And yet, liquor stores are still open. You can buy beer and wine at the grocery store. Most restaurants have a bar area. Hmmmm....what exactly is the new online gambling law really supposed to achieve? Prohibition in the last century actually created many more problems than it supposedly solved. I'm betting (pun intended) this new law has a similar effect. When some grandma in Des Moines gets busted for playing nickel poker on PartyPoker, can anyone say, with a straight face, that she's a criminal?
Well, my thoughts on it. If you do play poker on the Internet, you might check out the Poker Player's Alliance. They are actively seeking an exemption for poker in the new law. I've given them money, sent letters to my congressmen, and called their offices. So far, they're climbing a steep hill in Crisco boots, but I support their efforts just the same.
Exactly!
:o)
You hit the nail on the head. I'm old enough to remember TOS in first run on NBC. The show was so "out there" for Oklahoma City, where I grew up, that they ran it on Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m. That, and the fact that the Oklahoma University football coach's show got the prime time slot where Trek was supposed to run.
And when TNG premiered, when did the local NBC affiliate run it? Sunday nights at 10:30! In fact, after the show started getting ratings, they tried to move it to a more lucrative Friday prime time slot and got inundated by calls and letters DEMANDING "their Trek" be put back on Sundays.
I was enthralled by TOS, even though I had to watch it in the dark with the volume at a whisper because it was school night. Even then, some of the effects were laughable to downright embarrassing. Cleaning up the video and audio is a good thing. I usually reserve my DVD purchase dollars for "cleaned up" re-issues like Lawrence of Arabia, etc. I can't see how this "damages" TOS at all. And, since I do have a 61 inch Sony WEGA HD television, I would be in a position to appreciate the result.
...by most consumers, I'd bet.
This just doesn't look like an iPod killer to me.
Physically, it looks cheap.
Feature-wise, there's nothing compelling. The wireless feature seems not well thought out and is so limited I doubt most buyers would have that as the top reason to purchase.
And, without a distribution system like iTunes, why would an iPod owner or even a 1st time buyer choose a Zune?
Some others have made points about accessories. That's a good question; what's available from MS? 3rd party support? Retailers signed up to give over shelf space?
Repair policy!
My wife had the screen on her iPod Mini crack while under warranty. Had a brand new unit from Apple in 72 hours. I bought a Shuffle like day one and it malfunctioned about 8 months out. Apple shipped me a new one and I returned the old one...in the same box...at their cost. Got the Shuffle in 48 hours! I opened both cases on the Apple site in about a minute with no hassle whatsoever.
What will Microsoft offer? Do they have the equivalent of AppleCare?
If they (MS) were smart, they'd have made the wireless work for an optional headset. No cords or dongles hanging from your player. Extra bucks for the "upgrade" from earplugs. Maybe they should let the Xbox marketing folks loose on this.
No...I don't think Steve Jobs will lose any sleep...or money...over Zune.
Squeeze me...baking powder; the name (at that point in the movie) was Incredi-Boy!
Later, he was just Syndrome...hence the big "S" on his costume.
And remember...super ant or not....NO CAPES!
...I guess. I've flipped between ATI and Nvidia for years. Currently, I have an ATI part in my primary desktop at home. Plays COD2 pretty well. BUT, it's an older mobo with AGP...no PCI-E. So, if I want more "ohhh....pretty!" from Doom3, FarCry, HL2, etc., I'll be buying an Nvidia 7800GS AGP part. ATI has indeed had driver issues and I've experienced them with the Radeon 9800 Pro I've got now. OTOH, my older Athlon machine is STILL running an old Nvidia Ti4200 and loving it. So, unless ATI offers up some love for those of us who have decent hardware but no PCI-E slots, I'm giving my money to Nvidia for XMAS!
Read an editorial in the current issue of Sound & Vision magazine. (yes, actual print on dead trees!)
The writer pointed out that the old Sprint telephone ads for their land lines suggested they were so clean, you could hear a pin drop. Now, Cingular is advertising they drop the fewest calls for cell users. (they don't say they don't drop ANY, just fewer than the competition)
He states that most cell call voice quality is AWFUL and that he thinks the "culprit" is convenience. Typical consumer will choose convenience over quality appears to be the point.
If that's true and Apple intros an iPhone that's excellent technology, but pricey and restricted in some fashion, then it will go the way of Newton, the TeleCompaq (Compaq built a really neat PBX console in the 80's...died an immediate death) and peace in the Middle East.
For me, I prefer a phone, that's simply a phone, that works. Period. I have an iPod for music...I don't need or want it to be a telephone, garage door opener, or sex toy. (the shape is ALL wrong, etc.)
A friend at work just replaced an "old" 3G Pod with the new 60GB unit and I am impressed with the video on it. I actually watched a couple of ABC News podcasts and a few minutes of the movie 'Monsters, Inc.' and liked it.
So if Steve wants my vote, I would buy an iVideo before an iPhone. Note, my phone does music and can play video, but I have a smaller screen than a Nano, so it's useless for watching anything, doesn't have the capacity for a movie, and the music sounds worse than a crystal radio set I built 40 years ago.
An iPod I could carry on one of the zillion plane flights I take every year would be "convenient" for me as I could listen to high quality music or watch the 'Lost' episode I missed as I chose. And I could use it on a plane whereas the flight attendants always get twitchy about phones.
2 cents...
Well, everything in orbit is moving at considerable speed.
The question would be: "at what relative speed does the impact occur?"
For example:
One object...a space station, inflatable or otherwise is moving at 17,500 mph.
It is overtaken by an object...a 2cm bit of metal with a mass of 5g...moving at 17,520 mph.
The math would suggest the metal bit would do little to no damage.
Now, if that same 5g metal bit MET rather than overtook the space station and the speeds were identical, there would be a much more significant result.
Oh, how I laughed!
:o)
Actually, it's not your fault...I didn't include some important details.
In situations 1 & 2, these were low income, high-crime areas. Most "burglars" were stealing to support drug habits, so a logical reaction of bolting when surprised was unlikely. It was far more likely that I would have been injured or killed; it happened to more than one neighbor in the time I lived there. The cops refused to run solo, day or night, in this area. And while I am a skilled martial artist, and have fought multiple opponents in controlled conditions, facing 4 people high on drugs unarmed would have been idiotic. The nearest police assistance was 6 to 11 miles distant, depending on which station responded. In both cases, the police WERE called, but the miscreants were long gone. Still, a report was filed and hopefully made a difference.
In situation 3, we were ALONE, near dusk, at an isolated rest stop with little traffic on the main highway. We had stopped for the facilities and to stretch our legs. The person who approached us was between us and the car and behaved in a threatening manner. And remember, when he exited stage left and we got in our car and drove to the next town, we reported the incident to the State Troopers, who informed us that someone not unlike the description we gave HAD been preying on motorists in that area.
Now, knowing this may not change your opinion of me or how I chose to handle the situations. But, I could have shot and killed any or all of those people and likely faced no prosecution or even arrest. I chose to bark, but not to bite or end a human life needlessly. That's part of the rationale to carrying a spring-loaded baton instead of a gun now. I'm UNLIKELY to kill anyone with it and should they disarm me, they could certainly hurt me, but likely NOT kill me with my own weapon. The same is not true of a gun or knife. Just because I made a judgement call...3 times in 30 years...doesn't make me stupid. I've been in more than 3 confrontations in my 50 years on Earth, and rarely have had to escalate beyond strong rhetoric and body language.
Oh, I've also been in far worse places on the planet than Johannesburg; the military saw to that. Plus, I've been to New York City on vacation! And hey, this stupid Okie is still breathing.
Thanks for the feedback; I was imprecise in the information initially given, so thank you for pointing that out, albeit in a somewhat insulting manner.
Count me in on the "brandishing" scenario. Three times in the last 30 years, but all three could have turned out MUCH worse had I not been armed.
.410/.45 cal Derringer and held it down at my side. He looked, he turned, he ran. We called the Texas Highway Patrol when we hit Paris (Texas) and gave them a description. Sure enough, they had reports of people being accosted and robbed in that area.
One (1977) - watching T.V. late at night when my German Shepard alerts on the back door. I see a small light and the outline of someone working the lock. I got my 12 gauge bolt-action shotgun, pointed it at the door, and cycled a 00 round. The screen door slammed and the would-be burglar bolted for the fence. My dog nearly caught him...so fast, I couldn't get a clear shot at the guy.
Two (1983) - Four (4!) crackheads started banging on the front door at 5:00 a.m. demanding a ride to someone's house. I answered the door with a Colt Python leveled at the closest asshole's head. Looked like the Olympic relay team leaving the yard.
Three (1985) - Driving in a remote part of Texas with the wife and newborn son. A guy at the isolated rest stop, who looks scary, starts moving towards us. His body language and facial expression just screamed BAD NEWS, so I pulled my carry weapon, a
BTW, I live in Oklahoma and we have a "Make My Day" law and citizens are allowed to carry and use a firearm. I don't know the current statistics, so I don't know if the crime rate has changed, up or down, since the law took effect. I suspect it's down, but really have no idea...just an impression. I do know that I almost certainly AVOIDED being a victim by virtue of being armed in the above situations.
Interestingly enough, I don't currently carry a firearm. I do carry an ASP police baton as it's non-lethal and I can drive to Texas or Kansas without getting hassled by the law for having a hand cannon in the truck.
No, I don't belong to the N.R.A. or anything. Just raised on a farm and trained to hunt and use firearms correctly from about age 6 on. I'm also a VietNam vet and did qualify as a Marksman. Basically, a gun is a tool, not a religious experience.
Well, I didn't have LASIK...I had RK.(Radial Keratotomy) 2 cuts to my right eye, 4 to my left. (the extra 2 corrected my astigmatism in that eye)
I indeed asked about the danger of a "boot to the head" and was told that lab testing of RK involved hitting cats and rabbits in the eye. The result? The force required to damage an RK'd eye was the same required to damage a "normal" eye.
He did have me wear racquetball goggles for 6 months. Of course, I was seeing so well, I didn't get hit with any full power shots...punch or kick. After that, I went "naked" and obviously have had no problems.
I don't know about impact damage with LASIK....didn't choose that, so I didn't ask a zillion questions like I did with RK.
My particular style is some old-school Karate...my teacher (Terry Smith) was trained by Chuck Norris and was on his team that fought in Leningrad in 1990....with some Muay Thai, BJJ, Aikido, and plain old boxing mixed in. So, we don't do 720 reverse spin kicks and crap like that. Just good solid fighting techniques. In fact, we don't encourage head kicks as the risk / reward ratio is too low for street or bar fighting.
But when you're in the ring or a tournament, there's always some TKD types that go for the flashy point-getters. As a rule, I stayed away from tourneys because they allowed the showy stuff with no power and frowned on knocking people out cold.
I do have a cool photo someone snapped of me doing something completely stupid...a reverse spinning backfist...and getting away with it. Clocked the guy so hard he went down and nearly out. He recovered, but was so messed up he lost the match 2-0. He was bigger, stronger and much younger, so I went for the head instantly and lucked out. In the picture, you can see he's trying to get a shot into my body, but I picked off the punch and he went down. I was lucky not to get some broken ribs or my head knocked off.
But I digress...the point is that having 20/20 vision...especially peripheral vision, helped me out tremendously when I started fighting seriously.
Oh, someone else asked about this: I have had to get reading glasses recently, but that's age-related. (I'm 50) But, they're the lowest magnification possible and I ONLY need them to read small text really close to me. I was told that was likely, so I'm not unhappy. I started wearing glasses at age 5, so 10 years without ANY was excellent. And the readers are super light compared to the coke bottle bottom things I had to wear for 35 years prior to the RK.
Get a 2nd opinion about your eyes and consider wearing some low profile goggles for a while until you're healed. That worked great for me.
Regards........
Ah....GREAT question!
My doctor told me that I probably would need "readers" at some point...like 50 or so.
Sure enough, I had to get a pair about 6-8 months ago. The $5 lowest magnification models at CVS work great, but are really UGLY.
So, I actually got a prescription pair with Transitions lenses so I could wear them in any situation...like reading out on the patio, etc.
Believe it or not, I don't mind the reading glasses. I don't need them to drive, play sports, or use a computer since I have 19" LCDs and can sit back a bit. And, they are a fraction of the weight of my old glasses, so I actually forget I'm wearing them sometimes.
And, a benefit of eye surgery folks rarely mention...20/20 peripheral vision...is unaffected with or without the readers. It's great for my martial arts, basketball, and especially racquetball being able to see clearly out of the corners of my eyes!
BTW, I opted for RK instead of the laser surgery. Radial Keratomoty.