No, it just means that Apple's margins will be higher. You have to realize that part of Apple's image is not 'budget' computer. It is quality. Part of marketing is not just 'better price' but the placement of the product in a consumers mind. Take for instance diamonds, besides the fact that the market is cornered, they are just a rock. If someone sold a diamond for $100 and everyone else was selling them for $500 (assuming quality is equal) then consumers tend to shy away from the cheaper one thinking there's a 'gotcha' somewhere. It's like that with Apple. People associate Apple with prestige, and therefore they need to keep a price (no matter if the PC equivalant guts are equal) that appeals with that positioning.
It's not just about lawmakers needing to be seen in the public eye as 'doing something'. It also has to do with the ever so slight change in the judicial system that is starting to legislate from the bench. This means that the legislature (Congress) has to make laws that are very specific but seem like existing common sense because the judiciary finds those loopholes to do what it wants according to its own philosophical beliefs.
"PCs equipped with HD DVD or Blu-ray will cost several hundred dollars more than comparably equipped models with DVD drives--a factor that should keep sales relatively low this year as consumers wait for applications and video titles that can take advantage of the higher capacity."
You know it's interesting that it took me the longest time to get a DVD-ROM. Why? Well, my computer was primarily for gaming and surfing. It has taken a long time for games to come out on DVD-ROM. They always came in a pack of 1-4 CD-ROMs. It finally got to the point where watching a movie on my PC was interesting. But then I just downloaded them from the Internet. Will I ever get a PC with HD-DVD or Blue-Ray? Probably not. If it takes these technologies just as long to come out with content suitable for those media, maybe I'll get one--in 10 years.
Re:Where are the bunkers to protect Citizens ?
on
Back to the Bunker
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· Score: 1
Reminds of the Southpark episode "Volcano" where they watch an instructional video on what to do if a volcano errupts. The video is meant to look circa 1950's. The advice given? Duck and cover. It's pretty hillarious that the lava flow goes right over some people who put a picnic blanket over themselves. Then, when it happened in real life to see the white bones of the victims rise from the steaming river of lava when they thought it would save them.
It's not just the robot being able to interpret your brain waves, but your brain also adjusting to new interface as well. Take for example babies: they often don't have much control of their appendages, not just because of underdeveloped muscles, but the pathways to fine motor control have to be developed as well.
This is also demonstrated to learning to use a joystick or gamepad. Anyone new to a different kind of interface needs to make certain adjustments and brain motor connections to accommodate a new way of manipulating things. I am quite adept at FSP games on the PC, for example, but when I started playing Halo on X-Box, I was running around like a drunken sailor. Overtime, however, my hand and mind became quite accustomed to manipulating the movements on the screen. So would it be with your mind controlling the robot.
A good programmer should know the basics without distraction, and also know when to save time by using an IDE.
I agree. I remember when I took an intro to Java class (having completed a VB 6 course) and spent more time in frustration trying to track down that elusive unclosed brace. Instead of focusing my time on actually learning something useful, I had to spend a lot of it trying to figure out where I had left some relatively useless thing out.
However, when we made the leap from using Notepad to IBM's Websphere, we jumped to the other end of the spectrum. Now instead of trying to figure out how to find the damn brace, now I had to spend countless hours trying to figure out how to get the tool to do something I wanted it to do.
So, now it comes down to finding a sweet spot between the two. Something that isn't cumbersome like a 3000 lever machine and under complicated like a chisel and a stone tablet. I find something like Eclipse to be something in between. Heavy enough to be productive, but lightweight and intuitive enough to manage.
The DBA should have been in hot water for making such a suggestion from a database design and development standpoint. Primary keys must be unique identifiers. Sadly, SSNs are not unique. Those numbers are recycled and it is quite possible that two people with the same name happen to get assigned the same number. That argument aside, the assignment of a unique identifier should never come from an outside source. The creation of primary keys should be created internally AND as a surogate (artificial) key, as opposed to a natural key in order to ensure the integrity of the data. DB design 101, kids.
It's that sort of attitude that limits FOSS. When you adopt the attitude that the community exists unto itself, that you defy the base of what FOSS is about. FOSS isn't just about people contributing to the code base. FOSS exists to help *all* people, not just those in the community.
The software created by the community exists to give you and I and Grandma Jones an alternative to expensive software. What the article says, is that if Grandma Jones can't use the software because of its inferior usability, then the community has failed her.
There are many a program that I use on Windows simply because the FOSS equivalant is dramatically inferior both in functionality *and* usability. If the community really wants a mass adoption of its software, then they need to focus on BOTH.
I see this as the greatest roadblock to mass Open Source adoption. 99% of regular people want the software to just work. They don't want to have to compile it for whatever sytem they have. People don't want to have to make sure they have all the required dependencies. Grandma doesn't know what GCC is or how to manually configure things through the shell! People want to click Next -->, Next -->, Next -->, Finish, and be able to use their software.
Sure, not even closed source works all the time--I'm not saying that. But it has been my experience that I have to fudge around with FOSS far more frequently and a lot longer than the closed source equivalant.
And that's what the gist of this article is saying. Don't make things so $&*^ing complex that the least common denominator can't use it. And if you think they have nothing to contribute to the community, then take your closed minded FOSS in your little corner and be happy with it. But you really havn't made it open.
I applaud you for a very daring move. To try and recommend something other than the/. status quo is quite brave. I went to use it, however, and saw that it would not run on my distro. Too bad.
I think that it would be naive to think that Torrents in general have been under the Content Pimp's radar, but this certainly has elevated the alert on us moving in on their content whores.
I think the real tradgedy lies in the fact that they are bundling all this junk with a great program. I understand at some point the P2P technology surrounding torrents can only be developed to a point where you have to differentiate yourself with the bloatware gizmos. Shucks...too bad.
If nothing else good comes out of it, I think it also raises the legitmacy of a P2P network for open information and creativity.
"...your users likely won't mind a few tasteful ads one bit."
I think that's where the key is, especially with a young family. There are quite a few sites that were a good read, but have since had to go elsewhere because of the racy ads they started to run on the site. It was really dissapointing because I wouldn't have thought that those kind of ads really reflected the content of the actual website. Too bad for them.
I can only think patience. It has been only ~35 years since E.F. Codd published the first white paper on the relational model. We have yet to see the full implementation of what he proposed.
While true that the mathematics (theory) has been around for a while now, the application of it is still in its infancy. Give it some time and additional innovation, and we will have what you seek.
Slashdot Mirror
My company already does...it's annoying as hell when trying to listen to a music collection. Putting it on a CD/DVD/R just sucks...
No, it just means that Apple's margins will be higher. You have to realize that part of Apple's image is not 'budget' computer. It is quality. Part of marketing is not just 'better price' but the placement of the product in a consumers mind. Take for instance diamonds, besides the fact that the market is cornered, they are just a rock. If someone sold a diamond for $100 and everyone else was selling them for $500 (assuming quality is equal) then consumers tend to shy away from the cheaper one thinking there's a 'gotcha' somewhere. It's like that with Apple. People associate Apple with prestige, and therefore they need to keep a price (no matter if the PC equivalant guts are equal) that appeals with that positioning.
It's not just about lawmakers needing to be seen in the public eye as 'doing something'. It also has to do with the ever so slight change in the judicial system that is starting to legislate from the bench. This means that the legislature (Congress) has to make laws that are very specific but seem like existing common sense because the judiciary finds those loopholes to do what it wants according to its own philosophical beliefs.
"PCs equipped with HD DVD or Blu-ray will cost several hundred dollars more than comparably equipped models with DVD drives--a factor that should keep sales relatively low this year as consumers wait for applications and video titles that can take advantage of the higher capacity."
You know it's interesting that it took me the longest time to get a DVD-ROM. Why? Well, my computer was primarily for gaming and surfing. It has taken a long time for games to come out on DVD-ROM. They always came in a pack of 1-4 CD-ROMs. It finally got to the point where watching a movie on my PC was interesting. But then I just downloaded them from the Internet. Will I ever get a PC with HD-DVD or Blue-Ray? Probably not. If it takes these technologies just as long to come out with content suitable for those media, maybe I'll get one--in 10 years.
Halo 6 on Windows Vista
Reminds of the Southpark episode "Volcano" where they watch an instructional video on what to do if a volcano errupts. The video is meant to look circa 1950's. The advice given? Duck and cover. It's pretty hillarious that the lava flow goes right over some people who put a picnic blanket over themselves. Then, when it happened in real life to see the white bones of the victims rise from the steaming river of lava when they thought it would save them.
Welcome to Socialist America®
They will. They'll be taking the nightshift (thier daytime) so that Big Brother can get some sleep.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. M$ can't win with you guys...
It's not just the robot being able to interpret your brain waves, but your brain also adjusting to new interface as well. Take for example babies: they often don't have much control of their appendages, not just because of underdeveloped muscles, but the pathways to fine motor control have to be developed as well.
This is also demonstrated to learning to use a joystick or gamepad. Anyone new to a different kind of interface needs to make certain adjustments and brain motor connections to accommodate a new way of manipulating things. I am quite adept at FSP games on the PC, for example, but when I started playing Halo on X-Box, I was running around like a drunken sailor. Overtime, however, my hand and mind became quite accustomed to manipulating the movements on the screen. So would it be with your mind controlling the robot.
A good programmer should know the basics without distraction, and also know when to save time by using an IDE.
I agree. I remember when I took an intro to Java class (having completed a VB 6 course) and spent more time in frustration trying to track down that elusive unclosed brace. Instead of focusing my time on actually learning something useful, I had to spend a lot of it trying to figure out where I had left some relatively useless thing out.
However, when we made the leap from using Notepad to IBM's Websphere, we jumped to the other end of the spectrum. Now instead of trying to figure out how to find the damn brace, now I had to spend countless hours trying to figure out how to get the tool to do something I wanted it to do.
So, now it comes down to finding a sweet spot between the two. Something that isn't cumbersome like a 3000 lever machine and under complicated like a chisel and a stone tablet. I find something like Eclipse to be something in between. Heavy enough to be productive, but lightweight and intuitive enough to manage.
The DBA should have been in hot water for making such a suggestion from a database design and development standpoint. Primary keys must be unique identifiers. Sadly, SSNs are not unique. Those numbers are recycled and it is quite possible that two people with the same name happen to get assigned the same number. That argument aside, the assignment of a unique identifier should never come from an outside source. The creation of primary keys should be created internally AND as a surogate (artificial) key, as opposed to a natural key in order to ensure the integrity of the data. DB design 101, kids.
but mortally susceptible to the common cold.
It's that sort of attitude that limits FOSS. When you adopt the attitude that the community exists unto itself, that you defy the base of what FOSS is about. FOSS isn't just about people contributing to the code base. FOSS exists to help *all* people, not just those in the community. The software created by the community exists to give you and I and Grandma Jones an alternative to expensive software. What the article says, is that if Grandma Jones can't use the software because of its inferior usability, then the community has failed her. There are many a program that I use on Windows simply because the FOSS equivalant is dramatically inferior both in functionality *and* usability. If the community really wants a mass adoption of its software, then they need to focus on BOTH. I see this as the greatest roadblock to mass Open Source adoption. 99% of regular people want the software to just work. They don't want to have to compile it for whatever sytem they have. People don't want to have to make sure they have all the required dependencies. Grandma doesn't know what GCC is or how to manually configure things through the shell! People want to click Next -->, Next -->, Next -->, Finish, and be able to use their software. Sure, not even closed source works all the time--I'm not saying that. But it has been my experience that I have to fudge around with FOSS far more frequently and a lot longer than the closed source equivalant. And that's what the gist of this article is saying. Don't make things so $&*^ing complex that the least common denominator can't use it. And if you think they have nothing to contribute to the community, then take your closed minded FOSS in your little corner and be happy with it. But you really havn't made it open.
Yeah, tell me about it. It's XP. Seriously.
Bodacious bouncing bosoms defying physics!
I applaud you for a very daring move. To try and recommend something other than the /. status quo is quite brave. I went to use it, however, and saw that it would not run on my distro. Too bad.
Then you should have paid attention in English classes, because his usage of the word homonym is consistent with its definition, it being, "One of two or more words that have the same sound and often the same spelling but differ in meaning, such as bank (embankment) and bank (place where money is kept)." Thus, "oui" (French for 'yes') and Wii (Nintendo-ese for 'our marketing department either needs a raise or get fired) qualifies as a homonym.
I think that it would be naive to think that Torrents in general have been under the Content Pimp's radar, but this certainly has elevated the alert on us moving in on their content whores.
I think the real tradgedy lies in the fact that they are bundling all this junk with a great program. I understand at some point the P2P technology surrounding torrents can only be developed to a point where you have to differentiate yourself with the bloatware gizmos. Shucks...too bad.
If nothing else good comes out of it, I think it also raises the legitmacy of a P2P network for open information and creativity.
For those with no foreign language skills: Better dead, than late.
"...your users likely won't mind a few tasteful ads one bit."
I think that's where the key is, especially with a young family. There are quite a few sites that were a good read, but have since had to go elsewhere because of the racy ads they started to run on the site. It was really dissapointing because I wouldn't have thought that those kind of ads really reflected the content of the actual website. Too bad for them.
and I heard Doom 4 and other rehashed FPSs are going to be there, too! Yea!
Are we talking 2.1 Billion Dollars or 2.1 Billion pirated copies???
How important is heat, really?
Well, in a notebook--it's very important to my posterity.
I can only think patience. It has been only ~35 years since E.F. Codd published the first white paper on the relational model. We have yet to see the full implementation of what he proposed.
While true that the mathematics (theory) has been around for a while now, the application of it is still in its infancy. Give it some time and additional innovation, and we will have what you seek.