While that's true, and yes, some people are deciding to switch to Mac, I'd think the more pressing time for a switch to anything will be when MS cuts XP off from sale completely. This will eventually happen, and I had heard that it was pushed back to May or June 08 to satisfy some customers, but you're right. A mass migration to Macs just isn't likely to happen. Linux may be right out as well, due to its (admittedly, simplifying) complexity. I imagine that most people will just suck it up and migrate to Vista, more or less against their will, just because of the mentality of "It's windows, it's what I know, and I can't or won't be bothered to learn anything else."
This does sound like an interesting idea, but interesting doesn't always equal good. Yes, it might help with traffic avoidance, but it uses the cell network to do so. What happens when some important director of something-or-other decides to use this, and the 'hunters' found out how it works?
Makes you wonder if there is any way to have the signal encrypted in any way, so that not just anyone can find a way to tap into it and have a little locator beacon as to where you are.
Agreed. This was one of the reasons I decided to buy a 360 instead of a PS3. Yes, the PS3 may be able to get better graphics, but what use is that when the games with good graphics suck? I finally see some games starting to push through that seem to be good, Folklore for example, and eventually Final Fantasy XIII. Maybe sometime in the future I'll consider a PS3 once they've built up a decent library, but for now the only reason I'd buy it is to get a Blu-ray player (which I can live without).
I see this as well, with my parent's Verizon connection (where I am temporarily staying)...even though they only have 768k downstream service, normally the connection is fine as can be, even while running 4 computers and 2 Xbox360s *all at the same time*...turn on BT, BAM, connection slows to a crawl or stops.
I wonder if Verizon is starting to do this as well, or if it's just the way BT works messing with a low-grade connection speed. I vaguely remember something like this happening with my 3meg connection at my old place, but not to such an extent, as in I could still game on the console while the computer was downloading, but my ping would drop to near-zero.
On my old Service Electric cable connection, I never had any problems. Then again, 10Mbit downstream was my friend.....
Absolutely nothing, because if I zoom in to the point where I SHOULD be able to see the damn city I live NEAR (not the dinky ass town I live IN) all I get is a blurry as crap vague-street-and-building picture. But I shall now try to use this program to hunt around the globe for funnies to laugh at.
We actually do, we have a Circui City not one shopping plaza down from us, a Walmart and a Target not more than a 5 minute drive away, and a large mall across the way. We actually encourage comparison shopping. Same goes for advert prices. If you see something advertised, you'll get it for that price so long as you meet all the requirements.
You'd be surprised how many people come in with an ad that clearly states that a computer is "649.99 after $320 in mail in rebates" and think that they're paying 650 up front. Then again, I live in the middle of an amazingly large concentration of rednecks and old people in Pennsylvania, so...
The two-dollar-bill thing I'm not sure on, but I know I'd accept it because it is legal tender after all...
Sorry, not a cashier. Computer Sales, actually. To me it seems like Visa's policy is just inviting fraudulent uses of their cards. Why the hell would I have a policy on my card that says "as long as this card is signed, you don't need to see any other ID if the cardholder doesn't feel like giving you any"? That just seems like plain old stupidity on Visa's part. I know about the whole "match the signature" stuff, which works sometimes, but given that we use electronic signature pads, and 75% of the time, the signature on the pad actually ends up nothing like the signature on the card, I always ask ID. I've had people personally thank me for checking their IDs because they know this fact.
Besides, who's going to stop someone from either signing a blank card or practicing enough to forge a signature?
That letter is BS. Any merchant has the right to refuse a card because someone cannot present sufficient ID or whatnot to properly ascertain the identity of the card user. VISA can't force a merchant to take a card because they felt that the card was stolen or being used illegally. That letter basically says "If this card is signed, the merchant MUST take the card, regardless of who is using it. If the merchant wants more info, and the person holding this card says no, they have to take it anyway. If the card is unsigned, they have to get ID before taking it."
I think VISA or someone is yanking you or they have crappy policies...if they say that a store HAS to take your card even if you refuse to show ID, then they need to re-think that. I work at a Best Buy, and we regularly ring transactions that number anywhere from between 1 and 30 thousand dollars at a time. If I ask for ID for your card and you say no, I'll tell you to piss off and come back with ID. I may piss some people off, but I make DAMN sure that who I'm selling to is the person I should be selling it to. Same goes for people who have their spouse's/parent's credit cards. Won't take em. End of story.
but PhotoMagenta and PhotoCyan are slowly being absorbed into linking books which have very unstable writing, causing havoc, earthquakes, and funny lines all over the place...
What's in MY bag (backpack actually)? Let's see, shall we?
1. HP ze5375us laptop (2.4 P4, 512 ram, 40 gb hdd, integrated radeon 345 IGP)
2. 2 dying batteries for (1), one of which is usually INSIDE (1).
3. Annoying power brick for (1)
4. Microshaft wireless Intellimouse Explorer (black fake leather edition) with puck-reciever.
5. Notebook full of random doodles from when I WAS in classes (gotta get me some MONEYS!)
6. Bag of 5-month-old Sour Patch Kids from Uni bookstore
7. 14 swiped pens from the last job faire/college roundup batch
8. 4 highlighter sets from same
9. CD case with 3 linux distros, 2 WinXP install discs, a random utilities disc, and a coupla games like q3arena in it
10. Lighter
11. 64 MB USB key
12. 256 MB USB key (11 and 12 are usually in my pockets at work)
13. Gaming headphones w/ mic (big ol' logitech ones too)
14. Empty Pepsi bottle (1 liter, don't wanna think of how old it may be)
15. About 26 swiped sticky-note pads from a friend
16. A good book (Currently the Hitchhiker's Guide collection book)
17. Magic: the Gathering deck (for whupping on the idjits who bother me on campus)
Sometimes something odd creeps in from someone else, but meh.
agreed. I'm just breaking into my twenties, I already have a daughter, and I am damn sure that the games she chooses to play will have content geared towards her. Not to say that *I* won't have the other games, but she just won't have them, hehehe....
I'm not sure exactly the process, i THINK it's related to my IP addy being routed through the local servers around here, but I've noticed that whenever I get to a site with one of a few 'dating personals' banner ads laying waste to the top section of their site, it will come up saying something like "Meet women in XXXXXXXX Today!!!" where XXXXXXX is a town suspiciously close to where I live.
I am VERY wary about my internetting...if a banner ad can yank this info, imagine what everyone else can find out given a proper traceroute program and an IP address.
It's called the Canary Trap. Very useful. How it works is each copy of a memo has a few words/phrases changed around (usually electronically by computer, etc.) so that each memo is unique. The sending machine keeps a record of which memo goes where, so if somebody squeals something confidential to the media, whom we all know LOVE to quote things word-for-word, usually the juicy bits are what have been 'modified' and therefore traced back to the owner of said memo for immediate backhandage.
They don't need activation, but (and this was my problem), when you go to install SP2 with a corp copy with an FCKGW cd-key, SP2 kicks back an error message and won't install. Apparently what MS did was they figured out that FCKGW was the series getting pirated the most, so they removed all SP2 support for anything beginning with those letters in their CD-keys.
Doesn't look like it worked very well, now does it?
Better utility than that is one a friend of mine gave me to change it from a GUI as long as you have the new CD-key.
And for future reference for anyone who DOES have pirated windows copies, any discs where the CDkey begins with FCKGW is unable to update to SP2 during future reinstalls
And that' one thing I change (well, try to anyway) when I sell a machine. I inform people of things that most people are completely oblivious of. Differences between AMD and Intel chips, exactly WHY they should get their spyware removed instead of just buying a new box, that numbers don't govern the entire performance of the machine, etc.
Although the market where I work is pretty much comprised of rednecks, hicks, and people with 5-10 year old boxes who know absolutely nothing about computers. A great example is in this webcomic (which feels like 7/10 of my sales and the sales of my companions) http://cad-comic.com/?t=archives&date=2003-10-10
Anyway, I'm trying to change the views of SOME people that whats emblazoned on the front of the box is not at all what governs your performance.
Example: Recently we got a few new Pentium D systems in the store, one of which being a large Sony VAIO that comes with a big Logitech 5.1 surround system. People see that it's clocked at 2.8, so they automatically think it's inferior to a 3.2 P4 system. Then I explain that the computer has two processor cores, gets things done more efficiently, and such, quoting a personal example I had while setting up such a machine NEXT to an AMD64 system, it multitasked much better and got the "complete setup" including anti-virus, antispyware, Windows update, and such done in 15 minutes where the AMD64 system hung when I tried to do the WinUpdate and a Norton Trial removal at the same time. Took that one half an hour. People were impressed and said that they would look into things other than numbers in the future.
It is where I work...Best Buy (a big electronics store) doesn't REQUIRE that we ask you your phone number (except in cases where you're signing up for our service plans/"reward zone" membership program [basically you buy stuff, we give you free gift certificates]), but we are ENCOURAGED to collect a telephone number and gender for each customer we ring out the door. Now, me being in computer sales, I don't have to do this as much as our checkout lines do (just due to the sheer customer-ring-out number differential), but EVERY employee in the store that rings a customer out is supposed to get a phone number. I'm not entirely sure WHY, since BB doesn't make phone calls except to set up stuff like in-home computer setups, TV/Appliance deliveries, etc, so I actually wonder where the numbers go to. As such, unless I'm signing up someone for said service plans/membership programs, I never ask for a phone number.
I noticed this as well, I work as a Best Buy computer sales drone (beep beep) and I constantly hear people whining and complaining about how they just bought Office or they just bought antivirus software and now they have to buy another one for their new machine...
I just wish I could pass out open-source disks or free software disks at work without getting fired...i'd be handing out openoffice and avg/avast AV programs left and right
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While that's true, and yes, some people are deciding to switch to Mac, I'd think the more pressing time for a switch to anything will be when MS cuts XP off from sale completely. This will eventually happen, and I had heard that it was pushed back to May or June 08 to satisfy some customers, but you're right. A mass migration to Macs just isn't likely to happen. Linux may be right out as well, due to its (admittedly, simplifying) complexity. I imagine that most people will just suck it up and migrate to Vista, more or less against their will, just because of the mentality of "It's windows, it's what I know, and I can't or won't be bothered to learn anything else."
This does sound like an interesting idea, but interesting doesn't always equal good. Yes, it might help with traffic avoidance, but it uses the cell network to do so. What happens when some important director of something-or-other decides to use this, and the 'hunters' found out how it works? Makes you wonder if there is any way to have the signal encrypted in any way, so that not just anyone can find a way to tap into it and have a little locator beacon as to where you are.
Agreed. This was one of the reasons I decided to buy a 360 instead of a PS3. Yes, the PS3 may be able to get better graphics, but what use is that when the games with good graphics suck? I finally see some games starting to push through that seem to be good, Folklore for example, and eventually Final Fantasy XIII. Maybe sometime in the future I'll consider a PS3 once they've built up a decent library, but for now the only reason I'd buy it is to get a Blu-ray player (which I can live without).
I see this as well, with my parent's Verizon connection (where I am temporarily staying)...even though they only have 768k downstream service, normally the connection is fine as can be, even while running 4 computers and 2 Xbox360s *all at the same time*...turn on BT, BAM, connection slows to a crawl or stops. I wonder if Verizon is starting to do this as well, or if it's just the way BT works messing with a low-grade connection speed. I vaguely remember something like this happening with my 3meg connection at my old place, but not to such an extent, as in I could still game on the console while the computer was downloading, but my ping would drop to near-zero. On my old Service Electric cable connection, I never had any problems. Then again, 10Mbit downstream was my friend.....
Absolutely nothing, because if I zoom in to the point where I SHOULD be able to see the damn city I live NEAR (not the dinky ass town I live IN) all I get is a blurry as crap vague-street-and-building picture. But I shall now try to use this program to hunt around the globe for funnies to laugh at.
really? I've surprisingly never heard about it (although I live up near Wilkes-Barre, so... :/) but I know a few people who live down in that area...
of course, most people I talk to out of my immediate area are mostly tech-idjits...
We actually do, we have a Circui City not one shopping plaza down from us, a Walmart and a Target not more than a 5 minute drive away, and a large mall across the way. We actually encourage comparison shopping. Same goes for advert prices. If you see something advertised, you'll get it for that price so long as you meet all the requirements.
You'd be surprised how many people come in with an ad that clearly states that a computer is "649.99 after $320 in mail in rebates" and think that they're paying 650 up front. Then again, I live in the middle of an amazingly large concentration of rednecks and old people in Pennsylvania, so...
The two-dollar-bill thing I'm not sure on, but I know I'd accept it because it is legal tender after all...
Sorry, not a cashier. Computer Sales, actually. To me it seems like Visa's policy is just inviting fraudulent uses of their cards. Why the hell would I have a policy on my card that says "as long as this card is signed, you don't need to see any other ID if the cardholder doesn't feel like giving you any"? That just seems like plain old stupidity on Visa's part. I know about the whole "match the signature" stuff, which works sometimes, but given that we use electronic signature pads, and 75% of the time, the signature on the pad actually ends up nothing like the signature on the card, I always ask ID. I've had people personally thank me for checking their IDs because they know this fact.
Besides, who's going to stop someone from either signing a blank card or practicing enough to forge a signature?
That letter is BS. Any merchant has the right to refuse a card because someone cannot present sufficient ID or whatnot to properly ascertain the identity of the card user. VISA can't force a merchant to take a card because they felt that the card was stolen or being used illegally. That letter basically says "If this card is signed, the merchant MUST take the card, regardless of who is using it. If the merchant wants more info, and the person holding this card says no, they have to take it anyway. If the card is unsigned, they have to get ID before taking it."
I think VISA or someone is yanking you or they have crappy policies...if they say that a store HAS to take your card even if you refuse to show ID, then they need to re-think that. I work at a Best Buy, and we regularly ring transactions that number anywhere from between 1 and 30 thousand dollars at a time. If I ask for ID for your card and you say no, I'll tell you to piss off and come back with ID. I may piss some people off, but I make DAMN sure that who I'm selling to is the person I should be selling it to. Same goes for people who have their spouse's/parent's credit cards. Won't take em. End of story.
but PhotoMagenta and PhotoCyan are slowly being absorbed into linking books which have very unstable writing, causing havoc, earthquakes, and funny lines all over the place...
What's in MY bag (backpack actually)? Let's see, shall we?
1. HP ze5375us laptop (2.4 P4, 512 ram, 40 gb hdd, integrated radeon 345 IGP)
2. 2 dying batteries for (1), one of which is usually INSIDE (1).
3. Annoying power brick for (1)
4. Microshaft wireless Intellimouse Explorer (black fake leather edition) with puck-reciever.
5. Notebook full of random doodles from when I WAS in classes (gotta get me some MONEYS!)
6. Bag of 5-month-old Sour Patch Kids from Uni bookstore
7. 14 swiped pens from the last job faire/college roundup batch
8. 4 highlighter sets from same
9. CD case with 3 linux distros, 2 WinXP install discs, a random utilities disc, and a coupla games like q3arena in it
10. Lighter
11. 64 MB USB key
12. 256 MB USB key (11 and 12 are usually in my pockets at work)
13. Gaming headphones w/ mic (big ol' logitech ones too)
14. Empty Pepsi bottle (1 liter, don't wanna think of how old it may be)
15. About 26 swiped sticky-note pads from a friend
16. A good book (Currently the Hitchhiker's Guide collection book)
17. Magic: the Gathering deck (for whupping on the idjits who bother me on campus)
Sometimes something odd creeps in from someone else, but meh.
agreed. I'm just breaking into my twenties, I already have a daughter, and I am damn sure that the games she chooses to play will have content geared towards her. Not to say that *I* won't have the other games, but she just won't have them, hehehe....
I'm not sure exactly the process, i THINK it's related to my IP addy being routed through the local servers around here, but I've noticed that whenever I get to a site with one of a few 'dating personals' banner ads laying waste to the top section of their site, it will come up saying something like "Meet women in XXXXXXXX Today!!!" where XXXXXXX is a town suspiciously close to where I live.
I am VERY wary about my internetting...if a banner ad can yank this info, imagine what everyone else can find out given a proper traceroute program and an IP address.
It's called the Canary Trap. Very useful. How it works is each copy of a memo has a few words/phrases changed around (usually electronically by computer, etc.) so that each memo is unique. The sending machine keeps a record of which memo goes where, so if somebody squeals something confidential to the media, whom we all know LOVE to quote things word-for-word, usually the juicy bits are what have been 'modified' and therefore traced back to the owner of said memo for immediate backhandage.
They don't need activation, but (and this was my problem), when you go to install SP2 with a corp copy with an FCKGW cd-key, SP2 kicks back an error message and won't install. Apparently what MS did was they figured out that FCKGW was the series getting pirated the most, so they removed all SP2 support for anything beginning with those letters in their CD-keys. Doesn't look like it worked very well, now does it?
Better utility than that is one a friend of mine gave me to change it from a GUI as long as you have the new CD-key. And for future reference for anyone who DOES have pirated windows copies, any discs where the CDkey begins with FCKGW is unable to update to SP2 during future reinstalls
And that' one thing I change (well, try to anyway) when I sell a machine. I inform people of things that most people are completely oblivious of. Differences between AMD and Intel chips, exactly WHY they should get their spyware removed instead of just buying a new box, that numbers don't govern the entire performance of the machine, etc. Although the market where I work is pretty much comprised of rednecks, hicks, and people with 5-10 year old boxes who know absolutely nothing about computers. A great example is in this webcomic (which feels like 7/10 of my sales and the sales of my companions) http://cad-comic.com/?t=archives&date=2003-10-10 Anyway, I'm trying to change the views of SOME people that whats emblazoned on the front of the box is not at all what governs your performance. Example: Recently we got a few new Pentium D systems in the store, one of which being a large Sony VAIO that comes with a big Logitech 5.1 surround system. People see that it's clocked at 2.8, so they automatically think it's inferior to a 3.2 P4 system. Then I explain that the computer has two processor cores, gets things done more efficiently, and such, quoting a personal example I had while setting up such a machine NEXT to an AMD64 system, it multitasked much better and got the "complete setup" including anti-virus, antispyware, Windows update, and such done in 15 minutes where the AMD64 system hung when I tried to do the WinUpdate and a Norton Trial removal at the same time. Took that one half an hour. People were impressed and said that they would look into things other than numbers in the future.
It is where I work...Best Buy (a big electronics store) doesn't REQUIRE that we ask you your phone number (except in cases where you're signing up for our service plans/"reward zone" membership program [basically you buy stuff, we give you free gift certificates]), but we are ENCOURAGED to collect a telephone number and gender for each customer we ring out the door. Now, me being in computer sales, I don't have to do this as much as our checkout lines do (just due to the sheer customer-ring-out number differential), but EVERY employee in the store that rings a customer out is supposed to get a phone number. I'm not entirely sure WHY, since BB doesn't make phone calls except to set up stuff like in-home computer setups, TV/Appliance deliveries, etc, so I actually wonder where the numbers go to. As such, unless I'm signing up someone for said service plans/membership programs, I never ask for a phone number.
I noticed this as well, I work as a Best Buy computer sales drone (beep beep) and I constantly hear people whining and complaining about how they just bought Office or they just bought antivirus software and now they have to buy another one for their new machine... I just wish I could pass out open-source disks or free software disks at work without getting fired...i'd be handing out openoffice and avg/avast AV programs left and right