>I bought the disc box for ~$80 USD. Not because I thought it was a great album but because I wanted to support this model
Same here. Also, being an impulsive audiotard I have been known to buy the download (gotta have it now), the CD (want a lossless rip in my library), and the Vinyl (for serious listening sessions) of a given release. Clearly it is borderline insanity to pay three times for the same songs but with the Radiohead release I get all this in one deal. The discbox includes CD and vinyl, plus I get to (legally and quickly) download the tracks for free while I wait. If only everyone started doing this, and for a lower price, say sub-$40.
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Highfield (Director of Future Media and Tech at the BBC - responsible for the iPlayer plan) is receiving substantial kickbacks from MS. He lies to the public and the government; he has no respect for many of the BBC's primary values, or the BBC Trust, non-Windows users... I could rant on this subject for hours but I get too worked up about it.
"The only thing that might stifle innovation would be the process of approving new services because that can take a long time. With BBC Trust approval framework for new services, we won't always be able to be number one"
Clearly, to Highfield, BBC Trust is just an irritant; an obstacle to navigate. More choice quotes here
"...[Apple's] proprietary and closed framework for digital rights management gives us headaches [but] it is one of our top priorities to re-engineer our proposed BBC iPlayer service to work on Macs."
Er, it's Microsoft's proprietary and closed framework for DRM (upon which the iPlayer is based) that is giving them headaches. At least the iTunes Store is multi-platform!
By adopting MS DRM, Highfield made the wrong decision from the outset and now he's stuck because he's blown his budget on MS proprietary, single-platform technology and the BBC Trust are wondering where the promised Linux and Mac clients are. When the Christmas deadline comes and goes with no satisfactory solution, we should start a new petition to the BBC Trust to have Highfield removed from his position.
For a device that seems to play video well (and made for it) 8/16 GB doesn't seem like enough.
What I really want is an 160GB iPhone or iPod touch, but, of course, that whole platform is designed around solid state. It looks like I'll be stuck with the (just-ordered) 160GB classic till affordable flash drive capacities beef up by at least a factor of 5...
I'll probably get modded as troll and I know this is well-covered ground, but, in the UK at least, people are interested in using OSX but the entry price point is too high against the competition.
I wanted to buy my mother (owns iPod, likes iTunes, needs new computer) some sort of Mac, but even the Mini with IMO the bare essentials (DVDRW, iWork, KB&Mouse) is £633 = $1265. Sitting next to it at the store was an HP with DVDRW, MS Works and KB&Mouse for £250 = $500. The specs on the Mini are better but we're talking about a computer for mail, web, office, photos, iTunes.
The HP had Vista so I bought her a digital camera...
I've had problems... there are many circumstances where a genuine copy gets flagged. Fortunately, somewhere, there's a Microsoft tool that tells you why it thinks your copy isn't genuine - we had one example where the cause was the date being about 6 months wrong. I would worry if that copy was fake - it was downloaded straight from MSDN!
First thing I downloaded onto my newly bought Mac Mini was Firefox. Safari was just plain unbearable.
I've always been a big Firefox fan and use it every day on Windows. When I bought my MacBook Pro, I had low expectations for OSX's built-in browser but decided to keep an open mind and give it a go for a while. Six months later, I'm still using Safari. Sure, I prefer Firefox's RSS handling and its extensions library is unmatched, but I've found Safari 2 to be an accurate, stable, great-looking and fast-running browser.
I'm a big fan of RAID 1. It's 100% wasteful, but I can relate to that. Advantages of RAID 1 include:
- Simplicity: RAID card broken? Fine, just shove one of the drives onto a non-RAID interface and you're off. Simple setup also means low overheads, which leads to...
- Speed: Faster than RAID 5 because the controller isn't doing anything clever. If you want faster, go 0+1.
- Robustness: The temptation with RAID 5 is to have one massive partition across loads of drives. That's great, until you accidentally format it or something. Don't forget to back up, but splitting your storage into smaller arrays would be safer.
If you're seeking 1.5TB, you could have two 750GB RAID 1 arrays using four 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10s.
God dammit what's happened to the Slashdot tagging system? Where are the lasers, the yes/no/maybes? I think the revised tagging system is defectivebydesign!
"According to the BBC, Intel has designed and begun marketing it's own low-cost laptop targeted at education in developing countries. 'Professor Negroponte, who aims to distribute millions of laptops to kids in developing countries, said Intel had hurt his mission "enormously". Speaking to US broadcaster CBS, Intels chairman denied the claims. "Were not trying to drive him out of business," said Craig Barrett. "Were trying to bring capability to young people." Mr Barrett has previously dismissed the $100 laptop as a "gadget"."
If you're going to get your apostrophes wrong, you might as well do it properly...
While I think quad-cores are important for the server rooms, I just don't see the business case for personal use.
We cane the hell out of our dual-cpu, dual-core xeon 5160 (3GHz) core 2 machines. Two applications: 1) a properly-multithreaded CAM package, 2) compiling >1000 C++ source files, four at a time.
On the personal side, I had a dual-cpu, dual-core xeon 5150 (2.66GHz) at home for a while before the quad-core Extreme chips came around. True, I didn't use all the cores that much, but it was cool being able to convert four videos to H.264 in 12 minutes (4 simultaneous runs of a single-threaded app). Bit better than my previous A64 3200+ which did one at a time, 35 minutes each...
Indeed - Foxit is good. Apple's standard OSX PDF reader is good, too, but I suppose that doesn't answer your question:). The worst thing about the Adobe Reader is it wants 10+MB updates, sometimes with reboots, almost every time I come to read a PDF...
Slashdot Mirror
>I bought the disc box for ~$80 USD. Not because I thought it was a great album but because I wanted to support this model
Same here. Also, being an impulsive audiotard I have been known to buy the download (gotta have it now), the CD (want a lossless rip in my library), and the Vinyl (for serious listening sessions) of a given release. Clearly it is borderline insanity to pay three times for the same songs but with the Radiohead release I get all this in one deal. The discbox includes CD and vinyl, plus I get to (legally and quickly) download the tracks for free while I wait. If only everyone started doing this, and for a lower price, say sub-$40.
This is what happens when you get into bed with Microsoft.
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that Highfield (Director of Future Media and Tech at the BBC - responsible for the iPlayer plan) is receiving substantial kickbacks from MS. He lies to the public and the government; he has no respect for many of the BBC's primary values, or the BBC Trust, non-Windows users... I could rant on this subject for hours but I get too worked up about it.
See this:
"The only thing that might stifle innovation would be the process of approving new services because that can take a long time. With BBC Trust approval framework for new services, we won't always be able to be number one"
Clearly, to Highfield, BBC Trust is just an irritant; an obstacle to navigate. More choice quotes here
"...[Apple's] proprietary and closed framework for digital rights management gives us headaches [but] it is one of our top priorities to re-engineer our proposed BBC iPlayer service to work on Macs."
Er, it's Microsoft's proprietary and closed framework for DRM (upon which the iPlayer is based) that is giving them headaches. At least the iTunes Store is multi-platform!
By adopting MS DRM, Highfield made the wrong decision from the outset and now he's stuck because he's blown his budget on MS proprietary, single-platform technology and the BBC Trust are wondering where the promised Linux and Mac clients are. When the Christmas deadline comes and goes with no satisfactory solution, we should start a new petition to the BBC Trust to have Highfield removed from his position.
867MHz+ PPC
Shame - I was going to buy a G4 CubeFor a device that seems to play video well (and made for it) 8/16 GB doesn't seem like enough.
What I really want is an 160GB iPhone or iPod touch, but, of course, that whole platform is designed around solid state. It looks like I'll be stuck with the (just-ordered) 160GB classic till affordable flash drive capacities beef up by at least a factor of 5...
Have fun rebuilding her computer every 6 months. I meant I gave up with both and bought a digital camera instead.
I'll probably get modded as troll and I know this is well-covered ground, but, in the UK at least, people are interested in using OSX but the entry price point is too high against the competition.
I wanted to buy my mother (owns iPod, likes iTunes, needs new computer) some sort of Mac, but even the Mini with IMO the bare essentials (DVDRW, iWork, KB&Mouse) is £633 = $1265. Sitting next to it at the store was an HP with DVDRW, MS Works and KB&Mouse for £250 = $500. The specs on the Mini are better but we're talking about a computer for mail, web, office, photos, iTunes.
The HP had Vista so I bought her a digital camera...
Silly...everybody knows slashdotters don't have girlfriends.
Come on - poetic license!
Free Software means never having to tell anyone what you want to run on your computers...
As you have showcased, free software means telling everyone what you run on your computers!
...and am a an active Wikipedian... [but] Never if my fucking life have I heard of a blook
Err.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blookwell do you really expect anyone to integrate a third party search into their OS? why dont people sue apple for Spotlight?
I thought the exact same thing... almost makes you feel sorry for Microsoft.
I could go on for hours... Advice for anyone thinking of installing it before SP1 comes out.. don't bother.
I read that as "...anyone thinking of installing it after SP1 comes out.. don't bother."
It's amazing how one's eyes sometimes correct errors as we see them.
I've had problems... there are many circumstances where a genuine copy gets flagged. Fortunately, somewhere, there's a Microsoft tool that tells you why it thinks your copy isn't genuine - we had one example where the cause was the date being about 6 months wrong. I would worry if that copy was fake - it was downloaded straight from MSDN!
I had to look up 'specious'. New word for me!
(and apple's platform would have been left out in the cold).
Not to mention all the other platforms. Corporate competition is good!
I think Jobs kinda knows what he's doing. We're the ones posting on Slashdot.
Where do you think all those pro-Apple AC posts are coming from?
First thing I downloaded onto my newly bought Mac Mini was Firefox. Safari was just plain unbearable.
I've always been a big Firefox fan and use it every day on Windows. When I bought my MacBook Pro, I had low expectations for OSX's built-in browser but decided to keep an open mind and give it a go for a while. Six months later, I'm still using Safari. Sure, I prefer Firefox's RSS handling and its extensions library is unmatched, but I've found Safari 2 to be an accurate, stable, great-looking and fast-running browser.
he can stop the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and stabilize Iraq
...and finish Duke Nukem Forever in his spare time!
I'm a big fan of RAID 1. It's 100% wasteful, but I can relate to that. Advantages of RAID 1 include:
If you're seeking 1.5TB, you could have two 750GB RAID 1 arrays using four 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10s.- Simplicity: RAID card broken? Fine, just shove one of the drives onto a non-RAID interface and you're off. Simple setup also means low overheads, which leads to...
- Speed: Faster than RAID 5 because the controller isn't doing anything clever. If you want faster, go 0+1.
- Robustness: The temptation with RAID 5 is to have one massive partition across loads of drives. That's great, until you accidentally format it or something. Don't forget to back up, but splitting your storage into smaller arrays would be safer.
Has to be totally untrue, but that's an excellent geek-style urban legend :)
God dammit what's happened to the Slashdot tagging system? Where are the lasers, the yes/no/maybes? I think the revised tagging system is defectivebydesign!
"According to the BBC, Intel has designed and begun marketing it's own low-cost laptop targeted at education in developing countries. 'Professor Negroponte, who aims to distribute millions of laptops to kids in developing countries, said Intel had hurt his mission "enormously". Speaking to US broadcaster CBS, Intels chairman denied the claims. "Were not trying to drive him out of business," said Craig Barrett. "Were trying to bring capability to young people." Mr Barrett has previously dismissed the $100 laptop as a "gadget"."
If you're going to get your apostrophes wrong, you might as well do it properly...
Perhaps this is why many cars are coming out with "angry" lights - like the new Porsche Cayenne and many of the new Audis.
While I think quad-cores are important for the server rooms, I just don't see the business case for personal use.
We cane the hell out of our dual-cpu, dual-core xeon 5160 (3GHz) core 2 machines. Two applications: 1) a properly-multithreaded CAM package, 2) compiling >1000 C++ source files, four at a time.
On the personal side, I had a dual-cpu, dual-core xeon 5150 (2.66GHz) at home for a while before the quad-core Extreme chips came around. True, I didn't use all the cores that much, but it was cool being able to convert four videos to H.264 in 12 minutes (4 simultaneous runs of a single-threaded app). Bit better than my previous A64 3200+ which did one at a time, 35 minutes each...
foxit reader
Indeed - Foxit is good. Apple's standard OSX PDF reader is good, too, but I suppose that doesn't answer your question :). The worst thing about the Adobe Reader is it wants 10+MB updates, sometimes with reboots, almost every time I come to read a PDF...
Yes, but that'd be off-topic :D