I'll pass. The prescribed relief for having bought crap is a discount on more of the same company's crap? No thanks, I'll just buy from somebody else next time.
I'd have to disagree that Treos are commonplace, as I rarely ever see mroe than one a day: mine. I bought a used Treo 650 in January, and now I'm not sure how I ever lived without it. I may upgrade to a newer with wifi eventually, but I love the 650. (It does have a few quirks: it deosn't seem to like certain naming schemes for audio files, and crashes, and sometimes checking the SD card causes it to crash. It is also rather bulky for a 2008 cell phone. Annoying, but I can deal with it if those are the only strikes against it.)
Get a dog. The TCO may be higher than the camera, but the deterrence factor is way higher (and it's better to not be broken into at all, than have footage of your breakins afterwards).
I'd mod that up if I had any points right now. I saw a documentary piece once in which "reformed" burglars talked about what works and what doesn't to stop or catch them, and what attracts them. There was quite a lot of information and many strategies, but they agreed that dogs are almost always an effective deterrent. Think of it from their perspective: why deal with a noisy, potentially dangerous dog if you can just skip that house and move on to the next one? Not practical for everyone, and perhaps not for cars parked on the street, but I'll take a dog and an attractive but prominent "beware of dog" sign over an alarm company's sign or a camera any day.
...then don't use a public terminal...My policy on using public access computers is that I only use them when I have no other choice, and the more valuable the data I need to protect, the less likely I am to use one.
Well..duh. That's why we're talking about it here: because we would rather not use public terminals if we have a choice, but sometimes we need to figure out a way to make them work.
If your data really needs to be secure and accessed remotely, get yourself a laptop and a data card from one of the cell carriers. At least that way, you can keep physical control over your machine and avoid the risks of using a hotspot
There aren't hotspots everywhere, or even necessarily usable cell service, so there is definitely a need to be able to use watched systems. Of course there are nasty technologies besides the keyloggers, but the keyloggers are the simplest and probably the most effective, so your odds of being caught by other means are probably really slim, especially if you use even one of the "low-tech" cut-and-paste methods described above.
Whenever MS says something is coming in "a year or so," the actual time frame usually ends up being the "or so" rather than the year. "Or so" could be 2-3 years, or several decades if we have any luck. Frankly, I don't really care one bit.
I've found LinuxMint to be fairly easy to use so far, at least as easy as any other distro I've tried (which is all the biggies, 15-20+ over the years). I've tinkered with Linux off an on since 1994 or 1995, but the current iteration of Mint (Daryna, based on Ubuntu and Gnome) is the first distro I've been able to use for everything I do, given my limited linux/UNIX knowledge.
My desktop still dual boots XP pro and Ubuntu, but my laptop, which I use probably 90% of the time, only runs LinuxMint now. Mint does some things well "out of the box" that other distros don't, like play DVDs and work with my wifi card, which are a must if Windows users are to be converted. Yes, it uses some closed-source drivers and stuff, but it is still free and works damn well for some of us. I've even toyed with Virtual Box and installed XP with just to see if it would work. That install went fine, and XP seems to work, even though I was previously unable to install it without the VM because there are no XP drivers for my hardware.
I may be more persistent than the typical user who feels abused by MS, but I honestly believe the current crop of desktop linux distros are getting VERY close to truly becoming Windows replacements. They still aren't "set it and forget it" easy, but they are close, and less fiddling is needed once you have everything set up. I'd love to see a bit of consolidation in the linux community, rather than the ridiculous number of distros we see now, and a focus on hardware compatibility and drivers that install without any hassle. If we get that, anyone will be able to install and use linux.
I'm pretty sure that at some recent point in American history, being hit with fists has also led to getting shot. So to be consistent, we need to ban fists, too. Confiscate all hands, I say. Screw confiscating the arms that enable these crimes.
Around here, a couple of hours drive to the East, BG was known as the slut capital of Ohio. That didn't seem like such a bad thing when I was younger(though it might be, if the above statement is indeed true). I would suggest some other activities for the folks playing those games if their toys are banned, such as perhaps chasing women or being normal, but given that they were playing with Nerf guns in the first place I won't bother wasting my breath. No one wants an STD, anyway.
The American auto industry is lobbying for increased tariffs not only on imported cars, but also surcharges on bicycles, bus fares, train and subway fares, and walking shoes. It seems we are "stealing" from them by not buying as many of their crappy products as often as they'd like anymore, so they are pushing for legislation to pay them the money they are rightly and eternally entitled to. Never mind evolving and putting out better products, since suing one's own customer base seems like the thing to do these days.
To be serious, I don't generally pirate music. I do occasionally download an album as a "test drive," rather than borrowing a friend's copy or getting it from the library, which I did for years before downloading became easy. I do however buy less music than I did pre-Napster; I still pay for every bit of music I choose to add to my collection, but little of what is cranked out by the big labels suites my interests at all any more. So yes, I can see why music sales are down - so much of the music sucks, and the prices are not conducive to most people going to the CD store and buying a bunch of new music they aren't yet sure about.
I recently downloaded Attack and Release by The Black Keys because it doesn't come out until April 1, and I had already pre-ordered it anyway. A band like that has proven their worth to me, so I will continue to buy their albums as quickly as I can, even without hearing them. Fugazi was another who never disappointed and often sold direct and kept the prices reasonable. That, I respect. Even the folks who buy all the top-40 crap admit that the CDs they buy usually only have 1-2 good songs for $15+, so screw the RIAA and their members.
Windows 3.11 For Workgroups beats Vista at many tasks, and will run reasonably well on a 486. Is this a trend for Microsoft, older software outperforming newer software?
Many billionaires and assorted mega-rich folks contribute a good deal of money to charitable organizations and various foundations. Most of them don't contribute as much as they could stand to, but their support is significant and always welcomed. Bill Gates has given away many millions of dollars, as has Warren Buffett, just as an example of two who have made big news in recent memory. We need to encourage folks like these to continue to support good science and stress the potential impact of scientific breakthroughs that might not occur without new funding options.
Personally, I can support myself and throw the Red Cross a few bucks every now and then, but not much more. When the lotteries get big around here I buy a few tickets. Then before my dreams are shattered I think not only about the nice house, car and computer I will buy, but how much I will be able to hand over to my high school, my college, and something akin to the Ansari X Prize. I can think of nothing more fun to read about than a major scientific breakthrough or great progress made in part because of the money I put up as a motivation. (And the Red Cross would get a sizable donation, of course.) I don't have that kind of money at my disposal unfortunately, and probably never will, so we need to keep begging those who have it.
Oh give me a break, if you use an undocumented API for something that does not mean you "cripple" other pieces of software.
Yes, it does mean you cripple other software if you do this on purpose (somehow fail to document significant APIs, that is) so you can tout the speed of your own software. And yes, they have bragged about how "superior" Safari is, including that it is faster, so this is not just about people being Firefox fans. Instead, it appears to be a fine example of Apple using the same shady, under-handed techniques to stifle competition that Microsoft is so known for.
If the intercept takes place at lowest point of the current orbit then any debris will be in an orbit that will return the debris to the point of intercept.
The intercept will most likely come at a point when the satellite is passing over international waters, or perhaps over the US. No one in his right mind would want a shoot like this to be perceived as violating another nation's airspace, even if the would-be explosion is to take place in space. Ask North Korea how many friends they made when they shot a missile over Japan. I'm not familiar with this satellite's orbit, but I know I wouldn't want to shoot at something over someone else's land.
The characteristics of its orbit will surely be taken into account (I hope), but so will politics, as this is already a risky proposition, even if it is not the same as China blowing up a satellite in a higher orbit. Surely a lot of people around the world will be paying close attention to this, so care must be taken in the PR department as well as by the brains determining exactly when and how to do this.
Starbucks is closing shops? Good. F 'em. Their service sucks, and I've always avoided them because I can think of at least three instances, right off the top of my head, when Starbucks opened shops literally across the street from local indie coffee shops. And that's just in my local area. In one of those cases they actually bought out a very well-established local shop that was a half a block from another older local shop. The latter has remained in business but has suffered (even though it is top-notch) because so many of the local sheep now flock to the big brand people in big cities patronize. Some of us are still staunchly opposed to Starbucks, though.
Besides, we have a local chain here in my part of OH with a fair number of unique, very comfortable shops that offer FREE wifi, better prices, and friendlier, more knowledgeable service.
Yeah, maybe that's it. I'm sure there are things comprising and within the ISS and space shuttles that could have a smell. So how would this guy guy smell "space," anyway? How much time has he spent outside of an airlock without a self-contained breathing apparatus? Do they open the windows of the ISS on sunny days? I don't get it.
I didn't so much "buy" one of their 100 million copies of Vista last fall as much as I paid the "MS new laptop computer tax." I would much rather have bought my computer without no OS, Linux or some free OS, or XP Pro (in that order of preference), and I compared prices of those few models available without Vista. In the end I found it to make more sense for me to buy the one I wanted and pay a bit more than I should have to for it.
I'm sure a LOT of consumers who "buy Vista" do so only because cause their hardware is only available with it pre-installed, and as a result many of them suffer with a crappy, bloated OS or delete it altogether. Vista now occupies only a small partition on this notebook for the very rare cases when I must have real Windows compatibility, which is only true because the manufacturer ahs not seen fit to develop XP drivers for it.
Using Second Life and "virtual worlds" to formulate terrorist plans? Why? Don't telephones, email, and real world meetings (that's when you are actually in the same room with someone, or outside near them, look it up) all work for these people? I don't know much about plotting against governments, but if I want to plan to go out for dinner tomorrow night, I am not going to make sure I have a computer running Second Life, create an account, wait for my friends to login, then make plans online; much easier to call them on the phone, send an email, or drop by to see them. Silly. Out of all forms of communication, I'd have to rank Second Life, etc. as about the most cumbersome and least convenient.
Two weeks? Do ya'll folk count on yer fingers an' toes dere, o wut? Are you assuming the use of punch cards, with every race being close enough to recount, with "hanging chads" and "pregnant chads" to agonize over?
And as I always say, I'm very willing to wait a bit for correct results rather than to have questionable results right now.
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I'll pass. The prescribed relief for having bought crap is a discount on more of the same company's crap? No thanks, I'll just buy from somebody else next time.
Ice cream.
I'd have to disagree that Treos are commonplace, as I rarely ever see mroe than one a day: mine. I bought a used Treo 650 in January, and now I'm not sure how I ever lived without it. I may upgrade to a newer with wifi eventually, but I love the 650. (It does have a few quirks: it deosn't seem to like certain naming schemes for audio files, and crashes, and sometimes checking the SD card causes it to crash. It is also rather bulky for a 2008 cell phone. Annoying, but I can deal with it if those are the only strikes against it.)
I'd mod that up if I had any points right now. I saw a documentary piece once in which "reformed" burglars talked about what works and what doesn't to stop or catch them, and what attracts them. There was quite a lot of information and many strategies, but they agreed that dogs are almost always an effective deterrent. Think of it from their perspective: why deal with a noisy, potentially dangerous dog if you can just skip that house and move on to the next one? Not practical for everyone, and perhaps not for cars parked on the street, but I'll take a dog and an attractive but prominent "beware of dog" sign over an alarm company's sign or a camera any day.
Well..duh. That's why we're talking about it here: because we would rather not use public terminals if we have a choice, but sometimes we need to figure out a way to make them work.
If your data really needs to be secure and accessed remotely, get yourself a laptop and a data card from one of the cell carriers. At least that way, you can keep physical control over your machine and avoid the risks of using a hotspot
There aren't hotspots everywhere, or even necessarily usable cell service, so there is definitely a need to be able to use watched systems. Of course there are nasty technologies besides the keyloggers, but the keyloggers are the simplest and probably the most effective, so your odds of being caught by other means are probably really slim, especially if you use even one of the "low-tech" cut-and-paste methods described above.
Whenever MS says something is coming in "a year or so," the actual time frame usually ends up being the "or so" rather than the year. "Or so" could be 2-3 years, or several decades if we have any luck. Frankly, I don't really care one bit.
My desktop still dual boots XP pro and Ubuntu, but my laptop, which I use probably 90% of the time, only runs LinuxMint now. Mint does some things well "out of the box" that other distros don't, like play DVDs and work with my wifi card, which are a must if Windows users are to be converted. Yes, it uses some closed-source drivers and stuff, but it is still free and works damn well for some of us. I've even toyed with Virtual Box and installed XP with just to see if it would work. That install went fine, and XP seems to work, even though I was previously unable to install it without the VM because there are no XP drivers for my hardware.
I may be more persistent than the typical user who feels abused by MS, but I honestly believe the current crop of desktop linux distros are getting VERY close to truly becoming Windows replacements. They still aren't "set it and forget it" easy, but they are close, and less fiddling is needed once you have everything set up. I'd love to see a bit of consolidation in the linux community, rather than the ridiculous number of distros we see now, and a focus on hardware compatibility and drivers that install without any hassle. If we get that, anyone will be able to install and use linux.
Because they are just plain nerds, not geeks.
I'm pretty sure that at some recent point in American history, being hit with fists has also led to getting shot. So to be consistent, we need to ban fists, too. Confiscate all hands, I say. Screw confiscating the arms that enable these crimes.
Around here, a couple of hours drive to the East, BG was known as the slut capital of Ohio. That didn't seem like such a bad thing when I was younger(though it might be, if the above statement is indeed true). I would suggest some other activities for the folks playing those games if their toys are banned, such as perhaps chasing women or being normal, but given that they were playing with Nerf guns in the first place I won't bother wasting my breath. No one wants an STD, anyway.
University Students Seek Life
Next thread please.
To be serious, I don't generally pirate music. I do occasionally download an album as a "test drive," rather than borrowing a friend's copy or getting it from the library, which I did for years before downloading became easy. I do however buy less music than I did pre-Napster; I still pay for every bit of music I choose to add to my collection, but little of what is cranked out by the big labels suites my interests at all any more. So yes, I can see why music sales are down - so much of the music sucks, and the prices are not conducive to most people going to the CD store and buying a bunch of new music they aren't yet sure about.
I recently downloaded Attack and Release by The Black Keys because it doesn't come out until April 1, and I had already pre-ordered it anyway. A band like that has proven their worth to me, so I will continue to buy their albums as quickly as I can, even without hearing them. Fugazi was another who never disappointed and often sold direct and kept the prices reasonable. That, I respect. Even the folks who buy all the top-40 crap admit that the CDs they buy usually only have 1-2 good songs for $15+, so screw the RIAA and their members.
Windows 3.11 For Workgroups beats Vista at many tasks, and will run reasonably well on a 486. Is this a trend for Microsoft, older software outperforming newer software?
I guess I can scrap the laptop bag I was just about finished building with lead shielding panels and a kryptonite lining.
Personally, I can support myself and throw the Red Cross a few bucks every now and then, but not much more. When the lotteries get big around here I buy a few tickets. Then before my dreams are shattered I think not only about the nice house, car and computer I will buy, but how much I will be able to hand over to my high school, my college, and something akin to the Ansari X Prize. I can think of nothing more fun to read about than a major scientific breakthrough or great progress made in part because of the money I put up as a motivation. (And the Red Cross would get a sizable donation, of course.) I don't have that kind of money at my disposal unfortunately, and probably never will, so we need to keep begging those who have it.
Yes, it does mean you cripple other software if you do this on purpose (somehow fail to document significant APIs, that is) so you can tout the speed of your own software. And yes, they have bragged about how "superior" Safari is, including that it is faster, so this is not just about people being Firefox fans. Instead, it appears to be a fine example of Apple using the same shady, under-handed techniques to stifle competition that Microsoft is so known for.
I move for adoption of the "applosoft" tag.
The intercept will most likely come at a point when the satellite is passing over international waters, or perhaps over the US. No one in his right mind would want a shoot like this to be perceived as violating another nation's airspace, even if the would-be explosion is to take place in space. Ask North Korea how many friends they made when they shot a missile over Japan. I'm not familiar with this satellite's orbit, but I know I wouldn't want to shoot at something over someone else's land.
The characteristics of its orbit will surely be taken into account (I hope), but so will politics, as this is already a risky proposition, even if it is not the same as China blowing up a satellite in a higher orbit. Surely a lot of people around the world will be paying close attention to this, so care must be taken in the PR department as well as by the brains determining exactly when and how to do this.
Besides, we have a local chain here in my part of OH with a fair number of unique, very comfortable shops that offer FREE wifi, better prices, and friendlier, more knowledgeable service.
Yeah, maybe that's it. I'm sure there are things comprising and within the ISS and space shuttles that could have a smell. So how would this guy guy smell "space," anyway? How much time has he spent outside of an airlock without a self-contained breathing apparatus? Do they open the windows of the ISS on sunny days? I don't get it.
Wow, I get knocked down to 0 by a "-1 Overrated" for pointing out an obvious factual error in a smart-assed post. Brilliant use of mod points!
I think you mean "Steve Ballmer," as no one named Gates is CEO of Microsoft. Nice try though, and better luck next time!
I'm sure a LOT of consumers who "buy Vista" do so only because cause their hardware is only available with it pre-installed, and as a result many of them suffer with a crappy, bloated OS or delete it altogether. Vista now occupies only a small partition on this notebook for the very rare cases when I must have real Windows compatibility, which is only true because the manufacturer ahs not seen fit to develop XP drivers for it.
Using Second Life and "virtual worlds" to formulate terrorist plans? Why? Don't telephones, email, and real world meetings (that's when you are actually in the same room with someone, or outside near them, look it up) all work for these people? I don't know much about plotting against governments, but if I want to plan to go out for dinner tomorrow night, I am not going to make sure I have a computer running Second Life, create an account, wait for my friends to login, then make plans online; much easier to call them on the phone, send an email, or drop by to see them. Silly. Out of all forms of communication, I'd have to rank Second Life, etc. as about the most cumbersome and least convenient.
And as I always say, I'm very willing to wait a bit for correct results rather than to have questionable results right now.