I have to disagree with the saving money in the long run. I have one computer that is completely custom built, one that many parts came out of an old Dell, and one that is straight from Dell. I have never had issues with any of them, except for one hard drive failure (and it wasn't a hard drive in or from a Dell). In the long run a Dell is just the same to maintain (unless you pay for their extended warranty program, but I never do those deals).
Have you ever taken a language class? EVERY language class I've ever taken (Hebrew, Spanish, and French) have all had sound clips (CDs and/or cassettes) and video. I have yet to see a language class have anything but supplimentry material posted online (and 98% of the time that material is text). I don't know where you go to school, but here the teachers have to follow copyright so in almost all circumstances would not be able to provide online copies even if they wanted to (if the material was a recorded broadcast this would be differant, but fair use doesn't work the same for non-broadcasted material - last I looked using more then a minute of non-broadcasted material was getting close to the line).
There are many times a year that the deals Dell has come out to be FAR cheaper then buying the parts alone, let alone the assembly time. And the brand matters because you know parts are going to be the same throughout the entire brand (for example ALL Dell desktops use non-standard motherboards and power supplies, and their power supplies are rated different). Yes it is what is inside that matters, but it is a lot easier to find out what is inside a Dell then what is inside many other brands.
You attacked the right game for the wrong reason. I visited the site, saw this game, and proceeded to freak out with excitement (I loved X-Com, it is easily my favorite game to date). But then I played the demo... and it is pretty much nothing like X-com, added to the fact that it costs money for a limited single player game (you could go on for ever in X-com) and a multiplayer that doesn't look exciting. I'm not sure how it happened, but it seems like the creators of X-com failed on everything that made X-com great.
You can open the rear hatch of my friend's mini-van by inserting something (we usually use a key or a screw-driver) halfway into the lock and turning it. But I think that is because there is something jammed into the back of it (I think part of the key broke off in the winter).
Want to drink? Prove to me you can enjoy alcohol without getting trashed.
Again, think about actually enacting this, how the hell do you do this? How the hell do you make sure the person acts the same when unmonitored? With a group of peers yelling chug? Once a person passes the test, how can you identify their passing? What prevents others from faking said proof of passage? How do you handle people from out of state or out of country?
Want to vote? Prove to me you know what's going on in the world.
If you look at the history of tests required to vote, they have always been used as a tool for the majority to gain greater control and power. Also this is as against modern democracy as requiring potential voters to own land.
An organization that the government, preferably, does not control
How the hell is this going to be enforced if it is non-government? NGO's are unable to make laws, and more importantly unable to enforce laws. Seriously, I don't you've thought much about how your hypothetical system would actually work. For policy to have any effect it needs large sums of cash incentive or enforceable negative consequences.
And what kind of test are you going to give? And how are you going to identify those that have passed the test? Seriously, think hard about trying to legislate anything different, and think hard about the cost of instituting the program compared to the gains.
not to mention transport capacity to get the stuff to any buyer.
Last I looked into the gold market, it is exceptionally easy to own gold without having any transported to you. I seem to recall the US government doing the same with silver, as evidenced by silver certificates.
Actually I think the grandparent is dead on, and you help his point. You don't need evidence to dismiss something, but you damn well should have a reason that has some support. That support in most cases is evidence. If you don't have a reason, or if that reason doesn't have any support, then why the hell are you dismissing the idea?
As grand parent has said somewhere here, movies are always right. Remember Memento, how they talk about even without memory it is possible to learn not to grab the shape the will electrocute you?
My folks use nowhere near 75% of their RAM, the only thing they use is internet (IE using only one window), Word, Excel, and their Canon photo software. Also, being older and not following with technology, they haven't really caught on to multi-tasking so never have more then one window of one application running. Luckily they are smart about e-mail and don't use the internet a lot so my spyware cleanups are pretty minimal.
I disagree. I think my parents are in the definition of average consumer, and they get by just fine with 256 megs. Their computer runs office, gets them on the internet, and gets the pictures off their camera just fine. Also I don't think the amount of RAM matters nearly as much as the speed of the RAM (for normal use, obviously not true for CAD, gaming, or heavy photo editing). I know when I replaced a slow RAM chip with the 3200 I have in there now it made a difference.
No, a company who copies instead of innovates is problematic.
I have to disagree. Copying is very smart in business. The problem is if you do carbon copies and only carbon copies. You need to not only copy, but improve on the copy. Look at any business (graphics cards, processors, cars, woodchippers, software) and they are constantly looking at what their opponent is doing and saying "alright, how can we do that - but do it better?" (see dual core CPUs, desktop GUIs, SLI/crossfire, car suspensions, cordless tools, etc). If you aren't paying attention to your competition you are foolish and doomed to be irrelevant very quickly.
wait, let me change that, any GTA AFTER 2, GTA1, 2, and London all felt great on the keyboard. I couldn't imagine using a controller for the pre-3D GTA.
I've played all of the GTA games on my computer, and I have to say I don't like the keyboard/mouse controls at all. It doesn't feel right at all, the only time I use it is for massive killing sprees using the chain gun, otherwise I use a USB controller. The game wasn't designed for keyboard/mouse, and I think it shows.
Just to play the devil's advocate... what if someone's life is somehow saved from this? What if people are able to use this info to find out they are being stalked?
Remember that this was a very small preview geared towards devolpers, I'm sure once MacWorld roles around they will have some tricks up their sleeves. I am excited to see the stuff Novel is doing though, I really like XGL and compiz and hope to see more progress with those and Sun's Project Looking Glass. SUSE is currently holding me back from buying a Mac (well... SUSE and money) but Linux still is very far from "Just Working" to the degree Apple has attained. So far Vista has yet to interest me at all - the only reason I can see myself using it is for a work computer or if I stop making my PCs and pay the Microsoft tax.
One VERY important note: the natives couldn't MAKE guns. That is huge. Also there is no doubt the Europeans had greater technology as they were able to make large boats and had the navigational capacity to go to the Americas and back. But the most important factors were that the Europeans had steel tools, guns, and diseases (and it is also notable that the diseases pretty much all originated from domesticated animals, which the native nations were sorely lacking).
What the hell are you talking about? He is talking about believing the sun has risen, and states the reason he believes so is because he not only sees the sun but is able to see everything else as it is lit by the sun. He is comparing that to his faith, saying he believes in God not only because he sees God, but that he sees everything else by the light of God. Plus I think by definition vision is limited to the visible light spectrum.
I would like to point out that the Hebrew version hasn't changed in at least about 1,000 years, and I think the Latin and Greek are at least 800 years and 900 years respectively. These versions are still available, the reasons translations change is because the vernacular changes (and one of the reasons that the Catholic Church didn't want the Bible translated).
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I have to disagree with the saving money in the long run. I have one computer that is completely custom built, one that many parts came out of an old Dell, and one that is straight from Dell. I have never had issues with any of them, except for one hard drive failure (and it wasn't a hard drive in or from a Dell). In the long run a Dell is just the same to maintain (unless you pay for their extended warranty program, but I never do those deals).
Have you ever taken a language class? EVERY language class I've ever taken (Hebrew, Spanish, and French) have all had sound clips (CDs and/or cassettes) and video. I have yet to see a language class have anything but supplimentry material posted online (and 98% of the time that material is text). I don't know where you go to school, but here the teachers have to follow copyright so in almost all circumstances would not be able to provide online copies even if they wanted to (if the material was a recorded broadcast this would be differant, but fair use doesn't work the same for non-broadcasted material - last I looked using more then a minute of non-broadcasted material was getting close to the line).
There are many times a year that the deals Dell has come out to be FAR cheaper then buying the parts alone, let alone the assembly time. And the brand matters because you know parts are going to be the same throughout the entire brand (for example ALL Dell desktops use non-standard motherboards and power supplies, and their power supplies are rated different). Yes it is what is inside that matters, but it is a lot easier to find out what is inside a Dell then what is inside many other brands.
I always thought that was the funnest rule in grammar.
You attacked the right game for the wrong reason. I visited the site, saw this game, and proceeded to freak out with excitement (I loved X-Com, it is easily my favorite game to date). But then I played the demo... and it is pretty much nothing like X-com, added to the fact that it costs money for a limited single player game (you could go on for ever in X-com) and a multiplayer that doesn't look exciting. I'm not sure how it happened, but it seems like the creators of X-com failed on everything that made X-com great.
My guess is for music it is streamed. Now if someone makes an easy way to record said streams...
Umm... since when is "decider" a made up word? It is listed as a noun in my dictionary.
You can open the rear hatch of my friend's mini-van by inserting something (we usually use a key or a screw-driver) halfway into the lock and turning it. But I think that is because there is something jammed into the back of it (I think part of the key broke off in the winter).
Want to drink? Prove to me you can enjoy alcohol without getting trashed.
Again, think about actually enacting this, how the hell do you do this? How the hell do you make sure the person acts the same when unmonitored? With a group of peers yelling chug? Once a person passes the test, how can you identify their passing? What prevents others from faking said proof of passage? How do you handle people from out of state or out of country?
Want to vote? Prove to me you know what's going on in the world.
If you look at the history of tests required to vote, they have always been used as a tool for the majority to gain greater control and power. Also this is as against modern democracy as requiring potential voters to own land.
An organization that the government, preferably, does not control
How the hell is this going to be enforced if it is non-government? NGO's are unable to make laws, and more importantly unable to enforce laws. Seriously, I don't you've thought much about how your hypothetical system would actually work. For policy to have any effect it needs large sums of cash incentive or enforceable negative consequences.
And what kind of test are you going to give? And how are you going to identify those that have passed the test? Seriously, think hard about trying to legislate anything different, and think hard about the cost of instituting the program compared to the gains.
not to mention transport capacity to get the stuff to any buyer.
Last I looked into the gold market, it is exceptionally easy to own gold without having any transported to you. I seem to recall the US government doing the same with silver, as evidenced by silver certificates.
Isn't that long term memory?
Actually I think the grandparent is dead on, and you help his point. You don't need evidence to dismiss something, but you damn well should have a reason that has some support. That support in most cases is evidence. If you don't have a reason, or if that reason doesn't have any support, then why the hell are you dismissing the idea?
As grand parent has said somewhere here, movies are always right. Remember Memento, how they talk about even without memory it is possible to learn not to grab the shape the will electrocute you?
My folks use nowhere near 75% of their RAM, the only thing they use is internet (IE using only one window), Word, Excel, and their Canon photo software. Also, being older and not following with technology, they haven't really caught on to multi-tasking so never have more then one window of one application running. Luckily they are smart about e-mail and don't use the internet a lot so my spyware cleanups are pretty minimal.
I disagree. I think my parents are in the definition of average consumer, and they get by just fine with 256 megs. Their computer runs office, gets them on the internet, and gets the pictures off their camera just fine. Also I don't think the amount of RAM matters nearly as much as the speed of the RAM (for normal use, obviously not true for CAD, gaming, or heavy photo editing). I know when I replaced a slow RAM chip with the 3200 I have in there now it made a difference.
No, a company who copies instead of innovates is problematic.
I have to disagree. Copying is very smart in business. The problem is if you do carbon copies and only carbon copies. You need to not only copy, but improve on the copy. Look at any business (graphics cards, processors, cars, woodchippers, software) and they are constantly looking at what their opponent is doing and saying "alright, how can we do that - but do it better?" (see dual core CPUs, desktop GUIs, SLI/crossfire, car suspensions, cordless tools, etc). If you aren't paying attention to your competition you are foolish and doomed to be irrelevant very quickly.
You should see it, it is actually a very funny movie. Definitely one of the best comedies to date.
wait, let me change that, any GTA AFTER 2, GTA1, 2, and London all felt great on the keyboard. I couldn't imagine using a controller for the pre-3D GTA.
I've played all of the GTA games on my computer, and I have to say I don't like the keyboard/mouse controls at all. It doesn't feel right at all, the only time I use it is for massive killing sprees using the chain gun, otherwise I use a USB controller. The game wasn't designed for keyboard/mouse, and I think it shows.
Just to play the devil's advocate... what if someone's life is somehow saved from this? What if people are able to use this info to find out they are being stalked?
Remember that this was a very small preview geared towards devolpers, I'm sure once MacWorld roles around they will have some tricks up their sleeves. I am excited to see the stuff Novel is doing though, I really like XGL and compiz and hope to see more progress with those and Sun's Project Looking Glass. SUSE is currently holding me back from buying a Mac (well... SUSE and money) but Linux still is very far from "Just Working" to the degree Apple has attained. So far Vista has yet to interest me at all - the only reason I can see myself using it is for a work computer or if I stop making my PCs and pay the Microsoft tax.
It didn't take long for the Indians to get guns.
One VERY important note: the natives couldn't MAKE guns. That is huge. Also there is no doubt the Europeans had greater technology as they were able to make large boats and had the navigational capacity to go to the Americas and back. But the most important factors were that the Europeans had steel tools, guns, and diseases (and it is also notable that the diseases pretty much all originated from domesticated animals, which the native nations were sorely lacking).
What the hell are you talking about? He is talking about believing the sun has risen, and states the reason he believes so is because he not only sees the sun but is able to see everything else as it is lit by the sun. He is comparing that to his faith, saying he believes in God not only because he sees God, but that he sees everything else by the light of God. Plus I think by definition vision is limited to the visible light spectrum.
I would like to point out that the Hebrew version hasn't changed in at least about 1,000 years, and I think the Latin and Greek are at least 800 years and 900 years respectively. These versions are still available, the reasons translations change is because the vernacular changes (and one of the reasons that the Catholic Church didn't want the Bible translated).