Why thank you for that insightful input. It's funny, though, in my experience the ones that stay sick are the ones that completely ignore the advice of doctors and trained professionals. You know, the ones that have spent years and years practising and learning their craft.
But hell, don't just take my word for it - have a look at what others with the same condition as myself have to say:
Oh what's that, not a single reply from someone saying that 3D works on them? Yeah, it must be because we're all listening to our doctors or something. Somehow it's their fault.
You completely underestimate the lengths I've gone to in order to improve my vision. The sad thing is that there's not much that can be done - it's congenital and even if I were to find a cure tomorrow, my vision would probably be worse off due to compensation from my own brain. But there you go!
I was just about to post the same thought. I remember the show, it was about a "crazy" TV Chef Personality trying to tackle places where food was notoriously bad.
I can't find any links that go into detail about what the program found out, but this isn't a bad place to start: www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEoQtwIwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terminalu.com%2Ftravel-news%2Fheston-blumenthal-proves-that-british-airways-can-improve-inflight-food-standards%2F6728%2F&ei=ZYhwT83XNsr_8QPLmJ2_DQ&usg=AFQjCNGkMupkhlsjgyVT2VRbmVFHAThPGw
All of the reasons in the summary are gone over - dried out senses, pressurised environments etc. except Heston went a step further and discovered that certain flavours aren't as affected by the different atmosphere. This show aired over a year ago.
Unfortunately I doubt that would be much help. The reason my vision is so skewed is because my left eye is considerably worse than my right eye.
I have what's called "nystagmus", or "wobbly eyes" (or Googly eyes, as friends in school used to call them). That's why glasses don't help, they don't stop the eyes moving. My left eye wobbles so much that I can't read text with it, no matter how big. I can just about pick out faces and certain objects/shapes if they're distinct enough. My right eye is, by comparison, pretty good. It does pretty much all the "hard" stuff, such as reading and whatnot. Even if I were to get some kind of cooperation between my eyes, I'm not sure I would see any benefit.
You're quite right, it's the equipment that's the issue rather than the content. I guess what I'm (poorly) trying to say is that I'm worried 3D will become the "standard" much like HD has, whereby there's no "off" switch because why wouldn't people want the better picture? 3D glasses aren't actually a problem. They simply don't "work" on me, I see the same image with or without the glasses (or rather, if I watch the 2D version it's the same for me, as 3D-without-the-glasses is of course all blurry). I've tested this on a range of films, as I know people complain that some films look awful in 3D (Clash of the Titans), while others look good (Avatar). I've even heard people say that animated films suit it best. I've tested all of them (Cloudy with a Chance of meatballs for the latter) and had the same result. I've also tried various different types of glasses, Active and Passive, on a range of different 3D displays (thanks to a friend who worked in Best Buy UK before it shut down).
However, that's "Glasses 3D" (I'm sure there's a proper term for that). I can live with that, (I don't even mind paying the premium for it in the cinema if that's what others want to see), but I've had a particularly bad experience with "non-glasses" 3D. Namely, the 3DS. When the slider for the 3D was put above a certain point, I got this very odd effect whereby I would see both images at the same time, flickering between each other very quickly. After a few seconds, I could already feel a migrane coming on (And I don't really get headaches, no matter how long I stare at screens for - something I've attributed as a positive side-effect of my eyesight). I completely get why people complain of headaches from using a 3DS for too long, even if they don't notice the "flicker" it's definitely there. That's what worries me about the future - you can turn 3D off now, but for how long? I'm hoping things like headaches and such are enough to persuade manufacturers to have an off button for the foreseeable future, but all it takes is one or two "breakthroughs" in the technology and I could potentially be screwed.
Indeed, it's a lot better than it used to be but I still have a major program that doesn't like it - Visual Studio. Now the funny thing is, it's "DPI-Aware" and the interface is, mostly, fine. The problem is the Windows Form Designer. It works, but the results on my screen differ from a non-DPI adjusted screen. So simple things, like lining up a bunch of text boxes so they're straight (and thus visually appealing) just doesn't work, not unless whoever runs the program is running the same DPI settings. Oddly enough, if a program is designed with DPI set to the default, on my DPI-adjused screen it's still fine. It makes no sense, really.
When I encounter a program that doesn't adjust correctly (as you said, often older or badly written programs), you can disable all DPI scaling easily enough but VS completely ignores these settings.
I'm lucky in that I have a decent sized monitor - 22", but at 1080p I find it just about uncomfortable to use. I only need about a 10% increase to be comfortable with it, but that's just enough to break things. I have a 24" monitor at home that's 1200p (1920x1200) and it's perfect for me. I'm saddened that you can't find 16:10 monitors any more because of this.
Due to a (somewhat) rare eyesight condition, 3D doesn't work on me. I have two working eyes, just one doesn't see as well as the other so my vision is way off balanced to the right. I am also fairly near-sighted. Day-to-day, this causes me absolutely no trouble at all. I can't wear glasses (doesn't help), so I make do with just getting closer to things.
Anyhoo, it never stopped me from being able to use a computer. Standard font sizes on standard monitors were fine, I could read them just fine. However, as displays have gotten higher and higher resolutions, I'm finding it harder and harder to read them. My eyesight hasn't got any worse, it's just that things are getting smaller.
Despite all of the advances in Technology for the differently abled, such as DPI settings in windows, it doesn't actually help. Adjusting DPI breaks so many apps that it's more trouble than it's worth. 3D seems to be the big new thing everyone wants you to buy and I can only pray that it fails so badly, people just give up trying to sell it. I worry because if 3D becomes the "standard", there's possibly going to be a shift towards content that is only/i>3D, in much the same way that content has shifted to "HD everything", meaning I'm screwed.
I don't think you can honestly say it'll NEVER be enough bandwidth. I think the GP has a good point - bandwidth is the new processor speed. In fact, I'd say that it's more than that - bandwidth is the new system speed. Think about it, RAM is dirt cheap to the point where 3Gb is the minimum you expect from a low end machine - more than enough for average user who just wants facebook, email and youtube. Processors carry enough oomph to decode 1080p with ease, particularly (And oddly enough) the low end types that have embedded GPUs in them. As for their speed, they're plenty fast for the above tasks. Storage is cheap and plentiful, with TBs of space to be had for cheap. Although guys like us will always have a need for bigger, faster systems, the "average" non-techie person only needs so much. Right now, the biggest limitation for them is likely to be bandwidth (either in terms of raw speed or usage limits). They'll hit that wall faster than they'll run out of memory or CPU cycles.
I dare say there will be a threshold there as well. Once you can stream a few 1080p streams at once without running out of capacity, there probably won't be a huge demand for much faster from most people (At least until something bigger and better comes along). I used to work for an ISP that did speed packages starting at 10Mbit, going all the way to 100Mbit (10 -> 20 -> 30 -> 50 -> 100). About 80% of our customers opted for the 10Mbit package. Of course price is a huge factor, but the difference between 10 and 20 wasn't huge, so I think it is entirely possible for people to be satisfied in terms of bandwidth.
Perhaps! But ! is a binary operation as well, so !First_post will evaluate as either true or false, meaning it is entirely possible for false to equal !First_post.
Anyone with a basic knowledge of binary maths can see that First_post & !First_post equals !First_post, so in a roundabout (and almost certainly unintended) way, he's correct to not be the first post.
Firefox's English (UK) dictionary also doesn't recognise "snuck". Then again, it doesn't recognise "Firefox", either (But the US dictionary does - still no-go on "Snuck" though).
I actually hadn't noticed that before, but I agree with the above poster - "sneaked" sounds weird and wrong to me, "snuck" is what I've always used and heard others use.
You can tell you don't go on the underground much. Even in the height of winter, it gets pretty hot down there. It's pretty far underground though, so I don't think surface temperatures affect it all that much. Still, it makes the train arriving twice as nice, since it often brings a lovely blast of cool air with it.
All your other points are completely accurate, though. It's overpriced and cramped.
Even without the PIN, a stolen card can be used for all sorts of nefarious things. They have your credit card number, dates of expiration, even the CVN (3digit security number on the back), enough to order from many online stores. Many places will still accept cards without the PIN by using a signature as well, so really the issue is with the card being stolen. However, the GP was about people "skimming" cards via a hacked terminal and, to my knowledge this has yet to happen*.
*It's possible to make a magstripe card from data intercepted via an EMV transaction, however.
You're right, none of them are completely EMV, they all use a different variant of the standard. In fact, nobody actually does proper EMV, often for political reasons. still, I'd be surprised if ALL transactions were online only, there's plenty of legitimate reasons for needing offline transactions (ticket inspectors on trains are common here). Then again, it's not entirely unthinkable.
What that flaw does is allow you to not require the PIN when performing a transaction. You can't clone the card, so you still need the card itself, plus you need to intercept communications between the card reader and the card (most shops aren't going to let you slide something between the card and terminal). You only use the PIN in terminal transactions, you don't use them for distance (Internet/Phone, etc.) transactions (different security is in place). A flaw for sure, but not exactly a deal breaker.
The PIN is sent in the clear anyway, you can "skim" the PIN relatively easily, but you still need the card itself
However, considering the short time frame of this, I can't see how it's going to go smoothly. As you say, the merchants are all going to be very upset at this but tough to them - Europe has had EMV for years now, it's about time everyone upgrades.
Full Disclosure: I work in the credit/debit card industry. Specifically, I work in the part of that industry that involves testing the shizzle out of them.
Your old magstripe only card isn't safe, the magstrip can be easily copied in a variety of ways. Readers are cheap and skimmers that are so small, they can fit inside ATM card slots, are easy to buy online (and don't cost much). Lesson? Don't use the magstrip for anything, ever.
So what are you meant to do? Well, like a lot of the rest of the world, the US is switching over to EMV. In the UK, it's known as chip and PIN, but the basics are as follows: Instead of a magstrip, your card has a "chip" inside it. That chip is where the communications happen. Readers contact the chip and exchange a bunch of cryptographic data, but the key thing is that the chip isn't simply "read", but it performs calculations itself, using its own private keyset that cannot be read by the chip reader. I can't stress that point enough. There's no way to read the contents of the chips, all you can do is communicate with it. Each transaction is "Unique" and the card itself will sometimes request to speak directly to a Host (i.e. somewhere at your Bank's HQ), in what's called an "online" transaction. If the card chip isn't sure of a terminal, it will demand to go online before processing a transaction. Hell, sometimes it'll demand to go online just because it hasn't recently. The two then communicate in such a way that the terminal (the middle man) can't intercept in any meaningful fashion. Each message is cryptographically generated so that the host knows the card sent it and not some MITM.
The bottom line? Come 2013, when the US is mandated to support EMV, card skimming will be a thing of the past. Stick your card wherever you like, nobody can do anything with your bank account*.
*there is, of course, a small caveat to this. As I said, each transaction is unique, so theoretically someone could skim a single offline transaction from you, but if they try to replay that transaction, there's every chance the transaction will then go online (the terminal AND the chip can demand to go online at any point), in which case the host will void it immediately. There's also plenty of upper and lower transaction limits, so for example if a transaction amount is above say $50 or $100, it HAS to go online or will fail outright.
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Why thank you for that insightful input. It's funny, though, in my experience the ones that stay sick are the ones that completely ignore the advice of doctors and trained professionals. You know, the ones that have spent years and years practising and learning their craft.
But hell, don't just take my word for it - have a look at what others with the same condition as myself have to say:
http://www.nystagmusnet.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5516
Oh what's that, not a single reply from someone saying that 3D works on them? Yeah, it must be because we're all listening to our doctors or something. Somehow it's their fault.
You completely underestimate the lengths I've gone to in order to improve my vision. The sad thing is that there's not much that can be done - it's congenital and even if I were to find a cure tomorrow, my vision would probably be worse off due to compensation from my own brain. But there you go!
I was just about to post the same thought. I remember the show, it was about a "crazy" TV Chef Personality trying to tackle places where food was notoriously bad.
Chef in question - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Blumenthal
Show in question - http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.channel4.com%2Fprogrammes%2Fhestons-mission-impossible&ei=Q4hwT8GrEsii8QPNhay_DQ&usg=AFQjCNFV9XA0VmmjP41FvOGX8fjKBTKZig
I can't find any links that go into detail about what the program found out, but this isn't a bad place to start: www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEoQtwIwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.terminalu.com%2Ftravel-news%2Fheston-blumenthal-proves-that-british-airways-can-improve-inflight-food-standards%2F6728%2F&ei=ZYhwT83XNsr_8QPLmJ2_DQ&usg=AFQjCNGkMupkhlsjgyVT2VRbmVFHAThPGw
All of the reasons in the summary are gone over - dried out senses, pressurised environments etc. except Heston went a step further and discovered that certain flavours aren't as affected by the different atmosphere. This show aired over a year ago.
Old news indeed.
Unfortunately I doubt that would be much help. The reason my vision is so skewed is because my left eye is considerably worse than my right eye.
I have what's called "nystagmus", or "wobbly eyes" (or Googly eyes, as friends in school used to call them). That's why glasses don't help, they don't stop the eyes moving. My left eye wobbles so much that I can't read text with it, no matter how big. I can just about pick out faces and certain objects/shapes if they're distinct enough. My right eye is, by comparison, pretty good. It does pretty much all the "hard" stuff, such as reading and whatnot. Even if I were to get some kind of cooperation between my eyes, I'm not sure I would see any benefit.
You're quite right, it's the equipment that's the issue rather than the content. I guess what I'm (poorly) trying to say is that I'm worried 3D will become the "standard" much like HD has, whereby there's no "off" switch because why wouldn't people want the better picture?
3D glasses aren't actually a problem. They simply don't "work" on me, I see the same image with or without the glasses (or rather, if I watch the 2D version it's the same for me, as 3D-without-the-glasses is of course all blurry). I've tested this on a range of films, as I know people complain that some films look awful in 3D (Clash of the Titans), while others look good (Avatar). I've even heard people say that animated films suit it best. I've tested all of them (Cloudy with a Chance of meatballs for the latter) and had the same result. I've also tried various different types of glasses, Active and Passive, on a range of different 3D displays (thanks to a friend who worked in Best Buy UK before it shut down).
However, that's "Glasses 3D" (I'm sure there's a proper term for that). I can live with that, (I don't even mind paying the premium for it in the cinema if that's what others want to see), but I've had a particularly bad experience with "non-glasses" 3D. Namely, the 3DS. When the slider for the 3D was put above a certain point, I got this very odd effect whereby I would see both images at the same time, flickering between each other very quickly. After a few seconds, I could already feel a migrane coming on (And I don't really get headaches, no matter how long I stare at screens for - something I've attributed as a positive side-effect of my eyesight). I completely get why people complain of headaches from using a 3DS for too long, even if they don't notice the "flicker" it's definitely there. That's what worries me about the future - you can turn 3D off now, but for how long? I'm hoping things like headaches and such are enough to persuade manufacturers to have an off button for the foreseeable future, but all it takes is one or two "breakthroughs" in the technology and I could potentially be screwed.
Indeed, it's a lot better than it used to be but I still have a major program that doesn't like it - Visual Studio.
Now the funny thing is, it's "DPI-Aware" and the interface is, mostly, fine. The problem is the Windows Form Designer. It works, but the results on my screen differ from a non-DPI adjusted screen. So simple things, like lining up a bunch of text boxes so they're straight (and thus visually appealing) just doesn't work, not unless whoever runs the program is running the same DPI settings. Oddly enough, if a program is designed with DPI set to the default, on my DPI-adjused screen it's still fine. It makes no sense, really.
When I encounter a program that doesn't adjust correctly (as you said, often older or badly written programs), you can disable all DPI scaling easily enough but VS completely ignores these settings.
I'm lucky in that I have a decent sized monitor - 22", but at 1080p I find it just about uncomfortable to use. I only need about a 10% increase to be comfortable with it, but that's just enough to break things. I have a 24" monitor at home that's 1200p (1920x1200) and it's perfect for me. I'm saddened that you can't find 16:10 monitors any more because of this.
Due to a (somewhat) rare eyesight condition, 3D doesn't work on me. I have two working eyes, just one doesn't see as well as the other so my vision is way off balanced to the right. I am also fairly near-sighted. Day-to-day, this causes me absolutely no trouble at all. I can't wear glasses (doesn't help), so I make do with just getting closer to things.
Anyhoo, it never stopped me from being able to use a computer. Standard font sizes on standard monitors were fine, I could read them just fine. However, as displays have gotten higher and higher resolutions, I'm finding it harder and harder to read them. My eyesight hasn't got any worse, it's just that things are getting smaller.
Despite all of the advances in Technology for the differently abled, such as DPI settings in windows, it doesn't actually help. Adjusting DPI breaks so many apps that it's more trouble than it's worth. 3D seems to be the big new thing everyone wants you to buy and I can only pray that it fails so badly, people just give up trying to sell it. I worry because if 3D becomes the "standard", there's possibly going to be a shift towards content that is only /i>3D, in much the same way that content has shifted to "HD everything", meaning I'm screwed.
So, for little ol' me, don't buy into 3D. Please.
I don't think you can honestly say it'll NEVER be enough bandwidth. I think the GP has a good point - bandwidth is the new processor speed. In fact, I'd say that it's more than that - bandwidth is the new system speed. Think about it, RAM is dirt cheap to the point where 3Gb is the minimum you expect from a low end machine - more than enough for average user who just wants facebook, email and youtube. Processors carry enough oomph to decode 1080p with ease, particularly (And oddly enough) the low end types that have embedded GPUs in them. As for their speed, they're plenty fast for the above tasks. Storage is cheap and plentiful, with TBs of space to be had for cheap. Although guys like us will always have a need for bigger, faster systems, the "average" non-techie person only needs so much. Right now, the biggest limitation for them is likely to be bandwidth (either in terms of raw speed or usage limits). They'll hit that wall faster than they'll run out of memory or CPU cycles.
I dare say there will be a threshold there as well. Once you can stream a few 1080p streams at once without running out of capacity, there probably won't be a huge demand for much faster from most people (At least until something bigger and better comes along). I used to work for an ISP that did speed packages starting at 10Mbit, going all the way to 100Mbit (10 -> 20 -> 30 -> 50 -> 100). About 80% of our customers opted for the 10Mbit package. Of course price is a huge factor, but the difference between 10 and 20 wasn't huge, so I think it is entirely possible for people to be satisfied in terms of bandwidth.
Perhaps! But ! is a binary operation as well, so !First_post will evaluate as either true or false, meaning it is entirely possible for false to equal !First_post.
Au contraire!
Anyone with a basic knowledge of binary maths can see that First_post & !First_post equals !First_post, so in a roundabout (and almost certainly unintended) way, he's correct to not be the first post.
Firefox's English (UK) dictionary also doesn't recognise "snuck". Then again, it doesn't recognise "Firefox", either (But the US dictionary does - still no-go on "Snuck" though).
I actually hadn't noticed that before, but I agree with the above poster - "sneaked" sounds weird and wrong to me, "snuck" is what I've always used and heard others use.
Was this Fox News, perchance?
Can you explain to me why you pronounce "Aluminium" as "Aluminum"?
And why you spell Sulfer with an f, but Phone with a P?
You can tell you don't go on the underground much. Even in the height of winter, it gets pretty hot down there. It's pretty far underground though, so I don't think surface temperatures affect it all that much. Still, it makes the train arriving twice as nice, since it often brings a lovely blast of cool air with it.
All your other points are completely accurate, though. It's overpriced and cramped.
They might just end up with an Elephant that has a hairy arse.
Mam?
Once again, I never said it was perfect, I said it prevents skimming (Which it does). All this does is let you get away without the PIN.
Even without the PIN, a stolen card can be used for all sorts of nefarious things. They have your credit card number, dates of expiration, even the CVN (3digit security number on the back), enough to order from many online stores. Many places will still accept cards without the PIN by using a signature as well, so really the issue is with the card being stolen. However, the GP was about people "skimming" cards via a hacked terminal and, to my knowledge this has yet to happen*.
*It's possible to make a magstripe card from data intercepted via an EMV transaction, however.
I can set my "furnace" in .5 degree increments. Just saying.
You're right, none of them are completely EMV, they all use a different variant of the standard. In fact, nobody actually does proper EMV, often for political reasons. still, I'd be surprised if ALL transactions were online only, there's plenty of legitimate reasons for needing offline transactions (ticket inspectors on trains are common here). Then again, it's not entirely unthinkable.
What that flaw does is allow you to not require the PIN when performing a transaction. You can't clone the card, so you still need the card itself, plus you need to intercept communications between the card reader and the card (most shops aren't going to let you slide something between the card and terminal). You only use the PIN in terminal transactions, you don't use them for distance (Internet/Phone, etc.) transactions (different security is in place). A flaw for sure, but not exactly a deal breaker.
The PIN is sent in the clear anyway, you can "skim" the PIN relatively easily, but you still need the card itself
If my wife ever did plant a tracker in my skull, I would take great pleasure in letting her know EXACTLY when and where I was cheating on her.
Oh I know that. Who said anything about telling your wife about the reduction in hours?
Just to clarify your point, 2015 is for New Zealand and Australia, for the US/Asia it's 2013:
(Not sure where you're based)
http://www.atmmarketplace.com/blog/6355/EMV-deadline-for-U-S-ATMs-the-race-is-on
However, considering the short time frame of this, I can't see how it's going to go smoothly. As you say, the merchants are all going to be very upset at this but tough to them - Europe has had EMV for years now, it's about time everyone upgrades.
You can always work the 40 hours, then spend the other 40 somewhere else.
Full Disclosure: I work in the credit/debit card industry. Specifically, I work in the part of that industry that involves testing the shizzle out of them.
Your old magstripe only card isn't safe, the magstrip can be easily copied in a variety of ways. Readers are cheap and skimmers that are so small, they can fit inside ATM card slots, are easy to buy online (and don't cost much). Lesson? Don't use the magstrip for anything, ever.
So what are you meant to do? Well, like a lot of the rest of the world, the US is switching over to EMV. In the UK, it's known as chip and PIN, but the basics are as follows:
Instead of a magstrip, your card has a "chip" inside it. That chip is where the communications happen. Readers contact the chip and exchange a bunch of cryptographic data, but the key thing is that the chip isn't simply "read", but it performs calculations itself, using its own private keyset that cannot be read by the chip reader. I can't stress that point enough. There's no way to read the contents of the chips, all you can do is communicate with it.
Each transaction is "Unique" and the card itself will sometimes request to speak directly to a Host (i.e. somewhere at your Bank's HQ), in what's called an "online" transaction. If the card chip isn't sure of a terminal, it will demand to go online before processing a transaction. Hell, sometimes it'll demand to go online just because it hasn't recently. The two then communicate in such a way that the terminal (the middle man) can't intercept in any meaningful fashion. Each message is cryptographically generated so that the host knows the card sent it and not some MITM.
The bottom line? Come 2013, when the US is mandated to support EMV, card skimming will be a thing of the past. Stick your card wherever you like, nobody can do anything with your bank account*.
*there is, of course, a small caveat to this. As I said, each transaction is unique, so theoretically someone could skim a single offline transaction from you, but if they try to replay that transaction, there's every chance the transaction will then go online (the terminal AND the chip can demand to go online at any point), in which case the host will void it immediately. There's also plenty of upper and lower transaction limits, so for example if a transaction amount is above say $50 or $100, it HAS to go online or will fail outright.