The real question then, is what percentage of people have actually bought a new TV set during the past 2 years or so. if only 10% of the public bought a new TV set, then only 4% of the public has HD sets. And how many of those sets are 720p? Half? Now you're down to 2%. How many of those customers are in the upper middle class and higher and bought 2 or 3 HD sets. Now you might be down to 1% of households. Sure, it's growing, and will keep growing, especially as people are forced to replace analog sets with digital.
So where's the market for Bluray and HD-DVD now? DVD looks fabulous at 720p, it already has the resolution for that. Why do I need HD-DVD or Bluray? I think they have plenty of time to work out a resolution for this. If a dual layer disc with both formats is the ticket, fine. Just don't make me pay the freakin' royalties for each format on each disc I buy. I'm not paying $40-50 dollars to buy a movie. And while I'm on the subject of 'not paying for', I don't think the HD players are going to really become sellable until they are under $200 with low end models under $100. If they want to replace DVD they are going to have to make it so that it's not worth it to pay just a little bit less for DVD.
The funniest thing about this is that he has a "Unused Desktop Icons" folder on the desktop. These are just the icons he uses all the time, the rarely used ones are sitting in that folder...
Perhaps Europe has such high gas prices because the people have been desensitized to those much higher prices. And I know that EU prices have jumped as well, but not as much percentage-wise as gas prices in the U.S. I don't know what kind of profits the oil companies make there or how much of that $5-6/gallon goes to taxes, but here in the States, oil companies are making tens of BILLIONS of dollars at the expense of Joe Consumer. When historically, prices for gas have been less than $1.50/gallon and the inflation factor has not been so large as to warrant doubling the price, you know that someone is gouging somebody somewhere.
The underlying thought here is that some people think it is better that Windows not implement security features, based on that they would be in competition with products that provide those security features. This whole premise is absurd - to leave a necessary feature, especially a security feature, out of windows because it might step on someone else's toes.
What is Microsoft's other choice? Leave out security software and be roasted for leaving it out? What makes you think 3rd party vendors could provide security packages that are better than Microsoft's? You'd just end up with multiple patches and multiple serious problems down the road. What happens when Joe user installs patch 1 from Vendor A, then 6 months later switches to Vendor B and installs their patch 2? What a mess.
The comparison of MS Word being used because it comes bundled is not realistic at all. If Word is not bundled on a machine (which much of the time it is not unless the user specifically chooses to have it pre-installed), that user will still have to find a product to use and install it. How does that differ from having Word and not being happy with it - all he has to do is find a different product to use and install it.
I absolutely agree that I'd rather not have to use third party software to keep my system secure. If they indeed do a good job. As long as you have the option to turn the default built in tools off and install your tool of choice, I think MS has done their best job. They would be seriously amiss to just ignore the issue and count on the end user to implement their own software - much of the time it's not going to be done and the system will be left vulnerable.
You buy these products knowing that there is no standard - each vendor has there own implementation. So if I was going to buy a proprietary technology it would only make sense to buy the same product from the same vendor. The fact that most of them do work with each other, at least at some level, is a bonus.
All that I really would expect compatibility-wise would be complete interoptibility between b and g standards, so if I chose, I could still use either my g adaptors with the Pre-N router, or vice versa.
Part of the problem is not placing bets on the internet with your own money, it's placing bets with someone else's money; e.g. stolen credit cards or bank account info. Also there are practices in place in casinos to keep people from gambling too much. You don't have even that thin safeguard when someone is sitting at home spending their wages on gambling sites when their wife and kids are starving.
It seems that arresting and holding these men is being done on very sketchy premises. It's probably illegal, since no precedent has been set in court that makes these men guilty of a crime. Why don't they go after the people who are placing the bets? You can't just arrest a person and then go about creating a law to make him guilty.
In comparison, the RIAA goes after people sharing files illegally in the US. Then again, I don't see anyone who runs Pirate Bay in the news travelling across the United States. Maybe the folks running the online betting sites should take a hint.
I use google most of the time as well, but there are quite a few users who would prefer to have something organized and indexed in book form than to weed through several pages of google search results. There is something easier about pulling a book off the shelf, finding the section on print stylesheets for example, and having everything about it right there on the page to reference while you are hammering away at the keyboard...
I just bought a Sapphire ATI X1900XTX card, and while the fan can be very loud, it really never runs at full speed except for a brief second when you start your computer. 99.9% of the time it runs very low at inaudible levels. Basically the fan controller is programmed to only spin the fan as fast as it needs to.
I can't vouch for the stock ATI fan, or for the users who are overclocking their units. Personally I see no need to o/c this card as it runs everything you throw at it without o/c'ing.
No, I'm not in California, I'm in Chicago area. I deal mostly with consumers and small businesses (25 computers or less). No, there aren't laws against disposal of electronics, but the waste disposal companies do charge you extra to take them if you have more than a couple to get rid of.
It is primarily in the big business/corporate world where these issues become financially motivated, because they have the volume of equipment running where lower power consumption can save them tens of thousands of dollars every month. Disposal may or may not be an issue as many companies lease equipment for 3 to 4 years and then deliver it back to the manufacturer.
As far as laptops go, battery life and fan noise are usability issues, not just "green" issues. If one of my customers buys something that has better battery life and lower noise levels, they are doing it for their own purpose and comfort level, not because it's better for the environment.
Unfortunately, while somewhat sarcastic, this is probably true. Being under Dell's wing probably profits Alienware financially but lowers the quality standard. The focus used to be not just to make a pretty machine, but one that spanks the competition and was backed up by some of the best service in the business. If I'm going to pay Alienware type money, I expect to get the fastest machine money can buy.
From the 2D benchmarks, it's obvious that both of these systems are still vastly outperformed by the E6600 chip on the desktop. Either it's a poor mix of hardware, or these notebooks are still quite lacking in performance compared to the mainstream desktop.
I've been selling and servicing PC's for 11 years now and never once has power consumption or environmentally friendly disposal been a factor in the purchase decision. I don't believe that the majority of people really care what happens when they throw out their PC. Their two choices are 1)throw it in the dumpster, or 2)take it to someplace that recycles/refurbishes old equipment. Most people throw it in the dump because #2 takes too much effort or costs them too much.
People buy Dell because of the price, and occasionally because they received some good service. People buy Nokia and Motorolla because of good product and the fact that it is shoved in their faces by nearly every wireless company. Nobody who wants a Mac is going to switch and buy a PC because they had a low green score.
I think that the "green" streak is being fed by a small by vocal minority. Yes, if everyone was educated on the environmental factors and it was convenient for them to go along with recommendations based on contributing to the overall health of the environment, you might see some purchasing decisions swayed. Mostly on the large corporate level.
It's not necessarily the business or even home users who have 2 year old systems who are upgrading to the latest technology. It's those who have 3 to 4 year old systems already in need of upgrade, those who want a system that is going to carry them through the OS'es and software that will be released in the next 3 to 4 years. In that regard, Core 2 Duo is an excellent buy, especially in a few months when prices will drop even more and Core Duo will be the entry level system.
A good deal of Core 2 Duo purchases will be those already seeking upgrades or those who buy new systems with Vista preloaded. Most people don't need the power now, unless they are a gamer or power user. Home media center type PC's will also benefit from lower power/quieter/cooler setups, especially when they are handling lots of functions at once.
With the Core 2 Duo processor, there has been quite a significant leap in energy issues. While the current trend for the past 4 or 5 years has been to beef clock speeds and performance at the expense of power consumption, Intel's major stride has been to drastically increase performance while cutting power consumption in half.
If AMD can match this power consumption (Intel's chips currently run at 40W according to their information), then we can concentrate again on having a speed war. The effort that went into being miserly had to be done at some point, and now it's up to AMD to catch up.
Yes, but a file archiving system is essentially what an "image" is. In the most boring sense of the term, it's just a bunch of files in one big file. Like "zip" files. All it needs is a BIOS or ROM based piece of software that can read the image and execute it. There is thus a very fine line between what you call a "true image" and an image that is simply copied onto one disk from another. Regardless of whether it is a sector by sector copy or not, some software has to be able to read the file structure or the image is useless. Then it's just a matter of what is done with that image, whether it is copied to a hard disk or executed on the spot.
The general theory is hardly at issue. Everyone knows that a small amount of what is called "evolution" happens all the time. Whenever an evolutionist wants to prove his point, this is his response. However, no reasonable theory has ever been introduced which explains how major life forms developed, how "natural selection" can account for the variety of organisms we see today, and certainly not how the basic forms of life which evolution claims to have started with came into existence. There are a lot of hypotheses out there, but just because they are the best ones scientists can think of, doesn't mean that they all fit together into a scientifically sound theory.
For all the education members of/. claim to have received, nobody seems to be well educated on the genetic studies of Mendel, who proved that there are genetic barriers that cannot be crossed, thus eliminating the possibility of evolution between species and even eliminating some evolution within a species. Noone seems to be educated on basic physical laws, such as the 2nd law which has been categorically proven to require an intelligent direction of energy in order to produce a more complex mechanism or use of energy. I happen to be educated enough myself that I can see through many of the arguments used to support evolution, yet I see that those with much higher education may just have that much more brainwashing.
Hmm well lets start with your post:)
In my thinking, there is a ton of science that points to an intelligent creator rather than random happenchance. You obviously think that your way of thinking holds more weight...
Why is the debate about teaching ID vs. Evolution in the classroom?
What should be taught is SCIENCE and only science. Both ID and Evolution are merely theories which try to explain the possibilites of why science is the way it is. Neither one is any more religious in content than the other. So to rule that teaching ID is unconstitutional should really be synonymous with rule that evolution can also not be taught. Because if you are not teaching absolute observed scientific fact, by these standards evolution also belongs in a mythology or related class as well.
No, Paypal never did confirm addresses Internationally. I just sold a video card to someone in Canada recently, and could not get a confirmed address. It went just fine. I've even sent Spain as well, but always used Paypal and always communicated with the buyer several times before sending.
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The real question then, is what percentage of people have actually bought a new TV set during the past 2 years or so. if only 10% of the public bought a new TV set, then only 4% of the public has HD sets. And how many of those sets are 720p? Half? Now you're down to 2%. How many of those customers are in the upper middle class and higher and bought 2 or 3 HD sets. Now you might be down to 1% of households. Sure, it's growing, and will keep growing, especially as people are forced to replace analog sets with digital.
So where's the market for Bluray and HD-DVD now? DVD looks fabulous at 720p, it already has the resolution for that. Why do I need HD-DVD or Bluray? I think they have plenty of time to work out a resolution for this. If a dual layer disc with both formats is the ticket, fine. Just don't make me pay the freakin' royalties for each format on each disc I buy. I'm not paying $40-50 dollars to buy a movie. And while I'm on the subject of 'not paying for', I don't think the HD players are going to really become sellable until they are under $200 with low end models under $100. If they want to replace DVD they are going to have to make it so that it's not worth it to pay just a little bit less for DVD.
The funniest thing about this is that he has a "Unused Desktop Icons" folder on the desktop. These are just the icons he uses all the time, the rarely used ones are sitting in that folder...
Perhaps Europe has such high gas prices because the people have been desensitized to those much higher prices. And I know that EU prices have jumped as well, but not as much percentage-wise as gas prices in the U.S. I don't know what kind of profits the oil companies make there or how much of that $5-6/gallon goes to taxes, but here in the States, oil companies are making tens of BILLIONS of dollars at the expense of Joe Consumer. When historically, prices for gas have been less than $1.50/gallon and the inflation factor has not been so large as to warrant doubling the price, you know that someone is gouging somebody somewhere.
The underlying thought here is that some people think it is better that Windows not implement security features, based on that they would be in competition with products that provide those security features. This whole premise is absurd - to leave a necessary feature, especially a security feature, out of windows because it might step on someone else's toes.
What is Microsoft's other choice? Leave out security software and be roasted for leaving it out? What makes you think 3rd party vendors could provide security packages that are better than Microsoft's? You'd just end up with multiple patches and multiple serious problems down the road. What happens when Joe user installs patch 1 from Vendor A, then 6 months later switches to Vendor B and installs their patch 2? What a mess.
The comparison of MS Word being used because it comes bundled is not realistic at all. If Word is not bundled on a machine (which much of the time it is not unless the user specifically chooses to have it pre-installed), that user will still have to find a product to use and install it. How does that differ from having Word and not being happy with it - all he has to do is find a different product to use and install it.
I absolutely agree that I'd rather not have to use third party software to keep my system secure. If they indeed do a good job. As long as you have the option to turn the default built in tools off and install your tool of choice, I think MS has done their best job. They would be seriously amiss to just ignore the issue and count on the end user to implement their own software - much of the time it's not going to be done and the system will be left vulnerable.
You buy these products knowing that there is no standard - each vendor has there own implementation. So if I was going to buy a proprietary technology it would only make sense to buy the same product from the same vendor. The fact that most of them do work with each other, at least at some level, is a bonus.
All that I really would expect compatibility-wise would be complete interoptibility between b and g standards, so if I chose, I could still use either my g adaptors with the Pre-N router, or vice versa.
Part of the problem is not placing bets on the internet with your own money, it's placing bets with someone else's money; e.g. stolen credit cards or bank account info. Also there are practices in place in casinos to keep people from gambling too much. You don't have even that thin safeguard when someone is sitting at home spending their wages on gambling sites when their wife and kids are starving.
It seems that arresting and holding these men is being done on very sketchy premises. It's probably illegal, since no precedent has been set in court that makes these men guilty of a crime. Why don't they go after the people who are placing the bets? You can't just arrest a person and then go about creating a law to make him guilty. In comparison, the RIAA goes after people sharing files illegally in the US. Then again, I don't see anyone who runs Pirate Bay in the news travelling across the United States. Maybe the folks running the online betting sites should take a hint.
I use google most of the time as well, but there are quite a few users who would prefer to have something organized and indexed in book form than to weed through several pages of google search results. There is something easier about pulling a book off the shelf, finding the section on print stylesheets for example, and having everything about it right there on the page to reference while you are hammering away at the keyboard...
I just bought a Sapphire ATI X1900XTX card, and while the fan can be very loud, it really never runs at full speed except for a brief second when you start your computer. 99.9% of the time it runs very low at inaudible levels. Basically the fan controller is programmed to only spin the fan as fast as it needs to.
I can't vouch for the stock ATI fan, or for the users who are overclocking their units. Personally I see no need to o/c this card as it runs everything you throw at it without o/c'ing.
No, I'm not in California, I'm in Chicago area. I deal mostly with consumers and small businesses (25 computers or less). No, there aren't laws against disposal of electronics, but the waste disposal companies do charge you extra to take them if you have more than a couple to get rid of. It is primarily in the big business/corporate world where these issues become financially motivated, because they have the volume of equipment running where lower power consumption can save them tens of thousands of dollars every month. Disposal may or may not be an issue as many companies lease equipment for 3 to 4 years and then deliver it back to the manufacturer. As far as laptops go, battery life and fan noise are usability issues, not just "green" issues. If one of my customers buys something that has better battery life and lower noise levels, they are doing it for their own purpose and comfort level, not because it's better for the environment.
Unfortunately, while somewhat sarcastic, this is probably true. Being under Dell's wing probably profits Alienware financially but lowers the quality standard. The focus used to be not just to make a pretty machine, but one that spanks the competition and was backed up by some of the best service in the business. If I'm going to pay Alienware type money, I expect to get the fastest machine money can buy.
From the 2D benchmarks, it's obvious that both of these systems are still vastly outperformed by the E6600 chip on the desktop. Either it's a poor mix of hardware, or these notebooks are still quite lacking in performance compared to the mainstream desktop.
I've been selling and servicing PC's for 11 years now and never once has power consumption or environmentally friendly disposal been a factor in the purchase decision. I don't believe that the majority of people really care what happens when they throw out their PC. Their two choices are 1)throw it in the dumpster, or 2)take it to someplace that recycles/refurbishes old equipment. Most people throw it in the dump because #2 takes too much effort or costs them too much.
People buy Dell because of the price, and occasionally because they received some good service. People buy Nokia and Motorolla because of good product and the fact that it is shoved in their faces by nearly every wireless company. Nobody who wants a Mac is going to switch and buy a PC because they had a low green score.
I think that the "green" streak is being fed by a small by vocal minority. Yes, if everyone was educated on the environmental factors and it was convenient for them to go along with recommendations based on contributing to the overall health of the environment, you might see some purchasing decisions swayed. Mostly on the large corporate level.
It's not necessarily the business or even home users who have 2 year old systems who are upgrading to the latest technology. It's those who have 3 to 4 year old systems already in need of upgrade, those who want a system that is going to carry them through the OS'es and software that will be released in the next 3 to 4 years. In that regard, Core 2 Duo is an excellent buy, especially in a few months when prices will drop even more and Core Duo will be the entry level system. A good deal of Core 2 Duo purchases will be those already seeking upgrades or those who buy new systems with Vista preloaded. Most people don't need the power now, unless they are a gamer or power user. Home media center type PC's will also benefit from lower power/quieter/cooler setups, especially when they are handling lots of functions at once.
With the Core 2 Duo processor, there has been quite a significant leap in energy issues. While the current trend for the past 4 or 5 years has been to beef clock speeds and performance at the expense of power consumption, Intel's major stride has been to drastically increase performance while cutting power consumption in half. If AMD can match this power consumption (Intel's chips currently run at 40W according to their information), then we can concentrate again on having a speed war. The effort that went into being miserly had to be done at some point, and now it's up to AMD to catch up.
Sounds like you need two PC's not 8 cores :)
Yes, but a file archiving system is essentially what an "image" is. In the most boring sense of the term, it's just a bunch of files in one big file. Like "zip" files. All it needs is a BIOS or ROM based piece of software that can read the image and execute it. There is thus a very fine line between what you call a "true image" and an image that is simply copied onto one disk from another. Regardless of whether it is a sector by sector copy or not, some software has to be able to read the file structure or the image is useless. Then it's just a matter of what is done with that image, whether it is copied to a hard disk or executed on the spot.
The general theory is hardly at issue. Everyone knows that a small amount of what is called "evolution" happens all the time. Whenever an evolutionist wants to prove his point, this is his response. However, no reasonable theory has ever been introduced which explains how major life forms developed, how "natural selection" can account for the variety of organisms we see today, and certainly not how the basic forms of life which evolution claims to have started with came into existence. There are a lot of hypotheses out there, but just because they are the best ones scientists can think of, doesn't mean that they all fit together into a scientifically sound theory. For all the education members of /. claim to have received, nobody seems to be well educated on the genetic studies of Mendel, who proved that there are genetic barriers that cannot be crossed, thus eliminating the possibility of evolution between species and even eliminating some evolution within a species. Noone seems to be educated on basic physical laws, such as the 2nd law which has been categorically proven to require an intelligent direction of energy in order to produce a more complex mechanism or use of energy. I happen to be educated enough myself that I can see through many of the arguments used to support evolution, yet I see that those with much higher education may just have that much more brainwashing.
Hmm well lets start with your post :)
In my thinking, there is a ton of science that points to an intelligent creator rather than random happenchance. You obviously think that your way of thinking holds more weight...
Why is the debate about teaching ID vs. Evolution in the classroom? What should be taught is SCIENCE and only science. Both ID and Evolution are merely theories which try to explain the possibilites of why science is the way it is. Neither one is any more religious in content than the other. So to rule that teaching ID is unconstitutional should really be synonymous with rule that evolution can also not be taught. Because if you are not teaching absolute observed scientific fact, by these standards evolution also belongs in a mythology or related class as well.
No, Paypal never did confirm addresses Internationally. I just sold a video card to someone in Canada recently, and could not get a confirmed address. It went just fine. I've even sent Spain as well, but always used Paypal and always communicated with the buyer several times before sending.