My gateway is very good. If you have not checked them out recently, check again. Since about 2000, thier machines have been doing very well. Not had a issue with any I have encountered.
Gateway stores are very much like what you describe in your next to last paragraph. I went to the store and since I'd have to wait, I eneded up calling their 1800 number and ordering the machine that way. Also, before it shipped, I realized that I needed something changed on the order. I called and gave the number of the guy I talked to and he set it up and when it got to my house it was perfect. I also added the 3 year warantee as I did not want to buy another desktop for at least that long (to replace that one that is...my wife uses it the most...). It was worth every penny when at 1 and a half years old, the power supply went bad. My only beef is the Country Store took 8-9 days to fix it. They did not stock any spare parts. Personally, I think if they did that, then they could really make a killing by offering quick turn around on simple fixes like this. I realize why they don't stock them (what if they got a whole raft of parts in and they could not use them???), but I think at least for power supplies, they could stock a few. In any case, I love our Gateway. It has been very stable and it peforms very well. The 18 inch Gateway branded LCD is awesome too. I love teh case designs also. I am so over building my own. I would rather use my machine then spend time tweaking drivers and dropping in cards and the like. Also, like it or not, packaging DOES need to look good. Just look at Apple's packaging. It just looks great and the impress a user gets while unpacking it is important even if you think it isn't. The cow spotted box have been around for a while and users like those kind of touches. I think what Gateway does need to do is get out of being a consumer rebrander and just make computers.
While I did not buy a eMac, I did buy a Mac because I got totally frustrated with any of the software I have seen on the PC level. I have Pinnacle Studio 8 and it had issues with audio syncing. Through alot of reading on the net, I found problems with MOST of the cheaper products and was afraid that by the time I found something that worked for my style, I would have spent as much as I did on my 12 inch powerbook. After buying my Powerbook, I had a DVD burnt with in 2-3 hours and most of the time I wast having a blast. While I agree the guy asking the question asked for Linux programs, I figure if you have to ask Slashdot, there probably isn't anything that will work. I know getting a Mac may not be ideal so here's my take...I'd try the Ulead first. After that if that did not work, get Adobe Encore or get a Mac. Seriously. Also, Pinnacle is bringing out or has brought out Studio 9. Hopefully they fixed some of the issues and made some enhancments because the editing system is spiffy. My only beef....it's a bitch to add MP3 audio and NOT obvious. Also adding music from a cd needs to have that disc in the drive everytime your editing the project (in version 8). That needs fixed as well as the audio oos problem.
As far as Linux goes, considering that just PLAYING DVD's was such a chore just a few short years ago, creating them will be even harder. I don't know of any program except some just movie editing (filmgimp) but those are still very new. Pay the bucks and get a windows or mac product.
The parent is right. Servers should be up 24/7. Scheduled reboots are BS! With exception of some processes like DB Processes and others, our HA cluster has been up for 53 days (our boss gets antsy during power outages...at least until we have a few more to really test our generator failover). Automagicaly scheduled reboots are bad. Servers should never have to be rebooted. Rebooting is a BANDAID!
I have made this point time and time again. Here's the steps in GUI and CLI of finding a file in a directory listing and showing it's properties:
GUI 1. Hunt around for and click on your file manager icon. 2. The file you are looking for is called foo. It is in a subdirectory calld bar. Click on the subdirectory called bar in your home directroy (most file managers will put you there when you fire them up). 3. Look for the foo icon. Right click an pull up properties.
CLI 1. Type pwd to make sure you are in your home directory. 2. You have already been told the file is in directory called bar. To make sure that bar exists type:
ls -al
3. Now to get the listing AND show the properties, type in:
ls -al bar
Both of these took about the same amount of steps but I guarantee you the CLI version too much less time. In GUI's you spend alot of time mousing around trying to FIND the File Manager while the File Manager in a CLI is you. In a CLI, if you have not loaded X, you are already at the prompt and ready to go. You don't even have to open a terminal if X isn't loaded. You don't have to run anything until your ready and as soon as you input it, it spits it back out...no messy refreshes.
Amen to that! Why do you think places like Vegas, Miami and other touristy spots get chosen for big shows? Conferences are great because I get out of the office and talk to others on how they cope with their problems and when there's absolutely nothing going on at the conference that I like, I go to the beach or the casino. Best thing is I don't have a phone rininging off the hook unless it's REALLY a problem.
I wondered what that was about. Only noticed it when I was watching Nick-At-Nite.
I am tired of paying for all of these channels I don't watch. I don't need BET. I don't want the golf channel. Whatever happened to promising a alacart plan? Here's what I want now:
Nickelodeon TechTV TLC Discovery Weather Channel SpikeTV TBS USA TNT WGN a GOOD UPN feed! (mine sucks...yes I have bitched). ABC (local afilliates please!) CBS (local afilliates please!) NBC (local afilliates please!) FOX (local afilliates please!) ESPN ComCentral WSFJ Live WX RADAR CNN FOX News MSNBC a DVR
That about covers it. I also want to be able to change my line up as I wish (no contract...no more then a 24 hour wait). With adressable cable boxes, this IS possible. I don't want to EVER see these in my lineup:
Lifetime (ack!) BET (I am not racist, but I ain't black either and I don't want it) TCM PinTV(I don't want to watch infomercials 24 hours a day) ITV MTV VH1 CMT
Those are the basics. I have all of these channels, yet I only watch about half of them. Imagine what my cable bill would be if I only paid for what I want!
Dish Network is trying their best to keep prices low. On the other hand, Dish network should try to negotiate with Viacom instead of childishly trying to block these messages. Work it out guys! If you can't, then I guess Dish network will loose Viacom channels and then Dish Network will see a mass exodus. You both need each other...work that crap out and don't put childish scrolls and the other party trying to block that scroll. It pisses the ones who have already chose NOT to subscribe to Dish Network off and sours the ones who may have chosen your package from choosing it in the future.
OK, how is DRM going to stop you from listening your own MP3's? If WMP won't make a non DRM wma or MP3, so what? Download another encoder! If, all of a sudden, WMP stops playing unsigned/unencrypted MP3's, most users, even my dad, would go to google and search for MP3 players and bam he finds Winamp and others. He can still play his MP3s. Is that so bad?? DRM itself isn't bad. MAKING you use it and not allowing you to make your own MP3's with out it is.
Here's the deal...if people buy phones specifically because they have BT, doesn't that mean they use bt? I know, some don't but those are the ones that will hop to the new phone and it doesn't matter. I on the other hand am considering seriously a jump to a carrier with worse coverage (from verizon who has the best now) just so I can have a phone with BT. Those who want bluetooth want it so they can use it. So shame on AT&T for offering to replace a phone with more features with one with less. I think they should give you MORE features in this case as they screwed up and gave you a phone they knew, as a company, they would have reception issues.
Had to be some issue with the setup. Mail.app has NEVER hung on me. Not once. Not ever. The Apple forums is not a great place to gleen knowledge about problems because alot of the people on there are pretty clueless. It's the NEWBIE dumping ground.
I have looked at several miniDV cams and NONE had the cable. My JVC didn't and your right....include the frappin 8 dollar cable! In fact, have one 4 to 4 and a 4 to 6. That should about cover 90 percent of the situations and incurs a minimal cost to SONY/JVC/Whoever.
My camera also has a blank sensing detector. I just rewind it til I see video, hit the button and it places the head within the end of your video right before the blankspot. Works like a charm, but you may want to check it in play for a second to make sure your not recording over something or just record a bit past the "MAGIC" moment and you'll be fine.
In this case I would agree. There's simply no way to get a USB only cam recognize in iMovie. On the other hand, I use a USB 2.0 External HD to capture video to on my powerbook and it worked like a charm! I even used DVDBackup and copied a DVD directly to the drive and pay it from there as well. USB 2.0 CAN be used for video, but noone does because they already have adapted FireWire. Soon FireWire 800 will eclipse FireWire.
RTFP! Other folkks who read your post got confused.....they read the first line and went off into a Mac inspired rage....I read the whole thing and GOT THE SARCASM! Yeah I'd take it off his hands for 100 bucks too!
My gateway also has a 4 pin. In fact, when I bought my Powerbook, I TRIED to us an adapter with the cable but was unsuccessful. Switched to the 4 to 6 ping cable and have NO probs.
Another good place...seriously....is Big Lots. Picked up a 4 pin to 6 pin cable there for 8 bucks. Since it's digital your passing, quality isn't as sensitive as analog.
Also, iMovie's docs are also incorrect here too. Some dvCams also use the USB (2.0) as a video capture too. This would require a driver and I doubt you'd ever be able to use iMovie.
In the case of the poster....why don't you use the iLink port? Gte a 4 pin to 6 pin cable and your set. My JVC works perfectly with my 12 inch Powerbook.
DVD burner Decent amount of ram Ability to edit video Firewire USB 2.0 At LEAST 40 GB hard disk WiFi
I found all of this for around $1799 in a 12in Powerbook. I know, I said I wanted to edit video.....I added a 120 GB external hard disk. I use this to archive projects and when I am working on a large project. The CLOSEST I came in a laptop not only cost more, but weighed more as well.
Also, the 17 inch PB is not much thicker then my 12 inch. Just like people did not understand why folks paid 400-500 for ye olde Palm V when it was released (when the Palm III with mor memory cost less), people don't understand why the 17 Inch Powerbook costs less. The smaller it is, the harder it is to make. Almost every PC laptop I see is thicker then most Macs are and if they are the same thickness, there's tradeoffs....like external CDRW/DVD_R drives. My only beef....include packet writing to RW media in the OS. Even windows doesn't do this yet.
I also hazard to guess that the LCD in the Acer is no where near the quality of the one in the Powerbook. I have NEVER seen better LCD's then the ones in all Apple products.
YMMV, but Apple does have decent systems and while somethings aren't cheap, there's enough variety in the line to make the price similar.
Slashdot Mirror
My gateway is very good. If you have not checked them out recently, check again. Since about 2000, thier machines have been doing very well. Not had a issue with any I have encountered.
Gateway stores are very much like what you describe in your next to last paragraph. I went to the store and since I'd have to wait, I eneded up calling their 1800 number and ordering the machine that way. Also, before it shipped, I realized that I needed something changed on the order. I called and gave the number of the guy I talked to and he set it up and when it got to my house it was perfect. I also added the 3 year warantee as I did not want to buy another desktop for at least that long (to replace that one that is...my wife uses it the most...). It was worth every penny when at 1 and a half years old, the power supply went bad. My only beef is the Country Store took 8-9 days to fix it. They did not stock any spare parts. Personally, I think if they did that, then they could really make a killing by offering quick turn around on simple fixes like this. I realize why they don't stock them (what if they got a whole raft of parts in and they could not use them???), but I think at least for power supplies, they could stock a few. In any case, I love our Gateway. It has been very stable and it peforms very well. The 18 inch Gateway branded LCD is awesome too. I love teh case designs also. I am so over building my own. I would rather use my machine then spend time tweaking drivers and dropping in cards and the like. Also, like it or not, packaging DOES need to look good. Just look at Apple's packaging. It just looks great and the impress a user gets while unpacking it is important even if you think it isn't. The cow spotted box have been around for a while and users like those kind of touches. I think what Gateway does need to do is get out of being a consumer rebrander and just make computers.
While I did not buy a eMac, I did buy a Mac because I got totally frustrated with any of the software I have seen on the PC level.
I have Pinnacle Studio 8 and it had issues with audio syncing. Through alot of reading on the net, I found problems with MOST of the cheaper products and was afraid that by the time I found something that worked for my style, I would have spent as much as I did on my 12 inch powerbook. After buying my Powerbook, I had a DVD burnt with in 2-3 hours and most of the time I wast having a blast. While I agree the guy asking the question asked for Linux programs, I figure if you have to ask Slashdot, there probably isn't anything that will work. I know getting a Mac may not be ideal so here's my take...I'd try the Ulead first. After that if that did not work, get Adobe Encore or get a Mac. Seriously. Also, Pinnacle is bringing out or has brought out Studio 9. Hopefully they fixed some of the issues and made some enhancments because the editing system is spiffy. My only beef....it's a bitch to add MP3 audio and NOT obvious. Also adding music from a cd needs to have that disc in the drive everytime your editing the project (in version 8). That needs fixed as well as the audio oos problem.
As far as Linux goes, considering that just PLAYING DVD's was such a chore just a few short years ago, creating them will be even harder. I don't know of any program except some just movie editing (filmgimp) but those are still very new. Pay the bucks and get a windows or mac product.
Hmm....while I have no need to do anything like this this is defintely a cool thing in my opinion. Even if CSS is weak encryption! :)
The parent is right. Servers should be up 24/7. Scheduled reboots are BS! With exception of some processes like DB Processes and others, our HA cluster has been up for 53 days (our boss gets antsy during power outages...at least until we have a few more to really test our generator failover). Automagicaly scheduled reboots are bad. Servers should never have to be rebooted. Rebooting is a BANDAID!
I wonder if he wrote a script to keep track of that red stapler by taking pictures with a web cam and mailing them?
I have made this point time and time again. Here's the steps in GUI and CLI of finding a file in a directory listing and showing it's properties:
GUI
1. Hunt around for and click on your file manager icon.
2. The file you are looking for is called foo. It is in a subdirectory calld bar. Click on the subdirectory called bar in your home directroy (most file managers will put you there when you fire them up).
3. Look for the foo icon. Right click an pull up properties.
CLI
1. Type pwd to make sure you are in your home directory.
2. You have already been told the file is in directory called bar. To make sure that bar exists type:
ls -al
3. Now to get the listing AND show the properties, type in:
ls -al bar
Both of these took about the same amount of steps but I guarantee you the CLI version too much less time. In GUI's you spend alot of time mousing around trying to FIND the File Manager while the File Manager in a CLI is you. In a CLI, if you have not loaded X, you are already at the prompt and ready to go. You don't even have to open a terminal if X isn't loaded. You don't have to run anything until your ready and as soon as you input it, it spits it back out...no messy refreshes.
Amen to that! Why do you think places like Vegas, Miami and other touristy spots get chosen for big shows? Conferences are great because I get out of the office and talk to others on how they cope with their problems and when there's absolutely nothing going on at the conference that I like, I go to the beach or the casino. Best thing is I don't have a phone rininging off the hook unless it's REALLY a problem.
I wondered what that was about. Only noticed it when I was watching Nick-At-Nite.
I am tired of paying for all of these channels I don't watch. I don't need BET. I don't want the golf channel. Whatever happened to promising a alacart plan? Here's what I want now:
Nickelodeon
TechTV
TLC
Discovery
Weather Channel
SpikeTV
TBS
USA
TNT
WGN
a GOOD UPN feed! (mine sucks...yes I have bitched).
ABC (local afilliates please!)
CBS (local afilliates please!)
NBC (local afilliates please!)
FOX (local afilliates please!)
ESPN
ComCentral
WSFJ
Live WX RADAR
CNN
FOX News
MSNBC
a DVR
That about covers it. I also want to be able to change my line up as I wish (no contract...no more then a 24 hour wait). With adressable cable boxes, this IS possible. I don't want to EVER see these in my lineup:
Lifetime (ack!)
BET (I am not racist, but I ain't black either and I don't want it)
TCM
PinTV(I don't want to watch infomercials 24 hours a day)
ITV
MTV
VH1
CMT
Those are the basics. I have all of these channels, yet I only watch about half of them. Imagine what my cable bill would be if I only paid for what I want!
Dish Network is trying their best to keep prices low. On the other hand, Dish network should try to negotiate with Viacom instead of childishly trying to block these messages. Work it out guys! If you can't, then I guess Dish network will loose Viacom channels and then Dish Network will see a mass exodus. You both need each other...work that crap out and don't put childish scrolls and the other party trying to block that scroll. It pisses the ones who have already chose NOT to subscribe to Dish Network off and sours the ones who may have chosen your package from choosing it in the future.
OK, how is DRM going to stop you from listening your own MP3's? If WMP won't make a non DRM wma or MP3, so what? Download another encoder! If, all of a sudden, WMP stops playing unsigned/unencrypted MP3's, most users, even my dad, would go to google and search for MP3 players and bam he finds Winamp and others. He can still play his MP3s. Is that so bad?? DRM itself isn't bad. MAKING you use it and not allowing you to make your own MP3's with out it is.
Real may be a pain in the ass, but it doesn't have any spyware that I am aware of. Care to say what Soyware scanner you used?
Buran is the shuttle. And I believe it's in a park somewhere in Russia.
Here's the deal...if people buy phones specifically because they have BT, doesn't that mean they use bt? I know, some don't but those are the ones that will hop to the new phone and it doesn't matter. I on the other hand am considering seriously a jump to a carrier with worse coverage (from verizon who has the best now) just so I can have a phone with BT. Those who want bluetooth want it so they can use it. So shame on AT&T for offering to replace a phone with more features with one with less. I think they should give you MORE features in this case as they screwed up and gave you a phone they knew, as a company, they would have reception issues.
Yes but you'd shade the keypad. If your bank prints your pin on screen....you have more trouble then I!
Had to be some issue with the setup. Mail.app has NEVER hung on me. Not once. Not ever. The Apple forums is not a great place to gleen knowledge about problems because alot of the people on there are pretty clueless. It's the NEWBIE dumping ground.
They should ship both. It's NOT expensive when the company makes scads of them.
I have looked at several miniDV cams and NONE had the cable. My JVC didn't and your right....include the frappin 8 dollar cable! In fact, have one 4 to 4 and a 4 to 6. That should about cover 90 percent of the situations and incurs a minimal cost to SONY/JVC/Whoever.
My camera also has a blank sensing detector. I just rewind it til I see video, hit the button and it places the head within the end of your video right before the blankspot. Works like a charm, but you may want to check it in play for a second to make sure your not recording over something or just record a bit past the "MAGIC" moment and you'll be fine.
In this case I would agree. There's simply no way to get a USB only cam recognize in iMovie. On the other hand, I use a USB 2.0 External HD to capture video to on my powerbook and it worked like a charm! I even used DVDBackup and copied a DVD directly to the drive and pay it from there as well. USB 2.0 CAN be used for video, but noone does because they already have adapted FireWire. Soon FireWire 800 will eclipse FireWire.
RTFP! Other folkks who read your post got confused.....they read the first line and went off into a Mac inspired rage....I read the whole thing and GOT THE SARCASM! Yeah I'd take it off his hands for 100 bucks too!
My gateway also has a 4 pin. In fact, when I bought my Powerbook, I TRIED to us an adapter with the cable but was unsuccessful. Switched to the 4 to 6 ping cable and have NO probs.
Another good place...seriously....is Big Lots. Picked up a 4 pin to 6 pin cable there for 8 bucks. Since it's digital your passing, quality isn't as sensitive as analog.
Also, iMovie's docs are also incorrect here too. Some dvCams also use the USB (2.0) as a video capture too. This would require a driver and I doubt you'd ever be able to use iMovie.
In the case of the poster....why don't you use the iLink port? Gte a 4 pin to 6 pin cable and your set. My JVC works perfectly with my 12 inch Powerbook.
That as they say....depends.....
I was looking for a small laptop equipped with:
DVD burner
Decent amount of ram
Ability to edit video
Firewire
USB 2.0
At LEAST 40 GB hard disk
WiFi
I found all of this for around $1799 in a 12in Powerbook. I know, I said I wanted to edit video.....I added a 120 GB external hard disk. I use this to archive projects and when I am working on a large project. The CLOSEST I came in a laptop not only cost more, but weighed more as well.
Also, the 17 inch PB is not much thicker then my 12 inch. Just like people did not understand why folks paid 400-500 for ye olde Palm V when it was released (when the Palm III with mor memory cost less), people don't understand why the 17 Inch Powerbook costs less. The smaller it is, the harder it is to make. Almost every PC laptop I see is thicker then most Macs are and if they are the same thickness, there's tradeoffs....like external CDRW/DVD_R drives. My only beef....include packet writing to RW media in the OS. Even windows doesn't do this yet.
I also hazard to guess that the LCD in the Acer is no where near the quality of the one in the Powerbook. I have NEVER seen better LCD's then the ones in all Apple products.
YMMV, but Apple does have decent systems and while somethings aren't cheap, there's enough variety in the line to make the price similar.
Why were you holding your hand over the screen? Was it because you could not see it because of the rappy screens they have on these units?? :)