I have to agree with you. Q3 was by far the best FPS ever made. It kind of boggles the mind that it has been 10 years already. I remember my P3 with 64MB of RAM and a DSL line being the only thing I needed to pwn face on Q3. I'm surprised you didn't mention RA3. That add-on was a great addition to an already great game.
The license number from the sticker on the side of your computer is not the same as a Volume License Key. Volume License Keys need Volume Licensing Media. The last time I tried to use a VLK with an OEM media it didn't work (Windows XP). You may be able to use a VLK with a store bought retail box version of XP but I haven't tried it.
I'd rather be an in the open retard who can laugh about these quasi-compu-religious issues than some bitter, in the closest chickenshit who can't even step up to the plate with the self assurance to "own" his own words on the anonymous internet.
They will know, but it's not like when you go to download updates on your 1001 PC the PC is going to suddenly stop working. It won't fail the WGA check either. I never said that it wasn't audited or supervised, but maybe that was what I incorrectly implied when I mentioned that it was on the "honor system."
Every place that I know of with a VLK is very strict with who has access to it. In some cases, they are non-profit groups who simply can't afford to play with fire. If they lost their non-profit licensing they couldn't afford MS software. In other cases, they are huge corporations who know what a pain in the ass it would be if MS revoked their key.
Then, take one volume licensing key which was purchased for a company to do 20000 installations worldwide.
That key gets used 20001 times, which is the pirate?
It doesn't work that way. VLKs are basically on the honor system.
If my CPU cooks or I want to switch to a better LAN card, I'd just as soon not have to argue with Microsoft *or* pay another $200+.
Have YOU ever had to argue with Microsoft to get another activation code? Has anyone you know (in real life, not on the net) had to argue with Microsoft to get a code? Every single time I have needed a new code I've called up the number that appears on the screen, told them that the motherboard failed and I replaced it, and then they gave me a new code.
Having to "argue" with Microsoft (if you are a legit owner of a non-OEM copy of Windows) is nothing but pure FUD. Now trying to get another activation code out of an OEM... I'd be willing to believe that is a headache.
It's interesting to look at how many of the above responses are lame/decent attempts at humor. Is this because there's nothing in the article for us to all argue about, or because everyone thinks this is funny?
The Beekeepers Quarterly had an article at the time suggesting that the red mite was limited in it's northern expansion due to temperature, but that a succession of a few warm winters allowed it to reach nearly all the continental US -- only a harsh winter will kick it back down south.
I read an article about a similar scenario that is happening in Colorado. Some species of beatle is eating the redwoods. In the past it wasn't as big of a deal because the frost would come through every winter and kill the bastards off. These days it doesn't get cold enough to kill them so they are just laying waste to huge swaths of the forest. =(
Easy there touchy Mac whiner. I was just making the point that not everything is as "easy" as it seems in OSX. Command+Delete... What kind of crap is that? Is that Apple's way of asking me if I'm sure that I want to delete it? Why don't they go ahead and put a little protective cover over the Delete key that I need to flip up, just like a rocket launch button? =) Or, lemme guess... those geniuses at Apple couldn't figure how to get their OS to interpret the delete code from the keyboard, so they had to make it a two step process? Hahahahahahaaahahahaaaa.
Being a hater who bashes on the "other guys" sure is fun. =)~
I'm not even sure what the article is trying to say. Are they trying to say that the mouse isn't as precise? Did they try to turn down the speed? Did they bother to plug in an optical mouse? I've used both Macs and PCs and it always seems to me like the Mac mice require so much more effort to move around the desktop because they move so slowly. The exact same "precision" can be achieved on a PC by slowing the mouse down.
As for their whole "friction", what a load of crap. I could see how there might be some growing pains if you have to switch from XP to Vista, or from Office 2003 to 2007, but come on. I personally remember switching from 2000 to XP and at the time, I thought that it was absolutely stupid that the My Computer icon was moved to the Start Menu. Now I think it's extremely convenient to have just about everything I use on a regular basis just one (Windows) keystroke away.
As much as people like to knock the MS UI, I think they do a good job of making it easy to use for your average "Dumb user". As much as I dislike the new Office 2007 interface, I have a lot of clients with dumb users who think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I can't understand it personally, but they seem to like it.
And just to throw a shot across the bow of the Mac fanboys, how come I can't select file on OSX and use the "delete" key to delete it? What moron UI designer overlooked that simple shortcut? But, lemme guess... I can press OpenApple+Ctrl+Delete (or something similiar) to delete it without dragging it to the trashcan?
On a semi related tangent, a client of mine has the designs to build an engine that is capable of running on FIVE DIFFERENT types of fuel. The American automakers have plans for a similar engine but they are not planning on putting it into production until 2025. My client is going to start producing the engine in China next year.
For a lot of companies, China gives them the ability to be profitable. A lot of America is locked down either politically or economically. By politically I mean that unless you are the favored contractor of the US Congress, you aren't going to get the contract to design anything. And by economically I mean, if you don't already have production facilities, it's cost prohibitive to get them.
Honestly, at this point, I think that "the government" should be building the networks with tax money, and letting the various providers lease it for a reasonable price. Bandwidth/communications has really become the backbone of the modern economy in a lot of ways. It should be treated almost like the highway system. The only downside is the bureaucracy that will rise up around it all. But I think that, overall, it would be a better situation.
I agree with you 100% on this one. I am generally not a fan of expanding the role of the government in anything. However I agree with your analogy that the network backbone is akin to the highway system. That actually sums it up very well.
The need to organize your life 50+ years into the future is not far from the compulsion to spend 15 hours a day on the Internet. In fact, I would maintain that it is potentially a more destructive behavior.
This seems like a good enough place to comment.
I too latched onto that notion of having his life planned out far into the future. I think that it might be a cultural thing for the Chinese. I study a Chinese (Daoist) martial art. My sifu has been training the art since he was 6. A few times a year he teaches a philosophy class at the temple. One of the things that he emphasized in the last class was prioritizing and planning ahead. When he was a kid, he came up with a list of ten things that he wanted to do before he was fourty. Now he has a list of ten things that he wants to do before he dies.
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that long term planning might be inherent in the culture of Chinese civilization. Conversely, that penchant for long term planning might be misunderstood here in a America, a country that hasn't even been around for three hundred years yet.
I think that the perception of the need to be organized for 50+ years into the future is a bit overblown. More than likely what happened is that it was suggested (probably pretty strongly given the sounds of things) that the "addict" in question take a long, hard look at where he wants to go in life. Then once he decided where he wanted to go, he came up with a plan on how to get there. We could debate whether or not the "choice" he made about what to do with his life was "right" or not, however I think you'd have to be a fool to debate the fact that cultivating long term thinking in children is a good thing.
Given that Microsoft Volume Licenses for Office can get as low as ~$15 a month and with those you are entitled to use the entire program, paying $15 a month to rent the same thing is ridiculous.
The only way I would ever consider a long term payment program would be if I could own the software at the end of the year or whatever. Hell, if Microsoft were smart they might even be able to charge MORE in the long run. After all, Americans are used to paying interest for things, and spending more over the long run to get it NOW.
From having played the game for a while I get the sense that there are certain zones, or certain spawn locations that you have to kill monsters in to get a reasonable drop rate. I seem to remember one like that in the Badlands where you have to kill golems. Although the golems that you need to kill are in two or three locations, one particular grouping of them provides the drop with significantly more frequency.
However, after I did a quest where I had to kill Hydras for 4 hours in order to get 8 scales or whatever, I realized that it was more of the same crap and the promptly quit the game again.
I started a Blood-Elf for the hell of it and realized after not too long that you can skip any quest that involves killing monsters to collect X number of items. That particular kind of quest has to be the most tedious and absolutely frustrating quest available. I read the interview with the Warhammer Online team and they seem to have gotten it right. In their game, if you go on a quest like that, then EVERY SINGLE MONSTER that you have to kill will drop the item you need to collect. I wish the Blizzard folks would pull their heads out of their asses and do the same thing.
I'll note one additional data point: When you do some of the initial quests, you'll be amazed at the quality of the quest rewards for relatively simple quests. I believe this was an intentional design to bring the "casual" player up to raid quality gear, effectively levelling the playing field.
As a casual player, I completely agree with this assessment. My girlfriend and I play for about six to ten hours a week and when BC came out we were still in our low 50s. Just last week we made it to 58 and headed to the Outlands. The quests were very appropriate for our level, but might have been a little difficult for someone doing them solo. The best part about starting Outlands as a 58 was that the 58/59 gear from out there is so ridiculously powerful that I completely owned pre-60 AB before I earned those last few XP to finally ding 60. =)
Seeing DoD just tripped me out. I haven't seriously swapped warez since the days of the 28.8, but I couriered more than my fair share of DoD stuff. They sure had a LOOOONG run at things if they're only just now getting busted.
The amount of spreadsheets that would have to be converted would be impossible to fix...
This is exactly the point I was trying to allude to in an earlier post I made when I mentioned Excel's formula language. In any large enough organization, there is likely enough business intelligence coded into Excel spreadsheets by people who no longer work there that trying to convert all of it onto another platform would be ridiculous.
I've seen the argument that a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet, and if you're starting from scratch, I think that is true. But a Google spreadsheet is not the same as a 20 page, fully formulated, linked to external datasources (via ODBC, SQL on the backend anyone?) Excel monster. And speaking of which, what do you do if you're using Google apps and you want to link to external data in say, an SQL server? Excel has great built in wizards that will link to just about any data source imaginable. Is Google going to port all of my financial data over there for me so that I can "access it from anywhere?"
Corporations use MS Office in general. OpenOffice is not in great use across the global range of companies, with some exceptions.
Agreed.
Using free software, therefore, may or may not be the best solution in a University setting.
On the other hand, most students only really need to use the computer to RESEARCH, type up papers and email/communicate. Unless you are a business or comp sci major, whether or not you know how to use Office isn't going to be a huge detriment to your resume.
I think that the big argument for needing to know Office is Excel and the formula language that Microsoft uses. For the most part a word processor is a word processor. I've used WordPerfect 5.1, AmiPro and Word. For my uses, they are functionally equal. They let me type, format and most importantly, SPELLCHECK. =)
The other argument for using Office is the sheer number of third party applications that leverage it. For example, a few of my previous clients were accounting offices. A company named Thomson has a whole slew of forms (Word templates and [mainly] Excel spreadsheets) that more or less automate compliance with the various accounting regulations that change on a REGULAR basis. If you want the ease offered by those forms (and trust me, it's MUCH easier to use the forms than to stay on top of all of the regulatory changes and manually update in house forms), then you need to be using MS Office.
How does Google apps deal with a situation like that where third parties want to leverage their applications?
And on another tangent... Given the scattered "open" software application space (OpenOffice, Star Office, KOffice, etc.), will companies like Thomson ever find it in their best interests to bother to port their product? Or to put it another way, will they ever lose enough sales because their product only works on Office (and something like 95%+ of the companies who they'd target their product to)? And if they do port it, which package do they port it to?
Read the article man. It clearly states that the OS scans the flash drive when you insert it and then asks you if you want to use it for caching. I doubt that it will allow you to use more than one. In fact, I'll go so far as to go ahead and predict that after you okay the first drive as okay to be used for caching, it won't even prompt you on the subsiquent devices (unless you removal the initial device). I've never used the OS myself, but if I'm right, I think the MS guys need some credit. If I'm wrong, we can all just laugh and write it off to "business as usual" at Microsoft.
For example, where are they storing the encryption key? It's certainly on the PC somewhere accessible to all for now.
The issue that they are addressing by encrypting the REMOVABLE device used for CACHING is that the concern that someone could REMOVE the device and access the CACHED data. If the decryption key is stored on the PC, then they've still addressed the issue of the device being REMOVED FROM THE PC.
Well... this is yet another review of features I don't like in a product I don't want from a company I don't trust.
You may not like them, but how many of them can Linux do? Specifically, can Linux cache to Flash devices? Does Linux automatically optimize application startup based on the last five logon sessions? (I'm not trying to be a smart ass here, I'm really curious. And if it doesn't, why not?)
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I have to agree with you. Q3 was by far the best FPS ever made. It kind of boggles the mind that it has been 10 years already. I remember my P3 with 64MB of RAM and a DSL line being the only thing I needed to pwn face on Q3. I'm surprised you didn't mention RA3. That add-on was a great addition to an already great game.
The license number from the sticker on the side of your computer is not the same as a Volume License Key. Volume License Keys need Volume Licensing Media. The last time I tried to use a VLK with an OEM media it didn't work (Windows XP). You may be able to use a VLK with a store bought retail box version of XP but I haven't tried it.
I'd rather be an in the open retard who can laugh about these quasi-compu-religious issues than some bitter, in the closest chickenshit who can't even step up to the plate with the self assurance to "own" his own words on the anonymous internet.
Every place that I know of with a VLK is very strict with who has access to it. In some cases, they are non-profit groups who simply can't afford to play with fire. If they lost their non-profit licensing they couldn't afford MS software. In other cases, they are huge corporations who know what a pain in the ass it would be if MS revoked their key.
It doesn't work that way. VLKs are basically on the honor system.
Have YOU ever had to argue with Microsoft to get another activation code? Has anyone you know (in real life, not on the net) had to argue with Microsoft to get a code? Every single time I have needed a new code I've called up the number that appears on the screen, told them that the motherboard failed and I replaced it, and then they gave me a new code.
Having to "argue" with Microsoft (if you are a legit owner of a non-OEM copy of Windows) is nothing but pure FUD. Now trying to get another activation code out of an OEM... I'd be willing to believe that is a headache.
When a superior man hears of the Tao,
he immediately begins to embody it.
When an average man hears of the Tao,
he half believes it, half doubts it.
When a foolish man hears of the Tao,
he laughs out loud.
If he didn't laugh,
it wouldn't be the Tao.
I read an article about a similar scenario that is happening in Colorado. Some species of beatle is eating the redwoods. In the past it wasn't as big of a deal because the frost would come through every winter and kill the bastards off. These days it doesn't get cold enough to kill them so they are just laying waste to huge swaths of the forest. =(
Being a hater who bashes on the "other guys" sure is fun. =)~
I have an ultra uber 1200 baud modem with your name on it!
As for their whole "friction", what a load of crap. I could see how there might be some growing pains if you have to switch from XP to Vista, or from Office 2003 to 2007, but come on. I personally remember switching from 2000 to XP and at the time, I thought that it was absolutely stupid that the My Computer icon was moved to the Start Menu. Now I think it's extremely convenient to have just about everything I use on a regular basis just one (Windows) keystroke away.
As much as people like to knock the MS UI, I think they do a good job of making it easy to use for your average "Dumb user". As much as I dislike the new Office 2007 interface, I have a lot of clients with dumb users who think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I can't understand it personally, but they seem to like it.
And just to throw a shot across the bow of the Mac fanboys, how come I can't select file on OSX and use the "delete" key to delete it? What moron UI designer overlooked that simple shortcut? But, lemme guess... I can press OpenApple+Ctrl+Delete (or something similiar) to delete it without dragging it to the trashcan?
For a lot of companies, China gives them the ability to be profitable. A lot of America is locked down either politically or economically. By politically I mean that unless you are the favored contractor of the US Congress, you aren't going to get the contract to design anything. And by economically I mean, if you don't already have production facilities, it's cost prohibitive to get them.
I agree with you 100% on this one. I am generally not a fan of expanding the role of the government in anything. However I agree with your analogy that the network backbone is akin to the highway system. That actually sums it up very well.
This seems like a good enough place to comment.
I too latched onto that notion of having his life planned out far into the future. I think that it might be a cultural thing for the Chinese. I study a Chinese (Daoist) martial art. My sifu has been training the art since he was 6. A few times a year he teaches a philosophy class at the temple. One of the things that he emphasized in the last class was prioritizing and planning ahead. When he was a kid, he came up with a list of ten things that he wanted to do before he was fourty. Now he has a list of ten things that he wants to do before he dies.
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that long term planning might be inherent in the culture of Chinese civilization. Conversely, that penchant for long term planning might be misunderstood here in a America, a country that hasn't even been around for three hundred years yet.
I think that the perception of the need to be organized for 50+ years into the future is a bit overblown. More than likely what happened is that it was suggested (probably pretty strongly given the sounds of things) that the "addict" in question take a long, hard look at where he wants to go in life. Then once he decided where he wanted to go, he came up with a plan on how to get there. We could debate whether or not the "choice" he made about what to do with his life was "right" or not, however I think you'd have to be a fool to debate the fact that cultivating long term thinking in children is a good thing.
Mod this guy up. He obviously works with the stuff and understands it.
The only way I would ever consider a long term payment program would be if I could own the software at the end of the year or whatever. Hell, if Microsoft were smart they might even be able to charge MORE in the long run. After all, Americans are used to paying interest for things, and spending more over the long run to get it NOW.
From having played the game for a while I get the sense that there are certain zones, or certain spawn locations that you have to kill monsters in to get a reasonable drop rate. I seem to remember one like that in the Badlands where you have to kill golems. Although the golems that you need to kill are in two or three locations, one particular grouping of them provides the drop with significantly more frequency.
I started a Blood-Elf for the hell of it and realized after not too long that you can skip any quest that involves killing monsters to collect X number of items. That particular kind of quest has to be the most tedious and absolutely frustrating quest available. I read the interview with the Warhammer Online team and they seem to have gotten it right. In their game, if you go on a quest like that, then EVERY SINGLE MONSTER that you have to kill will drop the item you need to collect. I wish the Blizzard folks would pull their heads out of their asses and do the same thing.
As a casual player, I completely agree with this assessment. My girlfriend and I play for about six to ten hours a week and when BC came out we were still in our low 50s. Just last week we made it to 58 and headed to the Outlands. The quests were very appropriate for our level, but might have been a little difficult for someone doing them solo. The best part about starting Outlands as a 58 was that the 58/59 gear from out there is so ridiculously powerful that I completely owned pre-60 AB before I earned those last few XP to finally ding 60. =)
Seeing DoD just tripped me out. I haven't seriously swapped warez since the days of the 28.8, but I couriered more than my fair share of DoD stuff. They sure had a LOOOONG run at things if they're only just now getting busted.
This is exactly the point I was trying to allude to in an earlier post I made when I mentioned Excel's formula language. In any large enough organization, there is likely enough business intelligence coded into Excel spreadsheets by people who no longer work there that trying to convert all of it onto another platform would be ridiculous.
I've seen the argument that a spreadsheet is a spreadsheet, and if you're starting from scratch, I think that is true. But a Google spreadsheet is not the same as a 20 page, fully formulated, linked to external datasources (via ODBC, SQL on the backend anyone?) Excel monster. And speaking of which, what do you do if you're using Google apps and you want to link to external data in say, an SQL server? Excel has great built in wizards that will link to just about any data source imaginable. Is Google going to port all of my financial data over there for me so that I can "access it from anywhere?"
Agreed.
Using free software, therefore, may or may not be the best solution in a University setting.
On the other hand, most students only really need to use the computer to RESEARCH, type up papers and email/communicate. Unless you are a business or comp sci major, whether or not you know how to use Office isn't going to be a huge detriment to your resume.
I think that the big argument for needing to know Office is Excel and the formula language that Microsoft uses. For the most part a word processor is a word processor. I've used WordPerfect 5.1, AmiPro and Word. For my uses, they are functionally equal. They let me type, format and most importantly, SPELLCHECK. =)
The other argument for using Office is the sheer number of third party applications that leverage it. For example, a few of my previous clients were accounting offices. A company named Thomson has a whole slew of forms (Word templates and [mainly] Excel spreadsheets) that more or less automate compliance with the various accounting regulations that change on a REGULAR basis. If you want the ease offered by those forms (and trust me, it's MUCH easier to use the forms than to stay on top of all of the regulatory changes and manually update in house forms), then you need to be using MS Office.
How does Google apps deal with a situation like that where third parties want to leverage their applications?
And on another tangent... Given the scattered "open" software application space (OpenOffice, Star Office, KOffice, etc.), will companies like Thomson ever find it in their best interests to bother to port their product? Or to put it another way, will they ever lose enough sales because their product only works on Office (and something like 95%+ of the companies who they'd target their product to)? And if they do port it, which package do they port it to?
Read the article man. It clearly states that the OS scans the flash drive when you insert it and then asks you if you want to use it for caching. I doubt that it will allow you to use more than one. In fact, I'll go so far as to go ahead and predict that after you okay the first drive as okay to be used for caching, it won't even prompt you on the subsiquent devices (unless you removal the initial device). I've never used the OS myself, but if I'm right, I think the MS guys need some credit. If I'm wrong, we can all just laugh and write it off to "business as usual" at Microsoft.
The issue that they are addressing by encrypting the REMOVABLE device used for CACHING is that the concern that someone could REMOVE the device and access the CACHED data. If the decryption key is stored on the PC, then they've still addressed the issue of the device being REMOVED FROM THE PC.
You may not like them, but how many of them can Linux do? Specifically, can Linux cache to Flash devices? Does Linux automatically optimize application startup based on the last five logon sessions? (I'm not trying to be a smart ass here, I'm really curious. And if it doesn't, why not?)