Um... I don't see neocons or radical Christians beheading people on YouTube while chanting "God is Great". I don't care what the film says, the comparison is not a valid one.
Really? What then would you call the illegal invasion of Iraq that our radical Christian government has had us involved in for the past 5 years? Just because they wrap it in the flag of patriotism doesn't change the contents.
It applies in that case too. If the X device driver is killing monitors, then the driver needed to be rewritten to make sure that didn't happen. (Remember, the problem was with the X driver - now if there was a BIOS video setting that would cause this issue, regardless of installed OS, then that's different - but then it is truly not the fault of the OS...see?) This isn't a perfect analogy though - frying a monitor instantly is a very different situation than possibly, under some circumstances, increasing the number of load/unload cycles on a hard disk. In the latter case the drive is set to a perfectly acceptable state (and, coincidentally set to the state that I set all of my hard disks too, being concerned about noise - and I would not be happy if my OS suddenly started changing those settings) it is the higher level software that is causing the issue.
Regardless of who is to blame, it would appear that the Ubuntu devs should push out a patch that forces systems to ignore the manufacturer values, and use settings that will protect the drive lifetime.
Bull. The OS should NOT be mucking around with changing low-level hardware device settings. Ubuntu is doing EXACTLY what they should be doing in honoring the existing hardware configuration, whether set by the manufacturer or directly by the user. This 'bug' is FUD pure and simple from people who understand just enough to be dangerous.
Now if there is, in fact a daemon causing too frequent disk access for power management to work properly, then that bug should be fixed. Pushing a patch to change people's power management settings is exactly the wrong thing to do as it treats the symptom, not the cause. I've had this same behavior on my XP laptop too, but recognized that it was a bug in a program and took steps to fix the program. If Windows had automatically changed my drive's power management settings I'd both likely not noticed the bug in the program AND had worse battery life. Yeah!
Wait, WDS couldn't find anything that you hadn't told it to index? What the hell is MS thinking?? I'm sure you would have preferred that they automatically index everything you have permission to locally and on the network, and kept an unencrypted copy of the index on one of their public servers.
That it replaces the old search is FUD plain and simple. If you want to search a non-indexed location, you just click Search and then Search Companion. The horror.
The mail search integration into Outlook is why I ultimately chose WDS over my old standard, Copernic. It reliably finds the email I'm looking for from a single word or two, while already in Outlook.
If you're going to criticize microsoft, (and I'll agree there is plenty of reasons to do so) at least get a clue what you're talking about.
Go buy a big-ticket item at Best Buy or Circuit Shitty... their restocking fees are higher.
No, they aren't. This is one of the few reasons I sometimes shop at Best Buy - they don't ask any questions when I return an opened product, and they refund 100% of the cost. When I wanted an LCD tv, and I couldn't get straight answers about some features from the online resellers (plus the risk of dead pixels) - I paid the 15% or so extra at Best Buy, as the mail-order places had a no-return policy on TVs. I was glad I did; the first tv I bought was a dud, and a much better one went on big sale right as I returned it.
Using an ipod rarely has the urgency that using a phone can, however, so that extra few seconds to remove your gloves, dry your hands, wait for a traffic light, etc. doesn't matter. And fwiw, I do have all those same gripes with my ipod, (although they got tremendously better with the click wheel, but the iphone won't have that capability) - it's just that my ipod sees 1/20 the use of my phone, so it matters *much* less.
Well, for anyone who has actually ever tried to use a touch screen in cold weather, with wet or dirty hands, or while driving, there are a TON of reasons why physical buttons (or at least the option of a stylus) are better than a touch screen. This is one aspect of the iphone that I'm really interested to see shake out in the real world.
I can believe it. A friend of mine works for a group of lawyers who insist that *every* email they receive (which can be hundreds per day per person - they're not shy with this 'techie' stuff) is printed out and filed with the appropriate case. This stuff eventually gets shuffled off to an off-site storage facility - usually without ever getting looked at. This is not a particularly small office - and they have appropriate backups in place. Unbelievable...
I disagree. After spending several years working in an extremely high-end cafe, (http://www.gimmecoffee.com/) and years of roasting at home, I find I prefer most varieties after they have out-gassed for 1-2 days. I find this especially important when roasting on the lighter end of the spectrum. These days, I purchase directly from the roaster, but can tell as soon as the water hits the grounds if it has had enough settling time. If not the 'gases' seem to dominate the flavor.
I'm also in Ithaca on RR. I've had their service for ~5 years now at the same address. I can only recall one outage in the past 3 years (since replacing all lines to my house) that lasted less than an hour. During those 5 years my speeds have gone from ~1Mbps to a solid 8Mbps today, with ocassional bursts to 15+ Mbps. That's significant progress to me.
What makes it any harder to keep old versions of ebooks than paper books? If anything, it will be harder to rewrite history, because if the 'official' version of a text is changed to represent the current times/regime/etc. it will always have the opportunity to be subverted by distribution of an older version. As we well know, once a file is copied once, it can be distributed around the world in a matter of hours. What do you think is going to happen? They're going to gather up all of these copies and replace them with the new official version? Even if they somehow could, it'd only take a single surviving copy to start the same circle over again. I'm sorry, I don't buy your argument. For centuries access to paper books and the written word were the method by which the elite kept their power. Even today, because of the cost of making and transporting books, many people have access to very little printed material. Moving that information to the digital domain can't be anything but a benefit to the vast majority of mankind.
Mod this up - please!! For gods sake, much of the world has a house to live in, a decent job, electricity, food, (without spending 12 hours a day getting it!!) even television and many other '1st world' luxuries. Many of these people are on the verge of being able to break through to a better life, but $500 or more for a computer is and will remain out of their league. This is who these laptops are destined for. Not the people just coming out of the depths of the forest for the first time.
You might have a valid point except that not only is this guy a Senator, he is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation!! Knowing about telecommunications is his JOB.
When did I ever say I was "mad?" I am annoyed at the unfairness of the system. Those with lots of time on their hands, especially as bids end, can convert that time to money by sniping. I don't want to be part of that system, so I do not opt in. It doesn't make me mad, it makes me lose, so it makes me go to other places to buy things.
It's not unfair though. There are many systems that will automate sniping for you so you don't have to actually be there. You admit it makes you lose, yet you refuse to change your behavior to the method that is proven to make you win at lower prices than if you proxy bid.
Then why didn't the sniper bid $120 for it when they first saw the item? You can't claim that I'm wrong for not bidding the absolute maximum I was willing to pay for it when I first saw it when the snipers refuse to do the same.
Because the snipers aren't caught up in worrying about how they think the system should work. They've figured out how to take advantage of how it does work and get on with buying things at a good price. You're right. If there was no emotional involvement everyone would put their maximum bid in early and wait to see what happens. As it is though, with many days to mull it over and each add another dollar or two to their maximum bid, putting in what you would like to pay more often than not ends up in losing the auction, or overpaying to win.
Yeah, I do. $100 shit sells for $200. I go to Amazon and buy it for $100 there with free shipping, and I don't have to use PalPal. If I wanted to collect things, eBay is great for finding one-of-a-kinds, but to buy barely used common items, I have rarely seen a bargain in the last few years. Even the snipers are stupid. I think they think "if he's willing to pay $180 for it and there's 5 days left on the auction, it must be worth $200" and so goes the dumb sniper...
I agree. I've known ebay was a seller's market for over 8 years now. When I was still in college I made a decent amount of extra money on the side picking off things that were overlooked and re-marketing them better. I bought them low and then re-sold them to people by targeting their non-rational sides. Guess what...it works. I sometimes had people calling me AFTER the auction was over and arranging to pay off the winning bidder to buy from me at a higher price! I haven't done anything other than win auctions by sniping and I'll guarantee I've never even come close to overpaying.
Re:And this is indeed a serious problem with EBay.
on
How to Win on Ebay: Snipe
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Your exact scenario is exactly what everyone is complaining about...
No, the only people who are complaining are the people who get sniped, and refuse to change their own behavior. And they get frustrated because they often lose the item by a small amount. But what if the sniper put in his bid for $200 - but your maximum was $100? He still wins it for $100.05 - but he would have paid up to $200. The point was made above that everyone has a maximum bid of (n) but they'd usually also be ok with (n+1) - but at some point they've overpaid. Decide what you're willing to pay to the last penny before you place your bid. Then place it early or snipe it, it's all the same, you'll just win a lot more auctions at lower prices if you snipe. This has been proven for years by people who actually do the buying on ebay.
I want it, so I bid $100 on it. I think it may be worth $110, but I would rather have it for $100.
So why didn't you bid $110 for it then?? In your scenario you would have then won it for $100.10. But then the sniper might have bid $110.05, and you still would have lost. Would you still be mad? Maybe the sniper thought it was worth $120, but he got it for $100.05 because you only thought it was worth $100. Not $100.05. You don't seem to understand how ebay works.
Any buyer with brains will determine an accurate value for an item, set his max bid appropriately, and let the proxy do his work him, and never re-bid higher than his maximum.
I agree with you, but would argue that it would work even better if EVERYBODY placed bids by sniping, and prices would ultimately be lower. Everyone would have to decide what the item was worth to them, and put all their cards on the table at once. There would be NO second guessing ("I guess I could go $5 higher, etc. etc.) The person who put the most value on the item would win everytime, for the lowest price.
Yes!! Opera 9 beta crashes on two different XP Pro machines when I try to read the comments from any story. I tried filing a bug report, but didn't feel like registering at SourceForge just to tell Slashdot of all places that one of the major browsers doesn't work with their site.
I've been using the Verizon National Access only using my voice minutes for nearly 2 years now, often times quite heavily. I've always assumed it was a grey area and expected to lose access at any time - but no problems yet...
I've been using Verizon's NationalAccess connection regularly for almost two years now. I have to make a usb connection between my phone and laptop, but I only use my voice minutes, and speeds are better than 56k virtually anywhere, and often much faster. Certainly manageable for e-mail and web browsing.
Slashdot Mirror
It applies in that case too. If the X device driver is killing monitors, then the driver needed to be rewritten to make sure that didn't happen. (Remember, the problem was with the X driver - now if there was a BIOS video setting that would cause this issue, regardless of installed OS, then that's different - but then it is truly not the fault of the OS...see?) This isn't a perfect analogy though - frying a monitor instantly is a very different situation than possibly, under some circumstances, increasing the number of load/unload cycles on a hard disk. In the latter case the drive is set to a perfectly acceptable state (and, coincidentally set to the state that I set all of my hard disks too, being concerned about noise - and I would not be happy if my OS suddenly started changing those settings) it is the higher level software that is causing the issue.
Bull. The OS should NOT be mucking around with changing low-level hardware device settings. Ubuntu is doing EXACTLY what they should be doing in honoring the existing hardware configuration, whether set by the manufacturer or directly by the user. This 'bug' is FUD pure and simple from people who understand just enough to be dangerous.
Now if there is, in fact a daemon causing too frequent disk access for power management to work properly, then that bug should be fixed. Pushing a patch to change people's power management settings is exactly the wrong thing to do as it treats the symptom, not the cause. I've had this same behavior on my XP laptop too, but recognized that it was a bug in a program and took steps to fix the program. If Windows had automatically changed my drive's power management settings I'd both likely not noticed the bug in the program AND had worse battery life. Yeah!
Wait, WDS couldn't find anything that you hadn't told it to index? What the hell is MS thinking?? I'm sure you would have preferred that they automatically index everything you have permission to locally and on the network, and kept an unencrypted copy of the index on one of their public servers. That it replaces the old search is FUD plain and simple. If you want to search a non-indexed location, you just click Search and then Search Companion. The horror. The mail search integration into Outlook is why I ultimately chose WDS over my old standard, Copernic. It reliably finds the email I'm looking for from a single word or two, while already in Outlook. If you're going to criticize microsoft, (and I'll agree there is plenty of reasons to do so) at least get a clue what you're talking about.
Oh, so you're that guy that reads /. for the articles!?
Using an ipod rarely has the urgency that using a phone can, however, so that extra few seconds to remove your gloves, dry your hands, wait for a traffic light, etc. doesn't matter. And fwiw, I do have all those same gripes with my ipod, (although they got tremendously better with the click wheel, but the iphone won't have that capability) - it's just that my ipod sees 1/20 the use of my phone, so it matters *much* less.
Well, for anyone who has actually ever tried to use a touch screen in cold weather, with wet or dirty hands, or while driving, there are a TON of reasons why physical buttons (or at least the option of a stylus) are better than a touch screen. This is one aspect of the iphone that I'm really interested to see shake out in the real world.
Not on mine either, and I'm on v3.5. I only have the option to 'beam' it. That might have been helpful in 1999.
I can believe it. A friend of mine works for a group of lawyers who insist that *every* email they receive (which can be hundreds per day per person - they're not shy with this 'techie' stuff) is printed out and filed with the appropriate case. This stuff eventually gets shuffled off to an off-site storage facility - usually without ever getting looked at. This is not a particularly small office - and they have appropriate backups in place. Unbelievable...
I disagree. After spending several years working in an extremely high-end cafe, (http://www.gimmecoffee.com/) and years of roasting at home, I find I prefer most varieties after they have out-gassed for 1-2 days. I find this especially important when roasting on the lighter end of the spectrum. These days, I purchase directly from the roaster, but can tell as soon as the water hits the grounds if it has had enough settling time. If not the 'gases' seem to dominate the flavor.
I'm also in Ithaca on RR. I've had their service for ~5 years now at the same address. I can only recall one outage in the past 3 years (since replacing all lines to my house) that lasted less than an hour. During those 5 years my speeds have gone from ~1Mbps to a solid 8Mbps today, with ocassional bursts to 15+ Mbps. That's significant progress to me.
What makes it any harder to keep old versions of ebooks than paper books? If anything, it will be harder to rewrite history, because if the 'official' version of a text is changed to represent the current times/regime/etc. it will always have the opportunity to be subverted by distribution of an older version. As we well know, once a file is copied once, it can be distributed around the world in a matter of hours. What do you think is going to happen? They're going to gather up all of these copies and replace them with the new official version? Even if they somehow could, it'd only take a single surviving copy to start the same circle over again. I'm sorry, I don't buy your argument. For centuries access to paper books and the written word were the method by which the elite kept their power. Even today, because of the cost of making and transporting books, many people have access to very little printed material. Moving that information to the digital domain can't be anything but a benefit to the vast majority of mankind.
Mod this up - please!! For gods sake, much of the world has a house to live in, a decent job, electricity, food, (without spending 12 hours a day getting it!!) even television and many other '1st world' luxuries. Many of these people are on the verge of being able to break through to a better life, but $500 or more for a computer is and will remain out of their league. This is who these laptops are destined for. Not the people just coming out of the depths of the forest for the first time.
Petty details can't get in the way of a /. b!tch session.
You might have a valid point except that not only is this guy a Senator, he is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation!! Knowing about telecommunications is his JOB.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Senate_CommitteWhen did I ever say I was "mad?" I am annoyed at the unfairness of the system. Those with lots of time on their hands, especially as bids end, can convert that time to money by sniping. I don't want to be part of that system, so I do not opt in. It doesn't make me mad, it makes me lose, so it makes me go to other places to buy things.
It's not unfair though. There are many systems that will automate sniping for you so you don't have to actually be there. You admit it makes you lose, yet you refuse to change your behavior to the method that is proven to make you win at lower prices than if you proxy bid.
Then why didn't the sniper bid $120 for it when they first saw the item? You can't claim that I'm wrong for not bidding the absolute maximum I was willing to pay for it when I first saw it when the snipers refuse to do the same.
Because the snipers aren't caught up in worrying about how they think the system should work. They've figured out how to take advantage of how it does work and get on with buying things at a good price. You're right. If there was no emotional involvement everyone would put their maximum bid in early and wait to see what happens. As it is though, with many days to mull it over and each add another dollar or two to their maximum bid, putting in what you would like to pay more often than not ends up in losing the auction, or overpaying to win.
Yeah, I do. $100 shit sells for $200. I go to Amazon and buy it for $100 there with free shipping, and I don't have to use PalPal. If I wanted to collect things, eBay is great for finding one-of-a-kinds, but to buy barely used common items, I have rarely seen a bargain in the last few years. Even the snipers are stupid. I think they think "if he's willing to pay $180 for it and there's 5 days left on the auction, it must be worth $200" and so goes the dumb sniper...
I agree. I've known ebay was a seller's market for over 8 years now. When I was still in college I made a decent amount of extra money on the side picking off things that were overlooked and re-marketing them better. I bought them low and then re-sold them to people by targeting their non-rational sides. Guess what...it works. I sometimes had people calling me AFTER the auction was over and arranging to pay off the winning bidder to buy from me at a higher price! I haven't done anything other than win auctions by sniping and I'll guarantee I've never even come close to overpaying.Yes!! Opera 9 beta crashes on two different XP Pro machines when I try to read the comments from any story. I tried filing a bug report, but didn't feel like registering at SourceForge just to tell Slashdot of all places that one of the major browsers doesn't work with their site.
Nice try. One problem though. Lenovo got the Thinkpad design team in the deal.
I've been using the Verizon National Access only using my voice minutes for nearly 2 years now, often times quite heavily. I've always assumed it was a grey area and expected to lose access at any time - but no problems yet...
I've been using Verizon's NationalAccess connection regularly for almost two years now. I have to make a usb connection between my phone and laptop, but I only use my voice minutes, and speeds are better than 56k virtually anywhere, and often much faster. Certainly manageable for e-mail and web browsing.