Do you understand the ramifications of what you said? The only way that would work would be to use an outside-of-your-house/business proxy -- one used by many, many people. Given the bandwidth and privacy requirements, you'll have to pay for this, and it probably won't be cheap. (And, yes, it would have to be a common, shared proxy, because the advertisers and whatnot would be able to track you, if traffic from you and only you came from that one proxy. Also keep in mind that multiple proxies would either all have the same/64 -- negating the whole point of multiple proxies -- or they'd be scattered around the net, likely impacting your bandwidth.)
The problem with ChromeOS is it is trying to solve a problem them doesn't exist. Why upload data into the cloud if you don't need to share it or have access to it on the move?
While I agree with others in that ChromeOS is unlikely to succeed, ChromeOS and cloud storage are really two separate issues.
Privacy issues aside, cloud storage can be incredibly useful -- especially for portable devices that can be lost or stolen (e.g., smartphones and tablets). If your data is kept in the cloud, you shouldn't lose any data if your device is lost or stolen. It also makes backup a no-brainer: if everything is automatically synchronized, there's no need for explicit backup.
(I'm also surprised at the people here who say, "just stick in a USB stick". Even if smartphones and tablets had some kind of memory storage slot -- which many currently don't - why should I need to do extra work to stick in a memory device and do an explicit backup step? With cloud storage, everything is automatic and done for me; I don't have to do jack.)
There appears to be a significant market for games which are basically interactive stories, where you just go along with the flow as the story progresses around you, rather than taking charge of a lot of the plot through your own choices (Deus Ex would be an example of the latter). I don't like to criticize... much, but I feel it does mean that you'll have a generation of people who don't care for "complex" games and just want point & click shooters that don't require much thought. This, in turn, will lead to more mainstream dumbing down of games to cater for the masses.
Well, I think there are a couple of issues influencing this:
Older gaming population, which has less time for complex gaming. Once you get older and have kids, well, kids tend to suck the life out of life.:-) You may not have much time for complex gaming. Enjoyable RPGs tend to be rated "mature", which can make them difficult to play around younger children ("Daddy, why is this tattooed woman only wearing leather belts?"). Also, for teenaged children, it can be problematic playing games when they can't ("No, you can't play games until your grades get better!").
For whatever reason (and this may be only in my imagination), some (many???) younger people seem to have shorter attention spans. If it's not highly stimulating or in their face (e.g., texting), they seem to quickly lose interest.
Think of it as like watching Lord of the Rings in 10 minute segments, every week.
Funny thing is, with the exception of a quest or two, you could probably play Mass Effect 2 in that mode, although it probably would feel like watching LotR in 10 minute segments. You'd have to do it on a quest-by-quest basis, though, and each quest can take a variable amount of time (15-60+ min??). You have a "journal" that basically tells you what you have to do and where to do it, although not in the right order. Also, with the exception of one quest, I never had to write anything down.
I just played Mass Effect 2 (a single-player RPG) in easy mode, just for the storyline. I'm sure some will disagree with me, but the storyline and presentation just blew me away. While the plot can be cheesy at times, it's amazingly well done, and, in easy mode, it can almost feel like a movie with limited interaction. During some of the end game sequences, you're blasting away with the same feel and urgency (but not plot, of course) as the movie, Aliens 2. However, the game is short (I finished in less than 35 hours in easy mode), and fairly linear -- while most missions can be done in any order, gameplay is linear once inside a mission.
I'm sure they've thought of this, but I really hope that the river next to it doesn't flood....
(Rummages through FEMA's awful web site for flood maps) Well, that's interesting. Apple's probably OK, as the 1% flood line doesn't appear to cover their site. However, there's an interesting line on the map called, "limit of study", that appears to end before the site... Assuming that I have the right location, google maps is here, and here is FEMA's flood map (note: FEMA's link was working earlier, but now appears to be broken -- I hope I got the link right).
While no one really wants to be in one, you've got to admit that a somewhat-upside-down (110 deg -- sideways?) landing (Swissair 111) really reduces one's chances of survival, water or not. I don't think you can use Swissair 111 as an argument against water landings.
What's this IR thermometer w/laser pointer gadget??
It's a thermometer that measures temperature via IR (from a distance). It has a laser pointer so that you know the approximate location of where you are taking the temperature. I first learned about them from cooking shows, but they have automotive and other applications. (I'm just wondering if I can point mine at a set of CFL lightbulbs and detect issues by noticing that a particular lightbulb has a higher temp than the rest.)
And when they start dimming with age, check the ballast, as they can get hot enough to become a fire hazard.
Thanks for the info. Is there a good way besides turning one on for a while and burning your finger?:-) Hmm, maybe I'll try the IR thermometer w/laser pointer approach...
Incandescents do cost less (not usually 1/10th however) to buy initially but they also cost 3-4X as much to operate and CFLs last 6000-15000 hours versus 750-1000 hours for incandescents. Best case you'll buy 6 incandescents for every CFL. There really is no debate that over the full lifespan, CFLs are cheaper.
Everyone keeps on saying this, and I'm sure that this is probably true for some people. However, around here, there seems to be only one cr*ppy *ss brand of CFLs being sold, and those seem to have a lifetime LESS THAN ONE-THIRD OF INCANDESCENTS. It's not just a bad lot, either -- I have CFL globe bulbs in bathrooms (bulbs are in free-air, not enclosed in anything), CFL flood-light-style bulbs in (open) recessed lighting, and (exterior-allowed) CFL bulbs in some outside lights. I'm sooo farking tired of replacing these bulbs. So, here's a question for everyone: what's a good brand that lasts as long as the claims???
As much as the slow turn-on annoys me, the decreased light output over time bothers me more.
While I agree with you, I'm guessing that most people on FB wouldn't care enough about privacy to switch to something else (your friends and people on/. are exceptions). Many non-technical people will probably look at diaspora, see that their other non-techie friends are not on it, and say, "why?" They'll also see that the addictive mindcrack games aren't on diaspora, but that's just an enhancement request, right? As much as I'd like diaspora to succeed, I don't see it taking off beyond small niche markets (private networks for oppressed peoples, criminal elements, etc., etc.). Come to think of it, I imagine that many governments will (eventually) take a dim view of diaspora, too.
I'd love to be wrong, though.
Also, contextual sharing already exists on FB -- it's just that it's too hard to use, and so hardly anyone uses it (besides me:-). It's called "friend lists", along with the multiple pages of privacy settings that go with it.
A GC doesn't help you if FF or an extension continually allocates memory and adds it to a persistent data structure, like a list. Most GC's also don't address memory fragmentation issues, which prevent process size shrinkage.
Chrome's approach of having a separate process per tab will help you with both of the above. Yes, it's arguably kludgy, but it's a great workaround. It just works.
Unfortunately, this is really needed to address the firefox "memory problems". Leaky extensions and the like are a fact of life. With chrome, it's a matter of bringing up the chrome task manager and kill the offending web page. With firefox, I have to restart the entire browser.
As hal2814 said, he's talking about pathogens and not bacteria in general.
From what I understand, nothing bad (e.g., botulism) can grow in beer, due to the low pH (acidicity) caused by the addition of hops. Yes, bacteria and other yeast can grow in beer, but I haven't heard of any that can cause serious health issues. They'll often cause undesirable off-flavors, though. On the other hand, for some beer types, you want certain bacteria to grow (e.g., lactobacillus in the case of lambics).
However, there is a possibility where beer made from improperly stored/used/made canned (unfermented) wort may contain botulism toxin, and the brewing process may kill all of the botulism bacteria but not neutralize all of the toxin. For this case, there is an issue. Reference: http://www.byo.com/stories/recipes/article/indices/58-yeast/437-canning-yeast-starters
Even if lightpeak is better technologically (and I don't know), the cheaper one is likelier to win. In today's world of razor-thin margins, the commodity PC market is likely to go with whichever one is cheaper, considering how similar the end-user benefits are. USB 3.0 has the advantage of using a (similar) connector that must already exist anyway; lightpeak has the disadvantage of requiring an additional connector, along with more circuit board realestate, and adding connectors is relatively expensive (eats into the thin profit margins). And we haven't even started talking about the cost of interface circuitry/chips...
Well, while megapixels don't matter beyond a certain point, the other features in newer cameras may make "higher megapixel" cameras better: better optics, better autofocus algorithms, lower noise sensors (maybe, but is often worse with more pixels), better in-camera raw-to-jpeg algorithms, etc., etc.. My newer, higher megapixel cameras certainly produce better-looking pics, out-of-the-box.
The obvious thing would have been to integrate the h*ll out of wave, gmail, and gchat. Since google isn't stupid, since that didn't happen, and since wave died an amazingly fast death, my wild-*** guess says that a significant amount of internal politics was involved. Perhaps something to the effect of the gmail group saying, "Nuh-huh, no ty", and then trotting out a list of why wave was bad for gmail. After that, it was just the fat lady singing, with wave throwing itself out to the world, in the forlorn hope that someone could find a use for it as part of some killer app.
but one advantage is that if you close a tab, the memory it is consuming is released.
That's the one big reason why I'm still using chrome. As attractive as FF is, some extension or something eats and eats and eats memory, and the only way to reclaim it is via a full restart. With chrome, you just kill the offending tab. I want to continue using FF, but the memory growth is driving me crazy.
I hear the occasional rumor that some upcoming FF release will support chrome-like multiprocess handling, but I'll believe it when I see it.
AFAIK, most (all?) of the recovery-DVD-burning software only allows one burn. I don't think HP is unique in this.
I've had two HP laptops, and both managed to burn the recovery DVD set fine. The problem I have is that I tend to lose the recovery DVDs.:-) Now, HP laptops may or may not be a POS, but I've never found recovery DVD burning to be a reason.
(My previous HP laptop was a POS, having done a thermal shutdown, corrupting the disk, and necessitating a Win7 reinstall. My current laptop is a midrange HP dm4-1063cl, and this one's pretty good, except for the abominably wretched trackpad. However, I have a fine bluetooth mouse that fixes that problem.)
Before anyone mods the above as funny, I'd like to point out that there's probably a significant chunk of truth to this. After being constantly praised for most of their lives, without any negative feedback, real life can be rather jarring. In this context, "achievements" can be comforting and, therefore, attractive/appealing.
Slashdot Mirror
Do you understand the ramifications of what you said? The only way that would work would be to use an outside-of-your-house/business proxy -- one used by many, many people. Given the bandwidth and privacy requirements, you'll have to pay for this, and it probably won't be cheap. (And, yes, it would have to be a common, shared proxy, because the advertisers and whatnot would be able to track you, if traffic from you and only you came from that one proxy. Also keep in mind that multiple proxies would either all have the same /64 -- negating the whole point of multiple proxies -- or they'd be scattered around the net, likely impacting your bandwidth.)
Seriously, this is a significant privacy issue.
The problem with ChromeOS is it is trying to solve a problem them doesn't exist. Why upload data into the cloud if you don't need to share it or have access to it on the move?
While I agree with others in that ChromeOS is unlikely to succeed, ChromeOS and cloud storage are really two separate issues.
Privacy issues aside, cloud storage can be incredibly useful -- especially for portable devices that can be lost or stolen (e.g., smartphones and tablets). If your data is kept in the cloud, you shouldn't lose any data if your device is lost or stolen. It also makes backup a no-brainer: if everything is automatically synchronized, there's no need for explicit backup.
(I'm also surprised at the people here who say, "just stick in a USB stick". Even if smartphones and tablets had some kind of memory storage slot -- which many currently don't - why should I need to do extra work to stick in a memory device and do an explicit backup step? With cloud storage, everything is automatic and done for me; I don't have to do jack.)
There appears to be a significant market for games which are basically interactive stories, where you just go along with the flow as the story progresses around you, rather than taking charge of a lot of the plot through your own choices (Deus Ex would be an example of the latter). I don't like to criticize... much, but I feel it does mean that you'll have a generation of people who don't care for "complex" games and just want point & click shooters that don't require much thought. This, in turn, will lead to more mainstream dumbing down of games to cater for the masses.
Well, I think there are a couple of issues influencing this:
Yuppers, although it's probably spoiled now. :)
Think of it as like watching Lord of the Rings in 10 minute segments, every week.
Funny thing is, with the exception of a quest or two, you could probably play Mass Effect 2 in that mode, although it probably would feel like watching LotR in 10 minute segments. You'd have to do it on a quest-by-quest basis, though, and each quest can take a variable amount of time (15-60+ min??). You have a "journal" that basically tells you what you have to do and where to do it, although not in the right order. Also, with the exception of one quest, I never had to write anything down.
I just played Mass Effect 2 (a single-player RPG) in easy mode, just for the storyline. I'm sure some will disagree with me, but the storyline and presentation just blew me away. While the plot can be cheesy at times, it's amazingly well done, and, in easy mode, it can almost feel like a movie with limited interaction. During some of the end game sequences, you're blasting away with the same feel and urgency (but not plot, of course) as the movie, Aliens 2. However, the game is short (I finished in less than 35 hours in easy mode), and fairly linear -- while most missions can be done in any order, gameplay is linear once inside a mission.
Here's a trailer for it:
(Yeah, it's really is that good -- most of the trailer was made from excerpts from the actual in-game videos.)
rofl. I'd give you a bazillion "informative" points, if I could.
I'm sure they've thought of this, but I really hope that the river next to it doesn't flood ....
(Rummages through FEMA's awful web site for flood maps) Well, that's interesting. Apple's probably OK, as the 1% flood line doesn't appear to cover their site. However, there's an interesting line on the map called, "limit of study", that appears to end before the site... Assuming that I have the right location, google maps is here, and here is FEMA's flood map (note: FEMA's link was working earlier, but now appears to be broken -- I hope I got the link right).
I think we now know what Vogon singing must sound like ...
While no one really wants to be in one, you've got to admit that a somewhat-upside-down (110 deg -- sideways?) landing (Swissair 111) really reduces one's chances of survival, water or not. I don't think you can use Swissair 111 as an argument against water landings.
OK, stupid idea. Heat from the bulb > heat from the base. :)
What's this IR thermometer w/laser pointer gadget??
It's a thermometer that measures temperature via IR (from a distance). It has a laser pointer so that you know the approximate location of where you are taking the temperature. I first learned about them from cooking shows, but they have automotive and other applications. (I'm just wondering if I can point mine at a set of CFL lightbulbs and detect issues by noticing that a particular lightbulb has a higher temp than the rest.)
Here's one example (I just picked a random one): http://www.amazon.com/IRT0421-Non-Contact-Infrared-Thermometer-Targeting/dp/B0017L9Q9C/ref=sr_1_2?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285477019&sr=8-2
And when they start dimming with age, check the ballast, as they can get hot enough to become a fire hazard.
Thanks for the info. Is there a good way besides turning one on for a while and burning your finger? :-) Hmm, maybe I'll try the IR thermometer w/laser pointer approach ...
Incandescents do cost less (not usually 1/10th however) to buy initially but they also cost 3-4X as much to operate and CFLs last 6000-15000 hours versus 750-1000 hours for incandescents. Best case you'll buy 6 incandescents for every CFL. There really is no debate that over the full lifespan, CFLs are cheaper.
Everyone keeps on saying this, and I'm sure that this is probably true for some people. However, around here, there seems to be only one cr*ppy *ss brand of CFLs being sold, and those seem to have a lifetime LESS THAN ONE-THIRD OF INCANDESCENTS. It's not just a bad lot, either -- I have CFL globe bulbs in bathrooms (bulbs are in free-air, not enclosed in anything), CFL flood-light-style bulbs in (open) recessed lighting, and (exterior-allowed) CFL bulbs in some outside lights. I'm sooo farking tired of replacing these bulbs. So, here's a question for everyone: what's a good brand that lasts as long as the claims???
As much as the slow turn-on annoys me, the decreased light output over time bothers me more.
While I agree with you, I'm guessing that most people on FB wouldn't care enough about privacy to switch to something else (your friends and people on /. are exceptions). Many non-technical people will probably look at diaspora, see that their other non-techie friends are not on it, and say, "why?" They'll also see that the addictive mindcrack games aren't on diaspora, but that's just an enhancement request, right? As much as I'd like diaspora to succeed, I don't see it taking off beyond small niche markets (private networks for oppressed peoples, criminal elements, etc., etc.). Come to think of it, I imagine that many governments will (eventually) take a dim view of diaspora, too.
I'd love to be wrong, though.
Also, contextual sharing already exists on FB -- it's just that it's too hard to use, and so hardly anyone uses it (besides me :-). It's called "friend lists", along with the multiple pages of privacy settings that go with it.
A GC doesn't help you if FF or an extension continually allocates memory and adds it to a persistent data structure, like a list. Most GC's also don't address memory fragmentation issues, which prevent process size shrinkage.
Chrome's approach of having a separate process per tab will help you with both of the above. Yes, it's arguably kludgy, but it's a great workaround. It just works.
Unfortunately, this is really needed to address the firefox "memory problems". Leaky extensions and the like are a fact of life. With chrome, it's a matter of bringing up the chrome task manager and kill the offending web page. With firefox, I have to restart the entire browser.
As hal2814 said, he's talking about pathogens and not bacteria in general.
From what I understand, nothing bad (e.g., botulism) can grow in beer, due to the low pH (acidicity) caused by the addition of hops. Yes, bacteria and other yeast can grow in beer, but I haven't heard of any that can cause serious health issues. They'll often cause undesirable off-flavors, though. On the other hand, for some beer types, you want certain bacteria to grow (e.g., lactobacillus in the case of lambics).
However, there is a possibility where beer made from improperly stored/used/made canned (unfermented) wort may contain botulism toxin, and the brewing process may kill all of the botulism bacteria but not neutralize all of the toxin. For this case, there is an issue. Reference: http://www.byo.com/stories/recipes/article/indices/58-yeast/437-canning-yeast-starters
Also, see this thread, towards the bottom of the page: http://www.brew-monkey.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=862
Bingo, spot on.
Even if lightpeak is better technologically (and I don't know), the cheaper one is likelier to win. In today's world of razor-thin margins, the commodity PC market is likely to go with whichever one is cheaper, considering how similar the end-user benefits are. USB 3.0 has the advantage of using a (similar) connector that must already exist anyway; lightpeak has the disadvantage of requiring an additional connector, along with more circuit board realestate, and adding connectors is relatively expensive (eats into the thin profit margins). And we haven't even started talking about the cost of interface circuitry/chips ...
Well, while megapixels don't matter beyond a certain point, the other features in newer cameras may make "higher megapixel" cameras better: better optics, better autofocus algorithms, lower noise sensors (maybe, but is often worse with more pixels), better in-camera raw-to-jpeg algorithms, etc., etc.. My newer, higher megapixel cameras certainly produce better-looking pics, out-of-the-box.
The obvious thing would have been to integrate the h*ll out of wave, gmail, and gchat. Since google isn't stupid, since that didn't happen, and since wave died an amazingly fast death, my wild-*** guess says that a significant amount of internal politics was involved. Perhaps something to the effect of the gmail group saying, "Nuh-huh, no ty", and then trotting out a list of why wave was bad for gmail. After that, it was just the fat lady singing, with wave throwing itself out to the world, in the forlorn hope that someone could find a use for it as part of some killer app.
but one advantage is that if you close a tab, the memory it is consuming is released.
That's the one big reason why I'm still using chrome. As attractive as FF is, some extension or something eats and eats and eats memory, and the only way to reclaim it is via a full restart. With chrome, you just kill the offending tab. I want to continue using FF, but the memory growth is driving me crazy.
I hear the occasional rumor that some upcoming FF release will support chrome-like multiprocess handling, but I'll believe it when I see it.
AFAIK, most (all?) of the recovery-DVD-burning software only allows one burn. I don't think HP is unique in this.
I've had two HP laptops, and both managed to burn the recovery DVD set fine. The problem I have is that I tend to lose the recovery DVDs. :-) Now, HP laptops may or may not be a POS, but I've never found recovery DVD burning to be a reason.
(My previous HP laptop was a POS, having done a thermal shutdown, corrupting the disk, and necessitating a Win7 reinstall. My current laptop is a midrange HP dm4-1063cl, and this one's pretty good, except for the abominably wretched trackpad. However, I have a fine bluetooth mouse that fixes that problem.)
My old Asus 1005HA netbook actually came with a recovery CD, even though it doesn't come with an optical drive.
And, yes, I have used it, and it worked well (after buying an external DVD drive, of course).
Before anyone mods the above as funny, I'd like to point out that there's probably a significant chunk of truth to this. After being constantly praised for most of their lives, without any negative feedback, real life can be rather jarring. In this context, "achievements" can be comforting and, therefore, attractive/appealing.