Yes you can upgrade, but your upgrade path is very short since the motherboard cannot be replaced (as they dont sell them)
The console for gaming argument is a crappy one as i explained in my original post. For some game types console is great..for others (fps, rts) it is basically useless. consolers rave about fps when you explain this and give halo etc as an example, but halo was release on PC and was a total flop because it did not come near the quality of even some of the crappy FPS's for PC. It was simply the best fps for the console. The main fun of it was playing wiht your buddies sitting right beside you.
So i want my computer for games...since macs are pretty useless for most games (because the games dont get released for mac, not because macs are technologically inferior or antyhing) this does not add value by increasing computer lifetime. This is a detriment.
Like i said, this computer is the same computer i bought so many years ago, in a way. I only upgraded once piece at a time...
With the apple, i could put in a bigger hd..better cpu, more ram..but once the next gen architechture comes out i am screwed. On a pc i would just buy cpu/mobo. My ram, hard drive, video card, etc would still be usefull. On a mac ive got to dish out the whole 1500-3000 dollars again and re-buy all my components.
This is my main issue anyways. I just dont have that kind of cash in one place at this point in my life. I can afford a new cpu every couple years..video card however often. I just cant dish out 2 grand for a whole new computer because apple wont sell their motherboards and processors (g5's anyways) as a piece.
I know apple uses much standard equipment and my argument has nothing to do wiht that. It is just that the upgrade path is very short and i cant afford a new pc every few years.
Actually, the main thing stopping me from getting mac hardware is the fact that you have you buy a whole new computer every time. I'm still sort of using the same computer i bought since my p2-300.
I upgrade the cpu..hdd, case..mobo..all slowly and one part at a time as needed. I dont need to buy a whole new computer every couple years.
You can say macs are good for much longer but this is only a half-truth. They are only good for so long because they simply cannot do the things i do on my ubuntu/windows pc. I play a lot of games..and because macs arent marketed towards games and just dont have many games, they are obsolete less fast. Just because something is crippled (by technical aspects, marketing, availability, anythign) and cannot do the activites that would require it to be upgraded does not make it a better value in the long run.
The only saving grace i can find in that is the fact that you can sell your old mac on ebay for quite high prices.
Adblock, which some of you may have heard of..makes a wicked complement to the pop up blocker. I havent seen a popup in forever (including cited websites like m-w.com above). i almost never see adds either
Just install adblock and the filterset.g updater. makes the web sooo much nicer.
I've got a hand crank model (not that brand but same deal). I have repaired a good few dvds from unplayable to skip-free with a few runs through it. Does work forsure.
This is for ubuntu breezy and hoary, but i had no problems getting skype working with alsa.
Installed the alsa-aoss package for alsa OSS emulation.
Set up dmix properly (here is my alsa config file for my nforce 2 sound..YMMV): http://pastebin.com/392994
I then run skype as: aoss skype
I can play mp3's under beep/xmms and watch movies while talking on skype without problem. The only area ive encountered problems is skyping while playing multiplayer zsnes..framerate sucks ass. Good luck!
As the above commenters said of course it is about escapism and photoreality doesnt take away from that I don't think.
I imagine playing a game walking through a fantasy world and interacting with it. One like say, Morrowind. I can imagine myself in this world -much- easier if the trees look like treest, the people and creatures look real, etc.
It is hard to play something like king's quest and get super immersed because it is so obviously not real and nothing like what you might ever see, even in fantasy.
Take it to its extream...photorealistic virtual reality. I think i would be able to get immersed in a photorealistic virtual world than staring at a 2d monitor playings king's quest.
While i agree that this is maybe a special case since google aparently hired him to make gaim etc work with gtalk's voice...
While 20 percent of work time is spent on 'personal' projects..the results of that time are owned by google..NOT the employee. Might throw a screw into the gears of a OSS project unless google specifically allows otherwise no?
While i agree there is no way to recover the information, and that their claim is probably totally bogus...
It is probably similar to upconverting projectors. You take a dvd, the image gets processed and upconverted to HDTV res, and ive seen images look MUCH better after this process despite having the same amount of information (thoretically i thought it should look worse since it has to guess the value of all the 'in between' pixels but this doesnt seem to be the case)
It is hard to tell me that the first image is better than the second because it is the original information.
I think creative is making a similar claim..they upconvert the file and run it through some post-processing then claim it sounds better than the original cd. Whether this is true or not is obviously yet to be seen.
Build a rail up the side of everest..rail gun style...By the end of it you are pretty damn high (well only about 6 miles now that i look it up doh) but still..going in the right direction! If you can hit escape velocity by the end of the rail without burning your unit out you're good to go!
Store the images in digital form, with no quality loss..nearly forever! Use a high quality cd-r and it should last well over 100 years. Just write on it: Copy to new media in 2105. (or 2055 for 50 year span)
If you need to hang somehting on the wall, print it..otherwise why would you waste the money? Printing at home isnt to save money on volume printing..it saves you cash on not having to print anything that doesnt need to be on display.
Slashdot Mirror
The sam PC3200 is what i have been using for a good few years..from athlon xp, to my near future dual core 3800+.
Even adding in the cost of ram, doesnt ad in the cost of new hard drives, case, psu,..monitor if buying imac...video card..etc.
Yes you can upgrade, but your upgrade path is very short since the motherboard cannot be replaced (as they dont sell them)
The console for gaming argument is a crappy one as i explained in my original post. For some game types console is great..for others (fps, rts) it is basically useless. consolers rave about fps when you explain this and give halo etc as an example, but halo was release on PC and was a total flop because it did not come near the quality of even some of the crappy FPS's for PC. It was simply the best fps for the console. The main fun of it was playing wiht your buddies sitting right beside you.
So i want my computer for games...since macs are pretty useless for most games (because the games dont get released for mac, not because macs are technologically inferior or antyhing) this does not add value by increasing computer lifetime. This is a detriment.
The thing is, i could only go so far.
Like i said, this computer is the same computer i bought so many years ago, in a way. I only upgraded once piece at a time...
With the apple, i could put in a bigger hd..better cpu, more ram..but once the next gen architechture comes out i am screwed. On a pc i would just buy cpu/mobo. My ram, hard drive, video card, etc would still be usefull. On a mac ive got to dish out the whole 1500-3000 dollars again and re-buy all my components.
This is my main issue anyways. I just dont have that kind of cash in one place at this point in my life. I can afford a new cpu every couple years..video card however often. I just cant dish out 2 grand for a whole new computer because apple wont sell their motherboards and processors (g5's anyways) as a piece.
I know apple uses much standard equipment and my argument has nothing to do wiht that. It is just that the upgrade path is very short and i cant afford a new pc every few years.
Actually, the main thing stopping me from getting mac hardware is the fact that you have you buy a whole new computer every time. I'm still sort of using the same computer i bought since my p2-300.
I upgrade the cpu..hdd, case..mobo..all slowly and one part at a time as needed. I dont need to buy a whole new computer every couple years.
You can say macs are good for much longer but this is only a half-truth. They are only good for so long because they simply cannot do the things i do on my ubuntu/windows pc. I play a lot of games..and because macs arent marketed towards games and just dont have many games, they are obsolete less fast. Just because something is crippled (by technical aspects, marketing, availability, anythign) and cannot do the activites that would require it to be upgraded does not make it a better value in the long run.
The only saving grace i can find in that is the fact that you can sell your old mac on ebay for quite high prices.
Adblock, which some of you may have heard of..makes a wicked complement to the pop up blocker. I havent seen a popup in forever (including cited websites like m-w.com above). i almost never see adds either
Just install adblock and the filterset.g updater. makes the web sooo much nicer.
Mod parent up. This is EXACTLY what you guys down there need. Us too i imagine.
Stop private political contributions and that seems to pretty much fix everything, overnight.
My GF is a customer service rep in a call center here in canada and she has one thing to say to you.
RUN.
Ads? I dont see any ads?
Oh...http://adblock.mozdev.org/
PS. These are the same guys who did bridgebuilder and pontifex...ive wasted a lot of my life playing bridebuilder! ahha.
If someone here hasnt heard of/played Gish, it is a wicked indie game that is a ton of fun to play.
Also for win/osx/lnx.
http://www.chroniclogic.com/gish.htm
(Disclaimer: Not affiliated with chronic logic..just thought the game was fun)
The new screen resolution tool works flawlessly and is i'd say easier to use than windows xp's screen adjustment tools.
Just pick your res and refresh, hit ok. Done.
In hoary i just got some not supporting RandR error..but breezy works fantastic.
I've got a hand crank model (not that brand but same deal). I have repaired a good few dvds from unplayable to skip-free with a few runs through it. Does work forsure.
This is for ubuntu breezy and hoary, but i had no problems getting skype working with alsa.
Installed the alsa-aoss package for alsa OSS emulation.
Set up dmix properly (here is my alsa config file for my nforce 2 sound..YMMV): http://pastebin.com/392994
I then run skype as: aoss skype
I can play mp3's under beep/xmms and watch movies while talking on skype without problem. The only area ive encountered problems is skyping while playing multiplayer zsnes..framerate sucks ass. Good luck!
I think some newer games do it better.
:D
(Elder scrolls 4 oblivion out in a month, doom 3, half-life 2..in that order)
Still not photorealism, but I'm loving it
As the above commenters said of course it is about escapism and photoreality doesnt take away from that I don't think.
I imagine playing a game walking through a fantasy world and interacting with it. One like say, Morrowind. I can imagine myself in this world -much- easier if the trees look like treest, the people and creatures look real, etc.
It is hard to play something like king's quest and get super immersed because it is so obviously not real and nothing like what you might ever see, even in fantasy.
Take it to its extream...photorealistic virtual reality. I think i would be able to get immersed in a photorealistic virtual world than staring at a 2d monitor playings king's quest.
(No knock on kings quest BTW, it is a great game)
While i agree that this is maybe a special case since google aparently hired him to make gaim etc work with gtalk's voice...
While 20 percent of work time is spent on 'personal' projects..the results of that time are owned by google..NOT the employee. Might throw a screw into the gears of a OSS project unless google specifically allows otherwise no?
For breezy they have made a faq based on ubuntu guide, but for breezy.
:D
http://doc.ubuntu.com/gnome/faqi386/C/
All the ubuntuguide goodness, just kept up-to-date
Just to let the lazy ones know (since it shows this in the wikipedia link) this is nearly ALWAYS refered to as the nyquist theorum.
Wrong. You can perfectly reconstruct a 22.05khz sine wave sampling at 44.1khz.
You can NOT accuratly reconstruct a 22.05khz square wave with a 44.1khz sampling clock. Look up nyquist's theorum.
Divx is also a mpeg-4 based video format, which is supported. Much easier to transcode to than h.264.
I also doubt it but i think thats what creative is getting at
While i agree there is no way to recover the information, and that their claim is probably totally bogus...
/. recently that demonstrated this. http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=ffdshowdvd_1
It is probably similar to upconverting projectors. You take a dvd, the image gets processed and upconverted to HDTV res, and ive seen images look MUCH better after this process despite having the same amount of information (thoretically i thought it should look worse since it has to guess the value of all the 'in between' pixels but this doesnt seem to be the case)
I saw a link posted on
It is hard to tell me that the first image is better than the second because it is the original information.
I think creative is making a similar claim..they upconvert the file and run it through some post-processing then claim it sounds better than the original cd. Whether this is true or not is obviously yet to be seen.
Why not use mountains?
Build a rail up the side of everest..rail gun style...By the end of it you are pretty damn high (well only about 6 miles now that i look it up doh) but still..going in the right direction! If you can hit escape velocity by the end of the rail without burning your unit out you're good to go!
Here is my logic in the whole idea.
Store the images in digital form, with no quality loss..nearly forever! Use a high quality cd-r and it should last well over 100 years. Just write on it: Copy to new media in 2105. (or 2055 for 50 year span)
If you need to hang somehting on the wall, print it..otherwise why would you waste the money? Printing at home isnt to save money on volume printing..it saves you cash on not having to print anything that doesnt need to be on display.
What is to stop you from getting your free phones with no contract, immediatly cancelling and selling them on ebay?