Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006, at 12:31AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 0:16, William T Goodall wrote: And they don't crash all the time either Maru Oh? They just have security holes. Which Apple tries to hide. http://kierenmccarthy.co.uk/2006/09/26/apple-and-security-abuse-and- ignorance/#more-578 Quoting a blog written by a compleat idiot isn't really evidence you know. Over 25 Windows PCs *every day* are hacked and added to botnets. That's 25 a day more than OS X Macs. Which one seems to have the bigger problem with security? -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Invest in a company any idiot can run because sooner or later any idiot is going to run it. - Warren Buffet ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006 at 17:57, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 12:31AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 0:16, William T Goodall wrote: And they don't crash all the time either Maru Oh? They just have security holes. Which Apple tries to hide. http://kierenmccarthy.co.uk/2006/09/26/apple-and-security-abuse-and- ignorance/#more-578 Quoting a blog written by a compleat idiot isn't really evidence you know. ... Heh. Thanks for showing your bias there. You really don't have the faintest idea who is he, do you? He's well known on these issues, and if you want to dispute some of the FACTS he posted, go right ahead. Over 25 Windows PCs *every day* are hacked and added to botnets. That's 25 a day more than OS X Macs. Your figure of 0 for Mac's has been debunked over and over and over. You're showing PRECISELY the attitude Kieren points out. There ARE exploits out there, in the wild, for Mac's. Which Apple continues to deny. Microsoft of 2000 called, they want their security policy back. As I've said before, the Mac is for technosnobs. Pure and simple. AndrewC ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
Andrew said: As I've said before, the Mac is for technosnobs. Pure and simple. Saying it over and over doesn't make it true. And if it were true, that also doesn't mean that it's bad. Rich, who is a technosnob, but also just one data point. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006, at 8:51PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: Countering logic with emotions. That some Mac fanatics DDoS'ed his site says a lot, to me. It wasn't a DDoS, it's just that his site fell over when it got more than two visitors. Cheap Hosting Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will run out of things they can do with UNIX. - Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006, at 7:16PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 17:57, William T Goodall wrote: Over 25 Windows PCs *every day* are hacked and added to botnets. That's 25 a day more than OS X Macs. Your figure of 0 for Mac's has been debunked over and over and over. Cite and cite and cite then. Rumours Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Theists cannot be trusted as they believe that right and wrong are the arbitrary proclamations of invisible demons. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
Andrew said: To you, maybe. To put it another way, I take a very engineering view, rather than a scientific one to technology. Well, that sounds like the sort of attitude that Mac people I know take. OS X, for example, has the advantage over Windows that it's actually been properly engineered. Until Vista, even Microsoft didn't have any idea about the dependencies between pieces of Windows code and by their own admission were utterly appalled when they tried to map those dependencies(*). Software engineering is something that seems foreign to Microsoft - it appears that they solve problems by throwing large numbers of developers at a problem and slipping release dates until it appears to more or less work. Apple, on the other hand, seem to go out of their way to constantly improve their software designs (and I'm clearly not just talking about externally visible things like user interfaces). Rich (*) No, I don't have a citation. It was in an interview with some senior Vista project managers that I read quite a long time ago. I didn't keep the URL as I never expected to be referring to it. It may have been one of Rob Short's video presentations about the Vista kernel (Short is the head of the kernel team). ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
How religion is destroying America
I read this article recently http://tinyurl.com/eegfk The first paragraph contains the interesting bit which I quote: According to a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, 70 percent of evangelical Christians believe that living beings have always existed in their present form, compared with 32 percent of Protestants and 31 percent of Catholics. Politically, 60 percent of Republicans are creationists, whereas only 11 percent accept evolution, compared with 29 percent of Democrats who are creationists and 44 percent who accept evolution. A 2005 Harris Poll found that 63 percent of liberals but only 37 percent of conservatives believe that humans and apes have a common ancestry. What these figures confirm for us is that there are religious and political reasons for rejecting evolution. This is what tolerating the obscene nonsense of religion leads to. Eventually the collapse of rationality will lead to the collapse of society. A frightening picture since America is still the most powerful nation. Doomed Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible. - Bertrand Russell ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Someone Must Tell Them
Ritu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Robert G. Seeberger Richard Baker wrote: snippage One of the most striking things about the July 7 attacks was how utterly unterrified we all were I don't know how it may appear from over there, but on 9/11 I was angry. Heck I was angry on July 7 and after Madrid and Bali too. I think the only times I felt much in the way of fear was in regard to the Anthrax cases and the sniper case The administration certainly worked on selling the fear, the media definitely bought into it, but so did the citizens. At least that is how it appears from here. The massive support for the Iraq war, the frequent invocation of the mushroom cloud during arguments and debates in the run-up to the same war, all such things strongly suggested fear. Except that many of us who listened to Academy*-trained combat veterans -- instead of chickenhawk pols -- did _not_ buy into Iraq as an immediate threat to the US, ever. And now I hear that Kissinger (yes, _that_ Kissinger) has regular talks with Bush et al...no wonder it feels similar to Vietnam! :/I was shocked and sad on 9/11 (in tears at the office, along with no few of my fellows); *now* I am in full fury, at this admin (and Congress) that has squandered the goodwill of the world, lied to the American people, and made a mockery of our Constitution. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has read the new Bob Woodward book (?_State of Denial_?); I have no plans to buy it as my position on this admin and Iraq has not changed since before the war began. *one of the military academies, I mean: Annapolis, West Point, Colorado Springs Debbi who has no confidence in voting this next election, as Colorado has chosen not to have certifiable machines...no, this is not a joke. Or perhaps it is. __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Someone Must Tell Them
Ritu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip [Regarding the BJP:] Really nasty people, propagating the most hateful of ideas under the guise of patriotism and national security. Its sister organisations, the RSS and the VHP, are equally bad. Golly, no similarities here in the US... Maybe Thomas Jefferson (IIRC) was on to something, but I have to say that periodic revolutions seem too damn bloody and messy to me. Still, when you can't trust that your votes actually count, that is very bad for a democracy. Debbi VeryBad NotGood Maru :( __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Someone Must Tell Them
On 03/10/2006, at 6:49 AM, Deborah Harrell wrote: Debbi who has no confidence in voting this next election, as Colorado has chosen not to have certifiable machines...no, this is not a joke. Or perhaps it is. Request an absentee ballot, and vote that way. At least it's on paper. Charlie ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
William T Goodall [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I read this article recently http://tinyurl.com/eegfk The first paragraph contains the interesting bit which I quote: According to a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, 70 percent of evangelical Christians believe that living beings have always existed in their present form, compared with 32 percent of Protestants and 31 percent of Catholics. Politically, 60 percent of Republicans are creationists This is what tolerating the obscene nonsense of religion leads to... William. 1. Stop lumping oranges and offal together; it makes one suspect that you have no sense of smell. 2. Stop believing that the powers behind the throne give a damn about God or goodness or morality; while Bush seems to actually think that he is on God's side, Cheney and Rumsfeld are interested mostly in getting more power for themselves and their ilk. Ditto the jihadiots*, and men like Osama. *jihadiot = jihadist + idiot Debbi Tired Of Nonsense Maru __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Someone Must Tell Them
Charlie Bell [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On 03/10/2006, at 6:49 AM, Deborah Harrell wrote: Debbi who has no confidence in voting this next election, as Colorado has chosen not to have certifiable machines...no, this is not a joke. Or perhaps it is. Request an absentee ballot, and vote that way. At least it's on paper. I have requested one. Unfortunately, I have heard of such ballots going astray, but that's the best I can do at this time. Debbi who thought that going on a news sabbatical last week would lower her stress level... snort __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
On 2 Oct 2006, at 10:08PM, Deborah Harrell wrote: William. 1. Stop lumping oranges and offal together; it makes one suspect that you have no sense of smell. Genius is seeing the similarities in things that other people think are unrelated :-) Stinky Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ What's the difference between OS X and Vista? Microsoft employees are excited about OS X... ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Collapse Chapter 4 - Chaco Canyon
Continuing my response, but omitting duplicate points already made by others: jdiebremse [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip much In order to understand the collapse of Chaco Canyon it is important to also understand the role that Chaco Canyon had in Ancestral Puebloan culture before its abandonment. Diamond presents a little bit of this, but overall I think he proceeds a little too quickly to the (admittedly fascinating) story of how examination of timbers and analysis of packrat middens illuminated the story of environmental degradation around Chaco Canyon Did anyone else think, One-of-A-Kind!? Who knew that packrats were kin to Jijo's mulch spiders! :) Diamond only obliquely mentions the road network of the Ancestral Puebloans, which appears to have been centered on Chaco Canyon. One of the most remarkable features of these roads is that they are almost perfectly straight they do not bend around any obstacles. If a Cliffside is encountered, the road literally goes almost straight up the hillside! This suggests that the roads served some sort of ceremonial or religious purpose, and further lends credence to the idea that Chaco Canyon may have had more significance as a religious, spiritual, and social center than as a population center... That's sort of like the Nazca Plains figures, isn't it? All that effort, particularly considering that they had no draft animals (as you note), for reasons we don't understand. Diamond does present a fascinating scientific detective tale of uncovering the environmental degradation around Chaco Canyon through analysis of the various timbers used in the buildings of Chaco Canyon, and the clues left behind in packrat middens.Yet, at the end of this Chapter, Diamond hints at the truly amazing time scales at work here. Chaco Canyon was first inhabited in the 600's, and according to my notes from my visit to Chaco Canyon this summer, building construction was underway by the mid-late 800's. Chaco Canyon wouldn't be abandoned until the early 1200's. The six hundred year settlement of Chaco Canyon is longer by two hundred years than the continuous settlement in the area of Jamestown, Virginia.Moreover, according to Diamond's tree pole analysis, Chaco Canyon was deforested by around A.D. 1000. (167 in the paperback)Yet, according to the National Park Service, Chaco Canyon was just reaching the height of its influence and this Golden Age would last until the mid-1100's. Set against this timeline, the connection between environmental degradation and civilization collapse seems much weaker. Even moreso when you consider that Mesa Verde, to the north, wouldn't be abandoned until the 1300's. Part of the reason, which he mentions, is the variances in agricultural techniques as well as the microclimate of each locale. He notes that today the population _supported_ by the land is less than when the APs lived there. However, I also think that he is contrasting the length of time AP civilization lasted compared to our 200+ years -- which is in itself not quite fair, as American culture is clearly an extension of European, particularly British, culture, which means that we too can claim centuries of contiguity. So, in terms of discussion questions: Diamond related in the Chapter on the Pitcairn Islands how trading with friendly neighbors can sustain a civilization. Chaco Canyon was clearly at the heart of an extensive trading network reaching to Mexico, the Pacific, and the central Great Plains. Did Chaco Canyon stave off collapse for so long because of its trading ties? Or did the extensive trading increase the population pressures on the Canyon, pushing it to unsustainable levels, and ultimately leading to the Canyon's abandonment? I think it helped delay the end. So far, our three examples of collapse, Easter, Pitcairn, and Chaco Canyon have all shared the feature of being settled in a marginal environment. Is a marginal environment a prerequisite for collapse? It certainly 'helps,' as noted in a later chapter on Greenland, but the next one, about the Mayans, finds that theirs was a more robust environment. And regarding the fragility of Greenland, he points out that the Inuit successfully lived and live there, but their society's answers to problems of population, culture, government, and wealth are quite different from those of the Vikings. Debbi Looking For Perspective Maru __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006 at 21:29, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 7:16PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 17:57, William T Goodall wrote: Over 25 Windows PCs *every day* are hacked and added to botnets. That's 25 a day more than OS X Macs. Your figure of 0 for Mac's has been debunked over and over and over. Cite and cite and cite then. Read. The. Linked. Article. AndrewC ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006 at 21:33, Richard Baker wrote: Andrew said: To you, maybe. To put it another way, I take a very engineering view, rather than a scientific one to technology. Well, that sounds like the sort of attitude that Mac people I know take. And in my experience, I do not know a SINGLE Mac user who has that attitude. WTG is a poster child for the I can't read, it's my dogma Mac user, IME. (I note he still hasn't addressed ONE actual point of the article I linked, he's done PURE ad hominen attacks based on the personality of the author without having a clue who he is) OS X, for example, has the advantage over Windows that it's actually been properly engineered. Betamax was properly engineered compared to VHS. Your point? release dates until it appears to more or less work. Apple, on the other hand, seem to go out of their way to constantly improve their software designs (and I'm clearly not just talking about externally ...by hiding the security flaws. Sorry, that doesn't wash. Every single contact I've ever had with the Mac community has been fanatically hostile (as opposed to the almost pathological helpfulness of the Linux community, for example). Add in the inability to run the vast majority of the apps I use on a daily basis and the requirement to purchase expensive hardware and I see no point whatsoever in considering a Mac, or to have patience with the constant chest-beating certain people do about them. 2000AD Developments has 250+ employees. 4 use Mac's - for DTP. All the rest use PC's. Niche market. AndrewC Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
On 2 Oct 2006 at 22:21, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 10:08PM, Deborah Harrell wrote: William. 1. Stop lumping oranges and offal together; it makes one suspect that you have no sense of smell. Genius is seeing the similarities in things that other people think are unrelated :-) And paranoia is seeing connections which don't exist in everything. AndrewC Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
On 2 Oct 2006, at 11:09PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 22:21, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 10:08PM, Deborah Harrell wrote: William. 1. Stop lumping oranges and offal together; it makes one suspect that you have no sense of smell. Genius is seeing the similarities in things that other people think are unrelated :-) And paranoia is seeing connections which don't exist in everything. They say there's a thin line between genius and madness :-) Patterns Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ The three chief virtues of a programmer are: Laziness, Impatience and Hubris - Larry Wall ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006, at 10:56PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 21:29, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 7:16PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 17:57, William T Goodall wrote: Over 25 Windows PCs *every day* are hacked and added to botnets. That's 25 a day more than OS X Macs. Your figure of 0 for Mac's has been debunked over and over and over. Cite and cite and cite then. Read. The. Linked. Article. I. Did. Read. The. Linked. Article. It says nothing at all about Macs being added to botnets or even actually being hacked. Which is what you wrote had been debunked and which I asked you to cite. It does have a load of fud and distortions about theoretical security holes in OS X **none of which has ever been exploited in the real world** and all of which have been patched anyway. There is a difference between a theoretical vulnerability and an actual attack you know. About 25 hacked PCs a day's difference... -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Build a man a fire, and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life - Terry Pratchett ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006, at 11:08PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 21:33, Richard Baker wrote: Andrew said: To you, maybe. To put it another way, I take a very engineering view, rather than a scientific one to technology. Well, that sounds like the sort of attitude that Mac people I know take. And in my experience, I do not know a SINGLE Mac user who has that attitude. WTG is a poster child for the I can't read, it's my dogma Mac user, IME. (I note he still hasn't addressed ONE actual point of the article I linked, he's done PURE ad hominen attacks based on the personality of the author without having a clue who he is) The author has no point, and from this I deduced that he is an idiot. What more do I need to know? Simple Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will run out of things they can do with UNIX. - Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
- Original Message - From: Richard Baker [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 3:33 PM Subject: Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice Andrew said: To you, maybe. To put it another way, I take a very engineering view, rather than a scientific one to technology. Well, that sounds like the sort of attitude that Mac people I know take. OS X, for example, has the advantage over Windows that it's actually been properly engineered. Until Vista, even Microsoft didn't have any idea about the dependencies between pieces of Windows code and by their own admission were utterly appalled when they tried to map those dependencies(*). Software engineering is something that seems foreign to Microsoft - it appears that they solve problems by throwing large numbers of developers at a problem and slipping release dates until it appears to more or less work. Apple, on the other hand, seem to go out of their way to constantly improve their software designs (and I'm clearly not just talking about externally visible things like user interfaces). I'm beta-testing Vista [Ultimate] RC1. As of last week it was buggy and problem ridden. All my media players (basically anything that could play a video or music file) were broken. None of the games worked. For the most part any program that was a problem would start and then crash which initiated a slightly time consuming reporting program. I even saw about a half second of a BSOD before an out-of-the-blue reboot (pun intended). I was chatting to William last week in the chatroom about Vista and the problems I saw, and he suggested a nifty program for viewing vid files that seemed to work, but when I tried to watch a movie the sound failed. Lots of problems initially. Last Friday when I got home everything (with one exception I address below) in Vista (that I had had problems with or have so far looked at) was working perfectly. Media files played without glitches of any kind and the games all worked just fine. An update during the early afternoon had fixed every problem I had encountered The games I speak of are the games MS provides, you know.Freecell, Spider Solitaire and the like. The games are updated and very pretty. A really nice addition is the new chess program. I'm not a good chess player and I only won 1 of the three games I played (and that game was grueling and hard fought for me), but a player with better skills than mine will likely find it suitable for quick pick-up games and its inclusion is likely to increase the popularity of chess for the average home users who would balk at purchasing a chess program. There is also a very nice MahJong game included and I can hardly win on the easier of the 6 boards provided. Vista's networking is greatly improved over XP and I look forward to some upcoming helper programs MS is providing in the next few months. Security has improved slightly it seems, but only time can falsify that. My only serious gripe is that Vista broke Windows One Care and that was a program I depended on. MS was nice enough to provide users with suitable (and free) substitutes for the time being til the issues are addressed, but I like WOC and want it back working on my PC. Outlook Express is dead. It is replaced by Microsoft Windows Mail and is much more like Outlook than the old Express version. (Matter of fact, let me know how my emails are received by your mail program. I'm interested in knowing if the parsing is improved over Outlook Express) Visually, Vista is full of surprises. It is set up to be more fully themeable and some of the tricks like fading transparent windows that flip as they close are as beautiful as they are useless. I'm sure you will be glad to know that there are no animated dogs, pieces of paper or paperclips to bug the crap out of you. This time they went more for functional than cute. One of the neater doodads seen in Vista is when you mouse-over an item in the taskbar a small window that fully reiterates the referred to window appears. So if you have a movie playing in a window that is reduced to the taskbar, you can actually watch the movie in the small box that appears. It is fairly handy when doing several things at once. Vista has some fairly hefty requirements. You need a GB or more of memory and a moderately new video card is required. I have a Geoforce FX 5200 with 128 megs of memory and it is just barely enough to do what Vista wants it to do. My 1 GB of memory is adequate, but I expect that 2 GB would be an improvement. My P4 3.2 Ghz is more than adequate. I expect that a dual core processor with 2 GB of memory and a nice vid card with 512 MB of onboard memory will make Vista scream with pleasure. So far, after the initial crapola bugs were fixed, Vista seems to be a great improvement over XP. If I get a chance to get the RTM version, I'll let you know
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 2 Oct 2006 at 18:01, Robert Seeberger wrote: Outlook Express is dead. It is replaced by Microsoft Windows Mail and is much more like Outlook than the old Express version. (Matter of fact, let me know how my emails are received by your mail program. I'm interested in knowing if the parsing is improved over Outlook Express) Well, I use Pegasus Mail and they still occasionally throw something strange (usually in line spacing). I'm going to keep using Pegasus, as long as they keep adding features like the lastest - a CLIENT side Baesian filter), plus an internal HTML rendering engine which doesn't suffer the security issues Microsoft's renderer does. Visually, Vista is full of surprises. It is set up to be more fully themeable and some of the tricks like fading transparent windows that flip as they close are as beautiful as they are useless. I'm sure Yea. And for that they're demanding a much higher base spec, and disabling the desktop in games. I'd rather have a classic desktop. I expect that a dual core processor with 2 GB of memory and a nice vid card with 512 MB of onboard memory will make Vista scream with pleasure. That's what I'd expect for high settings in a modern GAME. Not an OS. And don't get me started on DX10. I'm not interested in the gimmicks they're throwing out, I want an upgrade to Windows 2000. AndrewC ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 3 Oct 2006, at 12:01AM, Robert Seeberger wrote: A really nice addition is the new chess program. OS X has had a bundled chess program for years (GNU Chess). [...] One of the neater doodads seen in Vista is when you mouse-over an item in the taskbar a small window that fully reiterates the referred to window appears. So if you have a movie playing in a window that is reduced to the taskbar, you can actually watch the movie in the small box that appears. It is fairly handy when doing several things at once. OS X has had this feature in dock icons for years. My Sig Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ [Microsoft’s Windows Vista] Beta 2 is a good looking operating system with a number of new features, which will be familiar to you if you’ve played with recent versions of Apple’s OS X. - Gary Krakow, Columnist, MSNBC ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 03/10/2006, at 8:08 AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: Every single contact I've ever had with the Mac community has been fanatically hostile (as opposed to the almost pathological helpfulness of the Linux community, for example). Really? *Every Single Contact Ever*? Seems to me you're using hyperbole as much as Will (and yet again you're chomping his rather obvious bait...). Charlie iBook G4 Athlon 2200XP (XP SP2, Ubuntu) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 03/10/2006, at 9:01 AM, Robert Seeberger wrote: Outlook Express is dead. It is replaced by Microsoft Windows Mail and is much more like Outlook than the old Express version. (Matter of fact, let me know how my emails are received by your mail program. I'm interested in knowing if the parsing is improved over Outlook Express) Looks fine in Mail.app on OS 10.4.8. Visually, Vista is full of surprises. It is set up to be more fully themeable and some of the tricks like fading transparent windows that flip as they close are as beautiful as they are useless. I'm sure you will be glad to know that there are no animated dogs, pieces of paper or paperclips to bug the crap out of you. Have you installed Office 2007 yet? ;-) Charlie ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 3 Oct 2006 at 9:54, Charlie Bell wrote: On 03/10/2006, at 8:08 AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: Every single contact I've ever had with the Mac community has been fanatically hostile (as opposed to the almost pathological helpfulness of the Linux community, for example). Really? *Every Single Contact Ever*? Seems to me you're using hyperbole as much as Will (and yet again you're chomping his rather obvious bait...). Yep. even the 2000AD publisher guys at work (with said Mac's) go all fanatic if you start talking tech stuff. Soon as the tech talk starts, the frothing begins. AndrewC Dawn Falcon ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 03/10/2006, at 10:00 AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 3 Oct 2006 at 9:54, Charlie Bell wrote: On 03/10/2006, at 8:08 AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: Every single contact I've ever had with the Mac community has been fanatically hostile (as opposed to the almost pathological helpfulness of the Linux community, for example). Really? *Every Single Contact Ever*? Seems to me you're using hyperbole as much as Will (and yet again you're chomping his rather obvious bait...). Yep. even the 2000AD publisher guys at work (with said Mac's) go all fanatic if you start talking tech stuff. Soon as the tech talk starts, the frothing begins. Oh. So I've been fanatically hostile on this subject. Uh-huh. Seems to me it takes two to tango, and if one person ain't dancing, both ain't dancing. Charlie ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 3 Oct 2006, at 12:54AM, Charlie Bell wrote: On 03/10/2006, at 8:08 AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: Every single contact I've ever had with the Mac community has been fanatically hostile (as opposed to the almost pathological helpfulness of the Linux community, for example). Really? *Every Single Contact Ever*? Seems to me you're using hyperbole as much as Will *Nobody* in the *entire universe* uses hyperbole as much as me! (and yet again you're chomping his rather obvious bait...). Oo er Mrs Maru -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ What's the difference between OS X and Vista? Microsoft employees are excited about OS X... ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
- Original Message - From: Andrew Crystall [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Killer Bs Discussion brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 6:15 PM Subject: Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice On 2 Oct 2006 at 18:01, Robert Seeberger wrote: Visually, Vista is full of surprises. It is set up to be more fully themeable and some of the tricks like fading transparent windows that flip as they close are as beautiful as they are useless. I'm sure Yea. And for that they're demanding a much higher base spec, and disabling the desktop in games. I'd rather have a classic desktop. Yeah..Vista can be dumbed down a bit to boost performance some. I had to do that at first just to get over the initial bugginess of the beta. But the included games operate the same as in XP WRT the desktop. Are you taking about something else? I expect that a dual core processor with 2 GB of memory and a nice vid card with 512 MB of onboard memory will make Vista scream with pleasure. That's what I'd expect for high settings in a modern GAME. Not an OS. That is something William and I discussed. But the same thing was true when XP was first Betaed out. To a greater or lesser degree this is open to discussion at this point AFAIC. I could not say whether this is a good or a bad thing. And don't get me started on DX10. I'm not interested in the gimmicks they're throwing out, I want an upgrade to Windows 2000. DX10? Whassat? GSome of those features do strike me as a bit gimmicky. But at the same time it is also an example of improved technical skill on the part of the design team. Some of the features in Vista are quite impressive. xponent Heroes Is On Tonight Maru rob ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: PC Software - prices high, little choice
On 03/10/2006, at 10:05 AM, William T Goodall wrote: On 3 Oct 2006, at 12:54AM, Charlie Bell wrote: On 03/10/2006, at 8:08 AM, Andrew Crystall wrote: Every single contact I've ever had with the Mac community has been fanatically hostile (as opposed to the almost pathological helpfulness of the Linux community, for example). Really? *Every Single Contact Ever*? Seems to me you're using hyperbole as much as Will *Nobody* in the *entire universe* uses hyperbole as much as me! OK, not *quite* as much as Will. (and yet again you're chomping his rather obvious bait...). Oo er Mrs Maru I say bait, Will reads penis. Hmmm. Charlie Freudian Field Day Maru ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: 9/11 conspiracies (WAS RE: What should we believe when there is no reliab...
In a message dated 10/1/2006 11:14:45 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: However, in medicine (as in some other areas) people are suffering and dying during all those years. Particularly when the established theory is stress or IAIYH as it was with ulcers as well as initially with MS and many other diseases later shown to have a physical cause. But there is no other way to do science and medicine. If every good sounding idea were immediately accepted we would be wrong way more often than we would be right. Most established ideas are right, that is why they are established. New idea must prove themselves. Those who doubt and offer objections are just as much a part of the process as those who advocate the new position. There is a scene from Bedazzled (the original Peter Cook and Dudley Moore laugh riot not the lame Brendan Fraser remake). When the devil (Cook) first confronts Moore (a short order cook). Peter Cook (not the cook) announces that he is the devil. Moore responds that Cook is a nut case. Cook responds that they said this about Jesus, Einstein, Newton. Moore responds in turn that they also said it about a lot of nut cases. In fact as we should all be able to agree that said it about way more nutcases than the real thing. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Someone Must Tell Them
On Oct 2, 2006, at 1:49 PM, Deborah Harrell wrote: who has no confidence in voting this next election, as Colorado has chosen not to have certifiable machines...no, this is not a joke. Or perhaps it is. Peggy and I took the voting machines out of the equation for good by registering as permanent absentee voters: we get voting materials in the mail a couple of weeks before the election, fill 'em out, mail 'em back. No amount of Diebold shenanigans can steal _our_ votes. It may not be too late to register in Colorado as an absentee voter. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
At 03:47 PM Monday 10/2/2006, William T Goodall wrote: I read this article recently http://tinyurl.com/eegfk The first paragraph contains the interesting bit which I quote: According to a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, 70 percent of evangelical Christians believe that living beings have always existed in their present form, compared with 32 percent of Protestants and 31 percent of Catholics. Politically, 60 percent of Republicans are creationists, whereas only 11 percent accept evolution, compared with 29 percent of Democrats who are creationists and 44 percent who accept evolution. A 2005 Harris Poll found that 63 percent of liberals but only 37 percent of conservatives believe that humans and apes have a common ancestry. What these figures confirm for us is that there are religious and political reasons for rejecting evolution. Or simply that liberals haven't evolved as far from their anthropoid ancestors as conservatives have . . . Ook Maru -- Ronn! :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Someone Must Tell Them
Deborah Harrell wrote: Except that many of us who listened to Academy*-trained combat veterans -- instead of chickenhawk pols -- did _not_ buy into Iraq as an immediate threat to the US, ever. I know. That is why I said 'massive support' instead of 'unanimous support' or 'overwhelming support'. :) I may be wrong but I seem to recall that the support for the misadventure was above 50%. And now I hear that Kissinger (yes, _that_ Kissinger) has regular talks with Bush et al...no wonder it feels similar to Vietnam! :/ Oh, that made the papers here. I sometimes think we have a Kissinger-Watch going on since the 1970s. :) Ritu ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Collapse Chapter 4 - Chaco Canyon
In a message dated 10/2/2006 5:45:10 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Chaco Canyon have all shared the feature of being settled in a marginal environment. Is a marginal environment a prerequisite for collapse? Chaco may not have been so marginal at the outset. Chaco probably shared features with the fertile crescent (now basically desert) and Australia (later chapter) in that what was initially a good looking environment which could not restore itself over time. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
On Oct 2, 2006, at 3:40 PM, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 11:09PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 22:21, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 10:08PM, Deborah Harrell wrote: William. 1. Stop lumping oranges and offal together; it makes one suspect that you have no sense of smell. Genius is seeing the similarities in things that other people think are unrelated :-) And paranoia is seeing connections which don't exist in everything. They say there's a thin line between genius and madness :-) Which is why it's so hard to know when one crosses it. Dave ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
RE: Someone Must Tell Them
Deborah Harrell wrote: snip [Regarding the BJP:] Really nasty people, propagating the most hateful of ideas under the guise of patriotism and national security. Its sister organisations, the RSS and the VHP, are equally bad. Golly, no similarities here in the US... *g* Maybe Thomas Jefferson (IIRC) was on to something, but I have to say that periodic revolutions seem too damn bloody and messy to me. They would be, especially since anyone wanting to hang on to power quite that badly would not hesitate before unleashing the power of the state machinery on the rebels. This has to be the last option, once everything else has been tried out. Still, when you can't trust that your votes actually count, that is very bad for a democracy. Do you guys have any statutory body to act as impartial observer and monitor for the entire process? Although we haven't yet had the problem of votes not counting, we have had other problems like booth capturing and bogus voting. And the Election Commission and the PIL [Public Interest Litigation] device in the Supremem Court have been invaluable in sorting such stuff out. Sigh. I am missing elections now...they are such fun. When else can one see CMs running after and tackling people who try to run away with ballot boxes? Ritu ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: How religion is destroying America
At 05:40 PM Monday 10/2/2006, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 11:09PM, Andrew Crystall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006 at 22:21, William T Goodall wrote: On 2 Oct 2006, at 10:08PM, Deborah Harrell wrote: William. 1. Stop lumping oranges and offal together; it makes one suspect that you have no sense of smell. Genius is seeing the similarities in things that other people think are unrelated :-) And paranoia is seeing connections which don't exist in everything. They say there's a thin line between genius and madness :-) And some of us love to walk the line . . . -- Ronn! :) ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
