Posts by Nameless Faceless Computer User

I have upgraded from XP

I have upgraded from XP to OS X

No surprise

Correct me if I'm wrong. Wasn't Sony responsible for infecting countless Windows computers with a rootkit virus in a lame attempt to prevent audio CD copying? And, wasn't it Sony who caused even more damage by distributing a flawed rootkit virus uninstaller.

Sony consumer products have been rapidly slipping in quality. I passed on purchasing a Sony TV after I read on-line that people couldn't remove them from the box without the case cracking. Sony camcorders tend to be stripped of features found only on their most expensive models - minor things as simple as a headphone or microphone jack which would cost just pennies to install intentionally left off.

Sony has been pissing on consumers for the past decade and it's finally catching up with them. What happened to the "Sony No Bologna" company we knew back in the 80's?

yea right

The big reason for tagging patients in the U.S. and creating a central health history database is to alert the insurance companies to find a way to deny patient coverage. Why spend time giving care to a deadbeat who can't pay his hospital bill?

A word about guns in the U.S.

The sudden rush of gun sales in the U.S. is in response to the American media and the Republican party promoting propaganda. If we do not exercise our rights the country would become as horrible as Australia is right now. Unfortunately, much of unfavorable news coverage is of isolated and uneducated farmers in the central states.

Too little too late

What the FTC needs to do is go after the "legal" credit card companies who lure people into borrowing and then triple their interest rates if a payment should happen to "get lost in the mail."

I wouldn't buy from them again

I quit shopping at Best Buy after they slipped me a bogus rebate for $75 for an NEC monitor. When I sent it in, NEC said there was no such rebate offer. I should have been suspicious when Best Buy told me I could only download the rebate from their website (no paper trail).

Why are we still talking about Palin?

Why are we still talking about Palin? Because our ultra-conservative news media has suddenly ran out of Republicans. It's pathetic. They're already asking her about running for President in 2012. She will never again get so close, unless she goes back and learns some basic geography. Nah, not even then.

No brain'r

What goes up.... must come down.

petty

Some readers may remember a time when all computers connected to the Internet were available to be used as a router or mail server by anyone else. At one time there was a spirit of cooperation which existed among people on-line, similar to those who use amateur (ham) radio. Personally, I check my wireless connections from time to time and simply boot anyone who may have connected for some reason. It's hardly an act which requires the police to be called.

yea right

With the state of technology you would think AT&T would have a more convenient way of making a connection without such a process e.g. check the IP address range. The most valuable WiFi connections are at the airports, which AT&T has listed as "Premier Roaming Location" Curious, I asked them exactly what that means. The answer? "Not free." oh, duh.

So whats the problem?

I have had to rebuild my computer many times after some untested application found its way onto my PC. I like the fact that all apps are given a tough review. My phone is important to me. Want to put software on my primary communications device which is my single tether with the rest of the world? Run it past the app store gods and see if it flies.

Bullies

Sales tax is levied only on purchases made within the state. New York is wrong. The state government began first by claiming New York'ers should pay sales tax for gasoline purchases made within New Jersey. Next, they added a line item on annual tax filing forms to include an estimate of purchases made by mail-order. Now, they are going after the larger mail-order companies selling to New York.

While I do not have so much of a problem paying my taxes, New York shouldn't be allowed to break the law by simply extorting money from other state governments. This should go through the established law making process.

Where exactly is Tipton?

Ok, guys. For all you bashing Americans for dumb acts, let us remember that Tipton is not within the U.S. borders and stupidity knows no boundaries.

Red Herrings

Most U.S. law makers hide behind the "Save the children" battle cry. It is much more likely it's a veiled attempt to go after file sharers, music downloaders, and software pirates.

I don't understand the logic

Those who insist on being the first to own the new iPhone deserve the problems they bring on themselves. Why not purchase an iPhone next week or next month? If stock runs low, they'll make more. In fact, as time marches on, any problems will have been resolved and software will have been updated. By next year, Apple will be announcing iPhone 4G.

Vista changed my life

After Vista was first announced, I switched to OS X. I'm much happier. Thank-you, Bill!

I demand justice

I demand restitution for every spammer who has made reference to my small penis.

Lenses / K10 vs K20

I've upgraded right from the Pentax istD digital to the K20D and it's been quite a jolt. I've been reading the K10D manual and the K20D will give you higher resolution and more options for in-camera processing. There's an extensive selection of "tweaks" for creating jpegs: Landscape, Portrait, Vivid, Normal, and Black and White and each of these settings have further adjustments making shooting RAW an option rather than a necessity. It also allows shooting both RAW and jpeg with a touch of a button so you can make that decision later.

One of the sweetest features is the built-in Vibration Reduction which reads the focal length of the lens and allows more clear hand-held photographs. Unlike other cameras, now every lens in your collection is a VR lens.

The worst thing Pentax has done has been to eliminate all film cameras. These were the same people who introduced us to the K-1000. They are now focusing entirely on digital. The K20D is a great contender for Nikon's flagship camera. It's 20% smaller, 50% lighter, and 1/5 the price while producing higher resolution. Rather than the old CCD technology, the K20D switched to CMOS technology to reduce noise. It even has a dead pixel mapping feature and dust detection and elimination built right into the camera to reduce trips to the repair shop.

This begs a few questions...

Be wary of any government crying "Save the children" while introducing new legislation. Some questions to ponder is, What do they consider to be child pornography? What is next? Obscene newsgroups? Music sharing newsgroups? Back years ago, I logged into CompuServe and found 80 percent of my newsgroups had been removed. They all had three magical letters in their name, 'S', "X", and "E" but not in that order.

Wrong focus

It's not about why Apple has an amazing gizmo. It's about why the competition has been caught off-guard. Very obviously, the technology exists for all carriers and cell phone makers to offer hi-tech devices. Apple is the only one who chose to pump the money into research and development while the competition actually moved backwards.

Years ago, it was possible to purchase a phone running Linux. Rather than reduce costs and improve the features of Linux based phones, they vanished from the offering. Now, it's back to a choice between Apple or Microsoft.

DOS sounds like a great idea

All I want to do is surf the net, answer emails, and play Doom II. I can do that from DOS.

Where do I begin?

I have often found myself behind someone engaged in telephone conversation at stop lights and department store queues. Only the price of the gadget has deterred me from purchasing a cell phone blocker; that and the fact it is not legal in the U.S. to disrupt a wireless call. Microsoft, I assume, is above the law.

I would find it a great convenience if the ringer on my phone would automatically switch to vibrate upon entering a theater - in case I forget to do it myself; but, I wouldn't put such absolute control in the hands of someone else.

If we continue to enforce social behavior in this fashion, society will not evolve. In fact, I suspect we will de-evolve.

Not what it seems

I suspect the US is scaring off Europeans because the US dollar is doing so poorly against the Euro. Here in New York, there has been a large jump in European travelers enjoying the exchange rate as well as Canadians. This can't be good for the economy. Want a really cheap holiday? Come to New York and don't let the politics fool you.

Love it

Looks like it's easier to aim.

Just the tip of the iceberg

Anyone who follows the history of the FCC and US Government knows that this is just the beginning. It doesn't matter if having the ability to text everyone in the country (or the world) is or is not a good idea "in an emergency." What matters is that it sets a precedent and provides a mechanism for global message delivery.

Ask yourself what's next? Daily terrorist status? Political commentary? Not for profit messages? Give anyone the ability to send one global text message and they will begin to work on "Phase II."

It's just not a movie...

It's just not a movie unless it has killer bees.

Upgrade?

I quit upgrading after the last "upgrade" broke many of my other applications. The installation forced me to upgrade Java (without asking). Spent days finding the problem. The install script couldn't find the default language (English, duh!) and quit after breaking everything else. Terrible. On the Mac, I use the NeoOffice port which is much cleaner. Pity they don't have a NeoOffice Windows version of the Windows version, but that might seem redundant redundant.

I don't hate this

This camera protects the innocent, no matter which end of the gun they are on.

re: Parallels

I switched from PC to Mac after over 20 years of faithful following. I wish I could say the Mac doesn't have flaws and quirks. Yet, I've only spend about 1 hour a year fixing mac fonts, file permissions, and cranky printer drivers whereas Windoh's has destroyed entire weekends.

Parallels demotes Windows to an application loader, where it should be - quietly sitting in the background where it can do no harm. If Windows gives the Blue Screen Of Death, I can restore it with a few mouse clicks and 15 minutes of backup recovery. Sweet.

The AirBook is flawed in that features were removed to make it thin and lightweight.

It is a great time to switch to Mac

I also have been a PC user all my life. With the introduction of Microsoft Vista, I abandoned the PC and switched to Mac. Both platforms have pros and cons, so I can't address the question as to why you are considering the switch. With Apple now using Intel processors, now is a great time to make the transition.

There are at least three options for running Office or Office-like software on a Mac, which are Bootcamp, Parallels, and OpenOffice/NeoOffice. These options would allow you to run XP on a Mac instead of OS X, XP in addition to OS X, or switch to a public domain e.g. free Office software suite on OS X giving up Microsoft entirely. The last option will introduce some compatibility issues, depending on the complexity of your Office documents.

Microsoft also distributes their own software, Office and NetMeeting for OS X, however their support for these products comes and goes. You can also visit most Mac Stores where you will find an expert to elaborate on your options.

re: Who is better?

Who is better than Sprint? Anybody, really. I went with T-Mobile. Here's a typical experience I've had with them. I called customer service to ask about International roaming charges. During my conversation, the service rep says, Wait a minute - (unrelated to my original question) We have lowered the price of the Total Internet Package which you are currently paying for by ten dollars. Let me lower your bill right now for you. And... she did. I'm still under my original two year contract with them.

(gasp)

There are a few problems with this

To clarify, this State law was introduced in New Jersey. For those of you unfamiliar with 'Jersey', they passed a law a few years back making it a crime to shovel snow into the street. It's a land of outrageous legislation. In addition, this law targets sex offenders and is one of many ridiculous laws passing on the coat tails of the Federal Megan's Law which a) Does not work and b) is cruel and unusual punishment for sex offenders. Simply taking a piss in public could land you on the sex offenders list, opening the possibility of loosing your home and your job. Soliciting a prostitute could also land you on the sex offenders list, except in the state of Nevada where it's perfectly legal and regulated.

In New York, legislation was introduced to place sex offenders into their own emergency shelters in the event of a situation which warrants the use of one. This is all part of a continued attack on society by the religious conservative zealots who thrive under the rule of King George Bush the First. btw - Bush's term ends in 2008. Those of us in the States will breath a sigh of relief when this mentally retarded 'decision maker' fades quickly into the history books and we are deeply embarrassed for most of what he has said and done.