Here's an update of stuff on June 26, 2010
- So it looks like the US Soccer team lost again in the World Cup to Ghana 2-1. I didn't get to watch a lot of the game, but from what I saw, the team really didn't play like a team in the World Cup. Oh well, there's always 2014.
- England takes on Germany in the Knockout Stage tomorrow. Here's hoping that the Germans can take down the English, since they're the only team in the World Cup I really don't like.
- I've got a 7:00 flight on Monday to New Orleans. Of course, since there's no more SD-NO flights, I have to go through Nashville to get there. The good thing is that I get to spend time with my dad in July.
- My birthday is coming up on the 14th. I can't believe I'm actually going to be 16 (I put 16 in my description since I'm a lot closer to 16 than 15). I still have no idea what I want (kinda want a new PC, but I've already got money saved for that).
So that's all I've got for today. I might post a journal tomorrow, but it'll probably be a post about Paul McCartney's comments, calling people who don't believe in global warming "just like Holocaust deniers."
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
I Loathe You, Steve Jobs
So the new iPhone officially released today (despite people getting theirs early in the mail). With the iOS 4 on it and a new design, people have camped out and much more for their new shiny phone. While the product is great and all (iPod Touch/iPhone is really nice), I have one problem with Steve Jobs and Apple:
You release your products WAY too quickly.
Now granted that their typical user of their products is usually seen as some dim-witted media person or a self-absorbed snob pretending to write a novel at the local Starbucks, that doesn't have to be who they market their products for.
A quick story:
- In 2006, I got a 30 GB iPod Video, at that time a high-tier product. Less than a year after, the iPod Touch and iPhone are released. Needless to say, I was angry. So earlier this year, my father, who had gotten a iPhone 3GS in July (top of the line then) gave me his old 2nd Generation iPod Touch (from 2008). When the new iPhone and iOS 4 were announced, I saw that 2nd Gen iPod Touch was supported. I was excited to see that the improvements (custom BG, multitasking) could be felt on my iPod. I later saw the lag and awful rate that 3G, which was released around the same time, had after updating. Filled with rage at how in less than 2 years a product goes from top of the line from unsupported, I now refuse to update my iPod Touch (I don't use my Windows partition much, so that's no problem).
I don't see how Apple can even survive with a plan like this. In a 2 year span an amazing piece of equipment becomes obsolete, not supported in upgrades. I feel sorry for 1st Gen users of iPod Touch/iPhone, since they can't even get an update. 3 years and the device is worthless.
2nd problem: Your computers are COMPLETELY overpriced
Earlier this year, with my trusty 3-year old laptop now on its last legs, I went to Best Buy to shop around for a new computer. I took a peek at the prices of Mac laptops, and saw how expensive they were compared to equal PC laptops. In fact, I just checked again and the 17in. MacBook Pro is $2299, whereas the Dell Studio Laptop sells for $939. Both have 4GB RAM. Both have a 17in. screen. Both have an Intel i5 processor. The Dell has a better graphics card, and has an HDMI output. Will people honestly pay $1300 more for a brand name? Was the Mac vs PC ad campaign that influential? People think that a Mac means that they're free from viruses. It doesn't mean that at all. Those people forget what the point of a virus is. It's targeted at the MAINSTREAM computer (PC/Windows), thus why Macs have less viruses directed at them. I'll give you a top of the line anti-virus for $150(ESET NOD32 for about 5 years, though AVG is free and pretty effective) and a copy of Office for about $200. Hell, I'll even give you Photoshop CS4 and it's still less than a Mac! Are people really this gullible?!
To end this post, I challenge everyone reading to know the facts. Don't be a person influenced by the propaganda machine that is Apple. Would you honestly pay $1300 more on a laptop, just because it has some fancy logo and has a reskinned BSD Linux for an operating system?
You release your products WAY too quickly.
Now granted that their typical user of their products is usually seen as some dim-witted media person or a self-absorbed snob pretending to write a novel at the local Starbucks, that doesn't have to be who they market their products for.
A quick story:
- In 2006, I got a 30 GB iPod Video, at that time a high-tier product. Less than a year after, the iPod Touch and iPhone are released. Needless to say, I was angry. So earlier this year, my father, who had gotten a iPhone 3GS in July (top of the line then) gave me his old 2nd Generation iPod Touch (from 2008). When the new iPhone and iOS 4 were announced, I saw that 2nd Gen iPod Touch was supported. I was excited to see that the improvements (custom BG, multitasking) could be felt on my iPod. I later saw the lag and awful rate that 3G, which was released around the same time, had after updating. Filled with rage at how in less than 2 years a product goes from top of the line from unsupported, I now refuse to update my iPod Touch (I don't use my Windows partition much, so that's no problem).
I don't see how Apple can even survive with a plan like this. In a 2 year span an amazing piece of equipment becomes obsolete, not supported in upgrades. I feel sorry for 1st Gen users of iPod Touch/iPhone, since they can't even get an update. 3 years and the device is worthless.
2nd problem: Your computers are COMPLETELY overpriced
Earlier this year, with my trusty 3-year old laptop now on its last legs, I went to Best Buy to shop around for a new computer. I took a peek at the prices of Mac laptops, and saw how expensive they were compared to equal PC laptops. In fact, I just checked again and the 17in. MacBook Pro is $2299, whereas the Dell Studio Laptop sells for $939. Both have 4GB RAM. Both have a 17in. screen. Both have an Intel i5 processor. The Dell has a better graphics card, and has an HDMI output. Will people honestly pay $1300 more for a brand name? Was the Mac vs PC ad campaign that influential? People think that a Mac means that they're free from viruses. It doesn't mean that at all. Those people forget what the point of a virus is. It's targeted at the MAINSTREAM computer (PC/Windows), thus why Macs have less viruses directed at them. I'll give you a top of the line anti-virus for $150(ESET NOD32 for about 5 years, though AVG is free and pretty effective) and a copy of Office for about $200. Hell, I'll even give you Photoshop CS4 and it's still less than a Mac! Are people really this gullible?!
To end this post, I challenge everyone reading to know the facts. Don't be a person influenced by the propaganda machine that is Apple. Would you honestly pay $1300 more on a laptop, just because it has some fancy logo and has a reskinned BSD Linux for an operating system?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sorry For Lack of Updates
Sorry for a lack of updates to my blog. It's summer now, and I'm setting a challenge upon myself: to update the blog once or twice a week (like THAT will ever happen), so expect actual post and/or blogs here now.
-Posted from an iPod touch
-Posted from an iPod touch
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Journal #1: "What if?"
I'm going to start to post my daily journal onto my blog. Here is Journal #1:
Sometimes I think about the "what if?"s in life. It's always been a common thought in my mind. Sometimes these ponderings are very simple ones. But more often than not, my "what if?" is a big one:
What if the levees never broke?
I always think of this before I nod off to sleep. It's amazing how just some slight cutting of corners changed a city forever. For once, the world saw New Orleans as something it could never be imagined as: a damaged city, a wrecked city, a city without life. I may have almost lost a home, but the city almost lost its life. Could you imagine a world without Mardi Gras? To me, the thought is preposterous.
To move away from the global aspect, the breaking of the levees changed my life forever. Before, I was a foolish child, believing I would always be free and safe. Nothing would ever happen to me. After, I emerged a new person. An event that lasted 2 weeks seemed to age me much longer than that mentally. I saw the atrocities of humanity and how idiocy dooms the world. I learned that I lived in a corrupt city, the government taking money and cops looting stores. To think that the men and women we believe protect us every day can be no better than the lowliest criminal. Another prime example of this is the murders on the Danziger Bridge. Cops killing the innocent, then being able to cover it up for almost 5 years. Even now, it sickens me to think about it.
Positives can come out of even the worst events. I was able to see my community, which Mayor Nagin wanted to bulldoze and pretend never existed, rebuild itself, without true help from the government. It was a disheartening yet joyful sight. After the storm, I was fortunate enough to adopt a "Katrina stray," whom I named Mushi. He was more than a cat. He stood for the fighting spirit that we should all have. Even to the day he died, he would never give up and never surrender.
Through a series of events, the storm brought me out here to San Diego. Even though it is not home, it is a wonderful place. Had the storm never hit and the levees never broken, I would have never had the horrid and great events that came from it. I would have never met someone whom I care about so much, even if she doesn't know it ♥
Sometimes I think about the "what if?"s in life. It's always been a common thought in my mind. Sometimes these ponderings are very simple ones. But more often than not, my "what if?" is a big one:
What if the levees never broke?
I always think of this before I nod off to sleep. It's amazing how just some slight cutting of corners changed a city forever. For once, the world saw New Orleans as something it could never be imagined as: a damaged city, a wrecked city, a city without life. I may have almost lost a home, but the city almost lost its life. Could you imagine a world without Mardi Gras? To me, the thought is preposterous.
To move away from the global aspect, the breaking of the levees changed my life forever. Before, I was a foolish child, believing I would always be free and safe. Nothing would ever happen to me. After, I emerged a new person. An event that lasted 2 weeks seemed to age me much longer than that mentally. I saw the atrocities of humanity and how idiocy dooms the world. I learned that I lived in a corrupt city, the government taking money and cops looting stores. To think that the men and women we believe protect us every day can be no better than the lowliest criminal. Another prime example of this is the murders on the Danziger Bridge. Cops killing the innocent, then being able to cover it up for almost 5 years. Even now, it sickens me to think about it.
Positives can come out of even the worst events. I was able to see my community, which Mayor Nagin wanted to bulldoze and pretend never existed, rebuild itself, without true help from the government. It was a disheartening yet joyful sight. After the storm, I was fortunate enough to adopt a "Katrina stray," whom I named Mushi. He was more than a cat. He stood for the fighting spirit that we should all have. Even to the day he died, he would never give up and never surrender.
Through a series of events, the storm brought me out here to San Diego. Even though it is not home, it is a wonderful place. Had the storm never hit and the levees never broken, I would have never had the horrid and great events that came from it. I would have never met someone whom I care about so much, even if she doesn't know it ♥
Monday, February 15, 2010
One More Time
Hmm, the Colts may still have a shot to win. Tracy Porter, do you think they can still win?
...That's what I thought.
So finally, after 43 years of mediocrity and awfulness, the Saints finally get the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I still can't believe that they won. I've watched about 7 replays of the game and don't believe it. I mean good god, I'm wearing a Super Bowl XLIV Champions shirt right now and I still don't believe it. It's because I grew up around the decline of the Dome Patrol, the Mike Ditka seasons, and the 8-8, 7-9, and 3-13 seasons. I never thought it would ever happen in my life. I thought they would forever be out of the hunt for the championship, kind of like the Lions. But thanks to the greatness that is Drew Brees and Sean Payton, we're not only a team with a Super Bowl appearance, we're also one that has the Super Bowl trophy.
...So, I guess I really need to post here now, since I spent time making a banner and such. Hopefully I'll find time to do so
...That's what I thought.
So finally, after 43 years of mediocrity and awfulness, the Saints finally get the Vince Lombardi Trophy. I still can't believe that they won. I've watched about 7 replays of the game and don't believe it. I mean good god, I'm wearing a Super Bowl XLIV Champions shirt right now and I still don't believe it. It's because I grew up around the decline of the Dome Patrol, the Mike Ditka seasons, and the 8-8, 7-9, and 3-13 seasons. I never thought it would ever happen in my life. I thought they would forever be out of the hunt for the championship, kind of like the Lions. But thanks to the greatness that is Drew Brees and Sean Payton, we're not only a team with a Super Bowl appearance, we're also one that has the Super Bowl trophy.
...So, I guess I really need to post here now, since I spent time making a banner and such. Hopefully I'll find time to do so
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Why Linux is 1 Percent of Computers
So Ubuntu 9.10 launched today, and it feels like a system meant for non-computer people now more than I've felt it be in the past 4 releases of using it. The Software Center or whatever it was called makes program installs so nice, no pop-up about post-installation man-db's and such.
While reading through comments about your generic "Lol linux sux win7 is better", I came across once again the comment of "If it's so great why is it only ~1% of computers?" Then the thought finally hit me, more than it did in the past year.
Go to Best Buy, Staples, etc. and look around at computers. What do they come loaded with? Windows. Walk down the street. What's that billboard for? Windows. Watch the TV. What's that a for? Windows (or Mac). See a pattern? The reason for all this time that Windows is the majority over Linux is because of marketing (and because you can't really market Linux because it's free).
Imagine if you flipped on the TV, and the first ad you see is for Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, whatever it may be. Would you feel a little want to install it or use it? Maybe. Imagine you walk into Best Buy and every computer comes loaded with Fedora 11 or Ubuntu 9.10. Would you use it? Of course you would, because it's already there.
Those are the reasons why Linux use is so low. There is no multi-million dollar ad campaign behind. Best Buy isn't wanting to put it in the computers because there's no profit in it. They don't get money for it.
(tl;dr Windows is more popular because of large ad campaigns, Linux is free, and because your average Joe doesn't venture from the norm.)
While reading through comments about your generic "Lol linux sux win7 is better", I came across once again the comment of "If it's so great why is it only ~1% of computers?" Then the thought finally hit me, more than it did in the past year.
Go to Best Buy, Staples, etc. and look around at computers. What do they come loaded with? Windows. Walk down the street. What's that billboard for? Windows. Watch the TV. What's that a for? Windows (or Mac). See a pattern? The reason for all this time that Windows is the majority over Linux is because of marketing (and because you can't really market Linux because it's free).
Imagine if you flipped on the TV, and the first ad you see is for Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE, whatever it may be. Would you feel a little want to install it or use it? Maybe. Imagine you walk into Best Buy and every computer comes loaded with Fedora 11 or Ubuntu 9.10. Would you use it? Of course you would, because it's already there.
Those are the reasons why Linux use is so low. There is no multi-million dollar ad campaign behind. Best Buy isn't wanting to put it in the computers because there's no profit in it. They don't get money for it.
(tl;dr Windows is more popular because of large ad campaigns, Linux is free, and because your average Joe doesn't venture from the norm.)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
"Racism's Over, RIght Guys?"
I know the title seems very odd, but just bear with me.
I've just been reading over a commentary article on CNN about how Obama has handled his presidency for this getting closer to November 4th, when he was elected president. I was intrigued at how much the race card has been played over the presidency over the past few months, usually surrounding the health care debate. Here's a few lines from the article:
" Rather than bringing people together, those who run Washington have demeaned Americans for participating in the debate! House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls them un-American. The [resident dismisses their arguments as "bickering". Worst of all, the race card is being played in an attempt to shut down legitimate debate.
While I did not support Rep. Joe Wilson's decision to shout out during the president's address, I was appalled to hear him called a racist for daring to disagree with a black president. I know Joe Wilson. I had the privilege of visiting Iraq and Afghanistan with him. He is no racist."
Back when Obama was running for president, I was on a trip in D.C. with some friends. We got to talking about the election. Every other person in the group seemed to be supporting him. When they asked me who I was supporting, I gladly said "I'm supporting McCain."
To them it seemed to at that point I had put on some sort of Klan paraphernalia. They called me a racist, called me an idiot for supporting him, and said that I hated black people (the group talking to me was 50% black and 50% white).
It seems that many counter arguments from people de-evolved from talking about his "change" that he will bring (Hey guys, newsflash: Change does not always mean good change. Also any new president will bring some sort of change) into playing the race card. If you don't like Obama, you're racist. You don't like what he's doing? You're racist. Don't like his cabinet? You're racist. Don't support government run health care? You're even more racist.
It's 2009, people. This isn't the 70's, 60's, or the damned 50's. It's the 21st century. Hell, it's almost the 10's. I don't wanna sound racist, but don't you think racism has died away, and shouldn't truly be a reason for someone not supporting or liking something? We've elected a black president, we have blacks in many positions in the government and in important jobs. We're not the cross-burning, segregating redneck people that we were when it comes to race. We've become civilized people when it comes to that. And the fact that it becomes a shield behind which the Democrat party comfortably sits is appalling.
I might update this post a bit more tomorrow, it's 10:30 PM and I need some sleep.
I've just been reading over a commentary article on CNN about how Obama has handled his presidency for this getting closer to November 4th, when he was elected president. I was intrigued at how much the race card has been played over the presidency over the past few months, usually surrounding the health care debate. Here's a few lines from the article:
" Rather than bringing people together, those who run Washington have demeaned Americans for participating in the debate! House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls them un-American. The [resident dismisses their arguments as "bickering". Worst of all, the race card is being played in an attempt to shut down legitimate debate.
While I did not support Rep. Joe Wilson's decision to shout out during the president's address, I was appalled to hear him called a racist for daring to disagree with a black president. I know Joe Wilson. I had the privilege of visiting Iraq and Afghanistan with him. He is no racist."
Back when Obama was running for president, I was on a trip in D.C. with some friends. We got to talking about the election. Every other person in the group seemed to be supporting him. When they asked me who I was supporting, I gladly said "I'm supporting McCain."
To them it seemed to at that point I had put on some sort of Klan paraphernalia. They called me a racist, called me an idiot for supporting him, and said that I hated black people (the group talking to me was 50% black and 50% white).
It seems that many counter arguments from people de-evolved from talking about his "change" that he will bring (Hey guys, newsflash: Change does not always mean good change. Also any new president will bring some sort of change) into playing the race card. If you don't like Obama, you're racist. You don't like what he's doing? You're racist. Don't like his cabinet? You're racist. Don't support government run health care? You're even more racist.
It's 2009, people. This isn't the 70's, 60's, or the damned 50's. It's the 21st century. Hell, it's almost the 10's. I don't wanna sound racist, but don't you think racism has died away, and shouldn't truly be a reason for someone not supporting or liking something? We've elected a black president, we have blacks in many positions in the government and in important jobs. We're not the cross-burning, segregating redneck people that we were when it comes to race. We've become civilized people when it comes to that. And the fact that it becomes a shield behind which the Democrat party comfortably sits is appalling.
I might update this post a bit more tomorrow, it's 10:30 PM and I need some sleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)