Wednesday, May 11, 2011

new york skyline at night

new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_1%
  • %IMG_DESC_1%



  • MadeTheSwitch
    Apr 26, 07:34 AM
    Interesting question. One of my thoughts on why people follow a religion are that they were raised with it, so it becomes a tradition. You just do it because you always have done it without much thought to it. This one is an especially hard reason to overcome, because as a child, you want to believe that your parents and family have all the answers. It's hard to admit that they don't or that they led you down a wrong path. But you have to ask yourself, if you crash landed on an island as a small child (a la Blue Lagoon), would you be following Islam, Christianity or any of the established religions? No, you would not. You wouldn't even KNOW about them. So religion is largely handed down socially. It's even geographical in nature to a large extent.

    Another reason would be that some people need to believe in something. That whole "if God didn't exist man would invent him" thing. A lot of people on this planet have a hard time explaining their purpose here without some divine reason. Religion fills that void. In the "Blue Lagoon" example from above, it's possible that the small children would grow up, think about their place in this world, and start their own religion, customs and rules.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_2%
  • %IMG_DESC_2%



  • *LTD*
    Apr 10, 11:04 AM
    No they don't, they don't see it as a legitimate threat because it has very little industry support.

    Believe this all you want, when a company like Epic sings the praises of iOS you'd best pay attention. It's had great impact on Nintendo's mobile plans and it terrifies Microsoft (who are praying that Xbox Live on WP7 matters to enough people). When mobile gaming (i.e., on the iPad) is making such inroads into mainstream gaming, it's eventually going to have an effect on the way consumers view mainstream console gaming. In fact, this is guaranteed.

    You're holding too fast to the separateness of mobile vs. console. Over the next few years you'll see that separateness blur, and probably faster than anyone would have thought. There will be a definite, palpable melding. It's inevitable.

    The App Store opened in July 2008. Now look at what we have in April 2011. It's astounding. And we're already trying to get mobile devices to project games onto HD tvs. It's very, very telling. It doesn't matter how successful it is *right now.* (pretty impressive, actually.) The point is, you can see where we're going with it. When Apple says "move over, Xbox!" they aren't being glib or fulsome. It's a portent. Just a taste of what's to come.

    A lot of people around these boards have absolutely NO IDEA what Apple is capable of and what they're about to do to yet another industry. Just sit back and watch.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_3%
  • %IMG_DESC_3%



  • NathanMuir
    Mar 24, 07:34 PM
    As cool as that poster might be, I doubt that he has the political or monetary muscle that the Catholic Church does.

    That doesn't take away from how utterly hypocritical that train of thought is.




    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_4%
  • %IMG_DESC_4%



  • Beric
    Mar 12, 03:19 AM
    Japan quake: 'Explosion heard' at nuclear power plant

    http://tvde.web.infoseek.co.jp/cgi-bin/jlab-dat/k/s/dat1299916395109.jpg

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12720219
    An explosion has been heard from a Japanese nuclear power plant hit by Friday's devastating earthquake.

    Reports said smoke was seen coming from the plant at Fukushima and several workers were injured.

    Japanese officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors after radioactive material was detected outside it.

    http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a23/milli_vanilli1/fallout.jpg

    OMG.

    Yes.=, that map is a worst-case scenario.

    Video of explosion:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg4uogOEUrU&feature=player_embedded





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_5%
  • %IMG_DESC_5%



  • Clive At Five
    Sep 20, 07:44 PM
    We need a way to record our own TV shows from our cable subscription.

    Is that legal? If it's not - even if it's blurry - Apple won't do it.

    Secondly, if Apple allows you to do that, then you wouldn't buy content from the iTS. That's not what Apple wants.

    -Clive





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_6%
  • %IMG_DESC_6%



  • mpstrex
    Aug 30, 10:32 AM
    And for the record, of the 12+ Apples and 3+ iPods I've owned, I've:

    1. Donated my 1994 Apple Performa (?), of which I got a lot of mileage out of, to a company that fixed it, removed my data for me, and gave the computer to women who were abused.

    2. I've sold all my other Apples to new owners who used them for school, work, etc.

    3. I have an old Power Book I sold to my old roommate, whose new roomies dropped it (and his new PC notebook, whoops), and I have it back. I may just sell it to an Apple guru who can repair and use it.

    4. My old iPod (Gen 2, 2002) is about to become a special OS X bootable disk; my wife's mini now belongs to her Dad; my other iPod (gen 3 or 4--last black and white one) my wife uses; and I love my iPod video.

    No need to throw any of it away, no need to recycle it if others can use it, and I can take the money and buy new Apples or pay some bills, etc.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_7%
  • %IMG_DESC_7%



  • dscuber9000
    Mar 24, 06:46 PM
    When your moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature are bigoted and wrong, yes, we will attack you. Get used to it because that is the direction the world is moving, like it or not.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_8%
  • %IMG_DESC_8%



  • Digital Skunk
    Apr 13, 08:28 AM
    The shortcuts hasnt changed and it is possible to remap shortcuts so no need to worry.

    I believe you. . . but do you have a link. I haven't dug around a lot for it yet. That's really my biggest concern with this update. When I read that they were optimizing the app for a single screen I cheered. Making everything fit in a single moveable window . . . . great. I do hope they take a cue from Adobe Premier, and make the palettes/windows auto dock and auto resize.

    I love the UI tweaks. Puts the apps in-tune with the rest of the industry. Going to a white on black, dark interface that just about everything has now. Removing the tiny buttons scattered throughout the UI . . . also a plus.

    If those details that we spent years waiting for in FCP7 leave or are changed for no reason then I'll be a little disappointed. If they've been left the same, and I can download the new app and hit the ground running . . . . (and there aren't any bugs like the current version, which is why I am happy for a rewrite from the ground up Apple style) then this is a very welcomed update.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_9%
  • %IMG_DESC_9%



  • moose.boy
    Aug 29, 02:00 PM
    How the hell can nokia be one of the top companies - here in the UK, the phones it makes are seen as throw-away. If you get the average pay as you go user upgrading every 9 months or so, the amount of waste produced is ridiculous.

    Also nokia is based Scandinavian country (finland i think) and i'm sure there are tougher laws on environmental issues over there than the US/UK. Therefore, is what nokia does because of it's own volition, or because they are forced to.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_10%
  • %IMG_DESC_10%



  • w0by
    Aug 23, 12:47 PM
    Eh, I just blame AT&T for having the iPhone and not fixing their issues. I pay my ** $120 ** phone bill every month for my iPhone, and I don't even have unlimited calling/texting, so therefore AT&T needs to fix their crap.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_11%
  • %IMG_DESC_11%



  • dante@sisna.com
    Oct 30, 02:24 AM
    I have to agree there as well. My G5 Quad is one of the nicest computers I've ever owned. Definitely one of the top 3, possibly the best. And that's saying a lot considering the types of PCs and Unix systems I've owned over the years. I've never had one bit of trouble with it and it's still rather powerful compared to what's out there now. Although, I can see why people would want to sell... I've been watching the G5 systems selling on ebay, hoping I could get a deal on another one, but it's not happening. They're going for just as much as a new one did last January. I could probably sell mine (8GB RAM, FX4500, 2x500GB HD) for more than what I paid for it initially.. Very tempting and I may consider that in another month when the 8-core Mac Pros are released. Because while the G5 Quad is an awesome system, the reality is that as soon as all my software goes universal, it becomes obsolete. ...I have no use for Classic or anything that's still PowerPC native. The only software I use that hasn't made the universal/Intel transition is Adobe CS2. And it runs OK as is on my MBP, not great, but at least it's usable and still faster than it was on my older dual G4.

    Ouch! You do make an Outstanding Case for that 8 Core MacPro. For Sure. Okay, so maybe I would be tempted to sell my Quad G5. Scary. . ..





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_12%
  • %IMG_DESC_12%



  • Stage
    Mar 19, 11:54 PM
    If only people could work up a tenth of this kind of moral indignation over things that really matter, like poverty or racism. I despair that the only thing that seems to get geeks politically active is the threat that they won't be able to use their music illegally. It's sad, really.

    Yeah, you can't. Instead of being out protesting you are stuck at your computer dissing IP geeks. Mmm...Sad and hypocritical. Now that's sad.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_13%
  • %IMG_DESC_13%



  • Wilbah
    May 5, 12:09 PM
    iphone user since day 1.. I was verizon prior.. I live in central NJ, commute into NYC.. my service is so awful that I no longer talk on the phone.. seriously, my communication habits have changed.

    At home, I drop literally half of my calls inside and out, on the road, a little less but still a joke by any standard. If you check the map, I live in a high coverage, full 3G zone, it's not like I live in the sticks....

    When I first upgraded to the 3GS from my 2G, I noticed a marked improvement so I thought maybe it was the original 2G phone, but now, over the last few weeks the service has gotten so bad that I am ready to dump it and move on. I really just need a phone that works and doesn't give me high blood pressure every time I pick it up to get on a call.

    The problem is that the iPhone and some of the apps I utilize have become integral parts of my workflow, so it won't be an easy change.

    Yesterday I called AT&T for the first time in months and just yelled at everyone I could until I was good and satisfied. I've already gotten them to give me refunds (several time) it's not about the money anymore.

    I just really wish they'd invest some of the loads of cash they're taking to upgrade their network, especially in the busiest metro areas that are the hardest hit. Or perhaps maybe even invent a new method relieve pressure on their network (something along the lines of the micro-cell but more widespread)?

    They should also RUSH the micro cell to all markets immediately, and GIVE it to people! Seriously.. for the money we pay, they should GIVE the microcell away to anyone on AT&T who will take it. It will relieve pressure on their network and possibly save them from additional towers.

    The device is cheap comparatively .. and we are the ones who are paying for the internet connection that it utilizes! For the nearly $6,000 I've given AT&T over the last 3 years (we have 3 iPhones on a plan) I think it's only fair they give us a service that at the very least they are trying to improve.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_14%
  • %IMG_DESC_14%



  • JAT
    Apr 21, 10:33 AM
    Well, just think of it as paying toll on a road that your taxes had already paid for (probably a bad example).
    This is always a poor example. I don't think people understand just how under-funded the transport system in this county is. Here in MN we spend more on roads per population or capita than any other state, I believe. (I can't remember the stats) And our roads look like crap. You head south, where they think they can go 5x as long between repairs due to less temp variation than us here (and probably can), but really go 20x as long and also have crap roads. NO road is already "paid for".
    Look Android lovers... this is an Apple site. You don't need to call us "Fanboys" in a condescending way here. We are here because we love our Macs, iOS devices or we develop for them and like to keep up on the news. Yes... many here are "fanboys".

    We don't care about your customization, your 4G, your ability to steal music or video. It's stupid. You do know you can do all that on an iPhone too (with the exception of 4G - but who cares, very little markets have it). Yes, iTunes manages our music, apps and video, but I can add songs and videos from anywhere... just like you. If I want to be a geek and customize, I can jail break my phone and do all sorts of crazy things. You do realize the average consumer out there could care less right? They just want it to work.

    So, anyway... go love your Droid device. It is a nice platform. But sorry to say, it's not going to kill the iPhone or iOS. Apple is good at what it does and consumers love it. Their sales continue to show it.

    And, like it or not, Apple is the most influential high-tech company out there right now. They've done more for the PC and the Mobile industry than any other company in the last decade. You should be happy Apple exists as they've woken up many manufactures in the market as to what consumers care about. Quality product. Consistent experience and superior service.

    Please... if you want to impress your friends with your customized HTC Thunderbolt, go over to the Android forum and beat your chest and stop the pissing contest here. There's pluses and minuses on both sides and we could argue all day with no productive end result.
    Ah yes, logic. The one thing that escapes the whiny geeks.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_15%
  • %IMG_DESC_15%



  • manman
    Mar 18, 02:28 PM
    You get what you deserve and for those of you who kept telling others about an Unlock and to suffer the consequences, KARMA.

    wha?





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_16%
  • %IMG_DESC_16%



  • CalBoy
    Apr 22, 10:41 PM
    As I said in my first post, most atheists that I speak to don't put this much thought and care into their atheism. They just take it for granted that it won't be challenged.

    I haven't seen that in my experience. Most atheists put a great deal of deliberative thought into their position. "Casual" atheists are more commonly, in my experience, agnostics with a poor vocabulary. In fact, the very idea of holding a position without substantiation is an anathema to what atheists hold above all else: the triumph of reason over "intuition."

    I realize the capricious nature of something like this since people are free to label themselves however they please. However, I think you'll find that those who affirmatively state what they don't believe will have a thought out answer, much like the self-described atheists in this thread. Granted there are some who have a reduced grasp of science and the scientific method, but that's no different than a Catholic who has doesn't know the Eighth Commandment. There are always going to be better prepared members of any sub-group.

    I also don't think there is an atheist who isn't challenged all the time about their beliefs. People (especially in the US) have a deep distrust of atheists and it isn't something people usually wear on their sleeves; it's a scarlet letter that always needs to be "justified."


    How can you prove something's existence that exists outside of time and space? I don't think it's possible except through pure reason.

    I'm not even sure you can use pure reason to establish any deity. What would be the logical construction of that argument?


    No, I don't think I'm confusing anything actually.

    Yes, you did. You lumped up three distinct theories about three different aspects of cosmic, geological, and biological history, all because they were an affront to your beliefs (or to your incredulity, whichever fits better).

    "Exploding" only applies to the Big Bang Theory (and barely at that). Planetary formation and cell formation are radically different and quite complex, as is the Big Bang Theory. Trying to lump them all into one "explosion" from which your current reality directly came to be only shows your scientific illiteracy, not an inherent weakness in any one of these well-tested ideas.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_17%
  • %IMG_DESC_17%



  • emw
    Mar 18, 10:16 AM
    I wonder how long it'll be until Apple comes up with a fix for this?Probably before the the end of the day, I would imagine.

    But is this really a surprise to anybody? I mean, really, how much can the RIAA bitch about this? They sell CDs that anyone can burn and share - they should be happy that Apple is trying to improve upon this model in the first place. Of course, I know they will still bitch...





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_18%
  • %IMG_DESC_18%



  • ChocolateOne
    Jun 4, 09:57 PM
    Not sure this is a good test...

    I'm beginning to see that while ATT is the bigger culprit, the iphone itself may play a role in what happens with dropped calls...

    My service (as is well documented in these forums) at home was/is terrible.

    I recently purchased the microcell, from ATT, and I can now make calls in my house!! Except, when I move exactly 20 feet away from the microcell into my kitchen, my iPhone struggles with itself to pick up the 2 bar distant tower that was the guilty party in dropping my calls... so now, in my house iPhone juggles between a 5 bar microcell and a 1-2 bar tower (which still drops calls). It also drops every call that I'm on if i leave my house during a call, or arrive at my house during a call.

    I have reset the network settings on iphone, to no avail...

    Before this week and the microcell experiment, I wouldnt have said this, but I honestly believe that the software that drives the phone is playing a huge part in how the phone handles tower switches, and thus is a culprit in the dropped call phenomena.

    I agree cause my blackberry Bold 9700 never drops calls and i am everywere in the northwest.





    new york skyline at night. %IMG_DESC_19%
  • %IMG_DESC_19%



  • CaoCao
    Mar 25, 03:20 PM
    Damn right. What are we supposed to say- "Oh, you don't like us and want to deny us rights? Ok, that's just your opinion! Cool!" **** that. Sorry, not gonna happen.
    You have to prove the rights existed in the first place otherwise I could argue the government is denying my right to drive a tank
    It is entirely relevant. The leadership of the Catholic Church, as one very significant representative of a multitude of peer sects that engage in similar behavior, uses its political and rhetorical power to promote the attitudes that spread their own prejudice and enable prejudiced people, including a subset of extremists, to excuse themselves from the obligation to treat those people with fundamental dignity and respect.
    *snip*
    Do you even understand how the Roman Catholic Church much less the Catholic Church works?
    No argument except as to the point. This would only be a relevant criticism if I were holding Catholics responsible for an attitude held by some Christian sects, but not by Catholics themselves. On the contrary, the Catholic attitude towards homosexuality in question is common across much of Christendom.

    This thread is about the Catholic Church, so I name the Catholic Church, but the criticism is properly aimed at the attitude they share ecumenically. The consequences of prejudice against homosexuality as rationalized by Christian dogma are shared among all who promote that prejudice. The Catholic Church is neither singled out (except contextually) nor excused on that account.



    As I said, you want to reserve to the church the right to disclaim responsibility for those who act on the principles it promotes.

    I doubt you could find a sect who murdered homosexuals for fun. To return to the analogy, the Klan did not murder black people for fun. They murdered those who stepped out of line, who challenged the social status white people of the era carved out for black people.



    The mainstream hierarchy of the Catholic Church espouses the belief that homosexuals must be made to conform to Catholic prejudice regarding their proper place in society, and that Catholic belief grants them the right to do so. The premise is wrong before we even get to the method. The mainstream Catholic Church pursues this agenda in ways which do not currently involve terrorist action, but they do pursue it. The obscure terrorist sect you've hypothesized would be operating based on the same flawed premise as the "mainstream" church, arguably even more consistently, since a common interpretation of the Bible does demand the death penalty for homosexuals.

    As I keep saying, the immorality lies in the idea that one's prejudice gives one the right to force other people to live their own lives within the boundaries of that prejudice, whatever form that force may take.

    This is about the Roman Catholic Church not Christendom. Also the attitude is not shared, many Protestant groups see people as evil and wicked, the Roman Catholic Church sees homosexuals as people in need of love and support.

    By mainstream Catholic I mean someone who follows all the rules of the Catholic Church.

    The Catholic view does not demand the death of homosexuals, instead it seeks to change the behavior for they are lost sheep.





    TurnerMan
    May 17, 12:32 PM
    I moved to Newport News, VA (23601) almost 2 years ago and was a customer with AT&T since 2002 when I lived in San Antonio, TX. Even though I live in a "3G coverage area" I couldn't get voice service, much less a 3G data stream. I thought it may have been my iPhone so I bought a Blackberry Bold - still didn't work from my apartment, the reception was just as bad.

    Last year my area flooded pretty bad and I couldn't contact my wife when I was out of town. That was the last straw for AT&T. The next day I went to Verizon and got two new Droids - I get 3-4 bars now and love it.





    sectime
    May 9, 03:07 PM
    I don't understand why someone would stay with AT&T if they are having so many dropped calls. With Verizon offering phones like the Droid Incredible and Motorola Droid it is possible to switch to a more reliable carrier and still have an "iPhone like" experience. I don't see the iPhone coming to Verizon anytime soon. If you really want an iPhone then just get a Touch and get a Verizon Android phone to go with it.

    Of course it is your money, but I would be upset if I was paying my phone bill every month and not getting reliable service.
    That's what I did after getting my Ipad. Droid has great reception no more dropped and missed calls





    shawnce
    Jul 12, 11:44 AM
    As for Conroes being too hot for an iMac, that strikes me as ridiculous. From what I've read, conroes use 40% less power than Pentium D's and are very efficient in terms of power to performance.

    Pentium D has horrid heat output. :)

    Merom is a laptop chip and I'm not sure it will ever end up in a desktop system, even if it is the same socket as the Yonah.

    Yonah is a laptop chip yet it is in Apple's desktop iMac. :)

    Anyway...

    The Merom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#endnote_MeromSpeculation) has a TDP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_Design_Point) of 35 W and the Conroe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#endnote_ConroeSpeculation) has a TDP of 65 W (or 80 W for the X6xxx) ...and that isn't counting the difference in heat produced by the chipset (Apple is using a laptop chipset in the Intel iMac).

    So the question is can Apple use a chip and chipset that will have a peak thermal load that is likely more then double (if they used Conroe) what is in the current Intel iMac (the Yonah has a TDP around 27 W). Also in theory the Conroe should come out a little cheaper then a Merom based system because of volume and binning.

    Likely they can (given the iMac contained a G5 at one point, granted low clock rate) but it will come at the cost of more constant use of fans.

    Apple could go either way on this...





    Schizoid
    Apr 21, 05:38 AM
    ...so anyway, back to the conference call.

    Apple sold nearly 5 million iPads last quarter... now this sounds good to me, why are the media reporting this as "disappointing." Am I missing something here? Surely this should be at least "pretty good."

    (EDIT: sorry I'm in the wrong post!)





    Rodimus Prime
    Mar 23, 05:14 PM
    im not a phone genius but i am pretty sure the Android is cross-carrier. If it surpasses the iPhone any time soon, it will be because of that. But i guarantee that if the iPhone went cross-carrier as well, we would see a HUGE jump in sales in which Android will plummet. Think about it. a REALLY BIG reason a lot of people go with the Android is because the iPhone isnt available on their carrier.

    IMHO

    iPhone has already gone cross carriers in other parts of the world and we did not see a huge jump.

    Android is going to pass the iPhone because of choices and on multiple types of hardware. Some people want a hardware keyboard other want all touch screen, Some want smaller sizes and so on.

    iPhone is take it or leave it. Android phones you have a lot more choices on hardware.