Except what you did -- using the water-cooling setup -- had a constant cooling effect. The Wired article specifically states that you get used to this cool feeling after a while. So, they're alternating warm and cool sensations to trick your mind into thinking you feel cooler than you actually are. (I'm sure there's a pun in there somewhere...) So, it's not just about cooling your body temperature, which is what most people think about doing. It's about psychology and mental trickery, which is considerably different than what you were doing.

Firstly, if you don't see any use to updating each year, why bother? Then you can avoid the licensing hassles, while you're at it. The main benefit for being on subscription is the technical support from Autodesk. Though, I wonder how many people realize they get that benefit. For most people, there aren't many really useful updates to AutoCAD each release. I will agree that there aren't many new updates to AutoCAD worth mentioning in the past few releases of the program. They've focused on areas that the generic AutoCAD program really shouldn't be pushed into. Things like point clouds, 3D solids, etc. Use the right tool for the job. Don't make a generic system like AutoCAD, that was designed for 2D work, do something it isn't designed to do. And with a (mostly) 2D tool like AutoCAD, there's only so much you can continue to do to keep the product new and fresh each release.

To add to the other comment about LMTOOLS, this software is actually a customizable 3rd-party network licensing product that's adapted for product-specific licensing by many companies out there, not just Autodesk. I believe most players in the CAD market use it, including Dassault (which also includes SolidWorks), PTC (Pro/Engineer), and I think Siemens (UG NX). There are also a whole host of other companies that use it outside of the CAD realm. While it LOOKS like it was made in the 90's, it does still function. Why bother making something look awesome when it's rarely opened and sitting on a server somewhere?



I'll agree that FlexNet licensing can be a real PITA sometimes. I should know, having to deal with providing technical support for it on a regular basis. (See disclaimer below.) But that doesn't mean it isn't a decent product, especially since most of the time it works just fine. But since it's been in use for such a long time, I highly doubt that it will be replaced with something that looks better and makes things easier to set up and use anytime soon.

But also remember that Autodesk produces well over 100 different products for all kinds of uses, not just vanilla AutoCAD. Things like Inventor, Revit, 3DS Max, Maya, etc. are all using these licensing and subscription models. While LMTOOLS and subscription/leasing may not be ideal for all of their products, it may be what they feel is the best middle ground for everything, rather than coming up with different models for different products.

Disclaimer: I work for an Autodesk partner.

Brewing beer at home has been around for millenia. Sharing of recipes online is huge within the homebrewing community. What good is an "open-source" beer? A recipe cannot be copyrighted. The brew itself cannot be patented. The only thing they're doing is sharing the recipe, along with a sample of the beer. Big deal. Many microbreweries share recipes for their brews on their own web sites. Saying the beer is "open-source" simply means you look like a pretentious douche by calling it "open-source".

I was actually just playing through Diablo, and planning to run through Diablo II again. Good times!

I wouldn't be surprised if they put out some kind of offline patch when they try to discontinue support for the game. But I'm sure they'll keep the servers up for quite some time before they do anything.

Except most apps for iOS are very inexpensive or free. Not $60 each.

WOOOOOOOOSH!

Just because a word or phrase is old doesn't mean it's how people speak anymore. Hence why we don't speak "ye olde English". I don't go around saying, "Thine locks beist quite foul! And thy luck downtrodden." I say, "Your hair doesn't look so good. Bad luck at the Great Clips?" It's been decades since I took English classes, and we never used "an" in that way. The word "an" should be followed by vowel sounds, like, "That's an idiotic thing to say!" While "a" should be followed by consonants, like, "That's a ridiculous hat!" It's easier to say and understand. It just makes sense. That's why we have the two words that have the same function.

Who says that...? "I'll have an Playstation 3, please!" Doesn't anyone take English classes anymore?

Hate to burst your bubble, but the Bible doesn't actually state that the world is 6,000 years old. That was just some math done using the stated ages of people within the Bible to work backward and figure out the age of the universe. But no one in the Bible says, outright, that the world is 6,000 years old.

And how you can say that they aren't "directly beholden to one party or another" is completely beyond me. Is that what the "D" and "R" mean..? "Not biased"? I'm pretty sure the VAST majority of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, etc. all vote along party lines most, if not all, of the time. If you think otherwise, you've got your head in the sand.

Sooooo... we're supposed to let the corrupt bureaucrats just sit there in office for life, without term limits? And let them continue to make decisions that the public, the people they are SUPPOSED to represent, do NOT want?

{sarcasm}That sounds really smart! Yes. Let's just let them be. They've been in office for 20 years. They MUST know what they're doing. Yup. {/sarcasm}

Oh, they know what they're doing. They're either taking corporate money from lobbyists to make decisions based on what those corporations want, regardless of what the rest of the population's wishes are. Or, they're doing what they think is best for the country. In case you hadn't noticed, most politicians do NOT work for the people anymore. They suck up to us and get us to believe that they do what we want, and once they're in office they do whatever they want, or think is right for us (or themselves, if they're greedy bastards).

I don't know about you, but I don't need someone to tell me what's good for me. If the people elect you into office, you're supposed to do what they tell you to do. You're not their babysitter. You're supposed to be their representative and steward.

It's probably best that way... lots of people think of these cameras as safety devices. Others think they're just revenue-generators. (Not that they aren't revenue-generators...but some say they have other good purposes.) Either way... brain asplode!

How about these references...

Speed Cameras Cause Bad Driving, Increase Crashes

or...let's try Arizona, if you don't trust the UK report...

AZ Police Report Shows Speed Camera Caused Accident

Do you need more..? I'm sure there are quite a few studies showing this trend.

How about teach others. Once you've gotten that far, you have a LOT of knowledge to impart on others. As a master of any trade, you can certainly help train others to do good work, too. Take on apprentices along the way. Also, I'm sure the trade's union has information about retirement and benefits. Besides, not many people stay in one job for very long anymore. So, I doubt most people would be career contractors, but you never know.