Wow. This is the funniest thing I've heard all day.

Why are you guys talking about Final Scratch? I feel like I just walked into a thread with people bemoaning the missing features of BeOS or something. Final Scratch has been dead for years. Serato is the standard, with Traktor close behind, and VDJ and Torq as the low-cost alternatives. Heck, there are even Linux-based systems. Also, CDJs have been out for, what? A decade now? Pioneer just released a brand new line. You can needle drop and scratch on them just like with vinyl. As for looking at the grooves vs. a screen, one of Serato's most visible and well known features is its scrolling waveforms. Not only is it a perfect image of the waveform of the track, locked completely to the position of the timecode, it's also color coded. You need no second thought to separate what range of frequencies you're looking at. In fact, it's so good, you can beatmatch without the headphones at all. It's sort of blasphemy (and not likely to produce as good results) and a lot of 'newbie' DJs get blasted for it. Same with the 'Sync' button found on many digital setups nowadays (Serato has no Sync button. Serato ITCH, however, does.) For sure, vinyl is alove and kicking, as are the turntables. Numark, Stanton, Vestax, and Technics are all marketing decks. I wonder about Technics though. There are rumors that the line will end soon. It's not entirely hard to imagine, especially since a 1200 can last 20+ years despite continued use. Those things are built TOUGH. All the same, vinyl DJing is sort of a novelty at this point. It gets you cool points, and having a solid vinyl collection is always nice, but for the 'working' DJ, it is far easier to bring a hard drive or a CD book. Tracks are more easily found, the prices are lower, and the convenience is way higher. Trust me, DVS (Digital Vinyl Systems) have been around for years, are proven and mature, and now represent the standard in almost any club you'll walk into today. And for those that bemoan the fact that the internet makes it too easy to get tracks, that it's tougher to find 'exclusives', well... Look, if your saving grace is a library of 'exclusive' tracks, that doesn't speak highly of your skills as a DJ. Look, the Internet and technology leveled the playing field. Stop worrying about your secret set list and improve your skills. Rock the crowd. That's all that matters.

Oh. It kind of sounded like the Bible to me.

Dude, VZW unlocked the GPS on its BlackBerry devices last year. This used to be a legitimate complaint, but that changed over 10 months ago.

That's odd. I was just given a 10 year old iMac, a G3/400. For kicks, two nights ago, I installed OS X 10.4 without a single hitch. My only limiting factor right now is that I need a wireless adapter so I can easily hook up to my network. Point being, OS X 10.4 installs on a 10 year old Mac just fine. Once paired with a wireless adapter, it'll make a fine 'Net terminal that can handle word processing and other light use. Perfectly fine by my standards and about what I'd expect from a machine that old. Here's another upshot: Because it runs 10.4, it looks and feels like a modern machine. Much more than I could say for anything running 98, or even XP.

"He spent a week learning enough English to get a job in a machine shop for about $1 an hour.

In short, he was just about as low as you can go on the totem pole in America."

No, he wasn't. He got a decent paying job with little to no skills. He didn't create that job, the opportunity was there for him.

According to http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl -> $1 in 1932 has the buying power of nearly $15 today. So, with no skills, he got a job paying today's equivalent of nearly $15/hr while having little to no expenses. That's pretty lucky, if you ask me. My best friend is trying to pay her way through college. Since she needs to attend classes, she can't work full-time. Since she's not yet a college graduate, she can't get a high-paying job. She would jump for joy at the chance to earn $15/hr. Despite the fact that English is her native tongue, and she had a 4.0GPA through high school, she earns maybe... 2/3rds of that number. Maybe a little bit more. Of course, we're also currently living through the heart of a huge economic downturn instead of catching the nation on its greatest economic and social upswing in history.

I'm doing everything I can to get myself through college, and I've lucked out pretty nicely. My best friend's dad hired me and pays me pretty well, and helps me with tuition. I'm lucky because I know a generous man with extra resources. I'm not getting a handout, because when I'm not at school, I'm working for him at his shop. I am, however, getting an opportunity. You'll never catch me saying how I built everything I had by myself, because I recognize that the foundation for a grand opportunity was made by someone else and I benefited. That's how the world should work. Not through handouts and the like, but through laying the groundwork for opportunity.

Oh, and despite my great opportunity and (relative to my friends) decent paycheck, paying for a roof over my head cost 50% of what I make, before any and all other expenses come in. Gotta pay for gas and maintain my car, because to get between work, home, and school means I drive 120 miles every day. I don't get to live the university life in a dorm, doing nothing but studying, because my parents could never afford that. In fact, I make more money than my own mother (who, by today's standards, makes less than the "bottom of the totem pole" figure you named before). I've lucked out, and got a lot of help from others, and yet it's still very challenging to improve my life.

I have another good friend, she doesn't attend college. She's not stupid, and she had attended classes in the past. But she needs to work full-time. You see, she had a respiratory illness and had to go the ER once. Despite having insurance, she's stuck with the bill. She's still paying off that bill. It's all she can do. She works, and lives, to pay off a bill she should've never had. Because of this, she's not going to school, she's not improving her life, she's doing everything she can to stay where she's at.

I would venture to say that most of our "poor" are in a similar situation. They're doing everything they can just so that they can maintain what little they have. I'm a little more fortunate. I can manage a little bit of upward socioeconomic mobility, but it certainly takes a lot of work. I wake up around 6am to go to work, got 60 miles from work to school, and then get back home sometime after 10pm. I'm not complaining, I know I have it good. I recognize and acknowledge what got me where I'm at, and I recognize and acknowledge what others don't have that keeps them where they are.

Yes, there are overwhelming amounts of people that make bad choices that ruin their lives. Yes, we shouldn't give people a free ride. However, there is a far more large amount of people that are dying for an opportunity. That's what we need to work towards: Providing that "American Opportunity".

All of those now stuck with the iPhone 3G are feeling the pain the original iPhone adopters felt last year. What's better? Those who went with the iPhone when it was first released are about to be done with their 2-year contracts, making them eligible for the steep discounts on the NEW iPhone. What's worse? This same thing will happen next year when Apple releases the iPhone 4G.

It is not locked. It has been unlocked for months.

I am not a troll. I am not the one spouting lies.

You have an 8830. The update is for the 8830.

Keep telling yourself you're right. Fine by me. Everyone else is enjoying unlocked GPS. You're not. Oh well. Your choice.

The OS is as supported as any from RIM. But hey, you can keep telling yourself you made the right choice.

As for me, I'll go back to enjoying Google Maps and Nav4All.

Have fun! =D

Ok, for one thing, it is for your phone. You have an 8830? This is for the 8830.

On top of that, RIM makes the OS. Just because Verizon doesn't release it to you doesn't mean much of anything.

Go on, update. Enjoy improved functionality.

Or, y'know, don't.

But don't claim that Verizon's evil for locking the GPS when, um... It's not locked.

Um, it'll work just fine.

And you'll have an unlocked GPS.

"Just did the 135 upgrade and everything looks fine on my VZW 8830." - As posted in that very same thread.

Hell, I have the 9530, and Verizon's official OS is .75, yet I'm running .109. Not only do I have no issues, the phone is leaps and bounds better than before.

If you're fine with the locked GPS and old firmware, stick with what you have. I pointed out that the GPS is unlocked. I am correct in that statement. Your trepidation in updating the software on your phone has nothing to do with the facts. Enjoy your locked GPS.

http://forums.crackberry.com/f61/newest-8830-os-v4-5-0-135-multilanguage-170265/ - l2update

Nice try, though.

If by that, you mean you want me to help you update the firmware on the phone to 4.5 so that you, too, can enjoy the unlocked GPS that every other Verizon customer with a BlackBerry is currently enjoying, then... Yea, ok. I'm glad to help.

http://www.blackberrycool.com/2008/12/gps-now-unlock-for-verizon-blackberry-8130-and-8330-blackberry-bytes/ - That's from nearly 3 months ago. And Google Maps works now too.

You are a troll. Verizon does a lot of backhanded evil shit, and there are many reasons to hate on them. Don't make shit up. The GPS on all VZW BlackBerries has been unlocked for months. I've got my BlackBerry Storm right here in front of me. Not only did it come with a free mapping app, BB Maps, I also went and installed Google Maps. Funny that, it accesses the GPS just fine. So does Nav4All. And SignalLoc. And Poynt. A year ago you could've slung this claim. Not today. Better luck next time.

Y'know, I dunno. I mean, when you take a long hard look at them, you find that they are both worth exactly what you pay for them.

... "AMD finally on par with Intel tech from two years ago."

Seriously. I love AMD. I've been using AMD chips since my very first system of my own, which had a mighty K6-166.

This past Novemeber, I finally bit the bullet, sold my Athlon X2 system, and upgraded... To a Q6600-based rig. Some may scoff that it's only a 2.4ghz chip, but I'm running it at 3.4ghz right now, and I'm fairly sure I'll reach 3.6ghz with a bit more work.

To be sure, those who don't overclock, but want a powerful AMD-based system will find this chip worthwhile. I would expect those to be people who already have AM2+ systems looking for an upgrade (I have a good friend that wanted an ultra cheap upgrade for her desktop a few months back... I built her an AM2+ X2 setup. Guess what? Now she can upgrade to something worthwhile. Yay!).

However, for the enthusiast, the hardware tweaker, the overclocker... The Phenom II is a disappointment. It has been said it can overclock to as high as 3.8ghz with good air cooling, maybe even 4ghz if you go with water. Awesome. C2Q can clock every bit as high, and you'll get more performance per clock out of it as well. I paid $180 for my Q6600. At 3.4ghz, it'll out-pace the top-end Phenom II. That Phenom II cost $275. Which is about the same price as... A low-end Core i7 chip that will overclock to 4ghz and beyond. With the i5 chips coming down the line, what's stopping Intel from slashing Core 2 prices?

All-in-all, the Phenom II is a powerful chip, and would serve well as the heart of an AMD rig, delivering worthy performance for almost anything. The problem is, a Core 2 Quad will do ya one better every time, for the same cost or less, and has been doing so for the past two years.

I'm anxiously waiting for AMD to bring back the glory days when they actually tried to compete with Intel, not just chase their taillights.