Yes, definitely, it took me quite some time to set up the software environment. But that was a few years ago.
If anyone is interested in the story, it's here:
http://diybookscanner.org/foru...
The hardware setup:
Is this primitive enough? : )
Many people here aren't liking the changes in Windows 8, as I gather, is because...
1) They have years of habit and experience of using the pre-Win8 interface, and the changes are dramatic enough to break the routine/muscle memory while not offering anything that significantly improves the productivity (or even reduces it).
2) They use the PC for more than just web browsing and emailing (which is understandably not an accurate representation of the general public since this is Slashdot). It's much less rare for people here to operate on multiple monitors and have a few windows opening at the same time. To them, this Metro and Start Screen thing is counter-productive.
But the point is, they're forced to adapt (if they upgrade to Win8). To adopt a car analogy, it's like the maker decides to utilize a control stick for the latest generation instead of the steering wheel - it works, but is less efficient for people used to drive with a steering wheel.
So they'd just stick with the existing car (XP or 7) instead.
But (again), how long can they hold out...? What if this change will remain for Win9/10/11...?
One of the important points is, would businesses in general adopt Windows 8...? I guess we all agree that is unlikely, at least in a short time frame, say 2-3 years, for various reasons. In the meantime, would Microsoft be able to improve and help us have a smoother transition with perhaps Windows 9...? Or would it relent and offer a dual interface in the next version...?
One thing that we sometimes fail to realize, is that computers started as a niche device which are utilized by scientists, engineers and such. Now, computers has become a diverse field which includes desktop, laptops, tablets, smartphones, just to name a few, and are utilized by 3-year old and grandmoms, so we need different interfaces.
The point is, the change in Windows 8 is like... If you force the Chinese and Japanese to use spoons and forks to eat rice and sushis, they can do it, but it's inefficient, and they're not gonna like it.
Another issue is that, if people are to adopt a different interface anyway, why should they adopt Metro...? Why not iOS...? Android...? Chrome OS...? But that's a topic for another day I guess.
Just some random ramblings.
Cheers.
Thought you were joking but then I read this...
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3197703&cid=41710195
I sincerely hope it's a joke.
Cheers.
I believe Microsoft, at least the ones building WinRT and the management, do realize the differences.
But do they want the customer to realize it as well? You know, "not compatible with x86 software", or "not compatible with traditional Windows software" are not exactly great selling points, at least, not without a somewhat lengthy explanation and until the MS store has a healthy collection of apps.
If I were Microsoft, I wouldn't promote the Surface and WinRT "too much" at the moment (may not even launch, but that's another story). The backlash and returns from people who're confused can cause troublesome damages.
Cheers.
Wonder if the aforementioned, longstanding issue is fixed in Office 15 or not...?
Just happened to have to deal with it a few days earlier, and was reminded that it's still there (in Office 14). It's been reported for, >10-year I think...?
Ref: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/calendar/changing-date-recurring-appointments/
Crashplan does this (backup to your friends/family members) automatically for free . Paid version include better encryption and/or backup to their "cloud".
FWIW, the software is closed source though.
Cheers.
That being said, I don't understand why the music and video industry doesn't come together and has some international distribution agreement, even if one is willing to pay for the content, the fact is that (mostly) outside the US, one wouldn't be able to make a purchase without resorting to using VPN.
And that's still probably illegal, even if he did pay for it.
Yeah, but understandably, to fulfil the legal requirement of a country, in particular for music and video, is probably more complex than many of us think.
This has been going for 10-year, but unlike IBM vs SCO, there seems to be no Groklaw to explain the situation...
Can I assume what's on rambus.org is full of FUD...?
One thing still baffles me, if the memory makers were sure that Rambus had no ground in court, why did some of them still coughed up millions of dollars to them...?
I know sometimes having a settlement is cheaper than going all the way through litigation, and sometimes acting shrewdly does not necessarily mean illegal, but still...
Could it be that both sides have had their mischief...?
Cheers.
Years ago, I managed to convince my friend to get an X41 Tablet (http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X41_Tablet) when it first came out, thinking that she could use it to jot down notes using OneNote in classes. In the end she kept on using paper and pen instead.
She did find the tablet functionality useful - To draw with ArtRage.
There are some reasons why she didn't use it to jot notes - The machine was too heavy (4lbs) and large (10" x 10") for her to carry around together with the printed textbooks and other stuff; The performance was not very good (4,200RPM 1.8" HDD); She's not that into technology and felt more comfortable to shift through notebooks......
Few years later, I got an X61 Tablet myself. These days, I mainly use the tablet functionality to jot down notes with OneNote when I read the Bible, and occasionally to write the diary.
The ability of OneNote to recognize my hasty handwriting is surprisingly good. But the machine is still too heavy to hold in hand for long periods.
There are slate-only models which are lighter, but I need a keyboard and have no interest (and money) in buying and switching between 2 machines.
I think one of the blocking issues for my friend to utilize the tablet functionality more was that, e-textbooks were in most cases just not available back then. She would have to carry the book AND the machine all the time.
The above comments are about Tablet PC running full-fledged Windows.
With regard to the newer tablet market out there (e.g. iPad, Xoom, Galaxy Tabs...), most of them use capacitive screens which are not accurate enough for handwritten notes (there's a stylus called Jot from Adonit who seemed to give excellent accruacy, but I have no actual experience myself so cannot vouch for it).
A few of them have an active stylus (which I mentioned here http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1819164#post1819164), but then software support is an issue - They all have their proprietary and incompatible ways to utilize the stylus and store the drawings/notes, which could prove to be problematic down the road.
I can go on for many paragraphs, but not knowing more about what your wife expects, it's difficult to give more useful comments. But feel free to let me know if you have any specific question in mind.
Cheers.
This is marked score:5 informative...?
Did you also check where the capacitors, resistors, PCB, or the rare earth elements used came from...?
With regard to switching the place of the final assembly, as another AC mentioned (http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2513116&cid=37975866), it's not that simple. Just ask the Chinese government how's it doing trying to migrate some of the factories away from the Pearl River Delta area.
Like it or not, we're living in a global economy now, and we're more or less depended on and inter-related to each other, more than ever. It doesn't mean every one depends on China - Without the western technology developed in the past century, many of the factory workers in China maybe working on the field now (whether that is bad or not is up to debate, though).
BTW, it kind of saddens me when people tell me "China is good" because a lot of cheap things come from China, I try to explain, whenever possible, that the many many workers and people in China suffer from excessive working hours, poor working conditions, uncontrolled and unmitigated pollution and damage to the environment, just to name a few.
Sigh.
I wasn't trying to imply anything, just would like to state my opinions.
And if I understood correctly (pardon me if I didn't), one of the features and inevitable conclusions in post-modernism deconstruction is that, there's no absolute truth.
Cheers.
Sir, if it makes you feel better, then so be it.
But in case, just in case, you have time and interest, you may join me here to see the situation on the ground, and talk to the people directly, together, you and me.
Cheers.
Again, your mentioning of a force that would like to "wipe Israel from the face of the earth", is something I consider far from being true in terms of practicality, something that's exaggerated by the media and used by people like you to justify the oppression of the Palestinians and minority groups in Israel.
At the same time, it's understandable that many Jews, and the people as a whole, are still reeling from the prosecution in the hand of Christians-led authorities in the last 20 centuries, and the Holocaust.
What should I say? The Christians first prosecuted the Jews, and now they prosecute the Muslims. Umm... It now seems pretty clear to me what's the source of the problems.
And it's time for me to do my daily devotion.
Promptness is its own reward, if one lives by the clock instead of the sword.
