Soleq

I've heard that imagebucket is fairly nice, but I tend to just use tinypic.com. You just go to the main page, select which file you want hosted, then upload it. It spits out a direct link to the file, and voila! Instand free hosting.The one catch though is that anyone can really look at it, and it's just hosting, no online photo gallery. It works well for what I need it to do though.I haven't tried imagebucket, but I know that people sware by it. I don't know any specifics though, except that it doesn't like PNG files.

Eh, this can go either way. Sure, in WWII, Roosevelt was actually elected three times for this reason, but look at Vietnam. Do you honestly think the result would have been any better if there was just one administration through the entire campaign? An ineffective war is still ineffective no matter who's leading the charge. I was saddened to see Bush reelected. Partisanship aside, the logistics of the war in Iraq are just mindboggling. It's almost as if Bush is just ignoring common sense and the generals are following suit like common brown-nosers.

Amazon has already done something similar. However, they only allow you to view a certain number of pages. It's extremely helpful if you're looking for a particular passage in a book, but can't remember what page it's on. I believe that is what Google's service is trying to accomplish. Sure, it would be nice to have a whole library of full books available over the net, but I just don't see profitability from this. Think about it, how many people would actually prefer to sit starting at a screen to read a full length book? Not very many if you ask me. Even PDAs are a pain to read, and would probably charge a small fee to transfer it over, much like the eBook system.Of course, all of this is academic, because the library system is already dead. It was killed long ago by the likes of Borders and Barnes & Noble. Oh, and the major spending cuts.

My personal favorite forum is phpBB. I'm just used to it.Anyway, a good forum has all of the elements listed above. I guess, however, the real thing that makes a forum is a strong userbase. If no one goes there, then the forum isn't worth beans, even if everything else is perfect. I shamefully admit that I frequent gaiaonline.com. Sure, it's swarming with teens, but the admin Lanzer is a genius when it comes to modifying phpBB and maintaining a well-run forum. The entire forum is spread over 47 servers now, with an average load of over 10,000 users at any given time. Go check it out to see how it's doing, as the site backbone is amazing.So yeah, userbase #1. Everything else makes it run smoothly.

Old habits die hard. I learned on Pascal, so I voted Pascal. Ah...the fond memories.Of course, Pascal itself was very limiting, and all I managed to do was create simple applications that had no graphics. But hey, what do you expect when you're programming in DOS?Since then, I've learned Java and HTML (if you can call that a real language). Java is nice, though butt slow when it comes to real world applications. Sure, I like the write-once, run-anywhere approch, but hey, I value my speed. I fooled around in C/C++, but never fully took it on. I guess that's why I didn't stay in the Computer Science program at my college. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Okay, thanks for the account creation. However, I was unaware that I could create subdomains for my subdomain (xxx.vendtrends.astahost.com and the like). Anyway, how possible would it be to change my subdomain to soleq.astahost.com? This change would be greatly appreciated.

Soleq is a newer name I created. I started with Sol (Sun), then just added the ended "eq." Pretty simple, no?But this is only one of the many names I go under. Geez, thinking about it, I've had quite a few. Oh well, I still go by my others on other forums and servers, but I like this one the best. Simple.

Eh, I'm a creature of habit, and I know Macs front and back, so I'll vote MacOSX. The simplicity of use, the additional base of programs (over 0S9) and the multithreaded capabilities put it lightyears ahead of any other Mac OS.I don't really care for Windows at all. Sure, Linux is nice, but again, I have OSX. Solaris is fun to dink around with, but I only used it for very specific purposes (though the SGI machines were pretty dang nice).

Eh, lunar eclipses are nothing spectacular. Ooooo...so the moon gets covered up for a while and maybe turns a slight color. Oh wow. Big deal.Solar eclipses are the marvels that I find interesting. Sure, they're basically the same phenomenon, but there's something about day turning to night being more interesting than night turning into, well, darker night.I've seen both, and I much prefer the solar type.

Yes, Hashbang has it right. Cortes and the Spanish basically single-handidly overthrew the Aztec empire. Sure, the empire itself had its own internal problems, but nothing like a band of manipulating murderers. Hashbang, your ponderings have been written about in a very interesting book called Pastwatch (Orson Scott Card). While it doesn't deal with Cortes specifically, it does deal with modifying Columbus' discovery (which in effect negates Cortes' exploration and eventual slaughter of the Aztecs). This book is one of my favorites, and just thinking about it makes me want to reread it.

I typically use a leveling system for my passwords. For most sites where security is of little concern, I use a single password. This offers me the ease of being able to remember my password as well as provide a basic level of security (much like the air shield in SpaceBalls). Remember too that most websites/applications require a minimal amount of security, so this password is used in most cases.My next level is a more complex password where I need a higher level of security. As the number of places that require this level dramatically decreases, the chances of someone being able to crack and use that password elsewhere is acceptably small. I consider this site to require this level of security.Finally, for uber-important places that require top security, I have a random code-generated password that may be unique for a particular site. The complexity for this password ensures that the average hacker will have a fair amount of work ahead of him to obtain it, and it cannot be used on other sites. I'm sure you can guess which sites require these passwords.So, now that I've laid out my security system, don't go get any ideas.

You took my wording in the literal since. I was referring to the fact that both perform the same basic task of providing a user interface to run programs. Both operating systems are mature, both are reliable, and both fit their need. Of course I know that the underpinnings are completely different. It doesn't matter what engine the car has under the hood; both are well capable of driving from point A to point B.

Those complex names are actually known as jargon (linguisitc term). FYI.Anyway, I love economics. I've been following the DOW since I was 10, started buying stocks at 14, and have made a tidy proit from my adventures. My college economics course was a piece of cake, and I really enjoyed learning the logistics behind economic trends and cause/effect. Right now I'm using my knowledge to offer a projection service for another forum that has a small-scale market-based economy. Sure, most of the people on there are under 20, but hey, it's really quite amazing how economics work in general.Call me a freak, but I find this stuff fun.

Out of the list provided above, I prefer BlackFire Networks Development (bfndevelopment.com). They're free (plus), easy to navigate (plus), and have several nice features that you can impliment very easily (plus). Oh, and did I mention that they're free (double plus good).Counters though are overrated. If you want something powerful, just load weports or something like that to your server.

My choice in Macs is simple: I just can't seem to stop buying them. To me, the Mac was always something more than a pile of random computer parts thrown together with duct tape (as most early PCs were, and some still are). Apple created, in essence, a living being. PCs were workstations at Fortune 500 companies. Macs were elegant tools for the people with slightly too much money to do with. While the overall program base is far less than the Windows horde, I still find that I can do everything a PC user can. Sure, I might not be able to play counterstrike, but that to me is a small insignificant loss.The UNIX underpinnings have brought the Mac from a rather unstable age to the modern age. Same goes with Window's transition from 9x to NT-based. While some might cry out witch with this statement, but I view both OSX and XP as essentially the same OS. Choose your preference, and you'll be happy. I like the reliable hardware. I got tired of fixing a random part on the computer every other month.

I've seen this program, though I see one potential flaw in the overall concept. Suppose that you're using the anonymizer for forums (as we all know that each post also contains our IP for admins to peek at). Now suppose that a single user gets IP banned on a well-established forum. This would cause the entire userbase of JAP to also be denied access since they all "share" the same IP, correct?I've been using a program called NetShade which cycles through a list of anonymizers. I use it only when I need it, as it does add a small delay when accessing servers. However, I do prefer the cycling of IPs over a single shared IP.

I agree that Elements is a good lower-cost substitute, but nothing compares to the real deal. The latest version, CS, is a milestone in the photo manipulation genre, and instantly paid for itself with my increase in productivity. But really, image programs are only as valuable as the user's skills. Photoshop is a monster of a program, but if you don't know how to use it, it's overkill. For a beginner, get PS Elements, and fool around with that until you're comfortable enough to spend the $600 for CS.

As said before, Photoshop is the de facto standard in image manipulation. However, the cost of the program is a bit high (unless you're an educator, such as myself). If you're running windows, just about any image manipulation program will let you convert between file formats. One special note though is RAW, which usually requires a specific SDK, and thus not every program will let you use it. Simple format conversions though are pretty simple to do.If you happen to run a Mac (which I highly doubt as the vast majority here uses PCs), try GraphicConverter. One of the greatest Mac programs ever written.

It really depends on what file format your photos are in. For me, I shoot RAW with my DSLR. Most image viewers are slow as tar trying to open a folder of RAW images, so I mainly stick with Canon's viewer (still slow) or Photoshop's built in viewer (slow, but PS is right there). I've used Portfolio in the past, and I generally liked it, especially with JPGs. Talk about a quick load.Anyway, ACDsee is fine, but when it comes down to it, they all do the same thing. Just pick what you like best and run with it. For me, that's Photoshop.

Wait, is he selling you a Mac that currently runs OS 7? If so, then you're getting a bum deal if you're willing to pay anything over $50. Seriously.If it's a 68k or PPC601 based machine, it's basically worthless now. You can't upgrade those computer worth beans, and the best they're used for are simple servers (I should know, I own two). However, if it's a 603/604 machine that just hasn't had the OS updated in years, you might be in some luck. If you give the specific model name, I should be able to tell you what you have to work with. The outlook doesn't look too good though.Basically, the best case situation is that the computer is a 604e based Mac. In this case, you can strip some of the internals (HD, RAM, and PROC) and upgrade. They make upgrade cards (processors) that can boost it to a G3. Likewise, the RAM and HD can be upgraded, though it might be hard, seeing as they use old DIMM and SCSI products. Here's the catch though, most upgrade cards don't play well with OSX. That said, you might invest a fair chunk of change for nothing more than a faster computer that can run, drumroll please....OS 9! Alright! You're still stuck in "classic" and can't run anything new. But, all is not loss, as it'll make a great server, web kiosk, or text editor. Isn't that just what you wanted to hear? Hooray! You just bought a text editor!

The comparison is now mostly useless. Sure, you can argue all you want, but in the end, PCs are cheap enough that you can easily own both and not break the bank. For graphics, multimedia, and other artistry, I still stand by the belief that nothing beats a Mac. Since Apple's purchase of EMagic, the success with Final Cut Pro, Adobe's solid commitment to Mac Photoshop, and the development of Maya and other great applications, you really can't go wrong. Most everything that you need can be done on a Mac. Hell, while recently watching the Elf DVD, sure enough, for the entire editing process the editor used a Powerbook G4 with Final Cut Pro. No more afterschool vid projects for Apple, no sirree. It's true that PCs will always dominate the gaming world. I'm fine with that. I really don't have the time nor interest in gaming anymore. So go ahead, gloat all you want about having Xero-robotron 3004A.D. or some other random game I've never heard of. And really, with the advent of Mac OSX 10 and Windows XP, crashing has become a thing of the past. At least for me an OS X that is. If you're still crashing under XP, then oops, too bad.

Why play with GT3, which is three years old, when you can have the latest and greatest on Dec. 16th?And this really shows how much gaming I actually do: I wasn't even aware that NFS had an underground line.

You're not familiar with Camino? You poor soul....quite simply the best browser on the Mac. Period.

Honestly, I've been waiting since the release of the PS2 for this game. All I can say is, it's about F*%*# time!GT3 is still by far the best driving simulator out there. From what it looks like, GT4 will meet and beat anything GT3 had to offer.

I doubt that it promotes a "postive" environment. Perhaps you should define "positive."As for the rest of your post, I believe the high turnover rate is due to the typical ease of joining, lack of online-communitavism (self-described spinoff of nationalism), and general loss of initial interest. I guess if there were actually phsyical borders or natural barriers surrounding said community, then the turnover rate would be drastically lower. However, since leaving an online community is as simple as closing a window, there's not much you can do.