Sarah81

The prisoners could be asked to volunteer ... and the incentive would be that all of the prisoners who sign up to test products/medicines/etc. are exempt from execution. They get life in prison instead.

Because we've been brainwashed by Bill Gates and can't comprehend PC life beyond Windows, of course. I thought *everyone* knew that that's why so many of us (myself included) use Windows.

Talking about Tony Hawk's games in particular here ...Any kid who's stupid enough to think that what happens to his character (i.e. nothing, even if said character goes without a helmet) applies to the world beyond the TV set, will probably hurt himself somehow even if T. Hawk's games suddenly require helmets on all the characters. Tony Hawk doesn't even skate anymore unless it's in competitions. He's semi-retired, I guess you could say. And when he gets anywhere near the ramps or courses, he's required to wear his helmet. So, when kids see the REAL Tony Hawk, or any of his pals, they're wearing helmets.That, I think - the real people doing something - has got to have more influence on followers than a bunch of digital images on a TV screen.

I use FastStone Image Viewer when I actually want to make quick changes (cropping, taking out the red-eye, adjusting contrast/colors/etc.)...but when I just want to look at the pic, I use the XP viewer.And I like the FastStone thing because it's free (check download.com) and works really well for the basic stuff that I do. (Not a graphic artist - just want my digital pix to look decent.)But when I really want to get creative, I go to my school's digital lab and use their copy of Paint Shop Pro (because I can't justify buying my own copy).

Mine averages 18 MBPS ... it's a wireless connection offered through my university. When I move my laptop to the University Center (one of the best places for a signal) it's more like 50 MBPS. When I go home (we can only get dialup there) I nearly cry every time I try to check my e-mail because it's so slow.

I'll pay more for something from a seller who offers good service - and I'm definitely not the only one who does things this way. Most people will, when we can afford it, pay a little more if we can be assured that the customer service, tech support, guarantees, warranties etc. are as hassle-free and clear-cut as possible.

Blah. I'll just make sure the serial number's registered with the campus police. Sounds like that's about all I can do, other than keeping my really big, sharp kitchen knives on hand if I catch some jerk messing with my notebook. hehe. Thanks everyone.

Hey everyone.I just got this Compaq notebook at the beginning of the semester (August). I did all of the usual software security things (antivirus, firewall, spyware remover, etc.) and still do it of course. I leave the laptop in my on-campus apt. when I go to classes because I don't feel like taking it along. It's only a few pounds, so it's not a weight issue: I don't want to do something stupid like forget my backpack when I leave a classroom and come back twenty minutes later to nothing. Anyway ... the laptop stays at my desk unless I take it home for the weekend or on breaks, so I'm thinking: "Hey, an anti-theft device might not be a bad investment." I'm the only one who has access to this apt. except for the university's employees (maintenance, housing office) and pest control but, since I don't know most of these people, I'm not going to blindly assume that they're all completely honest. Or that they won't accidentally forget to re-lock my door if they visit while I'm gone.Anyway ... long story short: what are the best anti-theft product that you've used or are using? One bit of helpful information is that I own this desk, which is pretty solid (actual wood), so I can attach the laptop to it without any problems if that's what it takes.

Hehe - just make sure you know what you're deleting so you don't have to reinstall the entire OS after you accidentally dump something important. I haven't had any problems with file errors like this - well, no problems that weren't fixed by closing the app. or rebooting the system, anyway. I'll keep this in mind if those solutions don't work in the future.

1. We have all kinds of people in prison here in the States. Even Martha Stewart went to jail. Tom DeLay, a major political figure, might actually find his stupid butt in prison as well. Poverty DOES have a part in it, of course - there are plenty of poor people in jails and prisons all over the U.S. - but that doesn't mean that it's the biggest factor. There are actually a ton of reasons for the overcrowding - not the least of which is the fact that criminals often don't serve even half of their original sentences. Even rapists and murderers are let out early on parole because, oops, we need their cells and beds for the new criminals. Also: if you look at the U.S. prison system's rates of reincarceration (i.e. the percentage of inmates who are paroled/released/cleared/whatever and then are reincarcerated for committing another crime) ... it's gone up. Even though the inmates have access to FREE college education and job training (i.e. so that they don't have to be poor anymore - and unlike the rest of us, they aren't burdened with student loans), many still go out and commit more crimes instead of doing something with the opportunities that tax dollars have given to them. Poverty stinks, yeah, but it's not like inmates have no choice but to remain poor. 2. I made the "not commit crimes" comment in direct reference to the incident that started this particular thread (drug smuggling). That's usually not considered an unjust law. 3. I spent the rest of the "work camp" paragraph explaining what I meant. That paragraph serves to clarify for any people who have knee-jerk flashbacks to horrors that actually don't have anything to do with what I'm talking about.

Here in America, our big problem with the judicial system is that many criminals don't take it seriously. Nor should they: you can get away with all sorts of insane stuff if it's your first or even third or fourth offense because our jails and prisons are overcrowded (severely) and judges/other officials have no choice but to let a lot of people off even if they *are* dangerous and totally unwilling to become halfway decent citizens. I don't think that it's really fair to execute a drug smuggler. That's harsh in my opinion. Everyone deserves another chance ... even if it's twenty, forty years in a prison. At the same time, I'm not crying for the guy. He knew what could happen to him, but he did it anyway. The law might be way too harsh in many peoples' views, but one can still *not commit crimes* At the same time... I wish the American judicial system actually, you know, *punished* criminals. We used to have work camps: every prisoner, unless sick or otherwise incapable of physical labor, had to actually earn his keep (or hers - we've had our share of female criminals too). When they were paroled, they had several job skills and a little self-worth because they'd spent x years farming, sewing, cooking and otherwise contributing (and learning how to work with other people to get things done).

In the past, I've used all four of the players you listed in your poll.Right now, I have to say that I love iTunes. The others still have their merits, but this one wins (the XP version, I mean - forget Mac!) because:-The "shuffle" feature is on some sort of drug. It's just crazy.-It's super-easy to manage files. Just a few clicks and you've got new playlists, song titles, etc. -It loads fast for a program of its size (it's pretty big). -The Music Store is great. The weekly free downloads usually rock, too. And oh - free iTunes codes all over the Internet.I could go on and on, but basically ... if I ever actually get an Mp3 player, I'd actually go out of my way to get an iPod just to be readily (read: easily) compatible with the software.

It's actually a normal stage of a kid's development. It's what we (when we're kids, I mean) do when we're trying to figure out where we fit in. Most people sort of "grow into" being unique, trend-setting people who will actually say, "Napoleon Dynamite seriously sucked." But the sad part is that a lot of these kids won't ever really outgrow it. They'll just keep doing whatever everybody else is doing instead of actually finding out what they themselves really like and dislike. Too bad. We'd have so many awesome things going on if more people did their own things.

Let's see ... am I paying too much for my wireless Internet connection?Probably. It doesn't cost me anything directly, but this (and all of my other computer-related perks) are covered in my "computer and technology" fee every semester. All told, for two long semesters (I take summers off), these fees add up to $800 a year.But ... I get a lot more than just this Internet connection. No, really. I get a dinky little e-mail address with the university that I never use. I get to go into the computer labs all over this campus, which I only use when I'm printing a massive project that will suck down a few hundred pages. Other than the Internet connection, the only other computer-related thing I actually use is our on-campus computer store. I guess that, all told, getting deep discounts on legal copies of all sorts of programs almost justifies $800 a year for these services.Almost.But it beats the snot out of being at home. We live in the middle of nowhere and can only get dial-up. We only pay about ten bucks a month for a near-48-k connection, but it still sucks.

The whole bloody thing with Yahoo! chat rooms is stupid. I'm not saying that sexual predators or whatever should be left free to do whatever they want (that's just stupid), but where in the WORLD are the kids' PARENTS? What parent in his or her proper and sane mind allows his or her minor child to roam around the entire world (which is basically what you're doing when you get online - you can chat with people from anywhere and they can send any files they want or type whatever they want) without supervision? What sort of parent doesn't sit and explain to their children that not all chat pals are good people, and that said kid needs to be discerning? Gee, maybe a little parental involvement would help, instead of the group of people who want to sit and complain that it's all Yahoo!'s fault.Okay. Must stop going on tangents. But wow, I feel a little better now.

OH MAN, some of these are even worse (or, from my perspective, they're funnier) than the original link I posted. Thanks!

GTA and GTA2 are still awesome games, if you can accept the fact that you have the worst possible viewpoint (bird's eye). But hey, they had to start somewhere ... and these titles, plus the London expansion pack, definitely help me relieve a little stress.

Oh, the acronyms! I hate them, but sometimes I don't catch myself using them and - arrgh - they actually go out in forums like this or in e-mails. But what annoys me even more is the fact that people seem to think that it's okay to send me allegedly "professional" e-mails (i.e. asking me to do some freelance work for them) filled with "text message shortcuts." "Would u like 2..." for example. It's okay in a cell phone text message (because the number of characters is so limited for each message), but it's an E-MAIL! Type it out! It's not that hard.

Yeah, but think about it: a lot of the people who go on to do brilliant and amazing things later in life are usually the same people who mess around and do seemingly stupid stuff like this. In junior high, Bill Gates used his programming skills to alter his class schedules so that he could get all of his classes with girls that he liked. Then he took over the free world and, even though he just might be an evil genius, you can't help but agree that he's got *something* pretty big going on in his mind/brain.

Welcome to the forums. I hope that you enjoy your time here - and of course that you get your Web hosting so that we can have another cool site to look at.

Like other people have said, it's a brain thing, not an image thing. The image really is the same shade throughout. We just perceive it differently because the funky green cylinder alters our perspective ... or something along those lines. It's interesting how the human mind's rendering processes can be so intiutive, yet make so many inferences that prove to be, well, wrong.The creator did a really good job on this one, though. He or she actually lightened the right side of the cylinder so that it really looks like there should be a shadow passing across to the left side. (Is there really? Or does it just look that way?) Great. Now I'm confused and I'll be up half the night thinking about it. shoot!

Hehehe ... I got 4/10 ... guess I shouldn't become a cop, huh? *snickers*

Sometimes I'm half-tempted to actually save up some money and buy a console that's newer than my SNES just so I can play some of the newer sports titles. I'm still really, really into the earliest Madden titles, though even if they *are* cruddy graphic-wise, and even if they did come out *way* before the 2-pt. conversion rule. (which I sometimes forget when I'm only down by a couple of points and want to try it - then I remember that, duh, I can't on that title, and I cuss a little).Still don't have any hockey titles ... mainly because I'm still supremely and righteously furious with pro hockey (I say nuts to the NHL) ... and don't feel like having anything to do with the sport. But if I stop seething any time soon, I guess I'll go look for a college hockey title or something. But even that would probably make me swear a lot right now.

I realize that it costs quite a bit of money to maintain a gaming server. And not just because the host wants money every month/year/however often. I can agree with the idea of splitting pay versus free play (i.e. giving advanced features to people who cough up money for them). It would give gamers like me (read: perpetually broke people) the opportunity to at least play the basic game sometimes, while people who have money to invest in the advanced side of things could take advantage of the extra features. I've really been into Gang-Wars lately. One thing that I like about it is that I can get free "turns" every so often (every few minutes or so) ... so that I can still do things within the game. But, if I had money, I could buy turns, which of course a lot of players do because they can build up their characters' strengths and sic their armies on other gangs and all that great stuff. So ... there are plenty of ways to do it, really. I just hope that there will always be free or low-cost gaming around, at least in a limited capacity, so more people can enjoy it. And when we get out of college and actually get good jobs, you know that we'll invest some actual cash into the gaming networks *grins*

Macs are better? For what? Draining the bank account?