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Comment I've bought a laptop not long ago (Score 1) 898

If your wife doesn't need intensive gaming or complicated environments and only uses a laptop for web browsing, office work or other rudimentary tasks then I would also say go for Linux to save money. You can buy a basic laptop for pittance or, if she doesn't mind the design, just install it on the mac.

I still choose windows because I'm a hardcore gamer and on that front, Linux still disappoints me.
If you want to buy a new windows laptop, here's what I did. First look at a competent company, as far as construction is concerned. Then look at the work space the laptop offers and then match specs which, as far as I can see, are not different from the mac.

I got a Toshiba Satellite L500 which is big and wide with a full keyboard, from a company that built my wife's still going eight year old machine. It has a decent CPU, GPU combo that can even run Crysis well. Perfect for my gaming needs.

If you only want one for office work, I'd go with a Lenovo laptop which are usually smaller, has a very comfortable design for long periods of work (I just love the joystick, they have) and they are also a very competent company (my brother has one which he has worked on for several years now). You don't need a very powerful CPU so just pick one of the Intel E brand or an AMD Athlon. And unless some high def video is involved, pretty much any GPU would do. I wouldn't go for less than 2GB of memory either way. And you might want to try breaking a 500GB HD in half and make it dual boot with Linux.

Comment Design Science's MathType (Score 1) 823

Yeah, I like to hate Microsoft just like everyone else but I'm still a Windows user (Mostly for the games compatibility). And I have still not seen a better solution for writing down lecture notes than the Word/MathType combination. Yes, they are both proprietary software (Which I get free through the university. :) ) but I've been using them for the past two years and I'm faster than the lecturer. Yes, I write as fast as the lecturer speaks and faster than he/she can write themselves.
MathType is quite comprehensive, I don't even use half of what it offers myself, and the whole catch is shortcut keys configuration. You can set up combinations for 'macro' equations (Like Limits) and with two presses of a button call down a set that will take other students a few seconds to put down.
The only problem I found with it so far is a symbol or two it doesn't have (Like the under-tilde not-equal sign) and you have to build yourself and the fact that when you write integrals, the lecturer does the limits first but you have to add them last.

For sketches, graphs and diagrams there is no comfortable solution I found. I either draw them in Word shapes with a pen-mouse, plot the graphs with Mathematica (Best analytical math tool I found) and copy over or just photograph the board and paste the image into my document.

Trust me, I've been doing it for two years. :)
Idle

Submission + - Mechanical Tumor as CPU Meter (technovelgy.com)

Sabre Runner writes: "As if computer accessories weren't weird enough as it is, a new art project presents the Mechanical Tumor, a pulsating brown body that attaches to your computer and whose size indicates the stress on your machine at the moment."

Comment And what about advertising in movie theaters? (Score 1) 244

I pay for the ticket to get in. I usually stay out of the theater for as long as possible but those that sit there from the very first minutes are subjected to numerous advertisements, and not just cool new trailers. That is advertising, in a product I payed for. And that is without discussing in-movie ads, sponsorships and product placements.

I have nothing against in-game advertising, mostly because I unconsciously censor them from perception, but also because they can add some realism, as much as I hate to admit it. I mean, when I drive around in [insert racing game here] and I see billboards and adverts, or if there are posters on the edges of football fields, it seems very realistic to me. And it's a reasonable tactic for a publisher to take.

But if it becomes excessive, if the ads are up in my face, interrupting my game and preventing my progress, then I want the price slashed. If I'm still playing this game altogether.

Comment By Order of Appearance (Score 1) 688

Right, keeping a spreadsheet of all relevant information is one thing that you should do, especially if you're in a strict organization that needs to keep track of every piece of equipment. Secondly, I work in a university computer lab. Right now, I got about 3 rooms full of computers which are placed against walls and barriers so I give them the lab name, the room name and a sequential number counting clockwise from the door. Hopefully, it'll make more sense to my boss than the last scheme, counting them by order of arrival.
Media

Submission + - Nikon Presents: Camera with Built-in Projector (engadget.com)

Sabre Runner writes: "Engadget scoops in on the new Nikon S1000pj projector-cam: "The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj has gone from crazy rumor to seemingly-real to whoa-here's-the-press-release in record time — the compact cam with the integrated projector was just officially announced, along with the three other cams we saw leaked earlier today. Leaked specs for the S1000pj were dead-on: a 12.1 megapixel sensor with ISO 6400 sensitivity mounted behind a 5x wide-angle zoom lens with five-way VR stabilization, and that LED-powered projector that'll put up a 40-inch image for slideshows complete with music, effects and transitions. We're a little less excited about the $430 list price this thing will carry when it hits in September, but on the whole it's a pretty terrific idea and we're completely intrigued — looks like we'll be saving our pennies this month." Picture gallery, introduction video and description of all its little friends are available."
Sci-Fi

Submission + - British Start-Up Tests Flying Saucers (wired.com)

Sabre Runner writes: "Military drones take all shapes, from tiny cars and tanks to birds, insects, snakes and even baseballs. Now a new British drone start-up is modeling its family of small unmanned aerial vehicles on a very old sci-fi concept: the flying saucer.

According to Graham Warwick at Ares, Aesir has acquired the assets of a defunct drone company, including three flying saucers ranging in size from 30 centimeters in diameter to more than a meter. Aesir's first prototype, named "Embler" and depicted in the video above, demonstrates the so-called "Coanda effect," where air speeds up as it "sticks" to a curved surface. Aesir's drones take advantage of the Coanda effect to direct air down, away from the drone, boosting lift."

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