Kwisatz

So you traded your iPod in. Are you happy with your decision, by chance?

Wow, you know one example of an ipod not lasting? And your player has worked for SIX WHOLE MONTHS? That's outstanding, reason enough for no one to ever buy an ipod ever again. Anyway, I don't think your friend could have been treating his ipod too well - he can't have been very intelligent if he continued to get another 5 after one failed. They were warrantied. That aside, that's not the only example. I know three people who have "had viruses transferred onto their iPod" (which isn't true) which caused them to stop working. Another person can't get theirs to sync with any computer they plug it into. I now know three people with the same player I have and as of yet no problems. Once again I never said they were terrible: But they are certainly not highest on the reliability meter: [quote name="PCMag reader survey at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1868129,00.asp"]The iPod's Achilles' heel is reliability. Nine percent of iPod users report that their units have needed repair in the past 12 months. And it's not just because the early iPods are long in the tooth: Even among new players, a higher-than-average percentage of iPods needed to be fixed or replaced.

Most vacuum cleaners are the same - they suck dirt. You drop around 75 USD on one. It's not an investment which you bought to entertain you, it cleans. It doesn't need to have exhilirating ergonomics or be loaded with advanced features, it just sucks dirt. However an mp3 player is supposed to be a device which entertains you or does a specific, important job. People don't call all cars Fords or Chevrolets or Mercedes because one is the most popular or the best, and i think it's reasonable to apply such logic to portable devices that are considered a bit on the expensive side that are designed to last and be used extensively. I never said I especially cared, else I would have left out the Kleenex analogy to further my point and used smilies to illustrate my frustration, neither of which I did. The first portion of that statement was directed at people who think that they are somehow different entirely, which I think can be at times is pretentious - "I don't have an mp3 player, I have an iPod." The statements were not meant to address any specific forum user or anything, they were just statements in general, it is rather unfortunate that I didn't make that clear enough. That aside, I said in my post that I have a Vision:M, and several other people made one-liners about how things are the best, and one person asked for another poster to "share their wisdom." In the spirit of discussion I thought that I would help them out and post some of my ramblings.

I have a 3.66 cumulative. I got home at 6:30 every schoolday and did the vast majority of my homework at lunch and got away with it. I'm good at doing work quickly and accurately, ie I can write a one-page essay in 20 minutes. If I tried hard and had no life then I could certainly attain a 4, and my parents always seem upset when I don't bring home straight As, but then again if I succeed in school then I fail in life; if you think about it, everything you do in life is motivated by the fact that you want to feel good. YOu work to get money to buy things that bring you comfort and happiness. When you give things to people it makes you feel good. You go to school so you can get that good job. But if you don't have fun on the way to getting the job then you missed out on one of the fundamental parts of your childhood, and you defeated the purpose of living. It seems that some people simply cannot come to terms with that fact. Of course next year I'm taking two especially "difficult" classes that are essentially things that we've already learned to some extent but over again and with much more busywork, and if we're lucky some new material. As for competing with foreign nations, I'd say that if need be I could "compete," I don't get the best grades but I certainly know what's going on. That's another thing that crushes me - more often than not I can infer and figure things out that I don't understand in class, as opposed to the clueless person who asks the teacher about everything and their pet cat. Then the clueless person makes up for their inadequacy by doing the homework to the maximum and extra credit without asking the teacher first. The teacher then gets suckered into thinking this person is a "star student" and despite the fact that they may fail every other test and scrape a 70 in the others they always end up getting an A due to the fact that they work really hard to compensate for their lack of ability. It seems that the opposite is true in other countries, and if I had to school there then I'd fit right with that modus operandi.

I came into this thread thinking that most people are probably nicer in person than they are over the net, for the same reasons mentioned above. In general, the nice people you come across online are probably the same in person, whereas the keyboard warriors who make it their duty to abuse people online are, for the most part, probably still living with their parents and wouldn't dare talk to anyone that way face to face. That used to be me, but I argue on the internet now the way I do in real life. The difference is that people are a lot more brazen on the internet in terms of being opinionated than in real life :wink: . So if you met me in real life then we would probably get along well and I wouldn't be such an argumentative richard.

Okay, I'm going to clear up some misconceptions. MP3 is a format of music, just as vinyl and CD are (not really, since MP3 is the digital data medium and vinyl is a physical medium with analog encoding, but for the sake of argument they are). You don't call a turntable a vinyl - you call it a turntable. You don't call a CD player a CD - you call it a CD Player. Similarly, you don't call a device that plays MP3 files an MP3 - an MP3 is what it plays, so you call it an MP3 player. An iPod IS AN MP3 PLAYER, JUST HOW A MERCEDES IS A KIND OF CAR. They are no different. iPods play MP3, MP3 players play MP3, they are identical. iPod also refers to a brand name, not all mp3 players. I suppose it's like calling all tissues "Kleenex," but still, when discussing $300 investments I think it'd be best to at least make an effort to use proper terminology. iPods DO NOT LAST THE LONGEST. I know one person who is on their sixth iPod because they can't keep it together. I've had my Zen Vision:M for six months now and only one freeze-up due to the fact that somebody threw it against a table. iPods ARE NOT THE BEST. The aforementioned Vision:M plays three times as many video formats, has twice the video battery life and a few hours more music battery life than the iPod, all for the same price. Granted you may not like the UI but I don't much like the click wheel due to its lack of alternative navigation buttons and simpler interface. Or, the Zen MicroPhoto - it may be bigger, but other than that it is superior to the nano in every way (except for UI - a matter once again of personal preference) - almost twice the battery life, a removable battery, twice the storage for the SAME PRICE!!! Or, the iPod shuffle. For a lower price for comparable memories, the Zen Nano has an FM Tuner (depending on the model), a screen, folder organization, tag reading, repeat play, shuffle play, removable battery (AAAs, but then again rechargables are like a dollar apiece), etc. And they still work after going through the washing machine :D (no idea about shuffles with regard to that). Whenever I say this everyone always fires back !!!!!OMG OMG OMG TEH IPOD UI IS TEH BAETTAR WHER IS THE ROUNDYTHING!!!1 What they fail to realize is that both players' menu and navigational structure is virtually identical, due to the fact that Creative had jukebox MP3 players out before Apple even conceived the iPod and Apple could not come up with anything else - what works, works, nobody blames them for that. But in my observation the iPod is simple - too simple. For instance, I can just use the side menu on the Creative players to change the volume while in menus. I can also assign "add to playlist" to a button, rather than having to hold a button down. I can also select from a 26-letter list and skip to that letter instantly in a list of 200+ artists. For me Creative's players are better in that respect because I'm more used to complex controls - and complexity carries with it a steeper learning curve but effectively a much increased rate of productivity and ease of use. I don't hate the iPod, it is still a decent product, and I guess you could buy it if you were absolutely bent on getting something a bit (talking a centimeter or two each dimension) smaller or "more stylish," but feature-wise there is no argument between Apple and certain other companies. It also doesn't help that I need to go to school every day with kids who live off of their parents' haphazardly refinanced home equity and overused and underpaid credit card who flaunt their iPods and use them as a tool to ensure their "heightened status" above all others. People say that Apple must be doing something right if they are market leaders, and they are - they did their marketing and ad targeting right, that's what. Apologies in the deepest to anybody I offended. Flame me.

Got it, but thanks anyway. I'm on 76 right now. I find that the fact that Firefox displays page titles in the drop down address bar is quite useful when clues reference past ones.

Now 57, with the acronyms - HTH, TTYL, etc.

The source code says "seconds then hours then minutes"

Now I'm stuck on the one about the weather forecasts and keys to success. If anybody needs help with 1-34 they can PM me and I'd be glad to help.

Ah. I've been using http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/ to unscramble all of them.

Level 18, after reading the street sign. I'm on the puzzle that has the colors. Anybody have a hint please :D.

I don't bite mine, I pick them. I use my thumbs to go in at the longer ones and so I never have to cut my nails :D. I never understood chewing nails, it is very ineffective for me.

Well, my new all-purpose condiment is Salsa con Queso, that is, cheese and salsa. Smother any food with it - chicken, burgers, etc. and it instantly tastes better (especially since I hate burgers - why grind up perfectly good meat? I'll take an Angus T-Bone medium rare any day! Maybe I'm European...). However, for steak I prefer an Au Jus with peppercorns, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. For chicken a nice marsala is always nice, but the aforementioned Salsa con Queso if nothing is available, or Barbecue sauce if even the Salsa is in short supply. For my fries I'll take mustard (dijon if possible), or barbecue as a backup. I hate ketchup as a general rule. On my hot dogs I take dijon or deli mustard and relish. For pasta, marinara or tomato-based sauces are always good, but a creamy alfredo hits the spot now and then. Vodka sauce is also welcome when I want to twist things up a bit (my dad can make a mean Vodka sauce, but I can't, so I'm usually stuck tossing in Emeril's - mediocre). And that's it in a nutshell. Remember kids, always practice safe eating, use a condiment!

I'd have to say I've never had any social ridicule because of my braces =\ Lucky lucky you. I live 15 minutes away from a military base, so it seems as though half the people I know need to be rigidly conforming to one extreme or style or another, and are therefore unable to tolerate anything remotely different from their middle class suburbanite spoiled MTV customs. It's perfectly fine if one of them gets braces, but once somebody whose family "can't afford" to shop at American Eagle (which is rather funny I think, given the fact that my family rakes in somewhere around $90k a year, and we believe in college and cultural experience moreso than iPods, plasma televisions and $120 skating shoes) they feel that they are simply more exotically, radically different and intolerable due to the fact that they form different opinions. I know that many people have the same rant about "preppies" and such, but my qualm is not with the way they dress or the music they listen to, but the fact that they believe that it is quantifiably superior and their shortsightedness, as well as refusal to acknowledge reason and converse willingness to embrace various logical fallacies brought forth by multi-billion-dollar media conglomerates and associated parties is simply unbearably aggravating once you come to terms with the disheartening fact that you'll have to cope with such numbnuts for four years of secondary school. Excuse my off-topic rant, back to the point - if I get them then 50% of the people with whom I must interact with during school will be baselessly and unrelentingly hateful towards me. 'Nuff said.

What's even more arrogant is when the rest of the world automatically assumes that all Americans are like that.

The only real problem I have with my teeth is an overbite and some kind of minor alignment thing - they still look perfectly normal though. When I went to the orthodontist he couldn't give me a straight answer and said that if I did get them it'd be three years plus a retainer every night for the rest of my life. The way I figure it my teeth look perfectly normal aside from the overbite, and it is most definently not worth the paperwork and insurance to get them, plus the social ridicule. I promptly declined.

Nah, but since I've made like twenty posts in the past four months and that's about all that's been happening that's even remotely significant to the lives of the users of this forum that's what you've been hearing about. Glad somebody likes them though. Thanks.

Are you always immature or only when its my topic? And the same one who wants to hide his illicit browsing practices from his parents? So speaks the guy who suggested people end explorer.exe because it's an unnecessary process (before a mod had to remove it)? Humour, n. - Something above CoRnMaN's head. Like the alternate caps/lowercase by the way; very original. CoRnMaN has been thoroughly ownt. Anyways, I do get gut feelings, most often when I am about to do something risky. Like, last weekend I decided for no good reason at all to open up my $300 MP3 player that has an extended warranty and see what's inside it. I told myself that nothing would happen, but I snapped the power switch. Creative wants to charge me $260 to replace a two-cent component on the player. Ordered an entirely new one from Best Buy, it is coming tomorrow :wall: Oh well, at least I paid for it in the first place, rather than a relation - that would have been real hell. As of yet I've dropped $700 on two Vision:M's: one broken and one brand new. I guess sometimes you need to learn the hard way. BTW If anybody wants to make an offer on a perfectly-operable Creative Zen Vision:M with a broken power switch (actually not all the way broken, but you must either reset the player or use the switch with a paperclip or pocketknife) PM me.

I was banned as well because of my bro deciding to log into his long non-used account after I got off of the family computer. He then harassed Tom (either him or RaenonD) and got banned, along with my account for a whole month.

I had to submit a resume for my job, but it was an offie internship...

I know so many people that should have been spanked as children but weren't that it isn't funny. We actually had a class discussion about this. All of the well-mannered, nice people that I knew had been physically punished at some point in their life, and all of the spoiled, stuck-up hypocritical kids who live on their parents' credit card debt and poorly-financed home equity loans said that all that happened to them when they screwed up was that they got sent to their rooms to play Nintendo or talk on the phone. Although I am far from civil online, I'm much more polite and reasonable in real life than the majority of the disillusioned youth with whom I must interact with on a daily basis. I am proud to say I was spanked a few times, and I'm better for it.

I concur wholeheartedly. I own a Zen Vision:M and I'll take DivX, XVid, WMA, twice battery life, better color saturation, better sound quality and (depending upon your preference) better controls for the same price. And, eBay for broken iPod. Now, eBay for broken Vision:M. Not a single entry for broken Vision:M. I rest my case.

NO NO NO!!!! DO NOT BUY FROM CYBERPOWER! EVER! I bought a computer from Cyberpower in April of last year. Three new mobos, one new hard disk and a video card later I asked for a refund, which they promptly refused. I asked the guy where his manager was, and he replied, no lie "I don't know, he's not my boyfriend or anything!" They promised me that they would rebuild the computer from scratch if I sent it back. I sent it back on my dime then received it. The fans weren't hooked up, the 12V wasn't attached on the mobo and the computer simply didn't start up, so I had to once again get into it with CyberPower's permission and rewire everying. I then disputed the charge with Visa and informed them of my plight, and sent the computer back with the speakers. CyberPower promptly informed Visa that I didn't send back the speakers, but a simple UPS invoice faxed to them informed them that we did indeed return the speakers. CyberPower issued a refund but then tried to charge my card again and send a new computer. I then just bought some parts from Newegg and built a computer myself, and everything works great. I also recently built an auxilary server computer, and no problems there either. Case in point - CyberPower is a dishonest company. That was a rather brief summary of what happened, if you want an in-depth one then get on Skype and I can give you a whole spiel.

If you mean the multiplier, then there all locked :( (except for the FX series). Everybody overclocks by the FSB now. Or maybe he thinks that he can get away with O/Cing with an OEM board from HP, Dell, etc. which really isn't the case. I overclocked my old Emachines Athlon XP 3200+ computer. I got it from 2.2ghz to 2.4ghz. Of course I flashed to 3rd party bios :wink:. Not for the faint of heart - wrong EEPROM image, and you've toasted your computer.