Y2HH

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2012 -> 08:31 AM) These are, in my view, two very different scenarios (Lake Forest vs Chicago). CPS teachers make about half what LF teachers do, and CPS is pushing for lots of different changes, many of which are directly beneficial to students (like class size limits). LF, with their 6 figure average salaries, is just asking for more money, at a time when government is feeling the economic pinch. I really don't have any sympathy at all for the Lake Forest teachers, and they definitely overplayed their hand. CPS, I actually agree with the teachers on some of what they are trying to do. The only thing the CPS teachers are trying to do is get more money, be it in the form of direct compensation, or added benefits/pension benefits, the same exact thing the LF teachers are doing. The difference, however, is the LF teachers aren't trying to disguise that fact...they're just saying give us more. The CPS teachers are using these added benefits for the students, which would be nice, to achieve their primary goal, and that's better benefits/more money for themselves...they don't actually care about the other stuff, though. They just realize that by tying it all together, strengthens their other positions. I have no sympathy for any of them.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 18, 2012 -> 08:49 AM) iphone5 shipping dates get pushed back, presumably because of large demand. They got pushed back a few hours after pre-orders went on sale.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 18, 2012 -> 02:40 AM) Is what Romney said about 47 percent of Obama supporters being government freeloaders the straw that broke his back as a candidate? He seems like he doesn't give a flip about the poor. Is he done? People are trying to make this mean more than it actually does. It won't affect the votes he was going to get from them anyway. The same poor people that were going to vote for Romney will still do so. The same poor people that weren't...won't. Think about it, do you honestly think that the gun rights religious crazies in the back hills of are going to vote for Obama? Not a chance. By that same token, do you think many people in the Englewood area are going to vote for Romney? Again, not a chance.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Sep 17, 2012 -> 10:10 PM) you have it now right? I want an honest assessment of their maps app compared to the current google one. Google's maps is still superior, but not by as much as I expected it would be at first. For a launch version of this magnitude, they've don'e a really good job, you can tell Apple cares about this. This is a good thing for all, as it will give Google some actual competition in this area. Tested side by side in the real-world uses that I've used Google Maps for, Apple Maps returns mostly the same data, but Google's database is still more robust, however, for my specific uses, both do the job just fine. Most of the same functionality exists, including 2d/3d mode, real time traffic, turn by turn directions, searches based on names (self correcting if you type the names in wrong), driving/walking directions to/from, contact information, areas of accidents/road construction, etc. Apple also included the Yelp database, so you get instant reviews to any of your searches, an added feature I find quite nice, but nothing Google really "needs". What's different: Street View - Apple has an alternative called 3D maps, which is very cool visually, and does the job for the limited purposes of what this is, but it's much the same as Street View IMO, it's cool to show it to people...but not very useful in a real world setting, especially considering the data is often well over a year old. I'd still give the edge to Street View for it's limited function, but visually, in bigger cities where it exists, 3D maps is amazing eye candy. Public Transportation Directions: Apple is not building this into their maps application, which will open up opportunity for 3rd parties, however, this is mostly "business political" as even Google has been running into problems with this function as of late. In many areas, private transportation companies own this data and give it to the GTFS database for free, but have been becoming unwilling to share it now that they realize they can build their own applications. Google has lost data for this in a few areas around the world because these companies decided they'd rather make their own apps to do this, which is unfortunate for everyone. Still, the data they do have gives Google an edge in this area in the short term. 3rd party apps can hook into Apple Maps through an API and add this functionality. That said, at the moment for people that rely on this function of Google Maps will find Apple's maps of no help at the moment, however, this will be temporary as huge projects have been launched to accomodate and you can always use Safari to go to maps.google.com for this information in the short term. Bottom Line: Aside from the Public Transportation information, Apple's Maps is up to the everyday tasks I've used Google Maps for in the past. I've had Apple Maps for the past 5 months, and haven't missed Google's. You can also still browse to maps.google.com if you need too...but I haven't had the need. I've also tried Bing Maps (available through the app store), but it's downright terrible in comparison to either, however, given Microsoft's foray into the mobile phone business, I'm betting that Bing Maps will suddenly make some huge leaps. In a few years, I'd bet there is little difference between what Apple, Microsoft and Google offer in terms of maps. Disclaimer: I've never used Google Maps for public transportation information, so this is a feature I do not miss/care about...mostly because I do not use public transportation.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Sep 17, 2012 -> 06:53 PM) When does iOS 6 release? This Wednesday.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Sep 17, 2012 -> 05:28 PM) Why don't you just ignore the funny articles I post instead of beating a dead horse over and over again? Or just put me on the ignore list? Both are perfectly viable options. I don't like ignoring people, I'd rather hear what you have to say, so long as it's something worth being said. I know another viable option, stop beating a dead horse in your stupid anti-Apple crap and attempt to contribute to the conversation of technology instead of acting like a douche over and over.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Sep 17, 2012 -> 12:32 PM) A personal joke at my expense. I see what you are trying to do here, but unless any of you here own Apple, then my satirical Apple articles that I post are not personal attacks in the slightest. And honestly, if I was truly that sensitive, I would have gotten mad about the picture someone posted of a big fat guy with a Zune logo on his arm, but it doesn't bother me because it's not a representation of me in any way, so I don't take that personally. You can buy shares of Apple on the stock market -- aka -- being an owner. Not to mention, you're anti-Apple posts aren't satirical, either, you're simply trying to misrepresent them as such now that you've gotten a lot of backlash. You're Apple posts are either serious or meant to outright annoy/troll, and the issue with that is this is meant to be a serious technology discussion thread, not a "joke" thread. It would be different if you did it once or twice, for a laugh, but you don't...the ONLY thing you contribute to this thread is "feed the troll" type posts. After a while, it's become annoying. Why don't you start a Apple Satire thread that you can post in and read by yourself instead of ruining this one?

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Sep 17, 2012 -> 11:10 AM) It wasn't a picture. You took a screenshot from a video that I made for a blog. The blog was linked in my signature because I needed page hits to get a good grade. Screengrabbing a picture from the video and photoshopping me in to a picture with Patrick Kane to try and make a point was very creepy. I'd report that s*** 10/10 times. You should not have apologized in the private message (that you were probably forced to send) if you didn't mean it. Don't you think it was just a ... you know ... a joke?!

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 17, 2012 -> 09:47 AM) To be fair, if by "finding" a picture of you online you mean a picture you linked to in your signature, then I guess you've got me! Also, it was funny. Who cares about some picture? Why does this even matter, and why would it be a "reportable" offense?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 15, 2012 -> 01:06 PM) http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/world/anti-i...ex.html?c=world Such a brave guy, this filmmaker. Makes a film under a surname and false pretenses, as well as telling the cast that the name of the movie was something else and dubbing over the original lines with more inflammatory anti Muslim rhetoric. And when he gets questioned he hides his face. Such a big, brave guy. The bottom line is a bunch of morons murdered innocents over a stupid f***ing movie, because they're hateful pieces if garbage looking for any opportunistic excuse to be exactly that. Who cares about some dumb movie, especially if it was nothing but lies?! It's absurd they find this an excuse enough to kill. People are busy glossing over this and focusing on a terrible film maker as if it's a legitimate excuse to become vile, violent f***sticks in response. The guy is an idiot...and fortunately, he has the right to be (note I didn't use the word unfortunately for a reason), just as we have the right to ignore him for being an ignorant asshat. But again, it doesn't give ANYONE the right to murder. Services as yet another reminder to the world as to why religion, as Christopher Hitchens once said, poisons everything.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 15, 2012 -> 10:35 AM) this one?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 04:19 PM) $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB That's a lot of money for more memory. Same prices for years for the upgrades. 99$ for each memory bump.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 01:46 PM) That is sweet. So the person w/ the flashlight is walking BEHIND the person crouching down, yes? What if you did a laser pointer that has a focused beam that comes out of it? They're just walking all over...not necessarily behind. They can even walk in front of the person, they won't show up in the shot until they stay still or move too slow. I've never tried it with a laser pointer, it might make it a much finer beam of light, however.

My friends are professional photographers, so I learned a lot from them. If you want to do something super cool with a camera, try this: Get a tripod, and do this at night. It's a long exposure shot, so when you push the button, you'll want to keep the shutter open for a designated amount of time, say 20 seconds. Make sure you don't touch or shake the camera during this time. Have someone take a flashlight of some sort, and tilt it slightly down, so it's not shining directly into the camera -- you don't want the open shutter to pick up direct light -- and have them walk through your shot, slowly, but not too slow, and wave the flashlight at the same angle as they walk (again, not shining it directly into the camera). When the shot comes out, the person walking will be invisible, and you will see a laser like trail of light (the flashlight). Experiment with this until you get it to work. After you get it to work, you can have someone sit in your photo (as still as they can), and then have someone do that same thing, and walk around or near them with the light...it will look like they have halos, or electricity flowing around their bodies. Just make sure whoever walks with the light doesn't block it with their own body. If anything can get a person interested in low light photography, it's this. If you do it right, this is the effect you will get:

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 12:54 PM) This is what I have got. http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_U...uctID.221644300 You can try it...experiment with your results, try to use the settings I wrote up there (you won't be able to get them that high, obviously, the 1D is a 5000$ camera, but get them as high as you can). You can learn a LOT with the camera you have...and when you do eventually upgrade to a newer camera, you will be that much better.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 12:49 PM) That is a great picture. I am going to derail the thread a bit, but how do you get such good pics in low light? Do you need an expensive camera? Obviously the camera quality helps, but mostly, you need a tripod, ideal conditions and a bit of time...all it is, is a long exposure in the proper conditions. For example, you don't want a moon in the sky...a moon is not ideal conditions for that, as it casts too much available light. More often than not, when you see a picture you like, download it and view it's meta data...it will show you practically everything about the shot unless the photographer deleted it. For example: That's a EOS-1D Mark IV (Obviously expensive, but this can also be done with inexpensive cameras) Shutter : 25 sec Aperture: F/2.8 Exposure: 25 sec ISO : 12800 Focal Length : 14mm

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 12:38 PM) Pre-ordering has been shut down for about an hour and a half now. Jeesh. Pre-orders are slipping to 2-3 weeks already.

A pic from our weekend camping trip (last week) -- somewhere in Central IL.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 10:44 AM) I have one floating around in my closet I think. Dell's software of that era (2004?) was way, way better than iTunes was at the time. iTunes is bloated crap, so it's not very hard for software to be better than it.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 10:15 AM) Ordered one for my stepdad, who has been mysteriously obsessing over this phone for like two months, despite really knowing nothing about cell phones. I could have probably ordered the 5 for myself and gotten the free 4 for him and he would have had no idea I held off due to some other expenses this month and an upcoming bachelor party here for my best friend. Everyone weep for me That's an awesome sacrifice to make for someone.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 09:21 AM) My worst was when I didn't print a boarding pass, figuring "I'm at the Houston Airport, I'll have coverage and can just download my electronic boarding pass, this won't be anything ridiculous". Took me 15 minutes, with 5 bars/3g, to get the damn thing to finally load. I've had repeated experiences like this with AT&T over the years. Coincidentally, whenever I really need my phone to work, it doesn't. Such as when I need last minute directions while driving...I'll be sure to have data problems with AT&T, etc. I've simply had enough of them. At first, I moved from Verizon to AT&T for the iPhone, and then I stayed there since it tended to be cheaper than Verizon and let you keep minutes you didn't use as rollover. Verizon is now cheaper than AT&T and have rendered rollover minutes obsolete in that Verizon now gives you unlimited voice time. I always worried about going over my minutes with Verizon, now I don't have too care.

QUOTE (G&T @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 09:08 AM) Where I live, AT&T doesn't have it and it isn't on their "coming soon" list so I switched. The rollover minutes are moot anyway because nobody talks that much. I have 3,600 rollover minutes and I think I have the smallest minutes plan. I'm hoping I can also make a call in my apartment now. AT&T was a little spotty in upstate NY but that was to be expected but it's only been worse since moving. AT&T is spotty even when you have 5 bars of signal.

QUOTE (G&T @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 08:37 AM) Nah, I've had the iPhone 4 for 2 years. I'm switching to Verizon so I can make use of the LTE. You know AT&T has LTE also, right? And Sprint's LTE network goes live next week. Of course, in comparison to Verizon's LTE network, they are years behind. I also went with Verizon after years of being a very dissatisfied AT&T customer. Verizon is also cheaper, and have better data plan options. Now that Verizon gives you unlimited minutes/texts, the rest of it doesn't matter...the one thing AT&T had going for it was rollover minutes, which are now rendered moot in light of Verizon going unlimited on voice.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 14, 2012 -> 08:33 AM) My question back in reply is...Do we have the type of infrastructure we need to run a 21st century economy? If we do, then no, we don't need those kind of jobs. If, OTOH, we have most of this nations sewers being 100 years old, dams that date back to the depression, rail lines that can't handle high speed transit, a power grid that can't handle distributed generation, schools in downtown Chicago that aren't air conditioned, and roads and bridges dating back to the 50's and earlier that are uniformly in disrepair...then every time you fix or update one of those, you're creating capacity that businesses can take advantage of, both in terms of infrastructure and in terms of human capabilities. My point is I don't mind hiring additional workers when they're necessary. But when we have 2 of every 5 that don't do much work because of awesome union labor contracts, we don't need to hire more...we just need to get those others that do nothing to start doing something first...THEN hire more when necessary. We need to waste less across the board, and that includes wasting public labor. Take a look at McCormick place, a now near convention less abandoned hangar, almost 100% due to union contracts. Their ridiculous rules have made conventions go elsewhere. Edit: Hell, I deal with insane union rules at work -- and I'm not part of a union. But if, for some reason, my computer is unplugged...I'm supposed to call one of the electricians to come up and plug it back in for me...seriously. When you see and deal with rules like these, it's hard to be sympathetic to them...especially when you witness, on a daily basis, how they work...or don't work much at all.

Selling them a box of used pinball machine parts for plutonium has stuck in their craw for the better part of 3 decades now.