Appreciate the context, Guy. Can you provide a direct link to the story? Thanks!

>> ^GuyNumberOne:

I am in no way condoning what happened here, however as a resident of Orange County I was appalled enough to look into the backstory, as the protest simply seemed far too hateful given the amount of support it had.
From the Washington Post:
"In an e-mailed statement, (U.S. Rep. Ed) Royce said he was angered by the presence of two keynote speakers at the event. Imam Siraj Wahhaj was named with169 others as co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, though Wahhaj was never charged and has denied involvement. And Amir Abdel Malik Ali spoke at "Israeli Apartheid Week" at UC Irvine in 2010 where he said he supports Hezbollah, which the CIA labels a terrorist group."
Again, I think this is disgusting, but the choice of keynote speakers seems odd given the purpose of the fundraiser.

I am in no way condoning what happened here, however as a resident of Orange County I was appalled enough to look into the backstory, as the protest simply seemed far too hateful given the amount of support it had.

From the Washington Post:

"In an e-mailed statement, (U.S. Rep. Ed) Royce said he was angered by the presence of two keynote speakers at the event. Imam Siraj Wahhaj was named with169 others as co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, though Wahhaj was never charged and has denied involvement. And Amir Abdel Malik Ali spoke at "Israeli Apartheid Week" at UC Irvine in 2010 where he said he supports Hezbollah, which the CIA labels a terrorist group."

Again, I think this is disgusting, but the choice of keynote speakers seems odd given the purpose of the fundraiser.

Unfortunately, you cannot install Mac OS X on anything other than a Mac. (officially that is. There are some intel motherboards which can install an EFI bios and get a hacked copy of OS X, but in general you can't)

OpenOffice 3.2 is about the best package for linux, but I'm not sure how it compares to Keynote. You can download it for windows or mac os x as well - it behaves pretty much the same on every OS, so try it out.

>> ^MycroftHomlz:

I thought if I got the Viao or any other PC I would consider installing OSX on it or Linux. I would be hard pressed to use Windows again.

Yeah I saw there are some linux based presentation freeware that is similar to Keynote. I really like the autoalign features in Keynote. But the rest of the iWork crap does not do the job for me. I thought if I got the Viao or any other PC I would consider installing OSX on it or Linux. I would be hard pressed to use Windows again.

AFAIK, Keynote (and iWork) won't run on windows (your only option with Sony)
You can run windows apps on Macs using Parallels, VMware Fusion, or VirtualBox. (I've used all of them, the newest parallels is about the best feature wise, but costs money where virtualbox is free. Vmware has a free Player for other OS, but not for mac). You can also dual-boot a mac to windows, but this is less convenient.

The macbook air has a max memory limit of 4GB. This might limit your work in Matlab, depending on the toolboxes you use and the datasets you create. Also, the macbook air does NOT have a firewire 800 port, so if you want to use an external hard drive, you are stuck with USB 2.0. I also heard the new Airs have some technical problems, so I agree that you should wait a few months.

I would suggest a Macbook Pro, but this has 13" screen, and is over 3lbs.

So if those are both "must have" requirements, then the only thing you can get is the 11" MacBook Air. Those only have an SSD option, and between the OS, AutoDesk, and Matlab, will start to quickly fill that 64 or 128GB capacity (more like 120 after formatting).

Don't forget to buy the $29 mini-displayPort to VGA adapter if you are going to use this for presentations - most places still have VGA connections on projectors. (monoprice has one that is slightly cheaper and also works fine)

Apart from the whole Keynote thing meaning you only really have one option...

To me there is really only one "travel" laptop. I really like mine (even if its a 5-6 year old model now) http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/laptop-computers.asp

Panasonic also still makes the laptops themselves. Not foxconn, not some outsourced company in china. Still ALL made in Japan. And this is why they are more expensive.

Don't you need a mac for Keynote? Doesn't that basically tie your hands right there?

>> ^JiggaJonson:
How can you say "We need a commander and chief not a law professor!" and get applause? So what? The laws in this country aren't valuable but someone who makes bold idiotic decisions is? Wait, it all makes sense now!
p.s. Regan put us in a worse recession than Bush did, not something to celebrate.


agreed jigga.
the problem is americans collective short term memory and the majorities abject failure in not only knowing recent history but understanding its full impact on their own civil liberties.
habeas corpus is a british law enacted in 1250 a.d for the specific purpose of right of redress.
start tampering with that and the government can charge you with anything and your right to face your accuser in a court of law is toast.result=indefinite detention.
the "war on terror" is an arbitrary term with no definitive goal nor specified target.the "enemy" can be anyone or anything the government deems a threat.this can lead to wholesale abuse considering the the "war on terror" is actually a war on ideology.
historically speaking,it is not uncommon nor unimaginable that when a government is granted power it will always use that power and in many instances against it's own citizens.
the real problem in my opinion is when you add up americans lack of historical knowledge and our collective ability to forget and the corporate medias total failure to address politicians who flat out lie or manipulate facts to fit their narrative,we find ourselves dealing with a powerful cocktail of ignorance and fear which political parties use with amazing proficiency.
the majority of american people have given authority to the corporate media to tell them what to think and how to think it.until they realize that the mainstream media had utterly failed,and that journalistic integrity has been forfeited for ratings and profit we will see more sarah palin like politicians in the future.

Mine was first

/tear

http://www.videosift.com/video/Apple-iPad-Keynote-in-3-Minutes-of-Adjectives

>> ^ponceleon:
Dawkins sure likes Keynote!


And Hawaiian shirts.

Dawkins sure likes Keynote!

In reply to this comment by rickegee:
The next President of the United States.

4 months before he even announced his candidacy. That's a nice crystal ball. Can I get a peek?

^ Sarah Palin didn't announce her pregnancy to the state until her fifth month. I never once saw a picture of her [in any Alaskan newspaper or elsewhere] where she looked remotely pregnant. The papers all said she waited to announce it so no one would suggest she step aside earlier.

As for the flight while she was in labor, the flight from DFW to Anchorage is 8 hours minimum, and that's without a stop to refuel in Seattle. I'd like to see her speech when she was in labor - I'm sure that would be pretty telling. A keynote speaker is bound to have a fairly lengthy speech. If she got through her speech without a contraction, I'd be impressed. I remember at the time being irritated that she had gone through with the flight - especially after having popped out four kids, she wouldn't have been in labor for long. And you would think flying could cause serious complications, particularly if the baby were to be born halfway between Seattle and Anchorage, which would be extremely likely. [Even for a new mother, the average labor time is 8-14 hours. It only decreases the more children you have.]

I never thought twice about it before. The more I think about it now, the more it seems possible. Then again, I don't care enough to worry about it.

>> ^kronosposeidon:
>> ^Trancecoach:
There's rumor that Trig (the baby with Down Syndrome) is Palin's daughter's daughter, and not her own.
...
...[The daughter] simultaneously spent 7 months recuperating and caring for her gestating mother.
Does sound a little suspicious, but I'm not aware of any other evidence beyond what I just stated.

Well, There are also photos rather late in the pregnancy (7 months, I think) showing Sarah with no obvious pregnancy signs, and some family photos from earlier (5 months maybe?) where the daughter is *maybe* showing a bit of a bump. I wasn't convinced by these, though a 40+ woman on her fifth pregnancy at 7 months *not* very obviously showing seems a bit unlikely.

Somewhat more interesting to me were the circumstances of the birth. Mrs. Palin went into labor (possibly early stage) while at a convention of some sort and she was due to give a keynote speech. She decided to go ahead with it, then afterwards fly home (from Texas - 8+ hours I think) and drive another 45 minutes or so to get to her small town hospital. While a month early with a Downs baby at age 43(?). Assuming the rumor is false (I'm undecided) I feel this demonstrates serious negligence on the governor's part - she had to know that there was a not insignificant risk involved.

I have no desire to see Sarah Palin's daughter used for any sort of political advantage, or really to know much about her at all - it's none of my business. I'm a bit loathe to even submit this comment in case the whole thing is complete BS, but anything which would show a significant deficiency in a potential US President's judgment on important matters *is* my business. I'd like to hear at least some sort of response to the allegation - to explain the seemingly risky travel, if nothing else.

You are so full of shit it's sad. Typical of the American Con, you completely ignore what is relevant and embrace whatever triffle you think proves your point.

You're an asshole, man. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this shit to the posts instead of dirtying my profile with your stupidity.

In reply to this comment by deedub81:
You didn't supply a summary of Palin's achievements. If you remove the summary of what Obama has done since being elected it turns into this:

Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska City Council from 1992 to 1996, and was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996. In 2002, she was elected Governor of Alaska.

Obama was elected to, and seved in the Illinois State Senate from 1997-2004. He was elected to serve in the US House of Representatives in 2000.

In short: Palin has exactly 5 more years of experience in government, and 6 more years of experience in an executive position. It comes across a lot differently when you write it out in non-propoganda format.






In reply to this comment by rougy:
There is really no comparison between Palin's experience and Obama's.

I cut this from the center of Metafilter, but I think it's pretty accurate:

From wikipedia:

Palin's experience: After being selected as the runner up in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska City Council from 1992 to 1996, was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996, and ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002.

After charging ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders, she won election in 2006 by first defeating the incumbent governor in the Republican primary, then a former Democratic Alaskan governor in the general election.

Obama's experience: A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a community organizer and practiced as a civil rights attorney before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate in January 2003. After a primary victory in March 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He was elected to the Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. After announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama emphasized withdrawing American troops from Iraq, energy independence, decreasing the influence of lobbyists, and promoting universal health care as top national priorities.

Who sounds more qualified to be President?