I went to the Apple Store today and tried out Macs, including the new MacBook Air. However, I still have several grievances.
1. When I click on the red button on the top left hand corner of the screen, the program does not stop running. Only the window closes. Wouldn't it be better to just use the minimize button?
2. The green button does not maximize the window. Instead, it only adjusts it a little bit. Therefore, there is hardly any purpose for it.
3. Macs are slow. My Vista machine with an old Pentium 4 processor started up faster and ran programs faster than a Mac with a new Core 2 Duo processor. I even use DreamScene, a program that allows videos to be used as desktop backgrounds. Therefore, Leopard is more bloated than Vista.
4. Time Machine takes a minute to boot up. On the other hand, Windows Vista's backup has a handy and speedy wizard that guides the user effortlessly to look for a lost file.
5. Expose never shows applications that are open but have no windows. Because that can never happen in Windows, Flip 3D shows all open applications.
6. There is no games folder in OS X, so it is hard to keep track of all the games on the computer.
7. iTunes requires an account to download album art, but Windows Media Player does not.
8. Windows Media Center can record TV shows, but Mac's Front Row cannot.
9. It is easier to keep track of the window that is open in Windows than in Mac.
10. The cheapest Mac desktop costs $600, and the cheapest Mac laptop costs $1100. The MacBook Air costs $1799. Those prices are too high for outdated computers that only focus on design.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
I PITY THE FOOL
This is an updated version of a previous post. In place of it is my Spanish fitness project from last year.
A person named "Deep Throat" has influenced me to publish this. He will not be named unless he wants his identity revealed.
Foreword
I pity the fool who reads my blog post, my futile diction that will affect absolutely nothing of the current situation.
A Baron Journalist’s Humbling Trip to Another School’s Newspaper
I often witness how unthankful my fellow Barons are of their school, such as complaining about the seagulls at lunchtime, the vandalism in the bathrooms, and the boring assemblies; however, they should be much more grateful for attending their school. Unlike many schools, FVHS possesses a multitude of interesting extracurricular activities, like the award-winning Baron Banner, one of the most prestigious organizations. As a dedicated writer for our school newspaper, I observed the stark contrast between another school’s journalism class and our own.
In the city of Niatnuof Yellav, I attended a period of instruction for publishing Niatnuof Yellav High School’s periodical, the Norab Rennab. A suburban community east of the close Pacific Ocean, Niatnuof Yellav is located in Citrus Sinensis County. In the following paragraphs are my observations of the typical class period for making the Norab Rennab.
To meet the official start time of 7:15 a.m., the young writers must wake up early. Conversely, their valiant efforts to brave the effects of sleeplessness are seldom acknowledged; rarely is anything accomplished with the lackadaisical pace until the Editors-in-Chief, who also arrive at 7:15, request the class’ attention at around 7:25. Slier students even purposely arrive around 7:20 to receive more of their much needed rest. Why is the precious time of hardworking, anxious teenagers wasted? Why don’t the lazy, selfish Editors-in-Chief come to class earlier than their subordinates to prepare the day’s agenda? In the workplace, it is common, as managers open and prepare the businesses before employees enter. With three of those stooges, they can even alternate who arrives earlier. But of course, this is the shoddy Norrab Rennab, not our coveted Baron Banner.
Then, as one of their ongoing assignments for participation points, the pupils share professionally written articles that they read at home, but they just present the gist of the articles and do not analyze how professional journalists effectively convey their points through their use of literary elements, such as diction, structure, or style. One can skim through an article or even creatively fabricate a story. With this pointless task that wastes class time as well, how can the young journalists improve on their writing? Instead, the leaders should teach universal compositional techniques, like syntax, grammar, and conciseness, everyday, which inculcates those essential elements into students’ developing minds and advances their writing. That way, the Norab Rennab’s writing will undoubtedly improve, and members will feel like they are actually learning something, instead of just sitting around and listening to entertaining but pointless articles.
On most days, the Editors-in-Chief dismiss the class after article readings, but on some days, writers meet with their respective section editors. To add insult to injury, the section editors never help the journalists improve their writing skills either. They just ask the students to sign up for articles to write, but they never discuss the mistakes found in previous ones and how to fix those errors. Furthermore, editors and reporters never collaborate on articles and have yet to discover the benefits of working together as a team, even though the strategy is already highly popularized in academics and in sports. As carried out in the Baron Banner, both the editors and the writers plan out the article together, and the editor only makes suggestions in each of the several revisions; the writer corrects all of his or her mistakes and in the process, learns how to avoid them in the future. In the Norab Rennab, first, the columnist’ articles are sent only once to editors for a one-time edit; next, forwarded to the Editors-in-Chief; finally, published in either the online or print edition of the newspaper. Eloquent writing demands numerous corrections and sometimes even complete redrafts, far from the Norab Rennab’s publications of glorified rough drafts. If the Norab Rennab would conform to the Baron Banner’s highly constructive process towards the articles’ publication, its pieces would possess less grammatical errors, be more fluid, and be more effectual.
Students from Niatnuof Yellav High School have expressed other grievances as well. To begin with, several complained about the lethargy in updating the online newspaper, such as the inexplicable two-month time period between when articles were finished and when they were uploaded. With lengthy delays like that, intended news articles actually become a part of the historical archives, cannot be published, and are wasted. How can the Narob Rennab encourage writers to work hard if it blatantly shows a disregard for its members’ works? In addition, another pupil told me that half a year had passed before the staff’s positions, biographies, and photos were changed from last year’s. Also, another stressed that many of the links were broken each time the online newspaper was updated. Alternatively, the Editors-in-Chief could select webmasters to upload content and maintain the website. From my personal experience of attending a Baron Banner workshop, updating the web page is not even challenging, and this statement comes from a person who calls his DVD tray a “cup holder” and the fan vent of his computer a “foot warmer.”
School curriculum is supposed to improve students’ abilities and help them succeed later in life, but in the course for producing the Norab Rennab at Niatnuof Yellav High School, that is not the case. On the other hand, the journalism class at FVHS for the Baron Banner is the exact opposite, and the Wired Baron, the predecessor to the Baron Banner, was one of the National Scholastic Press Association’s (NSPA’s) Online Pacemaker Finalists in both 2005 and 2007. I am extremely proud to be a part of the Baron Banner. Barons, please have more school spirit!
A person named "Deep Throat" has influenced me to publish this. He will not be named unless he wants his identity revealed.
Foreword
I pity the fool who reads my blog post, my futile diction that will affect absolutely nothing of the current situation.
A Baron Journalist’s Humbling Trip to Another School’s Newspaper
I often witness how unthankful my fellow Barons are of their school, such as complaining about the seagulls at lunchtime, the vandalism in the bathrooms, and the boring assemblies; however, they should be much more grateful for attending their school. Unlike many schools, FVHS possesses a multitude of interesting extracurricular activities, like the award-winning Baron Banner, one of the most prestigious organizations. As a dedicated writer for our school newspaper, I observed the stark contrast between another school’s journalism class and our own.
In the city of Niatnuof Yellav, I attended a period of instruction for publishing Niatnuof Yellav High School’s periodical, the Norab Rennab. A suburban community east of the close Pacific Ocean, Niatnuof Yellav is located in Citrus Sinensis County. In the following paragraphs are my observations of the typical class period for making the Norab Rennab.
To meet the official start time of 7:15 a.m., the young writers must wake up early. Conversely, their valiant efforts to brave the effects of sleeplessness are seldom acknowledged; rarely is anything accomplished with the lackadaisical pace until the Editors-in-Chief, who also arrive at 7:15, request the class’ attention at around 7:25. Slier students even purposely arrive around 7:20 to receive more of their much needed rest. Why is the precious time of hardworking, anxious teenagers wasted? Why don’t the lazy, selfish Editors-in-Chief come to class earlier than their subordinates to prepare the day’s agenda? In the workplace, it is common, as managers open and prepare the businesses before employees enter. With three of those stooges, they can even alternate who arrives earlier. But of course, this is the shoddy Norrab Rennab, not our coveted Baron Banner.
Then, as one of their ongoing assignments for participation points, the pupils share professionally written articles that they read at home, but they just present the gist of the articles and do not analyze how professional journalists effectively convey their points through their use of literary elements, such as diction, structure, or style. One can skim through an article or even creatively fabricate a story. With this pointless task that wastes class time as well, how can the young journalists improve on their writing? Instead, the leaders should teach universal compositional techniques, like syntax, grammar, and conciseness, everyday, which inculcates those essential elements into students’ developing minds and advances their writing. That way, the Norab Rennab’s writing will undoubtedly improve, and members will feel like they are actually learning something, instead of just sitting around and listening to entertaining but pointless articles.
On most days, the Editors-in-Chief dismiss the class after article readings, but on some days, writers meet with their respective section editors. To add insult to injury, the section editors never help the journalists improve their writing skills either. They just ask the students to sign up for articles to write, but they never discuss the mistakes found in previous ones and how to fix those errors. Furthermore, editors and reporters never collaborate on articles and have yet to discover the benefits of working together as a team, even though the strategy is already highly popularized in academics and in sports. As carried out in the Baron Banner, both the editors and the writers plan out the article together, and the editor only makes suggestions in each of the several revisions; the writer corrects all of his or her mistakes and in the process, learns how to avoid them in the future. In the Norab Rennab, first, the columnist’ articles are sent only once to editors for a one-time edit; next, forwarded to the Editors-in-Chief; finally, published in either the online or print edition of the newspaper. Eloquent writing demands numerous corrections and sometimes even complete redrafts, far from the Norab Rennab’s publications of glorified rough drafts. If the Norab Rennab would conform to the Baron Banner’s highly constructive process towards the articles’ publication, its pieces would possess less grammatical errors, be more fluid, and be more effectual.
Students from Niatnuof Yellav High School have expressed other grievances as well. To begin with, several complained about the lethargy in updating the online newspaper, such as the inexplicable two-month time period between when articles were finished and when they were uploaded. With lengthy delays like that, intended news articles actually become a part of the historical archives, cannot be published, and are wasted. How can the Narob Rennab encourage writers to work hard if it blatantly shows a disregard for its members’ works? In addition, another pupil told me that half a year had passed before the staff’s positions, biographies, and photos were changed from last year’s. Also, another stressed that many of the links were broken each time the online newspaper was updated. Alternatively, the Editors-in-Chief could select webmasters to upload content and maintain the website. From my personal experience of attending a Baron Banner workshop, updating the web page is not even challenging, and this statement comes from a person who calls his DVD tray a “cup holder” and the fan vent of his computer a “foot warmer.”
School curriculum is supposed to improve students’ abilities and help them succeed later in life, but in the course for producing the Norab Rennab at Niatnuof Yellav High School, that is not the case. On the other hand, the journalism class at FVHS for the Baron Banner is the exact opposite, and the Wired Baron, the predecessor to the Baron Banner, was one of the National Scholastic Press Association’s (NSPA’s) Online Pacemaker Finalists in both 2005 and 2007. I am extremely proud to be a part of the Baron Banner. Barons, please have more school spirit!
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