technological aspects

[sarashina]

I haven't seen any threads like this, so i decided to make one. first off, i'm completely aware that SK rates about average when it comes to knowledge about tech, and that any heavy description of technology would just be boring to the reader, but did anyone else groan at every computer mentioned being a mac? i can accept pretty much any use of a mac to do pretty much anything without sparking my bias, but joe mclatchy being a supposed computer genius and using a mac...it doesn't sit right. neither does using the 640×480 pixel VGA resolution isight to film a ballistic missile impact.

that aside, the cellphone blocking thing is also pretty annoying, i can see routing/blocking calls, but what about phones using the 3g frequencies? also data, texting, etc. and if the residents had internet, i'm pretty sure some of them would have skype or a VOIP service. the "ipods, cellphones, and blackberries" line made me groan a bit too.

of course, there's a mind numbing list of unexplored possiblites relating to technology and the dome, all of which are negligible because SK could wave his magic wordproccessor around and explain them away using dome phenomena, and i guess an attempt to do that would have bored me too.

i guess i could say i'm trying to comment on the growing disparity between advances in technology and a writers ability to be realistic, but in reality i just felt like ranting.

[wally wonder]

yeah, we're marching on sk's house come summer, occupy the foyer...hope i don't make an effa bee eye watch list for this...but...we should act. i too had a complaint about stuff like "2200 hours". "hours" being redundant. poetic license, i guess. i try not to let it bother me too much...guess there's something in every story that throws someone off their feed. welcome aboard! :D

[rjt65]

Well after many years of windows operated hell I am happy to say I upgraded to and IMAc last year and my family loves it!!!

so more power to ya SK!! MAc the world!!!

and i am in technology --- Telecom Voice and Data convergence -- FYI: not hard at all to block skype or any Voip stuff and leave on data

so what is the issue with that?

[Srbo]

but in reality i just felt like ranting.




Uhm...uhm...*nods head*

Great rant.

Oh, sorry, what was it you said again? :wink2:

Welcome to the board.:smile2:

[randallFlaggfan1]

Welcome aboard, Sarashina!!

[Sundrop]

I haven't seen any threads like this, so i decided to make one. first off, i'm completely aware that SK rates about average when it comes to knowledge about tech, and that any heavy description of technology would just be boring to the reader, but did anyone else groan at every computer mentioned being a mac? i can accept pretty much any use of a mac to do pretty much anything without sparking my bias, but joe mclatchy being a supposed computer genius and using a mac...it doesn't sit right. neither does using the 640×480 pixel VGA resolution isight to film a ballistic missile impact.

that aside, the cellphone blocking thing is also pretty annoying, i can see routing/blocking calls, but what about phones using the 3g frequencies? also data, texting, etc. and if the residents had internet, i'm pretty sure some of them would have skype or a VOIP service. the "ipods, cellphones, and blackberries" line made me groan a bit too.

of course, there's a mind numbing list of unexplored possiblites relating to technology and the dome, all of which are negligible because SK could wave his magic wordproccessor around and explain them away using dome phenomena, and i guess an attempt to do that would have bored me too.

i guess i could say i'm trying to comment on the growing disparity between advances in technology and a writers ability to be realistic, but in reality i just felt like ranting.



Just so we're clear on this.....
You DO understand that this is FICTION, right? :laugh:

[sarashina]

Well after many years of windows operated hell I am happy to say I upgraded to and IMAc last year and my family loves it!!!

so more power to ya SK!! MAc the world!!!

and i am in technology --- Telecom Voice and Data convergence -- FYI: not hard at all to block skype or any Voip stuff and leave on data

so what is the issue with that?

not saying that technical knowledge and macs are mutually exclusive, just that a macs limited software and compatibility doesn't exactly inspire technical know-how, especially with macs being in the minority when it comes to computing in general.


Just so we're clear on this.....
You DO understand that this is FICTION, right? :laugh:

yep, and this would be a place to discuss fiction, if i'm correct

------------------------------------------------
and a thank you to everyone that welcomed me

[Ins4n3]

Just so we're clear on this.....
You DO understand that this is FICTION, right? :laugh:

You're absolutely correct, it is fiction. However, when certain people are reading such a great novel and are being immersed into the story and really starting to feel like they are there in the story, then they come across things that don't match up with things they know alot about, and may be a hobby of some sort of theirs, it begins to turn the story sour to them.

I did notice a flow of technological aspects following apple, also stated in a different thread about the missile fired at the dome having rather exaggerated speeds and navigation systems, also during the story the narrator refers to Chef and Andy as being "Stoned" after smoking Crystal Meth; It flagged my attention because being stoned usually refers to the high achieved from smoking marijuana, exclusively. My best guess would be it is SK's misinterpretation of information given to him by Russ Dorr pertaining to drugs to be used in the novel.

[jchanic]

While I was growing up (a LONG time ago!) getting stoned referred to getting drunk. It wasn't until the '60s that it became associated with marijuana.

John

[JohnDalglish]

during the story the narrator refers to Chef and Andy as being "Stoned" after smoking Crystal Meth; It flagged my attention because being stoned usually refers to the high achieved from smoking marijuana, exclusively. .

Hi,

I can assure you that it's possible to be 'stoned' on alcohol, speed, acid, smack, cocaine, Viagra, and a number of other substances.

Occasionally at one and the same time (don't try this at home LOL)

So quite bluntly, you're wrong.

And I would bow to my superior knowledge in this matter, if I were you.

Long days and pleasant nights

[Bryan James]

As long as yer not stoned on Viagra for more than four hours.

What the heck would you do? Laundry? Dry some bath towels? Air out the curtains?

[Sundrop]

You're absolutely correct, it is fiction. However, when certain people are reading such a great novel and are being immersed into the story and really starting to feel like they are there in the story, then they come across things that don't match up with things they know alot about, and may be a hobby of some sort of theirs, it begins to turn the story sour to them.

I did notice a flow of technological aspects following apple, also stated in a different thread about the missile fired at the dome having rather exaggerated speeds and navigation systems, also during the story the narrator refers to Chef and Andy as being "Stoned" after smoking Crystal Meth; It flagged my attention because being stoned usually refers to the high achieved from smoking marijuana, exclusively. My best guess would be it is SK's misinterpretation of information given to him by Russ Dorr pertaining to drugs to be used in the novel.

I disagree....I call it having an IMAGINATION.....

[Sundrop]

not saying that technical knowledge and macs are mutually exclusive, just that a macs limited software and compatibility doesn't exactly inspire technical know-how, especially with macs being in the minority when it comes to computing in general.



yep, and this would be a place to discuss fiction, if i'm correct

------------------------------------------------


Yes, it is the place to discuss fiction. However it annoys me when people seem to be hell bent on pointing out the lack of technical reality and picking apart a wonderful story just because they don't see the "reality factor". Those kinds of things have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on a fabulous work of imaginative fiction..... I find it ironically sad that some people don't seem to have the ability to enjoy the benefits of imagination...... just my 2 cents worth....

[Selena_Kitt]

during the story the narrator refers to Chef and Andy as being "Stoned" after smoking Crystal Meth; It flagged my attention because being stoned usually refers to the high achieved from smoking marijuana, exclusively.

Yeah, the term "stoned" dates SK quite a bit... on meth, it's "flying"... or just plain "high"... (not that I know from experience... just deal with a lot of addicts by association :wink2:)

[rjt65]

Uhh this is 2009 not 1983


you can run Wndows on macs (i would not) and your statement that macs are limited in sware and compatibility is false.

Sooooo what exactly is a mac limited in? :dunno::dunno:




not saying that technical knowledge and macs are mutually exclusive, just that a macs limited software and compatibility doesn't exactly inspire technical know-how, especially with macs being in the minority when it comes to computing in general.



yep, and this would be a place to discuss fiction, if i'm correct

------------------------------------------------
and a thank you to everyone that welcomed me

[JohnDalglish]

(not that I know from experience... )

Hi,

Aye.

Didn't stop you expressing your opinion though, did it?

I'll bet you weren't even born when some of us were getting stoned on methedrine.

Long days and pleasant nights

[clownshooter]

[QUOTE=Ins4n3;345637]You're absolutely correct, it is fiction. However, when certain people are reading such a great novel and are being immersed into the story and really starting to feel like they are there in the story, then they come across things that don't match up with things they know alot about, and may be a hobby of some sort of theirs, it begins to turn the story sour to them.QUOTE]

I agree, UTD is a fictional story; c'mon, an invisible force field comes down out of the sky and surrounds a Maine town. The statement about things that don't match up with things one knows quite a bit about is a small bugabo of sorts to me. I won't go so far to say it soured the story for me, but it is one of those little nagging details. I am not naive enough to realize that others who do not share my hobbies or interests will not notice and therefore not be bothered by the small discrepancies I see. It is simply a small detail however that someone (not necessarily Mr. King) missed.
Now I have come to a crossroad of sorts where I can either share the discrepancy that bothered me, or I can keep it to myself and reduce the potential for altering someone else's opinion of this fine novel.
I think I shall keep it to myself and hope that anyone else who observes the same does likewise.
No one is an expert on everything (except in fiction). One wouldn't want a plastic surgeon performing brain surgery to excise one's tumor would one?
mmmmmm brain tumors! yummy! Sorry, I had to say that :dunno:

[jcadams]

Maybe Joe was always using the Mac because that was the one with all the extra batteries?

[Ins4n3]

Uhh this is 2009 not 1983


you can run Wndows on macs (i would not) and your statement that macs are limited in sware and compatibility is false.

Sooooo what exactly is a mac limited in? :dunno::dunno:

Games, low prices, and third party hardware, once you buy a mac you best bet that most of the gadgets you get to use with your computer will be bearing that apple logo.

Did anyone else catch happen to catch that in SK's office there are only macs? I guess the man really just prefers Macintosh. :geek::tongue:

[rjt65]

those statements again are not accurate...

not meaning to get personal but lets say we will disagree on that point..

1- my wireless lexmark worked no issues with my mac-- took lot longer to get it working on the windows machines.. plug and play yah right!

2- plugged in my old usb non apple hard drive --and guess what real true plug and play it integrated so much easier than with my windows machines with their hahaha wanna be plug and play (hmmm when u upgrade windows os does old hware and sware always worK?) back-ups take a few seconds just turn on the unit and it backs up... easy

3- How much do windows upgrades cost? i upgraded my os to a major new release of Apple OSX-snowleopard for 27$$... Due to the popularity of macs Windows finally is lowering its os upgrade costs which were huge in the past...

4- plugged in over 4 diff makes of dig cameras-- 4 years to 1 year old all worked plug and play no sware or DRIVERS did i have to download...

also lets add in the hidden tax on windows machines for viruses, pop ups spyware etc...-(why is office for mac less expensive than office for windows? and all the down time...--and the always omnipresent issues of a crappy OS.... yah this time they got it right yah hmm have we heard that before? see lot people using geek squad or staples to fix windows machines..

http://www.familyresource.com/lifestyles/technology/buying-a-home-computer-mac-vs-windows

so yah as i am not an expert on the games (seems to be a lot out there) I wont discuss that point but you forgot to mention multimedia (pictures music etc), graphics etc.... another point for the mac.

So the Mac closed the gap IMO on the $$$ initial costs are more but if u do an apple to apple's comparison the cost gap is significantly closed now by the mac.

and mac users as always are happier!!! ask my kids who fight over the MAC verus the ecch Windows dell ;-)

Converted home PC to a MAC one year heavy usage not one blue screen of forced reboot (MAC is always on too 24 x 365)

PC windows user for over 24 or so years... dell desktops, gateway laptops (ACER, lenevo, IBM)

So sorry for the long reply just after my many years of windows dissatisfaction-and a year of bliss on an imac--i feel strongly about how superior macs are!

have a gr8 day!!!



Games, low prices, and third party hardware, once you buy a mac you best bet that most of the gadgets you get to use with your computer will be bearing that apple logo.

Did anyone else catch happen to catch that in SK's office there are only macs? I guess the man really just prefers Macintosh. :geek::tongue:

[Moderator]

Did anyone else catch happen to catch that in SK's office there are only macs? I guess the man really just prefers Macintosh. :geek::tongue:

That's because Macs rule!!! :tongue::biggrin2:

[Srbo]

That's because Macs rule!!! :tongue::biggrin2:

Right tools for the right Ruler/King.:cool2:

[sarashina]

Yes, it is the place to discuss fiction. However it annoys me when people seem to be hell bent on pointing out the lack of technical reality and picking apart a wonderful story just because they don't see the "reality factor". Those kinds of things have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on a fabulous work of imaginative fiction..... I find it ironically sad that some people don't seem to have the ability to enjoy the benefits of imagination...... just my 2 cents worth....

well, i never said that it lessened my enjoyment any. i'm not trying to diminish his merit as an author because of his computer preference, i'm just analyzing the story now that i'm done with it.


Uhh this is 2009 not 1983


you can run Wndows on macs (i would not) and your statement that macs are limited in sware and compatibility is false.

Sooooo what exactly is a mac limited in? :dunno::dunno:

macs are designed to run a proprietary OS, and to install any other OS you'd need something like bootcamp. any device where you have to circumvent it's original functionality to do what you want, has compatibility issues, i'm sorry. not to mention that macs are limited to intel processors, and it's impossible to build your own (legally anyway). since macs don't use proprietary hardware anymore, the only thing people are paying extra for (similarly spec'd macs are higher in price than PCs) would be the OS, which itself is just basically a UNIX skin. heck, if i wanted, i could throw OSx86 on my rig and be a mac for a while, but why would i do that?

[rjt65]

macs are designed to run a proprietary OS, and to install any other OS you'd need something like bootcamp. any device where you have to circumvent it's original functionality to do what you want, has compatibility issues, i'm sorry. not to mention that macs are limited to intel processors, and it's impossible to build your own (legally anyway). since macs don't use proprietary hardware anymore, the only thing people are paying extra for (similarly spec'd macs are higher in price than PCs) would be the OS, which itself is just basically a UNIX skin. heck, if i wanted, i could throw OSx86 on my rig and be a mac for a while, but why would i do that?


whaat? windows is an open os ? hahahaha the article i posted in last post the dude TAUGHT windows classes--yet prefers macs... i worked with em for over 20 years and prefer macs... but to say the depiction of Joe as a tech wizard and a mac person doesn't make sense-- doesn't make sense..


but joe mclatchy being a supposed computer genius and using a mac...it doesn't sit right.

hey no computer is perfect... but the mac is what windows has been trying to copy for years..the article talks to some of the points of windows issues nicely i thought.

Who cares about the other stuff? not 99/.999999999% of the population. I was addressing your anti-mac claims on cost and the cell phone blocking.

PS- u can install winows on a mac-1)duel boot or another way via 2) virtualisation http://www.squidoo.com/runwindowsonmac#module20555492

but like you said why would i want too? ;-)

[91rewoT]

I didn't really have any issues with the technology stuff (stuff, that's the technical term I think)...probably because I'm not that techno-savvy...but, I can tell you that when my husband and I watch a movie that has anything to do with the military, it drives him right up the wall if they get something wrong...so i see your point!

[sarashina]

whaat? windows is an open os ? hahahaha the article i posted in last post the dude TAUGHT windows classes--yet prefers macs... i worked with em for over 20 years and prefer macs... but to say the depiction of Joe as a tech wizard and a mac person doesn't make sense-- doesn't make sense..



hey no computer is perfect... but the mac is what windows has been trying to copy for years..the article talks to some of the points of windows issues nicely i thought.

Who cares about the other stuff? not 99/.999999999% of the population. I was addressing your anti-mac claims on cost and the cell phone blocking.

PS- u can install winows on a mac-1)duel boot or another way via 2) virtualisation http://www.squidoo.com/runwindowsonmac#module20555492

but like you said why would i want too? ;-)

you addressed my claim on compatibility issues as well, which just thoroughly proved.

and, well, macs have less than 10% of the market share, so i'd have to say 90% of people don't care about macs.

[jchanic]

And all this has to do with Under the Dome, how?

John

[JohnDalglish]

so i'd have to say 90% of people don't care about macs.

Hi,

Or can't (or won't) afford them?

Long days and pleasant nights

[rjt65]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9124718/Windows_market_share_dives_again_as_Mac_nears_10_

-windows has it LARGEST loss of marketshare (Operating system wise) the past 2 months! so yah 10% (still a significant number)

again back on point in UTD--- your thread said tech geek only using macs" groan..." and that the cell phone's technology (can block voice but not the 3g skype or other type-)

so obviously S King is not a techy and
i'm trying to comment on the growing disparity between advances in technology and a writers ability to be realistic,


1) obviously u dont like macs (or IPODs or blackberries etc) fine but don't disparage or claim things based just on an opinion-- u r free to yours as I am to mine, etc...this is an opinion based comment fine and to say you didnt like it - fine, but to use this to say that character is unrealistic nada..

2) You are wrong on the cell phone comments that u cannot block texting, or 3 g voice apps (Iwork in this area for over 20 years and am familar with how you would do it in the softswitches and equipment that runs the telecomm networks)


so there ya go-- i do not want to continue the ping ponging or argue---

So, from a technical guy who loves macs, hates windows, and has 20 years experience in Voice and data networks Merry Christmas!!

[sarashina]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9124718/Windows_market_share_dives_again_as_Mac_nears_10_

-windows has it LARGEST loss of marketshare (Operating system wise) the past 2 months! so yah 10% (still a significant number)

again back on point in UTD--- your thread said tech geek only using macs" groan..." and that the cell phone's technology (can block voice but not the 3g skype or other type-)

so obviously S King is not a techy and


1) obviously u dont like macs (or IPODs or blackberries etc) fine but don't disparage or claim things based just on an opinion-- u r free to yours as I am to mine, etc...this is an opinion based comment fine and to say you didnt like it - fine, but to use this to say that character is unrealistic nada..

2) You are wrong on the cell phone comments that u cannot block texting, or 3 g voice apps (Iwork in this area for over 20 years and am familar with how you would do it in the softswitches and equipment that runs the telecomm networks)


so there ya go-- i do not want to continue the ping ponging or argue---

So, from a technical guy who loves macs, hates windows, and has 20 years experience in Voice and data networks Merry Christmas!!

well, i never said that i don't like them, just that the comment about "ipods, cellphones, and blackberries" is redundant as blackberries are also cellphones, and i didn't say that 3g/voice apps/texting couldn't be blocked, i just mentioned that those things weren't addressed (and i was also wondering if they could be blocked- thank you for informing me).

and i'll maintain that someone learning about computers on a mac wouldn't be as computer literate as someone that learned using pc's, simply because of the base mentality of mac ("it just works") is treating it like a piece of furniture: setting it up out of the box and using it as is.

merry christmas to you as well.

[Moderator]

Oh, for the love of Pete, can we just move on? :eyebrow: Different strokes for different folks including computer preferences. In another 6 months or less at the rate technology advances these days, when someone reads UTD for the first time, all of this will be out of date anyway. It's fiction, not a technical manual.

[randallFlaggfan1]

Thank you so much, Ms. Mod! I find this discussion pointless, slightly controversal, and quite ridicules. Like you said, it's fiction. No one's perfect, so get over it already!

[Ins4n3]

So, from a technical guy who loves macs, hates windows, and has 20 years experience in Voice and data networks Merry Christmas!!

Sounds like a fanboy to me, and we all know how that goes. But Merry Christmas to you too rjt65, and a happy new year. :grinning:


And all this has to do with Under the Dome, how?

John

^^ Good point, enough arguing and more book discussion. :biggrin2:

[PatInTheHat]

Hmm, I'm not a techie by any means, but maybe it's was cheese..Joe being a computer genius doesn't necessarily make him an expert in cheese ya know:eyebrow:.

Now I ain't no big expert in cheese neither, but I know little about the subject, and in my opinion you'd be hard pressed in getting any kind of resolution on mac with just about any kind of cheese..or on a delicious chili mac for that matter (with or without cheese..I myself prefer with):wink2:.
Hope this could help bring some insight, and never be afraid to ask..I'm always here to help when I can:smile2:.