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Well, there is the alternative

Expensive when new, yes. But it supports open source and open standards without the elitist image.And there are other places if you cant stand the expense.

God these keyboards are sweet indeed. I'm typing this post on one right now. And they're not THAT hard to find. Try Ebay.

Search Ebay for IBM Model M

The prices have gone up, so I suspect they're getting more popular. But there are plenty to be had for well under $20 US.

I bought a lot of 5 Model M keyboards for $26 including shipping about 2 years ago. Your mileage may vary.

Apple makes these things, called personal computers called Macintosh computers. Up until the G4 version of the Macintosh (or "Mac"), Apple used the Apple Desktop Bus for keyboard connections.

So yes, opposed to a USB keyboard.

An "Apple keyboard" is a keyboard manfacutured by Apple Computer Inc. Keyboards made for the Macintosh, therefore, would be called "Macintosh keyboards," or simply, "Mac keyboards."

Much like the usage of calling keyboards for (traditionally) Windows-based IBM PC clones "PC keyboards," "Windows Keyboards," or "keyboards that don't have a place for your one-button mouse to plug in."

As for one that you like, there are many to choose from.

Keyboard preferences are subjective. As much as you want me to, I cannot tell you what you like.

If it's bulkier and more expensive what incentive do people have for purchasing a drink stored in such a can?

With the right marketing, people will buy anything.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate gory=14279&item=6114659512&rd=1

I thought I'd seen this before on EBAY!
(Not necessarily a work safe link)

I bought "The System of the World" on eBay. So far (200 pages in) it's been well worth the premium (paid <$40). Of course, I liked Quicksilver and loved The Confusion so I'm fairly (unfairly?) biased. Don't worry: I'll be buying the hardcover in October to make sure Mr. Stephenson earns his royalties from me.

IBM has one of these too. http://stores.ebay.com/IBM-Authorized-Auctions

Sure you've got enough money for a Cray! Cray J932SE supercomputer (dual IOS, 3 cabinet) for $4500, not including disk drives.

The now End-Of-Life apple Emate would be PERFECT for what youre talking about. It was basically an Apple newton in a small laptop form factor. If I remember correctly Apple marketted them to schoolkids for this exact purpose. Here's a nice synopsis at everymac.

It can at least sync back to a mac, getting it to sync back to a PC shouldnt be a problem. They're SUPER cheap on ebay.

Dell sells a lot of stuff on eBay. Most of it consists of refurbs and returned leases. Probably pretty good for saving a load on a lightweight laptop. http://stores.ebay.com/Dell-Financial-Services

MS BOB

well, again two points:

1. it just works
2. it already did work in 2000, under os 9. and if you compare the current price of my son's 4 year old powerbook to something "similar" in the x86 world (not to talk about the driver pain and probable problems getting linux to run a card on an older machine). and 1070 (education) for a new ibook with dvd and airport card is not so bad either.

With this, we STILL can't buy the theatrical release, and we don't even know if they're changing what we saw in the re-release. That's absolutely ridiculous.

You can buy the theatrical releases; I have. The only problem is that they're going to be on fifteen year old VHS tapes.

You can pick up DVD copies on eBay, but I'm pretty sure those are unauthorized copies of the VHS tapes. I don't believe the theatrical versions were ever released on DVD anywhere in the world.

Johnny Soko!!

(God, I gotta get out of the house more....)

who modded this as funny? he did buy the uid on ebay A very little amount of research will also reveal the uid of the user who bought it.

I posted this in the last spectrum topic, but it's perhaps even more applicable to this discussion.

- Neil Wehneman

*****

Lawrence Lessig spends a not insignificant amount of time on the concept of spectrum in 2001's The Future of Ideas.

Quoting him from page 233 (emphasis in original)...

"Here again, an idea about property is doing all the work - but this time the idea is at its most attenuated. We don't yet have a full property regime for allocating and controlling spectrum. Yet we are still being driven to embrace this single view. We are racing to deny the opportunity for balance, pushed (as we always are) by those who have the least to gain from a world of balance. The possibility of a commons at the physical layer is ignored; even the chance to experiment with the commons is denied. Instead, policy makers on the Right and the Left race to embrace a system of perfect control.

So strong is this idea of property, so unbalanced is our understanding of its tradition, that we embrace it fully, without limitation, even when it doesn't yet exist, and even when the asset being assigned a property right is not - like the wires of AT&T's cable or the creative genius behind Disney's Mickey Mouse - something anyone has created. We are racing to assign property rights in the air, because we can't imagine that balance could do better."

Buy it new, buy it used, or get it from the library. But if you have interest in spectrum you should definitely read this book.

Lawrence Lessig spends a not insignificant amount of time on the concept of spectrum in 2001's The Future of Ideas.

Quoting him from page 233 (emphasis in original)...

"Here again, an idea about property is doing all the work - but this time the idea is at its most attenuated. We don't yet have a full property regime for allocating and controlling spectrum. Yet we are still being driven to embrace this single view. We are racing to deny the opportunity for balance, pushed (as we always are) by those who have the least to gain from a world of balance. The possibility of a commons at the physical layer is ignored; even the chance to experiment with the commons is denied. Instead, policy makers on the Right and the Left race to embrace a system of perfect control.

So strong is this idea of property, so unbalanced is our understanding of its tradition, that we embrace it fully, without limitation, even when it doesn't yet exist, and even when the asset being assigned a property right is not - like the wires of AT&T's cable or the creative genius behind Disney's Mickey Mouse - something anyone has created. We are racing to assign property rights in the air, because we can't imagine that balance could do better."

Buy it new, buy it used, or get it from the library. But if you have interest in spectrum you should definitely read this book.

- Neil Wehneman

This is exactly why I'm saving up.

I always thought the Tablet PC should be something of a large PDA, but with some of the benefits of a laptop. Maybe Apple has figured out how to do this. The Vadem Clio (ebay link) always seemed to be a good physical design, wonder why it failed. Maybe it was just too early.

This looks like a way to unload a glut of small CRT displays. CRT displays smaller than 17" now have negative value. Try to sell one.

The BSA, and the SPA before it, have to be the biggest idiots ever. If you like that though, you'll love this eBay auction I posted a few days ago for an old 1990's SPA poster showing a pair of hand cuffs and the text, "Copy software illegaly and you could get this hardware absolutely free." Hillarious. Idiots I tell you.

Anyway, photo of the poster at:
http://tofu.portland.or.us/ebay/copythatfloppy.jpg

eBay auction if you're interested at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1 &item=3741256320

Other examples include the original gold and silver box AD&D Games, which were re-released On CD. BIG props to that game publisher And you can pick it up on ebay today for cheap.

Oops , a hrefs dont work
Ebay link;I suggest buying from Compaq parts(No its not me or anyone i know, i bought mine from him tho and hes cheap.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate gory=51083&item=5113696441&rd=1&ssPageName=WDV W
http://www.keyovation.com/ergonomics/product/usbke yboard.html

But as the guy claims, he's not trying to make any money, just help people with dialup connections. How noble. SP2 CD on eBay

As I write this, there are 653 gmail auctions underway. It looks like people have gotten bored selling one-offs so they're creating vanity ids & selling those; e.g., "BillAndHillaryClinton@gmail.com".

n.b. I have nothing to gain from all of this, I'm just handing out information.

Aside from looking for deals on E-bay, you'll find that the features you want are not availble at a consumer level.

High end mindisc recorders allow digital dubbing, but not consumer models. An excellent source of information is here.

By the way, minidisc does not use DRM, it just doesn't have a digital line out jack.

In broadcast circles a lot of people are moving to various flash media units, and seem quite happy with them. These tend to be "pro" units, with XLR mic jacks and digital in and out.

You can also check out transom.org for advice on recorders.

I have even transcoded entire DVDs down to ~400 MB using dvd::rip, put them on my 512 MB SD card and have watched the entire movie on my PDA in Landscape widescreen. The resolution is excellent for a PDA and the 400 MHz X-Scale CPU is very quick. Battery life is OK, but with the BoxWave miniSync (w/Car and Wall adapters) I never worry about it.

The best part is the price of my setup:
$300 PDA
$80 Ericsson T68m BlueTooth Phone
$99 512 MB SD Card
$40 BoxWave miniSync + Accessories
$40 Iambic Agendus Pro
$40 SnapperFish SnapperMail Standard
$50 SplashData SplashWallet
$35 Mapopolis 1-year North America w/o GPS Support
$30 BlueNomad WordSmith
$15 MMPlayer
$12 ZLauncher
$10 PDAMill Solitaire
$0 OliveTree BibleReader+
$0 BigClock
$0 MyCheckbook
$0 HandyShopper
$0 HandZipperLite
$0 IconMgr
$0 SeaTraffic
$0 TuSSH
$0 upIRC (limited shareware)
$0 Warfare, Inc. (shareware demo)
====
$751

I actually paid $611 total for all the above because I purchased many of the software items listed above long ago for my previous PDAs, but the above is what someone would pay to buy it now.

I have even transcoded entire DVDs down to ~400 MB using dvd::rip, put them on my 512 MB SD card and have watched the entire movie on my PDA in Landscape widescreen. The resolution is excellent for a PDA and the 400 MHz X-Scale CPU is very quick. Battery life is OK, but with the BoxWave miniSync (w/Car and Wall adapters) I never worry about it.

The best part is the price of my setup:
$300 PDA
$80 Ericsson T68m BlueTooth Phone
$99 512 MB SD Card
$40 BoxWave miniSync + Accessories
$40 Iambic Agendus Pro
$40 SnapperFish SnapperMail Standard
$50 SplashData SplashWallet
$35 Mapopolis 1-year North America w/o GPS Support
$30 BlueNomad WordSmith
$15 MMPlayer
$12 ZLauncher
$10 PDAMill Solitaire
$0 OliveTree BibleReader+
$0 BigClock
$0 MyCheckbook
$0 HandyShopper
$0 HandZipperLite
$0 IconMgr
$0 SeaTraffic
$0 TuSSH
$0 upIRC (limited shareware)
$0 Warfare, Inc. (shareware demo)
====
$751

I actually paid $611 total for all the above because I purchased many of the software items listed above long ago for my previous PDAs, but the above is what someone would pay to buy it now.

If you're a US resident, try the Sun auctions.

No wonder people are pirating this game. It's going for over $ 20 million on eBay!

you can buy these on ebay for eight bucks.

Oh wait...

...does this mean I can use my eBay Anything Points?

I have a butt-load of United miles I'd like to convert and use before they go bankrupt for good.

where did I agree to being bombarded with ads?

With every page load of Slashdot. I notice you're not a subscriber. Why do you feel OSDN is obligated to provide you this entertainment for free?

Every time you go to CNN.com or IMDB.com, you're implicitly agreeing to consume some ad content in exchange for the free content you're requesting.

Do you really not see this? The bottom line is, someone's gotta pay the bills, and by refusing to pay for sites you like (such as Slashdot), you're forcing them to rely on advertisers to foot the bill for your freeloading. Now there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you abide by your end of the deal (that is, allow them to show you the ads).

If you don't like the deal, buddy, then either subscribe, or stop visiting those sites.

where was I warned that the site needs me to view ads to stay in business?

Are you capable of basic math? It costs $n to provide you with entertaining content, such as the kind found on Slashdot. If everybody who views the site refuses to pay more than $0 to consume that content, then in order to continue operating, the site owners must find another source to make up that $n - $0 difference (that is to say, the entire cost of running the website).

where was I given the choice before the full page ad came screaming down my monitor

The instant you decided to click on that link, bookmark, or type in the URL, while in the back of your head saying to yourself, "this better be worth my time, and by the way, I'm not paying 1 cent for this." Also, every moment that you choose not to subscribe to Slashdot, you're choosing to accept the ads.

they are using the opportunity to make EXTRA cash.

Uh, this is simply false. It is a pretty commonly-known fact that ad revenue doesn't amount to very much. Slashdot used to be paid for entirely with ad revenue, but rather than swimming in a pool of their "EXTRA cash", they had to resort to a subscription model, just to keep the doors open. Just look at all the websites that have collapsed into bankruptcy, even though they had this ad revenue that you assert should have been burying them in "EXTRA cash".

You're simply wrong, if you think there are any websites out there basking in the windfall of web-based ad revenue.

if they depend on the ads as business model, then their business model is flawed.

Ugh, it really bugs me when people say stupid things like that. OK then, smartypants, what's a better model? I dare you to describe for me a business model in which a website, frequented by readers who refuse to pay for any content, can create a revenue stream sufficient to break even, without resorting to ad revenue?

If it were so easy, don't you think there'd be a ton of sites out there doing it? The only sites that don't have ads are ones in which the users pay for stuff, like eBay. Even our beloved Google has to rely on ad revenue to survive.

Come on, genius, what's the superior business model? How would you run a content-driven website with 100,000 readers sucking down multimedia content through your high-bandwidth connection, none of whom are willing to pay for any of it?

Bah, I've already wasted too much time on your post. How old are you, 14? You can't even bother to capitalize. People like you bug me so much, because not only are you part of the problem and you don't even know it, you critisize the very system that is allowing you to enjoy your leeched content free of charge, without providing any supposedly superior alternatives! You act like the current system sucks, but you don't have any suggestions for a better system.

I just wanted to point out the obvious (but apparently not so obvious for many) that almost all of the mobile providers offer phones without some degree of features such as cameras, MP3 players, and the kitchen sink. It makes me wonder if anyone's actively looking for one...

T-Mobile - Nokia 6010
Cingular - Nokia 3595
AT&T Wireless - Nokia 2260
Alltel - Nokia 3585i
Verizon Wireless - Nokia 3589i

OK - now perhaps you're one of those who feels that color screens are over the top for mobile phones... so what to do? Why not look around on eBay?

With that said, I wholeheartedly appreciate the trend of adding features to phones.

Rotary phones "just worked." Why did they even bother adding that newfangled touchtone button dialing or even eliminate operator-connected calling? They always "just worked." The reason: progress.

I love Caller ID and SMS... they're infinitely useful and convenient. Sure... features like Push-to-talk and loud ringtones are annoying... but only when they're blantantly misused or inappropriate... like for personal conversations and in classrooms, respectively.

I just had to say this because I really dislike comments like "just give me a phone that works" because if telephone tech never evolved and never incorporated any new features, we'd all be using AMPS. We've come a long way from the days of car phones. And I, for one, LOVE being able to check my eMail on my 3650. Granted, network reliability should be paramount, but I've never had any lingering issues with my T-Mo service.

I guess I'm less spiteful of the industry than I used to be.

Its called the Motorola Ultra Classic http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate gory=64355&item=5712244301&rd=1&ssPageName=WDV W

Actually, they have done pretty much that, but it appears to be done in-house. The phishing giveaway, however, is the "Warning: Failure to Verify your ID may result in Account Suspension." While Ebay might (and did) create such as system, they would not make it mandatory unless fraud was not only rampant, but nigh universal. The funky URL is an incidental side clue; I got all 10 correct without even the URLs-- Safari doesn't show the "mouse-over" text, and the active URLs are all to a pop up "disabled" message. Mind you, while the style is getting better, the Phishers still don't have what it takes to be a professional writer for an actual company-- which would allow them a better way to earn a dishonest living.

For example, consider from number two: "It has come to our attention that your PayPal account information needs to be updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to reduce the instance of fraud on our website." If there was a genuine message on these lines from PayPal, it wouldn't be phrased thus. It hasn't "come to their attention" that the account needs updating... that's (hypothetically) the Paypal POLICY, which bloody well better not have just come to their attention; it's come to Paypal's attention that you haven't done so, and were it not a phishing scam, they would tell you so... and probably quote the chapter and verse of the user agreement saying you had to do it.

(The other rted flags for me were: message 4, the "connection secured" logo on an e-mail and the "Mail sent to this address cannot be answered"; message 6 "We regret to inform you, that we were unable"-- a misplaced comma; message 7, no rational connection as to how monthly validation contributes to "Best Possible" service; message 8, "you dont leave us any choice"; message 10, your records being out of date is not a "problem with our services".)

On the other hand, thanks to our our wonderful education system most people (aside from professional writers of one sort or another) no longer understand these sorts of linguistic subtleties. And many of them are oblivious trusting liberal arts majors who do whatever their computer tells them.

We're doomed, I tell you. Doomed, doomed, doomed.

Ta Dah

What might be interesting would be a "Phisher Identifier" built into mail clients that could identify bogus or unauthorized URLs based on a very carefully maintained database of legitimate URLs.

FYI, ebay already does this with their ebay toolbar (see account guard). I think a blacklist of scam sites is great.

"One of our freelancers, Stewart Wolpin, did this recently with a Panasonic model, the TH-42PHD6UY, a stripped-down version of the TH-42PX20UP. Wolpin purchased the TH-42PHD6UY for just over $5,000, tax and a stand included"

That freelancer needs a whap on the head because he got ripped off. I recently purchased a brand spanking new TH-42PHD6UY for just over 4k after the addition of a 4yr extended REPLACEMENT warranty an optional DVI Interface board (this version allows the user too swap interface cards) and shipping and handling -- I bought this on ebay to avoid the RETAIL markup, ebay sellers usually order directly from a distributer and markup just enough to pay some bills. Low overhead, few if any employees to feed/insure and no actual inventory make for cheaper prices.

When I went to best buy to find a rackmount system for my AV home theatre rig, I was shocked to see the retail price of the TH-42PX20UP (consumer model) was 5,600.00!!!
That's about a 1500.00 difference! And what do you get? Some crappy speakers -- If you have plasma you sure as hell don't need crappy TV speakers because you have a surround sound system! -- an NTSC TV TUNER -- Errrr once again if you have plasma you wont be tuning in off the airial broadcast signal because you'll have HD Satelite/Cable and a TiVo!!!! --- A remote with 100 extra buttons you don't need -- The Commercial version has about 20 buttons and I use all of them -- and a crapload of aerodynamic looking plastic instead of the plain-jane plastic picture frame, which I prefer since it takes up less space.

So you basically end up paying $1500.00 more for a bunch of crap you don't need and adds no real value to the product.

But as everyone else has mentioned, it's just common sense. And if you're going to send 4k of your hard earned cash, you better do some serious reesearch on each brand/model and ALL it's attributes based on what your needs are.
Ohh and no, ebay is not all that risky if you use your head.
Look for sellers with high transaction numbers (my seller had over 10k trasactions and a 98% satisfaction rating)
And be sure to call them before you click that buy now button, ask about warranty options and geet info on the warranty (my seller referred me to the warranty providers website so I could read the details BEFORE buying the product). ebay has become my favorite place to shop for high end electronics because it is usually much cheaper than buying at a store and if you buy form an out of state seller, you avoid sales tax.

Now I know that in teh US, polonium was sold as part of anti-static devices for record players at one time (maybe it still is).

BTW, radioactive air ionizers are still available for static electricity control. In the US at least, I think you need an NRC license to have one. The nice thing is they don't quit working or malfunction, which is good when you're manufacturing expensive stuff like satellite electronics.

Good Gord. I just found a polonium antistatic brush on eBay.

Linux is less than perfect because it's not an operating system. It's a kernel that doesn't even have proper source control, on top of which a million organizations and companies pile unrelated software plagued with arbitrary dependencies.

Hence, why we are in the BSD section of Slashdot. ;-)

FreeBSD has the entire core system in CVS and has a flexible ports system for package management, as well as pre-compiled packages for those who want it.

As per hardware, consider:

• Cisco Aironet 350 AIR-PCM352: $53 used on eBay
• FreeBSD stickers to cover the Windows XP Badge and decorate my laptop: $3.00
• HP ScanJet 2200C: $50 on Froogle
• Being free from Microsoft: Priceless

HP has rigged the BIOS in their notebooks to reject "unapproved" miniPCI wireless cards. They claim the FCC made them do it (it's in their hardware guide IIRC, page 8-1) because the card and antenna have to be approved as a set. So I've been stuck with this Linux-hostile Broadcom card and can't use the Linux-friendly Atheros card I went through a great deal of trouble to hunt down (and is for sale on eBay).

With this rule change, will HP remove this restriction from their BIOS? No, please, stop laughing...

FWIW, it's just HP/Compaq and some IBM notebooks that do this, so HP's excuse seems rather weak to me.

How is this any different from those novelty coke can telephones and coke can radios. Once the object is hidden inside a hand-luggage bag, what the outer surface looks like isn't going to make any difference to an X-ray machine.

Payment surcharges:

Sellers may not charge eBay buyers an additional fee for their use of ordinary forms of payment, including acceptance of checks, money orders, electronic transfers or credit cards. Such costs should be built into the price of the item. This policy reduces the potential for confusion among bidders about the true cost of an item. Further, some forms of payment surcharges, such as credit card surcharges, are forbidden under the laws of many states, including California.

There are three exceptions to this rule:

* Sellers may add a reasonable shipping and handling fee to the final price of their item, providing that this fee is disclosed up-front in the listing. A shipping and handling fee can cover the seller's reasonable costs for mailing, packaging and handling the item. Shipping and handling fees cannot be listed as a percentage of the final sale price.

* Sellers may pass along the costs associated with using a third-party escrow service, if the buyer chooses to use an escrow service.

* Sellers may choose to accept payment in a different currency than the currency listed on eBay. If the buyer chooses this optional payment method, the seller may pass along to the buyer any costs associated with the currency exchange, provided that the costs are disclosed and agreed to in advance by the buyer.

Please note that some types of payment surcharges are permitted on some of eBay's international sites.

Mirror of the picture of the monkey walking upright

Thousands of macaque monkey porn images from Google

Groovy macaque toys on eBay

Printable version of the story from Canada

How about an "eBay bond" where sellers have to lodge the cash with eBay until the point at which the seller receives the goods, i.e. the money is in escrow until the whole transaction is complete. The company goes bust or fails to supply within a set period (agreed as part of the sale) then the money is refunded.

Oddly, someone has already thought of this.

The scammer in the topic article, however, is one of those that uses a fake escrow company that claims to have received and held payment, but really hasn't, in order to get merchandise for free.

Yeah. Never Send Money by any other means then Credit Card.

In Fact, I don't use eBay because eBay's loss protections plan doesn't cover the first $25 of up to a $200 loss REF. That's way more than 10% loss on top. If eBay would stand behind PayPal with 100% security, I might use the service. I can, however, usually buy new cheaper than the auctions - why is that?

"How could that be possible?", you must be asking. Surely there are safeguards against that kind of thing, right? Yes, there are. But Sal has been ingenious in finding workarounds for those safeguards. See, for example, how Justin Spence, a shrewd businessman himself who was initially suspect of Sal's integrity, was conned into finishing the deal. Sal doesn't accept credit cards nor Paypal in any form; he wants his money in checks, cashiers checks or money orders. And he often makes believe he hasn't received your payment when in fact he's already cashed it.

Sal's accounts have all been terminated, of course, but he always seems to have one more on the back burner he can use in a pinch. Lately, his wife Michelle Heinlein appears to be actively involved, since in at least one case a check made out to her name was cashed, in one of the scams. Notice the same trading pattern as Sal's former username needforspeed97, starting off good then, once he gets a good reputation, cashing it in for a few thousand dollars before eBay kicks him off. I'm pretty sure this guy Robin, needforspeed, is the same dude too, but Sal of course denies it.

I'll post more info as I can. Watch out for anybody on eBay from PA who sells high-dollar items. Sorry Pennsylvanians, but you've got a scoundrel in your midst. He lives at 1941 W. Passyunk Ave. in Philadelphia, but he sometimes sets his eBay "area" identity as Pittsburgh.

So if I know where he lives, why don't I just go break his legs? Believe me, I've thought about it, but I don't want to do something illegal that'll get me thrown in jail. Besides, he's threatened to shoot me if I come there. So if the threat turns out to be real, I'd either have to kill him or get killed myself, either of which has consequences I don't want to consider. And on top of all that, I'm a coward.

Well anyway, not to be outdone by Justin, I'm digging up my emails now too... here's the most recent thread which shows the same typing style (being very loose with that word here) as his recent threats to Justin. More to follow!

Wow, that was fast! Here he is again... it's after 2AM on the east coast, so he must be sweating bullets! Aren't you, Sal old buddy?

This is getting to be another blog in itself, so let's just follow the story in my existing blog, shall we?