Slashback: Grammy, Sirius, Levies

Slashback this evening with another round of clarifications and additional links regarding recent Slashdot stories. Steve Job's Grammy acceptance speech, details on the proposed higher levy on CD-Rs in Canada, more on the claimed clash between satellite radio and 802.11 devices, and more.

After the bowling ball, the mouse. jonny writes: "Most people here know the story of the Mac and the growth of the GUI. Most of you probably don't know the whole story though, namely you probably don't know the story of the mouse, important as it is... Interesting too."

Additional reading material for the math-inclined. Bruce Schneier dropped a note with some good reading material for anyone interested in the recent Slashdot posts on factoring and SNMP. "I've written essays on the Bernstein factoring paper and SNMP SNMP vulnerability."

Americans shouldn't be too smug about this stuff. An Anonymous Coward writes, in response to the proposed increase in levies on various recordable media in Canada: "An excellent FAQ including information on how manufacturers, importers, and consumers can avoid the levies on CDRs and CDRWs"

It's not all sweetness and light. Lord Omlette writes: "Ok, I know ya'll ran the story on Apple winning a grammy. But! The acceptance speech got cut for time reasons & stuff, so Dr. Dobb's Journal put a transcript of the speech online for posterity & stuff. I didn't see it in the previous Slashdot story or the Apple press release, so I thought you might be interested."

Uncle, uncle, make him give me his toy! Sabalon writes "NetStumbler is running an article about Intersil and Motorola's response to Sirius and XM's appeal to the FCC to restrict the 2.4Ghz band. Intersil points out some interesting points, such as why the frequencies directly surrounding those that Sirius uses is not an issue, and Motorola believes the source of the interference is not 2.4Ghz, but probably engine and ignition noise."

How to save some very expensive seconds. In case a 23-second kernel compile is too long to bear, perhaps you just need to upgrade a bit. An Anonymous Coward writes: "Linux Weekly News reports that a kernel was compiled in 7.5 seconds on a Power4 with 6 GB of RAM."

Finally, it has come to this. Another reader points out: "Be, Inc., the company that developed and marketed the loved Be operating system, has announced sale of the be.com domain.

This would be a great time for someone to sweep it up. ;) *cough*OpenBeOS*cough*"

Comments

slashdot clarifications etc

[56ker]

As if I wasn't behind enough with my work thanks to Slashdot already! :o)

First Mouse?

[webword]

I can't believe that the story about the mouse doesn't include pictures and a description of Engelbart's first mouse. Outrageous!

Re:First Mouse?

[webword]

I meant to also point to this previous Slashdot story on the same topic.

Re:First Mouse?

[NanoGator]

Just wanted t othank you for the link. Very interesting!

Mice have come a long way, haven't they? Complain about MS all you want, but their 'Wheel Mouse Optical' is awesome. A must have for any 3D Artist or Photoshop Guru. Glad it's wood and not plastic though. I'd hate to file for workman's comp over a splinter in my hand...

Re:First Mouse?

[56ker]

The wheel mouse is the best modification IMHO - saves one hand on the mouse and one on the up/down keys. Has anyone got an indestructible mouse? Mine seems to get dropped bashed, pulled etc - but still works.

Re:First Mouse?

[NanoGator]

You're right, heh I forgot there was actually a day when mice didn't have wheels.

My optical one has been dropped more than I'd like to admit, and it's fine. I think the fewer moving parts really help that. The first MS Optical mouse, though, had a design flaw in it where it was pinching the cord too hard where it meets the case. After a while, the mouse'd just go out. Taking that thing apart to figure out what was wrong was a PITA.

The latest models seem to be fine though. The parts were always fine, but the original casing had a flaw in it.

Re:First Mouse?

[GreenK]

Yeah, i'd have to say that my microsoft optical mouse is very tough... I've had worse luck with a cheap copy, a Micron. My microsoft one is still holding up since they first came out, even withstanding Lan party abuse.

I miss the wheel up at work... I catch my self strok..er nevermind.

Re:First Mouse?

[Wyatt Earp]

MS didn't invent thier Optical Mouse, it was designed and made by HP.

Re:First Mouse?

[t_allardyce]

Yes, but have you ever seen it crash? you know you have problems when your mouse crashes..

Re:First Mouse?

[Anthracks]

I got a first-generation optical mouse, and definitely had that problem :( In a stunning turn of events though, MS tech support was *great* and was happy to send a replacement totally free of charge. I guess that's the least they can do with their hundreds of billions of dollars.

Re:First Mouse?

[Com2Kid]

Oddly enough, we likely have Microsoft to thanks for the sheer popularity of the wheel on mice.

No they did not invent it, but by including it with their OEM mice they sure as heck made it ubiquitous, and thus sellable en-masse for other retailers.

Re:First Mouse?

[aethera]

I was giving my undergraduate thesis presentation to abut 250 people from all over the state(design theory for entertainment laser diplays) Powerpoint, for sake of ease (But I swear, not one piece of clipart or animated transition, anywhere)
Shortly before I was about to begin, I dropped my MS optical mouse. I moved it around quick to see that the currsor still moved, but forgot to check the buttons. So I started the presentation, but when I went to click to advance to the next slide, nothing happened. The mmouse body had separated just enough from the chassis that the buttotns wouldn't depress enough to do anything. But that wheel still worked!! Thank god! I was able to do the whole shebang w/out any problems, and afterwards, in full light it took me about thirty seconds to pop the thing back together again. If only I could get a keyboard so hardy!!!!

Re:First Mouse?

[Sentry21]

The Wheel Mouse Optical is a pretty basic optical wheel mouse. Real 3D Artists/Photoshop Gurus/Gamers would want a Logitech Dual Optical, which does two snaps to ensure much better accuracy (on a bad surface, the mouse cursor can suddenly jump around as the mouse wrongly recalculates where it is.

Plus, no more paying Microsoft, which is always a bonus in my book, however good their hardware might be.

--Dan

Re:First Mouse?

[mgblst]

I thought that Bush invented the mouse http://www2.kenyon.edu/people/adamsal/gui/bush_eng elbart.htm

which would make sense, since while Gore invented the Internet, Bush invented the mouse...

Re:First Mouse?

[wljones]

Sorry to disappoint the US citizens, but the computer mouse was a Swedish invention. Hakan Lans invented the mouse back in the 1970's, then did not patent it. Do not worry about this loss of money, because he also invented a working method for color graphics that he sold it to IBM. Scandinavians have made several important contributions to computer science, notably that Finnish student that posted an operating system on the Internet, a fine fellow named Linus Torvalds. Development of a commercially successful mouse by the team working for Apple is a US success story, and a wonderful accomplishment. Commercial development is what stopped Hakan Lans. He couldn't get anyone interested in the idea.

Re:First Mouse?

[Wyatt Earp]

I got mod'ed as a troll for stating the truth.

There was a story here back when the MS Intellihance Explorer mouse came out, and there was a link to a dude's homepage at HP, where he stated he worked on things you will never be able to buy.

There was a picture of what is now the first MS
IE mouse, and he went on to explain how it'd not been marketed by HP and would prbly never be sold.

Of course I can't find the story link, because Simpsons are on, it was there.

OpenBeOS

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's open BeOS! Then lets sit back and watch the apps roll in.

As stated in Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come."

Forget about Linux and AtheOS, BeOS is the way to go!

Re:OpenBeOS

[Anonymous Coward]

Given the fact that BeOS is superior and more matured than Linux and the rest of the *NIXs (including AtheOS), I DON'T SEE WHY NOT!

BeOS is the future... now!

Be Trademark?

[RN]

What's going to happen to Be's trademarks and other IP?

I wonder if others can use names like OpenBe without fear of getting sued now.

Re:Be Trademark?

[56ker]

No doubt they'll get sold off with the rest of the company's assets at auction to pay off debts - or be bought by anyone who'd want to buy BeOS - actually hasn't all this happened already?

Re:Be Trademark?

[i_am_nitrogen]

... or better yet, BeOpen!

Re:Be Trademark?

[Craig Maloney]

For those who tuned in late, most of Be was bought by Palm. It was covered on /. here

Re:Be Trademark?

[Anonymous Coward]

Be Fucked, open source loser.

Re:Be Trademark?

[Anonymous Coward]

Huh?

Now that the company is dead, no one will be making money out of it whether it is open source or closed source.

The difference is that the open source path will continue to have a life, while the closed source path is a dead end.

This applies to many products and defunct companies. Executives are fixated on the idea that when a company sinks, the products should sink with it.

Oops, that doesn't apply to BeOS, because it seems Palm bought it. Now it is only half a dead end. (Palm probably won't be making a BeOS 6, and will be simply stripping the technology out of it for use in handhelds. Another case where closed source screws us over.)

from the speech

[asv108]

MP3 forever! Buy an iPod! Rock on

Well at least someone was representing the interests of the general public. I didn't watch the grammeys(Oysterhead wasn't nominated???) but from the accounts I heard there were a lot of "arists" who were complaing about Mp3's and P2P.

Re:from the speech

[epiphani]

Not commenting on the speach, the issue of "arists" complaining about MP3's is accually quite amusing.

Most artists really dont care about MP3s. The fact is, it costs them virtually nothing. It is only the record companies that care about mp3s. As I understand it, the artist usually gets relatively minimal money from a record - generally a small percentage such as %5 - simply because the recording company says

"We put up the money for your $30,000 recording studio stint. We put up the money for your $10,000 music video. We put up the money for the distribution of your album. You're famous now, go make your money some other way."

Most "artists" make their money from touring, endorsements, and generally working their asses off. The ones that accually care about mp3s are being anal, because mp3s make arists more popular, and sells tickets to their show.

Re:from the speech

[Anonymous Coward]

there were a lot of "arists"

That should have read, "Aryans."

Re:from the speech

[Mr Teddy Bear]

"We put up the money for your $30,000 recording studio stint. We put up the money for your $10,000 music video. We put up the money for the distribution of your album. You're famous now, go make your money some other way."

Umm, that is not how it works at all actually. The record companies will put up the cash only initially. The artist then has to pay the record company back any money for the production of the album and the music videos. This comes out of their take home earnings of an average of $0.20/album sold. Yes the record companies give them exposure and they even market the hell out of select artists, but in the end the artist is screwed in SO many ways.

Not only that... but get this. Most albums that go platinum on the first day of release... you know who buys all those albums? The record company who produces it. They then sell it back to the stores. This is so that other people will follow on the bandwagon and buy the crap out of that album. Bottom line is the record industry is shady as hell.

If ya don't know... now ya know.

Re:from the speech

[ZuG]

Not only that... but get this. Most albums that go platinum on the first day of release... you know who buys all those albums? The record company who produces it. They then sell it back to the stores. This is so that other people will follow on the bandwagon and buy the crap out of that album. Bottom line is the record industry is shady as hell.

I've been keeping up with the record industry's shady tactics, but I haven't heard of this one? Do you have any details? A link, perhaps?

Re:from the speech

[Maj. Kong]

Most "artists" make their money from touring, endorsements, and generally working their asses off.

Touring is, at best, a break-even proposition financially. Most artists consider it a necessary evil. Touring is meant to promote a product; it is not an end unto itself, hippie jam bands excepted.

In addition, touring sucks. Life on the road sucks. Ramada Inns suck. Playing the same songs every night sucks.

Endorsements? Hah. Except for Pepsi and Britney, who is seeking musicians for endorsements? Instrument manufacturers. They're not Nike: there's no $20 million deals here, just free gear worth maybe hundreds of dollars.

Selling shiny discs is the primary source of income here.

Maj. Kong, father of a struggling indie artist.

Re:from the speech

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Unfortunately I have nothing to back that up with. Only the words of a close friend of mine who has been in the industry for a long time. He described it as one of his $1,000,000 stories he could go to ET about. :-)

Re:from the speech

[mcwop]

If the band sucks then touring, record and everything else is a money losing proposition. Fugazi is a band that sets ticket price limits at $5 per person. They make a living. They also produce their own records through Dischord and cap prices at about $9-10. They also allow taping of their live shows. They were named in the VH1 top 100 bands of all time, with no major label support.

If you make records, but don't tour with other more popular bands nobody will hear you, few may know that you have a record. If you don't get your music out there (maybe a free mp3 on a website), you may never be discovered by music listeners.

The statement that Most "artists" make their money from touring, endorsements, and generally working their asses off" is very true. I might add things like t-shirts and the sort are another way to make money. Almost every band that I know who tours relentlessly is making it. Of course a little talent helps too. Not everyone will become a millionaire. Many bands have to go to work every day just like you and me.

Re:from the speech

[freeefalln]

Fugazi is the ultimate example of what bands can really do. they dont need a major label, they need to tour, tour, and tour. you dont need hit after hit after hit on radio stations that all the play the same 10 songs in the same order because Dj's are spineless and the program directors are told what to play by upper management. isnt that whats it about anyway. the guy earlier said that playing the same songs every night sucks. then what the hell is the point of being in a band? creating and playing music for yourself and, if its your goal, people to enjoy it.

Re:from the speech

[mcwop]

You know it. In fact Fugazi is what the record companies are afraid of. God help them if it ever catches on. Fugazi, The Greatful Dead, NOFX and many others essentially use the same model and succeed. For Henry Rollins it took relentless touring with Black Flag to become what he is today. Saw his show two weeks ago for $15 and it decent revenue for a night's work.

Canadians should be smug!

[joebp]

Americans shouldn't be too smug about this stuff [...] proposed increase in levies on various recordable media in Canada

Canada: Proposed increase in levies on recordable media/assorted storage.
USA: SSSCA.

Given the either/or choice, I'd rather pay stupid fees on media.

So, as I say: Canadians should be smug!

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[global_diffusion]

Given the choice, I would rather accept neither. And then I'd tell the lunatic outside my apartment to stop screaming in gibirish. What an ass.

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[wide_awake]

Canadians really *should* be smug. There are some pretty simple ways to get around this levy:

- If you buy any blank recording media outside Canada and use it yourself they will not be subject to the levy.

- If you are a manufacturer or importer, you can avoid the levy entirely on your products as long as you record some sound on the media before you sell it. The sound recorded on the media can even be erased. Clearly this is not an option for CD-Rs, but for devices that include a hard drive, simply recording a sound on the drive and then erasing it exempts the drive from the levy. This is because (as the legislation states) "blank audio recording medium means a recording medium, regardless of its material form, onto which a sound recording may be reproduced, that is of a kind ordinarily used by individual consumers for that purpose and on which no sounds have ever been fixed..."

Also, if you're Canadian you should check out this link and tell them that iPods and such are not recording devices. Alternatively, tell Apple and friends to record a lame greeting message to avoid the stupid levy.

The last cool thing is this: "It does not matter whether you own the original sound recording (on any medium), you can legally make a copy for your own private use."

Rock on, Canadians.

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[ghack]

no, they shouldnt. both the sssca and levies are incredibly authoritarian moves. also, the sssca would ultimately end up effecting devices in canada! you think manufacturers are going to build seperate version of devices for a country with 30 million people? no way!

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[King of the World]

For CDRs is there any chance of burning part of the ISO format to avoid the levy?

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't really see what the problem is. Rather than implement draconian policies like the DMCA and the SSSCA, and the wrath of just about any company or artist that jumped on the "Sue Napster" bandwagon, all I have to do is pay a bit more for the CD. It's still a whole lot less than actually buying a music CD, and if that percentage goes to the artists, then great. They should get -something- for their work, no matter how bad their music might be.

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[Anonymous Coward]

you think manufacturers are going to build seperate version of devices for a country with 30 million people?
Well yeah, they do that already Mr. Intelligence. All cars in Canada have to have daytime running lights with units in metric (two versions), Quicken and Money both have Canadian versions(two versions), Macaroni and cheese is called Kraft Dinner in Canada (two versions), and almost any product has to have english and (gawk!) french documention in Canada.

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot my favourite example -- candy. Almost all candy manufacturers use a different recipe for their products in Canada. Hershey's and Oreos are two big examples. Many entire product lines are different -- some things that sell well in Canada don't sell as well in the U.S., and vice-versa.

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[Anonymous Coward]

Cite your source when copying and pasting, please. That's right from the linked FAQ.

Re:Canadians should be smug!

[Australian werewolf]

No, they are going to build a separate version of devices for all countries apart from the US. That actually makes up a larger market than the US itself.

Do you honestly think that North America is the only market for electronics? What cave do you live in?

You want to charge me for this? (Topic: Meta)

[smileyy]

Who's Steve Job? Is bad grammar and spelling and use of malapropisms a prerequisite for a job at /.?

If so, sign me up. I'm sure their are plety of other who would foot the bill, too.

Note to clueless moderators, should the story get updated:

The original story read as Steve Job's Grammy acceptance speech...

Re:You want to charge me for this? (Topic: Meta)

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sure their are plety of other who would foot the bill, too.

I suggest you stop reading Slashdot to avoid any further exposure to the editors' bad grammar.

Re:You want to charge me for this? (Topic: Meta)

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, you've been moderated as a troll.

Unfair, huh.

6 gigs or 60 gigs?

[neo8750]

quoting the article

hardware: 32 way logical partition, 1.1GHz POWER4, 60G RAM

from poster:

"Linux Weekly News reports that a kernel was compiled in 7.5 seconds on a Power4 with 6 GB of RAM."

60 gigs is a lot different then 6 gigs.

Re:6 gigs or 60 gigs?

[Anonymous Coward]

but really having 6 gigs or 60 gigs isn't going to make a difference in a kernel compile...

Re:6 gigs or 60 gigs?

[Anonymous Coward]

how do you figure? me thinks you have no clue and are just regurgitating some vague bullshit you read on slashdot...

Re:6 gigs or 60 gigs?

[Anonymous Coward]

not if you tune settings and change preferences using the command line and unix utilities correctly...

Spoken like a true poser, haha, don't forget to tweak the config files with pico, lol.

Re:6 gigs or 60 gigs?

[gewalker]

Looks like someone has way too much free time on their hands. But the 32 processors and 60 GB RAM, maybe I would have more free time too.

I like the CPU utilization of 2200% for the compile. At 22:1 my 10 hour day would only take 27 minutes. With time out for checking email, reading Slashdot, and scoring the occassional doughnut I could still be done in a hour.

Gettin' while the gettin's good

[Aerog]

Just to be safe, I'm still stocking up on CD-R's before the levies may or may not happen (thinking of the last time they threatened this). I needs somewhere to back up my episodes of Farscape, seeing as I can't get it on TV (Space just started showing Season 3, but no cable makes Ae;rog a sad, sad individual).

On the other hand, (and someone please correct me on this), doesn't the FTA basically allw laws to be applied universally? I don't know how this will affect things like levies, and all my info comes from a raging Anti-FTA source, but if it does, could that mean no cheap CD's for you guys either?

But I'm sick and tired, and shouldn't be posting in this condition. . . .

Re:Gettin' while the gettin's good

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't bother stocking up just yet. The levy is already there, and won't go up until December. Even then, most retailers will be selling stock they purchased "before" the increased levies, and prices shouldn't go up too much for a while.

I stocked up before the last levy. After the levy came into effect I found prices had actually gone down....so I saved nothing.

In any case you can buy your media online from the US and not pay the levy. You are not under any obligation to pay the levy if you import the media for your own use. There are many ways to get around these levies.

What I found interesting in the FAQ, was the copyright info. Here in Canada I can legally make a copy of a CD I do not own, as long as it's for personal use. What other kind of use would there be?

So technically, there is nothing illegal about me downloading MP3s and burning them to CDs. WOOHOO!

Re:Gettin' while the gettin's good

[GreenHell]

Of course you didn't save money when you bought the CD's...BR>
LEt's look at what happened/happens: There's a new levy being applied or an existing one is being increased, people who don't like this type of thing are going to buy in bulk, and probably aren't going to buy many more after the levy for an extended period of time. So, what do you do? You jack the price up around the time that is announced that the levy will be introduced/increased. That way, you have a) people buying lots of stuff at inflated prices (supply and demand folks, the demand rises so the prices do too), and b) when the new levy is introduced, your prices don't change by such a huge margin as they would have otherwise as you have a buffer zone to fall back on.

Or I could be horribly, horribly wrong :)

Re:Gettin' while the gettin's good

[Anonymous Coward]

Good point, but when you consider that most people were not aware of the levy the first time, I don't think demand changed much. The masses are oblivious to things like this.

In any case, I watched prices fairly closely in my area when the proposed levy was announced, and prices continued their same slow decline before and after. It may just be that manufacturing costs fell enough to make up the difference.

I don't think you disagree though, that stocking up before hand is likely a wasted effort.

Re:Gettin' while the gettin's good

[SEE]

On the other hand, (and someone please correct me on this), doesn't the FTA basically allw laws to be applied universally?

Basically, no. The Canadian Government has been using NAFTA as an excuse to pass a lot of things that have absolutely nothing to do with NAFTA requirements, much like the DMCA in the U.S. was wrongly justified on WTO treaty grounds. It's all BS, designed to deflect criticism of bad legislation to treaties that won't ever get repealed since it would be economic suicide to do so.

Re:Gettin' while the gettin's good

[GreenHell]

Lucky you (no sarcasm intended), just the mention of a new levy or an increase in the existing one is enough for the stores in my local area to bump their prices up a small (large) amount.

Re:Gettin' while the gettin's good

[stripes]

What I found interesting in the FAQ, was the copyright info. Here in Canada I can legally make a copy of a CD I do not own, as long as it's for personal use. What other kind of use would there be?

I think it wouldn't be "personal use" to burn CD-Rs and sell them on ebay (or just out of the back of your car). Maybe even giving them away free wouldn't be "personal use", but I don't know.

So technically, there is nothing illegal about me downloading MP3s and burning them to CDs.

As long as there was nothing illegal about downloading the MP3 in the first place.

7.5 seconds?

[psxndc]

How am I supposed to read the debug statements about needing beer in my fridge if it scrolls by that fast? I'll keep linux on my Celery 800 thanks. A nice leisurely compile. You kids with your 7.5 second compile times. In my day...

psxndc

Moderation

[Anonymous Coward]

(-1 - Incapable of Digesting Satire)

Tax Levy Google Cache

[Jardine]

Just in case the site gets slashdotted, here's the google cache of the the Tax Levy FAQ

Re:Tax Levy Google Cache

[Crispin Cowan]

Except that the google cache copy is out of date with respect to the current issue. The actual FAQ was updated as of March 13, 2002, while the google cache is from 2000.

Crispin
----
Crispin Cowan, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, WireX Communications, Inc.
Immunix: Security Hardened Linux Distribution
Available for purchase

2.4 GHz

[thesmos]

Microwave ovens also run in the 2.4 GHz range and they cause all kinds of 802.11 interference. At my house using the microwave kills my WLAN. Are they trying to get rid of my nuker too?

Re:2.4 GHz

[Anonymous Coward]

Try running your WLAN on different channels.

Re:2.4 GHz

[Reality Master 101]

Is your Microwave oven pretty old? I would think the shielding would be better than that.

Re:2.4 GHz

[SectoidRandom]

It's not the microwave leakage, otherwise if you did sit in front of the thing you would warm up nicely. It's the RF interference caused by having such a huge RF (microwave) generator within close proximity.

That metal grill you see on the front window of the microwave is all that's needed to keep in those pesky micro-waves. :)

Re:2.4 GHz

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, I was an Electromagnetic Compatibility Tech for a while, and we had to look at pesky things that could interfere with legitimate radio transmissions... Turns out that after a microwave is used for a while, the seal around the door will start to, well, not seal so well.

Some microwaves will have leakages of several watts. (Your typical cell phone is a little more than half a watt...)

Re:2.4 GHz

[thesmos]

I have tried channel 1 (low end of the spectrum) and channel 11 (high end). They both seemed equally bad. Of course my WAP (an Airport base station) is less than 10 feet from the microwave. One of these days I will try moving it into a room other than the kitchen.

Re:2.4 GHz

[ChadN]

Ummm, what is the difference? RF and "microwaves" are the same (ultimately photons in a certain frequency range). I see what you are saying, I guess (that in beaming photons at the food, some photons sent out in directions that never even go to the shielded enclosure); but it could be misconstrued by some that RF and "microwave leakage" are two different types of radiation.

Re:2.4 GHz

[Anonymous Coward]

Try running your microwave with the door closed. It makes a world of difference

Re:2.4 GHz

[chfleming]

The microwaves are cooking the food by resonating with water. They are about as big as the dimensions of the inside and can't get through that metal grating. The plastic actually does nothing to keep the microwaves in and can be safely removed.

The RF the poster refered to (without giving clarification to you) is the signal created by the electronics. Most all electronic devices create some polution. For good example, run your vacuum while watching the tele.

uhm

[Anonymous Coward]

mom?

"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Taxes)

[duct_tape_n_wd40]

More Jim Carroll commentary for your enjoyment...

Holy Crap, I was right..

[psycht]

my sarchastic comment about BE selling off the domain was right? sheesh.. well ain't that silly.

MP3 players with HDs

[Portent]

Note that if the companies that make mp3 players with hard drives just have a sample or intro mp3 on them when they get shipped, the $21 per gig levy is gone. If they don't do this simple little thing, then a 5 gig mp3 player would have a $125 levy imposed on it.

Eddy

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Portent]

Make that $105.

Eddy

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Jardine]

If you are a manufacturer or importer, you can avoid the levy entirely on your products as long as you record some sound on the media before you sell it. The sound recorded on the media can even be erased. Clearly this is not an option for CD-Rs, but for devices that include a hard drive, simply recording a sound on the drive and then erasing it exempts the drive from the levy.

So the company can put the sound on the drive, erase the sound, and avoid the levy.

Doesn't work with CDRs, but it could work with CDRWs.

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Anonymous Coward]

There are also several companies marketting mp3 players with removeble hard drive brackets. The old Xeenon MP Shuttle is a good example. You buy your own drive and install it yourself. I don't think they'd ever impose a levy on standalone hard drives, although copy protection in firmware is a possibility...

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Anonymous Coward]

In the article, they mentioned that the maximum levy per device was $8. Why would they then say $21/gig if you'd never charge more than $8?

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Glytch]

"iPod! It really whips the llama's ass!"

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Anonymous Coward]

All CD-R's ship with music on already on them- the sound of ...silence.

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Anonymous Coward]

> Make that $105

Yeah, but that's $105 _Canadian_, which is, what,
a buck-seventy-five US $?

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[Anonymous Coward]

The $8.00 limit is part of the U.S. law, not the Canadian law.

Re:MP3 players with HDs

[bfree]

I bought an Archos Jukebox here in Ireland about 6 months ago and it came with a few crap songs on it so at least these guys wont fall foul of the levy, but I doubt anyone will anyway cause it's too easy to get around for mp3 players.

Re:Civillian casualties

[Anonymous Coward]

You are, of course, wrong. War keeps the economy in shape and provides jobs for countless individuals. It helps us maintain our way of life and allows us to live under the most enlightened form of government imaginable: the corporate republic. (i.e. fascism, and I mean this in the best sense of the word)

(OT)Where to discuss meta-issues

[Anonymous Coward]

Meta issues such as the issue discussed in the parent post should be discussed in the meta sid.

Re:"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Tax

[tb3]

Of course, Carroll has read the FAQ, and hasn't the slight clue what he's talking about. You can import recordable media for your own use, and you won't get charged the levy because you are the importer and you are not reselling the media. Only sale of blank media by the importer or manufacturer triggers the levy.

Also, the levy on MP3 players can be bypassed by including some music on the device. Therefore, it is not 'blank' media. Apple already includes a ton of tunes on machines shipped with iTunes, so this wouldn't be too hard.

Maybe the iPod ships with sample tunes already. Are there any iPod owners out there who can comment?

my new business

[Maskirovka]

If anyone wants to join my mp3 (player) smuggling ring, email me. Just kidding.

Maskirovka

Re:my new business

[Anonymous Coward]

Days like this just wish I had some native Indian blood in me...

Re:my new business

[BCoates]

If anyone wants to join my mp3 (player) smuggling ring, email me. Just kidding.

We can trade them for toilets that actually work.

--
Benjamin Coates

Oh the humanity!

[aztektum]

Torn between a microwave burito and pr0n

Re:Oh the humanity!

[SkewlD00d]

EFnet transcript, #pr0n

/connect irc.prison.net:6667
Connected to irc.prison.net:6667
/join #pr0n
Entering #pr0n
RedIz: 'sup
Pr0nJunky: not mucho
RedIz: !list
/ctcp Pr0nJunky Get bigjuggs.avi
Receiving bigjuggs.avi 700MB (60KB/s)
RedIz: Awh, krap!
RedIz: I'm hungry, but I need my pr0n.
Pr0nJunky: Haha
RedIz: No, my microwave brings down my 802.11.
Pr0nJunky: LMAO!!
RedIz: Too hungry... brb
Connection reset by peer
/connect irc.prison.net:6667
Connected to irc.prison.net:6667
/join #pr0n
Entering #pr0n
RedIz: sup
Pr0nJunky: hi again
RedIz: awh krap, my food is getting cold.
Pr0nJunky: haha
Connection reset by peer

*cough* Money *cough*

[Xenex]

This would be a great time for someone to sweep it(Be.com) up. ;) *cough*OpenBeOS*cough*"

Are you offering to use your OSDN connections to pay for it?

BeGroovy looked into buying the domain.

From their forum:
"Having had a response from Dan Johnston at Be Inc (or what remains of Be Inc), I hold out *no* hope that the Be community can afford to buy the be.com domain. I was a great supporter of the idea until I found out that the asking price is a few orders of magnitude greater than I had hoped"

So yes Tim, your OSDN friends will be handy.

Re:Of course we know the story of the mouse

[Anonymous Coward]

hahaha tried to be funny and cool and got yourself a mothafukking downgrade... hahaha. owned by virign admins.

Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Evangelion]

Okay, I'm glad that FAQ got linked to finally.

Why is everyone overlooking the reason that this levy got introduced in the first place -- it was introduced to compensate music artists and publishers for the fact that copying audio, for private use, is now legal.

What this means, is that you can stop by future shop, pick up 6 spindles of CDRs, come to my house, and copy all of my 300 or so CDs. Legally. As long as you don't use them for a public performace.

That's why the levy was introduced -- because by making this legal, the goverenment of Canada knowingly reduced the revenues of Canadian musicians and publishers.

Now, if you are of the opinion that a goverenment should be able to knowingly do that sort of thing to an industry in it's country without some form of compensation, then that's another matter -- but to complain about this levy being 'unfair' requires that you look at it from the perspective of the publishers who were affected by the copyright amendment in 1997.

Also, keep in mind that the new, proposed levies are just that -- proposed. It's unlikely that they'll pass with the current amounts.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Evangelion]

Just found this on the Copyright board's site.

It's the CPCC's rationale behind the proposed increases. Anyone forumlating objections to the proposed increases would be wise to read it.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Robber Baron]

Also, keep in mind that the new, proposed levies are just that -- proposed. It's unlikely that they'll pass with the current amounts.

Uhhh...you mean like the proposed GST???

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Technician]

I hope they realise how many people (honest) will now see this as making something that was illegal as something legal? Taxing (Levy) regular CDR's instead of just music CDR's removes that nagging conceince that using them for music is a bad thing. With their stamp of approval, I'll feel free to pirate now. Why buy it in the store. I already paid the royalty. I have bought a few CDR audio CD's because of a nagging concience, so I paid the royalty. No nagging concience any more since copying has been levied and endorsed as legal by the tax on data CDR's.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Evangelion]

Huh?

This isn't a tax proposed by the goverenment, it's an increase in revenues requested by a collection of private companies, for giving them more money.

Sure, the goverenment will have a hard time decreasing the amount of tax it takes in. But this money doesn't go to the goverenment.

The CPCC doesn't get to vote on this.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Evangelion]

You're misusing the term pirate -- piracy is by definition a violation of copyright law.

Copying CDs off of a friend (as long as you are the one doing the copying) for your use isn't illegal, so it's not piracy.

So, yes, you are paying for the ability to copy music without buying it directly. That's the whole point of this levy, as a result of the private copying amendment.

Sorry. I know you were trying for hyperbole, but you didn't quite get there.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[TMB]

Yes, exactly. The proposed GST was a 9% tax, if you recall.

[TMB]

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Anonymous Coward]

It was also a temporary tax, from what I remember. It was only supposed to last a couple years.

Oh, and the Liberals promised to scrap it... how many times?

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Ionizor]

There seems to be a point being missed here...

The Copyright Act allows you to make copies of your music for personal use. You can't (legally) go to somebody's house and copy all of their audio CDs. Making a tape to play in your car is okay. Letting your friend make a tape to play in his car is not.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[Anonymous Coward]

Nowhere in the act does it specify you have to own the music that you copy under the Private Copying section.

It specifies that you have to be the one doing the copying, but not that you have to own the original copy.

Go reread it again. Section 80 is what you want to look at.

If you go read the CPCC's rationale behind the increased tariffs, you will see that thier reasoning takes into account that a larger portion of the music than previosly thought being copied is not owned by the copier, and as such the "discount" that was applied to the previous run of the tariff should be reduced from 37.5% to 5% to reflect this.

Re:Regarding the Blank Media tariff

[TMB]

It was also a temporary tax, from what I remember. It was only supposed to last a couple years.

I don't think that was ever the case. It was always meant to be a replacement for the Manufacturing Tax.

Oh, and the Liberals promised to scrap it... how many times?

True. :-)=

[TMB]

There already is a project like this

[I Want GNU!]

In all seriousness, there's already a project for an open BeOS, located at http://open-beos.sourceforge.net/. It was started shortly after Palm purchased BeOS to keep it alive.

Re:"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Tax

[seanforsale]

tb3, iPod owner here, and mine shipped without any preloaded music. However, that was back in November...perhaps something has changed since then?

NOT 6 GB RAM

[TJamieson]

Headline quotes the PPC as 6 GB RAM - here's directly lifted:
hardware: 32 way logical partition, 1.1GHz POWER4, 60G RAM

Re:NOT 6 GB RAM

[Anonymous Coward]

60G RAM? What if the B they dropped was worth 1/10 ?

Re:NOT 6 GB RAM

[rtaylor]

It's a kernel compile.

If it really uses any more than 1GB ram with file system cache, binary cache and compiler results I would be surprised. That said, it's been a very long time since I've compiled it. Anyway, 6gb, 60gb, or 600gb isn't any different for this operation (aside from increased addressing time, possible transfer delays, bank switching and other silly stuff).

Re:NOT 6 GB RAM

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, but it does make a difference in a NUMA machine. Each proc had about 2GB ram. They could have probably squeezed by with a similar result with 1/2 the ram or maybe even 1/4 but not much less.

Re:NOT 6 GB RAM

[SirRichardPumpaloaf]

Yeah, but that's 60GB Canadian. Not that much, really, only about 256MB US. :-)

Re:NOT 6 GB RAM

[psamuels]

If it really uses any more than 1GB ram with file system cache, binary cache and compiler results I would be surprised. That said, it's been a very long time since I've compiled it. Anyway, 6gb, 60gb, or 600gb isn't any different for this operation (aside from increased addressing time, possible transfer delays, bank switching and other silly stuff).

"6 GB ought to be enough for anybody." (:

In this case, yes. But Anton's setup is a bit more memory-involved than one might think. First you have the 160 MB of kernel source code, which you certainly want in cache. Second, if the box is NUMA (and I don't know if it is or not), you really want a "local" file cache for each CPU set. For the 32 CPUs that means 4 or 8 copies of the 160 MB source - I think IBM is putting either 4 or 8 POWER4 cores on each die. (Think HyperThreading, only better and much more expensive.) Then you need to be able to run two or three dozen instances of gcc, itself a bit of a memory hog (and remember, this is a 64-bit architecture, where any program is a memory hog compared to its 32-bit equivalent), in parallel. The intermediate and output files will chew up another 100 MB or so.

I could see using 1.5 GB for this job. Not counting the GB you need for that Emacs process you are running on the side to browse the web, since Mozilla is just too lean 'n' mean.

Uh, part of net dead?

[Com2Kid]

Ok, highly offtopic, but, uh, why is like a good per-friggin-centage of the net dead right now? The results on the pages for the search "internet backbone status" in google, not to mention the sheer number of sites I cannot reach currently, make me wonder;

what did some idiot do with a backhoe this time?

Re:Uh, part of net dead?

[lonesome phreak]

I'm in Oklahoma, and I thought it was just Cox. It does seem like I can't get to quite a few sites...glad it's not just me.

Most of the backbone status is only avalible to the techs of the various companies that own the backbone (I used to work in the NOC at WCOM monitoring backbone).

Re:Uh, part of net dead?

[Com2Kid]

Part of internet possibly down, this being an internet site, how is internet downage EVER offtopic on /.?

Re:Uh, part of net dead?

[Anonymous Coward]

Uhm, it's offtopic because it isn't on topic. Where in this article suggests that the topic may be people who have problems with their connection would be on topic?

7.5 Seconds! Bah!

[ghack]

I compile mine in 7.5 days!

Re:7.5 Seconds! Bah!

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Sir,

This comes from trying to compile Mozilla. You should use Internet Explorer; it takes a lot less time to compile.

Re:7.5 Seconds! Bah!

[Anonymous Coward]

Still using a 386 I see :)

(On a somewhat related note, I believe I heard the 386 recently described with the comment that "You can time your kernel compiles with a calendar")

Re:7.5 Seconds! Bah!

[Anonymous Coward]

On the contrary - it is impossible for the average person to compile Internet Explorere, since the source code isn't available. The compile time for it is essentially infinite, so really Mozilla compiles a hella' faster.

They keep talking about the mac

[Galvatron]

But I seem to recall having a mouse for my Apple IIe. Am I remembering wrong?

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[Raunchola]

But I seem to recall having a mouse for my Apple IIe. Am I remembering wrong?

No you aren't. A mouse for the Apple IIe does exist.

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[Anonymous Coward]

my apple IIe came with a mouse.

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[Anonymous Coward]

I *used* to like that quote. But actually its quite a struggle for new moms to get their babies to breast feed. Its a race against time. If the mom doesn't get the baby feeding naturally in a day or two, then they have to go with a bottle and formula - which many women are lothe to do.

There are people called "lactation consultants" who help with this problem - if nipple was so easy to use what would they do?

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[LastToKnow]

I remember having to use this weird thing instead of a mouse. I looked on google for a bit but couldn't find a picture or anything. I guess knowing what it was called would help. It consisted of two mouse-like bits, but instead of having a ball, each one had a knob that controlled one axis of movement. I imagine there was a button or two somewhere, but I don't remember exactally.

Mystery hardware from the days of yore...

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[Anonymous Coward]

The Apple II's mouse was the first mouse to ship with an Apple computer, but that was in 1983 when the mice for the Lisa and Mac were being created.

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[mkanoap]

You are not wrong, but the IIe mouse came out quite a bit after the Mac made the mouse popular. And unlike the mac mouse, the IIe mouse was not required to use the operating system. It was just an add on for a few rare programs.

Re:They keep talking about the mac

[oooga]

I've seen those too... yesterday. There are about four computers in my high school's writing lab (Madison West for anyone in the area) that use two pads instead of a ball, one for each axis, as you describe. They aren't Macs, they're 486's. I find those mice really neat. These have three buttons. Anyway, just thought I'd corraborate your hallucination.

Sirius' whining should come as no surprise

[T5]

Ever since the FCC started selling off bandwidth, we should have known that the open, free, public bands would become attractive battlefields for commercial interests. But instead of ponying up hard cash to the FCC, they buy themselves a few shysters in an attempt to take over the free frontier by claiming interference from those who first took advantage of the space.

Re:"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Tax

[polymath69]

Of course, Carroll has read the FAQ, and hasn't the slight clue what he's talking about.

If you can't recognize satire, when you see it, as the often profound social commentary that it can be, then I recommend you give 1984 a miss.

Carroll made a good point, I thought. If we don't object to nonsense, the nonsense will only get worse.

Be.com

[teslatug]

Be.com is just now displaying a message about the sale of the domain. I wonder if the Slashdotting had anything to do with it. RIP

Re:Be.com

[Ashok]

That message has been there for days.

Noticed it too.

[Anonymous Coward]

But it seems to have cleared up now.

London Drugs Ripoff!

[Robber Baron]

So the bastards at London Drugs, who have been tacking the levy on at the register have been ripping their consumers off! Good to know! Not that I buy components there anyway as they are usually out ot lunch when it comes to pricing, but still! Has anyone pointed out to them that they can't charge the levy at the register?

Re:London Drugs Ripoff!

[Kwikymart]

Anyone who sets foot in a london drugs expecting not to get ripped off is a fucking moron. Their computer "section" is little more than a automatic-raping-device(tm) used to separate fools from their money.

On the rare occasion that I do enter one of their stores (once a year maybe), I am revolted by the sleeze and greasiness of their employees and entire establishment. Go to one of the few respectable Canadian outless for your recordable-media.

Oh yah, if you dont like it, get proof of it (hidden camera), and send it anonymously to your local television station, BBB, and cop-shop.

Re:London Drugs Ripoff!

[DaCool42]

I bought some CD-R's at london drugs and was not charged extra at the register.

Re:London Drugs Ripoff!

[talonyx]

AWWW calm down there Sparky. If paying maybe an extra dollar for a fifty pack as opposed to buying it at Future Shop really bugs you, I think you need to work on getting a higher-paying job instead of bitching about government levies.

who cares if it's 7.5 seconds

[Anonymous Coward]

I doesn't really matter how short is the compile time for the kernel unless they give you the actual .config that they use so that we could know what components come in with the kernel, or even the modules that were needed to compile to run a system. It could be possible that this kernel compile only gave bare-bones, minimum configuration just to get single user mode with a command prompt, not network drivers, or whatever whiz-bang kernel feature.

Whoa, I never knew...

[Beliskner]

Is Canada alone?
At least 25 countries, including most G-7 and European Union members, have introduced comparable regimes with respect to the private copying of sound recordings. Canada is one of the last to do so.
The USA is often held out as an example of a place where "this could never happen", but as far as I can tell, it has been law there since December 8, 1994. It is part of Title 17, section 1004, and if you go to:
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/1004.html you will find this paragraph:
(b) Digital Audio Recording Media. - The royalty payment due under section1003 for each digital audio recording medium imported into and distributed in the United States, or manufactured and distributed in the United States, shall be 3 percent of the transfer price. Only the first person to manufacture and distribute or import and distribute such medium shall be required to pay the royalty with respect to such medium.
Note, however, that in the US there is NO levy collected on "ordinary" CD-Rs When the legislation was last changed (in 1994/1995) CD-Rs were not seen as a media intended for copying music. There IS a levy applied to other digital media, such as DAT and CD-R Audio

Whoa, am I reading this right? Most 1st world countries have a levy, and in the US the recording industry *can* legally charge a 3% levy BUT instead they think SSSCA with DRM CPUs, DRM chipsets and all of that is the best idea. WTF?

Re:Whoa, I never knew...

[Rakarra]

Whoa, am I reading this [neil.eton.ca] right? Most 1st world countries have a levy, and in the US the recording industry *can* legally charge a 3% levy BUT instead they think SSSCA with DRM CPUs, DRM chipsets and all of that is the best idea. WTF?

Why would that surprise you? SSSCA with DRM in hardware gives them much more control, and control is central to all of this.

Re:Whoa, I never knew...

[Beliskner]

Self-moderation: Redundant

Man, RI/MMPAA sux. And I thought Hitler, Stalin, Chinese communists leaders, Taliban and Saddam were the only control freaks around. Here's an idea: maybe all companies should have a limited life span, renewable by public vote only. If the public vote that say Microsoft should shut down then the company has to disband and release all its IP under GPL. That way only good companies will survive. Is Bill Gates/RIAA more powerful than Bush?

BePorn

[Anonymous Coward]

No use in bidding on this one, guys-- be.com should be redirecting to a teenie porn site near you!

No Britney Spears for you

[Anonymous Coward]

From the CD-R Levy FAQ:
Note that the Copyright Act ONLY allows for copies to be made of "sound recordings of musical works". Nonmusical works, such as audio books or books-on-tape are NOT covered.

Can the Britney Spears CD's be called "musical works"? I think that she's safe.

Re:No Britney Spears for you

[huh_]

Note that the Copyright Act ONLY allows for copies to be made of "sound recordings of musical works". Nonmusical works, such as audio books or books-on-tape are NOT covered.

Yeah, but the fact remains that we'll still have to pay the levy on blank CDs that aren't used for music. How far are they eventually going to raise this levy to? How can an industry whose sales are down practically force consumers to reimburse them in this way. This is insane..

IBM might not like this

[Com2Kid]

hmm according to that sheet;

80 cents canadian tax per megabyte for removable micro drives.

Uh

Either definition of a megabyte you go buy, those 1GB Microdrives are going to cost a f*cking arm and a leg in canada now.

ouch.

Re:IBM might not like this

[mttlg]

80 cents canadian tax per megabyte for removable micro drives.

You're off by a couple orders of magnitude there, the actual amount is .8 cents per megabyte.

Re:IBM might not like this

[Com2Kid]

This is one reason why for a single unit of currancy the sign should not be able to arbitrarily change the decimal place. . . .

8 |c| (no idea how to artificaly represent the cent sign) is $0.08

$.8 (what I thought it said) is $0.80

.8 |c| is $0.008

Bleh.

Note to self, double check decimal places. (hmm, I have the same damn problems in class too, got all the theory down, damned if I don't make a shitpot load of stupid ass simple misakes applying it though. ^_^ )

CA$3 == US$2

[yerricde]

Yeah, but that's $105 _Canadian_, which is, what, a buck-seventy-five US $?

Actually, US$70. The ratio is very close to 3 to 2, so under the proposed tax^H^H^Hlevies, each gigabyte of space on a portable music player costs CA$21 == US$14.

Who's Steve Job?

[jbayes]

I know about Steve Jobs' acceptance speech, but I didn't know that Steve Job won too.

Re:Who's Steve Job?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh piss off you fucking grammar nazi, it gets the point across. If your gonna get all anal about it, start your OWN website to report nerd news on.

802.11x is more important than satellite

[aminorex]

Actually, if there is a conflict, the satellite
people should give up the frequency, because it
is far more important to the public interest that
802.11x continue to grow and flourish than that
any given satellite band be proof from interference.

OTOH, perhaps that is the complainant's intent:
They really want a new frequency allocation, and
just aren't willing to say so outright, for some
obscure reason.

Re:802.11x is more important than satellite

[Detritus]

That isn't the way that the FCC works, and I'm glad for it. If your device has out-of-band emissions that interfere with another service, you have a responsibility to take corrective action or stop using the device. It doesn't matter if your use is more "important" than someone elses.

Re:"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Tax

[tb3]

You can't satire something that ins't an issue in the first place. Bringing recordable media into the country isn't the issue. The levy is. If you want to bring them into the country for your own use, go ahead.

And please spare me the 'slippery slope' argument. It's tired and it only makes your argument look weak.

Re:"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Tax

[Reziac]

This doesn't stop some moron from stopping it in Customs and slapping a levy on it, even tho the levy is not technically due at that point (I understand this has happened).

Me english you good!

[shepd]

"He was packing a whole bunch of compact flash cards - too many, I told him. But he was driven - not by the money, he said, but by the principal."

Why is it I have just lost all faith in this reporter? I just find it hard to believe that the head of this guy's old school would chauffer him across the border.

This is Slashdot!

[alexhmit01]

This is Slashdot... rights money....

People should use Linux, Free Software, Open Source man... Don't buy CDs from Mandrake, just download the ISO man...

Support contract? Why not just use IRC!

I'm with you... if we can't have a profitable capitalistic music industry, I'm okay with some government patronage through taxes to ensure the creation of culture (now the quality of RIAA company's contribution to culture is questionable, but in theory...)...

I mean, paying $100/year or whatever to keep my rights, sure, whatever...

Life, liberty, property... in that order...

Alex

MP3 in particular?

[the_Speed_Bump]

Maybe it's time to cook up a portable OGG player.

Doesn't ANYONE read Strunk and White anymore?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's Rule #1 in The Elements of Style, dangit! Except for a few archaic biblical names, ALL possessive forms of names end in 's, regardless of whether or not the nonpossessive ends in s.

The possessive of Jobs is Jobs's.

Re:Doesn't ANYONE read Strunk and White anymore?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wrong. The possessive of Jobs is Jobs' or Jobs's.

What you meant to say was that some antiquated authors thought that they should push the latter form by declaring it a "style rule".

I am the god of correct apostrophe useage, and you are an incorrect person.

Re:Doesn't ANYONE read Strunk and White anymore?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, that's right. E.B. White, "antiquated author". Gotcha.

Re:"Only a stupid country could do this" (CD-R Tax

[stripes]

Maybe the iPod ships with sample tunes already. Are there any iPod owners out there who can comment?

It didn't when I got mine (a monthish after the release). However it wouldn't be hard for Apple to do it since I'm pretty sure they put the OS on the drive (not FLASH), so adding some music to the image wouldn't be impossible.

Be.com's asking price is...

[DaedalusLogic]

When I asked how much it was... and where BeOS was still available... Dan Johnston replied:

$300,000, and Gobe Software www.gobe.com

Thanks for your well wishes.

regards,

Dan S. Johnston
President
Be Incorporated
P.O. Box 391420
Mountain View, California 94041
Phone: (650) 965-4842
Fax: (650) 292-2193
E-mail: danj@beincorporated.com

Palm and Be

[MacBoy]

This would be a great time for someone to sweep it up. ;) *cough*OpenBeOS*cough*"

Um, yeah, except that Palm already owns "substantially all" of Be's former assets, including the BeOS. About the only thing that Be retained was the domain name and rights to file lawsuits, which they did, against MS for anti-competitive behaviour.

Sound of silence?

[Anonymous Coward]

So does that mean we have to pay royalties to Simon and Garfunkel?

Did anyone read the Apple Acceptance speech?

[danro]

Did anyone read the Apple Grammy Acceptance speech?

...
Speaking of torture, how about that speech by NARAS president Michael Green? But golly, aren't we all a little wiser now that Michael has enlightened us about the world wide web of theft and indifference that is threatening to put the music industry middle men out of business and let artists and their listeners communicate directly with one another? I know I am.
...

Well spoken, I must say.
To bad it was cut from the broadcast...
Might be just because wiewers aren't believd to be interested in "boring" acceptance speeches by non-famous people...

...or, if you are feeling cynical, it was censored by MPAA/RIAA.

Good intentions, but...

[Saint Fnordius]

...the problem is with the implementation. By assigning a trade cartel as the collector, independant artists are going to suffer. This is bad because they are the ones who will lose twice: first, because they often distribute their works though recordable media, and are thus subsidising their competitors, and second, because their works are more often copied due to the increased diffculty of finding their works at the local purchase outlet.

What the industry lobbyists want us to ignore is that casual copying is often beneficial to the artist as a marketing tool. Word-of-mouth and "try before you buy" are hard to measure, but they exist. If they like it, they'll purchase a copy, especially if the packaging (case, booklet, etc.) is done well. In my experiences, the "packaging" has always been what encourages poeple to buy stuff, especially when you get older. Personal tapes and stuff just don't look as good in the bookshelf.

Two letter domain names

[PhotoGuy]

"This would be a great time for someone to sweep it up. ;) cough*OpenBeOS*cough*"

Right. Even in this post .COM boom era, *any* two letter .com domain (it could be xq.com) is going to be worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions; and take into account that be.com is a two-letter domain that represents the shortest, most popular, and somewhat existential verb in the english language...

I somehow doubt OpenBeOS will just "sweep" this one up :-) Maybe Coke or Pepsi or some other megaconglomerate as part of a major ad compaign. But not OpenBeOS.

-me

Game Paddles

[stux]

You know... used for Pong ;)

Or Apple ][ Paddle Controllers :)

If I remember correctly, from programming them, they would emit 2 bytes, 0..255 for one, and 0..255 for the other...

Of course, the Joystick's were exactly the same... just the two paddles combined into one housing :)

Copying - levy - more copying - higher levy...

[mttlg]

I see bad things happening with this levy. The higher it gets, the more people will be driven to copy. "Well, I already paid a lot of money for copying music when I backed up my 80GB hard drive, so I might as well copy a few hundred CDs to make up for it." As more people are aware of their right to copy and have an increased desire to make use of it, sales will go down, and there will be proposals for higher rates. Just take a look at the tables on the FAQ page: the rate for CD-Rs was 5.2 cents in 1999-2000, 21 cents in 2000-2001, and is proposed to increase to 59 cents in 2003. Additionally, the scope has broadened from tapes and CDs to DVDs, flash cards, and hard drive based portable audio players. It's almost as if the levy is designed to encourage copying so a higher levy can be proposed...

Copyright Tax

[SkewlD00d]

I'm sorry, Levy == Tax. Didn't we fight England for this? Taxation w/o rep? And doesn't this (tax) assume that you, the consumer, are only using this product to rip off the industry? The same scam that's used on blank audio tapes and VHS tapes?

MPAA == evil && RIAA = evil;