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Slashback: Wal-Modem, Culpability, Misquotes
There must be some mistake; this is what I wanted. Masem writes: "The review of the OS-less PCs sold through Wal-Mart brought out a lot of comments on the inclusion of a WinModem, effectively requiring Windows to make the computer work correctly. However, NewsForge reports that shortly after that posting, Microtel, the makers of these computers, wrote back to the reviewer and indicated that new versions of the systems will ship with Linux-friendly modems from now on. Nice to see a company that knows its target audience and how to make them happy."
Thanks, Microtel!
Next: ethernet cable manufacturers. cpt kangarooski writes: "For those tuning in late, Harlan Ellison sued AOL (among others) for having the temerity to permit users to upload copies of his copyrighted works across their networks on the Usenet. As it turns out, AOL was in the right, and got a summary judgment against Ellison.
The opinion by Judge Cooper is located here in PDF format Given his reputation, Ellison will likely appeal."
Welcome to Ix, please take off your shoes. cayle clark writes "A few months back I asked slashdot about shopping in the Akihabara, Tokyo's famous "electric town," and got lots of good advice. Well, now I been and went there, took some pictures, and posted an illustrated account here. Netting it out, it's a keen place to wander, and prices are in some (but only some) cases lower than in the USA."
Hacking at the ties that bind Following up on the new venture in wireless from the LinuxCare crew, Dave Sifry writes "802.11b Networking News wrote up a summary of the new Sputnik Gateway release today, codenamed Stagecoach. The Community Gateway code runs from CD and turns a computer with an ethernet card and Prism 802.11b card into a secure authenticating firewalled 802.11b Access Point. New features of this release include support for desktop cards, like the Linksys WMP11 PCI card, which means that you can turn your old 486 in a closet into a cheap secure wireless router."
I'd rather they save Futurama, but gift horse, teeth, etc. Remik writes "Yahoo News is carrying this story letting Simpsons creator Matt Groening set the record straight that the Simpsons isn't winding down and that it isn't on the ropes. He claims he was misquoted and misunderstood in a Financial Times of London article that came out earlier this week and that he does indeed has stories for years and years. What if Marge became a robot? Hmm..."
Has anyone detected the envelope with the winner's name yet? SoundGuy666 writes "Looks like SETI made it past that 500 million milestone - wonder who won the $500 prize..."
Funny, the episode last night showed a huge lack of imagination. The network may want to beat the horse for more cash, but that doesn't mean that it's not in deep trouble.
Come on man, get with it! Suing over usenet piracy is so 90's. It's all about suing p2p now!
Next thing you know, he'll start railing off on the evils of DOOM.
-Denor
Hey, they're just starting out. We can look at all the errors of every computer manufacturer in their first models. The Altair 8088 and Apple 1 were both kits, requiring a great deal of know-how (especially then) and allowed for a large deal of Human error (This was in the days of shag carpetting). Microtel is going to have a large amount of future successes for freeing us from the evil tyrant of Microsoft! Thank you, Microtel for having the balls to stand up!
Clean PC... Wal-Mart...
Clean PC... Wal-Mart... Aaaaaagh!
I spent a year in Iraq looking for WMD and all I found was this lousy sig.
When did it jump? I think I know, but everyone agrees it's happened already.
As soon as I saw the episode where Marge is
kidnapped by a biker gang, I said "This is so
incredibly forced and predictable. They're not
trying any more. I bet this show ends soon."
I got 2 out of 3.
Austin is more fun than Dallas.
Matt made the message clear in more than just an interview. The last new episode that aired, in the opening scene where Bart is writing on the chalkboard, Bart was writing something along the lines of "A will never lie about being canceled again..."
Gotta love finding out like that!
Now, that said,
I WANT MY GOD DAMNED FUTURAMA BACK YOU BASTARDS!!!
globalization...third world labor
Gosh break out the moral dilemna rags!
Good grief. Globalization itself is not evil, no more than capitalism or socialism is evil.
And what the heck is wrong with employing third world labor? You mean they should go without jobs?
Hey buddy, my truck was built in Indiana and North Carolina by a Japanese company. Should I refuse to buy any truck not built within 50 miles of where I live, and not built by locals?
Get a grip. Nothing is local any more. Any Wal Mart driving out inefficient mom-and-pop stores, well, too bad, but that's how progress works. The downside is the newly unemployed have to find a new job. The upside is costs drop, and society finds other uses for previously inefficient workers. They have been fred upt o do something NEW. Got a problem with that?
Yeh, let's all go back so damn far that everyone is employed locally, say, all the way back to when everyone had their own garden, made their own clothes, and so on.
I personally dislike Wal-Mart for their extreme penny puinching attitude, I always feel like they are squeezing the last penny out of every thing, and like I should go shower after leaving the place. I don't shop there much. But they have done a hell of a lot of good in keeping prices low for the great unwashed majority. I say Go Wal-Mart!
Infuriate left and right
It is a well known fact that AMD Duron processors are made in a sweatshop in Maylasia.
Of course they are! You ever been in a bunny suit? No matter how cold the room is--you sweat, period. The human body just gets hot when surrounded on all sides by millimeter-thick plastic.
Even so, I hope this post was a joke. I saw it was modded funny...
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." --Groucho Marx
Can somebody enlighten me?
What is his copyrighted work for which he sued AOL?
I think this product is targeted towards the advanced users out there, as much of the "mainstream" users would at least think twice before buying a PC, then have to install an OS. However, most of the people I know who install and configure their own operating systems (whether windows or linux) tend to want to build their own systems themselves. Personally, I never purchase manufactured computers because I want to make sure I get "top quality" components, such as a versitile/highly configurable motherboard (like asus, i'm not endorsing). Especially when you install Linux, it's good to know exactly the hardware specs, and the easiest way to do that is to put it all together yourself.
Despite this, I feel Walmart & Microtel are doing a good job at showing that Windows isnt the only way to compute. The Microtel SYSMAR506 - Athlon 1.4 seems a good deal at around $500 for budget consious families who want to expose technology affordably to their children or for geeks who need a computer fast and cheap. It would be nice if they included both Windows and Linux drivers, but i know that 1.) Just the fact that it includes windows drivers is a much better improvement than Compaq's "recovery cd" that doesn't have drivers, and 2.) a lot of hardware is automatically detected under Linux, so it may not be necessary
$cat
...but you knew that.
If you actually read Ellison's original rant, he sued AOL because the infringing postings were "received as part of his subscription to AOL."
That's right kids, Ellison was connecting through AOL. The alleged infringer's ISP (Tehama County Online) rolled over immediately, and was thus spared inclusion in the lawsuit. AOL got sued because they carried the infringing bits to him at his request.
At worst, they failed to proactively remove the posts from their news spools.
You have violated Robot's Rules of Order and will be asked to leave the future immediately.
Actually, it is a well known fact that the Duron is manufactured in AMD's Fab 25 in Austin, Texas. I'm sure the residents of Austin will be suprised to know that they are now citizens of "Maylasia". Or did you perhaps mean Malaysia?
But hey, smart folks like you have no need for verifiable facts, right? So much for that "no toleranse for stupidity" thing. I guess Mensa'll hand out a card to any retard willing to take their asinine brain teaser test...
Oh and, by the way, it's spelled "tolerance". You might want to fix that one of these days. But then again, since I already pointed that out to you several months ago, maybe you enjoy looking like an idiot?
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
In that case, the court said this: "The court does not find workable a theory of direct infringement that would hold the entire Internet liable for actions that cannot reasonably be deterred." The worst possible outcome from a Scientologist's perspective.
Judge Cooper upheld this precedent with her current summary judgement. Way cool.
Yet again, the Scientologists shoot themselves in the foot!
When I moderate, I only use "-1, Overrated". That way, I never get meta-moderated!
Sorry but My Compaq EVO and my E500 both have winmodems and they work perfectly with linux, both slackware and redhat 7.2 and 7.3..
A major type of winmodem chipset is happily supported by linux.. Maybe the one in the walmart computer is a el-cheapo version of a winmodem that isnt supported, I dont know what chipset it is.
but saying that winmodems are unsupported by linux is pure FUD and has no place on slashdot.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Ellison is without doubt the most pompous jackass I've ever seen in my life.
Harlan or Larry?
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Harlan or Larry?
Yes.
Error: PANTS NOT FOUND. Press <F1> to continue.
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
Amen to that. Ironically, however, the path to that happy state almost certainly lies in increased involvement in the world economy, and that at first is going to come through Western companies. So it's OK to pressure Wal-Mart, Nike, or whomever, but recognize the irony... Here in the industrial West, we reached more human working conditions through strife and struggle; it's unlikely to happen smoothly anywhere else. The worst thing is, the transnationals seemed to have learned a lot of lessons about stopping the process, but we are not transmitting the right lessons about moving it forward.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
OK, since there seems to be next to no posts regarding the Akihabara page, here I go... (sorry to be harsh, but I spend a lot of time there, so it sort of gets my goat to see someone come along, go around a few shops, write up a single-page report, and get that posted to /.).
The Akihabara district of Tokyo is world-famous as a shopping district specializing in electrical and electronic equipment. I had the chance to visit the Akihabara while on an Elderhostel tour of Japan in April, 2002. (The name is pronounced ah-kee-ha-ba-rah, with no stress on any syllable. It is not, as English speakers want to say, aki-HAbara or akiha-BAra. The syllables just roll out all at the same level.)
Not really. Spoken Japanese does not use stress as a marker, but rather pitch. 'Akihabara' declines in pitch towards the end of the word.
Akihabara is a station on the Japan Railways line and on the Tokyo subway. The railway station is a bit more convenient. This is what you see as you start down from the station platform.
A bit more convenient, if you happen to be using a JR line - if you're on a subway line, the subway exit is the way to go.
There are lots of people on the street (but that's true everywhere in Tokyo). This was Sunday morning at 11AM.
Akihabara's main street is closed to traffic on most Sundays.
The district is roughly 6 city blocks square. Some of the streets are wide, as above, and some are narrow and have that "oriental bazaar" feel to them.
It's quite considerably larger than that - certainly, most of the larger stores are toward the station, but if you head down the road in the direction of the Suehirocho station, there's many smaller shops in the back streets.
This place also sold a variety of CPU and memory chips. Here is the price list. Multiply Yen by 0.008 to get dollars (as of 4/02). Thus the 2.4Ghz P4 was selling for about $575. These prices, as with most prices in the Akihabara, did not strike me as wonderful bargains. Good prices, but not good enough to cover the airfare to Tokyo!
Gee, I'm so sorry... strange as it may seem, shops in Akihabara don't take your plane fare into account when setting their prices.
Notice the number of clerks. Like every Japanese retail store, there are many, many clerks, all eager to be helpful. Japanese retail stores are grossly overstaffed by American standards.
...which could easily be rewritten to say, "American stores are grossly understaffed by Japanese standards." How often have I seen people complaining that they can't find a clerk in a US Fry's?
The prices for Apple stuff seemed to be about the same as US prices.
That's because Apple engages in price-fixing in Japan (they were actually convicted of it once, but it's obvious that it still goes on).
Many stores sold games. This one is advertising the Nintendo for about $200. There were also Sega and Sony game stores. I don't know what the game is that is featured in the window display. The box was all Japanese except for the line "The voices of a distant star."
It's called 'Hoshi no Koe' ('The Voice of the Stars' is close enough).
When I looked closely at these PDAs I found the screen display was all in Japanese.
OH MY GOD!!! You're KIDDING!!!! Japanese PDAs in Japan... who would have thought it?!?
Most of the larger stores devoted much floor space to items of interest to local people, especially appliances: washing machines, microwaves, rice cookers and the like. And some absolutely gorgeous, 16:9-format TVs, which, or course, would be useless in the US.
Obviously, these stores should immediately devote a minimum of 70% of their floor space to items that are of interest to Americans.
There were lots of laptops to be seen, but alas, almost all had Japanese keyboards and the Japanese version of Windows. The prices for most laptops seemed to be pretty close to US prices for comparable models. The only bargains were on closeouts (clearly marked in English, "last one").
...I don't need to hammer the point any more, do I? (BTW, the reason you didn't find any 'bargains' was because you were looking in the wrong place - if you want a cheap laptop, the best way to find one is either online or check some of the smaller shops for weekend specials).
The only place you find English keyboards is in the big stores, in what are advertised as "Duty Free" departments. "Duty Free" is a misnomer -- all the goods were made in Japan, so there is no question of avoiding an import duty.
The 'Duty Free' in this case refers to the lack of the 5% consumption tax on items (which he does mention later on, although he doesn't link the two facts).
All in all, about what I'd expect from a tourist on a quick spin through the larger shops...
Just about everything you need to know about Harlan can be found on harlanellison.com. And check out the quote on the first page. Way to make friends, Harlan.
www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance
Globalization is definately NOT evil. Yes, the U.S. does lose blue collar jobs to "third-world countries" but that is not necessarlly a bad thing. The reason that labor is so cheap in undeveloped nations in that it is very unproductive. If an employee wasn't working in a textile mill, making $1 a day, they would be without a job entirely. Sure, that wage is low according to our standards but when your next-best option is no job and starving, which would you pick? As the workforce becomes more skilled and educated, the price of labor becomes more expensive. Look at Japan: following World War II, they were an underdeveloped nation and labor was cheap. Now, as the country has developed, the price of labor in Japan is near that in the US. Take Germany: highly skilled labor is, in fact, more expensive than in the U.S. but is used to produce finer-quality products (luxary vehicles are one).
It would be exploiting a worker in the United States or other simarlly industrialized nation where the standard of living was high to pay a very low wage. So what happens? Ideally, the price of the imported goods are cheaper than they would be if they were made domestically. The aggregate savings that society relizes can be used to reeducate the workforce that would have been manufacturing the imported good to perform work that requires more education or skills and then the standard of living for ALL Americans can increase. At the same time, underdeveloped countries will develop more and increase the standard of living in those countries.
So, while globalization might force change, it is a change for the better. We get cheaper goods and a better standard of living. The foreign countries get meaningful jobs, the workforce and economy develops, and their standard of living increases. Global society as a whole is better off then it was before.
I don't shop at Wal-Mart because of their illegal actions towards the attempted organization of their employees, among other reasons. But the fact that they sell foreign-made goods is not one of them.
That's nothing. Last year he was ranting about how it should be illegal to write software like gnutella. Not "use for illegal purposes". Write.
I think Ellison is gradually transitioning from his traditional role as the "outspoken grumpy curmudgeon" of the SF world, to being the "crazy homeless man shouting at the parking meter" of the SF world.
Cry me a river. I myself have spent some time living in the Peruvian Andes in a village that didn't have running water or electricity and that relied on human (and to a small extent animal) power for everything, and I wouldn't wish that existence on anyone. Even the worst sweatshops in Lima have better living conditions than those of the typical Andean subsistance farmer. Not too mention the fact that the workers in Lima are far less likely to be harrassed by terrorists, drug-lords, or government soldiers.
The low end of the technology ladder is a crappy place to be. I don't see you giving up your car, your computer, and all the other trappings of civilized life to go live in the bush. Why should it surprise you that third world folk want to live like you do?
Lest Slashdot readers be tempted to dismiss Harlan Ellison as a technophobic crank, be aware that he is one of the most financially successful writers working in Hollywood today. He got that way by fighting the studios who tried to rip him off.
Hollywood operates in large part on reputation fraud and misappropriation of other people's work, particularly screenwriters. Plot ideas and outlines are co-opted left and right. Writers in Hollywood do indeed work like dogs and end up getting treated about as well. Ellison stepped into these shark-infested waters many decades ago and has consistently and resolutely refused to allow himself to be fscked by the studios.
Ellison is widely recognized as one of the most litigious writers out there, suing studios when they misappropriate his work. What's more, Harlan wins these suits almost all the time. Writing is his vocation and his passion, and he stands among some of the first names in science fiction. But he has seen too many of his friends and colleagues screwed by the studio system, doing lame knock-offs of their work and making millions while the writer goes hungry. Most creative types -- me included -- would just roll over and go, "Oh, well, what can I do about it?"
Not Harlan. He bitch-slaps these creeps up Sunset Blvd. and back until they get the clue: You don't take a writer's work without paying for it.
Where Harlan has gone wrong, IMHO, is that he has misconceptualized the nature of the "wrong" against him. Ellison's entire experience of having his work copied has been in the context of Hollywood studios and publishers. Studios copy Harlan's work, and make money off it. So Harlan sues the studio. Then he sees copies of his work are, "all over AOL," and AOL's making money off it. Ergo, the same solution applies.
Except it doesn't.
I hope someone can explain this to Ellison. His stock and trade is science fiction. We need the imaginations of men like him to provide the ideas and invent a future where copying is ubiquitous and unconstrained, and artists still get handsomely remunerated.
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
[switching to hardware modems] may not seem like it's very significant, but it is. Consider this: One of the world's largest retailers has decided that the Open Source community may be a viable marketplace. Wal-Mart has promoted products aimed at us. And that has opened the door for us to be heard, not as techies, but as consumers.
All true, and it also occurred to me that changing to a Linux-friendly modem is a very, very smart move on the part of Microtel.
If Microsoft were to sue Microtel and Walmart under some theory of contributory copyright infringement -- inducing people to buy computers for the purpose of pirating Windows, it would be difficult for Microtel or Walmart to make the argument that those computers were intended for Linux use, if they contained hardware that is designed to only work under Windows.