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Slashback: Wireless, Gasoline, Prevarication
It's not a feature, it's a bug.
A representative from Macrovision writes "This statement is being issued to address some concerns that were recently aired on Slashdot with regards to the copy protection of some music CDs, the new Beastie Boys CD in Europe in particular.
Macrovision does NOT install any spyware, shareware, malware or any self-replicating code of any kind onto a user's PC.
When playing a (Macrovision CDS-200) copy-protected CD for the first time, playback software components may be installed, if needed. This software is used to enable the on-disc music player to load an on-screen user interface and to play back the audio. For further information, please contact: cds-info@macrovision.com."
Seems to me that a CD which that requires any software installed for it to be played by a standard CD drive is by definition at least "brokenware," or perhaps "meddleware." What if it's being used in a computer without an operating system supported by these "playback software components"?
Definitional evasion aside, so far CD "copy protection" is mostly about as effective as critics proclaim it to be: ptorrone writes "There has been a lot of talk about the copy protection on the new CD 'Contraband' from Velvet Revolver, but for us we didn't have any problems making MP3s for all our devices despite their efforts to stop us it seems. Here's our story..."
MSN Search pales next to Google, so far. An anonymous reader writes "Reported earlier today here on Slashdot, MSN is preparing a new search engine which is set to knock Google's socks off. However, early results show that not only is the new algorithm lacking enough smarts to knock Google as king, it doesn't even compete with the current MSN algorithm."
Open wide and say "ARRL!" dos4who writes "Well, the ARRL Field Day 2004 results are in, and posted on The The American Radio Relay League website. In the Single Operator High-Power class, congratulations to W5ZN for logging a score well over 600,000!
I had the opportunity to witness the Abbotsford, British Columbia club in action, and it was an awesome experience. Just the sight of all those massive antennae clustered on one field invoked visions of E.T. popping in for a visit."
And william_lorenz writes "Our own group from Ohio made contacts all over the United States and had a great time doing it, camping out in tents and running multiple battery-operated radios and make-shift antennas throughout the day and night. We even played with some Slow Scan TV! What are your stories?"
Seems unlikely it's the only country not to have done so ... bluethundr writes "On the flipside of a story from yesterday the Register reports today: 'Malam Nuhu Ribadu says Nigeria is the only country in the world that has failed to apply special laws or establish dedicated "front offices" to combat the crimes.'"
Are you pumping what you think you're pumping? couch_warrior writes "It was noted in a recent /. inquiry that EPA estimates of mileage vary from real-life experience. While there are several factors that can affect this, one major but often overlooked factor is that the amount of gasoline contained in a supposed 'gallon' varies by up to 10% due to gas pump fraud. Two illustrative stories show localized evidence of this scam, but few states regulate gas pumps effectively. The laws are on the books, but enforcement is typically lax. Cynics might speculate that this is because both the State and the Fed are getting a cut of the illegal proceeds. It is a way for them to increase the tax revenue on fuel, without taking the political hit for raising taxes. A challenge for /. readers -- go buy some gasoline in graduated containers, and check for yourself [avoid 1,5, and 10 gallon sizes; many states use these for testing purposes and the computers inside the pumps 'catch up' temporarily at these intervals]. Persons of conscience might feel motivated to flood their local state weights and measures bureau with complaints (if test results warranted :-)"
Never beam your secrets in a cornfield. bgumm writes "Hot on the heels of the Texas DOT's WiFi stories, here comes one from the corn state, Iowa. The Iowa DOT and an Iowan wireless network company, I-Spot Access, have partnered to offer WiFi at six highway rest stops across the state. USA Today picked up the story, as did the Des Moines Register..."
And for those in a state too backward to have rest-stop WiFi just yet, Porsupah writes "WirelessWeek is reporting that Ricochet has been sold on again; this time, to YDI Wireless. Bay Area readers may fondly remember the company as bringing flat-rate 28.8k wireless connectivity to all of the area several years ago for $30/mo, before expanding aggressively to cover several other major US metropolitan areas, financed by MCI, with a nominal 128kbps service at $75/mo. After bankruptcy, Aerie Networks bought some of the remnants, relaunched in San Diego and Denver, and then.. nothing. What next?"
From the FlexBeta article:
Microsoft is working on a new search engine algorithm which is supposed to compete with Google, now that they have upped their hotmail storage in responce to Gmail's arrival.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Hotmail has upgraded neither their free accounts nor their paid accounts as of yet. I'm still stuck at 78%, and I have no more than a few MB of mail in my hotmail account.
Additionally, in most areas, dispensing of gasoline from the pumps into unapproved containers is illegal.
+++ATHZ 99:5:80
The Xbox doesn't recognise all CDs out there - had a Smashmouth single I tried to read on my brothers' xbox and it wouldn't recognise it at all...
;^)
Just pointing this out as the link to the mp3's from Velvet Revolver story made it seem like the Xbox would work with every audio CD.
(and note to the Grammar Nazis - yes, it should be "brothers'" not "brother's" - I have 2 brothers who share the console
Liquid Mass Flow Meters run upwards of $200 US in OEM bulk purchase qualities. This means that cars would be another $225 more expensive and would have another part in the gas tank/fill tube that could break and leak. It was a good idea though.
The more effective solution would be spot-checking pumps and fining stations thousands of dollars. As to pumps "catching up" at 1,2,5 and 10 gallons, just spot check with random amounts.
Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
The picture in the Des Moines register is me! ( http://dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2 0040630/NEWS08/406300350/1001&lead=1
I was driving out to visit family in Michigan, and stopped at that rest stop & noticed they had free wireless access.
The funny thing is, it didn't work. I could connect to the access point, but I couldn't get beyond that (traceroutes, pings, and any other access stopped at the AP). The photographer called the the iDot people responsible for it, and the telco guys were heading over to fix it, but I didn't stick around.
Maybe it's when that 10 gallon container is full...
If your shoes are wet and smell like gasoline then you've probably got more than 10 gallons.
So much to do, so little bandwidth.
--
Try Mozilla
I like a multitude of search engines, and I find google to be harder and harder to get reviews out of. I've gotten better but so have the google bombers. (although to be honest this effects most search engines.)
,
I have to put a few words in that a sales page won't have (sharpness for lenses saturation for printers etc..) to hunt down the reviews.
Besides google I've been using Teoma
yahoo
About.com (which sometimes is junky but pretty good for some topics
and when looking hard voila.com which despite having to select "world" instead of "france" works well..
A gallon is a measure of volume, which will vary by temperature.
Mod parent up, because it does, and a lot more than you'd expect, too.
I worked for a company that sold sensors to measure liquid levels, and we'd've sold a heck of a lot more if they'd been practical in gasoline storage tanks. (I'm not sure why we couldn't have just added temp sensors to compensate, other than in large tanks maybe the temp wasn't consistent even through the volume of the gasoline or something.)
Slashdot's token middle-aged housewife
I did try a few technical queries to compare the two. When the search term is a phrase containing several words which are not obscure themselves, but in combination are rare (i.e. Membrane Filter Method) MSN seems to choke completely and give zero results, while Google will return results with a high proportion of non-relevant links. Room for improvement with both perhaps?
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
It's possible, although I can't be sure, that there was a post between you two. When things get moderated low enough on slashdot, they disappear, and the replies are "reparented," which leads to confusing things like this.
Leave your graduated cylinder at home -- It is illegal to pump gas into a non-approved container. A better idea would be to fit a flow meter on the end of the nozzle while you're filling your car. Then you can not only track discrepancies, but you can find out if the pump "makes up for it" at the 5- or 10-gallon mark.
This might work for diesel fuel which has a very low thermal expansion rate, but not for gasoline. Gasoline expands when it gets warm. Don't believe me? Fill your tank to the VERY top - to where you can see fuel in the filler neck. Then go park in the sun on a hot day. You will see fuel spilled all down the side of the car as the gasoline expands and overflows. You can see some of the math Here.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
This make sense to me. I have a bad habit of driving around until the red "get gas now" light comes on. I've noticed a difference of plus or minus a gallions in how many gallon I buy when I fill up. Funny thing the mom and pop gass station always takes the least. And Costco takes the most.
As a motorcycle rider I can tell you that the gas coming out of the pump is quite cool on even a hot day.
When riding on a hot day, having a cool gastank between your legs feels really nice.
So the time of day probably doesn't matter all that much, unless there's something else to this that I missed.