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Pez to Dispense Music instead of Sweets
Elteto writes "News.com has a story on Lincoln West Studios entering a licensing agreement with Pez Candy to manufacture MP3 players based on the popular candy dispenser format. As the devices will be compatible with the line of detachable heads, including the latest Star Wars character heads, this new product could be a hit with both the candy an the gadget crowds. I bet the idea also ignites creativity in many who wonder how they could insert the guts of small MP3 players such as the iPod Shuffle into various objects. The designer of the Pez MP3 player says his inspiration was the Altoid tin can."
Back when Walkmans were all the rage, me and my buddies used them to sneak in our own "candy" to school. As in, Marijuana! I wonder what kids will use them for today... ?
Wait a tick, if they try to patent these things, would that count as prior art?
Here is an article from the December edition of BSD Journal which IT specialists (in particular, Unix administrators) thinking of moving overseas might find interesting. It compares various countries and the salaries, cost of living, and general IT industry of the country. The countries reviewed were: Australia, the United States, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The article was rather long, so I won't post the entire thing, only the summaries and conclusions.
UNITED KINGDOM
Infrastructure: The UK has technologically advanced domestic and international systems in terms of basic telecommunications services, and the UK's I.T sector has grown rapidly since the late 1980s, making the UK's I.T infrastructure amoung the world's best. There is active competition amoung various ISPs and other telecommunications service providers and the quality of service is generally excellent. According to our tests, the UK was placed 2nd out of the 7 tested countries in this category, behind only Sweden. Final Score: (4/5)
Salaries: I.T. workers can expect higher salaries in the UK than in any of the other tested countries, and our results indicate that the UK's I.T. job market is expanding rapidly and has a very healthy outlook. Adjusted for taxes and living expenses and local exchange rates, the average I.T worker had a take-home pay of $45,692. Final Score: (5/5)
Cost of Living: The UK has a high cost of living, although this is mitigated by very high salaries for I.T. workers. Final Score: (2/5)
Working Conditions: The UK has relatively bad working conditions compared to the other countries that we tested, and we found that the average UK I.T. worker works 51.6 hours a week, a horrendous 11.6 hours longer than the traditional 40 hour (9-5) working week. Final Score: (2/5)
Conclusion: The UK leads the pack in terms of average salary package size, but the working conditions and cost of living remain valid concerns. Still, the UK has an excellent I.T infrastructure and the overall outlook for I.T. workers is very good. The UK was placed 2nd out of the 7 nations that we tested, with a final score of 62%.
UNITED STATES
Infrastructure: The USA has a large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system in terms of basic telecommunications services. The USA has traditionally been touted leader in technological development worldwide, and this is evident in its I.T. infrastructure in and around major centers. However, a lot of the USA's infrastructure, basic as well as I.T, is rapidly aging and much of it is indeed of upgrading, repair or replacement, especially in less populated areas. Recent problems with the USA's telecommunications and electricity grid in particular cannot be overlooked. Final Score: (3/5).
Salaries: The US has been a world leader in I.T. and telecommunications since the 1940s, and experienced a massive I.T. boom in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, our review period was 2000-2004, and during this time frame, the outlook for I.T. workers has slumped and only recently been revived to some extent. The high number of forgein workers, particularly from India and Asia, competing both locally and through outsourcing, has dampened the prospects for I.T workers in the USA. Despite this, the average take-home pay of US I.T workers remains higher than all other tested countries aside from the UK, at $41,500. Final Score: (4/5).
Cost of Living: The USA has an enviable cost of living, although the differences between various areas are immediately noticable and a huge factor in our tests. The USA was placed 3rd, behind only South Africa and Australia. Final Score: (3/5)
Working Conditions: The USA's working conditions have plummeted since the dot-com boom of the early 2000s, with employers taking advantage of the high amounts of immigrants and outsourcing possibilities available to them. The average working week of th
+5 Fuckin' Funny