Now THAT is investigative journalism, even if it is technically amateur, it makes the Main Story link look like a joke. Cockeyed's treatment is thorough, insightful, extensive and objective.
Well, objective except for the "If you put up sign spam, I don't want you in my community" part.
Here you go. Note how the daily demand curve follows the daily meteorological temperature profile. While there are other factors, including business and industrial demand, the activity that drives the overall shape this curve is air conditioning. (Note also the second peak at ~1900 hours, when people are preparing meals and cleaning after.)
At the current price points and inconvenience factors, the market for PC/mac TV Tuners is probably close to saturated. To sell PC tuners, one has to either a) be satisfied with the meager increase in market as the saturation curve approaches its asymptote, or b) find a new market. Option a) is a loser. So that leaves b).
If Tivo can leverage their trademark familiarity -and- create an easy-to-install product, then they might be able to attract a new market segment and make some real money. Furthermore, it will attract new people to their subscription model, the market for which surely has become indistinguishable from its asymptote for some time now.
One could easily speculate also that Tivo is testing the waters for moving away from set top boxes and towards PC peripherals, or even integrated TV-ready PC/encoder systems.
As for the "TV on computers is unnecessary/threatening/diluting/eye-strainin" arguments, they're hard to support. I put EyeTV on the 24" iMac in our lounge area off the kitchen, and now no one watches anything in the media room on the big 42" TV with surround sound anymore, except the occasional DVD. The 24" display is fine for the size of the room it's in, and time shifting, rewind-and-review, and commercial editing make TV so much more watchable that a TV+Tuner+DVD just doesn't cut it. I haven't watched a commercial in months, except for one or two that caught my eye ("whoa - boobs!") as I was 30-second-skipping past them.
And we watch very very little content produced for the web. Except for a few programs like Democracy Now, it's all major network broadcasts and MPAA DVDs. We use Miro to torrent programs that we fail to record for some reason, or that our cable provider doesn't carry (they've been moving channels from clear QAM analog to digital only, and I *refuse* to lease a set top box). Web video is still far too poor quality to be watchable for long, and we have too little free time to tolerate much amateur content.
I'm gonna go drop $500 on a nice DVD+HD recorder for the media room to make it useful again, until I can afford to upgrade to the 1040p TV + Mac Mini + EyeTV combo. I've seen it done, and it looks great. If Tivo had a competitively-priced product that I could easily add on to a new 1040p TV that gave me complete freedom to shift, edit and skip content, without DRM restrictions, then I'd certainly consider it alongside EyeTV and MythTV.
Only if very nearly perfectly reflective at the laser wavelength, and then only if kept perfectly clean.
Something like this would be far more difficult for a low-tech insurgent to deploy than, say, a PIC, a cellphone, some vectorboard, a length of det cord, and a hunk of C4.
We've interpreted "fair use" to include portability and archive reliability since, ooh, 1985 perhaps...
Unfortunately, Congress effectively outlawed us with the passage of the DMCA, even though we kept to the spirit of copyright law by not giving away our portable copies and archives.
All the recent failures have been during the separation of the 1st stage from the 2nd stage.
So if you like, we can strap you to the top of the first stage so you can get a really good look.;)
It's called "Idle" for a reason
on
Cat Talk
·
· Score: 1
I have enough mod points to mod down all the haters here as flamebait, but instead I'm gonna go ahead and flame them. If you must, you may mod me down. But I'm still right.
This section is called "idle" for a reason. It's off-topic. It's dumb. It's a waste of time. It's not even necessarily funny. And you knew it. But you clicked on the link anyway. Nobody forced you to do it.
If you really hate these stories so much, you can go into your preferences and disable idle stories from appearing for you at all. In the meantime, you need only suffer a tiny tiny fraction of main page area devoted to Idle links.
So stop fucking complaining. You know, there's plenty to complain about here, like the comment entry box size, and html formatting issues, but instead you attack the theme, which is a perfectly valid one... And by doing so, you all come across as humorless, intolerant assholes.
And, on-topic, while I thought the acting was a bit amateur, the concept behind this video was actually a pretty good one. With better acting, it might have had the air of veracity it needed to be really funny. I give it a B-minus (where an A-plus is given to "The Website Is Down").
University of West Scotland research reveals that a woman's gait may reveal her orgasmic ability. - A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. The study is published in the September 2008 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.
Combine that with satellite-based shadow analysis, and... Giggity!
Radiation Shielding -- Better than lead for shielding of electronic components from space radiation, though considerably more expensive. At a previous job where I built detectors for satellite remote sensing instruments, one design included some rather hefty Iridium vaults to protect back-illuminated CCDs from excessive particle radiation and total dose effects.
Antimatter -- Iridium targets are bombarded with insanely high-energy Protons to create antiprotons. Actually, a whole menagerie of exotic particles are created, but antiprotons are picked off using a high-T magnetic field and diverted into a collecting cyclotron beam. All in a hard vacuum, of course.
Aye, I used 'a bit insipid,' but only to describe a possible impression out of context of the illustration. Perhaps another word would have been a better, though no single word is adequate. For a long time, Datawocky was one of my favorite pieces of geek culture, and I look back on it with nostalgia.
My sincere condolences on the passing of your father; I lost my father years ago so I know how hard it can be. And please accept my apologies if my choice of words offended. I feel fortunate that you, the author's son, found my remark and am thrilled that you have replied with such an offer. I would treasure a copy of that article.
Slashdot Mirror
Amen. And why is it "battle-worn?" Has it been plowing its way through imps, zombies and cacodemons?
I hope the solar cells are still clear enough to charge up the BFG 9000.
Skiing. This could be a great aid to skiiers who are otherwise fit enough to ski but have leg strength issues.
Of course, once a ski-capable device hits the market, you're gonna have perfectly fit thrillseekers use it to ski extreme terrain.
(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
Now THAT is investigative journalism, even if it is technically amateur, it makes the Main Story link look like a joke. Cockeyed's treatment is thorough, insightful, extensive and objective.
Well, objective except for the "If you put up sign spam, I don't want you in my community" part.
Oh there were plenty. They just didn't survive long under the withering flames of the regulars.
Agreed. Second only to CivIII, NetHack has had the most replayability value of any game for me, ever. I return to it year after year after year.
Number three: Starcraft
What do all three of these games have in common? Depth and balance.
I carry a similar quote with lost attribution:
Posting on the internet is as easy as writing on a bathroom wall.
Even older than that.
Here you go. Note how the daily demand curve follows the daily meteorological temperature profile. While there are other factors, including business and industrial demand, the activity that drives the overall shape this curve is air conditioning. (Note also the second peak at ~1900 hours, when people are preparing meals and cleaning after.)
Someone tell that to Iron 55.
At the current price points and inconvenience factors, the market for PC/mac TV Tuners is probably close to saturated. To sell PC tuners, one has to either a) be satisfied with the meager increase in market as the saturation curve approaches its asymptote, or b) find a new market. Option a) is a loser. So that leaves b).
If Tivo can leverage their trademark familiarity -and- create an easy-to-install product, then they might be able to attract a new market segment and make some real money. Furthermore, it will attract new people to their subscription model, the market for which surely has become indistinguishable from its asymptote for some time now.
One could easily speculate also that Tivo is testing the waters for moving away from set top boxes and towards PC peripherals, or even integrated TV-ready PC/encoder systems.
As for the "TV on computers is unnecessary/threatening/diluting/eye-strainin" arguments, they're hard to support. I put EyeTV on the 24" iMac in our lounge area off the kitchen, and now no one watches anything in the media room on the big 42" TV with surround sound anymore, except the occasional DVD. The 24" display is fine for the size of the room it's in, and time shifting, rewind-and-review, and commercial editing make TV so much more watchable that a TV+Tuner+DVD just doesn't cut it. I haven't watched a commercial in months, except for one or two that caught my eye ("whoa - boobs!") as I was 30-second-skipping past them.
And we watch very very little content produced for the web. Except for a few programs like Democracy Now, it's all major network broadcasts and MPAA DVDs. We use Miro to torrent programs that we fail to record for some reason, or that our cable provider doesn't carry (they've been moving channels from clear QAM analog to digital only, and I *refuse* to lease a set top box). Web video is still far too poor quality to be watchable for long, and we have too little free time to tolerate much amateur content.
I'm gonna go drop $500 on a nice DVD+HD recorder for the media room to make it useful again, until I can afford to upgrade to the 1040p TV + Mac Mini + EyeTV combo. I've seen it done, and it looks great. If Tivo had a competitively-priced product that I could easily add on to a new 1040p TV that gave me complete freedom to shift, edit and skip content, without DRM restrictions, then I'd certainly consider it alongside EyeTV and MythTV.
How soon we forget the 1 year delay between Starcraft for PC and Starcraft for Mac.
I would be interested in some reassurance that this will not happen again for SCII.
Mu!
Oh. I thought that the idea started with Ens. Sulu, in "The Enemy Within," who requested a really long rope and a pot of coffee.
Only if very nearly perfectly reflective at the laser wavelength, and then only if kept perfectly clean.
Something like this would be far more difficult for a low-tech insurgent to deploy than, say, a PIC, a cellphone, some vectorboard, a length of det cord, and a hunk of C4.
I will. I just donated another $100 to the EFF.
I like my rip once, play anywhere cult.
We've interpreted "fair use" to include portability and archive reliability since, ooh, 1985 perhaps...
Unfortunately, Congress effectively outlawed us with the passage of the DMCA, even though we kept to the spirit of copyright law by not giving away our portable copies and archives.
"Subduction leads to Orogeny" -- did the Earth just move for you, too?
All the recent failures have been during the separation of the 1st stage from the 2nd stage.
So if you like, we can strap you to the top of the first stage so you can get a really good look. ;)
I have enough mod points to mod down all the haters here as flamebait, but instead I'm gonna go ahead and flame them. If you must, you may mod me down. But I'm still right.
This section is called "idle" for a reason. It's off-topic. It's dumb. It's a waste of time. It's not even necessarily funny. And you knew it. But you clicked on the link anyway. Nobody forced you to do it.
If you really hate these stories so much, you can go into your preferences and disable idle stories from appearing for you at all. In the meantime, you need only suffer a tiny tiny fraction of main page area devoted to Idle links.
So stop fucking complaining. You know, there's plenty to complain about here, like the comment entry box size, and html formatting issues, but instead you attack the theme, which is a perfectly valid one... And by doing so, you all come across as humorless, intolerant assholes.
And, on-topic, while I thought the acting was a bit amateur, the concept behind this video was actually a pretty good one. With better acting, it might have had the air of veracity it needed to be really funny. I give it a B-minus (where an A-plus is given to "The Website Is Down").
Aye, well the Scots have them all beat:
University of West Scotland research reveals that a woman's gait may reveal her orgasmic ability. - A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks. The study is published in the September 2008 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.
Combine that with satellite-based shadow analysis, and... Giggity!
Sorry - undoing an unintended moderation. (Switching back to classic comment viewer, too)
Also, make sure that it's sized properly. She ain't gonna be able to get it resized at Zales.
Radiation Shielding -- Better than lead for shielding of electronic components from space radiation, though considerably more expensive. At a previous job where I built detectors for satellite remote sensing instruments, one design included some rather hefty Iridium vaults to protect back-illuminated CCDs from excessive particle radiation and total dose effects.
Antimatter -- Iridium targets are bombarded with insanely high-energy Protons to create antiprotons. Actually, a whole menagerie of exotic particles are created, but antiprotons are picked off using a high-T magnetic field and diverted into a collecting cyclotron beam. All in a hard vacuum, of course.
Aye, I used 'a bit insipid,' but only to describe a possible impression out of context of the illustration. Perhaps another word would have been a better, though no single word is adequate. For a long time, Datawocky was one of my favorite pieces of geek culture, and I look back on it with nostalgia.
My sincere condolences on the passing of your father; I lost my father years ago so I know how hard it can be. And please accept my apologies if my choice of words offended. I feel fortunate that you, the author's son, found my remark and am thrilled that you have replied with such an offer. I would treasure a copy of that article.
Yea, but a lot of people show devotion to their notebook computer manufacturers, who hardwire these chips onto the mobos.
Like, say, the Apple MacBook Pro and its nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, for instance.