To me, the entire LOTR franchise is worth exactly nothing, because Peter Jackson & co shat all over a cherished favorite book of mine.
But (for example), Disney's "Pirates" franchise is worth about $70 to me so far (saw the first movie twice in the theater, bought the DVD, and saw the second movie once). Hitchhiker's was worth $40 (two theater visits and a DVD). X-Men 3 is worth about $4, or a rental. And several movies are worth whatever fraction of my cable bill they represent. I don't give a rat's ass HOW much they spent to make them; they either have entertainment value for me (which I am certainly willing to pay for) or they do not.
I don't download (notice I did not say steal) movies, because 99% of them aren't worth the time or effort to bother watching.
And if the time has come to reshuffle the industry, well, nothing lasts forever.
Do you live in LA? I do. Plenty of VERY expensive cars running around, along with an incredibly irritating sense of entitlement.
And for the record, I don't download movies. Most of them aren't worth the time to watch.
We are looking at a lot of people being out of work as a result. Not the "stars" but the studio grunts and the folks in the promotions and marketing departments. Wow, that sure is some shiny green astroturf you have there. Not to worry; a used BMW is almost as good as a new BMW, at a fraction of the price.
I was thinking about that when I was in Target the other day and saw a section of the DVD wall dedicated to each format.
I couldn't help but wonder how many people bought Blu-Ray or HD-DVD discs because they heard they were "better," got them home, and then wondered why they wouldn't play in their DVD players. Or, asked a clerk about this newfangled Blue-thingy, was ushered over to the shelf of players, and said "The player is HOW much? No thanks."
The only compelling argument I can see for "upgrading" in the next several years would be if we moved; our trusty old 32" Trinitron is HEAVY.
I think much of the OS is actually getting in the way of getting work done.
Hear, hear. Couldn't agree more. I'm going through this now at work. We just got a new wide-format printer. We're a Mac shop, but most wide-format printer drivers are written for Windows. The boss won't allow a Windows machine through the door. The tech installing the printer has never seen a Mac before. And I'm stuck in the middle just wanting the %^%#@!!! printer to work.
It only matters if you let it. Use the right tool for the job. Yes, Microsoft should do better with security and stability. Yes, Apple should stop making their machines obsolete a week after you buy them. But neither of those things stops you from USING the systems in their appropriate environments.
Hmm, kinda sounds like Lustron houses. Pre-fab steel house that all fit on one truck and got bolted together like an Erector set. My grandfather worked for them back in the early 50s.
I use Firefox with AdBlock and haven't seen an ad on Yahoo Mail in ages. But I haven't switched to their new layout, either. Maybe that makes a difference (and if so, I'll never switch).
Well, except that there is another side to that. I am a big supporter (and user) of open-source software, and I do as much of my own maintenance/repair on cars and other devices as I can.
BUT... I don't want to spend the bulk of my time making things work, because it affords precious little time to actually use the devices.
I'm a writer and a graphic artist. Which is a more worthwhile and fulfilling use of my time: writing, or fiddling with OpenOffice trying to get it to run? (Note: I do use OpenOffice, and enjoy it, but if it required any fiddling at all after the initial install, I'd find something else, proprietary or not.)
And I'll defend my own use of a Mac and iPod/iTunes the same way: It works. I don't mind the DRM; I don't agree with it being there, and I'll dance in the street along with everyone else when the music industry's ancient machinery finally grinds to a halt, but until then, why beat my head against the wall over what essentially amounts to pretty background noise? I love music. I want to listen to it. And as long as Apple's way of doing things doesn't get in my way (which so far it does not), I won't complain. I'll just enjoy.
The second internet companies are allowed to make tiered internet is the day internet and porn dies. Oh jeez... don't tell them THAT... those prudes in Congress will start mandating tiered service.
Me too... I've been looking for a cheap portable word processor, and my wife has been looking for a cheap eBook reader... two birds with one stone! Not to mention the warm fuzzies of doing a good deed.
What will be interesting is the reaction people have to using one in public... Sit at a coffee shop with one of these and be immediately recognized as a philanthropist.
There are other practical uses for an enterprising small business, too, and you could start as soon as you build one.
The article mentions chocolate icing-- Custom never-before-seen cake decorating, perhaps? Make edible wedding cake toppers that actually look like the bride and groom!
What about Things Remebered? Everyone gives plaques and engraved mugs; what self-respecting narcissist wouldn't love a bust of themself?
Open a kiosk at the mall, and make those little fish for the back of cars, custom, one at a time, that say whatever someone wants.
I have the entrepreneurial spirit, but alas, not the will or the patience...
My thoughts exactly. "Here, have this insanely cool gadget... as long as you're willing to deal with this backward provider you've had problems with before."
Hardware should NEVER be tied to a particular service provider. I thought we were over that.
None of those, except the Roomba, are capable of reacting to their environment or adjusting their behavior based on environment.
A better example of an "everyday robot" might be the "learning" engine/transmission controls in modern cars, that adjust fuel/spark and shift timing/firmness based on environment and driving style.
Floyd staggers to the ground, dropping the mini card. He is badly torn apart, with loose wires and broken circuits everywhere. Oil flows from his lubrication system. He obviously has only moments to live.
You drop to your knees and cradle Floyd's head in your lap. Floyd looks up at his friend with half-open eyes. "Floyd did it... got card. Floyd a good friend, huh?" Quietly, you sing Floyd's favorite song, the Ballad of the Starcrossed Miner:....
As you finish the last verse, Floyd smiles with contentment, and then his eyes close as his head rolls to one side. You sit in silence for a moment, in memory of a brave friend who gave his life so that you might live."
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He may very well be advocating this. We can't see inside the boardrooms, so we don't know.
Corporations are (stupidly) considered people under the law, but that does not mean you can single out one person to represent an entire corporation.
He can have a halo under one condition: If/when this succeeds, all the music we've ALREADY bought has to be freed of its DRM shackles, immediately.
It'll play right into the MPAA's hands, though. "See? Those filthy pirates stole the key for YOUR player! It's their fault, not ours!"
"Worth" is relative.
To me, the entire LOTR franchise is worth exactly nothing, because Peter Jackson & co shat all over a cherished favorite book of mine.
But (for example), Disney's "Pirates" franchise is worth about $70 to me so far (saw the first movie twice in the theater, bought the DVD, and saw the second movie once). Hitchhiker's was worth $40 (two theater visits and a DVD). X-Men 3 is worth about $4, or a rental. And several movies are worth whatever fraction of my cable bill they represent. I don't give a rat's ass HOW much they spent to make them; they either have entertainment value for me (which I am certainly willing to pay for) or they do not.
I don't download (notice I did not say steal) movies, because 99% of them aren't worth the time or effort to bother watching.
And if the time has come to reshuffle the industry, well, nothing lasts forever.
Do you live in LA? I do. Plenty of VERY expensive cars running around, along with an incredibly irritating sense of entitlement. And for the record, I don't download movies. Most of them aren't worth the time to watch.
I was thinking about that when I was in Target the other day and saw a section of the DVD wall dedicated to each format.
I couldn't help but wonder how many people bought Blu-Ray or HD-DVD discs because they heard they were "better," got them home, and then wondered why they wouldn't play in their DVD players. Or, asked a clerk about this newfangled Blue-thingy, was ushered over to the shelf of players, and said "The player is HOW much? No thanks."
The only compelling argument I can see for "upgrading" in the next several years would be if we moved; our trusty old 32" Trinitron is HEAVY.
Better yet, throttle the spammers themselves...
Hear, hear. Couldn't agree more. I'm going through this now at work. We just got a new wide-format printer. We're a Mac shop, but most wide-format printer drivers are written for Windows. The boss won't allow a Windows machine through the door. The tech installing the printer has never seen a Mac before. And I'm stuck in the middle just wanting the %^%#@!!! printer to work.
It only matters if you let it. Use the right tool for the job. Yes, Microsoft should do better with security and stability. Yes, Apple should stop making their machines obsolete a week after you buy them. But neither of those things stops you from USING the systems in their appropriate environments.
The record industry never "praised" mix tapes.
Hmm, kinda sounds like Lustron houses. Pre-fab steel house that all fit on one truck and got bolted together like an Erector set. My grandfather worked for them back in the early 50s.
I use Firefox with AdBlock and haven't seen an ad on Yahoo Mail in ages. But I haven't switched to their new layout, either. Maybe that makes a difference (and if so, I'll never switch).
Well, except that there is another side to that. I am a big supporter (and user) of open-source software, and I do as much of my own maintenance/repair on cars and other devices as I can.
BUT... I don't want to spend the bulk of my time making things work, because it affords precious little time to actually use the devices.
I'm a writer and a graphic artist. Which is a more worthwhile and fulfilling use of my time: writing, or fiddling with OpenOffice trying to get it to run? (Note: I do use OpenOffice, and enjoy it, but if it required any fiddling at all after the initial install, I'd find something else, proprietary or not.)
And I'll defend my own use of a Mac and iPod/iTunes the same way: It works. I don't mind the DRM; I don't agree with it being there, and I'll dance in the street along with everyone else when the music industry's ancient machinery finally grinds to a halt, but until then, why beat my head against the wall over what essentially amounts to pretty background noise? I love music. I want to listen to it. And as long as Apple's way of doing things doesn't get in my way (which so far it does not), I won't complain. I'll just enjoy.
Me too... I've been looking for a cheap portable word processor, and my wife has been looking for a cheap eBook reader... two birds with one stone! Not to mention the warm fuzzies of doing a good deed.
What will be interesting is the reaction people have to using one in public... Sit at a coffee shop with one of these and be immediately recognized as a philanthropist.
There are other practical uses for an enterprising small business, too, and you could start as soon as you build one.
The article mentions chocolate icing-- Custom never-before-seen cake decorating, perhaps? Make edible wedding cake toppers that actually look like the bride and groom!
What about Things Remebered? Everyone gives plaques and engraved mugs; what self-respecting narcissist wouldn't love a bust of themself?
Open a kiosk at the mall, and make those little fish for the back of cars, custom, one at a time, that say whatever someone wants.
I have the entrepreneurial spirit, but alas, not the will or the patience...
My thoughts exactly. "Here, have this insanely cool gadget... as long as you're willing to deal with this backward provider you've had problems with before." Hardware should NEVER be tied to a particular service provider. I thought we were over that.
Yeah, but what if we end up mistaking their science fiction for their science?
You can read our mail... if we can read yours.
Deal?
When I was a kid I had a book called "Scientific Experiments You Can Eat." I seem to remember there being something like the "Oobleck" in there.
I'd love to try it out, but I get the feeling my wife would kill me if I started cooking up stuff like that in the kitchen...
None of those, except the Roomba, are capable of reacting to their environment or adjusting their behavior based on environment.
A better example of an "everyday robot" might be the "learning" engine/transmission controls in modern cars, that adjust fuel/spark and shift timing/firmness based on environment and driving style.
I think it's "100 things some dude at the BBC didn't know last year."
Precisely. Robot = tool. Why do we feel the need to anthropomorphize everything, when we can't even deal with REAL humans in a humane way?
T.S. Eliot's name was always capitalized. You're thinking of e e cummings.
You drop to your knees and cradle Floyd's head in your lap. Floyd looks up at his friend with half-open eyes. "Floyd did it
As you finish the last verse, Floyd smiles with contentment, and then his eyes close as his head rolls to one side. You sit in silence for a moment, in memory of a brave friend who gave his life so that you might live."