First of all, what did they expect. As Amateur Production is by default, amateur, it isn't going to be professional quality.
Not only that, but the product they are using is flawed as well. Had the product been something very expensive, exclusive, or targeted to a select audience (perhaps amateur directors, script writers, graphic artists, or something...) they would have seen at least some creativity, but this is Heinz, a freakin' ketchup (or catsup as some may prefer).
You mean children might actually be able to differentiate truth from fiction? But that's unpossible, how can their schools control them then?
*Sigh*
I've seen similar situations -- namely when some high school students saw Bowling for Columbine. Teacher couldn't believe they might actually be able to see flaws in the reasoning...
While I supposed an N800 working here, I think the best bet is a MythTV setup working best here. I have heard of IR remotes working with it, and IM is a cinch. Not only that but the TV funationality is built in, and you can expand it as you see fit.
As for remote administration, that is as simple as adding an SSH server, and possibly something like FreeNX/NoMachine or VNC (I recommend the former, as I seem to be able to do anything, including remote video) from it...
Not to mention, other than the hardware, its free.
In the beginning, you take a sip of it, and find that it is pleasureful, subtle, and full of aroma.
Next, you have a bottle of the same vintage and let it age 20 years. It is suddenly a whole new wine, with greater complexity, and a much sharper taste.
Finally you decide to finish off that old bottle that has aged another ten years... too bad it has turned to vinegar...
Now Star Trek: TNG -- that is like Guiness. Great at any time! Always aged to perfection!
Firefly is kinda like Jack Daniels... Really good, but hard to follow up with anything else;-)
Thanks George,
Sincerely someone who saw Episode I 5 times in the first week trying to find some of the greatness that I saw in the originals.
wget is probably one of my favourite Linux command-line tools. All I need to do is wget -r http://www.doodahdoo.com/ and it saves a directory called doodahdoo.com and all the pages in it, as well as the images, and any embedded video and such. This is very handy, not only for getting a huge number of files (say my http backup server), but also for getting entire sites that I might have a use for in future.
At the moment, I have on order of 10GB just of websites, radio clips, and what have you that I have used for previous research. Not only that but I can also maintain a simple directory structure and never have to worry that that "firefox plugin" will still be compatible with version 4.765.
Another neat function is you can specify just a particular files (www.whatever.com/pic.jpg), or all the files with a particular extension *.jpg, or only the files in that directory. You can also use it to spider (limited) all the links on a site. Though be kind and don't do this too often, as I am sure it eats a lot of bandwidth.
The last (and greatest) thing, is it remains in a well-known and easily editable format.
Alternatively, I have also used a MediaWiki setup so that I could drop down notes for classes, or other interesting things in it, but this required substantially more overhead than wget.
I gotta say, while it is nice to see Sony promoting its platform (something it has been known to do with lackluster results), and that they seem to be thinking up creative methods to do so, I can't say this passes my simple "common sense" litmus test.
If a service launches with an obviously limited functionality, very few will buy into it (as, really, it is just a nifty gee-whiz feature). However BT (and any company investing in such a move) would require significant sales initially to show that there is profitability. OF course, no one will be terribly interested in the PSP, so the sales won't be there, and the service will likely be axed, or those "improvements" will never appear...
Your Trojan, named 1337-5ki11z, violates 387 Microsoft patents, included patent 666-1345-876-666 ("screwing the user over"). We do not wish to actually pursue legal action, but would rather license our Windows Update APIs to you for the paltry sum of 100.00 (per infection).
TV, like magazines, newspapers, and radio are financed through ads and sponsors. While I realize that it is convenient and preferable to not have to watch all those damned "Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, do dah dah do dah dah" ads, sometimes back to back, in between sections of your favourite show, that is what finances your show.
Besides, I have a feeling that with the popularity of DVD sets being what it is, cable TV will likely start to dwindle and the box sets will be released at the beginning of each season. This way people can choose what shows they absolutely want to watch with no commercials, and which ones aren't really that important.
Kinda free-market at work there.
Then again, I haven't watched TV in several years so I don't know, maybe I missed something vital here...
I would like to see the page in question, since "promoting" and "here's a picture of people with a beer" are two very different things (but of course, can be interpreted any way the viewer wishes). Sigh -- MySpace to the rescue of society's morals an ethics again...
Instead of trying to sync music across multiple rooms (which can be a hassle -- if not a near impossibility), why not simply wire the speakers to every room and install a motion sensor attached to the speaker line. The music is always broadcasting, but only if there is movement. The bonus to this method, is if someone is upstairs, and someone else is downstairs, both can listen to the music without worrying about latency. It also saves a bundle in hardware since all you need is a decent soundcard and some high-quality (if you want good sound) speakers.
I was under the impression that any government work was paid for by tax dollars and was therefore covered under public domain laws. Surely the taping of an event does not, by some magical feat, erase the fact that it is a government production, and ergo the public may use any footage of it as they please?
Frankly, I don't understand what the problem here is: I pop in an Ubuntu CD, hit yes, yes, yeah, sure, why not, and bam! A Working desktop. Not only that, but I can use the LiveCD for web browsing or what have you while the install is going. No dice for Vista (AFAIK).
Ubuntu recognizes all of my hardware at boot (and I have some rather odd hardware on top of it). No hunting down drivers from a now defunct company, or having to sell my sou^H^H^H^H^H^H^H register to a website that says they have the driver, only to find out they were lying.
Linux has all the security of Vista, minus the UAC.
Ubuntu may not have user-friendly backup out of the box (I wouldn't know, I use ssh+rsync), but the repositories for it have a plethora of options that are free.
And if you are in it for teh shiney!!1!!!!111oneoneone, then Ubuntu can cater (at least on a basic level) with its desktop effects. On top of that, you get immediate (or as near as can be) security updates, and even better a method to upgrade (quite flawlessly, from my experience) to the next version.
Oh yeah, ummm, Ubuntu = free (as in beer, choice, and ideology), Windows = $$$+DRM.
No no no! It stands for Googlebytes. Each Googlebyte is approximately 1024x10^10,241,024 bytes. So as you can see, a 12 Google Byte database is quite substantial...
You know, this got me thinking... from what I understand, you must pay a portion of your revenue (7.5%) to the RIAA. So, what pray tell would happen if you streamed something for free... ie sans revenue? And what constitutes braodcasting? Does a torrent of my songs? What about files to individually download? Most would say that no, that isn't it, because the content must be streamed (i.e. in real time with buffering) but we all know that streamed content still has to be stored locally somewhere. So, what exactly is the diff? And how can they make a law that basically shoots themselves in the foot?
Actually -- and it is rare that I comment on the American politics/legal sphere, but I'd have to say that the fact that such frivolous lawsuits are tossed around is indicative of nothing. Now what should worry you is if he wins said lawsuits. As I have mentioned to friends, I don't think the system is broken, I think it is the participants...
I would have to say that integration will be absolutely key to the success of failure of this product. The Windows Mobile platform tends to be very tightly 'woven' together, so that the applications can share data. If someone doesn't like/use their address portion of th software, but they still want integration with the e-mail and scheduling application -- it has to be there. On top of hat, I could see potential problems with "brand" dilution. If the device is no longer the Blackberry, you may find some aren't as keen because it isn't "a Blackberry". That being said, I will bet alot of companies will at least look into this, since it allows for more flexible development and greater productivity.
Honestly folks... does this interview, and the ensuing "spin" put on every answer really surprise anyone?
Does it surprise anyone that Sony is going to fight tooth, nail, and probably lawyerly to protect its paying IP-licensees? Does it surprise anyone that his answer to "what would you have done differently?" was something along the lines of job interview answer ("what is my fault? I am a perfectionist, who sometimes likes to work too hard for too little pay") of "I'd be bigger, better!"
Really, having interviews with any companies' frontmen are a ridiculous waste of time: all their answers will be geared to making the company look good (even at the expense of the truth and the question!), they won't answer anything that they don't want to (seriously, you expect to just let it slip that a price drop is even being considered!?), and any time they come up against a question that cannot be answered without harming the company's reputation, they just dance around it with some cute anecdote.
In other news, water still wet, sky still up, news at 11.
Use VLC. Short of protected media (and really, I don't know too many people who use protected WMV), it seems to work wonderfully, and isn't dependent on a only two operating systems. If you want something more integrated, there is of course M-Player as well...
Especially since many Canadian broadcasters are at the very least dependent on a great deal of American television tripe (as opposed to the Canadian tripe), and in actual fact, many have at least a somewhat significant American ownership...
Slashdot Mirror
First of all, what did they expect. As Amateur Production is by default, amateur, it isn't going to be professional quality.
Not only that, but the product they are using is flawed as well. Had the product been something very expensive, exclusive, or targeted to a select audience (perhaps amateur directors, script writers, graphic artists, or something...) they would have seen at least some creativity, but this is Heinz, a freakin' ketchup (or catsup as some may prefer).
And for those wishing to see the video, it is in TFA, or here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGY-ubAJSyI
You mean children might actually be able to differentiate truth from fiction? But that's unpossible, how can their schools control them then?
*Sigh*
I've seen similar situations -- namely when some high school students saw Bowling for Columbine. Teacher couldn't believe they might actually be able to see flaws in the reasoning...
Except theirs is modified with a high-powered, ultra-top secret Pringles can...
While I supposed an N800 working here, I think the best bet is a MythTV setup working best here. I have heard of IR remotes working with it, and IM is a cinch. Not only that but the TV funationality is built in, and you can expand it as you see fit.
As for remote administration, that is as simple as adding an SSH server, and possibly something like FreeNX/NoMachine or VNC (I recommend the former, as I seem to be able to do anything, including remote video) from it...
Not to mention, other than the hardware, its free.
In the beginning, you take a sip of it, and find that it is pleasureful, subtle, and full of aroma.
;-)
Next, you have a bottle of the same vintage and let it age 20 years. It is suddenly a whole new wine, with greater complexity, and a much sharper taste.
Finally you decide to finish off that old bottle that has aged another ten years... too bad it has turned to vinegar...
Now Star Trek: TNG -- that is like Guiness. Great at any time! Always aged to perfection!
Firefly is kinda like Jack Daniels... Really good, but hard to follow up with anything else
Thanks George,
Sincerely someone who saw Episode I 5 times in the first week trying to find some of the greatness that I saw in the originals.
wget is probably one of my favourite Linux command-line tools. All I need to do is wget -r http://www.doodahdoo.com/ and it saves a directory called doodahdoo.com and all the pages in it, as well as the images, and any embedded video and such. This is very handy, not only for getting a huge number of files (say my http backup server), but also for getting entire sites that I might have a use for in future.
At the moment, I have on order of 10GB just of websites, radio clips, and what have you that I have used for previous research. Not only that but I can also maintain a simple directory structure and never have to worry that that "firefox plugin" will still be compatible with version 4.765.
Another neat function is you can specify just a particular files (www.whatever.com/pic.jpg), or all the files with a particular extension *.jpg, or only the files in that directory. You can also use it to spider (limited) all the links on a site. Though be kind and don't do this too often, as I am sure it eats a lot of bandwidth.
The last (and greatest) thing, is it remains in a well-known and easily editable format.
Alternatively, I have also used a MediaWiki setup so that I could drop down notes for classes, or other interesting things in it, but this required substantially more overhead than wget.
I gotta say, while it is nice to see Sony promoting its platform (something it has been known to do with lackluster results), and that they seem to be thinking up creative methods to do so, I can't say this passes my simple "common sense" litmus test.
If a service launches with an obviously limited functionality, very few will buy into it (as, really, it is just a nifty gee-whiz feature). However BT (and any company investing in such a move) would require significant sales initially to show that there is profitability. OF course, no one will be terribly interested in the PSP, so the sales won't be there, and the service will likely be axed, or those "improvements" will never appear...
Just my 2c Canadian....
http://xkcd.com/c195.html -- Map of the Internets
http://www.xkcd.com/c256.html -- Map of online communities
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_4/spoerr i/index.html
This one is less pretty with colours, but way more informative...
I am not sure if this is where the article originates from (or vice versa), but here is another example of visualizing Wikipedia:
/ chromogram.html
http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/visual/projects
Dear Sirs,
Your Trojan, named 1337-5ki11z, violates 387 Microsoft patents, included patent 666-1345-876-666 ("screwing the user over"). We do not wish to actually pursue legal action, but would rather license our Windows Update APIs to you for the paltry sum of 100.00 (per infection).
Thank You
Kindly,
The MS Legal Eagles
TV, like magazines, newspapers, and radio are financed through ads and sponsors. While I realize that it is convenient and preferable to not have to watch all those damned "Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, do dah dah do dah dah" ads, sometimes back to back, in between sections of your favourite show, that is what finances your show.
Besides, I have a feeling that with the popularity of DVD sets being what it is, cable TV will likely start to dwindle and the box sets will be released at the beginning of each season. This way people can choose what shows they absolutely want to watch with no commercials, and which ones aren't really that important.
Kinda free-market at work there.
Then again, I haven't watched TV in several years so I don't know, maybe I missed something vital here...
I would like to see the page in question, since "promoting" and "here's a picture of people with a beer" are two very different things (but of course, can be interpreted any way the viewer wishes). Sigh -- MySpace to the rescue of society's morals an ethics again...
Instead of trying to sync music across multiple rooms (which can be a hassle -- if not a near impossibility), why not simply wire the speakers to every room and install a motion sensor attached to the speaker line. The music is always broadcasting, but only if there is movement. The bonus to this method, is if someone is upstairs, and someone else is downstairs, both can listen to the music without worrying about latency. It also saves a bundle in hardware since all you need is a decent soundcard and some high-quality (if you want good sound) speakers.
I was under the impression that any government work was paid for by tax dollars and was therefore covered under public domain laws. Surely the taping of an event does not, by some magical feat, erase the fact that it is a government production, and ergo the public may use any footage of it as they please?
You may wish to check out the compatibility of your tablet against this website: http://tuxmobil.org/tablet_unix.html
Frankly, I don't understand what the problem here is: I pop in an Ubuntu CD, hit yes, yes, yeah, sure, why not, and bam! A Working desktop. Not only that, but I can use the LiveCD for web browsing or what have you while the install is going. No dice for Vista (AFAIK).
Ubuntu recognizes all of my hardware at boot (and I have some rather odd hardware on top of it). No hunting down drivers from a now defunct company, or having to sell my sou^H^H^H^H^H^H^H register to a website that says they have the driver, only to find out they were lying.
Linux has all the security of Vista, minus the UAC.
Ubuntu may not have user-friendly backup out of the box (I wouldn't know, I use ssh+rsync), but the repositories for it have a plethora of options that are free.
And if you are in it for teh shiney!!1!!!!111oneoneone, then Ubuntu can cater (at least on a basic level) with its desktop effects. On top of that, you get immediate (or as near as can be) security updates, and even better a method to upgrade (quite flawlessly, from my experience) to the next version.
Oh yeah, ummm, Ubuntu = free (as in beer, choice, and ideology), Windows = $$$+DRM.
So, why the fence sitting?
No no no! It stands for Googlebytes. Each Googlebyte is approximately 1024x10^10,241,024 bytes. So as you can see, a 12 Google Byte database is quite substantial...
Man, Japanese sales are really picking up!
You know, this got me thinking... from what I understand, you must pay a portion of your revenue (7.5%) to the RIAA. So, what pray tell would happen if you streamed something for free... ie sans revenue? And what constitutes braodcasting? Does a torrent of my songs? What about files to individually download? Most would say that no, that isn't it, because the content must be streamed (i.e. in real time with buffering) but we all know that streamed content still has to be stored locally somewhere. So, what exactly is the diff? And how can they make a law that basically shoots themselves in the foot?
Actually -- and it is rare that I comment on the American politics/legal sphere, but I'd have to say that the fact that such frivolous lawsuits are tossed around is indicative of nothing. Now what should worry you is if he wins said lawsuits. As I have mentioned to friends, I don't think the system is broken, I think it is the participants...
I would have to say that integration will be absolutely key to the success of failure of this product. The Windows Mobile platform tends to be very tightly 'woven' together, so that the applications can share data. If someone doesn't like/use their address portion of th software, but they still want integration with the e-mail and scheduling application -- it has to be there. On top of hat, I could see potential problems with "brand" dilution. If the device is no longer the Blackberry, you may find some aren't as keen because it isn't "a Blackberry". That being said, I will bet alot of companies will at least look into this, since it allows for more flexible development and greater productivity.
Honestly folks... does this interview, and the ensuing "spin" put on every answer really surprise anyone?
Does it surprise anyone that Sony is going to fight tooth, nail, and probably lawyerly to protect its paying IP-licensees? Does it surprise anyone that his answer to "what would you have done differently?" was something along the lines of job interview answer ("what is my fault? I am a perfectionist, who sometimes likes to work too hard for too little pay") of "I'd be bigger, better!"
Really, having interviews with any companies' frontmen are a ridiculous waste of time: all their answers will be geared to making the company look good (even at the expense of the truth and the question!), they won't answer anything that they don't want to (seriously, you expect to just let it slip that a price drop is even being considered!?), and any time they come up against a question that cannot be answered without harming the company's reputation, they just dance around it with some cute anecdote.
In other news, water still wet, sky still up, news at 11.
Use VLC. Short of protected media (and really, I don't know too many people who use protected WMV), it seems to work wonderfully, and isn't dependent on a only two operating systems. If you want something more integrated, there is of course M-Player as well...
Especially since many Canadian broadcasters are at the very least dependent on a great deal of American television tripe (as opposed to the Canadian tripe), and in actual fact, many have at least a somewhat significant American ownership...