I agree 100% with what you say about the quality of files on the peer-to-peer systems not being up to snuff. The record industry could really capitalize on this if they wanted to, all they'd have to do is:
Use 320kbps mp3 (or ogg) files, NO RESTRICTED FORMATS
Embed lyrics in the mp3 files, because why the hell not?
Sell them to us at 99 cents a song or less, eight or nine bucks for a whole album
If people take the files and try to trade them on Gnutella or the like, DON'T sic the lawyers on them. A certain amount of copying is unavoidable, and there are ways of making that more trouble than it's worth if a guaranteed good copy of the song is readily, legally, and cheaply available. Most people will then choose to buy the song, those who don't probably don't have much money in the first place or they wouldn't waste their time.
The louder it is, the more it intimidates the punks at the LAN party. When they see dry ice and huge fans and your machine sounds like thw wrath of God when you power on, it turns their spines to jelly and you 0wn them.
I've always thought Tivo should do that.. Sell their software, modified to run on a standard Linux X86 box with a few supported TV tuner boards. The customer pays a certain amount for the software to cover support costs and then Tivo charges for listings just the way they do now.
It wouldn't replace the regular Tivo, it'd be more of a thing for the tech savvy early adopter type. Like you say, the ability to have virtually unlimited drive space (as much as I want to add) and multiple cards for simultaneous recording would truly be killer.
The only reason I can think of they haven't moved in that direction is that they don't want to piss of Sony and Philips, their hardware licensees. At some point though, Tivo will be embedded in so many different set top boxes that it won't matter anymore.
The problem with that is that Sprint's coverage is for shit in my area (Northern NJ), so much so that I got rid of my old Sprint phone as soon as my contract ended.
As for Verizon, I simply refuse to deal with that company unless there are NO other options.. They are possibly the worst company I have ever had dealings with.
So technically no one under the age of eighteen can install Microsoft software (or GPL software for that matter, it has more than a few EULA like clauses).
How many times are people going to misunderstand the GPL? I know it's a complex issue, but how many times does it have to be explained? Especially here on Slashdot I'd think people would get it by now.
Your homework assignment is to write 100 times : "The GPL affects DISTRIBUTION of software only, and DOES NOT restrict the USE of said software in ANY way."
I crash GTA3 on my PS2 regularly. If I piss of the FBI enough and there are enough cars and explosions on the screen at the same time, it locks up and I have to restart the console. It's happened to me at least 10 times.
In A.D. 2002 War was beginning. CmdrTaco: What happen ? Hemos: Somebody set up us the google delisting CmdrTaco: What ! CowboyNeal: Main screen turn on CmdrTaco: It's You !! L Ron Hubbard: How are you gentlemen !! L Ron Hubbard: All your google hits are belong to us L Ron Hubbard: You are on the way to destruction CmdrTaco: What you say !! L Ron Hubbard: You have no chance to survive make your time L Ron Hubbard: HA HA HA HA.... CmdrTaco: Take off every 'DMCA' CmdrTaco: You know what you doing CmdrTaco: Move 'DMCA' CmdrTaco: For great justice
I never even plugged in the mouse that came with my Mac.. I think it's still in the box. I use a $25 Logitech Optical Wheel mouse. No drivers needed, plug it in and it works. (Well, except those few wheel issues you noted.. but it works in IE, and that's what counts)
And as far as a confusing user interface goes, I just got my first Mac ever three weeks ago. It took me about 2-3 days to become completely acclimated to the Mac interface. I used Linux for six months on my desktop and never could really get the hang of it..
I tried Linux on my desktop, and I found I spent more time frigging with it than actually working. My debian server is great, but for me, Linux just wasn't there on the desktop. I went back to Windows and was miserable.
But two weeks ago I got a G4 tower and I couldn't be happier. It's everything I always wanted Linux on the desktop to be.
I wonder if Steve Jobs has more than one button on his mouse... Somebody should sneak in there and see.
I guess I can kind of see the logic of making it as simple as possible for the consumers the iMacs are geared to, but shouldn't the high-end towers come with a mouse with more than one button? Don't get me wrong, I have a Mac and I love it but the first thing I did was buy a new mouse.
I think almost anyone involved in video... would feel the same.
It's not just video editing.. I do website development and recently got a Mac with a 22" Cinema Display and I know I'm way more productive with it. I have a 17" LCD plugged into the secondary VGA port running at 1280x1024 so I have an effective 2880x1024 desktop.
Nothing will enhance your computing experience more than a SHITLOAD of screen real estate.
Right now, the functionality is just about there and the price isn't that far off either. Given another 6-7 years of tech, I have to say I'll be pretty disappointed if something like that costs anywhere near $100.
I was just researching this myself today and this site has General Use 4.7GB DVD-Rs for only $2.29 each ($57.25 for a 25 pack).. They seem to be backordered at the moment, but a quick pricewatch visit shows several companies selling DVD-Rs in the $2-3 range. Not bad at all..
I agree that it CAN be fixed, but often the time it will take to fix a borked Windows setup is much longer than if you just slick the box and reinstall. When I used to be an NT support monkey, we had a unattended scripted reinstall that would slick, reinstall NT, and reinstall all the user's apps in about 30-40 minutes. Roaming profiles kept (most) of the user's settings as well.
The general rule of thumb was that you tried to fix it for about 20-30 minutes.. If it was going to take longer, you'd be better off reinstalling.
Slashdot Mirror
- Use 320kbps mp3 (or ogg) files, NO RESTRICTED FORMATS
- Embed lyrics in the mp3 files, because why the hell not?
- Sell them to us at 99 cents a song or less, eight or nine bucks for a whole album
If people take the files and try to trade them on Gnutella or the like, DON'T sic the lawyers on them. A certain amount of copying is unavoidable, and there are ways of making that more trouble than it's worth if a guaranteed good copy of the song is readily, legally, and cheaply available. Most people will then choose to buy the song, those who don't probably don't have much money in the first place or they wouldn't waste their time....and Emacs ships with OS X.
With all the newly minted adventure guides the schools will be turning out, perhaps the real growth profession will be grue.
How many years of school to become a grue anyway?
Marge : Homer are you licking toads again?
Homer : I'm not NOT licking toads.
They should call themselves "Sky".
What else could you possibly get when you put the Sun in Big Blue?
Lexmark was formerly part of IBM. They were IBM's desktop laser printer division and were sold off in 1991 and later taken public.
The louder it is, the more it intimidates the punks at the LAN party. When they see dry ice and huge fans and your machine sounds like thw wrath of God when you power on, it turns their spines to jelly and you 0wn them.
I've always thought Tivo should do that.. Sell their software, modified to run on a standard Linux X86 box with a few supported TV tuner boards. The customer pays a certain amount for the software to cover support costs and then Tivo charges for listings just the way they do now.
It wouldn't replace the regular Tivo, it'd be more of a thing for the tech savvy early adopter type. Like you say, the ability to have virtually unlimited drive space (as much as I want to add) and multiple cards for simultaneous recording would truly be killer.
The only reason I can think of they haven't moved in that direction is that they don't want to piss of Sony and Philips, their hardware licensees. At some point though, Tivo will be embedded in so many different set top boxes that it won't matter anymore.
Pfft.. I moved to Jersey after living in Northeast Pennsylvania and also Philadelphia. It's a huge step up.. ;)
/me ducks the wife's swing, since her family's from PA..
There are beta drivers though. I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but I've heard they work.
The problem with that is that Sprint's coverage is for shit in my area (Northern NJ), so much so that I got rid of my old Sprint phone as soon as my contract ended.
As for Verizon, I simply refuse to deal with that company unless there are NO other options.. They are possibly the worst company I have ever had dealings with.
If only we could tattoo that on their foreheads...
None of these songs could possibly be as horrifying as this little ditty by a certain wacko Attorney General..
How many times are people going to misunderstand the GPL? I know it's a complex issue, but how many times does it have to be explained? Especially here on Slashdot I'd think people would get it by now.
Your homework assignment is to write 100 times : "The GPL affects DISTRIBUTION of software only, and DOES NOT restrict the USE of said software in ANY way."
I crash GTA3 on my PS2 regularly. If I piss of the FBI enough and there are enough cars and explosions on the screen at the same time, it locks up and I have to restart the console. It's happened to me at least 10 times.
In A.D. 2002 ....
War was beginning.
CmdrTaco: What happen ?
Hemos: Somebody set up us the google delisting
CmdrTaco: What !
CowboyNeal: Main screen turn on
CmdrTaco: It's You !!
L Ron Hubbard: How are you gentlemen !!
L Ron Hubbard: All your google hits are belong to us
L Ron Hubbard: You are on the way to destruction
CmdrTaco: What you say !!
L Ron Hubbard: You have no chance to survive make your time
L Ron Hubbard: HA HA HA HA
CmdrTaco: Take off every 'DMCA'
CmdrTaco: You know what you doing
CmdrTaco: Move 'DMCA'
CmdrTaco: For great justice
Microsoft's answer to that would be "It's not an 'unrecoverable application error' because we don't call it that."
I never even plugged in the mouse that came with my Mac.. I think it's still in the box. I use a $25 Logitech Optical Wheel mouse. No drivers needed, plug it in and it works. (Well, except those few wheel issues you noted.. but it works in IE, and that's what counts)
And as far as a confusing user interface goes, I just got my first Mac ever three weeks ago. It took me about 2-3 days to become completely acclimated to the Mac interface. I used Linux for six months on my desktop and never could really get the hang of it..
But two weeks ago I got a G4 tower and I couldn't be happier. It's everything I always wanted Linux on the desktop to be.
I guess I can kind of see the logic of making it as simple as possible for the consumers the iMacs are geared to, but shouldn't the high-end towers come with a mouse with more than one button? Don't get me wrong, I have a Mac and I love it but the first thing I did was buy a new mouse.
It's not just video editing.. I do website development and recently got a Mac with a 22" Cinema Display and I know I'm way more productive with it. I have a 17" LCD plugged into the secondary VGA port running at 1280x1024 so I have an effective 2880x1024 desktop.
Nothing will enhance your computing experience more than a SHITLOAD of screen real estate.
Right now, the functionality is just about there and the price isn't that far off either. Given another 6-7 years of tech, I have to say I'll be pretty disappointed if something like that costs anywhere near $100.
I was just researching this myself today and this site has General Use 4.7GB DVD-Rs for only $2.29 each ($57.25 for a 25 pack).. They seem to be backordered at the moment, but a quick pricewatch visit shows several companies selling DVD-Rs in the $2-3 range. Not bad at all..
The most ironic thing is that Macs now ship with vi factory loaded! vi has to be the program rated most antithetical to the entire "Mac Way".
The general rule of thumb was that you tried to fix it for about 20-30 minutes.. If it was going to take longer, you'd be better off reinstalling.