These guys definitely have gonads. Not only are they throwing a big "up yours" to the MPAA. but they are also charging for access to hit TV shows like "Friends."
Umm... there are places in the world that have access to the internet and *don't* have access to NBC broadcasts. Think globally.
Reasonably priced DRAM goes for about $250/gig; a reasonably priced SCSI RAID setup goes for about $10/gig.
In order to say that the DRAM option is cheaper than the hard drive option, the performance of the DRAM option would have to exceed the performance of the DRAM option by a factor of greater than 25. If you do the math, it's possible.
Years ago, I worked in a VAX shop that used RAM drives for some installed/shared images that required high concurrency. The performance was impressive - and was factored into the overall cost analysis of the purchase.
The success or failure of game systems depend on two factors:
1. The quality of the games that are available. While open source/free software development is a noble concept, if the games aren't built, they will not come. Honestly, how many of us here who play games use Linux or Free BSD boxes *exclusively* for game machines? I play games on Windows boxes because the games are there. Until there are handheld games the quality of those produced for GameBoy, the GP32 will never sell well. If I want to play "snake", I can do that on my cell phone.
2. Inertia. If I've invested in a hardware platform for games that I'm satisfied with, I'm going to continue to use that platform, and buy more games for it. The GP32, or any future handheld game system, will have to offer qualities or features that aren't on my current platform.
While I'm not a fan of their advertising practices, I am a fan of the hardware. And there is a Linux driver for the CM11A controller. X10 will allow you to integrate motion sensor events with camera control for/very/ short money - 3 cameras, receiver, x10 receiver, etc. for about $140.
My boss recently asked me about implementing a video security system, and this is the way we're going.
Where did you get the $310 million figure you're tossing about? According to imdb.com, AP2 grossed $70.2 in the US, compared with AP1 which grossed $53.868 million in the US - a contrast, yes, but not a sharp one.
"The Spy who shaged me" was an unexpected hit. It sort of snuck up on the market place and nocked down box offices.
Hardly. "Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery" grossed $54 mil(US) at the box office, and another $24 mil in rentals. Thus, the $70 mil that AP2 grossed at the box office could hardly be considered "unexpected", or a sum that "nocked down" box offices.
I was very disappointed by the lack of detail in the article. For example: "Magnavox licenses Baer's TV game from Sanders Associates." That's all it mentions about a critical milestone in video game history. While the article notes that Sanders and Associates was a defense contractor, it doesn't mention that the game was classified as Top Secret by the Pentagon for four years while the military pondered its usefulness for their applications. It also fails to mention that RCA had first dibs on the game before Magnavox, but refused when the terms involved the purchase of Sanders and Assoc. along with the game machine itself.
If you want an informative (albeit poorly edited, IMHO) book about the early history of video games, check out "ZAP! The Rise and Fall of Atari" by Scott Cohen.
It's already in the The Chinese Constitution. This "new" policy is merely an application of an existing law to new technology.
Article 40. The freedom and privacy of correspondence of citizens of the People's Republic of China are protected by law. No organization or individual may, on any ground, infringe upon the freedom and privacy of citizens' correspondence except in cases where, to meet the needs of state security or of investigation into criminal offences, public security or procuratorial organs are permitted to censor correspondence in accordance with procedures prescribed by law.
Do any readers here actually believe that snail mail to and from China is any less scrutinized than email will be? My sister lived and taught in China for a couple of years (we are Americans). Letters and packages I sent to her were routinely opened and inspected before they were delivered to her. I can safely assume that if she and I had access to email at the time, those correspondences would have been equally intercepted and reviewed as well.
While the Pogo phone/MP3 player/PDA/Web browser/underwear changer is, like many others, trying to fill the "convergence" void - I think I'll stick with this Pogo, which seems to be a lot more secure and reliable.
According to the specs it comes bundled with Macromedia Flash Player 4. This brings to mind the recent stories about Flash virii. Are they also going to bundle it with anti-virus software, or give the user the ability to uninstall Flash?
I don't know why this is a story. Any responsible IT person shouldn't allow automatic updates of anything on their systems, let alone operating systems. corporate.windowsupdate.microsoft.comallows you to "save as" hotfixes and patches - test them in your environment, and apply them as you see fit.
I recently had to rebuild a web server after a machine crashed, and getting NT4, IIS Option pack, etc. up and running with all patches was a _very_ long task.
I'm not sure why this is so. You can rebuild an NT box in relatively short order. Win2K is even easier if you know what you're doing. I put the CD in, a floppy containg an install script - then walk away. I come back about an hour later, verify the build (including apps) and I'm done.
they are still shipping CDs of NT4 and win2k with the original 'release' of the product, so installing it means the original install plus a dozen or more service packs, hotfixes, etc
err... no. NT service pack 6a, like all MS service packs, is a cumulative service pack. There's no need to install SP 1-6. And if you're actually an NT admin, you'd have the hotfixes that you've tested in your systems available on a network drive or a CD.
There are a lot of things to trash MS about, but don't blame them for your lack of knowledge or preparation.
How does preventing other people from using this codec advance the sciences and useful arts?
It doesn't prevent someone from using it, it prevents someone other than the patent holder from selling it. Allowing the scientist to recoup the investment made in his research is how patents advance the sciences (or, at least, how they are supposed to).
It's not a government-enforced monopoly guaranteeing a profit, it's discouraging theft. If it's a really lousy codec, nobody will buy it and therefore no profit is made. At the same time, nobody else can try to sell this lousy codec. If it's a really great codec, and lots of people buy it - or software companies pay the agreed-to licensing fees - then the scientist/author gets the benefit of his research.
If that scientist/author chooses to release it under the GPL, then that is his perogative as well. The GPL will, under the same set of protections, prevent this codec from being used in a manner other than that which the scientist/author intended.
Others have mentioned that it won't be an Outlook killer until it supports Exchange server - but - it will also need an integrated calendar/todo list to kill Outlook as well. The notes and contact/address book info were mentioned, I think, to be promised in a future beta.
Many of my users love being able to take a mail message and drop it on a calendar or todo icon within the same application, and won't be too anxious to abandon these types of featueres.
Part of my duties involve writing dynamic content sites using ASP for our corporate intranet and most of the users use Netscape. While some of the features (some methods within forms, for example) work better with IE than with other browsers, it's possible (and desirable) to write sites that are as "browser-neutral" as possible.
You can write really good Perl, or really crappy Perl - really good Java, or really crappy Java. It's the same with ASP and any scripting tool. It all depends on how you use it.
Slashdot Mirror
Read on below to find out more about Harlan Ellison's battle copyright infringers
:-)
hmmm... are "battle infringers" like Battle Bots? Are they now putting copyright infringers in a closed arena and letting them pound each other?
Sounds like an idea hatched by the RIAA.
Umm... there are places in the world that have access to the internet and *don't* have access to NBC broadcasts. Think globally.
Reasonably priced DRAM goes for about $250/gig; a reasonably priced SCSI RAID setup goes for about $10/gig.
In order to say that the DRAM option is cheaper than the hard drive option, the performance of the DRAM option would have to exceed the performance of the DRAM option by a factor of greater than 25. If you do the math, it's possible.
Years ago, I worked in a VAX shop that used RAM drives for some installed/shared images that required high concurrency. The performance was impressive - and was factored into the overall cost analysis of the purchase.
The success or failure of game systems depend on two factors:
1. The quality of the games that are available.
While open source/free software development is a noble concept, if the games aren't built, they will not come. Honestly, how many of us here who play games use Linux or Free BSD boxes *exclusively* for game machines? I play games on Windows boxes because the games are there. Until there are handheld games the quality of those produced for GameBoy, the GP32 will never sell well. If I want to play "snake", I can do that on my cell phone.
2. Inertia.
If I've invested in a hardware platform for games that I'm satisfied with, I'm going to continue to use that platform, and buy more games for it. The GP32, or any future handheld game system, will have to offer qualities or features that aren't on my current platform.
While I'm not a fan of their advertising practices, I am a fan of the hardware. And there is a Linux driver for the CM11A controller. X10 will allow you to integrate motion sensor events with camera control for /very/ short money - 3 cameras, receiver, x10 receiver, etc. for about $140.
My boss recently asked me about implementing a video security system, and this is the way we're going.
14 posts about Natalie Portman (petrified or otherwise)
23 posts calling for the death of Jar Jar
18 posts wondering if CG was done on Linux boxen, and if not, why not
12 posts arguing whether or not Boba Fett is the coolest Star Wars character of all time
Written the way Yoda speaks, 9 posts there will be
6 links to fan fic that are remarkably similar to the plot in the affore-mentioned script
You can remove it yourself
Where did you get the $310 million figure you're tossing about? According to imdb.com, AP2 grossed $70.2 in the US, compared with AP1 which grossed $53.868 million in the US - a contrast, yes, but not a sharp one.
"The Spy who shaged me" was an unexpected hit. It sort of snuck up on the market place and nocked down box offices.
Hardly. "Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery" grossed $54 mil(US) at the box office, and another $24 mil in rentals. Thus, the $70 mil that AP2 grossed at the box office could hardly be considered "unexpected", or a sum that "nocked down" box offices.
Every time I hear the name Robert Bork, I can't help but think of The Swedish Chef.
If you want an informative (albeit poorly edited, IMHO) book about the early history of video games, check out "ZAP! The Rise and Fall of Atari" by Scott Cohen.
Do any readers here actually believe that snail mail to and from China is any less scrutinized than email will be? My sister lived and taught in China for a couple of years (we are Americans). Letters and packages I sent to her were routinely opened and inspected before they were delivered to her. I can safely assume that if she and I had access to email at the time, those correspondences would have been equally intercepted and reviewed as well.
While the Pogo phone/MP3 player/PDA/Web browser/underwear changer is, like many others, trying to fill the "convergence" void - I think I'll stick with this Pogo, which seems to be a lot more secure and reliable.
According to the specs it comes bundled with Macromedia Flash Player 4. This brings to mind the recent stories about Flash virii. Are they also going to bundle it with anti-virus software, or give the user the ability to uninstall Flash?
I don't know why this is a story. Any responsible IT person shouldn't allow automatic updates of anything on their systems, let alone operating systems. corporate.windowsupdate.microsoft.comallows you to "save as" hotfixes and patches - test them in your environment, and apply them as you see fit.
I'm not sure why this is so. You can rebuild an NT box in relatively short order. Win2K is even easier if you know what you're doing. I put the CD in, a floppy containg an install script - then walk away. I come back about an hour later, verify the build (including apps) and I'm done.
they are still shipping CDs of NT4 and win2k with the original 'release' of the product, so installing it means the original install plus a dozen or more service packs, hotfixes, etc
err... no. NT service pack 6a, like all MS service packs, is a cumulative service pack. There's no need to install SP 1-6. And if you're actually an NT admin, you'd have the hotfixes that you've tested in your systems available on a network drive or a CD.
There are a lot of things to trash MS about, but don't blame them for your lack of knowledge or preparation.
Too bad fuckedcompany didn't read the press release.
What I find humorous is that a Google Search of that phrase returns the official City of Cambridge website as the first match.
I know I would.
It doesn't prevent someone from using it, it prevents someone other than the patent holder from selling it. Allowing the scientist to recoup the investment made in his research is how patents advance the sciences (or, at least, how they are supposed to).
It's not a government-enforced monopoly guaranteeing a profit, it's discouraging theft. If it's a really lousy codec, nobody will buy it and therefore no profit is made. At the same time, nobody else can try to sell this lousy codec. If it's a really great codec, and lots of people buy it - or software companies pay the agreed-to licensing fees - then the scientist/author gets the benefit of his research.
If that scientist/author chooses to release it under the GPL, then that is his perogative as well. The GPL will, under the same set of protections, prevent this codec from being used in a manner other than that which the scientist/author intended.
It seems fair to me, but then again, IANAL. :-)
2001-03-16 04:29:01
Beware the ides of March - so I'm taking the day after...
If you really want to boycott - refuse to buy any more VAXes... :-)
Many of my users love being able to take a mail message and drop it on a calendar or todo icon within the same application, and won't be too anxious to abandon these types of featueres.
Here is the google cache.
You can write really good Perl, or really crappy Perl - really good Java, or really crappy Java. It's the same with ASP and any scripting tool. It all depends on how you use it.