Blogger is still sufficient for small time blogs to keep friends and family up to date (I plan to use one when I go travelling later this year).
It is still far nicer than a lot of the free blogs I have been forced to visit by friends who have gone overseas and signed up with a dedicated travel site, in which the page is FULL of ads, hard to navigate, no RSS and frankly a pain on the eyes with the tropical island colour themes.
The problem is free wifi is not as ubiquous as you may think. In the US it is everywhere, I agree (even at rest stops on the major interstate freeways!)
But even in my own home town here in Perth, Western Australia, good luck trying to find a free wifi service when you want it! I'm sure there are some, but I can't say I know of where one is- it really isn't that common. I am simply assuming that other similar less-touristy destinations (A Greek island perhaps) may not have free wifi, and possibly only one public terminal for internet access. Even in Japan I had trouble finding free wifi and the hotel I was in only had two public terminals for internet use.
Or maybe you want to check your personal email? Say for details where to meet someone to get keys to an apartment you are renting in a forgien city, or to meet up with friends in a place where you have no cell phone access, or maybe just even to write home to mum.
Yeah right because a satellite modem isn't going cost more than the amount of money you probably have in your bank account anyway.
Phones and wireless broadband are unlikely to work for data while in say, Europe. Not unless it costs you what, $20 per kb or more?
It's stupid to think you will never need to use a public terminal. even if you take a wifi enabled phone or laptop, not all internet cafes allow Wifi access - some only have computers that usually run some windows-only authentication/billing program (so you cant even LiveCD) and so you have no choice.
It happens - at least you can apply SOME tactics to try and protect your information, and saying 'never use a public terminal' is not helpful for people who really want a decent answer to this question!
Except that if the DNS is screwed when you log into your bank account it is going to be pretty obvious it isn't the real site. Then you'll know its a fake and can call then bank or log on somewhere else and change your password.
It came to my attention recently from the people I know who use Hotmail (I try not to judge) that all mail they receive from other Hotmail users (even replies to their own messages) give a "WARNING: THIS EMAIL MAY BE DANGEROUS CLICK HERE TO OPEN" preamble.
Seriously, if hotmail BY DEFAULT does not trust hotmail, doesn't that tell you something anyway???
Like I mentioned in a previous post somewhere above, the process she describes may not be the ONLY way to make a pn junction in GaN (and hence blue LEDs) but may be the only COMMERCIALLY VIABLE way to do so on a large scale (often semiconductor research lab equipment does not scale well, especially in cost).
The method used to manufacture semiconductor devices is generally not very secret, even if the company tries to be. Their methods may stay semi-secret for a while, but by now I'm pretty sure it would be known what methods are used to make blue LEDs.
Older green LEDs are closer to yellow, and are far less 'bright' (to put it in everyday terms). They are made of InGaP and related compounds, and were never able to acheive the standards required for high power and brighter applications such as green traffic lights.
The inability to produce brighter green LEDs previously was due to fundamental materials issues with the semiconductors used.
Once gallium nitride was successfully grown and doped it opened up a whole new area of the spectrum. Current green LEDs are InGaN based (a ternary compound of indium nitride and gallium nitride, with low concentrations of indium) - difficulty incorporating higher amounts of indium is actually stopping GaN-based LEDs from achieving the yellowy-green or yellow LEDs. You'll notice there is a hole in the LED spectrum in the region of true yellow.
But because we now have good bright red, green and blue LEDs (InP, InGaN and GaN) we don't care so much because we can use colour mixing and phosphours to achieve full colour displays etc.
since there are multiple methods by which GaN semiconductors can be produced, how was it Rothschild ascertained all these companies were violating her patent? Did she examine all these company's products with a scanning-tunneling electron microscope... while retired? Or did she just assume these products could not be made without her process, despite the fact that Nakamura himself did not use it?
Just because there is more than one way of doing something, does not mean that there is more than one way of doing something that is COMMERCIALLY VIABLE. You could say dope GaN in a highly expensive research system, in a way that enables you to make a LED. But doing it on a scale that enables commercial fabrication of LEDs in a cost effective manner may be limited to only one method (perhaps the one that Rothschild patented).
I work in semiconductors, and research capabilities are often not applicable to wide scale manufacturing. I have not read the patents in question so I do not know exactly what the deal is. But most commerical manufacturing of semicondcutor devices is not all that secret (even processes used at defence contractors get out, if you know who to talk to).
This is true only in some circumstances. For example if I was practicing the patented invention prior to the patentee developing it, the patentee cannot successfully claim infringement.
I don't think this is true once the patent is granted (and IIRC in the US it is 'first to file' who gets the patent).
So if you don't patent and don't disclose (ie show your invention publicily in a way that prevents it ever being patented) then someone can, and if they get the patent they can then sue you for using the invention after that date ( I doubt theyd want to prove you used it before!).
At least that is how I understand it to work, please correct me if it isn't the case.
I'm much more relaxed (less stressed with lower blood pressure) since I got a kitty kat. Having a cat simply puts things in perspective sometimes, and the contact and love you get from them is wonderful. And they are hilarious!
It's not necessarily a direct link to longer life, but most things aren't. Lead a relaxed loving life and at least you'll have enjoyed it, even if you do cark it early and your cat can't save you.
I'm with those who think this is simply avoided by NEVER clicking on a link in an email.
Paypal will NEVER require you to click on a link in an email. All ebay functions can be accessed from my.ebay.com. My bank specifically states 'we will never send you links in an email, ALWAYS type in our website address yourself'.
Follow that advice and you have no problems. PERIOD.
If you think the email is legit, log into the site you type in yourself and see if there is an alert. Or ring them yourself. (On a side note I once had a credit card company ring ME and refuse to say who they were until I confirmed who I was by giving my DOB. I rang them back on the proper number and went off at them.)
trying flying Qantas - free booze all the time (even on domestic, after 12pm).
Actually, I think all international carriers give you free booze (have never flown one that doesn't, and being an Aussie I have flown a few in order to get anywhere:))
I only recently flew inside the US and I was rather shocked!
So far I've never had in-seat power in economy (coach) though.
"Can someone tell me what, other than games, is not available that the home user wants."
Quicken - this is the biggest one I've come across. There isn't even a localised Australian OS X version, so a Windows box is still required (it has small business tax specifics that cannot be found in any other program - and yes some individual Joe Blows at home have their own small businesses it's not far fetched at all).
Bourse - real time stock exchange info, requires Windows.
Actually you start with zero points and are given points (up to 12) for infringements. It used to be the other way around, many moons ago (long before I started driving).
Are they flakey in terms of hardware or is it simply a Windows issue? Does the mounting problem happen under OS X?
Any idea if WD portable externals (I'm looking at a passport) suffer the same problems? (This question is not just aimed at the parent psoter, but anyone who has had experience with these drives)
Actually I think it's pretty interesting, and forward thinking - what about having something like this to power always-on equipment? Eg data centres etc in major tech hubs?
The first thing I thought of though was straight out of Stephen King's Dark Tower series (which I'm reading atm) - atomic slugs powering random pieces of equipment all over the place... North Central Positronics anyone?
(And yeah, terrorism and those issues really suck ass, I hate that ideas like this are inherently a security risk not by design but by ASSHOLES).
Slashdot Mirror
Blogger is still sufficient for small time blogs to keep friends and family up to date (I plan to use one when I go travelling later this year).
It is still far nicer than a lot of the free blogs I have been forced to visit by friends who have gone overseas and signed up with a dedicated travel site, in which the page is FULL of ads, hard to navigate, no RSS and frankly a pain on the eyes with the tropical island colour themes.
The problem is free wifi is not as ubiquous as you may think. In the US it is everywhere, I agree (even at rest stops on the major interstate freeways!)
But even in my own home town here in Perth, Western Australia, good luck trying to find a free wifi service when you want it! I'm sure there are some, but I can't say I know of where one is- it really isn't that common. I am simply assuming that other similar less-touristy destinations (A Greek island perhaps) may not have free wifi, and possibly only one public terminal for internet access. Even in Japan I had trouble finding free wifi and the hotel I was in only had two public terminals for internet use.
Or maybe you want to check your personal email? Say for details where to meet someone to get keys to an apartment you are renting in a forgien city, or to meet up with friends in a place where you have no cell phone access, or maybe just even to write home to mum.
Unless the internet cafe runs a Windows-only billing/login system that doesn't enable the computer to be rebooted into Linux.
Yeah right because a satellite modem isn't going cost more than the amount of money you probably have in your bank account anyway.
Phones and wireless broadband are unlikely to work for data while in say, Europe. Not unless it costs you what, $20 per kb or more?
It's stupid to think you will never need to use a public terminal. even if you take a wifi enabled phone or laptop, not all internet cafes allow Wifi access - some only have computers that usually run some windows-only authentication/billing program (so you cant even LiveCD) and so you have no choice.
It happens - at least you can apply SOME tactics to try and protect your information, and saying 'never use a public terminal' is not helpful for people who really want a decent answer to this question!
Except that if the DNS is screwed when you log into your bank account it is going to be pretty obvious it isn't the real site. Then you'll know its a fake and can call then bank or log on somewhere else and change your password.
It came to my attention recently from the people I know who use Hotmail (I try not to judge) that all mail they receive from other Hotmail users (even replies to their own messages) give a "WARNING: THIS EMAIL MAY BE DANGEROUS CLICK HERE TO OPEN" preamble.
Seriously, if hotmail BY DEFAULT does not trust hotmail, doesn't that tell you something anyway???
How the heck are you supposed to touch-type on something that gives you no tactile response?
by putting a feedback mechanism in the screen to push back and give slightly when the keystroke is registered.
Yeah it's called the macbook keyboard and it sucks!! I am constantly hitting keys that don't register.
Thanks - the first useful link!
Like I mentioned in a previous post somewhere above, the process she describes may not be the ONLY way to make a pn junction in GaN (and hence blue LEDs) but may be the only COMMERCIALLY VIABLE way to do so on a large scale (often semiconductor research lab equipment does not scale well, especially in cost).
The method used to manufacture semiconductor devices is generally not very secret, even if the company tries to be. Their methods may stay semi-secret for a while, but by now I'm pretty sure it would be known what methods are used to make blue LEDs.
Older green LEDs are closer to yellow, and are far less 'bright' (to put it in everyday terms). They are made of InGaP and related compounds, and were never able to acheive the standards required for high power and brighter applications such as green traffic lights.
The inability to produce brighter green LEDs previously was due to fundamental materials issues with the semiconductors used.
Once gallium nitride was successfully grown and doped it opened up a whole new area of the spectrum. Current green LEDs are InGaN based (a ternary compound of indium nitride and gallium nitride, with low concentrations of indium) - difficulty incorporating higher amounts of indium is actually stopping GaN-based LEDs from achieving the yellowy-green or yellow LEDs. You'll notice there is a hole in the LED spectrum in the region of true yellow.
But because we now have good bright red, green and blue LEDs (InP, InGaN and GaN) we don't care so much because we can use colour mixing and phosphours to achieve full colour displays etc.
since there are multiple methods by which GaN semiconductors can be produced, how was it Rothschild ascertained all these companies were violating her patent? Did she examine all these company's products with a scanning-tunneling electron microscope... while retired? Or did she just assume these products could not be made without her process, despite the fact that Nakamura himself did not use it?
Just because there is more than one way of doing something, does not mean that there is more than one way of doing something that is COMMERCIALLY VIABLE. You could say dope GaN in a highly expensive research system, in a way that enables you to make a LED. But doing it on a scale that enables commercial fabrication of LEDs in a cost effective manner may be limited to only one method (perhaps the one that Rothschild patented).
I work in semiconductors, and research capabilities are often not applicable to wide scale manufacturing. I have not read the patents in question so I do not know exactly what the deal is. But most commerical manufacturing of semicondcutor devices is not all that secret (even processes used at defence contractors get out, if you know who to talk to).
This is true only in some circumstances. For example if I was practicing the patented invention prior to the patentee developing it, the patentee cannot successfully claim infringement.
I don't think this is true once the patent is granted (and IIRC in the US it is 'first to file' who gets the patent).
So if you don't patent and don't disclose (ie show your invention publicily in a way that prevents it ever being patented) then someone can, and if they get the patent they can then sue you for using the invention after that date ( I doubt theyd want to prove you used it before!).
At least that is how I understand it to work, please correct me if it isn't the case.
The plastic bag is simply so they can eyeball all your liquids/gels at once, easily.
I'm much more relaxed (less stressed with lower blood pressure) since I got a kitty kat. Having a cat simply puts things in perspective sometimes, and the contact and love you get from them is wonderful. And they are hilarious!
It's not necessarily a direct link to longer life, but most things aren't. Lead a relaxed loving life and at least you'll have enjoyed it, even if you do cark it early and your cat can't save you.
my allergies are 10000 times better since I got a cat!!
I'm with those who think this is simply avoided by NEVER clicking on a link in an email.
Paypal will NEVER require you to click on a link in an email. All ebay functions can be accessed from my.ebay.com. My bank specifically states 'we will never send you links in an email, ALWAYS type in our website address yourself'.
Follow that advice and you have no problems. PERIOD.
If you think the email is legit, log into the site you type in yourself and see if there is an alert. Or ring them yourself. (On a side note I once had a credit card company ring ME and refuse to say who they were until I confirmed who I was by giving my DOB. I rang them back on the proper number and went off at them.)
Case closed yadda yadda.
what ISPs have you had that DON'T block port 25? Iinet certainly does.
""You don't need lots of ports and optical drives to IM your friends""
"nor do you need a 13 inch screen and many gigs of storage."
Yeah you do to store those IM log files!! and u need 13" to have chat windows, mahjong AND facebook open at once!
trying flying Qantas - free booze all the time (even on domestic, after 12pm).
:))
Actually, I think all international carriers give you free booze (have never flown one that doesn't, and being an Aussie I have flown a few in order to get anywhere
I only recently flew inside the US and I was rather shocked!
So far I've never had in-seat power in economy (coach) though.
Well, if more companies offered bluetooth mice that would be nice. I don't see why they don't!
If you're recording from eyeTV, surely a USB hub is not an issue since you can leave it next to the eyeTV on the bench.
"Can someone tell me what, other than games, is not available that the home user wants."
Quicken - this is the biggest one I've come across. There isn't even a localised Australian OS X version, so a Windows box is still required (it has small business tax specifics that cannot be found in any other program - and yes some individual Joe Blows at home have their own small businesses it's not far fetched at all).
Bourse - real time stock exchange info, requires Windows.
Actually you start with zero points and are given points (up to 12) for infringements. It used to be the other way around, many moons ago (long before I started driving).
Actually aqua regia is nitric and hydrochloric acid (3:1) in case anyone is following along... :)
Are they flakey in terms of hardware or is it simply a Windows issue? Does the mounting problem happen under OS X?
Any idea if WD portable externals (I'm looking at a passport) suffer the same problems? (This question is not just aimed at the parent psoter, but anyone who has had experience with these drives)
Actually I think it's pretty interesting, and forward thinking - what about having something like this to power always-on equipment? Eg data centres etc in major tech hubs?
The first thing I thought of though was straight out of Stephen King's Dark Tower series (which I'm reading atm) - atomic slugs powering random pieces of equipment all over the place... North Central Positronics anyone?
(And yeah, terrorism and those issues really suck ass, I hate that ideas like this are inherently a security risk not by design but by ASSHOLES).