This is nothing new. For years people have been making space movies and shows where you can hear sounds in space. And while it is all largely done for dramatic (and melo-dramatic effect) it ends up sucking in comparison to Firefly, which I won't say is scientifically factual in entirety but they at least tried (especially by not having any sound in the outside-space perspective scenes. But obviously, Star Trek has tunneled more holes in physics than than most of the sci-fi and non-sci-fi movies out there. For years I have gotten on the inaccuracies of physics in all movies. Space movies seem to be the biggest perpetrators but we can't forget the action flicks. But when you boil it all down, is it actually physics/science that is the only victim here? NO! It's an assault on common sense. Now I am a fan of Die Hard, but any idiot that takes these movies seriously is exactly that, an idiot. John McClain may as well be able to take out the entire Army Rangers division and then some.
All I can really do is laugh. That is Dell for you. They want to make money. And the only reason I believe the started releasing computers with Ubuntu and FreeDOS on it was to appease customers they were already making money off of. If you were anyone else you would have purchased your computer elsewhere or built it your self. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft placed some restrictions on their agreement with Dell so that Windows would still bring in the money. After all, Windows is honestly the easiest and most well known OS out there. What are people going to do? Switch to Mac OS? Along with two home windows based machines (one XP another Vista) and two Apple machines (OSX Tiger on my Mac Mini and Panther on my iBook running in dual boot with SuSe), Windows still reigns supreme in the "practically everything is available on the Windows platform in a ready or near-ready fashion. With linux you have to do a lot of work just to get a wireless card to work, or get 3D support. God forbid you want to play flash, mp3's, wma/wmv, etc. Often depending on the platform you have to work your but off just want watch/listen to any media (for instance, on an iBook G4 running any linux, there is not support for the latest flash, so that cuts you out of many video sharing sites like Youtube). Oh, and lets not talk about getting development libraries setup for Java development. You'll often have a library that is too old because there isn't one available for your architecture. So much for programming across all platforms.
I can see my self being an early adopter more for something like this than an iPhone. At least with this device you can get on any GSM network (generally).
Did anyone watch the demo videos? Notice how these people didn't blank out their cell phone numbers when making calls. They'll regret sometime soon I'm sure. But this phone is rather sweet.
It is too bad all these people waited around so long for such an expensive item. After all the hype, fooling around with, Cisco over trademarks, diving head-first into unfamiliar markets. . . you would hope this stuff would at least work 95% of the time. But it seems like they are more into the 85% to 70% success range which is really bad for such a major launch.
This is just horrible. People are shelling out $500 and $600 for crap. What the fact that there were too many early adopters trying to hit the activation systems at once or does the product just suck? We'll see.
Well, I would say just buy the machine anyway then load Ubuntu if you want it that bad. Does anyone know the details of any agreements between Dell and Microsoft. There may be something there as a part of Dell being able to load Windows on their computers that may only allow them to offer "other solutions" for the Home & Home Office/personal use markets.
It will happen. It is only a matter of time. It may take us 1,000 years to figure it out, we've been around (documented) for 5,000 years, and have been around much longer than that undocumented. So I think we'll survive atleast another millenia and by then who knows what kind of magic wands we would have developed. Only 50 years ago the cell phones, pda's, laptops, and other neato gadgets we have would have been considered magic (and a threat to national security). But that is nothing compared to space travel advancement, although this technology will help us get there.
Dangers to spaceship crews are known and typically expected and contingencies/plans are developed and being developed to combat or deal with these dangers, even in the event of a total loss of life.
We will get there. It is all science fiction now because apparently we've only proved we can humanly-visit the moon. But damnit everything we've done up to this point has been considered science fiction and impossible. Well we shouldn't think like that any more. We should take baby steps, but baby steps into space. We'll colonize this bloody solar system and by then we would have started developing interstellar travel technology to get material, robots, and ultimately people to other planetary systems. We may not even start with planets. We may put space stations near pluto like planets or asteroid belts and use resources from those for those stations to remain independent.
Of course, we should start at the Moon. There is ice there supposedly. Which means it could be refined for use in life support (drinking water, irrigation, climate control, and creation of a breathable atmosphere). So start with the bloody robots and pre-built structures, send them up there and lets get it going.
Excuse me if someone has already mentioned/asked this. . . but isn't this racketeering? Did I read this right? We have to pay for our protection or else the email may not "ever" make it to its destination? What!? If we don't pay will our email wake up in the electronic version of a bed next to a horse's bloody head?
I'm glad someone wrote this article. That was one of the most memorable screens in my computer life, the big MECC with the green grass logo or whatever it was. I remember seeing Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium somewhere on the screen. Oh the memories, Oregon Trail and all the Muncher's games (word muncher? number muncher, etc)
I don't dispute how nice the browser is. Regardless, it is another browser for another operating system. I use Safari on my iBook and Mac Mini. . . along with Firefox (and one day I'll trash teh IE 5.5 browser, but I don't use it anyway). But on my Windows machines, I use Firefox, Opera, and IE. Why? Well, to try something different all the time. Plus they all have something about them that the other does not have or does not do as well. So great, now we have another web browser, and it is full of holes too.
As for the frequency of the signal, the meter wouldn't necessarily prevent that if that is what you meant (by the grade of the wiring). It is no different than the wiring in the rest of your house which allows for dLAN technology. Plus these devices measure alternating current, they're complicated devices I'm sure.
Actually, the power meter does nothing but measure power usage (http://www.seed.slb.com/qa2/FAQView.cfm?ID=1160). What I was thinking about was a positive interlock system which most homes will not and do not have because they do not need them based on how typical power distribution works. A PIS is typically installed when a generator is professionally linked to the powergrid of your home and it prevents the generator from trying to power the entire neighborhood or electrocuting some poor guy working on the lines (which is partly why electricians still have to be so careful even when they've cut power from the main transmission lines).
Plus, Devolo, on of the creators of the dLAN equipment does not directly answer the question on their site when asked if a neighbor can see the network, they specifically state this:
Question:
Can my neighbour listen to my data when he is connected with the same power supply?
Answer:
devolo absolutely advise you to use the internal device DESpro Encryption! Entering a password which differs from the factory default will activate the encryption and will protect your network.
And here is a hard to find article on Yahoo's Tech site that explains this issue in the security section:
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/powering-up-with-the-elec tric-company-for-home-network-usage/153487
It mentions that homes on the same transformer or share similar transmission lines that have been stepped down could potentially see each other's network if such hardware is being used, hence the push from the companies to just encrypt the network. . . which can be hacked anyway. Hmmm, I was think about this system, but now I don't think so for sure.
Paulie turned out not to be a turncoat in the end. The ending, whilst it pissed me off at first, makes close just fine and I should have expected. I want to re-watch the episode where Paulie and Christopher are chasing the Russian in the Pine Barrens. No closure there, but it became one of the show's most popular (if not the single most popular) episodes and I loved it. Just the speculation of what happened to the Russian, whom was beaten up and shot in the head. So now, the end of the series gave us just that, what you had watching Tony watch everyone else in the diner, anxiety as someone mentioned before. You can take the scene however you won't make your own story. It's over. I kind of like that, very poetic. Kind like the girl (or boy) you had a break-up with and while you may wish for it to continue and you still wonder what it would be like, you continue happy just the same. Certainly one of the best shows ever made for TV.
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand
In a...desperate land
Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the king's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest
The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken' us
The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...i want to...fuck you
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
C'mon, yeah
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end
~'The End' by The Doors
The problem with putting anything over your house power-wiring is similar to the Broadband Over Powerlines project issues. The introduction of a new signal on a common wiring system creates interference on certain frequency bands. Also, the reliability and stability of the connection is dependent on how well maintained and installed your wiring is. You have to understand, your introducing voltage on a AC line. Plus the whole thing is open to a powersurge. That could be bad, and for those homes that do not have a back-feed preventer (what ever they are called), is it possible for a neighbor to "see" or you network. This could be especially interesting in an apartment complex or condo.
To REQUIRE this is a mistake. Manufacturers, the federal government, and even software developers/vendors warn users that an unsecured access point is dangerous. If they choose to purchase it and leave it open (and the connection is exploited as a result) then that is their responsibility. Call me a liberal on that issue. Plus, I use WEP on my wireless along with MAC filtering and no DHCP enabled. I am not concerned with someone taking that much time to crack my wireless. WPA is nice though. Biggest problem with encryption is that is slows down the access points and the client nodes because they have to scrutinize every packet sent/received for security. Also, it is nice to be able to throw up access points for testing purposes (temporary, no security needed) or if you have your own layer of security such as certificate authentication.
Ubuntu has been like this. I used Ubuntu in late 2005 and early 2006 on an older dell inspiron laptop, and to DJ music! It was the easiest distro I've ever installed and the most comprehensive (there was less "configuring and less downloading" extra stuff just to play an MP3, AVI, MPEG, or to use certain network devices, etc, etc). It seems now that since a major player in the market is now offering Ubuntu as an alternative, people have to jump on board the bandwwagon to show how great it is. Well, that is why Dell picked it, because for a long time now, they knew this was the best alternative OS. Does anyone remember Lindows (now Linspire)? If you check out their site, they now have a partnership with Ubuntu. . . that is how great Ubuntu is. The so called world's easiet desktop linux partnering up with perhaps the world's actual easiest and best desktop linux. . .
Slashdot Mirror
This is nothing new. For years people have been making space movies and shows where you can hear sounds in space. And while it is all largely done for dramatic (and melo-dramatic effect) it ends up sucking in comparison to Firefly, which I won't say is scientifically factual in entirety but they at least tried (especially by not having any sound in the outside-space perspective scenes. But obviously, Star Trek has tunneled more holes in physics than than most of the sci-fi and non-sci-fi movies out there. For years I have gotten on the inaccuracies of physics in all movies. Space movies seem to be the biggest perpetrators but we can't forget the action flicks. But when you boil it all down, is it actually physics/science that is the only victim here? NO! It's an assault on common sense. Now I am a fan of Die Hard, but any idiot that takes these movies seriously is exactly that, an idiot. John McClain may as well be able to take out the entire Army Rangers division and then some.
All I can really do is laugh. That is Dell for you. They want to make money. And the only reason I believe the started releasing computers with Ubuntu and FreeDOS on it was to appease customers they were already making money off of. If you were anyone else you would have purchased your computer elsewhere or built it your self. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft placed some restrictions on their agreement with Dell so that Windows would still bring in the money. After all, Windows is honestly the easiest and most well known OS out there. What are people going to do? Switch to Mac OS? Along with two home windows based machines (one XP another Vista) and two Apple machines (OSX Tiger on my Mac Mini and Panther on my iBook running in dual boot with SuSe), Windows still reigns supreme in the "practically everything is available on the Windows platform in a ready or near-ready fashion. With linux you have to do a lot of work just to get a wireless card to work, or get 3D support. God forbid you want to play flash, mp3's, wma/wmv, etc. Often depending on the platform you have to work your but off just want watch/listen to any media (for instance, on an iBook G4 running any linux, there is not support for the latest flash, so that cuts you out of many video sharing sites like Youtube). Oh, and lets not talk about getting development libraries setup for Java development. You'll often have a library that is too old because there isn't one available for your architecture. So much for programming across all platforms.
I can see my self being an early adopter more for something like this than an iPhone. At least with this device you can get on any GSM network (generally). Did anyone watch the demo videos? Notice how these people didn't blank out their cell phone numbers when making calls. They'll regret sometime soon I'm sure. But this phone is rather sweet.
It is too bad all these people waited around so long for such an expensive item. After all the hype, fooling around with, Cisco over trademarks, diving head-first into unfamiliar markets. . . you would hope this stuff would at least work 95% of the time. But it seems like they are more into the 85% to 70% success range which is really bad for such a major launch. This is just horrible. People are shelling out $500 and $600 for crap. What the fact that there were too many early adopters trying to hit the activation systems at once or does the product just suck? We'll see.
Well, I would say just buy the machine anyway then load Ubuntu if you want it that bad. Does anyone know the details of any agreements between Dell and Microsoft. There may be something there as a part of Dell being able to load Windows on their computers that may only allow them to offer "other solutions" for the Home & Home Office/personal use markets.
It will happen. It is only a matter of time. It may take us 1,000 years to figure it out, we've been around (documented) for 5,000 years, and have been around much longer than that undocumented. So I think we'll survive atleast another millenia and by then who knows what kind of magic wands we would have developed. Only 50 years ago the cell phones, pda's, laptops, and other neato gadgets we have would have been considered magic (and a threat to national security). But that is nothing compared to space travel advancement, although this technology will help us get there. Dangers to spaceship crews are known and typically expected and contingencies/plans are developed and being developed to combat or deal with these dangers, even in the event of a total loss of life. We will get there. It is all science fiction now because apparently we've only proved we can humanly-visit the moon. But damnit everything we've done up to this point has been considered science fiction and impossible. Well we shouldn't think like that any more. We should take baby steps, but baby steps into space. We'll colonize this bloody solar system and by then we would have started developing interstellar travel technology to get material, robots, and ultimately people to other planetary systems. We may not even start with planets. We may put space stations near pluto like planets or asteroid belts and use resources from those for those stations to remain independent. Of course, we should start at the Moon. There is ice there supposedly. Which means it could be refined for use in life support (drinking water, irrigation, climate control, and creation of a breathable atmosphere). So start with the bloody robots and pre-built structures, send them up there and lets get it going.
Excuse me if someone has already mentioned/asked this. . . but isn't this racketeering? Did I read this right? We have to pay for our protection or else the email may not "ever" make it to its destination? What!? If we don't pay will our email wake up in the electronic version of a bed next to a horse's bloody head?
I'm glad someone wrote this article. That was one of the most memorable screens in my computer life, the big MECC with the green grass logo or whatever it was. I remember seeing Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium somewhere on the screen. Oh the memories, Oregon Trail and all the Muncher's games (word muncher? number muncher, etc)
I don't dispute how nice the browser is. Regardless, it is another browser for another operating system. I use Safari on my iBook and Mac Mini. . . along with Firefox (and one day I'll trash teh IE 5.5 browser, but I don't use it anyway). But on my Windows machines, I use Firefox, Opera, and IE. Why? Well, to try something different all the time. Plus they all have something about them that the other does not have or does not do as well. So great, now we have another web browser, and it is full of holes too.
(taken from Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and transformed)
Hunter S. ThompsonOh God! Is that another web browser?!
Dr. Gonzo: THAT'S RIGHT! MUSIC!
As for the frequency of the signal, the meter wouldn't necessarily prevent that if that is what you meant (by the grade of the wiring). It is no different than the wiring in the rest of your house which allows for dLAN technology. Plus these devices measure alternating current, they're complicated devices I'm sure.
Actually, the power meter does nothing but measure power usage (http://www.seed.slb.com/qa2/FAQView.cfm?ID=1160). What I was thinking about was a positive interlock system which most homes will not and do not have because they do not need them based on how typical power distribution works. A PIS is typically installed when a generator is professionally linked to the powergrid of your home and it prevents the generator from trying to power the entire neighborhood or electrocuting some poor guy working on the lines (which is partly why electricians still have to be so careful even when they've cut power from the main transmission lines).
Plus, Devolo, on of the creators of the dLAN equipment does not directly answer the question on their site when asked if a neighbor can see the network, they specifically state this:
Question: Can my neighbour listen to my data when he is connected with the same power supply?
Answer: devolo absolutely advise you to use the internal device DESpro Encryption! Entering a password which differs from the factory default will activate the encryption and will protect your network.
And here is a hard to find article on Yahoo's Tech site that explains this issue in the security section:c tric-company-for-home-network-usage/153487
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/powering-up-with-the-ele
It mentions that homes on the same transformer or share similar transmission lines that have been stepped down could potentially see each other's network if such hardware is being used, hence the push from the companies to just encrypt the network. . . which can be hacked anyway. Hmmm, I was think about this system, but now I don't think so for sure.
Paulie turned out not to be a turncoat in the end. The ending, whilst it pissed me off at first, makes close just fine and I should have expected. I want to re-watch the episode where Paulie and Christopher are chasing the Russian in the Pine Barrens. No closure there, but it became one of the show's most popular (if not the single most popular) episodes and I loved it. Just the speculation of what happened to the Russian, whom was beaten up and shot in the head. So now, the end of the series gave us just that, what you had watching Tony watch everyone else in the diner, anxiety as someone mentioned before. You can take the scene however you won't make your own story. It's over. I kind of like that, very poetic. Kind like the girl (or boy) you had a break-up with and while you may wish for it to continue and you still wonder what it would be like, you continue happy just the same. Certainly one of the best shows ever made for TV. This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end I'll never look into your eyes...again Can you picture what will be So limitless and free Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand In a...desperate land Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain And all the children are insane All the children are insane Waiting for the summer rain, yeah There's danger on the edge of town Ride the king's highway, baby Weird scenes inside the gold mine Ride the highway west, baby Ride the snake, ride the snake To the lake, the ancient lake, baby The snake is long, seven miles Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold The west is the best The west is the best Get here, and we'll do the rest The blue bus is callin' us The blue bus is callin' us Driver, where you taken' us The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on He took a face from the ancient gallery And he walked on down the hall He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he Paid a visit to his brother, and then he He walked on down the hall, and And he came to a door...and he looked inside Father, yes son, I want to kill you Mother...i want to...fuck you C'mon baby, take a chance with us C'mon baby, take a chance with us C'mon baby, take a chance with us And meet me at the back of the blue bus Doin' a blue rock On a blue bus Doin' a blue rock C'mon, yeah Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end It hurts to set you free But you'll never follow me The end of laughter and soft lies The end of nights we tried to die This is the end ~'The End' by The Doors
The problem with putting anything over your house power-wiring is similar to the Broadband Over Powerlines project issues. The introduction of a new signal on a common wiring system creates interference on certain frequency bands. Also, the reliability and stability of the connection is dependent on how well maintained and installed your wiring is. You have to understand, your introducing voltage on a AC line. Plus the whole thing is open to a powersurge. That could be bad, and for those homes that do not have a back-feed preventer (what ever they are called), is it possible for a neighbor to "see" or you network. This could be especially interesting in an apartment complex or condo.
To REQUIRE this is a mistake. Manufacturers, the federal government, and even software developers/vendors warn users that an unsecured access point is dangerous. If they choose to purchase it and leave it open (and the connection is exploited as a result) then that is their responsibility. Call me a liberal on that issue. Plus, I use WEP on my wireless along with MAC filtering and no DHCP enabled. I am not concerned with someone taking that much time to crack my wireless. WPA is nice though. Biggest problem with encryption is that is slows down the access points and the client nodes because they have to scrutinize every packet sent/received for security. Also, it is nice to be able to throw up access points for testing purposes (temporary, no security needed) or if you have your own layer of security such as certificate authentication.
Ubuntu has been like this. I used Ubuntu in late 2005 and early 2006 on an older dell inspiron laptop, and to DJ music! It was the easiest distro I've ever installed and the most comprehensive (there was less "configuring and less downloading" extra stuff just to play an MP3, AVI, MPEG, or to use certain network devices, etc, etc). It seems now that since a major player in the market is now offering Ubuntu as an alternative, people have to jump on board the bandwwagon to show how great it is. Well, that is why Dell picked it, because for a long time now, they knew this was the best alternative OS. Does anyone remember Lindows (now Linspire)? If you check out their site, they now have a partnership with Ubuntu. . . that is how great Ubuntu is. The so called world's easiet desktop linux partnering up with perhaps the world's actual easiest and best desktop linux. . .