In South Africa, we have what's called a 'pay as you go' system.
For about $20 you get a starter kit that gets installed in your cellphone at the shop you buy it from and comes with your PIN number and your Cell Number.
After that, you buy 'recharge' vouchers of several different denominations - i.e. call time.
These vouchers have a serial number which you reveal in the same manner as a scratch card - you then simply dial a number and punch in the serial - viola, more call time !
All incoming calls are free.
IOW, you call the shots on how much bucks you want to spend.
This system is only useful if you receive more incoming calls than you make outgoing.
I can't believe there's nothing like that in the states ? -
Hmm, come to think of it, I think it was invented in South Africa - check it out:-
mp3's are alive and well in South Africa
As for the issues, yes, they exist, radio stations have mentioned them, they've been on TV, people who have access to the net download them.
We have extensive piracy over here, but from a population point of view, it's no biggy when compared to say, eastern european / asian countries.
Put it this way, no one is getting arrested for storing or making mp3 files available - I've found tons of them on some of main ISP's ftp servers !
I think we've got a little more to worry about than that - education for one !
There's an estimated 2.5 million web users in the Whole of Africa - that's a tiny figure
I'd say South Africa probably has about 1.5 million of those users, yet our population is around 45 million, IOW, less than 3% of our population is aware/has access to the internet, so mp3 files are hardly an issue over here !
It is better for Netscape to release a fully working implementation of there browser to the masses and have a sign-up beta testing area.
Personally, I don't see this happening anytime soon.
I'm considering ditching making websites that work with netscape and aim to concentrate only on ie and mozilla - we simply do not have the time at our offices any more to force netscape to behave itself when rendering pages !
Netscape are concentrating on things that don't matter rather than on the real issues - like a browser which complies to standards and renders quickly.
Screw them I say - dump netscape and switch to mozilla or ie, the 'war' was lost a long time ago for netscape.
I agree Wine is a great project - but imho, it should only be viewed as a temporary solution.
Take Corel PhotoPaint 9.0 for instance, sure, it works just fine, but my god, is it SLOW - so slow, it's unusable mostly, whereas the Gimp is super speedy.
My point ?
Well, if wine succeeds in running every single app available for win32, then software developers like Macromedia and Adobe will never have to properly port there apps to run under Linux.
This is great if the speed win32 apps running under Wine was at least 80% of the speed of windows, but if not, there's not much point !
Anyway, what Linux is lacking, imho, is more graphics applications of the quality of Macromedia products.
If Flash 5, Fireworks 3 and Dreamweaver were available for Linux, I'd never use win32 again.
SO, in conclusion, unless Wine seriously speeds up, it's just a very temporary solution that won't stop people from ditching win32 - what would you rather do, run office2000 at 50% of the speed of windows in Linux, or simply boot win32 and run it there ?
I'm with the latter.
What you've said is all well and good and makes sense for the actual construction of the building, but how about the interior decoration ?
I can see a time when a client can VR through there home with an interior designer (or by themselves) and simply apply finishes real time to see how they look.
There's also another use for it.
When I was working as an apprentice draughtsman (a few years before CAD took over) there was a entire team of guys employed to build a 3d model of a refining plant that was being designed - they would take the plans and 3d isometric drawings from the draughtsmen and tediously construct a scaled down model of the plant.
Wouldn't that be a damn side easier on a computer ?
Rather than thrasing this idea to pieces and debunking it as bullshit, think about the possibilities it holds.
Sure, we don't have affordable solutions at present, but it's a progression toward that goal.
I sometimes get the impression that there are far too many rich bored americans on the planet.
Whilst the rest of us are battling with everyday life, some geek who gets payed far too much is building a replica of a robotic vehicle from an overated movie out of bits of plastic that kids play with and then somebody reports it as news.
Oh boy, is there any hope for us !
Jeez, man, I attached my Z1 Integrated Truss Segment to my space station in 1746, just after pounding the russians with nukes whilst simultaneously smashing the yanks with a few barbarians and a cavalry or two.
Eh, wow, this stuff is strong... puf... puff..
I want a lego set which emulates Meccano.
Yep - for all those who haven't a clue what meccano was, go play with your lego, or anything else for that matter...
Ah, those heady days of bolting together bits of metal with holes in them whilst listening to the buggles or madness on the radio feel like yesterday !
Lego - well, you can't bend a piece of lego to get it to do what you want, but it seems that you can make a small nuclear reactor powerfull enough to supply the average non-american household with it these days.
Kids just aren't the same any more, for one, they are anywhere between 0 and 50 and for another, they just don't have the same values anymore, the little blighters !
Stick your lego where the sun hasn't shone yet and give me a shiny new set of meccano - it had motors before lego had even considered it !
Women Drivers,
Drivers who wear gloves
Drivers who wear hats
Drivers who wear hats and gloves
Women Drivers who wear hats and gloves
and now LOCUST DRIVERS !
Can it get any worse ?
yes - Women Locust drivers wearing hats and gloves !
The ZX81 was my first computer - and man, what a wonderful absolute piece of junk it was !
I learnt basic on that damn thing, not to mention 'finger karate' - eventually the keyboard bombed out.
The only use I can see for it now is a paperweight or a door stop
:)
Anyone from the UK remember the trouble they had with the launch of that machine ? - They had like a 4 month delay, I think I waited about 6 months after ordering before getting it.
The Vic20 was a lot better - as my one friend was very keen on pointing out everytime he saw my sorry excuse for a computer.
The guy should get a payout from m$ for finding bugs like that, he's brave enough to give his Id and a fix for the security hole - but he'll probably get nothing but hastle or the cold-shoulder from 'the man'
Lets face it, because humans are fallible, software will always have flaws and bugs that will either be fixed, ignored or exploited.
m$ more-often-than-not falls somewhere in the last 2
The scary thing is, I agree with both points of view at the same time - is that wierd or what ?
I'm a hacker and not a hacker - my first hacking exploit was theft, when I discovered that it was pretty easy to get a free newspaper from the vending machine (5 years old), or that switching some makes of arcade machines on or off would often doll out free credits (9 years old) - or even, meddling with the internal telephone wiring of an apartment building from your own apartment - all you need is a screwdriver (or knife) and a wire-cutter (or teeth) and a bit of patience, and your hooked to someone elses line (16 years old) - all theft, I guess.
In reality, it was not only just curiosity, but was about 'beating the man' - there can be a sheer sense of satisfaction when you 'trick the system'
The ironic thing is, I was 'taught' this way of thinking by the media, I was taught by books, films, music - the list goes on.
I was also taught by my parents what is 'wrong or right' by their definition.
The truth is, everyone is born a hacker, you've just got to know what you can get away with hacking and what you can't depending on the situaiton - oh, and another belief of mine - try not to hurt anyone doing it !
5 years, that's all they've got,
5 years, and it's quite a lot,
my pc howls like a banshee,
it's got no fans to spare,
my case is like a warehouse,
there's just no room in there.
5 years, that's all they need
before my toaster starts talking
and my cellphone can read
5 years, that's all they've got
before I stop buying hardware
and start growing pot.
The Train spotter dons a green anorak and no matter what the weather, heads on over to the local train station to spot trains.
Often the trainspotter takes along a packed lunch in a tuppleware container or wrapped neatly in wax paper. Lunch usually consists of white bread sandwiches with the crusts neatly sliced off.
The excitement mounts as the trainspotter nears his destination, knowing that today is special !
Arriving at the train station, notebook clutched tightly in hand, the trainspotter gets ready for the 8.30am from wigglesmouth, heading to barkleydale - there it goes ! - right on time !
The train spotter jots this down in his little notebook and munches on a sarnie.
Nearby, a crowd of excited youngsters whoop in joy as they find a green bucket !
The trainspotter wonders over to see what all the fuss is about and one of the youngsters starts chattering wildly about his new GPS gadget and how it enables him and his friends to have great fun finding hidden stash !
That's it, cries the trainspotter, my trainspotting days are over, GPS hide and seek is a lot more fun.
He knew this day was going to be special, but had no idea just how extra-ordinary it would be !
Ahh, he sighs, it's a good job those youngsters read slashdot every day !
Yes, and while I'm locating buckets with my GPS, I may just don my green raincoat, head on over to my local train station and jot some of the train numbers down in my little book.
After that, I retire at home with a cup 'o tea and a sarnie and go through my extensive stamp collection.
An exilarating game of rummy might be good too.
Now let me get this straight, there are 11 million+ regular internet users and at least 90% of them have a video card capable of 16bit color.
So I should limit my webpage creativity by only using 22 colours.
Yeah right.
The most important thing is to ensure that your websites work in most any browser.
The websafe pallete is like, so 96 man...
Or
Episode 2: The rise of the plastic yoda
Episode 2: The biggest movie con in history
Episode 2: The return of all the morons who camped out for 4 days waiting to see the movie and then pretended they actually liked it.
Episode 2: I'm only acting in this because of the money
Episode 2: The movie is crap, but the action figures are cool !
Slashdot Mirror
I dunno about the states, but in Europe and here in South Africa, your dead meat without one.
I held back for 4 years or more before finally getting one as it became a matter of neccessity.
you might as well ask "Do we really need Fax Machines"
Everyone and there dog has got a cellphone over here - thanks mainly to the 'pay as you go' kinda schemes.
In South Africa, we have what's called a 'pay as you go' system.
:-
For about $20 you get a starter kit that gets installed in your cellphone at the shop you buy it from and comes with your PIN number and your Cell Number.
After that, you buy 'recharge' vouchers of several different denominations - i.e. call time.
These vouchers have a serial number which you reveal in the same manner as a scratch card - you then simply dial a number and punch in the serial - viola, more call time !
All incoming calls are free.
IOW, you call the shots on how much bucks you want to spend.
This system is only useful if you receive more incoming calls than you make outgoing.
I can't believe there's nothing like that in the states ? -
Hmm, come to think of it, I think it was invented in South Africa - check it out
http://www.vodacom.co.za
http://www.mtn.co.za
What you are proposing in your thoughts is some kind of technological Utopia.
Hrmmm.
Interesting read tho, I'm busy dreaming on right now...
DOS
Yep - we also shout out things like :-
"Fuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk"
some of our web designers have been known to burst into tears of frustration whilst simultaneously banging thier heads against the wall.
I have Netscape installed as Crap-Scape. because it's a pile of fetid steaming dingo's turd.
Who needs Netscape 6 when we've got Mozilla for Linux and Ie for win32 ?
mp3's are alive and well in South Africa
As for the issues, yes, they exist, radio stations have mentioned them, they've been on TV, people who have access to the net download them.
We have extensive piracy over here, but from a population point of view, it's no biggy when compared to say, eastern european / asian countries.
Put it this way, no one is getting arrested for storing or making mp3 files available - I've found tons of them on some of main ISP's ftp servers !
I think we've got a little more to worry about than that - education for one !
There's an estimated 2.5 million web users in the Whole of Africa - that's a tiny figure
I'd say South Africa probably has about 1.5 million of those users, yet our population is around 45 million, IOW, less than 3% of our population is aware/has access to the internet, so mp3 files are hardly an issue over here !
It is better for Netscape to release a fully working implementation of there browser to the masses and have a sign-up beta testing area.
Personally, I don't see this happening anytime soon.
I'm considering ditching making websites that work with netscape and aim to concentrate only on ie and mozilla - we simply do not have the time at our offices any more to force netscape to behave itself when rendering pages !
Netscape are concentrating on things that don't matter rather than on the real issues - like a browser which complies to standards and renders quickly.
Screw them I say - dump netscape and switch to mozilla or ie, the 'war' was lost a long time ago for netscape.
I develop Web sites for a living (part of a small company) so we have to create cross browser / cross platform websites as a matter of common sense.
We test on Linux, Mac & win32 and I must say, all of the web developers in our offices HATE coding for Netscape.
Nothing works right first time around - we spends hours of time 'forcing' netscape to behave itself and this is with accepted w3c tags !
IOW, a job that should take 1 day can take 2 days - should we dump netscape all together and cut out all platforms but win32 and mac ?
I'm seriously considering it for economic reasons.
Positioning anything 'pixel' wise requires a lot of coding trickery, Table and cell backgrounds render incorrectly - the list goes on.
The only thing in netscapes favour is that it is fully cross-platform.
I'm praying that Mozilla is the answer !
I agree Wine is a great project - but imho, it should only be viewed as a temporary solution. Take Corel PhotoPaint 9.0 for instance, sure, it works just fine, but my god, is it SLOW - so slow, it's unusable mostly, whereas the Gimp is super speedy. My point ? Well, if wine succeeds in running every single app available for win32, then software developers like Macromedia and Adobe will never have to properly port there apps to run under Linux. This is great if the speed win32 apps running under Wine was at least 80% of the speed of windows, but if not, there's not much point ! Anyway, what Linux is lacking, imho, is more graphics applications of the quality of Macromedia products. If Flash 5, Fireworks 3 and Dreamweaver were available for Linux, I'd never use win32 again. SO, in conclusion, unless Wine seriously speeds up, it's just a very temporary solution that won't stop people from ditching win32 - what would you rather do, run office2000 at 50% of the speed of windows in Linux, or simply boot win32 and run it there ? I'm with the latter.
This smacks of nothing more than blind paranoia.
It's actually Facist - like reporting your neighbour to the cops if you see 'suspicious behaviour'
Anyway, I think the office workers will make there own rules anyway - they always do !
What you've said is all well and good and makes sense for the actual construction of the building, but how about the interior decoration ?
I can see a time when a client can VR through there home with an interior designer (or by themselves) and simply apply finishes real time to see how they look.
There's also another use for it.
When I was working as an apprentice draughtsman (a few years before CAD took over) there was a entire team of guys employed to build a 3d model of a refining plant that was being designed - they would take the plans and 3d isometric drawings from the draughtsmen and tediously construct a scaled down model of the plant.
Wouldn't that be a damn side easier on a computer ?
Rather than thrasing this idea to pieces and debunking it as bullshit, think about the possibilities it holds.
Sure, we don't have affordable solutions at present, but it's a progression toward that goal.
It's going to happen.
I sometimes get the impression that there are far too many rich bored americans on the planet. Whilst the rest of us are battling with everyday life, some geek who gets payed far too much is building a replica of a robotic vehicle from an overated movie out of bits of plastic that kids play with and then somebody reports it as news. Oh boy, is there any hope for us !
Jeez, man, I attached my Z1 Integrated Truss Segment to my space station in 1746, just after pounding the russians with nukes whilst simultaneously smashing the yanks with a few barbarians and a cavalry or two. Eh, wow, this stuff is strong... puf... puff..
I want a lego set which emulates Meccano. Yep - for all those who haven't a clue what meccano was, go play with your lego, or anything else for that matter... Ah, those heady days of bolting together bits of metal with holes in them whilst listening to the buggles or madness on the radio feel like yesterday ! Lego - well, you can't bend a piece of lego to get it to do what you want, but it seems that you can make a small nuclear reactor powerfull enough to supply the average non-american household with it these days. Kids just aren't the same any more, for one, they are anywhere between 0 and 50 and for another, they just don't have the same values anymore, the little blighters ! Stick your lego where the sun hasn't shone yet and give me a shiny new set of meccano - it had motors before lego had even considered it !
Women Drivers, Drivers who wear gloves Drivers who wear hats Drivers who wear hats and gloves Women Drivers who wear hats and gloves and now LOCUST DRIVERS ! Can it get any worse ? yes - Women Locust drivers wearing hats and gloves !
The ZX81 was my first computer - and man, what a wonderful absolute piece of junk it was !
I learnt basic on that damn thing, not to mention 'finger karate' - eventually the keyboard bombed out.
The only use I can see for it now is a paperweight or a door stop
:)
Anyone from the UK remember the trouble they had with the launch of that machine ? - They had like a 4 month delay, I think I waited about 6 months after ordering before getting it.
The Vic20 was a lot better - as my one friend was very keen on pointing out everytime he saw my sorry excuse for a computer.
The guy should get a payout from m$ for finding bugs like that, he's brave enough to give his Id and a fix for the security hole - but he'll probably get nothing but hastle or the cold-shoulder from 'the man' Lets face it, because humans are fallible, software will always have flaws and bugs that will either be fixed, ignored or exploited. m$ more-often-than-not falls somewhere in the last 2
eh ?
Are you mad ?
What the hell are you talking about ?
I guess, in your world, the words 'shut the fuck up' equate to the word ? 'civism'
I think your just a little bit confused there anonymous coward - and your example is disturbing to say the least !
The scary thing is, I agree with both points of view at the same time - is that wierd or what ? I'm a hacker and not a hacker - my first hacking exploit was theft, when I discovered that it was pretty easy to get a free newspaper from the vending machine (5 years old), or that switching some makes of arcade machines on or off would often doll out free credits (9 years old) - or even, meddling with the internal telephone wiring of an apartment building from your own apartment - all you need is a screwdriver (or knife) and a wire-cutter (or teeth) and a bit of patience, and your hooked to someone elses line (16 years old) - all theft, I guess. In reality, it was not only just curiosity, but was about 'beating the man' - there can be a sheer sense of satisfaction when you 'trick the system' The ironic thing is, I was 'taught' this way of thinking by the media, I was taught by books, films, music - the list goes on. I was also taught by my parents what is 'wrong or right' by their definition. The truth is, everyone is born a hacker, you've just got to know what you can get away with hacking and what you can't depending on the situaiton - oh, and another belief of mine - try not to hurt anyone doing it !
5 years, and it's quite a lot,
my pc howls like a banshee,
it's got no fans to spare,
my case is like a warehouse,
there's just no room in there.
5 years, that's all they need
before my toaster starts talking
and my cellphone can read
5 years, that's all they've got
before I stop buying hardware
and start growing pot.
The Train spotter dons a green anorak and no matter what the weather, heads on over to the local train station to spot trains.
Often the trainspotter takes along a packed lunch in a tuppleware container or wrapped neatly in wax paper. Lunch usually consists of white bread sandwiches with the crusts neatly sliced off.
The excitement mounts as the trainspotter nears his destination, knowing that today is special !
Arriving at the train station, notebook clutched tightly in hand, the trainspotter gets ready for the 8.30am from wigglesmouth, heading to barkleydale - there it goes ! - right on time ! The train spotter jots this down in his little notebook and munches on a sarnie.
Nearby, a crowd of excited youngsters whoop in joy as they find a green bucket !
The trainspotter wonders over to see what all the fuss is about and one of the youngsters starts chattering wildly about his new GPS gadget and how it enables him and his friends to have great fun finding hidden stash !
That's it, cries the trainspotter, my trainspotting days are over, GPS hide and seek is a lot more fun.
He knew this day was going to be special, but had no idea just how extra-ordinary it would be !
Ahh, he sighs, it's a good job those youngsters read slashdot every day !
Yes, and while I'm locating buckets with my GPS, I may just don my green raincoat, head on over to my local train station and jot some of the train numbers down in my little book. After that, I retire at home with a cup 'o tea and a sarnie and go through my extensive stamp collection. An exilarating game of rummy might be good too.
Now let me get this straight, there are 11 million+ regular internet users and at least 90% of them have a video card capable of 16bit color. So I should limit my webpage creativity by only using 22 colours. Yeah right. The most important thing is to ensure that your websites work in most any browser. The websafe pallete is like, so 96 man...
Or Episode 2: The rise of the plastic yoda Episode 2: The biggest movie con in history Episode 2: The return of all the morons who camped out for 4 days waiting to see the movie and then pretended they actually liked it. Episode 2: I'm only acting in this because of the money Episode 2: The movie is crap, but the action figures are cool !
Pah - here's /. restricting freedom of expression.
Ascii art is banned -
lamer troll-faced geek people !