Ok, from what I can tell, the "new" Napster is basically going to make it so music available on it results in copyright owners getting paid. If you find music on Napster, someone somewhere approved its presence.
So basically, for popular music, this translates to the RIAA getting paid. This is what people bitch about, somehow using their hatred of the RIAA to justify breaking the law, but of course this is legitimate business since the artists signed away their copyright to the record label(s)..
I speculate that during the downtime Napster has been able to get thousands of artists "approved" to use the service. This means that when they get back online I'd guess that many people who initially sign up (and with the Napster name, I think there will be more than just a few) will have their entire MP3 collections tagged as approved with a few exceptions. This is actually one good thing that comes from a monopoly on music: only half a dozen fat cats to bargain with and you get the right to re-distribute (or in Napster's case, piggy back the distribution of) a shitload of music:)
However, it also seems that Joe Q. Artist will be able to "publish" his music on Napster and get paid for it. If a lot of people migrate over to the new Napster, it's possible that many artists currently being screwed by the RIAA might say "fuck it" and just release their stuff on their own via Napster.
The.NAP thing, as anyone with half a brain realizes, is just there to appease the record labels. Nap2mp3 will be out a few hours after Napster goes live, but this isn't really a big problem. The issue here is that depending on how much press they get and how many people want to actually pay for the service (virtually unlimited music LEGALLY for a monthly fee? I'd sign up if it didn't suck and I can get them to play on my portable.) Napster very well might be poised due to their well known name brand to begin the weening of artists off the RIAA for those who want to distribute exclusively through MP3 (or, actually, NAP files.)
I don't see it being much of a big deal to the tens of thousands of college kids when the phrase "Hey Napster is back up!" is uttered around campuses to shell out $15 on mom's Visa in order to log in. I'm talking about the non-Slashdot reading CS majors who shower and used to enjoy downloading the trendy songs they heard on the radio via Napster. These people are not going to complain about NAP and the few tech savvy will convert them to MP3, and will not make the connection that Napster is making money off of their bandwidth.
I think it might just work. The question really is weither or not there are a lot of people who dropped sharing MP3s altogether after Napster died (and didn't try Gnutella, etc.) and will be willing to pay a bit each month to start getting new music again. Also, there will probably be a few people who switch just so they're not breaking the law anymore (if the Slashdot "Information wants to be something I don't have to pay for.. I mean.. Free!" piracy team can believe that.) We'll see I guess.
Honestly, I think the major problem with web advertising is the fact that advertisers under-estimate its effectiveness.
Think about it, if you were watching a television and an ad for a new car came up, and you had a button on your remote to stop watching your show and get more information about the car, how many people would hit the button? Zero. That's exactly what banner ads are doing.
Impressions are everything, clicking on a banner ad is unsurprisingly a very rare occasion. Just like the ads on TV, when you have a banner ad you're paying for product exposure and awareness, nothing more. Advertisers shouldn't expect a banner ad to turn directly into profit (ie, user clicks on banner ad, goes to site, immediately buys product. See: affiliate programs) since no other ad model expects this (except maybe those Call Now! TV ads.)
I honestly don't have a problem with these flyover ads. They're in there for the right reason: exposure. Banner ads never really did the job as far as exposure goes, simply because they're very easy to completely avoid glancing over for the trained web user.
These new ads are probably clickable, but I would expect that the exposure element is what you're paying for. You don't have to read the site, so you have no right to bitch. I think this model will end up being the most successful (though yes, the most annoying for anal Slashdot anti-ad centric users.)
Too many people here seem to forget that the ads are not target towards Linux running cookie-avoiding anti-Flash/Glitz/graphics geeks. They're targeted towards the people who look at the web like an interactive up to date television, and for those people, this will probably succeed better than the others. You guys are a speck on the radar, and for all the snickering about "haha platform agnostic my ass!" and "I'll just turn off Flash! I am so smart!" they might be the ones laughing all the way to the bank in the end. I guess we'll just have to see.
What are you talking about? Lucent was very successful up until about a year and a half ago. The reason they have gone into the shitter right now is not because of lack of identity but because of horrible management (7 web servers to every employee!) and some finanical misreporting.
Yes, gaming addiction is real. So is information addiction. It's pathetic the amount of time I spent sucking down worthless piles of information on the net.
Fark,/., k5, Drudge, Shack,.5e, x-e, penny arcade, SA, POTD, Filthy, The Atlantic, TNR, HowStuffWorks, Ars, Onion, Blogdex, CNN, check e-mail, rinse, repeat until dead.
The 2 hour morning web surf through my first two classes and before the shower is probably the most depressing after its over.
The only thing worse than having a day go by in front of the computer is having that day go by with the end result being that you got farther in a game or read a bunch of meaningless drivel by some web admin or forum-goers. See, I'm doing it right now!
The only way I feel like I'm using the computer effectively is when I'm doing homework or coding a personal project. Everything else is worthless, except maybe a regular check of the daily news (since I have no TV.)
I spend days, hell, weeks sometimes, away from the web and realize how stupid it is and what a waste of time it is. Too bad I never learn.
Don't even ask about what happened when Quake 3 fit itself into this routine two years ago. I finally got over that one this semester when my cable provider decided to suck. I should be thankful.
And for all you naysayers, here's a little thing I typed up. Please correct me where necessary.
The Unofficial Anti-Anti-Segway FAQ v0.01
by Greg Fodor (nebby@half-empty.org)
Created on 12/3/01
Feel free to copy this wherever you want.
Q: What is Segway?
A: Not a scooter. More specifically, Segway is a two-wheeled self-balancing electrically powered people moving device created by inventor Dean Kamen.
More information, obviously, can be found at http://www.segway.com.
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Q: How is it not a scooter? Screw this, I'm gonna just go by an electric Razor!
A: Calling the Segway a scooter is analagous to calling the automobile a motorized buggy. Riding the Segway is supposedly an amazing experience like no other; all those who have ridden one agree: this is amazing stuff. Propelling the scooter requires just a slight lean forward or back, with steering controlled on the handlebar.
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Q: What if I don't *need* help balancing? I'm not an uncoordinated loser like the people who need these Segway things! (or, Why don't they just put a third wheel on it for balancing and chop $2500 off the price?)
A: The purpose of Kamen's balancing technology is not merely to prevent you from falling, but is the key element in the entire feel and interface of the device. Using the device, as Kamen puts it, is like wearing "magic sneakers." The device feels like an attachment to your very feet, giving you the ability to freely glide over any surface on a whim. You feel not like the passenger on a vehicle, as you would with a motorized scooter, but as an empowered pedestrian whose very feet have been enhanced with wheels.
From segway.com:
"Step on Segway HT, and your instinct will be to steady yourself, as you would on anything with two wheels. Almost immediately, you'll realize that isn't necessary - Segway HT is balancing for you. Then it's as simple as shifting your weight. Lean forward and you go forward. Straighten up and you gently stop. You'll see that Segway HT isn't moving you, it's moving in response to you.
That's what happens physically. Emotionally, it's like the childhood dreams you had where you could fly. You feel freedom, exhilaration, and confidence. You have the sensation of the ground moving beneath you, but you're not touching it. And you're seized by the desire to go somewhere. Only then do you become aware of your own smile."
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Q: 17 MPH!? It's way too slow, I want something that will replace the car!
A: The Segway is not meant to replace the car. It is meant as a way of augmenting the process of walking as a pedestrian. Being able to up your pace to 17 MPH both makes your usual walks shorter and easier (and on this thing, more fun,) and also increases the number of places you can feasibly go.
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Q: So aren't people going to be pissed when they're walking around and Segway users zip by and annoy them?
A: Eventually when more people purchase Segways, it is feasible to think that small Segway lanes will be opened (similar to bike lanes) in major cities for fast Segway users. Other Segway riders could very well roll along with pedestrians unannoyingly at a slightly slower pace.
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Q: This is so horrible. People already are fat and out of shape enough, we don't need another American gadget that will give people another excuse to stop exercising.
A: Yes, we should also outlaw cars since you can sit your lazy ass in them all the time. Donuts too are a possible target for legislation, we wouldn't want anyone eating them since they could become fat and stricken with heart disease. It's important that we keep a careful control on what people can choose to do or not do, since we know what's best for them.
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Q: I live in Northen Montana and it snows all day here. Theres no way in hell I'd give up my car to ride to work and get hypothermia in the snow.
A: The Segway wasn't made for you. Though it supposedly can navigate through small piles of snow (just put on a hat and jacket for the 5 minute ride to work in the city,) it's not meant to be a all-terrain 4-wheel drive mini-SUV with heat and AC.
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Q: So, what if it rains? I'll get soaked!
A: The Segway is supposed to be an elegant and easy to use enhancement for the speed of the pedestrian. It is not meant to replace the car, and hence, if you don't like walking in the rain with an umbrella, you probably will dislike riding the Segway in the rain with an umbrella.
Overall, anything you wouldn't walk through (wind, snow, rain) you probably won't be willing to go Segging through either. Don't buy one if you hate walking outside and in all cases prefer the heat/AC/enclosure of a car.
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Q: It's too expensive, at $3k nobody is ever going to buy one.
A: You're absolutely right, except the "nobody" part should be changed to "only early adopters." Like any brand-spanking-never-been-seen-before technology, the price will be high and the initial demand will be filled by either large companies who can drop the change needed to buy a slew of them, or for the enthusiasts (early adopters) who just have to have the latest and greatest. GeForce3, anyone?
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Q: I'm so sick of this, all that hype and it's just a scooter? No sterling? It doesn't fly? What the hell??
A: The so-called hype that people love to complain about has not been fed to them by Kamen himself but by third parties, mostly just idiots on the Internet over-speculating and coming up with their wildest fantasies. It's amazing how many idiots thought it would fly. Kamen has said from the get go of the hype-machine that it would and could never live up to the hype.
That being said, Segway is an amazing acheivement, and does in fact have the ability to change everything if adopted around the world. It's a low-energy electrically powered transportation device that seemingly can be used by anyone. Not everyone can manage to control an electric scooter, but everyone will be able to glide around with childlike freedom on their Segway.
Also, don't forget that Kamen's company (DEKA Research, http://www.dekaresearch.com) has been and is working on a high efficiency sterling engine. I don't think it takes much foresight to think perhaps one could eventually be found on a new version of the Segway once the technology is perfected.
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Q: It's 60 pounds, yet in videos I've seen, there are old ladies carrying it up stairs! What a crock!
A: The Segway supposedly has a mode called "following mode" which allows it to be guided (perhaps remotely via the key?) by a human but using its own power for propelling itself. In other words, when you come to a set of stairs unnavigable by the device, you hop off, switch to following mode, and walk up the stairs guiding the Segway along. It will turn its wheels as you offset its balance in order to climb the stairs.
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Q: Nobody is going to buy one because they'll look really stupid on them.
A: I'd guess that in most cases, if you look stupid on a Segway, you look stupid off a Segway. Regardless, this product is largely meant for people who do not necessarily hold their "dork factor" in the highest importance when it comes to choosing a transportation method. Look at some of the cars on the road and you'll realize there are many of these types of people.
Also, once a tenth of the population are crusing around on them in a city, you'll probably get used to them. I'd imagine the first car drivers looked rather silly with no horse being driven by them in front of the thing.
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Q: Nobody is going to buy one because the thing doesn't go too far on a single charge.
A: It really isn't meant to go long distances. It's meant for daily errands, the short trip to work, etc. A charge will get you approx. 17 miles or so (IIRC) which has been determined by Kamen's team to be far exceeding the average amount of distance covered daily by city dwellers in their day-to-day activites.
Also, it wouldn't be impossible to imagine an enhanced battery or motor in a few years extending the distance capabilities of the Segway. Regardless, right now it's not an impractical limit by any means.
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Q: It's going to be great when the system just zonks out and people start falling over! Hahah! I am so smart!
A: Actually, the Segway incorporates reduntant systems and is supposed to be fail safe on a level near medical devices (remember, most of Kamen's other devices have been in the medical field, requiring FDA approval and all.) The onscreen meter will undoubtfully inform you of the battery level, and as such, battery failure is most likely going to be as common as a car running out of gas. Oh wait, actually, since every electrical outlet becomes the equivalent of a gas station with an electric vehicle, only those who are extremely stupid and/or drunk will be most likely to let their Segway run down to nothing. If your Segway is running out of steam, you're not exactly stranded with no means of charging it up if you're in a metropolis.
I'd also guess that if these become adopted in the future, offices will install chargers to allow you to charge your Segway while you work.
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Q: This Kamen guy is a crock.
A: Not really. He has many inventions in the medical industry, one of the most well known is the iBot, a motorized robot which serves the same purpose as a wheelchair but allows its rider to climb stairs, curbs, drive over sand, and raise his/herself to eye level by balancing on two wheels.
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Q: Ok, maybe he's smart, but he just over-hyped this thing to make tons of money.
A: First, he didn't hype it, that was (probably) you, and the media. Secondly, Kamen has a pretty good record to show he's an example of an rather unselfish inventor whose endevours are a function not just of his financial gain but moreso from the overall benefit to the users of his inventions. As further evidence, he's the creator and overseer of FIRST (the project on the top of his list of importance, supposedly,) a national robotics program and competition for high schoolers which is intended to help change teen idols from pop stars and sports athletes to scientists and mathematicians. More information about FIRST can be found at http://www.usfirst.org.
--
Q: Well, I don't live in a city anyway, I would never want one.
A: Well, do you work in a manufacturing facility? For a shipping company? Hell, in a big library?
Do you deliver mail? Do you perform rounds as a guard in a federal building?
Do you hate walking around Disney World? The mall? The town square?
Are you a cop? A paramedic? Do you just make rounds with medication in a hospital?
Do you go to school at a large campus? Do you work on a company campus?
Do you have trouble walking around the house due to your age or another condition?
If so, you might end up riding on and appreciating a Segway.
--
Q: But..but..it's just a freaking SCOOTER!? I want my flying car!!!
A: *sigh* Go invent it yourself, then. I'll be cruising around in my Segway in the meantime.
Re:Jesus Fucking Christ
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Bzzt, wrong! The real reason the gyroscopes are there is because Kamen realized that by having an auto-balancing two wheeled scooter, you effectively give the rider the feeling of having "magical sneakers," as he put it. It feels like you are skiing along the ground, and it doesn't feel like a vehicle, it's like a graceful way of skating around the landscape.
I love how a shitty mail client clone for L00nUx comes out and it's praised to hell and back, yet the same day a revolutionary vehicle control system is revealed by an astounting inventor and it's slammed because it has nothing to do with Open Sores.
You guys are pathetic.
Re:Jesus Fucking Christ
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It's not Dean Kamen's fault if people are stupid and don't exercise. It's not your responsibility to worry about them, either.. assuming you're not one of them.
I mean "developing" in the sense that they are still setting up their transportation infrastructure. Not in the sense that they are living in mud huts. The population of these places are assumed to be able to afford cars, and hence, many may decide to use Segways as their exclusive transportation device if cities are designed accordingly.
Additionally, developing countries will not be buying the $3,000 model, hence not buying them right now, something I thought was obvious. Initially the only people with these things will be companies and the rich. As more are made the price will drop, and eventually in developing countries I predict that you will see "segway-ized" style development which lends itself to both car and segway traffic, not merely car traffic as we see in the US.
I am appauled by how most people have reacted to this, both here and on other tech sites. It's amazing that you fools can rip on Kamen, especially after seeing all the other inventions he's done. The iBot is unbelievable.
Anyway, for all you imbeciles who keep saying "oh puhleze! How is this any better than my leet raz0r sk00t0r?".. Hello? Anyone home? When was the last time you saw a 35 year old cruising down the street in a metropolitan area on a fucking Razor scooter? The idea here is that these things are going to be efficient, enjoyable, and most of all, EASY to ride on. What the fuck do you think all the gyroscope technology Kamen has been working on for the past 10 years is all about? I'd guess 95% of the idiots here wouldn't even be able to begin to understand how the thing works, especially because they'd be too worried about how they could get l00nix to run on it.
Get your heads out of the sand, for Christs sake. Its not for suburban white kids running leet warez servers who never leave their houses, its for people who are pissed off with having to get in their car to drive a few blocks in the city traffic, for college kids who don't want to walk 5 miles every morning at 8AM to class, and, especially, for developing countires to embrace when they build up their transportation infrastructure.
Re:for all the shortsighted....
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I agree. The online reaction to this has disgusted me completely. I read comments on Slashdot these days largely to figure out what stance on issues to avoid, since almost always the majority here speaks in the name of idiocy.
Re:Innovation? Yes. Better than a scooter? No.
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How many people do you know that can drive cars?
How many people do you know that have the skill to navigate motorized scooters through traffic? Much less, I'd assume
Now, how many people do you know that would want a transportation system on par in terms of speed, cost, and efficiency with bikes and motorized scooters, with the safety and ease of use of using cars? I think this is a large market, and is exactly what Kamen is going for.
The C# way of multiple interface implementation seems like it could be good, but will mostly just cause programmer errors.
The case you mentioned is when two interfaces have the same method declarations. This is by far a rare case, and probably is negligable. The "feature" you point to is just the workaround for explicit overriding Microsoft included, something which, I think, is impossible to do in Java since it won't let you implement two interfaces with identical methods. It's definitely not something to worry about or note as a problem though.
The bracket'ed stuff is meta information about the chunk of code itself. It's like "smart-commenting" such that other tools can use the data held within. Instead of reserving tons of keywords for things like sychronization, web methods, and god knows what, a lot of stuff uses the attribute feature. I don't see a problem with this, I think it's just because you're not used to it.
The getter/setter methods are a good thing for tired hands sick of writing method declarations over and over for each member of the class, IMHO.
You can instantiate objects on the fly, in fact, you can even create new classes and MSIL code on the fly using the Compiler classes! Advanced reflection stuff is all there.. working with Assembly meta data all the way down to method meta data.
I've been a Java programmer since JDK 1.0 came out, though I've really done most of my Java coding with server side servlet stuff since the GUI library has, and probably always will, suck the wanker.
I just recently picked up C# about a month ago. The learning curve from Java was pretty damn low, only with a few different naming conventions and new language constructs. Things such as indexers, delegates, and the like (all of which I feel are positive additons to the language.) The event model, to my surprise, is better than Java.
Then after learning the language itself I started looking into Windows Forms and nearly spooged my pants. Finally Windows progammers get a clean framework of GUI controls with a powerful modern language behind it (ie, not C++ or VB.)
Usually if you wanted to make a powerful Windows app you were forced to use C++ since VB didn't really cut it. Now you can use C#. Complex Windows apps are going to be a whole lot easier to write now, nevermind the fact that they'll be able to do remote method calls via SOAP, and be deployed effortlessly (ie, create a Windows Installer in like 3 clicks or something.)
I have to say, for the stuff I'm writing that I don't need cross-platform compatibility (which I did surprisingly find to work in the case of servlets).. C# and the.NET framework wins hands down.
That was perhaps the best troll I've ever seen posted on Slashdot. The only reason it didn't fool me is because I've been developing C# for the past month and before that was doing Java for 3 years or so. C# is better, hands down, as long as you don't want cross-platform compatibility.
Well, the reason I posted this was to see some constructive critism. About 80% of the posts I've read didn't bother to read the article. I agree, the article itself proposes a un-doable solution. However, I feel it could be expanded upon.
A lot of people here say they want the web to remain free, etc. etc. Bring it back to the way it was, and so on. The bottom line is, tons of sites that would form a niche part of the web and be beneficial to the community are knocked off the radar because they cannot afford the hosting. Sites like MSN, CNN, and yes, Slashdot, stay up because they are members of a few elite that can afford quality hosting.
A small, trivial, compensation for sites from many hands would make a HUGE difference. Not enough to make a profit, just enough to keep the site running. As such, it would have to be proportional to the number of visitors. Ask any webmaster who has tried to make a decent sized community site/hobby site/etc and they'll probably tell you that they were doing it at a loss. Hell even the onesthatareup are only up because their webmasters have been dropping unnecessarily large amounts of cash and/or they've sold out.
Now of course, the Slashdot population will yell in response "We didn't ask them to do it! It's their problem if they can't afford it!" Well, of course this is true. But the question becomes, wouldn't an extra 5 or 10 bucks from your wallet each to pay for the hosting of sites you find on the web be worth them not dying in a few weeks? Wouldn't you rather Malda, Lowtax, or whoever spend more time writing/coding the site than stressing out and sucking dick for money so they can provide you with something for free? I've been fortunate enough with my hosting, being entirely donated, but just the experiences I had with half-empty make me realize how much it sucks that someone can't come up with a good idea for the web and not be able to deploy it without reaching into their wallet (I'll give you my time, but I won't give you my money!:)), begging for scraps, or plastering dicks and tits all over the place.
Of course I wouldn't expect people to pay an extra $100 a month for this. It wouldn't be necessary. Come up with ideas. For example, a client side program that logs the hits and sends information about domains to the ISP and the ISP forwards the money.
The idea is not to worry about how people will circumvent it (they will) and how people in "non-rich" countries will afford it (they won't be involved.) Over the long haul though, the extra dollar here or there thrown to sites by non-circumventing users would make a HELL of a difference. A penny might be too high. A page might be a bad measurement. Get past the damn details and try to see the point!:)
I agree that there are flaws in the design of this model. You're right, the web can be free, but I am of the opinion that with the amount of bandwidth and people using it the untapped potential if left completely free is enormous. If individuals with ideas could just execute them without worrying about hosting, the results would be amazing, IMHO. Chew on that, and instead of bitching about why this won't work, acknowledge why we do or don't need to help web admins show us their work, and propose a means of doing so!
If you're a responsible researcher who discovered the exploit, your work will eventually be published upon the release of a patch.
The reason, I'd assume, that "full disclosure" mode is enacted upon seeing the exploit be out in the wild is to put some fire under the ass of those responsible to get a patch out. It hightens the level of urgency. I think this makes sense actually, since in most cases a patch will be released during the grace period (theoretically) before the exploit is actually seen in the wild.
I was actually going to propose a grace period as a "solution" to the problem, before I realized Microsoft was pushing for a grace period. I'm not fond of the month long period though, I'd expect it to be more like a week and a half to two weeks. Having hack-able boxes sitting open for a month when someone out there knows how to get into them is irresponsible. Giving manufaturers two weeks to get themselves together before the script kiddies come full on though seems like a good idea to me.
Can someone try to mirror the video(s) before their server melts?
Re:Blech. Most of them are pretty bad.
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Holy shit, that was harsh. Plus you used the word "shitbag" twice.
Anyway, when coding in Java the debuggers are usually broken or really slow. The ones out there usually force you to turn off JIT and other speedups for stepping and watching. That basically translates to impractical for all but the most hard-to-fix bugs.
That was the case when debugging servlets at least, there might be other options for applications, like shared memory or something.
Hence, I've been somewhat forced to use printouts and log files for debugging. Not that I like it, but I've gotten used to it and have found that it's not much of a difference than back when I was using the debugger in VC++.
So, I'd guess your "company" probably is developing shit a lot slower than it could be in Java using the shitty ass debuggers that are out there.
Slickedit, hands down the best balance between Notepad and a full fledged IDE I've seen. Think emacs, but with a better GUI and without all the extra crap and ridiculous key combos.
I've cranked out many lines of Java code with it, so it's lasted the long haul for me.
Umm.. once the case is sealed and the software is running, I don't give a rats ass about what it looks like or how hot it gets. Maybe the noise bothers you, but seriously, for computing, the noise is the least factor I consider when buying hardware. The stuff on the screen and how fast and reliably it comes up is all that matters to me once the issue of hardware is settled.
All the features you meantion (ethernet, firewire) can be utilized (probably cheaper) on a PC box. The whole setup might not seem as "slick" to you, but again, all I care about is the fact that my screen is telling me the video is being transferred quickly from the camera to the hard drive over firewire. Integrated on a mobo, part of a card, or driven by a bald hamster named Fred, I couldn't care less. I don't know why anyone would, unless reliabilty was affected by the difference (ie, the hamster would soon die..) I don't think this is an issue in PC vs. Mac, however.
The "quality drive" you speak of is a function of the OS and the applications, as well as the speedy performance of the hardware. It is not a function of how sleek the hardware looks, how quiet it is, or how cool it is on the inside of the case. At least, not to me, and I'd presume most people.
How do you define "good stuff" when it comes to hardware other than how fast and reliably it performs? A CPU made out of dog snot that doubles the speed and reliability of the fastest chip on the market is better hardware.
And I was all excited they were going to release a OS X based wireless web pad. Instead we get yet another portable MP3 player.. "groundbreaking" I think was the term I heard them use to describe this new secret product the other day. How "groundbreaking" can something be when I can walk up the street and buy something with similiar (and in some cases, additional/better) features?
Sigh. One day Apple will live up to the hype. OS X is cool, and their plastic molding team has skills, but the hardware just sucks.
Well, one could argue it's not truly anonymous now, anyway. A little investigation of web logs could determine anyone who's posting AC from the same PC as a user account. You can get an IP address, which can in some cases lead to who you are. Between an IP address and the context of your message (ie, a angry Netscape employee).. a cunning manager might be able to pinpoint you. But you are right, somebody who wants to leak a government document could potentially come from a unique IP, post once, leave, and never be heard from again.
The internal connection in the DB between the poster and the post would be severed after a day or two once moderation is done and any private messages are sent to the user. This way, VA can't come a month down the road asking about who posted comment #12345, the link is severed and there's no longer any information. This is only slighly less "anonymous" than the system currently is. It would be banking on the fact that any legal action looking to unmask a certain AC could not take place within two days or so of the post itself.. which I think is pretty much guarenteed.
Slashdot Mirror
Ok, from what I can tell, the "new" Napster is basically going to make it so music available on it results in copyright owners getting paid. If you find music on Napster, someone somewhere approved its presence.
:)
.NAP thing, as anyone with half a brain realizes, is just there to appease the record labels. Nap2mp3 will be out a few hours after Napster goes live, but this isn't really a big problem. The issue here is that depending on how much press they get and how many people want to actually pay for the service (virtually unlimited music LEGALLY for a monthly fee? I'd sign up if it didn't suck and I can get them to play on my portable.) Napster very well might be poised due to their well known name brand to begin the weening of artists off the RIAA for those who want to distribute exclusively through MP3 (or, actually, NAP files.)
So basically, for popular music, this translates to the RIAA getting paid. This is what people bitch about, somehow using their hatred of the RIAA to justify breaking the law, but of course this is legitimate business since the artists signed away their copyright to the record label(s)..
I speculate that during the downtime Napster has been able to get thousands of artists "approved" to use the service. This means that when they get back online I'd guess that many people who initially sign up (and with the Napster name, I think there will be more than just a few) will have their entire MP3 collections tagged as approved with a few exceptions. This is actually one good thing that comes from a monopoly on music: only half a dozen fat cats to bargain with and you get the right to re-distribute (or in Napster's case, piggy back the distribution of) a shitload of music
However, it also seems that Joe Q. Artist will be able to "publish" his music on Napster and get paid for it. If a lot of people migrate over to the new Napster, it's possible that many artists currently being screwed by the RIAA might say "fuck it" and just release their stuff on their own via Napster.
The
I don't see it being much of a big deal to the tens of thousands of college kids when the phrase "Hey Napster is back up!" is uttered around campuses to shell out $15 on mom's Visa in order to log in. I'm talking about the non-Slashdot reading CS majors who shower and used to enjoy downloading the trendy songs they heard on the radio via Napster. These people are not going to complain about NAP and the few tech savvy will convert them to MP3, and will not make the connection that Napster is making money off of their bandwidth.
I think it might just work. The question really is weither or not there are a lot of people who dropped sharing MP3s altogether after Napster died (and didn't try Gnutella, etc.) and will be willing to pay a bit each month to start getting new music again. Also, there will probably be a few people who switch just so they're not breaking the law anymore (if the Slashdot "Information wants to be something I don't have to pay for.. I mean.. Free!" piracy team can believe that.) We'll see I guess.
Honestly, I think the major problem with web advertising is the fact that advertisers under-estimate its effectiveness.
Think about it, if you were watching a television and an ad for a new car came up, and you had a button on your remote to stop watching your show and get more information about the car, how many people would hit the button? Zero. That's exactly what banner ads are doing.
Impressions are everything, clicking on a banner ad is unsurprisingly a very rare occasion. Just like the ads on TV, when you have a banner ad you're paying for product exposure and awareness, nothing more. Advertisers shouldn't expect a banner ad to turn directly into profit (ie, user clicks on banner ad, goes to site, immediately buys product. See: affiliate programs) since no other ad model expects this (except maybe those Call Now! TV ads.)
I honestly don't have a problem with these flyover ads. They're in there for the right reason: exposure. Banner ads never really did the job as far as exposure goes, simply because they're very easy to completely avoid glancing over for the trained web user.
These new ads are probably clickable, but I would expect that the exposure element is what you're paying for. You don't have to read the site, so you have no right to bitch. I think this model will end up being the most successful (though yes, the most annoying for anal Slashdot anti-ad centric users.)
Too many people here seem to forget that the ads are not target towards Linux running cookie-avoiding anti-Flash/Glitz/graphics geeks. They're targeted towards the people who look at the web like an interactive up to date television, and for those people, this will probably succeed better than the others. You guys are a speck on the radar, and for all the snickering about "haha platform agnostic my ass!" and "I'll just turn off Flash! I am so smart!" they might be the ones laughing all the way to the bank in the end. I guess we'll just have to see.
What are you talking about? Lucent was very successful up until about a year and a half ago. The reason they have gone into the shitter right now is not because of lack of identity but because of horrible management (7 web servers to every employee!) and some finanical misreporting.
In light of the previous article, is this somewhat like the Cannibus Cup in The Netherlands?
It would be very very interesting to see what would happen if piracy were hypothetically made impossible for all games.
Would we see not only college dropouts, but starved families of working men spending all their money on games?
Yes, gaming addiction is real. So is information addiction. It's pathetic the amount of time I spent sucking down worthless piles of information on the net.
/., k5, Drudge, Shack, .5e, x-e, penny arcade, SA, POTD, Filthy, The Atlantic, TNR, HowStuffWorks, Ars, Onion, Blogdex, CNN, check e-mail, rinse, repeat until dead.
Fark,
The 2 hour morning web surf through my first two classes and before the shower is probably the most depressing after its over.
The only thing worse than having a day go by in front of the computer is having that day go by with the end result being that you got farther in a game or read a bunch of meaningless drivel by some web admin or forum-goers. See, I'm doing it right now!
The only way I feel like I'm using the computer effectively is when I'm doing homework or coding a personal project. Everything else is worthless, except maybe a regular check of the daily news (since I have no TV.)
I spend days, hell, weeks sometimes, away from the web and realize how stupid it is and what a waste of time it is. Too bad I never learn.
Don't even ask about what happened when Quake 3 fit itself into this routine two years ago. I finally got over that one this semester when my cable provider decided to suck. I should be thankful.
And for all you naysayers, here's a little thing I typed up. Please correct me where necessary.
The Unofficial Anti-Anti-Segway FAQ v0.01
by Greg Fodor (nebby@half-empty.org)
Created on 12/3/01
Feel free to copy this wherever you want.
Q: What is Segway?
A: Not a scooter. More specifically, Segway is a two-wheeled self-balancing electrically powered people moving device created by inventor Dean Kamen.
More information, obviously, can be found at http://www.segway.com.
--
Q: How is it not a scooter? Screw this, I'm gonna just go by an electric Razor!
A: Calling the Segway a scooter is analagous to calling the automobile a motorized buggy. Riding the Segway is supposedly an amazing experience like no other; all those who have ridden one agree: this is amazing stuff. Propelling the scooter requires just a slight lean forward or back, with steering controlled on the handlebar.
--
Q: What if I don't *need* help balancing? I'm not an uncoordinated loser like the people who need these Segway things! (or, Why don't they just put a third wheel on it for balancing and chop $2500 off the price?)
A: The purpose of Kamen's balancing technology is not merely to prevent you from falling, but is the key element in the entire feel and interface of the device. Using the device, as Kamen puts it, is like wearing "magic sneakers." The device feels like an attachment to your very feet, giving you the ability to freely glide over any surface on a whim. You feel not like the passenger on a vehicle, as you would with a motorized scooter, but as an empowered pedestrian whose very feet have been enhanced with wheels.
From segway.com:
"Step on Segway HT, and your instinct will be to steady yourself, as you would on anything with two wheels. Almost immediately, you'll realize that isn't necessary - Segway HT is balancing for you. Then it's as simple as shifting your weight. Lean forward and you go forward. Straighten up and you gently stop. You'll see that Segway HT isn't moving you, it's moving in response to you.
That's what happens physically. Emotionally, it's like the childhood dreams you had where you could fly. You feel freedom, exhilaration, and confidence. You have the sensation of the ground moving beneath you, but you're not touching it. And you're seized by the desire to go somewhere. Only then do you become aware of your own smile."
--
Q: 17 MPH!? It's way too slow, I want something that will replace the car!
A: The Segway is not meant to replace the car. It is meant as a way of augmenting the process of walking as a pedestrian. Being able to up your pace to 17 MPH both makes your usual walks shorter and easier (and on this thing, more fun,) and also increases the number of places you can feasibly go.
--
Q: So aren't people going to be pissed when they're walking around and Segway users zip by and annoy them?
A: Eventually when more people purchase Segways, it is feasible to think that small Segway lanes will be opened (similar to bike lanes) in major cities for fast Segway users. Other Segway riders could very well roll along with pedestrians unannoyingly at a slightly slower pace.
--
Q: This is so horrible. People already are fat and out of shape enough, we don't need another American gadget that will give people another excuse to stop exercising.
A: Yes, we should also outlaw cars since you can sit your lazy ass in them all the time. Donuts too are a possible target for legislation, we wouldn't want anyone eating them since they could become fat and stricken with heart disease. It's important that we keep a careful control on what people can choose to do or not do, since we know what's best for them.
--
Q: I live in Northen Montana and it snows all day here. Theres no way in hell I'd give up my car to ride to work and get hypothermia in the snow.
A: The Segway wasn't made for you. Though it supposedly can navigate through small piles of snow (just put on a hat and jacket for the 5 minute ride to work in the city,) it's not meant to be a all-terrain 4-wheel drive mini-SUV with heat and AC.
--
Q: So, what if it rains? I'll get soaked!
A: The Segway is supposed to be an elegant and easy to use enhancement for the speed of the pedestrian. It is not meant to replace the car, and hence, if you don't like walking in the rain with an umbrella, you probably will dislike riding the Segway in the rain with an umbrella.
Overall, anything you wouldn't walk through (wind, snow, rain) you probably won't be willing to go Segging through either. Don't buy one if you hate walking outside and in all cases prefer the heat/AC/enclosure of a car.
--
Q: It's too expensive, at $3k nobody is ever going to buy one.
A: You're absolutely right, except the "nobody" part should be changed to "only early adopters." Like any brand-spanking-never-been-seen-before technology, the price will be high and the initial demand will be filled by either large companies who can drop the change needed to buy a slew of them, or for the enthusiasts (early adopters) who just have to have the latest and greatest. GeForce3, anyone?
--
Q: I'm so sick of this, all that hype and it's just a scooter? No sterling? It doesn't fly? What the hell??
A: The so-called hype that people love to complain about has not been fed to them by Kamen himself but by third parties, mostly just idiots on the Internet over-speculating and coming up with their wildest fantasies. It's amazing how many idiots thought it would fly. Kamen has said from the get go of the hype-machine that it would and could never live up to the hype.
That being said, Segway is an amazing acheivement, and does in fact have the ability to change everything if adopted around the world. It's a low-energy electrically powered transportation device that seemingly can be used by anyone. Not everyone can manage to control an electric scooter, but everyone will be able to glide around with childlike freedom on their Segway.
Also, don't forget that Kamen's company (DEKA Research, http://www.dekaresearch.com) has been and is working on a high efficiency sterling engine. I don't think it takes much foresight to think perhaps one could eventually be found on a new version of the Segway once the technology is perfected.
--
Q: It's 60 pounds, yet in videos I've seen, there are old ladies carrying it up stairs! What a crock!
A: The Segway supposedly has a mode called "following mode" which allows it to be guided (perhaps remotely via the key?) by a human but using its own power for propelling itself. In other words, when you come to a set of stairs unnavigable by the device, you hop off, switch to following mode, and walk up the stairs guiding the Segway along. It will turn its wheels as you offset its balance in order to climb the stairs.
--
Q: Nobody is going to buy one because they'll look really stupid on them.
A: I'd guess that in most cases, if you look stupid on a Segway, you look stupid off a Segway. Regardless, this product is largely meant for people who do not necessarily hold their "dork factor" in the highest importance when it comes to choosing a transportation method. Look at some of the cars on the road and you'll realize there are many of these types of people.
Also, once a tenth of the population are crusing around on them in a city, you'll probably get used to them. I'd imagine the first car drivers looked rather silly with no horse being driven by them in front of the thing.
--
Q: Nobody is going to buy one because the thing doesn't go too far on a single charge.
A: It really isn't meant to go long distances. It's meant for daily errands, the short trip to work, etc. A charge will get you approx. 17 miles or so (IIRC) which has been determined by Kamen's team to be far exceeding the average amount of distance covered daily by city dwellers in their day-to-day activites.
Also, it wouldn't be impossible to imagine an enhanced battery or motor in a few years extending the distance capabilities of the Segway. Regardless, right now it's not an impractical limit by any means.
--
Q: It's going to be great when the system just zonks out and people start falling over! Hahah! I am so smart!
A: Actually, the Segway incorporates reduntant systems and is supposed to be fail safe on a level near medical devices (remember, most of Kamen's other devices have been in the medical field, requiring FDA approval and all.) The onscreen meter will undoubtfully inform you of the battery level, and as such, battery failure is most likely going to be as common as a car running out of gas. Oh wait, actually, since every electrical outlet becomes the equivalent of a gas station with an electric vehicle, only those who are extremely stupid and/or drunk will be most likely to let their Segway run down to nothing. If your Segway is running out of steam, you're not exactly stranded with no means of charging it up if you're in a metropolis.
I'd also guess that if these become adopted in the future, offices will install chargers to allow you to charge your Segway while you work.
--
Q: This Kamen guy is a crock.
A: Not really. He has many inventions in the medical industry, one of the most well known is the iBot, a motorized robot which serves the same purpose as a wheelchair but allows its rider to climb stairs, curbs, drive over sand, and raise his/herself to eye level by balancing on two wheels.
--
Q: Ok, maybe he's smart, but he just over-hyped this thing to make tons of money.
A: First, he didn't hype it, that was (probably) you, and the media. Secondly, Kamen has a pretty good record to show he's an example of an rather unselfish inventor whose endevours are a function not just of his financial gain but moreso from the overall benefit to the users of his inventions. As further evidence, he's the creator and overseer of FIRST (the project on the top of his list of importance, supposedly,) a national robotics program and competition for high schoolers which is intended to help change teen idols from pop stars and sports athletes to scientists and mathematicians. More information about FIRST can be found at http://www.usfirst.org.
--
Q: Well, I don't live in a city anyway, I would never want one.
A: Well, do you work in a manufacturing facility? For a shipping company? Hell, in a big library?
Do you deliver mail? Do you perform rounds as a guard in a federal building?
Do you hate walking around Disney World? The mall? The town square?
Are you a cop? A paramedic? Do you just make rounds with medication in a hospital?
Do you go to school at a large campus? Do you work on a company campus?
Do you have trouble walking around the house due to your age or another condition?
If so, you might end up riding on and appreciating a Segway.
--
Q: But..but..it's just a freaking SCOOTER!? I want my flying car!!!
A: *sigh* Go invent it yourself, then. I'll be cruising around in my Segway in the meantime.
Bzzt, wrong! The real reason the gyroscopes are there is because Kamen realized that by having an auto-balancing two wheeled scooter, you effectively give the rider the feeling of having "magical sneakers," as he put it. It feels like you are skiing along the ground, and it doesn't feel like a vehicle, it's like a graceful way of skating around the landscape.
Yeah my website sucks. I realized that long before you did.
.. it was a two year long experiment that resulted in like 15,000 lines of code.
Though it's not "half-assed"
I love how a shitty mail client clone for L00nUx comes out and it's praised to hell and back, yet the same day a revolutionary vehicle control system is revealed by an astounting inventor and it's slammed because it has nothing to do with Open Sores.
You guys are pathetic.
It's not Dean Kamen's fault if people are stupid and don't exercise. It's not your responsibility to worry about them, either.. assuming you're not one of them.
I mean "developing" in the sense that they are still setting up their transportation infrastructure. Not in the sense that they are living in mud huts. The population of these places are assumed to be able to afford cars, and hence, many may decide to use Segways as their exclusive transportation device if cities are designed accordingly.
Additionally, developing countries will not be buying the $3,000 model, hence not buying them right now, something I thought was obvious. Initially the only people with these things will be companies and the rich. As more are made the price will drop, and eventually in developing countries I predict that you will see "segway-ized" style development which lends itself to both car and segway traffic, not merely car traffic as we see in the US.
I am appauled by how most people have reacted to this, both here and on other tech sites. It's amazing that you fools can rip on Kamen, especially after seeing all the other inventions he's done. The iBot is unbelievable.
.. Hello? Anyone home? When was the last time you saw a 35 year old cruising down the street in a metropolitan area on a fucking Razor scooter? The idea here is that these things are going to be efficient, enjoyable, and most of all, EASY to ride on. What the fuck do you think all the gyroscope technology Kamen has been working on for the past 10 years is all about? I'd guess 95% of the idiots here wouldn't even be able to begin to understand how the thing works, especially because they'd be too worried about how they could get l00nix to run on it.
Anyway, for all you imbeciles who keep saying "oh puhleze! How is this any better than my leet raz0r sk00t0r?"
Get your heads out of the sand, for Christs sake. Its not for suburban white kids running leet warez servers who never leave their houses, its for people who are pissed off with having to get in their car to drive a few blocks in the city traffic, for college kids who don't want to walk 5 miles every morning at 8AM to class, and, especially, for developing countires to embrace when they build up their transportation infrastructure.
I agree. The online reaction to this has disgusted me completely. I read comments on Slashdot these days largely to figure out what stance on issues to avoid, since almost always the majority here speaks in the name of idiocy.
How many people do you know that can drive cars?
How many people do you know that have the skill to navigate motorized scooters through traffic? Much less, I'd assume
Now, how many people do you know that would want a transportation system on par in terms of speed, cost, and efficiency with bikes and motorized scooters, with the safety and ease of use of using cars? I think this is a large market, and is exactly what Kamen is going for.
The C# way of multiple interface implementation seems like it could be good, but will mostly just cause programmer errors.
The case you mentioned is when two interfaces have the same method declarations. This is by far a rare case, and probably is negligable. The "feature" you point to is just the workaround for explicit overriding Microsoft included, something which, I think, is impossible to do in Java since it won't let you implement two interfaces with identical methods. It's definitely not something to worry about or note as a problem though.
The bracket'ed stuff is meta information about the chunk of code itself. It's like "smart-commenting" such that other tools can use the data held within. Instead of reserving tons of keywords for things like sychronization, web methods, and god knows what, a lot of stuff uses the attribute feature. I don't see a problem with this, I think it's just because you're not used to it.
The getter/setter methods are a good thing for tired hands sick of writing method declarations over and over for each member of the class, IMHO.
You can instantiate objects on the fly, in fact, you can even create new classes and MSIL code on the fly using the Compiler classes! Advanced reflection stuff is all there.. working with Assembly meta data all the way down to method meta data.
I think you just need to find a better C# book.
I've been a Java programmer since JDK 1.0 came out, though I've really done most of my Java coding with server side servlet stuff since the GUI library has, and probably always will, suck the wanker.
.. C# and the .NET framework wins hands down.
I just recently picked up C# about a month ago. The learning curve from Java was pretty damn low, only with a few different naming conventions and new language constructs. Things such as indexers, delegates, and the like (all of which I feel are positive additons to the language.) The event model, to my surprise, is better than Java.
Then after learning the language itself I started looking into Windows Forms and nearly spooged my pants. Finally Windows progammers get a clean framework of GUI controls with a powerful modern language behind it (ie, not C++ or VB.)
Usually if you wanted to make a powerful Windows app you were forced to use C++ since VB didn't really cut it. Now you can use C#. Complex Windows apps are going to be a whole lot easier to write now, nevermind the fact that they'll be able to do remote method calls via SOAP, and be deployed effortlessly (ie, create a Windows Installer in like 3 clicks or something.)
I have to say, for the stuff I'm writing that I don't need cross-platform compatibility (which I did surprisingly find to work in the case of servlets)
That was perhaps the best troll I've ever seen posted on Slashdot. The only reason it didn't fool me is because I've been developing C# for the past month and before that was doing Java for 3 years or so. C# is better, hands down, as long as you don't want cross-platform compatibility.
Well, the reason I posted this was to see some constructive critism. About 80% of the posts I've read didn't bother to read the article. I agree, the article itself proposes a un-doable solution. However, I feel it could be expanded upon.
:)), begging for scraps, or plastering dicks and tits all over the place.
:)
A lot of people here say they want the web to remain free, etc. etc. Bring it back to the way it was, and so on. The bottom line is, tons of sites that would form a niche part of the web and be beneficial to the community are knocked off the radar because they cannot afford the hosting. Sites like MSN, CNN, and yes, Slashdot, stay up because they are members of a few elite that can afford quality hosting.
A small, trivial, compensation for sites from many hands would make a HUGE difference. Not enough to make a profit, just enough to keep the site running. As such, it would have to be proportional to the number of visitors. Ask any webmaster who has tried to make a decent sized community site/hobby site/etc and they'll probably tell you that they were doing it at a loss. Hell even the ones that are up are only up because their webmasters have been dropping unnecessarily large amounts of cash and/or they've sold out.
Now of course, the Slashdot population will yell in response "We didn't ask them to do it! It's their problem if they can't afford it!" Well, of course this is true. But the question becomes, wouldn't an extra 5 or 10 bucks from your wallet each to pay for the hosting of sites you find on the web be worth them not dying in a few weeks? Wouldn't you rather Malda, Lowtax, or whoever spend more time writing/coding the site than stressing out and sucking dick for money so they can provide you with something for free? I've been fortunate enough with my hosting, being entirely donated, but just the experiences I had with half-empty make me realize how much it sucks that someone can't come up with a good idea for the web and not be able to deploy it without reaching into their wallet (I'll give you my time, but I won't give you my money!
Of course I wouldn't expect people to pay an extra $100 a month for this. It wouldn't be necessary. Come up with ideas. For example, a client side program that logs the hits and sends information about domains to the ISP and the ISP forwards the money.
The idea is not to worry about how people will circumvent it (they will) and how people in "non-rich" countries will afford it (they won't be involved.) Over the long haul though, the extra dollar here or there thrown to sites by non-circumventing users would make a HELL of a difference. A penny might be too high. A page might be a bad measurement. Get past the damn details and try to see the point!
I agree that there are flaws in the design of this model. You're right, the web can be free, but I am of the opinion that with the amount of bandwidth and people using it the untapped potential if left completely free is enormous. If individuals with ideas could just execute them without worrying about hosting, the results would be amazing, IMHO. Chew on that, and instead of bitching about why this won't work, acknowledge why we do or don't need to help web admins show us their work, and propose a means of doing so!
Well, not really.
If you're a responsible researcher who discovered the exploit, your work will eventually be published upon the release of a patch.
The reason, I'd assume, that "full disclosure" mode is enacted upon seeing the exploit be out in the wild is to put some fire under the ass of those responsible to get a patch out. It hightens the level of urgency. I think this makes sense actually, since in most cases a patch will be released during the grace period (theoretically) before the exploit is actually seen in the wild.
I was actually going to propose a grace period as a "solution" to the problem, before I realized Microsoft was pushing for a grace period. I'm not fond of the month long period though, I'd expect it to be more like a week and a half to two weeks. Having hack-able boxes sitting open for a month when someone out there knows how to get into them is irresponsible. Giving manufaturers two weeks to get themselves together before the script kiddies come full on though seems like a good idea to me.
Can someone try to mirror the video(s) before their server melts?
Holy shit, that was harsh. Plus you used the word "shitbag" twice.
Anyway, when coding in Java the debuggers are usually broken or really slow. The ones out there usually force you to turn off JIT and other speedups for stepping and watching. That basically translates to impractical for all but the most hard-to-fix bugs.
That was the case when debugging servlets at least, there might be other options for applications, like shared memory or something.
Hence, I've been somewhat forced to use printouts and log files for debugging. Not that I like it, but I've gotten used to it and have found that it's not much of a difference than back when I was using the debugger in VC++.
So, I'd guess your "company" probably is developing shit a lot slower than it could be in Java using the shitty ass debuggers that are out there.
Slickedit, hands down the best balance between Notepad and a full fledged IDE I've seen. Think emacs, but with a better GUI and without all the extra crap and ridiculous key combos.
I've cranked out many lines of Java code with it, so it's lasted the long haul for me.
Umm.. once the case is sealed and the software is running, I don't give a rats ass about what it looks like or how hot it gets. Maybe the noise bothers you, but seriously, for computing, the noise is the least factor I consider when buying hardware. The stuff on the screen and how fast and reliably it comes up is all that matters to me once the issue of hardware is settled.
All the features you meantion (ethernet, firewire) can be utilized (probably cheaper) on a PC box. The whole setup might not seem as "slick" to you, but again, all I care about is the fact that my screen is telling me the video is being transferred quickly from the camera to the hard drive over firewire. Integrated on a mobo, part of a card, or driven by a bald hamster named Fred, I couldn't care less. I don't know why anyone would, unless reliabilty was affected by the difference (ie, the hamster would soon die..) I don't think this is an issue in PC vs. Mac, however.
The "quality drive" you speak of is a function of the OS and the applications, as well as the speedy performance of the hardware. It is not a function of how sleek the hardware looks, how quiet it is, or how cool it is on the inside of the case. At least, not to me, and I'd presume most people.
How do you define "good stuff" when it comes to hardware other than how fast and reliably it performs? A CPU made out of dog snot that doubles the speed and reliability of the fastest chip on the market is better hardware.
And I was all excited they were going to release a OS X based wireless web pad. Instead we get yet another portable MP3 player .. "groundbreaking" I think was the term I heard them use to describe this new secret product the other day. How "groundbreaking" can something be when I can walk up the street and buy something with similiar (and in some cases, additional/better) features?
Sigh. One day Apple will live up to the hype. OS X is cool, and their plastic molding team has skills, but the hardware just sucks.
Well, one could argue it's not truly anonymous now, anyway. A little investigation of web logs could determine anyone who's posting AC from the same PC as a user account. You can get an IP address, which can in some cases lead to who you are. Between an IP address and the context of your message (ie, a angry Netscape employee) .. a cunning manager might be able to pinpoint you. But you are right, somebody who wants to leak a government document could potentially come from a unique IP, post once, leave, and never be heard from again.
The internal connection in the DB between the poster and the post would be severed after a day or two once moderation is done and any private messages are sent to the user. This way, VA can't come a month down the road asking about who posted comment #12345, the link is severed and there's no longer any information. This is only slighly less "anonymous" than the system currently is. It would be banking on the fact that any legal action looking to unmask a certain AC could not take place within two days or so of the post itself.. which I think is pretty much guarenteed.