Re:Well, Does 'Random Joe' *like* his auto-update?
on
Read the Fine Print
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Microsoft isn't exactly gonna state that XP uses a 'Consistency' protocol (why is it called that) in their help pages. It ensures that if Microsoft want to force an update down your throat they can take 100% of your bandwidth away from you at the drop of a hat.
Don't always believe what you read......
And next time you would like to call me ignorant - try doing some research outside Microsoft's information circles.
Well, Does 'Random Joe' *like* his auto-update?
on
Read the Fine Print
·
· Score: 1, Flamebait
Take Random Joe, he is sitting infront of his new Windows XP machine. He is watching a streaming movie (which incidentally he had to jockey a server for 30mins to connect to) when all of a sudden the quality begins to deteriorate and the stream stops. What could have gone wrong?? - Has the streaming server crashed?? Was the movie file defective??
Nope, as it turns out, Windows XP decided that it wanted to update itself for the 5th time today and ate poor old Joe's bandwith for breakfast.
Roll on something intelligent like HAL 9000! "I'm sorry Dave, but I'm afraid I can't do that..."
DOH!
I'm not too well up on the dynamics of different shapes and configurations of materials but would the actually be an advantage of using a whacking great slinky to iron out payload harmonics on a orbital tower?
Its not one of my craziest ideas but that just show how far thru I am:P
Longest Slinky / Longest Staircase / Big Problem!
on
World's Longest Slinky
·
· Score: 4, Informative
Alright, theres a problem with welding loads of slinkys together and setting them off down stairs:
When your slinky has finished unspooling off the top step, its rear coils then swing over the top of the slinky to fall on the next step, this after a point will preclude an indoor venue due to the height clearance required. The Pyramids may be the only option.
As slinkys get longer, they also fall over more than one step at a time (I know they shouldn't but its something to do with rigidity) - Is this cheating?
And finally, very big slinkys with small diameters (across the coils) become unstable (I know; I'm a muppet, but I just tried this:) and fall flat after the first step and slide to the bottom. So your longer slinky needs a wider 'foot'.
All in all, it make the challenge of creating the woulds largest working slinky look quite something:)
I know exactly what you mean there, I just wont blind-buy records and I'll be blowed if I'm gonna stand at the listening post in a record shop all day long.
Being a DJ at the weekends, I tend to get any tune I may be interested in on MP3 (from some somewhere like here) and then go out and buy it on 12" vinyl (try copyprotecting one of these!).
There are other good places to find out about good new tunes but you have to fight your way past all the kiddie-pop/rock/whinging/defeatist/suicidalist rubbish. KISS TV in the UK is excellent cos the guys that call in and select the tunes mostly live around London and already know there stuff & there is Radio KISS which transmits on 100Mhz in the London/SE area and can also be listened to over the web. Internationally there is a German TV channel on several sats covering wider europe called VIVA. - I first saw the video for Prodigy's "Smack my Bitch up" here.
As for the states - I dont know but there are ways and means:).
Oh, one other thing; most of the pre-release and early copies of tunes on MP3 come from 12" vinyl promos - which dont even provide revenue for the RIAA! And if anyone think that vinyl is dying: its sales are up by 21% in the last year in the UK:)
Long live 12" - The British - a nation of dance DJs
CD Audio copy protection only really prevents direct copy of the bitstream from the CD.
Anyone worth their salt with have realised by now when you stick a CD in your HiFi, The Digital output is converted to analogue for your amplifier/auxilliary output. Therefore, anyone who wants to copy their CD for backup or other purposes will be doing the following:
1) Place copy protected CD in your hifi.
2) Connect an RCA-jack lead from your AUX output on your hifi to your soundcard
3) Encode the resultant output on your PC.
You will probably find that with modern HiFi D/A Converters and modern soundcards coupled with a decent screened RCA lead, you can't actually tell any audible difference in quality. Furthermore the resultant digital copy can be duplicated at the same quality.
Well, don't you think China has an effective enough intelligence agency to aquire DVD technology without having to 'capture' it from another nation? - I really feel that the US must be somewhat naievely underestimating China.
Lets face it, China already manufactures rockets which are almost carbon copies of American Titan II boosters.Why doesn't the USA (how come they control this anyway?) just add another 'region' for China and let them make DVD's to their hearts content.
Communist they may be - but these days the Chinese live in the most Capitalistic communist regime ever;)
Just a thought: Would China invade Taiwan just to aquire DVD technoloy?
On more than one occasion I can recall having been so annoyed with the time taken for an ad to load (due to heavy java/animation) I have actually been compelled to click it in order to find the e:mail address of the webmaster so I could complain:)
Could be an new source of click-thrus - just make the most annoying banners possible!:))
Re:The real terrorists on Vodafone.......
on
Echelon in the News
·
· Score: 1
Nope - not joking - pay as you go mobiles are anonymous to the user BTW
While the more or less innocent computer users of the world (who can honestly say that they dont do little illegal things online? - your MP3s etc) get persecuted on a regular basis - probably with information gathered by Echelon, the real terrorists continue unscathed.
Because, you see, real terrorists tend to have brains - rather than use the internet where any transmission could be intercepted and traced, why not use your handy pay-as-you-go mobile phone? - Although it can still be intercepted, you can remain completely anonymous - just remember not to say your name over the air:)
Interesting thought - I wonder how many 'people's revolutions' have been thwarted by someone forgetting to buy a top-up voucher?:P
At the moment the range from the Workstation I'm on now and the nearest MS product (of any form) is at least 30ft and it grows a little each month - I like it that way.:)
I just realised the implications of riding what is essentially a gas-turbine on wheels.
Assuming the turbine is mounted lengthways on the bike. Surely if the engine spools-up quickly - say - clockwise, the counter-torque produced would force the bike to turn or lean to the left.....makes you wonder about gunnin' the throttle on a machine like this. I really wouldn't want to drop a $150,000 cycle!:)
I'm not gonna sit here and suggest that people circumvent the injuction; however I had a lil' thought on this:
What if you were to write a program which is not DeCSS but has the same functionality as DeCSS. - Surely the linking injunction which only applies to DeCSS would not apply here.....
Its probably just a cute way of staying one step-ahead.
Question: Are there an ifinite number of ways to write a program which has the same function?:)
When I hear about a new release, the obvious thing to do would be to go down to the record store and drop in on a listening post for a listen....Not So! The record stores in Britian seem to be having major problems with the theft of the needles and carts from their turntables - to such a point that they are removing listening posts!
So instead, I download a couple of versions of a tune on MP3 and more often than not, I'll go out and buy it (if I like it). I sure as hell wouldn't do this if I couldn't check it out on MP3 for fear of potentially wasting up to £6.50.
Do the RIAA actually enjoy repeatedly shooting itself in the foot?
So in Britain we'd probably get a two part rating ie: 18cert - 150,000, 27,500 (being the total body count followed by the seperated body parts thereof)
Oh how I love the censors.
I can't believe The Exorcist was censored out for so many years in the UK - when I finally watched it, it was such a let-down
I think the highest body count should be tallyed by the number of on screen deaths - wiping out civilisations shouldn't count because more often than not you don't see 'em bite it.
The first terminator film had quite a high body count - likewise Rambo always used to polish off quite a few. But for maximum onscreen fatalities, I quite like Apocalypse Now mind you, a lot of people in this film are already dead when you get to see them (or parts of them)
Then of-course there is HotShots part deux which proclaims: Body Count:150,000 - Bloodiest Movie Ever (or something to that effect)
You'd expect that they'd start a poll asking how certain aspects of the war should be conducted such as whether or not all-out sanctions should be imposed on Think Geek products or whether the B-52's should drop Binary encoded message T-Shirts on the enemy - how do you spell "We are gonna loose" in Binary?
Perhaps there should be a poll on how many Cowboy Neal clones would be neccesary to ensure victory ( or is one enough?:)
It doesn't seem to be mentioned above but I think that/. is quite capable of causing a major war or crisis all on its own.... Just let Cowboy Neal out of his cage for 10minutes and - oh dear
For British/. users Can you imagine Kate Aidey making her news reports inside a server room? "And as the B-52 fly overhead" - perhaps not that strange really:)
On many occasions ive been looking for information on HomeBrew or HomeMade Virtual Reality. Although such a search yields quite a few results, most of the information is on hugely expensive commercial products.
It doesn't seem like so many years ago that home-made VR products were all the rage - catching significant airtime on TV...... It seems things have changed.
Ho - hum, I suppose I'll just keep on tinkering on my own. Perhaps it is a fact that all VR 'HomeBrewers' can't write HTML - hence no pages;)
With the recent spate of e:businesses setting up, getting and minimum operation together and filling IPO, its nice to see a company going IPO with at least a reasonable foundation behind it ie: a product and profit.
In the mean time why not visit LastMinute.com and see if you can help them break even
This company has a turnover of £600,000 This company floats the market at $700,000,000 Go figure
Yes, and we would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for our pesky craniums!:)
But Seriously, i wonder if our eyes actually percieve an equal 360' FOV or if they actually work in 16:9 widescreen. As I sit here now, I can see both my forehead and a little of my cheeks (and no, I'm not a fat b@stard!) with clear space to either side ie: I can't see my ears. That must be a pretty equal Field of Vision; so to optimise our eyes potential, we need to tear off our cheeks and smash in our craniums;)
Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft isn't exactly gonna state that XP uses a 'Consistency' protocol (why is it called that) in their help pages. It ensures that if Microsoft want to force an update down your throat they can take 100% of your bandwidth away from you at the drop of a hat.
Don't always believe what you read......
And next time you would like to call me ignorant - try doing some research outside Microsoft's information circles.
Take Random Joe, he is sitting infront of his new Windows XP machine.
He is watching a streaming movie (which incidentally he had to jockey a server for 30mins to connect to) when all of a sudden the quality begins to deteriorate and the stream stops. What could have gone wrong?? - Has the streaming server crashed?? Was the movie file defective??
Nope, as it turns out, Windows XP decided that it wanted to update itself for the 5th time today and ate poor old Joe's bandwith for breakfast.
Roll on something intelligent like HAL 9000!
"I'm sorry Dave, but I'm afraid I can't do that..."
DOH!
I'm not too well up on the dynamics of different shapes and configurations of materials but would the actually be an advantage of using a whacking great slinky to iron out payload harmonics on a orbital tower?
:P
Its not one of my craziest ideas but that just show how far thru I am
Alright, theres a problem with welding loads of slinkys together and setting them off down stairs:
:)
When your slinky has finished unspooling off the top step, its rear coils then swing over the top of the slinky to fall on the next step, this after a point will preclude an indoor venue due to the height clearance required. The Pyramids may be the only option.
As slinkys get longer, they also fall over more than one step at a time (I know they shouldn't but its something to do with rigidity) - Is this cheating?
And finally, very big slinkys with small diameters (across the coils) become unstable (I know; I'm a muppet, but I just tried this:) and fall flat after the first step and slide to the bottom. So your longer slinky needs a wider 'foot'.
All in all, it make the challenge of creating the woulds largest working slinky look quite something
I know exactly what you mean there, I just wont blind-buy records and I'll be blowed if I'm gonna stand at the listening post in a record shop all day long.
/SE area and can also be listened to over the web. Internationally there is a German TV channel on several sats covering wider europe called VIVA. - I first saw the video for Prodigy's "Smack my Bitch up" here.
:).
:)
Being a DJ at the weekends, I tend to get any tune I may be interested in on MP3 (from some somewhere like here) and then go out and buy it on 12" vinyl (try copyprotecting one of these!).
There are other good places to find out about good new tunes but you have to fight your way past all the kiddie-pop/rock/whinging/defeatist/suicidalist rubbish. KISS TV in the UK is excellent cos the guys that call in and select the tunes mostly live around London and already know there stuff & there is Radio KISS which transmits on 100Mhz in the London
As for the states - I dont know but there are ways and means
Oh, one other thing; most of the pre-release and early copies of tunes on MP3 come from 12" vinyl promos - which dont even provide revenue for the RIAA! And if anyone think that vinyl is dying: its sales are up by 21% in the last year in the UK
Long live 12" - The British - a nation of dance DJs
CD Audio copy protection only really prevents direct copy of the bitstream from the CD.
:)
Anyone worth their salt with have realised by now when you stick a CD in your HiFi, The Digital output is converted to analogue for your amplifier/auxilliary output. Therefore, anyone who wants to copy their CD for backup or other purposes will be doing the following:
1) Place copy protected CD in your hifi.
2) Connect an RCA-jack lead from your AUX output on your hifi to your soundcard
3) Encode the resultant output on your PC.
You will probably find that with modern HiFi D/A Converters and modern soundcards coupled with a decent screened RCA lead, you can't actually tell any audible difference in quality. Furthermore the resultant digital copy can be duplicated at the same quality.
But you probably all already knew that
I'm from the UK, maybe we should get another empire going again? :P
Well, don't you think China has an effective enough intelligence agency to aquire DVD technology without having to 'capture' it from another nation? - I really feel that the US must be somewhat naievely underestimating China.
;)
Lets face it, China already manufactures rockets which are almost carbon copies of American Titan II boosters.Why doesn't the USA (how come they control this anyway?) just add another 'region' for China and let them make DVD's to their hearts content.
Communist they may be - but these days the Chinese live in the most Capitalistic communist regime ever
Just a thought: Would China invade Taiwan just to aquire DVD technoloy?
Thats another thing; does anyone ever wait for those pop-up ads to load or do they always get the X of death before they even show anything?
On more than one occasion I can recall having been so annoyed with the time taken for an ad to load (due to heavy java/animation) I have actually been compelled to click it in order to find the e:mail address of the webmaster so I could complain :) :))
Could be an new source of click-thrus - just make the most annoying banners possible!
Nope - not joking - pay as you go mobiles are anonymous to the user BTW
While the more or less innocent computer users of the world (who can honestly say that they dont do little illegal things online? - your MP3s etc) get persecuted on a regular basis - probably with information gathered by Echelon, the real terrorists continue unscathed.
:)
:P
Because, you see, real terrorists tend to have brains - rather than use the internet where any transmission could be intercepted and traced, why not use your handy pay-as-you-go mobile phone? - Although it can still be intercepted, you can remain completely anonymous - just remember not to say your name over the air
Interesting thought - I wonder how many 'people's revolutions' have been thwarted by someone forgetting to buy a top-up voucher?
At the moment the range from the Workstation I'm on now and the nearest MS product (of any form) is at least 30ft and it grows a little each month - I like it that way. :)
I just realised the implications of riding what is essentially a gas-turbine on wheels.
:)
Assuming the turbine is mounted lengthways on the bike. Surely if the engine spools-up quickly - say - clockwise, the counter-torque produced would force the bike to turn or lean to the left.....makes you wonder about gunnin' the throttle on a machine like this. I really wouldn't want to drop a $150,000 cycle!
Perhaps then the programs primary function should not be to decode DVD - that could be an auxilliary function of the code :)
:P
Hows about a DeCSS style device built into a spreadsheet program
I'm not gonna sit here and suggest that people circumvent the injuction; however I had a lil' thought on this:
:)
What if you were to write a program which is not DeCSS but has the same functionality as DeCSS. - Surely the linking injunction which only applies to DeCSS would not apply here.....
Its probably just a cute way of staying one step-ahead. Question: Are there an ifinite number of ways to write a program which has the same function?
Well, I do a bit of DJ'ing - strictly vinyl.
When I hear about a new release, the obvious thing to do would be to go down to the record store and drop in on a listening post for a listen....Not So! The record stores in Britian seem to be having major problems with the theft of the needles and carts from their turntables - to such a point that they are removing listening posts!
So instead, I download a couple of versions of a tune on MP3 and more often than not, I'll go out and buy it (if I like it). I sure as hell wouldn't do this if I couldn't check it out on MP3 for fear of potentially wasting up to £6.50.
Do the RIAA actually enjoy repeatedly shooting itself in the foot?
Please pardon my intolerable thickness; If only english were my first language :)
So in Britain we'd probably get a two part rating ie: 18cert - 150,000, 27,500 (being the total body count followed by the seperated body parts thereof)
Oh how I love the censors.
I can't believe The Exorcist was censored out for so many years in the UK - when I finally watched it, it was such a let-down
I think the highest body count should be tallyed by the number of on screen deaths - wiping out civilisations shouldn't count because more often than not you don't see 'em bite it.
The first terminator film had quite a high body count - likewise Rambo always used to polish off quite a few. But for maximum onscreen fatalities, I quite like Apocalypse Now mind you, a lot of people in this film are already dead when you get to see them (or parts of them)
Then of-course there is HotShots part deux which proclaims: Body Count:150,000 - Bloodiest Movie Ever (or something to that effect)
You'd expect that they'd start a poll asking how certain aspects of the war should be conducted such as whether or not all-out sanctions should be imposed on Think Geek products or whether the B-52's should drop Binary encoded message T-Shirts on the enemy - how do you spell "We are gonna loose" in Binary?
Perhaps there should be a poll on how many Cowboy Neal clones would be neccesary to ensure victory ( or is one enough?:)
It doesn't seem to be mentioned above but I think that /. is quite capable of causing a major war or crisis all on its own.... Just let Cowboy Neal out of his cage for 10minutes and - oh dear
/. users Can you imagine Kate Aidey making her news reports inside a server room? "And as the B-52 fly overhead" - perhaps not that strange really :)
For British
On many occasions ive been looking for information on HomeBrew or HomeMade Virtual Reality. Although such a search yields quite a few results, most of the information is on hugely expensive commercial products.
;)
It doesn't seem like so many years ago that home-made VR products were all the rage - catching significant airtime on TV...... It seems things have changed.
Ho - hum, I suppose I'll just keep on tinkering on my own. Perhaps it is a fact that all VR 'HomeBrewers' can't write HTML - hence no pages
With the recent spate of e:businesses setting up, getting and minimum operation together and filling IPO, its nice to see a company going IPO with at least a reasonable foundation behind it ie: a product and profit.
In the mean time why not visit LastMinute.com and see if you can help them break even
This company has a turnover of £600,000
This company floats the market at $700,000,000
Go figure
Yes, and we would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for our pesky craniums! :)
;)
But Seriously, i wonder if our eyes actually percieve an equal 360' FOV or if they actually work in 16:9 widescreen. As I sit here now, I can see both my forehead and a little of my cheeks (and no, I'm not a fat b@stard!) with clear space to either side ie: I can't see my ears. That must be a pretty equal Field of Vision; so to optimise our eyes potential, we need to tear off our cheeks and smash in our craniums
(or not)