It's not a judge's job to put his own personal feelings into the matter.
It's wrong on a lot of levels:
1) The judge should have said "I don't rule on video game violence" 2) He should have said "I am not qualified to look at a game to decide what is okay" 3) It's not his job to look at a game at decide if it's "Okay" for the rest of the public to play.
What's next? People can ask a judge if TV show is okay? A magazine? A book?
Where does this power stem from to rule on the contents of video games? I've never heard of it before.
This is beyond a slippery slope; it's a cliff. Look, I get that this Jack guy doesn't like video games and violence. Great. Fine. He should be allowed to campaign against them. Free speech works both ways. But that doesn't mean anyone has to take this guy seriously. The judge actually took this guy seriously for a week. That should bother everyone. I'm not commenting on whether Jack has a point; I'm simply questioning this judge putting himself in a position to judge.
"If you wanna see how much people care about marginal improvements in quality, see where DVD-Audio went"
There is no cause and effect here. DVD-Audio (and SACD) didn't fail because they only had "marginal improvements" in sound. They failed because they were worse that CDs in most ways:
1) They couldn't be played in the car 2) They couldn't be played in anything other than DVD players. With the right kind of output. 3) They were heavily copy protected (you can't rip it any place else)
However, to imply the sound difference between a CD and a 128kb/s is "marginal" is to put it kindly nonsense. I suppose what you're saying is true for people who only listen on headphones from their MP3 player. But the sound difference is huge.
But to illustrate, I finally bought a dock for my 3rd generation iPod. I ripped a lot of my CD's in 128kb/s AAC because I couldn't hear much difference on my headphones while I ran. But when I plugged it into my home stereo. It was really an ugly sound. I quickly bumped iTunes up to 192 kb/s variable rate AAC and the difference is pretty clear.
Sirius's sound is significantly worse that XM (I have both), but Sirius has better programming. The channels on XM have weird names that I'm sure make sense to someone (Fred? Ethel? Ricky? Lucy?) that play some music that you know, some that you don't, but it never seems themed somehow. The stations are grouped in a weird way on XM as well. I thought I would get used to it, but I haven't. At least not yet.
Neither of them hold a candle to FM that is broadcast as it was meant to be (most public/PBS FM stations have significantly better quality), and there are a few commercial stations (WGMS) that have great quality. Hardly anybody broadcasts good FM anymore.
I visited Ireland for the first time about 5 years ago and I was blown away by how modern it is, both in infrastructure and attitude. Really a great country, friendly people, nice climate (it was sunny the entire time), high tech industry. Can't say enough nice stuff about you folks.
Re:And unfortunately right about YouTube
on
Ballmer Sounds Off
·
· Score: 1
People keep saying this like Google was some sort of neophyte company that is just getting started in the internet.
Don't you think Google knows exactly what it's getting? I'm not saying that they'll be successful, but the criticism that YouTube has all this hidden video that is illegal is essentially saying "Google is run by a bunch of idiots". But yet, Balmer says in the article that he would have bought it too.
It seems like the only people who are deeply worried are the people at MS and Yahoo.
"What it *doesn't* let you play is older DRM-protected WMA files such as those downloaded from Yahoo Music Unlimited or Rhapsody."
Isn't this a huge mistake? Isn't the biggest drawback of DRM that you are locked into a specific implementation? That people are worried that the songs they've "purchased" will turn out to be useless next year? This seems to confirm people's worst fears that MS will obsolete their entire song collection just because it's more profitable to do so.
I can't imagine anyone dumb enough to buy another WMA/DRM file after this. Usually MS doesn't make these kind of ridiculous mistakes.
It's a bit fan-boyish, and his conclusions seem based a lot on wishful thinking. He draws conclusions based on his own opinion, but he couches it with the royal "we".
(and yes, I own several iPods, and I think they're great).
The answer is "of course it will die". Every gadget does. Will it be soon? Who knows? If people could predict this stuff with any kind of accuracy, they'd be multi-billionaires. Heck, if you could predict if the dollar will rise or fall again another major currency tomorrow with any kind of certainty you'd make a lot of money. But nobody can. And that's a lot easier that predicting when a consumer gadget will fall out of fashion.
If you opened up a used bookstore you would buy used books and allow anyone to browse them without buying.
It's arguable that Used Book stores are worse for publishers and authors than Google, but that argument is one of those argument people make at the coffee shop because they're bored.
The point is that there's nothing wrong with the google arrangement other than google is making money off this via paid search placement. The publishers are mainly irritated they didn't think of themselves.
"Apple still works with a proprietary OS on a proprietary hardware platform and use that to price gouge"
That's what I thought too, until I priced a similar Dell. The dell was significantly more. The Mac Pro is the cheapest brand name dual cpu/dual core out there. It would be nice if Apple had something similar to the new iMac 20", but in a tower case, but they don't.
I've been involved with PC's since 1979 and I'll tell you there has never been a better time to switch since about 1984. Back then we had Macs and Amigas. Then for about the past 10 years, there hasn't been a good technical alternative to switch away from Microsoft.
Today, the choices are more and better than at any time since the personal computers were invented. Vista is the final nail in the coffin for me. I'm switching to the Mac. I've had them for years, but in my opinion, Apple has finally gotten the recipe correct. Powerful, beautiful OS, Great software, well priced hardware etc etc. Heck, you can even get MS Office for the Mac. I've been using some of the new Linux distros, Ubunto, Suse... these are all great systems that have lots of software and are more than just toys for tinkerers.
If people switch to Vista it's because we want to, and not because they have to. So for people complaining they have no choice, they're not being honest with themselves. The choices are there. If you put yourself into these handcuffs it's your own decision.
That's okay. I know how to spell thief, but you can't tell from my original post.
And no, I don't like the TPM chip, but that's why I added the "for now" disclaimner. Compare that to Vista which will not fully playback HD-DVD/Bluray in 32 bit Vista because it can be hacked (http://www.hdtvuk.tv/2006/08/protected_hidef.html ). The 64 bit version requires you to run signed code only (http://www.apcstart.com/site/dwarne/2006/08/1139/ microsoft-cuts-another-feature-full-hd-playback-in -32bit-vista).
Then you look at the full price of vista (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1950442,00.a sp)
When you add all of that up, you add in the ability to virtualize windows on an Intel Mac you quickly come to the conclusion that the Mac is the better choice right now.
(sorry, too lazy to properly present these links at the moment)
Adults know that kids are smart. That's not the issue.
The problem is that kids aren't as smart as they think. There is a saying that is mostly true... Age and Cunning beat Youth and Enthusiasm. Kids don't understand how true this is. Which makes them perfect targets for older people with bad intent. My son, as bright as he is, was scammed out of his password to an online game. I warned him people would try it, he insisted he could never be tricked and sure enough he was.
Again, it's not that you aren't smart. You just aren't smart enough. Yet.
"Why shouldn't it be illegal for an American in America to violate American patent law? "
Shouldn't it be illegal for an American to violate minimum wage laws in foreign countries while the U.S. citizen is working from an office in the U.S.? Shouldn't it be illegal for U.S. to advertise cigarettes in foreign countries? Or Worker safety rules? Or avoid income tax by moving money outside the U.S.?
I'm not clear what you're saying... U.S. laws apply to U.S. citizens for things that occur in foreign countries? That's a novel idea for sure.
"My Sharona" is a great pop song. It's a perfect example of the genre.
And FYI, "Sharona" actually exists. There's an interesting article in Sound on Sound magazine. And Sharona now sells real estate in the LA area. She has a website... http://www.mysharona.com/
"when you can just stick a tape in that connects right to your ipod?"
A tape in what? Tape players stopped being put in cars right around 2000. You can find them as options, but it's hardly worth it.
Plus, it's a pain to worry about turning off the iPod when you shut off the car, you can't charge the iPod, you have wires hanging over your dash. I'm not clear why somebody buys a $400 iPod (because of aesthetic and sound quality considerations), and then decides to hang wires all over the dash in pursuit of a lo-fi solution to save $150.
The guy talks about the Dension unit as FM only and uses RDS. That may be true for the version he looked at, but Dension offers several models, most with full integration with the car bus for many cars. I have the iBus version and it sends information to the head unit about tracks, and offers a relatively decent interface using steering wheel controls already built into the car.
The sound is fine, since it goes directly from the connector on the iPod into the car stereo. It looks somewhat like a CD changer to the car, but that's only of consequence if you use playlists (I listen to full albums). You have full control over the iPod by scrolling through the album/artist lists and choosing an album or artist that suits you. Installation is relatively painless and allows you to manipulate the ipod fairly safely. I think it's the best interface out there. Another great use of this interface is that it charges your iPod as you play.
There are many other units; some are better than others. But this writer is blissfully unaware of the actual good interfaces that are out there.
And I agree with another poster here about the Honda interface. I paid almost $200 for it, and the interface is so awful on it that my wife refuses to use it. It's beyond bad. It stretches into that territory that is so comically bad that you have to wonder what product line manager looked at it and said "Oh, that's not so bad, we can ship".
"But no one seems to recognize that HP was legally obligated to find and address the source of the leak."
Yes, but in a lawful way. The obligations to the shareholders stop at the point where laws are broken. I'd say the line is much sooner, but I suppose morality and profits are never a good mix. Nonetheless, you can't wave around this obligation word without acknowledging that the first obligation is to obey the law.
The only way that we'll end this sort of behavior is if we put people in jail. Fines are stupid, as they don't hurt the people who committed the crime. Personally, I'd put all of them in jail for 3 months, and prevent them from ever holding a "C" level title again or serving on a board.
The really idiotic part is/was that they knew the link was coming from a board member... who was not obligated to keep any secrets. Think about how stupid that makes them. They did all this and didn't ask one basic question... "Once we find out who it is, then what?". They asked the guy to leave and he said "no", and then they looked at each other helplessly.
If you're a big shareholder at HP, you've got to ask whoever is actually in charge over at headquarters:
1) Why did we hire an incompetent president (Carly)? 2) Explain to me again why we bought Compaq... 3) Why did the board agree to pay her a severence package that was specifically against the corporate rules? 4) Why is the board leaking like a sieve? 5) Why do we have a Chairman who doesn't mind skating legal and ethical boundaries? 6) How did we end up with corporate council so incomptent? 7) Why did the new president (apparently) also skate these same boundaries. 8) Oh...and why is the new business plan just to try to sell ink?
Seriously, these are hard questions that someone should be asking.
DRM is a big colossal waste of time and money from the consumer standpoing, it does the consumer no good, it's essentially a tool to make more money for large media companies.
Okay. Got it. Makes sense. It think it's dumb, but I *get* why media companies like it.
But nobody has ever asked what the purpose of applying your own DRM to your own media this way. It has all the disadvantages of DRM with no upside for anybody! So the question is, why does microsoft include it? What possible use is there to have this option? It's not new, either; I think the ability to DRM your own music has been there since WMP 9, if I'm not mistaken.
So why doesn't any of these newspapers or reporters call up Microsoft and ask them (a) why is this option included (b) give us a realistic example of why someone might choose this option.
I mean, being a cynic, it looks like it's included to (a) fool non-technical users ("protect my music? Oh yes please!) (b) Show it off to the the media companies as an example of what MS could do for them. Which begs the question (another one for Microsoft!): (c) Does MS have any plans on their WMP roadmap which either turns on this option by default or make it mandatory to "protect" your songs with DRM?
While I voting, I watched the check-in station (Diebold) crash twice, in one case corrupting it's data based so it indicated I had already voted when I hadn't yet voted. They were missing critical information about what to do when this happened. They could not get through to the central office to find out what to do, presumably because the central office was getting a lot of calls.
I think there was problems with missing cards, but I think they're not admitting to the full breadth of the problem.
Which goes to show (once again) that reporters are lazy. They could have easily gone to a poll and asked people what was happening inside. Talk to election officials off the record. There's a story there, but I feel like they're sweeping it under the rug with "oh, they just didnt' distribute the cards". I promise you, that wasn't the main problem yesterday.
Slashdot Mirror
No, it's bad.
It's not a judge's job to put his own personal feelings into the matter.
It's wrong on a lot of levels:
1) The judge should have said "I don't rule on video game violence"
2) He should have said "I am not qualified to look at a game to decide what is okay"
3) It's not his job to look at a game at decide if it's "Okay" for the rest of the public to play.
What's next? People can ask a judge if TV show is okay? A magazine? A book?
Where does this power stem from to rule on the contents of video games? I've never heard of it before.
This is beyond a slippery slope; it's a cliff. Look, I get that this Jack guy doesn't like video games and violence. Great. Fine. He should be allowed to campaign against them. Free speech works both ways. But that doesn't mean anyone has to take this guy seriously. The judge actually took this guy seriously for a week. That should bother everyone. I'm not commenting on whether Jack has a point; I'm simply questioning this judge putting himself in a position to judge.
"If you wanna see how much people care about marginal improvements in quality, see where DVD-Audio went"
There is no cause and effect here. DVD-Audio (and SACD) didn't fail because they only had "marginal improvements" in sound. They failed because they were worse that CDs in most ways:
1) They couldn't be played in the car
2) They couldn't be played in anything other than DVD players. With the right kind of output.
3) They were heavily copy protected (you can't rip it any place else)
However, to imply the sound difference between a CD and a 128kb/s is "marginal" is to put it kindly nonsense. I suppose what you're saying is true for people who only listen on headphones from their MP3 player. But the sound difference is huge.
But to illustrate, I finally bought a dock for my 3rd generation iPod. I ripped a lot of my CD's in 128kb/s AAC because I couldn't hear much difference on my headphones while I ran. But when I plugged it into my home stereo. It was really an ugly sound. I quickly bumped iTunes up to 192 kb/s variable rate AAC and the difference is pretty clear.
Sirius's sound is significantly worse that XM (I have both), but Sirius has better programming. The channels on XM have weird names that I'm sure make sense to someone (Fred? Ethel? Ricky? Lucy?) that play some music that you know, some that you don't, but it never seems themed somehow. The stations are grouped in a weird way on XM as well. I thought I would get used to it, but I haven't. At least not yet.
Neither of them hold a candle to FM that is broadcast as it was meant to be (most public/PBS FM stations have significantly better quality), and there are a few commercial stations (WGMS) that have great quality. Hardly anybody broadcasts good FM anymore.
I visited Ireland for the first time about 5 years ago and I was blown away by how modern it is, both in infrastructure and attitude. Really a great country, friendly people, nice climate (it was sunny the entire time), high tech industry. Can't say enough nice stuff about you folks.
People keep saying this like Google was some sort of neophyte company that is just getting started in the internet.
Don't you think Google knows exactly what it's getting? I'm not saying that they'll be successful, but the criticism that YouTube has all this hidden video that is illegal is essentially saying "Google is run by a bunch of idiots". But yet, Balmer says in the article that he would have bought it too.
It seems like the only people who are deeply worried are the people at MS and Yahoo.
"What it *doesn't* let you play is older DRM-protected WMA files such as those downloaded from Yahoo Music Unlimited or Rhapsody."
Isn't this a huge mistake? Isn't the biggest drawback of DRM that you are locked into a specific implementation? That people are worried that the songs they've "purchased" will turn out to be useless next year? This seems to confirm people's worst fears that MS will obsolete their entire song collection just because it's more profitable to do so.
I can't imagine anyone dumb enough to buy another WMA/DRM file after this. Usually MS doesn't make these kind of ridiculous mistakes.
"God is Dead"
--Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is Dead"
--God
It's a bit fan-boyish, and his conclusions seem based a lot on wishful thinking. He draws conclusions based on his own opinion, but he couches it with the royal "we".
(and yes, I own several iPods, and I think they're great).
The answer is "of course it will die". Every gadget does. Will it be soon? Who knows? If people could predict this stuff with any kind of accuracy, they'd be multi-billionaires. Heck, if you could predict if the dollar will rise or fall again another major currency tomorrow with any kind of certainty you'd make a lot of money. But nobody can. And that's a lot easier that predicting when a consumer gadget will fall out of fashion.
Not exactly.
If you opened up a used bookstore you would buy used books and allow anyone to browse them without buying.
It's arguable that Used Book stores are worse for publishers and authors than Google, but that argument is one of those argument people make at the coffee shop because they're bored.
The point is that there's nothing wrong with the google arrangement other than google is making money off this via paid search placement. The publishers are mainly irritated they didn't think of themselves.
Aren't they dumb?
"Apple still works with a proprietary OS on a proprietary hardware platform and use that to price gouge"
That's what I thought too, until I priced a similar Dell. The dell was significantly more. The Mac Pro is the cheapest brand name dual cpu/dual core out there. It would be nice if Apple had something similar to the new iMac 20", but in a tower case, but they don't.
I've been involved with PC's since 1979 and I'll tell you there has never been a better time to switch since about 1984. Back then we had Macs and Amigas. Then for about the past 10 years, there hasn't been a good technical alternative to switch away from Microsoft.
Today, the choices are more and better than at any time since the personal computers were invented. Vista is the final nail in the coffin for me. I'm switching to the Mac. I've had them for years, but in my opinion, Apple has finally gotten the recipe correct. Powerful, beautiful OS, Great software, well priced hardware etc etc. Heck, you can even get MS Office for the Mac. I've been using some of the new Linux distros, Ubunto, Suse... these are all great systems that have lots of software and are more than just toys for tinkerers.
If people switch to Vista it's because we want to, and not because they have to. So for people complaining they have no choice, they're not being honest with themselves. The choices are there. If you put yourself into these handcuffs it's your own decision.
I've reached my limit with MS.
That's okay. I know how to spell thief, but you can't tell from my original post.
l ). The 64 bit version requires you to run signed code only (http://www.apcstart.com/site/dwarne/2006/08/1139/ microsoft-cuts-another-feature-full-hd-playback-in -32bit-vista).
a sp)
And no, I don't like the TPM chip, but that's why I added the "for now" disclaimner. Compare that to Vista which will not fully playback HD-DVD/Bluray in 32 bit Vista because it can be hacked (http://www.hdtvuk.tv/2006/08/protected_hidef.htm
Then you look at the full price of vista (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1950442,00.
When you add all of that up, you add in the ability to virtualize windows on an Intel Mac you quickly come to the conclusion that the Mac is the better choice right now.
(sorry, too lazy to properly present these links at the moment)
Vista is so "good" that my next computer will be a Mac Pro. It's 64 bit and OS X doesn't treat me like a theif. At least not yet.
CBS has that hard hitting bastion of reporting "Katie Couric".
How can you take Jon Stewart more seriously than perky Katie?
Well, they could embed a cross in their chests that would allow them to be resurrected. Although it could be at a terrible cost.
3 283685/sr=8-4/qid=1159902191/ref=pd_bbs_4/104-9955 155-8501551?ie=UTF8&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/Hyperion-Dan-Simmons/dp/055
Adults know that kids are smart. That's not the issue.
The problem is that kids aren't as smart as they think. There is a saying that is mostly true... Age and Cunning beat Youth and Enthusiasm. Kids don't understand how true this is. Which makes them perfect targets for older people with bad intent. My son, as bright as he is, was scammed out of his password to an online game. I warned him people would try it, he insisted he could never be tricked and sure enough he was.
Again, it's not that you aren't smart. You just aren't smart enough. Yet.
"Why shouldn't it be illegal for an American in America to violate American patent law? "
Shouldn't it be illegal for an American to violate minimum wage laws in foreign countries while the U.S. citizen is working from an office in the U.S.? Shouldn't it be illegal for U.S. to advertise cigarettes in foreign countries? Or Worker safety rules? Or avoid income tax by moving money outside the U.S.?
I'm not clear what you're saying... U.S. laws apply to U.S. citizens for things that occur in foreign countries? That's a novel idea for sure.
"My Sharona" is a great pop song. It's a perfect example of the genre.
And FYI, "Sharona" actually exists. There's an interesting article in Sound on Sound magazine. And Sharona now sells real estate in the LA area. She has a website... http://www.mysharona.com/
"when you can just stick a tape in that connects right to your ipod?"
A tape in what? Tape players stopped being put in cars right around 2000. You can find them as options, but it's hardly worth it.
Plus, it's a pain to worry about turning off the iPod when you shut off the car, you can't charge the iPod, you have wires hanging over your dash. I'm not clear why somebody buys a $400 iPod (because of aesthetic and sound quality considerations), and then decides to hang wires all over the dash in pursuit of a lo-fi solution to save $150.
The guy talks about the Dension unit as FM only and uses RDS. That may be true for the version he looked at, but Dension offers several models, most with full integration with the car bus for many cars. I have the iBus version and it sends information to the head unit about tracks, and offers a relatively decent interface using steering wheel controls already built into the car.
The sound is fine, since it goes directly from the connector on the iPod into the car stereo. It looks somewhat like a CD changer to the car, but that's only of consequence if you use playlists (I listen to full albums). You have full control over the iPod by scrolling through the album/artist lists and choosing an album or artist that suits you. Installation is relatively painless and allows you to manipulate the ipod fairly safely. I think it's the best interface out there. Another great use of this interface is that it charges your iPod as you play.
There are many other units; some are better than others. But this writer is blissfully unaware of the actual good interfaces that are out there.
And I agree with another poster here about the Honda interface. I paid almost $200 for it, and the interface is so awful on it that my wife refuses to use it. It's beyond bad. It stretches into that territory that is so comically bad that you have to wonder what product line manager looked at it and said "Oh, that's not so bad, we can ship".
"But no one seems to recognize that HP was legally obligated to find and address the source of the leak."
Yes, but in a lawful way. The obligations to the shareholders stop at the point where laws are broken. I'd say the line is much sooner, but I suppose morality and profits are never a good mix. Nonetheless, you can't wave around this obligation word without acknowledging that the first obligation is to obey the law.
The only way that we'll end this sort of behavior is if we put people in jail. Fines are stupid, as they don't hurt the people who committed the crime. Personally, I'd put all of them in jail for 3 months, and prevent them from ever holding a "C" level title again or serving on a board.
The really idiotic part is/was that they knew the link was coming from a board member... who was not obligated to keep any secrets. Think about how stupid that makes them. They did all this and didn't ask one basic question... "Once we find out who it is, then what?". They asked the guy to leave and he said "no", and then they looked at each other helplessly.
If you're a big shareholder at HP, you've got to ask whoever is actually in charge over at headquarters:
1) Why did we hire an incompetent president (Carly)?
2) Explain to me again why we bought Compaq...
3) Why did the board agree to pay her a severence package that was specifically against the corporate rules?
4) Why is the board leaking like a sieve?
5) Why do we have a Chairman who doesn't mind skating legal and ethical boundaries?
6) How did we end up with corporate council so incomptent?
7) Why did the new president (apparently) also skate these same boundaries.
8) Oh...and why is the new business plan just to try to sell ink?
Seriously, these are hard questions that someone should be asking.
"I'm having some difficulty seeing precisely where it is illegal."
Let me call up your cell phone company, claim I'm you (because I've managed to get your SSN), and then get all your call records.
Then, I'll send you a trojan horse to your computer so I can record your keystrokes to see who and and what you're mailing.
Are you okay with everything so far? Does that seem all legal and above-board?
DRM is a big colossal waste of time and money from the consumer standpoing, it does the consumer no good, it's essentially a tool to make more money for large media companies.
Okay. Got it. Makes sense. It think it's dumb, but I *get* why media companies like it.
But nobody has ever asked what the purpose of applying your own DRM to your own media this way. It has all the disadvantages of DRM with no upside for anybody! So the question is, why does microsoft include it? What possible use is there to have this option? It's not new, either; I think the ability to DRM your own music has been there since WMP 9, if I'm not mistaken.
So why doesn't any of these newspapers or reporters call up Microsoft and ask them (a) why is this option included (b) give us a realistic example of why someone might choose this option.
I mean, being a cynic, it looks like it's included to (a) fool non-technical users ("protect my music? Oh yes please!) (b) Show it off to the the media companies as an example of what MS could do for them. Which begs the question (another one for Microsoft!): (c) Does MS have any plans on their WMP roadmap which either turns on this option by default or make it mandatory to "protect" your songs with DRM?
I stopped reading right about here...
"Mature gamers want RPGs"
While I voting, I watched the check-in station (Diebold) crash twice, in one case corrupting it's data based so it indicated I had already voted when I hadn't yet voted. They were missing critical information about what to do when this happened. They could not get through to the central office to find out what to do, presumably because the central office was getting a lot of calls.
I think there was problems with missing cards, but I think they're not admitting to the full breadth of the problem.
Which goes to show (once again) that reporters are lazy. They could have easily gone to a poll and asked people what was happening inside. Talk to election officials off the record. There's a story there, but I feel like they're sweeping it under the rug with "oh, they just didnt' distribute the cards". I promise you, that wasn't the main problem yesterday.