I heard it would retail for $50,000. That's 25 Tata Nanos. It's a little more than 2 of my current
car when it was brand new (I drive a '07 Honda Civic). Oh, and my Honda can just... you know... fill
up when it gets to the end of its range.
I think I'll pass on this. The hybrid Aptera still looks promising though. I think
Tesla kinda blew it. The sportster is cool, I live near their HQ and see them all the
time. It may end up as a very special collector car. Hmmm... the roadster might be
a better investment than the company.
I was going to mention those two previous technologies;
but you beat me to it.
I used to play around with VRML quite a bit. What I took
away from its failure to be widely adopted was that performance
matters more than standardization for 3-d enthusiasts.
Of course, it will only be possible to tell if it was Earth-like X number of years ago. Since
there are only a few stars within 100 light years, X will usually be more than 100. In the meantime,
there could have been a planet killing asteroid, or an advanced civilization could have nuked
itself. So, we can only really find "twin Earths" from the past. We'll never actually know what
it's like until we go there...
...actually, even that's not true, in the sense that "we" means everybody on Earth.
Only the travelers will know it's true. Earthlings will have to wait for the return trip
or signal, to tell them that it *was* true. Even then, for most stars it would be your
great-great-great.... children receiving the signal.
Bottom line? The Universe's speed limit sucks. Where's the fuzzbuster?
KEI is very impressed with the USTR decision to undertake a review of USTR transparency efforts. They are taking this much further than simply reviewing policies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or recent controversies over the secrecy surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations. The review offers the possibility of more transformative changes, including pro-active measures to enhance transparency, covering all aspects of USTR operations, including multilateral, plurilateral, regional, bilateral and unilateral trade policies and negotiations. We are also grateful that USTR is offering to have a continuing dialogue on this issues. KEI will offer additional suggestions on transparency to USTR, and we encourage others to do so also."
...the high prices may be a form of
protest on the part of independant station owners.
In other words, Shell is Walmarting people. Even if the prices come back down, I'm
already biased against stopping at Shell when other alternatives are available.
Shell seems to have other problems. I base this on observations of their prices: Always ridiculously higher here in California.
I mean, a full dollar higher in some cases. I've joked with
friends that the local Shell stations must be mob fronts, because nobody
would actually stop there. Either that, or people at snooty parties pull
out their Shell cards as status symbols. Actually, a Shell card might be
the answer. Perhaps card holders get a discount off the marked prices.
At any rate, It's even more silly to bother with a Shell card to get a discount
than it is to bother with grocery cards. When you're competing with stations
where anybody can pull up and get a low price... well... That, and their
fuel is ethanol blended at our local Shell!
The Chevron station has fair prices, and solar paneles on the roof (to
power the station, obviously, not cars; but it's a nice touch). The
Arco stations are cheapest if you don't mind the debit card fee or paying cash
up front. If I fill up my tank (usually 10 gallons), the debit card fee adds
$0.045/gal. Filling up a large SUV would add even less per gallon since they have
bigger tanks. The Shell station could easily be charging $0.30-$0.50/gal more!
Shell must be having some kind of distribution problem, or they don't know how
to hedge the cost of oil sent to their refineries, or they must have a really
inefficient distribution system in California. Honestly, I don't know how they
stay in business out here, so it doesn't surprise me they are cutting costs.
I found one vintage keyboard model that I like, and I've stuck with it, accumulating them when they come up on eBay and various other places. The one I'm typing on now has dual English-Japanese key caps on it which, IMHO, is cool and different. I have to use an AT to PS2 converter, which I plug into a PS2 to USB converter. If anything supersedes USB (doesn't seem likely) it might get really ugly though. If it weren't for the fact that most old
equipment uses more power than new equipment I'd probably get everything refurb. Yeah... guys like me killed the
consumer driven economy. Sorry 'bout that, oops! My bad. Now, let's see if this gets attached to the proper thread. Somehow my original
reply got attached to the next comment after yours...
I found one vintage keyboard model that I like, and I've stuck with it, accumulating them when they come up on eBay and
various other places.
The one I'm typing on now has dual English-Japanese key caps on it which, IMHO, is cool and different. I have to use an AT to PS2 converter, which I plug
into a PS2 to USB converter. If anything supersedes USB (doesn't seem likely) it might get really ugly though.
CR is the only form of IP that actually can give the little guy a chance. CR needs to be reformed. I certainly wish Eldred had prevailed in Eldred vs.
Ashcroft; but dumping CR altogether would be a mistake. Also, CR violation penalties need to be brought under control, enforcement
needs to be sane, etc. CR makes sense to just about everybody except anti-IP idealogues who want a free lunch to drop out
of the sky.
Patents, OTOH, are just a royal mess. The only way to get one is to deal with a lawyer, and most
patents are not the least bit "inventions". Patents in software in particular ought to just be totally
abolish. They only create a minefield for developers. Maybe a handfull of things should be patented
every year, instead of thousands. Also, if you own a patent you should not be allowed to suppress the
use of your invention. In other words, compulsory licensing for all patents. Commercial infringers could
pay into a pool from which claimants would receive payment. If nobody claims your product violates a patent,
you file for a refund from the pool. If you don't pay into the pool, then you can just litigate like we do now.
Or something like that; but if they abolished patents I don't think we'd miss them, whearas a lack of copyright
would really suck for some people (Big Musico doesn't have to sign you anymore--they can just tape your show
and market it).
YouTube and the underlying protocols, not Facebook
on
Why TV Lost
·
· Score: 1
My TV is locked into using one decompression algorithm over broadcast.
My YouTube uses TCP. If the "signal breaks up", TCP asks for a retransmit. No burpy, jerky, break-ups, just a slight pause.
It may not even pause if enough data buffered.
If a better codec comes along, Flash can be upgraded. The TV has a chip that decodes a signal in a format that was
determine... how many years ago?
YouTube and TCP, that's what might kill TV. The only thing TV still has going for it is that I don't
have to make any effort to get a remote or to kill ads. There is always an annoying frame on YouTube.
These are problems that could be hacked around with an Open Source/Free platform though, so it doesn't
look so hot for TV in the long run.
Nothing's wrong with it now. It's just that this is the government we're talking about. If they haven't started the project yet, the VC-25 will be 30 yo by the time they finish.
Indeed, "Marine One" is referred to quite frequently. It's the president's helicopter. There are at least 3 of them in service, AFAIK. I learned this when GWB landed at the White House one day while I was walking by. Three choppers were flying around, and at the last minute the decoys pealed away and the real one landed. They all had the proper paint job though.
I moved away from DC; but I do miss it sometimes. The funniest thing in recent memory was when one of the Marine One choppers was flying east along U st., away from the White House. A guy on the street, a total stranger, said "You're going the wrong way!". Several other strangers laughed.
Her lawyer will tell her not to comment on the case, and she will follow that advice. She's not stupid.
However, once the dust is settled it might get more interesting. Some other posters were speculating that "big content" it to Democrats what "big oil" is to Republicans. Perhaps that's true; but this is a patent case we're talking about. Big Content is fueled by copyright, not patents. I don't watch Oprah. Has she tackled pharma companies in the past? That might provide some clue as to whether or not she'll become an advocate for patent reform.
Protection from the "insider threat" was a selling point for the last two companies I worked at. BTW, I'm looking for work. Hey, if they can slashvertise, why can't I?
Very true. In fact, I'd actually like to click on some of their sponsored links, but I went through and tightened up some settings in IE and that made it impossible to click those links! I have to copy-paste the un-decorated URL to go there. I suspect the decorated URLs just let Google know that it's a click-through; but whatever technique they are employing is bolloxed, either by my security settings or hosts. Otherwise though, like you say, no real complaints about Google ads--no pop-ups, no music or other nasties.
I tried to let the model work, but after they finally started using Flash tricks to display pop-ups, I finally used the "nuclear option". Whats that? The hosts file. I call it the nuclear option because it takes out unobtrusive ads along with the nasty ones. I really didn't want to do it, but the web advertising industry left me no choice.
If major web sites ever decide to adopt a code of ethics, whereby additional window spawning, interstitials, and other obtrusive ads are barred, I'll stop using hosts.
Really, it worked fine for dead tree print guys, there's no reason it can't work for you. I don't even mind cookies. It was actually kind of cool when Yahoo started showing me ads for IC chips and network cards. Maybe they're still trying to do that, but I'll never know; because some worthless X-10 popup weenie is being blocked by my hosts file.
If Iran wants HP printers, what's to stop some guy from going into a store in any other country where HP printers are available. Then, you just take them back to Iran. It's not like it's a nuclear sub or something. It's a printer for cryin' out loud. It fits in carry-on luggage. Of course, the Iranians would pay a hefty premium using such methods. It'd be easier to make wholesale arrangements via a 3rd country, which is probably what this deal ammounts to. If HP can wholesale printers in countries that aren't sanctioning Iran, then it's game over--our hypothetical shopkeeper would just leave the printers in their pallet, impose a modest markup, and send them on to their final destination.
Oh well... tilting at windmills. I mean, this is the same government mentality the brought us the "you must state you are not from Iran before you download 128-bit encryption". Because, you know... Iranians can't copy 128-bit Netscape from one of their relatives who came back with a CD-ROM, and they would never lie.
I was there a few weeks ago. When the waters are in operation, the air gets noticeably cooler. This only works because Vegas has very dry air. He would get pretty much zero evaporative cooling in Washington DC during the summer.
Since sarcasm is notoriously difficult to convey online, does this mean the Internet is a dementia simulator? Actually, that would explain a lot of things...
Slashdot Mirror
I heard it would retail for $50,000. That's 25 Tata Nanos. It's a little more than 2 of my current car when it was brand new (I drive a '07 Honda Civic). Oh, and my Honda can just... you know... fill up when it gets to the end of its range.
I think I'll pass on this. The hybrid Aptera still looks promising though. I think Tesla kinda blew it. The sportster is cool, I live near their HQ and see them all the time. It may end up as a very special collector car. Hmmm... the roadster might be a better investment than the company.
Buster is still unavailable for comments
No he's not. Most of his mouth landed in my front yard.
I was going to mention those two previous technologies; but you beat me to it.
I used to play around with VRML quite a bit. What I took away from its failure to be widely adopted was that performance matters more than standardization for 3-d enthusiasts.
Of course, it will only be possible to tell if it was Earth-like X number of years ago. Since there are only a few stars within 100 light years, X will usually be more than 100. In the meantime, there could have been a planet killing asteroid, or an advanced civilization could have nuked itself. So, we can only really find "twin Earths" from the past. We'll never actually know what it's like until we go there...
...actually, even that's not true, in the sense that "we" means everybody on Earth. Only the travelers will know it's true. Earthlings will have to wait for the return trip or signal, to tell them that it *was* true. Even then, for most stars it would be your great-great-great.... children receiving the signal.
Bottom line? The Universe's speed limit sucks. Where's the fuzzbuster?
KEI is very impressed with the USTR decision to undertake a review of USTR transparency efforts. They are taking this much further than simply reviewing policies on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or recent controversies over the secrecy surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations. The review offers the possibility of more transformative changes, including pro-active measures to enhance transparency, covering all aspects of USTR operations, including multilateral, plurilateral, regional, bilateral and unilateral trade policies and negotiations. We are also grateful that USTR is offering to have a continuing dialogue on this issues. KEI will offer additional suggestions on transparency to USTR, and we encourage others to do so also."
They came for SOAP and I said nothing, because it was a bloated ugly PoS.
Then they cam for XML and I said nothing because I prefer JSON.
Then they came for JSON and I said nothing because they gave me a bonus.
Then they came for Linux and I said nothing because I was able to retire on that bonus and no longer cared about IT.
Then I had a mild heart attack and on the way to the hospital Microsoft's MyShock defibrelator control software crashed.
...the high prices may be a form of protest on the part of independant station owners.
In other words, Shell is Walmarting people. Even if the prices come back down, I'm already biased against stopping at Shell when other alternatives are available.
Shell seems to have other problems. I base this on observations of their prices: Always ridiculously higher here in California.
I mean, a full dollar higher in some cases. I've joked with friends that the local Shell stations must be mob fronts, because nobody would actually stop there. Either that, or people at snooty parties pull out their Shell cards as status symbols. Actually, a Shell card might be the answer. Perhaps card holders get a discount off the marked prices. At any rate, It's even more silly to bother with a Shell card to get a discount than it is to bother with grocery cards. When you're competing with stations where anybody can pull up and get a low price... well... That, and their fuel is ethanol blended at our local Shell!
The Chevron station has fair prices, and solar paneles on the roof (to power the station, obviously, not cars; but it's a nice touch). The Arco stations are cheapest if you don't mind the debit card fee or paying cash up front. If I fill up my tank (usually 10 gallons), the debit card fee adds $0.045/gal. Filling up a large SUV would add even less per gallon since they have bigger tanks. The Shell station could easily be charging $0.30-$0.50/gal more!
Shell must be having some kind of distribution problem, or they don't know how to hedge the cost of oil sent to their refineries, or they must have a really inefficient distribution system in California. Honestly, I don't know how they stay in business out here, so it doesn't surprise me they are cutting costs.
More secrecy, not less. Don't let anybody read it. Imagine the following transaction.
Content company: Counselor, our rights are being violated. See to it that charges are brought.
Lawyer: I would be happy to do that, but the law is secret, so I don't know what to do.
Content company: D'oh!
Sigh... don't these people realize that whatever credibility they had at the beginning is being totally eroded by things like this?
I found one vintage keyboard model that I like, and I've stuck with it, accumulating them when they come up on eBay and various other places. The one I'm typing on now has dual English-Japanese key caps on it which, IMHO, is cool and different. I have to use an AT to PS2 converter, which I plug into a PS2 to USB converter. If anything supersedes USB (doesn't seem likely) it might get really ugly though. If it weren't for the fact that most old equipment uses more power than new equipment I'd probably get everything refurb. Yeah... guys like me killed the consumer driven economy. Sorry 'bout that, oops! My bad. Now, let's see if this gets attached to the proper thread. Somehow my original reply got attached to the next comment after yours...
I found one vintage keyboard model that I like, and I've stuck with it, accumulating them when they come up on eBay and various other places. The one I'm typing on now has dual English-Japanese key caps on it which, IMHO, is cool and different. I have to use an AT to PS2 converter, which I plug into a PS2 to USB converter. If anything supersedes USB (doesn't seem likely) it might get really ugly though.
CR is the only form of IP that actually can give the little guy a chance. CR needs to be reformed. I certainly wish Eldred had prevailed in Eldred vs. Ashcroft; but dumping CR altogether would be a mistake. Also, CR violation penalties need to be brought under control, enforcement needs to be sane, etc. CR makes sense to just about everybody except anti-IP idealogues who want a free lunch to drop out of the sky.
Patents, OTOH, are just a royal mess. The only way to get one is to deal with a lawyer, and most patents are not the least bit "inventions". Patents in software in particular ought to just be totally abolish. They only create a minefield for developers. Maybe a handfull of things should be patented every year, instead of thousands. Also, if you own a patent you should not be allowed to suppress the use of your invention. In other words, compulsory licensing for all patents. Commercial infringers could pay into a pool from which claimants would receive payment. If nobody claims your product violates a patent, you file for a refund from the pool. If you don't pay into the pool, then you can just litigate like we do now. Or something like that; but if they abolished patents I don't think we'd miss them, whearas a lack of copyright would really suck for some people (Big Musico doesn't have to sign you anymore--they can just tape your show and market it).
My TV is locked into using one decompression algorithm over broadcast.
My YouTube uses TCP. If the "signal breaks up", TCP asks for a retransmit. No burpy, jerky, break-ups, just a slight pause. It may not even pause if enough data buffered.
If a better codec comes along, Flash can be upgraded. The TV has a chip that decodes a signal in a format that was determine... how many years ago?
YouTube and TCP, that's what might kill TV. The only thing TV still has going for it is that I don't have to make any effort to get a remote or to kill ads. There is always an annoying frame on YouTube. These are problems that could be hacked around with an Open Source/Free platform though, so it doesn't look so hot for TV in the long run.
Nothing's wrong with it now. It's just that this is the government we're talking about. If they haven't started the project yet, the VC-25 will be 30 yo by the time they finish.
Indeed, "Marine One" is referred to quite frequently. It's the president's helicopter. There are at least 3 of them in service, AFAIK. I learned this when GWB landed at the White House one day while I was walking by. Three choppers were flying around, and at the last minute the decoys pealed away and the real one landed. They all had the proper paint job though.
I moved away from DC; but I do miss it sometimes. The funniest thing in recent memory was when one of the Marine One choppers was flying east along U st., away from the White House. A guy on the street, a total stranger, said "You're going the wrong way!". Several other strangers laughed.
...at least, not initially.
Her lawyer will tell her not to comment on the case, and she will follow that advice. She's not stupid.
However, once the dust is settled it might get more interesting. Some other posters were speculating that "big content" it to Democrats what "big oil" is to Republicans. Perhaps that's true; but this is a patent case we're talking about. Big Content is fueled by copyright, not patents. I don't watch Oprah. Has she tackled pharma companies in the past? That might provide some clue as to whether or not she'll become an advocate for patent reform.
Protection from the "insider threat" was a selling point for the last two companies I worked at. BTW, I'm looking for work. Hey, if they can slashvertise, why can't I?
Slashdot: Setup lines for bad jokes. Stuff that splatters.
Very true. In fact, I'd actually like to click on some of their sponsored links, but I went through and tightened up some settings in IE and that made it impossible to click those links! I have to copy-paste the un-decorated URL to go there. I suspect the decorated URLs just let Google know that it's a click-through; but whatever technique they are employing is bolloxed, either by my security settings or hosts. Otherwise though, like you say, no real complaints about Google ads--no pop-ups, no music or other nasties.
I tried to let the model work, but after they finally started using Flash tricks to display pop-ups, I finally used the "nuclear option". Whats that? The hosts file. I call it the nuclear option because it takes out unobtrusive ads along with the nasty ones. I really didn't want to do it, but the web advertising industry left me no choice.
If major web sites ever decide to adopt a code of ethics, whereby additional window spawning, interstitials, and other obtrusive ads are barred, I'll stop using hosts.
Really, it worked fine for dead tree print guys, there's no reason it can't work for you. I don't even mind cookies. It was actually kind of cool when Yahoo started showing me ads for IC chips and network cards. Maybe they're still trying to do that, but I'll never know; because some worthless X-10 popup weenie is being blocked by my hosts file.
Get it? Is ANYBODY listening?
If Iran wants HP printers, what's to stop some guy from going into a store in any other country where HP printers are available. Then, you just take them back to Iran. It's not like it's a nuclear sub or something. It's a printer for cryin' out loud. It fits in carry-on luggage. Of course, the Iranians would pay a hefty premium using such methods. It'd be easier to make wholesale arrangements via a 3rd country, which is probably what this deal ammounts to. If HP can wholesale printers in countries that aren't sanctioning Iran, then it's game over--our hypothetical shopkeeper would just leave the printers in their pallet, impose a modest markup, and send them on to their final destination.
Oh well... tilting at windmills. I mean, this is the same government mentality the brought us the "you must state you are not from Iran before you download 128-bit encryption". Because, you know... Iranians can't copy 128-bit Netscape from one of their relatives who came back with a CD-ROM, and they would never lie.
shhhh. You'll pop their bubble. Ooops. Too late.
I was there a few weeks ago. When the waters are in operation, the air gets noticeably cooler. This only works because Vegas has very dry air. He would get pretty much zero evaporative cooling in Washington DC during the summer.
Since sarcasm is notoriously difficult to convey online, does this mean the Internet is a dementia simulator? Actually, that would explain a lot of things...
s/"I guess"/"I know"/