I agree, which is something I find rather amusing considering the huge number of people using "social" networking sites, making "friends" on MySpace, etc.
There is a lot to be said about a digital classroom at a certain point. It can be great in many college classes. I am highly against the "shove computers into higg/middle/elementary schools" movement. I've been in those schools, I know just how poorly they get used. Instead of something good the kids get "How to use Word" (not how to use a word processor). "How to type". "How to make a PowerPoint presentation". Some bits of this are useful (especially typing) but these are being taught not as means to an end, but the end its self.
They could just be for integrity checking. Maybe Apple doesn't want people using 3rd party utilities that screw up the iPods then having to get the calls from those users furious that the thing no longer works. That's one explanation. Maybe with all the executable stuff they offer now (games, which will probably increase) the iPod is so popular it is becoming a bigger target and they don't want "How your iPod can kill your computer... story at 11PM" plastered all over the TV. By not telling others how to do it (they have NEVER supported 3rd party programs in doing stuff with the iPod), they keep virus writers from circumventing the protection.
As for bad PR, bull. This will never be picked up by the mainstream media. 95% or more of iPod users will never hear this story or understand ore care about it even if they did.
I'd like to point out that they are not obliged not to break 3rd party stuff. If you are doing things that are not company sanctioned, you should just assume that any updates may break your stuff.
1) 33% price cut for the iPhone, which threw early adopters in a fit, and then the $100 "rebate".
That happens. Especially with phones. Remember what a RAZR cost when it first came out? Now there are ads on TV offering 5 free RAZRs with service. It's called the early adopter penalty. My TiVo Series 3 costs much less now than one year ago when I bought it. While all devices do this, phones do it really fast. And they are offering a rebate to people who bought it early enough. That's very kind. They didn't have to do that. In case you didn't notice, iPhones were selling just fine at the old price. No one else offers reimbursements like that.
2) iPod touch is crippled. The Bluetooth is physically there (supposedly) but not enabled. No editing calender appointments. No Notes app or the other apps from iPhone. Screen issues with the contrast & blackness versus the iPhone.
It is a media player, not a PDA. If you want a PDA, go buy one. Or buy a PDA/Phone combination like... the iPhone. The old iPods couldn't edit contacts and appointments and such. They didn't cripple that stuff. Besides, since when did Apple NOT segment their devices based on abilities even if device A is also capable of feat Z?
3) iPod Classic, slower less responsive UI. Old Video accessories don't work with the iClassic.
Yeah, but it looks better. That's what people care about. Big fancy graphical interface is slower than 5 lines of text. Film at 11. It's not THAT slow. Other companies were getting closer and closer to the iPod interface, so Apple improved it (in most people's eyes). I'm not going to say this is ideal, but according to Ars's tests if you don't wait for the effects to finish, it's just as fast as it used to be (once boot/sync are over). As for coverflow's performance, what do you expect? It's an iPod. It only has so much horsepower for doing 3D transformation on high resolution textures. They could make it faster, but you'd complain about the lower battery life.
4) iPod Nano, the FatPod. Same slower UI as the Classic. No memory increase.
See my response above. They added video display, and you just repeat an old complaint. My little sister and her friends have already had Minis and Nanos, and they are all going gaga over this new one. Seems to me Apple knows it's market.
Seriously, in 10 days Apple seems to have found a way to piss everyone off. Now they go after the Linux community. How badly have they bungled this product launch?
Really? Seems to me that tons of people are happy. They got their iPhone without the phone. They got a cheaper iPhone. They got video playback on the Nano. They got a way to carry around their 120+ GB music collections. They got longer battery life.
1) As a non-iPhone owner or wanter, the brew-ha-ha over the $200 price cut irritates me not because of the price cut but the reaction is such that you better believe Apple won't ever make similar price cuts in the future.
You didn't buy the device, and you are complaining about the price drop being unfair? Don't you have anything better to do?
Plus you know a 16GB iPhone will come out as soon as the iPhone is released in Europe.
First, it's a computer product. That happens. Second, I doubt it. It's Apple. They will wait until after Christmas to do that in the US. They got TONS of new iPhone momentum from the price drop. They don't need to do that so they wont. And why complain anyway? How manyh other smart phones came with even 4GB without having to buy additional memory cards?
2) Once again, the iTouch will be jailbreaked and the iPhone apps ported to the iTouch, but this type of needless product differentiation crippling cause bad will. And, this hacking may break whenever Apple releases a firmware update. For example, the Linux lock-out of this story.
Linux was never supported, so you shouldn't be surpris
It's not like they sold you an iPod saying it would work with Linux and then removed it. You could sue over that. People have (the famous Intellivision keyboard for example). You bought a product for a non-supported use and are complaining that it's not working in a non-supported configuration. They didn't take Linux support away because they never gave it to you in the first place. You were using a hack, and you will in a few weeks when someone figures this out.
Maybe you should buy a product that is explicitly supported on your OS of choice instead of buying one that isn't supported and them complaining when something gets changed breaking the non-supported hack you are using.
You want to complain that Apple doesn't support Linux? Fine. But don't beat up Apple because an update they issued broke something they never said would work in the first place.
There is a difference between a headset and headphones. Either way, it doesn't matter as I was referring to the iPod touch/classic, which don't have phone abilities.
I use a laptop. If I had a desktop it wouldn't be an issue. But as is I have to plug in the iPod every time I want to sync. I'd like to be able to just set my iPod it it's little cradle (which would be plugged in for power) and have it take that as a signal to connect to my Mac and sync up.
What's so important about BT headphones? I'm sorry but that is one thing that I don't see a big deal about. That's just extra power that my iPod will be wasting and another thing to charge/replace batteries in (the headphones). There are a few circumstances I can see (jogging, maybe). But I don't think it is a big necessary thing for most people.
That said, if the BT hardware is in there (like it is in the iPhone), I see no excuse for not including support for it (because all the hardware is there and I can see people using). I just don't see it as important enough to put the hardware in.
Wireless sync is all I care about. That would make my life much easier. I've got a 40GB 3rd gen and I really like it, but I don't have a lot of reason to move up. I probably buy the either the 16GB touch or the 80GB classic. Not sue which. But I would have bought one of those two very fast.
As it is, the only compelling reason for me to upgrade is the video ability. The surfing on the Touch seems neat, but it isn't enough for me. I am not using the video now. TiVo announced that they will bring TiVoToGo to the Series 3 this November, and if that works for me (I'm on a Mac, so you never know) then I may get one.
My current iPod is functional as I need.
Like I said, wireless sync would do it. So would open development on the touch (I'd love to play with that). They are quite nice, and if I had more of a need for a new iPod I'd grab one of those models. But I replaced the battery in my iPod last year so other than a few little scratches from 4+ years of use, it's as good as new.
I'm fully aware of that. I meant the SNES version (which was great, by the way). I know it was a Maxis game (they've since been swallowed by EA, of course). I was just mentioning that because it is something that you can't get on the other consoles. The 360 and PS3 don't have versions of SimCity.
Yes there are copies for PCs too. That doesn't matter. We're talking about consoles right now.
I was thinking the same thing. On top of those (and some good but not great games), don't forget there is the virtual console. I know there is XBLA, but it doesn't have Nintendo games (for obvious reasons).
If you want to play Zelda II, Sim City, or many other games it's your only choice on a console (short of hacked emulators). There is one heck of a library to compete with there.
That's kind of what I was thinking. We were hiring not too long ago and went though many people. We weren't looking for any geniuses, just decent entry level people to do some simple stuff and they can learn as they go. We got a "programmer" who had been working for years who didn't know what arrays were. We got the people (one guy specifically) who could run NASA's computer division if he knew half of what he claimed. We got nice people who didn't fit us for one reason or another. We got a handful of good people too (we hired some). But tons of people that just make you question how they got through school and got their degree.
Reading the description above of the difference between programers and software engineers it immediately struck me as the difference between skilled labor and a professional. I could design or build a deck or a house or many other things. They won't work nearly as well as plans made by someone who has been doing it for years and really knows their stuff. I could follow a book to get some best practices on how to do certain parts, but I'd still be doing it a bit piecemeal instead of having the whole design in my head (to some degree).
I'm a genius software engineer compared to many of the "programmers" that I've seen who wanted jobs. Of course I know that I'm just a programer compared to other real programers and real software engineers that are really good. I don't have 5/10/whatever years of experience. I don't have an advanced degree.
But like I was saying with the decks and such above... there will always be many people who can do something. If you are really good, if you have a talent, if you have a large amount of experience you will be able to make a living in the field and do well. If you are just trying to get in on a gold-rush of sorts, you can make money for a while but the market will correct and you will either have your salary or your position cut if you can't compete.
You're right, that is better, but I'm a bit unclear still. This really sounds like a microscopic and magnetic version of delay line memory. Is that really what this is?
I'm still amazed that delay line memories were ever used in consumer products (like calculators).
What I mean is, Ethernet has been around since the DOS era. And just like the SoundBlasters of that era, having your NIC compatible with some (pseudo)standard (like the NE2000, which is that I was trying to think of) was a boon. That's not as important now that Windows is around.
There are a couple of reasons. First, there is a history behind ethernet. The specs were at times more open on chips. There were standards that people would adhere to (like the NE1000, if I remember the name right). On top of that, there is the fact there is nothing harmful in an ethernet card. Worst case: you pollute the network.
With WiFi cards, many of them are basically software defined radios. On top of that, there are 11 channels of which only some are legally usable in each country. So if you exposed all the specs on a card it could be used to violate FCC law. There is no possible way I can think of a normal ethernet card could be configured to do that.
Now there are some other bits. Ethernet has it's history in DOS and such. By the time WiFi came around we had Windows and everything had easy drivers and being reverse compatible with other, older cards wasn't a problem. Combine that with the general trend to make hardware more closed off and you end up with today's situation.
My argument holds water. Let's not forget that BluRay and HD-DVD are just higher resolution DVD formats. The ability to record a moving picture of pornography was a big leap over printed pictures. The ability to take pictures instead of having people paint them was a big leap. The ability to print many prints of something instead of having to hand-make them was a big step bringing costs down.
I'm not saying porn won't have an effect, I'm saying it won't be the deciding factor. That's the difference here and the heart of my argument. Both formats have porn on them... so I'd say both comparisons to the VHS/Beta argument are seriously flawed.
PS: First time you could watch porn at home referred to convenient on-demand moving pictures. VHS was much easier than 8mm film. Postcards and Playboy weren't moving pictures. I'm sorry I wasn't perfectly specific. I figured people would get my point.
I dabbled with MythTV a few years ago. I was quite surprised then that the Zap2It service was free, and I'm quite amazed it lasted as long as it did. At a certain point, if MythTV got bigger, they would have HAD to do this.
Now other posters have pointed out that ReplayTV in some countries used this, and some companies were taking these listings and reselling them for profit.
If you want to be open source, this data has to come from somewhere. Maybe someone will write scripts to scrape Yahoo TV or TV Guide or something else. If you just move to another guide service, they will end up dong the same thing. Maybe they'll put ads in it (and we all know how well putting ads all though things fares with/.ers).
So I say... ha. I've been expecting this. It was inevitable. Meanwhile I've had a TiVo for maybe 3 years now. I love it. I now have a Series 3. And I've said that I love it in/. discussions and there are always those people who say "But MythTV is free!" I realize there are benefits to the MythTV way (multiple front ends, multiple media formats, etc). But now the free guide data is gone. You could pay someone for it (or Zap2It). But if your setup isn't that complex, wouldn't a TiVo fit the bill? It may cost a hair more, but they won't pull guide data on you. Plus for that small monthly fee you get software updates and suggestions (which is very valuable to me).
Free ride, in this small case, is over. I hope people enjoyed it, but at some level people had to see this would happen.
Too bad though. As I remember, they had excellent quality data.
Can we give up that stupid porn argument yet? I've posted this more than once, but that keeps coming up. Porn will not decide the new format.
First, when VHS and Beta appeared, the only real way to see porn films was in a XXX theater. You couldn't watch them in the privacy of your home.
Today, I can watch porn on VHS, or DVD. Or pay-per-view. Or satellite. Or the 'net. Or video-CD. Or I could play a porn related video game. Porn helped VHS because it was really the first time you could watch porn in the privacy of your home, so the inability to do that on Beta was big. That's not an issue today.
Please, can we just drop that stupid argument? It doesn't hold much water any more.
Can you explain to me why this story isn't newsworthy? It's not like this was just someone's personal parrot. This was a very important and rather famous research animal. I've seen him on more than one TV show. I think I've seen him on the evening news once. I know he was a segment on an episode of Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda.
You must not know much about this. Alex was an incredible bird. I've seen him on TV a couple of times. Many birds can repeat things. Some might even be able to associate (say specifically ask for food).
Alex, though hard training and probably natural ability was far beyond that. He knew tons of words. He could answer simple questions and interpret human language. I remember seeing videos of them giving him a little toy car and asking him what it was, to which he responded "truck" (close enough). He did this with a couple of objects. They could ask him what color an object was and he could tell you.
You don't seem to have read the "article", but then again this is/.
Even in such a simple case there are many things it should be testing. Is the A/D output sane? Does it take 3 quick samples while someone is blowing and average them or just take it once (which could be wrong for some reason)?
According to the article, it doesn't look like it does. It calibrates the wind sensor, but doesn't check that the calibration is sane. It doesn't report errors unless they happen 32 times in a row. It disables the watchdog timer. It disables the interrupt for illegal instructions. It doesn't meet any coding standards. It contains code with things like "this is temporary for now" in it.
There is an obvious reason why they didn't want the code released.
But you don't have to be talking, as long as your phone is on it is reporting to the tower. There is also the argument that someone else in the car could be using the phone (say a Taxi passenger). But this should work for people like me who have a cell phone and leave it on, but don't talk while driving.
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I agree, which is something I find rather amusing considering the huge number of people using "social" networking sites, making "friends" on MySpace, etc.
There is a lot to be said about a digital classroom at a certain point. It can be great in many college classes. I am highly against the "shove computers into higg/middle/elementary schools" movement. I've been in those schools, I know just how poorly they get used. Instead of something good the kids get "How to use Word" (not how to use a word processor). "How to type". "How to make a PowerPoint presentation". Some bits of this are useful (especially typing) but these are being taught not as means to an end, but the end its self.
They could just be for integrity checking. Maybe Apple doesn't want people using 3rd party utilities that screw up the iPods then having to get the calls from those users furious that the thing no longer works. That's one explanation. Maybe with all the executable stuff they offer now (games, which will probably increase) the iPod is so popular it is becoming a bigger target and they don't want "How your iPod can kill your computer... story at 11PM" plastered all over the TV. By not telling others how to do it (they have NEVER supported 3rd party programs in doing stuff with the iPod), they keep virus writers from circumventing the protection.
As for bad PR, bull. This will never be picked up by the mainstream media. 95% or more of iPod users will never hear this story or understand ore care about it even if they did.
I'd like to point out that they are not obliged not to break 3rd party stuff. If you are doing things that are not company sanctioned, you should just assume that any updates may break your stuff.
1) 33% price cut for the iPhone, which threw early adopters in a fit, and then the $100 "rebate".
That happens. Especially with phones. Remember what a RAZR cost when it first came out? Now there are ads on TV offering 5 free RAZRs with service. It's called the early adopter penalty. My TiVo Series 3 costs much less now than one year ago when I bought it. While all devices do this, phones do it really fast. And they are offering a rebate to people who bought it early enough. That's very kind. They didn't have to do that. In case you didn't notice, iPhones were selling just fine at the old price. No one else offers reimbursements like that.
2) iPod touch is crippled. The Bluetooth is physically there (supposedly) but not enabled. No editing calender appointments. No Notes app or the other apps from iPhone. Screen issues with the contrast & blackness versus the iPhone.
It is a media player, not a PDA. If you want a PDA, go buy one. Or buy a PDA/Phone combination like... the iPhone. The old iPods couldn't edit contacts and appointments and such. They didn't cripple that stuff. Besides, since when did Apple NOT segment their devices based on abilities even if device A is also capable of feat Z?
3) iPod Classic, slower less responsive UI. Old Video accessories don't work with the iClassic.
Yeah, but it looks better. That's what people care about. Big fancy graphical interface is slower than 5 lines of text. Film at 11. It's not THAT slow. Other companies were getting closer and closer to the iPod interface, so Apple improved it (in most people's eyes). I'm not going to say this is ideal, but according to Ars's tests if you don't wait for the effects to finish, it's just as fast as it used to be (once boot/sync are over). As for coverflow's performance, what do you expect? It's an iPod. It only has so much horsepower for doing 3D transformation on high resolution textures. They could make it faster, but you'd complain about the lower battery life.
4) iPod Nano, the FatPod. Same slower UI as the Classic. No memory increase.
See my response above. They added video display, and you just repeat an old complaint. My little sister and her friends have already had Minis and Nanos, and they are all going gaga over this new one. Seems to me Apple knows it's market.
Seriously, in 10 days Apple seems to have found a way to piss everyone off. Now they go after the Linux community. How badly have they bungled this product launch?
Really? Seems to me that tons of people are happy. They got their iPhone without the phone. They got a cheaper iPhone. They got video playback on the Nano. They got a way to carry around their 120+ GB music collections. They got longer battery life.
1) As a non-iPhone owner or wanter, the brew-ha-ha over the $200 price cut irritates me not because of the price cut but the reaction is such that you better believe Apple won't ever make similar price cuts in the future.
You didn't buy the device, and you are complaining about the price drop being unfair? Don't you have anything better to do?
Plus you know a 16GB iPhone will come out as soon as the iPhone is released in Europe.
First, it's a computer product. That happens. Second, I doubt it. It's Apple. They will wait until after Christmas to do that in the US. They got TONS of new iPhone momentum from the price drop. They don't need to do that so they wont. And why complain anyway? How manyh other smart phones came with even 4GB without having to buy additional memory cards?
2) Once again, the iTouch will be jailbreaked and the iPhone apps ported to the iTouch, but this type of needless product differentiation crippling cause bad will. And, this hacking may break whenever Apple releases a firmware update. For example, the Linux lock-out of this story.
Linux was never supported, so you shouldn't be surpris
It's not like they sold you an iPod saying it would work with Linux and then removed it. You could sue over that. People have (the famous Intellivision keyboard for example). You bought a product for a non-supported use and are complaining that it's not working in a non-supported configuration. They didn't take Linux support away because they never gave it to you in the first place. You were using a hack, and you will in a few weeks when someone figures this out.
Maybe you should buy a product that is explicitly supported on your OS of choice instead of buying one that isn't supported and them complaining when something gets changed breaking the non-supported hack you are using.
You want to complain that Apple doesn't support Linux? Fine. But don't beat up Apple because an update they issued broke something they never said would work in the first place.
There is a difference between a headset and headphones. Either way, it doesn't matter as I was referring to the iPod touch/classic, which don't have phone abilities.
I use a laptop. If I had a desktop it wouldn't be an issue. But as is I have to plug in the iPod every time I want to sync. I'd like to be able to just set my iPod it it's little cradle (which would be plugged in for power) and have it take that as a signal to connect to my Mac and sync up.
What's so important about BT headphones? I'm sorry but that is one thing that I don't see a big deal about. That's just extra power that my iPod will be wasting and another thing to charge/replace batteries in (the headphones). There are a few circumstances I can see (jogging, maybe). But I don't think it is a big necessary thing for most people.
That said, if the BT hardware is in there (like it is in the iPhone), I see no excuse for not including support for it (because all the hardware is there and I can see people using). I just don't see it as important enough to put the hardware in.
Now wireless syncing, I would be big on.
Wireless sync is all I care about. That would make my life much easier. I've got a 40GB 3rd gen and I really like it, but I don't have a lot of reason to move up. I probably buy the either the 16GB touch or the 80GB classic. Not sue which. But I would have bought one of those two very fast.
As it is, the only compelling reason for me to upgrade is the video ability. The surfing on the Touch seems neat, but it isn't enough for me. I am not using the video now. TiVo announced that they will bring TiVoToGo to the Series 3 this November, and if that works for me (I'm on a Mac, so you never know) then I may get one.
My current iPod is functional as I need.
Like I said, wireless sync would do it. So would open development on the touch (I'd love to play with that). They are quite nice, and if I had more of a need for a new iPod I'd grab one of those models. But I replaced the battery in my iPod last year so other than a few little scratches from 4+ years of use, it's as good as new.
I'm fully aware of that. I meant the SNES version (which was great, by the way). I know it was a Maxis game (they've since been swallowed by EA, of course). I was just mentioning that because it is something that you can't get on the other consoles. The 360 and PS3 don't have versions of SimCity.
Yes there are copies for PCs too. That doesn't matter. We're talking about consoles right now.
I was thinking the same thing. On top of those (and some good but not great games), don't forget there is the virtual console. I know there is XBLA, but it doesn't have Nintendo games (for obvious reasons).
If you want to play Zelda II, Sim City, or many other games it's your only choice on a console (short of hacked emulators). There is one heck of a library to compete with there.
That's kind of what I was thinking. We were hiring not too long ago and went though many people. We weren't looking for any geniuses, just decent entry level people to do some simple stuff and they can learn as they go. We got a "programmer" who had been working for years who didn't know what arrays were. We got the people (one guy specifically) who could run NASA's computer division if he knew half of what he claimed. We got nice people who didn't fit us for one reason or another. We got a handful of good people too (we hired some). But tons of people that just make you question how they got through school and got their degree.
Reading the description above of the difference between programers and software engineers it immediately struck me as the difference between skilled labor and a professional. I could design or build a deck or a house or many other things. They won't work nearly as well as plans made by someone who has been doing it for years and really knows their stuff. I could follow a book to get some best practices on how to do certain parts, but I'd still be doing it a bit piecemeal instead of having the whole design in my head (to some degree).
I'm a genius software engineer compared to many of the "programmers" that I've seen who wanted jobs. Of course I know that I'm just a programer compared to other real programers and real software engineers that are really good. I don't have 5/10/whatever years of experience. I don't have an advanced degree.
But like I was saying with the decks and such above... there will always be many people who can do something. If you are really good, if you have a talent, if you have a large amount of experience you will be able to make a living in the field and do well. If you are just trying to get in on a gold-rush of sorts, you can make money for a while but the market will correct and you will either have your salary or your position cut if you can't compete.
You're right, that is better, but I'm a bit unclear still. This really sounds like a microscopic and magnetic version of delay line memory. Is that really what this is?
I'm still amazed that delay line memories were ever used in consumer products (like calculators).
Some of those, especially Voyager, are quite impressive.
I'm I the only one that thinks the OQO is really out of place?
What I mean is, Ethernet has been around since the DOS era. And just like the SoundBlasters of that era, having your NIC compatible with some (pseudo)standard (like the NE2000, which is that I was trying to think of) was a boon. That's not as important now that Windows is around.
There are a couple of reasons. First, there is a history behind ethernet. The specs were at times more open on chips. There were standards that people would adhere to (like the NE1000, if I remember the name right). On top of that, there is the fact there is nothing harmful in an ethernet card. Worst case: you pollute the network.
With WiFi cards, many of them are basically software defined radios. On top of that, there are 11 channels of which only some are legally usable in each country. So if you exposed all the specs on a card it could be used to violate FCC law. There is no possible way I can think of a normal ethernet card could be configured to do that.
Now there are some other bits. Ethernet has it's history in DOS and such. By the time WiFi came around we had Windows and everything had easy drivers and being reverse compatible with other, older cards wasn't a problem. Combine that with the general trend to make hardware more closed off and you end up with today's situation.
My argument holds water. Let's not forget that BluRay and HD-DVD are just higher resolution DVD formats. The ability to record a moving picture of pornography was a big leap over printed pictures. The ability to take pictures instead of having people paint them was a big leap. The ability to print many prints of something instead of having to hand-make them was a big step bringing costs down.
I'm not saying porn won't have an effect, I'm saying it won't be the deciding factor. That's the difference here and the heart of my argument. Both formats have porn on them... so I'd say both comparisons to the VHS/Beta argument are seriously flawed.
PS: First time you could watch porn at home referred to convenient on-demand moving pictures. VHS was much easier than 8mm film. Postcards and Playboy weren't moving pictures. I'm sorry I wasn't perfectly specific. I figured people would get my point.
Does this really surprise anyone?
I dabbled with MythTV a few years ago. I was quite surprised then that the Zap2It service was free, and I'm quite amazed it lasted as long as it did. At a certain point, if MythTV got bigger, they would have HAD to do this.
Now other posters have pointed out that ReplayTV in some countries used this, and some companies were taking these listings and reselling them for profit.
If you want to be open source, this data has to come from somewhere. Maybe someone will write scripts to scrape Yahoo TV or TV Guide or something else. If you just move to another guide service, they will end up dong the same thing. Maybe they'll put ads in it (and we all know how well putting ads all though things fares with /.ers).
So I say... ha. I've been expecting this. It was inevitable. Meanwhile I've had a TiVo for maybe 3 years now. I love it. I now have a Series 3. And I've said that I love it in /. discussions and there are always those people who say "But MythTV is free!" I realize there are benefits to the MythTV way (multiple front ends, multiple media formats, etc). But now the free guide data is gone. You could pay someone for it (or Zap2It). But if your setup isn't that complex, wouldn't a TiVo fit the bill? It may cost a hair more, but they won't pull guide data on you. Plus for that small monthly fee you get software updates and suggestions (which is very valuable to me).
Free ride, in this small case, is over. I hope people enjoyed it, but at some level people had to see this would happen.
Too bad though. As I remember, they had excellent quality data.
First, when VHS and Beta appeared, the only real way to see porn films was in a XXX theater. You couldn't watch them in the privacy of your home.
Today, I can watch porn on VHS, or DVD. Or pay-per-view. Or satellite. Or the 'net. Or video-CD. Or I could play a porn related video game. Porn helped VHS because it was really the first time you could watch porn in the privacy of your home, so the inability to do that on Beta was big. That's not an issue today.
Please, can we just drop that stupid argument? It doesn't hold much water any more.
Can you explain to me why this story isn't newsworthy? It's not like this was just someone's personal parrot. This was a very important and rather famous research animal. I've seen him on more than one TV show. I think I've seen him on the evening news once. I know he was a segment on an episode of Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda.
You must not know much about this. Alex was an incredible bird. I've seen him on TV a couple of times. Many birds can repeat things. Some might even be able to associate (say specifically ask for food).
Alex, though hard training and probably natural ability was far beyond that. He knew tons of words. He could answer simple questions and interpret human language. I remember seeing videos of them giving him a little toy car and asking him what it was, to which he responded "truck" (close enough). He did this with a couple of objects. They could ask him what color an object was and he could tell you.
Check out the Wikipedia article on him.
This is news, like Washoe dying would be news (is Washoe still alive?)
I've heard that 1.92 makes all the difference.
You don't seem to have read the "article", but then again this is /.
Even in such a simple case there are many things it should be testing. Is the A/D output sane? Does it take 3 quick samples while someone is blowing and average them or just take it once (which could be wrong for some reason)?
According to the article, it doesn't look like it does. It calibrates the wind sensor, but doesn't check that the calibration is sane. It doesn't report errors unless they happen 32 times in a row. It disables the watchdog timer. It disables the interrupt for illegal instructions. It doesn't meet any coding standards. It contains code with things like "this is temporary for now" in it.
There is an obvious reason why they didn't want the code released.
Only in Lisp.
Now I agree completely.
But you don't have to be talking, as long as your phone is on it is reporting to the tower. There is also the argument that someone else in the car could be using the phone (say a Taxi passenger). But this should work for people like me who have a cell phone and leave it on, but don't talk while driving.