In the absence of law enforcement taking appropriate action, and otherwise the lack of laws that would force them to do the right thing, what's the alternative? Should we all go through life, accepting that we have no rights, and avoid doing anything, living in fear of saying anything someone mildly dislikes?
What's the alternative to suing?
Sure, there are frivolous lawsuits, but that doesn't mean people should stop filing lawsuits for legitimate reasons.
[...] nor is it for any other "free" license (like GNU GPL, GNU FDL, BSDL, MITL and Co.) I know. All these licenses cleverly make use of copyright to guarantee certain freedoms and/or restrictions.
The BSD, MIT, and a few other licenses, are such a tiny step away from public domain, that it's pointless (and pedantic) to go out of your way to make the distinction.
Yeah, you aren't allowed to change those 3 lines at the top of every.c file, but that is all.
This should dominate mainstream broadcast and print media. This should preempt regular programming on every broadcast channel.
Calm down. This is just a couple democratic PRIMARY debates we're talking about. Later, you can expect some debates to get broadcast on various network channels.
As for EVERY channel, that's just idiotic. I am capable of changing the channel myself, thank you.
There are plenty of people that can't vote, anyhow, and don't need to be annoyed. There are also plenty of people who simply don't want to watch the debates, in-full, and will find other, perfectly valid ways to inform themselves. Shoving the debates down everyone's throat would serve no purpose, except to boost ratings on cable.
Youtube is going to be clogged with eight-billion videos of clips out of context and "deep" bad voiceovers explaining why [Candidate X] is the worst/best thing after the devil/Jesus
...And more lenient copyright on the material in question will exactly ZERO effect on that, because that would clearly fall entirely under fair-use...
Yes, but the difference is, you're just made that up on the spot, with absolutely no knowledge of electronics at all.
Unless you've got some clever way of making a circuit board completely inflexible without the substrate itself
Now, do YOU remember what I said about circuit boards being more brittle and inflexible than just about any type of metal out there? Yeah, big surprise, tin is metal.
Since you're clearly just repeating some nonsense you heard from some other idiot, somewhere, and obviously have no sources to back-up your claim, I'm done with this. Feel free to have the last word if it makes you feel better.
Another option is to build something like the Newton eMate
Except that was selling for 10X as much.
There were also some company building a greyscale PalmOS device with a full keyboard attached to it...
...which sells for $250 today.
Maybe they can bring that down with mass manufacturing, but the Osaris is much more of a sure "sure thing", since it was already selling, NEW, for under $100, more than 5 years ago. With prices continually falling, it would probably only cost $20 even in small quantities today. You could even add a couple more features, like full audio, a small generator, and perhaps wifi, and mass produce it for little more than $10.
Do you live in a mud-hut in one of the most impoverished areas of India? Since you're posting to/. I'd guess not... So what YOU think you need has nothing to do with this device.
If you had no other way to communicate with the outside world, you'd damn sure want wireless mesh networking of some kind on your machine. If you want to use your laptop as a digital device for sampling data in experiments, or controlling electronics, you'd certainly want things like USB ports. Not to mention being able to print-out or at least somehow transfer any work you've done on the machine.
bend them backwards and forwards through about 90 degrees until both pieces snap.
That proves nothing at all about PCB solder connections being "cracked".
Now maybe if you were measuring the force it takes to bend each of the types of solder, you might have proven my point that tin is stronger, and so less likely to have a connection break in the first place.
Solder isn't used to patch tires. You don't want or need it to be flexible.
The Wired story included a direct quote from Negroponte based on an email exchange after the original story,
Alright, you're clearly dense and loud, so I'll lay this out for you...
Here are the quotes:
"The XO always ran Windows... that is why we added the SD slot,"
A SD slot costs less than a dollar. Besides, that quote could be completely out-of context. That's sure not a first for Wired.
"software that's not the most trim, svelte software in the world." Yeah, Python is pretty heavy, as is Gecko/Moz. No mention of Windows.
"The only difference in the B2-2's is that the added 0.5G flash and 128M DRAM allow for it to boot from the firmware, much like a new Apple that runs both." That one I can't even comprehend... What else would it boot from? How could more Flash and DRAM possible help it boot from firmware?
Still, absolutely no indication the CPU/RAM/Flash was increased because of Microsoft, IN ANY WAY. So whatever conspiracy you THINK you're seeing in there, it's all completely made-up in your own head.
We can dismiss that one right there. Not to mention I can't understand what you were trying to say to begin with.
50% of the HP PCs on the Comdex showroom floor were running IBM OS/2 but after a call from a Microsoft executive, all those PCs were removed from the floor before the show opened the next morning.
That would be a software/distribution/bundling issue... We're talking about pressuring a hardware company not to manufacture hardware...
A computer that can access Wikipedia and receive and send some mails, even only in black & white, even with only a text display, is still worth more than 10$.
They could probably (re)start producing the Osaris in India, and turn out such a (damn good) system for around $10.
So, is the price change inflation or a spec change?
False dichotomy.
Why did they change the spec if it was going to raise prices?
For the same reason they aren't using 1/10th as much memory, and storage, slower processor, etc., etc.
The original story had the announcement coming from Negroponte
Negroponte clearly mentioned that Microsoft was working on getting Windows to work on XO. I haven't been able to find any relevant info, but that could well have been just an off-the-cuff remark, perhaps in response to a reporter's question. Everyone seems to be quoting the same, unnamed source for the story, which Negroponte has rebuked as inaccurate. If I could find a transcript, I'd know for sure.
nor does it even refute that the specs were changed to make the laptop compatible with Microsoft.
Windows doesn't need 1GB of space, nor 256MBs of RAM. It's a highly dubious claim to begin with.
Who cares? SOLDER JOINTS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO FLEX to begin with. If it holds the chips/wires in-place better, and requires more force to break it, then you should come out far ahead.
Vibration and thermal cycling will crack the joint far more easily than with 60/40 solder.
If you've got a source for that, by all means, cite it. I certainly don't believe it...
Brittle or not, thermal cycling shouldn't cause an object to just crack. It's really just when an object it's holding together something else (eg. different metals) that expands/contracts much more than itself (and can't get slack from any other direction) that damage normally occurs.
Hell, the circuit board is without question far more "brittle" than tin, or nearly any other metal.
The idea of holding the controller connector "just the right way" is not because of the solder joint breaking, but because the wire has broken inside, usually just as it exits the connector or controller.
No-doubt that happens, but I've seen (and fixed) dozens of cases of it, and it's always the solder connections on the board. Game systems are simply poorly designed, and there is just nothing at all in there to prevent the force (of insertion and removal of the controller plug) from being transferred directly and completely to the solder joints. Same is true of the cartridge slots, volume controls, headphone, RCA and other connectors usually soldered directly to circuit boards.
There is absolutely no information to be found here... Without some specs for the thing, they might as well say they're coming up with a toaster...
If all you want is an digital text reader and work processor, yeah, you can do it for $10, easily enough. It's not going to compete in the same league as the OLPC, though.
Adding a color screen drives prices through the roof. Adding wifi will be more expensive. Adding USB and a decent amount of Flash storage will make it more expensive... etc.
I've argued several times before that the OLPC could do it's job just fine with far lower spec than even what it originally had, but I doubt they've got it right this time, at a price of just $10, and I'm extremely sure a device that cheap can't reasonably even be called a "Laptop" to begin with.
Computer hardware prices in general have always gone down, with better specs, in spite of inflation.
Over the long-term they do. However, in any set period of time, they commonly rise, due to various economic forces.
For example, I could easily buy a $400 Laptop over a year ago, and without any specials or coupons... Walmart offered them, and Dell and others followed suit. Now it's hard to even find a $500 Laptop. For desktops, $200 could buy a relatively fast system, with everything but a monitor... no such luck today.
Prices on specific tech, such as DDR2 RAM, will rise and fall as demand changes. As Intel and AMD came out with DDR2 systems, I imagine DDR2 prices jumped as well, though just temporarily as supplies were increased.
Still, the spec change, the price increase, and the Microsoft announcement coming all at the same time is fishy. At best, it's awful public relations.
Since the spec change is at least minimally related to the price increase, there's no way not to mention it simultaneously.
As for Microsoft's announcement, I don't see what control the OLPC guys have as to what Microsoft says and does.
Only until Americans realize getting rid of things that kill you also means getting rid of guns, then they'll go all Second Amendment on you.
Bullshit. The number of deaths due to car accidents is astronomical compared to deaths by firearms. Deaths by knives are far higher than deaths by guns, and as much as I'd like not to die, I'd much more like to be able to cut up and prepare food while I'm alive... Accidents with tool cause more deaths than with any weapons. Hell, otherwise innocuous (heavy and blunt and/or just pointy) objects cause more deaths than weapons.
I can't wait until someone tries to outlaw stairs. You'll have to pry them from my cold, dead, feet.
according to the wikipedia we are well over SIX THOUSAND MILLION people alive at the moment,
Really? Because I'd imagine Wikipedia would say that there are 6 billion people, instead of making up numbers...
Does Wikipedia also mention that population is actually declining in the Western world, as well as some parts of the East like China and Japan? Because that fact would be an incredibly relevant point in this discussion...
If we all lived to 150, you'd see the retirement age raised to 100+.
Why? My Grandfather was lower-middle class, working as a low-paid laborer his entire life, and by the time he retired, he had over $200,000 in the bank, and was making more in interest than he and his wife could reasonably spend.
Middle-class people could retire at 40, and live off their savings forever, if they simply knew how to live within their means.
It always astonishes me to see a "poor" family buying new cars every 4 years. It astonishes me to see a middle class family move into a mansion of a house, in the most expensive neighborhoods around, and nearly going hungry, going without insurance, etc., etc. to make payments on their giant, empty, house.
I don't know what happened... People that lived through the 30s tend to go to extreme lengths to avoid spending a small amount of money, and yet their children and grandchildren went to the other extreme, and waste money left-and-right, even when both parents work, they're spending 100% of their income, plus 2% of their savings, each year...
Re:I thought "calorie restriction" study was debun
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Longevity Gene Found
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As I understand it, those studies were done on rats. If you let a rat eat all it wants, the rat eat itelf to death in a very short time. That's where they got this calorie restriction idea.
That's so horribly, completely, and totally incorrect, I can't imagine where you even got that idea from.
Thing is, rats that have a normal diet live as long as rats that have calorie restricted diet.
Not true, at all.
Re:not only do people live longer on calorie restr
on
Longevity Gene Found
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in other words, you don't just extend lifespan, you extend the period of robust physical ability to continue working and earning a living
Except people on an (appropriate*) calorie restricted diet can't EVER do any significant physical activity. Even at 20 years old, they can't run, lift anything remotely heavy, or any other physical exertion. First, because they'll pass out, and second because the calorie restriction means they have extremely little muscle mass.
*The 2000 calorie diets being mentioned don't count, unless you're more than 7 feet (2.2 meters) tall. The life-lengthening benefits of calorie restriction require almost 50% lower (than ideal/accepted) caloric intake, not 40% lower than an obese person's diet.
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In the absence of law enforcement taking appropriate action, and otherwise the lack of laws that would force them to do the right thing, what's the alternative? Should we all go through life, accepting that we have no rights, and avoid doing anything, living in fear of saying anything someone mildly dislikes?
What's the alternative to suing?
Sure, there are frivolous lawsuits, but that doesn't mean people should stop filing lawsuits for legitimate reasons.
Really? Because I'm thinking of renting a truck, and filling it up with bags of fertilizer.
Nothing illegal about that.
The BSD, MIT, and a few other licenses, are such a tiny step away from public domain, that it's pointless (and pedantic) to go out of your way to make the distinction.
Yeah, you aren't allowed to change those 3 lines at the top of every
Calm down. This is just a couple democratic PRIMARY debates we're talking about. Later, you can expect some debates to get broadcast on various network channels.
As for EVERY channel, that's just idiotic. I am capable of changing the channel myself, thank you.
There are plenty of people that can't vote, anyhow, and don't need to be annoyed. There are also plenty of people who simply don't want to watch the debates, in-full, and will find other, perfectly valid ways to inform themselves. Shoving the debates down everyone's throat would serve no purpose, except to boost ratings on cable.
I asked for examples of exactly that... You have none. The end. Goodbye.
Yes, but the difference is, you're just made that up on the spot, with absolutely no knowledge of electronics at all.
Now, do YOU remember what I said about circuit boards being more brittle and inflexible than just about any type of metal out there? Yeah, big surprise, tin is metal.
Since you're clearly just repeating some nonsense you heard from some other idiot, somewhere, and obviously have no sources to back-up your claim, I'm done with this. Feel free to have the last word if it makes you feel better.
No. You are simply over-paranoid, and think there's a train coming right at you, all the time, no matter where you are...
You can call people stupid or naive because they want evidence, but that actually just makes them SANE (unlike yourself).
Except that was selling for 10X as much.
Maybe they can bring that down with mass manufacturing, but the Osaris is much more of a sure "sure thing", since it was already selling, NEW, for under $100, more than 5 years ago. With prices continually falling, it would probably only cost $20 even in small quantities today. You could even add a couple more features, like full audio, a small generator, and perhaps wifi, and mass produce it for little more than $10.
Do you live in a mud-hut in one of the most impoverished areas of India? Since you're posting to
If you had no other way to communicate with the outside world, you'd damn sure want wireless mesh networking of some kind on your machine. If you want to use your laptop as a digital device for sampling data in experiments, or controlling electronics, you'd certainly want things like USB ports. Not to mention being able to print-out or at least somehow transfer any work you've done on the machine.
That proves nothing at all about PCB solder connections being "cracked".
Now maybe if you were measuring the force it takes to bend each of the types of solder, you might have proven my point that tin is stronger, and so less likely to have a connection break in the first place.
Solder isn't used to patch tires. You don't want or need it to be flexible.
Alright, you're clearly dense and loud, so I'll lay this out for you...
Here are the quotes:
"The XO always ran Windows... that is why we added the SD slot,"
A SD slot costs less than a dollar. Besides, that quote could be completely out-of context. That's sure not a first for Wired.
"software that's not the most trim, svelte software in the world."
Yeah, Python is pretty heavy, as is Gecko/Moz. No mention of Windows.
"The only difference in the B2-2's is that the added 0.5G flash and 128M DRAM allow for it to boot from the firmware, much like a new Apple that runs both."
That one I can't even comprehend... What else would it boot from? How could more Flash and DRAM possible help it boot from firmware?
Still, absolutely no indication the CPU/RAM/Flash was increased because of Microsoft, IN ANY WAY. So whatever conspiracy you THINK you're seeing in there, it's all completely made-up in your own head.
Now, I'll cite my own, preferred story: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/04/negropo
"OLPC hasn't changed the XO's design to support Windows,"
"Negroponte had as much interest in Windows on this machine as Steve Ballmer has to in Linux apps working on Vista."
Is that not clear enough for you, now?
I've seen hundreds of sources. They all say the exact same things... What part of "Negroponte has rebuked as inaccurate" do you not understand?
We can dismiss that one right there. Not to mention I can't understand what you were trying to say to begin with.
That would be a software/distribution/bundling issue... We're talking about pressuring a hardware company not to manufacture hardware...
Still waiting...
They could probably (re)start producing the Osaris in India, and turn out such a (damn good) system for around $10.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaris
(I got mine for $50, about 5 years ago)
False dichotomy.
For the same reason they aren't using 1/10th as much memory, and storage, slower processor, etc., etc.
Negroponte clearly mentioned that Microsoft was working on getting Windows to work on XO. I haven't been able to find any relevant info, but that could well have been just an off-the-cuff remark, perhaps in response to a reporter's question. Everyone seems to be quoting the same, unnamed source for the story, which Negroponte has rebuked as inaccurate. If I could find a transcript, I'd know for sure.
Windows doesn't need 1GB of space, nor 256MBs of RAM. It's a highly dubious claim to begin with.
Who cares? SOLDER JOINTS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO FLEX to begin with. If it holds the chips/wires in-place better, and requires more force to break it, then you should come out far ahead.
If you've got a source for that, by all means, cite it. I certainly don't believe it...
Brittle or not, thermal cycling shouldn't cause an object to just crack. It's really just when an object it's holding together something else (eg. different metals) that expands/contracts much more than itself (and can't get slack from any other direction) that damage normally occurs.
Hell, the circuit board is without question far more "brittle" than tin, or nearly any other metal.
No-doubt that happens, but I've seen (and fixed) dozens of cases of it, and it's always the solder connections on the board. Game systems are simply poorly designed, and there is just nothing at all in there to prevent the force (of insertion and removal of the controller plug) from being transferred directly and completely to the solder joints. Same is true of the cartridge slots, volume controls, headphone, RCA and other connectors usually soldered directly to circuit boards.
There is absolutely no information to be found here... Without some specs for the thing, they might as well say they're coming up with a toaster...
If all you want is an digital text reader and work processor, yeah, you can do it for $10, easily enough. It's not going to compete in the same league as the OLPC, though.
Adding a color screen drives prices through the roof. Adding wifi will be more expensive. Adding USB and a decent amount of Flash storage will make it more expensive... etc.
I've argued several times before that the OLPC could do it's job just fine with far lower spec than even what it originally had, but I doubt they've got it right this time, at a price of just $10, and I'm extremely sure a device that cheap can't reasonably even be called a "Laptop" to begin with.
Over the long-term they do. However, in any set period of time, they commonly rise, due to various economic forces.
For example, I could easily buy a $400 Laptop over a year ago, and without any specials or coupons... Walmart offered them, and Dell and others followed suit. Now it's hard to even find a $500 Laptop. For desktops, $200 could buy a relatively fast system, with everything but a monitor... no such luck today.
Prices on specific tech, such as DDR2 RAM, will rise and fall as demand changes. As Intel and AMD came out with DDR2 systems, I imagine DDR2 prices jumped as well, though just temporarily as supplies were increased.
Since the spec change is at least minimally related to the price increase, there's no way not to mention it simultaneously.
As for Microsoft's announcement, I don't see what control the OLPC guys have as to what Microsoft says and does.
Now here's a menacing image: http://www.japanprobe.com/2007/01/fake-donald-duck .jpg
I remember having childhood nightmares that began a lot like that...
Bullshit. The number of deaths due to car accidents is astronomical compared to deaths by firearms. Deaths by knives are far higher than deaths by guns, and as much as I'd like not to die, I'd much more like to be able to cut up and prepare food while I'm alive... Accidents with tool cause more deaths than with any weapons. Hell, otherwise innocuous (heavy and blunt and/or just pointy) objects cause more deaths than weapons.
I can't wait until someone tries to outlaw stairs. You'll have to pry them from my cold, dead, feet.
Really? Because I'd imagine Wikipedia would say that there are 6 billion people, instead of making up numbers...
Does Wikipedia also mention that population is actually declining in the Western world, as well as some parts of the East like China and Japan? Because that fact would be an incredibly relevant point in this discussion...
Why? My Grandfather was lower-middle class, working as a low-paid laborer his entire life, and by the time he retired, he had over $200,000 in the bank, and was making more in interest than he and his wife could reasonably spend.
Middle-class people could retire at 40, and live off their savings forever, if they simply knew how to live within their means.
It always astonishes me to see a "poor" family buying new cars every 4 years. It astonishes me to see a middle class family move into a mansion of a house, in the most expensive neighborhoods around, and nearly going hungry, going without insurance, etc., etc. to make payments on their giant, empty, house.
I don't know what happened... People that lived through the 30s tend to go to extreme lengths to avoid spending a small amount of money, and yet their children and grandchildren went to the other extreme, and waste money left-and-right, even when both parents work, they're spending 100% of their income, plus 2% of their savings, each year...
That's so horribly, completely, and totally incorrect, I can't imagine where you even got that idea from.
Not true, at all.
Except people on an (appropriate*) calorie restricted diet can't EVER do any significant physical activity. Even at 20 years old, they can't run, lift anything remotely heavy, or any other physical exertion. First, because they'll pass out, and second because the calorie restriction means they have extremely little muscle mass.
*The 2000 calorie diets being mentioned don't count, unless you're more than 7 feet (2.2 meters) tall. The life-lengthening benefits of calorie restriction require almost 50% lower (than ideal/accepted) caloric intake, not 40% lower than an obese person's diet.