Lets just hope they don't get spam-flooded like the rest of us (unless they're delivering "food"). It'd be a real downer to wait for the iBike to arrive, just to be told how to enlarge your penis...
When I was at college, nary a course would go by without the lecturer recommending his (I did physics... no 'her') book as the 'seminal text on the subject'. Seminal. Yep.
The (more serious) bad point is that some lecturers are cosy with publishers, and even make a commission about recommending certain books. This isn't right, IMHO. The faster other universities go the way of MIT with openCourseware (yes, I know it's a year delayed, but they produce it in the right year) with a reviewable (and editable, though that's not at MIT yet, AFAIK), the better.
So, electronic publishing - big thumbs up. Wiki version, with verified (PGP ?) annotation/citation, even better:-)
I can see it now. Battalions of tinfoil-clad troops rushing at the 40-pound-brain monster, sort of like a modern-day St. George and the Dragon, 'cos we'd use all these lightweight modern materials, not field-plate mail...
At least, sort of like it as long as the dragon was asleep (since the new monster can't see you), but you'd have to be a particularly stupid knight to take on an awake dragon. Hmm. Bill's getting knighted... hmmm...
How many TVs have a HDTV logo on the box because the display is compatable with HDTV signal specs, but do not actually include an HDTV tuner in the box?
None that I've ever seen, which is perhaps why the statement makes more sense to you than I. When I see HDTV, I expect it to be 720p or 1080i, not normal res... My standard "TV" is actually a projector, that does indeed do 1080i and 720p (but not 1080p...).
It's probably the result of being in the UK rather than the US, where HD isn't anywhere at all yet. The only use I have for a high-res projector is playing games on my PC. (*Cough*) using it to give presentations, sorry:-)
There is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation about a meeting-place where membership is by invitation (can't you tell I'm not one of the exalted:-)
It would be interesting to see what the demographic of the initial seed population was - and to see whether that influenced the community over time... As any fule know, the initial conditions can have a profound impact on any time-dependent phenomena:-)
We accept there is no service-level agreement, we accept that we're lower on the food-chain than companies who pay a lot more for their bandwidth, but when a company makes a secret, arbitrary decision to cap you, it gets a bit hard to accept.
If it were advertised that you get 512/128, xx GB/month, with a charge of $Y for every 10GB over that, everyone would know where they were. This unfortunately will not happen while there is no regulation of how companies advertise their service. If company A says the above, and company B *does* the same, but doesn't say they do, then B will get more customers - all of whom will be pissed off when B caps them...
The films were excellent. They were the best I've ever seen combine live action, 2D compositing, 3D rendering and absolutely fantastic special effects. And the army scenes. Wow!
In fact I think the LotR trilogy adhered more to the books on which they're based than any other film I can care to mention, but not for a moment in the cinema did I think to myself "ah, they've left a bit out there". I was too caught up in the story, and that's what I go to the cinema for. I'm not a professional critic... (Grin: I'm just very critical:-)
It'd be pretty cool to have automatic control/readouts of things like wind/precipitation/dish aerials etc. from the weather monitors, most of which are in the middle of nowhere. With this sort of range, you can do a lot more:-)
If the RSPB are trying to make sure no-one nicks the eggs, they just get a Tini or similar linked up to a webcam and one of these networks, and you have yourself a remote monitoring station for those rare eggs without some poor sod having to sit there for 10 weeks...
Not to mention the more normal uses, of course:-)))
Debian would be the one. It has the ring of solidity that characterises a lot of open-source stuff. For people actually *using* Linux rather than playing with it, reliability's a big issue.
I'm not saying the others are unreliable, I'm saying that the perception is that Debian is more true-to-the-roots, and therefore more favourable. Perception is all - a statement that can mean two distinct things, and be simultaneously correct:-)
... if only for the amount of work put into its creation. The term 'creative work' has lost its currency due to misuse in IP disputes, but it truly is a creative endeavour, so I say 'Salud' to the author...
.. whenever I use ebay, I always try "alternative" spellings of words. Of course, being from the UK, I'm used to spelling things like 'color' incorrectly [its a JOKE!]:-)
To be fair, here, it is aimed at film houses like ILM, Sony, Lion etc. as well as post-production houses. You need to spread the "acceptance"-level so it appeals to as many as possible in your sector, and our market spread is pretty wide:-)
People seem to ignore anything they don't immediately grasp, which is useful when you're trying to describe something that A calls a 'spade', and B calls 'an earth-inverting horticultural instrument':-))
Don't expect to get anywhere without one. It may be crap. Hey, it *will* be crap. You'll look back and laugh (or cry), but it's important to have a standard yardstick to measure yourself.
Beware of angel-investors (people who know you and are willing to give you cash to start up). Unless you have a better experience than most (myself included), you'll fall out, and it'll get messy. I wasted 3 years.
Do a *realistic* assessment of your income and needs. Before you jump ship or give up something else, make sure you can support yourself. Sounds stupid, but it's amazing how little costs can add up. It's easy to fall afoul of the law with tax returns and VAT as well (for us Europeans)...
Get people on board who can run a company - not as paid (or maybe nominally paid) - someone who's outside the business most of the time, and isn't fixated on the next quarter, because you will be, and you'll need a longer-term plan as well as the short-term survival strategy. Make them a non-exec director.
That's about all. The business plan *is* the most important, believe it or not... Most banks will help you through it for free (hoping to get your business). At the very least they'll give some sound advice. It's their job to fund businesses that work....
We've been going for 2.5 years now, and learnt the hard way (the aforementioned 3 years) that there's more to doing this than meets the eye...
On the other hand, if you can handle the extra pressure of being both boss and worker, it's a far nicer lifestyle than being a cog in the engine:-)
It doesn't matter how good, bad, or ugly your product is, so long as the public think it's the Next Great Thing (tm).
By pricing it so close to its big brother, Apple have invited criticism of the pricing model, rather than concentrated on the competition. There may be sound financial reasons for it, but given the relative desirability of the two, the larger one wins, *even* *if* it's more expensive.
The competition at this moment hardly matters. The initial comparison is done with the Big Brother, so by the time the competition are arrayed against it, you have 'the crap Apple one' vs 'the high-end' (remember, this is marketing, not reality) competition. Joe Schmoe goes for the 'high end' one, and Apple lose.
It may still be a fantastically successful product. Bet it would be even more so, if they'd docked $20-40 off the price...
Only spatial ones apparently - temporal measurements can still be completely screwy, or maybe it's just that the error-bars on the measurement were +/- 6 months....
How can you "patent" something so blindingly, mind-numbingly obvious as a rating.... A patent has to be 'non-obvious to an expert in the field' or words to that effect.
I believe about 2000 years ago, the olympic athletes were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals......
Whereas you'll probably be moderated up because my original post seems dismissive, it really doesn't affect me, or to be more accurate, it hasn't ever affected me.
I use Linux almost exclusively. Even when using windows, I tend to just have VNC onto a linux box. Interoperation with Windows isn't a priority for me, that's all I'm saying...
Slashdot Mirror
Lets just hope they don't get spam-flooded like the rest of us (unless they're delivering "food"). It'd be a real downer to wait for the iBike to arrive, just to be told how to enlarge your penis...
Simon
When I was at college, nary a course would go by without the lecturer recommending his (I did physics... no 'her') book as the 'seminal text on the subject'. Seminal. Yep.
:-)
The (more serious) bad point is that some lecturers are cosy with publishers, and even make a commission about recommending certain books. This isn't right, IMHO. The faster other universities go the way of MIT with openCourseware (yes, I know it's a year delayed, but they produce it in the right year) with a reviewable (and editable, though that's not at MIT yet, AFAIK), the better.
So, electronic publishing - big thumbs up. Wiki version, with verified (PGP ?) annotation/citation, even better
Simon
I can see it now. Battalions of tinfoil-clad troops rushing at the 40-pound-brain monster, sort of like a modern-day St. George and the Dragon, 'cos we'd use all these lightweight modern materials, not field-plate mail...
... hmmm...
At least, sort of like it as long as the dragon was asleep (since the new monster can't see you), but you'd have to be a particularly stupid knight to take on an awake dragon. Hmm. Bill's getting knighted
Simon
"You know it's got to be powerful when compute power is measured in pounds.."
:-)
I don't know, being from the UK, I've always measured computer power in pounds (sterling
Simon
It is true, to a certain extent, but the use of strategic "choke points" on the network infrastructure can put a serious dent in the ideal...
It's only really true when you have high connectivity across all nodes - even in the US/Europe this is rarely significantly true...
Simon
How many TVs have a HDTV logo on the box because the display is compatable with HDTV signal specs, but do not actually include an HDTV tuner in the box?
None that I've ever seen, which is perhaps why the statement makes more sense to you than I. When I see HDTV, I expect it to be 720p or 1080i, not normal res... My standard "TV" is actually a projector, that does indeed do 1080i and 720p (but not 1080p
It's probably the result of being in the UK rather than the US, where HD isn't anywhere at all yet. The only use I have for a high-res projector is playing games on my PC. (*Cough*) using it to give presentations, sorry
Simon
"Also cited, 25% of people think they own an HDTV, when the actual number is less than 10%"
Surely this is consumer ignorance, not manufacturers putting extra "doohicky's" in there ?
Simon.
There is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation about a meeting-place where membership is by invitation (can't you tell I'm not one of the exalted :-)
:-)
It would be interesting to see what the demographic of the initial seed population was - and to see whether that influenced the community over time... As any fule know, the initial conditions can have a profound impact on any time-dependent phenomena
Simon
We accept there is no service-level agreement, we accept that we're lower on the food-chain than companies who pay a lot more for their bandwidth, but when a company makes a secret, arbitrary decision to cap you, it gets a bit hard to accept.
If it were advertised that you get 512/128, xx GB/month, with a charge of $Y for every 10GB over that, everyone would know where they were. This unfortunately will not happen while there is no regulation of how companies advertise their service. If company A says the above, and company B *does* the same, but doesn't say they do, then B will get more customers - all of whom will be pissed off when B caps them...
Regulation is the way to go.
Simon
The films were excellent. They were the best I've ever seen combine live action, 2D compositing, 3D rendering and absolutely fantastic special effects. And the army scenes. Wow!
:-)
In fact I think the LotR trilogy adhered more to the books on which they're based than any other film I can care to mention, but not for a moment in the cinema did I think to myself "ah, they've left a bit out there". I was too caught up in the story, and that's what I go to the cinema for. I'm not a professional critic... (Grin: I'm just very critical
Simon
It'd be pretty cool to have automatic control/readouts of things like wind/precipitation/dish aerials etc. from the weather monitors, most of which are in the middle of nowhere. With this sort of range, you can do a lot more :-)
:-)))
If the RSPB are trying to make sure no-one nicks the eggs, they just get a Tini or similar linked up to a webcam and one of these networks, and you have yourself a remote monitoring station for those rare eggs without some poor sod having to sit there for 10 weeks...
Not to mention the more normal uses, of course
Simon
... but I'm a grand-master at destroying :-))
Simon
[grin] on re-reading it, I wondered whether to put something like:
:-)
One distro to rule them all
One distro to find them
One distro to bring them all
And, in the darkness bind them.
Except, that would have more suited Windows than Linux. IMHO, of course
Simon
Debian would be the one. It has the ring of solidity that characterises a lot of open-source stuff. For people actually *using* Linux rather than playing with it, reliability's a big issue.
:-)
I'm not saying the others are unreliable, I'm saying that the perception is that Debian is more true-to-the-roots, and therefore more favourable. Perception is all - a statement that can mean two distinct things, and be simultaneously correct
Simon
... that Windows is far more secure than Linux or OSX because it gets tested so many more times out there in the wild..
[Editors note: replace 'tested' with 'tested and found wanting']
Simon.
... if only for the amount of work put into its creation. The term 'creative work' has lost its currency due to misuse in IP disputes, but it truly is a creative endeavour, so I say 'Salud' to the author...
Simon
.. whenever I use ebay, I always try "alternative" spellings of words. Of course, being from the UK, I'm used to spelling things like 'color' incorrectly [its a JOKE!] :-)
Simon
To be fair, here, it is aimed at film houses like ILM, Sony, Lion etc. as well as post-production houses. You need to spread the "acceptance"-level so it appeals to as many as possible in your sector, and our market spread is pretty wide :-)
:-))
People seem to ignore anything they don't immediately grasp, which is useful when you're trying to describe something that A calls a 'spade', and B calls 'an earth-inverting horticultural instrument'
Simon
Don't expect to get anywhere without one. It may be crap. Hey, it *will* be crap. You'll look back and laugh (or cry), but it's important to have a standard yardstick to measure yourself.
:-)
Beware of angel-investors (people who know you and are willing to give you cash to start up). Unless you have a better experience than most (myself included), you'll fall out, and it'll get messy. I wasted 3 years.
Do a *realistic* assessment of your income and needs. Before you jump ship or give up something else, make sure you can support yourself. Sounds stupid, but it's amazing how little costs can add up. It's easy to fall afoul of the law with tax returns and VAT as well (for us Europeans)...
Get people on board who can run a company - not as paid (or maybe nominally paid) - someone who's outside the business most of the time, and isn't fixated on the next quarter, because you will be, and you'll need a longer-term plan as well as the short-term survival strategy. Make them a non-exec director.
That's about all. The business plan *is* the most important, believe it or not... Most banks will help you through it for free (hoping to get your business). At the very least they'll give some sound advice. It's their job to fund businesses that work....
We've been going for 2.5 years now, and learnt the hard way (the aforementioned 3 years) that there's more to doing this than meets the eye...
On the other hand, if you can handle the extra pressure of being both boss and worker, it's a far nicer lifestyle than being a cog in the engine
Simon.
It doesn't matter how good, bad, or ugly your product is, so long as the public think it's the Next Great Thing (tm).
By pricing it so close to its big brother, Apple have invited criticism of the pricing model, rather than concentrated on the competition. There may be sound financial reasons for it, but given the relative desirability of the two, the larger one wins, *even* *if* it's more expensive.
The competition at this moment hardly matters. The initial comparison is done with the Big Brother, so by the time the competition are arrayed against it, you have 'the crap Apple one' vs 'the high-end' (remember, this is marketing, not reality) competition. Joe Schmoe goes for the 'high end' one, and Apple lose.
It may still be a fantastically successful product. Bet it would be even more so, if they'd docked $20-40 off the price...
Simon
The EU has some real teeth when it comes to noncompetitive practices. The maximum is something like 10% of annual earnings (could be profit). Ouch.
Simon
Only spatial ones apparently - temporal measurements can still be completely screwy, or maybe it's just that the error-bars on the measurement were +/- 6 months....
Simon
[grin] I stand corrected. Oh well, 1896 will do for prior art, in any case :-)
Simon
How can you "patent" something so blindingly, mind-numbingly obvious as a rating.... A patent has to be 'non-obvious to an expert in the field' or words to that effect.
I believe about 2000 years ago, the olympic athletes were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals......
Simon
Whereas you'll probably be moderated up because my original post seems dismissive, it really doesn't affect me, or to be more accurate, it hasn't ever affected me.
I use Linux almost exclusively. Even when using windows, I tend to just have VNC onto a linux box. Interoperation with Windows isn't a priority for me, that's all I'm saying...
Simon