Why don't you put the server back in your room to host the webpage that's been slashdotted, the Kenwood FM/AM/Apache radio you have does not seem to be doing the trick.
Legend (at the time of writing, about a year and a half ago) had 3 times the market share of its nearest competitor (presumably the iTunes installer).
And as far as saying, "Who's gonna pay $X for a song in China?" Well, presumably the millions who own computers already. The article also mentions China's "Little Emperors"... Remember, you're mostly allowed only one child per couple in China. When you're only taking care of one kid, it's easy to spoil them and let them get a couple of songs a week.
Here's a list of the songs I know which are game-influenced. There's probably a very big list but these immediately stand out.
Cocoa Brovaz - Super Brooklyn. This song (IIRC) is set up with not one, but two beats from Super Mario Brothers (the first game from the NES). I believe the beats are the song from level 1-2 (still frightening in a very simple way) and the star/power-up sequence. This one I'm a bit unsure of.
Benefit - Warp to World 6-9. If you read the lyrics and imagine a child-like nasal voice rapping along to the Level 1-1 music from SMB on the NES, saying things like "Mario really wants to get [the princess] in bed, So bad that he's bustin up bricks with his head, He just wants sex - so forget the wedding bells, Jumping on lil mushroom men and turtle shells," you can't help but laugh.
Beenie Segal(?) - Mac Man. Rapid-fire pac-man beat. Awful song.
N*Sync - Game Over. At the very beginning of the song, there's a cool video game intro.
We're forgetting the fact that the computer may make the house a lot more markeatable. I would have a main computer with a dummy client in the kitchen. Maybe a smallish LCD screen, a keyboard, and mouse. Make it obvious that this is for checking email, etc. Get remote access to the main computer so you can create accounts for each new renter ("The Johnsons"). Keep backups, maybe in a partition. Casual users can use the small PC for email, news, weather (Important for a beach house!). Power users can bring in their own hardware.
It's not so much bugs as the interface. It's not made anything at all like any application before it. Considering that most graphic artists come from a Mac ("hold your hand" background*) the GIMP interface is counter-intuitive. It's not so much bugs as it is an interface and features issue. And I can report that, but I bet it will offend the developers.
* This is not a flame on Apple. I like them. I'd like it more if I could afford them!
That's sort of what I refer to when I speak of "Power User" -- anyone that wants what I described can do it, easily, and cheaply. Hey, you can even do it with ROMs and cabinets and all that jazz. However, due to the interest there is in this, and the amount of time/research people are willing to put into developing these things, I also think it's likely that someone would just as rather pay $15/m to do this because the most intensive technical thing they have done is reformat Windows with Dell tech support on the phone*.
Or, the other possibility, anyone that really wants what I described (old games) has already done the work and there's no market for this.
* The Dell rep said: "The hard part was getting the user to re-install all the spyware."
I have found Macromedia (previously Aldus) Freehand extremely usable and with a generally less klutzy interface. The only problem I have is exporting text to Photoshop, as Photoshop refuses to recognize any fonts (and this is on the same machine!). Converting the text to paths fixes the problem*.
My main concern is that because Adobe has the very profitable Illustrator, they are not making the changes to Photoshp that they need to. All vector-based software converts the vectors into pixels (since it needs to be viewed on the screen) - and for most printing applications, vectors don't exist, it's just made into an image and still limited by the printer's resolution. Why aren't vector graphics integrated into Photoshop? Photoshop 6 and beyond have started to integrate them a bit more but it is extremely primitive and about 10,000 times easier to simply do it in Freehand, cut, and paste as pixels or paths in Photoshop. An image is an image is an image. Photoshop should be able to do vectors. It takes a lot of work for code but being able to apply filters to vectors would be simply amazing. Think of the way Photoshop applies filters to text currently: The text can change and the filter is simply re-applied. (The text is basically vectors anyway). Freehand does this to some extent but "blurs" by creating more vectors (and it's therefore not as natural as Photoshop's blur, nor as realistic).
* Which is what you should be doing anyway, especially if dealing with third parties that may not have your font. ** From the replies it seems a lot of people just need "simple" solutions for image and vector editing. For basic tasks, GIMP is fine (changing sizes, cropping). I have no qualms there.
Why not run email and webhosting separately? Email could always be run through a provider (Flames Burn seems to be focusing on helping independent musicians). Yes, you're small and non-profit but I'm sure your time could be better used than dealing with hassles like these. Pay for the hosting, then spend your time on other stuff for this organization. From the looks of it, and the needs you have, this may be a simpler solution. Of course, I'm not supremely technically versed, and it sort of goes against the hacker mentality leaving this problem unsolved...
World Death Rate Remains Steady at 100% World Death Rate, Annual ------------------------ 2004 (est) 100.00% 2003 100.00% 2002 100.00% 2001 100.00% 2000 100.00% Source: USA Today
Sega Channel was simply amazing. It's too bad it came in at the tail-end of the console's life-time. By then I know Sega had branched out into the Sega-CD, the Sega 32x, making it a bit confusing in the minds of parents. At the time, my non-SNES having friend had it, and being not of legal age to work and not with unlimited spending money, we couldn't just rent a game every couple of days. But with SC, we could get any game, anytime. It was usually a long wait to get each game (up to 10 minutes sometimes), but the smorgasbord was fantastic. Had Sega Channel come out in 1991, they would have cleaned up.
I think $14.95 to download PC games isn't a bad idea... A better idea is to have the new set-top boxes (which have integrated HD and Tivo-like PVR options) also include, say, a cheap PC. Then you can have a wireless game controller and/or keyboard and mouse and play on your TV. The benefits are of course that the hardware requirements aren't insane. Graphics are gonna run, max, at 1024 x 768 (they could run at 640x480 or less in a non-HD TV)*, so you don't need a super-powerful nVidia SupraGammadeon 85000 (an MX runs, what? $55?). The processor is also ultra-cheap, because you don't "need" the new P7. Hard drive doesn't need to be more than 20GB. With some work, this could be a Phantom-style device. Except it has an installed user-base and it's, oh yeah, a real product. Cost of the device is probably an extra $200-300. You can slash that by making it a PC from one or two years ago and getting older PC games to work with it. You know, UT, Quake 2, Half-Life, etc. Or offer two choices, one that's $14.95/m with free rental and plays games with sys requirements that were average in 2001, and one super-fancy one that can play all the newest games, with a higher cost.
Would I pay an extra $9.95-14.95 to be able to play a library of games from 1995-2002 (or newer, less process-intense ones?). Hell yeah. Just have it be on my TV, not my PC. I spend enough time in front of it as it is.
Bring it on.
* Pure guesses here. ** I'd say the second option shouldn't be considered because its target market frankly does not want to play games on their TV, or if they did, they already can, and get games through illegal means or just plain buy a whole lot of them.
Well, legally, yes, you should be able to make 1,000,000 copies for yourself, if you want to. But looking at it logically, there is not really a scenario where having 10,000 copies of something is considered useful. Honestly, it's not necessary.*
Now, ideally, what the RIAA is doing is creating DRM which fits under "Fair Use" guidelines while also limiting them, but at least their attempt falls within common-sense guidelines. I don't agree with what their doing, only because I don't know their intent.
Remember, making money is amoral, not immoral. RIAA mostly just stays on the, let's say, non-moral side. What I don't understand is why the government (or a specific group of legislators) is so interested in protecting the rights of foreign companies.**
* 10,000 copies are unnecessary. Fair use IS necessary. ** Oh, right. Money
This facsimile transmission is intended only for the addressee(s) shown above. It may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure. Any review, dissemination, or use of this transmission or its contents by persons other than the addressee is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately at the telephone number listed above and destroy the material you received.
What's funny is I just copied it from an attorney's fax cover sheet (who probably had it in there from their Microsoft Works fax wizard).
Although your comment is certainly Interesting/Informative/Insightful, there's still the possibility of DRM-free software, DRM-free hardware existing in this landscape. The workarounds will still exist.
I was a bit spoiled by UD's network and simply assumed other schools had the same. Meanwhile, my friend at Rutgers was, ahem, dialing in from his on-campus dorm for access..!
I could dial-in from anywhere in Delaware (or anywhere I felt like paying long-distance charges). Basically, UD also offered itself as a free ISP so when I was home on vacation I had an "always on" 28.8-56kbps-ish connection.
Oh please, they are unconcerned with how we feel. They are only concerned with how much money they will make. I don't see how not releasing a copy-protected CD because people will balk is being concerned w/our feelings.
Good feelings = good customers = many purchases. Bad feelings = bad customers = no purchases.
Well, frankly, it can't be done... At least not within the CD. My only guess is that the CD has software that auto-loads, tells a server that the CD has been burned n times and that it now can no longer be burned. If I change my hosts file, EAC is not going to care what the CD is doing. In fact, all "copy protected" CDs I've been able to rip or make copies of for myself using EAC (including this very excellent one:Soulive's Turn It Out Remixed). Once you rip the WAV files and copy that, the little auto-run software is gone.
That's the problem(?) with DRM. You need to implement it in hardware AND software at the same time for it to be able to "work" (see: DVD Region Codes) and even then it's not really going to work (ibid).
Now TO BE FAIR, this idea has its heart in the right place. I don't think anyone but the most extreme zealots would argue that a person should be able to make 10,000 copies of a CD by another artist. But where is that number? It's higher than "just a couple" but probably around "several".
Or, this could be a way to make DRM seem friendly and logical, have everyone implement it, then change it so it's what we all know it's going to turn out to be: crippling and crippled.
The University of Delaware moved up to #2... then their network was brought to its knees due to file sharing (presumably it fell off the list in 2001).
What really surprises me is that "traditional" tech universities don't hold the top spots.
Disclaimer: UD alumn
No need to re-invent the wheel
on
Open Maps?
·
· Score: 4, Informative
Maybe it's possible to buy a database of that information and make it your own? I don't think map24.com, for example, started from scratch... That would be a hell of a lot of work.
The toll on the bridge crossing the Verrazano Narrows in NY is $7. And Outer Bridge Crossing is (or at least was) about $6, and that only drives you by a landfill.
Vonage here for the past couple of weeks. I like that you can pick your area code, but a caveat...
FAXING IS HORRIBLE
This has to do with the fact that faxing over current VOIP protocols isn't really useful but if you check http://www.vonage-forum.com and http://www.dslreports.com you will see plenty of people who just can't fax with Vonage. I've had mixed results.
Slashdot Mirror
Why don't you put the server back in your room to host the webpage that's been slashdotted, the Kenwood FM/AM/Apache radio you have does not seem to be doing the trick.
In my day we had to kayak through the Pacific just to buy some foie gras... upstream BOTH WAYS.
I've already overclocked my DVD burner. It now burns stuff I haven't even downloaded yet.
"Only a German company would want to put a piece of software where one program controls every aspect of the organization."
(Non-flame, I'm German!)
What about Legend PC, introduced to many through this Wired Article.
Legend (at the time of writing, about a year and a half ago) had 3 times the market share of its nearest competitor (presumably the iTunes installer).
And as far as saying, "Who's gonna pay $X for a song in China?" Well, presumably the millions who own computers already. The article also mentions China's "Little Emperors"... Remember, you're mostly allowed only one child per couple in China. When you're only taking care of one kid, it's easy to spoil them and let them get a couple of songs a week.
No boogedy-boogedy NYT registatrion required
here.
We're forgetting the fact that the computer may make the house a lot more markeatable. I would have a main computer with a dummy client in the kitchen. Maybe a smallish LCD screen, a keyboard, and mouse. Make it obvious that this is for checking email, etc. Get remote access to the main computer so you can create accounts for each new renter ("The Johnsons"). Keep backups, maybe in a partition. Casual users can use the small PC for email, news, weather (Important for a beach house!). Power users can bring in their own hardware.
It's not so much bugs as the interface. It's not made anything at all like any application before it. Considering that most graphic artists come from a Mac ("hold your hand" background*) the GIMP interface is counter-intuitive. It's not so much bugs as it is an interface and features issue. And I can report that, but I bet it will offend the developers.
* This is not a flame on Apple. I like them. I'd like it more if I could afford them!
Or, the other possibility, anyone that really wants what I described (old games) has already done the work and there's no market for this.
My main concern is that because Adobe has the very profitable Illustrator, they are not making the changes to Photoshp that they need to. All vector-based software converts the vectors into pixels (since it needs to be viewed on the screen) - and for most printing applications, vectors don't exist, it's just made into an image and still limited by the printer's resolution. Why aren't vector graphics integrated into Photoshop? Photoshop 6 and beyond have started to integrate them a bit more but it is extremely primitive and about 10,000 times easier to simply do it in Freehand, cut, and paste as pixels or paths in Photoshop. An image is an image is an image. Photoshop should be able to do vectors. It takes a lot of work for code but being able to apply filters to vectors would be simply amazing. Think of the way Photoshop applies filters to text currently: The text can change and the filter is simply re-applied. (The text is basically vectors anyway). Freehand does this to some extent but "blurs" by creating more vectors (and it's therefore not as natural as Photoshop's blur, nor as realistic).
However, the main thing that I see as a problem here is that the
Why not run email and webhosting separately? Email could always be run through a provider (Flames Burn seems to be focusing on helping independent musicians). Yes, you're small and non-profit but I'm sure your time could be better used than dealing with hassles like these. Pay for the hosting, then spend your time on other stuff for this organization. From the looks of it, and the needs you have, this may be a simpler solution. Of course, I'm not supremely technically versed, and it sort of goes against the hacker mentality leaving this problem unsolved...
That's my EUR 0.016414 anyways.
In other news:
World Death Rate Remains Steady at 100%
World Death Rate, Annual
------------------------
2004 (est) 100.00%
2003 100.00%
2002 100.00%
2001 100.00%
2000 100.00%
Source: USA Today
I think $14.95 to download PC games isn't a bad idea... A better idea is to have the new set-top boxes (which have integrated HD and Tivo-like PVR options) also include, say, a cheap PC. Then you can have a wireless game controller and/or keyboard and mouse and play on your TV. The benefits are of course that the hardware requirements aren't insane. Graphics are gonna run, max, at 1024 x 768 (they could run at 640x480 or less in a non-HD TV)*, so you don't need a super-powerful nVidia SupraGammadeon 85000 (an MX runs, what? $55?). The processor is also ultra-cheap, because you don't "need" the new P7. Hard drive doesn't need to be more than 20GB. With some work, this could be a Phantom-style device. Except it has an installed user-base and it's, oh yeah, a real product. Cost of the device is probably an extra $200-300. You can slash that by making it a PC from one or two years ago and getting older PC games to work with it. You know, UT, Quake 2, Half-Life, etc. Or offer two choices, one that's $14.95/m with free rental and plays games with sys requirements that were average in 2001, and one super-fancy one that can play all the newest games, with a higher cost.
Would I pay an extra $9.95-14.95 to be able to play a library of games from 1995-2002 (or newer, less process-intense ones?). Hell yeah. Just have it be on my TV, not my PC. I spend enough time in front of it as it is.
Bring it on.
Now, ideally, what the RIAA is doing is creating DRM which fits under "Fair Use" guidelines while also limiting them, but at least their attempt falls within common-sense guidelines. I don't agree with what their doing, only because I don't know their intent.
Remember, making money is amoral, not immoral. RIAA mostly just stays on the, let's say, non-moral side. What I don't understand is why the government (or a specific group of legislators) is so interested in protecting the rights of foreign companies.**
This facsimile transmission is intended only for the addressee(s) shown above. It may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure. Any review, dissemination, or use of this transmission or its contents by persons other than the addressee is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately at the telephone number listed above and destroy the material you received.
What's funny is I just copied it from an attorney's fax cover sheet (who probably had it in there from their Microsoft Works fax wizard).
Although your comment is certainly Interesting/Informative/Insightful, there's still the possibility of DRM-free software, DRM-free hardware existing in this landscape. The workarounds will still exist.
That doesn't mean I want the above to happen.
I was a bit spoiled by UD's network and simply assumed other schools had the same. Meanwhile, my friend at Rutgers was, ahem, dialing in from his on-campus dorm for access..!
I could dial-in from anywhere in Delaware (or anywhere I felt like paying long-distance charges). Basically, UD also offered itself as a free ISP so when I was home on vacation I had an "always on" 28.8-56kbps-ish connection.
Good feelings = good customers = many purchases.
Bad feelings = bad customers = no purchases.
Well, frankly, it can't be done... At least not within the CD. My only guess is that the CD has software that auto-loads, tells a server that the CD has been burned n times and that it now can no longer be burned. If I change my hosts file, EAC is not going to care what the CD is doing. In fact, all "copy protected" CDs I've been able to rip or make copies of for myself using EAC (including this very excellent one:Soulive's Turn It Out Remixed ). Once you rip the WAV files and copy that, the little auto-run software is gone.
That's the problem(?) with DRM. You need to implement it in hardware AND software at the same time for it to be able to "work" (see: DVD Region Codes) and even then it's not really going to work (ibid).
Now TO BE FAIR, this idea has its heart in the right place. I don't think anyone but the most extreme zealots would argue that a person should be able to make 10,000 copies of a CD by another artist. But where is that number? It's higher than "just a couple" but probably around "several".
Or, this could be a way to make DRM seem friendly and logical, have everyone implement it, then change it so it's what we all know it's going to turn out to be: crippling and crippled.
Couple of links:
100 Most Wired, 1999
100 Most Wired, 2000 (Case Western drops off the list)
The University of Delaware moved up to #2... then their network was brought to its knees due to file sharing (presumably it fell off the list in 2001).
What really surprises me is that "traditional" tech universities don't hold the top spots.
Disclaimer: UD alumn
Maybe it's possible to buy a database of that information and make it your own? I don't think map24.com, for example, started from scratch... That would be a hell of a lot of work.
The toll on the bridge crossing the Verrazano Narrows in NY is $7. And Outer Bridge Crossing is (or at least was) about $6, and that only drives you by a landfill.
Vonage here for the past couple of weeks. I like that you can pick your area code, but a caveat...
FAXING IS HORRIBLE
This has to do with the fact that faxing over current VOIP protocols isn't really useful but if you check http://www.vonage-forum.com and http://www.dslreports.com you will see plenty of people who just can't fax with Vonage. I've had mixed results.
Voice is great, however.
No.