It's what lets me watch youtube even over slow Dialup or Cellphone connections (buffer the video halfway, then press play).
Buffer also prevents one of the main flaws with broadcast TV. When there's interference the video skips a second or two. "Hi this is NBC News. And today in...... met for its first session." What? Who? Where? That never happens with internet video (which just pauses for a second, buffers the video, and then resumes).
Awe..... pity those poor Corporations with their billion-dollar capital and millions in annual revenue, while they layoff programmers who did nothing wrong (except they are unneeded human cattle) (and Indian,Chinese programmers are cheaper). Ahh poor little baby megacorps. Ahhh.
Bullshit. I don't give a fuck if movies/games the Megacorps make get downloaded. They will STILL find a way to make money, even if it's only through theater tickets and Walmart DVD sales. I think they will survive. '
Alone in the Dark is over 14 years old. (If I recall correctly.) It should be in the public domain anyway. "Morality" tells me that no company should have a permanent monopoly on art. Imagine if the Venus de Milo or Mona Lisa were still copyrighted, such that nobody could reproduce them, not even in textbooks. We cannot lock-up our culture like that.
Also RapidShare isn't really hosting the file. They are merely a man-in-the-middle providing addresses between Me and Whoever has the file. Much like what the phonebook does. Do you sue the phonebook because they allowed me to locate and call a stranger to say, "Can you copy that game for me?" Nope.
So I don' think RapidShare is wrong but I DO think it's a crime against humanity to look-up art for more than 14 years (or more than 100 years under current law).
Good point. Typing on a touchscreen is a bit like those chiclet keys on the old Atari 400 (8 bit C=6502). You can't feel where your fingers belong. Plus touchscreens are painful. I use a touchscreen logic analyzer and after using it all day, my arms hurt from holding them up all the time.
Oh okay. Mine's laying in my sock drawer - never been used. So any thief would never be able to use a transmitter to record its code (unless they broke in my house and stole it). The reason it's in my drawer is because I don't like the bulk of those fobs sitting in my pocket.
>>>I would posit that anything over 2 hours per tape is plenty and consumers would not factor that into purchasing decisions.
Not if you want to tape a football game which often goes 4 hours. Betamax only did 1 hour initially... and 3 on the slowest setting. Still not enough to tape the game or an evening of primetime (7-11), and therefore consumers would pick VHS (which did 4 hours from day one).
>>>(I don't think) it can force this down your throat
Not yet, no. But time will tell. If Congress can force me to buy hospital insurance that I don't want (I pay cash), then they can also force me to accept external control (either by BGE or the USC) of my thermostat.
I'd rather have my child read the word "injun" and "nigger" than not. I want him/her to be Informed about the past and how it really existed, not ignorant.
BTW isn't 'injun' just an accented form of Indian? I don't think it's meant to offend. And "nigger" comes from the French Language and simply means "black". Or maybe that's "negro". I forget.
I think Uhura said it best in Star Trek: "We have learned not to be offended by words. I am not ashamed of being called 'negress' because that is who I am. I am proud of my African roots."
Why is it so common to bash FOX News but not MSNBC, which is every bit as biased/bad? I was watching Rachel Maddow online and couldn't help noticing she talks about the Republicans the same way the KKK talks about blacks. I used to like Rachel, but this past month of shows was like an alternate hate-filled version (maybe she's bitter about losing the House).
NBC is also guilty of doctoring a video showing a Black man carrying a rifle, to make it appear that it was "white racists" who want to "execute the president". Woah. First class propaganda.
>>>Our knowledge of our nasty history hasn't stopped us from repeating ourselves again and again
That's because many government-run schools DON'T teach history. For example did you know the first black representative went to Congress, not in the 1960s, or the 1870s, as most schools teach, but in 1779 under the Articles of Confederation.
The masses are easier to control if you leave them ignorant. Especially if, like China, you are trying to revive fascism (private corporations but state-run). Teach people that fascism was about killing Jews instead of its true nature (i.e. Mussolini's party platform), so citizens won't notice their leaders are modern-day fascists.
>>>Beta was clearly superior, with 250 lines vs 240 lines horizontal, lower video noise, and less luma/chroma crosstalk than VHS.
Yeah but can anybody SEE that difference? No not really. Besides JVC quickly added "HQ" to their VHS units to bring them up to 250 lines, with NR, and better filtering of the chroma.
And of course VHS still had the two times longer recording ability throughout its lifespan, so it was superior than Betamax, if only in that one aspect. 5.5 was the longest Betamax did, while VHS did 10.5 hours.
>>>So far I haven't found anything that restricted me.
Try connecting to Netscape's dialup ISP. It won't work on anything but Windows 98 or higher (to be fair, Linux has the same problem). And you'll say: But what do I need dialup for? (a) Because that's the only thing your hotel provides. (b) Because you're visiting your friend in the boonies and that's the only internet he's got. (c) Backup for when your DSL or Cable net goes down.
I could come-up with a few more examples: A player that can do audio/video at one-half or 2x speed. It's only recently that VLC added that option, but before that Mac had nothing. - Running Stella (Atari emulator) - running Amiga emulator - running ModelSim or Mentor Graphics - and so on.
I was not aware how much the Mac lacked until a friend gave me his old mac, and I switched-over from an IBM PC. Suddenly there were several programs or features I simply couldn't run anymore. Nobody ever bothered to develop them. I suspect most mac users fall into that category of not realizing what they're missing, because they don't realize the w-i-d-e range of software available on the PC platform.
My four year old Intel-Mac doesn't have the required specs. Dang Apple and their short-term support of hardware. (Meanwhile my 9 year old XP-PC is still going strong and is upgradeable to Seven - not that I need to. XP is still standard and supported. OS 10.2 from the same year is not.)
Oh I see. You're being pedantic with the word "meter". Stop it. When BGE offered to install "smart metering" in my home it wasn't JUST the meter. It also included an upgrade of the thermostat which could record my temperature, report the results to BGE, and even give BGE control to adjust it up or down. Smart metering is an all-inclusive term just like "PC" or "Mac" is inclusive of both the actual hardware AND the software (windows and OS X).
>>>Most folks who have analyzed the videotape format war agree Betamax was technically superior, at least at first
How so? Betamax and VHS have identical specs (240-250 analog lines of horizontal resolution) (50-10,000 hertz sound - later 20-20,000 with Beta and VHS HiFi). In fact in many ways Betamax was inferior because it only held an hour a tape where VHS was immediately released with 2 and 4 hour modes. Consumers want more time and VHS offered approximately double what Betamax could do.
Being first does not mean you'll automatically win. It's a bit presumptuous to assume Google has a "leg up" just because they released the first NFC-capable device. Remember: Sony was first with the VCR and look where they ended-up (lost to JVC with its better-designed and cheaper VHS).
>>>Now exactly how is the utility "lowering the temperature during peak times" unless you have a thermostat that you put in your house and given the utility the ability to control it? >>>
That's why it's called a SMART meter. It can be controlled remotely. The company can adjust the temperature.
No you are spouting bullshit. "Smart grid" is about meters for the customer. True. But it is ALSO about giving the company control to do rolling blackouts during peak times, or lowering the temperature during peak times. How do I know? It's already happening.
Some smart gird technologies also include high-speed internet (although it is atypical). That's both good and bad. Good for the internet access, but bad for Shortwave, AM, FM/HD Radio, and VHF TV customers since they generate spurious noise that interfere with reception.
Current powerlines broadcast a nice clean 60 hertz wave which is faaaar below radio/TV frequencies. But when you overlay them with digital data, then they start broadcasting all kinds of high-frequency noise that trample all over the SW/AM/FM bands. DSL and cable lines are shielded to block that leakage but powerlines are not.
And of course MS also controls its users (via windows, office, etc). I miss the days when we had alternatives like Atari and Commodore to buy hardware.
>>>I applaud Apple for their foresight and innovation
Recycling an old idea from the 1980s (cloud software on a central server; lightweight terminals in front of the user) is innovative? No. Although I guess you could call it "green".;-)
>>>powerful folks for who this would not be in their best interest.
Yep. Like those 50 million or so who enjoy listening to the radio or television. Powerline interference would demolish Shortwave and AM, limit FM/HD reception to just a few miles, and drown out channels 2-13 on the TV.
Slashdot Mirror
It's what lets me watch youtube even over slow Dialup or Cellphone connections (buffer the video halfway, then press play).
Buffer also prevents one of the main flaws with broadcast TV. When there's interference the video skips a second or two. "Hi this is NBC News. And today in ...... met for its first session." What? Who? Where? That never happens with internet video (which just pauses for a second, buffers the video, and then resumes).
Awe..... pity those poor Corporations with their billion-dollar capital and millions in annual revenue, while they layoff programmers who did nothing wrong (except they are unneeded human cattle) (and Indian,Chinese programmers are cheaper). Ahh poor little baby megacorps. Ahhh.
Bullshit. I don't give a fuck if movies/games the Megacorps make get downloaded. They will STILL find a way to make money, even if it's only through theater tickets and Walmart DVD sales. I think they will survive. '
>>>morally they are very wrong.
Alone in the Dark is over 14 years old. (If I recall correctly.) It should be in the public domain anyway. "Morality" tells me that no company should have a permanent monopoly on art. Imagine if the Venus de Milo or Mona Lisa were still copyrighted, such that nobody could reproduce them, not even in textbooks. We cannot lock-up our culture like that.
Also RapidShare isn't really hosting the file. They are merely a man-in-the-middle providing addresses between Me and Whoever has the file. Much like what the phonebook does. Do you sue the phonebook because they allowed me to locate and call a stranger to say, "Can you copy that game for me?" Nope.
So I don' think RapidShare is wrong but I DO think it's a crime against humanity to look-up art for more than 14 years (or more than 100 years under current law).
Good point. Typing on a touchscreen is a bit like those chiclet keys on the old Atari 400 (8 bit C=6502). You can't feel where your fingers belong.
Plus touchscreens are painful. I use a touchscreen logic analyzer and after using it all day, my arms hurt from holding them up all the time.
Oh okay.
Mine's laying in my sock drawer - never been used. So any thief would never be able to use a transmitter to record its code (unless they broke in my house and stole it). The reason it's in my drawer is because I don't like the bulk of those fobs sitting in my pocket.
If my car comes with a wireless key fob to unlock the car, can that function be disabled?
Ride my pole. -- From most pornos
>>>I would posit that anything over 2 hours per tape is plenty and consumers would not factor that into purchasing decisions.
Not if you want to tape a football game which often goes 4 hours. Betamax only did 1 hour initially... and 3 on the slowest setting. Still not enough to tape the game or an evening of primetime (7-11), and therefore consumers would pick VHS (which did 4 hours from day one).
>>>(I don't think) it can force this down your throat
Not yet, no. But time will tell. If Congress can force me to buy hospital insurance that I don't want (I pay cash), then they can also force me to accept external control (either by BGE or the USC) of my thermostat.
I'd rather have my child read the word "injun" and "nigger" than not. I want him/her to be Informed about the past and how it really existed, not ignorant.
BTW isn't 'injun' just an accented form of Indian? I don't think it's meant to offend. And "nigger" comes from the French Language and simply means "black". Or maybe that's "negro". I forget.
I think Uhura said it best in Star Trek: "We have learned not to be offended by words. I am not ashamed of being called 'negress' because that is who I am. I am proud of my African roots."
Why is it so common to bash FOX News but not MSNBC, which is every bit as biased/bad? I was watching Rachel Maddow online and couldn't help noticing she talks about the Republicans the same way the KKK talks about blacks. I used to like Rachel, but this past month of shows was like an alternate hate-filled version (maybe she's bitter about losing the House).
NBC is also guilty of doctoring a video showing a Black man carrying a rifle, to make it appear that it was "white racists" who want to "execute the president". Woah. First class propaganda.
>>>Our knowledge of our nasty history hasn't stopped us from repeating ourselves again and again
That's because many government-run schools DON'T teach history. For example did you know the first black representative went to Congress, not in the 1960s, or the 1870s, as most schools teach, but in 1779 under the Articles of Confederation.
The masses are easier to control if you leave them ignorant. Especially if, like China, you are trying to revive fascism (private corporations but state-run). Teach people that fascism was about killing Jews instead of its true nature (i.e. Mussolini's party platform), so citizens won't notice their leaders are modern-day fascists.
>>>Beta was clearly superior, with 250 lines vs 240 lines horizontal, lower video noise, and less luma/chroma crosstalk than VHS.
Yeah but can anybody SEE that difference? No not really. Besides JVC quickly added "HQ" to their VHS units to bring them up to 250 lines, with NR, and better filtering of the chroma.
And of course VHS still had the two times longer recording ability throughout its lifespan, so it was superior than Betamax, if only in that one aspect. 5.5 was the longest Betamax did, while VHS did 10.5 hours.
>>>So far I haven't found anything that restricted me.
Try connecting to Netscape's dialup ISP. It won't work on anything but Windows 98 or higher (to be fair, Linux has the same problem). And you'll say: But what do I need dialup for? (a) Because that's the only thing your hotel provides. (b) Because you're visiting your friend in the boonies and that's the only internet he's got. (c) Backup for when your DSL or Cable net goes down.
I could come-up with a few more examples: A player that can do audio/video at one-half or 2x speed. It's only recently that VLC added that option, but before that Mac had nothing.
- Running Stella (Atari emulator)
- running Amiga emulator
- running ModelSim or Mentor Graphics
- and so on.
I was not aware how much the Mac lacked until a friend gave me his old mac, and I switched-over from an IBM PC. Suddenly there were several programs or features I simply couldn't run anymore. Nobody ever bothered to develop them. I suspect most mac users fall into that category of not realizing what they're missing, because they don't realize the w-i-d-e range of software available on the PC platform.
My four year old Intel-Mac doesn't have the required specs.
Dang Apple and their short-term support of hardware.
(Meanwhile my 9 year old XP-PC is still going strong and is upgradeable to Seven - not that I need to. XP is still standard and supported. OS 10.2 from the same year is not.)
Oh I see.
You're being pedantic with the word "meter". Stop it. When BGE offered to install "smart metering" in my home it wasn't JUST the meter. It also included an upgrade of the thermostat which could record my temperature, report the results to BGE, and even give BGE control to adjust it up or down. Smart metering is an all-inclusive term just like "PC" or "Mac" is inclusive of both the actual hardware AND the software (windows and OS X).
>>>Most folks who have analyzed the videotape format war agree Betamax was technically superior, at least at first
How so? Betamax and VHS have identical specs (240-250 analog lines of horizontal resolution) (50-10,000 hertz sound - later 20-20,000 with Beta and VHS HiFi). In fact in many ways Betamax was inferior because it only held an hour a tape where VHS was immediately released with 2 and 4 hour modes. Consumers want more time and VHS offered approximately double what Betamax could do.
Being first does not mean you'll automatically win. It's a bit presumptuous to assume Google has a "leg up" just because they released the first NFC-capable device. Remember: Sony was first with the VCR and look where they ended-up (lost to JVC with its better-designed and cheaper VHS).
>>>Now exactly how is the utility "lowering the temperature during peak times" unless you have a thermostat that you put in your house and given the utility the ability to control it?
>>>
That's why it's called a SMART meter.
It can be controlled remotely.
The company can adjust the temperature.
No you are spouting bullshit. "Smart grid" is about meters for the customer. True. But it is ALSO about giving the company control to do rolling blackouts during peak times, or lowering the temperature during peak times. How do I know? It's already happening.
Some smart gird technologies also include high-speed internet (although it is atypical). That's both good and bad. Good for the internet access, but bad for Shortwave, AM, FM/HD Radio, and VHF TV customers since they generate spurious noise that interfere with reception.
Current powerlines broadcast a nice clean 60 hertz wave which is faaaar below radio/TV frequencies. But when you overlay them with digital data, then they start broadcasting all kinds of high-frequency noise that trample all over the SW/AM/FM bands. DSL and cable lines are shielded to block that leakage but powerlines are not.
>>>More control over Mac users.
And of course MS also controls its users (via windows, office, etc). I miss the days when we had alternatives like Atari and Commodore to buy hardware.
>>>I applaud Apple for their foresight and innovation
Recycling an old idea from the 1980s (cloud software on a central server; lightweight terminals in front of the user) is innovative? No. Although I guess you could call it "green". ;-)
(-1 redundant)
How can that be? I posted my message first.
>>>powerful folks for who this would not be in their best interest.
Yep. Like those 50 million or so who enjoy listening to the radio or television. Powerline interference would demolish Shortwave and AM, limit FM/HD reception to just a few miles, and drown out channels 2-13 on the TV.
not that