Others will have expounded in greater detail, but let me add my opinions to the pot:
TNG: was the last series that was _any_ good. At least they had a few aliens that weren't bipeds (remember the oil pit of evil that ate Tasha Yar?)
Voyager: concept was promising, but:
most episodes were resolved within the last five minutes, with the rest of the episode consistenting of stall tactics to allow most of the time to elapse
boring aliens yet again. All were humanoid, with slight alterations painted on according to what the script writers' forehead rumple editor-plugin for Word spewed as semi-random output that day
Enterprise: was also promising, intially. By the 2nd (this) season, however, they'd fallen into the same traps Voyager had:
stall until last five minutes
most aliens are 3rd rate Hollywood actors with makeup-department inspired bruises on their foreheads.
Why is Scott Bakkula trying to act like Kirk? S.B. can be much better than this, but his captain character is very wooden. He speaks like he's reading the ingredients off a cereal box.
DS9: I didn't watch the latter seasons (anything past the 2nd), so take the following with a grain of salt. Most noticeable problems:
whatshisname that played the station commander is the MOST WOODEN actor I have ever seen! 15 seconds of one of his monologues made the channel change of its own accord, out of sheer boredom! (or the screen saver engaged, because nothing was happening)
more crappy plots, last minute resolutions, yada, yada
the constant conflict between the naughty aliens (what were their names?) and the wimpy Bejorans was soooooo tedious. F*ck the Bejorans. Sell them to the _____'s and get back to exploring the universe!
Again, my opinions only. (But I know they're right...)
Why not take the approach that the original PGP system did? Establish a Web of Trust, where multiple individuals can cross-sign each other's certificates?
You could perhaps add the idea of a threshold -- once a cert is signed by enough well-trusted individuals, the cert becomes "good enough" to go public.
Of course, there might be an issue of startup time -- a requestor of a new cert wouldn't get one until it has had time to make the rounds and get signed by many trusted individuals.
There is also a bit of a seeding problem. How do you establish a large enough trusted community in the beginning, so that sufficient signings can be made on new certs.
Also, I would guess that one of the things that current commercial cert corporations provide is a source of culpability, should something go wrong with the cert they issued. With a public signing group, you might not have this same level of responsibiliy. This could be good or bad, depending on your perspective.
Portland, OR has had ten digit dialing for about a year now. This is because the 503 area code was close to filling up. Existing 503 numbers got to keep the old area code, while new numbers are assigned the new a/c (I forget what it is right now).
To dial a local number, you hit 503-xxx-xxxx for all calls. Anything long distance still requires the 1- prefix.
Other cities have chosen to assign new area codes by region. This meant existing numbers had to change their a/c. For businesses, this meant repainting vehicles, signs, etc. Portland chose to leave the a/c's alone for established numbers.
MS has a vested interest in the "OS" portions of Windows, now that they've finally moved their latest versions (Win2K, WinXP) over to something that can actually be considered a "real kernel" (The somewhat stable NT-based underpinnings).
They also have strong coupling between this OS portion, and the desktop apps that everyone is forced to use (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.) in ordeer to be compatible with everyone else. (By "everyone," I simply mean the large majority of users who use Windows on a PC, for what ever reason they do so.)
This coupling / tight integration is a main technical component of MS's business strategy, which has allowed them to achieve their monopoly position.
Duh, they're politicing again. They want Joe Consumer to feel bad for them. It's about the fight for "public opinion" in the [controlled-by-them] mainstream media.
OK, I know the following is a bit whiny, but I had to say it.
<WHINE>
This "punishment" doesn't come close to matching the damage done. I probably spent $50-100 per computer I bought during that time period to license MS OS SW that I didn't want, and could not use. The three or four computers I bought during that time thus amount to $200-400 in wasted cash.
Yet, I would guess that whatever amount I can claim under this judgement will be much lower than this amount. (And actually, I'd rather have the cash returned, as opposed to getting vouchers for future purchases.)
Consider also the recent music industry settlement. If you bought CDs between 1995 and 2000(?) you can get between $5-20 back, depending on how many people participate in the settlement. That's like the over-charge on a single (OK maybe two) CDs. So if you bought dozens of CDs during that time, your compensation is grossly inadequate.
These kind of settlements just let the infringers halt the legal proceedings against them by paying a minor fee. They don't come close to paying back the monopolist-driven price gouging committed by the offender(s).
The Linux-based Digtal Entertainment Center (HP de100c, see this group) was discontinued very recently -- just about the time the XP Media Center PCs showed up from HP. The de100c cost about $1000, and had plenty of local storage. It can store/play music, stream internet radio, and display pix (if you enable a hidden UI feature). It can "record" CDs to internal MP3 files, and write CDs (audio, or CD-ROM with MP3 file) using its built-in CD-RW drive.
The new PCs, with Windows XP Media Center Edition (see AnandTech review here of XP Media Center), run about $1500.
HP's new 'Digital Media Receiver' is very similar to the Rio 'Audio Receiver' -- all the way down to the required Windows/PC hosted custom server/streamer program. These receivers are $200-300 depending on configuration.
So HP altered their product line to include only high-end (MediaPC) and low-end (Media Receiver) devices. Personally, I think there is still room in the middle of this product line for the now discontinued, Linux-based de100c. Perhaps Microsoft did not agree? Now, the only devices you can buy from HP to stream audio (or show pix) require Windows: Windows is either resident on the high-end $1500 Media PC itself, or running on a nearby Windows/PC so that the low-end $200-300 Digital Media Receiver can get its stream. Either way, the $100 MS tax is paid.
Note that the Rio (and Dell version) of the Audio Receiver quickly gained a Linux-hosted server: http://www.mock.com/receiver/server/. Perhaps the HP device will gain such support as well?
If you want a media receiver that only streams and has no local storage, I think the AudioTron is a more flexible solution. It can use any SMB (windows-style) share on the network, and does not require a proprietary windows-hosted server application.
For the slightly more DIY-minded crowd, there is also the SliMP3...
I, for one, don't like the results evidenced by my local Fred Meyers stores. Product-line consolidation/elimination has begun, presumably for cost reduction.
Example: These cheddar-heads no longer sell milk in cardboard cartons. Except for the small quart-sized ones, all milk is now sold in plastic containers. These are the translucent ones, which let UV light in, which damages the milk, which makes it taste "funny." I also dislike the way in which plastic containers' screw-on caps collect dried, cruddy "milk dust." Every time (after the first) you open that sucker, dried milk crumbs fall all over, and into the milk container. Blech!
I wrote to Kroger's customer service to complain about these containers. While they did send me a coupon for a free half gallon of [plastic-enshrouded] milk (which I happily used), this simply served to remind me how much I dislike these containers. The rest of the letter I received from Kroger essentially said: bugger off then, we don't want your kind!
As a result, I generally avoid Freddy's for groceries -- especially if I know I need milk.
According to this story in PC World, Sharp plans to show it at the January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and bring it to the U.S. for sale in Q1 of 2003.
Here are some other useful SL-C700 links I've found in the last week or so:
At CDW, it's priced at $1600. This is at least three times what a comparable performing (albeit warmer running) machine would cost today.
The 900MHz Crusoe is gonna perform similarly to a Pentium III somewhere in the 530...675MHz range. (A 400MHz Crusoe machine I have is quite similar to a P3 in the 233...300MHz range.) This is without enabling the max power savings mode(s) of the Crusoe.
I like the concept, but I personally would not pay this much.
So you install some DoD software on your very own PC. It's got complete access to your PC, likely some of your internal network, and even more likely to the internet.
Are you going to slap a packet capturer on your LAN so you catch the game when it phones home, and says to DoD: "Little Johhny is an excellent marksman; recommend acquisition. Beware, however, his tendencies towards same-gender attraction."
Slashdot Mirror
TNG: was the last series that was _any_ good. At least they had a few aliens that weren't bipeds (remember the oil pit of evil that ate Tasha Yar?)
Voyager: concept was promising, but:
Enterprise: was also promising, intially. By the 2nd (this) season, however, they'd fallen into the same traps Voyager had:
DS9: I didn't watch the latter seasons (anything past the 2nd), so take the following with a grain of salt. Most noticeable problems:
Again, my opinions only. (But I know they're right...)
...then how can you stand living next to all those Floridians!?
... and I can tell you that all my roommates and I have enjoyed the sense of security provided by having Mr. Fox guard our home.
There does seem to be a lot more room in here since Mr. Fox was hired...
Translation for upper midwesterners:
"not too bad is better than not too good."
Let's see, this one liner:
echo 'main(){printf("according to my calculations \"a number more years\" is: %d.\n",0xa);}'>./a.c;gcc ./a.c;./a.out
seems to produce the following output:
according to my calculations "a number more years" is: 10.
Check out this Google search, and this other link over here.
TOTN can be streamed (Real Audio) here: http://www.npr.org/totn3.smil
Umm....
Last I heard, the cigarette is considered a drug delivery system.
What's the point of leaving out the drug?
Why is SQL necessary to support DNS queries?
/etc/hosts good enough?
Isn't
OK, I know DNS does a little bit more than mapping names (domains) to numbers (IP addresses), but not much.
Whassup?
You could perhaps add the idea of a threshold -- once a cert is signed by enough well-trusted individuals, the cert becomes "good enough" to go public.
Of course, there might be an issue of startup time -- a requestor of a new cert wouldn't get one until it has had time to make the rounds and get signed by many trusted individuals.
There is also a bit of a seeding problem. How do you establish a large enough trusted community in the beginning, so that sufficient signings can be made on new certs.
Also, I would guess that one of the things that current commercial cert corporations provide is a source of culpability, should something go wrong with the cert they issued. With a public signing group, you might not have this same level of responsibiliy. This could be good or bad, depending on your perspective.
To dial a local number, you hit 503-xxx-xxxx for all calls. Anything long distance still requires the 1- prefix.
Other cities have chosen to assign new area codes by region. This meant existing numbers had to change their a/c. For businesses, this meant repainting vehicles, signs, etc. Portland chose to leave the a/c's alone for established numbers.
MS has a vested interest in the "OS" portions of Windows, now that they've finally moved their latest versions (Win2K, WinXP) over to something that can actually be considered a "real kernel" (The somewhat stable NT-based underpinnings).
They also have strong coupling between this OS portion, and the desktop apps that everyone is forced to use (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.) in ordeer to be compatible with everyone else. (By "everyone," I simply mean the large majority of users who use Windows on a PC, for what ever reason they do so.)
This coupling / tight integration is a main technical component of MS's business strategy, which has allowed them to achieve their monopoly position.
Why would they give this up?
Duh, they're politicing again. They want Joe Consumer to feel bad for them. It's about the fight for "public opinion" in the [controlled-by-them] mainstream media.
Your only recourse is to stop thinking so hard!
Yet, I would guess that whatever amount I can claim under this judgement will be much lower than this amount. (And actually, I'd rather have the cash returned, as opposed to getting vouchers for future purchases.)
Consider also the recent music industry settlement. If you bought CDs between 1995 and 2000(?) you can get between $5-20 back, depending on how many people participate in the settlement. That's like the over-charge on a single (OK maybe two) CDs. So if you bought dozens of CDs during that time, your compensation is grossly inadequate.
These kind of settlements just let the infringers halt the legal proceedings against them by paying a minor fee. They don't come close to paying back the monopolist-driven price gouging committed by the offender(s).
Whew! I feel [just slightly] better now.
If anyone sees Sharp demoing the [for now Japanese-only] Zaurus SL-C700 would they please:
1) report upon it here?
2) describe what they think the attended respond to it is?
Sharp said they were gonna show it, but have no plans to make it available in the U.S. Based on demand/response at CES, they may change their minds.
I know www.dynamism.com can sell you a English-converted copy in the U.S., but their price is pretty high...
The new PCs, with Windows XP Media Center Edition (see AnandTech review here of XP Media Center), run about $1500.
HP's new 'Digital Media Receiver' is very similar to the Rio 'Audio Receiver' -- all the way down to the required Windows/PC hosted custom server/streamer program. These receivers are $200-300 depending on configuration.
So HP altered their product line to include only high-end (MediaPC) and low-end (Media Receiver) devices. Personally, I think there is still room in the middle of this product line for the now discontinued, Linux-based de100c. Perhaps Microsoft did not agree? Now, the only devices you can buy from HP to stream audio (or show pix) require Windows: Windows is either resident on the high-end $1500 Media PC itself, or running on a nearby Windows/PC so that the low-end $200-300 Digital Media Receiver can get its stream. Either way, the $100 MS tax is paid.
Note that the Rio (and Dell version) of the Audio Receiver quickly gained a Linux-hosted server: http://www.mock.com/receiver/server/. Perhaps the HP device will gain such support as well?
If you want a media receiver that only streams and has no local storage, I think the AudioTron is a more flexible solution. It can use any SMB (windows-style) share on the network, and does not require a proprietary windows-hosted server application.
For the slightly more DIY-minded crowd, there is also the SliMP3...
I, for one, don't like the results evidenced by my local Fred Meyers stores. Product-line consolidation/elimination has begun, presumably for cost reduction.
Example: These cheddar-heads no longer sell milk in cardboard cartons. Except for the small quart-sized ones, all milk is now sold in plastic containers. These are the translucent ones, which let UV light in, which damages the milk, which makes it taste "funny." I also dislike the way in which plastic containers' screw-on caps collect dried, cruddy "milk dust." Every time (after the first) you open that sucker, dried milk crumbs fall all over, and into the milk container. Blech!
I wrote to Kroger's customer service to complain about these containers. While they did send me a coupon for a free half gallon of [plastic-enshrouded] milk (which I happily used), this simply served to remind me how much I dislike these containers. The rest of the letter I received from Kroger essentially said: bugger off then, we don't want your kind!
As a result, I generally avoid Freddy's for groceries -- especially if I know I need milk.
Here are some other useful SL-C700 links I've found in the last week or so:
MobileNews article with LOTSA pix (in Japanese, but the pix are easy to see).
Here is a mobigeeks blurb (with several off-links to other interesting places, also a forum).
About a quarter of the way down this page, there are some good closeup pix.
Here is an nvmax.com article, describing Dynamism's efforts, and several other off-links.
Here is Sharp's own page, also in Japanese, but has a couple of decent pix.
Here's a German article, with a good description of the specs.
I read the press release, and it makes me want to break out my 486DX just to play it but --
isn't it "tours de force" ?
At CDW, it's priced at $1600. This is at least three times what a comparable performing (albeit warmer running) machine would cost today.
The 900MHz Crusoe is gonna perform similarly to a Pentium III somewhere in the 530...675MHz range. (A 400MHz Crusoe machine I have is quite similar to a P3 in the 233...300MHz range.) This is without enabling the max power savings mode(s) of the Crusoe.
I like the concept, but I personally would not pay this much.
This might be a first post...
You gamers have no life. ;-)
Who's got time to waste breathing on this sort of thing. Real Life is a game that never stops.
Perhaps they can tote along an 802.11 laptop and search for free access points on the way down.
So you install some DoD software on your very own PC. It's got complete access to your PC, likely some of your internal network, and even more likely to the internet.
Are you going to slap a packet capturer on your LAN so you catch the game when it phones home, and says to DoD: "Little Johhny is an excellent marksman; recommend acquisition. Beware, however, his tendencies towards same-gender attraction."
Well, do you?