People are making a big deal out of the fact that the next Pres. will likely appoint 2 justices to the Supreme Court. While this is important, it is not unusual. Billy C. appointed 2, as did George Bush. Reagan appointed 3 (4 if you count appointing Rehnquist as Cheif Justice - he was already a Justice). Carter was the only President in the last 131 years (Andrew Johnson) to not appoint a Justice to the Supreme Court.
Linux wants to threaten MS. Maybe MS sees that it is to their advantage to set the standard. If Linux users start to use a Microsoft-created standard en mass, then Microsoft has options should Linux ever take away it's stronghold on the OS market.
But ten years ago, you didn't know if they would ever get it working
Yeah, I remember that all too well. My Grandfather was an engineer on the Hubble team at (then) Martin Marietta. I can remember telling everyone that would listen about my super-human Grandfather (hey, I was a geek, proud, and 11) only to find out that it had a defective mirror. Needless to say, I got made fun of and picked on even more at recess. Nobody seemed to care that it was the fault of some subcontractor that they bought the mirror from...
I get about 3.7 SETI units/day (~6:24) on a single processor G4 that is unlucky enough to be running MacOS 9.
Distributed.net also had good things to say about the G4 and it's altivec unit. Check out this link. Basically, it said that the G4 was much better than the PIII, but I don't remember the exact numbers. The link wasn't working when I tried to look at it just now, but it is still on their website. Or at least links to it still are.
I've seen a couple posts mentioning the AT&T breakup, and how unsuccessful it was. Calling the breakup unsuccessful is wrong. The breakup and the events leading up to the breakup resulted in:
Multiple long distance companies to choose from
Multiple interconnected long distance networks
If a link in one of the networks go down, traffic must be allowed to use the other networks
You can buy your phone
You can buy your phone from many different manufacturers
You can choose the price/quality combination thats right for you
If you decide to make telephone equipment, you have a market in which you are allowed to sell your products
...More stuff...
I don't think that most people are aware that the breakup also separated Western Electric from AT&T. This was extremely important, as it opened up the equipment market to competition.
Back then, AT&T only bought equipment from Western Electric (makes sense - they owned it) and you rented your phone from the phone company. Since AT&T had almost 100% control of the phone industry, there was no competiton in the equipment industry. Blah, blah, blah, the breakup was good and accomplished alot.
I think that 3 companies would be a good ruling in the MS case. In the long run, it would probably even be in the best interest of Microsofts shareholders.
Justice has plenty of incentive to settle. A ruling for or against Microsoft will be followed by years of appeals, which will cost a lot of taxpayer money. Then throw in the fact that Microsoft will be able to act in the same manner it is currently acting in (whether it is good or bad) for another couple of years, possibly causing further irreversible damage to the computer industry (if that is indeed what they are doing).
I am taking an antitrust economics class and we studied this case in detail. While I think that the evidence is enough to convict, antitrust cases are not always ruled correctly (from the economics point of view), because judges have backgrounds in law, not economics (which is what antitrust is all about). The current judge (Jackson, right?) seems to have a good handle on things and will probably make a good decision. In the event of an appeal, Justice may not be so lucky. This is why there has been so much time devoted to trying to get the two sides to make an agreement. Justice, and judge Jackson know that a settlement is the best way to go, and Microsoft may be thinking that an appeal with a different judge is in its best interest.
Automotive companies have been working on systems that will make this more and more feasible for years. Already, some features are in cars and some will be in just a few short years. I would say that a driver-less car is 5-10 years from being comercially viable. A while ago Delphi Automotive and GM built a car that drove across the US by itself. A driver sat in the drivers seat and could take control at anytime (and also was there so no one else on the road would freak out at the sight of a vehicle driving down the road with nobody in it). The computer controlled car, for the most part, did just fine, and rarely got confused.
It is absolutely amazing how well the auto industry has kept the level of technology in cars so un-noticeable. You would be surprised to see all the stuff that goes into cars these days. The automotive company that I work for develops electronics for a bunch of car companies, and I get to see some pretty nice stuff. So much of a cars operation is computerized, and most every component is connected to an in-car "intranet", that an automatic driver is not that far off. The antilock brake controller knows every performance detail of your car and, when needed, can tell the engine and transmission to do certain things in order to get the maximum braking performance. Traction control is the same way. In many new cars, when the airbag goes off, the doors unlock and the hazard lights start blinking. Very soon, your going to see a certain car:) that has a cruise control system that uses radar to see everything around it, and doesn't let you hit things (of course if theres not enough room to stop...), and does the automatic passing thing (you have to steer, of course). And then theres the satellite navigation systems, of which I think that GM's OnStar is the best. Despite not having a screen, it can do much more than give you directions. If you lock your keys in your car, call OnStar and they will tell your car to unlock itself. If your car gets stolen, call OnStar and they will tell the Police exactly where it is. If you get into an accident, your car will automatically call OnStar and a person there will ask you if you are OK. If not (or you don't respond), then an ambulance is sent to you (your car will tell them exactly where you are). All of these things are possible only because of the level of integration of computer systems into cars now. An automatic driver is only a few servos, motors, a camera or two, and a box with some AI programmed into it, which is not really much of a strech for the big auto companies and their R&D departments.
And to all you MS bashers out there, don't worry - MS is not going to be showing up in automotive control systems anytime soon. Much of the stuff requires real-time systems and has very limited amounts of memory. Plus, with all the testing that the stuff goes through (where I work, things go through *years* of testing before they go out the door. And the variety of tests that are run leave you wondering "when would that situation ever come into play?") its doubtfull that an MS product would survive past the development stage. Or at least thats the opinion that I, as well as numerous other people, hold.
Antitrust Law falls under both civil and criminal law. The current Microsoft lawsuit(s) are both civil and criminal. I'm pretty sure that the lawsuits filed by the states are civil and the DoJ lawsuit is a criminal suit. If you were to file an antitrust lawsuit against a firm (you can), it would be under civil law. You must also consider that with the consent decree, the DoJ was thinking about the costs of a trial and the costs to the consumer of penalizing MS when it allowed MS to get off with just the consent decree. Plus, the judge assigned to the case had to approve of the decree (if the judge believes that the firm is getting off too easy they can reject it)
I registered with Register.com. The minimum they require are the addresses of your DNS servers. If thats all you want them to do, thats all that they'll do. I have granitecanyon.com doing my DNS (they do it for free) and I dont have any mail services at my domain - all it does is serve web pages (Thats all I want it to do - for now).
If all the other manufacturers are selling their game consoles at a loss, then it would be OK for Microsoft to do that, too. But if they are all making their profits in the game publishing business, then Microsoft had better make a profit at it, too. A generation or two of loss leaders to "cut off the air supply" would land Microsoft in another antitrust suit. An antitrust suit that would be much easier for the DOJ/FTC to win. Predatory pricing is usually ruled on a Per Se basis. All the DOJ/FTC would need to prove is that it is happening. They wouldn't even have to prove that it was harming competition or consumers. And you know that the Gov't would jump on any chance they had to sue Microsoft again...
The Newest version of iCab, Pre 1.9, has limited javascript support. It also allows you to specify how it identifies itself (Hi, I'm iCab/Netscape/IE/"Anything Else I Want To Be"). Is the Nissan site that you are talking about "www.nissan.com"? iCab Pre1.9 renders it just fine. I must also say that iCab renders much faster than any other browser I've seen, I have never seen it crash, and it is less than 3 MB. I hope that the developers at iCab can get a final version out the door soon, as it appears to be the best browser on the Mac.
I think that you should use one of the free ISPs. Even though you may not be able to get access everywhere, thats OK. Save your photos on your laptop, and then every couple of days, when you can get access, upload the pictures and do your emailing. Also, try to use a convertible on your trip. It will be much more enjoyable - you will get a better view and will be much more comfortable. For me, air conditioning or windows rolled down just don't cut it when driving in the desert in August. I just took a trip from Chicago to Florida over Christmas, and went a week without net access. I thought that I wouldn't survive, since I normally am on the internet 2-4 hours a day. I didn't miss it. You probably wouldn't either - there will be so much beautiful scenery that you'll have a hard time keeping your eyes on the road. I also must reiterate that you should stop for fuel often and bring lots of water. I don't recommend taking extra fuel in your trunk - thats pretty dangerous. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: SUNSCREEN. Use it. You'll probably want a high SPF rating (like 30). And last of all, talk to people. The people in small towns are usually very happy to talk to visitors, and they can be very interesting. You may want an audio recorder (ask before you record anyone), as many of the stories I've heard were absolutely golden - they would make great companions to the pictures you put on your website. Older people usually have the best stories, and are usually the most willing to talk to you. Enjoy
Sell the domain and give the proceeds to some deserving foundation, such as the EFF. Publicize it, and suddenly alot of geeks will really like your company.
Sony only supports WinTel? All of their external USB CD-RW drives come with software for both Windows and MacOS. Their external IEEE 1394 (Firewire or i.Link, depending on what side your on) CD-RW drive is supposedly Mac only, according to Sony's web site.
Slashdot Mirror
People are making a big deal out of the fact that the next Pres. will likely appoint 2 justices to the Supreme Court. While this is important, it is not unusual. Billy C. appointed 2, as did George Bush. Reagan appointed 3 (4 if you count appointing Rehnquist as Cheif Justice - he was already a Justice). Carter was the only President in the last 131 years (Andrew Johnson) to not appoint a Justice to the Supreme Court.
Linux wants to threaten MS. Maybe MS sees that it is to their advantage to set the standard. If Linux users start to use a Microsoft-created standard en mass, then Microsoft has options should Linux ever take away it's stronghold on the OS market.
Yeah, I remember that all too well. My Grandfather was an engineer on the Hubble team at (then) Martin Marietta. I can remember telling everyone that would listen about my super-human Grandfather (hey, I was a geek, proud, and 11) only to find out that it had a defective mirror. Needless to say, I got made fun of and picked on even more at recess. Nobody seemed to care that it was the fault of some subcontractor that they bought the mirror from...
Distributed.net also had good things to say about the G4 and it's altivec unit. Check out this link. Basically, it said that the G4 was much better than the PIII, but I don't remember the exact numbers. The link wasn't working when I tried to look at it just now, but it is still on their website. Or at least links to it still are.
I don't think that most people are aware that the breakup also separated Western Electric from AT&T. This was extremely important, as it opened up the equipment market to competition.
Back then, AT&T only bought equipment from Western Electric (makes sense - they owned it) and you rented your phone from the phone company. Since AT&T had almost 100% control of the phone industry, there was no competiton in the equipment industry. Blah, blah, blah, the breakup was good and accomplished alot.
I think that 3 companies would be a good ruling in the MS case. In the long run, it would probably even be in the best interest of Microsofts shareholders.
I am taking an antitrust economics class and we studied this case in detail. While I think that the evidence is enough to convict, antitrust cases are not always ruled correctly (from the economics point of view), because judges have backgrounds in law, not economics (which is what antitrust is all about). The current judge (Jackson, right?) seems to have a good handle on things and will probably make a good decision. In the event of an appeal, Justice may not be so lucky. This is why there has been so much time devoted to trying to get the two sides to make an agreement. Justice, and judge Jackson know that a settlement is the best way to go, and Microsoft may be thinking that an appeal with a different judge is in its best interest.
It is absolutely amazing how well the auto industry has kept the level of technology in cars so un-noticeable. You would be surprised to see all the stuff that goes into cars these days. The automotive company that I work for develops electronics for a bunch of car companies, and I get to see some pretty nice stuff. So much of a cars operation is computerized, and most every component is connected to an in-car "intranet", that an automatic driver is not that far off. The antilock brake controller knows every performance detail of your car and, when needed, can tell the engine and transmission to do certain things in order to get the maximum braking performance. Traction control is the same way. In many new cars, when the airbag goes off, the doors unlock and the hazard lights start blinking. Very soon, your going to see a certain car :) that has a cruise control system that uses radar to see everything around it, and doesn't let you hit things (of course if theres not enough room to stop...), and does the automatic passing thing (you have to steer, of course). And then theres the satellite navigation systems, of which I think that GM's OnStar is the best. Despite not having a screen, it can do much more than give you directions. If you lock your keys in your car, call OnStar and they will tell your car to unlock itself. If your car gets stolen, call OnStar and they will tell the Police exactly where it is. If you get into an accident, your car will automatically call OnStar and a person there will ask you if you are OK. If not (or you don't respond), then an ambulance is sent to you (your car will tell them exactly where you are). All of these things are possible only because of the level of integration of computer systems into cars now. An automatic driver is only a few servos, motors, a camera or two, and a box with some AI programmed into it, which is not really much of a strech for the big auto companies and their R&D departments.
And to all you MS bashers out there, don't worry - MS is not going to be showing up in automotive control systems anytime soon. Much of the stuff requires real-time systems and has very limited amounts of memory. Plus, with all the testing that the stuff goes through (where I work, things go through *years* of testing before they go out the door. And the variety of tests that are run leave you wondering "when would that situation ever come into play?") its doubtfull that an MS product would survive past the development stage. Or at least thats the opinion that I, as well as numerous other people, hold.
The phone number for reporting to the WAVE system is 1-888-960-9600
Every employee of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction can be found at here. You can search the list or download it in PDF format.
Antitrust Law falls under both civil and criminal law. The current Microsoft lawsuit(s) are both civil and criminal. I'm pretty sure that the lawsuits filed by the states are civil and the DoJ lawsuit is a criminal suit. If you were to file an antitrust lawsuit against a firm (you can), it would be under civil law. You must also consider that with the consent decree, the DoJ was thinking about the costs of a trial and the costs to the consumer of penalizing MS when it allowed MS to get off with just the consent decree. Plus, the judge assigned to the case had to approve of the decree (if the judge believes that the firm is getting off too easy they can reject it)
At Purdue, one of the womens dorms is named "Duhme Hall" (pronounced "Do Me")
I registered with Register.com. The minimum they require are the addresses of your DNS servers. If thats all you want them to do, thats all that they'll do. I have granitecanyon.com doing my DNS (they do it for free) and I dont have any mail services at my domain - all it does is serve web pages (Thats all I want it to do - for now).
If all the other manufacturers are selling their game consoles at a loss, then it would be OK for Microsoft to do that, too. But if they are all making their profits in the game publishing business, then Microsoft had better make a profit at it, too. A generation or two of loss leaders to "cut off the air supply" would land Microsoft in another antitrust suit. An antitrust suit that would be much easier for the DOJ/FTC to win. Predatory pricing is usually ruled on a Per Se basis. All the DOJ/FTC would need to prove is that it is happening. They wouldn't even have to prove that it was harming competition or consumers. And you know that the Gov't would jump on any chance they had to sue Microsoft again...
The Newest version of iCab, Pre 1.9, has limited javascript support. It also allows you to specify how it identifies itself (Hi, I'm iCab/Netscape/IE/"Anything Else I Want To Be"). Is the Nissan site that you are talking about "www.nissan.com"? iCab Pre1.9 renders it just fine. I must also say that iCab renders much faster than any other browser I've seen, I have never seen it crash, and it is less than 3 MB. I hope that the developers at iCab can get a final version out the door soon, as it appears to be the best browser on the Mac.
I think that you should use one of the free ISPs. Even though you may not be able to get access everywhere, thats OK. Save your photos on your laptop, and then every couple of days, when you can get access, upload the pictures and do your emailing. Also, try to use a convertible on your trip. It will be much more enjoyable - you will get a better view and will be much more comfortable. For me, air conditioning or windows rolled down just don't cut it when driving in the desert in August. I just took a trip from Chicago to Florida over Christmas, and went a week without net access. I thought that I wouldn't survive, since I normally am on the internet 2-4 hours a day. I didn't miss it. You probably wouldn't either - there will be so much beautiful scenery that you'll have a hard time keeping your eyes on the road. I also must reiterate that you should stop for fuel often and bring lots of water. I don't recommend taking extra fuel in your trunk - thats pretty dangerous. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: SUNSCREEN. Use it. You'll probably want a high SPF rating (like 30). And last of all, talk to people. The people in small towns are usually very happy to talk to visitors, and they can be very interesting. You may want an audio recorder (ask before you record anyone), as many of the stories I've heard were absolutely golden - they would make great companions to the pictures you put on your website. Older people usually have the best stories, and are usually the most willing to talk to you. Enjoy
Yep, the box from my Sister's Gateway is still in use, while the computer disappeared from service a long time ago.
What do you think Gateway will say about this? Is it copyright infringement?
Sell the domain and give the proceeds to some deserving foundation, such as the EFF. Publicize it, and suddenly alot of geeks will really like your company.
Sony only supports WinTel? All of their external USB CD-RW drives come with software for both Windows and MacOS. Their external IEEE 1394 (Firewire or i.Link, depending on what side your on) CD-RW drive is supposedly Mac only, according to Sony's web site.