With a simple "out of the box" installation and setup, the Personal Internet Communicator is designed to provide virtually instantaneous access to the power of the global Internet.
However, the hardware specs don't list any network interface:
Compact, ergonomically designed system case with optional accent colors
Unit dimensions: 5.5" wide x 8.5" deep x 2.5" high 3 lbs.
AMD Geode(TM) GX processor
4 USB ports - support printers, Flash memory, disk drives, and network adapters
10GB 3.5" internal hard disk
Stereo headphone/microphone jacks
VGA port - supports resolutions up to 1600x1200 at 85 Hz
Fanless, quiet operation
Am I missing something? What's going on here?! Are the low income (or whatever) people who are the target customers for this device supposed to already have a monitor and a USB network interface? WTF?!
If you get custom earplugs, make sure you get ones that are recessed into your ear canal. Mine protrude a bit and I can't wear them while I'm DJing because the headphones touch them and push them (quite painfully) into my ears. After spending $135 on them, I'm a little disappointed about this. However, the person who did the molds told me that my ear canal was too small for the recessed ones, anyway. I'm going to try some different style headphones to see if it makes a difference.
Anyway, I'd surely recommend the ES49's. $160 (I think that's what they're at now) is a small price to pay to save your hearing. Even if you're only able to wear them while you're not actually DJing, you're doing your ears some good. I've had mine for about 4 years now and they've served me very well. The best part is that while they turn down the music, they still let voices thru just fine. The strangest part of wearing them is that I always feel like I'm yelling when I try to talk to anybody while they're in. My voice gets washed out by the music when talking to people who aren't wearing earplugs.
I'm a DJ and in addition to my shows, I frequently go out to clubs to hear other DJs. I had similar experiences with ringing ears for days after a loud show. I tried foam earplugs, but they made everything sound terrible. I finally broke down and got custom "musician's" earplugs. Mine are WestoneES49. I've never been happier! These things keep the sound quality almost the same, just reduce the volume (mine have 15db filters in them).
It has been concluded that public transportation, municipal water and sewer, emergency services, and telephone networks are not self sustaining in lightly populated areas.
Duh. The Federal/State/Local government(s) do all sorts of things and provide all sorts of services that are for the public good that don't make money. Internet access is the next utility. I've got municipal water, why not municipal internet? Sure, it may not be appropriate for rural or even some suburban areas, but for areas that have moderate or above population density, this is a no-brainer.
Even the telcos don't recoup costs in the first five years!
Do you honestly believe this? The only people who benefit from any of the Bush policies are those who are already rich. He is hurting the poor and middle class to feed the rich even more. Pretty soon, we'll all belong to the giant corporations. There will be no jobs except WalMart and McDonalds. The republicans have only fooled the masses into believing that their god/guns/gays agenda is serving them. I pray for all of us.
I've still got my CueCat sitting in a box in my basement.
I hope "The Next Internet" created by RFID works out better than "The Next Internet" created by CueCat. They'll never beat the one created by Al Gore...
This sounds more like a worst case scenario of judges legislating from the bench.
You're kidding, right? Why is it that when judges upset the status quo to do what's right then all the right-wing wackos scream that they're "legislating from the bench"?!
Can't you see that citizens' rights are at stake here? Suppose that the breathalyzer manufacturer built a special "feature" into the scanner that allowed the officer using it to cause a "false positive" scan? Suppose the margin of error was +/- 10% and the person being charged with a DUI blew a.08% (the legal limit in my state). Suppose this person was you or someone you care about!
Remember, when judges de-segregated the schools, they were "legislating from the bench", too...
No, I would still call this a failing of the JRE and its interface. Any network-aware program designed to read/write arbitrary directories (as opposed to just temp/cache and user-initiated saves) also needs the ability to be locked down and protect non-technical users from their own ignorance.
So imagine for a second that you're talking about an operating system on a networked computer. Should the OS restrict read/write access for any program that can get network access? What about access to physical media? Saying 'yes' to the applet security dialog is just like putting a CDROM in your drive. You're granting permission for whatever is "behind the curtain" to run on your box.
Now, on a more secure OS where a user wouldn't have write access to these things, it wouldn't be a problem, but that's another story...
It's important to identify that this is not a Sun JRE thing, but a user error thing!
Any time a website asks you to trust them to install something on your computer, you should probably say no. If you say yes, you are going to get owned 99% of the time.
I don't think it is an issue of who owns the PC. It is an issue of the legality of "wire tapping" the computer, regardless of ownership. They jointly own the phone line coming to the house, too. It would also be illegal for her to secretly record his telephone conversations, even though they share "ownership" of the phone line.
I agree. I don't want color - you can't see it outside in the sun because of the glare. I don't want a camera, I already have a good digital camera. I don't care about games. Pr0n looks crappy on the tiny screen, so internet access is unnecessary. Ditto for email. I rarely use text messaging. Just give me a small, cheap, and reliable phone that makes calls and has a good phone book (Nokia's is my favorite). Is that really too much to ask? I don't want a do-it-all phone, I just want a phone!
I'm guessing that somewhere in the contract for your lifetime service they say that they're free to change the terms at any time. I guess that's the risk you take with such a deal.
Not really, since they're adding commercials in to the time that you spend fast-forwarding through the recorded commercials. It doesn't add commercials in the middle of some show that you're watching where there were none before.
Again, if you don't like the service, don't subscribe. The same could be said of HBO; if they decided to change the terms and add commercials, then you'd always have the option to cancel.
Hmm. That's interesting. I wasn't aware that a lifetime subscription was available. As you said, seems to be a somewhat risky investment. You really do have no recourse.
That's the risk you take with this type of service. Suppose you subscribe to XM radio. Today, the terms may be great. Tomrrow, they may change the terms in such a way that you don't want to keep the service. Cancel. Sure, you're left with a useless piece of hardware, but it was your choice to cancel. Sell it to somebody else, mod it, or use it as a coaster.
Slashdot Mirror
Me thinks you got more karma this way
If you get custom earplugs, make sure you get ones that are recessed into your ear canal. Mine protrude a bit and I can't wear them while I'm DJing because the headphones touch them and push them (quite painfully) into my ears. After spending $135 on them, I'm a little disappointed about this. However, the person who did the molds told me that my ear canal was too small for the recessed ones, anyway. I'm going to try some different style headphones to see if it makes a difference.
Anyway, I'd surely recommend the ES49's. $160 (I think that's what they're at now) is a small price to pay to save your hearing. Even if you're only able to wear them while you're not actually DJing, you're doing your ears some good. I've had mine for about 4 years now and they've served me very well. The best part is that while they turn down the music, they still let voices thru just fine. The strangest part of wearing them is that I always feel like I'm yelling when I try to talk to anybody while they're in. My voice gets washed out by the music when talking to people who aren't wearing earplugs.
I'm a DJ and in addition to my shows, I frequently go out to clubs to hear other DJs. I had similar experiences with ringing ears for days after a loud show. I tried foam earplugs, but they made everything sound terrible. I finally broke down and got custom "musician's" earplugs. Mine are Westone ES49. I've never been happier! These things keep the sound quality almost the same, just reduce the volume (mine have 15db filters in them).
Perhaps S3 will have a market afterall?
If you follow that algorithm, the focus will not be correct by the time you get to the bottom of the stack...
Considering the fact that the Slashcode servers are now a pile of smoldering ash, I'm guessing they haven't saved much bandwidth
It has been concluded that public transportation, municipal water and sewer, emergency services, and telephone networks are not self sustaining in lightly populated areas.
Duh. The Federal/State/Local government(s) do all sorts of things and provide all sorts of services that are for the public good that don't make money. Internet access is the next utility. I've got municipal water, why not municipal internet? Sure, it may not be appropriate for rural or even some suburban areas, but for areas that have moderate or above population density, this is a no-brainer.
Even the telcos don't recoup costs in the first five years!
Do you honestly believe this? The only people who benefit from any of the Bush policies are those who are already rich. He is hurting the poor and middle class to feed the rich even more. Pretty soon, we'll all belong to the giant corporations. There will be no jobs except WalMart and McDonalds. The republicans have only fooled the masses into believing that their god/guns/gays agenda is serving them. I pray for all of us.
Microsoft just wanted to help spread the word that Unix and Linux don't need antivirus because they are superior to Windows
I've still got my CueCat sitting in a box in my basement.
I hope "The Next Internet" created by RFID works out better than "The Next Internet" created by CueCat. They'll never beat the one created by Al Gore...
Can't you see that citizens' rights are at stake here? Suppose that the breathalyzer manufacturer built a special "feature" into the scanner that allowed the officer using it to cause a "false positive" scan? Suppose the margin of error was +/- 10% and the person being charged with a DUI blew a .08% (the legal limit in my state). Suppose this person was you or someone you care about!
Remember, when judges de-segregated the schools, they were "legislating from the bench", too...
Good idea, until the person with the "locked" card just gets a new anonymous card...
So imagine for a second that you're talking about an operating system on a networked computer. Should the OS restrict read/write access for any program that can get network access? What about access to physical media? Saying 'yes' to the applet security dialog is just like putting a CDROM in your drive. You're granting permission for whatever is "behind the curtain" to run on your box.
Now, on a more secure OS where a user wouldn't have write access to these things, it wouldn't be a problem, but that's another story...
No "exploit" here. AFAIK, code signed by a trusted certificate can run without prompting the user.
It's important to identify that this is not a Sun JRE thing, but a user error thing!
Any time a website asks you to trust them to install something on your computer, you should probably say no. If you say yes, you are going to get owned 99% of the time.
I don't think it is an issue of who owns the PC. It is an issue of the legality of "wire tapping" the computer, regardless of ownership. They jointly own the phone line coming to the house, too. It would also be illegal for her to secretly record his telephone conversations, even though they share "ownership" of the phone line.
RTFA - The picture on the page clearly shows the battery that the ring contains to light the LED...
I agree. I don't want color - you can't see it outside in the sun because of the glare. I don't want a camera, I already have a good digital camera. I don't care about games. Pr0n looks crappy on the tiny screen, so internet access is unnecessary. Ditto for email. I rarely use text messaging. Just give me a small, cheap, and reliable phone that makes calls and has a good phone book (Nokia's is my favorite). Is that really too much to ask? I don't want a do-it-all phone, I just want a phone!
So, you've got a business relationship with me yet you don't know my number? Right...
I'm guessing that somewhere in the contract for your lifetime service they say that they're free to change the terms at any time. I guess that's the risk you take with such a deal.
Not really, since they're adding commercials in to the time that you spend fast-forwarding through the recorded commercials. It doesn't add commercials in the middle of some show that you're watching where there were none before.
Again, if you don't like the service, don't subscribe. The same could be said of HBO; if they decided to change the terms and add commercials, then you'd always have the option to cancel.
Hmm. That's interesting. I wasn't aware that a lifetime subscription was available. As you said, seems to be a somewhat risky investment. You really do have no recourse.
That's the risk you take with this type of service. Suppose you subscribe to XM radio. Today, the terms may be great. Tomrrow, they may change the terms in such a way that you don't want to keep the service. Cancel. Sure, you're left with a useless piece of hardware, but it was your choice to cancel. Sell it to somebody else, mod it, or use it as a coaster.
What does that have to do with Tivo?