>Sorry, if you want credibility with me you'll have to post a message on the current topic that indicates you don't have your head several feet up your ass.
Pretty Bass-Ackwards way of thinking, isn't that?
Normally people looking for proof look to the past, which is impossible to fake perfectly. You, however, would prefer to take the risk of me contacting profesisonals and getting an A+ answer rather than be assured of the truth. How unusual.
As I said, its all right there. Browse it and take a look for yourself.
I just won't play your silly little game.
Oh, and I beat opensourceman at not only posts, but quality too.
As a final say, why don't you come back when you have something rational and intelligent to say?
>Btw, do you know of any other such inexpensive satellite internet services?
I did a lot of research on this stuff before buying so...
Here's the pricing/policies of all the ones I know (might be inaccurate, $CAN):
Bell Expressvu / 1-way / $50 for 60 hours, or $50 for 4 Gig ($100/Gig after that) / Vague FAP / Sells to Canadians / Very few usenet flames
Direc* (anything owned by Hughes Network Services) / Didn't bother to get pricing after seeing the tens of thousands of usenet flames (these guys get roasted worse than Microsoft). Also refuse to sell their service to Canadians.
Starband / Bankrupt. Refuse to sell service to Canadians.
2-way Nebulink / $3000 equipment cost (may come down) / $300 a month / Didn't get details on their TOS, but I'm sure its similar to their 1-way.
Nebulink / $55 US / 8 Gb a month, $15 US/GB after that / No FAP
Wildblue / Not Available / Site gets updated yearly to say it'll be available next year.
Starchoice / They've said "soon" for the past 3 or 4 years.
LookTV (since you mentioned it) / Last time I looked they quit selling wireless to residential areas because the demand was too high (yup, that is literally what their website said!).
You'll see the term FAP a lot when shopping for satellite. It usually defines terms for the satellite provider to slow down / cut off your service whenever they think you're using it too much. Metered accounts don't normally require a FAP, and I find them preferrable.
Well, that's all I can remember from the top of my head.
>I'm not sure what you mean about embedded systems "being able to handle the bloat".
I think you've taken what I meant out of context.
I was trying to say (in fewer words) that java is good for embedded systems that have the ability to be able to run bloated software.
>Hint: embedded systems, in general, have a considerably smaller amount of memory and a considerably slower CPU than a desktop machine.
That's why I said what I said. I see now, though, that I should have made it clearer.
>Java GUIs are pretty crappy (getting better, though), but the actual language itself is plenty fast enough for most purposes.
It sure doesn't beat most languages. It sometimes even lags behind Visual Basic (from what I've seen), which is usually the standard for "slowest code ever". Perhaps its just stupid coders, but the majority of Java code I've seen is this slow. So either Java is slow, or many java programmers are slow (not necessarialy yourself!).
>If you actually knew what you were talking about you'd know that almost all modern software (except in narrow realms, such as graphics-intensive games and scientific computing) is I/O bound, not CPU bound.
I didn't say I knew what I'm talking about (read my post), but while stuff is I/O bound, loading the CPU any more than is necessary is certainly not going to speed things up.
>If you were really all that concerned about speed you wouldn't be using a GUI in the first place.
A GUI isn't going to eat up an appreciable amount of CPU cycles unless your application is constantly redrawing stuff.
My 286 was able to run GeoWorks acceptably well, and my C64 could run GEOS. If a sub 2 Mhz processor can handle a GUI, but today's GUIs and applications require a Ghz processor to run well, it shows that today's GUI applications could use some optimization.
>As for "not having written anything useful", I've been making a substantial portion of my living from writing code for nearly 20 years.
I don't doubt it. Collectively, A/Cs have probably programmed thousands of man hours in any language.
But, without posting with an account, your claims come off us inconsequential. Sorry.
>My question stands, does anyone know of anyone who is doing *jailtime* for trading MP3's?
I knew several people who were busted for running warez BBSes back in the day. Some of them lost their houses. I'd venture a guess that many of them that hadn't the money to pay their way were thrown in a minimum security slammer for a good while.
I don't doubt the punishment would be any less severe today. In fact, a reading of "The Hacker Crackdown" would probably show you that in the past decade, "IP Theft" (in quotes because I don't consider it theft) is now prosecuted with far more vigor and passion than ever before.
Here'ssomelinks to whet your appetite. There's many more -- just search for "mp3 jail" or "warez jail" on google.om
>C was originally designed to be a "portable assembler" to ease the pain of porting Unix to multiple architectures.
And Java was designed to run on nothing but set-top boxes and was originally called Oak. It's great for embedded systems that can handle the bloat, or for programs that don't require snappy response. Unfortunately, writing anything speedy or quick with it or pretty much anything else except perhaps a calculator or notepad program lies outside that domain.
J++, on the other hand, has no use anywhere at all, so far as I can see.
This doesn't mean either Java or C are bad at anything at all! Its just a load of ranting from people who haven't programmed anything useful in either language!
Also of interest is that having parts of your head too large/small can cause you to murder people, as has been proven with other modern information sources such as phrenology.
Might I bring a caliper to your house one day and prove your genius for you?
>Try unplugging other devices (phones, fax, etc) that use that line.
:-) Tried that.
Heck, I've tried various modems plugged straight into the demarc jack. Same results, but with the (very) occasional 26.4k connection.
That's what 15 km of copper will do to ya (it was like pulling teeth to get that out of Bell, I'll tell ya).
>Currently I am looking into the price of getting a T1 and sharing/selling it via WiFi to my neighbours to pay for it.
I did that once too, but it turns out too many people (not all, just a lot) in the area think that rural high speed internet should cost exactly the same as urban prices. Some even think that because a co-op service would likely be a bit less reliable, it should be cheaper.
From all my calculations, it worked out to about $80/month CDN (assuming a minimum of 20 customers) to make it break even. That's if they'll run a T1 to where you live. Bell refuses to do it for me, even though I'm a registered business. The only place here with high speed is a local school (covered by the WRDSB, which is just slightly more restrictive of their internet than China [nintendo.com is firewalled]) and that came from 35 km away.
The only company that could make it happen (a wireless internet company) didn't want to bother, which was strange since one would have thought a small company (at the time) would be gung-ho on such ideas.
>What american satellite internet service are you thinking of?
www.nebulink.net (two way and one way, with one way being affordable:-) For most of Canada (if you're inside the EIRP map -- if you're out, forget it) you'll have to use a BIG big dish.
Not that the other systems are all that bad (okay, yes, they do suck, but compared to the $100/Gig Bell charges, a pigeon carrier looks like solid gold).
AFAIK (but IANAL), subscribing to US data services is 100% legal, except a silly Canadian law requires you to stop browsing Canadian websites when you're using American service in Canada.
>you only pay to call someone, not to receive a call.
This is a question I asked someone else who said a similar thing once before.
If this is true, why not buy two phone lines at home (in N.A. $40 installation each, $40/month for both) and simply build a device that you can call, that will call you back when you hang up and conference you with the number you want. This way you don't have to pay to use your phone.
Or, better yet, why not just phone the person you want to talk to and say "Call me back now" and hang up?
Both ways in N.A. would accrue no charges (assuming you mostly talk with people in your own city).
I'm guess its because in every other country you have to pay by the minute to call your next door neighbour, whereas here it's free, and we here would rather give up cell phones than give up the privledge of making those 2 hour calls (I once read some stats that Americans talk on the phone more per person than any other country).
>Yes, only 28.8 is available where I am on this ultra-long phone loop with no ISDN/ADSL/Cable/etc.
You're lucky. I'm stuck with 21.6 (on a good day) that once hung up every few hours (seems to have gone away lately). The worst part is trying to get Bell off their ass to do something.
BTW: Try satellite internet for some extra speed. And look South for your service, it's about 10x cheaper (literally).
>If, on the other hand, one of your loops is serviced by a remote CO, or a different CO all together, or the data has to go through a toll center, then Bell really DOESN'T like that
;-)
Due to Bell's own stupidity (nothing ever really changes) walking North (or is it West? Its been a while since I've checked the calling map...) for about 1/2 hour brings me out of my calling area, but driving for 3/4 of an hour the other way still leaves me in my "local" calling area.
You can guess which side of town the other phone's in.
>However, if there were more people making dedicated connections (versus switched connections) then Bell would lobby for, and would get, changes that would allow them to charge extra to high users.
I totally agree, and I'd be using something other than the phone line if it weren't that Bell (and everyone else, including wireless services) refuses to service my area with anything better. Ho Hum.
>Better hope that one of those 3000 odd downloads wasn't someone grabbing it to stick on their magazines coverdisk...
Speaking of magazines and viruses, I think you'll find it interesting that the first virus ever widely spread on Macs happened to be a veiled advertisement for a computer magazine itself, proving the truth is, in fact, stranger than fiction.
>just like the phone system......and just about every shared system, is oversubscribed
I have a residential phone line that stays connected to another local residential phone line 24x7.
>If someone is setting himself up as a terminal, obviously his usage pattern is going to be very irregular for an ordinary family, and it's virtually certain that he's using far more capacity than the connection was intended for. As such, they have every right to shut him off, and kudos to them for doing it
Does Bell therefore have every right to shut me off? I mean, you can't use any more capacity than 100% (actually, its quite a bit less than that, far less than the 99% average Bell guarantees because the lines are so piss poor out here).
If Bell, or Cable COs don't want people using their lines to their full potential, then its Bell's/Cable COs' job to change their service plan. In every other aspect than local service and most Cable internet, this has already happened. Allow me to demonstrate:
- Long distance phone calls eat up lines. Solution: Long distance charges ensure people don't tie up the phone lines unless they are actively using them.
- Cell phone calls use up limited cell bandwidth. Solution: No unlimited weekday-daytime minutes. You get a "reasonable" amount of minutes included with your plan, any overage that they would consider harmful to their servicing of other customers is charged for.
So, its about time the Cable COs followed the lead of so many other successful companies. Do what the (very few) smart Satellite internet service providers did when they ran out of bandwidth: Give everyone a "reasonable" amount of data transfer free with their account (and ensure the exact amount remaining is easy find out), and charge for anything extra. 10 Gigs ought to be far more than enough. Problem solved, crisis averted.
But instead, users who take advantage of the gaping wide hole in the Cable COs sales plans are punished. If anything, I think its about time for a judge to tell the Cable COs unlimited means a 100% saturated line 24x7, and that anything less has to be documented and explained to the customer.
Considering many of these consoles end up in the hands of children who generally don't follow the rules on proper CD/DVD handling, a mod chip should be at the top of the list for any parent who doesn't want to re-buy those $80 games everytime the kids step on 'em.
This is a totally legitimate use of a mod chip, and isn't piracy at all!
>But there's no way I can do any of the extra stuff, and that makes me better than Dell.
Exactly. But I was just trying to compare apples to apples there...
People who want a quality, tested machine know they need to pay for it. Other people think they're getting a "deal" from Dell, but methinks they skimp on testing (I had evidence to back that up, actually), and still charge the full price.
You're always better off either building it yourself or getting it from a decent (not crappy) "whitebox" shop...
Slashdot Mirror
>Sorry, if you want credibility with me you'll have to post a message on the current topic that indicates you don't have your head several feet up your ass.
Pretty Bass-Ackwards way of thinking, isn't that?
Normally people looking for proof look to the past, which is impossible to fake perfectly. You, however, would prefer to take the risk of me contacting profesisonals and getting an A+ answer rather than be assured of the truth. How unusual.
As I said, its all right there. Browse it and take a look for yourself.
I just won't play your silly little game.
Oh, and I beat opensourceman at not only posts, but quality too.
As a final say, why don't you come back when you have something rational and intelligent to say?
And its not even english, like the rest of the site. Blech!
>If your car ran over a child and caused injury, you were responsible.
I want to ask a question (which may seem silly to you, but to anyone in North America, it catches them off guard, and is hard to believe).
Is it true, in the UK, that if a car hits a jaywalker that the jaywalker is at fault and that the driver sustains minimal, if any, legal punishments?
If so, did the same style of law apply to horses and buggies or not?
Just wondering...
Sounds good to me.
Who the heck needs the DMCA, CDBPTA, and all that other crap anyways?
Oh, I know -- the lawyers that bottom feed off of it.
>And I guess "shepd" is what it says on your birth certificate
Well, the letters exist on it, not in that pattern, of course.
Not to mention, my history goes back well over 1000 posts.
Yours goes back 0.
That's why people use user accounts, and why A/Cs are always accused of lying.
You can feel free to browse my old posts and see that I often do know what I'm talking about, and see that I often get +5.
You, however, only have a history of getting 0 for all posts, which is to say, only the one I'm replying to, because you could be anyone.
Also, you'll note I use the account shepd on various systems. Give the 'net a search and perhaps you'll find me. Or perhaps not.
See the difference?
[snicker, snicker]
>This block may also save your company the legal trouble of suing for the rights to your work since you in fact created it at work on their machine.
I doubt they'd win if the project included more than a few percent of other GPLed code...
I did a lot of research on this stuff before buying so...
Here's the pricing/policies of all the ones I know (might be inaccurate, $CAN):
You'll see the term FAP a lot when shopping for satellite. It usually defines terms for the satellite provider to slow down / cut off your service whenever they think you're using it too much. Metered accounts don't normally require a FAP, and I find them preferrable.
Well, that's all I can remember from the top of my head.
>the rate for calling a cell phone from a pay phone was 35 american cents for ten minutes (now it's 50 cents for ten minutes).
Wherever you were, you were ripped off!
I pay $0.25/CAN (about $0.13/US) to make a call from a payphone of any length to any local exchange (including cell exchanges).
>I'm not sure what you mean about embedded systems "being able to handle the bloat".
I think you've taken what I meant out of context.
I was trying to say (in fewer words) that java is good for embedded systems that have the ability to be able to run bloated software.
>Hint: embedded systems, in general, have a considerably smaller amount of memory and a considerably slower CPU than a desktop machine.
That's why I said what I said. I see now, though, that I should have made it clearer.
>Java GUIs are pretty crappy (getting better, though), but the actual language itself is plenty fast enough for most purposes.
It sure doesn't beat most languages. It sometimes even lags behind Visual Basic (from what I've seen), which is usually the standard for "slowest code ever". Perhaps its just stupid coders, but the majority of Java code I've seen is this slow. So either Java is slow, or many java programmers are slow (not necessarialy yourself!).
>If you actually knew what you were talking about you'd know that almost all modern software (except in narrow realms, such as graphics-intensive games and scientific computing) is I/O bound, not CPU bound.
I didn't say I knew what I'm talking about (read my post), but while stuff is I/O bound, loading the CPU any more than is necessary is certainly not going to speed things up.
>If you were really all that concerned about speed you wouldn't be using a GUI in the first place.
A GUI isn't going to eat up an appreciable amount of CPU cycles unless your application is constantly redrawing stuff.
My 286 was able to run GeoWorks acceptably well, and my C64 could run GEOS. If a sub 2 Mhz processor can handle a GUI, but today's GUIs and applications require a Ghz processor to run well, it shows that today's GUI applications could use some optimization.
>As for "not having written anything useful", I've been making a substantial portion of my living from writing code for nearly 20 years.
I don't doubt it. Collectively, A/Cs have probably programmed thousands of man hours in any language.
But, without posting with an account, your claims come off us inconsequential. Sorry.
>My question stands, does anyone know of anyone who is doing *jailtime* for trading MP3's?
I knew several people who were busted for running warez BBSes back in the day. Some of them lost their houses. I'd venture a guess that many of them that hadn't the money to pay their way were thrown in a minimum security slammer for a good while.
I don't doubt the punishment would be any less severe today. In fact, a reading of "The Hacker Crackdown" would probably show you that in the past decade, "IP Theft" (in quotes because I don't consider it theft) is now prosecuted with far more vigor and passion than ever before.
Here's some links to whet your appetite. There's many more -- just search for "mp3 jail" or "warez jail" on google.om
486 code runs slower on all other intel processors than 386 code.
586 code won't run (technically) on 486s, which puts people using linux on old machines for fun or for routers out of the picture.
Of course, that doesn't stop Mandrake, which I believe uses 586 code for everything (I could be wrong).
HTH, and I could be wrong.
You misspelt misspell. ;)
>C was originally designed to be a "portable assembler" to ease the pain of porting Unix to multiple architectures.
And Java was designed to run on nothing but set-top boxes and was originally called Oak. It's great for embedded systems that can handle the bloat, or for programs that don't require snappy response. Unfortunately, writing anything speedy or quick with it or pretty much anything else except perhaps a calculator or notepad program lies outside that domain.
J++, on the other hand, has no use anywhere at all, so far as I can see.
This doesn't mean either Java or C are bad at anything at all! Its just a load of ranting from people who haven't programmed anything useful in either language!
Isn't slashdot great for that?
Yes, you are quite correct.
Also of interest is that having parts of your head too large/small can cause you to murder people, as has been proven with other modern information sources such as phrenology.
Might I bring a caliper to your house one day and prove your genius for you?
>Try unplugging other devices (phones, fax, etc) that use that line.
:-) For most of Canada (if you're inside the EIRP map -- if you're out, forget it) you'll have to use a BIG big dish.
:-) Tried that.
Heck, I've tried various modems plugged straight into the demarc jack. Same results, but with the (very) occasional 26.4k connection.
That's what 15 km of copper will do to ya (it was like pulling teeth to get that out of Bell, I'll tell ya).
>Currently I am looking into the price of getting a T1 and sharing/selling it via WiFi to my neighbours to pay for it.
I did that once too, but it turns out too many people (not all, just a lot) in the area think that rural high speed internet should cost exactly the same as urban prices. Some even think that because a co-op service would likely be a bit less reliable, it should be cheaper.
From all my calculations, it worked out to about $80/month CDN (assuming a minimum of 20 customers) to make it break even. That's if they'll run a T1 to where you live. Bell refuses to do it for me, even though I'm a registered business. The only place here with high speed is a local school (covered by the WRDSB, which is just slightly more restrictive of their internet than China [nintendo.com is firewalled]) and that came from 35 km away.
The only company that could make it happen (a wireless internet company) didn't want to bother, which was strange since one would have thought a small company (at the time) would be gung-ho on such ideas.
>What american satellite internet service are you thinking of?
www.nebulink.net (two way and one way, with one way being affordable
Not that the other systems are all that bad (okay, yes, they do suck, but compared to the $100/Gig Bell charges, a pigeon carrier looks like solid gold).
AFAIK (but IANAL), subscribing to US data services is 100% legal, except a silly Canadian law requires you to stop browsing Canadian websites when you're using American service in Canada.
>you only pay to call someone, not to receive a call.
This is a question I asked someone else who said a similar thing once before.
If this is true, why not buy two phone lines at home (in N.A. $40 installation each, $40/month for both) and simply build a device that you can call, that will call you back when you hang up and conference you with the number you want. This way you don't have to pay to use your phone.
Or, better yet, why not just phone the person you want to talk to and say "Call me back now" and hang up?
Both ways in N.A. would accrue no charges (assuming you mostly talk with people in your own city).
I'm guess its because in every other country you have to pay by the minute to call your next door neighbour, whereas here it's free, and we here would rather give up cell phones than give up the privledge of making those 2 hour calls (I once read some stats that Americans talk on the phone more per person than any other country).
Just my guess...
Well, is it free to call next door, or not?
>Yes, only 28.8 is available where I am on this ultra-long phone loop with no ISDN/ADSL/Cable/etc.
You're lucky. I'm stuck with 21.6 (on a good day) that once hung up every few hours (seems to have gone away lately). The worst part is trying to get Bell off their ass to do something.
BTW: Try satellite internet for some extra speed. And look South for your service, it's about 10x cheaper (literally).
>If, on the other hand, one of your loops is serviced by a remote CO, or a different CO all together, or the data has to go through a toll center, then Bell really DOESN'T like that
;-)
Due to Bell's own stupidity (nothing ever really changes) walking North (or is it West? Its been a while since I've checked the calling map...) for about 1/2 hour brings me out of my calling area, but driving for 3/4 of an hour the other way still leaves me in my "local" calling area.
You can guess which side of town the other phone's in.
>However, if there were more people making dedicated connections (versus switched connections) then Bell would lobby for, and would get, changes that would allow them to charge extra to high users.
I totally agree, and I'd be using something other than the phone line if it weren't that Bell (and everyone else, including wireless services) refuses to service my area with anything better. Ho Hum.
>Better hope that one of those 3000 odd downloads wasn't someone grabbing it to stick on their magazines coverdisk...
Speaking of magazines and viruses, I think you'll find it interesting that the first virus ever widely spread on Macs happened to be a veiled advertisement for a computer magazine itself, proving the truth is, in fact, stranger than fiction.
>just like the phone system... ...and just about every shared system, is oversubscribed
I have a residential phone line that stays connected to another local residential phone line 24x7.
>If someone is setting himself up as a terminal, obviously his usage pattern is going to be very irregular for an ordinary family, and it's virtually certain that he's using far more capacity than the connection was intended for. As such, they have every right to shut him off, and kudos to them for doing it
Does Bell therefore have every right to shut me off? I mean, you can't use any more capacity than 100% (actually, its quite a bit less than that, far less than the 99% average Bell guarantees because the lines are so piss poor out here).
If Bell, or Cable COs don't want people using their lines to their full potential, then its Bell's/Cable COs' job to change their service plan. In every other aspect than local service and most Cable internet, this has already happened. Allow me to demonstrate:
- Long distance phone calls eat up lines. Solution: Long distance charges ensure people don't tie up the phone lines unless they are actively using them.
- Cell phone calls use up limited cell bandwidth. Solution: No unlimited weekday-daytime minutes. You get a "reasonable" amount of minutes included with your plan, any overage that they would consider harmful to their servicing of other customers is charged for.
So, its about time the Cable COs followed the lead of so many other successful companies. Do what the (very few) smart Satellite internet service providers did when they ran out of bandwidth: Give everyone a "reasonable" amount of data transfer free with their account (and ensure the exact amount remaining is easy find out), and charge for anything extra. 10 Gigs ought to be far more than enough. Problem solved, crisis averted.
But instead, users who take advantage of the gaping wide hole in the Cable COs sales plans are punished. If anything, I think its about time for a judge to tell the Cable COs unlimited means a 100% saturated line 24x7, and that anything less has to be documented and explained to the customer.
Considering many of these consoles end up in the hands of children who generally don't follow the rules on proper CD/DVD handling, a mod chip should be at the top of the list for any parent who doesn't want to re-buy those $80 games everytime the kids step on 'em.
This is a totally legitimate use of a mod chip, and isn't piracy at all!
So short-sighted, the "anti-piracy" squad can be.
Instead of people just using the Mame-X binaries, now they have to pirate your Xbox-DK instead.
Who wants to bet that people who chip consoles won't feel bad about downloading a warezed copy of the Xbox-DK? I thought so...
>But there's no way I can do any of the extra stuff, and that makes me better than Dell.
Exactly. But I was just trying to compare apples to apples there...
People who want a quality, tested machine know they need to pay for it. Other people think they're getting a "deal" from Dell, but methinks they skimp on testing (I had evidence to back that up, actually), and still charge the full price.
You're always better off either building it yourself or getting it from a decent (not crappy) "whitebox" shop...
TTYL, Glad we agree on this (I hope).
So, if I get a free sample of All in the mail, and decide to buy the "All Clean" non-name rip off instead, I am causing damage to All?
Or what about the Japanese restaurant in my local mall that gives out samples of food? What if I decide to eat Chinese instead?
Uhhh... Wow, I didn't know I've been such a bad ass all along. >:-D