I just have to say it: THANKS MPLAYER PEOPLE. I have no idea who you are etc. but I am very, very grateful for the work you have done. mplayer is my mediaplayer of choice on linux. It simply rocks. I've tried xine and aviplay but I've always returned to mplayer. It's simply the best there is right now.
What do you expect of a school system that indoctrinates (sp) kids from an early age to serve the country? Just take the pledge of allegiance - it is brainwashing of the children, nothing less.
Citing cost as an issue is the most idiotic argument I've read. No offense. The things cost $1-$2 NOW, but are going to be produced on a massive scale soon. As for readers - sure they cost that now, but if someone decided they need 200,000 readers to spy on people, then surely the cost per unit will drop dramatically.
Remember: Tiny wireless video (spy) cameras used to be for secret services only, now there are stores at some street corners where you can pick the stuff up.
I *KNOW* what the real motivation is. It doesn't change the fact that the tags can be abused. And who says they're easily located on the clothes? Remember at least some companies want to use rfid id's for internal (anti-theft) tracking.
It may be intended for just inventory purposes - but unless the rfid tags are disabled or removed on sale, it IS possible to abuse the benign benefit of inventory control to track a person's movement in close quarters (say... embed sensors in the floor of an airport).
By the way, since rfids respond to a frequency range, is there such a thing as an rfid scanner available that will just try out the entire spectrum and look for hits? (kind of like a port scanner I figure).
That's what I do, sort of. Every now and then I unplug my linux hd's and set a Windoze up on a small left over HD (16gb or so) until I satisfy my gaming needs. However, the situation is less than ideal. Even dualbooting is too much hassle. The perfect world has native linux games. Doesn't have to be everything, but Loki used to have a good mix.
Just because something is unrealistic doesn't mean I can't complain about it. If everybody just accepts MS as the gaming platform, you might as well give up and buy an xbox.
Unfortunately, the US is applying as much pressure as they can - helped by crummy Europpean corporations and lobbyists - that we change our privacy laws to something less usable.
So where am I way off for the uses of this?;) You get everything that the internet has to offer for those $30, from business use to entertainment. $30 is so little when you pay for a business- or first-class ticket, and for long trips that cost $500 - $1000 or so even in economy class, it's really not a big deal either.
And a lot of people ARE working during their trips. Maybe this is not for you (I wouldn't, either, unless it's really urgent), but there are a lot of people who do work during their journey, and I am sure many more would if they had network and power for their notebooks (batteries only last that long.)
Nothing. EVERYONE on those flights were potential customers of those phones, and hardly anyone used them (mostly because everyone knows how prohibitively expensive they are, and there is usually nothing so urgent that it can't wait till you get on the ground).
I agree with you on the phones - they are way too expensive, and there usually isn't anything too urgent to call home about. The novelty wears off quickly ("Look ma I am flying right now!"). Add the noise level, and I certainly never had any urge to use an in-flight phone.
Now, how many of those passengers are potential customers of the Wi-Fi system? Those with laptops. That is, a very small subset of the passengers.
Wrong. Lufthansa, at least, will borrow out notebooks to those who do not own one on a first come, first serve basis.
How many of those would pay for this Wi-Fi service? I'd venture, "not very many." Thus, it is not worth it and will be a money-loser.
That's your basic assumption, yet you do not support it, so far. You just go on about "this won't happen, this won't happen" based on your flawd comparison with inflight telephones.
Maybe not, but the price sure will. For 30 bucks, my trivial little email to you can wait till I hit the ground.
Ah, but guess what, you're not only getting "one trivial little email" for those $30. You are getting X hours of entertainment, news, communication, etc. This is idiotic if you have a domestic flight from, say, Hamburg to Munich (like how long does that take, an hour and a half?), but I certainly would appreciate being connected on those intercontinental flights. Also note that Lufthansa (according to my information) plans to offer power outlets for notebooks. That alone should be worth something to notebook owners on long trips. Note also that we're talking about business class and first class for now... if you pay a thousand bucks or more for a ticket, $30 is peanuts.
$30 buys you how much in-flight telephone conversation, five minutes?
we now believe that it will work this time, for an even more exclusive service (i.e., you need to have a laptop)?
As I said, this isn't true at least for Lufthansa. Yes of course the number of notebooks on board will be limited, but the entire thing really is for business class travelers for now.
But even ignoring that, notebooks are THE growth industry for PC hardware right now. Last time I took a train from Frankfurt to Hamburg, I counted no less than six passengers with notebooks in my car (not including me). On my flight to Tokyo, there was at least a dozen notebooks within sight (and this was economy class). So, I claim that the market segment "notebook owners" isn't very small at all.
Speaking as an occassional business traveler myself, those flights are a short-term haven; a chance to relax for a couple of hours inbetween hectic meetings. A chance to get some friggin' rest - not an opportunity to try and cram even more work into my 16-hour day.
Good for you. Some people see this differently.
... assuming they have laptops and more money than brains. A $5 magazine will "entertain" me just as well for a couple of hours.
I have yet to find a magazine that is interesting and keeps me occupied for more than an hour or so.
...that costs mucho-$$$ to set up, and that again, will only be accessible to those passengers with laptops. How many of those peoplewould actually bother visiting such an in-flight trash-shop?
It isn't going to cost much more than those in flight magazines which they sell stuff with. And nobody I know ever buys from that. Sure, it's an initial investment, but why not? I am not saying that is the way to go, I am just using it as an example for additional possibilities.
Then you're clearly not very familiar with how these businesses work. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Right, and never see any improvement in the world.
What the airlines have now for pre-/in-/ and post-flight procedures is working fine.
Ah, well, our flight crews have started using notebooks anyway if I recall correctly. We also have a policy that every employee should get an email address. That's including the guys who vacuum the planes or make lunch in the company cafeteria. It's just such a great tool to communicate. So the flight attendants use part of their resting time to catch up on mail etc. What's wrong with that? If email is not an effective means of communications - despite spam and all - then why do people use it? Now you are not only arguing that inflight internet and notebooks not only will not generate revenue, but makes no sense whatsoever as a tool for employees. What rock have you been living under the past ten years?
Why would they change it, just to take advantage of some new tech that doesn't add any more value? Will using this system "for work purposes" save them any money? Think like a CFO.
Our execs seem to think so.;)
"Will using this system allow me to eliminate any staff?" That's the sad but true rationale for adopting new tech like this.
You'd make a lousy CFO. Why eleminate staff if you can make your staff work more efficently? Laying off staff is not the cure-all solution.
Look, I think your assumptions are basically flawed. First of all, I am certain this will make money in the long run, and the clever financial people of various airlines seem to agree with me on this - every venture has a risk, but they wouldn't try it if they didn't believe it was a good idea, economically. It may even be expected within less than five years by passengers. Also note that while it is a loss-leader right now - Lufthansa even supplies additional staff whose job it is to help passengers with their notebooks etc - I think it's a wonderful idea not only in the battle for market share, but also to GET PEOPLE TO FLY AGAIN. We're still quite a bit behind pre 2001 levels. Tourism is a problem industry right now, and in my eyes giving people back the "wow travelling is cool" feeling is paramount in the motivation of any airline.
Why not? Give one argument why it is not a good idea. The noise won't hinder you from typing emails, and the cost is reasonable (I think Lufthansa wants to charge something like $30 flat for a one-way trip). It is an EXTREMELY attractive feature for business travellers, who will be able to actually use those flights for productive work, and it also has good entertainment value for those people who are not gonna work. Add in maybe some sort of in-flight portal with information and a shop system, the possibilities are endless. I am also sure the crew itself will use this (for work purposes), so making money off of it may be an added benefit.
That said of course there is always the chance that it will not be accepted by the majority of passengers, but I think you can hardly compare it to in-flight telephones.
(disclaimer, I work for a major airline right now, but am not involved in this topic. Ohyeah and my views are my own bla bla etc)
Wifi vs. Cable: It's nopt like you're going to move around a lot in the plane with your notebook anyway... of course there IS a difference, no cable is a tad more convenient, but on long flight you'll have to plug your notebook in anyway (power!).
Wifi vs. Phone: I imagine that if nothing else, Wifi is a "known factor" that can be taken into account and compensated for. Also, the different wavelengths may have something to do with it. I am not an expert on the issue, but I have the utmost confidence in the people who do make these decisions. It's much better to err on the side of caution...
(disclaimer, I work for a major airline right now, this is my own opinion only)
The difference, naturally, is that Apple does not go to the lows that Microsoft will go - maybe because they are not a monopoly and thus can't; but I am sure this is the guy's point anyway.
Plus, Mac OS X is actually an OS that works pretty well, compared to the stuff MS dares to sell.
For a game, using a registered (and verified during sign-up!) email address might be sufficient. For more serious issues, yes, photo-id should be required in my book. And handing out existing passwords is even worse than resetting a password, because many people re-use their passwords on other systems, or have some sort of system for their password choice, which could be guessed at by obtaining a sample.
Never reset/give out passwords without 100% proof of identity. That said, this is really a non-news item, except maybe as a footnote in entertainment history. There has been trade of "virtual property" (which really isn't different from other types of data/accounts), and this is just really plain old fraud.
I couldn't agree more. Slashdot's really taking a dive when it comes to quality. I mean I am used to spelling mistakes and whatnot, and I could even see a decent UFO story here, but this kind of obvious nonsense and drivel? Maybe this is part of/.'s campaign to sell advertisement, but seriously, it's making me want to go away and pretend to never have been here.:-\
Slashdot Mirror
Was there ever a doubt that this was the motivation behind globalization?
The differnece, of course, being that you can always easily block and disable cookies.
I just have to say it: THANKS MPLAYER PEOPLE. I have no idea who you are etc. but I am very, very grateful for the work you have done. mplayer is my mediaplayer of choice on linux. It simply rocks. I've tried xine and aviplay but I've always returned to mplayer. It's simply the best there is right now.
So, thank you.
What do you expect of a school system that indoctrinates (sp) kids from an early age to serve the country? Just take the pledge of allegiance - it is brainwashing of the children, nothing less.
Citing cost as an issue is the most idiotic argument I've read. No offense. The things cost $1-$2 NOW, but are going to be produced on a massive scale soon. As for readers - sure they cost that now, but if someone decided they need 200,000 readers to spy on people, then surely the cost per unit will drop dramatically.
Remember: Tiny wireless video (spy) cameras used to be for secret services only, now there are stores at some street corners where you can pick the stuff up.
I *KNOW* what the real motivation is. It doesn't change the fact that the tags can be abused. And who says they're easily located on the clothes? Remember at least some companies want to use rfid id's for internal (anti-theft) tracking.
It may be intended for just inventory purposes - but unless the rfid tags are disabled or removed on sale, it IS possible to abuse the benign benefit of inventory control to track a person's movement in close quarters (say... embed sensors in the floor of an airport).
By the way, since rfids respond to a frequency range, is there such a thing as an rfid scanner available that will just try out the entire spectrum and look for hits? (kind of like a port scanner I figure).
That's what I do, sort of. Every now and then I unplug my linux hd's and set a Windoze up on a small left over HD (16gb or so) until I satisfy my gaming needs. However, the situation is less than ideal. Even dualbooting is too much hassle. The perfect world has native linux games. Doesn't have to be everything, but Loki used to have a good mix.
Just because something is unrealistic doesn't mean I can't complain about it. If everybody just accepts MS as the gaming platform, you might as well give up and buy an xbox.
I knew that, however, I do want my native games... :-/
But like MOO3, it doesn't run on linux. Or did this change?
*sigh*
Unfortunately, the US is applying as much pressure as they can - helped by crummy Europpean corporations and lobbyists - that we change our privacy laws to something less usable.
*sigh*
TANJ.
Why, is updating id3 tags manually not acceptable all of a sudden or something?
Finally, World Domination is within our reach! :)
We should have /. itnerviews with idsa and bsa... if we filter out the flames, that may be interesting.
In my beginning unix days: cp /vmlinuz /dev/hdb1 /dev/hdb1 was a fat partition. Nuff said.
So where am I way off for the uses of this? ;) You get everything that the internet has to offer for those $30, from business use to entertainment. $30 is so little when you pay for a business- or first-class ticket, and for long trips that cost $500 - $1000 or so even in economy class, it's really not a big deal either.
And a lot of people ARE working during their trips. Maybe this is not for you (I wouldn't, either, unless it's really urgent), but there are a lot of people who do work during their journey, and I am sure many more would if they had network and power for their notebooks (batteries only last that long.)
I agree with you on the phones - they are way too expensive, and there usually isn't anything too urgent to call home about. The novelty wears off quickly ("Look ma I am flying right now!"). Add the noise level, and I certainly never had any urge to use an in-flight phone.
Now, how many of those passengers are potential customers of the Wi-Fi system? Those with laptops. That is, a very small subset of the passengers.
Wrong. Lufthansa, at least, will borrow out notebooks to those who do not own one on a first come, first serve basis.
How many of those would pay for this Wi-Fi service? I'd venture, "not very many." Thus, it is not worth it and will be a money-loser.
That's your basic assumption, yet you do not support it, so far. You just go on about "this won't happen, this won't happen" based on your flawd comparison with inflight telephones.
Maybe not, but the price sure will. For 30 bucks, my trivial little email to you can wait till I hit the ground.
Ah, but guess what, you're not only getting "one trivial little email" for those $30. You are getting X hours of entertainment, news, communication, etc. This is idiotic if you have a domestic flight from, say, Hamburg to Munich (like how long does that take, an hour and a half?), but I certainly would appreciate being connected on those intercontinental flights. Also note that Lufthansa (according to my information) plans to offer power outlets for notebooks. That alone should be worth something to notebook owners on long trips. Note also that we're talking about business class and first class for now... if you pay a thousand bucks or more for a ticket, $30 is peanuts.
$30 buys you how much in-flight telephone conversation, five minutes?
we now believe that it will work this time, for an even more exclusive service (i.e., you need to have a laptop)?
As I said, this isn't true at least for Lufthansa. Yes of course the number of notebooks on board will be limited, but the entire thing really is for business class travelers for now.
But even ignoring that, notebooks are THE growth industry for PC hardware right now. Last time I took a train from Frankfurt to Hamburg, I counted no less than six passengers with notebooks in my car (not including me). On my flight to Tokyo, there was at least a dozen notebooks within sight (and this was economy class). So, I claim that the market segment "notebook owners" isn't very small at all.
Speaking as an occassional business traveler myself, those flights are a short-term haven; a chance to relax for a couple of hours inbetween hectic meetings. A chance to get some friggin' rest - not an opportunity to try and cram even more work into my 16-hour day.
Good for you. Some people see this differently.
I have yet to find a magazine that is interesting and keeps me occupied for more than an hour or so.
It isn't going to cost much more than those in flight magazines which they sell stuff with. And nobody I know ever buys from that. Sure, it's an initial investment, but why not? I am not saying that is the way to go, I am just using it as an example for additional possibilities.
Then you're clearly not very familiar with how these businesses work. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Right, and never see any improvement in the world.
What the airlines have now for pre-/in-/ and post-flight procedures is working fine.
Ah, well, our flight crews have started using notebooks anyway if I recall correctly. We also have a policy that every employee should get an email address. That's including the guys who vacuum the planes or make lunch in the company cafeteria. It's just such a great tool to communicate. So the flight attendants use part of their resting time to catch up on mail etc. What's wrong with that? If email is not an effective means of communications - despite spam and all - then why do people use it? Now you are not only arguing that inflight internet and notebooks not only will not generate revenue, but makes no sense whatsoever as a tool for employees. What rock have you been living under the past ten years?
Why would they change it, just to take advantage of some new tech that doesn't add any more value? Will using this system "for work purposes" save them any money? Think like a CFO.
Our execs seem to think so. ;)
"Will using this system allow me to eliminate any staff?" That's the sad but true rationale for adopting new tech like this.
You'd make a lousy CFO. Why eleminate staff if you can make your staff work more efficently? Laying off staff is not the cure-all solution.
Look, I think your assumptions are basically flawed. First of all, I am certain this will make money in the long run, and the clever financial people of various airlines seem to agree with me on this - every venture has a risk, but they wouldn't try it if they didn't believe it was a good idea, economically. It may even be expected within less than five years by passengers. Also note that while it is a loss-leader right now - Lufthansa even supplies additional staff whose job it is to help passengers with their notebooks etc - I think it's a wonderful idea not only in the battle for market share, but also to GET PEOPLE TO FLY AGAIN. We're still quite a bit behind pre 2001 levels. Tourism is a problem industry right now, and in my eyes giving people back the "wow travelling is cool" feeling is paramount in the motivation of any airline.
Why not?
Give one argument why it is not a good idea. The noise won't hinder you from typing emails, and the cost is reasonable (I think Lufthansa wants to charge something like $30 flat for a one-way trip). It is an EXTREMELY attractive feature for business travellers, who will be able to actually use those flights for productive work, and it also has good entertainment value for those people who are not gonna work. Add in maybe some sort of in-flight portal with information and a shop system, the possibilities are endless. I am also sure the crew itself will use this (for work purposes), so making money off of it may be an added benefit.
That said of course there is always the chance that it will not be accepted by the majority of passengers, but I think you can hardly compare it to in-flight telephones.
(disclaimer, I work for a major airline right now, but am not involved in this topic. Ohyeah and my views are my own bla bla etc)
Wifi vs. Cable: It's nopt like you're going to move around a lot in the plane with your notebook anyway... of course there IS a difference, no cable is a tad more convenient, but on long flight you'll have to plug your notebook in anyway (power!).
Wifi vs. Phone: I imagine that if nothing else, Wifi is a "known factor" that can be taken into account and compensated for. Also, the different wavelengths may have something to do with it. I am not an expert on the issue, but I have the utmost confidence in the people who do make these decisions. It's much better to err on the side of caution...
(disclaimer, I work for a major airline right now, this is my own opinion only)
The difference, naturally, is that Apple does not go to the lows that Microsoft will go - maybe because they are not a monopoly and thus can't; but I am sure this is the guy's point anyway.
Plus, Mac OS X is actually an OS that works pretty well, compared to the stuff MS dares to sell.
Luckily, a non-issue for most geeks. ;-)
For a game, using a registered (and verified during sign-up!) email address might be sufficient. For more serious issues, yes, photo-id should be required in my book. And handing out existing passwords is even worse than resetting a password, because many people re-use their passwords on other systems, or have some sort of system for their password choice, which could be guessed at by obtaining a sample.
Never reset/give out passwords without 100% proof of identity. That said, this is really a non-news item, except maybe as a footnote in entertainment history. There has been trade of "virtual property" (which really isn't different from other types of data/accounts), and this is just really plain old fraud.
I couldn't agree more. Slashdot's really taking a dive when it comes to quality. I mean I am used to spelling mistakes and whatnot, and I could even see a decent UFO story here, but this kind of obvious nonsense and drivel? Maybe this is part of /.'s campaign to sell advertisement, but seriously, it's making me want to go away and pretend to never have been here. :-\
Wouldn't Blinkenlights be prior art?