The "Palladium" Digital Restrictions Management scheme will have *nothing* to do with preventing viruses, worms, and especially not spyware, adware or any other corporate-sponsored malware. No, this is for Don Jack Valenti (who seems to be on the verge of abdicating for his "made man" Billy Tauzin) and whoever's running the RIAA this week. The authors of spyware and adware are certainly able to afford the super-spiffy certificate to allow it to run. And most people who will be running Longhorn will probably let someone's self-signed pseudo-certificate slide too, so the writers of the Longhorn-era Melissas and I Love Yous and SoBigs will have nothing to fear.
What "Palladium" *will* do is prevent you from all the little nasty things that the BSA, RIAA and MPAA want to bust you for. Like "stealing" music (the RIAA could give you a master class in how to steal music, they've been doing it to musicians since the Jazz era) and swapping fansubs and warez and whatever other digital contraband people pass each other. "Palladium" will also probably make matters difficult for legit file swapping and legit home-production of music/movies. Yes, it does exist.
"Palladium" will probably also make it harder to do backups and restores of your data, too. You might have to vet a restore of your data by a Microsoft nanny before they let you have access to it again. Who the hell knows what else.
But don't be confused: this is not for you. Microsoft cares not a whit about end users unless they are Fortune 500 corporations.
Considering how much improvement has been going on with Linux on the desktop, and even MS apologists will have to admit that we've gone way beyond the days of fwvm. KDE and GNOME are both very, very usable and are being continuously improved. Maybe when Longhorn finally arrives it will basically be irrelevant. One can only hope.
I dropped my PB145 a few times in its lifetime, and it still was fine. I wound up having to relinquish the thing to one of my co-workers on this magazine project I was involved with, but it was in working order when I passed it on.
IBM laptops are designed for a six month life cycle. After that, the execs who pay big bucks for them are supposed to pass them on to juniors and get themselves a new laptop. The passed on laptop happily fails within a month or two, leaving the junior owner in a tight spot. Ruggedized. HAH!
Perhaps you speak of the newer IBM Thinkpads that were basically designed and built in Taiwan by Acer. However, the Thinkpads that were IBM-designed and built in IBM-owned facilities *are* that tough.
I just plunked down three bills to get myself an off-lease 600E. The thing is *built*. The finish is completely coated in a rubberized coating so that even french-fry fingers won't slip. It seems to be made with a metal frame and plastic shell over the metal. Even though the thing only weighs 5 pounds, it feels very, very solid. (Yeah, I know there are much lighter lappies out there but this is the lightest one I have ever owned.)
Oh yeah...this is the only IBM Thinkpad that Big Blue took the trouble to get Linux certified. Here's a link to an old/. article about it.. The big gripe in the article was about how everything but the modem worked. Guess what: IBM did write and release Linux drivers for the MWave modem in this model! It took them a while, but they are out there now.
You can get 600Es cheap at Computer Geeks and at other places that sell off-lease Thinkpads...I suspect the reason why they are all over the place now is because they were popular around the apex of the Dot-bomb boom, and now there's a glut because so many of the folks who were carrying those around are now baristas at Starbucks. ^_^
Oh yeah, to pull this back on topic: the only thing built tougher than a Thinkpad is a PowerBook. Ph33r the mighty Wallstreet/Lombard/Pismo...those are tough mofos. Same with the iToiletSeat iMacs...those were designed with K-12 students in mind, just like the legendary eMate NewtonOS device. Even the old 100-series PowerBooks are tough as nails. And everyone I know with an Ice iBook has stories of how durable their iBook is.
They're in the good ole USA too. Portland, OR. I've gotten books that normally sell for $100 there for $20. You don't get the CD-ROM and stuff like that but I have found that all but one of my profs don't even teach anything out of the ancillary materials.
This Thinkpad has a little, bitty, tasteful logo on the lower right corner. Nothing to offend. Actually I would have loved it if my new refurbed TP600E had a huge blue IBM logo on the top...I kinda like the symbolism of having a nice, big, badass (even though they are from 1999 they still kick ass) IBM Thinkpad running Linux. I guess the sticker I'm going to have made up with Calvin whizzing on the SCO logo will have to suffice. Suck on that, Darl Vader!
Then again, the glowing white Apple on my dual-boot MacOS/Yellow Dog Linux-running PowerBook G3 Series (aka Wallstreet II, Wallstreet PDQ) is only part of the Shock and Awe factor that still exists with this machine. Whip that puppy out, start it up, and that beautiful 14.1" TFT is enough to make you weep it's so gorgeous. The pic doesn't do it justice but here it is:
Yeah, both of these machines are older machines. Both of them cannot go beyond 288MB RAM. (256MB on the PB, although some have gotten rare 256MB SO-DIMMS to work on it bringing the RAM up to 512MB...and the 256MB SO-DIMMS you need are hard to get) But I still love them. The Thinkpad was bought last week for the lordly sum of $320. Gotta love off-lease purchases...
In colleges it's called Scantron and I think it would be a damn good idea. Initially I was very enthusiastic about the touchscreen voting but now that all this weirdness has come out about Diebold I think that perhaps the KISS principle needs to be followed here.
A Scantron or Scantron-like system would work, it's proven technology that's been around for almost as long as I have been (I'll be 40 in November) and there would be an easily followed paper trail if there is a question of voting irregularities.
I must admit, seeing the Windows "hourglass" cursor when I placed my vote the first time I used one of those Diebold touchscreen thingies also gave me pause. Windows should be nowhere near anything requiring real security.
I kinda prefer murder/suicide bombers, myself. Everyone knows the concept of a murder/suicide. The term "Homicide Bomber" is just a propaganda phrase that means absolutely nothing.
OK, she isn't a supermodel. But like the postcard from The Body Shop I have up on my refrigerator says, neither are all but 8 women on Planet Earth.
She's not fat nor is she skinny. She's neither breathtakingly beautiful nor hideously ugly. She's just an ordinary looking woman. The article makes a big deal that Linus is also a very ordinary looking guy.
I really don't see why this makes any difference whatsoever with anything having to do with Linux.:P
No, it was Digital Equipment Corp. Windows NT is based on VMS. Digital was bought by Compaq which was in turn bought by HP. David Cutler, the chief architect of VMS, was hired by Microsoft to help develop NT.
Senator Palpatine IS Darth Sidious. Don't you get it? I saw that immediately in Episode 1. Compare a Darth Sidious figurine with an Emperor Palpatine figurine with a Senator Palpatine figurine. All the same face. All the same person. The Phantom Menace, Senator Palpatine is, as Yoda would put it.
It will be Senator/Emperor Palpatine who finishes Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's training. Since there can only be two Sith, a Master and an Apprentice, Darth Maul had to die. However, at the end of Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, both Sith die. And thus the Balance of the Force is re-righted.
Stupid Lucas and his lack of leet writing skillz. This all was telegraphed way back from Episode 1.
BTW the Clone Wars shorts kick ass. I saw the first one at Comic-Con this year.
Today I was at the Reseda Computer Show and someone was selling old SGI boxen. These were the Intel boxes SGI was selling with Windows NT a few years ago. They're not so great looking...black and not entirely unlike a typical black tower case. I didn't even check on what the used computer dealer was selling them for, but I suspect he got them at fire sale prices. RIP SGI.
Yes, and Napster will continue to be a footnote in the history of online music while iTunes for Windows takes Napster, BuyMusic and everything else out behind the woodshed for a good whuppin'. You heard it here first. ^_^
I think you get it. You got Eva and FLCL. Now add the humor of Otaku no Video and you understand why I think they could handle the task of doing an animated HHG2G movie.
They'd just have to make sure nobody had a nervous breakdown in the process. And make sure someone looked after the budget so that there would be enough money to finish it. The more I think about Gainax doing Hitchhikers, the more I like it. No, it's not just because I am currently under the influence of a flu and too much College homework.
Besides...think of Trillian...with the patented Gainax bounce. Think the Daicon Rabbit Girl. Think some very happy young male fans. I knew you could. ^_^
And before that, Campbell was in the even greater horror-comedy classic Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn. And in the first Evil Dead movie too, but that just didn't have the same panache. Evil Dead II is one of my all time favorite movies. It's surreal, you will laugh your ass off, the horror/suspense angle is very weak but I don't think that was the point of the movie. If you thought Ash was kewl in Army Of Darkness, you have to see this.
That $0.12 is way better than what the artist gets usually for every CD sold which is usually Jack and shit. And Jack just left town. I'd rather see the balance flipped to where the artist gets $0.30 per song and the record label only gets $0.12, but this is progress nonetheless.
Wrong! Albums are priced at $9.99 for the whole thing. And once you burn your precious iTunes to CD, there is no Digital Restrictions Management in your way. I know that it's more expensive than that Russian site people keep talking about but how likely is it that the artists actually get any money from it? As the iTunes agreement stands, the actual artists get more from iTunes than from your standard recording industry contract.
I think that iTunes has struck the right balance between keeping the RIAA happy and keeping consumers happy. And the proof in the pudding is that iTunes is an undisputed success. There will be a tsunami unleashed when the Windows version comes out. That is, unless MusicMatch has beaten them to the punch with a similarly rational setup with minimal DRM.
I still think that a proper HHG2G movie should have been an animated one. Imagine a Pixar HHG2G? That would seriously rock. Then again they seem to have a pretty busy schedue right now.
I still think that 2D drawn animation is pretty cool too...I wonder how a prestigious Japanese studio like Gainax would handle a HHG2G movie? They'd certainly make Trillian nice and bouncy for all the fanboys...^_^
Seriously, there is so much in the book and in the radio show that really would lend itself well to animation. With animation, you would be able to make everything and everyone as outrageous as you want to without bumping the budget up too high. CGI+Live Action is often more expensive than animation.
Now THIS is the l33t version of the Guide...If HHG2G is available in Palm Reader format, you are golden.
Sony Clie PEG-UX50.
Yeah, it's a really, really expensive PDA. But it's definitely an impressive one. God, I hate Sony. They belong to both the MPAA and RIAA, yet they still crank out uber-l33t electronic products.
However, you might not feel comfortable about writing "DON'T PANIC" on the cover. After spending $700 on something like this, you might get really paranoid about anything that would deface it.
One of the most hideous by-products of the use of ProTools is the ubiquity of Autotune, which is a ProTools plugin. There are standalone Autotune outboard processors now, but mostly it's used in ProTools. You know that weird vocoded sound you hear on Cher's vocals on that hideous song "Believe" and the weird vocoded sound you hear on Madonna's hideous song "American Life" ? Basically that's Autotune being used at its most extreme settings.
It is used more insidiously and subtlely to make sure vocal intonation on a recording is dead-on perfect. It allows people who have sucky pitch sense to sing exactly, 100% locked-on, on key. It also adds a certain identifiable artificialness to the vocal track...it's like vartvart talking about something that "sounds digital." I know exactly what he's talking about...I don't care what anyone says, you CAN hear the difference between warm analog recording and cold, sterile digital recording. And Autotuning vocals only adds to the effect.
The thing that pushed me over the edge in my violent hatred of Autotune is a commercial using Roy Orbison's vocals on "You Got It," his last hit before tragically passing away. Some jerk with Protools, Ableton Live and Autotune remixed the song, and AUTOTUNED THE SHIT OUT OF ROY ORBISON'S VOCALS. All the quirks and flaws and waveriness that are part of the charm of an Orbison vocal track had been processed away. It literally made me nauseous.
Autotune is pure evil in bit form. Here's the URL for Antares' Autotune page... http://www.antarestech.com/products/auto-tune3.htm l . Sorry I didn't make the link clickable, I am a bit pressed for time and wanted to make my comment.
Nobody's done an Autotune Sucks page but I might just get pissed off enough to do it. Process THIS, Antares...:P
I don't think he's talking about G3 or G4 here. G5 is the one with the heavy duty FPU circuitry. The IBM version of the Velocity Engine is not as good as Mot's, but considering all the other advantages of G5 nobody with a PowerMac G5 is going to miss much. When a native version of MacOS X 64-bit comes out, watch out.
I encoded both.MP3s and.OGGs here, using Sound Forge as the ripper/encoder. The.OGGs are smaller and sound better. Sound Forge has a genuine Fraunhoefer codec so don't tell me it's not the cruddy codec. Oh yeah, don't tell me to use F/OSS stuff for the job because I tried everything for the purpose that installs default on Mandrake 9.1 and I couldn't get satisfactory results.
Such a bummer Sonic Foundry got bought out by Sony.:P
Slashdot Mirror
The "Palladium" Digital Restrictions Management scheme will have *nothing* to do with preventing viruses, worms, and especially not spyware, adware or any other corporate-sponsored malware. No, this is for Don Jack Valenti (who seems to be on the verge of abdicating for his "made man" Billy Tauzin) and whoever's running the RIAA this week. The authors of spyware and adware are certainly able to afford the super-spiffy certificate to allow it to run. And most people who will be running Longhorn will probably let someone's self-signed pseudo-certificate slide too, so the writers of the Longhorn-era Melissas and I Love Yous and SoBigs will have nothing to fear.
What "Palladium" *will* do is prevent you from all the little nasty things that the BSA, RIAA and MPAA want to bust you for. Like "stealing" music (the RIAA could give you a master class in how to steal music, they've been doing it to musicians since the Jazz era) and swapping fansubs and warez and whatever other digital contraband people pass each other. "Palladium" will also probably make matters difficult for legit file swapping and legit home-production of music/movies. Yes, it does exist.
"Palladium" will probably also make it harder to do backups and restores of your data, too. You might have to vet a restore of your data by a Microsoft nanny before they let you have access to it again. Who the hell knows what else.
But don't be confused: this is not for you. Microsoft cares not a whit about end users unless they are Fortune 500 corporations.
Considering how much improvement has been going on with Linux on the desktop, and even MS apologists will have to admit that we've gone way beyond the days of fwvm. KDE and GNOME are both very, very usable and are being continuously improved. Maybe when Longhorn finally arrives it will basically be irrelevant. One can only hope.
I dropped my PB145 a few times in its lifetime, and it still was fine. I wound up having to relinquish the thing to one of my co-workers on this magazine project I was involved with, but it was in working order when I passed it on.
Perhaps you speak of the newer IBM Thinkpads that were basically designed and built in Taiwan by Acer. However, the Thinkpads that were IBM-designed and built in IBM-owned facilities *are* that tough.
I just plunked down three bills to get myself an off-lease 600E. The thing is *built*. The finish is completely coated in a rubberized coating so that even french-fry fingers won't slip. It seems to be made with a metal frame and plastic shell over the metal. Even though the thing only weighs 5 pounds, it feels very, very solid. (Yeah, I know there are much lighter lappies out there but this is the lightest one I have ever owned.)
Oh yeah...this is the only IBM Thinkpad that Big Blue took the trouble to get Linux certified. Here's a link to an old /. article about it.. The big gripe in the article was about how everything but the modem worked. Guess what: IBM did write and release Linux drivers for the MWave modem in this model! It took them a while, but they are out there now.
You can get 600Es cheap at Computer Geeks and at other places that sell off-lease Thinkpads...I suspect the reason why they are all over the place now is because they were popular around the apex of the Dot-bomb boom, and now there's a glut because so many of the folks who were carrying those around are now baristas at Starbucks. ^_^
Oh yeah, to pull this back on topic: the only thing built tougher than a Thinkpad is a PowerBook. Ph33r the mighty Wallstreet/Lombard/Pismo...those are tough mofos. Same with the iToiletSeat iMacs...those were designed with K-12 students in mind, just like the legendary eMate NewtonOS device. Even the old 100-series PowerBooks are tough as nails. And everyone I know with an Ice iBook has stories of how durable their iBook is.
They're in the good ole USA too. Portland, OR. I've gotten books that normally sell for $100 there for $20. You don't get the CD-ROM and stuff like that but I have found that all but one of my profs don't even teach anything out of the ancillary materials.
Ooh yeah, Apple is taking all the legal download sites out behind the woodshed. It's over. We have a winner.
Ph34r indeed.
This Thinkpad has a little, bitty, tasteful logo on the lower right corner. Nothing to offend. Actually I would have loved it if my new refurbed TP600E had a huge blue IBM logo on the top...I kinda like the symbolism of having a nice, big, badass (even though they are from 1999 they still kick ass) IBM Thinkpad running Linux. I guess the sticker I'm going to have made up with Calvin whizzing on the SCO logo will have to suffice. Suck on that, Darl Vader!
Then again, the glowing white Apple on my dual-boot MacOS/Yellow Dog Linux-running PowerBook G3 Series (aka Wallstreet II, Wallstreet PDQ) is only part of the Shock and Awe factor that still exists with this machine. Whip that puppy out, start it up, and that beautiful 14.1" TFT is enough to make you weep it's so gorgeous. The pic doesn't do it justice but here it is:
http://homepage.mac.com/techedgeezine/images/walls treet_14inch_shark.jpg
Yeah, both of these machines are older machines. Both of them cannot go beyond 288MB RAM. (256MB on the PB, although some have gotten rare 256MB SO-DIMMS to work on it bringing the RAM up to 512MB...and the 256MB SO-DIMMS you need are hard to get) But I still love them. The Thinkpad was bought last week for the lordly sum of $320. Gotta love off-lease purchases...
And damn straight, both run Linux.
In colleges it's called Scantron and I think it would be a damn good idea. Initially I was very enthusiastic about the touchscreen voting but now that all this weirdness has come out about Diebold I think that perhaps the KISS principle needs to be followed here.
A Scantron or Scantron-like system would work, it's proven technology that's been around for almost as long as I have been (I'll be 40 in November) and there would be an easily followed paper trail if there is a question of voting irregularities.
I must admit, seeing the Windows "hourglass" cursor when I placed my vote the first time I used one of those Diebold touchscreen thingies also gave me pause. Windows should be nowhere near anything requiring real security.
As far as I know, the letters came first and then "Windows New Technology" was the "backronym" as you put it. It was an inside joke.
I kinda prefer murder/suicide bombers, myself. Everyone knows the concept of a murder/suicide. The term "Homicide Bomber" is just a propaganda phrase that means absolutely nothing.
(Sorry to post off-topic but I had to pipe up.)
OK, she isn't a supermodel. But like the postcard from The Body Shop I have up on my refrigerator says, neither are all but 8 women on Planet Earth.
:P
She's not fat nor is she skinny. She's neither breathtakingly beautiful nor hideously ugly. She's just an ordinary looking woman. The article makes a big deal that Linus is also a very ordinary looking guy.
I really don't see why this makes any difference whatsoever with anything having to do with Linux.
No, it was Digital Equipment Corp. Windows NT is based on VMS. Digital was bought by Compaq which was in turn bought by HP. David Cutler, the chief architect of VMS, was hired by Microsoft to help develop NT.
BTW, WNT is to VMS what IBM is to HAL.
Mr. DeMartino? Is that you?
It will be Senator/Emperor Palpatine who finishes Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's training. Since there can only be two Sith, a Master and an Apprentice, Darth Maul had to die. However, at the end of Episode 6: Return of the Jedi, both Sith die. And thus the Balance of the Force is re-righted.
Stupid Lucas and his lack of leet writing skillz. This all was telegraphed way back from Episode 1.
BTW the Clone Wars shorts kick ass. I saw the first one at Comic-Con this year.
Today I was at the Reseda Computer Show and someone was selling old SGI boxen. These were the Intel boxes SGI was selling with Windows NT a few years ago. They're not so great looking...black and not entirely unlike a typical black tower case. I didn't even check on what the used computer dealer was selling them for, but I suspect he got them at fire sale prices. RIP SGI.
Yes, and Napster will continue to be a footnote in the history of online music while iTunes for Windows takes Napster, BuyMusic and everything else out behind the woodshed for a good whuppin'. You heard it here first. ^_^
I think you get it. You got Eva and FLCL. Now add the humor of Otaku no Video and you understand why I think they could handle the task of doing an animated HHG2G movie.
They'd just have to make sure nobody had a nervous breakdown in the process. And make sure someone looked after the budget so that there would be enough money to finish it. The more I think about Gainax doing Hitchhikers, the more I like it. No, it's not just because I am currently under the influence of a flu and too much College homework.
Besides...think of Trillian...with the patented Gainax bounce. Think the Daicon Rabbit Girl. Think some very happy young male fans. I knew you could. ^_^
And before that, Campbell was in the even greater horror-comedy classic Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn. And in the first Evil Dead movie too, but that just didn't have the same panache. Evil Dead II is one of my all time favorite movies. It's surreal, you will laugh your ass off, the horror/suspense angle is very weak but I don't think that was the point of the movie. If you thought Ash was kewl in Army Of Darkness, you have to see this.
That $0.12 is way better than what the artist gets usually for every CD sold which is usually Jack and shit. And Jack just left town. I'd rather see the balance flipped to where the artist gets $0.30 per song and the record label only gets $0.12, but this is progress nonetheless.
I think that iTunes has struck the right balance between keeping the RIAA happy and keeping consumers happy. And the proof in the pudding is that iTunes is an undisputed success. There will be a tsunami unleashed when the Windows version comes out. That is, unless MusicMatch has beaten them to the punch with a similarly rational setup with minimal DRM.
I still think that a proper HHG2G movie should have been an animated one. Imagine a Pixar HHG2G? That would seriously rock. Then again they seem to have a pretty busy schedue right now.
I still think that 2D drawn animation is pretty cool too...I wonder how a prestigious Japanese studio like Gainax would handle a HHG2G movie? They'd certainly make Trillian nice and bouncy for all the fanboys...^_^
Seriously, there is so much in the book and in the radio show that really would lend itself well to animation. With animation, you would be able to make everything and everyone as outrageous as you want to without bumping the budget up too high. CGI+Live Action is often more expensive than animation.
Yeah, it's a really, really expensive PDA. But it's definitely an impressive one. God, I hate Sony. They belong to both the MPAA and RIAA, yet they still crank out uber-l33t electronic products.
However, you might not feel comfortable about writing "DON'T PANIC" on the cover. After spending $700 on something like this, you might get really paranoid about anything that would deface it.
People like me who live in earthquake-prone areas turn their computers off when not in use. Much safer for the hard drive.
One of the most hideous by-products of the use of ProTools is the ubiquity of Autotune, which is a ProTools plugin. There are standalone Autotune outboard processors now, but mostly it's used in ProTools. You know that weird vocoded sound you hear on Cher's vocals on that hideous song "Believe" and the weird vocoded sound you hear on Madonna's hideous song "American Life" ? Basically that's Autotune being used at its most extreme settings.
m l . Sorry I didn't make the link clickable, I am a bit pressed for time and wanted to make my comment.
:P
It is used more insidiously and subtlely to make sure vocal intonation on a recording is dead-on perfect. It allows people who have sucky pitch sense to sing exactly, 100% locked-on, on key. It also adds a certain identifiable artificialness to the vocal track...it's like vartvart talking about something that "sounds digital." I know exactly what he's talking about...I don't care what anyone says, you CAN hear the difference between warm analog recording and cold, sterile digital recording. And Autotuning vocals only adds to the effect.
The thing that pushed me over the edge in my violent hatred of Autotune is a commercial using Roy Orbison's vocals on "You Got It," his last hit before tragically passing away. Some jerk with Protools, Ableton Live and Autotune remixed the song, and AUTOTUNED THE SHIT OUT OF ROY ORBISON'S VOCALS. All the quirks and flaws and waveriness that are part of the charm of an Orbison vocal track had been processed away. It literally made me nauseous.
Autotune is pure evil in bit form. Here's the URL for Antares' Autotune page... http://www.antarestech.com/products/auto-tune3.ht
Nobody's done an Autotune Sucks page but I might just get pissed off enough to do it. Process THIS, Antares...
I don't think he's talking about G3 or G4 here. G5 is the one with the heavy duty FPU circuitry. The IBM version of the Velocity Engine is not as good as Mot's, but considering all the other advantages of G5 nobody with a PowerMac G5 is going to miss much. When a native version of MacOS X 64-bit comes out, watch out.
Richie Hass downloads
I encoded both .MP3s and .OGGs here, using Sound Forge as the ripper/encoder. The .OGGs are smaller and sound better. Sound Forge has a genuine Fraunhoefer codec so don't tell me it's not the cruddy codec. Oh yeah, don't tell me to use F/OSS stuff for the job because I tried everything for the purpose that installs default on Mandrake 9.1 and I couldn't get satisfactory results.
Such a bummer Sonic Foundry got bought out by Sony. :P