A truly revolutionary advance is made in the field of materials science and, on the web's premiere technological forum, all we've got are tired political rants that, for the most part, don't even make sense.
I clicked on the "Read More" button to see applications the tech-wiz crowd could imagine for the strongest fiber yet known, and all I get is why communism was stupid and 50 posts on whether or not food aid is a good idea.
In case anyone's interested, the Terminator Strip has a feature that will show or hide the strip when the mouse pointer is moved to any of the four desktop corners. Works great for me, as I love my desktop area and can't stand that little collapse nub.
Well, buddy, I don't know about you, but I ain't so selfless as to let myself die just so's I kin be in accordance with your "cultural heat-death" hypothesis. Why?
1) Replenishment of brain cells might do something to reverse or otherwise alter the tendency of folks to get more and more set in their ways and opinions as they age--it may invalidate the "old dog/new tricks" axiom.
2) In a lot of cases, social failures have come about through folks' failure to keep their history in mind and act accordingly, not the other way around.
3) Until someone credible tells me different, I'm going by the 'death-is-permanent-and-absolute-with-no-continuin g-existence-of-any-kind' idea, and acting accordingly. Combine that with the fact that I'm the selfish bastard posited by the 'laws' of economics, I'm damned well going to live as long as I find tolerable.
However, I'm open-minded enough to accept the beliefs of others, so, if you want to get out of the way for others, I won't stop you in the swift and efficient execution of your "solemn duty."
After a few quick, off-the-cuff calculations, it looks to me like these services can be offered at very reasonable prices, and Winfirst could see a sizable profit in 3 years. I don't claim these figures are accurate, so anyone who knows better, please chime in.
Revenues:
1. The cost of a working installation is $2000, which means that with current capital of $450,000,000, 225,000 homes can be wired. Figure in extra expenses, screw-ups, etc., and that number might drop to 200,000.
2. People are currently willing to pay around $30/month for cable access. Additional channels/features made possible with fiber might bring this up to $40.
3. The current average cost for a phone line and local service is around $25/month.
4. I don't know for sure, but $20/month seems reasonable for an average long distance bill.
5. It can be assumed that fiber internet service is going to be _fast_. $50/month seems reasonable, and would be the best deal in town by far.
Total = $135/month = $1,620/year
200,000 users @ $1,620/year = $324,000,000
2 years = $648,000,000, which is $198,000,000 before expenses.
Expenses:
1. Cable service (basic programming) might cost anywhere between $100-200 per user per year.
2. Local telephone service might cost anywhere between $125-150, including taxes.
3. Long distance would be about half profit. ($120).
4. Running the ISP (help here, folks!) ~$50-100?
Net Revenues after 2 years at the low expense estimates are $40,000,000, and $285,000,000 after 3 years. At the high level, they're -$30,000,000 and $180,000,000, respectively. At the high end of expenses, it still amounts to a 40% return on investment after 3 years.
Of course, this assumes that everyone being wired opts for the service, and that everyone opts for the full slate of products. I don't know how many 'dead pipes' Winfirst will install (@ $1,000 apiece), or how many people will opt for only the broadband service. But it could work, especially if the services are an improvement over their current counterparts.
Look. The only legal protection for "confidential" information that does not include copyrighted material and/or trade secrets is the word "confidential" in the document, i.e., there isn't any. One can be charged with hacking into a computer or stealing papers to get the information, but not for publishing them if, say, they fall on the ground. Once it's out of the bag, tough luck for the company. It's @Home's responsibility to protect their own information. This is just a sour-grapes shaft job, pure and simple.
I think you're right. Sure, the record execs are clueless, etc., but they did have professionals designing the process of watermarking. This was just too easy. Must be a red herring. Maybe they got the idea from the passage of that new German law taxing computers and CD-R's. After all the hoopla with Napster, it'd be a piece of cake to convince Congress that everyone is a pirate.
Generally speaking, people will not hire people who are smarter than they are. If they did, people might question why the dumb one is in charge. Carry this on for a few generations, and the company gets dumber and dumber.
Unfortunately, it's really simple, and, although it's not exactly scientific, it should be enough to convince you.
I worked at [major publisher] and helped put together and distribute The Green Mile. I think we wound up putting out about 3,000,000 of each episode. Beyond the novelty (and press coverage) of bringing back the serial novel, the reason the experiment was carried out was simple--money.
The novel was about the same size as his others, which at the time sold for $7.50. At $2.99 per episode, the same material would bring $17.94. When the popularity of the series was established, the price for the final episode was raised to $3.99.
What this demonstrated to me was; 1) People *love* Stephen King, and are willing to be overcharged and to be subjected to a 6-month wait for the conclusion of the story, if that's the only way they can get it; 2) If there were another way they could get it (theft of advance copies of the unpublished episodes got so bad they had to be kept in a locked room), they would do so; 3) It was only the enforced scarcity of the material that made the overcharging and delay possible.
Upshot: as supply approaches infinity, the amount people are willing to pay approaches zero. Without some enforcement mechanism, digital publishing will not work, and will never become popular, at least with popular authors who want to make money.
I suggest authors release the first chapter gratis (or musicians release a single gratis), and set a predetermined number of dollar/$.50/etc. payments before the rest of the work is posted, without restrictions.
This ignorant boob could not find a match for 'nickle' in either the American Heritage Dictionary or the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, although the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary did define your "appropriate variant spelling" as Nic"kle (?), n. (Zoöl.) The European woodpecker, or yaffle; -- called also nicker pecker.
I, however, was referring to the American five-cent piece, named for one of the metals it contains, which is spelled 'n-i-c-k-e-l.' Perhaps I missed something. Perhaps pompous people are particular in posts pertaining to their peckers. Many apologies.
Find a business in your area that uses DHL, and have them send it for you. Pay them the $$ and be done with it. You may have to demonstrate to the people sending it for you that there's nothing in the shipment that will get them in trouble, but it's got to be easier than dealing with all the other b.s.
Totally agreed. Reminds me of that television commercial where the cowboys are trying to herd cats. Probably most of the motivation behind geekdom itself comes from a rejection of the status quo. Geeks are the _worst_ suited people to working within the system.
Re:Is this the suit/geek showdown?
on
Lawsuits Suck
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· Score: 1
Do they really think that we can't see how the crappy old world works? I thought the whole raison d'etre for geekdom was a retirement from the real world - I certainly have no desire to get sucked into the suits world!
Then bend over whenever they feel like it, because they have the power. There are two sources of power in this world: guns and, where they're strong enough, laws. Not operating systems, faster processors, better kernels, wearable tech, or any of that jive. Generals and suits might make better guns or more strictly enforce laws with tech., but it ain't nothing by itself.
In the U.S., you've either got to have either a lot of money or other people behind you, and geeks don't have enough now. Other people affect you; that's how a democracy works. Bow out of the whole power discourse, and they'll eat your lunch. Get used to it.
Oh, and for all the talk about geeks with money, practically all of them who get _real_ money join the corps and their lawyers. Can anyone tell me of a tech billionaire who isn't?
How in the world would the gov't. find out who was downloading and distributing how many copies of which works? IOW, how do they determine how much each artist should get paid? If this question were ever raised as a policy question, it would generate endless lawsuits, debate and recrimination. Obviously, there is no intent whatever to give any significant piece of it to the artists.
IANAGL (German), but, if the artists retain any right to their work which entitles them to royalties, a very strong case could be made that the tax is discriminatory and should be shelved. I don't think the corporations will be able to just blithely pocket the money and slither away.
The easiest way around this is to run a filter on your mail account. It would be really easy to say that it got tossed out with all of the other spam. "Well, your honor, it looked just like all the other junk."
I'm pretty sure redshift describes the effect that an object's motion has on light (or any em radiation) emitted or reflecting off it, relative to an observer. Redshift applies to objects moving away from the observer, effectively lengthening the space between the em waves and decreasing the perceived frequency, which in the visible spectrum translates as "more red." I suppose a sufficiently massive object could have the same effect, but I have never seen it described that way. Might be why we don't have any "blue dwarf" stars.
Good point. Thanks for bringing that up. China has a government that is repressive of truth and business. Aside from potential investors, I can't see any reason why a non-Chinese would visit a Mandarin site in the first place, let alone feel compelled to learn the language to do so.
Re:God is for those that cannot believe in themsel
on
TigerCloning
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· Score: 1
Reminds me of a Sinfest comic from a few weeks ago. Slick calls up to the heavens, and says to God, "You're just a crutch," to which God replies, "Yeah, but you're lame."
Not that I agree with the implied belief, but it was funny.
Except that veins, arteries, etc. would still be visible. Unless the person aiming the laser had really good aim and never fired more laser than there was ink for, you could wind up with some interesting injuries.
Yes, OSX will have a CLI, although there are reports that it will be 'hidden' somehow from average users. Everything I've read about it says it will be fully functional and accessible to anyone with half a clue.
I get it, all right. I don't think *you* do. What Contentville is doing is making the information less free, by putting them in its proprietary database and subjecting all of us to their terms of use. In addition, they will probably attempt to limit others' access to that same data, because it's in their database.
I don't care who reads/uses/quotes my thesis. I don't mind that it's out there on the web, for all to see, so long as it isn't modified and carries my name and copyright information on it (it's my work, after all). What bugs me is that C-ville is using my intellectual property to drive banner sales without my permission and without giving me a cut. As I said above, I don't care whether I make money from it or not, but I damn well do resent their doing so. Add to this the question of their restricting others' access to it, and I'm starting to think 'class-action lawsuit.'
Sometimes slashdotters really miss the point. "GPL it!" Like that's the answer for everything. Academic writing is not like coding; it's more like composing music. Even with all the discussions here about music, nobody ever seriously suggested GPL-ing Metallica songs because the very idea is absurd. The same is true for academic papers.
The value of previously-published work in academia is for authors to quote salient points and then move forward with their own. There is enough chaff already in academic literature without people repeating one another.
The point here is that Contentville is making money without permission from other people's work, and that is wrong. For the sake of argument, that's more than the napsterites are doing.
People would be willing to switch as long as a decent player exists that is willing to play both formats. He didn't say (unless I missed something) that the mp3 licence had been denied to OggVorbis, so there's no reason for them not to include compatibility with both.
It wouild also get people to make head-to-head comparisons on their own, and possibly help accelerate switchover to OV.
Slashdot Mirror
A truly revolutionary advance is made in the field of materials science and, on the web's premiere technological forum, all we've got are tired political rants that, for the most part, don't even make sense.
I clicked on the "Read More" button to see applications the tech-wiz crowd could imagine for the strongest fiber yet known, and all I get is why communism was stupid and 50 posts on whether or not food aid is a good idea.
Even the forums at Salon aren't this bad.
In case anyone's interested, the Terminator Strip has a feature that will show or hide the strip when the mouse pointer is moved to any of the four desktop corners. Works great for me, as I love my desktop area and can't stand that little collapse nub.
1) Replenishment of brain cells might do something to reverse or otherwise alter the tendency of folks to get more and more set in their ways and opinions as they age--it may invalidate the "old dog/new tricks" axiom.
2) In a lot of cases, social failures have come about through folks' failure to keep their history in mind and act accordingly, not the other way around. 3) Until someone credible tells me different, I'm going by the 'death-is-permanent-and-absolute-with-no-continuin g-existence-of-any-kind' idea, and acting accordingly. Combine that with the fact that I'm the selfish bastard posited by the 'laws' of economics, I'm damned well going to live as long as I find tolerable.
However, I'm open-minded enough to accept the beliefs of others, so, if you want to get out of the way for others, I won't stop you in the swift and efficient execution of your "solemn duty."
Perhaps you've heard of a man named Michael Dell. Then again, perhaps not.
Revenues:
1. The cost of a working installation is $2000, which means that with current capital of $450,000,000, 225,000 homes can be wired. Figure in extra expenses, screw-ups, etc., and that number might drop to 200,000.
2. People are currently willing to pay around $30/month for cable access. Additional channels/features made possible with fiber might bring this up to $40.
3. The current average cost for a phone line and local service is around $25/month.
4. I don't know for sure, but $20/month seems reasonable for an average long distance bill.
5. It can be assumed that fiber internet service is going to be _fast_. $50/month seems reasonable, and would be the best deal in town by far.
Total = $135/month = $1,620/year
200,000 users @ $1,620/year = $324,000,000
2 years = $648,000,000, which is $198,000,000 before expenses.
Expenses:
1. Cable service (basic programming) might cost anywhere between $100-200 per user per year.
2. Local telephone service might cost anywhere between $125-150, including taxes.
3. Long distance would be about half profit. ($120).
4. Running the ISP (help here, folks!) ~$50-100?
Net Revenues after 2 years at the low expense estimates are $40,000,000, and $285,000,000 after 3 years. At the high level, they're -$30,000,000 and $180,000,000, respectively. At the high end of expenses, it still amounts to a 40% return on investment after 3 years.
Of course, this assumes that everyone being wired opts for the service, and that everyone opts for the full slate of products. I don't know how many 'dead pipes' Winfirst will install (@ $1,000 apiece), or how many people will opt for only the broadband service. But it could work, especially if the services are an improvement over their current counterparts.
Look. The only legal protection for "confidential" information that does not include copyrighted material and/or trade secrets is the word "confidential" in the document, i.e., there isn't any. One can be charged with hacking into a computer or stealing papers to get the information, but not for publishing them if, say, they fall on the ground. Once it's out of the bag, tough luck for the company. It's @Home's responsibility to protect their own information. This is just a sour-grapes shaft job, pure and simple.
The novel was about the same size as his others, which at the time sold for $7.50. At $2.99 per episode, the same material would bring $17.94. When the popularity of the series was established, the price for the final episode was raised to $3.99.
What this demonstrated to me was; 1) People *love* Stephen King, and are willing to be overcharged and to be subjected to a 6-month wait for the conclusion of the story, if that's the only way they can get it; 2) If there were another way they could get it (theft of advance copies of the unpublished episodes got so bad they had to be kept in a locked room), they would do so; 3) It was only the enforced scarcity of the material that made the overcharging and delay possible.
Upshot: as supply approaches infinity, the amount people are willing to pay approaches zero. Without some enforcement mechanism, digital publishing will not work, and will never become popular, at least with popular authors who want to make money.
I suggest authors release the first chapter gratis (or musicians release a single gratis), and set a predetermined number of dollar/$.50/etc. payments before the rest of the work is posted, without restrictions.
I, however, was referring to the American five-cent piece, named for one of the metals it contains, which is spelled 'n-i-c-k-e-l.' Perhaps I missed something. Perhaps pompous people are particular in posts pertaining to their peckers. Many apologies.
Find a business in your area that uses DHL, and have them send it for you. Pay them the $$ and be done with it. You may have to demonstrate to the people sending it for you that there's nothing in the shipment that will get them in trouble, but it's got to be easier than dealing with all the other b.s.
Then bend over whenever they feel like it, because they have the power. There are two sources of power in this world: guns and, where they're strong enough, laws. Not operating systems, faster processors, better kernels, wearable tech, or any of that jive. Generals and suits might make better guns or more strictly enforce laws with tech., but it ain't nothing by itself.
In the U.S., you've either got to have either a lot of money or other people behind you, and geeks don't have enough now. Other people affect you; that's how a democracy works. Bow out of the whole power discourse, and they'll eat your lunch. Get used to it.
Oh, and for all the talk about geeks with money, practically all of them who get _real_ money join the corps and their lawyers. Can anyone tell me of a tech billionaire who isn't?
IANAGL (German), but, if the artists retain any right to their work which entitles them to royalties, a very strong case could be made that the tax is discriminatory and should be shelved. I don't think the corporations will be able to just blithely pocket the money and slither away.
Not that I agree with the implied belief, but it was funny.
I don't care who reads/uses/quotes my thesis. I don't mind that it's out there on the web, for all to see, so long as it isn't modified and carries my name and copyright information on it (it's my work, after all). What bugs me is that C-ville is using my intellectual property to drive banner sales without my permission and without giving me a cut. As I said above, I don't care whether I make money from it or not, but I damn well do resent their doing so. Add to this the question of their restricting others' access to it, and I'm starting to think 'class-action lawsuit.'
The value of previously-published work in academia is for authors to quote salient points and then move forward with their own. There is enough chaff already in academic literature without people repeating one another.
The point here is that Contentville is making money without permission from other people's work, and that is wrong. For the sake of argument, that's more than the napsterites are doing.
It wouild also get people to make head-to-head comparisons on their own, and possibly help accelerate switchover to OV.