Elton John rededicates his song "Candle in the Wind" to the Galileo space probe, superceding it's dedication to Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana. Early reports suggest the lyrics of the chorus may be modified to say "And it seems to me you lived your life / Like a candle in plasma wind."
I'm sorry, but the NT command intepreter is a sorry excuse for a scripting language. Loops need to be implemented using "goto" (ugh!), error handling is sparse, and string manipulation sucks. That's a few things off the top of my head. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't write scripts for NT. I am saying though that it's like trying to paint a car with a kids paintbrush.
Regarding command queues being third party addons, they shouldn't be! The ability to submit batch jobs through something more stable and useable than "at" is something that any OS that wants to be used for something more than playing games or writing documents should have. The fact that you have to pay extra for something that should have been there in the first place is both annoying, and also means that when I as a developer write something for NT/Win2K/XP, there is no standard I can expect to be there.
So, if you want to get that "old VMS feeling", just fire up a Windows NT or XP machine and type at the command line--it's roughly the same.
Oh, give me a *break*. VMS had a proper scripting language. NT doesn't. VMS came with a proper queue management subsystem, for both batch and print jobs. NT doesn't. VMS had access to system commands from the command line (if you had the appropriate privileges). NT doesn't.
I've got both iControl and HBO On Demand here in Austin. I haven't used TiVo or anything like that, but I do think the set top boxes TW Austin is using need a bit more to go before they're not so frustrating.
Very frequently the browser won't start up when I change to the HBO On Demand or iControl channel, which requires me to reboot the set-top box. No, that's not just turning the cable box on and off, that's getting off my seat and pulling the plug out of the back of the box, waiting for a bit, plugging it back in, and waiting for it to reboot.
Secondly, if you pause a movie or a show, and leave it paused for longer than 20 seconds, it assumes you want to stop the show and save where you are. It takes me longer than 20 seconds to go to my fridge, get a refill of popsicles (my one vice ), and get back to my favourite couch.
Thirdly, there are times when you try and restart a movie you've stopped and saved, and it doesn't resume where you left off. Instead, it starts from the beginning of the movie. Given that a pause while you go and take a piss will often put you in this situation, you're talking about... ANNOYING!
Now, I will say, I do like my iControl and HBO On Demand. I just don't know whether their set-top boxes (or the software they have running on them) are going to be as friendly as the ones currently existing.
Because the library only has a finite amount of copies of the author's book. So if you REALLY want to read the book, and it's not in the library, you go and buy it yourself.
On the other hand, you can make many copies of an electronic book, and many people can read it all at once... without returning it to the library either! Sure, you could do this with a normal book and a photocopier, but it'd be much harder than copying an e-book.
Not to mention, as it's digital, they can keep you from physically recording it to media to watch it on whatever tou want.
That statement deserves some clearing up. I have iControl in Austin, and it's possible to tape what I'm viewing from there, as much as it's possible to tape anything else coming through the set top box. The output is all the same.
About the only reason you may not want to tape what you're viewing using iControl is that to really get the benefit of taping the show, you'd have to forgo pausing or rewinding during the show.
Most of the time it's fine. It does suffer from the same quality problems that all digital content on Time Warner here in Austin does, which is in peak periods (or bad weather, eg extreme cold) you can lose the signal, or get a bit of pixellation happening in areas of the screen where there's alot of action happening. However, that doesn't happen too much - maybe 1% of the time? Unfortunately, a few times that happened in key Bab5 episodes, dammit!
Every so often I've had problems where the iControl software wouldn't launch on the settop box. A phone call to Time Warner has usually revealed problems they're having on their servers.
Incidently, time to clear up a previous post (titled "More ways for them to charge you"). The author stated that as iControl like content is digital content, it's not possible to tape. That's an incorrect statement. It's as tapeable as anything coming from the set top box.
Uhhh, hate to spoil your rant, but guns haven't been banned in Australia. Just certain semiautomatic types. Please explain ([1]) to me how being able to have a semiautomatic weapon as opposed to a regular gun is going to make any difference in the crime rate?
[1] A little private joke that only Australians are going to get
Well, I thought about this some more, and decided I'd share a little more with you on my own insurance research. Standard caveat applies here of course - I'm just a consumer, not an insurance agent:)
I have renters insurance with State Farm. It has lots of nice coverage on all my computer equipment. Being the paranoid person I am, I checked with them to see how extensive the coverage was on my laptop. I take a personal laptop with me to work.
Guess what? If I'd damaged that computer on the way to work, for example, in a car accident, or had dropped it at work.... no coverage! Not even through my car insurance policy!
So - I got an extra policy ($45 per year for $4500 coverage) to cover just my laptop/software I carry around.
Now I can drop that dang thing anywhere, and State Farm will cover it. Hey, I can even send it somewhere UPS Ground and not worry about it. Given it's so old, perhaps I should do that, distinctively mark it Fragile, and start getting the paperwork ready so I can get a new laptop;)
Why and how is a computer program expressive speech?
A computer program is written using a computer language. This language has syntax. You cannot enter random streams of characters or even lexical tokens, as the compiler will reject them with a syntax error. To the compiler then, and the computer, the program you write expresses something - it has meaning. Meaningless phrases are rejected as.... meaningless.
This may be something obvious that everyone other than me knows...
scenario: I shop at x.com, and my credit card info is stored there. x.com gets hacked.
- Does x.com have not notify anyone that their card info has been stolen?
- If so, who? Card issuer? Card holder?
- If the card issuer is told a card number is comprimised, do *they* take any action?... or, is it up to us to notice funny charges?
Mike
Bush: When asked who his idol/hero was, answered 'Jesus'. Is in discrepancy with the bible - has put 145 to death under his rule as Gov. of Texas, yet bible claims thou shalt not kill.
This is a comment on the Biblical exegesis in the above statement. The Bible does not say "thou shalt not kill". That's just unfortunately the most popular English translation of the Hebrew text. A better translation would be "thou shalt not murder". This then makes the Law of Moses not contradict itself, as this law had various forms of punishment for law breaking, one of which included being put to death.
Well, I'm definately on the side of those who are hooked on B5.
The reason this piece of news is good to me is that it means I finally have the opportunity to see the whole storyline, and not be stuck where I am now. I didn't get into B5 till I moved from Australia to the US, and then found one of the downsides of living in America.... the B5 videos commercially available are missing all the middle seasons. At least in Australia I could have bought all the seasons... except, oops, they're PAL and we're NTSC?!?!
*InsertSoundOfHairRippedFromHead*
Can anyone explain to me the logic behind WB having released Season 1, HALF of Season 2, NONE of Season 3, but instead Seasons 4 and 5 on video. I mean.... aghhh!!!! As it is, I have bought every video up to the middle of Season 2, and am now stuck.
Slashdot Mirror
Somewhere else in the universe an alien species is trying to figure out what happened to their Earth Rover.
Elton John rededicates his song "Candle in the Wind" to the Galileo space probe, superceding it's dedication to Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana. Early reports suggest the lyrics of the chorus may be modified to say "And it seems to me you lived your life / Like a candle in plasma wind."
... that should be the Sydney MORNING Herald, not the "Sydney Herald".
I'm sorry, but the NT command intepreter is a sorry excuse for a scripting language. Loops need to be implemented using "goto" (ugh!), error handling is sparse, and string manipulation sucks. That's a few things off the top of my head. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't write scripts for NT. I am saying though that it's like trying to paint a car with a kids paintbrush.
Regarding command queues being third party addons, they shouldn't be! The ability to submit batch jobs through something more stable and useable than "at" is something that any OS that wants to be used for something more than playing games or writing documents should have. The fact that you have to pay extra for something that should have been there in the first place is both annoying, and also means that when I as a developer write something for NT/Win2K/XP, there is no standard I can expect to be there.
Oh, give me a *break*. VMS had a proper scripting language. NT doesn't. VMS came with a proper queue management subsystem, for both batch and print jobs. NT doesn't. VMS had access to system commands from the command line (if you had the appropriate privileges). NT doesn't.
... can you imagine a beowulf cluster of those?
Very frequently the browser won't start up when I change to the HBO On Demand or iControl channel, which requires me to reboot the set-top box. No, that's not just turning the cable box on and off, that's getting off my seat and pulling the plug out of the back of the box, waiting for a bit, plugging it back in, and waiting for it to reboot.
Secondly, if you pause a movie or a show, and leave it paused for longer than 20 seconds, it assumes you want to stop the show and save where you are. It takes me longer than 20 seconds to go to my fridge, get a refill of popsicles (my one vice ), and get back to my favourite couch.
Thirdly, there are times when you try and restart a movie you've stopped and saved, and it doesn't resume where you left off. Instead, it starts from the beginning of the movie. Given that a pause while you go and take a piss will often put you in this situation, you're talking about ... ANNOYING!
Now, I will say, I do like my iControl and HBO On Demand. I just don't know whether their set-top boxes (or the software they have running on them) are going to be as friendly as the ones currently existing.
Because the library only has a finite amount of copies of the author's book. So if you REALLY want to read the book, and it's not in the library, you go and buy it yourself.
... without returning it to the library either! Sure, you could do this with a normal book and a photocopier, but it'd be much harder than copying an e-book.
On the other hand, you can make many copies of an electronic book, and many people can read it all at once
That statement deserves some clearing up. I have iControl in Austin, and it's possible to tape what I'm viewing from there, as much as it's possible to tape anything else coming through the set top box. The output is all the same.
About the only reason you may not want to tape what you're viewing using iControl is that to really get the benefit of taping the show, you'd have to forgo pausing or rewinding during the show.
http://www.timewarneraustin.com/services/icontrol/ default.asp
Most of the time it's fine. It does suffer from the same quality problems that all digital content on Time Warner here in Austin does, which is in peak periods (or bad weather, eg extreme cold) you can lose the signal, or get a bit of pixellation happening in areas of the screen where there's alot of action happening. However, that doesn't happen too much - maybe 1% of the time? Unfortunately, a few times that happened in key Bab5 episodes, dammit!
Every so often I've had problems where the iControl software wouldn't launch on the settop box. A phone call to Time Warner has usually revealed problems they're having on their servers.
Incidently, time to clear up a previous post (titled "More ways for them to charge you"). The author stated that as iControl like content is digital content, it's not possible to tape. That's an incorrect statement. It's as tapeable as anything coming from the set top box.
Uhhh, hate to spoil your rant, but guns haven't been banned in Australia. Just certain semiautomatic types. Please explain ([1]) to me how being able to have a semiautomatic weapon as opposed to a regular gun is going to make any difference in the crime rate?
[1] A little private joke that only Australians are going to get
That may not be true. Many cars today come with the theft deterrant system built into the car. You don't get to have the car without it.
A pyro's dream come true ;-)
Well, I thought about this some more, and decided I'd share a little more with you on my own insurance research. Standard caveat applies here of course - I'm just a consumer, not an insurance agent :)
.... no coverage! Not even through my car insurance policy!
;)
I have renters insurance with State Farm. It has lots of nice coverage on all my computer equipment. Being the paranoid person I am, I checked with them to see how extensive the coverage was on my laptop. I take a personal laptop with me to work.
Guess what? If I'd damaged that computer on the way to work, for example, in a car accident, or had dropped it at work
So - I got an extra policy ($45 per year for $4500 coverage) to cover just my laptop/software I carry around.
Now I can drop that dang thing anywhere, and State Farm will cover it. Hey, I can even send it somewhere UPS Ground and not worry about it. Given it's so old, perhaps I should do that, distinctively mark it Fragile, and start getting the paperwork ready so I can get a new laptop
Mike
Does your house or renters insurance have any provision to cover moving related problems.
A computer program is written using a computer language. This language has syntax. You cannot enter random streams of characters or even lexical tokens, as the compiler will reject them with a syntax error. To the compiler then, and the computer, the program you write expresses something - it has meaning. Meaningless phrases are rejected as .... meaningless.
Isn't that just like speech?
Whoops - by x.com I meant any generic e-tailer. Didn't even bother checking what x.com literally was.
Mike
This may be something obvious that everyone other than me knows... scenario: I shop at x.com, and my credit card info is stored there. x.com gets hacked. - Does x.com have not notify anyone that their card info has been stolen? - If so, who? Card issuer? Card holder? - If the card issuer is told a card number is comprimised, do *they* take any action? ... or, is it up to us to notice funny charges?
Mike
Bush: When asked who his idol/hero was, answered 'Jesus'. Is in discrepancy with the bible - has put 145 to death under his rule as Gov. of Texas, yet bible claims thou shalt not kill.
This is a comment on the Biblical exegesis in the above statement. The Bible does not say "thou shalt not kill". That's just unfortunately the most popular English translation of the Hebrew text. A better translation would be "thou shalt not murder". This then makes the Law of Moses not contradict itself, as this law had various forms of punishment for law breaking, one of which included being put to death.
Well, I'm definately on the side of those who are hooked on B5.
.... the B5 videos commercially available are missing all the middle seasons. At least in Australia I could have bought all the seasons ... except, oops, they're PAL and we're NTSC?!?!
.... aghhh!!!! As it is, I have bought every video up to the middle of Season 2, and am now stuck.
The reason this piece of news is good to me is that it means I finally have the opportunity to see the whole storyline, and not be stuck where I am now. I didn't get into B5 till I moved from Australia to the US, and then found one of the downsides of living in America
*InsertSoundOfHairRippedFromHead*
Can anyone explain to me the logic behind WB having released Season 1, HALF of Season 2, NONE of Season 3, but instead Seasons 4 and 5 on video. I mean
So - roll on September 25!