You are probably right. I "cut the cord" over year ago and knocked my monthly entertainment bill down to $70 from $150. It was a tough at first. I've been a cable subscriber for over 20 years, always automatically subscribing to the service every time I moved without even thinking about the money. Once I considered the cost to the number of channels I actually watched ratio, it just didn't make any financial sense. So I decided to try cord cutting (a misnomer really). I also installed an antenna outdoors to get the local channels. I did miss a few channels at first, but it didn't take long to ween myself off. If I can't watch a particular show or can't get a particular channel, then it's not the that big of a deal. The media company just won't have me as a source of advertising dollars. Their loss, not mine.
And if what you say comes true with streaming services, then so be it. I'll just find other things to do. The big thing for me has been certain sports but I even found that I can live without that and just check the score and watch the highlights from a website. You ask why bother cutting cable; I ask why bother getting it in the first place.
Actually, see here. Also, amateur radio bands exist in almost all parts of the spectrum from HF up to UHF but taken collectively it doesn't amount to much when compared to the whole spectrum.
One standard amateur VHF transceiver, one frequency doubling circuit, one reasonably high gain antenna. And possibly some satellite tracking software. All easily available.
Packet radio isn't as popular as it was in the '80s and early '90s, when the PC made it an affordable mode to operate. Today, the PC soundcard provides a cheap DSP with which to implement all sorts of digital modes without the need for a TNC; PSK31 is one of the most popular ones. But packet is used for the Automatic Position Reporting System, or APRS. I run an APRS IGATE, which is an RF to internet gateway. A quich search of APRS will yield a lot of info.
Yeah, right. Microsoft is a true innovater as well. They invented the point and click GUI, the desktop paradigm, they were early adopters of the internet, invented the web, hell, they invented the GODDAMN COMPUTER INDUSTRY!! ALL HAIL THE INNOVATIONS FROM MICROSOFT!! Where would we be without them?????
I program video conferencing set top boxes conforming to ITU H.324, H.323, and H.320 standards. We developed our own OS; the whole binary image fits in under 1 Meg of memory (Flash). Now I know most of the Slashdot readers are IT types and if you go this route, it's highly probable that you'll end up in a government or Fortune 500 job where you maintain "the net". But if you want a fun job, I suggest getting one where you not only develop the software but also the hardware - where everything is done from the ground up. I promise you - you'll never be bored.
Well said. I'm an embedded system programmer and our (video conferencing) set top and desk top products are based on the Motorola 68302. It's essentially a 68K with a RISC communications processor wrapped around it which supports HDLC, SDLC, BRI-ISDN, async, and some transparent modes. It's been in production for many years. If motorola decided to pull the plug on that, it would make mine, and my co-worker's lives, pure hell. Imagine all the re-engineering that would have to be done!!
So I can empathize with these companies that are going to have to begin to re-think their designs. But at least, as another poster pointed out, AMD gave a years notice to its customers and didn't just yank the plug suddenly.
Re:I dove in, and found the pool empty.
on
Netscape 6.1
·
· Score: 1
I might try Mozilla again.
I highly recomend you do. I had the same feelings until I tried 0.9.2 (browser only). I used it at work (Win98) and home (Linux). It ran quite well; Java, Flash, and Real plugins work good, too. I upgraded both machines yesterday to 0.9.3 and even started using Mozilla mail here at home. I just finished getting rid of Netscape 4.7x.
I'm not saying it's bug free or, as some argue, bloated on features (I don't mind it), but it's worth another try.
sorry for that, but ASN.1 is old and not supported in the real world anymore so much
Actually, as previously mentioned, ASN is used in LDAP. Also it is used in the H.245 layer of H.324 (video conferencing over POTS networks) and H.323 (video conferencing over LANs). It is easily implemented as a recursive parser.
Introduce killer standards every few years. Isn't that one of the reasons why Microchannel was killed?
No, the reason why Microchannel died was simply because IBM kept it closed. If any PC maker wanted to make a Microchannel machine, they would have to license the technology from IBM. So, let's see, ISA is free, MCA is not. Should we pay IBM to manufacture MCA boxes? Naahh...stick with ISA.
It was too bad, really. MCA could've been what PCI is today. It was a helluva lot better than ISA.
Your asking a lot. Hmmm. My parents bought me and my brother a Pong set top from Sears around 1977 or 1978 (?). I'm guessing it was around US$60 or so. Too long ago so I'm probably way off.
Ok, your post piqued my interest so I went onto Forbes site and there isn't anything on Slashdot recently. But, last Feb. they did have an article on, interestingly enough, the Slashdot Effect. It's kind of an amusing read. The article your talking about probably hasn't been posted on the site yet.
Reliance on expensive, proprietary Realtime OSes prevents many small companies from entering the real-time world...
I work for one now. In the beginning (circa 4 years ago) we considered several real time OS solutions but, as you point out, they were quite expensive. So in the end we avoided them all by essentially writing our own. Nothing fancy but it works. (Two tasks always running, a resolution-adjustable real time task and an interuptable background task to handle the user's needs.) Unfortunately this announcement is much too late for our product (but I'll keep in mind for any new products we develop;)
But, why would they? If you really want to run MS software try Win4Lin. A friend of mine installed it last night and said that it's a lot faster than VMWare. I haven't tried it myself but I've been considering it just so I can run IE for those times when I run across pages that crash Netscape 4.7x. (Usually Java-ized pages do it.) Yes it's not free, but for US$35, it ain't bad.
What frosts me are the sites that ASSUME that because you're not running Windows, you can't do Flash, and deny access.
Actually, for me at least, that's a good thing. Since I'm stuck in the stone age (dial-up, 56K access) downloading a flash page takes too ridiculously long. Give me the text any day.
Slowly aging and ebbing further away, more and
more insignificant as time goes on.
The last I heard our Sun should enter the Red Giant stage toward the end of its life when most of the hydrogen is burned up. Can't remember exactly how big it will expand to, but it will be enough to swallow the Earth and incinerate it. We'll definately go out with a bang. What you're describing is the stage following this (white dwarf?)
Perhaps a desperate attempt from the MPAA? As an amateur radio hobbyist (KE4QKT) I can only say that the FCC seems to be concerned with emissions compliance and bandwidth allocation. This doesn't fall anywhere near those categories.
But browsing the FCC's major initiatives page shows that the FCC does handle issues not necessarily related to communication equipment (telecommunication mergers, for example.)
I particularly found the blurb on the "What We're All About" handbook interesting:
What We're All About: a Consumer's Guide to the FCC. We're about communications! Whether you are listening to the radio, watching TV, talking on the phone, using your pager - you're involved in communications. We, at the Federal Communications Commission, are working to make sure that the nation's communications systems are operating in your best interest.
Slashdot Mirror
You are probably right. I "cut the cord" over year ago and knocked my monthly entertainment bill down to $70 from $150. It was a tough at first. I've been a cable subscriber for over 20 years, always automatically subscribing to the service every time I moved without even thinking about the money. Once I considered the cost to the number of channels I actually watched ratio, it just didn't make any financial sense. So I decided to try cord cutting (a misnomer really). I also installed an antenna outdoors to get the local channels. I did miss a few channels at first, but it didn't take long to ween myself off. If I can't watch a particular show or can't get a particular channel, then it's not the that big of a deal. The media company just won't have me as a source of advertising dollars. Their loss, not mine.
And if what you say comes true with streaming services, then so be it. I'll just find other things to do. The big thing for me has been certain sports but I even found that I can live without that and just check the score and watch the highlights from a website. You ask why bother cutting cable; I ask why bother getting it in the first place.
Actually, see here. Also, amateur radio bands exist in almost all parts of the spectrum from HF up to UHF but taken collectively it doesn't amount to much when compared to the whole spectrum.
One standard amateur VHF transceiver, one frequency doubling circuit, one reasonably high gain antenna. And possibly some satellite tracking software. All easily available.
Packet radio isn't as popular as it was in the '80s and early '90s, when the PC made it an affordable mode to operate. Today, the PC soundcard provides a cheap DSP with which to implement all sorts of digital modes without the need for a TNC; PSK31 is one of the most popular ones. But packet is used for the Automatic Position Reporting System, or APRS. I run an APRS IGATE, which is an RF to internet gateway. A quich search of APRS will yield a lot of info.
Windows XP is THE best desktop on the planet!
Yeah, right. Microsoft is a true innovater as well. They invented the point and click GUI, the desktop paradigm, they were early adopters of the internet, invented the web, hell, they invented the GODDAMN COMPUTER INDUSTRY!! ALL HAIL THE INNOVATIONS FROM MICROSOFT!! Where would we be without them?????
6. You don't have to worry about spyware.
I think that covers it.
I program video conferencing set top boxes conforming to ITU H.324, H.323, and H.320 standards. We developed our own OS; the whole binary image fits in under 1 Meg of memory (Flash). Now I know most of the Slashdot readers are IT types and if you go this route, it's highly probable that you'll end up in a government or Fortune 500 job where you maintain "the net". But if you want a fun job, I suggest getting one where you not only develop the software but also the hardware - where everything is done from the ground up. I promise you - you'll never be bored.
Well said. I'm an embedded system programmer and our (video conferencing) set top and desk top products are based on the Motorola 68302. It's essentially a 68K with a RISC communications processor wrapped around it which supports HDLC, SDLC, BRI-ISDN, async, and some transparent modes. It's been in production for many years. If motorola decided to pull the plug on that, it would make mine, and my co-worker's lives, pure hell. Imagine all the re-engineering that would have to be done!!
So I can empathize with these companies that are going to have to begin to re-think their designs. But at least, as another poster pointed out, AMD gave a years notice to its customers and didn't just yank the plug suddenly.
I might try Mozilla again.
I highly recomend you do. I had the same feelings until I tried 0.9.2 (browser only). I used it at work (Win98) and home (Linux). It ran quite well; Java, Flash, and Real plugins work good, too. I upgraded both machines yesterday to 0.9.3 and even started using Mozilla mail here at home. I just finished getting rid of Netscape 4.7x.
I'm not saying it's bug free or, as some argue, bloated on features (I don't mind it), but it's worth another try.
sorry for that, but ASN.1 is old and not supported in the real world anymore so much
Actually, as previously mentioned, ASN is used in LDAP. Also it is used in the H.245 layer of H.324 (video conferencing over POTS networks) and H.323 (video conferencing over LANs). It is easily implemented as a recursive parser.
Introduce killer standards every few years. Isn't that one of the reasons why Microchannel was killed?
No, the reason why Microchannel died was simply because IBM kept it closed. If any PC maker wanted to make a Microchannel machine, they would have to license the technology from IBM. So, let's see, ISA is free, MCA is not. Should we pay IBM to manufacture MCA boxes? Naahh...stick with ISA.
It was too bad, really. MCA could've been what PCI is today. It was a helluva lot better than ISA.
Occasionally we do get idiots, racists and homophobes or general nutcases who take delight in winding up people ...
;-)
On Slashdot, these people are called trolls
Your asking a lot. Hmmm. My parents bought me and my brother a Pong set top from Sears around 1977 or 1978 (?). I'm guessing it was around US$60 or so. Too long ago so I'm probably way off.
Ok, your post piqued my interest so I went onto Forbes site and there isn't anything on Slashdot recently. But, last Feb. they did have an article on, interestingly enough, the Slashdot Effect. It's kind of an amusing read. The article your talking about probably hasn't been posted on the site yet.
Thanks for quick trip down memory lane. :-)
Correct. I would suggest reading the Deuglification HOW-TO. In 10 minutes you can tweak X 3.3.x or 4.0.x to have great looking fonts.
According to Nokia's press release:
The Nokia Media Terminal will be available for consumers in the end of the 2nd quarter 2001.
Since Mozilla is on M17 with M20 being the final milestone, it should be ready by then (at least one would think so.)
Reliance on expensive, proprietary Realtime OSes prevents many small companies from entering the real-time world...
;)
I work for one now. In the beginning (circa 4 years ago) we considered several real time OS solutions but, as you point out, they were quite expensive. So in the end we avoided them all by essentially writing our own. Nothing fancy but it works. (Two tasks always running, a resolution-adjustable real time task and an interuptable background task to handle the user's needs.) Unfortunately this announcement is much too late for our product (but I'll keep in mind for any new products we develop
Microsoft ships a working, complete IE for Linux
But, why would they? If you really want to run MS software try Win4Lin. A friend of mine installed it last night and said that it's a lot faster than VMWare. I haven't tried it myself but I've been considering it just so I can run IE for those times when I run across pages that crash Netscape 4.7x. (Usually Java-ized pages do it.) Yes it's not free, but for US$35, it ain't bad.
What frosts me are the sites that ASSUME that because you're not running Windows, you can't do Flash, and deny access.
Actually, for me at least, that's a good thing. Since I'm stuck in the stone age (dial-up, 56K access) downloading a flash page takes too ridiculously long. Give me the text any day.
Wish you could've posted this early on. Maybe some of the plethora of knee jerk posting could've been avoided. Ahh..probably not.
Slowly aging and ebbing further away, more and more insignificant as time goes on.
The last I heard our Sun should enter the Red Giant stage toward the end of its life when most of the hydrogen is burned up. Can't remember exactly how big it will expand to, but it will be enough to swallow the Earth and incinerate it. We'll definately go out with a bang. What you're describing is the stage following this (white dwarf?)
I personally hope that noone agrees to a review since this might raise a red flag in the minds of congress. Could cause it to be shot down quickly.
Perhaps a desperate attempt from the MPAA? As an amateur radio hobbyist (KE4QKT) I can only say that the FCC seems to be concerned with emissions compliance and bandwidth allocation. This doesn't fall anywhere near those categories.
But browsing the FCC's major initiatives page shows that the FCC does handle issues not necessarily related to communication equipment (telecommunication mergers, for example.)
I particularly found the blurb on the "What We're All About" handbook interesting:
What We're All About: a Consumer's Guide to the FCC. We're about communications! Whether you are listening to the radio, watching TV, talking on the phone, using your pager - you're involved in communications. We, at the Federal Communications Commission, are working to make sure that the nation's communications systems are operating in your best interest.
Sounds pretty general to me.