It would be nice if they supported SVG. Sure its not native in most browsers yet, but its on its way and in the meantime there is Adobe's SVG plugin. Opera has support, Firefox should have it by 1.5 and KHTML has it in the works.
SVG is a W3C approved standard. Adobe has more marketing oriented description of the technology.
Burt Rutan aside, I wonder what NASA would have done with that money had it not to worry about keeping contactors happy.. Granted the X-33 turned into a fiasco, but maybe had they concentrated on a manned version things may have worked out better.
The truth is the shuttle is coming to the end of the line. While it is a great piece of engineering, parts are no longer being manufactured and it is costing a fortune to keep it running. I wouldn't kill it for either of the previous reasons until a reasonable replacement is found. The catch is that there is no reasonable replacement and that the shuttle is likey to be grounded full time in 10 years with no replacement - this is a big problem. It is starting to sounds like the Concorde.
Given these aren't production machines, this does not mean too much, especially given that these have a BIOS. There have been many suggestions that production Intel based Macs won't be using the BIOS.
Should we have 911 via e-mail then? What's the difference between VoIP and e-mail? (Oh, I know... you can access someone's VoIP phone from the traditional network. OK, so what.)
You need to look at where things are going, rather than where they are at:
Today VoIP is in many cases a secondary system, lying on top of an existing telephony system. Here there is not much of an issue, since 911 would still be available through you local line.
Fast forward 10 years and our traditional telephony infrastructure has probably disappeared. It is replaced by pure IP networks, with VoIP being the norm. Here you can choose from half a dozen VoIP providers. Now imagine that I am sitting at home and something happens that makes me need to contact my emergency service. If my VoIP provider does not provide me with a solution I am screwed. In an optimistic case I have a cell phone, but what do I do if I don't? Remember that VoIP in many case will be transparent to most people, since they will simply have an IP phone plugged into a network port, routed to whoever their provider is.
VoIP *will* replace telephony as we know it, and the job of the FCC is to recognise this and address issues before they cause a crises. What is defined as VoIP is another matter onto itself.
I get the same problem as the one you're talking about in Windows regularly
I never said the wasn't the case. What I did say is the Linux has its own issues that needs to be dealt with. Saying Windows has a worse issue is not going to address the Linux one.
This is a real issue and also stems from the issue of static, dependency databases. It would be nice if some of those dependency databases actually reflected the libraries available on my HD, no matter how they got there. There needs to be something a little more dynamic.
I remember trying to install an application and finding that on the one hand it needed a more recent version of one library and then an older version of another. Trying to sort this out without breaking anything proved to be difficult. Then trying to add the new version of one library without nuking the previous version proved problematic as well.
Windows suffers from the registry and Linux from its incompatible range of dependency databases, that don't necessarily reflect what is on the HD. This is where centralised databases can break down.
Sure the registry may be brittle, but is that any way of dealing with real issues on Linux? The only way to fix things to stop deflecting criticism and do something about it. It is this "Linux is superior" attitude that actually hurts the platform's development.
Linux should stop trying to imitate other platforms and actually try to come up with solutions to existing problems. For example, did we have to wait for Apple to come up with Launchd to solve the init script issues, do we really need to immitate Windows to make a better OS?
Sure the registry may be brittle, but is that any way of dealing with real issues on Linux? The only way to fix things to stop deflecting criticism and do something about it. It is this "Linux is superior" attitude that actually hurts the platform's development.
I don't think the telcos chose to have 911, rather the FCC forced them to support it. They also forced the cell phone companies. Why should it be any different for VoIP?
When providing services of a certain type there will be requirements that you need to adhere to.
Every time I hear about articles like this, even if they have some sort of merit, I feel that the author missed something:
If I travel to another country, people there have their way of doing things. They have their own culture. Sure things may seem difficult to the foreigner, but to the people living there everything makes sense and for them it is obvious. The only way to deal with it is to learn about that culture and accept things for what they are. Of course that doesn't mean that they are immune to learning different ways of doing things.
Switching to a different OS is much the same thing. Not everything is going to make sense, but some things might. Over time you learn the way things work there and accept things for what they are, better or worse.
Games from Ambrosia Software actually use this as a pause key. If its on the game is paused. I even think some first person shooters use it to toggle the always-run or always-walks modes.
Just because you don't imagine yourself using it does not mean someone else isn't.
You can do that on OS X too. You can even force an application to consider a file by option-command dragging the document onto its icon. By default you can only drag onto the icon document types that it specifies as supporting.
Should also add that this distincation in MacOS actually helps, especially when in a terminal!! I also like the fact the Mac keyboard has the option key that allows access to several layers of characters, rather than Windows where you have to type ALT + numerical value, if the keyboard map does not have it.
I already get 4Mbps downstream from Time Warner of San Diego and it is plenty!
Is this something that we can quote you on in 10 years?
Truth is while 5Mbps may be enough now, it certainly won't be in 5 years. If you look at the increasing size of application downloads, the improving quality of video online, games and IP telephony, and maybe even eventually video telephony, and even applications we haven't heard of yet because of bandwith limitations, then 4Mbps is going to be tight.
Will this force all of the moms-and-pops who are running VoIP on their home computer to buy and install a UPS before they'll be allowed to connect to a VoIP service provider?
Might do, and might even ensure that new solutions coming onto the market take this into account. When VoIP first came out most people were thinking about the routine usage. Now that it is becoming more widespread people are realising some of the realworld issues and are now having to deal with it
VoIP are now being told that they need to support emergency numbers aswell and also route the emergency call to the emergency center that is near the caller, in the same way traditional landlines and cell phones do.
Q. How do you handle demo songs? A. Our Mindawn player will use your Ogg Vorbis files as the demo file. The user can play it in full up to 3 times, and thenthe local copy of the file will self-destruct. The file is not playable outside of our player software, and our player "knows" how many times it has been played.
Q. How can I hear a demo version of a song? A. First, download the Mindawn Player for your platform. Then register as a Mindawn user and then log onto Mindawn using the player. You will then see a column "Demo" in the listing of tracks, if a demo is available for that track. If a demo is not yet available, please try again later.
Looks like you can't hear a preview of the track either. I like to discover new music, but without a preview option there is no way for me to know whether a track is worth buying.
Unless the manage to add DRM. to their OGG and FLAC tracks. they won't be able to get any of the big names, since it won't go down well with the record companies.
This is interesting, though there are some companies who are even further out of touch, such as "Pioneer Entertainment" who distribute the great series "Last Exile". Most DVDs generally top out at the $30 CAD price mark here, yet the "Last Exile" DVDs are tagged at $45 CAD, which just sounds like price gouging.
This just makes no sense. A website that is properly designed should not have to get ready for any version of a web browser, since it should already support most browsers on the maket, including, but not limited to: Safari, Firefox, Netscape, Opera, IE and Konquerer. Sounds like MS is encouraging the development of shody sites, which are IE centric, which is VERY bad.
I can't remember where I read it, but there was an article somewhere that was suggesting that Nintendo was going to take a different approach for online gaming. What was being suggested was only hardcore gamers actually pay up for the monthly fees, which are applied to the X-Box network and the MMORPGs. Nintendo was said to want to make the networked playing experience more accessible - I'm guessing reducing the entry cost or eliminating it, after all after paying $60 for the game, it is only a handful of people who pay extra for the pay-by-month online experience. Also when you consider that Nintendo has always made their consoles kid friendly, having a low online cost is important for the parents.
Other than the requirement of an extra screen you would now be able to do a revolution LAN party or maybe even use the console as a server to Gamebody DS games. I would be interested how Nintendo is going to make the online experience more accessible. The possibilities are endless, but the game developers just need to use a bit of imagination.
In Canada this is already available via the web. It was nice when they did this, since they also brought down the price and suddenly you could use any OS.
Slashdot Mirror
It would be nice if they supported SVG. Sure its not native in most browsers yet, but its on its way and in the meantime there is Adobe's SVG plugin. Opera has support, Firefox should have it by 1.5 and KHTML has it in the works.
SVG is a W3C approved standard. Adobe has more marketing oriented description of the technology.
Other than Microsoft is anyone else using VML?
Burt Rutan aside, I wonder what NASA would have done with that money had it not to worry about keeping contactors happy.. Granted the X-33 turned into a fiasco, but maybe had they concentrated on a manned version things may have worked out better.
The truth is the shuttle is coming to the end of the line. While it is a great piece of engineering, parts are no longer being manufactured and it is costing a fortune to keep it running. I wouldn't kill it for either of the previous reasons until a reasonable replacement is found. The catch is that there is no reasonable replacement and that the shuttle is likey to be grounded full time in 10 years with no replacement - this is a big problem. It is starting to sounds like the Concorde.
Anyone can implement an instruction set (there are decades of precendent for this)
For example AMD, and others, making x86 compatible CPUS. Intel couldn't do anything about it.
Given these aren't production machines, this does not mean too much, especially given that these have a BIOS. There have been many suggestions that production Intel based Macs won't be using the BIOS.
"Best be the idiot that has learnt, than the genius who can't."
Is this some kind of zen koan? There is no such thing as a genius who can't learn.
This is more a question of attitude than ability.
Another version of the trailer can be found at Apple - Trailers: Serenity.
Should we have 911 via e-mail then? What's the difference between VoIP and e-mail? (Oh, I know... you can access someone's VoIP phone from the traditional network. OK, so what.)
You need to look at where things are going, rather than where they are at:
Today VoIP is in many cases a secondary system, lying on top of an existing telephony system. Here there is not much of an issue, since 911 would still be available through you local line.
Fast forward 10 years and our traditional telephony infrastructure has probably disappeared. It is replaced by pure IP networks, with VoIP being the norm. Here you can choose from half a dozen VoIP providers. Now imagine that I am sitting at home and something happens that makes me need to contact my emergency service. If my VoIP provider does not provide me with a solution I am screwed. In an optimistic case I have a cell phone, but what do I do if I don't? Remember that VoIP in many case will be transparent to most people, since they will simply have an IP phone plugged into a network port, routed to whoever their provider is.
VoIP *will* replace telephony as we know it, and the job of the FCC is to recognise this and address issues before they cause a crises. What is defined as VoIP is another matter onto itself.
I get the same problem as the one you're talking about in Windows regularly
I never said the wasn't the case. What I did say is the Linux has its own issues that needs to be dealt with. Saying Windows has a worse issue is not going to address the Linux one.
This is a real issue and also stems from the issue of static, dependency databases. It would be nice if some of those dependency databases actually reflected the libraries available on my HD, no matter how they got there. There needs to be something a little more dynamic.
I remember trying to install an application and finding that on the one hand it needed a more recent version of one library and then an older version of another. Trying to sort this out without breaking anything proved to be difficult. Then trying to add the new version of one library without nuking the previous version proved problematic as well.
Windows suffers from the registry and Linux from its incompatible range of dependency databases, that don't necessarily reflect what is on the HD. This is where centralised databases can break down.
Sure the registry may be brittle, but is that any way of dealing with real issues on Linux? The only way to fix things to stop deflecting criticism and do something about it. It is this "Linux is superior" attitude that actually hurts the platform's development.
Linux should stop trying to imitate other platforms and actually try to come up with solutions to existing problems. For example, did we have to wait for Apple to come up with Launchd to solve the init script issues, do we really need to immitate Windows to make a better OS?
Sure the registry may be brittle, but is that any way of dealing with real issues on Linux? The only way to fix things to stop deflecting criticism and do something about it. It is this "Linux is superior" attitude that actually hurts the platform's development.
I don't think the telcos chose to have 911, rather the FCC forced them to support it. They also forced the cell phone companies. Why should it be any different for VoIP?
When providing services of a certain type there will be requirements that you need to adhere to.
Every time I hear about articles like this, even if they have some sort of merit, I feel that the author missed something:
If I travel to another country, people there have their way of doing things. They have their own culture. Sure things may seem difficult to the foreigner, but to the people living there everything makes sense and for them it is obvious. The only way to deal with it is to learn about that culture and accept things for what they are. Of course that doesn't mean that they are immune to learning different ways of doing things.
Switching to a different OS is much the same thing. Not everything is going to make sense, but some things might. Over time you learn the way things work there and accept things for what they are, better or worse.
Games from Ambrosia Software actually use this as a pause key. If its on the game is paused. I even think some first person shooters use it to toggle the always-run or always-walks modes.
Just because you don't imagine yourself using it does not mean someone else isn't.
You can do that on OS X too. You can even force an application to consider a file by option-command dragging the document onto its icon. By default you can only drag onto the icon document types that it specifies as supporting.
Should also add that this distincation in MacOS actually helps, especially when in a terminal!! I also like the fact the Mac keyboard has the option key that allows access to several layers of characters, rather than Windows where you have to type ALT + numerical value, if the keyboard map does not have it.
I already get 4Mbps downstream from Time Warner of San Diego and it is plenty!
Is this something that we can quote you on in 10 years?
Truth is while 5Mbps may be enough now, it certainly won't be in 5 years. If you look at the increasing size of application downloads, the improving quality of video online, games and IP telephony, and maybe even eventually video telephony, and even applications we haven't heard of yet because of bandwith limitations, then 4Mbps is going to be tight.
Will this force all of the moms-and-pops who are running VoIP on their home computer to buy and install a UPS before they'll be allowed to connect to a VoIP service provider?
Might do, and might even ensure that new solutions coming onto the market take this into account. When VoIP first came out most people were thinking about the routine usage. Now that it is becoming more widespread people are realising some of the realworld issues and are now having to deal with it
VoIP are now being told that they need to support emergency numbers aswell and also route the emergency call to the emergency center that is near the caller, in the same way traditional landlines and cell phones do.
My bad, looks like I didn't read the FAQ:
Q. How do you handle demo songs?
A. Our Mindawn player will use your Ogg Vorbis files as the demo file. The user can play it in full up to 3 times, and thenthe local copy of the file will self-destruct. The file is not playable outside of our player software, and our player "knows" how many times it has been played.
Q. How can I hear a demo version of a song?
A. First, download the Mindawn Player for your platform. Then register as a Mindawn user and then log onto Mindawn using the player. You will then see a column "Demo" in the listing of tracks, if a demo is available for that track. If a demo is not yet available, please try again later.
Looks like you can't hear a preview of the track either. I like to discover new music, but without a preview option there is no way for me to know whether a track is worth buying.
Unless the manage to add DRM. to their OGG and FLAC tracks. they won't be able to get any of the big names, since it won't go down well with the record companies.
This is interesting, though there are some companies who are even further out of touch, such as "Pioneer Entertainment" who distribute the great series "Last Exile". Most DVDs generally top out at the $30 CAD price mark here, yet the "Last Exile" DVDs are tagged at $45 CAD, which just sounds like price gouging.
This just makes no sense. A website that is properly designed should not have to get ready for any version of a web browser, since it should already support most browsers on the maket, including, but not limited to: Safari, Firefox, Netscape, Opera, IE and Konquerer. Sounds like MS is encouraging the development of shody sites, which are IE centric, which is VERY bad.
Staying on Nintendo's approach to a wireless future, I just came across the following article on wi-fi capable Nintendo DS and Revolution:
Nintendo on Revolution, Zelda, etc
and here is another blogg-type article with an analysis of th revolution
I can't remember where I read it, but there was an article somewhere that was suggesting that Nintendo was going to take a different approach for online gaming. What was being suggested was only hardcore gamers actually pay up for the monthly fees, which are applied to the X-Box network and the MMORPGs. Nintendo was said to want to make the networked playing experience more accessible - I'm guessing reducing the entry cost or eliminating it, after all after paying $60 for the game, it is only a handful of people who pay extra for the pay-by-month online experience. Also when you consider that Nintendo has always made their consoles kid friendly, having a low online cost is important for the parents.
Other than the requirement of an extra screen you would now be able to do a revolution LAN party or maybe even use the console as a server to Gamebody DS games. I would be interested how Nintendo is going to make the online experience more accessible. The possibilities are endless, but the game developers just need to use a bit of imagination.
In Canada this is already available via the web. It was nice when they did this, since they also brought down the price and suddenly you could use any OS.