Someone mod parent up. Starbucks is not a "must have" product. If the cost of that cup of Starbucks everyday gets too expensive, there are many options -- you can buy a pound of Starbucks beans and make it at home, you can buy Folgers or Maxwell House, or you can just not buy coffee. The same options exists for the red peppers in the article. For many people, not buying gas is not an option (lack of good public transportation in many parts of the U.S.), so that big number on the sign at the petrol palace represents a major part of the weekly budget -- when it goes up, the budget is tightened, and when it goes down there is a little more cash in the wallet. As long as the U.S. is built around the petrol powered automobile, gas prices will be a major concern.
I was told Windows XP would be great, it's widely credited with being worse than Windows 98.
I think you are thinking of Windows ME -- the shitty "update" to the Win 98 platform that was released around 1999 or so. Microsoft finally killed of the Windows over DOS line after ME -- Windows XP Home and Pro are have their roots in Win NT and Windows 2000. XP is actually a fairly decent OS, Windows 2000 is still pretty decent, but I would not want to use anything older as far as Windows is concerned. I think the problem Microsoft will have is that XP is good enough that few will want to upgrade their existing machines. Of course, new machines will come with Vista, and this is where Microsoft will make most of their initial Vista revenue.
My girlfriend's dad's girlfriend's son (no, I'm not joking) is 12 years old and was bragging about how many MySpace friends he had after spent three entire days sitting in front of a computer while we were at a beach house on the Maine coast (and not swimming, surfing, kayaking, or spending any time enjoying the outdoors).
Perhaps I am wandering away from the main point you were trying to make, but you also brought up something else that I thought was interesting. When I was a kid (I'm 43) and went on vacation, I had no contact with with my friends back home, so I had no excuse to stay indoors. Now that the Internet is available almost everywhere, it is too easy to not break the connection. Too bad his Mom did not limit/ban computer time while they were on vacation -- cyberspace is great, but he missed so much by not taking advantage and enjoying the Maine coast while he was there. Part of the fun of these kinds of trips when I was growing up was making new friends (even if it was just for the week or so that we were on vacation) and getting out and seeing something new and different. I'd hate to come back from Maine and not remember much about it because I didn't go out and enjoy the trip.
The market is properly countering the media cartel, and that's through piracy.
Actually the market is slowly turning in favor of independent musicians. Granted, right now that market is very chaotic (anyone can call themselves a musician and put up a myspace site), but there are also sites like Dmusic, CD Baby that are allowing Musicians to sell their music, offer free downloads, and promote themselves without having to "sell their souls" to a music label.
As I said, the market is slowly turning, and there still is a lot of crap out there, but there is also some real gems to be found. It is also fun to explore new music without having to worry about DRM or breaking copyright (no piracy required). This market still has a long way to go, but it is doing better than Tower Records is right now (just declared bankruptcy again).
No, I'm just saying that anything that he made over the settlement will most likely be seized by use of the RICO law. Any hope he had of doing his time and coming out rich will not happen. The only way he might have any money is if he did stash some somewhere where the U.S. Government couldn't touch it. Even then, if they find out about it, they may be able to make him return it. In other words no exchanging 6 years of his life for living the rest of his life after that in luxury. If he still owes after all his assets are seized, he'll be working it off until it is paid.
Unless he has assets hidden away that the Government can't find or touch, he can say goodbye to what he has under RICO. As it is, they are selling off his assets to pay the judgement, but I'm sure anything that is left will be taken by the Government. We are not talking about someone who lived in his Mom's basement and traded software on the P2P networks -- we are talking someone who made enough to get Ferraris and boats and who knows what else.
The Artists (the people who actually create the music) will not see a single cent of any "settlement." It all goes to the RIAA. The machine must be fed.
I don't think these organizations should be illegal, just reigned in a little bit (OK, a lot). The RIAA was actually started for a good reason -- to create standards for phonograph records. The "RIAA curve" was developed by engineers from different record companies so that 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records would have the best sound possible. All record companies created their albums according to this standard, thus ensuring any album from any label would have a consistent technical sound quality (of course, the quality of the artist is not assured).
Hilary Rosen was actually a popular figure around college campuses before the whole mp3 thing started. Back in the early to mid 90's, there was a move in Washington to censor what was being recorded. Hilary and the RIAA fought this and "took the fight to the people." The end result was the warning labels that are found on some cds.
That said, both the RIAA and the MPAA are way out of line when it comes to copyright, and have been for years. Jack Valenti compared the VCR to the Boston Strangler (the VCR ended up creating one of the most lucrative markets that the movie industry ever had) and the RIAA has fought digital music tooth and nail. These lawsuits are the worst -- instead of actually addressing the problem, they have hurt innocent people and have turned their customers into the enemy.
I have no problem with organizations that exist to make things better for both their industry and their customers, but when said organization attempts to abuse either or both in an attempt to prevent the market from evolving, then it is time to penalize (or disband) said organization. Perhaps trade organizations in Washington should be treated like Fraternities at University -- obey the rules and all is well, get out of line, face sanctions or even closure. The way the RIAA is pursuing these lawsuits definitely should warrant a review.
What does "bread and circuses" have to do with D and D? Bread and circuses was the Roman Empire's way of keeping the masses in check by keeping their minds off of the real issues. As long as the every day Roman had plenty of bread (food) and plenty of cheap entertainment (circuses), they were happy. Of course, eventually the Empire collapsed and feudalism took over. Thus began the so called "dark ages" in Europe. The Eastern (Constantinople) Roman Empire lasted another 1000 years, but Western Europe ruled by Kings and the Roman Catholic Church.
That said, gambling is a form of "circuses" (entertainment) in our time. The Government is attempting ban Internet gambling, yet still allow track wagering online. This means that I cannot (legally) play Texas hold-em (for money) online, but I can bet on the Kentucky Derby at my computer instead of driving the 10 miles or so to Churchill Downs (yes, I live in Louisville).
One way around the DRM is to re-record the song using a program such as Audacity. This is a the slow way to do it as it is a real time recording any any other messages on the computer (i.e. "You got Mail") or any glitches will show up on the copy.
It does work -- I purchased the new version of "We are the World" back when it came out as a DRM download. The first thing I did was re-record it to MP3 using Audacity. This was the one (and only) song I have or ever will purchase with DRM. If I purchase a song, then I want to be able to do anything I want with it (excluding P2P -- I can live with that restriction). I don't need anyone or anything "managing" my music for me. I have a feeling a whole lot of college students agree with me on this one, especially when the music "expires" once they leave the University unless additional payments are made or the DRM is bypassed.
It is not what you do, but how you do it. Anyone can talk to someone on the other side of the Planet through the internet, but the challenge of Amateur Radio is communicating half way around the world through radio (be it 20M, 40M, 80M, satellite, whatever). I'm not saying that Amateur Radio is for everyone, but the fun is in the challenge, not just the results.
p>That's what I was afraid of, but I thought I'd put it out and see what comments I got. I used pre-tax figures because I wasn't sure exactly how high taxes were in the U.K. If an average salary is £40,000 to £50,000 (or worse yet, £20,000 -- see the post below) before the taxman gets his cut, then that £425 price tag does look more like $800 here. Leave it to Sony to price themselves out of the market.
I think the big question is how much is £400 to the average Joe in the UK? Forget exchange rates.
For example:
In 1997 When Di died, I remember seeing footage with gas being about £0.559 / Liter in the London area. Gas was around $0.999 - $1.099 at the time (depended on where you were). I made around $45K/year at the time. I know the PS2 came out in 1999, but just for the sake of this example say it came out for £279 / $299 at the time.
Now let's go to today. A liter of gas in the UK goes for about £0.999 or so, and a gallon of gas goes for about $2.999 (It may be higher or lower in your area, but these should be ballpark figures) and I make around $70k/year now. The PS3 is going for $599 or £425. Let's put a little hypothetical data together:
Me
1997 - Income $45,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0022 percent of pretax yearly income ($0.999 / U.S. gal)
PS2 approx. 0.62 percent of pretax yearly income
2006 - Income $70,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0043 percent of pretax yearly income
PS3 approx. 0.86 percent of pretax yearly income
Joe Punter
1997 - Income £45,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0047 percent of pretax yearly income ( £2.116 / U.S. gal)
PS2 approx. 0.62 percent of pretax yearly income
2006 - Income £70,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0054 percent of pretax yearly income (£3.781 / U.S. gal)
PS3 approx. 0.61 percent of pretax yearly income
The U.K. income figures do not reflect anyone I know, I just set them up for this comparison, YMMV.
The point of all this is Joe Punter is going to make his decision to buy a PS3 purely on how much £425 is out of his pocket versus how much he wants the console. It doesn't matter to him if £425 = $800, $400, or $2000, the value of the dollar is not going to be a factor when he is at the store deciding on that purchase.
Now if my U.K. yearly salary figures are close to correct, the Joe Punter may be more likely to buy that new PS3 than I would here in the U.S., because in absolute terms it is not that much more expensive for him (of course if the average Punter who made £45,000 in 1997 only makes less than £70,000 now, then my conclusion would be incorrect).
Good point. The Government has had problems convincing Older Americans to use direct deposit for Social Security Benefits and the current Medicare system is not exactly been easy for them either. I was trying to come up with something a little more secure than a PIN while steering clear of biometrics since they cannot be changed (or someone may be missing that body part, etc). Of course, a change like this would take more investigating and planning since I'm sure there are other holes/problems that I did not think of which would need to be addressed.
I'm just trying to think of something that could work without requiring a National ID card or any other sort of token that could be lost or stolen.
Exactly. It shouldn't matter if I know your SSN. There should be a private key part of the equation required for a transaction that requires an SSN to take place. This token should be a pass phrase, not just a password or PIN. Verification can be done electronically by the Social Security Administration.
For example, if I sign up for a credit card, the application would not be processed until I give my valid pass phrase and it was verified. This way, someone could find out my SSN, date of birth, Mother's maiden name, shoe size, or whatever else, but could not do anything with it without knowing my pass phrase. Credit cards themselves should at least require a PIN to complete a transaction. This could be done without a major overhaul of the financial network -- the ISO 8583 specs supports PINs.
You could support several pass-phrases. One pass phrase would be for applying for credit and such, giving a Bank or Credit institution this pass phrase would allow them to not only access your credit report, but would give them authorization to update it as they do today. A second pass phrase could be given to just allow read access to a credit report. This could be used for your own access, access by landlords, or any other situation where you need to give out that information without giving the ability to update it. One time use read pass phrases could even be supported. Pass phrases could be changed by visiting the Social Security Office or online. Any forgotten pass phrases would require a visit to the Social Security Office.
A system like this would massively cut down on fraud and identity theft without too massive of a change to the current system flow.
Either one of the above is a winner, but I would vote for the West Carolina design over Proximalabs just because it is a little cleaner. The first option in the article (Insitemotion) doesn't do anything for me (even ignoring that it doesn't render properly on Firefox) and the second option is slashdotted, so I cannot comment on it.
Why? I thought the whole lawsuit was ridiculous -- but with the way copyright law and rulings have been I would (sadly) not have been surprised to see the ruling go against Dan Brown. Needless to say, seeing a sane ruling was a breath of fresh air, and I thought it was neat that the Judge had a little fun in his ruling. I don't think Judge Smith was making fun of either party -- he was just having a little fun in the spirit of this high profile case. He stayed away from the religious aspect of the case -- I could see people getting upset if he made a joke about that part of the case. Just my 2 cents.
I think of it this way, cars, horses and bikes used to all share the same roadways. Well, we don't let horses on the road anymore really....
You must not live in Amish country. I grew up in Pennsylvania an hour or so from Lancaster, and any time we went down that way, we always saw at least one horse and buggy (and sometimes just someone riding a horse) on the road. The only place they were not allowed was on limited access highways (PA Turnpike, parts of US 222, and parts of US 30). I also lived east of Cleveland, OH in Portage County for a few years, and when we would drive north into Geauga County we would always see horse and buggies around (another Amish area). Now that I live in Louisville, KY, I don't see any horse and buggies in town (the only horses on the road are Police horses, the rest are at Churchill Downs;) ), but go out into rural Kentucky and you will see horse and buggies, tractors, etc. I see more bicycles out now that it is nice out and gas is near $3.00 per gallon.
The guy didn't patent this to be a dickhole, he patented the "circular transportation device" to show how broken the current patent system is. This patent would never hold up in court if it was actually enforced (thousands of years of prior use), but the point is that his patent should have been denied (and laughed out of the patent office) but it wasn't!
Now the broken system is starting to bite everyone in the ass, even those (such as Microsoft) who might have been for the current system. Unfortunately, until the big boys are made to suffer, nothing is going to change. Perhaps we are seeing this start to happen (this suit, Eloas, RIM, etc.)
Aside from his three screens, his office looks REALLY unimpressive.
From what I have heard/read about Bill Gates in the past, his office is about what I would expect. Gates doesn't seem to be the type of person who would have an "Emperor Palpatine" type office, at least for everyday use. He may have a show office for meeting "important people", but somehow I doubt he even has that. It doesn't suprise me that he uses a 3 screen set up -- I use two screens at work, and wouldn't want to go back to one.
Personal feeling about how big Microsoft is and how much of a monopoly it has aside, it seems that Bill Gates is the type of person who still has fun and likes to do and build new things, all while dominating in whatever it is he does. That said, I think Microsoft is a little (okay, a lot) too big and powerful, so that is why I use Open Source software as much as possible.
Funny you mention Grand Theft Auto -- a perfect example of what is wrong with America when it comes to sex and violence. Here you have a game that is based on violent acts -- taking cars, killing people, etc. The game is appropriately rated for adults because of the content, no problem there. Then comes news of the GTA sex hack. Everyone (meaning the same "moral" people involved with this asinine fine against CBS and Without A Trace) goes ballistic, demanding that GTA San Andreas be taken off the shelf immediately until a "cleaned up" version can be released, and RockStar games should be chastised.
What the hell -- I guess it is okay to have a game (or TV show) where people get shot, run over by cars, buses, etc., but show a boobie or a little sex (even in an adult game or a show that is meant for adult viewing) and y'all will go to hell.
That is why I hate fundamentalist religion -- of any kind. The fundamentalist Christians are just as bad as the Islamic fundamentalists, and the clash between the two is going to lead to a world war if we aren't careful.
Getting back on topic -- this FCC fine is total bullshit. I've seen this episode of Without a Trace and there was nothing in it that offended me. If it did, my TV has this neat gizmo on it called an "off switch." As a parent, I also have the ability to say that this show is unsuitable for my child, and she may not watch it. Actually my Daughter is 15, and the Wife and I feel that CSI, Without a Trace, etc. are fine for her to watch -- in fact she wants to take the Forensics classes offered at our High School. If she was a few years younger, she wouldn't be watching these shows. The point is that my Wife and I are able to make this decision and do not need the Government to make it for us.
The Republican Party died for me in the '80s when it became the 700 Club Party.
If the price is right, the quality is good, and the convenience is there, then sharing will not be a problem. Why go through the hassle of file sharing programs if you can get the song you want without any hassle for a fair price.
Apple is the American retailer that comes closest to this model, but it still has DRM and a set quality level. Napster II has a long way to go -- clunky DRM and subscription based. The Russian retailer All of MP3 has the best model IMHO -- select the quality you want and pay by the MB.
The Recording Industry needs to get with the times and start competing in the marketplace. DRM is becoming a pain in the ass which is just going send people back to the file sharing arena. If they would give up on DRM and adopt an All of MP3 type model and price it so that the average FLAC file of a song goes for around $0.99 or so (based on size), then they would have a winner. There will always be some file sharing going on, but as long as there are good and fair alternatives, file sharing shouldn't be a serious problem. Unfortunately, the RIAA is bound and determined to alienate their customers and create as much ill will as possible, so I don't expect things to change in the short term.
Oh well, there's always the independent music market -- no DRM and new and exciting stuff to find.
Your post brings back the memories. I bought a 16k CoCo back in 1983, expanded it to 64k (went to a Rainbow Fest in NJ just to get the memory chips because they were being sold there for $39.95). Upgraded to Extended Color Basic, then Disk Basic by 1984. I used that computer through the rest of college and beyond, until I bought a Tandy 600 in 1988.
I did and learned all kinds of things on that machine. Had a program that would copy the basic ROMs into the upper 32k of memory, allowing customization of Basic through POKEs.
I also had a program (typed out of Rainbow Mag I think) that would let you toggle between 2 programs that so that you could be running them "at the same time" (you could only have one program actually running at a time, the swapping program lived at the top of the first 32K of memory and worked by swapping the current program into the upper 32k of memory while swapping the other program out of the upper 32K of memory. It would then give basic control of the other program at the spot where it was when it was swapped before. There were limitations, but back in 1984, it was great stuff.
The CoCo was a great machine and the 6809 was a great chip. There was also quite a thriving CoCo community until time and the PC eventually whittled it away. OS-9 was also a great system to play with.
Other favorite memories:
Running a program to change the display to 51 characters (done in graphics mode), then connecting to the PSU mainframe and typing in COBOL programs for class. Fifty-one columns were a lot easier to read than 32...
Running a program that would allow you to enter and play music with up to 4 notes at once -- it sounded a bit like an electric organ.
Plugging the cassette port input plug into my IC2-AT (Icom Amateur Radio 2 meter transceiver) and running a program that would use the cassette port to decode TTY transmissions and display them on the screen.
There are more, but not enough time to list them all. The CoCo was a machine that just begged to be explored and hacked (in the good sense of the word).
1) If a large company brings an IP claim of any sort against a small company, the large company wins.
The problem with these patents isn't so much a big versus small as a holding company versus a company that is actually making a product. This sort of action has not only hit a company the size of RIM, but also has been used against Microsoft (Eolas vs Microsoft), in a "David vs. Goliath" case, where David has managed a couple of wins.
Eolas has not gone after any other browser makers, but that doesn't mean that other browsers couldn't be a future target. If Eolas ends up winning in the end, nothing is gained as far as advancing the arts and sciences, it is only Eolas that makes a quick buck with a dubious patent.
Not only do I not agree with Software Patents, but I definitely do not agree with allowing these shell companies to legally hold companies that are creating and producing a product hostage with patents that are of a dubious nature to begin with.
Slashdot Mirror
Someone mod parent up. Starbucks is not a "must have" product. If the cost of that cup of Starbucks everyday gets too expensive, there are many options -- you can buy a pound of Starbucks beans and make it at home, you can buy Folgers or Maxwell House, or you can just not buy coffee. The same options exists for the red peppers in the article. For many people, not buying gas is not an option (lack of good public transportation in many parts of the U.S.), so that big number on the sign at the petrol palace represents a major part of the weekly budget -- when it goes up, the budget is tightened, and when it goes down there is a little more cash in the wallet. As long as the U.S. is built around the petrol powered automobile, gas prices will be a major concern.
I was told Windows XP would be great, it's widely credited with being worse than Windows 98.
I think you are thinking of Windows ME -- the shitty "update" to the Win 98 platform that was released around 1999 or so. Microsoft finally killed of the Windows over DOS line after ME -- Windows XP Home and Pro are have their roots in Win NT and Windows 2000. XP is actually a fairly decent OS, Windows 2000 is still pretty decent, but I would not want to use anything older as far as Windows is concerned. I think the problem Microsoft will have is that XP is good enough that few will want to upgrade their existing machines. Of course, new machines will come with Vista, and this is where Microsoft will make most of their initial Vista revenue.
My girlfriend's dad's girlfriend's son (no, I'm not joking) is 12 years old and was bragging about how many MySpace friends he had after spent three entire days sitting in front of a computer while we were at a beach house on the Maine coast (and not swimming, surfing, kayaking, or spending any time enjoying the outdoors).
Perhaps I am wandering away from the main point you were trying to make, but you also brought up something else that I thought was interesting. When I was a kid (I'm 43) and went on vacation, I had no contact with with my friends back home, so I had no excuse to stay indoors. Now that the Internet is available almost everywhere, it is too easy to not break the connection. Too bad his Mom did not limit/ban computer time while they were on vacation -- cyberspace is great, but he missed so much by not taking advantage and enjoying the Maine coast while he was there. Part of the fun of these kinds of trips when I was growing up was making new friends (even if it was just for the week or so that we were on vacation) and getting out and seeing something new and different. I'd hate to come back from Maine and not remember much about it because I didn't go out and enjoy the trip.
The market is properly countering the media cartel, and that's through piracy.
Actually the market is slowly turning in favor of independent musicians. Granted, right now that market is very chaotic (anyone can call themselves a musician and put up a myspace site), but there are also sites like Dmusic, CD Baby that are allowing Musicians to sell their music, offer free downloads, and promote themselves without having to "sell their souls" to a music label.
As I said, the market is slowly turning, and there still is a lot of crap out there, but there is also some real gems to be found. It is also fun to explore new music without having to worry about DRM or breaking copyright (no piracy required). This market still has a long way to go, but it is doing better than Tower Records is right now (just declared bankruptcy again).
No, I'm just saying that anything that he made over the settlement will most likely be seized by use of the RICO law. Any hope he had of doing his time and coming out rich will not happen. The only way he might have any money is if he did stash some somewhere where the U.S. Government couldn't touch it. Even then, if they find out about it, they may be able to make him return it. In other words no exchanging 6 years of his life for living the rest of his life after that in luxury. If he still owes after all his assets are seized, he'll be working it off until it is paid.
He didn't get away with anything.
Unless he has assets hidden away that the Government can't find or touch, he can say goodbye to what he has under RICO. As it is, they are selling off his assets to pay the judgement, but I'm sure anything that is left will be taken by the Government. We are not talking about someone who lived in his Mom's basement and traded software on the P2P networks -- we are talking someone who made enough to get Ferraris and boats and who knows what else.
The Artists (the people who actually create the music) will not see a single cent of any "settlement." It all goes to the RIAA. The machine must be fed.
I don't think these organizations should be illegal, just reigned in a little bit (OK, a lot). The RIAA was actually started for a good reason -- to create standards for phonograph records. The "RIAA curve" was developed by engineers from different record companies so that 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records would have the best sound possible. All record companies created their albums according to this standard, thus ensuring any album from any label would have a consistent technical sound quality (of course, the quality of the artist is not assured).
Hilary Rosen was actually a popular figure around college campuses before the whole mp3 thing started. Back in the early to mid 90's, there was a move in Washington to censor what was being recorded. Hilary and the RIAA fought this and "took the fight to the people." The end result was the warning labels that are found on some cds.
That said, both the RIAA and the MPAA are way out of line when it comes to copyright, and have been for years. Jack Valenti compared the VCR to the Boston Strangler (the VCR ended up creating one of the most lucrative markets that the movie industry ever had) and the RIAA has fought digital music tooth and nail. These lawsuits are the worst -- instead of actually addressing the problem, they have hurt innocent people and have turned their customers into the enemy.
I have no problem with organizations that exist to make things better for both their industry and their customers, but when said organization attempts to abuse either or both in an attempt to prevent the market from evolving, then it is time to penalize (or disband) said organization. Perhaps trade organizations in Washington should be treated like Fraternities at University -- obey the rules and all is well, get out of line, face sanctions or even closure. The way the RIAA is pursuing these lawsuits definitely should warrant a review.
What does "bread and circuses" have to do with D and D? Bread and circuses was the Roman Empire's way of keeping the masses in check by keeping their minds off of the real issues. As long as the every day Roman had plenty of bread (food) and plenty of cheap entertainment (circuses), they were happy. Of course, eventually the Empire collapsed and feudalism took over. Thus began the so called "dark ages" in Europe. The Eastern (Constantinople) Roman Empire lasted another 1000 years, but Western Europe ruled by Kings and the Roman Catholic Church.
That said, gambling is a form of "circuses" (entertainment) in our time. The Government is attempting ban Internet gambling, yet still allow track wagering online. This means that I cannot (legally) play Texas hold-em (for money) online, but I can bet on the Kentucky Derby at my computer instead of driving the 10 miles or so to Churchill Downs (yes, I live in Louisville).
One way around the DRM is to re-record the song using a program such as Audacity. This is a the slow way to do it as it is a real time recording any any other messages on the computer (i.e. "You got Mail") or any glitches will show up on the copy.
It does work -- I purchased the new version of "We are the World" back when it came out as a DRM download. The first thing I did was re-record it to MP3 using Audacity. This was the one (and only) song I have or ever will purchase with DRM. If I purchase a song, then I want to be able to do anything I want with it (excluding P2P -- I can live with that restriction). I don't need anyone or anything "managing" my music for me. I have a feeling a whole lot of college students agree with me on this one, especially when the music "expires" once they leave the University unless additional payments are made or the DRM is bypassed.
It is not what you do, but how you do it. Anyone can talk to someone on the other side of the Planet through the internet, but the challenge of Amateur Radio is communicating half way around the world through radio (be it 20M, 40M, 80M, satellite, whatever). I'm not saying that Amateur Radio is for everyone, but the fun is in the challenge, not just the results.
DE WB3IZT
p>That's what I was afraid of, but I thought I'd put it out and see what comments I got. I used pre-tax figures because I wasn't sure exactly how high taxes were in the U.K. If an average salary is £40,000 to £50,000 (or worse yet, £20,000 -- see the post below) before the taxman gets his cut, then that £425 price tag does look more like $800 here. Leave it to Sony to price themselves out of the market.
I think the big question is how much is £400 to the average Joe in the UK? Forget exchange rates.
For example:
/year now. The PS3 is going for $599 or £425. Let's put a little hypothetical data together:
In 1997 When Di died, I remember seeing footage with gas being about £0.559 / Liter in the London area. Gas was around $0.999 - $1.099 at the time (depended on where you were). I made around $45K/year at the time. I know the PS2 came out in 1999, but just for the sake of this example say it came out for £279 / $299 at the time.
Now let's go to today. A liter of gas in the UK goes for about £0.999 or so, and a gallon of gas goes for about $2.999 (It may be higher or lower in your area, but these should be ballpark figures) and I make around $70k
Me
1997 - Income $45,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0022 percent of pretax yearly income ($0.999 / U.S. gal)
PS2 approx. 0.62 percent of pretax yearly income
2006 - Income $70,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0043 percent of pretax yearly income
PS3 approx. 0.86 percent of pretax yearly income
Joe Punter
1997 - Income £45,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0047 percent of pretax yearly income ( £2.116 / U.S. gal)
PS2 approx. 0.62 percent of pretax yearly income
2006 - Income £70,000
Gal/gas approx. 0.0054 percent of pretax yearly income (£3.781 / U.S. gal)
PS3 approx. 0.61 percent of pretax yearly income
The U.K. income figures do not reflect anyone I know, I just set them up for this comparison, YMMV.
The point of all this is Joe Punter is going to make his decision to buy a PS3 purely on how much £425 is out of his pocket versus how much he wants the console. It doesn't matter to him if £425 = $800, $400, or $2000, the value of the dollar is not going to be a factor when he is at the store deciding on that purchase.
Now if my U.K. yearly salary figures are close to correct, the Joe Punter may be more likely to buy that new PS3 than I would here in the U.S., because in absolute terms it is not that much more expensive for him (of course if the average Punter who made £45,000 in 1997 only makes less than £70,000 now, then my conclusion would be incorrect).
Good point. The Government has had problems convincing Older Americans to use direct deposit for Social Security Benefits and the current Medicare system is not exactly been easy for them either. I was trying to come up with something a little more secure than a PIN while steering clear of biometrics since they cannot be changed (or someone may be missing that body part, etc). Of course, a change like this would take more investigating and planning since I'm sure there are other holes/problems that I did not think of which would need to be addressed.
I'm just trying to think of something that could work without requiring a National ID card or any other sort of token that could be lost or stolen.
Exactly. It shouldn't matter if I know your SSN. There should be a private key part of the equation required for a transaction that requires an SSN to take place. This token should be a pass phrase, not just a password or PIN. Verification can be done electronically by the Social Security Administration.
For example, if I sign up for a credit card, the application would not be processed until I give my valid pass phrase and it was verified. This way, someone could find out my SSN, date of birth, Mother's maiden name, shoe size, or whatever else, but could not do anything with it without knowing my pass phrase. Credit cards themselves should at least require a PIN to complete a transaction. This could be done without a major overhaul of the financial network -- the ISO 8583 specs supports PINs.
You could support several pass-phrases. One pass phrase would be for applying for credit and such, giving a Bank or Credit institution this pass phrase would allow them to not only access your credit report, but would give them authorization to update it as they do today. A second pass phrase could be given to just allow read access to a credit report. This could be used for your own access, access by landlords, or any other situation where you need to give out that information without giving the ability to update it. One time use read pass phrases could even be supported. Pass phrases could be changed by visiting the Social Security Office or online. Any forgotten pass phrases would require a visit to the Social Security Office.
A system like this would massively cut down on fraud and identity theft without too massive of a change to the current system flow.
Either one of the above is a winner, but I would vote for the West Carolina design over Proximalabs just because it is a little cleaner. The first option in the article (Insitemotion) doesn't do anything for me (even ignoring that it doesn't render properly on Firefox) and the second option is slashdotted, so I cannot comment on it.
So, for right now, West Carolina by a nose.
My work computer was updated yesterday morning, and I updated my home computer last night. Thunderbird also updated itself last night.
Why? I thought the whole lawsuit was ridiculous -- but with the way copyright law and rulings have been I would (sadly) not have been surprised to see the ruling go against Dan Brown. Needless to say, seeing a sane ruling was a breath of fresh air, and I thought it was neat that the Judge had a little fun in his ruling. I don't think Judge Smith was making fun of either party -- he was just having a little fun in the spirit of this high profile case. He stayed away from the religious aspect of the case -- I could see people getting upset if he made a joke about that part of the case. Just my 2 cents.
I think of it this way, cars, horses and bikes used to all share the same roadways. Well, we don't let horses on the road anymore really....
You must not live in Amish country. I grew up in Pennsylvania an hour or so from Lancaster, and any time we went down that way, we always saw at least one horse and buggy (and sometimes just someone riding a horse) on the road. The only place they were not allowed was on limited access highways (PA Turnpike, parts of US 222, and parts of US 30). I also lived east of Cleveland, OH in Portage County for a few years, and when we would drive north into Geauga County we would always see horse and buggies around (another Amish area). Now that I live in Louisville, KY, I don't see any horse and buggies in town (the only horses on the road are Police horses, the rest are at Churchill Downs ;) ), but go out into rural Kentucky and you will see horse and buggies, tractors, etc. I see more bicycles out now that it is nice out and gas is near $3.00 per gallon.
The guy didn't patent this to be a dickhole, he patented the "circular transportation device" to show how broken the current patent system is. This patent would never hold up in court if it was actually enforced (thousands of years of prior use), but the point is that his patent should have been denied (and laughed out of the patent office) but it wasn't!
Now the broken system is starting to bite everyone in the ass, even those (such as Microsoft) who might have been for the current system. Unfortunately, until the big boys are made to suffer, nothing is going to change. Perhaps we are seeing this start to happen (this suit, Eloas, RIM, etc.)
Aside from his three screens, his office looks REALLY unimpressive.
From what I have heard/read about Bill Gates in the past, his office is about what I would expect. Gates doesn't seem to be the type of person who would have an "Emperor Palpatine" type office, at least for everyday use. He may have a show office for meeting "important people", but somehow I doubt he even has that. It doesn't suprise me that he uses a 3 screen set up -- I use two screens at work, and wouldn't want to go back to one.
Personal feeling about how big Microsoft is and how much of a monopoly it has aside, it seems that Bill Gates is the type of person who still has fun and likes to do and build new things, all while dominating in whatever it is he does. That said, I think Microsoft is a little (okay, a lot) too big and powerful, so that is why I use Open Source software as much as possible.
Funny you mention Grand Theft Auto -- a perfect example of what is wrong with America when it comes to sex and violence. Here you have a game that is based on violent acts -- taking cars, killing people, etc. The game is appropriately rated for adults because of the content, no problem there. Then comes news of the GTA sex hack. Everyone (meaning the same "moral" people involved with this asinine fine against CBS and Without A Trace) goes ballistic, demanding that GTA San Andreas be taken off the shelf immediately until a "cleaned up" version can be released, and RockStar games should be chastised.
What the hell -- I guess it is okay to have a game (or TV show) where people get shot, run over by cars, buses, etc., but show a boobie or a little sex (even in an adult game or a show that is meant for adult viewing) and y'all will go to hell.
That is why I hate fundamentalist religion -- of any kind. The fundamentalist Christians are just as bad as the Islamic fundamentalists, and the clash between the two is going to lead to a world war if we aren't careful.
Getting back on topic -- this FCC fine is total bullshit. I've seen this episode of Without a Trace and there was nothing in it that offended me. If it did, my TV has this neat gizmo on it called an "off switch." As a parent, I also have the ability to say that this show is unsuitable for my child, and she may not watch it. Actually my Daughter is 15, and the Wife and I feel that CSI, Without a Trace, etc. are fine for her to watch -- in fact she wants to take the Forensics classes offered at our High School. If she was a few years younger, she wouldn't be watching these shows. The point is that my Wife and I are able to make this decision and do not need the Government to make it for us.The Republican Party died for me in the '80s when it became the 700 Club Party.
If the price is right, the quality is good, and the convenience is there, then sharing will not be a problem. Why go through the hassle of file sharing programs if you can get the song you want without any hassle for a fair price.
Apple is the American retailer that comes closest to this model, but it still has DRM and a set quality level. Napster II has a long way to go -- clunky DRM and subscription based. The Russian retailer All of MP3 has the best model IMHO -- select the quality you want and pay by the MB.
The Recording Industry needs to get with the times and start competing in the marketplace. DRM is becoming a pain in the ass which is just going send people back to the file sharing arena. If they would give up on DRM and adopt an All of MP3 type model and price it so that the average FLAC file of a song goes for around $0.99 or so (based on size), then they would have a winner. There will always be some file sharing going on, but as long as there are good and fair alternatives, file sharing shouldn't be a serious problem. Unfortunately, the RIAA is bound and determined to alienate their customers and create as much ill will as possible, so I don't expect things to change in the short term.
Oh well, there's always the independent music market -- no DRM and new and exciting stuff to find.
Your post brings back the memories. I bought a 16k CoCo back in 1983, expanded it to 64k (went to a Rainbow Fest in NJ just to get the memory chips because they were being sold there for $39.95). Upgraded to Extended Color Basic, then Disk Basic by 1984. I used that computer through the rest of college and beyond, until I bought a Tandy 600 in 1988.
I did and learned all kinds of things on that machine. Had a program that would copy the basic ROMs into the upper 32k of memory, allowing customization of Basic through POKEs.
I also had a program (typed out of Rainbow Mag I think) that would let you toggle between 2 programs that so that you could be running them "at the same time" (you could only have one program actually running at a time, the swapping program lived at the top of the first 32K of memory and worked by swapping the current program into the upper 32k of memory while swapping the other program out of the upper 32K of memory. It would then give basic control of the other program at the spot where it was when it was swapped before. There were limitations, but back in 1984, it was great stuff.
The CoCo was a great machine and the 6809 was a great chip. There was also quite a thriving CoCo community until time and the PC eventually whittled it away. OS-9 was also a great system to play with.
Other favorite memories:
Running a program to change the display to 51 characters (done in graphics mode), then connecting to the PSU mainframe and typing in COBOL programs for class. Fifty-one columns were a lot easier to read than 32...
Running a program that would allow you to enter and play music with up to 4 notes at once -- it sounded a bit like an electric organ.
Plugging the cassette port input plug into my IC2-AT (Icom Amateur Radio 2 meter transceiver) and running a program that would use the cassette port to decode TTY transmissions and display them on the screen.
There are more, but not enough time to list them all. The CoCo was a machine that just begged to be explored and hacked (in the good sense of the word).
1) If a large company brings an IP claim of any sort against a small company, the large company wins.
The problem with these patents isn't so much a big versus small as a holding company versus a company that is actually making a product. This sort of action has not only hit a company the size of RIM, but also has been used against Microsoft (Eolas vs Microsoft), in a "David vs. Goliath" case, where David has managed a couple of wins.
Eolas has not gone after any other browser makers, but that doesn't mean that other browsers couldn't be a future target. If Eolas ends up winning in the end, nothing is gained as far as advancing the arts and sciences, it is only Eolas that makes a quick buck with a dubious patent.
Not only do I not agree with Software Patents, but I definitely do not agree with allowing these shell companies to legally hold companies that are creating and producing a product hostage with patents that are of a dubious nature to begin with.