But not this. They are providing a free network support service to vendors that sell through their store. Seems obvious, ethical, and fair. Dropbox is better and simpler anyway because all apps can use it with no API; however Dropbox SELLS its service and gives it away for free as a loss leader.
Will it be possible to disable all the retarded metro stuff and just get work done or will you constantly be fighting around it? I want a single preference that would turn it off.
The water used for chip manufacture is a very ultrapure water created through an involved process using mixed media beds, filters, and reverse osmosis membranes. The fertilizer would have never made it to the chip but would have likely fouled the ultrapure water production equipment as it needs repetitively clean feed water. The molecules in the water actually etch the surface of the silicone if they are not removed. - according to an ultrapure water production class I attended.
Ooooh, lot of different things going on here, I just typed a page of explanation, wondered if it was to esoteric, and then Omniweb crashed and I lost it all. That guidance is for medical device development. Very specific. Very complicated. Also very complicated is how to read a guidance in terms of current enforcement. They are written by lawyers and enforced in a particular manner.
I was limiting my observation to the much simpler case of an IT department suddenly deciding to mandate a switch away from Windows, or leaning that way, or phasing things in... whatever.
When I buy laboratory instruments, they come with a validated piece of software that's validated line by line for that instrument. I have never seen validated piece of lab software validated for anything but windows. It may exist but is very uncommon) The validation process is expensive. If I wanted to sub out linux boxes for my windows machines, I could do it if I validated the software for each instrument. First that would take a few years and cost me about $10 million on about $3 million worth of instruments. Second I would need tech specs for the electronic in the instruments that the vendor is not going to provide. Validation is only possible because vendors spread the cost over all their sales and they don't redo it often. I can't afford to change and I have much greater resources at my disposal than most university professors.
For instance, I have one instrument that was validated by the vendor and only runs on a 10 year old copy of window. The vendor will not upgrade the software because they don't want to revalidate the code. It's expensive. That's why a single user license for excel (non validated) costs $90 and a cheap single user copy of the cheapest validated lab software program costs $5000 even though they may do all the same calculations.
Another aspect of validation that just occurred to me is that once complete it can't be changed, so it may be inherently illegal to distribute the source code for a medical device or lab instrument, because the government would never be able to tell if you were running the validation version or a modified and recompiled version. That is just a thought... I can't think of a case where it has come up.
I largely brought this up because it is a frustrating form of mandated government lock-in, and because it is a reality that the OP will need to consider.
I did not say all research. I said government regulated research. Not all research is government regulated. Although as companies are farming out grants for studies to colleges and universities more and more university research will be regulated. He just needs to assess what goes on at his school. In my case if our IT department decided to switch away from windows, I would have to object and have him make an exception for my labs, because the validation of my software is regularly reviewed for the government submissions I make and there is no non-windows validated software to control my instruments. One for instance... The code of federal regulations sections on Good Manufacturing Practices for Drugs (21 CFR) and the section on Good Laboratory practices for non clinical studies require all data controlled by software to be life cycle validated software. This means you cannot do your calculation in RLab or some other open source package. It means your data cannot be archived in open source database. It means that all of your analytical equipment must be controlled by validated software. The entire concept of life cycle validated software precludes the notion of open source as the expense is staggering. That is why an instrument can be controlled in a grad school project with open source software but as soon as it is a regulated study for government regulatory approval you will have to replace it with validated packages in the high five figures.
You are going to need to assess the things that simply cannot be switched to open source and find out how they will be implemented in the new "mostly" open source strategy. For instance, almost all scientific instruments come from vendors that only have a version for windows. Since most government regulations for research, particularly for clinical, medical, and drug research, require a life-cycle validated software, there will be no open source software for these groups. Since your school is very small you probably don't have much technical research equipment.
I have mailed simple text and picture PDF to Amazon and had them convert legibly but with strange spacing and formatting errors. Native PDF's on the Sony are perfectly legible if they are created to the dimensions of the screen. Anything that is rescaled on the Sony varies between unpleasant and illegible.
THe DRM will only be good as long as a device supports it. If a substantially better technology comes out you can't (technically, legally) move yopur files to it. They are only good as long as you have a working Kindle. Your regular books and non DRM ebooks are as good as your backup procedures.
Two reasons that there is value to an ebook reader over PDA or laptop:
1. The eInk screen is substantially easier to read. The Sony 2G is actually uncanny... looks like stickers stuck on the screen. The Kindle is much less contrasty and harder to read.
2. Battery life. eInk does not use significant power unless you are turning the page, so the battery life of these things is on the order of 1week plus with heavy usage. When I have used laptops or PDAs for reading, the batteries die quickly (before I want to stop reading).
Comparing the two.
Sony:
Much more contrast on screen. Very easy to read.
Smaller
Lighter
Much more intuitive user interface. It has multiple choice buttons for navigations.
Better physical design with buttons in convenient positions
Feels more solid and less cheap than Kindle
Software allows you to retag and organize files.
DRM and limited store is a big minus.
Better multiple format support
Kindle:
Staggeringly bad industrial design. Only really one good way to hold the thing without hitting one of the buttons which inexplicably are found on every side. Want to turn up the contrast on the screen. Bizaarr user interface that requires scrolling and multiple clicks with a secondary lcd screen to perform simple functions. Keyboard take a lot of space. No software to tag and oragnize files. So the list of files on the device is unweidly, long, and filled with incomprehensible tags from Gutenberg, Manybooks, or Fictionwise. Very restrictive DRM which cancels out its advantage of having a much larger and easier to use store for books. Wireless is good for subscribing to periodicals, not much else. Amazon has a staggeringly inefficient mail-in system for conversion. No conversion has worked well so far, strange spacing and formatting even in simple documents. They need simple PC software to manage the thing. The self-contained bit is inefficient and a waste of wireless and organization.
I figure there are three kinds of reader:
1. Like me - buy and keep books forever. Neither reader much good because DRM keep you from owning the books forever, just until the store dies or you want to change to a better competing reader. 2. Buy books read and resell - no right-of-resale with either device. 3. Buy "beach books" and throw them away. Both readers were made for you with the Kindle having a better store.
1. Treat others as you would expect to be treated 2. Never assume that anyone has nothing to add to a conversation 3. Keep your shit together; be organized. 4. Realize that even if you follow the above rules there will be politics and CYA that will make you miserable from time to time.
There won't be any impact on the people who buy the stuff. Because they will be able to use the file in any way they wish on any equipment. It will only effect people who want to illegally share the files they just purchases. This is an ideal system for me except for the obvious fact that it will be eventually be easy to remove the watermark. If there is a good system for transfer or watermark registration (also probably impossible) it will be an advantage to the moral consumer because it will provide a technology to preserve the right of resale (which I believe the record companies hate far more than piracy).
I had to declare a major and a minor in a public high school and it couldn't involve any of the required subjects like English. Funny how we keep reinventing things that once to worked and we have let slide. Probably because of the destructive nature of the "No child left behind" policy. At the time I didn't care because I had five majors. But it did make some people think.
... only play music that is more than five years old. If the music industry wants newer material... (the records they want to sell) played on the radio then charge them the standard ad rate. I have bought 50 CDs in the last two months that I would never have bought if I hadn't heard them on the radio. I don't think the mainstream commercial record industry can exist without radio play.
knowlegable. I have had their service installed at three locations in different cities. I have always told them that there are no windows machines in my house and that they cannot touch my router, switches, or computers. They were always happy to tell me all the configuration numbers and they have worked with no problem. On the third install they had to use some kind of call/response program that activated the service to my house, but they had an installer for the mac and for windows. I let them install it on an old mac which I hooked to the network for just that one instance and then promptly removed. The install tech said that it should not be necessary to run that program, but otherwise the (people he had to call in to) would have to look up a number and read it to him on the phone, which they failed to do correctly twice). I have only been to their customer control page one or twice. It would not work on firefox but was fine with safari.
People would always rather do the familiar than what is good for them, even if the familiar is unpleasant. Sort of like how abused children frequently seek out spouses later in life who will likely abuse them.
Again I agree with everything you have said. Your venom in that regard is entertaining and a little disheartening. You are expanding the topic beyond the scope of the initial comment. Whatever. The GPL gives you the source code and you have bought the device. Knock yourself out making things work. That is what I would do. That is what the GPL says about the licensed software. This arrangement has always allowed people to get what they want given the appropriate ability. Involving the hardare is a nonissue in the software license.
I'm sorry but your response makes no sense. In as much as there is logic in your statements I believe you are agreeing with me. Yes, I totally beleive you have the moral right to do whatever you personally want (for your own use) with anything you buy. I never said otherwise. As per this particular article... I do not beleive that just because a a piece of software runs on a particular platform that the software's license has anything to do with the hardware. If it does or if some court finds that it does then that will be the eventual end of the GPL, because no one will invest effort in hardware that they are reposible for on any random level based on the software that may eventaully be applied to it. You do what you want whenever, I agree, just don't feel that you are entitled to any help or service from it/ for it/ or with it.
As to the tangential, and unrelated to the specific subject of the GPL, issue about morality. Morality is a vague and indefined term that is used arebitrarily by people who feel that have something to gain. I travel in third world countries a bit and there is rampant theft, violence, and governmental corruption. When you inquire about why people have to moral responsibility you get the EXACT same answers you see on forums about slashdot relating to IP, I can do what I want, when I want, and no one can force me otherwise, I have a moral right to do these thing because I can't afford things otherwise.
No one like limits, civilization IS limits. Without them you would have a lot more to worry about than which vendor's license or copyright you would like to "morally" violate. Limits are necessary for civilization, civilization makes things practical. Balance is the key. Balance is compromise. Balance is in flux over time. Compromise is when all sides are equally unhappy. Chaos is when one side refused to be the least bit unhappy about anything... ever.
The problem is that the CODE is GPL'd you have the source and can do what you want with it. The hardware is not GPL'd and there is no inherent claim or promise that you can do what you want with it. The overall service is not GPL'd. You have the source code and you are entitled to rewrite the Apple firmware to do whatever you want, with whatever means of hacking. Of course this means that it will any longer work with Apple's system.
If someone wants to start GPL'ing hardware then more power to them, but it IS A DISTICNT issue. An it makes no logical sense to tie the software copyright to a particular piece of hardware. After all you have the source code and can make it run on ANY piece of hardware, why should the license apply to an unforseen piece of hardware. The issue here seems to be that there is some implicit requirement that hardware vendors make it EASY to hack their hardware and guarantee hacks will be compatible with their service, which is not the point of the GPL. THe point of the GPL is that you can modify the software and you may do this on whatever peice of hardware you are geek enough to make work. The iPhone is designed such that this will likely not be worth the time investment.
Really , there is a distinct difference between compressed formats, cds, sacds, dvd-a, and vinyl. It's not hard to hear. It does not take great ears or audiophile "culture". It simply that different formats have different characteristics that differentiate them from hearing the same material live. People have been programmed by copying records to tape and other tapes to tape as they grew up to listen for hiss or pops, which is a common issue of tape. It is easy to hear. The digital formats, even the compressed formats don't have hiss so people's cultural programming says that they sound "CD quality". But that is only in respect to hiss. Digital formats have other distict and easy to hear features that are "culturally" ignored by people. In fact, current recording methods make the other factors less relevant, but still easy to hear. It is very similar to hearing Dana Carvey imitate George Bush. He doesn't sound anything like George Bush when compared side by side, but when you hear them separately it is easy (because of the cultural cues that Dana uses) to say to yourself, "That sounds exactly like George Bush".
The real impact here is going to be on music itself, because if the recording media only "impersonate" the major characterics of music, the more subtle and IMHO important and lasting characteristics of music will be ignored by future musicians.
I asssumed that the reason they want to limit virtualization is that it becomes realitively easy to remove DRM from anything when the OS is virtualized, because the host OS can capture and record whatever "pipe" comes out of the virtual environment. DRM is key to MS vendor lock-in and domination of media markets. Particularly with the OS level DRM integration in Vista.
Typically when a group is labelled, the most interesting thing is the psychology of the group that is doing the labelling. A label is used to contain, restrict, and demean someone with an opposing view, or a view that you simply do not understand. After all, they aren't doing what most people do, so they can't be right can they... But I'm not a lemming so therefore they must be labelled as something else. If the psychology of the fanboy were really important they would name themselves. People in general do not trust people who go against the grain, particularly if they are sure of themselves. This is an issue that is gratly exaggerated on slasdot... where you must begin every post with " In my humble opinion...but I could be wrong...not to be a fanboy but..." If you just state what you think, you are a zealot or narrow-minded, or a fanboy. It should be a given that anything you say is your opinion, people should realize and accept that whether they agree or not. You should not have to beg off abuse in advance. Labels are just a part of the phenomenon of people not being able to accept individual differences (in my humble opinion) through insecurity.
People would label me a unix or mac fanboy depend on the individual comment, but it not because I have a particular attitude about those things, no religious zealotry, no overarchign RMS-philosophy, just that those tools do what I need done. If I ever needed a windows machine, or a PS3, or whatever. I would by one... It has just never come up as an issue. The non-fanboy can't accept that though.. in general...
My driving habits have aways seemed to coax far more mpg out of cars, than I expected. Except for my '03 Beetle, that thing got less than 30 no matter what I did and my 99 Mustang GT which got less than 20 no matter what I did. I have only owned manual transmission cars, so that might be a small factor. I don't really think about gas mileage, but I do read off the trip odometer for each tank and divide by the number of gallons I just put in. I have always been impressed with the 328. The worst I have gotten was 30 and that was in the city when I was really winding it up... atypical... I was just playing... In the city I usually get about 500-520 miles on a tank and put less than 16 gallons, so if there is no highway at all I get better than 32. I have friends who seem to average about 25, but they really lean on it. I have notices that certain gas pumps will click off on the BMW before others so there could be a little fudge factor because it is topped off on some tanks and not on others. I don't like to push it because I don't want gas on the paint. Yeah the trip computer reads 42mpg usually, and I have never believed that.
Slashdot Mirror
Space Battleship Yamato.... finally...
But not this. They are providing a free network support service to vendors that sell through their store. Seems obvious, ethical, and fair. Dropbox is better and simpler anyway because all apps can use it with no API; however Dropbox SELLS its service and gives it away for free as a loss leader.
Will it be possible to disable all the retarded metro stuff and just get work done or will you constantly be fighting around it? I want a single preference that would turn it off.
The water used for chip manufacture is a very ultrapure water created through an involved process using mixed media beds, filters, and reverse osmosis membranes. The fertilizer would have never made it to the chip but would have likely fouled the ultrapure water production equipment as it needs repetitively clean feed water. The molecules in the water actually etch the surface of the silicone if they are not removed. - according to an ultrapure water production class I attended.
Ooooh, lot of different things going on here, I just typed a page of explanation, wondered if it was to esoteric, and then Omniweb crashed and I lost it all. That guidance is for medical device development. Very specific. Very complicated. Also very complicated is how to read a guidance in terms of current enforcement. They are written by lawyers and enforced in a particular manner.
I was limiting my observation to the much simpler case of an IT department suddenly deciding to mandate a switch away from Windows, or leaning that way, or phasing things in... whatever.
When I buy laboratory instruments, they come with a validated piece of software that's validated line by line for that instrument. I have never seen validated piece of lab software validated for anything but windows. It may exist but is very uncommon) The validation process is expensive. If I wanted to sub out linux boxes for my windows machines, I could do it if I validated the software for each instrument. First that would take a few years and cost me about $10 million on about $3 million worth of instruments. Second I would need tech specs for the electronic in the instruments that the vendor is not going to provide. Validation is only possible because vendors spread the cost over all their sales and they don't redo it often. I can't afford to change and I have much greater resources at my disposal than most university professors.
For instance, I have one instrument that was validated by the vendor and only runs on a 10 year old copy of window. The vendor will not upgrade the software because they don't want to revalidate the code. It's expensive. That's why a single user license for excel (non validated) costs $90 and a cheap single user copy of the cheapest validated lab software program costs $5000 even though they may do all the same calculations.
Another aspect of validation that just occurred to me is that once complete it can't be changed, so it may be inherently illegal to distribute the source code for a medical device or lab instrument, because the government would never be able to tell if you were running the validation version or a modified and recompiled version. That is just a thought... I can't think of a case where it has come up.
I largely brought this up because it is a frustrating form of mandated government lock-in, and because it is a reality that the OP will need to consider.
I did not say all research. I said government regulated research. Not all research is government regulated. Although as companies are farming out grants for studies to colleges and universities more and more university research will be regulated. He just needs to assess what goes on at his school. In my case if our IT department decided to switch away from windows, I would have to object and have him make an exception for my labs, because the validation of my software is regularly reviewed for the government submissions I make and there is no non-windows validated software to control my instruments. One for instance... The code of federal regulations sections on Good Manufacturing Practices for Drugs (21 CFR) and the section on Good Laboratory practices for non clinical studies require all data controlled by software to be life cycle validated software. This means you cannot do your calculation in RLab or some other open source package. It means your data cannot be archived in open source database. It means that all of your analytical equipment must be controlled by validated software. The entire concept of life cycle validated software precludes the notion of open source as the expense is staggering. That is why an instrument can be controlled in a grad school project with open source software but as soon as it is a regulated study for government regulatory approval you will have to replace it with validated packages in the high five figures.
You are going to need to assess the things that simply cannot be switched to open source and find out how they will be implemented in the new "mostly" open source strategy. For instance, almost all scientific instruments come from vendors that only have a version for windows. Since most government regulations for research, particularly for clinical, medical, and drug research, require a life-cycle validated software, there will be no open source software for these groups. Since your school is very small you probably don't have much technical research equipment.
I have mailed simple text and picture PDF to Amazon and had them convert legibly but with strange spacing and formatting errors. Native PDF's on the Sony are perfectly legible if they are created to the dimensions of the screen. Anything that is rescaled on the Sony varies between unpleasant and illegible.
THe DRM will only be good as long as a device supports it. If a substantially better technology comes out you can't (technically, legally) move yopur files to it. They are only good as long as you have a working Kindle. Your regular books and non DRM ebooks are as good as your backup procedures.
Two reasons that there is value to an ebook reader over PDA or laptop:
1. The eInk screen is substantially easier to read. The Sony 2G is actually uncanny... looks like stickers stuck on the screen. The Kindle is much less contrasty and harder to read.
2. Battery life. eInk does not use significant power unless you are turning the page, so the battery life of these things is on the order of 1week plus with heavy usage. When I have used laptops or PDAs for reading, the batteries die quickly (before I want to stop reading).
Comparing the two.
Sony:
Much more contrast on screen. Very easy to read.
Smaller
Lighter
Much more intuitive user interface. It has multiple choice buttons for navigations.
Better physical design with buttons in convenient positions
Feels more solid and less cheap than Kindle
Software allows you to retag and organize files.
DRM and limited store is a big minus.
Better multiple format support
Kindle:
Staggeringly bad industrial design. Only really one good way to hold the thing without hitting one of the buttons which inexplicably are found on every side.
Want to turn up the contrast on the screen.
Bizaarr user interface that requires scrolling and multiple clicks with a secondary lcd screen to perform simple functions.
Keyboard take a lot of space.
No software to tag and oragnize files. So the list of files on the device is unweidly, long, and filled with incomprehensible tags from Gutenberg, Manybooks, or Fictionwise.
Very restrictive DRM which cancels out its advantage of having a much larger and easier to use store for books.
Wireless is good for subscribing to periodicals, not much else.
Amazon has a staggeringly inefficient mail-in system for conversion. No conversion has worked well so far, strange spacing and formatting even in simple documents.
They need simple PC software to manage the thing. The self-contained bit is inefficient and a waste of wireless and organization.
I figure there are three kinds of reader:
1. Like me - buy and keep books forever. Neither reader much good because DRM keep you from owning the books forever, just until the store dies or you want to change to a better competing reader.
2. Buy books read and resell - no right-of-resale with either device.
3. Buy "beach books" and throw them away. Both readers were made for you with the Kindle having a better store.
1. Treat others as you would expect to be treated
2. Never assume that anyone has nothing to add to a conversation
3. Keep your shit together; be organized.
4. Realize that even if you follow the above rules there will be politics and CYA that will make you miserable from time to time.
There won't be any impact on the people who buy the stuff. Because they will be able to use the file in any way they wish on any equipment. It will only effect people who want to illegally share the files they just purchases. This is an ideal system for me except for the obvious fact that it will be eventually be easy to remove the watermark. If there is a good system for transfer or watermark registration (also probably impossible) it will be an advantage to the moral consumer because it will provide a technology to preserve the right of resale (which I believe the record companies hate far more than piracy).
I had to declare a major and a minor in a public high school and it couldn't involve any of the required subjects like English. Funny how we keep reinventing things that once to worked and we have let slide. Probably because of the destructive nature of the "No child left behind" policy. At the time I didn't care because I had five majors. But it did make some people think.
... only play music that is more than five years old. If the music industry wants newer material... (the records they want to sell) played on the radio then charge them the standard ad rate. I have bought 50 CDs in the last two months that I would never have bought if I hadn't heard them on the radio. I don't think the mainstream commercial record industry can exist without radio play.
but the deal-breaker would be the fact that the ads are probably driven by the collection of personal information as alluded to in the Vista EULA.
All my life I have heard... "Yeah... but Windows is free."
knowlegable. I have had their service installed at three locations in different cities. I have always told them that there are no windows machines in my house and that they cannot touch my router, switches, or computers. They were always happy to tell me all the configuration numbers and they have worked with no problem. On the third install they had to use some kind of call/response program that activated the service to my house, but they had an installer for the mac and for windows. I let them install it on an old mac which I hooked to the network for just that one instance and then promptly removed. The install tech said that it should not be necessary to run that program, but otherwise the (people he had to call in to) would have to look up a number and read it to him on the phone, which they failed to do correctly twice). I have only been to their customer control page one or twice. It would not work on firefox but was fine with safari.
People would always rather do the familiar than what is good for them, even if the familiar is unpleasant. Sort of like how abused children frequently seek out spouses later in life who will likely abuse them.
Again I agree with everything you have said. Your venom in that regard is entertaining and a little disheartening. You are expanding the topic beyond the scope of the initial comment. Whatever. The GPL gives you the source code and you have bought the device. Knock yourself out making things work. That is what I would do. That is what the GPL says about the licensed software. This arrangement has always allowed people to get what they want given the appropriate ability. Involving the hardare is a nonissue in the software license.
I envy you the world you think you live in.
I'm sorry but your response makes no sense. In as much as there is logic in your statements I believe you are agreeing with me. Yes, I totally beleive you have the moral right to do whatever you personally want (for your own use) with anything you buy. I never said otherwise. As per this particular article... I do not beleive that just because a a piece of software runs on a particular platform that the software's license has anything to do with the hardware. If it does or if some court finds that it does then that will be the eventual end of the GPL, because no one will invest effort in hardware that they are reposible for on any random level based on the software that may eventaully be applied to it. You do what you want whenever, I agree, just don't feel that you are entitled to any help or service from it/ for it/ or with it.
As to the tangential, and unrelated to the specific subject of the GPL, issue about morality. Morality is a vague and indefined term that is used arebitrarily by people who feel that have something to gain. I travel in third world countries a bit and there is rampant theft, violence, and governmental corruption. When you inquire about why people have to moral responsibility you get the EXACT same answers you see on forums about slashdot relating to IP, I can do what I want, when I want, and no one can force me otherwise, I have a moral right to do these thing because I can't afford things otherwise.
No one like limits, civilization IS limits. Without them you would have a lot more to worry about than which vendor's license or copyright you would like to "morally" violate. Limits are necessary for civilization, civilization makes things practical. Balance is the key. Balance is compromise. Balance is in flux over time. Compromise is when all sides are equally unhappy. Chaos is when one side refused to be the least bit unhappy about anything... ever.
The problem is that the CODE is GPL'd you have the source and can do what you want with it. The hardware is not GPL'd and there is no inherent claim or promise that you can do what you want with it. The overall service is not GPL'd. You have the source code and you are entitled to rewrite the Apple firmware to do whatever you want, with whatever means of hacking. Of course this means that it will any longer work with Apple's system.
If someone wants to start GPL'ing hardware then more power to them, but it IS A DISTICNT issue. An it makes no logical sense to tie the software copyright to a particular piece of hardware. After all you have the source code and can make it run on ANY piece of hardware, why should the license apply to an unforseen piece of hardware. The issue here seems to be that there is some implicit requirement that hardware vendors make it EASY to hack their hardware and guarantee hacks will be compatible with their service, which is not the point of the GPL. THe point of the GPL is that you can modify the software and you may do this on whatever peice of hardware you are geek enough to make work. The iPhone is designed such that this will likely not be worth the time investment.
Really , there is a distinct difference between compressed formats, cds, sacds, dvd-a, and vinyl. It's not hard to hear. It does not take great ears or audiophile "culture". It simply that different formats have different characteristics that differentiate them from hearing the same material live. People have been programmed by copying records to tape and other tapes to tape as they grew up to listen for hiss or pops, which is a common issue of tape. It is easy to hear. The digital formats, even the compressed formats don't have hiss so people's cultural programming says that they sound "CD quality". But that is only in respect to hiss. Digital formats have other distict and easy to hear features that are "culturally" ignored by people. In fact, current recording methods make the other factors less relevant, but still easy to hear. It is very similar to hearing Dana Carvey imitate George Bush. He doesn't sound anything like George Bush when compared side by side, but when you hear them separately it is easy (because of the cultural cues that Dana uses) to say to yourself, "That sounds exactly like George Bush".
The real impact here is going to be on music itself, because if the recording media only "impersonate" the major characterics of music, the more subtle and IMHO important and lasting characteristics of music will be ignored by future musicians.
I asssumed that the reason they want to limit virtualization is that it becomes realitively easy to remove DRM from anything when the OS is virtualized, because the host OS can capture and record whatever "pipe" comes out of the virtual environment. DRM is key to MS vendor lock-in and domination of media markets. Particularly with the OS level DRM integration in Vista.
Typically when a group is labelled, the most interesting thing is the psychology of the group that is doing the labelling. A label is used to contain, restrict, and demean someone with an opposing view, or a view that you simply do not understand. After all, they aren't doing what most people do, so they can't be right can they... But I'm not a lemming so therefore they must be labelled as something else. If the psychology of the fanboy were really important they would name themselves. People in general do not trust people who go against the grain, particularly if they are sure of themselves. This is an issue that is gratly exaggerated on slasdot... where you must begin every post with " In my humble opinion...but I could be wrong...not to be a fanboy but..." If you just state what you think, you are a zealot or narrow-minded, or a fanboy. It should be a given that anything you say is your opinion, people should realize and accept that whether they agree or not. You should not have to beg off abuse in advance. Labels are just a part of the phenomenon of people not being able to accept individual differences (in my humble opinion) through insecurity.
People would label me a unix or mac fanboy depend on the individual comment, but it not because I have a particular attitude about those things, no religious zealotry, no overarchign RMS-philosophy, just that those tools do what I need done. If I ever needed a windows machine, or a PS3, or whatever. I would by one... It has just never come up as an issue. The non-fanboy can't accept that though.. in general...
My driving habits have aways seemed to coax far more mpg out of cars, than I expected. Except for my '03 Beetle, that thing got less than 30 no matter what I did and my 99 Mustang GT which got less than 20 no matter what I did. I have only owned manual transmission cars, so that might be a small factor. I don't really think about gas mileage, but I do read off the trip odometer for each tank and divide by the number of gallons I just put in. I have always been impressed with the 328. The worst I have gotten was 30 and that was in the city when I was really winding it up... atypical... I was just playing... In the city I usually get about 500-520 miles on a tank and put less than 16 gallons, so if there is no highway at all I get better than 32. I have friends who seem to average about 25, but they really lean on it. I have notices that certain gas pumps will click off on the BMW before others so there could be a little fudge factor because it is topped off on some tanks and not on others. I don't like to push it because I don't want gas on the paint. Yeah the trip computer reads 42mpg usually, and I have never believed that.