I have mine record movements while out as well as speak "Intruder alert, intruder alert" hoping to scare any would-be burglers away while snapping their photo.
No no no.. you want to play something that would arouse their curiosity, not scare them. That way, they walk over and stare at the computer (and camera).
While the blame lies with the kids and their parents for not reading the details of the plans they sign up for, i have a lot of sympathy for them: it's not intuitive that ringtones and SMS messages would be so expensive since they feel like things that should cost next to nothing.
In other words, when i found out i could download AIM for my phone, i initially assumed the price must be something reasonable, since as a programmer i know that an SMS message probably take up the bandwidth equivalent of a few seconds of voice call, and voice calls cost about $0.0022 cents per second.
Luckily before i started using it i found out that each IM (note: i didn't say "each IM session") costs 10 cents. Yikes!
It's sort of like a hotel mini-bar. When a naive person first comes across one, they think, "Oh, i could go for a soda. That costs about 89 cents, so i'm sure with a hotel markup, it'll be like $1.50 or $2." Then they find out the mini-bar price is $5. It's their own fault, but it's understandable since one doesn't expect such a large markup.
The question is, since we live in a land of capitalism and the cell phone market has tremendous competition, why hasn't the price of SMS messaging dropped? For that matter, why hasn't the price of mini-bar food dropped?
What, you actually expect me to believe your carefully-researched facts over the unsubstantiated rumors of some guy who doesn't know how to spell "nickel" or "lose"?
Last.fm doesn't let you buy the music. That's an absolutely essential part of the system i was talking about -- if i hear something i like on last.fm, it's easier for me to go steal the song on Gnutella than buy it legitimately. So i'd do that. But if i could click a button and have it bought and saved (hey, it's already on my hard drive), that's a lot easier than firing up a P2P app, so i'd do that instead.
Second, how will you ensure that this stream isn't diverted to somewhere else -- say, a hard drive?
Let them. There are already plenty of ways to steal music, and they'll never be stopped. You just have to accept this -- and understand that it doesn't preclude a successful business. Look at Apple.
If there were an easier, faster, higher-quality music service with personalized recommendations, i think people would choose it over Kazaa / etc even if it cost money.
The great problem (read: opportunity) with music is that supply doesn't meet demand: I'm sick of my music collection, i want to find new stuff, but it's really hard because you can't search for what you don't know exists.
If i were the RIAA or one of its licensed resellers (e.g., Apple, Napster, Tower Records), i would provide people with their own personalized Internet radio station:
You launch the application, and they start streaming you some music. If you like it, you give it a thumbs-up. If you don't, you give it a thumbs-down (and probably skip to the next song). Pretty soon they've built up a profile for you and can search their database for other people with your tastes. You're discovering all sorts of new music that you never would have heard of.
But it's just a stream -- you can't save the songs and listen to them anytime you want. Unless you click "Buy this song", in which case the MP3 is saved to your hard drive. Perhaps you could even recommend songs to friends.
Maybe the radio station could be subscription-based, but i'd run it as a loss-leader.
There. That'll increase music sales tenfold. As a nice side-effect, little upstart bands could make it big (or simply make enough to support themselves) without having to get "discovered" by an "insider".
Does this mean they're going to take Handspring's OS, change a few strings, add some placeboware, call it a revolutionary new product, and go headfirst into IPO?
Who said publishers consent to the existence of libraries? The only reason libraries are legal is that they were invented before the publishing industry discovered lobbying.
Do you think everyone on kazaa or bittorrent returns the stuff they download after 2 weeks?
What's that got to do with anything? If i borrow a book from the library, read it, and return it, i'm probably not going to buy it. From the publisher's perspective, my borrowing a book from a library is indistinguishable from my downloading a book from the Internet.
Are you trying to imply that Copyright Infringement is comparable to a library?
Note that Hilary spells her name with one "l". This is the case with the vast majority of Hil(l)arys, at least in the United States. But the former first lady, a notable exception, has caused all these poor Hilarys (Hilaries?) to spend the rest of their lives having their names misspelled. Hilary Rosen deserves such an awful fate, but for the sake of the others, I ask you to mind your "l"s.
Won't somebody please think of the Hilarys?
The preceding was paid for by the Coalition for Hilary Awareness.
Reminds me of a joke. Philosopher and engineer are in a bar when in walks a gorgeous woman. Engineer says, "I'm going to go talk to her. I resolve that i'm gonna [ you know what ] with her tonight." Philosopher says, "Actually, that's impossible. In order to touch her, you'll have to first cross to the point midway between the two of you. And then you'll have to get to the point midway from there. And so on. You can never actually reach her."
One "l", dude. 99% of them spell it that way, including a friend of mine. Then Clinton was elected, and from that point on, nobody would ever spell their names right again.
Slashdot Mirror
The increase in computing power makes all hashes absolete eventually, and this change only means that SHA-1 will be absolete faster.
Obsolutely right!
I have mine record movements while out as well as speak "Intruder alert, intruder alert" hoping to scare any would-be burglers away while snapping their photo.
.. you want to play something that would arouse their curiosity, not scare them. That way, they walk over and stare at the computer (and camera).
No no no
According to GamerCentric, Nintendo has licensed Palm OS software although there intentions are not clear.
I have no idea what there intentions are, but i'm sure their up to something good. They're are many cool things they could be planning.
No.
Next question.
Maybe "voma" is a pseudonym for Laura Didio.
What does that mean?
In related news, Wilbert Rideau has been released.
Oh, awesome -- i've been waiting to play that for months!
They need cell phones so their friends can reach them wherever they are.
While the blame lies with the kids and their parents for not reading the details of the plans they sign up for, i have a lot of sympathy for them: it's not intuitive that ringtones and SMS messages would be so expensive since they feel like things that should cost next to nothing.
In other words, when i found out i could download AIM for my phone, i initially assumed the price must be something reasonable, since as a programmer i know that an SMS message probably take up the bandwidth equivalent of a few seconds of voice call, and voice calls cost about $0.0022 cents per second.
Luckily before i started using it i found out that each IM (note: i didn't say "each IM session") costs 10 cents. Yikes!
It's sort of like a hotel mini-bar. When a naive person first comes across one, they think, "Oh, i could go for a soda. That costs about 89 cents, so i'm sure with a hotel markup, it'll be like $1.50 or $2." Then they find out the mini-bar price is $5. It's their own fault, but it's understandable since one doesn't expect such a large markup.
The question is, since we live in a land of capitalism and the cell phone market has tremendous competition, why hasn't the price of SMS messaging dropped? For that matter, why hasn't the price of mini-bar food dropped?
Fine, i'll do Slashdot and Wired's jobs for them:
Screenshots
From what you say, the expected return would be 35/36, which is 97.2%, giving a house advantage of 2.8%.
The way you describe it, the house wouldn't have any advantage at all -- let's say i bet $50 on red, and you bet $50 on black.
If it comes up red, the house breaks even.
If it comes up black, the house breaks even.
If it comes up green, it's a do-over.
When does the house make money?
Or do i misunderstand?
With 0 and 00, your expected return is 36/38 = 0.947.
With just 0, it's 36/37, or 0.972.
The house advantages are 1 minus that, or 5.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Compare that the 0.6% advantage of, say, Craps with double odds.
http://wizardofodds.com/games/craps/
What, you actually expect me to believe your carefully-researched facts over the unsubstantiated rumors of some guy who doesn't know how to spell "nickel" or "lose"?
Last.fm doesn't let you buy the music. That's an absolutely essential part of the system i was talking about -- if i hear something i like on last.fm, it's easier for me to go steal the song on Gnutella than buy it legitimately. So i'd do that. But if i could click a button and have it bought and saved (hey, it's already on my hard drive), that's a lot easier than firing up a P2P app, so i'd do that instead.
I'm motivated by laziness, not stinginess.
Second, how will you ensure that this stream isn't diverted to somewhere else -- say, a hard drive?
Let them. There are already plenty of ways to steal music, and they'll never be stopped. You just have to accept this -- and understand that it doesn't preclude a successful business. Look at Apple.
If there were an easier, faster, higher-quality music service with personalized recommendations, i think people would choose it over Kazaa / etc even if it cost money.
The great problem (read: opportunity) with music is that supply doesn't meet demand: I'm sick of my music collection, i want to find new stuff, but it's really hard because you can't search for what you don't know exists.
If i were the RIAA or one of its licensed resellers (e.g., Apple, Napster, Tower Records), i would provide people with their own personalized Internet radio station:
You launch the application, and they start streaming you some music. If you like it, you give it a thumbs-up. If you don't, you give it a thumbs-down (and probably skip to the next song). Pretty soon they've built up a profile for you and can search their database for other people with your tastes. You're discovering all sorts of new music that you never would have heard of.
But it's just a stream -- you can't save the songs and listen to them anytime you want. Unless you click "Buy this song", in which case the MP3 is saved to your hard drive. Perhaps you could even recommend songs to friends.
Maybe the radio station could be subscription-based, but i'd run it as a loss-leader.
There. That'll increase music sales tenfold. As a nice side-effect, little upstart bands could make it big (or simply make enough to support themselves) without having to get "discovered" by an "insider".
Did anyone else read the headline and think this was about some kind of peripheral that calibrates beer-making machines?
PalmOne?
Does this mean they're going to take Handspring's OS, change a few strings, add some placeboware, call it a revolutionary new product, and go headfirst into IPO?
Or maybe i'm confusing them with someone else...
without the consent of the owner?
Who said publishers consent to the existence of libraries? The only reason libraries are legal is that they were invented before the publishing industry discovered lobbying.
Do you think everyone on kazaa or bittorrent returns the stuff they download after 2 weeks?
What's that got to do with anything? If i borrow a book from the library, read it, and return it, i'm probably not going to buy it. From the publisher's perspective, my borrowing a book from a library is indistinguishable from my downloading a book from the Internet.
Are you trying to imply that Copyright Infringement is comparable to a library?
You got it. See my journal.
You're right -- i was told never to go to the library.
Note that Hilary spells her name with one "l". This is the case with the vast majority of Hil(l)arys, at least in the United States. But the former first lady, a notable exception, has caused all these poor Hilarys (Hilaries?) to spend the rest of their lives having their names misspelled. Hilary Rosen deserves such an awful fate, but for the sake of the others, I ask you to mind your "l"s.
Won't somebody please think of the Hilarys?
The preceding was paid for by the Coalition for Hilary Awareness.
the famous oozalum bird
The what?
All i can find on Google are a bunch of brief mentions that it was a plot device in a British movie, with no mention of infinite regression.
What's the bird do?
Thanks
Reminds me of a joke. Philosopher and engineer are in a bar when in walks a gorgeous woman. Engineer says, "I'm going to go talk to her. I resolve that i'm gonna [ you know what ] with her tonight." Philosopher says, "Actually, that's impossible. In order to touch her, you'll have to first cross to the point midway between the two of you. And then you'll have to get to the point midway from there. And so on. You can never actually reach her."
And the engineer says, "I'll get close enough."
Okay, that comment just made me change your little color dealie from red to green.
One "l", dude. 99% of them spell it that way, including a friend of mine. Then Clinton was elected, and from that point on, nobody would ever spell their names right again.