Ok, one of the weirdest things EVER has just happened to me. I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep and my mind started to drift. The way it was drifting felt vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. After thinking a while longer, it eventually occured to me that it felt like a scene I had imagined while reading a specific book as a kid, like 20 years ago. I couldn't remember anything about the book, except this one detail. After thinking a little more, I picked out a few more details from which I could hopefully perform a successful internet search to find the exact title of the book (and also confirm the scene).
Jump forward a few minutes. I'm sitting at my computer running my searches and turning up nothing (although I did turn up some interesting links to other childhood books of mine that I loved reading and had forgotten about). After fruitlessly digging for a title or an author or anything useful about the book, I gave up and decided to look at a couple of news sites before going back to bed.
Now here's the freaky part. Remember that I hadn't thought about this book for twenty years. The first news site I go to is Slashdot. The first story on the page, posted well after I had gone to bed the first time, was a feature about that exact book being reprinted in September.
The instant I saw the headline, my jaw dropped. I knew immediately that it was the title and book I had been trying to remember all night. I mean, what are the odds? Needless to say, I'm glad the book is being reprinted, but I'm also a little freaked out about the coincidence. I've heard people claim that coincidences like that aren't real. That I must have seen a story about it somewhere else earlier in the day or the week, and just didn't remember. Something to tie my though to a reality. I can tell you that the chain of thoughts that led up to thinking about the book completely precludes that. There is no possible way that I could have been reminded about that book prior to laying in bed a few minutes ago.
Perhaps, except that's not how DC worked. You'd scan an ad or a product and it would take you to Amazon or to the manufacturer's website or something. Which goes back to my question: If I've already bought $PRODUCT, why do I care about the reviews or the ads or whatever?
The Michigan MLS site is complete by law (except for Sale by Owner). All licensed real estate agents in Michigan are required to submit their homes for sale to the MLS database.
Personally, I love my TiVo and I'm happy to see that it has such widespread name-recognition that it's considered the "standard" in PVR's.
I don't throw a flying disc.
I don't blow my nose on a tissue.
I don't get rid of headaches with acetylsalicylic acid.
I don't time-shift my Cinemax soft-core porn with a PVR.
They're assuming that by default, everyone wants to participate when the exact opposite is probably true.
They're not assuming everyone wants to participate. They're *forcing* everyone to participate because it's good for their business. Microsoft never assumes anything. They do things for specific reasons.
You definitely have a valid point. However, change the font size or removing banner ads is somewhat different from changing the actual content of the site. What if Microsoft decides that my company is a competitive threat? What's to stop it from automatically adding links to its own site everytime I put "MyCompany" in an article on my own site? The amount of editorial control over content on a site that Microsoft does not own is the issue here.
The article linked in the story is a good example of how a piece of information could be subverted using Smart Tags:
But then again, what if someone went through this entire column and underlined words, without my permission (link to unflattering photo of author) and then put in the links to Web sites and pages that made a mockery or subverted everything I wrote (link to photo of Karl Marx)? Yes, I could see how that would really be annoying (link to high school yearbook photo of author).
Frankly, if I write a story and post it on my website, I don't want Microsoft deciding what gets hyperlinked and what doesn't. I consider the hyperlinks to be part of the content that I "approve" for my article.
Yeah, well, according to the article at SpaceDaily.com:
"Its primary subsystems have been packaged in several transportable, semi-trailer-sized shipping containers, allowing it to be deployed to other test or operational locations."
I'd really like to see how they manage to fit a laser with enough power to damage or destroy even a small (perhaps man-sized or car-sized) target into the back of a pickup truck and still have room for those cell-phone-and-360-degree-camera-using passengers.
Granted, who knows what the military has under development, but a year isn't much time to engineer a three-semi (or one-747) sized piece of equipment down to a truck-bed.
What I'd like to see is a computer that can analyze my face, figure out that I haven't slept in three days, and have it direct me to caffeine and hacker book vendors.
Better yet, have it automatically bitch-slap your boss for overworking you, and then have it automatically schedule you for a free one-week vacation as your reward.
Why the hell would I want a SOYUZ?! I mean, everything is in RUSSIAN, for crissakes! How am I supposed to fly it?! I can't even work my *stereo* when I mislay the english instructions.
We (the TiVo using community) knew they were collecting anonymous information. What did you *think* they were going to use it for? TiVo has also gone out of their way to make sure you can opt out as well.
If it makes my television viewing better, then I'm all for *anonymous* tracking.
Oh, gee. Another whiz-bang product that will either never see the light of day, or be so ridiculously over-priced as to be out of the reach of any normal user.
Am I the only one sick of seeing "concept" devices?
Initially, the school bureaucracy deferred to those who might have been uncomfortable.
Nowhere in the Bill of Rights does it say anything about the right to not be offended. However, the Constitution of the United States SPECIFICALLY guarantees your freedom of speech. Oh, wait, children don't have rights, I forgot.
Blah blah blah huge hardrives possible yadda yadda blah any minute now blah blah blah revolutionize blah blah blah you'll never actually see this technology in use anywhere yadda yadda blah blah....
Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot scoops themselves again! By almost a year this time.
Am I the only one that thinks the designer went to the Quake Arena School of Architectural Design?
Why not use a high-quality automotive paint? Slick that puppy right up! What made him think black dye would do the trick?
Personally, I'd recommend FlexProducts' Chromaflair colorshifting paint, with a polypropylene/urethane primer to soften the plastic a bit first.
Ok, one of the weirdest things EVER has just happened to me. I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep and my mind started to drift. The way it was drifting felt vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. After thinking a while longer, it eventually occured to me that it felt like a scene I had imagined while reading a specific book as a kid, like 20 years ago. I couldn't remember anything about the book, except this one detail. After thinking a little more, I picked out a few more details from which I could hopefully perform a successful internet search to find the exact title of the book (and also confirm the scene).
Jump forward a few minutes. I'm sitting at my computer running my searches and turning up nothing (although I did turn up some interesting links to other childhood books of mine that I loved reading and had forgotten about). After fruitlessly digging for a title or an author or anything useful about the book, I gave up and decided to look at a couple of news sites before going back to bed.
Now here's the freaky part. Remember that I hadn't thought about this book for twenty years. The first news site I go to is Slashdot. The first story on the page, posted well after I had gone to bed the first time, was a feature about that exact book being reprinted in September.
The instant I saw the headline, my jaw dropped. I knew immediately that it was the title and book I had been trying to remember all night. I mean, what are the odds? Needless to say, I'm glad the book is being reprinted, but I'm also a little freaked out about the coincidence. I've heard people claim that coincidences like that aren't real. That I must have seen a story about it somewhere else earlier in the day or the week, and just didn't remember. Something to tie my though to a reality. I can tell you that the chain of thoughts that led up to thinking about the book completely precludes that. There is no possible way that I could have been reminded about that book prior to laying in bed a few minutes ago.
Perhaps, except that's not how DC worked. You'd scan an ad or a product and it would take you to Amazon or to the manufacturer's website or something. Which goes back to my question: If I've already bought $PRODUCT, why do I care about the reviews or the ads or whatever?
FP
I agree. Why the hell would I wanna scan in the barcode on a book I've already bought?
What we need is a good inflatable technology scientist. Paging Dr. Schlock...
The Michigan MLS site is complete by law (except for Sale by Owner). All licensed real estate agents in Michigan are required to submit their homes for sale to the MLS database.
FP
Heh...who needs to re-type stuff when there's Google and cut-n-paste? :)
Frisbee=Kleenex=Aspirin=TiVo
Personally, I love my TiVo and I'm happy to see that it has such widespread name-recognition that it's considered the "standard" in PVR's.
I don't throw a flying disc.
I don't blow my nose on a tissue.
I don't get rid of headaches with acetylsalicylic acid.
I don't time-shift my Cinemax soft-core porn with a PVR.
FP
They're assuming that by default, everyone wants to participate when the exact opposite is probably true.
They're not assuming everyone wants to participate. They're *forcing* everyone to participate because it's good for their business. Microsoft never assumes anything. They do things for specific reasons.
You definitely have a valid point. However, change the font size or removing banner ads is somewhat different from changing the actual content of the site. What if Microsoft decides that my company is a competitive threat? What's to stop it from automatically adding links to its own site everytime I put "MyCompany" in an article on my own site? The amount of editorial control over content on a site that Microsoft does not own is the issue here.
The article linked in the story is a good example of how a piece of information could be subverted using Smart Tags:
But then again, what if someone went through this entire column and underlined words, without my permission (link to unflattering photo of author) and then put in the links to Web sites and pages that made a mockery or subverted everything I wrote (link to photo of Karl Marx)? Yes, I could see how that would really be annoying (link to high school yearbook photo of author).
Frankly, if I write a story and post it on my website, I don't want Microsoft deciding what gets hyperlinked and what doesn't. I consider the hyperlinks to be part of the content that I "approve" for my article.
You forgot "Oh, and avoid Meade like the plague. It's the Packard Bell of telescopes!"
FP
They also don't moderate for TiVo. The AVSForums are completely independent. It's a fan-site.
FP
The moderators don't work for TiVo.
FP
Pinto Drive, Commerce Twp, MI
N42 35.641' W83 27.383'
Approximately the center of town.
FP
Yeah, well, according to the article at SpaceDaily.com:
"Its primary subsystems have been packaged in several transportable, semi-trailer-sized shipping containers, allowing it to be deployed to other test or operational locations."
I'd really like to see how they manage to fit a laser with enough power to damage or destroy even a small (perhaps man-sized or car-sized) target into the back of a pickup truck and still have room for those cell-phone-and-360-degree-camera-using passengers.
Granted, who knows what the military has under development, but a year isn't much time to engineer a three-semi (or one-747) sized piece of equipment down to a truck-bed.
What I'd like to see is a computer that can analyze my face, figure out that I haven't slept in three days, and have it direct me to caffeine and hacker book vendors.
Better yet, have it automatically bitch-slap your boss for overworking you, and then have it automatically schedule you for a free one-week vacation as your reward.
Why the hell would I want a SOYUZ?! I mean, everything is in RUSSIAN, for crissakes! How am I supposed to fly it?! I can't even work my *stereo* when I mislay the english instructions.
We (the TiVo using community) knew they were collecting anonymous information. What did you *think* they were going to use it for? TiVo has also gone out of their way to make sure you can opt out as well.
If it makes my television viewing better, then I'm all for *anonymous* tracking.
FP
Oh, gee. Another whiz-bang product that will either never see the light of day, or be so ridiculously over-priced as to be out of the reach of any normal user.
Am I the only one sick of seeing "concept" devices?
FP
Initially, the school bureaucracy deferred to those who might have been uncomfortable.
Nowhere in the Bill of Rights does it say anything about the right to not be offended. However, the Constitution of the United States SPECIFICALLY guarantees your freedom of speech. Oh, wait, children don't have rights, I forgot.
FP
So, basically, as long as the game has something block-shaped, you're good to go? You must *love* crate levels in first-person shooters. ;)
FP
Blah blah blah huge hardrives possible yadda yadda blah any minute now blah blah blah revolutionize blah blah blah you'll never actually see this technology in use anywhere yadda yadda blah blah....