The poor planning and consequential failure of DIA baggage handling system must have a great cause buried somewhere in a combination of arrogance, ignorance, and failure to learn from past SUCCESSES.
In 1981 Boeing and Eastern Air Lines and Delta unveiled William B. Hartsfield International (Atlanta) airport's people mover system and baggage handling system. The baggage handling system uses barcoded carts and scanners, magnetic field cart door stops, and more widgets that were state-of-the-art 25 years ago -- and the system still keeps on hauling bags.
(Before increased security) The baggage system was so fast and accurate that if you drove up to the terminal and gave the agent your bag and ticket, your bag would be on the airplane in about four minutes. You might not make your flight, but your bag was gone.
Eastern is gone and Delta took over the baggage systems and the airport grew. The system works great. Most of Delta's Atlanta baggage system "failures" occur when humans "cause" the failures.
So why wasn't DIA able to improve upon or even replicate the success of Atlanta ten years later? Isn't stealing code the highest form of flattery? Did they bother to talk to Boeing? Did they bother to find the engineers that made Atlanta a success? The Eastern engineers are obviously no longer employed at Eastern! (Note: Federal Express hired some of the Eastern engineers to work on their hubs.) (There was an unconfirmed rumor that when DIA's baggage system was unveiled to failure, they tried to track down the Eastern engineers to get them to fix it. I know that one Eastern engineer disconnected his phone to avoid any headhunters.)
I do think the NYT article is a little disingenuous -- with more than a little pro-union slant. If humans don't want a machine to work, they can make it not work. (Luddites and unions for example.) On the union's side: driving half way to Nebraska to catch a flight "from Denver" makes one wonder about the airport planners' competence...
BONUS for reading this far: Ever wonder why there is an underground tunnel from the high number gates of Atlanta's B concourse to the high number gates of C concourse, but there is no underground concourse at the low number gate ends? When Hartsfield was built, Delta had A concourse and the low half of B. Eastern had C concourse and high half of B. Eastern thought that it only made sense to connect the high ends to make it easier on the passengers, but Eastern didn't show all of its cards to Delta. When the airport was opened and the high B-C concourse tunnel was unveiled, Delta was surprised.
See-gnet will probably report this as "Apple Boobytraps iPod to Prevent Third Party Upgrades."
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t_allardyce is correct: Forget plastique and AK-47s! The iPod will now be considered a terrorist instrument and go the way of the Victorinox SwissCard, nailcippers, fingernail files...
"Take this airplane to Miami or I'll drop this iPod in the blue toilet water! Then fish it out and open it!"
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OSHA will proabably step in and The iPod will go the way of pressure cookers, Jarts, Clackers, the Corvair...
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If your mind is your primary weapon -- this article proves there's a whole bunch of unarmed people running around.
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Protecting your iPod Amendment Rights, The National iPod Association, NiA, introduced their new motto: "They can have my iPod when they pry it from my cold, battery acid covered, dead hands."
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Is this another RIAA MPAA attempt to squelch file swapping?
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From the people who brought you Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles": "kaBoom Boxes!"
"This is a stick up! Give me all your money or I'll open this iPod which I previously dropped into the toilet!"
Roughly what percentage of your audio collection comes from time shifted streaming audio? For me over 90% (in minutes).
I record and download several internet streaming audio broadcasts. I keep about a month's worth of them on my iPod. Sure, they may not 'outnumber' the iPod songs which I BOUGHT and the three or four songs I was given, but the songs' average length is measured in ones of minutes and the radio programs' average length is measured in ones of hours.
Air America Radio - 4 programs per weekday - about 12 hours a day
Neal Boortz - 1 program per weekday - about 2 hours a day
Local programming - 2 programs per weekday - about 3 hours a day
Mac Radio News - 1 program per week - about 1 hour a week
Doctor Demento - 1 program per week - about two hours a week
HHGGMMIV - 1 episode per week - about 0.5 hours per week
And you'll also find the speeches from the RNC and DNC 2004 conventions (Thanks, audible.com!) and the presidential and vice presidential debates...
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Let's accuse the accuser!
Perhaps a few questions for Mr. Ballmerde would be:
What percent of Microsoft Windows comes from ripping off now-dead software companies?
What percent of Microsoft Windows comes from ripping off existing software companies?
What percent of the unworking portions of Microsoft Windows could/would/should work if Microsoft hadn't blocked third party software companies' products?
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I tried to give away bootleg copies of "My Life" but no one wanted them.
I am disappointed that the Japanese scientists stooped to the stereotypical and politically incorrect "Japonium."
I think that the culturally reflective and historically pensive "Godzilium" or "Rodanium" would be more chic, 'moderne,' and appropriate. (Although I do like the previously mentioned "Pokemonium.")
Perhaps they would also consider "Karaokenium" or "Mystiethreekaynium"...
I had planned to fly Concorde on December 17 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of flight. When BA and AF announced the Concorde's retirement, it became now or never.
On April 14, 2003, I caught the Concorde from JFK to CDG.
When you walk up to the ticket counter, you notice a separate queue with velvet ropes and engraved letters. Concorde. The ticket counter personnel were phenom. They could not do enough to ensure a pleasureable journey.
The Concorde Lounge is separate from the rest of the concourse. The champagne was warm and tart, and the food was Euro-trash. The lounge attendants were typically-disinterested.
The Concorde sat facing the waiting area windows. When the pilots checked the droop-snoot's operation, the windows filled with cameras and camcorders.
Once aboard, Concorde was extremely plush. The seats were huge, and new, clean leather. The carpets and paneling were fresh and clean. Everything gave you the impression of pride and attentiveness.
Although there is only "first class" on Concorde, there are two sections. The front section is for politicians, royalty, entertainers, and such. I was in the aft section.
The flight attendants wore suits and were extremely professional, courteous, and attentive. I heard one steward speak five different languages.
The Dom Perignon '94 was good but not great, and all you could drink. The cuisine was world-class.
The flight attendants forcefully encouraged the passengers to use the Bose Noise-Canceling headsets. Since I wanted the full experience, I elected to forgo the headsets. Bad idea: The interior noise from the engines is LOUD.
We taxied out. Since the undercarriage gives the Concorde an exceptional height, the taxi was bumpy.
We had almost no wait at the hold line. The after-burners kicked in. The Concorde began to roll. The take-off became an E-ticket ride.
The undercarriage and the poor condition of JFK's runway made the take-off roll a REALLY bumpy ride. Concorde rattles quite disconcertingly.
The acceleration firmly pushed you back in your seat. [I had placed two books in the pocket on the back of the seat in front. The acceleration caused the books to fall out and race to the back of the Concorde in a futile attempt to stay in NY.]
Once the pilot confirms wheels-up, he snap-rolls the Concorde into a 45-degree bank turn and PULLS. [Okay. He SEEMS to snap-roll. Yes, there was a brief moment of terror. Then, I remembered: noise abatement. Almost all aircraft departing JFK must make a turn towards the water, as soon as practicable.]
Once airborne, the Concorde vibrates and accelerates even more. The take-off and climb-out is one unending sensation of acceleration and vibration.
The vibration stops about 6,000 feet. [Delta wings are great at altitude and not-great at low levels.]
Over the Atlantic, the pilot opened her up. We neither felt nor heard the afterburners kick-in; however, the video mach indicator in the cabin started a steady increase from.8X to 1.9X.
At altitude, about 45,000', the ride was smoother than almost every airplane ride I've ever had.
The windows are tiny, but they allow you to see what appears to be the curve of the earth.
The service was superb. [My mother doesn't treat me that well.] The food was incredible. They served more food. More wine. More champagne. More. More. More.
The mach meter continued to increase until it reached and remained at 2.04. [Tech note: The Concorde was designed to cruise at 2.04. Concorde 101 reached its fastest supersonic speed of Mach 2.23 and a maximum altitude of 68,000'. Above about 2.3, aircraft develop a supersonic wobble which is not healthy for aircraft or humans.]
The flight attendant came and gave each passenger a certificate signed by both pilots stating the fact that we had flown the Concorde faster than the speed of sound.
Too soon, the Concorde began its descent into Paris. At
A researcher [Dr. R. Moss, I think] discovered that when lab rats are studied in the lab, their life expectancy reduces from two years to 1.5 years.
As a consequence, studies 'based upon tests conducted on laboratory rats' are flawed on face value by 25%. [Apologies to statisticians and mathematicians for that tainted math.]
Note on the obvious: When you see a report that something causes a rat to die at OVER age 18 months, it is a life extender.
Source code and documentation will be placed and maintained [updated] in bonded escrow.
If the software product or hardware product reaches end of life and the current company does not develop a follow-on product with corresponding upgrade offer to registered customers, then the source code [software and firmware and documentation in digital format] will be sent to registered software and hardware customers, and, the source code will declared open source and offered to all via internet. If the initial development company is sold, source code will be offered and sent, if requested, to registered software and hardware owners. If the initial development company ceases to exist, source code will be sent to registered software and hardware owners, and, the source code will be declared open source and offered to all via internet. If an operating system integer upgrade [v1.X -> v2.X] requires the user to purchase new operating system software or hardware, then the source code will be offered to registered customers.
Failure to make source code available when a product reaches end of life or other conditions listed above will result in the top five officers of the initial development company (and the top five of the purchasing company, if a company purchase is involved) [CEO, COO, CIO, CFO, etc] being fined no less than $1,000,000 each, not payable by insurance company or current company; and will result in their forfeiture of all of the monies the executives received from their respective companies; and, will result in their receiving three years in prison without possibility of parole.
You're making the same mistake you always make: You're making a gentleman's agreement with scum who are not gentlemen.
My contract said 40 hour five-day weeks, ten holidays, three weeks vacation. The work needed to be done, so *I* let them violate my contract. 60-90 hour weeks, travel on weekends (and no compensatory time off for missed weekends), and no holidays. Then, they fired me because my boss 'could do the work.'
DO NOT DO IT!!!
Now that I think about it: protest the hours, do the work (but get them to order you to do it *in writing* with signatures), then call the Feds. It's time to strike back.
YES! There are local DJ/music programs I would timeshift. There are local talk radio programs I would timeshift.
But even better, for those of us who live in the uninhabited parts of the US, fire and forget INTERNET radio timeshifting would be great.
Doctor Demento? In Roach Hair? No way! News of the Weird? In Deer Tick? No way! Practice my Czech? In Bug Tussle? No way! All Blacks LIVE? In Swamp Poodle? No way!
But with iRadio...
This was the allure of Kerbango [until it was killed March 21, 2001]. Kerbango freed you from local radio. [Unfortunately, there was no recording capability in Kerbango, so there was no timeshifting.]
Windows (19)95 was a brand new operating system concept never conceived before -- with the exception of Macintosh OS (1988)
iWin (2004) is a brand new computer concept never conceived before -- with the exception of iMac (1997) then iMac FP
Reverse engineering is the sincerest form of flattery. Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery. Copyright violation is the sincerest form of flattery. -- M$ ripping you off is the sincerest form of flattery.
Run, Apple, run!
This is reminiscent of Sony. Sony was only 15% of the consumer electronics market (compared to National/Panasonic), so Sony had to innovate or die. As Sony innovated, others would take Sony's ideas, reverse engineer them, modify them, and create competing products. [Revive Beta versus VHS argument, here] For example, Sony developed and sold the only digital camera with memory card and modem in the early 80s. It did not catch on and Sony was about to cancel the product line when a reporter took pictures of an aircraft crash, sent them to his editor, and his newspaper scooped everyone with pictures. Now, few remember the original Sony digital camera with stick and modem and how Sony helped lead the digital revolution.
I agree! "Dr Strangelove" is timeless. It may be the greatest black comedy ever made.
"Purity of essence and vital bodily fluids." - Colonel Jack D. Ripper
"We need coins to put into the telephone to call the President to stop a nuclear war. Quick! Shoot the Coke machine! Shoot it!" "Okay. But if you don't get the President on the telephone, you're going to have to answer to the Coca-Cola company."
"Major Kong! We just got a message that decodes to Wing Attack Plan R." "Goldie? How many times have I told you that I don't want no fooling around on the airplane?"
[Red Phone Rings] General Buck Turgidson answers. "Turgidson!" [whispers] "I told you to never call me, here!"
[Riding the bomb onto the missile fields at "La Puta"] "Yaaaaaaaaahooooooo... " - Major King Kong
First, BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE GROUND, pilots are taught that instruments don't lie. Specifically, when the human inner ear is placed in flight, things go wrong (the inner ear canals are static, not dynamic, devices; the fluid has no dampening or rate sensors). When there is no external reference, the inner ear canals adjust to the eye's visual presentation. It's called the 'leans.' Bad joo-joo. Many a perfectly good aircraft has been flown into the ground because the pilot believed his ears and eyes and not his instruments.
Second, IN FLIGHT, angle-of-attack (AOA) is a spectacular indicator of where your airfoil exists within (or outside) the flight envelope for your aircraft. Inside the flight envelope, you can seek best range (mpg) or best endurance (loiter) or best climb.
In most aircraft, the angle-of-attack indicator is a manual instrument (on the skin is a sensor which looks like a big euro-style handle and it runs to an indicator in the cockpit).
Many pilots are correctly taught to 'fly' the angle-of-attack.
Third, ON THE GROUND, when you land, you use the aircraft shape as an airbrake. You hold the aircraft nose off the ground as long as possible to create drag.
Fourth, ON THE GROUND, when you land, you do not want to hold the aircraft nose too far off the ground or the tail will scrape the runway and your fitness report will reflect and you'll be the butt of bad jokes at Snopes for eternity.
The AOA is used to assist in the performance of aerodynmic braking. The aircraft performance manual publishes the tried and true range of AOAs for aerodynamic braking. [It also indicates when too much AOA will ding the aircraft.]
Aerodynamic braking is part art and part science and requires accurate instruments.
Enter the F-16... it has an electronic AOA.
F-16 pilots were taught to fly the flight direction indicators to land.
However, many old and new pilots fell back on the old AOA once the wheels touched the ground to do aerodynamic braking.
Suddenly, F-16 tails were scraping along the runway at an alarming (and expensive) rate.
[As an aside, the problem was probably ignored until a senior officer ground off a few inches of aluminum THEN there was a problem.]
The programmers who wrote the AOA routines were rightly told that the AOA is used in flight. So, when the AOA detected that the aircraft had placed weight on the wheels (weight-on-wheels - WOW), it was programmed to quit working. Unfortunately, it kept the last AOA reading... no matter what the real AOA was.
Pilot flies, pilot lands, pilot believes instruments, pilot scrapes multi-million dollar aircraft's tail along runway.
The programming solution was simple: when there was WOW, fade the AOA.
This was another case when contracts pit spec wording against spec intent against functional application and understanding of how it's supposed to work... Fortunately, it was expensive and not lethal.
"Why did they call you 'sparky' and why are you driving school buses in North Topeka?"
Radio is an expensive hobby where you pay to pretend to be working.
Ditto the mess.
It is expensive. REALLY expensive.
First you hire a highly recommended technogeek who can do anything who says he doesn't need anything because he has his own tools to keep the station operating. He demands a lot of money for beeper pay, weekend pay, and after hours pay which you pay.
The power always goes out about 3A.M., Sunday, and, of course, the highly recommended is nowhere to be found.
The forms you have to fill out will take at least one full time person.
And, you have to have an office for the person to use. Two phone lines. And office equipment. And, that has to meet government standards with a bathroom and electricity and such.
Then, the forms person decides to get sick or stay home or something, so, you either do it yourself or hire ANOTHER person. So, you have two or three or four people doing the job of one.
More office equipment. More expenses. More phone lines.
You will need to have a lawyer on retainer plus parts. [Your transmitter sterilized my kudzu! I'm suing!]
You need to pay the electricity.
You need to pay the rent.
You need to pay the federal radio license [tax]. About $50,000 a year.
You need to pay telephone, cellular, fax, answering service, internet, data, and other services.
You need to pay cleaning services.
You need to pay federal taxes, state taxes, county taxes, city taxes.
You need to pay for every second of music you play.
You need to pay for the equipment, land, building, insurance, employees.
Employees. You need to have salesmen to sell advertising; but, they don't; and, they still want to get paid... or they sue.
Then, they want an expense account to take all the potential customers out and wine and dine them and then not sell any advertising.
And, then, that worthless scumbag technogeek with his own tools that you hired because he was so highly recommended and hasn't done a thing since he showed CLAIMS that your sub-standard equipment gave him carpal tunnel syndrome and post-radio station stress disorder so your workman's comp goes through the roof.
Your advertisers hear that you abuse your employees, cite the highly recommended, and pull all their advertising.
About that time, a thunderstorm comes through and burns out your transmitter costing you a cool $30,000 to replace.
About that time, someone figures out how to unblock 900 numbers.
And, about that time, your lawyer loses a lawsuit over that kudzu...
And, the FCC show up because those four people you originally hired didn't do the paperwork right.
Then, a hooker calls and says that the salesman who had the expense account and never sold impregnated her and demands payment or she will tell the tabloids that your radio station...
Then, the FCC shows up, again, with a stack of letters claiming that your station airs unsuitable content with specific dates and times. And, the four employees you hired to do the job have not done the job correctly, so, you are screwed.
And, your lawyer says he has had enough, find another.
Do something simple: find a cure for cancer or invent a perpetual motion machine.
I agree! Having lived in rural Montana, rural Wyoming, rural Colorado, rural California, rural Nevada, rural Kansas, rural Arkansas, rural Mississippi, rural Oklahoma, rural Georgia mountains, rural Texas, and rural Alabama, $10 a month for a choice of radio stations is cheap to me.
Just because there is no discernible market in one's domain does not mean there's not a market in someone else's domain. For those of us who actually live in the hinterlands and actually travel the hinterlands, this is quite attractive.
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I like Dr. Demento, news-talk radio, techno, progressive rock, and foreign language broadcasts (gotta practice dem accents!). [And, when there is something particularly interesting or onerous going through the local or Federal governments, I want to keep track of it.]
But, there is absotively, posilutely NONE, here. No Demento. No techno. No progressive rock. No talk radio. I've done everything short of leasing a direct line to radio stations to get a signal. [For some reason Dr. Demento, AgDay, and Kraftwerk are not found on the same radio station... Here, anyway.]
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So, I turned to the net.
There are NO good ISPs, here, for netcasts. The regional vice-president of the telephone company said there will NEVER be ADSL in this STATE. The telco does offer ISDN for a mere $70-100 a month with a three year guaranteed contract, a $300-500 installation fee, a second telephone line at $25 a month, and a non-guarantee of up to 256kps... Then, of course, you still have to spend another $20 a month for an ISP... *IF* you can find one that supports ISDN.
The local ISPs depend upon the marginal service of the telco, so, everything comes to a congested halt. [Three-odd years ago, when I was desperate to transfer some business files, I couldn't get the local ISP modems to answer. I tried AOL. I couldn't get an answer, there, either. I kept calling and complaining to the ISP and AOL that their services would not answer. They said they had no one logged in and no problems reported. We tracked it down to the telco who had severed a fiber line: my modem went to an unconnected circuit; the ISPs modems went to unconnected circuits. The telco said nothing and the ISPs got a black eye.]
The ONLY cable television company changed their official response from "never" to "no plans."
For the DirecPC advocates, I live on the wrong side of the hill.
So, for this hinterland location and my wants and needs, I think digital subscriber radio is feasible.
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Also, I think this digital subscriber radio service is good for when I leave this hinterland and go to another.
I (too-) frequently drive from this location to Las Vegas, Reno, San Diego, and other parts west. I estimate that for well-over 80% of the trip, there is no desirable-to-me radio programming.
While I do load up the MP3 player and carry lots of CDs and cassettes and books-on-non-print-media, sometimes I just want to hear news, talk, sports, weather and road conditions, whatever, coming from a LIVE human voice.
And, in my experiences, unlike the promises of the manufacturers, the cellular telephone/mobile ISP coverage does not exist, yet. [And, adding $1 per minute for six or seven minutes, just to go to a specific point on the web only to find that there is net congestion and I cannot hear the weather through the computer/ISP ("Please try, again, later.") is a little rich for me.]
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So, on the one hand, national digital subscriber radio sounds impractical and niche. But, on the other hand, it sounds quite attractive. It all depends upon your individual and geographical wants and needs.
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P.S. In 1994, when I moved to my current location in this uninhabited area, I needed a pager for work. I called Sk*P*g* who advertise 100% coverage of the US. They said they had no coverage in my area. "But, you advertise that you have 100% coverage of the US!" "Yes, we do. And, we do have 100% coverage of the US. But we have no coverage in your area." I guess '100% coverage' depends upon what your definition of 100% is...
P.P.S. There is a major national airline which is constantly bombarded by customer requests for inflight pay radio to listen to a particular radio talkshow, either live or recorded. While most of their customer balk at the $3-5 inflight movie headset rental, they claim that the average offer is $10 for a flight's worth of pre-recorded radio broadcast.
P.P.P.S. I think I remember some of these same 'against' arguments were used for pay-tv, cellular, pager services, ISPs, owning your own telephone...
Slashdot Mirror
The poor planning and consequential failure of DIA baggage handling system must have a great cause buried somewhere in a combination of arrogance, ignorance, and failure to learn from past SUCCESSES.
In 1981 Boeing and Eastern Air Lines and Delta unveiled William B. Hartsfield International (Atlanta) airport's people mover system and baggage handling system. The baggage handling system uses barcoded carts and scanners, magnetic field cart door stops, and more widgets that were state-of-the-art 25 years ago -- and the system still keeps on hauling bags.
(Before increased security) The baggage system was so fast and accurate that if you drove up to the terminal and gave the agent your bag and ticket, your bag would be on the airplane in about four minutes. You might not make your flight, but your bag was gone.
Eastern is gone and Delta took over the baggage systems and the airport grew. The system works great. Most of Delta's Atlanta baggage system "failures" occur when humans "cause" the failures.
So why wasn't DIA able to improve upon or even replicate the success of Atlanta ten years later? Isn't stealing code the highest form of flattery? Did they bother to talk to Boeing? Did they bother to find the engineers that made Atlanta a success? The Eastern engineers are obviously no longer employed at Eastern! (Note: Federal Express hired some of the Eastern engineers to work on their hubs.) (There was an unconfirmed rumor that when DIA's baggage system was unveiled to failure, they tried to track down the Eastern engineers to get them to fix it. I know that one Eastern engineer disconnected his phone to avoid any headhunters.)
I do think the NYT article is a little disingenuous -- with more than a little pro-union slant. If humans don't want a machine to work, they can make it not work. (Luddites and unions for example.) On the union's side: driving half way to Nebraska to catch a flight "from Denver" makes one wonder about the airport planners' competence...
BONUS for reading this far: Ever wonder why there is an underground tunnel from the high number gates of Atlanta's B concourse to the high number gates of C concourse, but there is no underground concourse at the low number gate ends? When Hartsfield was built, Delta had A concourse and the low half of B. Eastern had C concourse and high half of B. Eastern thought that it only made sense to connect the high ends to make it easier on the passengers, but Eastern didn't show all of its cards to Delta. When the airport was opened and the high B-C concourse tunnel was unveiled, Delta was surprised.
See-gnet will probably report this as "Apple Boobytraps iPod to Prevent Third Party Upgrades."
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...
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t_allardyce is correct: Forget plastique and AK-47s! The iPod will now be considered a terrorist instrument and go the way of the Victorinox SwissCard, nailcippers, fingernail files
"Take this airplane to Miami or I'll drop this iPod in the blue toilet water! Then fish it out and open it!"
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OSHA will proabably step in and The iPod will go the way of pressure cookers, Jarts, Clackers, the Corvair
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If your mind is your primary weapon -- this article proves there's a whole bunch of unarmed people running around.
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Protecting your iPod Amendment Rights, The National iPod Association, NiA, introduced their new motto: "They can have my iPod when they pry it from my cold, battery acid covered, dead hands."
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Is this another RIAA MPAA attempt to squelch file swapping?
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From the people who brought you Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles": "kaBoom Boxes!"
"This is a stick up! Give me all your money or I'll open this iPod which I previously dropped into the toilet!"
"He's serious! He's got an iTorx!"
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Roughly what percentage of your audio collection comes from time shifted streaming audio? For me over 90% (in minutes).
...
I record and download several internet streaming audio broadcasts. I keep about a month's worth of them on my iPod. Sure, they may not 'outnumber' the iPod songs which I BOUGHT and the three or four songs I was given, but the songs' average length is measured in ones of minutes and the radio programs' average length is measured in ones of hours.
Air America Radio - 4 programs per weekday - about 12 hours a day
Neal Boortz - 1 program per weekday - about 2 hours a day
Local programming - 2 programs per weekday - about 3 hours a day
Mac Radio News - 1 program per week - about 1 hour a week
Doctor Demento - 1 program per week - about two hours a week
HHGGMMIV - 1 episode per week - about 0.5 hours per week
And you'll also find the speeches from the RNC and DNC 2004 conventions (Thanks, audible.com!) and the presidential and vice presidential debates
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Let's accuse the accuser!
Perhaps a few questions for Mr. Ballmerde would be:
What percent of Microsoft Windows comes from ripping off now-dead software companies?
What percent of Microsoft Windows comes from ripping off existing software companies?
What percent of the unworking portions of Microsoft Windows could/would/should work if Microsoft hadn't blocked third party software companies' products?
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I tried to give away bootleg copies of "My Life" but no one wanted them.
I am disappointed that the Japanese scientists stooped to the stereotypical and politically incorrect "Japonium."
...
I think that the culturally reflective and historically pensive "Godzilium" or "Rodanium" would be more chic, 'moderne,' and appropriate. (Although I do like the previously mentioned "Pokemonium.")
Perhaps they would also consider "Karaokenium" or "Mystiethreekaynium"
"Journal of Irreproducible Results"! The funniest!
http://www.jir.com
"Aviation Week and Space Technology," VERY informative
"MacAddict," kinda advertisement overkill
"MacWorld," Better reviews and a few how-tos
"PCWorld," Better reviews and a few how-tos
"The Washington Times Weekly Edition" A great weekly news recap.
"Consumer Reports" Great reviews.
"Science News." Superior! Technical and current.
I gave up on "Smithsonian" and "National Geographic" when they went political.
"MacUser"; "Byte" -- No, wait --
From those nice Swiss, I suggest a Swiss Army [Victorinox, not Wenger] Cyber Tool. [37 or 41 - but find out his/her favorite color, first]
e u/ inhalt2.cfm?pid=1-7725-T
_ W0 QQfromZR4QQsacategoryZ11432QQsasaleclassZ1QQsocmdZ ListingItemListQQsocolumnlayoutZ3QQsosortorderZ2QQ sosortpropertyZ3
...
http://www.victorinox.com/newsite/en/produkte/n
Alternatively, Computer Gear has a bunch of cool stuff, too.
http://www.computergear.com/
Of course an autographed Dilbert book would make him indebted to you forever.
http://books.listings.ebay.com/Nonfiction_Humor
Mmm -- Way of the Weasel
In the colonies, we refer to distinct inanimate objects with a "the." "He is in the hospital."
Oxford English speakers refer to indistinct inanimate items without "the." "He is in hospital."
My certificate reads: BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER ON BOARD THE CONCORDE ON [caps theirs]
The Concorde.
Le Concorde.
Concorde.
But "Concord"?
I had planned to fly Concorde on December 17 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of flight. When BA and AF announced the Concorde's retirement, it became now or never.
.8X to 1.9X.
On April 14, 2003, I caught the Concorde from JFK to CDG.
When you walk up to the ticket counter, you notice a separate queue with velvet ropes and engraved letters. Concorde. The ticket counter personnel were phenom. They could not do enough to ensure a pleasureable journey.
The Concorde Lounge is separate from the rest of the concourse. The champagne was warm and tart, and the food was Euro-trash. The lounge attendants were typically-disinterested.
The Concorde sat facing the waiting area windows. When the pilots checked the droop-snoot's operation, the windows filled with cameras and camcorders.
Once aboard, Concorde was extremely plush. The seats were huge, and new, clean leather. The carpets and paneling were fresh and clean. Everything gave you the impression of pride and attentiveness.
Although there is only "first class" on Concorde, there are two sections. The front section is for politicians, royalty, entertainers, and such. I was in the aft section.
The flight attendants wore suits and were extremely professional, courteous, and attentive. I heard one steward speak five different languages.
The Dom Perignon '94 was good but not great, and all you could drink. The cuisine was world-class.
The flight attendants forcefully encouraged the passengers to use the Bose Noise-Canceling headsets. Since I wanted the full experience, I elected to forgo the headsets. Bad idea: The interior noise from the engines is LOUD.
We taxied out. Since the undercarriage gives the Concorde an exceptional height, the taxi was bumpy.
We had almost no wait at the hold line. The after-burners kicked in. The Concorde began to roll. The take-off became an E-ticket ride.
The undercarriage and the poor condition of JFK's runway made the take-off roll a REALLY bumpy ride. Concorde rattles quite disconcertingly.
The acceleration firmly pushed you back in your seat. [I had placed two books in the pocket on the back of the seat in front. The acceleration caused the books to fall out and race to the back of the Concorde in a futile attempt to stay in NY.]
Once the pilot confirms wheels-up, he snap-rolls the Concorde into a 45-degree bank turn and PULLS. [Okay. He SEEMS to snap-roll. Yes, there was a brief moment of terror. Then, I remembered: noise abatement. Almost all aircraft departing JFK must make a turn towards the water, as soon as practicable.]
Once airborne, the Concorde vibrates and accelerates even more. The take-off and climb-out is one unending sensation of acceleration and vibration.
The vibration stops about 6,000 feet. [Delta wings are great at altitude and not-great at low levels.]
Over the Atlantic, the pilot opened her up. We neither felt nor heard the afterburners kick-in; however, the video mach indicator in the cabin started a steady increase from
At altitude, about 45,000', the ride was smoother than almost every airplane ride I've ever had.
The windows are tiny, but they allow you to see what appears to be the curve of the earth.
The service was superb. [My mother doesn't treat me that well.] The food was incredible. They served more food. More wine. More champagne. More. More. More.
The mach meter continued to increase until it reached and remained at 2.04. [Tech note: The Concorde was designed to cruise at 2.04. Concorde 101 reached its fastest supersonic speed of Mach 2.23 and a maximum altitude of 68,000'. Above about 2.3, aircraft develop a supersonic wobble which is not healthy for aircraft or humans.]
The flight attendant came and gave each passenger a certificate signed by both pilots stating the fact that we had flown the Concorde faster than the speed of sound.
Too soon, the Concorde began its descent into Paris. At
Make that "Jurassic Bark."
Actually, I think the opposite is true.
"Free" lab rats have a two year life expectancy.
A researcher [Dr. R. Moss, I think] discovered that when lab rats are studied in the lab, their life expectancy reduces from two years to 1.5 years.
As a consequence, studies 'based upon tests conducted on laboratory rats' are flawed on face value by 25%. [Apologies to statisticians and mathematicians for that tainted math.]
Note on the obvious: When you see a report that something causes a rat to die at OVER age 18 months, it is a life extender.
Seriously, have you tried the American Medical Association?
The AMA awards grants for all kinds of things -- sometimes even worthwhile things -- sometimes even productive things!
Surely the prospect of funding a productive piece of medical software would be in their best interests!
A word of advice: make sure it's DOS so it will work on most doctors' computers.
I suggest that he add:
Source code and documentation will be placed and maintained [updated] in bonded escrow.
If the software product or hardware product reaches end of life and the current company does not develop a follow-on product with corresponding upgrade offer to registered customers, then the source code [software and firmware and documentation in digital format] will be sent to registered software and hardware customers, and, the source code will declared open source and offered to all via internet. If the initial development company is sold, source code will be offered and sent, if requested, to registered software and hardware owners. If the initial development company ceases to exist, source code will be sent to registered software and hardware owners, and, the source code will be declared open source and offered to all via internet. If an operating system integer upgrade [v1.X -> v2.X] requires the user to purchase new operating system software or hardware, then the source code will be offered to registered customers.
Failure to make source code available when a product reaches end of life or other conditions listed above will result in the top five officers of the initial development company (and the top five of the purchasing company, if a company purchase is involved) [CEO, COO, CIO, CFO, etc] being fined no less than $1,000,000 each, not payable by insurance company or current company; and will result in their forfeiture of all of the monies the executives received from their respective companies; and, will result in their receiving three years in prison without possibility of parole.
Back in the bad, old days, it was a rubber in your wallet [immortalized by The Extras in the song "Circular Impression"].
Now, it's duct tape in your wallet.
WWMWA? [What Would Mae West Ask?]
"Is that a (fill in the blank) in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"
You're making the same mistake you always make: You're making a gentleman's agreement with scum who are not gentlemen.
My contract said 40 hour five-day weeks, ten holidays, three weeks vacation. The work needed to be done, so *I* let them violate my contract. 60-90 hour weeks, travel on weekends (and no compensatory time off for missed weekends), and no holidays. Then, they fired me because my boss 'could do the work.'
DO NOT DO IT!!!
Now that I think about it: protest the hours, do the work (but get them to order you to do it *in writing* with signatures), then call the Feds. It's time to strike back.
YES! There are local DJ/music programs I would timeshift. There are local talk radio programs I would timeshift.
...
But even better, for those of us who live in the uninhabited parts of the US, fire and forget INTERNET radio timeshifting would be great.
Doctor Demento? In Roach Hair? No way! News of the Weird? In Deer Tick? No way! Practice my Czech? In Bug Tussle? No way! All Blacks LIVE? In Swamp Poodle? No way!
But with iRadio
This was the allure of Kerbango [until it was killed March 21, 2001]. Kerbango freed you from local radio. [Unfortunately, there was no recording capability in Kerbango, so there was no timeshifting.]
[XMRadio and Sirius need to kick it up a notch.]
Let me see --
.
...
Windows (19)95 was a brand new operating system concept never conceived before -- with the exception of Macintosh OS (1988)
iWin (2004) is a brand new computer concept never conceived before -- with the exception of iMac (1997) then iMac FP
Reverse engineering is the sincerest form of flattery. Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery. Copyright violation is the sincerest form of flattery. -- M$ ripping you off is the sincerest form of flattery.
Run, Apple, run!
This is reminiscent of Sony. Sony was only 15% of the consumer electronics market (compared to National/Panasonic), so Sony had to innovate or die. As Sony innovated, others would take Sony's ideas, reverse engineer them, modify them, and create competing products. [Revive Beta versus VHS argument, here] For example, Sony developed and sold the only digital camera with memory card and modem in the early 80s. It did not catch on and Sony was about to cancel the product line when a reporter took pictures of an aircraft crash, sent them to his editor, and his newspaper scooped everyone with pictures. Now, few remember the original Sony digital camera with stick and modem and how Sony helped lead the digital revolution
Sony leads, others follow.
Apple innovates, M$ assimilates
Shakespeare? William managed but "honorificabilitudinitatibus"
n nt uonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk
obviously they typed e e cummings
No! No! It's James Joyce!
bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerro
Now we know who the Man in the Mac is in "Ulysses": monkeys.
I agree! "Dr Strangelove" is timeless. It may be the greatest black comedy ever made.
... " - Major King Kong
"Purity of essence and vital bodily fluids." - Colonel Jack D. Ripper
"We need coins to put into the telephone to call the President to stop a nuclear war. Quick! Shoot the Coke machine! Shoot it!"
"Okay. But if you don't get the President on the telephone, you're going to have to answer to the Coca-Cola company."
"Major Kong! We just got a message that decodes to Wing Attack Plan R."
"Goldie? How many times have I told you that I don't want no fooling around on the airplane?"
[Red Phone Rings] General Buck Turgidson answers. "Turgidson!"
[whispers] "I told you to never call me, here!"
[Riding the bomb onto the missile fields at "La Puta"] "Yaaaaaaaaahooooooo
Zapmail was more than a fax, Zapmail was acceptable for legal purposes.
In 1984, I successfullly used Zapmail to send a check that needed to be in hand in NOW.
In 2003, next time you're at a commercial operation, ask them if they will accept a faxed check.
Zapmail was more than a fax, Zapmail was a dream come true which nothing has replaced.
I purchased one when they first came out.
... $350? I agree with the previous poster: find a CD-RW for a lot less.
The DVD-RWs weren't available, they were expensive, and the estimated delivery date was unknown.
The RW is great! It becomes a 4.7G floppy/superdisk/Zip/Jazz/whatever.
The software is pretty good. I made no coasters.
I found no software to 'duplicate' DVD movies; however, you can make VCDs with readily available software.
For 4.7G RW
"Flight instruments don't lie"
... it has an electronic AOA.
... no matter what the real AOA was.
... Fortunately, it was expensive and not lethal.
First, BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE GROUND, pilots are taught that instruments don't lie. Specifically, when the human inner ear is placed in flight, things go wrong (the inner ear canals are static, not dynamic, devices; the fluid has no dampening or rate sensors). When there is no external reference, the inner ear canals adjust to the eye's visual presentation. It's called the 'leans.' Bad joo-joo. Many a perfectly good aircraft has been flown into the ground because the pilot believed his ears and eyes and not his instruments.
Second, IN FLIGHT, angle-of-attack (AOA) is a spectacular indicator of where your airfoil exists within (or outside) the flight envelope for your aircraft. Inside the flight envelope, you can seek best range (mpg) or best endurance (loiter) or best climb.
In most aircraft, the angle-of-attack indicator is a manual instrument (on the skin is a sensor which looks like a big euro-style handle and it runs to an indicator in the cockpit).
Many pilots are correctly taught to 'fly' the angle-of-attack.
Third, ON THE GROUND, when you land, you use the aircraft shape as an airbrake. You hold the aircraft nose off the ground as long as possible to create drag.
Fourth, ON THE GROUND, when you land, you do not want to hold the aircraft nose too far off the ground or the tail will scrape the runway and your fitness report will reflect and you'll be the butt of bad jokes at Snopes for eternity.
The AOA is used to assist in the performance of aerodynmic braking. The aircraft performance manual publishes the tried and true range of AOAs for aerodynamic braking. [It also indicates when too much AOA will ding the aircraft.]
Aerodynamic braking is part art and part science and requires accurate instruments.
Enter the F-16
F-16 pilots were taught to fly the flight direction indicators to land.
However, many old and new pilots fell back on the old AOA once the wheels touched the ground to do aerodynamic braking.
Suddenly, F-16 tails were scraping along the runway at an alarming (and expensive) rate.
[As an aside, the problem was probably ignored until a senior officer ground off a few inches of aluminum THEN there was a problem.]
The programmers who wrote the AOA routines were rightly told that the AOA is used in flight. So, when the AOA detected that the aircraft had placed weight on the wheels (weight-on-wheels - WOW), it was programmed to quit working. Unfortunately, it kept the last AOA reading
Pilot flies, pilot lands, pilot believes instruments, pilot scrapes multi-million dollar aircraft's tail along runway.
The programming solution was simple: when there was WOW, fade the AOA.
This was another case when contracts pit spec wording against spec intent against functional application and understanding of how it's supposed to work
"Why did they call you 'sparky' and why are you driving school buses in North Topeka?"
I volunteer at a local, low-watt AM station.
... or they sue.
...
...
Radio is an expensive hobby where you pay to pretend to be working.
Ditto the mess.
It is expensive. REALLY expensive.
First you hire a highly recommended technogeek who can do anything who says he doesn't need anything because he has his own tools to keep the station operating. He demands a lot of money for beeper pay, weekend pay, and after hours pay which you pay.
The power always goes out about 3A.M., Sunday, and, of course, the highly recommended is nowhere to be found.
The forms you have to fill out will take at least one full time person.
And, you have to have an office for the person to use. Two phone lines. And office equipment. And, that has to meet government standards with a bathroom and electricity and such.
Then, the forms person decides to get sick or stay home or something, so, you either do it yourself or hire ANOTHER person. So, you have two or three or four people doing the job of one.
More office equipment. More expenses. More phone lines.
You will need to have a lawyer on retainer plus parts. [Your transmitter sterilized my kudzu! I'm suing!]
You need to pay the electricity.
You need to pay the rent.
You need to pay the federal radio license [tax]. About $50,000 a year.
You need to pay telephone, cellular, fax, answering service, internet, data, and other services.
You need to pay cleaning services.
You need to pay federal taxes, state taxes, county taxes, city taxes.
You need to pay for every second of music you play.
You need to pay for the equipment, land, building, insurance, employees.
Employees. You need to have salesmen to sell advertising; but, they don't; and, they still want to get paid
Then, they want an expense account to take all the potential customers out and wine and dine them and then not sell any advertising.
And, then, that worthless scumbag technogeek with his own tools that you hired because he was so highly recommended and hasn't done a thing since he showed CLAIMS that your sub-standard equipment gave him carpal tunnel syndrome and post-radio station stress disorder so your workman's comp goes through the roof.
Your advertisers hear that you abuse your employees, cite the highly recommended, and pull all their advertising.
About that time, a thunderstorm comes through and burns out your transmitter costing you a cool $30,000 to replace.
About that time, someone figures out how to unblock 900 numbers.
And, about that time, your lawyer loses a lawsuit over that kudzu
And, the FCC show up because those four people you originally hired didn't do the paperwork right.
Then, a hooker calls and says that the salesman who had the expense account and never sold impregnated her and demands payment or she will tell the tabloids that your radio station
Then, the FCC shows up, again, with a stack of letters claiming that your station airs unsuitable content with specific dates and times. And, the four employees you hired to do the job have not done the job correctly, so, you are screwed.
And, your lawyer says he has had enough, find another.
Do something simple: find a cure for cancer or invent a perpetual motion machine.
I agree! Having lived in rural Montana, rural Wyoming, rural Colorado, rural California, rural Nevada, rural Kansas, rural Arkansas, rural Mississippi, rural Oklahoma, rural Georgia mountains, rural Texas, and rural Alabama, $10 a month for a choice of radio stations is cheap to me.
... Here, anyway.]
... Then, of course, you still have to spend another $20 a month for an ISP ... *IF* you can find one that supports ISDN.
...
...
Just because there is no discernible market in one's domain does not mean there's not a market in someone else's domain. For those of us who actually live in the hinterlands and actually travel the hinterlands, this is quite attractive.
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I like Dr. Demento, news-talk radio, techno, progressive rock, and foreign language broadcasts (gotta practice dem accents!). [And, when there is something particularly interesting or onerous going through the local or Federal governments, I want to keep track of it.]
But, there is absotively, posilutely NONE, here. No Demento. No techno. No progressive rock. No talk radio. I've done everything short of leasing a direct line to radio stations to get a signal. [For some reason Dr. Demento, AgDay, and Kraftwerk are not found on the same radio station
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So, I turned to the net.
There are NO good ISPs, here, for netcasts. The regional vice-president of the telephone company said there will NEVER be ADSL in this STATE. The telco does offer ISDN for a mere $70-100 a month with a three year guaranteed contract, a $300-500 installation fee, a second telephone line at $25 a month, and a non-guarantee of up to 256kps
The local ISPs depend upon the marginal service of the telco, so, everything comes to a congested halt. [Three-odd years ago, when I was desperate to transfer some business files, I couldn't get the local ISP modems to answer. I tried AOL. I couldn't get an answer, there, either. I kept calling and complaining to the ISP and AOL that their services would not answer. They said they had no one logged in and no problems reported. We tracked it down to the telco who had severed a fiber line: my modem went to an unconnected circuit; the ISPs modems went to unconnected circuits. The telco said nothing and the ISPs got a black eye.]
The ONLY cable television company changed their official response from "never" to "no plans."
For the DirecPC advocates, I live on the wrong side of the hill.
So, for this hinterland location and my wants and needs, I think digital subscriber radio is feasible.
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Also, I think this digital subscriber radio service is good for when I leave this hinterland and go to another.
I (too-) frequently drive from this location to Las Vegas, Reno, San Diego, and other parts west. I estimate that for well-over 80% of the trip, there is no desirable-to-me radio programming.
While I do load up the MP3 player and carry lots of CDs and cassettes and books-on-non-print-media, sometimes I just want to hear news, talk, sports, weather and road conditions, whatever, coming from a LIVE human voice.
And, in my experiences, unlike the promises of the manufacturers, the cellular telephone/mobile ISP coverage does not exist, yet. [And, adding $1 per minute for six or seven minutes, just to go to a specific point on the web only to find that there is net congestion and I cannot hear the weather through the computer/ISP ("Please try, again, later.") is a little rich for me.]
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So, on the one hand, national digital subscriber radio sounds impractical and niche. But, on the other hand, it sounds quite attractive. It all depends upon your individual and geographical wants and needs.
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P.S. In 1994, when I moved to my current location in this uninhabited area, I needed a pager for work. I called Sk*P*g* who advertise 100% coverage of the US. They said they had no coverage in my area. "But, you advertise that you have 100% coverage of the US!" "Yes, we do. And, we do have 100% coverage of the US. But we have no coverage in your area." I guess '100% coverage' depends upon what your definition of 100% is
P.P.S. There is a major national airline which is constantly bombarded by customer requests for inflight pay radio to listen to a particular radio talkshow, either live or recorded. While most of their customer balk at the $3-5 inflight movie headset rental, they claim that the average offer is $10 for a flight's worth of pre-recorded radio broadcast.
P.P.P.S. I think I remember some of these same 'against' arguments were used for pay-tv, cellular, pager services, ISPs, owning your own telephone
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