"What about the doctor being his own companion for several episodes, if Eccleston returns for a guest spot?"
I'd go crazy if I had to talk to myself all day.
I've been caught up in the Doctor Who craze and decided to check out a few old episodes. In The Three Doctors, it is established the doctor cannot normally cross his own time stream (i.e. bump into himself), although the Time Lords can get around this restriction. The 70s techno-babble isn't clear how this would work in practice. Is the Doctor prohibited from visiting 1999 after his initial visit or will he create an alternative timeline where the other doctor does not exist?
Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.
Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations. Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.
Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.
Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.
Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.
The Beast Era In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.
Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).
Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.
Japanese Beast series While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.
Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).
Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.
Autobots and Decepticons return Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal
It's a nice idea, but I can't see any practical implementations. Like many computer users, I avoid conversation by sending an e-mail or IM to people sitting across the room.
I've seen several comments in previous Slashdot stories that call for the landline phone network to be scrapped and replaced with a broadband service. VoIP phones are great, but there is an obvious disadvantage. How do you ring someone when your power goes off? Use a mobile phone (or cell phone for the Americans in the audience)? That would be unnecessary duplication of a service and would be unviable for people who can't afford or do not want a mobile. In the UK the telephone uses a different power source that is delivered through the phone socket, so it is simple to call your power company when someone cuts through a power cable and plunges your entire street into darkness.
"IRS Employees Fall For Hackers" sounds like a story of lovers divided by insurmountable odds, but united by their mutual love of chat rooms. In a bold move the hacker accesses the IRS employees computer and leaves behind a box of Cadburys Milk Tray and a note declaring his/her undying love. It simply read "pwned".
I'm surprised no one has tried this before. It's a good low-tech solution for people who require information in a hurry and is more immediate than a flat file.
I hate to reply to myself, but I wanted to correct a few things that occured to me after posting. I'm aware of other alternatives (such as maildir, Mailbag Assistant) that are mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but they are needlessly complex or require you to install software. I'm aiming for a similar approach to an ARexx script for YAM on the Amiga. This actually works better than the approach I'm taking, as it (IIRC) also exports the attachment and creates a a href link in the relevant message.
If anyone is wondering how a simple batch file can convert OE mail archives into mbox, it can't. The script simply checks the date and calls other software to do the conversion.
My father was concerned about the longevity of his e-mail a few years ago, so I created a small batch file that converts his Outlook Express mail archive into mbox on a monthly basis. Last month he asked if I could convert them "into a web site" so he can get an idea of a thread history without parsing a huge file. When I get a moment I'm planning to write a script that outputs each message to a new file in html tags and use the message subject and date to create a rudimentary index.html.
I'm surprised no one has tried this before. It's a good low-tech solution for people who require information in a hurry and is more immediate than a flat file.
>For a DRM-free, lossless, flawless copy of a >song? Absolutely! I'd buy songs by the boatload. >100 songs of my choice for $5? Score!
But would you buy another 200 songs after you have bought those 100 songs? I know I wouldn't. I bought a CD at Christmas and haven't had the time to listen to it.
>Not enough oversight?? What about freedom of expression and speech?
The BBC is funded by the British public and, as a result, they must follow rules to ensure they are spending money on worthy subjects. Of late, the BBC has not expressed any ideas of value. Their schedule has been bogged down with cheap shows that appeal to the lowest denominator and repeats.
No broadcaster can claim to provide freedom of expression and speech in the true sense. Factual programmes always provide a certain angle on a story, removing comments that are irrelevant or require time to explain.
Perhaps they could do some kind of Changing Rooms-style makeover show where they are given a week and £1000 to revamp the BBC.
I'd like to know how much these devices will cost elsewhere. Harrods have a reputation for inflating prices above and beyond high street level. For example, a toy that costs £10 in every other shop is selling for £25 in Harrods. You are paying for the experience of shopping in the store.
I tried to order a Z4 tower case at Christmas and noticed their web server had been reinstalled. I've been told they are redesigning the web site at the moment, though why they don't build it on a test server until it is ready is a mystery.
SpaceLifeForm wrote: P2P is *NOT* about business. P2P is the antithesis of a company maintaining a degree of control. P2P does not exist so companies can exploit it.
Try to avoid emotive language. No one is "exploiting" P2P - it's a network model that can be applied to a range of purposes. There is room for Napster-style uncontrolled content sharing, alongside more restricted P2P networks. By arguing that P2P should only be used for uncontrolled content distribution you create the impression its purpose is to promote piracy. Calling existing distribution models obsolete and bragging about how you can download loads of songs, videos and software may be fun, but it also puts the people who should be looking at the benefits of p2p on the offensive. The public is less likely to believe smear campaigns from the RIAA that all P2P is bad if they see similar terms being mentioned in newspaper ads for IBM and others.
That is the problem. Something that the author of this "manifesto" has not been able to grasp objectively. I wrote my masters thesis on the use of p2p in business two years ago. Based upon my, admittedly limited, primary research consisting of 10 interviews and 25 questionnaires, it became clear that P2P will only be accepted if it can provide tangible benefits, are transparent (OK, he got this bit, but it is too general) and allow the company to maintain a degree of control. So, virus checkers that distribute updates among their local peers are OK, Napster-style file-sharing are immediately rejected, P2P Groupware may be acceptable, dependent upon the type of software. The study may have been done two years ago, but I haven't seen anything that would convince big business to adopt it.
In the spirit of constructive criticism - a rarity on/. - I'm going to make a few comments on the paper. The author has obviously put effort into it, but if he wants it to be a manifesto for change he needs to consider his audience. At the moment he is aiming at existing P2P supporters who are impressed by pretty shiny things. He needs to provide practical reasons for those people who are unconvinced. At the moment it reads like a blog entry.
I'm in the UK, so I have never seen TechTV. However, it seems we have lost a record of computing culture. There are dozens of sites dedicated to the preservation of computing magazines, but no one has considered the importance of TV coverage. What happens to these TV series after they are taken off the air? Unless it is speculated in the original contract, they are never reshown and sit in a TV archive gathering dust. I wish production companies would make older shows available on the web. The cost of streaming/downloading 100Mb+ videos and legal implications make it a risky proposition, but I believe there is a market. As a fan of retro nut I would gladly pay for DVDs containing old episodes of Micro Live, Gamesmaster, Bad Influence, Bits or any of the other shows shown in the UK. Tutorials, such as those shown on TechTV, have a wider use for people trying to learn a new application. It may even create a demand for the show to resurrected a few years later.
In the absence of official support I would hope fans would make an effort. P2P networks are a possible option, but most people seem to prefer the latest episode of Enterprise to a Photoshop tutorial.
When FAST, the Federation Against Software Theft (look them up on Google, they did some hilarious print ads) were busting people locally, these two friends panicked. One buried his disks in his back garden.
That's nothing. I found mounds of old carpet buried in my back garden. The Federation Against Textile Theft (FATT) must have bust heads back in the old days.
Amstrad developed an email telephone a few years ago that allow you to download and play Spectrum games. Unfortunately you can only download games from their (extremely limited) catalogue and you have to play them on the built-in screen.
It's a pity these machines do not have a small solid state drive. It would be great to transfer a few tape images to a TV console and start to play them as they were meant to be played. There are thousands of freely distributable games for the Spectrum and new games are being written.
What about the Easter Bunny?
on
Ho, Ho, Ho
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· Score: 0
Forget Santa, can someone explain the Easter bunny? He is a giant rabbit that delivers chocolate eggs to the children of the world. As a firm believer in evolution I have difficulty accepting that a rabbit (giant or normal size) can produce a large number of eggs on a regular basis, especially those made of chocolate. It would surely crush or melt any egg it produced. So, what's the deal? Is the easter bunny a random mutation that has gained a fortunate advantage from the capitalist need for an April holiday? If eggs are part of the natural reproductive cycle, we have to question its purpose. If eggs come wrapped in multi-coloured paper, as opposed to their natural chocolatey (ewww!) state, do the colours play a specific role that help it to propogate?
I started my new years' resolution early and, wait for it, read the article! The story reports an event that happened in March, several months before San Andreas was released. The Assistant DA mentions they were apprehended by Playstation, so it could be GTA 1 (PS1), 2 (PS2),3 (PS2), or Vice City (PS2).
What goodwill - the general public never heard of them. Google's product, on the other hand, is aimed at the general public - not the same product in either design or use. So there's no possibility of conmfusion.
The general public hasn't heard of them, however Google Scholar isn't marketed towards the public. It's aimed at students, lecturers and other researchers who are well aware of ACS. I doubt they will win, Scholar is too generic.
Google Scholar has caused an uproar in the learning community - many declare it as the death knoll for existing research repositories, while proponents of open access have gone into damage control mode to ensure the benefits of Google Scholar are not blown out of proportion and ensure these projects are not abandoned.
Reminds me of some of the books I have at home. The 1981 edition of Tomorrow's Home has a fantastic description of how technology will change your life. Predictably it features dodgy Buck Rogers technology being used by Jason King lookalikes. It also shows someone using a five-button mouse - an interesting item that shows how the modern computer interface was embedded in modern culture at the time.
Slashdot Mirror
"What about the doctor being his own companion for several episodes, if Eccleston returns for a guest spot?"
I'd go crazy if I had to talk to myself all day.
I've been caught up in the Doctor Who craze and decided to check out a few old episodes. In The Three Doctors, it is established the doctor cannot normally cross his own time stream (i.e. bump into himself), although the Time Lords can get around this restriction. The 70s techno-babble isn't clear how this would work in practice. Is the Doctor prohibited from visiting 1999 after his initial visit or will he create an alternative timeline where the other doctor does not exist?
I'm the energiser bunny, you insensitive clod!
> the original projected release date was 2005
Not quite. The projected release date has always been 2006. 2005 was just a date picked by the fans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the first movie. On the web forum, Don Murphy mentions they were shooting for a summer 2006 release. More information on the movie can be found on the TF - The Movie roundup page. If the first movie is successful, they plan for Unicron to make an appearance in the third one.
Though many people do not realise it, over 500 episodes of Transformers have been made in their various incarnations.
Here is a brief rundown of the various Transformer shows that have aired in the last 20 years.
American shows
Transformers Generation 1 TV show (American written show, set during 1985-86 and 2005-06)
2) Transformers Generation 2 TV show (modified version of the G1 series that added an annoying 3D space cube animation.
Japanese only series
Transformers: Headmasters (Japanese). Available as an official or partial fandub.
Transformers: Masterforce (Japanese). Available in official dub or sub-titled versions.
Transformers Victory (Japanese series) Available as an official dub, fan dub, or subtitled.
Transformers Zone (Japanese). Available in subtitled or dubbed versions.
Though transforming robots remained popular in the East, the Transformers line was 'rested' for a few years.
The Beast Era
In 1996 the toy line was relaunched. After the disappointing sales of the Generation 2 series, vehicle modes were abandoned and animal forms introduced. Optimus Primal transformed into a gorilla and Megatron became a dinosaur. The Beast era was set years after the original series 300-1000 years, depending upon your source) and introduced two new factions - the Maximals and Predacons.
Beast Wars - The Autobots and Decepticons are gone and the Maximals and Predacons have made peace. This peace is broken by Megatron (a namesake, not the original), who travels back in time in an attempt to change the course of history. In most episodes he is thwarted by Optimus Primal and a small band of Maximals. The animation shows its age, but it is probably the most intelligently written TF show made (season 2, in particular).
Beast Machines - The Beast Wars are over and the Maximals return to Cybertron. They find that Megatron has captured the sparks (soul) of every Transformer on the planet and created an army of mindless drones called Vehicons. Best remembered for the strong religious overtones, huge explosions and scenes of the Maximals running away.
Japanese Beast series
While the US got the second and third season of Beast Wars, Japan received two spin-off series that focused upon other planets.
Beast Wars 2 (Japanese). Leo Convoy (lion) Vs Galvatron (dragon).
Beast Wars Neo (Japanese) - The Maximal leader, Big Convoy (a wooly mammoth) faces against the evil Magmatron. Unlike earlier Convoy/Prime toys, Big Convoy has a removable matrix in his chest.
Autobots and Decepticons return
Hasbro's initial plan was to create a followup to the Beast Machines series called Transtech. This would feature vehicle TFs with animal moulding. However, it was later abandoned and Hasbro made a deal
It's a nice idea, but I can't see any practical implementations. Like many computer users, I avoid conversation by sending an e-mail or IM to people sitting across the room.
They've redone Battlestar Galactica, Kojak and War of the Worlds. Give it a few years and they will cash-in on the nostalgia and release a new film.
The cancellation of official Trek is IMO a good thing. It will motivate fans to create their own interpretations, such as the excellent New Voyages
I've seen several comments in previous Slashdot stories that call for the landline phone network to be scrapped and replaced with a broadband service. VoIP phones are great, but there is an obvious disadvantage. How do you ring someone when your power goes off? Use a mobile phone (or cell phone for the Americans in the audience)? That would be unnecessary duplication of a service and would be unviable for people who can't afford or do not want a mobile. In the UK the telephone uses a different power source that is delivered through the phone socket, so it is simple to call your power company when someone cuts through a power cable and plunges your entire street into darkness.
"IRS Employees Fall For Hackers" sounds like a story of lovers divided by insurmountable odds, but united by their mutual love of chat rooms. In a bold move the hacker accesses the IRS employees computer and leaves behind a box of Cadburys Milk Tray and a note declaring his/her undying love. It simply read "pwned".
I'm surprised no one has tried this before. It's a good low-tech solution for people who require information in a hurry and is more immediate than a flat file.
I hate to reply to myself, but I wanted to correct a few things that occured to me after posting. I'm aware of other alternatives (such as maildir, Mailbag Assistant) that are mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but they are needlessly complex or require you to install software. I'm aiming for a similar approach to an ARexx script for YAM on the Amiga. This actually works better than the approach I'm taking, as it (IIRC) also exports the attachment and creates a a href link in the relevant message.
If anyone is wondering how a simple batch file can convert OE mail archives into mbox, it can't. The script simply checks the date and calls other software to do the conversion.
My father was concerned about the longevity of his e-mail a few years ago, so I created a small batch file that converts his Outlook Express mail archive into mbox on a monthly basis. Last month he asked if I could convert them "into a web site" so he can get an idea of a thread history without parsing a huge file. When I get a moment I'm planning to write a script that outputs each message to a new file in html tags and use the message subject and date to create a rudimentary index.html.
I'm surprised no one has tried this before. It's a good low-tech solution for people who require information in a hurry and is more immediate than a flat file.
>For a DRM-free, lossless, flawless copy of a >song? Absolutely! I'd buy songs by the boatload. >100 songs of my choice for $5? Score!
But would you buy another 200 songs after you have bought those 100 songs? I know I wouldn't. I bought a CD at Christmas and haven't had the time to listen to it.
>Not enough oversight?? What about freedom of expression and speech?
The BBC is funded by the British public and, as a result, they must follow rules to ensure they are spending money on worthy subjects. Of late, the BBC has not expressed any ideas of value. Their schedule has been bogged down with cheap shows that appeal to the lowest denominator and repeats.
No broadcaster can claim to provide freedom of expression and speech in the true sense. Factual programmes always provide a certain angle on a story, removing comments that are irrelevant or require time to explain.
Perhaps they could do some kind of Changing Rooms-style makeover show where they are given a week and £1000 to revamp the BBC.
I'd like to know how much these devices will cost elsewhere. Harrods have a reputation for inflating prices above and beyond high street level. For example, a toy that costs £10 in every other shop is selling for £25 in Harrods. You are paying for the experience of shopping in the store.
Before everyone signs on to this deal, it is available in the US only.
"Enjoy free second-day shipping on every order or overnight shipping for only $3.99 per item to addresses in the continental United States,"
I tried to order a Z4 tower case at Christmas and noticed their web server had been reinstalled. I've been told they are redesigning the web site at the moment, though why they don't build it on a test server until it is ready is a mystery.
SpaceLifeForm wrote:
P2P is *NOT* about business. P2P is the antithesis of a company maintaining a degree of control. P2P does not exist so companies can exploit it.
Try to avoid emotive language. No one is "exploiting" P2P - it's a network model that can be applied to a range of purposes. There is room for Napster-style uncontrolled content sharing, alongside more restricted P2P networks. By arguing that P2P should only be used for uncontrolled content distribution you create the impression its purpose is to promote piracy. Calling existing distribution models obsolete and bragging about how you can download loads of songs, videos and software may be fun, but it also puts the people who should be looking at the benefits of p2p on the offensive. The public is less likely to believe smear campaigns from the RIAA that all P2P is bad if they see similar terms being mentioned in newspaper ads for IBM and others.
From the article:
/. - I'm going to make a few comments on the paper. The author has obviously put effort into it, but if he wants it to be a manifesto for change he needs to consider his audience. At the moment he is aiming at existing P2P supporters who are impressed by pretty shiny things. He needs to provide practical reasons for those people who are unconvinced. At the moment it reads like a blog entry.
"P2P is positive for Companies"
And bburton's post:
"Isn't that the problem?"
That is the problem. Something that the author of this "manifesto" has not been able to grasp objectively. I wrote my masters thesis on the use of p2p in business two years ago. Based upon my, admittedly limited, primary research consisting of 10 interviews and 25 questionnaires, it became clear that P2P will only be accepted if it can provide tangible benefits, are transparent (OK, he got this bit, but it is too general) and allow the company to maintain a degree of control.
So, virus checkers that distribute updates among their local peers are OK, Napster-style file-sharing are immediately rejected, P2P Groupware may be acceptable, dependent upon the type of software. The study may have been done two years ago, but I haven't seen anything that would convince big business to adopt it.
In the spirit of constructive criticism - a rarity on
I'm in the UK, so I have never seen TechTV. However, it seems we have lost a record of computing culture. There are dozens of sites dedicated to the preservation of computing magazines, but no one has considered the importance of TV coverage. What happens to these TV series after they are taken off the air? Unless it is speculated in the original contract, they are never reshown and sit in a TV archive gathering dust. I wish production companies would make older shows available on the web. The cost of streaming/downloading 100Mb+ videos and legal implications make it a risky proposition, but I believe there is a market. As a fan of retro nut I would gladly pay for DVDs containing old episodes of Micro Live, Gamesmaster, Bad Influence, Bits or any of the other shows shown in the UK. Tutorials, such as those shown on TechTV, have a wider use for people trying to learn a new application. It may even create a demand for the show to resurrected a few years later.
In the absence of official support I would hope fans would make an effort. P2P networks are a possible option, but most people seem to prefer the latest episode of Enterprise to a Photoshop tutorial.
That's nothing. I found mounds of old carpet buried in my back garden. The Federation Against Textile Theft (FATT) must have bust heads back in the old days.
Amstrad developed an email telephone a few years ago that allow you to download and play Spectrum games. Unfortunately you can only download games from their (extremely limited) catalogue and you have to play them on the built-in screen.
It's a pity these machines do not have a small solid state drive. It would be great to transfer a few tape images to a TV console and start to play them as they were meant to be played. There are thousands of freely distributable games for the Spectrum and new games are being written.
Forget Santa, can someone explain the Easter bunny? He is a giant rabbit that delivers chocolate eggs to the children of the world. As a firm believer in evolution I have difficulty accepting that a rabbit (giant or normal size) can produce a large number of eggs on a regular basis, especially those made of chocolate. It would surely crush or melt any egg it produced.
So, what's the deal? Is the easter bunny a random mutation that has gained a fortunate advantage from the capitalist need for an April holiday? If eggs are part of the natural reproductive cycle, we have to question its purpose. If eggs come wrapped in multi-coloured paper, as opposed to their natural chocolatey (ewww!) state, do the colours play a specific role that help it to propogate?
We demand answers!
I hope they have HUGE disclaimers on this coffee. There will be someone willing to sue for any physical discomfort the warm coffee may cause.
I started my new years' resolution early and, wait for it, read the article! The story reports an event that happened in March, several months before San Andreas was released. The Assistant DA mentions they were apprehended by Playstation, so it could be GTA 1 (PS1), 2 (PS2),3 (PS2), or Vice City (PS2).
The general public hasn't heard of them, however Google Scholar isn't marketed towards the public. It's aimed at students, lecturers and other researchers who are well aware of ACS. I doubt they will win, Scholar is too generic.
Google Scholar has caused an uproar in the learning community - many declare it as the death knoll for existing research repositories, while proponents of open access have gone into damage control mode to ensure the benefits of Google Scholar are not blown out of proportion and ensure these projects are not abandoned.
Don't mine the moon! Look at what happened to Praxis.
Reminds me of some of the books I have at home. The 1981 edition of Tomorrow's Home has a fantastic description of how technology will change your life. Predictably it features dodgy Buck Rogers technology being used by Jason King lookalikes. It also shows someone using a five-button mouse - an interesting item that shows how the modern computer interface was embedded in modern culture at the time.