Especially if you've read up on the level of sunspot activity ever since scientists actually monitored such activity since the 1600's when telescopes became widely available.
There was a period for around 100 years during the 17th and 18th Centuries called today the Maunder minimum, a period of NO sunspot activity. That period perfectly coincided with a period of unusually cooler than normal temperatures (a Little Ice Age), where the Thames River through London froze over every winter.
In short, the best predictor of the Earth's climate is to monitor solar activity, which we are now doing with numerous ground-based solar telescopes and several space-based observatories.
I've heard that Boeing wants to demonstrate the extreme long range of the new 777-200 Long Range model by doing what could be the longest flight ever by a standard jet engine airliner.
Remember, the 777-200LR can fly over 9,000 nautical miles with a standard passenger load and a slightly-reduced cargo load with extra fuel tanks; imagine stripping down a 777-200LR so you can can get the weight equivalent of the cabin fittings and cargo load in extra fuel load. Pre-cool all that Jet A fuel and this modified 777-200LR could probably travel over 13,000 nautical miles easily, though a round-the-world non-stop flight is probably out of the question.
Re:Single video card not going to cut it?
on
SLI Primer
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I remember when people poo-pooed onboard video as pretty much useless.
But Intel's very latest onboard graphics chipset is fairly good, and the latest onboard graphics from nVidia's motherboard chipsets are getting fairly good, too. Now, if we can just get VIA to upgrade their onboard graphics....
...I've heard that Boeing plans to do a very spectacular long-distance flight with the new 777-200 Long Range model.
It sounds like Boeing might try to fly a 777-200LR with a completely stripped-out interior and loading it down with the weight equivalent of the interior parts plus standard cargo load in pre-cooled Jet A fuel. That could make it possible for the 777-200LR to fly as much as 13,000 nautical miles or so.
Didn't you have to manually configure the third-party add-on MySoft Technology's Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) shell program for Internet Explorer 5.x and later?
Actually, when you install Maxthon, the AD Hunter defaults will block most pop-ups, web dialogs and "floating" ads, and includes controls to block ActiveX objects. Enable the block of standard web ads and it blocks out a lot of the ads you see on commercial web pages.
These new "floater" ads can be stamped out if you have the right functionality in the web browser itself.
I'm currently running MySoft Technology's Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) shell program for Internet Explorer 5.x and later, which has a very powerful function called AD Hunter. AD Hunter not only blocks mostly pop-up windows, but also the vast majority of "floating" ads, Flash animated ads, a large number of online static ads and even allows you to block ActiveX objects!:-) I wonder why Mozilla 1.7.x and Firefox 1.x doesn't offer this level of blocking control without having to do a lot of manual configuration with third-party add-ons.
Actually, if you have dual CPU cores programmers could by default write their programs to automatically run in what amounts of symmetrical multi-processor (SMP) mode. That could be very useful for multimedia file editing, where sheer CPU power is a must, especially video editing.
People are finding out the hard way that when you start to edit videos downloaded from your MiniDV/MicroDV digital camcorder, the system resources used can increase quite dramatically.
I think the enormous success of the iTunes Music Store could pave the way for Apple to offer the same thing for video down the road.
By compressing the video in MPEG-4 format (which uses a lot less hard disk space than MPEG-2 on a per hour basis--after all, the DiVX format is a de facto MPEG-4 derivative), Apple could put legal downloads of video programming at the rate of around 200 MB per hour of very good quality video!:-) Apple could charge maybe US$2.50-US$3.00 per one hour TV episode.
I think my suggested iVideo online store idea could be a huge success, especially if Apple can get rights to obscure TV programming. Imagine having just about all of ESPN's programs from its history available for download on iVideo, which may not be so far-fetched given that ESPN is in the process of digitizing their entire historical tape library onto a massive bank of servers.
My suggestion seems far-fetched, but remember broadband Internet use has climbed dramatically in the USA in recent years, and when 802.16 and 802.20 high-capacity wireless Internet access starts rolling out next year that will really accelerate the acceptance of broadband Internet usage. With broadband usage so common, Apple will have the economic model to start iVideo within the next 24-36 months.
Yeah, if the likely problems of salt in the martian see [sic] can be solved for these critters, maybe.
Well, care to explain why microbes--let alone certain types of small shrimp--that can live in salt evaporation ponds, where the salt level is many times higher than seawater? Go to the salt evaporation ponds at the south end of San Francisco Bay and see what I mean.
I think if that battery is practical, one place where it could be very useful is hybrid drivetrains.
Imagine with this new battery you could dramatically reduce the size of the battery pack, which means lower dead weight of the car and more interior space for the car.
A program I highly recommend for Internet Explorer 5.0x and newer users is Maxthon by MySoft Technology.
Essentially a shell add-on for IE, one of its features is a very powerful function called AD Hunter that blocks most pop-ups and also blocks a lot of ads that eat up CPU time when displayed.:-) I wouldn't be surprised that Microsoft buys the rights to Maxthon and incorporates them into IE 7.0.
Blogs may forge that sort of network online. No longer will it be easy to mislead the masses, because the masses are not drinking from a single spring. Each person is reading a finite number of blogs and processing and making their own blog. Everyone is (gasp!) thinking for themselves.
Indeed, in the political realm that is already happening, thanks to the fact blogs can outrun the so-called mainstream media when it comes to information dissemination and fact-checking quite easily. It was the blogosphere that pretty much destroyed the reputation of CBS News when a lot of fact-checking from multiple blogs showed that the 60 Minutes II story claiming inconsistencies with President George W. Bush's service with the Texas Air National Guard were based on fraudulent memos.
In short, a well-written blog can act as a means to fact-check all news sources, which means news organizations from now on better be much more careful in disseminating the news, especially if the organization claims to be non-partisan.
That's great but most people do not have autos that run on any type of diesel.
Today, you couldn't sell diesel engines in California because due to the high sulfur level in diesel fuel that can damage the fuel delivery and exhaust emission controls of modern diesel engines found elsewhere in the world. But with the EPA mandate of no more than 15 parts per million of sulfur compounds, that makes it possible to build turbodiesel engines that meet the Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle certification relatively easily.
Because diesel fuel can use current fuel distribution networks, it also means the infrastructure is in place to deliver the fuel all over the USA with no problems.
Biodiesel is really what we should be concentrating on right now. Biodiesel pours right into pretty much any existing diesel engine and has only slightly less BTUs per gallon that petroleum diesel. Certainly biodiesel isn't as clean as hydrogen, but it's a whole heck of a lot cleaner than petroleum diesel and even more so than gasoline. The best part of biodiesel is the fact that you can start using it immediately in your unmodified diesel powered vehicle and not have to worry that you're going to be able to find some (currently) exotic fuel if you go on a trip. Worse case, just pour regular diesel in. Biodiesel would make the transition phase painless.
The nice thing about biodiesel is the fact any crop that has a high carbohydrate count can be processed in to biodiesel fuel. And the best thing is that biodiesel fuel burns very cleanly, not even needing a diesel particulate trap!:-) All you need is a standard catalytic converter and a biodiesel-fuelled vehicle will likely meet the stringent Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle standard.
By the way, did you know that the very concept of biodiesel engines came from the original development work of Rudolf Diesel? The first Diesel engine ran off peanut oil, of all things! That explains why diesel fuel can be easily derived from plant sources. Also, there has been serious research into growing certain types of algae that could easily be refined into biodiesel fuel.
Anyway, today's diesel engines are high-technology wonders that have effectively banished the clattering and smoky exhaust of older engines. Thanks to careful design, common-rail pressurized direct fuel injection and catalytic converters that also "burn off" diesel particulates, they are quiet, clean-burning, and sound exactly like a normal gasoline engine. Here in the USA, if you live in any of the 45 states where it's legal go drive the Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI, a vehicle that demonstrates very impressive acceleration performance but when driven at reasonable speeds gets fuel efficiency around 32-35 miles per US gallon! =)
Anyway, I believe we'll see a large number of diesel-powered vehicles in the US market starting in Fall 2006. Thanks to the EPA mandate that all motor fuels can only have at most 15 parts per million of sulfur compounds in fuel starting September 2006, that makes it possible to develop modern turbodiesel engines that meet the ULEV standard, hence making them 50-state legal. And Americans will discover that modern diesel-powered cars are quiet, amazingly powerful (thanks to the very torquey nature of diesel engines in the low RPM range), and impressively clean-burning. I wouldn't be surprised that Honda brings over their well-regarded 2.2-liter I-4 i-CTDi engine for application in the Honda Accord, CR-V and Element models, and BMW brings over their 3.0-liter I-6 turbodiesel engine for the 3 and 5 Series automobiles.
Also, because diesel engines have their torque peaks at relatively low RPM range, that makes them a perfect match for SUV's, pickup trucks and minivans. Can you imagine by 2008-2009 most of these vehicles switched to clean turbodiesel power, which means they will have at least 30-40% better fuel effiency than now? The GM Duramax turbodiesel engine used on their Chevy and GMC pickup trucks sports a far high torque peak than the equivalent gasoline engine, and is far more fuel efficient, too.
I think serious work on looking for current life on Mars will come when the Mars Science Laboratory lander arrives on Mars in 2010.
Unlike the current Mars Exploration Rovers, MSL is designed specifically to look for the possibility that lifeforms existed on Mars either in the past or even now. Also, because it will most likely use the same type of "nuclear" battery that powered the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft, it could run for two Earth years or more doing soil sampling, with the rover travelling well over 200 kilometers (124 miles) during its mission. It also means MSL can land and operate at higher latitude regions of Mars, which means the possibility of landing MSL near the polar cap regions.
However, because IE 7.0 no longer needs to support Windows 98, NT 4.0 and Me, they could conceivably re-write the whole thing from scratch to better take advantage of the Win2K and newer with its more modern memory model.
That will give Microsoft the chance to dramatically enhance security, provide better standards support, and incorporate new interface features. My suggestion that Microsoft buy the rights to the Maxthon "shell" and incorporate its features into IE 7.0 along with better standards complicance might not be such a far-fetched idea.
If Microsoft was smart, they'd release IE 7.0 for Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0 and help fix the security issues the older versions of IE has with those platforms.
I think a more likely solution is that IE 7.0 will only be available for Windows 2000 and newer users. If the demand is there, we might see an Internet Explorer 6.5 that will incorporate a number of security enhancements but is designed for Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows Me users.
I have this suspicion that Microsoft maybe quietly negotiating with the creators of Maxthon and will incorporate the features of Maxthon into IE 7.0. If that happens it will kill off much of the momentum of Firefox.
I also think that IE 7.0 will not only be available for Windows Longhorn and Windows XP Service Pack 2, but we may just see it available for Windows 2000 Professional when the beta starts. I had guessed that IE 7.0 would only be available for Win2K and newer users, and today's announcement confirms my hunch.
I think the enormous success of the iTunes Music Store shows that we're already well on our way to no-physical format delivery of music first, then down the road as broadband becomes more common and faster no-physical format delivery of videos.
We're already pretty close with DRM-protected Windows Media Audio files that after downloading can be burned onto standard CD-R discs or copied to various brands of portable playback devices that use a small hard disk or flash memory storage. Who's to say by 2010 we'll see complete movies in DRM-protected file(s) downloaded via broadband connections 4-10 times faster than today's broadband connections that can be burned onto DVD or high-definition DVD optical discs or copied to a portable video player that by then could sport as much as 500 GB of disk storage in a device about the size of a Sony PlayStation Portable?
Besides, the media companies can charge lower prices for downloads, since you no longer need to factor in physical packaging and shipment costs. That could be especially useful if you're talking TV series with lots of episodes for the entire series.
You can forget about MS dropping the networking code from Windows XP. You need networking in order to connect to the Internet and intranets, and I don't think people want to go through the hassle of downloading, installing and configuring a networking client like users had to do with Trumpet Winsock back in the Windows 3.1x days.
But in reality, dropping Windows Media Player from Windows XP is actually a good thing. That will allow users to download the latest version of Windows Media Player that supports more external multimedia devices.
If you've seen my post on this topic, you know that Paramount dearly misses Ronald D. Moore, who was involved in some of the very best episodes of ST:TNG and ST:DS9. If Moore were involved with ST:E I think the series would have far higher ratings.
I think the fact that Ronald D. Moore--who was a writer and/or was involved in some of the very best episodes of ST:TNG and ST:DS9--wasn't involved with Enterprise is the reason why Enterprise did poorly.
To show how much Paramount misses Moore, it was Ron Moore who was the developer of the re-make of the Battlestar Galactica series, a TV series that has VASTLY exceeded everyone's expectations due to its surprisingly good storyline and acting. If Moore had been involved with Enterprise, UPN wouldn't be cancelling it right now because there would be vastly better storylines, for starters.
...You get a huge selection of music at very competitive prices (especially if you buy a full album at US$9.95 per album), even if some of the major labels are yet to be represented on iTMS.
People forget that music downloaded from iTMS can be burned onto CD-R discs, which means you can play them on most CD players out there.
Because of the success of iTMS, I wouldn't be surprised that we'll see all the major labels supporting iTMS within the next 24 months.
2.) the size of the unit would be really big to accomidate the extra electronics and most importantly the much larger battery.
However, people didn't complain about carrying around the early-design Sony Walkman units, which are far larger than any model iPod. I still think a slightly larger iPod with user-replaceable batteries and a built-in digital tuner for AM and FM would really sell, since people also like to have the ability to listen to local radio stations on long walks or jogs.
Slashdot Mirror
Especially if you've read up on the level of sunspot activity ever since scientists actually monitored such activity since the 1600's when telescopes became widely available.
There was a period for around 100 years during the 17th and 18th Centuries called today the Maunder minimum, a period of NO sunspot activity. That period perfectly coincided with a period of unusually cooler than normal temperatures (a Little Ice Age), where the Thames River through London froze over every winter.
In short, the best predictor of the Earth's climate is to monitor solar activity, which we are now doing with numerous ground-based solar telescopes and several space-based observatories.
I've heard that Boeing wants to demonstrate the extreme long range of the new 777-200 Long Range model by doing what could be the longest flight ever by a standard jet engine airliner.
Remember, the 777-200LR can fly over 9,000 nautical miles with a standard passenger load and a slightly-reduced cargo load with extra fuel tanks; imagine stripping down a 777-200LR so you can can get the weight equivalent of the cabin fittings and cargo load in extra fuel load. Pre-cool all that Jet A fuel and this modified 777-200LR could probably travel over 13,000 nautical miles easily, though a round-the-world non-stop flight is probably out of the question.
I remember when people poo-pooed onboard video as pretty much useless.
But Intel's very latest onboard graphics chipset is fairly good, and the latest onboard graphics from nVidia's motherboard chipsets are getting fairly good, too. Now, if we can just get VIA to upgrade their onboard graphics....
...I've heard that Boeing plans to do a very spectacular long-distance flight with the new 777-200 Long Range model.
It sounds like Boeing might try to fly a 777-200LR with a completely stripped-out interior and loading it down with the weight equivalent of the interior parts plus standard cargo load in pre-cooled Jet A fuel. That could make it possible for the 777-200LR to fly as much as 13,000 nautical miles or so.
Didn't you have to manually configure the third-party add-on MySoft Technology's Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) shell program for Internet Explorer 5.x and later?
Actually, when you install Maxthon, the AD Hunter defaults will block most pop-ups, web dialogs and "floating" ads, and includes controls to block ActiveX objects. Enable the block of standard web ads and it blocks out a lot of the ads you see on commercial web pages.
These new "floater" ads can be stamped out if you have the right functionality in the web browser itself.
:-) I wonder why Mozilla 1.7.x and Firefox 1.x doesn't offer this level of blocking control without having to do a lot of manual configuration with third-party add-ons.
I'm currently running MySoft Technology's Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) shell program for Internet Explorer 5.x and later, which has a very powerful function called AD Hunter. AD Hunter not only blocks mostly pop-up windows, but also the vast majority of "floating" ads, Flash animated ads, a large number of online static ads and even allows you to block ActiveX objects!
Actually, if you have dual CPU cores programmers could by default write their programs to automatically run in what amounts of symmetrical multi-processor (SMP) mode. That could be very useful for multimedia file editing, where sheer CPU power is a must, especially video editing.
People are finding out the hard way that when you start to edit videos downloaded from your MiniDV/MicroDV digital camcorder, the system resources used can increase quite dramatically.
I think the enormous success of the iTunes Music Store could pave the way for Apple to offer the same thing for video down the road.
:-) Apple could charge maybe US$2.50-US$3.00 per one hour TV episode.
By compressing the video in MPEG-4 format (which uses a lot less hard disk space than MPEG-2 on a per hour basis--after all, the DiVX format is a de facto MPEG-4 derivative), Apple could put legal downloads of video programming at the rate of around 200 MB per hour of very good quality video!
I think my suggested iVideo online store idea could be a huge success, especially if Apple can get rights to obscure TV programming. Imagine having just about all of ESPN's programs from its history available for download on iVideo, which may not be so far-fetched given that ESPN is in the process of digitizing their entire historical tape library onto a massive bank of servers.
My suggestion seems far-fetched, but remember broadband Internet use has climbed dramatically in the USA in recent years, and when 802.16 and 802.20 high-capacity wireless Internet access starts rolling out next year that will really accelerate the acceptance of broadband Internet usage. With broadband usage so common, Apple will have the economic model to start iVideo within the next 24-36 months.
Yeah, if the likely problems of salt in the martian see [sic] can be solved for these critters, maybe.
Well, care to explain why microbes--let alone certain types of small shrimp--that can live in salt evaporation ponds, where the salt level is many times higher than seawater? Go to the salt evaporation ponds at the south end of San Francisco Bay and see what I mean.
I think these announcements make me wonder did Apple suddenly got a huge new shipment of the very small hard drives most iPod models use.
I think if that battery is practical, one place where it could be very useful is hybrid drivetrains.
Imagine with this new battery you could dramatically reduce the size of the battery pack, which means lower dead weight of the car and more interior space for the car.
A program I highly recommend for Internet Explorer 5.0x and newer users is Maxthon by MySoft Technology.
:-) I wouldn't be surprised that Microsoft buys the rights to Maxthon and incorporates them into IE 7.0.
Essentially a shell add-on for IE, one of its features is a very powerful function called AD Hunter that blocks most pop-ups and also blocks a lot of ads that eat up CPU time when displayed.
Blogs may forge that sort of network online. No longer will it be easy to mislead the masses, because the masses are not drinking from a single spring. Each person is reading a finite number of blogs and processing and making their own blog. Everyone is (gasp!) thinking for themselves.
Indeed, in the political realm that is already happening, thanks to the fact blogs can outrun the so-called mainstream media when it comes to information dissemination and fact-checking quite easily. It was the blogosphere that pretty much destroyed the reputation of CBS News when a lot of fact-checking from multiple blogs showed that the 60 Minutes II story claiming inconsistencies with President George W. Bush's service with the Texas Air National Guard were based on fraudulent memos.
In short, a well-written blog can act as a means to fact-check all news sources, which means news organizations from now on better be much more careful in disseminating the news, especially if the organization claims to be non-partisan.
That's great but most people do not have autos that run on any type of diesel.
Today, you couldn't sell diesel engines in California because due to the high sulfur level in diesel fuel that can damage the fuel delivery and exhaust emission controls of modern diesel engines found elsewhere in the world. But with the EPA mandate of no more than 15 parts per million of sulfur compounds, that makes it possible to build turbodiesel engines that meet the Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle certification relatively easily.
Because diesel fuel can use current fuel distribution networks, it also means the infrastructure is in place to deliver the fuel all over the USA with no problems.
Biodiesel is really what we should be concentrating on right now. Biodiesel pours right into pretty much any existing diesel engine and has only slightly less BTUs per gallon that petroleum diesel. Certainly biodiesel isn't as clean as hydrogen, but it's a whole heck of a lot cleaner than petroleum diesel and even more so than gasoline. The best part of biodiesel is the fact that you can start using it immediately in your unmodified diesel powered vehicle and not have to worry that you're going to be able to find some (currently) exotic fuel if you go on a trip. Worse case, just pour regular diesel in. Biodiesel would make the transition phase painless.
:-) All you need is a standard catalytic converter and a biodiesel-fuelled vehicle will likely meet the stringent Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle standard.
The nice thing about biodiesel is the fact any crop that has a high carbohydrate count can be processed in to biodiesel fuel. And the best thing is that biodiesel fuel burns very cleanly, not even needing a diesel particulate trap!
By the way, did you know that the very concept of biodiesel engines came from the original development work of Rudolf Diesel? The first Diesel engine ran off peanut oil, of all things! That explains why diesel fuel can be easily derived from plant sources. Also, there has been serious research into growing certain types of algae that could easily be refined into biodiesel fuel.
Anyway, today's diesel engines are high-technology wonders that have effectively banished the clattering and smoky exhaust of older engines. Thanks to careful design, common-rail pressurized direct fuel injection and catalytic converters that also "burn off" diesel particulates, they are quiet, clean-burning, and sound exactly like a normal gasoline engine. Here in the USA, if you live in any of the 45 states where it's legal go drive the Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI, a vehicle that demonstrates very impressive acceleration performance but when driven at reasonable speeds gets fuel efficiency around 32-35 miles per US gallon! =)
Anyway, I believe we'll see a large number of diesel-powered vehicles in the US market starting in Fall 2006. Thanks to the EPA mandate that all motor fuels can only have at most 15 parts per million of sulfur compounds in fuel starting September 2006, that makes it possible to develop modern turbodiesel engines that meet the ULEV standard, hence making them 50-state legal. And Americans will discover that modern diesel-powered cars are quiet, amazingly powerful (thanks to the very torquey nature of diesel engines in the low RPM range), and impressively clean-burning. I wouldn't be surprised that Honda brings over their well-regarded 2.2-liter I-4 i-CTDi engine for application in the Honda Accord, CR-V and Element models, and BMW brings over their 3.0-liter I-6 turbodiesel engine for the 3 and 5 Series automobiles.
Also, because diesel engines have their torque peaks at relatively low RPM range, that makes them a perfect match for SUV's, pickup trucks and minivans. Can you imagine by 2008-2009 most of these vehicles switched to clean turbodiesel power, which means they will have at least 30-40% better fuel effiency than now? The GM Duramax turbodiesel engine used on their Chevy and GMC pickup trucks sports a far high torque peak than the equivalent gasoline engine, and is far more fuel efficient, too.
I think serious work on looking for current life on Mars will come when the Mars Science Laboratory lander arrives on Mars in 2010.
Unlike the current Mars Exploration Rovers, MSL is designed specifically to look for the possibility that lifeforms existed on Mars either in the past or even now. Also, because it will most likely use the same type of "nuclear" battery that powered the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft, it could run for two Earth years or more doing soil sampling, with the rover travelling well over 200 kilometers (124 miles) during its mission. It also means MSL can land and operate at higher latitude regions of Mars, which means the possibility of landing MSL near the polar cap regions.
However, because IE 7.0 no longer needs to support Windows 98, NT 4.0 and Me, they could conceivably re-write the whole thing from scratch to better take advantage of the Win2K and newer with its more modern memory model.
That will give Microsoft the chance to dramatically enhance security, provide better standards support, and incorporate new interface features. My suggestion that Microsoft buy the rights to the Maxthon "shell" and incorporate its features into IE 7.0 along with better standards complicance might not be such a far-fetched idea.
If Microsoft was smart, they'd release IE 7.0 for Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0 and help fix the security issues the older versions of IE has with those platforms.
I think a more likely solution is that IE 7.0 will only be available for Windows 2000 and newer users. If the demand is there, we might see an Internet Explorer 6.5 that will incorporate a number of security enhancements but is designed for Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows Me users.
Don't laugh.
I have this suspicion that Microsoft maybe quietly negotiating with the creators of Maxthon and will incorporate the features of Maxthon into IE 7.0. If that happens it will kill off much of the momentum of Firefox.
I also think that IE 7.0 will not only be available for Windows Longhorn and Windows XP Service Pack 2, but we may just see it available for Windows 2000 Professional when the beta starts. I had guessed that IE 7.0 would only be available for Win2K and newer users, and today's announcement confirms my hunch.
I think the enormous success of the iTunes Music Store shows that we're already well on our way to no-physical format delivery of music first, then down the road as broadband becomes more common and faster no-physical format delivery of videos.
We're already pretty close with DRM-protected Windows Media Audio files that after downloading can be burned onto standard CD-R discs or copied to various brands of portable playback devices that use a small hard disk or flash memory storage. Who's to say by 2010 we'll see complete movies in DRM-protected file(s) downloaded via broadband connections 4-10 times faster than today's broadband connections that can be burned onto DVD or high-definition DVD optical discs or copied to a portable video player that by then could sport as much as 500 GB of disk storage in a device about the size of a Sony PlayStation Portable?
Besides, the media companies can charge lower prices for downloads, since you no longer need to factor in physical packaging and shipment costs. That could be especially useful if you're talking TV series with lots of episodes for the entire series.
You can forget about MS dropping the networking code from Windows XP. You need networking in order to connect to the Internet and intranets, and I don't think people want to go through the hassle of downloading, installing and configuring a networking client like users had to do with Trumpet Winsock back in the Windows 3.1x days.
But in reality, dropping Windows Media Player from Windows XP is actually a good thing. That will allow users to download the latest version of Windows Media Player that supports more external multimedia devices.
If you've seen my post on this topic, you know that Paramount dearly misses Ronald D. Moore, who was involved in some of the very best episodes of ST:TNG and ST:DS9. If Moore were involved with ST:E I think the series would have far higher ratings.
I think the fact that Ronald D. Moore--who was a writer and/or was involved in some of the very best episodes of ST:TNG and ST:DS9--wasn't involved with Enterprise is the reason why Enterprise did poorly.
To show how much Paramount misses Moore, it was Ron Moore who was the developer of the re-make of the Battlestar Galactica series, a TV series that has VASTLY exceeded everyone's expectations due to its surprisingly good storyline and acting. If Moore had been involved with Enterprise, UPN wouldn't be cancelling it right now because there would be vastly better storylines, for starters.
...You get a huge selection of music at very competitive prices (especially if you buy a full album at US$9.95 per album), even if some of the major labels are yet to be represented on iTMS.
People forget that music downloaded from iTMS can be burned onto CD-R discs, which means you can play them on most CD players out there.
Because of the success of iTMS, I wouldn't be surprised that we'll see all the major labels supporting iTMS within the next 24 months.
2.) the size of the unit would be really big to accomidate the extra electronics and most importantly the much larger battery.
However, people didn't complain about carrying around the early-design Sony Walkman units, which are far larger than any model iPod. I still think a slightly larger iPod with user-replaceable batteries and a built-in digital tuner for AM and FM would really sell, since people also like to have the ability to listen to local radio stations on long walks or jogs.