I hate this law/rule. I live in Santa Cruz CA where the only way to get a TV signal is to get cable. Channels 2 and 3 are fox affiliates, 3 is the local, 2 is out of oakland. Channel 3 also does UPN crap.
This is the problem: whenever FOX programming comes on, channel 2 is blocked because of regional competition rules. While that sounds reasonable, there are two problems with it:
1) for some strange reason reception on channel 3 ranges from 'sucks' to 'fuzzy,' but never as good as channel 2. I don't care about local adverts; I just want to get good reception for Furturama and the Simpsons...and for Alley McBeal, but I won't admit that. In public.
2) If channel 3 is showing some stupid UPN crap that goes overtime, they don't show the FOX shows...but the cable company still blocks channel 2. Normally this doesn't happen, but the XFL fuX0r3d a number of weeks of futurama et. al. for me.
Dunno, maybe I'm a little crazy, but I'm interested in the content; that's why I watch TV. I really couldn't give a shit about who's trying to sell me stuff; I ignore them all just the same.
I dislike the MS monopoly as much as the next person who dislikes the MS monopoly, but XBox/Homestation stuffs really don't bother me.
And here's why...
Consoles are by their very nature closed-platform proprietary devices. Console manufacturers/companies have always kept tight (and at some times rigid) control of what can be made for a console and what can be done with a console. Everyone does it. And MS has dones this for years with the PC market place; they're very very good at it.
However, the major difference is that while you *should* be able do whatever you want with a PC, you don't buy a console system expecting the same type of flexibility. So right there MS is moving into a niche market that finally fits what they want to do with their life.
Additionally, since consoles are designed to be brain-dead five-year-old useable devices, they have to be stable and crash free (for all you "XBox crashes" ignorant weenies out there, mine has never once crashed...and I've sat there playing it for eight hours straight and then slapped a DVD or music CD in it) I've seen my PC crash and seen the PS2 crash, but never the XBox. Right here this helps MS with one of their biggest problems: they now have a business out there that is dependent on the system NOT crashing.
And then on top of all this, since MS is always emphasizing that the XBox is a console and not a PC, they're likely not to attempt to "bundle" software into the XBox to put others out of business...and on top of that it doesn't matter anyway since the XBox is closed and proprietary.
The final point of all this is that XBox dev being so similar to (MS)PC dev, we will likely see better games coming out for the PC in the future; companies can save initial compatability lab costs by developing for a known set of parameters...and then if the game is good enough they can move it to PC and worry about the compatability issues at that time.
And my final hope is that with a proprietary, closed platform that they can push at the consumer without fear of monopoly prosecution, they'll ease up on pushing crap at the PC/server side of the business, finally realizing that they cannot win using their business practices on that front.
What exactly does CGI mean in this context? I was always under the impression that the "I" stood for "Insert" or "Image," while the "C" stood for "Computer" and the "G" for "Graphic(s)" or "Generated."
I've been leaving off the "I" entirely lately because adding an "I" at the end not only sounds stupid, but is also confusing at times when also considering the cgi-bin.
Very true. But keep in mind the mentality of a lot of these corporations...
If they don't control the whole thing and have an absolute "monopoly" on it they feel very insecure about the whole thing.
Napster could have been easily defeated by offering cheap, fast, high-quality, flexible (as in one song, not the whole album), reliable downloads from sites...but instead they sued Napster out of existance and launched their own music distribution services that weren't cheap, flexible, or easy to use.
What they're really scared of is that with devices like this in the hands of the consumer, the networks' plans for pay-per-view replays go out the window.
What the networks want is to get more money from the consumer by charging for video on demand replays of TV shows. Keep in mind that they're pushing for "locks" on digitally delivered programs so they can mark programs as "unrecordable" and "protected" at which point your VCR/whatever will refuse to record/show the time-shifted broadcast.
The only reason they could want something like this is to be able to charge you for a time-shifted showing.
"Not home for the big game? Well, you can't record it, but we'll let you watch it as video on demand for a small fee! Suck it down!"
With a network of digital recorders that can share programs you no longer have to ask of family and friends, "hey, did you tape ER on thurs.? I missed it and forgot to tape it." Instead you search and download...and if people can do that, why would they buy a rebroadcast from the network?
This isn't about protecting an old and out of date business model, this is about changing current laws and controlling the technology so that a new business model can take off.
Anyone else notice an important part of the useability issue with the ballot is handedness? While the ballot may look straightforward, even when stuffed in the holder (here), do this...take a pointy object and hold it up to the screen as if you're going to punch out the holes...suddenly the right column is covered by your right hand and you can only see the left column, creating the confusion...
'course, you might have to be left-handed to notice this...we spend all our time complaining about how the man is screwing us over.
okay, there's a bug in this thing...you'll have to remove the %20 from the link...something's wrong with the line breaks.
I have a paperback copy of the book, printed in 1984. On the cover of the book there is a big gold star that says, "#1 Best Seller!" in the center, and around the edge of the star it says, "Soon to be a major motion picture!" So my good thing about Battlefield Earth is that it finally became a major motion picture. Only took 16 years... Now that's what I call long-term planning!
Slashdot Mirror
everyone on a college campus knows what a trojan is...it's just geeks that think it's something to be protected against, not protection itself.
I hate this law/rule. I live in Santa Cruz CA where the only way to get a TV signal is to get cable. Channels 2 and 3 are fox affiliates, 3 is the local, 2 is out of oakland. Channel 3 also does UPN crap.
This is the problem: whenever FOX programming comes on, channel 2 is blocked because of regional competition rules. While that sounds reasonable, there are two problems with it:
1) for some strange reason reception on channel 3 ranges from 'sucks' to 'fuzzy,' but never as good as channel 2. I don't care about local adverts; I just want to get good reception for Furturama and the Simpsons...and for Alley McBeal, but I won't admit that. In public.
2) If channel 3 is showing some stupid UPN crap that goes overtime, they don't show the FOX shows...but the cable company still blocks channel 2. Normally this doesn't happen, but the XFL fuX0r3d a number of weeks of futurama et. al. for me.
Dunno, maybe I'm a little crazy, but I'm interested in the content; that's why I watch TV. I really couldn't give a shit about who's trying to sell me stuff; I ignore them all just the same.
a step towards cartrage-based laser guns.
Which would explain a lot in some of those future sci-fi films I've seen.
And here's why...
Consoles are by their very nature closed-platform proprietary devices. Console manufacturers/companies have always kept tight (and at some times rigid) control of what can be made for a console and what can be done with a console. Everyone does it. And MS has dones this for years with the PC market place; they're very very good at it.
However, the major difference is that while you *should* be able do whatever you want with a PC, you don't buy a console system expecting the same type of flexibility. So right there MS is moving into a niche market that finally fits what they want to do with their life.
Additionally, since consoles are designed to be brain-dead five-year-old useable devices, they have to be stable and crash free (for all you "XBox crashes" ignorant weenies out there, mine has never once crashed...and I've sat there playing it for eight hours straight and then slapped a DVD or music CD in it) I've seen my PC crash and seen the PS2 crash, but never the XBox. Right here this helps MS with one of their biggest problems: they now have a business out there that is dependent on the system NOT crashing.
And then on top of all this, since MS is always emphasizing that the XBox is a console and not a PC, they're likely not to attempt to "bundle" software into the XBox to put others out of business...and on top of that it doesn't matter anyway since the XBox is closed and proprietary.
The final point of all this is that XBox dev being so similar to (MS)PC dev, we will likely see better games coming out for the PC in the future; companies can save initial compatability lab costs by developing for a known set of parameters...and then if the game is good enough they can move it to PC and worry about the compatability issues at that time.
And my final hope is that with a proprietary, closed platform that they can push at the consumer without fear of monopoly prosecution, they'll ease up on pushing crap at the PC/server side of the business, finally realizing that they cannot win using their business practices on that front.
What exactly does CGI mean in this context? I was always under the impression that the "I" stood for "Insert" or "Image," while the "C" stood for "Computer" and the "G" for "Graphic(s)" or "Generated."
I've been leaving off the "I" entirely lately because adding an "I" at the end not only sounds stupid, but is also confusing at times when also considering the cgi-bin.
The cgi-bin is not a repository for CG films.
Very true. But keep in mind the mentality of a lot of these corporations...
If they don't control the whole thing and have an absolute "monopoly" on it they feel very insecure about the whole thing.
Napster could have been easily defeated by offering cheap, fast, high-quality, flexible (as in one song, not the whole album), reliable downloads from sites...but instead they sued Napster out of existance and launched their own music distribution services that weren't cheap, flexible, or easy to use.
What they're really scared of is that with devices like this in the hands of the consumer, the networks' plans for pay-per-view replays go out the window.
What the networks want is to get more money from the consumer by charging for video on demand replays of TV shows. Keep in mind that they're pushing for "locks" on digitally delivered programs so they can mark programs as "unrecordable" and "protected" at which point your VCR/whatever will refuse to record/show the time-shifted broadcast.
The only reason they could want something like this is to be able to charge you for a time-shifted showing.
"Not home for the big game? Well, you can't record it, but we'll let you watch it as video on demand for a small fee! Suck it down!"
With a network of digital recorders that can share programs you no longer have to ask of family and friends, "hey, did you tape ER on thurs.? I missed it and forgot to tape it." Instead you search and download...and if people can do that, why would they buy a rebroadcast from the network?
This isn't about protecting an old and out of date business model, this is about changing current laws and controlling the technology so that a new business model can take off.
'course, you might have to be left-handed to notice this...we spend all our time complaining about how the man is screwing us over.
okay, there's a bug in this thing...you'll have to remove the %20 from the link...something's wrong with the line breaks.
I have a paperback copy of the book, printed in 1984. On the cover of the book there is a big gold star that says, "#1 Best Seller!" in the center, and around the edge of the star it says, "Soon to be a major motion picture!" So my good thing about Battlefield Earth is that it finally became a major motion picture. Only took 16 years... Now that's what I call long-term planning!