This is not true. Only very, very early Tivo units would work without a subscription. Current Tivo and ReplayTV models do NOT "act like a VCR" if you don't pay the subscription - in fact, they don't do anything at all. My Tivo-using friends confirm this.
BTW, I don't have an expectation of getting something for nothing as you state. I'm more than willing to pay - just not on a recurring basis. If I buy Tivo, I want to OWN it - fully functioning, for the price I paid.
Be aware that all Mac laptops now have software modems (MacModems?) that only work under MacOS. (i.e. they won't work under LinuxPPC or YellowDog or whatever else you had in mind).
I pay $150 a year for a subscription to Directv's Center Ice hockey package. Basically, you get all the games on the various Fox Sports affiliates.
This year, many of the Fox Sports channels have started running ads right on top of the game, WHILE THE GAME IS IN PROGRESS. I'm not talking about while play is stopped or during the break between periods, they are showing ads (usually for other Fox Sports shows) right on top, covering up the action. I'm sure some of you have seen these.
Now, if I got these games free, over the air, I would not have much grounds for complaint. But keep in mind I am paying an annual fee (just for hockey) in addition to paying for DirecTV. This practice INFURIATES me.
I will not be renewing my subscription to the Center Ice package if this continues (and I imagine it will). So I lose, Fox Sports loses, and the NHL loses. Who comes up with these stupid ideas?
TiVo users talk about their monthly fee like the company is a charity case. A modem dialing into a mainframe and downloading some data shouldn't cost $13/month. If it does, they're doing something wrong and deserve to go under.
Indeed! I pay just $12 for unlimited dialup internet access, which I frequently use for hundreds of hours a month! Compare this to Tivo which makes its "phone home" call for just a few minutes in the middle of the night.
Everyone tries to justify the monthly fee by touting the features it has over a VCR. Listen, I understand why its good. But no one has yet given me a good reason why those features should be tied to a monthly fee!
We understand that Tivo does a lot more than a VCR, dude. Our complaint is that none of those features justify renting the unit. I think the advanced features are great, and I would like to buy them - once.
One more thing -- if buying a subscription offends you so much, why don't you just buy the box and spend the extra $250 for lifetime service? Then you don't have to pay the subscription cost, and you can treat it as if you bought it at the combined cost.
That would be fine, except now I've got a $500 device that stops working when Tivo goes out of business or decides they no longer want to support my hardware.
If you're already paying for DirecTV, the listing are coming over the satellite, right? You'd think someone would make a device to read those listings and sell it. But they won't because they are all GREEDY BASTARDS.
I want to buy the device, but they refuse to sell it. They only want to RENT it, and I'm not interested in renting things I should own.
There is, quite simply, NO reason that Tivo is a subscription service, except for the fact that they CAN, so they did. Which is why I don't have one yet.
It's my understanding that the unlimited data applies ONLY to usage ON the phone, not "tethered" (i.e. hooked up to a PDA or laptop) access. That is what Sprint's advertising materials say in the fine print.
The author of the references article seems to be aware of this, too. Sounds like something that works now, but could get shut off at anytime.
I'd hate to be the guy that tries this, then gets a huge bill...
Doom II on Mac ran at about 1/2 the framerate it did on a Windows machine with equivalent clock. If that meets your definition of "just fine", well, then okay.
My old Performa 6200 (75 MHz 603) from '94 (I think) played Mp3s in the background while playing WarCraft 2 or DOOM II in the foreground. It was also acting as an LPD printserver and a fileserver at the time -- albeit on a low traffic in-home lan.
Ah, bullshit. I had a PowerMac 7200/90, a more powerful machine, that could barely RUN Doom II, let alone anything else at the same time.
As another reference point, I used to own a Powerbook 5300 (100mhz). It could decode MP3s just fine - as long as you quit all other programs, started one playing, and then walked away from the machine. Another beyond that, it would stutter and break up.
Compare this to a Pentium 100 mhz, which has no trouble playing MP3s.
Unfortunately, it sure is. My old iBook 500mhz with 640MB RAM and OS X 10.1 took 35% of the CPU for iTunes to decode MP3.
There was an interesting thread about this on MacSlash. Something is seriously screwed with the way OS X allocates CPU time. There is simply no reason that an MP3 player should need that much CPU to work. OS X browsers (IE, Mozilla, etc.) have the same problem. Stick them in the background and they will suck up CPU even when they should be idling.
Any desktop computer made in the last 5 years should be able to play oggs files, I would assume.
Apple's 5 year old desktop is the PowerMac 7300/200 (released February 17, 1997). Yes, you can play MP3s on that machine, but only just barely. It will work, but don't plan on doing anything else with the CPU.
It's my understanding that OGG needs quite a bit more CPU power than MP3 for decoding, so I'd think you probably COULDN'T play OGG on a 5 year old Mac.
Now, if I want to sell that game to someone in Britain for $50, and someone in Germany for $100, is there something wrong with that? After all, can't the German customer just call up someone in Britain and have them buy it for him and ship it to Germany, and pay him the $50 plus a bit for his troubles?
That's exactly the problem. Ordinarily, this would work, but in this case, Nintendo is trying to stop the German distributors from being able to sell to British customers at all.
Why not let the consumers screw the company by not buying the product, or ordering it from somewhere else, or otherwise avoiding the price gouging?
That's just it. If Nintendo tries to screw France by charging double what they charge in Italy, consumers should just buy Nintendos from Italy, right? But Nintendo tries to stop it's distributors from selling outside of their country, which is what this is about.
Lately I've been shopping for a system and the "NHL 2003" game. Interestingly enough, the game is $49.99 EVERYWHERE. I can't find a single vendor selling it for even a buck less.
I imagine this comes from the publisher. Sure, you don't HAVE to sell it at our suggested price (That would be illegal), we'll just choose not to sell you ANY next time if you don't.
Something I've never understood - when the publisher sells the games to the wholesaler, they've already been paid. They make the exact same amount of $ whether the game sells for $10 or $50 at retail - so why do they mandate a retail price? You'd think they would want to sell as many copies to their wholesaler as possible. Isn't the easiest way to do that to allow super-low retail pricing?
Really, though. PHP is like PERL made for the web, it has easier access to databases than any other language I know of (which are only a few granted but Perl and C are among them).
You've never heard of ColdFusion? Or do you think ColdFusion isn't a "real" language, because it isn't hard to learn?
E*Trade bank's website works great in Mozilla. They also pay interest on checking accounts, reimburse you for ATM fees, refill your checks for free, and offer free online bill pay. (All the above requires a min. balance of $5000). Highly recommended!
The freetype bytecode interpreter is possibly infringing on an Adobe patent. MS and Apple both shell out big bucks in licensing fees to Adobe for rights to the patented aspects of TrueType rendering, and it shows in the quality of their screen font rendering.
Sounds like it's time for somebody like RedHat to shell out some of the big bucks they're making.
BTW your reason about not being able to distribute the Microsoft fonts is bogus. If that was the only problem, we could all just download them to the right folder and it would work, right? But it doesn't, and that is the problem, not a few missing fonts.
Your "reason" about the bytecode interpreter is also lame. You have explained why the fonts are RENDERED badly. But none of this explains the needlessly complex methods that are used for installing and using fonts under Linux. As usual, it's a bunch of excuses and no action.:(
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BTW, I don't have an expectation of getting something for nothing as you state. I'm more than willing to pay - just not on a recurring basis. If I buy Tivo, I want to OWN it - fully functioning, for the price I paid.
I agree, they deserve to be paid for it - once.
Thus, the catch. Oh well, it was a nice idea. :(
Be aware that all Mac laptops now have software modems (MacModems?) that only work under MacOS. (i.e. they won't work under LinuxPPC or YellowDog or whatever else you had in mind).
This year, many of the Fox Sports channels have started running ads right on top of the game, WHILE THE GAME IS IN PROGRESS. I'm not talking about while play is stopped or during the break between periods, they are showing ads (usually for other Fox Sports shows) right on top, covering up the action. I'm sure some of you have seen these.
Now, if I got these games free, over the air, I would not have much grounds for complaint. But keep in mind I am paying an annual fee (just for hockey) in addition to paying for DirecTV. This practice INFURIATES me.
I will not be renewing my subscription to the Center Ice package if this continues (and I imagine it will). So I lose, Fox Sports loses, and the NHL loses. Who comes up with these stupid ideas?
Got a link? Can't find reference to that anywhere. Far as I know it's $5/month.
Indeed! I pay just $12 for unlimited dialup internet access, which I frequently use for hundreds of hours a month! Compare this to Tivo which makes its "phone home" call for just a few minutes in the middle of the night.
Everyone tries to justify the monthly fee by touting the features it has over a VCR. Listen, I understand why its good. But no one has yet given me a good reason why those features should be tied to a monthly fee!
We understand that Tivo does a lot more than a VCR, dude. Our complaint is that none of those features justify renting the unit. I think the advanced features are great, and I would like to buy them - once.
That would be fine, except now I've got a $500 device that stops working when Tivo goes out of business or decides they no longer want to support my hardware.
If you're already paying for DirecTV, the listing are coming over the satellite, right? You'd think someone would make a device to read those listings and sell it. But they won't because they are all GREEDY BASTARDS.
I want to buy the device, but they refuse to sell it. They only want to RENT it, and I'm not interested in renting things I should own.
There is, quite simply, NO reason that Tivo is a subscription service, except for the fact that they CAN, so they did. Which is why I don't have one yet.
The author of the references article seems to be aware of this, too. Sounds like something that works now, but could get shut off at anytime.
I'd hate to be the guy that tries this, then gets a huge bill...
Can anyone confirm that it works?
The device WILL function on it's own like a regular VCR if you are too cheap to pay for the program guide.
Unfortunately, that just isn't true. If it was, I'd own one already. Both Tivo and ReplayTV boxes don't do jack if you don't pay the subscription.
What I really want is a PVR-like device that records a channel and time that I specify. Be nice if it had an onscreen interface. That's all.
I DON'T want to pay a recurring fee. Not to mention the fact that your device stops working if Tivo/ReplayTV goes under!
Doom II on Mac ran at about 1/2 the framerate it did on a Windows machine with equivalent clock. If that meets your definition of "just fine", well, then okay.
Ah, bullshit. I had a PowerMac 7200/90, a more powerful machine, that could barely RUN Doom II, let alone anything else at the same time.
Compare this to a Pentium 100 mhz, which has no trouble playing MP3s.
Unfortunately, it sure is. My old iBook 500mhz with 640MB RAM and OS X 10.1 took 35% of the CPU for iTunes to decode MP3.
There was an interesting thread about this on MacSlash. Something is seriously screwed with the way OS X allocates CPU time. There is simply no reason that an MP3 player should need that much CPU to work. OS X browsers (IE, Mozilla, etc.) have the same problem. Stick them in the background and they will suck up CPU even when they should be idling.
Apple's 5 year old desktop is the PowerMac 7300/200 (released February 17, 1997). Yes, you can play MP3s on that machine, but only just barely. It will work, but don't plan on doing anything else with the CPU.
It's my understanding that OGG needs quite a bit more CPU power than MP3 for decoding, so I'd think you probably COULDN'T play OGG on a 5 year old Mac.
That's exactly the problem. Ordinarily, this would work, but in this case, Nintendo is trying to stop the German distributors from being able to sell to British customers at all.
That's just it. If Nintendo tries to screw France by charging double what they charge in Italy, consumers should just buy Nintendos from Italy, right? But Nintendo tries to stop it's distributors from selling outside of their country, which is what this is about.
I imagine this comes from the publisher. Sure, you don't HAVE to sell it at our suggested price (That would be illegal), we'll just choose not to sell you ANY next time if you don't.
Something I've never understood - when the publisher sells the games to the wholesaler, they've already been paid. They make the exact same amount of $ whether the game sells for $10 or $50 at retail - so why do they mandate a retail price? You'd think they would want to sell as many copies to their wholesaler as possible. Isn't the easiest way to do that to allow super-low retail pricing?
It sure does seem that when I see a JSP site, more often than not, it crawls.
You've never heard of ColdFusion? Or do you think ColdFusion isn't a "real" language, because it isn't hard to learn?
Dude, come on. That wasn't even subtle. Try harder next time!
E*Trade bank's website works great in Mozilla. They also pay interest on checking accounts, reimburse you for ATM fees, refill your checks for free, and offer free online bill pay. (All the above requires a min. balance of $5000). Highly recommended!
It's a term meaning: "A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound." You should read up on it.
Sounds like it's time for somebody like RedHat to shell out some of the big bucks they're making.
BTW your reason about not being able to distribute the Microsoft fonts is bogus. If that was the only problem, we could all just download them to the right folder and it would work, right? But it doesn't, and that is the problem, not a few missing fonts.
Your "reason" about the bytecode interpreter is also lame. You have explained why the fonts are RENDERED badly. But none of this explains the needlessly complex methods that are used for installing and using fonts under Linux. As usual, it's a bunch of excuses and no action. :(