Oh, I really am interested in getting an iPod some day, I'm not sure which version or when. From checking a few of my encoded directories, Mini does store 50+ CDs worth of songs.
In the past, I've read complaints that iPods don't remember the second it was turned off at when the device is turned off and doesn't restart at that point. Is this true? I think would be nice for songs, but it is critical for audio books and other tapes.
Yeah, DivX died because of bad management, IMO. Retailers weren't allowed to buy-in. Practically only Circuit City sold the players, and practically only CC sold the discs. They sold, but they didn't take over like they expected. The extra $100 per DVD player for the encryption & phone-home system did not help matters, they should have subsidized it.
CC was expecting Blockbuster and rental chains to sell the discs. Because Blockbuster had no ownership of DivX, they'd effectively lose revenue on the re-plays that might have been re-rents. Best Buy and the like sure as heck wasn't about to sell something that would help their competition.
Disney did forced ads on their DVDs and they stopped after an uproar. The ads are still front-loaded but they can now be skipped with chapter, FF or pressing menu.
I really don't know what other mainstream DVD producer locks out the buttons during trailers.
Agreed. I have two CF cards, two CF devices. For interchangeability reasons, I will give strong preference to any device that uses that standard vs. another standard where I have to maintain two types of memory cards.
Given how hard they fight unionization drives, I think you are right. I mean, if their reaction to one meat counter in one store going union is to close down all the meat counters in all their stores (that can't be cheap), you know they mean business.
Companines have an incentive to keep working on their products.
The thing is, at least the code is out there if you use the software and just need a small fix. Try getting that out of a company that's collapsed. Or if the company decided that a reasonably profitable product isn't profitable enough and decided to drop it in favor of more profitable ventures. Sure, there's money there but the business decision was to go elsewhere.
I'd say if software companies go down because of F/OSS, then it's payback for treating programmers like shit or putting out shit products.
Granted, sometimes programmers are cockier than fighter pilots, there's the other end of the spectrum where management requires 70+ hour workweek and forces software out the door then blame programmers when something goes wrong.
I suspect that if you require ATI to do the deinterlacing, you'll be disappointed, because it will probably look the same way.
Graphics chips are still horrible at deinterlacing, just the same way that DVD player software is horrible at deinterlacing.
Even if you wanted HD component inputs, that is so close to the PCI's bandwidth (the 33 MHz / 32bits that few care to exceed) that it isn't practical for many systems.
There are standard definition component input boards, but one I've seen (but can't find the name for) costs $250, another, the Holo3DGraph, is $400 if you are lucky to find a used or refurbed original model, or $900 for a second generation model. H3D I doesn't do HD at all, H3D II can do HD with an add-on board (another $300), but I'm not sure it does analog component input.
batteries are a known quantum in the world of travel security. scanners are designed to know what they are and how they're used.
contrary to popular belief, batteries do not look like explosive devices.
I sure hell hope not. If batteries were taken for granted like that, I imagine that someone will get the bright idea to hulk out AA batteries to put bullets into them and reseal them.
One thing is while people may be familiar with AA, AAA and such type batteries, a Lithium square flat pack that doesn't look like a 9V will raise questions. Heck, airport security is pretty dumb anyway, so they wouldn't know what a lithium battery is.
Yes, I've tried to point this out the last several threads concerning a G5 in a hypothetical XBox2. Even if a G5 can't fully emulate a PIII 733 in real time, all the APIs could be recompiled coded into PPC code, and emulate the non API code.
If MS did their job, the graphics APIs should be hardware agnostic too, so porting the APIs shouldn't be an issue.
But regarding burning bridges, I doubt it. Going with the lowest bidder doesn't necessarily imply a "marriage" of any kind.
You know, Microsoft develops a lot of software for the Mac? It shouldn't be a surprise that Microsoft owns Macs. It's not as if it needed some super secret project.
Microsoft is also apparently updating Connectix's Virtual PC to run on G5, which could be used to help emulate the XBox on XBox2 should they choose to.
The format is intelligent in one aspect - they wouldn't be able to charge much per-copy licence because they have to compete against two other formats, that way if MS is being too ornery, filmakers just switch to one of the other two versions.
Now, the DVD Forum would be stupid to not set a pre-player cost limit on royalties, otherwise it's begging for robbery. I didn't find anything in the article about that.
Last I checked, EVD is using VP6, which has a $2/copy license fee.
You might have the CODEC right, but I think China negotiated a much better deal than $2/copy. I doubt the Chinese would bother with a format that more than doubles the cost of production. I heard it was a one time charge in the player, and no charge per movie, although I expect they make money licencing encoders too.
One thing I really question is the claim that there will be or can be only one final winner in "owning" space. I'm sure there will eventually be wars and such but dominance by one group doesn't mean exclusion of another. There are times where one group in a particular realm is the "king of the hill" but often there is room for other players too, without the help of that "king".
It seems people on slashdot are a bit overeager to buy PC based devices that can't be used as a standalone device. So far that I've seen, the benefits are mostly just cost, at the expense of portability, usability and quality.
I'd just find a real scope on surplus somewhere.
I just have a 'scope on "loan" from a local EE guy. Just an analog one. Effectively it is mostly a gift, but there are times he wants an analog scope so he wanted the understanding that he can get it back on occasion. For most uses, a digital one does fine.
Sadly, firms will often settle rather than take even a very small risk at trial for fear that a loss would prompt a flood of very expensive suits.
But if people know you'll settle, then many can threaten a lawsuit with ease expecting settlements rather than a protracted lawsuit. Sounds like easy money to me.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh, I really am interested in getting an iPod some day, I'm not sure which version or when. From checking a few of my encoded directories, Mini does store 50+ CDs worth of songs.
I have one question -
In the past, I've read complaints that iPods don't remember the second it was turned off at when the device is turned off and doesn't restart at that point. Is this true? I think would be nice for songs, but it is critical for audio books and other tapes.
"turn up the sub-woofer?"
What the hell? That eliminates any pretense of accuracy. I suppose a lot of people gladly trade accuracy for something that's just loud and boomy.
Oh well.
On a side note -- didn't I read something a few months back about Adobe doing something similar with Photoshop?
I think that was last summer, and not Adobe, but three major movie studios cooperating to work together to make some Adobe products work under WINE.
Yeah, DivX died because of bad management, IMO. Retailers weren't allowed to buy-in. Practically only Circuit City sold the players, and practically only CC sold the discs. They sold, but they didn't take over like they expected. The extra $100 per DVD player for the encryption & phone-home system did not help matters, they should have subsidized it.
CC was expecting Blockbuster and rental chains to sell the discs. Because Blockbuster had no ownership of DivX, they'd effectively lose revenue on the re-plays that might have been re-rents. Best Buy and the like sure as heck wasn't about to sell something that would help their competition.
Disney did forced ads on their DVDs and they stopped after an uproar. The ads are still front-loaded but they can now be skipped with chapter, FF or pressing menu.
I really don't know what other mainstream DVD producer locks out the buttons during trailers.
Agreed. I have two CF cards, two CF devices. For interchangeability reasons, I will give strong preference to any device that uses that standard vs. another standard where I have to maintain two types of memory cards.
Looks like he had some Intel "assistance"
Which is pretty interesting as I've read several slashdotters claim that he's pro-AMD.
Given how hard they fight unionization drives, I think you are right. I mean, if their reaction to one meat counter in one store going union is to close down all the meat counters in all their stores (that can't be cheap), you know they mean business.
Companines have an incentive to keep working on their products.
The thing is, at least the code is out there if you use the software and just need a small fix. Try getting that out of a company that's collapsed. Or if the company decided that a reasonably profitable product isn't profitable enough and decided to drop it in favor of more profitable ventures. Sure, there's money there but the business decision was to go elsewhere.
You know, I'm still using WP Office Suite 8. I completely missed the announcements for versions 9 through 11, and I did spot 10 in a store once.
Isn't Corel in cahoots with SCO? Even if Open Office weren't an option, I'd stick with an old version rather than to upgrade to extortionists.
I'd say if software companies go down because of F/OSS, then it's payback for treating programmers like shit or putting out shit products.
Granted, sometimes programmers are cockier than fighter pilots, there's the other end of the spectrum where management requires 70+ hour workweek and forces software out the door then blame programmers when something goes wrong.
The point was not many displays sold even now can show all of 1080i or 1080p.
You can buy them, but it is still at the very high end.
I suspect that if you require ATI to do the deinterlacing, you'll be disappointed, because it will probably look the same way.
Graphics chips are still horrible at deinterlacing, just the same way that DVD player software is horrible at deinterlacing.
Even if you wanted HD component inputs, that is so close to the PCI's bandwidth (the 33 MHz / 32bits that few care to exceed) that it isn't practical for many systems.
There are standard definition component input boards, but one I've seen (but can't find the name for) costs $250, another, the Holo3DGraph, is $400 if you are lucky to find a used or refurbed original model, or $900 for a second generation model. H3D I doesn't do HD at all, H3D II can do HD with an add-on board (another $300), but I'm not sure it does analog component input.
batteries are a known quantum in the world of travel security. scanners are designed to know what they are and how they're used.
contrary to popular belief, batteries do not look like explosive devices.
I sure hell hope not. If batteries were taken for granted like that, I imagine that someone will get the bright idea to hulk out AA batteries to put bullets into them and reseal them.
One thing is while people may be familiar with AA, AAA and such type batteries, a Lithium square flat pack that doesn't look like a 9V will raise questions. Heck, airport security is pretty dumb anyway, so they wouldn't know what a lithium battery is.
Yes, I've tried to point this out the last several threads concerning a G5 in a hypothetical XBox2. Even if a G5 can't fully emulate a PIII 733 in real time, all the APIs could be recompiled coded into PPC code, and emulate the non API code.
If MS did their job, the graphics APIs should be hardware agnostic too, so porting the APIs shouldn't be an issue.
But regarding burning bridges, I doubt it. Going with the lowest bidder doesn't necessarily imply a "marriage" of any kind.
You know, Microsoft develops a lot of software for the Mac? It shouldn't be a surprise that Microsoft owns Macs. It's not as if it needed some super secret project.
Microsoft is also apparently updating Connectix's Virtual PC to run on G5, which could be used to help emulate the XBox on XBox2 should they choose to.
Yep! Anyone with an NT4.0 CD should be able to find a PPC tree, along with the Alpha, MIPS, I386 trees.
The format is intelligent in one aspect - they wouldn't be able to charge much per-copy licence because they have to compete against two other formats, that way if MS is being too ornery, filmakers just switch to one of the other two versions.
Now, the DVD Forum would be stupid to not set a pre-player cost limit on royalties, otherwise it's begging for robbery. I didn't find anything in the article about that.
Last I checked, EVD is using VP6, which has a $2/copy license fee.
You might have the CODEC right, but I think China negotiated a much better deal than $2/copy. I doubt the Chinese would bother with a format that more than doubles the cost of production. I heard it was a one time charge in the player, and no charge per movie, although I expect they make money licencing encoders too.
One thing I really question is the claim that there will be or can be only one final winner in "owning" space. I'm sure there will eventually be wars and such but dominance by one group doesn't mean exclusion of another. There are times where one group in a particular realm is the "king of the hill" but often there is room for other players too, without the help of that "king".
What happens when the sine wave is sampled at the zero crossing? You'd have no data to reconstruct the original signal.
It seems people on slashdot are a bit overeager to buy PC based devices that can't be used as a standalone device. So far that I've seen, the benefits are mostly just cost, at the expense of portability, usability and quality.
I'd just find a real scope on surplus somewhere.
I just have a 'scope on "loan" from a local EE guy. Just an analog one. Effectively it is mostly a gift, but there are times he wants an analog scope so he wanted the understanding that he can get it back on occasion. For most uses, a digital one does fine.
Also: is there anything preventing an open source implementation of Java? If RMS wants one, then he should spearhead an independent project.
Sadly, firms will often settle rather than take even a very small risk at trial for fear that a loss would prompt a flood of very expensive suits.
But if people know you'll settle, then many can threaten a lawsuit with ease expecting settlements rather than a protracted lawsuit. Sounds like easy money to me.