Yeah, this is just the kind of technology we need;)
Bad enough to have people yapping on cell phones while driving, but to have someone typing on their dashboard while driving? The pic on that slideshow has the driver straddling a double yellow line on a two-lane road while trying to input data on his PDA... NOT a very good marketing image, IMHO.
I was thinking the same thing. Only one problem with that: he just had Dust Puppy install XP on his machine.
Oh well, maybe they'll do a re-install, and Irwin will have to find somewhere else to live... maybe a Newton or something... gads - a palmtop Irwin... the mind reels at the hought...
UCE means unsolicited commercial e-mail - mail sent to your account intended to get you to buy something, like Temple Kiff or spy software. What they did was UBE - unsolicited BULK e-mail - mail sent to your account with a message or subject not always related to getting you to part with your money.
It's apparently true that Jones didn't violate state law, but only because he wasn't asking anyone to send him money. (If only he'd been asking for campaign contributions...) This is *still* spam by the standard set out in any number of anti-spam projects, groups, or campaigns.
I've had an eye (pardon the pun) on his work for years. I always wondered if I'd be able to build a wearable and use it on a daily basis; now that I'm working in.edu land again, there's more potential for this to happen.
http://www.wearcam.org is (or at least, was) a good place to start looking for information on his projects. (Look here for an interesting screen shot of his view of the world, text interface and all.) There's also http://eyetap.org- a site actually described on wearcam as "a more organized and more desktop computer friendly site". Mann's older sites are not very "prettified" with nice tables and formatting; they're a fairly random pile of information, which probably woul;dn't look bad in a text-only browser, like what he'd have been using:)
Sounds like Apple's pre-installed System Profiler software - gives you a run down of hardware, software, installed apps, what kind of devices are attached to your machine (hard drives, peripherals, how much memory in which slots, etc.), in a nicely formatted output.
They came through Michigan last time around. I live in Ypsilanti, MI, having moved from Saginaw a few years ago. I ran a small computer repair business out of my house while I was up there, but closed shop when we moved. I was thinking of starting it up again after we got settled, so I re-subscribed to the freebie geek trade journals under my business name with my current correct address.
Two years later, I get a notice from the BSA that my business is part of their latest sweep. Mind you, I didn't do a lick of business since hitting Ypsi, so it's not like they had a business to target, just a private citizen in his own home. It seems as though they snarfed my name from one of those trade rag mailing lists.
I fretted for a while about what would happen if some "representative" of these guys showed up at our door when I was at my real job, let my wife know that they weren't allowed in the door without a warrant, and all that. Nothing ever came of it. I figured (after seeing the follow-up letter) that this was all just a front for MS so that they could make sure they were getting all of their money that was coming to them.
Now, I have no problems with a company wanting to make sure that folks that use their software actually PAY for it; stealing from a thief doesn't make the theft any less of a crime than stealing from a cop. If a member of the BSA wants to use their services to enforce their policies, more power to them, that's why they signed up. But the way they did it was quite ridiculous and heavyhanded; FUD is no way to win friends and influence people - at least, not to influence them in your favor.
Since I had nothing to fear from these goons - I'm a Mac user, so don't have any commercial Microsoft software, and all of the other companies that were on the list either had software I didn't need, or actually had my money for a legit version of their software - I didn't see the point in participating with this little charade. I just took their little "notice" postcard, scrawled some snide comment on it telling them off, and returned it to sender, mail refused. That was the last I heard from them.
I only have a standard service account with Paypal. I do any work with them by moving money into and out of a checking account at my bank set up just for Paypal transactions. Paypal (to the best of my knowledge) doesn't hold any of my money, my bank does that.
This is, in fact, the only reason I use Paypal at all - I was in no way interested in putting my money in their system, because I'm not a die-hard auction / online shopping user, and didn't want money tied up where it wasn't quickly accessable.
A) the Terapin is larger than an iPod
2) it's more expensive than an iPod
III) It's uglier than an iPod
d) It's got no Mac support, unlike an iPod
Admittedly, it's got some extra nifty cool features, but how many mp3 players do you need that have video out or PCMCIA slots? And to think, it's been marked down to just $130 MORE than an iPod...
It's 11:55 PM, and you're feverishly downloading your mp3s and pr0n before @Home pulls the plug, when suddenly you hear the news:
"Microsoft has purchased the assets of the @Home network, and has immediately assumed all service contracts and customers of the former @Home broadband network."
You get to keep your bandwidth! Your games! Your pr0n! But that means you have to pay money to Microsoft for that privelage! Do you rip the cable jack out of the wall in fear, or do you submit to the will of a known monopoly?
This site offers a listing of ALL laws on the books in U.S. States, as well as a weatlh of other information. They also maintain a mailing list which is currently tracking the efforts of several people who are actively suing spammers.
Mmm, an anthrax vaccine... just like the one they gave our soldiers over in the Gulf War?
I've read lots of reports tying that vaccine to the "mysterious" Gulf War Syndrome.
Then there's the fact that the ONE company licensced by the gov't to produce an anthrax vaccine hasn't produced a single usable vaccine in almost two years, because their quality control is so poor it doesn't allow them to brew the same batch twice...
I'd hope their being quiet because they've got something better planned, cause what I've heard so far isn't very promising.
If you follow the "buy this domain" link from below the porn ad that now graces the page that appears at their url, you see:
"Any Offer Below $550.00 USD Will Be Ignored!"
I've run into a similar problem where a domain name I created for a small business expired and someone snarfed it up. At least in my case, the squatt - err, "opportunists" - will consider an offer of $150.
I'm about as out of luck as you, because I screwed up and forgot to re-reg the name when it expired. You can either cough for for a domain resolution, pay them their extorti - err, transfer fee, or sit it out, wait for the name to expire, and try to snarf it back out from under them.
There's also the fact that QuickTime 5 is needed to view any of these trailers/teasers. Something of a pain, since I can't upgrade past QT4 on this locked-down-piece-of-an-NT-box they gave me at work...
"...the new Warner Bros Powerpuff Girls DVD is infected with the FunLove virus. Note this only effects those who install the supplemental Windows software that comes on the DVD."
For once, having a Mac and not having all the DVD bells and whistles supported is a good thing;)
(The fact that they spell out "MAC" is sheer coincidence, believe me... I wuv my G4!)
I'd look them up, but I really have no use for any Microsoft products, and don't desire to dirty my hands with them if at all possible. The only thing I do with the NT laptop they gave me at work (d00d, yer getting a Dell!") is spin cds and play shoutcast streams on it.
It's very much worth it if you live in Washington, as people are winning lawsuits against spammers to the tune of $500 *per message* (as allowed by state law). There's laws on the books in other states that you can use to actually sue spammers for damages, too:
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, this is just the kind of technology we need ;)
Bad enough to have people yapping on cell phones while driving, but to have someone typing on their dashboard while driving? The pic on that slideshow has the driver straddling a double yellow line on a two-lane road while trying to input data on his PDA... NOT a very good marketing image, IMHO.
I was thinking the same thing. Only one problem with that: he just had Dust Puppy install XP on his machine.
Oh well, maybe they'll do a re-install, and Irwin will have to find somewhere else to live... maybe a Newton or something... gads - a palmtop Irwin... the mind reels at the hought...
UCE means unsolicited commercial e-mail - mail sent to your account intended to get you to buy something, like Temple Kiff or spy software. What they did was UBE - unsolicited BULK e-mail - mail sent to your account with a message or subject not always related to getting you to part with your money.
It's apparently true that Jones didn't violate state law, but only because he wasn't asking anyone to send him money. (If only he'd been asking for campaign contributions...) This is *still* spam by the standard set out in any number of anti-spam projects, groups, or campaigns.
I've had an eye (pardon the pun) on his work for years. I always wondered if I'd be able to build a wearable and use it on a daily basis; now that I'm working in .edu land again, there's more potential for this to happen.
:)
http://www.wearcam.org is (or at least, was) a good place to start looking for information on his projects. (Look here for an interesting screen shot of his view of the world, text interface and all.) There's also http://eyetap.org- a site actually described on wearcam as "a more organized and more desktop computer friendly site". Mann's older sites are not very "prettified" with nice tables and formatting; they're a fairly random pile of information, which probably woul;dn't look bad in a text-only browser, like what he'd have been using
Sounds like Apple's pre-installed System Profiler software - gives you a run down of hardware, software, installed apps, what kind of devices are attached to your machine (hard drives, peripherals, how much memory in which slots, etc.), in a nicely formatted output.
They came through Michigan last time around. I live in Ypsilanti, MI, having moved from Saginaw a few years ago. I ran a small computer repair business out of my house while I was up there, but closed shop when we moved. I was thinking of starting it up again after we got settled, so I re-subscribed to the freebie geek trade journals under my business name with my current correct address.
Two years later, I get a notice from the BSA that my business is part of their latest sweep. Mind you, I didn't do a lick of business since hitting Ypsi, so it's not like they had a business to target, just a private citizen in his own home. It seems as though they snarfed my name from one of those trade rag mailing lists.
I fretted for a while about what would happen if some "representative" of these guys showed up at our door when I was at my real job, let my wife know that they weren't allowed in the door without a warrant, and all that. Nothing ever came of it. I figured (after seeing the follow-up letter) that this was all just a front for MS so that they could make sure they were getting all of their money that was coming to them.
Now, I have no problems with a company wanting to make sure that folks that use their software actually PAY for it; stealing from a thief doesn't make the theft any less of a crime than stealing from a cop. If a member of the BSA wants to use their services to enforce their policies, more power to them, that's why they signed up. But the way they did it was quite ridiculous and heavyhanded; FUD is no way to win friends and influence people - at least, not to influence them in your favor.
Since I had nothing to fear from these goons - I'm a Mac user, so don't have any commercial Microsoft software, and all of the other companies that were on the list either had software I didn't need, or actually had my money for a legit version of their software - I didn't see the point in participating with this little charade. I just took their little "notice" postcard, scrawled some snide comment on it telling them off, and returned it to sender, mail refused. That was the last I heard from them.
I only have a standard service account with Paypal. I do any work with them by moving money into and out of a checking account at my bank set up just for Paypal transactions. Paypal (to the best of my knowledge) doesn't hold any of my money, my bank does that.
This is, in fact, the only reason I use Paypal at all - I was in no way interested in putting my money in their system, because I'm not a die-hard auction / online shopping user, and didn't want money tied up where it wasn't quickly accessable.
Why?
A) the Terapin is larger than an iPod
2) it's more expensive than an iPod
III) It's uglier than an iPod
d) It's got no Mac support, unlike an iPod
Admittedly, it's got some extra nifty cool features, but how many mp3 players do you need that have video out or PCMCIA slots? And to think, it's been marked down to just $130 MORE than an iPod...
Pop quiz, hotshot!
It's 11:55 PM, and you're feverishly downloading your mp3s and pr0n before @Home pulls the plug, when suddenly you hear the news:
"Microsoft has purchased the assets of the @Home network, and has immediately assumed all service contracts and customers of the former @Home broadband network."
You get to keep your bandwidth! Your games! Your pr0n! But that means you have to pay money to Microsoft for that privelage! Do you rip the cable jack out of the wall in fear, or do you submit to the will of a known monopoly?
What do you do?
What DO you DO???
See also: www.spamcon.org
This site offers a listing of ALL laws on the books in U.S. States, as well as a weatlh of other information. They also maintain a mailing list which is currently tracking the efforts of several people who are actively suing spammers.
Mmm, an anthrax vaccine... just like the one they gave our soldiers over in the Gulf War?
I've read lots of reports tying that vaccine to the "mysterious" Gulf War Syndrome.
Then there's the fact that the ONE company licensced by the gov't to produce an anthrax vaccine hasn't produced a single usable vaccine in almost two years, because their quality control is so poor it doesn't allow them to brew the same batch twice...
I'd hope their being quiet because they've got something better planned, cause what I've heard so far isn't very promising.
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20010628. html
If you follow the "buy this domain" link from below the porn ad that now graces the page that appears at their url, you see:
"Any Offer Below $550.00 USD Will Be Ignored!"
I've run into a similar problem where a domain name I created for a small business expired and someone snarfed it up. At least in my case, the squatt - err, "opportunists" - will consider an offer of $150.
I'm about as out of luck as you, because I screwed up and forgot to re-reg the name when it expired. You can either cough for for a domain resolution, pay them their extorti - err, transfer fee, or sit it out, wait for the name to expire, and try to snarf it back out from under them.
There's also the fact that QuickTime 5 is needed to view any of these trailers/teasers. Something of a pain, since I can't upgrade past QT4 on this locked-down-piece-of-an-NT-box they gave me at work...
"...the new Warner Bros Powerpuff Girls DVD is infected with the FunLove virus. Note this only effects those who install the supplemental Windows software that comes on the DVD."
;)
For once, having a Mac and not having all the DVD bells and whistles supported is a good thing
How about these words?
Monopoly
Anti-competitive
Criminal
...
(The fact that they spell out "MAC" is sheer coincidence, believe me... I wuv my G4!)
I'd look them up, but I really have no use for any Microsoft products, and don't desire to dirty my hands with them if at all possible. The only thing I do with the NT laptop they gave me at work (d00d, yer getting a Dell!") is spin cds and play shoutcast streams on it.
And don't forget that Steve Jobs was the "iCEO" of Apple for a while; the "i" stood for "interim", since it was originalyl just a temporary position.
But you *can* sue spammers! See
http://www.spamcon.org/
for more information.
It's very much worth it if you live in Washington, as people are winning lawsuits against spammers to the tune of $500 *per message* (as allowed by state law). There's laws on the books in other states that you can use to actually sue spammers for damages, too:
http://law.spamcon.org/us-laws/index.shtml