Civilization 3 can also be controlled solely via the mouse interface I believe.
Not entirely true, but pretty close. You need a keyboard when you make deals with other nations, to enter gold amounts you're willing to pay or you're requesting. Minor, I know, and you can accept the default values the computer sugests, but in certain circumstances, they're trying to rip you off...And yes, it is a highly enjoyable and addictive game:)
This is not really the reason when it comes to VOIP. VOIP traffic is actually very easy on bandwidth; Vonage's traffic is probably around 16kbps each way. And besides, how much can you talk on the phone? The real reason is that providers want to push their own VOIP services.
I definitely agree with the camp that thinks SCO would be better off devleoping product than litigating.
That's where you're wrong. Apparently SCO is not able to develop a competitive product. For them (strictly for them) at this point litigation is the better option. The alternative would be to fold up and die.
For the society in general, it is a different story:)
won't it need to continually poll a server to find out if it has an incoming call due to firewalls?
No, what it does is it sends a registration message to the central server every minute or so. This has a double purpose: it lets the server know where to find the device and it pokes a hole through most NAT firewalls. When a call comes in, the firewall is already opened on that particular port and the NAT association is created.
does it expect to be able to seamlessly jump wifi networks?
Nope, not when you're in a call. When you're idle you can do it, however, I'm not sure if the particular piece of hardware Vonage uses has the capability.
I'm sorry, but you're plain wrong. Do you really think that my mom is really going to go through the trouble of downloading a text file (which does not end in.txt), opening it, using a tool that generates an MD5 signature (and that does not come standard on Windows) and comparing strings of 32 characters? And that assumes my mom would know what an MD5 is, which she does not.
Of course, for you and me all this is not only easy, it's become second nature, but for the average Joe this sounds like a foreign language. Please try to wake up and smell the reality. You either want OSS products like Firefox to succeed and be addopted by a large mass of users - or not, in which case I don't want to hear any complaints about how your favorite application is not supported by some random vendor or service provider
Your TiVo never gets shut off? How important is boot-time to a device like TiVo or Zaurus?
Funny you mention that. No, my Tivo never gets shut off, except when it's a power failure, and that happens 2-3 times a year in my area. However, I've noticed that it has a huge boot up time, something to the order of 4-5 minutes. I've worked on a few Linux embedded devices and I've seen lots of others and all I can say is Linux is not the fastest thing around the block when it comes to boot time - even when it's optimized for embedded work.
Windows runs a microkernel, Linux runs a monolithic kernel.
That's not really correct - initially, NT wanted to be a microkernel, but AFAIK things were running so slow that they had to cram so much crap into the kernel to make it run decently that it no longer fits the description
I would guess it's because of the economics: at some point, the cost of running a factory becomes greater than the profit that particular line of chips brings in. Even though the chips themselves don't cost much to produce, the plant has some fixed costs associated with it - think lease, utilities, payroll. Plus, real estate is hard to find in some places, thus they might want to reuse it...
I not sure they destroy the factory, they just reengineer the whole production line. Granted, the costs are immense, but still, it's not like they tear down the building...
The first thing they ask is if you have a router. If you say yes, they tell you they do not support routers, and refuse to help you any further.
Well... LIE!!! Tell them you're directly connected... heck if you think you might stumble upon somebody that's remotely knowledgeable, you can even connect your box directly to the cable modem for the duration of the call. My ISP (Optimum Online) does not officialy support routers, but at least they have the decency of asking you to connect directly before going any further with the call...
I know cable operators have local monopolies, and I am of the opinion that this situation sucks so hard that an industrial vacuum cleaner would pale in comparison. I even put the cable operator coverage on top 5 criteria of selection when I bought my house... I wouldn't want to live with such low life slime balls like Comcast, I'd rather get Verizon DSL...
Oh, and by the way, you don't have to buy ZoneAlarm, the free version is more than enough for home use
I swear today is the "Let's not RTFA" day on Slashdot... Quote from the article:
"Broadcasters are prohibited from taking cash or anything of value in exchange for playing a specific song, unless they disclose the transaction to listeners."
Quote from the article: "Security experts said the U.S. government decided not to encrypt the data because of the risks involved in sharing the method of decryption with other countries."
Man, if some people would just RTFA, the world would be such a better place...
The problem with buying the lifetime service is that it means the the life of the device. This means that if the device is screwed up after the warranty is over and you have to buy a new one, you're SOL. Also, if you want to buy a newer device, again, you have to get a new plan. Now the lifetime subscription pays for itself in about two years, but I'm pretty sure that by 2006 HDTV will be much more prevalent and I'll want to get a HDTV Tivo box. They already have them for DirecTivo...
Is TiVo a company that I should support with my dollars?
I recently got a Tivo and my feeling is that yes, this is a company that deserves my support. If you decide you need a PVR, then Tivo is an excellent product, with an easy interface and backed by a company that is not just a bunch of asshats. Of course you can also roll over your own solution based on the free software that floats around th net (MythTV). You will probably have a lot of fun and a lot of headaches with it. On the short term it will cost you more, but you will avoid the monthly payment ($12.95). In my case, I just wanted to have something I could just plug in and enjoy.
This article raises some interesting questions. Let's consider the following scenario: Assume that Corporation X would like to develop a closed-source product based on the Linux kernel. They offer to pay a certain amount of money for a commercially licensed kernel. To avoid arguments about who gets the money and in what amount, the money will be paid to a commonly agreed charity. Let's also assume, for the sake of the discussion, that it is feasible to contact all kernel contributors and get their agreement to this. My questions are:
- Would you agree to such an arrangement?
- How much do you think it should cost? What would be the pricing structure? (one time payment, royalties based on time/number of units sold etc)
- Do you think the price should vary based on who's buying? Should Microsoft pay more than, say, IBM?
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... 666 Elm street, Amityville, NY
I used to live there, but now I moved to 69 Sex Drive
The problem as I see it is that TiVo doesn't seem to provide anything that a geek with a Linux box couldn't.
A $100 price point and that "works out of the box" experience.
Civilization 3 can also be controlled solely via the mouse interface I believe.
:)
Not entirely true, but pretty close. You need a keyboard when you make deals with other nations, to enter gold amounts you're willing to pay or you're requesting. Minor, I know, and you can accept the default values the computer sugests, but in certain circumstances, they're trying to rip you off...And yes, it is a highly enjoyable and addictive game
This is not really the reason when it comes to VOIP. VOIP traffic is actually very easy on bandwidth; Vonage's traffic is probably around 16kbps each way. And besides, how much can you talk on the phone? The real reason is that providers want to push their own VOIP services.
The question is... once I remove that stuff with spybot, does Exeem still function?
:)
Yes, I just checked that indeed it does
I definitely agree with the camp that thinks SCO would be better off devleoping product than litigating.
:)
That's where you're wrong. Apparently SCO is not able to develop a competitive product. For them (strictly for them) at this point litigation is the better option. The alternative would be to fold up and die.
For the society in general, it is a different story
won't it need to continually poll a server to find out if it has an incoming call due to firewalls?
No, what it does is it sends a registration message to the central server every minute or so. This has a double purpose: it lets the server know where to find the device and it pokes a hole through most NAT firewalls. When a call comes in, the firewall is already opened on that particular port and the NAT association is created.
does it expect to be able to seamlessly jump wifi networks?
Nope, not when you're in a call. When you're idle you can do it, however, I'm not sure if the particular piece of hardware Vonage uses has the capability.
I'm sorry, but you're plain wrong. Do you really think that my mom is really going to go through the trouble of downloading a text file (which does not end in .txt), opening it, using a tool that generates an MD5 signature (and that does not come standard on Windows) and comparing strings of 32 characters? And that assumes my mom would know what an MD5 is, which she does not.
Of course, for you and me all this is not only easy, it's become second nature, but for the average Joe this sounds like a foreign language. Please try to wake up and smell the reality. You either want OSS products like Firefox to succeed and be addopted by a large mass of users - or not, in which case I don't want to hear any complaints about how your favorite application is not supported by some random vendor or service provider
Your TiVo never gets shut off? How important is boot-time to a device like TiVo or Zaurus?
Funny you mention that. No, my Tivo never gets shut off, except when it's a power failure, and that happens 2-3 times a year in my area. However, I've noticed that it has a huge boot up time, something to the order of 4-5 minutes. I've worked on a few Linux embedded devices and I've seen lots of others and all I can say is Linux is not the fastest thing around the block when it comes to boot time - even when it's optimized for embedded work.
Windows runs a microkernel, Linux runs a monolithic kernel.
That's not really correct - initially, NT wanted to be a microkernel, but AFAIK things were running so slow that they had to cram so much crap into the kernel to make it run decently that it no longer fits the description
Konq 3.3.2 here, no problem. My "Open new windows" setting is on Smart - if that makes any difference...
I would guess it's because of the economics: at some point, the cost of running a factory becomes greater than the profit that particular line of chips brings in. Even though the chips themselves don't cost much to produce, the plant has some fixed costs associated with it - think lease, utilities, payroll. Plus, real estate is hard to find in some places, thus they might want to reuse it...
I not sure they destroy the factory, they just reengineer the whole production line. Granted, the costs are immense, but still, it's not like they tear down the building...
The first thing they ask is if you have a router. If you say yes, they tell you they do not support routers, and refuse to help you any further.
Well... LIE!!! Tell them you're directly connected... heck if you think you might stumble upon somebody that's remotely knowledgeable, you can even connect your box directly to the cable modem for the duration of the call. My ISP (Optimum Online) does not officialy support routers, but at least they have the decency of asking you to connect directly before going any further with the call...
I know cable operators have local monopolies, and I am of the opinion that this situation sucks so hard that an industrial vacuum cleaner would pale in comparison. I even put the cable operator coverage on top 5 criteria of selection when I bought my house... I wouldn't want to live with such low life slime balls like Comcast, I'd rather get Verizon DSL...
Oh, and by the way, you don't have to buy ZoneAlarm, the free version is more than enough for home use
...make your work area look more like a level from doom3
:)
So if my work space looks like a D3 level... can I bring my trusty shotgun?
But again, WHY choose a FOURTH frequency, we already have a 900Mhz that works well throughout the world!
I think it's because in the US the 900Mhz band was allocated to cordless phones well before GSM came into play.
Wow, I didn't think there could be anything worse than the plot from the actual game... guess I was mistaken.
For Universe's sake, what's wrong with opening a gate to hell and letting the freaking monsters come out?
Nah, by the time this is out, the hardware will catch up ...
Just legalize payola, with full disclosure.
I swear today is the "Let's not RTFA" day on Slashdot... Quote from the article:
"Broadcasters are prohibited from taking cash or anything of value in exchange for playing a specific song, unless they disclose the transaction to listeners."
but who says that data is in the clear?
Quote from the article:
"Security experts said the U.S. government decided not to encrypt the data because of the risks involved in sharing the method of decryption with other countries."
Man, if some people would just RTFA, the world would be such a better place...
The problem with buying the lifetime service is that it means the the life of the device. This means that if the device is screwed up after the warranty is over and you have to buy a new one, you're SOL. Also, if you want to buy a newer device, again, you have to get a new plan. Now the lifetime subscription pays for itself in about two years, but I'm pretty sure that by 2006 HDTV will be much more prevalent and I'll want to get a HDTV Tivo box. They already have them for DirecTivo...
...but what I would really like is a raid-5 facility on-board.
/ overview.htm
I was looking for something similar and I stumbled upon this one: http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket754/k8n-e_d
Apparently it comes with an onboard Silicon Image SATA controller with 4 ports and the ability to do Raid 5. I'm seriously tempted to give it a try...
Is TiVo a company that I should support with my dollars?
I recently got a Tivo and my feeling is that yes, this is a company that deserves my support. If you decide you need a PVR, then Tivo is an excellent product, with an easy interface and backed by a company that is not just a bunch of asshats.
Of course you can also roll over your own solution based on the free software that floats around th net (MythTV). You will probably have a lot of fun and a lot of headaches with it. On the short term it will cost you more, but you will avoid the monthly payment ($12.95). In my case, I just wanted to have something I could just plug in and enjoy.
I would pay for commercial free TV
It's called Tivo. Since I got mine I haven't watched one commercial. And yes, you will have to pay for it.
This article raises some interesting questions. Let's consider the following scenario: Assume that Corporation X would like to develop a closed-source product based on the Linux kernel. They offer to pay a certain amount of money for a commercially licensed kernel. To avoid arguments about who gets the money and in what amount, the money will be paid to a commonly agreed charity. Let's also assume, for the sake of the discussion, that it is feasible to contact all kernel contributors and get their agreement to this. My questions are:
- Would you agree to such an arrangement?
- How much do you think it should cost? What would be the pricing structure? (one time payment, royalties based on time/number of units sold etc)
- Do you think the price should vary based on who's buying? Should Microsoft pay more than, say, IBM?
This being Slashdot... no, not really.
This guy is a hero... he drives 120 mph on a crowded highway and instead of being arrested, he gets the cops to clear the road ahead of him...
:)
This would do wonders for my morning commute