The NCD workstations I used were actually very quiet (no fan or moving parts), reasonably small (standard 15" black-and-white CRT) and can always be setup so that they don't intrude too much in the foreground... And they run X11 so you basically get an extension of your Linux desktop.
I have unfortunately dumped the last 2-3 I had, since space is getting scarce around the house. So I can see the point of shrinking the decoder down to a simple hardware box like the original poster has done. Kudos !
Network Audio System has been around for as long as I remember.. Some pretty good pages here and here. In the case of NAS the hardware decoder is in the workstation.
As long as it doesn't take control of my computer, I don't see why one should not want it just because it comes from MS.
I disagree with people why say that Windows Media should always be avoided. It's there, and people turning their backs to it are fools. The format is just the technicality, the content itself is what make the whole thing worthwile (or not).
Many VODs are available solely in windows media format at the company I work for, and I'm actually glad that a browser interface with integrated media of some sort produce good results for the user experience.
I don't buy the paranoia, but you're in your right to think that way. In the doubt, you could kick the shit out of all people suspicious carrying cellphones. You'll do (almost) everybody a favour;)
it takes less time to just call and leave a voicemail than it does to type alphanumeric text on a number pad.
You'd be surprised to see how fast some people can send you a note on their cellphone these days. Most devices also feature multilingual dictonnaries to speed-up text input, and you can use abbreviations. For 10c a message to any other cellphone in the world, that is great.
That, and europeans just don't like voicemail like americans do. It's two different cultures, and gsm phones give you both options. How cool is that !
Nobody waited for camera cellphones to snap pictures of people in changing rooms (think digital cameras here, or even CCTV). I fail to see how your argument brings anything new to the discussion except perhaps that more people will carry picture-enabled devices. But that won't stop perverts, and there will still be crimes with or without these.
Why use a $500 cellphone when a $50 webcam does a better job at streaming pictures on the internet, and doesn't cost anything to run unlike the cellphone....?
(I know that some people have nothing better to do, but this isn't the answer I was expecting;)
This is assuming that you send your pictures taken with your cellphone, through your cellphone, to some sort of web archive first. Which you won't because the service isn't designed that way. And even if you did, I fail to see how that changes anything about every other picture already posted somewhere on the web today. (and if you did that of course, you should expect stuff like this to happen to you in the natural order of things)
Today the thousand dollar home encyclopedia is extinct because of computers.
No it's not. I still consult paper when I can, and you can't beat the layout. Plus it doesn't require me to be sitting at the computer (think couch and fireplace here)...
web connected cameras everywhere carried around by everyone is going to lead to societal changes that we cannot completely predict.
You're right for that, we won't and can't predict what's going to happen to us after that.
Now for the people who don't want camera pointing in their faces, I fail to see how in the first place carrying a picture phone will differ from the current (and *HUGELY better*) generation of digital cameras. I don't trust that they became shut-ins, and yes, employers still need employees to come to work in the morning !
I just don't care what other people do with their own lives, and if they want to send a low-quality photo of me taken from far away over their expensive phone service for whichever reason they might have, I still don't care !
The same argument is coming back every time a new gadget comes around. We heard it with webcams, digital cameras, CCTV, etc. So people see my face and know I am here. Fine by me, I'm human, I exist ! (so long as they don't lodge cameras in embarrassing promiscuious places;)
There is a more important question to be asked first: will the defendant ever pay the $7M ? I yet have to hear of a major spam case where the defendants didn't get away with it afterwards, one way or another.
Great insight. Now, my fellow passengers not only have read my confidential emails (after decryption), but also have read my passowrds while I was typing them !
Yes, of course there are solutions for the privacy-minded. But how many people will go to the lengths of carryng special hardware ?
My concerns were more for the average Joe and Jane taking a plane and happening to use their laptops onboard. I've tried a couple of times myself, and found that using a laptop in an airplane was not practical at all (unless all you do is play solitaire;)
Now all three passengers behind my seat and my two neighbors will know the name of my wife and kids, what a great week-end I have had, how bad the food was, and how much money the deal closed.
Err, what if one of the three happened to be an executive from a competitor ? Think about it for a minute:)
And I think that most people will not want to watch pr0n on my screen throughout the flight either !
Has it occured to you that Mrs Cooke may not be one physical person ? That could just be an online identity used online by a whole staff.
Some telemarketing company use the same technique. "When you call back, ask for Stephanie." and you'll be redirected to a particular branch office with many working there, all under the handle Stephanie. It's a way for the branch managers to track returning customers after a particular operation for instance.
I somehow got a bootleg copy of Matrix before it was released on the big screen, and watched that very ugly VCD rip. I was blown away by the plot since I didn't know anything about the film beforehand, however since that day I've always regretted not to have seen it in a proper theatre to begin with.
I've stopped getting bootlegs ever since for this reason.
My company has deployed Netstore backup on all our laptops throughout the company (1000's), which does exactly the same thing as the program you describe.
Netstore connects to a centralized server and only backup the important directories (read: user data). It works automatically at a pre-determined time interval, and if rather unobstrusive. I have actually saved files using it.
Of course, next comes the question about what happens if the server takes fire. I'd imagine there is a redundant unit somewhere, but that is just a guess.
Slashdot Mirror
or Cisco or every other router/switch vendor...
Now if only the army would release these as spares, I'd be on the list to get them with the floodlights ;)
I have unfortunately dumped the last 2-3 I had, since space is getting scarce around the house. So I can see the point of shrinking the decoder down to a simple hardware box like the original poster has done. Kudos !
Network Audio System has been around for as long as I remember.. Some pretty good pages here and here. In the case of NAS the hardware decoder is in the workstation.
I disagree with people why say that Windows Media should always be avoided. It's there, and people turning their backs to it are fools. The format is just the technicality, the content itself is what make the whole thing worthwile (or not).
Many VODs are available solely in windows media format at the company I work for, and I'm actually glad that a browser interface with integrated media of some sort produce good results for the user experience.
I don't buy the paranoia, but you're in your right to think that way. In the doubt, you could kick the shit out of all people suspicious carrying cellphones. You'll do (almost) everybody a favour ;)
You'd be surprised to see how fast some people can send you a note on their cellphone these days. Most devices also feature multilingual dictonnaries to speed-up text input, and you can use abbreviations. For 10c a message to any other cellphone in the world, that is great.
That, and europeans just don't like voicemail like americans do. It's two different cultures, and gsm phones give you both options. How cool is that !
How about hardly impressed ;)
Nobody waited for camera cellphones to snap pictures of people in changing rooms (think digital cameras here, or even CCTV). I fail to see how your argument brings anything new to the discussion except perhaps that more people will carry picture-enabled devices. But that won't stop perverts, and there will still be crimes with or without these.
Why use a $500 cellphone when a $50 webcam does a better job at streaming pictures on the internet, and doesn't cost anything to run unlike the cellphone....? ;)
(I know that some people have nothing better to do, but this isn't the answer I was expecting
This is assuming that you send your pictures taken with your cellphone, through your cellphone, to some sort of web archive first. Which you won't because the service isn't designed that way. And even if you did, I fail to see how that changes anything about every other picture already posted somewhere on the web today. (and if you did that of course, you should expect stuff like this to happen to you in the natural order of things)
No it's not. I still consult paper when I can, and you can't beat the layout. Plus it doesn't require me to be sitting at the computer (think couch and fireplace here)...
You're right for that, we won't and can't predict what's going to happen to us after that.
Now for the people who don't want camera pointing in their faces, I fail to see how in the first place carrying a picture phone will differ from the current (and *HUGELY better*) generation of digital cameras. I don't trust that they became shut-ins, and yes, employers still need employees to come to work in the morning !
I just don't care what other people do with their own lives, and if they want to send a low-quality photo of me taken from far away over their expensive phone service for whichever reason they might have, I still don't care !
The same argument is coming back every time a new gadget comes around. We heard it with webcams, digital cameras, CCTV, etc. So people see my face and know I am here. Fine by me, I'm human, I exist ! (so long as they don't lodge cameras in embarrassing promiscuious places ;)
Perhaps the verb you were looking for was to enhance ?
There is a more important question to be asked first: will the defendant ever pay the $7M ? I yet have to hear of a major spam case where the defendants didn't get away with it afterwards, one way or another.
So not only is Lance a Plague to Earth, but he has just indirectly become a plague to space as well. Thanks......
Clever :)
My concerns were more for the average Joe and Jane taking a plane and happening to use their laptops onboard. I've tried a couple of times myself, and found that using a laptop in an airplane was not practical at all (unless all you do is play solitaire ;)
Now all three passengers behind my seat and my two neighbors will know the name of my wife and kids, what a great week-end I have had, how bad the food was, and how much money the deal closed.
Err, what if one of the three happened to be an executive from a competitor ? Think about it for a minute :)
And I think that most people will not want to watch pr0n on my screen throughout the flight either !
Some telemarketing company use the same technique. "When you call back, ask for Stephanie." and you'll be redirected to a particular branch office with many working there, all under the handle Stephanie. It's a way for the branch managers to track returning customers after a particular operation for instance.
I somehow got a bootleg copy of Matrix before it was released on the big screen, and watched that very ugly VCD rip. I was blown away by the plot since I didn't know anything about the film beforehand, however since that day I've always regretted not to have seen it in a proper theatre to begin with.
I've stopped getting bootlegs ever since for this reason.
Of course, next comes the question about what happens if the server takes fire. I'd imagine there is a redundant unit somewhere, but that is just a guess.
You're new around here, aren't you?
Damn right. That was not the intent either.
In other geek news, one of my friends got his iPaq to run Linux today (opi). This definitely beats me :'-(