DIVX was a horrible idea from the beginning. I think its only redeeming feature was that you didn't have to return rented videos, as you mentioned. But you also couldn't play videos you bought on other people's players, you had to have the player plugged into a phone line for it to work, there was the possibility of losing all of your videos if you had the player unplugged (from either the electrical or phone jack) for more than 2 weeks. The problems went on and on. IT was a bad idea, plain and simple.
You don't need to get a glass eye, it shouldn't be impossible (notice I didn't say it would be easy) to construct a device that just sits in the biometric reader where you eye normally goes and simulates any retinal pattern you wish. Of course this is assuming that there are no guards standing near the biometric reader looking for funny business, but that probably wouldn't happen at ATMs.
I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there was quite a convincing case that DeCSS was not created "for the purpose of interoperability". Namely that it was created for Windows and not Linux. It was only later ported to Linux. However, Johansen still could have used the defense that he created it just to see if he could make his own DVD player, but this is a much weaker argument than "I made it because there was no DVD player for Linux". Anyway, all of this is academic because they weren't sueing Johansen or any of the other coders, they couldn't. The provisions in the DMCA about creating devices hadn't gone into effect yet. They sued 2600 and Corely under the trafficking provisions. The case was ruled correctly if you believe that the DMCA is constitutional.
Oh please. Just how many authors, playwrights, and artists did it solely for the money? I'm would say that that's a mark of second-rate material. Just look at how many absolutely brilliant authors died poor and wretched. Take for example Herman Mellvile. None of his works were popular by any means of the word until many years after his death. Yet he wrote amazing stuff. And he wrote quite a bit of it too. So he obviously didn't do it just to be compensated. Some would say its almost a mark of a great artist that he's not apprieciated in his/her lifetime.
And as for your comment about programming, you obviously haven't ever attempted to programming. There is nothing robotic or mindless about programming. In fact it is the exact opposite. If you think that designing and writing good code doesn't require effort, then you are sadly mistaken. Programming is just like writing, writing badly is easy, writing well requires effort, time, and creativity.
Damn! I thought that if you installed OS X on the same partition then you couldn't boot OS 9! That's why I didn't do it. Oh well. DP4 was stable on my iBook anyway.
PS There is no support for Airport in OS X at this time. Read the release notes. Neither is there support for Firewire.
Not only that, but all the other first that Apple has had in their lifetime. Like first commercial system to use a mouse. (Yes I know PARC invented it, but if no one would have sold it, what was the point?) Or first to use a 3 1/2 inch floppy (Apple IIc). First (and only) to have a true plug and play networking protocol (Appletalk). First computer that doesn't require a fan (iMac). First OS (and only for plug and play) to support multiple monitors showing different stuff.
If you want an example of how much Apple has affected the market recently, walk into Staples and count how many different things you can find that have come out in iMac colors. Not just computer equipment, but chairs, staplers, just about anything you can imagine. Apple is and has always been at the forefront of innovative design in computers. Granted not everything they came out with was a good idea or caught on (remember PowerTalk adn QuickDraw GX?), but they still were pushing ahead.
I don't know what your talking about, but I've never heard of anyone having to open up and modify their radio to get packet to work. That's what the TNC is for. The TNC (Terminal Node Controller) is analagous to a modem, in that it controls which freqs the radio is currently tuned into, like the way a modem controls what phone numbers the phone line connects to. It also modulates and demodulates the signal, just like a modem. The big problem with packet radio is that for larger bandwidths, you need higher frequencies. And the ham bands high enough to do anything comparing to cable or DSL requires line of sight, and therefore is pretty much useless.
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DIVX was a horrible idea from the beginning. I think its only redeeming feature was that you didn't have to return rented videos, as you mentioned. But you also couldn't play videos you bought on other people's players, you had to have the player plugged into a phone line for it to work, there was the possibility of losing all of your videos if you had the player unplugged (from either the electrical or phone jack) for more than 2 weeks. The problems went on and on. IT was a bad idea, plain and simple.
You don't need to get a glass eye, it shouldn't be impossible (notice I didn't say it would be easy) to construct a device that just sits in the biometric reader where you eye normally goes and simulates any retinal pattern you wish. Of course this is assuming that there are no guards standing near the biometric reader looking for funny business, but that probably wouldn't happen at ATMs.
I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there was quite a convincing case that DeCSS was not created "for the purpose of interoperability". Namely that it was created for Windows and not Linux. It was only later ported to Linux. However, Johansen still could have used the defense that he created it just to see if he could make his own DVD player, but this is a much weaker argument than "I made it because there was no DVD player for Linux". Anyway, all of this is academic because they weren't sueing Johansen or any of the other coders, they couldn't. The provisions in the DMCA about creating devices hadn't gone into effect yet. They sued 2600 and Corely under the trafficking provisions. The case was ruled correctly if you believe that the DMCA is constitutional.
Oh please. Just how many authors, playwrights, and artists did it solely for the money? I'm would say that that's a mark of second-rate material. Just look at how many absolutely brilliant authors died poor and wretched. Take for example Herman Mellvile. None of his works were popular by any means of the word until many years after his death. Yet he wrote amazing stuff. And he wrote quite a bit of it too. So he obviously didn't do it just to be compensated. Some would say its almost a mark of a great artist that he's not apprieciated in his/her lifetime.
And as for your comment about programming, you obviously haven't ever attempted to programming. There is nothing robotic or mindless about programming. In fact it is the exact opposite. If you think that designing and writing good code doesn't require effort, then you are sadly mistaken. Programming is just like writing, writing badly is easy, writing well requires effort, time, and creativity.
Damn! I thought that if you installed OS X on the same partition then you couldn't boot OS 9! That's why I didn't do it. Oh well. DP4 was stable on my iBook anyway.
PS There is no support for Airport in OS X at this time. Read the release notes. Neither is there support for Firewire.
Not only that, but all the other first that Apple has had in their lifetime. Like first commercial system to use a mouse. (Yes I know PARC invented it, but if no one would have sold it, what was the point?) Or first to use a 3 1/2 inch floppy (Apple IIc). First (and only) to have a true plug and play networking protocol (Appletalk). First computer that doesn't require a fan (iMac). First OS (and only for plug and play) to support multiple monitors showing different stuff. If you want an example of how much Apple has affected the market recently, walk into Staples and count how many different things you can find that have come out in iMac colors. Not just computer equipment, but chairs, staplers, just about anything you can imagine. Apple is and has always been at the forefront of innovative design in computers. Granted not everything they came out with was a good idea or caught on (remember PowerTalk adn QuickDraw GX?), but they still were pushing ahead.
I don't know what your talking about, but I've never heard of anyone having to open up and modify their radio to get packet to work. That's what the TNC is for. The TNC (Terminal Node Controller) is analagous to a modem, in that it controls which freqs the radio is currently tuned into, like the way a modem controls what phone numbers the phone line connects to. It also modulates and demodulates the signal, just like a modem. The big problem with packet radio is that for larger bandwidths, you need higher frequencies. And the ham bands high enough to do anything comparing to cable or DSL requires line of sight, and therefore is pretty much useless.