Speak for yourself!
I don't remember making a conscious decision to start boycotting the big labels, but it just turned out that way, my tastes have been gradually "forking" since the 80's. About the only big label music I have bought for years has been the last Rush album and live DVD, and I suspect they are only keeping their major label status through sheer bloody-minded longetivity (> 30 years).
Biggest problem I had with my Z88 was battery life: Alkaline AAs were OK but expensive, NiCds were useless, and we didn't have any NiMH AAs back then. I rigged up a bundle of 8 D-Cells with a power socket, which also served to angle the Z88 for better typing, and that kept me going through marathon research sessions in the Imperial College library. The keyboard was surprisingly good: rubber, but silent and reasonably responsive, even without the optional keyclick.
What I really wanted back then was a HP: either a HP-75C, or a HP-110.
Scenario:
- you apply for health insurance;
- your insurer looks up your loyalty card records, and says "I see you've been buying fatty foods, pizza, chips, chocolate. "
- same insurer checks your credit card records: "I see no Gym payments here, you don't work out, do you?"
- "At least you don't smoke, then we'd refuse to insure you at all."
- "OK, we can insure you, it will just cost you much more, because of your lifestyle. We will use any excuse to charge you more."
The same goes for life insurance, or car insurance if you are noted buying alcohol.
I know about the UK Data Protection Act and similar EU laws (I'm a Brit living in Ireland) - I've had people tell me not to worry, this can't happen, the law prevents it. Yes, they do - today - but these laws were put in place by politicians, and can be nullified just as easily, if an apparent reason emerges.
Example: in the UK, what if the Health Secretary is told that prioritizing NHS treatment in this way will save £billions? There goes your legal protection. It might not need to go to a Parliament vote, with the powers (s)he already has. Checking your records for apparent negligence on your part is a lot cheaper than putting you through a physical examination, right?
Where the hell is Oxbridge anyway? Only Batgirl ever went to university there, and that was in a bad movie.
But seriously: Oxford and Cambridge are long way apart, both on the map and in terms of culture. For example, Oxford doesn't really do Tech, while Cambridge is where M$ set up a research centre, and there's a lotta biotech research going on. Oh, the possibilities...
When the primary workforce moves to Inda, China, South Korea, or somewhere else, middle management will move with it. What do you think, that the plant that put your last car together in Mexico left its middle management in Detroit?
This is precisely what UK appliance firm Dyson has done: the manufacturing is done in Malaysia, the design and management is still in England. James Dyson recently described his reasoning when he gave the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture for the BBC: the full text of his lecture is here, and makes for interesting reading, not just for Euro-peons like moi...
Of course it's just a TV show... but ask Martin Sheen how often he's asked if he's going to run for President! (I think he should - the "flyover states" would vote for Sheen, based on his TV persona, but with no idea what they would really be letting themselves in for..!)
You are being watched, tracked, logged, whenever you go somewhere or do something. Make a phone call, the authorities can get a copy of the audio with little justification.
Your personal data is stored in huge databases that CSIs can search without a specific warrant.
Just being in the area where a crime was committed is grounds for suspicion, never mind knowing the criminal: prepare to bend over and provide DNA, fingerprints, and a full personal history.
Once you pop up on the CSI / police radar, you will be harassed and investigated; your life story, fingerprints and DNA scans will land in multiple Federal, State, and even International databases, even though you are never accused of a crime.
Next time a crime is committed where you were only remotely or circumstantially involved, expect the police at your door, so keep an alibi in mind at all times.
It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you..!
I have something like that when I feed a Composite PAL signal from my VCR to my LCD TV (a Relisys / Teco). I don't usually feed the audio through the TV, but I sometimes see a small lag if I don't: I suspect the TV includes a small compensating audio delay. It varies according to signal quality: there on poor cable TV signal, not noticeable on S-Video from my DVD player.
I have a fairly cheap LCD TV / Monitor, and I can see a small lag when I don't send the audio through the TV: I think the TV's audio subsystem includes a small delay to compensate for the video lag. But it's very short and not serious, only becomes obvious when the input signal is poor.
I recall a report - I think it was in Sound On Sound (paper magazine) about how lag had been seen in recording studios with plasma screens. They use dedicated audio mixers and monitors, so when synchonizing audio to video the lag became noticeable, and they had to look for alternatives for frame-accurate sync. 1 frame at 25fps = 40ms - a real issue in some cases.
I concur with the need to check the specs, I'm now seeing LCD monitors where "quick response" is in the marketing, e.g. Samsung LTN-325W.
The actual usefulness of the fluid in any state depends on the specific heat capacity, which I can't see 'coz the site is/.'d...
Since the phase change itself is be a major energy-absorber, that could be very helpful indeed as long as fresh condensed fluid comes in after a radiator of some sort.
London's heading that way: they now have the Oyster Card system that uses a wireless smart card. (Not RFID alone, the card actually holds more detail.)
The online & offline forms for getting one of those ask for all kinds of unique personal information, which gets checked, so they can tie your address and identity to the card. After that, every time you use the card at a tube station, that info is logged and can be made available to the police "if required by law" (buried in the terms & conditions). In short, they can get full details of where you've been for the asking.
Oh, and they also make the information available to third parties for "marketing and research purposes".
I'm just waiting for someone to say "if you're innocent, you have nothing to fear"..!
Well, the South Africans have been rather busy with the Rooivalk. That's going to be interesting to countries that can't afford the big bucks for US or Euro projects e.g. Malaysia has already expressed an interest...
"Don't be afraid to take risks..."
This wasn't the case in the UK when I was on the market there (4+ years ago now). These are some of the things I tried, only to get CVs (resumes) thrown back at me by agencies, saying they couldn't use them:
- Use of a HTML document instead of MS Word DOC for electronic copies: some couldn't handle HTML at all, others figured out that they could load them in Word to view them, upon which they borked the formatting, then printed them out to fax them.
- Landscape format (with columns): got a few interested "a-ha's", but mostly complaints about bits missing when they came out the fax machine.
- double-sided paper copies: nope, they were a pain to fax.
- Fonts other than Times New Roman, such as the Lucida family: never mind that they faxed better, some agencies even went and changed them back, before printing them out to fax.
When I did find something, it was as a result of meeting the recruiters at a fair, and it only took six months between that and being hired. This after going to several interviews, which went well, after which I head nothing at all, not even a "No".
The original model, dating from 1983 or so, with no raised buttons, just the flat control surface see here for details and pix). I saw one last week that had been gigged heavily for years, was missing chunks of its keys. There were screws rattling around inside from previous "repairs", yet it was still working and sounding as good as a DX7 Mk.1 can. (Not a patch on my Kawai K5000S, though...)
That's a canonical rule handed out to writers: it doesn't have to be relevant, organized, or even any goodat all, but it is important that you write.
In the 18 or so months that I've been keeping a blog, I've written more than 100,000 words on everything, from TV and album reviews, to political scandals and "popular science".
The point, in my case, is not really the content: it's the visible improvement in my writing skills that is being translated to other offline projects. I work in a building housing people from all across Europe, and I get English spelling, grammar and usage queries several times a day, every day.
Who was it who said "the point of a journey is not to arrive"? (I know it was Neil Peart, but he was quoting someone else, I think.) I write to learn more about writing, so I have a sharp pen if I see a sword coming my way!
Well, a 2WD bike sounds like it could give bikers some of the advantages that 4WD cars get: better grip in difficult situations, better hill-climbing, perhaps even high-speed handling. Factor in the torque you can get from electric motors, and tyre design will be the next problem.
I still remember what the Audi Quattro did to other rally cars, and now all top-class rally cars are 4WD. (I don't know how much Rallying you see in the USA, but in Europe the idea of doing 100mph on twisty dirt roads is popular, for some reason!)
The Wallie card looks very interesting - along the lines of the pre-paid phone cards, and available in the same places - corner stores, gas stations, etc.
It appears to fulfil the basic requirement (in my opinion) of any micropayment system: anonymity. I don't want records kept of every little purchase I make - a horrible idea.
The House of Lords was and is the same: however, the date chosen for the explosion was the State Opening of Parliament, when King James I and all the Lords and Commons (aka MPs) would have been present.
The FrontPage Extensions are not to be confused with FrontPage, the site editor that Nvu is aimed at replacing. If you use FrontPage to create a site, you don't have to use a server that has the FrontPage Extensions installed. You can use FTP to manage the actual upload to the site, within FrontPage, or outside using any FTP mirror program.
What I don't like about FrontPage is all the extra information it keeps in a "web", specifically all the "_" root folders. Maybe they are indices or support for link-tracking, but they add bulk to the local copy of a web site, even though they are not transferred to the live web server when publishing.
So, when I say I'd like a FrontPage-type tool for Linux, I don't mean that I want to use FrontPage extensions on a server. I mean:
Management of a site, not just a single page;
If you move or rename a page, it should check for and modify links to that page;
Checking for broken links and orphaned pages;
A keyboard-friendly WYSIWIG editor. Sometimes I want to play with HTML tags, but I'm usually creating readable content;
Friendly management of stylesheets would be nice, even scripts, if that's your thing. (Personally, even rollovers are annoying and I refuse to use any scripting on my site, for compatibility reasons also.)
In short, anything that helps with the creation and management of content-based sites, on Linux, is what I hope Nvu will help me do. If the Nvu site is telling the truth, it looks like exactly what I'm after.
I work at a company that makes PCs that use Microsoft OS'. Macs don't even get their head round the door, but our IT staff are hardly ignorant, and I keep hearing how they are running Linux in the data centre and want to use it on the desktops too. Unfortunately, there are too many PC-specific applications in use to make it anything but a long-term goal for them.
I'm not talking about MS Orifice, Graphics, Scientific apps, the ones we have open source replacements for, but boring call-centre applications, financial programs, server and desktop management tools, etc. The companies who create those are totally commercial and will only develop where the immediate financial gain is, i.e. Windoze. It will change, gradually, but at a boardroom level my employer likes Microsoft. Bummer.
This ties in with the trend of virtual sound control in recent years. For example, Antares have the Microphone Modeller, which (I think) does a resonable job of turning your Shure 57 into a virtual vintage Telefunken U47. Line 6 have been doing amp modelling for years, and now they have the Variax, a guitar with built-in DSP to emulate the sound of other guitars. I can see session guitarists liking this, as long as the sound quality is up to scratch...
Slashdot Mirror
Speak for yourself! I don't remember making a conscious decision to start boycotting the big labels, but it just turned out that way, my tastes have been gradually "forking" since the 80's. About the only big label music I have bought for years has been the last Rush album and live DVD, and I suspect they are only keeping their major label status through sheer bloody-minded longetivity (> 30 years).
Well, it's a 'Merkin mag, what would you expect?
Biggest problem I had with my Z88 was battery life: Alkaline AAs were OK but expensive, NiCds were useless, and we didn't have any NiMH AAs back then. I rigged up a bundle of 8 D-Cells with a power socket, which also served to angle the Z88 for better typing, and that kept me going through marathon research sessions in the Imperial College library. The keyboard was surprisingly good: rubber, but silent and reasonably responsive, even without the optional keyclick.
What I really wanted back then was a HP: either a HP-75C, or a HP-110.
Scenario:
- you apply for health insurance;
- your insurer looks up your loyalty card records, and says "I see you've been buying fatty foods, pizza, chips, chocolate. "
- same insurer checks your credit card records: "I see no Gym payments here, you don't work out, do you?"
- "At least you don't smoke, then we'd refuse to insure you at all."
- "OK, we can insure you, it will just cost you much more, because of your lifestyle. We will use any excuse to charge you more."
The same goes for life insurance, or car insurance if you are noted buying alcohol.
I know about the UK Data Protection Act and similar EU laws (I'm a Brit living in Ireland) - I've had people tell me not to worry, this can't happen, the law prevents it. Yes, they do - today - but these laws were put in place by politicians, and can be nullified just as easily, if an apparent reason emerges.
Example: in the UK, what if the Health Secretary is told that prioritizing NHS treatment in this way will save £billions? There goes your legal protection. It might not need to go to a Parliament vote, with the powers (s)he already has. Checking your records for apparent negligence on your part is a lot cheaper than putting you through a physical examination, right?
Where the hell is Oxbridge anyway? Only Batgirl ever went to university there, and that was in a bad movie.
But seriously: Oxford and Cambridge are long way apart, both on the map and in terms of culture. For example, Oxford doesn't really do Tech, while Cambridge is where M$ set up a research centre, and there's a lotta biotech research going on. Oh, the possibilities...
This is precisely what UK appliance firm Dyson has done: the manufacturing is done in Malaysia, the design and management is still in England. James Dyson recently described his reasoning when he gave the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture for the BBC: the full text of his lecture is here, and makes for interesting reading, not just for Euro-peons like moi...
Of course it's just a TV show... but ask Martin Sheen how often he's asked if he's going to run for President! (I think he should - the "flyover states" would vote for Sheen, based on his TV persona, but with no idea what they would really be letting themselves in for..!)
- You are being watched, tracked, logged, whenever you go somewhere or do something. Make a phone call, the authorities can get a copy of the audio with little justification.
- Your personal data is stored in huge databases that CSIs can search without a specific warrant.
- Just being in the area where a crime was committed is grounds for suspicion, never mind knowing the criminal: prepare to bend over and provide DNA, fingerprints, and a full personal history.
- Once you pop up on the CSI / police radar, you will be harassed and investigated; your life story, fingerprints and DNA scans will land in multiple Federal, State, and even International databases, even though you are never accused of a crime.
- Next time a crime is committed where you were only remotely or circumstantially involved, expect the police at your door, so keep an alibi in mind at all times.
It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you..!I have something like that when I feed a Composite PAL signal from my VCR to my LCD TV (a Relisys / Teco). I don't usually feed the audio through the TV, but I sometimes see a small lag if I don't: I suspect the TV includes a small compensating audio delay. It varies according to signal quality: there on poor cable TV signal, not noticeable on S-Video from my DVD player.
I have a fairly cheap LCD TV / Monitor, and I can see a small lag when I don't send the audio through the TV: I think the TV's audio subsystem includes a small delay to compensate for the video lag. But it's very short and not serious, only becomes obvious when the input signal is poor. I recall a report - I think it was in Sound On Sound (paper magazine) about how lag had been seen in recording studios with plasma screens. They use dedicated audio mixers and monitors, so when synchonizing audio to video the lag became noticeable, and they had to look for alternatives for frame-accurate sync. 1 frame at 25fps = 40ms - a real issue in some cases. I concur with the need to check the specs, I'm now seeing LCD monitors where "quick response" is in the marketing, e.g. Samsung LTN-325W.
The actual usefulness of the fluid in any state depends on the specific heat capacity, which I can't see 'coz the site is /.'d ...
Since the phase change itself is be a major energy-absorber, that could be very helpful indeed as long as fresh condensed fluid comes in after a radiator of some sort.
London's heading that way: they now have the Oyster Card system that uses a wireless smart card. (Not RFID alone, the card actually holds more detail.) The online & offline forms for getting one of those ask for all kinds of unique personal information, which gets checked, so they can tie your address and identity to the card. After that, every time you use the card at a tube station, that info is logged and can be made available to the police "if required by law" (buried in the terms & conditions). In short, they can get full details of where you've been for the asking. Oh, and they also make the information available to third parties for "marketing and research purposes". I'm just waiting for someone to say "if you're innocent, you have nothing to fear"..!
Well, the South Africans have been rather busy with the Rooivalk. That's going to be interesting to countries that can't afford the big bucks for US or Euro projects e.g. Malaysia has already expressed an interest...
You can go to far, though... {myname}.com belongs to some bible-thumping evangelist that looks like a cross between Ned Flanders and ... me. Ouch.
"Don't be afraid to take risks..." This wasn't the case in the UK when I was on the market there (4+ years ago now). These are some of the things I tried, only to get CVs (resumes) thrown back at me by agencies, saying they couldn't use them: - Use of a HTML document instead of MS Word DOC for electronic copies: some couldn't handle HTML at all, others figured out that they could load them in Word to view them, upon which they borked the formatting, then printed them out to fax them. - Landscape format (with columns): got a few interested "a-ha's", but mostly complaints about bits missing when they came out the fax machine. - double-sided paper copies: nope, they were a pain to fax. - Fonts other than Times New Roman, such as the Lucida family: never mind that they faxed better, some agencies even went and changed them back, before printing them out to fax. When I did find something, it was as a result of meeting the recruiters at a fair, and it only took six months between that and being hired. This after going to several interviews, which went well, after which I head nothing at all, not even a "No".
The original model, dating from 1983 or so, with no raised buttons, just the flat control surface see here for details and pix). I saw one last week that had been gigged heavily for years, was missing chunks of its keys. There were screws rattling around inside from previous "repairs", yet it was still working and sounding as good as a DX7 Mk.1 can. (Not a patch on my Kawai K5000S, though...)
In the 18 or so months that I've been keeping a blog, I've written more than 100,000 words on everything, from TV and album reviews, to political scandals and "popular science".
The point, in my case, is not really the content: it's the visible improvement in my writing skills that is being translated to other offline projects. I work in a building housing people from all across Europe, and I get English spelling, grammar and usage queries several times a day, every day. Who was it who said "the point of a journey is not to arrive"? (I know it was Neil Peart, but he was quoting someone else, I think.) I write to learn more about writing, so I have a sharp pen if I see a sword coming my way!
Heavenly Creatures is a great movie, but its dark legacy will live on for years to come: this is where the evil Winslet was first inflicted on us!
I still remember what the Audi Quattro did to other rally cars, and now all top-class rally cars are 4WD. (I don't know how much Rallying you see in the USA, but in Europe the idea of doing 100mph on twisty dirt roads is popular, for some reason!)
The Wallie card looks very interesting - along the lines of the pre-paid phone cards, and available in the same places - corner stores, gas stations, etc.
It appears to fulfil the basic requirement (in my opinion) of any micropayment system: anonymity. I don't want records kept of every little purchase I make - a horrible idea.
Only quibble: who's behind it?
The House of Lords was and is the same: however, the date chosen for the explosion was the State Opening of Parliament, when King James I and all the Lords and Commons (aka MPs) would have been present.
What I don't like about FrontPage is all the extra information it keeps in a "web", specifically all the "_" root folders. Maybe they are indices or support for link-tracking, but they add bulk to the local copy of a web site, even though they are not transferred to the live web server when publishing.
So, when I say I'd like a FrontPage-type tool for Linux, I don't mean that I want to use FrontPage extensions on a server. I mean:
- Management of a site, not just a single page;
- If you move or rename a page, it should check for and modify links to that page;
- Checking for broken links and orphaned pages;
- A keyboard-friendly WYSIWIG editor. Sometimes I want to play with HTML tags, but I'm usually creating readable content;
- Friendly management of stylesheets would be nice, even scripts, if that's your thing. (Personally, even rollovers are annoying and I refuse to use any scripting on my site, for compatibility reasons also.)
In short, anything that helps with the creation and management of content-based sites, on Linux, is what I hope Nvu will help me do. If the Nvu site is telling the truth, it looks like exactly what I'm after.Even in the West, doesn't Taikonaut refer to Japan? I thought Sinaut might be a better name for him..!
I'm not talking about MS Orifice, Graphics, Scientific apps, the ones we have open source replacements for, but boring call-centre applications, financial programs, server and desktop management tools, etc. The companies who create those are totally commercial and will only develop where the immediate financial gain is, i.e. Windoze. It will change, gradually, but at a boardroom level my employer likes Microsoft. Bummer.
This ties in with the trend of virtual sound control in recent years. For example, Antares have the Microphone Modeller, which (I think) does a resonable job of turning your Shure 57 into a virtual vintage Telefunken U47. Line 6 have been doing amp modelling for years, and now they have the Variax, a guitar with built-in DSP to emulate the sound of other guitars. I can see session guitarists liking this, as long as the sound quality is up to scratch...