You're right, but it appears that what many people consider core functionality exists only in third-party components. Well, maybe. But I'd say that's debatable, and probably an argument that can never be solved satisfactorily. Personally, I like the fact that they've kept a lot of stuff OUT of the core. Makes the initial setup pretty easy, if you only need a very simple site.
What would be useful would be a two-level system of components: Trusted, peer-reviewed, security-tested components and then a free-for-all category where you rolls the dice and takes your chances. Put the priority on testing the popular stuff.
Even then, I concede that any system, however rock-solid it may be, is a problem if it allows (or encourges) the installation of untrusted components by novice users. But novice users will always find a way to trash the security of their own setups. Security requires vigilance, and people are lazy.
A search for CVE identifiers related to Joomla returns 244 hits: http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm And how many of those vulnerabilities relate Joomla itself, or crappy third-party downloadable components? If you download and install crappy untrustworthy components, won't that compromise even the most secure system?
For me what makes TiVo way more than "just a digital VCR" is the prioritizable season pass system. First of all, just the fact that you can, with one press of a remote button, tell it to get every episode of a show. I have no idea what time any particular show is on anymore. I don't need to care. The TiVo knows, and records it for me. If it were "just a digital VCR" you'd need to know the show's schedule, and program it into the box. And what happens if the show moves to a different time, or they show two episodes back to back one week? You'd miss it if we were talking about a VCR-like device. The TiVo knows what changed, and automatically records at the new/extra times. And I don't even have to pay attention to the show's schedule to make that happen.
It also is smart enough to know which episodes are first-run, and which are reruns. If you want reruns, you can have them. If not, it will skip them.
So it's intelligent about recording a particular show, but it's also intelligent about recording dozens of different shows. You just set them up in a prioritized list, and TiVo takes care of resolving the scheduling conflicts based on the order in which you have prioritized your shows. I love this. I only have to decide which shows I care more about than others, and TiVo will set up the recording schedule based solely on that.
I have nearly 70 season passes (a lot of those are wish lists, or passes for shows that are not on now, but I hope will come back--maybe only 30 of those passes are actively recording shows now), and if I had to manually manage when all those shows were aired, and set up the recording times individually for each, I'd never be able to keep track. That's the value of the TiVo service. I get WAY more stuff recorded for me with the service than I could ever manage to record myself, setting up the times and channels for all the individual recordings.
Do I watch all this? No. That's not the point. Lots of these shows end up being deleted unwatched. The point is to have a big library of shows waiting for me at any given moment, all of which I know I like to watch. Any show I might care to watch is there, waiting for ME, instead of me having to wait for IT.
How about that ridiculous comparison of Logic Audio on the G5 to Cubase on the PC (don't remember if it was on the Xeon or the P4)? First of all, they're different programs, for god's sake. Given the same hardware, Logic is way better optimized for running lots of virtual isntruments. I've used both Cubase and Logic on the same machine (500 MHz TiBook), and the reason I now use Logic is that I can run more synths at once. I can't speak for Cubase's performance on the PC, but in what way did that little demo compare ANYTHING head-to-head? It told us nothing about the underlying speed of the hardware. It wasn't even a fair comparison of the applications.
Not that I'm outraged, or anything. These sorts of on-stage comparisons during keynotes (whether it's Steve Jobs or any other executive from any other company) have never been a good place to get your information.
Of course not. I wouldn't expect them to provide any such conversion. I just want the file format to be open. If it truly is open, so that anyone can manufacture a compliant playback device, and you can play your purchased files on that device, then I'm happy.
But if they are already limiting the number of computers you can play this file back on, don't you think similar limits will exist when/if other non-computer playback devices exist?
That's only a function of the file format, which is no more restricted than MP3 is.
That's a fair point. But only if the DRM Apple is using allows copying to new devices when/if those devices support AAC. I guess I don't know if it will.
I guess the fundamental question is this: Does fair use necessarily require that you be able to copy the song to any device that supports the format, and how open does that format need to be?
I'm just comparing the freedoms in any new system to what we already have the freedom to do with CDs. It seems to me that any system that reduces that freedom represents an erosion of rights.
Right now you can play any CD in any player. That's a function of the fact that the spec for audio CDs is very open. If the spec for AAC is similarly open, and by simply making a playback device that conforms to that spec you can make that device compatible with Apple's AAC files, then I'll stop complaining right now.
Really? Being able to play a song I legally bought on any of the devices I own (audiotron, non-apple media players, etc.) isn't fair use that I'm entitled to? I'd say Apple's DRM here is still significantly diminishing our fair use rights.
Look, when I buy a CD, I can play it in any CD player I want. If I buy a song from this Apple service, I'm really limited in what I can do with it. Sure, I can burn it to a CD, but not an MP3 CD. Why would I want to lose all the advantages of digital music by buring it to a standard Audio CD (which I'm assuming must be the only way to make a CD of these songs)?
I don't really put much faith in Apple really having an "anti-DRM" stance, actually. Unless there's some statement they have made that I missed, the only evidence we have of Apple's anti-DRM stance is their "Rip, Mix, Burn" ad campaign. But I saw that as more a question of them just capitalizing on what everyone was already doing in order to sell a few iMacs
I seriously doubt there's a true anti-DRM sentiment in Steve's head. Apple might stay mostly silent about DRM, and might not copy-protect their OS, but only so long as there's not real profit motive for them to do so. I think it's just convenient right now that, because of the way their market works, they don't need DRM very much. This allows them to sit back and let everyone think they are anti-DRM, and are therefore on their side. Don't believe it.
I agree that most classes are nothing more than a tired and incomplete rehash of a book. Especially if the class is buzzword-related (don't take classes on "Information Architecture" or "Digital Asset Management"). But don't underestimate the value of group-based, interactive learning that can only take place in a classroom (real or virtual). Granted, you get what you pay for. I manage the editorial content and a part of the infrastructure for a web site, and I've taken a couple of workshops at Stanford that were really great (but expensive). My advice is always start with the book(s), and if you still need more, do some serious research to see if you can find a class that will go beyond the book. But I find your last comment a bit harsh - "sucking from the company"? The company needs to remember that it benefits financially from the expertise of its employees. I do think that the expense should be shared, since both parties benefit, but let's not put all the burden on the employee.
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What would be useful would be a two-level system of components: Trusted, peer-reviewed, security-tested components and then a free-for-all category where you rolls the dice and takes your chances. Put the priority on testing the popular stuff.
Even then, I concede that any system, however rock-solid it may be, is a problem if it allows (or encourges) the installation of untrusted components by novice users. But novice users will always find a way to trash the security of their own setups. Security requires vigilance, and people are lazy.
http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm And how many of those vulnerabilities relate Joomla itself, or crappy third-party downloadable components? If you download and install crappy untrustworthy components, won't that compromise even the most secure system?
For me what makes TiVo way more than "just a digital VCR" is the prioritizable season pass system. First of all, just the fact that you can, with one press of a remote button, tell it to get every episode of a show. I have no idea what time any particular show is on anymore. I don't need to care. The TiVo knows, and records it for me. If it were "just a digital VCR" you'd need to know the show's schedule, and program it into the box. And what happens if the show moves to a different time, or they show two episodes back to back one week? You'd miss it if we were talking about a VCR-like device. The TiVo knows what changed, and automatically records at the new/extra times. And I don't even have to pay attention to the show's schedule to make that happen.
It also is smart enough to know which episodes are first-run, and which are reruns. If you want reruns, you can have them. If not, it will skip them.
So it's intelligent about recording a particular show, but it's also intelligent about recording dozens of different shows. You just set them up in a prioritized list, and TiVo takes care of resolving the scheduling conflicts based on the order in which you have prioritized your shows. I love this. I only have to decide which shows I care more about than others, and TiVo will set up the recording schedule based solely on that.
I have nearly 70 season passes (a lot of those are wish lists, or passes for shows that are not on now, but I hope will come back--maybe only 30 of those passes are actively recording shows now), and if I had to manually manage when all those shows were aired, and set up the recording times individually for each, I'd never be able to keep track. That's the value of the TiVo service. I get WAY more stuff recorded for me with the service than I could ever manage to record myself, setting up the times and channels for all the individual recordings.
Do I watch all this? No. That's not the point. Lots of these shows end up being deleted unwatched. The point is to have a big library of shows waiting for me at any given moment, all of which I know I like to watch. Any show I might care to watch is there, waiting for ME, instead of me having to wait for IT.
How about that ridiculous comparison of Logic Audio on the G5 to Cubase on the PC (don't remember if it was on the Xeon or the P4)? First of all, they're different programs, for god's sake. Given the same hardware, Logic is way better optimized for running lots of virtual isntruments. I've used both Cubase and Logic on the same machine (500 MHz TiBook), and the reason I now use Logic is that I can run more synths at once. I can't speak for Cubase's performance on the PC, but in what way did that little demo compare ANYTHING head-to-head? It told us nothing about the underlying speed of the hardware. It wasn't even a fair comparison of the applications.
Not that I'm outraged, or anything. These sorts of on-stage comparisons during keynotes (whether it's Steve Jobs or any other executive from any other company) have never been a good place to get your information.
no more restricted than MP3 is
Not true: there's a key built in to the files.. I'd say that's more restricted.
Of course not. I wouldn't expect them to provide any such conversion. I just want the file format to be open. If it truly is open, so that anyone can manufacture a compliant playback device, and you can play your purchased files on that device, then I'm happy.
But if they are already limiting the number of computers you can play this file back on, don't you think similar limits will exist when/if other non-computer playback devices exist?
That's only a function of the file format, which is no more restricted than MP3 is.
That's a fair point. But only if the DRM Apple is using allows copying to new devices when/if those devices support AAC. I guess I don't know if it will.
I guess the fundamental question is this: Does fair use necessarily require that you be able to copy the song to any device that supports the format, and how open does that format need to be?
I'm just comparing the freedoms in any new system to what we already have the freedom to do with CDs. It seems to me that any system that reduces that freedom represents an erosion of rights.
Right now you can play any CD in any player. That's a function of the fact that the spec for audio CDs is very open. If the spec for AAC is similarly open, and by simply making a playback device that conforms to that spec you can make that device compatible with Apple's AAC files, then I'll stop complaining right now.
"without diminishing our fair use rights"
Really? Being able to play a song I legally bought on any of the devices I own (audiotron, non-apple media players, etc.) isn't fair use that I'm entitled to? I'd say Apple's DRM here is still significantly diminishing our fair use rights.
Look, when I buy a CD, I can play it in any CD player I want. If I buy a song from this Apple service, I'm really limited in what I can do with it. Sure, I can burn it to a CD, but not an MP3 CD. Why would I want to lose all the advantages of digital music by buring it to a standard Audio CD (which I'm assuming must be the only way to make a CD of these songs)?
I don't really put much faith in Apple really having an "anti-DRM" stance, actually. Unless there's some statement they have made that I missed, the only evidence we have of Apple's anti-DRM stance is their "Rip, Mix, Burn" ad campaign. But I saw that as more a question of them just capitalizing on what everyone was already doing in order to sell a few iMacs
I seriously doubt there's a true anti-DRM sentiment in Steve's head. Apple might stay mostly silent about DRM, and might not copy-protect their OS, but only so long as there's not real profit motive for them to do so. I think it's just convenient right now that, because of the way their market works, they don't need DRM very much. This allows them to sit back and let everyone think they are anti-DRM, and are therefore on their side. Don't believe it.
I agree that most classes are nothing more than a tired and incomplete rehash of a book. Especially if the class is buzzword-related (don't take classes on "Information Architecture" or "Digital Asset Management"). But don't underestimate the value of group-based, interactive learning that can only take place in a classroom (real or virtual). Granted, you get what you pay for. I manage the editorial content and a part of the infrastructure for a web site, and I've taken a couple of workshops at Stanford that were really great (but expensive). My advice is always start with the book(s), and if you still need more, do some serious research to see if you can find a class that will go beyond the book. But I find your last comment a bit harsh - "sucking from the company"? The company needs to remember that it benefits financially from the expertise of its employees. I do think that the expense should be shared, since both parties benefit, but let's not put all the burden on the employee.