As a consultant based overseas, using my client's corporate internet for Skype actually SAVES them a fortune. They would normally pay for the POTS international phone calls we make (VERY $$$$$), but the fact that they allow Skype means that we make all of our calls Skype-Skype without it costing them (or us) anything in call costs. Bandwidth charges are negligible in comparison.
If firms continue to be ignorant about new or alternative technologies then they will continue to be left behind. These savings can be significant over the long term, financially as well as productivity wise. Companies in the future will be split into two categories - those that embrace new technology and those that struggle under malinformed regimes run by beaurocrats who prefer the trusted path, the path of least resistance, over the newer, technologically superior one. I've seen this too many times than I'd care to remember.
I too was skeptical about AJAX when I first saw a demo. Given an intuitive IDE you can realise your vision very very quickly. AJAX applications are fast and lightweight. Maintaining them is incredibly easy and the deployment is a cinch.
I admit, I was enthusiastic about Java Swing applets at one point, but they really haven't evolved from the clunky things they were ten years ago. AJAX isn't just a stupid acronym. It's a truly workable system.
For a good IDE check out TIBCO General Interface - it's not open source but it can give you a good idea of what is possible with this technology.
The magical mystery phone+service is 3G. I have no idea when or if 3G networks will be built in the USA. They are already in use in Hong Kong, Australia, UK, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Sweden... and probably a lot of other places too.
The plan I was referring to was the $29 cap on this page.
Mobile broadband on Three is fast and cheap, charged by data only and not time or connection. The most you can pay is 0.4c/KB - even cheaper if you choose a Capped Plan.
I use them and think it's great.
Please, please, no WiFi on cell phones. I keep hearing people asking for this feature but IMHO it's a waste of time, for a couple of reasons: 1) It will add unnecessary bulk to your phone. 2) It will use more battery than the cell network 3) It reduces motivation for greater investment in true cellular mobile data networks
I've been using a 3rd generation cell phone for 2 years now. In that time, data costs have come down from 4c/KB to 0.1c/KB, and with my 100MB cap, the rate is effectively 0.03c/KB. The speed is consistently very fast - not quite wifi, but still at 250kb/s, quite comparable with ADSL. And you don't need to find a hotspot. I even surfed the net from the CBD to the airport (30km) at speed without a single dropout. Surely that's cooler than WiFi.
So, in summary - WiFi enabling a cell phone is a WOFTAM!
Why does giving credit where credit is due, or naming, or trademarking have anything to do with open source? If something is released under the GPL (as RMS would want it) then it's yours to do whatever you like with. Change the code. Fork it. The code is free (as in speech and beer).
So why call it anything? Do I call my Toyota a Ford/Toyota after the father of the production line? I mean, without the modern production line, where would Toyota be? We should give Henry Ford the credit, right?
So why does RMS care? Would he object to me changing the names of the variables in his GPL code? He has given me permission, under the terms of the license, to do with it what I please, so long as I release the code if I distribute binaries. Sure I can rename it. Just like I can with variables or methods in the code itself.
I can't argue that GNU's contribution is insignificant. But who cares what the name is? And prefixing things with GNU is just ridiculous. The point has been made - where do you draw the line? Am I running Mozilla/Adobe/Microsoft/Java/Darwin on my Mac at the moment? Maybe MacOSX is a better name for it, and is more easily marketable.
I think I've made my stand pretty clear on this one. Call Linux whatever you like. Part of something being GPL is that you can rename it if you so please. And please feel free (as in speech) to drop the GNU from GNU/Linux.
The reason for the dub is that it then becomes "Australian Content" and fits into the broadcaster's quota for local programs. Channel 10 did it a bit to. Ever wondered why Sandra Sully had to "present" a wildlife documentary? Those minute-or-so spiels she would give at either end of the program were completely pointless to the viewer, but to the regulator, they made the program "Australian".
Cartman: [scanning] Where is the- Nintendo? Mr. McCormick: We don't have a Nintendo. We got a ColecoVision hooked up to the black-and-white TV. [rats scurry near it] Kyle: Oh my God. This is like a third-world country.
I'm posting this too late in the discussion for anyone to read this.
It seems the general bent for those who believe in the existance of AD*D is thus:
1) Couldn't concentrate 2) Bad grades 3) Took drugs 4) 1) and 2) remedied 5) Therefore have ADD/ADHD
Has anyone here actually taken the medication? It makes EVERYONE concentrate better. It doesn't discriminate and just magically help those who "need" it.
I took ritalin/dexamphetamine without a prescription (having been supplied by friends) to aid in studying at high school. It's great stuff. But just because you concentrate better when you're on it, doesn't mean you have a disorder.
Taking Ritalin because you're underperforming at school is like taking steroids because you're underperforming at athletics.
Right now it is possible to get a degree in EE without ever having picked up a soldering iron.
As an immediately recent graduate, I must admit that I never picked up a soldering iron in my 5 years of studies in EE. Nor did any of my classmates, save for the ones that had to do some (for the first time) in their final year theses. Everything was purely of the recyclable bread-board variety.
It has been an interesting time for EE and related streams over this tech boom-bust period. As a freshman a Telecoms Engineering degree was highly sort after in industry, but now as graduates we are all having to look elsewhere for employment. Hopefully this bust period will encourage more of the top students to stay back and teach and research as the best academics around. I found that during the tech boom the quality of tutors (PhD students mostly) was terrible - attributable to the fact that a lot of companies were offering top dollar for the top students for R&D... which is unfortunately losing a lot of business interest.
As a self-confessed surface-mount and soldering newbie, can I ask if soldering is absolutely necessary for this trick? Could something such as a conductive pen successfully bridge the contacts? I have seen this used to bridge contacts on the AMD Duron/Athlon, and it seems like a similar process. For my mind, the pen is mightier than the soldering iron.
What is 'bandwidth'? How do you define 'bandwidth'? If you're talking about what you can download, what you can read, what you can hear and see, then bandwidth is simply electrical signals interpreted by your computer.
If you recall, Intervideo were also the first ones to launch an authorised (non-deCSS) DVD player for Linux.. although licensing it only allowed its use on Linux Embedded Devices, not everyday machines.
The same will happen with this Windows Media crap. What does it mean to your average Linux user? Zip. Nada.
What really pisses me off is that the new NEC 3G UMTS phones don't do mp3, only wma. WTF is the point of that? The current competition, a motorola phone, does MP3 but doesn't even do video calls (a potential killer app of 3G!)... you just can't have your cake and eat it too (yet).
At the end of the day, it is a real waste of time for the computer to be looking up timetables which is really where your problem originates - missing the bus is not just about being at the stop at the scheduled time. In my experience, buses can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes early or late, with little way of predicting either way.
What would be useful is real-time tracking of buses and their respective positions... simply by using existing wireless data networks. Here in Sydney, Australia, all major bus routes have almost perfect access to three GSM/GPRS networks, with Vodafone at least offering a locating system on top....
Now if you could access all this information via WAP/GPRS on your cell phone, you would have an inexpensive and accurate way to know whether there actually is time for another beer without missing the bus. It could also mean that you would waste less time sitting around at a bus stop with your fingers crossed.
I'm sorry if this is a bit off-topic but maybe we shouldn't cry revolution every time someone homebrews an LCD with Linux to display something.
Most people I know with notebooks use them because they live in an apartment and it's easier to store them. They never use them on the road, and certainly never away from a power point. I personally hate the things, but that said, as long as it is made clear that it has in fact a desktop cpu then there really shouldn't be an issue.
I don't know about the UK, but in Australia phone companies charge around 3c/KB or even 16.5c/30sec + 16.5 sec flagfall for WAP or GPRS services. Just perousing the trolls on/. is going to cost you are large sum of money.
I don't understand cellular network providers... they upgrade their network so people can take advantage of new services, but charge so much for them that end users ignore the new facility. Now that's what I call progress.
Living on-campus at the University of Sydney it cost me 20c/meg for International traffic and 3c/meg for Australian traffic. Internal traffic was free and unlimited. Of course these are Australian cents - divide by two for equivalent US cents.
In my experience on campus, there was always a UNIX machine somewhere that you could happily launder (route) all your traffic through to avoid charges. I compiled an IRC proxy on the EE Solaris server and didn't pay even a cent for my Dreamcast games as a result.
To get around the bandwidth restriction, route traffic through CS or similar, since:
" 1. All network traffic to/from any UCI computer, web site or server is untouched. There are no controls and no need to shape this, as it is "educational" traffic. Further, as it does not go to or from the Internet, we don't have to pay for it. As long as it stays within the UCI network, we can take advantage of the high-speed connections and equipment we have on campus."
Thus, you will not be throttled if the shaper believes that the data is coming from a local machine. This is of course assuming that the shaper sits between the Residential and College networks (which in this case, it does).
I think that maybe CIA/FBI statistics are a little less forthcoming than those from ASIO. With all these measures to prevent terrorism, I'd assume that the CIA and FBI combined would be at least 20 times what they were just over a year ago anyway.
In short: I don't believe it.
The USA can keep dreaming that they have privacy, but guys, face it - you don't live in the land of the free any more.
The selling point for getting a Rio 500 for me was the allegedly mature Linux software for it - it simply does not work with my Rio. In fact I have found that the only software I can get it going with is the official RioPort software.. even third party Win32 apps do not successfully transfer music to the device.
God knows what the problem is.. if I were you, I'd keep away from the Rio 500.
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As a consultant based overseas, using my client's corporate internet for Skype actually SAVES them a fortune. They would normally pay for the POTS international phone calls we make (VERY $$$$$), but the fact that they allow Skype means that we make all of our calls Skype-Skype without it costing them (or us) anything in call costs. Bandwidth charges are negligible in comparison.
If firms continue to be ignorant about new or alternative technologies then they will continue to be left behind. These savings can be significant over the long term, financially as well as productivity wise. Companies in the future will be split into two categories - those that embrace new technology and those that struggle under malinformed regimes run by beaurocrats who prefer the trusted path, the path of least resistance, over the newer, technologically superior one. I've seen this too many times than I'd care to remember.
Does this mean my fantasy of Natalie Portman covered in hot grits will actually come true?
w00t!!!
I too was skeptical about AJAX when I first saw a demo. Given an intuitive IDE you can realise your vision very very quickly. AJAX applications are fast and lightweight. Maintaining them is incredibly easy and the deployment is a cinch.
I admit, I was enthusiastic about Java Swing applets at one point, but they really haven't evolved from the clunky things they were ten years ago. AJAX isn't just a stupid acronym. It's a truly workable system.
For a good IDE check out TIBCO General Interface - it's not open source but it can give you a good idea of what is possible with this technology.
The magical mystery phone+service is 3G. I have no idea when or if 3G networks will be built in the USA. They are already in use in Hong Kong, Australia, UK, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Sweden ... and probably a lot of other places too.
The plan I was referring to was the $29 cap on this page.
Mobile broadband on Three is fast and cheap, charged by data only and not time or connection. The most you can pay is 0.4c/KB - even cheaper if you choose a Capped Plan.
I use them and think it's great.
Please, please, no WiFi on cell phones. I keep hearing people asking for this feature but IMHO it's a waste of time, for a couple of reasons:
1) It will add unnecessary bulk to your phone.
2) It will use more battery than the cell network
3) It reduces motivation for greater investment in true cellular mobile data networks
I've been using a 3rd generation cell phone for 2 years now. In that time, data costs have come down from 4c/KB to 0.1c/KB, and with my 100MB cap, the rate is effectively 0.03c/KB. The speed is consistently very fast - not quite wifi, but still at 250kb/s, quite comparable with ADSL. And you don't need to find a hotspot. I even surfed the net from the CBD to the airport (30km) at speed without a single dropout. Surely that's cooler than WiFi.
So, in summary - WiFi enabling a cell phone is a WOFTAM!
Why does giving credit where credit is due, or naming, or trademarking have anything to do with open source? If something is released under the GPL (as RMS would want it) then it's yours to do whatever you like with. Change the code. Fork it. The code is free (as in speech and beer).
So why call it anything? Do I call my Toyota a Ford/Toyota after the father of the production line? I mean, without the modern production line, where would Toyota be? We should give Henry Ford the credit, right?
So why does RMS care? Would he object to me changing the names of the variables in his GPL code? He has given me permission, under the terms of the license, to do with it what I please, so long as I release the code if I distribute binaries. Sure I can rename it. Just like I can with variables or methods in the code itself.
I can't argue that GNU's contribution is insignificant. But who cares what the name is? And prefixing things with GNU is just ridiculous. The point has been made - where do you draw the line? Am I running Mozilla/Adobe/Microsoft/Java/Darwin on my Mac at the moment? Maybe MacOSX is a better name for it, and is more easily marketable.
I think I've made my stand pretty clear on this one. Call Linux whatever you like. Part of something being GPL is that you can rename it if you so please. And please feel free (as in speech) to drop the GNU from GNU/Linux.
The reason for the dub is that it then becomes "Australian Content" and fits into the broadcaster's quota for local programs.
Channel 10 did it a bit to. Ever wondered why Sandra Sully had to "present" a wildlife documentary? Those minute-or-so spiels she would give at either end of the program were completely pointless to the viewer, but to the regulator, they made the program "Australian".
The biggest argument here is whether they are midgets, retards, or retarded midgets.
But does it run linux?
Re: Having had anal sex while there was a third party in the sexual congress (illegal in the UK).
You mean, DP is illegal in the UK? That country sucks even more than I first thought!
Cartman: [scanning] Where is the- Nintendo?
Mr. McCormick: We don't have a Nintendo. We got a ColecoVision hooked up to the black-and-white TV. [rats scurry near it]
Kyle: Oh my God. This is like a third-world country.
Take a look at that building! It looks like its half falling down. It seriously looks like something from "The Nightmare Before Christmas".
This is what happens when you give case modders the job of designing a building!
I'm posting this too late in the discussion for anyone to read this.
It seems the general bent for those who believe in the existance of AD*D is thus:
1) Couldn't concentrate
2) Bad grades
3) Took drugs
4) 1) and 2) remedied
5) Therefore have ADD/ADHD
Has anyone here actually taken the medication? It makes EVERYONE concentrate better. It doesn't discriminate and just magically help those who "need" it.
I took ritalin/dexamphetamine without a prescription (having been supplied by friends) to aid in studying at high school. It's great stuff. But just because you concentrate better when you're on it, doesn't mean you have a disorder.
Taking Ritalin because you're underperforming at school is like taking steroids because you're underperforming at athletics.
Right now it is possible to get a degree in EE without ever having picked up a soldering iron.
... which is unfortunately losing a lot of business interest.
As an immediately recent graduate, I must admit that I never picked up a soldering iron in my 5 years of studies in EE. Nor did any of my classmates, save for the ones that had to do some (for the first time) in their final year theses. Everything was purely of the recyclable bread-board variety.
It has been an interesting time for EE and related streams over this tech boom-bust period. As a freshman a Telecoms Engineering degree was highly sort after in industry, but now as graduates we are all having to look elsewhere for employment. Hopefully this bust period will encourage more of the top students to stay back and teach and research as the best academics around. I found that during the tech boom the quality of tutors (PhD students mostly) was terrible - attributable to the fact that a lot of companies were offering top dollar for the top students for R&D
As a self-confessed surface-mount and soldering newbie, can I ask if soldering is absolutely necessary for this trick? Could something such as a conductive pen successfully bridge the contacts? I have seen this used to bridge contacts on the AMD Duron/Athlon, and it seems like a similar process. For my mind, the pen is mightier than the soldering iron.
What is 'bandwidth'? How do you define 'bandwidth'? If you're talking about what you can download, what you can read, what you can hear and see, then bandwidth is simply electrical signals interpreted by your computer.
Tank, load the trailer.
If you recall, Intervideo were also the first ones to launch an authorised (non-deCSS) DVD player for Linux .. although licensing it only allowed its use on Linux Embedded Devices, not everyday machines.
... you just can't have your cake and eat it too (yet).
The same will happen with this Windows Media crap. What does it mean to your average Linux user? Zip. Nada.
What really pisses me off is that the new NEC 3G UMTS phones don't do mp3, only wma. WTF is the point of that? The current competition, a motorola phone, does MP3 but doesn't even do video calls (a potential killer app of 3G!)
At the end of the day, it is a real waste of time for the computer to be looking up timetables which is really where your problem originates - missing the bus is not just about being at the stop at the scheduled time. In my experience, buses can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes early or late, with little way of predicting either way.
... simply by using existing wireless data networks. Here in Sydney, Australia, all major bus routes have almost perfect access to three GSM/GPRS networks, with Vodafone at least offering a locating system on top ....
What would be useful is real-time tracking of buses and their respective positions
Now if you could access all this information via WAP/GPRS on your cell phone, you would have an inexpensive and accurate way to know whether there actually is time for another beer without missing the bus. It could also mean that you would waste less time sitting around at a bus stop with your fingers crossed.
I'm sorry if this is a bit off-topic but maybe we shouldn't cry revolution every time someone homebrews an LCD with Linux to display something.
Most people I know with notebooks use them because they live in an apartment and it's easier to store them. They never use them on the road, and certainly never away from a power point.
I personally hate the things, but that said, as long as it is made clear that it has in fact a desktop cpu then there really shouldn't be an issue.
I don't know about the UK, but in Australia phone companies charge around 3c/KB or even 16.5c/30sec + 16.5 sec flagfall for WAP or GPRS services. Just perousing the trolls on /. is going to cost you are large sum of money.
... they upgrade their network so people can take advantage of new services, but charge so much for them that end users ignore the new facility. Now that's what I call progress.
I don't understand cellular network providers
Living on-campus at the University of Sydney it cost me 20c/meg for International traffic and 3c/meg for Australian traffic. Internal traffic was free and unlimited. Of course these are Australian cents - divide by two for equivalent US cents.
In my experience on campus, there was always a UNIX machine somewhere that you could happily launder (route) all your traffic through to avoid charges. I compiled an IRC proxy on the EE Solaris server and didn't pay even a cent for my Dreamcast games as a result.
To get around the bandwidth restriction, route traffic through CS or similar, since:
" 1. All network traffic to/from any UCI computer, web site or server is untouched. There are no controls and no need to shape this, as it is "educational" traffic. Further, as it does not go to or from the Internet, we don't have to pay for it. As long as it stays within the UCI network, we can take advantage of the high-speed connections and equipment we have on campus."
Thus, you will not be throttled if the shaper believes that the data is coming from a local machine. This is of course assuming that the shaper sits between the Residential and College networks (which in this case, it does).
I agree - and it was a lot better than Katz, too!!
I think that maybe CIA/FBI statistics are a little less forthcoming than those from ASIO. With all these measures to prevent terrorism, I'd assume that the CIA and FBI combined would be at least 20 times what they were just over a year ago anyway.
In short: I don't believe it.
The USA can keep dreaming that they have privacy, but guys, face it - you don't live in the land of the free any more.
The selling point for getting a Rio 500 for me was the allegedly mature Linux software for it - it simply does not work with my Rio. In fact I have found that the only software I can get it going with is the official RioPort software .. even third party Win32 apps do not successfully transfer music to the device.
.. if I were you, I'd keep away from the Rio 500.
God knows what the problem is