Whenever subject of solid state computers comes up I have to throw in a few words about the Audrey, a failed Internet appliance made by 3Com a few years ago. When they didn't sell for $499 3Com dumped them and they are readily available on EBay for about $85.
The Audrey has a 7-inch 640x480 color touch screen built into a 2-inch-thick package that looks like like a Jetson's version of an Etch-a-Sketch. Several dedicated buttons on the front were intended to start dedicated apps like email, address book and web browser. It was made to sit on the kitchen table so you could read the news, send email and look up recipes. Inside is about a P200, 32Mb ROM and a 32 Mb flashcard for RAM. The original built-in software included a telephony app. There is a built-in 56K modem, microphone and two tiny speakers, also 2 USB ports and an audio out jack, and a no-frills wireless IR keyboard. Most of the ones sold on EBay include a USB LAN interface and have replacement software, an embedded Unix called QNX.
When these things came out on the market for such a low price a hacking community quickly sprang up (for example Audreyhacking.com). You can find lots of free goodies such as an mp3 player and home automation software. Because of the touch screen I bought 5 of them to use as UIs for streaming music to stereos all over the house. Anyway, they are fun toys.
Come on folks. In 1900, people on average lived into their 50s, now they live into their 70s. Their careers last longer. Some of them are still innovating right up to retirement. So of course the average age of innovators is going to increase. My hat is off to researchers who can talk people into actually paying them to do studies like this.
Life expectancy in 1900 for the American male was in the low 50s. Now it's in the high 70s. It stands to reason that the average age of career achievements should be higher. I sure hope the National Bureau of Economic Research didn't use any federal grant money to come up with this valuable insight.
Why would the stores listen to you or care?... [rest of rant trimmed]
This is Insightful? The submitter wasn't asking how to get small computer stores to martyr themselves for Open Source. I think he wants to know how to make it worthwhile for them to offer it to customers. The fact that the stores want to stay in business is a given. Maybe you're confusing open source with Free Software. They aren't one and the same. There are lots of businesses making a living off open source. The submitter also mentioned getting stores interested in helping customers with spyware and viruses. All good goals if you ask me.
See, the king owns all the land, because that's the divine order of things. Without the king, the peasants would starve, because he provides the land for them to farm. We wouldn't have any entertainment unless giant corporations owned the rights to all of it. Nobody will invest in entertainment unless the government guarantees that someone other than the actual creator earns every possible penny from it. Get it now?
I would say that when a 7-billion-dollar industry can buy legislation to dictate how a trillion-dollar-economy is allowed to use technology, somebody's definitely getting ripped off.
It doesn't have to work in Minnesota. About half of the produce in the U.S. is grown in California, where the farmers are always in contention with residential developers for water rights. If it turned out to be economical to pump the cold water a couple hundred miles inland, this could be a great thing.
a PhD in ocean engineering, a law degree, and a stint as chief scientist for the US Navy's Special Projects Office... instrumental in developing the Polaris missile program...
He also invented the oscillation overthruster, performs brain surgery, and plays lead guitar in his own rock band!
I think Mark's point is that damages should be based on lost download sales, not lost CD sales, because file sharers share files, not CDs. So if you accept the claim that every shared file represents thousands of downloads, and the market price for thousands of downloads is $5, then reasonable damages for sharing a file would be $5. That's what I got out of it anyway.
I read here a few days ago that Motorola has a 5-inch prototype flat-screen HD display using carbon nanotube technology, and it said 40-inch displays 3/4 inch thick would be feasible for under $400. Give cameras a couple more years to evolve, and I think we will soon be taking remote-presence for granted, at least in the business world. The India half of your dev team will seem to be sitting right there in the room with you.
I think the point of Mark's argument is that if file sharing represents a loss of anything for the RIAA, it's a loss of file download sales, not CD sales. Because file sharers don't share CDs, they share files. And since the going market price for unlimited downloads is now $5/month, it's even harder than before to rationalize a claim of thousands of dollars damages per shared file.
Even $5 seems a little arbitrary. The damages should be based on the number of files the average Yahoo user downloads per month for their $5. If it's 50 files a month then the value of those downloads is 10-cents each. So if the RIAA claims that every shared file represents a loss of 1000 downloads, their damage claim should be $100.
Having said that, whether this reasoning makes sense and whether it ever gets heard in court are two different things. So far the RIAA's business model of sending demand letters and collecting money without a fight seems to be working like a charm. If Mark believes in his own theory strongly enough, how about if he posts some mp3s, turns himself in to the RIAA, lets them sue him, takes it into court and gets the damages reduced to a few bucks? Setting a precedent like that would make him a lot bigger hero than simply writing in his blog.
You make the mistake of thinking that your mom's devotion to the show is important. It's not. What's important to the TV industry is that the next new batch of filler holds her attention enough to get her to watch more commercials. Things that we naturally think of as part of our culture aren't really "ours" in any way.
When Congress passed the Bono Act in 1998, the copyright term on recorded entertainment became 95 years, and everything recorded before 1972 was extended to the year 2067. That includes Spanky and Our Gang, even the wax cylinders made by Edison in the 1890s. It'll all be copyrighted until long after you're dead. Modern American Culture is all about rights owners deciding what is worth offering your mom the chance to pay per view, at a time, place and format of their choosing.
Just a comment. I wanted to say how much I enjoy reading the stories posted on Slashdot, and participating in the interesting discussions. People express lot of different points of view that I never would have thought of on my own.
Just a comment. I wanted to say how much I enjoy reading the stories posted on Slashdot, and participating in the interesting discussions. People express lot of different points of view that I never would have thought of on my own.
Slashdot Mirror
If you're interested in more details about the Mobilis here's another article with couple different photos.
Whenever subject of solid state computers comes up I have to throw in a few words about the Audrey, a failed Internet appliance made by 3Com a few years ago. When they didn't sell for $499 3Com dumped them and they are readily available on EBay for about $85.
The Audrey has a 7-inch 640x480 color touch screen built into a 2-inch-thick package that looks like like a Jetson's version of an Etch-a-Sketch. Several dedicated buttons on the front were intended to start dedicated apps like email, address book and web browser. It was made to sit on the kitchen table so you could read the news, send email and look up recipes. Inside is about a P200, 32Mb ROM and a 32 Mb flashcard for RAM. The original built-in software included a telephony app. There is a built-in 56K modem, microphone and two tiny speakers, also 2 USB ports and an audio out jack, and a no-frills wireless IR keyboard. Most of the ones sold on EBay include a USB LAN interface and have replacement software, an embedded Unix called QNX.
When these things came out on the market for such a low price a hacking community quickly sprang up (for example Audreyhacking.com). You can find lots of free goodies such as an mp3 player and home automation software. Because of the touch screen I bought 5 of them to use as UIs for streaming music to stereos all over the house. Anyway, they are fun toys.
Depending on what you read, 50-70% of Americans believe Saddam Hussein was responsible for 911.
Polls, gotta love 'em.
Come on folks. In 1900, people on average lived into their 50s, now they live into their 70s. Their careers last longer. Some of them are still innovating right up to retirement. So of course the average age of innovators is going to increase. My hat is off to researchers who can talk people into actually paying them to do studies like this.
Life expectancy in 1900 for the American male was in the low 50s. Now it's in the high 70s. It stands to reason that the average age of career achievements should be higher. I sure hope the National Bureau of Economic Research didn't use any federal grant money to come up with this valuable insight.
Why would the stores listen to you or care? ... [rest of rant trimmed]
This is Insightful? The submitter wasn't asking how to get small computer stores to martyr themselves for Open Source. I think he wants to know how to make it worthwhile for them to offer it to customers. The fact that the stores want to stay in business is a given. Maybe you're confusing open source with Free Software. They aren't one and the same. There are lots of businesses making a living off open source. The submitter also mentioned getting stores interested in helping customers with spyware and viruses. All good goals if you ask me.
... but I'm sticking with ginormous.
See, the king owns all the land, because that's the divine order of things. Without the king, the peasants would starve, because he provides the land for them to farm. We wouldn't have any entertainment unless giant corporations owned the rights to all of it. Nobody will invest in entertainment unless the government guarantees that someone other than the actual creator earns every possible penny from it. Get it now?
Dude, you're already at 5 but if I had the power you'd be at 11 on this one. Very Funny!
I have a little PHP script that I use whenever I get a phishing email...
Post it on Planet Source Code -- thousands of people could be using it tomorrow.
I would say that when a 7-billion-dollar industry can buy legislation to dictate how a trillion-dollar-economy is allowed to use technology, somebody's definitely getting ripped off.
Submitter deserves a golf clap for getting a Slashdot story accepted with a Fark headline.
It doesn't have to work in Minnesota. About half of the produce in the U.S. is grown in California, where the farmers are always in contention with residential developers for water rights. If it turned out to be economical to pump the cold water a couple hundred miles inland, this could be a great thing.
a PhD in ocean engineering, a law degree, and a stint as chief scientist for the US Navy's Special Projects Office... instrumental in developing the Polaris missile program...
He also invented the oscillation overthruster, performs brain surgery, and plays lead guitar in his own rock band!
copyright holders "being robbed of the fruit of their efforts"
"copyright holders" = record companies, not musicians.
"their efforts" = acquiring the rights to other people's work for nothing.
My heart bleeds.
If the Canadians have learned anything from the RIAA, they'll bribe their legislature to change the law so they can win next time.
Please tell me that's a code name.
I think Mark's point is that damages should be based on lost download sales, not lost CD sales, because file sharers share files, not CDs. So if you accept the claim that every shared file represents thousands of downloads, and the market price for thousands of downloads is $5, then reasonable damages for sharing a file would be $5. That's what I got out of it anyway.
I read here a few days ago that Motorola has a 5-inch prototype flat-screen HD display using carbon nanotube technology, and it said 40-inch displays 3/4 inch thick would be feasible for under $400. Give cameras a couple more years to evolve, and I think we will soon be taking remote-presence for granted, at least in the business world. The India half of your dev team will seem to be sitting right there in the room with you.
I think the point of Mark's argument is that if file sharing represents a loss of anything for the RIAA, it's a loss of file download sales, not CD sales. Because file sharers don't share CDs, they share files. And since the going market price for unlimited downloads is now $5/month, it's even harder than before to rationalize a claim of thousands of dollars damages per shared file.
Even $5 seems a little arbitrary. The damages should be based on the number of files the average Yahoo user downloads per month for their $5. If it's 50 files a month then the value of those downloads is 10-cents each. So if the RIAA claims that every shared file represents a loss of 1000 downloads, their damage claim should be $100.
Having said that, whether this reasoning makes sense and whether it ever gets heard in court are two different things. So far the RIAA's business model of sending demand letters and collecting money without a fight seems to be working like a charm. If Mark believes in his own theory strongly enough, how about if he posts some mp3s, turns himself in to the RIAA, lets them sue him, takes it into court and gets the damages reduced to a few bucks? Setting a precedent like that would make him a lot bigger hero than simply writing in his blog.
Don't worry, the Russian refueling station attendant from Armageddon is on the way with a couple cases of duct tape and cigarettes.
the modern handgun reflects hundreds of years of user testing
Obviously more than the Federation did when they came up with the "dust buster" phasers.
*EVERY* time? You've done this more than once?
They are not, but Orrin Hatch is.
Correction: They are. Orrin Hatch is just their bitch.
You make the mistake of thinking that your mom's devotion to the show is important. It's not. What's important to the TV industry is that the next new batch of filler holds her attention enough to get her to watch more commercials. Things that we naturally think of as part of our culture aren't really "ours" in any way.
When Congress passed the Bono Act in 1998, the copyright term on recorded entertainment became 95 years, and everything recorded before 1972 was extended to the year 2067. That includes Spanky and Our Gang, even the wax cylinders made by Edison in the 1890s. It'll all be copyrighted until long after you're dead. Modern American Culture is all about rights owners deciding what is worth offering your mom the chance to pay per view, at a time, place and format of their choosing.
Just a comment. I wanted to say how much I enjoy reading the stories posted on Slashdot, and participating in the interesting discussions. People express lot of different points of view that I never would have thought of on my own.
Just a comment. I wanted to say how much I enjoy reading the stories posted on Slashdot, and participating in the interesting discussions. People express lot of different points of view that I never would have thought of on my own.