The idea of convergence falls flat when you take into account product specialization. While you can cram a bunch of relatively crappy versions of modern technology into a small form-factor, each of the products on their own have certain specialities that don't work in conjunction with the other.
For example, a computer needs a keyboard. Sure, you can use Grafitti to enter in your appointments, but if you're going to be programming or designing advertisement campaigns or writing a novel, you need a computer. A camera does not, however. What a camera needs is a really good lens. A really good lens doesn't help much with telephone reception, however.
What I'm getting at is that if you don't have any vested interest in any of the said technologies -- that is, if you just take pictures of your friends, listen to MP3's on the subway, write down people's phone numbers occasionally -- then an all-in-one device will probably suit you fine. As a photographer, a programmer, and a taper (concerts), such a device would be useless to me.
Anyone ever think that the only reason cellphone companies are putting games on your phone is to mask the fact that actual phone functions are absolutely terrible? I can't use my SprintPCS in most office buildings, and get dropouts all the time walking down the streets (of NYC, but still). But hey, at least I can play Galaga. Whoop-dee-fuckin-doo.
I don't see these as failed at all. In fact, we use many of these things in the present day, albeit their implementation is a bit different than what was initally visualized.
Faxed Newspapers How about the internet? Sure, it's not FAX'ed, but there's not a lot of difference between a FAX and a modem, and the idea of replacing trees with a monitor is the reason I can post this response here on/.
The Videophone Have you seen the most recent cellphone advertisements on TV? The videophone is here already, even without a 3G network.
3D Movies Original 3-D movies were done in a very antiquated way, but technology is already out that can project images into space without the use of special glasses. It's currently being used to aid in open-heart surgery, but it's only a matter of time before the technology becomes affordable enough to the average consumer.
Now, I might be missing something here, but it seems to me that the only way the Danish group could have actually verified that the music/videos/software was real, and not, say, a 3 meg renamed JPG file of goatse.cx, is that they actually downloaded it off the offender's hard drive.
Is it illegal to have your own, legally purchased stuff on your hard drive? I don't think so. Is it illegal to share it? That's the question.
"Sure I have it in my shared directory. I want to be able to access my music at my office."
Now, the fact that this Danish organization downloaded some other person's files which they have not legally purchased would indicate that they are the actual copyright offenders here.
The computer is a tool. My mom (and millions of others) knows how to drive a car and she knows how to drive a computer. They don't know how it operates, and they shouldn't have to.
When cars first debuted near the beginning of the last century, I assure you that people DID have to know all that stuff if they wanted their car functioning properly. Give computers another hundred years and then I'm sure it will be safe for your mom to use without breaking down all the time.
The idea that somebody has to have advanced knowledge of computers to use them is absurd.
No, what's absurd is somebody expecting, without any advanced knowledge of what is fundementally a very complicated machine, to never have any problems with it that aren't related to what they're doing. "Oh, I was just using Word and it crashed on me." Yeah, that happens. It's not perfect. If you don't like it, use Notepad. If you don't like IE, there are a lot of other browsers on the market.
The truth is, the more complicated the widget, the more likely it is to fail.
Nobody is entitled to security. But what they are entitled to is reasonably secure software, not a gaping sieve of a security nightmare, such as IE.
Yeah, perhaps if you actually paid for it. But it was free; it didn't cost you a thing to use, and now you're complaining that it doesn't work perfectly. If someone handed me the keys to a new Ford and said, "Hey buddy, this is for you," I'd be suspect of their intentions, and not at all surprised when it didn't function like I wanted it to.
I doubt this story very much, for the simple reason that digital watermarking only works on near-perfect copies of the music. Ripping a CD that's been watermarked won't work. But if you do a line-audio copy, then MP3 it for distribution on, say, the 'net, there is NO WAY the watermarking is preserved. And you know how Phans are. They're rabid. They've got DAT's and MD's and CDR's at concerts, with microphones that are better than the CIA's stuff.
Hell, you could just connect a couple of Shure microphones up to a DAT and play the CD's in a big room. You'd get a pretty good copy that's watermark free.
Actually, if you want to ensure you're being safe, you have to educate yourself. This goes with all things in life, not just computers. Expecting someone to do the work for you leaves you open to exploitation. I absolutely abhor this attitude:
"I don't know much about computers, but I don't want to get a virus or have something bad happen to me, EVER. And if something does, well, it's YOUR fault, because you didn't make it safe enough."
Tough shit. Anyone who's been using computers since before the 90's usually has an inherit, built-in mistrust of them. They've dealt with system crashes, computer viruses, and the like, and know the reality is that you're dealing with a very complicated machine, and there are a hundred things that could go wrong at any moment. It's this new-fangled entitlement that the Internet-age has brought upon us that really pisses me off. Entitlement without responsibility.
To use your analogy, if your Mom never learned how to drive, or was a bad driver, she should probably avoid roads at the very least, avoiding cars altogether might be better. Yes, Internet Explorer has loads of security holes. And some cars are more dangerous than others. Not everyone on the road is your friend. Make system backups. At least we have that luxury in the computer world.
The band Wilco had to put their own stuff online for a while because the "industry" thought their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot should be changed. Anyone interested in seeing the hell these guys went through to produce the album should watch the movie I am Trying to Break Your Heart. The record company said they wouldn't promote the album if they didn't change the music, so Wilco bought the rights to the album from them and distributed it online, for free. When word got out just how good the album was, the record industry came crawling back and offered to buy it back from them... for several times they price they sold it originally.
I have done some research between the different PVR's out there, and would like to add a word of warning to anyone considering TiVo. The $250 lifetime membership applies only to the unit that you purchase. Which means if you upgrade to the next bigger-and-badder T-Machine when it comes out, you have to drop another $250. Those of us who like to have the newest and greatest gadgets might find our turnover rate makes their lifetime membership makes little fiscal sense.
Well, if the alien civilization is reasonably advanced, they'll realize that not every world out there is as advanced as they are, and might beam "low-tech" alternative messages across the universe for the fledgling races that still haven't figured out how to get off their own planets. We did something like this with Voyager, broadcasting some basic information about us to anyone listening.
Anyway, they might also be using some ultra-fast wormhole/subspace method of communicating (substitute your own sci-fi gadget -- you get the idea), but it's not like we'd know, since we still haven't built any receivers to pick it up.
The side-window mod is so mainstream now that it can only laughingly be referred to as "hot-rodding". Several suppliers now build cases with those nice, EF-emitting windows standard. If you're going to be cutting into your case, you could have at least put a little design into it. Hell, a checkerboard pattern of lucite/metal would have been more interesting.
And on the subject of design: your front page would be a hell of a lot better if you did it in HTML. It's a static page -- nothing's moving around, no music (not that this is a bad thing). You could design a page in HTML with images that looks exactly the same, would be smaller, faster to load, and viewable by those without the Flash plugin. You don't need a forklift when you can just use your hands.
I used to believe this, too. I don't anymore. The fact is, people are more violent and disconnected with their fellow man than they were 30 years ago. There's more random anger being lashed out at innocents today than in my parent's time, and less personal responsibility for one's actions. Now, I'm not saying this is the fault of video games. Read about bad CEO's ruining the lives of thousands of people and getting millions of dollars as punishment, watch bad-ass mo-fo's on TV waste anyone who gets in their way, dance to music that expounds the benefits of bitches 'n hoes -- well, all of this together certainly might jade Joe Average.
Back in our parents day, In Cold Blood shocked the nation. Hell, Jack the Ripper killed, what, six women? And he's famous. And yet in the past 10 years we've seen ever-increasing, almost exponential craziness. High school shootings are old-school. Strap a bomb to yourself and kill a few thousand people if you want to make the 8:00 news. Grab a gun and start sniping people if you want to get your message across. I am afraid to even think of what new and terrible things we people are going to do to each other in the next 10 years.
The reason why MiniDisc is better than the iPod or other portable MP3 units is very simple. How much is a Flash memory card? A 128 meg card (or stick) will run you about $60 if you're very good at looking. Now, how much is a blank minidisc? Less than $2.00. If you don't ever plan on lending out your music, an MP3 player is fine and dandy.
Oh, but I almost forgot: an MP3 player is just that... a player. Not a recorder. So what happens when you want a digital copy of a concert? Or want to record a lecture? Or want to copy a friend's new CD? You're shit out of luck. With an MP3 player, you're constantly tethered to a computer if you want to expand your music collection. Minidisc doesn't have this problem.
People who think Minidiscs are poor substitutes for CD's miss the point entirely -- they are excellent substitutes for TAPES. Keep your CD player. But for portable tunes, with an option for recording, I always carry MiniDisc.
This would be even more wonderful if instead of, or along with their proprietary Memory Stick they had offered another form of memory expansion slot. Why does Sony seem so with it, and yet still hold on to old, starving-on-the-teet technology like a perpetual wetnurse. Did they learn nothing from Betamax?
This is correct. As someone who lives in North End of Boston, I have witnessed the development of the Big Dig since they broke ground, and, while it IS vastly over-budget, the work schedule is still on track. The new bridge has been complete for the past year (and is one of the most beautiful ever constructed), and the tunnels underground are complete. They recently had a "Walk the Big Dig" where the public was finally allowed to walk the entire route. If you check out this picture, I think you can see that it's just about complete.
OMB is asked to examine whether Microsoft source code should be provided to the general public; OMB also requests that the days be made longer, that marijuana should be legalized, that there should be world peace, and that the Supreme Court should have made him president instead.
Please file this additional document under "D" for Delusional.
Lemme see if I understand right. Reverse engineer hardware to show its inherit ineffectualness -- that's ok. Reverse engineer software to show its inherit ineffectualness -- that's illegal.
Due to a recent New York Times article, and because of these site's recent popularity among other online media sources, you may have to wait a couple of days to get to the MP3's on these sites.
A incompletely informal introduction to good mash-ups:
I used to be a big believer in the "more RAM is what you need" mantra, but have recently changed my mind. If you're working with files that are larger than half the amount of RAM you've got, you're going to be swapping to disk for temp space. It's inevitable. I do a lot of graphics work on very large image files (1+ gigs) and no amount of RAM is going to save my 1.7ghz AMD from taking at least 10 minutes to load up the file.
What WILL work is to get a couple of fast HD's and RAID-0 them together. If data redundancy is crutial, you'll have to backup your data often. But the speed difference is ASTOUNDING. After upgrading my single 7200 rpm drive for two 7200's RAIDed together, I can now load these monster files in a little over three minutes. And HD's are cheap nowadays. I purchased a couple of 7200 40 gig Maxtor's for about $75 each, new, and THAT was probably more than I should have paid, but I was simply fed up. I knew the bottleneck wasn't in the processor or RAM. Any moving-part system is going to be orders of magnitude slower than electrons moving around silicon.
It was my understanding that the Soyo Dragon Plus came with audio on board. And not just lame audio, but full SB Live compatible, optical-in's and out's, midi patch-tables et. al. audio. I have read about the instability with SB Live! cards on VIA chipsets, and wonder if using the built-in sound might fix these problems (and save yourself a slot).
I've been seeing posts here that refer people looking for dynamic content to seek out Generator or Fusion, but actually Flash has a nice set of variable-loading functions that don't require installing a server component on your host system. If you can code in PHP or ASP, where it is fairly simple and fast to create database calls to fill up variables, the Flash movie can receive those variables either by POST or GET. Then using a little ActionScript, you use that information to, say, populate a scrolling textbox, or fill a drop-down menu. Admittedly, it's not as easy as HTML, and the actual development style is more suited to movie producers and film students than HTML/*Script writers, but it is possible.
Personally, I'm looking forward to trying out Flash MX just to see their implementation of scrollbar elements -- populating them, the speed of display, etc. This alone would save hours of development time.
Slashdot Mirror
The idea of convergence falls flat when you take into account product specialization. While you can cram a bunch of relatively crappy versions of modern technology into a small form-factor, each of the products on their own have certain specialities that don't work in conjunction with the other.
For example, a computer needs a keyboard. Sure, you can use Grafitti to enter in your appointments, but if you're going to be programming or designing advertisement campaigns or writing a novel, you need a computer. A camera does not, however. What a camera needs is a really good lens. A really good lens doesn't help much with telephone reception, however.
What I'm getting at is that if you don't have any vested interest in any of the said technologies -- that is, if you just take pictures of your friends, listen to MP3's on the subway, write down people's phone numbers occasionally -- then an all-in-one device will probably suit you fine. As a photographer, a programmer, and a taper (concerts), such a device would be useless to me.
Cool idea, certainly, but...
Anyone ever think that the only reason cellphone companies are putting games on your phone is to mask the fact that actual phone functions are absolutely terrible? I can't use my SprintPCS in most office buildings, and get dropouts all the time walking down the streets (of NYC, but still). But hey, at least I can play Galaga. Whoop-dee-fuckin-doo.
I don't see these as failed at all. In fact, we use many of these things in the present day, albeit their implementation is a bit different than what was initally visualized.
/.
Faxed Newspapers
How about the internet? Sure, it's not FAX'ed, but there's not a lot of difference between a FAX and a modem, and the idea of replacing trees with a monitor is the reason I can post this response here on
The Videophone
Have you seen the most recent cellphone advertisements on TV? The videophone is here already, even without a 3G network.
3D Movies
Original 3-D movies were done in a very antiquated way, but technology is already out that can project images into space without the use of special glasses. It's currently being used to aid in open-heart surgery, but it's only a matter of time before the technology becomes affordable enough to the average consumer.
Interactive Television
One word for you: Tivo.
Now, I might be missing something here, but it seems to me that the only way the Danish group could have actually verified that the music/videos/software was real, and not, say, a 3 meg renamed JPG file of goatse.cx, is that they actually downloaded it off the offender's hard drive.
Is it illegal to have your own, legally purchased stuff on your hard drive? I don't think so. Is it illegal to share it? That's the question.
"Sure I have it in my shared directory. I want to be able to access my music at my office."
Now, the fact that this Danish organization downloaded some other person's files which they have not legally purchased would indicate that they are the actual copyright offenders here.
Eat that!
The computer is a tool. My mom (and millions of others) knows how to drive a car and she knows how to drive a computer. They don't know how it operates, and they shouldn't have to.
When cars first debuted near the beginning of the last century, I assure you that people DID have to know all that stuff if they wanted their car functioning properly. Give computers another hundred years and then I'm sure it will be safe for your mom to use without breaking down all the time.
The idea that somebody has to have advanced knowledge of computers to use them is absurd.
No, what's absurd is somebody expecting, without any advanced knowledge of what is fundementally a very complicated machine, to never have any problems with it that aren't related to what they're doing. "Oh, I was just using Word and it crashed on me." Yeah, that happens. It's not perfect. If you don't like it, use Notepad. If you don't like IE, there are a lot of other browsers on the market.
The truth is, the more complicated the widget, the more likely it is to fail.
Nobody is entitled to security. But what they are entitled to is reasonably secure software, not a gaping sieve of a security nightmare, such as IE.
Yeah, perhaps if you actually paid for it. But it was free; it didn't cost you a thing to use, and now you're complaining that it doesn't work perfectly. If someone handed me the keys to a new Ford and said, "Hey buddy, this is for you," I'd be suspect of their intentions, and not at all surprised when it didn't function like I wanted it to.
I doubt this story very much, for the simple reason that digital watermarking only works on near-perfect copies of the music. Ripping a CD that's been watermarked won't work. But if you do a line-audio copy, then MP3 it for distribution on, say, the 'net, there is NO WAY the watermarking is preserved. And you know how Phans are. They're rabid. They've got DAT's and MD's and CDR's at concerts, with microphones that are better than the CIA's stuff.
Hell, you could just connect a couple of Shure microphones up to a DAT and play the CD's in a big room. You'd get a pretty good copy that's watermark free.
Actually, if you want to ensure you're being safe, you have to educate yourself. This goes with all things in life, not just computers. Expecting someone to do the work for you leaves you open to exploitation. I absolutely abhor this attitude:
"I don't know much about computers, but I don't want to get a virus or have something bad happen to me, EVER. And if something does, well, it's YOUR fault, because you didn't make it safe enough."
Tough shit. Anyone who's been using computers since before the 90's usually has an inherit, built-in mistrust of them. They've dealt with system crashes, computer viruses, and the like, and know the reality is that you're dealing with a very complicated machine, and there are a hundred things that could go wrong at any moment. It's this new-fangled entitlement that the Internet-age has brought upon us that really pisses me off. Entitlement without responsibility.
To use your analogy, if your Mom never learned how to drive, or was a bad driver, she should probably avoid roads at the very least, avoiding cars altogether might be better. Yes, Internet Explorer has loads of security holes. And some cars are more dangerous than others. Not everyone on the road is your friend. Make system backups. At least we have that luxury in the computer world.
Jesus H. Slashdotting. Not even 50 posts up yet.
The band Wilco had to put their own stuff online for a while because the "industry" thought their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot should be changed. Anyone interested in seeing the hell these guys went through to produce the album should watch the movie I am Trying to Break Your Heart. The record company said they wouldn't promote the album if they didn't change the music, so Wilco bought the rights to the album from them and distributed it online, for free. When word got out just how good the album was, the record industry came crawling back and offered to buy it back from them... for several times they price they sold it originally.
I have done some research between the different PVR's out there, and would like to add a word of warning to anyone considering TiVo. The $250 lifetime membership applies only to the unit that you purchase. Which means if you upgrade to the next bigger-and-badder T-Machine when it comes out, you have to drop another $250. Those of us who like to have the newest and greatest gadgets might find our turnover rate makes their lifetime membership makes little fiscal sense.
Well, if the alien civilization is reasonably advanced, they'll realize that not every world out there is as advanced as they are, and might beam "low-tech" alternative messages across the universe for the fledgling races that still haven't figured out how to get off their own planets. We did something like this with Voyager, broadcasting some basic information about us to anyone listening.
Anyway, they might also be using some ultra-fast wormhole/subspace method of communicating (substitute your own sci-fi gadget -- you get the idea), but it's not like we'd know, since we still haven't built any receivers to pick it up.
The side-window mod is so mainstream now that it can only laughingly be referred to as "hot-rodding". Several suppliers now build cases with those nice, EF-emitting windows standard. If you're going to be cutting into your case, you could have at least put a little design into it. Hell, a checkerboard pattern of lucite/metal would have been more interesting.
And on the subject of design: your front page would be a hell of a lot better if you did it in HTML. It's a static page -- nothing's moving around, no music (not that this is a bad thing). You could design a page in HTML with images that looks exactly the same, would be smaller, faster to load, and viewable by those without the Flash plugin. You don't need a forklift when you can just use your hands.
I used to believe this, too. I don't anymore. The fact is, people are more violent and disconnected with their fellow man than they were 30 years ago. There's more random anger being lashed out at innocents today than in my parent's time, and less personal responsibility for one's actions. Now, I'm not saying this is the fault of video games. Read about bad CEO's ruining the lives of thousands of people and getting millions of dollars as punishment, watch bad-ass mo-fo's on TV waste anyone who gets in their way, dance to music that expounds the benefits of bitches 'n hoes -- well, all of this together certainly might jade Joe Average.
Back in our parents day, In Cold Blood shocked the nation. Hell, Jack the Ripper killed, what, six women? And he's famous. And yet in the past 10 years we've seen ever-increasing, almost exponential craziness. High school shootings are old-school. Strap a bomb to yourself and kill a few thousand people if you want to make the 8:00 news. Grab a gun and start sniping people if you want to get your message across. I am afraid to even think of what new and terrible things we people are going to do to each other in the next 10 years.
Holy crap, first post. My first ever! I lost my cherry! Eh... you don't care.
The reason why MiniDisc is better than the iPod or other portable MP3 units is very simple. How much is a Flash memory card? A 128 meg card (or stick) will run you about $60 if you're very good at looking. Now, how much is a blank minidisc? Less than $2.00. If you don't ever plan on lending out your music, an MP3 player is fine and dandy.
Oh, but I almost forgot: an MP3 player is just that... a player . Not a recorder. So what happens when you want a digital copy of a concert? Or want to record a lecture? Or want to copy a friend's new CD? You're shit out of luck. With an MP3 player, you're constantly tethered to a computer if you want to expand your music collection. Minidisc doesn't have this problem.
People who think Minidiscs are poor substitutes for CD's miss the point entirely -- they are excellent substitutes for TAPES. Keep your CD player. But for portable tunes, with an option for recording, I always carry MiniDisc.
This would be even more wonderful if instead of, or along with their proprietary Memory Stick they had offered another form of memory expansion slot. Why does Sony seem so with it, and yet still hold on to old, starving-on-the-teet technology like a perpetual wetnurse. Did they learn nothing from Betamax?
Absolutely right. And notice the deafening roar of silence from the *nix crowd around here to offer you a solution. 'Nuff not said.
This is correct. As someone who lives in North End of Boston, I have witnessed the development of the Big Dig since they broke ground, and, while it IS vastly over-budget, the work schedule is still on track. The new bridge has been complete for the past year (and is one of the most beautiful ever constructed), and the tunnels underground are complete. They recently had a "Walk the Big Dig" where the public was finally allowed to walk the entire route. If you check out this picture, I think you can see that it's just about complete.
OMB is asked to examine whether Microsoft source code should be provided to the general public; OMB also requests that the days be made longer, that marijuana should be legalized, that there should be world peace, and that the Supreme Court should have made him president instead.
Please file this additional document under "D" for Delusional.
Lemme see if I understand right. Reverse engineer hardware to show its inherit ineffectualness -- that's ok. Reverse engineer software to show its inherit ineffectualness -- that's illegal.
Ok, just making sure.
A compilation of bootlegs was released, naturally a-la bootleg, on a collection called "The Best Bootlegs in the World, Ever." Here's a tracklist.
Radio 1 recently did a special on the whole bootleg scene (also called "mash-ups", "cut-ups" and "remixes"). You can listen to it in MP3 format here.
The best sites I've seen are:
Dsico
Boom Selection
Evolution Control Commitee
Due to a recent New York Times article, and because of these site's recent popularity among other online media sources, you may have to wait a couple of days to get to the MP3's on these sites.
A incompletely informal introduction to good mash-ups:
Hope this helps...
I used to be a big believer in the "more RAM is what you need" mantra, but have recently changed my mind. If you're working with files that are larger than half the amount of RAM you've got, you're going to be swapping to disk for temp space. It's inevitable. I do a lot of graphics work on very large image files (1+ gigs) and no amount of RAM is going to save my 1.7ghz AMD from taking at least 10 minutes to load up the file.
What WILL work is to get a couple of fast HD's and RAID-0 them together. If data redundancy is crutial, you'll have to backup your data often. But the speed difference is ASTOUNDING. After upgrading my single 7200 rpm drive for two 7200's RAIDed together, I can now load these monster files in a little over three minutes. And HD's are cheap nowadays. I purchased a couple of 7200 40 gig Maxtor's for about $75 each, new, and THAT was probably more than I should have paid, but I was simply fed up. I knew the bottleneck wasn't in the processor or RAM. Any moving-part system is going to be orders of magnitude slower than electrons moving around silicon.
I am the full picture, dammit.
:)
Accept no substitutes.
It was my understanding that the Soyo Dragon Plus came with audio on board. And not just lame audio, but full SB Live compatible, optical-in's and out's, midi patch-tables et. al. audio. I have read about the instability with SB Live! cards on VIA chipsets, and wonder if using the built-in sound might fix these problems (and save yourself a slot).
I've been seeing posts here that refer people looking for dynamic content to seek out Generator or Fusion, but actually Flash has a nice set of variable-loading functions that don't require installing a server component on your host system. If you can code in PHP or ASP, where it is fairly simple and fast to create database calls to fill up variables, the Flash movie can receive those variables either by POST or GET. Then using a little ActionScript, you use that information to, say, populate a scrolling textbox, or fill a drop-down menu. Admittedly, it's not as easy as HTML, and the actual development style is more suited to movie producers and film students than HTML/*Script writers, but it is possible.
Personally, I'm looking forward to trying out Flash MX just to see their implementation of scrollbar elements -- populating them, the speed of display, etc. This alone would save hours of development time.