I don't think Microsoft wanted either format to gain critical mass - wide and early adoption is a threat to Microsoft's goal of 'services', including pay per view and digital downloads. Microsoft set HD video back by a year, that's all they got and that's all they wanted.
Not sure what you base this off of.....
Microsoft developed the codecs used by *both* HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Microsoft had no significant interest regarding which format took hold --- in either scenario, the players would be running Microsoft software. Microsoft's only interest was for the format war end quickly.
It's not always bad when things get left out. Some things simply don't translate well to film.
Honestly, I was pretty damn glad that the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring left out most of the first 1/3 of the book, given that it contained virtually nothing relevant to the story.
Even omitting Tom Bombadil made sense, even though I was disappointed to see it happen.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Hitchhikers Guide movie was sorely disappointing, as Adams' style of narration simply didn't translate well to the screen. The books and radio broadcasts were brilliant, while the film was decidedly lackluster, despite a talented production team with a big budget.
If we're going for anecdotal evidence, the UK always gave me trouble with my student visa (which oddly enough aroused far more suspicion than it would have, had I simply stated that I was a tourist)
Like it or not, the bill of rights doesn't apply to non-citizens. The government is well within its rights here, and this sort of thing isn't terribly uncommon in the world of customs and immigration.
As far as I can tell from TFA, the new program doesn't include tourists or students... only people intending to reside within the US on a long-term basis.
The only thing you have to worry about as a US Citizen is our image abroad. I'm not thrilled about these measures.... however, sarcastic political hysterics and lies rarely ever help change things.
Hmm. With one or two exceptions, I actually prefer the mac version of MS Office (the most recent version notwithstanding...it's a huge step backwards)
Apparently, the mac version of office is hugely profitable for Microsoft. It'd be foolish of them to discontinue it, especially given that it'd hand a huge segment of the market to a competitor.
You can do the math - teens are stupendously bad drivers compared to much of the rest of the population. Fortunately due to the financial component - it's not hard to collect a lot of information on accidents.
Newsflash: New drivers worse than experienced drivers.
How many books are out there on FPGA development that would be in a university library?
My Physics department stopped adding to its stacks quite some time ago. Half of the library is slated to be converted into grad student offices within the next year. (Insert whine here about department not caring about undergrads)
In any event, a great majority of the books that are there aren't remotely recent (eg. 50+ years old), and are often way above the comfort level of an undergrad.
Although this seems to be generally true of most of the US universities I've visited, I spent a fair bit of time at a UK Uni last year, and found myself using their Physics library on an almost-daily basis. The difference was astonishing.
Don't forget to subtract out labor and administrative costs, as well as the cost of operating the coffee to oil process.
At best, it might break even. (See also: that episode of Seinfeld where they fill up a truck with glass bottles to drive to Michigan to redeem the $0.05 deposits.)
I doubt there'd be special trips to pick up the grinds. Rather, the coffee shop would exchange their old grinds for new ones each time the truck comes.
That said, I doubt many coffee shops go through enough grinds to make this remotely economical.
Yes, but Graphene seems to be little more than a curiosity at the moment, given just how %*$&ing difficult the stuff is to produce.
We know how to produce minuscule quantities of the stuff at tremendous expense, but have absolutely no clue how to make it in bulk, as the current process simply doesn't scale, and nobody's been able to devise a better way to do it.
There's a whole slew of interesting applications for Graphene waiting to be developed if we can figure out how to manufacture the stuff.... and there's no guarantee that mass production of the material will be remotely feasible.
Although it's not coming directly from citizens, Canada and the UK have a 30-minute period each week during which the Prime Minister subjects himself to any and all questions that the legislative body has for him.
Often times, it's fairly worthless, although it does offer a nice weekly summary of what the government's up to, straight from the horse's mouth.
McCain promised to institute such a system if elected. Personally, I'd like to see Obama do the same, and end the stupid feud between the executive and legislative branches that's been going on since the days of George Washington.
A small start-up launched in the UK not too long ago that allows regular folks to "invest" in artists that they like.
It's a pretty interesting alternative to the traditional record-label that lets the artist eat in between tours and releases, and also pays back in the event that the record is successful.
I doubt it'd ever work for mainstream stuff, though the idea is interesting to ponder, nevertheless.
One of my favorite artists is attempting to finance his new album through it. We'll see how that turns out....
I understand that these engines will be used for SpaceX's 'Dragon' vechicle, which is intended to serve as a small crew capsule, an escape pod from the ISS, as well as an up-down cargo vehicle.
Although I understand the need for a small on-orbit engine such as Draco, I don't quite understand the point of the 'Dragon' craft, given that we already have Soyuz, which has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be a safe, reliable vehicle. The ESA are also working on a more modern capsule design that seems to mimic the capabilities of the 'Dragon' to a T.
So, then..... why are they working on this? As I understand it, their launch system is already lucrative enough as it is. Why go reinventing the wheel?
That all said, I'm sure they've got something up their sleeve.... SpaceX seem to be doing NASA's job better than NASA these days.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think Microsoft wanted either format to gain critical mass - wide and early adoption is a threat to Microsoft's goal of 'services', including pay per view and digital downloads. Microsoft set HD video back by a year, that's all they got and that's all they wanted.
Not sure what you base this off of.....
Microsoft developed the codecs used by *both* HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Microsoft had no significant interest regarding which format took hold --- in either scenario, the players would be running Microsoft software. Microsoft's only interest was for the format war end quickly.
We can start looking at passenger rails again when Amtrak starts making a profit.
Just like the interstate system, right?
It's not always bad when things get left out. Some things simply don't translate well to film.
Honestly, I was pretty damn glad that the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring left out most of the first 1/3 of the book, given that it contained virtually nothing relevant to the story.
Even omitting Tom Bombadil made sense, even though I was disappointed to see it happen.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Hitchhikers Guide movie was sorely disappointing, as Adams' style of narration simply didn't translate well to the screen. The books and radio broadcasts were brilliant, while the film was decidedly lackluster, despite a talented production team with a big budget.
If we're going for anecdotal evidence, the UK always gave me trouble with my student visa (which oddly enough aroused far more suspicion than it would have, had I simply stated that I was a tourist)
That you still didn't manage to even get a decent sense of the language of the very country you reside in for almost 18 years now?
I believe that should be "you've resided in"
English is a difficult language. Get over it.
Like it or not, the bill of rights doesn't apply to non-citizens. The government is well within its rights here, and this sort of thing isn't terribly uncommon in the world of customs and immigration.
As far as I can tell from TFA, the new program doesn't include tourists or students... only people intending to reside within the US on a long-term basis.
The only thing you have to worry about as a US Citizen is our image abroad. I'm not thrilled about these measures.... however, sarcastic political hysterics and lies rarely ever help change things.
Hmm. With one or two exceptions, I actually prefer the mac version of MS Office (the most recent version notwithstanding...it's a huge step backwards)
Apparently, the mac version of office is hugely profitable for Microsoft. It'd be foolish of them to discontinue it, especially given that it'd hand a huge segment of the market to a competitor.
How about fixing the flawed portions, rather than repealing the whole thing?
Seems like a bit of a kneejerk reaction to me.
Not necessarily. The proposed shuttle-derived launcher is more reminiscent of the Russian Energia booster than it is of the Shuttle itself.
The real argument is whether or not they should have designed it that way from the start.
You can do the math - teens are stupendously bad drivers compared to much of the rest of the population. Fortunately due to the financial component - it's not hard to collect a lot of information on accidents.
Newsflash: New drivers worse than experienced drivers.
Shameless plug:
William & Mary offers a very similar class as an undergraduate Physics elective that I just completed.
Mirroring the parent poster's comment: "It was very hard" (damn interesting though...)
How many books are out there on FPGA development that would be in a university library?
My Physics department stopped adding to its stacks quite some time ago. Half of the library is slated to be converted into grad student offices within the next year. (Insert whine here about department not caring about undergrads)
In any event, a great majority of the books that are there aren't remotely recent (eg. 50+ years old), and are often way above the comfort level of an undergrad.
Although this seems to be generally true of most of the US universities I've visited, I spent a fair bit of time at a UK Uni last year, and found myself using their Physics library on an almost-daily basis. The difference was astonishing.
Man, that must have been awkward for the first few generations....
Don't forget to subtract out labor and administrative costs, as well as the cost of operating the coffee to oil process.
At best, it might break even. (See also: that episode of Seinfeld where they fill up a truck with glass bottles to drive to Michigan to redeem the $0.05 deposits.)
What sort of university's ethics committee would approve that sort of experiment?
I want names here. If true, that's completely unacceptable, and they should be punished.
We fixed that. By 2010, all US diesel will meet or exceed international standards.
VW can't sell their diesel jettas fast enough in the US.
I doubt there'd be special trips to pick up the grinds. Rather, the coffee shop would exchange their old grinds for new ones each time the truck comes.
That said, I doubt many coffee shops go through enough grinds to make this remotely economical.
Do you know anybody who actually owns a netbook? I don't.
Microsoft also seem to have capitalized on a number of technologies that failed outright (tablet PCs being the most recent example).
Yes, but Graphene seems to be little more than a curiosity at the moment, given just how %*$&ing difficult the stuff is to produce.
We know how to produce minuscule quantities of the stuff at tremendous expense, but have absolutely no clue how to make it in bulk, as the current process simply doesn't scale, and nobody's been able to devise a better way to do it.
There's a whole slew of interesting applications for Graphene waiting to be developed if we can figure out how to manufacture the stuff.... and there's no guarantee that mass production of the material will be remotely feasible.
Although it's not coming directly from citizens, Canada and the UK have a 30-minute period each week during which the Prime Minister subjects himself to any and all questions that the legislative body has for him.
Often times, it's fairly worthless, although it does offer a nice weekly summary of what the government's up to, straight from the horse's mouth.
McCain promised to institute such a system if elected. Personally, I'd like to see Obama do the same, and end the stupid feud between the executive and legislative branches that's been going on since the days of George Washington.
Newsflash: Slashdot readers like slashdot!
(but seriously, it is a good system)
I am sorry, I can not conceive the internet any more without add-block...
I find that subtraction works well.
A small start-up launched in the UK not too long ago that allows regular folks to "invest" in artists that they like.
It's a pretty interesting alternative to the traditional record-label that lets the artist eat in between tours and releases, and also pays back in the event that the record is successful.
I doubt it'd ever work for mainstream stuff, though the idea is interesting to ponder, nevertheless.
One of my favorite artists is attempting to finance his new album through it. We'll see how that turns out....
AT&T and Verizon are legally required to sell you naked DSL.
Most smaller companies will also offer it (if there are any left!). Speakeasy's expensive, but is supposedly one of the best ISPs around.
I understand that these engines will be used for SpaceX's 'Dragon' vechicle, which is intended to serve as a small crew capsule, an escape pod from the ISS, as well as an up-down cargo vehicle.
Although I understand the need for a small on-orbit engine such as Draco, I don't quite understand the point of the 'Dragon' craft, given that we already have Soyuz, which has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be a safe, reliable vehicle. The ESA are also working on a more modern capsule design that seems to mimic the capabilities of the 'Dragon' to a T.
So, then..... why are they working on this? As I understand it, their launch system is already lucrative enough as it is. Why go reinventing the wheel?
That all said, I'm sure they've got something up their sleeve.... SpaceX seem to be doing NASA's job better than NASA these days.