Jimmy Page had all his tapes for Outrider stolen... As a fan I'd say that could've been a stroke of good luck... or myself returning from the future hoping to doom that p.o.s. record.
When I started out on a call center help desk 10 years ago, we used to kid the desk side support guys that we could thier job blindfolded, and we did. No RDP, or VNC and rarely PC Anywhere.
Anybody who could quickly resolve problems over the phone was moved up to remote network support, and much better pay. It might take 18 months to get out but it was well worth it.
10 years later I am a well paid consultant. I support those who support. The cycle continues:-)
I am also super nice to anyone answering the phone in any call center. I've seen it from their end of the line.
Indeed....
our talented clients deserve better than the shoddy, careless and downright dishonest way they have been treated in the digital age. They deserve the shoddy and downright dishonest way they have been treated since the beginning of recorded music. 8-11 % of profits, cooked books so there are no profits and managers who take 10-15% of net, for services of little or no real value. After all it's "who you know".
Something very similar happened to me when repairing someone's pc. I as running a defrag in XP and some of file names rolling by, at the bottom of the management console, caught my eye. I stopped the defrag and noticed items in an unemptied recycle bin, so I opened it. There were plenty more files with very suggestive names. Not wanting to ruin my dreams, I didn't open anything. I shut off the box and told my manager, who called the cops. Here's what I found out from the officer that arrived.
1) If you have suspicion, report it. 2) Do not open/copy/delete/empty anything. 3) Shut down the box and wait for the law to arrive.
Once the officer arrived he took my statement and called in for a warrant to search the PC. Within 20 min.s he got a call back confirming a warrant had been issued to search the pc. The officer attached a write blocker to the drive and checked out some of the files in question. Suspicions were confirmed and the officer took the pc in custody as evidence, and had other officers sent to pick up the suspect.
All of this transpired in a matter of hours.
So if you have suspicions, just report it to your boss, and leave the box alone.
First... I have the good sense not to upgrade my OS until i KNOW all my apps are well supported. I accept the risks if they aren't. I'm a big boy and I've seen my fair share of BSODs, Beachballs and Kernal Panics.
One detail obviously forgotten in the Vista / Leopard comparison: How many Leopard users are being downgraded back to Tiger? Answer:None
In my shop, where we sell new Macs and PCs, the ability to downgrade to XP is a requirement for a good deal of the hardware we order because it is so common for customers to DEMAND a downgrade to XP, for various reasons. They will pay for the OS twice - in addition to the fees we charge for installing XP on a new Vista based PC. I think that money speaks volumes about Vista.
BTW... I upgraded my 12" PB G4 to Leopard (clean install) and have had only one problem. Sometimes apps are slow to quit. other than that, smooth sailing.
SunnComm execs spotted buying 1 million copies of "Velvet Revolver" CD.
The record companies report sales by the amount shipped to distributors and will also send thousands and thousands of "spam" and promo copies and count those as sales.
E-mail should be paid for by the sender! Just like real mail. A new protcol needs to be designed (or maybe has been ???) to address (pun intended) this problem.
Right now the reciever covers all the costs of filtering, blocking, and dealing with the god awful Relay and Domain Blacklists (if you've ever been on one, good luck getting off...)
As soon as the sender has to pay you'll see spam practically drop off the map except for "legitimate" product offers and announcements.
1)Linux will never be easy to use until someone "makes" the programmers make it easy to use. 2)No one will will ever make the programmers do anything until there is a seriuos financial opportunity. 3)There will never be a serious fianancial opportunity, because the programmers refuse to make Linux distros easy to use. (Example: have your mom do a " file> save as" in Windows. Not perfect but simple enough. Not have her do it in yer fave Linux distro.) yeah... right, like she'll ever figure that one out. To this day, even simple things make no sense in Linux. This is because the people working on the applications are only interested in technical bragging rights. Its a sad combination of Big Ego and Low self-esteem of its applications programmers that will relegate Linux to the server room for years to come.
(Unless Redhat starts hiring Apple people and ditches Gnome and KDE both !!!!)
My Dad , a "Joe Longneck" indeed, really Likes Windows XP. Go figure. He digs the Media Player, the new GUI and the stability (he upgraded last year to a Dell P4 1.4 from a Whitebox P2 266 running Win 98)
His only complaint is that the GUI should have defaulted to the old look so he knew where everything was. Didnt take long for him to figure out ho to change it all back.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, the only media companies to succeed in the coming years are the ones who either: a)Have a government sanctioned monopoly. b)Accept that media is worthless and move on.
People will copy,steal,and distribute your media no matter how hard you try to lock it up. Get over it and offer products, not control mechanisms. TV is free, but people pay for Cable/Satellite. Radio is free but people pay for XM. Mp3s are free but people will still pay for CDs if they are fairly priced ($20 aint fair for 10 year old technology). In addition, people would pay for an online music service but the record companies have fucked music publishing to the point that no-one will play ball for fear of betting screwed , again.
Anybody remember all the fuss over mpeg-4 licencing and the fact the the licencing model provided per stream fees. Everyone bitched, Apple held up QT6. Now MPEG-LA is bitching because they were undercut. Though shit, I dread most things Microsoft but if they'll go cheaper (not free) then compete dammit !!! Lower the mpeg4 costs or release some of the codec as open-source, BSD style. You cant sue MS until they play nice. They will never play nice, deal with it.
Born and raised in privelage then appointed to work for Nixon as an economic advisor. Soon thereafter we had the worst economy since the depression. A lawyer who hates lawyers (except the corporate ones). This is the man who will destroy our nation and destroy any hopes of innovation. "End the common right to sue, then we'll have innovation" "End the teachers unions and privatize the schools"
In essence... "Give control of the coutry back to the rich becasue they know whats best"
Sorry Ben no sale. Even with the accasional liberal attitude your allegiance is clear. "I pledge allegience to money !!!!"
I have compared many laptops recently. Price is no object. The laptop must be a light as possible, have the longest battery life , at least a 15 inch screen, and a DVD/CDRW (combo) drive.
I have looked at Dells , Sony's, and Apples. Only the Apple offered 4 hour plus battery life. The Dells and Sonys couldn't come close, even with Intel "SpeedSquash" technology.
After adding Virtual PC w/ Win2000 the Apple was only $400 dollars more than the closest competition (Sony Vaio w/ 2 hrs battery life !!!) Add to that Apples excellent customer service reputation and you've got yer winner.
"And saying "then they're not artists" is a cop-out."
I didnt say... you said for me. Kinda fun having an argument all alone, eh?
But if you look back at the history of Video Dics (the older big ones),the DAT, the Betamax, and metal cassettes you'll see I'm right.
People have been given the choice of a high quality format over older technology and they passed. Even for the same money.
People care about convienience not quality. And people are not going to move to newer, better digital technology when thay barely understand the benefits of digtal in the first place. All folks know is... its Digital, its better. Not now theres higher sampling rates with increased dithering complexity and surround (try selling that at Best Buy)
Thanks for the flames folks... I am not an audiophile. I do have alot of tubed equipment (mostly preamps and guitar amps) but I also run ProTools as my "studio".
My point was... people dont care about audio quality... they care about convienience.
People aren't going to buy into another format change just yet. Especially since it'll involve buying a whole new system to get the "benefits". 16bit/44.1 audio CDs are here to stay, for at least another 10 years. I mean jeez, most people actually think mp3's and CDs burned from them sound good enough!!!
The only hope the labels have is to release exclusive content on SACD and artists arent gonna stand for that...
One thing I have noticed is that alot of people still equate AOL with the internet. I am constantly amazed by the number of "moms and pops" who think that AOL *IS* the internet.
Slowly that perception is changing, and with it AOLs brand recognition and value goes down the toilet.
Ardour (http://ardour.sourceforge.net/) is as close as the OSS world has to Pro Tools. Sadly its still in alpha(?) and must be built from CVS. Check out Planet CCRMA ( http://www-ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/) if you'd like to check out a great audio distro modification for Linux.
As far as Pro Tools cost. An MBox (Mac only 4 now) is around $450 street, and a used Digi001 (PC and Mac) can be had for under $700 dollars. If you wanna do 24 bit digital audio with all the tools, that's pretty cheap for a complete HW/SW package.
I have have an AudioMedia 3 ($250 used) and a Digi001. Digidesign will sell you the software, plus upgrade rights for $50 on these used systems and transfer ownership rights for any original owner. Pretty cool. And these cards will be supported under OSX and are already supported un der WinXP.
While proprietary HW/SW combinations may not warm my heart with OSS love , I 've clocked several hundred hours in the last 2 months running a Digi001 under WinME!!!! on a P3-700 , without a single problem. My sessions generally run 20-24 tracks with many plugins and edits. Until Linux can offer the same features and stability I'm sticking with (and paying for) what works.
Slashdot Mirror
When I started out on a call center help desk 10 years ago, we used to kid the desk side support guys that we could thier job blindfolded, and we did. No RDP, or VNC and rarely PC Anywhere.
:-)
Anybody who could quickly resolve problems over the phone was moved up to remote network support, and much better pay. It might take 18 months to get out but it was well worth it.
10 years later I am a well paid consultant. I support those who support. The cycle continues
I am also super nice to anyone answering the phone in any call center. I've seen it from their end of the line.
FU2.
Something very similar happened to me when repairing someone's pc.
I as running a defrag in XP and some of file names rolling by, at the bottom of the management console, caught my eye. I stopped the defrag and noticed items in an unemptied recycle bin, so I opened it. There were plenty more files with very suggestive names. Not wanting to ruin my dreams, I didn't open anything. I shut off the box and told my manager, who called the cops. Here's what I found out from the officer that arrived.
1) If you have suspicion, report it.
2) Do not open/copy/delete/empty anything.
3) Shut down the box and wait for the law to arrive.
Once the officer arrived he took my statement and called in for a warrant to search the PC. Within 20 min.s he got a call back confirming a warrant had been issued to search the pc. The officer attached a write blocker to the drive and checked out some of the files in question. Suspicions were confirmed and the officer took the pc in custody as evidence, and had other officers sent to pick up the suspect.
All of this transpired in a matter of hours.
So if you have suspicions, just report it to your boss, and leave the box alone.
First ... I have the good sense not to upgrade my OS until i KNOW all my apps are well supported. I accept the risks if they aren't. I'm a big boy and I've seen my fair share of BSODs, Beachballs and Kernal Panics.
... I upgraded my 12" PB G4 to Leopard (clean install) and have had only one problem. Sometimes apps are slow to quit. other than that, smooth sailing.
One detail obviously forgotten in the Vista / Leopard comparison:
How many Leopard users are being downgraded back to Tiger?
Answer:None
In my shop, where we sell new Macs and PCs, the ability to downgrade to XP is a requirement for a good deal of the hardware we order because it is so common for customers to DEMAND a downgrade to XP, for various reasons. They will pay for the OS twice - in addition to the fees we charge for installing XP on a new Vista based PC. I think that money speaks volumes about Vista.
BTW
SunnComm execs spotted buying 1 million copies of "Velvet Revolver" CD.
The record companies report sales by the amount shipped to distributors and will also send thousands and thousands of "spam" and promo copies and count those as sales.
Here it somes folks ... the herecy.
...)
E-mail should be paid for by the sender! Just like real mail. A new protcol needs to be designed (or maybe has been ???) to address (pun intended) this problem.
Right now the reciever covers all the costs of filtering, blocking, and dealing with the god awful Relay and Domain Blacklists (if you've ever been on one, good luck getting off
As soon as the sender has to pay you'll see spam practically drop off the map except for "legitimate" product offers and announcements.
the 'slide
1000 watts of power would break these speakers down to thier base chemical components :-)
In reality theres probably 25 watt amps for the satellites and 50 watts for the sub. This is pretty typical in PC speaker setups, even loud ones.
1)Linux will never be easy to use until someone "makes" the programmers make it easy to use. ... right, like she'll ever figure that one out.
2)No one will will ever make the programmers do anything until there is a seriuos financial opportunity.
3)There will never be a serious fianancial opportunity, because the programmers refuse to make Linux distros easy to use. (Example: have your mom do a " file> save as" in Windows. Not perfect but simple enough. Not have her do it in yer fave Linux distro.)
yeah
To this day, even simple things make no sense in Linux.
This is because the people working on the applications are only interested in technical bragging rights.
Its a sad combination of Big Ego and Low self-esteem of its applications programmers that will relegate Linux to the server room for years to come.
(Unless Redhat starts hiring Apple people and ditches Gnome and KDE both !!!!)
Funny article ...
My Dad , a "Joe Longneck" indeed, really Likes Windows XP. Go figure. He digs the Media Player, the new GUI and the stability (he upgraded last year to a Dell P4 1.4 from a Whitebox P2 266 running Win 98)
His only complaint is that the GUI should have defaulted to the old look so he knew where everything was. Didnt take long for him to figure out ho to change it all back.
Go Dad !
All your media are belong to us ...
,steal ,and distribute your media no matter how hard you try to lock it up.
:-)
I've said this before and I'll say it again, the only media companies to succeed in the coming years are the ones who either:
a)Have a government sanctioned monopoly.
b)Accept that media is worthless and move on.
People will copy
Get over it and offer products, not control mechanisms.
TV is free, but people pay for Cable/Satellite.
Radio is free but people pay for XM.
Mp3s are free but people will still pay for CDs if they are fairly priced ($20 aint fair for 10 year old technology).
In addition, people would pay for an online music service but the record companies have fucked music publishing to the point that no-one will play ball for fear of betting screwed , again.
the 'slide
Anybody remember all the fuss over mpeg-4 licencing and the fact the the licencing model provided per stream fees. Everyone bitched, Apple held up QT6.
Now MPEG-LA is bitching because they were undercut. Though shit, I dread most things Microsoft but if they'll go cheaper (not free) then compete dammit !!! Lower the mpeg4 costs or release some of the codec as open-source, BSD style.
You cant sue MS until they play nice. They will never play nice, deal with it.
*
Poor Ben Stein.
... "Give control of the coutry back to the rich becasue they know whats best"
Born and raised in privelage then appointed to work for Nixon as an economic advisor. Soon thereafter we had the worst economy since the depression. A lawyer who hates lawyers (except the corporate ones). This is the man who will destroy our nation and destroy any hopes of innovation. "End the common right to sue, then we'll have innovation" "End the teachers unions and privatize the schools"
In essence
Sorry Ben no sale. Even with the accasional liberal attitude your allegiance is clear.
"I pledge allegience to money !!!!"
The site www.quantum.com is running Microsoft-IIS/5.0 on Windows 2000. FAQ
So much for his Linux support or "right tool for the right job approach".
Can you say lip service ???
I have compared many laptops recently. Price is no object. The laptop must be a light as possible, have the longest battery life , at least a 15 inch screen, and a DVD/CDRW (combo) drive.
:-)
I have looked at Dells , Sony's, and Apples. Only the Apple offered 4 hour plus battery life. The Dells and Sonys couldn't come close, even with Intel "SpeedSquash" technology.
After adding Virtual PC w/ Win2000 the Apple was only $400 dollars more than the closest competition (Sony Vaio w/ 2 hrs battery life !!!)
Add to that Apples excellent customer service reputation and you've got yer winner.
And it'll run ProTools !!!!!
the 'slide
Brak slashdotted... :-)
"And saying "then they're not artists" is a cop-out."
... you said for me.
... its Digital, its better. Not now theres higher sampling rates with increased dithering complexity and surround (try selling that at Best Buy)
I didnt say
Kinda fun having an argument all alone, eh?
But if you look back at the history of Video Dics (the older big ones),the DAT, the Betamax, and metal cassettes you'll see I'm right.
People have been given the choice of a high quality format over older technology and they passed. Even for the same money.
People care about convienience not quality. And people are not going to move to newer, better digital technology when thay barely understand the benefits of digtal in the first place. All folks know is
the 'slide
Thanks for the flames folks ... I am not an audiophile. I do have alot of tubed equipment (mostly preamps and guitar amps) but I also run ProTools as my "studio".
... people dont care about audio quality ... they care about convienience.
My point was
the 'slide
People aren't going to buy into another format change just yet. Especially since it'll involve buying a whole new system to get the "benefits". 16bit/44.1 audio CDs are here to stay, for at least another 10 years. I mean jeez, most people actually think mp3's and CDs burned from them sound good enough!!!
...
The only hope the labels have is to release exclusive content on SACD and artists arent gonna stand for that
the 'slide
One thing I have noticed is that alot of people still equate AOL with the internet. I am constantly amazed by the number of "moms and pops" who think that AOL *IS* the internet.
Slowly that perception is changing, and with it AOLs brand recognition and value goes down the toilet.
the 'slide
Didnt know that ... really. ;-)
Predictions are indeed difficult.
But I predict that my hunger for more memory and CPU power will never diminish
the 'slide
"Corporate rock still sucks. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Critics -- notably Intel -- argue that most desktop users have no need for 64-bit processing"
:-)
Critics -- notably Microsoft -- have argued that most desktop users have no need for more than 640kb of memory.
the 'slide
"Corporate rock still sucks. What are you gonna do about it?"
Ardour (http://ardour.sourceforge.net/) is as close as the OSS world has to Pro Tools. Sadly its still in alpha(?) and must be built from CVS. Check out Planet CCRMA ( http://www-ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software /) if you'd like to check out a great audio distro modification for Linux.
As far as Pro Tools cost. An MBox (Mac only 4 now) is around $450 street, and a used Digi001 (PC and Mac) can be had for under $700 dollars. If you wanna do 24 bit digital audio with all the tools, that's pretty cheap for a complete HW/SW package.
I have have an AudioMedia 3 ($250 used) and a Digi001. Digidesign will sell you the software, plus upgrade rights for $50 on these used systems and transfer ownership rights for any original owner. Pretty cool. And these cards will be supported under OSX and are already supported un der WinXP.
While proprietary HW/SW combinations may not warm my heart with OSS love , I 've clocked several hundred hours in the last 2 months running a Digi001 under WinME!!!! on a P3-700 , without a single problem. My sessions generally run 20-24 tracks with many plugins and edits. Until Linux can offer the same features and stability I'm sticking with (and paying for) what works.
the 'slide
"Apple is setting themselves up as the computer to own if you want to work with multimedia" ...
Permit me to correct.
Apple HAS set themselves up as the computer to own if you want to work with multimedia.
(it's been that way since '84, not some new strategy.)
Here are some ...
...
:-)
Tour, record, release, repeat
And remember not to suck.
These days the interthingy has made worldwide distribution possible for everyone who can read and use the snail-mail-system.
Offer free downloads. Try to think of CDs as a premium , like T-shirts and posters. This IS the way of the future.
Hire a good manager then an good lawyer, incorporate. Treat the band members as well as you do the song-writers. Play everywhere. Rock.
the 'slide