computers for the Masses not the classes
on
The Sub-$100 Laptop?
·
· Score: 3, Informative
I believe it was somebody from Commodore (or Atari) who said that (in subject line) back in the early 80's. At the time the primary display for home computers (since it was the C-64 and Atari's...and Apples) were composite monitors and TV's. It's what everybody had.
You could...and they did build computers that were at the sweet spot of $200 bucks. People forget that Commodore sold MILLIONS of Vic-20's and C-64's
With High def capable TV's being sold (even without an HDTV tuner) and HDMI and DVI connectors on them it seems that you could do this again. Make a $200 (or less) computer with a keyboard and mouse (or maybee track pad) attached or built into it and connect it via HDMI to to a high def capable tv (HDMI also includes sound).
The manufacturer that comes out with a device like this could sell A LOT of these devices!
All this talk about saving money by overclocking it is goofy (not so goofy if you are just a nerd looking to play with it)
I find it interesting that all the comparisons I've read primarily compare the hardware of the mac mini to the hardware at a comparibly priced Pee Cee system.
The fact that one system runs OS X and the other runs Windoze always seems to be a secondary consideration when looking at the price tag and comparing it to a Dell/clone/ect...
The fact that you can buy an OS X system that "feels" just as fast or faster than a comparible Pee Cee system AND has all the advantages of OS X over Windoze (security, ease of use, ect..) is something you should factor in when evaluating the price. How much is it worth to you in $$$? Is saving $200 bucks on a Dell worth the heartache that living in the windoze world entails?
Regaurdless of the quality of the show which is debatable. I think Trek needs to take a rest for a while to build up interest again. Or possibly do mini-series a couple times a year.
Enterprise was OK (not bad...but not really THAT good either).
Maybe I'm being troll like, but everytime somebody "announces" some dramatic breakthrough lately (medical, computing, so on...) We are always at least 10 years from actual stuff I might be able to buy.
It's unfair to tease me and then never come out with the stuff!
That's because LINUX is just a kernel...not an OS. The distributers of software are the ones responsible for security. If you get Sendmail from from sendmail.org....then they are the ones directly responsible to you. If you got your version of sendmail from Redhat...then Redhat is responsible....and sendmail is responsible to Redhat.
It's more likeley that XM would try for a hostile takeover of Sirrus.
An observation
on
Linux, Inc.
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
I read somewhere an interesting theory that companies (and organizations) that don't try to compete directly with Microsoft (plan their buisness around beating Billy) and just concentrate on making a good product end up succeeding. (Imagine that!).
One of Microsoft's tactics over the years is to bait companies into direct competition with them. Usually companies that take the bait lose.
As long as LINUX continues to improve NOT because of MS but because people are interested in making better software, then I think success will continue.
I'd imagine it's as if you were playing some game like raquetball or tennis and some dude is at the fence trying to get you to "compete" when you are perfectly content to play whatever you are playing, and get better.
People buy apple products for different reasons than price.
I read several opinion articles about how the ipod mini did'nt compare to some other offerings if you looked at how much storage it had, how many different formats it supported and so on.
People buy apple products for two primary reasons.
1. Ease of use
2. Style
You want to know why the Ipod, Ipod Mini are successful and probably the Mac Mini as well? Because they are COOL.
Price concious consumers do NOT factor that in when deciding what to purchase.
My MOTHER wants to buy a Mac Mini because of what it looks like on the OUTSIDE. That tells me all I need to know about why Apple is able to succeed.
Sounds like to me he was a high bandwidth seeder. If I were the bad guys and I had to choose which person to go after on bittorrent I'd go after the seeders with the high bandwidth connections that stay on for a long time.
If people REALLY want to download and are paranoid the easiest way is to find an open wireless access point and do their bittorrents that way.
Scan the image and post it somewhere stick it in a usenet post with an anonymous handle.
AND......
You did'nt read my post closely. The letters I say I have not seen are ones regaurding TV shows like Stargate Atlantis...NOT ripped movies. I HAVE actually seen a letter to somebody concerning ripped DVD.
You're correct....they might not be lying, but I've seen NO evidence of actual letters being sent to downloaders of TV yet so as far as I am concerned I have yet to be convinced it's actually happening.
Absence of evidence is evidence of absence.
But just because I can't prove to you flying pink elephants don't exist does not mean they DO infact exist.
These two points of logic apply to UFO's, conspiracy theories and rumors about letters from the MPAA.
It's far easier (and just as effective) for the MPAA, RIAA to spread rumors that people are getting sued than it is to ACTUALLY sue people
Prove it. - Scan the letter and put it on a web site.
I've had 5 people say they know somebody who knows somebody who got a "letter" about downloading a TV show off of a bittorrent link.
Every one of them was lying.
Yes...web site operators that list torrents are getting letters, YES..people who set up the trackers might be getting letters. But unless you are a seeder who sits on a bittorrent for DAYS I highly doubt they are going to go after you. Especially if it's a TV SHOW.
It's FAR easier to go after the tracker sites (at least until Exeem gets done)
Getting DVD movie or software software torrents might be slightly more dangerous, but I know of NOBODY who's can actually produce a letter threatening a lawsuit against a bittorrent downloader of TV.
If you have access to a multicast enabled network on Internet 2, NASA TV is being re-broadcast by the University of Oregon. You can play it with VLC, Quicktime or IP/TV and probably others.
Look at the SAP Announcements for the correct address. If you save the following information below the line to a text file and give it the extention of.sdp you can open it with Quicktime and watch the multicast stream (if you have access to it). Ignore Word wrap on the 4th line (its one single line)
v=0 o=- 61585 3 IN IP4 128.223.83.33 s=NASA TV (MPEG-1) i=NASA television in MPEG-1 format, provided by the University of Oregon. Please contact the UO if you have problems with this feed. e=Hans Kuhn <multicast@lists.uoregon.edu> p=Hans Kuhn <541/346-1758> b=AS:1000 t=0 0 a=cat:2 a=tool:IP/TV Content Manager 3.4.14 a=type:broadcast m=video 54302/1 RTP/AVP 32 31 96 97 c=IN IP4 224.2.231.45/127 a=fmtp:32 type=mpeg1 a=x-iptv-svr:video 128.223.91.191 live a=rtpmap:96 WBIH/90000 a=rtpmap:97 MP4V-ES/90000 a=framerate:30.0 a=quality:8 m=au dio 28848/1 RTP/AVP 14 0 96 3 5 97 98 99 100 101 102 10 11 103 104 105 106 c=IN IP4 224.2.145.37/127 a=x-iptv-svr:audio 128.223.91.191 live a=rtpmap:96 X-WAVE/8000 a=rtpmap:97 L8/8000/2 a=rtpmap:98 L8/8000 a=rtpmap:99 L8/22050/2 a=rtpmap:100 L8/22050 a=rtpmap:101 L8/11025/2 a=rtpmap:102 L8/11025 a=rtpmap:103 L16/22050/2 a=rtpmap:104 L16/22050 a=rtpmap:105 L16/11025/2 a=rtpmap:106 L16/11025
The government through an act in congress mandates that ALL homes have phone and electricity lines pulled to them no matter (just about) where they are.
There is no requirement for either cable or fiber. As long as this situation remains the same, I can pretty much bet that anybody that can't get cable will NEVER get broadband! The little copper wire for phone, big electric wire and satelite is all the options they will ever have.
Unless a national fiber inititive is done through congress where the same requiements for electricity and phone are applied to network fiber cable, a large part of the U.S. will probably be bandwidth starved.
There is of course the hope of some exotic wireless technology..maybe
My brain is floating in a vat of semi-gelatneous good on board a massive spacecraft where aliens "similuate" the real world by sticking metal probes in to my cerebral cortex
Expect to see foot dragging in this area (fiber to the home) until major political pressure come down on congress as a result of the U.S. being at 1 or 2 average Mb/s to the home vs 100mb or even 1Gb in Asia.
The way things work in the U.S. is that nothing gets done (well...REALLY done) until there is panic in congress due to a story in the press declaring some disaster about the U.S. not being able to compete (like the story about the U.S. being behind in supercomputing)...once a story like that occures, then you have congressional hearings, interviews on meet the press and so on...
Now I WOULD NOT want to have to download a movie via STEAM, but if they required online activiation (via phone line or internet connection) of any and all encrypted content could'nt that work?
Has STEAM been hacked yet? I know there are fixes to let you play purchased versions without DVD or CD, but has anybody actually hacked the online authentication yet? If not...it would seem to me that would be a way content providers could protect their stuff
Slashdot Mirror
I believe it was somebody from Commodore (or Atari) who said that (in subject line) back in the early 80's. At the time the primary display for home computers (since it was the C-64 and Atari's...and Apples) were composite monitors and TV's. It's what everybody had.
You could...and they did build computers that were at the sweet spot of $200 bucks. People forget that Commodore sold MILLIONS of Vic-20's and C-64's
With High def capable TV's being sold (even without an HDTV tuner) and HDMI and DVI connectors on them it seems that you could do this again. Make a $200 (or less) computer with a keyboard and mouse (or maybee track pad) attached or built into it and connect it via HDMI to to a high def capable tv (HDMI also includes sound).
The manufacturer that comes out with a device like this could sell A LOT of these devices!
I can always apolgize after the fact...if it get's somebody's attention then it had it's effect.
All this talk about saving money by overclocking it is goofy (not so goofy if you are just a nerd looking to play with it)
I find it interesting that all the comparisons I've read primarily compare the hardware of the mac mini to the hardware at a comparibly priced Pee Cee system.
The fact that one system runs OS X and the other runs Windoze always seems to be a secondary consideration when looking at the price tag and comparing it to a Dell/clone/ect...
The fact that you can buy an OS X system that "feels" just as fast or faster than a comparible Pee Cee system AND has all the advantages of OS X over Windoze (security, ease of use, ect..) is something you should factor in when evaluating the price. How much is it worth to you in $$$? Is saving $200 bucks on a Dell worth the heartache that living in the windoze world entails?
Regaurdless of the quality of the show which is debatable. I think Trek needs to take a rest for a while to build up interest again. Or possibly do mini-series a couple times a year.
Enterprise was OK (not bad...but not really THAT good either).
Sometimes NO amount of money they offer for a job is worth it.
Maybe I'm being troll like, but everytime somebody "announces" some dramatic breakthrough lately (medical, computing, so on...) We are always at least 10 years from actual stuff I might be able to buy.
It's unfair to tease me and then never come out with the stuff!
That's because LINUX is just a kernel...not an OS. The distributers of software are the ones responsible for security. If you get Sendmail from from sendmail.org....then they are the ones directly responsible to you. If you got your version of sendmail from Redhat...then Redhat is responsible....and sendmail is responsible to Redhat.
It's more likeley that XM would try for a hostile takeover of Sirrus.
I read somewhere an interesting theory that companies (and organizations) that don't try to compete directly with Microsoft (plan their buisness around beating Billy) and just concentrate on making a good product end up succeeding. (Imagine that!).
One of Microsoft's tactics over the years is to bait companies into direct competition with them. Usually companies that take the bait lose.
As long as LINUX continues to improve NOT because of MS but because people are interested in making better software, then I think success will continue.
I'd imagine it's as if you were playing some game like raquetball or tennis and some dude is at the fence trying to get you to "compete" when you are perfectly content to play whatever you are playing, and get better.
Don't ask me....I don't get it either. But apple seems to understand what "cool" is
People buy apple products for different reasons than price.
I read several opinion articles about how the ipod mini did'nt compare to some other offerings if you looked at how much storage it had, how many different formats it supported and so on.
People buy apple products for two primary reasons.
1. Ease of use
2. Style
You want to know why the Ipod, Ipod Mini are successful and probably the Mac Mini as well? Because they are COOL.
Price concious consumers do NOT factor that in when deciding what to purchase.
My MOTHER wants to buy a Mac Mini because of what it looks like on the OUTSIDE. That tells me all I need to know about why Apple is able to succeed.
Sounds like to me he was a high bandwidth seeder. If I were the bad guys and I had to choose which person to go after on bittorrent I'd go after the seeders with the high bandwidth connections that stay on for a long time.
If people REALLY want to download and are paranoid the easiest way is to find an open wireless access point and do their bittorrents that way.
You don't need to reveal your identity.....
Scan the image and post it somewhere stick it in a usenet post with an anonymous handle.
AND......
You did'nt read my post closely. The letters I say I have not seen are ones regaurding TV shows like Stargate Atlantis...NOT ripped movies. I HAVE actually seen a letter to somebody concerning ripped DVD.
Who knows....
You're correct....they might not be lying, but I've seen NO evidence of actual letters being sent to downloaders of TV yet so as far as I am concerned I have yet to be convinced it's actually happening.
Absence of evidence is evidence of absence.
But just because I can't prove to you flying pink elephants don't exist does not mean they DO infact exist.
These two points of logic apply to UFO's, conspiracy theories and rumors about letters from the MPAA.
It's far easier (and just as effective) for the MPAA, RIAA to spread rumors that people are getting sued than it is to ACTUALLY sue people
Prove it. - Scan the letter and put it on a web site.
I've had 5 people say they know somebody who knows somebody who got a "letter" about downloading a TV show off of a bittorrent link.
Every one of them was lying.
Yes...web site operators that list torrents are getting letters, YES..people who set up the trackers might be getting letters. But unless you are a seeder who sits on a bittorrent for DAYS I highly doubt they are going to go after you. Especially if it's a TV SHOW.
It's FAR easier to go after the tracker sites (at least until Exeem gets done)
Getting DVD movie or software software torrents might be slightly more dangerous, but I know of NOBODY who's can actually produce a letter threatening a lawsuit against a bittorrent downloader of TV.
If you have access to a multicast enabled network on Internet 2, NASA TV is being re-broadcast by the University of Oregon. You can play it with VLC, Quicktime or IP/TV and probably others.
.sdp you can open it with Quicktime and watch the multicast stream (if you have access to it). Ignore Word wrap on the 4th line (its one single line)
u dio 28848/1 RTP/AVP 14 0 96 3 5 97 98 99 100 101 102 10 11 103 104 105 106
Look at the SAP Announcements for the correct address. If you save the following information below the line to a text file and give it the extention of
v=0
o=- 61585 3 IN IP4 128.223.83.33
s=NASA TV (MPEG-1)
i=NASA television in MPEG-1 format, provided by the University of Oregon. Please contact the UO if you have problems with this feed.
e=Hans Kuhn <multicast@lists.uoregon.edu>
p=Hans Kuhn <541/346-1758>
b=AS:1000
t=0 0
a=cat:2
a=tool:IP/TV Content Manager 3.4.14
a=type:broadcast
m=video 54302/1 RTP/AVP 32 31 96 97
c=IN IP4 224.2.231.45/127
a=fmtp:32 type=mpeg1
a=x-iptv-svr:video 128.223.91.191 live
a=rtpmap:96 WBIH/90000
a=rtpmap:97 MP4V-ES/90000
a=framerate:30.0
a=quality:8
m=a
c=IN IP4 224.2.145.37/127
a=x-iptv-svr:audio 128.223.91.191 live
a=rtpmap:96 X-WAVE/8000
a=rtpmap:97 L8/8000/2
a=rtpmap:98 L8/8000
a=rtpmap:99 L8/22050/2
a=rtpmap:100 L8/22050
a=rtpmap:101 L8/11025/2
a=rtpmap:102 L8/11025
a=rtpmap:103 L16/22050/2
a=rtpmap:104 L16/22050
a=rtpmap:105 L16/11025/2
a=rtpmap:106 L16/11025
A sequal would be MUCH better than a remake. If the original guy who did Tron 1 is not involved I would imagine we'll see a cheap rip off.
yea...you can buy the stuff. But it would of been nice of them to include it for the minimal cost it would of been.
Hmm....did'nt realize they were THAT cheap! Thanks.
Of course it still would of been nice if Apple had just built that into the system. I'm sure it would of only added $10 bucks to the overall price.
No 5.1 surround........
e r-main-1.html
You'll have to pick up a USB surround sound device.
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/SonicaTheat
That will set you back another $120
If apple would of just included 5.1 surround in the mac mini it would make a GREAT family room PC for multimedia.
It still can be done with USB audio, but sheesh, how hard would that of been? Almost every PC comes with at least 5.1 capability.
It's not the technology....
It's politics.
The government through an act in congress mandates that ALL homes have phone and electricity lines pulled to them no matter (just about) where they are.
There is no requirement for either cable or fiber. As long as this situation remains the same, I can pretty much bet that anybody that can't get cable will NEVER get broadband! The little copper wire for phone, big electric wire and satelite is all the options they will ever have.
Unless a national fiber inititive is done through congress where the same requiements for electricity and phone are applied to network fiber cable, a large part of the U.S. will probably be bandwidth starved.
There is of course the hope of some exotic wireless technology..maybe
My brain is floating in a vat of semi-gelatneous good on board a massive spacecraft where aliens "similuate" the real world by sticking metal probes in to my cerebral cortex
Expect to see foot dragging in this area (fiber to the home) until major political pressure come down on congress as a result of the U.S. being at 1 or 2 average Mb/s to the home vs 100mb or even 1Gb in Asia.
The way things work in the U.S. is that nothing gets done (well...REALLY done) until there is panic in congress due to a story in the press declaring some disaster about the U.S. not being able to compete (like the story about the U.S. being behind in supercomputing)...once a story like that occures, then you have congressional hearings, interviews on meet the press and so on...
Now I WOULD NOT want to have to download a movie via STEAM, but if they required online activiation (via phone line or internet connection) of any and all encrypted content could'nt that work?
Has STEAM been hacked yet? I know there are fixes to let you play purchased versions without DVD or CD, but has anybody actually hacked the online authentication yet? If not...it would seem to me that would be a way content providers could protect their stuff