The problem with tech heads (or at least the ones I know) is that they don't like being told what to do. That includes voting.
Geeks like to believe they are better than the unwashed masses. They like to think that forming a large group will not accomplish any more than they can do on their own. So, I wish you luck in forming a geek political action group.
"With the sony player you also get the entire NSync collection - it's crap, but you don't have a choice. "
Don't forget that according to Sony, you cannot take the NSync collection out of the CD player without breaking it. Plus, you are left with figuring out how to put a second CD in there now. The whole while Sony claims doing so may destabilize the player and will prevent you from getting any support should something happen later.
Disclaimer: I have nothing against Sony, I was merely continuing on Sawbones's example.
Not to poke holes, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. After all, it was their customers who were infected with the Code Red virus that caused the problem in the first place. Reducing the price to the very people who caused the problem just sounds odd to me.
"They do a basic study of some Nintendo video game (they don't mention which one) versus continuously adding numbers or reading aloud."
I think it is a big deal that they didn't mention which game(s) were given to the kids. Games like Tetris, Civilization, and Master of Orion require much more higher level thinking than games like Street Fighter, Nascar Racing, and House of the Dead. For all we know, the researches could have picked games that require extremely little thought but require fast reaction times.
It's no different that saying, "We found that kids playing a card game (blackjack) developed fewer higher level skills than kids playing a board game (chess)." Without saying what games the kids got to play, the research must be thought of as biased at best.
I suddenly remember a quote, sorry I do not remember who said it first. "Only the entertainment industry treats their customers like enemies."
I agree that the movie industry is alienating their customers. I remember a while back when the DVD encryption scheme changed slightly. They put in some new code that would, in theory, only affect multi-region players.
My parents did not have a hacked, nor multi-region
player. However, these new DVDs will not play on their player. The manufactur said that there was nothing they could do, the rules of the game were changed on them after the players were made.
Most DVDs still work for my parents, and it is usually Columbia/Tristar ones that do not. Though, my parents severly cut back on the number of DVDs they buy now, and are boycotting Columbis/Tristar entirely.
I have RR (a Time-Warner cable modem for those who are unfamiliar), and it's great. I often hit download speeds in excess of 3mbit/s. Contrary to the common myth about shared bandwidth, I have never seen my connection slow to anywhere near that of a 56k.
My typical upload speed ranges from 500kbit/s to 700kbit/s. Sure that's not 1mbit/s, but I'm not paying $200/mo either. I pay $40/mo. Also, I have a pseudo-static IP address. Technically, it's DHCP, but it hasn't changed in 3 months.
The new one may still go unnoticed. For some reason "NNNN" generated a malformed URL error in the logs. The new one simply generates a file not found error. That means those who checked their error logs without also checking the access ones will now likely miss the new version.
Here's the really odd thing. For some reason the new URL does not generate a "malformed URL" in the error log. Rather, it simply generates a "file not found" error.
I imagine there are tools out there now that scan the logs for "malformed URL" errors that have now been rendered useless. I personally used to ignore file not found errors as typos, so I never scanned for them.
I just ran a quick test of my logs since the 15 of July. I had 127 hits from V1, and 126 hits from V2. What's somewhat scary is that I had 2 hits from V2 in the last 15 minutes alone.
Now that would be fantastic! Encode your ad banner links with ROT13 (or something similiar). Then if a single one is changed due to the smart tags, sue the bastards.
This would have a win-win effect. Either you would show the stupidity of the DMCA and have it revoked, or you would use the DMCA against the advertising industry, thus scoring a win for the common folk everywhere.
Agreed. The simple smell that it *may* have come from your site will entice the shady lawyers enough to bring forth a lawsuit.
The part that should really worry you though is that even though they may have no case, they may still win. All the other lawyer has to do is show to a judge/jury that it looked like you were recommending the product in question and your ass is in a sling.
Links come in may different forms now. Most are underlined, but on some pages, using style sheets, they are not.
Who is to say that the links added by outside sources will always look the same? How is Joe Sixpack supposed to keep up with all the different styles of links? It took the web several years for "normal users" to catch on.
So, how are they supposed to understand everything new presented to them all of a sudden without any retraining time?
OK, maybe i am overreacting. But apathy for free speech issues scares me. Bite me.
As it should. Ironically, recent studies found that freedom of speech is the most cherished right of most Americans. The same studies also found that Americans were often more then happy to try to silence discenting opinions.
Maybe the first amendment should state the freedom of speech applies only to you, and not others who also want to say their mind.
You're right. And that's exactly why the case against my brother (underage drinking) was thrown out by the judge. My brother was smart enough then to know what was going on. He knew he was not read his rights, and he admitted to everything because of it.
Later, the judge ruled he was not read his rights and everything was thrown out.
I hit windowsupdate earlier today (around 1pm EST I think) and it had been defaced. I wish I had taken a screenshot because in disbelief I hit refresh and they had fixed it.
Prima donnas will hang themselves, given enough rope.
The important question is: did they wrap the rope around everyone else's neck before they jumped?
Letting prima donnas roam free will hang them, but how many others go with them? The better idea is to stop the before they get out of control. Have checks to see if documentation is up to date. Have checks to make sure at least a few other team members can understand what the coder did.
If neither of those are being done, that is now the fault of the manager. The prima donna made have been the cause, but the manager is at fault for letting it get out of hand.
I completely agree. I'm currently classified as an intern at the company I work for. That basically means, no benifits, but I also don't ever show up on anyone's radar. My company has had several layoffs in the past few months, but I am still around. In fact, I am both the highest paid intern, and the only intern who servied the layoffs. (as I understand it, more interns were brought in after the layoffs occured).
Am I replacable? Sure. But it'll cost them well over 6 times then I do. They tried once. I'm still there.
I stay there because they offer me something few other companies would at the moment. Complete and total control over my hours. As a student, I have a hard time working the standard 9-5 hours most people work. My company lets me work from home, whatever hours I want to work. It works out great for me because I can earn the money I need for school. And it works out great for them because they get someone who knows what's going on at a low cost.
In short, yes I am replacable. But to do so would cost them over a year's worth of experience and training. On the other hand, sure they are replacable. But to do so would probably cost me my flexiblity of hours. Simply put, there are an extemely few number of people (or companies) who would benifit us more then our current situation does. So, are we (company and I) replacable? Yes. But the cost is so high to both, why do so?
According to the slashdot post, it was $0.59 per client. So it was $1.5M/month per computer it was installed on! Assuming 10 computers, probably a fairly low estimate, that makes it $15M/month. Something about this number sounds very wrong to me.
I hear that. I was a Telocity customer (worst mistake of my life). When I terminated, they tried to charge me a $300 disconnect fee. Took me about 4 months to finally get that cleared off my credit card.
Then, just as I got the disconnect fee taken care of, out comes a $500 modem fee. They never asked for the modem back, no letter, nothing. This was now 4 months after I canceled.
It took some work, but I managed to find the modem and send it back. However, they claimed to have not received it, go figure. Finally, after yet another month, I was able to talk to someone on the phone who had a clue. I told him that they had in fact received it, I told him who signed for it when it arrived. He apologized and refunded me an extra $50 for my troubles.
So for about 5 months of fighting their bs charges, I eventually got $50. I would have rather just not had to fight...
Slashdot Mirror
Heh, I used to live below sea level. Good ol' New Orleans. One good hurricane and it becomes Lake New Orleans. :)
Don't forget WNT is exactly one letter after VMS, just like HAL is one letter before IBM.
The problem with tech heads (or at least the ones I know) is that they don't like being told what to do. That includes voting.
Geeks like to believe they are better than the unwashed masses. They like to think that forming a large group will not accomplish any more than they can do on their own. So, I wish you luck in forming a geek political action group.
Nope, never heard of NAP. Though, NAT did keep us going for a while longer.
"With the sony player you also get the entire NSync collection - it's crap, but you don't have a choice. "
Don't forget that according to Sony, you cannot take the NSync collection out of the CD player without breaking it. Plus, you are left with figuring out how to put a second CD in there now. The whole while Sony claims doing so may destabilize the player and will prevent you from getting any support should something happen later.
Disclaimer: I have nothing against Sony, I was merely continuing on Sawbones's example.
Not to poke holes, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. After all, it was their customers who were infected with the Code Red virus that caused the problem in the first place. Reducing the price to the very people who caused the problem just sounds odd to me.
"They do a basic study of some Nintendo video game (they don't mention which one) versus continuously adding numbers or reading aloud."
I think it is a big deal that they didn't mention which game(s) were given to the kids. Games like Tetris, Civilization, and Master of Orion require much more higher level thinking than games like Street Fighter, Nascar Racing, and House of the Dead. For all we know, the researches could have picked games that require extremely little thought but require fast reaction times.
It's no different that saying, "We found that kids playing a card game (blackjack) developed fewer higher level skills than kids playing a board game (chess)." Without saying what games the kids got to play, the research must be thought of as biased at best.
I suddenly remember a quote, sorry I do not remember who said it first. "Only the entertainment industry treats their customers like enemies."
I agree that the movie industry is alienating their customers. I remember a while back when the DVD encryption scheme changed slightly. They put in some new code that would, in theory, only affect multi-region players.
My parents did not have a hacked, nor multi-region player. However, these new DVDs will not play on their player. The manufactur said that there was nothing they could do, the rules of the game were changed on them after the players were made.
Most DVDs still work for my parents, and it is usually Columbia/Tristar ones that do not. Though, my parents severly cut back on the number of DVDs they buy now, and are boycotting Columbis/Tristar entirely.
I have RR (a Time-Warner cable modem for those who are unfamiliar), and it's great. I often hit download speeds in excess of 3mbit/s. Contrary to the common myth about shared bandwidth, I have never seen my connection slow to anywhere near that of a 56k.
My typical upload speed ranges from 500kbit/s to 700kbit/s. Sure that's not 1mbit/s, but I'm not paying $200/mo either. I pay $40/mo. Also, I have a pseudo-static IP address. Technically, it's DHCP, but it hasn't changed in 3 months.
The new one may still go unnoticed. For some reason "NNNN" generated a malformed URL error in the logs. The new one simply generates a file not found error. That means those who checked their error logs without also checking the access ones will now likely miss the new version.
Here's the really odd thing. For some reason the new URL does not generate a "malformed URL" in the error log. Rather, it simply generates a "file not found" error.
I imagine there are tools out there now that scan the logs for "malformed URL" errors that have now been rendered useless. I personally used to ignore file not found errors as typos, so I never scanned for them.
I just ran a quick test of my logs since the 15 of July. I had 127 hits from V1, and 126 hits from V2. What's somewhat scary is that I had 2 hits from V2 in the last 15 minutes alone.
Heh, MSN suing over this would be great! Just think of the headlines...
"Microsoft Sues Small Company Over Smart Tags They Developed"
Kinda like the pot calling the kettle black, eh?
Now that would be fantastic! Encode your ad banner links with ROT13 (or something similiar). Then if a single one is changed due to the smart tags, sue the bastards.
This would have a win-win effect. Either you would show the stupidity of the DMCA and have it revoked, or you would use the DMCA against the advertising industry, thus scoring a win for the common folk everywhere.
Agreed. The simple smell that it *may* have come from your site will entice the shady lawyers enough to bring forth a lawsuit.
The part that should really worry you though is that even though they may have no case, they may still win. All the other lawyer has to do is show to a judge/jury that it looked like you were recommending the product in question and your ass is in a sling.
Links come in may different forms now. Most are underlined, but on some pages, using style sheets, they are not.
Who is to say that the links added by outside sources will always look the same? How is Joe Sixpack supposed to keep up with all the different styles of links? It took the web several years for "normal users" to catch on.
So, how are they supposed to understand everything new presented to them all of a sudden without any retraining time?
As it should. Ironically, recent studies found that freedom of speech is the most cherished right of most Americans. The same studies also found that Americans were often more then happy to try to silence discenting opinions.
Maybe the first amendment should state the freedom of speech applies only to you, and not others who also want to say their mind.
You're right. And that's exactly why the case against my brother (underage drinking) was thrown out by the judge. My brother was smart enough then to know what was going on. He knew he was not read his rights, and he admitted to everything because of it.
Later, the judge ruled he was not read his rights and everything was thrown out.
I hit windowsupdate earlier today (around 1pm EST I think) and it had been defaced. I wish I had taken a screenshot because in disbelief I hit refresh and they had fixed it.
Prima donnas will hang themselves, given enough rope.
The important question is: did they wrap the rope around everyone else's neck before they jumped?
Letting prima donnas roam free will hang them, but how many others go with them? The better idea is to stop the before they get out of control. Have checks to see if documentation is up to date. Have checks to make sure at least a few other team members can understand what the coder did.
If neither of those are being done, that is now the fault of the manager. The prima donna made have been the cause, but the manager is at fault for letting it get out of hand.
I completely agree. I'm currently classified as an intern at the company I work for. That basically means, no benifits, but I also don't ever show up on anyone's radar. My company has had several layoffs in the past few months, but I am still around. In fact, I am both the highest paid intern, and the only intern who servied the layoffs. (as I understand it, more interns were brought in after the layoffs occured).
Am I replacable? Sure. But it'll cost them well over 6 times then I do. They tried once. I'm still there.
I stay there because they offer me something few other companies would at the moment. Complete and total control over my hours. As a student, I have a hard time working the standard 9-5 hours most people work. My company lets me work from home, whatever hours I want to work. It works out great for me because I can earn the money I need for school. And it works out great for them because they get someone who knows what's going on at a low cost.
In short, yes I am replacable. But to do so would cost them over a year's worth of experience and training. On the other hand, sure they are replacable. But to do so would probably cost me my flexiblity of hours. Simply put, there are an extemely few number of people (or companies) who would benifit us more then our current situation does. So, are we (company and I) replacable? Yes. But the cost is so high to both, why do so?
According to the slashdot post, it was $0.59 per client. So it was $1.5M/month per computer it was installed on! Assuming 10 computers, probably a fairly low estimate, that makes it $15M/month. Something about this number sounds very wrong to me.
I hear that. I was a Telocity customer (worst mistake of my life). When I terminated, they tried to charge me a $300 disconnect fee. Took me about 4 months to finally get that cleared off my credit card.
Then, just as I got the disconnect fee taken care of, out comes a $500 modem fee. They never asked for the modem back, no letter, nothing. This was now 4 months after I canceled.
It took some work, but I managed to find the modem and send it back. However, they claimed to have not received it, go figure. Finally, after yet another month, I was able to talk to someone on the phone who had a clue. I told him that they had in fact received it, I told him who signed for it when it arrived. He apologized and refunded me an extra $50 for my troubles.
So for about 5 months of fighting their bs charges, I eventually got $50. I would have rather just not had to fight...
Really? My IE just gave me a "Page cannot be found" error when I typed only google. Mozilla brought up www.google.com though.
This is the exact type of thing that shows code can also be speach.