I bought a $99 dollar one that I was going to try to hack, but never got around to. It's sitting on a shelf somewhere in my den.
It was an interesting experiment, but maybe 5 years ahead of it's time. Maybe more.
Anyway, I was going to give it to the grandparent-in-laws, but now that Netpliance's future is in doubt, I may have to go back to the hacking route. Or maybe I'll sell it.
Must you find it necessary to use such tired, old cliches?
Yes. This wouldn't be Slashdot otherwise. Slashdot itself is becoming a tired old cliché. It used to be that Slashdot was a great place to discuss technology. It used to be The Well for the tech crowd. Now, well, it's just a Linux fan site. Pro-Microsoft posts get unfairly mod'ed down, and every post has a Linux slant to it. More importantly, only one of my many techie friends even know what Slashdot IS, anymore.
Maybe the Slashdot folks should think about that for a while.
Indeed, Sony neglecting to add an IR port to the PS2 was a BIG design flaw. Bigger, I think, than the two controller port debacle.
Anyway, I have one of Sony's learning remotes. I'm getting the Saitek (because of the pass-through) and will program my remote to use it. Then, I throw the goddamned ugly Saitek remote in a drawer and never look at it again. Problem solved.
Of course, then there's the obvious problem of Sony not coming out with a first-party remote. Slackers.
I'm got my PS2 to primarily function as a second DVD player, and to consolidate space by getting rid of my PSX. Now my main DVD player can be moved to the bedroom, so the wife can watch movies while I play SSX. Would you beleive that she actually approved of this plan? I'm such a great husband.
"Honey... I want to spend $300 on a game machine so that you can have a DVD player inthe bedroom."
I used to work in the game industry. My boss used to always tell me that Reviews meant nothing, especially web reviews. What was important was shelf space, and marketing.
His point was proven to me when we released our next game to great critical press, great reviews, and strong buyer feedback. Unfortunately, our publisher didn't advertise the game well, and our shelf space was limited. AS a result, we hardly sold any copies of the game.
My point is, you have to market the hell out of the games, not the console. This is where Sega is faltering. They aren't showing enough of their games where it matters.
This is EXACTLY what Sega is going to rectify with their new shift to software. Less focus on the console, and more on the games. The console sale will come afterwards... you have to have SOMETHING to play the game on.
They aren't abandoning the hardware market, just aggressively pushing the software.
The idea sounds good on paper... We need a stong Mascot, Sega is hurting. Let's just buy Sega and "adopt" Sonic. Brilliant.
In execution... well, it'll look like and execution! No consumer in their right mind is going to accept Sonic the Hedgehog as a Microsoft property. Sonic is so closely identified with Sega that even if they painted him green and carved an X on his chest, people would still go, "SEGA!"
It's a pipe dream. Microsoft needs a first party mascot that the world can identify with, and the rather mannish chick they've got right now is certainly no Lara Croft. But you can't buy a mascot loved by the world, either. The market will reject it.
You can't really manufacture a mascot either. With Nintendo, it came by accident. Sega and Sony both lucked into a game with a character folks could identify with. (Although, Sony has now lost Crash...)
Microsoft may buy Sega, but all they will gain is the elimination of a weak competitor.
The Administrators are pissed because this kid EMBARRASSED them in front of the entire shcool, and the Alumni likely present at the game. THAT's why this kids was suspended. NOt just the current class, but classes past and present got to watch this display. (Just what the kid wanted.)
This garbage about not using the right outlet for his dissatifaction is their way of saying, "You shouldn't have dissed us publically. You should have told us in private where we could have placated, then ignored you."
Of course, they are retalliating with a proportional response. Morons couldn't figure out that this was going to cause even MORE bad press. If they had just left the kid alone, it never would have made papers, in all likelyhood. They played right into the kids hands.
So what's my point? My point is that in my experience, school administrators are the establishment that the kid rejected. He didn't reject the crown, he rejected the entire school, so they suspended him for INSULTING them.
I'm stunned that it took this long for something like this to hit the press. Good for Griffiths!
I learned ColdFusion in about two weeks, and I'm now making a ridiculous amount of money coding some pretty significant apps for my company with it.
Say anything you want about what's better, what's worse... but I'm sticking with this mealticket for right now. ColdFusion is great... it's fast, easy, fairly elegant, and pays really well!!!
The reality is less amusing. Many workers feel exploited by their employers
My wife just found out how true this is. After being involved in a car accident on the job, her boss showed little to no concern for her well being, and continued to have her work at the fair she was scheduled for (lifting boxes is bad on a back injury). We're probably going to sue... that's why laws exist, to protect good-hearted people like my wife from blood-sucking wenches like her boss.
My wife didn't want to leave the company "high and dry," as it were. There would be no one to work this fair, and her boss made no effort to have her go home and recourperate. All of this over a fair booth that cost a grand-total of $30.
Look out for yourself, people. You're the only one who will.
Pedilogical Linear Fasteners: A long, thin cord or cable, that when run through pre-installed holes in the footwear in a criss-cross fashion, allows the user to secure the footwear to the appropriate appendages, and also assists in creating a custom fit to the user.
Should not be used on footwear already using the Vertical Elastic Linear Cord Redundancy Object (VELCRO).
Look, I'm not saying that Microsoft isn't trying to position this thing as a STB. It's just not being that overt about it, to the point where even the XBOX team is sure this isn't going to happen.
Microsoft may think it can pull it off, and may very well be trying to make a play for it. But it hasn't forgotten what a collosal failure WebTV is/was. It's contingency plan is in place... XBOX is primarily a game machine, unlike PS2 which can't decide WHAT it is. This way, if they can leverage the box, great. If not, they're still making money in the traditional console way... royalties on software.
If it's any indication, this is exactly Nintendo's strategy too... but they're even forgoing DVD playback for the cheaper and easier to control Mini-DVD.
Look, Microsoft is not aiming this at any market except the Generation X'ers that fondly remember when console games were cool. Yeah, the current Playstation owners.
They are NOT trying to make this a PC in your living room. At least, not yet. They know that won't work. Sony's trying it with PS2, and in Japan, it's getting used to watch movies, not play games. Whoops.
They are trying to take the Nintendo route and say, "Look at all our cool games." Once they're in households, that's when the other features will start to become apparent.
Everyone on the XBOX team will testify to the same thing. Gaming is the only thing on the immediate horizon for XBOX. Linux enthusiasts, like most of the/.ers are the LAST people on Microsoft's radar.
Could have been worse. They could have said "... kick the PC Industry in the jimmy." Boy, is that overused or what?
Then there's always my favorite, "... shove the PC Industry's face in it's sweaty nutsack."
Mmmm... imagery.
I'm still waiting for one of my favorite plotlines ever to become a movie. Knightfall is the plotline where Batman becomes physically and mentally exhausted when there is a jailbreak at Arkham. Turns out the Jailbreak was Orchestrated by BANE to weaken Batman to the point where Bane could kill him.
Batman survives Bane's vicious attack with a broken back (!) and while in rehab, an inexperienced replacement (later to become Azrael) proves unable to handle the mental rigors of being Batman.
This would make for an outstanding movie, and I can't wait until Hollywood "discovers" it. Plus, I want to see someone treat Bane as something other than a lacky.
2) To attack an organization that promotes something that might endanger their meal ticket. They could just as easily file suit against Maxell or TDK, because they make cassette tapes that people can record copyrighted music onto. MP3.com simply suffers from the disadvantage of being a new, and not widely understood, way of doing the same thing.
Wrong. Universal doesn't use cassette tape companies because at the heart of the argument is QUALITY. MP3 allows for extremely high-quality copies of music. A cassette tape has noticable degredation in sound and tape hiss.
Thus, the cassette tape has less inherent value that the CD, protecting the original medium. MP3 is too close to the original in quality for comfort.
This is the same reason why the Movie companies are pissed about DeCSS. The ability to make a bit-for-bit perfect copy of a DVD is too much for pirates to pass up, and way too high in quality for a Movie studio exec to be able to sleep at night about.
Yes, the companies are going to put way in to avoid having you make ANY sort of illicit copy to a tape (because if you don't protect a copyright, you lose it), but even if you do, you get what? A shitty tape copy. They know this, and is why they don't pursue it as much.
And before anyone mentioned about backup copies, and personal use rights being the reason they don't pursue tape companies... I left that out intentionally. I figure us/.'ers are smart enough to factor that in as well.
It's pretty simple. You use IM to get an "instant" response to a short question, while e-mail is better for long letters not needing quite so immediate a response.
I'd rather the kids us IM than the phone. It's quieter.;)
For the LAST time, for those of you who can't seem to grasp the concept...
X-Box is a CONSOLE, and is not a "cheap PC."
The X-Box is not going to be Windows compatible, it's simply going to be easier for experienced PC programmers to develop for, thanks to the Windows lineage.
As a matter of fact, the X-Box team insisted on that. And when they met opposition from higer ups at Microsoft, they stuck to their guns. The rest of Microsoft is effectively separated from the X-Box group entirely.
Jesus, the anti-Microsoft slant in this forum gets really think sometimes... bad enough to the point where it clouds a non-MS issue.
Slashdot Mirror
It was an interesting experiment, but maybe 5 years ahead of it's time. Maybe more.
Anyway, I was going to give it to the grandparent-in-laws, but now that Netpliance's future is in doubt, I may have to go back to the hacking route. Or maybe I'll sell it.
Now THAT would be cool.
Yes. This wouldn't be Slashdot otherwise. Slashdot itself is becoming a tired old cliché. It used to be that Slashdot was a great place to discuss technology. It used to be The Well for the tech crowd. Now, well, it's just a Linux fan site. Pro-Microsoft posts get unfairly mod'ed down, and every post has a Linux slant to it. More importantly, only one of my many techie friends even know what Slashdot IS, anymore.
Maybe the Slashdot folks should think about that for a while.
Now, if they can do it to a Sony, and make a cheap kit for us slackers ... that would be something. :)
This is a Slashdot post criticising the other posts' criticism of the article criticising the criticism of Netscape. Sheesh ... critics ...
This article at Discover.com explains the problem best.
PS: I originally got this link from here, but I forget who posted it. Thanks ... it's coming in handy for an Essay I'm writing.
Anyway, I have one of Sony's learning remotes. I'm getting the Saitek (because of the pass-through) and will program my remote to use it. Then, I throw the goddamned ugly Saitek remote in a drawer and never look at it again. Problem solved.
Of course, then there's the obvious problem of Sony not coming out with a first-party remote. Slackers.
I'm got my PS2 to primarily function as a second DVD player, and to consolidate space by getting rid of my PSX. Now my main DVD player can be moved to the bedroom, so the wife can watch movies while I play SSX. Would you beleive that she actually approved of this plan? I'm such a great husband.
"Honey ... I want to spend $300 on a game machine so that you can have a DVD player inthe bedroom."
"Ok, dear."
Heh ...
His point was proven to me when we released our next game to great critical press, great reviews, and strong buyer feedback. Unfortunately, our publisher didn't advertise the game well, and our shelf space was limited. AS a result, we hardly sold any copies of the game.
My point is, you have to market the hell out of the games, not the console. This is where Sega is faltering. They aren't showing enough of their games where it matters.
This is EXACTLY what Sega is going to rectify with their new shift to software. Less focus on the console, and more on the games. The console sale will come afterwards ... you have to have SOMETHING to play the game on.
They aren't abandoning the hardware market, just aggressively pushing the software.
In execution ... well, it'll look like and execution! No consumer in their right mind is going to accept Sonic the Hedgehog as a Microsoft property. Sonic is so closely identified with Sega that even if they painted him green and carved an X on his chest, people would still go, "SEGA!"
It's a pipe dream. Microsoft needs a first party mascot that the world can identify with, and the rather mannish chick they've got right now is certainly no Lara Croft. But you can't buy a mascot loved by the world, either. The market will reject it.
You can't really manufacture a mascot either. With Nintendo, it came by accident. Sega and Sony both lucked into a game with a character folks could identify with. (Although, Sony has now lost Crash ...)
Microsoft may buy Sega, but all they will gain is the elimination of a weak competitor.
This garbage about not using the right outlet for his dissatifaction is their way of saying, "You shouldn't have dissed us publically. You should have told us in private where we could have placated, then ignored you."
Of course, they are retalliating with a proportional response. Morons couldn't figure out that this was going to cause even MORE bad press. If they had just left the kid alone, it never would have made papers, in all likelyhood. They played right into the kids hands.
So what's my point? My point is that in my experience, school administrators are the establishment that the kid rejected. He didn't reject the crown, he rejected the entire school, so they suspended him for INSULTING them.
I'm stunned that it took this long for something like this to hit the press. Good for Griffiths!
Say anything you want about what's better, what's worse ... but I'm sticking with this mealticket for right now. ColdFusion is great ... it's fast, easy, fairly elegant, and pays really well!!!
My wife just found out how true this is. After being involved in a car accident on the job, her boss showed little to no concern for her well being, and continued to have her work at the fair she was scheduled for (lifting boxes is bad on a back injury). We're probably going to sue ... that's why laws exist, to protect good-hearted people like my wife from blood-sucking wenches like her boss.
My wife didn't want to leave the company "high and dry," as it were. There would be no one to work this fair, and her boss made no effort to have her go home and recourperate. All of this over a fair booth that cost a grand-total of $30.
Look out for yourself, people. You're the only one who will.
Should not be used on footwear already using the Vertical Elastic Linear Cord Redundancy Object (VELCRO).
Look, I'm not saying that Microsoft isn't trying to position this thing as a STB. It's just not being that overt about it, to the point where even the XBOX team is sure this isn't going to happen.
Microsoft may think it can pull it off, and may very well be trying to make a play for it. But it hasn't forgotten what a collosal failure WebTV is/was. It's contingency plan is in place ... XBOX is primarily a game machine, unlike PS2 which can't decide WHAT it is. This way, if they can leverage the box, great. If not, they're still making money in the traditional console way ... royalties on software.
If it's any indication, this is exactly Nintendo's strategy too ... but they're even forgoing DVD playback for the cheaper and easier to control Mini-DVD.
They are NOT trying to make this a PC in your living room. At least, not yet. They know that won't work. Sony's trying it with PS2, and in Japan, it's getting used to watch movies, not play games. Whoops.
They are trying to take the Nintendo route and say, "Look at all our cool games." Once they're in households, that's when the other features will start to become apparent.
Everyone on the XBOX team will testify to the same thing. Gaming is the only thing on the immediate horizon for XBOX. Linux enthusiasts, like most of the /.ers are the LAST people on Microsoft's radar.
You know, maybe if you ever set foot outside of the US you'd understand that Sony is huge EVERYWHERE else, especially Japan (of course).
Could have been worse. They could have said "... kick the PC Industry in the jimmy." Boy, is that overused or what? Then there's always my favorite, "... shove the PC Industry's face in it's sweaty nutsack." Mmmm ... imagery.
Batman survives Bane's vicious attack with a broken back (!) and while in rehab, an inexperienced replacement (later to become Azrael) proves unable to handle the mental rigors of being Batman.
This would make for an outstanding movie, and I can't wait until Hollywood "discovers" it. Plus, I want to see someone treat Bane as something other than a lacky.
I have no legal plan in place. I plan to shut it down if asked. Period. It's just a hobby.
Wrong. Universal doesn't use cassette tape companies because at the heart of the argument is QUALITY. MP3 allows for extremely high-quality copies of music. A cassette tape has noticable degredation in sound and tape hiss.
Thus, the cassette tape has less inherent value that the CD, protecting the original medium. MP3 is too close to the original in quality for comfort.
This is the same reason why the Movie companies are pissed about DeCSS. The ability to make a bit-for-bit perfect copy of a DVD is too much for pirates to pass up, and way too high in quality for a Movie studio exec to be able to sleep at night about.
Yes, the companies are going to put way in to avoid having you make ANY sort of illicit copy to a tape (because if you don't protect a copyright, you lose it), but even if you do, you get what? A shitty tape copy. They know this, and is why they don't pursue it as much.
And before anyone mentioned about backup copies, and personal use rights being the reason they don't pursue tape companies ... I left that out intentionally. I figure us /.'ers are smart enough to factor that in as well.
It's pretty simple. You use IM to get an "instant" response to a short question, while e-mail is better for long letters not needing quite so immediate a response.
I'd rather the kids us IM than the phone. It's quieter. ;)
That's idiotic. What moron would deny a kid a "mature" game, then turn around and sell the kid a rifle? Get real.
Yeah, I caught that just AFTER I posted it. It's been a long day ... cut me a little friggin' slack. Or I'll sick my robots on you.
"Dave ... if you don't open the bomb-bay door, I'll do it my damn self ..."
X-Box is a CONSOLE, and is not a "cheap PC."
The X-Box is not going to be Windows compatible, it's simply going to be easier for experienced PC programmers to develop for, thanks to the Windows lineage.
As a matter of fact, the X-Box team insisted on that. And when they met opposition from higer ups at Microsoft, they stuck to their guns. The rest of Microsoft is effectively separated from the X-Box group entirely.
Jesus, the anti-Microsoft slant in this forum gets really think sometimes ... bad enough to the point where it clouds a non-MS issue.