Everyone in the old guard says that digital distribution won't work. They watch CD sales slip away and think it's because of piracy, when it's actually the old business model falling apart. Sue college kids...Yeah, that'll get sales up. People are done buying 13 tracks of crap for the one song they like. The future is a la carte. Guys like Gene Simmons can either sink or swim, though granted I doubt he could sell his music to anyone under 40 anyway.
Saying that you can simply refrain from posting the details of your private life to the Internet misses part of the point here. To communicate with many of my friends, who insist on using social networking sites as their main avenues for staying in touch with friends, I am forced to use a privately-owned network where many of my rights may be waived. If the only way they want to talk to you is through a site full of attention whores, are they REALLY your friends?
I've always said that Steam was the devil. And this is exactly why. You can buy hundreds of dollars with software - If Valve goes out of business, you can pretty much forget ever playing your games again. Or, more likely, Valve gets a bug up their ass for whatever reason and starts revoking games like in this article, or even better, revoking the account itself for some arbitrarily identified violation of the TOS. That's just the client side. Remember "Hot Coffee" in GTA3? How about Valve comes out with something that's deemed offensive one day and gets taken to court over it, and an injunction against the software is won. If released on Steam, it would probably mean that no one could play the game until a patch was rolled out, if ever again. Somehow I doubt they'd offer refunds.
I remember when HL2 came out there were people dumb enough to put in warezed serial keys into the same accounts in which software that was legitimately purchased lived. Valve went through and terminated the accounts of everyone who had done this, no questions asked. Harsh justice for filthy pirates, but it could have just as easily been someone's kid brother screwing around - Valve did not care. "Buy the software again" was Valve's mantra. What are we buying again? Because I could swear it's an admission fee to see Valve wave its scepter over our heads with a flourish and bless us with the privilege of playing its latest precious game - but only for so long as it chooses.
I was rudely introduced to the evils of steam when I purchased Half-Life 2 and was forced to load that Steam crapware on my system. Since then, I've refused to give another dime to Valve. And here I thought Microsoft was evil. Valve took all of Microsoft's wildest licensing fantasies and made them come true.
How about we make cell branding and locking illegal? How about exclusive contracts cell manufacturers and service providers illegal? How about we make disabling features on the cell phone you paid for unless you ransom it back from your service provider illegal? (Verizon Bluetooth OBEX transfer, anyone? Using your phone as a DUN connection for your laptop?)
The reason the North American cell industry sucks so much is because manufacturers and service providers are working too closely together and nerfing our phones for the purpose of shaking more change out of our pockets. Implementing the above would bring us in line with how everyone else in the world does things. The bill in TFA is a joke. Congress is stroking it, as usual.
Oh and you claim to know more than the EEs at your fortune 500 company? God, slashdot is full of you guys and frankly I think you're all full of shit.
No offense to you personally, I just hate seeing people kicking on college degrees like they don't mean anything. He probably DOES know more than the EEs....about being a sysadmin. As he pointed out the EEs couldn't run their UNIX box, but likewise I wouldn't expect the grandparent poster knows how to design a circuit board. We all have our stations - People can't be expected to know everything about everything.
That's why I always make sure there's a ship somewhere in the universe that has an infinite improbability drive before I jump out of an airlock without a space suit.
Flashy lights that trigger the vomit reflex? That's a new one to me. Even if it did work, how close would you have to be to someone to trigger the effect? How can it even be universal? Wouldn't it involve some kind of neural cascade firing effect, like how flashing lights induce an epileptic seizure in some people?
A sonic burst that disrupts the liquid in the inner ear sounds more feasible. Not only would it make you sick, it'd cause you to lose your balance too. And you don't have to be looking at it.
Anyway, it sounds to me like these guys made up some BS to tap into federal grant money. They're probably feeding their guinea pigs castor oil or something like that to make the "test" legit. I can see it now: "Whoops, it won't work after all. Sorry Federal Government. But thanks for the cash"
This technology could be used in applications besides just strict data transfer. 15Gbs should be fast enough to drive a display, as well. The proverbial rats' nest behind your computer could completely disappear with this technology. Keyboards, mice, displays, network - Just about cable plugged into the back of your computer could be replaced with wireless this fast.
But if only it were so simple. Of course now the problem we have is with security. Never mind TEMPEST. If you had a big enough antenna and you could decrypt (it IS encrypted...heavily...right?) the datastream emanating from this technology from a distance - you could see the display, keystrokes, data transfers, everything. Obviously, strong encryption is very important - But the overhead from strong encryption will reduce the theoretical bandwidth because of the extra baggage on the packets, and increase costs significantly because of the very specialized ASICs that will likely be required to encrypt a stream at that speed. And they'd have to be standard across all devices. AND an exploit had better not be discovered in the algorithm. Then there's the issue of the 60GHz band. A frequency that high is very unforgiving of obstructions, even at the short ranges we're talking about. If you have a metal desk, forget it. And what about jamming from computers in close proximity? What about from a "l33t hax0r" with some time on his hands and an inclination to make trouble?
You have a point, but I see it this way: The iPhone is just the latest in line of a bunch of hyped up cell phones that all the teenagers and others with too much disposable income can't wait to get their hands on. Commercials can sell phones to these guys, but what then?
Yes, the Neo1973/OpenMoko appeals to geeks. But who sells technology? Who does Average Joe roll up on when it's time to make a technology purchase? They come to the geek who plays with this stuff all the time. Now, I don't make recommendations strictly out of philosophical leanings, so as much as I like the idea of the Neo1973, it's not a shoe-in for recommendation. But if someone asks me about the Iphone I will tell them "Well if you want to pay $600 up front and a ridiculous monthly fee, you'll be able to browse the Net, play videos and music, email, and..umm..that's about it, then it's for you"
The only thing out of that list my customers want is email. The rest is fluff, and it's certainly not something they're willing to pay that kind of money for. Hardware-wise, the Neo1973 has, or will have, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a touch screen. Software-wise, the sky's the limit...ANYONE can develop apps for this thing and run them natively as opposed to having to rely on a Java layer. Do you really not think some awesome software will come out of this? If OpenMoko can't do something the Iphone does, it can certainly be made to. Privacy is also a factor. The phone is on a completely open platform, so we don't have to worry about what kind of information it's leaking to the carrier.
Now the million dollar questions are, how does OpenMoko run? Is it fast? Free of glitches? Intuitive? Until I get my hands on it I want to avoid getting too excited. Even if OpenMoko is not a success, I sincerely hope this is the beginning way of how cell phones are built - Not so much black box electronic devices, but more like PCs, where the user has control - not the manufacturer.
Sprint is a bit different since they're using CDMA, as does Verizon. Neither has SIM cards, so when you change phones, you have to call them up and activate every time.
On the other hand, GSM networks are keyed to SIM cards. When you activate a phone, you are giving them the SIM number and they are activating that. If they ask you for your phone model and ESN, it's just for their records in case your phone gets ripped off so they can put it on a "stolen" list. Changing your phone is as simple as popping out the SIM and putting it into the new phone. You don't have to call the carrier. AT&T and T-Mobile are the two major GSM networks. The Neo1973 is strictly a GSM phone, so the activation scenario you described wouldn't happen.
I personally favor GSM because when I go to Europe, I can buy a SIM card for 10 euros, pop it in my phone, have instantly have a local number. Verizon makes you rent a "world phone" for some ridiculous amount of money. I don't know what Sprint does for international travelers, but it's probably similar.
IMHO, the only thing CDMA has going for it is the speed of the data network.
No. You are getting the definitions of the world "theory" mixed up like so many other ID pushers. Here's what "theory" means, scientifically: First, scientists come up with a hypothesis. A scientific hypothesis = "theory" in the context you are using that word. When a hypothesis gets tested many times and is not proven wrong, then it becomes a theory. If the theory eventually gets proven incorrect through experimentation and/or observation, then the hypothesis gets changed and testing begins once again. This is the scientific process. ID, on the other hand, can never get past "God did it". That is the answer to everything. No matter what evidence you place before the ID proponent, it will be discarded or bent beyond recognition to fit into their narrow world view. It cannot be tested, proven, or disproven. And these people are trying to push this in SCIENCE class? It simply boggles the mind that this "debate" is even possible in the 20th century, the so-called age of reason. One would think the quest for the truth would unite everyone in the name of its pursuit. I guess for some, putting square pegs through round holes is more important than anything.
Yes, evolution is a theory. But the body of evidence behind it is so strong that the likelihood of it being discounted is almost zero. I say "almost" because a good scientist will never rule something out completely, but will instead think of it as "highly unlikely". It should be noted that the theory of evolution doesn't discount the existence of a higher power. It just says humans weren't created out of nothing 6,000 years ago. But I guess that isn't good enough.
Come on - It's an Apple product. That means looks over function. It means proprietary city. Is anyone really that surprised?
The bottom line cell phones are just expensive paperweights you can make phone calls on without an open platform (or at the very least, a common platform) to run software on. What is the point of spending money on games/apps for your phone with the next one you get probably won't be able to run them?
That is why I am anxiously waiting for the Neo1973 running OpenMoko. The OS runs on a Linux kernel with telephony services running on top of it. Apps run on GTK and so you can run and develop apps natively in your X11 session. The hardware itself works with GSM networks (quad band), and has integrated bluetooth, GPS, Wifi, and a 2.8" touchscreen. Since everything is open source on it, if it doesn't have all the software capabilities the iPhone does, it can be made to have them. And at half the cost. Not to mention it's not married to any cell network, unlike the iPhone.
If the Neo1973 is as awesome in the flesh as it looks on paper, it will revolutionize the cell phone industry.
Let me get this straight, they sent their corporate lawyer to small claims court? And they plan to appeal? Has it occurred to anyone at Gateway that they are probably spending 100x more on this lawyer than if they just gave the guy his money back?
With stellar business decisions like this, it's no wonder Gateway got wiped out by Dell.
and I don't understand quantum entanglement very well. So I was wondering - Is it possible that something like this can enable faster-than-light communications?
Gutted property? You will be sorry. Are you buying in an area with tons of blight and high vacancies? That pretty much automatically puts you in a high crime area, or at the very least high potential for it. Are the houses you are looking at gutted because of the floods? Then don't waste your time "pimping" out your house. God knows what unseen damage there is beyond what is apparent (undermined foundation?) You might save when you initially buy the property, but you will spend untold 10's of thousands renovating the place. Remember, construction materials are insanely expensive right now, especially down there. If you have delays and cost overruns, which is very likely, you will find yourself going upside down (ie owing more than the house is worth) quite quickly. Additionally, if the area remotely bad, you are going to find that construction materials will disappear from your property overnight.
My personal recommendation is this: Spend the extra money and buy a single story house that needs little if any work with an easy-to-work in attic in a good neighborhood . If anything, get something that only needs cosmetic touchups, not major structural work.
Drywall is easy to work with. You can do everything you were talking about in your post with the walls and ceilings in place. Save the boatload of money you'd dump into construction and use it to buy a home automation kit and all the wiring you can shake a stick at for a fraction of that cost. Invest in a long drill bit, a drywall saw, and some metal fishtape to run the Cat5 in the walls. In that single story house w/ lots of working space in the attic, it'll be a lot easier and keep you saner than forking over tons of money and time to renovate a pile that should otherwise be demo'ed.
While I agree that hybrids are a step in the right direction, I don't think they are the final word in alternative motors. What people don't take into account is all those damned batteries. Those batteries will have to be replaced/removed and recycled sooner or later. And if you should be a hybrid owner unfortunate enough to need battery replacement, know that they are not cheap. There go your gas savings. I also think that eventually, states will start charging some kind of eco tax on hybrid cars just like they do on LCDs (at least here in CA) to cover the cost of recycling. Not to mention that hybrid cars are $5 - $10000 more expensive than their combustion versions.
It just seems like hybrids just save you the cost on gas while shafting it to you on the front and back ends.
IMHO, the endgame is a motor that doesn't use LESS fossil fuels, it's one that uses NONE. I'm not talking about ethanol or vegetable oil either. It's not economical to produce either in the type of quantities necessary to supply everyone in the nation. I'm thinking more along the lines of hydrogen. Fuel cells, specifically. No combustion motor, just a nifty device that turns hydrogen into water and power.
The other part of the reason was that OS/2 Warp totally sucked. I was working at a computer shop at the time. I wanted to quit Windows, bad. I installed OS/2 on my computer at home, and on my dad's computer. In a lot of respects, it was even clunkier than Windows. Then my dad gave me a "get this thing of my system or else" ultimatum, so I had to throw Windows back on it. I followed soon after because stuff just didn't work consistently and getting Windows apps to run under it was a pain in the ass.
Well shortly after that a rep from IBM showed up at the shop I worked at and was wondering what it would take for us to push OS/2. I told him "It won't happen. Our customers would bring all of their systems back to us". Well he took exception to this and wanted to schedule an appointment to come back to the shop and install it on one of our rigs to demo how great it was.
So he came a couple of days later and I wiped one of our midrange system for him and let him have at it. I had other duties so I couldn't hover over his shoulder the whole time, but judging from how long it took there looked to be some problems. Anyway he finally got it installed and started demoing the multithreading aspect to me, which I already knew but didn't care about because my beef was with compatibility.
Anyway, the guy ran off after demoing all the "gee, that's cool but it doesn't do ME any good" features because he had another appointment. You'd think if he wanted a convert he'd have spent more time with me, but that's IBM marketing for you. After he left I started wondering "Hey, where's the sound?". So I looked in back of the computer and saw the speakers were unplugged. I thought that was kind of weird, so I plugged them back in and was greeted by the OS/2 startup sound looping rapidly over and over again. Yep, he couldn't get the sound drivers working so he solved the problem by unplugging the speakers. Too bad he had taken off before I discovered that. The thing was a standard Sound Blaster card, too.
Slashdot Mirror
Buy Nintendo stock instead :)
Everyone in the old guard says that digital distribution won't work. They watch CD sales slip away and think it's because of piracy, when it's actually the old business model falling apart. Sue college kids...Yeah, that'll get sales up. People are done buying 13 tracks of crap for the one song they like. The future is a la carte. Guys like Gene Simmons can either sink or swim, though granted I doubt he could sell his music to anyone under 40 anyway.
I've always said that Steam was the devil. And this is exactly why. You can buy hundreds of dollars with software - If Valve goes out of business, you can pretty much forget ever playing your games again. Or, more likely, Valve gets a bug up their ass for whatever reason and starts revoking games like in this article, or even better, revoking the account itself for some arbitrarily identified violation of the TOS. That's just the client side. Remember "Hot Coffee" in GTA3? How about Valve comes out with something that's deemed offensive one day and gets taken to court over it, and an injunction against the software is won. If released on Steam, it would probably mean that no one could play the game until a patch was rolled out, if ever again. Somehow I doubt they'd offer refunds.
I remember when HL2 came out there were people dumb enough to put in warezed serial keys into the same accounts in which software that was legitimately purchased lived. Valve went through and terminated the accounts of everyone who had done this, no questions asked. Harsh justice for filthy pirates, but it could have just as easily been someone's kid brother screwing around - Valve did not care. "Buy the software again" was Valve's mantra. What are we buying again? Because I could swear it's an admission fee to see Valve wave its scepter over our heads with a flourish and bless us with the privilege of playing its latest precious game - but only for so long as it chooses.
I was rudely introduced to the evils of steam when I purchased Half-Life 2 and was forced to load that Steam crapware on my system. Since then, I've refused to give another dime to Valve. And here I thought Microsoft was evil. Valve took all of Microsoft's wildest licensing fantasies and made them come true.
I'm not sure if it's possible to get our government to screw each other and the public more than they are already.
How about we make cell branding and locking illegal?
How about exclusive contracts cell manufacturers and service providers illegal?
How about we make disabling features on the cell phone you paid for unless you ransom it back from your service provider illegal? (Verizon Bluetooth OBEX transfer, anyone? Using your phone as a DUN connection for your laptop?)
The reason the North American cell industry sucks so much is because manufacturers and service providers are working too closely together and nerfing our phones for the purpose of shaking more change out of our pockets. Implementing the above would bring us in line with how everyone else in the world does things. The bill in TFA is a joke. Congress is stroking it, as usual.
No offense to you personally, I just hate seeing people kicking on college degrees like they don't mean anything. He probably DOES know more than the EEs....about being a sysadmin. As he pointed out the EEs couldn't run their UNIX box, but likewise I wouldn't expect the grandparent poster knows how to design a circuit board. We all have our stations - People can't be expected to know everything about everything.
That's why I always make sure there's a ship somewhere in the universe that has an infinite improbability drive before I jump out of an airlock without a space suit.
Flashy lights that trigger the vomit reflex? That's a new one to me. Even if it did work, how close would you have to be to someone to trigger the effect? How can it even be universal? Wouldn't it involve some kind of neural cascade firing effect, like how flashing lights induce an epileptic seizure in some people?
A sonic burst that disrupts the liquid in the inner ear sounds more feasible. Not only would it make you sick, it'd cause you to lose your balance too. And you don't have to be looking at it.
Anyway, it sounds to me like these guys made up some BS to tap into federal grant money. They're probably feeding their guinea pigs castor oil or something like that to make the "test" legit. I can see it now: "Whoops, it won't work after all. Sorry Federal Government. But thanks for the cash"
Soap Box. Ballot Box. Ammo Box.
Use in that order.
It's not mine, but I thought it was amusing enough to repeat.
This technology could be used in applications besides just strict data transfer. 15Gbs should be fast enough to drive a display, as well. The proverbial rats' nest behind your computer could completely disappear with this technology. Keyboards, mice, displays, network - Just about cable plugged into the back of your computer could be replaced with wireless this fast.
But if only it were so simple. Of course now the problem we have is with security. Never mind TEMPEST. If you had a big enough antenna and you could decrypt (it IS encrypted...heavily...right?) the datastream emanating from this technology from a distance - you could see the display, keystrokes, data transfers, everything. Obviously, strong encryption is very important - But the overhead from strong encryption will reduce the theoretical bandwidth because of the extra baggage on the packets, and increase costs significantly because of the very specialized ASICs that will likely be required to encrypt a stream at that speed. And they'd have to be standard across all devices. AND an exploit had better not be discovered in the algorithm. Then there's the issue of the 60GHz band. A frequency that high is very unforgiving of obstructions, even at the short ranges we're talking about. If you have a metal desk, forget it. And what about jamming from computers in close proximity? What about from a "l33t hax0r" with some time on his hands and an inclination to make trouble?
You have a point, but I see it this way: The iPhone is just the latest in line of a bunch of hyped up cell phones that all the teenagers and others with too much disposable income can't wait to get their hands on. Commercials can sell phones to these guys, but what then?
Yes, the Neo1973/OpenMoko appeals to geeks. But who sells technology? Who does Average Joe roll up on when it's time to make a technology purchase? They come to the geek who plays with this stuff all the time. Now, I don't make recommendations strictly out of philosophical leanings, so as much as I like the idea of the Neo1973, it's not a shoe-in for recommendation. But if someone asks me about the Iphone I will tell them "Well if you want to pay $600 up front and a ridiculous monthly fee, you'll be able to browse the Net, play videos and music, email, and..umm..that's about it, then it's for you"
The only thing out of that list my customers want is email. The rest is fluff, and it's certainly not something they're willing to pay that kind of money for. Hardware-wise, the Neo1973 has, or will have, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a touch screen. Software-wise, the sky's the limit...ANYONE can develop apps for this thing and run them natively as opposed to having to rely on a Java layer. Do you really not think some awesome software will come out of this? If OpenMoko can't do something the Iphone does, it can certainly be made to. Privacy is also a factor. The phone is on a completely open platform, so we don't have to worry about what kind of information it's leaking to the carrier.
Now the million dollar questions are, how does OpenMoko run? Is it fast? Free of glitches? Intuitive? Until I get my hands on it I want to avoid getting too excited. Even if OpenMoko is not a success, I sincerely hope this is the beginning way of how cell phones are built - Not so much black box electronic devices, but more like PCs, where the user has control - not the manufacturer.
Sprint is a bit different since they're using CDMA, as does Verizon. Neither has SIM cards, so when you change phones, you have to call them up and activate every time.
On the other hand, GSM networks are keyed to SIM cards. When you activate a phone, you are giving them the SIM number and they are activating that. If they ask you for your phone model and ESN, it's just for their records in case your phone gets ripped off so they can put it on a "stolen" list. Changing your phone is as simple as popping out the SIM and putting it into the new phone. You don't have to call the carrier. AT&T and T-Mobile are the two major GSM networks. The Neo1973 is strictly a GSM phone, so the activation scenario you described wouldn't happen.
I personally favor GSM because when I go to Europe, I can buy a SIM card for 10 euros, pop it in my phone, have instantly have a local number. Verizon makes you rent a "world phone" for some ridiculous amount of money. I don't know what Sprint does for international travelers, but it's probably similar.
IMHO, the only thing CDMA has going for it is the speed of the data network.
No. You are getting the definitions of the world "theory" mixed up like so many other ID pushers. Here's what "theory" means, scientifically: First, scientists come up with a hypothesis. A scientific hypothesis = "theory" in the context you are using that word. When a hypothesis gets tested many times and is not proven wrong, then it becomes a theory. If the theory eventually gets proven incorrect through experimentation and/or observation, then the hypothesis gets changed and testing begins once again. This is the scientific process. ID, on the other hand, can never get past "God did it". That is the answer to everything. No matter what evidence you place before the ID proponent, it will be discarded or bent beyond recognition to fit into their narrow world view. It cannot be tested, proven, or disproven. And these people are trying to push this in SCIENCE class? It simply boggles the mind that this "debate" is even possible in the 20th century, the so-called age of reason. One would think the quest for the truth would unite everyone in the name of its pursuit. I guess for some, putting square pegs through round holes is more important than anything.
Yes, evolution is a theory. But the body of evidence behind it is so strong that the likelihood of it being discounted is almost zero. I say "almost" because a good scientist will never rule something out completely, but will instead think of it as "highly unlikely". It should be noted that the theory of evolution doesn't discount the existence of a higher power. It just says humans weren't created out of nothing 6,000 years ago. But I guess that isn't good enough.
Come on - It's an Apple product. That means looks over function. It means proprietary city. Is anyone really that surprised?
The bottom line cell phones are just expensive paperweights you can make phone calls on without an open platform (or at the very least, a common platform) to run software on. What is the point of spending money on games/apps for your phone with the next one you get probably won't be able to run them?
That is why I am anxiously waiting for the Neo1973 running OpenMoko. The OS runs on a Linux kernel with telephony services running on top of it. Apps run on GTK and so you can run and develop apps natively in your X11 session. The hardware itself works with GSM networks (quad band), and has integrated bluetooth, GPS, Wifi, and a 2.8" touchscreen. Since everything is open source on it, if it doesn't have all the software capabilities the iPhone does, it can be made to have them. And at half the cost. Not to mention it's not married to any cell network, unlike the iPhone.
If the Neo1973 is as awesome in the flesh as it looks on paper, it will revolutionize the cell phone industry.
Let me get this straight, they sent their corporate lawyer to small claims court? And they plan to appeal? Has it occurred to anyone at Gateway that they are probably spending 100x more on this lawyer than if they just gave the guy his money back?
With stellar business decisions like this, it's no wonder Gateway got wiped out by Dell.
and I don't understand quantum entanglement very well. So I was wondering - Is it possible that something like this can enable faster-than-light communications?
Gutted property? You will be sorry. Are you buying in an area with tons of blight and high vacancies? That pretty much automatically puts you in a high crime area, or at the very least high potential for it. Are the houses you are looking at gutted because of the floods? Then don't waste your time "pimping" out your house. God knows what unseen damage there is beyond what is apparent (undermined foundation?) You might save when you initially buy the property, but you will spend untold 10's of thousands renovating the place. Remember, construction materials are insanely expensive right now, especially down there. If you have delays and cost overruns, which is very likely, you will find yourself going upside down (ie owing more than the house is worth) quite quickly. Additionally, if the area remotely bad, you are going to find that construction materials will disappear from your property overnight.
My personal recommendation is this: Spend the extra money and buy a single story house that needs little if any work with an easy-to-work in attic in a good neighborhood . If anything, get something that only needs cosmetic touchups, not major structural work.
Drywall is easy to work with. You can do everything you were talking about in your post with the walls and ceilings in place. Save the boatload of money you'd dump into construction and use it to buy a home automation kit and all the wiring you can shake a stick at for a fraction of that cost. Invest in a long drill bit, a drywall saw, and some metal fishtape to run the Cat5 in the walls. In that single story house w/ lots of working space in the attic, it'll be a lot easier and keep you saner than forking over tons of money and time to renovate a pile that should otherwise be demo'ed.
So how exactly did he wind up getting a $400 fine, community service, and a diversion sentence out of it?
He had a really bad lawyer, or none at all.
Or did you have some plan for providing these defensive patents to "everyone"?
It's already being done.
While I agree that hybrids are a step in the right direction, I don't think they are the final word in alternative motors. What people don't take into account is all those damned batteries. Those batteries will have to be replaced/removed and recycled sooner or later. And if you should be a hybrid owner unfortunate enough to need battery replacement, know that they are not cheap. There go your gas savings. I also think that eventually, states will start charging some kind of eco tax on hybrid cars just like they do on LCDs (at least here in CA) to cover the cost of recycling. Not to mention that hybrid cars are $5 - $10000 more expensive than their combustion versions.
It just seems like hybrids just save you the cost on gas while shafting it to you on the front and back ends.
IMHO, the endgame is a motor that doesn't use LESS fossil fuels, it's one that uses NONE. I'm not talking about ethanol or vegetable oil either. It's not economical to produce either in the type of quantities necessary to supply everyone in the nation. I'm thinking more along the lines of hydrogen. Fuel cells, specifically. No combustion motor, just a nifty device that turns hydrogen into water and power.
Yes, it was Warp, but before that the system was working fine under Windows.
The other part of the reason was that OS/2 Warp totally sucked. I was working at a computer shop at the time. I wanted to quit Windows, bad. I installed OS/2 on my computer at home, and on my dad's computer. In a lot of respects, it was even clunkier than Windows. Then my dad gave me a "get this thing of my system or else" ultimatum, so I had to throw Windows back on it. I followed soon after because stuff just didn't work consistently and getting Windows apps to run under it was a pain in the ass.
Well shortly after that a rep from IBM showed up at the shop I worked at and was wondering what it would take for us to push OS/2. I told him "It won't happen. Our customers would bring all of their systems back to us". Well he took exception to this and wanted to schedule an appointment to come back to the shop and install it on one of our rigs to demo how great it was.
So he came a couple of days later and I wiped one of our midrange system for him and let him have at it. I had other duties so I couldn't hover over his shoulder the whole time, but judging from how long it took there looked to be some problems. Anyway he finally got it installed and started demoing the multithreading aspect to me, which I already knew but didn't care about because my beef was with compatibility.
Anyway, the guy ran off after demoing all the "gee, that's cool but it doesn't do ME any good" features because he had another appointment. You'd think if he wanted a convert he'd have spent more time with me, but that's IBM marketing for you. After he left I started wondering "Hey, where's the sound?". So I looked in back of the computer and saw the speakers were unplugged. I thought that was kind of weird, so I plugged them back in and was greeted by the OS/2 startup sound looping rapidly over and over again. Yep, he couldn't get the sound drivers working so he solved the problem by unplugging the speakers. Too bad he had taken off before I discovered that. The thing was a standard Sound Blaster card, too.