In 1996 I noticed that my father was paying $6.95/mo for a "trimline" phone... you know, the ones that are either free or under $10 today?
He had no idea that you could "just go buy your own phone"... I shudder to think how many hundreds of dollars he paid for that phone over the years... otoh, the stupid thing is still hanging in the kitchen... must be 20 years old...
My grandmother still has one of those 20lb rotary phones hanging on the wall in her kitchen... hardwired too... the rest of her house has those old 4-prong plugs...
I'm thinking of making a short film, "scenes from the family where technology stood still"...
Update 12/21/2002 - After wasting two weeks trying to get replacement metal gears cut for less than $300 each, I gave up and ordered some MONSTERUS motors from botparts.com. Brock Schippers, who runs the show over there, was very helpful in recommending AM Equipment 265-1002 motors: 48 ft-lbs of torque at stall, and 82 free rpm! That's a scary amount of torque.
we're talking about a 4-8 year old kid who is going to puts their head head/face against the barrel because they want to see what's in there...
these are the same kids who get hit in the face with a foam football when you toss it at them... not exactly cat-like reflexes...
Any one else think of that Christmas Story movie where they keep telling the kid "You'll put your eye out with that thing!" referring to the Red Ryder BB gun?
Forget equipping the cannon w/ live fire action... all he needs is for some kid to put his eye up real close to that barrel to look inside; then have the driver accidentally hit forward and jam the barrel into his skull.
I'd also be a bit leery about having those tank treds last very long... wood isn't designed to do that sort of thing... and certainly not after a few seasons of hot/cold-wet/dry...
And how about fire control? Motor's get hot and wood burns... small fire could start inside the tank and the kid might not even know...
Plus my mom never even let me have a power wheels!
Now that would suck... having bullets but no power...
camera's, laser's, bio-metric sensors... potential GPS and short-range RF smart cards... this thing is gonna need a serious power source, or a charging cradle!
there are millions of PCs out there... and according to "everyone" (MS, Intel, Dell, Compaq, etc) you need a new one every 2-4 years just to "keep up"... hell they're recommending a Celeron 1.8 as "ideal for light web browsing"...
the old ones are technically hazardous waste and should not be accepted w/ normal trash... it's ok now while it's slow... but it will increase and they will start banning it in cities/towns...
"I talked about salary with a company last week, and they were paying between $30 and $35 an hour," said Donna Bradley, an IT specialist in Mesa, Ariz., who's been out of work since August 2002. "In August I was making $45 an hour."
Boo-hoo only $30-35 in the desert? I'm in Boston and most strictly IT stuff is $15-25... maybe if she were a manager, but then she should be talking salary not $/hr. I'm a hardware engineer and I only make the equiv. of ~$25/hr... so what?
"I bought my first house in 1999 -- that was a very big deal for me -- and now I have to sell it, only because they won't hire Americans. It's devastating."
They won't hire American's? It sounds more like American's won't take the jobs available!
I know, I know... it said she didn't get the job anyway, so she did at least try to get it...
But this whole article seems to be biased towards the "damn you foreigners" side of things... including the graphs which are formatted and scaled to look steeper then they really were.
I'm surprised this came from CNN, but I guess it was the money section... and whining that there are no high-tech jobs and that the country is doomed seems to be the en vogue thing to do these days.
I know most of you are laughing... but for people who can't/won't download stuff from the net (legally or illegally) this may be a great way to save money on packaging and storage. While vastly increasing available titles...
I think it would work provided they came up with a decent way to keep people from copying the software after it's been burned (at least some titles attempt cd copyright protection now... if everything was on CD-R forget it).
Anyone ever had a porn banner pop up if you mis-spell a common URL?
Now what? My boss see's that I visited hotmonkeylove.com and get's pissed off at me. Plus the page will still pop up if this is used in place of a standard blocking filter.
Also... anyone who needs filters/content-tattler's for/from their spouse desperately needs a new spouse, not a new anti-porn technology.
...from the pay-rates... (my first co-op/internship was $14, then $19, then $25 as my education level increased)
...to flex-time (I may come in at 10am, but I don't leave until 7-8pm)
...to being unhappy about finding out that some of the hourly guys are making more then me because of over-time and actually being paid for the hours they work.
I don't work for MS... I'm not allowed to paint my walls (they're fabric anyway)... and the cafeteria is only open certain short "9-5 worker" hours (and generally serves fare that is only slightly better then a gas station vending machine)
But I do like my job... and I do get some satisfaction (whatever helps me sleep at night) that my company seems to have more 'business morals', and doesn't force consumers (be they major OEMs like Dell or end users like Joe Sixpack) into buying our products with monopoly-like practices.
But if Bill called me up and offered me a job you'd better believe my ass would be on the next plane! =)
When you come right down to it the majority of companies out their use IT as a tool and not there livelihood, these are companies that are interested in storing records and processing different types of internal transactions (not just web based). It's probably being done by custom apps (maybe running on PCs) which are interfacing to a database.
These people don't want to be on the head of the curve for new and/or untested technology. I'll admit that Linux is great, I use it myself...
But when you're an insurance company (for example) processing thousands of transactions per day, you want to use hardware and software that is professionally designed and rigerously tested to perform whatever function you need it to perform...
It's not a great deal to use open source if that means that once a week the whole system comes down because some little glitch trips everything up.
Dell is nothing but a really big white box manufacturer who buys in such volume that manufacturers like Intel, Asus and Foxconn are willing to actually create specific designs for them.
I agree w/ the parent... I'd love to see Dell sell their desktop PCs with a no-OS option.
Let's say that they pay $75 for an XP Home license... they could offer a no-OS version of the PC with a $65 deduction... they're still making $10, but the end user is happy because they aren't paying for something they don't intend to use.
It's a joke that a company like Dell, which makes enterprise level servers, would actually use Sun machines for their internal stuff.
That's like the big MS joke where hotmail.com for the longest time was actually run on apache.
yep... so my Lat. CPx (500Mhz) has been thru (2) motherboards due to a row keys failing...
According to two different techs the cause is corrosion? at the motherboard connector... the solution is to replace the keyboard cable and motherboard, then put non conductive grease on the connector...
Dell's are a 50-50 shot w/ laptops... sometimes they're great, other times they have constant problems.
got fed up with my old 133MHz laptop... started playing an MP3 then violently threw it down a flight of stairs... cracked the LCD but it kept playing...
if you're using integrated audio (AC97 or PCI based) they may have routed the outputs for the codec past the PCI or AGP data lines... there's so much high frequency traffic in those lines that it can't help but get picked up...
The worse offender is typically the mic... because you often have at least 10dB of gain (even if "mic boost" is turned off)... so it ends up picking up system noise.
it's a kin to hearing cross-talk from line2 when you're talking on line1 on the phone... since both wires are run so close together (in this case in the same jacket) they end up picking up some noise from the other.
Video is notorious to audible spikes... a typical PNY PCI video card will cause huge (-40dB) spikes in the 7, 14 and 21kHz range... while traffic from a PCI NIC might only raise the general noise floor to -60~70dB, without causing spikes.
How do I know? I just had to diagnose system noise on a new design for an OEM:)
$500/mo for a T1... I'd need to share it w/ 10 people to get the costs down to current broadband levels... (this is also assuming free equipment)
But during peak use you'd be back to dial-up / ISDN speeds.
This all assumes you can deliver the service to the people... wireless is your best hope... you wanna provide tech support to the family down the street who doesn't have a clue but can write a check?
I've had no major complaints with MediaOne / AT&T Broadband / Comcast... since 1999 they've provided me a "T1" pipe to the net... and that includes one move to a different town; so I don't feel like I got lucky and had good local people or neighbors who don't use the service.
Slashdot Mirror
In 1996 I noticed that my father was paying $6.95/mo for a "trimline" phone... you know, the ones that are either free or under $10 today?
He had no idea that you could "just go buy your own phone"... I shudder to think how many hundreds of dollars he paid for that phone over the years... otoh, the stupid thing is still hanging in the kitchen... must be 20 years old...
My grandmother still has one of those 20lb rotary phones hanging on the wall in her kitchen... hardwired too... the rest of her house has those old 4-prong plugs...
I'm thinking of making a short film, "scenes from the family where technology stood still"...
It's 71.2*F... low humidity... ceiling is about 12'... it's clear, but visibility is only about 2'.
Of course my universe consists of a smallish fabric walled box. But the bandwidth can't be beat =)
the article states that it's 11M UK pounds... which is over $17M US!
Update 12/21/2002 - After wasting two weeks trying to get replacement metal gears cut for less than $300 each, I gave up and ordered some MONSTERUS motors from botparts.com. Brock Schippers, who runs the show over there, was very helpful in recommending AM Equipment 265-1002 motors: 48 ft-lbs of torque at stall, and 82 free rpm! That's a scary amount of torque.
we're talking about a 4-8 year old kid who is going to puts their head head/face against the barrel because they want to see what's in there...
these are the same kids who get hit in the face with a foam football when you toss it at them... not exactly cat-like reflexes...
Any one else think of that Christmas Story movie where they keep telling the kid "You'll put your eye out with that thing!" referring to the Red Ryder BB gun?
Forget equipping the cannon w/ live fire action... all he needs is for some kid to put his eye up real close to that barrel to look inside; then have the driver accidentally hit forward and jam the barrel into his skull.
I'd also be a bit leery about having those tank treds last very long... wood isn't designed to do that sort of thing... and certainly not after a few seasons of hot/cold-wet/dry...
And how about fire control? Motor's get hot and wood burns... small fire could start inside the tank and the kid might not even know...
Plus my mom never even let me have a power wheels!
how long does the battery last?
Now that would suck... having bullets but no power...
camera's, laser's, bio-metric sensors... potential GPS and short-range RF smart cards... this thing is gonna need a serious power source, or a charging cradle!
so the toilet seat is made of titanium?
Start investing in computer recycling firms...
there are millions of PCs out there... and according to "everyone" (MS, Intel, Dell, Compaq, etc) you need a new one every 2-4 years just to "keep up"... hell they're recommending a Celeron 1.8 as "ideal for light web browsing"...
the old ones are technically hazardous waste and should not be accepted w/ normal trash... it's ok now while it's slow... but it will increase and they will start banning it in cities/towns...
...and suddenly the price of Icom PCR1000 radio's on ebay skyrockets...
just like the powerbook 280c after that picture frame article! =)
"I talked about salary with a company last week, and they were paying between $30 and $35 an hour," said Donna Bradley, an IT specialist in Mesa, Ariz., who's been out of work since August 2002. "In August I was making $45 an hour."
Boo-hoo only $30-35 in the desert? I'm in Boston and most strictly IT stuff is $15-25... maybe if she were a manager, but then she should be talking salary not $/hr. I'm a hardware engineer and I only make the equiv. of ~$25/hr... so what?
"I bought my first house in 1999 -- that was a very big deal for me -- and now I have to sell it, only because they won't hire Americans. It's devastating."
They won't hire American's? It sounds more like American's won't take the jobs available!
I know, I know... it said she didn't get the job anyway, so she did at least try to get it...
But this whole article seems to be biased towards the "damn you foreigners" side of things... including the graphs which are formatted and scaled to look steeper then they really were.
I'm surprised this came from CNN, but I guess it was the money section... and whining that there are no high-tech jobs and that the country is doomed seems to be the en vogue thing to do these days.
I know most of you are laughing... but for people who can't/won't download stuff from the net (legally or illegally) this may be a great way to save money on packaging and storage. While vastly increasing available titles...
I think it would work provided they came up with a decent way to keep people from copying the software after it's been burned (at least some titles attempt cd copyright protection now... if everything was on CD-R forget it).
Now back to Kazaa... =)
Anyone ever had a porn banner pop up if you mis-spell a common URL?
Now what? My boss see's that I visited hotmonkeylove.com and get's pissed off at me. Plus the page will still pop up if this is used in place of a standard blocking filter.
Also... anyone who needs filters/content-tattler's for/from their spouse desperately needs a new spouse, not a new anti-porn technology.
This guy is totally on point...
...from the pay-rates... (my first co-op/internship was $14, then $19, then $25 as my education level increased)
...to flex-time (I may come in at 10am, but I don't leave until 7-8pm)
...to being unhappy about finding out that some of the hourly guys are making more then me because of over-time and actually being paid for the hours they work.
Everything is correct:
I don't work for MS... I'm not allowed to paint my walls (they're fabric anyway)... and the cafeteria is only open certain short "9-5 worker" hours (and generally serves fare that is only slightly better then a gas station vending machine)
But I do like my job... and I do get some satisfaction (whatever helps me sleep at night) that my company seems to have more 'business morals', and doesn't force consumers (be they major OEMs like Dell or end users like Joe Sixpack) into buying our products with monopoly-like practices.
But if Bill called me up and offered me a job you'd better believe my ass would be on the next plane! =)
WHY the HELL would ever want THIS????
Now, a living fly with a webserver + camera that is connected to the internet via bluetooth or 802.11 would be cool...
The guy is going to live there, not vacation...
I see a lot of firefighting in the future then...
When you come right down to it the majority of companies out their use IT as a tool and not there livelihood, these are companies that are interested in storing records and processing different types of internal transactions (not just web based). It's probably being done by custom apps (maybe running on PCs) which are interfacing to a database.
These people don't want to be on the head of the curve for new and/or untested technology. I'll admit that Linux is great, I use it myself...
But when you're an insurance company (for example) processing thousands of transactions per day, you want to use hardware and software that is professionally designed and rigerously tested to perform whatever function you need it to perform...
It's not a great deal to use open source if that means that once a week the whole system comes down because some little glitch trips everything up.
Dell is nothing but a really big white box manufacturer who buys in such volume that manufacturers like Intel, Asus and Foxconn are willing to actually create specific designs for them.
I agree w/ the parent... I'd love to see Dell sell their desktop PCs with a no-OS option.
Let's say that they pay $75 for an XP Home license... they could offer a no-OS version of the PC with a $65 deduction... they're still making $10, but the end user is happy because they aren't paying for something they don't intend to use.
It's a joke that a company like Dell, which makes enterprise level servers, would actually use Sun machines for their internal stuff.
That's like the big MS joke where hotmail.com for the longest time was actually run on apache.
and I thought I had a problem with porn addiction...
yep... so my Lat. CPx (500Mhz) has been thru (2) motherboards due to a row keys failing...
According to two different techs the cause is corrosion? at the motherboard connector... the solution is to replace the keyboard cable and motherboard, then put non conductive grease on the connector...
Dell's are a 50-50 shot w/ laptops... sometimes they're great, other times they have constant problems.
got fed up with my old 133MHz laptop... started playing an MP3 then violently threw it down a flight of stairs... cracked the LCD but it kept playing...
I think it "died" when I backed my car over it.
rest in pieces you canon piece of crap.
btw, this doesn't account for the noise you hear when you unhook the speakers...
it's just the crap you hear when you're dragging a window around the screen, or having disk access going...
if you're using integrated audio (AC97 or PCI based) they may have routed the outputs for the codec past the PCI or AGP data lines... there's so much high frequency traffic in those lines that it can't help but get picked up...
:)
The worse offender is typically the mic... because you often have at least 10dB of gain (even if "mic boost" is turned off)... so it ends up picking up system noise.
it's a kin to hearing cross-talk from line2 when you're talking on line1 on the phone... since both wires are run so close together (in this case in the same jacket) they end up picking up some noise from the other.
Video is notorious to audible spikes... a typical PNY PCI video card will cause huge (-40dB) spikes in the 7, 14 and 21kHz range... while traffic from a PCI NIC might only raise the general noise floor to -60~70dB, without causing spikes.
How do I know? I just had to diagnose system noise on a new design for an OEM
sorry if our taxes go toward protecting your country...
-1 Off Topic
-1 Flame Bait
+9 Canadian Hater =)
"IP address" is not obscure computer jargon...
what the hell is flame bait? =)
$500/mo for a T1... I'd need to share it w/ 10 people to get the costs down to current broadband levels... (this is also assuming free equipment)
But during peak use you'd be back to dial-up / ISDN speeds.
This all assumes you can deliver the service to the people... wireless is your best hope... you wanna provide tech support to the family down the street who doesn't have a clue but can write a check?
I've had no major complaints with MediaOne / AT&T Broadband / Comcast... since 1999 they've provided me a "T1" pipe to the net... and that includes one move to a different town; so I don't feel like I got lucky and had good local people or neighbors who don't use the service.