I would argue that OS 9.1 is not worth $99 anymore. It may have a MSRP of $99 but that doesn't make it a "retail value of $99". It's probably selling in the clearance bin for $35. Also, I don't think you can buy OSX for $30 as an upgrade from 9.1, right?
In other words, they are selling the beta for $129 because they had promised OSX was coming out in March come hell or high water. Then when March came around they weren't ready, but they couldn't push the date back any more because it would be another failure on top of their other problems and the stock would have gone back down to to $14 again.
I don't think anyone is saying that the problem is that people won't pay for it. The task of indexing the web is just too big for humans, too complex for computers, and impossible anyway because the web changes too fast and the content is increasingly stored in dynamic databases, not in (relatively) static text files. The problem is only going to get worse as the rest of the world comes online.
Does your ISP have any policy that would prevent you from sharing one connection to the whole neighborhood? Those of us who live in the boonies don't have broadband available yet, and when it comes it will be spendy. I wonder if you can just hook up a wireless network with the neighbors on the block and share the cost of one connection?
Along these same lines.. Which is the bigger threat to major media such as record companies/film studios/book publishers: A) the threat to legal copyright-based monopolies posed by p2p sharing? or B) the threat to the oligopoly power of the major companies caused by the lowered market entry costs (i.e., anyone can be a movie producer/record producer/radio station/whatever, out of their home for a couple hundred bucks)?...
To be fair, you should include a category for Price, and you should compare WinME, too. I don't think I've gone a day without a crash yet. Win2k not in the budget. I am a Linux newbie who is ready to start exploring Linux, but cannot afford the time right now to do a Linux install. The LINE app sounds like it will be a good way to experiment with open source without having to commit the hours it would take to do a full OS install.
Prairieinet only works within 6 miles of the transmitter and only if there is clear line of sight. I believe that you also need a directional antenna on the receiving end(I think their website says the receiving antenna is 2 feet wide or so) Not yet practical for bicycle use and not yet covering the whole state, but perhaps in the near future?
P.S. I doubt that you can roam from one cell to another.
Just to clarify-- RAGBRAI is not a race, it just a 7 day ride across the state of Iowa. (True racers can get across the country in I think 8 days) The reason a webcam might be interesting to watch is because much of the time is not spent actually riding. There are street parties, dances, and other entertainments in every town. With current technology it wouldn't be really riveting to view occasional uploaded photos, but soon it may be possible to show full motion video with sound. That might be very interesting, especially for people who cannot ride anymore, are housebound, or might be thinking of riding sometime in the future. People come from all over the US and even a few from abroad to ride RAGBRAI, believe it or not.
There are people who might not think that riding a bicycle 500 miles is worth watching, but there sure are a lot of people who think that watching a car go in circles the same distance is...
For more info on this year's RAGBRAI, see http://www.ragbrai.org
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I would argue that OS 9.1 is not worth $99 anymore. It may have a MSRP of $99 but that doesn't make it a "retail value of $99". It's probably selling in the clearance bin for $35. Also, I don't think you can buy OSX for $30 as an upgrade from 9.1, right?
In other words, they are selling the beta for $129 because they had promised OSX was coming out in March come hell or high water. Then when March came around they weren't ready, but they couldn't push the date back any more because it would be another failure on top of their other problems and the stock would have gone back down to to $14 again.
I don't think anyone is saying that the problem is that people won't pay for it. The task of indexing the web is just too big for humans, too complex for computers, and impossible anyway because the web changes too fast and the content is increasingly stored in dynamic databases, not in (relatively) static text files. The problem is only going to get worse as the rest of the world comes online.
Does your ISP have any policy that would prevent you from sharing one connection to the whole neighborhood? Those of us who live in the boonies don't have broadband available yet, and when it comes it will be spendy. I wonder if you can just hook up a wireless network with the neighbors on the block and share the cost of one connection?
Along these same lines.. Which is the bigger threat to major media such as record companies/film studios/book publishers: A) the threat to legal copyright-based monopolies posed by p2p sharing? or B) the threat to the oligopoly power of the major companies caused by the lowered market entry costs (i.e., anyone can be a movie producer/record producer/radio station/whatever, out of their home for a couple hundred bucks)?...
To be fair, you should include a category for Price, and you should compare WinME, too. I don't think I've gone a day without a crash yet. Win2k not in the budget. I am a Linux newbie who is ready to start exploring Linux, but cannot afford the time right now to do a Linux install. The LINE app sounds like it will be a good way to experiment with open source without having to commit the hours it would take to do a full OS install.
Prairieinet only works within 6 miles of the transmitter and only if there is clear line of sight. I believe that you also need a directional antenna on the receiving end(I think their website says the receiving antenna is 2 feet wide or so) Not yet practical for bicycle use and not yet covering the whole state, but perhaps in the near future? P.S. I doubt that you can roam from one cell to another.
Yes, the digital computer was invented in Iowa. See: http://www.cs.iastate.edu/jva/jva-archive.shtml
Just to clarify-- RAGBRAI is not a race, it just a 7 day ride across the state of Iowa. (True racers can get across the country in I think 8 days) The reason a webcam might be interesting to watch is because much of the time is not spent actually riding. There are street parties, dances, and other entertainments in every town. With current technology it wouldn't be really riveting to view occasional uploaded photos, but soon it may be possible to show full motion video with sound. That might be very interesting, especially for people who cannot ride anymore, are housebound, or might be thinking of riding sometime in the future. People come from all over the US and even a few from abroad to ride RAGBRAI, believe it or not. There are people who might not think that riding a bicycle 500 miles is worth watching, but there sure are a lot of people who think that watching a car go in circles the same distance is... For more info on this year's RAGBRAI, see http://www.ragbrai.org