You'll find a lot of Terry Gilliam fans here. "Lasers! Day one!";)
What you have are a bunch of folks who take the time to be discerning about not only their operating systems, but just about everything. Whatever kind of music/movies/TV/comics/art/etc they like, they tend to hunt around for obscure gems rather than listen to what's spoon-fed them.
Thus, while I may like John Woo's earlier work, and someone (anyone?) may think Cruise worth watching, I'm not going to get all worked up over whatever Hollywood's party-line blockbuster is this week.
I have to admit I'm looking forward to seeing if Titan AE is any good, though.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
I think they use SecureCRT at one of the offices I support. One server they link to uses ssh, the other uses ssh2. It's like $90. Maybe check their website.
I wish I could find a free one with keymapping, TeraTerm's not quite getting the job done at my office, and I can't code worth a damn.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Right. Both our ears and "analog" devices (notice the quotes used in my first post) use waves which can only be considered "continuous" when compared to electronically-digitized audio, in reality they are limited to whatever their smallest part is: therefore it is possible to estimate a "sample rate" and "reproduction rate" for the purpose of analysis.
In this case, "analog" devices reproduce sound at a rate 80-90% of what the human ear can sample, due to the wave reproduction/reception mechanisms (record player and ear) being made up of molecules, which are not infinitely small, and the transmission of data from needle-speaker/ear drum-brain being made up of electrons, smaller but not infinitely so. CD audio is more like 50%, as it is an arbitrary sample rate set by interoperability standards. By doubling the sample/reproduction rate of Digital CD audio, you get a sound which, at best, is as good as the human ear can possibly discern: no loss at the high or low end of human hearing and a "sample rate" slightly superior to vinyl.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
I'm tired of ads. I never buy anything I see advertised or spammed or sponsored or whatever. It's not like a moral objection or anything, I'm just having a hard time getting all excited over stuff I don't really want.
Like these banner ads up top here. Who actually clicks on this stuff? I bought an O'Reilly book once, and I've seen O'Reilly ads up top before, but the two weren't connected. I needed a book and someone recommended theirs.
I'm watching the NY-Boston game, here. Who else remembers when the sign behind the plate was "NO PEPPER"? Who actually buys stuff at Modell's just because they saw the sign behind Varitek?
Are ads really effective, or are they just an elaborate scam played on wealthy corporations by otherwise useless marketing people? What would it be like to go a day without seeing them? Seriously, this isn't a Communist rant or anything (this time), but WTF are these things really doing for us?
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Both the high and low ends are clipped slightly, just like with vinyl, but I was talking about the sample rate. Your ears sample at about the same rate or slightly higher than standard "analog" media reproduces (tape master, vinyl record), which is like 40% more samples per sec than standard digital media reproduces (CD, DAT). The digital media normally has higher highs and lower lows, though, so it's a trade off at the consumer end.
Mp3's have both limitations, I think. They have similar range to analog, but a pretty low sample rate like digital. That rate is variable, so at a low sample setting (same song, smaller file), and if you take non-insulated signal transfer inside the machines (sensitive ears can often pick up mouse clicks on PC speakers) into account, the reproduction can be awful.
What I'm suggesting is that Napster or whoever put in place a sniffer that looks at the mp3 and checks the sample rate. If it's higher than the lowest two settings (mono 32, 44?), then it gets blocked. That way you get the coffee-can sound of dubbed tape for free, but you have to go to the local record store and pay $ for the CD quality sound.
A business model like this would be useful for the record industry (and they know how much we want to help them), that way they could just throw out the low-res crap on the internet for people to kick around and see what catches on. Then they can double the sample rate on CDs to get the most precise sound your ear can hear (any more would be a waste), and charge whatever people will pay.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Copyright and patent are monopolies granted and guaranteed by federal law. A federal court *clearly and certainly* has authority to to strip these monopolies or to declare them void. Courts invalidate patents all of the time.
Courts won't take them away without prior art / security classification. Supreme Court precedents and such. Xerox lost its lawsuit vs M$. Therefore the patents are Microsoft's and the US would have to reimburse them in order to release those patents into the public domain. I'm not making this up. Unfortunately I also can't seem to find the precedent. I read it in PolySci 102, and it's tough to hyperlink backwards in time.
At this rate it'd probably be faster for me to search the/. archives, as this came up back when the case was first being discussed here...
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
They're not really journalists. That's not a shot or anything, it's just they make more of a point to try to get the tech right, which is why most of us are here anyway.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
There's definitely degradation in the sound. By that argument, would it be OK with Lars if people made their mp3s at the lowest sample rate? That low-end mono shit's got to be as bad as cheap cassette.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Not if our linux single-purpose hardware has to interface with their NT servers, they can just extend a protocol to make the standard one noncompliant with their own.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
I got those. Thanks to the big one, Quattro pro will now open, though not if you have Eudora open at the same time. Celeron 466, 128MB RAM. That app just doesn't play nice with others.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Patents are intellectual property, and the government has to pay whoever owns it if they take it away. Even if it's a threat to national security, all they can do is classify it, but they still have to let the company keep it until they're ready to pay potential market value.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be able to take the source, I'm just saying the courts will make them pay for it.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
The patent falls under the laws for eminent domain, so the government would have to pay Microsoft to take thier patent away (they're property, you see). Of course, if the court were to fine Microsoft the value of the patent, then they'd be all even. Except M$ could file for bankruptcy (sounds odd, eh?) against the fine before the US could declare eminent domain...
No. Better to revoke their corporate charter so we can all sue Bill Gates directly every time Outlook-spawned viruses take down our mail servers.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Microsoft are more than just OS, Office, Explorer. They make extended software to configure NT for its different uses (Like Exchange, BackOffice, Etc.). I know all this is general knowledge, but stick with me:
They'll probably have to take other applications/ parts of the company with it. Maybe MSN or some other stuff to support it. That way you get:
1 Windows OS + LAN Stuff 2 Explorer + Web + WAN Stuff 3 Office + Development (VisualWhatever)
Anyone know what the friend-of-the-court brief looks like? Are they more detailed on what splits off with what?
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
But how would you word it? Patent it as yourself, then GPL the patent? Or can you patent something on behalf of a non-profit and then GPL it? Better yet, can you just patent it in the the name of the general public without future developments built on it being patented?
I don't see how this would work without undermining the concept of patenting (not the current patent process, mind you), but the idea that something is developed, exploited for financial gain for a limited period of time, then released into the public domain. If you put it straight into the public domain, anything that extends it is then patentable.
Also, this will be expensive. Patents aren't automatic like copyrights. They're very costly. What company is going to pay to give away what they've developed (whether it should be theirs or not)? What government is going to allow its grants to be used to undermine its own patent process for ideological reasons?
This will be trickier than copylefting code. Bring in the lawyers.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Do yourself a favor and switch to SuSE or Mandrake. SuSE has some sort of deal with Xfree86 so their X looks good. Both they and Mandrake use KDE, which a lot of people hate, but it looks good. With Redhat, even if you get the X stuff set up properly it just never looks quite perfect.
Of course, I'm just spoiled from years of Winduhs, Macs, BeOS, NeXT cubes, etc.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Jon's articles aren't really here for us. They're here for the people who read/. without knowing that/. = Slashdot.
Notice the style of writing he uses. This isn't just his personal aesthetic working its way into his writing, it's meant as a bridge to the USA Today readers, which makes the way of thinking often presented on this board more accessible to a larger audience. It also benefits Katz by being easily quoted or reprinted in mainstream news, so both he and/. get good press that way.
Do I really have a stake in whether Ford gives their employees computers or Franklin Mint Collectible Plates or whatever? No. I like new technology and court cases and Xfree86 v4 and even "Ask Slashdot To Do Your Homework" (I usually learn stuff from the replies), but I do at least give Katz' articles a glance, and I posted once before trying to point out that he shouldn't be reviewing films. This is the kind of article I think most fulfills Jon's purpose here, and I want him to concentrate on writing more like it.
Perhaps in the future you could actually take three seconds to read a post before you open fire over moderation.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Two words: College Radio. When I lived in Worcester, MA, I listened to WCHC, Alt-Rock and Punk all day, rap most nights. Now they package their shows for download, I seem to remember one being metal:
http://carver.holycross.edu/wchc/
Now I live in Boston and listen to WBUR. Pretty much the same, some hardcore of various kinds now and then. They stream their broadcast all day:
The biggest one's in Shrewsbury now, and their selection is phenominal. They're still "Wicked Cheap," too. I live in Coolidge Corner now, so I shop at the Newbury St. one. Last time I went to the one in Harvard Square it was no bigger. I think it's been relocated. I think you can get the same prices off their web page, you know.
To get semi-back-on-topic, I've found you can still get CDs way below the $15-18 range people cite all the time. If you're lazy and do all your shopping at Media Play or whatever, you're going to get screwed, but if you find a little record store where you live, you can usually get deals on stuff. Oh, and they carry better music, too.
Group: The Dismemberment Plan Album: Emergency and I
Just run out and buy it right now. Trust me. Unless you can download track 9, "The City," off Napster or something. Then you can buy the record.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
That was the case until (as mentioned above) Congress changed it. It is now either 70 or 80 years after the death of the author, and the change was made at the prompting of Disney (though you can be damn sure no other corps/families of talented persons bitched about it). The guy who posted a few up from here saying it should be ten years is close, maybe ten years and then another ten where he gets 20% of all revenues from whoever cops his ideas...
Same with patents, though they should be 5 years. then the revenue sharing scaled down over the next 5.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
these are the guys who made very intelligent, strongly political albums in the late '80s-early '90s. You may not have heard them then, but a lot of rap music's respect as an artform came from Public Enemy, who helped demonstrate that it could be used for more than dance music. Sort of like Dylan or Guthrie way back when.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Never heard of Metallica? Since they are one of the most well-known thrash metal bands out there, that someone who likes that style of music would not have heard of them is laughable.
Not everyone listens to thrash metal. I heard Metallica when I was in high school 10 years ago, and I own a copy of Master of Puppets, but I couldn't tell an Anthrax song if I heard it.
What if he's some high school kid who was raised on his parent's taste in music? WHAT IF THEY ONLY LISTEN TO COUNTRY? For christ's sake, have a little compassion.
Oh and to answer the $10 question: a lot of CD's are still $10.88 at the Newbury Comics where I get mine.
-jpowers
You Know You've Been Watching Too Much Ranma 1/2 When...
Slashdot Mirror
What you have are a bunch of folks who take the time to be discerning about not only their operating systems, but just about everything. Whatever kind of music/movies/TV/comics/art/etc they like, they tend to hunt around for obscure gems rather than listen to what's spoon-fed them.
Thus, while I may like John Woo's earlier work, and someone (anyone?) may think Cruise worth watching, I'm not going to get all worked up over whatever Hollywood's party-line blockbuster is this week.
I have to admit I'm looking forward to seeing if Titan AE is any good, though.
-jpowers
I wish I could find a free one with keymapping, TeraTerm's not quite getting the job done at my office, and I can't code worth a damn.
-jpowers
In this case, "analog" devices reproduce sound at a rate 80-90% of what the human ear can sample, due to the wave reproduction/reception mechanisms (record player and ear) being made up of molecules, which are not infinitely small, and the transmission of data from needle-speaker/ear drum-brain being made up of electrons, smaller but not infinitely so. CD audio is more like 50%, as it is an arbitrary sample rate set by interoperability standards. By doubling the sample/reproduction rate of Digital CD audio, you get a sound which, at best, is as good as the human ear can possibly discern: no loss at the high or low end of human hearing and a "sample rate" slightly superior to vinyl.
-jpowers
Like these banner ads up top here. Who actually clicks on this stuff? I bought an O'Reilly book once, and I've seen O'Reilly ads up top before, but the two weren't connected. I needed a book and someone recommended theirs.
I'm watching the NY-Boston game, here. Who else remembers when the sign behind the plate was "NO PEPPER"? Who actually buys stuff at Modell's just because they saw the sign behind Varitek?
Are ads really effective, or are they just an elaborate scam played on wealthy corporations by otherwise useless marketing people? What would it be like to go a day without seeing them? Seriously, this isn't a Communist rant or anything (this time), but WTF are these things really doing for us?
-jpowers
Mp3's have both limitations, I think. They have similar range to analog, but a pretty low sample rate like digital. That rate is variable, so at a low sample setting (same song, smaller file), and if you take non-insulated signal transfer inside the machines (sensitive ears can often pick up mouse clicks on PC speakers) into account, the reproduction can be awful.
What I'm suggesting is that Napster or whoever put in place a sniffer that looks at the mp3 and checks the sample rate. If it's higher than the lowest two settings (mono 32, 44?), then it gets blocked. That way you get the coffee-can sound of dubbed tape for free, but you have to go to the local record store and pay $ for the CD quality sound.
A business model like this would be useful for the record industry (and they know how much we want to help them), that way they could just throw out the low-res crap on the internet for people to kick around and see what catches on. Then they can double the sample rate on CDs to get the most precise sound your ear can hear (any more would be a waste), and charge whatever people will pay.
-jpowers
One word: LOGO
-jpowers
Courts won't take them away without prior art / security classification. Supreme Court precedents and such. Xerox lost its lawsuit vs M$. Therefore the patents are Microsoft's and the US would have to reimburse them in order to release those patents into the public domain. I'm not making this up. Unfortunately I also can't seem to find the precedent. I read it in PolySci 102, and it's tough to hyperlink backwards in time.
At this rate it'd probably be faster for me to search the
-jpowers
-jpowers
-jpowers
-jpowers
-jpowers
-jpowers
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Patents are intellectual property, and the government has to pay whoever owns it if they take it away. Even if it's a threat to national security, all they can do is classify it, but they still have to let the company keep it until they're ready to pay potential market value.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be able to take the source, I'm just saying the courts will make them pay for it.
-jpowers
No. Better to revoke their corporate charter so we can all sue Bill Gates directly every time Outlook-spawned viruses take down our mail servers.
-jpowers
They'll probably have to take other applications/ parts of the company with it. Maybe MSN or some other stuff to support it. That way you get:
1 Windows OS + LAN Stuff
2 Explorer + Web + WAN Stuff
3 Office + Development (VisualWhatever)
Anyone know what the friend-of-the-court brief looks like? Are they more detailed on what splits off with what?
-jpowers
I don't see how this would work without undermining the concept of patenting (not the current patent process, mind you), but the idea that something is developed, exploited for financial gain for a limited period of time, then released into the public domain. If you put it straight into the public domain, anything that extends it is then patentable.
Also, this will be expensive. Patents aren't automatic like copyrights. They're very costly. What company is going to pay to give away what they've developed (whether it should be theirs or not)? What government is going to allow its grants to be used to undermine its own patent process for ideological reasons?
This will be trickier than copylefting code. Bring in the lawyers.
-jpowers
Of course, I'm just spoiled from years of Winduhs, Macs, BeOS, NeXT cubes, etc.
-jpowers
Jon's articles aren't really here for us. They're here for the people who read
Notice the style of writing he uses. This isn't just his personal aesthetic working its way into his writing, it's meant as a bridge to the USA Today readers, which makes the way of thinking often presented on this board more accessible to a larger audience. It also benefits Katz by being easily quoted or reprinted in mainstream news, so both he and
Do I really have a stake in whether Ford gives their employees computers or Franklin Mint Collectible Plates or whatever? No. I like new technology and court cases and Xfree86 v4 and even "Ask Slashdot To Do Your Homework" (I usually learn stuff from the replies), but I do at least give Katz' articles a glance, and I posted once before trying to point out that he shouldn't be reviewing films. This is the kind of article I think most fulfills Jon's purpose here, and I want him to concentrate on writing more like it.
Perhaps in the future you could actually take three seconds to read a post before you open fire over moderation.
-jpowers
-jpowers
http://carver.holycross.edu/wchc/
Now I live in Boston and listen to WBUR. Pretty much the same, some hardcore of various kinds now and then. They stream their broadcast all day:
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/svp/st_org/wzbc/streamin
-jpowers
To get semi-back-on-topic, I've found you can still get CDs way below the $15-18 range people cite all the time. If you're lazy and do all your shopping at Media Play or whatever, you're going to get screwed, but if you find a little record store where you live, you can usually get deals on stuff. Oh, and they carry better music, too.
Group: The Dismemberment Plan
Album: Emergency and I
Just run out and buy it right now. Trust me. Unless you can download track 9, "The City," off Napster or something. Then you can buy the record.
-jpowers
Same with patents, though they should be 5 years. then the revenue sharing scaled down over the next 5.
-jpowers
-jpowers
-jpowers
Not everyone listens to thrash metal. I heard Metallica when I was in high school 10 years ago, and I own a copy of Master of Puppets, but I couldn't tell an Anthrax song if I heard it.
What if he's some high school kid who was raised on his parent's taste in music? WHAT IF THEY ONLY LISTEN TO COUNTRY? For christ's sake, have a little compassion.
Oh and to answer the $10 question: a lot of CD's are still $10.88 at the Newbury Comics where I get mine.
-jpowers