Meaning, in this case, they obey the/. robots.txt file It seems quite comprehensive, and (as a result) searching Slashdot is very difficult.
(Some time ago I posted a comment ranting about the/. search sucking, that they denied Google via the robots.txt file, and some hopeful solutions... but I can't seem to find it. How's that for irony?)
"Until you can hear the difference on cheap gear, your argument doesn't apply to 99% of the music-listening market."
You are absolutely correct. Not everyone can afford -- or even cares -- about high end gear. I have no argument there.
However...
There is a market for perceived quality. These are the people who buy "microcircuit cellphone boosters" (or whatever they're called today), "cellphone radiation shields," and are swayed by late-night infomercials. THIS is your market.
So, allow all MP3s of, say, 96 (64?) Kbit or less to be freely traded; in fact, flood the P2P networks with 'em! People will more readily redistribute them because they aren't a trick (like the repeating loops), and then (instead of spending all the money on lawyers), you advertise how much better the CDs sound.
Alternatively, without the willingness to embrace free distribution, it would behoove the music cartels to emphasize the quality point; perhaps from the angle of "make sure you get the best sound -- rip your own MP3s!" Make people not trust one another (they set a damn good (bad?)example), and make people want to have a 'trusted chain' -- know the source (CD), know the encoder, and then believe your MP3s sound (warmer | sweeter | more... whatever) than bootleg ones.
It's the Microsoft approach -- Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. It preys on basic and well established human nature... it has worked before, why not bend it to a new use?
"..."Free" is eventually replaced by a higher-quality paid service..."
Yup, they're called CDs.
It's possible to purchase MP3s these days, at prices comparable to the per-track cost of a CD. But why? Most people can't discern the difference, but with bloody expensive equipment it is noticable.
Take my recent experience:
My home theater receiver died recently, and I just got around to shopping for a new one -- the contenders started out with a Sony ES unit, a couple Denon THX-Ultra certified models, and a Pioneer Elite THX receiver.
Then I made a mistake.
I listened to a mid-level, non-THX McIntosh. (The MHT-100, if you must know. "A/V Receiver" on the drop-down menu.)
Oh. My. God.
I heard things on a CD I didn't know were there -- and yes, the only part of the equation that changed was the receiver. Same speakers, same source, same volume level and EQ (none), same room.
It's a $5000 (US), 92-pound behemoth that looks like it was designed by the same guy who designed the McIntosh 1700 back in the 60s. It's twice the size of anything else, looks ugly... and sounds incredible. I could buy 5 Sonys at that price, yet I'm still having a really hard time justifying the Sony after hearing it.
It was a very profound reminder of why I shouldn't put money straight into MP3s without getting the source material on CD... you're not getting the whole sound. (Heck, even with CDs you aren't... but it's better than MP3.) It's even making me think about SACD (Super Audio CD) and DVD-Audio... and I don't have perfect hearing.
In my perfect world, the recording industry encourages trading of mid-quality MP3s because they realize it's free advertising, and people will go out and buy CDs knowing they get a higher-quality product and better sound.
But it's not a perfect world, things don't work that way, and we're busy making the lawyers rich.
"...the fact that PGP 7 does not properly integrate with the (sic) Outlook 2002 (Office XP)..."
Interesting choice of words ("properly integrate")... are you taking that to mean "works the way I fantasized it would" or "works the way it was designed to"? There's a difference. This "moron", as you are so quick to label me, managed to get PGP 7.0.3 working with Outlook XP without a hitch. That doesn't lend much weight to your assertion that it doesn't work. Denying the facts won't make them go away.
"...in the case where I selected PGP and had it installed company wide, to find that it did not properly integrate with Outlook 2002..."
Am I supposed to assume you're some sort of IT wizard and not question your anecdotal assertions because of that statement? That's not going to happen. Further, you just admitted you're the moron. You deployed it, and then found problems. That's why people use test labs -- even for small businesses, test first, then deploy.
Since you were so insistent about it, I searched Google. In the first few pages of hits, I found several articles about PGP 8, some news about (now patched) possible security holes, and what appear to be several warez sites. Odd that I didn't find the numerous tales of woe that you did...
Now, about that Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt bit... Masonbrown wrote:
"...as a corporate user with a Win2k machine using Outlook, is there any significant reason to upgrade to 8.0 from whatever I'm using now..."
And you replied:
"The fact that PGP doesn't work in general in Office XP should be a pretty big bonus (actually I think it even had problems with Office 2000).
"
Your statement offers no supporting facts.
"...doesn't work in general..." is laughable in light of the ease with which I managed to install and use it.
If you read his post again, you'll notice he's successfully using a PGP version that is not 8.0.
Reading it, a user will be uncertain and doubt whether or not their current version of PGP will work -- perhaps spending money on an unnecessary upgrade.
Further, you're spreading the fear of "problems" with Office 2000. "Gee... I've been using it, God knows what has been going wrong behind my back..."
Congratulations, you've spread FUD.
I have demonstrated a working system. You claim it won't work, and call me a moron. You can't dispute the facts, so you attack the messenger. (That's step 2 in the FUD manual.) I suggest you RTFM, install the patches, and try again. (And no, I won't go away.)
I regret to inform you that you have no idea what you are talking about. I am using PGP Freeware version 7.0.3 to communicate with family members. My parents use Office XP (with Outlook XP as their mail client) on Windows 2000, my in-laws use both Office 97 (Outlook 98) and Office 2000 (Outlook 2000) on Windows 98, and I use Office 2000 (yup, Outlook 2000 again) on Windows 2000. There have been no problems -- zero, zilch, none. Encrypting an email is a one-button affair; PGP adds a simple set of three buttons to the taskbar, one of which is "Encrypt Before Sending." Reading a message is as simple as opening it -- you get a dialog for your passphrase, and that's it.
To borrow a phrase, "It just works."
I will occasionally get a phone call to provide tech support for WordPerfect Office, but I have never had a complaint -- or even a question -- about PGP.
I am very curious about exactly what you were thinking when you started the FUD machine.
I have purchased PGP before. Now that NAI is out of the picture, I will do so again -- this ought to make a nice stocking-stuffer, burned onto 3-inch CDs.
Boy, that "from the lawn-dart dept." crack is painfully accurate. I just got the video (at ~12K/s), and that thing came almost straight down! (Yes, there was much tumbling involved, but at impact it was pointed pretty much 180 from the way it started.)
Also, if you look close, you'll see metal (?) plates flapping on the ground at launch. (Looks like a folding launch pad.) Did they interfere with the rocket and throw its' stabilization routines off? Who knows.
The following showed up on the NetStumbler site yesterday:
GlobalSunTech develops Wireless Access Points for OEM customers like Linksys, D-Link and others. Capturing the traffic of a WISECOM GL2422AP-0T during the setup phase showed a security problem.
Sending a broadcast packet to UDP port 27155 containing the string "gstsearch" causes the accesspoint to return wep keys, mac filter and
admin password. This happens on the WLAN Side and on the LAN Side.
Systems Affected:
Vulnerable, tested, OEM Version from GlobalSunTech:
WISECOM GL2422AP-0T
Possibly vulnerable, not tested, OEM Version from GlobalSunTech:
D-Link DWL-900AP+ B1 version 2.1 and 2.2
ALLOY GL-2422AP-S
EUSSO GL2422-AP
LINKSYS WAP11 v2.2
(And I just got a WAP11, dammit.)
In other news, JWZ's DNA Lounge is having troubles with their Linksys WAP11-based wireless link, which is their only connectivity right now.
"...the best sustained throughput they can handle is on the order of 64k."
Ouch.
(They lost their T1 due to XO's bankrupcy and above.net closing a facility. Another T1 is on the way, but it'll be a couple weeks...)
First, the (GeForce 4 Ti | Radeon 9700 | Matrox Parhelia) chip is very complex. The Pentium 4 has about 55 million transistors on it. Compare that with (approximate numbers, of course):
63 Million -- (GeForce 4 Ti)
80 Million -- (Parhelia)
110 Million -- (Radeon 9700)
Damn hard chips to make, even if they're not running at GHz speeds.
Now, about that memory... It's at least DDR in most cases (like my GeForce 4 Ti 4200), and runs at much higher speeds than motherboard RAM. 300 MHz (actual!), or "600 MHz DDR" in some cases. That's special stuff -- and expensive.
You're putting 128 MB of that on an add-in card, as much memory for video as I had in my entire computer last year! (Damn...)
Now, about those prices. A mid-range P-4 (2.4 GHz, 133 MHz QDR FSB) runs about $190. Top-of-the-line DDR memory isn't that bad, figure $75 for that part.
190 + 75 = $ 265
No, I don't think modern video card prices are out of line. As (enthusiasts | gamers) we're on the cutting edge, and it costs to be there.
The scary part is that I'm very seriously considering an All-in-Wonder Radeon 9700 for the new computer I'm building my wife. I keep waiting to see what becomes of nVidia's NV30... but if I don't see anything by early December, I'm going with ATI.
It's got that IEEE-1394 port (they call it "DV in"). I wonder exactly how much function that port allows... I mean, you can get info to the internal hard drive via it, so what will happen if you attach a Mac or one of those nice little Shuttle SS-51s instead of a camcorder?
(Here's hoping it - like the iPod - shows up as a hard drive!)
Guess I'll have to buy an SS-51 when I buy one of these.
Perhaps it's this little "feature" -- (from the Panasonic site):
"Recording from the hard disk to a DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc cannot be done with images for which only single-generation recording is allowed. When recording these images to a DVD-RAM disc, the original image on the hard disk is erased.
"
There you go -- only one copy of a 'restricted work' can exist thanks to this device. But you can have it on reasonably durable media.
So it's got some sort of restriction ability built-in. Bad that you can only make one copy (but then burn more from your computer?), but good that you could save, say, the Angels winning the World Series for posterity.
I believe that Google uses some sort of IP address database or geolocation system. When I set up a computer for the in-laws (who live in Maine), setting the start page to www.google.com automatically and instantly redirected to www.google.ca.
No matter what, it wouldn't give up the plain vanilla.com version -- go figure.
Maybe Prexar (their ISP) routes through Canada? Or perhaps they're using a set of IPs that ARIN has listed as Canadian. Who knows, I didn't dig that deeply into it.
At any rate, it sure did a damn good job of keeping me away from google.com. Yes, I know a proxy server would solve the problem... but proxying all of France and Germany? Ouch. Even with Google's lightweight "do the search and get 'em out" philosophy, I wouldn't want that bandwidth bill!
PGPfone still exists. It's not only an IP telephony solution, one can also have two computers dial each other directly and have an encrypted conversation. It was for the severely paranoid; not originally intended as a way to bypass long distance charges, this was intended, first and foremost, for security.
A quick Google search turns up this MIT site as the first hit, which has pointers to where the program can be found. They're still listing version 1.0 beta 2, not changed since July 11, 1996! (I never saw that much interest in it...) People know there are so many ways to compromise/eavesdrop on a conversation, and a computer (even a laptop) is a bulky way to make a phone call.
(God, look at how much cellphone tech has changed in 6+ years!)
The PGPi site lists a PGPfone version 2.1 (Windows and Mac), but notes that NAI has the rights to it:
"PGPfone 2.x is a commercial product, but NAI has shown no interest in it, so it is probably O.K. to use it anyway."
I imagine the PGP Corporation owns that now -- did they get everything PGP-related from NAI?
I think you're right, though. There's OpenSSL -- heck, there's OpenSSH, too! Set up a heavily-encrypted tunnel, run your favorite VoIP program through that. Since you have to worry about your computer being trojan-free in either case (both software and hardware), you can use a program that's a lot more mature than PGPfone.
The LCD panels are beautiful, the housings... well, I don't like 'em. Apple has implemented a great idea, but I'll be buying my LCD from Viewsonic or IBM.
"...and a DViAtor..."
Okay, I'm trying to cut down on cables, clutter, etc., and the solution is another external box? Nope, not going to happen. Another reason not to buy an Apple LCD for a PC.
"...who really cares about the clutter behind the computer..."
In Mark Foster's particular case (his pictures which inspired my original post), the computer is sitting on his breakfast counter. (In another of his posts, it sounds like it's going to stay there!) From what I see in his pictures, it looks very similar to a counter in one of my old apartments. It's open on both sides -- there's no "back." Neat is very important in a place like that.
Well, you know, that Mac connector was my inspiration (along with their beautiful cinema displays!) and I hope that connection scheme catches on. I'm not holding my breath, though.
ATI's Radeon 9700 draws so much power it requires a separate power connector. (The Radeon 8500DV has a power connector too, but that's for supplying power to the FireWire port.) I think one of the Voodoo cards did the same thing? At any rate, high power consumption on a video card is nothing new -- why not pass some through to the monitor as well. ATX power supplies have a +12 and a -12 line... there's your 24v potential.
It'll make LCDs (cheaper | easier) to manufacture, since they can leave out a more complicated power supply.
It'll make me happier (at least from an aesthetic perspective), since I'll have less clutter on my desk.
Now that I think about it more, the monitor will come on when the computer is powered up -- another nice, damn easy feature. Yes, modern monitors have a power-save mode, but they still draw quite a bit of current while "saving power."
It'll make Grandma (or Grandpa, who has to install the newfangled thing!) happier, due to easier and more obvious installation.
Oh, the hell with it. I'll just buy a Mac -- OS 10.2 looks really nice, I love their huge LCDs... all that's stopping me is the lack of a winning lottery ticket. (Since I view lotteries as a 'tax on stupid', I guess that's not happening.)
Sorry, didn't mean to imply any of those cords were for the built-in monitor. I saw how you powered that one (very slick!), and read the whole thread (as it existed a couple hours ago) on the Sudhian Forums.
I was referring to your large, stand-alone LCD. I installed an 18" Viewsonic a couple months ago and it was powered through an external inline brick -- I couldn't tell if your large LCD had one or not.
The computers I build are generally a little larger than yours, although I did pair a SS50 with that Viewsonic LCD. With the trend for powering peripherals from a single connection (USB-powered Zip drives, Firewire-recharging iPods), perhaps manufacturers will get their act together and figure out how to drive external LCDs from the main computer's power supply. Add to that audio and USB connections, and all you need is a single cable (likely with several connectors at the computer end). Heck, most panels max out at ~100 watts (or so), easily available from most current full-size power supplies.
The pictures I'm referring to come from ftp://ftp.talix.com/pub/screenshots/shuttle -- Mark J. Foster's FTP site. (Oooo, I'm evil for posting that address... hey, at least I didn't make it a link!)
Mark, that thing is gorgeous!!! I love the idea, I've been thinking about small screens, just not quite like what you've put together. Bravo, well done, extraordinary work!
(Shuttle ought to hire you to build these for them to show off / auction off at trade shows!)
One thing I noticed, though... in ftp://ftp.talix.com/pub/screenshots/shuttle/Shuttl eBack.jpg the pile of power cables (I think there might be a power brick in there for the (external) monitor?), cords, and assorted connectors (don't forget the power strip, too!) is almost half the size of the computer itself!
Ouch.
Next project -- integrate a wireless keyboard & mouse, single-cable connection for the external monitor that includes power, video and audio, and a single power supply that will drive everything. (Yeah, I know, sorta like a Mac with their combined video/USB connection. Hey, I never claimed it was an original idea.)
Kaplan computers is a custom builder (your infamous 'white box' computers), a parts seller, but most of all a recycler. You'll find much of the cast-off computers from Aetna, Cigna, Travelers, The Hartford, etc., littering their sales floor.
I stopped through when I was visiting family back in August, and they had Dell OptiPlex desktops -- P-III/450s and 500s -- for a couple hundred dollars. If you can load the iPix thing on their homepage, look at that center aisle (frequently stacked five-plus feet tall!) That's a LOT of computers!
The store itself is pretty big, their warehouse/refurb site is bigger -- an old supermarket. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the crap they have on pallets there... (okay, maybe you would.) That site isn't "open to the public," but if you ask for something that's not in the store, and they have it, that's probably where it is.
There are a lot of laptops, someone had just offloaded a bunch of Dell units when I was there. Not too many ThinkPads -- probably because those go fast.
Used printers are available -- they had a couple HP 5si/MXs, perhaps a half-dozen color laser printers of various parentage, some wide-format (11x17) HP inkjets. (And a couple dozen 'regular' laser printers.)
They have all manner of cards (PCI and PCMCIA), dongles, cables, monitors (I'm looking at this on a 21" Digital from them), and whatever other corporate hardware could possibly be re-sold.
Their prices on new parts aren't great, so know the market of what you're looking for before you go there.
The Kaplan brothers can be a bit mercenary about their pricing. I think they follow the adage of "you'll never get it if you don't ask." This leads to:
Rule #1: Don't forget to haggle!
The same axiom they live by also applies to you -- they only paid a tiny fraction of what they're asking, so there's plenty of wiggle room. (In some cases, they were paid to remove the hardware they're selling! What a beautiful racket!)
The place has grown so much that you won't actually deal with one of the brothers, so your experience will vary based on which employee you get and what kind of mood they're in. I had decent luck -- walked away with a handful of 3Com 100 Mbit PCMCIA ethernet cards (among other things) for less than $100.
So yes, I think it's a decent place. It can be a fun place to blow an hour or two just picking through the old hardware. I wish we had a place like that out here on the west coast, but there isn't the industry to support it (read: insurance and financial-services companies). We do have used-computer stores, they just don't have the kind of stock that Kaplan does.
One more thing, if it's closer... there's a little hole-in-the-wall shop in East Granby called (IIRC) Corporate Computer Salvage. Yellow sign in a strip mall, right off the intersection of Rt. 20 and 187. Decent place if you want a $15 Pentium for an OpenBSD firewall. Not worth much of a trip, though.
You're right -- heck, look at Red Hat. If that isn't commercial, I don't know what is.
I got caught up in a specific use of the word when writing my response -- specifically to:
"...I don't trust some random anonymous guy to pull all the spyware out of a commerical product..."
With regard to that sentence, I stand by my comment: Gnucleus isn't commercial. It has no paid developers, it doesn't sell a product or push advertising, and (as far as I can tell) it exists 'just for the fun of it.'
Perhaps it would have made you happier if I'd started that sentence "And it isn't commercial...", though that would have been rather poor grammar, and the Grammar Nazi would have been on my case instead of you.
Damned if I do, damned if I don't... Ah Slashdot, at least you're consistent.
Do you, by any chance, have a 13 GB (or so) drive? I have a 770Z with a drive that's so loud that I hate being in the same room with it! My wife's P-III/450 (18 GB drive) 600X is so quiet that I have to look at it to know whether it's on or not.
My email file is on that 770Z, shared on my LAN. So I leave it in the den and read mail on my workstation (which has speed-adjusted fans and a Barracuda IV drive -- nice-n-quiet!) I haven't had any problems with leaving it on all the time -- it's been one of my home systems for almost three years now, no problems.
I've used several laptop brands -- the ThinkPads with metal housings I would not really call "fragile." Yes, it'll break if you drop it, but most laptops will. If you're worried about that, buy a Panasonic ToughBook.
You're right about the batteries dying, they sure do degrade... can't speak to your 6-month figure, though. I'm still on my original 770Z battery, and it still lasts about an hour at full-tilt. I'm not going to buy a new one anytime soon, mainly because Pricewatch showed figures in the $270 range!!! There's a place near me that'll rebuild laptop batteries (Pacific Power Battery), so I'll patronize them if I can't buy a fuel cell by the time the thing fully dies.
I recently had the misfortune to have to use a friend's Mac (running MacOS 8.something) in their office. I think it was worse because it was the hockey-puck mouse, and the ball was probably a bit dirty... but God! I missed that second button. It was... infuriating... even knowing the 'click-hold-wait' for the alternate mouse button function.
Know what? That trick doesn't work in every program! (Aargh.)
So I put up with it for about half an hour. Then I bitched about how it was taking me so damn long to do a few simple tasks, and that a two-button mouse would make life a LOT easier. My friend laughed, and then pointed out the "right" Mac mouse button -- It's <CTRL>-click! (Or was it the 'option' button? It's one of those on the lower left of the keyboard.)
Things went a lot faster after that.
Now, about those trackpoint devices... the first few versions couldn't detect force, or they didn't detect it very well. So the harder you pushed didn't make the mouse move any faster, and people hated 'em for it. Trackpoint versions 3 and 4 (that's hardware versions, not software!) are much better at detecting varying levels of force, and the mouse responds accordingly. Also, you really need to tune the software to your taste (light vs. heavy touch, mouse acceleration becomes very important, etc.) If properly adjusted -- and that's a big "if" -- I'm relatively happy with a trackpoint.
(Just ignore that USB optical mouse in my laptop bag, please...)
Pull the optical drive and replace it with your mirror HD
set up software RAID
A laptop sounds almost ideal for your use -- low power (the powerbricks usually draw 70 to 100 watts), and they include a sleep mode for the CPU / disks / screen / etc. As an added bonus, they're quite compact and include their own keyboard, mouse, screen, and speakers! A nice little 3Com 10-base ethernet card (if the unit doesn't come with ethernet built-in), and you're all set.
I'm a big fan of IBM ThinkPads. A nice, small (5 pounds or so) ThinkPad 600X (P-III/500, 256 MB, 20 GB, 1024x768 (XGA?), DVD reader) should sell on Ebay for about $600. Also, it's quiet! (That's important if this thing is going to live in an apartment.)
If that price is a bit high, step a little further back. The P-IIs get REALLY cheap ($200 range, though you give up memory and HD size too), and if you find something with an 800x600 screen it will be a lot less. (Unless it's a 'palmtop'.)
If you're in New England, check out Kaplan Computers in Manchester, CT. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, check out Boeing Surplus or RePC -- both have stores (in | near) Kent. If you aren't near any of these, sorry, I can't suggest anything other than (shudder) eBay.
That's why I go there -- and have for a long time. Google is what CNN used to be... for me, at least.
The best part of it is that the content comes from a much more diverse set of sources than I'd ever be willing to surf on my own. I'd like to see a full list of the sites they're crawling, but I've been happy with their results so far.
CNN has become progressively worse. It used to be a large page of stories, and I could find out what was going on in the world in a single page load. Now things are down to (something like) two links per catgory, and you have to dig to find your news.
MSNBC has stuck with their layout (to their credit), but there's all those menues (or interstitial ads) to deal with -- ick.
Salon is a giant editorial page, not news. I'm not even going to comment on their in-your-face ads (oops, I just did...)
Fox News, ABC, USA Today -- I never had any desire to read their sites for some reason.
Newspaper sites are often too regional (local papers), or require registration (NY Times, Washington Post), so I just didn't read 'em. They'll learn eventually that registration = less readership = less banner ad revenue. Give 'em time, the clue will come.
NPR is nice, but usually rather thin on the news. I go there to stream audio, not read stories.
The only thing that would make Google News better would be a "Fringe" category -- but I get my weekly dose of that at News of the Weird.
Hey, thanks for the link! I've been trying to figure out how to get my hands on that... I just hadn't dedicated too many neurons to finding it. With a little more effort, I managed to dig up the first trailer (Quicktime/25.5 MB!), so now everyone can have a matched set!
Now, about that 'fight' scene... so that's a "Hong Kong Spin," huh? Never knew that little tidbit. It sure looks like something I've seen in a dozen other movies. Perhaps it's an 'action move' that's (comparatively) easy to teach/perform/film? Best "bang for the filming buck?"
If they use "bullet time" in a Harry Potter movie, what'll they call it? ("Wizard Time?") What things happen so fast they'd need it? (I started to think "no guns in the Harry Potter universe" -- I keep forgetting the setting is present-day.)
I'll be very, very surprised to see the kind of thing you seem to be looking for. It sounds almost like you plugged one of those bluetooth dongles into a USB hub, another Bluetooth dongle into your computer, and wondered why you couldn't use the hub. (Is that what you had in mind?)
Problems:
IIRC, USB requires a computer to "run the hub." It has to be in the loop, somewhere, to arbitrate/manage/etc. the connections.
(IEEE 1394/Firewire/iLink, on the other hand, doesn't require the computer and thus you can plug your Firewire-equipped Mini-DV camcorder into your Firewire VCR (or editing deck) and expect it to work. Curiosity point: any/.ers out there plugged a Firewire hard drive straight into a DV camcorder and had it work?)
USB -- version 1.x -- is designed for 12 Mbit/sec. Bluetooth tops out (for now) at 1 Mbit/sec. (i.e. USB over Bluetooth? Bad idea.)
Short version: I don't think USB was designed to work that way. You do get it to work and that's going to be one hell of an ugly hack.
Slashdot Mirror
There's a simple reason why...
- Google isn't evil.
Meaning, in this case, they obey the(Some time ago I posted a comment ranting about the /. search sucking, that they denied Google via the robots.txt file, and some hopeful solutions... but I can't seem to find it. How's that for irony?)
- "Until you can hear the difference on cheap gear, your argument doesn't apply to 99% of the music-listening market."
You are absolutely correct. Not everyone can afford -- or even cares -- about high end gear. I have no argument there.However...
There is a market for perceived quality. These are the people who buy "microcircuit cellphone boosters" (or whatever they're called today), "cellphone radiation shields," and are swayed by late-night infomercials. THIS is your market.
So, allow all MP3s of, say, 96 (64?) Kbit or less to be freely traded; in fact, flood the P2P networks with 'em! People will more readily redistribute them because they aren't a trick (like the repeating loops), and then (instead of spending all the money on lawyers), you advertise how much better the CDs sound.
Alternatively, without the willingness to embrace free distribution, it would behoove the music cartels to emphasize the quality point; perhaps from the angle of "make sure you get the best sound -- rip your own MP3s!" Make people not trust one another (they set a damn good (bad?)example), and make people want to have a 'trusted chain' -- know the source (CD), know the encoder, and then believe your MP3s sound (warmer | sweeter | more... whatever) than bootleg ones.
It's the Microsoft approach -- Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. It preys on basic and well established human nature... it has worked before, why not bend it to a new use?
- "..."Free" is eventually replaced by a higher-quality paid service..."
Yup, they're called CDs.It's possible to purchase MP3s these days, at prices comparable to the per-track cost of a CD. But why? Most people can't discern the difference, but with bloody expensive equipment it is noticable.
Take my recent experience:
- My home theater receiver died recently, and I just got around to shopping for a new one -- the contenders started out with a Sony ES unit, a couple Denon THX-Ultra certified models, and a Pioneer Elite THX receiver.
It was a very profound reminder of why I shouldn't put money straight into MP3s without getting the source material on CD... you're not getting the whole sound. (Heck, even with CDs you aren't... but it's better than MP3.) It's even making me think about SACD (Super Audio CD) and DVD-Audio... and I don't have perfect hearing.Then I made a mistake.
I listened to a mid-level, non-THX McIntosh. (The MHT-100, if you must know. "A/V Receiver" on the drop-down menu.)
Oh. My. God.
I heard things on a CD I didn't know were there -- and yes, the only part of the equation that changed was the receiver. Same speakers, same source, same volume level and EQ (none), same room.
It's a $5000 (US), 92-pound behemoth that looks like it was designed by the same guy who designed the McIntosh 1700 back in the 60s. It's twice the size of anything else, looks ugly... and sounds incredible. I could buy 5 Sonys at that price, yet I'm still having a really hard time justifying the Sony after hearing it.
In my perfect world, the recording industry encourages trading of mid-quality MP3s because they realize it's free advertising, and people will go out and buy CDs knowing they get a higher-quality product and better sound.
But it's not a perfect world, things don't work that way, and we're busy making the lawyers rich.
Lovely.
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"...the fact that PGP 7 does not properly integrate with the (sic) Outlook 2002 (Office XP)..."
Interesting choice of words ("properly integrate")... are you taking that to mean "works the way I fantasized it would" or "works the way it was designed to"? There's a difference. This "moron", as you are so quick to label me, managed to get PGP 7.0.3 working with Outlook XP without a hitch. That doesn't lend much weight to your assertion that it doesn't work. Denying the facts won't make them go away.- "...in the case where I selected PGP and had it installed company wide, to find that it did not properly integrate with Outlook 2002..."
Am I supposed to assume you're some sort of IT wizard and not question your anecdotal assertions because of that statement? That's not going to happen. Further, you just admitted you're the moron. You deployed it, and then found problems. That's why people use test labs -- even for small businesses, test first, then deploy.Since you were so insistent about it, I searched Google. In the first few pages of hits, I found several articles about PGP 8, some news about (now patched) possible security holes, and what appear to be several warez sites. Odd that I didn't find the numerous tales of woe that you did...
Now, about that Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt bit... Masonbrown wrote:
- "...as a corporate user with a Win2k machine using Outlook, is there any significant reason to upgrade to 8.0 from whatever I'm using now..."
And you replied:- Your statement offers no supporting facts.
- "...doesn't work in general..." is laughable in light of the ease with which I managed to install and use it.
- If you read his post again, you'll notice he's successfully using a PGP version that is not 8.0.
- Reading it, a user will be uncertain and doubt whether or not their current version of PGP will work -- perhaps spending money on an unnecessary upgrade.
- Further, you're spreading the fear of "problems" with Office 2000. "Gee... I've been using it, God knows what has been going wrong behind my back..."
Congratulations, you've spread FUD.I have demonstrated a working system. You claim it won't work, and call me a moron. You can't dispute the facts, so you attack the messenger. (That's step 2 in the FUD manual.) I suggest you RTFM, install the patches, and try again. (And no, I won't go away.)
Dear Sir;
I regret to inform you that you have no idea what you are talking about. I am using PGP Freeware version 7.0.3 to communicate with family members. My parents use Office XP (with Outlook XP as their mail client) on Windows 2000, my in-laws use both Office 97 (Outlook 98) and Office 2000 (Outlook 2000) on Windows 98, and I use Office 2000 (yup, Outlook 2000 again) on Windows 2000. There have been no problems -- zero, zilch, none. Encrypting an email is a one-button affair; PGP adds a simple set of three buttons to the taskbar, one of which is "Encrypt Before Sending." Reading a message is as simple as opening it -- you get a dialog for your passphrase, and that's it.
To borrow a phrase, "It just works."
I will occasionally get a phone call to provide tech support for WordPerfect Office, but I have never had a complaint -- or even a question -- about PGP.
I am very curious about exactly what you were thinking when you started the FUD machine.
I have purchased PGP before. Now that NAI is out of the picture, I will do so again -- this ought to make a nice stocking-stuffer, burned onto 3-inch CDs.
Boy, that "from the lawn-dart dept." crack is painfully accurate. I just got the video (at ~12K/s), and that thing came almost straight down! (Yes, there was much tumbling involved, but at impact it was pointed pretty much 180 from the way it started.)
Also, if you look close, you'll see metal (?) plates flapping on the ground at launch. (Looks like a folding launch pad.) Did they interfere with the rocket and throw its' stabilization routines off? Who knows.
The following showed up on the NetStumbler site yesterday:
- GlobalSunTech develops Wireless Access Points for OEM customers like Linksys, D-Link and others. Capturing the traffic of a WISECOM GL2422AP-0T during the setup phase showed a security problem.
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- WISECOM GL2422AP-0T
- D-Link DWL-900AP+ B1 version 2.1 and 2.2
- ALLOY GL-2422AP-S
- EUSSO GL2422-AP
- LINKSYS WAP11 v2.2
(And I just got a WAP11, dammit.)Sending a broadcast packet to UDP port 27155 containing the string "gstsearch" causes the accesspoint to return wep keys, mac filter and admin password. This happens on the WLAN Side and on the LAN Side.
Systems Affected:
Vulnerable, tested, OEM Version from GlobalSunTech:
Possibly vulnerable, not tested, OEM Version from GlobalSunTech:
In other news, JWZ's DNA Lounge is having troubles with their Linksys WAP11-based wireless link, which is their only connectivity right now.
- "...the best sustained throughput they can handle is on the order of 64k."
Ouch.(They lost their T1 due to XO's bankrupcy and above.net closing a facility. Another T1 is on the way, but it'll be a couple weeks...)
First, the (GeForce 4 Ti | Radeon 9700 | Matrox Parhelia) chip is very complex. The Pentium 4 has about 55 million transistors on it. Compare that with (approximate numbers, of course):
- 63 Million -- (GeForce 4 Ti)
- 80 Million -- (Parhelia)
- 110 Million -- (Radeon 9700)
Damn hard chips to make, even if they're not running at GHz speeds.Now, about that memory... It's at least DDR in most cases (like my GeForce 4 Ti 4200), and runs at much higher speeds than motherboard RAM. 300 MHz (actual!), or "600 MHz DDR" in some cases. That's special stuff -- and expensive.
You're putting 128 MB of that on an add-in card, as much memory for video as I had in my entire computer last year! (Damn...)
Now, about those prices. A mid-range P-4 (2.4 GHz, 133 MHz QDR FSB) runs about $190. Top-of-the-line DDR memory isn't that bad, figure $75 for that part.
190 + 75 = $ 265
No, I don't think modern video card prices are out of line. As (enthusiasts | gamers) we're on the cutting edge, and it costs to be there.
The scary part is that I'm very seriously considering an All-in-Wonder Radeon 9700 for the new computer I'm building my wife. I keep waiting to see what becomes of nVidia's NV30... but if I don't see anything by early December, I'm going with ATI.
God, I'm a nut. Oh well, it drives the economy.
It's got that IEEE-1394 port (they call it "DV in"). I wonder exactly how much function that port allows... I mean, you can get info to the internal hard drive via it, so what will happen if you attach a Mac or one of those nice little Shuttle SS-51s instead of a camcorder?
- (Here's hoping it - like the iPod - shows up as a hard drive!)
Guess I'll have to buy an SS-51 when I buy one of these.Perhaps it's this little "feature" -- (from the Panasonic site):
- "Recording from the hard disk to a DVD-RAM or DVD-R disc cannot be done with images for which only single-generation recording is allowed. When recording these images to a DVD-RAM disc, the original image on the hard disk is erased.
"
There you go -- only one copy of a 'restricted work' can exist thanks to this device. But you can have it on reasonably durable media.So it's got some sort of restriction ability built-in. Bad that you can only make one copy (but then burn more from your computer?), but good that you could save, say, the Angels winning the World Series for posterity.
I believe that Google uses some sort of IP address database or geolocation system. When I set up a computer for the in-laws (who live in Maine), setting the start page to www.google.com automatically and instantly redirected to www.google.ca.
No matter what, it wouldn't give up the plain vanilla .com version -- go figure.
Maybe Prexar (their ISP) routes through Canada? Or perhaps they're using a set of IPs that ARIN has listed as Canadian. Who knows, I didn't dig that deeply into it.
At any rate, it sure did a damn good job of keeping me away from google.com. Yes, I know a proxy server would solve the problem... but proxying all of France and Germany? Ouch. Even with Google's lightweight "do the search and get 'em out" philosophy, I wouldn't want that bandwidth bill!
PGPfone still exists. It's not only an IP telephony solution, one can also have two computers dial each other directly and have an encrypted conversation. It was for the severely paranoid; not originally intended as a way to bypass long distance charges, this was intended, first and foremost, for security.
A quick Google search turns up this MIT site as the first hit, which has pointers to where the program can be found. They're still listing version 1.0 beta 2, not changed since July 11, 1996! (I never saw that much interest in it...) People know there are so many ways to compromise /eavesdrop on a conversation, and a computer (even a laptop) is a bulky way to make a phone call.
(God, look at how much cellphone tech has changed in 6+ years!)
The PGPi site lists a PGPfone version 2.1 (Windows and Mac), but notes that NAI has the rights to it:
I imagine the PGP Corporation owns that now -- did they get everything PGP-related from NAI?I think you're right, though. There's OpenSSL -- heck, there's OpenSSH, too! Set up a heavily-encrypted tunnel, run your favorite VoIP program through that. Since you have to worry about your computer being trojan-free in either case (both software and hardware), you can use a program that's a lot more mature than PGPfone.
- "Dude, just buy a mac screen."
"Dude," no.The LCD panels are beautiful, the housings... well, I don't like 'em. Apple has implemented a great idea, but I'll be buying my LCD from Viewsonic or IBM.
- "...and a DViAtor..."
Okay, I'm trying to cut down on cables, clutter, etc., and the solution is another external box? Nope, not going to happen. Another reason not to buy an Apple LCD for a PC.- "...who really cares about the clutter behind the computer..."
In Mark Foster's particular case (his pictures which inspired my original post), the computer is sitting on his breakfast counter. (In another of his posts, it sounds like it's going to stay there!) From what I see in his pictures, it looks very similar to a counter in one of my old apartments. It's open on both sides -- there's no "back." Neat is very important in a place like that.Well, you know, that Mac connector was my inspiration (along with their beautiful cinema displays!) and I hope that connection scheme catches on. I'm not holding my breath, though.
ATI's Radeon 9700 draws so much power it requires a separate power connector. (The Radeon 8500DV has a power connector too, but that's for supplying power to the FireWire port.) I think one of the Voodoo cards did the same thing? At any rate, high power consumption on a video card is nothing new -- why not pass some through to the monitor as well. ATX power supplies have a +12 and a -12 line... there's your 24v potential.
- It'll make LCDs (cheaper | easier) to manufacture, since they can leave out a more complicated power supply.
- It'll make me happier (at least from an aesthetic perspective), since I'll have less clutter on my desk.
- It'll make Grandma (or Grandpa, who has to install the newfangled thing!) happier, due to easier and more obvious installation.
Oh, the hell with it. I'll just buy a Mac -- OS 10.2 looks really nice, I love their huge LCDs... all that's stopping me is the lack of a winning lottery ticket. (Since I view lotteries as a 'tax on stupid', I guess that's not happening.)Now that I think about it more, the monitor will come on when the computer is powered up -- another nice, damn easy feature. Yes, modern monitors have a power-save mode, but they still draw quite a bit of current while "saving power."
Mark,
Sorry, didn't mean to imply any of those cords were for the built-in monitor. I saw how you powered that one (very slick!), and read the whole thread (as it existed a couple hours ago) on the Sudhian Forums.
I was referring to your large, stand-alone LCD. I installed an 18" Viewsonic a couple months ago and it was powered through an external inline brick -- I couldn't tell if your large LCD had one or not.
The computers I build are generally a little larger than yours, although I did pair a SS50 with that Viewsonic LCD. With the trend for powering peripherals from a single connection (USB-powered Zip drives, Firewire-recharging iPods), perhaps manufacturers will get their act together and figure out how to drive external LCDs from the main computer's power supply. Add to that audio and USB connections, and all you need is a single cable (likely with several connectors at the computer end). Heck, most panels max out at ~100 watts (or so), easily available from most current full-size power supplies.
The pictures I'm referring to come from ftp://ftp.talix.com/pub/screenshots/shuttle -- Mark J. Foster's FTP site. (Oooo, I'm evil for posting that address... hey, at least I didn't make it a link!)
Mark, that thing is gorgeous!!! I love the idea, I've been thinking about small screens, just not quite like what you've put together. Bravo, well done, extraordinary work!
(Shuttle ought to hire you to build these for them to show off / auction off at trade shows!)
One thing I noticed, though... in ftp://ftp.talix.com/pub/screenshots/shuttle/Shuttl eBack.jpg the pile of power cables (I think there might be a power brick in there for the (external) monitor?), cords, and assorted connectors (don't forget the power strip, too!) is almost half the size of the computer itself!
Ouch.
Next project -- integrate a wireless keyboard & mouse, single-cable connection for the external monitor that includes power, video and audio, and a single power supply that will drive everything. (Yeah, I know, sorta like a Mac with their combined video/USB connection. Hey, I never claimed it was an original idea.)
Kaplan computers is a custom builder (your infamous 'white box' computers), a parts seller, but most of all a recycler. You'll find much of the cast-off computers from Aetna, Cigna, Travelers, The Hartford, etc., littering their sales floor.
I stopped through when I was visiting family back in August, and they had Dell OptiPlex desktops -- P-III/450s and 500s -- for a couple hundred dollars. If you can load the iPix thing on their homepage, look at that center aisle (frequently stacked five-plus feet tall!) That's a LOT of computers!
The store itself is pretty big, their warehouse/refurb site is bigger -- an old supermarket. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the crap they have on pallets there... (okay, maybe you would.) That site isn't "open to the public," but if you ask for something that's not in the store, and they have it, that's probably where it is.
There are a lot of laptops, someone had just offloaded a bunch of Dell units when I was there. Not too many ThinkPads -- probably because those go fast.
Used printers are available -- they had a couple HP 5si/MXs, perhaps a half-dozen color laser printers of various parentage, some wide-format (11x17) HP inkjets. (And a couple dozen 'regular' laser printers.)
They have all manner of cards (PCI and PCMCIA), dongles, cables, monitors (I'm looking at this on a 21" Digital from them), and whatever other corporate hardware could possibly be re-sold.
Their prices on new parts aren't great, so know the market of what you're looking for before you go there.
The Kaplan brothers can be a bit mercenary about their pricing. I think they follow the adage of "you'll never get it if you don't ask." This leads to:
- Rule #1: Don't forget to haggle!
The place has grown so much that you won't actually deal with one of the brothers, so your experience will vary based on which employee you get and what kind of mood they're in. I had decent luck -- walked away with a handful of 3Com 100 Mbit PCMCIA ethernet cards (among other things) for less than $100.The same axiom they live by also applies to you -- they only paid a tiny fraction of what they're asking, so there's plenty of wiggle room. (In some cases, they were paid to remove the hardware they're selling! What a beautiful racket!)
So yes, I think it's a decent place. It can be a fun place to blow an hour or two just picking through the old hardware. I wish we had a place like that out here on the west coast, but there isn't the industry to support it (read: insurance and financial-services companies). We do have used-computer stores, they just don't have the kind of stock that Kaplan does.
One more thing, if it's closer... there's a little hole-in-the-wall shop in East Granby called (IIRC) Corporate Computer Salvage. Yellow sign in a strip mall, right off the intersection of Rt. 20 and 187. Decent place if you want a $15 Pentium for an OpenBSD firewall. Not worth much of a trip, though.
You're right -- heck, look at Red Hat. If that isn't commercial, I don't know what is.
I got caught up in a specific use of the word when writing my response -- specifically to:
With regard to that sentence, I stand by my comment: Gnucleus isn't commercial. It has no paid developers, it doesn't sell a product or push advertising, and (as far as I can tell) it exists 'just for the fun of it.'Perhaps it would have made you happier if I'd started that sentence "And it isn't commercial...", though that would have been rather poor grammar, and the Grammar Nazi would have been on my case instead of you.
Damned if I do, damned if I don't... Ah Slashdot, at least you're consistent.
Do you, by any chance, have a 13 GB (or so) drive? I have a 770Z with a drive that's so loud that I hate being in the same room with it! My wife's P-III/450 (18 GB drive) 600X is so quiet that I have to look at it to know whether it's on or not.
My email file is on that 770Z, shared on my LAN. So I leave it in the den and read mail on my workstation (which has speed-adjusted fans and a Barracuda IV drive -- nice-n-quiet!) I haven't had any problems with leaving it on all the time -- it's been one of my home systems for almost three years now, no problems.
I've used several laptop brands -- the ThinkPads with metal housings I would not really call "fragile." Yes, it'll break if you drop it, but most laptops will. If you're worried about that, buy a Panasonic ToughBook.
You're right about the batteries dying, they sure do degrade... can't speak to your 6-month figure, though. I'm still on my original 770Z battery, and it still lasts about an hour at full-tilt. I'm not going to buy a new one anytime soon, mainly because Pricewatch showed figures in the $270 range!!! There's a place near me that'll rebuild laptop batteries (Pacific Power Battery), so I'll patronize them if I can't buy a fuel cell by the time the thing fully dies.
I recently had the misfortune to have to use a friend's Mac (running MacOS 8.something) in their office. I think it was worse because it was the hockey-puck mouse, and the ball was probably a bit dirty... but God! I missed that second button. It was... infuriating... even knowing the 'click-hold-wait' for the alternate mouse button function.
Know what? That trick doesn't work in every program! (Aargh.)
So I put up with it for about half an hour. Then I bitched about how it was taking me so damn long to do a few simple tasks, and that a two-button mouse would make life a LOT easier. My friend laughed, and then pointed out the "right" Mac mouse button -- It's <CTRL>-click! (Or was it the 'option' button? It's one of those on the lower left of the keyboard.)
Things went a lot faster after that.
Now, about those trackpoint devices... the first few versions couldn't detect force, or they didn't detect it very well. So the harder you pushed didn't make the mouse move any faster, and people hated 'em for it. Trackpoint versions 3 and 4 (that's hardware versions, not software!) are much better at detecting varying levels of force, and the mouse responds accordingly. Also, you really need to tune the software to your taste (light vs. heavy touch, mouse acceleration becomes very important, etc.) If properly adjusted -- and that's a big "if" -- I'm relatively happy with a trackpoint.
(Just ignore that USB optical mouse in my laptop bag, please...)
You want a laptop!
- Get something a couple years old
- Load the OS and software
- Pull the optical drive and replace it with your mirror HD
- set up software RAID
A laptop sounds almost ideal for your use -- low power (the powerbricks usually draw 70 to 100 watts), and they include a sleep mode for the CPU / disks / screen / etc. As an added bonus, they're quite compact and include their own keyboard, mouse, screen, and speakers! A nice little 3Com 10-base ethernet card (if the unit doesn't come with ethernet built-in), and you're all set.I'm a big fan of IBM ThinkPads. A nice, small (5 pounds or so) ThinkPad 600X (P-III/500, 256 MB, 20 GB, 1024x768 (XGA?), DVD reader) should sell on Ebay for about $600. Also, it's quiet! (That's important if this thing is going to live in an apartment.)
If that price is a bit high, step a little further back. The P-IIs get REALLY cheap ($200 range, though you give up memory and HD size too), and if you find something with an 800x600 screen it will be a lot less. (Unless it's a 'palmtop'.)
If you're in New England, check out Kaplan Computers in Manchester, CT. If you're in the Pacific Northwest, check out Boeing Surplus or RePC -- both have stores (in | near) Kent. If you aren't near any of these, sorry, I can't suggest anything other than (shudder) eBay.
Uh, DJ, Gnucleus is GPL. It isn't commercial -- though it has been hijacked and put in "commercial" packages -- Morpheus for example, IIRC.
Check it out at SourceForge.
That's why I go there -- and have for a long time. Google is what CNN used to be... for me, at least.
The best part of it is that the content comes from a much more diverse set of sources than I'd ever be willing to surf on my own. I'd like to see a full list of the sites they're crawling, but I've been happy with their results so far.
- CNN has become progressively worse. It used to be a large page of stories, and I could find out what was going on in the world in a single page load. Now things are down to (something like) two links per catgory, and you have to dig to find your news.
- MSNBC has stuck with their layout (to their credit), but there's all those menues (or interstitial ads) to deal with -- ick.
- Salon is a giant editorial page, not news. I'm not even going to comment on their in-your-face ads (oops, I just did...)
- Fox News, ABC, USA Today -- I never had any desire to read their sites for some reason.
- Newspaper sites are often too regional (local papers), or require registration (NY Times, Washington Post), so I just didn't read 'em. They'll learn eventually that registration = less readership = less banner ad revenue. Give 'em time, the clue will come.
- NPR is nice, but usually rather thin on the news. I go there to stream audio, not read stories.
The only thing that would make Google News better would be a "Fringe" category -- but I get my weekly dose of that at News of the Weird.Hey, thanks for the link! I've been trying to figure out how to get my hands on that... I just hadn't dedicated too many neurons to finding it. With a little more effort, I managed to dig up the first trailer (Quicktime/25.5 MB!), so now everyone can have a matched set!
Now, about that 'fight' scene... so that's a "Hong Kong Spin," huh? Never knew that little tidbit. It sure looks like something I've seen in a dozen other movies. Perhaps it's an 'action move' that's (comparatively) easy to teach/perform/film? Best "bang for the filming buck?"
If they use "bullet time" in a Harry Potter movie, what'll they call it? ("Wizard Time?") What things happen so fast they'd need it? (I started to think "no guns in the Harry Potter universe" -- I keep forgetting the setting is present-day.)
I'll be very, very surprised to see the kind of thing you seem to be looking for. It sounds almost like you plugged one of those bluetooth dongles into a USB hub, another Bluetooth dongle into your computer, and wondered why you couldn't use the hub. (Is that what you had in mind?)
Problems:
- IIRC, USB requires a computer to "run the hub." It has to be in the loop, somewhere, to arbitrate/manage/etc. the connections.
- USB -- version 1.x -- is designed for 12 Mbit/sec. Bluetooth tops out (for now) at 1 Mbit/sec. (i.e. USB over Bluetooth? Bad idea.)
Short version: I don't think USB was designed to work that way. You do get it to work and that's going to be one hell of an ugly hack.(IEEE 1394/Firewire/iLink, on the other hand, doesn't require the computer and thus you can plug your Firewire-equipped Mini-DV camcorder into your Firewire VCR (or editing deck) and expect it to work. Curiosity point: any /.ers out there plugged a Firewire hard drive straight into a DV camcorder and had it work?)