Out of curiosity, how many people who're into tech enough to outfit their houses with something like this actually have a daily routine where they eat coffee/breakfast at home before heading in?
I, for one, go to great lengths to minimize the amount of time I spend between the bed and the office in the mornings (the goal being more in the former than the latter). While the gee-whiz factor of having a cup ready in the morning is slick, give me something that loads my toothbrush, picks out my clothes, and has the shower running at temp before the last snooze alarm goes off and I'd be a happy camper.
I read a fascinating bit in Time where they listed the box office gross of all the ST movies. ST1, which was widely panned by critics (and audience) is by far the leader, $145m ahead of the next best grossing film (ST4).
any jackass could have done this port in, oh, 5 minutes.
Shame on you jackasses and Palm Programmers for taking so long to put out what would surely be one of the more 'killer apps' for the Palm. Maybe charge $15 for it shareware, maybe get 10,000 buyers...
From the tone of voice in your post, it sure sounds like you could have done it. What kind of jackass turns down $150k for 5 minutes work?
Actually, I was amazed at the bookmovie accuracy of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, given the majority of the subject matter. Most directors would have copped out on the acid trip scenes and used it for an excuse to put their own (or the DP's or the art directors, or...) views of being under the influence on the screen.
Thus, the DRM has to be at the end source, at wher the final product is released(ie. the speakers, the TV screen, etc.)
So to support this new technology, you're asking consumers they have to effectively scrap their entire system? The depressingly slow adoption of new consumer equipment to migrate to the "required" new HDTV broadcast standards in the US is good proof of this model failing in real-life. Arguably, high-definition TV is a lot more value-added than protecting the already-hated record industry's bottom line.
She said she showed up in the first place for the "free set food". So Benadryl gives you the munchies?
No offense, but you haven't spent much time around 15 year-olds. Stoned or not, they'll jump through an amazing number of hoops to get free food. Especially if it's donuts and Snickers, which is what's typically found on commercial shoots.
The big problem I'd found with usenet is the high-speed ISP's crank down the article retention or dont carry binary groups altogether. The same was the case with all of the free Usenet providers I tried as well, this means you're left with moving to a fee-based Usenet provider, most of which are fairly pricy ($10/mo or greater) and have download limitations of some sort.
For $10/mo, why not sign up with a full-on mp3 service where you know all the songs on an album will be available and you likely have some searching/cross referencing/'if you like A, try B' features?
On a side note, releasing the Tungsten W (phone one) with OS 4 was a monumentally stupid thing to do. If they're going to commit to OS 5, then they should do immediately
Palm OS5 requires an ARM processor. I would think that fitting ARM into the W would add another $50 to the internal cost-of-goods, not to mention development costs.
Given the market's sensitivity to price points right now (especially for items that are perceived as overpriced in the first place), the number of people who will vocalize displeasure about the W not having OS5 is relatively insignificant compared to the number of people that will howl at it's being ~$75-$100 more expensive.
Maybe this means someone will dust off TAC and release a new version?
Seriously though, (I know, this is OT), are there any other AIM compatible text based chat clients? As one of a not-as-small-as-you-might-think group who's only way to IM is through SSH to a shell acount, it'd be nice to find something stable to use.
probably because users are to cheap to buy the games when they are $30-50, that's an awful lot to spend on a handheld enterainment app.
No, it's because this amazing new horsepower isn't actually on the market for another few hours and the vast majority of PalmOS developers don't participate in "pre-release hardware" development (unlike the major game companies).
There are quite a few games that push the limits of the Dragonball and look damn nice, but even the top of the line 33mhz isn't close to a 144mhz ARM. Patience, Young Jedi, the wicked games will come soon enough, especially with the new 5-way and improved audio support.
FYI - Data is submitted anonymously and (IIR) you can opt out of that.
Assuming data is submitted anonymously, why would you not want them to know viewing habits? I'm not able to think of a scenario where them knowing what people watch would be a Bad Thing(tm). Or is it just out of concern that once they get their foot in the door...?
takes an hour pushing buttons on a simple menu That makes it sound even harder than it is. Initial setup (plug it in, choose your area code, download the 1st chunk of program guide data) takes an hour, of which most of that is sit and wait (or eat ice cream, pay bills, read slashdot). The programming bit is much easier. As you're channel surfing, if you find a show you like, press Record, select if you want to record the show every time it airs (or just that particular episode), and that's it. The TiVo will handle updating program guide data and adjust recording times should your show move days without you needing to do anything (something VCRs dont do). For the most part, it'll skip multiple showings (IE - only get one new episode of the Sopranos every week) and if something overlaps, it'll either prioritize (based on your settings) or (if possible) record a different showing. I'm hooked, my housemates are hooked, my friends are hooked. To be honest, I dont know anyone who's got a TiVo that doesn't think it's the best thing since color TV. Then again, I work in the tech biz and most of my friends are very comfortable with electronic gadgets, so I dont count as an accurate cross-section of society.
I'll second the positive review of the AT. The poster above didn't mention a couple of other nice features - 'net radio support (which, granted, isn't as cool since the RIAA crashed the party), and NTP-set clock/alarm/snooze functionality. It's also got a decent stereo component design, so it fits well in the stereo rack. That being said, the AT's not quite perfect - it takes a long time to scan shares and getting it set up with SAMBA always seems to be a PITA, but once things are set up, it's a solid performer.
SliMP3 does not yet appear to support OGG (at least as far as I can tell from their website), which was one of the poster's requirements (and I dare say the most limiting, for an 'off the shelf' solution). Turtle Beach's Audiotron falls in the same category, everything the poster wants, except no OGG support.
Yes, but in your cube? Granted - Surround Sound for teleconferencing does kick ass.
Microsoft's vision of the office of the future's rather misguided from the very start - Offices are still on the decline. Cubeland still reigns, and until the economy turns around, that's certainly not going to change. Even when the economy does turn around, I think companies will be a lot more hesitant to go on the spending frenzies of days past and 5ft fabric walls will still be the de-facto.
In cubeland, silence is golden. Nobody will tolerate voice or video mail or IM. Our office has the new Cisco phone setup with VOIP - it's slick, it's got 20 different ringtones, it's got a stock ticker, you can crash the phones if you're not careful. It sends voicemails as.WAV attachments in email, you can play back a message through your PC. While there was a very brief symphony the day after the install while people picked their favorite tones, nobody has been fool enough yet to play back a VM over their speakers.
For that matter, since the integration of IM, phone conversations have dropped to almost nothing, even hallway chatter is noticeably quieter.
OTOH - Those lucky enough to have offices that would sign for this technology typically have admins to do all their grunt-interfacing anyhow and hearing a pleasant female voice pop up now and then over the drudgery doesn't sound all that miserable.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Microsoft focusing their energies on things user's dont want. It keep's em from working on PocketPC:)
What brand of phone was it? I've got a Panasonic 2.4ghz phone and it'll disconnect my laptop (Orinoco Silver) if I pick up a call while the laptop's on my lap. Once I hang up, the connectivity returns.
I noticed that tonight's airing is immediately preceded by a Giant's game on KTVU. Who wants to bet the game runs long and they either start Firefly late, or (more likely, since it'd be a national feed of Firefly after a local feed of Baseball) just cut into it, missing the all-important first show set-up? Best to tack on 5 or 10 minutes of post-record time just in case they shift it.
Perhaps if they spent more money on load balancing hardware and less money on glass NOC Walls, they wouldn't have just gotten 100,000 negative impressions.
However, I must definately agree that a self-contained/controlled bot would be way-cool.
Many moons ago (before Comedy Central picked it up), we went to a Robot Wars in S.F. where they had an atonomous bot battle. The bots used pylons with IR xmitters/recievers to locate eachother. It was slow, painful, and boring as hell. The bots couldnt move quickly because they'd lose eachother and several of them just couldn't deal with the IR noise (reflections from the plexiglass, etc.) and sat and stuttered. I dont remember any of the bots even landing a single punch.
Maybe nowadays, portable processing power would be enough to make something like this interesting to more than just comp-sci majors sussing out the AI routines.
No missiles or projectiles? Just a slight risk to the audience.. Then again, limit the range/power used.. Or have unlimited class out in the desert with the audience bunker miles away.
No EMP weapons? How much fun would that be? "3-2-1.... Both bots appear to be dead..."
I take more chances mowing my lawn! But if the mower were controlled by someone else and your lawn were a giant locked box...
The great thing about the original Audiogalaxy was it was a great place to find hard-to-find music. I doubt all those people who were previously sharing 'underground' stuff are going to clamor to sign up so they can stream the latest Springsteen album.
"each palm ships with a frosted glass display. The inability to see individual pixels or whole words for that matter dramatically increases the number of colors the user perceives".
Where I come from, a similar effect is achieved with generous application of alcohol.
A friend of mine got engaged recently and the couple both felt the same way with regards to the Great Diamond Conspiracy(tm). Their solution was to buy a gargantuan fake ring (it had to have been a good 1" rock). The thing looked so damn silly and made such a statement, nobody's mentioned the lack of a real ring (as far as I know).
The real bonus was, it tended to disarm most of the guys as well, rather than causing the usual Male Sphincter Tightening when the girlfriends get glassy eyed admiring a real ring...
Slashdot Mirror
Out of curiosity, how many people who're into tech enough to outfit their houses with something like this actually have a daily routine where they eat coffee/breakfast at home before heading in?
I, for one, go to great lengths to minimize the amount of time I spend between the bed and the office in the mornings (the goal being more in the former than the latter). While the gee-whiz factor of having a cup ready in the morning is slick, give me something that loads my toothbrush, picks out my clothes, and has the shower running at temp before the last snooze alarm goes off and I'd be a happy camper.
ST1 - $370m
ST2 - $194m
ST3 - $159m
ST4 - $225m
ST5 - $104m
ST6 - $127m
ST7 - $147m
ST8 - $174m
ST9 - $131m
(all figures in adjusted 2002 dollars, worldwide gross)
any jackass could have done this port in, oh, 5 minutes. Shame on you jackasses and Palm Programmers for taking so long to put out what would surely be one of the more 'killer apps' for the Palm. Maybe charge $15 for it shareware, maybe get 10,000 buyers... From the tone of voice in your post, it sure sounds like you could have done it. What kind of jackass turns down $150k for 5 minutes work?
Wait, let me get this straight...
New TV shows are actually rehashing old plots?
Oh the travesty!
Actually, I was amazed at the bookmovie accuracy of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, given the majority of the subject matter. Most directors would have copped out on the acid trip scenes and used it for an excuse to put their own (or the DP's or the art directors, or...) views of being under the influence on the screen.
Thus, the DRM has to be at the end source, at wher the final product is released(ie. the speakers, the TV screen, etc.)
So to support this new technology, you're asking consumers they have to effectively scrap their entire system?
The depressingly slow adoption of new consumer equipment to migrate to the "required" new HDTV broadcast standards in the US is good proof of this model failing in real-life. Arguably, high-definition TV is a lot more value-added than protecting the already-hated record industry's bottom line.
If it came to that, I'd go back to vinyl.
She said she showed up in the first place for the "free set food".
So Benadryl gives you the munchies?
No offense, but you haven't spent much time around 15 year-olds. Stoned or not, they'll jump through an amazing number of hoops to get free food. Especially if it's donuts and Snickers, which is what's typically found on commercial shoots.
The big problem I'd found with usenet is the high-speed ISP's crank down the article retention or dont carry binary groups altogether. The same was the case with all of the free Usenet providers I tried as well, this means you're left with moving to a fee-based Usenet provider, most of which are fairly pricy ($10/mo or greater) and have download limitations of some sort.
For $10/mo, why not sign up with a full-on mp3 service where you know all the songs on an album will be available and you likely have some searching/cross referencing/'if you like A, try B' features?
Palm OS5 requires an ARM processor. I would think that fitting ARM into the W would add another $50 to the internal cost-of-goods, not to mention development costs.
Given the market's sensitivity to price points right now (especially for items that are perceived as overpriced in the first place), the number of people who will vocalize displeasure about the W not having OS5 is relatively insignificant compared to the number of people that will howl at it's being ~$75-$100 more expensive.
Maybe this means someone will dust off TAC and release a new version?
Seriously though, (I know, this is OT), are there any other AIM compatible text based chat clients? As one of a not-as-small-as-you-might-think group who's only way to IM is through SSH to a shell acount, it'd be nice to find something stable to use.
Why then, do all the current palm games suck?
probably because users are to cheap to buy the games when they are $30-50, that's an awful lot to spend on a handheld enterainment app.
No, it's because this amazing new horsepower isn't actually on the market for another few hours and the vast majority of PalmOS developers don't participate in "pre-release hardware" development (unlike the major game companies).
There are quite a few games that push the limits of the Dragonball and look damn nice, but even the top of the line 33mhz isn't close to a 144mhz ARM. Patience, Young Jedi, the wicked games will come soon enough, especially with the new 5-way and improved audio support.
Tivo also tracks your viewing habits.
FYI - Data is submitted anonymously and (IIR) you can opt out of that.
Assuming data is submitted anonymously, why would you not want them to know viewing habits? I'm not able to think of a scenario where them knowing what people watch would be a Bad Thing(tm).
Or is it just out of concern that once they get their foot in the door...?
takes an hour pushing buttons on a simple menu
That makes it sound even harder than it is. Initial setup (plug it in, choose your area code, download the 1st chunk of program guide data) takes an hour, of which most of that is sit and wait (or eat ice cream, pay bills, read slashdot).
The programming bit is much easier. As you're channel surfing, if you find a show you like, press Record, select if you want to record the show every time it airs (or just that particular episode), and that's it.
The TiVo will handle updating program guide data and adjust recording times should your show move days without you needing to do anything (something VCRs dont do). For the most part, it'll skip multiple showings (IE - only get one new episode of the Sopranos every week) and if something overlaps, it'll either prioritize (based on your settings) or (if possible) record a different showing.
I'm hooked, my housemates are hooked, my friends are hooked. To be honest, I dont know anyone who's got a TiVo that doesn't think it's the best thing since color TV. Then again, I work in the tech biz and most of my friends are very comfortable with electronic gadgets, so I dont count as an accurate cross-section of society.
I'll second the positive review of the AT. The poster above didn't mention a couple of other nice features - 'net radio support (which, granted, isn't as cool since the RIAA crashed the party), and NTP-set clock/alarm/snooze functionality. It's also got a decent stereo component design, so it fits well in the stereo rack.
That being said, the AT's not quite perfect - it takes a long time to scan shares and getting it set up with SAMBA always seems to be a PITA, but once things are set up, it's a solid performer.
SliMP3 does not yet appear to support OGG (at least as far as I can tell from their website), which was one of the poster's requirements (and I dare say the most limiting, for an 'off the shelf' solution). Turtle Beach's Audiotron falls in the same category, everything the poster wants, except no OGG support.
Yes, but in your cube?
.WAV attachments in email, you can play back a message through your PC. While there was a very brief symphony the day after the install while people picked their favorite tones, nobody has been fool enough yet to play back a VM over their speakers.
:)
Granted - Surround Sound for teleconferencing does kick ass.
Microsoft's vision of the office of the future's rather misguided from the very start - Offices are still on the decline. Cubeland still reigns, and until the economy turns around, that's certainly not going to change. Even when the economy does turn around, I think companies will be a lot more hesitant to go on the spending frenzies of days past and 5ft fabric walls will still be the de-facto.
In cubeland, silence is golden. Nobody will tolerate voice or video mail or IM. Our office has the new Cisco phone setup with VOIP - it's slick, it's got 20 different ringtones, it's got a stock ticker, you can crash the phones if you're not careful. It sends voicemails as
For that matter, since the integration of IM, phone conversations have dropped to almost nothing, even hallway chatter is noticeably quieter.
OTOH - Those lucky enough to have offices that would sign for this technology typically have admins to do all their grunt-interfacing anyhow and hearing a pleasant female voice pop up now and then over the drudgery doesn't sound all that miserable.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Microsoft focusing their energies on things user's dont want. It keep's em from working on PocketPC
-Palm Developer
What brand of phone was it? I've got a Panasonic 2.4ghz phone and it'll disconnect my laptop (Orinoco Silver) if I pick up a call while the laptop's on my lap. Once I hang up, the connectivity returns.
I noticed that tonight's airing is immediately preceded by a Giant's game on KTVU.
Who wants to bet the game runs long and they either start Firefly late, or (more likely, since it'd be a national feed of Firefly after a local feed of Baseball) just cut into it, missing the all-important first show set-up? Best to tack on 5 or 10 minutes of post-record time just in case they shift it.
Perhaps if they spent more money on load balancing hardware and less money on glass NOC Walls, they wouldn't have just gotten 100,000 negative impressions.
However, I must definately agree that a self-contained/controlled bot would be way-cool.
Many moons ago (before Comedy Central picked it up), we went to a Robot Wars in S.F. where they had an atonomous bot battle. The bots used pylons with IR xmitters/recievers to locate eachother. It was slow, painful, and boring as hell. The bots couldnt move quickly because they'd lose eachother and several of them just couldn't deal with the IR noise (reflections from the plexiglass, etc.) and sat and stuttered. I dont remember any of the bots even landing a single punch.
Maybe nowadays, portable processing power would be enough to make something like this interesting to more than just comp-sci majors sussing out the AI routines.
No missiles or projectiles?
Just a slight risk to the audience.. Then again, limit the range/power used.. Or have unlimited class out in the desert with the audience bunker miles away.
No EMP weapons?
How much fun would that be? "3-2-1.... Both bots appear to be dead..."
I take more chances mowing my lawn!
But if the mower were controlled by someone else and your lawn were a giant locked box...
Now that would get ratings!
The great thing about the original Audiogalaxy was it was a great place to find hard-to-find music. I doubt all those people who were previously sharing 'underground' stuff are going to clamor to sign up so they can stream the latest Springsteen album.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I know my old copies of Locksmith and Nibbles Away would come in handy some day...
"each palm ships with a frosted glass display. The inability to see individual pixels or whole words for that matter dramatically increases the number of colors the user perceives".
Where I come from, a similar effect is achieved with generous application of alcohol.
My people call the technique "Beer Goggles".
A friend of mine got engaged recently and the couple both felt the same way with regards to the Great Diamond Conspiracy(tm). Their solution was to buy a gargantuan fake ring (it had to have been a good 1" rock). The thing looked so damn silly and made such a statement, nobody's mentioned the lack of a real ring (as far as I know).
The real bonus was, it tended to disarm most of the guys as well, rather than causing the usual Male Sphincter Tightening when the girlfriends get glassy eyed admiring a real ring...