AA Petrol Busters for finding the cheapest petrol/diesel/LPG in your area. Free registration is required but it is worth it. It also contains loads of information of how the price of fuel has changed over time.
CDs at a music store are crippled with 'Copy Protection'. All that means is that I have to download the album if I want to play it on my computer. It begs the question 'Why buy it in the first place?'
I'm intrested in this. It sounds good but a small venue would need to hire in a third mixing desk and engineer. You've already got one for Front of House (what YOU hear), there's one for monitors and now there will need to be one for recordings. This requires more space and money.
You can't just take a recording from the Front of House desk because it will sound crap! You see, it is obviously engineered to sound good for those at the concert. The sound you hear is not just the sound that comes through the venue's audio system, it also includes the drum-kit and the bands guitar amps. These are usually amplified a little by the venue but no where near as much as the vocals.
So, if you take a recording of the output, you get a *lot* of vocals and very little back-line (drumkit and guitars). I sound engineer gigs at my students union which is how I know all this stuff. Several times I've tried to taking a copy onto minidisc and this is why I know how bad it sounds.
Once, we did make a recording onto an eight track for some band who were wanting to add the event to a DVD. The eight tracks were mixed after the gig in a proper studio. It'd be *very* hard to successuflly mix for a DVD or other recorded medium on the fly because you would be able to hear the band playing and wouldn't know if enough drumkit, etc is getting added to the mix.
Anyway, successfull bootlegs work because they use a mic in front of the band, just like your ear pics up what you hear in front of a band. This is what the Front of House engineer will mix the band for, not for recordings into MP3.
The BBC with Open University did a really good science series called Hollywood Science. Link.
Originally it was aired late at night but got moved to a more prime slot, I can't remember what time. Anyway it was very good and accessible because one of the presentors is Robert Llewellyn, the actor who played Kryton in Red Dwarf.
Its definetelly worth seeing if you ever get the chance.
But what happens when there is no beer in the fridge? Is it going to roll its ass down to the 7-11 and pick up a six pack and restock itself?
Perhaps it could order on-line and leave instructions to the delivery guy. The delivery guy could then leave them in some hatch, that was the back of the fridge.
This place delivers beer in Hull, UK. I've never used it because their shop is across the road from me and it would be uber lazy to use their website to order beer.
Anyway, I like the idea of this robot, I'd have one:D
Mousemats were needed with a ball mouse, but with an optical one you don't need one, and I actually find it easier without one. They're inexpensive too, mine cos 6 GBP (~$10) for a three button scroll wheel optical mouse.
Even better would be a two way device. This would be getting kinda like the matrix.
So, rather than thinking 'I want to play the By The Way album' and your mp3 player starts playing it you could have it so that you think that and then you start to actually hear it as if it is playing even though it isn't.
You could also make your stomach feel full when you think about eating, that could help us loose weight a lot easier. You could chat on IM and IRC without actually being at a computer, just a WIFI link to your brain.
The ONLY time I've had to worry about manually managing dependencies in the last couple of years is when I've tried installing something off Sourceforge or a similar geeky site. That's fair enough; Sourceforge isn't designed to host end-user tools, so desktop users shouldn't be going there if they want ease of use.
Sourceforge may be a 'geeky' site but there are many OSS project for Windows on there. These all come with.exe files that just work. For example: FMA
This is what is needed for usability. Most people don't want to bother with dependancies.
20% of $15M is $3M which is what they're asking for so you'd only make money on the intrest between receiving the money and giving it back. Looks like a scam to me. I'd avoid it.
But, what is it if it isn't IE? My family have a firewall and virus checker and they're on dial-up. I'm on broadband with no virus checker or firewall. Call me stupid if you want.
They use win98, I use XP so it could be different versions of IE, I don't know.
Thats great! I use Windows, with Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, and many other OSS apps.
My girlfriend insists on using IE on my computer because with Mozilla you don't get all the rich-text options in Yahoo Mail. I tried to teach her how to enter them as html code but that really confused her, so she has to use IE. Then she also complains about openOffice, but has some trouble finding problems with it, just that the word count is in a differnt place. A few months ago I won some software from MS, including Office 2003. She was a pissed off that I didn't install it, and instead sold it on eBay and bought a Rio Karma with the proceeds:).
I find it odd how ppl have a strange love affair with MS as if they're brainwashed. OK, I use Windows XP, I prefer it to Linux for the desktop (/me waits for flamebait mod). I used to use Linux as my main desktop back in 2001, and still use it from time to time. But, everyone I know who uses IE regularly now has many viruses on their computer.
I went back to my parents' for Easter and was helping my dad remove 1000s of trojans and viruses off his machine. I have mozilla fire* installed on it for my own personal use, and I've tried encouraging other family members to use it but they blankly refuse. Several times IE just refuses to load so I suggest they use fire*, my mum and sister who are your average users found it easy to use, but went straight back to IE once I had downloaded it for my Dad who insists on using it. He had to check something and just refuses to use anything other than IE citing the icons being ever so slightly differnt. He is not your average user, he's been using computers for at least 25 years, mainly Unix systems but fire* stumps him!!
Maybe there's something in the water, I really don't know. My sister might actually convert over to fire*, cos she's had to rebuild her machine three times in the last year due to viruses. She's only on dial-up. I just said that the best thing to do is not to use IE. She was shocked, and asked if there was anthing else that could access the 'internet'. I showed her fire*, that she had previously used anyway and she doesn't use the rich-text features of hotmail so she might be a convert.
Its going to take a *long* time for ppl to switch. Like others have said, it should be measured in decades not years.
I've done extensive development work in the area of audio watermarking and audio fingerprinting, and I'm amazed that AT&T can make this happen, given the reduced fidelity of a wireless phone connection.
Then prepare to be amazed!
I've been using the same tech here in the UK for the past year and it really does work. Most of the stuff I listen to is not chart stuff, I didn't believe it would be all that good but, yes it really is.
When you'd kill for the name of the song and your mates don't know it, then its great to just dial 2580 and direct your phone's mic towards the nearest speaker. Shazam then sends you a text of the name of the song and you can access a list of all your songs on the Shazam website. It costs 59p here which is ~99c.
For those suggesting that you should be able to get a song with your purchase; Shazam let you get a ringtone (mono or polyphonic) just after you get the name of the track. I haven't used this yet so can't commment on it.
As for its accuracy I've only once had a problem with it and that was because I was in a club with very bad audio and decided to basically 'test' Shazam out. There was a part of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Sprirt that didn't sound anything like it should - just a lot of high pitch noise. Shazam couldn't work it out, so I got my next song name or 'tag' for just 9p.
However, I have a Sony Ericsson t68i mobile phone and purchased a USB Bluetooth dongle off ebay for ~20 GBP. I downloaded the excellent floAt's Mobile Agent software which interacts via Bluetooth with Sony Ericsson phones.
Now when I walk into my room, my phone clock automagically syncs with my computer's clock. All my text messages and my phone book are archived. If a text message arrives, it is displayed on my computer screen, and I can reply using my qwerty keyboard rather than the predictive text. I can also control Winamp, Powerpoint and WMP but I don't really use them much. All in all it is very usefull for me, but it could have been better.
I am suprised it hasn't been built into more devices. I would have thought sony would have built them into more of their devices, especially televison sets. Rather than using an infra-red remote control they could use a bluetooth remote (marketing would love it), they could then allow you to use a Sony Ericsson phone to control your TV instead of a remote and I'm sure there are many other possibilities that I just haven't thought of. When the clocks went forward, my mobile and computer automatically changed but my watch and radio alarm clock didn't but if they had bluetooth then they would have been able to. I googled for bluetooth alarm clocks and watches, but there are none. It turns out no one has made one. A bluetooth clock radio would be easy and I'd buy one, when I get a job!
Let's just think of it as a breadth search of all possible desktop environments, and we can later choose the paths that we like the most and combine those ideas into a single desktop environment in the future.
So, when is that going to happen?
I agree with the original poster, there needs to be a single desktop. We could wait forever before deciding what the 'ultimate desktop' is. Surelly, if the KDE and Gnome (and other) developers got together they could build a good desktop to put Windows to shame a lot quicker. Redmond has many developers working full time on their desktop, Linux needs to bring groups together to develop a desktop that will seriously rival Windows and even MacOS X.
I'm at University in the UK and clothes do wear out, you do need to replace them. For example socks, go into town and they'll cost you ~10 GBP for a pack of 5 pairs if you're lucky. If I go to ASDA (which is owned by Wal*Mart), I get 5 pairs for ~2 GBP ($3.50).
OK, so the difference isn't huge but I am over 800 GBP overdrawn so it does make a difference and that was just one example. It pretty much applies to all clothes.
However, food is cheaper in the shops down my street than at the big supermarkets because I am in Hull, which is a very run-down city in Britian and so the local businesses cater for it well.
If you cannot catch the play on words between "doh" and "dough" in a story related to a wage increase, then perhaps sir you need to watch more television.
I think he did catch the play on words. I think he was just pointing out how strange it was that several newspapers used the same play on words as the start of their headline.
Slashdot Mirror
AA Petrol Busters for finding the cheapest petrol/diesel/LPG in your area. Free registration is required but it is worth it. It also contains loads of information of how the price of fuel has changed over time.
IIRC OGG Vorbis can support upto 255 channels. Shame its not more mainstream.
As for the p2p tracking, people may not use it because of this or it may just get cracked.
yep, I forgot about them!
BTW, I like your sig. Its a great song.
CD-Wow for your CDs.
Ebuyer for your computer kit.
Holborn Books for your computer books.
Click Ink for your generic ink cartridges.
Cahoot for your banking.
Ebay. No explanation needed!
Netto to check out what deals they've got on. Shortcut to Netto's offers.
CDs at a music store are crippled with 'Copy Protection'. All that means is that I have to download the album if I want to play it on my computer. It begs the question 'Why buy it in the first place?'
I'm intrested in this. It sounds good but a small venue would need to hire in a third mixing desk and engineer. You've already got one for Front of House (what YOU hear), there's one for monitors and now there will need to be one for recordings. This requires more space and money.
You can't just take a recording from the Front of House desk because it will sound crap! You see, it is obviously engineered to sound good for those at the concert. The sound you hear is not just the sound that comes through the venue's audio system, it also includes the drum-kit and the bands guitar amps. These are usually amplified a little by the venue but no where near as much as the vocals.
So, if you take a recording of the output, you get a *lot* of vocals and very little back-line (drumkit and guitars). I sound engineer gigs at my students union which is how I know all this stuff. Several times I've tried to taking a copy onto minidisc and this is why I know how bad it sounds.
Once, we did make a recording onto an eight track for some band who were wanting to add the event to a DVD. The eight tracks were mixed after the gig in a proper studio. It'd be *very* hard to successuflly mix for a DVD or other recorded medium on the fly because you would be able to hear the band playing and wouldn't know if enough drumkit, etc is getting added to the mix.
Anyway, successfull bootlegs work because they use a mic in front of the band, just like your ear pics up what you hear in front of a band. This is what the Front of House engineer will mix the band for, not for recordings into MP3.
The BBC with Open University did a series called Hollywood Science. They covered Ice Cold in Alex. Click here for more info.
The BBC with Open University did a really good science series called Hollywood Science. Link.
Originally it was aired late at night but got moved to a more prime slot, I can't remember what time. Anyway it was very good and accessible because one of the presentors is Robert Llewellyn, the actor who played Kryton in Red Dwarf.
Its definetelly worth seeing if you ever get the chance.
But what happens when there is no beer in the fridge? Is it going to roll its ass down to the 7-11 and pick up a six pack and restock itself?
:D
Perhaps it could order on-line and leave instructions to the delivery guy. The delivery guy could then leave them in some hatch, that was the back of the fridge.
This place delivers beer in Hull, UK. I've never used it because their shop is across the road from me and it would be uber lazy to use their website to order beer.
Anyway, I like the idea of this robot, I'd have one
lol, brilliant. I haven't heard that one before.
If the RIAA set up an internet radio station, they could potentially catch anyone listening to it by taking down their IP numbers.
Post-it note prank
Balloons
Cos I don't.
Mousemats were needed with a ball mouse, but with an optical one you don't need one, and I actually find it easier without one. They're inexpensive too, mine cos 6 GBP (~$10) for a three button scroll wheel optical mouse.
Even better would be a two way device. This would be getting kinda like the matrix.
So, rather than thinking 'I want to play the By The Way album' and your mp3 player starts playing it you could have it so that you think that and then you start to actually hear it as if it is playing even though it isn't.
You could also make your stomach feel full when you think about eating, that could help us loose weight a lot easier. You could chat on IM and IRC without actually being at a computer, just a WIFI link to your brain.
The possibilities are endless.
Sourceforge may be a 'geeky' site but there are many OSS project for Windows on there. These all come with .exe files that just work. For example: FMA
This is what is needed for usability. Most people don't want to bother with dependancies.
20% of $15M is $3M which is what they're asking for so you'd only make money on the intrest between receiving the money and giving it back. Looks like a scam to me. I'd avoid it.
/sarcasm
I don't insist that I know what they want.
But, what is it if it isn't IE? My family have a firewall and virus checker and they're on dial-up. I'm on broadband with no virus checker or firewall. Call me stupid if you want.
They use win98, I use XP so it could be different versions of IE, I don't know.
Thats great! I use Windows, with Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, and many other OSS apps.
:).
My girlfriend insists on using IE on my computer because with Mozilla you don't get all the rich-text options in Yahoo Mail. I tried to teach her how to enter them as html code but that really confused her, so she has to use IE. Then she also complains about openOffice, but has some trouble finding problems with it, just that the word count is in a differnt place. A few months ago I won some software from MS, including Office 2003. She was a pissed off that I didn't install it, and instead sold it on eBay and bought a Rio Karma with the proceeds
I find it odd how ppl have a strange love affair with MS as if they're brainwashed. OK, I use Windows XP, I prefer it to Linux for the desktop (/me waits for flamebait mod). I used to use Linux as my main desktop back in 2001, and still use it from time to time. But, everyone I know who uses IE regularly now has many viruses on their computer.
I went back to my parents' for Easter and was helping my dad remove 1000s of trojans and viruses off his machine. I have mozilla fire* installed on it for my own personal use, and I've tried encouraging other family members to use it but they blankly refuse. Several times IE just refuses to load so I suggest they use fire*, my mum and sister who are your average users found it easy to use, but went straight back to IE once I had downloaded it for my Dad who insists on using it. He had to check something and just refuses to use anything other than IE citing the icons being ever so slightly differnt. He is not your average user, he's been using computers for at least 25 years, mainly Unix systems but fire* stumps him!!
Maybe there's something in the water, I really don't know. My sister might actually convert over to fire*, cos she's had to rebuild her machine three times in the last year due to viruses. She's only on dial-up. I just said that the best thing to do is not to use IE. She was shocked, and asked if there was anthing else that could access the 'internet'. I showed her fire*, that she had previously used anyway and she doesn't use the rich-text features of hotmail so she might be a convert.
Its going to take a *long* time for ppl to switch. Like others have said, it should be measured in decades not years.
Then prepare to be amazed!
I've been using the same tech here in the UK for the past year and it really does work. Most of the stuff I listen to is not chart stuff, I didn't believe it would be all that good but, yes it really is.
When you'd kill for the name of the song and your mates don't know it, then its great to just dial 2580 and direct your phone's mic towards the nearest speaker. Shazam then sends you a text of the name of the song and you can access a list of all your songs on the Shazam website. It costs 59p here which is ~99c.
For those suggesting that you should be able to get a song with your purchase; Shazam let you get a ringtone (mono or polyphonic) just after you get the name of the track. I haven't used this yet so can't commment on it.
As for its accuracy I've only once had a problem with it and that was because I was in a club with very bad audio and decided to basically 'test' Shazam out. There was a part of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Sprirt that didn't sound anything like it should - just a lot of high pitch noise. Shazam couldn't work it out, so I got my next song name or 'tag' for just 9p.
You will be suprised by this service.
yep, Bluetooth hasn't really taken off.
However, I have a Sony Ericsson t68i mobile phone and purchased a USB Bluetooth dongle off ebay for ~20 GBP. I downloaded the excellent floAt's Mobile Agent software which interacts via Bluetooth with Sony Ericsson phones.
Now when I walk into my room, my phone clock automagically syncs with my computer's clock. All my text messages and my phone book are archived. If a text message arrives, it is displayed on my computer screen, and I can reply using my qwerty keyboard rather than the predictive text. I can also control Winamp, Powerpoint and WMP but I don't really use them much. All in all it is very usefull for me, but it could have been better.
I am suprised it hasn't been built into more devices. I would have thought sony would have built them into more of their devices, especially televison sets. Rather than using an infra-red remote control they could use a bluetooth remote (marketing would love it), they could then allow you to use a Sony Ericsson phone to control your TV instead of a remote and I'm sure there are many other possibilities that I just haven't thought of. When the clocks went forward, my mobile and computer automatically changed but my watch and radio alarm clock didn't but if they had bluetooth then they would have been able to. I googled for bluetooth alarm clocks and watches, but there are none. It turns out no one has made one. A bluetooth clock radio would be easy and I'd buy one, when I get a job!
So, when is that going to happen?
I agree with the original poster, there needs to be a single desktop. We could wait forever before deciding what the 'ultimate desktop' is. Surelly, if the KDE and Gnome (and other) developers got together they could build a good desktop to put Windows to shame a lot quicker. Redmond has many developers working full time on their desktop, Linux needs to bring groups together to develop a desktop that will seriously rival Windows and even MacOS X.
Wouldn't RFID just replace the barcode on clothing?
You're dead right.
I'm at University in the UK and clothes do wear out, you do need to replace them. For example socks, go into town and they'll cost you ~10 GBP for a pack of 5 pairs if you're lucky. If I go to ASDA (which is owned by Wal*Mart), I get 5 pairs for ~2 GBP ($3.50).
OK, so the difference isn't huge but I am over 800 GBP overdrawn so it does make a difference and that was just one example. It pretty much applies to all clothes.
However, food is cheaper in the shops down my street than at the big supermarkets because I am in Hull, which is a very run-down city in Britian and so the local businesses cater for it well.
On top of that you need to take into account merchandise and the sale of 'The Simpsons' around the world.
I think he did catch the play on words. I think he was just pointing out how strange it was that several newspapers used the same play on words as the start of their headline.