Thank you for using Cluetrain express, be seated and enjoy.
I realize I am merely echoing what others have said, but to have a 'fellow professional' ask our opinion/advice is always welcomed.
Add to the fact that a US Senator is asking makes it even more necessary to voice out opinion.
(HELLOOOO! McFly!!!...some of you/.'er saying "you want us to do your job for you?" need to board the cluetrain as well...uh, Senator, law making, U.S. of A, Constitution, righting wrongs, fixing bad laws... mean anything to you?
Apologies for the brow beating, someone had to say it)
I realize it has little to do with security, but hear me out:
Consider the eBook, DeCSS, Napster, DRM, Watermarking, DMCA, SSSCA, RIAA, MPAA, Microsoft, et al.
What do all of these have in common? Bad Laws, legislation, and corporations who are twisting and perverting the legal system to thier own will, and succeeding to implement new forms of Prohibition.
You see the 1920's provided a clue to a generation: You can NOT legislate morality.
What these laws are saying is "Napster Baaad", "Fair use, Baaaad", "Freedom of speech Baaad!"...you get the idea.
Trying to "outlaw computers, fair use, tools of the trade" is a bad idea, but it is one that seems to be advancing at an alarming rate.
What is being ignored in the law making body is:
The tools of the trade (any trade), be it a lock pick, gun, sledge, bolt cutters, or, yes, a computer...these things need to be available reguardless of intent and use.
It seems most corps/senators/congressppl are afraid of "what we might do/think" and are making it illegal.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
I think a "Digital Boston Tea Party" protesting this "Digital Prohibition and Taxation w/o representation".
But the only thing that comes to mind is lobbing modems and misc computer parts on the Whitehouse/Congressional 'doorsteps' in protest.
Ok, I've gone on long enuf, but I'll leave you with this thought:
The most powerful network security tool is called "a pair of wire cutters", after that is finding the offending wire and pulling as hard as you can:) .
The new iPod commercial actually has a blip of OS X, and yet it is a mere 2 second glimpse.
Sad.
Reminds me of the same situation that AMD is in.
Great product, little or no exposure to "the unwashed masses/joe+/or jane 6 pack".
It almost seems to me as if they are taking the "female" tact of "if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you"...
(hint: never come back with 'If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know'...big mistake... more pain than "yes, your but does look big")
Both make great products (amd/apple) but in the AMD the hardware needs exposure, with Apple, their new os (OS X, naturally) is in *dire* need of some air time...at least more than 2 seconds.
And "flat panel" imacs...well like the G5 rumors, I'll believe it when I see it.
Oh, whatever happened to "I/we don't comment on unreleased products."?
I'm suprised Steve Jobs has not repealed that policy and said, yes we will have a G5/flat panel Imac/whaterver rumor...but it is slated for release *after* 3 or more years.
IOW, beat the users and rumour mongers with a clue stick and the truth.
Think that irks me is that first there was really no player on the mac for things such as DivX (mpeg4 variant) and Mpeg2.
Heck, windows media player can do mpeg2 (svcd's, essentially)...why can't Qt (on the pc, yes, mac, no)?
How long has apple promised to get mpeg2 on the mac?
Now that Mpeg4/DivX's are being picked up by Apple, I wonder if it had anything to do with a certain "trailer website" dumping QT for DivX?
Heh, like the Bad guy in Highlander said "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, better take it out and use it, or its going to rust!".
QT5 on X.1.1 simply rocks, and the ffmpeg codec on divx.jamby.net and the divx fixer on mac.divx.st (classic app) has at least brought Apple to the year 1999 as far a multimedia.
(low shot, but face it they are dicking the dog with this "great idea, change the world, don't follow thru/have plans deflated".
(apologies for being to lazy to link)
Hate to say it, but, as a "platforms hopper"...Jobs has it correct calling his idea a "Digital Hub"...problem is we need a Digital Switch, sorry to say.
At least that is my current thoughts on the matter.
A Canadian firm specializing in arbitration won't be settling any more cybersquatting disputes, saying Friday that its reputation for being fair has driven away the trademark holders who file complaints and thus decide who makes money in that business.
First off they are Canadians, which is rife with humor all by itself, but I'll say this is good because most of our brothers to the north are very level-headed.
Good thing to have in an arbitrator.
Reputation for being fair: Kiss of death for a business, and, once again a "Good thing (tm)" when dealing with an arbitrator.
Being fair "drives away trademark holders"...does this say anything about the current situation?
I'm sure copyright holders (RIMPAss's--RIAA/MPAA Ass.--a la the Register) can buy...uh, select the most corrup^H^H^H^H^H easily persuaded judges.
Maybe I'm too damn tired, and too damn cynical, but this suprises anyone?
Uh-huh. Ethics in business has about as much of a chance as chastity in a whorehouse.
I posted to show my ignorance for all of slashdot to see.
Ok to some extent, yes, but as I read the article I thought to myself "What is he saying in simple terms?"...it's late and I need to go to bed.
Microsoft's "innovation", if you will, was a 2 out of 3 ain't bad scenario that proved ecologists correct "Reduce, Recycle, Reuse".
Only in this case they figured out "Increase (bugs, bloat, features), Recycle, Reuse".
Quite frankly it explains a lot. I had submitted a link at one time called ".asf == Another security flaw?"...because WiMP (win. media player) had {gasp} a security flaw.
The kicker was it was the same flaw that kept showing up time and time again...I think someone at bugtraq called it "sheer idiocy" (don't hold me to that, as I lost the link).
And, I've mentioned to people that the I.E. integration into windows was asked of beta testers: "Do you want IE integrated into the OS".
78% said 'NO'...well, look where we are today, eh?
Whoever said "I felt dirty just reading this" said it very well. It is like thinking about "your grandparents having sex"...you know it probably happens, but it best not to think about it.
Same thing here...we know Microsoft "does it" with code...just try not to think about it.
You'll sleep better at night. Perhaps.
Is there a certain resignation involved?
Yes, because, short of "nuking 1 MS way" off the planet (only way to be sure)...the have "won".
MS has proved "no one ever went poor underestimating the stupidity of the American buying public". (WC Fields?, I forget).
(only a quad boot? C'mon I had a quintuple boot 98se, 2000, slack 7, redhat 7 and BeOS 5...all via (drum roll) LILO! Taaadaaa!)
Not to offend, but linux zealots are interesting... os/2 had zealots, but they were called the "user base". Some were pretty scary when you brought up Windows {shudder}
My experience, mind you. I guess it is hard to be a zealot when you are...OOOOooo, shiney operating system!!!
CMOS stands for Crystal Metal Oxide Semi-conductor.
Crystal (not the little hamburger thingies) or Crystalline...same-same.
Of course, you may very well be correct also.
My acronyms definition came from a computer definition book I found one day, circa 1991'ish.
Same thing with the.gif extension. Some people call it a "Jif" as in the peanut butter (why? Dunno) I've said "Gif" as in Gift without the t. Same vein as jpeg/jpg being pronounced "Jay-Fif"....that one still boggles the mind, but, the "meta data/internal code is: JFIF"...I believe.
Dang, waaaay too much info. Did not mean to babble on so much.
Skuld:
Ouch, mon.
Have you taken a look at your modem settings? just open your browser and point it to here.
you should be able to view up and down stream settings. Mine is at 128000bits...roughly 12K/s. Did the update on the cd, so at least I have email.
Bungie:
Dude, thanks for telling me. Too dang tired today. Had to stand on my head and shuffle around huge UPS batteries in addition to getting several more "shocks" to the system.
(not electric, but the "sinking...or is that syncing?--sorry, bad joke from the CMOS discussion--...feeling variety from the "didja hear about {fill in Oh, No! variety})
However, I think for a moment that it could be worse... I could be at the other end of the phone over at Charter/Cox/{whatever} dealing with people as furious, maybe moreso, than I am.
This whole @home thing, coupled with hardware failures (dell, naturally), delays in getting replacements, an ever growing pile of stuff I have to send back..and on and on.
I've noticed the following:
1)I've had a shortcut (symlink, for you non windows folks;) ) that was deleted by the installer.
It was, of course, called @home (news reader).
Good thing it was not a folder with data..phew.
2) I had made a "hard" association of vbs with notepad to avoid viruses (via winfile, so registry entries would not over write my association). The installer broke (or re-enabled it, if you prefer) that association.
Grrrrrr.
3) Outbreak^H^H^H^H^Hlook express 6 was installed w/o warning... and with the new virus floating around, not the brightest thing to do.
4) Exploiter^H^H^H^Hrer 6, same thing. Did not want it, did not need it, yet there it was.
K-Meleon, Netscape, or IE 5.x is what I'll use, sometimes in that order.
5) Something is not right with the installer, at least for me... kept getting "loadcw.exe page fault, blah, blah"...sigh.
5 1/2) Speed is still 8kbytes down, 12kbytes up, not cool, seeing as pipeline starts at 512down/128up... something is not right..heh...if only I could call them and get help...hahahahaha, yeah, right... that's funny. Maybe next week, or a visit to the "home" office here in town.
So far it works. But the best description of the current speeds has been deemed "as fast as a frozen slug". Heh, thanks to one of my cow-workers, at least I got a chuckle today.
And that is the "Morning Report" from the field.
(apologies to Rowan Atkinson's character).
From the article:
McClung declined to give specifics about the system, but said the network is protected by standard security methods such as firewalls and a virus detection application.
See? Security thru obscurity!! It's working already!
Whadda ya mean we "have to wait until after the Olympics are over?"
How long before the RIAA requires that these digital signals become encryped to avoid "single note copywright violations?" Hummm?
Forgive my further cynicism, as "I'm a technician, Jim! Not a musician!".
Gibson already has had discussions with companies like Intel, Sony, Philips, and networking giant Cisco Systems.
Royalty free, eh? How long will that last?
Intel p4 only instructions. Clock for clock music timing only available @ 2Ghz and above.
Sony/RIAA...encryption of all signals no matter what its origin.
PHilips...dunno, at a loss.
Cisco. Many specs to choose from, all incompatible with each other. Won't connect to "unauthorized, non Intel, Sony, RIAA approved devices."
Yes, it has been pointed out that "most musicians" will probably hate this new standard, but, if it does take off and is accepted...what do you want to bet that I am dead on with the RIAA's "potential" actions, at the very least?
Think about it. It has happened with DV streams, I certainly think future "AV" streams will suffer the same fate.
Ah, thanks, I was trying to think of the term...and kept faling. Mach Banding (nods head).
Thanks, yerricide. I have that java demo saved/linked in one of my profiles on my network at work. Some people have a hard time deciphering "geek speak", heck, I have the pleasure of hanging around grfx artist...(concepts, must understand concepts...ow, my head hurts).
The thing that "most", not all, people do is do a 16bit rip simply to keep file sizes down.
In the bad old days, on the mac side, 24bit had to be done at 16bit simply to get smoother playback. Not the fault of the encoder/ripper, but the WMP limitation imposed on the DivX player for the mac. I forget how the programmer got around it, but he did...god bless those aussies.
To autopr0n:
The simpler algorithem, is that encoder or codec based? I'm curious, as I have not even played with what is out there for a few months, so I would not know.
To Jobe_br (the OT reply):
You might be correct, I kind of figured that chater did not want to get flooded/overly taxed with people loggin on.
I understand the why, but am still on the "why me" phase. Semi-denial:|
Out of the dozen or so people I've been in contact with, only one is getting "fair" throughput. (~250Kb/s, IIRC) My connect is so slow now, that connections are getting dropped and instead of taking a few hours, takes a few dozen hours. So far it has been a day of "grumble, grumble, {explicative deleted}" over and over.
Heatsync and/or Heatsink. Which is correct? Dunno, doan really care because the "sync" has stuck with me as far as heatsyncs go.
Any Non AC's care to reply and set me on the correct spelling? Spelling question on/., oye, I'm really asking for it, aren't I?
C'mon dudes and dudettes, it is "sync or swim time".
Oh, and to the First AC who replied...yeah, maybe both sarcasm and ignorance is applicable.
Maybe it is me, but sarcasm, ignorance or both has never stopped anyone from posting on slashdot, has it?
But, I suppose, that is usually why the default is to filter out AC's...:) no offense, whomever you are.
Anywho... 'If I'm right, I'm right. If I am wrong, then show me I'm wrong' is the way I see it.
who thinks, "Good, now we can overclock our "CMOS" and get to a less than 5 second boot time."
Only down side I see is needing a CMOS heat sync and a 2 1/4inch, 5K rpm fans to keep the thing cool.
Think about it, seriously for a minute:
We have heat syncs and fans on; processors, chipsets, powersupplies, memory (sometimes), case fans, hard drives (on occasions)...what is missing?
Oh, yeah, we need some of this action on the CMOS!!!
I agree, and echo the statements in effect saying "they are setting themselves up for a failure to prove their own point".
This is spin + corporate politics + capitalism + a "victim" mentality (that sadly works all to well in the court system) = No Soup/songs/fish/fair use for YOU!
And it suddenly occured to me that the acronym RIAA just might stand for Retentive In Anal Areas.
At least, that is what was running thru my mind while reading the article.
Oh, and I don't think anyone hit on this particular part: The first internet music service backed by major record companies
What is wrong with this picture, people?
2 Major labels? when it has been said that the Music industry, like the TV industry is/are so "in bed with each other" that when on person sneezes, everyone covers thier mouth, reflexively".
I can say with confidence that we are dealing with the devils we do know and the devils we don't want to know, also.
If you take an encoder such as virtual dub (quite the capable app, just wish there was a mac port) even on the highest setting 6000Kb/s(?) the dark scenes improve in quality, somewhat.
For instance the "dropping coconuts in CastAway".
From the DVD/Mpeg2 it is a rather dark scene, but on the highest Mpeg4 setting it is dark & "muddy" and gets rather pixellated.
I've noticed that while you can't see the "grid", there are still "striations/gradation/banding" (one of those words).
Ironically, the ffmpeg codec for Quicktime 5 (happy 10th, btw) kicks ass if you have the pro version...some of the tricks (cache hints, preload --if you have a Gig of memory/lotsa time-- and use the high quality and single field) yield and excellent movie/presentation in full screen even for "smaller than normal" Mpeg4 clips.
Quite literally I am surprised that this has not taken the Anime/cartoon "world" by storm.
I saw (and later re-did a 1 cd) version of Titan AE; Barely could tell the difference between the two even before "tweaking" the player.
I payed special attention to the high action scenes. Very little, if any, pixellation during high action scenes, freeze frames et al.
Maybe I did not pay attention enough, but I wonder if this means a re-encode of all the Mpeg4 movies, or would the new coded just "resample" them live?
Yesterday I had several friends call me and ask how my service was doing.
Well, it sucks. Currently my modem has been set to a 128Kbit max upload/download. for those doing the math that is ~= a 56K modem's speed.
Seriously, I understand the don't want to get flooded, but this is ridiculous. I started a download last night that would take about 2 hours, normally. 14+ hours later it was still not done and had crapped out, to boot.
Apparently charter has a 30, 40 and 50 dollar service. What the difference is, god only knows, but I'm on the phone now trying to find out.
I realize I'm probably rambeling on, but, to see Comcast and AT&T getting 1.5M down...damn, I want to cry.
This whole affair has left me absolutely livid.
I absolutely hate the current litigous society we live in, but, "Class action/Consumer Fraud" and other types of law suits leapt up in my mind.
I'm seriously considering some form of action to light a fire under a few asses here locally to do something.
One word summation of all this: "Arrrruuuuggghhh!!!"
Sharp was one of the early adopters of MPEG-4, introducing an MPEG-4 video recorder and a Zaurus with an MPEG-4 player in December 2000.
Interesting, yes, but used where? The article does not say.
They also talk about "block noise" which you can see in DivX quite readily if you have a large piece of video recorded at too low a bitrate.
It is like watching a movie with a 1/4inch chicken wire overlay.
One of the problems with DivX that I have noticed is that it does not handle low light secenes very well...and it seems there are algorithms that compensate, because now some encoders complain about bright/outdoor scenes "going white"...heh.
oh, and this caught my eye...
The company has demonstrated video transmission to a notebook PC at 512 kbits/second, to a PDA at 256 kbits/s and to a cell phone at 28.8 to 32 kbits/s. ...and to charter pipeline (aka charter "sipping straw") at (drum roll please) a max of 12Kbytes a second... Road kill on the information highway.
People are going to ask which Mpeg4 codec is best, and, well that is an issue we will have to treat "Ginger"ly...hehehee
Low blow, but I can get much worse by saying "even a pentium3 can't make this internet faster".
On a more serious note/question...will they be running os 9 or os X? If they have intel boxen I suppose X would be the choice for cross platform abilities.
Too bad, however, that Star Office/Open Office never came thru with a mac version...you bet you boots Microsoft will want to "give special deals" to those schools as part of their settlement.
"The single biggest problem at the enterprise level is politics," said Leon Brooks
Amen. I think Plato said it best (I think it was Plato) "those that do not engage in politics will be done in by it".
Use it, or lose it + do unto others before it's done to you.
Many things were done on 'nix workstations before the move to NT. It used to be full support for 'nix os's, min for NT, now the roles are reversed..sigh.
Even the machine operators clamor for the 'nix days from time to time.
But of course, I am prolly one of the few that think StarOffice 6 not being put out on the mac was a big mistake. I'd have chosen SO6 beta whatever over office v.X for os X out of principle and sanity reasons...but alas, twas not to be.
Funny, that you get the same title with Mac OS X and if SO6 was here it would still be a "Window less Office".
From one poster:Notice in the 1998 interview that he denies that viruses in mail attachments are a problem.
And from another:He was a security ADVISOR...
He could have given Microsoft all the advice in the world and if they were too lazy to implement the appropriate security measures it's not his fault.
To me this begs the question:
"When he emailed his resume, I assume it was a Wurd Document with the subject 'I send you this file in order to have your advice' "
First though, and second thought:
on
This is IT?
·
· Score: 1
First: THAT IS IT?! 'k.
(so the title of the article is perfect, BTW)
Second thought:
Why not just re-invent the "kick-n-go"? Or make it battery operated or something.
You know those dangerous "razor-blade-scooters"?
And, those "motorized" scooter/skateboards?
That is what the KnG was; 3in wheels, a quick and dirty kick lever if you wanted speed, fairly wide track to stand on and (unless you did some of the stupid shit I did many, many moons ago) safer than most of the "20 year later ripoffs" you see today.
Looks, net, sounds like a good idea...but does not seem practicle or priced wisely.
What do you expect for $40.00/month? Bandwidth is expensive and there is no way around that. Might as well get used to it because you won't be getting multiple T-1s for dial-up prices.
Ummm...why do I feel like I am feeding a troll?
Oh, well, here goes:
No shit, sherlock...the point I was making, and if you had read the article and some of the other post in this topic was:
When speeds down/up go from 400K+/200K+, get capped uploads of 400K+/128K+ then to 400K+/12K-.
That quite frankly, sucks the big one.
The 128K cap was understandable...the 12K cap was fraudlent...or at the very least a deceptive practice...that "oh, we meant BITs, not BYTES"...uh, huh. (this is what I got from the home office in California).
But now, the up/down is ~ 12K'ish no matter what.
I'm just pointing it out to see if anyone else has the same/different experience.
You pointing out to me that I'm not going to get a T1's speed for 40 bucks a month is deserving of a resounding "DUH".
I'm saying: Perhaps this is why they went under (amongst other reasons) "YOU/I/WE pay the same or more $$$ for a service and get less and less as time, and now a "switchover" (more like a fuckover, IMO) to different service.
40 bucks a month for Dialup speeds? Please.
Now, please be aware that I *know* there are going to be issues such a these.
Shortly after posting my original message a friend of mine called and asked my opinion...
Well, I repeated the same subject line:
"We are not impressed, we are not amused".
Essentially I am well aware of what the "system" is capable of...and I am not getting even a tenth of a percent of that.
Put another way, sir, if your salary was reduced to 1/100 its current status...I suppose you would not mind if your boss said...well you can't expect us to pay you that well in this economy, can you?
While the switchover was fairly smooth from Charter@home to the Charter pipeline service via the installer off their website, the ultimate irony came from the local newspaper saying "in order to switch you need to use your cd ---which no one had--- or go to www.charter.com/installer ---which no one could get to, seeing as they lost their service.
What is really rubbing a lot of people the wrong way (yes, "me too") is so far the service for pipeline is more of a "sipping straw"...I've been getting a max (thusfar) upload of 12Kbytes a second, and downloads are in about the same range.
Musstt...control...fists....of....DEATH!!!
This kind of service is *MAYBE* worth 10 bucks a month...maybe.
Slashdot Mirror
Thank you for using Cluetrain express, be seated and enjoy.
...some of you /.'er saying "you want us to do your job for you?" need to board the cluetrain as well...uh, Senator, law making, U.S. of A, Constitution, righting wrongs, fixing bad laws... mean anything to you?
:) .
I realize I am merely echoing what others have said, but to have a 'fellow professional' ask our opinion/advice is always welcomed.
Add to the fact that a US Senator is asking makes it even more necessary to voice out opinion.
(HELLOOOO! McFly!!!
Apologies for the brow beating, someone had to say it)
I realize it has little to do with security, but hear me out:
Consider the eBook, DeCSS, Napster, DRM, Watermarking, DMCA, SSSCA, RIAA, MPAA, Microsoft, et al.
What do all of these have in common? Bad Laws, legislation, and corporations who are twisting and perverting the legal system to thier own will, and succeeding to implement new forms of Prohibition.
You see the 1920's provided a clue to a generation: You can NOT legislate morality.
What these laws are saying is "Napster Baaad", "Fair use, Baaaad", "Freedom of speech Baaad!"...you get the idea.
Trying to "outlaw computers, fair use, tools of the trade" is a bad idea, but it is one that seems to be advancing at an alarming rate.
What is being ignored in the law making body is:
The tools of the trade (any trade), be it a lock pick, gun, sledge, bolt cutters, or, yes, a computer...these things need to be available reguardless of intent and use.
It seems most corps/senators/congressppl are afraid of "what we might do/think" and are making it illegal.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
I think a "Digital Boston Tea Party" protesting this "Digital Prohibition and Taxation w/o representation".
But the only thing that comes to mind is lobbing modems and misc computer parts on the Whitehouse/Congressional 'doorsteps' in protest.
Ok, I've gone on long enuf, but I'll leave you with this thought:
The most powerful network security tool is called "a pair of wire cutters", after that is finding the offending wire and pulling as hard as you can
Cheers,
Moose
.
that they advertise the damn thing.
The new iPod commercial actually has a blip of OS X, and yet it is a mere 2 second glimpse.
Sad.
Reminds me of the same situation that AMD is in.
Great product, little or no exposure to "the unwashed masses/joe+/or jane 6 pack".
It almost seems to me as if they are taking the "female" tact of "if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you"...
(hint: never come back with 'If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know'...big mistake... more pain than "yes, your but does look big")
Both make great products (amd/apple) but in the AMD the hardware needs exposure, with Apple, their new os (OS X, naturally) is in *dire* need of some air time...at least more than 2 seconds.
And "flat panel" imacs...well like the G5 rumors, I'll believe it when I see it.
Oh, whatever happened to "I/we don't comment on unreleased products."?
I'm suprised Steve Jobs has not repealed that policy and said, yes we will have a G5/flat panel Imac/whaterver rumor...but it is slated for release *after* 3 or more years.
IOW, beat the users and rumour mongers with a clue stick and the truth.
Yeah?
Cheers.
Moose.
.
Think that irks me is that first there was really no player on the mac for things such as DivX (mpeg4 variant) and Mpeg2.
Heck, windows media player can do mpeg2 (svcd's, essentially)...why can't Qt (on the pc, yes, mac, no)?
How long has apple promised to get mpeg2 on the mac?
Now that Mpeg4/DivX's are being picked up by Apple, I wonder if it had anything to do with a certain "trailer website" dumping QT for DivX?
Heh, like the Bad guy in Highlander said "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, better take it out and use it, or its going to rust!".
QT5 on X.1.1 simply rocks, and the ffmpeg codec on divx.jamby.net and the divx fixer on mac.divx.st (classic app) has at least brought Apple to the year 1999 as far a multimedia.
(low shot, but face it they are dicking the dog with this "great idea, change the world, don't follow thru/have plans deflated".
(apologies for being to lazy to link)
Hate to say it, but, as a "platforms hopper"...Jobs has it correct calling his idea a "Digital Hub"...problem is we need a Digital Switch, sorry to say.
At least that is my current thoughts on the matter.
Cheers,
Moose
.
A Canadian firm specializing in arbitration won't be settling any more cybersquatting disputes, saying Friday that its reputation for being fair has driven away the trademark holders who file complaints and thus decide who makes money in that business.
First off they are Canadians, which is rife with humor all by itself, but I'll say this is good because most of our brothers to the north are very level-headed.
Good thing to have in an arbitrator.
Reputation for being fair: Kiss of death for a business, and, once again a "Good thing (tm)" when dealing with an arbitrator.
Being fair "drives away trademark holders"...does this say anything about the current situation?
I'm sure copyright holders (RIMPAss's--RIAA/MPAA Ass.--a la the Register) can buy...uh, select the most corrup^H^H^H^H^H easily persuaded judges.
Maybe I'm too damn tired, and too damn cynical, but this suprises anyone?
Uh-huh. Ethics in business has about as much of a chance as chastity in a whorehouse.
IMO, that is.
.
I posted to show my ignorance for all of slashdot to see.
Ok to some extent, yes, but as I read the article I thought to myself "What is he saying in simple terms?"...it's late and I need to go to bed.
Microsoft's "innovation", if you will, was a 2 out of 3 ain't bad scenario that proved ecologists correct "Reduce, Recycle, Reuse".
Only in this case they figured out "Increase (bugs, bloat, features), Recycle, Reuse".
Quite frankly it explains a lot. I had submitted a link at one time called ".asf == Another security flaw?"...because WiMP (win. media player) had {gasp} a security flaw.
The kicker was it was the same flaw that kept showing up time and time again...I think someone at bugtraq called it "sheer idiocy" (don't hold me to that, as I lost the link).
And, I've mentioned to people that the I.E. integration into windows was asked of beta testers: "Do you want IE integrated into the OS".
78% said 'NO'...well, look where we are today, eh?
Whoever said "I felt dirty just reading this" said it very well. It is like thinking about "your grandparents having sex"...you know it probably happens, but it best not to think about it.
Same thing here...we know Microsoft "does it" with code...just try not to think about it.
You'll sleep better at night. Perhaps.
Is there a certain resignation involved?
Yes, because, short of "nuking 1 MS way" off the planet (only way to be sure)...the have "won".
MS has proved "no one ever went poor underestimating the stupidity of the American buying public". (WC Fields?, I forget).
Nite, all.
Moose.
this is OS/2 v5.
It just might go as well as BeOS v5.
Oh, wait....
(only a quad boot? C'mon I had a quintuple boot 98se, 2000, slack 7, redhat 7 and BeOS 5...all via (drum roll) LILO! Taaadaaa!)
Not to offend, but linux zealots are interesting... os/2 had zealots, but they were called the "user base". Some were pretty scary when you brought up Windows {shudder}
My experience, mind you. I guess it is hard to be a zealot when you are...OOOOooo, shiney operating system!!!
Moose
Actually (IIRC) fuzz6y,
.gif extension. Some people call it a "Jif" as in the peanut butter (why? Dunno) I've said "Gif" as in Gift without the t. Same vein as jpeg/jpg being pronounced "Jay-Fif"....that one still boggles the mind, but, the "meta data/internal code is: JFIF"...I believe.
CMOS stands for Crystal Metal Oxide Semi-conductor.
Crystal (not the little hamburger thingies) or Crystalline...same-same.
Of course, you may very well be correct also.
My acronyms definition came from a computer definition book I found one day, circa 1991'ish.
Same thing with the
Dang, waaaay too much info. Did not mean to babble on so much.
cheers,
Moose
.
Skuld:
Ouch, mon.
Have you taken a look at your modem settings? just open your browser and point it to here.
you should be able to view up and down stream settings. Mine is at 128000bits...roughly 12K/s. Did the update on the cd, so at least I have email.
Bungie:
Dude, thanks for telling me. Too dang tired today. Had to stand on my head and shuffle around huge UPS batteries in addition to getting several more "shocks" to the system.
(not electric, but the "sinking...or is that syncing?--sorry, bad joke from the CMOS discussion--...feeling variety from the "didja hear about {fill in Oh, No! variety})
However, I think for a moment that it could be worse... I could be at the other end of the phone over at Charter/Cox/{whatever} dealing with people as furious, maybe moreso, than I am.
This whole @home thing, coupled with hardware failures (dell, naturally), delays in getting replacements, an ever growing pile of stuff I have to send back..and on and on.
Could be much, much worse.
.
I've noticed the following: ;) ) that was deleted by the installer.
1)I've had a shortcut (symlink, for you non windows folks
It was, of course, called @home (news reader).
Good thing it was not a folder with data..phew.
2) I had made a "hard" association of vbs with notepad to avoid viruses (via winfile, so registry entries would not over write my association). The installer broke (or re-enabled it, if you prefer) that association.
Grrrrrr.
3) Outbreak^H^H^H^H^Hlook express 6 was installed w/o warning... and with the new virus floating around, not the brightest thing to do.
4) Exploiter^H^H^H^Hrer 6, same thing. Did not want it, did not need it, yet there it was.
K-Meleon, Netscape, or IE 5.x is what I'll use, sometimes in that order.
5) Something is not right with the installer, at least for me... kept getting "loadcw.exe page fault, blah, blah"...sigh.
5 1/2) Speed is still 8kbytes down, 12kbytes up, not cool, seeing as pipeline starts at 512down/128up... something is not right..heh...if only I could call them and get help...hahahahaha, yeah, right... that's funny. Maybe next week, or a visit to the "home" office here in town.
So far it works. But the best description of the current speeds has been deemed "as fast as a frozen slug". Heh, thanks to one of my cow-workers, at least I got a chuckle today.
And that is the "Morning Report" from the field.
(apologies to Rowan Atkinson's character).
Moose
From the article:
McClung declined to give specifics about the system, but said the network is protected by standard security methods such as firewalls and a virus detection application.
See? Security thru obscurity!! It's working already!
Whadda ya mean we "have to wait until after the Olympics are over?"
Aw, man!
How long before the RIAA requires that these digital signals become encryped to avoid "single note copywright violations?" Hummm?
Forgive my further cynicism, as "I'm a technician, Jim! Not a musician!".
Gibson already has had discussions with companies like Intel, Sony, Philips, and networking giant Cisco Systems.
Royalty free, eh? How long will that last?
Intel p4 only instructions. Clock for clock music timing only available @ 2Ghz and above.
Sony/RIAA...encryption of all signals no matter what its origin.
PHilips...dunno, at a loss.
Cisco. Many specs to choose from, all incompatible with each other. Won't connect to "unauthorized, non Intel, Sony, RIAA approved devices."
Yes, it has been pointed out that "most musicians" will probably hate this new standard, but, if it does take off and is accepted...what do you want to bet that I am dead on with the RIAA's "potential" actions, at the very least?
Think about it. It has happened with DV streams, I certainly think future "AV" streams will suffer the same fate.
Ah, thanks, I was trying to think of the term...and kept faling. Mach Banding (nods head).
:|
Thanks, yerricide. I have that java demo saved/linked in one of my profiles on my network at work. Some people have a hard time deciphering "geek speak", heck, I have the pleasure of hanging around grfx artist...(concepts, must understand concepts...ow, my head hurts).
The thing that "most", not all, people do is do a 16bit rip simply to keep file sizes down.
In the bad old days, on the mac side, 24bit had to be done at 16bit simply to get smoother playback. Not the fault of the encoder/ripper, but the WMP limitation imposed on the DivX player for the mac. I forget how the programmer got around it, but he did...god bless those aussies.
To autopr0n:
The simpler algorithem, is that encoder or codec based? I'm curious, as I have not even played with what is out there for a few months, so I would not know.
To Jobe_br (the OT reply):
You might be correct, I kind of figured that chater did not want to get flooded/overly taxed with people loggin on.
I understand the why, but am still on the "why me" phase. Semi-denial
Out of the dozen or so people I've been in contact with, only one is getting "fair" throughput. (~250Kb/s, IIRC) My connect is so slow now, that connections are getting dropped and instead of taking a few hours, takes a few dozen hours. So far it has been a day of "grumble, grumble, {explicative deleted}" over and over.
I've actually seen it spelled both ways:
/., oye, I'm really asking for it, aren't I?
:) no offense, whomever you are.
Heatsync and/or Heatsink. Which is correct? Dunno, doan really care because the "sync" has stuck with me as far as heatsyncs go.
Any Non AC's care to reply and set me on the correct spelling? Spelling question on
C'mon dudes and dudettes, it is "sync or swim time".
Oh, and to the First AC who replied...yeah, maybe both sarcasm and ignorance is applicable.
Maybe it is me, but sarcasm, ignorance or both has never stopped anyone from posting on slashdot, has it?
But, I suppose, that is usually why the default is to filter out AC's...
Anywho... 'If I'm right, I'm right. If I am wrong, then show me I'm wrong' is the way I see it.
who thinks, "Good, now we can overclock our "CMOS" and get to a less than 5 second boot time."
Only down side I see is needing a CMOS heat sync and a 2 1/4inch, 5K rpm fans to keep the thing cool.
Think about it, seriously for a minute:
We have heat syncs and fans on; processors, chipsets, powersupplies, memory (sometimes), case fans, hard drives (on occasions)...what is missing?
Oh, yeah, we need some of this action on the CMOS!!!
OOoooKaaayyyy, works for me.
Cheers,
Moose.
I agree, and echo the statements in effect saying "they are setting themselves up for a failure to prove their own point".
This is spin + corporate politics + capitalism + a "victim" mentality (that sadly works all to well in the court system) = No Soup/songs/fish/fair use for YOU!
And it suddenly occured to me that the acronym RIAA just might stand for Retentive In Anal Areas.
At least, that is what was running thru my mind while reading the article.
Oh, and I don't think anyone hit on this particular part: The first internet music service backed by major record companies
What is wrong with this picture, people?
2 Major labels? when it has been said that the Music industry, like the TV industry is/are so "in bed with each other" that when on person sneezes, everyone covers thier mouth, reflexively".
I can say with confidence that we are dealing with the devils we do know and the devils we don't want to know, also.
Cheers,
Moose
True, very true.
If you take an encoder such as virtual dub (quite the capable app, just wish there was a mac port) even on the highest setting 6000Kb/s(?) the dark scenes improve in quality, somewhat.
For instance the "dropping coconuts in CastAway".
From the DVD/Mpeg2 it is a rather dark scene, but on the highest Mpeg4 setting it is dark & "muddy" and gets rather pixellated.
I've noticed that while you can't see the "grid", there are still "striations/gradation/banding" (one of those words).
Ironically, the ffmpeg codec for Quicktime 5 (happy 10th, btw) kicks ass if you have the pro version...some of the tricks (cache hints, preload --if you have a Gig of memory/lotsa time-- and use the high quality and single field) yield and excellent movie/presentation in full screen even for "smaller than normal" Mpeg4 clips.
Quite literally I am surprised that this has not taken the Anime/cartoon "world" by storm.
I saw (and later re-did a 1 cd) version of Titan AE; Barely could tell the difference between the two even before "tweaking" the player.
I payed special attention to the high action scenes. Very little, if any, pixellation during high action scenes, freeze frames et al.
Maybe I did not pay attention enough, but I wonder if this means a re-encode of all the Mpeg4 movies, or would the new coded just "resample" them live?
Thought processes shutting down...coffee needed.
Cheers.
Moose.
Yesterday I had several friends call me and ask how my service was doing.
Well, it sucks. Currently my modem has been set to a 128Kbit max upload/download. for those doing the math that is ~= a 56K modem's speed.
Seriously, I understand the don't want to get flooded, but this is ridiculous. I started a download last night that would take about 2 hours, normally. 14+ hours later it was still not done and had crapped out, to boot.
Apparently charter has a 30, 40 and 50 dollar service. What the difference is, god only knows, but I'm on the phone now trying to find out.
I realize I'm probably rambeling on, but, to see Comcast and AT&T getting 1.5M down...damn, I want to cry.
This whole affair has left me absolutely livid.
I absolutely hate the current litigous society we live in, but, "Class action/Consumer Fraud" and other types of law suits leapt up in my mind.
I'm seriously considering some form of action to light a fire under a few asses here locally to do something.
One word summation of all this: "Arrrruuuuggghhh!!!"
Sharp was one of the early adopters of MPEG-4, introducing an MPEG-4 video recorder and a Zaurus with an MPEG-4 player in December 2000.
Interesting, yes, but used where? The article does not say.
They also talk about "block noise" which you can see in DivX quite readily if you have a large piece of video recorded at too low a bitrate.
It is like watching a movie with a 1/4inch chicken wire overlay.
One of the problems with DivX that I have noticed is that it does not handle low light secenes very well...and it seems there are algorithms that compensate, because now some encoders complain about bright/outdoor scenes "going white"...heh.
oh, and this caught my eye...
The company has demonstrated video transmission to a notebook PC at 512 kbits/second, to a PDA at 256 kbits/s and to a cell phone at 28.8 to 32 kbits/s.
...and to charter pipeline (aka charter "sipping straw") at (drum roll please) a max of 12Kbytes a second... Road kill on the information highway.
People are going to ask which Mpeg4 codec is best, and, well that is an issue we will have to treat "Ginger"ly...hehehee
they could always hook up with charter pipeline.
:)
Low blow, but I can get much worse by saying "even a pentium3 can't make this internet faster".
On a more serious note/question...will they be running os 9 or os X? If they have intel boxen I suppose X would be the choice for cross platform abilities.
Too bad, however, that Star Office/Open Office never came thru with a mac version...you bet you boots Microsoft will want to "give special deals" to those schools as part of their settlement.
(SIGH)
"The single biggest problem at the enterprise level is politics," said Leon Brooks
Amen. I think Plato said it best (I think it was Plato) "those that do not engage in politics will be done in by it".
Use it, or lose it + do unto others before it's done to you.
Many things were done on 'nix workstations before the move to NT. It used to be full support for 'nix os's, min for NT, now the roles are reversed..sigh.
Even the machine operators clamor for the 'nix days from time to time.
But of course, I am prolly one of the few that think StarOffice 6 not being put out on the mac was a big mistake. I'd have chosen SO6 beta whatever over office v.X for os X out of principle and sanity reasons...but alas, twas not to be.
Funny, that you get the same title with Mac OS X and if SO6 was here it would still be a "Window less Office".
Huh...I'll be darned...who'd of thunk it?
Cheers,
Moose.
From one poster:Notice in the 1998 interview that he denies that viruses in mail attachments are a problem.
And from another:He was a security ADVISOR...
He could have given Microsoft all the advice in the world and if they were too lazy to implement the appropriate security measures it's not his fault.
To me this begs the question:
"When he emailed his resume, I assume it was a Wurd Document with the subject 'I send you this file in order to have your advice' "
First: THAT IS IT?! 'k.
(so the title of the article is perfect, BTW)
Second thought:
Why not just re-invent the "kick-n-go"? Or make it battery operated or something.
You know those dangerous "razor-blade-scooters"?
And, those "motorized" scooter/skateboards?
That is what the KnG was; 3in wheels, a quick and dirty kick lever if you wanted speed, fairly wide track to stand on and (unless you did some of the stupid shit I did many, many moons ago) safer than most of the "20 year later ripoffs" you see today.
Looks, net, sounds like a good idea...but does not seem practicle or priced wisely.
Eh...then again, what do I know?
What do you expect for $40.00/month? Bandwidth is expensive and there is no way around that. Might as well get used to it because you won't be getting multiple T-1s for dial-up prices.
Ummm...why do I feel like I am feeding a troll?
Oh, well, here goes:
No shit, sherlock...the point I was making, and if you had read the article and some of the other post in this topic was:
When speeds down/up go from 400K+/200K+, get capped uploads of 400K+/128K+ then to 400K+/12K-.
That quite frankly, sucks the big one.
The 128K cap was understandable...the 12K cap was fraudlent...or at the very least a deceptive practice...that "oh, we meant BITs, not BYTES"...uh, huh. (this is what I got from the home office in California).
But now, the up/down is ~ 12K'ish no matter what.
I'm just pointing it out to see if anyone else has the same/different experience.
You pointing out to me that I'm not going to get a T1's speed for 40 bucks a month is deserving of a resounding "DUH".
I'm saying: Perhaps this is why they went under (amongst other reasons) "YOU/I/WE pay the same or more $$$ for a service and get less and less as time, and now a "switchover" (more like a fuckover, IMO) to different service.
40 bucks a month for Dialup speeds? Please.
Now, please be aware that I *know* there are going to be issues such a these.
Shortly after posting my original message a friend of mine called and asked my opinion...
Well, I repeated the same subject line:
"We are not impressed, we are not amused".
Essentially I am well aware of what the "system" is capable of...and I am not getting even a tenth of a percent of that.
Put another way, sir, if your salary was reduced to 1/100 its current status...I suppose you would not mind if your boss said...well you can't expect us to pay you that well in this economy, can you?
Comprendez?
Salute,
Moose.
While the switchover was fairly smooth from Charter@home to the Charter pipeline service via the installer off their website, the ultimate irony came from the local newspaper saying "in order to switch you need to use your cd ---which no one had--- or go to www.charter.com/installer ---which no one could get to, seeing as they lost their service.
What is really rubbing a lot of people the wrong way (yes, "me too") is so far the service for pipeline is more of a "sipping straw"...I've been getting a max (thusfar) upload of 12Kbytes a second, and downloads are in about the same range.
Musstt...control...fists....of....DEATH!!!
This kind of service is *MAYBE* worth 10 bucks a month...maybe.
Do you know what cable cables are made out of?
Ummmm, same thing as "Pizza, Pizza?" perhaps?