'The planned sequel to The Hobbit is to be an *original story not written by Tolkien*'
Pretty much like most of Jackson's version of 'The Two Towers', then!
Actually, I wonder how accurate the BBC story is. Jackson and del toro have suggested elsewhere that they intend to spread out the story of 'The Hobbit' over both films, supplemented by material about (e.g.) Gandalf and Dol Guldur:
Since details of events outside Bilbo's direct experience are sketchy (LOTR appendices, 'Unfinished Tales', etc.), they'll have to invent quite a lot to fill in the gaps (especially if they intend to include Aragorn's early adventures).
'...it functions as a security key (restricting access to sensitive and command areas), a transponder (instantly pinpointing the position of its carrier), an audio/visual communications unit, and a programmable computer.'
Our local GP (family doctor) practice in the UK offers phone consultations (where appropriate) quite routinely, which seems perfectly sensible and sometimes preferable (or even safer). This week the doctor decided that a family member who happens to be in an immunocompromised state due to their treatment needed to come in for a followup face-to-face consultation at the surgery. All very well, except that another patient in the (small) waiting room was a chickenpox-infected child thoughtfully brought along by its parent. Chickenpox, of course, is highly contagious and potentially very serious if your immune system is not 100%. Thankfully the staff found somewhere else to put the child, but even a brief exposure like this is something best avoided.
"Your post pretty much proves Dijkstra's point. You did not manage to lay off your old thinking habits. You do not bother to think how an object oriented compiler works and to me it sounds that you are stuck in 80's style programming."
'Object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could only have originated in California.' - Dijkstra
Note, however, the familiar consequence of this sort of strategy:
"Ironically, third party utilities that download files (which presumably the verification is there to prevent) still work fine. It is possible that this move will actually increase the occurrence of downloading files which will not be time limited, or torrenting of copyrighted material."
'BYU has one of the largest collection of Jurassic dino bones in the world.'
Absolutely! In fact, groundbreaking research from Utah published earlier this month has overturned established theories of dinosaur posture and locomotion:
'Is that pure conjecture, or do you have a cite? Neither of the links you provided mention anything like what you suggest, nor have I discovered any such claims in my readings on the subject.'
Read more carefully! 33mM zinc gluconate (see second link) is certainly a 'significant concentration' by any reasonable standard. Zinc salt concentrations in the tens of millimolar range have easily measurable biological effects (e.g., activation of metallothionein synthesis in cells exposed to such levels). Since some reports do suggest an association between anosmia and intranasal zinc application:
'potentially harmful' is perfectly justified. The first link lists the full range of dilutions commonly used in homeopathy, which go all the way from crazy numbers with lots of zeroes to 1 in 10. Many substances (if they have any activity to begin with) retain activity over a tenfold (and greater) dilution range. In the case of Zicam, the dilution was 100-fold from the stock solution (still qualifying as 'homeopathic'), reportedly giving a final (and certainly bioactive) concentration fo 33mM. This concerns me more than, say, the common 30C dilutions of various 'remedies' (which cannot contain any remaining active ingredients, unless you count the diluent or sugar pill etc.). In the latter case, the only worries are financial (paying for overpriced placebos) and moral (misleading the patient about a discredited system of medicine).
'While Zicam contains some homeopathic ingredients, they themselves have never been associated with anosmia.'
The zinc gluconate is itself a 'homeopathic' ingredient in this case, and intranasal use of zinc salts has indeed been associated with anosmia in some studies (see link above).
'It may have started out as some kind of herb or metal or whatever, but it's diluted past avogadro's number, making it just water.'
This is usually true, though in some cases preparations have been classified as 'homeopathic' while still containing significant concentrations of active (and potentially harmful) ingredients. Homeopathy seems to allow a very wide range of dilutions, from 1:10 all the way up to the well-known astronomical levels that make it (perhaps fortunately) extremely unlikely there's anything left of the original substance:
Zicam, which apparently qualifies as 'homeopathic', and has been blamed for damaging the sense of smell in some users, reportedly contains 33mM zinc gluconate, a pharmacologically active concentration:
It's been alleged that the company marketing this stuff simply used the lax rules governing homeopathic preparations in the US as a way of circumventing regulatory approval, which sounds like a rather worrying loophole.
'Shame the article doesn't do any actual comparisons between any two codecs.'
I compared CoreAVC with ffmpeg, vlc etc. a while back, using a Samsung NC10 Atom-based netbook to play relatively low bitrate 720p stuff from the BBC iPlayer (thanks to get_iplayer). CoreAVC was the only codec that came close to handling these videos (most just ground to a halt after a few seconds). MPC + CoreAVC gave decent picture quality on a 720p TV, but some audio synch issues and slight cyclic speeding up/slowing down of playback. Skipping deblocking as the original article suggests may help with this, but really killed the picture quality for me, with obvious blocky artefacts. It was an interesting experiment, and actually the first time I'd seen HD playback on my TV, but not quite good enough for regular use. YMMV.
Of course it were all fields around here back then...
Back in the early 80s when Clive Sinclair's little 8-bit 'micros' were all the rage in the UK, when data storage was on cassette and portable TVs stood in for monitors, 'Sinclair User' magazine used to run a column called 'Sinclairvoyance' (geddit?), which predicted how the White Heat of cheap British computer technology would revolutionise all our lives:
'Once the home [computer] schooling idea was accepted, however, the costs of providing education would fall dramatically. Almost the whole of the present system would no longer be needed, with consequent savings in wages and building and maintenance costs. Teachers would be replaced by a handful of people responsible for setting and updating the cassettes and marking the examination cassettes. None of the thousands of ancillary staff - caretakers, cleaners and cooks - would be needed. School transport would become a thing of the past and crossing patrols would no longer halt traffic at the busy times of the day. Additionally, vast areas of land would become available for development.'
To be fair, they recognised some of the problems with this idea:
'Schools are much more than places for learning the subjects which appear in the curriculum. They are a major stage in learning social skills. All children make friends in their neighbourhood but most friends are made at school. They also gain by having contact with others from different backgrounds. There are sufficient problems in the world caused by a lack of understanding between groups of people without increasing the divisions by removing an effective way of bringing people together.'
Some of their other predictions seem rather more prescient, if you replace 'Prestel' with 'Web' and 'Sinclair' with 'PC'. From 1982:
'The Typical-Sinclair-Users select a group of holidays in which they are interested and request more details. Those arrive on the screen immediately and are printed out...They make their booking, paying the deposit by debiting their bank account directly by Prestel...As the time for the holiday approaches the TSU family, between playing the latest game of aliens and keeping their household accounts in order, check the weather conditions at their chosen resort and the strength of the peseta against the pound - all available through Prestel...As the TSUs hate shopping, having to push their way through the crowds, they decide to buy all their holiday clothes and equipment by mail order, again using Prestel...The luggage consists of the usual suitcases but also includes a large black briefcase. When they arrive at the airport, they find many other families have the same black briefcases. All are treated with great care, are taken inside the aircraft as hand luggage and stored carefully under the seats...On reaching their hotel everyone immediately rushes to their rooms, where the secret of the black box is revealed. Inside there is a complete Sinclair computer system...The following day the TSU family goes to the beach and, in common with many others, they take their briefcase and spend half the day enjoying the sun, sea and sand and the other half playing with the Sinclair...The case also contains a device which allows the Typical-Sinclair-Users to contact their neighbours via the telephone service or collect any recorded messages on their telephone answering service...If this sounds a little far-fetched, as though the Sinclairvoyance crystal ball is even less clear than usual, consider that most of the items are already in existence and are available either for the Sinclair machines or can be adapted from hardware available with other computers.'
'Probably 3/4 of our customers are running Acrobat Reader 7 or earlier because no one wants to go to the trouble of upgrading reader software, and Adobe's filthy habit of forcing customers to install garbage that they vehemently don't want (like their stinking download manager) doesn't help matters.'
The thing I especially love about this is how Adobe have now stopped providing security updates for Acrobat 7 (the full version you pay money for, not just the reader). Acrobat 7 was a current product until just over 3 years ago, and now the only way to get a safe installation is to pay again for a version upgrade. Given the 'security' record of Adobe products over the last few years, you might think they'd have the good grace to hang their heads in shame and continue fixing a flagship product for a bit longer, if only as a public service. But no, Acrobat 7 is EOL and you pay up or risk getting owned. There's Foxit, of course, but they've recently jumped on the 'installing garbage' bandwagon with a slimy bundled toolbar. I guess that leaves PDF-XChange (which seems rather nice).
'It sure would be nice if you could only buy a data plan. Unfortunately, any I have seen seem to also want you to pay a minimum of $40/month for voice before they will connect you.'
On T-mobile UK, a single payment of 20 GBP gets you 6 months of data on PAYG phones. Of course, if you move here you'll get screwed on price for pretty much everything else that costs money...
You might have to wait a bit longer. I think GEGL is only being used for some functions, and not yet for high bit-depth support. Not sure if the situation has changed much since this:
("To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order")
As the guide notes: "Apple designed their new iPods to be very difficult to take apart without destroying major components. Because of the metal faceplate, the metal backing, and the 13 (yes, 13) metal clips holding the case together, this is one of the toughest iPods to disassemble. Proceed with caution and the warning that you may significantly damage your iPod beyond its present condition." Because of the risk of destroying components using this approach, some people seriously suggest just cracking it open with a Dremel and living with the (severe!) cosmetic damage:
'Its certainly possible for anyone who wants to put some effort into it, and since the mass of the people buying them will just replace it before the battery is shot anyway, its really not an issue.'
This is, of course, exactly the attitude Apple wants to encourage - either buy a new one, or use their expensive service option.
'There IS an engineering reason to it as well you know, its not just 'because they are assholes'.'
Yes, the engineers were asked to design a product that would be very hostile to disassembly, and they've succeeded rather well. This goes way beyond making something that's just not actively designed for easy battery replacement by the user (as in earlier iPod generations).
'Translation: Chinese academics and scientists working in the West are, for all intents and purposes, spys.'
It's much worse than that! My extensive research has revealed the existence of a vast network of 'scientists' of all nationalities, operating (like the Illuminati and the Bilderberg Group) with little regard for conventional geo-political boundaries. Despite often working in laboratories funded by national governments (or even so-called 'charities'), these sinister 'researchers' have for decades (even centuries!) made the results of their arcane 'experiments' available in communistic fashion to other members of the cabal. To protect their work from the 'unenlightened', these results are usually presented (much like the treatises of the medieval alchemists) in highly cryptic language that is largely unintelligible to anyone who has not been suitably indoctrinated. This 'training' process usually takes the form of an extended apprenticeship to an individual further up the hierarchy who, as in most cults, holds out the promise of greater enlightenment and an elevation in status in return for performing often menial tasks at unsociable hours while being exposed to mind-bending concepts. The final initiation process, the esoterically titled 'viva voce' ('living voice') ritual is particularly dreaded.
she describes the Sonny Bono act as "the recent excessive extension of copyright term by the U.S.A, which has imperilled the international copyright system". She just doesn't want to be screwed over by Google in a land grab deal negotiated by an 'Authors Guild' that doesn't represent her.
it seems that, as in the case of the Therac-25, an unexpected sequence of user inputs (in this case 'removing the Primary Reference Point...prior to performing planning approval') can under certain circumstances cause an error ('the resulting calculated dose may differ significantly from the original plan'), and that no appropriate error message is generated ('There is no warning message presented during the approval stage indicating that the Primary Reference Point is missing.'). This may well be completely unrelated to the NYT incidents, but it's interesting (though perhaps not surprising) that behaviour of this type can still occur in safety-critical applications.
'Later in the spec, they say there are 3 modes of protection allowed: unrestricted (fair enough, I imagine a lot of general TV would fall into this category, stuff like all those cookery or property shows).'
It's a bit worse than that - the BBC says 'it intends to apply the multiple copy state to the majority of its HD content' ('multiple copy state' is the less restrictive level of DRM, but still DRM).
'I think the implementation is designed to DRM the listings data (as the programmes themselves cannot be encrypted), but still put the DRM onto the receiver'
Yes, if you're a HD box manufacturer, the deal is you only get access to the decoded listings data if you agree to implement DRM that respects their copy flags in the receiver.
'How many receivers will be produced that do not have a listing guide? Probably none - they wouldn't sell in large enough quantities to be worth even a Chinese manufacturer making them.'
I agree about the consumer receivers (set-top HD boxes, TVs with integrated tuners, etc.), but guess that when DVB-T2 PC cards become available, someone will reverse-engineer the EPG decoding tables or provide an independent online EPG. This is the only way we can have a fully FOSS Freeview HD application (leaving aside the issue of whether such reverse-engineering to circumvent DRM is legal under UK/EU law), since the EPG licence won't be compatible with FOSS licences. This will also mean that anything worth pirating will be widely available from all the usual online sources, making the whole scheme completely ineffective for its intended purpose. As usual, the people hurt by the DRM will be all the (millions of?) legitimate users who buy a locked-down HD box and (e.g.) find that they can't space-shift the programme to a more convenient device.
'In essence, if you use a receiver without support for this DRM tech, the only thing you're going to lose access to is the Programme Listing data - it's the BBC's way of placating the drooling media execs with as little direct impact on consumers as possible.'
An built-in EPG is pretty fundamental to the way we use DTV boxes today. Any manufacturer that chose not to sign up the DRM would have to provide its own (which would need a net connection).
'Now that's not to say that someone in the government won't make it impossible to buy receivers that don't support this in the UK, but that's what China is for.'
I don't think this we'll be seeing rogue Chinese Freeview HD boxes any time soon. The DVB-T2 system is not widely used elsewhere, and the chipsets are expensive.
The devil, of course, is in the details (which the Ofcom summary glosses over). The BBC is proposing an 'amendment' to 'Condition 6' of the current Multiplex B licence (which Ofcom has to approve). This might more accurately be described as a complete reversal of that Condition. EPG data will no longer be freely available, but encrypted. The decryption keys ('Huffman code look-up tables') will only be provided under a licence that mandates that the HD box manufacturer implements DRM, to be applied to any content that the broadcaster flags as 'protected'. It looks like the the BBC intends to require a level of DRM for most of its HD programming ('The BBC indicates in its proposal that it intends to apply the multiple copy state to the majority of its HD content.'). The even more restrictive 'managed copy' flag will be used when required; an 'unrestricted copy' flag is also available, but it doesn't look like it will get much use.
The issue of Open Source implementations is also dealt with in a deeply misleading way:
'The licensing terms for Open Source software typically require that this software is made freely available to others to use, which may be incompatible with and the licensing terms of the BBC's Huffman Code look-up tables. This issue appears to have been addressed by HD Freesat receivers that use Linux Open Source software and implement similar content management technologies'
This only 'appears to have been addressed' if you don't actually understand the issues. An HD box may well be running a Linux kernel, with proprietary software on top of it, just as MacOS runs on a FOSS XNU kernel. What the current proposal would block is any fully Free/Open Source implementation of a Freeview HD system.
'haiti needs complete rebuilding not temporary relief which will vanish once the earthquake new disappears from the front pages. it needed that much money and more before the quake even hit. not it needs demolition and rebuilding not quick fixes and temporary aid.'
Haiti desperately needs both immediate relief and longer-term help. Several of the aid organisations now responding to the emergency already have long-term commitments to Haiti. One I happen to know about is Oxfam:
They make efficient use of donations, with only 10% going on (essential) running costs, and work directly at a local level rather than just dishing out the cash:
Slashdot Mirror
'The planned sequel to The Hobbit is to be an *original story not written by Tolkien*'
Pretty much like most of Jackson's version of 'The Two Towers', then!
Actually, I wonder how accurate the BBC story is. Jackson and del toro have suggested elsewhere that they intend to spread out the story of 'The Hobbit' over both films, supplemented by material about (e.g.) Gandalf and Dol Guldur:
http://www.theonering.net/torwp/hobbitfaq/#1.1
Since details of events outside Bilbo's direct experience are sketchy (LOTR appendices, 'Unfinished Tales', etc.), they'll have to invent quite a lot to fill in the gaps (especially if they intend to include Aragorn's early adventures).
Don't knock it - we were supposed to have all this in one device by 1999!
http://www.space1999.net/moonbase99/tech2.htm
'...it functions as a security key (restricting access to sensitive and command areas), a transponder (instantly pinpointing the position of its carrier), an audio/visual communications unit, and a programmable computer.'
Our local GP (family doctor) practice in the UK offers phone consultations (where appropriate) quite routinely, which seems perfectly sensible and sometimes preferable (or even safer). This week the doctor decided that a family member who happens to be in an immunocompromised state due to their treatment needed to come in for a followup face-to-face consultation at the surgery. All very well, except that another patient in the (small) waiting room was a chickenpox-infected child thoughtfully brought along by its parent. Chickenpox, of course, is highly contagious and potentially very serious if your immune system is not 100%. Thankfully the staff found somewhere else to put the child, but even a brief exposure like this is something best avoided.
"Your post pretty much proves Dijkstra's point. You did not manage to lay off your old thinking habits. You do not bother to think how an object oriented compiler works and to me it sounds that you are stuck in 80's style programming."
'Object-oriented programming is an exceptionally bad idea which could only have originated in California.' - Dijkstra
Not any more:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/24/iplayer_xbmc_adobe_swf_verification/
Note, however, the familiar consequence of this sort of strategy:
"Ironically, third party utilities that download files (which presumably the verification is there to prevent) still work fine. It is possible that this move will actually increase the occurrence of downloading files which will not be time limited, or torrenting of copyrighted material."
'BYU has one of the largest collection of Jurassic dino bones in the world.'
Absolutely! In fact, groundbreaking research from Utah published earlier this month has overturned established theories of dinosaur posture and locomotion:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/paleontologists_weve_been
Unfortunately, certain questions remain unanswered:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/dinosaurs_sadly_extinct_before
'Is that pure conjecture, or do you have a cite? Neither of the links you provided mention anything like what you suggest, nor have I discovered any such claims in my readings on the subject.'
Read more carefully! 33mM zinc gluconate (see second link) is certainly a 'significant concentration' by any reasonable standard. Zinc salt concentrations in the tens of millimolar range have easily measurable biological effects (e.g., activation of metallothionein synthesis in cells exposed to such levels). Since some reports do suggest an association between anosmia and intranasal zinc application:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=intranasal+zinc+anosmia
'potentially harmful' is perfectly justified. The first link lists the full range of dilutions commonly used in homeopathy, which go all the way from crazy numbers with lots of zeroes to 1 in 10. Many substances (if they have any activity to begin with) retain activity over a tenfold (and greater) dilution range. In the case of Zicam, the dilution was 100-fold from the stock solution (still qualifying as 'homeopathic'), reportedly giving a final (and certainly bioactive) concentration fo 33mM. This concerns me more than, say, the common 30C dilutions of various 'remedies' (which cannot contain any remaining active ingredients, unless you count the diluent or sugar pill etc.). In the latter case, the only worries are financial (paying for overpriced placebos) and moral (misleading the patient about a discredited system of medicine).
'While Zicam contains some homeopathic ingredients, they themselves have never been associated with anosmia.'
The zinc gluconate is itself a 'homeopathic' ingredient in this case, and intranasal use of zinc salts has indeed been associated with anosmia in some studies (see link above).
'It may have started out as some kind of herb or metal or whatever, but it's diluted past avogadro's number, making it just water.'
This is usually true, though in some cases preparations have been classified as 'homeopathic' while still containing significant concentrations of active (and potentially harmful) ingredients. Homeopathy seems to allow a very wide range of dilutions, from 1:10 all the way up to the well-known astronomical levels that make it (perhaps fortunately) extremely unlikely there's anything left of the original substance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathic_dilutions
Zicam, which apparently qualifies as 'homeopathic', and has been blamed for damaging the sense of smell in some users, reportedly contains 33mM zinc gluconate, a pharmacologically active concentration:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=530
It's been alleged that the company marketing this stuff simply used the lax rules governing homeopathic preparations in the US as a way of circumventing regulatory approval, which sounds like a rather worrying loophole.
'Shame the article doesn't do any actual comparisons between any two codecs.'
I compared CoreAVC with ffmpeg, vlc etc. a while back, using a Samsung NC10 Atom-based netbook to play relatively low bitrate 720p stuff from the BBC iPlayer (thanks to get_iplayer). CoreAVC was the only codec that came close to handling these videos (most just ground to a halt after a few seconds). MPC + CoreAVC gave decent picture quality on a 720p TV, but some audio synch issues and slight cyclic speeding up/slowing down of playback. Skipping deblocking as the original article suggests may help with this, but really killed the picture quality for me, with obvious blocky artefacts. It was an interesting experiment, and actually the first time I'd seen HD playback on my TV, but not quite good enough for regular use. YMMV.
Of course it were all fields around here back then...
Back in the early 80s when Clive Sinclair's little 8-bit 'micros' were all the rage in the UK, when data storage was on cassette and portable TVs stood in for monitors, 'Sinclair User' magazine used to run a column called 'Sinclairvoyance' (geddit?), which predicted how the White Heat of cheap British computer technology would revolutionise all our lives:
http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/
Their predictions about educations were rather wide of the mark (at least so far):
http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/006/sincvoy.htm
'Once the home [computer] schooling idea was accepted, however, the costs of providing education would fall dramatically. Almost the whole of the present system would no longer be needed, with consequent savings in wages and building and maintenance costs. Teachers would be replaced by a handful of people responsible for setting and updating the cassettes and marking the examination cassettes. None of the thousands of ancillary staff - caretakers, cleaners and cooks - would be needed. School transport would become a thing of the past and crossing patrols would no longer halt traffic at the busy times of the day. Additionally, vast areas of land would become available for development.'
To be fair, they recognised some of the problems with this idea:
'Schools are much more than places for learning the subjects which appear in the curriculum. They are a major stage in learning social skills. All children make friends in their neighbourhood but most friends are made at school. They also gain by having contact with others from different backgrounds. There are sufficient problems in the world caused by a lack of understanding between groups of people without increasing the divisions by removing an effective way of bringing people together.'
Some of their other predictions seem rather more prescient, if you replace 'Prestel' with 'Web' and 'Sinclair' with 'PC'. From 1982:
http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/005/sincvoy.htm
'The Typical-Sinclair-Users select a group of holidays in which they are interested and request more details. Those arrive on the screen immediately and are printed out...They make their booking, paying the deposit by debiting their bank account directly by Prestel...As the time for the holiday approaches the TSU family, between playing the latest game of aliens and keeping their household accounts in order, check the weather conditions at their chosen resort and the strength of the peseta against the pound - all available through Prestel...As the TSUs hate shopping, having to push their way through the crowds, they decide to buy all their holiday clothes and equipment by mail order, again using Prestel...The luggage consists of the usual suitcases but also includes a large black briefcase. When they arrive at the airport, they find many other families have the same black briefcases. All are treated with great care, are taken inside the aircraft as hand luggage and stored carefully under the seats...On reaching their hotel everyone immediately rushes to their rooms, where the secret of the black box is revealed. Inside there is a complete Sinclair computer system...The following day the TSU family goes to the beach and, in common with many others, they take their briefcase and spend half the day enjoying the sun, sea and sand and the other half playing with the Sinclair...The case also contains a device which allows the Typical-Sinclair-Users to contact their neighbours via the telephone service or collect any recorded messages on their telephone answering service...If this sounds a little far-fetched, as though the Sinclairvoyance crystal ball is even less clear than usual, consider that most of the items are already in existence and are available either for the Sinclair machines or can be adapted from hardware available with other computers.'
'Probably 3/4 of our customers are running Acrobat Reader 7 or earlier because no one wants to go to the trouble of upgrading reader software, and Adobe's filthy habit of forcing customers to install garbage that they vehemently don't want (like their stinking download manager) doesn't help matters.'
The thing I especially love about this is how Adobe have now stopped providing security updates for Acrobat 7 (the full version you pay money for, not just the reader). Acrobat 7 was a current product until just over 3 years ago, and now the only way to get a safe installation is to pay again for a version upgrade. Given the 'security' record of Adobe products over the last few years, you might think they'd have the good grace to hang their heads in shame and continue fixing a flagship product for a bit longer, if only as a public service. But no, Acrobat 7 is EOL and you pay up or risk getting owned. There's Foxit, of course, but they've recently jumped on the 'installing garbage' bandwagon with a slimy bundled toolbar. I guess that leaves PDF-XChange (which seems rather nice).
'It sure would be nice if you could only buy a data plan. Unfortunately, any I have seen seem to also want you to pay a minimum of $40/month for voice before they will connect you.'
On T-mobile UK, a single payment of 20 GBP gets you 6 months of data on PAYG phones. Of course, if you move here you'll get screwed on price for pretty much everything else that costs money...
'although its far more interesting to use chocolate to measure the speed of digestion'
Yes! Reserve the chocolate for this vital research. The microwave experiment is best performed with marshmallows (which aren't really food, anyway):
http://orbitingfrog.com/blog/2008/05/13/measure-the-speed-of-light-using-your-microwave/
'Who knows who will find these disks. They could be friend, or foe ( or both...).'
Don't worry. In case they are hostile, the final track is Slim Whitman's 'Indian Love Call':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MhgnMX73Pw
'Does a remotely piloted aircraft even qualify as a Robot?'
If an xkcd mouseover says they are, that's good enough for me:
http://xkcd.com/652/
'After all, we already have AIs that can play grandmaster chess but cannot make small talk.'
Eliza: Can you elaborate on that?
You might have to wait a bit longer. I think GEGL is only being used for some functions, and not yet for high bit-depth support. Not sure if the situation has changed much since this:
http://meetthegimp.org/gimp-261-is-out/#comment-38435
'... what iPod would that be? You can change the battery in every iPod, it just takes a little effort rather than a trip to walmart for a new 'pack'.'
A little effort? Here are the 24 risky, difficult steps required just to get at the battery in a current iPod Classic:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/Installing-iPod-Classic-Battery/561/1
("To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order")
As the guide notes: "Apple designed their new iPods to be very difficult to take apart without destroying major components. Because of the metal faceplate, the metal backing, and the 13 (yes, 13) metal clips holding the case together, this is one of the toughest iPods to disassemble. Proceed with caution and the warning that you may significantly damage your iPod beyond its present condition." Because of the risk of destroying components using this approach, some people seriously suggest just cracking it open with a Dremel and living with the (severe!) cosmetic damage:
http://www.pcxmedics.com/blog/diy/alternative-way-to-opendisassemble-an-ipod-classic-case/
'Its certainly possible for anyone who wants to put some effort into it, and since the mass of the people buying them will just replace it before the battery is shot anyway, its really not an issue.'
This is, of course, exactly the attitude Apple wants to encourage - either buy a new one, or use their expensive service option.
'There IS an engineering reason to it as well you know, its not just 'because they are assholes'.'
Yes, the engineers were asked to design a product that would be very hostile to disassembly, and they've succeeded rather well. This goes way beyond making something that's just not actively designed for easy battery replacement by the user (as in earlier iPod generations).
'Translation: Chinese academics and scientists working in the West are, for all intents and purposes, spys.'
It's much worse than that! My extensive research has revealed the existence of a vast network of 'scientists' of all nationalities, operating (like the Illuminati and the Bilderberg Group) with little regard for conventional geo-political boundaries. Despite often working in laboratories funded by national governments (or even so-called 'charities'), these sinister 'researchers' have for decades (even centuries!) made the results of their arcane 'experiments' available in communistic fashion to other members of the cabal. To protect their work from the 'unenlightened', these results are usually presented (much like the treatises of the medieval alchemists) in highly cryptic language that is largely unintelligible to anyone who has not been suitably indoctrinated. This 'training' process usually takes the form of an extended apprenticeship to an individual further up the hierarchy who, as in most cults, holds out the promise of greater enlightenment and an elevation in status in return for performing often menial tasks at unsociable hours while being exposed to mind-bending concepts. The final initiation process, the esoterically titled 'viva voce' ('living voice') ritual is particularly dreaded.
Le Guin does not in fact support the 'Disney model', e.g. here:
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Copyright.html
she describes the Sonny Bono act as "the recent excessive extension of copyright term by the U.S.A, which has imperilled the international copyright system". She just doesn't want to be screwed over by Google in a land grab deal negotiated by an 'Authors Guild' that doesn't represent her.
The NYT article mentions Varian treatment planning software. Looking at a recent safety warning:
http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/Safetywarningsalertsandrecalls/FieldSafetyNoticesformedicaldevices/CON068203
it seems that, as in the case of the Therac-25, an unexpected sequence of user inputs (in this case 'removing the Primary Reference Point...prior to performing planning approval') can under certain circumstances cause an error ('the resulting calculated dose may differ significantly from the original plan'), and that no appropriate error message is generated ('There is no warning message presented during the approval stage indicating that the Primary Reference Point is missing.'). This may well be completely unrelated to the NYT incidents, but it's interesting (though perhaps not surprising) that behaviour of this type can still occur in safety-critical applications.
'Later in the spec, they say there are 3 modes of protection allowed: unrestricted (fair enough, I imagine a lot of general TV would fall into this category, stuff like all those cookery or property shows).'
It's a bit worse than that - the BBC says 'it intends to apply the multiple copy state to the majority of its HD content' ('multiple copy state' is the less restrictive level of DRM, but still DRM).
'I think the implementation is designed to DRM the listings data (as the programmes themselves cannot be encrypted), but still put the DRM onto the receiver'
Yes, if you're a HD box manufacturer, the deal is you only get access to the decoded listings data if you agree to implement DRM that respects their copy flags in the receiver.
'How many receivers will be produced that do not have a listing guide? Probably none - they wouldn't sell in large enough quantities to be worth even a Chinese manufacturer making them.'
I agree about the consumer receivers (set-top HD boxes, TVs with integrated tuners, etc.), but guess that when DVB-T2 PC cards become available, someone will reverse-engineer the EPG decoding tables or provide an independent online EPG. This is the only way we can have a fully FOSS Freeview HD application (leaving aside the issue of whether such reverse-engineering to circumvent DRM is legal under UK/EU law), since the EPG licence won't be compatible with FOSS licences. This will also mean that anything worth pirating will be widely available from all the usual online sources, making the whole scheme completely ineffective for its intended purpose. As usual, the people hurt by the DRM will be all the (millions of?) legitimate users who buy a locked-down HD box and (e.g.) find that they can't space-shift the programme to a more convenient device.
'In essence, if you use a receiver without support for this DRM tech, the only thing you're going to lose access to is the Programme Listing data - it's the BBC's way of placating the drooling media execs with as little direct impact on consumers as possible.'
An built-in EPG is pretty fundamental to the way we use DTV boxes today. Any manufacturer that chose not to sign up the DRM would have to provide its own (which would need a net connection).
'Now that's not to say that someone in the government won't make it impossible to buy receivers that don't support this in the UK, but that's what China is for.'
I don't think this we'll be seeing rogue Chinese Freeview HD boxes any time soon. The DVB-T2 system is not widely used elsewhere, and the chipsets are expensive.
Before replying, bear in mind that you're writing to Ofcom (an independent regulator), not the BBC itself, and first check out the full proposal at:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/content_mngt/condoc.pdf
The devil, of course, is in the details (which the Ofcom summary glosses over). The BBC is proposing an 'amendment' to 'Condition 6' of the current Multiplex B licence (which Ofcom has to approve). This might more accurately be described as a complete reversal of that Condition. EPG data will no longer be freely available, but encrypted. The decryption keys ('Huffman code look-up tables') will only be provided under a licence that mandates that the HD box manufacturer implements DRM, to be applied to any content that the broadcaster flags as 'protected'. It looks like the the BBC intends to require a level of DRM for most of its HD programming ('The BBC indicates in its proposal that it intends to apply the multiple copy state to the majority of its HD content.'). The even more restrictive 'managed copy' flag will be used when required; an 'unrestricted copy' flag is also available, but it doesn't look like it will get much use.
The issue of Open Source implementations is also dealt with in a deeply misleading way:
'The licensing terms for Open Source software typically require that this software is made freely available to others to use, which may be incompatible with and the licensing terms of the BBC's Huffman Code look-up tables. This issue appears to have been addressed by HD Freesat receivers that use Linux Open Source software and implement similar content management technologies'
This only 'appears to have been addressed' if you don't actually understand the issues. An HD box may well be running a Linux kernel, with proprietary software on top of it, just as MacOS runs on a FOSS XNU kernel. What the current proposal would block is any fully Free/Open Source implementation of a Freeview HD system.
'haiti needs complete rebuilding not temporary relief which will vanish once the earthquake new disappears from the front pages. it needed that much money and more before the quake even hit. not it needs demolition and rebuilding not quick fixes and temporary aid.'
Haiti desperately needs both immediate relief and longer-term help. Several of the aid organisations now responding to the emergency already have long-term commitments to Haiti. One I happen to know about is Oxfam:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/emergencies/haiti-earthquake.html
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/where_we_work/haiti.html
They make efficient use of donations, with only 10% going on (essential) running costs, and work directly at a local level rather than just dishing out the cash:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/faq/other.html#admin
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/what_we_do/binmyth_slideshow.html