Yea, remember all the money they poured into the divx (not the compression, they expiring dvd's) format? I hardly consider them an industry barometer. In their effort to be ahead of the curve, they can make some bad decisions.
Okay, Apple builds a cool but expensive MP3 player. They write the software for it to run on the mac, which helps to sell macs. Sounds good so far, right?
Now, they are helping other companies write software so the player runs on other systems. The other companies pick up the marketing costs, support costs, and add a small "windows tax" in the form of the price of the software, which sill helps the mac to look more attractive.
And apple makes more money by selling the iPod to a larger market.
I think this is a brilliant move by Apple. They open up a larger market with little effort, and eliminate the supports costs.
CAn we accuse the recording industry of being terrorists now? They are attacking the internet. They are trying to bring down a computer network by inserting "trojan horses" of false data into them. Shouldn't this be prevented under the DMCA or something?
Oh, and last time I checked, it's not legal to break the law just because the other people are "bad".;)
As someone who has worked with 802.11b outdoors, There are some problems they are going to have to overcome.
1) Outside, you are pretty much limited to line-of-site. Bodys containing water do a great job of blocking the signal. This includes people, trees, cacti, etc.
2) The problem with repeaters is that, if an early one goes down, the rest of the chain looses the connection. When hoping to span great distances, this is a problem.
3) hopping via repeators will cut down on bandwidth, and you are limited to very few hops before you get some severe latency
4) There are limitations to the amount of power you are allowed to use to boost a signal, from the spec:
---- begin copy & paste ---- (3) Except as shown in paragraphs (b)(3) (i), (ii) and (iii) of this section, if transmitting antennas of directional gain greater than 6 dBi are used the peak output power from the intentional radiator shall be reduced below the stated values in paragraphs (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section, as appropriate, by the amount in dB that the directional gain of the antenna exceeds 6 dBi.
(i) Systems operating in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band that are used exclusively for fixed, point-to-point operations may employ transmitting antennas with directional gain greater than 6 dBi provided the maximum peak output power of the intentional radiator is reduced by 1 dB for every 3 dB that the directional gain of the antenna exceeds 6 dBi." ---- end copy & paste ----
So, while their plan sounds interesting, they have some serious issues to overcome, and I don't see how they are going to do it with off the shelf parts. I'll wait till I see a working prototype before I shell out my VC
Has anyone who purchased one the the CD's in question contact their local Better Business Bureau? When I buy something that looks like a CD, is sold in the CD isle, I don't expect it to hose my iMac.
Let's get as many agency's in on this as possable.
Let's thing about this for a moment... excluding fps titles... what games actually use 100% of the hardware they are running on?
Certainly not all. Games like Escape Velocy Nova that are Very popular (and only available on the Mac) would work great even with the elegid java performance hit.
Sure, Sun has a lot of work to do before this is a working solution... but you are fooling yourself if you think it can't be done.
--T
Isn't it odd that the quote of the day (at the bottom of slashdot pages) when this story was posted is:
"When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship. -- Harry Truman"
--T
Am I the only one?
on
ULTra Robo-Taxi
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Am I the only person who actually LIKES to drive? My commute is the best part of my day. Everyone talkes about the idea of cars that drive themselves as something great... Personally It is something I dread. Do you think this will make cars safer? Do you trust the software that much?
Actually, no, you don't have to download it twice. You have your choice of either 1) downloading the installer from apple using the link off of versiontracker.com, or 2) after the software uplate control panel downloads it, but before you reboot, use the control panel's "Save As" feature to save the installer.
okay, I'm getting a little off-topic here, but traffic helicopters are obsolete already. Here in Philadelpha most if not all of the stations have given up on them (or use them just for special reports on things best covered from the air).
Most traffic reports are coming from a service such as traffic.com, who places cideo cameras and radar guns along the highways to measure speeds.
The major benefit of this system is the newscasters can show the road conditions of several highways in rapid succession.
Last night I was using Fire, a program very similar to Trillian, but for os-X. Things seemed to be working fine.
I wonder how/why AOL targeted one client, but not others. I haven't updated my fire client in weeks, so I know they aren't jumping through hoops (yet).
Doesn't this seem monopolistic? They are changing their music so that it only plays on their software. In effect, they are using their monopoly to put all other music playing software out of business. How is this different than micrsoft preventing all other browsers from running on it's operating systems? (Not that they do that... )
But I don't think that public funds should dictate the use of public code. IT certainly shouldn't exclude it either. I think that they should go to the most cost effective solution that meets the needs.
Sometimes that means open source. Sometimes it doesn't. Nothing should be excluded.
Okay, Linux solves the "Cost of the OS" part of the problem, and since it can run on old hardware, it solves tha part of the problem... But who is going to teach these people how to use linux?
Admit it people, Linux isn't that user friendly. When we are talking about the under-edeucated population, and something that represents a significant cost to these people... they are gonna need a LOT of tech support.
Heck, I know people who easly afforded their computer, but are afraid to do anything on them for fear of "messing something up".
I don't think a computer in ever house is the solution. A computer in every classroom, library and community center is the way to go.
Centralize the computer in these communities, keep them well maintained, and free for all.
The desktop metaphor might not be ideal, but I don't see them coming up with a better solution. Anyone can come up with a few reasons why it is bad, but coming up with a better alternative is the challenge.
The desktop is a great way to introduce the non-technical to a computer. Sure, it's not perfect, but these guys are nit-picking...
Well, it could actually be that it is cheaper to go wireless than It would be to hard wire every desk in the school.
Or, it could be that the kids go from classroom to classroom all day, and it's better for them to be able to take their computer with them... And wireless prevents them from having to deal with snapping connectors in (and off) all the time.
I recall reading that Nasa approached the writer for Babylon 5 about using his starfury (small fighter craft) design in the future, probably as a maintence vehicle for the space station.
If memory serves, he said yes, as long as they keep his name for it...
Sorry, I just looked around, but I couldn't find a link.
Slashdot Mirror
So this explains the Voices in my head.
Okay, how do you throw the phone down in frustration?
--T
"Faster"?
How much faster do you want it to play the music, anyway?
:)
--T
Yea, remember all the money they poured into the divx (not the compression, they expiring dvd's) format? I hardly consider them an industry barometer. In their effort to be ahead of the curve, they can make some bad decisions.
--T
Okay, Apple builds a cool but expensive MP3 player. They write the software for it to run on the mac, which helps to sell macs. Sounds good so far, right?
Now, they are helping other companies write software so the player runs on other systems. The other companies pick up the marketing costs, support costs, and add a small "windows tax" in the form of the price of the software, which sill helps the mac to look more attractive.
And apple makes more money by selling the iPod to a larger market.
I think this is a brilliant move by Apple. They open up a larger market with little effort, and eliminate the supports costs.
--T
CAn we accuse the recording industry of being terrorists now? They are attacking the internet. They are trying to bring down a computer network by inserting "trojan horses" of false data into them. Shouldn't this be prevented under the DMCA or something?
;)
Oh, and last time I checked, it's not legal to break the law just because the other people are "bad".
--ST
As someone who has worked with 802.11b outdoors, There are some problems they are going to have to overcome.
1) Outside, you are pretty much limited to line-of-site. Bodys containing water do a great job of blocking the signal. This includes people, trees, cacti, etc.
2) The problem with repeaters is that, if an early one goes down, the rest of the chain looses the connection. When hoping to span great distances, this is a problem.
3) hopping via repeators will cut down on bandwidth, and you are limited to very few hops before you get some severe latency
4) There are limitations to the amount of power you are allowed to use to boost a signal, from the spec:
---- begin copy & paste ----
(3) Except as shown in paragraphs (b)(3) (i), (ii) and (iii) of this section, if transmitting antennas of directional gain greater than 6 dBi are used the peak output power from the intentional radiator shall be reduced below the stated values in paragraphs (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section, as appropriate, by the amount in dB that the directional gain of the antenna exceeds 6 dBi.
(i) Systems operating in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band that are used exclusively for fixed, point-to-point operations may employ transmitting antennas with directional gain greater than 6 dBi provided the maximum peak output power of the intentional radiator is reduced by 1 dB for every 3 dB that the directional gain of the antenna exceeds 6 dBi."
---- end copy & paste ----
So, while their plan sounds interesting, they have some serious issues to overcome, and I don't see how they are going to do it with off the shelf parts. I'll wait till I see a working prototype before I shell out my VC
And just like NASA, Cindy Crawford has stringent physical requirements...
--T
Has anyone who purchased one the the CD's in question contact their local Better Business Bureau? When I buy something that looks like a CD, is sold in the CD isle, I don't expect it to hose my iMac.
Let's get as many agency's in on this as possable.
--T
Let's thing about this for a moment... excluding fps titles... what games actually use 100% of the hardware they are running on?
Certainly not all. Games like Escape Velocy Nova that are Very popular (and only available on the Mac) would work great even with the elegid java performance hit.
Sure, Sun has a lot of work to do before this is a working solution... but you are fooling yourself if you think it can't be done.
--T
Isn't it odd that the quote of the day (at the bottom of slashdot pages) when this story was posted is:
"When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship. -- Harry Truman"
--T
Am I the only person who actually LIKES to drive? My commute is the best part of my day. Everyone talkes about the idea of cars that drive themselves as something great... Personally It is something I dread. Do you think this will make cars safer? Do you trust the software that much?
By god, I don't see the wonder in it.
--T
Actually, no, you don't have to download it twice. You have your choice of either 1) downloading the installer from apple using the link off of versiontracker.com, or 2) after the software uplate control panel downloads it, but before you reboot, use the control panel's "Save As" feature to save the installer.
okay, I'm getting a little off-topic here, but traffic helicopters are obsolete already. Here in Philadelpha most if not all of the stations have given up on them (or use them just for special reports on things best covered from the air).
Most traffic reports are coming from a service such as traffic.com, who places cideo cameras and radar guns along the highways to measure speeds.
The major benefit of this system is the newscasters can show the road conditions of several highways in rapid succession.
--T
Last night I was using Fire, a program very similar to Trillian, but for os-X. Things seemed to be working fine.
I wonder how/why AOL targeted one client, but not others. I haven't updated my fire client in weeks, so I know they aren't jumping through hoops (yet).
--T
"How small will these be in 5 years? "
My guess is these units will be the same size in 5 years. Damn trick questions....
;)
--T
Doesn't this seem monopolistic? They are changing their music so that it only plays on their software. In effect, they are using their monopoly to put all other music playing software out of business. How is this different than micrsoft preventing all other browsers from running on it's operating systems? (Not that they do that... )
--T
The Ultra-micro-featherweight class of robot wars! (Or battlebots, or robotica, or whatever)
--T
This will probably be modded as a troll...
But I don't think that public funds should dictate the use of public code. IT certainly shouldn't exclude it either. I think that they should go to the most cost effective solution that meets the needs.
Sometimes that means open source. Sometimes it doesn't. Nothing should be excluded.
--T
Okay, Linux solves the "Cost of the OS" part of the problem, and since it can run on old hardware, it solves tha part of the problem... But who is going to teach these people how to use linux?
Admit it people, Linux isn't that user friendly. When we are talking about the under-edeucated population, and something that represents a significant cost to these people... they are gonna need a LOT of tech support.
Heck, I know people who easly afforded their computer, but are afraid to do anything on them for fear of "messing something up".
I don't think a computer in ever house is the solution. A computer in every classroom, library and community center is the way to go.
Centralize the computer in these communities, keep them well maintained, and free for all.
--T
It's a Christmas miracle!
--T
The desktop metaphor might not be ideal, but I don't see them coming up with a better solution. Anyone can come up with a few reasons why it is bad, but coming up with a better alternative is the challenge.
The desktop is a great way to introduce the non-technical to a computer. Sure, it's not perfect, but these guys are nit-picking...
--ST
Well, it could actually be that it is cheaper to go wireless than It would be to hard wire every desk in the school.
Or, it could be that the kids go from classroom to classroom all day, and it's better for them to be able to take their computer with them... And wireless prevents them from having to deal with snapping connectors in (and off) all the time.
--T
oh man, that sucks...
(Black hole? Get it? Sucks? )
man, i picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
--ST
I recall reading that Nasa approached the writer for Babylon 5 about using his starfury (small fighter craft) design in the future, probably as a maintence vehicle for the space station.
If memory serves, he said yes, as long as they keep his name for it...
Sorry, I just looked around, but I couldn't find a link.
Did you see Office Space? Geeks always travel in packs...
--T