Perhaps Apple doesn't want to change into a software company.
Perhaps they like building computers and maybe, just maybe, their legions of aficionados would like them to continue doing so.
In my opinion, the most significant characteristic of Apple, as a company and a culture, is that they clearly love computers and it shows in everything they build - hardware and software.
Very few other technology companies exhibit this same exuberance that has been an Apple hallmark for many years (esp. under the leadership of the norotiously persnickety Steve Jobs).
I rarely walk away from using a Microsoft product thinking that this was created by someone who loves computers as much as I do.
Not every company needs to (or should) try to maximize sales and market penetration like Microsoft - just like every person doesn't need to try to be as rich as Bill Gates, as musical as Mozart, as tall as Shaq, etc.
Is it inconceivable that Apple might have success criteria that are different from Microsoft? Is it impossible that we, as users, can understand and embrace that kind of diversity of thought in the marketplace?
Hey you, Ferrari - why aren't you selling as many cars as Toyota? Slackers!
I do a lot of Public Access TV and we use older 80GB FireStores to capture the FireWire output from our Canon GL2 cameras. It works pretty well - it only takes a couple of minutes to set up and 80GB holds 5 hours and 45 minutes (enough for even the longest Town Meeting marathons). They come with a little nylon carrying case that allow you to sling it from your shoulder or attach it to your belt - a real plus for mobile shoots.
Since the FireStore uses a FAT filesystem, the individual segments are 1.99GB each which, if I remember correctly, translates to 9 minutes plus change of DV25 video. However, you can also add your own segment marks with the push of a button (up to 99 segments per bin, up to 99 bins on the device... to keep our 2 cameras / firestores straight, we always record into bin 11 on camera 1 and bin 22 on camera 2).
After you are done recording, you have to tell the device to convert the raw files to AVIs. This can take 5-10 minutes depending on how much you recorded. After that, I copy the files to my PowerBook (another 10-15 minutes) and I am ready to edit in Final Cut Express. Although the conversion and transfer times add up, it is still better than transcoding and/or rendering.
The only drawback is the price - when we got ours they were $999 each. It seems pretty steep for what is really not much more than a hard disk (and only an 80GB one at that). However, in the final analysis, I think that they have been more than worth it. We've been using both our units at least once a week for 2 years and have never had the slightest problem (even in the hands of some pretty computer-phobic users). Since I have yet to see any alternatives in this thread that is really any cheaper or easier (and the laptop solutions are definitely less mobile), I'd say that the FireStore is one of the best options.
Every year, define some level of computational power (ops, memory, storage, what have you) as the current state-of-the art and call it "Level 0".
Then just increment the "Level" of your computer each year to indicate the number of years ago that it was state of the art.
Therefore, the top-end machine every year will be Level 0 (current top dog), the mid-range is level 1 (last year's screamer), and level 3 fill out the bargin bins.
And for all the D&D fans, in this scenario experience points would be equal to "leveling up".
Cool - that way we can make sure that artists make even less than they do now!
I have an even better idea. We can all post music files to internet where people can download them for free. Then you don't even have to go to the Library!
Wait, wait - I've got an even better idea. How about we all start going to more concerts since that is where most artists make their real money. Then we could, like, meet other people who share our musical tastes and hang out.
Be careful though. If this gets out of hand we might all find ourselves learning to play instruments so that we can make music with our new found friends. As we are all aware, it is unamerican to spend time producing art when we could be out consuming.
I think it is interesting that the first point Downhillbattle makes is that iTMS is too expensive and suggests buying used CDs from Amazon or eBay.
I find this interesting because buying used CDs gives NO money back to the artists.
I don't see how they can criticize Apple for not giving enough to the artists (a criticism which really belongs to the record companies anyway) when their alternative is to give the artists NOTHING.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy ot the University of Massachusetts in Amherst undertook a similar project a few years ago.
What makes their project unique is that the design is NOT a replica of Stonehenge but, rather, a reconceptualization of the calendar wheel based on a modern understanding of astronomy.
No, it's not the burn time or the proliferation of incompatible burner types for your desktop PC - this technology is for mastering discs at the factory (RTFA, people).
No, it's not the electron wavelength which, by the way, is only weakly dependent on beam energy (the 50 keV of kinetic enery is still small potatoes compared to the 511 MeV electron rest mass - back to physics 101 for you).
The REAL problem is building the electron emitters. In order to focus the electron beam to a very fine spot, the initial supply of electrons has to be very monoenergetic (monochromatic in optics parlance). This is because charged particle optics are very susceptible to chromatic abberration, where the focal length of a lens is a function of wavelength. Furthermore, since charged particle optics rely exclusively on electromagnetic fields, they cannot leverage all the trickery used in conventional optics to circumvent this effect.
Well, there are a couple of ways to obtain the initial monochromatic source of electrons. First, you can use a traditional thermionic electron emitter (think hot wire) at the input of a crossed field velocity selector (look it up). Unfortunately, that is very inefficient with respect to beam flux (or "luminosity").
The other primary option is to use a cold electron emission source such as "field emission" in which electrons quantum mechanically tunnel out of the cathode under the influence of a very strong electric field. This emission mechanism is specifically mentioned in the article. Typically, this requires an extremely sharp cathode (10s of nanometers), like an etched wire, to achieve the required electric fields at its sharpest point using reasonable voltages (10s - 100s of kV).
Now, here's the tricky bit. With such a high & spatially inhomogeneous electric field, every polarizable particle (like gas molecules) in the chamber will be drawn to the region of highest field strength via a process call dielectrophoresis (the same effect used to separate DNA strands in gel sequencing). Since the highest field region is also the very small tunneling region producing the beam, even a single gas molecule can "poison" the emitter by adsorbing to the surface and shutting down the field emission process.
Even in extremely high vacuum (10^-10 torr and better) the lifetime of "standard" field emitters is typically much too short for industrial purposes. One solution is too build an array of microfabricated emitters for redundancy (the so-called "Spindt cathodes") but that involves its own challenges. Add in the outgassing that is sure to arise from the "burning" process and you've got quite a mess.
Personally, I'd be very interested to know what the mean lifetime of their field emitters is and how is it achieved. Increasing this lifetime, especially for microfabricated emitters, is one of the great challenges in vacuum microelectronics. If solved, the field emission display, essentially an honest-to-goodness flat-panel CRT, could become a viable technology to compete with LCDs, plasma and emergent technologies like large-format OLEDs.
Given that Microsoft has been, and still seems to be, very reticent to pay dividends, I would think that anything that affects stock price would be the primary interest of its investors. If Microsoft loses its overseas growth markets, a large cash buffer will only serve to stave off the reaper.
While I agree that Microsoft should not be underestimated, industry dominating companies have blown it before and, as nothing last forever, it is only a matter before Microsoft follows in their footsteps. Traditionally, it has been anti-trust actions that have brought down the mightiest (Standard Oil, AT&T) but, in the current pro-corporate political climate, this time the (beginning of the) end may come from other quarters.
Okay, I took your advice and looked at the distributed.net speed statistics. I looked for the fastest PowerPC & Intel scores in each project. Here's what I found...
Of course, these numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt since there is only a few (or even one) top-end machine of each class in the statistics. However, contrary to your assertion, it appears that the PowerPCs kick ass compared to the x86s.
My understanding was that, if anything, the distributed.net algorithms unfairly favor the PowerPCs - esp. those with Altivec. I believe the Apple has used that fact in their advertising much to the consternation of many Slashdotters.
In case you (or others) are not aware, Audible is the tradename of the company providing the audiobooks.
I have been using them, through their own website, for over a year and I really like their product. Books are approximately 10MB/hr at their highest encoding rate which means I can keep many books on my iPod at a time (usually 6-12 hours / book, abridged). It really makes the commute fly by.
I wish they would offer an even higher bitrate version as the audio is still a little robotic sounding but once I get into the story I rarely notice.
I just finished listening to Margaret Atwood's new book, Oryx & Crake - very good.
The new iTunes Music Store now supports gift certificates & music "allowances" for your kids.
Plus, the catalog still seems to be growing at a healthy clip - unexpected holdouts such as the Grateful Dead are now available and Audible audiobooks are now available through the store.
I still wish that they would keep track of single song purchases and deduct them from the album price (a kind of installment plan) but a nice feature bump nonetheless.
I also like the headline on Apple's homepage - "Hell Froze Over!"
I agree. In fact, I find the most important vocabulary for new users to learn is GUI terminology - i.e. window, menu bar, scroll bar, tab, pane, etc.
Whenever you are trying to help a newbie over the phone or via email or IM, the biggest obstacle seems to be accurately communicating where they are, what they see, and where to go. Given that GUIs are built upon metaphors to the real world, this terminology should be the easiest to learn but often that is not the case.
How many of the comical tech support stories that have become ingrained in the mythology of the information age revolve around difficulties describing visual interfaces?
Umm, by my calculation, 30 seconds of downtime in a year corresponds to an availability of...
1 - 30s / (60s/min * 60min/hr * 24hr/day * 365.25 days/year) > 0.999999... which is, of course 6 nines. That's a whole order of magnitude harder than what we're talking about.
Properly computed, 5 nines corresponds to a yearly downtime of...
Now I'll grant you that 30s/year downtime (6 nines) is an absurdly high standard - at least given the current state of technology. However, 5 nines is currently achievable for mission critical systems if you're willing to pay the price. If I was the CIO for, say, VISA and I was only getting 4 nines, I'd be investigating different lines of work.
I've never seen a user ask for 12 nines... or even 99.9999999% (which is only 9 nines).
I am confused by your problem. With that many Macs, I assume that there are all on a home network and, I further presume, that they are all on the same subnet.
Therefore, the iTunes streaming function, in either version 4.0 or 4.0.1, should work perfectly for you. Set up one of your desktop machines as an iTunes server - load all your AACs, register them, turn on streaming in the iTunes preferences. Now all your machines can enjoy your iTMS collection in the comfort of your home.
Since the only two machines that leave the house are your laptops, use your other 2 registrations for them. Voila, now you can enjoy your iTMS purchases on all your Macs, all the time.
However, I agree that 5 is the right number of registered Macs for iTMS. Consider a couple who both have Macs at work, laptops for travel and share some number of Macs at home. Obviously all the Macs at home can be accomodated by streaming but there is no good solution for the 2 laptops + 2 work macs. RIght now, it seems the best option is to register the 2 work macs and buy 2 iPods to use on the road (a non-trivial investment). However, I will be trying some of the streaming recommendations earlier in this thread to try and free up one if not both of the registrations used at work.
I hope I'm not too late in this thread but I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the Foxfire books (at least I haven't seen anything modded up yet).
The Foxfire Fund was established to preserve the vanishing folkways of Appalachia and, let me tell you, those people knew how to provide for themselves.
There is an extensive series of books covering such diverse utilitarian topics as wood lore, blacksmithing, instrument making, weaving and so on.
Even though there are several business practices which are uniquely prohibited for monopolies, rest assured that there are plenty of other illegal acts that businesses can and do commit - including Microsoft. Many of the resulting cases are settled out of court, oftentimes with agreements that are disproportionately favorable to the 800 pound gorilla.
If you are really so interested in the REAL world, it's about time that you accept the fact that Microsoft's big break came from striking a particularly favorable deal with some soft-headed IBM execs to sell a product that they bought off another company which in turn blatently stole from a genuine computer visionary. Their success has largely derived from using that break to foist a series of mediocre products on a largely ignorant public until they reached the critical mass necessary to quash nearly all perceived threats.
I hope that Apple continues to thrive. First, because I love an underdog. Second, because, whenever you use one of their products, you can tell that the people who made them really love computers - much like myself. I have never had that experience using anything made by Microsoft.
I thought so too. However, since I like Phish & the Dead, I went looking. Curiously, there is only a strange subset of the Phish catalog and no Dead at all. Bummer.
Anything that happened before the Big Bang is outside the purview of science. Ask the same question to your local philosopher or clergyman.
Not exactly. The physics of the earliest stages of the universe (before 1E-34 seconds) of the Big Bang are currently outside of our scientific knowledge but that is not to say that they will always be. Granted some theorists have hypothesized that the universe began with a singularity through which there can be no continuity of physical laws but it is only a hypothesis. Another hypothesis, not completely unreasonable, is that the universe began with a small but not infinitessimal "big bounce" through which physical laws could pass unchanged - at least at grand unification energy scales. So stop bothering your local philosophers and clergymen and get back to your physics homework!
Slashdot Mirror
Scott Shim won another design award last year for the SHIFT tricycle that transforms into a bicycle.
Apple will also be announcing a flying car, the cure for cancer and Duke Nukem Forever.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence of this but that fits with "Apple's past pattern of being secretive to maximise the splash on announcement day."
Perhaps Apple doesn't want to change into a software company.
Perhaps they like building computers and maybe, just maybe, their legions of aficionados would like them to continue doing so.
In my opinion, the most significant characteristic of Apple, as a company and a culture, is that they clearly love computers and it shows in everything they build - hardware and software.
Very few other technology companies exhibit this same exuberance that has been an Apple hallmark for many years (esp. under the leadership of the norotiously persnickety Steve Jobs).
I rarely walk away from using a Microsoft product thinking that this was created by someone who loves computers as much as I do.
Not every company needs to (or should) try to maximize sales and market penetration like Microsoft - just like every person doesn't need to try to be as rich as Bill Gates, as musical as Mozart, as tall as Shaq, etc.
Is it inconceivable that Apple might have success criteria that are different from Microsoft? Is it impossible that we, as users, can understand and embrace that kind of diversity of thought in the marketplace?
Hey you, Ferrari - why aren't you selling as many cars as Toyota? Slackers!
I do a lot of Public Access TV and we use older 80GB FireStores to capture the FireWire output from our Canon GL2 cameras. It works pretty well - it only takes a couple of minutes to set up and 80GB holds 5 hours and 45 minutes (enough for even the longest Town Meeting marathons). They come with a little nylon carrying case that allow you to sling it from your shoulder or attach it to your belt - a real plus for mobile shoots.
... to keep our 2 cameras / firestores straight, we always record into bin 11 on camera 1 and bin 22 on camera 2).
Since the FireStore uses a FAT filesystem, the individual segments are 1.99GB each which, if I remember correctly, translates to 9 minutes plus change of DV25 video. However, you can also add your own segment marks with the push of a button (up to 99 segments per bin, up to 99 bins on the device
After you are done recording, you have to tell the device to convert the raw files to AVIs. This can take 5-10 minutes depending on how much you recorded. After that, I copy the files to my PowerBook (another 10-15 minutes) and I am ready to edit in Final Cut Express. Although the conversion and transfer times add up, it is still better than transcoding and/or rendering.
The only drawback is the price - when we got ours they were $999 each. It seems pretty steep for what is really not much more than a hard disk (and only an 80GB one at that). However, in the final analysis, I think that they have been more than worth it. We've been using both our units at least once a week for 2 years and have never had the slightest problem (even in the hands of some pretty computer-phobic users). Since I have yet to see any alternatives in this thread that is really any cheaper or easier (and the laptop solutions are definitely less mobile), I'd say that the FireStore is one of the best options.
Every year, define some level of computational power (ops, memory, storage, what have you) as the current state-of-the art and call it "Level 0".
Then just increment the "Level" of your computer each year to indicate the number of years ago that it was state of the art.
Therefore, the top-end machine every year will be Level 0 (current top dog), the mid-range is level 1 (last year's screamer), and level 3 fill out the bargin bins.
And for all the D&D fans, in this scenario experience points would be equal to "leveling up".
Cool - that way we can make sure that artists make even less than they do now!
I have an even better idea. We can all post music files to internet where people can download them for free. Then you don't even have to go to the Library!
Wait, wait - I've got an even better idea. How about we all start going to more concerts since that is where most artists make their real money. Then we could, like, meet other people who share our musical tastes and hang out.
Be careful though. If this gets out of hand we might all find ourselves learning to play instruments so that we can make music with our new found friends. As we are all aware, it is unamerican to spend time producing art when we could be out consuming.
I think it is interesting that the first point Downhillbattle makes is that iTMS is too expensive and suggests buying used CDs from Amazon or eBay.
I find this interesting because buying used CDs gives NO money back to the artists.
I don't see how they can criticize Apple for not giving enough to the artists (a criticism which really belongs to the record companies anyway) when their alternative is to give the artists NOTHING.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy ot the University of Massachusetts in Amherst undertook a similar project a few years ago.
What makes their project unique is that the design is NOT a replica of Stonehenge but, rather, a reconceptualization of the calendar wheel based on a modern understanding of astronomy.
Check it out here.
No, it's not the burn time or the proliferation of incompatible burner types for your desktop PC - this technology is for mastering discs at the factory (RTFA, people).
No, it's not the electron wavelength which, by the way, is only weakly dependent on beam energy (the 50 keV of kinetic enery is still small potatoes compared to the 511 MeV electron rest mass - back to physics 101 for you).
The REAL problem is building the electron emitters. In order to focus the electron beam to a very fine spot, the initial supply of electrons has to be very monoenergetic (monochromatic in optics parlance). This is because charged particle optics are very susceptible to chromatic abberration, where the focal length of a lens is a function of wavelength. Furthermore, since charged particle optics rely exclusively on electromagnetic fields, they cannot leverage all the trickery used in conventional optics to circumvent this effect.
Well, there are a couple of ways to obtain the initial monochromatic source of electrons. First, you can use a traditional thermionic electron emitter (think hot wire) at the input of a crossed field velocity selector (look it up). Unfortunately, that is very inefficient with respect to beam flux (or "luminosity").
The other primary option is to use a cold electron emission source such as "field emission" in which electrons quantum mechanically tunnel out of the cathode under the influence of a very strong electric field. This emission mechanism is specifically mentioned in the article. Typically, this requires an extremely sharp cathode (10s of nanometers), like an etched wire, to achieve the required electric fields at its sharpest point using reasonable voltages (10s - 100s of kV).
Now, here's the tricky bit. With such a high & spatially inhomogeneous electric field, every polarizable particle (like gas molecules) in the chamber will be drawn to the region of highest field strength via a process call dielectrophoresis (the same effect used to separate DNA strands in gel sequencing). Since the highest field region is also the very small tunneling region producing the beam, even a single gas molecule can "poison" the emitter by adsorbing to the surface and shutting down the field emission process.
Even in extremely high vacuum (10^-10 torr and better) the lifetime of "standard" field emitters is typically much too short for industrial purposes. One solution is too build an array of microfabricated emitters for redundancy (the so-called "Spindt cathodes") but that involves its own challenges. Add in the outgassing that is sure to arise from the "burning" process and you've got quite a mess.
Personally, I'd be very interested to know what the mean lifetime of their field emitters is and how is it achieved. Increasing this lifetime, especially for microfabricated emitters, is one of the great challenges in vacuum microelectronics. If solved, the field emission display, essentially an honest-to-goodness flat-panel CRT, could become a viable technology to compete with LCDs, plasma and emergent technologies like large-format OLEDs.
"Who ordered that?"
As an investor with a well diversified portfolio, bad news about Microsoft doesn't bother me. I get dividends from Microsoft ...
That is a curious statement considering that Microsoft has only paid 2 dividends in its history.
Given that Microsoft has been, and still seems to be, very reticent to pay dividends, I would think that anything that affects stock price would be the primary interest of its investors. If Microsoft loses its overseas growth markets, a large cash buffer will only serve to stave off the reaper.
While I agree that Microsoft should not be underestimated, industry dominating companies have blown it before and, as nothing last forever, it is only a matter before Microsoft follows in their footsteps. Traditionally, it has been anti-trust actions that have brought down the mightiest (Standard Oil, AT&T) but, in the current pro-corporate political climate, this time the (beginning of the) end may come from other quarters.
Yes, I agree - these machines do deserve a mention. However, not necessarily a favorable one.
For example, the Tungsten machine at #4 uses 14% more processors at a 53% higher clock rate to achieve 95.5% of the Rmax and 87% of the Rpeak.
The Lightning machine at #6 uses 28% more processors at the same clock speed to achieve 82% of Rmax and 74% of Rpeak.
I'm not impressed.
Okay, I took your advice and looked at the distributed.net speed statistics. I looked for the fastest PowerPC & Intel scores in each project. Here's what I found ...
PROJECT OGR:
CPU @ MHz = Speed
G5 @ 2000 = 19,180,166.00
G5 @ 1800 = 17,100,000.00
G4 @ 1250 = 13,946,216.25
P4 @ 3200 = 12,155,245.00
Xeon @ 2800 = 10,251,811.00
PIII @ 1440 = 9,570,000.00
PROJECT RC572:
G5 @ 2000 = 15,058,974.67
G5 @ 1800 = 13,400,000.00
G4 @ 1250 = 13,084,678.25
P4 @ 3200 = 4,502,730.00
Xeon @ 2800 = 3,935,299.00
PIII @ 1440 = 2,927,187.00
Of course, these numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt since there is only a few (or even one) top-end machine of each class in the statistics. However, contrary to your assertion, it appears that the PowerPCs kick ass compared to the x86s.
My understanding was that, if anything, the distributed.net algorithms unfairly favor the PowerPCs - esp. those with Altivec. I believe the Apple has used that fact in their advertising much to the consternation of many Slashdotters.
Ha, ha ... smartass ;-)
In case you (or others) are not aware, Audible is the tradename of the company providing the audiobooks.
I have been using them, through their own website, for over a year and I really like their product. Books are approximately 10MB/hr at their highest encoding rate which means I can keep many books on my iPod at a time (usually 6-12 hours / book, abridged). It really makes the commute fly by.
I wish they would offer an even higher bitrate version as the audio is still a little robotic sounding but once I get into the story I rarely notice.
I just finished listening to Margaret Atwood's new book, Oryx & Crake - very good.
Hmm, that is surprising. The Mac version lacked proxy support for the first 2 point releases if I remember correctly.
.Mac - reportedly solved in 10.3).
Needless to say, I was very happy when it was fixed (although there are still proxy problems with Safari &
Just hang in there, I am sure there will be a patch or workaround soon. Trust me, it is worth the wait.
The new iTunes Music Store now supports gift certificates & music "allowances" for your kids.
Plus, the catalog still seems to be growing at a healthy clip - unexpected holdouts such as the Grateful Dead are now available and Audible audiobooks are now available through the store.
I still wish that they would keep track of single song purchases and deduct them from the album price (a kind of installment plan) but a nice feature bump nonetheless.
I also like the headline on Apple's homepage - "Hell Froze Over!"
I agree. In fact, I find the most important vocabulary for new users to learn is GUI terminology - i.e. window, menu bar, scroll bar, tab, pane, etc.
Whenever you are trying to help a newbie over the phone or via email or IM, the biggest obstacle seems to be accurately communicating where they are, what they see, and where to go. Given that GUIs are built upon metaphors to the real world, this terminology should be the easiest to learn but often that is not the case.
How many of the comical tech support stories that have become ingrained in the mythology of the information age revolve around difficulties describing visual interfaces?
Umm, by my calculation, 30 seconds of downtime in a year corresponds to an availability of ...
... which is, of course 6 nines. That's a whole order of magnitude harder than what we're talking about.
...
...
... or even 99.9999999% (which is only 9 nines).
1 - 30s / (60s/min * 60min/hr * 24hr/day * 365.25 days/year) > 0.999999
Properly computed, 5 nines corresponds to a yearly downtime of
(1 - 0.99999) * (60s/min * 60min/hr * 24hr/day * 365.25 days/year) > 315 seconds ~ 5.26 minutes
The 4 nines you mention is yet another order of magnitude more downtime
(1-0.9999) * (60s/min * 60min/hr * 24hr/day * 365.25 days/year) > 3155 seconds ~ 52.6 minutes
Now I'll grant you that 30s/year downtime (6 nines) is an absurdly high standard - at least given the current state of technology. However, 5 nines is currently achievable for mission critical systems if you're willing to pay the price. If I was the CIO for, say, VISA and I was only getting 4 nines, I'd be investigating different lines of work.
I've never seen a user ask for 12 nines
I am confused by your problem. With that many Macs, I assume that there are all on a home network and, I further presume, that they are all on the same subnet.
Therefore, the iTunes streaming function, in either version 4.0 or 4.0.1, should work perfectly for you. Set up one of your desktop machines as an iTunes server - load all your AACs, register them, turn on streaming in the iTunes preferences. Now all your machines can enjoy your iTMS collection in the comfort of your home.
Since the only two machines that leave the house are your laptops, use your other 2 registrations for them. Voila, now you can enjoy your iTMS purchases on all your Macs, all the time.
However, I agree that 5 is the right number of registered Macs for iTMS. Consider a couple who both have Macs at work, laptops for travel and share some number of Macs at home. Obviously all the Macs at home can be accomodated by streaming but there is no good solution for the 2 laptops + 2 work macs. RIght now, it seems the best option is to register the 2 work macs and buy 2 iPods to use on the road (a non-trivial investment). However, I will be trying some of the streaming recommendations earlier in this thread to try and free up one if not both of the registrations used at work.
I hope I'm not too late in this thread but I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the Foxfire books (at least I haven't seen anything modded up yet).
The Foxfire Fund was established to preserve the vanishing folkways of Appalachia and, let me tell you, those people knew how to provide for themselves.
There is an extensive series of books covering such diverse utilitarian topics as wood lore, blacksmithing, instrument making, weaving and so on.
Check it out at The Foxfire Fund.
Even though there are several business practices which are uniquely prohibited for monopolies, rest assured that there are plenty of other illegal acts that businesses can and do commit - including Microsoft. Many of the resulting cases are settled out of court, oftentimes with agreements that are disproportionately favorable to the 800 pound gorilla.
If you are really so interested in the REAL world, it's about time that you accept the fact that Microsoft's big break came from striking a particularly favorable deal with some soft-headed IBM execs to sell a product that they bought off another company which in turn blatently stole from a genuine computer visionary. Their success has largely derived from using that break to foist a series of mediocre products on a largely ignorant public until they reached the critical mass necessary to quash nearly all perceived threats.
I hope that Apple continues to thrive. First, because I love an underdog. Second, because, whenever you use one of their products, you can tell that the people who made them really love computers - much like myself. I have never had that experience using anything made by Microsoft.
I thought so too. However, since I like Phish & the Dead, I went looking. Curiously, there is only a strange subset of the Phish catalog and no Dead at all. Bummer.
D'oh!
I wonder why Microsoft is so interested in controlling access to archived emails?
...
I wonder if they have had any bad experiences with this in the past?
Just a hunch
Anything that happened before the Big Bang is outside the purview of science. Ask the same question to your local philosopher or clergyman.
Not exactly. The physics of the earliest stages of the universe (before 1E-34 seconds) of the Big Bang are currently outside of our scientific knowledge but that is not to say that they will always be. Granted some theorists have hypothesized that the universe began with a singularity through which there can be no continuity of physical laws but it is only a hypothesis. Another hypothesis, not completely unreasonable, is that the universe began with a small but not infinitessimal "big bounce" through which physical laws could pass unchanged - at least at grand unification energy scales. So stop bothering your local philosophers and clergymen and get back to your physics homework!