its actually dismissed everytime it's mentioned. everyone there knows that it's suggested... the ads, come on. there's some old articles on ZDnet, too, (if i remmeber correctly) with Pres Alex Peder talking about "we'd be very disapointed if anyone used our cameras that way." but it's a major ploy the marketing/web dept uses.
speaking of perversions, though - x10 sells this program called XRay Vision. it allows a client and server program to connect and share pictures from the x10 cams. while working in tech support, one of the other guys there was talking to a customer, trying to get the system working. they customer on the phone said "well, here's my id key and password - see if you can connect." it did connect, and the images were the guy at his computer with no pants, no underwear. the guy hung up right then, and we passed a rule right then and there that we would no longer offer to connect to users' machines.
in this case, you're wrong. i worked at x10.com, and the different before and after the popunder ads is amazing. x10.com is making a pile of cash off sales with the ads.
you're both right. x10.com is a child company of pico electronics, which developed the x10 standard in the late 70's.
while x10 is a standard, x10(usa) is the largest north american manufacturer of x10 products. x10.com is a smaller company inside x10(usa).
leviton is the only serious competitor to x10 products right now. they make x10 compatible products, but x10(usa) and x10.com have control over the protocol (becuase dave rye, the founder, created it. he's the vice president of engineering for x10usa and x10.com).
that being said, there are some competing protocols. check hometoys.com, and homeautomationforum.com for some examples.
no, x10.com doesnt care about the time its disabled. if you can't tell from the look/feel of the web site, it's all about selling, selling, selling. the reasing is that the people who will block the ad aren't going to buy a camera, so why care about how long it's blocked for? there are more than enough click-throughs on that ad to make it worth it.
the web / marketing dept there at x10 is not terribly advanced, and cookies are 'oooh, krazy technology' - they're using front page, and have a special person set up to fix formatting when they can't figure it out through the WYSIWYG interface. ick.
as a former x10.com tech support CSR, we had a lot of complaints about those ads. the wierd things is, though, they work. like crazy. the sales floor became much, much busier after we started running those popups (or pop unders).
while this is good for teh sales floor, the tech dept (where i worked) was suddenly flooded with "how do i get this virus off my computer?!?!" due to some complaints from our dept, as well as a zillion emails to webmaster@x10.com, the page and cookie to disable the link was put up.
i don't know how many of you remember the ads x10 put on slashdot and freshmeat a few years ago, but those were the pleasant times. it's nice taking calls from people who can work their computer. now, with all the advertising on space.com, msn.com, etc. we're getting calls like "hey! my screen if flashing all different colors now! oh, i move the mouse and it's back to normal."
same here. the company i work for is trying to get all the licenses in order (we're quite a bit out of line, actually) before the new licensing shit hits in october. using passport for the eopen.microsoft.com thing sucks - but not as much as how this company i work for is reacting. we're afraid of microsoft, so we're caving in. we're not even using office 2000 yet, but we're buying the licenses. why? so that we can get preferential treatment under the new licensing system. it's not healthy for our dept, or the company. but that's what happens when you rely on MS stuff for the entire system. we're 100% MS here, and getting more so all the time, because it's 1) easy for 45-yr old netadmins who are secretly afraid of computers and 2) they're scared of MS leaving them out in the cold.
sorry if this is a bit offtopic, but yeah, it blows.
it's just going to take time before people stop thinking of computers as one of two things (either BUSINESS USE or PLAY THING). take the new album art by radiohead, for example. it's the same guy who did both Kid A and Amnesiac, and it's unquestionably digital. it's also a very strong example of artwork, creative expression, and form.
by the way, if you're in a conversation with an art snob, bring up the tasty little bit about "form defines content". this includes the media used. talk more about the form of the work, and less about the computer part of it. it's art first, media second, isn't it?
in tacoma WA a few years ago, we had a problem with at&t. they said "sorry, we're looking at broadband in maybe 4 years. if that."
so tacoma power took it into their own hands. they built a big fat internet pipe, and created Click! network to sell broadband to the city. at&t and us west (now qwest) took notice. click is fast cable; they don't really sell directly, but license out to small local isps (to promote small business). the best thing about it? tech support is LOCAL. i'm talking about calling Fred Tech, and asking him directly. he's friendly, not burned out, and answers the phone.
once click was taken for serious, at&t and us worst quickly offered cable and dsl, respectively. its quite nice to have so much local competition.
if local gov't is serious about getting broadband, and increasing competition, they might do well to follow tacoma's lead.
well, linux for the desktop might or might not be dead - but at my office, where MS-out-of-the-box is common, we're about fed up with licensing fees, and MS hoops to get software on all our desktops. we're a growing dot-com (i KNOW you've seen our ads - they're everywhere) and there's like a trillion new employees who need a computer every week. this is largely what has caused us to switch to Mandrake for our entire sales staff.
all orders are placed through a web browser, orders are accessed through a web browser, and KDE is enough for the point-n-click sales staff. they don't really care what desktop they're using, as long as they can do their job.
and this is what might make linux continue to win - the sales staff, otherwise known as Joe Consumer, using linux at work. just like so many other joe consumer's using Windows at work, finding that they are comfortable with it, and saying "Geez, i'd sure like to do the same stuff at home as i do at work." the linux boxes at work are all configured, stable, and installed - there's a handy admin to come around and fix it IF something goes wrong, or doesn't work. but the response from our sales floor has been remarkable. they like it. so how long until they're looking at linux as "just another tool, i want one at home too"? i think as long as linux is free from most of the MS hassles, we'll see business use continue to grow. as business use grows, joe consumer in his/her office job will see the value, because they have to, and decide that it isn't such a bad thing. it won't dominate the world, but it isn't dead on the desktop. the sales staff just taught me that.
to cover THIS story...
on
Nostrildamus
·
· Score: 1
news editor: we need someone to cover a story about sniffing gross things for NASA.
copy editor: how 'bout old Steve Smith?
news editor: nah, who else we got?
copy editor: well, there's John Adams...
news editor: nope, he wouldn't work.
copy editor: well, what about Steve Mirsky?
news editor: yea, MIRSKY sounds kinda gross.. he'll fit in. let's do it!
"techno-micro-electro-mechanical"
instead of
"using microelectromechanical technology"? i know i personally would have enjoyed the article much more had this been the case.
Slashdot Mirror
its actually dismissed everytime it's mentioned. everyone there knows that it's suggested ... the ads, come on. there's some old articles on ZDnet, too, (if i remmeber correctly) with Pres Alex Peder talking about "we'd be very disapointed if anyone used our cameras that way." but it's a major ploy the marketing/web dept uses.
speaking of perversions, though - x10 sells this program called XRay Vision. it allows a client and server program to connect and share pictures from the x10 cams. while working in tech support, one of the other guys there was talking to a customer, trying to get the system working. they customer on the phone said "well, here's my id key and password - see if you can connect." it did connect, and the images were the guy at his computer with no pants, no underwear. the guy hung up right then, and we passed a rule right then and there that we would no longer offer to connect to users' machines.
i don't have the percentage, but everyone i know at x10 turns them off.
in this case, you're wrong. i worked at x10.com, and the different before and after the popunder ads is amazing. x10.com is making a pile of cash off sales with the ads.
no, you're right about the protocol, but x10(usa) makes the modules for radio shack. dumb ass.
you're both right. x10.com is a child company of pico electronics, which developed the x10 standard in the late 70's.
while x10 is a standard, x10(usa) is the largest north american manufacturer of x10 products. x10.com is a smaller company inside x10(usa).
leviton is the only serious competitor to x10 products right now. they make x10 compatible products, but x10(usa) and x10.com have control over the protocol (becuase dave rye, the founder, created it. he's the vice president of engineering for x10usa and x10.com).
that being said, there are some competing protocols. check hometoys.com, and homeautomationforum.com for some examples.
smarthome.com, and gadgethome.com are the best for home automation. for cameras, go to supercircuits.com.
no, x10.com doesnt care about the time its disabled. if you can't tell from the look/feel of the web site, it's all about selling, selling, selling. the reasing is that the people who will block the ad aren't going to buy a camera, so why care about how long it's blocked for? there are more than enough click-throughs on that ad to make it worth it.
the web / marketing dept there at x10 is not terribly advanced, and cookies are 'oooh, krazy technology' - they're using front page, and have a special person set up to fix formatting when they can't figure it out through the WYSIWYG interface. ick.
as a former x10.com tech support CSR, we had a lot of complaints about those ads. the wierd things is, though, they work. like crazy. the sales floor became much, much busier after we started running those popups (or pop unders).
while this is good for teh sales floor, the tech dept (where i worked) was suddenly flooded with "how do i get this virus off my computer?!?!" due to some complaints from our dept, as well as a zillion emails to webmaster@x10.com, the page and cookie to disable the link was put up.
i don't know how many of you remember the ads x10 put on slashdot and freshmeat a few years ago, but those were the pleasant times. it's nice taking calls from people who can work their computer. now, with all the advertising on space.com, msn.com, etc. we're getting calls like "hey! my screen if flashing all different colors now! oh, i move the mouse and it's back to normal."
well, no, i used an excel spreadsheet... it shows that we're now at 103% microsoft.
see? i told you.
same here. the company i work for is trying to get all the licenses in order (we're quite a bit out of line, actually) before the new licensing shit hits in october. using passport for the eopen.microsoft.com thing sucks - but not as much as how this company i work for is reacting. we're afraid of microsoft, so we're caving in. we're not even using office 2000 yet, but we're buying the licenses. why? so that we can get preferential treatment under the new licensing system. it's not healthy for our dept, or the company. but that's what happens when you rely on MS stuff for the entire system. we're 100% MS here, and getting more so all the time, because it's 1) easy for 45-yr old netadmins who are secretly afraid of computers and 2) they're scared of MS leaving them out in the cold.
sorry if this is a bit offtopic, but yeah, it blows.
it's just going to take time before people stop thinking of computers as one of two things (either BUSINESS USE or PLAY THING). take the new album art by radiohead, for example. it's the same guy who did both Kid A and Amnesiac, and it's unquestionably digital. it's also a very strong example of artwork, creative expression, and form.
by the way, if you're in a conversation with an art snob, bring up the tasty little bit about "form defines content". this includes the media used. talk more about the form of the work, and less about the computer part of it. it's art first, media second, isn't it?
in tacoma WA a few years ago, we had a problem with at&t. they said "sorry, we're looking at broadband in maybe 4 years. if that."
so tacoma power took it into their own hands. they built a big fat internet pipe, and created Click! network to sell broadband to the city. at&t and us west (now qwest) took notice. click is fast cable; they don't really sell directly, but license out to small local isps (to promote small business). the best thing about it? tech support is LOCAL. i'm talking about calling Fred Tech, and asking him directly. he's friendly, not burned out, and answers the phone.
once click was taken for serious, at&t and us worst quickly offered cable and dsl, respectively. its quite nice to have so much local competition.
if local gov't is serious about getting broadband, and increasing competition, they might do well to follow tacoma's lead.
check clicknetwork.com for more info.
well, linux for the desktop might or might not be dead - but at my office, where MS-out-of-the-box is common, we're about fed up with licensing fees, and MS hoops to get software on all our desktops. we're a growing dot-com (i KNOW you've seen our ads - they're everywhere) and there's like a trillion new employees who need a computer every week. this is largely what has caused us to switch to Mandrake for our entire sales staff.
all orders are placed through a web browser, orders are accessed through a web browser, and KDE is enough for the point-n-click sales staff. they don't really care what desktop they're using, as long as they can do their job.
and this is what might make linux continue to win - the sales staff, otherwise known as Joe Consumer, using linux at work. just like so many other joe consumer's using Windows at work, finding that they are comfortable with it, and saying "Geez, i'd sure like to do the same stuff at home as i do at work." the linux boxes at work are all configured, stable, and installed - there's a handy admin to come around and fix it IF something goes wrong, or doesn't work. but the response from our sales floor has been remarkable. they like it. so how long until they're looking at linux as "just another tool, i want one at home too"? i think as long as linux is free from most of the MS hassles, we'll see business use continue to grow. as business use grows, joe consumer in his/her office job will see the value, because they have to, and decide that it isn't such a bad thing. it won't dominate the world, but it isn't dead on the desktop. the sales staff just taught me that.
news editor: we need someone to cover a story about sniffing gross things for NASA. copy editor: how 'bout old Steve Smith? news editor: nah, who else we got? copy editor: well, there's John Adams... news editor: nope, he wouldn't work. copy editor: well, what about Steve Mirsky? news editor: yea, MIRSKY sounds kinda gross.. he'll fit in. let's do it!
I was going to get CmdrTaco in the diablo 2 expansion... it's not fair...
"techno-micro-electro-mechanical" instead of "using microelectromechanical technology"? i know i personally would have enjoyed the article much more had this been the case.