If the machine could shrink infinitely small, the remaining energy could be enough to continue motion. Quantum physics supports getting something from nothing, as long as it's small and quick commensurate with the energies involved. I just call that convenient. Poof!
The universe is also shrinking continuously, but so are you, and therefore you don't notice. Once some physicists realize this, their calculations will start making sense. At least to people who's minds are less shrunken that others--in an 8th dimensional sense--of course.
But Penrose was wrong about making a thinking machine being impossible. People merely simulate thought themselves--first we need proof of that, but we are going to require at least one human to think of something that has never been thought of. So right now this is just a theory.
It doesn't need to be faster than 802.11g. It only needs 2 Mbps.
huh? We have improvements over 802.11g right now--so why not use them? Yes, about 2Mbps will just fit what Apple will probably do with h.264. Looking at 720/24p HD (low end of the speck) video at OK data rates. So, you'll pigeon-hole at just barely fast enough (real world) and expect a consumer device to put up with lost reception, or support calls from every buyer? Your suggested spec is more likely to happen (Apple is under-welming me on the hardware upgrades these days), but what I want is 10x the speed and range that is required so that I don't have reliability issues. This is a consumer device--not a geek project. Plus, early adopters are going to be people who want GOOD stuff. Not the crowd who wants to see security monitor videos. Again, Apple could go with 802.11g and provide a buggy, nearly adequate device--it wouldn't be the first time (Mac 2 LC). But since they are coming out with Airport Xtreme 2, why not use the same stuff and add a h.264 converter?
And it won't have stupid connections like firewire or svhs. It'll have HDMI and a pigtail that breaks out analog video and audio. And it won't be $129. It'll be $199.
All connections are inherently stupid--they have very little computation ability with current technology. --- You must work at Apple to be so sure about these connectors. Maybe you're the one setting the specks--so nobody would actually give you a good idea directly. I was just offering up various plug-outs as an example--sure, HDMI would be a nice option that I definitely would want--since I spent about 30 seconds making the point, I didn't want to research what the current HD connector was (though, is there a standard yet on HDMI?). Firewire or ethernet would work with CURRENT cable boxes. SVIDEO would work with like, 99% of current TVs, VCRs and DVDs. But, hey, let's make sure customers have to make a real investment, then they'll be busting down our doors to buy crap they can't use right away. Let's not make a device that will work with any setup, and just confine sales to like, Bill Gates HD-Video equipped toilet. If you mean that the "PigTail" is those two wires where one has a white connector and the other is yellow, then I think that is a Component connection (just below SVideo in quality). So, HDMI and almost-SVideo. Good. You may be right. But it is guaranteed that you will still be an Ass. A device that has a connector that doesn't reach the quality of what it actually attains, and another connector that is better than the quality it transmits. Maybe I'll just get an extension cable, and not buy this device...
And it won't be $129. It'll be $199. Again, I know you must work at Apple. Price things out of the marketplace to ensure a small marketshare. I was talking about the same price as the current iTunes receiver. $199 might sell, but you are talking about something people have to ADD after they get everything else to make it work. So I'd expect everything in the box for $199 like something to play the video as well. I don't think even marketing has settled on a price but since I'm not paid for my $.02 opinion I thought I'd throw out a FAIR PRICE. Are you kidding on being exactly sure on the price? Is being an asshole a demanding skill for you?
Still, I want to take some movies with me, with a TiVo-like experience. No you don't.
Wow. You're right. I don't really want what I want -- I want what you think I should get. You must be in advanced marketing. Now, TiVo-like might make the legal hurtles taller. You can still release the device, and then, after the smoke clears, add TiVo abilities to the iTunes/iMovie/iWhatIzzy? that you have on the Mac. Too bad I don't want that anymore. What was I thinking?
And why doesn't iTunes allow for capturing broadcasts on a schedule? Same reason it doesn't
I don't agree with this post. 1) People should be arrested for criminal activity or for willful negligence. This should be based on damages and not on intent or that they didn't have the right paperwork. 2) I have forgotten my ID (drivers license a few times). Sometimes life gets in the way and some people are more forgetful than others. Not having a license is an issue--I don't think having proof on you should ever be a big fine. The insurance card companies have made sure that not having the proof on you is a big fine. But, I'd rather have a few people allowed to forget a few papers than to have the beauroctatic police state we are hurtling towards. Every new power and procedure just makes life that much more difficult to just live. 3) Lighten up. We need some sort of ID.
But never a national ID. And not an RFID. And not with this F-ing occupant of the White House. The number of attocities by this government has gone from one a week that they sneek in to two a week with a turd like this snuck in. Our window of opportunity to do anything about this pollitically is rapidly closing.
by the way, when you vote in the next elections, please etch your vote in the side of the voting machine so that there is actually a permanent record we can go back to.
They've done similar studies at prisons; Low sugar diets resulted in a dramatic reduction in violence.
Violence on TV is not the problem in America. It is diet. Though that isn't the cause of everything... it is at least has a huge effect on emotional and mental states--whether or not you have ADD or some other issue. You can look at the epidemic numbers of kids getting diabeties as just one simple result of diet.
Walking can also have a huge effect--so it isn't all one thing. But if you have a lifestyle of little exercise and high carbs you are going to be on the edge and not functioning as you should. I can guarantee that. So you might as well start with diet and exercise since it isn't something that does damage (please, not suggesting starvation, just replace breakfast cereal with fruit or something).
Previous post has a point. I would like to be more general though; you can always start by making things basic. Simple, healthy foods and no crap (dairy is a useless substance as is juice and soda). No artificial foods. You can always add things back in. Start with raw vegetables and eggs and a simple diet and work up.
Also, simple environment. ADD and ADHD can be influenced by a busy/messy room. Less stress and conflict and more exercise. If they have trouble socially, start with a demanding, individual sport like karate or swimming--or even weight training. As a kid, I seemed to get more frustrated by team sports--they weren't too positive an experience for me. Anyone who is worn out by exertion can effectively control hyperactivity.
I remember when I was a kid, I was so hyperactive and was failing in every school. My parents had a lot of fights so there was that source of stress. I went to something like a boy scout camp and a lot of my issues went a way. Whether it was food, exercise or a simple, natural environment I can't say.
I eventually got over all the Dyslexia, ADHD and ADD and believe me, I was well diagnosed. I was one of the first on Ritalin. But that turned me into a Zombie. Actually, Dexedrine--once a diet pill and now a controlled substance, worked the best (releases L-Dopa which becomes dopamine which is also released during exercise).
On a related note; I've watched the "Super Nanny" show and she deals with every behavior disorder kid the same way; simple, calm instructions--but stern, and consistent. Kids need to know what is expected. Kids need to be listened to, but the rules still have to be followed. Look at young kids at eye level and don't shout but don't coddle.
I wish I could have a quick, easy answer. Just know that your love doesn't do damage.
It is heartening to see people trying to find solutions. With understanding there is always a solution.
I used to be Hyperactive and have Attention Deficit Disorder. I also had depression. I can tell you; all of them were real, and I have found way to overcome them. At one time I took antidepressants--and guess what? They worked, and I am no longer irrationally depressed. So, no, this wasn't a case of me making excuses. I went on to have highly advanced skills and very good grades and I now have a really terrific wife and two kids a house and no debts--more or less I am living the American dream that 98% never achieve. I am so glad I got through these things before the onslaught of today's trendy Intolerance had the opportunity to compound my issues with a healthy dose of self loathing. Gee, I know you're having trouble in a really crappy school, but lets take away all your school funds and call you a hypochondriac--is that OK? Does this sounds like it makes me angry? Yes. Too many "bootstrappers" are just a bunch of bullies. My dad was a Texan, and yes, I don't cry when a nail goes through my foot and I have never had public assistance. But am I going to say that others can't? No. If I do well then good for me. But I have not lived as other people so I am not going to judge them.
Now I know, some of these diseases are "overdiagonosed" but you also have to look at the situation; we stuff children in concrete boxes, don't give them exercise, and feed them carbohydrate and sugar rich food--sounds a bit like how to make Veal--am I right? What about that is like anything humans were adapted for? I don't think people CHOOSE to be unhappy. So some people are born gay, some people have a hard time with boring school and high carbs, and some people get fat. They didn't get these problems in modern society to annoy the people who have everything going for them.
There is more problem with the attitude of intolerance and disrespect I see becoming more prevalent, then the "fake disease" crowd. It seemed to start with the "Neo Machismo" in the 1980s. Heck, before I new anything, I thought Reagan was great--at first, because he made you think being American again was great. This was a backlash against all the "blame the white man" talk shows of the time. You had the emergence of figures like Rush Limbaugh and others, who took the side of the embattled and blamed at the time.
But it has all gone too far. The fact is, people are complicated and people have a complicated life to get through. We need to quit telling people to "prove it" when they say they have a problem. I know I don't give anyone brownie points for having issues they complain about and I probably would drift away from anyone who "whines too much" just like anyone else. But you can't just immediately find a reason for every affliction.
And I am just going to have to get a tiger to eat the next guy who talks about "survival of the fittest". 1) People who say this don't really understand evolution or survival. 2) People who say this just don't give a shit beyond their own self interest anyway--so they should just admit they are "self involved".
Back on topic; the disease we are talking about seems to sound similar to "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder." OCD does respond to drugs and can be treated and really does affect people. Whether it is a disease, a malady, or a genetic response to the environment is hard to say. We currently have an epidemic in Asthma. Now it could be air, or antibiotics or even drinking milk. But you have to admit that it is new, a real problem and is due to something that people do now that is different from in the past. It has to do with not being adapted to modern life. Of course, again, this is being ignored and refuted for another troubling political agenda. The throw-backs want to push the concept of intelligent design. Since we were "intelligently designed", the creator put no flaws into us--all problems in life must be the result of evil or sloth or some sin. It couldn't be possible to have people NOT be in control of every bad thing in their lot in life--because that would mean we would have t
Oh. The real product I see is Video-On-Demand on a fast internet connection. Probably through iTunes or iMovie or a new "iMedia Xtreme". A $129 device that is a bit faster than Wireless G and plugs into a wall socket like the current iTunes receiver and can go out to a persons TV with FireWire and SVideo connections. The Device could be subsidized by a subscription contract like cell phones and current satellite systems. Telcos might like this while current video providers will hate it.
Still, I want to take some movies with me, with a TiVo-like experience.
And why doesn't iTunes allow for capturing broadcasts on a schedule? Of course, I probably already know the answer from a legal standpoint and you'd rather cede that to third parties. But for crying out loud, how come AirAmerica Radio is on Real and Windows Media but not iTunes? Am I forced to get XM or Serius? Of course, please also mention when you are putting up your own satellite network for iTunes for a real spoiler.
Apple is just going to have to hire me to keep me quiet--my ability to see future events gets around all the issues of non-disclosure agreements. 8-)
Of course, before you go public with the satellite network, the dollar is going to take a killing when it is revealed that our government has been buying its own T-Bills with printed money from offshore accounts and the Michael Jackson trial gets really weird when it overlaps with AmeriCares and it make Heidi Fleiss look downright homespun. But I don't want to spoil the summer for anyone so I'll just hush up and don my Tin-Foil Hat--it will over some protection and that's just why THEY want to discredit Tin-Foil Hat wearing. The downside is, there are so many thought-controlling radio waves now from competing organizations you can cook an egg under that thing.
Still; the Satellite network will be a huge success--as all entertainment is when everyone is depressed. Please go with Al Gores kids network. CNN and Fox will have lost all credibility by then, and nobody will trust anyone over 30 (as they should).
Hey, I saw this years ago. And when I looked at the wireless, or firewire, or fire-wireless and that most all the pieces were in place. I realized that the biggest hinderance was copyright. And if there wasn't a big enough commercial presence for popular movies, then you had an issue with encoding.
People have cable and satellite and all kinds of content coming into the house. But even suggesting streaming that over wireless and the Pavlovian response would be lawsuit.
That entertainment executives stay up late at night thinking someone has an old Seinfeld episode on the internet -- just doesn't see the forest for the trees. The pirates on bittorrents are not usurping real sales--sales are based on convenience, value and service--anyway, another discussion that is too lengthy for this venue. Videos & DVDs saved the movie studios from themselves. People want a service and will pay for it. There is a market for this; like the TiVo to Go--but legal wrangling might not make for a good user experience. Still, I would love an iPod for music, that could also take all my video entertainment--even if I use another device to play it back (but make sure I don't broadcast the wrong thing to the wrong people).
And I totally understand that the Record companies want monthly services rather than purchases of music... think about how they get the revenue stream, and then put some token amount into a general fund to compensate artists. Is U2 selling more than the Four Tops? You would never know with a service, would you? Our company pays an ASCAP fee to have music at events based on the number of people attending. If I'm an artist, how am I going to get compensated? I'll take the chump change out of the general ASCAP pool of revenue.
Sorry to go off topic like that. But it is all related. It isn't just "making more money" or adding value for the customer that does the job. You also have to consider that at large companies, there are factions within the company that see a shift to a new technology as eating away from "their piece of the pie". So the CD/DVD division won't be made happy by anything that the new online division makes for the company. This dynamic is exactly what ruined Sony's chance of making a good music player like an iPod. There was a conflict of interest in adding the ability to play mp3's--the result was, few people bought Sony players. So, as corporate dynamics go, Apple seems to me to be the only company that is set to actually start the ball rolling--more from their corporate dynamics (Steve jobs is a good dictator, and is not swayed by intra-corporate dynamics--which is more of a reason why Apple is an innovator than any other!), and they have the experience with the Audio and Hollywood (and have not generated too much fear and loathing like Microsoft). Technology in this issue is a distant but important 3rd place. With newer wireless protocols and MPEG4-AVC (h.264), everything on the tech side is in place.
So the video part is going to be another battleground, just like the music. Once it gets going, then another ten companies will say; "I want the Apple deal!" and jump on the bandwagon 6 months after Apple cleared ground for two or more years. Sometimes it has to frustrate Apple to be the leader. Of course, Buy.com and Real putting huge feet in their mouths has got to generate a lot of satisfaction.
Love your sig. Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around. Funnier way of saying; "Six of one, half a dozen of another."
I've made this point before, but it bears repeating...
I think Douglas Adams wasn't so concerned with plot himself. The things that happened were so that the characters could react to them and be funny and he could put it quips of social commentary. He got bored with doing the same thing twice and probably had a couple dozen ways to make the same joke.
It didn't have to be Petunias. Gladiolas can be funny if dropped from the proper height. Monty Python proved that other flowers had merit in humor. But only Douglas Adams could make a whale funny--anyone else would have used a cow or chicken, which is just an easy crutch for a commedian. It takes real comic balls to use whales. Kudos.
I''m hoping some massive comic genius could make Salmon and a bowl of grapes funny. That would be a challenge...
Actually, the correct Geek replacement is "Frelling". That's how they do it for prime time on Farscape. And it should be "Freak'n" (the "man" is silent as in "Freak'n sucks man"). But do as you will--no biggee.
I don't dislike dialog-like typing, personally. Just BAD dialog-like typing. Err. Welll... no. Hehe. Would have worked better as; Um. Well......no. Ha! Say it out loud and you will see what I mean. Like you thought about what they had to say. Then you realize that they had no point. Needs a more staccato rhythm. The "Hehe" gives the impression that you knew all along that they were wrong and have a little glee--which you would do with a character you didn't want anyone to actually like. Nobody local actually says; "Err". So, it like totally missed. Other than that, a worthy effort.
Not to be mean about it... just enjoying the banter... like Shakespeare might use if he weren't himself that day.
I think the real joke about Zaphod, is that he was so brilliant and socially amoral that he seemed like an idiot. He seemed like Douglas Adams attempt to say; "if you did really understand it all, you'd end up crazy and misunderstood." Zaphod is the one who has "stared too long at the sun."
I thought that Arthur was not intended as a coward by DA, but as an "everyman". He is just befuddled and trying to avoid death, which the universe in these books seems to throw about with aplomb. Still, I think that they could do anything with the characters as long as it is funny. But from reading these comments, it seems they might have "Disney-fied" them. Too bad this wasn't done by Pixar or Terry Gilliam.
When I like to write comedy, I like to channel Douglas Adams and Voltaire.
I can't wait to see the movie. Seems with Slashdot it is a prerequisite.
Of course Disney will curb the biting wit, but it may still be fun.
Disney CAN'T make a movie where they guy doesn't get the girl (or vice versa)--can you name ONE DISNEY movie (not Pixar), where there isn't a love interest? They have a corporate mogul plot form (read VOGON) that requires the "love interest" checkbox to be filled out in approving any script.
I thought Trillian was Zaphod's girlfriend in the first book? Arthur only became intersting to the Trillian (the not-Trillian copy) because he was that "little bit of home". Arthur isn't a boob, he is just a normal guy. Zaphod was exciting and alien--how can a normal guy compete? Blow up the earth. There are positives and negatives to everything.
I don't think that Douglas was really so negative-- I think he just destroyed all possible Earths as a way to get people off his back on writing new books in the series. He was on to other things that he thought were more interesting so I assume he wanted to "move on". I mean, with the "improbility drive", all the possible earths could be recreated in the slip stream--since all their existences have been removed, restoring all their existenses with all people intact would be the most improbable event. Thus it would just "have to" happen in a sixth book. Or God could come back, and restore them just for spite because HE wasn't consulted. In the DA universe, anything can happen and likely does.
Terry Gilliam would have been perfect to make this movie.
I love that the greatest Terrorist the "Brazil" the movie, is a repairman.
The terrorists life is saved by a smashed fly. The wrong person is executed and because his family doesn't except the "compensation", it drives the rest of the movie with a bureaucratic tailspin.
That the name "Brazil" sounds exotic and forrested, and nothing in the movie has not been paved over by industry.
Terry gets the irony and absurdity of Douglas Adams. More than anyone else I can think of. I always thought that "Time Bandits" had a similiar mood/creative sensibility to the "Hitchhiker's Guide".
DA made it very clear in the H2G2 that there really is no point that everyone can figure out. It is all a confusing mish-mosh. Super-superior robot brains get things just as wrong as inferior human Arthurs, just for more sophisticated and complicated reasons.
The Universe needs to get over itself and so do Douglas Adams puritans (which DA was not himself). The only important thing about the movie is; did it make you laugh, and were you less certain about things after you watched the movie. If both are true then it was a success.
I think that Douglas Adams would love the idea of "re-blowing up the earth for a sequel". In fact, that should be a plot point, you would just replace Psychiatrists, with propaganda controlling media outlets (essentially, filling the same role and making it more politically up-to-date). Scenario; Because the producer was making a documentary about the plight of primitive worlds and the earth was blown up just before he could get all the 3d hyperdimensional cameras set up--the earth just needs to be blown up again. You know, to highlight the tragic plight of underdeveloped planets.
In my view, Douglas Adams wasn't too much about plot, except as a way to hang together his wit and acerbic critique of the nonsense we all hold so dear. I really love the way that one cranky reincarnated being keeps getting killed by Arthur and that projects can span eons just to get ruined by a pencil pusher. The Hitchhikers Guide is very necessary as a counterpoint to idealistic and bureaucratic thought. Or just as a counterpoint to thought--since it is highly over-rated.
What anyone writing a sequel should respect is the "Douglas Adams" way, and not to get too hung up on how things happen--they just do and religions and plots spring up around them so that the feeble and confused beings inhabiting the universe can invent comforting things like "purpose" or "digital watches". I can't wait to see the movie, but I can already guess that they are going to be too nice to Arthur, they will have too joyful an ending, and they won't display a creature that wants to get eaten.
Actually, Longhorn is going to be the most advanced operating system of its kind. It fulfills users dreams for power and organization and will allow businesses to control and deploy everything they could want.
Longhorn will also verify users with trusted computing, so that you know everyone is telling you the truth.
>>There is no "Ministry of Truth"--this has been officially dismissed at the "Ministry of Honesty" as 100% un-true.
If you already paid, then how is it piracy?
on
Dutch Pass iPod Tax
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The concept of charging for blank media started with 8-track or cassettes tapes. The much larger tax on the ipod (if it does end up that high) is even more severe. But shouldn't there also be a tax on computer hard drives? Just because an iPod is more likely (assumption) to have downloaded music, it doesn't mean a person can have even more infringing music?
And since I have burned about 3000 cds and a about 400 DVD-Rs without infringing copyrights haven't I already paid for a few downloads? I think the perfect defense for any pirate in court is that you cannot have a theft if you have already been assumed to pay for the infringing action. It's like having a Sears clothing fee of a few dollars a month on my clothes hangers--shouldn't I be entitled to go into Sears and get some clothes?
So, as soon as everyone in the Netherlands pays their iPod tax, please make sure everyone then IMMEDIATELY downloads things they have already paid for.
Game industry hammers journalism as close to a collapse due to journalists with gravity bending egos and corporate sucking up that endangers the most sturdy industrial enamels. In response, corporate suck-up Dvorak responds; "I am so going to hammer you back in a rhetorical diatribe that will double my page hit-count as soon as Microsoft's check for the XBox 3 review clears." At that time, it is projected that the XBox 3 will lead to a new renaissance of computer gaming. You have to have a dark ages every year or two to have a renaissance, you know.
Dvorak rehashes points made more insightfully by others. I think the translation of "Cranky Old man yelling at kids to get off of lawn," is actually the most accurate. Other cranky old people who are dubious of this whole 'technology thing' will read him and be assured--I can see them nodding their aged heads now, in-between sips of Jasmine tea from StarBucks. They can now go back to their non-technical job and be reassured that the supergeeks they fear will never understand the 'real world' that they inhabit. Dvorak has deftly parlayed his hackneyed credentials as a technical guru due to confusion with a geeky keyboard that never caught on, to a sage for techophobic cranky old people who have never caught on to much of anything and actually like Ashcroft because he IS cranky, thus providing almost anybody with a 5% base of approval rating.
I think that a Moderation system should be used in electing Judges.
Currently, I am a bit perplexed when I go to vote, and I see a Judge with an "R" or a "D" after the name. I don't understand the need for a party affiliation for what SHOULD BE, an independent branch of government. We just look at how Bush is stuffing the judge positions with loyalists to see the importance of non-partisan judges. Also perplexing is that I am voting for a judge, since I would really have no way of knowing one judge from another (I don't get to even see policies enacted).
So I would like to see some state take a stab at having lawyers vote in their judges--votes would have to be counted only up to the lower score of Prosecutors and Defendants (eliminating, say judges who are only popular with Prosecutors or vice versa). That gives an element of peer review, which I think works quite well in other professions (OK, better than all the really awful ways we have of deciding power) .
know it's just my paranoia, but I was wondering how Adobe would react to the largley negative reactions to this buyout, and one of those might be the old trick of astroturfing.
With a handle like; Stinky Fartface he could never be in marketing--how could you put such a thing on an Invoice? Unless he normally Astroturfs on Nickelodeon, where as all marketers know you have to be KEWL!
All these Microsoft technologies have better alternatives available for less money from other companies. The MS advantage has been that they have parlayed off of things that businesses know and relatively trust (Windows and Office Apps) to extend into server applications.
I cannot see a good alternative for Flash or Acrobat. And from my point of view, too much has been made of server side programming-- other than database activities, most of the programming that web master do could be on the client side in Flash. It's just been an issue of human factors that the programmers ended up controlling everything on the back end. There are pro and cons for client and server solutions, but really these choices are the inertia from who has control.
Avalon is a market dream at the moment. Microsoft will probably come out with it to play catch-up with Adobe at this point. But they have a history of announcing "Me To" products and half the time they never ship if the competition flounders (and sometimes the Vapor-ware projects are to reduce the purchase price of the company in question)..NET and IIS are pretty good, but not indispensable. Of course, if you make a living using them--you will think the ARE the web. That was the "Human Factor" I've been referring to.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes. You just haven't tried hard enough.
If the machine could shrink infinitely small, the remaining energy could be enough to continue motion. Quantum physics supports getting something from nothing, as long as it's small and quick commensurate with the energies involved. I just call that convenient. Poof!
The universe is also shrinking continuously, but so are you, and therefore you don't notice. Once some physicists realize this, their calculations will start making sense. At least to people who's minds are less shrunken that others--in an 8th dimensional sense--of course.
But Penrose was wrong about making a thinking machine being impossible. People merely simulate thought themselves--first we need proof of that, but we are going to require at least one human to think of something that has never been thought of. So right now this is just a theory.
Watson retorts:
Hey. Why'd somebody steal the expired tag off this old bus in the junkyard?
No. You are experimenting with ants. That is cruelty. Beauty and cruelty seem to, alas, often become entwined in this troubled universe.
If you had told them that the Red ants in the yard had a nuclear bomb, now that would be a deceit.
Read the first few pages of the book.
Wrong about everything,
Are you saying there is no Santa Claus?
It doesn't need to be faster than 802.11g. It only needs 2 Mbps.
huh? We have improvements over 802.11g right now--so why not use them? Yes, about 2Mbps will just fit what Apple will probably do with h.264. Looking at 720/24p HD (low end of the speck) video at OK data rates. So, you'll pigeon-hole at just barely fast enough (real world) and expect a consumer device to put up with lost reception, or support calls from every buyer? Your suggested spec is more likely to happen (Apple is under-welming me on the hardware upgrades these days), but what I want is 10x the speed and range that is required so that I don't have reliability issues. This is a consumer device--not a geek project. Plus, early adopters are going to be people who want GOOD stuff. Not the crowd who wants to see security monitor videos. Again, Apple could go with 802.11g and provide a buggy, nearly adequate device--it wouldn't be the first time (Mac 2 LC). But since they are coming out with Airport Xtreme 2, why not use the same stuff and add a h.264 converter?
And it won't have stupid connections like firewire or svhs. It'll have HDMI and a pigtail that breaks out analog video and audio. And it won't be $129. It'll be $199.
All connections are inherently stupid--they have very little computation ability with current technology. --- You must work at Apple to be so sure about these connectors. Maybe you're the one setting the specks--so nobody would actually give you a good idea directly. I was just offering up various plug-outs as an example--sure, HDMI would be a nice option that I definitely would want--since I spent about 30 seconds making the point, I didn't want to research what the current HD connector was (though, is there a standard yet on HDMI?). Firewire or ethernet would work with CURRENT cable boxes. SVIDEO would work with like, 99% of current TVs, VCRs and DVDs. But, hey, let's make sure customers have to make a real investment, then they'll be busting down our doors to buy crap they can't use right away. Let's not make a device that will work with any setup, and just confine sales to like, Bill Gates HD-Video equipped toilet. If you mean that the "PigTail" is those two wires where one has a white connector and the other is yellow, then I think that is a Component connection (just below SVideo in quality). So, HDMI and almost-SVideo. Good. You may be right. But it is guaranteed that you will still be an Ass. A device that has a connector that doesn't reach the quality of what it actually attains, and another connector that is better than the quality it transmits. Maybe I'll just get an extension cable, and not buy this device...
And it won't be $129. It'll be $199.
Again, I know you must work at Apple. Price things out of the marketplace to ensure a small marketshare. I was talking about the same price as the current iTunes receiver. $199 might sell, but you are talking about something people have to ADD after they get everything else to make it work. So I'd expect everything in the box for $199 like something to play the video as well. I don't think even marketing has settled on a price but since I'm not paid for my $.02 opinion I thought I'd throw out a FAIR PRICE. Are you kidding on being exactly sure on the price? Is being an asshole a demanding skill for you?
Still, I want to take some movies with me, with a TiVo-like experience.
No you don't.
Wow. You're right. I don't really want what I want -- I want what you think I should get. You must be in advanced marketing. Now, TiVo-like might make the legal hurtles taller. You can still release the device, and then, after the smoke clears, add TiVo abilities to the iTunes/iMovie/iWhatIzzy? that you have on the Mac. Too bad I don't want that anymore. What was I thinking?
And why doesn't iTunes allow for capturing broadcasts on a schedule?
Same reason it doesn't
I don't agree with this post.
1) People should be arrested for criminal activity or for willful negligence. This should be based on damages and not on intent or that they didn't have the right paperwork.
2) I have forgotten my ID (drivers license a few times). Sometimes life gets in the way and some people are more forgetful than others. Not having a license is an issue--I don't think having proof on you should ever be a big fine. The insurance card companies have made sure that not having the proof on you is a big fine. But, I'd rather have a few people allowed to forget a few papers than to have the beauroctatic police state we are hurtling towards. Every new power and procedure just makes life that much more difficult to just live.
3) Lighten up. We need some sort of ID.
But never a national ID. And not an RFID. And not with this F-ing occupant of the White House. The number of attocities by this government has gone from one a week that they sneek in to two a week with a turd like this snuck in. Our window of opportunity to do anything about this pollitically is rapidly closing.
by the way, when you vote in the next elections, please etch your vote in the side of the voting machine so that there is actually a permanent record we can go back to.
They've done similar studies at prisons; Low sugar diets resulted in a dramatic reduction in violence.
Violence on TV is not the problem in America. It is diet. Though that isn't the cause of everything... it is at least has a huge effect on emotional and mental states--whether or not you have ADD or some other issue. You can look at the epidemic numbers of kids getting diabeties as just one simple result of diet.
Walking can also have a huge effect--so it isn't all one thing. But if you have a lifestyle of little exercise and high carbs you are going to be on the edge and not functioning as you should. I can guarantee that. So you might as well start with diet and exercise since it isn't something that does damage (please, not suggesting starvation, just replace breakfast cereal with fruit or something).
Previous post has a point. I would like to be more general though; you can always start by making things basic. Simple, healthy foods and no crap (dairy is a useless substance as is juice and soda). No artificial foods. You can always add things back in. Start with raw vegetables and eggs and a simple diet and work up.
Also, simple environment. ADD and ADHD can be influenced by a busy/messy room. Less stress and conflict and more exercise. If they have trouble socially, start with a demanding, individual sport like karate or swimming--or even weight training. As a kid, I seemed to get more frustrated by team sports--they weren't too positive an experience for me. Anyone who is worn out by exertion can effectively control hyperactivity.
I remember when I was a kid, I was so hyperactive and was failing in every school. My parents had a lot of fights so there was that source of stress. I went to something like a boy scout camp and a lot of my issues went a way. Whether it was food, exercise or a simple, natural environment I can't say.
I eventually got over all the Dyslexia, ADHD and ADD and believe me, I was well diagnosed. I was one of the first on Ritalin. But that turned me into a Zombie. Actually, Dexedrine--once a diet pill and now a controlled substance, worked the best (releases L-Dopa which becomes dopamine which is also released during exercise).
On a related note; I've watched the "Super Nanny" show and she deals with every behavior disorder kid the same way; simple, calm instructions--but stern, and consistent. Kids need to know what is expected. Kids need to be listened to, but the rules still have to be followed. Look at young kids at eye level and don't shout but don't coddle.
I wish I could have a quick, easy answer. Just know that your love doesn't do damage.
It is heartening to see people trying to find solutions. With understanding there is always a solution.
I used to be Hyperactive and have Attention Deficit Disorder. I also had depression. I can tell you; all of them were real, and I have found way to overcome them. At one time I took antidepressants--and guess what? They worked, and I am no longer irrationally depressed. So, no, this wasn't a case of me making excuses. I went on to have highly advanced skills and very good grades and I now have a really terrific wife and two kids a house and no debts--more or less I am living the American dream that 98% never achieve. I am so glad I got through these things before the onslaught of today's trendy Intolerance had the opportunity to compound my issues with a healthy dose of self loathing. Gee, I know you're having trouble in a really crappy school, but lets take away all your school funds and call you a hypochondriac--is that OK? Does this sounds like it makes me angry? Yes. Too many "bootstrappers" are just a bunch of bullies. My dad was a Texan, and yes, I don't cry when a nail goes through my foot and I have never had public assistance. But am I going to say that others can't? No. If I do well then good for me. But I have not lived as other people so I am not going to judge them.
Now I know, some of these diseases are "overdiagonosed" but you also have to look at the situation; we stuff children in concrete boxes, don't give them exercise, and feed them carbohydrate and sugar rich food--sounds a bit like how to make Veal--am I right? What about that is like anything humans were adapted for? I don't think people CHOOSE to be unhappy. So some people are born gay, some people have a hard time with boring school and high carbs, and some people get fat. They didn't get these problems in modern society to annoy the people who have everything going for them.
There is more problem with the attitude of intolerance and disrespect I see becoming more prevalent, then the "fake disease" crowd. It seemed to start with the "Neo Machismo" in the 1980s. Heck, before I new anything, I thought Reagan was great--at first, because he made you think being American again was great. This was a backlash against all the "blame the white man" talk shows of the time. You had the emergence of figures like Rush Limbaugh and others, who took the side of the embattled and blamed at the time.
But it has all gone too far. The fact is, people are complicated and people have a complicated life to get through. We need to quit telling people to "prove it" when they say they have a problem. I know I don't give anyone brownie points for having issues they complain about and I probably would drift away from anyone who "whines too much" just like anyone else. But you can't just immediately find a reason for every affliction.
And I am just going to have to get a tiger to eat the next guy who talks about "survival of the fittest". 1) People who say this don't really understand evolution or survival. 2) People who say this just don't give a shit beyond their own self interest anyway--so they should just admit they are "self involved".
Back on topic; the disease we are talking about seems to sound similar to "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder." OCD does respond to drugs and can be treated and really does affect people. Whether it is a disease, a malady, or a genetic response to the environment is hard to say. We currently have an epidemic in Asthma. Now it could be air, or antibiotics or even drinking milk. But you have to admit that it is new, a real problem and is due to something that people do now that is different from in the past. It has to do with not being adapted to modern life. Of course, again, this is being ignored and refuted for another troubling political agenda. The throw-backs want to push the concept of intelligent design. Since we were "intelligently designed", the creator put no flaws into us--all problems in life must be the result of evil or sloth or some sin. It couldn't be possible to have people NOT be in control of every bad thing in their lot in life--because that would mean we would have t
Still, I want to take some movies with me, with a TiVo-like experience.
And why doesn't iTunes allow for capturing broadcasts on a schedule? Of course, I probably already know the answer from a legal standpoint and you'd rather cede that to third parties. But for crying out loud, how come AirAmerica Radio is on Real and Windows Media but not iTunes? Am I forced to get XM or Serius? Of course, please also mention when you are putting up your own satellite network for iTunes for a real spoiler.
Apple is just going to have to hire me to keep me quiet--my ability to see future events gets around all the issues of non-disclosure agreements. 8-)
Still; the Satellite network will be a huge success--as all entertainment is when everyone is depressed. Please go with Al Gores kids network. CNN and Fox will have lost all credibility by then, and nobody will trust anyone over 30 (as they should).
Hey, I saw this years ago. And when I looked at the wireless, or firewire, or fire-wireless and that most all the pieces were in place. I realized that the biggest hinderance was copyright. And if there wasn't a big enough commercial presence for popular movies, then you had an issue with encoding.
People have cable and satellite and all kinds of content coming into the house. But even suggesting streaming that over wireless and the Pavlovian response would be lawsuit.
That entertainment executives stay up late at night thinking someone has an old Seinfeld episode on the internet -- just doesn't see the forest for the trees. The pirates on bittorrents are not usurping real sales--sales are based on convenience, value and service--anyway, another discussion that is too lengthy for this venue. Videos & DVDs saved the movie studios from themselves. People want a service and will pay for it. There is a market for this; like the TiVo to Go--but legal wrangling might not make for a good user experience. Still, I would love an iPod for music, that could also take all my video entertainment--even if I use another device to play it back (but make sure I don't broadcast the wrong thing to the wrong people).
And I totally understand that the Record companies want monthly services rather than purchases of music... think about how they get the revenue stream, and then put some token amount into a general fund to compensate artists. Is U2 selling more than the Four Tops? You would never know with a service, would you? Our company pays an ASCAP fee to have music at events based on the number of people attending. If I'm an artist, how am I going to get compensated? I'll take the chump change out of the general ASCAP pool of revenue.
Sorry to go off topic like that. But it is all related. It isn't just "making more money" or adding value for the customer that does the job. You also have to consider that at large companies, there are factions within the company that see a shift to a new technology as eating away from "their piece of the pie". So the CD/DVD division won't be made happy by anything that the new online division makes for the company. This dynamic is exactly what ruined Sony's chance of making a good music player like an iPod. There was a conflict of interest in adding the ability to play mp3's--the result was, few people bought Sony players. So, as corporate dynamics go, Apple seems to me to be the only company that is set to actually start the ball rolling--more from their corporate dynamics (Steve jobs is a good dictator, and is not swayed by intra-corporate dynamics--which is more of a reason why Apple is an innovator than any other!), and they have the experience with the Audio and Hollywood (and have not generated too much fear and loathing like Microsoft). Technology in this issue is a distant but important 3rd place. With newer wireless protocols and MPEG4-AVC (h.264), everything on the tech side is in place.
So the video part is going to be another battleground, just like the music. Once it gets going, then another ten companies will say; "I want the Apple deal!" and jump on the bandwagon 6 months after Apple cleared ground for two or more years. Sometimes it has to frustrate Apple to be the leader. Of course, Buy.com and Real putting huge feet in their mouths has got to generate a lot of satisfaction.
It could be used to find the neighbors house--some sort of interaction. But a few million $ in research goes to find the Jiffy Puffed Marchmallows.
Where is the altruism? Where is the pathos? Where is the poetry?
I'd prefer a Mini guide horse--but make sure his poop-bucket has braille for easy changing.
Love your sig.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
Funnier way of saying; "Six of one, half a dozen of another."
I've made this point before, but it bears repeating...
I think Douglas Adams wasn't so concerned with plot himself. The things that happened were so that the characters could react to them and be funny and he could put it quips of social commentary. He got bored with doing the same thing twice and probably had a couple dozen ways to make the same joke.
It didn't have to be Petunias. Gladiolas can be funny if dropped from the proper height. Monty Python proved that other flowers had merit in humor. But only Douglas Adams could make a whale funny--anyone else would have used a cow or chicken, which is just an easy crutch for a commedian. It takes real comic balls to use whales. Kudos.
I''m hoping some massive comic genius could make Salmon and a bowl of grapes funny. That would be a challenge...
Actually, the correct Geek replacement is "Frelling". That's how they do it for prime time on Farscape. And it should be "Freak'n" (the "man" is silent as in "Freak'n sucks man"). But do as you will--no biggee.
...no. Ha! Say it out loud and you will see what I mean. Like you thought about what they had to say. Then you realize that they had no point. Needs a more staccato rhythm. The "Hehe" gives the impression that you knew all along that they were wrong and have a little glee--which you would do with a character you didn't want anyone to actually like. Nobody local actually says; "Err". So, it like totally missed. Other than that, a worthy effort.
I don't dislike dialog-like typing, personally. Just BAD dialog-like typing. Err. Welll... no. Hehe. Would have worked better as; Um. Well...
Not to be mean about it... just enjoying the banter... like Shakespeare might use if he weren't himself that day.
I think the real joke about Zaphod, is that he was so brilliant and socially amoral that he seemed like an idiot. He seemed like Douglas Adams attempt to say; "if you did really understand it all, you'd end up crazy and misunderstood." Zaphod is the one who has "stared too long at the sun."
I thought that Arthur was not intended as a coward by DA, but as an "everyman". He is just befuddled and trying to avoid death, which the universe in these books seems to throw about with aplomb. Still, I think that they could do anything with the characters as long as it is funny. But from reading these comments, it seems they might have "Disney-fied" them. Too bad this wasn't done by Pixar or Terry Gilliam.
When I like to write comedy, I like to channel Douglas Adams and Voltaire.
I can't wait to see the movie. Seems with Slashdot it is a prerequisite.
Of course Disney will curb the biting wit, but it may still be fun.
Disney CAN'T make a movie where they guy doesn't get the girl (or vice versa)--can you name ONE DISNEY movie (not Pixar), where there isn't a love interest? They have a corporate mogul plot form (read VOGON) that requires the "love interest" checkbox to be filled out in approving any script.
I thought Trillian was Zaphod's girlfriend in the first book? Arthur only became intersting to the Trillian (the not-Trillian copy) because he was that "little bit of home". Arthur isn't a boob, he is just a normal guy. Zaphod was exciting and alien--how can a normal guy compete? Blow up the earth. There are positives and negatives to everything.
I don't think that Douglas was really so negative-- I think he just destroyed all possible Earths as a way to get people off his back on writing new books in the series. He was on to other things that he thought were more interesting so I assume he wanted to "move on". I mean, with the "improbility drive", all the possible earths could be recreated in the slip stream--since all their existences have been removed, restoring all their existenses with all people intact would be the most improbable event. Thus it would just "have to" happen in a sixth book. Or God could come back, and restore them just for spite because HE wasn't consulted. In the DA universe, anything can happen and likely does.
Terry Gilliam would have been perfect to make this movie.
I love that the greatest Terrorist the "Brazil" the movie, is a repairman.
The terrorists life is saved by a smashed fly. The wrong person is executed and because his family doesn't except the "compensation", it drives the rest of the movie with a bureaucratic tailspin.
That the name "Brazil" sounds exotic and forrested, and nothing in the movie has not been paved over by industry.
Terry gets the irony and absurdity of Douglas Adams. More than anyone else I can think of. I always thought that "Time Bandits" had a similiar mood/creative sensibility to the "Hitchhiker's Guide".
Great point.
DA made it very clear in the H2G2 that there really is no point that everyone can figure out. It is all a confusing mish-mosh. Super-superior robot brains get things just as wrong as inferior human Arthurs, just for more sophisticated and complicated reasons.
The Universe needs to get over itself and so do Douglas Adams puritans (which DA was not himself). The only important thing about the movie is; did it make you laugh, and were you less certain about things after you watched the movie. If both are true then it was a success.
--Signed, the ghost of Douglas Adams
I think that Douglas Adams would love the idea of "re-blowing up the earth for a sequel". In fact, that should be a plot point, you would just replace Psychiatrists, with propaganda controlling media outlets (essentially, filling the same role and making it more politically up-to-date). Scenario; Because the producer was making a documentary about the plight of primitive worlds and the earth was blown up just before he could get all the 3d hyperdimensional cameras set up--the earth just needs to be blown up again. You know, to highlight the tragic plight of underdeveloped planets.
In my view, Douglas Adams wasn't too much about plot, except as a way to hang together his wit and acerbic critique of the nonsense we all hold so dear. I really love the way that one cranky reincarnated being keeps getting killed by Arthur and that projects can span eons just to get ruined by a pencil pusher. The Hitchhikers Guide is very necessary as a counterpoint to idealistic and bureaucratic thought. Or just as a counterpoint to thought--since it is highly over-rated.
What anyone writing a sequel should respect is the "Douglas Adams" way, and not to get too hung up on how things happen--they just do and religions and plots spring up around them so that the feeble and confused beings inhabiting the universe can invent comforting things like "purpose" or "digital watches". I can't wait to see the movie, but I can already guess that they are going to be too nice to Arthur, they will have too joyful an ending, and they won't display a creature that wants to get eaten.
Actually, Longhorn is going to be the most advanced operating system of its kind. It fulfills users dreams for power and organization and will allow businesses to control and deploy everything they could want.
Longhorn will also verify users with trusted computing, so that you know everyone is telling you the truth.
>>There is no "Ministry of Truth"--this has been officially dismissed at the "Ministry of Honesty" as 100% un-true.
The concept of charging for blank media started with 8-track or cassettes tapes. The much larger tax on the ipod (if it does end up that high) is even more severe. But shouldn't there also be a tax on computer hard drives? Just because an iPod is more likely (assumption) to have downloaded music, it doesn't mean a person can have even more infringing music?
And since I have burned about 3000 cds and a about 400 DVD-Rs without infringing copyrights haven't I already paid for a few downloads? I think the perfect defense for any pirate in court is that you cannot have a theft if you have already been assumed to pay for the infringing action. It's like having a Sears clothing fee of a few dollars a month on my clothes hangers--shouldn't I be entitled to go into Sears and get some clothes?
So, as soon as everyone in the Netherlands pays their iPod tax, please make sure everyone then IMMEDIATELY downloads things they have already paid for.
Game industry hammers journalism as close to a collapse due to journalists with gravity bending egos and corporate sucking up that endangers the most sturdy industrial enamels. In response, corporate suck-up Dvorak responds; "I am so going to hammer you back in a rhetorical diatribe that will double my page hit-count as soon as Microsoft's check for the XBox 3 review clears." At that time, it is projected that the XBox 3 will lead to a new renaissance of computer gaming. You have to have a dark ages every year or two to have a renaissance, you know.
Dvorak rehashes points made more insightfully by others. I think the translation of "Cranky Old man yelling at kids to get off of lawn," is actually the most accurate. Other cranky old people who are dubious of this whole 'technology thing' will read him and be assured--I can see them nodding their aged heads now, in-between sips of Jasmine tea from StarBucks. They can now go back to their non-technical job and be reassured that the supergeeks they fear will never understand the 'real world' that they inhabit. Dvorak has deftly parlayed his hackneyed credentials as a technical guru due to confusion with a geeky keyboard that never caught on, to a sage for techophobic cranky old people who have never caught on to much of anything and actually like Ashcroft because he IS cranky, thus providing almost anybody with a 5% base of approval rating.
Just doing my bit to explain the world.
I think that a Moderation system should be used in electing Judges.
Currently, I am a bit perplexed when I go to vote, and I see a Judge with an "R" or a "D" after the name. I don't understand the need for a party affiliation for what SHOULD BE, an independent branch of government. We just look at how Bush is stuffing the judge positions with loyalists to see the importance of non-partisan judges. Also perplexing is that I am voting for a judge, since I would really have no way of knowing one judge from another (I don't get to even see policies enacted).
So I would like to see some state take a stab at having lawyers vote in their judges--votes would have to be counted only up to the lower score of Prosecutors and Defendants (eliminating, say judges who are only popular with Prosecutors or vice versa). That gives an element of peer review, which I think works quite well in other professions (OK, better than all the really awful ways we have of deciding power) .
know it's just my paranoia, but I was wondering how Adobe would react to the largley negative reactions to this buyout, and one of those might be the old trick of astroturfing.
With a handle like; Stinky Fartface he could never be in marketing--how could you put such a thing on an Invoice? Unless he normally Astroturfs on Nickelodeon, where as all marketers know you have to be KEWL!
All these Microsoft technologies have better alternatives available for less money from other companies. The MS advantage has been that they have parlayed off of things that businesses know and relatively trust (Windows and Office Apps) to extend into server applications.
.NET and IIS are pretty good, but not indispensable. Of course, if you make a living using them--you will think the ARE the web. That was the "Human Factor" I've been referring to.
I cannot see a good alternative for Flash or Acrobat. And from my point of view, too much has been made of server side programming-- other than database activities, most of the programming that web master do could be on the client side in Flash. It's just been an issue of human factors that the programmers ended up controlling everything on the back end. There are pro and cons for client and server solutions, but really these choices are the inertia from who has control.
Avalon is a market dream at the moment. Microsoft will probably come out with it to play catch-up with Adobe at this point. But they have a history of announcing "Me To" products and half the time they never ship if the competition flounders (and sometimes the Vapor-ware projects are to reduce the purchase price of the company in question).