How is there a grey area? You either got spammed, or you didn't. If you did get spammed, the email itself, and its entry in your ISP's mail log are your proof.
That message came from *somewhere*. Assuming it wasn't relayed through a mal-confingured mailserver, you should be able to track the message back to the originating ISP, and then subpoena them for the identity of their user, and maybe their logs showing the user sending the message to you.
Voila.
Still aren't happy with this? Replace "spam" with "DOS". It's the same procedure. I don't think we need special spam laws. The ones we have now can apply just as well to spam as they do to other crimes.
What you are adovcating is known as "Just hit delete" (JHD.)
Spammers love JHD. Because if you JHD, you're not sending complaints to their ISP or webhost, resulting in them losing their net access and/or website.
So let's say that spam is explicitly legalized. Do you know how many millions of businesses are in the US? (to say nothing of the rest of the world - why shouldn't they be allowed to spam?)
JHD may work fine on 10-20 messages a day.
What do you when you're getting 100? 500? 1000 spams a day?
Don't think it will happen? I've already seen my spam load increase by more than 100% from what I was seeing about this time last year.
How long do you think people will continue using the internet when they're seeing nothing but spam?
What spammers do is no better than nailing a billboard up in your living room, or mailing you an ad postage-due through the US Postal Service.
This assumes that the DirecTivos have the expansion slot for the quad-card...
I don't have a DirecTivo myself, but it seems they're a just different enough from the stand-alone models that most hacks don't work the same on them. I suspect this will be true for the quad card.
1200GB ~= 1200 hours of recording time - at the lowest quality setting, which is just a bit better than VHS recorded at EP speed.
1200GB would give you approximately 400 hours of recording time at the "Best" setting, which is basically the same quality as your signal to begin with.
Note that there's only 168 hours in a week, so even if you had the Tivo recording shows for you 24/7, it'd take you about 2.5 weeks to fill up using Best.
I don't live in an apartment. My main A/V system is on one floor of the house, and my main PC is on another floor.
Sure, I could put a PC in my living room and connect it to my A/V system....or I could spend $50 for the PS2's network adaptor, another $50 for QCast, and just stream stuff from my PC over my existing network.
Say what you will, you're *not* going to be able to build a PC for $100.
In the past 6 months,/. has run how many stories about MP3 components for your stereo? If you've already got a PS2, this sounds like the cheapest way to get streaming media to your TV & stereo.
The article *should* have been about QCast's ability to stream media files from your existing PC to your PS2, but hey, News.com.com isn't known for their accuracy.
Your last sentence confuses me though...
The PS2 most definitely *does* play DVD movies...
As for swapping discs, I've played several PS1 games which came on multiple discs,and when the time came, I was instructed to swap out the disc, and the game continued. You use the eject button, not the power button.
What he *should* have been talking about was QCast, and left the whole PVR/Tivo thing along.
QCast uses the PS2's network adaptor to allow you to stream MP3, MPG, and DIVX files from your PC to your TV and stereosystem. Yes, I assume this would work with content SnapStream recorded for you, but this doesn't really turn your PS2 into a Tivo.
If you already have a PS2 and are looking for a way to play MP3s on your normal stereo system, QCast might be worth looking into.
Unfortunatly, the com.com author didn't actually read BroadQ's website...
They have two products - SnapStream which is PVR software for your PC, and QCast - which allows you to stream media files from your PC(or Mac) to your PS2, where they're decoded and played on whatever components you've hooked up to your PS2.
The article mistakenly makes it sound like this is one product that allows you to record TV shows onto your PS2 directly. In reality, you'll need both pieces of software, as well as the network adaptor for the PS2.
I already have a real Tivo hooked up to my TV, so SnapStream isn't very interesting to me, but QCast might be, if they can drop the price a bit ($50 for the PS2 network adaptor + $50 for QCast is a bit too much just for something that can play video files on my TV in my opinion.)
I totally misread your comment at first. I kept trying to figure out why in the world you'd want put nice beveled edges onto 2x4's using your computer desk...
I've got a Tivo at home, and replaced the drive inside with a larger one, and added a second large drive. (both Western Digital 5400RPM drives.)
By design, Tivo is always recording *something* so both drives are always going, and there's a 3" fan in the back.
I. Can't. Hear. It.
The fan in the back spins slowly, so you don't get the "whirr" like you do with a standard PC fan. The brackets for the HDs are pretty well isolated with rubber grommits so the drives' vibrations don't transfer to the chassis.
Seriously, my TV on mute makes more noise than the Tivo does.
This thing is designed for A/V setups. Ambient noise(or vibration) is not a problem.
My Tivo is currentally in my bedroom, and I have no problems sleeping with the thing whirring away. I can't say that about my PC, or even my laptop.
Consider yourself lucky if you consider Black Hole Disney's worst movie... They did quite a bit of live action stuff back in the 60s and 70s...most of which makes Black Hole look like it had excellent acting and storywriting.
I still remember being surprised that Black Hole featured violence, death, and a story in which the good guys don't "win."
Dr. Who would certainly be a great show to redo - but only if you avoid the problems the Fox movie had... Though I'd be afraid of what American writers would do the poor Doctor... I have images of him turning into a sort of ethereal Indiana Jones - punching and shooting his enemies - something that his other 9 incarnations never did.
I'd also like to see Blake's 7 redone, but fear that the witty sarcasm would have to be dumbed down, and a laugh track added so the putzes at home would know when to laugh and feel smart.
The only things I wish I could do with my Tivo rignt now are:
* Network them with other units in the house (playback a show from one unit through another unit in a different room.)
* Dump recorded streams to my computer for burning.
As it stands, it's easy enough to just hook up the VCR and dump stuff to tape. True, you don't get the same quality, nor the same geek factor of burning your own VCD/DVDR, but, eh. it's a workable solution.
I guess you could replace your PC with "VCR" and dump the video stream that way, but I haven't heard very good things about most TV Capture hardware on the market...
It's DOA because it fails to be competitive as a PC and as a DVR.
Forget what you can build for $1500...you can *BUY* a better machine (even from pricey Dell) for less money.
At $1500-2000, they've priced themselves right out of the market. The "Stupid people" that folks here think will buy this aren't likely to have $1500-2000 to spend on this (think about it...) They would probably simply look at a low-end eMachine ($500) and a cheap VCR ($50.)
The folks who do have $1500-2000 to throw at a new machine are more than likely going to realize what a crock this is, and move on.
If anything, this will be a big win for Tivo and SonicBlue because they can stand up and say "We do that - only for 1/2 the price!"
If HP/Microsoft came out with something that was $500 (or better yet, $300) *then* I might be worried. But at $1500...bleh. This will be one of the biggest technology boondoggles of 2002.
I doubt there'll be enough sold to even interest the hacker culture long enough to come up with a hack.
1: No, it's not redundant. I get a few spams advertising some company who's owner is located in another country, but is using a US company to host his website. Likewise, I see some American spammers using overseas providers.
2: I don't think spam is nearly as lucrative as the spammers make it out to be. Even those who are simply spam-for-hire places end up getting into trouble with the clients after the messages go out. I've heard about more than a few customers refusing payment, for instance.
3: Whether or not you like Hormel's product, it's still their copyright. They've been nice enough to overlook folks using "spam", so long as folks don't call it "SPAM." Please respect their wishes.
1: most of the spam I get isn't American - it's from overseas companies who are located overseas.
2: even if you successfully sued a spammer (there have been a few cases), what makes you think he has the money to pay you or the thousands of other Americans he mailed?
3: it's "spam", not "SPAM". SPAM is the pink stuff you buy in little cans from Hormel who does not like it when you call unsolicited "SPAM." They don't mind, however, if you call it "spam."
Regardless, I'd *love* to see some idiot get hit with a multi-million dollar bill for thinking that "make money fast" must really work - and is legal.
Even so, you'll simply see spam migrate overseas...at least until other countries start implementing equally strict laws and start enforcing them.
Wanting to know what my thoought processes are is one thing, but more often than not you're going to expect an answer - and if the candidate takes too long or doesn't get it, what then? Reject them?
One of the worst interviews I had was at Microsoft. 8 straight hours of nothing but linked-list code fragments and MENSA questions.
At the end of the day, I still had no idea what position(s) I had interviewed for, and couldn't tell what any of the folks I talked to actually did. Sort of makes answering "So, would you like to work here?" sort of tough, unless all you want to do is solve brainteasers while your peers look on and say "Come on, you're going too slow."
I'm glad to see at least one person thinks syntax memorization is stupid...
Can't tell you the number of times I've been asked to scribble down some code only to have the interviewer say things like "you missed a semicolon here" or "you got the arguments backwards."
At one point I told him that's what the compiler is for, but he didn't appreciate that... Seemed to think that syntax == algorithm, therefore bad syntax == bad algorithm == bad programmer.
I interviewed with them for an intern position, and almost everyone asked me that same stupid question.
After messing up in the first interview, and the guy showed me a solution, I simply re-used the same solution in later interviews. I even told them I was doing this so we could get to something more interesting - such as what the person interviewing me did. (apparentally Microsoft doesn't think you're supposed to ask questions during an interview...only answer them.)
Actually, Chihiro is supposed to sound whiney in the begining of the movie...
Woe to the foreigner who can't tell the difference between "cute" and "annoyed.";)
Re:Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi
on
Sen To, X-Men 2
·
· Score: 2
1: Cheaper. The Japanese DVD sells for Y4700, and that doesn't include shipping from Japan. And you'll still need a region-free or R2 compatible player. (this also limits which of my friends can borrow the disc...)
2: *HOPEFULLY* they'll fix the color problem.
3: Buying American releases encourages companies to do MORE releases... (which is a good thing, right?)
I buy my R2-anime stuff from www.cdjapan.co.jp. They understand English (mostly, anyways...) and their website is in English.
Because they're in Japan, however, their shipping charges are pretty steep... Best to order a couple of things, or find a friend to combine orders with.
Unfortunatly, as the AC mentioned, the transfer of the movie is quite red. There's more details (including pictures) over at animeondvd.com. According to sources at both Disney and Studio Ghibli, there is no mistake - the discs were mastered for LCD projectors and plasma screens, but if folks feel the transfer is too red, they can always adjust their TV. (personally, I think both Disney and Ghibli are smoking something...)
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How is there a grey area? You either got spammed, or you didn't. If you did get spammed, the email itself, and its entry in your ISP's mail log are your proof.
That message came from *somewhere*. Assuming it wasn't relayed through a mal-confingured mailserver, you should be able to track the message back to the originating ISP, and then subpoena them for the identity of their user, and maybe their logs showing the user sending the message to you.
Voila.
Still aren't happy with this? Replace "spam" with "DOS". It's the same procedure. I don't think we need special spam laws. The ones we have now can apply just as well to spam as they do to other crimes.
What you are adovcating is known as "Just hit delete" (JHD.)
Spammers love JHD. Because if you JHD, you're not sending complaints to their ISP or webhost, resulting in them losing their net access and/or website.
So let's say that spam is explicitly legalized. Do you know how many millions of businesses are in the US? (to say nothing of the rest of the world - why shouldn't they be allowed to spam?)
JHD may work fine on 10-20 messages a day.
What do you when you're getting 100? 500? 1000 spams a day?
Don't think it will happen? I've already seen my spam load increase by more than 100% from what I was seeing about this time last year.
How long do you think people will continue using the internet when they're seeing nothing but spam?
What spammers do is no better than nailing a billboard up in your living room, or mailing you an ad postage-due through the US Postal Service.
This assumes that the DirecTivos have the expansion slot for the quad-card...
I don't have a DirecTivo myself, but it seems they're a just different enough from the stand-alone models that most hacks don't work the same on them. I suspect this will be true for the quad card.
5400RPM is plenty.
The drives Tivo used to ship with were specially made to spin at 4800RPM for noise and cooling considerations.
I have two 5400RPM drives in my Tivo now, and while the temperature went up a bit, the unit is happily operating.
I can't imagine cramming 4 drives into a Tivo, though...
1200GB ~= 1200 hours of recording time - at the lowest quality setting, which is just a bit better than VHS recorded at EP speed.
1200GB would give you approximately 400 hours of recording time at the "Best" setting, which is basically the same quality as your signal to begin with.
Note that there's only 168 hours in a week, so even if you had the Tivo recording shows for you 24/7, it'd take you about 2.5 weeks to fill up using Best.
That's still a heck of a lot of TV.
I don't live in an apartment. My main A/V system is on one floor of the house, and my main PC is on another floor.
/. has run how many stories about MP3 components for your stereo? If you've already got a PS2, this sounds like the cheapest way to get streaming media to your TV & stereo.
Sure, I could put a PC in my living room and connect it to my A/V system....or I could spend $50 for the PS2's network adaptor, another $50 for QCast, and just stream stuff from my PC over my existing network.
Say what you will, you're *not* going to be able to build a PC for $100.
In the past 6 months,
The article is misleading at best...
The article *should* have been about QCast's ability to stream media files from your existing PC to your PS2, but hey, News.com.com isn't known for their accuracy.
Your last sentence confuses me though...
The PS2 most definitely *does* play DVD movies...
As for swapping discs, I've played several PS1 games which came on multiple discs,and when the time came, I was instructed to swap out the disc, and the game continued. You use the eject button, not the power button.
The author of the article got his wires crossed.
What he *should* have been talking about was QCast, and left the whole PVR/Tivo thing along.
QCast uses the PS2's network adaptor to allow you to stream MP3, MPG, and DIVX files from your PC to your TV and stereosystem. Yes, I assume this would work with content SnapStream recorded for you, but this doesn't really turn your PS2 into a Tivo.
If you already have a PS2 and are looking for a way to play MP3s on your normal stereo system, QCast might be worth looking into.
Unfortunatly, the com.com author didn't actually read BroadQ's website...
They have two products - SnapStream which is PVR software for your PC, and QCast - which allows you to stream media files from your PC(or Mac) to your PS2, where they're decoded and played on whatever components you've hooked up to your PS2.
The article mistakenly makes it sound like this is one product that allows you to record TV shows onto your PS2 directly. In reality, you'll need both pieces of software, as well as the network adaptor for the PS2.
I already have a real Tivo hooked up to my TV, so SnapStream isn't very interesting to me, but QCast might be, if they can drop the price a bit ($50 for the PS2 network adaptor + $50 for QCast is a bit too much just for something that can play video files on my TV in my opinion.)
I totally misread your comment at first. I kept trying to figure out why in the world you'd want put nice beveled edges onto 2x4's using your computer desk...
Will it also say things like:
"Green grass needs water...badly."
Or:
"Brown grass is about to die."
And after he's done, he can write "Advertisments are not covered under the first amendment."
Spam is not free speech. It's the equivelant of tagging a wall in my living room.
It's based on existing Tivo hardware.
I've got a Tivo at home, and replaced the drive inside with a larger one, and added a second large drive. (both Western Digital 5400RPM drives.)
By design, Tivo is always recording *something* so both drives are always going, and there's a 3" fan in the back.
I.
Can't.
Hear.
It.
The fan in the back spins slowly, so you don't get the "whirr" like you do with a standard PC fan. The brackets for the HDs are pretty well isolated with rubber grommits so the drives' vibrations don't transfer to the chassis.
Seriously, my TV on mute makes more noise than the Tivo does.
This thing is designed for A/V setups. Ambient noise(or vibration) is not a problem.
My Tivo is currentally in my bedroom, and I have no problems sleeping with the thing whirring away. I can't say that about my PC, or even my laptop.
Consider yourself lucky if you consider Black Hole Disney's worst movie... They did quite a bit of live action stuff back in the 60s and 70s...most of which makes Black Hole look like it had excellent acting and storywriting.
I still remember being surprised that Black Hole featured violence, death, and a story in which the good guys don't "win."
Dr. Who would certainly be a great show to redo - but only if you avoid the problems the Fox movie had... Though I'd be afraid of what American writers would do the poor Doctor... I have images of him turning into a sort of ethereal Indiana Jones - punching and shooting his enemies - something that his other 9 incarnations never did.
I'd also like to see Blake's 7 redone, but fear that the witty sarcasm would have to be dumbed down, and a laugh track added so the putzes at home would know when to laugh and feel smart.
The only things I wish I could do with my Tivo rignt now are:
* Network them with other units in the house (playback a show from one unit through another unit in a different room.)
* Dump recorded streams to my computer for burning.
As it stands, it's easy enough to just hook up the VCR and dump stuff to tape. True, you don't get the same quality, nor the same geek factor of burning your own VCD/DVDR, but, eh. it's a workable solution.
I guess you could replace your PC with "VCR" and dump the video stream that way, but I haven't heard very good things about most TV Capture hardware on the market...
It's DOA because it fails to be competitive as a PC and as a DVR.
Forget what you can build for $1500...you can *BUY* a better machine (even from pricey Dell) for less money.
At $1500-2000, they've priced themselves right out of the market. The "Stupid people" that folks here think will buy this aren't likely to have $1500-2000 to spend on this (think about it...) They would probably simply look at a low-end eMachine ($500) and a cheap VCR ($50.)
The folks who do have $1500-2000 to throw at a new machine are more than likely going to realize what a crock this is, and move on.
If anything, this will be a big win for Tivo and SonicBlue because they can stand up and say "We do that - only for 1/2 the price!"
If HP/Microsoft came out with something that was $500 (or better yet, $300) *then* I might be worried. But at $1500...bleh. This will be one of the biggest technology boondoggles of 2002.
I doubt there'll be enough sold to even interest the hacker culture long enough to come up with a hack.
In order:
1: No, it's not redundant. I get a few spams advertising some company who's owner is located in another country, but is using a US company to host his website. Likewise, I see some American spammers using overseas providers.
2: I don't think spam is nearly as lucrative as the spammers make it out to be. Even those who are simply spam-for-hire places end up getting into trouble with the clients after the messages go out. I've heard about more than a few customers refusing payment, for instance.
3: Whether or not you like Hormel's product, it's still their copyright. They've been nice enough to overlook folks using "spam", so long as folks don't call it "SPAM." Please respect their wishes.
Just a few problems:
1: most of the spam I get isn't American - it's from overseas companies who are located overseas.
2: even if you successfully sued a spammer (there have been a few cases), what makes you think he has the money to pay you or the thousands of other Americans he mailed?
3: it's "spam", not "SPAM". SPAM is the pink stuff you buy in little cans from Hormel who does not like it when you call unsolicited "SPAM." They don't mind, however, if you call it "spam."
Regardless, I'd *love* to see some idiot get hit with a multi-million dollar bill for thinking that "make money fast" must really work - and is legal.
Even so, you'll simply see spam migrate overseas...at least until other countries start implementing equally strict laws and start enforcing them.
...he's only being charged $500/fax.
The existing junk fax law states that if the faxer is *knowingly* violating the law, the fine can be tripled to $1500 - per fax.
Surely someone pointed out this law to the faxer at some point...?
I'd love to see this scum bag try to pass his costs onto his customers, who then sue him for damaging their business' reputation.
I hate brainteaser questions during an interview.
Wanting to know what my thoought processes are is one thing, but more often than not you're going to expect an answer - and if the candidate takes too long or doesn't get it, what then? Reject them?
One of the worst interviews I had was at Microsoft. 8 straight hours of nothing but linked-list code fragments and MENSA questions.
At the end of the day, I still had no idea what position(s) I had interviewed for, and couldn't tell what any of the folks I talked to actually did. Sort of makes answering "So, would you like to work here?" sort of tough, unless all you want to do is solve brainteasers while your peers look on and say "Come on, you're going too slow."
I'm glad to see at least one person thinks syntax memorization is stupid...
Can't tell you the number of times I've been asked to scribble down some code only to have the interviewer say things like "you missed a semicolon here" or "you got the arguments backwards."
At one point I told him that's what the compiler is for, but he didn't appreciate that... Seemed to think that syntax == algorithm, therefore bad syntax == bad algorithm == bad programmer.
Congratulations.
You now know enough to work for Microsoft.
I interviewed with them for an intern position, and almost everyone asked me that same stupid question.
After messing up in the first interview, and the guy showed me a solution, I simply re-used the same solution in later interviews. I even told them I was doing this so we could get to something more interesting - such as what the person interviewing me did. (apparentally Microsoft doesn't think you're supposed to ask questions during an interview...only answer them.)
Actually, Chihiro is supposed to sound whiney in the begining of the movie...
;)
Woe to the foreigner who can't tell the difference between "cute" and "annoyed."
1: Cheaper. The Japanese DVD sells for Y4700, and that doesn't include shipping from Japan. And you'll still need a region-free or R2 compatible player. (this also limits which of my friends can borrow the disc...)
2: *HOPEFULLY* they'll fix the color problem.
3: Buying American releases encourages companies to do MORE releases... (which is a good thing, right?)
I buy my R2-anime stuff from www.cdjapan.co.jp. They understand English (mostly, anyways...) and their website is in English.
Because they're in Japan, however, their shipping charges are pretty steep... Best to order a couple of things, or find a friend to combine orders with.
Unfortunatly, as the AC mentioned, the transfer of the movie is quite red. There's more details (including pictures) over at animeondvd.com. According to sources at both Disney and Studio Ghibli, there is no mistake - the discs were mastered for LCD projectors and plasma screens, but if folks feel the transfer is too red, they can always adjust their TV. (personally, I think both Disney and Ghibli are smoking something...)