I totally agree that one has more immediate effect, but I just don't want to ignore the other. As William O. Douglas said:
"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
Our ideals are not often destroyed in one great act, but slowly chipped away until the remnant bears no resemblance to the original and we find it hard to point to any one thing that stole our ideal. This isn't a fight that has only one battle front. That's all I'm saying.
The guy who does the DNS records gets to decide which hosts are allowed to send mail for a particular domain.
Not before SPF.
Previously, I could run sendmail on my own box and, you know, send mail. I didn't need permission from anyone to have my mail considered equally valid on the net. SPF changes that. It says that only the one "validated" smtp server can send mail and moreover, underlying it is the implicit expectatin that every server on the net should be a paid-for domain, instead of an ip address. Domain names were and are a useful addition to add a memorizable name to an ip range, but this moves us from "domains are useful and nice" to "domain traffic is the only valid traffic". Now some computers on the net are more signifigant to the software than others.
Remember that the net was intended to be a community of peers, not a client-server environment.
I am all about Network Neutrality...the problem is that most of you aren't. There, my shocking intro is out of the way.;-)
Seriously though, I'm only half joking. I agree that we must do everything we can to promote the vision of the Web that people like Tim Berners-Lee had at its inception. The problem is that while we want to fight for neutrality in our bandwidth, we are willing to give it up in our protocols.
For instance, the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) so-called spam solution is being adopted all over the place without nary a complaint. But think about it. Tim Berners-Lee didn't just envision a web of equitable bandwidth, he envisioned a web of peers---a web of end points, all equally valid. What happens when my system is no longer considered a valid end point? Suddenly, we have a network of clients and servers rather than peers. When the SPF process looks to verify that the sender is the one valid smtp server for the mail address' domain (based on either MX or A records), it devalues all non-domain level systems on the web. Peers on the network become clients, fed valid packets from those servers that are approved to pass said packets. The SMTP semantic paradigm moves from Sender>Receiver to Server>Client.
But no one really cares because there is some belief that this will help reduce spam. It will, but so will turning off our mail clients. Neither is the right solution. The solution is a newer, better mail protocol, many of which have been proposed that DO NOT devalue the peers of the network. Probably one of the better known of the examples is the IM2000 protocol.
But we'd rather have a network of tiered rights---as long as our bandwidth is balanced equitably we won't complain, I guess.:-\
Tell me why we don't see cheap network appliances at Walmart and Bestbuy that accept USB drives and printers all in one convenient box.
I see the "cheap" drive sharing boxes and the "cheap" printer sharing boxes but, given how easy it is to set up SAMBA on a VERY low end device, why don't we see any that do both?
And while I'm on the subject, why don't we see cheap server appliances for other services? Is it lack of market demand that keeps me from being about the buy a low power, cheap apache server in a box the size of a cable modem? Same for proftpd and squirrelmail/postfix/mailman? Seriously, I know the market is limited, but it's hardly non-existent! Especially if they made it easy to set up and use, then ANYONE could be an end point. That is the real promise fo the Internet to me.
And before I get those "just do it yourself on old hardware" replies, I have already done so and posted the how-to's for others. What I'm asking for is not an easy way to set up apache. Apache is pretty easy out of the box. I'm asking for an easy, low-power apache appliance that EVEN a relatively non-technical person can set up and use. Seems cool to me. Especially coupled with a cheap DNS appliance box.
P.S. I look forward to 15 years from now when my daughter reads this comment after searching on my name. What a proud moment in my history to share with future generations.:(
Yes, you---a slashdot armchair physicist---have disassembled and shamed the work of a team of NASA scientists with three poorly punctuated semi-sentences.
Let that be a lesson to the rest of you would-be geniuses out there using your "science" and "math" to "prove facts". Quasar1999 stands at the ready to quip your supposedly careful research into shamed oblivion.;-)
Government waste is the price we pay for the common good.
Look, I agree that they waste much of our money, that they spend it on pet projects and line their own pockets, and that they are often unconcerned with our wishes. All that said, no one has figured out a better way to get roads and cops and a military and all the various infrastructure and services that are needed. Most often, when I hear someone complain about taxes it's just thinly veiled selfishness ("I don't wanna give away my money, so I'll complain that it's for the best that none of us do").
I appreciate the desire to keep your hard earned cash. Hell, my Inner Ferengi is constantly whining about the outflow of latinum as well, BUT my inner Altruist gently reminds me that the goods and services that the government provides---with the piece of the tax pie that isn't wasted---are invaluable to people. The government does a pretty good job (jokes about the current administration aside) of protecting the little guy in most cases. It makes sure my roads are in working condition, makes sure someone answers when I call 911, makes sure my kid is educated in a variety of subjects from geometry to literature to chemistry to drama to history---only some of which I could do without their help.
"Use Taxes" don't work because they don't shield minority needs from the callousness of the majority. "No Taxes" don't work becuase their simply are too many progrmas that MUST be funded for our country to operate efficiently. I'd love to keep all my cash as well. Offer me an alternative that doesn't run the country's infrastructure and services into nonexistence and I'll listen.
Til then, all we can do is vote people into office that we trust to do the right thing with our cash. If that proves impossible, then perhaps the problem isn't with the tax collector but with the vote collector. Think about it.
Maurene O'Gara is evil. She lies constantly. I've never seen anyone who is as sick and twisted as she is. I despise her.
I have nothing to add. I just laughed at this paragraph so much, I wanted to see it on the screen twice. Hatred this pure should be rewarded with repetition.:)
There are a lot of complaints about Vonage in the comments right now, and I am sure that most complainers are being serious and truthful in their own experience with Vonage, but...
What about the hordes of people with o real problems? I've had Vonage for a while now, I know several others who've had it for differing lengths of time. Each of those experiences has been overwhelmingly positive.
1) The service is cheaper.
2) The service "just works" in my experience and the experience of everyone I personally know. Plug it in and if you have a broadband connection, you get a dial tone. No complicated set up[1].
3) The voice quality is good enough. Is it as good as Verizon's dedicated POTS line? Nope. Is it good enough for talking? Yes, and more. For less than half the price, I get about 90% of the service quality. That is a good deal by most estimations.
4) As a company, I've had no troubles with Vonage at all. Not one.
Now, this is not to refute the complaints posted here so much as to counterbalance them. Too often, we only comment when we have a complaint. The complaints you read are probably legit, but so is my good experience. Your experience will vary, but for the chance to cut your phone bill in half, it behooves you to try it out.
I'd venture to guess that the bulk of their customers are pleased with the service, so roll the dice. your chances are good that you'll be in the majority, but yes it is possible that you aren't and you have some of the problems listed here.
[1] Set up is easy as pie if you have a hub and just want to plug one phone into it. If, however, you want to "take over" your home phone wiring so you can plug a phone into any jack in the house and get a dial tone, there is more work. I did it in about half an hour, but it's more than just "plug into router and plug into phone". It was easy, but not/that/ easy.
there really isn't a real "Right to Privacy" in the Constitution.
Well, actually, in 1965 the Constitutional basis for a right to privacy was recognized explicitly by the Supreme Court. It began with the case of Griswold v. Connecticut (381 U.S. 479). In short, they explained that the Constitution has what are called "penumbral rights"---rights that are inferrable by virtue of being necessary precursors to the rights more explicitly spelled out.
From Griswold v. Connecticut: "The Fourth and Fifth Amendments were described in Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 630, as protection against all governmental invasions 'of the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life.' We recently referred in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 656, to the Fourth Amendment as creating a 'right to privacy, no less important than any other right carefully and particularly reserved to the people.' See Beaney, The Constitutional Right to Privacy, 1962 Sup. Ct. Rev. 212; Griswold, The Right to be Let Alone, 55 Nw. U. L. Rev. 216 (1960)... The present case, then, concerns a relationship lying within the zone of privacy created by several fundamental constitutional guarantees."
The explicit rights that grant a right to privacy as a precursor are the 4th, 5th, and the 9th, though the Justices said (and have upheld numerous times since, fyi) that the right to privacy may be inferred from other amendments as well, it's just that the 4th, 5th, and the 9th are particularly obvious in their inference.
So, yes, since 1965, U.S. Law has upheld EXPLICITLY that we have a Contitutional right to privacy.
TiVo is still a company that matters becuase they innovated. They were (one of?) the first companies to really get timeshifting right. They made it work well and made it cheap enough that people could afford it. They did this when there were no real competitors out there. Yes, I know ReplayTV was there, but at first Replay had some real problems that made TiVo look good by comparison...those problems were short-lived, but they gave TiVo the head start it needed to be the marketshare winner.
What TiVo needs to do is innovate some more. Bring us something that consumers want but can't get elswhere. Do something like Kaleidescape (but WAY cheaper!), add good TV time/place shifting, stream videos from Netflix, just BE the the entertainment hub in every way possible. Hell, partner with Nintendo to get some Wii hardware under the hood and integrated. Do...something! Because just adding more drive space and HDTV is not going to keep the lead.
Start with decoupling the server from the client. They've started that with the sharing idea, but go all the way. There is NO reason that I should need a recorder in every room. I only need one recorder (as long as it has multiple tuners), but I need many players. And if the players are cheaper and smaller, then you have a new product to market.
Most of this isn't hard. MythTV does much of it already, but Myth just doesn't yet do all this in a consumer friendly off-the-shelf hardware package. TiVo can bring this to reality. They have the street cred with retailers to get a revolutionary new device on Best Buy's shelves.
Hell, just partner with MythTV and offer GOOD prepackaged Myth boxes for all I care, but do something besides offering my yet larger HDDs in lieu of real innovation. 60 hours of TV is plenty. Give me a reason to sit down and watch it.
Still ridiculous, of coarse, after all anyone with a computer or a cassette deck can accomplish the same thing.
And you pay a royalty to the RIAA for every blank tape sold in the US.
And you pay a royalty to the RIAA for every blank CD for your computer that claims to be a "Music" CD Blank.
Not so ridiculous now, huh? The RIAA has always wanted to collect a royalty on all things that can copy, in any way whatsoever, their "product". They are evil and greedy. There is one way to stop them. Stop listening (note I did not say BUYING, I said LISTENING) to their music. There's other---better--music out there.
Seriously, there's a reason it's so popular. It ensures that noone can hijack the project and the source code will be legitimately free. You will make the most people happy with your decision if you go that route. Anything else will be seen as hedging your bets.
1) The Tivo will download "recommendations" (which I have yet to ever use). Advantage: Tivo (I guess)
And offers more recording options in general. Advatage: Very much TiVo.
2) The DVR has a way better guide that has a nice preview screen (Advantage: DVR)
OK. Valid point. Advatage DVR.
3) The DVR has two-channel capability (watch one show while the other records). Advantage: DVR
TiVo has tons of multi-tuner models already in use for DirectTV, for instance. Advantage No one.
4) The Tivo has to use the serial input, which makes channel changing slow, versus the DVR which is integrated with the cable box. Advantage: DVR
They don't make OEM deals to send you an off-the-shelf TiVo unit. TiVo helps them integrate their software into a new box that does it all. See Satellite units for examples of this. Advantage: No one.
5) The DVR can do HDTV. Advantage: DVR (those I suppose these new Tivos might do it)
Not just newer ones. Satellite TiVo's have been doing HDTV for a while. Advantage: No one.
6) The user interface on the Tivo is way simpler. Advantage: Tivo.
Agreed.
So on the whole, you gain two things frmo your list (ease-of-use and better recording options) and lose one (you like the channel guide better). Given how much more TiVo brings to the table, I'd say the winner is TiVo.
Law enforcement can already tap land lines, and that is a priviledge they should have. Despite claims to the contrary, tapping lines (after the appropriate warrant has been secured) is a valuable law enforcement tool. All the FCC is saying is that VOIP lines are not somehow exempt from the same actions.
Keep the fight where it belongs: Warrantless tapping. The issue is law enforcement tapping lines without judicual oversight, not extending their tapping powers to VOIP.
Do you think this will have an effect on the OEM parts market?
Was this question for real? Everything WalMart does affects the the markets it touches.
WalMart selling a product in your industry is like Microsoft deciding to bundle the functionality of your software in their OS. It may be good (they buy your company and you retire to Tahiti, the land of booze and titties) or it may be bad (they take what they want and let you spend your grandma's pension fund fighting them in court for 2069 and a half years) but either way dude, YES, YOUR MARKET WAS AFFECTED!
They all fail at what they are supposed to do, first and foremost.... The continual lack of support... makes designing pages... a frickin' pain in the arse.... All I want... is a browser that follows the standards
Then write one.
Seriously, you got the Firefox code. Go in and write the browser you want. If you are right that the silent public is clamoring for your vision of a simple---but completely standards-compliant---browser, then I'm sure your project will take off like crazycakes. I wish you all the luck.
But in the interim, quit bitching about the work people are volunteering to do for free just becuase they love what they do. Offer constructive criticism, offer praise, offer help, but bitching in at least two forums (according to you) about how they have failed and are a pain in the ass to use isn't constructive or helpful. It's just annoying and whiny.
There's an old adage about beggars and choosers you should look into.
P.S. Equally annoying: Seeing a message like this modded up on/. I guess the balance of moderator power on/. has shifted from those that understand the volunteer-nature of Free software to those that don't. Therefore, I suppose I'll be dropping some karma over this post.
Maybe we should just let congress tag our ears like roaming herd and get this whole thing over with. I mean, that's where they wanna go with this anyway, right?
As long as they let us choose our own colors for the tags, I think we'd agree as a society to go along with it.
"Oh you chose red? You know the the fashion conscious monitoring target nowadays goes for more of an earth tone, maybe forest green or tope."
OK, is it because it's Microsoft? I have a deep loathing of all things MS just like any other self respecting slashdotter, but evil is a bit strong.
Or is it becuase of the mention of China? If so, then that's a bit hypocritical. Should I start talking about all the messed up stuff our own government has done? China may be worse---I'm not denying that---but to call them evil and completely ignore all we've done over here that is nearly as bad is either seriously short sighted or betrays a real lack of perspective.
Spend less time judging the others and worry about fixing things in your own home.
And that advice goes for we Americans just as well as it goes for we Linux folk.
Slashdot Mirror
I totally agree that one has more immediate effect, but I just don't want to ignore the other. As William O. Douglas said:
"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
Our ideals are not often destroyed in one great act, but slowly chipped away until the remnant bears no resemblance to the original and we find it hard to point to any one thing that stole our ideal. This isn't a fight that has only one battle front. That's all I'm saying.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
The guy who does the DNS records gets to decide which hosts are allowed to send mail for a particular domain.
Not before SPF.
Previously, I could run sendmail on my own box and, you know, send mail. I didn't need permission from anyone to have my mail considered equally valid on the net. SPF changes that. It says that only the one "validated" smtp server can send mail and moreover, underlying it is the implicit expectatin that every server on the net should be a paid-for domain, instead of an ip address. Domain names were and are a useful addition to add a memorizable name to an ip range, but this moves us from "domains are useful and nice" to "domain traffic is the only valid traffic". Now some computers on the net are more signifigant to the software than others.
Remember that the net was intended to be a community of peers, not a client-server environment.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
I am all about Network Neutrality...the problem is that most of you aren't. There, my shocking intro is out of the way. ;-)
:-\
Seriously though, I'm only half joking. I agree that we must do everything we can to promote the vision of the Web that people like Tim Berners-Lee had at its inception. The problem is that while we want to fight for neutrality in our bandwidth, we are willing to give it up in our protocols.
For instance, the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) so-called spam solution is being adopted all over the place without nary a complaint. But think about it. Tim Berners-Lee didn't just envision a web of equitable bandwidth, he envisioned a web of peers---a web of end points, all equally valid. What happens when my system is no longer considered a valid end point? Suddenly, we have a network of clients and servers rather than peers. When the SPF process looks to verify that the sender is the one valid smtp server for the mail address' domain (based on either MX or A records), it devalues all non-domain level systems on the web. Peers on the network become clients, fed valid packets from those servers that are approved to pass said packets. The SMTP semantic paradigm moves from Sender>Receiver to Server>Client.
But no one really cares because there is some belief that this will help reduce spam. It will, but so will turning off our mail clients. Neither is the right solution. The solution is a newer, better mail protocol, many of which have been proposed that DO NOT devalue the peers of the network. Probably one of the better known of the examples is the IM2000 protocol.
But we'd rather have a network of tiered rights---as long as our bandwidth is balanced equitably we won't complain, I guess.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
Tell me why we don't see cheap network appliances at Walmart and Bestbuy that accept USB drives and printers all in one convenient box.
I see the "cheap" drive sharing boxes and the "cheap" printer sharing boxes but, given how easy it is to set up SAMBA on a VERY low end device, why don't we see any that do both?
And while I'm on the subject, why don't we see cheap server appliances for other services? Is it lack of market demand that keeps me from being about the buy a low power, cheap apache server in a box the size of a cable modem? Same for proftpd and squirrelmail/postfix/mailman? Seriously, I know the market is limited, but it's hardly non-existent! Especially if they made it easy to set up and use, then ANYONE could be an end point. That is the real promise fo the Internet to me.
And before I get those "just do it yourself on old hardware" replies, I have already done so and posted the how-to's for others. What I'm asking for is not an easy way to set up apache. Apache is pretty easy out of the box. I'm asking for an easy, low-power apache appliance that EVEN a relatively non-technical person can set up and use. Seems cool to me. Especially coupled with a cheap DNS appliance box.
These services beg for hardware modularization.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
...is it still called "masturbation" if the robot is the one doing it to you?
:(
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
P.S. I look forward to 15 years from now when my daughter reads this comment after searching on my name. What a proud moment in my history to share with future generations.
Insufficient data...
;-)
Yes, you---a slashdot armchair physicist---have disassembled and shamed the work of a team of NASA scientists with three poorly punctuated semi-sentences.
Let that be a lesson to the rest of you would-be geniuses out there using your "science" and "math" to "prove facts". Quasar1999 stands at the ready to quip your supposedly careful research into shamed oblivion.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
So what then can be done. . ?
Government waste is the price we pay for the common good.
Look, I agree that they waste much of our money, that they spend it on pet projects and line their own pockets, and that they are often unconcerned with our wishes. All that said, no one has figured out a better way to get roads and cops and a military and all the various infrastructure and services that are needed. Most often, when I hear someone complain about taxes it's just thinly veiled selfishness ("I don't wanna give away my money, so I'll complain that it's for the best that none of us do").
I appreciate the desire to keep your hard earned cash. Hell, my Inner Ferengi is constantly whining about the outflow of latinum as well, BUT my inner Altruist gently reminds me that the goods and services that the government provides---with the piece of the tax pie that isn't wasted---are invaluable to people. The government does a pretty good job (jokes about the current administration aside) of protecting the little guy in most cases. It makes sure my roads are in working condition, makes sure someone answers when I call 911, makes sure my kid is educated in a variety of subjects from geometry to literature to chemistry to drama to history---only some of which I could do without their help.
"Use Taxes" don't work because they don't shield minority needs from the callousness of the majority. "No Taxes" don't work becuase their simply are too many progrmas that MUST be funded for our country to operate efficiently. I'd love to keep all my cash as well. Offer me an alternative that doesn't run the country's infrastructure and services into nonexistence and I'll listen.
Til then, all we can do is vote people into office that we trust to do the right thing with our cash. If that proves impossible, then perhaps the problem isn't with the tax collector but with the vote collector. Think about it.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
Maurene O'Gara is evil. She lies constantly. I've never seen anyone who is as sick and twisted as she is. I despise her.
:)
I have nothing to add. I just laughed at this paragraph so much, I wanted to see it on the screen twice. Hatred this pure should be rewarded with repetition.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
There are a lot of complaints about Vonage in the comments right now, and I am sure that most complainers are being serious and truthful in their own experience with Vonage, but...
/that/ easy.
What about the hordes of people with o real problems? I've had Vonage for a while now, I know several others who've had it for differing lengths of time. Each of those experiences has been overwhelmingly positive.
1) The service is cheaper.
2) The service "just works" in my experience and the experience of everyone I personally know. Plug it in and if you have a broadband connection, you get a dial tone. No complicated set up[1].
3) The voice quality is good enough. Is it as good as Verizon's dedicated POTS line? Nope. Is it good enough for talking? Yes, and more. For less than half the price, I get about 90% of the service quality. That is a good deal by most estimations.
4) As a company, I've had no troubles with Vonage at all. Not one.
Now, this is not to refute the complaints posted here so much as to counterbalance them. Too often, we only comment when we have a complaint. The complaints you read are probably legit, but so is my good experience. Your experience will vary, but for the chance to cut your phone bill in half, it behooves you to try it out.
I'd venture to guess that the bulk of their customers are pleased with the service, so roll the dice. your chances are good that you'll be in the majority, but yes it is possible that you aren't and you have some of the problems listed here.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
[1] Set up is easy as pie if you have a hub and just want to plug one phone into it. If, however, you want to "take over" your home phone wiring so you can plug a phone into any jack in the house and get a dial tone, there is more work. I did it in about half an hour, but it's more than just "plug into router and plug into phone". It was easy, but not
there really isn't a real "Right to Privacy" in the Constitution.
... The present case, then, concerns a relationship lying within the zone of privacy created by several fundamental constitutional guarantees."
Well, actually, in 1965 the Constitutional basis for a right to privacy was recognized explicitly by the Supreme Court. It began with the case of Griswold v. Connecticut (381 U.S. 479). In short, they explained that the Constitution has what are called "penumbral rights"---rights that are inferrable by virtue of being necessary precursors to the rights more explicitly spelled out.
From Griswold v. Connecticut:
"The Fourth and Fifth Amendments were described in Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 630, as protection against all governmental invasions 'of the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life.' We recently referred in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 656, to the Fourth Amendment as creating a 'right to privacy, no less important than any other right carefully and particularly reserved to the people.' See Beaney, The Constitutional Right to Privacy, 1962 Sup. Ct. Rev. 212; Griswold, The Right to be Let Alone, 55 Nw. U. L. Rev. 216 (1960)
The explicit rights that grant a right to privacy as a precursor are the 4th, 5th, and the 9th, though the Justices said (and have upheld numerous times since, fyi) that the right to privacy may be inferred from other amendments as well, it's just that the 4th, 5th, and the 9th are particularly obvious in their inference.
So, yes, since 1965, U.S. Law has upheld EXPLICITLY that we have a Contitutional right to privacy.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
TiVo is still a company that matters becuase they innovated. They were (one of?) the first companies to really get timeshifting right. They made it work well and made it cheap enough that people could afford it. They did this when there were no real competitors out there. Yes, I know ReplayTV was there, but at first Replay had some real problems that made TiVo look good by comparison...those problems were short-lived, but they gave TiVo the head start it needed to be the marketshare winner.
What TiVo needs to do is innovate some more. Bring us something that consumers want but can't get elswhere. Do something like Kaleidescape (but WAY cheaper!), add good TV time/place shifting, stream videos from Netflix, just BE the the entertainment hub in every way possible. Hell, partner with Nintendo to get some Wii hardware under the hood and integrated. Do...something! Because just adding more drive space and HDTV is not going to keep the lead.
Start with decoupling the server from the client. They've started that with the sharing idea, but go all the way. There is NO reason that I should need a recorder in every room. I only need one recorder (as long as it has multiple tuners), but I need many players. And if the players are cheaper and smaller, then you have a new product to market.
Most of this isn't hard. MythTV does much of it already, but Myth just doesn't yet do all this in a consumer friendly off-the-shelf hardware package. TiVo can bring this to reality. They have the street cred with retailers to get a revolutionary new device on Best Buy's shelves.
Hell, just partner with MythTV and offer GOOD prepackaged Myth boxes for all I care, but do something besides offering my yet larger HDDs in lieu of real innovation. 60 hours of TV is plenty. Give me a reason to sit down and watch it.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
Still ridiculous, of coarse, after all anyone with a computer or a cassette deck can accomplish the same thing.
And you pay a royalty to the RIAA for every blank tape sold in the US.
And you pay a royalty to the RIAA for every blank CD for your computer that claims to be a "Music" CD Blank.
Not so ridiculous now, huh? The RIAA has always wanted to collect a royalty on all things that can copy, in any way whatsoever, their "product". They are evil and greedy. There is one way to stop them. Stop listening (note I did not say BUYING, I said LISTENING) to their music. There's other---better--music out there.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
General Public License
Seriously, there's a reason it's so popular. It ensures that noone can hijack the project and the source code will be legitimately free. You will make the most people happy with your decision if you go that route. Anything else will be seen as hedging your bets.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
When are they gonna announce a technology-sharing partnership with Real Doll. That's when I'll really take notice!
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
1) The Tivo will download "recommendations" (which I have yet to ever use). Advantage: Tivo (I guess)
And offers more recording options in general. Advatage: Very much TiVo.
2) The DVR has a way better guide that has a nice preview screen (Advantage: DVR)
OK. Valid point. Advatage DVR.
3) The DVR has two-channel capability (watch one show while the other records). Advantage: DVR
TiVo has tons of multi-tuner models already in use for DirectTV, for instance. Advantage No one.
4) The Tivo has to use the serial input, which makes channel changing slow, versus the DVR which is integrated with the cable box. Advantage: DVR
They don't make OEM deals to send you an off-the-shelf TiVo unit. TiVo helps them integrate their software into a new box that does it all. See Satellite units for examples of this. Advantage: No one.
5) The DVR can do HDTV. Advantage: DVR (those I suppose these new Tivos might do it)
Not just newer ones. Satellite TiVo's have been doing HDTV for a while. Advantage: No one.
6) The user interface on the Tivo is way simpler. Advantage: Tivo.
Agreed.
So on the whole, you gain two things frmo your list (ease-of-use and better recording options) and lose one (you like the channel guide better). Given how much more TiVo brings to the table, I'd say the winner is TiVo.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
Law enforcement can already tap land lines, and that is a priviledge they should have. Despite claims to the contrary, tapping lines (after the appropriate warrant has been secured) is a valuable law enforcement tool. All the FCC is saying is that VOIP lines are not somehow exempt from the same actions.
Keep the fight where it belongs: Warrantless tapping. The issue is law enforcement tapping lines without judicual oversight, not extending their tapping powers to VOIP.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
Do you think this will have an effect on the OEM parts market?
Was this question for real? Everything WalMart does affects the the markets it touches.
WalMart selling a product in your industry is like Microsoft deciding to bundle the functionality of your software in their OS. It may be good (they buy your company and you retire to Tahiti, the land of booze and titties) or it may be bad (they take what they want and let you spend your grandma's pension fund fighting them in court for 2069 and a half years) but either way dude, YES, YOUR MARKET WAS AFFECTED!
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
...in all your life's failures is you.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
They all fail at what they are supposed to do, first and foremost. ... The continual lack of support ... makes designing pages ... a frickin' pain in the arse. ... All I want ... is a browser that follows the standards
/. I guess the balance of moderator power on /. has shifted from those that understand the volunteer-nature of Free software to those that don't. Therefore, I suppose I'll be dropping some karma over this post.
Then write one.
Seriously, you got the Firefox code. Go in and write the browser you want. If you are right that the silent public is clamoring for your vision of a simple---but completely standards-compliant---browser, then I'm sure your project will take off like crazycakes. I wish you all the luck.
But in the interim, quit bitching about the work people are volunteering to do for free just becuase they love what they do. Offer constructive criticism, offer praise, offer help, but bitching in at least two forums (according to you) about how they have failed and are a pain in the ass to use isn't constructive or helpful. It's just annoying and whiny.
There's an old adage about beggars and choosers you should look into.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/linux.html
P.S. Equally annoying: Seeing a message like this modded up on
...I wonder if they'll get an orchestra to play the theme to the Empirial March or just pop the sound track in the nearest car stereo?
:-\
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/politics.html
P.S. Attended a military funeral a couple of years ago. They played taps on a tape player. This device is a step UP not down from that experience.
Maybe we should just let congress tag our ears like roaming herd and get this whole thing over with. I mean, that's where they wanna go with this anyway, right?
:-\
As long as they let us choose our own colors for the tags, I think we'd agree as a society to go along with it.
"Oh you chose red? You know the the fashion conscious monitoring target nowadays goes for more of an earth tone, maybe forest green or tope."
Yeah, that would work.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/politics.html
Seriously? This article has been tagged "Evil"?
OK, is it because it's Microsoft? I have a deep loathing of all things MS just like any other self respecting slashdotter, but evil is a bit strong.
Or is it becuase of the mention of China? If so, then that's a bit hypocritical. Should I start talking about all the messed up stuff our own government has done? China may be worse---I'm not denying that---but to call them evil and completely ignore all we've done over here that is nearly as bad is either seriously short sighted or betrays a real lack of perspective.
Spend less time judging the others and worry about fixing things in your own home.
And that advice goes for we Americans just as well as it goes for we Linux folk.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
Disclaimer: I am an American, but I have no small connection to China.
Tortured acronyms designed to appear clever...TADTAC for short.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
It's not like we have no precedent for expanding our R&D with immigrant scientists. Some of "our" greats were immigrants of other countries.
The real question is not "How will we compete?" but rather "Are we willing to court immigrants as we used to to compete?"
Don't answer quick, becuase it's not an easy question to answer. There are serious ramifications.
Not to mention that I've said before that the media is overstating (greatly!) the direness of our science and technology situation in the U.S.
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/
They put Peptide in quotes like they didn't trust it.
"Yes sir. We are still looking into the claims of this so-called 'peptide' molecule."
Tom Caudron
http://tom.digitalelite.com/