Slashdot Mirror


User: theophilus00

theophilus00's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
20
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 20

  1. Re:Not different than amateur radio on Costa Rica May Criminalize VoIP · · Score: 1

    For amateur radio operators in the US, it's illegal to receive or transmit international messages for a third party unless there exists an agreement between the US and the other country specifically allowing it. This includes patching (allowing a foreign operator to connect to a local US telephone network through your station).

    The reason is precisely as you stated - some governments do not wish to allow any mode of international communication which would compete with the established system (which they own or have a significant interest in). Kind of sucks for VoIP, but is nice for amateur radio because you don't have a whole bunch of people with no interest in proper radio operation simply using it as a way to get around telephone toll charges.

    I think the US regulations are different from those of the parent poster's country in that they generally apply only to third-party messages. Licensed amateur operators are allowed to have international conversations with other licensed amateurs without formal restriction.

  2. This is not even remotely new on Jetway PT800TWIN - Dual User Hardware · · Score: 2, Informative

    Applica did this five or so years ago. I tested their U2 product back 1999-ish.

    http://www.applica.com/

  3. Re: So, would you buy one? on A Flying Leap for Cars? · · Score: 1

    As long as the licensing process for driving these suckers was long, expensive, and difficult. And that the minimum driving age was over 21. And that nobody over the age of 65 was allowed to drive these without rigorous yearly examinations.

    You just essentially described general aviation fixed/rotary wing aircraft. Pick one up today!

  4. Some like the risk. on Privacy in the Woods? · · Score: 3, Informative

    A lot of folks who go into the woods do so because they relish the element of risk involved. Idiot-proofing the wilderness experience will not appeal to most of them.

  5. Re:My university is at the bottom of the heap. on Intel Ranks Colleges with Best Wireless Access · · Score: 1

    I too attend UAH, and I have to heartily second Entropius' comments... of course, the buzz is that they are "working on" the wireless issue, but nothing will be done for another year or so.

    What screwed everybody over at UAH was Napster. Of course, there have been other issues, but I think Napster was the beginning. When I lived in the Central Campus Residence Hall from 96-98, the in-room Ethernet was solid as a rock, and every student who wanted one had a static, wide open, publicly routable IP address. Along came Napster, bandwidth usage went through the roof, and the entire residence network was segmented off so that it could be more tightly controlled. Apparently Network Services made a clusterf**k of that job, and network services to students have never fully recovered.

    In response to the person who commented about 15-25% of Confederate flags in dorm windows - you referenced an article referring to UA (Tuscaloosa), not UAH (Huntsville). They are completely separate universities, like Georgia and Georgia Tech. UAH has more Middle Eastern students than it has rednecks.

  6. Amnesty program on RIAA Sues 12-Year Old Girl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As this drags on, I expect the RIAA to actually drag very few individuals through court. It's interesting that they've already announced their amnesty program... all you have to do is swear on your mother's grave that you'll never ever ever ever do anything horrible like file sharing again.

    What this will accomplish is to scare off all those borderline-computer-literates who found a neat program called Kazaa and thought downloading music was fun. Most of these people have never even considered the legal ramifications of what they are doing. Simply being threatened a little, or sued and then "mercifully let off" will cause people who have no interest in the issues at stake to delete their kids' Kazaa clients to make sure that never happens again. These people will then go back to watching television and shaking their head over this whole Internet thing.

    Since this same demographic probably buys 80% of popular music, the score will stand: RIAA 1, angry informed minority 0.

  7. Sigh.... on iTunes: Don't Leave Home With Them · · Score: 0, Insightful

    And iTunes seemed like such a positive step. Thanks, Apple.

  8. An opportunity here... on Mars Failures: Bad luck or Bad Programs? · · Score: 5, Funny

    âoeThe limiting factor in Mars sample return is mass,â he said. âoeDirect return [of samples] from Mars right now exceeds the cost envelope and performance envelope of the available launch vehicles and upper stages.â

    The first samples returned should have mystical properties ascribed to them and then sold on EBay. This should generate enough revenue to substantially increase the size of the "cost envelope"...

    cheers

    (I got engaged last night) =)

  9. Re:We reward WiFi makers for a job badly done on 802.11 Security · · Score: 1

    I don't see how the system is all that flawed. 802.11 is a physical layer which uses radio waves. Obviously, radio broadcasts are insecure, but the primary design goal here is Wireless. It is true that WEP and others have flaws, but these are merely protocols which have been and will continue to be improved upon and implemented in the same relatively solid 802.11 physical layer.

    Some music should never be aired, but that doesn't mean FM radios are bad products. Make better music.

    cheers

  10. Re:What's the big deal? on Webcams to Enforce Singapore Quarantine · · Score: 1

    Four percent of five billion is two hundred million. 'Nuff said.

  11. The 3.5" Floppy on Technologies that Have Exceeded Their Expectations? · · Score: 1

    ...has outlived just about every other piece of the PC. I don't know that it's 'exceeded expectations', but it's certainly hung on.

  12. Help from C. S. Lewis on Advice You Would Give to Your 12 Year-Old Self? · · Score: 1

    I think my general advice would be best taken from C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew:

    "Make your choice, adventurous stranger, strike the bell and bide the danger; or wonder, till it drives you mad, what would have followed if you had."

    This sig no verb.

  13. Re:Never happen QWZX on Oscar Nominations (LotR, Spirited Away, and more) · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm not going to try to discuss the merits of Anime, because I'm honestly not a fan. Is it cool? Sure. Do I follow it/watch it regularly? Nope.

    However, it seems to me that comparing Anime with live-action films is not an apples-to-apples comparison. They are different art forms with different merits specific to those forms, and they should be judged independently. A technical journal would not be placed in a writing competition alongside a fictional novel, for although they are both "writing", the authors have followed completely different disciplines in producing them.

  14. Re:My Reasons for Wanting Those Ports on Dell Dropping The Floppy · · Score: 1

    Things I have that need legacy ports:

    RS-232 COM Ports:
    -Garmin eTrex Venture
    -TI-Graph Link calculator interface
    -UPS management port
    -Nokia 6190 GSM phone

    Yes, I know there are USB to RS-232 converters. However, those are far from being drop-in replacements for a real COM port for the simple reason that a lot of software designed to talk to COM ports doesn't understand how to use the emulated COM-over-USB drivers.

    PS/2 ports:
    -A KVM(keyboard, video, mouse) switch. Getting a new one of these that would support USB and provide the same functionality as what I've got would be expensive.

    They'll probably all go away eventually, and I'll need to upgrade... but I hope not just yet.

    Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime. Teach a fish to man, and suddenly he's a UNIX expert.

  15. Depends on billing system on Wireless Internet Launched on Lufthansa FRA - IAD · · Score: 1

    Seems like what people will use the system for would be partially influenced by how the various providers (assuming this catches on with other airlines) bill the access... whether it's a lump sum charge per flight for unlimited access or they follow the GPRS model of charging $x.xx per MB.

  16. Do we need this? on Carping Over Creative Commons · · Score: 1

    "In reality, publishers are adding value, not simply stealing. They add value by filtering out content that people do not want..."

    Why do we need publishers to determine what we the people do or do not want? How could they possibly be as good at it as the actual consumers?

  17. Better than certification: guaranteed work on Mandated Regulation/Certification for Computer Repair? · · Score: 1

    When I'm having a computer repaired, seeing certification credentials on the wall or on a business card doesn't mean crap to me. I don't even know what A+ is, honestly. I feel much better dealing with a manufacturer or repair shop that guarantees its work: "if we didn't fix what you paid us to fix, we'll make it right, with no additional charges."

    Things go wrong in repair shops. Oversights happen. I can live with that, but when I discover such an oversight and all I get is some hostile introverted shop tech growling at me that "they fixed it, and if I want it looked at again it'll be an additional $35 bench fee," I get pissed off. This can happen even in "certified" shops.

    I should not be able to hold a shop liable for my data. When I send a computer to Dell for repair, I'm required to remove the hard drive, RAM, etc. They still manage to fix the PC without any chance that they'll zap my drive or read my private documents. If law allowed suits based on data loss, or other semi-tangibles, we'd soon be signing releases or arbitration agreements before a shop would touch our PCs, since one adverse judgment could easily put a small shop out of business.

    Be smart. Know the people you're trusting your gear to, and don't deal with them if they won't stand behind their work.

  18. Rights in general on Will We Need A SmartCard to Watch Digital TV? · · Score: 1

    I suppose I'd be willing to allow that the studios have the right to market a product however they wish -- along with whatever overly complicated, failure-prone, oppressive "rights-management" schemes they'd like.

    And I have the right not to buy it.

    cheers

  19. Try an older MiniDisc remote on IR Remotes with Letter Keys? · · Score: 1

    If you have a way to make a consumer remote talk to an IrDA port, try an older Sony MiniDisc remote. I have a MiniDisc recorder model MDS-JE310 (about 3-4 years old) which came with an alphanumeric remote for entering track names. You could probably find one cheaply, as this recorder was produced before the latest generation ATRAC, before MD-LP, etc.

    And please watch the road when you're driving.

  20. Music Industry and Drug Dealers on EMI Customer Relations Tells It Like It Is · · Score: 1

    It seems to me that the entertainment industry believes itself to be a giant cosmic pusher - and that all of us poor bastards who are hooked on their "drug" will allow ourselves to be subjected to any form of mistreatment in order to feed our addiction.

    Don't get me wrong - I love music. However, if we are so addicted to pop culture that we'll continue to fork over unholy amounts of cash for CD's, DVD's, etc, in the face of more and more restrictive copy protection methods/licensing schemes/consumer rights violations, then may God help us all.

    We're not going to beat the record companies by bitching about how unfair they are. They have no reason to serve any interest but their own... and they will do so as long as we fund their efforts. Starve them for money to pay their lawyers, and then we might get somewhere. We've got the power, because we provide the revenue. It's simply a question of how much we're all willing to put up with.