Here's the deal. The SETI project is listening right around the hydrogen line (right around 1420MHz, or 1.420GHz if you like).
Now, let's look at a typical US-based cellphone. They're dual-band capable, operating at approximately 850MHz or 1.9GHz.
The second harmonic of 850MHz is 1.700GHz, nearly 300MHz above where SETI is listening. As for 1.9GHz, its second harmonic is way the heck up at 3.80GHz. When you get up past the third harmonic of any signal, the amplitude is usually so low as to be insignificant.
Now, I don't claim to have all the answers, but it seems to this long-time ham radio op that the possibility of cellphones interfering with SETI hardware is pretty darn slim.
Unless I'm missing something? Perhaps there's an RF engineer, or someone who's seeing something that I'm missing, that would care to comment?
"NOW imagine trying to hear that distant flute while standing 50 yards from a raging waterfall, and a band starts playing Sousa marches right in your ear..."
But I don't even LIKE Sousa marches!
Criminys... Try to listen to one lousy waterfall, and look what happens...!
One potential problem I see with this. I've run across a few (not many these days, but still a few left) WAPs that are set up in such a way that VPN traffic is not allowed through.
I hope that United will not be so short-sighted. Being self-hosted for my 'net presence, I depend heavily on VPN tunneling to get my mail, and keep an eye on the servers (via SSH), while I'm on the road. Wired or wireless connections that block VPN or PPTP traffic are 152% useless to me.
Has anyone flown on Lufthansa and succeeded with using VPN via their WiFi link?
...How social skills that are so downplayed today (I'm talking about those you need for face-to-face communication, writing a real letter, conducting yourself on a live phone call) suddenly become of critical importance when E-mail suddenly becomes unavailable, for whatever reason?
I think many have become TOO dependent on being 'wired' for their own good, and it's not just adults. I've seen all too many kids walking with their parents at the mall, bus stop, or wherever, eyes and attention riveted solidly to their handheld GameBoy, or whatever the current portable hypnosis-inducer is, instead of paying attention to the world around them (and there's a lot to see, if you really LOOK and LISTEN!)
So E-mail's down? Fine. If you need to write something, just use your word processor to create a POSTAL letter. Remember those? If your computer's broken, see if there's an old typewriter available. If you really need to talk to someone right away, phone them. If they're out, it won't kill you to just leave a message.
Failing all the above, why not just take the rest of the day off?
The point I'm driving at is that the world is NOT going to suddenly end just because we lose one of our favorite paths of 'instant gratification.' Patience is a virtue that is sadly absent from much of the world today, and it is one that I think we would all do well to cultivate.
...They'll need to be sure to ask it the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Let's find out if it really is 42 (I happen to think it's 12)...
I was in the same situation about five or so years ago. 22,800 feet from the nearest central office, DSL was just -barely- usable, and it was not very stable.
Couple of years later, the local telco got smart and started installing curbside DSLAMs, called 'Stingers,' to serve areas that were more than optimal distance from the CO.
Stingers consist of a single high-speed copper or fiber link back to the central office (usually at least a T3 or its fiber equivalent) which is then split out into DSL pipes for however many subscribers they planned for.
They're wonderful inventions. My download speed went from an average of 256K (if I was lucky) to over 768K practically overnight, once they switched my pipe over to the curbside terminal. It's been utterly stable ever since, with only a brief outage caused by an extended neighborhood power failure (and my servers went down because of that same outage anyway).
My advice would be to bug the crap out of your local telco, and find out when they're going to install a few neighborhood DSLAMs.
This still places the burden of dealing with spam on the recipient. That is, always has been, and always will be unacceptable. The stuff should never have existed to begin with.
I have better things to do with my time than click through a pile of crap in my E-mail. Outlaw spamming, period, no matter how much the asshats at the DMA may scream about it (they screamed about the Do-Not-Call list as well, if I recall). It would be easy enough to do simply by extending the reach of the existing Junk FAX law.
In fact, had it not been for the DMA's spam apologists, that idea might have worked out from the get-go.
Perhaps India is planning to outsource the manufacture of these devices to the U.S.?;-)
Seriously... Wouldn't the resources spent to develop this device have been better spent making sure that people have clean water, decent food, affordable housing, and good schooling for their kids?
I must have Looney Tunes on the brain this morning, because my gray matter parsed this...
"...thanks to an automated email system that notifies astronomers worldwide..."
As this:
"...thanks to an automated anvil system that notifies astronomers worldwide."
I had this bizarre image of all different types and sizes of anvils, all with messages about the GRB attached, dropping onto (and through) desks and computers of astronomers all over the place while, in the background, Marvin the Martian is cackling about it in that lovably maniacal way that only Mel Blanc could give him.
Essence, I wish Chuck Jones was still around to exploit this one...;-)
I've always built my own systems from components. Doing so may cost more than a pre-built unit, but the big advantage to DIY is that you get to pick every single component based on YOUR standards. You're not constrained by a group decision by some collection of profit-hungry BoD members.
When building any system, it is CRITICAL to match what you want in a computer to the components chosen, and there is a definite trade-off between system speed and stability.
Example: I have no interest whatsoever in 99.9% of the available computer games, but I also do some high-end EDA work (notably electronic schematics, circuit simulation, and PC board design). This calls for computing power that is at least somewhat comparable to systems built specifically for gaming. I also knew that stability (as in resistance to any sort of crashing, application or system) was critical to me.
Like you, I don't like a ton of extra stuff on my motherboards. With that in mind, I chose a Tyan dual-CPU board for the AMD Athlon MP chips, specifically the Tiger MPX. I kitted it out with two processors right from the get-go (Athlon MP2600's), and a full gig of ECC DRAM. The board itself comes with two serial, one parallel, two USB, and a 3Com 10/100 NIC all on board. Everything else is left to the end user. These days, that's about as bare-bones as I've seen any board get.
Tyan motherboards have a great reputation for stability in the face of all kinds of different configurations, but they're not very overclockable and, thus, not very popular with the gaming crowd. Tyan is the board you choose if you're building a serious server or high-end workstation, not something to game with.
One other thing that is absolutely vital if you're serious about DIY: Follow the CPU manufacturer's recommendations for motherboards, power supply, memory, and cooling. I cannot stress this strongly enough, particularly where the motherboard and power supply are concerned! Besides the Tyan mo-bo, I opted for Corsair memory DIMMs and a 550W power supply from PC Power & Cooling, all in accordance with AMD's recommendations for the MP series CPUs. A visit to their site will provide you with hardware recommendations for any of their CPUs, and it looks like Intel provides a very similar aid on their site.
The system has been with me for nearly two years now, and I've had ZERO trouble with it. Windows 2000 Pro (you won't catch me using XP, ever) has been solid as a rock on it, as have every single one of my applications.
Building your own system has a lot to say for it but, as others have pointed out, be prepared to pay more than you would for a pre-built box.
I can see an interesting side effect coming up if NYT decides to do this, especially at the cost figure they're proposing.
Specifically, I could see a move like this being a shot in the arm for public libraries, especially if it sparks other newspapers and news agencies to do it.
Consider: You could either pay the fee and access the thing from your home system, or you can exert a little effort and hit up your local public library. Access to the same material would (likely) be at no extra cost to you. Heck, you wouldn't even have to pay for gas if you took public transit.
Even if, for some reason, you still need Internet access, many libraries have free wireless. The Seattle main (downtown) library, as one example, has both wired and wireless Internet access available at no charge to its patrons (note that VPN only works if you use Cisco LEAP or Microsplatt's PPTP).
I'm sorry you feel that way. Are you saying, then, that people should NOT be held responsible for whatever spew their virus-compromised system sends out, regardless of how many problems it may cause other systems? That's what licensing would have done -- provide accountability.
If you can suggest a better way to provide some sort of accountability, then please go right ahead and suggest something. I don't pretend to have all the answers, and name-calling is hardly productive.
ISPs could use this data to great benefit, if they'd put out some effort.
Assuming that the statistics show which IP address ranges are the worst offenders for malicious traffic, the ISP(s) responsible could simply shut down the outbound connection(s) of the "problem" users until they de-virus their systems and KEEP THEM THAT WAY.
Perhaps that will help to finally clue people in that having Internet connectivity is a privilege, not a right, just like driving. If you're going to enjoy an Internet connection you need to show some responsibility for making sure your own system isn't going to be a problem to others.
I -still- think there should have been Internet user licenses, just like we have driver's licenses...
"See "a herf="http://www.downtowncorpuschristi.com/wiki/DM D/WiFiCity">..."
Ya know, I've looked all over the place for a HERF device so I can do something about those pesky thump-mobiles. Haven't found one that I like just yet...
LCD panels, to me, have much higher contrast than any CRT I've ever looked at. The brightness and color purity also seem to be much higher overall.
Health benefits aside, LCD panels pull about a third of the power that a CRT monitor uses. This equates to an immediate savings in terms of less electricity used by the monitor, and (over the longer term) reduced air conditioning needs because of the reduced heat load. I suppose one could also make the connection that less electricity burned means less air pollution, assuming a fossil-fuel fired power plant.
All those government agencies who made the switch a few years back are probably getting to the point where the cost of energy saved more than made up for the higher cost of the initial crop of flat-panels.
I'm on my second LCD panel now. My first was an 18" Acer, the most recent one a 19" Samsung. Very nice stuff. I have not the slightest desire to change back to CRT.
No, it's not. Not by any stretch of the imagination!
I used to think so, and then got so burned out on dealing with clueless end-(L)users during the day, and keeping my own systems running by night, that I finally said "Screw It!" and went back into electronics.
Want to know the scary part? Many of those end-users I was supporting were engineers. ME's and Aerospace people, sure, but you'd think that someone who had enough smarts to go all the way to a four-year degree would at least have SOME common sense about their computer.
In all fairness, some did. But they were in the minority, frighteningly enough.
I like my work to be fun and challenging. IT, after the first four or so years, was neither.
Let me state right up front that I am NOT against musicians, movie makers, and other media authors receiving fair compensation for their creative work. Far from it! I have a deep respect for those who have given us such gems as (just two examples) "Monsters, Inc." and "Spirited Away."
With that said: I would not accept any form of DRM as it is currently implemented. The idea of DRM, in its current form, seems to be designed to do two things.
(1) Protect the profits of industries that refuses to change their business models to reflect reality (notably the MPAA and RIAA, which are rapidly becoming four-letter epithets).
(2) Trump consumer fair-use rights that have been around for decades. More specifically, I see the current implementation of DRM as little more than a weapon to try and overturn the Betamax ruling of 1984.
It's clear to me that Hollywood wants us to pay for the privilege of letting them tell us what we can and cannot do with movies and music that we buy. I also find it ironic that the MPAA and RIAA are so quick to accuse others of "piracy" when their own business practices are questionable at best.
Honestly, I think DRM right now is a bad idea. The media industries seem to be treating everyone as potential criminals from the get-go, taking a "Guilty Until We Decide Otherwise" approach.
Something I've noticed about human behavior: Treat people like (copyright) criminals from the start, and that is invariably how they will behave. The U.S. government has been treating the population of the entire country, collectively, like a bunch of rowdy eighth-graders for years. Hollywood hasn't done any better.
In other words: You have to show respect to earn it.
I don't pretend to have all (or even any) of the answers. I do know that any DRM scheme, if it's going to be acceptable to Joe Six-Pack and Jane Soccer-mom, is going to have to operate without disabling their ability to record a TV show or movie off the air, or make backup copies of DVDs that they've already bought.
Two things that I suspect would be a big help. First, better quality control on commercial DVD's! Disney, in particular, seems to have more than their share of defective discs (in terms of sudden freezes or pixellation).
Second, the music industry would do well to cut prices on music CDs by 50% across the board, AND to stop assuming that their sales drops can be blamed entirely on piracy.
The possibility that the dropoffs might be due to the fact that much of what their putting out is utter crap, and that their customers will actually pay for real talent as opposed to homogenized pop, never seems to occur to them.
Slashdot Mirror
But the flute was playing a different Sousa march... ;-)
The byline for the story has me puzzled.
Here's the deal. The SETI project is listening right around the hydrogen line (right around 1420MHz, or 1.420GHz if you like).
Now, let's look at a typical US-based cellphone. They're dual-band capable, operating at approximately 850MHz or 1.9GHz.
The second harmonic of 850MHz is 1.700GHz, nearly 300MHz above where SETI is listening. As for 1.9GHz, its second harmonic is way the heck up at 3.80GHz. When you get up past the third harmonic of any signal, the amplitude is usually so low as to be insignificant.
Now, I don't claim to have all the answers, but it seems to this long-time ham radio op that the possibility of cellphones interfering with SETI hardware is pretty darn slim.
Unless I'm missing something? Perhaps there's an RF engineer, or someone who's seeing something that I'm missing, that would care to comment?
Keep the peace(es).
"NOW imagine trying to hear that distant flute while standing 50 yards from a raging waterfall, and a band starts playing Sousa marches right in your ear..."
But I don't even LIKE Sousa marches!
Criminys... Try to listen to one lousy waterfall, and look what happens...!
Yes, but you have to bribe the bird with a triple-shot light-foam cafe mocha. ;-)
One potential problem I see with this. I've run across a few (not many these days, but still a few left) WAPs that are set up in such a way that VPN traffic is not allowed through.
I hope that United will not be so short-sighted. Being self-hosted for my 'net presence, I depend heavily on VPN tunneling to get my mail, and keep an eye on the servers (via SSH), while I'm on the road. Wired or wireless connections that block VPN or PPTP traffic are 152% useless to me.
Has anyone flown on Lufthansa and succeeded with using VPN via their WiFi link?
Keep the peace(es).
...How social skills that are so downplayed today (I'm talking about those you need for face-to-face communication, writing a real letter, conducting yourself on a live phone call) suddenly become of critical importance when E-mail suddenly becomes unavailable, for whatever reason?
I think many have become TOO dependent on being 'wired' for their own good, and it's not just adults. I've seen all too many kids walking with their parents at the mall, bus stop, or wherever, eyes and attention riveted solidly to their handheld GameBoy, or whatever the current portable hypnosis-inducer is, instead of paying attention to the world around them (and there's a lot to see, if you really LOOK and LISTEN!)
So E-mail's down? Fine. If you need to write something, just use your word processor to create a POSTAL letter. Remember those? If your computer's broken, see if there's an old typewriter available. If you really need to talk to someone right away, phone them. If they're out, it won't kill you to just leave a message.
Failing all the above, why not just take the rest of the day off?
The point I'm driving at is that the world is NOT going to suddenly end just because we lose one of our favorite paths of 'instant gratification.' Patience is a virtue that is sadly absent from much of the world today, and it is one that I think we would all do well to cultivate.
...They'll need to be sure to ask it the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Let's find out if it really is 42 (I happen to think it's 12)...
I was in the same situation about five or so years ago. 22,800 feet from the nearest central office, DSL was just -barely- usable, and it was not very stable.
Couple of years later, the local telco got smart and started installing curbside DSLAMs, called 'Stingers,' to serve areas that were more than optimal distance from the CO.
Stingers consist of a single high-speed copper or fiber link back to the central office (usually at least a T3 or its fiber equivalent) which is then split out into DSL pipes for however many subscribers they planned for.
They're wonderful inventions. My download speed went from an average of 256K (if I was lucky) to over 768K practically overnight, once they switched my pipe over to the curbside terminal. It's been utterly stable ever since, with only a brief outage caused by an extended neighborhood power failure (and my servers went down because of that same outage anyway).
My advice would be to bug the crap out of your local telco, and find out when they're going to install a few neighborhood DSLAMs.
Keep the peace(es).
This still places the burden of dealing with spam on the recipient. That is, always has been, and always will be unacceptable. The stuff should never have existed to begin with.
I have better things to do with my time than click through a pile of crap in my E-mail. Outlaw spamming, period, no matter how much the asshats at the DMA may scream about it (they screamed about the Do-Not-Call list as well, if I recall). It would be easy enough to do simply by extending the reach of the existing Junk FAX law.
In fact, had it not been for the DMA's spam apologists, that idea might have worked out from the get-go.
When Fair Use is outlawed, only outlaws will have Fair Use.
;-)
Anyone else up for a shopping trip to pick out bandanas, gunbelts and spurs?
Considering that technology is heavily involved, perhaps your subject line should have invoked St. Vidicon of Cathode.
Keep the peace(es).
Perhaps India is planning to outsource the manufacture of these devices to the U.S.? ;-)
Seriously... Wouldn't the resources spent to develop this device have been better spent making sure that people have clean water, decent food, affordable housing, and good schooling for their kids?
Or does that make too much sense?
Keep the peace(es).
I must have Looney Tunes on the brain this morning, because my gray matter parsed this...
;-)
"...thanks to an automated email system that notifies astronomers worldwide..."
As this:
"...thanks to an automated anvil system that notifies astronomers worldwide."
I had this bizarre image of all different types and sizes of anvils, all with messages about the GRB attached, dropping onto (and through) desks and computers of astronomers all over the place while, in the background, Marvin the Martian is cackling about it in that lovably maniacal way that only Mel Blanc could give him.
Essence, I wish Chuck Jones was still around to exploit this one...
I've always built my own systems from components. Doing so may cost more than a pre-built unit, but the big advantage to DIY is that you get to pick every single component based on YOUR standards. You're not constrained by a group decision by some collection of profit-hungry BoD members.
When building any system, it is CRITICAL to match what you want in a computer to the components chosen, and there is a definite trade-off between system speed and stability.
Example: I have no interest whatsoever in 99.9% of the available computer games, but I also do some high-end EDA work (notably electronic schematics, circuit simulation, and PC board design). This calls for computing power that is at least somewhat comparable to systems built specifically for gaming. I also knew that stability (as in resistance to any sort of crashing, application or system) was critical to me.
Like you, I don't like a ton of extra stuff on my motherboards. With that in mind, I chose a Tyan dual-CPU board for the AMD Athlon MP chips, specifically the Tiger MPX. I kitted it out with two processors right from the get-go (Athlon MP2600's), and a full gig of ECC DRAM. The board itself comes with two serial, one parallel, two USB, and a 3Com 10/100 NIC all on board. Everything else is left to the end user. These days, that's about as bare-bones as I've seen any board get.
Tyan motherboards have a great reputation for stability in the face of all kinds of different configurations, but they're not very overclockable and, thus, not very popular with the gaming crowd. Tyan is the board you choose if you're building a serious server or high-end workstation, not something to game with.
One other thing that is absolutely vital if you're serious about DIY: Follow the CPU manufacturer's recommendations for motherboards, power supply, memory, and cooling. I cannot stress this strongly enough, particularly where the motherboard and power supply are concerned! Besides the Tyan mo-bo, I opted for Corsair memory DIMMs and a 550W power supply from PC Power & Cooling, all in accordance with AMD's recommendations for the MP series CPUs. A visit to their site will provide you with hardware recommendations for any of their CPUs, and it looks like Intel provides a very similar aid on their site.
The system has been with me for nearly two years now, and I've had ZERO trouble with it. Windows 2000 Pro (you won't catch me using XP, ever) has been solid as a rock on it, as have every single one of my applications.
Building your own system has a lot to say for it but, as others have pointed out, be prepared to pay more than you would for a pre-built box.
Happy tweaking.
I can see an interesting side effect coming up if NYT decides to do this, especially at the cost figure they're proposing.
Specifically, I could see a move like this being a shot in the arm for public libraries, especially if it sparks other newspapers and news agencies to do it.
Consider: You could either pay the fee and access the thing from your home system, or you can exert a little effort and hit up your local public library. Access to the same material would (likely) be at no extra cost to you. Heck, you wouldn't even have to pay for gas if you took public transit.
Even if, for some reason, you still need Internet access, many libraries have free wireless. The Seattle main (downtown) library, as one example, has both wired and wireless Internet access available at no charge to its patrons (note that VPN only works if you use Cisco LEAP or Microsplatt's PPTP).
Keep the peace(es).
1500 channels and STILL nothing on....
Remember, it's not about the number of available channels. It's what goes ON them that counts.
Keep the peace(es).
A "moron" eh?
I'm sorry you feel that way. Are you saying, then, that people should NOT be held responsible for whatever spew their virus-compromised system sends out, regardless of how many problems it may cause other systems? That's what licensing would have done -- provide accountability.
If you can suggest a better way to provide some sort of accountability, then please go right ahead and suggest something. I don't pretend to have all the answers, and name-calling is hardly productive.
ISPs could use this data to great benefit, if they'd put out some effort.
Assuming that the statistics show which IP address ranges are the worst offenders for malicious traffic, the ISP(s) responsible could simply shut down the outbound connection(s) of the "problem" users until they de-virus their systems and KEEP THEM THAT WAY.
Perhaps that will help to finally clue people in that having Internet connectivity is a privilege, not a right, just like driving. If you're going to enjoy an Internet connection you need to show some responsibility for making sure your own system isn't going to be a problem to others.
I -still- think there should have been Internet user licenses, just like we have driver's licenses...
Keep the peace(es).
NOBODY RAID! THIS IS A MOVE!!
Back off, all of you! I've got an 'OFF' switch in one hand, and a pair of dikes in the other, and I'm NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM!!!
Please forgive me. I couldn't resist. The pun potential was just too high. ;-)
alispguru wrote...
M D/WiFiCity">..."
"See "a herf="http://www.downtowncorpuschristi.com/wiki/D
Ya know, I've looked all over the place for a HERF device so I can do something about those pesky thump-mobiles. Haven't found one that I like just yet...
LCD panels, to me, have much higher contrast than any CRT I've ever looked at. The brightness and color purity also seem to be much higher overall.
Health benefits aside, LCD panels pull about a third of the power that a CRT monitor uses. This equates to an immediate savings in terms of less electricity used by the monitor, and (over the longer term) reduced air conditioning needs because of the reduced heat load. I suppose one could also make the connection that less electricity burned means less air pollution, assuming a fossil-fuel fired power plant.
All those government agencies who made the switch a few years back are probably getting to the point where the cost of energy saved more than made up for the higher cost of the initial crop of flat-panels.
I'm on my second LCD panel now. My first was an 18" Acer, the most recent one a 19" Samsung. Very nice stuff. I have not the slightest desire to change back to CRT.
Keep the peace(es).
No, it's not. Not by any stretch of the imagination!
I used to think so, and then got so burned out on dealing with clueless end-(L)users during the day, and keeping my own systems running by night, that I finally said "Screw It!" and went back into electronics.
Want to know the scary part? Many of those end-users I was supporting were engineers. ME's and Aerospace people, sure, but you'd think that someone who had enough smarts to go all the way to a four-year degree would at least have SOME common sense about their computer.
In all fairness, some did. But they were in the minority, frighteningly enough.
I like my work to be fun and challenging. IT, after the first four or so years, was neither.
Keep the peace(es).
Mmmm... It -does- taste like chicken. If you can imagine 10,000 year-old chicken getting better with age.
Now if I can just find a 10,000 year-old White Zin to go with it...
Let me state right up front that I am NOT against musicians, movie makers, and other media authors receiving fair compensation for their creative work. Far from it! I have a deep respect for those who have given us such gems as (just two examples) "Monsters, Inc." and "Spirited Away."
With that said: I would not accept any form of DRM as it is currently implemented. The idea of DRM, in its current form, seems to be designed to do two things.
(1) Protect the profits of industries that refuses to change their business models to reflect reality (notably the MPAA and RIAA, which are rapidly becoming four-letter epithets).
(2) Trump consumer fair-use rights that have been around for decades. More specifically, I see the current implementation of DRM as little more than a weapon to try and overturn the Betamax ruling of 1984.
It's clear to me that Hollywood wants us to pay for the privilege of letting them tell us what we can and cannot do with movies and music that we buy. I also find it ironic that the MPAA and RIAA are so quick to accuse others of "piracy" when their own business practices are questionable at best.
Honestly, I think DRM right now is a bad idea. The media industries seem to be treating everyone as potential criminals from the get-go, taking a "Guilty Until We Decide Otherwise" approach.
Something I've noticed about human behavior: Treat people like (copyright) criminals from the start, and that is invariably how they will behave. The U.S. government has been treating the population of the entire country, collectively, like a bunch of rowdy eighth-graders for years. Hollywood hasn't done any better.
In other words: You have to show respect to earn it.
I don't pretend to have all (or even any) of the answers. I do know that any DRM scheme, if it's going to be acceptable to Joe Six-Pack and Jane Soccer-mom, is going to have to operate without disabling their ability to record a TV show or movie off the air, or make backup copies of DVDs that they've already bought.
Two things that I suspect would be a big help. First, better quality control on commercial DVD's! Disney, in particular, seems to have more than their share of defective discs (in terms of sudden freezes or pixellation).
Second, the music industry would do well to cut prices on music CDs by 50% across the board, AND to stop assuming that their sales drops can be blamed entirely on piracy.
The possibility that the dropoffs might be due to the fact that much of what their putting out is utter crap, and that their customers will actually pay for real talent as opposed to homogenized pop, never seems to occur to them.
Keep the peace(es).