Since this sounds so intriguing I thought I'd take a quick look-see. Go to the downloads and what do I see? "Currently available for Windows computers only"
I hope some of their new-found wealth goes toward developing some of these nifty tools for other platforms (Fedora? BSD? MAC?)...
One ought to read the article rather than bitch about whether PJ is rich enough or not. What's at issue here is that New Line used preferred vendors within the Time Warner structure to underbid any other competitors. It's equivalent to Time Warner giving itself money under the table so that the gross (which PJ is paid by) is demonstrably lower. From the article:
The suit charges that the company used pre-emptive bidding (meaning a process closed to external parties) rather than open bidding for subsidiary rights to such things as "Lord of the Rings" books, DVD's and merchandise. Therefore, New Line received far less than market value for these rights, the suit says.
Most of those rights went to other companies in the New Line family or under the Time Warner corporate umbrella, like Warner Brothers International, Warner Records and Warner Books. So while the deals would not hurt Time Warner's bottom line, they would lower the overall gross revenues related to the film, which is the figure Mr. Jackson's percentage is based on.
I think he's within his rights, because it sure sounds to me like he's being treated unfairly according to the contract he has with New Line. Whether he makes $200M or $300M is immaterial, it's the company thinking they can get away with ripping him off.
And what if $100M (or whatever) is the difference between PJ financing his own films completely independently, away from all this corporate BS?
I pretty much exclusively use Model M keyboards that I purchased off eBay for ~$15 on all my systems - they just rock IMO.
As I look at the zoomed picture and the keyboard I'm typing on right now, the similarity is almost exact. Maybe they did just take a surplus of Model Ms and spraypainted them all black, including the keys - which makes for a really simple manufacturing process, doesn't it? Since I rarely look at the keys anymore anyway, I don't think I'd enjoy the benefit they're touting here. I wonder if the 'progressive-tactile' feature isn't already in the Model Ms anyway...
This has been my approach to songwriting for years...
This announcement from the producers of this record contains important information for radio program directors, and is not for broadcast. The first cut on this record has been cross-format-focused for airplay success. As you well know, a record must break on radio in order to actually provide a living for the artists involved. Up until now, you've had to make these record-breaking decisions on your own, relying only on perplexing intangibilities like taste and intuition.
But now, there's a better way.
The cut that follows is the product of newly-developed compositional techniques, based on state-of-the-art marketing analysis technology. This cut has been analytically designed to break on radio.
And it will, sooner or later.
For the station that breaks it first, the benefits are obvious. You lead the pack. Yes, no matter what share of this crazy market you do business in, no other release is going to satisfy your corporation's current idea of good radio like this one. On this cut, we're working together, on the same wavelength, in scientific harmony. But remember, this cut is constructed for multi-market-breaking NOW. Don't waste valuable research with needless delay. We've done the hard work of insuring your success; the final step is up to you.
SPECIAL DESIGNER SONG FOLLOWS IN 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1....
Um, has Cowboy Neal tivoed (sic) himself? This is about the third story this week that he's reposted. Maybe a vacation (or a return from one to the frontal lobes) is in order?
Not that I really mind having the same information repeatedlt drilled into me - promotes retention.
From the general gist of the article it seems like Novell was actually a bit greedy in refusing to pay attorney fees etc - well, that's the price of a lawsuit - too bad. Actually the real victim here is Jim kendal, who was ripped off beyond belief by Senor Bill and I don't detect any remorse for it. The second example of Microsoft's standard operating procedure for running their unimaginative, cuthroat, non-innovative businness that has sadly somehow come to dominate so much of the computing world. It's really too bad that the bully prevails so often.
A few years back, a computer nerd developped a revolutionary OS: PC/M Jim Kendal was the first to think about a BIOS. That little thing woul allow computer makers (IBM at that time) to build new hardware that'd go on already-finished computers. What a great idea. People could hard a hard disk or change floppy disk drives... That guy also developped PC/M, the ancestor of good ol' DOS. Bad Bill bought it for almost nothing (Jim Kendal was into computers, not business, unlike some others...) and, with the help of IBM, made it a standard. At this point, IBM/Microsoft had already won the market. Microsoft improved PC/M to make MS DOS, while some other companies made some other DOS (DOS means Disk Operating System. It has nothing to do with Microsoft) Norton made Norton DOS. 4 DOS, Dr DOS, Novell DOS, and some others were out, rapidely swallowed by monster MS. So MS DOS is the standard. The first part of the Empire built on the corpse of Jim Kendal....
cited from an admitted MS-bashing site, but nonetheless entirely accurate. Thieves. http://www.chez.com/johnt/antims/antimsu s.htm
Alright, let me get one thing straight here. I've been in several bands over the last 10-20 years and frankly, I would fucking love it if our material was being actively traded over P2P networks, because at least then someone is listening to and enjoying what I've done. I don't care if I see a dime from P2P, cuz I didn't see a dime from the record company either. I'm still in debt, supposedly paying for the privilege of being in their 'roster' of stars. Well, fuck them. Maybe I made a bad business decision, but I feel zero obligation to think that many other 'artists' haven't also been given similar treatment. Believe me, the sooner we expose the RIAA for what it is (i.e. - a corporate protection agency) and for what it is not (artists' protection), the clearer this ludicrous debate will become.
If there ever comes a day when the artists themselves are fairly compensated for their art instead of one of five corporate conglomerates' measure of compensation I will gladly pay attention to copyright laws. As it stands now, 90 percent of the artists are actively getting skullfucked by their 'supporters'. Royalties and song copyrights are a joke - owned by the record company and not the creative talent. Until that changes, I will go to the live shows of as many bands as I can that I have discovered only through P2P file sharing. That is the only way they see any reward, and I'm all the better for it.
neither RIAA nor Audible Magic had given them a demonstration of the filtering tools. Industry trade group P2P United says it has repeatedly contacted the company asking to see the filters in action.
Ikezoye said he still has not demonstrated the technology for the peer-to-peer companies.
This brings up a ton of questions: - What are they looking for in the content of P2P traffic? - What defines copyrighted or 'controlled' material? Bootlegs won't be in there... - If it ain't installed in the client, where is it installed? - Will this work on server based P2P like soulseek? - What possible gain is to be had by filtering this?
Studies have already shown that CD sales increase where there is a market of 'try before you buy'. (Australia, for example) When is the RIAA going to wake up and realize that the biggest marketing tool in history is at their command and they don't have to do a damn thing to prevent it? Radio killed the vinyl star? Nope. Video killed the radio star? Um, nope. MP3 killed the video star? Maybe, but absolutely to the artists' benefit and not some fat f*ck from Clear Channel.
Filtering is way too invasive to even be considered an option. Sheesh.
I'm sure this is already becoming a fledgling industry, but combining net surfing with person to person digital picture phones with live streaming video, and guess what? Porn you can hold in one (ahem) hand. Picture phones are already being banned from locker rooms due to surreptitious snapshots of naked people, how long will it be before those people are intentionally naked? I'm telling you, the next big thing will be cellporn, replacing porn surfing and boring old phone sex...
"It warms my heart to know that artists will be getting all the money that's due to them. Musicians always look so poor when I see them on television. Finally, they can afford the lifestyle they deserve."
Um, the artists get nothing, squat, fuck-all from this process. If the point of the RIAA is to protect the copyrights of and benefit the artists they sure have a funny way of seeing that they're compensated properly-if at all. None of the previous settlements (Napster, MP3.com, etc.) have benefitted the artists whatsoever - only some nebulous cooalition of businessmen practicing a racketeering protection scheme with a difficult to prounounce acronym.
This announcement from the producers of this record contains important information for radio program directors, and is not for broadcast. The first cut on this record has been cross-format-focused for airplay success. As you well know, a record must break on radio in order to actually provide a living for the artists involved. Up until now, you've had to make these record-breaking decisions on your own, relying only on perplexing intangibilities like taste and intuition.
But now, there's a better way.
The cut that follows is the product of newly-developed compositional techniques, based on state-of-the-art marketing analysis technology. This cut has been analytically designed to break on radio. And it will, sooner or later. For the station that breaks it first, the benefits are obvious. You lead the pack. Yes, no matter what share of this crazy market you do business in, no other release is going to satisfy your corporation's current idea of good radio like this one. On this cut, we're working together, on the same wavelength, in scientific harmony. But remember, this cut is constructed for multi-market-breaking NOW. Don't waste valuable research with needless delay. We've done the hard work of insuring your success; the final step is up to you.
SPECIAL DESIGNER SONG FOLLOWS IN 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1....... (gotta credit Negativland for this tasty nugget)
I remember playing around with and really digging a variation of Forth that I think Paul Lutus(?) wrote called GraForth for the Apple ][ - it was pretty damned powerful. You could create and manipulate 3D objects really simply and do things in hires that were near impossible any other way. Built-in math functions, all the standard conditionals, etc. I remember writing a rather crude flight simulator in it that required very little graphical nuts and bolts type of coding. Wish I knew what happened to that. It was around the time that Logo was being pushed pretty hard, but Forth, syntax-wise, kicked its butt. Maybe it's time to look at it again, reverse notation and all...
Most of the time I'm searching for live performances, outtakes, or out of print material etc. If I have no other avenue by which to acquire it, am I really violating copyright? Who does that material belong to, the artist or the record company? I've been researching this issue for quite some time and my initial conclusions still seem to be intact.
- Piracy is only piracy when the pirate is compensated; this does not happen in P2P networking since material is freely distributed.
- The idea that material freely distributed is equal to lost sales is simply wrong; what if I never intended to buy that record in the first place - it's not a lost sale if there was never going to be a sale.
- People like me have actually purchased more CDs since getting involved in file sharing due to increased exposure to more bands that I find I like. I would never have heard of more than half the CDs I bought in the last year were it not for P2P sharing. God knows the radio ain't playing any of it.
- Finding obscure and out of print material does not cost the record company a dime since they're not offering it for sale in the first place. Who the hell are they kidding?
- Most people don't download Britney Spears records from P2P networks - they tape it off each other or the radio. Honestly, why would someone take the time to download a song that gets played on the radio constantly? Besides, those artists that are already successful seem to be the most freaked out by this; does the equation 'Increased exposure equals increased sales' mean anything to anybody? I know I'd like as many people as possible to hear my band for free - that's marketing and exposure - but if someone charges for it and I don't see a dime then that's piracy (*which when it comes down to it, is exactly what record companies do the artists).
Finally, I'd really like to see Eminem kick the ass of 'those guys on the internet that are downloading my songs' as he so intelligently put it. Cripes, I think I'll go download as much Eminem as I possibly can, burn it to CD and then set it on fire. That'll show 'em.
If I read this right, he's pretty much built a model slaughterhouse out of legos. Wow. Lego blood, lego headless chickens, lego butchers. What set does all that come with?
"The tenants arrive here, are carried along a conveyor belt in extreme comfort past murals depicting mediterranean scenes towards the rotating knives. The blood pours into these chutes here, and the mangled flesh slurps into these large.." "Excuse me, did you say knives?" "Rotating knives, yes." "Well, we're not proposing to slaughter our tenants..." "Does that not fit in with your plans?" "No, no. It most certainly does not." "Oh."
Look you idiots, this money is being used for RESEARCH & DEVELPMENT in things like carbon fiber bonding, lightweight materials, chaos modeling, weather prediction, etc. There is nothing redundant or proprietary going on here - it's technology that will filter down to you and me eventually. Sail racing is one of the oldest endeavors in humankind, one that does not pollute (in and of itself) and is the purest example of man against nature. IF it seems like there's too much money being spent by people like Ellison or Disney, it's just their prerogative to spend it how they like. There are still thousands of other racing boats that don't have the benefit of sponsorships like the ones mentioned racing every single weekend in a test against the elements.
The America's Cup is a premier sailing event, but only one of hundreds that sadly get next to zero media coverage; I'd rather have celebrity sailors than race car drivers - talk about no redeeming features. Fuel consumption and pollution alone should be factors provoking outrage - instead we have celebrity drivers pushing beer, fast food and motor oil in our faces. Power boats are another resource waste - a typical cigarette boat will burn up 60 gallons of fuel per hour when cruising at 45-50 knots - that's just plain sick.
As a sidenote - funny thing about Ellison a couple years back when his boat Sayonara finished the Mackinac race. He decided to take the helm (which he does not during a race) when pulling into the harbor and was waving to the people on shore etc. etc. when !WHAM! he runs the damn thing aground. He starts screaming at his crew like it's somehow THEIR fault that he steered the boat into shallow water. Idiot. Naturally, as soon as they docked he hightailed to a waiting helicopter and got the hell out. No rum party for Larry.
In any case, I would put the last 10 years of sailing technology development on a par with NASA as far as useful and effective innovations are concerned. So there.
Maybe I'm being stupid here, but what's the diff between Passport and PayPal, and why hasn't PayPal been a crack target?
Also, I had no idea 165 MILLION people were already using Passport - I suppose my OS hasn't asked me enough times to sign up for it until I break under the strain...
In the years during which I actually had subscriptions to the ZDNet publications (PC, eWeek, PCWorld) I couldn't help but notice that there was a definite lack of bad press as far as Microsoft was concerned. In fact, it seemed as if any new product ('cept maybe 'Bob') from Microsoft was touted as the greatest innovation since sliced bread and toasters. The feeling of inevitability that THIS is what you will be using which is why we're reviewing it and which is why it's so great was overwhelming. I finally did away with those subscriptions a couple of years ago since I couldn't stand the obvious bias those publications had towards Microsoft and the grandiose praise they heaped upon MS products in general.
In short, shills for Microsoft won't publish bad news about Microsoft - they will simply make omissions and call it journalism. In my experience, Infoworld remains one of the few impartial observers and I'd wager that their results comparing a true 32bit OS (2K) with a rewrite of questionable 9x hybrid code (XP) is right on the money.
Slashdot Mirror
Since this sounds so intriguing I thought I'd take a quick look-see. Go to the downloads and what do I see? "Currently available for Windows computers only"
I hope some of their new-found wealth goes toward developing some of these nifty tools for other platforms (Fedora? BSD? MAC?)...
It Sucks!
Not Likely.
Slow, icky, derivative and plain.
The suit charges that the company used pre-emptive bidding (meaning a process closed to external parties) rather than open bidding for subsidiary rights to such things as "Lord of the Rings" books, DVD's and merchandise. Therefore, New Line received far less than market value for these rights, the suit says.
Most of those rights went to other companies in the New Line family or under the Time Warner corporate umbrella, like Warner Brothers International, Warner Records and Warner Books. So while the deals would not hurt Time Warner's bottom line, they would lower the overall gross revenues related to the film, which is the figure Mr. Jackson's percentage is based on.
I think he's within his rights, because it sure sounds to me like he's being treated unfairly according to the contract he has with New Line. Whether he makes $200M or $300M is immaterial, it's the company thinking they can get away with ripping him off.
And what if $100M (or whatever) is the difference between PJ financing his own films completely independently, away from all this corporate BS?
I pretty much exclusively use Model M keyboards that I purchased off eBay for ~$15 on all my systems - they just rock IMO.
As I look at the zoomed picture and the keyboard I'm typing on right now, the similarity is almost exact. Maybe they did just take a surplus of Model Ms and spraypainted them all black, including the keys - which makes for a really simple manufacturing process, doesn't it?
Since I rarely look at the keys anymore anyway, I don't think I'd enjoy the benefit they're touting here. I wonder if the 'progressive-tactile' feature isn't already in the Model Ms anyway...
Even the profile looks identical. Hmmm....
I haven't had a 64-way since college.
And you?
This has been my approach to songwriting for years...
This announcement from the producers of this record contains important information for radio program directors, and is not for broadcast. The first cut on this record has been cross-format-focused for airplay success. As you well know, a record must break on radio in order to actually provide a living for the artists involved. Up until now, you've had to make these record-breaking decisions on your own, relying only on perplexing intangibilities like taste and intuition.
But now, there's a better way.
The cut that follows is the product of newly-developed compositional techniques, based on state-of-the-art marketing analysis technology. This cut has been analytically designed to break on radio.
And it will, sooner or later.
For the station that breaks it first, the benefits are obvious. You lead the pack. Yes, no matter what share of this crazy market you do business in, no other release is going to satisfy your corporation's current idea of good radio like this one. On this cut, we're working together, on the same wavelength, in scientific harmony. But remember, this cut is constructed for multi-market-breaking NOW. Don't waste valuable research with needless delay. We've done the hard work of insuring your success; the final step is up to you.
SPECIAL DESIGNER SONG FOLLOWS IN 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1....
Um, has Cowboy Neal tivoed (sic) himself? This is about the third story this week that he's reposted. Maybe a vacation (or a return from one to the frontal lobes) is in order?
Not that I really mind having the same information repeatedlt drilled into me - promotes retention.
In Soviet Union, salary surveys you! Err, or something like that. Damn.
From the general gist of the article it seems like Novell was actually a bit greedy in refusing to pay attorney fees etc - well, that's the price of a lawsuit - too bad. Actually the real victim here is Jim kendal, who was ripped off beyond belief by Senor Bill and I don't detect any remorse for it. The second example of Microsoft's standard operating procedure for running their unimaginative, cuthroat, non-innovative businness that has sadly somehow come to dominate so much of the computing world. It's really too bad that the bully prevails so often.
u s.htm
A few years back, a computer nerd developped a revolutionary OS: PC/M Jim Kendal was the first to think about a BIOS. That little thing woul allow computer makers (IBM at that time) to build new hardware that'd go on already-finished computers. What a great idea. People could hard a hard disk or change floppy disk drives... That guy also developped PC/M, the ancestor of good ol' DOS. Bad Bill bought it for almost nothing (Jim Kendal was into computers, not business, unlike some others...) and, with the help of IBM, made it a standard. At this point, IBM/Microsoft had already won the market. Microsoft improved PC/M to make MS DOS, while some other companies made some other DOS (DOS means Disk Operating System. It has nothing to do with Microsoft) Norton made Norton DOS. 4 DOS, Dr DOS, Novell DOS, and some others were out, rapidely swallowed by monster MS. So MS DOS is the standard. The first part of the Empire built on the corpse of Jim Kendal....
cited from an admitted MS-bashing site, but nonetheless entirely accurate. Thieves.
http://www.chez.com/johnt/antims/antims
Alright, let me get one thing straight here. I've been in several bands over the last 10-20 years and frankly, I would fucking love it if our material was being actively traded over P2P networks, because at least then someone is listening to and enjoying what I've done. I don't care if I see a dime from P2P, cuz I didn't see a dime from the record company either. I'm still in debt, supposedly paying for the privilege of being in their 'roster' of stars. Well, fuck them. Maybe I made a bad business decision, but I feel zero obligation to think that many other 'artists' haven't also been given similar treatment. Believe me, the sooner we expose the RIAA for what it is (i.e. - a corporate protection agency) and for what it is not (artists' protection), the clearer this ludicrous debate will become.
If there ever comes a day when the artists themselves are fairly compensated for their art instead of one of five corporate conglomerates' measure of compensation I will gladly pay attention to copyright laws. As it stands now, 90 percent of the artists are actively getting skullfucked by their 'supporters'. Royalties and song copyrights are a joke - owned by the record company and not the creative talent. Until that changes, I will go to the live shows of as many bands as I can that I have discovered only through P2P file sharing. That is the only way they see any reward, and I'm all the better for it.
Copyrights are bad deals. Ask around.
No, not distribute, but you can download an 'upgraded' copy, technically.
neither RIAA nor Audible Magic had given them a demonstration of the filtering tools. Industry trade group P2P United says it has repeatedly contacted the company asking to see the filters in action.
Ikezoye said he still has not demonstrated the technology for the peer-to-peer companies.
This brings up a ton of questions:
- What are they looking for in the content of P2P traffic?
- What defines copyrighted or 'controlled' material? Bootlegs won't be in there...
- If it ain't installed in the client, where is it installed?
- Will this work on server based P2P like soulseek?
- What possible gain is to be had by filtering this?
Studies have already shown that CD sales increase where there is a market of 'try before you buy'. (Australia, for example) When is the RIAA going to wake up and realize that the biggest marketing tool in history is at their command and they don't have to do a damn thing to prevent it?
Radio killed the vinyl star? Nope.
Video killed the radio star? Um, nope.
MP3 killed the video star? Maybe, but absolutely to the artists' benefit and not some fat f*ck from Clear Channel.
Filtering is way too invasive to even be considered an option. Sheesh.
I'm sure this is already becoming a fledgling industry, but combining net surfing with person to person digital picture phones with live streaming video, and guess what? Porn you can hold in one (ahem) hand. Picture phones are already being banned from locker rooms due to surreptitious snapshots of naked people, how long will it be before those people are intentionally naked? I'm telling you, the next big thing will be cellporn, replacing porn surfing and boring old phone sex...
Looks to me like a giant case - how do the pumps (if there are any) work with the supposed bottles they had to consume?
I like diagrams.
Well, they can't ALL look like Dave Pirner.
Hey AC, duh. You didn't get my point, did you? The RIAA could be eligible for Rico Act prosecution. If there's one thing I ain't, it's not sarcastic.
"It warms my heart to know that artists will be getting all the money that's due to them. Musicians always look so poor when I see them on television. Finally, they can afford the lifestyle they deserve."
Um, the artists get nothing, squat, fuck-all from this process. If the point of the RIAA is to protect the copyrights of and benefit the artists they sure have a funny way of seeing that they're compensated properly-if at all. None of the previous settlements (Napster, MP3.com, etc.) have benefitted the artists whatsoever - only some nebulous cooalition of businessmen practicing a racketeering protection scheme with a difficult to prounounce acronym.
This announcement from the producers of this record contains important information for radio program directors, and is not for broadcast.
The first cut on this record has been cross-format-focused for airplay success. As you well know, a record must break on radio in order to actually provide a living for the artists involved. Up until now, you've had to make these record-breaking decisions on your own, relying only on perplexing intangibilities like taste and intuition.
But now, there's a better way.
The cut that follows is the product of newly-developed compositional techniques, based on state-of-the-art marketing analysis technology. This cut has been analytically designed to break on radio. And it will, sooner or later.
For the station that breaks it first, the benefits are obvious. You lead the pack. Yes, no matter what share of this crazy market you do
business in, no other release is going to satisfy your corporation's current idea of good radio like this one. On this cut, we're working together, on the same wavelength, in scientific harmony.
But remember, this cut is constructed for multi-market-breaking NOW. Don't waste valuable research with needless delay. We've done the hard
work of insuring your success; the final step is up to you.
SPECIAL DESIGNER SONG FOLLOWS IN 5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.......
(gotta credit Negativland for this tasty nugget)
I remember playing around with and really digging a variation of Forth that I think Paul Lutus(?) wrote called GraForth for the Apple ][ - it was pretty damned powerful. You could create and manipulate 3D objects really simply and do things in hires that were near impossible any other way. Built-in math functions, all the standard conditionals, etc. I remember writing a rather crude flight simulator in it that required very little graphical nuts and bolts type of coding. Wish I knew what happened to that. It was around the time that Logo was being pushed pretty hard, but Forth, syntax-wise, kicked its butt. Maybe it's time to look at it again, reverse notation and all...
Most of the time I'm searching for live performances, outtakes, or out of print material etc. If I have no other avenue by which to acquire it, am I really violating copyright? Who does that material belong to, the artist or the record company? I've been researching this issue for quite some time and my initial conclusions still seem to be intact.
- Piracy is only piracy when the pirate is compensated; this does not happen in P2P networking since material is freely distributed.
- The idea that material freely distributed is equal to lost sales is simply wrong; what if I never intended to buy that record in the first place - it's not a lost sale if there was never going to be a sale.
- People like me have actually purchased more CDs since getting involved in file sharing due to increased exposure to more bands that I find I like. I would never have heard of more than half the CDs I bought in the last year were it not for P2P sharing. God knows the radio ain't playing any of it.
- Finding obscure and out of print material does not cost the record company a dime since they're not offering it for sale in the first place. Who the hell are they kidding?
- Most people don't download Britney Spears records from P2P networks - they tape it off each other or the radio. Honestly, why would someone take the time to download a song that gets played on the radio constantly? Besides, those artists that are already successful seem to be the most freaked out by this; does the equation 'Increased exposure equals increased sales' mean anything to anybody? I know I'd like as many people as possible to hear my band for free - that's marketing and exposure - but if someone charges for it and I don't see a dime then that's piracy (*which when it comes down to it, is exactly what record companies do the artists).
Finally, I'd really like to see Eminem kick the ass of 'those guys on the internet that are downloading my songs' as he so intelligently put it. Cripes, I think I'll go download as much Eminem as I possibly can, burn it to CD and then set it on fire. That'll show 'em.
-B
If I read this right, he's pretty much built a model slaughterhouse out of legos. Wow. Lego blood, lego headless chickens, lego butchers. What set does all that come with?
"The tenants arrive here, are carried along a conveyor belt in extreme comfort past murals depicting mediterranean scenes towards the rotating knives. The blood pours into these chutes here, and the mangled flesh slurps into these large.."
"Excuse me, did you say knives?"
"Rotating knives, yes."
"Well, we're not proposing to slaughter our tenants..."
"Does that not fit in with your plans?"
"No, no. It most certainly does not."
"Oh."
Look you idiots, this money is being used for RESEARCH & DEVELPMENT in things like carbon fiber bonding, lightweight materials, chaos modeling, weather prediction, etc. There is nothing redundant or proprietary going on here - it's technology that will filter down to you and me eventually. Sail racing is one of the oldest endeavors in humankind, one that does not pollute (in and of itself) and is the purest example of man against nature. IF it seems like there's too much money being spent by people like Ellison or Disney, it's just their prerogative to spend it how they like. There are still thousands of other racing boats that don't have the benefit of sponsorships like the ones mentioned racing every single weekend in a test against the elements.
The America's Cup is a premier sailing event, but only one of hundreds that sadly get next to zero media coverage; I'd rather have celebrity sailors than race car drivers - talk about no redeeming features. Fuel consumption and pollution alone should be factors provoking outrage - instead we have celebrity drivers pushing beer, fast food and motor oil in our faces. Power boats are another resource waste - a typical cigarette boat will burn up 60 gallons of fuel per hour when cruising at 45-50 knots - that's just plain sick.
As a sidenote - funny thing about Ellison a couple years back when his boat Sayonara finished the Mackinac race. He decided to take the helm (which he does not during a race) when pulling into the harbor and was waving to the people on shore etc. etc. when !WHAM! he runs the damn thing aground. He starts screaming at his crew like it's somehow THEIR fault that he steered the boat into shallow water. Idiot. Naturally, as soon as they docked he hightailed to a waiting helicopter and got the hell out. No rum party for Larry.
In any case, I would put the last 10 years of sailing technology development on a par with NASA as far as useful and effective innovations are concerned. So there.
Maybe I'm being stupid here, but what's the diff between Passport and PayPal, and why hasn't PayPal been a crack target?
Also, I had no idea 165 MILLION people were already using Passport - I suppose my OS hasn't asked me enough times to sign up for it until I break under the strain...
In the years during which I actually had subscriptions to the ZDNet publications (PC, eWeek, PCWorld) I couldn't help but notice that there was a definite lack of bad press as far as Microsoft was concerned. In fact, it seemed as if any new product ('cept maybe 'Bob') from Microsoft was touted as the greatest innovation since sliced bread and toasters. The feeling of inevitability that THIS is what you will be using which is why we're reviewing it and which is why it's so great was overwhelming. I finally did away with those subscriptions a couple of years ago since I couldn't stand the obvious bias those publications had towards Microsoft and the grandiose praise they heaped upon MS products in general.
In short, shills for Microsoft won't publish bad news about Microsoft - they will simply make omissions and call it journalism. In my experience, Infoworld remains one of the few impartial observers and I'd wager that their results comparing a true 32bit OS (2K) with a rewrite of questionable 9x hybrid code (XP) is right on the money.