I ran a BeOS based MP3 jukebox in my office. I hooked up a tiny, old Compaq b&w handheld running WinCE 1.0 via serial port. I ran the handheld's terminal emulator, logged into BeOS through the serial port and controlled the jukebox with a CLI-mode controller for the MP3 player.
If I wanted to get fancy, I could have connected the jukebox and the handheld with a crossover cable, loaded IE for WinCE and ran a webserver-based MP3 controller on BeOS. Then I'd have a nifty, graphical touch screen MP3 controller. This latter solution would be especially sweet if you hook up a 3Com Audrey instead of the Compaq handheld.
Palm would get nothing. Be, Inc. is still hanging around as a shell company that retains the right to sue MS and collect damages. At $0.12 a share, it could be fun to jump in and possibly get revenge on MS. If it doesn't happen, you only lose 12 cents + commissions:)
"If the Audrey, eVilla, or iPaq were released five years ago when the cheapest PC you could buy was around two grand they would have sold like mad."
Except that the technology that is used in those devices would have been considered high-end five years ago and due to their small sizes, would have cost *much more* than PCs of that time. It's not as if we can take the current batch and send them back in time:-)
They got Be's multimedia handling technology. If I were more specific I'd be bullshitting with you. However, here's a rumor from www.beosjournal.com regarding some of the tech Palm *may* have purchased from Be:
*****
Palm rumored to have acquired 'PicassoGL' Technology from Be
by Ryan C. Christiansen
29 August 2001
Imagine booting up your computer and when your desktop appears, you find tall grass softly swaying from side-to-side and fog rolling across the screen. Your trash can icon in its full 3-D splendor sits upright until a sudden blast of wind blows it over, partially spilling its contents on to the ground. All of this made possible by PicassoGL, an OpenGL-powered app_server which brings 3-D imaging to ALL of your desktop computing graphics, including the application windows, icons, and everything else. An unnamed source reported Be was working on just such a monster when Palm bought Be's intellectual property. What hath Palm bought?
*****
It's too bad the eVilla didn't perform as Sony wanted it too. I think all of the HTML/javascript stuff that was used as its display manager did it in for speed and stability. Keep in mind that the actual BeOS (evilla is based on BeIA, a pared-down BeoS) is incredibly fast and responsive unlike anything I've ever used. Anyway...
Imo, one of the failings of internet appliances is the price. $500 is way to much to pay for a device that does much less than a similarly priced eMachines or BestBuy special sale deal. Even someone who is computer illiterate will still have enough common sense to look at price/performance issues. Even though he/she might not utilize all of the power of a full system, it's still a better deal than a similarly priced appliance with less features.
That's not to say that internet appliances aren't useful...it's just that given their limited functionality, consumers probably expect to pay significantly less for them. However, what is the magic price point? $200 - $300 is a traditional price point in consumer electronics for things like video game consoles, DVD players, etc. So does $200 - $300 sound like a good price for an internet appliance? Probably not. Here's why:
You can also get an incredibly cheap computer with rebates and an ISP contract for about $200 - $300, too. Read the BestBuy and CompUSA circulars, you'll see lots of deals like that. The ISP contract may seem onerous to those knowledgeable in computers, but for somebody who doesn't know a whole lot about computers, it's a convenience to not have to shop around. And, realistically, you're going to pay ISP fees sooner or later. So, what incentive is there to buy a $200 - $300 appliance if you can get a full computer for the same amount of money? None at all. How does one gauge the price point for appliance then? Go to a place where consumer demand truly drives prices.
The best source of market research for pricing out internet appliances is, imo, Ebay. Brand new, *unopened* internet appliances that once sold for $500 are selling at discounts of 80% or greater from MSRP.
Specifically, I'm referring to the 3com Audrey, which includes a 10" LCD touch screen, stylus, keyboard and 56k modem. From the reviews I've read, the web browswer is "nice to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there," implying limited, but generally good enough performance. The device also sports email, a planner and can sync with two Palm Pilots. The completed auction section of Ebay says that most brand new, unopened Audreys are selling for $80 - $90. The USB Ethernet adapter for Audrey is $20 - $30. So, for $100 to $120, you can have a cute little broadband-enabled device to stick in the kitchen or an end table in the living room. I'm planning to get one to control my BeOS-based web-interface network juke box. I don't expect it to do anything complex at all. I have real computers for more intensive web browsing.
These are my conclusions:
1. Consumers, although largely computer illiterate, are knowledgeable enough to look at price/performance issues. It goes against common sense to purchase a limited device when a similarly priced full computer is available. Even though our "techie common sense" tells us that many consumers only need to do simple web browsing and email and could get away with just using an internet appliance, "consumer common sense" tells consumers to get the most bang for the buck, even though they might not need all of that bang.
2. Given the price/performance ratios of internet appliances and cheap "BestBuy special sale" computers, a more reasonable price point for internet appliances (that are nonetheless usefull for certain tasks) would be in the sub $100 range.
I bought a large red bucket at Wal-mart for less than $20 and there were lot of 2x pieces in there, as well. I'm 25 and still like to tinker with Legos now and then.
I'm not sure about your analogy. If you mean to say that car makers are sued over the loss of life and property because of *faulty manufacturing*, then your analogy doesn't work.
The better analogy is that a car maker would be sued if someone allegedy uses the car to commit a crime.
Ah, my old alma mater...now known as The College of New Jersey (bleh)
The only time I went to the fest was back in 1991 when it was held at Mercer County Community College (cough 13th grade cough). I don't know if that was a one time thing or not. I got my first x86 computer there, a 386DX-25 with 4 megs of RAM and a 125 meg hard drive. I was the envy of everyone in my cs class for a couple years. Anyway, I remember everything being rather commercial even at that point in the past.
I can see the usefulness in a bank having one's social security number. Afterall, they do pay you interest/dividend income on things like:
checking/savings/money market accounts
CDs (not the musical kind)
mutual funds/stocks
The income from all of these items is taxable income. It's no different than your employer having your SSN for tax purposes. However, I do believe that banks and large financial institutions should maintain a "Chinese wall" policy regarding the sharing of information among their operating divisions and especially business affiliates.
"Yes, speaking about security in broad terms should most certainly be protected. But specific discussions on how to break specific security measures ("she hides a key under the third garden rock." "his locker combination is 12345" "the bank's website can be hacked into just by XXXX...") is a grey area that is hard to say if it should be protected or prohibited."
Your example is more akin to someone giving out the registration keys to a program or handing out Quark dongles. Dmitry's case is more akin to creating a wire coat hanger. It can be used to hang clothes (although my mom didn't allow them) or they can be used to unlock your car door in emergencies (or someone elses).
You're not paying for permission...I can walk into a friend's house and run their copy of Windows without MS's permission. When you buy software, yes, the CD itself has little to no value. What you're paying for is the time that MS has spent in creating the software. It's a "service" in the sense that time is intangible...but it is still not a subscription at this point, nor an ongoing service-just a finite purchase transaction in the past.
It's no different than my job. I write reports for clients and I get paid. The actual paper and binder that the report goes in is about $5 and the rest of the fee is for my time. The client paid for that report for their use and they never have to deal with me again if they don't want to.
"Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over wrongability. Think of your purchase as a "connection charge" and then you have a perfectly good model of software "service"."
Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over wrongability...again. Your analogy is flawed. XP is not sold as a service. It is sold as a product, something that I really do purchase.
"You are paying for the priviledge to connect to and use the greatest, most fabulous software ever written,..."
I know you're being sarcastic about that last part...anyway, I did not pay to "connect" to anything. I paid X dollars to run a piece of software on my personal computer.
Here is an analogy that sounds about right...imagine buying a music CD. Just like Windows, it is for your own personal use and you cannot distribute copies, etc... The CD is required to use your stereo. Now imagine having to get the record company's permission every time you buy new speakers or buy a new CD player.
The whole point is that just because you buy software, that doesn't mean you're receiving a service. You're receiving a real product that you *own* with one string attached- you cannot redistribute copies.
"Beside, this is no different when it comes to paying your rent or utility bills. After all this is the idea of a "service" like it or not."
Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over wrongability. This is not a service and this is not a software lease. If I pay for a copy of XP, I pay the guy at CompUSA one time for the software and the transaction is over. Microsoft has no right to invade my privacy and force me to get their permission to use software that I have already paid for.
In your example of certain deals with Oracle and IBM, those deals are actually structured as combinations of leases of hardware and software services and there is a monthly payment schedule. It's no different than leasing a car and signing up for a service contract in those cases.
I run Comcast@home at home. On a regular night, I can't download faster than 252Kbps. On a rare occasion I'll hit 400-500Kbps. I can understand the 128Kbps upload cap. The network is clogged as it is and we don't need people trying to run large ftp or web sites to slow it down more.
I think the Communications Act of 1934 gives me the right to tune into any sort of radio transmission. The above analogy is poor because in the case of radio, the resources used to transmit the signal do not increase if more people listen. You're not really creating a link to the radio station. The signal is passive. In the case of an AIM server or Napster, you must actively create a connection, which uses network and computing resources.
I don't know about that. According to Snapple commercials, those fruits seem to be a decent crowd. They have all of the same feelings and experiences as humans. And, they even undergo routine drug screenings!
"We don't (or shouldn't) label the United States Government as hypocritical when Congress and the President have different opinions on the issues and try to implement different plans. We don't (or shouldn't) lable the EU as hypocritical because the French and Germans have different policies on some issues."
****
The difference is very simple. The president and congress are parts of two legally recognized government entities: the executive branch and the legislative branch. The EU is basically a faceplate for several separate sovereign nations.
IBM internally recognizes several operating units for its own convenience. However, no matter how many operating divisions IBM divides itself into for its own purposes, there is only one legal and official entity accountable to the outside world.
In our case, it's required in the sense that we run a lot of programs, like Excel and a bunch of financial research programs that run on Windows. Otherwise, you can use a pencil, paper and a calculator all the time if you like. I'm messing around with Linux and WINE to come up with an implementation that can effectively phase out the use of NT here.
Mostly true. We use NT 4.0 here at the office, but that didn't stop me from popping in a second hard drive and installing Linux Mandrake. Now my slashdot jones is satisfied in the following manner (although I don't troll):
work hours: NT 4.0 / IE 5.5
lunch hour: Linux / Konqueror
Slashdot Mirror
BrickOS
I ran a BeOS based MP3 jukebox in my office. I hooked up a tiny, old Compaq b&w handheld running WinCE 1.0 via serial port. I ran the handheld's terminal emulator, logged into BeOS through the serial port and controlled the jukebox with a CLI-mode controller for the MP3 player.
If I wanted to get fancy, I could have connected the jukebox and the handheld with a crossover cable, loaded IE for WinCE and ran a webserver-based MP3 controller on BeOS. Then I'd have a nifty, graphical touch screen MP3 controller. This latter solution would be especially sweet if you hook up a 3Com Audrey instead of the Compaq handheld.
Palm would get nothing. Be, Inc. is still hanging around as a shell company that retains the right to sue MS and collect damages. At $0.12 a share, it could be fun to jump in and possibly get revenge on MS. If it doesn't happen, you only lose 12 cents + commissions :)
"If the Audrey, eVilla, or iPaq were released five years ago when the cheapest PC you could buy was around two grand they would have sold like mad."
:-)
Except that the technology that is used in those devices would have been considered high-end five years ago and due to their small sizes, would have cost *much more* than PCs of that time. It's not as if we can take the current batch and send them back in time
They got Be's multimedia handling technology. If I were more specific I'd be bullshitting with you. However, here's a rumor from www.beosjournal.com regarding some of the tech Palm *may* have purchased from Be:
*****
Palm rumored to have acquired 'PicassoGL' Technology from Be
by Ryan C. Christiansen
29 August 2001
Imagine booting up your computer and when your desktop appears, you find tall grass softly swaying from side-to-side and fog rolling across the screen. Your trash can icon in its full 3-D splendor sits upright until a sudden blast of wind blows it over, partially spilling its contents on to the ground. All of this made possible by PicassoGL, an OpenGL-powered app_server which brings 3-D imaging to ALL of your desktop computing graphics, including the application windows, icons, and everything else. An unnamed source reported Be was working on just such a monster when Palm bought Be's intellectual property. What hath Palm bought?
*****
It's too bad the eVilla didn't perform as Sony wanted it too. I think all of the HTML/javascript stuff that was used as its display manager did it in for speed and stability. Keep in mind that the actual BeOS (evilla is based on BeIA, a pared-down BeoS) is incredibly fast and responsive unlike anything I've ever used. Anyway...
Imo, one of the failings of internet appliances is the price. $500 is way to much to pay for a device that does much less than a similarly priced eMachines or BestBuy special sale deal. Even someone who is computer illiterate will still have enough common sense to look at price/performance issues. Even though he/she might not utilize all of the power of a full system, it's still a better deal than a similarly priced appliance with less features.
That's not to say that internet appliances aren't useful...it's just that given their limited functionality, consumers probably expect to pay significantly less for them. However, what is the magic price point? $200 - $300 is a traditional price point in consumer electronics for things like video game consoles, DVD players, etc. So does $200 - $300 sound like a good price for an internet appliance? Probably not. Here's why:
You can also get an incredibly cheap computer with rebates and an ISP contract for about $200 - $300, too. Read the BestBuy and CompUSA circulars, you'll see lots of deals like that. The ISP contract may seem onerous to those knowledgeable in computers, but for somebody who doesn't know a whole lot about computers, it's a convenience to not have to shop around. And, realistically, you're going to pay ISP fees sooner or later. So, what incentive is there to buy a $200 - $300 appliance if you can get a full computer for the same amount of money? None at all. How does one gauge the price point for appliance then? Go to a place where consumer demand truly drives prices.
The best source of market research for pricing out internet appliances is, imo, Ebay. Brand new, *unopened* internet appliances that once sold for $500 are selling at discounts of 80% or greater from MSRP.
Specifically, I'm referring to the 3com Audrey, which includes a 10" LCD touch screen, stylus, keyboard and 56k modem. From the reviews I've read, the web browswer is "nice to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there," implying limited, but generally good enough performance. The device also sports email, a planner and can sync with two Palm Pilots. The completed auction section of Ebay says that most brand new, unopened Audreys are selling for $80 - $90. The USB Ethernet adapter for Audrey is $20 - $30. So, for $100 to $120, you can have a cute little broadband-enabled device to stick in the kitchen or an end table in the living room. I'm planning to get one to control my BeOS-based web-interface network juke box. I don't expect it to do anything complex at all. I have real computers for more intensive web browsing.
These are my conclusions:
1. Consumers, although largely computer illiterate, are knowledgeable enough to look at price/performance issues. It goes against common sense to purchase a limited device when a similarly priced full computer is available. Even though our "techie common sense" tells us that many consumers only need to do simple web browsing and email and could get away with just using an internet appliance, "consumer common sense" tells consumers to get the most bang for the buck, even though they might not need all of that bang.
2. Given the price/performance ratios of internet appliances and cheap "BestBuy special sale" computers, a more reasonable price point for internet appliances (that are nonetheless usefull for certain tasks) would be in the sub $100 range.
I bought a large red bucket at Wal-mart for less than $20 and there were lot of 2x pieces in there, as well. I'm 25 and still like to tinker with Legos now and then.
That's odd, it seems to work just fine for acts such as Madonna and Seussical the Musical, to name just a couple. Read this: http://www.lcsaudio.com
I'm not sure about your analogy. If you mean to say that car makers are sued over the loss of life and property because of *faulty manufacturing*, then your analogy doesn't work.
The better analogy is that a car maker would be sued if someone allegedy uses the car to commit a crime.
Ah, my old alma mater...now known as The College of New Jersey (bleh)
The only time I went to the fest was back in 1991 when it was held at Mercer County Community College (cough 13th grade cough). I don't know if that was a one time thing or not. I got my first x86 computer there, a 386DX-25 with 4 megs of RAM and a 125 meg hard drive. I was the envy of everyone in my cs class for a couple years. Anyway, I remember everything being rather commercial even at that point in the past.
I can see the usefulness in a bank having one's social security number. Afterall, they do pay you interest/dividend income on things like:
checking/savings/money market accounts
CDs (not the musical kind)
mutual funds/stocks
The income from all of these items is taxable income. It's no different than your employer having your SSN for tax purposes. However, I do believe that banks and large financial institutions should maintain a "Chinese wall" policy regarding the sharing of information among their operating divisions and especially business affiliates.
"Yes, speaking about security in broad terms should most certainly be protected. But specific discussions on how to break specific security measures ("she hides a key under the third garden rock." "his locker combination is 12345" "the bank's website can be hacked into just by XXXX...") is a grey area that is hard to say if it should be protected or prohibited."
Your example is more akin to someone giving out the registration keys to a program or handing out Quark dongles. Dmitry's case is more akin to creating a wire coat hanger. It can be used to hang clothes (although my mom didn't allow them) or they can be used to unlock your car door in emergencies (or someone elses).
You're not paying for permission...I can walk into a friend's house and run their copy of Windows without MS's permission. When you buy software, yes, the CD itself has little to no value. What you're paying for is the time that MS has spent in creating the software. It's a "service" in the sense that time is intangible...but it is still not a subscription at this point, nor an ongoing service-just a finite purchase transaction in the past.
It's no different than my job. I write reports for clients and I get paid. The actual paper and binder that the report goes in is about $5 and the rest of the fee is for my time. The client paid for that report for their use and they never have to deal with me again if they don't want to.
"Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over wrongability. Think of your purchase as a "connection charge" and then you have a perfectly good model of software "service"."
Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over wrongability...again. Your analogy is flawed. XP is not sold as a service. It is sold as a product, something that I really do purchase.
"You are paying for the priviledge to connect to and use the greatest, most fabulous software ever written,..."
I know you're being sarcastic about that last part...anyway, I did not pay to "connect" to anything. I paid X dollars to run a piece of software on my personal computer.
Here is an analogy that sounds about right...imagine buying a music CD. Just like Windows, it is for your own personal use and you cannot distribute copies, etc... The CD is required to use your stereo. Now imagine having to get the record company's permission every time you buy new speakers or buy a new CD player.
The whole point is that just because you buy software, that doesn't mean you're receiving a service. You're receiving a real product that you *own* with one string attached- you cannot redistribute copies.
"Beside, this is no different when it comes to paying your rent or utility bills. After all this is the idea of a "service" like it or not."
Wrong, wrong, absolutely brimming over wrongability. This is not a service and this is not a software lease. If I pay for a copy of XP, I pay the guy at CompUSA one time for the software and the transaction is over. Microsoft has no right to invade my privacy and force me to get their permission to use software that I have already paid for.
In your example of certain deals with Oracle and IBM, those deals are actually structured as combinations of leases of hardware and software services and there is a monthly payment schedule. It's no different than leasing a car and signing up for a service contract in those cases.
I run Comcast@home at home. On a regular night, I can't download faster than 252Kbps. On a rare occasion I'll hit 400-500Kbps. I can understand the 128Kbps upload cap. The network is clogged as it is and we don't need people trying to run large ftp or web sites to slow it down more.
I think the Communications Act of 1934 gives me the right to tune into any sort of radio transmission. The above analogy is poor because in the case of radio, the resources used to transmit the signal do not increase if more people listen. You're not really creating a link to the radio station. The signal is passive. In the case of an AIM server or Napster, you must actively create a connection, which uses network and computing resources.
I don't know about that. According to Snapple commercials, those fruits seem to be a decent crowd. They have all of the same feelings and experiences as humans. And, they even undergo routine drug screenings!
"We don't (or shouldn't) label the United States Government as hypocritical when Congress and the President have different opinions on the issues and try to implement different plans. We don't (or shouldn't) lable the EU as hypocritical because the French and Germans have different policies on some issues."
****
The difference is very simple. The president and congress are parts of two legally recognized government entities: the executive branch and the legislative branch. The EU is basically a faceplate for several separate sovereign nations.
IBM internally recognizes several operating units for its own convenience. However, no matter how many operating divisions IBM divides itself into for its own purposes, there is only one legal and official entity accountable to the outside world.
In our case, it's required in the sense that we run a lot of programs, like Excel and a bunch of financial research programs that run on Windows. Otherwise, you can use a pencil, paper and a calculator all the time if you like. I'm messing around with Linux and WINE to come up with an implementation that can effectively phase out the use of NT here.
But then it's not exactly "free" in the FSF sense of the word then, is it?
Mostly true. We use NT 4.0 here at the office, but that didn't stop me from popping in a second hard drive and installing Linux Mandrake. Now my slashdot jones is satisfied in the following manner (although I don't troll):
work hours: NT 4.0 / IE 5.5
lunch hour: Linux / Konqueror
Yup :-) Sometime in Season VIII
From what I understand, for a few days every month, women like to pour blue liquid on things, play tennis and wear tight white jeans.
I did a quick search on Google and fsck seems to be derived from the German word meaning to strike a hole in the ground, as in planting a seed.
On a related topic, I knew someone who had sex with an underage bearded girl from the circus. He was arrested for carnival knowledge.