I discovered the WWW (not the Internet), Linux and Netscape 3 around 1996. For my spare time the WWW is the ultimate killer app and as a lifelong tinkerer Linux and free software is the ultimate toy (that's "toy as in fun", not "toy as in children's plaything"). I don't care if it used to take me longer to do something in Linux than it would have in Windows - getting there was half the fun! For someone who enjoys getting under the hood and wants total flexibility (etc. etc.) Linux is irresistable. But for someone who just wants to get things done with minimum learning curve Windows (or a pre-configured Linux appliance) is a better choice.
There's an interview with Aimee Mann at motherjones.com where she describes her experiences at major record labels and as an indie artist. Interestingly, she says that she has sold more albums as an indie than she did while signed with major labels.
She's also established her own label, United Musicians which "is founded on the principle that every artist should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he or she has created and that this ownership is the basis for artistic strength and true independence. United Musicians Artists have their own labels under the United Musicians banner and retain all rights of ownership to their work. By uniting and sharing resources, United Musicians Artists have a stronger organizational base from which to build and flourish in their independence."
Also in the interview, she says that "I don't believe in asking people to spend $15 on something they've never heard before. That's just unreasonable. And radio's so difficult in this country that that's not really an option." (Her latest album is streamed in its entirety from her website.)
Here's another script. Personally, as soon as I realize it's a telemarketer I immediately interrupt their spiel with a "Could you please put me on your no call list?" Their response is invariably a quick and polite "Okay(click)".
Isn't there some way to set these prefs in my ~/.mozilla dir so that they don't get overwritten when I install new versions?
Copy your unix.js file to your ~/.mozilla/foo/bar/ directory (the same directory that has your prefs.js file). Then edit your unix.js file. Finally, rename the unix.js file to user.js
I've received two letters from my congressman over the last few months in response to electronic correspondence I've sent via this webpage that were clearly personalized responses, not "form letters". Moreover, my congressman doesn't know me personally. I've never given him money. And right now I deliver pizza for a living. There was no reason whatsoever for him (or one of his staff, although the responses I received were sufficiently detailed that if it were his staff then his staff knows his positions on everything) to give me the time of day other than the fact that I'm a voter in his district (and my correspondence was brief, timely as to the issues involved, and not a rant or flame.)
My parents successfully contracted their home back in the late 70's. It worked out extremely well, and here's what I can recall of it (I was about 12 at the time):
My mom drew up the flooplan using a pencil and several sheets of 8.5x11 square ruled paper taped end-to-end. Each square represented one foot. This was the extent of the design documentation. The 2500 sq. ft. house (100'x25' with a 100'x10' front porch) was a simple rectangle with a simple truss roof which made framing extremely simple. They got a deal from a framing crew who provided their expertise to fill in any blanks left by the lack of formal documentation. I do recall some minor grumbling from the framers about having to "count them little squares."
My mom, who didn't have a job at the time, and my dad, who is a Priest (which gave him lots of time to keep tabs on the project during the week) did what work they could do themselves like painting and insulation and spent practically each day onsite. My mom knew exactly what she wanted when she drew up the plans and there was no changing of minds after something was done.
The company that provided the building materials was kind enough to keep a running tab and present them with one bill at the end. This meant that they were able to get the loan for the house and pay the materials bill after the house was built. This saved them some money on financing.
This was done just outside a small town (pop. 5000 at the time) where everyone knew each other. The trust factor was high.
Total cost, late 70's, for their 2500 sq. ft. stucco ranch-style home and the 13 acres of land it sat on: $40,000. My parents divorced in 1983 (building the house didn't have anything to do with it) and the house sold for $80,000. It sold again about 10 years ago or so for around $130,000.
It's fairly well known now that email is mostly ignored by Congresscritters.
Congresscritters (at least mine in Texas) no longer ignore email and the half-dozen or so letters (not email) sent to me by my Senators and Representative in response to email I've sent after the anthrax incident attest to that. One letter in particular from my Representative in response to an email was actually a personal reply in which he stated that he had visited all of the url's that I had supplied!
They can't tell for sure if the email is coming from one of their constituents
Yes they can if you include your mailing address in your email. I like to format my emails to Congress the same way I would a formal typed letter. Don't expect an immediate reply as there will be a backlog, particularly with Senators in which case you may get your reply two or three months later.
Or do what I did- stop buying music. And no, I don't download music, either. When in the mood I just listen to my collection of CDs all bought pre 1994.
I know I'm the oddball here by actually boycotting something, but we all do our little bit.
Their site is so bad that it looks like they've told the w3c validator that they aren't allowed to test it. Here's what I get as a result:
I got the following unexpected response when trying to retrieve
http://www.kpmg.com:
302 Object moved
Please make sure you have entered the URI correctly.
It won't render for me on Mozilla, Galeon or Netscape 4. Maybe it uses CaptiveX or something. I wouldn't be suprised if these corporate drones don't even know that there are alternatives to IE.
... and the best way for this to happen is for the Gov't to drop all restrictions on the inport/export of strong encryption. Besides, the cat is way, way out of the bag.
Apparently spread spectrum technologies deal with this problem.
Not quite. Spread Spectrum is like pseudo-random radio "noise", constrained within a defined spectrum. Such transmitters have the effect of raising the "noise floor" in the spectrum they're using (and thus the error rate of the channel). This places an upper limit on the number of spread spectrum users a given channel can support. It's also a problem in spectrum (i.e. Amateur Radio and Astronomy) where weak signals are important.
One regulatory change that can be made is to allow use of spread spectrum on airwaves currently allocated for narrowband use where the narrowband noise margins are typically fairly good. In theory at least the two types of transmissions would not interfere with each other.
If you really want the "true, unadulterated source" there's the Wadia 790 PowerDAC. 1000 watts/ch into 2 ohms, and nothin' but monster cable between the DAC and speakers. Only $72,500 for a two channel system.
Some may say that producers should listen to us because we, the audience, are the 'customers' and are always right
We, the audience, are not the customers and whether we are right or not doesn't matter. The advertisers are the customers and the media executives pay the producers to create a product that will deliver the eyeballs to the advertisers. Sometimes the producers, perhaps to avoid boredom on the job, forget about the eyeballs and make something good but if it doesn't deliver the eyeballs the executives will find a monkey who will get the job done.
illegal circumvention device
on
Concept PC 2001
·
· Score: 3, Funny
According to the users of this device, wireless peripherals constitute an "illegal circumvention device" under the DMCA and will be filing a lawsuit against HP shortly. In the meantime they urge that all computer users stick with wired peripherals.
It's from the Carlin special You Are All Diseased. When I first saw you're post I went looking for my tape of it (I was going to transcribe it) but then I caught some sense and remembered Google. Here it is:
I'm getting tired of security at the airport, There's too much of it. I'm tired of some fat chick with a double-digit IQ and a triple-digit income rootin' around inside my bag for no reason and never finding anything. Haven't found anything yet. Haven't found one bomb in one bag. And don't tell me, "Well, the terrorists know their bags are going to be searched, so now they're leaving their bombs at home." There are no bombs! The whole thing is fuckin' pointless'
And it's completely without logic. There's no logic at all. They'll take away a gun but let you keep a knife. Well, what the fuck is that? In fact, there's a whole list of lethal objects they allow you to take on board. Theoretically, you could take a knife, an ice pick, a hatchet, a straight razor, a pair of scissors, a chain saw, six knitting needles and a broken whiskey bottle, and the only thing they would say to you is, "That bag has to fit all the way under the seat in front of you."
And if you didn't take a weapon on board, relax. After you've been flying for about an hour, they're gonna bring you a knife and fork! They actually give you a fucking knife. It's only a table knife, but you could kill a pilot with a table knife. It might take a couple of minutes.
Especially if he's hefty. But you could get the job done. If you really wanted to kill the prick. Shit, there are a lot of things you could use to kill a guy. You could probably beat a guy to death with the Sunday New York Times, couldn't you? Suppose you just have really big hands. Couldn't you strangle a flight attendant? Shit, you could probably strangle two of them, one with each hand. That is, if you were lucky enough to catch 'em in that little kitchen area. Just before they break out the fuckin' peanuts. But you could get the job done. If you really cared enough.
So why is it they allow a man with big, powerful hands to get on board an airplane? I'll tell you why. They know he's not a security risk, because he's already answered the three big questions. Question number one: "Did you pack your bags yourself?"
"No, Carrot Top packed my bags. He and Martha Stewart and Florence Henderson came over to the house last night, fixed me a lovely lobster Newburg, gave me a full body massage with sacred oils from India, performed a four-way around-the-world and then packed my bags. Next question." "Have your bags been in your possession the whole time?"
"No. Usually the night before I travel-just as the moon is rising-I place my suitcases out on the street corner and leave them there, unattended, for several hours. Just for good luck. Next question."
"Has any unknown person asked you to take anything on board?"
"Well, what exactly is an 'unknown person'? Surely everyone is known to someone. In fact, just this morning, Kareem and Youssef Ali ben Gabba seemed to know each other quite well. They kept joking about which one of my suitcases was the heaviest."
And that's another thing they don't like at the airport. Jokes. You can't joke about a bomb. Well, why is it just jokes? What about a riddle? How about a limerick? How about a bomb anecdote? You know, no punch line, just a really cute story. Or suppose you intended the remark not as a joke but as an ironic musing? Are they prepared to make that distinction? I think not! And besides, who's to say what's funny?
Airport security is a stupid idea. It's a waste of money and it's there for only one reason: to make white people feel safe. That's all it's for. To provide a feeling, an illusion, of safety in order to placate the middle class. The authorities know they can't make airplanes safe; too many people have access. You'll notice that drug smugglers don't seem to have a lot of trouble getting their little packages on board, do they? No. And God bless them, too.
And by the way, an airplane flight shouldn't be completely safe. You need a little danger in your fife. Take a fuckin' chance, will ya? What are you gonna do, play with your prick for another 30 years? Are you gonna read People and eat at Wendy's till the end of time? Take a fuckin' chance! Besides, even if they made all of the airplanes completely safe, the terrorists would simply start bombing other places that are crowded: pawnshops, crack houses, titty bars and gang bangs. You know, entertainment venues. The odds of your being killed by a terrorist are practically zero. So I say, relax and enjoy the show.
You have to be realistic about terrorism. Ya gotta be a realist: Certain groups of people--Muslim fundamentalists, Christian fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists, and just plain guys from Montana--are going to continue to make life in this country very interesting for a long, long time. That's the reality. Angry men in combat fatigues talking to God on a two-way radio and muttering incoherent slogans about freedom are eventually going to provide us with a great deal of entertainment.
Especially after your stupid fuckin' economy collapses all around you, and the terrorists come out of the woodwork. And you'll have anthrax in the water supply and sarin gas in the air conditioners; there'll be chemical and biological suitcase bombs in every city, and I say, "Relax, enjoy it! Enjoy the show! Take a fuckin' chance. Put a little fun in your life." To me, terrorism is exciting. I think the very idea that someone might set off a bomb in Macy's and kill several hundred people is exciting and stimulating, and I see it as a form of entertainment!
But I also know most Americans are soft, frightened, unimaginative people who have no idea there's such a thing as dangerous fun. And they certainly don't recognize good entertainment when they see it. I have always been willing to put myself at great personal risk for the sake of entertainment. And I've always been willing to put you at great personal risk for the same reason.
As far as I'm concerned, all of this airport security--the cameras, the questions, the screening, the searches--is just one more way of reducing your liberty and reminding you that they can fuck with you any time they want, as long as you're willing to put up with it. Which means, of course, any time they want. Because that's the way Americans are now. They're always willing to trade away a little of their freedom for the feeling, the illusion--of security.
According to The Birth of the Microprocessor (to summarize) the 8080 was an improvement on the 8008 (the first 8 bit CPU, representing the birth of the x86 architecture) and the 8008's design was copied from the MSI/TTL CPU of the DataPoint 2200 Intelligent Terminal, which was also introduced in 1971 and is considered to be the first personal computer because it could be hacked into performing as such.
The agreement provides Microsoft with a rich set of strategies to undermine the development of free software, which depends upon the free sharing of technical information with the general public, taking advantage of the collective
intelligence of users of software, who share ideas on improvements in the code. If Microsoft can tightly control access to technical information under a court approved plan,
or charge fees, and use its monopoly power over the client space to migrate users to proprietary interfaces, it will harm the development of key alternatives, and lead to a less contestable and less competitive platform, with more consumer lock-in, and more consumer harm, as Microsoft
continues to hike up its prices for its monopoly products.
To think that a man who ran for President "gets it" with respect to Free Software boggles the mind. As days go by I just keep feeling more and more vindicated for having voted for him.
Yeah, from what I keep reading it seems like signing up for broadband is like flipping a coin: sometimes you win, sometimes you loose^h^h lose.
OTOH, I was one of the first to sign up for Road Runner in my area (an "Early Bird"). At first it sucked. I kept calling support and they kept trying to fix things. Although service was sporadic they were always happy to promptly investigate my problems. I complimented their eagerness and promptness and their response was "We want to make it work for you so that it will work for all the others we hope to sign up!" They slowly got the kinks worked out over about a year or so and at this point it's like fiber-to-the-NIC. It rocks, and I'd quit my water service before I'd quit broadband.
It all depends on what city you live in. Here in San Antonio I don't have to lie about anything. When I call tech support I specify the problem in non-OS specific terms and they deal with it accordingly. They don't ask and I don't tell. I support Linux and they support their network.
I must admit that on one occasion just after they opened for business and were still debugging their network they were dropping enough packets to prevent ftp from working most of the time. They asked me what OS I was using and I told them Linux but explained politely that it wasn't a Linux problem but a network problem due to the dropped packets. They sent a tech out with a laptop running NT to verify the problem and indeed the problem was verified. (The tech was also impressed with Linux; he had never seen a Linux desktop before.) I've never had any Linux problems with them since.
As someone who voted Darn kids, get off my property. Hey, don't throw that egg! I've had enough of this "talk about spooky stuff 'cause it's Halloween". In fact, this pretty well sums up how I feel about today.
Many years ago I participated in a "buy something/subscribe to something (I dont' remember what it was but it was something I wanted at the time) and get a free big screen TV". What I got was a large fresnel lens in a plastic frame that you put in front of a regular TV to project its image on a wall, just like on the website. I never tried it out for its intended use but I did have a good time using it as a death ray^h^h^h solar concentrator to set leaves and stuff on fire.
Slashdot Mirror
I discovered the WWW (not the Internet), Linux and Netscape 3 around 1996. For my spare time the WWW is the ultimate killer app and as a lifelong tinkerer Linux and free software is the ultimate toy (that's "toy as in fun", not "toy as in children's plaything"). I don't care if it used to take me longer to do something in Linux than it would have in Windows - getting there was half the fun! For someone who enjoys getting under the hood and wants total flexibility (etc. etc.) Linux is irresistable. But for someone who just wants to get things done with minimum learning curve Windows (or a pre-configured Linux appliance) is a better choice.
She's also established her own label, United Musicians which "is founded on the principle that every artist should be able to retain copyright ownership of the work he or she has created and that this ownership is the basis for artistic strength and true independence. United Musicians Artists have their own labels under the United Musicians banner and retain all rights of ownership to their work. By uniting and sharing resources, United Musicians Artists have a stronger organizational base from which to build and flourish in their independence."
Also in the interview, she says that "I don't believe in asking people to spend $15 on something they've never heard before. That's just unreasonable. And radio's so difficult in this country that that's not really an option." (Her latest album is streamed in its entirety from her website.)
Here's another script. Personally, as soon as I realize it's a telemarketer I immediately interrupt their spiel with a "Could you please put me on your no call list?" Their response is invariably a quick and polite "Okay(click)".
Copy your unix.js file to your ~/.mozilla/foo/bar/ directory (the same directory that has your prefs.js file). Then edit your unix.js file. Finally, rename the unix.js file to user.js
I've received two letters from my congressman over the last few months in response to electronic correspondence I've sent via this webpage that were clearly personalized responses, not "form letters". Moreover, my congressman doesn't know me personally. I've never given him money. And right now I deliver pizza for a living. There was no reason whatsoever for him (or one of his staff, although the responses I received were sufficiently detailed that if it were his staff then his staff knows his positions on everything) to give me the time of day other than the fact that I'm a voter in his district (and my correspondence was brief, timely as to the issues involved, and not a rant or flame.)
Congresscritters (at least mine in Texas) no longer ignore email and the half-dozen or so letters (not email) sent to me by my Senators and Representative in response to email I've sent after the anthrax incident attest to that. One letter in particular from my Representative in response to an email was actually a personal reply in which he stated that he had visited all of the url's that I had supplied! Yes they can if you include your mailing address in your email. I like to format my emails to Congress the same way I would a formal typed letter. Don't expect an immediate reply as there will be a backlog, particularly with Senators in which case you may get your reply two or three months later.
Ditto. You're not an oddball.
Here's a somewhat in-depth think-tank article, "Considering the Net as an Intelligence Tool (Open Source Intelligence) (pdf format) I found that focuses on Internet-based OSI and espionage, dating back to 1996.
... and the best way for this to happen is for the Gov't to drop all restrictions on the inport/export of strong encryption. Besides, the cat is way, way out of the bag.
Apparently spread spectrum technologies deal with this problem.
Not quite. Spread Spectrum is like pseudo-random radio "noise", constrained within a defined spectrum. Such transmitters have the effect of raising the "noise floor" in the spectrum they're using (and thus the error rate of the channel). This places an upper limit on the number of spread spectrum users a given channel can support. It's also a problem in spectrum (i.e. Amateur Radio and Astronomy) where weak signals are important.
One regulatory change that can be made is to allow use of spread spectrum on airwaves currently allocated for narrowband use where the narrowband noise margins are typically fairly good. In theory at least the two types of transmissions would not interfere with each other.
If you really want the "true, unadulterated source" there's the Wadia 790 PowerDAC. 1000 watts/ch into 2 ohms, and nothin' but monster cable between the DAC and speakers. Only $72,500 for a two channel system.
At that price it better have nothin' but vacuum tubes in it. Transistors just don't cut it when it comes to high-end equipment like that.
Some may say that producers should listen to us because we, the audience, are the 'customers' and are always right
We, the audience, are not the customers and whether we are right or not doesn't matter. The advertisers are the customers and the media executives pay the producers to create a product that will deliver the eyeballs to the advertisers. Sometimes the producers, perhaps to avoid boredom on the job, forget about the eyeballs and make something good but if it doesn't deliver the eyeballs the executives will find a monkey who will get the job done.
According to the users of this device, wireless peripherals constitute an "illegal circumvention device" under the DMCA and will be filing a lawsuit against HP shortly. In the meantime they urge that all computer users stick with wired peripherals.
;)
According to The Birth of the Microprocessor (to summarize) the 8080 was an improvement on the 8008 (the first 8 bit CPU, representing the birth of the x86 architecture) and the 8008's design was copied from the MSI/TTL CPU of the DataPoint 2200 Intelligent Terminal, which was also introduced in 1971 and is considered to be the first personal computer because it could be hacked into performing as such.
AIBO?
Isn't that the non-hackable Sony robot toy?
Move along, nothing to see here.
Not true! I'm from Texas!
Yeah, from what I keep reading it seems like signing up for broadband is like flipping a coin: sometimes you win, sometimes you loose^h^h lose.
OTOH, I was one of the first to sign up for Road Runner in my area (an "Early Bird"). At first it sucked. I kept calling support and they kept trying to fix things. Although service was sporadic they were always happy to promptly investigate my problems. I complimented their eagerness and promptness and their response was "We want to make it work for you so that it will work for all the others we hope to sign up!" They slowly got the kinks worked out over about a year or so and at this point it's like fiber-to-the-NIC. It rocks, and I'd quit my water service before I'd quit broadband.
It all depends on what city you live in. Here in San Antonio I don't have to lie about anything. When I call tech support I specify the problem in non-OS specific terms and they deal with it accordingly. They don't ask and I don't tell. I support Linux and they support their network.
I must admit that on one occasion just after they opened for business and were still debugging their network they were dropping enough packets to prevent ftp from working most of the time. They asked me what OS I was using and I told them Linux but explained politely that it wasn't a Linux problem but a network problem due to the dropped packets. They sent a tech out with a laptop running NT to verify the problem and indeed the problem was verified. (The tech was also impressed with Linux; he had never seen a Linux desktop before.) I've never had any Linux problems with them since.
As someone who voted Darn kids, get off my property. Hey, don't throw that egg! I've had enough of this "talk about spooky stuff 'cause it's Halloween". In fact, this pretty well sums up how I feel about today.
Many years ago I participated in a "buy something/subscribe to something (I dont' remember what it was but it was something I wanted at the time) and get a free big screen TV". What I got was a large fresnel lens in a plastic frame that you put in front of a regular TV to project its image on a wall, just like on the website. I never tried it out for its intended use but I did have a good time using it as a death ray^h^h^h solar concentrator to set leaves and stuff on fire.