"The majority of the download stores will keep using Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format, but Apple won't support that on the iPod."
Of course.
" Picture phones will become pervasive; it'll be unusual not to have one."
This is not going out on a limb. It'll be hard NOT to buy a phone with a camera in it, since that's the trend already.
"Neither the Windows Media Center nor tablet PC formats will take off. Both will grumble along in background sales, but won't ever become mainstream products, nor even significant in sales terms."
Already happened. In fact, MS already sent out letters dumping the tablet PC within the last week.
I've had one of these things for a long time, and never had the problems described.
I will say, though, that it was one of the original units, and not one of the units since ReplayTV was taken over after going into bankruptcy earlier this year.
When they went into bankruptcy, I bought a TiVo the same day. I now have both, and they both work great.
Not that this should be a great surprise to anyone, but Microsoft acts this way too. It seems that they think that ANYTHING that has any computing power is their territory, and they're out to claim it. Cell phones, embedded systems, and of course ALL computers.
Just wish they'd just concentrate (and fix) the damn OS and it's GUI.
That was my first thought too. Back when I was in school, a LOT of people went into CS, but very few actually made it through. There's likely to be some other "hot new job" trend by 2015, and with retirements, fewer people going INTO the workplace, and people just plan switching out of our job area, this likely won't be a problem.
After all, a TON of people got into this area during the mid-90s because it was "hot" thing. When the bubble burst in March 2000, a lot of those people are getting back to whatever they were doing before.
Wait a sec...you think it was just in the mid to late 90s where management demanded that kinda stuff? It's been going on a lot longer than that. Back in the mid-80s it was common place, at least around the places I was aware of. I'm sure it was happening before that too.
We have Ph.D.s here who know the stuff cold, and we don't believe it's possible to protect digital content.
While I don't necessarily believe that they can protect it, I think it's far more interesting that here's yet another group that thinks just because a Ph.D. said something it's gotta be true. Holy crap, when are they going to learn that a Ph.D. doesn't give people complete insight into all things. Hell, most of the time they don't have insight beyond the scope of their own disseration.
Star Wars Galaxies was a big gaff. They released the product very shortly after the beta and didn't fix a host of problems, the main one being the economy.
One very fundamental mistake was how they dealt with making people a Jedi. They proported let people be whatever profession they wanted, and that everyone had a chance to become a Jedi. However, those are mutually exclusive. It turns out that in order to become a Jedi, unless you got really really lucky, you had to drop whatever profession you had been working on, and start doing something completely different. Not only that, but once you became a master at that new profession, you had to drop that one two, and master other professions.
That's not choice...that's letting the random number generator choose how you're going to play the game.
A better alternative would have been to have completely seperate profession points that you had to spend in completely different professions beyond the "basic" set. You'd still be able to be a bounty hunter, architect, or whatever, but secretly be working on being a Jedi.
Anyway, since people have found this out a couple of months ago, there are already 100 Jedi running around the servers. I expect that to go way up during the next few months, unless they (the SWG team) step in to slow things down.
I didn't want this to be like Everquest, but you'd think these guys would have taken the hint and look at what game mechanics made EQ popular, and try and enhance THOSE, rather than doing what they did: taking a stab in the dark with a lightsaber, and completely missing.
What do you mean, "follow suit?" They've been doing it for years. The reason it's news now, is because the Democrats are screaming their heads off because the shoe is finally on the other foot.
You know, the Democrats have been gerrymandering for YEARS now, and when the shoe is finally on the other foot, they're screaming like stuck pigs. Let them stew on that a while, and see how they like it.
Maybe this will finally stop gerrymandering once and for all. Gerrymandering is evil. Just take the state, divide it up into a grid, and be done with it.
Considering the leading candidate right now, Howard Dean was on Hardball saying: "I believe, to Iran is pressure through the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is supplying much of the equipment that Iran, I believe, most likely is using to set itself along the path of developing nuclear weapons. We need to use that leverage with the Soviet Union and it may require us to buying the equipment the Soviet Union was ultimately going to sell to Iran to prevent Iran from them developing nuclear weapons."
Uh...there is no Soviet Union.
I don't think anyone should being going around pretending "We're smarter"... particurally since the president has continually outmanuvered all these "smarter" people.
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This guy isn't going out on a limb at all.
A few picks from his list:
"Spam will get worse before it gets better",
Well..... yeah!
"legal music download sites will arrive properly"
already happened
"The majority of the download stores will keep using Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format, but Apple won't support that on the iPod."
Of course.
" Picture phones will become pervasive; it'll be unusual not to have one."
This is not going out on a limb. It'll be hard NOT to buy a phone with a camera in it, since that's the trend already.
"Neither the Windows Media Center nor tablet PC formats will take off. Both will grumble along in background sales, but won't ever become mainstream products, nor even significant in sales terms."
Already happened. In fact, MS already sent out letters dumping the tablet PC within the last week.
I've had one of these things for a long time, and never had the problems described.
I will say, though, that it was one of the original units, and not one of the units since ReplayTV was taken over after going into bankruptcy earlier this year.
When they went into bankruptcy, I bought a TiVo the same day. I now have both, and they both work great.
Not that this should be a great surprise to anyone, but Microsoft acts this way too. It seems that they think that ANYTHING that has any computing power is their territory, and they're out to claim it. Cell phones, embedded systems, and of course ALL computers.
Just wish they'd just concentrate (and fix) the damn OS and it's GUI.
You need to take an economics class. Employment is a trailing economic indicator.
That was my first thought too. Back when I was in school, a LOT of people went into CS, but very few actually made it through. There's likely to be some other "hot new job" trend by 2015, and with retirements, fewer people going INTO the workplace, and people just plan switching out of our job area, this likely won't be a problem.
After all, a TON of people got into this area during the mid-90s because it was "hot" thing. When the bubble burst in March 2000, a lot of those people are getting back to whatever they were doing before.
Wait a sec...you think it was just in the mid to late 90s where management demanded that kinda stuff? It's been going on a lot longer than that. Back in the mid-80s it was common place, at least around the places I was aware of. I'm sure it was happening before that too.
Fight for yourself. If things suck, find another job and quit the one you have.
Especially now that the Tivo can download the program info over the net via wireless adapter on it's USB.
While I don't necessarily believe that they can protect it, I think it's far more interesting that here's yet another group that thinks just because a Ph.D. said something it's gotta be true. Holy crap, when are they going to learn that a Ph.D. doesn't give people complete insight into all things. Hell, most of the time they don't have insight beyond the scope of their own disseration.
Star Wars Galaxies was a big gaff. They released the product very shortly after the beta and didn't fix a host of problems, the main one being the economy.
One very fundamental mistake was how they dealt with making people a Jedi. They proported let people be whatever profession they wanted, and that everyone had a chance to become a Jedi. However, those are mutually exclusive. It turns out that in order to become a Jedi, unless you got really really lucky, you had to drop whatever profession you had been working on, and start doing something completely different. Not only that, but once you became a master at that new profession, you had to drop that one two, and master other professions.
That's not choice...that's letting the random number generator choose how you're going to play the game.
A better alternative would have been to have completely seperate profession points that you had to spend in completely different professions beyond the "basic" set. You'd still be able to be a bounty hunter, architect, or whatever, but secretly be working on being a Jedi.
Anyway, since people have found this out a couple of months ago, there are already 100 Jedi running around the servers. I expect that to go way up during the next few months, unless they (the SWG team) step in to slow things down.
I didn't want this to be like Everquest, but you'd think these guys would have taken the hint and look at what game mechanics made EQ popular, and try and enhance THOSE, rather than doing what they did: taking a stab in the dark with a lightsaber, and completely missing.
Because the writer misunderstood, didn't realize it, and wrote the article anyway.
This happens all the time... the only reason we recognize it here is because it's a tech article.
Just think.... this happens in other fields too, and since we're not in that field, we just don't realize what they're saying is wrong.
yikes.
Commodore did the same thing with the Amiga and BB King (and a few other stars, if I remember correctly), and it didn't get them anywhere either.
Another thing to keep you on the straight and narrow: Not everyone who wants to be your customer should be. Be selective.
And also: Don't give bonuses to top management while at the same time giving bad (or no) raises to everyone else in the company.
Another thing... don't shit all over someone for having a Christmas party, just because you don't want to.
Which ever side does it, it sucks.
Mod parent up please...
You're completely right about this.
What do you mean, "follow suit?" They've been doing it for years. The reason it's news now, is because the Democrats are screaming their heads off because the shoe is finally on the other foot.
You know, the Democrats have been gerrymandering for YEARS now, and when the shoe is finally on the other foot, they're screaming like stuck pigs. Let them stew on that a while, and see how they like it.
Maybe this will finally stop gerrymandering once and for all. Gerrymandering is evil. Just take the state, divide it up into a grid, and be done with it.
That you'd never be able to put movies on anything as easy to use as a CD.
Uh...there is no Soviet Union.
I don't think anyone should being going around pretending "We're smarter"... particurally since the president has continually outmanuvered all these "smarter" people.
It's yourself, you moron.
Apparently you're denying that he's much more popular now?
Clearly, some people have changed their minds since the election.
Job growth is trailing economic indicator.
The economy is growing.
Maybe you should read more about the connection between Saddam and Osama before blowing news organizations off.