Why do they have 1080p sets? Because 1080 is bigger than 720, and people like bigger numbers. I've got a top of the line 720p TV and it will blow away all but the best 1080p sets (basically, the good Pioneer plasmas).
But every single study I have ever seen indicates that unless you've got a 60" TV that you are sitting within a few feet of (or a very large projection screen), you simply cannot see the difference.
I'm a law clerk in the state court system, and have been for a little over two years. When I first started, I never saw much of anything that dealt with online content. Now, I'd say that maybe 5-10% of the protective orders ("Harassment Restraining Orders" in my state) deal with students (mostly high school and college) interacting via My Space or Facebook. So I do believe that "cyber bullying" is happening, at least to some extent. Some of it is BS, like parents not approving of their underage daughter's racy pictures of herself and the much-too-old boyfriend, or an angry match.com breakup, or whatever.
Additionally, I don't believe we need any new laws to deal with this. At least I haven't personally seen a need yet. Generally, the existing harassment laws do just fine. They are already written broadly enough to cover "communications" via a number of methods. If someone communicates with you after you've told them you find their contact harassing, the law covers it, whether it's by phone, mail, in-person, or email. Special laws to cover the internet will only make it more difficult to do my job, and more importantly the job of the judges who ultimately make the decisions. And believe me, they are not well equipped to understand online material. Boiling it all down to "communications" is just easier. Court personal and prosecutors are already overworked in many areas, and complicating matters further will basically just mean that either other cases involving more traditional speech will have to be given a lower priority, or that none of it gets the attention it needs.
The one situation that's hard to handle is postings to other people's blogs that are unconnected to the recipient. Trying to analogize a blog posting is a bit difficult -- it's not like we've ever had much of a problem of people speaking bad of each other via physical billboards. But really, that's protected free speech, until it rises to the level of a treat. So essentially, the one situation a politician could conceivably attempt to control is basically impossible control due to that pesky constitution of ours (I know, politicians hate it).
Bottom line, leave the law alone. Stop grandstanding. And throw enough money at the judicial system to be able to spend enough time of each case, and give prosecutors the money to have enough people to pursue the cases that need the most attention. But I suppose it's a lot easier to "JUST THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN!!" by coming up with crazy laws, rather than simply funding courts.
Absolutely. Smugmug is a great site. I've used it for about 3 years now, and absolutely love it. It's like $25 a year, but well worth it. I tried the free sites, and they aren't even close to it in terms of quality. If you're serious of showing off your pictures, give it a shot.
Re:I thought those things were already broken
on
Yahoo CAPTCHA Hacked
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· Score: 2, Insightful
No idea where I first read this, but I too remembering reading something very similar to the "solve the captcha for porn" idea.
Religions are about papal indulgences, quashing other religions, controlling the proletariat, and pretending to have answers to difficult questions as a pretense to authority.
If people purporting to be Christian have left this impression on you, I apologize on behalf of the rest of us. True Christian seek none of those goals.
Yeah, I've got a couple of those Cyberhome (or similar) players, as well as a mid-level Pioneer. Yeah, the AStar and Cyberhome let me skip the unwanted ads, but they also take longer to turn on, longer to load the disc, and generally work like crap -- both in usability and performance.
I'd love a player that was both (1) good and (2) not evil.
I'm always shocked at the number of people who don't know the difference between "explorer" and "internet explorer." I'm taken to just telling people to click "my computer", because they can't screw that up.
I had the exact same thought when reading the article. For a second I thought, "Did I somehow miss-out on some technological advancement where you can now connect a monitor to a motherboard, yet still use the processing power of the GPU?"
On a related note, I have a question I would love for someone to answer: What happened to VGA outputs on video cards? I'm actually looking for build a new (gaming/HTPC) system, but must have a GPU that outputs to VGA, as my monitor (a 50" Panasonic Plasma) accepts only VGA & component. Sure, I could buy an add-on card for $150 that allows the monitor to accept it, but that seems like a lot of wasted money for no actual increase in quality. So, is this something I can even accomplish? Seems like every decent card has DVI only. Is this the way of the future?
Here's an example I've used to explain the issue to people:
You test the machine 1000 times, and it comes back accurately on all 1000. This would seem to be a fairly reliable machine. However, let's say some disgruntled programmer decides to add some code that would automatically fail every 1001 people who take the test. Now, clearly the machine has been "tested." But just as clear is that using this machine would be unconstitutional.
I disagree, I loved Minidisc. I was a DJ for years, and Minidiscs were pretty much the coolest thing ever, as they allowed me to make "mix CD's" so that I wouldn't have to lug hundreds and hundreds of CD's from job to job. And the fact they were more or less indestructible was great. But granted, that's a pretty specific use.
As far as MDs being of lower quality, ummm, anyone ever heard of the iPod? People today are buying music with crappy quality, so I'm not sure that argument works. Lossy formats will always drive hardcore audiophiles (of which I consider myself) crazy, but for people out there without thousands to spend on speakers, processors, and amps, quality of the recording isn't the weak link in the chain, so it really doesn't matter. If someone is listening to their shelf system with 5 watt, 3 inch "full range!" speakers, the difference between CD, MP3, and MD is essentially non existent.
If you ever get a chance, it's awfully amusing to browse around "The High End" show that goes on concurrently with CES in Vegas. (Note -- it's an "industry only" event) That's where you meet the real crazies. Like the dude who, for a few thousand bucks, will come to your house and leave strategically placed stones on your furniture -- no scientific method involved, he just knows. And the "magnets guy", who randomly places magnets under your speakers wire because he was told in a dream that magnets under the wire will make the sound better. Or the guy whose "proof of concept" essentially turns an ordinary fan into a subwoofer -- it doesn't work, but it will, he says. It goes on and on. Good, entertaining stuff.
According to my roommate, a Circuit City employee, they do not get paid any commissions at all. Apparently, they used to, but changed, and I guess it was a huge deal when they did, because people who were previously making $20+ an hour were now going to be making a set salary of $8 an hour, or so.
You obviously weren't looking very hard for a job, or your expectations were way too high for someone fresh out of school. If you're going to come straight out of school with no experience and demand a high salary or a job that technically interests you, you're not going to find much. Your first job out of school isn't going to be your dream job, and if you haven't realized that by the time you graduate law school, you'll find the same "lack of jobs" then.
Valid point, but not accurate in my case. I did look very hard for jobs. Even enlisted the help of a job-finding service. I was offered one job immediately after graduating and turned it down because it was barely enough to live on, given the location. After that, nothing. I was willing to take just about anything within 6 months of that point, and went a year without getting a thing. It wasn't a case of me being picky or demanding. Not at all.
And I did finish law school, and work as a law clerk, which is pretty much the definition of taking a modest first job.
Comments like these drive me insane. There aren't enough qualified people for the jobs that are available? Bull.
I was the best programmer in my graduating undergrad class. I looked for a job for 18 months, living on money I made from DJ'ing frickin' wedding dances before giving up and going to law school.
There are people out there -- talented people -- willing to work. Give one of them a shot before crying about being able to hire more foreign help.
I'm all for the line of thinking that you should leave the decisions up to the doctors? But what happens when the doctors start prescribing medications based not on what is best for you, but which drug company gave them enough free crap to convince them to start recommending the drug? And if you think this doesn't happen, you're sorely mistaken.
...when can I finally get a free pdf creator/editor? I can view PDFs. I can make PDFs from other files. But I cannot edit PDFs (without the help of a pirated copy of Acrobat)? Why not?
Rather than forcing thousands, if not millions, of people to filter spam at the server level, wouldn't it make sense to do the filtering at the ISP level? I'm talking about the major providers. If most (non-virus) spam is coming from outside the U.S., why isn't it being blocked by the tele-co's when it gets to the U.S. ISP's?
Absolutely correct. I have both a computer science degree, and a law degree. In my graduating class, there were 1 CS guy (me) and 2 engineers. That's it. I'd say 75% of everyone else was English, Poly Sci, Psych, History, or Criminal Justice. Tech people just don't go into the law, and the kind of people that go into the law tend to not care nearly as much about technology.
I'm a law clerk in a fairly strict state when it comes to DUI/DWI sentences. And no one here is being sentenced to a "few months" for even multiple time offenders. Just today my judge sent someone away on their 4th offense for 45 days, and he figures he'll get hell about giving the guy a sentence of that amount.
Maybe you can answer this for me. I worked for Amazon for about a year. I always wondered why they charged so damn much for shipping the T.R.U. stuff. I mean, it was like $.75 a pound or something crazy.
Um, I'd love to know what kind of speakers you are finding to fit within that budget. You can't get decent speakers for $1000, much less all the other equipment.
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Why do they have 1080p sets? Because 1080 is bigger than 720, and people like bigger numbers. I've got a top of the line 720p TV and it will blow away all but the best 1080p sets (basically, the good Pioneer plasmas). But every single study I have ever seen indicates that unless you've got a 60" TV that you are sitting within a few feet of (or a very large projection screen), you simply cannot see the difference.
Additionally, I don't believe we need any new laws to deal with this. At least I haven't personally seen a need yet. Generally, the existing harassment laws do just fine. They are already written broadly enough to cover "communications" via a number of methods. If someone communicates with you after you've told them you find their contact harassing, the law covers it, whether it's by phone, mail, in-person, or email. Special laws to cover the internet will only make it more difficult to do my job, and more importantly the job of the judges who ultimately make the decisions. And believe me, they are not well equipped to understand online material. Boiling it all down to "communications" is just easier. Court personal and prosecutors are already overworked in many areas, and complicating matters further will basically just mean that either other cases involving more traditional speech will have to be given a lower priority, or that none of it gets the attention it needs.
The one situation that's hard to handle is postings to other people's blogs that are unconnected to the recipient. Trying to analogize a blog posting is a bit difficult -- it's not like we've ever had much of a problem of people speaking bad of each other via physical billboards. But really, that's protected free speech, until it rises to the level of a treat. So essentially, the one situation a politician could conceivably attempt to control is basically impossible control due to that pesky constitution of ours (I know, politicians hate it).
Bottom line, leave the law alone. Stop grandstanding. And throw enough money at the judicial system to be able to spend enough time of each case, and give prosecutors the money to have enough people to pursue the cases that need the most attention. But I suppose it's a lot easier to "JUST THINK ABOUT THE CHILDREN!!" by coming up with crazy laws, rather than simply funding courts.
Absolutely. Smugmug is a great site. I've used it for about 3 years now, and absolutely love it. It's like $25 a year, but well worth it. I tried the free sites, and they aren't even close to it in terms of quality. If you're serious of showing off your pictures, give it a shot.
No idea where I first read this, but I too remembering reading something very similar to the "solve the captcha for porn" idea.
Religions are about papal indulgences, quashing other religions, controlling the proletariat, and pretending to have answers to difficult questions as a pretense to authority. If people purporting to be Christian have left this impression on you, I apologize on behalf of the rest of us. True Christian seek none of those goals.
It all depends on how good your industry's lobbyists are.
Yeah, I've got a couple of those Cyberhome (or similar) players, as well as a mid-level Pioneer. Yeah, the AStar and Cyberhome let me skip the unwanted ads, but they also take longer to turn on, longer to load the disc, and generally work like crap -- both in usability and performance. I'd love a player that was both (1) good and (2) not evil.
I'm always shocked at the number of people who don't know the difference between "explorer" and "internet explorer." I'm taken to just telling people to click "my computer", because they can't screw that up.
Nevermind. I'm an idiot. Somehow I failed to notice that these newer cards often include the appropriate adapters. Ignore me and move along.
I had the exact same thought when reading the article. For a second I thought, "Did I somehow miss-out on some technological advancement where you can now connect a monitor to a motherboard, yet still use the processing power of the GPU?" On a related note, I have a question I would love for someone to answer: What happened to VGA outputs on video cards? I'm actually looking for build a new (gaming/HTPC) system, but must have a GPU that outputs to VGA, as my monitor (a 50" Panasonic Plasma) accepts only VGA & component. Sure, I could buy an add-on card for $150 that allows the monitor to accept it, but that seems like a lot of wasted money for no actual increase in quality. So, is this something I can even accomplish? Seems like every decent card has DVI only. Is this the way of the future?
Here's an example I've used to explain the issue to people: You test the machine 1000 times, and it comes back accurately on all 1000. This would seem to be a fairly reliable machine. However, let's say some disgruntled programmer decides to add some code that would automatically fail every 1001 people who take the test. Now, clearly the machine has been "tested." But just as clear is that using this machine would be unconstitutional.
I disagree, I loved Minidisc. I was a DJ for years, and Minidiscs were pretty much the coolest thing ever, as they allowed me to make "mix CD's" so that I wouldn't have to lug hundreds and hundreds of CD's from job to job. And the fact they were more or less indestructible was great. But granted, that's a pretty specific use. As far as MDs being of lower quality, ummm, anyone ever heard of the iPod? People today are buying music with crappy quality, so I'm not sure that argument works. Lossy formats will always drive hardcore audiophiles (of which I consider myself) crazy, but for people out there without thousands to spend on speakers, processors, and amps, quality of the recording isn't the weak link in the chain, so it really doesn't matter. If someone is listening to their shelf system with 5 watt, 3 inch "full range!" speakers, the difference between CD, MP3, and MD is essentially non existent.
If you ever get a chance, it's awfully amusing to browse around "The High End" show that goes on concurrently with CES in Vegas. (Note -- it's an "industry only" event) That's where you meet the real crazies. Like the dude who, for a few thousand bucks, will come to your house and leave strategically placed stones on your furniture -- no scientific method involved, he just knows. And the "magnets guy", who randomly places magnets under your speakers wire because he was told in a dream that magnets under the wire will make the sound better. Or the guy whose "proof of concept" essentially turns an ordinary fan into a subwoofer -- it doesn't work, but it will, he says. It goes on and on. Good, entertaining stuff.
According to my roommate, a Circuit City employee, they do not get paid any commissions at all. Apparently, they used to, but changed, and I guess it was a huge deal when they did, because people who were previously making $20+ an hour were now going to be making a set salary of $8 an hour, or so.
So people with "only" a BS are now idiots? I wasn't aware that PhD's were required for employment now. Damn, what a mistake I seem to have made.
Valid point, but not accurate in my case. I did look very hard for jobs. Even enlisted the help of a job-finding service. I was offered one job immediately after graduating and turned it down because it was barely enough to live on, given the location. After that, nothing. I was willing to take just about anything within 6 months of that point, and went a year without getting a thing. It wasn't a case of me being picky or demanding. Not at all.
And I did finish law school, and work as a law clerk, which is pretty much the definition of taking a modest first job.
Comments like these drive me insane. There aren't enough qualified people for the jobs that are available? Bull. I was the best programmer in my graduating undergrad class. I looked for a job for 18 months, living on money I made from DJ'ing frickin' wedding dances before giving up and going to law school. There are people out there -- talented people -- willing to work. Give one of them a shot before crying about being able to hire more foreign help.
I'm all for the line of thinking that you should leave the decisions up to the doctors? But what happens when the doctors start prescribing medications based not on what is best for you, but which drug company gave them enough free crap to convince them to start recommending the drug? And if you think this doesn't happen, you're sorely mistaken.
...when can I finally get a free pdf creator/editor? I can view PDFs. I can make PDFs from other files. But I cannot edit PDFs (without the help of a pirated copy of Acrobat)? Why not?
Rather than forcing thousands, if not millions, of people to filter spam at the server level, wouldn't it make sense to do the filtering at the ISP level? I'm talking about the major providers. If most (non-virus) spam is coming from outside the U.S., why isn't it being blocked by the tele-co's when it gets to the U.S. ISP's?
Absolutely correct. I have both a computer science degree, and a law degree. In my graduating class, there were 1 CS guy (me) and 2 engineers. That's it. I'd say 75% of everyone else was English, Poly Sci, Psych, History, or Criminal Justice. Tech people just don't go into the law, and the kind of people that go into the law tend to not care nearly as much about technology.
I'm a law clerk in a fairly strict state when it comes to DUI/DWI sentences. And no one here is being sentenced to a "few months" for even multiple time offenders. Just today my judge sent someone away on their 4th offense for 45 days, and he figures he'll get hell about giving the guy a sentence of that amount.
Well, statistically speaking, pornography DOES lead to increased sex crimes against women.
Maybe you can answer this for me. I worked for Amazon for about a year. I always wondered why they charged so damn much for shipping the T.R.U. stuff. I mean, it was like $.75 a pound or something crazy.
Um, I'd love to know what kind of speakers you are finding to fit within that budget. You can't get decent speakers for $1000, much less all the other equipment.