As far as I am aware, if you buy something in the UK (not services, or some other things that don't count, but goods) then legally you can to take them back to where you bought them within one year and you have the right to a full refund or replacement.
If I'm right on this, why is there no such thing in the US?
I didn't say it wasn't your right. I said it wasn't your 'right'. I was referring to your legal right. I agree that if you watch a film once, you should be able to watch it again, so long as you don't cost the seller money again.
By that I don't mean that you should pay to watch it again because it costs them money in the sense you don't pay to watch it again.
I mean that if you buy a DVD, you should be able to watch it until it wears out (and get a fresh physical copy at-cost, but I highly doubt any company will start doing that).
The same goes for pay-per-view. I interpret that as 'pay for the right to watch this film', not 'pay for the right to watch this film once. Watch closely!'
* Go to a video rental shop. * Rent a video. * Make a copy of it. * Take it back.
Illegal: Probably. Immoral: I don't know. I wouldn't feel bad about it, because I'd probably miss half the film on the first viewing. I get distracted by cooking, or decide to do something more exciting and watch it properly at a later date.
* Record film you paid-per-view for and watch it more than once.
Immoral: As above. Of course it's not my 'right' to watch a film more than once if I paid to watch it once, but I've just been put off ever buying Tivo.
Just wondering if anyone has useful arguments against monitoring, ID cards, etc. which I can give to people who say to me 'I have nothing to fear, because I haven't done anything wrong'?
When I tell them that the government makes mistakes, that the government may change to one who they don't like (and now have huge amounts of data on them), that they may be falsely accused of things they haven't done, they just look at me as if I'm a conspiracy theorist.
I could never get used to Windows Forms. It still amazes me that the layout manager concept isn't considered a standard part of the UI toolkit design process now.
If I could be bothered, I'd dig out the modem I have lying around somewhere and hook it up to to my computer and phone line again.
I'd then write some software which used the bluetooth APIs to accept messages requesting that the computer makes a phone call.
When the computer made that call, it would then use the mobile phone as the bluetooth headset for that call, routing the audio to/from the fixed phone line via the modem.
I'd also write a Java app for my mobile phone which asks for a phone number (or lets you look one up in your phone book) - just like the phone does normally - and then sends off that bluetooth message to the computer.
Now I'd be able to make phone calls via my fixed line while in the house, without to be bothered to reach over and pick up the fixed line handset.
Energy saved: 12 joules/year. Money saved: EUR -10/year.
Why negative money saved? I always get charged when I used my fixed line, but I get a number of inclusive minutes on my mobile.
Oh, I forgot, I can't access bluetooth from Java on my mobile. Sony Ericsson thought it was best, for some reason. I'm not sure if I can even access the phone book, come to think of it.
Brodie figured out that a document is really just a collection of pieces of text, and that it didn't really matter where each piece of text is physically located within the document's file. For that matter, you could have one piece of text that came from one file and another piece of text that came from another file. We refer to this collection of pieces of text as the "piece table." This design has a number of benefits. For example, if you copy text from one document to another, you don't have to actually copy the text from one file to another--at least not right away.
Am I the only one who read that and instantly thought "There are a million reasons why that's a bad idea"?
To put this into perspective, the person who implemented multiple undo in Word is one of the best developers who has ever worked on Word, and has, since, been recognized as a Microsoft Distinguished Engineer.
I stopped getting messages with From addresses of real people (but not sent by them) a long time ago, well before I started using qconfirm. I did think about that before I activated it.
Weren't those messages created by a virus? Most spammers seem to use completely fake addresses (the domain is just made up).
BTW, 'qconfirm list' gives the list of messages for which which it is waiting for confirmation from the sender. I have a cron job send me the new addresses once a day.
The only times I see addresses I need to allow through are when I've done something like entered my email address on some web form when asking to evaluate a product, then forgotten that I should be expecting a message.
The nice thing is, I can just accept this one message (qconfirm peek email-address) without allowing future spam through from that company. This is handy for those companies that insist on spamming you just because you downloaded their software, tried it once, and deleted it because it was crap.
It's probably to do with your average non-technical person won't have heard of Ogg Vorbis. Joe Average has heard of Real. It's the format that "all the sites use".
AFAIK, RealPlayer doesn't come with Windows, so the user has to go and download it, trying desperately to avoid paying for the non-free version.
If the user has already downloaded it, they can cope with downloading and installing a player, so I'm sure they'd be happy to download and install something like Winamp, with its less annoying installation procedure.
All the BBC need to do is provide a link to Winamp, or some other player that can deal with Ogg Vorbis.
Again, it comes down to the brand-awareness. If they either can't afford or don't wish to run two streams then it makes most sense to use the one with the most brand-awareness.
I actually think they should stream Ogg Vorbis only and drop the RealAudio streams. Wouldn't that be cheaper in the long run? They can probably use the same hardware they used for encoding the RealAudio streams.
Right, so the BBC have the resources to _develop_ a whole new codec, but not to set up Ogg Vorbis streaming of their radio programming, alongside the existing RealAudio streams?
The BBC, IMNSHO (as a licence payer), should be champions of open communications, and this extends to the openness of their distribution formats. I wish they'd stop wasting resources from crappy little mini-sites with gossip and games relating to soap operas.
Relevant to who? How many people does even 1% of the browser market represent? Quite a large number, I'd say. What you are saying is akin to saying that the citizens of Norway are not 'significant'.
Konqueror's own HTML engine is also used in Safari, which is used by plenty of MacOS X users, so that estimate should perhaps be revised upwards slightly.
I agree with you on all points raised but please remember that in no document introducing Linux have I ever seen the copying capabilities of Linux being introduced as having 2 separate clipboards. They always say that copying/pasting can be done in the usual "X" way and the Windows way. No mention is made of the separate clip-boards.
Such documents really need fixing, and whoever wrote them should be spanked.
What about the clip-board where you would sometimes want to highlight some text [for replacement], only to find that it has replaced the text you had in the so called X-clip board?
There are two clipboards. There's the X-style one, where selecting text automatically copies it, and the Windows-style one, where you press Ctrl-C to copy and Ctrl-V to paste. They each have their own storage.
Is this so difficult to understand? Windows users will never notice the X clipboard, X users will never notice the Windows clipboard. Or so you'd think.
If you're confused about this, I'm sorry, but it's really not that difficult to understand. The system works fine for any 'normal' user, who will simply be oblivious to the 'other' clipboard. It also works fine for the user who knows there are two clipboards and whose brain can cope with the rather simple concept that the two are separate.
Did anyone else think it was weird that the Hotmail one was sent to a non-hotmail address? I marked it as bogus just in case. There went my perfect 10.
Slashdot Mirror
1. How often do you have difficulty hearing on a mobile phone?
Never.
2. How often have you seen this portrayed on TV and in film?
Never noticed.
Maybe you should get a decent phone.
Rik
As far as I am aware, if you buy something in the UK (not services, or some other things that don't count, but goods) then legally you can to take them back to where you bought them within one year and you have the right to a full refund or replacement.
If I'm right on this, why is there no such thing in the US?
Rik
I didn't say it wasn't your right. I said it wasn't your 'right'. I was referring to your legal right. I agree that if you watch a film once, you should be able to watch it again, so long as you don't cost the seller money again.
By that I don't mean that you should pay to watch it again because it costs them money in the sense you don't pay to watch it again.
I mean that if you buy a DVD, you should be able to watch it until it wears out (and get a fresh physical copy at-cost, but I highly doubt any company will start doing that).
The same goes for pay-per-view. I interpret that as 'pay for the right to watch this film', not 'pay for the right to watch this film once. Watch closely!'
Rik
How about this then:
* Go to a video rental shop.
* Rent a video.
* Make a copy of it.
* Take it back.
Illegal: Probably.
Immoral: I don't know. I wouldn't feel bad about it, because I'd probably miss half the film on the first viewing. I get distracted by cooking, or decide to do something more exciting and watch it properly at a later date.
* Record film you paid-per-view for and watch it more than once.
Immoral: As above. Of course it's not my 'right' to watch a film more than once if I paid to watch it once, but I've just been put off ever buying Tivo.
Rik
In British English, quoting goes "like this". In American English, it seems to be "like this."
Rik
Is there any web app framework which has never had a security hole? I'd love to use it, if there is. Any pointers?
Rik
Just wondering if anyone has useful arguments against monitoring, ID cards, etc. which I can give to people who say to me 'I have nothing to fear, because I haven't done anything wrong'?
When I tell them that the government makes mistakes, that the government may change to one who they don't like (and now have huge amounts of data on them), that they may be falsely accused of things they haven't done, they just look at me as if I'm a conspiracy theorist.
Rik
Er, Windows Forms has layout management.
It's not as powerful as e.g. Qt's but it's easy enough to handle from the form designer and simple enough to understand.
Rik
"Old Phone" is my ringtone on my Sony Ericsson mobile phone. It's the only one I don't hate.
Rik
If I could be bothered, I'd dig out the modem I have lying around somewhere and hook it up to to my computer and phone line again.
/year. /year.
I'd then write some software which used the bluetooth APIs to accept messages requesting that the computer makes a phone call.
When the computer made that call, it would then use the mobile phone as the bluetooth headset for that call, routing the audio to/from the fixed phone line via the modem.
I'd also write a Java app for my mobile phone which asks for a phone number (or lets you look one up in your phone book) - just like the phone does normally - and then sends off that bluetooth message to the computer.
Now I'd be able to make phone calls via my fixed line while in the house, without to be bothered to reach over and pick up the fixed line handset.
Energy saved: 12 joules
Money saved: EUR -10
Why negative money saved? I always get charged when I used my fixed line, but I get a number of inclusive minutes on my mobile.
Oh, I forgot, I can't access bluetooth from Java on my mobile. Sony Ericsson thought it was best, for some reason. I'm not sure if I can even access the phone book, come to think of it.
Never mind.
Rik
The text on the image claims it isn't visible on IE 5.5 or higher, but it shows up on IE 6.
Rik
Am I the only one who read that and instantly thought "There are a million reasons why that's a bad idea"?
Interesting award system.
Rik
I stopped getting messages with From addresses of real people (but not sent by them) a long time ago, well before I started using qconfirm. I did think about that before I activated it.
Weren't those messages created by a virus? Most spammers seem to use completely fake addresses (the domain is just made up).
BTW, 'qconfirm list' gives the list of messages for which which it is waiting for confirmation from the sender. I have a cron job send me the new addresses once a day.
The only times I see addresses I need to allow through are when I've done something like entered my email address on some web form when asking to evaluate a product, then forgotten that I should be expecting a message.
The nice thing is, I can just accept this one message (qconfirm peek email-address) without allowing future spam through from that company. This is handy for those companies that insist on spamming you just because you downloaded their software, tried it once, and deleted it because it was crap.
Rik
Confirmed. I haven't had any spam since I started using qconfirm.
Rik
Indeed, this isn't so much teleportation as rsync.
Rik
AFAIK, RealPlayer doesn't come with Windows, so the user has to go and download it, trying desperately to avoid paying for the non-free version.
If the user has already downloaded it, they can cope with downloading and installing a player, so I'm sure they'd be happy to download and install something like Winamp, with its less annoying installation procedure.
All the BBC need to do is provide a link to Winamp, or some other player that can deal with Ogg Vorbis.
I actually think they should stream Ogg Vorbis only and drop the RealAudio streams. Wouldn't that be cheaper in the long run? They can probably use the same hardware they used for encoding the RealAudio streams.
Rik
Right, so the BBC have the resources to _develop_ a whole new codec, but not to set up Ogg Vorbis streaming of their radio programming, alongside the existing RealAudio streams?
The BBC, IMNSHO (as a licence payer), should be champions of open communications, and this extends to the openness of their distribution formats. I wish they'd stop wasting resources from crappy little mini-sites with gossip and games relating to soap operas.
Rik
Relevant to who? How many people does even 1% of the browser market represent? Quite a large number, I'd say. What you are saying is akin to saying that the citizens of Norway are not 'significant'.
Konqueror's own HTML engine is also used in Safari, which is used by plenty of MacOS X users, so that estimate should perhaps be revised upwards slightly.
Such documents really need fixing, and whoever wrote them should be spanked.
Rik
There are two clipboards. There's the X-style one, where selecting text automatically copies it, and the Windows-style one, where you press Ctrl-C to copy and Ctrl-V to paste. They each have their own storage.
Is this so difficult to understand? Windows users will never notice the X clipboard, X users will never notice the Windows clipboard. Or so you'd think.
If you're confused about this, I'm sorry, but it's really not that difficult to understand. The system works fine for any 'normal' user, who will simply be oblivious to the 'other' clipboard. It also works fine for the user who knows there are two clipboards and whose brain can cope with the rather simple concept that the two are separate.
The original Super Mario Kart, please. I bought a SNES recently, for playing Mario Kart and nothing else. Well worth 20 quid on eBay.
From the site:
"There are no games at the moment. When we announce something, we'll put it here!"
Rik
for i in img*.jpg; do convert $i $i:r.png; done
Slightly shorter way for zsh, in case you were using it already and didn't know about the $var:x stuff.
Rik
Did anyone else think it was weird that the Hotmail one was sent to a non-hotmail address? I marked it as bogus just in case. There went my perfect 10.
Rik