The truth is this is just more fuel to fire the hype machine. Whether true or not, it'll just get more people wanting to read the book.
In a way, it's a smart marketing move by the company if they didn't spend too much on it.
But this crappy coffee can is worthy of a patent? A calcium oxide/water reaction learned in any highschool advanced chemistry class?
Reading the patent below, I must wonder if those who give out patents get lost in the gobbely-gook of the descriptions not to see that it seems to fail the basic requirements of a patent:
Especially in the view of non-obviousness in view of prior art. Self-heating pads using assorted chemicals have been around for a long time. How long was it before someone applied it to not to hands but to food/drinks which we've been warming up since like forever. This is question of application, not innovation.
I also have to question the $24 million to develop this thing. Reminds me when GE (or maybe whirlpool???) came out with front-loading washers like 10 years or so ago and announced it took $100M to develop and spouting all the benefits of the system (lower water consumption, etcetera). When the europeans have been using front-loaders since at least the '50s, you gotta wonder who's been embezzling all that cash.
[/rant]
(From The article} United States Patent 5,461,867 Scudder , et al. October 31, 1995 Container with integral module for heating or cooling the contents
Abstract An outer container for holding a material, such as a food, beverage or medicine with a sealed thermic module inside the container. The thermic module contains chemical reactants that mix upon actuation of the container by a user. Mixing of the reactants produces an exothermic or endothermic chemical reaction, depending upon the reactants selected. The contents of the outer container surround a portion of the outside surface of the thermic module, thereby facilitating conduction of heat. The thermic module has a hollow module body that is closed at one end and a module cap that seals the other end of the module body. The module body contains the solid reactant, and the module cap contains the liquid reactant. The module cap has a tubular section with a flexible member closing one end and a breakable barrier closing the other end. With the exception of the barrier, the cap is of unitary construction. The cap has one or more integrally formed prongs extending from the inner surface of the disc toward the barrier. The prongs move in an axial direction toward the barrier and may also spread apart radially when the outer surface of the flexible member or an actuator connected to it is depressed by the user's finger. The dual motion of the prongs in both axial and radial directions promotes complete puncturing of the barrier and thus fast mixing of the reactants. Link.
I was wondering when we would get away from chemical propellant.
But for any energy medium we don't get out of the ground - we have to harvest/make somehow and that process almost always consumes more energy than what the final product can emit. Is this the case here?
Not that I care about the energy consumption so much, just the implication to cheap space travel and such, unless we get up off our asses and build fusion reactors.
But still, the possibilities are endless.
Geosynched Sattelites may stay up in space for centuries instead of just a decade or two, if they can utilize antimatter to keep their stationary orbit instead of propellant.
Spacecraft should be able to make trips at least to other planets like Mars and back without worry about having enough propellant to get back.
Manned trips to the outer solar system may be made possible for the first time.
Increases usuable payload.
Future advances like these make me wish that the spacerace competition with the Soviet Union was still around - who knows how much more exploration would have been made in our lifetimes......
Maybe China will get us off our rockers one day.....
"In an effort to find out, he plotted major innovations and scientific advances over time compared to world population, using the 7200 key innovations listed in a recently published book, The History of Science and Technology (Houghton Mifflin, 2004). The results surprised him."
Um..... let me just interject my interpretation: That book won't likely have the key innovation for the last, say decade or so, because they aren't widely known yet until they impact us. For instance, Einstein's first theories weren't widely considered important/innovative until years AFTER he developed them and us dumblings could finally tune into his wavelength and say "AHA! They are useful."
Or like Arpanet might have been viewed as a cute military playtoy in the 70's...... until it evolved into the internet.
"Rather than growing exponentially, or even keeping pace with population growth, they peaked in 1873 and have been declining ever since (see Graphs). Next, he examined the number of patents granted in the US from 1790 to the present. When he plotted the number of US patents granted per decade divided by the country's population, he found the graph peaked in 1915.
The period between 1873 and 1915 was certainly an innovative one. For instance, it included the major patent-producing years of America's greatest inventor, Thomas Edison (1847-1931). Edison patented more than 1000 inventions, including the incandescent bulb, electricity generation and distribution grids, movie cameras and the phonograph."
Do we really have to get into a discussion of why Patents are not the best measurement of progress?
If anyone wants to research which flavor of Linux to get, go to Distrowatch.com and read the reviews by online magazines. They also send out CDs for a small price if you can't download/burn your distro of choice.
My personal suggestion for newbies to get a LiveCD like Knoppix or UbuntuLive. Then move on to an friendly system like Mandriva/Fedora/UbuntuInstall/Mepis, etcetera depending on their specific needs and research (distrowatch again).
If they want to get even more into it, try something like Slackware or Gentoo. Maybe as a final stage of total mastery Linux From Scratch:D
OTOH, if they really have spefic needs, there's no end to distros out there addressing a niche market and not just the desktop.
Oh, and avoid those people who make "their" distro a religious choice and all other nonbelievers infidels.
This is assuming humans are really ultra important in the grand scheme of things, especially versus other more physical interactions that WOULD get impacted if someone were to travel back in time. And if the theory is saying only human interactions won't get impacted OR that no physical interactions get impacted at all - that is a hard pill to swallow.
I would like to see an explanation for why someone's actions, were they to travel back in time, would have a net effect of Zero on the physical world around them?
Take out the probabity of your relations. What about the impact of simply walking somewhere? Do those footprints not exist? Think that's not important detail. Tell that to scientist's who have found dinosaur prints millions of years old. It certainly impacted their life.
Ah, but you see, if your prints had a probability of 1 to be found by that person, they would be found anyway. Or so I guess.
And those probabilities calculations can be thrown out the window because everything is then predetermined anyway. Unless when we travel back in time we are ghosts that don't walk around and may accidently step on a bug or two.
That just goes to show you when lawyer's get involved, the shit is going to hit the fan, mostly because in the end it's not about their clients, but their own pocketbook that will benefit. See any class action lawsuit where they get the bulk of the money to "distribute" the winnings of the case.
Incidently, I heard over 95% of congress being laywers.....
Imagine if the original LineTo algorithm got patented or if id software patented everything they did, we'd still be darkages in terms of graphics.
"If I have seen further [than certain other men] it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." -Newton
One feature I miss out on movie sites that have local listing times is comparative pricing. Everything else on the net has it, it seem, why not websites that accept theatre listings?
My Regal Cinema down the street dropped the matinee times from any movie starting before 5pm to 3pm and upped the price from 5.50 to 7.00 - the regular price from 8.00 to 9.25 while some theatres down the street (older) are down to 4.50 regular - I'd like to know these things w/o checking out every stupid theatre in the area.
Perhaps I'm just sour because I got suckered into seeing House of Wax for ~9 just recently.
Laws are hardly stay constrained for the reason they are enacted.
I believe Tax Evasion laws nabbed Al Capone because they couldn't convict him on anything else? But is that the extent they use those charges? I think not.
So will be the case of the DMCA.
And didn't RIAA go after individuals lately? 12 y/o girls are hardly big boys in any sense of the word.
Sure, the RIAA got bad PR for this, but do you want to rely on that when they come knocking on your door?
The reason the DMCA is still on the books is because the informed people of the US haven't really banded together and fought it in political terms. Those who wish to fight it need to play the system otherwise it will go to those who do, sad to say.
I hate the argument that Linux isn't ready yet....... or until...... this or that.
Linux is never going to be perfect folks! Stop eluding yourself thinking that it has to be perfect to be accepted. Or that in 2 or 3 years it will be "just right" and Joe Average will slobber all over it.
The more users that get converted now, the more folks will sit up and take notice. The more that take notice, the more that flock to linux. The more that flock to linux, the more the developers take notice and eventually be forced to make software for that market.
But it will never happen with "in two or three year's time" attitude. I heard this attitude 2 or 3 years ago. And also 2 or 3 years before that. Ad infinitum. (Actually only 1998-ish.)
There will always be a learning curve.
With all the spyware/malware problems with Windows - now is the time to strike. Don't think Microsoft is resting on their laurels - maybe (probably) they won't fix the problem - but as the software they bought recently (last year?) and redubbed MS AntiSpyware it shows they will come up with a solution that's good enough for most users as to excuse them not to switch (Let's face it: people are lazy when it comes to change.)
Requiring a Comp.Sci. Degree for Linux just because you couldn't get the printer to run? Save the 200 or so dollar XP installation and buy a compatible computer!
You have to be kidding me with ease of use.
Windows users practically need a degree to get rid of all the spyware/bloat/malware on their computers now, let alone hack the mystical registry when a program doesn't play nice when removed.
According to the article, it should be available to Linux, Mac, and Windowns desktops..... not just Linux. Offers non-lossy FLAC and Ogg compression as well as lossy formats.
But a complete Ogg "CD" still costs 6.99 and FLAC costs 8.99
Sounds like a OK deal overall (figuring no DRM) but right now it specializes in Progressive Rock.... but hopefully the selection will get broader, just like Ebay started out with just Pez dispensers.
Seriously. I learned more Japanese listening to the anime I like in the original language than trying to learn it from a book. Plus it's fun. Motivation. Non-tedious. And you get the correct pronunciations for stuff. Plus how people really speak versus the business type speech in most language books. Plus the culture in some of shows.
In order to retain a language it must be used and excercised. Have newspapers/recorded news shows (my father learned English in three months from these when he migrated over to Canada from Germany), other shows, Movies, CHILDREN'S BOOKS and toys, or whatever else is ENGAGING.
You're not just teaching a language but a culture. It's a very interesting culture.
STAY AWAY from the computers unless it's to surf the Japanese portion of the Internet. Most everything else connected to the computer will be a gadgety and a waste of money.
Well, I never thought of TV and the Net strictly competing with each other......
But the internet is vastly more useful in terms of information.
Take the local news for instance. They tantalize you with a tidbit, whatever it may be like "find out how garlic can save your life", and drag you along for the entire show, commercials and all, to learn about that one bit of information.
Most other morning shows, etcetera have their own form of this. The internet, OTOH, has immediate gratification in many cases. Who's the winner gonna be?
With all the problems, patches, spyware, spam and all around complexities with PCs - I shudder everytime I think about having to add anything to my own computers, let alone my parent's computer.
Instead, I look for products that make their (and my) lives simpler. For example, instead of buying them a photo printer last that hooks up to the computer and uses some half-assed complicated software and drivers - I bought a stand alone model with a small LCD screen that prints photos directly from their camera. Life made simpler. For all parties concerned.
2nd Example. Web-based email. Specifically Yahoo. Lots less problems.
Any other examples that tend to bypass the PC and their Programs?
I wonder what Opera is thinking aside from making a quick dollar. Even if they made a measly $190k they lost $3.1 that will eventually have to be paid back if not done already.
It might be the creditors who gave them the 3.1 million in the first place might be the ones pushing for the IPO to get their money back. AKA venture capitalists.
To them, it doesn't matter whether the business floats or sinks afterward, they just need to get their investment out of it anyway possible.
That's linux's strong suit. The people you are referring to aren't geeks, but tinkerers. They want everything done for them in the first place.
Let them play with MS software.
If you have an internet connection you can connect to a 'social' group that wants to learn Unix.
Everything I'm reading here are excuses for people who don't want to learn Unix.
I don't want linux to turn into another MS Windows where your hand is held and Papa Gates makes sure you don't hurt yourself with the command line.
All we have to fear is fear itself, AFAIK SCO has produced nothing worthwhile to back up it's claims.
I wish the SCO would just die as it deserves, a quiet death without rousing the entire roost with it's antics. It's like believing the boy who cried 'Wolf!' after the fiftieth time..........
I never understood how this "one-click" was patentable. Buttons on computers screens were around since ever, my first GUI computer in the eighties that had buttons. You clicked them once, and they did something, hence "one-click."
Also, retrieving customer information wasn't innovative, it has been done before.
In the car world, it would be akin to patenting "one punch" where in a control (pedal-button) needs to be punched,pushed, or what have you, in order to evoke a realtime response, i.e. a car's function. Whether it is retrieving more fuel to feed the pistons or apply pressure to the brakes.
I'm sick of people using obscure language to get a patent on stupidly obvious shit! Everytime one of these asses go out and sue someone, they should be liable for full legal costs, damages, and jail time. It's just a big drag on everyone else who is actually 'innovative.'
Force legislation so that the phone companies are forced to charge telemarketers the same connect fees/per minute rate as they do every other Joe Schmo. That way it becomes economically unfeasible to call every single person in the US to solicit business but if they really wanted to use their 'freedom of speech', they can.
I have the same idea for junk mailers using the Post Office, charge them the same fees as Joe Schmo has to..... I'm sure it will save more than a few trees.
Let me get this straight, we want laws passed so that these sitcoms can become as truthful as infomercials?
Dude, when's the last time you watched infomercials?! Last time I saw, infomercial people were hawking programs that let you 'read' at 25,000 words per minute and other such garbage.
Teach kids the universal truth: Ultimately, trust nobody. Everybody else can tell lies or at the very least put their slant on things.
It's not meant to be cynical, but it's what happens.
The solution seems to be to harass (in legal ways) the parent company that hired everyone in the first place (Disney for Disney cruises). If enough people started getting irritated at Disney/Parent Company X, that company will figure out that that part of the advertising strategy isn't working and refuse to pay for it..... but I'm being optimistic, aren't I?
"I like the idea in some European countries where if you get caught DWI, you lose your license - forever. Never drive a car again in your life. Done. Etc."
Stupid idea! Have you any idea how far reaching public transportation is in Europe? Hell, I can get to practically anyplace I want in Germany with a train, subway, trolley, etc, because it is extensive as hell. I don't know about the rest of the countries.....
But in America, when was the last time you took a train anywhere outside a city? Can you visit your favorite malls, go to work, etc all with public transportation? If so, congratulations, you must be one of the few.
It can be done in some instances (your totally screwed if you live in Buttfuck, Idaho), but you know how many hours you'd waste vs. a car?
Not only that, you know how it wouldn't solve the problem? Let's say Jim has no drivers license, priviledge permanently revoked just because he's been found driving without license for whatever reason. After a while, he says fuck it, he needs to go to his job, school, etc, and public transport ain't cutting it. So he drives, if he sees cops ever chasing him, he'll run like hell (increasing auto accidents probability) and on top of all this, he won't have insurance, not for lack of money, but because he can't get insurance without a license number.
No thanks to your "let's solve the world's problems by punishing the 'evildoers' forever" mentality. Some things I'm willing to let go..... let's chase after real assholes with no excuse, like people with no car insurance, etc.
In Europe, or at least Germany, they already test if you haven't been wearing your seatbelt. Not by any fancy technologies recording that fact, they simply cut off a portion of your seatbelt and analyze the fabric, they can tell whether it has been worn or not that way..... and if it wasn't worn the insurance company won't pay your medical bills.
Slashdot Mirror
The truth is this is just more fuel to fire the hype machine. Whether true or not, it'll just get more people wanting to read the book. In a way, it's a smart marketing move by the company if they didn't spend too much on it.
[/rant]
t ml
The hack is cool.
But this crappy coffee can is worthy of a patent? A calcium oxide/water reaction learned in any highschool advanced chemistry class?
Reading the patent below, I must wonder if those who give out patents get lost in the gobbely-gook of the descriptions not to see that it seems to fail the basic requirements of a patent:
http://www.patentsearchexpress.com/requirements.h
Especially in the view of non-obviousness in view of prior art. Self-heating pads using assorted chemicals have been around for a long time. How long was it before someone applied it to not to hands but to food/drinks which we've been warming up since like forever. This is question of application, not innovation.
I also have to question the $24 million to develop this thing. Reminds me when GE (or maybe whirlpool???) came out with front-loading washers like 10 years or so ago and announced it took $100M to develop and spouting all the benefits of the system (lower water consumption, etcetera). When the europeans have been using front-loaders since at least the '50s, you gotta wonder who's been embezzling all that cash.
[/rant]
(From The article}
United States Patent 5,461,867
Scudder , et al. October 31, 1995
Container with integral module for heating or cooling the contents
Abstract
An outer container for holding a material, such as a food, beverage or medicine with a sealed thermic module inside the container. The thermic module contains chemical reactants that mix upon actuation of the container by a user. Mixing of the reactants produces an exothermic or endothermic chemical reaction, depending upon the reactants selected. The contents of the outer container surround a portion of the outside surface of the thermic module, thereby facilitating conduction of heat. The thermic module has a hollow module body that is closed at one end and a module cap that seals the other end of the module body. The module body contains the solid reactant, and the module cap contains the liquid reactant. The module cap has a tubular section with a flexible member closing one end and a breakable barrier closing the other end. With the exception of the barrier, the cap is of unitary construction. The cap has one or more integrally formed prongs extending from the inner surface of the disc toward the barrier. The prongs move in an axial direction toward the barrier and may also spread apart radially when the outer surface of the flexible member or an actuator connected to it is depressed by the user's finger. The dual motion of the prongs in both axial and radial directions promotes complete puncturing of the barrier and thus fast mixing of the reactants.
Link.
I was wondering when we would get away from chemical propellant.
But for any energy medium we don't get out of the ground - we have to harvest/make somehow and that process almost always consumes more energy than what the final product can emit. Is this the case here?
Not that I care about the energy consumption so much, just the implication to cheap space travel and such, unless we get up off our asses and build fusion reactors.
But still, the possibilities are endless.
Geosynched Sattelites may stay up in space for centuries instead of just a decade or two, if they can utilize antimatter to keep their stationary orbit instead of propellant.
Spacecraft should be able to make trips at least to other planets like Mars and back without worry about having enough propellant to get back.
Manned trips to the outer solar system may be made possible for the first time.
Increases usuable payload.
Future advances like these make me wish that the spacerace competition with the Soviet Union was still around - who knows how much more exploration would have been made in our lifetimes......
Maybe China will get us off our rockers one day.....
From the f*ing article....
"In an effort to find out, he plotted major innovations and scientific advances over time compared to world population, using the 7200 key innovations listed in a recently published book, The History of Science and Technology (Houghton Mifflin, 2004). The results surprised him."
Um..... let me just interject my interpretation: That book won't likely have the key innovation for the last, say decade or so, because they aren't widely known yet until they impact us. For instance, Einstein's first theories weren't widely considered important/innovative until years AFTER he developed them and us dumblings could finally tune into his wavelength and say "AHA! They are useful."
Or like Arpanet might have been viewed as a cute military playtoy in the 70's...... until it evolved into the internet.
"Rather than growing exponentially, or even keeping pace with population growth, they peaked in 1873 and have been declining ever since (see Graphs). Next, he examined the number of patents granted in the US from 1790 to the present. When he plotted the number of US patents granted per decade divided by the country's population, he found the graph peaked in 1915.
The period between 1873 and 1915 was certainly an innovative one. For instance, it included the major patent-producing years of America's greatest inventor, Thomas Edison (1847-1931). Edison patented more than 1000 inventions, including the incandescent bulb, electricity generation and distribution grids, movie cameras and the phonograph."
Do we really have to get into a discussion of why Patents are not the best measurement of progress?
If anyone wants to research which flavor of Linux to get, go to Distrowatch.com and read the reviews by online magazines. They also send out CDs for a small price if you can't download/burn your distro of choice.
My personal suggestion for newbies to get a LiveCD like Knoppix or UbuntuLive. Then move on to an friendly system like Mandriva/Fedora/UbuntuInstall/Mepis, etcetera depending on their specific needs and research (distrowatch again).
If they want to get even more into it, try something like Slackware or Gentoo. Maybe as a final stage of total mastery Linux From Scratch:D
OTOH, if they really have spefic needs, there's no end to distros out there addressing a niche market and not just the desktop.
Oh, and avoid those people who make "their" distro a religious choice and all other nonbelievers infidels.
This is assuming humans are really ultra important in the grand scheme of things, especially versus other more physical interactions that WOULD get impacted if someone were to travel back in time. And if the theory is saying only human interactions won't get impacted OR that no physical interactions get impacted at all - that is a hard pill to swallow.
I would like to see an explanation for why someone's actions, were they to travel back in time, would have a net effect of Zero on the physical world around them?
Take out the probabity of your relations. What about the impact of simply walking somewhere? Do those footprints not exist? Think that's not important detail. Tell that to scientist's who have found dinosaur prints millions of years old. It certainly impacted their life.
Ah, but you see, if your prints had a probability of 1 to be found by that person, they would be found anyway. Or so I guess.
And those probabilities calculations can be thrown out the window because everything is then predetermined anyway. Unless when we travel back in time we are ghosts that don't walk around and may accidently step on a bug or two.
That just goes to show you when lawyer's get involved, the shit is going to hit the fan, mostly because in the end it's not about their clients, but their own pocketbook that will benefit. See any class action lawsuit where they get the bulk of the money to "distribute" the winnings of the case.
Incidently, I heard over 95% of congress being laywers.....
Imagine if the original LineTo algorithm got patented or if id software patented everything they did, we'd still be darkages in terms of graphics.
"If I have seen further [than certain other men] it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." -Newton
One feature I miss out on movie sites that have local listing times is comparative pricing. Everything else on the net has it, it seem, why not websites that accept theatre listings?
My Regal Cinema down the street dropped the matinee times from any movie starting before 5pm to 3pm and upped the price from 5.50 to 7.00 - the regular price from 8.00 to 9.25 while some theatres down the street (older) are down to 4.50 regular - I'd like to know these things w/o checking out every stupid theatre in the area.
Perhaps I'm just sour because I got suckered into seeing House of Wax for ~9 just recently.
Laws are hardly stay constrained for the reason they are enacted. I believe Tax Evasion laws nabbed Al Capone because they couldn't convict him on anything else? But is that the extent they use those charges? I think not. So will be the case of the DMCA. And didn't RIAA go after individuals lately? 12 y/o girls are hardly big boys in any sense of the word. Sure, the RIAA got bad PR for this, but do you want to rely on that when they come knocking on your door? The reason the DMCA is still on the books is because the informed people of the US haven't really banded together and fought it in political terms. Those who wish to fight it need to play the system otherwise it will go to those who do, sad to say.
Unless Microsoft makes a Linux version of IE and Outlook..... Absolutely.
Let me say - I meant buy a compatible printer, not computer. Sorry about that.
I hate the argument that Linux isn't ready yet....... or until...... this or that.
Linux is never going to be perfect folks! Stop eluding yourself thinking that it has to be perfect to be accepted. Or that in 2 or 3 years it will be "just right" and Joe Average will slobber all over it.
The more users that get converted now, the more folks will sit up and take notice. The more that take notice, the more that flock to linux. The more that flock to linux, the more the developers take notice and eventually be forced to make software for that market.
But it will never happen with "in two or three year's time" attitude. I heard this attitude 2 or 3 years ago. And also 2 or 3 years before that. Ad infinitum. (Actually only 1998-ish.)
There will always be a learning curve.
With all the spyware/malware problems with Windows - now is the time to strike. Don't think Microsoft is resting on their laurels - maybe (probably) they won't fix the problem - but as the software they bought recently (last year?) and redubbed MS AntiSpyware it shows they will come up with a solution that's good enough for most users as to excuse them not to switch (Let's face it: people are lazy when it comes to change.)
Requiring a Comp.Sci. Degree for Linux just because you couldn't get the printer to run? Save the 200 or so dollar XP installation and buy a compatible computer!
You have to be kidding me with ease of use.
Windows users practically need a degree to get rid of all the spyware/bloat/malware on their computers now, let alone hack the mystical registry when a program doesn't play nice when removed.
Read this:
http://kmself.home.netcom.com/Rants/spyware.html
And then decide if you really want Windows.
According to the article, it should be available to Linux, Mac, and Windowns desktops..... not just Linux. Offers non-lossy FLAC and Ogg compression as well as lossy formats.
But a complete Ogg "CD" still costs 6.99 and FLAC costs 8.99
Sounds like a OK deal overall (figuring no DRM) but right now it specializes in Progressive Rock.... but hopefully the selection will get broader, just like Ebay started out with just Pez dispensers.
I'm assuming this is a physical school.
:)
Have a library of anime.
Seriously. I learned more Japanese listening to the anime I like in the original language than trying to learn it from a book. Plus it's fun. Motivation. Non-tedious. And you get the correct pronunciations for stuff. Plus how people really speak versus the business type speech in most language books. Plus the culture in some of shows.
In order to retain a language it must be used and excercised. Have newspapers/recorded news shows (my father learned English in three months from these when he migrated over to Canada from Germany), other shows, Movies, CHILDREN'S BOOKS and toys, or whatever else is ENGAGING.
You're not just teaching a language but a culture. It's a very interesting culture.
STAY AWAY from the computers unless it's to surf the Japanese portion of the Internet. Most everything else connected to the computer will be a gadgety and a waste of money.
Well, I never thought of TV and the Net strictly competing with each other......
But the internet is vastly more useful in terms of information.
Take the local news for instance. They tantalize you with a tidbit, whatever it may be like "find out how garlic can save your life", and drag you along for the entire show, commercials and all, to learn about that one bit of information.
Most other morning shows, etcetera have their own form of this. The internet, OTOH, has immediate gratification in many cases. Who's the winner gonna be?
With all the problems, patches, spyware, spam and all around complexities with PCs - I shudder everytime I think about having to add anything to my own computers, let alone my parent's computer. Instead, I look for products that make their (and my) lives simpler. For example, instead of buying them a photo printer last that hooks up to the computer and uses some half-assed complicated software and drivers - I bought a stand alone model with a small LCD screen that prints photos directly from their camera. Life made simpler. For all parties concerned. 2nd Example. Web-based email. Specifically Yahoo. Lots less problems. Any other examples that tend to bypass the PC and their Programs?
It might be the creditors who gave them the 3.1 million in the first place might be the ones pushing for the IPO to get their money back. AKA venture capitalists. To them, it doesn't matter whether the business floats or sinks afterward, they just need to get their investment out of it anyway possible.
That's linux's strong suit. The people you are referring to aren't geeks, but tinkerers. They want everything done for them in the first place. Let them play with MS software. If you have an internet connection you can connect to a 'social' group that wants to learn Unix. Everything I'm reading here are excuses for people who don't want to learn Unix. I don't want linux to turn into another MS Windows where your hand is held and Papa Gates makes sure you don't hurt yourself with the command line.
All we have to fear is fear itself, AFAIK SCO has produced nothing worthwhile to back up it's claims.
I wish the SCO would just die as it deserves, a quiet death without rousing the entire roost with it's antics. It's like believing the boy who cried 'Wolf!' after the fiftieth time..........
I never understood how this "one-click" was patentable. Buttons on computers screens were around since ever, my first GUI computer in the eighties that had buttons. You clicked them once, and they did something, hence "one-click."
Also, retrieving customer information wasn't innovative, it has been done before.
In the car world, it would be akin to patenting "one punch" where in a control (pedal-button) needs to be punched,pushed, or what have you, in order to evoke a realtime response, i.e. a car's function. Whether it is retrieving more fuel to feed the pistons or apply pressure to the brakes.
I'm sick of people using obscure language to get a patent on stupidly obvious shit! Everytime one of these asses go out and sue someone, they should be liable for full legal costs, damages, and jail time. It's just a big drag on everyone else who is actually 'innovative.'
Easy way to get rid of telemarketers:
Force legislation so that the phone companies are forced to charge telemarketers the same connect fees/per minute rate as they do every other Joe Schmo. That way it becomes economically unfeasible to call every single person in the US to solicit business but if they really wanted to use their 'freedom of speech', they can.
I have the same idea for junk mailers using the Post Office, charge them the same fees as Joe Schmo has to..... I'm sure it will save more than a few trees.
Dude, when's the last time you watched infomercials?! Last time I saw, infomercial people were hawking programs that let you 'read' at 25,000 words per minute and other such garbage.
Teach kids the universal truth: Ultimately, trust nobody. Everybody else can tell lies or at the very least put their slant on things.
It's not meant to be cynical, but it's what happens.
The solution seems to be to harass (in legal ways) the parent company that hired everyone in the first place (Disney for Disney cruises). If enough people started getting irritated at Disney/Parent Company X, that company will figure out that that part of the advertising strategy isn't working and refuse to pay for it..... but I'm being optimistic, aren't I?
"I like the idea in some European countries where if you get caught DWI, you lose your license - forever. Never drive a car again in your life. Done. Etc."
Stupid idea! Have you any idea how far reaching public transportation is in Europe? Hell, I can get to practically anyplace I want in Germany with a train, subway, trolley, etc, because it is extensive as hell. I don't know about the rest of the countries.....
But in America, when was the last time you took a train anywhere outside a city? Can you visit your favorite malls, go to work, etc all with public transportation? If so, congratulations, you must be one of the few.
It can be done in some instances (your totally screwed if you live in Buttfuck, Idaho), but you know how many hours you'd waste vs. a car?
Not only that, you know how it wouldn't solve the problem? Let's say Jim has no drivers license, priviledge permanently revoked just because he's been found driving without license for whatever reason. After a while, he says fuck it, he needs to go to his job, school, etc, and public transport ain't cutting it. So he drives, if he sees cops ever chasing him, he'll run like hell (increasing auto accidents probability) and on top of all this, he won't have insurance, not for lack of money, but because he can't get insurance without a license number.
No thanks to your "let's solve the world's problems by punishing the 'evildoers' forever" mentality. Some things I'm willing to let go..... let's chase after real assholes with no excuse, like people with no car insurance, etc.
In Europe, or at least Germany, they already test if you haven't been wearing your seatbelt. Not by any fancy technologies recording that fact, they simply cut off a portion of your seatbelt and analyze the fabric, they can tell whether it has been worn or not that way..... and if it wasn't worn the insurance company won't pay your medical bills.