I bought a Visor Deluxe primarily as an ebook reader in early 2001. It did the job quite well.
About a month ago, I replaced it with a Palm Tungsten E, and it is just amazing for ebooks. The colour 320x320 screen gives very crisp easy to read text in any lighting conditions. The Tungsten also has 32 meg to store books, the 8 meg on the Visor was too limiting.
The only drawback is that the Tungsten has a built in battery that's only good for 1-2 days, so if it runs out of power of I forget to charge it, I can't use it until I get back to the computer to recharge it. The visor takes AAA's and I have a few sets of NiMH one that last about 2 weeks. By carrying a spare set, I never ran out of power, and I always had 1 set in the charger.
I read about 2 novels/week on these PDAs.
Jason ProfQuotes
Sounds good to me. Last time I checked, starbucks WiFi access on a monthly basis was more expensive than my broadband, and for shorter lengths of time it's even worse. $10 for 1 day of access. The 10 cents/minute plan sounds good until you read the fine print and see it's a 1 hour minimum charge; so it's $6 just to check your email.
According to The Canadian Institute for Health Information, in 2003, Canada spent a total of $121 Billion CDN on health care (this is the cost the government pays for the universal health system). With a population of ~30 million, that's $4,000 CDN/person.
For your family of 4, that's $16,000 CDN/year or $12,000 US at a 30% exchange rate. That works out to $1,000 US/month Canada is paying and your $400 health insurance is a lot better than my $1000 health care.
For what Canada spends per year on health care, they could get health insurance in the US for every citizen that is far superior to the canadian healthcare system.
Canada spends about $5000/person on health care; I see ads on Vancouver TV bragging that BC spends more on health care than the next 10 largest provincial ministries combined. $3000US/year buys good health insurance in the states.
It will probably sell better than non-DRM hardware because of the way it can be marketed. It allows you to play DRM content that you can't play on non-DRM'd hardware. That sounds like a positive feature if you don't know the details.
Would you take the script of a play or a movie, run it through tts and then say it was even a passable substitute for the original?
There's a huge difference between a play/movie script and book. A script is lines that are meant to be performed by different people and acted out. There is no description of what's actually happenening because it is to be done visually in the background.
With a book, everything is in the text. I read a few books a week, and I've tried audiobooks a couple of times. I just find it impossible to visualize what's going one when someone else is doing the reading. I get a lot more out of the book if I read it myself. OTOH, I'd much rather see a movie than read the screenplay.
I'd be all for having something like this *if* it reduced prices. Oh well, it was a good idea anyway.
That's the catch right there. It will probably raise prices to offset the cost of the machine and pay full price for the software.
That's what happened with ATM's (at least in Canada). They were introduced as a cost saving device, but the machines initially were so expensive that the banks charged a per transaction fee to use them. Then when people got used to the fee and the price came down on the ATMs, they introduced a larger fee to access a live teller.
The article lists a lot of nokia models including the 3650 which is a minor improvement on the 5100 series, but it doesn't mention the 5100 as being replaced. I have a 5165 on an AT&T plan in Seattle (one of the affected areas).
I paid $40 for 12 ounces of ink that's specifically meant for my model. It's good ink; I can't tell the difference between the same photo printed on a cartridge I've refilled 3 times vs on a brand new cartridge).
$40/12 ounces = $3.33/ounces or 1/20th the price of ink in the cartridge. Last time I bought fountain pen ink, it was $6 for a 2 ounce bottle at staples, so the refill ink I bought is in the same price range as bulk pen ink.
But if you refill the cartridge, you're better off with the low yield model because it's cheaper and it has the same heads, so as long as you don't let it run out of ink, you'll get just as much life out of it for half the price.
I have an HP Photosmart 7350 printer, it takes a C6657a cartridge which costs $35. Cheaper HP printers take a c8728a cartridge which is $20. What HP doesn't tell you is that the two cartridges are exactly identical except that the 28a has 8ml of ink while the 57a has 17ml. When I refill, the 28, it even takes about 17ml, so for a $15 savings all I lose is half of my first fill.
Re:Use an NP-hard problem
on
Gates on Spam
·
· Score: 3, Informative
This is a positive point from Microsoft's point of view. Your 10 year old computer is now completely useless for sending email, so you must now buy a brand new computer, complete with a new Windows license (you don't think they'll let you use linux to run their protocol, do you?:) )
It was the parent poster who set those conditions. If he can quit his $100,000/year he hates to take a $20,000k job he loves, how is that different financially from keeping the $100k job and saving 80%. You'd lose some in taxes, so you wouldn't be saving quite 80%, but the general idea is the same.
If that were the choice, I'd rather hate my job for 5 years making $100k/year, put $80k each year in the bank and then quit my job and pay myself $20k each year for the next 25 years out of the saved money to do what I want;).
Decent cable is at least $40/month these days or about $500/year. If a season on DVD averages out to $50 per show, you can buy 10 shows/year on DVD before it becomes more expensive. So it sounds like a good idea
The way they get you though is the delay before it comes out on DVD. You're right, it would be a great business model as you described it.
There's always software hacks to get around problems in the hardware. The pentium flaw could be "fixed" by disabling the FPU in software. Sure it would be a lot slower, but at least you'd get the right answer. Even hard drive sizes used to be "hacked" bigger by using compression software.
You didn't realize you had to be on drugs to buy a Dell when they had the "Dude, you're getting a Dell" campaign? Not even when the Dell Dude got busted for drugs?
Even if Hubble is replaced by a newer and better telescope, the demand for time on the instrument is so great that both telescopes can still be put to very good use. Even as the second best telescope, Hubble's usefulness far outweighs the cost to do the service mission.
Regardless, we should not even be thinking of scrapping Hubble until something better is up there.
Quality Control of hacked code?
on
Hack Your Car
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
When I was taking Real-Time programming we discussed car code. The prof said it has a 7 year development cycle and takes about 2 developer hours per assembly instruction to write, test, and debug the code.
I don't see a hacked code being anywhere near as reliable. Even if it makes the changes you want, your car might end up stalling as often as windows crashes.
In thorey, yes, in practice, that's not how it works out.
At least at the bank it was "sign this form or you can't bank with us". The form basically said they could give all your financial data to their affiliate companies so they could harass you to open other accounts. They insist it's directly related because they can't offer you a chequing account without asking you to take out a mortgage.
While I was taking the IT law course, I tried to sign up for web access to my TD bank account. I had to sign a waiver that said I'd read their terms of service, but they didn't include the ToS, so I asked about it. The account manager looked at me like I was nuts, but I insisted. It took her about 10 minutes to find it and then I sat there and read it. There is a clause in it that if my money disappears totally through their fault (like an employee stealing it), they are not liable. I refused to sign and I showed the ToS to my law prof. He said the clause probably wouldn't hold up in court but it would cost so much to fight it that it wouldn't be worth it.
Somehow, I don't see them backing down on their PIPEDA waivers either and it will be so difficult to fight it that it's impractical. Have you dealt with the Government of Canada? It's nearly impossible to do anything.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe they're join rambus and threaten to sue everyone using DDR memory.
Jason
ProfQuotes
The subject says it all (at least to any Candians reading this).
Jason
ProfQuotes
I bought a Visor Deluxe primarily as an ebook reader in early 2001. It did the job quite well.
About a month ago, I replaced it with a Palm Tungsten E, and it is just amazing for ebooks. The colour 320x320 screen gives very crisp easy to read text in any lighting conditions. The Tungsten also has 32 meg to store books, the 8 meg on the Visor was too limiting.
The only drawback is that the Tungsten has a built in battery that's only good for 1-2 days, so if it runs out of power of I forget to charge it, I can't use it until I get back to the computer to recharge it. The visor takes AAA's and I have a few sets of NiMH one that last about 2 weeks. By carrying a spare set, I never ran out of power, and I always had 1 set in the charger.
I read about 2 novels/week on these PDAs. Jason
ProfQuotes
Sounds good to me. Last time I checked, starbucks WiFi access on a monthly basis was more expensive than my broadband, and for shorter lengths of time it's even worse. $10 for 1 day of access. The 10 cents/minute plan sounds good until you read the fine print and see it's a 1 hour minimum charge; so it's $6 just to check your email.
Jason
ProfQuotes
According to The Canadian Institute for Health Information, in 2003, Canada spent a total of $121 Billion CDN on health care (this is the cost the government pays for the universal health system). With a population of ~30 million, that's $4,000 CDN/person.
For your family of 4, that's $16,000 CDN/year or $12,000 US at a 30% exchange rate. That works out to $1,000 US/month Canada is paying and your $400 health insurance is a lot better than my $1000 health care.
Jason
ProfQuotes
For what Canada spends per year on health care, they could get health insurance in the US for every citizen that is far superior to the canadian healthcare system.
Canada spends about $5000/person on health care; I see ads on Vancouver TV bragging that BC spends more on health care than the next 10 largest provincial ministries combined. $3000US/year buys good health insurance in the states.
Jason
ProfQuotes
It will probably sell better than non-DRM hardware because of the way it can be marketed. It allows you to play DRM content that you can't play on non-DRM'd hardware. That sounds like a positive feature if you don't know the details.
Jason
ProfQuotes
Would you take the script of a play or a movie, run it through tts and then say it was even a passable substitute for the original?
There's a huge difference between a play/movie script and book. A script is lines that are meant to be performed by different people and acted out. There is no description of what's actually happenening because it is to be done visually in the background.
With a book, everything is in the text. I read a few books a week, and I've tried audiobooks a couple of times. I just find it impossible to visualize what's going one when someone else is doing the reading. I get a lot more out of the book if I read it myself. OTOH, I'd much rather see a movie than read the screenplay.
Jason
ProfQuotes
The title of the movie has yet to be released
Based on the last 2 titles, my guess would be Night of the Living Sith
Jason
ProfQuotes
I'd be all for having something like this *if* it reduced prices. Oh well, it was a good idea anyway.
That's the catch right there. It will probably raise prices to offset the cost of the machine and pay full price for the software.
That's what happened with ATM's (at least in Canada). They were introduced as a cost saving device, but the machines initially were so expensive that the banks charged a per transaction fee to use them. Then when people got used to the fee and the price came down on the ATMs, they introduced a larger fee to access a live teller.
Jason
ProfQuotes
The article lists a lot of nokia models including the 3650 which is a minor improvement on the 5100 series, but it doesn't mention the 5100 as being replaced. I have a 5165 on an AT&T plan in Seattle (one of the affected areas).
Jason
ProfQuotes
Which is why I refill :)
I paid $40 for 12 ounces of ink that's specifically meant for my model. It's good ink; I can't tell the difference between the same photo printed on a cartridge I've refilled 3 times vs on a brand new cartridge). $40/12 ounces = $3.33/ounces or 1/20th the price of ink in the cartridge. Last time I bought fountain pen ink, it was $6 for a 2 ounce bottle at staples, so the refill ink I bought is in the same price range as bulk pen ink.
Jason
ProfQuotes
But if you refill the cartridge, you're better off with the low yield model because it's cheaper and it has the same heads, so as long as you don't let it run out of ink, you'll get just as much life out of it for half the price.
I have an HP Photosmart 7350 printer, it takes a C6657a cartridge which costs $35. Cheaper HP printers take a c8728a cartridge which is $20. What HP doesn't tell you is that the two cartridges are exactly identical except that the 28a has 8ml of ink while the 57a has 17ml. When I refill, the 28, it even takes about 17ml, so for a $15 savings all I lose is half of my first fill.
Jason
ProfQuotes
This is a positive point from Microsoft's point of view. Your 10 year old computer is now completely useless for sending email, so you must now buy a brand new computer, complete with a new Windows license (you don't think they'll let you use linux to run their protocol, do you? :) )
Jason
ProfQuotes
It was the parent poster who set those conditions. If he can quit his $100,000/year he hates to take a $20,000k job he loves, how is that different financially from keeping the $100k job and saving 80%. You'd lose some in taxes, so you wouldn't be saving quite 80%, but the general idea is the same.
Jason
ProfQuotes
Ever hear of interest?
If that were the choice, I'd rather hate my job for 5 years making $100k/year, put $80k each year in the bank and then quit my job and pay myself $20k each year for the next 25 years out of the saved money to do what I want ;).
Jason
ProfQuotes
Decent cable is at least $40/month these days or about $500/year. If a season on DVD averages out to $50 per show, you can buy 10 shows/year on DVD before it becomes more expensive. So it sounds like a good idea
The way they get you though is the delay before it comes out on DVD. You're right, it would be a great business model as you described it.
Jason
ProfQuotes
There's always software hacks to get around problems in the hardware. The pentium flaw could be "fixed" by disabling the FPU in software. Sure it would be a lot slower, but at least you'd get the right answer. Even hard drive sizes used to be "hacked" bigger by using compression software.
Jason
You didn't realize you had to be on drugs to buy a Dell when they had the "Dude, you're getting a Dell" campaign? Not even when the Dell Dude got busted for drugs?
Jason
ProfQuotes
Assuming all your information is right, I still look at it this way:
For $750M, you can have the newer better telescope, or for a mere 1/3rd more, you can have the newer telescope and Hubble.
At the very least, Hubble can take some of the load from whatever new telescope they build so the waiting times won't be as long.
Jason
ProfQuotes
Even if Hubble is replaced by a newer and better telescope, the demand for time on the instrument is so great that both telescopes can still be put to very good use. Even as the second best telescope, Hubble's usefulness far outweighs the cost to do the service mission.
Regardless, we should not even be thinking of scrapping Hubble until something better is up there.
Jason
ProfQuotes
When I was taking Real-Time programming we discussed car code. The prof said it has a 7 year development cycle and takes about 2 developer hours per assembly instruction to write, test, and debug the code.
I don't see a hacked code being anywhere near as reliable. Even if it makes the changes you want, your car might end up stalling as often as windows crashes.
Jason
ProfQuotes
In thorey, yes, in practice, that's not how it works out.
At least at the bank it was "sign this form or you can't bank with us". The form basically said they could give all your financial data to their affiliate companies so they could harass you to open other accounts. They insist it's directly related because they can't offer you a chequing account without asking you to take out a mortgage.
While I was taking the IT law course, I tried to sign up for web access to my TD bank account. I had to sign a waiver that said I'd read their terms of service, but they didn't include the ToS, so I asked about it. The account manager looked at me like I was nuts, but I insisted. It took her about 10 minutes to find it and then I sat there and read it. There is a clause in it that if my money disappears totally through their fault (like an employee stealing it), they are not liable. I refused to sign and I showed the ToS to my law prof. He said the clause probably wouldn't hold up in court but it would cost so much to fight it that it wouldn't be worth it.
Somehow, I don't see them backing down on their PIPEDA waivers either and it will be so difficult to fight it that it's impractical. Have you dealt with the Government of Canada? It's nearly impossible to do anything.
Jason
ProfQuotes
This is exactly where the law falls apart.
You have to sign the document giving the dentist consent to use your data how he wants or he won't work on your teeth.
I've run into the same thing with banks a couple of years ago when PIPEDA first applied to them.
So far, PIPEDA seems to give you a choice of protecting your data OR dealing with businesses.
Jason
ProfQuotes