I did not imply that everyone opposed to DRM is a pirate. Certain extremes are never satisfied with anything that doesn't completely meet their demands. There's nothing really wrong with that, except that they don't often get what they want.
DRM is not an evil technology, nor is facism an inherently evil government. With the rights uses, both can do very well. With the wrong uses, both can be terrible things.
DRM can be used to secure corporate secrets. It can prevent theft of personal and intellectual property. These are its good uses. DRM can be used to prevent fair use. It can be used to unfairly control individuals, companies, and their choices. These are its bad uses.
I do not like ther possibility of DRM being used in a way that removes my authority over my computer and my files. I do not think DRM should be used to enforce copy protection legally; rather it should be used to secure private documents and services. I would rather it prevent one from stealing software rather than stealing files, and I would rather that it was not needed, but I understand and appreciate that Apple has, for now, created what I consider an equitable trade-off between unrestricted access and DRM dominion, something that amounts to fair use for most people; the availablility of compatible portable AAC players being probably the most valid argument.
Is it perfect? Not quite. Is it closer than most other solutions? That's really a question for each person to answer.
Probably because iTunes isn't a file sharing service. In sheer terms of quantity, iTunes doesn't hold a candle to KaZaA, but then you're dealing with 800 copies of a single song, 250 of which are "demo" red herring tracks put out by RIAA lackeys, 200 copies that are 56kbps, and 100 copies that seem to be encoded after having been recorded on a VoIP headset from a clock radio across the room...
The iTMS guarantees consistant quality, which is something that can't be said of P2P systems. iTMS also comes with additional information, you can get samples before you download a song - fast and convenient, unlike in KaZaA.
Overall, iTunes gives you a good interface for using the music, a consistant distribution system with a quality guarantee you don't get for free, and it's getting better. Sure, it won't appeal to audiophiles or the DRM-obsessed who are unfamiliar with the word "equitable", but then very little does.;)
Dot-com it is not. Most dot-coms didn't have ANY income, and apple gets 33 cents a song. If you subtract out some ridiculous bandwidth ($3000 a day), some ridiculous server expense ($3000 a day) and some serious support work ($5000 a day, including lawyers, digitizers, designers, etc) they pulled in over $70,000 a day for the last four days.
Also, considering that you'll have: 1. people who download it just to see it 2. People who want it for their existing music libraries 3. people who have it on their Mac and want it on their PC... so the sales figures aren't bad at all. Even if every person who tried it bought just one song, that doesn't mean everyone will be content with their one song. Someone out there has $2 to burn.
The Silicon Graphics(R) O2(R) visual workstation...
The real issue is personal computer vs. workstation, not desktop. Desktop is a case style, whereas (arguably) personal computers are those bought for home and workstations are those bought for high-end business uses. The G5 can be used as a workstation, and likely will be, but is also intended for home, i.e. personal, use.
The biggest point to me is that it didn't always include "under God" - and the original version is still used by the US military (if I'm not mistaken)... why not use it in the classroom as well?
A really nice setup, a very narrow seam, and the ability to handle twelve different sources - one VGA, DVI, S-Video & Composite per screen. You could have one three-screen, one two-screen, and one single-screen computer, as well as random video feeds. Of course, the pricetag is a bit higher than three of most LCD screens.
I'm just waiting for Maxis (Now a div. of EA, I know) to spin off a Defense Contractor that uses extensions of the SimCity and The Sims engines to produce simulations of geo-political and urban scenarios...
The first revisions will probably go something like this:
"After a while, everyone just stood around holding their head until the passed out or urinated on themselves. The city built up a massive debt. Just before we terminated the simulation, they were running a recall election..."
The use of mail servers (Class B) more adequately meets the term "reliable", but is still dependent on power being available at critical times.
These situations seem to be for those cases where security of data far outweighs the ability to retain it. Check you mail queue. Maybe you have NSA encrypted documents right now:)
I know how you feel. HyperStudio took all the fun, challenge, and interest out of it. Drop in a button with existing effects and scripting - where's the fun or thought in that? Might as well use PowerPoint.
HyperCard was great. You could go as far as you wanted. Catching system events and idle loops, even creating/changing menus.
Our middle school computer lab used a customized HyperCard called StudentCard for an interface for the computers - it let you launch programs and such in Mac OS 6.0.4 on Classics and Plusses. I used to open the StudentCard stack in HyperCard and add a hidden button that raised the user level to 5 when you held down command-option, giving you free reign.
Actually, I went and priced Laptops on Dell and Apple today. A 15" PowerBook and a 15.4" Inspiron 8600 are almost even on similar configurations (Dell comes out $50 less in my comparison). If you max the Inspirion to match the 17" PowerBook (2GB DDR333, 80GB, 802.11g, Bluetooth, DVD-R, 64MB Video, Extra Battery, No Floppy, 3yr Warranty) you can add a 40GB iPod, an iSight, and the high-end AirPort Extreme Base Station on and still not hit Dell's price. Dell's has the $200 mail-in rebate (Dell rebates are a PITA, just ask Young America who handles them...)
All-in-all, the prices are pretty decent. The high-end G5 costs plenty more than the high-end Dimension XPS, but it's barely $100 more than a similarly-equipped Precision 360, but it can double the RAM, has FireWire 800, Bluetooth and 802.11g support, and a bit more processing power, depending on who you ask...
Sure, they can't compete with the Dimension 2400's $599 price tag, but the low-end eMac is $800 to the Dimension 4600's $849.
In some fairness to Gil Amelio, he didn't really have time to show if his ideas would work. He came in and did a bunch of cutting, and then was removed before he had any time to rebuild. I'm not saying that he would have done a great job, we'll just never know what kind of job it would have been.
1. Too heavy. It was big, especially the MessagePad 2000. It was unwieldly where the PalmPilot was sleek and comfortably fit into the hand or a pocket.
2. Too early. Apple has a history of putting out things on the cutting edge, but early adoption wasn't as common back then. "Trendy" is much more important now than it used to be. So, the Newton came out, and it was a great tool, but it was hard to get people to buy something completely new that replaced substantially cheaper notepads and organizers.
3. Wrong market. The people who benefit most from PDAs are those with lots to remember - professionals, doctors, etc. Apple just isn't big in those markets, and, especially then, it was hard for them to separate a new product from the Macintosh platform. It wasn't until the iPod came out with a Windows version that Apple could show they made things not tied to the Macintosh.
4. It's tough being first. The PDA was a revolution. They are being replaced with/morphing into handheld computers as desires for additional functions become common. The Newton had the power years ago to be a handheld computer, and it's Soups and association capabilities were amazing. It isn't easy to convince people they need something they have always done without, and Apple just didn't manage to do it.
I got an IM from a co-worker the night before saying he'd received a phone call saying "Don't come in tomorrow..." I wasn't at home, but there were no messages for me. I didn't have CallerID at the time. I went in the next morning and specifically tried to find an HR person, even asked the receptionist (wife of the guy on IM) if she knew anything. After a few minutes, I headed to my desk.
There was an e-mail about a meeting set to take place in 15 minutes, so I headed down to the break room - the only place large enough to hold all the people. I had been sitting for about 5 minutes when an HR person stuck their head in and asked to speak to me. It was pretty shitty, because I knew I was the only one in the room who wasn't going to be there the next day.
I had to train someone on my job, which proved to be difficult, as they had locked out my account in the 5 minutes I was away from my desk, and then they spent 45 minutes deciding if I was trustworthy enough to be allowed access to my files.
Nah, they'll just have to install Faraday cages in checkout lines so a person can go in and de-activate their RFID Blocker to pay without everyone knowing what they've got on them...
RFID-embedded money - talk about a mugger's dream come true...
I remember reading Levy's comments on it. When you press the number buttons, accidental FasTap presses are disregarded. I couldn't give you technical detail, however.
Don't forget to get up and move every now and then, as well. People don't realize that this is a major factor in health. Why does the Atkins diet work for so many people? Because you don't need carbohydrates if you sit in an office all day. The food pyramid should practically say, "For an active lifestyle."
You can still boot, you just can't use any of the normal boot circumvention functions - CD-ROM, NetBoot, Target Disk Mode, Verbose, Single-user, Startup Manager, or Open Firmware.
It's noted in another KB article linked from the one referenced. You also can't reset the PRAM with the password set, though I can't speak to how the changing the RAM might affect that.
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I did not imply that everyone opposed to DRM is a pirate. Certain extremes are never satisfied with anything that doesn't completely meet their demands. There's nothing really wrong with that, except that they don't often get what they want.
DRM is not an evil technology, nor is facism an inherently evil government. With the rights uses, both can do very well. With the wrong uses, both can be terrible things.
DRM can be used to secure corporate secrets. It can prevent theft of personal and intellectual property. These are its good uses. DRM can be used to prevent fair use. It can be used to unfairly control individuals, companies, and their choices. These are its bad uses.
I do not like ther possibility of DRM being used in a way that removes my authority over my computer and my files. I do not think DRM should be used to enforce copy protection legally; rather it should be used to secure private documents and services. I would rather it prevent one from stealing software rather than stealing files, and I would rather that it was not needed, but I understand and appreciate that Apple has, for now, created what I consider an equitable trade-off between unrestricted access and DRM dominion, something that amounts to fair use for most people; the availablility of compatible portable AAC players being probably the most valid argument.
Is it perfect? Not quite. Is it closer than most other solutions? That's really a question for each person to answer.
I doubt that this is a patent with which Apple will attempt to make any money - these days you have to patent something before Bezos can.
Probably because iTunes isn't a file sharing service. In sheer terms of quantity, iTunes doesn't hold a candle to KaZaA, but then you're dealing with 800 copies of a single song, 250 of which are "demo" red herring tracks put out by RIAA lackeys, 200 copies that are 56kbps, and 100 copies that seem to be encoded after having been recorded on a VoIP headset from a clock radio across the room...
;)
The iTMS guarantees consistant quality, which is something that can't be said of P2P systems. iTMS also comes with additional information, you can get samples before you download a song - fast and convenient, unlike in KaZaA.
Overall, iTunes gives you a good interface for using the music, a consistant distribution system with a quality guarantee you don't get for free, and it's getting better. Sure, it won't appeal to audiophiles or the DRM-obsessed who are unfamiliar with the word "equitable", but then very little does.
Dot-com it is not. Most dot-coms didn't have ANY income, and apple gets 33 cents a song. If you subtract out some ridiculous bandwidth ($3000 a day), some ridiculous server expense ($3000 a day) and some serious support work ($5000 a day, including lawyers, digitizers, designers, etc) they pulled in over $70,000 a day for the last four days.
...
Also, considering that you'll have:
1. people who download it just to see it
2. People who want it for their existing music libraries
3. people who have it on their Mac and want it on their PC
so the sales figures aren't bad at all. Even if every person who tried it bought just one song, that doesn't mean everyone will be content with their one song. Someone out there has $2 to burn.
I have been inspired to make a feature request. Thank you.
From the link:
The real issue is personal computer vs. workstation, not desktop. Desktop is a case style, whereas (arguably) personal computers are those bought for home and workstations are those bought for high-end business uses. The G5 can be used as a workstation, and likely will be, but is also intended for home, i.e. personal, use.The biggest point to me is that it didn't always include "under God" - and the original version is still used by the US military (if I'm not mistaken)... why not use it in the classroom as well?
You might be interested in something from Panoram Technologies.
A really nice setup, a very narrow seam, and the ability to handle twelve different sources - one VGA, DVI, S-Video & Composite per screen. You could have one three-screen, one two-screen, and one single-screen computer, as well as random video feeds. Of course, the pricetag is a bit higher than three of most LCD screens.
I'm just waiting for Maxis (Now a div. of EA, I know) to spin off a Defense Contractor that uses extensions of the SimCity and The Sims engines to produce simulations of geo-political and urban scenarios...
The first revisions will probably go something like this:
"After a while, everyone just stood around holding their head until the passed out or urinated on themselves. The city built up a massive debt. Just before we terminated the simulation, they were running a recall election..."
I thought the "100-foot well" bit at the end of the article was a unique twist. 6 kilobits of data in 100 feet at 20KHz stored as sound...
The use of mail servers (Class B) more adequately meets the term "reliable", but is still dependent on power being available at critical times.
:)
These situations seem to be for those cases where security of data far outweighs the ability to retain it. Check you mail queue. Maybe you have NSA encrypted documents right now
RAM is dual-channel DDR400, and the video card is basically the ATI Radeon 9600 Pro or 9800 Pro. The FSB is 1GHz, which is pretty nice, too.
;)
I imagine that the next version of SimCity will really like the G5.
I know how you feel. HyperStudio took all the fun, challenge, and interest out of it. Drop in a button with existing effects and scripting - where's the fun or thought in that? Might as well use PowerPoint.
HyperCard was great. You could go as far as you wanted. Catching system events and idle loops, even creating/changing menus.
Our middle school computer lab used a customized HyperCard called StudentCard for an interface for the computers - it let you launch programs and such in Mac OS 6.0.4 on Classics and Plusses. I used to open the StudentCard stack in HyperCard and add a hidden button that raised the user level to 5 when you held down command-option, giving you free reign.
I miss the message-box.
Actually, I went and priced Laptops on Dell and Apple today. A 15" PowerBook and a 15.4" Inspiron 8600 are almost even on similar configurations (Dell comes out $50 less in my comparison). If you max the Inspirion to match the 17" PowerBook (2GB DDR333, 80GB, 802.11g, Bluetooth, DVD-R, 64MB Video, Extra Battery, No Floppy, 3yr Warranty) you can add a 40GB iPod, an iSight, and the high-end AirPort Extreme Base Station on and still not hit Dell's price. Dell's has the $200 mail-in rebate (Dell rebates are a PITA, just ask Young America who handles them...)
All-in-all, the prices are pretty decent. The high-end G5 costs plenty more than the high-end Dimension XPS, but it's barely $100 more than a similarly-equipped Precision 360, but it can double the RAM, has FireWire 800, Bluetooth and 802.11g support, and a bit more processing power, depending on who you ask...
Sure, they can't compete with the Dimension 2400's $599 price tag, but the low-end eMac is $800 to the Dimension 4600's $849.
In some fairness to Gil Amelio, he didn't really have time to show if his ideas would work. He came in and did a bunch of cutting, and then was removed before he had any time to rebuild. I'm not saying that he would have done a great job, we'll just never know what kind of job it would have been.
Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel. Made in HyperCard. Also by Cyan. A sweet little game.
Newton's problems as I saw them:
1. Too heavy. It was big, especially the MessagePad 2000. It was unwieldly where the PalmPilot was sleek and comfortably fit into the hand or a pocket.
2. Too early. Apple has a history of putting out things on the cutting edge, but early adoption wasn't as common back then. "Trendy" is much more important now than it used to be. So, the Newton came out, and it was a great tool, but it was hard to get people to buy something completely new that replaced substantially cheaper notepads and organizers.
3. Wrong market. The people who benefit most from PDAs are those with lots to remember - professionals, doctors, etc. Apple just isn't big in those markets, and, especially then, it was hard for them to separate a new product from the Macintosh platform. It wasn't until the iPod came out with a Windows version that Apple could show they made things not tied to the Macintosh.
4. It's tough being first. The PDA was a revolution. They are being replaced with/morphing into handheld computers as desires for additional functions become common. The Newton had the power years ago to be a handheld computer, and it's Soups and association capabilities were amazing. It isn't easy to convince people they need something they have always done without, and Apple just didn't manage to do it.
I got an IM from a co-worker the night before saying he'd received a phone call saying "Don't come in tomorrow..." I wasn't at home, but there were no messages for me. I didn't have CallerID at the time. I went in the next morning and specifically tried to find an HR person, even asked the receptionist (wife of the guy on IM) if she knew anything. After a few minutes, I headed to my desk.
There was an e-mail about a meeting set to take place in 15 minutes, so I headed down to the break room - the only place large enough to hold all the people. I had been sitting for about 5 minutes when an HR person stuck their head in and asked to speak to me. It was pretty shitty, because I knew I was the only one in the room who wasn't going to be there the next day.
I had to train someone on my job, which proved to be difficult, as they had locked out my account in the 5 minutes I was away from my desk, and then they spent 45 minutes deciding if I was trustworthy enough to be allowed access to my files.
The AirPort 802.11b "Snow" as opposed to the "Graphite"
I like the simplicity of the "one name" naming scheme, but it's a PITA to figure things out when someone says, "It's an iMac."
What color?
Blue.
Bondi, Blueberry, or Indigo?
It's a light blue.
Does it have a DVD-ROM drive?
I dunno.
Is it slot-loading?
What does that mean?
It means I'll come over tomorrow.
Nah, they'll just have to install Faraday cages in checkout lines so a person can go in and de-activate their RFID Blocker to pay without everyone knowing what they've got on them...
RFID-embedded money - talk about a mugger's dream come true...
The fifth fifth processor.
64-bit extensions? In the same way AltiVec was 128-bit extensions?
The 4GHz bus does sound good, thought.
I remember reading Levy's comments on it. When you press the number buttons, accidental FasTap presses are disregarded. I couldn't give you technical detail, however.
Don't forget to get up and move every now and then, as well. People don't realize that this is a major factor in health. Why does the Atkins diet work for so many people? Because you don't need carbohydrates if you sit in an office all day. The food pyramid should practically say, "For an active lifestyle."
You can still boot, you just can't use any of the normal boot circumvention functions - CD-ROM, NetBoot, Target Disk Mode, Verbose, Single-user, Startup Manager, or Open Firmware.
It's noted in another KB article linked from the one referenced. You also can't reset the PRAM with the password set, though I can't speak to how the changing the RAM might affect that.
You don't even need to do that. You can simply change it with the program, unless you don't know it. The issue is at boot, not from inside the OS.