If you read their site, they're idea is mostly for supply-chain tracking. The idea is to be able to track the units being shipped without having to scan them physically, but instead be able to verify the RFIDs in the truck. Think of a truckload of PS2s, instead of having to scan them, you can just use the RFIDs to make sure they're all there. Well, that's what they're saying at least...
I was just listening to some talk radio on the way home, and this guy (who is completely unsavvy with technology) was rambling about how bad spam is getting.
It's not just an issue with the tech-savvy (OMG, why aren't we using IPv6?!?!?) but it occurs across the board with every e-mail user. Yesterday, even my grandmother was complaining about all the spam she gets. Almost everyone is feeling it, and so they complain.
You've agreed to wear those special glasses. You have to click "I agree" to download Gator stuff et al. Actually, if the suit had gone the other way, and they weren't allowed, I'd be more afraid because that would mean that software licenses are moot.
Yeah, I was just about to post a little historical lesson about past US foreign policy and how handing out money has never really worked, but beating the crap out of people has. Now, you could argue that we are acting more like bullies, but I'd say it's more like the forceful older brother.
I agree. Let the nerds have their distro, let the business world have the main ones. *ducks*
Debian should not get into the "Joe User" mode, because it alienates the only people that use it. Let RedHat, Mandrake, and SuSe fight over Joe User. Just as long as it's linux.
With diverse operating systems, there will be precisely the same number of dickheads out there writing malware, but that each would be more focussed for an OS, and perhaps more difficult to detect.
You're missing the point. By requiring the virus writers to be much more specific, you make the effectiveness of that virus much less. The appeal of writing a virus for Windows is watching the whole world fear that virus because ~80% of the world's computers run Windows. If you had smaller market shares, say at max 20%, then a virus (which usually only exploits unpatched computers) would only affect 25% of that OS, so a total of 5% would be vulnerable. We're not even talking about OSes here -- if you don't run Outlook you're safe from most of these new viruses. Try Opera's M2. Or Mozilla's e-mail client.
I will concede that this will then make it much harder for antivirus companies to keep track of, and support, a multitude of OSes, but it would only spur growth within that market, as companies would specialize to a specific OS.
Do you want to play? Get MSN. Do you want to communicate? Get iChat. There are times and places for both of these activities.
You have to remember that MSN is fighting AIM which has included a lot of this customisation (which the kids really like) in it's past versions. MSN is just playing catch-up to AIM, showing it up with the video, and catching up to iChat, showing it up with the customisation.
If you want to see what Microsoft has been playing with, check out Portrait 2.1. I use it on my PDA and am able to do wireless VoIP to my friend in England. When I'm on my office box, I can video conference with anyone else in my buddy list quite well.
I don't think that there are any forces, or anyone trying to "take over the internet." It seems to me that the spam creators are just trying to make money (however unscrupulously) and the virus writers (for the most part) are script kiddies who are bored 13 year olds. Now, some of the virus writers are trying to make a point through destruction, a la terrorism, but they aren't trying to take over the internet at all.
Most virii and worms just feed off of people's stupidity when using Outlook, it's not an invasion.
It seems to me that a phone/PDA device could really benefit from a slide out keyboard a la Tugnsten T or Sharp Zaurus. Save real estate while adding functionality.
Here's why we're seeing more services vs. goods. Services allow the company a continuous revenue that is flexible with what people can/will afford. If X cellphone company needs more money, they'll do a CBA to see if it's better to raise rates or raise advertising or something to attract new customers. Also, services allow you as the consumer to be more flexible (in theory). Say you're leasing a car, but you don't like the way it rides. Turn it in, get another one, no big deal. You rent an apartment, but the neighbours upstairs have very loud sex (I speak from experience...), you can move out.
If you owned a car and you didn't like it's styling, too bad -- unless you want to sell it permanantly, which takes time and then you have to buy another car (meanwhile, losing thousands of dollars in value).
We're becoming a very fluid society in which change is the very essense of who we are. Therefore, services instead of goods is to be expected -- I mean, do you want to pay $5000 for a cellphone and then never pay for minutes? What if you break yours, another 5 grand? Or a new model comes out?
I agree with you completely. I guess the thing I would look for is at least some attempt at security. If you look your car doors, that's about as much as you can do. However, you don't leave your windows rolled down when you do this. The same goes for computers I would think. As long as you have at least something (WEP) you've then made it necessary for someone to force their way in -- but don't leave a backdoor.
However, this should all be bypassed with this: Never put sensitive data on a wireless network. Until we have something that is fool-proof (which even a LAN isn't really), why risk it? Perhaps 802.1x will bring us closer to this ideal, but I'm sure we'll find issues with it soon enough.
How about pulling a PDA sized device out of your pocket, and then unfolding it to the size of a laptop? It'd only need to be as big as you need it.
How about a clam-shell device that would open up to a full-screen? Double the size.
Or, since it's flexible, why not just have it on your sleeve? You could look down at your sleeve and see what your schedule is for the day (kinda sci-fi, but possible).
Or, in a larger scale, a complete mockup of some new device for demoing.
Or, potentially you could have a book-like device that would allow an old school feel, but be LCD and downloadable and all.
And these are all just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are a ton of applications for this elsewhere than just consumers like the military, hospitals, research etc.
No. You're wrong, thanks for playing. It's not the tech-savvy people who Linux needs to win over. Those users already have enough reason to move (they understand the uber-security of Linux) and have their reasons for not moving (gaming). Those who want to, will.
The non-tech-savvy people, OTOH, have basic needs that can easily be addressed by Linux: e-mail, internet, instant messaging, mp3 player, p2p app, word processing. That is all they need and want. If someone will wake up and do this (I suspect Lindows is in the best position) so that when it is installed, all this is good to go - you'd have the OS for your mom.
Now let me tell you why mom matters: Mom is looking for the cheapest PC there is. If you can undersell a Windows box with a Linux box, then you've just won. Also, marketing works. I suspect by your website you don't put much faith in marketing, but sales and marketing people make or break the product in the real world. You could have the best product there is, but if you don't have the right people hyping it up, there will be no sales=no money=you're out of a job.
Mom watches TV. She reads the magazines. If something promises to do something easier/cheaper/better/faster/safer/etc, she'll be interested. People listen to marketing. If she sees this, she'll install it. If Dad uses it at work, and he brings it home, kids will use it. You've just created a two-prong attack that does very well. You expose the kids from a young age. Everyone starts to use it more. If you're the dad or mom, work with they kids and they'll love it. You've just created a completely Linux family. That wasn't so hard to see why Mom needs advertising, is it?
Yeah, I've always said Apple is the ferrari, Microsoft is a Prowler (kinda cool looking, but suck at actual performance) and Linux is the Honda civic with random kanzi to make it go fast.
Please don't hurt my karma that bad...I drive a civic...;)
Here's what I wrote to my Reps, I would urge everyone to go to House.gov and look up their representative. Here's what I said:
I recently read about the bill H.R. 2517 that was introduced by fellow Texan Lamar Smith. This bill would require federal resources to be used to protect the interests of a few large multi-national corporations. The Justice Department would also have to develop (i.e. spend money on) programs to educate people on why they should support these multi-national companies.
Although I agree with the reason for the bill (stop software/music piracy), I cannot see how and why the federal government should be charged with protecting these companies' interests. The FBI has more on it's plate (with such issues as terrorism) and should not be spending valuable time, money, and resources on this issue. If the companies are upset about something being done, let them be the ones to figure something out. It is not, nor should it ever be, the government's responsibility to protect and serve the large corporations over the people. Please, do not support this bill.
Whenever there is legislation, I think I'll just post what I wrote, so yall can use it if you want, or just to give ideas.
You're almost comparing apples to oranges. That PDA that ran on 2 AA batteries for 4 weeks had:
4 shades of black
4 Mhz processor
Had Address book, Notes, Calendar, To-do list, calculator.
Now, my Toshiba e740 with the extended battery has:
Color screen capable of full-screen video
400 Mhz processor
Address book, Notes, Calendar, To-do list, graphing calculator, universal remote, e-mail, full web browsing (with Javascript), and two expansion slots for hardware or up to 1 GB each of memory.
I stream and control audio wirelessly from my computer to my e740 which I can then listen to whenever I'm connected to the internet.
The battery lasts 11 hours of constant wifi usage
Now, these are two completely different beasts and the one concession that has to be made is battery life. Everything else is much better in the new handhelds.
I have a smartphone. Should I not be allowed to use it simply because it is also a phone (as well as being a PDA)?
In general they are nice for coordinating lunches, after-school activities, and keeping up with life. Simply because high-schoolers are sitting in class doesn't make it any different than yourself in a boring meeting.
Slashdot Mirror
How long do you think it will be before this is available as a CF card for your Pocket PC?
If you read their site, they're idea is mostly for supply-chain tracking. The idea is to be able to track the units being shipped without having to scan them physically, but instead be able to verify the RFIDs in the truck. Think of a truckload of PS2s, instead of having to scan them, you can just use the RFIDs to make sure they're all there. Well, that's what they're saying at least...
It's not just an issue with the tech-savvy (OMG, why aren't we using IPv6?!?!?) but it occurs across the board with every e-mail user. Yesterday, even my grandmother was complaining about all the spam she gets. Almost everyone is feeling it, and so they complain.
You've agreed to wear those special glasses. You have to click "I agree" to download Gator stuff et al. Actually, if the suit had gone the other way, and they weren't allowed, I'd be more afraid because that would mean that software licenses are moot.
If you have the money, try Deepfreeze. We use it at my university, and it's very handy in terms of keeping everything clean.
Yeah, I was just about to post a little historical lesson about past US foreign policy and how handing out money has never really worked, but beating the crap out of people has. Now, you could argue that we are acting more like bullies, but I'd say it's more like the forceful older brother.
Debian should not get into the "Joe User" mode, because it alienates the only people that use it. Let RedHat, Mandrake, and SuSe fight over Joe User. Just as long as it's linux.
Straight off their FAQ. I almost signed up for it, but that's more spam than I get now in 3 boxes combined!
You're missing the point. By requiring the virus writers to be much more specific, you make the effectiveness of that virus much less. The appeal of writing a virus for Windows is watching the whole world fear that virus because ~80% of the world's computers run Windows. If you had smaller market shares, say at max 20%, then a virus (which usually only exploits unpatched computers) would only affect 25% of that OS, so a total of 5% would be vulnerable. We're not even talking about OSes here -- if you don't run Outlook you're safe from most of these new viruses. Try Opera's M2. Or Mozilla's e-mail client.
I will concede that this will then make it much harder for antivirus companies to keep track of, and support, a multitude of OSes, but it would only spur growth within that market, as companies would specialize to a specific OS.
..-. F .. i .-. r ...s .-. r .-a ..s .--.p ---o ...s -t
-t -...-
-..d
---o -...-
-...-
What is the -...-? I can't remember it and googling doesnt help
Wow. Only slashdot would mod the parent as informative.
You have to remember that MSN is fighting AIM which has included a lot of this customisation (which the kids really like) in it's past versions. MSN is just playing catch-up to AIM, showing it up with the video, and catching up to iChat, showing it up with the customisation.
If you want to see what Microsoft has been playing with, check out Portrait 2.1. I use it on my PDA and am able to do wireless VoIP to my friend in England. When I'm on my office box, I can video conference with anyone else in my buddy list quite well.
Most virii and worms just feed off of people's stupidity when using Outlook, it's not an invasion.
It seems to me that a phone/PDA device could really benefit from a slide out keyboard a la Tugnsten T or Sharp Zaurus. Save real estate while adding functionality.
Here's why we're seeing more services vs. goods. Services allow the company a continuous revenue that is flexible with what people can/will afford. If X cellphone company needs more money, they'll do a CBA to see if it's better to raise rates or raise advertising or something to attract new customers. Also, services allow you as the consumer to be more flexible (in theory). Say you're leasing a car, but you don't like the way it rides. Turn it in, get another one, no big deal. You rent an apartment, but the neighbours upstairs have very loud sex (I speak from experience...), you can move out.
If you owned a car and you didn't like it's styling, too bad -- unless you want to sell it permanantly, which takes time and then you have to buy another car (meanwhile, losing thousands of dollars in value).
We're becoming a very fluid society in which change is the very essense of who we are. Therefore, services instead of goods is to be expected -- I mean, do you want to pay $5000 for a cellphone and then never pay for minutes? What if you break yours, another 5 grand? Or a new model comes out?
However, this should all be bypassed with this: Never put sensitive data on a wireless network. Until we have something that is fool-proof (which even a LAN isn't really), why risk it? Perhaps 802.1x will bring us closer to this ideal, but I'm sure we'll find issues with it soon enough.
How about a clam-shell device that would open up to a full-screen? Double the size.
Or, since it's flexible, why not just have it on your sleeve? You could look down at your sleeve and see what your schedule is for the day (kinda sci-fi, but possible).
Or, in a larger scale, a complete mockup of some new device for demoing.
Or, potentially you could have a book-like device that would allow an old school feel, but be LCD and downloadable and all.
And these are all just off the top of my head, I'm sure there are a ton of applications for this elsewhere than just consumers like the military, hospitals, research etc.
The non-tech-savvy people, OTOH, have basic needs that can easily be addressed by Linux: e-mail, internet, instant messaging, mp3 player, p2p app, word processing. That is all they need and want. If someone will wake up and do this (I suspect Lindows is in the best position) so that when it is installed, all this is good to go - you'd have the OS for your mom.
Now let me tell you why mom matters: Mom is looking for the cheapest PC there is. If you can undersell a Windows box with a Linux box, then you've just won. Also, marketing works. I suspect by your website you don't put much faith in marketing, but sales and marketing people make or break the product in the real world. You could have the best product there is, but if you don't have the right people hyping it up, there will be no sales=no money=you're out of a job.
Mom watches TV. She reads the magazines. If something promises to do something easier/cheaper/better/faster/safer/etc, she'll be interested. People listen to marketing. If she sees this, she'll install it. If Dad uses it at work, and he brings it home, kids will use it. You've just created a two-prong attack that does very well. You expose the kids from a young age. Everyone starts to use it more. If you're the dad or mom, work with they kids and they'll love it. You've just created a completely Linux family. That wasn't so hard to see why Mom needs advertising, is it?
Actually, I remember reading an article about in Japan where chicks were using the playstation controller to, um...well, dual-shock themselves.
Please don't hurt my karma that bad...I drive a civic...;)
I recently read about the bill H.R. 2517 that was introduced by fellow Texan Lamar Smith. This bill would require federal resources to be used to protect the interests of a few large multi-national corporations. The Justice Department would also have to develop (i.e. spend money on) programs to educate people on why they should support these multi-national companies.
Although I agree with the reason for the bill (stop software/music piracy), I cannot see how and why the federal government should be charged with protecting these companies' interests. The FBI has more on it's plate (with such issues as terrorism) and should not be spending valuable time, money, and resources on this issue. If the companies are upset about something being done, let them be the ones to figure something out. It is not, nor should it ever be, the government's responsibility to protect and serve the large corporations over the people. Please, do not support this bill.
Whenever there is legislation, I think I'll just post what I wrote, so yall can use it if you want, or just to give ideas.
- 4 shades of black
- 4 Mhz processor
- Had Address book, Notes, Calendar, To-do list, calculator.
Now, my Toshiba e740 with the extended battery has:Now, these are two completely different beasts and the one concession that has to be made is battery life. Everything else is much better in the new handhelds.
In general they are nice for coordinating lunches, after-school activities, and keeping up with life. Simply because high-schoolers are sitting in class doesn't make it any different than yourself in a boring meeting.