Its not exactly cheap to fight anything against a major corporation like Xerox. While Palm may be a fairly large company, I think Xerox is larger. It was probably cheaper to license this then fight for Graffiti. It also sounds like this is a bit better, so Palm may have already been considering it. So, it probably is a financial decision I'd presume.
Its a nice idea, but there is a major product. Its a product that competes, and may actually be better, than what HP / Intel are offering. They want to quash the platform. So how much do you think it will cost to buy it off them?
Personally, I'd rather invest my dozen Powerball jackpot winnings elsewhere.
...its called Windows XP, or at least what your suggesting would be something close to it. Or, there's always the LSB.
Part of what makes Linux (and open source in general) is the variety of distributions of the same thing that exist (or could be made). While I agree that the major desktop-user centered distributions should standardize, I don't think the companies ever would or should pool resources like that. If they did, they'd basically be forming the Linux equivalent of MS.
If you wany a "standard" Linux GUI, then get the guys over at KDE and GNOME to talk.
Also, you seem to be forgetting that RedHat has already tried to smoothline KDE and GNOME in 8.0 with BlueCurve. I haven't finished dling it on my modem yet, so I haven't tried it out personally yet.
What I'd like to see instead is more work in automatic detection and configuration of hardware. Joe User doesn't undestand how to recompile his kernel to add his radio card, or for frame buffer support to use the two monitors that comes with his new Geforce4. There are several CD-ROM based distros, see Knoppix, that do well on whatever system they are thrown on, but Linux still isn't to the plug and play level that Windows is at I'm sorry to say. It just shouldn't take hours to get an Audigy to work.
After that, I'd like to see greater compatability between KDE and GNOME. Each Desktop Enviornment has its pros and cons, and appeals to a seperate crowd of users. But, and I say this not knowing enough about the underlying nature of themes, how hard would it be to make a converter or standardize elements at least?
I'd also like the see NTFS support get a little father ahead of where it is now. Most XP users are going to be on NTFS, and if you want to get people to switch, you need to make it easy to get files over the OS line. For that matter, a XP to Linux migration tool would be nice to see developed. Copy your shortcuts from Windows's IE to Linux's Mozilla. From Outlook Express / Outlook into Ximian or Mozilla. Etc. Etc.
And as much as I hate to say it, make integrate Wine. Make it so that Joe User can click on his old apps and they still work. From a purist perspective, I'd like to say that Linux shoudl stand on its own. By all rights, there really SHOULDN'T be a need for Wine. But, Joe User likes his old apps, and it will make it easier to transition for him if he gets to keep them. Eventually, he'll hopefully be enticed by the latest version of the Linux eqiuvalent and be intregued at the low (free) upgrade cost.
I think we need to more closely examine what we mean when we say "children" and "kids".
For my original comment, I had in mind a teenager who I would assume have the abilty to cope with violence. Personally, by the time I was 13, I would daresay I was able to cope with the violence in the media and entertainment. By that age, violence on the news is reprehensible and violence in entertainment is fiction.
On the subject of preteen children, I personally don't believe the average preteen should be playing a game like GTA. However, I'd leave the individual decision up to his/her responsible parent. Who is better to know what Little Johnny can handle than his parents?
[Tangential Rant Mode ON:] In terms of desensitization and taking things for granted, I think a little desensitization to the media is better than over-sensationalizing everything. Don't get me wrong, a child (or person of any age) needs to know that violence is wrong. It shouldn't be committed or accepted. However, lets take a step back. We live in a world where we drop bombs and food on the same day. During World War II, before CNN, no one in America cried over the poor Germans. Is callousness a good thing in excess? No. But thicker skins could help. [Tangential Rant Mode OFF:]
Well, I live in the United States. In my country we have something called the First Amendment that gaurentees the freedom of speech.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. In fact, if you feel strongly enough, I would urge you to write to the publishers of such violent video games and request that they stop marketing such products. You could even organize a political group and boycott the companies that sell or market the games.
My personal opinion? Its a game. If someone wants to play a game where they steal cars and murder people, its a whole lot better than actually doing it. So if that's fun to someone, all the more power to them I say. So, if I were so inclined, I probably write to them in favor of more games if that's what sells.
Besides, what's to stop someone from saying that they don't like what is said on/. and that it shouldn't be published in the first place? Its a slippery slope once you start censoring material.
and if a kid wants to play it, then I say let him. What makes it any worse for a kid to play a violent video game than an adult, other than the fact that a kid is supposed to be able to have fun and an adult should be working for a living?
Besides, games don't kill people. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
If the problem is that kids are becoming too violent, the solution isn't to sanitize the world, it is to teach kids that violence is bad.
Personally, I'm sick and tired of people looking for excuses for bad parenting.
Not a bad idea to sue, but try to find someone who's never made a personal use backup copy of a DVD or CD so that the industry won't countersue you out of existance.
They'd probably countersue a class action suit too, god only knows how.
Now, if I could just get that License of Windows XP that came with the Emachines I bought back. See, my father fried the mobo, so I had to buy a SECOND copy for the computer. Microsoft will send me a new installation media (OEM edition, of course) so I can continue using me property, RIGHT?!
BTW, IANAL, but you might have just violated the DMCA for thinking about a way to break copyright laws, or the MPAA/RIAA's business model, which is the same thing.
I work at a public access station in my community. We recently produced a sporting event of significant sentimental value to the community. We're now in the process of converting our DV footage to DVD.
In terms of affordable DVD authoring software, there isn't much out there. We purchased an NLE from a regional specialty shop that came with a DVD burner. Bundled with it came DVD-It LE. This is a consumer grade product that is focused on being "intuitive", to the point that it is anything but. Its basically what iMovie is to Adobe Premiere or Avid XPress.
I looked into higher end software. Anything even remotely worth the money out there is $1000 USD. Sonic has RealDVD, but this is more expensive than Premiere and almost as expensive as a Real Time editing card!
Even if we did drop the grand on a high end software product, it most likely wouldn't come with CSS Encryption. And, as far as I know, our burner wouldn't be capable of writing it into the disk if it did.
And even if it did, there is an enormous amount of time required in creating a quality DVD. First you need to capture the footage. Then prep it and export it into MPEG 1 or 2. This in and of itself is not a trivial matter. On our Dual Xenon 1 GHz chips, it takes about four times realtime to encode. (There are hardware cards that do this in real time, and I've heard of realtime encoding on other systems; our machine is also going back to the manufacturer for remac.) Then, import it into the DVD program, and layout the DVD.
My point, even at local access television station, you can't produce a Holywood-style DVD. Sure, we have multi-thousand dollar DV cameras that some studios are using (well, with a few addons) to produce features, but you can't make the DVD. If the industry has locked out us, I feel bad for the average consumer.
As a side note, its possible to produce a S-VHS tape (that is higher quality than a VHS) with a $250 VCR from an electronics store that is better than what you pick up at Blockbuster.
True, although for 1/3 of US Senators, anyone over the age of 12 is a constituent in the next election. For another 1/3, anyone over the age of 14, and for the 1/3, anyone who can drive a car.
Whether or not you voted a politician INTO office is irrevalent. Can you vote the BACK INTO office is what is important. Its who votes in the NEXT election.
Speaking of the voting age. There was recently (last several years) an attempted refferendum in one MA town that would lower the municipal voting age to 16. It was shot down, but it is a step in the right direction.
Personally, I don't believe that age is a reasonable way to judge the ability to make an informed decision about your representatives. What makes a 42 year old person who never watches the news, read the papers, and votes based on which name sounds best more qualified than an informed 17 year old?
Instead, I'd rather a civics test on BASIC American principles. What are your constitutional rights? How is a bill passed into law? If you can pass that at 15, aren't you more qualified to vote than a 46 year old who can't?
At my RS, before I worked there, they had a guy walk in and steal a TV from the front of the store and then run out.
Also, frequently at RS, the Associates will be in back, looking for say a cordless phone, etc. Or the store's empty and you're taking a leak. Or, a thousand others....
Point is, the employee needs to know when someone walks in.
I used to work at my local RadioShack. It was always a fun experience when someone declined to give a Name & Address (N&A) and then proceeded to pay via credit card. What made it fun though, was that in my area we had just experienced a rash of credit card fraud, and my manager had us checking licenses for anyone paying by a CC that we didn't either know personally or had a picture on the card. So, here you have this guy who just refused to give his name and address, and now I had to ask him for his license...
But, did you every think about what happens when you buy something online? You're name and address are inherently given to the online site, they have to ship to you after all!
Also, I'm sorry to all the conspiracy theorists out there, but is it that bad to have your name and address recorded? I once had a guy and his girlfriend come in and want help in building a cattle prod from RadioShack parts. Also, I can't count the number of times someone came in needed a reprint of their receipt.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm glad they stopped. I HATED typing all that in. Not to mention each and every store has their own database. Try explaining to an elderly gentlement that because he gave his name to the store across the plaza last time, I don't have it. And yes, I do agree that you shouldn't have to give your name to get a pack of batteries. You could have said no (in fact they expect 10% of you to). But, I much prefer what they have now, opt in mailings.
Au contraire, I can't see my desktop (as in table) or floor right now b/c there is too much on it. I never used a paper organizer much. But, I have a PDA and love it.
Personally, I think the reason why a lot of people are carrying and not using their PDA is they probably didn't have a specific use in mind when the purchased it. If you got your PDA because all your friends or coworkers were getting one, you're not likely to keep using it.
Simililarly, if you got your PDA for the rather broad purpose of "simplifying" things into one small little gadget, you're probably going to revert back to your old paper equivilant eventually.
I've used my PDA (Palm m105, choosen for 8mb and relatively low cost after two rebates and employee (retailler not Palm) discount) every day since I've gotten it. Being a student, I got my PDA to keep track of homework assignments (DueYesterday is a wonderful free program). I also use AvantGo on it to read/. and other sites, mostly news, during downtime.
My friend, when he heard that I got a PDA, within a week went out and got the identical model. At first he used it. But after awhile, he stopped using it, then he stopped carrying it.
Moral of the story? Don't spend $150 (my friend didn't get the same deal I got) for a gadget just because someone you know did.
Ken's Labyrinth and the Hugos had that feature too.
Ken's was a very poor shooter I once downloaded off the Apogee BBS. Hugo was an adventure game that I, come to think, got from the same place. Back when I thought my 14400 baud modem was cool because all the other kids on the block had 2400 bauds.
Slashdot Mirror
Its not exactly cheap to fight anything against a major corporation like Xerox. While Palm may be a fairly large company, I think Xerox is larger. It was probably cheaper to license this then fight for Graffiti. It also sounds like this is a bit better, so Palm may have already been considering it. So, it probably is a financial decision I'd presume.
Its a nice idea, but there is a major product. Its a product that competes, and may actually be better, than what HP / Intel are offering. They want to quash the platform. So how much do you think it will cost to buy it off them?
Personally, I'd rather invest my dozen Powerball jackpot winnings elsewhere.
...its called Windows XP, or at least what your suggesting would be something close to it. Or, there's always the LSB.
Part of what makes Linux (and open source in general) is the variety of distributions of the same thing that exist (or could be made). While I agree that the major desktop-user centered distributions should standardize, I don't think the companies ever would or should pool resources like that. If they did, they'd basically be forming the Linux equivalent of MS.
If you wany a "standard" Linux GUI, then get the guys over at KDE and GNOME to talk.
Also, you seem to be forgetting that RedHat has already tried to smoothline KDE and GNOME in 8.0 with BlueCurve. I haven't finished dling it on my modem yet, so I haven't tried it out personally yet.
What I'd like to see instead is more work in automatic detection and configuration of hardware. Joe User doesn't undestand how to recompile his kernel to add his radio card, or for frame buffer support to use the two monitors that comes with his new Geforce4. There are several CD-ROM based distros, see Knoppix, that do well on whatever system they are thrown on, but Linux still isn't to the plug and play level that Windows is at I'm sorry to say. It just shouldn't take hours to get an Audigy to work.
After that, I'd like to see greater compatability between KDE and GNOME. Each Desktop Enviornment has its pros and cons, and appeals to a seperate crowd of users. But, and I say this not knowing enough about the underlying nature of themes, how hard would it be to make a converter or standardize elements at least?
I'd also like the see NTFS support get a little father ahead of where it is now. Most XP users are going to be on NTFS, and if you want to get people to switch, you need to make it easy to get files over the OS line. For that matter, a XP to Linux migration tool would be nice to see developed. Copy your shortcuts from Windows's IE to Linux's Mozilla. From Outlook Express / Outlook into Ximian or Mozilla. Etc. Etc.
And as much as I hate to say it, make integrate Wine. Make it so that Joe User can click on his old apps and they still work. From a purist perspective, I'd like to say that Linux shoudl stand on its own. By all rights, there really SHOULDN'T be a need for Wine. But, Joe User likes his old apps, and it will make it easier to transition for him if he gets to keep them. Eventually, he'll hopefully be enticed by the latest version of the Linux eqiuvalent and be intregued at the low (free) upgrade cost.
I think we need to more closely examine what we mean when we say "children" and "kids".
For my original comment, I had in mind a teenager who I would assume have the abilty to cope with violence. Personally, by the time I was 13, I would daresay I was able to cope with the violence in the media and entertainment. By that age, violence on the news is reprehensible and violence in entertainment is fiction.
On the subject of preteen children, I personally don't believe the average preteen should be playing a game like GTA. However, I'd leave the individual decision up to his/her responsible parent. Who is better to know what Little Johnny can handle than his parents?
[Tangential Rant Mode ON:]
In terms of desensitization and taking things for granted, I think a little desensitization to the media is better than over-sensationalizing everything. Don't get me wrong, a child (or person of any age) needs to know that violence is wrong. It shouldn't be committed or accepted. However, lets take a step back. We live in a world where we drop bombs and food on the same day. During World War II, before CNN, no one in America cried over the poor Germans. Is callousness a good thing in excess? No. But thicker skins could help.
[Tangential Rant Mode OFF:]
Well, I live in the United States. In my country we have something called the First Amendment that gaurentees the freedom of speech.
/. and that it shouldn't be published in the first place? Its a slippery slope once you start censoring material.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. In fact, if you feel strongly enough, I would urge you to write to the publishers of such violent video games and request that they stop marketing such products. You could even organize a political group and boycott the companies that sell or market the games.
My personal opinion? Its a game. If someone wants to play a game where they steal cars and murder people, its a whole lot better than actually doing it. So if that's fun to someone, all the more power to them I say. So, if I were so inclined, I probably write to them in favor of more games if that's what sells.
Besides, what's to stop someone from saying that they don't like what is said on
and if a kid wants to play it, then I say let him. What makes it any worse for a kid to play a violent video game than an adult, other than the fact that a kid is supposed to be able to have fun and an adult should be working for a living?
Besides, games don't kill people. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
If the problem is that kids are becoming too violent, the solution isn't to sanitize the world, it is to teach kids that violence is bad.
Personally, I'm sick and tired of people looking for excuses for bad parenting.
They mean own the license.
Not a bad idea to sue, but try to find someone who's never made a personal use backup copy of a DVD or CD so that the industry won't countersue you out of existance.
They'd probably countersue a class action suit too, god only knows how.
Sounds good to me.
Now, if I could just get that License of Windows XP that came with the Emachines I bought back. See, my father fried the mobo, so I had to buy a SECOND copy for the computer. Microsoft will send me a new installation media (OEM edition, of course) so I can continue using me property, RIGHT?!
BTW, IANAL, but you might have just violated the DMCA for thinking about a way to break copyright laws, or the MPAA/RIAA's business model, which is the same thing.
I don't know about you, but I end up scratching my DVDs and CDs a lot.
Besides, I'd like to be able to store my movies on my hard drive, rig it up to my TV, and have a jukebox setup.
--This post encrpyted in ASCII, any viewing, duplication, or intpretation is strictly prohibited--
Right on. Its much more profitable to lobby congress to create your business model than to actually be innovative.
Oh, and its much easier to be in violation of anti-trust laws in your innovation than innovating the old fashioned way.
I work at a public access station in my community. We recently produced a sporting event of significant sentimental value to the community. We're now in the process of converting our DV footage to DVD.
In terms of affordable DVD authoring software, there isn't much out there. We purchased an NLE from a regional specialty shop that came with a DVD burner. Bundled with it came DVD-It LE. This is a consumer grade product that is focused on being "intuitive", to the point that it is anything but. Its basically what iMovie is to Adobe Premiere or Avid XPress.
I looked into higher end software. Anything even remotely worth the money out there is $1000 USD. Sonic has RealDVD, but this is more expensive than Premiere and almost as expensive as a Real Time editing card!
Even if we did drop the grand on a high end software product, it most likely wouldn't come with CSS Encryption. And, as far as I know, our burner wouldn't be capable of writing it into the disk if it did.
And even if it did, there is an enormous amount of time required in creating a quality DVD. First you need to capture the footage. Then prep it and export it into MPEG 1 or 2. This in and of itself is not a trivial matter. On our Dual Xenon 1 GHz chips, it takes about four times realtime to encode. (There are hardware cards that do this in real time, and I've heard of realtime encoding on other systems; our machine is also going back to the manufacturer for remac.) Then, import it into the DVD program, and layout the DVD.
My point, even at local access television station, you can't produce a Holywood-style DVD. Sure, we have multi-thousand dollar DV cameras that some studios are using (well, with a few addons) to produce features, but you can't make the DVD. If the industry has locked out us, I feel bad for the average consumer.
As a side note, its possible to produce a S-VHS tape (that is higher quality than a VHS) with a $250 VCR from an electronics store that is better than what you pick up at Blockbuster.
True, although for 1/3 of US Senators, anyone over the age of 12 is a constituent in the next election. For another 1/3, anyone over the age of 14, and for the 1/3, anyone who can drive a car.
Whether or not you voted a politician INTO office is irrevalent. Can you vote the BACK INTO office is what is important. Its who votes in the NEXT election.
Speaking of the voting age. There was recently (last several years) an attempted refferendum in one MA town that would lower the municipal voting age to 16. It was shot down, but it is a step in the right direction.
Personally, I don't believe that age is a reasonable way to judge the ability to make an informed decision about your representatives. What makes a 42 year old person who never watches the news, read the papers, and votes based on which name sounds best more qualified than an informed 17 year old?
Instead, I'd rather a civics test on BASIC American principles. What are your constitutional rights? How is a bill passed into law? If you can pass that at 15, aren't you more qualified to vote than a 46 year old who can't?
Because some spit-jelled 23 year old MBA came up with the cool idea to ask for Name and Address to try to make more greenbacks.
At my RS, before I worked there, they had a guy walk in and steal a TV from the front of the store and then run out.
Also, frequently at RS, the Associates will be in back, looking for say a cordless phone, etc. Or the store's empty and you're taking a leak. Or, a thousand others....
Point is, the employee needs to know when someone walks in.
Built into the 2.4 Ghz security system.....
Actually. At RS, you can give a name and address and get a catalog for free. Or, you can pay $4.99 for it.
I always hated invetorying them. Never the right ammount!
At RadioShack they're "Sales Associates" not "Clerks". Means their supposed to pressure you first.
I used to work at my local RadioShack. It was always a fun experience when someone declined to give a Name & Address (N&A) and then proceeded to pay via credit card. What made it fun though, was that in my area we had just experienced a rash of credit card fraud, and my manager had us checking licenses for anyone paying by a CC that we didn't either know personally or had a picture on the card. So, here you have this guy who just refused to give his name and address, and now I had to ask him for his license... But, did you every think about what happens when you buy something online? You're name and address are inherently given to the online site, they have to ship to you after all! Also, I'm sorry to all the conspiracy theorists out there, but is it that bad to have your name and address recorded? I once had a guy and his girlfriend come in and want help in building a cattle prod from RadioShack parts. Also, I can't count the number of times someone came in needed a reprint of their receipt. Don't get me wrong though, I'm glad they stopped. I HATED typing all that in. Not to mention each and every store has their own database. Try explaining to an elderly gentlement that because he gave his name to the store across the plaza last time, I don't have it. And yes, I do agree that you shouldn't have to give your name to get a pack of batteries. You could have said no (in fact they expect 10% of you to). But, I much prefer what they have now, opt in mailings.
Au contraire, I can't see my desktop (as in table) or floor right now b/c there is too much on it. I never used a paper organizer much. But, I have a PDA and love it.
Personally, I think the reason why a lot of people are carrying and not using their PDA is they probably didn't have a specific use in mind when the purchased it. If you got your PDA because all your friends or coworkers were getting one, you're not likely to keep using it.
/. and other sites, mostly news, during downtime.
Simililarly, if you got your PDA for the rather broad purpose of "simplifying" things into one small little gadget, you're probably going to revert back to your old paper equivilant eventually.
I've used my PDA (Palm m105, choosen for 8mb and relatively low cost after two rebates and employee (retailler not Palm) discount) every day since I've gotten it. Being a student, I got my PDA to keep track of homework assignments (DueYesterday is a wonderful free program). I also use AvantGo on it to read
My friend, when he heard that I got a PDA, within a week went out and got the identical model. At first he used it. But after awhile, he stopped using it, then he stopped carrying it.
Moral of the story? Don't spend $150 (my friend didn't get the same deal I got) for a gadget just because someone you know did.
Ken's Labyrinth and the Hugos had that feature too.
Ken's was a very poor shooter I once downloaded off the Apogee BBS. Hugo was an adventure game that I, come to think, got from the same place. Back when I thought my 14400 baud modem was cool because all the other kids on the block had 2400 bauds.
Sure, you can sell the disk. You just can't access the data on it. Don't you love your Windows XP Pro holographic coaster?
Uhm, nothing? (Besides of course release the source).
This may very well be an Internet urban legend, I can't really be sure as I wasn't even thought of at the time but...
Didn't a judge once rule that you couldn't copyright software because it was just a bunch of generic instructions?
Obviously that idea has changed a lot since then, if it ever really happened.
Also, let me pose another question... I'm a minor. If I agree to an EULA, am I really bound by it? After all, I can't even write a check.
I thought M$ wanted assumed the right to automate your business decisions in the latest version of the EULA?