Actually, Elma is richer than Amherst... but it sucks here. (Not that Amherst doesn't suck...)
Whattaya say we all move back to the bay area? Natural air conditioning there.:)
I've been tempted to explore the old abandoned plant, in the style of infiltration.org... but I have no real idea of what the security there is.
When I was a kid in Buffalo, I used to hang around abandoned buildings, partly out of necessity. The old DL&W Terminal was a really cool place...
These are people who have never even HEARD of wireless networks, let alone be in a position to use them.
I'm talking about people who have a TV, but thats it.
A lot of people seem to forget that there is a whole section of our population who are being totally passed over - who don't have cell phones, don't have cable TV, don't have suburban homes and SUVs... hell, many don't even have REGULAR phones.
I happen to live near such a city - white flight caused almost all but the poor to leave the city. The government regionalized and so now caters to the affluent suburbs.
The stores and supermarkets moved out, so the city residents have nowhere nearby to buy food... the suburban shopping centers refuse inner city bus traffic, and black motorists who dare to drive out near the malls get stopped by the (white) suburban cops.
The population of the city has dropped, but is still close to 300,000... but the average yearly wage in the city is less than $16,000.
A whole CITY of people a large majority of whom can't afford cable, use pay phones down the hall in their projects or residential "hotels," or on the street corner... Who's local paper ignores their existence, who get only over-the-air television... who, if they EVER have touched a computer or have seen the internet, it was at their local library.
These people, hundreds of thousands of them, will NOT be using wireless networking. They only just now are beginning to see some of their viewpoints and concerns addressed by their cooperative, community microbroadcasters... and when they lose those, there won't be anything to give them thier voice back.
You can set up an analog microbroadcasting station for a few thousand dollars.
My grandfather set one up (illegally) with some stuff he cobbled together in his little TV repair shop.
Going digital would cost MANY MANY times that much.
The local Boys Club that broadcasts news and students essays to the neighborhood will find a way to get a few hundred grand to upgrade to digital? Not likely.
An inane right?
Anyway... it's AIM is not to hinder speech. It's EFFECT is to.
Yep. There was a strange, unforseen effect of auctioning off spectrum to the highest bidder: turns out that when you do that, the people with the most money are the ones who get to use it.
Imagine that.
Yeah, but that simply will never happen. The FCC would never pay for it.
I'm not sure how this would work, either - I don't know if the smaller stations would have the space and expertise to operate digitally even if the FCC gave them the equipment.
I'm not referring to the channels that run Gilligan's Island reruns - I'm referring to the micro-broadcasters that have been around about 10 years. The ones with the funny call signs like WU59 or KL62.
Some transmit only to a few neighborhoods or even just a few blocks, almost all are in cities, and few are carried by suburban cable systems, as they are not required to be.
Because of all of this, they tend to represent a segment of the population that has no access otherwise - the urban poor, immigrants, whatever.
Most people who aren't poor are not even aware that these stations exist, since they aren't on their cable system.
Many are in people's basements or whatever. I know of one that is run by a housewife in her own home.
The FCC created the rules allowing such stations only about ten years ago in order to give minorities, small communities, etc., a voice. Now they are probably going to lose that voice.
Then it will be back to the status quo, where television shows are just the bait to get you to see ads for beer and doritos.
The problem with this is that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of very low power UHF stations that are run by non-profit organizations and service a small demographic... Such as non-english channels, alternative media, community info, etc.
These tiny channels, with signals reaching only maybe 20 square miles, could NEVER afford the upgrade to digital - they get by on a shoestring budget. Some are run out of people's homes.
As a result, only the larger, corporate broadcasters will be able to have a voice.
I was thinking Peer At.
About 15 minutes after I registered it I realized it was also Pee Rat. Had a cartoon character mascot in mind, but I can't draw.
They actually have a sleeve for the ipaq that's built by the same people that make that wind-up radio... a wind-up power source for the handheld - that's not TOO far off from what you're suggesting.;)
I spent several weeks lying on my back in a hospital bed and I wound up with a fractured skull, shattered pelvis, liver and stomach lacerations, brain damage and amnesia!
exactly. Same thing with patents, also - the intent was NOT to lock up ideas so that no one else could use them, the intent was to encourage the release of ideas into the public domain by allowing a "grace period" for the inventor to make a few bucks... it was intended to discourage manufacturers from keeping trade secrets.
Since we have a government of the rich, for the rich and by the rich, lobbying flipped the intent of intellectual property law 180 degrees.
Disney actually got the law changed specifically to protect the first Mickey Mouse films from entering the public domain in a few years.
Back, say, a year or two ago when another major "water on Mars" story broke, I registered the domain MartianSprings.com. I had thoughts of slapping custom labels on bottled water and selling it as a novelty item.
I get these stupid ideas during sleepless nights, a problem I have.
As I understand it, these are being aimed at execs who dont want to learn to type, or some crap like that.
In other words, handwriting recognition and quick scribbled diagrams, not artwork requiring much sensitivity. Blech.
Since I installed Windows XP Pro and a UPS, every time I turn on or off my fluorescent desk lamp, windows goes "doo doop" as if I've pulling in or unplugged a USB device. Usually one of the USB devices then reinstalls as if the whole bus has been reset.
freaky
Slashdot Mirror
Doesn't ATI have the name all-in-winder trademarked?
Actually, Elma is richer than Amherst... but it sucks here. (Not that Amherst doesn't suck...) Whattaya say we all move back to the bay area? Natural air conditioning there. :)
all of them?
I've been tempted to explore the old abandoned plant, in the style of infiltration.org... but I have no real idea of what the security there is. When I was a kid in Buffalo, I used to hang around abandoned buildings, partly out of necessity. The old DL&W Terminal was a really cool place...
These are people who have never even HEARD of wireless networks, let alone be in a position to use them. I'm talking about people who have a TV, but thats it. A lot of people seem to forget that there is a whole section of our population who are being totally passed over - who don't have cell phones, don't have cable TV, don't have suburban homes and SUVs... hell, many don't even have REGULAR phones. I happen to live near such a city - white flight caused almost all but the poor to leave the city. The government regionalized and so now caters to the affluent suburbs. The stores and supermarkets moved out, so the city residents have nowhere nearby to buy food... the suburban shopping centers refuse inner city bus traffic, and black motorists who dare to drive out near the malls get stopped by the (white) suburban cops. The population of the city has dropped, but is still close to 300,000... but the average yearly wage in the city is less than $16,000. A whole CITY of people a large majority of whom can't afford cable, use pay phones down the hall in their projects or residential "hotels," or on the street corner... Who's local paper ignores their existence, who get only over-the-air television... who, if they EVER have touched a computer or have seen the internet, it was at their local library. These people, hundreds of thousands of them, will NOT be using wireless networking. They only just now are beginning to see some of their viewpoints and concerns addressed by their cooperative, community microbroadcasters... and when they lose those, there won't be anything to give them thier voice back.
You can set up an analog microbroadcasting station for a few thousand dollars. My grandfather set one up (illegally) with some stuff he cobbled together in his little TV repair shop. Going digital would cost MANY MANY times that much. The local Boys Club that broadcasts news and students essays to the neighborhood will find a way to get a few hundred grand to upgrade to digital? Not likely.
An inane right? Anyway... it's AIM is not to hinder speech. It's EFFECT is to. Yep. There was a strange, unforseen effect of auctioning off spectrum to the highest bidder: turns out that when you do that, the people with the most money are the ones who get to use it. Imagine that.
Yeah, but that simply will never happen. The FCC would never pay for it.
I'm not sure how this would work, either - I don't know if the smaller stations would have the space and expertise to operate digitally even if the FCC gave them the equipment.
I'm not referring to the channels that run Gilligan's Island reruns - I'm referring to the micro-broadcasters that have been around about 10 years. The ones with the funny call signs like WU59 or KL62.
Some transmit only to a few neighborhoods or even just a few blocks, almost all are in cities, and few are carried by suburban cable systems, as they are not required to be.
Because of all of this, they tend to represent a segment of the population that has no access otherwise - the urban poor, immigrants, whatever.
Most people who aren't poor are not even aware that these stations exist, since they aren't on their cable system.
Many are in people's basements or whatever. I know of one that is run by a housewife in her own home.
The FCC created the rules allowing such stations only about ten years ago in order to give minorities, small communities, etc., a voice. Now they are probably going to lose that voice.
Then it will be back to the status quo, where television shows are just the bait to get you to see ads for beer and doritos.
The problem with this is that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of very low power UHF stations that are run by non-profit organizations and service a small demographic...
Such as non-english channels, alternative media, community info, etc.
These tiny channels, with signals reaching only maybe 20 square miles, could NEVER afford the upgrade to digital - they get by on a shoestring budget. Some are run out of people's homes.
As a result, only the larger, corporate broadcasters will be able to have a voice.
crossing the street. Not carefully enough, as it turns out.
I was thinking Peer At. About 15 minutes after I registered it I realized it was also Pee Rat. Had a cartoon character mascot in mind, but I can't draw.
They actually have a sleeve for the ipaq that's built by the same people that make that wind-up radio... a wind-up power source for the handheld - that's not TOO far off from what you're suggesting. ;)
I spent several weeks lying on my back in a hospital bed and I wound up with a fractured skull, shattered pelvis, liver and stomach lacerations, brain damage and amnesia!
exactly. Same thing with patents, also - the intent was NOT to lock up ideas so that no one else could use them, the intent was to encourage the release of ideas into the public domain by allowing a "grace period" for the inventor to make a few bucks... it was intended to discourage manufacturers from keeping trade secrets. Since we have a government of the rich, for the rich and by the rich, lobbying flipped the intent of intellectual property law 180 degrees. Disney actually got the law changed specifically to protect the first Mickey Mouse films from entering the public domain in a few years.
Back, say, a year or two ago when another major "water on Mars" story broke, I registered the domain MartianSprings.com.
I had thoughts of slapping custom labels on bottled water and selling it as a novelty item.
I get these stupid ideas during sleepless nights, a problem I have.
Anyone want to buy: budgetdsl.com, instantonpc.com, nobootpc.com, peerat.com, etc etc etc?
Didn't think so.
(should I renew 19x.net? I think I will, but then again, it's late.)
it was compuserve (gifs)
As I understand it, these are being aimed at execs who dont want to learn to type, or some crap like that. In other words, handwriting recognition and quick scribbled diagrams, not artwork requiring much sensitivity. Blech.
heck, I registered artoo-detoo.com and see-threepio.com and they didn't sue me
this will make for some spectacular derailments if Amtrak gets their hands on it
The lamp isn't even plugged into the UPS at all! A different outlet!
Since I installed Windows XP Pro and a UPS, every time I turn on or off my fluorescent desk lamp, windows goes "doo doop" as if I've pulling in or unplugged a USB device. Usually one of the USB devices then reinstalls as if the whole bus has been reset. freaky