I have digital cable, not broadcast. But I'm afraid you have a point; how much longer will Comcast continue analog cable with NTSC going the way of the dodo?
Thanks for your informative answer. It sounds like investing in digital TV is pretty much useless, since I'd never be able to use my own software to digitally timeshift "premium content" (which is an arbitrarily defined designation that could change at any time).
Forced to sign?
Care to share which contracts you have been forced at gun point to sign?
That argument is a sham. It relies on the assertion that a person could realistically read and understand the ridiculously complicated legal agreements that govern a hundred different things you do every day, from credit card agreements to software EULAs. That assertion is false. Pretending people could take the time and have the expertise to plow through multitudes of lengthy legal documents is just absurd. Business-to-individual contracts are obviously unequal. A business could no more realistically enter into a different contract with every individual, than a individual can enter into a different contract with every business - yet that's exactly what we require of individuals legally. The payoff is this allows businesses to dictated whatever terms they desire.
Instead, there should be only a fixed set of end-user licenses from which businesses can choose. Or, at the very least, there should be a set of consumer protection clauses which apply to all end-user licenses, overriding whatever wishes the businesses may have.
I am confused on what this article is about, but I think it (and your comment) touches on my questions... what is prevented, and what is still possible?
I currently have analog cable and a digitizer card in a homebrew linux-based PVR box. Obviously it would be better to get digital cable or satellite and directly record the digital signal instead of re-compressing it, but I am confused as to whether this is possible. Never? Only for over-the-airways digital broadcasts? Only when using a cable-company-provided PVR? Only when using a DRM-compliant card that only works under Windows?
If I got digital cable or satellite, presumably I could still decode programming to analog and re-compress it using my current setup, right? Except the tuner onboard the compressor card would no longer work because digital doesn't need a tuner. Then how would my homebrew PVR select a channel for recording, and could I still watch a TV channel live?
Not only that, but I don't believe the iPhone is a response to the failure of the Rokkr (as claimed by the summary). I doubt Apple invested much in the Rokkr (since there was nothing special about it), rather Apple simply licenced some trademarks to Motorolla - i.e. Apple using Motorolla as an ATM.
On the other hand, the Newton was a pretty innovative failure, from which lessons were doubtless learned.
Time Magazine just ran this interesting photo essay called "what people eat." One of the interesting things to notice is how much wasteful packaging we use compared to those who still eat mainly for nutrition. Which is not to say I'd like to live like a refugee, only that it's a shame quality food can't be packaged without all that expense and waste: "Only about 9 percent of the cost of a box of cereal is for the cereal -- the other 91 percent of the cost is for the package and advertising." Unfortunately we humans are suckers for outwards appearance.
That's Canadian dollars, right? What is that in real money? About $15-$20 or so, right?
I'm afraid you're way behind the times! I did mention some delayed consequences of US borrowing, right? Check out this graph: the Canadian dollar is now within spitting distance of the mighty USD - from a 60% difference to a 6% difference in just over 4 years!
Canada. In 2000 per the Fraser Institute the average family paid $25,000/year.
Suckers! Why not just let your government borrow all the money it wants from China? The negative economic consequences are delayed, therefore they don't count. It's foolproof!
I don't think this technology has that much to do with social picture networks in particular, I'm not sure using it to index images is all that compelling. What would be more useful is inputting some images from different angles (or a video) and getting back a.3ds texture-mapped geometric model. Reconstruction of gometry from imagery has been a big research topic for ages but I'm not aware of any effective, user-friendly software to do it.
Still, I think it's true that virii have spoiled the Windows experience. My Windows XP box at work is misery to use. It's constantly nagging me whether each individual application can access the Internet (and periodically forgets all the times I clicked "Permit Always.") The performance is frequently bogged down by virus scanners, and booting up takes forever for the same reason. I can't even right-click on a locally-stored zipfile without an interruption - "WARNING: this might hurt your system blah blah blah..." click OK to continue.
Linux, I've run since '97 and never really worried about it. I update my sshd and httpd from time to time (I guess a "normal" user wouldn't even need to run those), and I did invest some time in writing firewall rules several years ago. Checking my logfiles, I calculated 1 failed ssh login attempt *per second* over a week's time, but nothing bad ever happens to my system.
So I don't think it's accurate to say Windows and Linux are just the same.
Agreed. Most skilled coders I know don't write code that has memory leaks.
If you're writing an app small enough for a single coder, and you have a skilled person to write it, then you don't have a problem. Where things get tricky is when different people's code has to work together, especially if memory management (or pointers) are in any way involved.
I've used purify in the past and found it helpful, but now I start new projects in Java. Java programs have bugs too, but at least they aren't full of undefined behavior. It's a shame, since a well-crafted C++ app is a thing of beauty and runs great. But in a group effort there are just too many untraceable bugs.
The summary implies that the iPhone won't have a memory slot for expansion, which would be a huge mistake. In the 1.5 years since I bought my digital camera, 1GB cards have gone from high-end to almost disposable (which is fantastic!), and I now have a cheap 4GB card for my PocketPC which wasn't even available when the PocketPC was manufactured.
What is the logic of positioning this new device as an iPhone competitor, anyways? Everybody and their dog makes a smartphone, and it's not as if Apple is an established leader in the market.
Obviously their total will be larger than ours. It should be. They have 4x our population. I'll bet we'd find China much more willing to agree to limits if we proposed a global, uniform per capita limit on CO2 emissions. Our current position of "everybody reduce by X%" when they're already 4x more efficient than we are is untenable. But why shouldn't we demand they ride scooters while we drive SUVs? We're Americans, after all.
Does it say RAID is a waste of time and money for the home? Because it is. For data safekeeping, you need a backup, which RAID is not. And redundant storage of ephemeral data like recorded TV shows is a wate of disk space (and power to run them).
I suggest buying one big disk (500GB are very cheap now) and a smaller one to back up data you actually care about (which is powered down other than for nightly backups), and don't waste too much time getting fancy.
Of course, the issue is much, much more complex, and no one wants to take into consideration the very real economic impacts of taking drastic action to reduce emissions, especially when China and India - forget the EU - are not saddled with the same restrictions.
Much is made of the fact that China will very soon surpass the CO2 emissions of the US. But our population is less than 25% of theirs, so our emissions are still 4x China's per capita! Moreover, much of China's pollution comes from meeting American demands for cheap steel and manufactured goods - if anybody outside China weilds influence over their polluting ways, it's us and our big credit cards. Let's stop using China as an excuse to not clean up our act.
I suggest a change in perspective. A good piece of technology is one that doesn't intrude on your life and doesn't have to be maintained. If you start adding all kinds of technical gizmos and gadgets to your house, you will become a slave to maintaining them.
Meh. It's a hobby. Do people buy TV's because they're time or money savers? No.
I agree with the rest of your comments, but good wiring and plumbing doesn't preclude techie personalization.
I've realized the US actually is more dedicated to the ideals/religion of capitalism than it is to its citizens. If somebody else can do the job better or cheaper, we admit defeat and they're welcome to our markets, or to simply move here. (Of course, the "true believers" will never, ever recognize any conflict between serving global economic utility vs. the best interest of US citizens).
On one hand, this makes perfect sense: shouldn't everybody's opportunities depend on their merit instead of where they were born? On the other hand, why would somebody fight and die to protect what amounts to a big corporation which isn't loyal in return?
OK, so they found a correlation. But it was a correlation they weren't looking for, correct? If I check for the existence of 20 different correlations with a 95% confidence interval, wouldn't I be likely to find one even if none exist? Somebody else would have to confirm this finding for me to give it any credence.
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't there some way I could subscribe to Canadian satellite TV and do the same?
I guess I'll stick with analog.
Instead, there should be only a fixed set of end-user licenses from which businesses can choose. Or, at the very least, there should be a set of consumer protection clauses which apply to all end-user licenses, overriding whatever wishes the businesses may have.
I currently have analog cable and a digitizer card in a homebrew linux-based PVR box. Obviously it would be better to get digital cable or satellite and directly record the digital signal instead of re-compressing it, but I am confused as to whether this is possible. Never? Only for over-the-airways digital broadcasts? Only when using a cable-company-provided PVR? Only when using a DRM-compliant card that only works under Windows?
If I got digital cable or satellite, presumably I could still decode programming to analog and re-compress it using my current setup, right? Except the tuner onboard the compressor card would no longer work because digital doesn't need a tuner. Then how would my homebrew PVR select a channel for recording, and could I still watch a TV channel live?
On the other hand, the Newton was a pretty innovative failure, from which lessons were doubtless learned.
Time Magazine just ran this interesting photo essay called "what people eat." One of the interesting things to notice is how much wasteful packaging we use compared to those who still eat mainly for nutrition. Which is not to say I'd like to live like a refugee, only that it's a shame quality food can't be packaged without all that expense and waste: "Only about 9 percent of the cost of a box of cereal is for the cereal -- the other 91 percent of the cost is for the package and advertising." Unfortunately we humans are suckers for outwards appearance.
I don't think the iPhone can compete with the Blackberry since the iPhone doesn't have a keyboard.
Was she ever actually sentenced to 40 years? My guess is no.
I don't think this technology has that much to do with social picture networks in particular, I'm not sure using it to index images is all that compelling. What would be more useful is inputting some images from different angles (or a video) and getting back a .3ds texture-mapped geometric model. Reconstruction of gometry from imagery has been a big research topic for ages but I'm not aware of any effective, user-friendly software to do it.
It looks to me like Scooter Libby is headed to jail.
Linux, I've run since '97 and never really worried about it. I update my sshd and httpd from time to time (I guess a "normal" user wouldn't even need to run those), and I did invest some time in writing firewall rules several years ago. Checking my logfiles, I calculated 1 failed ssh login attempt *per second* over a week's time, but nothing bad ever happens to my system.
So I don't think it's accurate to say Windows and Linux are just the same.
I've used purify in the past and found it helpful, but now I start new projects in Java. Java programs have bugs too, but at least they aren't full of undefined behavior. It's a shame, since a well-crafted C++ app is a thing of beauty and runs great. But in a group effort there are just too many untraceable bugs.
Is the iPhone memory not expandable?
What is the logic of positioning this new device as an iPhone competitor, anyways? Everybody and their dog makes a smartphone, and it's not as if Apple is an established leader in the market.
Obviously their total will be larger than ours. It should be. They have 4x our population. I'll bet we'd find China much more willing to agree to limits if we proposed a global, uniform per capita limit on CO2 emissions. Our current position of "everybody reduce by X%" when they're already 4x more efficient than we are is untenable. But why shouldn't we demand they ride scooters while we drive SUVs? We're Americans, after all.
I suggest buying one big disk (500GB are very cheap now) and a smaller one to back up data you actually care about (which is powered down other than for nightly backups), and don't waste too much time getting fancy.
I agree with the rest of your comments, but good wiring and plumbing doesn't preclude techie personalization.
On one hand, this makes perfect sense: shouldn't everybody's opportunities depend on their merit instead of where they were born? On the other hand, why would somebody fight and die to protect what amounts to a big corporation which isn't loyal in return?
OK, so they found a correlation. But it was a correlation they weren't looking for, correct? If I check for the existence of 20 different correlations with a 95% confidence interval, wouldn't I be likely to find one even if none exist? Somebody else would have to confirm this finding for me to give it any credence.