you have to prove you're an actual person (e.g. identify a word in an image)
All the spammers needs to do is grab a controllable X10 camera. When the page loads, a program finds the image's position on the screen, points the camera at it, takes the snapshot which is sent back to the PC, and character-recognition extracts the text, which is automatically entered in the field. Come to think of it, with fast camera movements this could be done faster with a machine than a human.
The exact same thing happened with Shrek last year..most pirated film - most pirated DVD - best selling DVD.
That doesn't mean sales wouldn't be better without piracy. If 20 million buy the DVD and 20 million download it, then there are 40 million interested viewers. If piracy were not feasible, then they could sell 40 million DVDs.
A solution to this would be a legal phrasing and a readable phrasing (i.e. a shorter, readable form with the main points).
Then you'll run into all sorts of legal problems. Who decides what is necessary to tell the user, and what he needs to know? A user may read the paraphrased EULA, then perform an action with the software not specifically outlined in that paraphrased form, while the action is clearly described as illegal in the full legalese EULA version.
Even worse, malicious companies can abuse paraphrasing to hide important information. For example, the shortened EULA for Kazaa (etc) can tell the user what can be done with the software (share and download "files"), but conveniently leave out the legal issues ("files" means only non-copyrighted material). You'll either end up with a bunch of innocent people in trouble with RIAA, or a mess of lawsuits between Kazaa and RIAA because they trick users into clicking "I agree" to an over-simplified statement without explaining the laws in full to the user.
the price of a flat-panel screen would have to drop by about 60%-70% before the majority of consumers would consider buying forking out the extra cash to save 1 or 2 cubic feet of desk space.
Not everyone buys it just for the space. I bought one for the lack of strain on my eyes. At work, a couple hours at the CRT would give me a nice headache, while I could sit at my laptop for hours at a time without any strain. I decided to get an LCD for my new desktop for just this reason. It cost a pretty-penny, but considering you spend 100% of your PC time staring at the monitor, it would be stupid to buy something that hurts your eyes.
and no other device out there can play mp3s perfectly
Are you serious? Ever heard of an iPod? Creative Nomad? I tested an Archos for use as an MP3 player, and I think I'd rather listen to dusty scratched LPs. I've never heard sound quality that bad before. And that's with the bass down -- don't even think about turning it up to 0dB.
And, "geek" is only a word. It has the meaning you give it.
A word has the meaning that society gives it. Use it how you want, but a majority of your listeners will still view it under the general cultural definition. I still hear people getting called geek as in insult, on TV, in movies, and in real life.
I've never understood why people want to be referred to as a geek. It's not a pleasant title, rather it's an insult. Class bullies picks on the scrawny "four-eyed geek". If someone calls you a geek, it's your turn to stand up for yourself. "Geek" has such a negative conotation to it that I will never refer to myself as one, regardless of my involvement with computers and science.
" 1. All network traffic to/from any UCI computer, web site or server is untouched. There are no controls and no need to shape this, as it is "educational" traffic. Further, as it does not go to or from the Internet, we don't have to pay for it. As long as it stays within the UCI network, we can take advantage of the high-speed connections and equipment we have on campus."
RPI has a similar setup, and even encourages inner-campus file sharing by providing servers and making it an officially part of the computer science department. These sites only allow you to access them if you're on campus, and I bet it saves lots of Kazaa bandwidth because of all the MP3s and warez that are available right in the dorms.
I'm especially interested in tales of 'I waited to long and got burned' as well as 'I got a lawyer so early it was smooth sailing'.
So you're just looking for someone to confirm the decision you've already made in the back of your mind (that is, get a lawyer now to make it as easy as possible).
Even without the translucent projections, I can imagine us using some sort of virtual gloves to wave our arms in the space between us and our monitor, and having some magnetic sensors define an area of a cubic foot where we can use move both hands as we see the resulting movements on the screen in front of us.
I don't know, that sounds like a lot of work. I use a thumb-trackball because I'm to move my wrist to navigate a normal mouse.
Seriously, I actually prefer to use keyboard anyway, the constant sprinting back and forth across the screen is tiresome; it's not just you coders that want a keyboard.
Multi-tasking
on
3D LCD Display
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
This could be great for multitaskers. Imagine behind able to put windows behind other windows (not just overlapped as they are now, but actually behind and still visible), scooting less frequently used desktop icons into the back corner, and having 3-D menu systems and directory structures (actually move into a folder or menu to find what's inside, instead of shifting to the right of it).
What would make this even better would be a way to easily rotate the "cube" representing your screen: you could have six applications open, each maximized on one plane, then just rotate the cube with a joystick to quickly switch around, or position it such that you can view parts of 2 or 3 apps at once.
Who does it hurt if people want to purchase (rent) a mutilated copy of a movie to watch?
People already seem to enjoy buying butchered movies, if you look at the sales of pan & scan DVDs versus widescreen. The problem for the rest of us? In my examples, DVDs will be produced in P&S more and more until widescreen versions are hard or impossible to find; in the topic at hand, unedited movies will become hard or impossible to find when the demand for edited copies is large enough.
Why do people buy family-friendly edited films anyway? Movies with sex and swear words were made for a more mature viewer. Editting out this out still leaves a movie full of adult situations and concepts children wouldn't understand anyway.
When I was in the market for a 20GB player, I narrowed it down to an Archos and Nomad. Both were the same on paper, but the Nomad had great sound quality (while the Archos' was deplorable), and the Nomad's interface was much more intuitive and easier to navigate. These two features make or break your experience with a player, but you can't read about them on the back-of-the-box description. If possible, buy a couple players from Best Buy et al, use them for a couple days, then return them.
raising serious questions about whether Atkins-style diets are dangerous and unsustainable.
Of course it's unsustainable. You'll go into kitosis (inability to process carbs) if you eat nothing but protein permanently. When you do the Atkins diet, you're only supposed to do it for 2-4 weeks, then slowly eat more carbs for a couple weeks, then do it again, and only do a few of these cycles at a time. This way you don't get kitosis, but you spend an awful lot of time not eating carbs.
People drive the car for a commute, then plug in at work
Memo to all employees:
On Friday we will announce 10,000 lay-offs. The remaining 5,000 of you will risk losing your 401(k) unless you provide the company with free power generated by your car.
I managed to save our first mouse from death-by-fist. We had just gotten our first PC, and I introduced my mom to solitaire. An hour later I came back to find her balling her fist and putting her weight on to the mouse buttons while she moved it with the other hand. I asked her what she was doing, and it turns out she thought you had to press harder to pick up more cards. On this particular move, she was moving ten cards, and she wanted to be sure she didn't drop any along the way.
I started buying HP monitors only, one goes bad, I call, no run around, they next day ship a replacement, and pay for the return shipping. Class act right there.
Same with Planar. I recently received an LCD monitor which had 5 dead pixels on it. I called them up, and without even asking me what the problem was they sent me a new one and paid for return shipping. Only spent 5 minutes on the phone.
My opinion (and probably many others') is summed up quite well in this article. To sum it up: P2P should be viewed as a promo tool (a la radio stations), and if CDs were a bit cheaper everyone would be happy (including the RIAA, who'd see more sales).
If it gets to be too much (per song, monthly fee, or $10 per decoder) I'll find something else. But I don't need to switch now when ogg has no benefit. I can always switch later.
Btw, patents don't make software bad. There is potential for abuse (in which case I can fall back to ogg), but it is nice to have your software protected.
Slashdot Mirror
For $399 can I get one without a giant red bow? I'm not sure the extra bulge in my pants is necessary.
Here's a handy bandwidth chart for common components to bookmark for easy reference.
Even worse, malicious companies can abuse paraphrasing to hide important information. For example, the shortened EULA for Kazaa (etc) can tell the user what can be done with the software (share and download "files"), but conveniently leave out the legal issues ("files" means only non-copyrighted material). You'll either end up with a bunch of innocent people in trouble with RIAA, or a mess of lawsuits between Kazaa and RIAA because they trick users into clicking "I agree" to an over-simplified statement without explaining the laws in full to the user.
I've never understood why people want to be referred to as a geek. It's not a pleasant title, rather it's an insult. Class bullies picks on the scrawny "four-eyed geek". If someone calls you a geek, it's your turn to stand up for yourself. "Geek" has such a negative conotation to it that I will never refer to myself as one, regardless of my involvement with computers and science.
There is, for the server at my school at least. I tried it from home the other day and it wouldn't let me access it.
Seriously, I actually prefer to use keyboard anyway, the constant sprinting back and forth across the screen is tiresome; it's not just you coders that want a keyboard.
What would make this even better would be a way to easily rotate the "cube" representing your screen: you could have six applications open, each maximized on one plane, then just rotate the cube with a joystick to quickly switch around, or position it such that you can view parts of 2 or 3 apps at once.
But how would one implement a 3-D mouse?
Why do people buy family-friendly edited films anyway? Movies with sex and swear words were made for a more mature viewer. Editting out this out still leaves a movie full of adult situations and concepts children wouldn't understand anyway.
When I was in the market for a 20GB player, I narrowed it down to an Archos and Nomad. Both were the same on paper, but the Nomad had great sound quality (while the Archos' was deplorable), and the Nomad's interface was much more intuitive and easier to navigate. These two features make or break your experience with a player, but you can't read about them on the back-of-the-box description. If possible, buy a couple players from Best Buy et al, use them for a couple days, then return them.
On Friday we will announce 10,000 lay-offs. The remaining 5,000 of you will risk losing your 401(k) unless you provide the company with free power generated by your car.
Sincerely,
Mr. CEO
I managed to save our first mouse from death-by-fist. We had just gotten our first PC, and I introduced my mom to solitaire. An hour later I came back to find her balling her fist and putting her weight on to the mouse buttons while she moved it with the other hand. I asked her what she was doing, and it turns out she thought you had to press harder to pick up more cards. On this particular move, she was moving ten cards, and she wanted to be sure she didn't drop any along the way.
My opinion (and probably many others') is summed up quite well in this article. To sum it up: P2P should be viewed as a promo tool (a la radio stations), and if CDs were a bit cheaper everyone would be happy (including the RIAA, who'd see more sales).
Btw, patents don't make software bad. There is potential for abuse (in which case I can fall back to ogg), but it is nice to have your software protected.