Buy a Philips DVD 727 from Target (I got one during the holiday rush for $80). It can output PAL discs to an NTSC television, and can be made region-free through a mindlessly simple remote hack (open the tray, press 9-9-9-9, then press 0 to select all regions!) Plus, it's progressive scan and can play MPEG video burned to CD-R without authoring (as well as JPEGs and MP3s, which you can also put together in a musical slideshow). Ok, Target and Philips, about those kickbacks...
Nothing will air with the broadcast flag disabled. This includes news. Ergo, it seems perfectly reasonable to claim VCR's are being effectively banned between the next two presidential elections.
What, are you trying to claim that GWB, in some dictatorial power-grab, won't relenquish his power in 2008, and that the coup will be forgotten in the mists of time because we won't be able to record the news? Take off the tinfoil hat, man...
...or maybe that's just what I read into your comment...
I don't think we should allow advertising to be concealed in this way. It could eventually lead to political support or lobbying efforts that are disguised as the nightly news.
How many factory workers pressing CD/DVDs have been let go?
Actually, the Sony Disc Manufacturing plant in Springfield, OR was closed last spring, putting 277 people out of work. One of the reasons Sony gave for closing the plant was piracy.
Of course, what Sony didn't mention was how they stood to make a tidy profit selling the real esatate surrounding their facility (which they got for a song when they moved to Springfield back in the 90's). You see, Sony bought not only the land for their factory site, but all of the adjacent land. The taxpayers of Springfield footed the bill to have streets, utilities, and other infrastructure built to sweeten the deal and convince Sony to build their factory there (for those of you who don't know, Springfield used to be a big mill town, until the timber mills started to close in the 1980's, and is fairly desparate to secure new factory-type jobs. When Sony came to town promising lots of high-paying high-tech jobs, the city council bent over the proverbial rail for them).
So, Sony had greenfield land improved at no cost to them, and is now making out like a bandit by selling it, while 277 more families in a state with the worst economy in the nation join the ranks of the unemployed. But it's much easier to blame those evil pirates than to admit that corporate greed was the real reason why the plant closed down...
Can you tell me why people in middle class can by nice home entertainment systems and computers but not be able to buy income producing assets? One wealthy person I know of drives a rusty old Toyota truck. He can easily buy a nice new mega sized truck, but instead, he invests his free money.
You kind of answered your own question. The middle class can afford to buy all of that crap because of easily-obtainable high-interest credit. Simple as that. Your wealthy friend is probably wealthy precisely because he doesn't squander his money on things that he doesn't really need (as my Dad once told me, the cheapest car to own is the one that's in your driveway right now...)
I believe that the program you are referring to, CNet Central, aired on MSNBC back when MSNBC was supposed to be the hip, tech-savvy news network (as opposed to the third-rate also-ran yelling-head network that it is today). But what I can't remember is this: was this the same show that featured Dev Null, the flaming gay virtual presenter? Man, to think that back in 1996 we all thought that the future of news anchordom was a character from the Sims!
Though it uses the proprietary ATRAC format (and the DRM that comes with it), I'm a big fan of the NetMD minidisc recorders. The media costs around $2 each, and has the capability to hold approximately 3.5 hours of music (although forget Sony's marketing that says you can fit 5 hours on a disc; that level of compression isn't very good for music!)
Apex, bah! For a low-cost, hacker-friendly machine, what you want is a Sampo. Not only can they play all kinds of discs, as well as all of your MP3's, they also can switch between PAL and NTSC (important if you want to be able to watch those Young Ones DVDs that are out in the UK, or any number of super-cheap chop-sockey flicks from Hong Kong), and all are easily modded to all-region capability through either a remote control hack or a simple.txt file burned to CD-R. Most can also be fimware-flashed to get rid of macrovision. The 631CF model even has a compact flash slot and can output JPEGs and MPEG movies to your TV. And they are really well-built, considering that they are Taiwanese el-cheapos. I love mine.
I was just at my local Goodwill yesterday to drop off a sack of old clothes. I decided to see what they had in the way of old computer stuff... there were a lot of decent, working 15" color monitors for $20-25. So don't burst a blood vessel over the lack of a monitor with these 1/299 machines, man!
You do, of course, realise that Australia and New Zealand are two different countries? There is as much distance between Sydney and Auckland as there is between Los Angeles and Kansas city, and only a couple hundred miles less than the distance between London and Moscow!
Two completely separate places, man.
Actually, my Rio 300 is great on batteries. Really, the best way to go is to invest $8 on a pair of NiMH rechargable AA batteries to rotate in your MP3 player. A good charger will cost you $20 on top of that. Sounds like a lot, but you're actually saving a ton in the long run. A Rio only uses 1 AA; charge 2 at a time, so when one runs out, you've still got the other! It's also nice that you don't have to throw them out. NiMH's hold their charge for a pretty decent amount of time, can be recharged up to 1,000 times without the "charge memory" problems inherent with the older NiCad batteries, and really perform well in devices like MP3 players (at least as good as alkalines!) With a "smart" 1-hour charger, you can charge a battery up in less time than it takes to run the other one down. I think it's the only way to go.
My TiVo cost me $99. I bought the last 20-gig floor model at my local Circuit Shitty when the higher-capacity models were being released. Another 100 gigs would cost me $120 (although, frankly, I've never been left at a loss for space, as I don't save shows forever) Plus, I never have to futz with hardware or software problems. Seriously, I don't think many of the roll-your-own proponents have ever actually used a TiVo! It just works, it fits under my TV and it's brilliant. No crashes, no hardware conflicts, no grid programming, just pure Simpsons and Twilight Zone goodness.
Somehow, this made me think of...
on
Sysadmin Day. Yay.
·
· Score: 2, Funny
Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy (SNL) "He'll fix your computer, then he's gonna make fun of you..."
Or, GM could build a sweet RV using the technology. No worry about hookups or running a generator, just park the thing, and power up all of the creature comforts! Yeeha!
Actually, the original poster mentioned that she and her husband had a GM EV-1, which has to be the pug-ugliest of the lot when it comes to fugley alt-nrg cars! So, really, an Insight or Prius would be a step up...
Way back when GM was making the EV-1, I had a conspiracy theory as to why it was so ugly. GM was really pushed by mandate to produce these things. As I recall, they weren't too happy about having to do so. I think they made them ugly on purpose, so that they wouldn't sell. Then, GM could say to the Gov't, "Look, we're making alternative energy cars, but nobody wants to buy them! The market has spoken!"
I love building my own system...it's fun! I agree... except for when you go to turn it on the first time and get the dreaded "Beeeep-beep-beeeep" code! Then, of course, there's spending a weekend installing and configuring all of the software. Not to mention making a few runs to the local shop to pick up parts that you neglected to consider (like that damn 300w power supply that I had to get for a power-hungry AMD CPU... the case I bought online for the project only had a 250w in it! Duh!)
Still, like someone in a bad relationship, I keep going back and doing it again. It's fun in a masochistic sense...
...by buying a barebones machine and then adding components. A lot of people have already pointed out that you can get killed by shipping by going to Pricewatch and then ordering every component from a different outfit. By ordering a barebones kit, you've got the case, mobo, power supply, processor, cooler, and sometimes, even the floppy drive taken care of. One shipping charge. Plus, a lot of times, this is the cheapest way to cover all of the above components in one fell swoop.
No need to worry about frying your new mobo when mounting it in the case! No need to worry about cracking your new CPU when clamping on the cooler! Nothing to do but pick out the other goodies you want and plug 'em in!
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Buy a Philips DVD 727 from Target (I got one during the holiday rush for $80). It can output PAL discs to an NTSC television, and can be made region-free through a mindlessly simple remote hack (open the tray, press 9-9-9-9, then press 0 to select all regions!) Plus, it's progressive scan and can play MPEG video burned to CD-R without authoring (as well as JPEGs and MP3s, which you can also put together in a musical slideshow).
Ok, Target and Philips, about those kickbacks...
"It's not about the money. It's about how much copper wiring you can rip out of the walls."
What, are you trying to claim that GWB, in some dictatorial power-grab, won't relenquish his power in 2008, and that the coup will be forgotten in the mists of time because we won't be able to record the news? Take off the tinfoil hat, man...
...or maybe that's just what I read into your comment...
And this is different from Fox News how?
Actually, the Sony Disc Manufacturing plant in Springfield, OR was closed last spring, putting 277 people out of work. One of the reasons Sony gave for closing the plant was piracy.
Of course, what Sony didn't mention was how they stood to make a tidy profit selling the real esatate surrounding their facility (which they got for a song when they moved to Springfield back in the 90's). You see, Sony bought not only the land for their factory site, but all of the adjacent land. The taxpayers of Springfield footed the bill to have streets, utilities, and other infrastructure built to sweeten the deal and convince Sony to build their factory there (for those of you who don't know, Springfield used to be a big mill town, until the timber mills started to close in the 1980's, and is fairly desparate to secure new factory-type jobs. When Sony came to town promising lots of high-paying high-tech jobs, the city council bent over the proverbial rail for them).
So, Sony had greenfield land improved at no cost to them, and is now making out like a bandit by selling it, while 277 more families in a state with the worst economy in the nation join the ranks of the unemployed. But it's much easier to blame those evil pirates than to admit that corporate greed was the real reason why the plant closed down...
Nah, it's "drugs are really expensive
You kind of answered your own question. The middle class can afford to buy all of that crap because of easily-obtainable high-interest credit. Simple as that. Your wealthy friend is probably wealthy precisely because he doesn't squander his money on things that he doesn't really need (as my Dad once told me, the cheapest car to own is the one that's in your driveway right now...)
I believe that the program you are referring to, CNet Central, aired on MSNBC back when MSNBC was supposed to be the hip, tech-savvy news network (as opposed to the third-rate also-ran yelling-head network that it is today). But what I can't remember is this: was this the same show that featured Dev Null, the flaming gay virtual presenter? Man, to think that back in 1996 we all thought that the future of news anchordom was a character from the Sims!
Though it uses the proprietary ATRAC format (and the DRM that comes with it), I'm a big fan of the NetMD minidisc recorders. The media costs around $2 each, and has the capability to hold approximately 3.5 hours of music (although forget Sony's marketing that says you can fit 5 hours on a disc; that level of compression isn't very good for music!)
...give new meaning to the phrase "free, as in beer?"
Apex, bah! For a low-cost, hacker-friendly machine, what you want is a Sampo. Not only can they play all kinds of discs, as well as all of your MP3's, they also can switch between PAL and NTSC (important if you want to be able to watch those Young Ones DVDs that are out in the UK, or any number of super-cheap chop-sockey flicks from Hong Kong), and all are easily modded to all-region capability through either a remote control hack or a simple .txt file burned to CD-R. Most can also be fimware-flashed to get rid of macrovision. The 631CF model even has a compact flash slot and can output JPEGs and MPEG movies to your TV. And they are really well-built, considering that they are Taiwanese el-cheapos. I love mine.
That's GRAF Zeppelin to you, pally....
"Inflammable means flammable? What a country!"
- Dr. Nick Riviera
I was just at my local Goodwill yesterday to drop off a sack of old clothes. I decided to see what they had in the way of old computer stuff... there were a lot of decent, working 15" color monitors for $20-25. So don't burst a blood vessel over the lack of a monitor with these 1/299 machines, man!
You do, of course, realise that Australia and New Zealand are two different countries? There is as much distance between Sydney and Auckland as there is between Los Angeles and Kansas city, and only a couple hundred miles less than the distance between London and Moscow! Two completely separate places, man.
Actually, my Rio 300 is great on batteries. Really, the best way to go is to invest $8 on a pair of NiMH rechargable AA batteries to rotate in your MP3 player. A good charger will cost you $20 on top of that. Sounds like a lot, but you're actually saving a ton in the long run. A Rio only uses 1 AA; charge 2 at a time, so when one runs out, you've still got the other! It's also nice that you don't have to throw them out. NiMH's hold their charge for a pretty decent amount of time, can be recharged up to 1,000 times without the "charge memory" problems inherent with the older NiCad batteries, and really perform well in devices like MP3 players (at least as good as alkalines!) With a "smart" 1-hour charger, you can charge a battery up in less time than it takes to run the other one down. I think it's the only way to go.
My TiVo cost me $99. I bought the last 20-gig floor model at my local Circuit Shitty when the higher-capacity models were being released. Another 100 gigs would cost me $120 (although, frankly, I've never been left at a loss for space, as I don't save shows forever) Plus, I never have to futz with hardware or software problems. Seriously, I don't think many of the roll-your-own proponents have ever actually used a TiVo! It just works, it fits under my TV and it's brilliant. No crashes, no hardware conflicts, no grid programming, just pure Simpsons and Twilight Zone goodness.
Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy (SNL) "He'll fix your computer, then he's gonna make fun of you..."
Or, GM could build a sweet RV using the technology. No worry about hookups or running a generator, just park the thing, and power up all of the creature comforts! Yeeha!
Actually, the original poster mentioned that she and her husband had a GM EV-1, which has to be the pug-ugliest of the lot when it comes to fugley alt-nrg cars! So, really, an Insight or Prius would be a step up... Way back when GM was making the EV-1, I had a conspiracy theory as to why it was so ugly. GM was really pushed by mandate to produce these things. As I recall, they weren't too happy about having to do so. I think they made them ugly on purpose, so that they wouldn't sell. Then, GM could say to the Gov't, "Look, we're making alternative energy cars, but nobody wants to buy them! The market has spoken!"
And in other news today, trees are made of wood...
What we all need to ask ourselves is this: is what's good for Microsoft good for the rest of us? I think we already know the answer...
I love building my own system...it's fun! I agree... except for when you go to turn it on the first time and get the dreaded "Beeeep-beep-beeeep" code! Then, of course, there's spending a weekend installing and configuring all of the software. Not to mention making a few runs to the local shop to pick up parts that you neglected to consider (like that damn 300w power supply that I had to get for a power-hungry AMD CPU... the case I bought online for the project only had a 250w in it! Duh!) Still, like someone in a bad relationship, I keep going back and doing it again. It's fun in a masochistic sense...
...by buying a barebones machine and then adding components. A lot of people have already pointed out that you can get killed by shipping by going to Pricewatch and then ordering every component from a different outfit. By ordering a barebones kit, you've got the case, mobo, power supply, processor, cooler, and sometimes, even the floppy drive taken care of. One shipping charge. Plus, a lot of times, this is the cheapest way to cover all of the above components in one fell swoop. No need to worry about frying your new mobo when mounting it in the case! No need to worry about cracking your new CPU when clamping on the cooler! Nothing to do but pick out the other goodies you want and plug 'em in!