I don't think they care about the 8 students, or the fines - it's the University of Michigan they are after.
Given UM's recent high profile legal successes I think RIAA would have their work cut out for them if they tried to make UM do something they didn't want to do. Speaking from personal experience, UM does not operate like a typical uncoordinated bureaucracy. They are ruthlessly efficient when it comes to money.
Keep in mind that we are talking about an organization with the resources of a small city and top tier law and EE/CS programs. Since they are a public entity they likely have the ability to also utilize government resources and rules/regulations/laws (IANAL).
I agree with other posters that it's more likely that this will pass directly down to the students in question.
What is their rationale for the new policy? Is it some other department running amok with their usage? If so, they may be willing to let you keep the cell phone if it is high powered and looks like a 2-way pager (e.g., RIM, Communicator, Tungsten W, etc). If it has a full keyboard and SSH capability then they can use that as the justification for why your department should be equipped and others should not.
From articles I've read (unfortunately I can't recall where) the whole DARPA event was used to "scare" one of their existing research partnerships (CMU) into getting their @$$ in gear
I don't know where this meme keeps coming from. Based on my limited, but probably more informed knowledge of the timing of the grant awards and the GC announcement, I don't think this is correct. Most of the projects in question were still very early in their funding cycle when the GC was announced.
Besides, the Red Team is not a member of any of the DoD partnerships in question.
Especially if she lives near an Apple store. That way she can bring it in with her for their free, weekly classes on most of the things she wants to do. It's a lot easier when parents have some training already. This helps if you get them AppleCare too - it's a lot easier to bring in or pack up an iBook for shipping. AppleCare is worth the price in your time alone.
Also, don't underestimate the power of iPhoto and iChat. My in-laws had a problem that stumped them. I told them to take a picture of the screen with their digital camera, plug the camera in (auto starts iPhoto), import the photo, and click "Mail" and send it to me. Since this was something they were already comfortable with, they had no problem. I could immediately see what was wrong. Another time, I had her open iChat and aim the iSight at the screen while I walked her through the problem. Easy as cake.
Don't forget to use the easy to operate System Preferences to lock down all the services (done by default), turn on the firewall, and tell them to let Software Update apply Apple security patches. I instructed them to hold off on other Software Updates unless they checked with me first. If you're really neurotic you can set them up without admin rights, but that can mean updates don't get applied unless you are around.
Actually, Jenny Holzer is an excellent artist, regardless of your/her political leaning. Most people don't get the full effect of her work since her installations typically don't photograph well. Speaking from experience, her work is really quite powerful in person.
Of course, the most famous phrase she has used in her work is appropriate to mention here: "Protect Me from What I Want" (for bonus points, note the location of the sign).
Having worked in this field for a while, I've seen this sort of thing before. Radar is a nice option, but ultrasound is also adequate for presence detection.
You can get a radar side sensor with an Eaton VORAD (snazzy video on this page) as a factory option on many trucks. Clever Devices'Seymor is ultrasound based and pretty much available for transit buses. Both of these systems have warning LEDs on the A-pillars. I've also seen variations on the Muth mirrors where a chevron that is only visible to the driver pops up when a side system triggers.
You need to hang around auto research labs more often. This is a common event when dealing with instrumented R&D cars. Of course, you have to be very careful since, unlike this car, many of these vehicles have data flowing in both directions. Accidentally spiking the steering actuator is bad. Very bad.
... is a Sonic Alert - aptly named the "Sonic Boom" which is paired with a night table light and a 12V bed shaker. When the alarm goes off, the light and vibrator alternate in a square wave with an obnoxious pulse of noise. She's had others in the past, but they've all been similar. The first time I was woken up by one of these, I almost fell out of bed. My subtle radio alarm is now set to go off well before hers...
Of course, she tells everyone there's a vibrator in her bed.
If I remember correctly, the cited intersection does not use DSCR, it simply tracks incoming cars and warns if it thinks someone may get hit. I think it's a high speed rural highway intersection. I've seen presentations on it but it's been a while.
Ok, I went and checked. The one I'm thinking of was this one (PDF, 322k) which was actually installed on a public road. The cited intersection was a demo this past summer at a DOT research facility in McLean. Here are some movies of the different demos in action.
Allocation of the 5850 - 5925 MHz band (i.e. 5.9 GHz) as reported here with further links. This is also knows as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) and has been around intelligent transportation for some time.
Conceivable applications include:
Toll tags for automated payment (already exist)
Co-operative cruise control ("I'm car X at coordinates Y and I'm braking at Z rate") for improved speed management
Autopayment at gas stations and McD's
Notification of active emergency vehicles in your vicinity (cars cabins are getting better insulated and stereos are getting louder...)
In-vehicle warnings relayed by intersections ("Car Y, someone is approaching the intersection from your left and it looks like they will hit you")
and much, much more
Researchers have been dreaming up applications in this space for a long time.
PS - If I remember correctly, the cited intersection does not use DSCR, it simply tracks incoming cars and warns if it thinks someone may get hit. I think it's a high speed rural highway intersection. I've seen presentations on it but it's been a while.
... isn't that why the term "heads-up display" was coined...
Actually it is head-up display. You only have one head - raunchy jokes aside. Here's a sample pointer. The singular use is also used for Head-Down Displays.
On a safety note, there has been a lot of work on HUDs in automotive settings. Some benefits have been found, but they are accompanied by some rather nasty problems that can appear if the HUD and the imagery is not designed properly. Automotive settings are not the same as aviation due to shorter focal lengths for road scenes, more visual clutter, and higher likelihood of unexepected events. Pilots also tend to be better trained than drivers.
When I was in high school, supposedly someone (friend of a friend thing) got into the local state University by filling out the application form with an orange crayon.
I actually buy this story since large Universities get a lot of applications and I'm sure the endless forms start blending together.
Slashdot Mirror
[cut to view of Apple's shipping department]
We need to ship an iPod mini overnight or we're DOOMED!
I don't think they care about the 8 students, or the fines - it's the University of Michigan they are after.
Given UM's recent high profile legal successes I think RIAA would have their work cut out for them if they tried to make UM do something they didn't want to do. Speaking from personal experience, UM does not operate like a typical uncoordinated bureaucracy. They are ruthlessly efficient when it comes to money.
Keep in mind that we are talking about an organization with the resources of a small city and top tier law and EE/CS programs. Since they are a public entity they likely have the ability to also utilize government resources and rules/regulations/laws (IANAL).
I agree with other posters that it's more likely that this will pass directly down to the students in question.
Have them pay for an alpha pager...
What is their rationale for the new policy? Is it some other department running amok with their usage? If so, they may be willing to let you keep the cell phone if it is high powered and looks like a 2-way pager (e.g., RIM, Communicator, Tungsten W, etc). If it has a full keyboard and SSH capability then they can use that as the justification for why your department should be equipped and others should not.
Correct link for the story this week (March 10).
Was there some kind of rule against destroying objects in your path instead of navigating around them?
Yes. The rules are very explicit about intentional crushing.
From articles I've read (unfortunately I can't recall where) the whole DARPA event was used to "scare" one of their existing research partnerships (CMU) into getting their @$$ in gear
I don't know where this meme keeps coming from. Based on my limited, but probably more informed knowledge of the timing of the grant awards and the GC announcement, I don't think this is correct. Most of the projects in question were still very early in their funding cycle when the GC was announced.
Besides, the Red Team is not a member of any of the DoD partnerships in question.
Especially if she lives near an Apple store. That way she can bring it in with her for their free, weekly classes on most of the things she wants to do. It's a lot easier when parents have some training already. This helps if you get them AppleCare too - it's a lot easier to bring in or pack up an iBook for shipping. AppleCare is worth the price in your time alone.
Also, don't underestimate the power of iPhoto and iChat. My in-laws had a problem that stumped them. I told them to take a picture of the screen with their digital camera, plug the camera in (auto starts iPhoto), import the photo, and click "Mail" and send it to me. Since this was something they were already comfortable with, they had no problem. I could immediately see what was wrong. Another time, I had her open iChat and aim the iSight at the screen while I walked her through the problem. Easy as cake.
Don't forget to use the easy to operate System Preferences to lock down all the services (done by default), turn on the firewall, and tell them to let Software Update apply Apple security patches. I instructed them to hold off on other Software Updates unless they checked with me first. If you're really neurotic you can set them up without admin rights, but that can mean updates don't get applied unless you are around.
Virus? What's a virus?
They run hardly any software, and once you get into the real world, your Mac skills are worthless because Macs are few and far between out there.
The world is not just first person computer games.
No, it's a car for dads.
Are they in the Wayback Machine? If yes, and the content clearly points to you (e.g., copyright blurbs), you may have some evidence to work from.
Actually, the real irony of this story is that the guy who photographed Kerry is a professor of journalism ethics at a likely target for conservatives.
Jenny Holzer, "Artist"
Actually, Jenny Holzer is an excellent artist, regardless of your/her political leaning. Most people don't get the full effect of her work since her installations typically don't photograph well. Speaking from experience, her work is really quite powerful in person.
Of course, the most famous phrase she has used in her work is appropriate to mention here: "Protect Me from What I Want" (for bonus points, note the location of the sign).
Apple has integrated bluetooth
Hence bluetooth is dying
I hope to work on things like Internet2, or in a large business environment after college.
Three words: Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.
Having worked in this field for a while, I've seen this sort of thing before. Radar is a nice option, but ultrasound is also adequate for presence detection.
You can get a radar side sensor with an Eaton VORAD (snazzy video on this page) as a factory option on many trucks. Clever Devices' Seymor is ultrasound based and pretty much available for transit buses. Both of these systems have warning LEDs on the A-pillars. I've also seen variations on the Muth mirrors where a chevron that is only visible to the driver pops up when a side system triggers.
This is such a clever idea. Thanks for pointing it out. It's a good thing Safari is CSS compliant.
The key combination also is used when software, such as Microsoft's Windows operating system, fails
I was trying to remember what that key combination was used for...
You need to hang around auto research labs more often. This is a common event when dealing with instrumented R&D cars. Of course, you have to be very careful since, unlike this car, many of these vehicles have data flowing in both directions. Accidentally spiking the steering actuator is bad. Very bad.
That would be the Personal Exploration Rover. Here's the press release.
... is a Sonic Alert - aptly named the "Sonic Boom" which is paired with a night table light and a 12V bed shaker. When the alarm goes off, the light and vibrator alternate in a square wave with an obnoxious pulse of noise. She's had others in the past, but they've all been similar. The first time I was woken up by one of these, I almost fell out of bed. My subtle radio alarm is now set to go off well before hers...
Of course, she tells everyone there's a vibrator in her bed.
Any comment yet from the Sinatra estate?
If I remember correctly, the cited intersection does not use DSCR, it simply tracks incoming cars and warns if it thinks someone may get hit. I think it's a high speed rural highway intersection. I've seen presentations on it but it's been a while.
Ok, I went and checked. The one I'm thinking of was this one (PDF, 322k) which was actually installed on a public road. The cited intersection was a demo this past summer at a DOT research facility in McLean. Here are some movies of the different demos in action.
Allocation of the 5850 - 5925 MHz band (i.e. 5.9 GHz) as reported here with further links. This is also knows as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) and has been around intelligent transportation for some time.
Conceivable applications include:
- Toll tags for automated payment (already exist)
- Co-operative cruise control ("I'm car X at coordinates Y and I'm braking at Z rate") for improved speed management
- Autopayment at gas stations and McD's
- Notification of active emergency vehicles in your vicinity (cars cabins are getting better insulated and stereos are getting louder...)
- In-vehicle warnings relayed by intersections ("Car Y, someone is approaching the intersection from your left and it looks like they will hit you")
- and much, much more
Researchers have been dreaming up applications in this space for a long time.PS - If I remember correctly, the cited intersection does not use DSCR, it simply tracks incoming cars and warns if it thinks someone may get hit. I think it's a high speed rural highway intersection. I've seen presentations on it but it's been a while.
Actually it is head-up display. You only have one head - raunchy jokes aside. Here's a sample pointer. The singular use is also used for Head-Down Displays.
On a safety note, there has been a lot of work on HUDs in automotive settings. Some benefits have been found, but they are accompanied by some rather nasty problems that can appear if the HUD and the imagery is not designed properly. Automotive settings are not the same as aviation due to shorter focal lengths for road scenes, more visual clutter, and higher likelihood of unexepected events. Pilots also tend to be better trained than drivers.
When I was in high school, supposedly someone (friend of a friend thing) got into the local state University by filling out the application form with an orange crayon.
I actually buy this story since large Universities get a lot of applications and I'm sure the endless forms start blending together.