Agreed! I hate "exterminate" at high volume by a Dalek. Nothing forces me to turn off the TV faster than my wife after hearing the Daleks coming down the hallway.
I think the sample of listeners is probably the biggest weakness in the report. It seems to be a pretty good cross section of codecs and types of music, and a good job putting the information into something that can be interpreted. But as you point out, the sample is people that happen to go to the trouble of downloading. Especially from a web site that sub-titles itself "A Collection of _Really_ Hard to Find Pieces of Software".
It would be nice to see the test conducted with a more random sampling of people, or make a group of "audiophiles" (whatever that means).
It might be an American thing. This book has been required reading for Computer Science undergrads and a lot of Engineering students since first published in 1978. I've never met anyone who hadn't heard of this book.
But I have met a lot of people who bought the book and never read it....
In fact, the use of the words "weblog" and "blog" in the popular press has increased dramatically in the past four years. Standing in the way of contractions just makes you look like a liguistic luddite.
The problem with "plog" (project log) is that a log of project notes has existed for a long time, and a this "plog" is hard to distinguish the paper version or the client/server version from the web version. So, I think "bplog" for "web project log" (pronounced "buh-plog") should now be accepted as an official new word for the trade rag dorks to start using.
And woe be to him that stands in the way of my new contraction!
Anybody who says that Michael Powell is in the pocket of the broadcasters or any other major company doesn't know what they're talking about, and this is the proof for anybody who doubts that.
He's giving away spectrum that is going to be given away anyway as digital TV comes on-line. This is an example of him being in the pocket of telcos/ISPs.
The FCC seems to have long ago ignored its mission to make sure that spectrum is protected for all public use, and instead has shifted into a mode of giving it to those that are politically connected. And it started before Powell and will continue after him. There's way too much money at stake for a limited resource.
Wired article on attempts to get this listed on census forms in some countries. I wanted to write this in after "other" on mine, and got in a bit of hot water with the Mrs.
Your linked article references original article's link:
The suit Homer creates is based on the one created by Troy James Hurtubise, a self-styled "close-quarter bear researcher" and seen the documentary "Project Grizzly." Visit the "More Info" link to find out more about this suit and to see a clip of Troy testing it out.
More Info
Maybe Simpsons' writers read Slashdot? Could also be Canadian, except I seem to recall Homer stating once "Why would I leave America to visit America Junior?".
I agree -- grab it quick, and quickly learn about business, management, and project management. Sad fact is entry level with Comp Sci has no advantage over the people with the same degree in other countries where the pay is much less, outside of English skills.
You need to quickly jump to the positions that can't be outsourced -- which generally would be creating business process change and managing that change, but probably not writing code although that could be part if your a guru on the company's business.
I'll agree with you on The Tick. It had a lot of potential that just didn't click. I think if they hadn't burned through cash like nothing, it could have worked.
I loved "The Tick". I loved a "super-hero" with the line, "I saved her. I saved her three times if you know what I mean."
Ditto from me. I built a small rack for patch panels and servers from wood, and just used the rack rails (about $20) to mount things to. Music equipment supply places are much cheaper for racks, and they're all standard 19 inches. Storage shelves, blank panel fillers (that can be drilled or cut to to make your own patch panels as needed), etc. are much cheaper for musicians than IT, and basically the same thing. The only thing to watch out for are that audio racks are generally not the 3 foot depth of IT racks, but might work out depending on server depth.
Re:Let me be the first to say that...
on
No EZ Fix For The IRS
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
This is a very good point. 200M is a lot of money. But the mact works out to a 2.5% cost overrun for a very large IT project.
Some people would kill for a cost overrun of only 2.5%. Especially with the high percentage of IT projects that never get completed.
Of course, this one isn't completed yet, either...
If the typical day involves 2 hours writing documents, 2 hours reading/writing e-mails, 15 minutes reorganising my files, and 4 hours doing non-computer things like meetings, then even if the Finder made me twice as productive when reorganising my files that's only 7 minutes.
It this is your computer use pattern, how much productivity increase could you expect from any OS or software change? If your daily use consists of Email and a few documents, you don't even really need a computer -- a dedicated device like a PDA would accomplish all this, or even a thin-client/java-workstation.
I think for someone that is really as light a computer user as you describe, the whole user interface argument is meaningless once you learn to launch the two or three applications you use (and become proficient with them). The whole "upgrade treadmill" is pointless too, since the two apps you use (Word Processing and Email) haven't really been substantially enhanced since the Mac originally came into being in 1984.
For those that are using apps that are still evolving (graphics, development, etc.) or that are manipulating lots of files or performing system admin tasks, changes in productivity can make a major impact on their day. While this is not the majority of people, it is probably a larger percentage of Slashdot readers.
Actually, its not a press release. Its a document sent to Microsoft partners (solution providers) with the speaking points to use when dealing with a customer asking about Open Office. They also have documents like this for Linux, Sun, and many other competing products. I get a box full of them each month, and some times they come attached to Dr. Dobb's Journal and other publications.
I think everyone expects Microsoft to promote their products. And most of the comments seem to be undie-bind-free (at least as of my reading). The only thing that is really interesting is that the argument against Open Office is relatively thin, as the other link shows, and could be the same argument against upgrading from Office to a new version of Office.
But, I'm over it. I switched a few weeks ago and don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about Microsoft products anymore.
What is ZD's Accuracy?
on
TiVo Will Die
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· Score: 4, Interesting
Just to keep things in perspective, this article is written by PC Magazine's editor. What, if anyone knows, is ZD's ability to see the future? Seems to me this publication a long time ago became a Microsoft ad channel.
I have no experience with Tivo, nor HDTV, nor cable. I watch TV from a Radio Shack antenna mounted on my roof. So, in TV terms I'm pretty much Fred Flintstone. At the same time, I'm not exactly sure what my incentive is to upgrade to the products that are listed as being the killers for Tivo -- and the thought of Tivo is pretty appealing to someone like me that still uses their VCR.
The article claims that "2004 is the year of HDTV". What does this mean? HDTV penetration becomes 50% of households? This doesn't seem possible with the current penetration being 1-2% (last I checked). Admittedly, Tivo has a need to change its products and strategy over the next few years, but I think the same could be said for any technology based product.
Just add them to the big giant list (Netscape, Novell, WordPerfect, computer pinball game makers, cc:Mail, a dozen Borland products, etc. etc. etc.).
"Microsoft Business Partner" seems to mean "someone we'll screw out of market share as soon as they make too much." Quicken is the only one hanging in there, I think.
In the US, the FCC regulates radio spectrum and decides what is allowed or not. If the frequencies being used are unregulated, then there is no FCC regulation that prevents interference. Kind of like if your baby monitor is picking up interference and not working, that's not a legal problem because it works on unregulated frequencies.
But, if you are interfering with cell telephone frequencies, FM radio, television, etc., these are heavily controlled frequencies that there are legal consequences for. Although I have no idea if its actually a felony.
So, specific to RFIDs, depends on the frequencies being used, I guess.
To be clear, (and since I can't see the original I can only go by the style of the other Apple ads), the issue is not copying of the recorded material, since the ad uses another artist to sing the song with us assuming that they are listening to the recording on their iPod. So, the copyright in question is not the recording, but the songwriting copyright. Still a legal issue, although different from sampling. Unbelievable that a professional ad agency would not have iron-clad clearance for something like this before broadcast (and maybe they did, which means Eminem loses). And, rights for a cover tune would most likely be substantially less than using the original song (which is why cheap TV shows use cover artists instead of the real recording), and certainly a lot less than an endorsement deal.
This would have been funnier if they used a Beatles song, because than they would be sued by Michael Jackson.
I don't know why this comment is particularly "insightful", as it's mostly the argument put forth by the lobbyists for the powerline industry. Their desire to see this move forward is obvious, since they stand to profit substantially from the rollout.
As pointed out by others, the particulr RF noise thrown out by BPL Internet far exceeds the specific ham bands. It will impact many bands used by emergency civilian response, military, aviation, as well as ham radio operators. Hams are just an organized, well informed community that is raising a flag at this issue. Most of the others impacted by this are other government entities that do not publically lobby their positions on technical matters such as this.
No one is depriving Internet users of access -- there are many existing technologies that allow Internet connectivity. Power lines also seem to be the least reliable method for Internet, given how infrequently they can transmit power, let alone Internet (at least in the Washington DC area). But for all of us, including hams, there is a finite amount of bandwidth for RF communication, which the FCC is commissioned to manage and protect. And, the amount of spectrum set aside for ham radio is a slim fraction of the whole (a little piece of each band in the spectrum).
While "we the people" may own the spectrum, the FCC has made this decision against evidence to their mission, with attention from powerful business interests. I would think that anyone that desires fair, unbiased government would be nervous about how this decision came about. And, most people paying attention to this decision are losing faith in the FCC's ability to manage their business in the public interest.
no big surprise here that HP decides to go with the non-MS solution.
I'm not quite sure what this means. HP has got to be one of the top 5 companies in bed with Microsoft. While they have their non-MS operating systems, all their effort seems to be getting things migrated to Windows.
DEC set its own fate when it thought Windows NT would be a better choice for Alpha chips than VMS.
Compaq bought all this, and let it wither and watched all its big iron services people go away.
Now HP has MPE, HP-UX, OpenVMS, etc. etc. etc., and seems to think the future is Windows on Itanium chips.
I remember HP when it made incredible meters and unique computers. Now they make consumer desktops, and from where I sit (hardly the top of the world, but I'm in and out of a few large computer rooms in my life) I see former Compaq/Alpha/HP-UX shops moving toward IBM/AIX when they have money, and Dell/Linux or Solaris when they don't. And I miss how well I slept at night when I ran a VMScluster, busting on the other admins when their SH SYS uptime was less than a year.
90% of HIPAA has nothing to do with computers. All the heavy lifting is facility security of patient records and workflow around privacy.
90% of the 10% left is handled by vendors that sell enterprise apps to payers and providers. This industry doesn't write their own apps -- most of the jobs are baby-sitting vendor systems. It doesn't take too much walking around most hospitals to figure out that this industry spends as little as possible on systems.
What's left has been filled by all the existing healthcare consulting firms that saw this as the "next Y2K" 4 years ago, creating a glut that has devalued "$$$" to "$". Except law firms, but they always figure out who to sue.
And, by law, everyone is supposed to be HIPAA compliant this year. So, too late.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, that half-black-half-white guy hating the half-white-half-black guy episode was a very clever metaphor on race relations.
Agreed! I hate "exterminate" at high volume by a Dalek. Nothing forces me to turn off the TV faster than my wife after hearing the Daleks coming down the hallway.
I think the sample of listeners is probably the biggest weakness in the report. It seems to be a pretty good cross section of codecs and types of music, and a good job putting the information into something that can be interpreted. But as you point out, the sample is people that happen to go to the trouble of downloading. Especially from a web site that sub-titles itself "A Collection of _Really_ Hard to Find Pieces of Software".
It would be nice to see the test conducted with a more random sampling of people, or make a group of "audiophiles" (whatever that means).
It might be an American thing. This book has been required reading for Computer Science undergrads and a lot of Engineering students since first published in 1978. I've never met anyone who hadn't heard of this book.
But I have met a lot of people who bought the book and never read it....
Maybe the origins of the mispelling.
"Barney Google and Snuffy Smith" was first published in 1919. Maybe King Features shuld sue Google first.
The problem with "plog" (project log) is that a log of project notes has existed for a long time, and a this "plog" is hard to distinguish the paper version or the client/server version from the web version. So, I think "bplog" for "web project log" (pronounced "buh-plog") should now be accepted as an official new word for the trade rag dorks to start using.
And woe be to him that stands in the way of my new contraction!
He's giving away spectrum that is going to be given away anyway as digital TV comes on-line. This is an example of him being in the pocket of telcos/ISPs.
The FCC seems to have long ago ignored its mission to make sure that spectrum is protected for all public use, and instead has shifted into a mode of giving it to those that are politically connected. And it started before Powell and will continue after him. There's way too much money at stake for a limited resource.
Wired article on attempts to get this listed on census forms in some countries. I wanted to write this in after "other" on mine, and got in a bit of hot water with the Mrs.
Hmmm... Multiple references to the same thing.
Your linked article references original article's link:
Maybe Simpsons' writers read Slashdot? Could also be Canadian, except I seem to recall Homer stating once "Why would I leave America to visit America Junior?".
(Apologies to my friends to the north)
More Hollywood creativity:
Pro Nanny - Fran Drescher as an annoying, but lovable kinky prostitute.
Au Pair - Fran Drescher as an annoying, but lovable kinky prostitute (rated NC-17)
Paranoia - (Working title, "The Martha Stewart Story")
Star Fleet Command - James Kirk as a young cadet. Starring Eminem as the brash rule-breaking young officer.
Stranger in a Strangeland - Hmmm, I thought someone wrote this already.
Homeland Security - Now, a low budget NBC "rushed out once we caught wind of this in movie production" mini-series.
War Magician - The real Iraq war story. By Matt Drudge
Warriors - Prequal to "Road Warrior"
an untitled Johnny Knoxville project - Jackass, the Musical
I agree -- grab it quick, and quickly learn about business, management, and project management. Sad fact is entry level with Comp Sci has no advantage over the people with the same degree in other countries where the pay is much less, outside of English skills.
You need to quickly jump to the positions that can't be outsourced -- which generally would be creating business process change and managing that change, but probably not writing code although that could be part if your a guru on the company's business.
"why do various species show little to no evolutionary change when they spanned millions of years in the strata of time?"
Because their form proved adaptable or survivable to the changes in environment over that period?
Anyway, who are we to question why God created evolution?
I don't know. It's competing with "Gollum's Acceptance Speech at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards".
Ditto from me. I built a small rack for patch panels and servers from wood, and just used the rack rails (about $20) to mount things to. Music equipment supply places are much cheaper for racks, and they're all standard 19 inches. Storage shelves, blank panel fillers (that can be drilled or cut to to make your own patch panels as needed), etc. are much cheaper for musicians than IT, and basically the same thing. The only thing to watch out for are that audio racks are generally not the 3 foot depth of IT racks, but might work out depending on server depth.
Of course, this one isn't completed yet, either...
It this is your computer use pattern, how much productivity increase could you expect from any OS or software change? If your daily use consists of Email and a few documents, you don't even really need a computer -- a dedicated device like a PDA would accomplish all this, or even a thin-client/java-workstation.
I think for someone that is really as light a computer user as you describe, the whole user interface argument is meaningless once you learn to launch the two or three applications you use (and become proficient with them). The whole "upgrade treadmill" is pointless too, since the two apps you use (Word Processing and Email) haven't really been substantially enhanced since the Mac originally came into being in 1984.
For those that are using apps that are still evolving (graphics, development, etc.) or that are manipulating lots of files or performing system admin tasks, changes in productivity can make a major impact on their day. While this is not the majority of people, it is probably a larger percentage of Slashdot readers.
Actually, its not a press release. Its a document sent to Microsoft partners (solution providers) with the speaking points to use when dealing with a customer asking about Open Office. They also have documents like this for Linux, Sun, and many other competing products. I get a box full of them each month, and some times they come attached to Dr. Dobb's Journal and other publications.
I think everyone expects Microsoft to promote their products. And most of the comments seem to be undie-bind-free (at least as of my reading). The only thing that is really interesting is that the argument against Open Office is relatively thin, as the other link shows, and could be the same argument against upgrading from Office to a new version of Office.
But, I'm over it. I switched a few weeks ago and don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about Microsoft products anymore.
Just to keep things in perspective, this article is written by PC Magazine's editor. What, if anyone knows, is ZD's ability to see the future? Seems to me this publication a long time ago became a Microsoft ad channel.
I have no experience with Tivo, nor HDTV, nor cable. I watch TV from a Radio Shack antenna mounted on my roof. So, in TV terms I'm pretty much Fred Flintstone. At the same time, I'm not exactly sure what my incentive is to upgrade to the products that are listed as being the killers for Tivo -- and the thought of Tivo is pretty appealing to someone like me that still uses their VCR.
The article claims that "2004 is the year of HDTV". What does this mean? HDTV penetration becomes 50% of households? This doesn't seem possible with the current penetration being 1-2% (last I checked). Admittedly, Tivo has a need to change its products and strategy over the next few years, but I think the same could be said for any technology based product.
Just add them to the big giant list (Netscape, Novell, WordPerfect, computer pinball game makers, cc:Mail, a dozen Borland products, etc. etc. etc.).
"Microsoft Business Partner" seems to mean "someone we'll screw out of market share as soon as they make too much." Quicken is the only one hanging in there, I think.
It's different depending on the type of device.
In the US, the FCC regulates radio spectrum and decides what is allowed or not. If the frequencies being used are unregulated, then there is no FCC regulation that prevents interference. Kind of like if your baby monitor is picking up interference and not working, that's not a legal problem because it works on unregulated frequencies.
But, if you are interfering with cell telephone frequencies, FM radio, television, etc., these are heavily controlled frequencies that there are legal consequences for. Although I have no idea if its actually a felony.
So, specific to RFIDs, depends on the frequencies being used, I guess.
To be clear, (and since I can't see the original I can only go by the style of the other Apple ads), the issue is not copying of the recorded material, since the ad uses another artist to sing the song with us assuming that they are listening to the recording on their iPod. So, the copyright in question is not the recording, but the songwriting copyright. Still a legal issue, although different from sampling. Unbelievable that a professional ad agency would not have iron-clad clearance for something like this before broadcast (and maybe they did, which means Eminem loses). And, rights for a cover tune would most likely be substantially less than using the original song (which is why cheap TV shows use cover artists instead of the real recording), and certainly a lot less than an endorsement deal.
This would have been funnier if they used a Beatles song, because than they would be sued by Michael Jackson.
I don't know why this comment is particularly "insightful", as it's mostly the argument put forth by the lobbyists for the powerline industry. Their desire to see this move forward is obvious, since they stand to profit substantially from the rollout.
As pointed out by others, the particulr RF noise thrown out by BPL Internet far exceeds the specific ham bands. It will impact many bands used by emergency civilian response, military, aviation, as well as ham radio operators. Hams are just an organized, well informed community that is raising a flag at this issue. Most of the others impacted by this are other government entities that do not publically lobby their positions on technical matters such as this.
No one is depriving Internet users of access -- there are many existing technologies that allow Internet connectivity. Power lines also seem to be the least reliable method for Internet, given how infrequently they can transmit power, let alone Internet (at least in the Washington DC area). But for all of us, including hams, there is a finite amount of bandwidth for RF communication, which the FCC is commissioned to manage and protect. And, the amount of spectrum set aside for ham radio is a slim fraction of the whole (a little piece of each band in the spectrum).
While "we the people" may own the spectrum, the FCC has made this decision against evidence to their mission, with attention from powerful business interests. I would think that anyone that desires fair, unbiased government would be nervous about how this decision came about. And, most people paying attention to this decision are losing faith in the FCC's ability to manage their business in the public interest.
Disclosure: I do not have a ham radio license.
I'm not quite sure what this means. HP has got to be one of the top 5 companies in bed with Microsoft. While they have their non-MS operating systems, all their effort seems to be getting things migrated to Windows.
DEC set its own fate when it thought Windows NT would be a better choice for Alpha chips than VMS.
Compaq bought all this, and let it wither and watched all its big iron services people go away.
Now HP has MPE, HP-UX, OpenVMS, etc. etc. etc., and seems to think the future is Windows on Itanium chips.
I remember HP when it made incredible meters and unique computers. Now they make consumer desktops, and from where I sit (hardly the top of the world, but I'm in and out of a few large computer rooms in my life) I see former Compaq/Alpha/HP-UX shops moving toward IBM/AIX when they have money, and Dell/Linux or Solaris when they don't. And I miss how well I slept at night when I ran a VMScluster, busting on the other admins when their SH SYS uptime was less than a year.
90% of HIPAA has nothing to do with computers. All the heavy lifting is facility security of patient records and workflow around privacy.
90% of the 10% left is handled by vendors that sell enterprise apps to payers and providers. This industry doesn't write their own apps -- most of the jobs are baby-sitting vendor systems. It doesn't take too much walking around most hospitals to figure out that this industry spends as little as possible on systems.
What's left has been filled by all the existing healthcare consulting firms that saw this as the "next Y2K" 4 years ago, creating a glut that has devalued "$$$" to "$". Except law firms, but they always figure out who to sue.And, by law, everyone is supposed to be HIPAA compliant this year. So, too late.
HHS Web Site for HIPAA