As an "old guy", I really like the news channel. I find it
very relaxing, much more so than surfing for news on a PC.
I appreciate the simple and fast access to the text, with no extra crap.
My buddy comes over with beer a few nights a week to bowl on the
Wii. Millions will purchase and use the Wii on a regular bases because of this
game alone.
None of the other consoles or games I own have this great of cross-over appeal.
I don't think the analyst's have quite caught on to the tremendous success that Nintendo has made in expanding their market
beyond traditional gamers.
Sounds like you're closed to considering all possibilities. No, the Wii is not a "solution"
to the problem. I didn't say that. I suggested it had possibilities. Maybe someone from
Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft will read this thread, will see the need and they will develop a complete solution. Given the problem and its constraints, I don't think any home-brew solution would be successful.
Obaachan has had a video tape player in her house for close to 15 years and has never, ever used it.
My mother-in-law is similar. If it has more than 3 buttons on it, she is uncomfortable using it.
The Wii uses some very compelling technological approaches which are intended to appeal to
people such as these. Maybe a little white box, with her Family's Mii's inside would fit into
Obaachan's home, and actually get some use. It's disappointing to think that these considerations are
rated "off-topic" by our moderators.
It's small, simple and one can "surf" with a remote.
Upload family videos to Youtube and have her watch them using the
"Internet Channel". Send her messages via the built-in service or set up
a g-mail account. I'd bet she would also enjoy the News channel and the other social
activities on it, like the poll channel.
Nintendo! Market a USB web cam with a mic. and make a video conferencing "channel" for this man's
mother!
The source of this analysis is Ed Barton of Screen Digest http://www.screendigest.com/about_us/analysts/ed_b arton. They want $3600 for an analysis that
forecasts the PS3 as dominating. While they seem to have reasonable insight as to the past, they've completely missed the mark as far as the Wii goes. They have failed to predict the very strong
mass market appeal the Wii has and how this will open up new markets. Perhaps the sea change is hard to see without actually owning a Wii. However, as a long time - console and PC game collector and Wii owner it it
very clear to me. Nintendo has hit a really sweet spot this time around.
My (free and mostly serious)Predictions for 2008:
New TV's and DVD's will interoperate with the Wiimote. TV's will have built-in sensor bars.
Using cursor keys to navigate the DVD menu? - How quaint. I suppose you still have a rotary phone too, Grandpa.
One of Youtube's top browsers will be Wii Opera. I find watching internet videos much nicer on the HDTV.
The new Wii version of Opera is much, much better than the beta version, and makes surfing a much
more social experience. Javascript will grow support for multiple pointers
Specialised Flash games will become huge and will be a good way to reach specific markets. The quality and appeal of sites like Wiiarcade are already showing this potential.
Virtual console games will make lots of money. Customers like me are happy to spend 5-10 USD to get
our old favorites up on the new HDTV. (I check weekly for Pilot Wings 64!:-)
Somebody will make a billion dollars catering to Seniors who own a Wii. 3-D shuffle Board! - CSPAN Interactive, oh yeah....
"RV Mayhem" replaces GTA as the top seller. "Compete with others for the best parking spots:- Pimp your
virtual RV with the latest hardware and paint jobs. - Gather with friends in the online Coffee Shop";)
You missed the point. I'm that responsible parent. If Sony can't provide a way for parents
to lock their kids out of unacceptable content, then many people will never purchase the device. I've taught my kids self
discipline and don't have to enable any parental locks. However, if my kids lose my trust, I want to have that tool available. Without such control the only solution is to disable or remove the whole device. I can see so many potential risks and so few benefits using the Sony HOME, that I probably would close off access to my teen age kids from the start.
From my perspective, the Sony Home space is a good reason to avoid the PS3, and my kids viewing porn is much less of an issue than being exposed to "griefers", sexual predators, and sociopaths who believe that anyone who places themselves (or their children)in a vulnerable position is giving approval to be victimized.
I also disagree that Gaming is an Adult hobby. Children, world wide, are known for playing games, especially multi-player ones.
Why worry about 9 watts. I don't turn off my wireless router at night. The specs say it
uses 15 watts. I also don't turn off the 40 watt porch light or unplug the
carbon monoxide detector either. The joy of the blinking blue light is well worth the
8 watts of electricity.
I recently watched a US Senate hearing on proposed airport-based anti missile systems.
Experts testified that aircraft, during take-off and landing, are vulnerable to 50 caliber rounds from sniper
rifles http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/06/60minute s/main665257.shtml. These rifles are currently available in the US on the open market (Except CA). The experts suggested that because Anti missile systems can not detect or deflect a bullet's path, they are a poor investment.
I worried about the accuracy of the Wimote before I purchased, but am very satisfied after actually using it.
I found the same kinds of "miss-aim" problem when playing very close to my
52" screen. When I hold the wimote 3-4 feet from the screen, the "beam" comes out at a downward pointing slant.
When I stand back the problem disappears and the beam comes out along the major axis of the Wimote. The pointer is quick enough and accurate enough to pick and shoot several times per second. Rayman has a mini-game that has one
trace shapes on the screen with a "marker" and it worked well for me. It is sensitive and stable on my system.
Perhaps Eric didn't read the directions or trouble shooting guide and adjust
the sensitivity or place the sensor bar in a good location. The sensitivity setup feature is really cool; it displays an image of the sensor bar's IR LED's from the Wimote's IR camera. You can easily tell if the Wimote is picking up reflections or if the bar is blocked from some angles of view. Every TV remote should have these features and I predict they will within a few short years. It's that good.
Yes, the authors keep repeating it, but if you read carefully,
they specifically excluded "professional configurations" and their methods only work on "typical user" configuations. NTP doesn't help if you only sync only at boot or like XP pro; once a week!. They break this news on page 2 and then are more specific on page 4:
[pg 4] Although the system
clocks on professionally administered machines are often
approximately synchronized with true time via NTP [19]
or, less accurately, via SNTP [18], we stress that it is much
less likely for the system clocks on non-professionally managed machines to be externally synchronized. This lack of
synchronization is because the default installations of most
of the popular operating systems that we tested do not synchronize the hosts' system clocks with true time or, if they
do, they do so only infrequently. For example, default Windows XP Professional installations only synchronize their
system times with Microsoft's NTP server when they boot
and once a week thereafter. Default Red Hat.installations do not use NTP by default, though they do
present the user with the option of entering an NTP server.
Default Debian 3.0, FreeBSD 5.2.1, and OpenBSD 3.5 systems, at least under the configurations that we selected (e.g.,
"typical user"), do not even present the user with the option of installing ntpd. For such a non-professionally-administered machine, if an adversary can learn the values
of the machine's system clock at multiple points in time,
the adversary will be able to infer information about the device's system clock skew.
GPS Atomic clock sync'd, 1 usec clock accuracy can now be had for less than $100.
(ntpd + Garmin GPS 18 w/PPS). I've done it with the Garmin GPS 16. Works like a charm when the antenna has a clear view of the sky. Put one of these on a PC on your LAN and all your hosts will skew less than they can measure.
as soon as keystoke loggers are introduced into an organisation.
My org was hit bad. One could ssh into a remote host and within seconds the box would be rooted and keystroke loggers installed.
No amount of "social" training can solve this problem.
BTW. The software based loggers are professional quality. They are undetectable without booting from known good media and examining the kernel, all its modules, and all applicatiions. Hardware based keystoke loggers are available too.
According to http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique &newsid=7681 "The nanomaterials Altair is developing are the next generation of electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and Altair's research and product development is laying the ground work for a new generation of ultra high power lithium ion batteries," commented Dr. K. M. Abraham. "A key requirement to the above applications is the ability to recharge the battery very quickly, for example in a few minutes. Current Li Ion batteries are incapable of such quick charge times because of the chemistry of the anode materials. Altair has found a solution to this with their nano-sized lithium titanium oxide."
Current Li batteries are very limited in their max current. This make them poor choices for high current applications, like electric motors. It won't make your laptop run any longer, but you'll be able to charge it 3x faster.
Here's how we deal with Computers in Colorado. (from http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/25/10590 84199743.html )
"In January, police were called to an apartment block in Boulder, Colorado, after neighbours saw a man waving a handgun and yelling that he "wanted to kill" the "bitch". The police, thinking it was a violent domestic row, then called in a SWAT team and the building was evacuated. It didn't take long, however, before the rifle-equipped SWAT team realised the man was simply suffering computer rage and that the gun was actually a plastic pellet pistol. No charges were laid.
Only two months later in the same US state - Colorado must have poor PC support - an office worker in Lafayette walked into a nearby bar (which he also owned) with his laptop, told the customers to cover their ears, and then shot his laptop four times. It was later hung on the bar wall like a hunting trophy. Unlike the other gun-toting rager, however, he was arrested."
While searching for the MSDS forms, I ran across this paper which details the problems using various fire retardants, including PDBE's, in plastics. It seems as if there's good reason to pull these chemicals from the market.
You don't have to be born with better genes, it is possible to
genetically manipulate adults too.
A molecular biologist friend of mine asked me for help about 2 years
ago for help in building a "mouse dynamometer". They wanted to measure
the effects of manipulating the genetic makeup of adult mice hearts, in
effect turning regular couch potato mice into Olympic grade athlete mice.
He indicated that, currently, they were using mechanical means to insert
DNA into the adult mice heart muscles, but his work was exploring viral
means of delivery for such genes. He and his lab mates are trying to
develop therapeutic treatments for cardiac disease, not super athletes,
but we did discuss some of the implications for the future of their work
and human athletics.
The heart and other muscles are actually made up of various similar
forms of proteins that do the actual work. Athletes often refer to fast
or slow-twitch muscles and work hard to build the optimal ratios for
competition. Each muscle has different capabilities based on the ratios;
fast and powerful, or slow and efficient. The reality of muscle is a
bit more complex than two types, but to make the point, we humans have
all the forms, but the differing ratios in our muscles are principally
determined by our genetic makeup. This ultimately determines who
really has the capacity to win at the elite levels, where athletes
train to their physical limits.
In the not so distant future, even if you were not born with the "best"
genes, you might be able to purchase them as an adult!
Their lab was able to successfully manipulate adult mice, increasing
their hearts capacity for work. Note that only specific organs were
modified. The rest of their DNA remains intact. In addition, their genetic
manipulation only modifies the expression of existing genes. It may be
impossible to tell in the future if someone had his organs genetically
modified to perform above the levels his inherited genes allowed,
without having before and after tissue samples of all organs and muscles.
Kleck's research shows that guns are used legally and defensively to stop crimes anywhere between 800,000 to 2 million times per year.
I've been looking hard for evidence of this statistic in my home town of about 100,000 for well over a year. In that time only two reports of defensive brandishing made the papers. In one case, a father used a shot gun to hold a burglar who had taken them hostage using a hand gun, stolen in a previous burglary. The other case was when 6teenagers went to steal pot from a dealer and the dealer pulled a gun. The kids left the dealers car, and then tried ramming the dealer in their (stolen) car. The dealer felt threatened and pointed his gun back, shot and killed one of the 14 year olds.
Gun owners are shooting themselves in the foot if they brandish without reporting. Based on my
experiences in my town, I don't believe the estimates of the number of defensive brandishings are anywhere close to reality.
I purchased a Walmart P4 Mandrake system this summer. It's an outstanding machines for students. It shipped with far more games and tools the last Windows PC that I bought from Gateway. I told my kids would that this PC was strictly for doing homework and couldn't run games. It turned out they were really, really happy that dad was very wrong and there were plenty of games that were installed.
These PCs have the advantage of not being able to run windows software! Yes, this is an advantage from my point of view! I don't wan't my kids and wife loading unknown software. When their friends come over and stick in a virus filled floppy, nothing bad happens!. They get sent trogan e-mail attachments and click on them. No Problems.
I purchased a Mandrake Walmart PC this summer. While trying to resolve a sound configuration error that shipped with the box, the very responsive Microtel tech told me that the rate of returns for their Linux PC's were lower than that for their Windows PCs.
These things make great PCs for schoolwork. Mine came shipped with enough games installed to make my kids very happy. It took them ( they're in 5th and 8th grade) about 10 minutes to make a full and happy transition from Windows to KDE. Each has now customised their desktop on their own after they discovered the control center. As my 5th grader says: "Its tight!"
I find the question pretty meaningless. Computers are tools, like cars and trucks. If you will, OSS are like trucks. Cars are "mainstream". Cars have fewer controls, capabilities, and have a much more uniform look and feel than do trucks. With cars, the "dumb user" can just get in, and go.
Trucks require sophisticated operators, who look down on the mainstream car drivers.
However, We don't demand trucks manufacturers make trucks exactly like cars because cars are more common and require less operator skill. While the trend may be to make truck cabs more like cars, there's still the need to have the truck cabable of plowing roads, if that's what its function is. There's more to computing then office productivity, just as there's more to surface transportation than commuter cars. One size should NOT fit all.
To extend my analogy a bit more and highlight a related myth, cars have UI's too. If UI consistancy is paramount, why don't all cars have exactly the same controls? How can "dumb" users make sense of all the wildly different UI's on cars?. For new drivers, this is BIG issue, but the rest of us sophisticated users actually prefer product individuality and specificity to the tasks at hand. People who complain about Linux/Unix desk tops remind me of Ford Pinto owners complaining about how Volvos are useless because the headlight switch is in a different place (and they have metric nuts and bolts!)
I migrated my 9 and 12 year old kids and my wife to Mandrake Linux this past summer. At first, I was worried that my kids would be bummed out over having to use a a Linux PC, but it turns out they really like Mandrake with one exception. Windows games won't run under Linux. However, they've come to the conclusion that it's the game's fault, not Linux, becuase many of their favorite activities work exactly the same or better under Linux.
The youngest now uses Kword and the oldest uses Star Writer for writing assignments. They had absolutely zero problems making the transition and are now much more comfortable working different word processors. All their past work in MS word format works perfectly. The wife loves Kmail and Xmms. They're very happy with all the the games on Linux and everyone is happy with Mozilla and its ability to disable popups, etc.
I still run Win98, Win2000 and RedHat on an older PC for Games and Windows apps. My youngest has no problems choosing and booting the proper OS using Lilo on the old PC but continues to beg me to get RollerCoaster Tycoon running on our new Linux PC. He prefers using it over the old one. Everyone in my family is now up to speed with the concept of individuals having their own login and desktop. I basically keep Windows off the Net as much as possible and we read all e-mail under Linux. This Multi OS arrangement works well for us. Have no fear, Linux PCs make great family computers! We've already solved conflicts by having one kid ssh over to the Linux box and do their homework remotely from the other PC. Mom now thinks Dad is brilliant!;-)
-Frank
It's simple. It's not a matter of the modem being "crippled". The design of the cable network requires each end point device to throttle service. All cable modems can be configured for differ throttle settings. The ISP stores the proper setup information for each subscriber and automatically configures the cable modem according to the level of service purchased. The source of the modem is irrelevant, the ISP alwasys sets the proper service levels whenever the device is powered up or rebooted. When people hack their modem, they are interfering with the ISP's management of thier network. It's not a crime to uncap your modem as long as it isn't connected to the ISP's WAN.
Here's a simple solution that you can actually buy. It will come with instructions, and since it's battery powered it should be portable and safe.
Use a battery powered Radio Shack Alarm kit or 25-in-one experimenters kit, etc for the basic electronics, latching and noise maker circuits.
The kits have instructions and all the components you'll need to tailor the device for your friend's needs. You'll be able to fiddle with
sensitivity, tone and volume, etc.
Use a "rain sensor" (sold with most of the experimenter's kits) to trip the alarm circuit.
It's basically a 1-2" disk with copper foil on one
side. Gently pressing skin against it can trip the alarm. It can be put on an umbilical and attached to to something within easy reach. I'd use velcro
stick-um thingies so the device could be portable
and attach to the chair, bed. etc.
- Best of luck.
This all depends on the local managers. I work in a US govt funded research org and I've been deploying Linux into FAA air traffic control facilities, National Weather Service Sites, and major airline operations centers since 1997.
If you flew into any of the NY-NJ airports since 1999, FAA Air traffic managers controling your flight were looking at the weather on Debian Linux Dell PC's (PPro 200's!). The NWS Aviation Digital Data Service web site, where pilots go to get their weather graphics before they fly, is all Linux.
I've got two award plaques on my wall from the FAA in thanks for those deployments so I'd say that at at least some govt workers have a clue. Our organisation is also deploying Linux clusters for the Army, and they are being used daily for operations in the US and Middle East. There are all types of people in Government. Some actually do good work.
Before the awards I was asked to keep our linux deployments quiet, because of all the perception problems mentioned. The FUD was false. Working, reliable systems, at minimal cost spoke for themselves.
I used to privately evangelize about Linux, but now I consider my ability to deploy complex and reliable Linux based systems a competitive advantage.
Slashdot Mirror
My buddy comes over with beer a few nights a week to bowl on the Wii. Millions will purchase and use the Wii on a regular bases because of this game alone.
None of the other consoles or games I own have this great of cross-over appeal. I don't think the analyst's have quite caught on to the tremendous success that Nintendo has made in expanding their market beyond traditional gamers.
Obaachan has had a video tape player in her house for close to 15 years and has never, ever used it. My mother-in-law is similar. If it has more than 3 buttons on it, she is uncomfortable using it. The Wii uses some very compelling technological approaches which are intended to appeal to people such as these. Maybe a little white box, with her Family's Mii's inside would fit into Obaachan's home, and actually get some use. It's disappointing to think that these considerations are rated "off-topic" by our moderators.
Nintendo! Market a USB web cam with a mic. and make a video conferencing "channel" for this man's mother!
This happens with Komodo Dragons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon
It's an interesting genetic logic puzzle.
My (free and mostly serious)Predictions for 2008:
I also disagree that Gaming is an Adult hobby. Children, world wide, are known for playing games, especially multi-player ones.
-with love,
your competitors.
Why worry about 9 watts. I don't turn off my wireless router at night. The specs say it uses 15 watts. I also don't turn off the 40 watt porch light or unplug the carbon monoxide detector either. The joy of the blinking blue light is well worth the 8 watts of electricity.
I recently watched a US Senate hearing on proposed airport-based anti missile systems. Experts testified that aircraft, during take-off and landing, are vulnerable to 50 caliber rounds from sniper rifles http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/06/60minute s/main665257.shtml. These rifles are currently available in the US on the open market (Except CA). The experts suggested that because Anti missile systems can not detect or deflect a bullet's path, they are a poor investment.
Perhaps Eric didn't read the directions or trouble shooting guide and adjust the sensitivity or place the sensor bar in a good location. The sensitivity setup feature is really cool; it displays an image of the sensor bar's IR LED's from the Wimote's IR camera. You can easily tell if the Wimote is picking up reflections or if the bar is blocked from some angles of view. Every TV remote should have these features and I predict they will within a few short years. It's that good.
[pg 4] Although the system clocks on professionally administered machines are often approximately synchronized with true time via NTP [19] or, less accurately, via SNTP [18], we stress that it is much less likely for the system clocks on non-professionally managed machines to be externally synchronized. This lack of synchronization is because the default installations of most of the popular operating systems that we tested do not synchronize the hosts' system clocks with true time or, if they do, they do so only infrequently. For example, default Windows XP Professional installations only synchronize their system times with Microsoft's NTP server when they boot and once a week thereafter. Default Red Hat .installations do not use NTP by default, though they do
present the user with the option of entering an NTP server.
Default Debian 3.0, FreeBSD 5.2.1, and OpenBSD 3.5 systems, at least under the configurations that we selected (e.g.,
"typical user"), do not even present the user with the option of installing ntpd. For such a non-professionally-administered machine, if an adversary can learn the values
of the machine's system clock at multiple points in time,
the adversary will be able to infer information about the device's system clock skew.
GPS Atomic clock sync'd, 1 usec clock accuracy can now be had for less than $100. (ntpd + Garmin GPS 18 w/PPS). I've done it with the Garmin GPS 16. Works like a charm when the antenna has a clear view of the sky. Put one of these on a PC on your LAN and all your hosts will skew less than they can measure.
My org was hit bad. One could ssh into a remote host and within seconds the box would be rooted and keystroke loggers installed.
No amount of "social" training can solve this problem.
BTW. The software based loggers are professional quality. They are undetectable without booting from known good media and examining the kernel, all its modules, and all applicatiions. Hardware based keystoke loggers are available too.
Current Li batteries are very limited in their max current. This make them poor choices for high current applications, like electric motors. It won't make your laptop run any longer, but you'll be able to charge it 3x faster.
Here's how we deal with Computers in Colorado. (from http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/25/10590 84199743.html )
"In January, police were called to an apartment block in Boulder, Colorado, after neighbours saw a man waving a handgun and yelling that he "wanted to kill" the "bitch". The police, thinking it was a violent domestic row, then called in a SWAT team and the building was evacuated. It didn't take long, however, before the rifle-equipped SWAT team realised the man was simply suffering computer rage and that the gun was actually a plastic pellet pistol. No charges were laid.
Only two months later in the same US state - Colorado must have poor PC support - an office worker in Lafayette walked into a nearby bar (which he also owned) with his laptop, told the customers to cover their ears, and then shot his laptop four times. It was later hung on the bar wall like a hunting trophy. Unlike the other gun-toting rager, however, he was arrested."
While searching for the MSDS forms, I ran across this paper which details the problems using various fire retardants, including PDBE's, in plastics. It seems as if there's good reason to pull these chemicals from the market.
A molecular biologist friend of mine asked me for help about 2 years ago for help in building a "mouse dynamometer". They wanted to measure the effects of manipulating the genetic makeup of adult mice hearts, in effect turning regular couch potato mice into Olympic grade athlete mice.
He indicated that, currently, they were using mechanical means to insert DNA into the adult mice heart muscles, but his work was exploring viral means of delivery for such genes. He and his lab mates are trying to develop therapeutic treatments for cardiac disease, not super athletes, but we did discuss some of the implications for the future of their work and human athletics.
The heart and other muscles are actually made up of various similar forms of proteins that do the actual work. Athletes often refer to fast or slow-twitch muscles and work hard to build the optimal ratios for competition. Each muscle has different capabilities based on the ratios; fast and powerful, or slow and efficient. The reality of muscle is a bit more complex than two types, but to make the point, we humans have all the forms, but the differing ratios in our muscles are principally determined by our genetic makeup. This ultimately determines who really has the capacity to win at the elite levels, where athletes train to their physical limits.
In the not so distant future, even if you were not born with the "best" genes, you might be able to purchase them as an adult!
Their lab was able to successfully manipulate adult mice, increasing their hearts capacity for work. Note that only specific organs were modified. The rest of their DNA remains intact. In addition, their genetic manipulation only modifies the expression of existing genes. It may be impossible to tell in the future if someone had his organs genetically modified to perform above the levels his inherited genes allowed, without having before and after tissue samples of all organs and muscles.
I've been looking hard for evidence of this statistic in my home town of about 100,000 for well over a year. In that time only two reports of defensive brandishing made the papers. In one case, a father used a shot gun to hold a burglar who had taken them hostage using a hand gun, stolen in a previous burglary. The other case was when 6teenagers went to steal pot from a dealer and the dealer pulled a gun. The kids left the dealers car, and then tried ramming the dealer in their (stolen) car. The dealer felt threatened and pointed his gun back, shot and killed one of the 14 year olds.
Gun owners are shooting themselves in the foot if they brandish without reporting. Based on my experiences in my town, I don't believe the estimates of the number of defensive brandishings are anywhere close to reality.
These PCs have the advantage of not being able to run windows software! Yes, this is an advantage from my point of view! I don't wan't my kids and wife loading unknown software. When their friends come over and stick in a virus filled floppy, nothing bad happens!. They get sent trogan e-mail attachments and click on them. No Problems.
These things make great PCs for schoolwork. Mine came shipped with enough games installed to make my kids very happy. It took them ( they're in 5th and 8th grade) about 10 minutes to make a full and happy transition from Windows to KDE. Each has now customised their desktop on their own after they discovered the control center. As my 5th grader says: "Its tight!"
However, We don't demand trucks manufacturers make trucks exactly like cars because cars are more common and require less operator skill. While the trend may be to make truck cabs more like cars, there's still the need to have the truck cabable of plowing roads, if that's what its function is. There's more to computing then office productivity, just as there's more to surface transportation than commuter cars. One size should NOT fit all.
To extend my analogy a bit more and highlight a related myth, cars have UI's too. If UI consistancy is paramount, why don't all cars have exactly the same controls? How can "dumb" users make sense of all the wildly different UI's on cars?. For new drivers, this is BIG issue, but the rest of us sophisticated users actually prefer product individuality and specificity to the tasks at hand. People who complain about Linux/Unix desk tops remind me of Ford Pinto owners complaining about how Volvos are useless because the headlight switch is in a different place (and they have metric nuts and bolts!)
The youngest now uses Kword and the oldest uses Star Writer for writing assignments. They had absolutely zero problems making the transition and are now much more comfortable working different word processors. All their past work in MS word format works perfectly. The wife loves Kmail and Xmms. They're very happy with all the the games on Linux and everyone is happy with Mozilla and its ability to disable popups, etc.
I still run Win98, Win2000 and RedHat on an older PC for Games and Windows apps. My youngest has no problems choosing and booting the proper OS using Lilo on the old PC but continues to beg me to get RollerCoaster Tycoon running on our new Linux PC. He prefers using it over the old one. Everyone in my family is now up to speed with the concept of individuals having their own login and desktop. I basically keep Windows off the Net as much as possible and we read all e-mail under Linux. This Multi OS arrangement works well for us. Have no fear, Linux PCs make great family computers! We've already solved conflicts by having one kid ssh over to the Linux box and do their homework remotely from the other PC. Mom now thinks Dad is brilliant! ;-)
-Frank
It's simple. It's not a matter of the modem being "crippled". The design of the cable network requires each end point device to throttle service. All cable modems can be configured for differ throttle settings. The ISP stores the proper setup information for each subscriber and automatically configures the cable modem according to the level of service purchased. The source of the modem is irrelevant, the ISP alwasys sets the proper service levels whenever the device is powered up or rebooted. When people hack their modem, they are interfering with the ISP's management of thier network. It's not a crime to uncap your modem as long as it isn't connected to the ISP's WAN.
Use a battery powered Radio Shack Alarm kit or 25-in-one experimenters kit, etc for the basic electronics, latching and noise maker circuits. The kits have instructions and all the components you'll need to tailor the device for your friend's needs. You'll be able to fiddle with sensitivity, tone and volume, etc.
Use a "rain sensor" (sold with most of the experimenter's kits) to trip the alarm circuit. It's basically a 1-2" disk with copper foil on one side. Gently pressing skin against it can trip the alarm. It can be put on an umbilical and attached to to something within easy reach. I'd use velcro stick-um thingies so the device could be portable and attach to the chair, bed. etc. - Best of luck.
If you flew into any of the NY-NJ airports since 1999, FAA Air traffic managers controling your flight were looking at the weather on Debian Linux Dell PC's (PPro 200's!). The NWS Aviation Digital Data Service web site, where pilots go to get their weather graphics before they fly, is all Linux.
I've got two award plaques on my wall from the FAA in thanks for those deployments so I'd say that at at least some govt workers have a clue. Our organisation is also deploying Linux clusters for the Army, and they are being used daily for operations in the US and Middle East. There are all types of people in Government. Some actually do good work.
Before the awards I was asked to keep our linux deployments quiet, because of all the perception problems mentioned. The FUD was false. Working, reliable systems, at minimal cost spoke for themselves.
I used to privately evangelize about Linux, but now I consider my ability to deploy complex and reliable Linux based systems a competitive advantage.