Does anybody know if that's a real quote related to this situation? (I didn't find it in Princeton's statement about OSS, is there another link?
I, for one, wrote the author of the syllabus article an email stating that while I'm sure he doesn't represent Princeton and he's not a professor, it must be embarrasing for students at Princeton to be associated with a guy who publicly states that "modifying source code is extremely dangerous and very few people do it anyway." I didn't make a single argument about the merits of open source software - only that the guy should be ashamed of himself for being such a douche while leaning on his position at Princeton for credentials.
I would think that the fall freshman CS class would be better qualified to write an article than Howard Strauss based on the completely erroneous comments he gave in his editorial. I'm glad that Princeton is reacting to this guy running his mouth but I hope it's not too distracting to the CS students there.
And before you reply and blast me - yeah, I know he's not a professor, I know he's not speaking for the school. If the department manager from your medical school got on CNN.com and told the world that it's extremely dangerous to use vaccines and nobody does it anyway, you'd be embarassed nonetheless.
I'm sure that students at Princeton wish their school were on Slashdot for something more newsworthy, such as the 3rd fastest supercomputer.
Go to your preferences and decline articles posted by Michael. You'll no longer get unfunny "funny" articles, lame "interesting" articles, completely erroneous "technology" articles, or half-cooked editorials.
I'm only here because I was bored and saw the foot icon. Ah, Michael must have posted a non-funny. I was right.
That said, I'd volunteer only if there were about 7 figures in hazard pay included.:)
That about sums it up for me as well. When I first heard about ebola (probably 4 or 5 years ago) it immediately took a place up there with crocidiles (which have 21+ days of memory to ambush you at the watering hole) among the scariest things in the world.
The only thing that fascinated me about ebola was how it was such a mysterious virus, going seemingly dormant for months and then breaking out in unrelated areas. If it weren't for the profuse bleeding from every orifice, it would be almost brilliant in its evil cunning.
So now that they're closing in on a vaccine for ebola, it's about damn time to do something about crocidiles. (What's that thing? Bah, just a floating log.) I'm sick and tired of these guys roaming free. (Takes a drink.) NOOOOoo!
Right, a punch in the mouth would have straightened you right out. Everyone has a story about how bad he/she had it when young, but it doesn't sound like you were really subjected to the caliber of bullying that is so alarming.
Excellent post. This is a serious problem that does not affect the kids, this is a serious problem that affects the adults of 10 years from now. I'm not sure why it seems to be an emerging problem in the extreme cases, but nonetheless it is a serious problem.
This is way off the map, but another scenario is the small custom computer shop like the one where I work.
When people bring in computers that are stricken with the symptoms of IE use (NewDotNet, CometCursor, Gator, etc., or viruses) I happily point out that using a superior web browser would be a huge upgrade for them. I point them to Firebird.
I even explain to them how Mozilla/Firebird is the offshoot of Netscape and is being developed without the greedy hands of large corporations interfering. I point out to them that Microsoft has a stake in things like pop-up ads, etc., none of which benefit the user, but all of which make companies more willing to partner with Microsoft or develop software specifically for Microsoft products.
I'm just tossing pebbles in the sea, I know, but it's a step toward educating the public about what's really going on in software. The only software products we sell are bundled with hardware (CD burning stuff mainly) or Microsoft Windows and Office, but I probably recommend or install half a dozen copies of Firebird each month. That's a low number, but every one represents a clueless user who gained a little insight into why they should avoid Microsoft software, and that's a significant gain in my opinion.
This is a direct quote from a professor of computer science at Virginia Tech in an email sent to me.
I'm sorry, but I don't know what a "Hello, World" program is, so I don't
get the joke/point. This particular greeting must be something common
to your generation.
Thank goodness that he is not responsible for the supercomputer, hm?
And I'm sure the RIAA will be all over this new music format, positively love it: how are you going to share what's in your head? They can't lose!
Everybody, sing along!
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff, oh
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Now that I have shared this song with millions of you, enjoy hearing it in your head for THE REST OF THE DAY! BWA HA HA Ha ha ha ha
Alright, I'm sort of talking out of my ass here, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about this very issue.
My hypothesis is that if the record labels alienate the general public past a certain point, there will be a huge shift in the pop culture surrounding music in America. (They have assuredly alienated the adjective public which represents geeks, nerds, struggling musicians, people who understand the problem, etc., pick your adjective.)
When your average teenager has enough angst for the record labels that he would rather not listen than buy the CD (rather than the current situation - download for free rather than pay) I opine that there will then be sufficient motive for a real shift in what defines success in popular music. When big label music becomes out of style simply for being produced by big labels, popular music in America will become a localized, fan-driven industry that will probably produce less revenue overall but it won't be unreasonable to expect a pay increase for the artists.
We (the public) have already shown that downloading music is a tried and true popular method of distributing music. Downloading music for free only hurts the people who intend to make money off of the sale of CDs, let's be honest about it. Bands that made their fortune off of playing live (Phish, Grateful Dead, to a lesser extent the industry rebelling Pearl Jam, Black Crows, etc.) would LOVE to have their music distributed for free. It establishes a fan base in towns that the band has never visited. When the band rolls in for a show, instead of starting from scratch and selling seats based on hype, they already have a captive audience that knows the music, knows the band's image, and (in 98% of America where there isn't anything to do on the weekends) would love to drop $15-50 to see the band perform live.
So the business model would be similar to bands in college towns. The band proves itself as an onstage act and builds some local following in the local college town. They would probably be wise to identify themselves with that town ("Represent the LBC", mention the school's football team in a song, write a poetic lyric about the human experience in Appalachia, whatever) which then gives the original local fanbase a feeling of investment in the band. "I remember when they were just starting out, and that hit song is about the bar we used to hang out at together."
As they become a success in one area, distribute the music as far and as wide as possible, facilitated in no small part by the internet. For God's sake, force people to download and listen to your music if you can. Then expand your area of influence to a 50, 250, 500 mile radius. Before you know it, you'll be able to fill a venue more admirable than a bar, charge more for tickets, subsidize the production of CDs which you can sell at shows.
The bottom line is that by starting locally and using the internet as a publicity tool, it will be possible to build a career in popular music without any record company's interference. Some bands have already done this and it's really not a revolutionary idea, but the key to it becoming more widespread is big label music. The audience isn't very receptive to bands like this when Britney Spears is the latest and greatest thing on MTV. Once the RIAA really screws with everyone, people will rediscover the greatness of paying artists directly by going to local shows. The groups that seize that opportunity will come out on top.
And according to Bob Dylan, it was the hand held by Willie O'Connelly when he was shot. John Wesley Hardin(g) was shot in the head while gambling over dice. His last act as a living man was to roll four sixes, which I believe is the best possible outcome when rolling dice (but I'm no authority on dice rolling.)
1. Yeah, it could be some interference that saturated the camera (or radar, or radio, or whatever that thing is.) It is interesting that the bright parts of the sun got REALLY bright, but nothing else in the image seems to have changed. But it could be just interference.
2. If it isn't interference, it doesn't necessarily mean some wave or effect traveled across the sun faster than light - there is a significant time lapse between frames in the mpeg. I am curious, though, if these solar flares DO have some repercussion that could be visible (in some spectrum) across the entire surface. Seriously, just for my own curiosity, and non-seriously, so I can tell everyone, "I told you so," when the sun turns into a black hole next week and kills us all.
If the production model includes some form of video out, then you effectively have a portable DVD player that not only supports watching movies on a tiny screen (with quality sound through headphones) but can also be plugged into high quality sound systems and a big screen.
Not that I think that's a super idea, but that might be part of the motivation for including 7.1 sound on a portable device.
If you download the mpeg for EIT-195, the frame corresponding to 2003/11/05 15:24 shows a significant flash across the entire surface of the sun? Does anyone know/think that is a good representation of what really happens? I looked at the other mpegs and none of them seem to have the same type of event, but most of them have no data within hours of the frame I mentioned above.
Maybe it's just the satellite reacting to interference? I have no idea but it fuels my irrational paranoia that all of humanity is going to look really stupid next week when we're all cracking jokes about solar flares and stuff and then the sun collapses and our existence is forever unknown to the entire universe. Yeah, the egg will really be on our faces then.
But seriously, can anyone explain that frame? It's pretty interesting looking.
Well dude, the law should just read, "And thy penalty shall be a mega-crapload of dollars," and you not only automatically adjust for any inflation, you also preserve the original intent of the law perfectly!
I recently read your editorial at http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8460
After receiving my official scores for the GRE, several ivy-league schools sent me informational packets at their own volition. Deciding which highly esteemed educational institution would be the best match for my higher education in computer science was no simple task. After reading your editorial, I thank my lucky stars that I avoided a school represented by someone who believes that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous" and something that "few people do anyway."
It really is a shame that the students of technology at Princeton must suffer the embarrassment of being associated with the unprofessional attitude and outright misinformation presented in your editorial. I am quite certain that Syllabus.com is not a site devoted to satire, therefore the final impression I have of your editorial is that you are fishing for a job with a proprietary software developer. If that is true, there are definitely more professional means of achieving this. If I'm in error, then let me kindly suggest having someone from the English department preview your future publications. In light of the situation, I might also suggest avoiding the Princeton English department.
Please take note that I am not mindlessly defending open source software, let alone defending open source software in any fashion. I am merely expressing my great relief at electing to not attend Princeton's graduate program and subsequently being humiliated by association with an editorial that suggests that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous".
To the students of Princeton, I express my sympathy.
I recently read your editorial at http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8460
After receiving my official scores for the GRE, several ivy-league schools sent me informational packets at their own volition. Deciding which highly esteemed educational institution would be the best match for my higher education in computer science was no simple task. After reading your editorial, I thank my lucky stars that I avoided a school represented by someone who believes that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous" and something that "few people do anyway."
It really is a shame that the students of technology at Princeton must suffer the embarrassment of being associated with the unprofessional attitude and outright misinformation presented in your editorial. I am quite certain that Syllabus.com is not a site devoted to satire, therefore the final impression I have of your editorial is that you are fishing for a job with a proprietary software developer. If that is true, there are definitely more professional means of achieving this. If I'm in error, then let me kindly suggest having someone from the English department preview your future publications. In light of the situation, I might also suggest avoiding the Princeton English department.
Please take note that I am not mindlessly defending open source software, let alone defending open source software in any fashion. I am merely expressing my great relief at electing to not attend Princeton's graduate program and subsequently being humiliated by association with an editorial that suggests that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous".
To the students of Princeton, I express my sympathy.
[my name]
This is precisely the complaint I heard from an early adopter. He said that he believed he was paying $10 for the total, complete, awesome, unrestricted unlimited plan only to find out that the music that he DID want to get either cost more, wouldn't stream, or was only a stream (I forget which he preferred, but either way the stuff he wanted was not available in his preferred format.)
So I quote an enthusiastic customer commenting on Napster 2.0's payment scheme, "F### THAT." He called his credit card and issued a charge-back on the service for false advertising.
I was told by my highschool orchestra conductor that he once had a device that looked similar to a small lead apron worn during X-Rays at the dentist's office. It contained oscillators that used your collar bones as the speaker, and though it produced no audible sound, you could "hear" it through the vibrations it introduced to your skeletal system.
It wasn't that popular. I think he said it was called something like a "Bonophone" or some combination of "bone" and "phone", but Googling for it this morning just comes up with a lot of links to naughty sites. Does anybody know if this really existed and what it was called?
You definitely need to record with the mic preamp turned off. All that misfeature does is introduce a lot of static. Other than that, your SB Live will record with a reasonably high level of fidelity whatever you manage to feed it - you can use the 1/8" in jacks (some models have gold plated jacks), you can use the 1/8" SPDIF if you have some other digital interface, or you can plug directly into the pins on the card.
That said, if you have a good mic (as good as you can with an 1/8" input) and turn off the +20 dB mic preamp, you should be getting reasonable sounding takes. The next improvement you could make would be to use a separate mixing board or preamp that allows you to condition the sound before sending it to the soundcard. Boosting the lows, etc., will usually help a cheap mic sound better before it hits the soundcard.
I actually direct-line my electric guitar sometimes with a 1/4-1/8" mono adapter and get some great sounds. Granted you have to at least some reverb and preferably an amp simulator before it sounds like a "live" electric guitar, but it certainly is not impossible to get good sounding recording with a Soundblaster.
And I do mean "good", not "professional".
KX Project has alternate drivers for the SB Live! that focus on recording audio and using multiple soundcards simultaneously. More info on this site than I can digest.
Hammer Sound is no longer updated, but has a moderate collection of free soundfonts so your midi stuff will sound like Dr. Dre instead of some AOL user's homepage.
Audio Forums is, to the best of my experience, the place to go when you want answers from people who know for sure. This is definitely the place to ask for tips on getting the best quality recording out of your SB Live.
With the KX project audio drivers, it's possible to use multiple Soundblaster Live! cards in one machine. I'm running two at the moment, providing me with the ability to record four stereo digital inputs simultaneously. Each additional card provides another two inputs.
The Soundfont capability of the Live! cards is also an incredible feature on a budget. I have over 1000 patches available from my cheap USB midi controller ($150) in real time, right now, just push the button. That's 600 megs of audio samples and I still have room for 15,000 patches in my current setup.
The midi device is limited in polyphony, which is why I have more than one card. I route patches with high numbers of voices to the card with KX project drivers and the limitation is just a memory.
You can link multiple Live! cards via the digital IO pins that are present on nearly every model. This synchronizes the clocks and you eliminate the problem of time-drift when running a sequence.
Now, no need to remind me that none of this would make the grade at a professional level. I know there are bigger and better things out there. For the price, though, the amateur/home/hobby musician cannot do better than a couple of SB Live cards. My total investment has been $150 for a basic midi controller plus the cost of Cakewalk ($299 or Kazaa discount.) Everything else (Megafont, KX drivers, SB drivers, donated soundcards, public domain samples and soundfonts) has been completely free.
So don't rip on the Soundblasters. They are not profesional, but dollar for dollar, you really can't do any better.
What an embarrassment to moderately smart people everywhere. The GPL specifically SUPPORTS the copying and distribution of Linux. SCO is trying to usurp the RIGHTS to the body of work, whereas music downloaders are merely copying it for themselves.
Offtopic or Totally Stupid was the right moderation for this comment.
I admit that I am guilty of assuming that the Muslim world is not considered part of the West, but that's only based on the 1250 years of conflict between it and Judeo-Christian Europe. Geographically there is little separation, though the history of both has been distinct for quite awhile.
I've never read a text that compares the Islamic-Judeo-Christian world on one side and the Far East on the other. I've only read several texts that examines the relationship between the Muslim and/or Arabic world and the rest of the West, which led directly to my assumption.
Re:Rant: Democracy, Whiskey, Sexy. Deal with it.
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Seriously, man, what are you talking about?
The West put an end to the Taliban. The West put an end to Saddam Hussein. I wish to God that the West would put an end to Israeli military actions against Palestine, but maybe that will happen in the future.
The Taliban, Saddam Hussein, and Palestinian refugees were/are problems that exist in the back yard of the Arabic and Muslim worlds. What non-Western nation lifted a finger against human rights violations in Afghanistan? Iraq? Aside from Saddam Hussein paying Palestinians to end their own lives, what non-Western nation is doing anything protagonistic about these situations?
As an aside, I do not support Israel's military and do not support my government's flow of funds to Israel. I believe that the Israeli military commits state-sanctioned acts of terrorism against the Palestinian people, some of whom commit terrorism against the Israeli people. I feel that the greater wrong lies with the Israeli military simply for the fact that they are state-sanctioned and internationally funded.
So my point is that government is messy. People will always dissent. I didn't vote for Bush and I'm not going to vote for him in the next election. I think he couldn't go wrong with Afghanistan and as soon as he said, "Weapons of mass destruction," he couldn't win with Iraq.
But be that as it may, the U.S. is taking out the trash for the rest of the world. And France is almost as important to the world community as roadkill.
The U.S. spends billions upon billions of dollars developing weapons that kill only the intended targets. Funny that an AK47 to the head of a woman does precisely the same thing. War is hell, but you will never convince anyone with any sense that military action against the Taliban was unjustified or that the removal of Saddam Hussein had a negative impact on the world.
Re:2 reasons for the West's dominance
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Yet the rise of Islam between 700-1200 in the common era was spread by the capitalist and free market practices of the predominantly urban members of the new faith. While Europe was struggling through the dark ages, Muslims were responsible for combining the Hindu concept of zero with more commonplace numeral systems to produce place-value and the easily recognizable 0-9 Arabic numbers which we use worldwide 1000 years later. A Muslim from this era define algorithms and algebra. Arabs in this era translated the ancient Greek works and snatched them from the very brink of obscurity; without those translations the West would very likely have no idea who any Greek philosophers were, or more importantly, what they said and accomplished.
I too find it peculiar that the author says 97% of anybody comes from the West. I would tend to place a far higher importance on the people who gave the world the foundations of modern science and slightly less importance on the people who explored those tools further. Surely there's a Jewish physicist or two who turned the universe on its ear, but to lump all these medieval Muslim scientists - many of whom had just as much impact (in context) as Einstein - into less than 3% makes me skeptical.
(Not that these Muslims were world famous or well received for their contributions, but place-value number systems and algebra were just as phenomenally world-shattering in the year 1000 as the theory of relativity in 2000.)
Slashdot Mirror
Does anybody know if that's a real quote related to this situation? (I didn't find it in Princeton's statement about OSS, is there another link?
I, for one, wrote the author of the syllabus article an email stating that while I'm sure he doesn't represent Princeton and he's not a professor, it must be embarrasing for students at Princeton to be associated with a guy who publicly states that "modifying source code is extremely dangerous and very few people do it anyway." I didn't make a single argument about the merits of open source software - only that the guy should be ashamed of himself for being such a douche while leaning on his position at Princeton for credentials.
I would think that the fall freshman CS class would be better qualified to write an article than Howard Strauss based on the completely erroneous comments he gave in his editorial. I'm glad that Princeton is reacting to this guy running his mouth but I hope it's not too distracting to the CS students there.
And before you reply and blast me - yeah, I know he's not a professor, I know he's not speaking for the school. If the department manager from your medical school got on CNN.com and told the world that it's extremely dangerous to use vaccines and nobody does it anyway, you'd be embarassed nonetheless.
I'm sure that students at Princeton wish their school were on Slashdot for something more newsworthy, such as the 3rd fastest supercomputer.
I'm only here because I was bored and saw the foot icon. Ah, Michael must have posted a non-funny. I was right.
Stupid preview button tricked me. I just realized that it's crocodiles, not crocidiles.
That about sums it up for me as well. When I first heard about ebola (probably 4 or 5 years ago) it immediately took a place up there with crocidiles (which have 21+ days of memory to ambush you at the watering hole) among the scariest things in the world.
The only thing that fascinated me about ebola was how it was such a mysterious virus, going seemingly dormant for months and then breaking out in unrelated areas. If it weren't for the profuse bleeding from every orifice, it would be almost brilliant in its evil cunning.
So now that they're closing in on a vaccine for ebola, it's about damn time to do something about crocidiles. (What's that thing? Bah, just a floating log.) I'm sick and tired of these guys roaming free. (Takes a drink.) NOOOOoo!
Right, a punch in the mouth would have straightened you right out. Everyone has a story about how bad he/she had it when young, but it doesn't sound like you were really subjected to the caliber of bullying that is so alarming.
Excellent post. This is a serious problem that does not affect the kids, this is a serious problem that affects the adults of 10 years from now. I'm not sure why it seems to be an emerging problem in the extreme cases, but nonetheless it is a serious problem.
When people bring in computers that are stricken with the symptoms of IE use (NewDotNet, CometCursor, Gator, etc., or viruses) I happily point out that using a superior web browser would be a huge upgrade for them. I point them to Firebird.
I even explain to them how Mozilla/Firebird is the offshoot of Netscape and is being developed without the greedy hands of large corporations interfering. I point out to them that Microsoft has a stake in things like pop-up ads, etc., none of which benefit the user, but all of which make companies more willing to partner with Microsoft or develop software specifically for Microsoft products.
I'm just tossing pebbles in the sea, I know, but it's a step toward educating the public about what's really going on in software. The only software products we sell are bundled with hardware (CD burning stuff mainly) or Microsoft Windows and Office, but I probably recommend or install half a dozen copies of Firebird each month. That's a low number, but every one represents a clueless user who gained a little insight into why they should avoid Microsoft software, and that's a significant gain in my opinion.
I'm sorry, but I don't know what a "Hello, World" program is, so I don't get the joke/point. This particular greeting must be something common to your generation.
Thank goodness that he is not responsible for the supercomputer, hm?
Everybody, sing along!
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff, oh
Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.
Now that I have shared this song with millions of you, enjoy hearing it in your head for THE REST OF THE DAY! BWA HA HA Ha ha ha ha
My hypothesis is that if the record labels alienate the general public past a certain point, there will be a huge shift in the pop culture surrounding music in America. (They have assuredly alienated the adjective public which represents geeks, nerds, struggling musicians, people who understand the problem, etc., pick your adjective.)
When your average teenager has enough angst for the record labels that he would rather not listen than buy the CD (rather than the current situation - download for free rather than pay) I opine that there will then be sufficient motive for a real shift in what defines success in popular music. When big label music becomes out of style simply for being produced by big labels, popular music in America will become a localized, fan-driven industry that will probably produce less revenue overall but it won't be unreasonable to expect a pay increase for the artists.
We (the public) have already shown that downloading music is a tried and true popular method of distributing music. Downloading music for free only hurts the people who intend to make money off of the sale of CDs, let's be honest about it. Bands that made their fortune off of playing live (Phish, Grateful Dead, to a lesser extent the industry rebelling Pearl Jam, Black Crows, etc.) would LOVE to have their music distributed for free. It establishes a fan base in towns that the band has never visited. When the band rolls in for a show, instead of starting from scratch and selling seats based on hype, they already have a captive audience that knows the music, knows the band's image, and (in 98% of America where there isn't anything to do on the weekends) would love to drop $15-50 to see the band perform live.
So the business model would be similar to bands in college towns. The band proves itself as an onstage act and builds some local following in the local college town. They would probably be wise to identify themselves with that town ("Represent the LBC", mention the school's football team in a song, write a poetic lyric about the human experience in Appalachia, whatever) which then gives the original local fanbase a feeling of investment in the band. "I remember when they were just starting out, and that hit song is about the bar we used to hang out at together."
As they become a success in one area, distribute the music as far and as wide as possible, facilitated in no small part by the internet. For God's sake, force people to download and listen to your music if you can. Then expand your area of influence to a 50, 250, 500 mile radius. Before you know it, you'll be able to fill a venue more admirable than a bar, charge more for tickets, subsidize the production of CDs which you can sell at shows.
The bottom line is that by starting locally and using the internet as a publicity tool, it will be possible to build a career in popular music without any record company's interference. Some bands have already done this and it's really not a revolutionary idea, but the key to it becoming more widespread is big label music. The audience isn't very receptive to bands like this when Britney Spears is the latest and greatest thing on MTV. Once the RIAA really screws with everyone, people will rediscover the greatness of paying artists directly by going to local shows. The groups that seize that opportunity will come out on top.
And according to Bob Dylan, it was the hand held by Willie O'Connelly when he was shot. John Wesley Hardin(g) was shot in the head while gambling over dice. His last act as a living man was to roll four sixes, which I believe is the best possible outcome when rolling dice (but I'm no authority on dice rolling.)
1. Yeah, it could be some interference that saturated the camera (or radar, or radio, or whatever that thing is.) It is interesting that the bright parts of the sun got REALLY bright, but nothing else in the image seems to have changed. But it could be just interference.
2. If it isn't interference, it doesn't necessarily mean some wave or effect traveled across the sun faster than light - there is a significant time lapse between frames in the mpeg. I am curious, though, if these solar flares DO have some repercussion that could be visible (in some spectrum) across the entire surface. Seriously, just for my own curiosity, and non-seriously, so I can tell everyone, "I told you so," when the sun turns into a black hole next week and kills us all.
Not that I think that's a super idea, but that might be part of the motivation for including 7.1 sound on a portable device.
Maybe it's just the satellite reacting to interference? I have no idea but it fuels my irrational paranoia that all of humanity is going to look really stupid next week when we're all cracking jokes about solar flares and stuff and then the sun collapses and our existence is forever unknown to the entire universe. Yeah, the egg will really be on our faces then.
But seriously, can anyone explain that frame? It's pretty interesting looking.
Well dude, the law should just read, "And thy penalty shall be a mega-crapload of dollars," and you not only automatically adjust for any inflation, you also preserve the original intent of the law perfectly!
After receiving my official scores for the GRE, several ivy-league schools sent me informational packets at their own volition. Deciding which highly esteemed educational institution would be the best match for my higher education in computer science was no simple task. After reading your editorial, I thank my lucky stars that I avoided a school represented by someone who believes that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous" and something that "few people do anyway."
It really is a shame that the students of technology at Princeton must suffer the embarrassment of being associated with the unprofessional attitude and outright misinformation presented in your editorial. I am quite certain that Syllabus.com is not a site devoted to satire, therefore the final impression I have of your editorial is that you are fishing for a job with a proprietary software developer. If that is true, there are definitely more professional means of achieving this. If I'm in error, then let me kindly suggest having someone from the English department preview your future publications. In light of the situation, I might also suggest avoiding the Princeton English department.
Please take note that I am not mindlessly defending open source software, let alone defending open source software in any fashion. I am merely expressing my great relief at electing to not attend Princeton's graduate program and subsequently being humiliated by association with an editorial that suggests that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous".
To the students of Princeton, I express my sympathy.
[my name]
I recently read your editorial at http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8460 After receiving my official scores for the GRE, several ivy-league schools sent me informational packets at their own volition. Deciding which highly esteemed educational institution would be the best match for my higher education in computer science was no simple task. After reading your editorial, I thank my lucky stars that I avoided a school represented by someone who believes that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous" and something that "few people do anyway." It really is a shame that the students of technology at Princeton must suffer the embarrassment of being associated with the unprofessional attitude and outright misinformation presented in your editorial. I am quite certain that Syllabus.com is not a site devoted to satire, therefore the final impression I have of your editorial is that you are fishing for a job with a proprietary software developer. If that is true, there are definitely more professional means of achieving this. If I'm in error, then let me kindly suggest having someone from the English department preview your future publications. In light of the situation, I might also suggest avoiding the Princeton English department. Please take note that I am not mindlessly defending open source software, let alone defending open source software in any fashion. I am merely expressing my great relief at electing to not attend Princeton's graduate program and subsequently being humiliated by association with an editorial that suggests that modifying source code is "extremely dangerous". To the students of Princeton, I express my sympathy. [my name]
So I quote an enthusiastic customer commenting on Napster 2.0's payment scheme, "F### THAT." He called his credit card and issued a charge-back on the service for false advertising.
It wasn't that popular. I think he said it was called something like a "Bonophone" or some combination of "bone" and "phone", but Googling for it this morning just comes up with a lot of links to naughty sites. Does anybody know if this really existed and what it was called?
That said, if you have a good mic (as good as you can with an 1/8" input) and turn off the +20 dB mic preamp, you should be getting reasonable sounding takes. The next improvement you could make would be to use a separate mixing board or preamp that allows you to condition the sound before sending it to the soundcard. Boosting the lows, etc., will usually help a cheap mic sound better before it hits the soundcard.
I actually direct-line my electric guitar sometimes with a 1/4-1/8" mono adapter and get some great sounds. Granted you have to at least some reverb and preferably an amp simulator before it sounds like a "live" electric guitar, but it certainly is not impossible to get good sounding recording with a Soundblaster.
And I do mean "good", not "professional".
KX Project has alternate drivers for the SB Live! that focus on recording audio and using multiple soundcards simultaneously. More info on this site than I can digest.
Hammer Sound is no longer updated, but has a moderate collection of free soundfonts so your midi stuff will sound like Dr. Dre instead of some AOL user's homepage.
Audio Forums is, to the best of my experience, the place to go when you want answers from people who know for sure. This is definitely the place to ask for tips on getting the best quality recording out of your SB Live.
The Soundfont capability of the Live! cards is also an incredible feature on a budget. I have over 1000 patches available from my cheap USB midi controller ($150) in real time, right now, just push the button. That's 600 megs of audio samples and I still have room for 15,000 patches in my current setup.
The midi device is limited in polyphony, which is why I have more than one card. I route patches with high numbers of voices to the card with KX project drivers and the limitation is just a memory.
You can link multiple Live! cards via the digital IO pins that are present on nearly every model. This synchronizes the clocks and you eliminate the problem of time-drift when running a sequence.
Now, no need to remind me that none of this would make the grade at a professional level. I know there are bigger and better things out there. For the price, though, the amateur/home/hobby musician cannot do better than a couple of SB Live cards. My total investment has been $150 for a basic midi controller plus the cost of Cakewalk ($299 or Kazaa discount.) Everything else (Megafont, KX drivers, SB drivers, donated soundcards, public domain samples and soundfonts) has been completely free.
So don't rip on the Soundblasters. They are not profesional, but dollar for dollar, you really can't do any better.
What an embarrassment to moderately smart people everywhere. The GPL specifically SUPPORTS the copying and distribution of Linux. SCO is trying to usurp the RIGHTS to the body of work, whereas music downloaders are merely copying it for themselves.
Offtopic or Totally Stupid was the right moderation for this comment.
I admit that I am guilty of assuming that the Muslim world is not considered part of the West, but that's only based on the 1250 years of conflict between it and Judeo-Christian Europe. Geographically there is little separation, though the history of both has been distinct for quite awhile.
I've never read a text that compares the Islamic-Judeo-Christian world on one side and the Far East on the other. I've only read several texts that examines the relationship between the Muslim and/or Arabic world and the rest of the West, which led directly to my assumption.
The West put an end to the Taliban. The West put an end to Saddam Hussein. I wish to God that the West would put an end to Israeli military actions against Palestine, but maybe that will happen in the future.
The Taliban, Saddam Hussein, and Palestinian refugees were/are problems that exist in the back yard of the Arabic and Muslim worlds. What non-Western nation lifted a finger against human rights violations in Afghanistan? Iraq? Aside from Saddam Hussein paying Palestinians to end their own lives, what non-Western nation is doing anything protagonistic about these situations?
As an aside, I do not support Israel's military and do not support my government's flow of funds to Israel. I believe that the Israeli military commits state-sanctioned acts of terrorism against the Palestinian people, some of whom commit terrorism against the Israeli people. I feel that the greater wrong lies with the Israeli military simply for the fact that they are state-sanctioned and internationally funded.
So my point is that government is messy. People will always dissent. I didn't vote for Bush and I'm not going to vote for him in the next election. I think he couldn't go wrong with Afghanistan and as soon as he said, "Weapons of mass destruction," he couldn't win with Iraq.
But be that as it may, the U.S. is taking out the trash for the rest of the world. And France is almost as important to the world community as roadkill.
The U.S. spends billions upon billions of dollars developing weapons that kill only the intended targets. Funny that an AK47 to the head of a woman does precisely the same thing. War is hell, but you will never convince anyone with any sense that military action against the Taliban was unjustified or that the removal of Saddam Hussein had a negative impact on the world.
I too find it peculiar that the author says 97% of anybody comes from the West. I would tend to place a far higher importance on the people who gave the world the foundations of modern science and slightly less importance on the people who explored those tools further. Surely there's a Jewish physicist or two who turned the universe on its ear, but to lump all these medieval Muslim scientists - many of whom had just as much impact (in context) as Einstein - into less than 3% makes me skeptical.
(Not that these Muslims were world famous or well received for their contributions, but place-value number systems and algebra were just as phenomenally world-shattering in the year 1000 as the theory of relativity in 2000.)