That's irrelevant, the operating system is overhead. I'm comparing two applications (Azureus and uTorrent) that perform the same function while running in the same OS environment. One is a pig and the other is remarkably frugal.
Maybe, but it does go to show why Java's "write once run anywhere" philosophy never really took off on the desktop. I really shouldn't need to double my computer's memory to run a communications program, and while one might be tempted to think that "well, that's what it takes to run a sophisticated Torrent client" there's programs like uTorrent which provide substantially the same capabilities with a tiny fraction of the resources. Besides, when it comes to the GUI world, most people like something that is actually coded for their GUI, uses that GUI's capabilities well, and is not just an approximation. The reality is that when it comes to cross-platform functionality the communications protocols are much more important than the application, and there you do see a lot of co-operation between the various Torrent client vendors.
I dropped Azureus because it's a resource hog of Biblical proportions, like a lot of big Java apps. uTorrent isn't as feature rich but it's got one Hell of a lot smaller footprint.
Some people claim that there is no slippery slope because they, personally, don't perceive any significant changes. Others claim that evolution is a crock for the same reason. Both are wrong. You have to base your judgment as to whether any long-term process exists by expanding your time scale to relevant proportions.
There is a slippery slope, and America has been on that slope since the nation was founded. Thomas Jefferson pointed out that, from a legal and governmental perspective, the United States Federal Government was about as good as it was ever going to get, because governments only get worse with time. He was right, as usual.
However, there have been inflection points where things got dramatically worse in a short period of time. World War II was the big one for us... our government demanded (and got!) access to vast resources for the war effort and (in spite of promises to the contrary) refused to give them up when the war was over. This surprised no-one, really: when did you ever know a politician to a. keep a promise or b. volutarily relinquish a power or revenue stream because he or she promised to do so?
Take the Patriot Act for example: Congress "addressed" such concerns by including "sunset" provisions in the original Act, but when the time came to volutarily give up those broad powers, they backpedaled in a hurry and renewed the damn thing. That's the way it always has been and is the way it always will be. That's why, when any government official (of any government) says, "we need these new powers for 'x'" you need to fight them tooth and nail, because odds are they don't need that power, they merely want it.
Our government doesn't need to monitor communications between a couple hundred million innocent civilians... but gosh, they sure want to, don't they?
Well, if I were you I'd hang on to your that Tivo and don't let it download any new firmware. Looks like the Feds want to outlaw commercial skipping (I'm waiting for that Gonzales character to link it to terrorism.)
They can make commercials any length they want, though, but I still won't watch them. It is content that I'm simply not interested in viewing. Hardly anyone is, which is why they are doing their level best to force us to have to watch the things rather than find some other way to support their programming that doesn't involve irritating us to the point where we either a. turn the television off or b. go download a Torrent, if we're fortunate enough to have a fast connection. That's what is really bugging them... just as with music, the Internet has given us a way to get at multimedia content that doesn't involve existing distribution channels at all, and worse allows us to modify that content (i.e., by stripping out commercials.) Yes, that may or may not be legal depending upon where in the world you live, but there it is. The fact that viewers jumped on the download bandwagon by the Texas shitload should have told these people that maybe they are doing something wrong, but they would rather fight in Congress to keep us as a captive audience in a vain effort to maintain the status quo ante.
I understand the belief system that leads corporations to expend multi-million-dollar advertising budgets trying to convince consumers by millions to buy their brand of toilet paper versus some other brand. I also know that such efforts can work, and work very well, although they fail more often than not. Either way, it doesn't mean that I have any interest in subjecting myself to such influence, and in fact I won't, even if it means giving up entirely on the dubious benefit of modern television. There is life after TV, you know.
Since they now are doing all coding in all XCode, from CodeWarrior with A LOT of cruft in the Photoshop code, they already are in a world of pain. It'll pass, but just now it's probably the most stress-filled office campus in the US.
Oh, I don't know... dollars to doughnuts there are some pretty stressed-out individuals on the Vista team right now.
Ricardo Montalbon? You want to be a genetically engineered superman, escape Earth on the SS Botany Bay and engage in an interstellar battle with James Tiberius Kirk?
You want to be a genetically engineered superman, escape Earth on the SS Botany Bay only to engage in an interstellar battle with Captain Kirk and lose?
Nah. Think I'll stick with porn star and firing Scroton Whorepedoes.
With any luck China will do to Microsoft what it did to Motorola (and the rest of American businesses foolish enough to invest in China without know what they were doing.)
You do. Assuming that your cable or DSL modem is turned on 24/7, and you pay $50 per month for the service, it works out to about (5000 cents) / (44640 mins/month) =.11 cents / minute.
Well, you're right about the costs involved in production and promotion, but if nothing else Internet-based self-publishing gives any artist (music, print, video, whatever) an option that simply did not exist before. That can certainly be used to the artist's advantage in negotiating with a studio, particularly if the artists has something the studio wants badly enough. And if the talks break down... the artist can still make some money from his work. And if that.045c figure I saw earlier is anywhere near correct, he can probably make good money.
I agree with you to some extent regarding production costs (although there is nothing intrinsically expensive about studio time and mixdown, nor is it even a requirement if a musician is willing to learn a few new skills) but the phenomenal success of peer-to-peer and legit downloading tells me that promotion isn't that big a requirement anymore. Word gets out, songs start getting downloaded, and as the technology improves our ability to find music we're willing to pay for will only become more efficient without massive advertising budgets. Right now, that just translates into more gravy for the record companies, something else they no longer need to shell out for. In fact, a little less promotion and a little more attention to quality would be a good thing.
More to the point, like any biometric system that is dependent upon some unique aspect of human physiology, once it does get hacked or cracked there's no way to change it. I am who I am, and if somebody manages to fake who I am well enough, then I am well and truly screwed. If I have a password I can just pick a new one, but I can't replace my brain. Sometimes I think my girlfriend wishes I could, but that's another story.
They'd save a ton. Right now, the power grid has to be capable of handling the peak loads applied during the summer months when everybody and his monkey has the air conditioning running full blast, not to mention the increased demand from refrigeration equipment. If load-leveling equipment was widespread, the grid could be sized for the average load instead.
Yes, but what they're offering is nothing new. Giant battery banks for off-peak energy storage are used in a lot of places, and have been for years. Flywheel storage too, for that matter. I guess I don't see what this outfit is offering that makes it so special.
Slashdot Mirror
That's irrelevant, the operating system is overhead. I'm comparing two applications (Azureus and uTorrent) that perform the same function while running in the same OS environment. One is a pig and the other is remarkably frugal.
Maybe, but it does go to show why Java's "write once run anywhere" philosophy never really took off on the desktop. I really shouldn't need to double my computer's memory to run a communications program, and while one might be tempted to think that "well, that's what it takes to run a sophisticated Torrent client" there's programs like uTorrent which provide substantially the same capabilities with a tiny fraction of the resources. Besides, when it comes to the GUI world, most people like something that is actually coded for their GUI, uses that GUI's capabilities well, and is not just an approximation. The reality is that when it comes to cross-platform functionality the communications protocols are much more important than the application, and there you do see a lot of co-operation between the various Torrent client vendors.
I dropped Azureus because it's a resource hog of Biblical proportions, like a lot of big Java apps. uTorrent isn't as feature rich but it's got one Hell of a lot smaller footprint.
Some people claim that there is no slippery slope because they, personally, don't perceive any significant changes. Others claim that evolution is a crock for the same reason. Both are wrong. You have to base your judgment as to whether any long-term process exists by expanding your time scale to relevant proportions.
... our government demanded (and got!) access to vast resources for the war effort and (in spite of promises to the contrary) refused to give them up when the war was over. This surprised no-one, really: when did you ever know a politician to a. keep a promise or b. volutarily relinquish a power or revenue stream because he or she promised to do so?
... but gosh, they sure want to, don't they?
There is a slippery slope, and America has been on that slope since the nation was founded. Thomas Jefferson pointed out that, from a legal and governmental perspective, the United States Federal Government was about as good as it was ever going to get, because governments only get worse with time. He was right, as usual.
However, there have been inflection points where things got dramatically worse in a short period of time. World War II was the big one for us
Take the Patriot Act for example: Congress "addressed" such concerns by including "sunset" provisions in the original Act, but when the time came to volutarily give up those broad powers, they backpedaled in a hurry and renewed the damn thing. That's the way it always has been and is the way it always will be. That's why, when any government official (of any government) says, "we need these new powers for 'x'" you need to fight them tooth and nail, because odds are they don't need that power, they merely want it.
Our government doesn't need to monitor communications between a couple hundred million innocent civilians
I'd say it implies that the government is guilty.
Well, if I were you I'd hang on to your that Tivo and don't let it download any new firmware. Looks like the Feds want to outlaw commercial skipping (I'm waiting for that Gonzales character to link it to terrorism.)
... just as with music, the Internet has given us a way to get at multimedia content that doesn't involve existing distribution channels at all, and worse allows us to modify that content (i.e., by stripping out commercials.) Yes, that may or may not be legal depending upon where in the world you live, but there it is. The fact that viewers jumped on the download bandwagon by the Texas shitload should have told these people that maybe they are doing something wrong, but they would rather fight in Congress to keep us as a captive audience in a vain effort to maintain the status quo ante.
They can make commercials any length they want, though, but I still won't watch them. It is content that I'm simply not interested in viewing. Hardly anyone is, which is why they are doing their level best to force us to have to watch the things rather than find some other way to support their programming that doesn't involve irritating us to the point where we either a. turn the television off or b. go download a Torrent, if we're fortunate enough to have a fast connection. That's what is really bugging them
I understand the belief system that leads corporations to expend multi-million-dollar advertising budgets trying to convince consumers by millions to buy their brand of toilet paper versus some other brand. I also know that such efforts can work, and work very well, although they fail more often than not. Either way, it doesn't mean that I have any interest in subjecting myself to such influence, and in fact I won't, even if it means giving up entirely on the dubious benefit of modern television. There is life after TV, you know.
Which is, of course, an improvement over "being an ignorant twit", which is something that you need to work on.
Since they now are doing all coding in all XCode, from CodeWarrior with A LOT of cruft in the Photoshop code, they already are in a world of pain. It'll pass, but just now it's probably the most stress-filled office campus in the US.
... dollars to doughnuts there are some pretty stressed-out individuals on the Vista team right now.
Oh, I don't know
Ricardo Montalbon? You want to be a genetically engineered superman, escape Earth on the SS Botany Bay and engage in an interstellar battle with James Tiberius Kirk?
You want to be a genetically engineered superman, escape Earth on the SS Botany Bay only to engage in an interstellar battle with Captain Kirk and lose?
Nah. Think I'll stick with porn star and firing Scroton Whorepedoes.
Thousands, eh? That's no cheap trick, that's for sure.
With any luck China will do to Microsoft what it did to Motorola (and the rest of American businesses foolish enough to invest in China without know what they were doing.)
The can goto hell
I agree because, as everyone into structured programming knows, the GOTO is considered harmful.
Anyone want to take a wild guess on what will happen with all those dial-up users (of which I'm one).
Nice knowing you.
I was making a joke. If my bill was reduced when I switch off my cable modem or passed no traffic through it it would be different of course.
You do. Assuming that your cable or DSL modem is turned on 24/7, and you pay $50 per month for the service, it works out to about (5000 cents) / (44640 mins/month) = .11 cents / minute.
Well, you're right about the costs involved in production and promotion, but if nothing else Internet-based self-publishing gives any artist (music, print, video, whatever) an option that simply did not exist before. That can certainly be used to the artist's advantage in negotiating with a studio, particularly if the artists has something the studio wants badly enough. And if the talks break down ... the artist can still make some money from his work. And if that .045c figure I saw earlier is anywhere near correct, he can probably make good money.
I agree with you to some extent regarding production costs (although there is nothing intrinsically expensive about studio time and mixdown, nor is it even a requirement if a musician is willing to learn a few new skills) but the phenomenal success of peer-to-peer and legit downloading tells me that promotion isn't that big a requirement anymore. Word gets out, songs start getting downloaded, and as the technology improves our ability to find music we're willing to pay for will only become more efficient without massive advertising budgets. Right now, that just translates into more gravy for the record companies, something else they no longer need to shell out for. In fact, a little less promotion and a little more attention to quality would be a good thing.
Sure. I still have a copy of Bill Budge's 3-D Graphics System for the Apple ][.
It's no secret that the traditional 30-second spot has been losing much of its luster with advertisers.
The traditional 30-second spot lost its luster with audiences about sixty seconds after the first one was broadcast.
It's a start. But I'm thinking more along the lines of an Orrin Hatch, selling out for campaign contributions.
Can I "upgrade" my greater-than 45MPG TDI (diesel) Beetle to a less-than 10MPG Explorer?
Nope, but you can upgrade your 4000/384 Comcast high-speed Internet connection to 8000/768 for only ten dollars more per month.
That's not any more relevant to the discussion at hand, I guess.
Are National ID Cards a Good Idea?
No.
More to the point, like any biometric system that is dependent upon some unique aspect of human physiology, once it does get hacked or cracked there's no way to change it. I am who I am, and if somebody manages to fake who I am well enough, then I am well and truly screwed. If I have a password I can just pick a new one, but I can't replace my brain. Sometimes I think my girlfriend wishes I could, but that's another story.
I stand corrected.
They'd save a ton. Right now, the power grid has to be capable of handling the peak loads applied during the summer months when everybody and his monkey has the air conditioning running full blast, not to mention the increased demand from refrigeration equipment. If load-leveling equipment was widespread, the grid could be sized for the average load instead.
Yes, but what they're offering is nothing new. Giant battery banks for off-peak energy storage are used in a lot of places, and have been for years. Flywheel storage too, for that matter. I guess I don't see what this outfit is offering that makes it so special.