'Schultz and MacKinnon came to believe that the core Starbucks customer, an affluent 25- to 50-year-old who's likelier to be tuned in to NPR than to MTV or one of the nine gazillion radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc., probably feels ignored by the music industry.'
I tend to agree with them. This affluent 25- to 50-year-old (32, actually), pretty much only listens to NPR, but they're missing one important fact in their equation...
They're assuming I either already, or probably will, visit StarBucks.
(I've only been to Starbucks twice in my life, and the second time was to give them a 2nd chance. Needless to say: their coffee sucks, costs way too much, and I can brew a better tasting pot for myself right at home.)
Yes, I'm ignored by the Music Industry, but I've found the iTunes Music Store, and AllOfMP3 to be viable, and more preferable, alternatives.
By your same argument, the washing machine should never have been patented, because it cut costs and helped put an end to the household servant industry because now there was a machine that did the work of a person.
Or what about all the cotton-field workers who lost their jobs upon the creation of the Cotton Gin? (the first machine ever patented). Eli Whitney if I recall.
What about all the related people in the horse-carriage business who lost their jobs upon the creation and patenting of the combustion engine and automobile?
Let's face it, who actually goes into a bank branch anymore except to open up a new account? I've got a branch office for my CU in my office building, and the only time I ever go down there (other than to simply say hello) is if there's a problem with my account (which I could just as easily do over the web or phone - but since they're 500 feet away, why not go downstairs?)
I'm sorry, but you don't understand what patents are for.
From the USPTO Website:
The patent law specifies the general field of subject matter that can be patented and the conditions under which a patent may be obtained.
In the language of the statute, any person who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent," subject to the conditions and requirements of the law. The word "process" is defined by law as a process, act or method, and primarily includes industrial or technical processes. The term "machine" used in the statute needs no explanation. The term "manufacture" refers to articles which are made, and includes all manufactured articles. The term "composition of matter" relates to chemical compositions and may include mixtures of ingredients as well as new chemical compounds. These classes of subject matter taken together include practically everything which is made by man and the processes for making the products.
...
A patent cannot be obtained upon a mere idea or suggestion. The patent is granted upon the new machine, manufacture, etc., as has been said, and not upon the idea or suggestion of the new machine. A complete description of the actual machine or other subject matter for which a patent is sought is required.
One could adequately assume that the Patent Examiner saw the method by which WaMu designed their retail branch facilitated the process of the retail customer depositing money or opening a new account more efficiently, and with greater customer-service.
I;ve got mod points but rahter than mod you as an idiot, I've got to respond.
I am no fan of the USPTO, and think that some of their more recent patents have been ludicrous, but WaMu's patent is not what you are talking about. Did you even read the fucking article? (fuck acronyms)
Borders does not have a concierge (at least none of the one's I've been to). Neither does Waldenbook's, B. Dalton's, etc. Unless the register clerk counts, which they don't.
Yes, Borders has a coffee shop, but WaMu doesn't. Serving coffee and having a coffee shop where one can get a danish & coffee while reading a book, and serving coffee to someone while they wait to speak to someone else about opening up a loan isn't being copy-catting. It's called customer-service.
That, my friend, is what this patent is about. The woman who came up with this idea recognized that what really sets banks apart from one another is the level of service they provide. All banks have CD's, all banks have Money Market Accounts, but I sure as hell won't get offered coffee if I walk into a Wachovia. I might, if I walk into WaMu.
Personally, I don't like the new design. It reminds me of Starbucks -- not because of the coffee -- but because of the "chic'ness" and trendiness of the place. Plus, Starbucks reminds me of paying too damn much for a shitty cup of coffee.
Maybe that's why I bank with a credit union. I prefer to use the extra money I save each month off bank fees and increased interest in my savings accounts to brew my own damn coffee.
Then I say go for it. If you don't want to then hell, I shuck over $1.50 for a track to test it out. What specifically are you looking for that's not available on the US Store?
If you have access to a *NIX machine, or use one for your daily work, then what I do may work for you.
I simply use the at scheduler to schedule an email to remind me on specific days. I have a rule set up to automatically flag the messages and to ensure they won't end up in my Junk Mail folder.
Something simple like:
at "6/21/2004 19:00" mail -s "TODO: TAKE OUT THE TRASH" [userid]
Of all the apps on my Mac, the one I'm in the most is Mail.
Free. Simple. Searchable (using my mail program). Not perfect, but it works.
You say that like it's apparently obvious, but water (H2O, dihydrogen monoxide) can exist in three distinct phases:
* solid (<= 0 deg. C) * liquid (0 deg. C - 99 deg. C) * vapor (>= 100 deg. C)
(at one Earth atmosphere)
Liquid water means that Mars' temperature was ripe for simple & complex organisms possibly. That is, provided the air-pressue was somewhat similar to Earth's.
Anyone who thinks that the Pepsi/ iTMS 100,000,000 song give-away is charity needs some remediation.
Apple & Pepsi aren't being nice to anyone.
The whole iTMS sweepstakes, just like all sweepstakes, are to entice you... the consumer... to drink more Pepsi (or purchase/ consume a product). It just so happens that you're enticement here is a 33% chance of a free song.
It seems creating some kind of common WebDAV file-share and setting up something similar to what Apple provides with iDisk so every network user has personal file-sharing space would come in real handy.
Then, you could limit the msg sizes internally (within your domain) to something like 1024Kb (or even 256Kb for that matter - how many text emails have you seen which were larger than 256Kb?)
Then, instruct users if they want to "attach" a file, to upload it to their share (with password protection) and include a reference () to the actual file within the email as opposed to attaching the content directly.
Either that, or encourage the use of the P2P file sharing capabilities of ICQ, AIM, and the slough of other IM clients out there (MSN, Sametime, etc.).
Disclaimer - I've got 4 Macs. Cube. iMac. PowerMac, and an iBook. Technically 5 if you count the eMac I bought and support for my Dad.
I'm on my second iBook.
I don't yet have Apple Care on it since it was a Christmas present, and I've still got what's left of the year warranty before I need to shell out for it, but I will definitely be getting Apple Care.
I've got Apple Care on every single Apple product I own where it's offered (sans iSight & Airport).
For commodity PeeCees, extended warranties aren't worth it.
For Apple products, they are.
Now, I'm on my 2nd iBook, where the backlight died on my first iBook within the week.
Trip to the Apple Store (and having to deal with the genius bar - which I can't stand). New iBook.
If it dies again, warranty replacement.
If it dies again after that, warranty replacement.
I'll replace the sob every 11 mos. if I have to.
Fixing these problems one's self is not going to provide Apple with enough feedback to change their design processes, but the manager at the Apple Store told me it costs Apple some $250 to do an open-box exchange in loss time, shipping, in addition to the loss revenue and expense it would cost to refurbish the machine being exchanged.
So I figure, once Apple loses enough $250 for iBooks being returned, maybe they'll correct the problem.
I just had to return an iBook G4 I received for Christmas yesterday as it started to flake out. Wouldn't wake up from sleep, breathing on it was causing it to lock up, and then it wouldn't even boot.
But, I have no plans on joining the Class.
The only thing that does bother me are the pricks at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Atlanta. Too fscking condescending.
He said it was a hard drive failure. Hmmm. Hard drives wouldn't affect it NOT even coming up into Open Firmware.
Idiot.
But, this is the 4th Mac that's alive in my household.
Chevy may have the Corvette & the Camaro, but it also had the Chevette & the Corvair. Camaro owners still love Chevy, and the Chevette didn't change that, and neither will this.
I agree with you whole-heartedly on all points; but as you know, security is all about balancing risk & deterrence with the business-needs and usability.
While the 802.11x protocols provide little to no effective security within them, my comments were targeted towards the typical/. audience - the gamer & geek who happens to have a WAP set up in his apartment. I was not writing a best-practices & standards document.;-)
Ultimately though, the most secure WAP is one which isn't turned on, but so many people are jumping on the WAP bandwagon that they're forgetting even the most common-sense types of things to make their networks a little more secure.
Me, I use an Apple Airport Extreme. Not the most secure WAP, but it's better than a lot.
* I don't use WEP, but use WPA. (All of my Macs run Panther). * Key lifetime is 15 mins. * SSID is not broadcasted. * Transmitter power is reduced. * The WAP is located centrally in my house. * The Base Station Name is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'. (1) * The Base Station Password is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'. * The SSID is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'.
War driving into work I see all too many WAPs configureg with the homeowner or business owner's name.
* The WPA Personal Key is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'. It's key-length is also 16 bytes.
And for me, these steps work well. But, I'm not protecting a Fortune 25 Company's Financials, but I am protecting my own personal financials, investments, etc.
In addition, I'm attempting to protect my ass from script kiddies in the neighborhood hijacking my connection and downloading pr0n and MP3s.
Can MAC addresses be spoofed? Absolutely.
Can one easily obtain the SSID of a WAP? You're average Joe can't, and I'd even venture that your average script kiddie can't, but if you've got a modicum amount of skills then yes, you're right.
But are all of these better than the default configs WAPs are shipped with? Yes.
Bottom line, the end-user needs to decide what's good enough for them. At work, all I can do is document and present the risks as objectively as possible; but at the end of the day, Management is the one with a fiduciary responsibilty to the Company, not me.
But in the Ellenburg household, I am the one with the fiduciary responsibility, and maybe that's why when I'm not using anything wireless, my WAP, my Airport Extreme, is actually turned off. (2)
----- (1) For example, last week's Base Station Name (not the SSID) was "32jfgp|RO". The SSID was "rvy7@8Xv9".
(2) When I'm at work, when I'm asleep, and when I'm not using the computers, my WAP is actually turned off (unplugged since that's the only way an Airport can be turned off). As I stated earlier, the only secure WAP is one which is unplugged.
The thing is that if Open Source is going to be the way you code/implement/make money in the future you have to let companies use the code..... I just downloaded the source from their website. Isn't that to contribute?
There's the letter of the law and then there's the spirit. Merely putting the source code up on one's website and naming it GPL.zip to me is following the letter, but not the spirit.
What about contextual diffs of the changes so mplayer developers can easily see what (if any) changes & improvements were made?
Personally, I think it would be a kind gesture by all companies using FOSS for commercial gain to have a public "credits" either embedded in the app/ product or in the documentation or website which acknowledges the contributions of others.
Something along the lines of:
This product contains code, and is based off the following Open Source projects:
Slashdot Mirror
The only folks around my office that use tablet PC's are the Microsoft Consultants.
Because it's faster to download the songs I want, encoded at the bit-rate I want, and in the format I want, from allofmp3. ;-)
I don't mind paying for convenience. Especially if it's $0.01/ MB.
I tend to agree with them. This affluent 25- to 50-year-old (32, actually), pretty much only listens to NPR, but they're missing one important fact in their equation...
They're assuming I either already, or probably will, visit StarBucks.
(I've only been to Starbucks twice in my life, and the second time was to give them a 2nd chance. Needless to say: their coffee sucks, costs way too much, and I can brew a better tasting pot for myself right at home.)
Yes, I'm ignored by the Music Industry, but I've found the iTunes Music Store, and AllOfMP3 to be viable, and more preferable, alternatives.
Last I checked, the USPTO didn't have jurisdiction over Canadian patents.
By your same argument, the washing machine should never have been patented, because it cut costs and helped put an end to the household servant industry because now there was a machine that did the work of a person.
Or what about all the cotton-field workers who lost their jobs upon the creation of the Cotton Gin? (the first machine ever patented). Eli Whitney if I recall.
What about all the related people in the horse-carriage business who lost their jobs upon the creation and patenting of the combustion engine and automobile?
Let's face it, who actually goes into a bank branch anymore except to open up a new account? I've got a branch office for my CU in my office building, and the only time I ever go down there (other than to simply say hello) is if there's a problem with my account (which I could just as easily do over the web or phone - but since they're 500 feet away, why not go downstairs?)
I'm sorry, but you don't understand what patents are for.
From the USPTO Website:
One could adequately assume that the Patent Examiner saw the method by which WaMu designed their retail branch facilitated the process of the retail customer depositing money or opening a new account more efficiently, and with greater customer-service.
I;ve got mod points but rahter than mod you as an idiot, I've got to respond.
I am no fan of the USPTO, and think that some of their more recent patents have been ludicrous, but WaMu's patent is not what you are talking about. Did you even read the fucking article? (fuck acronyms)
Borders does not have a concierge (at least none of the one's I've been to). Neither does Waldenbook's, B. Dalton's, etc. Unless the register clerk counts, which they don't.
Yes, Borders has a coffee shop, but WaMu doesn't. Serving coffee and having a coffee shop where one can get a danish & coffee while reading a book, and serving coffee to someone while they wait to speak to someone else about opening up a loan isn't being copy-catting. It's called customer-service.
That, my friend, is what this patent is about. The woman who came up with this idea recognized that what really sets banks apart from one another is the level of service they provide. All banks have CD's, all banks have Money Market Accounts, but I sure as hell won't get offered coffee if I walk into a Wachovia. I might, if I walk into WaMu.
Personally, I don't like the new design. It reminds me of Starbucks -- not because of the coffee -- but because of the "chic'ness" and trendiness of the place. Plus, Starbucks reminds me of paying too damn much for a shitty cup of coffee.
Maybe that's why I bank with a credit union. I prefer to use the extra money I save each month off bank fees and increased interest in my savings accounts to brew my own damn coffee.
Then I say go for it. If you don't want to then hell, I shuck over $1.50 for a track to test it out. What specifically are you looking for that's not available on the US Store?
Well, why would you? Have you tried searching the US store for the same tracks?
I just ran the numbers, and 0.79p equates to roughly $1.43, and E0,99 equates to roughly $1.12.
If you have access to a *NIX machine, or use one for your daily work, then what I do may work for you.
I simply use the at scheduler to schedule an email to remind me on specific days. I have a rule set up to automatically flag the messages and to ensure they won't end up in my Junk Mail folder.
Something simple like:
at "6/21/2004 19:00" mail -s "TODO: TAKE OUT THE TRASH" [userid]
Of all the apps on my Mac, the one I'm in the most is Mail.
Free. Simple. Searchable (using my mail program). Not perfect, but it works.
That's the point. :-)
I don't know about all windows being translucent, but certainly at least with all the Windows I've seen, the security has been transparent.
Subpoena:
sub = below
poena = penis
subpoena = below the penis
subpoena = by the balls.
Thanks to IBM's subpoenas, they now have these companies by the balls.
Yes.
It would be called the Sexual Enjoyment Tax Initiative.
We will be releasing a distributed client to assist in this endeavour called "SETI@Home".
Have a good day.
You say that like it's apparently obvious, but water (H2O, dihydrogen monoxide) can exist in three distinct phases:
* solid (<= 0 deg. C)
* liquid (0 deg. C - 99 deg. C)
* vapor (>= 100 deg. C)
(at one Earth atmosphere)
Liquid water means that Mars' temperature was ripe for simple & complex organisms possibly. That is, provided the air-pressue was somewhat similar to Earth's.
Now stop right here.
Anyone who thinks that the Pepsi/ iTMS 100,000,000 song give-away is charity needs some remediation.
Apple & Pepsi aren't being nice to anyone.
The whole iTMS sweepstakes, just like all sweepstakes, are to entice you ... the consumer ... to drink more Pepsi (or purchase/ consume a product). It just so happens that you're enticement here is a 33% chance of a free song.
a lot.
>>> I'm just under 21 so I didn't pay much attention to the Macintosh's launch at the the time.
;-)
I'd hope not, considering you were less than 1 years old "at the time".
It seems creating some kind of common WebDAV file-share and setting up something similar to what Apple provides with iDisk so every network user has personal file-sharing space would come in real handy.
Then, you could limit the msg sizes internally (within your domain) to something like 1024Kb (or even 256Kb for that matter - how many text emails have you seen which were larger than 256Kb?)
Then, instruct users if they want to "attach" a file, to upload it to their share (with password protection) and include a reference () to the actual file within the email as opposed to attaching the content directly.
Either that, or encourage the use of the P2P file sharing capabilities of ICQ, AIM, and the slough of other IM clients out there (MSN, Sametime, etc.).
Well,
It was a Christmas present.
They way I look at it is like this:
Chevy once made the Corvair & the Chevette.
They still make the Camaro & the Corvette.
Just because Chevy/ GM made a stinker for a car for a few years doesn't make the company as a whole f'ed up.
-gme (who drives a Dodge - go figure)
Yep.
Disclaimer - I've got 4 Macs. Cube. iMac. PowerMac, and an iBook. Technically 5 if you count the eMac I bought and support for my Dad.
I'm on my second iBook.
I don't yet have Apple Care on it since it was a Christmas present, and I've still got what's left of the year warranty before I need to shell out for it, but I will definitely be getting Apple Care.
I've got Apple Care on every single Apple product I own where it's offered (sans iSight & Airport).
For commodity PeeCees, extended warranties aren't worth it.
For Apple products, they are.
Now, I'm on my 2nd iBook, where the backlight died on my first iBook within the week.
Trip to the Apple Store (and having to deal with the genius bar - which I can't stand). New iBook.
If it dies again, warranty replacement.
If it dies again after that, warranty replacement.
I'll replace the sob every 11 mos. if I have to.
Fixing these problems one's self is not going to provide Apple with enough feedback to change their design processes, but the manager at the Apple Store told me it costs Apple some $250 to do an open-box exchange in loss time, shipping, in addition to the loss revenue and expense it would cost to refurbish the machine being exchanged.
So I figure, once Apple loses enough $250 for iBooks being returned, maybe they'll correct the problem.
I just had to return an iBook G4 I received for Christmas yesterday as it started to flake out. Wouldn't wake up from sleep, breathing on it was causing it to lock up, and then it wouldn't even boot.
But, I have no plans on joining the Class.
The only thing that does bother me are the pricks at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Atlanta. Too fscking condescending.
He said it was a hard drive failure. Hmmm. Hard drives wouldn't affect it NOT even coming up into Open Firmware.
Idiot.
But, this is the 4th Mac that's alive in my household.
Chevy may have the Corvette & the Camaro, but it also had the Chevette & the Corvair. Camaro owners still love Chevy, and the Chevette didn't change that, and neither will this.
I agree with you whole-heartedly on all points; but as you know, security is all about balancing risk & deterrence with the business-needs and usability.
/. audience - the gamer & geek who happens to have a WAP set up in his apartment. I was not writing a best-practices & standards document. ;-)
While the 802.11x protocols provide little to no effective security within them, my comments were targeted towards the typical
Ultimately though, the most secure WAP is one which isn't turned on, but so many people are jumping on the WAP bandwagon that they're forgetting even the most common-sense types of things to make their networks a little more secure.
Me, I use an Apple Airport Extreme. Not the most secure WAP, but it's better than a lot.
* I don't use WEP, but use WPA. (All of my Macs run Panther).
* Key lifetime is 15 mins.
* SSID is not broadcasted.
* Transmitter power is reduced.
* The WAP is located centrally in my house.
* The Base Station Name is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'. (1)
* The Base Station Password is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'.
* The SSID is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'.
War driving into work I see all too many WAPs configureg with the homeowner or business owner's name.
* The WPA Personal Key is changed weekly, and is generated randomly using 'mkpasswd'. It's key-length is also 16 bytes.
And for me, these steps work well. But, I'm not protecting a Fortune 25 Company's Financials, but I am protecting my own personal financials, investments, etc.
In addition, I'm attempting to protect my ass from script kiddies in the neighborhood hijacking my connection and downloading pr0n and MP3s.
Can MAC addresses be spoofed? Absolutely.
Can one easily obtain the SSID of a WAP? You're average Joe can't, and I'd even venture that your average script kiddie can't, but if you've got a modicum amount of skills then yes, you're right.
But are all of these better than the default configs WAPs are shipped with? Yes.
Bottom line, the end-user needs to decide what's good enough for them. At work, all I can do is document and present the risks as objectively as possible; but at the end of the day, Management is the one with a fiduciary responsibilty to the Company, not me.
But in the Ellenburg household, I am the one with the fiduciary responsibility, and maybe that's why when I'm not using anything wireless, my WAP, my Airport Extreme, is actually turned off. (2)
-----
(1) For example, last week's Base Station Name (not the SSID) was "32jfgp|RO". The SSID was "rvy7@8Xv9".
(2) When I'm at work, when I'm asleep, and when I'm not using the computers, my WAP is actually turned off (unplugged since that's the only way an Airport can be turned off). As I stated earlier, the only secure WAP is one which is unplugged.
Disclaimer: I work in Information Security.
But, by all means:
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
There's the letter of the law and then there's the spirit. Merely putting the source code up on one's website and naming it GPL.zip to me is following the letter, but not the spirit.
What about contextual diffs of the changes so mplayer developers can easily see what (if any) changes & improvements were made?
Personally, I think it would be a kind gesture by all companies using FOSS for commercial gain to have a public "credits" either embedded in the app/ product or in the documentation or website which acknowledges the contributions of others.
Something along the lines of: