I'd like someone to invent small wind generation units, that people can mount on their roof, and it would provide power to "vampire devices" so that your TV, VCR, and other remote controlled devices can have power, but not use anything from the power grid until they are turned on.
You can climb the 40 foot ladder, while I'll stay safely on the ground.
We took a network full of college students (geeky college students at that), and opened it up to grandmothers, pre-teens, and (the source of all spam:) businesspeople. Usenet got a lot more noise and very little more signal.
Given the S/N ratio on Slashdot, I have my doubts.
It has been a long time, a very long time, since copyrights expired after only fourteen years.
In 1831, U.S. copyrights wwre extended to twenty-eight years. in 1909, renewals to twenty-eight years. In 1976, the U.S. adopted the Berne formula of life plus fifty years. Copyright Timeline
Yeah, and the net result of that is that Microsoft kills Linux in the HTPC market. Do you really think Microsoft failed to take that into account when they decided to support DRM?
Do you see iTines in the future for Linux? Rhapsody or Y! Unlimited? XM Radio? Netflix? DRM'd media is big in the home market. The killer app that Linux can't deliver.
The whole system would have to be binary-only, from the kernel to the player application, and this is impossible with Linux. (And by "impossible," I mean that if you did do it, the result wouldn't be Linux anymore.)
No, but it might be Linspire or Xandros or whatever other commercial distro that decides that there is money to be made serving this segment of the market.
My brother refused to try OpenOffice.org...until he started working for me. On his machine I did not give him a choice - for his office apps he can use OpenOffice.org or simply not work.
Tales of force and fraud within one's own family do not endear me to the Geek or make the move to "free and open source" more palatable.
Maybe you could explain why they have to charge a HIGHER price on a computer if they had to invest LESS money on it? A $0 licence fee is always cheaper than a $10 "discount."
Dell transformed direct Windows sales and just-in-time manufacturing into an art form. The Fredos box that sits on a warehouse pallete costs them money.
Take the HD-DVD. Any old movies will not look perceptably better in HD
Old movies are going to look wonderful in HD, particularly in large-screen projection. Think of any film by John Ford or Alfred Hitchcock from the silent era onward.
Dell discounted low-end products too aggresssively
Walmart has much the same problem.
The poor, under stress, aren't buying PCs at any price. The middle class takes one look at the s***t which passes for OEM Linux and spends their money on the midline Dell or HP at Target.
...its a matter of the huge kick back Microsoft gives the PC macker for preinstalling Windows.
Talk of kickbacks is for losers.
Dell or Walmart can casually place an order for three million widescreen laptops from a single Chinese OEM knowing that the default Win MCE install will sell every damn one of them.
There is the prospect of very healthy aftermarket sales of Windows software, hardware and peripherals, including the XBox 360 (with no need to maintain a seperate Linux inventory.)
There is the potential for strategic partnerships with DRM'd subscription services like Rhapsody or the on-line Netflix. Forget "Lost." Think on-demand access to the 75 year old Disney backlist for your kids, sponsored, in part, by Walmart.
MSDOS and Windows have been in the home and office for twenty-five years.
Well I'm still using an old 15' CRT television to play my games and I'm more that satisfied with it. I've tried HD TV, and I don't see that benefits in the increase in resolution offset the enormous costs of a) Purchascing such a device
The latest Walmart flyer has brand-name HD sets starting at $500 US (with built-in tuners.) 52 inch projection sets at $990 US, also with tuners. This train has left the station.
Your key here, is that you feel that the experience of the user is more important than the rights of the user.
The user experience is what sells a PC, a game, a peripheral. Users tend to be oriented towards a somewhat larger world, in which rights and freedoms are not defined in terms of the philosophical purity of the Linux O/S.
Too bad there has never been a single instance of "theft of copyrighted files" on any P2P network that has ever existed, or the Internet itself for that matter. Now copyright infringement is an entirely different kettle of fish, but I don't see anything in the summary about Grokster being banned from that.
In the popular mind, all crimes against property are "theft." The idea is ancient.
Fine distinctions are for the charge sheet and the courts. There is no hope of winning the propaganda argument against the rights agencies on this level.
Once the iPod came out, MP3 players went from strictly being geek toys to being something that EVERYONE wanted.
Successfully negotiating distribution rights and rights management (DRM) with the major labels played a big part in this. So did iTunes for Windows, which is beginning to look more and more like a native Windows app...
IANAA (I am not an American), but didn't you guys have some kind of beef with 'Taxation without Repesentation?' Surely this is exactly what NY State is demanding?
Not everyone has the right to vote, but you won't get far arguing that a minor, a resident alien, or felon shouldn't have to pay taxes.
Usually pointing this out results in a shifting ground fallacy attack, then claiming that these games are "advertised to kids". Uh, but we were talking about the ratings...
The talk now is about criminalizing the sale of 'M' rated games to kids.
That opens the door to a debate about the marketing of these games and the integrity of the ratings system, in much the same way as the design and placement of tobacco adds brings into question whether the industry is undercutting the warning labels printed on packs of cigarettes.
Is it really necessary to use the gates borg icon when he does something like this?
Slshdot's icons for Bill Gates and Windows saves you the trouble of having to think before you post. That BSOD gag from '98 is still worth a mod-up to +5, Funny.
Slashdot Mirror
You can climb the 40 foot ladder, while I'll stay safely on the ground.
Given the S/N ratio on Slashdot, I have my doubts.
How do you propose to do that?
OEM Linux is going nowhere at retail and even Walmart wants a cut of the high-margin HTPC market.
It has been a long time, a very long time, since copyrights expired after only fourteen years.
In 1831, U.S. copyrights wwre extended to twenty-eight years. in 1909, renewals to twenty-eight years. In 1976, the U.S. adopted the Berne formula of life plus fifty years. Copyright Timeline
Do you see iTines in the future for Linux? Rhapsody or Y! Unlimited? XM Radio? Netflix? DRM'd media is big in the home market. The killer app that Linux can't deliver.
No, but it might be Linspire or Xandros or whatever other commercial distro that decides that there is money to be made serving this segment of the market.
The latest Walmart flyer has HD sets with HD tuners starting at $500 US, 52" HD Projection sets, also with HD tuners at $990 US.
In our sports-obsessed border towns on the Great Lakes, there are six to nine network outlets broadcasting in HD, plus two to three independents.
Not a bad place to be, if you are pushing the XBox-360 or Win MCE.
Tales of force and fraud within one's own family do not endear me to the Geek or make the move to "free and open source" more palatable.
Your boss, however, may decide that Trusted Computing fits his needs perfectly.
Dell transformed direct Windows sales and just-in-time manufacturing into an art form. The Fredos box that sits on a warehouse pallete costs them money.
Old movies are going to look wonderful in HD, particularly in large-screen projection. Think of any film by John Ford or Alfred Hitchcock from the silent era onward.
Walmart has much the same problem.
The poor, under stress, aren't buying PCs at any price. The middle class takes one look at the s***t which passes for OEM Linux and spends their money on the midline Dell or HP at Target.
Talk of kickbacks is for losers.
Dell or Walmart can casually place an order for three million widescreen laptops from a single Chinese OEM knowing that the default Win MCE install will sell every damn one of them.
There is the prospect of very healthy aftermarket sales of Windows software, hardware and peripherals, including the XBox 360 (with no need to maintain a seperate Linux inventory.)
There is the potential for strategic partnerships with DRM'd subscription services like Rhapsody or the on-line Netflix. Forget "Lost." Think on-demand access to the 75 year old Disney backlist for your kids, sponsored, in part, by Walmart.
MSDOS and Windows have been in the home and office for twenty-five years.
The latest Walmart flyer has brand-name HD sets starting at $500 US (with built-in tuners.) 52 inch projection sets at $990 US, also with tuners. This train has left the station.
The user experience is what sells a PC, a game, a peripheral. Users tend to be oriented towards a somewhat larger world, in which rights and freedoms are not defined in terms of the philosophical purity of the Linux O/S.
I'd question whether even gamers are building their own systems "more often than not."
In any event, the gaming experience under Windows is pretty damn good. and I see no compelling reason to migrate.
In the popular mind, all crimes against property are "theft." The idea is ancient.
Fine distinctions are for the charge sheet and the courts. There is no hope of winning the propaganda argument against the rights agencies on this level.
Successfully negotiating distribution rights and rights management (DRM) with the major labels played a big part in this. So did iTunes for Windows, which is beginning to look more and more like a native Windows app...
Not everyone has the right to vote, but you won't get far arguing that a minor, a resident alien, or felon shouldn't have to pay taxes.
The talk now is about criminalizing the sale of 'M' rated games to kids.
That opens the door to a debate about the marketing of these games and the integrity of the ratings system, in much the same way as the design and placement of tobacco adds brings into question whether the industry is undercutting the warning labels printed on packs of cigarettes.
The Geek fallacy condensed into a single line.
Microsoft Revenues Grow 6 Percent, Profit Soars to $3.1 Billion Back-to-school sales were good. Server sales are strong. Windows MCE looks to be a big winner.
DOA
100 million or so users run the AIM client. How many do you think will switch?
No, but the Britannica does have a tradition of publishing signed articles by contributers as significant as Einstein and Freud.
It believes in the vigor and intelligence of prose that is not written by a collective.
Slshdot's icons for Bill Gates and Windows saves you the trouble of having to think before you post. That BSOD gag from '98 is still worth a mod-up to +5, Funny.