You can actually see the hour hand moving on mine. Sure, I've singed my wrist a few times, but nothing a few heat sinks and thermal putty couldn't fix. 12:40 AM West Coast? Ha. I've got 2:15.
Heh. The name "Jim Allchin" will probably live on for years as a bullet point in Powerpoint slides, lists pinned to the sides of office cublicles, coffee mugs at security companies and in unwanted e-mail forwards with subject headers like "Yep, they really DID say it!" Ah, the hubris!
Could not agree more with the premise. In a world where content is king, it continually amazes me that the vast piles of old TV programming out there can't find a market. Online delivery at low prices strikes me as the perfect delivery channel.
I assume the overhead is low and, in an era where new, expensive HD content is raising the bandwidth bar, these old 4:3 shows would be light on the pipes and relatively easy and cheap to deliver.
I for one would happily pay to see old episodes of shows like The Saint or The Prisoner without having to pay for a whole additional tier of cable TV service just so I can get channels like BBC America (and then hope they run the shows).
Listening to Podcasts like "Soap Detectives" has gotten me into listening to old radio shows lately and I'm amazed by how entertaining they are.
On demand, online delivery of old TV content sounds like a sure winner to me.
No no no. If you'd actually read TFA, you'd see that the building in question is contructed with windows and doors so small that a computer cannot be passed through them, ergo the building does indeed secure the computers. Now that IS news for nerds!
Hey rooster: can't you put that TiVo on your home network? I don't have an HD model, but my Series 2 connects via Linksys USB wireless and works great.
Also, although not rated (and maybe that's because it's just a re-branded service from one of those that was--I don't know), my Speakeasy VOIP works pretty well. Voice quality is far superior to my old telco service, but there are indeed occasional minor dropouts or fizzle-outs. Since I also have a mobile phone, that gives me adequate redundancy in the event my service goes down, so I've been pleased overall.
With broadband and VOIP now coming from from Speakeasy, I can't tell you how nice it is NOT to be doing any business whatsoever with my old nemesis, SBC (formerly Pac Bell here in CA). Of course, in time, I may come to view Speakeasy the same way, but not yet. Perhaps I'm in the "rebound" phase after my divorce with SBC, but there's a spring in my telecommunications once step again.
OK, so you make a fair point or two about responsible parenting decisions, but aside from that, you called a beloved man an "asshole" on the day of his death (in a forum filled with his fans). I think you're being reviled here because of your exrtreme lack of tact. Maybe it's time to come to terms with your own family history and get that chip off your shoulder, mate.
Mac users have a very powerful tool for password management in the Keychain Access program (which many users pay little attention to). You can store many strong passwords then remember one strong password to unlock and use them all. Additionally, when Keychain Access is locked, you can store the various password files it creates on a server (or on a flash drive) with peace of mind because it's DES encrypted. Note also that you can now sync Keychain Access via.Mac.
I've taught some of my friends to memorize one strong password, then use it to unlock Keychain Access which will simplify the process of assigning separate strong passwords for each account, server, etc. (or at least as strong as each scenario will allow). Because I often also need to access passwords from a PC, I also keep a short spreadsheet of "vital" passwords on the flash drive as well and I encrypt that with Kremlin (which is cross platform).
Although I cannot believe these posts are from Jobs himself (as the poster below and others have suggested), he's either astroturfing/. in a provocative way on behalf of Apple--probably with Jobs' express consent, or he's truly doing it on the sly. Given Apple's secretive nature, I'd say that if it's the latter, he'd be a fool to post from the office as he would be easily identified via logs and, I can only assume, be shown the door. And he does not strike me as a fool.
If the AC's observation is correct and he is surfing from 1 Infinite Loop, it's clear to me that he's doing it with the blessings of the company. On the other hand, the appearance of Apple IPs in the logs could be from anyone at Apple--/. is a major tech site and I'm sure it's read by a great many of the employees. Hell, even a security detail assigned to rooting him out could generate the hits.
I guess you'd have to build a sort of ASOTV honeypot (or "AsottyPot") to track clicks, but I'm not exactly sure how you would set it up or sift the results. You'd have to post compelling honeypot links in response to his comments then maybe look for hits that closely match his posting times and look for consistent patterns. Joe Apple Lunch Hour Surfer would not consistently know when every ASOTV post appeared, so if a pattern emerged, you might have something.
Bottom line though, it would be very easy to trace him internally if he were posting from campus. He's also given a few specific personal details over time (the island thing, for example), but those could be clever red herrings, of course. I'm leaning toward his being an authorized insider poster and frankly think it's a smart thing. Apple is always concerned about the online zeitgeist, so why not join in the fray. Are they bound by the Prime Directive?
Here's another example where the makers of Mountain Dew invited potential "beta testers" to provide mailing address, e-mail and date of birth (presumably for a product sample). The form was insecure and there was no privacy statement on the page, yet the kids who read Digg eagerly signed up (in spite of some grumpy old Slashdotter posting about the absurdity of it all).
I'm sure many teens and pre-teens wouldn't bat an eye at providing virtually any type of personal data (including biometric) if it meant getting something as appealing as a free can of soda. Hell, I think most mainstream web surfers are the same regardless of age. Virtually any student or friend of mine who calls me about a computer problem starts by blurting out their passwords to me even before I can stop them--they want to be 'helpful,' but I think they also want to demonstrate loyalty and trust.
I may be wrong, but die-hard fans of certain products or movies might actually like the idea of giving personal data to entities they want to identify (or be identified) with. If Apple wanted your fingerprint to activate Tiger, you can bet some hard-cores would consider it some kind of compliment or rite of passage.
Well then maybe they've evolved a model that is not sustainable given the realities of the world. Perhaps they need to deflate the budgets a bit and focus on making good content. I remember watching them film "The Hulk" in my neighborhood and, as someone who exists on the low-budget fringes of the film world, I was astonished at some of the insane largesse. For the scenes on Telegraph Hill where the military stormed the poor Hulkster, they actually placed additional potted plants up on the Vallejo street steps (at no doubt great expense), but I could never even spot them in the final product. And, IIRC, the movie got a lukewarm response. They had a bunch of extras up on my roof as soldiers and I never saw them either. Those extras worked all day walking up and down the hill for each take. Insane. I'm not saying all films need to be low-budget guerilla crap, but Hollywood has gone so far over the line that they've built an unrealistic machine that simply can't be sustained.
This is an excellent point, actually. There is much to learn from the porn industry and its amazing resilience. Hollywood has long played the game of deciding what people want to watch (and sometimes they do get it right) and then carefully policing people's access to it.
In my mind this is analogous to the old "security through obfuscation" argument in that when you try to defy the inevitable and control the situation through brute force of regulation and procedure, you you actually lose control--you literally challenge people to defy you. Look at the old Incompatible Time Sharing System and the brilliant way that the authors eliminated some hackers' desire to crash the system by essentially adding a "crash system now" command. Take away the artificial supports and content stands completely on its own merits. Porn is out there with everything going against it but, since the producers are so adept at delivering what people want, they can still make it work. George Lucas got on the program because he realized that if you truly deliver the goods, people will reward you and the desire to rip you off is lessened.
I've certainly enjoyed reading his posts too and thought of him today when I read this great post over in that thread about how dissidents can cover their tracks (not that ASOT is a dissident, per se). He can use his iPod Shuffle as the USB drive (I certainly do). Just avoid the dreaded elevator, ASOT!
Pointless? I think not. In fact, I've just granted this story the first ever "SYFer No Bell Prize." I'll get a press release out RSN and I'll look forward to reading about it in Slashdot next month (maybe twice).
What can I say? I'm a harsher judge of marketing pieces generally. Lines like the boss saying he'd "fire your family... and your ancestors" just seemed like flat writing to me. If you're gonna have a major comedic god like John Cleese in the mix, you should make sure the writing is up to it. I clicked in and absorbed the marketing message, so I've upheld my end and that's my opinion. Those who disagree can take solace in the fact that my harsh opinion has been modded safely out of view as a "troll."
I mod this video -1 unfunny. Even though it is usually a pleasure to see Cleese, even he can't breath life into this clinker. The only positive thing I can say is that it had nice production values. I want my seven minutes back. That earlier story about electrically-assisted microbial fuel cells that can be used to produce hydrogen from organic material was a knee-slapper by comparison.
If you are located within 50 miles of Cupertino and listen very carefully (I actually had to turn off my computer to cut the fan noise), you can actually hear Steve Jobs yelling!
Like I didn't see that coming? Yeah. I'd consider it. I was on a business trip once in Orlando and drove over to the "space coast" alone just to see it. As I drove by a major installation (can't remember which), I saw some service vehicle entering through the gates and had the sharp realization that I'd rather be in that service vehicle because they we a part of it all and I was not. If I was on the janitorial crew, I'd be "in" and from there, I'd focus on my next objective. Maybe I'd work my way up to the gift shop some day! There's no other organization that I feel that way about so no night-shift toilet-cleaning offers from Microsoft, please.
Hear hear. Well said sir. I'm a pretty cold fish and have gotten teary eyes maybe a half dozen times in my adult life, but I was certainly teary when I saw the movie and the excellent documentary. As a glasses and polyester wearing (at least back in the day) nerd, the performance of the ground crew at NASA then (and in every mission, really) is the most inspiring thing thing I've seen in my life. To each their own, but for me, the space program, especially in the old days, is truly Heroic. It's the source of my patriotism. Truth be told, I'd probably give up everything I have for even an insignificant job at Johnson just so that, when I died, I could say I had given something to that magnificent organization. *sigh* Maybe next time around.
Slashdot Mirror
But he's right. And no, you still can't have one for Christmas.
What, you're not overclocking your watch? Luser.
You can actually see the hour hand moving on mine. Sure, I've singed my wrist a few times, but nothing a few heat sinks and thermal putty couldn't fix. 12:40 AM West Coast? Ha. I've got 2:15.
Heh. The name "Jim Allchin" will probably live on for years as a bullet point in Powerpoint slides, lists pinned to the sides of office cublicles, coffee mugs at security companies and in unwanted e-mail forwards with subject headers like "Yep, they really DID say it!" Ah, the hubris!
Could not agree more with the premise. In a world where content is king, it continually amazes me that the vast piles of old TV programming out there can't find a market. Online delivery at low prices strikes me as the perfect delivery channel.
I assume the overhead is low and, in an era where new, expensive HD content is raising the bandwidth bar, these old 4:3 shows would be light on the pipes and relatively easy and cheap to deliver.
I for one would happily pay to see old episodes of shows like The Saint or The Prisoner without having to pay for a whole additional tier of cable TV service just so I can get channels like BBC America (and then hope they run the shows).
Listening to Podcasts like "Soap Detectives" has gotten me into listening to old radio shows lately and I'm amazed by how entertaining they are.
On demand, online delivery of old TV content sounds like a sure winner to me.
Audio cassettes? Luxury. My family used paper tape.
And don't miss the exciting epilogue where it is revealed that our Russian spammer was bludgeoned to death by a 15 year old girl.
No no no. If you'd actually read TFA, you'd see that the building in question is contructed with windows and doors so small that a computer cannot be passed through them, ergo the building does indeed secure the computers. Now that IS news for nerds!
Hey rooster: can't you put that TiVo on your home network? I don't have an HD model, but my Series 2 connects via Linksys USB wireless and works great.
Also, although not rated (and maybe that's because it's just a re-branded service from one of those that was--I don't know), my Speakeasy VOIP works pretty well. Voice quality is far superior to my old telco service, but there are indeed occasional minor dropouts or fizzle-outs. Since I also have a mobile phone, that gives me adequate redundancy in the event my service goes down, so I've been pleased overall.
With broadband and VOIP now coming from from Speakeasy, I can't tell you how nice it is NOT to be doing any business whatsoever with my old nemesis, SBC (formerly Pac Bell here in CA). Of course, in time, I may come to view Speakeasy the same way, but not yet. Perhaps I'm in the "rebound" phase after my divorce with SBC, but there's a spring in my telecommunications once step again.
OK, so you make a fair point or two about responsible parenting decisions, but aside from that, you called a beloved man an "asshole" on the day of his death (in a forum filled with his fans). I think you're being reviled here because of your exrtreme lack of tact. Maybe it's time to come to terms with your own family history and get that chip off your shoulder, mate.
Mac users have a very powerful tool for password management in the Keychain Access program (which many users pay little attention to). You can store many strong passwords then remember one strong password to unlock and use them all. Additionally, when Keychain Access is locked, you can store the various password files it creates on a server (or on a flash drive) with peace of mind because it's DES encrypted. Note also that you can now sync Keychain Access via .Mac.
I've taught some of my friends to memorize one strong password, then use it to unlock Keychain Access which will simplify the process of assigning separate strong passwords for each account, server, etc. (or at least as strong as each scenario will allow). Because I often also need to access passwords from a PC, I also keep a short spreadsheet of "vital" passwords on the flash drive as well and I encrypt that with Kremlin (which is cross platform).
Although I cannot believe these posts are from Jobs himself (as the poster below and others have suggested), he's either astroturfing /. in a provocative way on behalf of Apple--probably with Jobs' express consent, or he's truly doing it on the sly. Given Apple's secretive nature, I'd say that if it's the latter, he'd be a fool to post from the office as he would be easily identified via logs and, I can only assume, be shown the door. And he does not strike me as a fool.
If the AC's observation is correct and he is surfing from 1 Infinite Loop, it's clear to me that he's doing it with the blessings of the company. On the other hand, the appearance of Apple IPs in the logs could be from anyone at Apple--/. is a major tech site and I'm sure it's read by a great many of the employees. Hell, even a security detail assigned to rooting him out could generate the hits.
I guess you'd have to build a sort of ASOTV honeypot (or "AsottyPot") to track clicks, but I'm not exactly sure how you would set it up or sift the results. You'd have to post compelling honeypot links in response to his comments then maybe look for hits that closely match his posting times and look for consistent patterns. Joe Apple Lunch Hour Surfer would not consistently know when every ASOTV post appeared, so if a pattern emerged, you might have something.
Bottom line though, it would be very easy to trace him internally if he were posting from campus. He's also given a few specific personal details over time (the island thing, for example), but those could be clever red herrings, of course. I'm leaning toward his being an authorized insider poster and frankly think it's a smart thing. Apple is always concerned about the online zeitgeist, so why not join in the fray. Are they bound by the Prime Directive?
Here's another example where the makers of Mountain Dew invited potential "beta testers" to provide mailing address, e-mail and date of birth (presumably for a product sample). The form was insecure and there was no privacy statement on the page, yet the kids who read Digg eagerly signed up (in spite of some grumpy old Slashdotter posting about the absurdity of it all).
I'm sure many teens and pre-teens wouldn't bat an eye at providing virtually any type of personal data (including biometric) if it meant getting something as appealing as a free can of soda. Hell, I think most mainstream web surfers are the same regardless of age. Virtually any student or friend of mine who calls me about a computer problem starts by blurting out their passwords to me even before I can stop them--they want to be 'helpful,' but I think they also want to demonstrate loyalty and trust.
I may be wrong, but die-hard fans of certain products or movies might actually like the idea of giving personal data to entities they want to identify (or be identified) with. If Apple wanted your fingerprint to activate Tiger, you can bet some hard-cores would consider it some kind of compliment or rite of passage.
Well then maybe they've evolved a model that is not sustainable given the realities of the world. Perhaps they need to deflate the budgets a bit and focus on making good content. I remember watching them film "The Hulk" in my neighborhood and, as someone who exists on the low-budget fringes of the film world, I was astonished at some of the insane largesse. For the scenes on Telegraph Hill where the military stormed the poor Hulkster, they actually placed additional potted plants up on the Vallejo street steps (at no doubt great expense), but I could never even spot them in the final product. And, IIRC, the movie got a lukewarm response. They had a bunch of extras up on my roof as soldiers and I never saw them either. Those extras worked all day walking up and down the hill for each take. Insane. I'm not saying all films need to be low-budget guerilla crap, but Hollywood has gone so far over the line that they've built an unrealistic machine that simply can't be sustained.
This is an excellent point, actually. There is much to learn from the porn industry and its amazing resilience. Hollywood has long played the game of deciding what people want to watch (and sometimes they do get it right) and then carefully policing people's access to it.
In my mind this is analogous to the old "security through obfuscation" argument in that when you try to defy the inevitable and control the situation through brute force of regulation and procedure, you you actually lose control--you literally challenge people to defy you. Look at the old Incompatible Time Sharing System and the brilliant way that the authors eliminated some hackers' desire to crash the system by essentially adding a "crash system now" command. Take away the artificial supports and content stands completely on its own merits. Porn is out there with everything going against it but, since the producers are so adept at delivering what people want, they can still make it work. George Lucas got on the program because he realized that if you truly deliver the goods, people will reward you and the desire to rip you off is lessened.
But can Google create a stone heavier than it can carry?
I've certainly enjoyed reading his posts too and thought of him today when I read this great post over in that thread about how dissidents can cover their tracks (not that ASOT is a dissident, per se). He can use his iPod Shuffle as the USB drive (I certainly do). Just avoid the dreaded elevator, ASOT!
Pointless? I think not. In fact, I've just granted this story the first ever "SYFer No Bell Prize." I'll get a press release out RSN and I'll look forward to reading about it in Slashdot next month (maybe twice).
That's not a compliment.
"That's all he ever wanted out of life... was love. That's the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn't have any to give."
What can I say? I'm a harsher judge of marketing pieces generally. Lines like the boss saying he'd "fire your family... and your ancestors" just seemed like flat writing to me. If you're gonna have a major comedic god like John Cleese in the mix, you should make sure the writing is up to it. I clicked in and absorbed the marketing message, so I've upheld my end and that's my opinion. Those who disagree can take solace in the fact that my harsh opinion has been modded safely out of view as a "troll."
You're right about "breathe," but wrong about "clinker."
I mod this video -1 unfunny. Even though it is usually a pleasure to see Cleese, even he can't breath life into this clinker. The only positive thing I can say is that it had nice production values. I want my seven minutes back. That earlier story about electrically-assisted microbial fuel cells that can be used to produce hydrogen from organic material was a knee-slapper by comparison.
If you are located within 50 miles of Cupertino and listen very carefully (I actually had to turn off my computer to cut the fan noise), you can actually hear Steve Jobs yelling!
Like I didn't see that coming? Yeah. I'd consider it. I was on a business trip once in Orlando and drove over to the "space coast" alone just to see it. As I drove by a major installation (can't remember which), I saw some service vehicle entering through the gates and had the sharp realization that I'd rather be in that service vehicle because they we a part of it all and I was not. If I was on the janitorial crew, I'd be "in" and from there, I'd focus on my next objective. Maybe I'd work my way up to the gift shop some day! There's no other organization that I feel that way about so no night-shift toilet-cleaning offers from Microsoft, please.
Hear hear. Well said sir. I'm a pretty cold fish and have gotten teary eyes maybe a half dozen times in my adult life, but I was certainly teary when I saw the movie and the excellent documentary. As a glasses and polyester wearing (at least back in the day) nerd, the performance of the ground crew at NASA then (and in every mission, really) is the most inspiring thing thing I've seen in my life. To each their own, but for me, the space program, especially in the old days, is truly Heroic. It's the source of my patriotism. Truth be told, I'd probably give up everything I have for even an insignificant job at Johnson just so that, when I died, I could say I had given something to that magnificent organization. *sigh* Maybe next time around.