I dimly recall certain statutes which should resolve any such interesting "offers". All said and done this should prove entertaining at the least, though only remunerative to the legal blokes..
Maury- Thanks for confirming my understanding of this patent. I think prior art also exists in games- specifically in my experience in Jagged Alliance 2 (copyright 1999 Sir-tech Canada, Ltd.), where you remove a money object from your inventory and "give" it to Pablo at the airport. In this case, you drag the object (money) over the drop target (Pablo's mitts)with information about the action being initiated ("give") and this results in Pablo's happy response "Coffee money - to keep my eyes open.", which means you may receive your shipments when they pass through Pablo's tender care.
I guess it is too bad that Sirtech didn't patent this "unique UI" and make bazillions. We would have JA3 today (maybe).
Start with the premise that they are all "good" students - even the "mediocre" ones. Teach the outdated industry standard because you need to ground everyone in basics, but do offer open source on CDs. Some of the "mediocre" ones will surprise you. An "A" for a mediocre student may be a life changing event.
Article states, "Griffin initiated a study last year into alternative ways to deliver the AMS to the station, but they proved to be prohibitively expensive."
Does anyone know if this includes any of the nascent commercial carriers?
If they could get this into a slightly higher orbit, could it be delivered later with a small amount of reaction mass?
"There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch!" is a nice acronym. Makes one think. There are many things which Heinlein may have intended - the image of "doorstep deliveries" comes to mind. As you recall the economics of resource extraction and delivery favored the trip down the gravity well, so the development of the Lunie colonies was funded. Problem was that the contracts and supporting legal system effectively enslaved the Lunie population. Resistance was brewing at the time "Mike" became adolescent. As part of his "personal" development, Mike fostered with the resistance and provided weaponry. The weaponry was in fact a major element of the economic system which was oppressing the Lunies.
I think this parallels what we are seeing unfold. So if you are part of a large oppressive organization, don't be surprised if you don't find your free lunch choking you.
The tendency for technology to provide support for basic producers (music, videos, EFF, etc) is wonderful. It is also very threatening for large organizations based on the scarcity principles of "old" economics.
Seems like its time to re-read my dog-eared copy of Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (Heinlein).
Maybe we are getting closer to the future after all.
It reminds me of the moving photos in the first Harry Potter - imagine having to spend whatever part of your personal aura captured forever on a Vista Business DVD - these guys are truly DEDICATED!! WOW.
How about a quick letter to AMD when you buy an ATI competitor's product.
With apologies to the original author, something like:
Subject: Product Feedback
Dear[name of important person at AMD],
I recently purchased a [graphics cards || notebooks || desktops] that did not contain an ATI GPU. I learned these products cater to Microsoft Windows users as they are the largest consumer base and I wish to use this product with Linux. Frankly, I haven't purchased an ATI since 19?? because I have learned that if the drivers are not available TODAY it is foolish to expect them in the future. The ATI drivers in their current form run much slower under Linux than Windows, lack support for AIGLX (a visual desktop feature), and other features found within the Windows Catalyst drivers but not the Linux version.
I would kindly ask that you forward this comment to AMD and that you ask them to channel additional resources to the development of these drivers. As the adoption of Linux on desktops continues to increase, I hope you are able to jointly improve the AMD/ATI Linux presence.
I'm hoping that the dialogs might become more interesting than that (possibly in SP1?).
Think about the following responses and how much more they could bring to the user experience:
Cancel
Allow
Continue
Reconsider
Contemplate
Puzzle
Cogitate Further
Stare At Ceiling For Inspiration
Pray and Accept
Call Cowboy Bob
Different colored borders and discrete animations on the buttons could enhance the experience. A musical chiming sound on selection might also improve things further.
There - right there in the 4th paragraph - you defined it - the next OS - the one my spouse, my kid, my mother-in-law ALL need YESTERDAY. They will never have half the knowledge of PCs that I have - and I find what I know to be inadequate over and over. I can't get really upset with the sludge I have to scrape out of their boxes.
I think (hope, pray, etc) that Open Source will provide well constructed (custom?) Sandbox OS for all of my relatives who look to me to fix their little problems now - with a service which keeps this tidy and right.
Light..mm..yah - nit is picked. Was thinking more of all the traffic lights on the current routes and how much finer the ride would be on the expressway - so "closer" to c because of the lack of VALVES in the pipe.
There will always be YouTubism and such is not a bad thing. What I would rather focus on are the other potentials. A new very fat pipe would seem considerably more useful than what we have today (no, I did not run the math - this is a subjective hunch).
What might this bring (other than 3D p*rn, immersive MMOs) and what could that mean to your life and mine?!? I have a sense that the scale of this might be significant and worth probing (oh, if I had done that in '71 when I first stumbled onto ARPANET). "Mike" is just one of the possibilities.
I would like to hear more thoughts about what low lag, low loss connections might yield.
Death Ray?!? Naw - not important enough..
These MIT guys have figured out how to split, twist and rejoin light - so optical signal loss over distance is nearly eliminated. This means that a light pipe can stretch MUCH farther and provide near light speed transmission of information because the light pipe is directly integrated to the semiconductor switch. When one considers the circuitry in the brain, one can begin to imagine a world mind - all the free computing capacity connected at near light speed in a similar manner - and a Dinkum Thinkum like Mike (Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein) becomes truly possible - an important time to be "not stupid", yah?!
Stupid me...(sound of hand slapping forehead)... when I saw them, I thought it was maybe the FBI in disguise, you know, tracking terrorists or something... stupid me.
What Worked?...The Last Thing I Tried
on
Computer Voodoo?
·
· Score: 1
Bad Motherboard? - took it out, pulled CPU and HS, turned it upside down, dropped it 6 inches onto desk - copper bits in slots came out
Bad Power Supply? - pulled, shook, stuff came out (solder this time)
Noisy Fan? - pulled off label, WD-40, taped - still running 2 years later
Jammed 3.5" FD? - removed, openned slot, shook, credit card came out (3 year old was learning how to use the Home ATM)
Vent Fan Thermal Sensor (small cricket disk actuator for 24v) - pulled, cleaned in WD-40 (love this stuff!!); rinsed in 90% alcohol - still working 15 months
Worst One? - Ford Escort kept spitting out spark plug wires, push them on and drive an hour - ptouie! - put on barbecue glove and pushed on while HOT - no ptouie
Frankly, what works just works - it's the attitude that matters most.
It can be necessary, it can be useful, but having been involved with funds from sources expecting an annualized 35% return from an IPO within a very short number of years - be careful! Good smaller businesses can be overwhelmed.
When you become certain that what you have is scalable and it will suffer from not having the cash to accomplish documentation, marketing and staffing commensurate with the demand, then go for it. Folks on the East Coast might want to talk with Mike Roer http://www.cvg.org/asp/contactus.asp.
We don't need to impeach anyone or villify them. We just need to support both the ideals of democratic government and the Constitution with the Bill of Rights. Might pinch some of us some of the time, but would you really want it to be much different?
I am very thankful that I live here and not some other places in the World - even if they have nicer weather.
Suit named Warner Bros as plaintiff. So I wrote Richard Parsons (Chairman, Time Warner, One Time Warner Center, New York, New York 10019) and gave him a few of my personal thoughts about this kind of cruelty. I do not know if you have ever had a close member of your family pass on, but it is a VERY difficult thing for many who experience it.
You can write him too. Might change things to the better. Vote costs 39 cents.
Please mod up the parent. This is exactly the issue being raised by Kevin Cloud. It really isn't our local problem, but rather a global one - concentrated in the 100 or so countries which are not protecting the publishers' necessary rights.
Imagine what the econmic reality might be for publishers, designers and programmers if they got paid for the circulation of their works on a global scale.
They are definitely not getting that and a good number of pretty good games (like Planetscape Torment, etc) are dismal commercial disappointments when they should not have been.
This is all tied into the growing pains of the globalization which we are experiencing. I can not imagine willingly paying a week's earnings for a game - though that is the scale of cost faced in some of these countries.
Faced with these difficulties, I think I really like the distribution model which provides a useable piece of software without DRM for a small price (covering distribution costs) and then provides you with support and updates when you pay the freight. The "freight" would be set at a country level and should be comparable to the economic value experienced by the user.
US distribution - $9.99 CD; qualified for support and frills - $19.99 registration fee (diminishing as the economics may change, until released into public domain at end of life)
India distribution - $2 CD; support & frills - $8
Bangladesh - $1.25 CD; support & frills - $4
(If anyone asks, this is an OBVIOUS solution and may not be patented! - even by Amazon)
Link indicates batteries were sold during one week (October5 to October13 2005) most with new notebooks and a few as replacement battery sales) and the specific batteries involved were models: 3K590,C5340,X5308, F5132, U5882,U5867,6P922,C5446,C2603.
I have had DOTT, Sam & Max and 3 or 4 others sitting on the shelf waiting for me to revive an ancient 386 (which I kick at least once @ day where it sleeps under the desk).
Your comment and your link are just the thing that deserves something more, THANKS!
"A: The dilemmas -- think of Windows Automatic Updates, as one. You could make an argument that, for the good of the user and even the good of the ecosystem, Automatic Updates should be turned on by default. People should have patched machines. But that would be contrary to our belief about user control; users need to have a choice."
Fine - yesss - lots of folks want it automatic - they wouldn't know enough to evaluate what they are being offered and they DO need to be protected (and continually encouraged to update anti-virus and use a firewall).
However, there are a significant number of us who DO know something and take the time and effort to dig through your updates to be informed. These are your best friends. They help you correct what your staff has missed.
So it is no dilemma. It is a duality. One which Microsoft should value highly. Providing extensive information and being open to useful feedback may have a cost - but it certainly has value.
Slashdot Mirror
I dimly recall certain statutes which should resolve any such interesting "offers". All said and done this should prove entertaining at the least, though only remunerative to the legal blokes..
I guess it is too bad that Sirtech didn't patent this "unique UI" and make bazillions. We would have JA3 today (maybe).
For those interested in developments in the JA world, including some fine mods, please check http://www.ja-galaxy-forum.com/board/ubbthreads.php/
Start with the premise that they are all "good" students - even the "mediocre" ones. Teach the outdated industry standard because you need to ground everyone in basics, but do offer open source on CDs. Some of the "mediocre" ones will surprise you. An "A" for a mediocre student may be a life changing event.
Article states, "Griffin initiated a study last year into alternative ways to deliver the AMS to the station, but they proved to be prohibitively expensive."
Does anyone know if this includes any of the nascent commercial carriers?
If they could get this into a slightly higher orbit, could it be delivered later with a small amount of reaction mass?
Perhaps they should re-open this for bids.
"There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch!" is a nice acronym. Makes one think. There are many things which Heinlein may have intended - the image of "doorstep deliveries" comes to mind. As you recall the economics of resource extraction and delivery favored the trip down the gravity well, so the development of the Lunie colonies was funded. Problem was that the contracts and supporting legal system effectively enslaved the Lunie population. Resistance was brewing at the time "Mike" became adolescent. As part of his "personal" development, Mike fostered with the resistance and provided weaponry. The weaponry was in fact a major element of the economic system which was oppressing the Lunies.
I think this parallels what we are seeing unfold. So if you are part of a large oppressive organization, don't be surprised if you don't find your free lunch choking you.
So much for that - hopefully, not stupid.
The tendency for technology to provide support for basic producers (music, videos, EFF, etc) is wonderful. It is also very threatening for large organizations based on the scarcity principles of "old" economics.
Seems like its time to re-read my dog-eared copy of Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (Heinlein).
Maybe we are getting closer to the future after all.
It reminds me of the moving photos in the first Harry Potter - imagine having to spend whatever part of your personal aura captured forever on a Vista Business DVD - these guys are truly DEDICATED!! WOW.
With apologies to the original author, something like:
Subject: Product Feedback
Dear[name of important person at AMD],
I recently purchased a [graphics cards || notebooks || desktops] that did not contain an ATI GPU. I learned these products cater to Microsoft Windows users as they are the largest consumer base and I wish to use this product with Linux. Frankly, I haven't purchased an ATI since 19?? because I have learned that if the drivers are not available TODAY it is foolish to expect them in the future. The ATI drivers in their current form run much slower under Linux than Windows, lack support for AIGLX (a visual desktop feature), and other features found within the Windows Catalyst drivers but not the Linux version.
I would kindly ask that you forward this comment to AMD and that you ask them to channel additional resources to the development of these drivers. As the adoption of Linux on desktops continues to increase, I hope you are able to jointly improve the AMD/ATI Linux presence.
[your name]
Think about the following responses and how much more they could bring to the user experience:
Cancel
Allow
Continue
Reconsider
Contemplate
Puzzle
Cogitate Further
Stare At Ceiling For Inspiration
Pray and Accept
Call Cowboy Bob
Different colored borders and discrete animations on the buttons could enhance the experience. A musical chiming sound on selection might also improve things further.
I think (hope, pray, etc) that Open Source will provide well constructed (custom?) Sandbox OS for all of my relatives who look to me to fix their little problems now - with a service which keeps this tidy and right.
Smell the opportunity - like bacon frying...
May the ping be lower.
What might this bring (other than 3D p*rn, immersive MMOs) and what could that mean to your life and mine?!? I have a sense that the scale of this might be significant and worth probing (oh, if I had done that in '71 when I first stumbled onto ARPANET). "Mike" is just one of the possibilities.
I would like to hear more thoughts about what low lag, low loss connections might yield.
Death Ray?!? Naw - not important enough.. These MIT guys have figured out how to split, twist and rejoin light - so optical signal loss over distance is nearly eliminated. This means that a light pipe can stretch MUCH farther and provide near light speed transmission of information because the light pipe is directly integrated to the semiconductor switch. When one considers the circuitry in the brain, one can begin to imagine a world mind - all the free computing capacity connected at near light speed in a similar manner - and a Dinkum Thinkum like Mike (Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein) becomes truly possible - an important time to be "not stupid", yah?!
nuff said.
Stupid me...(sound of hand slapping forehead)... when I saw them, I thought it was maybe the FBI in disguise, you know, tracking terrorists or something... stupid me.
Bad Motherboard? - took it out, pulled CPU and HS, turned it upside down, dropped it 6 inches onto desk - copper bits in slots came out
Bad Power Supply? - pulled, shook, stuff came out (solder this time)
Noisy Fan? - pulled off label, WD-40, taped - still running 2 years later
Jammed 3.5" FD? - removed, openned slot, shook, credit card came out (3 year old was learning how to use the Home ATM)
Laser Cart Runout? - holed, copier toner poured, 3000 pages later..
Vent Fan Thermal Sensor (small cricket disk actuator for 24v) - pulled, cleaned in WD-40 (love this stuff!!); rinsed in 90% alcohol - still working 15 months
Worst One? - Ford Escort kept spitting out spark plug wires, push them on and drive an hour - ptouie! - put on barbecue glove and pushed on while HOT - no ptouie
Frankly, what works just works - it's the attitude that matters most.
When you become certain that what you have is scalable and it will suffer from not having the cash to accomplish documentation, marketing and staffing commensurate with the demand, then go for it. Folks on the East Coast might want to talk with Mike Roer http://www.cvg.org/asp/contactus.asp.
Hope you get very rich!
Then the court comes along and corrects them and sends them back to rethink how they can accomplish what they need to without violating the Constitution. Happened to FDR with the NRA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recovery_Adm inistration.
We don't need to impeach anyone or villify them. We just need to support both the ideals of democratic government and the Constitution with the Bill of Rights. Might pinch some of us some of the time, but would you really want it to be much different?
I am very thankful that I live here and not some other places in the World - even if they have nicer weather.
Suit named Warner Bros as plaintiff. So I wrote Richard Parsons (Chairman, Time Warner, One Time Warner Center, New York, New York 10019) and gave him a few of my personal thoughts about this kind of cruelty. I do not know if you have ever had a close member of your family pass on, but it is a VERY difficult thing for many who experience it.
You can write him too. Might change things to the better. Vote costs 39 cents.
Imagine what the econmic reality might be for publishers, designers and programmers if they got paid for the circulation of their works on a global scale.
They are definitely not getting that and a good number of pretty good games (like Planetscape Torment, etc) are dismal commercial disappointments when they should not have been.
This is all tied into the growing pains of the globalization which we are experiencing. I can not imagine willingly paying a week's earnings for a game - though that is the scale of cost faced in some of these countries.
Faced with these difficulties, I think I really like the distribution model which provides a useable piece of software without DRM for a small price (covering distribution costs) and then provides you with support and updates when you pay the freight. The "freight" would be set at a country level and should be comparable to the economic value experienced by the user.
US distribution - $9.99 CD; qualified for support and frills - $19.99 registration fee (diminishing as the economics may change, until released into public domain at end of life)
India distribution - $2 CD; support & frills - $8
Bangladesh - $1.25 CD; support & frills - $4
(If anyone asks, this is an OBVIOUS solution and may not be patented! - even by Amazon)
I'll bet services were shorter for a few weeks there.
Link indicates batteries were sold during one week (October5 to October13 2005) most with new notebooks and a few as replacement battery sales) and the specific batteries involved were models: 3K590,C5340,X5308, F5132, U5882,U5867,6P922,C5446,C2603.
Peace of mind.
I have had DOTT, Sam & Max and 3 or 4 others sitting on the shelf waiting for me to revive an ancient 386 (which I kick at least once @ day where it sleeps under the desk).
Your comment and your link are just the thing that deserves something more, THANKS!
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/weather.html
"A: The dilemmas -- think of Windows Automatic Updates, as one. You could make an argument that, for the good of the user and even the good of the ecosystem, Automatic Updates should be turned on by default. People should have patched machines. But that would be contrary to our belief about user control; users need to have a choice."
Fine - yesss - lots of folks want it automatic - they wouldn't know enough to evaluate what they are being offered and they DO need to be protected (and continually encouraged to update anti-virus and use a firewall).
However, there are a significant number of us who DO know something and take the time and effort to dig through your updates to be informed. These are your best friends. They help you correct what your staff has missed.
So it is no dilemma. It is a duality. One which Microsoft should value highly. Providing extensive information and being open to useful feedback may have a cost - but it certainly has value.