Check his background, CBS and Slashdot. Hawley didn't get tenure because he didn't do much solid research (instead relying on hype and PR). He's no longer a professor at MIT of any sort.
You're right. This is a ridiculous bid for attention and nonsense demonizing on the part of Amnesty International. This sort of thing is going to destroy their credibility.
Right on. Google isn't any more stable, in essence, than any of its predecessors. They're just as vulnerable. Look at what happened to CMGI (AltaVista). It's going to happen again.
You're absolutely right. But the other thing that justifies a valuation like that is that there are a lot of suckers still out there ready to buy the stock. Several posting on this very board.
It's the same song, folks. Didn't you learn anything in the 90's? Google isn't worth anywhere close to this.
They did use CG/Editing. Honda's claims are false
on
10 Ads The US Won't See
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Rob Steiner, agency producer for Wieden & Kennedy, says that not only were practical effects more attuned to the tagline of the commercial, but CG would not have done the job visually, either. "You couldn't create that type of tension with CG," he says.
However, computers did come into play in the editing phase. Indeed, what looks to be one continuous shot is actually two, seamlessly stitched together by Flame operator Barnsley of The Mill in London.
"Our reason for shooting it in two 60-second pieces was damage limitation, really," explains Steiner. "We knew everything physically worked." But the contraption simply wouldn't fit down the length of a single wall at the Paris studio, so half was built and filmed on one side and half on the other.
With the intent of making the spot look like one continuous take, lighting and shadows in the studio had to look smooth over the full two minutes. Still, "due to constant movement, we couldn't even give [Barnsley] a good lighting reference," says Steiner.
Re:NDAs are a necessary evil to some environments
on
The Cult of the NDA
·
· Score: 1
First of all, it's not an LCD. It's e-ink, just like you already wrote about THREE DAYS AGO. Second of all, I've seen these demos, and the displays are totally unusable. Eink has sunk tens of millions into this, and are still very far away from something that actually has a working matrix display, or reliability.
My bet is that E-ink is running low on investor $$ *yet again*, so they try to drum up a little press to get the VC's to open their wallets *yet again*.
But that's besides the point. Editors, not only is this a dupe story, but the headline is TOTALLY WRONG. Reminds me a lot of the embarrassing article about the bogus security consultant you guys posted yesterday.
Is a *little bit* of journalistic integrity too much to ask? I've HAD IT.
I saw this demo also. It was bogus - they imply that this is a 96dpi matrix display, but in fact, it's a static text image that cannot change. Big whoop. They're a LONG way from making a usable matrix display *that can actually change*.
This stuff is total hype. I'm willing to bet that the only reason they soliciting press is that they're low on money, and have to hit up still more VC's.
You may consider Google useful, but utility is in the eye of the beholder. Since you consider Google valuable, you also consider the privacy intrusion a fair exchange. Many don't. The same arguments can be used for Doubleclick or Gator. Many people would argue that they're useful, as well - just not the slashdot crowd.
The point is that the privacy intrusion is there, and is not very much different than the 'evildoers'. The slashdot crowd is just more willing to put up with it because it's done by their beloved Google.
Slashdot and Google Worship - Double standard
on
Should you Fear Google?
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Now, I do agree with most of the posters that these issues with Google are avoidable, and up to the user to take control of.
But, having said that, it's pretty apparent to me that, were this any other search-engine (or product) the company would be absolutely blasted for such intrusive policies. Google's behavior isn't really all that different than a lot of the spyware products already out there, and already assailed by slashdot users.
Google is a useful search engine, but people here need to think objectively about this, rather than letting their google-worship heavily bias them against a company acting about as badly as, say Gator.
Look, I don't know why people make this more complicated than it needs to be.
Scramdisk (free) and Drivecrypt (cheap) both do on-the-fly en/decryption on regular hard drives. 1024 (and I think 2048) bit keys are available, with your choice of algorithm, and it's incredibly easy to use. For the truly paranoid, you can even use a fully encrypted disk on the fly for your entire OS.
I don't at all understand what the benefit of special hardware in the drive would be.
While it is possible to create reasonable amounts of bass using a sufficient number of small transducers, the 'real' advantage of big woofers is generally their long throw. A good woofer can have a clean displacement of several millimeters, while these small transducers cannot, without causing extreme distortion.
[The transducers don't use the helix method, as far as I can tell. They look like the same ones used in consumer audio systems by Harman and Creative Labs. The helix stuff is a different technology they're hyping.]
As for all of the 'beaming' claims, it's a load of nonsense. There may be vague lateral effects possible with this, but a phased array has to be much, much larger than the wavelengths its generating to create any substantial beam steering. Quite telling is that there isn't a shread of data available anywhere on their website or published reports.
Traditional "3D Audio" systems are a much better bet - far cheaper, and I'll bet they work as well as this (which isn't saying much).
1Limited is a VC backed company, and do not have any reasonable prospect of becoming profitable. Thus, they have to rely on hype to convince investors to keep propping them up.
Twenty factory workers can make several million light bulbs a year, for example. And who do you think is going to run and maintain the printing machine?
This printing-fab process is an attractive fantasy, and may be useful for prototyping, but modern production technologies are EXTEREMELY cost-effective and efficient, and will NOT be affected by this process one bit.
No offense, but it's quite clear that your experience in manufacturing is pretty limited.
A token can be easily misplaced, duplicated, or bypassed. A password is NOT a big deal to enter when you sit at your desk. If they're too lazy/clueless to enter a password, they shouldn't be responsible for any secret information.
Use a program like Scramdisk or the commercial version Drivecrypt. Keep all of your critical files on the encrypted partition. When you leave your desk, activate the screenserver with a keystroke.
Unless someone knows your password, you're safe. If they reboot, the encrypted disk is inaccessible.
Beat frequencies are not 'real' frequencies at all - they don't exist as frequencies. The 'frequency' is simply an amplitude modulation.
In a linear system, if you have two frequencies, they interfere and you get a beat, which is amplitude modulation at the difference in frequencies. The interference does NOT generate a new frequency, and does NOT permit 3-d positioning.
In a nonlinear system (such as air in this case), the nonlinearity DOES cause a new frequency to be created - it distorts the air to make audible sound. This is how the Audio Spotlight works.
A provisional patent costs $85, and you don't need a lawyer. It essentially keeps your patent claim alive for one year, and establishes a filing date, allowing you to disclose the invention without (as much) fear of losing your rights.
Once you assess it's commercial viability, you can decide on the >$10k formal patent.
I've done this many times. It's definitely the way to go.
Slashdot Mirror
The Audio Spotlight maker has been using "directed audio" since 1997, five years ahead of American Technology.
Check his background, CBS and Slashdot. Hawley didn't get tenure because he didn't do much solid research (instead relying on hype and PR). He's no longer a professor at MIT of any sort.
You're right. This is a ridiculous bid for attention and nonsense demonizing on the part of Amnesty International. This sort of thing is going to destroy their credibility.
Right on. Google isn't any more stable, in essence, than any of its predecessors. They're just as vulnerable. Look at what happened to CMGI (AltaVista). It's going to happen again.
There are so many suckers out there it's amazing.
You're absolutely right. But the other thing that justifies a valuation like that is that there are a lot of suckers still out there ready to buy the stock. Several posting on this very board.
It's the same song, folks. Didn't you learn anything in the 90's? Google isn't worth anywhere close to this.
I think that Honda, and the ad agency, is lying.
Rob Steiner, agency producer for Wieden & Kennedy, says that not only were practical effects more attuned to the tagline of the commercial, but CG would not have done the job visually, either. "You couldn't create that type of tension with CG," he says.
However, computers did come into play in the editing phase. Indeed, what looks to be one continuous shot is actually two, seamlessly stitched together by Flame operator Barnsley of The Mill in London.
"Our reason for shooting it in two 60-second pieces was damage limitation, really," explains Steiner. "We knew everything physically worked." But the contraption simply wouldn't fit down the length of a single wall at the Paris studio, so half was built and filmed on one side and half on the other.
With the intent of making the spot look like one continuous take, lighting and shadows in the studio had to look smooth over the full two minutes. Still, "due to constant movement, we couldn't even give [Barnsley] a good lighting reference," says Steiner.
Right on, man. Great post.
- a fellow bootstrapping entrepreneur.
Take it up with the Slashdot editors. I'm pointing out their idiocy, which, in this case, is well deserved. Why are you defending them?
First of all, it's not an LCD. It's e-ink, just like you already wrote about THREE DAYS AGO. Second of all, I've seen these demos, and the displays are totally unusable. Eink has sunk tens of millions into this, and are still very far away from something that actually has a working matrix display, or reliability.
My bet is that E-ink is running low on investor $$ *yet again*, so they try to drum up a little press to get the VC's to open their wallets *yet again*.
But that's besides the point. Editors, not only is this a dupe story, but the headline is TOTALLY WRONG. Reminds me a lot of the embarrassing article about the bogus security consultant you guys posted yesterday.
Is a *little bit* of journalistic integrity too much to ask? I've HAD IT.
I saw this demo also. It was bogus - they imply that this is a 96dpi matrix display, but in fact, it's a static text image that cannot change. Big whoop. They're a LONG way from making a usable matrix display *that can actually change*.
This stuff is total hype. I'm willing to bet that the only reason they soliciting press is that they're low on money, and have to hit up still more VC's.
You may consider Google useful, but utility is in the eye of the beholder. Since you consider Google valuable, you also consider the privacy intrusion a fair exchange. Many don't. The same arguments can be used for Doubleclick or Gator. Many people would argue that they're useful, as well - just not the slashdot crowd.
The point is that the privacy intrusion is there, and is not very much different than the 'evildoers'. The slashdot crowd is just more willing to put up with it because it's done by their beloved Google.
Sorry for the typo. The bias was "pro" Google.
Now, I do agree with most of the posters that these issues with Google are avoidable, and up to the user to take control of.
But, having said that, it's pretty apparent to me that, were this any other search-engine (or product) the company would be absolutely blasted for such intrusive policies. Google's behavior isn't really all that different than a lot of the spyware products already out there, and already assailed by slashdot users.
Google is a useful search engine, but people here need to think objectively about this, rather than letting their google-worship heavily bias them against a company acting about as badly as, say Gator.
Look, I don't know why people make this more complicated than it needs to be.
Scramdisk (free) and Drivecrypt (cheap) both do on-the-fly en/decryption on regular hard drives. 1024 (and I think 2048) bit keys are available, with your choice of algorithm, and it's incredibly easy to use. For the truly paranoid, you can even use a fully encrypted disk on the fly for your entire OS.
I don't at all understand what the benefit of special hardware in the drive would be.
That was one of the best, most entertaining flames I've read in a while. Nice work.
You are correct.
While it is possible to create reasonable amounts of bass using a sufficient number of small transducers, the 'real' advantage of big woofers is generally their long throw. A good woofer can have a clean displacement of several millimeters, while these small transducers cannot, without causing extreme distortion.
[The transducers don't use the helix method, as far as I can tell. They look like the same ones used in consumer audio systems by Harman and Creative Labs. The helix stuff is a different technology they're hyping.]
As for all of the 'beaming' claims, it's a load of nonsense. There may be vague lateral effects possible with this, but a phased array has to be much, much larger than the wavelengths its generating to create any substantial beam steering. Quite telling is that there isn't a shread of data available anywhere on their website or published reports.
Traditional "3D Audio" systems are a much better bet - far cheaper, and I'll bet they work as well as this (which isn't saying much).
1Limited is a VC backed company, and do not have any reasonable prospect of becoming profitable. Thus, they have to rely on hype to convince investors to keep propping them up.
Twenty factory workers can make several million light bulbs a year, for example. And who do you think is going to run and maintain the printing machine?
This printing-fab process is an attractive fantasy, and may be useful for prototyping, but modern production technologies are EXTEREMELY cost-effective and efficient, and will NOT be affected by this process one bit.
No offense, but it's quite clear that your experience in manufacturing is pretty limited.
I don't really believe you're who you say you are, since there are anonymous posts also claiming to be you.
But if you are, care to comment on the fact that your website is actually attempting to sell Segway and related items?
How can you claim to "not work for or with segway in any way"? You sell them!
A bicycle, blade, or scooter would be no more dangerous at equal speed.
And I HAVE ridden a Segway, so back off.
Bicycles can certainly go on the sidewalk, they're just dangerous and inconsiderate for the pedestrians.
Just like the Segway.
A token can be easily misplaced, duplicated, or bypassed. A password is NOT a big deal to enter when you sit at your desk. If they're too lazy/clueless to enter a password, they shouldn't be responsible for any secret information.
Use a program like Scramdisk or the commercial version Drivecrypt. Keep all of your critical files on the encrypted partition. When you leave your desk, activate the screenserver with a keystroke.
Unless someone knows your password, you're safe. If they reboot, the encrypted disk is inaccessible.
What's the big deal?
Just to clear this up:
Beat frequencies are not 'real' frequencies at all - they don't exist as frequencies. The 'frequency' is simply an amplitude modulation.
In a linear system, if you have two frequencies, they interfere and you get a beat, which is amplitude modulation at the difference in frequencies. The interference does NOT generate a new frequency, and does NOT permit 3-d positioning.
In a nonlinear system (such as air in this case), the nonlinearity DOES cause a new frequency to be created - it distorts the air to make audible sound. This is how the Audio Spotlight works.
This was on slashdot before. The device was invented by a guy at MIT, and he's now running a company selling them commercially:
Holosonics (Audio Spotlight manufacturer)
Looks like there are several automotive companies using them, as well as lots of exhibitors and whatnot. Really cool stuff.
Sorry, buddy, Slashdot does not have a unified view about this issue. This isn't some political party.
You don't speak for me.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this.
A provisional patent costs $85, and you don't need a lawyer. It essentially keeps your patent claim alive for one year, and establishes a filing date, allowing you to disclose the invention without (as much) fear of losing your rights.
Once you assess it's commercial viability, you can decide on the >$10k formal patent.
I've done this many times. It's definitely the way to go.