"The fans flow so little compared to the cfm requirements of an operating engine that they'd act as a restriction..."
doesn't say the intake was prevented from drawing in other sources of air, the poster simple said that a fan was also feeding the air intake, otherwise you'd be right. That's why products like the Tornado Fuel Saver are so funny, the idea of something interrupting the flow of air into your intake increasing mpg or horsepower.
If the fan is sucking in cooler air from outside the vehicle and blowing it towards the air intake then that could be a small help.
I find it funny you attempt to shoot down each of his arguments with reasons like "Because of the increased risk of birth defects" or "it depletes the supply of heterosexual mates" but you fail to mention that homosexual unions potentially decrease the number of births, which may result in a decline of the population.
"You would need to document that such relationships are likely to be reasonably stable... There is ample data to establish that such relationships can be comparably stable to heterosexual relationships"
But of course there's ample documentation that homosexual unions last, at least as much documentation proving a 11 way union is reasonably stable, just ask the Mormon church.
Screw the karma: you're a hypocrite. If homosexual marriages become legal I can not understand why any two consenting adults can not marry, be it bigamy or incest. After all, isn't that the primary argument for homosexual marriages: "we're adults and we'll marry if we want to"?
" "For it [the Internet] to continue to grow as a mainstream medium for businesses, education and entertainment, it must design out the minority factors that inhabit cyberspace for their own perverse gratification," Hynds added."
Exactly! That's what I've been saying for years! The internet isn't for public use, it's just a new source of advertising for businesses and the entertainment industry. Power to the... um, big business!
Next let's burn the encyclopedia and dictionary! I bet there's definitions for cannibalism and necrophilia in there. God forbid anyone educate themselves, ain't be no learnin' on dis hur inturnet.
Jeez, before you know it they'll be taking away the guns and putting video cameras on every street corner.... oh, wait, this is britian, isn't it?
"When I first got my digital camera (2 megapixels) I experimented with this sort of thing and gave up."
Sorry to hear that, I've done the same with great success using a 2mp Canon S10. I've used it with everything from magazine articles to car titles to entire textbooks (I wasn't spending $100!!). Even useful at night if I used the flash, zoomed in on the text and turned the macro feature on. Needed to turn the "fast shutter" on for books and articles otherwise they'd turn out fuzzy (shaky hand). Never used OCR, just lightened the images, increased contrast and printed them full page using a HP laser printer. Looked just like I photocopied them.
"new technology... that lets people use their cellular phones with cameras as scanners... move your phone over the surface of the piece of paper while recording a movie, and the technology will construct a high resolution image from the individual frames of the video. I'd love to see before and afters to see how well this works."
Besides the software, why is this new? Ok so I don't have a cell with a video camera on it, but I do have a cell with a regular camera and I've taken tons of pictures of text for later reference, from test scores to notes. Ok sure the quality isn't good enough for a 8x10, but I can snap a half-page and it be readable. Are you telling me I'm the only person on here that has ever taken a picture of text?
Besides, how many cellphones in the US can even take full-motion video? Last I checked the newest US phones only took individual pictures.
"I knew a guy with a Civic that put a 12v computer P/S fan in his air intake ducting to "increase" airflow into the engine.... I would not have believed if I did not see it with my own eyes."
So what's wrong with that? Long as he was sucking in cooler air and directing it towards the air intake it's probably not a bad idea. That's the entire concept for hood scoops, getting cooler air to the intake, although I hope he was using a powerful 120mm fan instead of a wimpy 80mm fan.
Course it was a Civic so it was a waste of time/money, but the principle is sound.
"most of it is designed with a MALE pilot in mind, i.e. 5'9" or taller."
Historically it's been exactly the opposite: fighters were designed for men of average height, 5'9 to 5'10", not "5'9 and taller". You wouldn't want to be 6'6" in the cockpit of a F-16. Not saying a 6'1 or 6'2 guy couldn't fit, just saying it's more comfortable for a shorter, slimmer person.
Guess I should have included this obvious disclaimer: depending on how determined the thief is, there is nothing that will stop a determined thief. That is true with just about everything in life, hacking, jobs, etc. Like you said if he really wants to steal a car just get a tow truck with a flatbed & 5 ton winch and nearly every car or SUV can be his within 5 minutes.
However, I believe a pager with LCD and fuel cut-off when the alarm sounds is a reasonable theft-prevention method, and the price is equality reasonable at $200-$300 if you purchase a new name brand unit off ebay install it yourself. So let's not go off the deep end with thieves driving tow trucks and armed guards watching cars, ok?
to say all car alarms are completely worthless is overly broad. I think proximity sensors that detect motion outside the car is worthless, but inside would be useful. Also, despite the fact that you believe that no one pays attention to alarms anymore, if you're breaking into a car and the alarm goes off you'd probably shit your pants. Just try opening the door to a car and the alarm goes off and see if your heart rate doesn't elevate a little with excitement, or if you don't feel a twinge of embarassment. Why be embarassed if no one is looking?
Good aftermarket alarms have keyless pagers with LCDs that page you if the alarm goes off and shows you exactly what part of the car was affected, so you can see that someone has opened your door, etc. I'd say that feature is quite useful.
My car was broken into and lots of items were stolen, and even to this day I'm still kicking myself for not installing a car alarm sooner.
"The best alarms don't make a sound. They give the thief a minute or so to drive off and then cut off the fuel. The idea being that they will be in traffic by then where they are much too high profile to attempt to bypass the alarm."
Ah, so I want a alarm that causes accidents? What, you don't believe a car sitting in the middle of the highway would result in a accident, or do you believe that cars are still driveable without fuel? I've run out of fuel before (long time ago of course...) and you better be somewhere where you can pull over immediately. That's just with warning signs that the fuel tank's getting empty (no fuel when turning = no acceleration after a sharp turn), to completely go cold turkey on fuel is quite dangerous.
Do you actually know what the best alarms do? They have a LCD pager that pages you and shows you what part of the car was broken into and has a fuel cut-off when the alarm goes so the car can not be started and driven off. That's what I look for in a alarm.
"It's amazing how, since 9/11, for every little problem in this country terrorism has to be ruled out...
[sarcasm]
We are talking about people that are unable to go in their cars, it's obviously a terrorist act...
[/sarcasm]"
I'm no wireless expert, but if it's effecting keyless entry couldn't it effect other wireless systems? Wireless security systems, special security doors that use wireless badges for access, perhaps even police radios and cellphones? So I believe the idea of it being terrorist related is quite valid and they had every reason to question if it was terrorist related.
From article: "According to the Federal Communications Commission, the low-power radio frequency transmitters inside keyless entry devices are similar to those found in other everyday items such as garage door openers, remote-controlled toys, cordless telephones, building alarm systems and the rapidly spreading wireless fidelity computer networks, which are commonly referred to as "wi-fi.""
"What's new and bad about that? I'm sorry, but I simply don't understand why that should be considered a violation of anyone's rights."
wow, that makes so much sense: ask someone who's acting weird for a ID and we're up in arms, but instantly check the ID of 100,000 people at a football game without their knowledge and it's "what's wrong with that?"
" Imagine, you are standing at a street corner. Cops rush in, handcuff you and shove into their car. I bet you will scream "What have I done???" even before realizing it."
I don't know where you've been but that happens all the time... in fact it even happened to me once.
" If the cop wants a reasonable action from the suspect, he must act reasonably himself."
Cops, reasonable? Now you're just asking too much!
I believe police have way too much power and power corrupts absolutely, just watch the nightly news if you don't believe me, but this incident with the cowboy refusing to show his ID isn't a very good example of abuse of power. Requesting someone's ID, in my opinion, isn't a big deal. Police have better things to do then walk down the street and ask to see everyone's ID, but if you give them a reason to do so then I don't think it's unreasonable to let them check your ID.
You want to fight something? How about stopping face-recognition software being used in public places to run a "ID check" on everyone without even their knowledge.
"Apparently you're not mature enough to figure that one out (or to have a cellphone)."
ah, so not only is drinking a little too much immature, but so is not having a cellphone. Cellphone companies must really love you. So what else is "immature" in your little world?
oh, and surprise, "21" is just a number, not a measure of maturity. Plenty of people go through their entire lives immature, just surf/. with "flamebait +5" to prove my point.
"2. Never told Mr. Hiibel why he stopped to investigate"
so? cops should play 20 questions with suspects?
Yes, I don't like the idea that cops can ask for ID, but how the hell are they suppose to tell who's the suspect without ID? Whether you like it or not your ID or social security # is how you're categorized by the gov't. Without it the police doesn't know who has warrants out for murder and who's the innocent bystander.
besides if you have nothing to worry about then what's the harm in giving them your ID?
Also remember your driver's license isn't yours, it's the government's. If they want to revoke it they can and will, so when a government official (like police) asks for the license I have no problem giving it to them.
dammit... as much as I like playing devil's advocate i hate defending the police...
" If you have the keys and are in the car, you've demonstrated your intention to drive. If you're planning on having too much to drink to drive, take a cab to the bar/party/etc. so there's no issue."
Believe it or not, not everyone knows ahead of time they're going to get drunk. Yes, I know, shocking isn't it! Here's another shocker: some drunk drivers don't even know they're over the legal limit!
so sherlock, what are you suppose to do when the bar closes, you stumble out to your car and realize you're too drunk to drive? Oh right, find a payphone, except many phone companies are closingpayphones because lots of people are using cellphones.
So there you are, drunk, standing in front of your car, don't have a cellphone and can't find a payphone. What would you do? Sleep on the sidewalk? That's bullshit. If someone wants to sleep it off in their car then the police shouldn't bother them. Arresting people for sleeping in there car and calling it drunk driving actually encourages "real" drunk driving. I mean what do you have to lose? If you're charged with the same crime either way then you might as well try a mad dash home and hope you don't kill anyone on the way home, right?
most people don't get drunk at restaurants, unless it's a restaurant combined with a bar. But still, even then few people got to Friday's to get hammered. They go to real bars.
Course you're right, if "bars" suddenly couldn't have parking lots but "restaurants" could, bars would just put a table in the corner and serve fried foods.
ok, please explain this: you're cheating so you can download music legally, instead of just downloading illegal p2p music. Anyone see a conflict there? At least the artist gets paid, but I think there's still a small moral issue to deal with whether you download illegal or cheat to download legally.
Think for a second: the phone number has already been published on the auction. If you really want the number just call them and make a offer and screw ebay out of their fees.
jeez people, it's not really that hard... and although you can't technically "sell" a phone number, you can get paid to transfer it to someone else, just like any other intangible object i.e. software, music, domains, names of businesses, license plate names, etc.
But if I "owned" the number 1-800-GET-LAID, does that mean I couldn't get paid to transfer it to someone? This might to lead to the idea that phone numbers have no value, which obviously is very wrong, because if someone somehow redirected a business phone number that could be very serious.
" Part one is to fix the PC, and part two is to convince the luser that the machine is actually fixed. That's where the diagnostic software comes in handy."
so... really all you need is some fake demo saying eveything's fine?
Honestly I don't see where diagnostic software would be any good, if the CPU, motherboard, power supply, video card, ram and CD-ROM work well enough to boot and run the diagnostic software than what's the problem?
You want to really diagnose any PC problem? Have working backup parts. Have a extra motherboard, video card, stick of ram, hard drive, etc all handy and just swap parts. And before I hear complaints about "but that costs $$$$$!" I didn't say it had to be expensive parts. A 6.4gig hard drive is fine to check to see if that IDE cable is still working. Pop in a old TNT AGP video card to see if the card's bad or the slot/motherboard's bad. Pop in.... well you get the idea. And once you've swapped parts in a few PCs you'll know what's wrong immediately so you won't spend hours swapping parts anymore... it's call experience.
Software is worthless, if you need a "check PC" idiot light to tell you exactly what's wrong then you don't know what you're doing in the first place, and if your customers can't tell the PC's working by the time you leave without a piece of paper that says it's working then you didn't do a very good job.
No one mentioned how great this would be for people in the military. No more POWs, just fly over with a plane and pick up their RFID signature. Same with recovering bodies of dead servicemen.
Course you'd need to make sure the signal's undetectable by the enemy, otherwise they could just sit there with a RFID sensor and know exactly where you are at all times.
anyone stop the think why we should listen to Mr. W. Russell Jones? Why does his opinion matter? The article says he's the Executive Editor at DevX, which means what exactly? How many apps has he made for Linux? Has he even used Linux?
I think it's somewhat sad that some nobody bashes Linux in a little article and it gets slashdotted. I mean sure it's nice to know not everyone loves Linux, but remember the source people...
"I'm not interested in fancy/artistic things like video editing on my computer..."
But you do plan on transferring to your PC to burn to DVD, right? Otherwise you'll have use your camcorder every time you want to play a video, and if your camcorder ever decides to break you'd have to purchase a new camcorder using whatever format your old camcorder was, which might be difficult in 5-10 years with everything moving towards DV, solid state and microdrives. Who thought 10 years ago you'd someday replace your trusty VCR with a hard drive based Tivo?
That said, I'd agree with the Digital-8 camcorder suggestion.
Tapes are much cheaper than MiniDV, Hi8 tapes also work in D8 which are even cheaper.
I also agree with the $500 price tag. Don't blow your $$$ on 3 CCD and other expensive features. You'll probably replace the camera in 5 years when 100gig hard drives are in them (hey, 5 years ago who though 40gig mp3 players would become common?).
"I would recommend to find a camcorder that does NOT have a lot of zoom. Zooming has totally been blown out of proportion...you won't need it for 95% of the shots you want to make."
I dunno, it's kind of hard to walk up to that blonde on the beach and shove a camcorder into her chest without her noticing...
Slashdot Mirror
doesn't say the intake was prevented from drawing in other sources of air, the poster simple said that a fan was also feeding the air intake, otherwise you'd be right. That's why products like the Tornado Fuel Saver are so funny, the idea of something interrupting the flow of air into your intake increasing mpg or horsepower.
If the fan is sucking in cooler air from outside the vehicle and blowing it towards the air intake then that could be a small help.
"You would need to document that such relationships are likely to be reasonably stable... There is ample data to establish that such relationships can be comparably stable to heterosexual relationships"
But of course there's ample documentation that homosexual unions last, at least as much documentation proving a 11 way union is reasonably stable, just ask the Mormon church.
Screw the karma: you're a hypocrite. If homosexual marriages become legal I can not understand why any two consenting adults can not marry, be it bigamy or incest. After all, isn't that the primary argument for homosexual marriages: "we're adults and we'll marry if we want to"?
Exactly! That's what I've been saying for years! The internet isn't for public use, it's just a new source of advertising for businesses and the entertainment industry. Power to the... um, big business!
Next let's burn the encyclopedia and dictionary! I bet there's definitions for cannibalism and necrophilia in there. God forbid anyone educate themselves, ain't be no learnin' on dis hur inturnet.
Jeez, before you know it they'll be taking away the guns and putting video cameras on every street corner.... oh, wait, this is britian, isn't it?
Sorry to hear that, I've done the same with great success using a 2mp Canon S10. I've used it with everything from magazine articles to car titles to entire textbooks (I wasn't spending $100!!). Even useful at night if I used the flash, zoomed in on the text and turned the macro feature on. Needed to turn the "fast shutter" on for books and articles otherwise they'd turn out fuzzy (shaky hand). Never used OCR, just lightened the images, increased contrast and printed them full page using a HP laser printer. Looked just like I photocopied them.
Besides the software, why is this new? Ok so I don't have a cell with a video camera on it, but I do have a cell with a regular camera and I've taken tons of pictures of text for later reference, from test scores to notes. Ok sure the quality isn't good enough for a 8x10, but I can snap a half-page and it be readable. Are you telling me I'm the only person on here that has ever taken a picture of text?
Besides, how many cellphones in the US can even take full-motion video? Last I checked the newest US phones only took individual pictures.
So what's wrong with that? Long as he was sucking in cooler air and directing it towards the air intake it's probably not a bad idea. That's the entire concept for hood scoops, getting cooler air to the intake, although I hope he was using a powerful 120mm fan instead of a wimpy 80mm fan.
Course it was a Civic so it was a waste of time/money, but the principle is sound.
Historically it's been exactly the opposite: fighters were designed for men of average height, 5'9 to 5'10", not "5'9 and taller". You wouldn't want to be 6'6" in the cockpit of a F-16. Not saying a 6'1 or 6'2 guy couldn't fit, just saying it's more comfortable for a shorter, slimmer person.
Guess I should have included this obvious disclaimer: depending on how determined the thief is, there is nothing that will stop a determined thief. That is true with just about everything in life, hacking, jobs, etc. Like you said if he really wants to steal a car just get a tow truck with a flatbed & 5 ton winch and nearly every car or SUV can be his within 5 minutes.
However, I believe a pager with LCD and fuel cut-off when the alarm sounds is a reasonable theft-prevention method, and the price is equality reasonable at $200-$300 if you purchase a new name brand unit off ebay install it yourself. So let's not go off the deep end with thieves driving tow trucks and armed guards watching cars, ok?
to say all car alarms are completely worthless is overly broad. I think proximity sensors that detect motion outside the car is worthless, but inside would be useful. Also, despite the fact that you believe that no one pays attention to alarms anymore, if you're breaking into a car and the alarm goes off you'd probably shit your pants. Just try opening the door to a car and the alarm goes off and see if your heart rate doesn't elevate a little with excitement, or if you don't feel a twinge of embarassment. Why be embarassed if no one is looking?
Good aftermarket alarms have keyless pagers with LCDs that page you if the alarm goes off and shows you exactly what part of the car was affected, so you can see that someone has opened your door, etc. I'd say that feature is quite useful.
My car was broken into and lots of items were stolen, and even to this day I'm still kicking myself for not installing a car alarm sooner.
"The best alarms don't make a sound. They give the thief a minute or so to drive off and then cut off the fuel. The idea being that they will be in traffic by then where they are much too high profile to attempt to bypass the alarm."
Ah, so I want a alarm that causes accidents? What, you don't believe a car sitting in the middle of the highway would result in a accident, or do you believe that cars are still driveable without fuel? I've run out of fuel before (long time ago of course...) and you better be somewhere where you can pull over immediately. That's just with warning signs that the fuel tank's getting empty (no fuel when turning = no acceleration after a sharp turn), to completely go cold turkey on fuel is quite dangerous.
Do you actually know what the best alarms do? They have a LCD pager that pages you and shows you what part of the car was broken into and has a fuel cut-off when the alarm goes so the car can not be started and driven off. That's what I look for in a alarm.
[sarcasm] We are talking about people that are unable to go in their cars, it's obviously a terrorist act... [/sarcasm]"
I'm no wireless expert, but if it's effecting keyless entry couldn't it effect other wireless systems? Wireless security systems, special security doors that use wireless badges for access, perhaps even police radios and cellphones? So I believe the idea of it being terrorist related is quite valid and they had every reason to question if it was terrorist related.
From article:
"According to the Federal Communications Commission, the low-power radio frequency transmitters inside keyless entry devices are similar to those found in other everyday items such as garage door openers, remote-controlled toys, cordless telephones, building alarm systems and the rapidly spreading wireless fidelity computer networks, which are commonly referred to as "wi-fi.""
Next time RTFA before you post.
wow, that makes so much sense: ask someone who's acting weird for a ID and we're up in arms, but instantly check the ID of 100,000 people at a football game without their knowledge and it's "what's wrong with that?"
It's suddenly become so clear...
I don't know where you've been but that happens all the time... in fact it even happened to me once.
" If the cop wants a reasonable action from the suspect, he must act reasonably himself."
Cops, reasonable? Now you're just asking too much!
I believe police have way too much power and power corrupts absolutely, just watch the nightly news if you don't believe me, but this incident with the cowboy refusing to show his ID isn't a very good example of abuse of power. Requesting someone's ID, in my opinion, isn't a big deal. Police have better things to do then walk down the street and ask to see everyone's ID, but if you give them a reason to do so then I don't think it's unreasonable to let them check your ID.
You want to fight something? How about stopping face-recognition software being used in public places to run a "ID check" on everyone without even their knowledge.
ah, so not only is drinking a little too much immature, but so is not having a cellphone. Cellphone companies must really love you. So what else is "immature" in your little world?
oh, and surprise, "21" is just a number, not a measure of maturity. Plenty of people go through their entire lives immature, just surf /. with "flamebait +5" to prove my point.
so? cops should play 20 questions with suspects?
Yes, I don't like the idea that cops can ask for ID, but how the hell are they suppose to tell who's the suspect without ID? Whether you like it or not your ID or social security # is how you're categorized by the gov't. Without it the police doesn't know who has warrants out for murder and who's the innocent bystander.
besides if you have nothing to worry about then what's the harm in giving them your ID?
Also remember your driver's license isn't yours, it's the government's. If they want to revoke it they can and will, so when a government official (like police) asks for the license I have no problem giving it to them.
dammit... as much as I like playing devil's advocate i hate defending the police...
Believe it or not, not everyone knows ahead of time they're going to get drunk. Yes, I know, shocking isn't it! Here's another shocker: some drunk drivers don't even know they're over the legal limit!
so sherlock, what are you suppose to do when the bar closes, you stumble out to your car and realize you're too drunk to drive? Oh right, find a payphone, except many phone companies are closing payphones because lots of people are using cellphones.
So there you are, drunk, standing in front of your car, don't have a cellphone and can't find a payphone. What would you do? Sleep on the sidewalk? That's bullshit. If someone wants to sleep it off in their car then the police shouldn't bother them. Arresting people for sleeping in there car and calling it drunk driving actually encourages "real" drunk driving. I mean what do you have to lose? If you're charged with the same crime either way then you might as well try a mad dash home and hope you don't kill anyone on the way home, right?
most people don't get drunk at restaurants, unless it's a restaurant combined with a bar. But still, even then few people got to Friday's to get hammered. They go to real bars.
Course you're right, if "bars" suddenly couldn't have parking lots but "restaurants" could, bars would just put a table in the corner and serve fried foods.
ok, please explain this: you're cheating so you can download music legally, instead of just downloading illegal p2p music. Anyone see a conflict there? At least the artist gets paid, but I think there's still a small moral issue to deal with whether you download illegal or cheat to download legally.
jeez people, it's not really that hard... and although you can't technically "sell" a phone number, you can get paid to transfer it to someone else, just like any other intangible object i.e. software, music, domains, names of businesses, license plate names, etc.
But if I "owned" the number 1-800-GET-LAID, does that mean I couldn't get paid to transfer it to someone? This might to lead to the idea that phone numbers have no value, which obviously is very wrong, because if someone somehow redirected a business phone number that could be very serious.
so... really all you need is some fake demo saying eveything's fine?
Honestly I don't see where diagnostic software would be any good, if the CPU, motherboard, power supply, video card, ram and CD-ROM work well enough to boot and run the diagnostic software than what's the problem?
You want to really diagnose any PC problem? Have working backup parts. Have a extra motherboard, video card, stick of ram, hard drive, etc all handy and just swap parts. And before I hear complaints about "but that costs $$$$$!" I didn't say it had to be expensive parts. A 6.4gig hard drive is fine to check to see if that IDE cable is still working. Pop in a old TNT AGP video card to see if the card's bad or the slot/motherboard's bad. Pop in.... well you get the idea. And once you've swapped parts in a few PCs you'll know what's wrong immediately so you won't spend hours swapping parts anymore... it's call experience.
Software is worthless, if you need a "check PC" idiot light to tell you exactly what's wrong then you don't know what you're doing in the first place, and if your customers can't tell the PC's working by the time you leave without a piece of paper that says it's working then you didn't do a very good job.
Course you'd need to make sure the signal's undetectable by the enemy, otherwise they could just sit there with a RFID sensor and know exactly where you are at all times.
This would be great for journalist as well. Remember that journalist for the Wall Street Journal that was kidnapped and killed?
I think all these people with the tinfoil hats are paranoid. If the gov't wants to find you it can and will, remember the movie Enemy of the State with Will Smith? The gov't already has satelites that can see a dime from space, but the real question is do the really want to find you? Like these Amber Alerts, they could publish your description, license plate and car model on every electronic billboard & radio station in the country and find you within hours, the point is why do you believe you're so freakin' special that they really want to bother finding you?
I think it's somewhat sad that some nobody bashes Linux in a little article and it gets slashdotted. I mean sure it's nice to know not everyone loves Linux, but remember the source people...
I'm also surprised there's no disclaimer mentioning that "Duracell" is a registered trademark of (etc). Are you trying to get sued?
Doesn't matter, because the transfer rates for a 3gig $1100 CompactFlash Type II Card are so incredibly slow (3.5mB/sec). You can buy a 80gig IDE drive that transfers at 58mB/sec for $66.
That's 16 times faster for 1/16th the price. Anyone still want to replace your hard drive with a CF card?
But you do plan on transferring to your PC to burn to DVD, right? Otherwise you'll have use your camcorder every time you want to play a video, and if your camcorder ever decides to break you'd have to purchase a new camcorder using whatever format your old camcorder was, which might be difficult in 5-10 years with everything moving towards DV, solid state and microdrives. Who thought 10 years ago you'd someday replace your trusty VCR with a hard drive based Tivo?
That said, I'd agree with the Digital-8 camcorder suggestion.
Tapes are much cheaper than MiniDV, Hi8 tapes also work in D8 which are even cheaper.
Resolution of D8 is exactly the same as MiniDV. If someone tells you otherwise they obviously don't know what they're talking about and I'd ignore any other advice they give you.
I also agree with the $500 price tag. Don't blow your $$$ on 3 CCD and other expensive features. You'll probably replace the camera in 5 years when 100gig hard drives are in them (hey, 5 years ago who though 40gig mp3 players would become common?).
I dunno, it's kind of hard to walk up to that blonde on the beach and shove a camcorder into her chest without her noticing...