Oh, so you've played the Phantom? Well, in that case maybe you could clear some things up. The beta unit they sent you - which promo photo does it look like the most? Oh, and what games have you played on it? How do the games look?
What's that? You don't have a beta unit? You've never seen a woking Phantom? So what do you mean by beta tester? To me, "beta tester" says someone who has actually tested something. Perhaps you should rephrase. Might I suggest "I have pre-registered to apply to be a beta tester", or "they told me I'm a beta tester, but I still haven't gotten anything that could be mistaken for a game console from them"? Just a few suggestions.
Overly sarcastic humor? What's wrong with sarcasm?
One thing I can tell you for SURE - if your kids don't get introduced to the REAL WORLD (and that includes anything that doesn't fall into "the standards acceptable in your home" - especially so), your kids will go INSANE when they hit college. Speaking from experience here. I went to a catholic high school, and I saw the full range of people. I saw people who were raised in everything from a highly repressive mormon house (although the patriarch never though it was repressive) to more than one who was raised in what was basically a crack house. One thing I learned from watching these people was that the ones who had mommy and daddy telling them what was right and wrong (usually from a religious context) were the ones that went nuts when they tasted college freedom. I know one girl who not only engaged in wanton casual sex (usually accomanied by gratuitous alcohol) and wound up with 2 kids before her 20th birthday. I know another girl who every time she has any form of sexual contact, she cries rape (not an infrequent occurance) - probably out of guilt. I know a grand total of 1 person who was raised in a "deeply spiritual household" that didn't go overboard once they hit college, but that may be because that guy still lives with his parents (but from what I hear, he's not so well-adjusted himself).
The kids raised in less-than ideal conditions? Crap shoot, really. The ones that made it to college were more level-headed. The ones that didn't pretty much continued along the paths their parents were on. I hear one is in jail after killing a guy in a DUI (probably not true, but you never know). I know one for sure just had a kid with his girlfriend (collecting welfare).
The ones that (so far) have the highest sucess rate are the middle-roaders. The kids who got in a little trouble when they were in highschool. The kids who had to fend for themselves for a few hours after school because both parents worked. The kids whose parents cared enough to get involved, but also knew when to draw the line and let their children make their own mistakes. In short, the kids who got to do their own thing and become who they really were, and not some warped Stepford child.
I would say if you don't let your daughters watch Sponge Bob Squarepants because of what you call "overly sarcastic humor", your house does not fall into the happy medium between dicipline and tolerance.
But that's just my opinion based on my own observations.
Neither will the CD it's printed on. Or the circuit board. Or...
Get the ramifications yet? This is something that can be printed on ANYTHING. We're not talking little circuts sqirreled away inside a box. This is a little chemical signature that can be hidden ANYWHERE. Say Apple (just as an example) wanted to tag iPods. Okay, so you now know that your iPod is tagged. That means you have to crack it open and find the component that's tagged. Could be the case, the battery, a capacitor, an IC, etc. Sure, the plastic case (after being separated from the rest of the device) would probably survive 15 seconds in the ol' warmin' box. And so might the chemical signature. Since it's non metallic, it might not conduct the current needed to overload & blow traditional RFID tags. But if they tagged the LCD screen and you zapped that, it DEFINATELY wouldn't survive. The first step, however, would be to determine the part that has the tag on it. Good luck, since it's invisible and all. Unless you completely dismantled it and ran each part through a scanner, you're out of luck.
The point is, this new tech allows for ANYTHING to be tagged. I don't mean have a tag attached, I mean become a tag itself. You can no longer separate the tag from the object. This means that if the only way to deactivate the damn thing is to microwave it (or expose it to gamma radiation, or preform some pagan ritual, or...), they can put the tag on a part that will also not survive the process. Imagine if in the branding of the new P5 10gHz Double-EXXTREEM CPU "tuned for gaming!", they tagged the CPU right before they silk-screened the Intel logo over it. Microwave that.
Top-name doesn't mean quality. Not anymore, anyway. I had an Apex 3201 that only died on me because my house was hit by lightning. Until then, it provided me with over 1 year and a half of flawless service (I watch movies, not TV, if that helps you visualize how much I used it). When it died, I couldn't buy Apex in my city anymore. So I replaced it with a Panasonic (can't remember the model, but it was a progressive). Less than 6 months later, the Panasonic was dead. This is not uncommon with Panasonic DVD players - do a google on "H07 panasonic". If you're too lazy to google, in short H07 is the error displayed on the little display on the front of the player when all of a sudden you can't watch movies. It means the motor won't spin, and Panasonic recommends a replacement DVD player (but will fix it for $75 plus shipping). Ir seems to affect every model of Panasonic DVD player.
For one of the same reasons the initial judgement was so high: McD's were acting like asses.
In court, they never really argued that they weren't liable, they were arguing that they shouldn't owe that much. One of their principal arguments was legally sound, but made them sound like real, class-A assholes. They argued that, while she did suffer serious burns to her crotch, she was 81 at the time. She wasn't going to be using her crotch a whole lot anymore, burns or otherwise. They were techincally right, but jurors said afterwards that the award went up substantially as a result of the McD's lawyers saying that because she's old, her crotch was worth less than it otherwise would. I can see their reasoning - when I'm 81 (if I live that long), I don't want to have my balls crushed (bad under any circumstances), only to have someone say "well, they were only your testicles. You're 81, what did you need them for, anyway?"
It's more meant to come into play in a sitation where a child is kidnapped in New York (for example), then is taken to this Phoenix school and registered under a different name (not real hard to do). In a situation like that, there would be no real way to track down the child without this camera system. Of course, this requires that the system work flawlessly. A false positive means a visit from the Feds to the parent/parents of the child flagged as a match for a missing kid (with ensuing investigations and picutres in the paper and whatnot - possible life destroyer there). A false negative means an abducted child stays abducted, and everyone assumes the tech knows what it's doing, therefore never questions it. Both are VERY bad.
Agreed. Not only that, but they also carry cheap Pocky -- around here, anyway. They only carry 3 or 4 flavours, but the single pouch boxes are like 75 cents, and the 2 & 3 pouch boxes are 2 for $3 most of the time. Of course, there's Tokyo 7 (local Japanese import store) to sell Pocky, but they charge almost 4 times as much. Upside is, they carry almost every flavour. They also have a sign that says "These treats are imported from Japan. They are mean to be savoured. If you need something cheap to cram into your pie hole, try 7-11".
London Drugs as a company is opposed to the levy (specifically, the proposed increases to said levy). The do the add-on at the till to make people aware of it. Most people won't know/care about the levy until they see it directly effecting their pocketbook, so they try to bring this situation to the consumer's attention. The best way they came up with is to show -- on every reciept -- how much this levy actually costs on a per-purchase basis.
Check out London Drug's official position. Also worth a look is the Canadian Coalition for Fair Digital Access - a non-profit group against all this foolishness. Especially look at their member companies - they include the likes of London Drugs, AMD, Intel, Creative Labs, Apple, Dell, FutureShop/Best Buy, Hewlett PAQard, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack and (sweet Jesus, is this one right?) Sony Canada.
Actually, it happened in Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr John Schneeberger in 1992 was accused of sexual assult and beat DNA tests using exactly that method. He was caught (the mother of one of his victims hired a PI to get the DNA for private testing), but he only served 4 years (just finished his term). Since he's an immigrant, there's special rules that apply to him. Because he lied to get his citizenship (in 1993, he told a citizenship judge that he wasn't being investigated for sexual assault even though he was), his citizenship status has been stripped. Now he faces deportation. It's making HUGE news here. There's even going to be a made-forTV-movie called "I Accuse" about it.
Crippled functionality is not something to worry about with iRiver. Their design philosophy seems to be "end user experience = GOD, screw what the RIAA wants". Every flash/hard drive based player they have works as a USB drive. This one also has built-in mp3 recording off analog/optical audio in (with bit rates up to 320kbps). iRiver also has a great menu system rivaling the iPod (preference is up to the user, though). Their North American site seems to be./'ed, but European site is working fine. Has all the same info about the same products. It's about time these guys start to get the recognition the deserve - I've been in love with them for over a year. I just wish I could afford one of these, but alas, I am but a lowly student.
Quoth the poster: And of course there's the non-RIAA stuff, see mp3.com.
Okay, this is something that creeps up every time there's an RIAA story. People seem to think that mp3.com is all indie artists, free from RIAA influence. That may have been the way it used to be, but take a good, long look at what's there. Take The Ataris, for example. These guys used to be on Kung Fu Records (owned by one of the guys from The Vandals), and before that, they had a stint with Big Wreck Chords. But their latest album, So Long Astoria (not their best, IMO), is on Columbia (Sony's bitch). 2 of the 3 tracks mp3.com has for these guys is from that RIAA-produced album. Sure, there's still lots of indie stuff there, but not exclusivley. I support mp3.com because it's free - yet totally on the level - music. To support them because they're 100% indie is a flawed argument.
I dunno dude, I go to many a concert in smaller venues around town. Tickets go as high as $20 for some of the bigger names or multi-headliners, but most are about $5. Hell, in the past 6 months, I've spent no more than $100 (Cdn $'s, not real US $'s), and I've seen:
Vanilla Ice (his new hard-core stuff)
Gob
Theory of a Dead Man
Treble Charger
Lucky 7
Planet Smashers
Belvedere
Real McKinseys
Andrew WK
Honky
Danko Jones
Each of these concerts were absolute kick-ass. Most were in smaller venues (for those in Regina, SK - The UofR Ridell Center, the State, and the Pump). A few were at the Molson House Party. I love live music, but I wouldn't pay $75 (CDN or otherwise) for one of those huge, stadium concerts (well, maybe if the Smashing Pumpkins did a reunion tour - but only because I've never had a chance to see 'em live).
Are you counting me? I skate (inline, not board) halfway across town to get to school (at least an hour a day). I'd call that working out. As a nice side-effect, you get buns 'o steel (I've been told I have a "very nice ass, for a guy" - love the "for a guy" qualifier). And if you have to make a lot of jumps, you work the abs pretty good, too. For the record, I use the YP-30s for all this physical activity. 128mb ram, and a built-in mic for recording lectures. Battery life is pretty sucky, but it was the best available in town when I was looking.
I can assure anyone out there, this guy is as right as you can get. My brother has that model, and uses it while driving via tape adapter. Last January, he got us in a SERIOUS acident. Launched the car about 20 meters off a highway divider (we were going FAST....). This was one of those accidents where the cops showed up and asked (I mean it - they really asked this) "How the fuck did you guys survive this?". They've seen accidents like this before, and historically, they use shovels to get the victims into the ambulance. Anyway, the iRivier didn't skip a beat, despite being launched into the windshiled. The car was totaled, BTW. Damage estimates were about 30-40k. The whole thing was bent into a U-shape.
Word of advice - if you ever find yourself in an accident like that, GO LIMP. Let go of the wheel, let Newton take control. If you fight him, he'll kill ya. And pray you land right side up. Oh, and don't forget to enjoy the ride, 'cuz that's gonna be the ONLY fun part.
I agee wholehartedly (sp?). My currency of choice is tacos and slurpees, but same principle. Last week, a rather computer-illiterate friend needed a new hard drive installed. I agreed to do it for $10 in mixed soft-shelled and hard-shelled tacos from Taco Bell and an extra-large "Bladder Buster" Coke Slurpee. He helped me move a few months ago in a simillar arragenment.
This applies to "professionals", too. My parents are boths accountants (a CMA & CA) and used to do taxes for family members and friends in exchange for (in my mom's case one year) a dozen jars of home-made jam and (for my dad) a box of meat. They don't do that anymore, though -- the firms they work at have policies against their accountants doing side business.
There's actually a north-american tradition of this. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", either Jem or Scout (I can't remember who) asks their father why people leave food on the back porch. His reply is along the lines of 'these people are friends, and they can't afford to pay cash'. For those who forgot (or never read the book), Atticus Finch was a lawyer who would frequently provide services for people in the town who could not pay (many of whom were black - not a popular move in 1950's small-town Alabama). Exellent book, BTW.
Remember, this is the same airline that decided to solve its MASSIVE customer service and revenue problems by cutting free meals from flights. Last I heard, you are now charged $8 for 4 (pretty crappy) chicken wings.
a group of engineers standing around some piece of broken equipment wondering how to fix it
I imagine just before the power outage, a conversation like this happened: Engineer 1: Are you SURE it's a good idea to overclock the generators? I don't think Moore's law was meant to apply to electricity... Engineer 2: Of COURSE it's a good idea. We've been at 60Hz since forever! If we bump it up to 90Hz, just think how much faster our coffee maker will go! I did the math last night, it'll be safe Engineer 1: But in your calculations, you round pi to 3.1, you assume plank's constant to be 2, and this part under what appears to be penut butter says "magic squirrels = good!" And I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be using a rock as an overclocking tool... Engineer 2: Hey, if Edison listened to that kind of negative talk, would he have ever single-handedly build the space shuttle and flown to the Sun?
Slashdot Mirror
What's that? You don't have a beta unit? You've never seen a woking Phantom? So what do you mean by beta tester? To me, "beta tester" says someone who has actually tested something. Perhaps you should rephrase. Might I suggest "I have pre-registered to apply to be a beta tester", or "they told me I'm a beta tester, but I still haven't gotten anything that could be mistaken for a game console from them"? Just a few suggestions.
One thing I can tell you for SURE - if your kids don't get introduced to the REAL WORLD (and that includes anything that doesn't fall into "the standards acceptable in your home" - especially so), your kids will go INSANE when they hit college. Speaking from experience here. I went to a catholic high school, and I saw the full range of people. I saw people who were raised in everything from a highly repressive mormon house (although the patriarch never though it was repressive) to more than one who was raised in what was basically a crack house. One thing I learned from watching these people was that the ones who had mommy and daddy telling them what was right and wrong (usually from a religious context) were the ones that went nuts when they tasted college freedom. I know one girl who not only engaged in wanton casual sex (usually accomanied by gratuitous alcohol) and wound up with 2 kids before her 20th birthday. I know another girl who every time she has any form of sexual contact, she cries rape (not an infrequent occurance) - probably out of guilt. I know a grand total of 1 person who was raised in a "deeply spiritual household" that didn't go overboard once they hit college, but that may be because that guy still lives with his parents (but from what I hear, he's not so well-adjusted himself).
The kids raised in less-than ideal conditions? Crap shoot, really. The ones that made it to college were more level-headed. The ones that didn't pretty much continued along the paths their parents were on. I hear one is in jail after killing a guy in a DUI (probably not true, but you never know). I know one for sure just had a kid with his girlfriend (collecting welfare).
The ones that (so far) have the highest sucess rate are the middle-roaders. The kids who got in a little trouble when they were in highschool. The kids who had to fend for themselves for a few hours after school because both parents worked. The kids whose parents cared enough to get involved, but also knew when to draw the line and let their children make their own mistakes. In short, the kids who got to do their own thing and become who they really were, and not some warped Stepford child.
I would say if you don't let your daughters watch Sponge Bob Squarepants because of what you call "overly sarcastic humor", your house does not fall into the happy medium between dicipline and tolerance.
But that's just my opinion based on my own observations.
Well, at least you found a way to harness your powers for good.
Neither will the CD it's printed on. Or the circuit board. Or... Get the ramifications yet? This is something that can be printed on ANYTHING. We're not talking little circuts sqirreled away inside a box. This is a little chemical signature that can be hidden ANYWHERE. Say Apple (just as an example) wanted to tag iPods. Okay, so you now know that your iPod is tagged. That means you have to crack it open and find the component that's tagged. Could be the case, the battery, a capacitor, an IC, etc. Sure, the plastic case (after being separated from the rest of the device) would probably survive 15 seconds in the ol' warmin' box. And so might the chemical signature. Since it's non metallic, it might not conduct the current needed to overload & blow traditional RFID tags. But if they tagged the LCD screen and you zapped that, it DEFINATELY wouldn't survive. The first step, however, would be to determine the part that has the tag on it. Good luck, since it's invisible and all. Unless you completely dismantled it and ran each part through a scanner, you're out of luck.
The point is, this new tech allows for ANYTHING to be tagged. I don't mean have a tag attached, I mean become a tag itself. You can no longer separate the tag from the object. This means that if the only way to deactivate the damn thing is to microwave it (or expose it to gamma radiation, or preform some pagan ritual, or...), they can put the tag on a part that will also not survive the process. Imagine if in the branding of the new P5 10gHz Double-EXXTREEM CPU "tuned for gaming!", they tagged the CPU right before they silk-screened the Intel logo over it. Microwave that.
Top-name doesn't mean quality. Not anymore, anyway. I had an Apex 3201 that only died on me because my house was hit by lightning. Until then, it provided me with over 1 year and a half of flawless service (I watch movies, not TV, if that helps you visualize how much I used it). When it died, I couldn't buy Apex in my city anymore. So I replaced it with a Panasonic (can't remember the model, but it was a progressive). Less than 6 months later, the Panasonic was dead. This is not uncommon with Panasonic DVD players - do a google on "H07 panasonic". If you're too lazy to google, in short H07 is the error displayed on the little display on the front of the player when all of a sudden you can't watch movies. It means the motor won't spin, and Panasonic recommends a replacement DVD player (but will fix it for $75 plus shipping). Ir seems to affect every model of Panasonic DVD player.
For one of the same reasons the initial judgement was so high: McD's were acting like asses. In court, they never really argued that they weren't liable, they were arguing that they shouldn't owe that much. One of their principal arguments was legally sound, but made them sound like real, class-A assholes. They argued that, while she did suffer serious burns to her crotch, she was 81 at the time. She wasn't going to be using her crotch a whole lot anymore, burns or otherwise. They were techincally right, but jurors said afterwards that the award went up substantially as a result of the McD's lawyers saying that because she's old, her crotch was worth less than it otherwise would. I can see their reasoning - when I'm 81 (if I live that long), I don't want to have my balls crushed (bad under any circumstances), only to have someone say "well, they were only your testicles. You're 81, what did you need them for, anyway?"
Hate to break it to you spanky, but the USA did exactly the same thing. By your logic, the US supports terrorism.
Apparantly not - if it was, China, North Korea and many African countries would follow suit.
It's more meant to come into play in a sitation where a child is kidnapped in New York (for example), then is taken to this Phoenix school and registered under a different name (not real hard to do). In a situation like that, there would be no real way to track down the child without this camera system. Of course, this requires that the system work flawlessly. A false positive means a visit from the Feds to the parent/parents of the child flagged as a match for a missing kid (with ensuing investigations and picutres in the paper and whatnot - possible life destroyer there). A false negative means an abducted child stays abducted, and everyone assumes the tech knows what it's doing, therefore never questions it. Both are VERY bad.
Agreed. Not only that, but they also carry cheap Pocky -- around here, anyway. They only carry 3 or 4 flavours, but the single pouch boxes are like 75 cents, and the 2 & 3 pouch boxes are 2 for $3 most of the time. Of course, there's Tokyo 7 (local Japanese import store) to sell Pocky, but they charge almost 4 times as much. Upside is, they carry almost every flavour. They also have a sign that says "These treats are imported from Japan. They are mean to be savoured. If you need something cheap to cram into your pie hole, try 7-11".
Check out London Drug's official position. Also worth a look is the Canadian Coalition for Fair Digital Access - a non-profit group against all this foolishness. Especially look at their member companies - they include the likes of London Drugs, AMD, Intel, Creative Labs, Apple, Dell, FutureShop/Best Buy, Hewlett PAQard, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack and (sweet Jesus, is this one right?) Sony Canada.
Actually, it happened in Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr John Schneeberger in 1992 was accused of sexual assult and beat DNA tests using exactly that method. He was caught (the mother of one of his victims hired a PI to get the DNA for private testing), but he only served 4 years (just finished his term). Since he's an immigrant, there's special rules that apply to him. Because he lied to get his citizenship (in 1993, he told a citizenship judge that he wasn't being investigated for sexual assault even though he was), his citizenship status has been stripped. Now he faces deportation. It's making HUGE news here. There's even going to be a made-forTV-movie called "I Accuse" about it.
Crippled functionality is not something to worry about with iRiver. Their design philosophy seems to be "end user experience = GOD, screw what the RIAA wants". Every flash/hard drive based player they have works as a USB drive. This one also has built-in mp3 recording off analog/optical audio in (with bit rates up to 320kbps). iRiver also has a great menu system rivaling the iPod (preference is up to the user, though). Their North American site seems to be ./'ed, but European site is working fine. Has all the same info about the same products. It's about time these guys start to get the recognition the deserve - I've been in love with them for over a year. I just wish I could afford one of these, but alas, I am but a lowly student.
And of course there's the non-RIAA stuff, see mp3.com.
Okay, this is something that creeps up every time there's an RIAA story. People seem to think that mp3.com is all indie artists, free from RIAA influence. That may have been the way it used to be, but take a good, long look at what's there. Take The Ataris, for example. These guys used to be on Kung Fu Records (owned by one of the guys from The Vandals), and before that, they had a stint with Big Wreck Chords. But their latest album, So Long Astoria (not their best, IMO), is on Columbia (Sony's bitch). 2 of the 3 tracks mp3.com has for these guys is from that RIAA-produced album. Sure, there's still lots of indie stuff there, but not exclusivley. I support mp3.com because it's free - yet totally on the level - music. To support them because they're 100% indie is a flawed argument.
Each of these concerts were absolute kick-ass. Most were in smaller venues (for those in Regina, SK - The UofR Ridell Center, the State, and the Pump). A few were at the Molson House Party. I love live music, but I wouldn't pay $75 (CDN or otherwise) for one of those huge, stadium concerts (well, maybe if the Smashing Pumpkins did a reunion tour - but only because I've never had a chance to see 'em live).
Are you counting me? I skate (inline, not board) halfway across town to get to school (at least an hour a day). I'd call that working out. As a nice side-effect, you get buns 'o steel (I've been told I have a "very nice ass, for a guy" - love the "for a guy" qualifier). And if you have to make a lot of jumps, you work the abs pretty good, too. For the record, I use the YP-30s for all this physical activity. 128mb ram, and a built-in mic for recording lectures. Battery life is pretty sucky, but it was the best available in town when I was looking.
Word of advice - if you ever find yourself in an accident like that, GO LIMP. Let go of the wheel, let Newton take control. If you fight him, he'll kill ya. And pray you land right side up. Oh, and don't forget to enjoy the ride, 'cuz that's gonna be the ONLY fun part.
This applies to "professionals", too. My parents are boths accountants (a CMA & CA) and used to do taxes for family members and friends in exchange for (in my mom's case one year) a dozen jars of home-made jam and (for my dad) a box of meat. They don't do that anymore, though -- the firms they work at have policies against their accountants doing side business.
There's actually a north-american tradition of this. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", either Jem or Scout (I can't remember who) asks their father why people leave food on the back porch. His reply is along the lines of 'these people are friends, and they can't afford to pay cash'. For those who forgot (or never read the book), Atticus Finch was a lawyer who would frequently provide services for people in the town who could not pay (many of whom were black - not a popular move in 1950's small-town Alabama). Exellent book, BTW.
Imagine the reception: 400 of your nearest-and-dearest, lots of booze and a goat. Damn, that sounds like the bachelor party in formal wear.
Remember, this is the same airline that decided to solve its MASSIVE customer service and revenue problems by cutting free meals from flights. Last I heard, you are now charged $8 for 4 (pretty crappy) chicken wings.
Someone has to pay when the City That Never Sleeps takes a nap.
I imagine just before the power outage, a conversation like this happened:
Engineer 1: Are you SURE it's a good idea to overclock the generators? I don't think Moore's law was meant to apply to electricity...
Engineer 2: Of COURSE it's a good idea. We've been at 60Hz since forever! If we bump it up to 90Hz, just think how much faster our coffee maker will go! I did the math last night, it'll be safe
Engineer 1: But in your calculations, you round pi to 3.1, you assume plank's constant to be 2, and this part under what appears to be penut butter says "magic squirrels = good!" And I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be using a rock as an overclocking tool...
Engineer 2: Hey, if Edison listened to that kind of negative talk, would he have ever single-handedly build the space shuttle and flown to the Sun?
Goddam you, that's the visual I'm trying to avoid :-)
Didn't miss 'em, just didn't apply to me :-)
Actually, I was a c-section baby. Tried to strangle myself with the umbilical cord. I heard the Bee Gees and decided I wanted no part of this world.