The Archos 404, 504 & 604 series of music & video players use a Linux O/S. I find under Ubuntu and Amarok, my Archos syncs just perfectly. Worth a look
I do not like Wine very much either, and almost never use it. However, have you looked closely at Vista? Already I have found it is easier in some cases to find Ubuntu drivers for older harder than Vista drivers.
Now I am wondering in the situation of some older programs, will we find in certian circumstances that they run better under Wine than under Vista?
Either way, it doesn't matter much for me. I don't use Ubuntu myself because of Wine, but because Vista was that last straw that pushed mo over the edge. I still keep XP machies around because I have two, but I am about three programs away from dumping Windows forever.
Ah hell, bring out Civ 4 for linux I'll jump right away:)
I'm involved in some preservation of history & documentation, and the issue is both huge, and far ranging, not just movies. Here are a few issues, beyond those already stated:
- volume of data. Not uncommon for people to go on a vacation, and come back with 1,000 or 2,000 or 5,000 images on 2 or 4 gig SD chips off thier digital camera. Who has the time to catalog them all? When film cost you - oh, say for arguement a dollar a shot, most people were very careful what they took pictures of to begin with, and keep them safe after the fact. We do not see very much of that attitude today, so paradoxiaclly, the more images a person has, the more likely they are to be lost over time. When it becomes too big an issue to sort the chaff from the wheat, many people just walk away from the job.
- archival materials very rare. Most color films have dyes that fade, most papers today have acid in them and will degrade over time. The list goes on, as it is not just CD's or DVDs that degrade.
- war on terror. A lot of information that is or was public domain is or has been disappearing from public libraries, web sites, etc. For example - not that I ever want to look at them, but the blueprints for the Detriot-Windsor tunnel used to be in the public domain, but not anymore.
There are many more stories, but we are creating a huge, huge memory hole at this very point in time. Maybe now that hte issue has caught the attention of th emovie industry, something might be done about it. Maybe not. Maybe 10,000 years from now the only thing left of our society to prove we were here might be our left over waste form nuke reactors that is still hot.
I just bought two new desktops from a small computer store for my work, to replace two 4 year old desktops. I found that all the large chain stores are selling *all* of thier machines on the floor - desktop and laptop - preloaded with Vista. Just try buying a new computer with XP in a major chain store and see what happens. The only ones I saw with XP were "open box" machines in the clearance section.
To get XP on my machines was a "special order". XP is supposed to be supported until January 2008, but the reality is if you want a new machine with XP, it is becomming harder and harder to do so. So when microsoft claims Vista is outselling XP - is that really a surprize when you have a very hard time buying XP brand new to begin with?
I did notice that at some of the major chain stores, Macs - desktop and notebook - are now stocked and appear to be selling very nicely. I have to admit, I was sorely tempted by one. But it was cheaper to load up Ubuntu on my older laptop.:)
Four years from now when I upgrade again - it will be Mac or Linux, or maybe even both. Vista will be a far, third distant choice.
I will not go into the detials, but from a business point of view, Microsoft has "jumped the shark" with Vista. If it was impossible for me to buy new machines with XP installed, I would of bought two new Macs.
Konica films in general, were not, IMO, that great to begin with. Compared to other colour films from Fuji and Kodak, they always seemed a step behind. Thier one, unique product, Konica 750, was a black & white, near infra-red film.
But Konica 750 was usually only available once a year, while other IR and near IR films could and can be bought year round. Also, other near IF films from other companies, were, IMO, overall better films. I know, I used Konica 750, Maco 820, Ilford SFX, Kodak HSI (no longer made) and more. Konica 750 was pretty much my last choice for near IR films.
So for me, hearing that there is no more Konica film, while, that's almost like saying "sorry, no more Lada's". Yes, I did drive a Lada once, a famiily member owned one. the experience was "interesting".
Bear in mind that it's basic marketing 101 to make the "death of film" a self fullfilling prophecy. My 25 year old Nikon 35mm cameras works just as good as the day they were brand new, and i know guys using 50 year cameras they bought used. But my 4 year old Olympus digital camera, soon to be 5 years old, while it works fine, is pretty much toast. The memory cards are hard to find, and everybody tells me "soon no longer supported", and the specific USB cable to connect it to my computer is no longer made, and parts for it, should it break, are no longer supported, the drivers for it are all Win 98, etc, etc.
Think about it - you own a big camera company - what makes you more money in the long run? A camera that is useable for 25 + years, or a camera that needs to be replaced about every 5 years?
Also, the finer, higher quality, double weight, black & white photo paper you can buy for a wet darkroom, on a sheet by sheet basis, is still less money than most comparable, high quality, "photo grade" papers for inkjet or laser printers. I've done some side by side comparisons in the past - colour or black & white - it is more money to run a "digital darkroom" than a "wet darkroom" in terms of both hardware and consumable supplies.
I am not here to fence with anybody on which is better, film or digital. totlaly useless arguement - there is room and need for both, and i use both. I just feel, reading posts here and elsewhere on the internet, that many people seem to avoid or skim over or not pay enough attention to the fact that there is a real, definite, * long term * financial advantage to all the large companies to convince John Q Pulic that film is "no good" and go all digital on many different levels. ths is the driving force behind the "death of film" or whatever you want to call it.
Film still has several advantages, and always will, but these advantages for differnet situations, IMO, are totally ignored in the marketing rush to digital.
Put it this way, the fact i own a car does not mean I was ever in a rush to dump my bicycle. In fact, I seem to be using my bicycle more and more these past few years. We may find the same is true for film.
Over in Europe it's called a VAT (value added tax). Here in Canada we call it the GST - Goods and Services Tax - or as some call it "Government Screws Taxpayers":)
In short, it is a nation wide, 7% sales that is collected on any sale, on-line or bricks and mortar store, and submitted to the Federal government. Also it is a complete pain in the ass. For example, 5 donuts are "fast food" and therefore taxable, but 6 or more donuts are "groceries" and not taxable. Even if you are buying the donuts from the same place. Lots more insane examples, but I think you all get the idea.
What I can see happpening is you will have many businesses complaining about the complexity of collecting so many individual taxes under this new proposed on-line tax, that even for large companies like Wal-Mart, it will be nothing but make work project for the bean counters and something of a logisitcal nightmare.
Yes, there is software to handle this kind of thing, but how many of you guys actually do bookwork not a an account but just as a small business person, on a daily basis? Sometimes I think computers are just an excuse to complicate things more than they have to be, but that's another story.
The bottom line is, my experience is, whenever any software engineer or account ever tells you "don't worry, a computer will / can handle it", well be afraid, be very afraid.:)
So, once (and if) this new e-commerce tax is passed in any form, and it becomes a book keeping nightmare, one possible senario is the federal government will "come to the rescue" - or something like that - and "simplify" the situation for business and introduce a nation wide consumption tax, using taxes in other countries like VAT, GST, etc as examples or precedent.
IMO, the end of western civilization will come not at the hands of terrorists, global warming or even bird flu, but from within, a collapse of pressure from just too damned much bookwork.
Remeber bulliten boards, way before the day when everyone had internet? I would guess at the peak of the BBS popularity is when the first shareware version of DOOM came out.
I was a sysop back then,and we had a local group in our city of about 30 BBSes that met once a month to discuss everything from LD chrges to the latest hacker activity.
DOOM caused a real sensation. Every sysop had his own copy, but we were all at a quandry where to offer it for download. Would it offend parents if we let children download such a violent game?
When we did all meet, we found out the guys who ran the "Adult" BBSes, or guys who had "Adult" sections limited to 18 or over, autmatically stuck DOOM in the 18+ category. Seeing how the "Adult boards took the lead, we all followed.
I dunno if the law struck down was good or not - how a law is written, and how it plays out in real life are sometimes 2 different things, but I am still weirded out today that back when DOOM first came out, the guys running "Adult" content automatically assumed it belonged there because of the level of violence, whereas today any kid can just about and store selling computer games and buy the game off the shelf.
the reason this sticks with me is one off the cuff remarks a sysop, who ran a totally adult BBS , made, that DOOM was "damned near a snuff film" it was so violent. We all of course would laugh at this comparison today, but isn't it just a wee bit creepy how fast attitudes change? Where does it stop?
One last thoguht - being a parent myself, please, please, please stop with this "it's time for parents to put down their foot" or "parents to take things into their own hands", "or parents to take responsibility", etc, etc, etc. Parents can only do so much, and sometimes we need help from the community as a whole. Yes, there are parents who take zero responsibility, but for those of us who refuse certian things in our households, it is a constant, uphill battle given the general direction of society.
I think that was the *intent* of the law that was struck down, to show parents that yes, we the people support the idea that some items do not belong in the hands of children, not to play babysitter for irresponible parents. Now I never lived in that state, so I have no idea if it actually worked. Sometimes the best sounding laws turn out ot be the biggest duds in history when set to real life. Prohobition for example. So who knows. Where do we all draw the balance?
Slashdot Mirror
The Archos 404, 504 & 604 series of music & video players use a Linux O/S. I find under Ubuntu and Amarok, my Archos syncs just perfectly. Worth a look
I do not like Wine very much either, and almost never use it. However, have you looked closely at Vista? Already I have found it is easier in some cases to find Ubuntu drivers for older harder than Vista drivers. Now I am wondering in the situation of some older programs, will we find in certian circumstances that they run better under Wine than under Vista? Either way, it doesn't matter much for me. I don't use Ubuntu myself because of Wine, but because Vista was that last straw that pushed mo over the edge. I still keep XP machies around because I have two, but I am about three programs away from dumping Windows forever. Ah hell, bring out Civ 4 for linux I'll jump right away :)
I'm involved in some preservation of history & documentation, and the issue is both huge, and far ranging, not just movies. Here are a few issues, beyond those already stated:
- volume of data. Not uncommon for people to go on a vacation, and come back with 1,000 or 2,000 or 5,000 images on 2 or 4 gig SD chips off thier digital camera. Who has the time to catalog them all? When film cost you - oh, say for arguement a dollar a shot, most people were very careful what they took pictures of to begin with, and keep them safe after the fact. We do not see very much of that attitude today, so paradoxiaclly, the more images a person has, the more likely they are to be lost over time. When it becomes too big an issue to sort the chaff from the wheat, many people just walk away from the job.
- archival materials very rare. Most color films have dyes that fade, most papers today have acid in them and will degrade over time. The list goes on, as it is not just CD's or DVDs that degrade.
- war on terror. A lot of information that is or was public domain is or has been disappearing from public libraries, web sites, etc. For example - not that I ever want to look at them, but the blueprints for the Detriot-Windsor tunnel used to be in the public domain, but not anymore.
There are many more stories, but we are creating a huge, huge memory hole at this very point in time. Maybe now that hte issue has caught the attention of th emovie industry, something might be done about it. Maybe not. Maybe 10,000 years from now the only thing left of our society to prove we were here might be our left over waste form nuke reactors that is still hot.
I just bought two new desktops from a small computer store for my work, to replace two 4 year old desktops. I found that all the large chain stores are selling *all* of thier machines on the floor - desktop and laptop - preloaded with Vista. Just try buying a new computer with XP in a major chain store and see what happens. The only ones I saw with XP were "open box" machines in the clearance section.
:)
To get XP on my machines was a "special order". XP is supposed to be supported until January 2008, but the reality is if you want a new machine with XP, it is becomming harder and harder to do so. So when microsoft claims Vista is outselling XP - is that really a surprize when you have a very hard time buying XP brand new to begin with?
I did notice that at some of the major chain stores, Macs - desktop and notebook - are now stocked and appear to be selling very nicely. I have to admit, I was sorely tempted by one. But it was cheaper to load up Ubuntu on my older laptop.
Four years from now when I upgrade again - it will be Mac or Linux, or maybe even both. Vista will be a far, third distant choice.
I will not go into the detials, but from a business point of view, Microsoft has "jumped the shark" with Vista. If it was impossible for me to buy new machines with XP installed, I would of bought two new Macs.
Konica films in general, were not, IMO, that great to begin with. Compared to other colour films from Fuji and Kodak, they always seemed a step behind. Thier one, unique product, Konica 750, was a black & white, near infra-red film.
But Konica 750 was usually only available once a year, while other IR and near IR films could and can be bought year round. Also, other near IF films from other companies, were, IMO, overall better films. I know, I used Konica 750, Maco 820, Ilford SFX, Kodak HSI (no longer made) and more. Konica 750 was pretty much my last choice for near IR films.
So for me, hearing that there is no more Konica film, while, that's almost like saying "sorry, no more Lada's". Yes, I did drive a Lada once, a famiily member owned one. the experience was "interesting".
Bear in mind that it's basic marketing 101 to make the "death of film" a self fullfilling prophecy. My 25 year old Nikon 35mm cameras works just as good as the day they were brand new, and i know guys using 50 year cameras they bought used. But my 4 year old Olympus digital camera, soon to be 5 years old, while it works fine, is pretty much toast. The memory cards are hard to find, and everybody tells me "soon no longer supported", and the specific USB cable to connect it to my computer is no longer made, and parts for it, should it break, are no longer supported, the drivers for it are all Win 98, etc, etc.
Think about it - you own a big camera company - what makes you more money in the long run? A camera that is useable for 25 + years, or a camera that needs to be replaced about every 5 years?
Also, the finer, higher quality, double weight, black & white photo paper you can buy for a wet darkroom, on a sheet by sheet basis, is still less money than most comparable, high quality, "photo grade" papers for inkjet or laser printers. I've done some side by side comparisons in the past - colour or black & white - it is more money to run a "digital darkroom" than a "wet darkroom" in terms of both hardware and consumable supplies.
I am not here to fence with anybody on which is better, film or digital. totlaly useless arguement - there is room and need for both, and i use both. I just feel, reading posts here and elsewhere on the internet, that many people seem to avoid or skim over or not pay enough attention to the fact that there is a real, definite, * long term * financial advantage to all the large companies to convince John Q Pulic that film is "no good" and go all digital on many different levels. ths is the driving force behind the "death of film" or whatever you want to call it.
Film still has several advantages, and always will, but these advantages for differnet situations, IMO, are totally ignored in the marketing rush to digital.
Put it this way, the fact i own a car does not mean I was ever in a rush to dump my bicycle. In fact, I seem to be using my bicycle more and more these past few years. We may find the same is true for film.
Over in Europe it's called a VAT (value added tax). Here in Canada we call it the GST - Goods and Services Tax - or as some call it "Government Screws Taxpayers" :)
:)
In short, it is a nation wide, 7% sales that is collected on any sale, on-line or bricks and mortar store, and submitted to the Federal government. Also it is a complete pain in the ass. For example, 5 donuts are "fast food" and therefore taxable, but 6 or more donuts are "groceries" and not taxable. Even if you are buying the donuts from the same place. Lots more insane examples, but I think you all get the idea.
What I can see happpening is you will have many businesses complaining about the complexity of collecting so many individual taxes under this new proposed on-line tax, that even for large companies like Wal-Mart, it will be nothing but make work project for the bean counters and something of a logisitcal nightmare.
Yes, there is software to handle this kind of thing, but how many of you guys actually do bookwork not a an account but just as a small business person, on a daily basis? Sometimes I think computers are just an excuse to complicate things more than they have to be, but that's another story.
The bottom line is, my experience is, whenever any software engineer or account ever tells you "don't worry, a computer will / can handle it", well be afraid, be very afraid.
So, once (and if) this new e-commerce tax is passed in any form, and it becomes a book keeping nightmare, one possible senario is the federal government will "come to the rescue" - or something like that - and "simplify" the situation for business and introduce a nation wide consumption tax, using taxes in other countries like VAT, GST, etc as examples or precedent.
IMO, the end of western civilization will come not at the hands of terrorists, global warming or even bird flu, but from within, a collapse of pressure from just too damned much bookwork.
Remeber bulliten boards, way before the day when everyone had internet? I would guess at the peak of the BBS popularity is when the first shareware version of DOOM came out.
I was a sysop back then,and we had a local group in our city of about 30 BBSes that met once a month to discuss everything from LD chrges to the latest hacker activity.
DOOM caused a real sensation. Every sysop had his own copy, but we were all at a quandry where to offer it for download. Would it offend parents if we let children download such a violent game?
When we did all meet, we found out the guys who ran the "Adult" BBSes, or guys who had "Adult" sections limited to 18 or over, autmatically stuck DOOM in the 18+ category. Seeing how the "Adult boards took the lead, we all followed.
I dunno if the law struck down was good or not - how a law is written, and how it plays out in real life are sometimes 2 different things, but I am still weirded out today that back when DOOM first came out, the guys running "Adult" content automatically assumed it belonged there because of the level of violence, whereas today any kid can just about and store selling computer games and buy the game off the shelf.
the reason this sticks with me is one off the cuff remarks a sysop, who ran a totally adult BBS , made, that DOOM was "damned near a snuff film" it was so violent. We all of course would laugh at this comparison today, but isn't it just a wee bit creepy how fast attitudes change? Where does it stop?
One last thoguht - being a parent myself, please, please, please stop with this "it's time for parents to put down their foot" or "parents to take things into their own hands", "or parents to take responsibility", etc, etc, etc. Parents can only do so much, and sometimes we need help from the community as a whole. Yes, there are parents who take zero responsibility, but for those of us who refuse certian things in our households, it is a constant, uphill battle given the general direction of society.
I think that was the *intent* of the law that was struck down, to show parents that yes, we the people support the idea that some items do not belong in the hands of children, not to play babysitter for irresponible parents. Now I never lived in that state, so I have no idea if it actually worked. Sometimes the best sounding laws turn out ot be the biggest duds in history when set to real life. Prohobition for example. So who knows. Where do we all draw the balance?
joe