You're mistaken about Tellme laying people off; they are doing quite well and are growing. You're right that the voice portal idea is no longer emphasized, but Tellme's making great money selling voice services to enterprise customers.
Well, I don't think I'll actually ever get one. But that being said, I don't live in Chicago any more, I got the hell out of there and came back home, to Stanford. I should probably change my user info.
One more thing.. I also *highly* agree that USB is preposterous for this application. I had a Nomad Jukebox a while back, the 6GB model, and it was a total pain in the ass. Of course the first time loading songs was a bitch, but those who say that's the only thing that sucks about the USB connection have clearly never had to deal with it regularly. You get this feeling of a stagnant drive you never want to swap files on and off from because it's such a slow pain in the ass (not to mention the god-awful software that Creative, in their typical style of quality, had for transferring files), and even just adding a few songs here and there becomes a chore.
Trust me, the FireWire is brilliant, and really important.
Even if they don't actually release a larger iPod for a while, it's already been shown that you can just take out the 5GB PCMCIA drive in the iPod and slip in whatever you want -- I think the largest you can get today is a 20GB -- and it will work. The firmware supports up to something like 1000GB, should that day ever come.;) Granted, this will void your warranty, but it's nice to know that once the warranty's up anyway, if I really need more space (I'll admit I definitely *could* fill up a lot more than 5GB, although at this point I certainly don't need to) I can relatively easily upgrade my existing device, which I cherish with all of my heart.:P
I agree that one should not consider buying one of the Series2 boxes until there is a *reason* to.. However, it is understandable what TiVo is doing. Most likely, when ReplayTV released their 4000 unit with the broadband, TiVo was caught with their pants down and have been rushing since then to have something to show for CES, so that they don't appear to be behind in the development of their product as compared to Replay. This is a way of using what was pretty much already-existing technology in many Series1 boxes (see this comment within this article regarding technology which is already in the TiVo), but being able to say, "look we're doing what Replay did, but better!!"
Agreed, they're not just selling the data. Add to that the fact that the subscriptions are really the only thing that make TiVo a decent business model (the only things that come to mind from which TiVo might profit is (1) licensing the TiVo technology to box makers like Sony and Philips, (2) the subscription fees, and (3) content deals with big networks), I'm happy to fork over the cash in hopes that it might help a company succeed which deserves to succeed.
Finally, think of it this way. Subscription fees are a way of subsidizing the cost of the set-top box. If you don't like that idea, you can just pay the extra $250 (it was $200 when I bought my TiVo) for lifetime service, and then you're essentially paying TiVo what it should cost to buy the box. Otherwise you can do that in monthly or annual increments down the line, but since I planned (and still do plan) on keeping my TiVo for many years to come when I bought it in June of 2000, I bought the lifetime, which, as of something like this March, will have paid for itself.
Congratulations that you're so smart and all, but it really is ridiculous that you consider yourself a "brainkid". NO one, and I mean NO one should consider themselves smarter than the rest, it's just a recipe for becoming an asshole hermit, heh. We're all smarter than others in some way, especially many of the very technically-inclined folks on/. but thinking that of oneself is something that cannot be only thought; it will be represented in who you are and how you act. And it's great that people tell you that you're so smart you should be older or whatever, but take it as a compliment and keep your head size in check.
When are you guys planning on having a new album besides the kids album? It's been a while since you've done too much new content (besides some of the new content on Severe Tire Damage). We need our They!!
-mikey
It's important to remember that Microsoft is trying to play on people's fears here. "If I get a PS2, will the X-Box come out and blow it out of the water? I don't want to make a bad purchase decision," says the consumer, pleasing Microsoft to the fullest. The X-Box is a direct response to Sony's release of the PS2 and, while the X-Box does look impressive, let's remember it's a _long_ way off and probably even longer than expected knowing Microsoft. They've only announced it to send potential PS2 purchasers shaking in their sneakers.
Actually I've known this ever since I can remember, because I grew up with a friend who was Dutch living in America. The reason I point all the information out is because I've been either asked all those questions or people have made those mistakes to me many times in the past, usually somewhere short after the question "Where do you live these days?" As for you, congratulations, you're not as ignorant as most.
This reminds me of one of the more interesting case-studies I've seen in my limited time on this Earth relating to language. I've been living in Amsterdam (no, fellow Americans, that's not in Germany. It's the Netherlands, a.k.a. Holland, the people/language is Dutch, not Deutsch, that's the German word for German) for the past 8 months and being still young and a language fanatic I've been able to pick up Dutch fantasically well. As a result I've gained an intimate understanding of the relationships between Dutch and English, but even more interesting, how English is permeating the Dutch language.
The Dutch culture is _extremely_ Americanized.. There are times where I feel like Amsterdam is filled with a bunch of Dutch people running around trying their hardest to be American, etc. etc. Their fascination with the so-called "American Dream" is almost uncanny. Granted, they do have much of their own, very unique, culture, and I don't mean to discount that, but the more recent influx of American "stuff" is what I'm focusing on here.
First off, the Dutch practically worship America if you were to look at their media alone. The amount of American programming on TV with Dutch subtitles is amazing. And it's no wonder that, as a result, the amount of American expressions that enter the Dutch language is huge. Dutch people tend to pride themselves in how well they can speak English, and I've noticed they love to show off some sophisticated English sentence related to a conversation they're having. In some even more extreme cases, often with people who have had extreme exposure to English (i.e. lived in an English-speaking country for a long time, etc.), people even mix their sentences between Dutch and English. It's a sort of slang, just as an American trying to act cool might throw in lots of "fucking"s or other expressions.
It makes me wonder that if this sort of "conversion" continues, what will the next generation of Dutch speakers begin to speak like, growing up with both English and Dutch as common around them. I could see in a very short time the language being converted even more so, using English not only in informal slang situations, but in mixing with regular conversation. This is also partly true, with words such as "team", "deal", and "sale" already regular parts of the language.
On another note, businesses here in Holland have their signs very often only in English, making typical English business words that have perfectly valid Dutch translations become more common and familiar in English than in Dutch.
I'll be very interested in to see, in the course of the next 50 years or so, where the Dutch language heads and how it transforms based on English.
This is one of the first Slashdot articles in a while that I've actually felt like I could have nothing to contribute if I wanted to spend the time, because it simply doesn't raise any issues.
I don't think it's a coincidence that this is "offtopic" for Slashdot and completely boring at the same time.. hehe.:)
Thus, I think Slashdot's typical range of "on-topic" subjects are just about right on and something like this shouldn't be accepted to the pool of accepted topics on Slashdot.
The press release says the X-Box is slated to launch in 2001 and I remember reading somewhere that they were _hoping_ (and this is Microsoft) for before Christmas 2001.
Now what I have to ask is, will a 600MHz PC with 64 MB RAM and an NVIDIA card really be all that by Christmas 2001, 21 months from now?
You can only fast forward through commercials after the show has been taped, and in this case it's just like if you were to tape a show on a VCR (like many people do, mind you) and fast forward through the commercials (like many people also do, mind you). Thus while this does, I suppose, increase the amount of people who will be taping things as supposed to watching them live and therefore being able to FF through commercials, TiVo still doesn't get to take the blame for the first piece of technology to let people speed through commercials - the VCR does.
I can honestly say that while it sucks I do think AOL does have the right to stop Gnutella from being worked on at Nullsoft if they want to. That they have.
However, I still think it's a great project, so why don't the Nullsoft guys work on it in their own time? At least release the source on their own time and their own equipment and let the world do with it what they will. At least that way such a cool prog isn't dead.
Any legal buffs out there know whether even though the current state of Gnutella's been killed off by AOL, if work could still legally be done on it by the Nullsoft boys outside of Nullsoft itself?
If so I say go for it, dammit! Even releasing the source for the latest (stable) version they've made would be a huge step forward because others would come forward and work on it and make it what we all want it to be.
So if Nintendo has to supply gloves to those whose hands are damaged through excessive Mario Partying, should the tobacco companies be paying for the health care of those dying from lung cancer through smoking, etc?
(forgot to add this for those who really can't put two and two together)
Thus, these lower costs of production or maintaining capital mean that the etailers can sell their products for less of a profit (but _still_ a profit) and still make a good chunk of cash because of where they save money in other areas.
the reason you can buy stuff cheaper online is because they are selling at a loss!
Actually, you don't understand the typical reason behind why it's so much cheaper on the internet. Etailers in general don't keep hardly the same amount of stock of an item that a Wal-Mart, for example, does. As a result, they don't have to pay as much for warehouse space (if they even keep a warehouse; often they order it when you do), and they also don't have to keep up a physical sales location and all the costs involved in that (upkeep, rent, etc). Granted, there are also some inherent costs in online sales that aren't involved in a real-life, physical store, such as website maintenance and costs, but these costs tend to be much less than the inherent costs of maintaining a real store.
That's why "stuff is cheaper on line". If etailers were selling at a loss, they wouldn't be selling.:)
Slashdot Mirror
Marcos, check out www.podzinger.com. It does just that sort of audio search for podcasts, really useful.
You're mistaken about Tellme laying people off; they are doing quite well and are growing. You're right that the voice portal idea is no longer emphasized, but Tellme's making great money selling voice services to enterprise customers.
Could they not afford an add in the New York times??
I imagine they could, but they're trying to target big TV media companies with this ad, so it makes sense to put it in the LA Times.
Hasn't this been done for a long time? I used to work for PayPal and they had the majority of their non-technical work done in Omaha.
If you want a shiny black iBook now, just check out ColorWare, they'll do it for you.
You could also get your iPod colored however you want from ColorWare.. or buy one pre-colored from them direct. Looks pretty cool.
Well, I don't think I'll actually ever get one. But that being said, I don't live in Chicago any more, I got the hell out of there and came back home, to Stanford. I should probably change my user info.
-mikey
www.themirt.com has a lot of info on these devices. Even a dealer list of where to get one. Man, I'm tempted...
-mikey
One more thing.. I also *highly* agree that USB is preposterous for this application. I had a Nomad Jukebox a while back, the 6GB model, and it was a total pain in the ass. Of course the first time loading songs was a bitch, but those who say that's the only thing that sucks about the USB connection have clearly never had to deal with it regularly. You get this feeling of a stagnant drive you never want to swap files on and off from because it's such a slow pain in the ass (not to mention the god-awful software that Creative, in their typical style of quality, had for transferring files), and even just adding a few songs here and there becomes a chore.
Trust me, the FireWire is brilliant, and really important.
-mikey
Even if they don't actually release a larger iPod for a while, it's already been shown that you can just take out the 5GB PCMCIA drive in the iPod and slip in whatever you want -- I think the largest you can get today is a 20GB -- and it will work. The firmware supports up to something like 1000GB, should that day ever come. ;) Granted, this will void your warranty, but it's nice to know that once the warranty's up anyway, if I really need more space (I'll admit I definitely *could* fill up a lot more than 5GB, although at this point I certainly don't need to) I can relatively easily upgrade my existing device, which I cherish with all of my heart. :P
-mikey
I agree that one should not consider buying one of the Series2 boxes until there is a *reason* to.. However, it is understandable what TiVo is doing. Most likely, when ReplayTV released their 4000 unit with the broadband, TiVo was caught with their pants down and have been rushing since then to have something to show for CES, so that they don't appear to be behind in the development of their product as compared to Replay. This is a way of using what was pretty much already-existing technology in many Series1 boxes (see this comment within this article regarding technology which is already in the TiVo), but being able to say, "look we're doing what Replay did, but better!!"
-mikey
Agreed, they're not just selling the data. Add to that the fact that the subscriptions are really the only thing that make TiVo a decent business model (the only things that come to mind from which TiVo might profit is (1) licensing the TiVo technology to box makers like Sony and Philips, (2) the subscription fees, and (3) content deals with big networks), I'm happy to fork over the cash in hopes that it might help a company succeed which deserves to succeed.
Finally, think of it this way. Subscription fees are a way of subsidizing the cost of the set-top box. If you don't like that idea, you can just pay the extra $250 (it was $200 when I bought my TiVo) for lifetime service, and then you're essentially paying TiVo what it should cost to buy the box. Otherwise you can do that in monthly or annual increments down the line, but since I planned (and still do plan) on keeping my TiVo for many years to come when I bought it in June of 2000, I bought the lifetime, which, as of something like this March, will have paid for itself.
-mikey
being a 16-year old brainkid
/. but thinking that of oneself is something that cannot be only thought; it will be represented in who you are and how you act. And it's great that people tell you that you're so smart you should be older or whatever, but take it as a compliment and keep your head size in check.
Congratulations that you're so smart and all, but it really is ridiculous that you consider yourself a "brainkid". NO one, and I mean NO one should consider themselves smarter than the rest, it's just a recipe for becoming an asshole hermit, heh. We're all smarter than others in some way, especially many of the very technically-inclined folks on
Can you really blame them? Egghead just felt they had to give _something_ to crackers for Christmas!
:/
Actually, this somewhat concerns me too as my credit card was probably on file there.. Hopefully it's just an old expired one.
-mikey
When are you guys planning on having a new album besides the kids album? It's been a while since you've done too much new content (besides some of the new content on Severe Tire Damage). We need our They!! -mikey
It's important to remember that Microsoft is trying to play on people's fears here. "If I get a PS2, will the X-Box come out and blow it out of the water? I don't want to make a bad purchase decision," says the consumer, pleasing Microsoft to the fullest. The X-Box is a direct response to Sony's release of the PS2 and, while the X-Box does look impressive, let's remember it's a _long_ way off and probably even longer than expected knowing Microsoft. They've only announced it to send potential PS2 purchasers shaking in their sneakers.
Actually I've known this ever since I can remember, because I grew up with a friend who was Dutch living in America. The reason I point all the information out is because I've been either asked all those questions or people have made those mistakes to me many times in the past, usually somewhere short after the question "Where do you live these days?" As for you, congratulations, you're not as ignorant as most.
This reminds me of one of the more interesting case-studies I've seen in my limited time on this Earth relating to language. I've been living in Amsterdam (no, fellow Americans, that's not in Germany. It's the Netherlands, a.k.a. Holland, the people/language is Dutch, not Deutsch, that's the German word for German) for the past 8 months and being still young and a language fanatic I've been able to pick up Dutch fantasically well. As a result I've gained an intimate understanding of the relationships between Dutch and English, but even more interesting, how English is permeating the Dutch language.
The Dutch culture is _extremely_ Americanized.. There are times where I feel like Amsterdam is filled with a bunch of Dutch people running around trying their hardest to be American, etc. etc. Their fascination with the so-called "American Dream" is almost uncanny. Granted, they do have much of their own, very unique, culture, and I don't mean to discount that, but the more recent influx of American "stuff" is what I'm focusing on here.
First off, the Dutch practically worship America if you were to look at their media alone. The amount of American programming on TV with Dutch subtitles is amazing. And it's no wonder that, as a result, the amount of American expressions that enter the Dutch language is huge. Dutch people tend to pride themselves in how well they can speak English, and I've noticed they love to show off some sophisticated English sentence related to a conversation they're having. In some even more extreme cases, often with people who have had extreme exposure to English (i.e. lived in an English-speaking country for a long time, etc.), people even mix their sentences between Dutch and English. It's a sort of slang, just as an American trying to act cool might throw in lots of "fucking"s or other expressions.
It makes me wonder that if this sort of "conversion" continues, what will the next generation of Dutch speakers begin to speak like, growing up with both English and Dutch as common around them. I could see in a very short time the language being converted even more so, using English not only in informal slang situations, but in mixing with regular conversation. This is also partly true, with words such as "team", "deal", and "sale" already regular parts of the language.
On another note, businesses here in Holland have their signs very often only in English, making typical English business words that have perfectly valid Dutch translations become more common and familiar in English than in Dutch.
I'll be very interested in to see, in the course of the next 50 years or so, where the Dutch language heads and how it transforms based on English.
This is one of the first Slashdot articles in a while that I've actually felt like I could have nothing to contribute if I wanted to spend the time, because it simply doesn't raise any issues.
:)
:)
I don't think it's a coincidence that this is "offtopic" for Slashdot and completely boring at the same time.. hehe.
Thus, I think Slashdot's typical range of "on-topic" subjects are just about right on and something like this shouldn't be accepted to the pool of accepted topics on Slashdot.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
The press release says the X-Box is slated to launch in 2001 and I remember reading somewhere that they were _hoping_ (and this is Microsoft) for before Christmas 2001.
Now what I have to ask is, will a 600MHz PC with 64 MB RAM and an NVIDIA card really be all that by Christmas 2001, 21 months from now?
You can only fast forward through commercials after the show has been taped, and in this case it's just like if you were to tape a show on a VCR (like many people do, mind you) and fast forward through the commercials (like many people also do, mind you). Thus while this does, I suppose, increase the amount of people who will be taping things as supposed to watching them live and therefore being able to FF through commercials, TiVo still doesn't get to take the blame for the first piece of technology to let people speed through commercials - the VCR does.
I can honestly say that while it sucks I do think AOL does have the right to stop Gnutella from being worked on at Nullsoft if they want to. That they have.
However, I still think it's a great project, so why don't the Nullsoft guys work on it in their own time? At least release the source on their own time and their own equipment and let the world do with it what they will. At least that way such a cool prog isn't dead.
Any legal buffs out there know whether even though the current state of Gnutella's been killed off by AOL, if work could still legally be done on it by the Nullsoft boys outside of Nullsoft itself?
If so I say go for it, dammit! Even releasing the source for the latest (stable) version they've made would be a huge step forward because others would come forward and work on it and make it what we all want it to be.
So if Nintendo has to supply gloves to those whose hands are damaged through excessive Mario Partying, should the tobacco companies be paying for the health care of those dying from lung cancer through smoking, etc?
(forgot to add this for those who really can't put two and two together)
Thus, these lower costs of production or maintaining capital mean that the etailers can sell their products for less of a profit (but _still_ a profit) and still make a good chunk of cash because of where they save money in other areas.
the reason you can buy stuff cheaper online is because they are selling at a loss!
:)
Actually, you don't understand the typical reason behind why it's so much cheaper on the internet. Etailers in general don't keep hardly the same amount of stock of an item that a Wal-Mart, for example, does. As a result, they don't have to pay as much for warehouse space (if they even keep a warehouse; often they order it when you do), and they also don't have to keep up a physical sales location and all the costs involved in that (upkeep, rent, etc). Granted, there are also some inherent costs in online sales that aren't involved in a real-life, physical store, such as website maintenance and costs, but these costs tend to be much less than the inherent costs of maintaining a real store.
That's why "stuff is cheaper on line". If etailers were selling at a loss, they wouldn't be selling.