If there was a $10 bill inside the CD case, I would consider it. That would bring the price down to a little less than $10 for an average new CD. I think that's fair and I would be willing to pay that to have an original physical backup CD which I would then promptly rip into an MP3.
The show Myth Busters already busted the "Brown Note" effect, at least at realistic speaker power levels. They setup a huge stack of amps around test subjects and hit them with everything from sub-5hz to 20 hz at insane power levels. There were no ill effects, no vomiting, no lung problems, etc. The US military and I'm sure others are playing with even higher power levels by using two sound transmitters at higher frequencies converging at a single point which creates some sort of harmonic at the ~ 5 hz frequency. Supposedly if you hit someone with outrageous power levels at a low frequency it will do something to them but I can find no publicly available research or documentation to prove that. But I can pretty well bet that there is no "International Law" involving anything to do with this. The only laws or regulations I could think of that could even have a reason to exist would be transmitting radio waves at extremely low frequencies since at least the US miliary uses extremely low frequency RF to communicate with its submarines.
RAW is the way to go for professional photo stuff. From my Nikon D70 I can get RAW format pics which contain lots of extra info about the camera settings and ALL the digital data from the camera, not just what the JPG compressor decided I should have. This is critical for later processing of the photos. Without this extra data, lots of detail in the shadows and highlight regions will likely be lost. I for one want to choose what data to keep and what to throw away, I don't want a compression algorithm making that decision. But, here's the catch... 98% of the people won't give a rat's ass about this. This kind of format is for professional photographers or serious enthusiasts. So for most people, it means nothing, but for me it may be another great format to use since I already use all the Adobe products.
Particularly the labeling of the rider as - "Dummy". I may have to agree with that assessment;-)
Pixel count is less 3rd on my list... at best
on
Beyond Megapixels
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· Score: 5, Insightful
Having just purchased the new Nikon D70 digital SLR camera I can say that pixel count is definitely not what you should look at. At 6.1 megapixels, the D70 is relatively high but some of my friends derided me for not getting an 8 megapixel non-changeable lens camera. Trying to explain to them the benefit of having a real SLR body, the ablity to change lenses, manually adjust all settings etc. is a lost cause. Many people don't understand that although I spent twice as much for less resolution I can do things with this camera that they could never dream of with a traditional digital camera, regardless of resolution. Light sensitivity, signal to noise and optics all rank above resolution in my book. The ability to manually adjust all settings is right up there too.
Of course if you're just taking snapshots to send to grandma then forget everything I've just said:-)
You will not be convicted of anything based on ONLY the black box data. During an accident investigation a huge array of other evidence is naturally collected. If the accident inolves a fatality they will typically look at things down to the state of the filament in the lightbulb (turn signal bulbs, brake light bulbs, etc.) Using information like that they can tell if the bulb was lit when the impact ocurred. A deformed filament means it was heated so it was either on or on very recently. A clean break indicates a cold bulb not recently on. The fact that this a-hole was going 98 does not only come from the black box. Measurements of deformations of the vehicle, what it hit, etc. would allow calculations to determine at least a rough speed. If the calculations all show 20 mph and the black box shows 98 then the black box data will be thrown out the window. If physics calculations show 90 and the black box shows 98 then we're in the realm of statistical error. In short, I believe this is a case where if you're not doing something incredibly stupid you shouldn't be worried, the box will be your friend if you get in an accident. If you are doing something incredibly stupid then STOP IT or expect the box to bite you in the ass!
What's funny to me is that I was under the impression that some of the biggest offenders were the projectionists. I have several friends who do/have done that job and they frequently brought home high quality copies of films. They got perfect angles to the screen from their location and it was easy for them to hide the cams.
Having worked in the robotics and automated machinery industries, I would be more concerned about electric motors, especially larger ones. Lower voltage fed to a motor will result in its drawing more current. I also believe they will run hotter. This could spell disaster for companies with lots of old or borderline motors that may now fry. From a residential standpoint, I don't think it will be too good for things like refrigerator compressor motors, AC compressor motors, etc. I don't see the electronics being affected directly too much, especially since switching power supplies used for more sensitive equipment should be able to compensate.
In 10 years' time, whatever OS Microsoft is pushing will probably require processing power and memory that would be unheard of today, and could certainly not be so cheap as to be considered free. Think about how they write their code and their architecture. Every release needs more ram, more CPU, more drive space. They are not known for tightening code or stripping out features for the sake of efficiency. I don't see any reason to believe that this trend will change. So in 10 years I would bet that their OS will require hardware costing about the same (adjusted for inflation) as it does today.
Actually, this fee would be counter-productive IMHO. Spam or borderline spam companies can easily fork over 2 grand to dump a few million e-mails before having their domain revoked. My little company can't afford it though so anyone allowing only.mail addresses in will block my legit e-mails. A lower fee combined with ultra-fast shut downs of offenders and tough identity checks going in would go farther I think. Even with all of this, it sounds like yet another pie in the sky idea of spam blocking that will end up on the shelf with all the other unimplemented "good" ideas.
I'm game as long as it's not controlled by Windows. I can see it now, it's the ultimate experience in VR except for the minor annoyance of crashing and killing the connected users after a few days.
The conspiracy theorists have always asserted that the men in black don't think we're ready to know about alien life. This is why they go to such extreme measures to keep it a secret. I've yet to hear a single valid argument as to WHY the government would think we're not ready or what advantage it would be to keep it a secret. Any conspiracy theorists care to shed some light on this particular theory?
The conspiracy theorists have always asserted that the men in black don't think we're ready to know about alien life. This is why they go to such extremem measures to keep it a secret. I've yet to hear a single valid argument as to WHY the government would think we're not ready or what advantage it would be to keep it a secret. Any conspiracy theorists care to shed some light on this particular theory?
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If there was a $10 bill inside the CD case, I would consider it. That would bring the price down to a little less than $10 for an average new CD. I think that's fair and I would be willing to pay that to have an original physical backup CD which I would then promptly rip into an MP3.
The show Myth Busters already busted the "Brown Note" effect, at least at realistic speaker power levels. They setup a huge stack of amps around test subjects and hit them with everything from sub-5hz to 20 hz at insane power levels. There were no ill effects, no vomiting, no lung problems, etc. The US military and I'm sure others are playing with even higher power levels by using two sound transmitters at higher frequencies converging at a single point which creates some sort of harmonic at the ~ 5 hz frequency. Supposedly if you hit someone with outrageous power levels at a low frequency it will do something to them but I can find no publicly available research or documentation to prove that. But I can pretty well bet that there is no "International Law" involving anything to do with this. The only laws or regulations I could think of that could even have a reason to exist would be transmitting radio waves at extremely low frequencies since at least the US miliary uses extremely low frequency RF to communicate with its submarines.
RAW is the way to go for professional photo stuff. From my Nikon D70 I can get RAW format pics which contain lots of extra info about the camera settings and ALL the digital data from the camera, not just what the JPG compressor decided I should have. This is critical for later processing of the photos. Without this extra data, lots of detail in the shadows and highlight regions will likely be lost. I for one want to choose what data to keep and what to throw away, I don't want a compression algorithm making that decision. But, here's the catch... 98% of the people won't give a rat's ass about this. This kind of format is for professional photographers or serious enthusiasts. So for most people, it means nothing, but for me it may be another great format to use since I already use all the Adobe products.
Particularly the labeling of the rider as - "Dummy". I may have to agree with that assessment ;-)
Having just purchased the new Nikon D70 digital SLR camera I can say that pixel count is definitely not what you should look at. At 6.1 megapixels, the D70 is relatively high but some of my friends derided me for not getting an 8 megapixel non-changeable lens camera. Trying to explain to them the benefit of having a real SLR body, the ablity to change lenses, manually adjust all settings etc. is a lost cause. Many people don't understand that although I spent twice as much for less resolution I can do things with this camera that they could never dream of with a traditional digital camera, regardless of resolution. Light sensitivity, signal to noise and optics all rank above resolution in my book. The ability to manually adjust all settings is right up there too.
:-)
Of course if you're just taking snapshots to send to grandma then forget everything I've just said
You will not be convicted of anything based on ONLY the black box data. During an accident investigation a huge array of other evidence is naturally collected. If the accident inolves a fatality they will typically look at things down to the state of the filament in the lightbulb (turn signal bulbs, brake light bulbs, etc.) Using information like that they can tell if the bulb was lit when the impact ocurred. A deformed filament means it was heated so it was either on or on very recently. A clean break indicates a cold bulb not recently on. The fact that this a-hole was going 98 does not only come from the black box. Measurements of deformations of the vehicle, what it hit, etc. would allow calculations to determine at least a rough speed. If the calculations all show 20 mph and the black box shows 98 then the black box data will be thrown out the window. If physics calculations show 90 and the black box shows 98 then we're in the realm of statistical error. In short, I believe this is a case where if you're not doing something incredibly stupid you shouldn't be worried, the box will be your friend if you get in an accident. If you are doing something incredibly stupid then STOP IT or expect the box to bite you in the ass!
What's funny to me is that I was under the impression that some of the biggest offenders were the projectionists. I have several friends who do/have done that job and they frequently brought home high quality copies of films. They got perfect angles to the screen from their location and it was easy for them to hide the cams.
Having worked in the robotics and automated machinery industries, I would be more concerned about electric motors, especially larger ones. Lower voltage fed to a motor will result in its drawing more current. I also believe they will run hotter. This could spell disaster for companies with lots of old or borderline motors that may now fry. From a residential standpoint, I don't think it will be too good for things like refrigerator compressor motors, AC compressor motors, etc. I don't see the electronics being affected directly too much, especially since switching power supplies used for more sensitive equipment should be able to compensate.
In 10 years' time, whatever OS Microsoft is pushing will probably require processing power and memory that would be unheard of today, and could certainly not be so cheap as to be considered free. Think about how they write their code and their architecture. Every release needs more ram, more CPU, more drive space. They are not known for tightening code or stripping out features for the sake of efficiency. I don't see any reason to believe that this trend will change. So in 10 years I would bet that their OS will require hardware costing about the same (adjusted for inflation) as it does today.
Wake up and smell what you're shoveling Bill!
Actually, this fee would be counter-productive IMHO. Spam or borderline spam companies can easily fork over 2 grand to dump a few million e-mails before having their domain revoked. My little company can't afford it though so anyone allowing only .mail addresses in will block my legit e-mails. A lower fee combined with ultra-fast shut downs of offenders and tough identity checks going in would go farther I think. Even with all of this, it sounds like yet another pie in the sky idea of spam blocking that will end up on the shelf with all the other unimplemented "good" ideas.
I'm game as long as it's not controlled by Windows. I can see it now, it's the ultimate experience in VR except for the minor annoyance of crashing and killing the connected users after a few days.
The conspiracy theorists have always asserted that the men in black don't think we're ready to know about alien life. This is why they go to such extreme measures to keep it a secret. I've yet to hear a single valid argument as to WHY the government would think we're not ready or what advantage it would be to keep it a secret. Any conspiracy theorists care to shed some light on this particular theory?
Go ahead, bust me - I deserve it :-(
Obviously this post was meant for a different thread - The Mars Polar Lander story in the Science section.
The conspiracy theorists have always asserted that the men in black don't think we're ready to know about alien life. This is why they go to such extremem measures to keep it a secret. I've yet to hear a single valid argument as to WHY the government would think we're not ready or what advantage it would be to keep it a secret. Any conspiracy theorists care to shed some light on this particular theory?