Akamai is providing a service (redundant distribution and cacheing of static web pages across the internet) using proprietary methods. They play DNS games to try and dynamically generate a DNS response that points to a "nearby" server containing the cached information.
Pretty cool stuff, to be sure.
But all of the proprietary stuff means that there's only one implementation. There's no RFC describing what they do. There's no alternate implementations that might show flaws. There's no cross-checks that outsiders might provide.
Like others have said, it's a mono-culture. And they've done it so well, there's been no interest in creating a set of standards or IETF working group to try and create the multiple, compatible offerings that might guard against mono-culture (and give customers a chance to avoid vendor lock-in.)
(recap: Lego came out with an alternative to bricks, their "technics" like. From this sprang Bionicles and Mindstorms, and the Spybotics stuff seems to be a simplified form of Mindstorms.)
I don't have time to play with Lego anymore, but the motors, gears, axels, etc. I see with my kids' Technics/Bionicle stuff pleases me. They've plenty of Lego too (drifts of the stuff!). They seem to use the Lego for static representational play, and the Technics stuff for more dynamic creations.
But, it looks as if I want to get a MindStorms set for (someone), then I'd better do it soon.
All of the modern Erector sets I've seen have been sad little copies of the themed Lego kit. I hat the Themed Lego kits because the specialized pieces invariably cause my kids to fight and the fights make us (the parents) miserable and grouchy.
However, I do like all of the new hinges and other unusual Lego pieces that are generic in use.
A used toilet paper tube works fine. It's about the right size, and nearly always available. If something fits through that (or a paper-towel tube), then it's too small. Compare this against some convenient reference you have, like the distance from the tip-of-your-thumb to the first joint, or somesuch.
Don't overengineer this. Use good sense. Precision isn't important in parenting. Alertness and flexibility is.
It isn't unknown for a newspaper to make up a story. Really.
Is this story true? A parking lot attendant sells 5 or 10 DVDs for $5/each per. week, and happens to have 78 of them in his booth. One of the titles is Como Te Extrano Vol. IV -- Musica de los 70's y 80's.
The parking lot attended might have expected to get $390 to $780, but it cost him something, perhaps half that.
So, going to MediaPlay's website, I see DVD's selling for $20/each. That make's the RIAA's membership's exposure around $1560, presuming that the copyright holders are members.
A four man RIAA squad probably costs the RIAA at least $400/hour. There's probably other charges for having an investigator/tip-line that notices things like parking lot attendants with under-the-windowsill operations. And the article doesn't tell whether the RIAA got the name of this guy's supplier. (Or perhaps it got his
name from the supplier!)
In short, it doesn't seem to be worth rattling the
cage of a parking lot attendant.
Unless you expect media exposure to scare off other bootlegers.
B.T.W.: I bought a couple of CD's last year, maybe
one or two the previous year. And that's up over the past ten years. I don't own (or want) a DVD player, I don't have broadband at IP access, and my age and tastes are rather outside the buzz and flash of the file sharers. I'm one of those people who just aren't attracted to the RIAA's product.
But I hate, absolutely hate, the idea that the RIAA might someday invade my privacy, should I get broadband service, just because they or some ISP messed up the IP address they think someone publishing "their" music is on.
Slashdot Mirror
Pretty cool stuff, to be sure.
But all of the proprietary stuff means that there's only one implementation. There's no RFC describing what they do. There's no alternate implementations that might show flaws. There's no cross-checks that outsiders might provide.
Like others have said, it's a mono-culture. And they've done it so well, there's been no interest in creating a set of standards or IETF working group to try and create the multiple, compatible offerings that might guard against mono-culture (and give customers a chance to avoid vendor lock-in.)
I don't have time to play with Lego anymore, but the motors, gears, axels, etc. I see with my kids' Technics/Bionicle stuff pleases me. They've plenty of Lego too (drifts of the stuff!). They seem to use the Lego for static representational play, and the Technics stuff for more dynamic creations.
But, it looks as if I want to get a MindStorms set for (someone), then I'd better do it soon.
All of the modern Erector sets I've seen have been sad little copies of the themed Lego kit. I hat the Themed Lego kits because the specialized pieces invariably cause my kids to fight and the fights make us (the parents) miserable and grouchy.
However, I do like all of the new hinges and other unusual Lego pieces that are generic in use.
Don't overengineer this. Use good sense. Precision isn't important in parenting. Alertness and flexibility is.
Really.
Is this story true? A parking lot attendant sells 5 or 10 DVDs for $5/each per. week, and happens to have 78 of them in his booth. One of the titles is Como Te Extrano Vol. IV -- Musica de los 70's y 80's.
The parking lot attended might have expected to get $390 to $780, but it cost him something, perhaps half that.
So, going to MediaPlay's website, I see DVD's selling for $20/each. That make's the RIAA's membership's exposure around $1560, presuming that the copyright holders are members.
A four man RIAA squad probably costs the RIAA at least $400/hour. There's probably other charges for having an investigator/tip-line that notices things like parking lot attendants with under-the-windowsill operations. And the article doesn't tell whether the RIAA got the name of this guy's supplier. (Or perhaps it got his name from the supplier!)
In short, it doesn't seem to be worth rattling the cage of a parking lot attendant.
Unless you expect media exposure to scare off other bootlegers.
B.T.W.: I bought a couple of CD's last year, maybe one or two the previous year. And that's up over the past ten years. I don't own (or want) a DVD player, I don't have broadband at IP access, and my age and tastes are rather outside the buzz and flash of the file sharers. I'm one of those people who just aren't attracted to the RIAA's product.
But I hate, absolutely hate, the idea that the RIAA might someday invade my privacy, should I get broadband service, just because they or some ISP messed up the IP address they think someone publishing "their" music is on.
I suppose the next step is "talking newspapers".
I'm sure it's excessively alarmist to follow the "Fahrenheit 451" theme. Really. I'm sure.
More seriously, this suggests to me that newspaper articles could be rented on a time-basis.
This luddite prefers paper.