I found a far more more elegant solution. My "media" Mac is a G4 dual 867 MDD (wind tunnel) with 3 200gb drives and 2 more external 200gb firewire drives. It lives in the library (with my main work Mac: a Dual 1.8 G5. In the living room near the television, sharing space with the VCR, DVD, Laserdisc, and (since I am old old school) Betamax machines is a little silver box called an EyeHome
This magic thing is connected to a router (though it also works on a Airport Extreme or other wireless solution) and via Ethernet pumps avi mp4 and other formatted files to my television. It also handles digital optical sound and mp3s. My stereo system can rock to Weird Al or my collection of Dr Demento shows... Pictures can also be displayed and if you are all thumbs, Web surfing is available. It works with 10.3.9 and above (10.2.8 if you are creative) and oh yes, it works from a remote.
As a long time Microsoft User (yes I know; I have already joined a 12 step program to get a grep), I am not sure I would trust a recently updated Windows box with OUT a reboot.
Philanthropy is always appreciated by the not so well off. It has traditionally been the means for those who "make it" to give back. The Carnegie endowments are a good example from an earlier era. The Gates Foundation; another from today. Helping the poor always garners karma points but, mandated help as a buy-off does not. Another point: the Free Market has always been the best machine to design and build a product at the most economic and durable price point. Schools do a good job of developing the skills needed for this but industry does a good job of honing those skills.
The path from phylosophy class to the hand of a beuracrat will better serve if it passes through the intermediate filter of capitalism.
This is merely proof of the Pointy Haired Syndrome: Suits by their nature are not technically competent to make decisions yet they are the ones in charge. This principle applies in every human endeavor. Don't worry, be happy and file a memo...
Coders, front office drones, salesmen, and tech supporters who listend to the customer, took notes, and actually built the product to meet needs would be a good start. I realize that Windows was never built with the user in mind; retrofiting concepts like reliability, functionality, ease of use, and security into an opsys is somewhat difficult. Oh and by the way, customers do not NEED to understand coding, any more then you need to know Ohm's Law to use your TV remote. Yes it would be nice, but, it is not how reality works. From top to bottom, Microsoft needs to realize they are no longer in the business of supporting folks who wire their own Altair kit.
That is because in K-12 They were taught History by a teacher without a History Degree, Math by a teacher without a degree in mathmatics, English...you get the picture.
When Bubonic Plague hit Europe, similar measures were tried with far earlier technologies. With swords drawn soldiers, quarantined whole towns which were then left to die. Unfortunately, the soldiers were not above taking a bribe from a rich (and infected) burger who slipped through the gates and out to the next town, where the whole thing was repeated. Today, the cattle will be stopped at the airline check in, while that private corporate jet down the tarmac carries the infection on to Singapore, Nairobi and Newark. As usual, the folks who pay the taxes will get the use of the business end of the billy club they paid for, and the rich and famous will spread the "wealth"...
Rememebr the good old days before electronic BigBrotherism became the national religion? Back then, freindly PEOPLE woudl ask PEOPLE for information verbally and write it down on PAPER with a Pencil. I am sure if someone digs in the back drawer they can locate these technological has-been and re-learn their use. They even work with an Indian accent too!
In the Middle Ages: "DUNK the WITCH!" If she floats, she IS a witch and we BURN HER! If she sinks and drowns, then she is not a witch, and we bury her in the full embrace of Church. As one can see, Microsoft draws on fairly well established and traditional legal presidents.
I have 3 older boxes on 98SE. One thing I have noticed; for average apps, in most non-video intense useage (games), Wi98 running on a Pentium, Pentium 2, or even a lowly K6-2 consistently out performs a XP running box at twice their speed. The operaitng system overhead seems to take up most of the extra horsepower. I know I know.. heresey. and XP is a far more more secure operating system then 98; no where NEAR as prone to viruses, worms, Zombiefication, or poorly written code causing crashes --the Microsoft rep who told me that didn't even buy lunch but he did seem sincere.
The previous poster (FF123-AA-000000-1412.3) has been removed to a secure location for his own well being. There is absolutley no problem with RFID and no danger at all of this technology being used in a manner harmful or dangerous to your freedoms..
You made me curious so I looked it up: The White Nile, Alan Moorhead Harper, NY 1960. in the section on Richard Burton and his expedition to Lake Tanganika and Lake Victoria it refers to the Arab slave routes they traveled starting in Zanzibar, which was the bazzar of the old East African slave trade, and of the various languages encountered and spoken. Burton, who was probably the most phenomenal linguist who ever lived, speaks of the piggin character of Swahili. Not one mention of Tarzan in the volume...
Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I recall reading, is not Swahili itself basically a pigin of various languages, including Arabic, developed along the Zanzibar slave trade routes?
Actually, in the change from IBM and the Mainframe to Microsoft and PC the world was suposed to undergo a revolution. So Saith St Steve at least....
Gone would be the endless office drones, the featureless office enviornment, the mind and creativity numbing sameness of computing. Well... the revolution came and, it seems the only real change from IBM to Microsoft was: the dress code...
Everyone KNOWS that the only reason Apple has done so well selling iPods is because of the beneficence of the music companies allowing iTMS to sell stuff for only 99 cents. Without them, the iPod would be history and the other players with pay per month models would be king.
"Sum ergo Cogito" -getting Descartes before de horse...
France is now experiencing a problem that Rome found a perennial woe. In the first few decades of the Christian Era, the various ethnic/social groups that made up the various "ghettos" in Rome would have riots. The legion would march in, knock in a few heads, Execute the ringleaders and for a while the city was calm again. Till the next time. Then in 64 AD, on the Egyptian New Years day, a fire broke out near the Circus Maximus that engulfed the whole town. Rome (Gaius Nero) blamed the Jews, and especially a particular group (Christians) in the Jewish ghetto that had been periodically fighting with the majority there. The bloodbath that followed served the two fold purpose of removing one group as a problem, and by inviting all other groups to the Coliseum to watch them slaughtered, it decreased the blood lust on the streets. Sadly, little in human nature has changed since those days.
Bart Prine
Obviously Bill saw the Internet clearly on "The Road Ahead" NOT! Microsoft constanlty changes business model to meet demand. They have done it time and time and time again. A day soon I predict a high level meeting in Redmond followed by a switch in company focus...again. Microsoft NEVER sees the direction the inovators point. they just follow behind, steam roll over the inovators, and claim the new land as their own. Microsoft always shows up fashionably late to the party, but they are the last to leave...
You are missing an ancient and true point:
"Taxes are never levied for the benefit of the taxed". Roads police etc...these are accidental after- effects, not the direct result of the largesse of official extortion. As to working one place and paying taxes another; I see the telephone wires extend over other states. Should not they get their cut? TCP/IP Packets may fly everywhere, including off-shore. Should some of this be subject to the tax laws of other countries? When the packet re-enters the US stream that could be import. Should not the person be responsible for appropriate tariff? As ridiculous as all I said seems to the rational person, there are just such proposals currently in play and brought to you by your politician du jour. that is, by your tax money at work... --
What is not so funny is it is a very real possibility they WILL get away with it. The usual tactic is to propose the Moon then settle for near earth orbit. Propose something like this then "compromise" on simple theft instead of grand larceny. When the Printing Press was first invented, you needed to license it. Indiscriminate printing of unregulated books was a true threat to the power structure then....and now...
I find it interesting that stating the fact that product liability as a concept is as old as the oldest laws is found to be trollish simply to inform that programmers should be responsible.... Remind me to call the Help Desk next time the Air Traffic Control has problems.... -Now THIS is trollish!
The Code of Hammurabi has one of the oldest product liability clasues in history: If a building colapses and kills people, the builder shall be stoned to death. One could make the punishment fit the crime in that way: The bug revealed your email addrss to spammers; force the programmer into reading spam all day....and MAKE him reply to all the unsubscribe links;)
So, a person who accesses this system with default password (set by a stupid beuracrat), and uses student info to find the personal information about the child, uses same to gain access to at best, personal info/ financal info and scam the parents;, at worse, child's address and do nasty to child, may be charged with criminal tresspass? WELL I feel SO much better now....
The whole system is stupid...
Slashdot Mirror
I found a far more more elegant solution. My "media" Mac is a G4 dual 867 MDD (wind tunnel) with 3 200gb drives and 2 more external 200gb firewire drives. It lives in the library (with my main work Mac: a Dual 1.8 G5. In the living room near the television, sharing space with the VCR, DVD, Laserdisc, and (since I am old old school) Betamax machines is a little silver box called an EyeHome
This magic thing is connected to a router (though it also works on a Airport Extreme or other wireless solution) and via Ethernet pumps avi mp4 and other formatted files to my television. It also handles digital optical sound and mp3s. My stereo system can rock to Weird Al or my collection of Dr Demento shows... Pictures can also be displayed and if you are all thumbs, Web surfing is available. It works with 10.3.9 and above (10.2.8 if you are creative) and oh yes, it works from a remote.
As a long time Microsoft User (yes I know; I have already joined a 12 step program to get a grep), I am not sure I would trust a recently updated Windows box with OUT a reboot.
Philanthropy is always appreciated by the not so well off. It has traditionally been the means for those who "make it" to give back. The Carnegie endowments are a good example from an earlier era. The Gates Foundation; another from today. Helping the poor always garners karma points but, mandated help as a buy-off does not. Another point: the Free Market has always been the best machine to design and build a product at the most economic and durable price point. Schools do a good job of developing the skills needed for this but industry does a good job of honing those skills.
The path from phylosophy class to the hand of a beuracrat will better serve if it passes through the intermediate filter of capitalism.
Ethics? Business?
Same sentence?
This is merely proof of the Pointy Haired Syndrome: Suits by their nature are not technically competent to make decisions yet they are the ones in charge. This principle applies in every human endeavor. Don't worry, be happy and file a memo...
Coders, front office drones, salesmen, and tech supporters who listend to the customer, took notes, and actually built the product to meet needs would be a good start.
I realize that Windows was never built with the user in mind; retrofiting concepts like reliability, functionality, ease of use, and security into an opsys is somewhat difficult. Oh and by the way, customers do not NEED to understand coding, any more then you need to know Ohm's Law to use your TV remote. Yes it would be nice, but, it is not how reality works. From top to bottom, Microsoft needs to realize they are no longer in the business of supporting folks who wire their own Altair kit.
That is because in K-12 They were taught History by a teacher without a History Degree, Math by a teacher without a degree in mathmatics, English...you get the picture.
When Bubonic Plague hit Europe, similar measures were tried with far earlier technologies. With swords drawn soldiers, quarantined whole towns which were then left to die. Unfortunately, the soldiers were not above taking a bribe from a rich (and infected) burger who slipped through the gates and out to the next town, where the whole thing was repeated. ...
Today, the cattle will be stopped at the airline check in, while that private corporate jet down the tarmac carries the infection on to Singapore, Nairobi and Newark. As usual, the folks who pay the taxes will get the use of the business end of the billy club they paid for, and the rich and famous will spread the "wealth"
Rememebr the good old days before electronic BigBrotherism became the national religion? Back then, freindly PEOPLE woudl ask PEOPLE for information verbally and write it down on PAPER with a Pencil. I am sure if someone digs in the back drawer they can locate these technological has-been and re-learn their use. They even work with an Indian accent too!
In the Middle Ages: "DUNK the WITCH!" If she floats, she IS a witch and we BURN HER! If she sinks and drowns, then she is not a witch, and we bury her in the full embrace of Church. As one can see, Microsoft draws on fairly well established and traditional legal presidents.
I have 3 older boxes on 98SE. One thing I have noticed; for average apps, in most non-video intense useage (games), Wi98 running on a Pentium, Pentium 2, or even a lowly K6-2 consistently out performs a XP running box at twice their speed. The operaitng system overhead seems to take up most of the extra horsepower.
I know I know.. heresey. and XP is a far more more secure operating system then 98; no where NEAR as prone to viruses, worms, Zombiefication, or poorly written code causing crashes --the Microsoft rep who told me that didn't even buy lunch but he did seem sincere.
The previous poster (FF123-AA-000000-1412.3) has been removed to a secure location for his own well being. There is absolutley no problem with RFID and no danger at all of this technology being used in a manner harmful or dangerous to your freedoms..
You made me curious so I looked it up: The White Nile, Alan Moorhead Harper, NY 1960. in the section on Richard Burton and his expedition to Lake Tanganika and Lake Victoria it refers to the Arab slave routes they traveled starting in Zanzibar, which was the bazzar of the old East African slave trade, and of the various languages encountered and spoken. Burton, who was probably the most phenomenal linguist who ever lived, speaks of the piggin character of Swahili. Not one mention of Tarzan in the volume...
Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I recall reading, is not Swahili itself basically a pigin of various languages, including Arabic, developed along the Zanzibar slave trade routes?
Actually, in the change from IBM and the Mainframe to Microsoft and PC the world was suposed to undergo a revolution. So Saith St Steve at least....
Gone would be the endless office drones, the featureless office enviornment, the mind and creativity numbing sameness of computing.
Well... the revolution came and, it seems the only real change from IBM to Microsoft was: the dress code...
Everyone KNOWS that the only reason Apple has done so well selling iPods is because of the beneficence of the music companies allowing iTMS to sell stuff for only 99 cents. Without them, the iPod would be history and the other players with pay per month models would be king.
"Sum ergo Cogito" -getting Descartes before de horse...
France is now experiencing a problem that Rome found a perennial woe. In the first few decades of the Christian Era, the various ethnic/social groups that made up the various "ghettos" in Rome would have riots. The legion would march in, knock in a few heads, Execute the ringleaders and for a while the city was calm again. Till the next time. Then in 64 AD, on the Egyptian New Years day, a fire broke out near the Circus Maximus that engulfed the whole town. Rome (Gaius Nero) blamed the Jews, and especially a particular group (Christians) in the Jewish ghetto that had been periodically fighting with the majority there. The bloodbath that followed served the two fold purpose of removing one group as a problem, and by inviting all other groups to the Coliseum to watch them slaughtered, it decreased the blood lust on the streets. Sadly, little in human nature has changed since those days.
Bart Prine
Obviously Bill saw the Internet clearly on "The Road Ahead" NOT!
Microsoft constanlty changes business model to meet demand. They have done it time and time and time again. A day soon I predict a high level meeting in Redmond followed by a switch in company focus...again. Microsoft NEVER sees the direction the inovators point. they just follow behind, steam roll over the inovators, and claim the new land as their own. Microsoft always shows up fashionably late to the party, but they are the last to leave...
Think of it as....One Giant leap for Microsoft.....one small step for mankind...
You are missing an ancient and true point:
"Taxes are never levied for the benefit of the taxed".
Roads police etc...these are accidental after- effects, not the direct result of the largesse of official extortion.
As to working one place and paying taxes another; I see the telephone wires extend over other states. Should not they get their cut? TCP/IP Packets may fly everywhere, including off-shore. Should some of this be subject to the tax laws of other countries? When the packet re-enters the US stream that could be import. Should not the person be responsible for appropriate tariff? As ridiculous as all I said seems to the rational person, there are just such proposals currently in play and brought to you by your politician du jour. that is, by your tax money at work...
--
What is not so funny is it is a very real possibility they WILL get away with it. The usual tactic is to propose the Moon then settle for near earth orbit. Propose something like this then "compromise" on simple theft instead of grand larceny. When the Printing Press was first invented, you needed to license it. Indiscriminate printing of unregulated books was a true threat to the power structure then ....and now...
Does this mean if I "Shut up and Drive" I am invisible?
I find it interesting that stating the fact that product liability as a concept is as old as the oldest laws is found to be trollish simply to inform that programmers should be responsible.... Remind me to call the Help Desk next time the Air Traffic Control has problems....
-Now THIS is trollish!
The Code of Hammurabi has one of the oldest product liability clasues in history: If a building colapses and kills people, the builder shall be stoned to death. One could make the punishment fit the crime in that way: The bug revealed your email addrss to spammers; force the programmer into reading spam all day....and MAKE him reply to all the unsubscribe links ;)
So, a person who accesses this system with default password (set by a stupid beuracrat), and uses student info to find the personal information about the child, uses same to gain access to at best, personal info/ financal info and scam the parents;, at worse, child's address and do nasty to child, may be charged with criminal tresspass? WELL I feel SO much better now....
The whole system is stupid...