Sony has been dragging it's heels in supporting MP3 for years. I initially thought they wanted to perfect a perfect IPOD-killer before jumping to MP3, but now I know that they just don't get it.
NOTE TO SONY: MP3 is the default format of digital music files PERIOD. We're sorry if it doesn't incorporate the stringent security features you would like. We understand that you run a music business and would like to protect your investments. However, you are also in the hardware business, and hardware, to be successful, should conform to the most popular formats out there. Your main competetitor, Apple, understands this. Why can't you? Do you like spending millions on R+D just to see you products tank?
If NASA's
recent metric conversion efforts are any indication, I'm kind of glad this was abandoned. One miscalculation, and all of downstate New York will have a permanent sunburn.
Let's concentrate on a nice safe space elevator first!
While Microsoft doesn't consistently put out the best products they're capable of, I don't think anyone would stoop so low as to say they put out the WORST product out in the market. As such, it's worth considering how they go about making their software, since it's a difficult job, at best, to get a group of developers to deliver anything. Any tips we can take away as a collective whole would be helpful to us in our larger goals.
How about we stop trying to squeeze games onto any platform that will accept them, and start concentrating on making better product? I would rather see people clamoring to port the latest and greatest game than to see companies touting their ability to develop crappy games everywhere.
For example, If Rockstar Games comes out with an unbelievable sequal to GTAIII (and they're just the guys to do it), but concentrates it only for the PC platform, I would be happy with other platform users requesting it be ported to them. In the meantime, Rockstar doesn't have to spend their time worrying about platform differences. Instead, they can make a beautiful product with great gameplay. Isn't gameplay why we play games to begin with?
It seems to me that it doesn't matter if record companies pay to play their songs. It's either them who are going to set the station playlists or the radio managers, who are themselves beholden to advertiser interests. Either way, I'm not hearing a diverse set of music based around a theme or genre. Isn't that what radio is supposed to be about.
I propose a new paradigm. Let the record companies buy radio stations outright. This way, through the beauty of free markets, the companies will have precise statistics on what we do and don't want to hear. When they see their listner numbers drop to zero, then maybe they will learn.
In the meantime, I'm waiting for a system that lets me upload a playlist and listen to it on satellite through an MP3 server farm. My dream...
I want to clarify my original post. In the context of the original article (The correlation between Google's success and the number of PH.d's they have on staff), the PH.d is overrated. What is a PH.d, anyway? A certificate telling the world that a particular certifying body feels you have met it's criteria for education in a particular subject matter. The certifying bodies vary widely in their criteria, therefore, the quality of their PH.d's varies widely. Ergo, a PH.d, by itself, will not give your company a higher success rate.
I would make an argument that there is an indirect correlation, though. If you take it as given that PH.d's are generally more curious and well-read than your average population, than they should necessarily be more effective in finding new solutions for problems. Finding new solutions is, of course, the purpose of business. Therefore, it is not the PH.d which begets success, but the type of people who pursue that PH.d.
You may think this is a small distinction, but splitting hairs is what interesting arguments are all about. Nyah Nyah!
I would defy the poster to name a single world changing product in science, technology and medicine that has not come about as a result of massive, detailed and prolonged research.
If PH.d's were so great, then the world's best corporation would be the U.S. Government.
The fact is, original ideas are not born out of research, but inspiration.
Here's a question for/., why is there a Caps Lock key at all? I understand why we need the Caps Lock function, but not the key.
The Caps Lock function should be replaced by 'double clicking' the Shift key. Old manual typewriters do something similar, where pressing down the shift key 'locks' it into place. In my perfect world, a 'double click' on either Shift key would lock it into Caps Lock mode, where a single click would remove it back into regular Shift functionality.
It's precisely BECAUSE you don't need 3GHz to run MS Word or surf the net that gaming PC's have begun to get mainstream recognition by large manufacturers.
The fact is, people who bought PIII machines 4 years ago have found them completely functional all this time later. I myself am still doing quite well with my Dell PIII 866 machine that I got in November 2000. I'm no longer on the cutting edge of new games, and I can feel envy creeping in, but there is nothing out there that is making me itch to spend 2K or more for a new box. All of the games that I have immersed myself in recently (GTA III, SOF2, Warcraft III, etc...) have played great both on and off line. The only upgrades I have made in nearly 4 years are RAM and Video card.
Since the manufacturers have seen a slowdown in the frequency in which people upgrade, they have been forced to find new revenue streams. Enter the bleeding edge gaming niche.
When I bought my first PC, I used to get a new one about every 2 years. Since games and core apps have not greatly expanded their core requirements for running them, that cycle has grown larger and larger. I wonder what the next killer app will be to force me to upgrade? Doom 3?
"This is Slashdot, where people think The Who is still a relevant band."
While you are correct in that The Who aren't currently a relevant band, I must take umbrage with your general tone of disrepect. The Who aren't relevant because the members are either dead, or approaching 60. Before they reached this state, they produced 20+ years of some of the best rock music ever put on tape/vinyl/8 track/CD/reel to reel. Before anyone flames me on the 20+ number, I consider their last great album to be It's Hard (Athena, as a single, stacks up to anything put out today) and Pete Townshend had a few years after that of good solo material. How many of today's bands will be able to say that? A handful at most.
Successful bands that formed in the 60's and 70's used to record a new album every year or two. Now, we have to wait years between the latest pop-tart releases, and for what? A lame drum track, triple tracked vocals and musicianship not worthy of the name.
On the flip side, there is a lot of good music being recorded today. Some of it is rootsy, some of it is original and some of it is dangerous. The main problem with the industry is that these bands are not getting the attention and respect they deserve. There is a willing audience out there and they're starving for a revolution. What do we get instead? Jessica Simpson (Hot though she may be), J. Lo, Britney, etc... That's not to say that there isn't a place for them either, just not at the forefront. Has our society really come to this?? Being ruled by the whims of an army of tween girls?
I definitely agree that marriage, or any healthy relationship, is a matter of sacrificing. But you don't have to sacrifice all of your pleasure. I suggest you change your addiction to a game that can be easily played within a short time frame. For example, I was hopelessly hooked on EverCrack when my wife started berating me. Recognizing this, I sadly cut the cord and starting playing online poker instead. Sure, you risk losing money, but it can be easily controlled. Most of the poker sites have sit and go tournaments which last, at most, 90 minutes. And the bonus is, if you go that far, you're going to win some cash!
Obviously poker is not the same as the online RPG's, but choices have to be made. I miss Everquest a lot but it's designed specifically to suck my time. I understand this going in. You should find a game which you can play in discrete time slices of your own choosing. Online frag games are perfect for that. You can do a 15 minute session and then log off without having to worry about losing XP.
One of the guys I work with was so entwined in EverQuest, he actually cancelled a bachelor party invitation to attend an online wedding!!! When you're blowing off the real world to commune with elves and fairies, there's a problem.
I wrote the negatively modded piece about VBA. I am not an employee of Microsoft. It's indicative of the Anti-Microsoft crowd that anything with the Microsoft moniker is instantly thought of as being evil somehow. Professionals in the real world know better. We will use anything at our disposal to achieve our stated objective: Support the business's aims! If Microsoft happens to be the manufacturer that makes this happen, then so be it.
Then again, if I was modded down for a different reason, then I hope the person who did it has the guts to come out and tell me why.
Slashdot Mirror
NOTE TO SONY: MP3 is the default format of digital music files PERIOD. We're sorry if it doesn't incorporate the stringent security features you would like. We understand that you run a music business and would like to protect your investments. However, you are also in the hardware business, and hardware, to be successful, should conform to the most popular formats out there. Your main competetitor, Apple, understands this. Why can't you? Do you like spending millions on R+D just to see you products tank?
Isn't that just TOO many pixels? I mean, really! Won't this move online porn into the realm of disgusting?
The Brainiac who made Eniac had a Cardiac.
Let's concentrate on a nice safe space elevator first!
While Microsoft doesn't consistently put out the best products they're capable of, I don't think anyone would stoop so low as to say they put out the WORST product out in the market. As such, it's worth considering how they go about making their software, since it's a difficult job, at best, to get a group of developers to deliver anything. Any tips we can take away as a collective whole would be helpful to us in our larger goals.
It depends. American or European?
Blood type? Fingerprints? Favorite color?
For example, If Rockstar Games comes out with an unbelievable sequal to GTAIII (and they're just the guys to do it), but concentrates it only for the PC platform, I would be happy with other platform users requesting it be ported to them. In the meantime, Rockstar doesn't have to spend their time worrying about platform differences. Instead, they can make a beautiful product with great gameplay. Isn't gameplay why we play games to begin with?
Why would you want to do that? Spam is good for you and supports a legitimate business purpose. Doesn't it? :-p
I propose a new paradigm. Let the record companies buy radio stations outright. This way, through the beauty of free markets, the companies will have precise statistics on what we do and don't want to hear. When they see their listner numbers drop to zero, then maybe they will learn.
In the meantime, I'm waiting for a system that lets me upload a playlist and listen to it on satellite through an MP3 server farm. My dream...
I would make an argument that there is an indirect correlation, though. If you take it as given that PH.d's are generally more curious and well-read than your average population, than they should necessarily be more effective in finding new solutions for problems. Finding new solutions is, of course, the purpose of business. Therefore, it is not the PH.d which begets success, but the type of people who pursue that PH.d.
You may think this is a small distinction, but splitting hairs is what interesting arguments are all about. Nyah Nyah!
The wheel.
If PH.d's were so great, then the world's best corporation would be the U.S. Government. The fact is, original ideas are not born out of research, but inspiration.
The Caps Lock function should be replaced by 'double clicking' the Shift key. Old manual typewriters do something similar, where pressing down the shift key 'locks' it into place. In my perfect world, a 'double click' on either Shift key would lock it into Caps Lock mode, where a single click would remove it back into regular Shift functionality.
Any thoughts on this?
The fact is, people who bought PIII machines 4 years ago have found them completely functional all this time later. I myself am still doing quite well with my Dell PIII 866 machine that I got in November 2000. I'm no longer on the cutting edge of new games, and I can feel envy creeping in, but there is nothing out there that is making me itch to spend 2K or more for a new box. All of the games that I have immersed myself in recently (GTA III, SOF2, Warcraft III, etc...) have played great both on and off line. The only upgrades I have made in nearly 4 years are RAM and Video card.
Since the manufacturers have seen a slowdown in the frequency in which people upgrade, they have been forced to find new revenue streams. Enter the bleeding edge gaming niche.
When I bought my first PC, I used to get a new one about every 2 years. Since games and core apps have not greatly expanded their core requirements for running them, that cycle has grown larger and larger. I wonder what the next killer app will be to force me to upgrade? Doom 3?
While you are correct in that The Who aren't currently a relevant band, I must take umbrage with your general tone of disrepect. The Who aren't relevant because the members are either dead, or approaching 60. Before they reached this state, they produced 20+ years of some of the best rock music ever put on tape/vinyl/8 track/CD/reel to reel. Before anyone flames me on the 20+ number, I consider their last great album to be It's Hard (Athena, as a single, stacks up to anything put out today) and Pete Townshend had a few years after that of good solo material. How many of today's bands will be able to say that? A handful at most.
Successful bands that formed in the 60's and 70's used to record a new album every year or two. Now, we have to wait years between the latest pop-tart releases, and for what? A lame drum track, triple tracked vocals and musicianship not worthy of the name. On the flip side, there is a lot of good music being recorded today. Some of it is rootsy, some of it is original and some of it is dangerous. The main problem with the industry is that these bands are not getting the attention and respect they deserve. There is a willing audience out there and they're starving for a revolution. What do we get instead? Jessica Simpson (Hot though she may be), J. Lo, Britney, etc... That's not to say that there isn't a place for them either, just not at the forefront. Has our society really come to this?? Being ruled by the whims of an army of tween girls?
I definitely agree that marriage, or any healthy relationship, is a matter of sacrificing. But you don't have to sacrifice all of your pleasure. I suggest you change your addiction to a game that can be easily played within a short time frame. For example, I was hopelessly hooked on EverCrack when my wife started berating me. Recognizing this, I sadly cut the cord and starting playing online poker instead. Sure, you risk losing money, but it can be easily controlled. Most of the poker sites have sit and go tournaments which last, at most, 90 minutes. And the bonus is, if you go that far, you're going to win some cash! Obviously poker is not the same as the online RPG's, but choices have to be made. I miss Everquest a lot but it's designed specifically to suck my time. I understand this going in. You should find a game which you can play in discrete time slices of your own choosing. Online frag games are perfect for that. You can do a 15 minute session and then log off without having to worry about losing XP. One of the guys I work with was so entwined in EverQuest, he actually cancelled a bachelor party invitation to attend an online wedding!!! When you're blowing off the real world to commune with elves and fairies, there's a problem.
I wrote the negatively modded piece about VBA. I am not an employee of Microsoft. It's indicative of the Anti-Microsoft crowd that anything with the Microsoft moniker is instantly thought of as being evil somehow. Professionals in the real world know better. We will use anything at our disposal to achieve our stated objective: Support the business's aims! If Microsoft happens to be the manufacturer that makes this happen, then so be it. Then again, if I was modded down for a different reason, then I hope the person who did it has the guts to come out and tell me why.