Interesting - but I'm faced with a choice where I am - either I pop into a very nice locally run stylish cafe, which provides free Wi-Fi and honestly much better food than Starbucks, and it's still cheaper, or I cross over the road to Starbucks, charging me 6 an hour.
And that's why paying for Wi-Fi ain't going to work - there's always going to be a cafe offering it for free. The reason internet cafes are sustainable is because a cafe could afford to offer say one terminal for free net access (I know several that do), but if you need access immediately this isn't a good solution. Wi-fi eliminates this problem.
"While I'm sure it's all fine and dandy that Apple is now bringing more capitalism to China"
You're implying that China is communist. It's not truly communist - the country would not have experienced such massive growth in population if it wasn't for western companies investing in textiles factories, etc. in China. China owes a lot to western countries for it's absoloutely massive period of growth after the past fifty years. Considering I just three hours ago wrote a two page essay on it for an A-Level...:)
Yes, you could spend a lot less and get a lot more features for your money. But the iPod is a "sports car" product - you could spend a a bit of money on a Ford estate car, and get the works - AC, DVD players, Sat nav, etc. Or you could spend a lot on a sports car, which only has the AC....you don't need a DVD player in a 2 seater sports car, because you're only really buying it for a) speed, and/or b) looks.
Similarly, although it would be nice to have OGG support, digital out etc, many people (not all, but many) are buying the iPod because "it's an iPod". They like the brand. The brand is desirable. iRiver isn't desirable - if you asked a teenager what they thought of the iRiver, they probably wouldn't know what it was.
"OK, so there have been failed ESA projects (NASA/Russians have also failed more than once if I'm not mistaken), Beagle 2 being the latest (however it is often forgotten here that Mars Express was the real purpose of the mission). So yeah, they might be wasting my tax Euros. I wish they'd waste more!"
I agree with you completely - however, just to point out that I believe Beagle 2 was not funded by the ESA...of course, clearly some money from the ESA went towards Beagle 2 due to the cost of adpating Mars Express and payload launch costs, but I think the probe itself wasn't funded by ESA.
Which leaves even more money to spend on other exciting ESA projects - people may be complaining about how VEGA is "useless", but would they rather the ESA not invest money in space technology at all?
I know it's a little thing, but shouldn't it read "The BBC is reporting", not "The BBC are reporting" - BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, not "Corporations", and is singular. So it should be "is", not "are".
Unless my grammar is really off:)
Re:Thinking of Switching to a OSX for a laptop
on
Fix a Troubled Mac
·
· Score: 1
My iBook (two years old) has worked straight out of the box, with no problems. I've even got several flavours of linux running on it.
I did have one problem, though - a dead pixel. But a (rather long) phone call to Apple left me with a 200 cheque (because if I had 5 dead pixels they would have replaced the entire unit, so they took around a fifth of the unit value). I've also had some battery problems, but again I got a free replacement with no questions....and you're right, the are pretty. I'll never forget taking my iBook out in a meeting once and hearing somebody say "Wow - that's a big ipod":)
Yes, they are British. In fact, I'm typing this around 100 metres away from the animation studio (Aardman) at which they were made.
However, I do believe that Chicken Run was touched up somewhat by DreamWorks, to slightly Americanise it - after all, Chicken Run was bankrolled by a US film studio, whereas the Wallace and Grommit films were bankrolled either by Aardman themselves or the BBC
...actually admitted that they gave up on the idea of a map years ago - it's on one of the DVD commentarys, when they talk about how at the start of the show they used to be really picky about the layout of the house and Springfield, but realised if they just gave up on that idea they could have some much funnier jokes (I believe Homer's house is at one point right next to the Nuclear Power Plant carpack, at another its just next to Moes etc. etc.).
I rang Microsoft up to activate some software (I know, I know). I had to go to a human operator, as the system didn't like my serial number.
The conversation went like this:
Tech Support: Hello, Microsoft Activation Services. I'm afraid I can't activate your product, please call back tomorrow.
Me: Why not? I need the software as soon as possibly...
Tech Support: Yeah, there's a bit of a problem at our side.
Me: What?
Tech Support: [embarrassed] All of our computers have crashed, we don't know what's gone wrong, and we can't boot them back up....well, at least for once Microsoft were refreshingly honest:)
As I've posted on a similar topic a while back, there are commercial devices available for usage in theatres / cinemas that although don't jam cellphones, do detect them.
They basically play a loud noise (typically a really annoying voice saying "Please switch off your cellphone"), until they detect no more signals.
I'm afraid you're incorrect to say playing background noise would help. General background noise - even completely randomised white noise - won't be a problem for an incredibly sensitive microphone. Decent (OK, incredibly expensive) rifle mics are exceedingly directional, eliminating any noise from the sides.
If you were to train a rifle mic direct at a keyboard from say, 20 metres away in a very busy work environment you could easily pick it up. You can also use a basic 32 band EQ to remove most noise outside of the keyboard clicking frequency.
Background noise isn't really a problem - it's truly amazing what you can do with the correct equipment. For example, the USSR bugged a US embassy by donating an wall mounted American seal. It was sweeped for bugs, and nothing found. This was because there wasn't actually a bug in there - just a simple thin wire, that would vibrate with speech. The USSR then used a highly directional microphone across the street trained at the seal. They were then able to take the vibrations of the wire, and enhance them into speech.
And that was around 20 years ago, long before the sound digital enhancement techniques of today.
So I'll sleep well, but in the knowledge that background noise ain't going to help me that much. To stop keyboard noises the noise would have to be so loud you probably wouldn't be able to work anyway.
In Orwell's Animal Farm the pigs at publically denounce alchohol, before they themselves become corrupted by it - but they still forbid other animals to drink.
Perhaps the same is true of China - at first denouncing the internet, clearly the government must use it for administration / communication between departments - but they still control access to their citizens.
Just a thought.
Re:I see phones w/o cameras all the time
on
Camera Phone Tips
·
· Score: 1
Certainly the cheap pay-as-you-go market will always have a budget phone with no camera....
The article implies IRC is the cause of the evils. IRC is a medium, not a cause. It's just a way of organising so called "evils". You still have to want to get to the "evil" material in the first place.
I don't think we can say a single programmer made a "mistake"...blaming individuals for secureity holes isn't the way to go. Windows is a very large piece of software - there are bound to be security holes unless the software is subject to many years of testing - Windows XP was released some time ago, and this hole only came to light in the past few months.
By your "blame the programmer" logic I should blame the QA team for not catching the bug...
Intel has a fab plant in Ireland - it's the largest fab plant of theirs outside the US.
Last time I checked, Ireland was in Europe...so what exactly is your point?
I should point out the UK Writers Guild (not the American Writers Guild) is extremely pissed off about this move, because writers won't be getting repeat fees (which can be a large source of income). However, the British Guild has far less power than the American one, meaning not much action can take place over the programmes on demand...
...but the battery life would depend on how long you spent reading each page. You can't just say "it will last 10 000 pages" - someone might spend 10 seconds to read a page, or two minutes...
Seeing as how many British soldiers have been injured by "friendly fire", perhaps the US army should just blow up the computer installation instead? It would certainly "secure" it - bit hard to hack into a burning pile of rubble...
Slashdot Mirror
Interesting - but I'm faced with a choice where I am - either I pop into a very nice locally run stylish cafe, which provides free Wi-Fi and honestly much better food than Starbucks, and it's still cheaper, or I cross over the road to Starbucks, charging me 6 an hour. And that's why paying for Wi-Fi ain't going to work - there's always going to be a cafe offering it for free. The reason internet cafes are sustainable is because a cafe could afford to offer say one terminal for free net access (I know several that do), but if you need access immediately this isn't a good solution. Wi-fi eliminates this problem.
"While I'm sure it's all fine and dandy that Apple is now bringing more capitalism to China"
:)
You're implying that China is communist. It's not truly communist - the country would not have experienced such massive growth in population if it wasn't for western companies investing in textiles factories, etc. in China. China owes a lot to western countries for it's absoloutely massive period of growth after the past fifty years. Considering I just three hours ago wrote a two page essay on it for an A-Level...
Yes, you could spend a lot less and get a lot more features for your money. But the iPod is a "sports car" product - you could spend a a bit of money on a Ford estate car, and get the works - AC, DVD players, Sat nav, etc. Or you could spend a lot on a sports car, which only has the AC. ...you don't need a DVD player in a 2 seater sports car, because you're only really buying it for a) speed, and/or b) looks.
Similarly, although it would be nice to have OGG support, digital out etc, many people (not all, but many) are buying the iPod because "it's an iPod". They like the brand. The brand is desirable. iRiver isn't desirable - if you asked a teenager what they thought of the iRiver, they probably wouldn't know what it was.
"OK, so there have been failed ESA projects (NASA/Russians have also failed more than once if I'm not mistaken), Beagle 2 being the latest (however it is often forgotten here that Mars Express was the real purpose of the mission). So yeah, they might be wasting my tax Euros. I wish they'd waste more!"
I agree with you completely - however, just to point out that I believe Beagle 2 was not funded by the ESA...of course, clearly some money from the ESA went towards Beagle 2 due to the cost of adpating Mars Express and payload launch costs, but I think the probe itself wasn't funded by ESA.
Which leaves even more money to spend on other exciting ESA projects - people may be complaining about how VEGA is "useless", but would they rather the ESA not invest money in space technology at all?
I know it's a little thing, but shouldn't it read "The BBC is reporting", not "The BBC are reporting" - BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, not "Corporations", and is singular. So it should be "is", not "are". Unless my grammar is really off :)
...does it play OGG?
My iBook (two years old) has worked straight out of the box, with no problems. I've even got several flavours of linux running on it.
...and you're right, the are pretty. I'll never forget taking my iBook out in a meeting once and hearing somebody say "Wow - that's a big ipod" :)
I did have one problem, though - a dead pixel. But a (rather long) phone call to Apple left me with a 200 cheque (because if I had 5 dead pixels they would have replaced the entire unit, so they took around a fifth of the unit value). I've also had some battery problems, but again I got a free replacement with no questions.
Yes, they are British. In fact, I'm typing this around 100 metres away from the animation studio (Aardman) at which they were made.
However, I do believe that Chicken Run was touched up somewhat by DreamWorks, to slightly Americanise it - after all, Chicken Run was bankrolled by a US film studio, whereas the Wallace and Grommit films were bankrolled either by Aardman themselves or the BBC
...actually admitted that they gave up on the idea of a map years ago - it's on one of the DVD commentarys, when they talk about how at the start of the show they used to be really picky about the layout of the house and Springfield, but realised if they just gave up on that idea they could have some much funnier jokes (I believe Homer's house is at one point right next to the Nuclear Power Plant carpack, at another its just next to Moes etc. etc.).
I rang Microsoft up to activate some software (I know, I know). I had to go to a human operator, as the system didn't like my serial number. The conversation went like this: Tech Support: Hello, Microsoft Activation Services. I'm afraid I can't activate your product, please call back tomorrow. Me: Why not? I need the software as soon as possibly... Tech Support: Yeah, there's a bit of a problem at our side. Me: What? Tech Support: [embarrassed] All of our computers have crashed, we don't know what's gone wrong, and we can't boot them back up. ...well, at least for once Microsoft were refreshingly honest :)
As I've posted on a similar topic a while back, there are commercial devices available for usage in theatres / cinemas that although don't jam cellphones, do detect them. They basically play a loud noise (typically a really annoying voice saying "Please switch off your cellphone"), until they detect no more signals.
On the site there's a picture of the cast and crew dated 14th May...perhaps there's more science in this film than most :)
I'm afraid you're incorrect to say playing background noise would help. General background noise - even completely randomised white noise - won't be a problem for an incredibly sensitive microphone. Decent (OK, incredibly expensive) rifle mics are exceedingly directional, eliminating any noise from the sides.
If you were to train a rifle mic direct at a keyboard from say, 20 metres away in a very busy work environment you could easily pick it up. You can also use a basic 32 band EQ to remove most noise outside of the keyboard clicking frequency.
Background noise isn't really a problem - it's truly amazing what you can do with the correct equipment. For example, the USSR bugged a US embassy by donating an wall mounted American seal. It was sweeped for bugs, and nothing found. This was because there wasn't actually a bug in there - just a simple thin wire, that would vibrate with speech. The USSR then used a highly directional microphone across the street trained at the seal. They were then able to take the vibrations of the wire, and enhance them into speech.
And that was around 20 years ago, long before the sound digital enhancement techniques of today.
So I'll sleep well, but in the knowledge that background noise ain't going to help me that much. To stop keyboard noises the noise would have to be so loud you probably wouldn't be able to work anyway.
In Orwell's Animal Farm the pigs at publically denounce alchohol, before they themselves become corrupted by it - but they still forbid other animals to drink. Perhaps the same is true of China - at first denouncing the internet, clearly the government must use it for administration / communication between departments - but they still control access to their citizens. Just a thought.
Certainly the cheap pay-as-you-go market will always have a budget phone with no camera....
...how's it going to help me use my calculator at night?
...a microsoft technology adviser to say something other than "product x could be improved by using our techology"...?
The article implies IRC is the cause of the evils. IRC is a medium, not a cause. It's just a way of organising so called "evils". You still have to want to get to the "evil" material in the first place.
The /. article kind of implies everyone gets a cell phone...which isn't the case :)
I think the cost of producing a cell phone for every 12 pack would bankrupt Coca Cola anyway, even without the SUVs...
I don't think we can say a single programmer made a "mistake"...blaming individuals for secureity holes isn't the way to go. Windows is a very large piece of software - there are bound to be security holes unless the software is subject to many years of testing - Windows XP was released some time ago, and this hole only came to light in the past few months. By your "blame the programmer" logic I should blame the QA team for not catching the bug...
Intel has a fab plant in Ireland - it's the largest fab plant of theirs outside the US. Last time I checked, Ireland was in Europe...so what exactly is your point?
I should point out the UK Writers Guild (not the American Writers Guild) is extremely pissed off about this move, because writers won't be getting repeat fees (which can be a large source of income). However, the British Guild has far less power than the American one, meaning not much action can take place over the programmes on demand...
...but the battery life would depend on how long you spent reading each page. You can't just say "it will last 10 000 pages" - someone might spend 10 seconds to read a page, or two minutes...
Seeing as how many British soldiers have been injured by "friendly fire", perhaps the US army should just blow up the computer installation instead? It would certainly "secure" it - bit hard to hack into a burning pile of rubble...
12 year old AOLers can mail me from any computer in the world. Bliss!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111111111111111111 1111!!!!!!!!!!LOL ROLTF!!!