I don't know whether Napster's DRM'ed WMA need it to work - I'd guess they just need Windows Media to stick around. But that's the whole problem with DRM - sure, it's around now, but what about 20 years down the line? 50? 100? The RIAA and it's ilk want DRM to become the norm for all media - I don't know why the archaeologists aren?t complaining more.
Maybe not strictly on topic, but what I found really interesting about the frequent discussions on how Photoshop et al were doing currency detection was the this post which explains how currency can be machine-detected by looking for a five dot geometrical pattern present on many countries' currency (Euro, dollar, pound, and many more.)
"Another challenge: Most people can't identify a counterfeit bill. Sang says federal officials showed him one-sided bills and even black and white bills that had been passed."
Reminds me of when the Euro came out first, and there were incidents of 'forgers' passing Monopoly money, and pictures of the Euro that had been cut out of the newspaper.
Seriously, though, the main plan would be AdWords. They are ridiculously cheap for what you get back, we are in a small geographic market with a product that you can't exactly FedEx, (Adwords can be limited by country, limiting inappropriate exposure) and people seem quite happy to click on the ads if they are actually trying to buy something and the ad matches what they want. And those are precisely the sort of clicks we want. So we work on the ad language, trying out a few different campaigns and letting Darwin sort out which works best.
Beyond that, we just try to use appropriate language on the website, targeted more to the user but with Google in the back of our heads, taking care to use titles and header tags as they should be used. Google generally seems to appreciate this.
Yeah, and I've got that one as well - we support a Windows application, just a small program that uploads to the internet. That's all, we have nothing to do with the hardware!
Support call:
Them: Your program doesn't work.
Me: Is there an error message on the screen?
Them: No
Me: What do you see on the screen?
Them: Nothing.
Me: Do you see a button labelled 'start' in the bottom-left of your screen.
Them: No, it's completely black.
Me: Is the computer on?
Them: It was yesterday.
Honestly, I don't think it is possible for anyone who has done tech support to see a tech support story that they couldn't believe. There really is no limit.
I completely agree. I do SEO and AdWords for my company, and we are doing massively well out of Google. But I read far too many people who got good Google rankings, feel like Google owes them, and get very upset if their ranking falls, such as when it changes its algorithm. They forget that Google's business is not to drive visitors to their sites, but to provide the best search experience for the user.
(Ok, technically their business is to sell as many AdWords as possible, but they do this by being the no. 1 search engine, and they are that because they provide the best search experience for the user.)
I think it depends on the extent of the support. I have friends/family that are lawyers, and doctors, and sure, I'd ask them a few questions, but I wouldn't go to them for a full check-up.
Similarly, my friends/family ask me for tech support, but this can work out quite well, with paid nixers from their contacts/colleagues, etc. as I'm known as someone who knows what they are doing technically.
"There are these MP3's and PDF's and a million other things that you don't even know what they are," Ms. Tauber said. "I don't feel like I need to figure out computers, because my instinct is there's just no way."
Stepping over your obviously sexist, but typically/.ian "just like the typical female human" - this girl is 24, going out with a techie, and she doesn't know what an MP3 is?
"Substantial non-infringing use" is finally being accepted as a defence, because as Grokster/Morpheus don't have a central index, (unlike Napster) they can't control what the users do with the software.
I just love the bit where the recording industry present their "90% of the 750 million files" study, and the judge whips back with, well, 75 million files is a lot, isn't it? A few more legitimate uses like this one would do a lot to push the point home.
"Wyant is quick to point out PUC won't be using power lines to deliver Internet access directly into the home. Instead, the company is installing wireless access points along its medium-voltage lines in densely populated residential areas.
These wireless "boxes" convert data so they can be sent through the grid and on to PUC's fibre-optic backbone, which connects to the Internet."
Sounds like it's going over the power lines to me, just not end to end.
Ok, well WHOIS tells us that www.spyban.net was registered to NicTech Networks, Inc. Which is a 'desktop media' corporation based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Site has a similar design to www.spyban.net, and they claim to 'offer highly-targeted online advertising solutions' with 'a reach of over ten million monthly Internet users'. Sounds right, and they are a domestic US company. I'm presuming something like SpyBan must break one or two laws? (At the very least deceptive advertising?)
Distance too short for effective tracking?
on
The Trouble with RFID
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
As far as I recall, the *maximum* distance for passive RFID, under ideal conditions, is 1 meter. Shorter in 'ordinary' conditions. This is one of the reasons passive RFID is not likely to work for 'walk out of the shop' automatic payment, but also why it is also unlikely to be much use for person tracking.
Slashdot Mirror
Right, I guess you use allofmp3.com too and remember what happened to download speeds last time Slashdot mentioned them.
Seriously, I don't think the problem is the AAC, it's the DRM. And that is common between iTunes and the WMA stores.
In Soviet Russia, the music pays you! (Or pretty close, from 1c/track).
I don't know whether Napster's DRM'ed WMA need it to work - I'd guess they just need Windows Media to stick around. But that's the whole problem with DRM - sure, it's around now, but what about 20 years down the line? 50? 100? The RIAA and it's ilk want DRM to become the norm for all media - I don't know why the archaeologists aren?t complaining more.
I remember the days, not so long ago, when *any* serious business was loss making. That's not cool any more?
Maybe not strictly on topic, but what I found really interesting about the frequent discussions on how Photoshop et al were doing currency detection was the this post which explains how currency can be machine-detected by looking for a five dot geometrical pattern present on many countries' currency (Euro, dollar, pound, and many more.)
Reminds me of when the Euro came out first, and there were incidents of 'forgers' passing Monopoly money, and pictures of the Euro that had been cut out of the newspaper.
Looks like stupidity knows no nationality.
Seriously, though, the main plan would be AdWords. They are ridiculously cheap for what you get back, we are in a small geographic market with a product that you can't exactly FedEx, (Adwords can be limited by country, limiting inappropriate exposure) and people seem quite happy to click on the ads if they are actually trying to buy something and the ad matches what they want. And those are precisely the sort of clicks we want. So we work on the ad language, trying out a few different campaigns and letting Darwin sort out which works best.
Beyond that, we just try to use appropriate language on the website, targeted more to the user but with Google in the back of our heads, taking care to use titles and header tags as they should be used. Google generally seems to appreciate this.
But the tab key? Surely you jest! What about the 'any' key?
Yeah, and I've got that one as well - we support a Windows application, just a small program that uploads to the internet. That's all, we have nothing to do with the hardware!
Support call:
Them: Your program doesn't work.
Me: Is there an error message on the screen?
Them: No
Me: What do you see on the screen?
Them: Nothing.
Me: Do you see a button labelled 'start' in the bottom-left of your screen.
Them: No, it's completely black.
Me: Is the computer on?
Them: It was yesterday.
Honestly, I don't think it is possible for anyone who has done tech support to see a tech support story that they couldn't believe. There really is no limit.
(Ok, technically their business is to sell as many AdWords as possible, but they do this by being the no. 1 search engine, and they are that because they provide the best search experience for the user.)
I'm sure you're not morbidly obese. You'd never get through the letterbox.
Me: Now email me that file, the one on your desktop Them: How would it have got onto my deskop, I didn't print it out? True story.
But that would cost me $34,950, even before the hardware!
I think it depends on the extent of the support. I have friends/family that are lawyers, and doctors, and sure, I'd ask them a few questions, but I wouldn't go to them for a full check-up.
Similarly, my friends/family ask me for tech support, but this can work out quite well, with paid nixers from their contacts/colleagues, etc. as I'm known as someone who knows what they are doing technically.
Stepping over your obviously sexist, but typically
I just love the bit where the recording industry present their "90% of the 750 million files" study, and the judge whips back with, well, 75 million files is a lot, isn't it? A few more legitimate uses like this one would do a lot to push the point home.
"Judge Sidney R. Thomas, [is] regarded as among the most technologically astute of the 9th Circuit judges"
Um - laws? The government? Private property? Common sense?
I've a great idea. I'm going to start up my own power distribution company. I plan to use the telephone network.
These wireless "boxes" convert data so they can be sent through the grid and on to PUC's fibre-optic backbone, which connects to the Internet."
Sounds like it's going over the power lines to me, just not end to end.
Girl on Slashdot crys foul on Anonymous Coward. Mods rush to her aid - instant karma!
Spam advertising anti-spam software
Viruses claiming to be security updates
SCO pretending to be a software company
Ok, well WHOIS tells us that www.spyban.net was registered to NicTech Networks, Inc. Which is a 'desktop media' corporation based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Site has a similar design to www.spyban.net, and they claim to 'offer highly-targeted online advertising solutions' with 'a reach of over ten million monthly Internet users'. Sounds right, and they are a domestic US company. I'm presuming something like SpyBan must break one or two laws? (At the very least deceptive advertising?)
The 'myths' of RFID - from an industry group, but might be worth a read - even the people selling these things are only claiming ranges of 10-50cm.
I'm not 100% sure, but I'd say these are active (e.g. powered) rather than passive RFID (being discussed here).