We have two dogs: a sparsely haired Chinese Crested and a rather fuzzy Bichon cross. They are about the same Sd (dog shake diameter) but we have been bothered for a long time by the dissonance created by the subtle difference in their Fd (dog shake frequency). The resulting low frequency rumble has attracted what we thought were "Graboids" but in reality were just large, obnoxious, pocket gophers. Time to reach for the Rodenator.
Thanks to this article, we have successfully brought them into tune with each other by adding some velcro'd shag carpet (red) to the Crested and by judiciously trimming the Bichon. However, we still have some annoying phase shift issues when they start shaking at different times.
Especially since it differs state-by-state or country-by-country - for example, are 17-year-old North Dakotans somehow less capable of consent than 17-year-old South Dakotans?
This is where things get murky. States have the right to make their own laws regarding this topic, but at the same time it creates an arbitrary discrepancy not based on reality, but rather based on legislation.
Well of course it's murky, and we know that. Rule based systems create highly defined, black and white partitions. They are most accurate in 2d space and when there is only one parameter to focus on. Any more dimensions/parameters and the result will be inaccurate. Life is messy so "things get murky".
Thing is, we create rules like this (age of consent) to protect those who would be exploited. If some people who are more mature have to wait for the freedom to make choices that we say must be made by someone who is mature and capable (whatever that is), then that's OK. At least we have protected a lot of people.
If different areas of control (jurisdictions, counties, states, countries) have different rules then that's OK too, as long as we are still protecting those who need it. The variation in rules is just a measure of the messiness of the issue.
It is also important to keep on questioning what our rules are. The law is a lousy way to deliver justice but it's absolutely better than anything else.
Don't be discouraged; I am sure that both your mother and your team at work are happy that you are informative. Me, I like being informative but people usually respond with very negative attitudes.
Anyways, the secret to being modded "funny" is to use the phrase "You insensitive clod". Slashdot modders are required to funny this up just like Mel Gibson felt a compulsion to buy "Catcher in the Rye" in "Conspiracy Theory". Watch out for Starship captains with bandaged noses.
Certainly Granatelli was a maverick but he faced a different scale of opposition. Indy car racing is first and foremost an entertainment business; bottom line profits and markets are key to everyone involved. I loved Granatelli's car but it didn't take a genius to figure out his would be the first and the last car of its kind on the Indy circuit.
Seriously: an oval race of turbines would be like watching hockey in New Orleans. No one would be there and it would be like the race was put on mute.
Tucker was up against opposition at least an order of magnitude more vicious: vested political interests, the Big Three, and damaging inuendo.
BTW, I saw a Tucker at the car museum in Balboa Park, San Diego. Very cool. If you go there, be sure to check out Louie Mattar's 47 Cadillac which was fully equipped for non-stop driving, including the ability to change the oil and a flat tire without stopping. A real wonder!
San Diego is one of my favourite cities. So many points of interest for the techie/nerd. Balboa Park is worth a couple of days at least and there is a terrific Fry's store. Plus the Navy yard and the Cabrillo National Monument. Oh.. Legoland etc. Lots of fun.
I don't believe that DSP implementation in receivers was responsible for smaller antennas. If you have some references you can point me at I would appreciate it.
In a 40 Mbs tv digital stream there is about 17 Mbs of forward error correction. This allows the base fairweather signal to still be usable when rain/snow deteriorates the reception. This means that instead of losing your reception when it rains, you can still watch Jersey Shore (or Big Bang).
DSP implemented communication sets usually don't have any better sensitivity specs than analog units but they do have a lot more flexibility and functionality. For example: an NRD 545 receiver is almost all DSP and is very sensitive (.32uv for 10db) but an analog Drake receiver is better at 0.25uv. I kno this is an analog audio modulation and not digital video but very basically it is about pulling a usable signal out of the noise.
However, the NRD has an incredible set of features for dealing with the signal, including notch filters and continuously variable bandwidth.
Basically, though, what comes out of the analog front-end is what is important and what determines whether or not a signal is useful. The error correction allows signal deterioration due to weather or other conditions to not affect reception until things get really bad.
Satellite dishes are smaller now because the original C band transponders were power limited compared to the current Ku band transponders. As well, antenna size is related to wavelength so equivalent antenna designs for a high frequency (Ku band) will be proportionately smaller than for a low frequency (C band).
So... sat-TV receiving dishes are smaller because both the satellite transmit power and frequency increased.
Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) can do a lot, but all receiver processing (analog or digital) depends on getting an analog signal from the antenna that has sufficient S/N and power. Think GIGO. It is the same with radio signals. With sat-TV DSPs are not the reason for the change to smaller antennas. It is almost entirely due to the change to higher power Ku-band transponders.
Various array antennas have been around for a long time. TFA doesn't give much detail and isn't even clear about what is being proposed but there is a better description here:
What is interesting about Burgwal's chip is that it could make a mass-produced array practical for a lot of purposes, including sat-TV receivers. That may not be the killer app for the chip tho since the dishes are cheap, efficient, and easy to set up.
Although, it would be nice to just stick a flat antenna device on a wall without any set up. A lot of installers would be out of work!
Actually, there were a number of complaints... almost all bogus. Drivers complained about the heat exhaust causing their cars to overheat but this could not be shown to be true. The Granatelli car also compensated for lack of engine braking with deployable flaps, which other drivers said were distracting and therefore dangerous.
Anyone who watched or listened to the race knew there would be poor marketability for a track full of cars quietly whooshing around the oval.
Also, turbines would be a death knell for traditional engines from Offenhauser and Ford. All of the piston engine knowledge in the teams would be down the drain.
They have an excellent power-to-weight ratio (which is why they're used in aircraft, and why gas turbines are used in helicopters), but their fuel economy, even when used in an electric drive system and always running at the peak efficiency RPM, will never reach that of an average petrol engine, let alone diesel.
What they are saying is that this hardware has a unique "biometric" and that can be used to definitively identify true chips/boards from fake. Hmmm...
First thought that popped up is that this isn't new: floppy disks were "copy protected" using defects punched into the original disk. That didn't work out very well so why would this?
Second thought was that biometrics have strengths and weaknesses and are not unspoofable. Why would this be any different?
Several other things come to mind:
1. If a h/w encoded w/o (write only) serial number is not good enough, why is this better? Is it because it is cheaper? ie: the flash mem is already there so additional gates/circuitry is not required?
2. What happens if the h/w tech changes? ie: flash mem is no longer cheap and ubiquitous because the whole h/w base has moved to a new technology? In other words, it binds h/w verification, which we want to be a reliable long term solution, to h/w technology which is highly volatile. Probably not a good idea.
3. There is an assumption that these defects are random. I know from experience that many things we assume to be random are actually patterned and predictable. For example: I have observed DRAM chips that power on with repeatable bit patterns that sometimes vary with production run. Highly consistent, quality controlled production runs tends to remove entropy from the product. Faults and errors occur but within well defined constraints. So... disk drives used to fail within a fairly broad standard deviation from the MTBF but now, in a storage centre with hundreds of drives, I get multiple drive failures almost all at once. The standard deviation is much narrower because the manufacturing process is so well controlled. I used to replace drives when they failed and I was confident that the spares and RAID set redundancy would be sufficient to cover the rebuild time. Now I replace drives before the point in time when I expect failures to start because I can get multiple drive failures within the disk rebuild time. The failures are random but correlated. Go figure. Fortunately, tech change often happens before pre-emptive replacement is required.
If we base a h/w verification scheme on the randomness of some aspect of a manufactured product then the scheme is bound to the manufacturing process. If you change your process then you change the verification confidence and security. Not good to make these things dependent.
I think that if there is a need to provide h/w verification then the scheme should be controllable and independent of h/w technology and processes. It should also be able to encode other information with it (er... it should be extensible). Code a w/o number onto the chip that works like PGP or a cert. Forget about biometrics.
: I can convert it to any format with ease, but if (legal) downloadable content was DRM free then I would not buy CDs either
FWIW, there are plenty of non-DRM options these days. I personally use Amazon.com. Amazon even has a GNU/Linux app (with a suitable Ubuntu.deb) that takes care of downloading multitrack albums automatically (why they can't just send you a zip is anyone's guess.)
The bigger problem is one of quality, but, personally, my ears aren't sensitive to know the difference between a well encoded MP3 and a CD.
Boy... a lot of responses to a little statement.;->
I probably should expand a bit... there are a lot of holes in the available DRM free, legal, online content. eg: most of what I am interested on, say iTunes, is all DRM'd. A lot of the alternatives (eg: amazon) don't carry what I am looking for. My first preference is to purchase online and download to my vault. Second choice is to spend time in the pawn shops' previously owned (previously stolen?) collections. eBay and Kijiji are good sources. If I have to, I will buy retail but a lot of what I am looking for is no longer available. eh... its a process.
Really, I was saying that for me, ownership of an original physical disk is (almost) pointless. Just give me the file and don't make things complicated.
I was also trying to say that I like having music files on hand because I listen to them again and again but I seldom do that with films and shows. Lord of the Rings, a few others are worth keeping but it seems that the value of watching video content again is often much less than listening to music again and again. For me anyways.
I have gone a step further and stopped buying things like the X-Files (tho I did buy that before I stopped).
I only buy a movie on DVD now if I know I will be watching it at least 5 times or at least once a year. If I know I'm going to watch the movie once or twice, I rent it.
Yup... we stopped buying video content a long time ago. We just use the PVR, watch a show a couple of times and then let it disappear into the bit bucket. I have almost no interest in owning/permanently keeping video content. My experience is that most discs are played once or twice and then just take up space on the shelf that would be better used for books, pictures or photo albums.
OTOH, I am very much into a permanent collection of audio. Music has more meaning and permanent value for us than videos/movies. Go figure.
I still buy CDs because of the flexibility and control: I can convert it to any format with ease, but if (legal) downloadable content was DRM free then I would not buy CDs either. I would rather maintain a reliable NAS vault of music than manage a collection of fragile plastic discs.
I know I'm the minority when I say that I am satisfied with current DVD resolution and am okay with buying into DVDs but the price difference is unreal -- especially used discs.
I don't think you're the minority at all. I think a lot of people feel this way, myself included.
Spot on. It will be interesting to see what happens with 3D... my wife gets motion sick watching 3D so its a non-starter for her. Plus we both wear glasses and have no interest in laser surgery or contacts so the glasses truly are PITA.
Again... probably not the majority but there are a lot of people for whom 3D is just not worth it.
But, since when does Qaddafi give a crap about Sharia?
Exactly. Libya is not like Saudi Arabia where women have to sit in the back seat, etc. Although the Libyan judicial system is supposedly based on Sharia law, it is observably closer to British/American systems. Most results involve prison terms or other modern punishments.
My observation: like many other things in Libya, perception is more important than reality. The government wants to appear to be consistent with Sharia law but doesn't want Sharia to permeate Libyan society.
You can still be buddies with Iran but you can also have a pi** up on bootleg flash.
Radio towers are a Federal issue and the only standing that provinces and municipalities have is what the feds care to give them. This federal perogative has been widely accepted by the provinces. Industry Canada is the regulating ministry.
This is not to say that the municipalities are ignored... just that if the feds say you can build a tower and approve the design then the local municipality can complain but they have no legal grounds to block the construction.
As a result of the federal jurisdiction of telecommunications operations, traditional municipal land-use planning controls such as zoning by-laws, site-plan control, development approvals, and Building Code requirements are rendered inoperative to the extent that they affect or interfere with the siting, physical location, design, construction and operation of federal undertakings such as cellular/PCS carriers. In other words, the prohibition, restriction or regulation of land for its use as a wireless telecommunications facility would not be the authority of the Land-Use Authority.
Nonetheless, Industry Canada requires anyone who is planning to install or modify an antenna system that doesn’t meet certain criteria to consult with the local land-use authority and/or local public where appropriate. Industry Canada generally considers that once a participating land-use authority is contacted, the consultation process should be concluded within 120 days."
But, but, what if my ones are crooked or my zeroes have flat spots?
I can provide you with de-oxidized gold plated single-crystal grown copper matrix unidirectional topographical binary bit correctors for a very reasonable price. We like to make them affordable to everyone so the pricing is variable. Contact "theresoneborneveryminute@sucker.ru1".
De-icers are extra.
Note: These units are very flexible and provide noise cancelling on analog connections as well as bit correction on digital streams. Some people like a little bit of "lean" to the ones as it produces a pleasing "12AT7" tube like quality so I also provide a variable "italics" control.
"In Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto (1995), the court held that a good reputation is closely related to the innate worthiness and dignity of the individual. Therefore, reputation must be protected in the same way as freedom of expression under Section 2(b). The court noted that a reputation tarnished by libel can seldom regain its formal luster. Accordingly, society has an interest in ensuring its members enjoy and protect their good reputation so long as it is merited. Along similar lines, in the case of Newman et al v. Halstead (2006), an adult was held liable for $676,000 for posting derogatory comments about teachers online."
I believe this was a civil action and it seems to me that the police would be likely to succeed in such a case. However, the Calgary Police would have to do their own work on it with the City of Calgary and the individuals named bringing the legal action forward instead of having the RCMP bring charges. BTW IANAL, just a beer-hazy nerd.
There might even by some "hate-crime" legislation that could be used.
Curious that they chose to follow the criminal law path.
Thanks for the link, but it doesn't do much to garner sympathy to the defendant, LOL
I expect, though, that filing suit against the guy will just have the streisand effect on things. (I mean aside from the site being slashdotted - a well known phenomena in and of itself) The more people who hear of the case, the more visits to the site, the more whackos are going to believe what they want to believe, rather than any facts that get in the way.
Ehh. If the cops are stupid enough to feed the troll, they deserve all the bad publicity they can get.
Yup.. my feelings exactly. I wonder who got their snit up to start the legal action?
"More evidence is needed to find the accused at fault in criminal cases than to find the defendant at fault in civil ones. To convict someone of a crime, the prosecution must show there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the person committed the crime and, in most cases, that they intended to commit it. Judges and juries cannot convict someone they believe probably committed the crime or likely is guilty - they must be almost certain. This gives the accused the benefit of any reasonable doubt and makes it less likely an innocent person will be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Civil cases, in contrast, must be proven on a balance of probabilities - if it is more likely than not that the defendant caused harm or loss, a court can uphold a civil claim."
It will be fairly easy to show who did the publishing and that he intended to do the publishing.
Problem for the RCMP, who are not the defamed group, and the Calgary Police will be showing that a crime was actually committed. The key phrase in Canadian law is "on reasonable grounds, he believes is true". Is it reasonable for a person to argue these points given what is known to be true? Looking at the site, at least some of the statements do not seem "reasonable".
But also, he is not publishing in Canada. eg: Court publication bans do not extend to websites hosted in other countries.
If you look at the site, it clearly appeals to the fringe and is long on accusation and short on evidence. It also explicitly names particular people without a lot of supporting documentation. Personnally, I would say this guy is pushing the limits of free speech beyond what is ethical but I am not so sure that there is a law broken. My gut reaction was that he is a wack job and is doing more harm than good for his cause. Police should be held to higher standards and complaints should be investigated independantly but I would not want to be a public servant in a tough, demanding job and be subject to this kind of public complaint. Again, I'm not saying there is criminal defamation; just saying that this is clearly at the limit.
Finally, first thing I did upon reading the article was to go find the site: http://www.rottenapples.info/ I am sure that this fellows site popularity has soared.;->
Well, it is the ridiculous nature of the process and it is another example of the control freak we have as a PM. The example given in the article is a scientist who published a paper in Nature about the glacial flooding at the end of one of the ice age periods. The government did not allow him to be interviewed about the article until the deadlines had passed. The OK had to come virtually from the PM. We are not talking about anything controversial here: nothing that would be tied to present day issues. This pre-historic science and has nothing to do with contrarian views.
This will shock everyone, I know, but it is an example of the hypocrisy of the govt which came to power partly on the platform of being open. Sigh... meet the new boss same as the old boss.
Slashdot Mirror
We have two dogs: a sparsely haired Chinese Crested and a rather fuzzy Bichon cross. They are about the same Sd (dog shake diameter) but we have been bothered for a long time by the dissonance created by the subtle difference in their Fd (dog shake frequency). The resulting low frequency rumble has attracted what we thought were "Graboids" but in reality were just large, obnoxious, pocket gophers. Time to reach for the Rodenator.
Thanks to this article, we have successfully brought them into tune with each other by adding some velcro'd shag carpet (red) to the Crested and by judiciously trimming the Bichon. However, we still have some annoying phase shift issues when they start shaking at different times.
Especially since it differs state-by-state or country-by-country - for example, are 17-year-old North Dakotans somehow less capable of consent than 17-year-old South Dakotans?
This is where things get murky. States have the right to make their own laws regarding this topic, but at the same time it creates an arbitrary discrepancy not based on reality, but rather based on legislation.
Well of course it's murky, and we know that. Rule based systems create highly defined, black and white partitions. They are most accurate in 2d space and when there is only one parameter to focus on. Any more dimensions/parameters and the result will be inaccurate. Life is messy so "things get murky".
Thing is, we create rules like this (age of consent) to protect those who would be exploited. If some people who are more mature have to wait for the freedom to make choices that we say must be made by someone who is mature and capable (whatever that is), then that's OK. At least we have protected a lot of people.
If different areas of control (jurisdictions, counties, states, countries) have different rules then that's OK too, as long as we are still protecting those who need it. The variation in rules is just a measure of the messiness of the issue.
It is also important to keep on questioning what our rules are. The law is a lousy way to deliver justice but it's absolutely better than anything else.
Don't be discouraged; I am sure that both your mother and your team at work are happy that you are informative. Me, I like being informative but people usually respond with very negative attitudes.
Anyways, the secret to being modded "funny" is to use the phrase "You insensitive clod". Slashdot modders are required to funny this up just like Mel Gibson felt a compulsion to buy "Catcher in the Rye" in "Conspiracy Theory". Watch out for Starship captains with bandaged noses.
Cheers
My chance at being modded "funny" and I'm wrong.
Poop.
We've got a bunch of crazy laws.
In the states, if you get caught downloading music, you get sued by Sony BMG...
In Canada, we basically assume you payed your blank media tax.
You insensitive clod: it's not a tax; it's a fee.
Feel better?
Ah! Thanks for pointing out the parallel!
Certainly Granatelli was a maverick but he faced a different scale of opposition. Indy car racing is first and foremost an entertainment business; bottom line profits and markets are key to everyone involved. I loved Granatelli's car but it didn't take a genius to figure out his would be the first and the last car of its kind on the Indy circuit.
Seriously: an oval race of turbines would be like watching hockey in New Orleans. No one would be there and it would be like the race was put on mute.
Tucker was up against opposition at least an order of magnitude more vicious: vested political interests, the Big Three, and damaging inuendo.
BTW, I saw a Tucker at the car museum in Balboa Park, San Diego. Very cool. If you go there, be sure to check out Louie Mattar's 47 Cadillac which was fully equipped for non-stop driving, including the ability to change the oil and a flat tire without stopping. A real wonder!
San Diego is one of my favourite cities. So many points of interest for the techie/nerd. Balboa Park is worth a couple of days at least and there is a terrific Fry's store. Plus the Navy yard and the Cabrillo National Monument. Oh.. Legoland etc. Lots of fun.
I don't believe that DSP implementation in receivers was responsible for smaller antennas. If you have some references you can point me at I would appreciate it.
In a 40 Mbs tv digital stream there is about 17 Mbs of forward error correction. This allows the base fairweather signal to still be usable when rain/snow deteriorates the reception. This means that instead of losing your reception when it rains, you can still watch Jersey Shore (or Big Bang).
DSP implemented communication sets usually don't have any better sensitivity specs than analog units but they do have a lot more flexibility and functionality. For example: an NRD 545 receiver is almost all DSP and is very sensitive (.32uv for 10db) but an analog Drake receiver is better at 0.25uv. I kno this is an analog audio modulation and not digital video but very basically it is about pulling a usable signal out of the noise.
However, the NRD has an incredible set of features for dealing with the signal, including notch filters and continuously variable bandwidth.
Basically, though, what comes out of the analog front-end is what is important and what determines whether or not a signal is useful. The error correction allows signal deterioration due to weather or other conditions to not affect reception until things get really bad.
Satellite dishes are smaller now because the original C band transponders were power limited compared to the current Ku band transponders. As well, antenna size is related to wavelength so equivalent antenna designs for a high frequency (Ku band) will be proportionately smaller than for a low frequency (C band).
So... sat-TV receiving dishes are smaller because both the satellite transmit power and frequency increased.
Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) can do a lot, but all receiver processing (analog or digital) depends on getting an analog signal from the antenna that has sufficient S/N and power. Think GIGO. It is the same with radio signals. With sat-TV DSPs are not the reason for the change to smaller antennas. It is almost entirely due to the change to higher power Ku-band transponders.
Various array antennas have been around for a long time. TFA doesn't give much detail and isn't even clear about what is being proposed but there is a better description here:
http://wwwhome.cs.utwente.nl/~burgwal/research.php
What is interesting about Burgwal's chip is that it could make a mass-produced array practical for a lot of purposes, including sat-TV receivers. That may not be the killer app for the chip tho since the dishes are cheap, efficient, and easy to set up.
Although, it would be nice to just stick a flat antenna device on a wall without any set up. A lot of installers would be out of work!
Actually, there were a number of complaints... almost all bogus. Drivers complained about the heat exhaust causing their cars to overheat but this could not be shown to be true. The Granatelli car also compensated for lack of engine braking with deployable flaps, which other drivers said were distracting and therefore dangerous.
Anyone who watched or listened to the race knew there would be poor marketability for a track full of cars quietly whooshing around the oval.
Also, turbines would be a death knell for traditional engines from Offenhauser and Ford. All of the piston engine knowledge in the teams would be down the drain.
Turbine technology was culturally offensive.
They have an excellent power-to-weight ratio (which is why they're used in aircraft, and why gas turbines are used in helicopters), but their fuel economy, even when used in an electric drive system and always running at the peak efficiency RPM, will never reach that of an average petrol engine, let alone diesel.
Exactly. They make an excellent engine for a race car unless they rewrite the rules to make it impossible to use a turbine.
http://www.turbinecowboy.com/carstrucksmotorcycles/1967IndyTurbine/
As to sound levels, one of the biggest complaints against the turbine at Indy was how quiet it was.
Sigh. That was a great race.
"All this has happened before, and all this will happen again!"
At first It was mechanical punctures on floppies, then random laser marks on CD, now this...
Yeah, holes punched in floppys. However could that be circumvented? Har har har
Glad to see there are other old guys around.
What they are saying is that this hardware has a unique "biometric" and that can be used to definitively identify true chips/boards from fake. Hmmm...
First thought that popped up is that this isn't new: floppy disks were "copy protected" using defects punched into the original disk. That didn't work out very well so why would this?
Second thought was that biometrics have strengths and weaknesses and are not unspoofable. Why would this be any different?
Several other things come to mind:
1. If a h/w encoded w/o (write only) serial number is not good enough, why is this better? Is it because it is cheaper? ie: the flash mem is already there so additional gates/circuitry is not required?
2. What happens if the h/w tech changes? ie: flash mem is no longer cheap and ubiquitous because the whole h/w base has moved to a new technology? In other words, it binds h/w verification, which we want to be a reliable long term solution, to h/w technology which is highly volatile. Probably not a good idea.
3. There is an assumption that these defects are random. I know from experience that many things we assume to be random are actually patterned and predictable. For example: I have observed DRAM chips that power on with repeatable bit patterns that sometimes vary with production run. Highly consistent, quality controlled production runs tends to remove entropy from the product. Faults and errors occur but within well defined constraints. So... disk drives used to fail within a fairly broad standard deviation from the MTBF but now, in a storage centre with hundreds of drives, I get multiple drive failures almost all at once. The standard deviation is much narrower because the manufacturing process is so well controlled. I used to replace drives when they failed and I was confident that the spares and RAID set redundancy would be sufficient to cover the rebuild time. Now I replace drives before the point in time when I expect failures to start because I can get multiple drive failures within the disk rebuild time. The failures are random but correlated. Go figure. Fortunately, tech change often happens before pre-emptive replacement is required.
If we base a h/w verification scheme on the randomness of some aspect of a manufactured product then the scheme is bound to the manufacturing process. If you change your process then you change the verification confidence and security. Not good to make these things dependent.
I think that if there is a need to provide h/w verification then the scheme should be controllable and independent of h/w technology and processes. It should also be able to encode other information with it (er ... it should be extensible). Code a w/o number onto the chip that works like PGP or a cert. Forget about biometrics.
FWIW, there are plenty of non-DRM options these days. I personally use Amazon.com. Amazon even has a GNU/Linux app (with a suitable Ubuntu .deb) that takes care of downloading multitrack albums automatically (why they can't just send you a zip is anyone's guess.)
The bigger problem is one of quality, but, personally, my ears aren't sensitive to know the difference between a well encoded MP3 and a CD.
Boy... a lot of responses to a little statement. ;->
I probably should expand a bit... there are a lot of holes in the available DRM free, legal, online content. eg: most of what I am interested on, say iTunes, is all DRM'd. A lot of the alternatives (eg: amazon) don't carry what I am looking for. My first preference is to purchase online and download to my vault. Second choice is to spend time in the pawn shops' previously owned (previously stolen?) collections. eBay and Kijiji are good sources. If I have to, I will buy retail but a lot of what I am looking for is no longer available. eh... its a process.
Really, I was saying that for me, ownership of an original physical disk is (almost) pointless. Just give me the file and don't make things complicated.
I was also trying to say that I like having music files on hand because I listen to them again and again but I seldom do that with films and shows. Lord of the Rings, a few others are worth keeping but it seems that the value of watching video content again is often much less than listening to music again and again. For me anyways.
Thanks for the pointers y'all.
I have gone a step further and stopped buying things like the X-Files (tho I did buy that before I stopped).
I only buy a movie on DVD now if I know I will be watching it at least 5 times or at least once a year. If I know I'm going to watch the movie once or twice, I rent it.
Yup... we stopped buying video content a long time ago. We just use the PVR, watch a show a couple of times and then let it disappear into the bit bucket. I have almost no interest in owning/permanently keeping video content. My experience is that most discs are played once or twice and then just take up space on the shelf that would be better used for books, pictures or photo albums.
OTOH, I am very much into a permanent collection of audio. Music has more meaning and permanent value for us than videos/movies. Go figure.
I still buy CDs because of the flexibility and control: I can convert it to any format with ease, but if (legal) downloadable content was DRM free then I would not buy CDs either. I would rather maintain a reliable NAS vault of music than manage a collection of fragile plastic discs.
I know I'm the minority when I say that I am satisfied with current DVD resolution and am okay with buying into DVDs but the price difference is unreal -- especially used discs.
I don't think you're the minority at all. I think a lot of people feel this way, myself included.
Spot on. It will be interesting to see what happens with 3D... my wife gets motion sick watching 3D so its a non-starter for her. Plus we both wear glasses and have no interest in laser surgery or contacts so the glasses truly are PITA.
Again... probably not the majority but there are a lot of people for whom 3D is just not worth it.
But, since when does Qaddafi give a crap about Sharia?
Exactly. Libya is not like Saudi Arabia where women have to sit in the back seat, etc. Although the Libyan judicial system is supposedly based on Sharia law, it is observably closer to British/American systems. Most results involve prison terms or other modern punishments.
My observation: like many other things in Libya, perception is more important than reality. The government wants to appear to be consistent with Sharia law but doesn't want Sharia to permeate Libyan society.
You can still be buddies with Iran but you can also have a pi** up on bootleg flash.
Radio towers are a Federal issue and the only standing that provinces and municipalities have is what the feds care to give them. This federal perogative has been widely accepted by the provinces. Industry Canada is the regulating ministry.
This is not to say that the municipalities are ignored... just that if the feds say you can build a tower and approve the design then the local municipality can complain but they have no legal grounds to block the construction.
see http://www.cwta.ca/CWTASite/english/towers.html
especially:
"Local Land-Use Authorities
As a result of the federal jurisdiction of telecommunications operations, traditional municipal land-use planning controls such as zoning by-laws, site-plan control, development approvals, and Building Code requirements are rendered inoperative to the extent that they affect or interfere with the siting, physical location, design, construction and operation of federal undertakings such as cellular/PCS carriers. In other words, the prohibition, restriction or regulation of land for its use as a wireless telecommunications facility would not be the authority of the Land-Use Authority.
Nonetheless, Industry Canada requires anyone who is planning to install or modify an antenna system that doesn’t meet certain criteria to consult with the local land-use authority and/or local public where appropriate. Industry Canada generally considers that once a participating land-use authority is contacted, the consultation process should be concluded within 120 days."
But, but, what if my ones are crooked or my zeroes have flat spots?
I can provide you with de-oxidized gold plated single-crystal grown copper matrix unidirectional topographical binary bit correctors for a very reasonable price. We like to make them affordable to everyone so the pricing is variable. Contact "theresoneborneveryminute@sucker.ru1".
De-icers are extra.
Note: These units are very flexible and provide noise cancelling on analog connections as well as bit correction on digital streams. Some people like a little bit of "lean" to the ones as it produces a pleasing "12AT7" tube like quality so I also provide a variable "italics" control.
It goes to 11.
You might look at http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/analysis.aspx?id=21412 which addresses a related issue, cyberbullying, but comes to the point here with comments about limitations of freedom of speech in Canada:
"In Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto (1995), the court held that a good reputation is closely related to the innate worthiness and dignity of the individual. Therefore, reputation must be protected in the same way as freedom of expression under Section 2(b). The court noted that a reputation tarnished by libel can seldom regain its formal luster. Accordingly, society has an interest in ensuring its members enjoy and protect their good reputation so long as it is merited. Along similar lines, in the case of Newman et al v. Halstead (2006), an adult was held liable for $676,000 for posting derogatory comments about teachers online."
I believe this was a civil action and it seems to me that the police would be likely to succeed in such a case. However, the Calgary Police would have to do their own work on it with the City of Calgary and the individuals named bringing the legal action forward instead of having the RCMP bring charges. BTW IANAL, just a beer-hazy nerd.
There might even by some "hate-crime" legislation that could be used.
Curious that they chose to follow the criminal law path.
er... a bit of a difference in scale between rottenapples.info and a post with a few words capitalized for emphasis.
Thanks for the link, but it doesn't do much to garner sympathy to the defendant, LOL
I expect, though, that filing suit against the guy will just have the streisand effect on things. (I mean aside from the site being slashdotted - a well known phenomena in and of itself) The more people who hear of the case, the more visits to the site, the more whackos are going to believe what they want to believe, rather than any facts that get in the way.
Ehh. If the cops are stupid enough to feed the troll, they deserve all the bad publicity they can get.
Yup.. my feelings exactly. I wonder who got their snit up to start the legal action?
For Canadian standards see http://www.cscja-acjcs.ca/criminal_civil_law-en.asp?l=4
"More evidence is needed to find the accused at fault in criminal cases than to find the defendant at fault in civil ones. To convict someone of a crime, the prosecution must show there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the person committed the crime and, in most cases, that they intended to commit it. Judges and juries cannot convict someone they believe probably committed the crime or likely is guilty - they must be almost certain. This gives the accused the benefit of any reasonable doubt and makes it less likely an innocent person will be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Civil cases, in contrast, must be proven on a balance of probabilities - if it is more likely than not that the defendant caused harm or loss, a court can uphold a civil claim."
It will be fairly easy to show who did the publishing and that he intended to do the publishing.
Problem for the RCMP, who are not the defamed group, and the Calgary Police will be showing that a crime was actually committed. The key phrase in Canadian law is "on reasonable grounds, he believes is true". Is it reasonable for a person to argue these points given what is known to be true? Looking at the site, at least some of the statements do not seem "reasonable".
But also, he is not publishing in Canada. eg: Court publication bans do not extend to websites hosted in other countries.
If you look at the site, it clearly appeals to the fringe and is long on accusation and short on evidence. It also explicitly names particular people without a lot of supporting documentation. Personnally, I would say this guy is pushing the limits of free speech beyond what is ethical but I am not so sure that there is a law broken. My gut reaction was that he is a wack job and is doing more harm than good for his cause. Police should be held to higher standards and complaints should be investigated independantly but I would not want to be a public servant in a tough, demanding job and be subject to this kind of public complaint. Again, I'm not saying there is criminal defamation; just saying that this is clearly at the limit.
Finally, first thing I did upon reading the article was to go find the site: http://www.rottenapples.info/ ;->
I am sure that this fellows site popularity has soared.
This will be an interesting case to follow.
Ya, for being so smart you wouldn't expect him to have the worst website ever either.
Awww, come on: "worst... ever"??
It is at least on a par with http://www.coasttocoastam.com/ (Art Bell's former show now hosted by George Noory)
but... you are VERY quick to click it away! 25% faster than a non-gamer!
Well, it is the ridiculous nature of the process and it is another example of the control freak we have as a PM. The example given in the article is a scientist who published a paper in Nature about the glacial flooding at the end of one of the ice age periods. The government did not allow him to be interviewed about the article until the deadlines had passed. The OK had to come virtually from the PM. We are not talking about anything controversial here: nothing that would be tied to present day issues. This pre-historic science and has nothing to do with contrarian views.
This will shock everyone, I know, but it is an example of the hypocrisy of the govt which came to power partly on the platform of being open. Sigh... meet the new boss same as the old boss.