My first computer was a Packard Bell. Enclosed with the packaging was a little brochure about their "24 hour, 7 days a week" 800 number for technical support. I tried calling it once on a Sunday night and got a message saying "please call during our regular business hours." Way to defraud the customer!
Later, when I tried to upgrade the memory, I went to the store, bought a couple of standard 1 meg 30 pin simms (ah, for the good old days), and inserted them into the empty slots on the motherboard. It completely ignored the new memory as if it wasn't even there.
I later read about a common practice at Packard Bell: solder useless simm slots onto motherboards without connecting them to anything. What a bunch of jackasses. There was no recourse either, because the very act of opening the case voided their useless warranty.
Gotta hand it to them on one count, though. They did have the art of screwing the consumer down to a science.
Needless to say, I never bought anything from that company again, and advised everyone I knew against it as well. Apparently, word has finally gotten around enough to hit them where it hurts.
Why not just use streaming mp3, ala Icecast? It does have patent problems, but at least there are open source players/encoders available. Besides, mp3 quality is generally better than Real anyway.
Even if you offer your answer for $0, they still take a cut from the buyer.
From their terms of service:
The Basic Fee for the Information Market Service will be $1.00 + 20% of the answer price agreed upon by the Questioner and Answerer.
So they'd still get a buck off your "free" answer. I agree with some of the previous posts. This looks like nothing more than an attempt to turn a previously free medium into a profit making venture. Will it work? Only time will tell.
It's by way of services adapted to the customers rather than by selling proprietary software that money should be made.IBM and SUN are of this opinion and MICROSOFT seems to me ready to follow this path.
Did I miss something? If he thinks Microsoft is going open source, maybe his definition of "open source" is different than ours.
No, I don't think all other browsers are doomed to failure. Star Office, though, is free (as in beer), and the browser also is also bundled as part of a larger product. As long as people keep using Star Office, the browser can ride on the coat tails of the suite.
KDE is open source, which means that as long as somebody, somewhere is interested in it, it can continue to be used and updated. This is not the case with Opera. If the company goes under, gets bought out, or decides the Linux product isn't profitable, development stops even if it has a core of devoted users.
Opera, being payware in a market where people are used to getting their browsers gratis, has a steep uphill battle. It can't just be a little better in order to thrive. It has to be a LOT better. With the slimming down, modulization, and standards adherence of Mozilla, that's going to be a tough bill to fill.
I don't think all other browsers will die out or cease to be developed, but those that are proprietary and require a fee for use will be hard pressed to survive and make money.
Before Netscape made their announcement that Mozilla would go open source, Opera, I think, could have had a good chance at becoming the browser of choice for Linux users. There were a lot of people clamoring for a port back then.
However, instead of jumping on it, they made the absurd demand that people pay up before coding even began. Obviously, not many took to this. (The fact that a few did actually shows how desperate people were for a good browser.) If Opera had seized their opportunity, there's a good chance a good portion of us would be using it today. But, history being what it is...
Like you say, they're gonna have a tough time in the face of Mozilla now, as the lizard is just on the threshold of being ready for everyday use. Besides, the fact that Mozilla is free/open source software gives it a huge edge, and Opera doesn't appear to be budging on that issue. (Not that I blame them, since the browser is their only revenue. Of course, if nobody uses it, they'll have trouble getting money whether it's closed or open.)
Has AOL actually announced that Mozilla is being discontinued? Is there an official press release somewhere? Did this reporter even bother to check for a source before engaging in what appears to be blind speculation about the future of Mozilla?
I didn't think so. Until we can answer "yes" to these questions, let's not panic.
Meanwhile, I am eagerly awaiting a stable release of the new mozilla...
Reprogramming two NICs within a single institution (or household, or personal lab) is a rather foolish idea
Generally, I would agree, but at my old college, it might have had a use. See, their dorm hubs were configured to record the MAC addresses of PC's which connected. Once your address was registered, it would lock you out if you connected using any hardware bearing a different address.
Unfortunately, that meant that swapping around PC's and parts between dorm-mates (a somewhat common practice among the geeks) was a no-no, as you had to go through a big beauracratic mess to get the ports reset. Setting NICs to the same address would fool the hubs and you could happily continue computing without problems (assuming you don't try to internetwork two PC's bearing the same address to each other by accident).
If we all go around trying to alter or delete past words for fear of the reprocussions, we make ourselves a part of the Big Brother tyranny.
Historians are already worried that the increasing migration of cultural records into electronic form may make it difficult to preserve for future generations. How much worse is the problem to become if all of us are actively seeking to cover up our own past? It brings to mind images of Cancer Man and the Syndicate, who laborously concoct schemes to keep the world from knowing their evils.
What exactly do we have to hide? The admissions of criminal acts? The fact that we may have ingested substances which the state, in all its divine wisdom, has declared unfit for mankind, hence illegal? Or is it something as innocuous as expressing a dislike for a governments, corperations, or individuals whom we view as unsavory?
Being a creature of the net that I am, I have said some things online, in my own web pages, that I am not entirely pround of. However, I don't delete them and pretend as if they had never been said. If people can't handle the fact that I am a human being and may say/write things on the spur of the moment, I'd rather not associate with them anyway. I guess that's why I'll never be a politician.
I would hope that society is more mature than to reject people on something so petty as speaking their mind. Let's practice the 1st Amendment in spirit, as well as following the letter.
I support The Party. I have always supported The Party. I will forever support The Party.
Yeah, he's scheduled to guest star in an episode later this season. (It was rumored that it would be the first episode during the year 2000, but that part is yet unconfirmed, AFAIK.)
MCI totally screwed a couple of friends of mine over a while back. To make a long story short, they got billed hundreds of dollars for services they hadn't used. When they refused to pay, they were assessed with a late fees while customer service gave them the runaround. Eventually, they finally got the company to drop the original misbilling, but were still forced to pay the late fees on all of it! Is that idiotic or what?
Sprint has always been kind of gimmickey with their services, in my experience. Always calling with annoying "offers" and then hitting with nasty surchanges in the fine print. Also, their service is substandard. When we tried 'em for a while, there would often be static and hiss on the line.
So, now, the two evil forces of the telecommunications world have become one. On the bright side, it means one less company to avoid though.:)
hmmm, that doesn't look good. He introduced, didn't just vote for, those abominable pieces of legislation. That brings him down two notches in my book./me thinks I'll be voting for Harry Brown.
The tools are there, but they aren't usually obvious to refugees from the Redmond world. Perhaps some web pages and/or books which would introduce programmers to these useful items is called for.
Sounds to me like neither company wants to take responsibility for this... ahem, fiasco.
What do either of them have to gain by their standard becoming marginalized when it's not available on other platforms? Perhaps it stems from some sort of PHB way of thinking that will never make sense to the rest of us.
sigh... In the meantime, it seems like everybody loses.
Just when I thought it was bad enough that the MCI logo always appeared on their comm screens, they had to have Auger start talking about it in the dialog. Puke. It was like watching a commercial during what was supposed to be content. Otherwise it's a great show though.
Hopefully, they won't be as nasty towards people who make encoders as Frauenhofer was. But, given that this is Apple, historically the king of nasty proprietary (read: QT, Serenson codec) schemes, I'm not holding my breath.
--Bitscape
Fox allowing only 1 screen/theater?
on
Star Wars Tidbits
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· Score: 1
A friend of mine talked to a theater employee, who said that Fox will only allow Episode 1 to be shown on 1 screen per theater. Can anyone confirm this? If it's true, why would Fox do this? I can just see a bunch of empty screens, and not as many people would be able to go.
Slashdot Mirror
Later, when I tried to upgrade the memory, I went to the store, bought a couple of standard 1 meg 30 pin simms (ah, for the good old days), and inserted them into the empty slots on the motherboard. It completely ignored the new memory as if it wasn't even there.
I later read about a common practice at Packard Bell: solder useless simm slots onto motherboards without connecting them to anything. What a bunch of jackasses. There was no recourse either, because the very act of opening the case voided their useless warranty.
Gotta hand it to them on one count, though. They did have the art of screwing the consumer down to a science.
Needless to say, I never bought anything from that company again, and advised everyone I knew against it as well. Apparently, word has finally gotten around enough to hit them where it hurts.
Why not just use streaming mp3, ala Icecast? It does have patent problems, but at least there are open source players/encoders available. Besides, mp3 quality is generally better than Real anyway.
Even if you offer your answer for $0, they still take a cut from the buyer.
From their terms of service:
The Basic Fee for the Information Market Service will be $1.00 + 20% of the answer price agreed upon by the Questioner and Answerer.
So they'd still get a buck off your "free" answer. I agree with some of the previous posts. This looks like nothing more than an attempt to turn a previously free medium into a profit making venture. Will it work? Only time will tell.
Free registration required. Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.
It's by way of services adapted to the customers rather than by selling proprietary software that money should be made.IBM and SUN are of this opinion and MICROSOFT seems to me ready to follow this path.
Did I miss something? If he thinks Microsoft is going open source, maybe his definition of "open source" is different than ours.
No, I don't think all other browsers are doomed to failure. Star Office, though, is free (as in beer), and the browser also is also bundled as part of a larger product. As long as people keep using Star Office, the browser can ride on the coat tails of the suite.
KDE is open source, which means that as long as somebody, somewhere is interested in it, it can continue to be used and updated. This is not the case with Opera. If the company goes under, gets bought out, or decides the Linux product isn't profitable, development stops even if it has a core of devoted users.
Opera, being payware in a market where people are used to getting their browsers gratis, has a steep uphill battle. It can't just be a little better in order to thrive. It has to be a LOT better. With the slimming down, modulization, and standards adherence of Mozilla, that's going to be a tough bill to fill.
I don't think all other browsers will die out or cease to be developed, but those that are proprietary and require a fee for use will be hard pressed to survive and make money.
Before Netscape made their announcement that Mozilla would go open source, Opera, I think, could have had a good chance at becoming the browser of choice for Linux users. There were a lot of people clamoring for a port back then.
However, instead of jumping on it, they made the absurd demand that people pay up before coding even began. Obviously, not many took to this. (The fact that a few did actually shows how desperate people were for a good browser.) If Opera had seized their opportunity, there's a good chance a good portion of us would be using it today. But, history being what it is...
Like you say, they're gonna have a tough time in the face of Mozilla now, as the lizard is just on the threshold of being ready for everyday use. Besides, the fact that Mozilla is free/open source software gives it a huge edge, and Opera doesn't appear to be budging on that issue. (Not that I blame them, since the browser is their only revenue. Of course, if nobody uses it, they'll have trouble getting money whether it's closed or open.)
Has AOL actually announced that Mozilla is being discontinued? Is there an official press release somewhere? Did this reporter even bother to check for a source before engaging in what appears to be blind speculation about the future of Mozilla?
I didn't think so. Until we can answer "yes" to these questions, let's not panic.
Meanwhile, I am eagerly awaiting a stable release of the new mozilla...
Reprogramming two NICs within a single institution (or household, or personal lab) is a rather foolish idea
Generally, I would agree, but at my old college, it might have had a use. See, their dorm hubs were configured to record the MAC addresses of PC's which connected. Once your address was registered, it would lock you out if you connected using any hardware bearing a different address.
Unfortunately, that meant that swapping around PC's and parts between dorm-mates (a somewhat common practice among the geeks) was a no-no, as you had to go through a big beauracratic mess to get the ports reset. Setting NICs to the same address would fool the hubs and you could happily continue computing without problems (assuming you don't try to internetwork two PC's bearing the same address to each other by accident).
If we all go around trying to alter or delete past words for fear of the reprocussions, we make ourselves a part of the Big Brother tyranny.
Historians are already worried that the increasing migration of cultural records into electronic form may make it difficult to preserve for future generations. How much worse is the problem to become if all of us are actively seeking to cover up our own past? It brings to mind images of Cancer Man and the Syndicate, who laborously concoct schemes to keep the world from knowing their evils.
What exactly do we have to hide? The admissions of criminal acts? The fact that we may have ingested substances which the state, in all its divine wisdom, has declared unfit for mankind, hence illegal? Or is it something as innocuous as expressing a dislike for a governments, corperations, or individuals whom we view as unsavory?
Being a creature of the net that I am, I have said some things online, in my own web pages, that I am not entirely pround of. However, I don't delete them and pretend as if they had never been said. If people can't handle the fact that I am a human being and may say/write things on the spur of the moment, I'd rather not associate with them anyway. I guess that's why I'll never be a politician.
I would hope that society is more mature than to reject people on something so petty as speaking their mind. Let's practice the 1st Amendment in spirit, as well as following the letter.
I support The Party. I have always supported The Party. I will forever support The Party.
Yeah, he's scheduled to guest star in an episode later this season. (It was rumored that it would be the first episode during the year 2000, but that part is yet unconfirmed, AFAIK.)
Without David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson, it wouldn't be the X Files anymore. They may as well just change the title or start a totally new show.
If they want me to read their FUD, they should at least make it so I don't have to strain my eyes. Uggh.
MCI totally screwed a couple of friends of mine over a while back. To make a long story short, they got billed hundreds of dollars for services they hadn't used. When they refused to pay, they were assessed with a late fees while customer service gave them the runaround. Eventually, they finally got the company to drop the original misbilling, but were still forced to pay the late fees on all of it! Is that idiotic or what?
Sprint has always been kind of gimmickey with their services, in my experience. Always calling with annoying "offers" and then hitting with nasty surchanges in the fine print. Also, their service is substandard. When we tried 'em for a while, there would often be static and hiss on the line.
So, now, the two evil forces of the telecommunications world have become one. On the bright side, it means one less company to avoid though. :)
hmmm, that doesn't look good. He introduced, didn't just vote for, those abominable pieces of legislation. That brings him down two notches in my book. /me thinks I'll be voting for Harry Brown.
Except I got a different error:
hewx: error in loading shared libraries: hewx: undefined symbol: _9wxAppBase.m_appInitFn
But then, I'm on Debian (Potato). Maybe there's some kind of library version incompatibility here. I dunno.
The tools are there, but they aren't usually obvious to refugees from the Redmond world. Perhaps some web pages and/or books which would introduce programmers to these useful items is called for.
Sounds to me like neither company wants to take responsibility for this... ahem, fiasco.
What do either of them have to gain by their standard becoming marginalized when it's not available on other platforms? Perhaps it stems from some sort of PHB way of thinking that will never make sense to the rest of us.
sigh... In the meantime, it seems like everybody loses.
--Bitscape
--Bitscape
Just when I thought it was bad enough that the MCI logo always appeared on their comm screens, they had to have Auger start talking about it in the dialog. Puke. It was like watching a commercial during what was supposed to be content. Otherwise it's a great show though.
--Bitscape
--Bitscape
Hopefully, they won't be as nasty towards people who make encoders as Frauenhofer was. But, given that this is Apple, historically the king of nasty proprietary (read: QT, Serenson codec) schemes, I'm not holding my breath.
--Bitscape
--Bitscape
Getting on the top 40 chart at mp3.com is sure to garner some attention.
--Bitscape
--Bitscape