I suspect that the majority of people who buy a wi-fi router in the next five years will still not bother to even change the default admin password.
And yet, no one makes this a requirement. Like when you get an ATM card and they make you change the PIN when you activate it. Really, how hard is this?
Problem number three: A movie is not the best place for a first date. You need to interact, not stare at a screen on your first date. Dinner good, movie bad.
I would actually say dinner is NOT a good idea for a first date. Lunch is better.
It's a short affiar: friendly and light. No heavy pretense that comes with Dinner. If you don't hit it off, you're only wasted an hour or so of each other's time. If you do, you can always make additional plans that evening if you wish.
I called them and after waiting on hold in the retention queue for about 10 minutes got someone.
They asked me why I wanted to cancel and I said their web browser was bloated and slow, and I preferred Firefox. They said I could minimize the AOL app and run IE if I wanted (I pointed out this didn't change the fact I was running a bloated CPU hogging program on my machine) then I said I also couldn't use my own mail program (this is before they allowed the IMAP access, so I couldn't send outgoing mail from my other email accounts since there was no outgoing SMTP server).
"So you want to use Outlook Express for your email?"
"No, actually I use Mozilla Thunderbird."
"What?"
"Mozilla Thunderbird," I said more slowly.
"Okay" the rep said "I have no idea what you're talking about." [little giggle]
"Perhaps we should skip this little interview then?" I answered coldly.
Bing. Got it cancelled immediately.
Now removing AOL, that was the hard part. I wanted to do it immediately, because they have that great EULA clause that if you sign on to AOL anytime after you cancel (which isn't hard when AOL makes itself the default everything in Windows), you're consenting to the reactivation of your service.
I had both versions 7 and 9 installed (for some reason the v9 "updater" just installed a second copy). My hard drive must have cranked away for over 45 minutes while the uninstaller ran. But it was still in the registry somewhere. For months after that, besides the IE 6 "provided by AOL" I would see my old screenname pop up in the most unlikely places when doing filling out web forms or on AOL/Netscape pages.
I really don't know. However, if I have VoIP service from Company A running over broadband from Company B using wires provided by Company C and wish to communicate with another party with services from D, E and F, then how do I identify which of (A, B, C, D, E, F) might be required to resolve the problem - and if the problem is with one or more of (D, E, F), with whom I have no contractual relationship, what incentive is there for them to fix it?
This is the joke of VoIP service, and something they don't tell you when you sign up. Technically NONE OF THEM ARE!
Vonage can only solve problems on their servers, if the issue is with your broadband provider, you can call them and talk to them about the issue. But keep in mind your cableco probably offers phone service of it's own in competition to VoIP, they measure quality of service from the standpoint of "your internet connection is used for web surfing", which doesn't require as robust a connection as VoIP or XBox Live when it comes to latancy.
They might have an issue with latancy they will try to improve, but they wont guarantee you Vonage will sound crystal clear. If you're having trouble and they think your connection is "fine", you're SOL. They will probably try to sell you on their own phone service.
What you have to remember is when you get digital phone service from a cableco (not VoIP tied to your cable modem, but where an RSU is mounted on the outside of your house) they have legal responsibilities that don't apply to cable modem or cable TV service to make sure the service (and 911) are working to decent standard (like SBC would have to). Since this standard doesn't exist for your broadband internet, and they aren't recieving any revenue from your Vonage usage, they aren't that bothered by your sercice being up to snuff for it. The fact there are few choices in broadband internet service for most people helps this.
Son of a bitches told me the transmission was blown and it was going to cost me $800 to have it fixed. I told them to stick up their ass. They put the transmission in the trunk and I called a tow truck to bring it home for me. My dad came out to help me with it. The repair cost $24 in parts and took one day.
Sorry to point this out. But the parent poster hasn't given us enough information for us to deduce to whether this repair was truly a huge ripoff.
The repair only cost him $24 in parts, but he didn't specify what the problem actually was. Transmission repairs can be very labor intensive. He didn't say how long the repair took in hours either (and keep in mind this is two people working together). On a front wheel drive, transverse mounted engine, you might find transmission removal to be a simple bolt-off affair, but on an older, rear wheel drive car removing a transmission may mean hoisting an engine or removing major suspension parts.
So to give a more accurate comparision between these two jobs consider:
* The shop is charging probably $60/hour in labor for the repair. The poster had "free" labor (I'm sure beer was involved).
* The shop has various environmental/shop fees it charges. Not to mention state taxes.
* The shop repair undoubtedly has a warranty of some sort (many shops give 1-3 yrs/12-36,000 mi depending on what they're doing).
* The tranny was already off the car by the time the poster started working on it. (I'm sure the shop wanted some reimbursement for the time they spent pulling it).
* The poster had to have his car towed home to work on it - that wasn't free.
1) News of.xxx domain in trouble. Some have already purchased domains in.xxx.
2) Rival porn sites buy up.com and.net versions of domains.
3).xxx domain overturned, owners of domains now must find domains in.net and.com as the.xxx domains they bought are now worthless. Registrars now must give them domains in those TLD's.
4) Oops,.net and.com versions of those domains being squatted by rivals.
Only true with armed citizens But I bet they did'nt teach you that is Sociology.
Postscript 'armed citizens' is redundant 'unarmed citizens' are called 'subjects'.
No, you didn't get the point. Anyone with free will is armed. The decision to obey a government always rests with the people. They are only leaders as long as someone will follow.
Force becomes necessary when people try to mix groups with materially differing beliefs, especially on things like ownership of property and conflict resolution, and they do not have the will to compromise.
In such a situation, I think the results would be a willful segregation of the populace into their separate factions (like the U.S. splitting into the Union and Confederacy) note that the Civil War was not actually a forgone conclusion to this dispute. The two of them could have amicably agreed to exist as separate countries (you might want to check out the independant film C.S.A.), but I daresay it was a measure of greed on both sides to "have it all" that caused the War to take place.
After all, if someone tells me to do something I would do on my own, am I under their control or my own?
I would say you were under your own control even if they told you to do it. The choice to obey them was yours.
But what happens in the hypothetical totalitarian state if the "ruling party" is strong enough to contain the population?
For that to happen, the ruling party would have to exist in a proportion great enough to actively control the entire population, and you end up with a government that may be bigger than the populace it's trying to rule. A situation like that would be more like a cult with an enslaved subgroup.
The result would still be the same, though. Barring a form of thought control, the decision to be ruled still rests with the people, they can revolt, and maybe they will die in the supression, but they wont be ruled anymore one way or another. It would be self-defeating for a ruler to kill all his own subjects.
The government is allowed to rule because the populace places that person or group above them (sometimes literally, a la carrying him on a throne above their heads). The moment the populace stops carrying him and lets him fall, he is nothing more than one of them.
Getting back on topic, Microsoft can demand a licensing fee for the iPods, Apple can choose to respect their authority to lobby such a fee and pay it. If businesses in masse decided the patent system was broken and to ignore it, what do you think would happen?
Lawyers only work when everyone agrees to abide by the lawers and judges. People generally only agree to this because some "soldiers" somewhere are willing to enforce what the lawyers and judges say. I only care about lawyers and judges because of the guys with guns behind them.
People generally agree to this because they generally agree to the views of the lawyers and judges, or don't care enough to take action when they don't. Standards of behavior and ethics universally agreed upon are what allows systems of government and law to succeed.
Totalitarian governments only work as long as the populace allows them to work. If the entire population of [insert police state here] suddenly decided they didn't like how their system of government or justice was functioning, they would be able to overthrow the government by revolution, or simply ignore the laws. Such systems cannot be enforced by violence becuase the ruling party doesn't have the power to contain the entire populace, the population will usually be able to leave the country (leaving the rulers with nobody to rule).
They're all vague references to other companies that most people have an idea about, but are not mentioned. I've never seen a car commercial that says "Buy [our brand], because it's just better than a Ford,"
I do. But then, they don't use dumb resoning like their car is "just better" than a Ford. They say things like "higher resale value than Ford or Chevy", "more interior room than Accord", "higher owner brand loyalty than Toyota". And considering how polls and studies are conducted nowadays they all can make the cliam and have a "report" to back it up.
It seems like these laws are already in place, probably to protect companies from competitors that could engage in either negative advertising or use their established brand to piggy-back.
Slightly off topic, but I wish eBay had a policy like this. If there's one thing that bothers me it's when I search for a certain product by brand and model number and get a bunch of resluts for other products where the seller put "not XXXX" or "better than XXXX" in the item title/description.
The easiest resoning for them not making the website IE-only is that IE is not available on all computer platforms.
Microsoft is only developing new versions of IE for Windows. I mean, yeah, you can still download it for Mac and maybe a couple others if you want, but it's no longer supported. It's only a matter of time before IE for Mac breaks on some new version of OSX.
By restricting the site to IE-only, they are restricting the online registration to people who own Windows PC's.
Why would they file a patent for it, but then allow Apple to develop, create, and market the device?
So they wouldn't have to, of course.
What takes more work, having to develop, design, find component suppliers, subcontract assembly or build plants to to do it yourself, then package, and market the device, get everyone to buy it and become king of the market?
Or let someone else do it then swoop in with a bunch of lawyers and say "we'll be taking our profits now."
The problem isn't that we have too many wireless standards, it's that we have too many standards trying to use the same damn frequencies!
If manufacturers of cordless phones, wireless routers, wireless headphones, and cordless hairdryers all just got together and said "okay, so phones will only be produced that use 900mhz, and 2.4Ghz is what the routers will use and....." then we could avoid having you phone conversation with Grandma being ruined by the popcorn in the microwave and ISP support agenst would quit getting calls from people who lose their net access whenever they listen to a CD with their wireless headphones.
Looking at the press release for the program they say they are going to provide PC's. The PC Magazine writeup seems real confusing, because they keep mentioning Wintergreen and Linspire together and talking about how many more PC's will be in schools.
The Indiana Access Program is designed to provide affordable classroom computers for every secondary student. This program makes these systems available with the partnership of Indiana-based companies, benefiting the local Indiana economy. Wintergreen Systems, based in Elkhart, Indiana for five years, provides high-quality computer systems pre-installed with the Linspire operating system.
Why isn't there any mention of the hardware costs if it isn't included in the program?
They're buying the Linspire licences and the hardware it's running on. The summary title is literal. They are buying 300,000 computers for $500 per school.
Slashdot Mirror
I suspect that the majority of people who buy a wi-fi router in the next five years will still not bother to even change the default admin password.
And yet, no one makes this a requirement. Like when you get an ATM card and they make you change the PIN when you activate it. Really, how hard is this?
I wanted it to be Microsoft infected with a computer virus, and have the campus shut doewn with no one for M$ to blame but their own coders.
Sound like their website is not configured to keep people from stealing their images.
So why aren't they suing the image thieves?
Or the webmaster who sets this up in an insecure way?
Problem number three: A movie is not the best place for a first date. You need to interact, not stare at a screen on your first date. Dinner good, movie bad.
I would actually say dinner is NOT a good idea for a first date. Lunch is better.
It's a short affiar: friendly and light. No heavy pretense that comes with Dinner. If you don't hit it off, you're only wasted an hour or so of each other's time. If you do, you can always make additional plans that evening if you wish.
I called them and after waiting on hold in the retention queue for about 10 minutes got someone.
They asked me why I wanted to cancel and I said their web browser was bloated and slow, and I preferred Firefox. They said I could minimize the AOL app and run IE if I wanted (I pointed out this didn't change the fact I was running a bloated CPU hogging program on my machine) then I said I also couldn't use my own mail program (this is before they allowed the IMAP access, so I couldn't send outgoing mail from my other email accounts since there was no outgoing SMTP server).
"So you want to use Outlook Express for your email?"
"No, actually I use Mozilla Thunderbird."
"What?"
"Mozilla Thunderbird," I said more slowly.
"Okay" the rep said "I have no idea what you're talking about." [little giggle]
"Perhaps we should skip this little interview then?" I answered coldly.
Bing. Got it cancelled immediately.
Now removing AOL, that was the hard part. I wanted to do it immediately, because they have that great EULA clause that if you sign on to AOL anytime after you cancel (which isn't hard when AOL makes itself the default everything in Windows), you're consenting to the reactivation of your service.
I had both versions 7 and 9 installed (for some reason the v9 "updater" just installed a second copy). My hard drive must have cranked away for over 45 minutes while the uninstaller ran. But it was still in the registry somewhere. For months after that, besides the IE 6 "provided by AOL" I would see my old screenname pop up in the most unlikely places when doing filling out web forms or on AOL/Netscape pages.
doing for ten years what the MacOS has for twenty.
Atom bombed?
I really don't know. However, if I have VoIP service from Company A running over broadband from Company B using wires provided by Company C and wish to communicate with another party with services from D, E and F, then how do I identify which of (A, B, C, D, E, F) might be required to resolve the problem - and if the problem is with one or more of (D, E, F), with whom I have no contractual relationship, what incentive is there for them to fix it?
This is the joke of VoIP service, and something they don't tell you when you sign up. Technically NONE OF THEM ARE!
Vonage can only solve problems on their servers, if the issue is with your broadband provider, you can call them and talk to them about the issue. But keep in mind your cableco probably offers phone service of it's own in competition to VoIP, they measure quality of service from the standpoint of "your internet connection is used for web surfing", which doesn't require as robust a connection as VoIP or XBox Live when it comes to latancy.
They might have an issue with latancy they will try to improve, but they wont guarantee you Vonage will sound crystal clear. If you're having trouble and they think your connection is "fine", you're SOL. They will probably try to sell you on their own phone service.
What you have to remember is when you get digital phone service from a cableco (not VoIP tied to your cable modem, but where an RSU is mounted on the outside of your house) they have legal responsibilities that don't apply to cable modem or cable TV service to make sure the service (and 911) are working to decent standard (like SBC would have to). Since this standard doesn't exist for your broadband internet, and they aren't recieving any revenue from your Vonage usage, they aren't that bothered by your sercice being up to snuff for it. The fact there are few choices in broadband internet service for most people helps this.
Son of a bitches told me the transmission was blown and it was going to cost me $800 to have it fixed.
I told them to stick up their ass.
They put the transmission in the trunk and I called a tow truck to bring it home for me. My dad came out to help me with it. The repair cost $24 in parts and took one day.
Sorry to point this out. But the parent poster hasn't given us enough information for us to deduce to whether this repair was truly a huge ripoff.
The repair only cost him $24 in parts, but he didn't specify what the problem actually was. Transmission repairs can be very labor intensive. He didn't say how long the repair took in hours either (and keep in mind this is two people working together). On a front wheel drive, transverse mounted engine, you might find transmission removal to be a simple bolt-off affair, but on an older, rear wheel drive car removing a transmission may mean hoisting an engine or removing major suspension parts.
So to give a more accurate comparision between these two jobs consider:
* The shop is charging probably $60/hour in labor for the repair. The poster had "free" labor (I'm sure beer was involved).
* The shop has various environmental/shop fees it charges. Not to mention state taxes.
* The shop repair undoubtedly has a warranty of some sort (many shops give 1-3 yrs/12-36,000 mi depending on what they're doing).
* The tranny was already off the car by the time the poster started working on it. (I'm sure the shop wanted some reimbursement for the time they spent pulling it).
* The poster had to have his car towed home to work on it - that wasn't free.
it should be noted there is an English translationversion of MacBidoulille always available. Just go to www.hardmac.com instead of MacBidoulle.
It's not over yet!
Netcraft hasn't confirmed it yet!
What! You mean you can get on the internet with a computer that old!
1) News of .xxx domain in trouble. Some have already purchased domains in .xxx.
.com and .net versions of domains.
.xxx domain overturned, owners of domains now must find domains in .net and .com as the .xxx domains they bought are now worthless. Registrars now must give them domains in those TLD's.
.net and .com versions of those domains being squatted by rivals.
2) Rival porn sites buy up
3)
4) Oops,
Only true with armed citizens
But I bet they did'nt teach you that is Sociology.
Postscript 'armed citizens' is redundant 'unarmed citizens' are called 'subjects'.
No, you didn't get the point. Anyone with free will is armed. The decision to obey a government always rests with the people. They are only leaders as long as someone will follow.
Force becomes necessary when people try to mix groups with materially differing beliefs, especially on things like ownership of property and conflict resolution, and they do not have the will to compromise.
In such a situation, I think the results would be a willful segregation of the populace into their separate factions (like the U.S. splitting into the Union and Confederacy) note that the Civil War was not actually a forgone conclusion to this dispute. The two of them could have amicably agreed to exist as separate countries (you might want to check out the independant film C.S.A.), but I daresay it was a measure of greed on both sides to "have it all" that caused the War to take place.
After all, if someone tells me to do something I would do on my own, am I under their control or my own?
I would say you were under your own control even if they told you to do it. The choice to obey them was yours.
But what happens in the hypothetical totalitarian state if the "ruling party" is strong enough to contain the population?
For that to happen, the ruling party would have to exist in a proportion great enough to actively control the entire population, and you end up with a government that may be bigger than the populace it's trying to rule. A situation like that would be more like a cult with an enslaved subgroup.
The result would still be the same, though. Barring a form of thought control, the decision to be ruled still rests with the people, they can revolt, and maybe they will die in the supression, but they wont be ruled anymore one way or another. It would be self-defeating for a ruler to kill all his own subjects.
The government is allowed to rule because the populace places that person or group above them (sometimes literally, a la carrying him on a throne above their heads). The moment the populace stops carrying him and lets him fall, he is nothing more than one of them.
Getting back on topic, Microsoft can demand a licensing fee for the iPods, Apple can choose to respect their authority to lobby such a fee and pay it. If businesses in masse decided the patent system was broken and to ignore it, what do you think would happen?
Lawyers only work when everyone agrees to abide by the lawers and judges. People generally only agree to this because some "soldiers" somewhere are willing to enforce what the lawyers and judges say. I only care about lawyers and judges because of the guys with guns behind them.
People generally agree to this because they generally agree to the views of the lawyers and judges, or don't care enough to take action when they don't. Standards of behavior and ethics universally agreed upon are what allows systems of government and law to succeed.
Totalitarian governments only work as long as the populace allows them to work. If the entire population of [insert police state here] suddenly decided they didn't like how their system of government or justice was functioning, they would be able to overthrow the government by revolution, or simply ignore the laws. Such systems cannot be enforced by violence becuase the ruling party doesn't have the power to contain the entire populace, the population will usually be able to leave the country (leaving the rulers with nobody to rule).
They're all vague references to other companies that most people have an idea about, but are not mentioned. I've never seen a car commercial that says "Buy [our brand], because it's just better than a Ford,"
I do. But then, they don't use dumb resoning like their car is "just better" than a Ford. They say things like "higher resale value than Ford or Chevy", "more interior room than Accord", "higher owner brand loyalty than Toyota". And considering how polls and studies are conducted nowadays they all can make the cliam and have a "report" to back it up.
It seems like these laws are already in place, probably to protect companies from competitors that could engage in either negative advertising or use their established brand to piggy-back.
Slightly off topic, but I wish eBay had a policy like this. If there's one thing that bothers me it's when I search for a certain product by brand and model number and get a bunch of resluts for other products where the seller put "not XXXX" or "better than XXXX" in the item title/description.
The easiest resoning for them not making the website IE-only is that IE is not available on all computer platforms.
Microsoft is only developing new versions of IE for Windows. I mean, yeah, you can still download it for Mac and maybe a couple others if you want, but it's no longer supported. It's only a matter of time before IE for Mac breaks on some new version of OSX.
By restricting the site to IE-only, they are restricting the online registration to people who own Windows PC's.
Why would they file a patent for it, but then allow Apple to develop, create, and market the device?
So they wouldn't have to, of course.
What takes more work, having to develop, design, find component suppliers, subcontract assembly or build plants to to do it yourself, then package, and market the device, get everyone to buy it and become king of the market?
Or let someone else do it then swoop in with a bunch of lawyers and say "we'll be taking our profits now."
Santa Cruz Hemp AllStars
a-HA! I knew there had to be a reason they act like they don't know what they're doing in court.
Who posts their email address in the main story summary on Slashdot? This guys must be nuts!
Or, perhaps he's giving you his spam address.
Agreed.
The problem isn't that we have too many wireless standards, it's that we have too many standards trying to use the same damn frequencies!
If manufacturers of cordless phones, wireless routers, wireless headphones, and cordless hairdryers all just got together and said "okay, so phones will only be produced that use 900mhz, and 2.4Ghz is what the routers will use and....." then we could avoid having you phone conversation with Grandma being ruined by the popcorn in the microwave and ISP support agenst would quit getting calls from people who lose their net access whenever they listen to a CD with their wireless headphones.
...gummed up tape heads (especially prevalent when you spend more than fifteen minutes at a time on pause)...
;-)
You should leave it on slow motion play or you could repeatedly hit the frame advance button with your non-occupied hand.
Looking at the press release for the program they say they are going to provide PC's. The PC Magazine writeup seems real confusing, because they keep mentioning Wintergreen and Linspire together and talking about how many more PC's will be in schools.
The Indiana Access Program is designed to provide affordable classroom computers for every secondary student. This program makes these systems available with the partnership of Indiana-based companies, benefiting the local Indiana economy. Wintergreen Systems, based in Elkhart, Indiana for five years, provides high-quality computer systems pre-installed with the Linspire operating system.
Why isn't there any mention of the hardware costs if it isn't included in the program?
They're buying the Linspire licences and the hardware it's running on. The summary title is literal. They are buying 300,000 computers for $500 per school.