This is fairly long article at ten pages. I really wanted to know how many words are in a "graphic novel" versus a traditional novel. Do these novels get non-readers to read? Who are readers of these novels? I was disappointed that the article is largely about the writers with some consideration about how the books are laid out. The information about the authors is good, but the other stuff would have been very nice as well.
Insightful? A diatribe on why being simple-minded and lazy is the fault of the person she was trying to contact? Look, if she couldn't try his house before eating a bunch of batteries and then tearing through an array of technological devices that also communicated, then she is an idiot. He may have been watching tv or otherwise away from the computer and/or the phone. Or, is it his *job* to watch out for communications from this dim-witted friend?
"Bigelow has long shunned any kind of publicity for himself, and since he is investing up to $500 million of his personal fortune into the aerospace company, he's reluctant to give away too much information to potential competitors. "p
That's not chump change though it's not a huge amount for space related activities. Still, he seems like he should be taken seriously.
There are some exceptions (however few); I work for a large cellular phone company and they give me and pay for a cell phone, pager, blackberry or whatever I say I need to do my job well. I get a car allowance and everything reimbursed that pertains to the job. Compensation package is good as well. It's a great place.
The article is very well written and the author took some care to impart the features of Firefox. I am still surprised though to see Microsoft so thorougly criticized in a publication wholly owned by Microsoft. Either they are very open-minded or this particular writer will not be invited back....
Rather than come right out and say that their I.E. browser is not yet up to snuff in terms of security issues, Microsoft issues this absolutely delicious serving of corporate double-speak:
"In the meantime, we have provided customers with prescriptive guidance to help mitigate these issues."
This translates to a set of instructions for making changes in I.E. settings since the default settings are not terribly good for security. THe MS spokesperson said that a "comprehensive" security pack for I.E. will be out later this summer. You gotta love this. You just cannot make stuff up like this!
Toys R Us is a company that is failing against it's competition, particularly WalMart, and Amazon knows it. Amazon doesn't want to be on a sinking ship so they break/bend the rules and then, when Toys R Us crys "foul," Amazon says, well, uh, "they suck at choosing toys and we have lawyers too...so there." Stupidity versus greed. Good old fashioned contest with no real winners.
Using the human body as, essentially, a "common return" is a logical place for technology to go. I think issuing a patent for it is a bit overly broad. It's almost like issuing a patent for the "sidewalk" as a method for allowing people to walk from one place to another without stepping on grass, etc.
If you only look at one article this week or even this month you have got to look at this one. I have never seen such a gorgeous case in my life. The photographs are outstanding. The workmanship on this case is almost beyond what seems possible. THere is a surreal quality to the irridescent green color. THis is truly functional art.
Oh my gosh, what a can of worms this is. I really can see the need but I can see that this can lead to abuse and a "police state." I have a lot of faith in our country and I believe that this will probably be okay. Still, I hate to see quotes like this used to justify just about anything these days:
"We're at war," Schrader said.
I think thispart is a good idea, I like the idea of a mixed group watching, not just the police:
At a surveillance center in the Atrium Building on Howard Street, 13 to 15 retired police officers or criminal justice college students will monitor images, said Elliot Schlanger, Baltimore's chief information officer.
ARthur Spitzer from the ACLU:
He said cameras infringe on privacy rights and are ineffective in fighting either crime or terrorism. I don't know about that...I think it probably does help. We may not know that it deters because what terrorist is going to call in and say, "I was going to blow up a building but those damned cameras have changed my mind."
To check his theory, Vincent analyzed and compared the current profiles, output power and a score of other standard tests for measuring antenna performance. All measurements were in reference to comparative measurements made on a quarter-wave vertical antenna for the same frequency, on the same ground system and same power input.
"I was able to increase the current profile of the antenna over a quarter-wave by as much as two to 2.5 times," said Vincent.
As a ham (amateur radio operator) this sounds like a very exciting development. I would like to see more "real life" testing in a variety of settings. Still, the idea of an antenna that can be reduced in size by that much (2/3) comes in very handy on the low bands where it's not uncommon to use several hundred feet of wire (Usually into a tuner).
Happy Trails!
Erick
Let's hope they are not the last
on
WiFi Gone Wild
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· Score: 0
The article notes that Texas is the first state to implement wireless hotspots at their rest stops. This is a great idea and, hopefully, other states will follow suite.
I downloaded and installed Firefox.9 and I am quite impressed. All of my settings, bookmarks, popup exceptions, etc. ported over perfectly and automatically. The "look and feel" of.9 is very clean. I don't know how these folks manage to make each iteration better than the previous but they sure do. It loads fast as did.8 and it loads web pages quite fast. All-in-all, this is well worth the download. And, as always, Firefox is, for me, far superior to Internet Explorer or any other browser on the market.
First, I think it's wonderful that you are donating the computer as well as your time. Good for you!
I would set up an admin account and several "template" accounts based on different types of usage such as "internet only," "power user," etc. You get the idea.
I would then train someone within the organization on how to setup, modify, and maintain the accounts (unless that is going to be you.).
Once again, your generosity of money and time is commendable.
A well written and informative article. A few thoughts:
. I'm tired of spending the first 10 minutes of my day rebooting just so I can get to work. I must be very lucky because I typically go weeks without rebooting.
...many users don't buy new computers because of how hard it is to move all their data and applications. Absolutely
Microsoft admits that one of its biggest challenges is getting users of its products to upgrade to new releases. Fewer than 3 percent of Microsoft Office users have upgraded to the latest version I can't use all of the features in Office 200 yet....
Synchronization of our Internet bookmarks across all our computers Now wouldn't THAT be nice?
The article is well worth reading. I agree with most of it. I am not exactly a Microsoft fan but I don't have quite the issues with Microsoft that the author does. My biggest gripe is not their products but rather their predatory business practices.
A fair amount of what kills us can be ameliorated by diet, excercise, and reduced stress. It may sound overly simplistic but there is a fair amount of evidence that supports the notion that these are the reasons some folks in parts of the old Soviet Union as well as some places in China and a few other locales live, routinely, to age 100.
The release gained some prominence after a Princeton student demonstrated that the protections could be easily evaded simply by pushing a computer's Shift key while loading the CD.
The solution to piracy is never going to find success in copy protection. As in the example, above, there is always going to be a "workaround."
I think the RIAA has to make their case to their customers in a manner that is compelling and, yes, actually encourages voluntary compliance. You should be able to make copies of a CD that you bought. It is not right, however, to make 25 copies for friends. However, slippery a slope as it is, I think it is probably okay to make a copy for a friend or two. But, it's a slippery slope and many would take issue with me.
The solution is sociological, not hardware/software.
I don't know, I thought I'd mix it up a bit but I do like "Happy Trails" the most - corny as it is. As for "fatboy," you'd laugh if you saw me. 6' 5" and 181lbs. "Slimjim" might be more apropos.
I'm sorry but this is not how you look into the future:simple extrapolation of the present. Nielsen simply takes all of the features we look at today and scales them up (3PHz processor, exabyte hard drives, etc.). My God, whatever computers look like in 30 years will probably bear little semblance to what we use today.
He and other futurists might do better to look at what we use computers for now and what we don't, but could, use them for in the future. They could also think way outside the box and think about how computers will physically change (will it still be everything in one box or will the hardware be as distributed as software can be) or how computers will integrate into everyday life.
I guess I expected a bit more imagination. 30 years is an awfully long time in terms of technological development.
The interview with Crosby is just heartbreaking because you know what he is saying is true. You are not going to find anything at the store other than what WalMart or BestBuy thinks will be a hit with teenagers. I wonder how much great music is out there languishing like it wouldn't have 20 or 30 years ago?
I suspect that there will be a "sea change" in the music industry as well as big paradigm shift. Things do tend to find their way even through the tumbles to the extreme. In the meantime, I'm glad I'm 46 because I grew up when great music, by and large, made it to the radio (yeah,yeah, I know, I'm a cranky old fart).
The author gets pretty excited by the opportunities that the router provides. However, it sounded a bit complicated to me and I wonder how well this would work if a lot of people did it. Is there sufficient capacity within the Internet to handle thousands and thousands of little phone companies? And, can you imagine the customer service issues which you would be handling from home...in your spare time. Still, it is a very cool idea the early adopters and the innovators will have fun with it.
Slashdot Mirror
Cheers!
Erick
Cheers!
Erick
Cheers,
Erick
Cheers!
Erick
Cheers!
Erick
"In the meantime, we have provided customers with prescriptive guidance to help mitigate these issues."
This translates to a set of instructions for making changes in I.E. settings since the default settings are not terribly good for security. THe MS spokesperson said that a "comprehensive" security pack for I.E. will be out later this summer. You gotta love this. You just cannot make stuff up like this!
Cheers!
Erick
Cheers!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
Go look!!!!
Happy Trails!
Erick
I think thispart is a good idea, I like the idea of a mixed group watching, not just the police: At a surveillance center in the Atrium Building on Howard Street, 13 to 15 retired police officers or criminal justice college students will monitor images, said Elliot Schlanger, Baltimore's chief information officer.
ARthur Spitzer from the ACLU: He said cameras infringe on privacy rights and are ineffective in fighting either crime or terrorism. I don't know about that...I think it probably does help. We may not know that it deters because what terrorist is going to call in and say, "I was going to blow up a building but those damned cameras have changed my mind."
Well, we do live in interesting times.
Happy Trails!
Erick
To check his theory, Vincent analyzed and compared the current profiles, output power and a score of other standard tests for measuring antenna performance. All measurements were in reference to comparative measurements made on a quarter-wave vertical antenna for the same frequency, on the same ground system and same power input. "I was able to increase the current profile of the antenna over a quarter-wave by as much as two to 2.5 times," said Vincent.
As a ham (amateur radio operator) this sounds like a very exciting development. I would like to see more "real life" testing in a variety of settings. Still, the idea of an antenna that can be reduced in size by that much (2/3) comes in very handy on the low bands where it's not uncommon to use several hundred feet of wire (Usually into a tuner).
Happy Trails!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
I would set up an admin account and several "template" accounts based on different types of usage such as "internet only," "power user," etc. You get the idea.
I would then train someone within the organization on how to setup, modify, and maintain the accounts (unless that is going to be you.).
Once again, your generosity of money and time is commendable.
Happy Trails!
Erick
. I'm tired of spending the first 10 minutes of my day rebooting just so I can get to work.
I must be very lucky because I typically go weeks without rebooting.
Absolutely
Microsoft admits that one of its biggest challenges is getting users of its products to upgrade to new releases. Fewer than 3 percent of Microsoft Office users have upgraded to the latest version
I can't use all of the features in Office 200 yet....
Synchronization of our Internet bookmarks across all our computers
Now wouldn't THAT be nice?
The article is well worth reading. I agree with most of it. I am not exactly a Microsoft fan but I don't have quite the issues with Microsoft that the author does. My biggest gripe is not their products but rather their predatory business practices.
Happy Trails!
Erick
In the meantime, thanks largely to ineffective spam laws passed by governments, we're having to step up the fight against spam with more resources....
Not that the gov't can do much anyway, but, it could do more. I think the fees are reasonable and I hope they are accepted and paid graciously.
Happy Trails!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
The release gained some prominence after a Princeton student demonstrated that the protections could be easily evaded simply by pushing a computer's Shift key while loading the CD.
The solution to piracy is never going to find success in copy protection. As in the example, above, there is always going to be a "workaround."
I think the RIAA has to make their case to their customers in a manner that is compelling and, yes, actually encourages voluntary compliance. You should be able to make copies of a CD that you bought. It is not right, however, to make 25 copies for friends. However, slippery a slope as it is, I think it is probably okay to make a copy for a friend or two. But, it's a slippery slope and many would take issue with me.
The solution is sociological, not hardware/software.
Happy Trails!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
Local calling
Unlimited Long Distance (US only)
Caller ID
Three-way Calling
Voice Mail
Call Forwarding
other misc stuff
I've had it for about five months and I can attest that my phone bill does not vary. No surprises.
I hope this is of some value to you and I wish you luck with your move and your new ventures.
Happy Trails!
Erick
Happy Trails!
Erick
He and other futurists might do better to look at what we use computers for now and what we don't, but could, use them for in the future. They could also think way outside the box and think about how computers will physically change (will it still be everything in one box or will the hardware be as distributed as software can be) or how computers will integrate into everyday life.
I guess I expected a bit more imagination. 30 years is an awfully long time in terms of technological development.
Keep smiling!
Erick
I suspect that there will be a "sea change" in the music industry as well as big paradigm shift. Things do tend to find their way even through the tumbles to the extreme. In the meantime, I'm glad I'm 46 because I grew up when great music, by and large, made it to the radio (yeah,yeah, I know, I'm a cranky old fart).
Keep smiling!
Erick
Take care!
Erick