Hey now, I learned about "trials" from Winzip. I expect a box where I have to click OK, but I shouldn't have to PAY to get full functionality on day 937 or my 30 day trial!
4 megapixel is good enough for most uses, however quality is not just about the MP. I'm by no means a professional photographer, but my shiny new smartphone with a 3MP camera will not even hold a light to my 4+ year old cheap point and shoot digital camera.
1) Better auto focus 2) Better lens 3) Zoom - just having it. Digital zoom doesn't count, that's all stuff that could be done post processing and doesn't help your image at all (BTW, my old camera has that too, on top of a true optical zoom). 4) Flash - sure, some phones have this now, but LED flash is only a compromise to a true flash (even a cheap P&S flash). 5) Actually taking a picture when I push the button, rather than after focusing and registering the button click on the phone that already has 10 other things going on at once 6) Shutter speed. (Faster, slower, whatever you need)
In fairness to a smartphone, it has other benefits 1) I've almost always got it with me 2) Instant sharing via facebook, flickr, picasa, Gallery, whatever else you want. 3) Geotagging (though there are many camera models that do this now, my 4 year old cheap P&S camera does not)
As far as replacing the mp3players, the only reason I still use my iPod is primarily due to the battery life. I am glad they're finally starting to build in 3.5mm headphone jacks standard.
Um. . . . too good to be true? Anyone ever calculate up what they give you for what your total payments would be? It was several times what the items were worth, and if you're not going to get them until you're done paying the outrageous markup, why not just save up? Seriously I thought these things were a scam before I even knew about them not shipping PC's. It really just proves how bad some people are with their money (and contracts). It's really just so much worse that the deal was already so heavily weighted against the consumer and it was *STILL* a scam.
There's a huge difference here though. Nobody is going to die if a cellphone performs horribly in a security test (ruling out side effects such as not being able to call 911). Also, testing the phones does not require them to be destroyed, unlike testing a car. Understandably, auto manufacturers are not interested in crashing thousands of cars, and those tests have to be standardized to have an fair comparison between the different brands.
There's also a line between what they're attempting to do. With auto tests, they see how safe the car is and with that information I go buy the one I want and it's mine for me to control. They're wanting to install backdoors into phones so that carriers can fix your problems. I'm sure this offers the government a little incentive to fund this plan. It's a good thing that we all know backdoors never, EVER fall into the hands of the bad guys, and nobody will EVER be able to exploit such a hole. I'm serious, it's a really good thing!
I moved to fortunecity.com years ago. Never actually had a geocities account. They were offering 100MB when I signed up, now they are offering 1GB. They also offer FTP access. My site has been on there untouched for over 10 years. The ads are a little obtrusive at times though. Back in the day it was just a single standard banner.
If I buy software and sell you an illegal copy, you have then purchased software illegally.
Just because you may not have known it was an illegal copy isn't necessarily a defense, just ask the RIAA. I seem to recall cases of people subscribing to those all-you-can-download 'services' that turned out to be piracy groups.
There is an exception for devices that have an "information or status display" which allows for a power consumption of 2 W (2014: 1 W) in standby mode.
sounds like nearly everything targeted is already exempt. My washing machine, toaster, and blender have no displays and draw no power when not being used (ignoring arguments about power leaking).
My DVD player, stereo, cable modem, cable box, TV, stove, microwave, fridge, printer. . . . even the power brick for my laptop all have a "status" indicator that lets you know it's plugged in/off/standby/whatever they call it.
As if I don't have enough devices with clocks on them now, even my toaster is going to get a clock on it to skirt a law like this.
So now we can't even fish anymore? I'm not a hunter, but I enjoy going to the firing range. I am a fisherman though, and I don't know any good way to clean a fish without a sharp POINTED knife to gut it/fillet it.
There's a Simpson's episode that comes to mind where they successfully ban all kinds of weapons. They then find a board with a nail in it and start chasing each other around with those.
Violence is going to happen, people are going to die, it's a fact of life. You can't ban everything that can kill someone. A hammer can bash your head in, but you want a house to live in, right? A car can run you down on the sidewalk, but you want your kids to be able to see grandma? A potato can be shoved down your throat to choke you to death, we should ban them as well.
Seriously, even a big padded room and a white straight jacket require potentially deadly tools to produce, and that combination still won't protect you from everything.
Better ban wood and string too, and chop down all trees in the world before the criminals can get to them and make bows and arrows.
When did we as a race become so afraid to die we won't let ourselves live?
That's where the problem comes. As you ad more numbers, sequences that were previously valid Golumb rulers are no longer because distances are repeates. It's not just the length between any adjacent pairs that cannot be repeated.
That being said, it's still hard to understand why we care. As has been pointed out above, we haven't found any practical use for any sequences above 5. Maybe someday we will though.
100% + 0% = 45% average? This is the kind of math we have backup up the 50% minimum policy?
If I go to work and just barely do enough to get by (60%), I'll keep my job. I probably won't get promoted, but I'll still have a job. If I don't do anything (0%), I will get FIRED! In the real world, if you don't do your work, you starve. We need to seriously look at the welfare system, both as government handouts and grade handouts. Seriously, if a kid actually cares about their grade I don't know many teachers that wouldn't help them, but they have to show they care and are willing to work.
This is rediculous, and people wonder why a HS Diploma isn't good enough to get a decent job anymore. Yes, we are all created equal, but unfortunately some people are more equal than others. I'm sorry if the truth hurts, but face reality. We can't just hand people good grades to make everyone happy. The world does not run on puppies and happy thoughts.
Ok, so the HUD/GPS Combo could alert a driver that a sharp turn is coming up on this back country road, and it could notify the driver that there's a stopsign hidden behind that tree (or that has been stolen again). What about instantaneous conditions? It's not going to help with stoplights for sure, but what about road work when that guy is standing in the middle of the street with a slow/stop sign? What about this new intersection that was just added last week, how will these updates get to your car on time?
I think a HUD would be absolutely AWESOME (even for us young whippersnappers), when it comes to things like vehicle and environment information (temp, blindspot sensors, etc), even GPS, but it can't substitute for the ability to watch the road. Things will always pop up, and we can't let people drive just because their car will tell them when a stop sign is coming up, because it WON'T tell them when there's someone on a bike on the shoulder, or a broke down car on the road, or any other number of things.
I don't in any way think that driving should be cut off at a certain age, but it should be more seriously tested than it is now. Young people can have poor reflexes and eyesight, and people in their 80's can be perfectly healthy and competent to drive.
Alongside the donkey and the elephant, now stands cowboy neal!
If that doesn't work, I think we should just take the American Idol approach to elections. People devote months to watching and following these people. Wouldn't it be nice if people put the same devotion and thought into picking our politicians?
That's still not really debunking the parent point. There are players that support it, there are players that support whatever format you want to use. If they don't do it natively, there's surely some hack for some player to make something do it. The difference is that MP3 is supported by pretty much everything. You can't hardly buy a digital media device that can't play MP3's these days. DVD players, phones, digital picture frames, any digital music players (even ones that aren't marketed as MP3 support it as an alternative format), in dash CD players (if they support anything more than CD audio), some digital cameras, some GPS units.
I have considered switching my collection default to Ogg or other "superior quality" formats in the past. Fact is, if my music collection is 100% MP3, it can be played on anything that can play digital audio files. If I use ANY other format, I'm restricted to a PC and a very small subset of digital audio players on the market. Quality does not win format wars, convenience does. I'm not saying quality doesn't matter, but it takes a large differential for the market to care. Quality doesn't matter if it's inaccessible, and it's inaccessible if I have to work too hard to get it.
Would anyone care about a 60" plasma TV with surround sound if the only way to see it was to sit on a milk crate? My guess is they'd go for the 5 year old 27" TV in front of a nice recliner.
Wouldn't that be similar to GTA:San Andreas and the hot coffee mod? Granted, the graphics were already in the game in that case, but they were inaccessible without an unsupported hack. However since the game could easily be made AO with an easily available patch, the game was nearly forced to an AO rating. If I remember correctly, they had to release a new version that could not be hacked to get their M rating back.
Seriously though - M vs AO is only one year. It's a ridiculous battle. Nobody is going to be scarred at 17 by something that will be perfectly fine at 18. In movies, you can have pretty much any amount of violence and nudity at R (17), but for anything hardcore you have to be 18. Again, it's just a year, but it seems to be a pretty clear line. Why can't we just do the same thing with games?
Most definitely. Government was never included in the TOS I signed up with. Now if my ISP sees me doing illegal things and informs the police, then that is all well and good, I gave the ISP that right. I did NOT give the police that right, and without a warrent, they do not have it. Government does not get to piggy back on any right anyone might have.
If you're married, you gave your significant other the right to your stuff when you die and the right to make certain decisions on your behalf (say if you were in a coma). That does NOT give the government the right to the same things.
What's there to learn? Ever car has pretty much the same blind spot, some are just larger than others. If the vehicle has no rear view mirror (trucks, cargo vans, etc) , than close behind is a blind spot (you should never be that close anyway). The dangerous blind spots are always about about 4 and 8 o'clock. Too far up for [regular] mirrors to see you, too far back for the drivers peripheral. Convertibles don't have steel beams in the roof, so there's a large canvas patch that would interfere with the view here. True, the driver should be aware of their vehicles blind spots. I personally use convex mirrors on both sides, so even without having to turn I have no blind spots.
Yes, the driver SHOULD still be checking their blind spots. But as a vigilant driver, shouldn't you still be aware when you're driving in one, and know that it's in your best interest to get out of it. Either pass or fall back.
Slashdot Mirror
Hey now, I learned about "trials" from Winzip. I expect a box where I have to click OK, but I shouldn't have to PAY to get full functionality on day 937 or my 30 day trial!
4 megapixel is good enough for most uses, however quality is not just about the MP. I'm by no means a professional photographer, but my shiny new smartphone with a 3MP camera will not even hold a light to my 4+ year old cheap point and shoot digital camera.
1) Better auto focus
2) Better lens
3) Zoom - just having it. Digital zoom doesn't count, that's all stuff that could be done post processing and doesn't help your image at all (BTW, my old camera has that too, on top of a true optical zoom).
4) Flash - sure, some phones have this now, but LED flash is only a compromise to a true flash (even a cheap P&S flash).
5) Actually taking a picture when I push the button, rather than after focusing and registering the button click on the phone that already has 10 other things going on at once
6) Shutter speed. (Faster, slower, whatever you need)
In fairness to a smartphone, it has other benefits
1) I've almost always got it with me
2) Instant sharing via facebook, flickr, picasa, Gallery, whatever else you want.
3) Geotagging (though there are many camera models that do this now, my 4 year old cheap P&S camera does not)
As far as replacing the mp3players, the only reason I still use my iPod is primarily due to the battery life. I am glad they're finally starting to build in 3.5mm headphone jacks standard.
Um. . . . too good to be true? Anyone ever calculate up what they give you for what your total payments would be? It was several times what the items were worth, and if you're not going to get them until you're done paying the outrageous markup, why not just save up? Seriously I thought these things were a scam before I even knew about them not shipping PC's. It really just proves how bad some people are with their money (and contracts). It's really just so much worse that the deal was already so heavily weighted against the consumer and it was *STILL* a scam.
There's a huge difference here though. Nobody is going to die if a cellphone performs horribly in a security test (ruling out side effects such as not being able to call 911). Also, testing the phones does not require them to be destroyed, unlike testing a car. Understandably, auto manufacturers are not interested in crashing thousands of cars, and those tests have to be standardized to have an fair comparison between the different brands.
There's also a line between what they're attempting to do. With auto tests, they see how safe the car is and with that information I go buy the one I want and it's mine for me to control. They're wanting to install backdoors into phones so that carriers can fix your problems. I'm sure this offers the government a little incentive to fund this plan. It's a good thing that we all know backdoors never, EVER fall into the hands of the bad guys, and nobody will EVER be able to exploit such a hole. I'm serious, it's a really good thing!
I never thought I'd see the day when Sir Mix-a-Lot got a +5 Insightful on /.
I moved to fortunecity.com years ago. Never actually had a geocities account. They were offering 100MB when I signed up, now they are offering 1GB. They also offer FTP access. My site has been on there untouched for over 10 years. The ads are a little obtrusive at times though. Back in the day it was just a single standard banner.
I wonder what the accuracy would be if you just scanned for posts referencing new pictures at flickr?
If I buy software and sell you an illegal copy, you have then purchased software illegally.
Just because you may not have known it was an illegal copy isn't necessarily a defense, just ask the RIAA. I seem to recall cases of people subscribing to those all-you-can-download 'services' that turned out to be piracy groups.
There is an exception for devices that have an "information or status display" which allows for a power consumption of 2 W (2014: 1 W) in standby mode.
sounds like nearly everything targeted is already exempt. My washing machine, toaster, and blender have no displays and draw no power when not being used (ignoring arguments about power leaking).
My DVD player, stereo, cable modem, cable box, TV, stove, microwave, fridge, printer. . . . even the power brick for my laptop all have a "status" indicator that lets you know it's plugged in/off/standby/whatever they call it.
As if I don't have enough devices with clocks on them now, even my toaster is going to get a clock on it to skirt a law like this.
1. Invent zero-watt sleep mode for PC.
2. Patent relevant technology.
3. Lobby the Euros for legislation requiring feature.
4. Profit!
(forget about valid strategy of turning off PC--stupid consumers can't be bothered)
How can this plan ever work without a step in the middle for "???".
According to what I've learned on /. EVERY plan has to have this step!
But only if you don't care about password reset exploits or the fact that this information is sent via clear text through the tubes.
Only a problem if your tubes are clear. Mine are mostly grey and black with a couple blue ones, but no clear ones.
So now we can't even fish anymore? I'm not a hunter, but I enjoy going to the firing range. I am a fisherman though, and I don't know any good way to clean a fish without a sharp POINTED knife to gut it/fillet it.
There's a Simpson's episode that comes to mind where they successfully ban all kinds of weapons. They then find a board with a nail in it and start chasing each other around with those.
Violence is going to happen, people are going to die, it's a fact of life. You can't ban everything that can kill someone. A hammer can bash your head in, but you want a house to live in, right? A car can run you down on the sidewalk, but you want your kids to be able to see grandma? A potato can be shoved down your throat to choke you to death, we should ban them as well.
Seriously, even a big padded room and a white straight jacket require potentially deadly tools to produce, and that combination still won't protect you from everything.
Better ban wood and string too, and chop down all trees in the world before the criminals can get to them and make bows and arrows.
When did we as a race become so afraid to die we won't let ourselves live?
no two pairs of marks are the same distance apart
0,3 -> Distance 3
3,6 -> Distance 3
0,6 -> Distance 6
15,21 -> Distance 6
That's where the problem comes. As you ad more numbers, sequences that were previously valid Golumb rulers are no longer because distances are repeates. It's not just the length between any adjacent pairs that cannot be repeated.
That being said, it's still hard to understand why we care. As has been pointed out above, we haven't found any practical use for any sequences above 5. Maybe someday we will though.
You're so lucky. I hate having steady predictable work and income. It's just so monotonous.
Zing. Well, English never was one of my favorite subjects. Maybe I need the free points on the grammar portion. . . .
100% + 0% = 45% average? This is the kind of math we have backup up the 50% minimum policy?
If I go to work and just barely do enough to get by (60%), I'll keep my job. I probably won't get promoted, but I'll still have a job. If I don't do anything (0%), I will get FIRED! In the real world, if you don't do your work, you starve. We need to seriously look at the welfare system, both as government handouts and grade handouts. Seriously, if a kid actually cares about their grade I don't know many teachers that wouldn't help them, but they have to show they care and are willing to work.
This is rediculous, and people wonder why a HS Diploma isn't good enough to get a decent job anymore. Yes, we are all created equal, but unfortunately some people are more equal than others. I'm sorry if the truth hurts, but face reality. We can't just hand people good grades to make everyone happy. The world does not run on puppies and happy thoughts.
Ok, so the HUD/GPS Combo could alert a driver that a sharp turn is coming up on this back country road, and it could notify the driver that there's a stopsign hidden behind that tree (or that has been stolen again). What about instantaneous conditions? It's not going to help with stoplights for sure, but what about road work when that guy is standing in the middle of the street with a slow/stop sign? What about this new intersection that was just added last week, how will these updates get to your car on time?
I think a HUD would be absolutely AWESOME (even for us young whippersnappers), when it comes to things like vehicle and environment information (temp, blindspot sensors, etc), even GPS, but it can't substitute for the ability to watch the road. Things will always pop up, and we can't let people drive just because their car will tell them when a stop sign is coming up, because it WON'T tell them when there's someone on a bike on the shoulder, or a broke down car on the road, or any other number of things.
I don't in any way think that driving should be cut off at a certain age, but it should be more seriously tested than it is now. Young people can have poor reflexes and eyesight, and people in their 80's can be perfectly healthy and competent to drive.
What a sign of our lifestyle when this is modded insightful instead of funny.
zappepcs for President, 08 - \. party
Alongside the donkey and the elephant, now stands cowboy neal!
If that doesn't work, I think we should just take the American Idol approach to elections. People devote months to watching and following these people. Wouldn't it be nice if people put the same devotion and thought into picking our politicians?
That's still not really debunking the parent point. There are players that support it, there are players that support whatever format you want to use. If they don't do it natively, there's surely some hack for some player to make something do it. The difference is that MP3 is supported by pretty much everything. You can't hardly buy a digital media device that can't play MP3's these days. DVD players, phones, digital picture frames, any digital music players (even ones that aren't marketed as MP3 support it as an alternative format), in dash CD players (if they support anything more than CD audio), some digital cameras, some GPS units.
I have considered switching my collection default to Ogg or other "superior quality" formats in the past. Fact is, if my music collection is 100% MP3, it can be played on anything that can play digital audio files. If I use ANY other format, I'm restricted to a PC and a very small subset of digital audio players on the market. Quality does not win format wars, convenience does. I'm not saying quality doesn't matter, but it takes a large differential for the market to care. Quality doesn't matter if it's inaccessible, and it's inaccessible if I have to work too hard to get it.
Would anyone care about a 60" plasma TV with surround sound if the only way to see it was to sit on a milk crate? My guess is they'd go for the 5 year old 27" TV in front of a nice recliner.
Wouldn't that be similar to GTA:San Andreas and the hot coffee mod? Granted, the graphics were already in the game in that case, but they were inaccessible without an unsupported hack. However since the game could easily be made AO with an easily available patch, the game was nearly forced to an AO rating. If I remember correctly, they had to release a new version that could not be hacked to get their M rating back.
Seriously though - M vs AO is only one year. It's a ridiculous battle. Nobody is going to be scarred at 17 by something that will be perfectly fine at 18. In movies, you can have pretty much any amount of violence and nudity at R (17), but for anything hardcore you have to be 18. Again, it's just a year, but it seems to be a pretty clear line. Why can't we just do the same thing with games?
Most definitely. Government was never included in the TOS I signed up with. Now if my ISP sees me doing illegal things and informs the police, then that is all well and good, I gave the ISP that right. I did NOT give the police that right, and without a warrent, they do not have it. Government does not get to piggy back on any right anyone might have.
If you're married, you gave your significant other the right to your stuff when you die and the right to make certain decisions on your behalf (say if you were in a coma). That does NOT give the government the right to the same things.
What's there to learn? Ever car has pretty much the same blind spot, some are just larger than others. If the vehicle has no rear view mirror (trucks, cargo vans, etc) , than close behind is a blind spot (you should never be that close anyway). The dangerous blind spots are always about about 4 and 8 o'clock. Too far up for [regular] mirrors to see you, too far back for the drivers peripheral. Convertibles don't have steel beams in the roof, so there's a large canvas patch that would interfere with the view here. True, the driver should be aware of their vehicles blind spots. I personally use convex mirrors on both sides, so even without having to turn I have no blind spots.
Yes, the driver SHOULD still be checking their blind spots. But as a vigilant driver, shouldn't you still be aware when you're driving in one, and know that it's in your best interest to get out of it. Either pass or fall back.
A fool of a took. . .to develop Vista!