Great point-- give 'em total access to the encrypted data same as the FBI. If they have a problem with it, let the French take it up in US Courts. And let them pound sand for good measure in the process.
If this causes Apple-- and other device manufacturers-- headaches selling in France, then so be it.
Fair is fair. I personally applaud Apple for saying NO to unreasonable search and intrusion as an American citizen in US residence, even though it might likely bite them in the ass and cost them business. I hope the current legal debate works out in favor of privacy and the 4th Amendment in the US. If other countries have different laws, they are certainly entitled to enforce them within their borders. They can start by requiring all smart phones to be government issued Android: open source OS, they can craft and force all of the world's top hardware makers-- save one-- to run their preferred system. No snark intended, I am quite serious.
I'd love to see strong encryption become the norm in the industry-- I'm bothered, but not in fear of terrorism-- however each Nation can do what they want. I'll continue to enjoy being American and prefer living life with my Constitutional rights intact. If I'm killed by Terrorists with an iPhone then fuck those guys and may they roast... but I'm quite certain that I prefer to live out my time without government imposed FUD and nibshit LEOs whining that they cannot do their job without Orwellian access.
Expedient "justice" does not equal higher quality of life.
...and in this case-- per the article and/or a tiny bit of simple awareness-- old people are receiving the overwhelming share of those checks in the form of Medicare and Social Security.
I say our Baby Boomer friends (i.e. parents and grandparents) have earned those benefits. In the case of Soc Sec, they've certainly paid for them. We should give them what they have paid for. It'll hurt now-- particularly for all of us earning a living in the workforce/tax base-- but as those folks inevitably stop receiving benefits it'll all work out.
Fair's fair, and today's retirees didn't ask to be born at the same time at an incredible rate.
You can fudge quite a bit on a receiving antenna, not so much with a transmitting antenna...
None of the uses in the quote you objected to require a transmitting antenna.
True. That's a good point. However, consider the enormous range of those services:
RFID: 120 KHz - 10 GHz (Generally below 2.4 GHz, with LF and UHF tags being common)
FM Broadcast: 88 MHz - 108 MHz
DTV: 55 MHz - 700 MHz (Three bands, ~55-85, ~175-210, ~470-700)
Radio Astronomy: 13 MHz - 0.8 THz or something equally nuts way up there (The VLA receives below 50 GHz)
That's way outside the scope of getting an antenna to fudge on receive. We're talking wavelengths from ~1.5 MILES to under half a millimeter !
Unless Scotty beams down and hands us an antenna from the future, TFA's mega-broadband SDR described as doing all that at the same time is science fiction. I'll buy that SDRs could possibly handle that kind of bandwidth sometime soon, but there's no way we're going to see a practical antenna system shipping with it.
FTFA: "It could record FM radio and digital television signals, read RFID chips, track ship locations, or do radio astronomy. In principle it could perform all of these functions simultaneously."
Nice try, but no. At least not in a practical sense and certainly not as a mobile rig.
Software Defined Radios are sweet but still dependent on a Physically Defined Antenna. I can see loads of wonderful uses for a broadband, frequency-agile SDR. Actually, I use them often as a Ham radio operator and they are extremely cool. However, there's still the problem of the pesky antenna. You can fudge quite a bit on a receiving antenna, not so much with a transmitting antenna (or a single transceiver antenna), and the engineers out there are very talented and clever at coming up with better designs... but it always tends to come down to the antenna.
My point is that advances in SDR tech is fantastic, but they're not-- nor do I ever see them becoming-- a magic box. What I think they WILL do is streamline production. One super SDR can be dropped into a number of application-specific boxes.
I'll be these folks lodged some of their complaints over a mobile phone. And none of them use garage door openers, or keep track of their kids at the mall using FRS radios... argh.
If they don't like the idea of remote meter reading, fine-- that's one thing, and a valid discussion to be had. But unsafe RF levels ? Are you KIDDING me ?
You know, I like your approach better than the one I suggested. The learning process is more intuitive and interactive for the kids, and the result better demonstrates actual programming skills.
A+ for you, here's your scratch & sniff sticker.:)
Absolutely correct--- the parent must either be, well, a PARENT or a teacher (perhaps both).
Choose an EXTREMELY simple, straightforward physical task, break that task up into absolutely fundamental chucks, assign a [child-unit]* to each chunk, execute.
*[child-unit]: Depending on how many kids you have and how you want to structure things, assign your kids to work as either individuals or small groups. I'll return to this in a bit...
For 2nd grade, I'd suggest opening up by having the children consider single-task robots. They'll dig that. A bot can perform ONE physical movement.
The task is to move a box from Table A to Table B.
Break the movements into chucks like this:
a: Grab box, elevate from table height to chest height
b: Accept box at chest height and pivot left/right from a stationary position
c: Accept box at chest height and move back and forth on a linear path from Table A to Table B
d: Accept box at chest height and pivot left/right from a stationary position
e: Accept box at chest height, lower to table height and release
Following this model, you need three kinds of kid-robots: Lift/Lower, swivel cargo, transport cargo.
If you explain and demonstrate each chunk, they'll get it.
For 4th grade, do the same except lead them in a discussion to discover that the 5 chunks only require three discrete actions, and have them outline the order on the chalkboard. In essence, they'll be writing code.
Good luck, consult the classroom teacher for assistance with the lesson plan, and above all HAVE FUN !!
Same situation for me- I wanted decent calling, mobile data from my iBook or Palm Tungsten T3 and full contact/calendar syncing between Mac/Phone/Palm.
* Sony Ericsson phones gave me acceptable call quality and absurdly simple DUN & contact/cal sync.
* T-Mobile gave me all-you-can-eat GPRS/EDGE for $20/month and they don't restrict which devices you use or how
* iBook/OS X Panther with iSync handles all of the above. I use a Bluetooth dongle instead of a cable, I like it.
A few things I learned along the way:
GPRS is pokey but usable, similar to a 33.6K modem once it's transferring. Latency is crappy (1.5-2.5 sec !) and that's what made the connection feel slow. Great on a Palm, not so great on the iBook, but usable for email, chat, anything but fancy web pages. EDGE made big difference. Cingular & T-mo have it everywhere. With latency, EDGE feels like a normal 56K modem and browsing is just fine.
Verizon and Sprint's EV-DO data networks are waaaaaaaaaaaay faster than anything the GSM carriers have (I know about Cing's UMTS, but it's only in a few places and they've been "about a month away from national UMTS rollout" now for almost two years). Those EV-DO speeds are impressive, but the way ($$$) Verizon & Sprint sell the service and the phones that are available are too restrictive/incompatible for my needs. Basically, too expensive with too many TOS rules and the limited range of phones sucked with a Mac.
Using GSM phones means that you've got two carrier choices: Cingular or T-Mo. But it means that you've got a ton of phones to pick from, and you can switch at will- just stick the SIM card in whatever you want to use. Look around for unlocked GSM phones on eBay and spec 'em out at phonescoop.com.:-) I was surprised. Wide selection I control is good.
If you go GSM, Cingular and T-Mo (quietly) have reciprocal roaming agreements ! This means that cing & t-mo customer's phones automatically use either network's towers if they need to. In short, the REAL national coverage map is all of Cing + T-mo put together. Basically, everywhere.
Sony Ericsson does a remarkable job of building phones that play nice with other devices and sync easily. I like them, others may not, but regardless you'll be hard pressed to find a phone from a different maker that handles DUN and sync over whatever bridge you like (BT, IR, Cable) as easily. ESPECIALLY on a Mac. OS X and iSync both like Sony Ericsson.
If you don't have a Palm, iSync will git-r-done. If you DO have a Palm, you're pretty much going to need to buy The Missing Sync http://www.markspace.com/
The version of iSync that comes with 10.3 Panther is old enough now that it doesn't recognize some newer phones. 10.4 Tiger knows about more phones. I've used both, I have Tiger now because it cooperates better with my new SE phone.
Bottom line: After lots of experimenting and taking stuff back to stores, my recipe calls for an SE S710a EDGE phone on T-Mo over Bluetooth to my iBook G4. I get pretty solid 56K modem-like DUN performance every place I've tried (even on road trips in the boonies on the way to the Grand Canyon). Internet works fine over BT to both my iBook and my Palm through the phone. Contacts, Calendars and To-Do's sync perfectly in all directions between Mac-Palm-Phone. Call quality is typically fine (craps out sometimes, but hey- it's a radio after all). The phone was used/unlocked for $220 on eBay including the 3-yr replacement warranty I bought, the T-mo service is now $30/month for all-you-can-eat nationwide EDGE and T-Mo Wifi hotspots (on top of a voice plan), the BT dongle was $25, and Missing Sync was $40 to make my Palm sync properly.
This has been very useful, reliable and flexible for me. Good luck with your recipe !
I see and understand your point about Apple's knack of releasing things frequently, suddenly and secretly so we as consumers can't plan anything except being eclipsed weeks after opening the box. I also understand the frustration with seeing something newer come along right after a purchase- within my means, I jump on new stuff I reeeely want as much as anyone else. However I disagree that people are being burned wantonly with Apple scrap that ought to be in the discount pile. They've pulled some really dumb things, but not that. Especially not with the iPod.
Apple comes out with updated models/features because they keep going after new stuff, because they can, and because it helps them stay on top of what they do. And yeah, they sell what they've got along the way.
A story (hopefully amusing)...
My parents bought our family's second computer (first was a TRS-80 CoCo) in December 1984- A top-o'-the-line Apple ][e 64K, all the trimmings, even a DuoDisk. I was little. I was excited. I learned to type thanks to a year of re-typing BASIC programs back into the CoCo every time I turned it on (my parents didn't get the Tandy cassette drive, so I was my own mass storage device). We lived in the boonies of Northern Arizona miles and miles from the nearest signpost so the ][e had to arrive by regular mail parcel post. It came, it was glorious. Then in late January 1985, I discover that the ][e Enhanced had been released, replacing our "new" computer. Yep, less than two months later.
The only difference I could tell was that the new (NEW !! argh) Apple was far more friendly in interpreting BASIC, which was what I did with the computer. It didn't whine when I used lowercase, and I didn't have as many problems getting my code to work. I didn't have to be nearly as careful to avoid that damned SYNTAX ERROR message.
I was pissed, but really just because of what we could've had if my parents just waited. You know what though ? The new, not even dusty (yet outdated) ][e ended up being a trooper for us. My dad (a teacher) still uses it for his grades. It really wasn't a big deal, they both had CAPS LOCK keys and the silly box always did what we needed it to do.
22 years, growing up, a music degree:-), a PC for curiosity and 5 Apple computers later, I have the same feeling regarding Apple's product cycle habits:
If it ain't broke and it gets the job done nicely, what I've got works until next time.
Apple's releasing iPods faster than others would like ? I say go for it and challenge the industry while you're at it if you can. When my 3G dies, I'll use an old Mac to find a reasonable 6G on eBay. If the just released 7G at that time is bad-ass, I'll sell the 3G as parts grab one of them and rock on as I read about the next big thing.
Buy what you will, use what buy, new stuff happens. This is good.
Okay, so very few people are loading up rolls of trusty old Tri-X-Pan film and going out to shoot. Even less these days know how to handle a decent SLR out of Program AE or full auto-everything mode. VERY few people are doing old-school B&W process developing by hand... and even less are enlarging and printing the negatives they shoot themselves (which would need the paper Kodak's not making anymore).
We've got good consumer home equipment printing options and affordable big commercial labs (filled with automated equipment and button-monkey "technicians") and digital photo everything within easy grasp and price. Digital photography is cheaper all around and has many noteworthy advantages over traditional photography.
Also, even the most weenie digicams one step above the Wal-Mart toys has a B&W and Sepia setting, and the good digicams have tons to offer.
So why fuss or lament ??
Because the collective body of knowledge, experience and artistry in photography is formiddable, and black & white process is an inseperable part of that. Because printing photos (again, where the discontinued paper comes in) is a whole different world from actually taking the photos. Because artists use B&W and it's the most sensible place for newcomers to start learning since it's easier and cheaper than traditional color process.
I'm not sad that Kodak for business reasons decided to quit making B&W paper. That was a business decision from an old company that's confused about it's current and future place in an industry it helped define, and trying to survive. I AM concerned that some will view this as the demise of traditional photograhphy. I don't believe it is.
If traditional small format (8 and 16 mm) motion picture film can survive in a digital imaging world, then traditional photography certainly can.
Photography has a history of invention and evolution, this is just another step.
B&W process will move to the edge, the background. It will step away so that newer processes can rise, but it will not be lost, not for a very long time at least.
While digital process photography will take over the mainstream, B&W process will remain in the hands of the artists and those who wish to learn the craft of photography.
Bottom line, B&W is not dead, one important company's decision to get out of the business is not it's tombstone, and the value of having a significant body of knowledge + traditional options + modern innovation and evolution leading the way makes the craft all the more rich and strong.
Slashdot Mirror
If this causes Apple-- and other device manufacturers-- headaches selling in France, then so be it.
Fair is fair. I personally applaud Apple for saying NO to unreasonable search and intrusion as an American citizen in US residence, even though it might likely bite them in the ass and cost them business. I hope the current legal debate works out in favor of privacy and the 4th Amendment in the US. If other countries have different laws, they are certainly entitled to enforce them within their borders. They can start by requiring all smart phones to be government issued Android: open source OS, they can craft and force all of the world's top hardware makers-- save one-- to run their preferred system. No snark intended, I am quite serious.
I'd love to see strong encryption become the norm in the industry-- I'm bothered, but not in fear of terrorism-- however each Nation can do what they want. I'll continue to enjoy being American and prefer living life with my Constitutional rights intact. If I'm killed by Terrorists with an iPhone then fuck those guys and may they roast... but I'm quite certain that I prefer to live out my time without government imposed FUD and nibshit LEOs whining that they cannot do their job without Orwellian access.
Expedient "justice" does not equal higher quality of life.
...and in this case-- per the article and/or a tiny bit of simple awareness-- old people are receiving the overwhelming share of those checks in the form of Medicare and Social Security.
I say our Baby Boomer friends (i.e. parents and grandparents) have earned those benefits. In the case of Soc Sec, they've certainly paid for them. We should give them what they have paid for. It'll hurt now-- particularly for all of us earning a living in the workforce/tax base-- but as those folks inevitably stop receiving benefits it'll all work out.
Fair's fair, and today's retirees didn't ask to be born at the same time at an incredible rate.
You can fudge quite a bit on a receiving antenna, not so much with a transmitting antenna...
None of the uses in the quote you objected to require a transmitting antenna.
True. That's a good point. However, consider the enormous range of those services:
RFID: 120 KHz - 10 GHz (Generally below 2.4 GHz, with LF and UHF tags being common)
FM Broadcast: 88 MHz - 108 MHz
DTV: 55 MHz - 700 MHz (Three bands, ~55-85, ~175-210, ~470-700)
Radio Astronomy: 13 MHz - 0.8 THz or something equally nuts way up there (The VLA receives below 50 GHz)
That's way outside the scope of getting an antenna to fudge on receive. We're talking wavelengths from ~1.5 MILES to under half a millimeter !
Unless Scotty beams down and hands us an antenna from the future, TFA's mega-broadband SDR described as doing all that at the same time is science fiction. I'll buy that SDRs could possibly handle that kind of bandwidth sometime soon, but there's no way we're going to see a practical antenna system shipping with it.
Nice try, but no. At least not in a practical sense and certainly not as a mobile rig.
Software Defined Radios are sweet but still dependent on a Physically Defined Antenna. I can see loads of wonderful uses for a broadband, frequency-agile SDR. Actually, I use them often as a Ham radio operator and they are extremely cool. However, there's still the problem of the pesky antenna. You can fudge quite a bit on a receiving antenna, not so much with a transmitting antenna (or a single transceiver antenna), and the engineers out there are very talented and clever at coming up with better designs... but it always tends to come down to the antenna.
My point is that advances in SDR tech is fantastic, but they're not-- nor do I ever see them becoming-- a magic box. What I think they WILL do is streamline production. One super SDR can be dropped into a number of application-specific boxes.
I'll be these folks lodged some of their complaints over a mobile phone. And none of them use garage door openers, or keep track of their kids at the mall using FRS radios... argh. If they don't like the idea of remote meter reading, fine-- that's one thing, and a valid discussion to be had. But unsafe RF levels ? Are you KIDDING me ?
You know, I like your approach better than the one I suggested. The learning process is more intuitive and interactive for the kids, and the result better demonstrates actual programming skills. A+ for you, here's your scratch & sniff sticker. :)
Absolutely correct--- the parent must either be, well, a PARENT or a teacher (perhaps both). Choose an EXTREMELY simple, straightforward physical task, break that task up into absolutely fundamental chucks, assign a [child-unit]* to each chunk, execute. *[child-unit]: Depending on how many kids you have and how you want to structure things, assign your kids to work as either individuals or small groups. I'll return to this in a bit... For 2nd grade, I'd suggest opening up by having the children consider single-task robots. They'll dig that. A bot can perform ONE physical movement. The task is to move a box from Table A to Table B. Break the movements into chucks like this: a: Grab box, elevate from table height to chest height b: Accept box at chest height and pivot left/right from a stationary position c: Accept box at chest height and move back and forth on a linear path from Table A to Table B d: Accept box at chest height and pivot left/right from a stationary position e: Accept box at chest height, lower to table height and release Following this model, you need three kinds of kid-robots: Lift/Lower, swivel cargo, transport cargo. If you explain and demonstrate each chunk, they'll get it. For 4th grade, do the same except lead them in a discussion to discover that the 5 chunks only require three discrete actions, and have them outline the order on the chalkboard. In essence, they'll be writing code. Good luck, consult the classroom teacher for assistance with the lesson plan, and above all HAVE FUN !!
OMG !!! ...what a jackass.
* Sony Ericsson phones gave me acceptable call quality and absurdly simple DUN & contact/cal sync.
* T-Mobile gave me all-you-can-eat GPRS/EDGE for $20/month and they don't restrict which devices you use or how
* iBook/OS X Panther with iSync handles all of the above. I use a Bluetooth dongle instead of a cable, I like it.
A few things I learned along the way:
GPRS is pokey but usable, similar to a 33.6K modem once it's transferring. Latency is crappy (1.5-2.5 sec !) and that's what made the connection feel slow. Great on a Palm, not so great on the iBook, but usable for email, chat, anything but fancy web pages. EDGE made big difference. Cingular & T-mo have it everywhere. With latency, EDGE feels like a normal 56K modem and browsing is just fine.
Verizon and Sprint's EV-DO data networks are waaaaaaaaaaaay faster than anything the GSM carriers have (I know about Cing's UMTS, but it's only in a few places and they've been "about a month away from national UMTS rollout" now for almost two years). Those EV-DO speeds are impressive, but the way ($$$) Verizon & Sprint sell the service and the phones that are available are too restrictive/incompatible for my needs. Basically, too expensive with too many TOS rules and the limited range of phones sucked with a Mac.
Using GSM phones means that you've got two carrier choices: Cingular or T-Mo. But it means that you've got a ton of phones to pick from, and you can switch at will- just stick the SIM card in whatever you want to use. Look around for unlocked GSM phones on eBay and spec 'em out at phonescoop.com. :-) I was surprised. Wide selection I control is good.
If you go GSM, Cingular and T-Mo (quietly) have reciprocal roaming agreements ! This means that cing & t-mo customer's phones automatically use either network's towers if they need to. In short, the REAL national coverage map is all of Cing + T-mo put together. Basically, everywhere.
Sony Ericsson does a remarkable job of building phones that play nice with other devices and sync easily. I like them, others may not, but regardless you'll be hard pressed to find a phone from a different maker that handles DUN and sync over whatever bridge you like (BT, IR, Cable) as easily. ESPECIALLY on a Mac. OS X and iSync both like Sony Ericsson.
If you don't have a Palm, iSync will git-r-done. If you DO have a Palm, you're pretty much going to need to buy The Missing Sync http://www.markspace.com/
The version of iSync that comes with 10.3 Panther is old enough now that it doesn't recognize some newer phones. 10.4 Tiger knows about more phones. I've used both, I have Tiger now because it cooperates better with my new SE phone.
Bottom line: After lots of experimenting and taking stuff back to stores, my recipe calls for an SE S710a EDGE phone on T-Mo over Bluetooth to my iBook G4. I get pretty solid 56K modem-like DUN performance every place I've tried (even on road trips in the boonies on the way to the Grand Canyon). Internet works fine over BT to both my iBook and my Palm through the phone. Contacts, Calendars and To-Do's sync perfectly in all directions between Mac-Palm-Phone. Call quality is typically fine (craps out sometimes, but hey- it's a radio after all). The phone was used/unlocked for $220 on eBay including the 3-yr replacement warranty I bought, the T-mo service is now $30/month for all-you-can-eat nationwide EDGE and T-Mo Wifi hotspots (on top of a voice plan), the BT dongle was $25, and Missing Sync was $40 to make my Palm sync properly.
This has been very useful, reliable and flexible for me. Good luck with your recipe !
I see and understand your point about Apple's knack of releasing things frequently, suddenly and secretly so we as consumers can't plan anything except being eclipsed weeks after opening the box. I also understand the frustration with seeing something newer come along right after a purchase- within my means, I jump on new stuff I reeeely want as much as anyone else. However I disagree that people are being burned wantonly with Apple scrap that ought to be in the discount pile. They've pulled some really dumb things, but not that. Especially not with the iPod.
:-), a PC for curiosity and 5 Apple computers later, I have the same feeling regarding Apple's product cycle habits:
Apple comes out with updated models/features because they keep going after new stuff, because they can, and because it helps them stay on top of what they do. And yeah, they sell what they've got along the way.
A story (hopefully amusing)...
My parents bought our family's second computer (first was a TRS-80 CoCo) in December 1984- A top-o'-the-line Apple ][e 64K, all the trimmings, even a DuoDisk. I was little. I was excited. I learned to type thanks to a year of re-typing BASIC programs back into the CoCo every time I turned it on (my parents didn't get the Tandy cassette drive, so I was my own mass storage device). We lived in the boonies of Northern Arizona miles and miles from the nearest signpost so the ][e had to arrive by regular mail parcel post. It came, it was glorious. Then in late January 1985, I discover that the ][e Enhanced had been released, replacing our "new" computer. Yep, less than two months later.
The only difference I could tell was that the new (NEW !! argh) Apple was far more friendly in interpreting BASIC, which was what I did with the computer. It didn't whine when I used lowercase, and I didn't have as many problems getting my code to work. I didn't have to be nearly as careful to avoid that damned SYNTAX ERROR message.
I was pissed, but really just because of what we could've had if my parents just waited. You know what though ? The new, not even dusty (yet outdated) ][e ended up being a trooper for us. My dad (a teacher) still uses it for his grades. It really wasn't a big deal, they both had CAPS LOCK keys and the silly box always did what we needed it to do.
22 years, growing up, a music degree
If it ain't broke and it gets the job done nicely, what I've got works until next time.
Apple's releasing iPods faster than others would like ? I say go for it and challenge the industry while you're at it if you can. When my 3G dies, I'll use an old Mac to find a reasonable 6G on eBay. If the just released 7G at that time is bad-ass, I'll sell the 3G as parts grab one of them and rock on as I read about the next big thing.
Buy what you will, use what buy, new stuff happens. This is good.
We've got good consumer home equipment printing options and affordable big commercial labs (filled with automated equipment and button-monkey "technicians") and digital photo everything within easy grasp and price. Digital photography is cheaper all around and has many noteworthy advantages over traditional photography.
Also, even the most weenie digicams one step above the Wal-Mart toys has a B&W and Sepia setting, and the good digicams have tons to offer.
So why fuss or lament ??
Because the collective body of knowledge, experience and artistry in photography is formiddable, and black & white process is an inseperable part of that. Because printing photos (again, where the discontinued paper comes in) is a whole different world from actually taking the photos. Because artists use B&W and it's the most sensible place for newcomers to start learning since it's easier and cheaper than traditional color process.
I'm not sad that Kodak for business reasons decided to quit making B&W paper. That was a business decision from an old company that's confused about it's current and future place in an industry it helped define, and trying to survive. I AM concerned that some will view this as the demise of traditional photograhphy. I don't believe it is.
If traditional small format (8 and 16 mm) motion picture film can survive in a digital imaging world, then traditional photography certainly can.
Photography has a history of invention and evolution, this is just another step.
B&W process will move to the edge, the background. It will step away so that newer processes can rise, but it will not be lost, not for a very long time at least.
While digital process photography will take over the mainstream, B&W process will remain in the hands of the artists and those who wish to learn the craft of photography.
Bottom line, B&W is not dead, one important company's decision to get out of the business is not it's tombstone, and the value of having a significant body of knowledge + traditional options + modern innovation and evolution leading the way makes the craft all the more rich and strong.