Well I've got a couple of reasonable CD players, and two DAT machines. All devices feature analogue, coaxial (SPDIF) and optical outs with the DAT machines additionally having the same connections as inputs.
One of the DAT machines is currently hooked up to my computer which serves as the heart of my home recording studio. The main reason I bought the DAT machines was to record masters for some of the local bands I've played in over the years. They've also seen a hell of a lot of use converting old tape based demos to CD (including some 1/4 and 1/2 inch tape stuff)
In other words ANYTHING that can be input to my DAT machines (including my CD player, radio, cassette deck, video, DVD player, outputs of my mixing desk etc. etc.) can be turned into a WAV file. In the worst case scenario this could be done via microphones placed next to some speakers.
Once the datas in my PC it is then a trivial matter to edit the WAVs and reformat the data into MP3/Ogg Vorbis/FLAC/Format de jour. etc. etc.
Moral of the story ? DRM is a waste of time. A completely lame waste of time. All it will ever do is inconvenience the casual consumer. For anyone in my position (and there are a hell of a lot of us out there) it is utterly trivial to defeat anything they've come up with so far. If I can hear it, I can record it. Once I've recorded it I can format shift it to my hearts content.
And on this note I'd also like to say that I'm not interested in pirating the fucking crap that get's passed of a "music" these days. Every single MP3 I've ever created has been to play in my CD walkman (which plays MP3 CDs) and usually involves a CD I've either bought or have mastered myself. Very very occasionally I've taken away some MP3s on a CD from a friends house and guess what ? Just like when we used to share tapes if I hear something I like I'VE GONE OUT AND BOUGHT SOMETHING BY THE BAND.
The day I can't do that is the day I stop listening to other peoples music (I'll just twang away on my guitar instead)
The idiots who are running the recording industry protection racket are a bunch of clueless fucks. Pissing off your customers will get you nowhere. They are dinosaurs who deserve to die off. Thanks to the internet bands will soon be able to deal direct with their fans and the entire rank of utterly corrupt middle men are no longer required.
So Ladies and Gentlemen, vote with your wallets and just say no. Don;t buy anything with DRM on it (n.b. iPods fanboys this means you)
What a pointless move. All these spyware/trojan/virues problems are entirely down to one thing. Microsofts brain dead design.
Throwing spyware apps at Windows is a perfect example of "shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted". My questions for Redmond:
1 Why is the web browser integrated so tightly into the O/S ?
2 In fact why is everything so tightly integrated with everyhing else ? Why on earth does installing a user land app mean I have to reboot the machine ? It's a user level app not a kernel upgrade !
3 Why do the majority of processes run as administrator ?
4 In fact exactly what are all those those services doing running by default ? Especially the ones waiting to accept any old remote connections from the internet ?
5 Why can a unknown third party websites automatically install software (Active-X etc.) on a Windows machine ?
Windows needs to be redesigned. Full stop. Microsoft buying an anti-spyware company is simply a joke.
Having been running Linux on another machine for over a year I really do see how crap Windows really is. (not that Linux is perfect but the basic principles are sound !)
How stupid does MS think it's customers are ? Oh wait... time to go back under my rock...
Well this looks to me like another matter to bring to the attention of the EU.
Shit like this, no matter how good the O/S is, is what keeps me well away from Apple products.
When, oh when, will manufacturers get the point ? The device stores and plays back music. It's up to the comsumer where they source that music. It's up to the consumer if they want to hack the device. They've bought it. It's theirs.
Fucking monopolistic bastards. Apple are every bit as bad as Microsoft just with a "smugger than thou" attitude.
But it's not just MP3 players who have crap client software. Just about every digital camera I have ever seen comes with some sort of client software that is simply SHITE.
My Canon A75 ? Great camera FUCKING SHITE client software (At least on my Windoze box, happily it's a delight on my Linux box as I can just browse it) And don't even ask about my pub landlords Sony digicam. The only way to get the video from the camera to the PC is to use their retarded, dogshit, software that will only let you write write it directly to CDR. Not only that but the steaming pile of dung won't even let you use a CDRW ! ("Please insert a CDR")
So big hint to manufacturers. If your device features internal storage and has a USB connection JUST MAKE THE FUCKING INTERNAL STORAGE VISIBLE AS A.N.OTHER FUCKING DRIVE. MAKE THE FUCKING FILES VISIBLE.
Plus there's the small problemette whereby cut & paste doesn't work in a consistent manner across all desktop apps.
That small but crucial fact is a total show stopper for most of the people I work with.
Regardless of this all TCO studies plus associated statistical "analyses" are a crock of shite. Absolute pure hokum.
Any decent statistician can make any series of numbers say exactly what they want them to say. The answers always the same. Do your own research. Come to your own conclusions. Do what you think's right for you.
On the wander back from the pub last night I got to thinking about open formats (yeah I'm that sad..) and came to the following conclusion.
A long time ago the bible was only available in Latin. Very, very few lay people could understand Latin and hence most had to use the services of a priest to read, and interpret, said tome for them. In other words a nice little earner for the priests who carved themselves a niche as "official middlemen to Grud" and who resisted all attempts to break up this monopoly. (Hmmm... methinks they were more like the *AA of their day)
Anyway I think it's simple. Proprietary data formats return us to the spirit of these times.
Lets face it, the only use for a computer is as a tool (admittedly a tremendously versatile and powerful tool). To all intents and purposes the only thing that's really important are the results of using that tool. i.e your data.
Saving your data in a non open format is like putting your work at the mercy of a "digital priest". It's simply stupid. And on this note then having had numerous run ins with data in crappy undocumented formats over the years I have also learnt the lesson of the Unix masters first hand. i.e. Wherever possible use plain text (ASCII or EBCIDIC)
Personally I will no longer use a tool that doesn't produce data in an open format. The tool itself can be licensed however the writers choose (I'm quite happy to pay for good tools) but if MY data isn't stored in an open format then, unless there really is no alternative and I simply must get the job done, I won't use the tool.
People who don't understand this argument leave themselves open to extortion and, quite simply, deserve everything they get.
Furthermore if data's held in an open format everyone can compete on a level playing field to produce the best tool to manipulate it.
So, to get back on topic, not only is OpenOffice.org a very capable office suite but the data's held in a published open format and the authors are commited to keeping it that way. It's got my vote. It's on my desktop. It's staying there.
For anyone who thinks this is a bad thing then all I can say is remember how the BBC destroyed loads of old archive material to "make room" for some utter crap like Panorama ? The gems lost forever included loads of early Derek & Clive etc. etc.
Now just think how good it would have been for some decent quality "home taped, pack ratted" copies to have been in existence.
So I say if you've got the space and you don't need it for anything else then keep everything. After all a 120 Gb hard drive can be had for around £ 50 now (probably a lot less elsewhere) so if you fill one up just unplug it and get another (and if it's really important data make you sure you have sufficient backups - including one off site !)
After all in the bright shiny future some crazed collectors may well be willing to pay you loads of cash for your crappy collection of fansubbed tentacle rape porn !
Here we go again, yet another attempt by companies to switch us all over to subscription models for everything. Every day another little scheme springs up until the day comes where everyone just expects "pay per play" to be the way things are.
"Softly, softly said the spider to the fly"
I for one have no interest, and will never buy, any entertainment device that either forces me to pay a subscription to continue to use it or, if it's capable of recording, dictates to me how I may make personal use of said recordings.
All are worthless. Why ? because a single breach and the entire wall falls down.
And there never has been. nor will there ever be, an uncrackable code/security system. Human(s) devised it. Other human(s) will crack it. Simple as that.
I also suspect the amount of criminal reward at stake determines the amount of effort the "bad guys" will expend in cracking something and a single sign on for your bank, auction sites, pay pal, email etc. would prove very tempting indeed.
Personally I'll stick with my current myriad user name, password combinations thanks.
Anything that comes out of the UK that mentions "standards" should be avoided like the plague.
x years down the line the "standards" will be backed up by legislation that says that enything that doesn't conform to the "standard" is now illegal. Should you do otherwise we'll have your kidneys, your first born, your home, your brain etc. etc.
Welcome to the UK. The largest floating prison system in Europe ("Conform or do time")
Hey, ardent p2pers, why not use a bit of obfuscation ?
1 Copy the mp3 files you want to share into a new directory and change their file extensions to, say, ".txt" (you'll all need to agree on this) 2 Share this new directory. 3 Get ignored by *AA "infringment" engines which are no doubt searching for "*.mp3" and "*.wma" etc. etc. 4 er... 5 Profit ?
It'll take 'em years to work that one out. "Gee Vern, this here text files full a weird squiggly thangs. Is this that new fangled leet speke ?".
This is why every single DVD I own gets the "DVD-Shrink" treatment. (i.e. I use DVD Shrink to remove the crap at the beginning and re-record onto a DVD-R)
Sorry but I simply will not be forced to watch those fucking useless FBI warnings/Macrovision crud/Company XXX logo every time I want to see the DVD contents.
And on the one occasion I bought a DVD with adverts on it I took is straight back to the shop and demanded a refund (which I got)
But if you think that's bad I actually used to cut the advertising section out of VHS tapes (which didn't make me too popular at the local VHS rental shop) Learn primitive VHS tape editing skills at home !
To me it's quite simple. If you pay good money to be advertised at then you're a retard (uk sky subscribers take note - I'm talking to you)
Yet another classic piece of alternative culture which will undoubtedly get pureed into the usual mindless gloop by the Hollywood imbecile machine.
Who bets that the collection of drooling simps at the preview screening don't like Rorcharch (that spelling looks well off - ed.) and he gets turned into some simpering Disney-esque wimp. Dr. Manhattan ? "Sorry sir our test screening show he was both too otherwordly and his skins far far too blue".
Hell I bet they even try to lever in a nice happy "feel good" ending to boot:(
This rant comes courtesy of a true Deka Thargo who, if I had the cash, would have sued the bastards for the utterly disgraceful, piss poor, standard "Hollywood love plot number 2" that was released under the title of "Judge Dredd". Yeah right... as if old stoney ace would EVER take his helmet off for anyone - much less get involved with a "judge-ette".
The rotten fucking bastards...
Note to hollywood execs: Please stop making films out of comic book classics - you're utterly, hopelessly shite at it.
Well as it seems to be time for another Slashdot "*AA debate" I'd just like to add my tuppence worth to the debate.... as in the future there won't be just "the internet" ( or indeed "the internets") to contend with.
What about networks of bluetooth enabled phones/portable MP3 players/car stereos that each hold several gigabytes of music and which can automatically connect to each other ?
You want a particular song ? You want all songs by a particular artist ? You're interested in a particular genre ?
Put search criteria on your devices wanted list and when you come into proximity of another devices that holds what you're looking for it transfers it over while you walk past/are drinking at a bar/are in a club/are sitting in a traffic jam etc. etc.
"Walkabout" short range P2P.
And for added social interaction then if someone elses device show the same sorts of preferences as yours it give both of you a little beep so you can start up a conversation.
Also how about "slightly more powerful than today" local neighbourhood wireless LANS ? Even if you're not part of the full time local network their might be guest channels/log ins/local broadcsts so when you drive through a neighbourhood you join in the local "neighbourhood swap shop".
But the best is yet to come. How about when storage capacity is available on something approaching, or even on, a nano scale ?
Maybe someone will create a "smart sticker" which is slightly thicker than todays regular sticker but which holds several gigbytes of data plus a small, solar powered, short range, transmitter.
Pop that up in a public place and everyone passing can pick up what's on it (so long as they have a compatible device). Guerilla marketing at it's best and a killer way to advertise new bands "come see us at club x on x and here are a few full tunes to whet your appetitie"
Who knows maybe this "fantasy tech" could even be incorporated into clothing, beer cans, grocery cartons, bricks... you name it.
So these *AA imbeciles can legislate, bribe and sue until they're blue in the face but they are simply pissing in the wind.
If they think they're having a hard time with todays technology, then think what the future will bring.
The idea behind this article is completely wrong. If you're tired at the wheel you DO NOT need a bit of technology telling you to wake up. You need to STOP DRIVING before you fucking kill someone.
And if you're not aware of what's going on on the road in the first place you should not be driving AT ALL. You should be a passenger in a vechile driven by a competent driver.
But along the same lines...
I've always thought a good idea for the use of digital cameras would be for each vechile to be fitted with four small reasonable quality cameras facing front, rear and sides of the vechile. These would all then feed into a small sealed "blackbox" unit which would store the last hour or so of video footage from each angle.
That way when some idiot driver is asleep at the wheel, changing their CD player, shaving, talking on their bloody 'phone etc. etc. and causes an accident there's absolutely no question of who is at fault. Assuming at least one of the units survives the collision you just check the "blackbox" footage from the vechiles involved.
"Yes Sir/Madam, YOU are 100% to blame and YOU will PAY for the consequences of your actions" (in both a financial and possibly legal sense).
As a cyclist (both motor and mostyl pedal) I am continually amazed at the poor road skills of some drivers and their continued "oh I didn't see you there" attitude. That's because you were'nt fucking paying attention to what's going on you fucking retard.
The only thing better would be the enfoced adoption of D. H. Lawrences idea for road safety. e.g. Put a large metal spike in the middle of the steering wheel 'cause that WILL make you look where you're going !)
Drivers today seem to think their car is some sort of extension to their fucking living room. They pay little enough attention to the road as it is. If you give them any more sensors to rely on they'll start falling asleep at the wheel ("Gee the tech'll wake me if there's danger")
Ah I fell better for a small rant in the morning:)
But then again if a real killer worm did appear then it's likely that the subsequent wailing and gnashing of teeth would force a certain software company to get their shit together
And you can bet your life that the PHBs of the world would make sure their companies started using multiple O/S solutions.
So all in all it may prove a good thing in the long term.
I however would not notice as I would still be talking to my secret overlords via my trusty teletype.
Slashdot Mirror
Well I've got a couple of reasonable CD players, and two DAT machines. All devices feature analogue, coaxial (SPDIF) and optical outs with the DAT machines additionally having the same connections as inputs.
One of the DAT machines is currently hooked up to my computer which serves as the heart of my home recording studio. The main reason I bought the DAT machines was to record masters for some of the local bands I've played in over the years. They've also seen a hell of a lot of use converting old tape based demos to CD (including some 1/4 and 1/2 inch tape stuff)
In other words ANYTHING that can be input to my DAT machines (including my CD player, radio, cassette deck, video, DVD player, outputs of my mixing desk etc. etc.) can be turned into a WAV file. In the worst case scenario this could be done via microphones placed next to some speakers.
Once the datas in my PC it is then a trivial matter to edit the WAVs and reformat the data into MP3/Ogg Vorbis/FLAC/Format de jour. etc. etc.
Moral of the story ? DRM is a waste of time. A completely lame waste of time. All it will ever do is inconvenience the casual consumer. For anyone in my position (and there are a hell of a lot of us out there) it is utterly trivial to defeat anything they've come up with so far. If I can hear it, I can record it. Once I've recorded it I can format shift it to my hearts content.
And on this note I'd also like to say that I'm not interested in pirating the fucking crap that get's passed of a "music" these days. Every single MP3 I've ever created has been to play in my CD walkman (which plays MP3 CDs) and usually involves a CD I've either bought or have mastered myself. Very very occasionally I've taken away some MP3s on a CD from a friends house and guess what ? Just like when we used to share tapes if I hear something I like I'VE GONE OUT AND BOUGHT SOMETHING BY THE BAND.
The day I can't do that is the day I stop listening to other peoples music (I'll just twang away on my guitar instead)
The idiots who are running the recording industry protection racket are a bunch of clueless fucks. Pissing off your customers will get you nowhere. They are dinosaurs who deserve to die off. Thanks to the internet bands will soon be able to deal direct with their fans and the entire rank of utterly corrupt middle men are no longer required.
So Ladies and Gentlemen, vote with your wallets and just say no. Don;t buy anything with DRM on it (n.b. iPods fanboys this means you)
Fuck me !
You must definitely live in the UK... And there is no way you're not a member of either the Home Office or the Masons.
This has been their l337 scheme since 1802 !
What a pointless move. All these spyware/trojan/virues problems are entirely down to one thing. Microsofts brain dead design.
Throwing spyware apps at Windows is a perfect example of "shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted". My questions for Redmond:
1 Why is the web browser integrated so tightly into the O/S ?
2 In fact why is everything so tightly integrated with everyhing else ? Why on earth does installing a user land app mean I have to reboot the machine ? It's a user level app not a kernel upgrade !
3 Why do the majority of processes run as administrator ?
4 In fact exactly what are all those those services doing running by default ? Especially the ones waiting to accept any old remote connections from the internet ?
5 Why can a unknown third party websites automatically install software (Active-X etc.) on a Windows machine ?
Windows needs to be redesigned. Full stop. Microsoft buying an anti-spyware company is simply a joke.
Having been running Linux on another machine for over a year I really do see how crap Windows really is. (not that Linux is perfect but the basic principles are sound !)
How stupid does MS think it's customers are ? Oh wait... time to go back under my rock...
Well this looks to me like another matter to bring to the attention of the EU.
Shit like this, no matter how good the O/S is, is what keeps me well away from Apple products.
When, oh when, will manufacturers get the point ? The device stores and plays back music. It's up to the comsumer where they source that music. It's up to the consumer if they want to hack the device. They've bought it. It's theirs.
Fucking monopolistic bastards. Apple are every bit as bad as Microsoft just with a "smugger than thou" attitude.
Shouldn't that be:
In Soviet Russia our, beowulf cluster of those, only used by old people in South Korea, fresh jokes overlords welcome you ?
Hear hear !
But it's not just MP3 players who have crap client software. Just about every digital camera I have ever seen comes with some sort of client software that is simply SHITE.
My Canon A75 ? Great camera FUCKING SHITE client software (At least on my Windoze box, happily it's a delight on my Linux box as I can just browse it) And don't even ask about my pub landlords Sony digicam. The only way to get the video from the camera to the PC is to use their retarded, dogshit, software that will only let you write write it directly to CDR. Not only that but the steaming pile of dung won't even let you use a CDRW ! ("Please insert a CDR")
So big hint to manufacturers. If your device features internal storage and has a USB connection JUST MAKE THE FUCKING INTERNAL STORAGE VISIBLE AS A.N.OTHER FUCKING DRIVE. MAKE THE FUCKING FILES VISIBLE.
All your client software is shite .
That's just great.
After all why browse the internet when you can browse AOL instead ?
Oh grate.
So now you can experience all the thrills of crappy TV advertising on a teeny weeny cellphone screen. Wow what a great feature ! What progress !
Does anyone actually watch the idiot box any more ? I know I don't. If I'm going to have my intelligence insulted I'd rather go down the pub.
Hopefully this will see a few more morons, engrossed in their TV crud, run over by buses.
I second this.
Plus there's the small problemette whereby cut & paste doesn't work in a consistent manner across all desktop apps.
That small but crucial fact is a total show stopper for most of the people I work with.
Regardless of this all TCO studies plus associated statistical "analyses" are a crock of shite. Absolute pure hokum.
Any decent statistician can make any series of numbers say exactly what they want them to say. The answers always the same. Do your own research. Come to your own conclusions. Do what you think's right for you.
"tests show that 9 out of 10 cats prefer butter".
On the wander back from the pub last night I got to thinking about open formats (yeah I'm that sad..) and came to the following conclusion.
A long time ago the bible was only available in Latin. Very, very few lay people could understand Latin and hence most had to use the services of a priest to read, and interpret, said tome for them. In other words a nice little earner for the priests who carved themselves a niche as "official middlemen to Grud" and who resisted all attempts to break up this monopoly. (Hmmm... methinks they were more like the *AA of their day)
Anyway I think it's simple. Proprietary data formats return us to the spirit of these times.
Lets face it, the only use for a computer is as a tool (admittedly a tremendously versatile and powerful tool). To all intents and purposes the only thing that's really important are the results of using that tool. i.e your data.
Saving your data in a non open format is like putting your work at the mercy of a "digital priest". It's simply stupid. And on this note then having had numerous run ins with data in crappy undocumented formats over the years I have also learnt the lesson of the Unix masters first hand. i.e. Wherever possible use plain text (ASCII or EBCIDIC)
Personally I will no longer use a tool that doesn't produce data in an open format. The tool itself can be licensed however the writers choose (I'm quite happy to pay for good tools) but if MY data isn't stored in an open format then, unless there really is no alternative and I simply must get the job done, I won't use the tool.
People who don't understand this argument leave themselves open to extortion and, quite simply, deserve everything they get.
Furthermore if data's held in an open format everyone can compete on a level playing field to produce the best tool to manipulate it.
So, to get back on topic, not only is OpenOffice.org a very capable office suite but the data's held in a published open format and the authors are commited to keeping it that way. It's got my vote. It's on my desktop. It's staying there.
For anyone who thinks this is a bad thing then all I can say is remember how the BBC destroyed loads of old archive material to "make room" for some utter crap like Panorama ? The gems lost forever included loads of early Derek & Clive etc. etc.
Now just think how good it would have been for some decent quality "home taped, pack ratted" copies to have been in existence.
So I say if you've got the space and you don't need it for anything else then keep everything. After all a 120 Gb hard drive can be had for around £ 50 now (probably a lot less elsewhere) so if you fill one up just unplug it and get another (and if it's really important data make you sure you have sufficient backups - including one off site !)
After all in the bright shiny future some crazed collectors may well be willing to pay you loads of cash for your crappy collection of fansubbed tentacle rape porn !
Never mind that... I want to know how they get some of the articles past the lameness filter !
Sheesh !
All this technology to find out what the weather's like.
Personally when I want to know what the weather's doing I just look out of the window or step outside.
Er.. No.
From what I've seen they seem to be mostly the preserve of ignorant air heads spouting a load of old crap on subjects about which they know nothing.
Oh, wait a minute... This is exactly the sort of thing produced by the Sun and The Daily Mail etc.
So maybe they are after all ?
Ah...
Here we go again, yet another attempt by companies to switch us all over to subscription models for everything. Every day another little scheme springs up until the day comes where everyone just expects "pay per play" to be the way things are.
"Softly, softly said the spider to the fly"
I for one have no interest, and will never buy, any entertainment device that either forces me to pay a subscription to continue to use it or, if it's capable of recording, dictates to me how I may make personal use of said recordings.
And yes that includes the iPod and it's ilk.
Single sign on schemes.
Single operating system monoculture.
Single biometric identity card/device.
etc. etc. et-bloody-c.
All are worthless. Why ? because a single breach and the entire wall falls down.
And there never has been. nor will there ever be, an uncrackable code/security system. Human(s) devised it. Other human(s) will crack it. Simple as that.
I also suspect the amount of criminal reward at stake determines the amount of effort the "bad guys" will expend in cracking something and a single sign on for your bank, auction sites, pay pal, email etc. would prove very tempting indeed.
Personally I'll stick with my current myriad user name, password combinations thanks.
Anything that comes out of the UK that mentions "standards" should be avoided like the plague.
x years down the line the "standards" will be backed up by legislation that says that enything that doesn't conform to the "standard" is now illegal. Should you do otherwise we'll have your kidneys, your first born, your home, your brain etc. etc.
Welcome to the UK. The largest floating prison system in Europe ("Conform or do time")
Hey, ardent p2pers, why not use a bit of obfuscation ?
1 Copy the mp3 files you want to share into a new directory and change their file extensions to, say, ".txt" (you'll all need to agree on this)
2 Share this new directory.
3 Get ignored by *AA "infringment" engines which are no doubt searching for "*.mp3" and "*.wma" etc. etc.
4 er...
5 Profit ?
It'll take 'em years to work that one out. "Gee Vern, this here text files full a weird squiggly thangs. Is this that new fangled leet speke ?".
This is why every single DVD I own gets the "DVD-Shrink" treatment. (i.e. I use DVD Shrink to remove the crap at the beginning and re-record onto a DVD-R)
Sorry but I simply will not be forced to watch those fucking useless FBI warnings/Macrovision crud/Company XXX logo every time I want to see the DVD contents.
And on the one occasion I bought a DVD with adverts on it I took is straight back to the shop and demanded a refund (which I got)
But if you think that's bad I actually used to cut the advertising section out of VHS tapes (which didn't make me too popular at the local VHS rental shop) Learn primitive VHS tape editing skills at home !
To me it's quite simple. If you pay good money to be advertised at then you're a retard (uk sky subscribers take note - I'm talking to you)
And fucking Hell to boot....
:(
Yet another classic piece of alternative culture which will undoubtedly get pureed into the usual mindless gloop by the Hollywood imbecile machine.
Who bets that the collection of drooling simps at the preview screening don't like Rorcharch (that spelling looks well off - ed.) and he gets turned into some simpering Disney-esque wimp. Dr. Manhattan ? "Sorry sir our test screening show he was both too otherwordly and his skins far far too blue".
Hell I bet they even try to lever in a nice happy "feel good" ending to boot
This rant comes courtesy of a true Deka Thargo who, if I had the cash, would have sued the bastards for the utterly disgraceful, piss poor, standard "Hollywood love plot number 2" that was released under the title of "Judge Dredd". Yeah right... as if old stoney ace would EVER take his helmet off for anyone - much less get involved with a "judge-ette".
The rotten fucking bastards...
Note to hollywood execs: Please stop making films out of comic book classics - you're utterly, hopelessly shite at it.
I do the same with:
http://www.x-setup.net/
Which works a treat for me (and allows me to have a nice black background on my works machines WIn2000 log in etc. etc.)
A top bit of software.
Personally I agree with an earlier poster in that I'd go for something like knoppix mame.
But if you must choose GNOPPIX then make sure you turn off spatial browsing !
Otherwise the poor recipients will think they've gone through an evil time warp and been given some god awful Windows 95 "style" OS.
Ho ho ho
Well as it seems to be time for another Slashdot "*AA debate" I'd just like to add my tuppence worth to the debate.... as in the future there won't be just "the internet" ( or indeed "the internets") to contend with.
What about networks of bluetooth enabled phones/portable MP3 players/car stereos that each hold several gigabytes of music and which can automatically connect to each other ?
You want a particular song ? You want all songs by a particular artist ? You're interested in a particular genre ?
Put search criteria on your devices wanted list and when you come into proximity of another devices that holds what you're looking for it transfers it over while you walk past/are drinking at a bar/are in a club/are sitting in a traffic jam etc. etc.
"Walkabout" short range P2P.
And for added social interaction then if someone elses device show the same sorts of preferences as yours it give both of you a little beep so you can start up a conversation.
Also how about "slightly more powerful than today" local neighbourhood wireless LANS ? Even if you're not part of the full time local network their might be guest channels/log ins/local broadcsts so when you drive through a neighbourhood you join in the local "neighbourhood swap shop".
But the best is yet to come. How about when storage capacity is available on something approaching, or even on, a nano scale ?
Maybe someone will create a "smart sticker" which is slightly thicker than todays regular sticker but which holds several gigbytes of data plus a small, solar powered, short range, transmitter.
Pop that up in a public place and everyone passing can pick up what's on it (so long as they have a compatible device). Guerilla marketing at it's best and a killer way to advertise new bands "come see us at club x on x and here are a few full tunes to whet your appetitie"
Who knows maybe this "fantasy tech" could even be incorporated into clothing, beer cans, grocery cartons, bricks... you name it.
So these *AA imbeciles can legislate, bribe and sue until they're blue in the face but they are simply pissing in the wind.
If they think they're having a hard time with todays technology, then think what the future will bring.
The idea behind this article is completely wrong. If you're tired at the wheel you DO NOT need a bit of technology telling you to wake up. You need to STOP DRIVING before you fucking kill someone.
:)
And if you're not aware of what's going on on the road in the first place you should not be driving AT ALL. You should be a passenger in a vechile driven by a competent driver.
But along the same lines...
I've always thought a good idea for the use of digital cameras would be for each vechile to be fitted with four small reasonable quality cameras facing front, rear and sides of the vechile. These would all then feed into a small sealed "blackbox" unit which would store the last hour or so of video footage from each angle.
That way when some idiot driver is asleep at the wheel, changing their CD player, shaving, talking on their bloody 'phone etc. etc. and causes an accident there's absolutely no question of who is at fault. Assuming at least one of the units survives the collision you just check the "blackbox" footage from the vechiles involved.
"Yes Sir/Madam, YOU are 100% to blame and YOU will PAY for the consequences of your actions" (in both a financial and possibly legal sense).
As a cyclist (both motor and mostyl pedal) I am continually amazed at the poor road skills of some drivers and their continued "oh I didn't see you there" attitude. That's because you were'nt fucking paying attention to what's going on you fucking retard.
The only thing better would be the enfoced adoption of D. H. Lawrences idea for road safety. e.g. Put a large metal spike in the middle of the steering wheel 'cause that WILL make you look where you're going !)
Drivers today seem to think their car is some sort of extension to their fucking living room. They pay little enough attention to the road as it is. If you give them any more sensors to rely on they'll start falling asleep at the wheel ("Gee the tech'll wake me if there's danger")
Ah I fell better for a small rant in the morning
But then again if a real killer worm did appear then it's likely that the subsequent wailing and gnashing of teeth would force a certain software company to get their shit together
And you can bet your life that the PHBs of the world would make sure their companies started using multiple O/S solutions.
So all in all it may prove a good thing in the long term.
I however would not notice as I would still be talking to my secret overlords via my trusty teletype.