I also deny the IPOD appeal. What is the fuss about?
I started with the Creative Jukebox way back before there was an IPOD. I've since moved on to the Archos 420 media player, which has a screen that you can bloody see.
REALITY CHECK
A one bedroom 580 square foot condo in Boston costs ~$300,000 to $350,000 . No, I'm not kidding.
That's what we pay for lower broadband costs.
In order to use VoIP with any degree of comfort/sanity one needs to buy a headset or phone adapter. The folks that take the time to go out and buy hardware are more likely to do a little comparison between services. Ergo, those that will actually use VoIP regularly, and become regular customers, will probably comparison shop.
It is different with browsers. If I buy a winbox, it has IE on it. It has MSMessenger on it. To use something else, I need to install it. MS stuff is already there.
Ya, I could use the speakers and cruddy mike to make a VoIP call, but I sure as heck won't want to do that on a regular basis. I need to go out and buy hardware. And while I do that, I might as well check out other providers....
I really wish this could be the solution. As someone who is avidly saving for my own retirement (to supplement/supplant whatever I might possibly get from SS), I wish folks would do the same.
But, alas, people don't save. Instead they run up credit card debt. Rather than have savings that reap modest interest/dividend gains which accumulate over time, they pay out double digit interest on short term debt. That, unfortunately is the nature of our instant gratification lives.
What to do? I am in support of some sort of FORCED savings. You are required to do something to save sensibly for requirement, because I don't want to pay welfare for people that never saved or squandered their retirement savings. (And, no, I'm not a fan of people starving on the street.) We don't want welfare to replace SS. We want to either to fix SS or replace it.
Do I trust the govenment to do the best job of this? Nope. Do I trust private interests to do the best job of this? I'm not sure I do. Enron, World Com, etc. has made me re-evaluate my trust in how forthcoming and reliable the private sector is. Remember the Savings and Loan failures in the 80's?
What I am left to consider is that diversification is probably the best option, spread between both low-risk private and government programs.
One thing I do believe firmly is that the average person wont save suffiently if not required to do so.
Yup, I voted in Arlington VA this morning. Got in line at 6:30AM and voted around 7:45. I was an A-K.
The wait wasn't due to lack of staffing, there just were too few machines (only 5 as I recall). Perhaps if sample ballots were handed out, so that people could denote what they intended to vote rather than read/decide at the screen (for the initiatives and local stuff) it might have been speeded up slightly. But the true bottleneck was the lack of machines.
Long ago, I used to record radio broadcasts of obscure opera on my VCR, because the quality was better using VCR tapes than casettes.
I used my VCR to record radio.
Now I am to understand that I cannot use my computer to do this. Okay, that's logical.
As a follower of the newsgroup, I'm aware of it (and why I qualified my statement as to the "original" way the box was cracked.
This new method requires using the admin password.
Re:Linux embedded integrators are lazy
on
NSLU2 Now More Useful
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Oh, please. Who are you with your shoulds and should nots.
Did you read how folks originally broke into this box? They *physically* unplugged the USB2 disk from the NSLU2 and mounted the USB hard disk (which is NOT part of the NSLU2) directly to their Windows/Mac/Linux box(es). They then modified the password file from the Windows/Mac/Linux box.
Being able to modify this device is a good thing. There is a collaberative spirit surrounding the newgroup associated with the folks developing *useful* applications to run on this the device.
Linksys sells a very interesting and inexpensive piece of hardware with the NSLU2. A big reason it is inexpensive is that Linksys (1) lowers software development costs by using a ubiquitous operating system/software that it (Linksys) doesn't need to develop and (2) doesn't pay outrageous licencing fee for proprietary operating system/software that provides the same funcationality as freeware (Linux).
QNX? You think the password file associated with QNX couldn't be modified in the same manner? VxWorks? Common.
"Additionally, please also understand that while I have worked with Parry Aftab, she is not my lawyer, and I never asked anyone to speak with Ms. Jones about her website. I hope that the book's title change and my apologies to Ms. Jones will resolve this issue. For more information, please read the press release below."
Well, then, who is Parry Aftab working for?
You get out of a college education what you put into it. You can send four years doing the bare minimum, or you can obtain a great education.
This idea cuts the opertunity in half. For some, that may be sufficient, or exactly what they want. For others, it wont be.
There is no question that double the time offers double the learning potential. It is up to the user, the student, to decide to take advantage of it or not.
Choices are good. An in-depth four year education will provide a deeper learning opertunity than a two year immersion.
Peace.
What about the GPS Ground Segment?
on
GPS on Mars?
·
· Score: 2, Informative
What folks fail to recognize is that there is a huge (read costly) Earth-based infrastucture to VERY ACCURATELY measure and predict GPS satellite orbits. This information is beamed up to the individual GPS sattelites, which in turn is broadcasted to GPS users in "ephemeris messages". These messages change anywhere from 2 to 6 hours.
Seems like it would be quite a bit of work to perform this for the proposed Martian GPS system. Accurately measuring the orbital parameters of man-made sattelites Pparked around Mars from Earth-based sensors isn't a walk in the park. One certainly wouldn't obtain the accuracy of the Earth GPS, nor would I expect the reliability.
Slashdot Mirror
I also deny the IPOD appeal. What is the fuss about? I started with the Creative Jukebox way back before there was an IPOD. I've since moved on to the Archos 420 media player, which has a screen that you can bloody see.
"Why would the FCC 'consider' lifting this ban?" Because the telcom lobby spends a ton of money. That's why.
I just took the Accela from Boston to DC (due to bad weather, flights were delayed, etc.)
The quiet car, where I camped out, was completely full. The other cars were ~50% full.
The quiet car is awesome.
Yup yup. It's not a good idea to lie to the investigators. Just ask Martha Stewart, and I'm sure she'll agree.
REALITY CHECK A one bedroom 580 square foot condo in Boston costs ~$300,000 to $350,000 . No, I'm not kidding. That's what we pay for lower broadband costs.
In order to use VoIP with any degree of comfort/sanity one needs to buy a headset or phone adapter. The folks that take the time to go out and buy hardware are more likely to do a little comparison between services. Ergo, those that will actually use VoIP regularly, and become regular customers, will probably comparison shop. It is different with browsers. If I buy a winbox, it has IE on it. It has MSMessenger on it. To use something else, I need to install it. MS stuff is already there. Ya, I could use the speakers and cruddy mike to make a VoIP call, but I sure as heck won't want to do that on a regular basis. I need to go out and buy hardware. And while I do that, I might as well check out other providers....
Naw, irony is like a black fly in your Chardonay
I really wish this could be the solution. As someone who is avidly saving for my own retirement (to supplement/supplant whatever I might possibly get from SS), I wish folks would do the same.
But, alas, people don't save. Instead they run up credit card debt. Rather than have savings that reap modest interest/dividend gains which accumulate over time, they pay out double digit interest on short term debt. That, unfortunately is the nature of our instant gratification lives.
What to do? I am in support of some sort of FORCED savings. You are required to do something to save sensibly for requirement, because I don't want to pay welfare for people that never saved or squandered their retirement savings. (And, no, I'm not a fan of people starving on the street.) We don't want welfare to replace SS. We want to either to fix SS or replace it.
Do I trust the govenment to do the best job of this? Nope. Do I trust private interests to do the best job of this? I'm not sure I do. Enron, World Com, etc. has made me re-evaluate my trust in how forthcoming and reliable the private sector is. Remember the Savings and Loan failures in the 80's?
What I am left to consider is that diversification is probably the best option, spread between both low-risk private and government programs.
One thing I do believe firmly is that the average person wont save suffiently if not required to do so.
Yup, I voted in Arlington VA this morning. Got in line at 6:30AM and voted around 7:45. I was an A-K.
The wait wasn't due to lack of staffing, there just were too few machines (only 5 as I recall). Perhaps if sample ballots were handed out, so that people could denote what they intended to vote rather than read/decide at the screen (for the initiatives and local stuff) it might have been speeded up slightly. But the true bottleneck was the lack of machines.
"Oh yes, don't lie to the Feds." -- Martha Stewart
Long ago, I used to record radio broadcasts of obscure opera on my VCR, because the quality was better using VCR tapes than casettes. I used my VCR to record radio. Now I am to understand that I cannot use my computer to do this. Okay, that's logical.
As a follower of the newsgroup, I'm aware of it (and why I qualified my statement as to the "original" way the box was cracked. This new method requires using the admin password.
Oh, please. Who are you with your shoulds and should nots. Did you read how folks originally broke into this box? They *physically* unplugged the USB2 disk from the NSLU2 and mounted the USB hard disk (which is NOT part of the NSLU2) directly to their Windows/Mac/Linux box(es). They then modified the password file from the Windows/Mac/Linux box. Being able to modify this device is a good thing. There is a collaberative spirit surrounding the newgroup associated with the folks developing *useful* applications to run on this the device. Linksys sells a very interesting and inexpensive piece of hardware with the NSLU2. A big reason it is inexpensive is that Linksys (1) lowers software development costs by using a ubiquitous operating system/software that it (Linksys) doesn't need to develop and (2) doesn't pay outrageous licencing fee for proprietary operating system/software that provides the same funcationality as freeware (Linux). QNX? You think the password file associated with QNX couldn't be modified in the same manner? VxWorks? Common.
"Additionally, please also understand that while I have worked with Parry Aftab, she is not my lawyer, and I never asked anyone to speak with Ms. Jones about her website. I hope that the book's title change and my apologies to Ms. Jones will resolve this issue. For more information, please read the press release below." Well, then, who is Parry Aftab working for?
You get out of a college education what you put into it. You can send four years doing the bare minimum, or you can obtain a great education. This idea cuts the opertunity in half. For some, that may be sufficient, or exactly what they want. For others, it wont be. There is no question that double the time offers double the learning potential. It is up to the user, the student, to decide to take advantage of it or not. Choices are good. An in-depth four year education will provide a deeper learning opertunity than a two year immersion. Peace.
What folks fail to recognize is that there is a huge (read costly) Earth-based infrastucture to VERY ACCURATELY measure and predict GPS satellite orbits. This information is beamed up to the individual GPS sattelites, which in turn is broadcasted to GPS users in "ephemeris messages". These messages change anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. Seems like it would be quite a bit of work to perform this for the proposed Martian GPS system. Accurately measuring the orbital parameters of man-made sattelites Pparked around Mars from Earth-based sensors isn't a walk in the park. One certainly wouldn't obtain the accuracy of the Earth GPS, nor would I expect the reliability.