You're only making a small impact here. You're still putting $$ in the pockets of Blockbuster, which IS one of these corporate, DRM-loving giants. Try an independent video rental place. If where you live is anything like where I live, the independents have a better selection, better price, and much better service.
In this case, the solution is to use DVD Shrink and make a copy for yourself without all of that extra bullshit on it. There will ALWAYS be a software solution to this crap.
No, really. I've read several studies (including a few posted here on venerable/. that also say that there are more and more people (starting with us Gen X'ers) who simply do not watch TV. At all. Have no interest at all, and could care less. Hell, the only TV I ever see is whatever's on at my local bar, and even then, thankfully, there's no sound. I think that the telephone companies are getting desperate. They're losing out to cell phones in a big way (again, no land line for me for about the past 5 years), and they're grasping at straws. Seeing how poorly DSL has been rolled out, I'd eat my own shorts if telephone companies actually pulled this off. But, even if they do, they're chasing a shrinking market.
Yeah, be very affraid of new technology, it could be better and force you to upgrade.
Or it could bring down your business. But hey, new=neato!, right?
If you're just dicking around (ie: your web site), then sure. If you kill your web server, no big deal. Nobody's effected. The thing is that some people actually rely on their software, and it is bad if their software fails for whatever reason (especially because of an unnecessary upgrade).
This isn't controversial at all. If you're doing anything remotely important with software, the question WHY should ALWAYS be asked when upgrading. Too many kids these days upgrade for the sake of upgrading, without thinking. If there's nothing wrong with your current software, and little or nothing to be explicity gained from upgrading, then upgrading is a waste of time, money, and simply a bad idea.
You're absolutely right. Human rights were violated. Give me a minute, and I'll publish a list of sites where kiddie porn is readily available. And remember, I'm just publishing links, not the actual kiddie porn.
Oh yeah, and look up the definition of censorship, kid. That's the kind of word that shouldn't be thrown around lightly.
I have no idea what this company's business plan looks like, but anybody with even a modicum of common sense knows that there's virtually no way possible to grow this thing into a usable service if your customer base is that tiny. We're talking HOME LINUX users. Realistically, that's a customer base that's in the 5 figures, low 6 figures, tops. Out of those, even if they get 50% of the market, it's going to be very tough. But that current customer base is mainly made up of geeks screaming "free! free! free!" who are very able to find free music. So not only is their potential customer base tiny, but the customer base that does exist is not one that is likely to purchase music.
This one is a no brainer. It's just a matter of time before they run out of cash.
First off, I like to install only what I need. Mozilla is suffering from serious bloat.
Secondly, the Mozilla browser still has the look and feel of the old Netscape, which I can't stand (or maybe I just have bad associations with NN 4.x). Firefox seems to be fresh, light, and fast, while Mozilla seems old, bulky, and slow.
And yes, I've also standardized the entire company with Thunderbird, too.
It's completely arbitrary which word means which. It's not like we're talking about ancient Latin terms. The words are very new to the English language, but they've stuck, and no amount of useless, inane, ridiculous bitching is going to change that. Personally, I think the word "eggplant" should refer to those things that cut grass with an engine and fast spinning blades, but I'm not bitching about it. Why? IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. Oh yeah, and... IT DOESN'T MATTER. The words work, because the average public understands the meaning behind them. Now go away, and don't come back until you have something useful to add to the conversation.
This isn't the norm, but I've seen it more than once. Men really can marry above their level if they give it a little effort. In fact, now that I think about it, every Slashdotter married... had to marry above their level (self included).
Oh, absolutely. I agree 100%. I'm definitely nothing to look at, and I'm routinely amazed by the women that I get just because I *try*. Most guys just see a good lookin' chick, and assume they don't have a chance, but women don't think the same way. Many women could care less what the guy looks like (to a certain point).
A beautiful women with 3 of her (so-so) friends, 4 guys. If we all go for the cutie, her friends get no attention, go away and we all lose. If we each take one (a guy being luckier than the other), every girls feels she get attention we all 'win'.
Nah, that's bullshit. Most guys (those with a soul, that is) are terrified to take a shot at the best looking one. That rejection thing looms its ugly head when there's a large perceived attractiveness differential. Most will go for one in the middle, realistically. A safe(r) bet. Often, the best looking ones are more lonely than the so-so ones for just this reason.
That makes sense. Buying a 100% proprietary software AND hardware setup for twice the price makes you happy. Hey, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
I'm a bit crazy. I'd rather have my choice of software AND hardware, and pay significantly less (and I don't call it a "tax", since only governments can levy taxes). I know. I'm nuts.
Let's dump the pub tonite and hit the download site...
So, do you sit and stare at your monitor for hours, watching each and every download? Call me crazy, but if I want to download something big, I'll start it, which generally takes all of 30 seconds, then leave to go to the pub (or the bar). Not a big fan of sitting watching a progress bar myself, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
Re:Backups for big gig drives...
on
Digital Packrats
·
· Score: 1
I agree. For the first time since hard drives were invented, my father actually purchased an extra USB hard drive to back up data. I was absolutely amazed. Maybe people will realize this, and start buying 2 drives at a time instead of one.
You're right. What incentive do they have to go through their lists? The variable cost of sending each spam is negligible, if not zero, since most heavy duty spam servers actually guarantee that email will go out from that machine for x amount of time before they have to shut it down. I've seen people selling use of a spam server in Asia for $10K/week, for example (this was years ago).
I think that with insurance, it was all of $20. Outside of insurance, I think that it runs $200-$400. Well worth it, if even just for the peace of mind. So for $200-$400, plus a few days of sore balls, you get to never have to worry about making a kid ever again. Good deal if you ask me. Plus, from what my doctor said (and from experience), there are virtually no side effects, other than a *potential* (it hasn't been proven) slightly elevated risk for prostate cancer one day. But as my doctor says, the vast majority of people die of cancer some day anyway ("natural causes"), so it was really a moot point.
A vasectomy is much easier. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes, requires no stitches, and is usually paid for by health insurance. I'd strongly recommend a vasectomy for anybody.
You know, I bet you're the first person to have thought of this! You're brilliant! I'm sure that in the 100+ year history of one of the finest newspapers in the world, that NOBODY has ever thought of this, and if they did, they'd easily be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the advertising department of one of the widest read newspapers in the world. Oh sure.
I agree. My company in no way, shape, or form can even *consider* Linux until there are some stable, proven, off-the-shelf, affordable point of sale and financial applications out there. If one is created any time soon, we'll run them on our Windows boxes for quite a while before we switch. But right now, there's a 0% chance that we can even consider it.
I can tell ya', one ad is a waste of money, unless it's absolutely shocking and controversial. Why? People are bombarded by ads every day. I have advertising salesmen who tell me not to bother with one ad because studies show that people in this day and age need to see a marketing message, I believe, more than 10 times before they actually remember it, or it sinks in. Honestly, I wouldn't ever remember it. This is more of a PR stunt, actually, but really, for anybody not in the circle of super geeks, they won't know what in the hell it is, and they won't remember. Hence, this will be a big waste of money.
More like replacing a car because the one you have is impossible to secure from theft, gets 5 miles to the gallon and drives like a Ford Fiesta. And the replacement car is offered for free.
More like, it's impossible to secure from theft because you keep fogetting to lock the door. Securing Windows isn't tough to do in the least. And the new car is free as long as you're willing to assemble it yourself.
As for America, slouching towards its own socioeconomic collapse (largely brought on by unsustainable entitlement spending and a colossal trade deficit), China is merely the beta test site, from which we can learn what works and what doesn't, as we modernize our political system.
You had me at "unsutainable entitlement spending"!
Slashdot Mirror
Looks like your tracker isn't working, dude.
You're only making a small impact here. You're still putting $$ in the pockets of Blockbuster, which IS one of these corporate, DRM-loving giants. Try an independent video rental place. If where you live is anything like where I live, the independents have a better selection, better price, and much better service.
In this case, the solution is to use DVD Shrink and make a copy for yourself without all of that extra bullshit on it. There will ALWAYS be a software solution to this crap.
No, really. I've read several studies (including a few posted here on venerable /. that also say that there are more and more people (starting with us Gen X'ers) who simply do not watch TV. At all. Have no interest at all, and could care less. Hell, the only TV I ever see is whatever's on at my local bar, and even then, thankfully, there's no sound. I think that the telephone companies are getting desperate. They're losing out to cell phones in a big way (again, no land line for me for about the past 5 years), and they're grasping at straws. Seeing how poorly DSL has been rolled out, I'd eat my own shorts if telephone companies actually pulled this off. But, even if they do, they're chasing a shrinking market.
Yeah, be very affraid of new technology, it could be better and force you to upgrade.
Or it could bring down your business. But hey, new=neato!, right?
If you're just dicking around (ie: your web site), then sure. If you kill your web server, no big deal. Nobody's effected. The thing is that some people actually rely on their software, and it is bad if their software fails for whatever reason (especially because of an unnecessary upgrade).
This isn't controversial at all. If you're doing anything remotely important with software, the question WHY should ALWAYS be asked when upgrading. Too many kids these days upgrade for the sake of upgrading, without thinking. If there's nothing wrong with your current software, and little or nothing to be explicity gained from upgrading, then upgrading is a waste of time, money, and simply a bad idea.
You're absolutely right. Human rights were violated. Give me a minute, and I'll publish a list of sites where kiddie porn is readily available. And remember, I'm just publishing links, not the actual kiddie porn.
Oh yeah, and look up the definition of censorship, kid. That's the kind of word that shouldn't be thrown around lightly.
I have no idea what this company's business plan looks like, but anybody with even a modicum of common sense knows that there's virtually no way possible to grow this thing into a usable service if your customer base is that tiny. We're talking HOME LINUX users. Realistically, that's a customer base that's in the 5 figures, low 6 figures, tops. Out of those, even if they get 50% of the market, it's going to be very tough. But that current customer base is mainly made up of geeks screaming "free! free! free!" who are very able to find free music. So not only is their potential customer base tiny, but the customer base that does exist is not one that is likely to purchase music.
This one is a no brainer. It's just a matter of time before they run out of cash.
First off, I like to install only what I need. Mozilla is suffering from serious bloat. Secondly, the Mozilla browser still has the look and feel of the old Netscape, which I can't stand (or maybe I just have bad associations with NN 4.x). Firefox seems to be fresh, light, and fast, while Mozilla seems old, bulky, and slow. And yes, I've also standardized the entire company with Thunderbird, too.
It's completely arbitrary which word means which. It's not like we're talking about ancient Latin terms. The words are very new to the English language, but they've stuck, and no amount of useless, inane, ridiculous bitching is going to change that. Personally, I think the word "eggplant" should refer to those things that cut grass with an engine and fast spinning blades, but I'm not bitching about it. Why? IT'S NOT GOING TO CHANGE. Oh yeah, and... IT DOESN'T MATTER. The words work, because the average public understands the meaning behind them. Now go away, and don't come back until you have something useful to add to the conversation.
This isn't the norm, but I've seen it more than once. Men really can marry above their level if they give it a little effort. In fact, now that I think about it, every Slashdotter married... had to marry above their level (self included).
Oh, absolutely. I agree 100%. I'm definitely nothing to look at, and I'm routinely amazed by the women that I get just because I *try*. Most guys just see a good lookin' chick, and assume they don't have a chance, but women don't think the same way. Many women could care less what the guy looks like (to a certain point).
A beautiful women with 3 of her (so-so) friends, 4 guys. If we all go for the cutie, her friends get no attention, go away and we all lose. If we each take one (a guy being luckier than the other), every girls feels she get attention we all 'win'.
Nah, that's bullshit. Most guys (those with a soul, that is) are terrified to take a shot at the best looking one. That rejection thing looms its ugly head when there's a large perceived attractiveness differential. Most will go for one in the middle, realistically. A safe(r) bet. Often, the best looking ones are more lonely than the so-so ones for just this reason.
Because with PayPal, you get to try out all of those nifty anti-fraud features on your credit card!!
I Love You, Mr. Anonymous Coward.
Then again I suppose my G4 iBook counts too. ;-)
That makes sense. Buying a 100% proprietary software AND hardware setup for twice the price makes you happy. Hey, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
I'm a bit crazy. I'd rather have my choice of software AND hardware, and pay significantly less (and I don't call it a "tax", since only governments can levy taxes). I know. I'm nuts.
Let's dump the pub tonite and hit the download site...
So, do you sit and stare at your monitor for hours, watching each and every download? Call me crazy, but if I want to download something big, I'll start it, which generally takes all of 30 seconds, then leave to go to the pub (or the bar). Not a big fan of sitting watching a progress bar myself, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
I agree. For the first time since hard drives were invented, my father actually purchased an extra USB hard drive to back up data. I was absolutely amazed. Maybe people will realize this, and start buying 2 drives at a time instead of one.
You're right. What incentive do they have to go through their lists? The variable cost of sending each spam is negligible, if not zero, since most heavy duty spam servers actually guarantee that email will go out from that machine for x amount of time before they have to shut it down. I've seen people selling use of a spam server in Asia for $10K/week, for example (this was years ago).
I think that with insurance, it was all of $20. Outside of insurance, I think that it runs $200-$400. Well worth it, if even just for the peace of mind. So for $200-$400, plus a few days of sore balls, you get to never have to worry about making a kid ever again. Good deal if you ask me. Plus, from what my doctor said (and from experience), there are virtually no side effects, other than a *potential* (it hasn't been proven) slightly elevated risk for prostate cancer one day. But as my doctor says, the vast majority of people die of cancer some day anyway ("natural causes"), so it was really a moot point.
A vasectomy is much easier. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes, requires no stitches, and is usually paid for by health insurance. I'd strongly recommend a vasectomy for anybody.
You know, I bet you're the first person to have thought of this! You're brilliant! I'm sure that in the 100+ year history of one of the finest newspapers in the world, that NOBODY has ever thought of this, and if they did, they'd easily be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the advertising department of one of the widest read newspapers in the world. Oh sure.
I agree. My company in no way, shape, or form can even *consider* Linux until there are some stable, proven, off-the-shelf, affordable point of sale and financial applications out there. If one is created any time soon, we'll run them on our Windows boxes for quite a while before we switch. But right now, there's a 0% chance that we can even consider it.
I can tell ya', one ad is a waste of money, unless it's absolutely shocking and controversial. Why? People are bombarded by ads every day. I have advertising salesmen who tell me not to bother with one ad because studies show that people in this day and age need to see a marketing message, I believe, more than 10 times before they actually remember it, or it sinks in. Honestly, I wouldn't ever remember it. This is more of a PR stunt, actually, but really, for anybody not in the circle of super geeks, they won't know what in the hell it is, and they won't remember. Hence, this will be a big waste of money.
More like replacing a car because the one you have is impossible to secure from theft, gets 5 miles to the gallon and drives like a Ford Fiesta. And the replacement car is offered for free.
More like, it's impossible to secure from theft because you keep fogetting to lock the door. Securing Windows isn't tough to do in the least. And the new car is free as long as you're willing to assemble it yourself.
As for America, slouching towards its own socioeconomic collapse (largely brought on by unsustainable entitlement spending and a colossal trade deficit), China is merely the beta test site, from which we can learn what works and what doesn't, as we modernize our political system.
You had me at "unsutainable entitlement spending"!