The first is the one-wire cost factor you speak of. As opposed to running multiple lines everywhere, you have one ethernet jack- one wire- which will operate a phone. Perfect.
The second, and what was driving it before, always has been wireless. There is not enough power over IP to operate modern equipment. The idea is mainly access points. I can run one ethernet wire to an area a couple feet from the ceiling in the hallway of a hotel or office. I don't need to also get an electrician to run a plug there. Suddenly I can put my access points in places without power- outside, on ceilings, brought up through floors, etc. where power is not conventionally found.
Run one cable to each access point, plug it in, and it works.
In the same way Linus was tired of the closedness of UNIX (think VAX, AIX, etc); freeBSD from BSDI, OpenDOS (and many DOS variants) from DOS- rebuild OS/2 if it has such advantages.
I used to love OS/2 back in the day, but if certain elements prevent IBM from releasing it all, either (a) get them to release parts and fill in the gaps with open-licensed code, or (b) start from scratch.
I'd agree though- it's a shame to see thousands and thousands of lines of code head over to/dev/null.
Sadly, cell phone makers (and more acurately content providers) want you to watch movies at a few bucks a piece on your 1" phone display. These people don't get what video is all about. It's fine for viewing your friend eating a big-mac, but won't work for any production clip.
C'mon- I'm exaggerating the purchasing a PC part to prove the point. Just because someone tells you to do something, doesn't mean you are going to. Some people can't (administrative rights, etc), won't (technical inability), or shouldn't (unwillingness, etc) change THEIR habits because of you. Sure it's not rocket science, but for some (most?) it's more than they are able or willing to do.
Compare it to a common linux discussion- "You have a worm that you got in Windows"- a viable solution is to change to Linux and with the proper advice and technical knowledge, some may make that switch (few though). Though just because some article on the Internet says that Linux is not vulnerable, are you going to do it?
What motivation is there for me to use another browser? What motivation is me to have multiple browsers installed, multiple settings, bookmarks, and two different ways to accomplish the same task. Not to mention Opera which gives me the choice of ads or a $40USD price tag.
For context, I certainly do have IE and Firefox and other browsers installed, but that's myself making an educated choice- not going to a corporate web site and seeing "install new software".
The reality is, that customers want to get in and out in all locations. If I'm looking to purchase something and send $20 or $200 or $2000 to a company, if their site doesn't give me the price and let me buy, and do all I need, I'll just find a competitor with a near-equal price. The switching cost is low.
Unless you have a monopoly (ie: the cable company's account-management site being IE-only because your only alternate is the phone to them), customers will give you a few seconds. If your site is slow, imcompatible, or looks like crap, we move to the next site.
Though I'm amused that you will do anything you're told by a corporate web site...
Aeronix does not have a subscription revenue from Zipit usage. They would benefit from making the platform as open as possible without incuring any additional expense. Leaving solder points for the serial ports and additional points for the unused GPIO pins would make enhancing the product much easier. The more things that can be done with the device, the more devices people will buy.
Take a look at any MSN/Yahoo/AOL clone application for example. MSN changes their code, Trillian/GAIM/etc catch up and release a patch.
You can't have that nearly as much with a mobile device. I'd imagine there's a licensing issue with Microsoft's protocol for example as to keeping it tight and protected so that others can't get at it.
Bingo. Tell a user you don't support him/her, and they'll go elsewhere to someone who does. Don't say a word and maybe a few floats look a tad odd or overlap, and they'll stay with your site.
Why bother displaying that message?
Who gains? You're a FireFox user. You've been a firefox user for a 12 months now. You have your preferences and bookmarks in firefox. You have never had a problem before.
Yet "Bills Corporate Web site" tells you to switch browsers. Why should I listen to you? Why are you telling me what to use? Imagine you said "You're using a PC- go out and buy a Mac and then come back"- who would do it? The solution is to move on to the next company/bank/business/person who has a web site that does display- loss of business, loss of clients, loss of money.
Not to mention those who have no choice (corporate environments where the IT manager installs browser choice).
Please- we're mostly geeks here. We all know that while there is probably some keypad on the front, it really just completes a circuit somewhere inside. So get out your trusty screw driver and open that puppy up, change around some of the wiring, hook up your wrist-watch mission-impossible style and run.:)
The launch codes may prevent someone casually doing it, or prevent someone from accidentially doing something, but we all know very well, it just needs a bit of tweaking!
Per CPU is done in server modules or anything that does a lot of processing (databases, rendering engines, etc). The idea is that these systems will always have the latest CPUs or close to it, and they are generally large enterprise machines.
Take for example a big enterprise database- you could have 16 single processor machines or one 16-way machine- You get the same use out of it, yet in the traditional model, the view of one machine doesn't work.
The more CPUs, the more processing power, the more movies you can put out, transactions per second you can do, etc. It's a usage model like anything else.
Now they could charge by frame rendered, by transaction, but then how would you compare a complex or simple transaction or video? What you are capable to do, you will utilize.
Also keep in mind, that the more CPUs the deeper the pockets above 2 or so. A small business will have single or dual processor systems, whereas a large provider would spend hundreds of thousands on a vendor-lock-in solution for IBM mainframes and many-way Sun systems. If they're willing to pay more, charge them more! Oracle/Maya/etc want a piece of their latest upgrade, so this is a good way to get it, without being prohibitive to small business.
It'll be like macrovision. All you need is a cheap video stabalizer and it's all good to plug into another VCR, etc.
But lets be serious- do you really see somebody with a handi-cam taking video from their monitor? Or do you really see someone using their RGB out to pipe it into a $300 downconvert box to plug into a recorder?
Why skip the digital step? DRM as we all say, won't stop anyone with a will. Why not just convert your video to DVD and burn it off, pop it into a DVD player. Or MPEG. Who would use the monitor outputs in the first place to steal video when you can record it in a digital form?
PS: And this better not prevent me from plugging my laptop into my big screen to watch movies, etc- I doubt my TV is a 'certified' monitor.
Windows should be compared to KDE/Gnome, Kernel, Base tools, the c-library, authentication to log in to the system. Period.
A windows server component should be compared to samba.
IIS/ASP should be compared to Apache/PHP/Perl/etc.
MSN should be compared to GAIM (or equivalent)
(in fairness) IE should be compared to Firefox/Konqourer/etc.
This isn't rocket science. But people put the kitchen sink in Linux (which is good) but then whine when it requires some serious updates every week.
Most vulnerabilities in openSSL affect rare cases and in almost all of them it is when running it as a server (and the affect is usually misvalidation). zlib buffer overflow is mostly server stuff (and being at a console for the kernel) taht is affected.
People- lets compare the components separately. If windows doesn't do it out of the box, you can't compare them fairly on security. Linux does more in more complex ways, and is open source.
I'd rather know what all that cable weighs... Big under-sea links, broadband cable to each home, telephone cable, servers and equipment... mmm... so much speed.
More simply, by a downconvert box. The same way we get digital cable today, I'm sure there will be years ahead of boxes for older equipment.
I'll have you know, despite the fantastic new TVs I an my friends have, I happen to also have a few made in the 70's and early 80's still active (one by my computer actually) and working fairly well.
-M
PS: Think of the waste this would cause otherwise- that's a lot of TVs at the dump.
I recently purchased a very lovely DLP projector for business purposes. NEC, 1024x768, 5lbs. Composite, RGB, Component, S-Video inputs, a remote, etc. all for about $1,000CDN ($815USD). Similarly, you can get units like this from major retailers for $750-$1500 with spare bulbs, cables, etc. This project has a cost of "$200-800", but realistically, you're in the higher range if you want a decent LCD panel with good resolution, inputs, etc. and a bright enough projector.
So yes- this has the geek factor to it and all your friends will find it amusing that you were able to make a projector to fill your wall. These projects are intended to SAVE tons of money in DIY projects as well as add to the geek factor.
Instead, we have a big clunking machine, built on parts with low bulb life, not intended to go for hours on end, poor cooling, and far from optimal quality (usually splotchy projection comes from the overhead projectors).
Don't bother with this project. If you're going to spend this much, go out and buy a real projector. It'll be great for computers, home theatre, presentations, etc. and you'll be able to drag it over to a friend's house to have movies on a king sized bed sheet draped over his/her garage.:)
The costs of real projectors have come down! FOur to five years ago, a good portable projector was $3000-$5000. Nowdays it's $750-$1500- cheaper than most backlit projection TVs. Go buy a real projector.
Do read the complaint. The history goes back 25 years in this, and seems to suggest a lot of fowlplay.
12. When IBM defined the original PC standards in the early 1980s, it had available to it a variety of microprocessors, each with its own instruction set - among these were microprocessors developed by Motorola, Zilog, National Semiconductor, Fairchild, Intel and AMD. IBM opted for the Intel architecture, which utilized what became known as the x86 instruction set (after Intel's naming convention for its processors, i.e., 8086, 80186, 80286, 80386), and a compatible operating system offered by Microsoft, known as DOS. Unwilling to be consigned to a single source of supply, however, IBM demanded that Intel contract with another integrated circuit company and license it to manufacture x86 chips as a second source. AMD, which had worked with Intel before in supplying microprocessors, agreed to abandon its own, competing architecture, and it undertook to manufacture x86 chips as a second source of supply. Assured that it would not be dependent upon a monopoly supplier of x86 chips, IBM introduced the PC in August 1981 - and its sales exploded. 13. Although an arbitrator later found that "AMD's sponsorship helped propel Intel from the chorus line of semiconductor companies into instant stardom," Intel soon set out to torpedo the 1982 AMD-Intel Technology Exchange Agreement (the "Agreement") by which each would serve as a second source for products developed by the other. For example, Intel was required by the Agreement to send AMD timely updates of its second generation 80286 chip. Instead, in a "deliberate[]" effort "to shackle AMD progress," Intel sent AMD information "deliberately incomplete, deliberately indecipherable and deliberately unusable by AMD engineers." The conduct was, in the arbitrator's words, "inexcusable and unworthy." And it was not isolated. Intel elsewhere tried to "sabotage" AMD products, engaged in "corporate extortion" and demonstrated a near-malevolent determination "to use all of its economic force and power on a smaller competitor to have its way." 14. In another underhanded effort to stifle AMD's business, Intel decided in 1984 that, the agreement between the parties notwithstanding, Intel would become the sole-source for the promising 80386 chip. To fully realize its objective, Intel engaged in an elaborate and insidious scheme to mislead AMD (and the public) into erroneously believing that AMD would be a second source, thereby keeping AMD in the Intel "competitive camp" for years. This duplicitous strategy served a broader purpose than simply preventing AMD from competing with Intel. Customers' perception that AMD would continue to serve as Intel's authorized second source was essential to Intel's aim of entrenching the x86 family of microprocessors as the industry standard (as it had been essential to IBM's original introduction of the PC). Intel was well aware that if computer manufacturers knew Intel intended to sole source its 32-bit product, they would be motivated to select alternative products produced by companies offering second sources. Intel could not preserve the appearance that AMD would second source the 386 if it terminated the contract or otherwise disclosed its actual intent. Thus, Intel stalled negotiations over product exchanges, while at the same time allowing AMD to believe that it could ultimately obtain the 386. This injured competition by deterring and impeding serious competitive challenges to Intel and directly injured AMD by depriving it of the revenues and profits it would have earned from such a challenge. 15. Intel implemented this secret plan for the purpose of acquiring and maintaining an illegal monopoly in the x86 line of microprocessors, which it did by at least 1987.
I have a GPS in my car- it's the navi system that came with the car, so maybe it's far from the best system on the market, but it's pretty darn good.
In any case, it's far from perfect- especially when you go into a downtown core. Often streets going in anything but a grid (ie: a street that crosses diagnally, etc) can occasionally confuse it for a second, or it will put me on the wrong street if they are really close. It always corrects itself, but I think on anything but a freeway it's not optimal.
But lets think of this-
1. The only people that would get it are the ones who drive MONEY GRAB. You'll pay the same either way, so why even bother. They wouldn't do it if it would mean less money in the city's pocket at the end of the day.
... "when the gift giver did not provide sufficient delivery information."
This patent is only for contacting the individual to determine more information. So on the other hand, give a name and city, and they'll figure it out.
Even cheaper is movies in cereal boxes I've seen the past few year. As opposed to toys, those crazy gewy things in captain crunk, and whatnot cheerios and others seem to include DVDs of Disney movies that are still great for kids.
Not quite what the article is talking about, but sure is cheaper than $1.
What we need is a new TLD, and have all the Spammers get their domains under it. It's easy to block, it's easy for parents to protect their kids from V!a-G-i-kra.
And if you drop your phone, that's a couple taps on the bounce... lets say that calls 911.
C'mon- Most users have a tough enough time knowing that the E on their desktop opens their Web browser, let alone memorizing that three taps answers their call.
Not to mention the normal bumping a phone would get. I can see awkward moments in a club/bar.:) No baby... my girlfriend would never know you keep bumping into me (BTW: I'm sure a 'what's a girl' comment will follow).
Calls? That's like saying they sent an e-mail. No evidence of receipt, so much can go wrong. So what? They didn't return calls to probably the rudest voicemail messages they'll ever get. I don't blame them.
Send them a couriered envelope requiring a signature and proof of delivery. Now we're talking!
Slashdot Mirror
Starts up keylogger/trojan/etc on public computer and walks away... this should be easier than pie!
-M
There are two reasons for this whole process.
The first is the one-wire cost factor you speak of. As opposed to running multiple lines everywhere, you have one ethernet jack- one wire- which will operate a phone. Perfect.
The second, and what was driving it before, always has been wireless. There is not enough power over IP to operate modern equipment. The idea is mainly access points. I can run one ethernet wire to an area a couple feet from the ceiling in the hallway of a hotel or office. I don't need to also get an electrician to run a plug there. Suddenly I can put my access points in places without power- outside, on ceilings, brought up through floors, etc. where power is not conventionally found.
Run one cable to each access point, plug it in, and it works.
In the same way Linus was tired of the closedness of UNIX (think VAX, AIX, etc); freeBSD from BSDI, OpenDOS (and many DOS variants) from DOS- rebuild OS/2 if it has such advantages.
/dev/null.
I used to love OS/2 back in the day, but if certain elements prevent IBM from releasing it all, either (a) get them to release parts and fill in the gaps with open-licensed code, or (b) start from scratch.
I'd agree though- it's a shame to see thousands and thousands of lines of code head over to
-M
Sadly, cell phone makers (and more acurately content providers) want you to watch movies at a few bucks a piece on your 1" phone display. These people don't get what video is all about. It's fine for viewing your friend eating a big-mac, but won't work for any production clip.
C'mon- I'm exaggerating the purchasing a PC part to prove the point. Just because someone tells you to do something, doesn't mean you are going to. Some people can't (administrative rights, etc), won't (technical inability), or shouldn't (unwillingness, etc) change THEIR habits because of you. Sure it's not rocket science, but for some (most?) it's more than they are able or willing to do.
Compare it to a common linux discussion- "You have a worm that you got in Windows"- a viable solution is to change to Linux and with the proper advice and technical knowledge, some may make that switch (few though). Though just because some article on the Internet says that Linux is not vulnerable, are you going to do it?
What motivation is there for me to use another browser? What motivation is me to have multiple browsers installed, multiple settings, bookmarks, and two different ways to accomplish the same task. Not to mention Opera which gives me the choice of ads or a $40USD price tag.
For context, I certainly do have IE and Firefox and other browsers installed, but that's myself making an educated choice- not going to a corporate web site and seeing "install new software".
The reality is, that customers want to get in and out in all locations. If I'm looking to purchase something and send $20 or $200 or $2000 to a company, if their site doesn't give me the price and let me buy, and do all I need, I'll just find a competitor with a near-equal price. The switching cost is low.
Unless you have a monopoly (ie: the cable company's account-management site being IE-only because your only alternate is the phone to them), customers will give you a few seconds. If your site is slow, imcompatible, or looks like crap, we move to the next site.
Though I'm amused that you will do anything you're told by a corporate web site...
Take a look at any MSN/Yahoo/AOL clone application for example. MSN changes their code, Trillian/GAIM/etc catch up and release a patch.
You can't have that nearly as much with a mobile device. I'd imagine there's a licensing issue with Microsoft's protocol for example as to keeping it tight and protected so that others can't get at it.
-M
Bingo. Tell a user you don't support him/her, and they'll go elsewhere to someone who does.
Don't say a word and maybe a few floats look a tad odd or overlap, and they'll stay with your site.
Why bother displaying that message?
Who gains? You're a FireFox user. You've been a firefox user for a 12 months now. You have your preferences and bookmarks in firefox. You have never had a problem before.
Yet "Bills Corporate Web site" tells you to switch browsers. Why should I listen to you? Why are you telling me what to use? Imagine you said "You're using a PC- go out and buy a Mac and then come back"- who would do it? The solution is to move on to the next company/bank/business/person who has a web site that does display- loss of business, loss of clients, loss of money.
Not to mention those who have no choice (corporate environments where the IT manager installs browser choice).
-M
Please- we're mostly geeks here. We all know that while there is probably some keypad on the front, it really just completes a circuit somewhere inside. So get out your trusty screw driver and open that puppy up, change around some of the wiring, hook up your wrist-watch mission-impossible style and run. :)
The launch codes may prevent someone casually doing it, or prevent someone from accidentially doing something, but we all know very well, it just needs a bit of tweaking!
-M
Per CPU is done in server modules or anything that does a lot of processing (databases, rendering engines, etc). The idea is that these systems will always have the latest CPUs or close to it, and they are generally large enterprise machines.
Take for example a big enterprise database- you could have 16 single processor machines or one 16-way machine- You get the same use out of it, yet in the traditional model, the view of one machine doesn't work.
The more CPUs, the more processing power, the more movies you can put out, transactions per second you can do, etc. It's a usage model like anything else.
Now they could charge by frame rendered, by transaction, but then how would you compare a complex or simple transaction or video? What you are capable to do, you will utilize.
Also keep in mind, that the more CPUs the deeper the pockets above 2 or so. A small business will have single or dual processor systems, whereas a large provider would spend hundreds of thousands on a vendor-lock-in solution for IBM mainframes and many-way Sun systems. If they're willing to pay more, charge them more! Oracle/Maya/etc want a piece of their latest upgrade, so this is a good way to get it, without being prohibitive to small business.
-M
It'll be like macrovision. All you need is a cheap video stabalizer and it's all good to plug into another VCR, etc.
But lets be serious- do you really see somebody with a handi-cam taking video from their monitor? Or do you really see someone using their RGB out to pipe it into a $300 downconvert box to plug into a recorder?
Why skip the digital step? DRM as we all say, won't stop anyone with a will. Why not just convert your video to DVD and burn it off, pop it into a DVD player. Or MPEG. Who would use the monitor outputs in the first place to steal video when you can record it in a digital form?
PS: And this better not prevent me from plugging my laptop into my big screen to watch movies, etc- I doubt my TV is a 'certified' monitor.
'feature' should really be in quotes. Sounds like a bug to me.
-M
This problem keeps coming up.
Windows should be compared to KDE/Gnome, Kernel, Base tools, the c-library, authentication to log in to the system. Period.
A windows server component should be compared to samba.
IIS/ASP should be compared to Apache/PHP/Perl/etc.
MSN should be compared to GAIM (or equivalent)
(in fairness) IE should be compared to Firefox/Konqourer/etc.
This isn't rocket science. But people put the kitchen sink in Linux (which is good) but then whine when it requires some serious updates every week.
Most vulnerabilities in openSSL affect rare cases and in almost all of them it is when running it as a server (and the affect is usually misvalidation). zlib buffer overflow is mostly server stuff (and being at a console for the kernel) taht is affected.
People- lets compare the components separately. If windows doesn't do it out of the box, you can't compare them fairly on security. Linux does more in more complex ways, and is open source.
-M
I'd rather know what all that cable weighs... Big under-sea links, broadband cable to each home, telephone cable, servers and equipment... mmm... so much speed.
-M
>> "throw away your TV"
More simply, by a downconvert box.
The same way we get digital cable today, I'm sure there will be years ahead of boxes for older equipment.
I'll have you know, despite the fantastic new TVs I an my friends have, I happen to also have a few made in the 70's and early 80's still active (one by my computer actually) and working fairly well.
-M
PS: Think of the waste this would cause otherwise- that's a lot of TVs at the dump.
Why oh why would anyone bother?
:)
I recently purchased a very lovely DLP projector for business purposes. NEC, 1024x768, 5lbs. Composite, RGB, Component, S-Video inputs, a remote, etc. all for about $1,000CDN ($815USD). Similarly, you can get units like this from major retailers for $750-$1500 with spare bulbs, cables, etc. This project has a cost of "$200-800", but realistically, you're in the higher range if you want a decent LCD panel with good resolution, inputs, etc. and a bright enough projector.
So yes- this has the geek factor to it and all your friends will find it amusing that you were able to make a projector to fill your wall. These projects are intended to SAVE tons of money in DIY projects as well as add to the geek factor.
Instead, we have a big clunking machine, built on parts with low bulb life, not intended to go for hours on end, poor cooling, and far from optimal quality (usually splotchy projection comes from the overhead projectors).
Don't bother with this project. If you're going to spend this much, go out and buy a real projector. It'll be great for computers, home theatre, presentations, etc. and you'll be able to drag it over to a friend's house to have movies on a king sized bed sheet draped over his/her garage.
The costs of real projectors have come down! FOur to five years ago, a good portable projector was $3000-$5000. Nowdays it's $750-$1500- cheaper than most backlit projection TVs. Go buy a real projector.
-M
I have a GPS in my car- it's the navi system that came with the car, so maybe it's far from the best system on the market, but it's pretty darn good.
In any case, it's far from perfect- especially when you go into a downtown core. Often streets going in anything but a grid (ie: a street that crosses diagnally, etc) can occasionally confuse it for a second, or it will put me on the wrong street if they are really close. It always corrects itself, but I think on anything but a freeway it's not optimal.
But lets think of this-
1. The only people that would get it are the ones who drive MONEY GRAB. You'll pay the same either way, so why even bother. They wouldn't do it if it would mean less money in the city's pocket at the end of the day.
-M
... "when the gift giver did not provide sufficient delivery information."
This patent is only for contacting the individual to determine more information. So on the other hand, give a name and city, and they'll figure it out.
-M
Even cheaper is movies in cereal boxes I've seen the past few year. As opposed to toys, those crazy gewy things in captain crunk, and whatnot cheerios and others seem to include DVDs of Disney movies that are still great for kids.
Not quite what the article is talking about, but sure is cheaper than $1.
Wish you were her(e).
I like the way you think.
.xxx)
What we need is a new TLD, and have all the Spammers get their domains under it. It's easy to block, it's easy for parents to protect their kids from V!a-G-i-kra.
(FYI: This was the same argument for
-M
... in an office which may or may not contain a chicken.
The wheel is made by Synaptics and purchased. Synaptics is a major touchpad maker.
The wheel is not the issue. It's a lovely 'software' issue of getting mail to a wireless device.
I get mail to my wireless laptop with 802.1- Maybe I should turn myself in.
PS: This whole blackberry suit is a joke.
-M
And if you drop your phone, that's a couple taps on the bounce... lets say that calls 911.
:) No baby... my girlfriend would never know you keep bumping into me (BTW: I'm sure a 'what's a girl' comment will follow).
C'mon- Most users have a tough enough time knowing that the E on their desktop opens their Web browser, let alone memorizing that three taps answers their call.
Not to mention the normal bumping a phone would get. I can see awkward moments in a club/bar.
-M
Calls? That's like saying they sent an e-mail. No evidence of receipt, so much can go wrong. So what? They didn't return calls to probably the rudest voicemail messages they'll ever get. I don't blame them.
Send them a couriered envelope requiring a signature and proof of delivery. Now we're talking!
-M