But I do know what worries me... When a recent acquisition of a database project (one based on OSS ideas) occurred, suddenly lots of freebie tools that work with that database were silently and swiftly taken off-line. The developers of said tools usually posted something cryptic on their sites citing issues with the "new management" of the database project.
Will there be a similar chilling effect on many Linux-based tools that work with the Microsoft/Novell stuff?
There have been many articles (industry-sponsored and otherwise) about "piracy", whether the content is music or software (or even data). The article seems so very much like articles about music (music that isn't paid for when used/received)... The responses to the article are pretty similar, too.
Therefore, I propose a new way to answer software piracy articles, such that the flooding hundreds of discussion posts will all align nicely.
I propose that we post answers like, "software wants to be free - the way it wants to be." And, "since programmers should make all their money on tours and they make nothing on the sales of the software, they should give away software and be told that they must tour (and sell merchandise) to make enough money to live." And, "buying software through legit channels only funds evil corporations - (evil corporations don't employ regular, work-a-day people, do they?)" And, one of my personal favorites, "programmers shouldn't get paid after the software is delivered - a painter doesn't get paid every time the painting is sold, does he/she?"
Sarcasm or serious? You decide... film at 11.
Personally, I really like working where I work. I actually want the company's software to succeed and to be sold well. I'd like for the company to remain successful and to flourish. I enjoy having such a great job and an opportunity to fund my family's growth.
My opinion follows. I don't really have scientific measures to back up my opinions... but anyway...
I've noticed (in the past 6 months, especially) much more academically-inclined admins getting deeply involved in supervising the content. While the admin process sometimes bogs down in nit-hair-splitting contests, the majority of the time, the content comes through pretty clean and well thought out.
The further evolution of publishing/entry standards, and their enforcement, has resulted in far cleaner and better-thought-out content, for the most part.
This "better supervision" has positive and negative side effects - On the positive side, more and more thoughtful people are keeping the spam/hack/waste/junk to a dull roar, while helping the content have better referential integrity. On the negative side, the grass-rootsy "encyclopedia anyone can edit" is no longer a place where people can just edit based on their knowledge, expertise or SME capability: submitters must now read many pages of rules and regs, then write their bits, then submit their materials with onerous loads of documentation/references/justification just to keep the admins from quick-deleting what's been entered. I suppose that this type of Yin and Yang is actually pretty necessary... academia is fond of healthy and reasonable debate.
To close on point: As long as the community evolves towards quality, reference-able content - and keeps the place relatively clean, Wikipedia will be a continuing effort towards an academically-acceptable reference. Only time will tell, though, if academia will ever emotionally accept Wikipedia, methinks.
I'm glad that so many people are concentrating on it, are working on it, and trying to make it something special. It's hard to imagine the huge number of hours of positive efforts go into Wikipedia on any given day. I, for one, am glad of it.
Yes. (I know, your comment appeared to be rhetorical...)
The only things going for Apple in the 90s were corporate contracts (like Nortel at the time - I programmed on them and supported them), educational contracts, and big-time fans. iApple is definitely a strong improvement over its previous self, and has strong inroads in many arenas. It's good to have choices - build-your-own, Microsoft, big *nix vendors, and boxes that run OSX.
Then, reach out to the affected customers. Do what's necessary to help them out. Even if that means giving them free AV software (in this case).
Then, reach out to all your current and future customers. Help them feel assured that the issue is well in hand, and that real processes are in place to prevent future/similar subsequent events.
While doing the above, carefully analyze the process, fix it, do a post-mortem on the issue, then test, test, test, test.
Doing your own thing is very good. Making music is a true joy and a pleasure on the deepest of levels
But, on topic... It seems that most articles, of the type linked to on the BBC, seem to focus on file sharing, not on proliferation of copied music files. File sharing unto itself is a wonderful thing. I constantly share out/send out music files (mine, not stuff copied from others' works) using file sharing software. P2P is also great for lots of legitimate things, such as large high-res photography files, large high-res original music source, Photoshop project files, Logic project files, etc. etc.
It would be nice if the articles such as TFA would say things like "people in many countries who have shared unauthorized media..." instead of "people in many countries who have used P2P software to..."
Just my humble opinion... P2P isn't going anywhere.
The debate over whether or not Math is fundamentally important to programming rages on... I've heard both sides of the argument said very well. My impression is that it is the understanding of math algorithms and problem solving capability, not the math itself, that is (one of the) keys to good programming/software development. I'm sure many will disagree... but I must say that being able to see the bigger picture, solve puzzles, and have a good method of making simple solutions to solve complicated issues seem to be very important to the production of good software.
I thought it was interesting that one of the interviewees spoke of music and programming. I am one of many musicians with whom I work - all of whom write software, and the software we write is pretty successful. Composing a score is so very similar to marshalling pieces of an API or programming systems.
Sometimes, folks tend to look at the actions of others in a rational way. The main problem with doing things that way is that it is very difficult to apply reason to unreasonable people. Kim is not a reasonable person (or facsimile thereof).
I dearly and sincerely hope that this nuclear test is saber-rattling, and not the manifestation of a feverish, megalomaniacal (and unreasonable) mind's desire for regional/world control.
I'm with some of the folks here about secondary verification.
Something deep inside me gives a knee jerk any time a developer or product engineer starts any sentence with "I have not succeeded in making this code do..." or "I cannot reproduce..." (no pun intended).
I think Firefox is pretty good. So far (since the first public betas), I get very few issues at runtime (besides the occasional spin-forever cursor when Firefox encounters a site with some really bad browser-side code.)
I think it stands a chance...
on
Will the Wii Work?
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I think the Wii stands a chance in the marketplace. Will it be number 1? Probably not. Will it do very well? I think so.
IANAFanboi of any console or platform (I really don't care about the box, as long as I can enjoy the game - we have PS2, XBox, PC, and Mac games we play from time to time...)
Why do I think it stands a chance? My kids summed it up quick: It's not a zillion dollars, doesn't come in a zillion "versions", some of the games sound neat, and they think the controller interface(s) is/are cool and different. I happen to agree with them. I don't think I'll be doing Dance Dance Revolution (or anything like that, I'm not that graceful), but I'll enjoy doing something different with how I'll interact with the games. Besides, I can get a new plunk-around guitar for the difference I won't have to pay between a Wii and a well-equipped PS3.
As to TFA, I have a question... There are lots of Slashdotters that can probably answer this for me pretty well: Isn't.02% statistically negligible, WRT a market trend report?
Mod me OT on this one, It's fine with me.
I'm always amazed at the vitriol that spews forth on this subject. Although, frankly, post threads like those in response to this article are always interesting to read (and sometimes funny).
IMVHO, use what machine and OS you like, like what machine and OS you use (if you have a choice). It isn't the chip, the windowing system, the kernel, or the manufacturer... it's what it does for you personally. I like Solaris, Fedora, Mac OS (any, really), XP, 2000, Irix, HP/UX... well, just about any of them. The hardware is always a relative benchmark to me. If I like it, and it works great without kicking me in the pants every time I try to use it, then I use it. I enjoy my little Blade 100 as much as my VAIO as much as my iMac G5. Like what you use, and use what you like.
I've laughed so many times looking at YouTube stuff. Talking dogs, babies that say interesting things, and more. My wife went from not knowing what YouTube was - to being a YouTuber in about two seconds. IMHO YouTube is a popular site because people have lots of fun surfing the content, looking for laughs, seeing things from other places, and generally enjoying the YouTube timesink. I don't know how YouTube can make money on all those zillions of eyeballs, but I hope they figure it out - I think the site is fun.
I've wondered aloud several times now about copyrights, broadcast privs, and other things - I'm constantly running across (in YouTube) shorts that are essentially recordings of a TV show (complete with laugh tracks). I am quite sure that the networks, programmers, and content creators didn't give Jane or John (by the millions of Janes and Johns) permission to post uncontrolled and unattributed tons of "their" content.
With that said, what about this: People like me take bits of our music and post it to an open audio sharing area of a video-sharing site, then the users who like it can take the music (or sounds, or spoken word, etc.) and make their own videos with the recordings. I'd be willing to venture a guess that people would love a free site that lets them have fun making their own videos with interesting audio (and their own audio, of course). The same goes with little non-commercial video clips and pictures. Remixing music (that is offered as freely-mixable content) is great fun (well, at least, I think it's a blast), and maybe the public will make their own audio-video remixes? Some assembly required, batteries not included...
I've read lots of responses to the article, and find lots of interesting (and mostly well-thought-out) thoughts/opinions. Many aspects of truth are revealed in the posters' responses - but I must say that the "kids these days do xxx wrong" thing is over-rated. I think it is far more important to have the attitude of "what can be done to mentor/help the next generation of software professionals."
In my very humble opinion, it seems like (not enough) good solving-thinking is going on, in combination with the fact that computers are generally viewed as a commodity (from the viewpoint of folks my kids' age). Solving problems with programming languages/environs is very much like the creative process for making music: An understanding of structures and critical key concepts is absolutely imperative. Whether the understanding comes in an innate way or is learned from mentors/teachers/peers, structure and conceptual strength are paramount.
My kids see our computers as simple commodity things (like a phone or an iPod) - not as fascinating worlds to explore. Getting a young person to seek and find the wonders inside how computers work is not necessarily built in. As always, inspiration is something that cannot be taught or given - only experienced.
In my opinion, the article's concept is likely to have a good impact, but on many levels. I think it is important to see that if this isn't directly successful, it may be the precursor to something much more successful.
First, free music is pretty cool, especially if it is from known artists (although I have amassed TENS of fans from many countries and sold TENS of CDs and a hundred or so downloads from iTunes et. al internationally while giving away more than half my catalog on price-optional sites like iSound.com, pureVolume.com, and audiri.com). Free music as incentive for something else is a model that is evolving pretty hard right now, but I bet it will stick around for a long time.
There are lots of examples where successes have occurred with ad-driven services: broadcast TV; "free", ad-driven internet provider services, tons of "free" web sites and site hosting, etc. I don't know that the average John and Jane Q. Publique will mind the ads in this case... time will tell.
A Big Record Company is trying something fairly broad with "free" music. This is a positive step - trying to redefine oneself in business is akin to survival. I think it was W.E. Deming who said, "It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." So, perhaps this record label is trying to change for its betterment.
I sort of felt that adverts would eventually appear in textbooks (probably even off-the-shelf "entertainment" books, too). I think businesses are looking to keep their bottom line fluid and in the black. I don't know if the advert trend is a good or bad thing.
The advert idea popping up all over: my local grocery now has little ad placards in the aisles (that have nothing to do with any of the products in the store, like wireless companies); I daresay most of us have seen the non-movie adverts in movies (both on disc and in the theater); and ads on non-related product packaging.
The conundrum for the consumer is that the advertising doesn't necessarily (and often doesn't) lower the price of the item. The adverts just make more money for the vendor of the space of the advert. Business is always trying new things (that's generally good), but the trend for advert insertion isn't necessarily anything much fun for consumers.
I like some parts of it: replaceable battery; backlit button bits (less battery, I know, but neat nonetheless); a card slot.
Kill the iPod? No, not really, no. Compete with the iPod? Perhaps... But, competition is generally good, so maybe we'll see some envelope-pushing at Apple...
Point of perspective: I do enjoy my 5G 30GB iPod. Lots of room for my aiffs (I keep my own music in AIFFs while I study the engineering, eq, and mixture)... Got my 'pod here Apple refurb stuff for $199.
OK, stepping way out on a limb here...
on
Divine Proportions
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Hoping said limb does not break...
A few up-front things:
IANAMathematician;
I appreciate the reviewer's efforts to thoroughly discuss the reviewer's point of view;
I don't mind acknowledging that I'm not as smart as the vast population of Slashdot, but I like math even though I'm not top-notch;
I love to learn stuff, and like to read Slashdot articles/comments that are out of my field, and way over my head;
With the above said...
I don't mind looking up unfamiliar terms that appear in an article or in a review (I like learning) - when the words are concerned with the subject matter at hand. I do mind when I read something that attempts to completely fill up my "new word of the day" calendar (for the next millennium). Why? Because I'm interested in understanding the subject and the review, not in how many new non-topic-related words and phrases that can be crammed into a paragraph.
Lastly, a good review, IMVHO, is one that does not chastise, scold, or belittle the matter of review.
I love my mother, but IT'S IRRITATING THAT SHE TYPES IN ALL CAPS. IT'S HARD TO READ, AND MAKES ME IMAGINE HER SCREAMING THE WORDS. So, I'm not fond of all caps...
Perhaps we could lobby to replace the caps lock key with the return of the Panic key?
I have found the Panic key to be more useful, and, in many situations, much more satisfying to press (especially repeatedly and with ever-increasing force?)!
These are hilarious. I like all the "tension" jokes and the "red shirt" jokes.
I actually saw these the other day with the StumbleUpon tool (Stumble with this . I've seen lots of neat things... the tool can be pretty addictive, sometimes.
Indeed, great recordings are sometimes made in unusual places and in unusual venues. Sometimes, the character of the recording is that it wasn't done in a hyper-perfect studio with zillions of bits of equipment and ProTools, et. al. I listen to lots of music that was made in a jam in a room off the main studio room. Or in a small, creaky studio, or just in a room together in a garage...
To be fair, there are extraordinary producers, studio professionals, and sound professionals that make a perfect album look easy. Those folks are often the real unsung heroes of music. They deserve to be paid well, and deserve lots of respect. I don't think there's a real replacement for a good studio and good studio people. Home studios, alternative indie studios (even the mobile ones) make great music too, just not the killer sound of the big guys. I think, too that we often talk about the extremes too often. There are actually folks out there who aren't big studios/labels who make GREAT recordings. I've also listened to music from big studios that are poor recordings...
I don't think I'll ever be able to afford a studio or afford to use a professional studio... That's OK... I enjoy the rough-and-tumble world of engineering my music on a shoestring. Would I use a great professional studio if I could? Sure! (Although I wouldn't know how to act in a studio - I'm used to doing my music in our basement...) So, my recordings don't compare to David Gilmour or Sheryl Crow's when it comes to quality (yes, I know my music isn't as good as theirs, either - don't whack me with the obvious stick).
Sorry, I ramble... my point is: There is a place for studios and labels - they do things that are really hard for someone to do independently - especially if that person is an unknown. There is also a place for raw, emotional, imperfect, home-recorded/small-time-recorded music. I sincerely feel that there is good reason for all types of music production - we get lots of neat music from the pros, the hobbyists, and those in-between.
I don't think anyone knows to where the music industry itself will evolve... my opinion is that there is room for companies (studios, sponsors, benefactors, etc.) and for indies.
"Apple vs Microsoft - Who's the Copycat?"
Well, as my grandfather (a man of huge smarts, but few words) would say, "Yes."
Good stuff gets copied. It can't all be different. Look at music... The Byrds would hear Bob Dylan doing a tamborine-accentuated-cool-thing and incorporate the cool-thing into their music... then the Beatles would hear The Byrds' song and put something similar to the cool-thing into their music, and so forth..
What I don't want to hear is someone saying "We've innovated x" when x was invented or innovated elsewhere... on the flip side, I think it is OK to take good ideas to make things better.
I don't know if bashing $MY_COMPETITOR at a public event is a smart marketing idea... but I must say, it can be pretty funny... there was this film at JavaOne where a diver was using a Windows-enabled dive watch/oxygen regulator, and it did a BSOD - diver freaks... etc., etc..
Steve is aging and his body isn't cooperating very much since his cancer (an observation, not an insider-fact). I wish him the best of luck and hope his life goes well.
Apple's been on a hard roll with introductions for quite a while. Sometimes one needs to work on infrastructure, core code, cleanup, and/or system components that aren't glamorous. If periodic infrastructure and other maintenance is not done, the product(s) suffer(s).
WWDC is a dev conference. Lots of dev stuff was introduced and improved. Pretty much on target for what the conference was about.
Personally, I think the new Mac Pro is an out-of-the-ballpark-and-out-of-the-entire-parking- lot homerun. If I had the bux, I'd be on one of those like twang on a Telecaster.
I think the coverage of the newest feline Mac OSX release is pretty neat. I'm really looking forward to user-friendly file revisions.
No company can maintain a wow-whizz-bang-pop-smash-hit-cool-on-nearly-every- product pace for very long. Apple's doing pretty good financially, so wait and see - more stuff will come out pretty soon.
One long-tail-interesting aspect of eMusic is that the front page (the "browse" page) isn't smothered in the latest top-ten commercial chart-climbers... rather, the front page is covered in a mixture of artists and genres. eMusic can be pretty picky about what music they accept, and it shows... often as not, the music is excellent and worth a listen. iTunes' "front page" tends to be mostly chart-climbing-commercial music (not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation - lots of folks love the top ten or so current chart tunes - music is what we want it to be...). Generally, on iTunes the new/different/independent stuff is either in the "free tune of the week", in the "staff favorites", or sometimes in one of the iTunes-sponsored compilations.
So, does eMusic show how the tail works? Well, I can't be the definitive authority - but I feel (IMHO) that eMusic is a part of the process whereby the tail feeds the center.
Your perspective is very good on this one... I hadn't really thought that aspect through. On further inspection, many priceless writings, paintings, and manuscripts were turned into palimpsests, where those that were left exposed were often destroyed by ideological initiatives or religious initiatives.
One thing I learned in my music history classes: After the Gregorian monks declared the "sacred" chords, keys, and progressions, much previous work was destroyed because the monks felt it was heresy. I wonder what delightful music or interesting writings were destroyed in religious or ideological fervor?
Slashdot Mirror
But I do know what worries me... When a recent acquisition of a database project (one based on OSS ideas) occurred, suddenly lots of freebie tools that work with that database were silently and swiftly taken off-line. The developers of said tools usually posted something cryptic on their sites citing issues with the "new management" of the database project.
Will there be a similar chilling effect on many Linux-based tools that work with the Microsoft/Novell stuff?
There have been many articles (industry-sponsored and otherwise) about "piracy", whether the content is music or software (or even data). The article seems so very much like articles about music (music that isn't paid for when used/received)... The responses to the article are pretty similar, too.
Therefore, I propose a new way to answer software piracy articles, such that the flooding hundreds of discussion posts will all align nicely.
I propose that we post answers like, "software wants to be free - the way it wants to be." And, "since programmers should make all their money on tours and they make nothing on the sales of the software, they should give away software and be told that they must tour (and sell merchandise) to make enough money to live." And, "buying software through legit channels only funds evil corporations - (evil corporations don't employ regular, work-a-day people, do they?)" And, one of my personal favorites, "programmers shouldn't get paid after the software is delivered - a painter doesn't get paid every time the painting is sold, does he/she?"
Sarcasm or serious? You decide... film at 11.
Personally, I really like working where I work. I actually want the company's software to succeed and to be sold well. I'd like for the company to remain successful and to flourish. I enjoy having such a great job and an opportunity to fund my family's growth.
Don't forget to vote.
My opinion follows. I don't really have scientific measures to back up my opinions... but anyway...
I've noticed (in the past 6 months, especially) much more academically-inclined admins getting deeply involved in supervising the content. While the admin process sometimes bogs down in nit-hair-splitting contests, the majority of the time, the content comes through pretty clean and well thought out.
The further evolution of publishing/entry standards, and their enforcement, has resulted in far cleaner and better-thought-out content, for the most part.
This "better supervision" has positive and negative side effects - On the positive side, more and more thoughtful people are keeping the spam/hack/waste/junk to a dull roar, while helping the content have better referential integrity. On the negative side, the grass-rootsy "encyclopedia anyone can edit" is no longer a place where people can just edit based on their knowledge, expertise or SME capability: submitters must now read many pages of rules and regs, then write their bits, then submit their materials with onerous loads of documentation/references/justification just to keep the admins from quick-deleting what's been entered. I suppose that this type of Yin and Yang is actually pretty necessary... academia is fond of healthy and reasonable debate.
To close on point: As long as the community evolves towards quality, reference-able content - and keeps the place relatively clean, Wikipedia will be a continuing effort towards an academically-acceptable reference. Only time will tell, though, if academia will ever emotionally accept Wikipedia, methinks.
I'm glad that so many people are concentrating on it, are working on it, and trying to make it something special. It's hard to imagine the huge number of hours of positive efforts go into Wikipedia on any given day. I, for one, am glad of it.
Yes. (I know, your comment appeared to be rhetorical...)
The only things going for Apple in the 90s were corporate contracts (like Nortel at the time - I programmed on them and supported them), educational contracts, and big-time fans. iApple is definitely a strong improvement over its previous self, and has strong inroads in many arenas. It's good to have choices - build-your-own, Microsoft, big *nix vendors, and boxes that run OSX.
First, let your customers know there is an issue.
Then, reach out to the affected customers. Do what's necessary to help them out. Even if that means giving them free AV software (in this case).
Then, reach out to all your current and future customers. Help them feel assured that the issue is well in hand, and that real processes are in place to prevent future/similar subsequent events.
While doing the above, carefully analyze the process, fix it, do a post-mortem on the issue, then test, test, test, test.
Then, worry about marketing.
Doing your own thing is very good. Making music is a true joy and a pleasure on the deepest of levels
But, on topic... It seems that most articles, of the type linked to on the BBC, seem to focus on file sharing, not on proliferation of copied music files. File sharing unto itself is a wonderful thing. I constantly share out/send out music files (mine, not stuff copied from others' works) using file sharing software. P2P is also great for lots of legitimate things, such as large high-res photography files, large high-res original music source, Photoshop project files, Logic project files, etc. etc.
It would be nice if the articles such as TFA would say things like "people in many countries who have shared unauthorized media..." instead of "people in many countries who have used P2P software to..."
Just my humble opinion... P2P isn't going anywhere.
Well said...
The debate over whether or not Math is fundamentally important to programming rages on... I've heard both sides of the argument said very well. My impression is that it is the understanding of math algorithms and problem solving capability, not the math itself, that is (one of the) keys to good programming/software development. I'm sure many will disagree... but I must say that being able to see the bigger picture, solve puzzles, and have a good method of making simple solutions to solve complicated issues seem to be very important to the production of good software.
I thought it was interesting that one of the interviewees spoke of music and programming. I am one of many musicians with whom I work - all of whom write software, and the software we write is pretty successful. Composing a score is so very similar to marshalling pieces of an API or programming systems.
I don't disagree with your post very much. But...
Sometimes, folks tend to look at the actions of others in a rational way. The main problem with doing things that way is that it is very difficult to apply reason to unreasonable people. Kim is not a reasonable person (or facsimile thereof).
I dearly and sincerely hope that this nuclear test is saber-rattling, and not the manifestation of a feverish, megalomaniacal (and unreasonable) mind's desire for regional/world control.
I'm with some of the folks here about secondary verification.
Something deep inside me gives a knee jerk any time a developer or product engineer starts any sentence with "I have not succeeded in making this code do..." or "I cannot reproduce..." (no pun intended).
I think Firefox is pretty good. So far (since the first public betas), I get very few issues at runtime (besides the occasional spin-forever cursor when Firefox encounters a site with some really bad browser-side code.)
I think the Wii stands a chance in the marketplace. Will it be number 1? Probably not. Will it do very well? I think so.
IANAFanboi of any console or platform (I really don't care about the box, as long as I can enjoy the game - we have PS2, XBox, PC, and Mac games we play from time to time...)
Why do I think it stands a chance? My kids summed it up quick: It's not a zillion dollars, doesn't come in a zillion "versions", some of the games sound neat, and they think the controller interface(s) is/are cool and different. I happen to agree with them. I don't think I'll be doing Dance Dance Revolution (or anything like that, I'm not that graceful), but I'll enjoy doing something different with how I'll interact with the games. Besides, I can get a new plunk-around guitar for the difference I won't have to pay between a Wii and a well-equipped PS3.
As to TFA, I have a question... There are lots of Slashdotters that can probably answer this for me pretty well: Isn't .02% statistically negligible, WRT a market trend report?
Mod me OT on this one, It's fine with me.
I'm always amazed at the vitriol that spews forth on this subject. Although, frankly, post threads like those in response to this article are always interesting to read (and sometimes funny).
IMVHO, use what machine and OS you like, like what machine and OS you use (if you have a choice). It isn't the chip, the windowing system, the kernel, or the manufacturer... it's what it does for you personally. I like Solaris, Fedora, Mac OS (any, really), XP, 2000, Irix, HP/UX... well, just about any of them. The hardware is always a relative benchmark to me. If I like it, and it works great without kicking me in the pants every time I try to use it, then I use it. I enjoy my little Blade 100 as much as my VAIO as much as my iMac G5. Like what you use, and use what you like.
I've laughed so many times looking at YouTube stuff. Talking dogs, babies that say interesting things, and more. My wife went from not knowing what YouTube was - to being a YouTuber in about two seconds. IMHO YouTube is a popular site because people have lots of fun surfing the content, looking for laughs, seeing things from other places, and generally enjoying the YouTube timesink. I don't know how YouTube can make money on all those zillions of eyeballs, but I hope they figure it out - I think the site is fun.
I've wondered aloud several times now about copyrights, broadcast privs, and other things - I'm constantly running across (in YouTube) shorts that are essentially recordings of a TV show (complete with laugh tracks). I am quite sure that the networks, programmers, and content creators didn't give Jane or John (by the millions of Janes and Johns) permission to post uncontrolled and unattributed tons of "their" content.
With that said, what about this: People like me take bits of our music and post it to an open audio sharing area of a video-sharing site, then the users who like it can take the music (or sounds, or spoken word, etc.) and make their own videos with the recordings. I'd be willing to venture a guess that people would love a free site that lets them have fun making their own videos with interesting audio (and their own audio, of course). The same goes with little non-commercial video clips and pictures. Remixing music (that is offered as freely-mixable content) is great fun (well, at least, I think it's a blast), and maybe the public will make their own audio-video remixes? Some assembly required, batteries not included...
I've read lots of responses to the article, and find lots of interesting (and mostly well-thought-out) thoughts/opinions. Many aspects of truth are revealed in the posters' responses - but I must say that the "kids these days do xxx wrong" thing is over-rated. I think it is far more important to have the attitude of "what can be done to mentor/help the next generation of software professionals."
In my very humble opinion, it seems like (not enough) good solving-thinking is going on, in combination with the fact that computers are generally viewed as a commodity (from the viewpoint of folks my kids' age). Solving problems with programming languages/environs is very much like the creative process for making music: An understanding of structures and critical key concepts is absolutely imperative. Whether the understanding comes in an innate way or is learned from mentors/teachers/peers, structure and conceptual strength are paramount.
My kids see our computers as simple commodity things (like a phone or an iPod) - not as fascinating worlds to explore. Getting a young person to seek and find the wonders inside how computers work is not necessarily built in. As always, inspiration is something that cannot be taught or given - only experienced.
In my opinion, the article's concept is likely to have a good impact, but on many levels. I think it is important to see that if this isn't directly successful, it may be the precursor to something much more successful.
First, free music is pretty cool, especially if it is from known artists (although I have amassed TENS of fans from many countries and sold TENS of CDs and a hundred or so downloads from iTunes et. al internationally while giving away more than half my catalog on price-optional sites like iSound.com, pureVolume.com, and audiri.com). Free music as incentive for something else is a model that is evolving pretty hard right now, but I bet it will stick around for a long time.
There are lots of examples where successes have occurred with ad-driven services: broadcast TV; "free", ad-driven internet provider services, tons of "free" web sites and site hosting, etc. I don't know that the average John and Jane Q. Publique will mind the ads in this case... time will tell.
A Big Record Company is trying something fairly broad with "free" music. This is a positive step - trying to redefine oneself in business is akin to survival. I think it was W.E. Deming who said, "It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." So, perhaps this record label is trying to change for its betterment.
I sort of felt that adverts would eventually appear in textbooks (probably even off-the-shelf "entertainment" books, too). I think businesses are looking to keep their bottom line fluid and in the black. I don't know if the advert trend is a good or bad thing.
The advert idea popping up all over: my local grocery now has little ad placards in the aisles (that have nothing to do with any of the products in the store, like wireless companies); I daresay most of us have seen the non-movie adverts in movies (both on disc and in the theater); and ads on non-related product packaging.
The conundrum for the consumer is that the advertising doesn't necessarily (and often doesn't) lower the price of the item. The adverts just make more money for the vendor of the space of the advert. Business is always trying new things (that's generally good), but the trend for advert insertion isn't necessarily anything much fun for consumers.
I like some parts of it: replaceable battery; backlit button bits (less battery, I know, but neat nonetheless); a card slot.
Kill the iPod? No, not really, no. Compete with the iPod? Perhaps... But, competition is generally good, so maybe we'll see some envelope-pushing at Apple...
Point of perspective: I do enjoy my 5G 30GB iPod. Lots of room for my aiffs (I keep my own music in AIFFs while I study the engineering, eq, and mixture)... Got my 'pod here Apple refurb stuff for $199.
Hoping said limb does not break...
A few up-front things:
IANAMathematician;
I appreciate the reviewer's efforts to thoroughly discuss the reviewer's point of view;
I don't mind acknowledging that I'm not as smart as the vast population of Slashdot, but I like math even though I'm not top-notch;
I love to learn stuff, and like to read Slashdot articles/comments that are out of my field, and way over my head;
With the above said...
I don't mind looking up unfamiliar terms that appear in an article or in a review (I like learning) - when the words are concerned with the subject matter at hand. I do mind when I read something that attempts to completely fill up my "new word of the day" calendar (for the next millennium). Why? Because I'm interested in understanding the subject and the review, not in how many new non-topic-related words and phrases that can be crammed into a paragraph.
Lastly, a good review, IMVHO, is one that does not chastise, scold, or belittle the matter of review.
I love my mother, but IT'S IRRITATING THAT SHE TYPES IN ALL CAPS. IT'S HARD TO READ, AND MAKES ME IMAGINE HER SCREAMING THE WORDS. So, I'm not fond of all caps...
Perhaps we could lobby to replace the caps lock key with the return of the Panic key?
I have found the Panic key to be more useful, and, in many situations, much more satisfying to press (especially repeatedly and with ever-increasing force?)!
Interesting, imaginative, it works, and was fun to read. Cool.
These are hilarious. I like all the "tension" jokes and the "red shirt" jokes.
I actually saw these the other day with the StumbleUpon tool (Stumble with this . I've seen lots of neat things... the tool can be pretty addictive, sometimes.
Indeed, great recordings are sometimes made in unusual places and in unusual venues. Sometimes, the character of the recording is that it wasn't done in a hyper-perfect studio with zillions of bits of equipment and ProTools, et. al. I listen to lots of music that was made in a jam in a room off the main studio room. Or in a small, creaky studio, or just in a room together in a garage...
To be fair, there are extraordinary producers, studio professionals, and sound professionals that make a perfect album look easy. Those folks are often the real unsung heroes of music. They deserve to be paid well, and deserve lots of respect. I don't think there's a real replacement for a good studio and good studio people. Home studios, alternative indie studios (even the mobile ones) make great music too, just not the killer sound of the big guys. I think, too that we often talk about the extremes too often. There are actually folks out there who aren't big studios/labels who make GREAT recordings. I've also listened to music from big studios that are poor recordings...
I don't think I'll ever be able to afford a studio or afford to use a professional studio... That's OK... I enjoy the rough-and-tumble world of engineering my music on a shoestring. Would I use a great professional studio if I could? Sure! (Although I wouldn't know how to act in a studio - I'm used to doing my music in our basement...) So, my recordings don't compare to David Gilmour or Sheryl Crow's when it comes to quality (yes, I know my music isn't as good as theirs, either - don't whack me with the obvious stick).
Sorry, I ramble... my point is: There is a place for studios and labels - they do things that are really hard for someone to do independently - especially if that person is an unknown. There is also a place for raw, emotional, imperfect, home-recorded/small-time-recorded music. I sincerely feel that there is good reason for all types of music production - we get lots of neat music from the pros, the hobbyists, and those in-between.
I don't think anyone knows to where the music industry itself will evolve... my opinion is that there is room for companies (studios, sponsors, benefactors, etc.) and for indies.
"Apple vs Microsoft - Who's the Copycat?"
Well, as my grandfather (a man of huge smarts, but few words) would say, "Yes."
Good stuff gets copied. It can't all be different. Look at music... The Byrds would hear Bob Dylan doing a tamborine-accentuated-cool-thing and incorporate the cool-thing into their music... then the Beatles would hear The Byrds' song and put something similar to the cool-thing into their music, and so forth..
What I don't want to hear is someone saying "We've innovated x" when x was invented or innovated elsewhere... on the flip side, I think it is OK to take good ideas to make things better.
I don't know if bashing $MY_COMPETITOR at a public event is a smart marketing idea... but I must say, it can be pretty funny... there was this film at JavaOne where a diver was using a Windows-enabled dive watch/oxygen regulator, and it did a BSOD - diver freaks... etc., etc..
...nor, for that matter, has Apple...
- lot homerun. If I had the bux, I'd be on one of those like twang on a Telecaster.
- product pace for very long. Apple's doing pretty good financially, so wait and see - more stuff will come out pretty soon.
Steve is aging and his body isn't cooperating very much since his cancer (an observation, not an insider-fact). I wish him the best of luck and hope his life goes well.
Apple's been on a hard roll with introductions for quite a while. Sometimes one needs to work on infrastructure, core code, cleanup, and/or system components that aren't glamorous. If periodic infrastructure and other maintenance is not done, the product(s) suffer(s).
WWDC is a dev conference. Lots of dev stuff was introduced and improved. Pretty much on target for what the conference was about.
Personally, I think the new Mac Pro is an out-of-the-ballpark-and-out-of-the-entire-parking
I think the coverage of the newest feline Mac OSX release is pretty neat. I'm really looking forward to user-friendly file revisions.
No company can maintain a wow-whizz-bang-pop-smash-hit-cool-on-nearly-every
Parent is interesting...
One long-tail-interesting aspect of eMusic is that the front page (the "browse" page) isn't smothered in the latest top-ten commercial chart-climbers... rather, the front page is covered in a mixture of artists and genres. eMusic can be pretty picky about what music they accept, and it shows... often as not, the music is excellent and worth a listen. iTunes' "front page" tends to be mostly chart-climbing-commercial music (not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation - lots of folks love the top ten or so current chart tunes - music is what we want it to be...). Generally, on iTunes the new/different/independent stuff is either in the "free tune of the week", in the "staff favorites", or sometimes in one of the iTunes-sponsored compilations.
So, does eMusic show how the tail works? Well, I can't be the definitive authority - but I feel (IMHO) that eMusic is a part of the process whereby the tail feeds the center.
Your perspective is very good on this one... I hadn't really thought that aspect through. On further inspection, many priceless writings, paintings, and manuscripts were turned into palimpsests, where those that were left exposed were often destroyed by ideological initiatives or religious initiatives.
One thing I learned in my music history classes: After the Gregorian monks declared the "sacred" chords, keys, and progressions, much previous work was destroyed because the monks felt it was heresy. I wonder what delightful music or interesting writings were destroyed in religious or ideological fervor?