It's enough for the "95%" of people (plucking numbers out of the air is great fun isn't it TW?) who hardly do anything on the internet. For the rest we'll see agreements between TW and the biggest 'legit' content providers on the internet, like Youtube or pay-to-stream TV, which won't count toward that 5 GB per month cap. Anything else, like BitTorrent, will count toward the cap.
From TW's perspective it's the perfect solution. And if the small minority of customers who will be outraged at this change leave, well then they're happy too because they can keep overselling their network without the hassle of people actually using what they pay for.
It's almost as ridiculous as a retailer charging you a fee to redeem a gift card. You're not actually supposed to use them you know, they just like the free money they get when people forget to redeem them.
Physics has been running into a wall for decades now. I think the problem is gravity, we still don't know what it is or how it operates. We say it warps space, but does it really or is that just a mathematical abstraction that lets us model its effects? Physicists have gotten something fundemental wrong, and it's leading them to shape ridiculous explanations for things we don't understand.
That's my speculation, do I get an article in New Scientist now?
All I have to do to cripple the electronic infrastructure between countries for over a week is enlist a few boats to drag their anchors across the sea floor? Obviously you can't just cut one cable and take out an entire country's connectivity, but a coordinated attack seems like it could do some serious damage. Maybe we should be burying these cables a little deeper?
Joe Sixpack makes up the majority of the computer market. Joe Sixpack doesn't know a thing about Linux, and doesn't want to bother learning how to use it. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to spend $1300 for a comparable Apple computer when he can get a "really good" Dell for $700. What's on that Dell? Vista. What's on almost every prebuilt machine nowadays? Vista.
Microsoft won't really be shooting themselves in the foot with Vista until retailers like Dell refuse to bundle it with new computers, or offer XP by default and Vista as an option. I don't think this is likely to happen, no matter how bad Vista may seem to the more computer literate/. crowd. And once (if) they cut off updates for XP businesses will have to switch too, good luck trying to teach 500 employees of Acme Whatever Inc how to use Linux. Better hire some more tech support.
The CDR levy was initially 5.2 cents per unit, back when CDR's cost over a dollar each. Now, when CDR's cost a few cents each, the levy is over 21 cents per unit. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) tried to raise it to 59 cents per unit just 2 years ago, but the public outcry over it forced them to scrap that plan. Right now the levy makes up well over half the price of a spindle of CDR's.
I have no doubt the same would happen to this flat monthly tax. This year it's $5. Next year it's $6. In 2009 it'll suddenly jump to $10. And the RIAA would still be complaining.
A lot of people have the misconception that multitasking is simply being able to do two or more things at once, like being able to listen to music and write a report, or drive a car and talk on a cell phone. Sure it's possible, and most people can do it, but your performance in both tasks will take a hit for it. Research shows that time and time again.
Copy the cache URL, paste to address bar and add &strip=1 to the end. It will ignore anything not in the cache'd record. You won't see any images and the like, but you also won't end up in the website's logs.
If you listen to the developer commentary in Portal it's pretty clear this first game was just testing the water. I'm sure there will be more Portal in the future, maybe as a standalone game, maybe integrated into the Half Life series.
Not groundbreaking, it just managed to do a lot of things right. The atmosphere is it's best quality in my opinion, from the first 5 minutes of play I was more immersed in the world than in any other FPS I've played (with the Half Life 2 series being the only exception). I'm not going to spoil the opening, but at first I thought I was watching a cutscene, it took a few seconds to realize "Hey, I'm supposed to be playing already".
Most groundbreaking game, I'd have to say Portal. Great concept and great humor. The end credits were simply awesome, and I miss my Weighted Companion Cube:(
"To protect the value of its trademarks, Ford is obligated to object to and pursue unauthorized uses of its trademarks and trade dress, even if the use of the trademark or trade dress does not appear offensive or objectionable."
And that is one of the (many) things seriously wrong with IP laws. Companies are actually obligated to hunt down infringing material and assert their rights on it, or they risk losing them to the public domain. Ford shouldn't shoulder the full blame and ridicule for this fiasco, the whole IP system is stupid and flawed.
Some months ago I read a wonderful article in Wired about the Japanese anime market, specifically the amateur manga artists who hold annual conventions showcasing their work. They infringe liberally on animes owned by large publishing firms, yet those firms turn a blind eye. Both parties see this as "anmoku no ryokai", essentially an "unspoken, implicit agreement". The amateur artists create works based on well known animes, showcasing their talents and telling the stories they want to tell. In return they draw more people to the original animes owned by the publishing firm. Under Japanese copyright law none of this is allowed, but nobody enforces it because they all see the economic benefits it brings to the anime market. The West could take a lesson from them.
I'd assume the tech works under ideal driving conditions, but what about the unforseen stuff that comes up in day to day driving? Can the car detect an icy patch on the upcoming corner? Will it swerve violently to avoid an empty cardboard box blowing across the highway? Will it still work around radar jammers? Technically illegal, but I'm willing to bet there's still a fair number of them out there. How stable is the processing unit?
Personally, I'll believe it when I see it, and even then I think I'll be holding on to my steering wheel for the forseeable future.
3 months ago I flew from Canada to Germany to attend university here. Since I'd just put together a new computer a few months before I decided to take a risk and bring the parts to Germany with me, in my suitcase. Everything was packed in seperate boxes, mixed in with my clothes and cushioned by some cheap apolstery foam I bought at WalMart. Two hard drives, motherboard, cpu, memory, graphics card, cables and 22" widescreen LCD monitor, all packed into a suitcase full of clothes.
At the airport I started worrying that it may have been a bad idea, I was sure this thing would look like a bomb, or at least be suspicious enough to warrant a lengthy inspection. Long story short, I arrived in Germany (after landing in Frankfurt, connecting to Munich and then Dortmund), lowe and behold there was my suitcase, unopened and on time. Everything survived the trip, even the monitor.
But needless to say, I won't be trying that on flights through the US any time... ever.
Personally, I can't wait for the music industry to disintigrate. I hope it happens soon. Rather than try to justify downloading I'm going to explain what it's done for me.
5 years ago (that would be around the end of high school) my list of favorite bands was something along the lines of Linkin Park, System of a Down, CKY, Green Day, RHCP and so on. Mainstream stuff. Today it's more like Red Sparowes, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Cloud Cult, Built to Spill, The Weakerthans, Emily Haines, Chk Chk Chk, King Missile, Modest Mouse and 65daysofstatic. All leaps and bounds better than the stuff I liked 5 years ago, and what do I have to thank for this? Record labels? Hell no. Google.
intitle:index.of -html -htm -download mp3 has brought me more good music than I could have ever hoped for in 'the old system' of music. That and my local college radio station, which routinely plays the most obscure, small time bands it can find.
I can't wait. I can't wait for the void the death of the RIAA will leave behind, a void that can be filled with artists who deserve to get noticed, delivered through a medium that's consumer friendly, not filthy-rich-music-executives friendly.
if (Windows.version == "Vista" && UAC.enabled) { user.frustrated(); }
else {while user.notFrustrated()) {
MessageBox.Show("Windows has determined you are not frustrated. We apologize for this and wish to return you to the Genuine Windows Experience(TM) you have come to expect.";
user.judgeFrustration();
}
}
The difference between idle and full load power use on processors nowadays is on the order of 20W (though admittedly this is more like 60W on processors like the Core 2 Duo if you have SpeedStep enabled). 50 hours at full load before you've used a kilowatt more energy. Given an average energy price of $0.13 per KWh that's a pretty small amount, on the order of $2 per month. It's still something, but to me the work done for SETI or Folding@Home is at least worth the price of a cappucino every month.
Processors are also built to run at full load, as long as it holds a good steady temperature (say 50C) you might see its lifespan decreased from 30,000 hours to 20,000 hours. What they're not built for is constant temperature cycling between load and room (off) temperature. Turning your PC off at night will likely have the same affect on its lifespan as constant load does. Again, to me at least, it's worth it. I replace the CPU every 2-3 years anyway and have yet to see one KIA.
I do think, though, that Folding@Home is a better investment than SETI. Not that I'm not curious about finding life out there, but there are more important things to do here first.
The trick with smoking is it's a habit more than an addiction. The chemical addiction is really not so hard to overcome by itself, you'll feel a bit 'out of it' for a few days afterward (tired, irritated, classic stimulant withdrawal), but those things tend to subside relatively quickly. It's the habit portion that's so hard to overcome. You're used to going out for a smoke from time to time, and without that little smoke break you feel bored. You get hooked on the experience, not the chemical.
I guess this would be called psychological dependence. They may be able to 'vaccinate' against the physical dependence of nicotine, but that won't help one bit with the psychological aspect of the addiction.
... that EVE Online almost encourages ingame scamming. The scammers often employ the same tricks as those in 'the real world', which makes it a learning experience. If someone gets scammed in EVE Online, it costs him some play money and a little embarrassment. In return he learns from the tricks employed and is a little more careful in the future, not just in EVE but hopefully in his day to day life too.
The scams are usually very easy to spot, but people are still taken in by them. I'd rather it be in a game.
Things are a little different in Second Life, but the focus should be on educating people about avoiding scams. If LL can bust a scammer now and then that's great, but expecting to get rid of the problem that way is expecting too much.
Slashdot Mirror
If you're one of their "5%" users they're happy to see you go, believe me.
It's enough for the "95%" of people (plucking numbers out of the air is great fun isn't it TW?) who hardly do anything on the internet. For the rest we'll see agreements between TW and the biggest 'legit' content providers on the internet, like Youtube or pay-to-stream TV, which won't count toward that 5 GB per month cap. Anything else, like BitTorrent, will count toward the cap.
From TW's perspective it's the perfect solution. And if the small minority of customers who will be outraged at this change leave, well then they're happy too because they can keep overselling their network without the hassle of people actually using what they pay for.
It's almost as ridiculous as a retailer charging you a fee to redeem a gift card. You're not actually supposed to use them you know, they just like the free money they get when people forget to redeem them.
I swear, sometimes the tags are the best part about /.
Thanks for the laugh
Physics has been running into a wall for decades now. I think the problem is gravity, we still don't know what it is or how it operates. We say it warps space, but does it really or is that just a mathematical abstraction that lets us model its effects? Physicists have gotten something fundemental wrong, and it's leading them to shape ridiculous explanations for things we don't understand.
That's my speculation, do I get an article in New Scientist now?
All I have to do to cripple the electronic infrastructure between countries for over a week is enlist a few boats to drag their anchors across the sea floor? Obviously you can't just cut one cable and take out an entire country's connectivity, but a coordinated attack seems like it could do some serious damage. Maybe we should be burying these cables a little deeper?
Joe Sixpack makes up the majority of the computer market. Joe Sixpack doesn't know a thing about Linux, and doesn't want to bother learning how to use it. Joe Sixpack doesn't want to spend $1300 for a comparable Apple computer when he can get a "really good" Dell for $700. What's on that Dell? Vista. What's on almost every prebuilt machine nowadays? Vista.
/. crowd. And once (if) they cut off updates for XP businesses will have to switch too, good luck trying to teach 500 employees of Acme Whatever Inc how to use Linux. Better hire some more tech support.
Microsoft won't really be shooting themselves in the foot with Vista until retailers like Dell refuse to bundle it with new computers, or offer XP by default and Vista as an option. I don't think this is likely to happen, no matter how bad Vista may seem to the more computer literate
the Pillage our Rights, Oppose The Exasperating Constitution and Tolerance, And Manufacture Evil Relentlessly to Inundate the Citizens of America Act
The CDR levy was initially 5.2 cents per unit, back when CDR's cost over a dollar each. Now, when CDR's cost a few cents each, the levy is over 21 cents per unit. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) tried to raise it to 59 cents per unit just 2 years ago, but the public outcry over it forced them to scrap that plan. Right now the levy makes up well over half the price of a spindle of CDR's.
I have no doubt the same would happen to this flat monthly tax. This year it's $5. Next year it's $6. In 2009 it'll suddenly jump to $10. And the RIAA would still be complaining.
A lot of people have the misconception that multitasking is simply being able to do two or more things at once, like being able to listen to music and write a report, or drive a car and talk on a cell phone. Sure it's possible, and most people can do it, but your performance in both tasks will take a hit for it. Research shows that time and time again.
Copy the cache URL, paste to address bar and add &strip=1 to the end. It will ignore anything not in the cache'd record. You won't see any images and the like, but you also won't end up in the website's logs.
And I was just starting lunch. Dammit.
If you listen to the developer commentary in Portal it's pretty clear this first game was just testing the water. I'm sure there will be more Portal in the future, maybe as a standalone game, maybe integrated into the Half Life series.
But the cake is a lie.
If you look like a terrorist, and smell like a terrorist, you must be a terrorist. It's foolproof, so there's really no need for a trial, really.
Not groundbreaking, it just managed to do a lot of things right. The atmosphere is it's best quality in my opinion, from the first 5 minutes of play I was more immersed in the world than in any other FPS I've played (with the Half Life 2 series being the only exception). I'm not going to spoil the opening, but at first I thought I was watching a cutscene, it took a few seconds to realize "Hey, I'm supposed to be playing already".
:(
Most groundbreaking game, I'd have to say Portal. Great concept and great humor. The end credits were simply awesome, and I miss my Weighted Companion Cube
"To protect the value of its trademarks, Ford is obligated to object to and pursue unauthorized uses of its trademarks and trade dress, even if the use of the trademark or trade dress does not appear offensive or objectionable."
And that is one of the (many) things seriously wrong with IP laws. Companies are actually obligated to hunt down infringing material and assert their rights on it, or they risk losing them to the public domain. Ford shouldn't shoulder the full blame and ridicule for this fiasco, the whole IP system is stupid and flawed.
Some months ago I read a wonderful article in Wired about the Japanese anime market, specifically the amateur manga artists who hold annual conventions showcasing their work. They infringe liberally on animes owned by large publishing firms, yet those firms turn a blind eye. Both parties see this as "anmoku no ryokai", essentially an "unspoken, implicit agreement". The amateur artists create works based on well known animes, showcasing their talents and telling the stories they want to tell. In return they draw more people to the original animes owned by the publishing firm. Under Japanese copyright law none of this is allowed, but nobody enforces it because they all see the economic benefits it brings to the anime market. The West could take a lesson from them.
I'd assume the tech works under ideal driving conditions, but what about the unforseen stuff that comes up in day to day driving? Can the car detect an icy patch on the upcoming corner? Will it swerve violently to avoid an empty cardboard box blowing across the highway? Will it still work around radar jammers? Technically illegal, but I'm willing to bet there's still a fair number of them out there. How stable is the processing unit?
Personally, I'll believe it when I see it, and even then I think I'll be holding on to my steering wheel for the forseeable future.
3 months ago I flew from Canada to Germany to attend university here. Since I'd just put together a new computer a few months before I decided to take a risk and bring the parts to Germany with me, in my suitcase. Everything was packed in seperate boxes, mixed in with my clothes and cushioned by some cheap apolstery foam I bought at WalMart. Two hard drives, motherboard, cpu, memory, graphics card, cables and 22" widescreen LCD monitor, all packed into a suitcase full of clothes.
At the airport I started worrying that it may have been a bad idea, I was sure this thing would look like a bomb, or at least be suspicious enough to warrant a lengthy inspection. Long story short, I arrived in Germany (after landing in Frankfurt, connecting to Munich and then Dortmund), lowe and behold there was my suitcase, unopened and on time. Everything survived the trip, even the monitor.
But needless to say, I won't be trying that on flights through the US any time... ever.
I think it's time for WikiGoogleEarthipedia.com
Personally, I can't wait for the music industry to disintigrate. I hope it happens soon. Rather than try to justify downloading I'm going to explain what it's done for me.
5 years ago (that would be around the end of high school) my list of favorite bands was something along the lines of Linkin Park, System of a Down, CKY, Green Day, RHCP and so on. Mainstream stuff. Today it's more like Red Sparowes, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Cloud Cult, Built to Spill, The Weakerthans, Emily Haines, Chk Chk Chk, King Missile, Modest Mouse and 65daysofstatic. All leaps and bounds better than the stuff I liked 5 years ago, and what do I have to thank for this? Record labels? Hell no. Google.
intitle:index.of -html -htm -download mp3 has brought me more good music than I could have ever hoped for in 'the old system' of music. That and my local college radio station, which routinely plays the most obscure, small time bands it can find.
I can't wait. I can't wait for the void the death of the RIAA will leave behind, a void that can be filled with artists who deserve to get noticed, delivered through a medium that's consumer friendly, not filthy-rich-music-executives friendly.
"It looks like you're feeling frustrated. This is not productive. For your own good, I am locking down the computer until you've calmed down."
10 minutes later.
"You appear to be calm. Windows must now be reactivated. Lets activate Windows!"
"It looks like you're feeling frustrated..."
if (Windows.version == "Vista" && UAC.enabled) { user.frustrated(); }
else {while user.notFrustrated()) {
MessageBox.Show("Windows has determined you are not frustrated. We apologize for this and wish to return you to the Genuine Windows Experience(TM) you have come to expect.";
user.judgeFrustration();
}
}
The difference between idle and full load power use on processors nowadays is on the order of 20W (though admittedly this is more like 60W on processors like the Core 2 Duo if you have SpeedStep enabled). 50 hours at full load before you've used a kilowatt more energy. Given an average energy price of $0.13 per KWh that's a pretty small amount, on the order of $2 per month. It's still something, but to me the work done for SETI or Folding@Home is at least worth the price of a cappucino every month.
Processors are also built to run at full load, as long as it holds a good steady temperature (say 50C) you might see its lifespan decreased from 30,000 hours to 20,000 hours. What they're not built for is constant temperature cycling between load and room (off) temperature. Turning your PC off at night will likely have the same affect on its lifespan as constant load does. Again, to me at least, it's worth it. I replace the CPU every 2-3 years anyway and have yet to see one KIA.
I do think, though, that Folding@Home is a better investment than SETI. Not that I'm not curious about finding life out there, but there are more important things to do here first.
The trick with smoking is it's a habit more than an addiction. The chemical addiction is really not so hard to overcome by itself, you'll feel a bit 'out of it' for a few days afterward (tired, irritated, classic stimulant withdrawal), but those things tend to subside relatively quickly. It's the habit portion that's so hard to overcome. You're used to going out for a smoke from time to time, and without that little smoke break you feel bored. You get hooked on the experience, not the chemical.
I guess this would be called psychological dependence. They may be able to 'vaccinate' against the physical dependence of nicotine, but that won't help one bit with the psychological aspect of the addiction.
... that EVE Online almost encourages ingame scamming. The scammers often employ the same tricks as those in 'the real world', which makes it a learning experience. If someone gets scammed in EVE Online, it costs him some play money and a little embarrassment. In return he learns from the tricks employed and is a little more careful in the future, not just in EVE but hopefully in his day to day life too.
The scams are usually very easy to spot, but people are still taken in by them. I'd rather it be in a game.
Things are a little different in Second Life, but the focus should be on educating people about avoiding scams. If LL can bust a scammer now and then that's great, but expecting to get rid of the problem that way is expecting too much.
The majority of the garbage the music industry is spewing out these days doesn't last longer than 5 years anyway.