Programmers comparing their intelligence to other industry professionals is apples to oranges. It's also arrogant in that it implies that their profession is more important than the others.
There is an elite class inside every industry and most people feel they are a part of it, or if not that they should be because those in it are inferior to them.
I happen to think that those who use their profession to profess their intellect aren't nearly as bright as they think they are. Too many qualifiers show it's not accurate: Are you presently working? When you are laid off or between contracts are you less a professional? What about coding for MS versus Open Source? How about those who take on leadership roles inside organizations - is management less intellectual than the front line coder?
Relax and zip up your drawers. No one needs you whipping your intellects out for measurement in this thread. There are plenty of others already dragged down into that discussion.
I'm getting fed up with links to reports of bad data. This survey, the one about MP3's dying, etc...
It's sad when so many people all pop on Slashdot and say the same thing about how inaccurate the report is within seconds of the posting.
Too much bad data in the limelight. Do we really need it here too? At least the sites posting it get slashdotted for a while as punishment.
It was clear from your post that you don't own the product whose demise you predict BEFORE you you added the disclaimer.
The beauty of the TiVo is it's simplicity and the convienence it gives to it's customer base. TiVo is not catering to the hard core geeks that may build their own rigs, but they are also not alienating them by not legislating the hacks out of existence.
The future expansion of TiVo will continue until it is as prevalent as the cable box. Companies such as DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast, etc... are subsidizing the cost of them to keep customers. You really think that the cable/sat companies are going to halt this practice anytime soon? People want it, people pay for it and provide an additional revenue stream for big business.
Keeping people from streaming NFL games to different geographic regions and making PPVs go away after they have been watched once (just like the very popular VOD offering) won't hurt anything. So you rent the DVD and shrink it and you build a PC using software that lets you stream from elsewhere. The geeks and hackers will still be able to do it. The general public won't care. The TiVo is STILL doing what they want.
We're talking about TV watchers here. The market to expand to is the couch potato. The geeks already have the functionality.
The ONLY problem I see here is that there is the impression that TiVo is buckling under to big corps and legal pressure. I don't see it that way, but I understand those who do.
When the hacks start getting supressed then I will be ticked.
Also, for the record, DirecTV has disabled some of the features that could make providers mad, like the 30 second skip.
The NetFlix/TiVo deal is another example that TiVo isn't dying off at all. They're continuing to innovate while dealing with the legal issues that will be around for quite some time.
Call the local operator and ask them to place your call to the toll-free number. Obviously this doesn't work with toll calls, but they'll do it for you on toll free calls.
It's been a while since I tried it, since I have little reason to hide when placing calls, but it's surprising how often they have no trouble doing it for you. I was never even asked why I wanted them to place the call.
Emergency services should be using an e911 service with the telco that isn't caller ID. e911 existed before CID was in place and works in areas where switches are not capable of carrying the service.
If the local setup is relying on CID instead of whatever the telco should be serving up you all are in SERIOUS trouble.
Slashdot Mirror
There is an elite class inside every industry and most people feel they are a part of it, or if not that they should be because those in it are inferior to them.
I happen to think that those who use their profession to profess their intellect aren't nearly as bright as they think they are. Too many qualifiers show it's not accurate: Are you presently working? When you are laid off or between contracts are you less a professional? What about coding for MS versus Open Source? How about those who take on leadership roles inside organizations - is management less intellectual than the front line coder?
Relax and zip up your drawers. No one needs you whipping your intellects out for measurement in this thread. There are plenty of others already dragged down into that discussion.
I'm getting fed up with links to reports of bad data. This survey, the one about MP3's dying, etc... It's sad when so many people all pop on Slashdot and say the same thing about how inaccurate the report is within seconds of the posting. Too much bad data in the limelight. Do we really need it here too? At least the sites posting it get slashdotted for a while as punishment.
It was clear from your post that you don't own the product whose demise you predict BEFORE you you added the disclaimer. The beauty of the TiVo is it's simplicity and the convienence it gives to it's customer base. TiVo is not catering to the hard core geeks that may build their own rigs, but they are also not alienating them by not legislating the hacks out of existence. The future expansion of TiVo will continue until it is as prevalent as the cable box. Companies such as DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast, etc... are subsidizing the cost of them to keep customers. You really think that the cable/sat companies are going to halt this practice anytime soon? People want it, people pay for it and provide an additional revenue stream for big business. Keeping people from streaming NFL games to different geographic regions and making PPVs go away after they have been watched once (just like the very popular VOD offering) won't hurt anything. So you rent the DVD and shrink it and you build a PC using software that lets you stream from elsewhere. The geeks and hackers will still be able to do it. The general public won't care. The TiVo is STILL doing what they want. We're talking about TV watchers here. The market to expand to is the couch potato. The geeks already have the functionality. The ONLY problem I see here is that there is the impression that TiVo is buckling under to big corps and legal pressure. I don't see it that way, but I understand those who do. When the hacks start getting supressed then I will be ticked. Also, for the record, DirecTV has disabled some of the features that could make providers mad, like the 30 second skip. The NetFlix/TiVo deal is another example that TiVo isn't dying off at all. They're continuing to innovate while dealing with the legal issues that will be around for quite some time.
Call the local operator and ask them to place your call to the toll-free number. Obviously this doesn't work with toll calls, but they'll do it for you on toll free calls. It's been a while since I tried it, since I have little reason to hide when placing calls, but it's surprising how often they have no trouble doing it for you. I was never even asked why I wanted them to place the call.
Emergency services should be using an e911 service with the telco that isn't caller ID. e911 existed before CID was in place and works in areas where switches are not capable of carrying the service. If the local setup is relying on CID instead of whatever the telco should be serving up you all are in SERIOUS trouble.