It just starts over again with a second letter; 802.11aa, 802.11ab, 802.11ac..
It's really just a base-26 numbering system that can't use numbers since they're already used in the 802.11 part.
This is cool because I totally invented this peer review concept in an older/. discussion about patents. I would provide a link but apparently Slashdot has a unique method for "Limiting viewing of Comment History by non-Subscribers" and I can only see my most recent comments.
I can't wait to threaten the USPTO for their unlicensed usage of my idea. Since it is a good idea, I will allow them to keep using it and only require a small percentage of the benefits they receive from the usage of my idea. And by that I mean for every patent application they allow online peer review of, they will be required to give me a taco. Yes!
Dear Slashdot, please dig up my old post to help me prove my prior art, and I will share my delicious tacos with you all!
That was a good overview, but you forgot to mention that all drug dealers and drug users are vile and aggressive, and any criticism of them or their drugs (including but not limited to rudeness, nervousness, and eye contact) frequently results in threats or acts of violence.
Also, drug dealers and users are unintelligent, underachieving, have social problems, and are generally weird and/or creepy.
If MS is being responsive and fixing the issues whats the problem?
The problem is that they aren't admitting there are issues with the Xbox360. They're claiming there are no issues and installing "perfectly normal" hardware updates that, mysteriously, are directly related to these nonexistent issues. They're trying to do just enough to not get sued.
For comparison, there was a bug in an Intel CPU (the Pentium I believe) that rarely occurred and didn't actually cause problems for an average end user when it did. Intel claimed that the problem really wasn't that bad, but eventually consumers got really unhappy and Intel recalled the CPU's.
I think it's okay to admit a problem but claim it's not really a big deal. Microsoft claims there is no problem, so they can't be responsible for the hardware failures occurring. And maybe they can fix just enough 360's to keep users from banding together and filing a class action lawsuit.
CFD339 raises some interesting points that I don't have much trouble agreeing with. His experience is limited to one city or area, though. Different PD's are run in different ways, and the PD you are familiar with can easily have a great effect on your opinion of the average police officer.
I grew up in a suburb and never liked the police. I was actually mocked in high school, in front of the rest of the class, by a cop who didn't feel like answering my (perfectly valid) question. I found the PD of our urban city to be similar for a long time.
About 18 months ago I got a job working as a tester of wireless networks (UMTS, not 802.11) in my metro area. This requires driving around in a van covered with antennas, sometimes in very strange patterns, and can look quite suspicious. My driver and I were pulled over many times, sometimes more than once in a night, in different cities in two states, by both local and state police. It was my experiences from this job that changed my views and made me realize how different things can be when you cross over into another department's jurisdiction.
Two big examples:
We had severe computer problems one night and had to repeatedly pull over, reboot, etc. then restart a certain segment. The 3rd or 4th time we pulled over a cop noticed. We noticed we were being followed while it happened two more times. I'm pretty sure it looked like we were insane or on drugs and trying very poorly to lose the officer. We pulled over again to reboot and within seconds we were surrounded by police cars, several officers getting out of their cruisers and coming up on different sides of our van. They weren't happy =) But, we politely explained what we were doing, showed them a generic explanation letter written to police officers by our parent contractor, and they were very professional throughout the whole incident. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes, and the senior officer thanked us and wished us a good night.
Another night, we had a single random problem, turned off of the main street we were on, and pulled into a small parking lot. A cop had seen us and he deliberately parked his car sideways in the lot entrance so we couldn't get out. Before even coming to the driver's door he pulled out his flashlight and gun, and walked around the van shining the light in my eyes and examining anything he could see. When he came to talk we gave the same explanation we always gave, and showed him the letter. He didn't believe us and questioned us for a few minutes. Finally realizing he was wasting everyone's time, he said the reason he "pulled us over" was the fact that there is "a lot of prostitution in the area". Okay..?
Those two incidents represent the police forces perfectly. We always acted in a polite manner and gladly explained what we were doing. State police were always professional and never needlessly rude. Local police from every suburb but mine were the same. Local police from the big city and from my suburb were frequently needlessly rude and rarely professional. They talked down to us for no reason, asked arbitrary questions, etc.
It's those assholes that deserve the blame for the public opinions of police. Some cities have asshole commissioners that allow that sort of behavior and some of their officers decide to take advantage of it.
He's right, movies suck. The cost of admission has consistently gone up throughout my life (it's _increased_ by about 200% now) and the experience has gone down.
While there are many crappy camcorder copies out there, some are of decent quality. Because of those decent copies, I don't think a theater has any real advantages. The screen is larger and the sound system is better. But I don't really care how many feet the screen is, especially since the projected image isn't very good (not much better than one of the decent pirate copies). And theaters don't seem to care about you viewing experience after you've paid. Last time I went (my first theater experience in a while) they wouldn't remove the shouting guy after multiple complaints. Why should I spend almost $10 for that? All I'm really getting is loud speakers.
The simple, easy solution: download pirated copies to avoid mediocre theater experience with incompetent ushers, then buy the optical disc when that's released.
P.S. Dear Regal Cinemas & MPAA, Why isn't shouting foul language and claiming to be extremely drunk and stoned, while at a popular family movie, then threatening violence on other patrons grounds for getting your ass kicked out?
Last time I went through DEQ, I didn't know that my car (a '97) would be tested by computer only and that a check engine light was an automatic failure. The technician explained that to me and handed me a sheet with two error codes on it, saying I could look them up on the Internet to see what they meant. The definitions I found were extremely helpful: "General Engine Warning" and "Check Engine Light Active".
Which is why mobile phone companies offer unlimited access plans for phone or laptop users. The laptop plans are expensive to most, but for users with money to spare (those who might buy a fancypants laptop) they are perfectly reasonable.
Mythbusters is a fun show but aren't its hosts stuntmen, not scientists? I have heard of several of their results being totally off, known from my profession that another used downright silly methods to prove the myth, and I'm sure there are more that are way off the mark (use google).
Penryn does C6. I don't know which, if any, requirements are satisfied in current boards.
The subsystems of the board (buses, controllers, GPU, etc.) need to function by themselves while the processor is off. I'd imagine there are also certain hardware requirements to bring the CPU out of C6 that the new boards provide.
The average enthusiast probably doesn't need outstanding battery life, it's just a nice extra. But for business/professional uses, this is a very welcome development.
"Its chairman noted that gasoline prices have soared well above $3 a gallon and asked, 'How did we get into this mess?"
I do no know for sure, as I don't pay much attention to oil and gas, but might it have something to do with greed? Remember when those execs weren't under oath, and efforts to put them under oath were scorned by the judge? Do you really have to ask how we got into this mess, or feel surprised?
I still read EULA's and the like from time to time. I read the note on my original Xbox that said I wasn't allowed to play my games on other peoples Xboxes. I laughed, and decided Microsoft was so out-of-its-mind restrictive in their claims about what I could and could not do that I have never read or adhered to their rules since.
This action by Microsoft isn't surprising in the least, but there are people who have a legitimate reason for modding their console. If they connect to Live right now and are banned, they are getting screwed.
You're complaining about four months? That's not so bad. Back in the day, like 10 years ago, I was really excited about Halo coming out. Then it didn't come out, then didn't some more, then I forgot about it. Then apparently Microsoft released a console system..? My friend told me it had Halo, and I just responded "Oh, that got released? Wow."
We should be thankful they're only giving us 4 months notice. They could be saying "Wazzaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
The Playstation was graphically inferior to the N64, yet it was the best selling console to date.
As a Sega fanboy, I just want to add that you forgot the Saturn from this period. It furthers the point in that it was superior to the PlayStation but didn't do so well (heh).
What I've really thought is interesting is the parallels between that generation and the current generation. Sega's Saturn was similar in many ways to the PS3. Back then Sony won out with a cheaper console because of a few small advantages.. Yet now they have the super-expensive system with poor market penetration. How did they not realize during the design phase that this was a _great_ risk? Sony could make a commercial touting the PS3's processing power and state it has 7 CPU's that really make it fly, unlike the Wii. They would be right, and they could throw the Wii out a window to prove their statement. But you wouldn't see the Wii hit the ground, because there would be Wii buyers rushing to try and catch it.
1. GM buys technology
2. New efficient engines are developed and promoted
3. Next generation of cars have negligible improvement in fuel economy
4. ???
5. Profit!!
"Could this help to bring the prices down on DVD games and movies?"
No. Even if it can help prevent theft, the people who no longer lose revenue from that theft will keep the extra revenue for themselves; it's not 'new' revenue, it's revenue that's been unfairly taken from them in the past.
If it can be manufactured for a reasonable cost, it will sell. All that matters is whether people (non tech savvy management) think it will help. And as usual they will be easily tricked. And as we all know, any help it does provide won't last for long. This is something that would be activated at several locations in every store that sells discs. That means there will be thousands of the devices in most cities of reasonable size for those interested to study. It shouldn't take long to realize they were designed with the principle of security through obscurity (could you see anything else implemented for this use?) and defeat can be achieved by a 6 year old with a battery and a few paper clips.
Oh, and when that becomes the case, theft will increase again due to the relaxation of previous restrictions and safeguards. Retailers will probably up their prices a little bit to cover a new method of theft.
One evening just after dark a friend of mine was walking home and saw a car on his street slow down abruptly. It swerved towards the shoulder then took off, racing away and around the corner. He went inside and within a couple minutes he heard sirens. There were half a dozen police cars blocking off his street, and a bomb squad van a couple houses down. He stepped outside to ask the police what was going on; apparently the guy had seen a pipe bomb in the street, which was why he sped off. My friend was told to remain inside until further notice.
15 minutes later there was a knock on his door. A police officer told him it was ok to come outside, it was a false alarm. Asked what the suspicious object was, if it wasn't a pipe bomb, the officer explained that it was a "large dildo".
If they lowered the price to $400 that would be a fantastic discount from where they are now, and would be so wonderful for the people who are waiting to buy one that Sony won't do it. There are some people waiting who would buy after a much smaller discount, so Sony would be losing lots of money if they make an immediate $200 cut.
For example: I _loved_ the first Xbox, own a 360, want a Wii badly, and have a great distaste for Sony's marketing/PR practices and the company in general. But if Sony lowered the $600 PS3 to $400, I would buy one as soon as I possibly could. I'd probably even ignore their previous actions long enough to buy a few games.
And if you've read some of his other pieces (e.g., the now infamous whine about how the Windows idle process is eating up 99% of his CPU power), he's... a helluval less than all-knowing. In fact, he's an outright idiot.
You can't be serious. Do you have a link to that story?
So if a DVD is too small and is impacting their goal, why not use a second disc? I know the whole map will have to be available, among other things, so much of the data would have to be duplicated on the second disc, but there has to be a way they can separate some of the missions onto the first disc. Then once most of the missions are complete they won't ever need that data again.. So the gamer switches discs.
The TSA has a notoriously shallow understanding of security, because they need to put on a demonstration of security that ordinary people -- who don't understand it either -- will find calming. So you just know that the TSA is plenty vulnerable to the "Hi I'm from IT" call to the receptionist.
What the TSA is notorious for is being astoundingly clever. The receptionist may be tricked into helping the social engineer, but will fail to realize that the key is 'SSSS'.
Slashdot Mirror
It just starts over again with a second letter; 802.11aa, 802.11ab, 802.11ac..
It's really just a base-26 numbering system that can't use numbers since they're already used in the 802.11 part.
This is cool because I totally invented this peer review concept in an older /. discussion about patents. I would provide a link but apparently Slashdot has a unique method for "Limiting viewing of Comment History by non-Subscribers" and I can only see my most recent comments.
I can't wait to threaten the USPTO for their unlicensed usage of my idea. Since it is a good idea, I will allow them to keep using it and only require a small percentage of the benefits they receive from the usage of my idea. And by that I mean for every patent application they allow online peer review of, they will be required to give me a taco. Yes!
Dear Slashdot, please dig up my old post to help me prove my prior art, and I will share my delicious tacos with you all!
That was a good overview, but you forgot to mention that all drug dealers and drug users are vile and aggressive, and any criticism of them or their drugs (including but not limited to rudeness, nervousness, and eye contact) frequently results in threats or acts of violence.
Also, drug dealers and users are unintelligent, underachieving, have social problems, and are generally weird and/or creepy.
The problem is that they aren't admitting there are issues with the Xbox360. They're claiming there are no issues and installing "perfectly normal" hardware updates that, mysteriously, are directly related to these nonexistent issues. They're trying to do just enough to not get sued.
For comparison, there was a bug in an Intel CPU (the Pentium I believe) that rarely occurred and didn't actually cause problems for an average end user when it did. Intel claimed that the problem really wasn't that bad, but eventually consumers got really unhappy and Intel recalled the CPU's.
I think it's okay to admit a problem but claim it's not really a big deal.
Microsoft claims there is no problem, so they can't be responsible for the hardware failures occurring. And maybe they can fix just enough 360's to keep users from banding together and filing a class action lawsuit.
"And it really doesn't compromise your privacy."
"And we really are aware of what the hell is going on and why this is a good idea. Also, we're not lying this time."
CFD339 raises some interesting points that I don't have much trouble agreeing with. His experience is limited to one city or area, though. Different PD's are run in different ways, and the PD you are familiar with can easily have a great effect on your opinion of the average police officer.
I grew up in a suburb and never liked the police. I was actually mocked in high school, in front of the rest of the class, by a cop who didn't feel like answering my (perfectly valid) question. I found the PD of our urban city to be similar for a long time.
About 18 months ago I got a job working as a tester of wireless networks (UMTS, not 802.11) in my metro area. This requires driving around in a van covered with antennas, sometimes in very strange patterns, and can look quite suspicious. My driver and I were pulled over many times, sometimes more than once in a night, in different cities in two states, by both local and state police. It was my experiences from this job that changed my views and made me realize how different things can be when you cross over into another department's jurisdiction.
Two big examples:
We had severe computer problems one night and had to repeatedly pull over, reboot, etc. then restart a certain segment. The 3rd or 4th time we pulled over a cop noticed. We noticed we were being followed while it happened two more times. I'm pretty sure it looked like we were insane or on drugs and trying very poorly to lose the officer. We pulled over again to reboot and within seconds we were surrounded by police cars, several officers getting out of their cruisers and coming up on different sides of our van. They weren't happy =) But, we politely explained what we were doing, showed them a generic explanation letter written to police officers by our parent contractor, and they were very professional throughout the whole incident. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes, and the senior officer thanked us and wished us a good night.
Another night, we had a single random problem, turned off of the main street we were on, and pulled into a small parking lot. A cop had seen us and he deliberately parked his car sideways in the lot entrance so we couldn't get out. Before even coming to the driver's door he pulled out his flashlight and gun, and walked around the van shining the light in my eyes and examining anything he could see. When he came to talk we gave the same explanation we always gave, and showed him the letter. He didn't believe us and questioned us for a few minutes. Finally realizing he was wasting everyone's time, he said the reason he "pulled us over" was the fact that there is "a lot of prostitution in the area". Okay..?
Those two incidents represent the police forces perfectly. We always acted in a polite manner and gladly explained what we were doing. State police were always professional and never needlessly rude. Local police from every suburb but mine were the same. Local police from the big city and from my suburb were frequently needlessly rude and rarely professional. They talked down to us for no reason, asked arbitrary questions, etc.
It's those assholes that deserve the blame for the public opinions of police. Some cities have asshole commissioners that allow that sort of behavior and some of their officers decide to take advantage of it.
Best. Allusion. Ever.
He's right, movies suck. The cost of admission has consistently gone up throughout my life (it's _increased_ by about 200% now) and the experience has gone down.
While there are many crappy camcorder copies out there, some are of decent quality. Because of those decent copies, I don't think a theater has any real advantages. The screen is larger and the sound system is better. But I don't really care how many feet the screen is, especially since the projected image isn't very good (not much better than one of the decent pirate copies). And theaters don't seem to care about you viewing experience after you've paid. Last time I went (my first theater experience in a while) they wouldn't remove the shouting guy after multiple complaints. Why should I spend almost $10 for that? All I'm really getting is loud speakers.
The simple, easy solution: download pirated copies to avoid mediocre theater experience with incompetent ushers, then buy the optical disc when that's released.
P.S. Dear Regal Cinemas & MPAA,
Why isn't shouting foul language and claiming to be extremely drunk and stoned, while at a popular family movie, then threatening violence on other patrons grounds for getting your ass kicked out?
Last time I went through DEQ, I didn't know that my car (a '97) would be tested by computer only and that a check engine light was an automatic failure. The technician explained that to me and handed me a sheet with two error codes on it, saying I could look them up on the Internet to see what they meant. The definitions I found were extremely helpful: "General Engine Warning" and "Check Engine Light Active".
Which is why mobile phone companies offer unlimited access plans for phone or laptop users. The laptop plans are expensive to most, but for users with money to spare (those who might buy a fancypants laptop) they are perfectly reasonable.
Mythbusters is a fun show but aren't its hosts stuntmen, not scientists? I have heard of several of their results being totally off, known from my profession that another used downright silly methods to prove the myth, and I'm sure there are more that are way off the mark (use google).
Penryn does C6. I don't know which, if any, requirements are satisfied in current boards.
The subsystems of the board (buses, controllers, GPU, etc.) need to function by themselves while the processor is off. I'd imagine there are also certain hardware requirements to bring the CPU out of C6 that the new boards provide.
The average enthusiast probably doesn't need outstanding battery life, it's just a nice extra. But for business/professional uses, this is a very welcome development.
"Its chairman noted that gasoline prices have soared well above $3 a gallon and asked, 'How did we get into this mess?"
I do no know for sure, as I don't pay much attention to oil and gas, but might it have something to do with greed? Remember when those execs weren't under oath, and efforts to put them under oath were scorned by the judge? Do you really have to ask how we got into this mess, or feel surprised?
I still read EULA's and the like from time to time. I read the note on my original Xbox that said I wasn't allowed to play my games on other peoples Xboxes. I laughed, and decided Microsoft was so out-of-its-mind restrictive in their claims about what I could and could not do that I have never read or adhered to their rules since.
This action by Microsoft isn't surprising in the least, but there are people who have a legitimate reason for modding their console. If they connect to Live right now and are banned, they are getting screwed.
You're complaining about four months? That's not so bad. Back in the day, like 10 years ago, I was really excited about Halo coming out. Then it didn't come out, then didn't some more, then I forgot about it. Then apparently Microsoft released a console system..? My friend told me it had Halo, and I just responded "Oh, that got released? Wow."
We should be thankful they're only giving us 4 months notice. They could be saying "Wazzaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
Thanks, I'll be switching my domain off of dotster as soon as i get home. That's ridiculous.
The Playstation was graphically inferior to the N64, yet it was the best selling console to date.
As a Sega fanboy, I just want to add that you forgot the Saturn from this period. It furthers the point in that it was superior to the PlayStation but didn't do so well (heh).
What I've really thought is interesting is the parallels between that generation and the current generation. Sega's Saturn was similar in many ways to the PS3. Back then Sony won out with a cheaper console because of a few small advantages.. Yet now they have the super-expensive system with poor market penetration. How did they not realize during the design phase that this was a _great_ risk?
Sony could make a commercial touting the PS3's processing power and state it has 7 CPU's that really make it fly, unlike the Wii. They would be right, and they could throw the Wii out a window to prove their statement. But you wouldn't see the Wii hit the ground, because there would be Wii buyers rushing to try and catch it.
1. GM buys technology
2. New efficient engines are developed and promoted
3. Next generation of cars have negligible improvement in fuel economy
4. ???
5. Profit!!
"Could this help to bring the prices down on DVD games and movies?"
No. Even if it can help prevent theft, the people who no longer lose revenue from that theft will keep the extra revenue for themselves; it's not 'new' revenue, it's revenue that's been unfairly taken from them in the past.
If it can be manufactured for a reasonable cost, it will sell. All that matters is whether people (non tech savvy management) think it will help. And as usual they will be easily tricked.
And as we all know, any help it does provide won't last for long. This is something that would be activated at several locations in every store that sells discs. That means there will be thousands of the devices in most cities of reasonable size for those interested to study.
It shouldn't take long to realize they were designed with the principle of security through obscurity (could you see anything else implemented for this use?) and defeat can be achieved by a 6 year old with a battery and a few paper clips.
Oh, and when that becomes the case, theft will increase again due to the relaxation of previous restrictions and safeguards. Retailers will probably up their prices a little bit to cover a new method of theft.
One evening just after dark a friend of mine was walking home and saw a car on his street slow down abruptly. It swerved towards the shoulder then took off, racing away and around the corner. He went inside and within a couple minutes he heard sirens. There were half a dozen police cars blocking off his street, and a bomb squad van a couple houses down. He stepped outside to ask the police what was going on; apparently the guy had seen a pipe bomb in the street, which was why he sped off. My friend was told to remain inside until further notice.
15 minutes later there was a knock on his door. A police officer told him it was ok to come outside, it was a false alarm. Asked what the suspicious object was, if it wasn't a pipe bomb, the officer explained that it was a "large dildo".
If they lowered the price to $400 that would be a fantastic discount from where they are now, and would be so wonderful for the people who are waiting to buy one that Sony won't do it. There are some people waiting who would buy after a much smaller discount, so Sony would be losing lots of money if they make an immediate $200 cut.
For example: I _loved_ the first Xbox, own a 360, want a Wii badly, and have a great distaste for Sony's marketing/PR practices and the company in general. But if Sony lowered the $600 PS3 to $400, I would buy one as soon as I possibly could. I'd probably even ignore their previous actions long enough to buy a few games.
Wow. I kept searching for the date. It had to be April 1st right? Right? Nope.
So if a DVD is too small and is impacting their goal, why not use a second disc? I know the whole map will have to be available, among other things, so much of the data would have to be duplicated on the second disc, but there has to be a way they can separate some of the missions onto the first disc. Then once most of the missions are complete they won't ever need that data again.. So the gamer switches discs.