Built in check engine code that goes off at a certain mileage? I never heard of this. The 2003 Accord I own, the 2000 Audi A4 I used to own, and the 1998 Chevy Lumina my mother owns all have "Maintenance Required" (or similar sounding) lights that go off after a determined mileage, reminding you to get some basic maintenance done (oil change, check fluids, etc.). This light is NOT the same as the check engine light.
Besides, the Audi had a 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty where EVERYTHING is covered except for brake pads, tires, and wiper blades. Oil changes are free, as well as anything else that needs to be taken care of, so there's no real incentive for them to keep you coming in for service.
I had several of these "Check Engine" errors where the dealership couldn't find out the problem. In fact, it happened three times within one week (once coming on as I drove out of the dealership after having it cleared), so this certainly WASN'T based on mileage. Eventually they determined that they had loaded the wrong firmware version in the instrument cluster (at least that's what they told me, and I never had the problem since then).
I mostly ride dirt bikes, where sometimes I like to lock my rear tire to slide around a turn. Fotunately, I don't think ABS will be required on off-road-only bikes.
Does your Vespa have an automatic transmission or CVT?
On some programs, notably syndicated shows, a red flag appears to indicate that the copyright holder has requested that TiVo devices not save a program past a certain date
So if that NFL game is flagged, "keep until I delete" won't work.
Mandated ABS on a motorcycle? I can see this being required on big cruisers like the Honda Goldwing, but what about sportbikes? I like being able to lock up the brake if I want to.
My 2000 Audi A4 did the same thing only it displayed large graphic alerts instead of text.
Unfortunately it was an Audi, so just about once a week there was a warning/alert. Many of the problems weren't actually probelms at all, rather faulty sensors.
One time my 'check engine' light came on. I took it to the dealer and when I returned to pick my car up I asked what the problem was. The technician said "It was a sporadic code. We don't know what the cause was, but we cleared it and the check engine light is off." That bothered me - how could you not know what caused the fault? If a fault triggers the check engine light, wouldn't that fault be stored so you can know what the problem is?
I sold it three months after the warranty expired and swore I would never buy another Audi (or VW).
I was shocked to learn this past weekend that DSL is availble at my parents' house in BFE Pennsylvania. My father just signed up for Verizon's 768/384 DSL, which is cheaper than the dialup service he had!
Meanwhile, DSL is NOT available where I live in relatively Suburban NJ (not rural) approximately 20 miles outside New York City. My house was built in 1995 and my parents' house was built sometime before 1895, and I would have expected that I could get it first.
For now I'm stuck paying out the ears for Comcast's monopoly Cable internet. I can't complain about the speed or service, but DSL if available would be 1/4 the price. Verizon says "were constantly upgrading our network and expanding our coverage. We'll contact you when DSL is available in your area!"
"I can't believe how fast this thing is. Why would they want to make a car that's supposed to be fast this fast? Stupid Ferrari..."
There are cars out there that are MUCH faster than a Ferrari and much less expensive. Most Ferrari owners bought them not just for the speed, but for the name, the sound, the feel, and the image.
I guess in a way the same thing can be said about the iPod. Sure you can get cheaper MP3 players that may even have more features or better audio quality, but the iPod has the name, the image, and an overall good 'feel' that makes it stand out among the rest.
The one and only time I went into an Apple store there was a herd of people oohing and aahing around the massive widescreen LCD that Apple makes.
Meanwhile, I saw a lonely Mac Mini sitting all by itself (attached to a keyboard/mouse/monitor of course) and no one was playing with it. I was impressed by the size of it and almost bought one on the spot however in the back of my mind I kept hearing that "Intel Inside" sound that Intel uses in their commercials. I'm not crazy about dropping a few hundred dollars on a system that has a G4 when the G5 won't even be used in the near future. I'm in serious need of a PC upgrade at home and I'd be happy to switch back to Mac (once a loyal fan/user in the early 90s) though it doesn't make much sense at the moment. Perhaps when Apple starts selling Intel-equipped boxes I can pick up a Mac Mini at half the original cost.
When the whole outrage broke out, I was in Target looking at video games and noticed a sign in place of the GTA:SA stock that read, "Due to mature content, Target will no longer carry Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"
While I was reading it, I noticed some little kid buying the latest Fiddy Cent CD. Target stocks a ton of rap CDs, and doesn't restrict sales. I find it odd that a kid can't buy GTA because of some pixellated pr0n, but it's perfectly OK to buy a CD of someone rapping about sexual acts (in some cases violent sexual acts).
Perhaps this new slashdot code they're talking about will allow us to edit little mistakes like that after we've made them. Of course, there's always the preview button which works for me.
The sweet spot for diesel engines is in the lower-RPM, higher-torque regime, so a diesel-electric hybrid would have two engines that work well in city traffic, and none that works well on the freeway.
If diesel engines don't work well on freeways, then why does every single truck have a diesel engine?
We don't have gas-turbine hybrids for the same reasons we don't have gas-turbine locomotives. There were a few developed back in the sixties I believe, however they were never practical for one simple reason.
Gas turbines are super efficient when they're running and the vehicle (whether it be a Jet, Car, Tank, or Locomotive) is moving at a constant speed however they're extremely inefficient when they idle and when their speed is varied. Since locomotives often spend quite a bit of time idling while waiting for signals, they'd be consuming a ton of fuel.
Within 5 seconds of viewing their page, that's the first thing I noticed. When I browse a website such as Slashdot or CNN with news articles, I always right click and choose "open in new tab" then browse through the tabs reading each story one by one. I found a nice news article on start.com, I went to right click and all sorts of strange things happened.
For this same reason (among others) I don't use hotmail anymore. It's a real pain in the ass when I can't open a link in a new tab; hotmail only allows me to click on the link so it can pop up another browser window (instead of allowing me to open the link within a new tab)
Hotmail has gone down the shitter. It used to be decent even though it's from MS. Now I can't even log in to hotmail anymore without typing the "@hotmail.com" after my account name.
Once again, Google got things right and now Microsoft is playing catch-up yet failing miserably. Of course your average joe PC user who buys his new PC from best buy loaded with a free MSN trial will probably be completely satisfied with all MS services such as start.com.. then again maybe that same guy has heard enough about google in the media to go an check it out and see how much better it really is.
I was wondering the same thing. I have an old PIII 450MHz system with 128MB RAM and recently installed FreeBSD on it. Once Gnome is up and running, it's painfully slow.
So, ubuntu or debian is the way to go on older hardware?
What about a screen with the size/quality of a PSP? They're ridiculously tiny and it hurts my eyes to watch a whole movie like that.
I like the idea of using video glasses. I remember trying a pair on at the 2004 Embedded Systems Conference - there was a big screen projected in front of me.
That's what I'm thinking. I'm somewhat familiar with Linux (and I even have a box running FreeBSD at the moment) though I just learned that Linux doesn't even support GIF images because they use a proprietary algorithm (which the last known patent/rights are set to expire in 2007?)
More power to Linux... now if only I can convince my wife that it's not just for nerds.
Every time someone tries to implement DRM, it doesn't succeed. Ok, maybe that's not entirely true as lots of people buy DRM infested songs from iTunes. There are still plenty of ways around that however. You can buy a CD and still rip it into a format of your choice, without DRM.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that there are still DRM-free alternatives available. What is going to happen when DRM is FORCED upon consumers like in this example? The only way this can be accomplished is by scrapping existing technology (i.e. no more DVDs and CDs using today's standards).
I can promise you that I will not be upgrading anytime soon. When that happens, it'll be time to invest even more heavily in outdoor gear - new bicycles, motorcycles, kayaks, hiking gear, camping gear, fishing gear. Most of the music I listen to is already on my iPod and PC in a format I like (besides, most of the music I listen to has been recorded on analog equipment anyway - classic Black Sabbath, anyone?)
Slashdot Mirror
Besides, the Audi had a 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty where EVERYTHING is covered except for brake pads, tires, and wiper blades. Oil changes are free, as well as anything else that needs to be taken care of, so there's no real incentive for them to keep you coming in for service.
I had several of these "Check Engine" errors where the dealership couldn't find out the problem. In fact, it happened three times within one week (once coming on as I drove out of the dealership after having it cleared), so this certainly WASN'T based on mileage. Eventually they determined that they had loaded the wrong firmware version in the instrument cluster (at least that's what they told me, and I never had the problem since then).
Does your Vespa have an automatic transmission or CVT?
On some programs, notably syndicated shows, a red flag appears to indicate that the copyright holder has requested that TiVo devices not save a program past a certain date
So if that NFL game is flagged, "keep until I delete" won't work.
Mandated ABS on a motorcycle? I can see this being required on big cruisers like the Honda Goldwing, but what about sportbikes? I like being able to lock up the brake if I want to.
One time my 'check engine' light came on. I took it to the dealer and when I returned to pick my car up I asked what the problem was. The technician said "It was a sporadic code. We don't know what the cause was, but we cleared it and the check engine light is off." That bothered me - how could you not know what caused the fault? If a fault triggers the check engine light, wouldn't that fault be stored so you can know what the problem is?
I sold it three months after the warranty expired and swore I would never buy another Audi (or VW).
Meanwhile, DSL is NOT available where I live in relatively Suburban NJ (not rural) approximately 20 miles outside New York City. My house was built in 1995 and my parents' house was built sometime before 1895, and I would have expected that I could get it first.
For now I'm stuck paying out the ears for Comcast's monopoly Cable internet. I can't complain about the speed or service, but DSL if available would be 1/4 the price. Verizon says "were constantly upgrading our network and expanding our coverage. We'll contact you when DSL is available in your area!"
There are cars out there that are MUCH faster than a Ferrari and much less expensive. Most Ferrari owners bought them not just for the speed, but for the name, the sound, the feel, and the image.
I guess in a way the same thing can be said about the iPod. Sure you can get cheaper MP3 players that may even have more features or better audio quality, but the iPod has the name, the image, and an overall good 'feel' that makes it stand out among the rest.
Is the "Double Double" Virus soon to follow?
Damn, I'm getting hungry just thinking about that. Someone remind me why I moved out of California?
Meanwhile, I saw a lonely Mac Mini sitting all by itself (attached to a keyboard/mouse/monitor of course) and no one was playing with it. I was impressed by the size of it and almost bought one on the spot however in the back of my mind I kept hearing that "Intel Inside" sound that Intel uses in their commercials. I'm not crazy about dropping a few hundred dollars on a system that has a G4 when the G5 won't even be used in the near future. I'm in serious need of a PC upgrade at home and I'd be happy to switch back to Mac (once a loyal fan/user in the early 90s) though it doesn't make much sense at the moment. Perhaps when Apple starts selling Intel-equipped boxes I can pick up a Mac Mini at half the original cost.
PS - I'm a "new" NJ resident
While I was reading it, I noticed some little kid buying the latest Fiddy Cent CD. Target stocks a ton of rap CDs, and doesn't restrict sales. I find it odd that a kid can't buy GTA because of some pixellated pr0n, but it's perfectly OK to buy a CD of someone rapping about sexual acts (in some cases violent sexual acts).
A terabyte? 640K ought to be enough for anybody.
Wow! You can live like a KING on $72K in D/FW!
Perhaps this new slashdot code they're talking about will allow us to edit little mistakes like that after we've made them. Of course, there's always the preview button which works for me.
If diesel engines don't work well on freeways, then why does every single truck have a diesel engine?
Gas turbines are super efficient when they're running and the vehicle (whether it be a Jet, Car, Tank, or Locomotive) is moving at a constant speed however they're extremely inefficient when they idle and when their speed is varied. Since locomotives often spend quite a bit of time idling while waiting for signals, they'd be consuming a ton of fuel.
Ever see a Diesel Locomotive?
yes, they did!
It still reeks of MS.. of couse the fact that I knew that before I visited it may have me biased.
Regardless of who made it, it looks and feels like crapola.
For this same reason (among others) I don't use hotmail anymore. It's a real pain in the ass when I can't open a link in a new tab; hotmail only allows me to click on the link so it can pop up another browser window (instead of allowing me to open the link within a new tab)
Hotmail has gone down the shitter. It used to be decent even though it's from MS. Now I can't even log in to hotmail anymore without typing the "@hotmail.com" after my account name.
Once again, Google got things right and now Microsoft is playing catch-up yet failing miserably. Of course your average joe PC user who buys his new PC from best buy loaded with a free MSN trial will probably be completely satisfied with all MS services such as start.com.. then again maybe that same guy has heard enough about google in the media to go an check it out and see how much better it really is.
So, ubuntu or debian is the way to go on older hardware?
I've been doing this for weeks now. The junk mail hasn't stopped, but at least I don't have to throw it away.
I like the idea of using video glasses. I remember trying a pair on at the 2004 Embedded Systems Conference - there was a big screen projected in front of me.
More power to Linux... now if only I can convince my wife that it's not just for nerds.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that there are still DRM-free alternatives available. What is going to happen when DRM is FORCED upon consumers like in this example? The only way this can be accomplished is by scrapping existing technology (i.e. no more DVDs and CDs using today's standards).
I can promise you that I will not be upgrading anytime soon. When that happens, it'll be time to invest even more heavily in outdoor gear - new bicycles, motorcycles, kayaks, hiking gear, camping gear, fishing gear. Most of the music I listen to is already on my iPod and PC in a format I like (besides, most of the music I listen to has been recorded on analog equipment anyway - classic Black Sabbath, anyone?)