I didn't get her a Linux box because a Macbook has a much more user-friendly GUI, much better support, and a much better chance of being supported by the software she uses (including some obscure software she uses to interface with her sewing machine, which only comes in Windows and Mac flavors).
Linux is frustrating as hell even for *me*. The first time she calls with a problem and I tell her to open the command line interface, she's going to disown me (and then no more Christmas presents for me).
More than the Streisand Effect there. Not only does this make you look awful to POTENTIAL customers, it makes you look even worse to EXISTING customers, who you're asking to sign the form. If you walked into a restaurant and were met at the door by an employee asking you to sign a waiver indemnifying them in case of food poisoning, would you stay and eat, or run like hell (and NEVER come back)?
I've always said that Sony is the most control-freak tech company in the world (making even Nintendo and Apple look sedate by comparison), a company that would happily shoot itself in the foot rather than lose even an *inch* of control of it's media, it's IT, or its technology.
From the rootkit fiasco, their obsessive lockdown of blu-ray (which of course, was cracked), and (many) assorted other lawsuits--Sony has established itself as the kind of company who would happily put a spycamera in everyone's home to make sure that no one is watching a pirated copy of Spiderman 3 (though why anyone would want to watch even a free version of that or just about any other Sony movie is beyond me).
But now they've removed a little-used and fairly innocuous Linux feature from the PS3, and then busted a guy who jailbroke the machine in response. Not only did they send in thugs to kick his door down and take all his shit (then strongarm him into admitting guilt to something that, before the DMCA, wouldn't even be considered a crime), but they even went as far as to try to force ISP's to hand over the identities of everyone who even DISCUSSED the hack on his website or blog.
I feel equally sorry for anyone who promotes a piece of software just because it's FOSS.
This article was little more than a slashvertisement for a piece of software whose only merit is that it's FOSS. And it's full of a bunch of laughable hyperbole about it being some iTunes-killer to boot.
It's completely different because they've been changing it for 30 years. I suspect it will be even more different 20 years from now, when it's still being developed.
Skylon is a privatized continuation of HOTOL. When the British government defunded HOTOL in the late 80's, the HOTOL designer Alan Bond formed Reaction Engines and continued his work on a private version of the spaceplane, now renamed Skylon.
And I have plenty of respect for the ESA. But that doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I think this thing is ever going to fly (or live up to the considerable hype).
Translation: We've got public domain crap, idiots talking to their webcams, sucky indie bands who need to practice more and promote less, and that's about it--unless you want to pirate.
Seriously, the summary is trying to promote this as an iTunes competitor? Really? I hate Apple crap, and even *I* know that iTunes is way better than this.
Okay, you can all mod me down now for daring to criticize an open-source project. You know you want to.
Groom Lake was supposedly abandoned for a long time, and supposedly the security patrols stopped and the cameras stopped operating. But more recently, I saw reports that they had re-opened it (maybe they were testing that Air Force space shuttle there or some other anti-terrorist spy gear there).
I just got a funny image in my head of Sony's IT Department. I pictured a retarded guy sitting in a corner, banging randomly on a keyboard that isn't even attached to a computer, repeating to himself "I'm SMART."
Trailers are fine. Car ads, deodorant ads, soda ads, etc, are not. I remember the first time they started showing those kind of ads in theaters (believe it was back in the early 90's, here in the U.S. anyway) and how the theater chains swore up and down that it was just a one-time promotional thing. Up until then they would just show trailers (and back in the 70's, you might even get a cartoon or short).
Of course, I knew that once they got started, it would just snowball. They've made movie-going such a painful experience that I can't imagine going back. The outrageous prices are one thing (concessions have always been overpriced, and it's how theaters have traditionally made their money--fine). But the ads have gone too far. If that's the only way a theater or theater chain can make money, then they need to find a new business model. Because my home theater can beat that. and if they start forcing me to watch cars ads on my blu-ray, I'll just turn to piracy (then they won't be getting ANY of my money).
And they can shove their overrated, overpriced 3D up their asses too (or rather, shove it up their asses in T H R E E D I M E N S I O N S ! ! ! ).
This spaceplane is still in the concept phase. They're not even planning to build it until the 2020's. Right now it's all just fund-raising and hype. All this review says is "Well, it COULD work."
In fact, this thing has apparently just the latest version of a spaceplane that has been in the development stage since 1982 (no, that's not a mistake--1982), and has already went through quite a bit of government and private money, with little more to show for it than some concept art and promises. Add to this the fact that they're emphasizing cause-du-jour selling points like "the environmentally-friendly green rocket" in their promotional literature, and I'm a little skeptical.
More power to them if they can build it though. The real first test will come when they're supposed to actually build a test engine this summer. Deliver something to me in the real world that actually works, and you'll get my attention.
Not only that, but the advertisements have just become absolutely insane. I made the mistake of showing up to a movie on-time recently. And for the low-low price of a $10 ticket and $6 popcorn, I was treated to *20 minutes* of commercials and trailers (not including the slideshow at the beginning). After watching my second car commercial, I realized that I was giving up on theaters entirely. It's bad enough I have to skip through 6-7 trailers on every blu-ray I buy.
This is actually due to the fact that Sony digital projectors are so locked down with DRM that even changing the lens requires all kinds of password checks (which can potentially lock the camera down if not done correctly).
Sadly, this is one of the problems that digital projectors were *supposed* to fix. For years, it was a infamous practice for theater managers to extend projector bulb life by reducing the power of the lamp. Since most people don't notice (having no idea how the movie is *supposed* to look), they could get away with it. Roger Ebert in particular complained about this practice for decades (even organizing protests at certain theaters engaging in the practice). When digital projection came along, one of the selling points was that it produced a much more consistent image (and managers couldn't futz with it--reducing bulb strength, etc.).
Now, thanks to our good friends at Sony, it would seem like we're right back where we started from (maybe even worse, since this produces an even darker image than one of the celluloid projectors at half power).
If the "App" is short for "Apple" (as they're presumably arguing), then that means that they're calling their online applications store the "Apple Store," which seems to conflict with their physical hardware-oriented stores of the same name. Methinks that would indicated that "Apple" was not what they meant there.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to the Beatles on the Apple record label. Of course, in that case, Apple argued that "Apple" was a generic term. I guess things have changed.
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I didn't get her a Linux box because a Macbook has a much more user-friendly GUI, much better support, and a much better chance of being supported by the software she uses (including some obscure software she uses to interface with her sewing machine, which only comes in Windows and Mac flavors).
Linux is frustrating as hell even for *me*. The first time she calls with a problem and I tell her to open the command line interface, she's going to disown me (and then no more Christmas presents for me).
More than the Streisand Effect there. Not only does this make you look awful to POTENTIAL customers, it makes you look even worse to EXISTING customers, who you're asking to sign the form. If you walked into a restaurant and were met at the door by an employee asking you to sign a waiver indemnifying them in case of food poisoning, would you stay and eat, or run like hell (and NEVER come back)?
I've always said that Sony is the most control-freak tech company in the world (making even Nintendo and Apple look sedate by comparison), a company that would happily shoot itself in the foot rather than lose even an *inch* of control of it's media, it's IT, or its technology.
From the rootkit fiasco, their obsessive lockdown of blu-ray (which of course, was cracked), and (many) assorted other lawsuits--Sony has established itself as the kind of company who would happily put a spycamera in everyone's home to make sure that no one is watching a pirated copy of Spiderman 3 (though why anyone would want to watch even a free version of that or just about any other Sony movie is beyond me).
But now they've removed a little-used and fairly innocuous Linux feature from the PS3, and then busted a guy who jailbroke the machine in response. Not only did they send in thugs to kick his door down and take all his shit (then strongarm him into admitting guilt to something that, before the DMCA, wouldn't even be considered a crime), but they even went as far as to try to force ISP's to hand over the identities of everyone who even DISCUSSED the hack on his website or blog.
Well, was it worth it, Sony?
I figured I would finally get my mom a computer that even *she* couldn't get infected, so guess what I got her for Mother's Day?
Bloody hell.
I feel equally sorry for anyone who promotes a piece of software just because it's FOSS.
This article was little more than a slashvertisement for a piece of software whose only merit is that it's FOSS. And it's full of a bunch of laughable hyperbole about it being some iTunes-killer to boot.
It's completely different because they've been changing it for 30 years. I suspect it will be even more different 20 years from now, when it's still being developed.
1. We're all here to represent our corporate campaign donors, not our citizens.
2. There are no other rules.
Good luck stopping him. And if you try, good luck when the CIA sets you up on a rape charge.
Skylon is a privatized continuation of HOTOL. When the British government defunded HOTOL in the late 80's, the HOTOL designer Alan Bond formed Reaction Engines and continued his work on a private version of the spaceplane, now renamed Skylon.
And I have plenty of respect for the ESA. But that doesn't have anything to do with whether or not I think this thing is ever going to fly (or live up to the considerable hype).
FOSS-speak: "Open media"
Translation: We've got public domain crap, idiots talking to their webcams, sucky indie bands who need to practice more and promote less, and that's about it--unless you want to pirate.
Seriously, the summary is trying to promote this as an iTunes competitor? Really? I hate Apple crap, and even *I* know that iTunes is way better than this.
Okay, you can all mod me down now for daring to criticize an open-source project. You know you want to.
No, I'm saying that a design that has sucked money for 30 years without producing anything more than some concept art is probably just a money sink.
Groom Lake was supposedly abandoned for a long time, and supposedly the security patrols stopped and the cameras stopped operating. But more recently, I saw reports that they had re-opened it (maybe they were testing that Air Force space shuttle there or some other anti-terrorist spy gear there).
No, they're loons too.
I just got a funny image in my head of Sony's IT Department. I pictured a retarded guy sitting in a corner, banging randomly on a keyboard that isn't even attached to a computer, repeating to himself "I'm SMART."
Maybe it runs on fairy dust.
Trailers are fine. Car ads, deodorant ads, soda ads, etc, are not. I remember the first time they started showing those kind of ads in theaters (believe it was back in the early 90's, here in the U.S. anyway) and how the theater chains swore up and down that it was just a one-time promotional thing. Up until then they would just show trailers (and back in the 70's, you might even get a cartoon or short).
Of course, I knew that once they got started, it would just snowball. They've made movie-going such a painful experience that I can't imagine going back. The outrageous prices are one thing (concessions have always been overpriced, and it's how theaters have traditionally made their money--fine). But the ads have gone too far. If that's the only way a theater or theater chain can make money, then they need to find a new business model. Because my home theater can beat that. and if they start forcing me to watch cars ads on my blu-ray, I'll just turn to piracy (then they won't be getting ANY of my money).
And they can shove their overrated, overpriced 3D up their asses too (or rather, shove it up their asses in T H R E E D I M E N S I O N S ! ! ! ).
This spaceplane is still in the concept phase. They're not even planning to build it until the 2020's. Right now it's all just fund-raising and hype. All this review says is "Well, it COULD work."
In fact, this thing has apparently just the latest version of a spaceplane that has been in the development stage since 1982 (no, that's not a mistake--1982), and has already went through quite a bit of government and private money, with little more to show for it than some concept art and promises. Add to this the fact that they're emphasizing cause-du-jour selling points like "the environmentally-friendly green rocket" in their promotional literature, and I'm a little skeptical.
More power to them if they can build it though. The real first test will come when they're supposed to actually build a test engine this summer. Deliver something to me in the real world that actually works, and you'll get my attention.
Not only that, but the advertisements have just become absolutely insane. I made the mistake of showing up to a movie on-time recently. And for the low-low price of a $10 ticket and $6 popcorn, I was treated to *20 minutes* of commercials and trailers (not including the slideshow at the beginning). After watching my second car commercial, I realized that I was giving up on theaters entirely. It's bad enough I have to skip through 6-7 trailers on every blu-ray I buy.
This is actually due to the fact that Sony digital projectors are so locked down with DRM that even changing the lens requires all kinds of password checks (which can potentially lock the camera down if not done correctly).
Sadly, this is one of the problems that digital projectors were *supposed* to fix. For years, it was a infamous practice for theater managers to extend projector bulb life by reducing the power of the lamp. Since most people don't notice (having no idea how the movie is *supposed* to look), they could get away with it. Roger Ebert in particular complained about this practice for decades (even organizing protests at certain theaters engaging in the practice). When digital projection came along, one of the selling points was that it produced a much more consistent image (and managers couldn't futz with it--reducing bulb strength, etc.).
Now, thanks to our good friends at Sony, it would seem like we're right back where we started from (maybe even worse, since this produces an even darker image than one of the celluloid projectors at half power).
Duh, he's that jazz saxophonist who used to work with Miles Davis.
I'll leave the specifics to the accountants.
All they need to do is add a bunch more PSN subscribers, and they can make it up in monthly subscription fees.
Problem solved. You're welcome, Sony.
Actually, I fly on private jets all the time. But, admittedly, it would be nice not to have to stowaway for once.
Graphene is strong enough for crisp packets. Adamantium is strong enough for potato chip bags.
If the "App" is short for "Apple" (as they're presumably arguing), then that means that they're calling their online applications store the "Apple Store," which seems to conflict with their physical hardware-oriented stores of the same name. Methinks that would indicated that "Apple" was not what they meant there.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to listen to the Beatles on the Apple record label. Of course, in that case, Apple argued that "Apple" was a generic term. I guess things have changed.