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User: peteMG

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Comments · 31

  1. Re:What about Netflix? on Battle of the Media Ecosystems: Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft · · Score: 1

    Also with iTunes I don't know how much I am going to be paying. At $2 minimum per show it would take a lazy rainy Saturday in this house to blow by my monthly fee for Netflix. I could see a household that didn't really monitor its iTunes to blow past $1000 in a month.

    Wait a sec. $1000 in a month at $34/season is 29 complete seasons of TV. You're going to watch that much in 31 days?

  2. Re:A Force Feedback Mouse Existed in 2000 on Consumer-Level Haptics On the Way · · Score: 1

    I worked for a consulting company in 2000-2001 that did a contract for Immersion. They developed the haptic tech that went into the Logitech mice. They hired us to put together some demos that showed off what the thing could do for the web. We brainstormed a couple different ideas; most involved the mouse vibrating when you moved the cursor over interesting areas of the page. For example, if you were reading a financial news page, and moused over a paragraph with stock ticker symbols, you could tell whether the stock was rising or falling by the behavior of the mouse.

    Yeah, the client was more excited about it than we were. We couldn't bring ourselves to call it haptic feedback. "It's a vibrating mouse "

  3. Re:I don't want perks on Google's Best Perk — Transport · · Score: 1

    If you enjoyed your job at google, and lived more than 45 minutes away from it by car in the bay area, you'd want the company shuttle - unless you cherish sitting in stop-and-go for an hour and a half each day, angrily watching your precious time waste away.

  4. It's the internet's fault. on Why Have Movies Been So Bad Lately? · · Score: 1

    .. for disguising the fact that movies aren't, on the whole, much worse than before. Two reasons:

    1. The internet is fun and engaging. There's less of a difference now between what used to be "boring, regular life" and the "fun cinema experience."
    2. The internet enables us to complain incessantly about every little thing that we didn't like about each movie. There's a lot more complaining than praise. This isn't the fault of the people or the topics (movies, in this case) -- it's just the nature of discussion boards.
  5. Re:But on Get Played. Get Paid. · · Score: 1

    But, if you were a /. reader, and somehow did manage -- perhaps the partner got paid -- to get laid, would the resulting clip get played?

    This is the big question.

  6. white blood cells on The CVS Cop-Out · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Chronic Leukemia, anyone?

  7. Re:Is tv still relevant? on Bill Would Outlaw Digital Receiver Recorders · · Score: 1
    I've noticed that my media consumption habits have changed. It used to be that I would buy several CD's a year; I don't think I've bought one in the last two years. Yes, I suppose I could easily bypass the copy protection, but why bother. If the record label is such a jerk that they attempt to keep control of what I now rightfully own, then they can keep their shiny plastic and I'll keep my money. No sense in encouraging scumbags anyway.

    Same here, but perhaps even more severe. When AudioGalaxy was around I bought 4-8 CDs a month, easily. I got a track or two from AG, evaluated it, and chose to buy, over and over again. I discovered new artists and styles of music. It was great.

    Since the day AudioGalaxy shut down, my music collection has expanded by only a small amount. I haven't used other illicit methods to get music. I've probably bought about 10 CDs since that time, most on the recommendations of friends. And a few tracks from iTunes, but not more than 50. It's sad!

    Perhaps I'm not a typical customer; it's still a shame that I so dramatically lost interest in new music. "Why Bother?" indeed.
  8. Re:I always found it amusing on Windows XP on Intel Mac Confirmed · · Score: 1
    After Jobs moved on to NeXt with their high res monochrome screens, I often have wondered if Steve Jobs is color blind.
    I suppose that would explain the Flower Power iMac ..
  9. Re:What I need to know on Ruby Off the Rails · · Score: 1

    Can someone mod this thread +5 Friendly?

    Most civil discussion I've ever seen on /. - perhaps it's the holiday spirit.

  10. Re:The Mac Experience - not all its cracked up to on 1 Million Windows to Mac Converts So Far in 2005 · · Score: 1

    Perhaps you might try running it on something other than your IIvx. (Still bitter?)

    Pages works nicely on my 800mhz Powerbook, circa 2002. It gets a little poky when I include lots of big images, but on text it's plenty fast.

  11. Re:You got to be kidding me on Blizzcon Writeup · · Score: 1

    rest bonus ftw!

  12. Re:Good News & Bad News on NASA's Shuttle Plans · · Score: 1
    after 25 years and countless billions of dollars wasted going in circles
    Isn't that the whole point of reaching earth orbit?
  13. the lost art of the downshift on Fuel-cell Vehicles for Americans · · Score: 1

    I've been wondering something for a couple years now, ever since the first electric cars came out, and more so now that I've seen the Prius and its peers..

    What's going to happen - when we've all got these newfangled cars that run on highly automated electrically powered systems - what's going to happen to the treasured art of driving a car with a manual transmission? When I head up a curvy mountain road, I get to do a lot more than just gas - brake - gas - brake. It's a challenge to do well, and feels like a kind of artistic expression at times. I love the sound of the engine as I come off the downshift and come whizzing into a turn, the feel of the accelleration when you know you've hit the sweet spot of second or third gear at just the right moment.. all of that. If they take away the stick, they may as well give me a voice-activated autopilot so I can get some sleep. Driving down Big Sur (for example) on cruise control will never hold a candle to catching up to a lumbering SUV, dropping two gears, and roaring by, with the cliffs on one side, the ocean on the other, and the "I know *exactly* what my car is doing" authority.

    So, will motorcycles be the last bastion of the art of the clutch? Or, could car manufacturers give us a "driver's edition" complete with stick shift and an audio system that gives us all that glorious noise? Something tells me.. it just won't feel the same.

  14. Re:I got to go there on New Lucas Headquarters To Open in San Francisco · · Score: 2, Informative

    You want to work there .. it's not impossible! I saw an image in a prior article a few weeks back which detailed the uses for each building in the project. About one and a half of them - a whole heck of a lot of space - were reserved for leasing to third parties, somewhat like other office co-ops in SF.

    In this SFGate image, it's the rightmost building and half of the one next to it that were slated for subleasing. So, get yourself into a little company and move the offices there!

    Ah, here we go. Various articles about the subleasing.

  15. Re:Already been done, an OSX virus on Large Prize Offered For Writing Mac Virus · · Score: 1
    There are others such as ... a sound driver virus.
    Did you read the link before pasting it directly in here from google? The software isn't a sound driver, it's Sound Diver, and is not a virus but part of their Virus product line.. http://www.access-music.de/support.php4
  16. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. on How to Build a Better Browser · · Score: 1

    And what is the point anyway? For all of my common sites, I easily remember the URL, and certainly don't need extra buttons cluttering the UI.

  17. Three months ago... on The Japanese/American Tech Deficit · · Score: 1

    .. I went to Japan for 10 days with my girlfriend, and spent 8 of them in Tokyo. Sure, I saw plenty of gadgets, went to Akihabara, the camera stores, looked at all the cellphones that folks were using on the JR.. and overall wasn't that impressed. Two things stood out for me. First, it seemed like nearly all the cell phones I saw were quite similar to each other, and were on the whole larger than I'd prefer; they've all been optimized for text messaging. I looked through nearly a dozen different small phone shops, and it seemed like they all carried the same thing.

    Second, I didn't see anything that I haven't seen from here via the web. I figured that if a company has the resources to design and build a lustworthy gadget, they're more than likely going to have the budget to market it internationally. If not, we're going to see it soon enough online (http://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+gadget+ne ws), and there are plenty of ways to get it over the ocean.

    So: I didn't see much there that had me instantly smitten, and what little I did, I've seen before.

    (Though I will say that the deep-dark-akihabara-maze-of-wires-and-connectors-a nd-chips-and-various-low-level-gadgetry was, indeed, quite cool and unlike anything I've ever seen here in the bay area)

  18. Re:Why travel on foot? on Chinese Team Heading for Coldest Spot on Earth · · Score: 1
    For reference, the Canadian army uses old-fashioned bolt-action rifles in the (much warmer) arctic because semi-automatic weapons are unreliable in that environment.
    To fight off ... who?
  19. Did anyone notice how nicely it's commented? on 'Opener' Malware Targets OS X · · Score: 3, Interesting
    .. Almost like they were tailoring it to an audience of scripting newbies. It even comes with a readme. It's like the iHack of rootkits. The source has great stuff like
    echo "nidump the password file"
    echo #lets grab this now in case anything goes wrong
    /usr/bin/nidump passwd .
    echo ""
    /usr/bin/nidump passwd /
    and
    # append some commands to the cron scripts
    # since both routines are checking the last line of the file they should not be using the same
    # file as they will both just keep appending!
    I'm surprised they didn't pop up a nice helpful dialog box if the script is killed - something like "For your information, your Mac has been taken over by another user. You may want to do some reading on security and protecting yourself. [OK]"
  20. Re:TiVo is a victim on The Programmer Who Could Save Tivo · · Score: 1
    Bill Gates is correct; the television viewing experience is really different from that of working on a computer.
    Wasn't that Steve Jobs?
    " Do you have any other thoughts about where your competitors are taking their strategies? For example, Windows Media PCs are computers attached to TV sets.

    Well, we've always been very clear on that. We don't think that televisions and personal computers are going to merge. We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on."
    2/2004 interview with macworld
  21. Re:Quality of Experience... on Doom 3 Gets Reviews, Piracy Questions, Exultation · · Score: 1

    What's keeping a developer from implementing protection on the executable, which could take the place of today's CD check, and then publish a torrent and sell unlock keys at an online store? The keys could use a has-this-key-been-used-before check while unlocking. Is there technically a reason why that kind of protection would be less effective than what they have now? They can keep the retail distribution and provide this new way for the hordes of impaitient folk.

    Publishers, however, may feel that such a method would make the retail distribution less profitable and decide to hold out for exclusivity in their contract...

  22. Rumors on Steve Jobs Undergoes Cancer Surgery · · Score: 5, Funny
    Perhaps the next big thing coming up is:
    • Apple announces they'll be at some big medical conference
    • It's found out that Steve is giving the keynote
    • He talks about Apple's work in biotech and other scientific applications..
    • one more thing...
    • "We've developed a new piece of software. We call it 'Doctor'. Together with some beautiful new hardware, it can really do amazing things.. and I'd like to show it to you now."
    • cue video of a PowerBook
    • performing the cancer surgery
    • on steve
    • by itself
    • conference center thrown into chaos; Steve escapes by helicopter
    • international frenzy ensues. Apple stock rises 339948290580% (profit)

    Best wishes for luck and a speedy recovery.
  23. Recursive wonderment on New Phone Uses WLAN or Cel Networks · · Score: 2, Funny
    So, assuming they could get this to work with 802.11(*) in general and I had more than one 802.11 card, could I:
    1. connect to the internet with the phone (if it had GPRS or equivalent)
    2. ship the connection to my laptop via bluetooth
    3. share that connection over a wireless card
    4. connect to the wireless with the phone
    5. GOTO 2
    6. ...
    7. Profit!
    ?
  24. Re:Nice Case on The Ultimate Nintendo Console · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Tough call. I look around in my apartment and everything that I see made of wood is:
    • big
    • heavy
    • more than a year old
    ... none of which are qualities I like to have in a piece of electronics. It's tough to make something out of wood and maintain the thin edges and the tiny buttons that are everywhere on today's gadgetry.

    I'm working on my laptop on a nice wood desk right now. Underneath it, however, are two black towers taking up floorspace, a subwoofer, and, of course, the wires... A better use of space and a nice project would be to have a desk that contained a couple drawers prefitted with ATX mounts, fans, and soundproofing foam. Need another PC? Slide open an empty drawer and load in the electronics. Cables all get routed around the back and status lights get routed to some blue LED's (of course) embedded in the surface of the desk and smoothed out so they're just part of the finish.

    Get Thos. Moser to build it and I'll send in a deposit today.
  25. Re:How do they reduce gravity? on Blogging a Ride on the 'Vomit Comet' · · Score: 0

    So, if one rides a theoretical space elevator sometime in the not-too-distant future, will there be a point where after getting lighter and lighter, one will finally float out of the chair? Or will the upwards acceleration (it's too early to think on physics just yet) of the elevator keep things on the floor until it stops?

    .. breakfast ..

    Hmm, no, there must be such a point. Ball on a string.. so at some point gravity on you will be balanced by the accelleration of you (essentially) in orbit. After that you'll start sitting on the ceiling. Right?