I'm thinking the same thing. A camera.... you push the button, it takes a picture. Operating system? Seriously, who cares? I mean... WHO CARES?
Right... I'm off to see if there's any way I can install a mail server on my washing machine, or my toaster.
Same thing has been used in Europe for ages now. Not QR code, but a similar thing. Orange (Mobile operator) have been shipping devices with 'Mobile Tag' on for some time - think I last saw it on a Sony-Ericsson device. You can also download the software yourself.
You can have 'direct' tags (where the tag contains a small amount of information) or 'indirect' (where the tag contains a reference string which is passed to a URL to get the information. It can point to vCard, vCal etc, link to other web addresses and so on.
The software is available as native WinMobile or a java client, and with the right JSR support you don't need to take a picture, just point the camera phone at the advert, poster, computer screen and the tag will get spotted. I have a mobile tag in my e-mail sig at work, which points to a vCard containing all my contact information - yeah, I could attach a vCard, but it is my customer's technology so they like it. I can also have one on my business cards... other cool apps are company contacts details on adds and posters, "Don't forget to watch 'Lost' on Saturday" with a reminder vCal tag on the advert, "Visit our restaurant" with location details in the tag... I could go on...
So, yeah... well done Micro$oft for copying something then making a noise about it.
THE WHEEL! THE WHEEL! LOOK AT US... WE JUST INVENTED THE DAMNED WHEEL!!
So, a company owned by some people who can put a lot of capital up front has bought a fast jet, which they lease to NASA at a profit.
How does this translate into...
"OMG, the evil ones are spending money on fancy toys instead of giving all their money to disadvantaged kittens!!! EVIL... EEEVIIIIIILLLL"
Yep, I must be reading a different article to you. The one I read described a shop assistant and construction worker who owned his own jet ski. It also specifically said he wasn't selling his 'identity', even if there was a crap tag line about 'selling his life'.
I didn't realise that 'life' and 'identity' were synonymous.
Hang on... when we say article are we talking about the source material, or the crap summary?
"I mean a construction worker and a cashier is not going to own his own jet ski."
Joke, right?
The guy works as an assistant in a rug-store, apart from the stint that he had driving trucks at a mine. Sounds like this construction worker / cashier really does have his own jet-ski.
And he's not selling his 'identity', just his stuff.. and... oh for Pasta's sake, RTFA.
First, they cannot erode your consumer rights just because you installed or changed some software. After all, if they could do this then you'd be screwed just for installing your favourite freeware (not M$ approved) copy of Tetris.
Go back into the store and tell the manager this: There is no legal means by which he can deny you your rights just because of the use to which you put this machine. Also, he needs to prove that you have abused or neglected it.
Write a letter giving him 14-days to make a fair offer. Put 'Letter Before Action' at the top, and make it clear that if you get no response you will, without further notice, initiate legal procedding against HIM and the store. If he refers you to the manufacturer then point out that you bought the machine off HIM. Send a copy to the head office of Dixons Stores Group, just for the record. You would be able to use the small claims court, who love this kind of thing (Heh!), and you can file online.
You'll find a load of advice, and templates for legally correct sh1tty letters at http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/ bless'em. Dixons Stores Group - Currys, Dixons and of course PCs 'R' Us - have a special section devoted to their interpretation of consumer law.
I fell foul of it myself, years ago, when a cordless phone stopped working after 13 months.... "Outside the Warranty, mate. You'd best contact Philips directly" quoth the manager. Knowing what I know now, I'd have pointed out that the warranty is simply the period during which the store will not contest the value based on the use you have already had, but since the goods were not sold as 'disposable' and I could reasonably assume that they should have a life in excess of one year, then the store retains partial liability. Under the circumstances I should have asked for, say, 75% of the value back or hit him with a Letter Before Action.
Just to agree with your comments.... some of us want flash, not HDD.
I trashed my last iPod disk by wearing it in an armband when running. The anti-jitter couldn't cope, so it kept stopping & missing bits of tracks but for some reason I persisted. Then I done broke it, mom.
If you're exercising with your iPod, you probably want the flash version. If it currently isn't big enough, the HDD still isn't an option anyway, so roll on that cheap memory.
So... a curved bit of metal can function well as a curved bit of metal?
I've got a flat bit of metal here. Wonder if I can use it as some kind of plate?
There's a little known bit of software called Steam, from a small company called VALVe. They frequently update it, and announce weekly news automatically to their small subscriber base.
...and the amazing thing is VALVe PUBLICISED & LINKED 'NEWS AT SEVEN' THEMSELVES, ON STEAM, LAST WEEK.
Arrrghhh.
Call yourselves nerds? Pah! Surely News at Seven is Old Old Old News at Seven.
Phone theft is a fairly high percentage of personal crime, but stolen phones generate a low percentage of revenue for the operators. It IS in their interests to stop phone theft, cloning and other crimes: none of them want the attention of the regulatory authorities on this issue.
For what it's worth, I'm a front end architect in the phone industry. I'm not just talking out of my trousers here.
On your other point, yes, they can get your IMEI and ban your phone based on the number. And, as you said 'maybe some more info, or confirmed info'. There's the ID I said you'd need.
You may already have provided this when you got your contract deal. On the other hand, for a Pay As You Go purchase the only way the opco know this is for you to have sent in the guarantee card (or registration card, or similar). Without this they simply cannot attach you personally to the number, and therefore cannot ban the IMEI which matches the numher....Or maybe this would turn into the best ever practical joke, and you could get your mates' mobiles banned just from knowing their phone number...
Couple of things... not just GSM, but 3G phones too have an IMEI. Unfortunately, UK carriers do not properly implement network security, so they do not correctly keep records of who (person) owns what IMEI. The police MAY attempt to report the IMEI to carriers to cancel it, but it is not guaranteed, not least because number portability means that it is only usually possible to tell from an IMEI who the issuing carrier was, not the current carrier.
You should also have to provide a lot of ID to do this.
Just for info... the network 'sees' your phone as a combination of IMEI and IMSI (a similar number on the SIM card). Your phone number is just a human-friendly number allocated by the net. Blocking your IMEI does not block your number, or even render your SIM unuseable. Get a new phone, use the network backup facility (which you nerdily remembered to set up) to restore your settings/contacts etc and off you go.
Just remember, kids, the ONLY way to make sure this works is to fill in that little user survey / guarantee card that comes with your phone and TELL YOUR NETWORK WHAT YOUR IMEI IS. Otherwise forget it.
If every scum-sucker that stole a phone got it disabled within seconds this would soon stop.
Remember that the leading edge is facing backwards, too. In aerodynamic terms the rotor blade IS attempting to fly backwards.
If the 'copter is moving forwards at 100mph, and the rotor tips are doing 100mph then the retreating rotor tip is standing still in the air. At some point along the rotor, where it is moving backwards at, say, 50mph the rotor blade WILL be moving forwards (ie in the direction of travel) at 50mph, which in aerodynamic (ie lift) terms is actually travelling backwards through the air at 50mph.
What's relevant here is the movement in lift terms. Wings don't work when flying backwards (subject to angle of attack, of course) and as a helicopter's speed increases, an increasing length of the retreating rotor stops producing lift and may even work to pull the rotor disk downwards.
BTW, I managed to RTFA...
...aren't exactly a new idea, are they? We've been using them for years in RC models, for example. I'm pretty sure that they work as described in the article: a series of pulses go sequentially to the coils arranged around the motor.
Sure, they're expensive, but they're soooo fast and efficient. Sounds like these guys have just made a bigger one and are looking for some publicity...
Slashdot Mirror
I'm thinking the same thing. A camera.... you push the button, it takes a picture. Operating system? Seriously, who cares? I mean... WHO CARES?
Right... I'm off to see if there's any way I can install a mail server on my washing machine, or my toaster.
Same thing has been used in Europe for ages now. Not QR code, but a similar thing. Orange (Mobile operator) have been shipping devices with 'Mobile Tag' on for some time - think I last saw it on a Sony-Ericsson device. You can also download the software yourself.
You can have 'direct' tags (where the tag contains a small amount of information) or 'indirect' (where the tag contains a reference string which is passed to a URL to get the information. It can point to vCard, vCal etc, link to other web addresses and so on.
The software is available as native WinMobile or a java client, and with the right JSR support you don't need to take a picture, just point the camera phone at the advert, poster, computer screen and the tag will get spotted. I have a mobile tag in my e-mail sig at work, which points to a vCard containing all my contact information - yeah, I could attach a vCard, but it is my customer's technology so they like it. I can also have one on my business cards... other cool apps are company contacts details on adds and posters, "Don't forget to watch 'Lost' on Saturday" with a reminder vCal tag on the advert, "Visit our restaurant" with location details in the tag... I could go on...
So, yeah... well done Micro$oft for copying something then making a noise about it.
THE WHEEL! THE WHEEL! LOOK AT US... WE JUST INVENTED THE DAMNED WHEEL!!
It's just an old wise tale
Old wive's tale.
Old wives' tale.
sigh...
"a Typhoon-Eurofighter jet engine"? Funny, that's just how the BBC mis-named it, too.
Company name: Eurofighter
Aircraft name: Typhoon
So, that would be a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine, surely?
Right, I'm off home in my Golf-Volkswagen.
So, a company owned by some people who can put a lot of capital up front has bought a fast jet, which they lease to NASA at a profit.
How does this translate into...
"OMG, the evil ones are spending money on fancy toys instead of giving all their money to disadvantaged kittens!!! EVIL... EEEVIIIIIILLLL"
Knee-jerk.
We use bad car analogies here to inaccurately explain complex situations. Please revise your bad bucket analogy to conform. Tks.
Idiots.
those told to act suspicious were detected with 'about 78% accuracy
if ((subject ().GetShirt () == BLACK_AND_WHITE_STRIPED_SHIRT)
&& (subject ().Bag () == BIG_SACK_WITH_SWAG_WRITTEN_ON))
printf ("You're fucking NICKED");
There, done it.
3D Goatse? No. Just plain No.
How does this differ (in actual user benefit) from using the NFC quick pairing profile to auto-pair bluetooth devices? I'm not seeing it.
I didn't realise that 'life' and 'identity' were synonymous.
Hang on... when we say article are we talking about the source material, or the crap summary?
Joke, right?
The guy works as an assistant in a rug-store, apart from the stint that he had driving trucks at a mine. Sounds like this construction worker / cashier really does have his own jet-ski.
And he's not selling his 'identity', just his stuff.. and... oh for Pasta's sake, RTFA.
>>search for pr0n
"Why do you say search for pr0n?"
>>search for pr0n
"Stop repeating yourself"
0 results in 7 seconds. Powered by Eliza.
here... http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pictures/a-f/chou/Chou_micrographs.jpg
Oh... err.... assuming the duck was flying towards you. Doesn't work if it is flying away of course. Sorry... mumble mumble.
[hat, coat, cab]
Go back into the store and tell the manager this: There is no legal means by which he can deny you your rights just because of the use to which you put this machine. Also, he needs to prove that you have abused or neglected it.
Write a letter giving him 14-days to make a fair offer. Put 'Letter Before Action' at the top, and make it clear that if you get no response you will, without further notice, initiate legal procedding against HIM and the store. If he refers you to the manufacturer then point out that you bought the machine off HIM. Send a copy to the head office of Dixons Stores Group, just for the record. You would be able to use the small claims court, who love this kind of thing (Heh!), and you can file online.
You'll find a load of advice, and templates for legally correct sh1tty letters at http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/ bless'em. Dixons Stores Group - Currys, Dixons and of course PCs 'R' Us - have a special section devoted to their interpretation of consumer law.
I fell foul of it myself, years ago, when a cordless phone stopped working after 13 months.... "Outside the Warranty, mate. You'd best contact Philips directly" quoth the manager. Knowing what I know now, I'd have pointed out that the warranty is simply the period during which the store will not contest the value based on the use you have already had, but since the goods were not sold as 'disposable' and I could reasonably assume that they should have a life in excess of one year, then the store retains partial liability. Under the circumstances I should have asked for, say, 75% of the value back or hit him with a Letter Before Action.
Just to agree with your comments.... some of us want flash, not HDD.
I trashed my last iPod disk by wearing it in an armband when running. The anti-jitter couldn't cope, so it kept stopping & missing bits of tracks but for some reason I persisted. Then I done broke it, mom.
If you're exercising with your iPod, you probably want the flash version. If it currently isn't big enough, the HDD still isn't an option anyway, so roll on that cheap memory.
Oh... sorry... this is slashdot. Here's your link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise
Idiots.
So... a curved bit of metal can function well as a curved bit of metal? I've got a flat bit of metal here. Wonder if I can use it as some kind of plate?
...and the amazing thing is VALVe PUBLICISED & LINKED 'NEWS AT SEVEN' THEMSELVES, ON STEAM, LAST WEEK.
Arrrghhh.
Call yourselves nerds? Pah! Surely News at Seven is Old Old Old News at Seven.
Phone theft is a fairly high percentage of personal crime, but stolen phones generate a low percentage of revenue for the operators. It IS in their interests to stop phone theft, cloning and other crimes: none of them want the attention of the regulatory authorities on this issue.
...Or maybe this would turn into the best ever practical joke, and you could get your mates' mobiles banned just from knowing their phone number...
For what it's worth, I'm a front end architect in the phone industry. I'm not just talking out of my trousers here.
On your other point, yes, they can get your IMEI and ban your phone based on the number. And, as you said 'maybe some more info, or confirmed info'. There's the ID I said you'd need.
You may already have provided this when you got your contract deal. On the other hand, for a Pay As You Go purchase the only way the opco know this is for you to have sent in the guarantee card (or registration card, or similar). Without this they simply cannot attach you personally to the number, and therefore cannot ban the IMEI which matches the numher.
You should also have to provide a lot of ID to do this.
Just for info... the network 'sees' your phone as a combination of IMEI and IMSI (a similar number on the SIM card). Your phone number is just a human-friendly number allocated by the net. Blocking your IMEI does not block your number, or even render your SIM unuseable. Get a new phone, use the network backup facility (which you nerdily remembered to set up) to restore your settings/contacts etc and off you go.
Just remember, kids, the ONLY way to make sure this works is to fill in that little user survey / guarantee card that comes with your phone and TELL YOUR NETWORK WHAT YOUR IMEI IS. Otherwise forget it.
If every scum-sucker that stole a phone got it disabled within seconds this would soon stop.
In fact we subtract two from all positive European integers ...so American girls can still be size 14.
Remember that the leading edge is facing backwards, too. In aerodynamic terms the rotor blade IS attempting to fly backwards. If the 'copter is moving forwards at 100mph, and the rotor tips are doing 100mph then the retreating rotor tip is standing still in the air. At some point along the rotor, where it is moving backwards at, say, 50mph the rotor blade WILL be moving forwards (ie in the direction of travel) at 50mph, which in aerodynamic (ie lift) terms is actually travelling backwards through the air at 50mph. What's relevant here is the movement in lift terms. Wings don't work when flying backwards (subject to angle of attack, of course) and as a helicopter's speed increases, an increasing length of the retreating rotor stops producing lift and may even work to pull the rotor disk downwards. BTW, I managed to RTFA...
...aren't exactly a new idea, are they? We've been using them for years in RC models, for example. I'm pretty sure that they work as described in the article: a series of pulses go sequentially to the coils arranged around the motor. Sure, they're expensive, but they're soooo fast and efficient. Sounds like these guys have just made a bigger one and are looking for some publicity...