Perhaps they are planning to distribute software on disposable DVDs to reduce pirating...and so they could get rid of the activation BS that everyone hates. Maybe I'm just not seeing any business purpose for MS getting into the movie distribution business. They don't seem to do entertainment that well.
"Microsoft chairman Bill Gates today said the goal of the plan is to connect every computing device, from desktop PCs to cell phones, and tie them to the Internet. In that scenario, all data will be synchronized, allowing consumers and workers to access the Internet, email, calendars and important files, regardless of what device they're using. The plan is to offer software over the Web as a service."
From where I sit, and 5 years later, I see Google agressively attempting this while MS is bogged down in the world of fat clients and fixing security flaws. I just can't see an organization being able to serve both needs well...perhaps this may signal the end to an overly ambitious goal.
After hurricane Hugo struck South Carolina in '89, my college buddies and I spent most of our time inland, chopping up fallen trees and piling debris. If I had to go through another Hugo experience, I'd bring:
Chainsaws (for obvious reasons)
Gloves, ear plugs, safety glasses,
Stump pulling chain
Tire patch kits, nail puller, pump (there were roofing nails everywhere and numerous flats)
Tylenol
Simple toys for young kids (like Barbie dolls and little plastic farm animals)
Books and CDs/CD players for older kids
Fortunately, we didn't have to deal with the flooding, homelessness and despair that you will surely face...so my experience may not be that helpful. Good luck. My prayers are with you.
With the [mostly] crappy music that's being produced these days, this just makes it even more difficult to market to grumpy people like me.
When are they going to make a cool cassette decks for the PC? Try to DRM my Dark Side of the Moon tape, FMrs! You don't need digital quality sound to appreciate a good Floyd song.
...and all the other programs that could do just enough to help you get a document written and printed. I don't need all the extra features; I just end up spending the whole day screwing with the style settings or getting the stupid autonumbers to work.
And while you're at it, bring back DOS! I miss my batch files.
--
Today's Anger Level: Orange/Red - Major production push underway. Don't tell me you screwed up.
For those who like pictures, these links show the number of storms and their paths for each 10 year period. It's interesting to compare 1931-1940 to 1941-1950. Perhaps we are just getting started.
Figures 1 through 10 show the landfalling portion of the tracks of major hurricanes that have struck the United States 1901-1999 (there were no major hurricane strikes on the United States in 2000). The reader might note the tendency for the major hurricane landfalls to cluster in certain areas during certain decades. Another interesting point is the tendency for this clustering to occur in the latter half of individual decades in one area and in the first half of individual decades in another area. During the very active period of the thirties this clustering is not apparent.
--
Today's Anger Level: Orange - Easily irritated by little things.
Yes, I was being sarcastic and/or pretending to write for cable news.
It's widely accepted that you can add legitimacy to any bogus statement by using the "science" or "experts have said" in the same sentence? Oh, and "widely accepted" is another one to use for extra ump.
Slush Puppies are the cubic zirconia of frozen beverages. Nothing more than a half-melted snow cone. I will not be celebrating the event of its birth.
ICEEs are older, better, and help you get girls
on
The Slurpee at 40
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Where I grew up, they were called ICEEs (say Ice-E) even at the 7-11. Anyone who called it a Slurpee was a pansy.
The ICEE has been around more than 45 years and the first ICEE machine was sold in 1960. The Kansas City Starhas a good history on the Frizz/ICEE/Slurpee and its inventor, Omar Knedlik:
..."A pre-mix of most any flavor is placed inside the machine. There it is put under pressure. Any liquid increases in density when pressurized. Release of the pressure causes it to freeze. So when the liquid pours from the machine it freezes as it hits the cup."
I suspect someone at 7-11 HQ has been screwing around with the settings, because a Slurpee is more liquidy than a ICEE. This appears to allow for faster consumption, which results in more brain freezing, which provides for a less enjoyable experience.
As far as helping you hookup, the official ICEE cup is predominately blue and red. Time and again science has proven that women are attracted to blue and men are attracted to pink and red. Combine the higher brain freeze rate of the Slurpee and there's no lovin' tonight for Johnny.
So there. Now stop calling it Slurpee! It's ICEE! It's pissing me off.
--
Today's anger level: Yellow - Irritated for no reason
Issue 1: The device appears to be dependent on relatively small hip movements of "1.6 to 2.7 inches (4 to 7 cm)" and the testing was done on a treadmill. I wonder if the hip movement is significantly different if walking up or down an incline. How about when jogging? Do tall people generate more electricty than short people?
Issue 1: All the energy is still coming from your legs, so the increased efficiency is really important if you don't want to work harder. It seems to me that moving 80 pounds at 2 mi/hr is going to consume a lot of energy before we can even start to make any electricity. The efficiency increase better be huge or I'm going to drop dead after the first 10 minutes!
My wife is constantly getting these stupid lottery card-like coupons that say "You can save 5% - 75% on your next purchase!" but where you're not allowed to reveal the amount of your savings until you reach to check out counter.
It would be nice to know if you have a lame 5%-off coupon before you head off to the local JCP.
What about all the people who work at places where their browser is chosen for them?
Supposedly, the economy is strong and more people are finding jobs. If a company like the one I work for hires 5,000 new people over the next year, then there will be 5,000 more people forced to use IE. On the same thought, if my company were to adopt Firefox as the standard, then there would suddenly be 100,000 new Firefox users and 100,000 fewer IE users. Multiply that by the Fortune 500 and you've got a real dent in the IE numbers.
The decision to switch browsers in a standardized environment isn't left to individual users. The people making the decision are afraid (and rightfully so) they'd lose their job if they screw up. Call it peer pressure or fear, but you'll find very few people in these environments that are willing to make a decision that goes against what everyone else is doing. No one will get fired for sticking with IE (or they'd be gone by now), but heads will roll if your name is on a FFox deployment and a nasty worm hits your company.
The Emperor has holes in his clothes (and his browser, PnP, and OS) but no one will say anything.
They don't require pee tests at your company because the have a secret line that taps into the sewer line of your building.
But how do you get a blood sample or cheek swab from an employee without their consent? A fake blood drive? I guess they told a lie at some point...can an employer legally lie about the purpose of a test?
"The ethical considerations of such testing, covert and illicit or not, are profound for those of us working in the IT industry."
Funny, I read the actual article and I don't feel like I'm going to lose my job because of the way my nucleotides are paired up.
The debate might as well be over whether or not my employer is obligated to protect me from a job that, due to my genes, will hurt me.
If I own a peanut butter factory, shouldn't I be concerned about hiring people who are allergic to peanuts? Can I be sued if I hire someone who could die if they are exposed to the excess amounts of peanut protein floating in the air?
The Bu$h administration has slowly replaced all the pro-consumer people (read "democrats") in the FCC (and for that matter, most other regulatory agencies) so that it is now more big-bu$ine$$ friendly. Republican$ tend to refer to it in happy terms, like "removing the barriers to free enterprise," but leave out the part "...at the expense of the little guys." Raising the expenses of the smaller DSL providers will only result in higher prices across the board, as the lack of upward price controls will cause those with lower expenses to seek larger profits.
But, then who makes up a larger part of the Republican$' base? Verizon or Speakeasy? SBC or AOL? "Jeb/Frist 2008" sounds like a great tax shelter/investment for those extra profits.
Remember back when it was cool to add ".com" to your company name? Marketing dorks said, "It will enhance our brand image and make us a leader in the New Economy!" Yeah, right. This case dates back to transactions that took place during that period.
In 1998-99 the Borders Online return policy stated:
"You may return items purchased at Borders.Com to any Borders Books and Music store within 30 days of the date the item was shipped. All returns must
be accompanied by a valid packing slip (your online receipt and shipping notification are
not valid substitutes for a packing slip on returns to stores). " (bolds added)
With a policy like this, CA (and probably any other state in need of some extra cash) could argue that the online company was just an extension of the brick-and-mortar Borders stores located in the state.
Let's say I'm sitting here in the Caymans, selling lemonade online. I've contracted with a loosely organized network of 7-year old kids, who deliver the actual product through a series of sidewalk stands across CA. I collect $.25/cup and I pay each kid $.10/cup they deliver. Am I liable for sales tax in this case? If so, how much?
Now pretend I sell books and that I have contracted with UPS to be my sole delivery service. Since UPS has outlets in CA, I tell my customers to make their returns at any UPS Store. Do I need to pay sales tax because of my implied presence in CA? If so, do I pay tax on the price paid for the product or for the delivery?
Slashdot Mirror
Perhaps they are planning to distribute software on disposable DVDs to reduce pirating...and so they could get rid of the activation BS that everyone hates. Maybe I'm just not seeing any business purpose for MS getting into the movie distribution business. They don't seem to do entertainment that well.
That's it?! I hope the webcast had more juice than this press release.
How about spouses of U of R grads? Do we count? I've even been to a Meliora weekend and eaten in The Pit. That should be worth something.
- Chainsaws (for obvious reasons)
- Gloves, ear plugs, safety glasses,
- Stump pulling chain
- Tire patch kits, nail puller, pump (there were roofing nails everywhere and numerous flats)
- Tylenol
- Simple toys for young kids (like Barbie dolls and little plastic farm animals)
- Books and CDs/CD players for older kids
Fortunately, we didn't have to deal with the flooding, homelessness and despair that you will surely face...so my experience may not be that helpful. Good luck. My prayers are with you.WhooHooo! I'm gettin' one of these!
With the [mostly] crappy music that's being produced these days, this just makes it even more difficult to market to grumpy people like me.
When are they going to make a cool cassette decks for the PC? Try to DRM my Dark Side of the Moon tape, FMrs! You don't need digital quality sound to appreciate a good Floyd song.
And while you're at it, bring back DOS! I miss my batch files.
--
Today's Anger Level: Orange/Red - Major production push underway. Don't tell me you screwed up.
Clipped from the report, The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes from 1900 to 2000:
(1901-1910), (1911-1920), (1921-1930), (1931-1940), (1941-1950), (1951-1960), (1961-1970), (1971-1980), (1981-1990), (1991-2000)
Figures 1 through 10 show the landfalling portion of the tracks of major hurricanes that have struck the United States 1901-1999 (there were no major hurricane strikes on the United States in 2000). The reader might note the tendency for the major hurricane landfalls to cluster in certain areas during certain decades. Another interesting point is the tendency for this clustering to occur in the latter half of individual decades in one area and in the first half of individual decades in another area. During the very active period of the thirties this clustering is not apparent.
--
Today's Anger Level: Orange - Easily irritated by little things.
It's widely accepted that you can add legitimacy to any bogus statement by using the "science" or "experts have said" in the same sentence? Oh, and "widely accepted" is another one to use for extra ump.
Slush Puppies are the cubic zirconia of frozen beverages. Nothing more than a half-melted snow cone. I will not be celebrating the event of its birth.
The ICEE has been around more than 45 years and the first ICEE machine was sold in 1960. The Kansas City Starhas a good history on the Frizz/ICEE/Slurpee and its inventor, Omar Knedlik:
I suspect someone at 7-11 HQ has been screwing around with the settings, because a Slurpee is more liquidy than a ICEE. This appears to allow for faster consumption, which results in more brain freezing, which provides for a less enjoyable experience.
As far as helping you hookup, the official ICEE cup is predominately blue and red. Time and again science has proven that women are attracted to blue and men are attracted to pink and red. Combine the higher brain freeze rate of the Slurpee and there's no lovin' tonight for Johnny.
So there. Now stop calling it Slurpee! It's ICEE! It's pissing me off.
--
Today's anger level: Yellow - Irritated for no reason
How dare you stay that! I know someone who was once blinded for three days by unexpected pottywords.
Issue 1: The device appears to be dependent on relatively small hip movements of "1.6 to 2.7 inches (4 to 7 cm)" and the testing was done on a treadmill. I wonder if the hip movement is significantly different if walking up or down an incline. How about when jogging? Do tall people generate more electricty than short people?
Issue 1: All the energy is still coming from your legs, so the increased efficiency is really important if you don't want to work harder. It seems to me that moving 80 pounds at 2 mi/hr is going to consume a lot of energy before we can even start to make any electricity. The efficiency increase better be huge or I'm going to drop dead after the first 10 minutes!
(I'm not angry today)
It would be nice to know if you have a lame 5%-off coupon before you head off to the local JCP.
Sounds like the same whining you'd expect after a little league team gets beat by the league champs.
Aggressive Innovation is NOT the same as dominating a market through unfair monopolistic practices.
Supposedly, the economy is strong and more people are finding jobs. If a company like the one I work for hires 5,000 new people over the next year, then there will be 5,000 more people forced to use IE. On the same thought, if my company were to adopt Firefox as the standard, then there would suddenly be 100,000 new Firefox users and 100,000 fewer IE users. Multiply that by the Fortune 500 and you've got a real dent in the IE numbers.
The decision to switch browsers in a standardized environment isn't left to individual users. The people making the decision are afraid (and rightfully so) they'd lose their job if they screw up. Call it peer pressure or fear, but you'll find very few people in these environments that are willing to make a decision that goes against what everyone else is doing. No one will get fired for sticking with IE (or they'd be gone by now), but heads will roll if your name is on a FFox deployment and a nasty worm hits your company.
The Emperor has holes in his clothes (and his browser, PnP, and OS) but no one will say anything.
But how do you get a blood sample or cheek swab from an employee without their consent? A fake blood drive? I guess they told a lie at some point...can an employer legally lie about the purpose of a test?
Funny, I read the actual article and I don't feel like I'm going to lose my job because of the way my nucleotides are paired up.
The debate might as well be over whether or not my employer is obligated to protect me from a job that, due to my genes, will hurt me.
If I own a peanut butter factory, shouldn't I be concerned about hiring people who are allergic to peanuts? Can I be sued if I hire someone who could die if they are exposed to the excess amounts of peanut protein floating in the air?
This 2002 article in the Duke Law & Technology Review by Samantha French sheds more light more light on the topic. (First hit when you Google "Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway genetic testing")
The Bu$h administration has slowly replaced all the pro-consumer people (read "democrats") in the FCC (and for that matter, most other regulatory agencies) so that it is now more big-bu$ine$$ friendly. Republican$ tend to refer to it in happy terms, like "removing the barriers to free enterprise," but leave out the part "...at the expense of the little guys." Raising the expenses of the smaller DSL providers will only result in higher prices across the board, as the lack of upward price controls will cause those with lower expenses to seek larger profits. But, then who makes up a larger part of the Republican$' base? Verizon or Speakeasy? SBC or AOL? "Jeb/Frist 2008" sounds like a great tax shelter/investment for those extra profits.
The details of the case can be found at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A10 5488.PDF
With a policy like this, CA (and probably any other state in need of some extra cash) could argue that the online company was just an extension of the brick-and-mortar Borders stores located in the state.
Let's say I'm sitting here in the Caymans, selling lemonade online. I've contracted with a loosely organized network of 7-year old kids, who deliver the actual product through a series of sidewalk stands across CA. I collect $.25/cup and I pay each kid $.10/cup they deliver. Am I liable for sales tax in this case? If so, how much?
Now pretend I sell books and that I have contracted with UPS to be my sole delivery service. Since UPS has outlets in CA, I tell my customers to make their returns at any UPS Store. Do I need to pay sales tax because of my implied presence in CA? If so, do I pay tax on the price paid for the product or for the delivery?
It needs a drip pan.