Re:The Technology Hasn't Been Up To Snuff
on
How Bill Gates Works
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
We had a digital whiteboard here at the company I work for. It has tracking implants in the back of the pens to capture the output to a computer.
The amusing thing is that no-one ever used it as a digital whiteboard - it just got used as a normal one for ages, with people not bothering to capture stuff.
The best bit was eventually people started writing stuff on flip charts and then sticking them to the whiteboard with stickier and sticker bits of masking tape. Eventually the board had so much tape on it, that it could never get used for what it was originally intended
So from an expensive digital whiteboard to a normal whiteboard to an expensive pinboard - genius.
They are encoded at 192Kbps and are unencumbered by any DRM - but sadly they cost 99p as opposed to iTunes' 79p.
They are also few and far between - generally from labels that don't mind the lack of DRM (the indies).
I've bought a few things from them or their affiliate shops (the recent Embrace single Nature's Law had a digital download only part to it that you can buy via their website) and on the whole they're pretty good - better quality than iTunes anyway.
That said, I shall probably still use iTunes for legal until someone (like Google?) offer me the following
Downloads with no DRM
A choice of file format and bit rate
The excellent free Single of the Week
This last option is one of the things about iTunes I absolutely love - I've got pretty much every one since I signed up 18 months ago, so that's over 75 free tracks. I've actually purchased a couple of albums off the backs of these freebies (CD copy though - sorry Apple!).
I suppose it depends on how complicated the product is, and what audience it is aimed at.
Whilst I haven't had experience of Open Office and the like, I have used tools like JBoss, and I've found that these tools (with their complicated XML file configuration) can be just as difficult to set up and use as the non-open ones (WebLogic for example).
My point, I suppose, is that no product is ever 100% foolproof, and if some people can make a viable go at providing services for OSS then good for them
Very interesting article, with several possible explanations.
The most plausible, to my mind, is the mammalian red blood cells. They seem to be the right shape, and have no DNA (like the particles).
As they said in the NS article, the question really remains is - if they are mamallian red blood cells, how did the clouds get seeded with them int he first place?
I personally am coming more round to the point of view that manned spaceflight, at least for the moment, is unnecessary.
I understand the ideals of pushing 8 year olds into the sciences, engineering and technology sectors, as these types of jobs do need fresh blood, but space exploration can be done much cheaper and better by robotic vehicles.
Witness Spirit and Opportunity; both these rovers are (relatively) simple in design, and yet both have far exceeded their original designs and goals. If you had the choice between spending (say) a billion to send a manned mission there, or a billions to send several remote vehicles, then I know where my money would go.
And there's also the sad fact of losses in the space program. If we lose a robot, it is only a robot. If we lose a man, sadly like we have done on too many occaisions, then that loss is felt much harder.
Yes, but if the old Doctor Who qualifies as 'cancelled within a couple of seasons' then I think pretty much every show ever made is going to end up a disappointment...
Does anyone else find it ironic that the Siemens website has static pictures of what essentially is meant to be a non-static item?
All I can see from this page is someone holding up a colour printout. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can see that anywhere. What I want to see is videos of it in action.
In 2000 it was barely hitting 5 Gbit/s, the equivalent of a DVD film every 10 seconds.
What I want to know is how long would it take to fill a double decker bus with these DVDs.
Or more to the point, how long before the RIAA slap an injunction on you?
Slashdot Mirror
The amusing thing is that no-one ever used it as a digital whiteboard - it just got used as a normal one for ages, with people not bothering to capture stuff.
The best bit was eventually people started writing stuff on flip charts and then sticking them to the whiteboard with stickier and sticker bits of masking tape. Eventually the board had so much tape on it, that it could never get used for what it was originally intended
So from an expensive digital whiteboard to a normal whiteboard to an expensive pinboard - genius.
They are encoded at 192Kbps and are unencumbered by any DRM - but sadly they cost 99p as opposed to iTunes' 79p.
They are also few and far between - generally from labels that don't mind the lack of DRM (the indies).
I've bought a few things from them or their affiliate shops (the recent Embrace single Nature's Law had a digital download only part to it that you can buy via their website) and on the whole they're pretty good - better quality than iTunes anyway.
That said, I shall probably still use iTunes for legal until someone (like Google?) offer me the following
This last option is one of the things about iTunes I absolutely love - I've got pretty much every one since I signed up 18 months ago, so that's over 75 free tracks. I've actually purchased a couple of albums off the backs of these freebies (CD copy though - sorry Apple!).
Who said you can't get something for nothing, eh?
But neither of them feature the words "Don't Panic" in nice, friendly letters on the cover.
And I bet the password is "rover" - the name of his dog... Or at the very least "revor".
Whilst I haven't had experience of Open Office and the like, I have used tools like JBoss, and I've found that these tools (with their complicated XML file configuration) can be just as difficult to set up and use as the non-open ones (WebLogic for example).
My point, I suppose, is that no product is ever 100% foolproof, and if some people can make a viable go at providing services for OSS then good for them
http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/mg1892541 1.100
Very interesting article, with several possible explanations.
The most plausible, to my mind, is the mammalian red blood cells. They seem to be the right shape, and have no DNA (like the particles).
As they said in the NS article, the question really remains is - if they are mamallian red blood cells, how did the clouds get seeded with them int he first place?
Sorry - I'm a geek.
I understand the ideals of pushing 8 year olds into the sciences, engineering and technology sectors, as these types of jobs do need fresh blood, but space exploration can be done much cheaper and better by robotic vehicles.
Witness Spirit and Opportunity; both these rovers are (relatively) simple in design, and yet both have far exceeded their original designs and goals. If you had the choice between spending (say) a billion to send a manned mission there, or a billions to send several remote vehicles, then I know where my money would go.
And there's also the sad fact of losses in the space program. If we lose a robot, it is only a robot. If we lose a man, sadly like we have done on too many occaisions, then that loss is felt much harder.
The Sky at Night is still going strong
I'm sure half of the stuff in that is Sci-Fi!
Hang on, didn't it originally get cancelled by the BBC? No wait, must have missed those 15 odd years in the wilderness...
All I can see from this page is someone holding up a colour printout. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can see that anywhere. What I want to see is videos of it in action.
In 2000 it was barely hitting 5 Gbit/s, the equivalent of a DVD film every 10 seconds.
What I want to know is how long would it take to fill a double decker bus with these DVDs.
Or more to the point, how long before the RIAA slap an injunction on you?
Microsoft has announced that "All that Longhorn stuff - it's just one big joke. We're licensing Apple's OSX for Intel"
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were last seen checking into a room at a nearby Holiday Inn for some "one-to-one interfacing"
But there's only so much pr0n you can download
I'd love to give my thoughts, but MSDN download doesn't seem to work from XP SP2. Nice one microsoft - I have to upgrade to Vista to download Vista.