I'm not buying it. When I'm at home I don't put a scalding cup of water between my legs... why would I do it with a McDonalds cup??? It's just stupid. The customer deserves the blame.
Even my ancient Commodore 64 had a better GUI interface (GEOS). Microsoft put-out a lot of trash prior to 1995 which is why I mostly used Commodores and Macs.
What I can't figure-out is why these colleges are treating students like millionaires. The Today Show visited a Carolina school, and the students were getting free meals, and free concierge service ("my suit needed cleaned; can you take care of that for me?" "Yes sir.")
Why are my taxdollars being used to treat these young brats like Richie Riches???
Cut the freebie junk, and let me keep those taxdollars for myself. I need them to pay my heating bills.
>>>classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases
"You have no need to fear the abuse of this system. "We are the government, you can trust us. "Only criminals need be afraid." - Mr. Smith, typical politician
If they were still alive today, no doubt Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Ghandi would be among those added to the database as "terrorists" even though they were non-violent. Who's next on the list? Japanese-Americans? (reference WW2)
>>>"would delete the Windows's System Folder if the game was uninstalled."
Ouch.
Of course my laptop with Windows98 did that all by itself. One minute I was surfing the web, the next I lost power, and when I rebooted it told me it could find the system folder. Wunderbar. (rolls eyes). I just love self-erasing OSes.
>>>"modern social customs have lowered the age at which human males have offspring"
That makes no sense. Men have been marrying later (or not at all). Heck Romeo married when he was 16, and that was customary at that time... in the 1800s most americans married at 22.... you don't see that happening today. A lot of people are waiting until their 30s.
What's an "android"? Does that answer your question?;-) I think the Ipod will be like the Walkman Cassette Player... it will be hugely popular with teens and young adults, then slowly lose market share as other "clones" compete with it, and finally die-out as a new technology comes along to replace it.
I'm not sure what could technology could replace the convenience of a portable dedicated computer that plays MP3 and MPEGs, but maybe in the year 2020 such devices will be obsolete. Perhaps the data will be directly downloadable to your brain. (shrug)
Anyway, I don't see MP3 or MPEG players dying anytime soon. The Ipod is safe.
Well no, not technically. If you are an over-the-air viewer (like me), you can always just record the white static of non-existent analog signals come March 2009, but why would you want to do that?
Are these the same lawyers that gave several million dollars to a McDonalds' customer who rather stupidly put a hot cup of coffee between his legs (while driving)???;-)
I think Thomas Jefferson said it best: "These men are as honest as other men and not more so. They have with others the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps..... to consider them the final arbiters is a dangerous doctrine indeed." In other words, just because a bunch of lawyers made a decision, does not mean the rest of us have to agree with their wrong conclusion. Their decision does not automatically censor all other opinions.
I don't consider the idea of taking a miniDV VCR, replacing the digital tape with a digital hard drive, and labeling it "Tivo" something worthy of patent. I have no objections to patenting a particular mechanism, but to patent such a blatantly-obvious IDEA as "pause live tv" such that nobody else can ever use said idea.... is not correct. Said patent should be revoked.
One thing neither Windows or Macintosh have not yet "stolen" is the Amiga OS' ability to have multiple screens. For example an Amiga could have a hi-res screen of 1280x1024 for web-surfing, and a lo-res 320x200 screen playing some ancient NES videogame. Both were running at the same time.
Neither Windows nor Mac can perform the same function. They can display one or the other screen, but not both.
People used to say "IBM PC-compatible" or more simply "IBM PC" in casual chatting. I don't know why that went out of style, because it does differentiate the difference between IBM PC-compatible, IBM PC, or Macintosh PC, or Amiga PC, or Commodore PC, or Atari PC, or......
This is slightly offtopic, but still related: If you use your TiVo or other DVR to record off-the-air television, they will stop working on February 18, 2009. You either need to upgrade to a new ATSC-compatible recorder ($$$$), or buy a digital-to-analog converter box (~$20), or subscribe to cable (ouch).
>>>if you are running FFWD and hit play it will rewind just a bit to take care of overshoot.
That's not a Tivo "feature" but an MPEG2 bug. Since MPEG2 only captures a full frame every few seconds (on low-bitrate EP mode), the Tivo can not start playing immediately. Instead it must travel backwards along the bitstream until it finds a full frame. This is what causes that slight rewind motion.
My Panasonic ReplayTV does exactly the same thing. Ditto my DVD recorder. Ditto my D-VHS tape, albeit in a different direction (it moves forward until it finds a full frame).
"In 1985, while working at Honeywell's Physical Sciences Center, David Rafner first described a drive-based DVR designed for home TV recording, time-slipping, and skipping commercials. U.S. Patent 4,972,396 focused on a multi-channel design to allow simultaneous independent recording and playback." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_video_recorder
Looks like Tivo was just copying somebody else's idea. - They can not claim it to be their own.
Also of note: ReplayTV was released the same year as Tivo, and it too can pause or rewind live television via "independent record and playback". Once again, Tivo can not claim first implementation.
DVR is not an obvious invention?!?!? You have to be kidding. It's basically just a MiniDV VCR, but instead of digital tape, they use a digital hard drive. That is a frakking obvious application, and I have no doubt that someone, somewhere already had a 1980s-era Amiga recording live television to their HDD.
>>>Tivo allows people to pause, rewind, and record live television
I'm sorry but I don't see how this is any different than a DVD-recorder. It too has pause buttons, rewind buttons, and fast-forward buttons.
My Virgin Mobile phone only costs me $5 a month, and any unused money accumulates over time. I now have $70 waiting to be used for emergency, or if I'm on the road. I used to have Cingular, until they raised rates, so I abandoned ship.
Posting a link to an ad-free webarticle is the same as stripping commercials & distributing a tv show. These ad-based websites only survive because of advertising revenue, and if folks like yourself turn that revenue to zero (via adfree links), then you'll drive the website to bankruptcy.
>>>Power cycling healthy electronics is not a source of stress.
I disagree. It's not as bad as power-cycling your car, but can still shorten the lifespan. A car held in a steady state (never turned off and/or constantly driven) can go a million miles, easily. But a car that's turned on-and-off frequently might only last 100,000 miles before the engine starts rusting-out.
Likewise electronics in a thermal steady state will last millions of hours. Cycling any device through extremes of temperature, voltage, current is going to stress the part & shorten its life.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not buying it. When I'm at home I don't put a scalding cup of water between my legs... why would I do it with a McDonalds cup??? It's just stupid. The customer deserves the blame.
>>>who owns the patent on the Icon itself...
The ancient Egyptians. They have icons all over their pyramids. ;-)
I *hated* Windows 3.1.
Even my ancient Commodore 64 had a better GUI interface (GEOS). Microsoft put-out a lot of trash prior to 1995 which is why I mostly used Commodores and Macs.
What I can't figure-out is why these colleges are treating students like millionaires. The Today Show visited a Carolina school, and the students were getting free meals, and free concierge service ("my suit needed cleaned; can you take care of that for me?" "Yes sir.")
Why are my taxdollars being used to treat these young brats like Richie Riches???
Cut the freebie junk, and let me keep those taxdollars for myself. I need them to pay my heating bills.
>>>classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases
"You have no need to fear the abuse of this system.
"We are the government, you can trust us.
"Only criminals need be afraid." - Mr. Smith, typical politician
If they were still alive today, no doubt Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Ghandi would be among those added to the database as "terrorists" even though they were non-violent. Who's next on the list? Japanese-Americans? (reference WW2)
Pinky, Blinky, Speedy, and Clyde. (Clyde was replaced with Sue in Ms.Pac-man). Where's my Atari?
I'm suddenly in the mood for some Jr.Pac-man action. I love that game!
>>>"would delete the Windows's System Folder if the game was uninstalled."
Ouch.
Of course my laptop with Windows98 did that all by itself. One minute I was surfing the web, the next I lost power, and when I rebooted it told me it could find the system folder. Wunderbar. (rolls eyes). I just love self-erasing OSes.
The title is wrong. There's nothing in the original article about a role-playing game.
(sigh)
Why can't they just stick to the basic turn-based RPG? I like those; they require strategy, rather than button-mashing (or an autorepeat button).
>>>"modern social customs have lowered the age at which human males have offspring"
That makes no sense. Men have been marrying later (or not at all). Heck Romeo married when he was 16, and that was customary at that time... in the 1800s most americans married at 22.... you don't see that happening today. A lot of people are waiting until their 30s.
What's an "android"? Does that answer your question? ;-) I think the Ipod will be like the Walkman Cassette Player... it will be hugely popular with teens and young adults, then slowly lose market share as other "clones" compete with it, and finally die-out as a new technology comes along to replace it.
I'm not sure what could technology could replace the convenience of a portable dedicated computer that plays MP3 and MPEGs, but maybe in the year 2020 such devices will be obsolete. Perhaps the data will be directly downloadable to your brain. (shrug)
Anyway, I don't see MP3 or MPEG players dying anytime soon. The Ipod is safe.
True.
Oh.
So nothing's changed then. The Commodore 64 games I copied back in the 80s are still illegal. (shrug). Pass the beer nuts.
P.S.
>>>I currently use my TiVo with DirecTV...
Hold on a second. Didn't you even both to read my post? (sigh). I specifically said OVER-THE-AIR viewers; i.e. not you.
>>>TiVo and other DVRs will NOT cease to work.
Well no, not technically. If you are an over-the-air viewer (like me), you can always just record the white static of non-existent analog signals come March 2009, but why would you want to do that?
Picky, picky.
I stand by my previous post.
Are these the same lawyers that gave several million dollars to a McDonalds' customer who rather stupidly put a hot cup of coffee between his legs (while driving)??? ;-)
I think Thomas Jefferson said it best: "These men are as honest as other men and not more so. They have with others the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps..... to consider them the final arbiters is a dangerous doctrine indeed." In other words, just because a bunch of lawyers made a decision, does not mean the rest of us have to agree with their wrong conclusion. Their decision does not automatically censor all other opinions.
I don't consider the idea of taking a miniDV VCR, replacing the digital tape with a digital hard drive, and labeling it "Tivo" something worthy of patent. I have no objections to patenting a particular mechanism, but to patent such a blatantly-obvious IDEA as "pause live tv" such that nobody else can ever use said idea.... is not correct. Said patent should be revoked.
One thing neither Windows or Macintosh have not yet "stolen" is the Amiga OS' ability to have multiple screens. For example an Amiga could have a hi-res screen of 1280x1024 for web-surfing, and a lo-res 320x200 screen playing some ancient NES videogame. Both were running at the same time.
Neither Windows nor Mac can perform the same function. They can display one or the other screen, but not both.
People used to say "IBM PC-compatible" or more simply "IBM PC" in casual chatting. I don't know why that went out of style, because it does differentiate the difference between IBM PC-compatible, IBM PC, or Macintosh PC, or Amiga PC, or Commodore PC, or Atari PC, or......
Don't PCs already have a dock? "The bar of icons that sits at the bottom or side of a Mac and provides easy access to Apple applications."
The sounds like a description of the start menu, and its corresponding bar.
Hmmm.
I wonder why Jobs did not patent the Trashcan/recycle bin utility?
The ReplayTV could pause or rewind live television, and it arrived on the scene the same time as Tivo.
Tivo can not claim exclusivity over the idea.
P.S.
This is slightly offtopic, but still related: If you use your TiVo or other DVR to record off-the-air television, they will stop working on February 18, 2009. You either need to upgrade to a new ATSC-compatible recorder ($$$$), or buy a digital-to-analog converter box (~$20), or subscribe to cable (ouch).
Thanks Congress.
>>>if you are running FFWD and hit play it will rewind just a bit to take care of overshoot.
That's not a Tivo "feature" but an MPEG2 bug. Since MPEG2 only captures a full frame every few seconds (on low-bitrate EP mode), the Tivo can not start playing immediately. Instead it must travel backwards along the bitstream until it finds a full frame. This is what causes that slight rewind motion.
My Panasonic ReplayTV does exactly the same thing. Ditto my DVD recorder. Ditto my D-VHS tape, albeit in a different direction (it moves forward until it finds a full frame).
It's a limitation of MPEG encoding.
"In 1985, while working at Honeywell's Physical Sciences Center, David Rafner first described a drive-based DVR designed for home TV recording, time-slipping, and skipping commercials. U.S. Patent 4,972,396 focused on a multi-channel design to allow simultaneous independent recording and playback." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_video_recorder
Looks like Tivo was just copying somebody else's idea.
- They can not claim it to be their own.
Also of note: ReplayTV was released the same year as Tivo, and it too can pause or rewind live television via "independent record and playback". Once again, Tivo can not claim first implementation.
DVR is not an obvious invention?!?!? You have to be kidding. It's basically just a MiniDV VCR, but instead of digital tape, they use a digital hard drive. That is a frakking obvious application, and I have no doubt that someone, somewhere already had a 1980s-era Amiga recording live television to their HDD.
>>>Tivo allows people to pause, rewind, and record live television
I'm sorry but I don't see how this is any different than a DVD-recorder. It too has pause buttons, rewind buttons, and fast-forward buttons.
Wow. You guys spend a lot of money.
My Virgin Mobile phone only costs me $5 a month, and any unused money accumulates over time. I now have $70 waiting to be used for emergency, or if I'm on the road. I used to have Cingular, until they raised rates, so I abandoned ship.
Posting a link to an ad-free webarticle is the same as stripping commercials & distributing a tv show. These ad-based websites only survive because of advertising revenue, and if folks like yourself turn that revenue to zero (via adfree links), then you'll drive the website to bankruptcy.
>>>Power cycling healthy electronics is not a source of stress.
I disagree. It's not as bad as power-cycling your car, but can still shorten the lifespan. A car held in a steady state (never turned off and/or constantly driven) can go a million miles, easily. But a car that's turned on-and-off frequently might only last 100,000 miles before the engine starts rusting-out.
Likewise electronics in a thermal steady state will last millions of hours. Cycling any device through extremes of temperature, voltage, current is going to stress the part & shorten its life.