I would consider "on demand" to be instantly available whenever I hit the couch and order a movie, as opposed to pay-per-view that has set showing times. Granted, the top movies get shown about every half hour, so it's not that big a difference.
While not quite "on demand", I've found pay-per-view movies on the dish to be far more convenient than renting a DVD. And with a Tivo to boot, you don't have to worry about something interrupting the show, since you can just record and delete it later on if you need to free up space.
Perhaps politics and bureaucracy are the main roadblocks to creating something like this instead of html, cgi, and perl.
Or perhaps, natural economic forces? Lots of students who absolutely have to purchase a given item, and few (or in many cases, one practical) sources of supply.
Besides the bias inherent in the report, where were they during the selection process? The train has already left the station here, and it seems like this is more about grabbing some PR in the wake of recent virus attacks more than anything...
Just remember, however, that many of us, or our parents, or their parents, were all "foriegn nationals" once, coming to this country and competing for jobs in a fashion similar to today. Not to get corny, but there's a reason why the U.S. is often called the Land of Opportunity...
Oh, but wait!!! There's also the tantalizing "in combination with RFID tags" that just adds oh so much to the article. Is this/. or Access Hollywood? Yeesh...
When economic pressures like this get built up, that provides an opportunity for someone to deliver a solution to some of these problems that reduces cost and/or time of development. For example, rather than producing Hollywood-caliber graphics on a custom basis for each game, perhaps that function is better served by standalone companies that create characters and associated animations that game developers can license for use.
Bottom line is that the demand side will determine what happens here - if the market can sustain higher prices for games, the current trend could continue for a while. If a big-budget game flops dramatically, however, you'll see a restructuring of the process that could result in a major shakeout within the industry...
Having a visible request-tracking system is a huge factor here. When I was first confronted with having to track time in this way, it seemed like onerous, bureaucratic nonsense. But in the end, it serves as the final stopping point for those "hallway" requests that people want to bombard IT/IS with. Just bring up the list of prioritized work, and watch the user reconsider that request to mass update a bunch of records for them...
This is all pretty amusing stuff, but I can't believe they left this story out:
Over at Computerworld, they have an article which outlines SCO's plans to revitalize their Unix offering, and market it as a competitor to Linux. The best part, of course, is Darl's insight:
"It's like a house that hasn't been maintained in a few years," McBride said. "We're going to come back and spruce the place up."
Sure, a little paint and some nifty accents from Pottery Barn, and SCO will be swimming in cash, right??? Thanks again, Darl, for making my day just a little funnier...
A friend of mine in high school indeed got a ticket for going 26 in a 25 mph residential zone, during his lunch hour. This guy wasn't an obvious profiling target, I think the cop just had a bad doughnut day, or something.
In general, though, I agree - most cops are pretty reasonable over such things.
I wouldn't say that it's "sad" that NASA gets a thorough review. Quite the contrary, I think it's a rare opportunity to make the case that cost-cutting measures involve tradeoffs that have a significant impact on how an organization like NASA operates. What is sorely needed is a public champion to advocate for increased NASA funding, as part of a commitment to keep America at the forefront of technological leadership worldwide. Particularly as other countries are stepping up their space efforts, this is going to be a growing concern in the years ahead.
Not having followed the eeaaarrrrllly presidential campaigning, are there any strong proponents for NASA out there?
His question, which was a good one, is why short sellers would close out their positions over the last week. The basic gist was that a short squeeze wasn't a likely cause of the recent SCOX runup (with which I agree).
Also, it's a call option that would provide some protection for the short seller. It guarantees a set purchase price that they can use in the event of a rapid rise in the stock they've shorted.
Since last Wednesday, SCO has risen by about 40%. No particular news has come out, and the volume, while above average, hasn't exactly been blockbuster. Hard to say what's happening here, really. With only 13.1 million shares outstanding, it wouldn't take a whole ton of activity to drive the price rapidly in one direction or another...
I think there's a difference in expectations between an obviously fantastic story like the Hulk, and something that is at least supposed to be based in a realistic setting, like the recent Mars flops. I can't recall which movie it was (Mission to Mars? Red Planet?), but there's a scene where this guy puts together a double-helix of M&M's in the zero g environment, then grins with self-satisfacation as it spins in place. I damn near threw the remote at the TV...
But this is still a looooooong way's off, farther it seems than hydrogen-powered cars:
"You could replace a 100-watt light bulb with a 60-watt LED, and get the same brightness," says John Fan, chairman and founder of Kopin Corp., a Taunton company that makes LEDs. "You'd save 40 percent on power, but it would cost about $100. We need to bring that price down."
Looks like they need to scale the cost down by 80-90% to spark widespread adoption. That's no mean feat...
There's an alphabet toy that we got for our toddlers, which calls out the phonetic sounds associated with different letters. Sure enough, when you start to spell out objectionable words, it plays a little tune rather than stringing the sounds together...
That becomes its own source of fun, trying to work around it.
Actually, I don't see space exploration as the competitive arena, but rather Earth's orbit. At some point, satellites will become part of the military equation, and the more players there are who can get up there, the more complicated the issue becomes...
I can't decide which is funnier - the point about IBM orchestrating all the outrage, or the point that SCO is somehow more "relevant" to the tech community because they've filed a bunch of press releases!
Thanks, Darl - it's good to kick off the weekend with a good laugh...
Slashdot Mirror
I would consider "on demand" to be instantly available whenever I hit the couch and order a movie, as opposed to pay-per-view that has set showing times. Granted, the top movies get shown about every half hour, so it's not that big a difference.
While not quite "on demand", I've found pay-per-view movies on the dish to be far more convenient than renting a DVD. And with a Tivo to boot, you don't have to worry about something interrupting the show, since you can just record and delete it later on if you need to free up space.
Perhaps politics and bureaucracy are the main roadblocks to creating something like this instead of html, cgi, and perl.
Or perhaps, natural economic forces? Lots of students who absolutely have to purchase a given item, and few (or in many cases, one practical) sources of supply.
Isn't that what they say about lawyers and clients as well? The lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client?
Besides the bias inherent in the report, where were they during the selection process? The train has already left the station here, and it seems like this is more about grabbing some PR in the wake of recent virus attacks more than anything...
Just remember, however, that many of us, or our parents, or their parents, were all "foriegn nationals" once, coming to this country and competing for jobs in a fashion similar to today. Not to get corny, but there's a reason why the U.S. is often called the Land of Opportunity...
The whole story boils down to:
FROM: The American People
TO: The Telemarketing Industry
Fuck you.
Sincerely,
The American People
Oh, but wait!!! There's also the tantalizing "in combination with RFID tags" that just adds oh so much to the article. Is this /. or Access Hollywood? Yeesh...
When economic pressures like this get built up, that provides an opportunity for someone to deliver a solution to some of these problems that reduces cost and/or time of development. For example, rather than producing Hollywood-caliber graphics on a custom basis for each game, perhaps that function is better served by standalone companies that create characters and associated animations that game developers can license for use.
Bottom line is that the demand side will determine what happens here - if the market can sustain higher prices for games, the current trend could continue for a while. If a big-budget game flops dramatically, however, you'll see a restructuring of the process that could result in a major shakeout within the industry...
Having a visible request-tracking system is a huge factor here. When I was first confronted with having to track time in this way, it seemed like onerous, bureaucratic nonsense. But in the end, it serves as the final stopping point for those "hallway" requests that people want to bombard IT/IS with. Just bring up the list of prioritized work, and watch the user reconsider that request to mass update a bunch of records for them...
Over at Computerworld, they have an article which outlines SCO's plans to revitalize their Unix offering, and market it as a competitor to Linux. The best part, of course, is Darl's insight:
Sure, a little paint and some nifty accents from Pottery Barn, and SCO will be swimming in cash, right??? Thanks again, Darl, for making my day just a little funnier...
Well, she could hold her own against the 6-8 people that would congregate at our house on a semi-regular basis to play,
Wow, sounds like Juliette Lewis from Old School... that's quite a gal!
A friend of mine in high school indeed got a ticket for going 26 in a 25 mph residential zone, during his lunch hour. This guy wasn't an obvious profiling target, I think the cop just had a bad doughnut day, or something.
In general, though, I agree - most cops are pretty reasonable over such things.
I wouldn't say that it's "sad" that NASA gets a thorough review. Quite the contrary, I think it's a rare opportunity to make the case that cost-cutting measures involve tradeoffs that have a significant impact on how an organization like NASA operates. What is sorely needed is a public champion to advocate for increased NASA funding, as part of a commitment to keep America at the forefront of technological leadership worldwide. Particularly as other countries are stepping up their space efforts, this is going to be a growing concern in the years ahead.
Not having followed the eeaaarrrrllly presidential campaigning, are there any strong proponents for NASA out there?
His question, which was a good one, is why short sellers would close out their positions over the last week. The basic gist was that a short squeeze wasn't a likely cause of the recent SCOX runup (with which I agree).
Also, it's a call option that would provide some protection for the short seller. It guarantees a set purchase price that they can use in the event of a rapid rise in the stock they've shorted.
Since last Wednesday, SCO has risen by about 40%. No particular news has come out, and the volume, while above average, hasn't exactly been blockbuster. Hard to say what's happening here, really. With only 13.1 million shares outstanding, it wouldn't take a whole ton of activity to drive the price rapidly in one direction or another...
I'm still on Betamax, you insensitive clod!
I think there's a difference in expectations between an obviously fantastic story like the Hulk, and something that is at least supposed to be based in a realistic setting, like the recent Mars flops. I can't recall which movie it was (Mission to Mars? Red Planet?), but there's a scene where this guy puts together a double-helix of M&M's in the zero g environment, then grins with self-satisfacation as it spins in place. I damn near threw the remote at the TV...
Looks like they need to scale the cost down by 80-90% to spark widespread adoption. That's no mean feat...
I just want to know who the sponsors would be?
RedHat?
IBM?
Gotta have the black hat (SCO) entry...
There's an alphabet toy that we got for our toddlers, which calls out the phonetic sounds associated with different letters. Sure enough, when you start to spell out objectionable words, it plays a little tune rather than stringing the sounds together...
That becomes its own source of fun, trying to work around it.
What's not to understand, moron? What country doesn't want to exact vengeance/justice under such circumstances? None I can think of...
Actually, I don't see space exploration as the competitive arena, but rather Earth's orbit. At some point, satellites will become part of the military equation, and the more players there are who can get up there, the more complicated the issue becomes...
I was wondering why it the room got dark momentarily when that came up on the screen...
I can't decide which is funnier - the point about IBM orchestrating all the outrage, or the point that SCO is somehow more "relevant" to the tech community because they've filed a bunch of press releases!
Thanks, Darl - it's good to kick off the weekend with a good laugh...