You're right--the literary selection is fairly small. For instance, I can't get my Nabokov, Calvino, Borges, etc there (for now at least). But thankfully, I already have bookshelves full of their works. Going forward, though, many newly published books are being made available electronically, so I'm able to pick up a lot of what's been released in the past few years (though I'm still waiting for an ePub version of the new Pynchon that came out last week). And at the same time, the back catalogs are slowly expanding, too.
It's true at the moment that ebook devices are primarily the realm of genre fiction (romance, scifi, endless cashcow series, etc). But as more people adopt e-reading devices, ebooks will eventually break out of those restraints. And I'm willing to help lead that charge.
I got a pretty good deal on my reader, and since I've bought it, my bookreading has just about tripled. What used to be a book every week or two has now turned into a book every 3 or 4 days. I still prefer the typographic aesthetics of printed books, but I'm willing to make some sacrifices in order to satiate my desire to read. That's why I may seem pretty gung-ho about this whole ebook thing (and hence welcome this move by Sony). Purchasing my reader truly has changed my reading habits.
One more thing to mention about this. Since Sony will be opening up the bookstore to any ebook reader that supports Adobe-encrypted ePubs, there's a page that lists the devices that use this particular DRM scheme. (The Bookeen Cybook Opus is apparently a very nice little device.) Ideally the DRM scheme will eventually be abandoned (much like it was for iTunes) and any non-DRM-supporting ePub reader will be supported. But for the time being, there's a fairly decent selection of devices that will be able to be used with the Sony store once the transition is completed.
What on earth am I talking about? Many books at WHSmith and Waterstones are £5-6, which comes out to ~$10 after conversion fees. Compare that to many of those same books going for $12-14 at Books on Board or Diesel eBooks (really the only two US ebooksellers that support ePub), and the choice really becomes a no-brainer.
As for being a plant, just because I can see the value in certain companies' technologies, it doesn't mean I'm on anyone's payroll. Ideally Sony (and any other ebookseller) will dump Adobe's DRM scheme (which is nothing more than a nuisance). But for the time being, it's something I can live with, mainly because it's been cracked and can be removed easily. And don't tell me I should spend all my time reading Bain's DRM-free books--I'm really not a fan of pulp scifi. I tend to prefer literary fiction and nonfiction.
This really is a great move on Sony's part. I've had a Sony Reader for a few months now, and I've really taken to the ePub format (especially compared to Sony's LRF/LRX format). First, the Adobe ADEPT DRM scheme has been cracked, so I can decrypt all the books I buy. And second, because the ePub format itself is relatively simple to understand, I can easily go through my books and reformat them the way that I prefer (use a certain body font, change the margins and paragraph indents, remove blank lines between paragraphs, etc). The problem was that there were only a handful of ebook sellers in the US that sell books in the ePub format. However, it's pretty prevalent in Europe and elsewhere in the world, so I've been buying my books from overseas (and some have even been cheaper than their domestic non-ePub counterparts thanks to the weak dollar). But being able to buy new books in ePub format straight from the Sony bookstore for $9.99 a pop is pretty enticing. I'm looking forward to the transition.
That was actually one of the goals for the format--all you need to make an ePub is a text editor and a zip utility. However, the zip file must be assembled a certain way (a mimetype file must be the first file and zipped with no compression so the rest of the file starts at a certain byte offset). I've been fiddling around with the format for a few months and it's really quite nice and fairly robust (as far as ebook formatting goes).
You need to say it to a woman as you're walking out of the bathroom. If she's the right one, she'll respond with something like "Yeah, I know what you're talking about."
Standard in the US is 10 days, to start. If you're lucky that'll build up to 15-20 in few years.
At a lot of places if you get sick, your sick days come out of your vacation time.
Which is why he says America is doing it wrong. And as an American, I fully agree. That's why I chose to work at a place that gives me 22 vacation days a year, plus 12 sick days, plus every other Friday off during the summer. And you know what? I absolutely love my job! Sure, the pay is a little lower than what it could be, but the quality of life I get out of it more than makes up for the modest pay cut.
Even better then. Any time I've ever had to deal with marked-up/commented PDFs everyone involved already had Acrobat Pro, so I didn't realize Reader could handle it.
Yes, but it's kind of silly to distribute fixed documents in an editable format. If I am distributing something that I want to be left alone as is, I distribute it as a PDF. I only distribute DOC if I expect others to modify it.
And even then, it might be better to have them mark it up using the comments feature of Acrobat Pro (assuming your office has it). I much prefer seeing a pop-up bubble with comments, or a caret with some edits than multi-colored strings of crossed out lines and text.
It's weird to see PDF doing this kind of thing when my historic view of the format was very much as yours "it makes for reliable printing". And although I think I'dve preferred if PDF had stayed the (relatively) simple, bloat-free, built-for-printing format that once it was - begrudgingly - I must admit it's kinda cool to see these funky new features in action.
That was the original purpose for PDF. But Adobe quickly realized they could do a whole lot more with it. I visited the Adobe offices in 2001 or 2002 and by that time, they had moved themselves to the mythical "paperless office." Most everything was done as electronic documents. In the corners of each room were scan stations where the few papers they dealt with could be scanned in, PDF'd, then archived, or emailed/faxed off, or turned into fillable forms, etc. Of course, they still had a printer here and there for the few things that they did need to print out, but it was pretty amazing to see what they had managed to do with their own technology. Now, how well it all worked, of course, is another matter that's best left answered by someone who's actually worked there and used it. But as someone visiting the offices and getting a quick tour, I thought it was pretty impressive.
It's not just day dreaming any more. People talk on cell phones while walking and I often see them cross streets without even looking for traffic
Oh, absolutely! It's people talking on cellphones or texting or playing with their crackberries. Whenever I'm near someone who's lost in their own world I say "Look up!" in a cheery voice as I pass. That tends to startle and confuse them for a few moments.
Actually, they still sell logic chips and miscellaneous electronic components, albeit fairly well-hidden in the back of the store. I had a last minute idea for a project for a summer camp group I was leading last week and was able to pick up all the components I needed from RadioShack. Admittedly, the selection isn't what it used to be, but it's still there when you have a sudden pressing need for resistors, LEDs, transistors and capacitors....
That's assuming the manager/employees at your local store even know what those things are or why people would want them. I went to one of my local "The Shacks" a few months ago to pick up some things. The drawers were tucked in the back and almost completely empty. When I asked the manager about them he just shrugged and said "I don't know what that stuff is for". Thankfully another "The Shack" near me did have the pots and resistors I needed.
And by the way, I'm well aware that there are plenty of asshole bikers, runners, walkers, etc out there. I'm as courteous as can be when I come upon other people on the path (I slow down, ding my bell, give plenty of clearance, etc). But the guy who's walking and bobbing from side to side on the path because he's too busy daydreaming is just as bad as the cyclist going 20 and expecting everyone to get out of his way. Actually, I'd say the daydreaming walker is even worse, because his movements tend to be totally unpredictable.
and sometimes cyclists and even bikers... I have the same problem with all of them: I usually walk because I'm in no rush and i want to (daydream) think deeply about life, the universe, and everything. These guys rush by on MY walkway, stirring me out of my reverie at least, sometimes forcing me to jump out of the way.
I'm someone who is either always walking or cycling (sometimes going places, sometimes just to be out), and my biggest gripe is with other people (be they walking, cycling, rollerblading, driving, etc--doesn't really matter how) who aren't PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS. And yes, that would be you when you're daydreaming. If you want to dreamily wander around, do it where there aren't other people trying to maneuver around others. Take a leisurely stroll in the woods. But don't try to be blissfully unaware of the world on a multi-use path, sidewalk, or god forbid, the road.
Many years ago (1995 apparently) there was a game called The Dark Eye that was based on the writings of Poe. It was a pretty simple clicky puzzle/adventure type game, but the way it incorporated the various stories was pretty well done. It also helped that it had the voice of William S Burroughs as the main character. Interesting little game, and one way that literature can be used as the basis for a game.
Should've mentioned, I couldn't give a shit about Rand. But it is curious how the same thing happened before and nobody noticed/cared. Apparently it happened a while ago with some Harry Potter bootlegs, too. So I'd say the fact that it was 1984 (and Animal Farm) had a whole lot to do with it being newsworthy. Just look at the headlines and leads that were used when the story first broke.
More significantly, an attacker can also register a wildcard domain, such as *\0.badguy.com, which would then give him a certificate that would allow him to masquerade as any site on the internet and intercept communication.
Slashdot Mirror
You're right--the literary selection is fairly small. For instance, I can't get my Nabokov, Calvino, Borges, etc there (for now at least). But thankfully, I already have bookshelves full of their works. Going forward, though, many newly published books are being made available electronically, so I'm able to pick up a lot of what's been released in the past few years (though I'm still waiting for an ePub version of the new Pynchon that came out last week). And at the same time, the back catalogs are slowly expanding, too.
It's true at the moment that ebook devices are primarily the realm of genre fiction (romance, scifi, endless cashcow series, etc). But as more people adopt e-reading devices, ebooks will eventually break out of those restraints. And I'm willing to help lead that charge.
I got a pretty good deal on my reader, and since I've bought it, my bookreading has just about tripled. What used to be a book every week or two has now turned into a book every 3 or 4 days. I still prefer the typographic aesthetics of printed books, but I'm willing to make some sacrifices in order to satiate my desire to read. That's why I may seem pretty gung-ho about this whole ebook thing (and hence welcome this move by Sony). Purchasing my reader truly has changed my reading habits.
One more thing to mention about this. Since Sony will be opening up the bookstore to any ebook reader that supports Adobe-encrypted ePubs, there's a page that lists the devices that use this particular DRM scheme. (The Bookeen Cybook Opus is apparently a very nice little device.) Ideally the DRM scheme will eventually be abandoned (much like it was for iTunes) and any non-DRM-supporting ePub reader will be supported. But for the time being, there's a fairly decent selection of devices that will be able to be used with the Sony store once the transition is completed.
What on earth am I talking about? Many books at WHSmith and Waterstones are £5-6, which comes out to ~$10 after conversion fees. Compare that to many of those same books going for $12-14 at Books on Board or Diesel eBooks (really the only two US ebooksellers that support ePub), and the choice really becomes a no-brainer.
As for being a plant, just because I can see the value in certain companies' technologies, it doesn't mean I'm on anyone's payroll. Ideally Sony (and any other ebookseller) will dump Adobe's DRM scheme (which is nothing more than a nuisance). But for the time being, it's something I can live with, mainly because it's been cracked and can be removed easily. And don't tell me I should spend all my time reading Bain's DRM-free books--I'm really not a fan of pulp scifi. I tend to prefer literary fiction and nonfiction.
This really is a great move on Sony's part. I've had a Sony Reader for a few months now, and I've really taken to the ePub format (especially compared to Sony's LRF/LRX format). First, the Adobe ADEPT DRM scheme has been cracked, so I can decrypt all the books I buy. And second, because the ePub format itself is relatively simple to understand, I can easily go through my books and reformat them the way that I prefer (use a certain body font, change the margins and paragraph indents, remove blank lines between paragraphs, etc). The problem was that there were only a handful of ebook sellers in the US that sell books in the ePub format. However, it's pretty prevalent in Europe and elsewhere in the world, so I've been buying my books from overseas (and some have even been cheaper than their domestic non-ePub counterparts thanks to the weak dollar). But being able to buy new books in ePub format straight from the Sony bookstore for $9.99 a pop is pretty enticing. I'm looking forward to the transition.
That was actually one of the goals for the format--all you need to make an ePub is a text editor and a zip utility. However, the zip file must be assembled a certain way (a mimetype file must be the first file and zipped with no compression so the rest of the file starts at a certain byte offset). I've been fiddling around with the format for a few months and it's really quite nice and fairly robust (as far as ebook formatting goes).
...and it suddenly dawns on everyone exactly why Archon V2.0 failed in his childhood dream to become a lyricist...
Crap! It doesn't have an IP address. There go my plans to launch a DDOS attack on it.
You need to say it to a woman as you're walking out of the bathroom. If she's the right one, she'll respond with something like "Yeah, I know what you're talking about."
meeses, surely.
What are you, an idiot? That's the plural of moose.
Ahh yes, my diamond dust. Now where did I put that? I'm pretty sure I keep it with my scrap gold somewhere....
Standard in the US is 10 days, to start. If you're lucky that'll build up to 15-20 in few years.
At a lot of places if you get sick, your sick days come out of your vacation time.
Which is why he says America is doing it wrong. And as an American, I fully agree. That's why I chose to work at a place that gives me 22 vacation days a year, plus 12 sick days, plus every other Friday off during the summer. And you know what? I absolutely love my job! Sure, the pay is a little lower than what it could be, but the quality of life I get out of it more than makes up for the modest pay cut.
Don't forget that plays were often preceded by dumb shows to give the audience a quick preview of what they were about to see.
Even better then. Any time I've ever had to deal with marked-up/commented PDFs everyone involved already had Acrobat Pro, so I didn't realize Reader could handle it.
You really should recycle and not throw things in the trash.
Nah, in this case he should just burn it.
Yes, but it's kind of silly to distribute fixed documents in an editable format. If I am distributing something that I want to be left alone as is, I distribute it as a PDF. I only distribute DOC if I expect others to modify it.
And even then, it might be better to have them mark it up using the comments feature of Acrobat Pro (assuming your office has it). I much prefer seeing a pop-up bubble with comments, or a caret with some edits than multi-colored strings of crossed out lines and text.
It's weird to see PDF doing this kind of thing when my historic view of the format was very much as yours "it makes for reliable printing". And although I think I'dve preferred if PDF had stayed the (relatively) simple, bloat-free, built-for-printing format that once it was - begrudgingly - I must admit it's kinda cool to see these funky new features in action.
That was the original purpose for PDF. But Adobe quickly realized they could do a whole lot more with it. I visited the Adobe offices in 2001 or 2002 and by that time, they had moved themselves to the mythical "paperless office." Most everything was done as electronic documents. In the corners of each room were scan stations where the few papers they dealt with could be scanned in, PDF'd, then archived, or emailed/faxed off, or turned into fillable forms, etc. Of course, they still had a printer here and there for the few things that they did need to print out, but it was pretty amazing to see what they had managed to do with their own technology. Now, how well it all worked, of course, is another matter that's best left answered by someone who's actually worked there and used it. But as someone visiting the offices and getting a quick tour, I thought it was pretty impressive.
It's not just day dreaming any more. People talk on cell phones while walking and I often see them cross streets without even looking for traffic
Oh, absolutely! It's people talking on cellphones or texting or playing with their crackberries. Whenever I'm near someone who's lost in their own world I say "Look up!" in a cheery voice as I pass. That tends to startle and confuse them for a few moments.
Actually, they still sell logic chips and miscellaneous electronic components, albeit fairly well-hidden in the back of the store. I had a last minute idea for a project for a summer camp group I was leading last week and was able to pick up all the components I needed from RadioShack. Admittedly, the selection isn't what it used to be, but it's still there when you have a sudden pressing need for resistors, LEDs, transistors and capacitors....
That's assuming the manager/employees at your local store even know what those things are or why people would want them. I went to one of my local "The Shacks" a few months ago to pick up some things. The drawers were tucked in the back and almost completely empty. When I asked the manager about them he just shrugged and said "I don't know what that stuff is for". Thankfully another "The Shack" near me did have the pots and resistors I needed.
And by the way, I'm well aware that there are plenty of asshole bikers, runners, walkers, etc out there. I'm as courteous as can be when I come upon other people on the path (I slow down, ding my bell, give plenty of clearance, etc). But the guy who's walking and bobbing from side to side on the path because he's too busy daydreaming is just as bad as the cyclist going 20 and expecting everyone to get out of his way. Actually, I'd say the daydreaming walker is even worse, because his movements tend to be totally unpredictable.
and sometimes cyclists and even bikers... I have the same problem with all of them: I usually walk because I'm in no rush and i want to (daydream) think deeply about life, the universe, and everything. These guys rush by on MY walkway, stirring me out of my reverie at least, sometimes forcing me to jump out of the way.
I'm someone who is either always walking or cycling (sometimes going places, sometimes just to be out), and my biggest gripe is with other people (be they walking, cycling, rollerblading, driving, etc--doesn't really matter how) who aren't PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS. And yes, that would be you when you're daydreaming. If you want to dreamily wander around, do it where there aren't other people trying to maneuver around others. Take a leisurely stroll in the woods. But don't try to be blissfully unaware of the world on a multi-use path, sidewalk, or god forbid, the road.
Many years ago (1995 apparently) there was a game called The Dark Eye that was based on the writings of Poe. It was a pretty simple clicky puzzle/adventure type game, but the way it incorporated the various stories was pretty well done. It also helped that it had the voice of William S Burroughs as the main character. Interesting little game, and one way that literature can be used as the basis for a game.
Should've mentioned, I couldn't give a shit about Rand. But it is curious how the same thing happened before and nobody noticed/cared. Apparently it happened a while ago with some Harry Potter bootlegs, too. So I'd say the fact that it was 1984 (and Animal Farm) had a whole lot to do with it being newsworthy. Just look at the headlines and leads that were used when the story first broke.
If this was anything except 1984, this wouldn't have been news at all.
Bullshit.
Then how come it wasn't news when the exact same thing happened with several Ayn Rand books a month earlier?
Yeah, I like that name. It's got zazz.
More significantly, an attacker can also register a wildcard domain, such as *\0.badguy.com, which would then give him a certificate that would allow him to masquerade as any site on the internet and intercept communication.
That doesn't sound that bad, does it?