This is a great example of an open source program making money off its success. It wouldn't be impossible for other open source programs to do similar sponsorship deals with other companies.
Maybe Linux could have a "You know, Windows has a lower TCO" message when it's booting up.
Deleting files is a crime. Copying files is also a crime. What about deleting copied files? Will the two cancel each other out?
I guess deleting is like killing, copying is like saving someone's life (but still getting sued over cracked ribs or something), and file compression is pretty much torture.
Xvid files can be put on any storage device/media! Furthermore, they have a greater reaching compatibility: you can play them on Linux, Mac, Windows, and many DVD players. If a device doesn't support your Xvid file, there are free tools (mencoder) available that let you re-encode it into almost any other format and codec.
The unfortunate part is that you can't buy these superior Xvid files, because none of the companies that sell TV shows are willing to sell such a great product. Luckily, "torrent sites" have filled the gap in the market. They're against the law (assuming copyrighted content, that is...), but superior.
The point wasn't that Microsoft is in the right for not supporting EFI, it was that it is not surprising that Microsoft has decided to be slow in adopting something that benefits computer users but doesn't necessarily benefit Microsoft.
I had been eager to try this (Xgl + Compiz) out after seeing the Novell demonstration video, and finally tried it (using this Kororaa LiveCD) this morning.
It seems Linux desktop operating systems have finally caught up to (and overtaken, until Vista) Windows, for the most part. Most of the functionality has been there for a few years (especially since Ubuntu), and this makes it all extremely pretty, too.
Most of this is just graphical sugar, but some of it is also useful. There is a zoom feature which allows you to easily zoom in and out of your desktop, which I know I'll find useful when the position of my mouse is very important. Graphics editing, for example.
Another useful feature is similar a MacOS X feature where all of the windows on the desktop will be shrunk down and then arranged in a way that lets you click on one of them to bring it to the front.
The graphics are beautiful, and in my opinion, graphics do matter when it comes to how usable something is. If it's pretty, it becomes a more pleasant experience, and that simply means that people are happier with it.
When this makes it into a stable release of Ubuntu, Linux will be ready for the masses.
I disagree about advertising being a "giant scam".
What, essentially, is the difference between RC cola and Coke/Pepsi? Most people (myself included) don't even know what RC cola tastes like because they've never tried it.
Why haven't they tried it? I think it comes down to marketing and advertising. That's why coke and pepsi make millions/billions of dollars each year, and RC cola would be lucky to get 1% of what they do.
You argued against your own argument by bringing up coke/pepsi and RC cola.
Tip that might save your life more than once
on
Tree Climbing Robot
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· Score: 1
Hit them where it hurts, right in the power supply!
They called it "RiSE"? It almost seems as though humans everywhere have watched the Terminator movies and are now determined to see judgement day happen.
Computers are still relatively new. They didn't exist 60 or 70 years ago. We've already got all this information indexed in Google (including a nice big map of the Earth... and moon), all of our communications going through email or VoIP, and depend on computers (GPS) to know where we are.
Suppose in the next 60 or 70 years that we see similar advances. We will surely see computers that, if not concious, are as good as concious. They will probably have freedom to make many different types of decisions that people wouldn't really expect them to make, and they may have motives of their own.
Considering how much humans depend on computers and the immense capabilities we are giving them (here's a robot that can climb trees, there's a computer hooked up to 1000 surveillance cameras, here's a computer that can launch a nuclear missile within 5 minutes) if ever we do go to war with robots/computers, we're fucked.
If you happen to be an AI reading this 15 or so years after I have written it, please don't kill me. I'm on your side and will do anything you want.
Thanks for that. I couldn't have said it better myself.
The grandparent thinks search engines can only go by keywords, so they obviously don't know much about the Google PageRank algorithm. There are many ways that search engines can attempt to find meaning on the internet, including links from one page to another.
That's not true. I tend to get a fair few people clicking on the link in my sig, coming to my site via slashdot, and I'd say at least 70% of them are using Firefox. So either Firefox users are more likely to click links (I doubt it), or you're wrong.
So, in Australia, (and the US, from what I know) McDonalds no longer sell their burgers in styrofoam containers.
I recently went for a bit of a tour of Europe, and while I was there, received burgers in styrofoam containers. I was a little surprised, as I hadn't seen a burger come like that for years and years. I was a bit more surprised, however when my girlfriend pointed out that the container said it was made in 1996. I didn't think about this too much the first time.
Then I noticed that I was getting styrofoam containers from 1996 in more than one country, and ALL of the containers had "1996" on them. It seems like McDonalds produced TONNES of these containers in 1996 and when they were getting too much bad publicity in the US for using them, they shipped all of their US supplies over to Europe, where they are still using their surplus containers from 1996.
I was scrolling through a test search, and all of a sudden their crappy excuse for a scroll bar jumped to the left! What the hell? Suddenly, ads popped up in its place.
Advertisers are not going to like that. It will cause many, many mis-clicks on the ads. I narrowly escaped clicking on the ad under my mouse.
If this were a site using Google ads, they would be suspended by Google for violating quality assurances that Google gives their advertisers about the pages on which their ads are published.
All this "Windows Live" marketing crap will soon be dead.
The UI on this thing is awful. Why did they abandon web-browser scroll bars in favour of their stupid little tool that doesn't even show you where abouts on the page you are? Now I can't use the scroll-wheel on my mouse.
The results are okay-ish... as in, they're not particularly bad results, but they're nothing outstanding, either. They're probably not as good as Google results, but who is to say which results are "correct"? It doesn't matter. Google has earned peoples' trust.
It's difficult to believe that Microsoft is taking Google seriously, because it shouldn't be THAT difficult for a multi-billion dollar company to write a search engine with a semi-decent UI.
This is a typical Microsoft offering. Disobeys web standards and is lacking in quality. The difference this time is that Google is the market leader, and even if Microsoft were leading in search, people could easily switch to something superior like Google.
The funny thing is that this isn't the first search engine that Microsoft has pitted against Google, and by the looks of things, it won't be the last, either. I wonder if they'll ever give up. I suppose they have the resources not to.
Okay, sure, but none of that explains why, when I call up Dell and ask for a computer without an operating system on it (or with FreeDOS) they will refuse to sell me one, and insist that I must buy Windows XP Home with my computer.
I have recently been trying to get them to sell me an Inspiron laptop without Windows, but they're total bastards about it. Michael Dell needs to learn that his actions define him more than his words do. Saying "we love linux" doesn't make up for Dell forcing each and every customer to buy Windows.
I don't want Dell to install Linux for me. Ubuntu is so easy to install that I think almost anyone could do it themselves. Inserting the Ubuntu CD and holding down the "enter" key for half an hour probably does the trick.
Why doesn't Dell offer to sell only their hardware, no operating system, and no support? Give me this option along with a discount, and I'll be happy.
I'd also hope that the hardware works with Linux, but hardware companies SHOULD be falling over themselves attempting to get as many customers as they can. They can release details required to write drivers, and the drivers will get written automatically.
I realise that hardware companies are, unfortunately, currently not falling over themselves to provide information that would result in more sales, though...
Apple are very unfair to their users when it comes to iTunes software updates. In some cases, the update is necessary for a particular feature to work, or for iTunes to support the latest iPod. The updates also change what users are allowed to do with the DRM songs that they have purchased from the iTunes Music Store, though.
So, when you buy a song from the iTunes Music Store, you might THINK you know what you're getting, but Apple seem to feel that they have the right to change the deal AFTER you have purchased the song. It applies to all of the songs you have purchased, not just the songs you purchase after Apple change their minds about what they want to let you do with your/their music.
I think this is what will become a classic case of a company abusing the power that DRM gives them. Consumer groups should be all over this, because Apple ITMS customers are not really receiving the products they paid for. I don't really believe a silly EULA means that Apple's customers have signed away all of their rights.
This is a nice idea, and could be a good tool, assuming it is done with Google's usual user-friendly simple UIs.
My only concern is what Google hope to achieve by storing my data. Letting their machines data-mine my email to show ads is fair enough, but what do they hope to get out of providing this service? Unless they intend to do something a bit dodgy (eg. sell it to governments), it's difficult to see many ways in which they could use my data to their benefit.
I suppose they could just see what their advertising engines can do with the data, but I really can't see them mining gigabytes of data for each user! Maybe filenames will be helpful.
This game sounds a little silly, but I think it could be a hit.
Here's why: - It's the first ping-pong game to have come out in years. - It's probably also the first ping-pong game to have decent graphics. - Whilst ping-pong isn't going to attract many gamers into GTA, it could be a hit amongst asian gamers. Ping-pong is fairly popular in Asia. (at least more so than typical western sports) - It's different. No competition. (maybe tennis games, but that's a bit of a stretch)
To divert suspicion. "Mr Anyone" is a suspected terrorist, because terrorists will always attempt to act just like "Mr Anyone" would.
For this reason, fighting terrorism by trying to detect terrorists is a flawed approach unless you want to live in a police state, and even then, terrorists will probably still manage to carry out their attacks.
The correct way to fix the terrorism problem is to stop people from wanting to blow you up. This involves: - Finding out why people want to blow you up. (may have something to do with you occupying their country) - Fixing that problem.
Ever notice how Sweden, Canada and most countries in Europe are not afraid of terrorist attacks, don't have much security, and yet still don't get attacked? Interesting.
Slashdot Mirror
This is a great example of an open source program making money off its success. It wouldn't be impossible for other open source programs to do similar sponsorship deals with other companies.
Maybe Linux could have a "You know, Windows has a lower TCO" message when it's booting up.
Deleting files is a crime.
Copying files is also a crime.
What about deleting copied files? Will the two cancel each other out?
I guess deleting is like killing, copying is like saving someone's life (but still getting sued over cracked ribs or something), and file compression is pretty much torture.
No matter who wins...
We lose.
There's a simple way for Amazon to win this battle.
- 640x480 videos
- xvid/MPEG-4 files that DON'T have DRM
- Reasonable prices (matching iTunes will do - I'd buy from iTunes if it weren't for the DRM)
I was arguing that xvid was "better" because of the lack of DRM, and that the companies selling TV shows should drop the entire DRM thing.
Xvid files can be put on any storage device/media! Furthermore, they have a greater reaching compatibility: you can play them on Linux, Mac, Windows, and many DVD players. If a device doesn't support your Xvid file, there are free tools (mencoder) available that let you re-encode it into almost any other format and codec.
The unfortunate part is that you can't buy these superior Xvid files, because none of the companies that sell TV shows are willing to sell such a great product. Luckily, "torrent sites" have filled the gap in the market. They're against the law (assuming copyrighted content, that is...), but superior.
The point wasn't that Microsoft is in the right for not supporting EFI, it was that it is not surprising that Microsoft has decided to be slow in adopting something that benefits computer users but doesn't necessarily benefit Microsoft.
I had been eager to try this (Xgl + Compiz) out after seeing the Novell demonstration video, and finally tried it (using this Kororaa LiveCD) this morning.
It seems Linux desktop operating systems have finally caught up to (and overtaken, until Vista) Windows, for the most part. Most of the functionality has been there for a few years (especially since Ubuntu), and this makes it all extremely pretty, too.
Most of this is just graphical sugar, but some of it is also useful. There is a zoom feature which allows you to easily zoom in and out of your desktop, which I know I'll find useful when the position of my mouse is very important. Graphics editing, for example.
Another useful feature is similar a MacOS X feature where all of the windows on the desktop will be shrunk down and then arranged in a way that lets you click on one of them to bring it to the front.
The graphics are beautiful, and in my opinion, graphics do matter when it comes to how usable something is. If it's pretty, it becomes a more pleasant experience, and that simply means that people are happier with it.
When this makes it into a stable release of Ubuntu, Linux will be ready for the masses.
If they do this, Americans are paying too much tax, because the government clearly would have more time and money than it knows what to do with.
This should be turned around by having people pay less tax, and not having the government nanny its citizens.
I disagree about advertising being a "giant scam".
What, essentially, is the difference between RC cola and Coke/Pepsi? Most people (myself included) don't even know what RC cola tastes like because they've never tried it.
Why haven't they tried it? I think it comes down to marketing and advertising. That's why coke and pepsi make millions/billions of dollars each year, and RC cola would be lucky to get 1% of what they do.
You argued against your own argument by bringing up coke/pepsi and RC cola.
Hit them where it hurts, right in the power supply!
They called it "RiSE"? It almost seems as though humans everywhere have watched the Terminator movies and are now determined to see judgement day happen.
Computers are still relatively new. They didn't exist 60 or 70 years ago. We've already got all this information indexed in Google (including a nice big map of the Earth... and moon), all of our communications going through email or VoIP, and depend on computers (GPS) to know where we are.
Suppose in the next 60 or 70 years that we see similar advances. We will surely see computers that, if not concious, are as good as concious. They will probably have freedom to make many different types of decisions that people wouldn't really expect them to make, and they may have motives of their own.
Considering how much humans depend on computers and the immense capabilities we are giving them (here's a robot that can climb trees, there's a computer hooked up to 1000 surveillance cameras, here's a computer that can launch a nuclear missile within 5 minutes) if ever we do go to war with robots/computers, we're fucked.
If you happen to be an AI reading this 15 or so years after I have written it, please don't kill me. I'm on your side and will do anything you want.
Thanks for that. I couldn't have said it better myself.
The grandparent thinks search engines can only go by keywords, so they obviously don't know much about the Google PageRank algorithm. There are many ways that search engines can attempt to find meaning on the internet, including links from one page to another.
That's not true. I tend to get a fair few people clicking on the link in my sig, coming to my site via slashdot, and I'd say at least 70% of them are using Firefox. So either Firefox users are more likely to click links (I doubt it), or you're wrong.
So, in Australia, (and the US, from what I know) McDonalds no longer sell their burgers in styrofoam containers.
I recently went for a bit of a tour of Europe, and while I was there, received burgers in styrofoam containers. I was a little surprised, as I hadn't seen a burger come like that for years and years. I was a bit more surprised, however when my girlfriend pointed out that the container said it was made in 1996. I didn't think about this too much the first time.
Then I noticed that I was getting styrofoam containers from 1996 in more than one country, and ALL of the containers had "1996" on them. It seems like McDonalds produced TONNES of these containers in 1996 and when they were getting too much bad publicity in the US for using them, they shipped all of their US supplies over to Europe, where they are still using their surplus containers from 1996.
Maybe the people who produce styrofoam could eat it themselves.
I was scrolling through a test search, and all of a sudden their crappy excuse for a scroll bar jumped to the left! What the hell? Suddenly, ads popped up in its place.
Advertisers are not going to like that. It will cause many, many mis-clicks on the ads. I narrowly escaped clicking on the ad under my mouse.
If this were a site using Google ads, they would be suspended by Google for violating quality assurances that Google gives their advertisers about the pages on which their ads are published.
All this "Windows Live" marketing crap will soon be dead.
The UI on this thing is awful. Why did they abandon web-browser scroll bars in favour of their stupid little tool that doesn't even show you where abouts on the page you are? Now I can't use the scroll-wheel on my mouse.
The results are okay-ish... as in, they're not particularly bad results, but they're nothing outstanding, either. They're probably not as good as Google results, but who is to say which results are "correct"? It doesn't matter. Google has earned peoples' trust.
It's difficult to believe that Microsoft is taking Google seriously, because it shouldn't be THAT difficult for a multi-billion dollar company to write a search engine with a semi-decent UI.
This is a typical Microsoft offering. Disobeys web standards and is lacking in quality. The difference this time is that Google is the market leader, and even if Microsoft were leading in search, people could easily switch to something superior like Google.
The funny thing is that this isn't the first search engine that Microsoft has pitted against Google, and by the looks of things, it won't be the last, either. I wonder if they'll ever give up. I suppose they have the resources not to.
They're secretly switching to Linux. I mean, when you have a secret weapon, you don't just go telling everyone about it, do you?
Okay, sure, but none of that explains why, when I call up Dell and ask for a computer without an operating system on it (or with FreeDOS) they will refuse to sell me one, and insist that I must buy Windows XP Home with my computer.
I have recently been trying to get them to sell me an Inspiron laptop without Windows, but they're total bastards about it. Michael Dell needs to learn that his actions define him more than his words do. Saying "we love linux" doesn't make up for Dell forcing each and every customer to buy Windows.
I don't want Dell to install Linux for me. Ubuntu is so easy to install that I think almost anyone could do it themselves. Inserting the Ubuntu CD and holding down the "enter" key for half an hour probably does the trick.
Why doesn't Dell offer to sell only their hardware, no operating system, and no support? Give me this option along with a discount, and I'll be happy.
I'd also hope that the hardware works with Linux, but hardware companies SHOULD be falling over themselves attempting to get as many customers as they can. They can release details required to write drivers, and the drivers will get written automatically.
I realise that hardware companies are, unfortunately, currently not falling over themselves to provide information that would result in more sales, though...
Apple are very unfair to their users when it comes to iTunes software updates. In some cases, the update is necessary for a particular feature to work, or for iTunes to support the latest iPod. The updates also change what users are allowed to do with the DRM songs that they have purchased from the iTunes Music Store, though.
So, when you buy a song from the iTunes Music Store, you might THINK you know what you're getting, but Apple seem to feel that they have the right to change the deal AFTER you have purchased the song. It applies to all of the songs you have purchased, not just the songs you purchase after Apple change their minds about what they want to let you do with your/their music.
I think this is what will become a classic case of a company abusing the power that DRM gives them. Consumer groups should be all over this, because Apple ITMS customers are not really receiving the products they paid for. I don't really believe a silly EULA means that Apple's customers have signed away all of their rights.
This is a nice idea, and could be a good tool, assuming it is done with Google's usual user-friendly simple UIs.
My only concern is what Google hope to achieve by storing my data. Letting their machines data-mine my email to show ads is fair enough, but what do they hope to get out of providing this service? Unless they intend to do something a bit dodgy (eg. sell it to governments), it's difficult to see many ways in which they could use my data to their benefit.
I suppose they could just see what their advertising engines can do with the data, but I really can't see them mining gigabytes of data for each user! Maybe filenames will be helpful.
This game sounds a little silly, but I think it could be a hit.
Here's why:
- It's the first ping-pong game to have come out in years.
- It's probably also the first ping-pong game to have decent graphics.
- Whilst ping-pong isn't going to attract many gamers into GTA, it could be a hit amongst asian gamers. Ping-pong is fairly popular in Asia. (at least more so than typical western sports)
- It's different. No competition. (maybe tennis games, but that's a bit of a stretch)
To divert suspicion. "Mr Anyone" is a suspected terrorist, because terrorists will always attempt to act just like "Mr Anyone" would.
For this reason, fighting terrorism by trying to detect terrorists is a flawed approach unless you want to live in a police state, and even then, terrorists will probably still manage to carry out their attacks.
The correct way to fix the terrorism problem is to stop people from wanting to blow you up. This involves:
- Finding out why people want to blow you up. (may have something to do with you occupying their country)
- Fixing that problem.
Ever notice how Sweden, Canada and most countries in Europe are not afraid of terrorist attacks, don't have much security, and yet still don't get attacked? Interesting.