I'm glad to hear that. I live a little north of DC, and I get mad every time I use my Bank of America ATM because I'm thinking they should keep track of this stuff.
The touchscreens still suck though. Not only do the break all the time (the sensors are already worn down in some parts, so you have to mash the screen), but as a tall person using a screen 4' off the ground, I always miss the button that's displayed and hit the one above it. Stupid.
In the subsequent weeks after the editorial was published, Jeanneney has toned down his statements made in the French media, but remains the leading proponent for mobilizing funding for the digitalization of European libraries.
My favorite is Bank of America's policy of limiting you to 7 characters for your password. Isn't 8 chars pretty standard? Even if it isn't, limiting to just 7 chars is inexcusable, as many people's passwords are longer than that, and they've forced me to use my smaller, less secure one.
I might be wrong, but I think that method is what's used for current DVDs, and the algorithm that everyone uses (DeCSS) wasn't based on digging out or breaking any encryption - it's just that one company that makes DVD drives forgot to encrypt that second key. So it was successful for a long while. Who knows if CSS would have been cracked if it weren't for the mistake taht the manufacturer made.
This system that's being proposed would work a lot better if the keys/firmware could be updated via a link, such as through cable or the internet. But people won't want to hook up their DVD players to a PC network (most don't even have a network), and the cable companies would all have to work together to get the key-distribution data to work on their systems. So they might do what a poster above mentioned, and go to a smartcard solution. While certainly more difficult than a more technical solution, smartcards are not too expensive and they are easy to mail out. And DirecTV's 4th generation card, which has been out for about two years now, has yet to get hacked, despite a large number of more-than-casual hackers trying to defeat it.
I think these would work as well, and they're not made by crackpots;)
Re:It Stays Exactly the Same, Year after Year! NOT
on
New Calendar Proposal
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· Score: 1
Not only that, but it allow his calendar to drift off 5 days from the seasons regularly (as quoted in the article). Our leap year system allows for what, a 2 day drift? One that is corrected every four years, and due to a very small drift after that, we correct it again by not having leap years every 100 years. There's also a 400-year correction, but either way, I don't think we ever go off 2 days. So there's no benefit to his sytem aside from the idea of having an extra week off, which seems very nice, but not worth a friggin' 5 day drift every 10 years.
How so? Not trying to troll here, but I'm not getting your point.
Commercials don't have to be sexually explicit to be objectionable; I was just using that as an example.
Maybe you think all ads are objectionable, and that I should have said so and left it that, but I just don't feel that way.* I do, however, object to the idea that I have to watch a commercial, and I certainly feel I have a right to skip it if I posess the means to do so.
*my reasoning: providing content isn't free. Watch all the Comedy Central you want, but realize the money comes from somewhere. Their primary source of revenue is from ads. So ads work as kind of tax on your TV viewing, only it takes time, and not money, away from you. This is something I am willing to put up with. Note that since this is private businesses we're talking about the onus of keeping revenue up is on them, not us, and not the government. And if we figure out easier ways to stop watching ads, we should be allowed to, even if it threatens the revenue-generating model TV stations use now. If everyone went out and got a TV-commercial-skipping TiVo, then the cable networks better figure out a way to get money through some other means. And don't worry, they will. Either that, or the channels go away, and then we might as well just start paying for content directly.
In addition the bill would "permit people to use technology to skip objectionable content -- like a gory or sexually explicit scene -- in films, a right that consumers already have. However, under the proposed law, skipping any commercials or promotional announcements would be prohibited."
What if I find the ads objectionable?
Non-rhetorical stance:
Really, what if there's an ad for say, Wonderbras, that I find explicit? Can I turn that off? This is insane. Who are they to say what I can and can't watch? Howabout turning off the TV to eat dinner when there's an ad on... is that okay? Do I have their permission for that at least? Ugh.
I live in Maryland, which is like the conservative Massachusetts - we're solidly democratic but have a Republican governor now. Anywho, I wanted to vote libertarian like I did four years ago, but Badnarik is just batty. I wish the Libertarian Party would put out moderate candidates, because then they'd get more votes from people who are fed up with the two parties now, instead of courting the crazy hardcore libertarians, whose votes are already secured by the LB.
But if you're using Cartesian map cordinates (longitude, latitude) to figre out A and B on a globe, this is incorrect. When you view the shortest path from A to B on a flat Cartesian map, it becomes curved (for example, flying from LA to Tokyo takes you over Alaska at one point). Google "Great Circle Route", unless you already knew all this.
I don't know... I just used this service to get my sister's address and phone number. While the SMS I got back was correct (and actually returned more listings with the same last name), it took about an hour to receive it. Maybe it's under a heavy load due to/., but unless I can get it in 30 secs, I think I'll still pay the $0.99 for a 411 call than the 2x$.05 for the SMS excange. Just my $.02 for now.
Hmm... I kind of meant this to be a joke, but it would work. Use something like 1.5-base log where a 2 is 1.5x better than 1. A level 20 would be 437x faster, and by then something else would've come along....
The end consumer could care less about log scales. They might not understand them, but they're used in other things right now without complaint (Richter scale, dB levels...)
Completely OT, but funny - the detectors used are called "bhangmeters"... I had never heard this term before, so I googled it:
Bhangmeters
All satellites used for atmospheric nuclear detonation monitoring incorporate a detection device called a bhangmeter. Bhangmeters detect and record the distinctive double-humped optical signature of an atmospheric nuclear detonation.
The name bhangmeter originated with some of the early skeptics who did not believe such sensing was possible. "Bhang" is a variation of Indian hemp that is smoked for its hallucinogenic impact. Apparently some thought that anyone who believed such an approach feasible must have been smoking hallucinogens.
If they have those restrictions for players, they don't for audience members. I went to a taping when they were in D.C. a few months ago (I wanted to see the hotshot political contestants, but ended up getting the day after, when they did the kids show), and there was not requirement that we had to keep quiet about it. This is on par with one of the original articles stating that audience members were told to "spread the news", which may or may not be true. But we didn't have to sign/acknowlede anything to that effect.
You can also use the Ambient Orb by following this guide. Theses guys chose the Lava Lamp because it's cheaper, but if you hate X10, this might work better.
Now, everyone go buy an Ambient Orb so they can mass-produce them more, and then I can finally afford one!
Re:It's not just the shady companies
on
The Spyware Inferno
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· Score: 2, Informative
Hehe. Starup Monitor is a TSR that loads up on startup itself! It does look pretty darn useful though. At the moment, I'm using Startup Mechanic. Same deal, but it doesn't run as a process, it's a standalone program that you run once in a while when you suspect something weird going on. Good for those who want to run as little processes as possible.
Re:Obligatory Futurama reference ...
on
3D Monitor
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· Score: 1
Hmm... I took flying lessons without a problem (same problem, see my previous post)... but I never got my license. I suppose I wouldn't have gotten it? I assume you've already checked this stuff out, but if not, try to make sure you're definitely not allowed to fly recreationally, otherwise you might be missing an opportunity. I mean, you can't be a fighter pilot or anything (I already checked that one out since I grew up by the Naval Acadamy and wanted to go there for college).
And yeah, some 3D IMAX films kind-of work for me. It's not perfect, and usually give me a headache, but it looks more real than a standard 2D interface.
Re:Obligatory Futurama reference ...
on
3D Monitor
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· Score: 1
I was born cross-eyed as well. From what my eye doctor told me when I was younger, my brain supposedly stopped using one of my eyes to avoid seeing double vision, and since then the eye has gone to 20/300 due to non-use. So yeah, those red-blue 3D things do nothing for me. It's also why I was never great at games like tennis or baseball (and now, unfortunately, golf, since I lose eye contact with the ball during my swing). But same as you, my brain has gotten better at calculating depth perception, so given a real-life 2D interface, I'm good and discerning where objects are.
Just thought I'd share. OH, and at least you have both your eyes - if my good one gets poked, I'm f-ed for life...
Yeah, car companies are funny like that. But you can still find Audis outside the US (as well as Lexus right?) The whole Acura thing is particularly funny because outside the US, they have cars identical to Acuras, but with a different badge. I made a nice chart once a few years ago showing who owned what, and what percentage. Wish I still had it...
The new Scion coupe has 160hp, as well as a good stereo and 17" rims and all that. And for what, $16K? I'd like it if I were 17 again.
Thanks for that post. Since ZA doesn't play well with my Azareus BitTorrent client, I was in the market for a new firewall. I'll have to try out SyGate (I'm just assuming the SP2 firewall will be full of holes - lord knows there will be enough people looking for 'em).
I think the author of that article screwed up the wording. The process was originally created for users who couldn't get SP1 installed in the first place (which is described in the text of the article). I have no idea why "SP1-based computer" was used, other than to make sure that searches for "SP1" would land on his/her aricle. But I went through all this on my pre-SP1 box, and then SP1 was able to install after I changed my key. I saw that "SP1-based" headline too and thought it was weird, but I guess it's just a mistake.
The same users that were blocked from installing SP1 - those that have used a small set of legacy pirated product keys - will be blocked from installing SP2
Slashdot Mirror
The touchscreens still suck though. Not only do the break all the time (the sensors are already worn down in some parts, so you have to mash the screen), but as a tall person using a screen 4' off the ground, I always miss the button that's displayed and hit the one above it. Stupid.
In the subsequent weeks after the editorial was published, Jeanneney has toned down his statements made in the French media, but remains the leading proponent for mobilizing funding for the digitalization of European libraries.
http://sewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3456481
My favorite is Bank of America's policy of limiting you to 7 characters for your password. Isn't 8 chars pretty standard? Even if it isn't, limiting to just 7 chars is inexcusable, as many people's passwords are longer than that, and they've forced me to use my smaller, less secure one.
This system that's being proposed would work a lot better if the keys/firmware could be updated via a link, such as through cable or the internet. But people won't want to hook up their DVD players to a PC network (most don't even have a network), and the cable companies would all have to work together to get the key-distribution data to work on their systems. So they might do what a poster above mentioned, and go to a smartcard solution. While certainly more difficult than a more technical solution, smartcards are not too expensive and they are easy to mail out. And DirecTV's 4th generation card, which has been out for about two years now, has yet to get hacked, despite a large number of more-than-casual hackers trying to defeat it.
I think these would work as well, and they're not made by crackpots ;)
Not only that, but it allow his calendar to drift off 5 days from the seasons regularly (as quoted in the article). Our leap year system allows for what, a 2 day drift? One that is corrected every four years, and due to a very small drift after that, we correct it again by not having leap years every 100 years. There's also a 400-year correction, but either way, I don't think we ever go off 2 days. So there's no benefit to his sytem aside from the idea of having an extra week off, which seems very nice, but not worth a friggin' 5 day drift every 10 years.
Commercials don't have to be sexually explicit to be objectionable; I was just using that as an example.
Maybe you think all ads are objectionable, and that I should have said so and left it that, but I just don't feel that way.* I do, however, object to the idea that I have to watch a commercial, and I certainly feel I have a right to skip it if I posess the means to do so. *my reasoning: providing content isn't free. Watch all the Comedy Central you want, but realize the money comes from somewhere. Their primary source of revenue is from ads. So ads work as kind of tax on your TV viewing, only it takes time, and not money, away from you. This is something I am willing to put up with. Note that since this is private businesses we're talking about the onus of keeping revenue up is on them, not us, and not the government. And if we figure out easier ways to stop watching ads, we should be allowed to, even if it threatens the revenue-generating model TV stations use now. If everyone went out and got a TV-commercial-skipping TiVo, then the cable networks better figure out a way to get money through some other means. And don't worry, they will. Either that, or the channels go away, and then we might as well just start paying for content directly.
What if I find the ads objectionable?
Non-rhetorical stance:
Really, what if there's an ad for say, Wonderbras, that I find explicit? Can I turn that off? This is insane. Who are they to say what I can and can't watch? Howabout turning off the TV to eat dinner when there's an ad on... is that okay? Do I have their permission for that at least? Ugh.
I live in Maryland, which is like the conservative Massachusetts - we're solidly democratic but have a Republican governor now. Anywho, I wanted to vote libertarian like I did four years ago, but Badnarik is just batty. I wish the Libertarian Party would put out moderate candidates, because then they'd get more votes from people who are fed up with the two parties now, instead of courting the crazy hardcore libertarians, whose votes are already secured by the LB.
But if you're using Cartesian map cordinates (longitude, latitude) to figre out A and B on a globe, this is incorrect. When you view the shortest path from A to B on a flat Cartesian map, it becomes curved (for example, flying from LA to Tokyo takes you over Alaska at one point). Google "Great Circle Route", unless you already knew all this.
The mission's Mishap Investigation Board will continue to investigate the problem.
Oh, suuuure. MIB stands for "Mishap Investigation Board" now, huh? We're on to you, you governemnt spooks!
I don't know... I just used this service to get my sister's address and phone number. While the SMS I got back was correct (and actually returned more listings with the same last name), it took about an hour to receive it. Maybe it's under a heavy load due to /., but unless I can get it in 30 secs, I think I'll still pay the $0.99 for a 411 call than the 2x$.05 for the SMS excange. Just my $.02 for now.
Hmm... I kind of meant this to be a joke, but it would work. Use something like 1.5-base log where a 2 is 1.5x better than 1. A level 20 would be 437x faster, and by then something else would've come along....
The end consumer could care less about log scales. They might not understand them, but they're used in other things right now without complaint (Richter scale, dB levels...)
Completely OT, but funny - the detectors used are called "bhangmeters"... I had never heard this term before, so I googled it: Bhangmeters All satellites used for atmospheric nuclear detonation monitoring incorporate a detection device called a bhangmeter. Bhangmeters detect and record the distinctive double-humped optical signature of an atmospheric nuclear detonation. The name bhangmeter originated with some of the early skeptics who did not believe such sensing was possible. "Bhang" is a variation of Indian hemp that is smoked for its hallucinogenic impact. Apparently some thought that anyone who believed such an approach feasible must have been smoking hallucinogens.
If they have those restrictions for players, they don't for audience members. I went to a taping when they were in D.C. a few months ago (I wanted to see the hotshot political contestants, but ended up getting the day after, when they did the kids show), and there was not requirement that we had to keep quiet about it. This is on par with one of the original articles stating that audience members were told to "spread the news", which may or may not be true. But we didn't have to sign/acknowlede anything to that effect.
It looks like the U.S. was ~76 people/mi^2 in 1999
Sweden is about 51-56 people/mi^2
Now, everyone go buy an Ambient Orb so they can mass-produce them more, and then I can finally afford one!
Hehe. Starup Monitor is a TSR that loads up on startup itself! It does look pretty darn useful though. At the moment, I'm using Startup Mechanic. Same deal, but it doesn't run as a process, it's a standalone program that you run once in a while when you suspect something weird going on. Good for those who want to run as little processes as possible.
And yeah, some 3D IMAX films kind-of work for me. It's not perfect, and usually give me a headache, but it looks more real than a standard 2D interface.
Just thought I'd share. OH, and at least you have both your eyes - if my good one gets poked, I'm f-ed for life...
The new Scion coupe has 160hp, as well as a good stereo and 17" rims and all that. And for what, $16K? I'd like it if I were 17 again.
Thanks for that post. Since ZA doesn't play well with my Azareus BitTorrent client, I was in the market for a new firewall. I'll have to try out SyGate (I'm just assuming the SP2 firewall will be full of holes - lord knows there will be enough people looking for 'em).
I think the author of that article screwed up the wording. The process was originally created for users who couldn't get SP1 installed in the first place (which is described in the text of the article). I have no idea why "SP1-based computer" was used, other than to make sure that searches for "SP1" would land on his/her aricle. But I went through all this on my pre-SP1 box, and then SP1 was able to install after I changed my key. I saw that "SP1-based" headline too and thought it was weird, but I guess it's just a mistake.
The same users that were blocked from installing SP1 - those that have used a small set of legacy pirated product keys - will be blocked from installing SP2