OT, but what software do you recommend for ripping your Blu-Rays? I just recently made the upgrade to BD and want to start filling up my NAS. A 4 year old and CD/DVD/BD are not a good combo.
Now Gizmodo has put up a note on their web page saying "Yeah, we have it. Also we took it apart.". Receiving and harboring stolen goods is illegal in basically every state, and can be a federal crime for items $5k or greater that cross state lines. It is totally plausible that a prototype is worth more than five thousand. Depending on the numbers in which they are being produced, it might have even cost that much to manufacture and, being rare and coveted, is worth rather more.
Is it theft if they truly did find it (in a bar)? You find a quarter on the street and pick it up, is that theft? What is the moral obligation to try and return something that you found? Simply because it has more value it's more of an offense? It's not like they can call 1800APPLE and the person that answer would have any clue as to what to do. If it's traceable they should have called and said hey, you have my phone, can I have it back now? If they refused then I might consider it theft and call the appropriate authorities./shrug
I had a short gig last year at a large bank in the SE and they still run OS/2 at their branches. While a most instaces are running in Virtual PC, they still have several hundred running on bare metal.
But I think the Major Powers have a ton of intelligence information on each other, so the US/Russia have a pretty good accounting of how many strategic weapons they made. So with the inspection schemes they might be 75-85% accurate and they'll trust the other side, to a limit. From what I've read on the Cold War and the verification treaties, the Soviets always cheated and assumed the US cheated because, well, the Soviets were cheating.
LOL, sounds like a scene from "The Men Who Stare at Goats:"
General Brown: So they started doing psy-research because they thought we were doing psy-research, when in fact we weren't doing psy-research?
Brigadier General Dean Hopgood: Yes sir. But now that they *are* doing psy-research, we're gonna have to do psy-research, sir.
[leans forward] Brigadier General Dean Hopgood: We can't afford to have the Russian's leading the field in the paranormal.
That's interesting to know. I am not aware of this practice in the US. A quick Google didn't come up with anything conclusive. I stand corrected on my original statement for my UK friends.:-)
Do authors and publishers get paid every time a their book is checked out from the library? If not, I fail to see the difference. You've paid your taxes support the library, who cares where the book comes from at that point?
I think it would be fairly simple to do actually using VMware Player and a nice install script/wrapper. The worst part would be a several hundred MB download or mailing out the CD. VMware currently hosts 1000s of virtual appliances for similar use cases.
The same way the natural gas companies do it I suppose. I have nearly a dozen natural gas companies that will provide service to my house and only one set of pipes coming into my house. Why can't this be the same for cable and phone companies? I only have two options in those areas, AT&T and Comcast. I'm pretty sure it has to do with local policies/law/contracts/bribes/whatever.
It is my understanding, yes. Same with a book. You focus on an object at a certain distance for 3-4 hours in a row and then go outside and might have problems reading signs that are a hundred yards away until your eyes stretch out again.
I hear this argument from everyone, but I use a computer with an LCD screen 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I've never (ever, ever) had a problem with eye strain. That was a problem with CRTs, sure, but are there really that many people who actually have a problem looking at an LCD screen, or is this just a lot of hot air brought about by tech pundits? I sort of think that most people have heard there is a problem and believe it the way most people thought the Atkin's diet was a good nutritious diet. Maybe the e-ink guys are just marketing hard from this angle and no one has bothered to respond?
I'm not an optometrist or anything, so I could definitely be quite wrong, but I just haven't experienced this "problem" and I asked around to fellow long-term computer users and nobody I know has either. By the way, I'm a CS doctoral student and programmer and gamer, so I basically do look at screens ALL DAY. I even read academic papers on my laptop regularly (and read printed novels but I don't mind using a screen at all).
I just had my annual eye appointment and based on what my optometrist said it not the LCD screen itself that causes vision "problems." It's really the amount of time and the distance you are looking at the screen. Basically you are staring at an object 12-16" from your face for hours at a time and your eye muscles get used to that. Distance objects might be blurry for a bit until your eyes can "stretch" out and readjust. Just like sitting in a chair for hours at a time, your legs, back, etc need to stretch and change positions from time to time.
Because the geeks don't typically have the authority to make purchasing decisions. Sure, in some organizations they might have some input or influence, but it's typically the non-geek Director, VP or higher that signs off on the final PO.
I don't think these ads are targeted towards the geek that might have a few systems in their house. That's peanuts compared to all the enterprise level opportunities out there.
I wonder if those parents have kid(s) in the public (U.S. anyway) school system? If I don't show proof that my kid has his latest vaccinations then he isn't allowed back into the school until that is taken care of.
What I draw issue with is the practice of using technology to divide and dominate people, which is exactly what Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are doing with their video game systems. I have absolutely no sympathy for any of these companies, I hope the DMCA is overturned and I hope all of their systems are cracked.
Wow. Really? That statement could be interchanged with just about any company in any industry. Do you realize how crazy you sound? I guess everyone should just make the same widget, compatible with every other widget, at the same price as every other widget that the 2 billion widget companies make.
I just have to know, what companies do you have sympathy for that apparently do no evil and simply want to make the world a better place without making money for the sake of making money???
I like the idea of a charge back model, but typically they are rudimentary in nature and only encompasses basic infrastructure costs. Even those are difficult to quantify. Sure, it's easy to say a server cost X, a network port cost Y, support staff cost Z, etc. How does one account for things like software development and other abstract resources that are not easily quantifiable?
Most shops I've been in seem to railroad IT (support and infrastructure folks mainly) at the 11th hour and they have to scramble to make a solution work that doesn't necessarily fit into the current model. My favorites are when a shiny new Apache Linux based environment is shoved into the hands of a bunch of Windows admins to support. Or a bunch of Oracle DBAs are forced to support the new MSSQL blah product. The business then wonders why there is so much push back from IT at that point. A 10 minute conversation involving IT at the beginning of the project could have taken care of these issues, whether it's changing the solution, training up the staff on the solution or even hiring a new body to support the solution.
Maybe they should and diversify their business. They've already sunk the majority of the R&D cost, how much extra would it cost them to certify and insure it as a "medical" grade product?
So what did you do when a chalk board, white board, overhead projector, etc was used in a classroom and not every piece of information was text or dictated?
Amazon.com is making changes to the Kindle to make it more accessible to blind people, a spokesman there said. The Kindle team is working on an audio-based menu system, and the devices will have a super-size font added, Amazon said in a press release. Those new features are due out by mid-2010, the company said.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd say the value was about $5000. :-) I guess it boils down to how the value of an item is determined.
Thank you for the extra research and clarification; that's good to know.
OT, but what software do you recommend for ripping your Blu-Rays? I just recently made the upgrade to BD and want to start filling up my NAS. A 4 year old and CD/DVD/BD are not a good combo.
Now Gizmodo has put up a note on their web page saying "Yeah, we have it. Also we took it apart.". Receiving and harboring stolen goods is illegal in basically every state, and can be a federal crime for items $5k or greater that cross state lines. It is totally plausible that a prototype is worth more than five thousand. Depending on the numbers in which they are being produced, it might have even cost that much to manufacture and, being rare and coveted, is worth rather more.
Is it theft if they truly did find it (in a bar)? You find a quarter on the street and pick it up, is that theft? What is the moral obligation to try and return something that you found? Simply because it has more value it's more of an offense? It's not like they can call 1800APPLE and the person that answer would have any clue as to what to do. If it's traceable they should have called and said hey, you have my phone, can I have it back now? If they refused then I might consider it theft and call the appropriate authorities. /shrug
I had a short gig last year at a large bank in the SE and they still run OS/2 at their branches. While a most instaces are running in Virtual PC, they still have several hundred running on bare metal.
I don't think staying up 84 hours to do something is *particularly* rare
Do you smoke crack or something? I don't think I've ever been awake for 48 hours straight, let alone 84.
You've never had a full time job as an IT or System Administrator then!
I think that statement is very telling of your skills as a sysadmin. I'm glad I've never had to work in your environment!
But I think the Major Powers have a ton of intelligence information on each other, so the US/Russia have a pretty good accounting of how many strategic weapons they made. So with the inspection schemes they might be 75-85% accurate and they'll trust the other side, to a limit. From what I've read on the Cold War and the verification treaties, the Soviets always cheated and assumed the US cheated because, well, the Soviets were cheating.
LOL, sounds like a scene from "The Men Who Stare at Goats:"
General Brown: So they started doing psy-research because they thought we were doing psy-research, when in fact we weren't doing psy-research?
Brigadier General Dean Hopgood: Yes sir. But now that they *are* doing psy-research, we're gonna have to do psy-research, sir.
[leans forward] Brigadier General Dean Hopgood: We can't afford to have the Russian's leading the field in the paranormal.
That's interesting to know. I am not aware of this practice in the US. A quick Google didn't come up with anything conclusive. I stand corrected on my original statement for my UK friends. :-)
Do authors and publishers get paid every time a their book is checked out from the library? If not, I fail to see the difference. You've paid your taxes support the library, who cares where the book comes from at that point?
So what is the difference between piracy and getting the book from your local library? The exact same amount of money was exchanged in both cases.
I guess everyone should just buy a 2005 Toyota Corolla and be done with it all. Oh wait...
I think it would be fairly simple to do actually using VMware Player and a nice install script/wrapper. The worst part would be a several hundred MB download or mailing out the CD. VMware currently hosts 1000s of virtual appliances for similar use cases.
The same way the natural gas companies do it I suppose. I have nearly a dozen natural gas companies that will provide service to my house and only one set of pipes coming into my house. Why can't this be the same for cable and phone companies? I only have two options in those areas, AT&T and Comcast. I'm pretty sure it has to do with local policies/law/contracts/bribes/whatever.
It is my understanding, yes. Same with a book. You focus on an object at a certain distance for 3-4 hours in a row and then go outside and might have problems reading signs that are a hundred yards away until your eyes stretch out again.
Really, a troll mod? I guess it's still too early for the mods...
I hear this argument from everyone, but I use a computer with an LCD screen 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I've never (ever, ever) had a problem with eye strain. That was a problem with CRTs, sure, but are there really that many people who actually have a problem looking at an LCD screen, or is this just a lot of hot air brought about by tech pundits? I sort of think that most people have heard there is a problem and believe it the way most people thought the Atkin's diet was a good nutritious diet. Maybe the e-ink guys are just marketing hard from this angle and no one has bothered to respond? I'm not an optometrist or anything, so I could definitely be quite wrong, but I just haven't experienced this "problem" and I asked around to fellow long-term computer users and nobody I know has either. By the way, I'm a CS doctoral student and programmer and gamer, so I basically do look at screens ALL DAY. I even read academic papers on my laptop regularly (and read printed novels but I don't mind using a screen at all).
I just had my annual eye appointment and based on what my optometrist said it not the LCD screen itself that causes vision "problems." It's really the amount of time and the distance you are looking at the screen. Basically you are staring at an object 12-16" from your face for hours at a time and your eye muscles get used to that. Distance objects might be blurry for a bit until your eyes can "stretch" out and readjust. Just like sitting in a chair for hours at a time, your legs, back, etc need to stretch and change positions from time to time.
This is the internet, may I ask what it is that you were expecting?
The Spanish Inquisition.
Lies, lies and more lies! NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
I don't think these ads are targeted towards the geek that might have a few systems in their house. That's peanuts compared to all the enterprise level opportunities out there.
I wonder if those parents have kid(s) in the public (U.S. anyway) school system? If I don't show proof that my kid has his latest vaccinations then he isn't allowed back into the school until that is taken care of.
What I draw issue with is the practice of using technology to divide and dominate people, which is exactly what Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are doing with their video game systems. I have absolutely no sympathy for any of these companies, I hope the DMCA is overturned and I hope all of their systems are cracked.
Wow. Really? That statement could be interchanged with just about any company in any industry. Do you realize how crazy you sound? I guess everyone should just make the same widget, compatible with every other widget, at the same price as every other widget that the 2 billion widget companies make.
I just have to know, what companies do you have sympathy for that apparently do no evil and simply want to make the world a better place without making money for the sake of making money???
Wait a second. Are we talking about Chuck Norris or The Most Interesting Man in the World?
I like the idea of a charge back model, but typically they are rudimentary in nature and only encompasses basic infrastructure costs. Even those are difficult to quantify. Sure, it's easy to say a server cost X, a network port cost Y, support staff cost Z, etc. How does one account for things like software development and other abstract resources that are not easily quantifiable?
Most shops I've been in seem to railroad IT (support and infrastructure folks mainly) at the 11th hour and they have to scramble to make a solution work that doesn't necessarily fit into the current model. My favorites are when a shiny new Apache Linux based environment is shoved into the hands of a bunch of Windows admins to support. Or a bunch of Oracle DBAs are forced to support the new MSSQL blah product. The business then wonders why there is so much push back from IT at that point. A 10 minute conversation involving IT at the beginning of the project could have taken care of these issues, whether it's changing the solution, training up the staff on the solution or even hiring a new body to support the solution.
Maybe they should and diversify their business. They've already sunk the majority of the R&D cost, how much extra would it cost them to certify and insure it as a "medical" grade product?
So what did you do when a chalk board, white board, overhead projector, etc was used in a classroom and not every piece of information was text or dictated?
Amazon.com is making changes to the Kindle to make it more accessible to blind people, a spokesman there said. The Kindle team is working on an audio-based menu system, and the devices will have a super-size font added, Amazon said in a press release. Those new features are due out by mid-2010, the company said.