According to a blog post a new airless tire with spokes may soon be released for use on consumer automobiles. No more flats? Easier home replacement? I say lemme at em! Thanks to Randy for pointing this story out to me.
Category: Technology
I was not aware of this before now, but apparently the Wii might run a version of the Linux kernel. It will also be updatable remotely. From an interview on Nintendo’s website:
Wii is the first system from Nintendo that we can continue to be involved in (via operating system updates) after the customer buys it. This means that Wii will greatly expand and diversify the ways in which people will enjoy games in the future.
This could be exciting. I just hope they don’t use this as a way to ruin everyone’s fun with regards to homebrew games, etc.
Those most likely to pirate music are between the ages of 13 and 17. That same age group shares something else in common. They can’t get a credit card on their own. Why is this important? You need a credit card to purchase music online. You can’t buy MP3s at the music store. Kids don’t want to buy CDs. I think if there were an easy way for kids to buy music online then they would do it, but only if it were easy to buy individual tracks. This won’t stop music piracy, but if they could get a song easier and faster by buying it and they already knew they liked it, then they would buy it. I think kids just want to try out music without getting burned. Everyone has bought at least one CD that you thought you would like and after trying it twice you just couldn’t stand it. Is there a solution to this problem?
I’ve finally made the decision that I’m going to sell my Gamecube. The sooner the better, I figure, as far as getting money for it goes. I am saving up to buy the Wii as soon as it comes out. I will try to have enough money by then for at least one extra controller and nunchaku and at least one extra game. The way I see it that’s about $325. I am already up to $110 allocated for the Wii. Nintendo appears to have the upper hand with their next console release. The anticipation of the Wii is incredible. I’ve been evangelizing it like crazy and everyone I talk to about it seems really excited. It will be interesting to see if Nintendo can push this one into the mainstream and shake off their kiddie image.
Digital Restrictions Management, or DRM, forces people to buy the same sond over and over again or be forced to do things the way that others dictate. Click on the link to find out more!
It amazes me what things are possible when the software is open and people are free to innovate and implement whatever they want. This is Linux running a special OpenGL driven window manager called compiz. Apple pioneered this idea, but these folks have taken it to the next level. Keep in mind that although Novell created and released this it is open for anyone else to use, modify, and redistribute. It belongs to everyone. Enjoy!
Sometimes it feels good to give advice. Sometimes I just like answering questions. If that sounds like you then you’ll love the two websites I’m talking about today. The first is an automated approach, the second is human-driven.
Remember the game 20 Questions? Some brilliant people have created an automated version of the popular guessing game. It learns from the people that play so it gets better and better all the time. Each time it is stumped it learns a new item because it asks you what you were thinking. It seems amazing sometimes when it comes up with what you are thinking out of seemingly nowhere. Take the following exchange I had for example. The item I was thinking of was a spider web. Note that the questions are presented in reverse order as each new question goes above the previous ones, so start reading at the bottom.
Q17. I am guessing that it is a spider web?
16. Can you buy it? No.
15. Does it move? No.
14. Does it come in many varieties? Yes.
13. Is it a body part? No.
12. Have you seen one in real life? Yes.
11. Does it serve a purpose? Yes.
10. Is it fluffy? No.
9. Can it change size? Yes.
8. Is it man made? No.
7. Can you order it at a restaurant? No.
6. Does it eat cheese? No.
5. Can you control it? No.
4. Is it a metal? No.
3. Is it colorful? No.
2. Is it used for entertainment? No.
1. It is classified as Other.
The second question and answer site, dearinter.net, is almost useful, but not really. It’s kind of like a game, but you could ask serious questions. The premise is that you are able to ask the Internet a question and get responses back. I asked it a question, and you can answer it, because, in case you didn’t realize it yet, you are part of the Internet. If you are in the mood for rapid-fire opinion offering you can use the answer-o-matic and it will present all of the questions to you that the site has and let you answer them for as long as you like. I recommend you log in so that your answers are saved in your profile and you won’t get asked the same question twice. It’s also a good idea in case you want to ask the Internet a question yourself!
I suggest you try one or both of these sites. The one asks you questions and the other lets you ask questions. Post your results in the comments, I’d love to see what you come up with.
U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch says sanitizing movies to delete content that may offend some people is an “illegitimate business.” According to a CBC article, Matsch ordered CleanFlicks and three other similar companies, to immediately stop producing, creating, and renting out edited films. I had heard before that they got around the issue by legally framing it in such a way that individuals were really buying movies and then requesting CleanFlicks remove the content on their behalf. Apparently this method of circumventing current copyright laws doesn’t hold water anymore.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) should really step in here. It would be a great way to get politicians and religious groups on their side for once. Copyright holders have been granted far too much power recently. One of the goals of the EFF is to rollback the legislation that has made copyright in the United States a losing proposition for both consumers and the culture in general. These directors, including Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, and Martin Scorsese, are arguing the same thing. According to a DGA press release about the ruling, Michael Apted, the president of the Directors Guild of America, had the following to say:
As creators of films, we oppose giving anyone the ability to alter in any way they choose, for any purpose, and for profit, the content of a film that we have made, often after many years of work. Directors put their skill, craft and often years of hard work into the creation of a film. These films carry our name and reflect on our reputations. No matter how many disclaimers are put on the film, it still carries the director’s name. So we have great passion about protecting our work, which is our signature and brand identification, against unauthorized editing.
Is this fair use? According to Judge Matsch it is not. I can’t see any reason why this is not covered by fair use. The discs are bought by the company, so the directors and everybody else involved in the film industry get their money and people who are willing to pay for this service get to watch movies they would never see otherwise. No one is hurt. Everybody wins. But that’s not good enough for the directors. They want everyone to watch the movie theirway. Next thing you know they will make it so you can’t watch the movie unless you have 5.1 stereo surround sound, since that’s the way they intended the film to be viewed. What about locking out black and white TVs, or TVs that aren’t big enough? Does this sound absurd to you?
Think back to the days when all rented and purchased movies were on VHS tapes. Imagine there had been advertisements for other movies placed before the actual movie you wanted to watch, which was often the case on rented tapes. Now imagine that the fast-forward button didn’t work while playing that portion of the tape. Sounds pretty absurd doesn’t it? Well, DVDs have been doing this for years.
The directors hail this as a boon for them and their creative talent. They claim that this editing is unauthorized and that the films will now be viewed the way the director intended. Well, what about those movies that are released later labeled as the director’s cut? Does this mean *gasp* that the original version of the film was not the director’s original vision? You mean sometimes the movie we watch has been edited in ways the director did not intend? This is often done after focus groups watch the movies and respond unfavorably to certain aspects of the film. So this means that the movie studios can edit the films in ways that don’t represent the director’s vision. So producers and executives can alter the films for commercial gain, but individuals can’t pay a third party to edit a movie to their specifications?
I think people should have the right to fair use. I think this use falls into that category. This use is especially “fair” because the movie industry gets more sales from this activity than they otherwise would. I know a number of people who own copies of “scrubbed” movies that they would never own uncut version of.
Where does all this leave CleanFlicks then? I don’t know. This ruling was only made on July 7th 2006 and no mention of it has yet been made on the CleanFlicks website. They are still taking new signups, so maybe this somehow doesn’t affect all of their business model. I just hope that they make it through this.
At least I wish I were blind after having seen this beautiful design job advertising some free computer training being offered to residents in my apartment complex. Computer without a mouse? A backwards @ symbol? A long hole where the space bar ought to be?
I guess you get what you pay for.
I’m sitting in the computer lab at Palomar College. I just witnessed something so ridiculous that I could hardly believe my eyes. Everyone already knows that 95.7% of computer lab usage is checking MySpace. Although that’s ridiculous, that’s not news. While I was reading digg doing my homework I was interrupted, as is so often the case, by the rapid mouse clicking associated with playing a stupid flash game. Rapid keyboard activity can indicate work (or blogging), but mouse clicks can only be one thing. Usually when this happens to me the person doing the clicking is in a position that doesn’t allow me to see what they are doing. This time was different.
The girl behind me was clicking furiously for about 15 seconds followed by hushed rejoicing in her rapid-fire mousing abilities. It was so annoying that I had to see what all the noise was about. When I turned around to look I was astonished. She wasn’t playing a game. She was on MySpace! For those of us with the AdBlock firefox extension installed: MySpace is covered with little flash ads that you can’t see. These ads promise things like free ringtones as rewards for winning virtual tug of war contests. You “win” by clicking a red button on the screen fast enough that the rope puller overtakes his opponent. I say “win” because your reward for participating in this game is a popup ad. That’s right, a popup. People are playing games where you click forever just to get to an advertisement. But it doesn’t end there.
It soon became apparent that this girl knew what she was doing. She was having so much fun that she would click until her reward came. She would then immediately click the close box on the popup, reload the page, and play the next “game.” Apparently there are multiple “click here a thousand times and get a popup” games. The gameplay is identical, but the animations are different.
This takes me back to my original question. I always assumed that no one ever fell for the old “get a free NAME_OF_PRODUCT by (swatting_the_fly | shooting_the_prairie_dog | mashing_the_mouse_button)” routine. By the looks of things, those games are so fun that people will endure the ads just to keep playing them.
What has the internet come to?
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