I liked the small button hidden in Bruce Willis' cab in "The Fifth Element" better. ;-)
I'm not surprised cabbies don't care about navigation systems. These guy eat and breathe the streets of where they work. I never felt the need for them either. The only time I would find one useful is when driving in a place I've never been before, and to me, exploring and navigating is half the fun.
In most places, if you have a general idea of which direction you need to go, you can get where you want to be without knowing the exact way. Of course, I don't mind taking a little side excursion (or "short cut" as they are amusingly called in our family) because you invariably see something new, discover something you never expected to see and sometimes find a new route. Fortunately, my wife has a huge case of wanderlust, so she is more than happy to take a chance on a new route.
Maybe it's an example of that "men never ask for directions" stereotype. I dunno, I'll plead guilty on that. But I manage to get around just fine without a navigation system, and that includes when I drove on the mythical roads of Boston a few times.
Of course, my sister can get lost driving around the block, and for her, a navigation system would be very useful and helpful.
I can see their value for anyone (if you've ever been to North Arlington, VA, just outside of DC, you can attest that the roads there do not conform to Euclidian geometry... I've gotten lost there _with_ a map), but despite being an unrepentent gadget freak, I don't plan on getting a navigation system any time soon. Just give me my Neuros 80GB MP3/OGG player... _that's_ my navigation system. ;-)
Of course, I _could_ see a time when a navigation system would be very useful. Living near Washington, D.C., we have the worst traffic this side of L.A., and if the GPS systems could link up to real-time traffic data and determine the best route based on traffic patterns, then it would be a very valuable commodity to even someone who doesn't need help getting around.
So now we are going to strap suspects into lie detector machines? Yeah, this will scare the crap out of a lot of non-terrorists, and catch the total amateurs. Meanwhile, we squander tens or hundreds of millions and we are no closer to the level of security of El Al, as someone else here pointed out.
You will never solve the security problem with means that only require hiring entry-level, semi-literate workers at near minimum-wage, which is what seems to be the highest priority at the TSA. You can not rely on brute force methods (including what is essentially a lie-detector, one of the most thoroughly discredited means of investigation), eventually, you are going to have to stop strip-searching 80-year-old Swedish women and start being smart. At least, if you expect to do your job.
I _AM_ savvy and I just want to make a phone call. And you know what? It's a hassle. Every new phone I get is harder and harder to navigate and use... and of course they are chock full of features I would never need at the expense of usability for the features I do.
This is true pretty much across the board with consumer electronics. Usability has largely been abandoned. Cordless telephones are even worse than cell phones.
The software industry suffers from this a lot too. Between high-color and high-res graphics and the Web, software usability has generally _decreased_ in the past 10 years.
We use IM extensively here at work, and the slang is pretty heavily used (YT? BRB, etc). There's nothing wrong with that, but since I can type well enough, I don't do that as I think it is more professional to communicate in complete sentences even in a medium as ephemeral as IM... and absolutely when it comes to e-mail. Most people communicate just fine around here (we're all adults and professionals), but I think it's worthwhile to maintain a higher standard.
Ultimately, however, you can't do that unless you are properly educated, and that requires much work above and beyond regular schooling. Many schools do a lousy job of teaching the basics... it's more important to be able to put a condom on a banana than to be able to write a coherent paragraph, but even the good schools can't replace an environment where reading is encouraged and practiced. My wife and I read all the time, but it's still a lot of work to try to get our kids to read... TV and electronics are a huge distraction, but once we pull the power plug and after a couple minutes of griping, the kids will gladly switch over to other activities, including pulling out a book, or (Heaven Forfend!) going outside and getting some exercise.
I have nothing against TV and video games and other trappings of our time (I grew up in front of the tube and turned out OK), as long as they are moderated with more productive activities. The best thing parents can do is set a good example.
Yeah, it was ruined already. Take a look at the average post on /. or digg and it's embarrassing that these folks are past the fourth grades (and I'm not talking ESL either).
I IM with my 10-year-old on occasion and he is a decent typer and communicates quite well because of it. His spelling and grammar could use some improvement, but that has nothing to do with IM. We used to chat on the Vax back in the mid 80's and developed what we called "Hakspeek", which was just the same kind of stuff everyone does now. 20 years later, I am a proficient enough typist to avoid that stuff.
The real problem is that people don't _read_ anymore, which is why you will see so many words spelled fo-net-tik-lee. It's obvious the person hasn't seen the word in writing. I watch plenty of TV and spend time on the Web, and don't consider myself a huge reader (2-3 books a month, some serious, some fluff), but apparently I'm wrong given that recent piece about how many folks never crack a book after high school or college.
That's the real problem. People think reading digg.com or even TechDirt is the equivalent of reading a good book. Far from it... this stuff is brain candy, even if some useful discussions are spurred from it. I don't think the Internet has caused this problem although it is probably contributing to it. Given how many grammar and spelling problems you see in magazines and newspapers, and my favorite example, local news broadcasts, there seems to be a diminishing standard of correctness... and when you get on the Web, the idea of "editor" even among "reputable" newspaper and magazine sites, etc, seems to be virtually non-existent.
IM isn't any worse than the slang any kid uses in any period of history ("Dude, Aristarchus is such a bonehead.") As long as he knows what's slang and what's proper, there's no problem.
The big names will make millions appealling to the lowest common denominator, but educated customers will find a far, far better value in places like eMusic. eMusic serves the "long tail" by providing lots of obscure and esoteric stuff (a side effect of the fact that the big labels won't deal with eMusic, although you can find all the big labels' material on file sharing sites).
eMusic doesn't treat me like a crook, and recognizes how much cheaper it is to distribute music electronically and passes the savings on. Depending on the number of tracks on a particular album, you can save 60-80% or more over buying it from an overpriced music store. If you are interested in something other than the big label sludge or those classics that have been pounded into your head relentlessly for the last 40 years, eMusic is the perfect alternative.
Disclaimer: I'm not associated with them. Really. Honest. ;-)
I received a free trial for eMusic and almost immediately fell in love with the service. After you get over the initial shock that they don't carry the big labels (but occasionally have some big name artists), you can get down to exploring and discovering all kinds of great music. The recommendations, links and member-created lists are very valuable for discovering the often-hidden gems that eMusic has in their huge library.
If you are into jazz, it's even better, because they have an incredible collection of jazz and I've gotten lots of classics. I'm a big fan of progressive music and have discovered tons of great progressive, instrumental and fusion rock in the past year, much of which I'd never heard of before eMusic. I have a $20/90 tracks a month account and frequently buy "boosters" because of the great value for downloading. The cheap price encourages taking risks and experimenting with things you might not otherwise want to try.
The MP3 quality is largely very good (>192kbps, often VBR), although occasionally you will get 128kbps tracks that don't sound very good, although I would imagine this is because that's how the artist or record company delivers it. Out of 100 or so albums I've purchased, only about 3 were of a quality that I found problematic (although in each case the music itself was very good), but since you can preview... you can can decide for yourself.
I'm not associated with eMusic, just a happy customer since November 2005. These guys get it. They deserve the business and are actually embracing technology rather than fighting it or pretending it doesn't exist.
I would also recommend Mindawn, who also deliver excellent quality and value min much the same way (plus FLAC!), although they don't carry a whole lot yet.
The point of the article is not that competition is bad, it's that there are numerous companies trying the same (apparently) bad idea. YouTube is another in a long line of services that is very useful for the average Joe, but doesn't actually have a means to build a business around it. In fact, this a huge problem for a lot of the "Web 2.0". There are some tremendous innovations going on, but because of many factors, including what the Web has normally been like in the last 15 years, it isn't exactly obvious how many of these businesses can actually be, you know, businesses.
I think selling advertising as a business model is becoming more and more obsolete... look at the death throes it's going through for broadcast TV, where it's convenient to bypass advertising entirely, not to mention the same thing on the Web... I for one have almost forgotten the epilepsy-inducing nature of the typical Web ads since switching to superior browsing technology years ago. Eventually, these businesses are going to have to figure out a way to actually sell a product or server... at the end of the day, YouTube isn't really mnuch different from the original Napster, except for the fact that it probably has a somewhat lower proportion of copyright-violating material.
Yeah, it figures a Brit would be bragging about his sarcasm abilities. I guess you gotta brag about something... it certainly isn't your food or your teeth.
Some of us Americans can do sarcasm very well, thank you very much.
(Not using smilies to enforce the thesis of the article)
Seriously though, I think you're right. It's more of an issue of communication skills than anything. I communicate on-line a _lot_, and I'm also someone who loves to joke around (see above). There's a fine line between being clear you're joking and completely losing the humor. Reminds me of when you see a really funny scene in a movie, and then the joke is explained. That totally ruins it. It takes a little effort to create ad appreciate good humor, and given that our communication skills as a whole are dropping precipitously, these kinds of problems are bound to happen.
Nonetheless, readers, as well as writers, should try to be a little sensitive of the limitations of the written medium. Our forebears in the 19th-century and earlier relied solely on written words to communicate with people outside of earshot, and they didn't have this problem. Surely we're smarter then they are, right? Right?
George Bush for God!
Amerika uber alles!
Go on world, try to stop us!
From what I understand, Star Wrek was done for orderS of magnitude less money.
$39 million is still a huge budget (regardless of the quality of the movie, which I'm sure was good in this case, haven't seen it).
Granted, I don't expect producers to have to make a movie with two popsicle sticks, a shoe-string and a buck ninety-three, but I would consider even $39 million huge given what you can do with technology... or, and this is a radical idea that most bigtime filmmakers don't want to consider, just making a good story.
Star Wreck has effects that would have been revolutionary just a few years ago... in fact, probably not even possible when they started it. Now that kind of stuff could be done with a few workstations and some really clever people. Perhaps we'll see a huge boom in garage movies, much like we are seeing garage bands, now that anyone can produce and sell music with an investment in equipment that can be afforded by average people.
They are not spineless and pathetic at all. This is a coldly calculated move to make them look more reasonable when the opposite is true. Their magnanimousness is a ploy. By appearing to allow something that is already clearly covered by Fair Use, they are appearing to make a concession. The sad thing is that this will probably buy them brownie points with Congress, who will then proceed to capitulate on any new legislation they want to pass which will give them more leverage to stomp all over the rights they have so "generously given" to us.
Don't be fooled for a minute. This is just more posturing by a corrupt organization of companies that are desperately fighting to maintain the free ride they have had for so long. And I'm sure their lapdogs in Congress (Orrin Hatch call your office) are wetting themselves in excitement to serve their masters' new demands.
On the post: Cabbies Don't Need No Stinkin' Navigation Systems
Re: Robberies
I'm not surprised cabbies don't care about navigation systems. These guy eat and breathe the streets of where they work. I never felt the need for them either. The only time I would find one useful is when driving in a place I've never been before, and to me, exploring and navigating is half the fun.
In most places, if you have a general idea of which direction you need to go, you can get where you want to be without knowing the exact way. Of course, I don't mind taking a little side excursion (or "short cut" as they are amusingly called in our family) because you invariably see something new, discover something you never expected to see and sometimes find a new route. Fortunately, my wife has a huge case of wanderlust, so she is more than happy to take a chance on a new route.
Maybe it's an example of that "men never ask for directions" stereotype. I dunno, I'll plead guilty on that. But I manage to get around just fine without a navigation system, and that includes when I drove on the mythical roads of Boston a few times.
Of course, my sister can get lost driving around the block, and for her, a navigation system would be very useful and helpful.
I can see their value for anyone (if you've ever been to North Arlington, VA, just outside of DC, you can attest that the roads there do not conform to Euclidian geometry... I've gotten lost there _with_ a map), but despite being an unrepentent gadget freak, I don't plan on getting a navigation system any time soon. Just give me my Neuros 80GB MP3/OGG player... _that's_ my navigation system. ;-)
Of course, I _could_ see a time when a navigation system would be very useful. Living near Washington, D.C., we have the worst traffic this side of L.A., and if the GPS systems could link up to real-time traffic data and determine the best route based on traffic patterns, then it would be a very valuable commodity to even someone who doesn't need help getting around.
On the post: A Turing Test For Terrorists
Oh, great... another bad idea...
You will never solve the security problem with means that only require hiring entry-level, semi-literate workers at near minimum-wage, which is what seems to be the highest priority at the TSA. You can not rely on brute force methods (including what is essentially a lie-detector, one of the most thoroughly discredited means of investigation), eventually, you are going to have to stop strip-searching 80-year-old Swedish women and start being smart. At least, if you expect to do your job.
On the post: Phones Getting Harder To Use Than VCR Clocks
Re: Thats right
This is true pretty much across the board with consumer electronics. Usability has largely been abandoned. Cordless telephones are even worse than cell phones.
The software industry suffers from this a lot too. Between high-color and high-res graphics and the Web, software usability has generally _decreased_ in the past 10 years.
On the post: About Time: AOL Goes Free
AOL has owned CompuServe for quite a while...
On the post: Instant Messaging Still Not Ruining Kids' Grammar
Re:
Ultimately, however, you can't do that unless you are properly educated, and that requires much work above and beyond regular schooling. Many schools do a lousy job of teaching the basics... it's more important to be able to put a condom on a banana than to be able to write a coherent paragraph, but even the good schools can't replace an environment where reading is encouraged and practiced. My wife and I read all the time, but it's still a lot of work to try to get our kids to read... TV and electronics are a huge distraction, but once we pull the power plug and after a couple minutes of griping, the kids will gladly switch over to other activities, including pulling out a book, or (Heaven Forfend!) going outside and getting some exercise.
I have nothing against TV and video games and other trappings of our time (I grew up in front of the tube and turned out OK), as long as they are moderated with more productive activities. The best thing parents can do is set a good example.
On the post: Instant Messaging Still Not Ruining Kids' Grammar
Re: no wai
I IM with my 10-year-old on occasion and he is a decent typer and communicates quite well because of it. His spelling and grammar could use some improvement, but that has nothing to do with IM. We used to chat on the Vax back in the mid 80's and developed what we called "Hakspeek", which was just the same kind of stuff everyone does now. 20 years later, I am a proficient enough typist to avoid that stuff.
The real problem is that people don't _read_ anymore, which is why you will see so many words spelled fo-net-tik-lee. It's obvious the person hasn't seen the word in writing. I watch plenty of TV and spend time on the Web, and don't consider myself a huge reader (2-3 books a month, some serious, some fluff), but apparently I'm wrong given that recent piece about how many folks never crack a book after high school or college.
That's the real problem. People think reading digg.com or even TechDirt is the equivalent of reading a good book. Far from it... this stuff is brain candy, even if some useful discussions are spurred from it. I don't think the Internet has caused this problem although it is probably contributing to it. Given how many grammar and spelling problems you see in magazines and newspapers, and my favorite example, local news broadcasts, there seems to be a diminishing standard of correctness... and when you get on the Web, the idea of "editor" even among "reputable" newspaper and magazine sites, etc, seems to be virtually non-existent.
IM isn't any worse than the slang any kid uses in any period of history ("Dude, Aristarchus is such a bonehead.") As long as he knows what's slang and what's proper, there's no problem.
On the post: Don't Tell eMusic You Can't Succeed Selling DRM-Free Music
Re: Convenience over cost
On the post: Don't Tell eMusic You Can't Succeed Selling DRM-Free Music
Re:
eMusic doesn't treat me like a crook, and recognizes how much cheaper it is to distribute music electronically and passes the savings on. Depending on the number of tracks on a particular album, you can save 60-80% or more over buying it from an overpriced music store. If you are interested in something other than the big label sludge or those classics that have been pounded into your head relentlessly for the last 40 years, eMusic is the perfect alternative.
Disclaimer: I'm not associated with them. Really. Honest. ;-)
On the post: Don't Tell eMusic You Can't Succeed Selling DRM-Free Music
eMusic is awesome... they "get it"
I received a free trial for eMusic and almost immediately fell in love with the service. After you get over the initial shock that they don't carry the big labels (but occasionally have some big name artists), you can get down to exploring and discovering all kinds of great music. The recommendations, links and member-created lists are very valuable for discovering the often-hidden gems that eMusic has in their huge library.
If you are into jazz, it's even better, because they have an incredible collection of jazz and I've gotten lots of classics. I'm a big fan of progressive music and have discovered tons of great progressive, instrumental and fusion rock in the past year, much of which I'd never heard of before eMusic. I have a $20/90 tracks a month account and frequently buy "boosters" because of the great value for downloading. The cheap price encourages taking risks and experimenting with things you might not otherwise want to try.
The MP3 quality is largely very good (>192kbps, often VBR), although occasionally you will get 128kbps tracks that don't sound very good, although I would imagine this is because that's how the artist or record company delivers it. Out of 100 or so albums I've purchased, only about 3 were of a quality that I found problematic (although in each case the music itself was very good), but since you can preview... you can can decide for yourself.
I'm not associated with eMusic, just a happy customer since November 2005. These guys get it. They deserve the business and are actually embracing technology rather than fighting it or pretending it doesn't exist.
I would also recommend Mindawn, who also deliver excellent quality and value min much the same way (plus FLAC!), although they don't carry a whole lot yet.
On the post: How Many Video Sharing Sites Do We Need?
Some people are missing the point...
I think selling advertising as a business model is becoming more and more obsolete... look at the death throes it's going through for broadcast TV, where it's convenient to bypass advertising entirely, not to mention the same thing on the Web... I for one have almost forgotten the epilepsy-inducing nature of the typical Web ads since switching to superior browsing technology years ago. Eventually, these businesses are going to have to figure out a way to actually sell a product or server... at the end of the day, YouTube isn't really mnuch different from the original Napster, except for the fact that it probably has a somewhat lower proportion of copyright-violating material.
On the post: House Rushes Through Bill To Make The Web More Dangerous For Kids
Re: John Dingell
On the post: Please Note: Your GPS System Doesn't Know The Depth Of The Flooded Road
Re: Ohhh...
On the post: You Don't Design An iPod Killer By Committee
Re: Name
I'm sure the real product name will be as bland and generic as everything else MS does.
Microsoft Music Player (MMP)
Now with Super DRM
On the post: No, Mobile Phone Antenna Booster Stickers Don't Work
Re: Re:
On the post: False Nano Names Backfire As People Mistakenly Worry About Health Risks
Re: Ah....
On the post: Your Sarcasm Filter Sucks
Re: school daze
It's a perfectly cromulent way to communicate.
On the post: Your Sarcasm Filter Sucks
Re: Sarcasm
Some of us Americans can do sarcasm very well, thank you very much.
(Not using smilies to enforce the thesis of the article)
Seriously though, I think you're right. It's more of an issue of communication skills than anything. I communicate on-line a _lot_, and I'm also someone who loves to joke around (see above). There's a fine line between being clear you're joking and completely losing the humor. Reminds me of when you see a really funny scene in a movie, and then the joke is explained. That totally ruins it. It takes a little effort to create ad appreciate good humor, and given that our communication skills as a whole are dropping precipitously, these kinds of problems are bound to happen.
Nonetheless, readers, as well as writers, should try to be a little sensitive of the limitations of the written medium. Our forebears in the 19th-century and earlier relied solely on written words to communicate with people outside of earshot, and they didn't have this problem. Surely we're smarter then they are, right? Right?
George Bush for God!
Amerika uber alles!
Go on world, try to stop us!
On the post: The Answer To The $200 Million Movie Question
Re: Budget
$39 million is still a huge budget (regardless of the quality of the movie, which I'm sure was good in this case, haven't seen it).
Granted, I don't expect producers to have to make a movie with two popsicle sticks, a shoe-string and a buck ninety-three, but I would consider even $39 million huge given what you can do with technology... or, and this is a radical idea that most bigtime filmmakers don't want to consider, just making a good story.
Star Wreck has effects that would have been revolutionary just a few years ago... in fact, probably not even possible when they started it. Now that kind of stuff could be done with a few workstations and some really clever people. Perhaps we'll see a huge boom in garage movies, much like we are seeing garage bands, now that anyone can produce and sell music with an investment in equipment that can be afforded by average people.
On the post: Recording Industry Now Okay With Letting You Listen To Your CDs On Your iPod
Re: Weaklings.
Don't be fooled for a minute. This is just more posturing by a corrupt organization of companies that are desperately fighting to maintain the free ride they have had for so long. And I'm sure their lapdogs in Congress (Orrin Hatch call your office) are wetting themselves in excitement to serve their masters' new demands.
On the post: Want Attention In Chat Rooms? Change Your Name To Jennychick1997
Re: In general
That's not a chat room. You're running the old ELIZA program.
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