No cell phone subscriber for you
Wireless companies were the No. 2 sector for complaints to Better Business
Bureaus in 2003, trailing only car dealers. They were the second-lowest
ranked industry in the University of Michigan’s customer satisfaction index,
second only to the hated cable companies.
…snip…
“We have tapped out the prime-credit segment in the U.S.,” said Roger Entner,
a Yankee Group analyst. “Everyone who wants to have a wireless phone and can
pass a credit check has one. Everyone who can pass a credit check and doesn’t
have one — after ten years of a continuous barrage (of advertising), they’re
not going to cave.”
[source…]
Why do I want a cell-phone again? Actually, just saw an advert for Verizon Wireless Internet Broadband. This is close to what I want. 300-500kbps everywhere, now that I’m a member of the laptop crowd is pretty appealing.
$79.99 monthly access gets you unlimited Verizon Wireless NationalAccess and
BroadbandAccess service
…one of the fastest, fully mobile wireless Internet data solutions available.
Quickly download complex files and view email attachments at typical speeds
of 300-500 kbps, capable of reaching speeds up to 2 Mbps…
[source…]
01:46 CST | category / entries / links
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The history (and future?) of P2P
So, was reading blogs today and ran across Bram Cohen’s latest posts. Bram’s the smart guy who wrote BitTorrent. The less interesting of his two new posts is in response to the recent SwarmCast announcements.
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01:27 CST | category / entries
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Nifty: JavaScript + OpenGL == JiggleScript
JiggleScript is a development enviroment that combines the well-known web
programming language JavaScript with OpenGL, the standard graphics API used
in modern 3D games. The target audience are those that may be familar with
JavaScript already from building web pages and would like to try their hand
at something that might be a little more fun without needing to learn C or
C++ or other “bigger” languages.
[source…]
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20:38 CST | category / entries / links
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Name Change Proposed for GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program)
My problems with GIMP. (Score:4, Insightful)
But, there’s two problems I have with GIMP, and one of them might have been
fixed and one definitely hasn’t.
First is the interface. [[[snip comments about interface]]]
Second is the name. It needs to change. This is not about being PC, it’s about
reaching out to as many people as possible, and getting them to try out the
GIMP. Will universities ever teach classes in a program that’s called ‘the
gimp?’ Will companies ever take seriously an employee who says that he wants to
install ‘the gimp’ on his computer? Y’all have to have gotten the same weird
looks as me when you’ve suggested that people try ‘the gimp’. Have you ever
told it to someone who uses a cane or crutches or is in a wheelchair?
[source…]
…and the response (classic slashdot).
Re:My problems with GIMP. (Score:5, Funny)
I agree that the biggest problem GIMP has for widespread
acceptance is the name. Frankly, it has labored without
the benefit clever self recursion for far too long!
So, in the interest of its long term viablility, I
formally propose a name change:
GIMP Isn’t Microsoft Paint
will, I believe, catapult GIMP onto desktops around the
world.
[source…]
I hereby declare that the GIMP has been renamed!
18:42 CST | category / entries / links
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The “Dell Tech Force”
Funny take on Team America (which I still need to see) / Thunderbirds.
“Quick, we must stop big iron!”
[source…]
Surprising to see RedHat get equal billing with Microsoft. Oracle / Ellison is in the background mixing things up (which, for your Oracle box, why should you pay the MS tax?).
Link via BBSpot.
08:30 CST | category / entries / links
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The Ultimate Matrix Collection
Picked up “Matrix the Ultimate” today. It’s got all the special editions of the three movies, along with some behind the scenes, making of’s, commentaries by philosophers, etc. Ten DVD’s, all new “digital transfers” (look great!), something like 30 hours of content, some of it new and interesting.
Watching it reminded me of the first time I saw the Matrix, along with some favorite lines.
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22:37 CST | category / entries
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In defense of “only one return statement”
I read this on Bruce’s blog (Bruce of “Thinking in Java” fame). He is actually responding to a questioner who writes…
One inspection that some of our developers favor is:
“There must only be a single return statement within each method”
PMD classifies this as a “controversial” inspection. They do
not comment on why it is considered controversial.
[source…]
I recently picked Java back up again (and “Thinking in Java” … great book!), and when I first started back with it, this “rule” (only one return statement in a Java function) was so hard-wired into my head that I thought it would actually be a compiler error to have more than one return statement in a function. This is not the case, but I still like to follow it for a variety of reasons. Please use the following sample code (the simplest and handiest bit of actual code I could find):
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01:14 CST | category / entries / links
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Human Trafficking
Just saw this on KERA. Not fun, and it is not easy to watch.
Child sex slavery is a result of numerous factors, including poverty and
organized crime syndicates that profit highly from trafficking. The complicity
of politicians and police officers make trafficking even more systematic, as
well as more difficult to eradicate. As USAID health technical advisor Matthew
Friedman says, “the amount of crime associated with [the child sex trade] is
probably equal, if not exceeding, the drug trade… It’s very, very
systematic.”
[source…]
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00:04 CST | category / entries / links
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