Future problems of iTunes App store
Computers
Isn’t it fun predicting problems of the service that hasn’t started yet? Well, here we go – iTunes 7.7 is out for the iPhone and iPod Touch owners. As many of you already know this means that people with the latest firmware on these devices will be able to download free and commercial applications distributed through apple’s online store. But this is exactly the problem – both free and commercial. While the app store has just launched – it already has several hundred apps and more to come in the future. Yet, one big… No, let me try this again GIANT problem is that the same applications from commercial section are available for free from well, the free section! And if anyone knows how geeks operate – this is a great indication of what’s to come. Almost every single commercially available application that can’t be made unique through protections of trademarks and patents will be duplicated into the free application at some point. So, if you are thinking of paying for an app that calculates mileage for your car or records video on your iPhone – give it a couple months and the same apps will be available for free because some bored programmer, with desire to do good (and also get his name out there) will surely write one and make it available for free!
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yahooXSAN, XServer RAID and their problems
ComputersRecently I have had a chance to work on an XServe RAID, Xserve, and XSAN - Apple's best hardware touted as the absolute best system for digital content creation, production and rendering. All of the technologies in theory sound very well, have great specs and promise to be this amazing, almost magical solution for video editing and streaming.
However the experience of working with all these technologies showed how immature and raw they are. Let's start with the specs - XServe RAID (which is a really a SAN device) holds 14 drives, has 2 ethernet and 2 fiber connections. It is through these two (4 cables) fiber connections that one attaches them to a server or workstation for file access. However, the Xserve RAID is only available with 2Gb/s fiber cards, while servers and workstations can be fitted with 4Gb/s cards. So the SANs fiber connectors immediately become the theoretical bottleneck (theoretical because in reality regular workstations may have serious trouble achieving even this speed when passing data back and forth).
Domain Listing Service Corp - another scam operation, now from Chicago
ComputersHere is another bunch of online scammers operating nation wide - Domain Listing Service Corp. (located at 27 N . Wacker Dr, Suite #650, Chicago Il 60606).
This is a company run by Zach Roberts - yet another moron running a ten year old scam - they send out letters that look like your typical cable or phone bill - the only difference is that you have not used or requested any services from DLSCORP. They promise to list your site in 25 search engines for a small fee of $75.
Don't play at Indian Casinos - they don't pay winnings.
Just recently I've read an article about someone playing at a casino on Indian reservation and hitting a jackpot. The machine said he just won $1.6 million dollars, however casino refused to pay saying it was a computer mistake. This in itself is not a problem - it happens from time to time. What is a problem is that if you have any kind of dispute with casino operated on reservation - you have to go through their own court which is governed by rules and laws different from federal and state laws. After researching a bit, it became clear that casinos located on Indian reservations regularly use this legal loophole not to pay large prizes. Why loophole? Becase when the court on the reservation is financed and supported on money people spend in casinos located there, there is no reason for them to even seriously consider the case. In many cases the "winners" are advised to drop their cases since there is almost no chance to collect the prize. The same tactics has been tried by casinos and gambling organizations in states such as Nevada, where gambling is legal, but the cases are actually decided on their merits - was there an actual computer malfunction, what was the expectation of the largest possible prize, what was said and done by both parties.
Mercedes Benz Gelandewagen videos
CarsAds blocking controversy continues
ComputersHere we go again - now we've got misinformed C-net editors scaring users and creators of ads blocking software that it may not be legal for users to block the ads at users wish.
AdBlock and ads blocking controversy
ComputersAdBlock is the most debated plugin/application on the web right now. It works only with Firefox browser and what it does is blocks advertisement so you are not bombarded with flashing banners and annoying movie/music plugins that start screaming through your speakers. Some site owners and administrators started to block people with Firefox and (or petentially) AdBlock plugin. They argue that if users can block ads displayed on site - that brings down the revenue and these users do not deserve to see the content since they are not paying for it. I'm not going to say that everything should be free (it shouldn't) and that users have a right not to see advertisement (they don't). But what I do have to say to site owners is this - if you block me from accessing your site - you will still lose your revenue, your numbers and popularity will go down and I will not care that I can't access your content. You want to block me for me not looking at your ads - be my guest and do it. What will happen is sites like yours will slowly lose their popularity and will vanish and will be replaced with others that do not rely on annoying, disturbing, flashing ads that make up roughly 40-50% of the screen space on any given page. And if you can't survive without ads - you deserve to become history.
AT$T wireless misconnects the calls!
AT$T wireless is the strangest and probably worst network I've ever experienced. Not only do you have the MOST dropped/disconnected calls, but when you make a call they connect you to other random AT$T subscribers. Today I've dialed my family member and and after saying "Hello" instead heard an american women telling me she is combing her hair. To which I had ask who she was and what was going on - she only angrily repeated that she was combing her hair and the call dropped. I've called my parents back just to hear them being very surprised - according to them, the call was connected right and they could hear everything i said, but didn't hear the lady. And even though they were talking, i couldn't hear them but heard some random person.
Nikon D3 and D300 announced - Sony to release new DSLRs soon!
PhotographyNow that the Nikon D3 and D300 are out we know what to expect from new Sony Alpha DSLRs - one full frame body (pro model) and one cropped (armature model) . While the sensor are going to be very close to those in Nikon cameras, there will be some key differences in AF system, shutter speed/durability, memory support (Sony will support both Flash and Memory Stick instead of housing two flash slots). At the same time the image quality as output by the sensor will be very similar with only minor corrections done by Sony image processing units in the body. This announcement signals a very quickly approaching date of release of Sony DSLRs as they can't afford to lag far behind Canon and Nikon, especially since we are getting closer to the fall and winter sales.
Nikon D300 Key Features
- 12.3 megapixel DX format CMOS sensor
- Self-cleaning sensor unit (low-pass filter vibration)
- ISO 200 - 3200 (6400 with boost)
- 14-bit A/D conversion
- Nikon EXPEED image processor (Capture NX processing and NR algorithms, lower power)
- Super fast operation (power-up 13 ms, shutter lag 45 ms, black-out 100 ms)
- Shutter life 150,000 exposures
- New Multi-CAM3500DX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
AK47 - MADE IN USA (illigally)
Politics Before I get into details of the article - I would like to familiarize the visitors with the history of a legendary weapon. AK47 is the best known assault rifle in the world - it has been used in every major conflict since 1950's. It all started during WWII when Mikhail Kalashnikov realized that
in order to help his country defend itself it needed a new kind of assault rifle - one that would be reliable, easy to maintain, and easy to produce. In 1947 he had created and successfully tested AK47 the most widely used rifle in the world today. It had been submerged into water, sand, dirt, left in cold and heat and yet it never failed to operate - he had created the most dependable and reliable rifle on the planet. USSR had licensed or build factories for AK47 production in about 16 countries around the world. Most of them were in Europe but some where as far as Cuba, Libya, China.
in order to help his country defend itself it needed a new kind of assault rifle - one that would be reliable, easy to maintain, and easy to produce. In 1947 he had created and successfully tested AK47 the most widely used rifle in the world today. It had been submerged into water, sand, dirt, left in cold and heat and yet it never failed to operate - he had created the most dependable and reliable rifle on the planet. USSR had licensed or build factories for AK47 production in about 16 countries around the world. Most of them were in Europe but some where as far as Cuba, Libya, China. Since that time around 100.000.000 (that's one hundred million) AKs have been made, but only 18% of them were made in USSR and Russia. What is less known however, is that the majority of these rifles have been manufactured illegally. Either the countries declined to turn over the machinery after their lease or license agreement had expired or have purchased the gun specifications and factory plans and set up their own production. In majority of cases this lead to a serious drop in overall quality as the standards where not adhered to - parts where stamped instead of being milled, incorrect types of steel have been used, error tolerance had been decreased, and deeply flawed changes where introduced in the gun production methods.
All of this resulted in countries such as United States, Britain, and others claiming that AK47's have poor quality, craftsmanship and reliability.