This is the Constant Velocity (CV) axle that fell apart on me in the Beretta.
And here's the newly installed CV axle.
And this is the other side of the car, which we can't do yet until NAPA gets in a replacement ball-joint.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Crunch - I almost have a car again
Okay, some more photos from the car I got after the wreck. These photos should be much clearer than the previous ones. I managed to locate my old phone, a LG AX8600GR, which has a much better camera than the Motorola phone I had been using.
This is the Constant Velocity (CV) axle that fell apart on me in the Beretta.
And here's the newly installed CV axle.
And this is the other side of the car, which we can't do yet until NAPA gets in a replacement ball-joint.
This is the Constant Velocity (CV) axle that fell apart on me in the Beretta.
And here's the newly installed CV axle.
And this is the other side of the car, which we can't do yet until NAPA gets in a replacement ball-joint.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Lumia mirrored on ComicGen
Blue Zombie used to be one of the my favorite webcomics, and long after the comic had died, I kept it in my to-read list. The comic successfully spun a zombie story in a completely different light, and at one point had woven a compelling backstory. Like Erfworld, Blue Zombie turned perceptions upside down. The zombie wasn't a brain-dead gibbering mess intent on devouring all brains in sight. Rather she was a cute little thing that you wound up feeling sorry for. It didn't hurt either that as one of the early webcomics, it had a distinctive art-style.
The artist behind Blue Zombie recently started a new comic, Lumia's Kingdom (original site). Like Blue Zombie before it, the comic turns perceptions upside down. Yes, the King of Knadds is Greatly Well Hung, and quite naked. Although you never actually see this, and the entire interaction with the King of Knadds is played for laughs, you will probably feel just about as disturbed as Lumia probably feels.
A fair bit of warning, the comic tends to be risque, but honestly, if you've seen Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, or any Bob Hope / Bing Crosby Road movie for that matter, the humor is more along those lines. It's not gutter based, but it's not High-Elf either. Granted, in all fairness, the comic is much cleaner than what passes for comedy in movies today.
The bad news for Lumia is that the comic's host, ComicDish, was hacked. Many of the comicdish subsites, including Lumia's Kingdom, could have contained malicious javascript, and Google currently lists the site as a malicious host. That's not really a problem for me, I don't run Windows, and I don't run in /root. While the infection has been cleaned up, it could be a while before Google removes their alert on the site.
For now then, the artist, Tamar Curry, is updating the comic on http://lumia.comicgenesis.com/. Check it out.
The artist behind Blue Zombie recently started a new comic, Lumia's Kingdom (original site). Like Blue Zombie before it, the comic turns perceptions upside down. Yes, the King of Knadds is Greatly Well Hung, and quite naked. Although you never actually see this, and the entire interaction with the King of Knadds is played for laughs, you will probably feel just about as disturbed as Lumia probably feels.
A fair bit of warning, the comic tends to be risque, but honestly, if you've seen Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, or any Bob Hope / Bing Crosby Road movie for that matter, the humor is more along those lines. It's not gutter based, but it's not High-Elf either. Granted, in all fairness, the comic is much cleaner than what passes for comedy in movies today.
The bad news for Lumia is that the comic's host, ComicDish, was hacked. Many of the comicdish subsites, including Lumia's Kingdom, could have contained malicious javascript, and Google currently lists the site as a malicious host. That's not really a problem for me, I don't run Windows, and I don't run in /root. While the infection has been cleaned up, it could be a while before Google removes their alert on the site.
For now then, the artist, Tamar Curry, is updating the comic on http://lumia.comicgenesis.com/. Check it out.
Intel's lawsuit against AMD / GlobalFoundries: what is Intel after?
In the previous post I commented on how I wasn't exactly happy with Intel's lawsuit against AMD over the spin-off of the AMD fabs into a new company called GLOBALFOUNDRIES. The short version of the lawsuit is that Intel believes that AMD's spin-off of GlobalFoundries does not meet the majority percentage required for Globalfoundries to be consided a subsidiary of AMD, and thus is not a party to the x86 licensing agreements AMD has with Intel. AMD claims that Globalfoundries does qualify as a subsidiary as the requirements under the current agreement state that AMD must provide over 50% of the assets. Given that AMD is providing the physical fabs, the equipment in the fabs, and the employees of those fabs, there's little doubt that AMD has provided well over 50% of the assets for GlobalFoundries. At the same time that Intel is arguing with AMD that the terms of the cross-license agreement do not cover Globalfoundries, Intel also states they would be happy to negotiate a separate licensing agreement with Globalfoundries.
One of the questions raised over the lawsuits is just what is Intel after? Intel can't be after money as a reason for the spin-off is that AMD doesn't have that sort of money to spend. While Intel could be maneuvering to kill AMD, the fact is that current cross-licensing agreement is set to expire in 2011. If Intel was looking to kill AMD by withholding their x86 license and refusing to negotiate a new license, their's little doubt Intel could afford to wait another year and really put the screws to AMD's shareholders and investors. There's also the huge political mess that would result as anti-monopoly lawsuits would be flying left and right, and Intel could be in the possible legal position of being forced to open the x86 hardware architecture up with no license agreement. So I find it unlikely that Intel is actively trying to outright kill AMD with the lawsuits.
The answer as to what Intel might be after came from of all places, Schlock Mercenary. The story in question has General Xinchub posing and posturing as he tries to get the mercenaries to do some work he himself cannot accomplish. So, thinking outside of the box, what does AMD have that Intel doesn't have, or can't get?
Well, there is HyperTransport, but that's backed by a consortium that Intel could join at any time without having to resort to legal threats. Not to mention that Intel is also working on their own Peer-to-peer topographical connection, and while Hypertransport is years ahead of Intel's efforts, the technical superiority on paper hasn't manifested performance superiority.
One of the questions raised over the lawsuits is just what is Intel after? Intel can't be after money as a reason for the spin-off is that AMD doesn't have that sort of money to spend. While Intel could be maneuvering to kill AMD, the fact is that current cross-licensing agreement is set to expire in 2011. If Intel was looking to kill AMD by withholding their x86 license and refusing to negotiate a new license, their's little doubt Intel could afford to wait another year and really put the screws to AMD's shareholders and investors. There's also the huge political mess that would result as anti-monopoly lawsuits would be flying left and right, and Intel could be in the possible legal position of being forced to open the x86 hardware architecture up with no license agreement. So I find it unlikely that Intel is actively trying to outright kill AMD with the lawsuits.
The answer as to what Intel might be after came from of all places, Schlock Mercenary. The story in question has General Xinchub posing and posturing as he tries to get the mercenaries to do some work he himself cannot accomplish. So, thinking outside of the box, what does AMD have that Intel doesn't have, or can't get?
Well, there is HyperTransport, but that's backed by a consortium that Intel could join at any time without having to resort to legal threats. Not to mention that Intel is also working on their own Peer-to-peer topographical connection, and while Hypertransport is years ahead of Intel's efforts, the technical superiority on paper hasn't manifested performance superiority.
There is Crossfire, but Intel already had Crossfire capable motherboards in the past, and while the Crossfire license has been renewed, Intel surely could have gotten that updated without legal wrangling. In any case, since Intel isn't in the graphics card business, it made sense for them to support both multi-GPU solutions.
Only, Intel IS getting into the graphics card market with their upcoming Project Larrabee. Epic, which has pummeled Intel in the past for their graphics, had good things to say about Larrabee. Larrabee has been revealed to be little more than multiple P5 cores with an extreme die-shrink, and is thus little more than an x86 software rendering solution. Granted, as TechArp's Intel page indicates, Intel has been offloading critical graphical instructions to the central processor for years. Larrabee is thus nothing more than an extension of the software rendering Intel has been using, only with dedicated hardware.
However, ATi's extensive patent and product portfolio is deep enough to be of extreme Interest to Intel's graphical ambitions. It is possible that AMD could extract a high-dollar figure from Intel in order to have access to these patents, and a cross-licensing agreement could be Intel's ticket. That's getting close enough to a reason, but there still needs to be something to clench the deal.
Only, Intel IS getting into the graphics card market with their upcoming Project Larrabee. Epic, which has pummeled Intel in the past for their graphics, had good things to say about Larrabee. Larrabee has been revealed to be little more than multiple P5 cores with an extreme die-shrink, and is thus little more than an x86 software rendering solution. Granted, as TechArp's Intel page indicates, Intel has been offloading critical graphical instructions to the central processor for years. Larrabee is thus nothing more than an extension of the software rendering Intel has been using, only with dedicated hardware.
However, ATi's extensive patent and product portfolio is deep enough to be of extreme Interest to Intel's graphical ambitions. It is possible that AMD could extract a high-dollar figure from Intel in order to have access to these patents, and a cross-licensing agreement could be Intel's ticket. That's getting close enough to a reason, but there still needs to be something to clench the deal.
Intel's lawsuit also involves Globalfoundaries. Keeping the idea that Intel wants something AMD and Globalfoundries have, and that has to be licensed from both, or from just Globalfoundries, there is one important item in the Globalfoundries stack. I think Intel's after AMD's APM, or Automated Precision Manufacturing. AMD's fab technology has been both a blessing and a hinderance over the past years.
APM has allowed AMD to achieve astoundingly high yields on their processors. Intel, while having more fab capacity, and their own fab optimization techiques, is widely reguarded to have less than stellar yield ratios. This is actually a blessing to Intel as Intel can rebin failed products of one production range as lower-end products. I'm thinking stuff like Pentium to Celeron. AMD, on the other hand, has had a consectutive problem of having lots of mid-range parts in the market because their yields are so good, but nothing really on the top-end because they can't get everything else together. While AMD is open to licensing out APM, there's little doubt that APM for Intel would be set to a cost high enough it would be cheaper for Intel to just develop fab techniques internally.
With Intel extending their x86 designs into low-power architectures like Atom, and the upcoming project Larrabee's, APM could save Intel time and money on their external processor designs. Considering that Intel is open to licensing some of their hardware designs to other fab companies, the possibility is raised that Intel could be looking at a similar option for Globalfoundries.
Together, Intel's aspirations to get into the graphics market coupled with their desire to improve their own foundry technology might explain why Intel has gone after AMD so aggressively over the spin-off of Globalfoundries.
APM has allowed AMD to achieve astoundingly high yields on their processors. Intel, while having more fab capacity, and their own fab optimization techiques, is widely reguarded to have less than stellar yield ratios. This is actually a blessing to Intel as Intel can rebin failed products of one production range as lower-end products. I'm thinking stuff like Pentium to Celeron. AMD, on the other hand, has had a consectutive problem of having lots of mid-range parts in the market because their yields are so good, but nothing really on the top-end because they can't get everything else together. While AMD is open to licensing out APM, there's little doubt that APM for Intel would be set to a cost high enough it would be cheaper for Intel to just develop fab techniques internally.
With Intel extending their x86 designs into low-power architectures like Atom, and the upcoming project Larrabee's, APM could save Intel time and money on their external processor designs. Considering that Intel is open to licensing some of their hardware designs to other fab companies, the possibility is raised that Intel could be looking at a similar option for Globalfoundries.
Together, Intel's aspirations to get into the graphics market coupled with their desire to improve their own foundry technology might explain why Intel has gone after AMD so aggressively over the spin-off of Globalfoundries.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Intel shuts me up with Moblin
Most people who have read me for a while know that I typically have a less polite view of Intel, and have questioned their committment to Open-Licensed software. Well, Intel has managed to shut me up... and not with something like shipping a 920 for Mepisguides / Gamenikki. I think the title of this link says most of it:
http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/blogs/browse/2009/04/linux-foundation-takes-over-stewardship-intel%E2%80%99s-moblin-os
Yes. You probably read that link right. Intel's handed over control of their Moblin spin to the Linux Foundation.
One of the main complaints against Linux by current users is that it's not as fast as it used to be. While Linux is generally faster on the same hardware when compared to Microsoft Operating Systems, real boot times and user logins can appear to be the same, even on higher-end hardware. While part of the speed appearance is based on the users Desktop Enviroment, where desktops like XFCE and IceWM appear to be much faster than Gnome or KDE, there is a common perception that Linux has lost it's focus on performance.
The Moblin spin aims to change the perception by targeting mobile devices, such as phones, and the netbook format, which are typically powered by processors like the Via C-Series, Via Nano series, or Intel Atom series. In addition both HP and Dell are looking at bringing the ARM architecture into the retail market, and as far as I'm aware, Microsoft doesn't make any version of Windows for ARM... so little doubt as to which OS-base they would turn to. Remember, Android DOES use the Linux kernel, and it's not a rumor that HP is looking at an Android based notebook... Source is actually WSJ.
Moblin's focus on performance on lower-end hardware has direct benefits to users of more powerful systems as Phoronix has indicated. As the performance changes to Moblin propegate back into the Linux kernel, most desktop users can expect to see the benefits of the faster boot times, and more than likely improved scheduler performance, not to mention better power-saving functions.
The real kicker is that while the Linux-Foundation holds the keys to Moblin, Intel is still the employer of almost all the current Moblin developers. Intel is also pretty cocky about their ability to compete, pretty much setting the challenge for Nvidia to step up with Moblin on Ion, and vendors to step up with Moblin on ARM.
While I honestly don't see Nvidia stepping up to Moblin since that would mean making a committment to Open-Licensed software, I can see Dell or HP funding ARM development to broaden their product portfolio's.
Okay, I can't say I'm happy about Intel's behavior towards AMD over the spin-off of GlobalFoundaries, Intel as a corporation has shown it does understand how to play fairly and initiate proper business challenges.
http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/blogs/browse/2009/04/linux-foundation-takes-over-stewardship-intel%E2%80%99s-moblin-os
Yes. You probably read that link right. Intel's handed over control of their Moblin spin to the Linux Foundation.
One of the main complaints against Linux by current users is that it's not as fast as it used to be. While Linux is generally faster on the same hardware when compared to Microsoft Operating Systems, real boot times and user logins can appear to be the same, even on higher-end hardware. While part of the speed appearance is based on the users Desktop Enviroment, where desktops like XFCE and IceWM appear to be much faster than Gnome or KDE, there is a common perception that Linux has lost it's focus on performance.
The Moblin spin aims to change the perception by targeting mobile devices, such as phones, and the netbook format, which are typically powered by processors like the Via C-Series, Via Nano series, or Intel Atom series. In addition both HP and Dell are looking at bringing the ARM architecture into the retail market, and as far as I'm aware, Microsoft doesn't make any version of Windows for ARM... so little doubt as to which OS-base they would turn to. Remember, Android DOES use the Linux kernel, and it's not a rumor that HP is looking at an Android based notebook... Source is actually WSJ.
Moblin's focus on performance on lower-end hardware has direct benefits to users of more powerful systems as Phoronix has indicated. As the performance changes to Moblin propegate back into the Linux kernel, most desktop users can expect to see the benefits of the faster boot times, and more than likely improved scheduler performance, not to mention better power-saving functions.
The real kicker is that while the Linux-Foundation holds the keys to Moblin, Intel is still the employer of almost all the current Moblin developers. Intel is also pretty cocky about their ability to compete, pretty much setting the challenge for Nvidia to step up with Moblin on Ion, and vendors to step up with Moblin on ARM.
While I honestly don't see Nvidia stepping up to Moblin since that would mean making a committment to Open-Licensed software, I can see Dell or HP funding ARM development to broaden their product portfolio's.
Okay, I can't say I'm happy about Intel's behavior towards AMD over the spin-off of GlobalFoundaries, Intel as a corporation has shown it does understand how to play fairly and initiate proper business challenges.
Yes, I know Mepisguides.com is down
Yes I am aware that the Mepisguides.com site is still down. Those needing to access the site can find Cblue's mirror at http://www.mepislovers.org/mepisguides/. Unfortunately the previous host simply ran out of room to host the site.
For future guides I'm looking at other solutions such as using Google Image to host the images, something I've been working with in this blog on a regular basis. That should take the pressure off hosts for future updates. I currently do have a line on somebody else offering to host the site, so hopefully Mepisguides.com will be back up soon.
For future guides I'm looking at other solutions such as using Google Image to host the images, something I've been working with in this blog on a regular basis. That should take the pressure off hosts for future updates. I currently do have a line on somebody else offering to host the site, so hopefully Mepisguides.com will be back up soon.
Crunch- good news for a change
Apologies for another washed out image, but I figured I'd try and take a shot to show people what happened to the underside of the used car. The triangle object near mid-picture is part of the CV axle. As you can (hopefully see) it's been effectively sheared off.
The good news came after a visit to Chevy for parts. The engine in the Beretta wasn't the Quad4 I been lead to believe. It was the standard 2.2 4 cylinder. The repairman who ID'd the car as a Quad4 had transposed some numbers on the VIN. Quad4 Beretta's are supposedly signified by the letter T in the 8th number position. On my VIN there was a letter T in the 10th position. The critical 8th number was the number 4, signifying the 4 cylinder 2.2.
The upshot on correctly id'ing the car is that I was no longer looking at paying Vendor prices for parts, and the water pump job that everybody had told me was horrendous was going to be (relatively) easy.
The good news came after a visit to Chevy for parts. The engine in the Beretta wasn't the Quad4 I been lead to believe. It was the standard 2.2 4 cylinder. The repairman who ID'd the car as a Quad4 had transposed some numbers on the VIN. Quad4 Beretta's are supposedly signified by the letter T in the 8th number position. On my VIN there was a letter T in the 10th position. The critical 8th number was the number 4, signifying the 4 cylinder 2.2.
The upshot on correctly id'ing the car is that I was no longer looking at paying Vendor prices for parts, and the water pump job that everybody had told me was horrendous was going to be (relatively) easy.
Friday, April 03, 2009
More tech press picks up on Obama's friends list
I would be lying if I didn't admit to enjoying being able to say told you so, but here we go again. HardOCP passed along a link from Wired's blog system, the title of which is Obama: Stop Filling Administration with RIAA Insiders.
As I've pointed out multiple times over the years in this blog alone, Democrats and the RIAA / MPAA go hand in hand. They are friends, and are enemies of the consumer. I can not say that with any greater clarity.
Quit frankly Obama won't stop filling positions with people from the likes of the RIAA and MPAA. Such organizations helped Obama gain power, and such organizations help Obama maintain his power. It seems that much of the US tech industry has caught onto the fact that Obama is the worst thing to happen to them in years, and that if something isn't done fast to stop Obama and his adminstration, the recovery that will come in less than two years when Obama's party gets ejected from congress... might be years in cleaning up the mess of a president who has managed to make former President George W. Bush seem completely competent and rational.
As I've pointed out multiple times over the years in this blog alone, Democrats and the RIAA / MPAA go hand in hand. They are friends, and are enemies of the consumer. I can not say that with any greater clarity.
Quit frankly Obama won't stop filling positions with people from the likes of the RIAA and MPAA. Such organizations helped Obama gain power, and such organizations help Obama maintain his power. It seems that much of the US tech industry has caught onto the fact that Obama is the worst thing to happen to them in years, and that if something isn't done fast to stop Obama and his adminstration, the recovery that will come in less than two years when Obama's party gets ejected from congress... might be years in cleaning up the mess of a president who has managed to make former President George W. Bush seem completely competent and rational.
Crunch followup
As I posted last month I was recently in a car wreck. While the police report cleared me of fault and charged one of the other drivers, I won't be seeing any money from the insurance company as I didn't hold the title to the car that was wrecked, although I was paying the insurance on the car. Yes, I am rather rubbed the wrong way about that and am seriously questioning what the point of me paying the insurance was if I wasn't the beneficiary of it.
Unfortunately in the current used car market where I am, there was very little that I could go and buy outright. The car that I wound up being able to afford was a 1996 Chevy Beretta... and well...
That would be the car needing completely new brakes... and while it might not be possible to see in the (pictures) (the videos didn't actually turn up usable)... needing new rear shock absorbers as well.
I thought that would be all the work that was required... but... wrong. Things went shortly even more downhill afterwards. The Beretta that I picked up happened to be the one with the mid-range Quad4 engine, in which the Water pump runs through the timing chains. That became a problem when the water pump sprung a leak, and I found out that the only place to get a new water pump was from Chevy, and I found out that labor was well above $650 and a six hour job for Chevy's techs.
Things have gone even more wrong since then. 2 nights ago while driving home from work I turned into the neighboor hood, and suddenly found myself missing a left front tire. Now, those who know me know I'm not exactly mechanically inclined so bear with me if I repeat this wrong... the CV axel came apart and the ball-joint holding the wheel up had rusted out...
All of these repairs are well over any budget I had, and now things like Anthrocon and E3 are entirely out of the picture.
I've made jokes about being bad about asking for donations before... but if any readers have something to spare... it'd be greatly appreciated at this time...
Unfortunately in the current used car market where I am, there was very little that I could go and buy outright. The car that I wound up being able to afford was a 1996 Chevy Beretta... and well...
That would be the car needing completely new brakes... and while it might not be possible to see in the (pictures) (the videos didn't actually turn up usable)... needing new rear shock absorbers as well.
I thought that would be all the work that was required... but... wrong. Things went shortly even more downhill afterwards. The Beretta that I picked up happened to be the one with the mid-range Quad4 engine, in which the Water pump runs through the timing chains. That became a problem when the water pump sprung a leak, and I found out that the only place to get a new water pump was from Chevy, and I found out that labor was well above $650 and a six hour job for Chevy's techs.
Things have gone even more wrong since then. 2 nights ago while driving home from work I turned into the neighboor hood, and suddenly found myself missing a left front tire. Now, those who know me know I'm not exactly mechanically inclined so bear with me if I repeat this wrong... the CV axel came apart and the ball-joint holding the wheel up had rusted out...
All of these repairs are well over any budget I had, and now things like Anthrocon and E3 are entirely out of the picture.
I've made jokes about being bad about asking for donations before... but if any readers have something to spare... it'd be greatly appreciated at this time...
Friday, March 27, 2009
DCT + Newsboys = New Talk?
In the list of could you repeat that please came an email from Newsboys. Michael Tait, one of the founders of DC Talk, is their new front man. The combination actually makes some sense. DCT and Newsboys have collaborated both on songs, and in concerts. They do largely attract the same rock audience. For many fans, it's like a formation of a SuperGroup.
Others, like me, start to wonder if it's actually possible now to see other hookups, say like Steven Curtis Chapman sitting down and bashing out an album with Toby Mac, or Ken Tamplin getting together with John Schlitt and Louie Weaver.
Others, like me, start to wonder if it's actually possible now to see other hookups, say like Steven Curtis Chapman sitting down and bashing out an album with Toby Mac, or Ken Tamplin getting together with John Schlitt and Louie Weaver.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Why does the "media" love Obama?
Money.
TV Ratings and newspaper subscriptions have been falling for years. It seems like every other day we hear about a newspaper that's shutting down, or a TV station that can't sell advertising. A good case in point is NBC, whose advertising was down 52%.
Those in the media industry naturally try to cater to the interests of those who pay for the content creation. So, as newspapers and broadcast media embarked on an ever left-ward leaning political point of view, the people willing to pay for that leftward leaning point of view were, and are, leftists.
The result was, and is, a catch-22 situation. The former leaders of print and broadcast media needs money. The only people willing to pay for them to create content are leftists. In order to continue getting money from the leftists then, print and broadcast media continue to create content that caters to the leftist view. So people like Obama are not only off-limits, they have to be held up as Paragons of Society in order to appease the paying base.
This is why there is such a drastic difference between FoxNews and any other news channel, or even all of the other news services combined. Since FoxNews tries to be balanced in the political spectrum, more people are willing to pay for content creation on Fox.
However, because Fox tries to be balanced when everybody else in the medium is unbalanced, there is the situation where Fox seems to have a right-leaning perspective.
The sad part of the situation is that the accountants behind the former leaders seem incapable of realizing what is going on. They honestly do not understand why FoxNews is a success, and MSNBC is a failure.
Many in the print media blame falling newspaper subscriptions on the rise of Internet Blogging. This is technically true. However, Internet Blogging is just a continuation of Ham Radio and Shortwave radio of the past. Anybody can get news out. It's the people who can take the news, gather it together, and then make it presentable and understanable, who stand to make a living in the market. The internet, as a news medium, is just a quicker version of the wire services newspapers have been using for years. However, instead of relying on another reporter to go and get the story, the average person is in a position to get the story straight from the source itself.
People flocked to Internet Blogs because of the source-based reporting. There wasn't some double spin put on the story, as is common on the Associated Press wire, where one person puts the story on the wire as they saw it, then another person rewrites the story as they read it.
The radio media is in a similiar position. Rush Limbaugh is a giant in radio media, and ad time on his show can run into thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in certain markets. Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz, and Michael Reagan also have prime time radio slots that can draw expensive advertisements. These guys are all right-wring conservatives.
Yet, the Left-sided radio program / station, Air America, has to PAY radio stations to carry their programming. Raunchy shock jocks like Howard Stern found themselves limited to Satellite Radio, and while Sirius/XM isn't exactly doing that well as is, their numbers on shock jocks are not that shockingly low.
No private investor has any interest in finacing these shows.
So the print and broadcast leaders of yester-year find themselves in the same shoes as the US car industry. People don't buy American cars because they suck. BMW and Mercedes get far more horsepower and torque out of an engine than Ford, GM, or Crysler. A japanese pickup truck can survive a 20 story drop from a building that's being imploded, specifically a Toyota HiLux Diesel. A japanese car gets many more miles to the gallon than a US car on gasoline. A European diesel, specifically the VW Golf, can average 73 miles to the gallon.
Even when you did get a comparable car, say like GM's Saturn division, you'd be looking at $20,000 for options that would come standard on a $15,000 Honda.
To try and keep on point here, the only people interested in preserving the US Auto-Industry as it is, are the Unions. Unions are by-and-large, left-leaning organizations, with socialistic tendencies. Because Unions are such a large-voting block, it's in the interest of left-wing politicians to keep the unions operational.
Rather than make the smart economical choice, and follow the trend in the privatized market (where Unions are next to non-existant), left-wing politicians will do anything to keep their voting blocks alive. So again, catch-22. The Unions don't want to join the free-market. They want to keep inflated wages, and benefits for everybody in the union that surpass the companies ability to pay, and will only elect people to power who will make sure the unions stay together. People who want political power will then make sure the Unions stay together to ensure they GET or KEEP that political power.
Notice the similarities? Lets inject "print and broadcast media"
Rather than follow the trend in privatized market (where Unions are next to non-existant), left-wing print and broadcast media will do anything to keep their subscriptions and advertisers. The news and print media doesn't want to take chances on advertising or investors, and only write stories that keep current advertisers and investors handing money over. Advertisers and investors, rather than seeking a wider audience, continue to fund the print and broadcast media in order to make sure they GET or KEEP their exposure.
****
taken from an email.
TV Ratings and newspaper subscriptions have been falling for years. It seems like every other day we hear about a newspaper that's shutting down, or a TV station that can't sell advertising. A good case in point is NBC, whose advertising was down 52%.
Those in the media industry naturally try to cater to the interests of those who pay for the content creation. So, as newspapers and broadcast media embarked on an ever left-ward leaning political point of view, the people willing to pay for that leftward leaning point of view were, and are, leftists.
The result was, and is, a catch-22 situation. The former leaders of print and broadcast media needs money. The only people willing to pay for them to create content are leftists. In order to continue getting money from the leftists then, print and broadcast media continue to create content that caters to the leftist view. So people like Obama are not only off-limits, they have to be held up as Paragons of Society in order to appease the paying base.
This is why there is such a drastic difference between FoxNews and any other news channel, or even all of the other news services combined. Since FoxNews tries to be balanced in the political spectrum, more people are willing to pay for content creation on Fox.
However, because Fox tries to be balanced when everybody else in the medium is unbalanced, there is the situation where Fox seems to have a right-leaning perspective.
The sad part of the situation is that the accountants behind the former leaders seem incapable of realizing what is going on. They honestly do not understand why FoxNews is a success, and MSNBC is a failure.
Many in the print media blame falling newspaper subscriptions on the rise of Internet Blogging. This is technically true. However, Internet Blogging is just a continuation of Ham Radio and Shortwave radio of the past. Anybody can get news out. It's the people who can take the news, gather it together, and then make it presentable and understanable, who stand to make a living in the market. The internet, as a news medium, is just a quicker version of the wire services newspapers have been using for years. However, instead of relying on another reporter to go and get the story, the average person is in a position to get the story straight from the source itself.
People flocked to Internet Blogs because of the source-based reporting. There wasn't some double spin put on the story, as is common on the Associated Press wire, where one person puts the story on the wire as they saw it, then another person rewrites the story as they read it.
The radio media is in a similiar position. Rush Limbaugh is a giant in radio media, and ad time on his show can run into thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in certain markets. Sean Hannity, Neal Boortz, and Michael Reagan also have prime time radio slots that can draw expensive advertisements. These guys are all right-wring conservatives.
Yet, the Left-sided radio program / station, Air America, has to PAY radio stations to carry their programming. Raunchy shock jocks like Howard Stern found themselves limited to Satellite Radio, and while Sirius/XM isn't exactly doing that well as is, their numbers on shock jocks are not that shockingly low.
No private investor has any interest in finacing these shows.
So the print and broadcast leaders of yester-year find themselves in the same shoes as the US car industry. People don't buy American cars because they suck. BMW and Mercedes get far more horsepower and torque out of an engine than Ford, GM, or Crysler. A japanese pickup truck can survive a 20 story drop from a building that's being imploded, specifically a Toyota HiLux Diesel. A japanese car gets many more miles to the gallon than a US car on gasoline. A European diesel, specifically the VW Golf, can average 73 miles to the gallon.
Even when you did get a comparable car, say like GM's Saturn division, you'd be looking at $20,000 for options that would come standard on a $15,000 Honda.
To try and keep on point here, the only people interested in preserving the US Auto-Industry as it is, are the Unions. Unions are by-and-large, left-leaning organizations, with socialistic tendencies. Because Unions are such a large-voting block, it's in the interest of left-wing politicians to keep the unions operational.
Rather than make the smart economical choice, and follow the trend in the privatized market (where Unions are next to non-existant), left-wing politicians will do anything to keep their voting blocks alive. So again, catch-22. The Unions don't want to join the free-market. They want to keep inflated wages, and benefits for everybody in the union that surpass the companies ability to pay, and will only elect people to power who will make sure the unions stay together. People who want political power will then make sure the Unions stay together to ensure they GET or KEEP that political power.
Notice the similarities? Lets inject "print and broadcast media"
Rather than follow the trend in privatized market (where Unions are next to non-existant), left-wing print and broadcast media will do anything to keep their subscriptions and advertisers. The news and print media doesn't want to take chances on advertising or investors, and only write stories that keep current advertisers and investors handing money over. Advertisers and investors, rather than seeking a wider audience, continue to fund the print and broadcast media in order to make sure they GET or KEEP their exposure.
****
taken from an email.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
31 states could be looking at redo's of November Elections
I think this falls under the excrement has hit the spinning device on the ceiling category. Diebold, now known as Premier Election Solutions, has admitted a serious flaw found in their voting machine software which allows election officials to delete votes with absolutely no record. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/03/diebold-admits.html
2 US States, Georgia and Maryland, use Diebold equipment exclusively, and 29 other states also utilize Diebold equipment in voting precincts. The design flaws, and other issues surrounding the voting equipment, has called into question the validity of results obtained from Diebold voting machines. Several states have already promised inquiries, and there's no telling what the final result will be.
One of the possibilities is that all precients that that utilized Diebold equipment could have to revote on every issue in which a Diebold machine was used to count the resultes. Given that most people are viewing Obama's first number of days in office as a complete disaster, with groups already gathering for Tax protests, there is little doubt as to what the results of a revote will be.
More than likely liberal news agencies like Reuters, Associated Press, ABC, NBC, MicroSoft-NBC, CBS, and CNN will try to bury the problems with Diebolds equipment, as any revote would likely remove the current political party from power, if not reverse the office of president as well.
Diebold and their business partners have a lot to answer for, as the flaws demonstrated in Diebold's system make the hanging chads from Florida seem like a minor problem.
2 US States, Georgia and Maryland, use Diebold equipment exclusively, and 29 other states also utilize Diebold equipment in voting precincts. The design flaws, and other issues surrounding the voting equipment, has called into question the validity of results obtained from Diebold voting machines. Several states have already promised inquiries, and there's no telling what the final result will be.
One of the possibilities is that all precients that that utilized Diebold equipment could have to revote on every issue in which a Diebold machine was used to count the resultes. Given that most people are viewing Obama's first number of days in office as a complete disaster, with groups already gathering for Tax protests, there is little doubt as to what the results of a revote will be.
More than likely liberal news agencies like Reuters, Associated Press, ABC, NBC, MicroSoft-NBC, CBS, and CNN will try to bury the problems with Diebolds equipment, as any revote would likely remove the current political party from power, if not reverse the office of president as well.
Diebold and their business partners have a lot to answer for, as the flaws demonstrated in Diebold's system make the hanging chads from Florida seem like a minor problem.
Friday, March 20, 2009
CanSecWest: No Linux laptops... wonder why
The news from CanSecWest that FireFox, Internet Explorer, and Safari all fell to penetrations on the first day put a feather in Google's cap as Chrome remained standing. However, there was one startling difference from this years contest compared to last years's Pwn 2 Own. During the 2008 conference the laptop running Ubuntu Linux went unclaimed : http://dvlabs.tippingpoint.com/blog/2008/03/28/pwn-to-own-final-day-and-wrap-up
This year, Linux wasn't invited back, with the only appearance consisting of Google's Android Mobile Phone stack: http://cansecwest.com/post/2009-03-18-01:00:00.PWN2OWN_Final_Rules
If I in were the shoes of Microsoft or Apple, I would probably be sweating. Especially considering that one of the panel's consists of hardening Linux: http://cansecwest.com/dojolinuxhardening.html The obvious read between the lines, and one that Dell would be smart to pick up as a promotion, is that Linux is so secure, the best Hackers in the world didn't think they could take a Linux system down in 3 days.
This year, Linux wasn't invited back, with the only appearance consisting of Google's Android Mobile Phone stack: http://cansecwest.com/post/2009-03-18-01:00:00.PWN2OWN_Final_Rules
If I in were the shoes of Microsoft or Apple, I would probably be sweating. Especially considering that one of the panel's consists of hardening Linux: http://cansecwest.com/dojolinuxhardening.html The obvious read between the lines, and one that Dell would be smart to pick up as a promotion, is that Linux is so secure, the best Hackers in the world didn't think they could take a Linux system down in 3 days.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Crunch
Big Truck + SUV + Small Car + blind turnlane = I'm in pain... again.
I'd almost apologize for the over-exposure... but I think I did good to snap any pictures at all.
***
edit: for those who asked elsewhere, the two ladies in the fore-ground stopped to try and help with the accident.
No, I didn't hit the guardrail either. since my SUV was still able to move under it's own power, I got it off the road as quickly as I could to try and keep traffic clear. As can be seen in the bottom picture, we still caused quite a traffic back-up.
And yes, those fuzzy dice are from Mario Kart GCN's special promotion.
I'd almost apologize for the over-exposure... but I think I did good to snap any pictures at all.
***
edit: for those who asked elsewhere, the two ladies in the fore-ground stopped to try and help with the accident.
No, I didn't hit the guardrail either. since my SUV was still able to move under it's own power, I got it off the road as quickly as I could to try and keep traffic clear. As can be seen in the bottom picture, we still caused quite a traffic back-up.
And yes, those fuzzy dice are from Mario Kart GCN's special promotion.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
DRM peddler throws rocks out of glass house.
Most people haven't heard of Aladdin software, and for good reason. The company sells Digital Rights Management software which the vast majority of consumers hate with a passion. Case in point would be the EA's Spore which drove a consumer backlash so large ZDNet ran the opinion it could destroy PC gaming, broke records for being the most pirated game ever, and caused EA to retool the entire system.
One would think then that DRM providers would be very careful about what they say in the public place. Not so for John Gunn of Aladdin software. In a blog post he referred to Gabe Newell of Valve software as being a noob. This was my comment on the HardOCP forums, and what I copied to John's blog, although it appears to have been deleted by Mr. Gunn:
Thing is, a quick look at Mr. Gunn's employment record on Linked In should send most prospective employeers running for the hills, if not to the nearest courthouse to get a restraining order. His time at 3DFX as a Vice-President of marketing coincided with the 2000 bankruptcy proceedings, and began with the merger of STB, a former employeer of his, in 1999. Given his official positions in 3DFX and STB, and the massive market mis-steps that saw the demise of 3DFX, John Gunn can easily be pinpointed as one of the disasters that befell both companies. Then there was his tenure at VisionTek. As noted in the HardOCP comment, VisionTek went bankrupt, again, when John Gunn was in a position of authority in the company.
To any outside observer, John Gunn is obviously a financial disaster on par with Timothy M. Roberts.
When it comes to judging what the retail market wants, and what the retail market gets, Mr. Gunn has a dedicated history of getting everything wrong.
Mr. Newell on the other hand. Well, his record hasn't been stellar either, and I've gone after Valve a couple times. However, Valve has been getting better, and the company seems to get it.
To an outside observer though, Steam is a rousing success. Independent game developers that could never get a game on the shelf of Wal-Mart or Gamestop can get their game in front of buyers through Steam. Major publishers can publish their back-catalogs through Steam and rack in profits for compilations that would never fit on a retail shelf. Steam Cloud allows players to store things like key settings on their Steam Account, which is useful for people who may play on a home computer, and a laptop at Taco Bell. Steam wraps digital rights management with update and game matching services that take advantage of having a single consistant log-in.
Okay, there are still improvements that could be made to Steam, my personal desire being the opportunity for a LAN pass, but as a retail product, Steam has proven that DRM can work. Gabe Newell has proven that when it comes to digital rights management, he does know how to make it work FOR buyers, not against them, or that he knows to hire the right people to make it work.
So between the two, I'll listen to what Mr. Newell says on DRM a lot sooner than I'll listen to somebody shilling a product that I already know won't work.
One would think then that DRM providers would be very careful about what they say in the public place. Not so for John Gunn of Aladdin software. In a blog post he referred to Gabe Newell of Valve software as being a noob. This was my comment on the HardOCP forums, and what I copied to John's blog, although it appears to have been deleted by Mr. Gunn:
on one hand we have a guy who has built a successful Digital Distribution Platform... is already eying (and programming) that Digital Distribution Platform for other Operating Systems and platforms... who controls development teams that have a successful history of catching and DOING something about the type of people who hack around games...
versus a guy who was VP Channel Sales at 3dfx, a company long deceased due to massive mis-steps in the retail market; director of marketing at STB, a company that I've honestly never heard of, and the top search for STB Systems results in a driver download for video adapters; and worked for VisionTek, a company I have heard of, but during 2001 to 2004 when HardOCP had less than polite things to say, including a near, if not actual, bankruptcy in 2002.
Right off hand, when it comes to selling to the retail market and figuring out what the market wants the most, I think Gabe and company at Valve have a much better handle on things than John Gunn.
Thing is, a quick look at Mr. Gunn's employment record on Linked In should send most prospective employeers running for the hills, if not to the nearest courthouse to get a restraining order. His time at 3DFX as a Vice-President of marketing coincided with the 2000 bankruptcy proceedings, and began with the merger of STB, a former employeer of his, in 1999. Given his official positions in 3DFX and STB, and the massive market mis-steps that saw the demise of 3DFX, John Gunn can easily be pinpointed as one of the disasters that befell both companies. Then there was his tenure at VisionTek. As noted in the HardOCP comment, VisionTek went bankrupt, again, when John Gunn was in a position of authority in the company.
To any outside observer, John Gunn is obviously a financial disaster on par with Timothy M. Roberts.
When it comes to judging what the retail market wants, and what the retail market gets, Mr. Gunn has a dedicated history of getting everything wrong.
Mr. Newell on the other hand. Well, his record hasn't been stellar either, and I've gone after Valve a couple times. However, Valve has been getting better, and the company seems to get it.
To an outside observer though, Steam is a rousing success. Independent game developers that could never get a game on the shelf of Wal-Mart or Gamestop can get their game in front of buyers through Steam. Major publishers can publish their back-catalogs through Steam and rack in profits for compilations that would never fit on a retail shelf. Steam Cloud allows players to store things like key settings on their Steam Account, which is useful for people who may play on a home computer, and a laptop at Taco Bell. Steam wraps digital rights management with update and game matching services that take advantage of having a single consistant log-in.
Okay, there are still improvements that could be made to Steam, my personal desire being the opportunity for a LAN pass, but as a retail product, Steam has proven that DRM can work. Gabe Newell has proven that when it comes to digital rights management, he does know how to make it work FOR buyers, not against them, or that he knows to hire the right people to make it work.
So between the two, I'll listen to what Mr. Newell says on DRM a lot sooner than I'll listen to somebody shilling a product that I already know won't work.
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