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Comment Kind of sad (Score 3, Informative) 106

I actually liked the Daily, especially since I could have it download the mornings news to my ipad that I could read on the train. But there were problems. I didn't like that it wouldn't download the video content and some of the photos. The whole point of downloading the content ahead of time was because I knew I wouldn't have a connection later on.

Comment Re:Experience of a "small" ISP (Score 1) 141

by therealobsideus (#42089973) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Management Software For Small Independent ISP?
This.you don't need a one solution to all your issues, find solutions that improve each area and create an easy way to access those systems / pull data and aggregate it for your use. I come from Comcast (definitely not small) and they use so many different systems for network monitoring. Allot the data is pulled into a custom built solution for the tech support (grand slam previously, now moving to Einstein), BMW remedy for ticketing (grand slam and Einstein feed into this), custom comtrac and csg for billing (depending on east/west coast), And we at ne&to developed scout / scout flux for end of line performance metrics and to detect signal impairments.
Space

Submission + - Privately Funded Discovery Channel Telescope Snaps Inaugural Pictures (space.com)

Submitted by eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: Two decades ago (before it went to shit) Discovery Channel teamed up with Lowell Observatory and embarked upon a $53 million adventure: the fifth largest telescope in the United States funded entirely without state or federal money. The very first photos snapped with its 16 million pixel camera are in and they look beautiful. Yet to be seen are the simultaneous spectroscopic and imaging observations that should be provided to researchers by the DCT's Ritchey-Chretien instrument cube. Located near a dark-sky site (Coconino National Forest), scientists hope to use this new telescope to answer many research questions including how our solar system formed and how dwarf galaxies evolve. For more telescope porn, check out the DCT's photo tours. Luckily 'the process of planning and building the telescope is due to be featured in a one-hour Discovery Channel documentary set to air in September 2012.' Perhaps there is hope for Discovery Channel to return to its former glory?

Submission + - Fox sues DISH over "Auto Hop" feature (wsj.com)

Submitted by
therealobsideus
therealobsideus writes: "DISH recently announced Auto Hop, giving it's customers with the Hopper whole home DVR the ability to "hop" past commercial breaks on PrimeTime Anytime Recordings. In response, Fox has filed suit against DISH in US District Court seeking to block the technology."

Comment It works well (Score 1) 194

by therealobsideus (#40037321) Attached to: Broadcast Industry Wades In On Dish Network's Hopper
I don't know if anyone here has a Hopper (I do) and the Auto Hop feature of PrimeTime Anytime works amazingly well. I work a lot of hours at DISH, most of them at night, so I'm not able to watch most of my favorite shows for days until after they aired. By the time I watch them they aren't even in consideration for what the advertisers pay the NBC/CBS/Fox/ABC. I think it's just a great way to simplify the user experience - Auto Hop doesn't proactively "hop over" commercials on PrimeTime Anytime recordings, it prompts the viewer if you want to watch the commercials or not. It's completely user controlled. Unlike ReplayTV, the commercials are still there. And since I also like to have the commercials play at times, especially if I'm working on a coding project, Auto Hop allows me to let a show play through with the commercials and enjoy quick little breaks to watch the show (or listen to it), and then when a commercial comes on I can power out a several lines of code. I like how DISH is constantly fighting for the customer - with both pricing and technology.
Apple

Submission + - Apple gives in: iPad 3 drops '4G' tag to avoid lawsuits (zdnet.com)

Submitted by
TheGift73
TheGift73 writes: "In silence and without comment, Apple has quietly dropped the “4G” tag from its new iPad 3 tablet in favour of the legal-friendly “Cellular” term.

The Cupertino-based tablet maker had faced litigation in Australia and criticism from a number of European consumer groups after it was found the 4G-capable devices would not work outside the United States and Canada, despite no change in global marketing.

Apple’s U.K. and Australia online retail stores have both replaced the “4G” tag in favour of “Cellular” to appease both consumer groups, Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the UK’s Advertisement Standards Authority (ASA)."

Comment Re:Dish without commercials (Score 1) 283

by therealobsideus (#39981417) Attached to: Dish Network Announces Prime Time TV With No Ads
It's not that DISH is recording without commercials - the commercials are still there. DISH is just allowing customers to choose whether or not they want to view the commercials on playback, and only the next day after the shows aired. From my standpoint, I know that there are times when I want the commercials to play and times that I don't. My coworkers and I at DISH love how the choice is in the consumer's hands now. Consumer choice is never a bad thing.
Science

Submission + - Scientists Plan $1 Billion Ghost Town

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Although a fully operation city with no people sounds like the setup for a dystopian sci-fi novel, the Boston Globe reports that the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation will develop a $1 billion scientific ghost town near Hobbs, New Mexico to help researchers test everything from intelligent traffic systems and next-generation wireless networks to automated washing machines and self-flushing toilets on existing infrastructure without interfering in everyday life. Bob Brumley, senior managing director of Pegasus Holdings, says the town will be modeled after the real city of Rock Hill, South Carolina, complete with highways, houses and commercial buildings, old and new although unlike traditional cities, City Labs will start with its underground “backbone” infrastructure that will allow the lab to monitor activity throughout the 17-mile site. “The idea for The Center was born out of our own company’s challenges in trying to test new and emerging technologies beyond the confines of a sterile lab environment,” says Brumley. Since nobody lives in the Center's buildings, computerized systems will mimic human behavior such as turning thermostats up and down, switching lights off and on, or flushing toilets. The Center’s test facilities and supporting infrastructure may require as much as 20 square miles of open, unimproved land where the controlled environment will permit evaluation of the positive and negative impacts of smart grid applications and integration of renewable energies for residential, commercial and industrial sectors of the economy. Additional testing opportunities would include technologies emerging in intelligent traffic systems, next-generation wireless networks, smart grid cyber security and terrorism vulnerability. “It’s an amusement park for the scientists,” adds Brumley. "The only thing we won't be doing is destructive testing, blowing things up — I hope.""

Submission + - DISH let's you watch commercial-free TV (usatoday.com)

Submitted by
therealobsideus
therealobsideus writes: "There are many people who use home media center software like the SageTV PVR to view their content, whether it's live TV shows or movies. However, until recently, commercial skipping on previously recorded content was only available as a plugin. ReplayTV, the last company to offer a PVR with built-in commercial skipping, went bankrupt a few years after their product launched over lawsuits. But that didn't stop DISH from announcing the ability for their customers to watch commercial-free TV on certain primetime recordings. In a time where most providers are trying to figure out how to provide more relevant advertising, it seems that DISH is enabling customers to not watch advertisements at all."

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