rpax9000 - Slashdot User

Comment why the obsession with speech recognition? (Score 5, Insightful) 109

by rpax9000 on Thursday November 27, 2008 @01:28AM (#25906477) Attached to: Talking Web, Memory Aids, and Solar Phones In 5 Years

seriously, every list of things that we can expect to see "real soon now" involves speech recognition.

and all i can say is... why?

who wants to work in an office full of cubes of people talking to their computers?

do you really want to read that confidential memo out loud?

besides, i can't imagine how awful it would be if everyone started speaking their memos and blog posts and comments &c. you think e-mail looks sloppy now... just wait until folks start yakking at their computers and pressing (or, i guess, saying?) "send".

sheesh. the last thing i want to do is "talk" to the web.

Comment i like my kindle well enough (Score 1) 398

by rpax9000 on Sunday November 16, 2008 @08:47PM (#25781177) Attached to: On the Economics of the Kindle

all i know about my kindle:

1) i have so far been able to get all but 2 books i was looking for on it.

2) why, yes, i do read 5 or 6 books per month, at least (not all hardback, to be sure). this past month, i think i plowed through 12 or 13. of course, that may, in part, be due to the kindle being very convenient to lug around.

3) it sure is easier than lugging a couple books on every business trip i have to take.

4) it is a lot more comfortable than reading on a laptop, especially on a plane. and not nearly so battery hungry.

4a) it's easier to read almost anyplace (other than a desk) than a laptop, come to think of it.

5) it sucked when i was telling a guy who just discovered chuck klosterman that he should check out _downtown owl_, because it's a great book and i just finished re-reading it, and i'd loan/give it to him except that it's on my kindle.

6) i don't like there being a record of everything i read on my kindle out there for amazon/_insert random government agency_/etc. to see, but frankly it's not nearly as embarassing/suspicious as the things i look at on my web browser, and i figure someone at my isp is currently being treated to hookers/blow/[hookers & blow] by the nsa in exchange for turning over my browsing records, anyway. i have no illusions of privacy.

the thing has pros and cons like any other media format. but the last time i moved, i had a truckload of books. literally. a one-ton pickup truck full of books. the idea of being able to read what i want (whenever i want) without acquiring another truckload of physical book-objects is worth the downside to me. and thus i got this kindle. and i like it so far.

drm considerations aside (a bit bothered by them, to be sure), i recommend for folks who read a lot or are very sensitive to weight/size considerations when travelling. and, of course, try to check one out first to make sure you can comfortably read on it...

for me, economics didn't play too much of an issue, it was more about the device itself. plus, much like corn ethanol, i see this as a needed step to get between a crappy, inefficient old process to a new, cool one. and i guess if kindle 1.0 is an intermediate step on that journey, as someone who like to read (lots) i am happy to support, etc...

there are some small design issues with the kindle, but overall i find it about as comfortable as reading a paper book. and that's good enough for me.

Submission + - Satellite Images Document Atrocities (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by wikkedwoman on Sunday June 10, 2007 @09:35PM

wikkedwoman writes: Satellites are being used to document atrocities which I think is one of best uses of Satellite technology as opposed to using them for weapons.

Feed Simple Test Predicts 6-year Risk Of Dementia (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed on Sunday June 10, 2007 @09:12PM

A simple test that can be given by any physician predicts a person's risk for developing dementia within six years with 87 percent accuracy, according to a new study. Risk factors are: Age of 70 or older, poor scores on two simple cognitive tests, slow physical function on everyday tasks, history of coronary artery bypass surgery, body mass index of less than 18, and current non-consumption of alcohol.

Submission + - CNBC Software Flaw Worth $1 Million?

Submitted by Strudelkugel on Sunday June 10, 2007 @08:58PM

Strudelkugel writes: In the past few months, Jim Kraber became more than a little obsessed with CNBC's "Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge." At the peak, the 42-year-old was spending 12 hours a day on the contest, using three computers in his Greenwich Village apartment to trade 1,600 different portfolios, all in an effort to win the $1 million grand prize. He even dropped his studies for the chartered financial analyst (CFA) exam, given once a year, so he could have more time for the financial news channel's game. He made it into the group of 20 finalists, but in mid-May, as the last round of trading opened, he noticed an unusual pattern in the picks of other contestants. One trader had a stream of near-perfect picks, consistently placing huge bets on shares that soared in after-hours trading. Kraber suspected the trader and perhaps others were getting help from someone who was changing their picks after the stocks' increases — and he quickly notified CNBC. "I went back and looked at his trades and thought, 'This is pretty much statistically impossible,'" says Kraber, who holds master's degrees in business and statistics from New York University. Kraber says CNBC rebuffed him at the time, but now it looks like he may have been right. Several contest participants have told BusinessWeek that there was a flaw in the design of the CNBC game that allowed certain players an unfair advantage. As many as four of the top contestants in the million-dollar contest may have exploited the flaw, according to the participants interviewed by BusinessWeek.

Submission + - Jailed Chinese Reporter Joins Yahoo Suit

Submitted by

taoman1

on Sunday June 10, 2007 @08:09PM

taoman1 writes: "The Associated Press reports that 'Shi Tao, who was sentenced in 2005 to 10 years in prison, is seeking compensation from the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet company, claiming Yahoo Hong Kong and Yahoo China provided information to the Chinese authorities that led to his arrest.'"

The Pirate Bay To Create YouTube Competitor 232

Posted by kdawson on Saturday May 19, 2007 @06:06PM from the torrential dept.

Jared writes "The Pirate Bay has confirmed that is working on a streaming video site with user-generated content. A spokesman said the site will be modeled after YouTube but there will be 'no censorship': The Pirate Bay 'will not be the moral police' and determine what content stays or goes as is oftentimes the case with YouTube. He added that 'the community will have to do that.'" The site will be at thevideobay.org, but nothing is up there for the public yet.

Q & A With Canada's Michael Geist 56

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday March 25, 2006 @02:36AM from the fireside-chats dept.

Torrentz writes "P2PNet is running a question and answer session with Canada's Michael Geist, a leading Internet and copyright expert. Geist discusses P2P, the music business, and the future direction of copyright law." From the interview: "My focus has traditionally been on Internet issues and I'm very active on privacy, spam, Internet governance issues. The growing attention to copyright merely reflects its critical importance to the Internet and to creativity and culture more generally."

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