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For some reason, the /. title reminded me of this book defending a lack of due process:
In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror

Agreed, I put one in a netbook a couple years back and it make a wonderful difference. Just this year has an SSD of the same size become cheaper than that netbook and it's still 4x as expensive as the hybrid drive.

That said, my current laptop has a generic HD and I have an mSATA SSD in it, with a partition for cache I've got assigned to Flashcache (and might be getting converted to ZFS when I figure out dkms) and that works really well too.

The big advantage I see on the Seagate solution is their use of SLC, which I always use in servers for write caches but on my laptop hasn't been a viable option.

Agreed, I put one in a netbook a couple years back and it make a wonderful difference. Just this year has an SSD of the same size become cheaper than that netbook and it's still 4x as expensive as the hybrid drive.

That said, my current laptop has a generic HD and I have an mSATA SSD in it, with a partition for cache I've got assigned to Flashcache (and might be getting converted to ZFS when I figure out dkms) and that works really well too.

The big advantage I see on the Seagate solution is their use of SLC, which I always use in servers for write caches but on my laptop hasn't been a viable option.

A robot with a human-like face is a lie so I wouldn't trust it.

Right. C3PO strikes the right balance - humanoid enough to function alongside humans, built for humans to naturally interface with it (looking into its eyes, etc.) but nobody would ever mistake Threepio for a human, nor would that be a good idea.

Why ever would a robot need to look like a little boy? Outside the weird A.I. plots or creepier.

My boy has a Tribot toy and he loves it. Every kid would love to have a Wall-E friend. Nobody wants a VICKI wandering around the house.

If the guy who admits killing Pluto finds life on another object.

You and the story poster really really really need to go back to school and beef up on your reading comprehension. Card's personal views are evident all over the place. Empire was painfully filled with them. Everything in the Bean series. All of his non-SF is littered with it.

If you want to read a very well written and thought out argument as to why Ender's Game is one of the worst books for adolescents to read, check out John Kessel's thesis. He's not like one of those that says Card didn:t even write Ender's Game

An iPad is a poor PC replacement for most old folks. They don't need to be doing tasks like email on a small screen with a touch "keyboard".

Yes, hopefully some day somebody will come up with a solution for that.

I'd suggest we look back on the track record of such databases.

I won't go and track down the links (There's a link somewhere to the famous HBR "Database of Ruin" article, and that has a number of good links).

However, when you have potential for profit and money, you have almost certain abuses.

When you have people (humans), administering these types of databases, you have certain (100%) abuses. There are a number of documented cases of cops abusing DMV and arrest report DBs for purposes of harassment, stalking and revenge.

There are "grey" private detectives that are called "skip tracers." If you want to find out more, check out this book, called "How to Disappear."

This database WILL be misused. It may come back to haunt folks in thirty years.

I was able to rack up a pretty significant juvenile record, way back in the "paper era." I'm real glad that was never tracked, although I'll bet it would bubble to the surface if I ever wanted to work for the NSA.

Multi-screen view. Just because you have a 27 inch monitor doesn't mean that you want to have 10 windows open on it, especially if you are doing something like video editing (which the poster said he is doing computer programming, so that doesn't apply). Like I have my 19 inch as my workspace, and my 42 inch television setup as my preview, so I can see what my end-product will look like.

At work, I have three monitors. They are all about 21 inches, but I have so many programs I have to keep open at once, its a lot easier to tile them across multiple screens.

Truthfully, I think a 27 inch monitor is overkill for a programmer. It is probably too late to do this, but I would ask the boss if I could trade it in and get two or three 21 inch or 24 inch monitors (I think most laptops will only support 2 monitors - idk, you might be able to do three with a DVI, HDMI and a VGA port). Also, then the laptop won't look so dwarfed next to those monitors, so you could use that as a screen as well.

But that is not the point of the post, he was asking for advice on monitor stands. If its a 27 inch, just go to Amazon and look up LCD mounts, and you could probably just use a standard television mount. Shoot, the very first choice on Amazon seems to be bracket from Monoprice.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lcd+mount+desk&sprefix=lcd+mount%2Caps%2C310

As others have said, get a real keyboard and mouse, but also try a laptop DJ stand like this: http://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PLPTS25-Laptop-Computer-Stand/dp/B004HJ1ZB8/ Align the two screens side-by-side, I prefer to have the tops of the screens aligned. Hope this is helpful.

Exactly what I do, also it's nice to sit your laptop on a cooling pad like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005C31HC0/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc= if you do not use a dock.

Personal Productivity Secrets

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118179676/

It focuses in the issue you describe, and might provide you with personal tools to help you focus.

There's a PC version too.

The mac version is not entirely trivial to bypass, i.e. you need more than just ifconfig, at which point I gave up.

I second the pomodoro technique. Something like this is useful; you can set yourself mini-goals like "try to get this done in X minutes," which gives focus and gives you feedback on your actual abilities. (note, this particular timer beeps loudly every time you press a button, which is annoying and might cause your officemates to hate you.)

You're welcome. Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the time you gave to reading what I wrote and responding about it.

BTW, I'm sure some part of it is indeed bullshit -- just not sure which parts or I would fix them. :-) See:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/researcher-responds-to-arguments-over-his-theory-of-arguing/
"The main idea of the "argumentative theory of reasoning," put forward by Dan Sperber and myself is that the function of human reasoning -- why it evolved -- is to improve communication by allowing people to debate with each other: to produce and evaluate arguments during a discussion. This contrasts with the standard view of reasoning -- apparently shared by quite a few of the readers -- that reasoning evolved in order to further individual reasoning: to make better decisions, to plan ahead, to get better beliefs, etc. We have gathered a lot of evidence in support of our theory. The interested reader may enjoy a short summary, and the bravest may read the main academic article (use the "One-Click Download" link on the summary Web page). For those who don't have the time or the inclination, let me simply try to correct an important but common misconception.
We do not claim that reasoning has nothing to do with the truth. We claim that reasoning did not evolve to allow the lone reasoner to find the truth. We think it evolved to argue. But arguing is not only about trying to convince other people; it's also about listening to their arguments. So reasoning is two-sided. On the one hand, it is used to produce arguments. Here its goal is to convince people. Accordingly, it displays a strong confirmation bias -- what people see as the "rhetoric" side of reasoning. On the other hand, reasoning is also used to evaluate arguments. Here its goal is to tease out good arguments from bad ones so as to accept warranted conclusions and, if things go well, get better beliefs and make better decisions in the end."

A diversity of ideas exchanged with each other can make us all smarter, even if one person had 90% of the ideas an someone else 10%, like Scott E. Page writes about here:
http://www.amazon.com/Difference-Diversity-Creates-Schools-Societies/dp/0691128383
"In this landmark book, Scott Page redefines the way we understand ourselves in relation to one another. The Difference is about how we think in groups--and how our collective wisdom exceeds the sum of its parts. Why can teams of people find better solutions than brilliant individuals working alone? And why are the best group decisions and predictions those that draw upon the very qualities that make each of us unique? The answers lie in diversity--not what we look like outside, but what we look like within, our distinct tools and abilities.
The Difference reveals that progress and innovation may depend less on lone thinkers with enormous IQs than on diverse people working together and capitalizing on their individuality. Page shows how groups that display a range of perspectives outperform groups of like-minded experts. Diversity yields superior outcomes, and Page proves it using his own cutting-edge research. Moving beyond the politics that cloud standard debates about diversity, he explains why difference beats out homogeneity, whether you're talking about citizens in a democracy or scientists in the laboratory. He examines practical ways to apply diversity's logic to a host of problems, and along the way offers fascinating and surprising examples, from the redesign of the Chicago "El" to the truth about where we store our ketchup.
Page changes the way we understand diversity--how to harness its untapped potential, how to understand and avoid its traps, and how we can leverage our differences for the benefit of all."

Regarding yo

This clusterfuck of an industry bailout bill has pretty well no resemblance to health care reform, or to any of what Obama actually wanted to do.

I know somebody who works in pharma.
It's certainly likely that 'the suits' were lining their wallets, and virtually guaranteed that our Ruling Class is out to shear us all after the sheep fashion.
One is curious as to what you think "Obama actually wanted to do". My guess is Single-payer, that smashing British success story.
Because, hey, if we've bought enough of the anti-capitalist propaganda, and ignored the empirical results, I say: "Let us crash."

If it is a govt publication, use "Space Settlements" (NASA SP-413). If it is a non-govt publication, OK to title "Space Colonies" (Stewart Brand). Colonies is a bad word for many third world countries, and in 1970s NASA didn't want to stir the pot on this.

Artwork (big Mb files, great for posters) at http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/70sArtHiRes/70sArt/art.html (including vintage 1970s rogallo hang-glider. Oops, that C word appears)

NASA SP-413 at http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770014162_1977014162.pdf

Space Colonies (A Coevolution Book) at http://www.amazon.com/Space-Colonies-A-Coevolution-Book/dp/0140048057/

I really don't get why so many American's are up in arms about un-manned aircraft - there have been aircraft "looking down into" their backyards for 100 years now, who cares if it has a pilot IN IT or not. Tons and tons of police driving by your house LOOKING INTO your yard.

Inorite? We've used fighter jets to blow up brown people for decades, but only now do they start complaining about drone strikes?

Oh, wait - Estimated cost of an F35, $110M. Actual cost of an unmanned reconnaissance drone, $299.99. Which of those do you see Officer Obie casually using to peek through your bedroom window or check out your backyard pool party?


Overall, though, these rules completely disgust me. They get it exactly backward, allowing a class proven untrustworthy when given new surveillance technology to use them, while blocking any possible citizen-initiated use of the same.

I suppose I have only one thing to say - I have a shotgun, and don't tolerate weird-looking noisy birds in my backyard. So go ahead, send me some challenging skeet, boys!

WTF? How about how about Trauma Center?

He can get a free year of EC2 hosting. Windowz and Linux both. Amazon may be a Big Corporation but this ain't bad

I found a good solution to this. http://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-Powerline-Wall-Plug-Adapter-PLA4215/dp/B006KSLIQG Turn off your wifi, and use this instead. I just ordered a pair myself.

You're pretty much dead on with your numbers:

32GB Nexus 7 w/ AT&T 3G - $300

TP-Link TL-WN722N (atheros usb wifi) - $20

Sena UD100 (Bluetooth USB) - $40

USB Ethernet adapter - ~$30 (really? Damn!)

OTG cable (host mode) - $2

I wonder how long it takes them to compile/load all those apps? Would be interesting to break it down and see just how much per hour these guys are charging.

One of the most unusual concepts of an alien life form I've seen are the Tines in Vinge's novel A Fire upon the Deep , dog or giant rat-like animals that are not individually conscious, but when together in packs form a single sentient organism. In the case of Vinge's novel, neural communication between the individual members of the pack was carried out via ultrasound, not electricity like here, but I wouldn't have imagined that scientists would pursue the same idea at some point.

To summarize the Ada Initiative's argument, "You should never talk about sex, because if you do, you'll give women traumatizing rape flashbacks and turn all men in the audience into pathological rape-machines. Especially techies, because everyone knows techies are super-rape-happy already. So no talking about sex."

Similar bullshit is going on in the atheist community where PZ Myers and Ed Brayton decided that it is rape when "a guy at an atheist convention was chatting up a girl and asked her to bed, she said no, and that was the end of it" and they're pressuring atheist community organizations to kick out people who disagree as not-real-atheists. People like Richard Dawkins.

You sound as if you've read: Weapons of Mass Instruction

I haven't read it, but my wife did - and we recently just pulled our kids out of school and started home-schooling all three of them (pre-school, K, and 2nd grade) It has been a challenge, but has also been very rewarding. The computer does help, but a lot of the learning at this stage is pretty basic. But they really get excited about learning and aren't exhausted by the end of the day due to all of the non-learning they used to have to endure around school. School isn't bad, and their school was really good. But now we are more involved with them, and we are hoping it really works out for the best. I know home-schooling has a stigma attached to it, but we are doing it for all the right reasons.

you mean like this or this?

If only there was some way to get digital from vinyl~

For 90 bucks, you can get a record player they will happily encode all the album flaws in a digital format so you can listen to his and pops forever.
http://www.amazon.com/Technica-AT-LP60USB-Automatic-Driven-Turntable/dp/B002GYTPB8/ref=sr_1_2?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1361978680&sr=1-2&keywords=turntable+digital+output

if you have friend who also want that, ask them to pay 50 cents for you to make the recording until you've paid for the turntable.

There are some parts of the old ship that most definitely should NOT be replicated on the new one.

Olympic, Titanic's twin sister, was in service for 24 years on the North Atlantic run.

I don't see any problem with the engines.

If your complaint is about the inefficacies of coal or the manning requirements and working conditions aboard a coal-fired ship, take it up with Winston Churchill. Naval innovation: From coal to oil

If you are First Lord of the Admiralty. you can make these things happen.

I don't see any problems with the kitchens.

Last Dinner On the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner, in print since 1997, and a particularly fine example of the cookbook as art and history, is far from obsessed with the first class service alone.

Every modern Android based phone can run the Wikipedia app or any of the variants. Given that wireless access is needed to get the text message, I fail to see how that is an improvement over access to the actual pages and full content.

who the fuck do you think buys the 20-40 dollars as new phones?(note: unsubsidized!) a lot of them are sold. they're the target devices for this as anything over 40+ bucks tends to have at least some kind of browser.
they got good battery life too, which is good for remote areas.

Every modern Android based phone can run the Wikipedia app or any of the variants. Given that wireless access is needed to get the text message, I fail to see how that is an improvement over access to the actual pages and full content.

Are you trolling, or for real? Yes, "feature phones" are very popular in many parts of the world not everyone can afford a $600 (or even $100) Android phone.

Every modern Android based phone can run the Wikipedia app or any of the variants. Given that wireless access is needed to get the text message, I fail to see how that is an improvement over access to the actual pages and full content.

The aspire one 722 is the same bulky-ulgy-going-to-be-virus-ridden-and-god-awful-slow type of device she was trying to get away from. I don't know where you got a new one for $230 as they are on amazon for around $420 (the same price we paid for the transformer). Also, I don't typically like to purchase things blind so it would have to be available through a local retailer so I could try it out.
A quick look at the specs show that it's twice as heavy as the TF300T, nearly 3 times the cubic volume, and doesn't transform into a convenient tablet form for things like couch browsing.

I appreciate your humble criticism, but I think I'll stick with my recommendation.

Or, without bothering with all of that, you can spend $11 on this and you don't have to worry about any of that crap. Plus, your kiddies and BFFs can see what you felt and what you were like not just what you did. And as an added bonus, if you get what I linked to, it comes with cute butterflies!

You'll find that many serious psychological disorders stem from not being able to forget.

Okay. List them. "Serious psychological disorders"? Go ahead and list them out of the DSMIV or whatever you can find. I'd be curious because GMail and GChat have made my life a thousand times better with their impeccable recording and recall abilities. "Remember when I suggested The Naked and Famous to you like three years ago? Oh, you don't? That's funny, this e-mail says otherwise."

Thank you for proving the OP's post. It seems you suffer from self-righteous assholism. I would look into counseling.

That's where you're wrong or it's impossible to prove that no one will ever want to see it. I would absolutely love to see the world through my grandfather's eyes. One time I went to a thrift store and they had random family effects. One of them was this ancient black leather flip book with about 50 black and white plate photographs in it and as I flipped through them I saw settlers on the plains. Standing next to Native Americans. Standing next to mud huts that they had cut with sod. Standing next to oxen tied to a manual plow. On and on they went. [...] ... but it was something unique and interesting to me.

[...]

So, I think you're wrong. And I think that those handful of black and white photos have expanded to stacks of color photos and now long videos of family gatherings from VHS to CCD. Is it really that absurd to think that someday your offspring will wonder what life is like? Or 200 years from now any random person just curious about life was like in our time?

The only problem is, those videos will be just as revealing as those photos were. Just because something moves doesn't mean you'll glean insight. something like this is so much better, and the best thing is, you can find something like that in the time period in which you're interested.

Every distinction highlights something while obscuring another. For example, the very choice of presenting certain "games" to people from other cultures brings forth the differences in behavior, but obliterates the impact of introducing a certain interaction that is not familiar to another culture. While this make perfect sense for certain comparative studies, what is wrong here is the surprise factor. Assuming that a framework derived from the study of only one culture can be applied to all mankind is the mistake here, it isn't a problem of the US culture.

The basis of the biological and social aspects of the human species have been reseached before from other disciplines. If anybody wants to read more about it, I can recommend one approach that is well explained in two books: The Tree of Knowledge and Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living. Enjoy.

Every distinction highlights something while obscuring another. For example, the very choice of presenting certain "games" to people from other cultures brings forth the differences in behavior, but obliterates the impact of introducing a certain interaction that is not familiar to another culture. While this make perfect sense for certain comparative studies, what is wrong here is the surprise factor. Assuming that a framework derived from the study of only one culture can be applied to all mankind is the mistake here, it isn't a problem of the US culture.

The basis of the biological and social aspects of the human species have been reseached before from other disciplines. If anybody wants to read more about it, I can recommend one approach that is well explained in two books: The Tree of Knowledge and Autopoiesis and Cognition: The Realization of the Living. Enjoy.

Parent is spewing same gibberish that content of post references, citing NO sources in the process.

Oh, quit whining, Mr. Covey. Your day's finished. Get over it...

Parent is spewing same gibberish that content of post references, citing NO sources in the process.

Oh, quit whining, Mr. Covey. Your day's finished. Get over it...

You need to read the book "On Nuclear Terrorism". It is available here and is very dry, academic, wonky reading.

That is a proverbial drop in a buck of water compared to those killed by Islamists in Iraq alone, per year, for years, and recently.

If you mean the various crusades over the years, there were 15,000 to 25,000 men on both sides, over decades, according to the link below. Again, a drop in the bucket.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071221224301AAB7M3H

http://www.amazon.com/Daemon-Daniel-Suarez/dp/0451228731/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361773310&sr=8-1&keywords=daemon+by+daniel+suarez

Three Felonies a Day:

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229

The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior. ...

Not a bad post overall, but I'm going to disagree with you on this statement:

As a manager, the only way to really know if you are really utilizing your people is when they start failing. Otherwise, they might have more capacity.

Keeping closer tabs on your workers can help. My spouse and I share responsibilities in our household. She doesn't need to "start failing" before I recognize that she needs help -- and she's not a person who asks for help. There are other indicators she gives off when she is overloaded with work. Because I interact with her, I know what these queues are. The closer you are to someone, the less you need these bogus metrics.

Let me ask you this: when your worker fails -- is it because they are overworked or is it because you didn't give them the right opportunities and training to solve the problem?

If this work is in IT, there's also a good chance you've also severely demoralized them when they do fail. I suggest the book Leading Geeks. Very good stuff and it was recommended to me by friend who is an IT manager

Toddler proof is damned good to know, even if I'll never use that info. Thank you.

They aren't totally toddler-proof. If bashed against a hard enough surface the screen glass will shatter into really sharp shards flying everywhere. These aren't made of safety glass like a car's windows are. For that reason alone you might want to apply a tough clear screen protector on it. Best Buy sells good ones for $20, cheaper on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/electronics/2348631011

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Tablet-Accessories/Tablet-Screen-Protection/pcmcat242000050005.c?id=pcmcat242000050005

It's highly unlikely the random "MID" tablet you've picked is the right one. He could have any of these:

http://www.manta.com.pl/pl/mid08/
http://www.rakuten.com/prod/android-4-0-ice-cream-sandwich-mid-7-capacitive-touch-screen-wi-fi-g/230139359.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfH_AZ3AAUs
http://www.amazon.com/Google-Android-Capacitive-Gsensor-MID70404B/dp/B008XLCUF6

or thousands of others all using the name "MID".

Did he compare MongoDB to the correct product then? I'd love to have seen him also include Amazon SimpleDB.

The "sequestration" cuts are $85B out of $3.6T, or ~2.4 %. This has motivated politicians from both parties, and loud-mouthed political actors of all stripes, to make wild claims about terrible consequences if the cuts were to be made. The implicit claim is that cutting 2.4% across the board would result in an "unready, hollow force", 9% unemployment, and all sorts of other horrific things (which I'm sure you've heard of by now).

Is it even true? From cutting a measly 2.4% of future spending? Or is it yet another shock doctrine exercise to distract us from other things we should be paying attention to instead? There's a book, BTW.

• How did we get de-industrialized over the past 40 years? Was there an upside for someone, and if so, who?
• Why does petroleum cost over $100/bbl when there is no shortage, demand has been decreasing since 2008, and it costs a small fraction of that to produce?
• Who supports "Al Qaeda"? (Hint)
• Why is wealth distribution becoming more and more polarized?
• Do wealthy companies, individuals, and organizations control the world's governments through (surprisingly affordable) "lobbying"?
• What will you retire on?
• How will climate change affect you over your lifetime?
• Where will your potable water come from 20 years from now?
• Why do we continue to eat such a massively unhealthy diet? What fraction of "out of control" medical care costs are directly attributable to that?
• Will your job or a job like it still exist in 2025? What will you be doing then?
• Why did we invade Iraq? Why are we still in Afghanistan? Why are we rattling our sabers at Iran if our "allies" in the middle east are by far the greatest financiers of terrorism?

etc.

The "sequestration" cuts are $85B out of $3.6T, or ~2.4 %. This has motivated politicians from both parties, and loud-mouthed political actors of all stripes, to make wild claims about terrible consequences if the cuts were to be made. The implicit claim is that cutting 2.4% across the board would result in an "unready, hollow force", 9% unemployment, and all sorts of other horrific things (which I'm sure you've heard of by now).

Is it even true? From cutting a measly 2.4% of future spending? Or is it yet another shock doctrine exercise to distract us from other things we should be paying attention to instead? There's a book, BTW.

• How did we get de-industrialized over the past 40 years? Was there an upside for someone, and if so, who?
• Why does petroleum cost over $100/bbl when there is no shortage, demand has been decreasing since 2008, and it costs a small fraction of that to produce?
• Who supports "Al Qaeda"? (Hint)
• Why is wealth distribution becoming more and more polarized?
• Do wealthy companies, individuals, and organizations control the world's governments through (surprisingly affordable) "lobbying"?
• What will you retire on?
• How will climate change affect you over your lifetime?
• Where will your potable water come from 20 years from now?
• Why do we continue to eat such a massively unhealthy diet? What fraction of "out of control" medical care costs are directly attributable to that?
• Will your job or a job like it still exist in 2025? What will you be doing then?
• Why did we invade Iraq? Why are we still in Afghanistan? Why are we rattling our sabers at Iran if our "allies" in the middle east are by far the greatest financiers of terrorism?

etc.

but seeing ignorant, inflamatory posts getting modded +5 gets a little old, you know?

Perhaps, but it's absolutely understandable. I don't think it would be too far off the mark to characterize the average Slashdotter as left of center and as with many on the left, they're intelligent but they tend to get it wrong when it comes to economics or finance. Indeed, some of them even take pride in their ignorance or convince themselves that they know precisely how the economy works, all evidence to the contrary. One thing's for sure, many of them could certainly benefit from a careful cover-to-cover reading of Mankiw's Principles of Economics

These things are pretty cool. Not quite like the "house of the future" predictions from '95, but nice.

http://www.amazon.com/s/field-keywords=sonos

This book is dry, boring and very wonkish. But after reading it you won't really worry much, if at all, about this subject any more.