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Not to mention that famous Iraqi blogger Riverbend used to be an IT gal before the invasion. Of course, here's what happened afterwards. (Sun. Aug 24, 2003)

Not to mention that famous Iraqi blogger Riverbend used to be an IT gal before the invasion. Of course, here's what happened afterwards. (Sun. Aug 24, 2003)

I say go Mac!

1 - There is definitely educational software.
2 - It is *nix based...so you won't be over every day.
3 - Price can be mitigated by seeking out an educational grant/donation that allows for Mac and combining that with the TCO discussed in the 'MAH' series:

http://securityawareness.blogspot.com/2005/09/mad- as-hell-xvi-final-mah.html

Due to a combination of factors, the question may otherwise become moot. Just go microsoft. :(

1- non techie parents wanting their kids to learn computers 'like the rest of the world' in fear of their kids 'keeping up with whats out there' [microsoft]

2- being able to submit educational technology grants to numerous foundations/institutions, [well meaning institutions don't normally care which tech solution is used but are more familiar with microsoft on the desktop/have business relationships with microsoft]

3 - generous donations from school benefactors [well meaning, but implement what everyone else is using'... Microsoft]

IMHO, Microsoft will be a non-thinking solution that will be implemented in similar circumstances.

In the primary/secondary school scene, I assume that sheer number of Microsoft 'knowledgeable' people/volunteers outnumber the *nix knowledgeable people. Due to this, a Linux solution could be implemented, but as soon as the linux person steps down/gets too busy/leaves, there is a better chance of only having a non-linux volunteer to step in and implement an easier solution (aka - with what they are more familiar). This would be more prevalent in less populated regions. (big fish/little pond)

I have seen a small parochial school in the middle of a farming community go microsoft because the retired data processing person who supports the computer lab and network now only knows one thing. It is bad enough to the point that the mention of Macs made his kid who attends the school think that Macs would make said parent loose the IT job due to not being a Mac person. I assume that the parent made comments about work around home (I know my Mom and Dad did when I was growing up.) :)

I have seen a parochial school in a city of about 1 million choose microsoft due to a grant/donation plus not easily finding companies/people to pay who know linux. The lab cannot wait for someone to finish work before heading over to look at the problem. Schools now have computer class scheduled as part of the daily curriculum.

I plan on helping schools more when my kids are out of day care, but for now I work second shift and my wife first shift so we can support our family.

Maybe I can start my own linux support for schools company. I would only have to work

1 - every fall to setup new clients/do a checkup&upgrade on existing clients

2 - 7:30am-3:30pm.... when the hardware breaks.

Plus - I get my summers off!!

A trust but verify build environment. Using one PC to host a virtual network of locked down servers used to :
1) rebuild source RPMs and other packages.
2) compare the rebuilt binaries to downloaded/existing packages.
3) digitally sign the packages for local install if OK.

Also maybe add a stage 0, running lint and other source checking tools over the source code before build to check for buggy code.

Oh, I know just what you mean. I reviewed Elive 0.4 and posted shots of some of it's ugly text screens right here. Yep, primitive!

Yes but this particular fantasy was invented wholesale by Pierre Plantard, a French conspiracy nut who claimed to be the descendant of Christ &tc. who set up the Priory of Sion and fabricated all the evidence. HB/HG is derivative of Plantard.

If Baigent and Leigh win then surely Plantard's estate is also due a cut?

LOL.. Let's just hope Nintendo doesn't make one that looks like this.

It's harder to go out on a limb and go open source if you are the person making decisions.

The real reason why the general public isn't moving to Linux is simple: Nobody wants Linux.

Now before you string me up by my pinky toes, listen to me for a moment. Consumers don't purchase something they don't want or need. If you go into the store and see a flashlight, you won't pick it up unless you have no flashlight and absolutely NEED one. And even then you'll probably look for the cheapest one that meets your needs. One of those needs may be familiarity. If Brand Y is cheaper than Brand X, but you can't figure out how to turn it on without a manual, you're going to purchase Brand X.

Now consider for a moment that you're walking by the flashlights and see one that loudly proclaims "No Batteries needed!", "Super Bright Halogen Performance", "Tiny, Palm fitting size!", and "Laser Guided Beam!" Suddenly that flashlight is appealing to your baser instinct of "cool". Even if you don't need a flashlight at the moment, you're going to pick it up, look it over, and perhaps even convince yourself that you need a new flashlight. Then you'll get it home and read the manual to figure out how to turn the blasted thing on. You're then going to share your experience with your friends and family who may catch your enthusiasm and grab one of the new flashlights next time they're in the market. (Consider the fact that ThinkGeek has made an entire market out of "cool" objects that you don't need.)

Linux appeals to techies who want to try a new OS, but it doesn't universally impress people as being "so cool they need it". Ergo, they don't need it, so they don't get it. (It's really a matter of they don't *want* it, but they think in terms of needs.)

The same thing happened to Microsoft when they tried to get people to move to Windows. No one wanted the Microsoft Kool-aid. DOS worked just fine, and no one was going to switch to windows unless they had applications that required it to run. (And they usually grumbled about that.)

Enter Windows 95. Microsoft convinced the public at large that Windows 95 was SO important, that thousands of customers who didn't even have computers lined up to purchase this wonder-product. Sure, they were disappointed when they realized they needed a computer, but the millions of others who already had one, happily installed Windows. (Some even purchased expensive memory or hard drive upgrades just to run Windows 95.) Whether Win95 lived up to the hype or not is a different matter, but consumers were enamored with exploring the new features in this OS. (Almost) All of their old programs ran, and they could run these snazzy new Win95 apps that looked nothing like those ugly old Win3.1 apps. It was a revolution!

So what does Linux give consumers to make them want it? Cool features that Windows doesn't have? Not really. (At least, none that the consumer sees.) Pretty graphics? Nope. Linux lags behind, often showing ugly text screens. How about "killer apps" that exist nowhere else? Nope. Either they're ported to Windows, or they're just a rip-off of something consumers already have. So what does Linux have that makes the average consumer WANT it?

Absolutely nothing.

That's why I suggested technology to take Linux far out into the lead. If Linux can get there before Microsoft and Apple, it might actually have something to offer consumers that would make them want it. Otherwise it will continue to lag behind as the red-haired step child of the Desktop world.

Hi! I did a search on "Paid Surveys" and your site came up. I'm trying to find something I can do part-time at home. Unfortunately, it's not really what I'm looking for. But it is a pretty cool site nonetheless. Nice Job!

I just came from another nice website for Paid Surveys at http://moneyemployment.worldwidereviews.com/PaidSu rveys.htm.

Yesterday I came across Paid Surveys at http://paidsurveyswatch.blogspot.com./

Check them out if you have time. Thanks anyway .. and take care!

Hi! I did a search on "Paid Surveys" and your site came up. I'm trying to find something I can do part-time at home. Unfortunately, it's not really what I'm looking for. But it is a pretty cool site nonetheless. Nice Job!

I just came from another nice website for Paid Surveys at http://moneyemployment.worldwidereviews.com/PaidSu rveys.htm.

Yesterday I came across Paid Surveys at http://paidsurveyswatch.blogspot.com./

Check them out if you have time. Thanks anyway .. and take care!

My argument on the need for auditability such as it is, is here.

The Drum article I link to is actually quite interesting because it brings up another thing that happened yesterday, the Diebold machines were certified in California despite objections to the security flaws.

A few days ago, Google's official response to the DoJ was posted on the Google Blog.

According to Google, among the reasons they are refusing to comply is because they are trying "to protect their trade secrets and proprietary systems". They add that complying with the request would be a great technological burden, and possibly create legal risks.

There is only a single mention of concern for its users' privacy - and that concern is not based any moral grounds: they merely fear any liabilities for violating their privacy policy.

Note: I'm not critizing Google for this. Their actions are entirely reasonable; after all, Google is not a charity, it is a company. I'm just sick of all the "Google does this, Google does that" media hype distorting reality. If you're going to put Google on a stand for its China decision or any privacy-related issues, do the same for the others among the "Big-Five" search engines. I own Google stock myself; I don't care if you idealized Google and your dreams burst, I want my investment protected.

"The NSA is made up of very smart and capable folks. Give them a budget and incentives, and they can probably do a pretty good job of sticking their noses into the public's affairs.

The NSA's motivations are political.

Bright they may be, but the NSA is primarily a politically motivated org that answers to the president. It would be more appropriately know as the NSC (Non-Suborned by the Constitution).

Full faith and credit should also be given the NSA for their integral role in the creation of al Qaeda.

Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, should get his notice as the originator of the plan to trick the Soviet into their own Vietnam, and to use the radical Arab fundamentalists as a blade to bleed them. Reagan's NSA should get their proper attribution for expanding upon this sanguineous plan.

"Under President Reagan, the NSC staff assumed a role beyond that of an advisory or coordinating body: It at times became operational, taking on primary responsibility for the execution of the Iran and contra covert operations."

Walsh, Iran/Contra Report,
Chapter 1: United States v. Robert C. McFarlane

And who can forget the words of the ole gimper himself:

"These Islamic fighters in a faraway land have given new meaning to the words 'courage,' 'determination,' and 'strength.' They have set the standard for those who value freedom and independence everywhere in the world."

Ronald Reagan
Statement on the Fourth Anniversary of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

On a more contemporary note, GW Bush's NSA has been alleged to have pulled an end-around the CIA station chief in Rome, violating the logical protocols which were in place at the time, accepting the dubious Niger Yellowcake to Iraq story from the Italian Intelligence Agency, SISMI, first hand, and then sourcing it into the prewar claims.
(The Italian paper "La Repubblica", ran a good 3-part expose. There is a good English translation available: 1 - 2 - 3 - (decent mirror starts here.)

The NSA was left unscathed by the Silberman/Robb Commission, that one hit wonder recognized for their top 40 silver bullet, "Blaming it all on the CIA".

When actors, orgs and/or segments of the US government, in the dispatch of their official duties, act covertly and extra-Constitutionally, they are rogue, and a criminal enterprise. They should be identified as such, their intelligence, and their stated altruistic rationalizations notwithstanding.

That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new.
That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.

Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you.
Watch the wheel slope and turn,
They are all bound on the wheel,
these people, those warriors.
This republic, Europe, Asia.

Observe them gesticulating,
Observe them going down.
The gang serves lies,
the passionate Man plays his part;
the cold passion for truth
Hunts in no pack.

Robinson Jeffers, "Be Angry At The Sun"

"The NSA is made up of very smart and capable folks. Give them a budget and incentives, and they can probably do a pretty good job of sticking their noses into the public's affairs.

The NSA's motivations are political.

Bright they may be, but the NSA is primarily a politically motivated org that answers to the president. It would be more appropriately know as the NSC (Non-Suborned by the Constitution).

Full faith and credit should also be given the NSA for their integral role in the creation of al Qaeda.

Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, should get his notice as the originator of the plan to trick the Soviet into their own Vietnam, and to use the radical Arab fundamentalists as a blade to bleed them. Reagan's NSA should get their proper attribution for expanding upon this sanguineous plan.

"Under President Reagan, the NSC staff assumed a role beyond that of an advisory or coordinating body: It at times became operational, taking on primary responsibility for the execution of the Iran and contra covert operations."

Walsh, Iran/Contra Report,
Chapter 1: United States v. Robert C. McFarlane

And who can forget the words of the ole gimper himself:

"These Islamic fighters in a faraway land have given new meaning to the words 'courage,' 'determination,' and 'strength.' They have set the standard for those who value freedom and independence everywhere in the world."

Ronald Reagan
Statement on the Fourth Anniversary of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

On a more contemporary note, GW Bush's NSA has been alleged to have pulled an end-around the CIA station chief in Rome, violating the logical protocols which were in place at the time, accepting the dubious Niger Yellowcake to Iraq story from the Italian Intelligence Agency, SISMI, first hand, and then sourcing it into the prewar claims.
(The Italian paper "La Repubblica", ran a good 3-part expose. There is a good English translation available: 1 - 2 - 3 - (decent mirror starts here.)

The NSA was left unscathed by the Silberman/Robb Commission, that one hit wonder recognized for their top 40 silver bullet, "Blaming it all on the CIA".

When actors, orgs and/or segments of the US government, in the dispatch of their official duties, act covertly and extra-Constitutionally, they are rogue, and a criminal enterprise. They should be identified as such, their intelligence, and their stated altruistic rationalizations notwithstanding.

That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new.
That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.

Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you.
Watch the wheel slope and turn,
They are all bound on the wheel,
these people, those warriors.
This republic, Europe, Asia.

Observe them gesticulating,
Observe them going down.
The gang serves lies,
the passionate Man plays his part;
the cold passion for truth
Hunts in no pack.

Robinson Jeffers, "Be Angry At The Sun"

"The NSA is made up of very smart and capable folks. Give them a budget and incentives, and they can probably do a pretty good job of sticking their noses into the public's affairs.

The NSA's motivations are political.

Bright they may be, but the NSA is primarily a politically motivated org that answers to the president. It would be more appropriately know as the NSC (Non-Suborned by the Constitution).

Full faith and credit should also be given the NSA for their integral role in the creation of al Qaeda.

Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, should get his notice as the originator of the plan to trick the Soviet into their own Vietnam, and to use the radical Arab fundamentalists as a blade to bleed them. Reagan's NSA should get their proper attribution for expanding upon this sanguineous plan.

"Under President Reagan, the NSC staff assumed a role beyond that of an advisory or coordinating body: It at times became operational, taking on primary responsibility for the execution of the Iran and contra covert operations."

Walsh, Iran/Contra Report,
Chapter 1: United States v. Robert C. McFarlane

And who can forget the words of the ole gimper himself:

"These Islamic fighters in a faraway land have given new meaning to the words 'courage,' 'determination,' and 'strength.' They have set the standard for those who value freedom and independence everywhere in the world."

Ronald Reagan
Statement on the Fourth Anniversary of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

On a more contemporary note, GW Bush's NSA has been alleged to have pulled an end-around the CIA station chief in Rome, violating the logical protocols which were in place at the time, accepting the dubious Niger Yellowcake to Iraq story from the Italian Intelligence Agency, SISMI, first hand, and then sourcing it into the prewar claims.
(The Italian paper "La Repubblica", ran a good 3-part expose. There is a good English translation available: 1 - 2 - 3 - (decent mirror starts here.)

The NSA was left unscathed by the Silberman/Robb Commission, that one hit wonder recognized for their top 40 silver bullet, "Blaming it all on the CIA".

When actors, orgs and/or segments of the US government, in the dispatch of their official duties, act covertly and extra-Constitutionally, they are rogue, and a criminal enterprise. They should be identified as such, their intelligence, and their stated altruistic rationalizations notwithstanding.

That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new.
That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.

Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you.
Watch the wheel slope and turn,
They are all bound on the wheel,
these people, those warriors.
This republic, Europe, Asia.

Observe them gesticulating,
Observe them going down.
The gang serves lies,
the passionate Man plays his part;
the cold passion for truth
Hunts in no pack.

Robinson Jeffers, "Be Angry At The Sun"

Very insightful comment -- tissue donation is one of the most altruistic (and underrated) things one can do for society. However, I had a chance to see an organ procurement procedure while shadowing, and it really turns your stomach to see physicians rummage through the body looking for spare parts (i.e.:

"On my 3rd year surgery rotation at about 2am one night we had a harvest of an 8yo boy killed in a car accident (he was riding his bike). It was awful, everyone came in and just took what they wanted like it was some sort of morbid shopping trip. The transplant resident was 5 months pregnant at the time and when we were almost at the end she started crying, which set me and the anesthesia resident crying. It was just us and the nurses in there, all crying for the little boy as we closed. It was so awful, and I'm just glad that I'll be dead when they harvest my organs. And this might be weird, but I secretly hope that someone cries for me as they're closing." Quote

I'm all for organ donation, but honestly, it can be quite sad.

By the way, the Russian had their own version of the Enigma, but far more sophisticated. Got into service in the Cold Ware and remained top secret until the late 90's. More to read here: http://www.rijmenants.blogspot.com/

Your 100% right. All I hear is cringely this, cringely that.

The guy does not make innovative statements, and its more just repeated well known information. He doesn't even offer decent solutions.

If you look around, Gnome for instance develops new ideas and starts bounties for them.. http://www.gnome.org/bounties/

If you want new technology ideas, Auzy has his own set (which actually covers this) http://auzy.blogspot.com/2006/02/auzys-technology- predictionswishlist.html

Now if you look at Cringely's, its already well known information, and his solutions are lacking. His not even trying to solve the issues. How this got into Slashdot and concepts by gnome or Auzy didn't is quite saddening.. its gotten to the point that every week its Cringely said this. The authors obviously dont know what people want.

I think I hate to say this, but I dont think I'll be hanging out at slashdot much anymore. Its turned into quite a sad state.

- Resistant Memory

I actually proposed a very simple solution to this problem recently in my blog post http://auzy.blogspot.com/2006/02/auzys-technology- predictionswishlist.html

If they add support for multiple href's in a a href tag, such as <a href="http://mirror1/..." a href="http://mirror2/...">Link</a> then it would open up the possibilities of doing P2P type webserving, as the users could run a program to announce the address of their computer to the webserver after they got the download, and the webserver could give each user a long list of a href's which the client could download simultaneously off a few for larger files. It would also make having a list of mirrors for a file easier to manage, instead of posting 30 links on a page.

It really is a simple problem to solve even now effortlessly, and its only a matter of time until browsers start adding support for such a mechanism.

Quite a few Google employees read slashdot regularly (and even post too!). Especially the "techguys".

It's really not an insidious cabal. Really. Quite a few quite prolific people would bail if the company started doing any thing "evil". There are too many principled idealists that work there that could get a new high-profile job in minutes if the evil factor was kicked up a notch.

You sound like this guy http://thereisnohousingbubble.blogspot.com/

Hi Facebook

Sodium is not well suited for shipboard use, and steam plants have safety, cost and complexity concerns that Adams Engines are designed to avoid. Our systems are certainly not "perfect" but we think they will meet the needs and demands of a number of different customers.

The waste issue is one worth addressing, but it requires a rather complicated analysis. I attempted to simplify some of our responses to the concerns on a recent blog post at Atomic Insights Blog. Look for the post titled "Do pebble bed reactors produce "more" waste? Please feel free to come and discuss the issue.

Rod Adams
President, Adams Atomic Engines, Inc.

The bandwidth of the wireless services are limited. As more and more users are multiplexed the user experience will deteriorate. WiMAX would be a better solution. http://witopia.blogspot.com/2006/02/mobile-routers .html

Things are much worse than that. We've started locking up innocent people indefinitely, using anti-terrorist laws on Holocaust survivors and have introduced a Hitleresque dictatorship law.

Next on the agenda is the world's most intrusive mass surveillance system and a law to bypass Parliamentary scrutiny.

We are heading towards a police state faster than 1930s Germany and probably less than 0.1% of the population are doing a thing to stop it.

It's scary to see how quickly the defences against fascism which we've evolved over a millenium have been dismantled. Assuming you're a US citizen, defend your Constitution with your life. And stop rendition and Guantanamo, for God's sake.

I have been talking with the House of Lords (our second House) about opposing the ID Cards Bill and although they understand the Orwellian implications, they're scared to oppose it in case Blair abolishes the Lords altogether.

Its just creating the market for an Open Source DRM! http://witopia.blogspot.com/2006/02/amazing-drm.ht ml

Blogging can't get much easier. Everybody and his dog can do it. Even Chewbacca has one.

Sweet, I'm starting my new tech review blog right away, it's called Niagra For Me, and it's hosted at http://niagraforme.blogspot.com/. Everybody go visit it and leave a comment so it will look popular and get me a Niagra server!

"Most people think of blogs as being primarily political or tech-focused. To most people, the important things they want to learn about have to do with people they know. So I think personal blogs are really the future, and with that comes a challenge for blogs to be more friendly and welcoming."

Blogs have always been primarily a personal tool. The avalanche of blogs, ironically, even out the playing field. The so-called "famous bloggers" may have their clicks, but for the millions of faceless bloggers (like me ), blogging is a source of entertainment, nothing solemn about it at all.

You've pretty much described the current state of things.

1 - Blogging tools get a little easier

It hasn't been hard for a long time. Anyone can go to blogger.com and get a blog in like (*snap*) that.

2 - Multimedia blogging gets a little easier, but won't get heavily adopted for a long time

There are already various Video Blogging services, some with their own "easy to use" software. The problem is that it's all DULL. I'm mean, mind-numbingly-boring type dull. At least when people write, many try to apply some of the lessons they learned in school. But as this fellow demonstrates, many of the video bloggers just talk into the camera rather than developing a scripted session. ("Here [Uhh] I'm trying the [Uhh] JNode graphics. It doesn't [Uhh] look like it [Uhh] works. [Uhh] Here's a [Uhh] screenshot from their [Uhh] website.")

3 - Many many many more people blog

I honestly wish that many of them would go away or make them private. The world does not need to hear what your dog did today.

4 - Mainstream backlash from all the BS out there

There's plenty of that. :-)

Just read the general comments in any forum and you'll note a lot of hostility toward bloggers. I use my blog as a method for publishing articles, but that doesn't stop people from dissing it before they bother reading.

5 - Really good tools finally crop up to make finding what you're interested in easier (Technorati but 200 times better)

blogsearch.google.com

Granted, Technorati is likely to get you more results. However, much of Technorati's results are link-fest garbage or one-line, throw-away "journals".

6 - Many of the worst blogs die away as the good reading tools (and people using them) ignore them

Like Google Search does. ;-)

7 - If you're not one of the top 100 blogs of these tools you're basically ignored, disgruntling a LOT of people

I don't know about top 100. For example, I just did a blog search to see if I could find anyone who's gotten a free Niagara server from Sun yet. The results were very informative. (Lots of people applied, but no one has yet reported getting one. Hmmm.)

8 - A few thousand great blogs stay up for years, many consolidating, and any of the rest come and go quickly

As it already is. :-)

No. I'm not surprised at all. When I met Mark Shuttleworth last month, I told/showed him the I was working on at work. He asked me, "So ARM based distro's are popular is it?" and then "Anything else which is popular apart from ARM processor for embedded devices?". Now I know why he was so keen and interested in my work.

No. I'm not surprised at all. When I met Mark Shuttleworth last month, I told/showed him the I was working on at work. He asked me, "So ARM based distro's are popular is it?" and then "Anything else which is popular apart from ARM processor for embedded devices?". Now I know why he was so keen and interested in my work.

This blog entry by Ignacio Coloma tells a little bit about the subject. You should diversify risk, and get some frameworks that are bleeding edge of technology, but not all of them. The percentage of risk you can afford is up to you, but keep near the majority if you want to be safe.

1. Boing Boing
2. Slyck Forums
3. Another blogger with some good quotes
4. Normality Net with more info
5. Amit's Page with even more commentary

Drive by linkings!

I'd have to disagree. As far as space companies go, I'd say that SpaceX is almost absurdly informative. Can you point me to the pages for Boeing and Lockheed-Martin where they describe and analyze in detail why their launches were delayed or failed?

And his website sucks. While it's kind of pretty, there's almost no content. The news, in particular, is weak --three sentences and movie that won't play on Linux about the most recent static firing.

You're probably looking for the updates page. There's a good bit of commentary and videos there, especially if you go into the archives. For (very) unofficial info there's Kwajalein Atoll and Rockets, maintained by Elon's brother Kimbal. Of course, despite his photographs he insists that he's in a basement somewhere in Colorado, and not actually at the Atoll. ;)

I contrast this with Carmack's spectacular Armadillo Aerospace site. All of his successes, failures, dead ends, oopses -- all presented in more detail than any sane person could ever want. With Carmack, you really feel like you can understand the process as much as you can without picking up a welding torch.

Sure, that's Carmack, but he's very much the exception rather than the rule. In fact, John Carmack is the only spaceflight person I can think of who comments more than Elon Musk.

SpaceX is not new, but in a speech at Virginia Tech, Musk talked about the company's troubles and its lawsuit against Boeing and Lockheed as he tries to get a slice of the valuable Air Force contracts."

Unfortunately, it looks like the suit against the merger of Boeing & Lockheed's launch operations (effectively creating a launch monopoly) has been dismissed. Some comments from RLV News (a fantastic space news resource, btw):

A judge has dismissed the lawsuit by SpaceX against the Boeing / Lockheed plan to form the United Launch Alliance to provide most all of the large payload launches for the Air Force for the next several years: SpaceX vs. Boeing and Lockheed Lawsuit Dismissed - NasaSpaceFlight.com - Feb.17.06.

From the description of the decision, it sounds like a Catch-22 situation. The judge is saying that you can't sue to stop the formation of a monopoly until you have built your system and proved that it is capable of competing against the monopoly. However, in a monopoly situation, especially in such a capital intensive area as rockets, it can be extremely difficult to raise the money to build your system if potential investors see that you will be kept out of a primary market. Talk about a barrier to entry!

In this case, Elon Musk has said he will build the Falcon 9 regardless, but it's a shame he has to enter a playing field tilted against him from the start.

An additional comment from the Space Law Probe: The court did not address the merits of SpaceX claims. (Nor, by the way, did the judge make note of whether a successful Falcon launch might have made a difference in the analysis or ruling, as some will no doubt wonder.)

...the Firefox Downloader with the blue "e" icon?

It's danged hard to actually get rid of, as is that stupid virus flypaper which everyone extols the calendaring features of and then nobody actually uses those features. One of my pet hates is the difficulty in driving a stake through the heart of these two security risks -- many "security" updates bring them back to haunt you afresh.

Likewise, I think EBay should be anti-trusted into the ground over how they're essentially forcing sellers to use PayPal now that they've bought the company.

But basically, even though the quantum program never actually executes, you still need to create it, and you still need to put it in a certain spot so that its quantum effect on the world around it can still be measured, and from that, you can infer what the program would actually do.

When I say something "does" or "does not" happen, I mean that I can see the effects or not. Or maybe I am ignorant of the result, and maybe I do not have the ability to measure the results at a particular time to a particular precision -- but this is a flaw of my own senses (however they might be augmented with instruments), it is not something intrinsic in the action itself.

In a quantum computer we are saying that something happens, which is the computation we were trying to determine. We can tell that it happened, because we get the answer. This is the definition of work, of something happening, of phenomena. So I would assert that our intuition is correct, that as presented this statement is a paradox ("Quantum Computer Works Better Shut Off") and that quantum theorists are just playing games with terminology.

But, to be honest, I'm just repeating my own interpretation of the ideas I read in this interview with Carver Mead, which seriously raised my skepticism about quantum theory as it is most commonly presented.

I've been blogging on the "hydrogen from green algae" trick for a while, but that's the best paper I've seen yet.

The FCC EIRP Limits, for unlicened persons, are 1 Watt (30dB) for omnidirectional setups and 4 Watts (36dB) for point to point links. This limit applies only to transmission power. What that means is that if you have a card that has two antenna ports, one for transmit (Tx) and the other for receive (Rx), you can connect a high gain (30+ dBi) dish to the Rx port and a lower powered directional antenna to the Tx port (total Tx dBm + dBi capped at 36dB). With the setup I just described you can legally, without being licensed, make a 100 mile 11Mbps link.

--
BSD Podcasts @ http://bsdtalk.blogspot.com/

I do! hell, the wifi setup on my laptop puts out 604mW. I have a 200mW Z-COM, Prism2.5, PCMCIA Card connected to a 5.5dBi Antenna(1), 4.8dBi gain after connecter and cable loss are calculated in. If you were to connect this card to a converted PrimeStar dish with a biquad feeder(2) (27 - 31dBi gain) you would have an EIRP of 159 watts... In other words, don't point it at your gonads!

(1) http://www.wlanparts.com/c=So0zbsGg2Glh7swrUjbpMQG KP/product/RV24-5RD
(2) http://www.trevormarshall.com/biquad.htm

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BSD Podcasts @ http://bsdtalk.blogspot.com/

Yeah, it's a bit of a ruse...this guy seems to have worked his way in, he's on my blog http://andylandrews.blogspot.com/

This guy seems to have worked out a way in to dogpile, click on the links. http://andylandrews.blogspot.com/

From google's blog:

Privacy and Security. Google is committed to protecting consumer privacy and confidentiality. Prior to the launch of Google.cn, Google conducted intensive reviews of each of our services to assess the implications of offering it directly in China. We are always conscious of the fact that data may be subject to the jurisdiction of the country where it is physically stored. With that in mind, we concluded that, at least initially, only a handful of search engine services would be hosted in China.

We will not store data somewhere unless we are confident that we can meet our expectations for the privacy and security of users' sensitive information. As a practical matter, meeting this user interest means that we have no plans to host Gmail, Blogger, and a range of other such services in China.

It's obvious from many replies that very few are familiar with what Google.org has already done. Mainly they've worked with non-profits who do very much what you folks suggest. They've been posting about it in the Google Blog and it reads like a book of how to do philanthropy in a sustainable, sensible, and empowering manner.

For instance, one of their partners is the Acumen Fund which invests in local start-ups making goods and services for the developing world (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/acumen-vis its-google.html). Another partner does produces subtitled television from local content as a means to increase literacy in India (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/same-langu age-subtitling.html). Others are detailed on Google.org itself. One such example is TechnoServe which is promoting business developement in Ghana (http://www.technoserve.org/). And they're not just throwing money at the problem, they're donating Google services (AdSense) and plan on supplying logistical and technical aid as well.

In short, all the whiny comments about what the developing world needs (parent post isn't one of them, but nearing that way) are pretty well misplaced. Google has shown a good degree of competence in their technical endeavours, that seems to be translating wonderfully to their philanthropic wing.

It's obvious from many replies that very few are familiar with what Google.org has already done. Mainly they've worked with non-profits who do very much what you folks suggest. They've been posting about it in the Google Blog and it reads like a book of how to do philanthropy in a sustainable, sensible, and empowering manner.

For instance, one of their partners is the Acumen Fund which invests in local start-ups making goods and services for the developing world (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/acumen-vis its-google.html). Another partner does produces subtitled television from local content as a means to increase literacy in India (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/same-langu age-subtitling.html). Others are detailed on Google.org itself. One such example is TechnoServe which is promoting business developement in Ghana (http://www.technoserve.org/). And they're not just throwing money at the problem, they're donating Google services (AdSense) and plan on supplying logistical and technical aid as well.

In short, all the whiny comments about what the developing world needs (parent post isn't one of them, but nearing that way) are pretty well misplaced. Google has shown a good degree of competence in their technical endeavours, that seems to be translating wonderfully to their philanthropic wing.

Crucial to this analysis is the fact that our new Google.cn website is an additional service, not a replacement for Google.com in China. The Chinese-language Google.com will remain open, unfiltered and available to all Internet users worldwide.

At the same time, the speed and technical excellence of Google.cn means that more information will be more easily searchable than ever before. Even with content restrictions, a fast and reliable Google.cn is more likely to expand Chinese users' access to information.

Andrew Sullivan is linking to this story, but only the most basic research shows it to be fales. Here's my research.

It my experience there is no "hiding" technology away. Buttons of all kinds are begged to be pushed for a reaction (Especially the emotional ones!). I think it is amazing that a toddler can quickly suss out that a remote control makes the tv do things. Not only is technology a helping hand for our kids' inquisitive nature, but it can also helps out us parents to better understand our childrens' abilities from a much younger age.

From a non-computer software standpoint, it becomes more of an issue like many of the other posters have expressed; Not to simply leave your children to their devices. They still need to be guided. Share with your kids technology, don't just simply give it to them. When the day comes for my children to have a mobile phone, portable media player, etc. I will be responsible to make sure they don't use it to harrass/bully other kids, or take video of one of their friends (insert immoral activity) just for the fun of it. I hope I'll be able to get them interested in more productive things as they grow (ie home automation, making their own music/videos, organizing their makeup or savings account) that will keep them from using tech in a negative way.

Techie Father

What's an HTA?

--- Original Message ---
Re:I'd say more like
  (Score:1)
by AKAImBatman (238306) on 08:01 AM February 22nd, 2006 (#14775719)
(http://akaimbatman.blogspot.com/)
How does OpenOffice save its files so much faster than JavaScriptOffice? It uses fantastic technology known as the local hard drive.

You, sir, have failed it. Given that OOo does a COMPLETE save to disk every time it saves a file, JavaScriptOffice (assuming it sent updates in a fashion similar to what I described) would be WAY faster than OOo.

Once again, no network-based version of Office will ever take off so long as you need to maintain an Internet connection at all times. Why should I be sitting on a plane* unable to compose a letter to grandma because the JavaScriptOffice server isn't accessible?

Did you figure out HTAs yet? Let me know when you hear that popping noise.