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It is amazing to find out how technology is being used in very different ways for very different communities.

Like surveillance of the masses, more surveillance of the masses, tracking vehicle movements, really tracking vehicle movements, seriously tracking vehicle movements....



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I have to agree with you about your voluntary contribution statement, but I guess what I was getting at was that the end result (improving a community product) could have been achieved whether the funding came from a capitalist entity (Google / some other wealthy corporation) or a socialist entity (government). The important piece of the puzzle was skilled and motivated people voluntarily contributing time (and again, I think you're right that their contribution was voluntary whether they were compensated or not - they had a choice). Anyhow, thanks for responding.

First, you would think that PostgreSql would be top o' the heap because it's equal to / arguably better than MySql in features, and it's under a more permissive licence.

Second - Sweet Hog of Prague! Oracle 10g costs $24 grand Per CPU!?!?!?!?




NeverEndingBillboard.com

It's funny how paychecks make people work....

Capitalism isn't evil. Socialism isn't evil. Hell, even communism isn't inherently evil. People can be evil.

Money sure as h*** ISN'T evil, in and of itself.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I don't quite get it...

Although capitalism has a place in the world the same as socialism, I don't really see how this illustrates capitalism being more progressive than socialism. Even though Google contributed manpower through the Summer of Code, they ultimately were doing it for the benefit of the larger community, and not profiting themselves (at least not directly), which kind of goes against hard line capitalism.

In fact, you could look at it as if Google (a very large, well funded company) was taking on the role of a socialist entity by subsidizing open source development in much the same way that socialist states subsidize and control infrastructure companies (gas, electricity, telco), for the sole purpose of benefiting the community, even if it means forsaking profit or running at a loss.




NeverEndingBillboard.com

I tried to get into Blender a few times over the past while and I was always turned off by the lack of an undo system and the weird UI. People who are learning something new, especially something as complicated as Blender, need to be able to erase a mistake easily. I haven't tried it in some time, so maybe I'll give it a whirl again now that I am free to bugger up my work at will.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

From TFA:

But in the coming months we filed broad patent applications that were subsequently granted.

I think that pretty much describes one of the big problems with the current patent system (and it's not just the American patent system, so don't go getting righteous because you live outside the U.S.) - the patents that are granted are very broad. The original purpose of patents was to give rights to people who had specific ideas that resulted in specific products (tangible or intangible), not sweeping vagaries that left room for interpretation.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

...growing up in a house where Daddy thinks that (flight_sim == jihad)? This guy needs attention alright, the psychiatric kind.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I remember reading a comment by Bruce Schneir that said something along the lines of "the code is the easy part, the algorithms are the hard part - any high school level CS student can implement the algorithm." So my question is: does the U.S. want to ban all descriptions of cryptographic algorithms in exported books too? And, as has been pointed out, there are more than a few smart people living outside North America, so I'm thinking more than a few countries already roll their own crypto.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I guess it was only a matter of time before Tang got replaced by Tim Horton's anyhow.

For all non-Canadians - Tim Horton's is a huge national chain of coffee shops that sells the most adddictive street legal stimulant known to man. It is also one of three everlasting symbols of Canadiana - the other two being Molson Canadian beer and the beaver. Go figure.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I don't have a lot of sympathy for these guys because obviously they were doing more than modding consoles. But is a 5 year prison sentence appropriate for this? I'm not sure how prison sentences work in California, but in Canada a 5 year sentence doesn't neccesarily mean you spend 5 years behind bars. I just think that a civil remedy would probably be just as effective (i.e. sue for damages). I'm obviously not a lawyer - I just think half a decade of unwilling participation might be overboard for small scale piracy.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

...that the movie only made $25m, and that marketing is being blamed. I saw the movie almost as soon as it came out because I had seen the trailer and was hooked - I had never heard of 'Firefly' until I read about the movie (I don't watch much TV). I really thought it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, even though I still haven't seen an episode of 'Firefly' and I'm ambivalent about 'Buffy' at best, so you can't call me a Whedonite. Shows what I know.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I'm no developer but I *do* like GNOME so you might want to check out: The GNOME Human Interface Guidelines They've got this whole interface thing down to either an art form, or a fascist manifesto, depending on who you believe.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

...than Futurama's is that of Turbo Pascal.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

Who doesn't love a good polishing? ;)


NeverEndingBillboard.com

I'm unsure why it took 2 days to decide to unscrew a panel and 2 attempts to decide that plastic screwdrivers don't work worth poo. Or why they have a "1950's document delivery system" transporting extremely dangerous items. The real heroes of the story: the metal screwdriver and the rope used to haul the broken robot out.




NeverEndingBillboard.com

You would think that projects like this, with such potentially positive results for every country with a coastline, would be a real focal point for government spending. Unfortunately, it seems like too many governments only find money for these things after the fact, when TV screens start showing the after-effects of catastrophes. As much as I believe that a global early warning network is a good idea, I am pessimistic about it ever being completely implemented, for reasons of bureaucracy and cost.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

...because removing anonymity is the Holy Grail of the RIAA/MPAA strategy. They've been flogging their legal team to produce results now, and after Trusted Computing takes hold, expect the lawsuits and 'cease and desist' orders to increase (although I have great faith some smart person on the side of good will have TC broken before it goes mainstream). Lawsuits don't work now and they're not going to work in the future.



NeverEndingBillboard.com

I'd like to know the answer for that one too. Not that I live in Texas, but providing remote locations with broadband seems to be a much better goal than just adding one more choice for city-dwellers. Is it an equipment issue? Does quality drop with distance from a major center? Anyone know?



NeverEndingBillboard.com

How dependent on line quality is this deployment going to be? I've heard about broadband over powerline before, but my impression was that it was very dependent on the quality of the physical infrastructure (i.e. old cables = spotty transfer). Does anyone know how true this is?



NeverEndingBillboard.com