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Check what happens if you give sapience to an elephant (second example) or monkey.

The way I see it the (MP|RI)AA started all this. If they want to play full court jungleball then I am happy to oblige.

(Please forgive my plugs of my favorite web comic as I am hopelessly addicted to it.)

The way I see it the (MP|RI)AA started all this. If they want to play full court jungleball then I am happy to oblige.

(Please forgive my plugs of my favorite web comic as I am hopelessly addicted to it.)

The way I see it the (MP|RI)AA started all this. If they want to play full court jungleball then I am happy to oblige.

(Please forgive my plugs of my favorite web comic as I am hopelessly addicted to it.)

I don't recognize some of them, but Howard Tayler is the author of Schlock Mercenary, a webcomic that's far better than it has any right to be based on the artwork alone...

"The enemy of my enemey is my enemy's enemy and nothing more."
-- Rule 29: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Pirates , Schlock Mercenary. © the Taylor Corporation.

No, no, no... haven't you read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates?

Rule #29: "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less."

http://schlockmercenary.com/

Tayler does this, and I have to say, over the last few years, his comic has gotten really, really good. If you haven't read it, read it. Although he comments today that his buffer is down to 4 days, which is the lowest it has ever been...

That's an awesome record, and I applaud your choosing to not join in. I think that Scott's entering is OK, simply because there's a chance that he'll mess up on something and oversleep or something, because he doesn't maintain a buffer. If there were too many cartoonists like you entered into the contest, it would probably make it run on for years before someone slipped up. :-)
BTW, for anyone who doesn't know Howard Taylor, he's the guy who draws the excellent Schlock Mercenary comic. It's a funny and smart sci-fi comic that actually has a coherent plot!

Schlock Mercenary Ownzors all. Updates everyday, Howard even has a queue going on. He has declined to enter though, because he hasn't missed an update in years. And that's just unfair.

Oh, and the comic just plain kicks ass. Really. Start at 1 and read the whole thing. You won't regret it.

Or Schlock Mercenary. Hasn't missed an update ever. He said he wasn't entering because it would get boring if it went on for years without a winner.

Schlock Mercenary didn't miss a single update in 58 weeks, and still I rate is as one of two best webcomics (together with UF).

I think you mean schleck, since of course you can't be badmouthing the webtoon Schlock Mercenary

Not per Schlock Mercenary... "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy; nothing more, nothing less."

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/

...after all, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy...

Rule 29.

As you didn't notice the lack of power due to throttling for "a long time" are you certain that you really need it? B^)

Most people arn't serious gamers and they don't do *any* number crunching ever.

Most people don't need schlockloads of power.

Don't assume that your needs and the needs of your friends represent the things that everybody needs.

The Mini is targeted squarely at the nice folks in the majority who might want to replace thier computer and who already have a monitor.

...or those soon to be:
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20020616.html

If you're going to buy ridiculous toasters, you should get either this, or this

If you're going to buy ridiculous toasters, you should get either this, or this

Schlock mercenary
Sluggy Freelance
Megatokyo
PvP online
8-bit theater
Red vs. Blue

A lot of content is produced that way. Some of it even good one. Just beacause it's not video doesn't mean it doesn't count.

And let's face it, most of us would rather read a comic with a pile of crap fighting psycho-bears than see some bald guy parading in front of a camerafor half an hour, no matter what he actually did.

Schlock mercenary
Sluggy Freelance
Megatokyo
PvP online
8-bit theater
Red vs. Blue

A lot of content is produced that way. Some of it even good one. Just beacause it's not video doesn't mean it doesn't count.

And let's face it, most of us would rather read a comic with a pile of crap fighting psycho-bears than see some bald guy parading in front of a camerafor half an hour, no matter what he actually did.

Schlock mercenary
Sluggy Freelance
Megatokyo
PvP online
8-bit theater
Red vs. Blue

A lot of content is produced that way. Some of it even good one. Just beacause it's not video doesn't mean it doesn't count.

And let's face it, most of us would rather read a comic with a pile of crap fighting psycho-bears than see some bald guy parading in front of a camerafor half an hour, no matter what he actually did.

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/letters/files/schl ockletter20041207b-SinglePanelSCO.gif
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/letters/files/schl ockletter20041207d-PatentBallmer.jpg

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/letters/files/schl ockletter20041207b-SinglePanelSCO.gif
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/letters/files/schl ockletter20041207d-PatentBallmer.jpg

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/letters/files/schl ockletter20041207b-SinglePanelSCO.gif
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/letters/files/schl ockletter20041207d-PatentBallmer.jpg

Not yet.

Here are a few common business tasks we have to solve before the tech industry can turn it over to the machines:
1) No bugs. Stuff has to just work, or we'll need tech support staff. This conflicts with all the rest of the goals, because less bugs require less complexity. This will be the last problem. If you're good at bugfixes, you can keep your job longest.
2) Red tape must be handled by the machines. Until it is, we will constantly have machines that try to make it easier, and people who make those machines better until all red tape can be handled by machines. Since this usually falls in the form of forms written in a natural language, until the natural language problem is solved, this won't go away.

This may never go away simply because insurance companies and bureaucracies thrive under red tape. If the machines get to efficient, laws/policies will make the machines have to work harder to make it easy. Then the machines will get more efficient, and...
I would like to refer you to this story-arc of Schlock Mercenary.

3) Machines must be as good an expert system as people. For example, if you told a secretary, "prepare the usual document for X conference," it would need to know what that entailed, and what creativity might be involved in it's part of things.
4) Communication between humans and machines must be intuitive for all humans. This will probably never be true, simply because communication between humans is not intuitive for all humans - even those sharing the same background. If we can't even communicate within our own species, there's no way we can get the machines to do it.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Bah! As the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates points out, "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy - nothing more and nothing less."

Where have I heard that?

Oh right

At least you could blame it on Asimov.

Can't we just use all that money for good and make film versions for Schlock Mercenary comic strip?

"Rule 29: The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy, no more no less."

-The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates

A very similar analogy has already been debunked.

Neither. To quote Schlock Mercenary, "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. Nothing more, nothing less." Which, if you think about it, would've been good advice to give to Reagan before he sent aid to Saddam.

I generallly prefer to read up on The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates, myself....

Well, it's lawyers who file and handle the patents and lawyers that fight the patents. Maybe they are just setting themselves up for more business.

Reminds me of this Comic Strip...

Will the motor companies become the next RIAA when it is possible to make a perfect copy of any car? What will Coca-Cola say when I can nano-replicate coke from water and hydrocarbons?

They'll probably just say that your Coke tastes like Pepsi or something.

Seriously, I think exact duplication of an item will probably be a bit tricky, even with nanomanufacturing. Many /. readers are probably familiar with Star Trek replicators, and the more anal among us probably remember that most replicators can't get foodstuffs perfectly right due to "resolution" limitations. It may just be their way to prevent replicating living beings, but it makes sense.

Making an exact duplicate of a given object would require exact knowledge of that object's state - certainly down to the bonds between its atoms, possibly down to the spin of its electrons (or even smaller parts!) That oft-quoted Heisenberg uncertainty principle means that, once we get to that level, we won't be able to learn the exact state of an item. It probably doesn't matter for your Coke, but it might matter for the metallic structure of the can it's in. Duplicating the metallurgical qualities of a car's engine block, or the electric properties of a silicon chip, may be beyond what nanotech can do.

With that fact in mind, the manufacturers may still be able to produce a better product than your homemade knock-off. If that's true, than manufacturers won't be limited to making money off of patents, copyrights, and licensing.

(By the way, a very funny webcomic set in the 31st century, Schlock Mercenary, considered and dealt with this issue. I've linked a specific relevant strip here.)

Will the motor companies become the next RIAA when it is possible to make a perfect copy of any car? What will Coca-Cola say when I can nano-replicate coke from water and hydrocarbons?

They'll probably just say that your Coke tastes like Pepsi or something.

Seriously, I think exact duplication of an item will probably be a bit tricky, even with nanomanufacturing. Many /. readers are probably familiar with Star Trek replicators, and the more anal among us probably remember that most replicators can't get foodstuffs perfectly right due to "resolution" limitations. It may just be their way to prevent replicating living beings, but it makes sense.

Making an exact duplicate of a given object would require exact knowledge of that object's state - certainly down to the bonds between its atoms, possibly down to the spin of its electrons (or even smaller parts!) That oft-quoted Heisenberg uncertainty principle means that, once we get to that level, we won't be able to learn the exact state of an item. It probably doesn't matter for your Coke, but it might matter for the metallic structure of the can it's in. Duplicating the metallurgical qualities of a car's engine block, or the electric properties of a silicon chip, may be beyond what nanotech can do.

With that fact in mind, the manufacturers may still be able to produce a better product than your homemade knock-off. If that's true, than manufacturers won't be limited to making money off of patents, copyrights, and licensing.

(By the way, a very funny webcomic set in the 31st century, Schlock Mercenary, considered and dealt with this issue. I've linked a specific relevant strip here.)

Well, it's worth a shot.

John Woo has, on the other hand, directed A Better Tommorow, The Killer, Hard Boiled, Face/Off, and most recently Paycheck. More likely, Shamus Aran's armor may swap out the arm cannon for two energy pistols or something, or two cannons like Schlock's

binary digit was shortened to bit

Don't forget what trinary digit would be shortened to...

Meh... A good step forward, but what I really want to hear is that fullerene clothing is being made. That would be pretty high on the holy-crap-this-is-cool scale. For any who don't get this, read through the archives on schlockmercenary.com

"And in the middle of the stage, a beige computer tower"

(That picture is a recreation from Macross Plus. Although the idea of computerized singers is not uncommon in scifi)

I can't wait till grand spamming is a crime.

That is why if a webcomic gets popular enough, they can start selling merchandise (coffee mugs, t-shirts) with pictures of the characters on them. Not to mention book compliations of the comics

Except then people who get lots of sun would get really fat without even the joy of eating.

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20030311.html

Isn't it both a matter of study and anecdotal evidence that corporations (and sometimes individuals) generally try and stifle competition in a new industry, to their ultimate disadvantage?

Amusing commentary on this point, courtesy of Schlock Mercenary:

Here and here.

Isn't it both a matter of study and anecdotal evidence that corporations (and sometimes individuals) generally try and stifle competition in a new industry, to their ultimate disadvantage?

Amusing commentary on this point, courtesy of Schlock Mercenary:

Here and here.

Isn't it both a matter of study and anecdotal evidence that corporations (and sometimes individuals) generally try and stifle competition in a new industry, to their ultimate disadvantage?

Amusing commentary on this point, courtesy of Schlock Mercenary:

Here and here.

His statement "the idea of wellstone, or bulk programmable matter woven from fibers surfaced with quantum dots, is original to me." is untrue. Many people have thought of this- science fiction authors have published books and even comics based on the idea. True, to make an exciting story, they have exaggerated the possibilities, but the core is there.

On a different note, science fiction authors have "invented" things like robots (Capek), communication satellites (Clarke), and even the internet (Gibson). Yet they obviously weren't rewarded when somebody actually invented the device. In the good old days, the patent office would prevent non-inventors from claiming an idea by requiring a working model to be presented at filing. Ideas are $0.10 per dozen.

Overall, however, his pseudo-patent application doesn't bother me. Quantum dots are unlikely to be manufacturable for practical uses inside 21 years from now- his claim will expire before the industry is even ready to be squelched. (R&D can be performed regardless of patents, it's only commercial exploitation that they'll block)

Several years ago, some online comic artists banded together and formed Keenspot (and its sibling network Keenspace). Hosting, forums, artist control of whether pop-up ads (vs. only banner ads) appear for any given comic, optional subscriptions for ad-free reading; good stuff.

Among my favorites there: General Protection Fault, Help Desk, It's Walky (formerly Roomies), Lost and Found, Real Life, and Schlock Mercenary.

Here's some online comics that might be worth checking out:

Sluggy - Students, aliens, ghosts, psychotic rabbits, evil kittens. One of the oldest and niftiest comics online.
User Friendly - Linux, geeks. You get the idea.
Megatokyo - An online manga following Piro and Largo whilst stranded in Tokyo.
Schlock Mercenary - Not too good art, but usually a very good and suitably sci-fi-ish plot.
Clan of the Cats - A modern-day witch cursed to change into a panther. Good artwork.
RPG World - Great art. A parody of almost any role playing game (the console variety) you'd care to play.
Ghost Cat - It's a cat! It's a ghost! It's ghost cat!
Elf Life - Elves, fairies, barbarians, time travel, romance, comedy, and very well drawn as well.
Exploitation Now! - An anime-ish comic with good art and an interesting, if sporadic, plot.
Real Life - It's real life. Except it's not. Reasonably funny.
Penny Arcade - The mother of all gaming comics. Very funny :)
Sephen - A relative newcomer, but wow! Great pencil-work!
8-bit Theater - The grandpappy of all sprite comics. I think. It's funny anyway. Go read :)
Demonology 101 - Fantastic art, fantastic plot! If only it came out more often! Ah well, the world isn't perfect.

Oh, and I can't really get away without mentioning my brother's sprite comic, Pixelated!. It really isn't bad. No, really! :)