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Well, I'd like to see some kind of "press" confirming your Voyager 1 story. Titan is still an enigma, and the probe in question didn't even enter orbit: it merely shot around Saturn.

I had always heard that due to Voyager 1's trajectory and earlier launch, NASA could not achieve the same flight path that Voyager 2 took because the celestial mechanics were not right at the time.

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Yes, it's very cool. How'd you like to go spelunking through those...?

God knows what you'd find.....

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As I recall, Voyager 2 (like it's sister craft Voyager 1) was only designed to explore Jupiter and Saturn.

Due to some very smart guys (hey, they're rocket scientists, after all) and a convenient alignment of the planets, Voyager 2 was able to continue on past Saturn and go to Uranus and Neptune.

And it's still functioning (in a limited capacity), assisting in the research of the outer solar system -- solar wind, trans-Pluto objects, etc.

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An interesting idea, but wouldn't it be cheaper (and faster, considering it took Galileo ~6 years to get to Jupiter) to build a new one from scratch, using lessons learned?

To retool it, they'd end up ripping out all the 1980s-era electronics. They'd also have to test the probe housing to ensure it could stand another voyage.

Another question: was/is Galileo nuclear-powered? The treehuggers would have a coniption if it came into orbit.

And how would you get it back down to Earth? Obviously there is no re-entry capability built in, so you'd have to rely on a shuttle mission. That's not cheap.

All this, assuming Galileo could break out of Jupiter's gravity at this point, given its fuel reserves.

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* [...] In fact, it could provide quite good leverage in getting countrys to stop human rights abuses.

I must respectfully disagree. I cite China and the WTO. Weak-willed politicians will always let greed (for money or power) dictate their actions.

Of course, this only works if you trust the UN. And while I do, I get the feeling that many USAers do not. Am I right in saying this?

You may not be far off the mark. To me, the UN appears to be an ineffectual organization when it comes to anything besides issuing "condemnations" and sponsoring food distribution and immunization programs. I've watched with disgust how the UN had been unable to effectively deal with rogue states such as Iraq, Serbia, Libya and North Korea.

In all fairness, however, my country is awfully damn slow in paying the UN....something not widely reported here.

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IMO, if we ever have a single global currency we won't have it ready to roll by 2035 and I think that's due (in part) to a lack of something you mentioned: a universal government.

A universal government could certainly enforce the creation and use of a global currency (well, at least at the commercial level) but barring a massive planetary conflict or sudden outbreak of unification fever, I don't think 35 years is enough time for this.

I don't necessarily agree that you do need a universal government to establish a universal currency. Although my knowledge of European affairs isn't vast, I'm still pretty sure there are individual countries therein which have agreed upon using the Euro. :)

Establishing a global currency in a multi-nation world would take time. Just look at the various multinational treaties languishing in the various parliaments and congresses around the world, awaiting ratification. The "globo" could happen, but again I don't think it would happen by 2035. I think a lot of countries outside of Europe would want to study the Euro's long-term effects on countries that use it before implementing a much larger version.

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That might have been funny, if DOS & NT didn't already have such a device. You just direct output to NUL

Shhh! Keep it down! This is gonna be on the next "Windows NT vs. Linux" information sheet Redmond provides to the retailers....

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...is Mars. It seems to be gathering a fine collection of NASA equipment, why not a little more? :)

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I hear they're working very hard on C:\Windows\Dev\Null.

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...that the Deep Space Two microprobes survived impact, cushioned from the fall by the main body of the probe...

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Heh, looks like you too can have a rewarding career in the news media...! :)

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Well, I assumed that...

And there's your problem.

Don't assume that because I'm going to play Devil's Advocate regarding library censorship that I can be lumped into the Bible-thumping homophobic Luddie crowd, ok Webster?

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Misuse? wtf are you talking about? Since when is looking up Gay rights issues, or information about abortion misuse.

Oh please I said nothing about Gay rights issues, and my in my earlier citation of abortion I neither stated that it was good nor bad.

Somebody mark this joker's post as a troll, because given his inability to refrain from foul language nor stick to the facts...he has it written all over his angry hairless face.

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...roughly 10 years of experience working for and with the U.S. Government -- as both a member of the military and a Government contractor.

Basically, your argument is based on this naive belief that our government "wouldn't do anything wrong cuz we're the GOOD GUYS" when if you'd open your eyes, you'd see that the history of our government is no different than any other's. It's littered with deceipt and dead bodies.

It's funny how concepts one refuses to believe in become "naive".

My argument has nothing to do with thinking that "we're the GOOD GUYS"; it has everything to do with the fact that people in general don't want to put up with the hassle of keeping things secret, breaking the law or having to constantly cover their asses.

This is precisely the type of knee-jerk "THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!" reaction I was afraid of getting when I posted my first message. The fact that the response was moderated up leads me to believe that quite a few people out there somehow think that the U.S. has alien bodies from a crash at Roswell, too.

I could give you a list of references indicting out government, but I suggest you start with the two I already mentioned.

But I'm sure you'll just dismiss them as the works of angry, former US gov't employees who have an axe to grind because they didn't get their pension or something. No, you're right...it's far more convenient and fascinating to blame it all on a Shadow Government (hell, let's just call it Big Brother) which, in addition to having to deal with threats from other countries, has enough resources to conduct massive campaigns to keep its population in check.

Please, PLEASE cite me some of these references. After I'm through going through the tons of books, magazine articles and handbills written by credible authors who have done thorough research using established procedures about the Loch Ness Monster, Area 51, and Bigfoot...I'll be sure to read about the CIA's campaign against America.

Also, please be sure to mark which publications talk about the CIA spreading crack through urban neighborhoods. That should be especially good reading.

The simplest solution is often the correct one. Stop believing in the Boogyman and direct some of that critical brainpower towards the "exclusive reports".

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I am well aware that filters such as SurfWatch are faulty (though you presented the facts well, IMO). My point is that if a community wishes to ignore the facts and stick their heads into the sand or throw thousands of dollars at a faulty product, let them .

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It's not an issue of your tax dolars funding someone's porn habbit. It's an issue of wether or not you want to spend money to stop people from looking at pages that have been deemed 'unworthy' by surfwatch corporation. It costs less To let him see it. please stop using the tax dolars argument, it makes you look stupid.

I'm going to refrain from making a comment on what really makes a poster look stupid, and instead respond to your post:

Any way you slice it, it's an issue of how my tax dollars are being spent. Bandwidth costs money. Computer time costs money. If somebody is hogging the few library computers available, or wasting the bandwidth downloading MPEGs, then it costs me (the taxpayer) money. Discouraging misuse of publicly-funded computers means saving money; otherwise more money will be thrown at the problem to either A) buy more computers, B) pay more for increased bandwidth or C) both.

So, what you are saying is that it's ok for the 'community' to decide what the poor (people who can't afford there own computers) Can and cannot learn about? And anyway, the community dosn't deside, surfwatch does, for all communitys.

Damn right that's what I'm saying. If you have a community full of uncompassionate penny-pinchers who don't want to provide public access to the Internet....well hey: it's their local tax dollars. With that decision they'll have to deal with the stigma of being [insert negative term here], which in turn could have an impact on tourism, etc. etc. In the end, they'll lie in the bed they make.

One more thing, just as we have no hard figures on how many people (if any) use public computers to surf for porn, we have no hard figures as to how many people use public computers who have no systems of their own at home. I suspect that if I lived at or below the poverty line in the U.S. (which still means you own a stereo, VCR and TV I think), not being able to surf the Net at my leisure wouldn't be a major concern...especially when most of the things you do on the Net may still be accomplished in the Real World.

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Sorry, but "majority rules" is no excuse for taking away people's rights.

Well, pardon me for asking but when exactly is the majority permitted to "rule"?

I'm against censorship, but I'm also of the mind that my tax dollars shouldn't allow Joe Public to view "hot naked coeds" at the local library. Exactly what is "wrong material" should be, IMO, left up to the local community: so if the residents of Liberal, Kansas think that abortion-related pages are bad and should be filtered out, so be it. If the community then suffers due to ignorance, that's their problem.

When does the majority get the right to steer the course of their environment? There are a lot of voices here on /. that talk about the idiots in the media (a small but vocal minority) who steer the course of many tech-related issues...where are those voices in this case?

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...sorry, but this is a huge crock of shit.

The X-Files conspiracy crowd will refuse to belive this, but there's a few simple reasons why such theories as the CIA planting bombs on planes and U.S. Government-sponsored DoS attacks are total bunk.

Government employees generally don't rank high on the trust or confidence scales. Sometimes, a few of the high-ranking ones get caught doing something illegal. But the vast majority of government employees, IMO, have two major concerns in their day-to-day work experience:

1. "When do I get off of work?" and
2. "How can I cover my own ass?"

Killing their own citizens or costing their country's corporations millions of dollars are not on the agenda. Sure, they may consider doing that to other countries, but nobody shits where they eat. That's Reason #1. You don't bomb airliners, because your best friend's favorite aunt may be onboard. You don't DoS E-Bay because your partner's spouse is bidding on that one item he/she really wants.

I'm not even factoring in that much-rediculed characteristic, patriotism, which would keep a lot of folks from taking part in such plans.

Reason #2: It's damned hard to keep a secret. I cite the U.S. F-117, aka the "stealth fighter". America was developing an 'invisible plane', and everybody knew it. Even some model companies came out with "concept" versions of the fighter before the USAF ever went public...and those models had remarkable similarities to the real deal. How so? Contractors and military members saying a few things too much, is my guess. It's hard to totally keep a secret if it's a big one; killing your fellow citizens or damaging large corporations is such a secret.

The DoS attacks are the work of a small group of vandals, not the "Shadow Government". Turn off the TV and turn on your brain. Think.

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Didn't they say the same thing about O.J.?

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Are we breeding communities of impulsive and creative jerks?

Yes, and many of them write long-winded, alarmist articles.

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...and at least 500 million of those pages are at microsoft.com. I know, from personal experience (just the other day it took me 20 minutes to find PWS for Win95). Ever tried to find something buried in there?

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Supposedly.

I suspect that a "true" conservative or liberal can't be elected to a high office these days. Instead, the public is served by individuals who have allowed their personal beliefs to be comprimised at some point so as to be more attractive to the voters, campaign donors, or both.

Regarding censorship: please remember that (at least in the U.S.) every major party has supported censorship of one kind or another. This isn't a "Republican vs. Democrat" or "Conservative vs. Liberal" thing. Yes, Virginia...Pat Robertson and Tipper Gore are in the same boat -- albeit different ends.

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Yeah, and apparently nobody told Lockheed Martin to coordinate with JPL which units to measure, either....
When do we seend LM the bill?

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Q3A is an arcade-style first-person shooter. It's not supposed to have too much tactics. Sure, games with tactics or awesome storylines are cool, but they are another type of game. Part of the power of the FPS is its simplicity.

Well, that's where you and I must agree to disagree. I realize that Q3 won't have much of a storyline (if any) or single-player aspect, but a game requiring little more than cockroach-level twitch reflexes is a pretty poor one, indeed. And it's been done before. I'm wanting more, and I suspect I'm not alone here.

Did you actually play it? Q3test2 is not small, not indoors, and I bet I can rail you from the other side of it.

I "played" it in the sense that I ran around the level a few times. The only Q3Test level I played wasn't much more than a few platforms floating in a black void -- not exactly what I would call an "outdoor" level. When I mean outdoor I mean something like Tribes...where the map is the equivalent of 4 square kilometers in size!

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Why exactly are so many people excited about the release of a game alpha?

Sure, it's id stuff and John Carmack's eye-pleasing work. But it's Quake, and for all you can say about the franchise you really can't say that the game itself has changed:

• Single-player viewpoint
• Small to moderate-sized indoor levels
• 8-12 mostly-balanced (yawn) weapons, 1 being some kind of minigun and at least 1 being a shotgun
• Gorgeous graphics which really don't improve gameplay
• id's promises that often-requested features not included in the baseline "could be designed by mod authors" (monkeys? ass? flying? what?)

I've been a big fan of id since the Doom I days, but when I see other titles with essentially the same features with excellent graphics (Unreal Tournament, for example) or clever games that actually bring tactics into play (instead of "just run around and shoot") such as Tribes...well, I gotta wonder how much is fanboy hype when info like this hits the Net press.

Besides the curved surfaces, what really is going to make Quake III any different than Quake II?

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