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Basically Qubes OS is as likely to be affected as a modern linux distribution. Xorg does not run with special privilege and thus the scope of the attack is things for said user.

While that means the underlying integrity of the system and other users is intact, it does little to comfort the vast majority of desktop users, as xkcd succinctly expresses: http://xkcd.com/1200/

Careful, I heard RMS sleeps with a katana. No, seriously.

I think the interwebz is kind of like radio, at least in a few ways. You could operate a paywalled website (XM, Sirius) but you won't have much market share. Or you could operate a neutral, informative, original website (NPR, BBC) but only weirdos will visit. Or you could broadcast whatever "popular" cruft the people are clamoring for (any station playing Miley Cirus) and be wildly successful but selling advertising time/space.

We all seem to agree this article highlights the same issue we've had with virtually all technological advances: increased efficiency putting people out of a job. I fail to see how the micropayments idea would work at all; it would just be interpreted (probably rightly so) as holding back "progress."

Careful, I heard RMS sleeps with a katana. No, seriously.

I think the interwebz is kind of like radio, at least in a few ways. You could operate a paywalled website (XM, Sirius) but you won't have much market share. Or you could operate a neutral, informative, original website (NPR, BBC) but only weirdos will visit. Or you could broadcast whatever "popular" cruft the people are clamoring for (any station playing Miley Cirus) and be wildly successful but selling advertising time/space.

We all seem to agree this article highlights the same issue we've had with virtually all technological advances: increased efficiency putting people out of a job. I fail to see how the micropayments idea would work at all; it would just be interpreted (probably rightly so) as holding back "progress."

The real problem is that different languages are often created to solve different problems.

I wonder if this could be mitigated by not treating a problem as an excuse to build an entirely new language. Build an awesome library for (choose a decent basic language) instead, and you get new functionality without fragmenting the playing field even more.

Obligatory XKCD

http://xkcd.com/895/

And another.

http://xkcd.com/1158/

Obligatory XKCD

http://xkcd.com/895/

And another.

http://xkcd.com/1158/

Obligatory XKCD

http://xkcd.com/895/

*sigh* Where is the next Richard Feynman when you need him?

Obligatory XKCD

http://xkcd.com/895/

Yes, some languages do things better than others, but there's more to languages than that. A good question is how well the language meets its goals.

http://xkcd.com/1306/

Some languages are simply more clean, have a more consistent syntax, etc. then others. For example, both Fortran 77 and 90 are aimed at numerical computation, but 77 has a weird syntax made for punch cards and other oddities; 90 is just better. (Flame on!)

My sig is relevant to every situation. :)

Constipation?

There is an old fable that a king had his wise men figure out what phrase could be said under all circumstances. They supposedly came up with this.

Pity they didn't have xkcd back then.

I'll just leave this right here

https://xkcd.com/936/

Oblig. xkcd

Makes sense, we already have one based on Missy Elliot.

xkcd did a good job of it:

http://xkcd.com/657/

Primer.

I may generally agree with you about time travel being overused and trivialized, but go watch Primer if you want a good reason to reevaluate your position. See: the bottom right corner of xkcd 657 for relevant information.

How many satellite navigation systems does a planet need?

Either 14 or 15

I think this matches the thread/site better: https://xkcd.com/567/

http://xkcd.com/630/

http://xkcd.com/927/

Sure.

Don't drive 140,000 miles with a penny in your ash tray.

The article is still pretty sparse on details. The solar on a Prius, for example, just powers ancillary systems, and obviously has *some* cost over just not having one.

C-x M-x M-butterfly

It does: C-x M-c M-git

Just don't forget to get a recent version: http://xkcd.com/414/

As always, XKCD explains why that won't help much.

What is your threat model?

• -- If your main concern is someone remotely accessing your machine while it is connected to the internet, then full-disk encryption is irrelevant. Programs running on your computer must be able to read the disk. Specifically regarding those WiFi passwords the article is trying to scare you with, they are stored in a file which is only readable by the root (=administrator) user. If the "evil" program can read the file, it has already achieved full privileges on your machine, and it reading WiFi passwords is the least of your concerns.
• -- If, on the other hand, you would like protection against people who physically hold your machine (border guards when leaving/entering countries, or your business competitor who has stolen your machine) then you absolutely need full-disk encryption. Having restrictions on which programs can read a file is no protection against someone who can extract the harddrive from your machine and plug it into theirs (or simply boot your machine from a live-CD), gaining automatic access to every bit of information.

In short, in order to decide what security you need, you must first formulate your threat model. For a funny take on this see XKCD.

Were you looking for this?

Just did an end of the year analysis with a client and got to looking at their statistics and planning for 2014. I was shocked that the single largest block of users as far as OS & Browser were concerned was iPad @ 22% of all traffic. Chrome was 2nd @ 16.9% (about 1/3 of that is Android). 3rd was iPhone @ 16.2%. That means that roughly half their traffic is now from mobile devices and 1/3rd over all is iOS.

So much for that the plans for 2014 is now to look at building mobile apps for iOS & Android.

Obligatory:
http://xkcd.com/1174/

That's interesting and may well be true, however can we please step back from the copse of trees to see the whole forest? That DNA is a fractal antenna is an interesting bit of trivia, but requires context for proper interpretation of what that means when applied to the scope of our everyday lives. Electromagnetic radiation is not a human invention, it has always existed, both in ionizing as well as non-ionizing wavelengths. For the average person, even in our electronic age, natural sources account for the greater portion of our day-to-day electromagnetic radiation exposure.

While it only deals with ionizing wavelengths I still want to call upon XKCD's radiation dose chart because it provides some much needed perspective. I would further like to include a nice little tutorial on EM. Before we even begin to pick on WiFi, there are plenty of other things in modern society we should ban first including, the Sun, cordless phones, cell phones, TVs, microwave ovens, electric space heaters, electric motors, baby monitors, analog radio stations, high-voltage power lines, etc.. I find it simply amazing how the same people whom are so concerned about radiation from cell phones, will think nothing of placing a baby monitor right next to their child's crib.

I agree with the previous reply that "mobile browser" suggests a significantly less capable browser than Safari on iOS (iPad or iPhone).

That's what it used to mean. Now it means one that doesn't support hover, SWF, WebM decoder plug-ins, or uploads through <input type="file"> of media types other than pictures and videos.

One frustration of using iOS Safari is that too many web sites unnecessarily decide the browser is "mobile" and re-directs to their dumbed-down "mobile" variant

Worse yet, too many web sites redirect to the main page instead of the article that the user found through the search engine: "Hi, I'm a server!".

The big question - is this cumulative? I want to improve my IQ, so I'll read 3-4 books this week ... but wait a minute, this sounds like school.

Also, this study was done on students. At university (or college, for our american viewers). And didn't eliminate free time or stress relief as possible factors. Also, it was done in the USA, which doesn't have the most homogenous distribution of literacy (or even a consistent measure for literacy).

I'm not saying it's bad science, I'm just saying there's another article about junk science on slashdot ... today ... and they're linked by correlation (but not causation). Also? Topical XKCD comic.

My stance is what does it do that a unix socket and/or netlink can't do for me now?

Throw in a dash of XKCD 927

http://xkcd.com/927/

[Citation needed]

I'm surprised about snapchat honestly. so apparently tweens sext more than they actually talk?

Obligatory XKCD

Oblig XKCD

You sure?

Why worry about air resistance, it can have rather interesting effects that would probably help improve DC.

You were just asking for an oblig, weren't you?

http://xkcd.com/347/ ...now that was truly obligatory.

"It works in Kerbal Space Program."

=Smidge=

Agreed. I'll answer your question in a moment ...

I've been online for 20+ years. The cycle of online human communication is *always* the same.

* Forum (BBS / newgroup / website) provides a common ground for people to share info. / tips / opinions
* Site is small as only the "geeks" use it
* Site gains Momentum and goes mainstream
* The crazies come out of the woodwork -- Name Calling / Ad Hominem / Trolls attack -- people keep forgetting authority needs accountability
* Moderators are either
    a) 45% of the time non-existent
    b) 45% of the time grammar/spelling/free-thought nazis where posters need to tow the party line,
    c) 4% of the time does it rarely exist there are balanced moderators who allow a difference of opinion as long as it it kept civil and intelligent
    d) 1% site allows members to self-moderate
* All the old members complain about "the good ole days" when the noobs / newbs / hipsters, etc. didn't drive the S/N from Signal into Noise
* New site starts that promises to be "Bigger, Better, Cheaper", etc.
* Old site membership is split as some members leave to check out "Awesome new site" (temporarily, others for good),
* Old site lingers but never really recovers from the mass influx of growth and decay.
* Rinse and Repeat ad nauseum.

What /. did innovate at the time was to allow the crapfest of usenet to be FILTERED. Reddit has mob rule when you get carpet modded into oblivion because people don't want their thinking challenged.

Newspaper used to exist because people saw the value in someone else filtering the amount of information to collect mostly signal and to present THAT to you so you didn't have to waste your time filtering the S/N.

Now to answer your question:

Why is *good* moderation so HARD?
  1. Because it involves TRUST. Are you an expert? Prove it? etc.
  2. The problem is that Truth is NOT only objective, but ALSO subjective. The majority fall into the fallacy of duality. "I'm right, THEREFORE you're wrong." instead of being humble and honest enough to admit. "My POV has + and -, Your POV has + and -. What *new* things can we learn from the difference and intersection of these strengths and weaknesses?"

As a Mystic I am able to see the Strengths and Weakness in *everything*. The question is NOT about simple-minded good vs evil, but about being able to have an open mind and consider ALL the possibilities: the short-term, the long-term, how the strengths of short-term thinking/action might eventually become the negative in the long-term, and vice versa, what did the negative teach us, etc. Most people are not able to communicate with clear, simple, logic free of mis-guided emotion, let analyze something to that depth.

Being passionate is fine. Be able to walk the line between Logic and Emotion -- yeah, we're all still trying to figure that one out. Especially when some noob / fanboi makes an ignorant comment and you just want to flame his ass for being a stupid git. :-)

cue oblg. xkcd ...
  http://xkcd.com/591/
http://3d.xkcd.com/802/

References:
  * "A Community Membership Life Cycle Model" http://arxiv.org/pdf/1006.4271.pdf
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community

Agreed. I'll answer your question in a moment ...

I've been online for 20+ years. The cycle of online human communication is *always* the same.

* Forum (BBS / newgroup / website) provides a common ground for people to share info. / tips / opinions
* Site is small as only the "geeks" use it
* Site gains Momentum and goes mainstream
* The crazies come out of the woodwork -- Name Calling / Ad Hominem / Trolls attack -- people keep forgetting authority needs accountability
* Moderators are either
    a) 45% of the time non-existent
    b) 45% of the time grammar/spelling/free-thought nazis where posters need to tow the party line,
    c) 4% of the time does it rarely exist there are balanced moderators who allow a difference of opinion as long as it it kept civil and intelligent
    d) 1% site allows members to self-moderate
* All the old members complain about "the good ole days" when the noobs / newbs / hipsters, etc. didn't drive the S/N from Signal into Noise
* New site starts that promises to be "Bigger, Better, Cheaper", etc.
* Old site membership is split as some members leave to check out "Awesome new site" (temporarily, others for good),
* Old site lingers but never really recovers from the mass influx of growth and decay.
* Rinse and Repeat ad nauseum.

What /. did innovate at the time was to allow the crapfest of usenet to be FILTERED. Reddit has mob rule when you get carpet modded into oblivion because people don't want their thinking challenged.

Newspaper used to exist because people saw the value in someone else filtering the amount of information to collect mostly signal and to present THAT to you so you didn't have to waste your time filtering the S/N.

Now to answer your question:

Why is *good* moderation so HARD?
  1. Because it involves TRUST. Are you an expert? Prove it? etc.
  2. The problem is that Truth is NOT only objective, but ALSO subjective. The majority fall into the fallacy of duality. "I'm right, THEREFORE you're wrong." instead of being humble and honest enough to admit. "My POV has + and -, Your POV has + and -. What *new* things can we learn from the difference and intersection of these strengths and weaknesses?"

As a Mystic I am able to see the Strengths and Weakness in *everything*. The question is NOT about simple-minded good vs evil, but about being able to have an open mind and consider ALL the possibilities: the short-term, the long-term, how the strengths of short-term thinking/action might eventually become the negative in the long-term, and vice versa, what did the negative teach us, etc. Most people are not able to communicate with clear, simple, logic free of mis-guided emotion, let analyze something to that depth.

Being passionate is fine. Be able to walk the line between Logic and Emotion -- yeah, we're all still trying to figure that one out. Especially when some noob / fanboi makes an ignorant comment and you just want to flame his ass for being a stupid git. :-)

cue oblg. xkcd ...
  http://xkcd.com/591/
http://3d.xkcd.com/802/

References:
  * "A Community Membership Life Cycle Model" http://arxiv.org/pdf/1006.4271.pdf
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community

A mirror, lens, or metamaterial doesn't care HOW much energy it's handling, until the energy density gets high enough to start damaging it. The energy density of a tsunami, spread out over those same several miles or whatever, is quite low.

Water waves are substantially more nonlinear than optics in ordinary situations. This thread is hysterical... bunch of people commenting on physics that they don't understand at all. Next up, let's see what Britney Spears has to say about which 3D printer is best.

http://xkcd.com/793/

Or, expanded on by XKCD:
http://www.xkcd.com/1289/

OB xkcd!

I was being facetious, if that wasn't obvious. I was merely pointing out that "blaming" Adobe for supporting CUDA is no less subjective than "blaming" Apple for supporting OpenCL.

Also, it's worth pointing out that Apple didn't tie themselves to a standard so much as they created a new standard for everyone else to tie themselves to. It's not like OpenCL was an existing standard that Apple embraced.

Obligatory.

Its a very sad state in the world that any article - even those who not even talk about global warmning - get dragged into that flame war by the deniers.

The obligatory http://xkcd.com/1022/ would have sufficed.

http://xkcd.com/1305/

http://xkcd.com/979/ :)

I understand what the author was trying to say. I am saying his premise is entirely wrong.

Firstly, there is only one definition of "The Greenhouse Effect", not two as claimed by the article. That is the greenhouse effect of global warming. The mechanism that keeps greenhouses warm is not called the greenhouse effect.

There is no attempt at sophistry, no double-meaning, and you are not living in the Matrix.

Secondly, because of this, OF COURSE the greenhouse effect's impact on the temperature in the greenhouse was minimal. The dominant force in that system would be the trapping of the heat that would normally have been lost by convection, i.e. the normal mechanism by which greenhouses stay hot. Trapped radiation (i.e. the greenhouse effect) would have minimal effect.

As a footnote, that PDF (which appears to be a text paste of a website in order to move the contents up the trustworthyness scale) really doesn't apply to the contents of that page. Regardless, google the title of that document and you will find all the refutations you seek.

I'm so old I used to program a computer with core memory. 64kx16 of core memory. FWIW, Node isn't better than Ruby, but it is in some sense more convenient, in that you only need to be immediately fluent in one programming language. But if I had my druthers, I'd go back to using scheme, just like we used to back in the days of the Old Republic. There's just no point in bragging about the programming language you're using if it's got two different ways of ending a sentence.