Unfortunately, it's not quite there for random brainstorming. It's geared toward easy fact generation. The "human" factor is almost completely removed, image linking to entries in the table is inaccurate at best (search "Planets" and you'll find Pluto the dog), and so on.
I can see that this is a useful tool for people like say... engineers, who need to know a material's composition and properties (facts, again), but this tool is limited by the supporting databases.
Take, for example, the fact that I can search for a consumer product, but I can't get much more than generic information.
Links are difficult to follow, it takes more effort than needed to go somewhere. Brainstorming is easier with the vanilla Google.
Yes, this is a useful tool, but it doesn't compare very well to Wolfram Alpha; this is a spreadsheet data generation tool, where Alpha is an analysis tool.
It doesn't take an Einstein to find out that this is good for researching things. It certainly beats going through all of the connecting websites to get to the juicy details.
Generally, people don't mind so much if it's only an idea 'out there', instead of a concrete idea that they're dealing with.
Now, that we know that our governments torture, steal, abuse their power, serve the money-printing oligarchy instead of serving us, what are we going to do?
It's historically only been the observant people who protest, and oddly enough, they're also the first people who are silenced. Consider extortion, fear of material security, censorship, etc.
As an observant person also, I see people pulling strings. A chinese proverb comes to mind (paraphrased): when the government becomes corrupt or unstable, go to the mountains. It makes sense when you think about it, because the insular safety and security of a remote location is an ideal thing for a family lineage.
Granted, the possibility of us doing so is much smaller, because we (as an intellectual group of people) tend to stick to the population centers. However, we can move. We -can- move out of the nation to find political stability. We -can- have a hand not in fighting a system going downhill, but in building a system going uphill.
If people want Windows, they can have Windows. However, I'll be more than happy to stick with the rarely-used Windows installation I already have.
How often do you use a full-blown OS while you're waiting at the fast food line? Not very often, I'll bet. Why not simply leave the bloat at home or in the office? Most of us would be happy with relatively simple things like a good web browser, email reader, and a cheap old rich text editor, and if you're going to blur the lines between phone and netbook, why not add phone functions to that list? All of those things are things that will come to Android, and it basically takes care of the "necessities" on the go.
As far as the luxuries on the go, you might be able to squeeze a DVD drive into that sub-netbook. Wireless connectivity can be used to connect to the heavier iron, making things that people use at work and home accessible (take for example: MS Office or programming tasks).
VNC is not out of the question; the most you may have to do is bring your little charger around with you. The bigger question than VNC is how to make it accessible to the masses? I'd think that's easy. Google has the connectedness to be able to tell one computer where to find another computer, all you'd need is the connecting software. Granted, it's not quite like having a laptop right in front of you, but it allows the casual person to be able to take care of things at home, including checking on the shopping list.
Let's face it; we're not limited to the world of x86 netbooks. smartbooks (or sub-netbooks) can be the tool of choice; capable of things that you wouldn't even be able to do casually with your favorite phone or Windows-based laptop variant. I know that I'd ditch my laptop for a smartbook that can do the works, even if I have to do some things remotely.
Aside from the history of Creative Labs, I'd suggest you get a new sound card. Not that it's any fun or anything to do so, but it'll be less aggravating in the long run.
Even the poor performance of having an integrated sound system beats a sound system that you don't even turn on, and there's plenty of alternatives.
The history of Creative Labs is anything but creative: they're a vendor. They have other people make their chips, and all they do is brand the product (and maybe, maybe, write a program or two).
If you're looking for decent X-Fi sound, you'll either have to resort to non-Creative drivers (try the chip manufacturer's drivers?) or even hack up your own from a similar product. I've done it before, and so can you!
Even a driver that has only half the capabilities of the X-Fi that works is a plus. Constant crackling and such is the mark of the wrong drivers being used anyways... (at least in my experience from ages ago). Is it so surprising that Creative branded drivers and such that weren't complete?
Making a design that lasts is a challenge; a "working" design is easy.
Are they making this a design that lasts? (like it was massively over-engineered). Are they making this a design that is safe? (as in not blowing up or falling apart). And are they making this a design that is easier to build and maintain? (think old VW or Chevy).
Or are they making this cheap? (as in quality), or "good enough" (as in design)? Are they testing every aspect? (stress tests in newer alloys, or even the little things like o-rings)
Sure, doing this on a tight budget is important, but... I'd take my chances with the 42-year-old Soyuz design before overcoming my skepticism. And Soyuz is still operational!
Here's to hoping they know what they're building, instead of making the next high-maintenance toy. I'd rather them take the time to do it right, instead of rushing to mediocrity.
Just to clarify, so we're on the same page, I'm talking about the public school system. Colleges and such have it better.
Why should any reasonably intelligent person teach? Most people know that there's only barely enough to pay the bills in it. After all, if they can apply themselves in a way that is more fulfilling, teaching is like a "last resort" kind of thing.
We ultimately end up with more and more mediocrity just because of our complacency to their needs. Half-baked ideas are taught in school because that's what put the teachers themselves there.
Tenure isn't a problem here; it's a system that works well enough. The problem is we're seeing the negative aspects a system where you're getting out what you put in; pitting mediocrity against mediocrity is no surprise, just as pitting excellence against mediocrity is no surprise.
If you want intelligent people to teach, then pay them as such. Raise the bar, and don't accept mediocrity just because it's all you can find. Raise it socially as well, so that the teachers aren't just glorified babysitters.
Other countries fare better than ours, because their standards are higher. Is that such a big surprise?
The OP is sensationalized, but he brings up a good point.
Yes, I agree that moderation is needed, but sometimes people just need a hug. Take, for example, the needs of anyone who has had a really bad day. Why would you have a limit to what you can share with others? We're -humans-. Most of us don't run off a clock (despite doing so most of our adult lives).
If my husband, or for argument's sake, a boyfriend or friend said to me: "you have half an hour" without a good reason, I'd be out of there sooner than that, whether my issue was resolved or not! Obviously, I prefer relationships and friendships that actually include people caring, not just sharing.
Making rules like this (even on a single facility level) makes a social stigma. Are you prepared to deal with situations where people snap because of the remoteness of their emotional contact? I'm guessing "no". Are you setting yourself up to be the "bad guy" who unwittingly hurts someone in need? Likely so.
I'm an advocate of treating kids like they're grown-ups in training. Time limits and such are the things of childhood; and while they're teaching tools, they're not rules to live the rest of your life by. If you want moderation, teach it; it's a good thing. Use ideas and philosophies that make sense. A 12-year-old is able to understand more than you think, and it's relatively simple to understand "hug them until they're not crying". It seems to be a good middle ground.
Oh, and my high school sweetheart was the product of me simply being there for him. Those are happy memories, and I wouldn't ever want trade those memories in for any idea that could use some perspective, no matter how "deeply thought out" it is.
There are things to be said about people being able to be stupid. You can't force intelligence on people (except when they're teachable.)
If you want people to be intelligent, go into politics and try to change the system. Chances are: you'll be pressured into not doing it. The system is skewed against the educational sector; and the pay that teachers get reflects that.
Investment in America's future as an intellectual powerhouse is limited at best. Public schools generally teach people enough to -get by-, and not to really understand what's around them. It's only every once in a while that you see a public school that really teaches things like philosophical ethics.
Over-simplistic arguments are the natural result of people who want to be intellectual about things (while doing so with limited knowledge.) If you want them to have more concrete arguments, they have to expand their knowledge. Granted, some people just don't want that, but the vast majority of people wouldn't mind getting it if it was presented to them.
"Because they said so" isn't good enough when it comes to thinking for yourself.
They are imposing themselves onto you, simply because they think they can get away with it.
Do you really think that making a guest account will prevent solve your woes? I'd set up a guest account on a chained down desktop, but not a laptop.
A laptop is a -personal- valuable. If you're putting it into the hands of others, you better be prepared for it to be stolen someday. Sharing with random people isn't part of the adult's world. Even if you -do- recover the laptop, is it worth your gray hairs?
Don't VMWare if you use windows; you're asking for downloaded viruses to get through.
Personally, I'd take significant collateral (car keys, etc), because I don't trust people (and I'm the SHARING kind!) It gives me peace of mind, and I'm not being an ass if they really have to do something.
Perhaps the leaders of the CoS need to take a personality test again. After all, they definitely suffer from delusions and depression, because even a small action is blown out of proportion!
Terrorism is totally relative, but it does scare me that someone else can now make the things that has won wars for us in the past, especially with things being at a less than peaceful state worldwide. (N Korea, Iran, etc)
If we can't protect ourselves sufficiently in any sense, doesn't it warrant a word to describe it? Is the lack of protection intellectually always going to be so naive as to assume that it's not going to be used against us?
Oh, and I have to wonder a little: there's very little infrastructure terrorism, instead there's much more information terrorism at work. (i.e. the Pentagon hack that lost us the plans to the next air superiority fighter).
The government does a half-assed job securing its own computers, but they'll lock down what's between the computers... that's like having a convoy that's well protected, then having that same convoy deliver without any security detail.
There are reasons why it's important that public records are kept.
If they wanted to keep people from knowing where or what exactly it was, they could simply have marked it as something it wasn't.. and beyond that, they could encrypt what goes on that fiber.
They aren't without options; and ultimately they're currently fighting the system, and putting our tax dollars to work in ways that could be prevented.
It's understandable that they want to keep secrets secret, but isn't covering it up going to draw more attention than fudging the paperwork?
Agreed. However, Windows allows you to break the HIG fairly easily. You can't do it so easily in Linux (try having Compiz or Metacity or KWin agree on a way to cleanly extend those tabs into the title bar).
I remember that Windows has been able to do that since the Windows 3.1. I forget exactly which piece of software I saw do it first, but the functionality was there. It's probably legacy code that MS drew up to support changing a UI that they weren't completely sure about.
And as we all know, Microsoft rarely dumps legacy software, unless you're talking about the OS underpinnings. I'd imagine that Google just put this to good use while designing Chrome.
I personally do not know if the functionality to do the same exists within GTK+ or QT4. According to other posts, it does; although I'd venture to guess that it's not very clean code.
Sure, they're different, but you're forgetting that Linux is made by developers paid (or not paid) by big companies. Managers don't usually draw their battle lines within the many sides of Linux, their battle lines are along corporate lines.
Tell me, why should I stick to only one toolkit when a specific job can be done so much better with products developed with another toolkit? It doesn't make sense from any point of view, except for someone who just wants do draw lines in the sand for the sake of picking a fight.
Google isn't porting to Ubuntu, they're porting to Linux. It's the kindness of a single developer that makes it so we can apt-get it at all. If you want more than what's currently available, then either stop complaining and wait or contribute.
What if you used Linux with a BSD kernel? Is it still Linux? The OS is -not- the UI, it is a foundation for the software that runs the UI. What UI's are available depends on the connecting software (GTK+ and QT for Windows do exist, did you know that?)
Thank you for modding the parent funny, because sometimes that's all you can do!
Slashdot Mirror
And in new news, apparently Africa is a rare animal.
http://www.google.com/squared/search?q=monkeys
I never knew!
Unfortunately, it's not quite there for random brainstorming. It's geared toward easy fact generation. The "human" factor is almost completely removed, image linking to entries in the table is inaccurate at best (search "Planets" and you'll find Pluto the dog), and so on.
I can see that this is a useful tool for people like say... engineers, who need to know a material's composition and properties (facts, again), but this tool is limited by the supporting databases.
Take, for example, the fact that I can search for a consumer product, but I can't get much more than generic information.
Links are difficult to follow, it takes more effort than needed to go somewhere. Brainstorming is easier with the vanilla Google.
Yes, this is a useful tool, but it doesn't compare very well to Wolfram Alpha; this is a spreadsheet data generation tool, where Alpha is an analysis tool.
It doesn't take an Einstein to find out that this is good for researching things. It certainly beats going through all of the connecting websites to get to the juicy details.
Generally, people don't mind so much if it's only an idea 'out there', instead of a concrete idea that they're dealing with.
Now, that we know that our governments torture, steal, abuse their power, serve the money-printing oligarchy instead of serving us, what are we going to do?
It's historically only been the observant people who protest, and oddly enough, they're also the first people who are silenced. Consider extortion, fear of material security, censorship, etc.
As an observant person also, I see people pulling strings. A chinese proverb comes to mind (paraphrased): when the government becomes corrupt or unstable, go to the mountains. It makes sense when you think about it, because the insular safety and security of a remote location is an ideal thing for a family lineage.
Granted, the possibility of us doing so is much smaller, because we (as an intellectual group of people) tend to stick to the population centers. However, we can move. We -can- move out of the nation to find political stability. We -can- have a hand not in fighting a system going downhill, but in building a system going uphill.
Yes, pun-ishment intended.
This is a simulation physicist's wet dream, and I'm sure it'll be somewhere in a graphical adventure soon.
My bet is that the FPS genre will like this too.
It's good to hear that there are drivers out there that are usable. Kudos on the dedication of the community support!
If people want Windows, they can have Windows. However, I'll be more than happy to stick with the rarely-used Windows installation I already have.
How often do you use a full-blown OS while you're waiting at the fast food line? Not very often, I'll bet. Why not simply leave the bloat at home or in the office? Most of us would be happy with relatively simple things like a good web browser, email reader, and a cheap old rich text editor, and if you're going to blur the lines between phone and netbook, why not add phone functions to that list? All of those things are things that will come to Android, and it basically takes care of the "necessities" on the go.
As far as the luxuries on the go, you might be able to squeeze a DVD drive into that sub-netbook. Wireless connectivity can be used to connect to the heavier iron, making things that people use at work and home accessible (take for example: MS Office or programming tasks).
VNC is not out of the question; the most you may have to do is bring your little charger around with you. The bigger question than VNC is how to make it accessible to the masses? I'd think that's easy. Google has the connectedness to be able to tell one computer where to find another computer, all you'd need is the connecting software. Granted, it's not quite like having a laptop right in front of you, but it allows the casual person to be able to take care of things at home, including checking on the shopping list.
Let's face it; we're not limited to the world of x86 netbooks. smartbooks (or sub-netbooks) can be the tool of choice; capable of things that you wouldn't even be able to do casually with your favorite phone or Windows-based laptop variant. I know that I'd ditch my laptop for a smartbook that can do the works, even if I have to do some things remotely.
Aside from the history of Creative Labs, I'd suggest you get a new sound card. Not that it's any fun or anything to do so, but it'll be less aggravating in the long run.
Even the poor performance of having an integrated sound system beats a sound system that you don't even turn on, and there's plenty of alternatives.
The history of Creative Labs is anything but creative: they're a vendor. They have other people make their chips, and all they do is brand the product (and maybe, maybe, write a program or two).
If you're looking for decent X-Fi sound, you'll either have to resort to non-Creative drivers (try the chip manufacturer's drivers?) or even hack up your own from a similar product. I've done it before, and so can you!
Even a driver that has only half the capabilities of the X-Fi that works is a plus. Constant crackling and such is the mark of the wrong drivers being used anyways... (at least in my experience from ages ago). Is it so surprising that Creative branded drivers and such that weren't complete?
Making a design that lasts is a challenge; a "working" design is easy.
Are they making this a design that lasts? (like it was massively over-engineered). Are they making this a design that is safe? (as in not blowing up or falling apart). And are they making this a design that is easier to build and maintain? (think old VW or Chevy).
Or are they making this cheap? (as in quality), or "good enough" (as in design)? Are they testing every aspect? (stress tests in newer alloys, or even the little things like o-rings)
Sure, doing this on a tight budget is important, but... I'd take my chances with the 42-year-old Soyuz design before overcoming my skepticism. And Soyuz is still operational!
Here's to hoping they know what they're building, instead of making the next high-maintenance toy. I'd rather them take the time to do it right, instead of rushing to mediocrity.
Just to clarify, so we're on the same page, I'm talking about the public school system. Colleges and such have it better.
Why should any reasonably intelligent person teach? Most people know that there's only barely enough to pay the bills in it. After all, if they can apply themselves in a way that is more fulfilling, teaching is like a "last resort" kind of thing.
We ultimately end up with more and more mediocrity just because of our complacency to their needs. Half-baked ideas are taught in school because that's what put the teachers themselves there.
Tenure isn't a problem here; it's a system that works well enough. The problem is we're seeing the negative aspects a system where you're getting out what you put in; pitting mediocrity against mediocrity is no surprise, just as pitting excellence against mediocrity is no surprise.
If you want intelligent people to teach, then pay them as such. Raise the bar, and don't accept mediocrity just because it's all you can find. Raise it socially as well, so that the teachers aren't just glorified babysitters.
Other countries fare better than ours, because their standards are higher. Is that such a big surprise?
The noted authorities noticed the new notice?
The OP is sensationalized, but he brings up a good point.
Yes, I agree that moderation is needed, but sometimes people just need a hug. Take, for example, the needs of anyone who has had a really bad day. Why would you have a limit to what you can share with others? We're -humans-. Most of us don't run off a clock (despite doing so most of our adult lives).
If my husband, or for argument's sake, a boyfriend or friend said to me: "you have half an hour" without a good reason, I'd be out of there sooner than that, whether my issue was resolved or not! Obviously, I prefer relationships and friendships that actually include people caring, not just sharing.
Making rules like this (even on a single facility level) makes a social stigma. Are you prepared to deal with situations where people snap because of the remoteness of their emotional contact? I'm guessing "no". Are you setting yourself up to be the "bad guy" who unwittingly hurts someone in need? Likely so.
I'm an advocate of treating kids like they're grown-ups in training. Time limits and such are the things of childhood; and while they're teaching tools, they're not rules to live the rest of your life by. If you want moderation, teach it; it's a good thing. Use ideas and philosophies that make sense. A 12-year-old is able to understand more than you think, and it's relatively simple to understand "hug them until they're not crying". It seems to be a good middle ground.
Oh, and my high school sweetheart was the product of me simply being there for him. Those are happy memories, and I wouldn't ever want trade those memories in for any idea that could use some perspective, no matter how "deeply thought out" it is.
There are things to be said about people being able to be stupid. You can't force intelligence on people (except when they're teachable.)
If you want people to be intelligent, go into politics and try to change the system. Chances are: you'll be pressured into not doing it. The system is skewed against the educational sector; and the pay that teachers get reflects that.
Investment in America's future as an intellectual powerhouse is limited at best. Public schools generally teach people enough to -get by-, and not to really understand what's around them. It's only every once in a while that you see a public school that really teaches things like philosophical ethics.
Over-simplistic arguments are the natural result of people who want to be intellectual about things (while doing so with limited knowledge.) If you want them to have more concrete arguments, they have to expand their knowledge. Granted, some people just don't want that, but the vast majority of people wouldn't mind getting it if it was presented to them.
"Because they said so" isn't good enough when it comes to thinking for yourself.
They are imposing themselves onto you, simply because they think they can get away with it.
Do you really think that making a guest account will prevent solve your woes? I'd set up a guest account on a chained down desktop, but not a laptop.
A laptop is a -personal- valuable. If you're putting it into the hands of others, you better be prepared for it to be stolen someday. Sharing with random people isn't part of the adult's world. Even if you -do- recover the laptop, is it worth your gray hairs?
Don't VMWare if you use windows; you're asking for downloaded viruses to get through.
Personally, I'd take significant collateral (car keys, etc), because I don't trust people (and I'm the SHARING kind!) It gives me peace of mind, and I'm not being an ass if they really have to do something.
Perhaps the leaders of the CoS need to take a personality test again. After all, they definitely suffer from delusions and depression, because even a small action is blown out of proportion!
Kudos on the Giant Wall of Text, maybe the CoS will take you seriously and call you a "Berlin Wall"?
Oh, and I agree with what you said. CoS is still corrupt!
Terrorism is totally relative, but it does scare me that someone else can now make the things that has won wars for us in the past, especially with things being at a less than peaceful state worldwide. (N Korea, Iran, etc)
If we can't protect ourselves sufficiently in any sense, doesn't it warrant a word to describe it? Is the lack of protection intellectually always going to be so naive as to assume that it's not going to be used against us?
Oh, and I have to wonder a little: there's very little infrastructure terrorism, instead there's much more information terrorism at work. (i.e. the Pentagon hack that lost us the plans to the next air superiority fighter).
The government does a half-assed job securing its own computers, but they'll lock down what's between the computers... that's like having a convoy that's well protected, then having that same convoy deliver without any security detail.
There are reasons why it's important that public records are kept.
If they wanted to keep people from knowing where or what exactly it was, they could simply have marked it as something it wasn't.. and beyond that, they could encrypt what goes on that fiber.
They aren't without options; and ultimately they're currently fighting the system, and putting our tax dollars to work in ways that could be prevented.
It's understandable that they want to keep secrets secret, but isn't covering it up going to draw more attention than fudging the paperwork?
Not the First disappointment!
Autocad has been falling behind the competition for a while.
SolidWorks and such is the way to go (at least for machine and optical part designers).
Agreed. However, Windows allows you to break the HIG fairly easily. You can't do it so easily in Linux (try having Compiz or Metacity or KWin agree on a way to cleanly extend those tabs into the title bar).
I remember that Windows has been able to do that since the Windows 3.1. I forget exactly which piece of software I saw do it first, but the functionality was there. It's probably legacy code that MS drew up to support changing a UI that they weren't completely sure about.
And as we all know, Microsoft rarely dumps legacy software, unless you're talking about the OS underpinnings. I'd imagine that Google just put this to good use while designing Chrome.
I personally do not know if the functionality to do the same exists within GTK+ or QT4. According to other posts, it does; although I'd venture to guess that it's not very clean code.
Chromium is making progress though!
Developers != Managers.
Sure, they're different, but you're forgetting that Linux is made by developers paid (or not paid) by big companies. Managers don't usually draw their battle lines within the many sides of Linux, their battle lines are along corporate lines.
Tell me, why should I stick to only one toolkit when a specific job can be done so much better with products developed with another toolkit? It doesn't make sense from any point of view, except for someone who just wants do draw lines in the sand for the sake of picking a fight.
Google isn't porting to Ubuntu, they're porting to Linux. It's the kindness of a single developer that makes it so we can apt-get it at all. If you want more than what's currently available, then either stop complaining and wait or contribute.
What if you used Linux with a BSD kernel? Is it still Linux? The OS is -not- the UI, it is a foundation for the software that runs the UI. What UI's are available depends on the connecting software (GTK+ and QT for Windows do exist, did you know that?)
Thank you for modding the parent funny, because sometimes that's all you can do!