You think the Canadarm2 (SSRMS) is impressive? Wait till you see what will be bolted onto the end of it in a couple of years.
The CanadaHand (SPDM) will have fifteen joints, two hands, stereo vision, and tactile sensors. Once it is installed, there will be very few EVAs on the space station. --
>does it have "I am a CANADIAN!" stenciled somewhere on it?
The Canadarms on the shuttles have "Canada" written in large red letters down the side. Fair enough. But what's interesting is that the best views from the shuttles often come from the camera mounted on the elbow of the Canadarm. As a result a large number of lovely NASA pictures have "Canada" written quite prominently in the foreground.
NASA got really annoyed at this and as a result a huge US flag started appearing on the back wall of the cargo bay on any mission that was planning on using the arm. --
>My only question though is this: Would this makes games cheaper for the end-user, or would it simply mean that game
developers would get more money for their efforts, with the gamer still paying "full price" for what is a advertising subsidised
product.
Or, maybe we will get riskier games that don't cater to the lowest common denominator. Where are the nerd and geek games? The reason they don't exist is that the market for them is too small to bother with. By factoring in the extra revenue of in-game adverts, these niche markets could become financially viable.
--
>I'm not sure if they were numbering them from the center out, or the fringe in.
The problem with either method is what you do when you discover a shy little planet that you hadn't noticed before? Renumber all the planets? That's why I suspect that it would be more realistic to number planets large to small, or in order of discovery (which would probably be the same order anyway).
Of course planets usually have moons, so you've got to add decimals to your numbers, or append a letter. --
>I'd much rather have something that can watch my eyeballs,
> but then again, while I'm reading a webpage, my mouse would continually
> be hovering over the text I'm reading.
Interesting point. But would it be true. After all, any object that doesn't move around on the retina vanishes. I'd read about his in a couple of text books, but never experienced it until I was trying to out-stare a dog. We were gazing at each other for several minutes when slowly my vision started to fade to grey. The scene on my retna hadn't changed, so it was compensating for what it thought was an optical artifact.
So if your eye-tracking mouse was so good that it didn't shift or shimmer as you moved your eyes, I think it would vanish after a couple of minutes. Only to reappear in inverse colours the moment you look away from the screen. --
> My map of Europe must be out of date, because I don't remember that nation...
What else do you call a bunch of people with a shared currency, a shared military, a shared government and a shared space program?
France and Germany are both using the term "super-state". Meanwhile Britain is just sitting on the fence; too nervous to join, too scared to be left behind.
--
> Is it actually possible to look at an inssue in
> such microscopic depth on the internet? Let's
> say there is a story posted on CNN about Joe
> Politician doing something naughty. Where can I
> go to get more detailed, accurate information
> that is better than what the major news outlets publish?
Extremely good point. When I posted the parent message I was thinking more of the type of things that I'm interested in. For instance I'll read on spaceflightnow.com about a new telescope Nasa is thinking of building. That got me interested, and after reading their article, I then started trawling the web looking for more information, eventually ending up with what amounted to blueprints for said telescope. I now have a detailed understanding of the subject.
I'll grant that this level of microscopic examination doesn't always work, especially for topics like your example of sleasy politicians. But I'm a nuts and bolts type of guy, and politicians (sleasy or otherwise) just don't interest me. Thus, "me-media" works for me. --
> They are important, nonetheless, he says,
> partly because they protect against fragmentation
> and extremism, a predictable outcome when
> like-minded people communicate only with one another."
The problem with mass-media is that in order to survive it must have mass-appeal. Consequently, mass-media tends to be extremely shallow in its treatment of issues, since they know that for any story, 80% of the audience aren't interested in it. So they have to keep moving from topic to topic trying to keep their audience from becoming bored.
With "Me Media" I can point a microscope at one story, and delve far beneath the surface. In doing so I've aquired an understanding about a particular topic, not just been exposed to a dozen one-liners that will all be forgotten the next day.
I'll grant that "Me Media" produces less conformity (whether this is a bad thing or not is a separate discussion). But one cannot deny that mass-media is a lot shallower. --
> Does the Slashdot audience have any suggestions
> of how to attract the hackers having 'by
> programmers for scientists' - attitude?"
My suggestion would be to post your appeal in a public forum. Somewhere that caters to hackers. Hmm, can't think of where you might find such a place... --
I was in exactly the same situation at a previous employer. The boss thought that spam was an effective marketing tool, and I couldn't convince him otherwise. My solution was to make covert arrangements with a trusted friend whereby once the spam went out, my friend would 'crack' the company's public website. This 'crack' would be rather easy to perpetrate since I'd provided the FTP password.
The expectation was that after consistently being defaced every time spam was sent out, the boss would think that spam was more trouble than it was worth. As it turned out, we never had to resort to this plan, since the company was driven into the ground first. --
Could someone please tell me why Mir has to be destroyed? I grant that Mir is now obsolete, and that keeping it functional would cost more and more as the years go by. But instead of crashing it into the Pacific, why is it not feasible to use the same fuel to boost it into an orbit that will last for a century or so, then shut it down, vent the atmosphere, and leave it?
Throughout history we are quick to destroy anything that is obsolete, without thinking that within a short period of time the offending object will become historic and priceless. "Colossus" the first computer, "Rocket" the first locomotive and all the great airships are just some examples of things that were destroyed without a thought to posterity. --
>Gee whiz guy, it isn't about size, it's about kinetic energy.
The item in question was a peice of wire mesh from a Delta rocket that hit a woman in Tulsa, Okla back in the 1960s.
Terminal velocity for wire mesh is about 1m/s. You are absolutely correct that it's about kinetic energy, not size. But in this case the kinetic energy of 100g moving at 1m/s is not something one has to worry about. --
> I've never seen any answer to why the Mir space
> station hasn't been included in space station
> alpha instead of jetisonned.
I am not an aeronautical engineer (IANAAE), so I'll just be touching a couple of points that I can think of. The reality will be much worse.
First, there is the question of orbit. Mir is in the wrong orbit. Mir's orbit is inclined so far that Atlantis is the only space shuttle that can get to it and carry the slightest bit of load. If we were to use Mir, we'd either have to change it's orbital inclination (using dozens of Russian progress tankers), or forget about the US being able to participate in any meaningful way.
Secondly, Mir vibrates too much. ISS's biggest headache is to keep the station extremely still so that experiments like crystal growth can be cunducted. Bolting noisy old Mir onto the side of ISS would destroy your ability to do good science.
Thirdly, you would loose Mir's zero-gravity lab. On a space station complex, only the module at the station's center of gravity has true zero-gravity. All other modules have a very slight gravity pulling the contents towards the outside of the station. The larger the station, the worse this gets. It is enough that crystal growth experiments can't be conducted anywhere but one place.
Fourth, Mir doesn't meet ISS's safety code. The rules on ISS are that no single failure can endanger the mission objectives, no double failure can endanger the crew. Mir was built using a more economical philosophy whereby if duct tape would fix it, it was ok.
Fifth, ISS was designed from the ground up to be maintained robotically. Up to now we've seen one (dangerous) space walk after another. This practice stops as of the next mission. That's when Canada's robotic arm gets installed. Every part of ISS is designed to be accessible to this arm. There are data grapples, optical markers, and other aids all over. Spacewalks will become extremely rare. Mir has no provision for external robotic maintenance.
Sixth, Mir is way beyond the end of its life-span. Things are starting to break and wear out at an alarming rate. Much of the crew's time is spent just keeping the station alive. Starting from scratch means you can spend more time on science then fixing the ventalation system.
As I said before, I am not an aeronautical engineer, and the preceeding would just be the tip of the iceberg. It is certainly simpler to start from scratch, having learned the lessons of Mir. --
I recently got spam offering some product that was guaranteed to make me "look and feel 20 years younger". I'm sorry, but I don't want to be six again. --
Slashdot Mirror
The CanadaHand (SPDM) will have fifteen joints, two hands, stereo vision, and tactile sensors. Once it is installed, there will be very few EVAs on the space station.
--
The Canadarms on the shuttles have "Canada" written in large red letters down the side. Fair enough. But what's interesting is that the best views from the shuttles often come from the camera mounted on the elbow of the Canadarm. As a result a large number of lovely NASA pictures have "Canada" written quite prominently in the foreground.
NASA got really annoyed at this and as a result a huge US flag started appearing on the back wall of the cargo bay on any mission that was planning on using the arm.
--
Or, maybe we will get riskier games that don't cater to the lowest common denominator. Where are the nerd and geek games? The reason they don't exist is that the market for them is too small to bother with. By factoring in the extra revenue of in-game adverts, these niche markets could become financially viable.
--
The problem with either method is what you do when you discover a shy little planet that you hadn't noticed before? Renumber all the planets? That's why I suspect that it would be more realistic to number planets large to small, or in order of discovery (which would probably be the same order anyway).
Of course planets usually have moons, so you've got to add decimals to your numbers, or append a letter.
--
Nope, it's the lzip compression you really want to avoid.
--
Oops, sorry. Thought it was going to be a parody making fun aboot the folks in Canada, eh?
--
- Elmer Fudd (4%)
- Hacker (17%)
- Kannada (2%)
- Klingon (2%) -- WooHoo! Can't wait!
- Pig Latin (73%)
Borkborkbork is just the tip of the iceberg!--
Oops, when she said this, she was just the Chancellor's daughter. She didn't become Chancellor for another few hours.
If I don't post this correction, I'm sure to get flamed from here to Rura Penthe.
--
"'Human Rights'. Why the very name is racist."
-- Azetbur (Klingon Chancellor, ST6)
--
> but then again, while I'm reading a webpage, my mouse would continually
> be hovering over the text I'm reading.
Interesting point. But would it be true. After all, any object that doesn't move around on the retina vanishes. I'd read about his in a couple of text books, but never experienced it until I was trying to out-stare a dog. We were gazing at each other for several minutes when slowly my vision started to fade to grey. The scene on my retna hadn't changed, so it was compensating for what it thought was an optical artifact.
So if your eye-tracking mouse was so good that it didn't shift or shimmer as you moved your eyes, I think it would vanish after a couple of minutes. Only to reappear in inverse colours the moment you look away from the screen.
--
India has had this 'technology' for centuries. As this photo proves.
--
What else do you call a bunch of people with a shared currency, a shared military, a shared government and a shared space program?
France and Germany are both using the term "super-state". Meanwhile Britain is just sitting on the fence; too nervous to join, too scared to be left behind.
--
> such microscopic depth on the internet? Let's
> say there is a story posted on CNN about Joe
> Politician doing something naughty. Where can I
> go to get more detailed, accurate information
> that is better than what the major news outlets publish?
Extremely good point. When I posted the parent message I was thinking more of the type of things that I'm interested in. For instance I'll read on spaceflightnow.com about a new telescope Nasa is thinking of building. That got me interested, and after reading their article, I then started trawling the web looking for more information, eventually ending up with what amounted to blueprints for said telescope. I now have a detailed understanding of the subject.
I'll grant that this level of microscopic examination doesn't always work, especially for topics like your example of sleasy politicians. But I'm a nuts and bolts type of guy, and politicians (sleasy or otherwise) just don't interest me. Thus, "me-media" works for me.
--
> partly because they protect against fragmentation
> and extremism, a predictable outcome when
> like-minded people communicate only with one another."
The problem with mass-media is that in order to survive it must have mass-appeal. Consequently, mass-media tends to be extremely shallow in its treatment of issues, since they know that for any story, 80% of the audience aren't interested in it. So they have to keep moving from topic to topic trying to keep their audience from becoming bored.
With "Me Media" I can point a microscope at one story, and delve far beneath the surface. In doing so I've aquired an understanding about a particular topic, not just been exposed to a dozen one-liners that will all be forgotten the next day.
I'll grant that "Me Media" produces less conformity (whether this is a bad thing or not is a separate discussion). But one cannot deny that mass-media is a lot shallower.
--
Took just a few minutes to slashdot that server. Here is a mirror based on what I was able to download.
--
It should go without saying that the Jargon File should be required reading. Not only is it informative, but it is also extremely funny.
--
> of how to attract the hackers having 'by
> programmers for scientists' - attitude?"
My suggestion would be to post your appeal in a public forum. Somewhere that caters to hackers. Hmm, can't think of where you might find such a place...
--
The expectation was that after consistently being defaced every time spam was sent out, the boss would think that spam was more trouble than it was worth. As it turned out, we never had to resort to this plan, since the company was driven into the ground first.
--
Touch CSS, and watch Netscape 4x become virtually unusable. I would love to use CSS, but I can't for at least another year until NS 4 goes away.
--
I suppose that mentioning that the Germans loose the war would be a huge spoiler?
--
Throughout history we are quick to destroy anything that is obsolete, without thinking that within a short period of time the offending object will become historic and priceless. "Colossus" the first computer, "Rocket" the first locomotive and all the great airships are just some examples of things that were destroyed without a thought to posterity.
--
The item in question was a peice of wire mesh from a Delta rocket that hit a woman in Tulsa, Okla back in the 1960s.
Terminal velocity for wire mesh is about 1m/s. You are absolutely correct that it's about kinetic energy, not size. But in this case the kinetic energy of 100g moving at 1m/s is not something one has to worry about.
--
> station hasn't been included in space station
> alpha instead of jetisonned.
I am not an aeronautical engineer (IANAAE), so I'll just be touching a couple of points that I can think of. The reality will be much worse.
First, there is the question of orbit. Mir is in the wrong orbit. Mir's orbit is inclined so far that Atlantis is the only space shuttle that can get to it and carry the slightest bit of load. If we were to use Mir, we'd either have to change it's orbital inclination (using dozens of Russian progress tankers), or forget about the US being able to participate in any meaningful way.
Secondly, Mir vibrates too much. ISS's biggest headache is to keep the station extremely still so that experiments like crystal growth can be cunducted. Bolting noisy old Mir onto the side of ISS would destroy your ability to do good science.
Thirdly, you would loose Mir's zero-gravity lab. On a space station complex, only the module at the station's center of gravity has true zero-gravity. All other modules have a very slight gravity pulling the contents towards the outside of the station. The larger the station, the worse this gets. It is enough that crystal growth experiments can't be conducted anywhere but one place.
Fourth, Mir doesn't meet ISS's safety code. The rules on ISS are that no single failure can endanger the mission objectives, no double failure can endanger the crew. Mir was built using a more economical philosophy whereby if duct tape would fix it, it was ok.
Fifth, ISS was designed from the ground up to be maintained robotically. Up to now we've seen one (dangerous) space walk after another. This practice stops as of the next mission. That's when Canada's robotic arm gets installed. Every part of ISS is designed to be accessible to this arm. There are data grapples, optical markers, and other aids all over. Spacewalks will become extremely rare. Mir has no provision for external robotic maintenance.
Sixth, Mir is way beyond the end of its life-span. Things are starting to break and wear out at an alarming rate. Much of the crew's time is spent just keeping the station alive. Starting from scratch means you can spend more time on science then fixing the ventalation system.
As I said before, I am not an aeronautical engineer, and the preceeding would just be the tip of the iceberg. It is certainly simpler to start from scratch, having learned the lessons of Mir.
--
I recently got spam offering some product that was guaranteed to make me "look and feel 20 years younger". I'm sorry, but I don't want to be six again.
--
That I'm a karma-whore who saw an article about Pi, and ran over to dmoz to find an 'interesting' or 'informative' URL. :)
--