While the U.S has reasons for the enduring trade embargo, providing them access to such information could very well have positive effects for the U.S., not to mention the cuban public.
And yeah, it is kind of idealist, but making information readily available (potentially) gives the Cuban public a powerful tool to guide their own country... I could see how that would benefit both America AND the Cuban people. "The pen is mightier than the sword"
What we've been doing so far has just been punishment for being non-democratic, but what could be far more useful and helpful would be only offering Cuba the tools of undoing their very own dictatorship, such as access to the Internet and other forms of communication. This is also fits nicely with Cuba's new found freedoms under Raul, including access to some new technologies (cell phones, in particular).
I mean really... Does anyone with a lick of sense actually give their real name to a free web-based service?
I have difficulty believing the title of my reply will become true. I'd like to believe no one will ever let this happen, but here's a recent Slashdot post that raises some alarm:
"The access to MySpace was unauthorized because using a fake name violated the terms of service. The information from a "protected computer" was the profiles of other MySpace users. If this is found to be a valid interpretation of the law, it's really quite frightening. If you violate the Terms of Service of a website, you can be charged with hacking. That's an astounding concept. Does this mean that everyone who uses Bugmenot could be prosecuted? Also, this isn't a minor crime, it's a felony punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment per count. In Drew's case she was charged with three counts for accessing MySpace on three different occasions."
They haven't been a content provider for several years. Now they just make their money by billing your grandmother for service she canceled 10 years ago.
... So I'll make sure mine does. My argument might be that Apple computers - while they do not typically represent a great value - They really aren't as over priced as everyone tries to make them sound. I'm far from an Apple fanatic, but I have to tell you, I get tired of seeing people argue something they've made no effort to crunch numbers on.
For example, their $2800 Mac Pro Desktop has Dual 2.8Ghz Xeons (Harpertown, quad-core). On Newegg, they are each over $700 a pop. The board to put them in is a Dual 771 socket Intel board. Newegg lists a PC version of this for $650. The Mac Pro also includes 2GB of *buffered* ECC DDR-2 800Mhz. Registered RAM is considerably more expensive and I'm sure that'll run you at least $100.
($700 x 2) + $650 + $150 = $2200. I can probably stop here, but don't forget the snazzy case + 320GB hard drive + mediocre Radeon HD 2600 XT + pretty nice keyboard and mouse + support and warranty and that fantastic Apple packaging.. That doesn't really leave a lot for profit, does it?:\
I can do simliar comparisons with the Macbook and other Apple computers. Would you like me to? And true - they aren't budget computers - but you know what, they aren't a bad value for the speed, features and quality that you get. Even more specialized systems like the Mac Mini and iMac really aren't bad values when you factor in the unique design and functionality. Then there's those cool things like firewire target disk mode and magsafe that you just don't see on PCs... This is worth extra money and you pay for that, which I think these unique things could be considered part of the "Apple experience".
Apple doesn't do a very good job catering to gamers since their video cards are rarely 'cutting edge', but explain to me again how Apple is so egregiously overpriced for what you get?
XML tags are lowercase except...
on
Linux 2.6.26 Out
·
· Score: 1
Well, if you're going to be picky... except for the DOCTYPE which validates in all-caps.
After his relationship became fragmented Resier rm'oved his wife by forking her to death and packed her tail in a shallow grave he allocated in the dirt near some trees. He was almost unlinked to the case, but he really fsck'd up afterward, because the fool wrote all the details of the murder in his journal!
After being out-of-order in court, he spilled the encryptic details about where his wife was stored and from there on, the jury knew he was corrupted. Strangely enough, due to his cooperation, officials didn't even have to raid his home...
You know what though...? inode he was a criminal all along.
There, I'm glad to have gotten that out of my system.
my gas mileage went from 21 in the summer to 17 in the winter (which wasn't why.) My most recent car has air pressure sensors on the tires so I noticed that during the winter months the air pressure in the tires dropped from 35psi to about 28psi (cold air shrinks) - when I pressured up my tires to the suggested 35psi, my gas mileage went right back to 21mpg.
I challenge your claim of a 20% MPG savings as a result of inflating your tires by about 20%... Believe what you will, but I can tell you from experience that this was very much not true for me.
Filling or over-filling your tires sounds good on paper and it does have a measurable effect according to sites like Edmunds and fueleconomy.gov (About 3%). So, I decided to make my own test. I purposely deflated each of my tires from their current 32-33 PSI to 25 PSI and measure my gasoline usage each time I filled up. Unlike your situation, the weather was warm; however, I saw little difference in my MPG. I drove the same exact way to the same places during the same times with the same load using the same gasoline from the same gas station. And to rule out a fluke, I tried this twice... with nearly identical results.
The trend showed that properly inflated tires help, but only very slightly. Both my first and second runs resulted in a savings of less thn 2%.
There could be other factors at work in my situation. But, I'm very sure inflating your tires did not account for nearly 20% of your MPG... It *does* help in some small way, but there was obviously something else happening because 20% is huge. It isn't like the circumference of your tires increased by 20%... or even at all (especially if you have radials). The total volume increases, but the sidewalls of your tires bear the brunt of of it, not the belt. It does decrease friction though - which is where you save gasoline - by narrowing the contact point between your tires and the road. But there's no way in hell it accounts for 20% of your gasoline usage.
It's not quartz, but I have a friend with a guitar that has a glass body. It's heavy and solid, but it sounds 'harsh'. It's easily one of the worst sounding guitars I've heard, so I'm pretty sure weight isn't the only consideration.
If you are looking for primarily storage and occasional access, let the Internet do what it does best - store data.
There's security in diversity, so as many mediums as you can would be ideal, but the Internet offers the single best solution IMO.
Your data will be stored off-site, backed up on fault tolerant computers designed to be the pillars of reliable accessibility. The main concern would be finding a company that is going to stick around, which I don't think is all *that* difficult. Google is a good example of something that will probably be around for awhile and offers a tremendous amount of storage space for a reasonable amount of money... arguably less than you might pay for a home-brew solution. And when Google is on its way out for whatever erason, move on to the next big thing in 5-10 years. You even have the added benefit of having access to your photos from anywhere.
The obvious draw back, of course, are download speeds (in the U.S., at least). With the increasing penetration of faster service though, this won't be such an issue in a few to several years.
And regardless of what solution you choose, I believe it is important to have a backup of your backup as well, on some other medium. Online + Optical media, probably represents the best bang for your buck and a pretty safe bet.
TFA: "Why don't we use wireless networks to reduce the traffic on the wired infrastructure?"
Well, eventually there *is* going to be a wire.:)
Making high-bandwidth *wired* infrastructure affordable should be our priority, since cost seems to be the biggest issue with last-mile lines... That's really where most of the traffic issues present themselves... When you have 200 people sharing a single hub.
I'm going to assume this actually means, "Almost all of your land is used", given the context it was put in.
Where did you get this information from?
I've heard from plenty of other people that the U.S. has vasts amount of open land and after traveling to quite a few places in the U.S., it sure seems like it.
As of 2002, farmland takes up just about 43% of the U.S. That sounds like quite a bit, but it also shows that about half of of our pastureland and woodland are not in use (read: still available). If that's the case, there is some legroom for bio fuels. You made it sound as if the U.S. would certainly have to cut sustenance production to do anything with bio fuels. I think this notion is false.
Actually... This could have been the first post, not the first post, or both.
And even though you had pressed submit, you probably wouldn't be able to find out anyway.
The iPhone is hard to break... If you hose it through a firmware update or jailbreaking it - recovery mode works regardless.
* Turn your iPhone on
* While it is on, hold the lock (button on the top) and home (button on the lower front) buttons down.
* Continue holding both buttons until the screen goes black (just a few seconds after the apple logo appears)
* Let go of the top button. Continue holding the Home button for several seconds.
* Plug your iPhone into your computer.
iTunes will detect your phone in 'Restore mode'
Recover your phone using the latest firmware. If you want to use older firmware (1.1.4 works just fine with Ziphone, BTW), hold the shift key as you click on firmware update button and you can browse for a firmware file (You will have to download an older firmware manually to load onto your iPhone using this method).
"and has a small 800 x 480 pixel 7" touchscreen" - TFA
This is instantly FAR from perfect... In fact - hardly usable - IMO.
I don't care if this thing makes hot grits for me in the morning. There is no saving grace for a $1500 laptop that can't display most of the web sites I visit in their entire width.
Very true, indeed. It don't think this was completely result of intimidation & power - ie. The president will send his goons to break someone's kneecaps.
Another angle I'm thinking about is 'right choice' vs the 'lawful choice'. The idea here is that the right choice isn't always the lawful one (which is true, IMO). Unfortunately (but sometimes fortunately), this gives people who believe so soundly in their judgment validation for making an unlawful decision for the 'greater good'. I'm thinking of the blurred (what was once a much clearer) line between patriotism and lawful rights that could make a company's decision less square when in this position.
For example, consider the possibility of senior members of companies like Verizon being told by the president's staff that their cooperation is necessary for the greater good of the nation. They were probably told that if they don't comply with the request, "intelligence shows" that plane-strikes and dirty-bombs in major U.S cities would be "imminent" etc... And given the time period in which these decisions were made, such 'intelligence' would have been especially unnerving and therefore, fairly compelling reasons to violate privacy laws.
What makes things even worse is privacy violation is is one of those "If I ain't caught speeding, then speeding ain't breakin' the law" situations. Because of this, I can just picture telco top execs discussing this in a meeting and thinking, "We invade people's privacy and no knows, so know one is hurt - OR - we watch thousands upon thousands of people die again". There's no telling how much FUD the government shoveled onto companies like Verizon, AT&T etc... but with enough of it, I can definitely imagine wire-tapping seeming like the popular choice for 'the good of America'... and all of this could have been achieved without broken kneecaps, courtesy of the president.
Also, it wouldn't surprise me if these telcos were also unofficially promised immunity if something DID happen. Heh. If that's true, that certainly isn't the case any more. But if there are more serious legal ramifications and people involved start going to jail, Bush could break out his big pardon stick...
Perhaps I'm mistaken as I didn't RTFA, but from what I'm hearing, the government still isn't being held accountable.
While obviously telecoms KNEW better, its hard to say 'no' to your nation's president. Now, telecoms are going to take the brunt of the repercussions while the REAL reason this stuff happened (abuse of intimidation by the executive branch) goes unpunished. And yes, I'm sure it will go unpunished - at least on an individual level - as the upper crust of government officials (by law) cannot be sued as a result of doing their 'job'...
The difference between 'liberal' and 'conservative' is much like salt and pepper. The flavor is tremendously different and use to flavor different things... But they are still seasonings and still used on a lot of the same food because they do the same thing - add flavor.
Democrats and Republicans are very similar in that they ARE the government. There is an extreme conflict of interest between the government itself and the people's interests. Both want to expand government, but for different reasons.
Why don't we set up these polls that will have the hardware on top!
Don't be impollite! Maybe he's excited about the upcoming 2008 U.S. presidential election? Then again, that might not be the reason if he lives elsewhere, like in Polland... and if he's Pollish, that would mean he may not be so interested in U.S pollitics, right?
Oh well, this was just some unrefined extrapollation... Never mind, I forgot where I was going with this.
Statistics? Based on what sample size... what probability? How can you claim the Universe dictates there are other 'Earths' out there based on statistics?:\
I would imagine it is certainly more likely than zero and I understand where you're coming from, but "certainly more likely than zero" is hardly mathematical proof. You say it with such factual certainty that is sort of a disservice to people. I would make it sound more like an assumption than throwing it out there as an indisputable truth.
So yes, I have to say NO, it isn't statistically imperative - not YET at least - until we can calculate and express the entire Universe and its events as mathematical formulas... And I don't ever see that happening.
In short, it's wrong to assume more Earths HAVE to be out there... It sounds likely because the Universe is (for most human purposes) infinite, but sounding like and being unavoidably certain are two different things.
Slashdot Mirror
Anyone who thinks that the US maintains the embargo against the Cubans is because they're undemocratic is ignorant or deluded.
That would be me.
And yeah, it is kind of idealist, but making information readily available (potentially) gives the Cuban public a powerful tool to guide their own country... I could see how that would benefit both America AND the Cuban people. "The pen is mightier than the sword"
What we've been doing so far has just been punishment for being non-democratic, but what could be far more useful and helpful would be only offering Cuba the tools of undoing their very own dictatorship, such as access to the Internet and other forms of communication. This is also fits nicely with Cuba's new found freedoms under Raul, including access to some new technologies (cell phones, in particular).
I mean really... Does anyone with a lick of sense actually give their real name to a free web-based service?
I have difficulty believing the title of my reply will become true. I'd like to believe no one will ever let this happen, but here's a recent Slashdot post that raises some alarm:
"The access to MySpace was unauthorized because using a fake name violated the terms of service. The information from a "protected computer" was the profiles of other MySpace users. If this is found to be a valid interpretation of the law, it's really quite frightening. If you violate the Terms of Service of a website, you can be charged with hacking. That's an astounding concept. Does this mean that everyone who uses Bugmenot could be prosecuted? Also, this isn't a minor crime, it's a felony punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment per count. In Drew's case she was charged with three counts for accessing MySpace on three different occasions."
N/T
They haven't been a content provider for several years. Now they just make their money by billing your grandmother for service she canceled 10 years ago.
WTF is MS thinking these days...
Welcome to Web 1.0...
... So I'll make sure mine does. My argument might be that Apple computers - while they do not typically represent a great value - They really aren't as over priced as everyone tries to make them sound. I'm far from an Apple fanatic, but I have to tell you, I get tired of seeing people argue something they've made no effort to crunch numbers on.
For example, their $2800 Mac Pro Desktop has Dual 2.8Ghz Xeons (Harpertown, quad-core). On Newegg, they are each over $700 a pop. The board to put them in is a Dual 771 socket Intel board. Newegg lists a PC version of this for $650. The Mac Pro also includes 2GB of *buffered* ECC DDR-2 800Mhz. Registered RAM is considerably more expensive and I'm sure that'll run you at least $100.
($700 x 2) + $650 + $150 = $2200. I can probably stop here, but don't forget the snazzy case + 320GB hard drive + mediocre Radeon HD 2600 XT + pretty nice keyboard and mouse + support and warranty and that fantastic Apple packaging.. That doesn't really leave a lot for profit, does it? :\
I can do simliar comparisons with the Macbook and other Apple computers. Would you like me to? And true - they aren't budget computers - but you know what, they aren't a bad value for the speed, features and quality that you get. Even more specialized systems like the Mac Mini and iMac really aren't bad values when you factor in the unique design and functionality. Then there's those cool things like firewire target disk mode and magsafe that you just don't see on PCs... This is worth extra money and you pay for that, which I think these unique things could be considered part of the "Apple experience".
Apple doesn't do a very good job catering to gamers since their video cards are rarely 'cutting edge', but explain to me again how Apple is so egregiously overpriced for what you get?
Well, if you're going to be picky... except for the DOCTYPE which validates in all-caps.
After being out-of-order in court, he spilled the encryptic details about where his wife was stored and from there on, the jury knew he was corrupted. Strangely enough, due to his cooperation, officials didn't even have to raid his home...
You know what though...? inode he was a criminal all along.
There, I'm glad to have gotten that out of my system.
I challenge your claim of a 20% MPG savings as a result of inflating your tires by about 20%... Believe what you will, but I can tell you from experience that this was very much not true for me.
Filling or over-filling your tires sounds good on paper and it does have a measurable effect according to sites like Edmunds and fueleconomy.gov (About 3%). So, I decided to make my own test. I purposely deflated each of my tires from their current 32-33 PSI to 25 PSI and measure my gasoline usage each time I filled up. Unlike your situation, the weather was warm; however, I saw little difference in my MPG. I drove the same exact way to the same places during the same times with the same load using the same gasoline from the same gas station. And to rule out a fluke, I tried this twice... with nearly identical results.
The trend showed that properly inflated tires help, but only very slightly. Both my first and second runs resulted in a savings of less thn 2%. There could be other factors at work in my situation. But, I'm very sure inflating your tires did not account for nearly 20% of your MPG... It *does* help in some small way, but there was obviously something else happening because 20% is huge. It isn't like the circumference of your tires increased by 20%... or even at all (especially if you have radials). The total volume increases, but the sidewalls of your tires bear the brunt of of it, not the belt. It does decrease friction though - which is where you save gasoline - by narrowing the contact point between your tires and the road. But there's no way in hell it accounts for 20% of your gasoline usage.
It's not quartz, but I have a friend with a guitar that has a glass body. It's heavy and solid, but it sounds 'harsh'. It's easily one of the worst sounding guitars I've heard, so I'm pretty sure weight isn't the only consideration.
There's security in diversity, so as many mediums as you can would be ideal, but the Internet offers the single best solution IMO.
Your data will be stored off-site, backed up on fault tolerant computers designed to be the pillars of reliable accessibility. The main concern would be finding a company that is going to stick around, which I don't think is all *that* difficult. Google is a good example of something that will probably be around for awhile and offers a tremendous amount of storage space for a reasonable amount of money... arguably less than you might pay for a home-brew solution. And when Google is on its way out for whatever erason, move on to the next big thing in 5-10 years. You even have the added benefit of having access to your photos from anywhere.
The obvious draw back, of course, are download speeds (in the U.S., at least). With the increasing penetration of faster service though, this won't be such an issue in a few to several years.
And regardless of what solution you choose, I believe it is important to have a backup of your backup as well, on some other medium. Online + Optical media, probably represents the best bang for your buck and a pretty safe bet.
Well, eventually there *is* going to be a wire. :)
Making high-bandwidth *wired* infrastructure affordable should be our priority, since cost seems to be the biggest issue with last-mile lines... That's really where most of the traffic issues present themselves... When you have 200 people sharing a single hub.
Where did you get this information from?
I've heard from plenty of other people that the U.S. has vasts amount of open land and after traveling to quite a few places in the U.S., it sure seems like it.
Some relevant statistics here.
As of 2002, farmland takes up just about 43% of the U.S. That sounds like quite a bit, but it also shows that about half of of our pastureland and woodland are not in use (read: still available). If that's the case, there is some legroom for bio fuels. You made it sound as if the U.S. would certainly have to cut sustenance production to do anything with bio fuels. I think this notion is false.
Actually... This could have been the first post, not the first post, or both. And even though you had pressed submit, you probably wouldn't be able to find out anyway.
The difference is supposedly real. BUT... as digital media improves with higher sample rates, this gap should close. Here is a which should tell you that digital media 'samples' audio data so many times a second. Because it is not a continuous stream of the source audio - but periodic samples of the original source - quality is lost. I'm sure you'd need a damn good vinyl player to enjoy it, but on paper, vinyl is potentially better than CDs. Of course, I'm perfectly content with my MP3s though...
I don't care if this thing makes hot grits for me in the morning. There is no saving grace for a $1500 laptop that can't display most of the web sites I visit in their entire width.
Very true, indeed. It don't think this was completely result of intimidation & power - ie. The president will send his goons to break someone's kneecaps.
Another angle I'm thinking about is 'right choice' vs the 'lawful choice'. The idea here is that the right choice isn't always the lawful one (which is true, IMO). Unfortunately (but sometimes fortunately), this gives people who believe so soundly in their judgment validation for making an unlawful decision for the 'greater good'. I'm thinking of the blurred (what was once a much clearer) line between patriotism and lawful rights that could make a company's decision less square when in this position.
For example, consider the possibility of senior members of companies like Verizon being told by the president's staff that their cooperation is necessary for the greater good of the nation. They were probably told that if they don't comply with the request, "intelligence shows" that plane-strikes and dirty-bombs in major U.S cities would be "imminent" etc... And given the time period in which these decisions were made, such 'intelligence' would have been especially unnerving and therefore, fairly compelling reasons to violate privacy laws.
What makes things even worse is privacy violation is is one of those "If I ain't caught speeding, then speeding ain't breakin' the law" situations. Because of this, I can just picture telco top execs discussing this in a meeting and thinking, "We invade people's privacy and no knows, so know one is hurt - OR - we watch thousands upon thousands of people die again". There's no telling how much FUD the government shoveled onto companies like Verizon, AT&T etc... but with enough of it, I can definitely imagine wire-tapping seeming like the popular choice for 'the good of America'... and all of this could have been achieved without broken kneecaps, courtesy of the president.
Also, it wouldn't surprise me if these telcos were also unofficially promised immunity if something DID happen. Heh. If that's true, that certainly isn't the case any more. But if there are more serious legal ramifications and people involved start going to jail, Bush could break out his big pardon stick...
I think this is B.S, and here is why...
Perhaps I'm mistaken as I didn't RTFA, but from what I'm hearing, the government still isn't being held accountable.
While obviously telecoms KNEW better, its hard to say 'no' to your nation's president. Now, telecoms are going to take the brunt of the repercussions while the REAL reason this stuff happened (abuse of intimidation by the executive branch) goes unpunished. And yes, I'm sure it will go unpunished - at least on an individual level - as the upper crust of government officials (by law) cannot be sued as a result of doing their 'job'...
Sounds much better, doesn't it?
The difference between 'liberal' and 'conservative' is much like salt and pepper. The flavor is tremendously different and use to flavor different things... But they are still seasonings and still used on a lot of the same food because they do the same thing - add flavor. Democrats and Republicans are very similar in that they ARE the government. There is an extreme conflict of interest between the government itself and the people's interests. Both want to expand government, but for different reasons.
NT
Oh well, this was just some unrefined extrapollation... Never mind, I forgot where I was going with this.
OK, I'm off to work on my Pollitzer Prize piece.
Statistics? Based on what sample size... what probability? How can you claim the Universe dictates there are other 'Earths' out there based on statistics? :\
I would imagine it is certainly more likely than zero and I understand where you're coming from, but "certainly more likely than zero" is hardly mathematical proof. You say it with such factual certainty that is sort of a disservice to people. I would make it sound more like an assumption than throwing it out there as an indisputable truth. So yes, I have to say NO, it isn't statistically imperative - not YET at least - until we can calculate and express the entire Universe and its events as mathematical formulas... And I don't ever see that happening. In short, it's wrong to assume more Earths HAVE to be out there... It sounds likely because the Universe is (for most human purposes) infinite, but sounding like and being unavoidably certain are two different things.