Inkjets and the "worst documented century ever"
on
RMS On eBooks
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· Score: 1
I just did some research before buying an inkjet printer, because I wished to make sure that I could produce documents that would last. It turns out that the standard inks and papers available for the common inkjet printers are unstable.
After only a couple of years, there's noticeable degradation in color printouts made with the common color printers. For some data on this, search the Web for the words "archival" and "inkjet." The results of the tests made by Henry Wilhelm are most interesting.
What I found is that Epson's color inkjets attracted enough artists that there's a market for third-party papers and inks for Epson's printers. To my surprise I was unable to find any such inks for H-P inkjets. Caveat Emptor!
Re:_Sirius_ ; Stapledon and Wells
on
Star Maker
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· Score: 2
This book is late Stapledon, an elegiac exploration of the theme of nature versus nurture that Stapledon and Wells argued about in print in the '30s.
Stapledon argues that our biologies limit us, so the dog's fate is determined by his character. The dog has the intelligence of homo sapiens, but the spirit of a dog.
Wells' solid grounding in Biology and understanding of Science allowed him to project a future of disturbing consequences of technological change. He, a Victorian Socialist and member of the Fabian Society, believed in the perfectibility of human society. He saw that perfectibility as desireable for its own sake and necessary given the disturbing futures he could project.
He spent most of his life trying to convince his contemporaries that it was possible and necessary to found a World State to provide a just society that would allow humanity to escape the ugly consequences of that future.
His abilities as prognisticator and social critic left him struggling with despair at the failure of the West to found that World State. This might have something to do with title of his last book, written while his health was failing: Mind at the End of Its Tether.
Anyone who thinks current struggles with Mattel over censorware, the DVDCCA over DeCSS and Microsoft over everything are something unexpected ought to read Wells' "A Story of the Days to Come" and "When the Sleeper Wakes." These are written in the same Future History as The Time Machine, but the action takes place in a near-term future .
Anyone who thinks that their Socialism made the Fabians completely wrong ought to read at those three works and ask themselves how to solve the problems identified by those Victorian Socialist reformers. Those problems are still with us.
Maybe it's time for a detailed SlashDot book review of Wells' Future History.
I take it that you never read the "Whatever Happened To..." column or the technical reviews? They remained meaty long after those of PC Magazine were de-fanged, and addressed the concerns of the average consumer long after those of Byte focused on the corporate buyer.
I hope that hasn't changed, though I wouldnt' be surprised, since I can now research hardware and shop without a hard-copy magazine.
Since we're discussing the failures of the people who predict the future, you might wish to read Chesterton's first novel, published in 1904, which is a masterpiece. The section that opens the novel, "Introductory Remarks on the Art of Prophecy," summarizes the sorts of predictions of the future that were common in Chesterton's day and the reaction of the people who were the subjects of those predictions.
Judging from the other responses to Katz's musings, the nature of prediction hasn't changed much since Chesterton's day, and the novel's take on the fate of such prophecies is both enlightening and extremely funny.
For the book-lovers out there, here's another recommendation for Napoleon. John Crowley quotes those Introductory Remarks in his World Fantasy Award winner, Little, Big.
Slashdot Mirror
After only a couple of years, there's noticeable degradation in color printouts made with the common color printers. For some data on this, search the Web for the words "archival" and "inkjet." The results of the tests made by Henry Wilhelm are most interesting.
Some of the test results are available, as is an introductions to inkjet technology and longevity.
What I found is that Epson's color inkjets attracted enough artists that there's a market for third-party papers and inks for Epson's printers. To my surprise I was unable to find any such inks for H-P inkjets. Caveat Emptor!
Stapledon argues that our biologies limit us, so the dog's fate is determined by his character. The dog has the intelligence of homo sapiens, but the spirit of a dog.
Wells' solid grounding in Biology and understanding of Science allowed him to project a future of disturbing consequences of technological change. He, a Victorian Socialist and member of the Fabian Society, believed in the perfectibility of human society. He saw that perfectibility as desireable for its own sake and necessary given the disturbing futures he could project.
He spent most of his life trying to convince his contemporaries that it was possible and necessary to found a World State to provide a just society that would allow humanity to escape the ugly consequences of that future.
His abilities as prognisticator and social critic left him struggling with despair at the failure of the West to found that World State. This might have something to do with title of his last book, written while his health was failing: Mind at the End of Its Tether.
Anyone who thinks current struggles with Mattel over censorware, the DVDCCA over DeCSS and Microsoft over everything are something unexpected ought to read Wells' "A Story of the Days to Come" and "When the Sleeper Wakes." These are written in the same Future History as The Time Machine, but the action takes place in a near-term future .
Anyone who thinks that their Socialism made the Fabians completely wrong ought to read at those three works and ask themselves how to solve the problems identified by those Victorian Socialist reformers. Those problems are still with us.
Maybe it's time for a detailed SlashDot book review of Wells' Future History.
Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels. ISBN 0486219623.
Odd John and Sirius : Two Science Fiction Novels. ISBN 048621133
Dover's based in New York.
I hope that hasn't changed, though I wouldnt' be surprised, since I can now research hardware and shop without a hard-copy magazine.
Judging from the other responses to Katz's musings, the nature of prediction hasn't changed much since Chesterton's day, and the novel's take on the fate of such prophecies is both enlightening and extremely funny.
For the book-lovers out there, here's another recommendation for Napoleon. John Crowley quotes those Introductory Remarks in his World Fantasy Award winner, Little, Big.
If you want a quick skinny on Chesterton, try G. K. Chesterton