I think the reason you're so insistent is that both Google and Wolfram Alpha want to do Natural Language Processing really well. Think of Wolfram Alpha as a CAS with a bunch of data sets pre-loaded and a natural language front-end. Because that's what it is. It can be used as a search engine on very specific data sets, but it is not (only?) a search engine. All a search engine does is tell you what among the domain of things the engine is responsible for could be related to your query.
Saying that Wolfram Alpha is a search engine is like saying your laptop is a calculator -- you can make a case that it's true, but we all know that it is a terrible characterization (and really not true anyways.)
What we need is for people who drive poorly to be seriously punished.
Yes.
If a person is swerving all over the road, I don't give a damn why, he needs to be pulled of the road and have his license pulled until he learns to drive. The same for those who follow too close, obstruct traffic, and the like.
Yes. Because these aren't wildly arbitrary standards that would most definitely be selectively and (hopefully, although probably not) arbitrarily enforced.
...or the 300 pound guy who can probably drink four beers over the 'average' number of three and still be safe to drive
Since legislation is written in term of BAC and not in terms of "how many beers you had tonight," this is a non-issue. Also, even someone who weights 300 pounds would be close to/over.08 after 7 beers.
What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Those fundamental rights have been taken away
I understand why people who don't really care about the bill of rights evoke it in every single discussion -- it's a cheap rhetorical device that appeals to American populism, so that rational discourse becomes unequivocally associated with intellectual/authoritarian/nazi/commie attacks on fundamental rights.* But if you really are concerned with the right to due process, it's not a good call to insinuate that industry regulation is a dire threat to due process. You're just contributing to misinformation and confusion.
*ie, person X: "And the nth amendment..."; person Y: "That's no what the nth amendment says, it has never said that, and none of the founding fathers ever had that intention. Also, the courts would find that laughable"; person X: See! Person Y is purposefully limiting what the nth amendment says and revising history! They be nazis!"
Aside: Thees type of tests -- where you ask questions specific ways and gauge results -- are really useful if you'd like to do some experimentation with different search engines and avoid "bias." When I first tried Bing, I was astounded at how terrible it was. But my search results improved significantly when I stopped using "Google idioms," phrases that I know from past trial/error are very likely to get me a certain type of result from Google.
Switching search engines for a week is an interesting introspective exercise.
Does a company really have the power to decide who and what can be developed for a piece of hardware it makes?
Maybe; that question is very similar to the legality of jailbreaking and such.
Does a company really have the power to decide who and what can be developed for a piece of hardware it makes?
Mostly indirectly. A company can control:
Who gets to use their development libraries
Who gets to market products using their trademarks ("for the kinect")
Possibly (and this is pure speculation), contractual agreements with retailers and consumers provide Microsoft with other rights.
I thought this was part of American "First Sale" doctrine?
First Sale relates to resale rights, and (AFAIK IANAL) probably not much else. See wikipedia.
So, Microsoft can't stop you and your friends from making a non-distributed, privately used sex game for the kinect using entirely your own software and not distributing that game publically (of course, good luck with that.) If they can, that's bogus and your concerns about slippery slopes and the ability to limit freedoms are probably more justified.
All in all, I don't see much problem with this. History proves that if Microsoft gets too restrictive, both free and proprietary solutions will provide viable alternatives to those of us concerned with freedom.
From what I understand, this is not true. The reason is that you eye can notice a larger amount of green/blue combinations than the RGB combinations are capable of creating.
I enjoy the irony of the post -- there are two questions posted in the summary -- "is it hype" and "is it real." Answering no to both is perhaps appropriate to point out something along the lines of "it doesn't matter."
But I think a better single answer to both questions is "yes." That is, yes -- adding the pixel changes things. But yes, it is hype (in the sense that the difference isn't meaningful.)
The purpose of introduction the Y is to increase the colour gambit. Theoretically, more colors = more "realistic" images. I think that if you can notice the difference between a picture and the actual object (not in terms of dimension, but in therms of the actual colors) then it's likely that a larger colour gambit would be beneficial.
"Unless someone comes up with a tool...you won't be seeing Flash dying anytime soon." "with HTML5 as an emerging standard, Adobe is now going try to make the best darn-tootin' tools for creating HTML5 content"
"Segmented Keyboard for Portable Computer System" here
This one was. I had one for a few years. If you don't want to carry around a laptop, but want to have a full keyboard, the sj-series keyboards were great.
The summary indicates that this new method does not require a scripting language (which is the point -- still provide some access to an application for non-javascript browsers and/or paranoid users.) Given this piece of information, the methods you describe would not be consistent with what the author of this application is doing; therefore, this is something new (or at least not 'not new' because of the prior implementations you've described.)
Of course, we're all speculating because of the slashdotted article.
In my opinion, this is going to make google's spreadsheet application a viable alternative to some uses of excel. God knows Apps Script is easier to use than excel macros.
Don't get me wrong, there are some things that excel will always be used for, but google spreadsheets have so far been just useless enough without outside manipulation that most people have turned the option down.
Seems as if slashdot has entirely missed the point. The goal isn't to maliciously take down AT&T's networks, it's to demonstrate that either 1) AT&T is charging for services it's not capable of offering, or 2) that AT&T claims that the iPhone/3G users strain the network is hogwash.
I find it sort of ironic that the people who are most convinced that cops are corrupt power-mongering jerks tend to be the most likely to put themselves into a contentious position with police.
Most of the time, if you see a person who you this is Bad and Has A Gun, you would tend to stay out of their way.
Since quite a few are asking, I figured I'd provide the pertinent sections of TFAs.
According to an update in the Boing Boing article, Watts got out of the car to ask what was happening -- presumably because his car and/or person was being searched. When the officers refused to answer and told him to get back in the car, he asked the question again. At which point he was attacked, his property was seized, and he was asked to waive his Miranda rights.
Sounds like the unfortunate combination of a pissed off officer and a less-that-sympathetic citizen compounded by detectives/officers who get pissed when prisoners refuse to talk. I can empathize with both parties (first and second, not third -- right to remain silent means right to remain silent,) but -- assuming the accuracy of Watts' story -- the assault charge is probably trumped up. Convincing a judge of that is a whole different story.
actually, if you're primarily using the netbook at locations with an electrical hookup (ie, if battery life is not as large an issue) then using WDE would probably be the best approach.
Another solution would be to get a cheap VPS or shell hosting account and ssh -D 2020 host -X then run firefox from the shell acct. and treat the netbook like a thin(ner) client.
worksheets for pay = less worksheets = either less meaningless work or work with more meaning or both. In any case, stopping the proliferation of worksheets (even if just a little) is a good thing imho.
Slashdot Mirror
pop-ups as in http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/802841/pop-up-populism-how-the-temporary-architecture-craze-is-changing-our-relationship-to-the-built-environment
It is. And that's not what Wolfram Alpha does.
I think the reason you're so insistent is that both Google and Wolfram Alpha want to do Natural Language Processing really well. Think of Wolfram Alpha as a CAS with a bunch of data sets pre-loaded and a natural language front-end. Because that's what it is. It can be used as a search engine on very specific data sets, but it is not (only?) a search engine. All a search engine does is tell you what among the domain of things the engine is responsible for could be related to your query.
Saying that Wolfram Alpha is a search engine is like saying your laptop is a calculator -- you can make a case that it's true, but we all know that it is a terrible characterization (and really not true anyways.)
Yes.
If a person is swerving all over the road, I don't give a damn why, he needs to be pulled of the road and have his license pulled until he learns to drive. The same for those who follow too close, obstruct traffic, and the like.
Yes. Because these aren't wildly arbitrary standards that would most definitely be selectively and (hopefully, although probably not) arbitrarily enforced.
...or the 300 pound guy who can probably drink four beers over the 'average' number of three and still be safe to drive
Since legislation is written in term of BAC and not in terms of "how many beers you had tonight," this is a non-issue. Also, even someone who weights 300 pounds would be close to/over .08 after 7 beers.
What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Those fundamental rights have been taken away
I understand why people who don't really care about the bill of rights evoke it in every single discussion -- it's a cheap rhetorical device that appeals to American populism, so that rational discourse becomes unequivocally associated with intellectual/authoritarian/nazi/commie attacks on fundamental rights.* But if you really are concerned with the right to due process, it's not a good call to insinuate that industry regulation is a dire threat to due process. You're just contributing to misinformation and confusion.
*ie, person X: "And the nth amendment..."; person Y: "That's no what the nth amendment says, it has never said that, and none of the founding fathers ever had that intention. Also, the courts would find that laughable"; person X: See! Person Y is purposefully limiting what the nth amendment says and revising history! They be nazis!"
That it's not a search engine.
This post is now the top result on Bing. Win.
Aside: Thees type of tests -- where you ask questions specific ways and gauge results -- are really useful if you'd like to do some experimentation with different search engines and avoid "bias." When I first tried Bing, I was astounded at how terrible it was. But my search results improved significantly when I stopped using "Google idioms," phrases that I know from past trial/error are very likely to get me a certain type of result from Google.
Switching search engines for a week is an interesting introspective exercise.
Word on the street is that they've blocked outgoing BGP advertisements
You pay with your soul.
Maybe; that question is very similar to the legality of jailbreaking and such.
Does a company really have the power to decide who and what can be developed for a piece of hardware it makes?
Mostly indirectly. A company can control:
I thought this was part of American "First Sale" doctrine?
First Sale relates to resale rights, and (AFAIK IANAL) probably not much else. See wikipedia.
So, Microsoft can't stop you and your friends from making a non-distributed, privately used sex game for the kinect using entirely your own software and not distributing that game publically (of course, good luck with that.) If they can, that's bogus and your concerns about slippery slopes and the ability to limit freedoms are probably more justified.
All in all, I don't see much problem with this. History proves that if Microsoft gets too restrictive, both free and proprietary solutions will provide viable alternatives to those of us concerned with freedom.
markets are determined, more and more, not by investors' perception, but by investors' perception of investors' perception.
It's blackboard, but without patent trolling and general suckage.
physiologically, you can't tell the difference.
From what I understand, this is not true. The reason is that you eye can notice a larger amount of green/blue combinations than the RGB combinations are capable of creating.
I enjoy the irony of the post -- there are two questions posted in the summary -- "is it hype" and "is it real." Answering no to both is perhaps appropriate to point out something along the lines of "it doesn't matter."
But I think a better single answer to both questions is "yes." That is, yes -- adding the pixel changes things. But yes, it is hype (in the sense that the difference isn't meaningful.)
The purpose of introduction the Y is to increase the colour gambit. Theoretically, more colors = more "realistic" images. I think that if you can notice the difference between a picture and the actual object (not in terms of dimension, but in therms of the actual colors) then it's likely that a larger colour gambit would be beneficial.
"Unless someone comes up with a tool...you won't be seeing Flash dying anytime soon."
"with HTML5 as an emerging standard, Adobe is now going try to make the best darn-tootin' tools for creating HTML5 content"
Well then, I guess HTML5 has already won...
"Segmented Keyboard for Portable Computer System" here
This one was. I had one for a few years. If you don't want to carry around a laptop, but want to have a full keyboard, the sj-series keyboards were great.
The summary indicates that this new method does not require a scripting language (which is the point -- still provide some access to an application for non-javascript browsers and/or paranoid users.) Given this piece of information, the methods you describe would not be consistent with what the author of this application is doing; therefore, this is something new (or at least not 'not new' because of the prior implementations you've described.) Of course, we're all speculating because of the slashdotted article.
In my opinion, this is going to make google's spreadsheet application a viable alternative to some uses of excel. God knows Apps Script is easier to use than excel macros.
Don't get me wrong, there are some things that excel will always be used for, but google spreadsheets have so far been just useless enough without outside manipulation that most people have turned the option down.
So it's going to run Linux?
Seems as if slashdot has entirely missed the point. The goal isn't to maliciously take down AT&T's networks, it's to demonstrate that either 1) AT&T is charging for services it's not capable of offering, or 2) that AT&T claims that the iPhone/3G users strain the network is hogwash.
I'm curious, how do you determine your meta-mod status?
I find it sort of ironic that the people who are most convinced that cops are corrupt power-mongering jerks tend to be the most likely to put themselves into a contentious position with police.
Most of the time, if you see a person who you this is Bad and Has A Gun, you would tend to stay out of their way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_TfBbR6L0M (canadian idiot)
Since quite a few are asking, I figured I'd provide the pertinent sections of TFAs.
According to an update in the Boing Boing article, Watts got out of the car to ask what was happening -- presumably because his car and/or person was being searched. When the officers refused to answer and told him to get back in the car, he asked the question again. At which point he was attacked, his property was seized, and he was asked to waive his Miranda rights.
Sounds like the unfortunate combination of a pissed off officer and a less-that-sympathetic citizen compounded by detectives/officers who get pissed when prisoners refuse to talk. I can empathize with both parties (first and second, not third -- right to remain silent means right to remain silent,) but -- assuming the accuracy of Watts' story -- the assault charge is probably trumped up. Convincing a judge of that is a whole different story.
actually, if you're primarily using the netbook at locations with an electrical hookup (ie, if battery life is not as large an issue) then using WDE would probably be the best approach.
Another solution would be to get a cheap VPS or shell hosting account and ssh -D 2020 host -X then run firefox from the shell acct. and treat the netbook like a thin(ner) client.
worksheets for pay = less worksheets = either less meaningless work or work with more meaning or both. In any case, stopping the proliferation of worksheets (even if just a little) is a good thing imho.