Come on, RMS came too late too significantly impact this century (outside of our little digital corner of the world). And it's way to early to declare him the man of the next.
Just as the children of Marshall's generation debate over his importance, I'd rather let our children debate RMS.
"Another possible IP issue is Freon. There are people who make the case, with various levels of credibility, that Freon does NOT cause ozone damage (It's 4 times heavier then air -- how does it rise into the upper atmosphere?" Most components of air are either heavier or lighter than "air"--nitrogen is slightly lighter, CO2 heavier. In the case of Xenon, it's 4.5 times heavier than air, yet the atmosphere's composition is substantially similar throughout. If you release a heavier than air gas (For instance, by mixing vingegar and baking soda), it will sink and form a layer--but only temporarily. The atmosphere is very turbulent place throughout, and currents and entropy are more than enough to distribute it. Here's a simpler explanation for DuPont's timing, one that does not involve conspiracies. They saw a valid bit of research, and ignored it when they couldn't use it. Then, they turned around and used it when it became advantageous.
My memory is a little hazy on this, but I seem to recall that the Sega Saturn was built with mostly off the shelf components, which improved time-to-market and initial cost but increased their costs in the long run. Usually, being the first to market gives you a big advantage (Zip vs. LS-120, for instance), but looks like the trade off bit 'em in the rear that time.
"It can play with toys, but it does so when it feels like it."
I'm curious what you mean when you say that that it plays when it feels like it? I wonder if there there is some sort of counter or random chance that determines when it will enter into play mode.
Cool, what does said 1172 lines do? BTW, nice nickname you've got.:)
The accelerating change of pace and SF
on
Generations
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· Score: 1
For an excellent example of this in science fiction, read Vernor Vinge's Marooned in Realtime. The ever-accelerating development of mankind eventually leads to a vertical asymptote, a "technological singularity". Interested readers might also try Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, where technological development has a horizontal asymptote.
Plasmids, Antibiotic Resistance, and Virulence
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Gene Leakage
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· Score: 1
On another note concerning the ability of plasmids to rapidly spread drug resistance between different strains and species of bacteria--they can also carry virulence factors as well. For instance, E. coli O157:H7 (A potentially lethal contaminant of meat, esp. ground beef) has a number of genes believed to have been horizontally transfered from other bacterial species.
Trying to Conquer Nature and the Chinese.
on
Gene Leakage
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· Score: 1
"Only Anglo-American and Russian civilizations have a habit of trying to conquer nature, as per your statement, with Japanese, Chinese, and Indian civilizations much more intelligent about their role with nature... "
The ancient civilizations, maybe. But consider modern China. About the time of the cultural revolution, a campaign was begun to eliminate birds from the city of Beijing, for aesthetic reasons. The campaign succeeded--and was followed by a boom in the insect population. This was responded to by a campaign to eliminate vegetation. This, in turn, caused problems with dust storms...
Look at the Three Gorges dam as a more recent example of butting heads with nature. (BTW, yes, I am Chinese).
Release of "hacked organisms" has occured before.
on
Gene Leakage
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· Score: 1
For an example of an unauthorized release of engineered organisms, look up the case of Dr. Gary Strobel's unauthorized tests of Pseudomonas bacteria engineered to protect trees against Dutch Elm disease.
Slashdot Mirror
Come on, RMS came too late too significantly impact this century (outside of our little digital corner of the world). And it's way to early to declare him the man of the next.
Just as the children of Marshall's generation debate over his importance, I'd rather let our children debate RMS.
"That must be the Daystar. I've heard talk about it." :)
...just look for the kids that wrap themselves in aluminum foil. :P
Oh, give me a locus where the gravitons focus, Where the three-body problem is solved...
Where the microwaves play down at three degrees K, and the cold virus never evolved.
Home, home on Lagrange, where the space debris always collects; we've achieved, so it seems, two of man's greatest dreams...
Solar power and zero-G sex.
Nice little pop today in TDFX, NVDA, and ATYT. Especially NVDA. Curiously, a much smaller response from SIII/DIMD.
Take a look Sim Wars, a spoof of Titanic and Star Wars, in which a Star Destroyer has been digitally replaced with the Titanic.
http://www.dailyscifi.com/news/1133.html
"Another possible IP issue is Freon. There are people who make the case, with various levels of credibility, that Freon does NOT cause ozone damage (It's 4 times heavier then air -- how does it rise into the upper atmosphere?" Most components of air are either heavier or lighter than "air"--nitrogen is slightly lighter, CO2 heavier. In the case of Xenon, it's 4.5 times heavier than air, yet the atmosphere's composition is substantially similar throughout. If you release a heavier than air gas (For instance, by mixing vingegar and baking soda), it will sink and form a layer--but only temporarily. The atmosphere is very turbulent place throughout, and currents and entropy are more than enough to distribute it. Here's a simpler explanation for DuPont's timing, one that does not involve conspiracies. They saw a valid bit of research, and ignored it when they couldn't use it. Then, they turned around and used it when it became advantageous.
My memory is a little hazy on this, but I seem to recall that the Sega Saturn was built with mostly off the shelf components, which improved time-to-market and initial cost but increased their costs in the long run.
Usually, being the first to market gives you a big advantage (Zip vs. LS-120, for instance), but looks like the trade off bit 'em in the rear that time.
...when you consider the lifetime cost of (properly) taking care of a dog. The link below is intended to give children some idea of this.
http://www.geocities.com/~kidsanddogs/cost.html
"It can play with toys, but it does so when it feels like it."
I'm curious what you mean when you say that that it plays when it feels like it? I wonder if there there is some sort of counter or random chance that determines when it will enter into play mode.
"I think we need a few restaraunt reviews here. Everyone knows nerds like to eat, right?"
Well, you can get free saltines and ketchup at Wendy's--two out of four food groups ain't bad.
Cool, what does said 1172 lines do? BTW, nice nickname you've got. :)
For an excellent example of this in science fiction, read Vernor Vinge's Marooned in Realtime. The ever-accelerating development of mankind eventually leads to a vertical asymptote, a "technological singularity".
Interested readers might also try Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky, where technological development has a horizontal asymptote.
On another note concerning the ability of plasmids to rapidly spread drug resistance between different strains and species of bacteria--they can also carry virulence factors as well. For instance, E. coli O157:H7 (A potentially lethal contaminant of meat, esp. ground beef) has a number of genes believed to have been horizontally transfered from other bacterial species.
"Only Anglo-American and Russian civilizations have a habit of trying to conquer nature, as per your statement, with Japanese, Chinese, and Indian civilizations much more intelligent about their role with nature... "
The ancient civilizations, maybe. But consider modern China. About the time of the cultural revolution, a campaign was begun to eliminate birds from the city of Beijing, for aesthetic reasons. The campaign succeeded--and was followed by a boom in the insect population. This was responded to by a campaign to eliminate vegetation. This, in turn, caused problems with dust storms...
Look at the Three Gorges dam as a more recent example of butting heads with nature. (BTW, yes, I am Chinese).
For an example of an unauthorized release of engineered organisms, look up the case of Dr. Gary Strobel's unauthorized tests of Pseudomonas bacteria engineered to protect trees against Dutch Elm disease.