Since we aren't yet in the brave new world without directories I probably should have counted this as another doable by having the file dumb.ideas in many directories.
33. A file should be allowed to have no name, one name or many names. Many files should be allowed to share one name. A file should be allowed to be in no directory, one directory, or many directories. Many files should be allowed to share one directory. Of these eight possibilities, only three are legal and the other five are banned -- for no good reason.
I am not a computer scientist. But I play one in meetings at work. Of the eight possibilities he mentions I can do all but three, not five.
A file should be allowed to have no name
Can't do (unless you want to count the ones I file in/dev/null).
one name
Default.
or many names.
Linking.
Many files should be allowed to share one name.
Can't do.
A file should be allowed to be in no directory,
Can't do. Even / could be considered a directory. That's like asking to store a file on no device.
one directory,
Default.
or many directories.
Linking again.
Many files should be allowed to share one directory.
Default again.
His use of analogy is sometimes very good and at other times leaves me scratching my head. I can't for the life of me figure out what good a file without a name would be. On the one hand he uses the analogy of a book spine giving far more information than the average filename, but wants the ability to have nameless files (spineless books?).
All in all he had some good things to say, but I'm afraid most of that will get lost in the abducted by aliens feel of some of the other comments.
it is your right to smoke, the gov't shouldn't be able to say anything about it as long as it's not hurting anybody else.
I'm not aware of any legislation to prohibit smoking except in public areas where it can indeed hurt others. I am extremely sensitive to smoke, usually getting a headache before I can even smell it.
What happens when Billy boy thinks that high-cholesterol meats are bad for you, imagine that congress bill.
You talkin' about Double Cheeseburger Bill? The resident of the USofA? Not likely.
I really wasn't posting with regard to the legality or morality of what was being done. I agree that we should fight against this even when it doesn't affect us. I don't recall the full statement or who said it, but one commentator during Hitler's reign said basically that he did't protest when the troops came for the disabled, or the elderly or the Jews and when they came for him there was nobody left to speak up for him.
I was dealing directly with the idea that we all are being spied on. When the resources simply aren't there to do the job, such statements should be pointed out as paranoid.
This should be a wakeup call for anybody who belives that nobody cares what they do with their private life.
That still probably holds true for most of us. The only names on the database are high-profile: 140 politicians, journalists, businessmen and criminals.
I doubt anyone's Slashdot Karma level is sufficient to bring about such scrutiny.
Let's say someone did tap my phone. What will they use the information for? Will they attempt to blackmail me with information regarding cheating on my diet? What would they expect to gain? My assets are few. I try to live my life peaceably with others and within the limitations of the law.
The simple fact is that there are so many people and only a few of them can be dedicated to playing back every phone call (even at high speed) or tailing a person in hopes of finding something useful. Targets have to be picked based on high profile or probable cause and I don't qualify. Neither, likely, do you.
Practically speaking, what's the difference between the use of sign language and point-and-grunt behavior, assuming one can produce different kinds of grunts? IMHO, they're about equally expressive. (Maybe add pantomimed actions to the grunting as well.)
Hmm. I'm following you, but there are implications. From what I know of ASL, it is composed of signs for nouns and verbs, everything else can be spelled out using the sign language alphabet (don't recall the proper name for it). In practical communication, most ASL usage I've seen is nothing but a string of nouns and verbs not much different than your 'give banana Koko' example. I'm sure any ASL users can confirm (or deny) this. I'm equally sure that many of them would be miffed to find that someone didn't consider ASL a bona fide language (althought that assertion has surfaced before).
Another aspect to consider is the human mind's ability to fill in missing information; in this case, adding the necessary syntax to make the ASL communication a complete sentence. I would think this ability would be difficult to test without the subject's ability to communicate in a way that allows for proper syntax -- either spelling out the missing words or written communication perhaps.
Re:Of course! It's the acronym.
on
WAP Under Fire
·
· Score: 1
Think about more successful acronyms, like GNU. I challenge anyone to think of either a funny new definition _or_ a perverse way of pronouncing it.
Ooooh. A challenge!
Since you WAP me with your gauntlet....
Geeks Need Underwear!
TippeGNU and Tyler too.
Re:Could someone explain the benefits of WAP?!?
on
WAP Under Fire
·
· Score: 3
Someone please help me understand what all the fuss is all about? I want to jump on the bandwagon as well:-)
Koko can certainly communicate in a reasonably rich fashion with those not of her own species, which is itself impressive, but I'm not seeing language or a definite self-awareness here.
But isn't the purpose of language, when boiled down to simplest terms, to communicate? If Koko wants a banana and is able to communicate that through sign language (as opposed to the toddler's point and grunt technique) isn't she communicating? As far as self awareness, I thought some primates had been able to make the connection that the reflection in a mirror was their own image and not that of another.
IMHO, the best proof of true primate sentience would be a gorilla indicating to its keepers that it wanted to write an essay proving it was sentient, and then following through on that desire.
Even better, the gorilla signs, "Why do you have me locked up in this stinking lab? I've been watching PBS and now know that I belong in the jungle and wish to be reunited with my own kind. Or a nice car and a condo would be acceptable."
And could somebody who knows about "psychographic information" please explain how mapping this out could make it easier to target advertisements?
Psychographic (the word) is a combination of Psychology and Demographic. Basically it's an analysis of what you've shown a preference for in the past. For instance, a psychographic profile that shows a predilection for 'Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' could be used to determine that you might also like the 'Baja Marimba Brass'. This is a somewhat simplified explanation.
this january discover magazine had a really fascinating article about alex, a 23-year old african grey. if what its researcher/owner says is true, it demonstrates (or at least is able to express) intelligence greater than any primate i've read about.
Here is a link to an article about Alex from the current article referenced in this story. http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinion.jsp?id =ns222113
Aren't a corporation's business dealings and physical infrastructure within the US subject to relevant US law in any case? How would the Verio deal affect FBI jurisdiction?
Sure, the jurisdiction over the crime would remain the same, but not the jurisdiction over the evidence. I think they are anticipating hindered investigations.
Do we really want to do it the Corel way, as some people suggest? WINE might be good and all for binary emulation, but if you care so much about porting, it seems to me that you should write UNIX first, then Windows.
I think you answered your own question in your opening statement. "OK, Corel is using WINE to port their Windows applications to Linux...." They're porting existing Windows apps. At this point in time, the software most people use is/was written for Windows. Wine gives users of those products a choice in operating systems until the vendors can get their Linux act together. The problem with this strategy for the Linux community is that there is no automatic feedback to the software companies as to which platform their product is being run on unless, like Corel, they begin to distribute a Linux version that installs the package with hooks into Wine. Without that feedback it just looks like they're selling more windows software and may choose to ignore the needs of some unknown segment of their user base. The only other alternative is for the user community to voice their desire for a Linux version of the package even if we get it running under Wine. It will take a lot of feedback since I'm sure they get requests from the Linux 'zealots' already.
being that there are many anti-windows people here on slashdot, my question is "is porting the windows API to linux a noble cause?"
The absence or presence of people who feel a certain way shouldn't dictate what is and is not a 'noble cause'. Slavery persisted in the US and Britain for many years because there were a number of people who were anti-abolitionist. Of course, the consequences could be far more costly than your average flame war.
Actually, the animosity some feel toward Windows doesn't necessarily extend to say, Quicken. Dropping the stumblingblock of 'limited apps' by allowing access to software that users already know can only strengthen Linux's position.
I don't necessarily agree that Office should be the priority since there are other, stable alternatives with similar features/functionality. I can process words and spread all kinds of sheets on my Linux box, but need better personal finance software. Last time I tried Quicken under WINE it only worked 'sort of'. I've also tried moneydance and another (don't remember the name) package to no avail.
Are you insane? What could be more right-wing-conservative nutty than stomping all over freedom in the name of some amorphous questionable wiretapping concerns?....
This is a flat-out admission by the FBI that they believe that the US owns and controls the Internet
I have to disagree with the assumptions you seem to be making. I don't see this as an issue of control (not that there aren't some issues there) but to enable the FBI to investigate criminal activity. Several people have mistakenly seen this as an attempt to control or prevent certain activities. Law enforcement agencies don't actually prevent crimes any more than fire departments prevent fires. Both respond after the fact. We get lulled into a belief that 'the system' will keep the bad guys from doing their bad deeds to us. This despite the evening news and maxims like, "There's never a cop around when you need one." It's the old idea that those sorts of things happen to other people.
I do think, as others have pointed out, that there may also be concern with regard to industrial espionage.
Note the use of the word "maintain"; they are saying they currently have access to Verio's 'internet structure'.
They 'have access' by virtue of the fact that Verio is currently within FBI jurisdiction. That does not necessarily imply that they have had physical access at any point prior to this. It's a question of maintaining jurisdiction.
Everyone knows that the taps are inadmissable in court if you can't tell you are being taped. There is some obscure law that says that you have to have a small alert...like a beep to indicate you are being tapped...
You as a private citizen or a corporation cannot 'tap' someone's line at all. You can 'tape' conversations as long as all parties know that they are being taped. Law enforcement agencies must be granted permission to 'tap' a phone line and the tapes/transcripts are admissible in court and they don't have to have the periodic beep on a 'tap'.
"Say, boss, [beep] I dumped the bodies in the river like you [beep] said."
"What's that beeping sound, Rocco? You developing a speech impediment?"
Nah. I think the bad guys are smarter than that.
Re:I wonder what OS they control them with?
on
Gas-Powered Shoes?
·
· Score: 2
Just picture it now, Win98 based piston boots.
If it's Win98 you could just put the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys on the sole of one shoe and re-"boot" every 26 feet.
My grandmother is old, she will never use a keyboard and only maybe a mouse, so if I want her to have a computer (and I do) before she dies, this is my only choice.
But does your grandmother want to have a computer?
These would also come in handy when your boss is chasing you down the hall to hand you some extra work. With these suckers, it's just one big leap and you're half way across the building, out of his path!
I would think indoor use would probably be ill-advised. Unless you enjoy wearing accoustical tile headgear. Not to mention the problem caused by your throat hitting those thin metal cross braces at 25 mph. Ouch!
This could be a boon to commuters everywhere. As some vehicles are not maintained properly there's bound to be an abundance of unburned helium in the exhaust. If someone does become angry the other drivers will not take them so seriously as they shake an angry fist and shout profanities in a high, squeaky voice. It will be easy to either laugh it off or ignore the poor soul instead of escalating the incident.
The very first thing that came to my mind when I saw the article was 'helium is probably on the Moon for a reason.' Just because it isn't serving a direct purpose that satisifies us doesn't mean it's uselessly squandered on the Moon.
Went to a restaurant the other day. There was all this food on the buffet and the first thing I thought was I'll bet that food is there for a reason. I went hungry that day, not wanting to upset the delicate equilibrium of the restaurant environment and contented myself by soaking in the ambiance.
Slashdot Mirror
Since we aren't yet in the brave new world without directories I probably should have counted this as another doable by having the file dumb.ideas in many directories.
I am not a computer scientist. But I play one in meetings at work. Of the eight possibilities he mentions I can do all but three, not five.
A file should be allowed to have no name
Can't do (unless you want to count the ones I file in /dev/null).
one name
Default.
or many names.
Linking.
Many files should be allowed to share one name.
Can't do.
A file should be allowed to be in no directory,
Can't do. Even / could be considered a directory. That's like asking to store a file on no device.
one directory,
Default.
or many directories.
Linking again.
Many files should be allowed to share one directory.
Default again.
His use of analogy is sometimes very good and at other times leaves me scratching my head. I can't for the life of me figure out what good a file without a name would be. On the one hand he uses the analogy of a book spine giving far more information than the average filename, but wants the ability to have nameless files (spineless books?).
All in all he had some good things to say, but I'm afraid most of that will get lost in the abducted by aliens feel of some of the other comments.
I'm not aware of any legislation to prohibit smoking except in public areas where it can indeed hurt others. I am extremely sensitive to smoke, usually getting a headache before I can even smell it.
What happens when Billy boy thinks that high-cholesterol meats are bad for you, imagine that congress bill.
You talkin' about Double Cheeseburger Bill? The resident of the USofA? Not likely.
I was dealing directly with the idea that we all are being spied on. When the resources simply aren't there to do the job, such statements should be pointed out as paranoid.
That still probably holds true for most of us. The only names on the database are high-profile: 140 politicians, journalists, businessmen and criminals.
I doubt anyone's Slashdot Karma level is sufficient to bring about such scrutiny.
Let's say someone did tap my phone. What will they use the information for? Will they attempt to blackmail me with information regarding cheating on my diet? What would they expect to gain? My assets are few. I try to live my life peaceably with others and within the limitations of the law.
The simple fact is that there are so many people and only a few of them can be dedicated to playing back every phone call (even at high speed) or tailing a person in hopes of finding something useful. Targets have to be picked based on high profile or probable cause and I don't qualify. Neither, likely, do you.
carlos
Hmm. I'm following you, but there are implications. From what I know of ASL, it is composed of signs for nouns and verbs, everything else can be spelled out using the sign language alphabet (don't recall the proper name for it). In practical communication, most ASL usage I've seen is nothing but a string of nouns and verbs not much different than your 'give banana Koko' example. I'm sure any ASL users can confirm (or deny) this. I'm equally sure that many of them would be miffed to find that someone didn't consider ASL a bona fide language (althought that assertion has surfaced before).
Another aspect to consider is the human mind's ability to fill in missing information; in this case, adding the necessary syntax to make the ASL communication a complete sentence. I would think this ability would be difficult to test without the subject's ability to communicate in a way that allows for proper syntax -- either spelling out the missing words or written communication perhaps.
Ooooh. A challenge!
Since you WAP me with your gauntlet....
Geeks Need Underwear!
TippeGNU and Tyler too.
No, no. You want to jump OFF the bandwagon.
What does that mean, "Even Microsoft rejects the standard"?
But isn't the purpose of language, when boiled down to simplest terms, to communicate? If Koko wants a banana and is able to communicate that through sign language (as opposed to the toddler's point and grunt technique) isn't she communicating? As far as self awareness, I thought some primates had been able to make the connection that the reflection in a mirror was their own image and not that of another.
IMHO, the best proof of true primate sentience would be a gorilla indicating to its keepers that it wanted to write an essay proving it was sentient, and then following through on that desire.
Even better, the gorilla signs, "Why do you have me locked up in this stinking lab? I've been watching PBS and now know that I belong in the jungle and wish to be reunited with my own kind. Or a nice car and a condo would be acceptable."
No, it's from looking at old Jimi Hendrix posters. You know, the ones with fuzzy day-glo appliques that seem to undulate under a black light.
Psychographic (the word) is a combination of Psychology and Demographic. Basically it's an analysis of what you've shown a preference for in the past. For instance, a psychographic profile that shows a predilection for 'Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' could be used to determine that you might also like the 'Baja Marimba Brass'. This is a somewhat simplified explanation.
Here is a link to an article about Alex from the current article referenced in this story. http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opinion.jsp?id =ns222113
Sure, the jurisdiction over the crime would remain the same, but not the jurisdiction over the evidence. I think they are anticipating hindered investigations.
I think you answered your own question in your opening statement. "OK, Corel is using WINE to port their Windows applications to Linux...." They're porting existing Windows apps. At this point in time, the software most people use is/was written for Windows. Wine gives users of those products a choice in operating systems until the vendors can get their Linux act together. The problem with this strategy for the Linux community is that there is no automatic feedback to the software companies as to which platform their product is being run on unless, like Corel, they begin to distribute a Linux version that installs the package with hooks into Wine. Without that feedback it just looks like they're selling more windows software and may choose to ignore the needs of some unknown segment of their user base. The only other alternative is for the user community to voice their desire for a Linux version of the package even if we get it running under Wine. It will take a lot of feedback since I'm sure they get requests from the Linux 'zealots' already.
carlos
The absence or presence of people who feel a certain way shouldn't dictate what is and is not a 'noble cause'. Slavery persisted in the US and Britain for many years because there were a number of people who were anti-abolitionist. Of course, the consequences could be far more costly than your average flame war.
Actually, the animosity some feel toward Windows doesn't necessarily extend to say, Quicken. Dropping the stumblingblock of 'limited apps' by allowing access to software that users already know can only strengthen Linux's position.
I don't necessarily agree that Office should be the priority since there are other, stable alternatives with similar features/functionality. I can process words and spread all kinds of sheets on my Linux box, but need better personal finance software. Last time I tried Quicken under WINE it only worked 'sort of'. I've also tried moneydance and another (don't remember the name) package to no avail.
This is a flat-out admission by the FBI that they believe that the US owns and controls the Internet
I have to disagree with the assumptions you seem to be making. I don't see this as an issue of control (not that there aren't some issues there) but to enable the FBI to investigate criminal activity. Several people have mistakenly seen this as an attempt to control or prevent certain activities. Law enforcement agencies don't actually prevent crimes any more than fire departments prevent fires. Both respond after the fact. We get lulled into a belief that 'the system' will keep the bad guys from doing their bad deeds to us. This despite the evening news and maxims like, "There's never a cop around when you need one." It's the old idea that those sorts of things happen to other people.
I do think, as others have pointed out, that there may also be concern with regard to industrial espionage.
They 'have access' by virtue of the fact that Verio is currently within FBI jurisdiction. That does not necessarily imply that they have had physical access at any point prior to this. It's a question of maintaining jurisdiction.
You as a private citizen or a corporation cannot 'tap' someone's line at all. You can 'tape' conversations as long as all parties know that they are being taped. Law enforcement agencies must be granted permission to 'tap' a phone line and the tapes/transcripts are admissible in court and they don't have to have the periodic beep on a 'tap'.
"Say, boss, [beep] I dumped the bodies in the river like you [beep] said."
"What's that beeping sound, Rocco? You developing a speech impediment?"
Nah. I think the bad guys are smarter than that.
If it's Win98 you could just put the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys on the sole of one shoe and re-"boot" every 26 feet.
carlos
But does your grandmother want to have a computer?
I would think indoor use would probably be ill-advised. Unless you enjoy wearing accoustical tile headgear. Not to mention the problem caused by your throat hitting those thin metal cross braces at 25 mph. Ouch!
carlos
Went to a restaurant the other day. There was all this food on the buffet and the first thing I thought was I'll bet that food is there for a reason. I went hungry that day, not wanting to upset the delicate equilibrium of the restaurant environment and contented myself by soaking in the ambiance.
carlos
Forget novelization, I'm working on a screenplay. We'll call it, "Free Chilly Willy".
carlos