Did anyone else try to guess what words were maked out?
The (noun) system is capable of (verb) (adjective) (plural noun), while remaining (adjective) and (adjective), provided that the (adjective) (plural nouns) are (state of being). It is important to note that (phrase).
If only I could see the documents EPIC has, so I could pull a Mad Libbish phrase out of the Real Thing... Can't seem to get anything from the server they're on. Slashdot Effect?:)
I'd be worried about an application like this doing as much, if not more, harm than good.
For one thing, I believe one of the major things that kept the Cold War cold as the space race picked up was that the US and the USSR could each see, to some extent, what the other was doing... If one could've made a move without the other knowing, things could've gotten ugly.
Also, consider the ways in which the public has profited from programs of military application. GPS sattellites which were originally launched to aid the aiming of missiles are now used in cars, on fishing boats, on camping trips, and so on. Sattelite photographs used for geological surveys and mapmaking could easily be used for military logistics. Or, even worse, in the future, when scientists and civilians make their homes in orbit. How does a satellite aimed at 'taking out' other satellites make the distinciton? How do humans make the distinction for the satellites... and where does one draw the line?
Finally, consider this: Even given the low price tag on these satellites, I can think of a few ways in which these 'poorest of countries' that you mention might rather be willing to spend their precious funds. Food and infrastructure for growth would be at the top of my list.
Don't get me wrong... It's an interesting thought. I'm just not sure it's a can of worms that we really want opened up.
According to this BBC article from Hemos's old posting, PH already thought about the Moon, but 'they started looking for an alternative promotional idea when they learnt that the image would have to be as big as Texas to be seen by earthlings more than 380,000 kilometers (238,000 miles) away.'
Somehow, though, the thought brings to mind the Tick cartoon series. CHA. Maybe that's where these evil marketing folks got their inspiration....
You know, this actually reminds me of a short story, I think it was by Asimov, in which each election had only one Voter, drawn randomly from the populace.
The Global Supercomputer had enough information on the population that it could determine which way most people could vote... except for a certain amount of Randomness attributable to Human Nature. Thus, the Voter, to add the human element.
It was an interesting story. Anyone remember the name?
Makes perfect sense to me that they'd have to have some form of larger-than-local area networking, even on the computers that communicate with the shuttle. Mission Control happens at at least two separate sites during any given mission: Takeoff and landing happen at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while the actual mission is controlled from Houston. The transition between the two sites has to be seamless... which means networked computers and communications. Not necessarily the internet, maybe even just private communications over phone lines... but that may be just enough for some wise guy looking to make his name by cracking a government system.
Yeah, I know that came from his letter to his ex-wife, but still, isn't that what a lot of con men claim to have, and what he claimed 'his' technology could do?
Here is an older, shorter article on this that was put up on CNN.com back in April. Not as much of a developed investigation, and it doesn't cover the whole history of Stanley and Pixelon the way the Standard does, though.
Maybe some folks having trouble with The Standard can still get the Basic Lowdown from this....
I've tried explaining why I use PGP to my mother. I've tried explaining cookies to my father. I've tried to explain digital signatures to non-nerd friends. In some few, rare cases, they actually get the idea. All too often, though, the answers I hear are 'what's the big deal', or 'Yeah, I know they can get information about me, but there's nothing I can do about it', or even 'What does anyone care about my information for?'
And still, there's the growing majority of internet users who don't have a clue, don't want a clue, and wouldn't have anyone to give them a clue anyway. Sad, but these are the folks that businesses are going to take the most advantage of.
An interesting topic. A close relative of mine is a political science professor, and he's taught in schools that have similar setups, where each student is provided with a laptop and the entire classrooom is 'wired'. It certainly does add a whole new dimension to teaching, being able to have the students analyze historical statistics and the like right in the lecture hall. In addition, no time is wasted for grading; Since it's all electronic, it's quite possible for the students to know their grades before they step out the door. I imagine the sound of all the little PC fans kicking in halfway into class would distract the professor more than the students.;-)
On the other hand, the downside to this is the downside to any 'open-book/open-notes' exam. There's always the potential that students won't study quite as thoroughly, relying on their ability to 'look it up' during the test, and if their searching skills fail them, they're screwed. (This is from my own standpoint, that of a student, btw.)
So, like everything, there's good points and there's bad points....
I agree completely. Notice I did say 'usually' and 'relatively'.;)
I took a class in 'Science, Technology, and Human Values' recently, about how we are influenced by the ways in which we get information. It is a fact: The professional news media is biased, in many ways. For one thing, newspapers and television stations get their money by advertising, and movie-makers do a lot more advertising than kids who, in their own free time, write a program for their own convenience, then share it with others as a Good Deed. For another, reporters can only report on what they know, and what they hear. They don't even have to report falsely... They only have to pick and choose what to say. They have to do that anyway, due to Sound Bite Syndrome. As a result, there's almost no way that they can be unbiased.
And I agree, the fact that people can get their information in so many new ways is a Good Thing. Places like/. are fantastic for this, in that we are encouraged to think critically, and to share what we know... As well as to respect the views of others.
Often times, I find sites that preach what personally I consider to be the farthest 'out there' to be rather amusing... I share them with my friends, we chuckle, and occasionally, the sites even get put on the 'dibs list' for a good MiSTing. What saddens me is that there are people who have never been encouraged to think critically, who are easily indoctrinated. This is as much, if not more, the fault of upbringing, than it is of the messenger.
The internet, as an informative medium, is by far the best mankind has ever created, more revolutionary than the printing press, and many good things have come from it, and are still yet to come.
So, in essence, I agree with you, Finkployd. It's just a bit of cynicism that tends to strike me whenever the topic of human gullibility comes up. Blame it on Aldous Huxley, if you like.;)
This reminds me of a discussion I had with some friends recently, on one of the real dangers of the ultimate Free Speech which the Internet allows. In 'traditional' media, such as newspapers and television, reporters are usually relatively duty-bound to have Real Fact to back up anything they report as Real Fact.
The Internet, though, gives no restrictions. Charlatans can spread their lies with the click of the button. Fools can get in touch with other fools in ways never before imagined. And what's truly frightening is, there are people without the common sense to be critical of what they read. There are people who will see a White Supremacist's site declaring that the Holocost never happened or that Martin Luther King Jr. was a fraud, or on the other end of the spectrum, that everyone of European descent is Evil to the bone... And they will actually believe it. I couldn't count the sites that I've looked at, where I just shake my head and say, 'how can anyone believe this load of baloney?'. And yet, someone out there does, or else it wouldn't be posted.
Of course, the only way to fight it is through education, and the noble and right thing to do is for each of us to do our best to educate our friends and families, and to be educated ourselves. Even the best of us can be suckered into a falsehood.
Still, I personally doubt that there will ever be a way to be completely rid of hate sites, not as long as there are people who can learn to hate. 'Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people.' And there's a sucker born every minute.
Ever tried the SurfMonkey Bar beta? Free filtering program supplied with the Mindspring connection software. Installs itself into your web browser and is an absolute pain to remove. Tried installing it for my family not even a month ago. That bit about the Virgin Islands? My parents were looking up information about a possible sailing vacation.
My point is this: Yes, the software has improved. But no matter how you 'improve' software, it must always rely on set algorithms. That's the way programs work. There's a limit to how much 'smarts' you can program in. No matter what you do, it will still never be able to make judgements with the same intelligence and understanding of context as a human. There's an exception to every rule, and computers can only know the rules.
Hmm, good question. I think it's time to check my handy-dandy New Webster's....
moon 1n. the only natural satellite of the earth || any planetary satellite 2v.i. to behave in a dreamy abstracted manner.
So, not being a super astrogeek myself, I guess the key phrase would be 'planetary satellite'. If it orbits a sun, like all those other Asteroids in the Belt do, it's not a moon. Of course, if it's taking 770 years to make its rounds, I -guess- that could be caled dreamy, abstracted behavior, if those scientists have some sort of poetic streak....
Not only that, but any students researching anything remotely related to Medicine. Breast cancer awareness, awareness and treatment of STDs, and so on. Students of psychology and social sciences would be sunk. Found yourself raped on campus and looking for help? Tough luck, hun. Got a Political Science paper to write about colonialism, and you want to use the British Virgin Islands as an example? Hope you don't mind writing about the British V***** Islands instead!
And don't even get me started on words that people in other English-speaking countries don't use in the same way as Us Crazy 'Mericans....
Consider the following: Bill Gates and Montgomery Burns, teamed up in the internet business....
Burns: Who is that man, Smithers? Smithers: It's, ahhh, Homer Simpson, sir. The irresponsible network administrator responsible for the twenty system outages this week. Burns: Ah, yes. Keep up the good work, Simpson!
--- To continue, please press any key.... Which key's the 'any' key??
Slashdot Mirror
Oooh, song-time!
:)
All you need is cache!
Brother, can you spare a time(slice)?
What do you want, Pavarotti?
Fiiiiifo, fifo, fifo, fifo, fiiiiiiiiiiifo! (lamely to the tune of 'Figaro')
Sorry, folks, just couldn't resist.
---
Hold the mold, Klunk.
It is possible that another, even more stable kind of vacuum exists, however.
Oooh, and maybe it'll run a little quieter than the Eureka I have in my closet!
---
Hold the mold, Klunk.
Did anyone else try to guess what words were maked out?
:)
The (noun) system is capable of (verb) (adjective) (plural noun), while remaining (adjective) and (adjective), provided that the (adjective) (plural nouns) are (state of being). It is important to note that (phrase).
If only I could see the documents EPIC has, so I could pull a Mad Libbish phrase out of the Real Thing... Can't seem to get anything from the server they're on. Slashdot Effect?
---
Hold the mold, Klunk.
...would be someone at my school hacking into my floor of my apartment as a prank.
To roommate: "Can I borrow your computer? Someone blocked my door with my bed again...."
---
Hold the mold, Klunk.
I'd be worried about an application like this doing as much, if not more, harm than good.
For one thing, I believe one of the major things that kept the Cold War cold as the space race picked up was that the US and the USSR could each see, to some extent, what the other was doing... If one could've made a move without the other knowing, things could've gotten ugly.
Also, consider the ways in which the public has profited from programs of military application. GPS sattellites which were originally launched to aid the aiming of missiles are now used in cars, on fishing boats, on camping trips, and so on. Sattelite photographs used for geological surveys and mapmaking could easily be used for military logistics. Or, even worse, in the future, when scientists and civilians make their homes in orbit. How does a satellite aimed at 'taking out' other satellites make the distinciton? How do humans make the distinction for the satellites... and where does one draw the line?
Finally, consider this: Even given the low price tag on these satellites, I can think of a few ways in which these 'poorest of countries' that you mention might rather be willing to spend their precious funds. Food and infrastructure for growth would be at the top of my list.
Don't get me wrong... It's an interesting thought. I'm just not sure it's a can of worms that we really want opened up.
---
Hold the mold, Klunk.
Here's a link to that article online, for anyone interested.
No kidding. Talk about giving new meaning to the term 'computer virus'....
The nice thing about standards is, there are so many to choose from....
The Moon (probably in negotiation as we type)
According to this BBC article from Hemos's old posting, PH already thought about the Moon, but 'they started looking for an alternative promotional idea when they learnt that the image would have to be as big as Texas to be seen by earthlings more than 380,000 kilometers (238,000 miles) away.'
Somehow, though, the thought brings to mind the Tick cartoon series. CHA. Maybe that's where these evil marketing folks got their inspiration....
You know, this actually reminds me of a short story, I think it was by Asimov, in which each election had only one Voter, drawn randomly from the populace.
The Global Supercomputer had enough information on the population that it could determine which way most people could vote... except for a certain amount of Randomness attributable to Human Nature. Thus, the Voter, to add the human element.
It was an interesting story. Anyone remember the name?
Makes perfect sense to me that they'd have to have some form of larger-than-local area networking, even on the computers that communicate with the shuttle. Mission Control happens at at least two separate sites during any given mission: Takeoff and landing happen at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, while the actual mission is controlled from Houston. The transition between the two sites has to be seamless... which means networked computers and communications. Not necessarily the internet, maybe even just private communications over phone lines... but that may be just enough for some wise guy looking to make his name by cracking a government system.
He claims a God-given power to defy reality.
Yeah, I know that came from his letter to his ex-wife, but still, isn't that what a lot of con men claim to have, and what he claimed 'his' technology could do?
Here is an older, shorter article on this that was put up on CNN.com back in April. Not as much of a developed investigation, and it doesn't cover the whole history of Stanley and Pixelon the way the Standard does, though.
Maybe some folks having trouble with The Standard can still get the Basic Lowdown from this....
I've tried explaining why I use PGP to my mother. I've tried explaining cookies to my father. I've tried to explain digital signatures to non-nerd friends. In some few, rare cases, they actually get the idea. All too often, though, the answers I hear are 'what's the big deal', or 'Yeah, I know they can get information about me, but there's nothing I can do about it', or even 'What does anyone care about my information for?'
And still, there's the growing majority of internet users who don't have a clue, don't want a clue, and wouldn't have anyone to give them a clue anyway. Sad, but these are the folks that businesses are going to take the most advantage of.
An interesting topic. A close relative of mine is a political science professor, and he's taught in schools that have similar setups, where each student is provided with a laptop and the entire classrooom is 'wired'. It certainly does add a whole new dimension to teaching, being able to have the students analyze historical statistics and the like right in the lecture hall. In addition, no time is wasted for grading; Since it's all electronic, it's quite possible for the students to know their grades before they step out the door. I imagine the sound of all the little PC fans kicking in halfway into class would distract the professor more than the students. ;-)
On the other hand, the downside to this is the downside to any 'open-book/open-notes' exam. There's always the potential that students won't study quite as thoroughly, relying on their ability to 'look it up' during the test, and if their searching skills fail them, they're screwed. (This is from my own standpoint, that of a student, btw.)
So, like everything, there's good points and there's bad points....
I agree completely. Notice I did say 'usually' and 'relatively'. ;)
/. are fantastic for this, in that we are encouraged to think critically, and to share what we know... As well as to respect the views of others.
;)
I took a class in 'Science, Technology, and Human Values' recently, about how we are influenced by the ways in which we get information. It is a fact: The professional news media is biased, in many ways. For one thing, newspapers and television stations get their money by advertising, and movie-makers do a lot more advertising than kids who, in their own free time, write a program for their own convenience, then share it with others as a Good Deed. For another, reporters can only report on what they know, and what they hear. They don't even have to report falsely... They only have to pick and choose what to say. They have to do that anyway, due to Sound Bite Syndrome. As a result, there's almost no way that they can be unbiased.
And I agree, the fact that people can get their information in so many new ways is a Good Thing. Places like
Often times, I find sites that preach what personally I consider to be the farthest 'out there' to be rather amusing... I share them with my friends, we chuckle, and occasionally, the sites even get put on the 'dibs list' for a good MiSTing. What saddens me is that there are people who have never been encouraged to think critically, who are easily indoctrinated. This is as much, if not more, the fault of upbringing, than it is of the messenger.
The internet, as an informative medium, is by far the best mankind has ever created, more revolutionary than the printing press, and many good things have come from it, and are still yet to come.
So, in essence, I agree with you, Finkployd. It's just a bit of cynicism that tends to strike me whenever the topic of human gullibility comes up. Blame it on Aldous Huxley, if you like.
This reminds me of a discussion I had with some friends recently, on one of the real dangers of the ultimate Free Speech which the Internet allows. In 'traditional' media, such as newspapers and television, reporters are usually relatively duty-bound to have Real Fact to back up anything they report as Real Fact.
The Internet, though, gives no restrictions. Charlatans can spread their lies with the click of the button. Fools can get in touch with other fools in ways never before imagined. And what's truly frightening is, there are people without the common sense to be critical of what they read. There are people who will see a White Supremacist's site declaring that the Holocost never happened or that Martin Luther King Jr. was a fraud, or on the other end of the spectrum, that everyone of European descent is Evil to the bone... And they will actually believe it. I couldn't count the sites that I've looked at, where I just shake my head and say, 'how can anyone believe this load of baloney?'. And yet, someone out there does, or else it wouldn't be posted.
Of course, the only way to fight it is through education, and the noble and right thing to do is for each of us to do our best to educate our friends and families, and to be educated ourselves. Even the best of us can be suckered into a falsehood.
Still, I personally doubt that there will ever be a way to be completely rid of hate sites, not as long as there are people who can learn to hate. 'Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people.' And there's a sucker born every minute.
It has, has it?
Ever tried the SurfMonkey Bar beta? Free filtering program supplied with the Mindspring connection software. Installs itself into your web browser and is an absolute pain to remove. Tried installing it for my family not even a month ago. That bit about the Virgin Islands? My parents were looking up information about a possible sailing vacation.
My point is this: Yes, the software has improved. But no matter how you 'improve' software, it must always rely on set algorithms. That's the way programs work. There's a limit to how much 'smarts' you can program in. No matter what you do, it will still never be able to make judgements with the same intelligence and understanding of context as a human. There's an exception to every rule, and computers can only know the rules.
Hmm, good question. I think it's time to check my handy-dandy New Webster's....
moon 1 n. the only natural satellite of the earth || any planetary satellite 2 v.i. to behave in a dreamy abstracted manner.
So, not being a super astrogeek myself, I guess the key phrase would be 'planetary satellite'. If it orbits a sun, like all those other Asteroids in the Belt do, it's not a moon. Of course, if it's taking 770 years to make its rounds, I -guess- that could be caled dreamy, abstracted behavior, if those scientists have some sort of poetic streak....
What about the students studying art?
Not only that, but any students researching anything remotely related to Medicine. Breast cancer awareness, awareness and treatment of STDs, and so on. Students of psychology and social sciences would be sunk. Found yourself raped on campus and looking for help? Tough luck, hun. Got a Political Science paper to write about colonialism, and you want to use the British Virgin Islands as an example? Hope you don't mind writing about the British V***** Islands instead!
And don't even get me started on words that people in other English-speaking countries don't use in the same way as Us Crazy 'Mericans....
Consider the following: Bill Gates and Montgomery Burns, teamed up in the internet business....
Burns: Who is that man, Smithers?
Smithers: It's, ahhh, Homer Simpson, sir. The irresponsible network administrator responsible for the twenty system outages this week.
Burns: Ah, yes. Keep up the good work, Simpson!
---
To continue, please press any key.... Which key's the 'any' key??
Yet another fine way to annoy the neighbors, brought to you by the makers of....
;)
(Cue Cheesy Salesman Voice:)
Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority!
NNS, bringing you home terrorism since 1981!
(Credit or apologies To Michael Nesmith and his Elephant Parts.
...sounds to me like something out of Star Trek, or an old, bad sci-fi movie.
"Approaching Regulon Five, captain...."
---