Yes, this was touched upon in the book I named earlier, specifically the groups that were for and against the pylons with the suspended boat-things.
Maybe some significant section want to break away.....
Happened with the Elench and others.
The point I was trying to make is that the sort of problems a person might face in a post-scarcity society are somewhat less interesting than so-called "First World problems"*; Banks would usually use the Culture to provide some contrast with another, less advanced society.
*For example, if we hadn't already had a peek into the reasons behind Quilan's visit then the composer's struggle to avoid meeting him might have been interminably dull.
I wanted to learn more about the workings of the Culture.
A world where everyone has everything they could ever want doesn't make for very interesting reading. You can't really have drama without conflict, which I suppose would make Turn to Windward the best choice if you want a book set mainly within the Culture.
I was going to say how making announcements like that through Twitter is silly because you don't have enough characters to just what this better way is, then I realised that from a marketing standpoint it's not a bug, it's a feature.
"Does this mean people can download your building and print it?" he said. "This is going to require some IP protection for designs, so if you design architecture in the computer, you're protected, just as music and movies are."
Designs are already protected, as they are a work. It's no different than the 3D models we already deal with in the game industry. A person spent a lot of time creating the files, and copyright law already includes such creative work.
Actually, there're some significant between copyright and design patents, but you're just as free with both to release your work into the public domain. I'm assuming that architectural works come under a design patent here; I don't see why they wouldn't.
Can we reinvent the ethernet jack already? We don't need that bulky Ethernet connector, a thin form factor is more than possible.
Possible? Certainly, but is it necessary? It seems to me that anything small enough to need a smaller connector probably has wi-fi already. GigE is rapidly becoming the standard and I'm struggling to think of a device that would need that much bandwidth but still be so small that a normal sized port wouldn't fit.
I don't know about you, but pot has made our family get-togethers murder-free at last! It's certainly a pleasant change from the whiskey massacre of Christmas '02.
2) the fear of terrorists obtaining weapons-grade nuclear material is considered to be high enough that we throw away a LOT of energy rich fuel to avoid getting in the situation where that fuel can be used to make a bomb.
Really? I thought that we threw away a lot of energy rich fuel so that we could make a bomb.
It's amazing how a city so hardened against crime, terrorists and adversity still goes to pieces at the first sign of snow. Before you mod me down, please notice the u/n and bear in mind what the North has already been dealing with - without complaint - when the white stuff first hits London.
That would be License to Kill (a better film than Skyfall in most respects) although the baddie in question didn't get shot. As I recall, he just hit Bond over the head with it instead.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think Iain is in any position to care about people joking, and his widow is hardly going to be finding out about it on /.
Dylan Moran said it best.
...or over arcing characters that I can tell so far.
There is one, but it's more of a shout out than anything significant to the plot.
tl;dr - Laughing at Death is the best revenge.
I don't know about you, but I was planning on asking if He fancied a curry before sending me on my way.
No large inter-group disagreement is possible?
Yes, this was touched upon in the book I named earlier, specifically the groups that were for and against the pylons with the suspended boat-things.
Maybe some significant section want to break away.....
Happened with the Elench and others.
The point I was trying to make is that the sort of problems a person might face in a post-scarcity society are somewhat less interesting than so-called "First World problems"*; Banks would usually use the Culture to provide some contrast with another, less advanced society.
*For example, if we hadn't already had a peek into the reasons behind Quilan's visit then the composer's struggle to avoid meeting him might have been interminably dull.
I wanted to learn more about the workings of the Culture.
A world where everyone has everything they could ever want doesn't make for very interesting reading. You can't really have drama without conflict, which I suppose would make Turn to Windward the best choice if you want a book set mainly within the Culture.
I too have a solution. Unfortunately slashcode would die of shame if I ever tried to post it.
Far better to just say nothing (or "I don't know, officer" to a direct question like "Do you know how fast you were going?").
For which, no doubt, you'd be charged with the local equivalent of driving without due care and attention.
Red tape makes wonderful sutures, apparently.
Fucking wankers on tonight, eh?
Evidently.
What if a nation was to deliver a declaration of war "personally"?
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/carly-rae-jepsen/id284363062 Granted, this is iTunes so you'll never get an HTTP download, but if you're OK with buying something on iTunes it's probably a safe bet that you have it installed.
I was going to say how making announcements like that through Twitter is silly because you don't have enough characters to just what this better way is, then I realised that from a marketing standpoint it's not a bug, it's a feature.
When I read the summary my cognitive wave function collapsed into "bafflement". I dare not RTFA, lest I lose the tenuous grasp of reality I have left.
Isn't that how the use of the metric system was enforced in Great Britain?
No. There was a grocer who cried oppression in my home town, but that was just a publicity stunt.
Bill Clinton didn't know what the definition of "is" is.
Really? I thought he was best known for being unclear as to what constitutes "sexual relations".
"Does this mean people can download your building and print it?" he said. "This is going to require some IP protection for designs, so if you design architecture in the computer, you're protected, just as music and movies are."
Designs are already protected, as they are a work. It's no different than the 3D models we already deal with in the game industry. A person spent a lot of time creating the files, and copyright law already includes such creative work.
Actually, there're some significant between copyright and design patents, but you're just as free with both to release your work into the public domain. I'm assuming that architectural works come under a design patent here; I don't see why they wouldn't.
I was referring to the wasteful fuel cycles used to obtain the material for the weapons in the first place.
Can we reinvent the ethernet jack already? We don't need that bulky Ethernet connector, a thin form factor is more than possible.
Possible? Certainly, but is it necessary? It seems to me that anything small enough to need a smaller connector probably has wi-fi already. GigE is rapidly becoming the standard and I'm struggling to think of a device that would need that much bandwidth but still be so small that a normal sized port wouldn't fit.
I don't know about you, but pot has made our family get-togethers murder-free at last! It's certainly a pleasant change from the whiskey massacre of Christmas '02.
2) the fear of terrorists obtaining weapons-grade nuclear material is considered to be high enough that we throw away a LOT of energy rich fuel to avoid getting in the situation where that fuel can be used to make a bomb.
Really? I thought that we threw away a lot of energy rich fuel so that we could make a bomb.
It's amazing how a city so hardened against crime, terrorists and adversity still goes to pieces at the first sign of snow. Before you mod me down, please notice the u/n and bear in mind what the North has already been dealing with - without complaint - when the white stuff first hits London.
That would be License to Kill (a better film than Skyfall in most respects) although the baddie in question didn't get shot. As I recall, he just hit Bond over the head with it instead.
Because you've run out of "oysters"?
Even the WBC has some standards and morality.
HAHAAHAAAAAhaaahaa!
I'm sorry, but you lost me there.