You obviously didn't read the message. Especially the bit about it being the third brightest object in the night sky!
If you can see the sun, it isn't the night sky!
Suspect you may be right about Venus. That is pretty bright.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
That's the thing nobody here ever thinks of. Oh, don't spend money on when you can just install Linux everywhere
That's fine for one guy, or a very small number of people. But once you start talking corporations or government departments, you need to retrain large numbers of staff in the new software, and that's before you get to having to re-write software or macros that you use to run under Linux instead.
It's CHEAPER for them to pay up to Microsoft than to go through all the hassle of retraining, lack of productivity, rewriting code, etc.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Re:... to feed the hungry or to save your soul?
on
Geek Charities?
·
· Score: 1
BTW: A donation to EFF or FSF is likely to do a lot more good to the poor people than the more direct charities
Congratulations. You win our "Living in a dream world all his own" award for this thread. I very much doubt that a poor kid somewhere unsure where their next meal is coming from gives a flying fuck about whether software is free or proprietary.
GET A SENSE OF PROPORTION
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
The reason for this was because the old reading room was running out of space.
You can have all the online works you want, but they're no substitute for the real thing...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
To comment further, the Daily Mail is a right-wing pile of shite which can have one article condemming, persecution of homosexuals, and another article on the next page how we must keep Clause 28 or else we legalise buggering children!
They also print any old bollocks from people like Graham "nutter" Hancock, and Danbury Collins the psychic masturbator as though it was news.
(Recently the Mail had a feature on Cat Phrenology... Yes, really!)
While it may not be quite as rabid as The Sun (front page Sun headline today is that The Sun has stopped a pub in a soap opera from being renamed. It's a TV SHOW guys! There must be something else in the world worth putting on the front page?
If it's in the New Scientist, or any other proper scientific publication, or a reputable newspaper not given to printing any old bollocks, I'll believe it then...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
They're impressive beasts, but one has to wonder why they've spent nearly a billion dollars on this.
Because they can? Every development starts with a small step. The world's fastest and largest planes developed from the Wright Flyer. The world's largest ships developed from a dug-out canoe or a couple of logs lashed together.
Who knows, humanoid bipedal robots developed from these may be able to enter places too dangerous for people and save lives. - firefighting, high radiation levels, etc.
I find it fascinating. So long as they don't fit one with a personality prototype, that is...!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
We are going to run out of coal. And oil too. Fossil fuels are a limited resource which could well run out IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
We need to start looking at alternative power sources NOW, not waiting until we run out.
That's even before we get to fucking up the climate with fossil fuel emissions...
More funding to Nuclear Fusion!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Neal Stephenson's Animal House"
I read a copy, it's really not terribly good, I'm surprised Stephenson is allowing it to be reprinted as it's not a patch on any of his later works from Zodiac onwards.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Without this tax-dodge which probably doesn't cost Sony that much, the PS2 would end up costing end-users in Europe even more of an exorbitant price (compared by FX rates) to the price it sells for elsewhere in the world...
Come back Clive Sinclair, all is forgiven!
We promise not to make C5 jokes!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Yeah. I was doing jury service a couple of years back and the case was this black guy got pulled in by the police and charged with possession of a weapon after they found a few knives in his van.
He was a builder, by the way, and his van was full of tools and stuff he'd cleared from where he'd been working.
One of the knives was a tiny fruit knife he used to cut the skin off oranges, the other was some bent blunted old knife he'd picked up when clearing up a site and tossed in the van with everything else. None of which would have been much use as a weapon, but fitted his circumstances (builder who likes eating oranges) perfectly.
The judge really laid into the police who had arrested this guy, practically accusing them of making it all up, and the jury found him not guilty in no time.
I suspect the cops had arrested him because he'd overtaken them more than anything else.
Thank god for the jury system, is all I say, because if it had been left to the police that guy would still be serving time...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Exactly.
During the Iran/Iraq war, Iraq were Our Friends because they were fighting Ayatollah led Iran. So we (America, Britain, etc) sold them lots of weapons to use.
Come the gulf war, we had weapons that America and Britain had sold Iraq being used against us.
(Admittedly, most British troops killed during that conflict were killed by a trigger-happy American pilot who blew up a troop carrier which was clearly identified as an allied vehicle.)
During the Falklands conflict, French Mirage jets and Exocet missiles were used against the British task force. Harriers kicked Mirage arse, but the exocets took out several of our ships as we didn't have a good defence against them. Still, that's another good reason to dislike the French.
So. Your enemy can be using the same equipment used by you or your allies. Although the Americans tend to have the best "kill all our allies" polices as I mentioned above...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
At an SF convention a couple of years ago we had a game of Calvinball. We based it on baseball - and had a set of cards with rules written on each, which were dealt out when people shouted "New rule!".
One of the rule changes included nominating a contestant as second and a halfth base. He promptly ran off into the con hotel pursued by the player....
It actually worked as a group activity!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
All voyages of explaration are subject to risk. How many hundreds of people died exploring previously unknown territory on Earth? Going to the poles, discovering America, charting the uncharted continents, rounding the cape, etc.
If we take no risks at all we will stagnate may as well not be alive.
For mankind to explore space, we need to be aware of the risks, judge them, but not be afraid to take them.
And yes, if I was offered a ride to Mir or the ISS, I'd be there like a shot.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Little weird flying things? Mosquitoes? Dragonflies? Midges? What?
Crop Circles are a prank - almost an artform, as pranksters try to make more and more complicated constructions to out-do each other. Maybe they have more than a few people. Maybe they have all their friends.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
It's just odd how these crop circles always appear near main roads, or on flightpaths, and always in fields with a fresh set of tractor tracks. Maybe the space aliens from planet arse drove a tractor...
Or maybe some pranksters used the tractor tracks to walk down to create a piece of Crop Art in a visible place.
And that's what Crop Circles are. They're not magic(k), they're not alien, they're a couple of pranksters performing art.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Ever lie on your back in a field and look at the clouds and go "Oh, that cloud looks like a fish", or "That cloud looks like a dog", or whatever?
Ever stare into a roaring fire and see pictures in the flames?
That's what this is like, basically. Someone at the lab said something like "Hey, if you turn your head and squint a bit at this picture, it looks kinda like a skull!"
And it's good hallowe'en based publicity.
Chandra tends to be like Hubble's less famous brother, as the Hubble's pictures tend to be prettier than X-Ray pictures. So anything that raises its visibility in the public eye has to be good.
Although sadly I expect some religious nutters to pick up on this. Perhaps we can tell them "God is dead, and that's his skull!"
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Slashdot Mirror
Nah. universe-man@tmbg.com beats all...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
So... Who's idea was it to give mental patients internet access?
Come here George and let the nice man in the white coat give you your medication...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
You obviously didn't read the message. Especially the bit about it being the third brightest object in the night sky!
If you can see the sun, it isn't the night sky!
Suspect you may be right about Venus. That is pretty bright.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
That's the thing nobody here ever thinks of.
Oh, don't spend money on when you can just install Linux everywhere
That's fine for one guy, or a very small number of people. But once you start talking corporations or government departments, you need to retrain large numbers of staff in the new software, and that's before you get to having to re-write software or macros that you use to run under Linux instead.
It's CHEAPER for them to pay up to Microsoft than to go through all the hassle of retraining, lack of productivity, rewriting code, etc.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
BTW: A donation to EFF or FSF is likely to do a lot more good to the poor people than the more direct charities
Congratulations. You win our "Living in a dream world all his own" award for this thread. I very much doubt that a poor kid somewhere unsure where their next meal is coming from gives a flying fuck about whether software is free or proprietary.
GET A SENSE OF PROPORTION
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
The reason for this was because the old reading room was running out of space.
You can have all the online works you want, but they're no substitute for the real thing...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
To comment further, the Daily Mail is a right-wing pile of shite which can have one article condemming, persecution of homosexuals, and another article on the next page how we must keep Clause 28 or else we legalise buggering children!
They also print any old bollocks from people like Graham "nutter" Hancock, and Danbury Collins the psychic masturbator as though it was news.
(Recently the Mail had a feature on Cat Phrenology... Yes, really!)
While it may not be quite as rabid as The Sun (front page Sun headline today is that The Sun has stopped a pub in a soap opera from being renamed. It's a TV SHOW guys! There must be something else in the world worth putting on the front page?
If it's in the New Scientist, or any other proper scientific publication, or a reputable newspaper not given to printing any old bollocks, I'll believe it then...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Pot. Kettle. Black.
Damn. I was going to say that...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Lardy-arsed Americans in their fucking SUVs are already helping to melt the polar ice caps actually!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
They're impressive beasts, but one has to wonder why they've spent nearly a billion dollars on this.
Because they can? Every development starts with a small step. The world's fastest and largest planes developed from the Wright Flyer. The world's largest ships developed from a dug-out canoe or a couple of logs lashed together.
Who knows, humanoid bipedal robots developed from these may be able to enter places too dangerous for people and save lives. - firefighting, high radiation levels, etc.
I find it fascinating. So long as they don't fit one with a personality prototype, that is...!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
We are going to run out of coal. And oil too. Fossil fuels are a limited resource which could well run out IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
We need to start looking at alternative power sources NOW, not waiting until we run out.
That's even before we get to fucking up the climate with fossil fuel emissions...
More funding to Nuclear Fusion!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Neal Stephenson's Animal House"
I read a copy, it's really not terribly good, I'm surprised Stephenson is allowing it to be reprinted as it's not a patch on any of his later works from Zodiac onwards.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Without this tax-dodge which probably doesn't cost Sony that much, the PS2 would end up costing end-users in Europe even more of an exorbitant price (compared by FX rates) to the price it sells for elsewhere in the world...
Come back Clive Sinclair, all is forgiven!
We promise not to make C5 jokes!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Yeah. I was doing jury service a couple of years back and the case was this black guy got pulled in by the police and charged with possession of a weapon after they found a few knives in his van. He was a builder, by the way, and his van was full of tools and stuff he'd cleared from where he'd been working.
One of the knives was a tiny fruit knife he used to cut the skin off oranges, the other was some bent blunted old knife he'd picked up when clearing up a site and tossed in the van with everything else. None of which would have been much use as a weapon, but fitted his circumstances (builder who likes eating oranges) perfectly.
The judge really laid into the police who had arrested this guy, practically accusing them of making it all up, and the jury found him not guilty in no time.
I suspect the cops had arrested him because he'd overtaken them more than anything else.
Thank god for the jury system, is all I say, because if it had been left to the police that guy would still be serving time...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Exactly.
During the Iran/Iraq war, Iraq were Our Friends because they were fighting Ayatollah led Iran. So we (America, Britain, etc) sold them lots of weapons to use. Come the gulf war, we had weapons that America and Britain had sold Iraq being used against us. (Admittedly, most British troops killed during that conflict were killed by a trigger-happy American pilot who blew up a troop carrier which was clearly identified as an allied vehicle.)
During the Falklands conflict, French Mirage jets and Exocet missiles were used against the British task force. Harriers kicked Mirage arse, but the exocets took out several of our ships as we didn't have a good defence against them. Still, that's another good reason to dislike the French.
So. Your enemy can be using the same equipment used by you or your allies.
Although the Americans tend to have the best "kill all our allies" polices as I mentioned above...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Think biggerent.
Is that one of those cromulent words like embiggens?
You know which Simpsons episode I mean...
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Bollocks to that!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
At an SF convention a couple of years ago we had a game of Calvinball. We based it on baseball - and had a set of cards with rules written on each, which were dealt out when people shouted "New rule!".
One of the rule changes included nominating a contestant as second and a halfth base. He promptly ran off into the con hotel pursued by the player....
It actually worked as a group activity!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
...and George Pal is dead so can't make a movie about it....
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Damn. If only I had moderation today. I could moderate this pile of crap "Troll".
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Shakespeare's idea is even better.
"First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers".
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
All voyages of explaration are subject to risk. How many hundreds of people died exploring previously unknown territory on Earth? Going to the poles, discovering America, charting the uncharted continents, rounding the cape, etc.
If we take no risks at all we will stagnate may as well not be alive.
For mankind to explore space, we need to be aware of the risks, judge them, but not be afraid to take them.
And yes, if I was offered a ride to Mir or the ISS, I'd be there like a shot.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Little weird flying things? Mosquitoes? Dragonflies? Midges? What?
Crop Circles are a prank - almost an artform, as pranksters try to make more and more complicated constructions to out-do each other. Maybe they have more than a few people. Maybe they have all their friends.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
It's just odd how these crop circles always appear near main roads, or on flightpaths, and always in fields with a fresh set of tractor tracks. Maybe the space aliens from planet arse drove a tractor...
Or maybe some pranksters used the tractor tracks to walk down to create a piece of Crop Art in a visible place.
And that's what Crop Circles are. They're not magic(k), they're not alien, they're a couple of pranksters performing art.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
Ever lie on your back in a field and look at the clouds and go "Oh, that cloud looks like a fish", or "That cloud looks like a dog", or whatever?
Ever stare into a roaring fire and see pictures in the flames?
That's what this is like, basically. Someone at the lab said something like "Hey, if you turn your head and squint a bit at this picture, it looks kinda like a skull!"
And it's good hallowe'en based publicity.
Chandra tends to be like Hubble's less famous brother, as the Hubble's pictures tend to be prettier than X-Ray pictures. So anything that raises its visibility in the public eye has to be good.
Although sadly I expect some religious nutters to pick up on this. Perhaps we can tell them "God is dead, and that's his skull!"
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems