I do see your argument, but a counter-argument is easy. By doing so, you will be cutting off a source of income for them, ensuring that they need to have more public money to maintain their activities and so costing the public more.
Even if using smilies in term papers merely indicated we were at the forefront of innovation in English, the inability of switch to a formal, scholarly register in the appropriate context would make us seem ignorant in the eyes of the world, and would hamstring our international credibility.
-1 for incorrect use of comma
-1 to you for not picking up on "the inability of switch to..."
He says spelling is getting better, but grammar is getting worse. That would be perfectly consistent with using a spell checker and not realising that it's suggested a grammatically-incorrect but properly spelled word.
I don't think he's implying that people are getting better at spelling, just that the number of spelling mistakes he sees is dropping.
Perhaps to Britons, putting things on a table is officially proposing them
Well I don't know for sure, but I'd always assumed that it was from "to bring something to the table", which is a fairly common expression here in the UK. (Think meeting room table, and bringing something with you for consideration (or perhaps even a dining table))
Weight is the name we give to the force required to support a mass against the local gravitational field. It is measured in Newtons, not kg, and is not mass.
Furthermore, the unit of volts-amps would be the Watt - P = VI, with P being power. There's no equivalence between mass and power, it's a meaningless question.
But to answer your question as best as is possible, my mass is about 76kg, which is equivalent to 6.8x10^16J.
everyone should really either be blacklisting or reducing the available functionality of websites to users still browsing with MSIE 6.0
Reducing functionality and putting up a message to let users know that they need to upgrade, would be the best decision.
I disagree. I think everyone should just stop considering IE 6 when implementing new features or creating new websites. Just stop worrying about whether it'll work in IE 6.
That requires less effort on our part, but achieves the same end - IE 6 eventually dies. Though the article isn't clear, I strongly suspect that that's what Google is doing; it looks to me as though March 1st is the planned release date for a new version of their web apps, and they aren't going to care if it breaks in IE 6. I'd be surprised if they're actively breaking it for IE 6; it's not worth the effort.
Ignition means more fusion energy released than laser energy in.
I'm not so sure about that - any reason why it can't ignite, but not "burn" long enough to hit break-even? E.g. if instabilities kill the reaction almost as soon as it gets going. Just seems like a strange definition of ignition is all.
I do have the right -- and sacred duty -- to raise them how I see fit.
Well now, you're right, but at the same time society places limits on that right; if you do things that it considers to be overly detrimental to the welfare of your children then as an ultimate sanction it can and will take them away from you.
I'm not suggesting that you would ever do such a thing of course, but society most certainly does reserve the right to judge what constitutes a healthy upbringing and what does not.
the comments give you an unbiased feel for public sentiment on a subject
No, there is an inherent bias in that the site attracts and caters for a specific type of audience - the majority of people commenting here are techies of one sort or another.
I own an iPod Touch, and so can only install apps on it from the App Store. Last I checked however it performed its primary function (personal media player) perfectly well without doing so.
True, I do have to use iTunes to get music, etc onto it or off it, but even that doesn't require spending any more money with Apple (and in fact, the last few music downloads I've purchased have come from Amazon).
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you.
But that's exactly the choice any iPhone or iPod Touch user has right now! They both perform their primary functions perfectly well without the owner ever using the App Store.
For that matter, owning either device is also a choice. Don't like the fact that you can only (officially) purchase and install apps that have been approved by Apple? Use a different phone/media player.
how can a sexual picture of a 17 year old be considered exploitative when they are allowed to get married (and consummate the marriage)?
Who says that they're allowed to consummate the marriage? The wikipedia page you link to points out that the marriageable age may be below the age of consent; just because you can do one thing that is often associated with another, doesn't necessarily mean that you're allowed to do that other thing.
I wouldn't be too sure of that; IANAL of course, but as I understand it here in the UK at least the mere act of counterfeiting money is illegal, you don't have to actually try to spend it:
14 (2) It is an offence for a person to make a counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin without lawful authority or excuse.
and
16 (2) It is an offence for a person to have in his custody or under his control, without lawful authority or excuse, any thing which is, and which he knows or believes to be, a counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin.
From this page. There are other points that deal with passing counterfeit money off as the real thing, but those two points would seem to make it illegal to deliberately create or possess counterfeit money, whether you intend to spend it or not.
law makes the argument that he's contributing to actual child exploitation.
Well, the argument is generally that where there's a demand, people will step up to supply that demand. It does seem to hold true in most other cases, after all.
Unlike in the West, where the media controls the government. (Just think how many laws have been passed or other political decisions made because of media pressure, or how it would have been portrayed in the media...)
No techie I know installs any toolbar in IE or Firefox.
Does this not count as a toolbar? Because while admittedly I work in the web, almost all the developers I know use it.
That is the only one though, and I'd certainly never install any other that didn't have a clear benefit - and alerting me to new emails isn't a benefit.
Slashdot Mirror
I do see your argument, but a counter-argument is easy. By doing so, you will be cutting off a source of income for them, ensuring that they need to have more public money to maintain their activities and so costing the public more.
Even if using smilies in term papers merely indicated we were at the forefront of innovation in English, the inability of switch to a formal, scholarly register in the appropriate context would make us seem ignorant in the eyes of the world, and would hamstring our international credibility.
-1 for incorrect use of comma
-1 to you for not picking up on "the inability of switch to..."
I'm going to assume that the repetition of "repetition" was intentional... :)
Languages do evolve, but that's no excuse for being illiterate because "ppl no wot i mean, innit?"
He says spelling is getting better, but grammar is getting worse. That would be perfectly consistent with using a spell checker and not realising that it's suggested a grammatically-incorrect but properly spelled word.
I don't think he's implying that people are getting better at spelling, just that the number of spelling mistakes he sees is dropping.
You don't bad-mouth your friends or people you need.
Why would business be any different?
Perhaps to Britons, putting things on a table is officially proposing them
Well I don't know for sure, but I'd always assumed that it was from "to bring something to the table", which is a fairly common expression here in the UK. (Think meeting room table, and bringing something with you for consideration (or perhaps even a dining table))
Simple test - how many volts-amps do you weigh?
Weight is the name we give to the force required to support a mass against the local gravitational field. It is measured in Newtons, not kg, and is not mass.
Furthermore, the unit of volts-amps would be the Watt - P = VI, with P being power. There's no equivalence between mass and power, it's a meaningless question.
But to answer your question as best as is possible, my mass is about 76kg, which is equivalent to 6.8x10^16J.
0; dark matter isn't normal matter that we just can't see, it's an entirely different form of matter (at least according to the theory).
everyone should really either be blacklisting or reducing the available functionality of websites to users still browsing with MSIE 6.0
Reducing functionality and putting up a message to let users know that they need to upgrade, would be the best decision.
I disagree. I think everyone should just stop considering IE 6 when implementing new features or creating new websites. Just stop worrying about whether it'll work in IE 6.
That requires less effort on our part, but achieves the same end - IE 6 eventually dies. Though the article isn't clear, I strongly suspect that that's what Google is doing; it looks to me as though March 1st is the planned release date for a new version of their web apps, and they aren't going to care if it breaks in IE 6. I'd be surprised if they're actively breaking it for IE 6; it's not worth the effort.
Ignition means more fusion energy released than laser energy in.
I'm not so sure about that - any reason why it can't ignite, but not "burn" long enough to hit break-even? E.g. if instabilities kill the reaction almost as soon as it gets going. Just seems like a strange definition of ignition is all.
I do have the right -- and sacred duty -- to raise them how I see fit.
Well now, you're right, but at the same time society places limits on that right; if you do things that it considers to be overly detrimental to the welfare of your children then as an ultimate sanction it can and will take them away from you.
I'm not suggesting that you would ever do such a thing of course, but society most certainly does reserve the right to judge what constitutes a healthy upbringing and what does not.
The hacker bent over his keyboard is a boon to society while the couch potato leaning waayy back is a drain.
With no-one to consume the hacker's output, there is no reason for it to exist, and thus there is no boon.
Never forget that supply and demand are linked; without one, the other is worthless.
the comments give you an unbiased feel for public sentiment on a subject
No, there is an inherent bias in that the site attracts and caters for a specific type of audience - the majority of people commenting here are techies of one sort or another.
Slaved? In what sense?
I own an iPod Touch, and so can only install apps on it from the App Store. Last I checked however it performed its primary function (personal media player) perfectly well without doing so.
True, I do have to use iTunes to get music, etc onto it or off it, but even that doesn't require spending any more money with Apple (and in fact, the last few music downloads I've purchased have come from Amazon).
If people want a choice, they should GET a choice - use the app store, or don't. Instead, Apple's making the choice for you.
But that's exactly the choice any iPhone or iPod Touch user has right now! They both perform their primary functions perfectly well without the owner ever using the App Store.
For that matter, owning either device is also a choice. Don't like the fact that you can only (officially) purchase and install apps that have been approved by Apple? Use a different phone/media player.
how can a sexual picture of a 17 year old be considered exploitative when they are allowed to get married (and consummate the marriage)?
Who says that they're allowed to consummate the marriage? The wikipedia page you link to points out that the marriageable age may be below the age of consent; just because you can do one thing that is often associated with another, doesn't necessarily mean that you're allowed to do that other thing.
I wouldn't be too sure of that; IANAL of course, but as I understand it here in the UK at least the mere act of counterfeiting money is illegal, you don't have to actually try to spend it:
14 (2) It is an offence for a person to make a counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin without lawful authority or excuse.
and
16 (2) It is an offence for a person to have in his custody or under his control, without lawful authority or excuse, any thing which is, and which he knows or believes to be, a counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin.
From this page. There are other points that deal with passing counterfeit money off as the real thing, but those two points would seem to make it illegal to deliberately create or possess counterfeit money, whether you intend to spend it or not.
law makes the argument that he's contributing to actual child exploitation.
Well, the argument is generally that where there's a demand, people will step up to supply that demand. It does seem to hold true in most other cases, after all.
Unlike in the West, where the media controls the government. (Just think how many laws have been passed or other political decisions made because of media pressure, or how it would have been portrayed in the media...)
fannypad over here is slang for a womens sanitary towel
I can see how it might be (fanny = woman's genitals, pad = towel) but I've never heard it, and I'm UK born, bred, and lived all my life.
Yes - they have free wifi.
Yes, there sure is. I pay (lots) for the display device, and would quite like to use it in whatever way I choose.
No techie I know installs any toolbar in IE or Firefox.
Does this not count as a toolbar? Because while admittedly I work in the web, almost all the developers I know use it.
That is the only one though, and I'd certainly never install any other that didn't have a clear benefit - and alerting me to new emails isn't a benefit.
Such posts get modded up because people with mod points agree, whether on topic or not.
Which is of course an abuse of moderation; note there is no "+1, I Agree" option.