In all my experience of converting people from Windows to Linux, the real n00bies (the ones that tell you things like my computer is to slow to run the internet) aren't the problem, it's the people that think they know what they're doing in windows that are the problem. For example, I've tried converting a few of my kinda tech savvy (as in they know the parts of the computer and could probably put together a desktop) friends by having them dual boot... It was a disaster. They were asking all the questions one would expect: Why can't I run exe's, where's the C drive, why should I unmount disks before I pull them out, ect.
After giving up for a bit I changed the crowd I was trying to "convert" to people that had never conceptualized that Windows isn't the computer that it's just software to help (some would argue) the computer to run. This went over incredibly well. It usually works the same way every time: Person comes up to me, says something like "My computer is really slow, I think myspace gave my a virus... fix it" I respond "How about I install something called Linux which will fix all your problems". After 10 minutes of helping them understand the basics of computers they're sold. I've done this with at least 5 people and I have had maybe 7 questions in the last 2 years. I check in every once in a while and I hear the same thing "My computer is still fast!", "I haven't had a problem with it", "Why doesn't everyone use Linux?" , "I can't believe I was going to spend 1000 on a new computer"... the list goes on.
It's my personal hypothesis the less someones knows about computers the better the are to learn to use gnu/Linux because they are already used to being uncomfortable with computers and have no preconceptions of how the interface should look or where the "C" drive should be. So don't worry about the look and feel of the OS, just make sure you explain it's different, and why it's different then you should be fine.
It's been a while, but I seam to remember ford writing A LOT more than just "Mostly Harmless"... but after the editors got to it, that was all that was left.
... "the human ability to focus attention on just one person in the midst of other people, voices and background noise."
I don't think this is a strictly "human" trait. My dog doesn't have a problem listening to me over other people calling his name at the same time. Whether he can partake in the utter waste of time called "small talk" is still, however, unknown to me.
That's a good point, but paper isn't stuck in filing cabinets forever. I work a pretty lame job of filing such papers (at least I have a job right?) that have been moved from some company to the one I work for, for 10 year storage and destruction. Day in and day out I sort through 10 kilo plus, boxes of random paper and no one will probably ever care about again.
We've been using consumable paper since the Egyptians first wrote on papyrus. You think a few millennia later we would have something better eh? It may not be perfect ATM, but having a re-usable option is a great step in the right direction IMO.
What a waste of time and money. Boredom is completely self defined. One person could be "suffering" from boredom, while the next person who is experiencing the same as the first could be peeing their pants from excitement. How they managed to put a study together baised out of this ambiguity is the only impressive thing here.
I have dental sealant, and it's no where near as good as natural enamel. I believe swb is getting at something that is better, that doesn't suffer from decay like enamel. The dental sealant that I have wears of every 3 to 4 years which results in mind numbing tingling sensation from exposed tooth nerve.
*The uncanny valley was not addressed
I haven't herd of this until just now, so I wiki'd it. You make a very good point. However looking at the graph on the wiki page, at the bottom of the graph I see zombie and corpse. A little higher I see prosthetic hand, and then almost level with the line before the dip I see a life like puppet. I think the face capture technology can probably beat a puppet.
Failing that, I would say that many of us doubt the abilities why have to have compassion and empathy in the littlest and most inhuman of things.
I wouldn't be so sure. Most of/. is pointing to the teacher ineptitude on this one, and I agree.
I did a science fair project in 2005 (I was in 10th grade) that was far worse IMO that this. Doing the science fair was a requirement that I had no interest in, and my science teacher (being a good teacher) saw this immediately and decided work with us (I had a partner). We ended up building two 2 meter tall hair spray cannons that launched tennis balls, so we could study the effect of weight and density on the flight path of spherical objects through the atmosphere. I could tell he pulled some strings for us because every teacher was asking us how far the things went, ect (we could get a standard tennis ball to travel 1000 feet, campus security found that interesting too). While we didn't win anything, were certainly had the most popular booth at the fair.
Looking back, this project is one of the major reasons why I am enrolled in a science degree.
That's my point. It's time they fully separate the vehicle that puts cargo in space from the vehicle that puts people in space. As you said, The space shuttle isn't very good (efficiency wise) at lifting man and cargo.I bet that the vehicle that won X prize couldn't haul 20 tons, but it can haul a few people, for quite cheap compared to the shuttle. And this cannon could shot up the cargo required for quite cheap.
I suspect if this works flawlessly, IF, that space flight in general will be a lot cheaper (even for humans). The big reason for the space shuttle is that it can carry massive amounts cargo with the benefit of people as well. With a cannon that can blast cargo up to orbit, NASA can utilize something like the X prize winners.
I just moved to NZ from the US, and I was shocked. I went from a 2Mbit connection with unlimited access for 28 bucks a month in the US to something called maximum band width available in NZ. I get anywhere between.5Mbit to 4Mbit, but I pay 50 dollars for 15 Gigs (unlimited between 4 am and 8am), not counting phone line renting which is 45$ which is required for DSL. It was a shocker for me, and anyone in the US should count themselves lucky for how cheap bandwidth is... and how much you get.
the only thing they could do make an opposing force, is to find a way to let nerves and blood cells pass through a porous metal... we'll call it adamantium. And we can then infuse and re build limbs out of this nearly indestructible metal... The only enemy of these sure humans: Airports.
haha, I went rushing to this post hoping no one had said that phrase yet! In all seriousness though, how does this study take into account the totally different lifestyles of newer generations. Maybe it's like OP said and we have richer mental life, or maybe it's people are starting to take the vitamins... It could be a number of things that are actually causing this trend.
I saw in my statistics last semester a real test trying to say that the number of TV's in a country has an affect on the average life expectancy. I could plainly see that as the TV's per house hold increased so did the life expectancy. Then my instruction explain "the phrase" and showed life expectancy also increasing with the amount of doctors per person. Correlation does not mean SQUAT!
I have wondered this for SO long, and it would be really interesting to hear a qualified answer. That being said I will take a crack at how I think this may be possible. I think I, and most people, are thinking about the universe wrong. The universe is not some object, everything inside it is, and everything inside the universe abides by the laws of physics. So the universe can expand at what ever rate it wants. I know this brings up the problem of things much be traveling away from each other faster than C, but I had an idea after reading through your question. The overall matter in the universe is finite (we believe) so, because the universe is expanding like BigJeff says (in the 4th dimension), and we think of the 4th dimension as a plane observable by the 5th dimension, and a point observable by the 6th dimension, I would think because the universe is expanding in a higher dimension that it is not actually the "edge of the universe" that is growing and matter filling in the space, but it's the actual space between particles that is expanding. If every particle in the universe moved away from the next by a millimeter in a year, I'm guessing that the universe would seam to expand faster than light without actually breaking any laws. And I would assume from this that gravity is a bit of a limiting factor in keeping particles from moving apart.
It's just a thought I had reading your question, and it's nap time now.
I agree with your statement. I would also like to bring up that while the early hominids may have physically larger brains, this does not mean they have more capacity. Much of our brain capacity comes from the overall surface area of our brain, the more folds the larger the surface area, and theoretically more brain capacity. Perhaps like aurispecor said, our brains are just more efficient and compact versions of theirs. It would surprise me if evolution works like modern electronics, make something fast, then make it smaller.
Slashdot Mirror
Sounds like old new to me!
There is something incredibly belittling about trying to comprehend the vastness that vehicles like that help us explore.
In all my experience of converting people from Windows to Linux, the real n00bies (the ones that tell you things like my computer is to slow to run the internet) aren't the problem, it's the people that think they know what they're doing in windows that are the problem. For example, I've tried converting a few of my kinda tech savvy (as in they know the parts of the computer and could probably put together a desktop) friends by having them dual boot... It was a disaster. They were asking all the questions one would expect: Why can't I run exe's, where's the C drive, why should I unmount disks before I pull them out, ect.
... fix it" I respond "How about I install something called Linux which will fix all your problems". After 10 minutes of helping them understand the basics of computers they're sold. I've done this with at least 5 people and I have had maybe 7 questions in the last 2 years. I check in every once in a while and I hear the same thing "My computer is still fast!", "I haven't had a problem with it", "Why doesn't everyone use Linux?" , "I can't believe I was going to spend 1000 on a new computer" ... the list goes on.
After giving up for a bit I changed the crowd I was trying to "convert" to people that had never conceptualized that Windows isn't the computer that it's just software to help (some would argue) the computer to run. This went over incredibly well. It usually works the same way every time: Person comes up to me, says something like "My computer is really slow, I think myspace gave my a virus
It's my personal hypothesis the less someones knows about computers the better the are to learn to use gnu/Linux because they are already used to being uncomfortable with computers and have no preconceptions of how the interface should look or where the "C" drive should be. So don't worry about the look and feel of the OS, just make sure you explain it's different, and why it's different then you should be fine.
It's been a while, but I seam to remember ford writing A LOT more than just "Mostly Harmless"... but after the editors got to it, that was all that was left.
... "the human ability to focus attention on just one person in the midst of other people, voices and background noise."
I don't think this is a strictly "human" trait. My dog doesn't have a problem listening to me over other people calling his name at the same time. Whether he can partake in the utter waste of time called "small talk" is still, however, unknown to me.
That's a good point, but paper isn't stuck in filing cabinets forever. I work a pretty lame job of filing such papers (at least I have a job right?) that have been moved from some company to the one I work for, for 10 year storage and destruction. Day in and day out I sort through 10 kilo plus, boxes of random paper and no one will probably ever care about again.
We've been using consumable paper since the Egyptians first wrote on papyrus. You think a few millennia later we would have something better eh? It may not be perfect ATM, but having a re-usable option is a great step in the right direction IMO.
College students every mourn.
What a waste of time and money. Boredom is completely self defined. One person could be "suffering" from boredom, while the next person who is experiencing the same as the first could be peeing their pants from excitement. How they managed to put a study together baised out of this ambiguity is the only impressive thing here.
I have dental sealant, and it's no where near as good as natural enamel. I believe swb is getting at something that is better, that doesn't suffer from decay like enamel. The dental sealant that I have wears of every 3 to 4 years which results in mind numbing tingling sensation from exposed tooth nerve.
are there some cool real-world applications I'm not thinking of?
Seeing that the water was bellow freezing in both cases, you can bet on some cool application!
If they had the Martians number they could just call them and ask them for help. NASA, you proud fools!
*The uncanny valley was not addressed I haven't herd of this until just now, so I wiki'd it. You make a very good point. However looking at the graph on the wiki page, at the bottom of the graph I see zombie and corpse. A little higher I see prosthetic hand, and then almost level with the line before the dip I see a life like puppet. I think the face capture technology can probably beat a puppet.
Failing that, I would say that many of us doubt the abilities why have to have compassion and empathy in the littlest and most inhuman of things.
I wouldn't be so sure. Most of /. is pointing to the teacher ineptitude on this one, and I agree.
I did a science fair project in 2005 (I was in 10th grade) that was far worse IMO that this. Doing the science fair was a requirement that I had no interest in, and my science teacher (being a good teacher) saw this immediately and decided work with us (I had a partner). We ended up building two 2 meter tall hair spray cannons that launched tennis balls, so we could study the effect of weight and density on the flight path of spherical objects through the atmosphere. I could tell he pulled some strings for us because every teacher was asking us how far the things went, ect (we could get a standard tennis ball to travel 1000 feet, campus security found that interesting too). While we didn't win anything, were certainly had the most popular booth at the fair.
Looking back, this project is one of the major reasons why I am enrolled in a science degree.
That's my point. It's time they fully separate the vehicle that puts cargo in space from the vehicle that puts people in space. As you said, The space shuttle isn't very good (efficiency wise) at lifting man and cargo.I bet that the vehicle that won X prize couldn't haul 20 tons, but it can haul a few people, for quite cheap compared to the shuttle. And this cannon could shot up the cargo required for quite cheap.
I suspect if this works flawlessly, IF, that space flight in general will be a lot cheaper (even for humans). The big reason for the space shuttle is that it can carry massive amounts cargo with the benefit of people as well. With a cannon that can blast cargo up to orbit, NASA can utilize something like the X prize winners.
Commercial space flight here I come!
I just moved to NZ from the US, and I was shocked. I went from a 2Mbit connection with unlimited access for 28 bucks a month in the US to something called maximum band width available in NZ. I get anywhere between .5Mbit to 4Mbit, but I pay 50 dollars for 15 Gigs (unlimited between 4 am and 8am), not counting phone line renting which is 45$ which is required for DSL. It was a shocker for me, and anyone in the US should count themselves lucky for how cheap bandwidth is... and how much you get.
That all sounds so complicated... wouldn't it be easier to add a GSM antenna in my laptop and shrink it to fit in my hand?
the only thing they could do make an opposing force, is to find a way to let nerves and blood cells pass through a porous metal... we'll call it adamantium. And we can then infuse and re build limbs out of this nearly indestructible metal... The only enemy of these sure humans: Airports.
haha, I went rushing to this post hoping no one had said that phrase yet! In all seriousness though, how does this study take into account the totally different lifestyles of newer generations. Maybe it's like OP said and we have richer mental life, or maybe it's people are starting to take the vitamins... It could be a number of things that are actually causing this trend. I saw in my statistics last semester a real test trying to say that the number of TV's in a country has an affect on the average life expectancy. I could plainly see that as the TV's per house hold increased so did the life expectancy. Then my instruction explain "the phrase" and showed life expectancy also increasing with the amount of doctors per person. Correlation does not mean SQUAT!
I have wondered this for SO long, and it would be really interesting to hear a qualified answer. That being said I will take a crack at how I think this may be possible. I think I, and most people, are thinking about the universe wrong. The universe is not some object, everything inside it is, and everything inside the universe abides by the laws of physics. So the universe can expand at what ever rate it wants. I know this brings up the problem of things much be traveling away from each other faster than C, but I had an idea after reading through your question. The overall matter in the universe is finite (we believe) so, because the universe is expanding like BigJeff says (in the 4th dimension), and we think of the 4th dimension as a plane observable by the 5th dimension, and a point observable by the 6th dimension, I would think because the universe is expanding in a higher dimension that it is not actually the "edge of the universe" that is growing and matter filling in the space, but it's the actual space between particles that is expanding. If every particle in the universe moved away from the next by a millimeter in a year, I'm guessing that the universe would seam to expand faster than light without actually breaking any laws. And I would assume from this that gravity is a bit of a limiting factor in keeping particles from moving apart. It's just a thought I had reading your question, and it's nap time now.
I agree with your statement. I would also like to bring up that while the early hominids may have physically larger brains, this does not mean they have more capacity. Much of our brain capacity comes from the overall surface area of our brain, the more folds the larger the surface area, and theoretically more brain capacity. Perhaps like aurispecor said, our brains are just more efficient and compact versions of theirs. It would surprise me if evolution works like modern electronics, make something fast, then make it smaller.
I knew it!
I could be because everyone and his grandma, who reads /. is trying to check wikiLeaks out so they can post a witty comment.
... I congratulate you and wish your success to get to the consumer market so I may browser /. longer!
OMG alliteration screw c++