Apparently, it worked. Lots of people remember the video and the claim of how they got the footage. Very few seem to be aware that the alleged source was subsequently refuted.
If the US switched off GPS, then we wouldn't have GPS either.
GPS is not "switched off". Instead, "Selective Availability" (SA) is turned back on.
SA introduces random, unpredictable errors into the unencrypted signals broadcast by the GPS satellites. As a result, the accuracy of a position decreases. When the GPS system first went online and SA was still enabled, typical position accuracy was about within 10 meters:
SA can still be enabled (introducing errors up to 100m), and can be enabled for only certain parts of the globe. But, it only degrades the unencrypted broadcast. The encrypted signal used by the military is not affected.
if Ron Paul were president, I guarantee you that he'd keep the new surveillance powers, too.
If Ron Paul were President, he might change his mind.
But as a Congressman, he opposes it. He didn't vote on the FISA bill, reportedly because he was unavailable to do so after a last-minute change to the calendar.
Mr. Speaker, I regret that due to the unexpected last-minute appearance of this measure on the legislative calendar this week, a prior commitment has prevented me from voting on the FISA amendments. I have strongly opposed every previous FISA overhaul attempt and I certainly would have voted against this one as well.
The main reason I oppose this latest version is that it still clearly violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution by allowing the federal government to engage in the bulk collection of American citizens' communications without a search warrant. That US citizens can have their private communication intercepted by the government without a search warrant is anti-American, deeply disturbing, and completely unacceptable.
In addition to gutting the fourth amendment, this measure will deprive Americans who have had their rights violated by telecommunication companies involved in the Administration's illegal wiretapping program the right to seek redress in the courts for the wrongs committed against them. Worse, this measure provides for retroactive immunity, whereby individuals or organizations that broke the law as it existed are granted immunity for prior illegal actions once the law has been changed. Ex post facto laws have long been considered anathema in free societies under rule of law. Our Founding Fathers recognized this, including in Article I section 9 of the Constitution that "No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." How is this FISA bill not a variation of ex post facto? That alone should give pause to supporters of this measure.
Mr. Speaker, we should understand that decimating the protections that our Constitution provides us against the government is far more dangerous to the future of this country than whatever external threats may exist. We can protect this country without violating the Constitution and I urge my colleagues to reconsider their support for this measure.
I'm not particularly enthusiastic about Ron Paul, but claiming he would support warrantless wiretapping is a misrepresentation of his public statements on the subject.
Wasn't there a Star Trek episode with a similar idea?
I don't remember robot fighting, but I do remember a society in which war was conducted entirely via simulation. By mutual agreement, the outcome of the battle determined how many non-combatants on each side were executed.
Not the same case. "Last updated May 23, 2008". Mods might want to pay attention...
Or, you could read the two articles. Both are Timothy Vernor v. Autodesk.
Maybe an actual attorney can weigh in here and explain the relationship between the two events. Perhaps the the latter is a continuation of the former?
The bank put a bounty on the frauder head, the frauder get one of his friends to kill him or even use an alt to do it, and simply share the bounty money with him.
I've suggested that the EVE bounty system be amended. If I put a bounty on someone's head, then when the bounty is collected, some fraction of the bounty amount will be deducted from the player's skill points.
For instance, if you have a 1,000,000 bounty and are podded, then 100,000 skill points are deducted from your total -- as if your clone wasn't up-to-date. This will impose a real penalty on pirates, and prevent them from collaborating with an alt or a buddy to collect the bounty.
Of course, this proposal isn't popular with the pirate factions.
How can this be patent worthy? Individual changes to documents to make them traceable have been performed for years - even in anonymous questionnaires...
I wondered exactly the same thing. It's even a part of the plot-line in an early Tom Clancy book to determine who was leaking classified documents.
If the truck acts as a Faraday cage why would it block GPS but let through cellphone traffic?
GPS signals are much lower power than cell phone signals. They are just barely above the noise level, and receivers depend on digital signal processing of several seconds of data to "lock".
I have an auto loan through the company and they just sent me a letter telling me that I better make sure I have them listed on my insurance as something or other or they would purchase their own insurance and add it to the loan amount.
It's somewhere in the fine print of your loan agreement: as the secured creditor, the bank wants to be sure they are the first beneficiary of any payment from your insurance company if the vehicle is totaled.
I'm not sure why it's the first time you've seen it: it's always been a requirement for vehicles that I financed.
I think the "technical problems" may be that he couldn't get the okay to build his pipeline along the same corridor.
Moderate parent up. Pickens wanted to use the corridor to build a water pipeline from the Ogalla aquifer to the D/FW area, using eminent domain to acquire the land. He ran into heavy opposition.
The affiliates should have this information already - if they don't, it's because they're not reporting the income. Amazon could simply require that affiliates submit this information, and keep it updated on a timely basis. The affiliates DO have a business presence in the physical world.
That's a good point: if the affiliates are considered a "presence" in the state, then their sales tax permit could be used -- assuming they have a sales tax permit. I don't know what an "affiliate" actually means: it it's nothing more than referrals, then it may be nothing but some guy with a computer at home and their own website.
However, it's not as simple as "here's the tax rate": there are other issues like reporting requirements (to the state), what items should be taxed, and any special conditions (like tax holidays). Given the potential complexity, the only solution may be to just require the affiliate to collect the sales tax and deal with the local taxing authorities. That would certainly cut down on the number of affiliates.
So to calculate the sales tax owed on a given purchase you'd have to have a table that correlates tax information down to the zip code level, and make sure you know which taxing authority gets its share of the tax.
Zip code isn't sufficiently detailed, as the 5-digit code crosses political boundaries. ZIP+4 might be enough, but I don't know that for sure.
However, you overlooked other issues, such as whether a specific item is taxable in a particular jurisdiction. There are also tax holidays in many states, during which certain items are exempt from sales tax for a short duration (like a 3-day weekend).
It sounds like an interesting problem, but would you want the liability?
The price for being wrong is getting arrested for tax fraud. Of course, you wouldn't personally be charged, but your client/customers using your data would be depending on your accuracy to stay out of trouble.
Do you think you could write an iron-clad contract that would protect you if one of them decides to pursue you when your data is wrong and it puts them out of business?
Mail order companies do it all the time for the states they operate in, so why can't Amazon? Not enough computing power? I'm not buying it.
In that case, I believe they assess the sales tax rate based on the location of their operation in that state -- not the delivery address. They have to apply for a sales tax permit, and that specifies the rate and the taxing authorities that must be paid.
If you don't have a physical presence in the state, what address would you use to determine the tax rate? If you use the delivery address, how would you know what the rate is and what taxing authorities to pay? As far as I know, that information doesn't exist in a convenient form, and is determined on a case-by-case basis (when the application for a sales tax permit is made).
Also some states (NJ, Indiana in 2007) change their rate on occasion.
I didn't think of it until you mentioned it, but some states have temporary sales tax "holidays" every year. Texas has a "back-to-school" tax holiday every year:
Figuring out the sales tax would be trivial. A small child could program that, and Amazon already calculates shipping costs based on zip codes and multiple methods of delivery.
Slashdot Mirror
You are repeating old denialists' crap.
Do you want me to find refutations for all of your talking points in 1 min. of Google search?
Yes. Or STFU.
You didn't refute his assertions, you attacked him.
When are you going to learn that this kind of behavior is exactly why many people don't believe you?
I think there was a band in the UK which filmed a public performance that way. They just applied for the footage after the performance.
The band claimed they obtained the CCTV footage.
But, they really didn't. It was just a publicity stunt:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1048686_band_in_the_frame
Apparently, it worked. Lots of people remember the video and the claim of how they got the footage. Very few seem to be aware that the alleged source was subsequently refuted.
If the US switched off GPS, then we wouldn't have GPS either.
GPS is not "switched off". Instead, "Selective Availability" (SA) is turned back on.
SA introduces random, unpredictable errors into the unencrypted signals broadcast by the GPS satellites. As a result, the accuracy of a position decreases. When the GPS system first went online and SA was still enabled, typical position accuracy was about within 10 meters:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System#Selective_availability
SA can still be enabled (introducing errors up to 100m), and can be enabled for only certain parts of the globe. But, it only degrades the unencrypted broadcast. The encrypted signal used by the military is not affected.
I thought wifi was too risky, at least according to the mythbusters, in an airplane because not every wifi card, etc. could be tested?
Mythbusters tested mobile phone frequencies.
Wouldn't it be safer just to offer an ethernet port at every seat?
Wiring adds weight, and adds up to a lot of fuel for a large fleet of planes over a year.
It's surprisingly similar in price to internet at airports, but I doubt that it offers anything particularly speedy.
I actually ran a speed test on my iPhone during an AA flight.
It was about 1.5 megabit/sec down, and 256 kilobit/sec up.
Clarification: that was down to my phone, but up to the plane.
I suspect that the plane-to-ground link actually has a higher bandwidth, but individual devices are limited.
if Ron Paul were president, I guarantee you that he'd keep the new surveillance powers, too.
If Ron Paul were President, he might change his mind.
But as a Congressman, he opposes it. He didn't vote on the FISA bill, reportedly because he was unavailable to do so after a last-minute change to the calendar.
http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2008/06/24/ron-paul-on-the-wiretap-bill/
Mr. Speaker, I regret that due to the unexpected last-minute appearance of this measure on the legislative calendar this week, a prior commitment has prevented me from voting on the FISA amendments. I have strongly opposed every previous FISA overhaul attempt and I certainly would have voted against this one as well.
The main reason I oppose this latest version is that it still clearly violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution by allowing the federal government to engage in the bulk collection of American citizens' communications without a search warrant. That US citizens can have their private communication intercepted by the government without a search warrant is anti-American, deeply disturbing, and completely unacceptable.
In addition to gutting the fourth amendment, this measure will deprive Americans who have had their rights violated by telecommunication companies involved in the Administration's illegal wiretapping program the right to seek redress in the courts for the wrongs committed against them. Worse, this measure provides for retroactive immunity, whereby individuals or organizations that broke the law as it existed are granted immunity for prior illegal actions once the law has been changed. Ex post facto laws have long been considered anathema in free societies under rule of law. Our Founding Fathers recognized this, including in Article I section 9 of the Constitution that "No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." How is this FISA bill not a variation of ex post facto? That alone should give pause to supporters of this measure.
Mr. Speaker, we should understand that decimating the protections that our Constitution provides us against the government is far more dangerous to the future of this country than whatever external threats may exist. We can protect this country without violating the Constitution and I urge my colleagues to reconsider their support for this measure.
I'm not particularly enthusiastic about Ron Paul, but claiming he would support warrantless wiretapping is a misrepresentation of his public statements on the subject.
Wasn't there a Star Trek episode with a similar idea?
I don't remember robot fighting, but I do remember a society in which war was conducted entirely via simulation. By mutual agreement, the outcome of the battle determined how many non-combatants on each side were executed.
A Taste of Armageddon
Don't you mean San Jose?
I think the submitter meant "Is this the way?"
"(Is this the way to) Amarillo" was recorded by Tony Christie and turned into a big hit in the UK.
This YouTube video just added to the popularity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI5y1cNpbYo
Maybe it's just the list of nominations is getting thin and the committee is having to loosen their standards to award a person.
There was a record-setting 205 nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
Nominations closed on 2009-02-01, 2 weeks after Obama took office.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1048686_band_in_the_frame
Not the same case. "Last updated May 23, 2008". Mods might want to pay attention...
Or, you could read the two articles. Both are Timothy Vernor v. Autodesk.
Maybe an actual attorney can weigh in here and explain the relationship between the two events. Perhaps the the latter is a continuation of the former?
Here, iPhones can send/receive MMS just fine for a long while already [....]
Since June 17th, 2009 -- approximately 3 months ago.
What are the components of the retail price of gasoline?
The bank put a bounty on the frauder head, the frauder get one of his friends to kill him or even use an alt to do it, and simply share the bounty money with him.
I've suggested that the EVE bounty system be amended. If I put a bounty on someone's head, then when the bounty is collected, some fraction of the bounty amount will be deducted from the player's skill points.
For instance, if you have a 1,000,000 bounty and are podded, then 100,000 skill points are deducted from your total -- as if your clone wasn't up-to-date. This will impose a real penalty on pirates, and prevent them from collaborating with an alt or a buddy to collect the bounty.
Of course, this proposal isn't popular with the pirate factions.
How can this be patent worthy? Individual changes to documents to make them traceable have been performed for years - even in anonymous questionnaires...
I wondered exactly the same thing. It's even a part of the plot-line in an early Tom Clancy book to determine who was leaking classified documents.
If the truck acts as a Faraday cage why would it block GPS but let through cellphone traffic?
GPS signals are much lower power than cell phone signals. They are just barely above the noise level, and receivers depend on digital signal processing of several seconds of data to "lock".
I have an auto loan through the company and they just sent me a letter telling me that I better make sure I have them listed on my insurance as something or other or they would purchase their own insurance and add it to the loan amount.
It's somewhere in the fine print of your loan agreement: as the secured creditor, the bank wants to be sure they are the first beneficiary of any payment from your insurance company if the vehicle is totaled.
I'm not sure why it's the first time you've seen it: it's always been a requirement for vehicles that I financed.
I sometimes set my password to ********
Your password is hunter2?
I think the "technical problems" may be that he couldn't get the okay to build his pipeline along the same corridor.
Moderate parent up. Pickens wanted to use the corridor to build a water pipeline from the Ogalla aquifer to the D/FW area, using eminent domain to acquire the land. He ran into heavy opposition.
The affiliates should have this information already - if they don't, it's because they're not reporting the income. Amazon could simply require that affiliates submit this information, and keep it updated on a timely basis. The affiliates DO have a business presence in the physical world.
That's a good point: if the affiliates are considered a "presence" in the state, then their sales tax permit could be used -- assuming they have a sales tax permit. I don't know what an "affiliate" actually means: it it's nothing more than referrals, then it may be nothing but some guy with a computer at home and their own website.
However, it's not as simple as "here's the tax rate": there are other issues like reporting requirements (to the state), what items should be taxed, and any special conditions (like tax holidays). Given the potential complexity, the only solution may be to just require the affiliate to collect the sales tax and deal with the local taxing authorities. That would certainly cut down on the number of affiliates.
So to calculate the sales tax owed on a given purchase you'd have to have a table that correlates tax information down to the zip code level, and make sure you know which taxing authority gets its share of the tax.
Zip code isn't sufficiently detailed, as the 5-digit code crosses political boundaries. ZIP+4 might be enough, but I don't know that for sure.
However, you overlooked other issues, such as whether a specific item is taxable in a particular jurisdiction. There are also tax holidays in many states, during which certain items are exempt from sales tax for a short duration (like a 3-day weekend).
I want the contract ... don't you?
It sounds like an interesting problem, but would you want the liability?
The price for being wrong is getting arrested for tax fraud. Of course, you wouldn't personally be charged, but your client/customers using your data would be depending on your accuracy to stay out of trouble.
Do you think you could write an iron-clad contract that would protect you if one of them decides to pursue you when your data is wrong and it puts them out of business?
Mail order companies do it all the time for the states they operate in, so why can't Amazon? Not enough computing power? I'm not buying it.
In that case, I believe they assess the sales tax rate based on the location of their operation in that state -- not the delivery address. They have to apply for a sales tax permit, and that specifies the rate and the taxing authorities that must be paid.
If you don't have a physical presence in the state, what address would you use to determine the tax rate? If you use the delivery address, how would you know what the rate is and what taxing authorities to pay? As far as I know, that information doesn't exist in a convenient form, and is determined on a case-by-case basis (when the application for a sales tax permit is made).
Also some states (NJ, Indiana in 2007) change their rate on occasion.
I didn't think of it until you mentioned it, but some states have temporary sales tax "holidays" every year. Texas has a "back-to-school" tax holiday every year:
http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx98_490/tx98_490.html
.
Figuring out the sales tax would be trivial. A small child could program that, and Amazon already calculates shipping costs based on zip codes and multiple methods of delivery.
Sorry, but it's not that simple.