Re:yeah, they do these things to steal from you...
on
Coming Soon From Intel
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· Score: 1
Personally, I like the idea of new chips coming out all the time. Every time Intel releases a new chip, the prices on the chips below it go down. 1.4's coming? Go checkout what 866s or 933s will be selling for in a couple of months.
Still, it's kind of interesting how Intel is releasing their chips now. Used to be you'd get a 100Mhz increase. Now, it seems they're aiming for 200Mhz, just to make the numbers look bigger in Ghz notation.
I always have to laugh at the wording of press releases of any kind. Just a bunch of marketing dweebs trying desperately to make their company sound important.
"We are taking this action now, after notifying Macromedia on several occasions that its products are infringing our patent. The remedy sought is straightforward -- we ask them to stop infringing our patents," said Bruce Chizen, Adobe's president.
Those bastards at Macromedia! How could they steal your widget tabs? After the months and months of blood, sweat, and tears your company poured into it! Obviously, ole Bruce is not happy with this turn of events, but those evil Macromedia people left him no choice!
"Adobe will not be the R&D department for its competitors"
Damn, Bruce, you sure are one shoot-from-the-hip, no-nonsense kind of guy. I bet right after saying that, Bruce went right back to the grindstone, to go crack some heads and burn the candle at both ends. He is obviously doing this for the good of the stock-holders, and not for the cheap publicity and chance to make millions of dollars in court.
"Adobe will aggressively enforce its patent portfolio and protect the interests of its stockholders," said Colleen Pouliot, Adobe's senior vice president and general counsel.
I wonder if Colleen was in the 10th floor executive-only meeting room (with drink bar, stocked mini-fridge and recliner chairs) when she made this statement, or on the private company jet on her way to Aspen? Nice to see Adobe stockholders have a pitbull like Colleen on their side. Wow!
OK, enough cut-and-past fun. I just had some leftover sarcasm I had to get rid of.
At least they didn't tie this up in some Senatorial Oversight Committee, or some equally useless, rubber-stamp group of Washington insiders.
A university is at least an objective (we hope) third-party. And if you select a university of sufficient size with a CS department of good reputation, such as MIT, Berkley, or Illinois/Chicago-Urbane (sp?), I think you could be assured of a good, professional evaluation. Two would be nice, but perhaps a bit of overkill.
A university making money is nothing inherintly evil, but consider this. If a university get's in the habit of selling their research to companies, how long until those companies are dictating a universities research?
Say Widget U. makes a big breakthrough in genetics, and ends up selling the results of this research to Fud-Gen, a small bio-tech firm. Fud-Gen takes this research and makes millions of millions of dollars. This is all great, but do you think Fud-Gen is going to be satisfied with this? Of course not: Fud-Gen alumni are going to be crawling all over the campus, asking where the next big breakthrough is. What if Widget U professors and students aren't into bio-tech anymore? What if they want to do some drug research? Will Fud-Gen threaten to stop funding for that nice, new student union they were going to donate?
Until recently, universities were one of the last "pure research" environments left in this country: a place where academia could work without the pressures of the business world bearing down on them. Too often, business-funded research suffers from tunnel vision (make this work so we can sell it). We need pure researchers to investigate those things that at first don't seem profitable, only interesting.
Yeah, it was 32 years ago and he was a Democrat, so what? You don't think the Republicans took notice of this? You don't think that security at all Republican and Democratic conventions since then has been increased?
I brought up Kennedy to show a point: that when a political convention comes to town, steps are taken by the local authorities, Secret Service, etc. to make sure that some loon with a gun isn't given free reign of the place.
Your right, of course, no one forced them to become police. They are, however, willing to perform a necessary service that most would be unable or unwilling to perform. For that at least they deserve our respect.
Also, I don't believe that cops should be able to do what they please. On the contrary, they should be held to a higher standard because of the position they hold. However, it doesn't excuse the asinine actions of people like the author, who basically go out of their way to confront and otherwise abuse those in law enforcement.
You know, police brutality is nothing to laugh at. I'm sure that in many cities around this country, cops abuse their authority, and violate the rights of those they arrest.
But you've hit the nail on the head: this guy was asking for it. Consider the scene: the Republican Convention is in town, and security is tight. Ever since Bobby Kennedy was shot, who can blame them. Add to this mix protestors of every kind that descend upon the city, hoping to get themselves arrested on camera, and you have a tense situation.
So along comes our author, who is wearing clothing that, by his own addmission, looks like something Rambo would wear. He is stopped by a cop, who has been ordered to check for suspicious activity/individuals. Instead of being calm and rational, he is immediately beligerant to the officer, and basically dares the officer to arrest him.
I would suggest to the author that he perhaps needs to think a little more about what exactly cops mean to our society. These are men and women who every day literally risk their lives to protect the general public. Not many professions can say that. Do they do a perfect job? Of course not: none one does. Like it or not, though, their function is an essential one. Are you willing to take their place?
Nevertheless, if it did actually come to court, in front of a jury of ordinary folks who're also the consumers ripped off by the miserable cartel the RIAA is, there is a possibility that the RIAA could be hammered half way to hell and back
Anything can happen in a jury trial (Law and Order told me so:) but I wonder if it would really harm the RIAA. It's not like big tobacco trials, where you can wheel in some old, hacking, Emphazyma-ridden geezer, who between 15 minute coughing fits tells you how he didn't know what smoking would do to him.
Who's the victim in an RIAA trial? Some 26 year old programmer sitting on a witness stand, telling the court how his life sucks because he had to pay $18 for PearlJam/10 back in 1995? A 12 year old girl who think's her life won't be complete until she has the latest In-Sync album? Hard to sell a person who can't afford a luxury item like a CD as a victim of anything but poor budget management.
Don't get me wrong, price fixing CD's sucks and needs to be stopped, but a trial of any kind isn't the way to fix things. I know it, the states know it, the RIAA knows it. That's why this whole lawsuit thing is just for the 10:00 news sound-bite potential.
Actually in a case life that, "out-of-court-settlement"="RIAA threatened to pull all their lobbying money, states saw that the general public really didn't care they were paying $18/CD, so one of the state lawyers went over to the RIAA members, said 'Bad RIAA' and slapped them on the wrist, and all was forgotton".
Which is exactly what will happen this time. Napster is all over the news, so a bunch of state senators and State Attorney General's got together to get a little face time on the local news, while taking a "brave stand" on a "hotbead issue" in the face of "corporate greed". And in 2 months, when consumers are still breaking their ankles running to Best Buy to get the latest Metallica album (on sale for $15.99!!!), the suit will be settled "out-of-court", and status quo will once again be restored.
Re:Netscape 6 sucks, but Mozilla's fine
on
Mozilla M17 Is Out
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· Score: 2
*Disclaimer: haven't tried either downloads yet, will be hitting it at work today*
Of course Netscape 6 sucks ass, it's made by AOL
But does the average computer user recognize, or even know, that there's a difference? I realize that Netscape6 and Mozilla are aimed at two totally different groups of users, but if Netscape6 is shit, and is finally killed off by IE, will this affect Mozilla?
there's still plenty of time for Mozilla/Netscape 6 Final to prove themselves
Maybe, but that time is running out quick. The company I work for is seriously considering a building-wide switch to IE 5.01, after years of hardcore Netscape usage. One of the major reasons: When the hell will Netscape release a new stable version? The ever-dwindling Netscape browser market-share shows that others have already made this decision as well. The open-source community will always embrace Mozilla, and I suppose if AOL thrusts Netscape6 (when they finally release) on their users, that will be a big jump, but at this point, will anyone in the general internet community even look at Netscape6? Not unless something major (like the breakup of Microsoft) happens.
Do I get equal time on the pulpit at a xitian church to teach evolution? Then why are they invading the minds of children to teach them religious rubbish?
Well, for one thing no one forces you to go listen to sermons in church. If your a child, you have 3 choices: private school, home school, or public school. If your a person who does not believe in evolution, and you have neither the time nor money to home or private school your children, then it would probably disturb you that such subjects are being taught.
Don't get me wrong, I belive in evolution, and think that it should be taught. Just don't be so quick to dismiss those who may not agree with that view.
Evolution is a confirmed, Objective fact
No, it's a theory. A convincing, widely accepted theory, but a theory none the less.
Yeah, I had a problem with the MOM disks too. I ended up calling Microprose on it, and they shipped me a new "disk 4" for free. I can still remember playing version 1.0 of the game, and saving every damn turn, cause you never knew when it was going to crash. And waiting 45 minutes between turns while the computer cranked away on my 486/25 Compaq Presario. And wondering what the hell this "Guises" spell was supposed to do...:)
A few years ago, MicroProse re-release MOM, MOO, XCom 1 and 2 on CD's, all packaged together. They called it the "Blast-from-the-Past" pack, or some such drivel. Despite the shitty title, those 4 games are all classics (think of XCom2 as a mod for XCom1: it helps), and definitely worth picking up on CD. Don't know if the set would still be floating in a bargin bin somewhere or not.
Given that Microsoft's product is the runaway market leader, it is not surprising that it leads in vulnerabilities: In 1999, the year it took over the server market in earnest, Windows NT totaled 99 new vulnerabilities on the BugTraq list.
Only a person so used to the Microsoft way could make a statement like this and be serious. It's obviously not Microsoft's fault their code has vulnerabilities: it's all those hacker's, who are just jealous.
This looks like an alarmingly high number in comparison with Solaris' 34 or NetBSD's 10, but it is significantly less than the 122 racked up by Red Hat and the other Linuxes
So, Microsoft has a bunch of vulnerabilities because it's so damn popular, but Linux has even more because it's un-popular and inherently unsecure?
The worst game that I've ever played is Cohort, a PC game that came out around 1994. Basically, you were a Roman general in charge of troops. You moved your troops around on the map until you met an enemy. You placed your troops accordingly, gave them orders, then watched them rub up against the enemy for 30+ minutes until one of them finally died. Some of the worst graphics and sounds I've ever seen on a PC game: we're talking Atari 2600 here.
The best game I've ever played is Master of Magic from Microprose. Can I get an Amen from the Congregation?;)
God, no kidding. I can just see the MPAA lawyers huddled around a big oak desk on some building's 40th floor, strategizing ways to 1-up the competition.
Lawyer1: They introduced this shirt as evidence, with the code printed right on it! They said if we ban DeCSS, we have to ban the t-shirts as well! Lawyer2: Well, we can't let them think they've won this point. Subpeona Copyleft, they're now defendents. They think they can play hardball with us? We'll show them!
It's kinda funny to think about what lawyering these day's really is: two people (or groups of people) drawing lines in the sand for each other, trying to see who's got the most sack, and basically costing everyone a ton of money in the process.
That's like saying cars shouldn't have a gas pedal AND a brakes pedal, because, hey, how do you know which one to press?
Umm, no it's not, since both gas and brake are essential to making a car run properly. You can do everything in an operating system with one mouse button: the second one, if supported, is simply a convienience.
That being said, I too hate the idea of one mouse button. I think Apple is underestimating their users. Most people who are going to buy a computer have at some point in their lives used a computer and mouse by now. It's not that difficult for someone to grasp the concept of left and right clicking.
1) We have no means to protect our astronauts effectively from space radiation
Well, space suits do the job now (though perhaps not under extreme conditions), but you probably don't want to wear those for extended periods of time. Perhaps the answer is to build Mars settlements underground? There would be a larger production cost initally, and it would definitely be more difficult, but it would solve the problem of radiation/storms.
2) We are afraid to have anyone die while visiting Mars
Yup, this one thing will be the largest obstacle in settling Mars. It would be possible to jack up the nations support for the first mission, but what happens when somebody dies? It's suddenly not worth it to go to many people. And they have a point. It's easy for me down here on Earth to say, "Go ahead, risk your life going to Mars, it's important.". But if it came down to brass tacks, I don't know if I'd be willing to put myself in that position.
That's why it will probably take a catastrophic event here on Earth, like massive global warming or overpopulation, for people to get really serious about colonizing the moon or Mars.
A bystanding Slashdotter said, "I think [the NasaInsider picture] a fake. Look at the way the light strikes the NASA logo. It doesn't match the shadowing
If that probe is real, I'll eat a hockey-puck shaped moon rock;)
Honestly, if SETI@Home has shown anything, it's shown that we should be less worried about intelligence "out there" and rather more worried by the lack of it down here.
That's true to a point, but just because thing's aren't perfect on Earth doesn't mean that we should abandon all extra-terrestrial exploration/research. Consider what might happen if we were to discover life (any life, even microbes) on another world:
- Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the Big Bang theory, and other's that attempt to explain how life began on Earth are "proven" to a certain extent, and are perhaps accepted by those who previously did not accept them. - Every major religion is forced to re-examine their creeds and faith to deal with this new discovery. If I'm a Christian, and I suddenly discover that God saw fit to create life on other worlds and not just mine, perhaps I'll be a little more tolerant of others. - A major world-wide effort would undoubtedly commence to contact and communicate with this alien life if it is intelligent, or to study it if it's just microbes. Getting a settlement on Mars suddenly becomes more important (to see if there's anything there). Such endeavors cannot be taken up by just one country: the world would have to work together. Major industrial boom for the entire world.
If nothing else, the discovery of intelligent life in space would give the world an "Us Versus Them" mentality. The people of this world would stop seeing themselves as Americans, French, Indian, etc., and see themselves as Earthlings. And a sense of world-wide unity would probably do more for man's common good than anything else I can think of.
This story seems all the more ironic, considering that Disney has just started up the hype-machine on their next animated movie, Atlantis. Heavy Flash warning. Also, there's a trailer, but it of course is QT only. Trust me when I say that this movie looks pretty good: definitely doesn't look like a typical "So much sugar it hurts your teeth" Disney fare.
Still, it sucks that Fox won't be around to at least give them a run for thier money. Are there any other studio's doing studio-release quality, feature length animated movies?
Slashdot Mirror
Personally, I like the idea of new chips coming out all the time. Every time Intel releases a new chip, the prices on the chips below it go down. 1.4's coming? Go checkout what 866s or 933s will be selling for in a couple of months.
Still, it's kind of interesting how Intel is releasing their chips now. Used to be you'd get a 100Mhz increase. Now, it seems they're aiming for 200Mhz, just to make the numbers look bigger in Ghz notation.
I always have to laugh at the wording of press releases of any kind. Just a bunch of marketing dweebs trying desperately to make their company sound important.
"We are taking this action now, after notifying Macromedia on several occasions that its products are infringing our patent. The remedy sought is straightforward -- we ask them to stop infringing our patents," said Bruce Chizen, Adobe's president.
Those bastards at Macromedia! How could they steal your widget tabs? After the months and months of blood, sweat, and tears your company poured into it! Obviously, ole Bruce is not happy with this turn of events, but those evil Macromedia people left him no choice!
"Adobe will not be the R&D department for its competitors"
Damn, Bruce, you sure are one shoot-from-the-hip, no-nonsense kind of guy. I bet right after saying that, Bruce went right back to the grindstone, to go crack some heads and burn the candle at both ends. He is obviously doing this for the good of the stock-holders, and not for the cheap publicity and chance to make millions of dollars in court.
"Adobe will aggressively enforce its patent portfolio and protect the interests of its stockholders," said Colleen Pouliot, Adobe's senior vice president and general counsel.
I wonder if Colleen was in the 10th floor executive-only meeting room (with drink bar, stocked mini-fridge and recliner chairs) when she made this statement, or on the private company jet on her way to Aspen? Nice to see Adobe stockholders have a pitbull like Colleen on their side. Wow!
OK, enough cut-and-past fun. I just had some leftover sarcasm I had to get rid of.
At least they didn't tie this up in some Senatorial Oversight Committee, or some equally useless, rubber-stamp group of Washington insiders.
A university is at least an objective (we hope) third-party. And if you select a university of sufficient size with a CS department of good reputation, such as MIT, Berkley, or Illinois/Chicago-Urbane (sp?), I think you could be assured of a good, professional evaluation. Two would be nice, but perhaps a bit of overkill.
A university making money is nothing inherintly evil, but consider this. If a university get's in the habit of selling their research to companies, how long until those companies are dictating a universities research?
Say Widget U. makes a big breakthrough in genetics, and ends up selling the results of this research to Fud-Gen, a small bio-tech firm. Fud-Gen takes this research and makes millions of millions of dollars. This is all great, but do you think Fud-Gen is going to be satisfied with this? Of course not: Fud-Gen alumni are going to be crawling all over the campus, asking where the next big breakthrough is. What if Widget U professors and students aren't into bio-tech anymore? What if they want to do some drug research? Will Fud-Gen threaten to stop funding for that nice, new student union they were going to donate?
Until recently, universities were one of the last "pure research" environments left in this country: a place where academia could work without the pressures of the business world bearing down on them. Too often, business-funded research suffers from tunnel vision (make this work so we can sell it). We need pure researchers to investigate those things that at first don't seem profitable, only interesting.
Yeah, it was 32 years ago and he was a Democrat, so what? You don't think the Republicans took notice of this? You don't think that security at all Republican and Democratic conventions since then has been increased?
I brought up Kennedy to show a point: that when a political convention comes to town, steps are taken by the local authorities, Secret Service, etc. to make sure that some loon with a gun isn't given free reign of the place.
Your right, of course, no one forced them to become police. They are, however, willing to perform a necessary service that most would be unable or unwilling to perform. For that at least they deserve our respect.
Also, I don't believe that cops should be able to do what they please. On the contrary, they should be held to a higher standard because of the position they hold. However, it doesn't excuse the asinine actions of people like the author, who basically go out of their way to confront and otherwise abuse those in law enforcement.
You know, police brutality is nothing to laugh at. I'm sure that in many cities around this country, cops abuse their authority, and violate the rights of those they arrest.
But you've hit the nail on the head: this guy was asking for it. Consider the scene: the Republican Convention is in town, and security is tight. Ever since Bobby Kennedy was shot, who can blame them. Add to this mix protestors of every kind that descend upon the city, hoping to get themselves arrested on camera, and you have a tense situation.
So along comes our author, who is wearing clothing that, by his own addmission, looks like something Rambo would wear. He is stopped by a cop, who has been ordered to check for suspicious activity/individuals. Instead of being calm and rational, he is immediately beligerant to the officer, and basically dares the officer to arrest him.
I would suggest to the author that he perhaps needs to think a little more about what exactly cops mean to our society. These are men and women who every day literally risk their lives to protect the general public. Not many professions can say that. Do they do a perfect job? Of course not: none one does. Like it or not, though, their function is an essential one. Are you willing to take their place?
Nevertheless, if it did actually come to court, in front of a jury of ordinary folks who're also the consumers ripped off by the miserable cartel the RIAA is, there is a possibility that the RIAA could be hammered half way to hell and back
:) but I wonder if it would really harm the RIAA. It's not like big tobacco trials, where you can wheel in some old, hacking, Emphazyma-ridden geezer, who between 15 minute coughing fits tells you how he didn't know what smoking would do to him.
Anything can happen in a jury trial (Law and Order told me so
Who's the victim in an RIAA trial? Some 26 year old programmer sitting on a witness stand, telling the court how his life sucks because he had to pay $18 for PearlJam/10 back in 1995? A 12 year old girl who think's her life won't be complete until she has the latest In-Sync album? Hard to sell a person who can't afford a luxury item like a CD as a victim of anything but poor budget management.
Don't get me wrong, price fixing CD's sucks and needs to be stopped, but a trial of any kind isn't the way to fix things. I know it, the states know it, the RIAA knows it. That's why this whole lawsuit thing is just for the 10:00 news sound-bite potential.
Actually in a case life that, "out-of-court-settlement"="RIAA threatened to pull all their lobbying money, states saw that the general public really didn't care they were paying $18/CD, so one of the state lawyers went over to the RIAA members, said 'Bad RIAA' and slapped them on the wrist, and all was forgotton".
Which is exactly what will happen this time. Napster is all over the news, so a bunch of state senators and State Attorney General's got together to get a little face time on the local news, while taking a "brave stand" on a "hotbead issue" in the face of "corporate greed". And in 2 months, when consumers are still breaking their ankles running to Best Buy to get the latest Metallica album (on sale for $15.99!!!), the suit will be settled "out-of-court", and status quo will once again be restored.
*Disclaimer: haven't tried either downloads yet, will be hitting it at work today*
Of course Netscape 6 sucks ass, it's made by AOL
But does the average computer user recognize, or even know, that there's a difference? I realize that Netscape6 and Mozilla are aimed at two totally different groups of users, but if Netscape6 is shit, and is finally killed off by IE, will this affect Mozilla?
there's still plenty of time for Mozilla/Netscape 6 Final to prove themselves
Maybe, but that time is running out quick. The company I work for is seriously considering a building-wide switch to IE 5.01, after years of hardcore Netscape usage. One of the major reasons: When the hell will Netscape release a new stable version? The ever-dwindling Netscape browser market-share shows that others have already made this decision as well. The open-source community will always embrace Mozilla, and I suppose if AOL thrusts Netscape6 (when they finally release) on their users, that will be a big jump, but at this point, will anyone in the general internet community even look at Netscape6? Not unless something major (like the breakup of Microsoft) happens.
A classic gaming story, posted by Taco? Come on Emmett, where are ya? It even talks about building your own cabinet! :)
Do I get equal time on the pulpit at a xitian church to teach evolution? Then why are they invading the minds of children to teach them religious rubbish?
Well, for one thing no one forces you to go listen to sermons in church. If your a child, you have 3 choices: private school, home school, or public school. If your a person who does not believe in evolution, and you have neither the time nor money to home or private school your children, then it would probably disturb you that such subjects are being taught.
Don't get me wrong, I belive in evolution, and think that it should be taught. Just don't be so quick to dismiss those who may not agree with that view.
Evolution is a confirmed, Objective fact
No, it's a theory. A convincing, widely accepted theory, but a theory none the less.
Yeah, I had a problem with the MOM disks too. I ended up calling Microprose on it, and they shipped me a new "disk 4" for free. I can still remember playing version 1.0 of the game, and saving every damn turn, cause you never knew when it was going to crash. And waiting 45 minutes between turns while the computer cranked away on my 486/25 Compaq Presario. And wondering what the hell this "Guises" spell was supposed to do...:)
A few years ago, MicroProse re-release MOM, MOO, XCom 1 and 2 on CD's, all packaged together. They called it the "Blast-from-the-Past" pack, or some such drivel. Despite the shitty title, those 4 games are all classics (think of XCom2 as a mod for XCom1: it helps), and definitely worth picking up on CD. Don't know if the set would still be floating in a bargin bin somewhere or not.
What the heck is this guy on?
Given that Microsoft's product is the runaway market leader, it is not surprising that it leads in vulnerabilities: In 1999, the year it took over the server market in earnest, Windows NT totaled 99 new vulnerabilities on the BugTraq list.
Only a person so used to the Microsoft way could make a statement like this and be serious. It's obviously not Microsoft's fault their code has vulnerabilities: it's all those hacker's, who are just jealous.
This looks like an alarmingly high number in comparison with Solaris' 34 or NetBSD's 10, but it is significantly less than the 122 racked up by Red Hat and the other Linuxes
So, Microsoft has a bunch of vulnerabilities because it's so damn popular, but Linux has even more because it's un-popular and inherently unsecure?
Right...
The worst game that I've ever played is Cohort, a PC game that came out around 1994. Basically, you were a Roman general in charge of troops. You moved your troops around on the map until you met an enemy. You placed your troops accordingly, gave them orders, then watched them rub up against the enemy for 30+ minutes until one of them finally died. Some of the worst graphics and sounds I've ever seen on a PC game: we're talking Atari 2600 here.
;)
The best game I've ever played is Master of Magic from Microprose. Can I get an Amen from the Congregation?
When was law something other than that?
;)
Well, there was that time a common man went to Washington to...Wait, that was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Well, then what about that one trial where they talked about evolution, and...No, that was Inherit the Wind.
OK, OK, there was this one trial, where the defense attorney risked his liscense to...No, that was last week's Law and Order.
God, no kidding. I can just see the MPAA lawyers huddled around a big oak desk on some building's 40th floor, strategizing ways to 1-up the competition.
Lawyer1: They introduced this shirt as evidence, with the code printed right on it! They said if we ban DeCSS, we have to ban the t-shirts as well!
Lawyer2: Well, we can't let them think they've won this point. Subpeona Copyleft, they're now defendents. They think they can play hardball with us? We'll show them!
It's kinda funny to think about what lawyering these day's really is: two people (or groups of people) drawing lines in the sand for each other, trying to see who's got the most sack, and basically costing everyone a ton of money in the process.
That's like saying cars shouldn't have a gas pedal AND a brakes pedal, because, hey, how do you know which one to press?
Umm, no it's not, since both gas and brake are essential to making a car run properly. You can do everything in an operating system with one mouse button: the second one, if supported, is simply a convienience.
That being said, I too hate the idea of one mouse button. I think Apple is underestimating their users. Most people who are going to buy a computer have at some point in their lives used a computer and mouse by now. It's not that difficult for someone to grasp the concept of left and right clicking.
Of course Taco didn't post the story: Hemos did. Guess he doesn't mind dual-booting for such tasks.
Now all I have to do is wait a couple of days for the Slashdot effect to wear off to see it for myself.
1) We have no means to protect our astronauts effectively from space radiation
Well, space suits do the job now (though perhaps not under extreme conditions), but you probably don't want to wear those for extended periods of time. Perhaps the answer is to build Mars settlements underground? There would be a larger production cost initally, and it would definitely be more difficult, but it would solve the problem of radiation/storms.
2) We are afraid to have anyone die while visiting Mars
Yup, this one thing will be the largest obstacle in settling Mars. It would be possible to jack up the nations support for the first mission, but what happens when somebody dies? It's suddenly not worth it to go to many people. And they have a point. It's easy for me down here on Earth to say, "Go ahead, risk your life going to Mars, it's important.". But if it came down to brass tacks, I don't know if I'd be willing to put myself in that position.
That's why it will probably take a catastrophic event here on Earth, like massive global warming or overpopulation, for people to get really serious about colonizing the moon or Mars.
A bystanding Slashdotter said, "I think [the NasaInsider picture] a fake. Look at the way the light strikes the NASA logo. It doesn't match the shadowing
;)
If that probe is real, I'll eat a hockey-puck shaped moon rock
Or is it perhaps A-B-B-A (Ikari Warriors)?
real-world ship date is supposed to be 2002
And the day after it ships, someone will be up on Ebay, selling their Boba Fett character for a $1000 starting bid.
Honestly, if SETI@Home has shown anything, it's shown that we should be less worried about intelligence "out there" and rather more worried by the lack of it down here.
That's true to a point, but just because thing's aren't perfect on Earth doesn't mean that we should abandon all extra-terrestrial exploration/research. Consider what might happen if we were to discover life (any life, even microbes) on another world:
- Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the Big Bang theory, and other's that attempt to explain how life began on Earth are "proven" to a certain extent, and are perhaps accepted by those who previously did not accept them.
- Every major religion is forced to re-examine their creeds and faith to deal with this new discovery. If I'm a Christian, and I suddenly discover that God saw fit to create life on other worlds and not just mine, perhaps I'll be a little more tolerant of others.
- A major world-wide effort would undoubtedly commence to contact and communicate with this alien life if it is intelligent, or to study it if it's just microbes. Getting a settlement on Mars suddenly becomes more important (to see if there's anything there). Such endeavors cannot be taken up by just one country: the world would have to work together. Major industrial boom for the entire world.
If nothing else, the discovery of intelligent life in space would give the world an "Us Versus Them" mentality. The people of this world would stop seeing themselves as Americans, French, Indian, etc., and see themselves as Earthlings. And a sense of world-wide unity would probably do more for man's common good than anything else I can think of.
This story seems all the more ironic, considering that Disney has just started up the hype-machine on their next animated movie, Atlantis. Heavy Flash warning. Also, there's a trailer, but it of course is QT only. Trust me when I say that this movie looks pretty good: definitely doesn't look like a typical "So much sugar it hurts your teeth" Disney fare.
Still, it sucks that Fox won't be around to at least give them a run for thier money. Are there any other studio's doing studio-release quality, feature length animated movies?