And to address your complaints about all the other fun side-effects from copy protection (mostly bug-related), companies just don't care. Once they have your money, you aren't getting it back, because the return policy on all entertainment media is same-copy-only exchange once it's opened. And while they claim it's only to reduce piracy, it does have the wonderful benefit for them that evey sale is absolutely final once you try the product.
I was talking to a guy once who complained that some cd he bought wouldn't play on his computer (where he listens to all his music) because of the copy protection. We eventually decided the best thing for him to do would be to return it. They'd replace it with another copy. The next day he could return that, and so on. Just pick a music store that's not out of your way. At least you can be a big pain in the ass.
For the average user who surfs the internet, checks email and plays solitaire, just about any Linux distro will do if it's preinstalled. There are several that are easier to install than windows XP (fedora's pretty easy if you let it handle the disk partitioning automatically, and choose the everything option) and you wind up with a ton of ready-to-use software. Beat that, Microsoft!
But if you have problems with Linux, and don't like the support you're getting from one source, you can switch to another source, or even hire a couple of people. With Sun, if you don't like the support you're getting, you're screwed.
MSDNAA is ok to a point. My school saved thousands on licencing for the CS labs, but they're too lazy to come up with a scheme to provide students with the software outside of the labs. They don't want to distribute the software to students, and they won't give us usernames and passwords so we can use the microsoft site.
What microsoft needs to do is enforce free access for students. I'm sure the cost of the software they're giving to schools is more than it would cost for my school (University of New Brunswick) to distribute this stuff.
There was a story about her just yesterday. There have been previous stories about the ridiculous stuff she's been spouting about the sco case. She is a person with a well-established reputation on slashdot. If you're just now wondering who she is or what she does, where the hell have you been?
Or should the next story on Microsoft explain who Bill Gates is for the militant uninformed?
Well, she parrotted every 'fact' and theory that sco suggested, even after every other paid shill realized that they were losing any bit of credibility they had by repeating this nonsense.
I think it became personal. Either she could admit she was wrong, or she could continue to behave as if sco was right.
It got so bad because, like sco, she was repeatedly proved wrong by evidence presented by PJ on Groklaw. Obviously, if Maureen can't be wrong, then PJ must be the enemy.
Because she was so blatantly one-sided and 'controversial,' it drove large amounts of traffic to her employer's site from people checking to see what she was going to say next.
She's sort of like a shock-jock, except she dresses herself up as a journalist.
"lots of atmospheric gasses" is relative. The air is thicker than in space, but it's very, very thin. You'd need an awful lot of power to move enough air to make it hover, I'd guess.
What microsoft needs is a 'Sounds too evil' person, who can vet these ideas. "Hey - we wanna incorporate a black box that will send user data back to us for analysis." "Nope. Sounds too evil."
In the future, Windows will print out shipping labels so you can send the whole box to them for evaluation. It may seem inconvenient, but it will make the windows-using experience much more pleasant. At least until you get it back.
The thing is, you're probably starting from a height where there IS no terminal velocity. The atmosphere only exerts it's influence for 10 or 20 kilometers. You will have built up quite a bit of speed after falling 20000 kilometers. By the time you hit the atmosphere (after falling for an hour or two), you could be moving at several kilometers/second. Entering the atmosphere at that speed will bake you for sure, if you don't get blown apart by the shock wave first.
Well, the primary problem with 'that old saw' is that the new minimum wage will be worth the same as the old one, but those who don't have jobs get screwed, and in the meantime, while the economy seeks equilibrium, unemployment increases.
The only problem I ever have with the show is I'm busy lusting after the new, female Starbuck, then she tilts her head and looks a certain way and all of a sudden she's transformed herself into Macaulay Culkin. I find that VERY disturbing.
Ultimately the machines will be cheaper than the cost of the workers. Think of auto manufacturing, where you had a lot of unskilled labour that was replaced with more skilled and efficient labour, that was augmented and partially replaced with robotic equipment. THe individual machines are expensive, but ultimately cheaper than the equivalent number of workers.
They aren't destroying the economy by taking those jobs. They're reducing the cost of labour, which saves everybody in the economy money except for the labourers. If the construction workers are now bid out of the job market, they are now free to do something else for the economy, which will be partially paid out of the savings on houses. It's not like people spend 20% less on the house and never spend that money. Instead, they'll buy a pool, or more people will buy houses, or they'll buy bigger houses, or more cars or something. This sort of thing always leads to transition, and people figure if someone's not doing what they were doing 10 years ago it's a bad thing. It's not - it's how the economy grows.
If the economy was a zero-sum situation, then you'd be right. It's not, though. The size of the pie is always growing. It's just a matter of who's getting what slice of the pie today.
The mass effect would be more akin to drawing a very tiny dot on the ball. The ink in the dot probably represents a greater percentage of 5 pounds than the whole space elevator would represent to the earth.
You also make sure you have redundant cables. Then you can just replace them as they get hit. Once the whole thing is up and operating, that should be fairly simple to do.
Slashdot Mirror
I was talking to a guy once who complained that some cd he bought wouldn't play on his computer (where he listens to all his music) because of the copy protection. We eventually decided the best thing for him to do would be to return it. They'd replace it with another copy. The next day he could return that, and so on. Just pick a music store that's not out of your way. At least you can be a big pain in the ass.
For the average user who surfs the internet, checks email and plays solitaire, just about any Linux distro will do if it's preinstalled. There are several that are easier to install than windows XP (fedora's pretty easy if you let it handle the disk partitioning automatically, and choose the everything option) and you wind up with a ton of ready-to-use software. Beat that, Microsoft!
Maybe you'd like the even more business friendly policy of mugging people on the streets and handing the money over to the monopolists?
But if you have problems with Linux, and don't like the support you're getting from one source, you can switch to another source, or even hire a couple of people. With Sun, if you don't like the support you're getting, you're screwed.
MSDNAA is ok to a point. My school saved thousands on licencing for the CS labs, but they're too lazy to come up with a scheme to provide students with the software outside of the labs. They don't want to distribute the software to students, and they won't give us usernames and passwords so we can use the microsoft site.
What microsoft needs to do is enforce free access for students. I'm sure the cost of the software they're giving to schools is more than it would cost for my school (University of New Brunswick) to distribute this stuff.
Well, if you don't have a GPA, it can't be too low.
I wish I had thought of that years ago.
Just tell me how it all ends.
There was a story about her just yesterday. There have been previous stories about the ridiculous stuff she's been spouting about the sco case. She is a person with a well-established reputation on slashdot. If you're just now wondering who she is or what she does, where the hell have you been?
Or should the next story on Microsoft explain who Bill Gates is for the militant uninformed?
Well, she parrotted every 'fact' and theory that sco suggested, even after every other paid shill realized that they were losing any bit of credibility they had by repeating this nonsense.
I think it became personal. Either she could admit she was wrong, or she could continue to behave as if sco was right.
It got so bad because, like sco, she was repeatedly proved wrong by evidence presented by PJ on Groklaw. Obviously, if Maureen can't be wrong, then PJ must be the enemy.
Because she was so blatantly one-sided and 'controversial,' it drove large amounts of traffic to her employer's site from people checking to see what she was going to say next.
She's sort of like a shock-jock, except she dresses herself up as a journalist.
... including a "yellow" saber that has the ability to "actually slice through any other light saber".
Are we talking about Jedi Knights or the Green Lantern Corps?
"lots of atmospheric gasses" is relative. The air is thicker than in space, but it's very, very thin. You'd need an awful lot of power to move enough air to make it hover, I'd guess.
It's a sci-fi universe where even the whores can reject you. A Slashdotter's nightmare!
What microsoft needs is a 'Sounds too evil' person, who can vet these ideas.
"Hey - we wanna incorporate a black box that will send user data back to us for analysis."
"Nope. Sounds too evil."
In the future, Windows will print out shipping labels so you can send the whole box to them for evaluation. It may seem inconvenient, but it will make the windows-using experience much more pleasant. At least until you get it back.
Christ, they've got all the money, so now they want all the data, too?
Fortunately I use double ROT-13 encryption on my "Secret Plot to Destroy Microsoft" document, so they'll never figure it out.
The thing is, you're probably starting from a height where there IS no terminal velocity. The atmosphere only exerts it's influence for 10 or 20 kilometers. You will have built up quite a bit of speed after falling 20000 kilometers. By the time you hit the atmosphere (after falling for an hour or two), you could be moving at several kilometers/second. Entering the atmosphere at that speed will bake you for sure, if you don't get blown apart by the shock wave first.
I nominate Natalie Portman. Or Sandra Bullock. I'd watch Sandra Bullock reading the phone book.
In other news, Sun's Schwartz has announced they are considering open-sourcing java.
Well, the primary problem with 'that old saw' is that the new minimum wage will be worth the same as the old one, but those who don't have jobs get screwed, and in the meantime, while the economy seeks equilibrium, unemployment increases.
The only problem I ever have with the show is I'm busy lusting after the new, female Starbuck, then she tilts her head and looks a certain way and all of a sudden she's transformed herself into Macaulay Culkin. I find that VERY disturbing.
Ultimately the machines will be cheaper than the cost of the workers. Think of auto manufacturing, where you had a lot of unskilled labour that was replaced with more skilled and efficient labour, that was augmented and partially replaced with robotic equipment. THe individual machines are expensive, but ultimately cheaper than the equivalent number of workers.
They aren't destroying the economy by taking those jobs. They're reducing the cost of labour, which saves everybody in the economy money except for the labourers. If the construction workers are now bid out of the job market, they are now free to do something else for the economy, which will be partially paid out of the savings on houses. It's not like people spend 20% less on the house and never spend that money. Instead, they'll buy a pool, or more people will buy houses, or they'll buy bigger houses, or more cars or something. This sort of thing always leads to transition, and people figure if someone's not doing what they were doing 10 years ago it's a bad thing. It's not - it's how the economy grows.
If the economy was a zero-sum situation, then you'd be right. It's not, though. The size of the pie is always growing. It's just a matter of who's getting what slice of the pie today.
The mass effect would be more akin to drawing a very tiny dot on the ball. The ink in the dot probably represents a greater percentage of 5 pounds than the whole space elevator would represent to the earth.
You also make sure you have redundant cables. Then you can just replace them as they get hit. Once the whole thing is up and operating, that should be fairly simple to do.