I think a lot of us hacker / maker types are not really very social folks. This sort of very public collaboration is just not our thing. The whole concept is of course going to be more appealing to the entrepreneur / salesman types and the academics who would rather talk than build. They actually like interacting with a crowd. A crowd is typically composed of a whole lot of followers and a few leaders. Those of us who wish to neither lead nor follow would rather just work in private. We will continue to stay home.
Has it not occurred to anyone here that this (and many other "flaws") are simply the carefully designed, plausibly deniable backdoors for the next generation of Flame, Stuxnex, etc? Are you all really that naive?
Since you say: "I know nothing about this sort of thing" the first thing you need to do is ignore the all talk, no action, know-it-all crew here and instead hire a licensed electrician. Much of what has been suggested by others is unsafe and/or illegal.
The whole idea of generating power in some huge plant in the middle of nowhere and then running miles of wire to deliver it to our homes and offices is just plain nuts. It wastes over half the energy. It would be much cheaper and better for the environment to generate power locally.
What, you say you don't want a huge, ugly, coal burning power plant in your back yard? What makes you think anyone else does?
It's all Abraham Lincoln's fault. He should have just let the Confederacy become it's own country. Then we wouldn't have all those rednecks in the USA.
Do you wish to be a full human being, or just a worker/consumer? Do you want to 'make a living' or 'have a life'. More important: do you want to be another drone in an increasingly feudal society, or a misfit boat rocker. There's more to life than getting a job.
BTW, I'm an old retired guy. I see this from a very different point of view.
I'm older than you. (57) I've been retired from this industry for a while now. This trend has been ongoing for years, but it seems to be accelerating of late.
Being a programmer has become a lot like being a musician or artist. It's very hard to make a normal living at these crafts. Many musicians have day jobs that pay the bills, and practice their craft on their own time, for the joy of it. This is analogous to programmers writing Free Software in their 'spare time'.
Big business in America seems to have given up on the traditional industrial model of employing workers, turning out products, making a profit on sales. The new model seems to be more like a very complex pump-and-dump stock scam. It's all about profiting from the sale of the company itself, products and workers are more for show.
This will, ultimately, destroy our economy and the country itself. You are experiencing a small part of this right now. It will get worse before the worker/consumers wake up and revolt.
Keep bugging your school shrink to look into something called Asperger's Syndrome. It's the real name for nerdy kid. This is important. Some of us do kill ourselves before we escape high school. I just squeeked by.
If you really want to begin to understand some of us "quirky engineer" types, just go to google, search for "Asperger's Syndrome", and follow your nose.
I'm an old geek. Went to HS in the 60's. 40 years later we're still talking about the same sort of issues that I experienced. I don't expect this to change in my lifetime.
One new wrinkle is that in 1994 Asperger's Syndrome became an official medical diagnosis. Look it up. It fits many of us. Before some jock rats you out as a weirdo and makes your life even harder, you can make a preemptive strike and get yourself diagnosed as an "Aspie". Most school districts will then be legally required to accommodate your "special needs".
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I think a lot of us hacker / maker types are not really very social folks. This sort of very public collaboration is just not our thing. The whole concept is of course going to be more appealing to the entrepreneur / salesman types and the academics who would rather talk than build. They actually like interacting with a crowd. A crowd is typically composed of a whole lot of followers and a few leaders. Those of us who wish to neither lead nor follow would rather just work in private. We will continue to stay home.
"Because, in my eyes, when people stop getting paid for what they do, they'll stop doing it."
So, I take it you've never gone to Burning Man? Strange as it may seem to you, some of us actually do stuff without being bribed.
"That is the way the stock market works. When you sit at the trading terminal you look for the sucker. "
So... someone who should know finally admits, in public, that stock trading (as opposed to real investing) is nothing more than a con game.
We have con-men running our banking system.
Has it not occurred to anyone here that this (and many other "flaws") are simply the carefully designed, plausibly deniable backdoors for the next generation of Flame, Stuxnex, etc? Are you all really that naive?
Governing implies authoritarianism.
We should be making politicians pass this test before they're allowed to run for office.
BTDT... Just Google "solar death ray 3000".
Since you say: "I know nothing about this sort of thing" the first thing you need to do is ignore the all talk, no action, know-it-all crew here and instead hire a licensed electrician. Much of what has been suggested by others is unsafe and/or illegal.
... that have child porn?
Because that's not the real goal, perhaps? Not unlike P2P blocking, etc...
Big media is still trying to put the genie back in her bottle.
Here in Oregon, USA we also use pencil and paper, by mail. It all seems to work quite well. I fail to see the need to change. IIABDFI.
The whole idea of generating power in some huge plant in the middle of nowhere and then running miles of wire to deliver it to our homes and offices is just plain nuts. It wastes over half the energy. It would be much cheaper and better for the environment to generate power locally.
What, you say you don't want a huge, ugly, coal burning power plant in your back yard? What makes you think anyone else does?
I have solar panels on my roof. Works just fine.
You say "call him President Bush".
I won't call him "President" because I don't think he is. I don't believe he was ever lawfully elected in the first place.
Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety - Ben Franklin
What part of that don't people get?
It's all Abraham Lincoln's fault. He should have just let the Confederacy become it's own country. Then we wouldn't have all those rednecks in the USA.
Do you wish to be a full human being, or just a worker/consumer? Do you want to 'make a living' or 'have a life'. More important: do you want to be another drone in an increasingly feudal society, or a misfit boat rocker. There's more to life than getting a job.
BTW, I'm an old retired guy. I see this from a very different point of view.
Many Western companies have been actively co-operating with US government censorship for years. Why should China be any different?
Look at: http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/Fmic-e.html
I'm older than you. (57) I've been retired from this industry for a while now. This trend has been ongoing for years, but it seems to be accelerating of late.
Being a programmer has become a lot like being a musician or artist. It's very hard to make a normal living at these crafts. Many musicians have day jobs that pay the bills, and practice their craft on their own time, for the joy of it. This is analogous to programmers writing Free Software in their 'spare time'.
Big business in America seems to have given up on the traditional industrial model of employing workers, turning out products, making a profit on sales. The new model seems to be more like a very complex pump-and-dump stock scam. It's all about profiting from the sale of the company itself, products and workers are more for show.
This will, ultimately, destroy our economy and the country itself. You are experiencing a small part of this right now. It will get worse before the worker/consumers wake up and revolt.
Keep bugging your school shrink to look into something called Asperger's Syndrome. It's the real name for nerdy kid. This is important. Some of us do kill ourselves before we escape high school. I just squeeked by.
So, uh, you haven't actually been there, then?
Ham radio folks have been doing this trick for years, it's called APRS.
If you really want to begin to understand some of us "quirky engineer" types, just go to google, search for "Asperger's Syndrome", and follow your nose.
I'm an old geek. Went to HS in the 60's. 40 years later we're still talking about the same sort of issues that I experienced. I don't expect this to change in my lifetime.
One new wrinkle is that in 1994 Asperger's Syndrome became an official medical diagnosis. Look it up. It fits many of us. Before some jock rats you out as a weirdo and makes your life even harder, you can make a preemptive strike and get yourself diagnosed as an "Aspie". Most school districts will then be legally required to accommodate your "special needs".
I'm a 52 year old geek. I attended that very same school in the early sixties. Guess what folks, nothing has changed.