You know what? I'm one of those @Home customers that is going to be without service until Thurs. I have a real reason to complain, as I am going to graduate school remotely, and rely on my connection to complete my work and watch lectures. The final is Monday, so the timing couldn't be worse. But I'm not bitching. Why? Because I have the *choice* to use dialup, which I can get for 1/3 the price. It will take me longer, but I can still get the job done. Besides, there are more important issues on my mind right now than whether or not I can check my email. The mail and the phone still work fine, thanks.
You try to draw a parallel to the power crisis (I'm also a Californian), but it doesn't hold water. To start with, the previous Republican administration that did this half-assed job of deregulation only went 1/2 way, keeping control of some aspects (capping prices) but not others (supply). Then, Gov. Davis got the ball and dropped it. His idea of helping the power crisis is to bail out the power monopolies so that they can keep gouging the customers, then cap the prices so they can't keep the lights on. The whole point is to let them go bankrupt and let other companies spring up in their place, fostering competition for supply and customers. There was a utility company in Az. that basically was ready to sell us all the power we needed, but could not afford to because of the price caps. So the lights went out. Yeah - regulation really helped that one.
Had the utilities been able to purchase the power, the lights would have stayed on. And the price would have gone up to be a little closer to what the rest of the nation pays. Better still, customers would start choosing other utilities that are offering better rates, fostering competition. Then we start to see a situation like the long-distance carriers. This is good. The power crisis had nothing to do with having independent power operators - it had to do with the government sticking their nose in, capping prices and making it damned near impossible for the utilities to compete. This is where your analogy falls apart - the lights went out becuase of governmental control. My broadband is out because AT&T screwed us, and as a consumer I have all kinds of legal avenues to pursue this issue. Meanwhile, I can go elsewhere for other service.
Okay, so here's where I actually come your way and start to agree with you - regulation needs to extend to the *infrastructure*. The power grid (lines, transformers, substations), which needs to be managed on at least a county level for security and continuity reasons, should be owned and managed by the county or state, leased to the utilities. This is the arrangement for water, sewer and phone. Why is it not the case for power? As for cable, I lost service because AT&T fscked up, dropped the ball and screwed its customers. And I plan on changing my service. Enough people do this and they get the point. And we can because it is a free market, allowing other companies to come along and compete. That's how capitalism is supposed to work.
I know I am missing details in areas, but for brevity I tried to hit the important points. The point I am trying to make is that when we have the government regulating prices and terms of service, it ultimately takes the power (pardon the pun) out of the hands of the consumer, and places it into the hands of the companies providing service.
Re:What it'll do for me
on
This is IT?
·
· Score: 1
And while we're at it, let me ask you this: how well is "IT" going to handle lake effect snow?
Finally. Everyone (including the news media) seems to have glossed over this point. Cars are currently in use as our major transportation largely because:
* you're protected from the elements
* you're protected from other motorists, flying rocks, etc
* You're sitting
* You can carry your stuff with you
* You can go any distance at any (reasonable) speed
I do agree with the inventor that cars are a waste for commuting and running around. Too much metal, too much space, wastes gas and takes up lots of space when you're not using it (which is most of the time). So, let's come up with a vehicle that:
* seats you and a friend, enclosed in a cab
* is just big enough for you, the friend and a duffle bag
* is electric, with a range of about 20 miles on a charge
* has a short and narrow profile, so that it can be parked in a small area
You can still use your car for long trips and group outings, but use this thing to get groceries, go to work, go to a movie, whatever. Have the docking stations in parking spots at shopping centers, with an adaptor that includes power delivery and a parallel interface. You have an account with the utility company for your home power, onto which you add an account for your car. When you plug in to charge, the car tells the charging station its ID, which the utility connected to the system matches to your account and charges for the use. Ideally, same cost as residential power.
Now I'd use that! The IT/Ginger/Segway is really great technology, but I don't see it as an improvement to the car or to walking. The buggy-to-car analogy won't hold, as the car porvided all the features of the buggy, plus a lot more. The Segway doesn't offer the basics that a car can, and therefore I can't really see it as the next step its creator claims it to be.
I can understand IT's dilemma. The average luser has no clue about s/w installs, is willing to run any.exe attachment and spends entirely too much time calling tech support because they can't find the "any key". For the average user, locking down the system is a Good Thing(tm) both for the expense of maintenance as well as security, stability and lost work time. Besides, the average non-developer doesn't really care. All they want is their apps to work and nobody moving the icons. One could argue that copy-exact is great from and education perspective as every system is about the same, shortening the learning curve on new systems and generally making people more productive. Hell, I do this on my dev machines so I don't have to go searching every time for where I hid things. It's human nature and just makes sense.
Development staff, however, are a necessary exception. We know what the hell we're doing with a system, should be able to install what we need to do our jobs without jumping through 1000 IT hoops. The deal is that we should be responsible for fixing the mess when it breaks. In this case, IT's jurisdiction should extend only to hardware maintenance and replacement and providing the standard-build apps on the network somewhere. After that, you're on your own.
My company does this, and it works really well. I've been in a lockdown environment and it sucks when you're trying to do development, especially driver development. More and more IT groups are catching on to this, and gradually companies will come to this model, out of necessity if not choice.
Article IV of the United States Constitution states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
In a nutshell, this is saying that you can not be searched without consent unless a warrant has been issued that specifically states the (a)location and (b) the purpose. But, I'd imagine your employer can search your personal effects because you did consent - likely either through your contract (go back and read the fine print) or by entering the building. The latter is the case here, where there is a little sign in the lobby that basically says entering the building gives your consent to allow security to search your property.
(begin rant)
I'm tiring of all the conspiracy-theorist rhetoric flying around to instill FUD. You can be part of the solution, or part of the problem. Did you vote in the last election? When was the last time you wrote your representative? The newspaper outlining your objections in detail so others may read it? In short, have you exhausted the considerable assets you have at your disposal, guaranteed by the Constitution? Our system works, and it works well if you use it. The problem here is apathy and general ignorance. So do something about it. This country has become what it is because capitalism has allowed us to be limited only by our own potential. Likewise, if unchecked capitalism becomes self-centered and materialistic, and it is the job of our government to counter that with the voice of reason and justice. Instead of bitching about how big business is giving it to you up the a$$, start supporting legislation to reform the process and get big money out of the picture. Support bills like S479 and HR1482, that are trying to appropriate funding so that the voting process is modernized and uniformly administered. Hell, write your own and have your Senator or Representative sponsor it. You're a victim only if you are willing to be victimized. So take the immense power you wield as a member of this Republic* and do something about it.
(end rant)
Missing the point. The point is that the majority of people are getting 1-2 hours less a night sleeping than they should. In a week, that's almost 2 nights of sleep that you missed. We're accustomed to getting sleepy after a meal or falling asleep at night in 5 minutes. These are both signs that we're sleep deprived.
Dateline did this report on sleep depravation, and a researcher on the topic said he'd much rather get in a car with a drunk than someone who is sleep deprived, because the drunk will admit he's wasted and be persuaded to pull over, while most people who are too tired to drive won't admit it.
The same report had a bunch of drunks and sleepy people drive a course where a fake car, kid's ball and a fake dog all jump into the roadway. Most of the drunks noticed the dog and recalled it after the test was over. The drivers that were up the night before noticed it, but didn't swerve in time - basically the same as the drunks. Of the people who were deprived of 1 hour every night for a week, IIRC, all hit the dog, but several didn't even see it. Many of them completely missed the ball. Overall, the sleep deprived people performed the worst and remembered the least of their test runs.
This is really frightening. IMHO, this will become a major road safety issue in the next couple years as people start to wake up (pun intended) to the issue. Now if we can just fix those cell phone folks.... = o
This reminds me of a story an engineering friend was telling the other night. Apparently, cell phone transmissions can be used to track stealth aircraft as the technology reflects signals in that range. The Serbs built a rough radar unit that can see these reflections. I suppose militaries could potentially equip their soldiers with cell phones holding an open line and render all that great stealth technology useless.
Why doesn't the government have an opt-out program for things like NASA or the National Endowment for the Arts?... To try to hold non-essential causes in the same arena as the Military and other essential services is disingenuity, thievery, or stupidity.
Sadly, this seems to be the overriding American sentiment towards the arts. "Non-essential." Europe has a long-standing tradition of greatness in the arts precisely because they have been funded in part (or in whole) by the government. A great bulk of work by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, etc. was done in the courts of royalty, on their tab. These rulers appreciated the fact that a measure of a society's greatness is measured in the wealth of its artistic legacy.
Look at the cost of putting on even one New York Symphony concert. I'd conservatively guess $500,000/concert when you figure rehearsal space, musician's/librarian's/maestro's salaries, plus the cost of the hall itself, plus advertising, etc. That can't possibly be recuperated in a single night's ticket sales. Support from the government, plus corporate sponsorship, are vital to keeping our society alive. Just as vital as military spending to keep us safe, energy research to keep us warm, etc.
But hey - the arts aren't "mainstream", and therefore non-essential and not worthy of governmental support. So the great irony will present itself. We'll have the world's greatest army protecting the world's safest and most affluent cultural wasteland.
First, the article notes that this was a copy of Archimedes' manuscript made in the 10th century (Archimedes lived in the 3rd). Nice technology, but much cooler had it been used on the original Archimedes text.
Slashdot Mirror
Oops, I sit corrected. = /
You know what? I'm one of those @Home customers that is going to be without service until Thurs. I have a real reason to complain, as I am going to graduate school remotely, and rely on my connection to complete my work and watch lectures. The final is Monday, so the timing couldn't be worse. But I'm not bitching. Why? Because I have the *choice* to use dialup, which I can get for 1/3 the price. It will take me longer, but I can still get the job done. Besides, there are more important issues on my mind right now than whether or not I can check my email. The mail and the phone still work fine, thanks.
You try to draw a parallel to the power crisis (I'm also a Californian), but it doesn't hold water. To start with, the previous Republican administration that did this half-assed job of deregulation only went 1/2 way, keeping control of some aspects (capping prices) but not others (supply). Then, Gov. Davis got the ball and dropped it. His idea of helping the power crisis is to bail out the power monopolies so that they can keep gouging the customers, then cap the prices so they can't keep the lights on. The whole point is to let them go bankrupt and let other companies spring up in their place, fostering competition for supply and customers. There was a utility company in Az. that basically was ready to sell us all the power we needed, but could not afford to because of the price caps. So the lights went out. Yeah - regulation really helped that one.
Had the utilities been able to purchase the power, the lights would have stayed on. And the price would have gone up to be a little closer to what the rest of the nation pays. Better still, customers would start choosing other utilities that are offering better rates, fostering competition. Then we start to see a situation like the long-distance carriers. This is good. The power crisis had nothing to do with having independent power operators - it had to do with the government sticking their nose in, capping prices and making it damned near impossible for the utilities to compete. This is where your analogy falls apart - the lights went out becuase of governmental control. My broadband is out because AT&T screwed us, and as a consumer I have all kinds of legal avenues to pursue this issue. Meanwhile, I can go elsewhere for other service.
Okay, so here's where I actually come your way and start to agree with you - regulation needs to extend to the *infrastructure*. The power grid (lines, transformers, substations), which needs to be managed on at least a county level for security and continuity reasons, should be owned and managed by the county or state, leased to the utilities. This is the arrangement for water, sewer and phone. Why is it not the case for power? As for cable, I lost service because AT&T fscked up, dropped the ball and screwed its customers. And I plan on changing my service. Enough people do this and they get the point. And we can because it is a free market, allowing other companies to come along and compete. That's how capitalism is supposed to work.
I know I am missing details in areas, but for brevity I tried to hit the important points. The point I am trying to make is that when we have the government regulating prices and terms of service, it ultimately takes the power (pardon the pun) out of the hands of the consumer, and places it into the hands of the companies providing service.
Finally. Everyone (including the news media) seems to have glossed over this point. Cars are currently in use as our major transportation largely because:
* you're protected from the elements
* you're protected from other motorists, flying rocks, etc
* You're sitting
* You can carry your stuff with you
* You can go any distance at any (reasonable) speed
I do agree with the inventor that cars are a waste for commuting and running around. Too much metal, too much space, wastes gas and takes up lots of space when you're not using it (which is most of the time). So, let's come up with a vehicle that:
* seats you and a friend, enclosed in a cab
* is just big enough for you, the friend and a duffle bag
* is electric, with a range of about 20 miles on a charge
* has a short and narrow profile, so that it can be parked in a small area
You can still use your car for long trips and group outings, but use this thing to get groceries, go to work, go to a movie, whatever. Have the docking stations in parking spots at shopping centers, with an adaptor that includes power delivery and a parallel interface. You have an account with the utility company for your home power, onto which you add an account for your car. When you plug in to charge, the car tells the charging station its ID, which the utility connected to the system matches to your account and charges for the use. Ideally, same cost as residential power.
Now I'd use that! The IT/Ginger/Segway is really great technology, but I don't see it as an improvement to the car or to walking. The buggy-to-car analogy won't hold, as the car porvided all the features of the buggy, plus a lot more. The Segway doesn't offer the basics that a car can, and therefore I can't really see it as the next step its creator claims it to be.
Development staff, however, are a necessary exception. We know what the hell we're doing with a system, should be able to install what we need to do our jobs without jumping through 1000 IT hoops. The deal is that we should be responsible for fixing the mess when it breaks. In this case, IT's jurisdiction should extend only to hardware maintenance and replacement and providing the standard-build apps on the network somewhere. After that, you're on your own.
My company does this, and it works really well. I've been in a lockdown environment and it sucks when you're trying to do development, especially driver development. More and more IT groups are catching on to this, and gradually companies will come to this model, out of necessity if not choice.
My $0.02.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
In a nutshell, this is saying that you can not be searched without consent unless a warrant has been issued that specifically states the (a)location and (b) the purpose. But, I'd imagine your employer can search your personal effects because you did consent - likely either through your contract (go back and read the fine print) or by entering the building. The latter is the case here, where there is a little sign in the lobby that basically says entering the building gives your consent to allow security to search your property.
(begin rant)
I'm tiring of all the conspiracy-theorist rhetoric flying around to instill FUD. You can be part of the solution, or part of the problem. Did you vote in the last election? When was the last time you wrote your representative? The newspaper outlining your objections in detail so others may read it? In short, have you exhausted the considerable assets you have at your disposal, guaranteed by the Constitution? Our system works, and it works well if you use it. The problem here is apathy and general ignorance. So do something about it. This country has become what it is because capitalism has allowed us to be limited only by our own potential. Likewise, if unchecked capitalism becomes self-centered and materialistic, and it is the job of our government to counter that with the voice of reason and justice. Instead of bitching about how big business is giving it to you up the a$$, start supporting legislation to reform the process and get big money out of the picture. Support bills like S479 and HR1482, that are trying to appropriate funding so that the voting process is modernized and uniformly administered. Hell, write your own and have your Senator or Representative sponsor it. You're a victim only if you are willing to be victimized. So take the immense power you wield as a member of this Republic* and do something about it.
(end rant)
*not Democracy, but that's another rant.
Dateline did this report on sleep depravation, and a researcher on the topic said he'd much rather get in a car with a drunk than someone who is sleep deprived, because the drunk will admit he's wasted and be persuaded to pull over, while most people who are too tired to drive won't admit it.
The same report had a bunch of drunks and sleepy people drive a course where a fake car, kid's ball and a fake dog all jump into the roadway. Most of the drunks noticed the dog and recalled it after the test was over. The drivers that were up the night before noticed it, but didn't swerve in time - basically the same as the drunks. Of the people who were deprived of 1 hour every night for a week, IIRC, all hit the dog, but several didn't even see it. Many of them completely missed the ball. Overall, the sleep deprived people performed the worst and remembered the least of their test runs.
This is really frightening. IMHO, this will become a major road safety issue in the next couple years as people start to wake up (pun intended) to the issue. Now if we can just fix those cell phone folks.... = o
I know this is a stretch, but does this apply to cable-modems? Are they trying to take a chunk out of AOL/Time-Warner's business here?
The Herald covered the story.
Sadly, this seems to be the overriding American sentiment towards the arts. "Non-essential." Europe has a long-standing tradition of greatness in the arts precisely because they have been funded in part (or in whole) by the government. A great bulk of work by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, etc. was done in the courts of royalty, on their tab. These rulers appreciated the fact that a measure of a society's greatness is measured in the wealth of its artistic legacy.
Look at the cost of putting on even one New York Symphony concert. I'd conservatively guess $500,000/concert when you figure rehearsal space, musician's/librarian's/maestro's salaries, plus the cost of the hall itself, plus advertising, etc. That can't possibly be recuperated in a single night's ticket sales. Support from the government, plus corporate sponsorship, are vital to keeping our society alive. Just as vital as military spending to keep us safe, energy research to keep us warm, etc.
But hey - the arts aren't "mainstream", and therefore non-essential and not worthy of governmental support. So the great irony will present itself. We'll have the world's greatest army protecting the world's safest and most affluent cultural wasteland.
Did they really cram a VERY small man into that thing? Talk about harsh working conditions...
First, the article notes that this was a copy of Archimedes' manuscript made in the 10th century (Archimedes lived in the 3rd). Nice technology, but much cooler had it been used on the original Archimedes text.