I've said it before and I'll say it again, whilst I don`t doubt the fact that the temperatures are rising, I would like to point out that the natural state of this planet, out with, an ice age is (drum roll)....
NOT TO HAVE ANY ICE ON IT.
that'll be polar ice caps for you ice capped mountain loving pedants
Ok so this girl could now get sued for $150000 a song. In reallity unlikely, but just who is going to get the benefits of this cash windfall.
Will it be the artist that has been "ripped off"?
will it bollocks, bet your ass that all the money goes right back into RIAA profits, to push the next clone boy band through their one hit of fame and (RIAA's) fortune.
Your macro example isn`t macro enough. We are talking about the weather system of a planet. We may know a lot, but we by no means know it all.
There are very few external influences on the pouring of a glass of water into another, certainly enough that we can predict thatmost of the water will indeed pour into teh other cup.
A planet worth of weather system is a little bigger with a huge increase in influenceing factors that we just cannot comprehend or take into account.
I guess my point is that there are an awful lot of factors that we have to take into consideration that we have no control over, far less any reasonably understanding.
Hell, I could theorise that all the CO2 that is being pumped out will cause the plancton in the ocean to devour more of it, and keep it out of the atmosphere. Or this could case a mass population burst of plantlife repeating the process. In that case we chop down all these trees, turn them into books (locking the carbon away) and replant everything that you cut down to take away more CO2.
Likewise I could argue that the increase in temperature will cause more water to be evaporated (leading to cooling), and gives us a greater cloud cover, which in turn block out more of the suns direct heat.
We just dont know, as someone else pointed out we have difficulty forcasting the weather for the next week far less the next century.
Well melting ice caps are all well and good, but I've yet to see real evidence that it is related to "global warming" in the sense that the warming is caused by pollution, and not say, the fact that we are still emerging from an ice age??
Historically (geologically speaking) we are not in an ice age when there is, essentially, no ice!
There are many reason purported to the rise in global temperatures, from greenhouse gasses, to sunspot activity to to earths position relative to the sun (Milankovitch cyclical variations) etc.
Also with the removeal of bulk of the ice glaciers, much of the land that was under the weight of the ice is actually rising.
So I've yet to be convinced that we are in any real trouble that we have brought upon ourselves.
Why do we need yet another form of forgable identification. I have a passport and a drivers license, I can get credit cards with my phot on them, all of which go to identify me as a person. Does having an ID card stop criminals? I don`t think any of the european countries have had a sudden drop in crime because of it. Will it stop terrorism? No more than passports have I suppose. But then I'm just a pleb that that think that the government is there at out sufferance to serve our purposes, and I don`t think I asked them to start implimenting ID cards.
If nation-states are planing terrorist activities, it has already been shown that they do not need free operating systems or software to execute its plans.
A terrorist group will perform it's act regardless of OS.
Actually some guys in Britain sussed it out before Messurs R S and A, but again were sworn to secrecy (working for GCHQ or equiv). I recommend The Code Book by Simon Singh as a more reliable source than my memory.
Well, now, you see, you've hit the nail on the head.
We got around this be implying that new functionality is quantifiable.
If we didn`t have the functionality then we had 1 million defects out of 1 million, everytime you tried to use the non existant functionality it wasn`t there.
So when we implimented the function we were 0 defects out of 1 million, now everytime you use the functionality it is there, doesn`t matter if it works...
And yet the "Quality" never improved, which I believe is what six sigma is all about
As part of a companywide drive (Brought to you by the letters E and G though not necessarily in that order) where we were told that not completing a six sigma project would "affect" our performance review.
Anyways, come the end of March last year, six sigma deadline, stop coding and software test and release date. We all stopped production to complete our six sigma projects. And for the most part we swindled it something awful. We picked changes and additions to the software that we performed ages ago. Our premise being that before the change our software was 0% compliant (worse than six sigma) and now with this functionality we were 100% compliant (better than six sigma). So we all did that, past a test on basic statistics, and we all got our little certificates and we all got a pat on the back.
And with the "millions" saved through our six sigma projects we still couldn`t afford any training last year.
It was the rollout and attitude from management and the "six sigma blackbelts" that was the worst part. Six sigma was clearly aimed at production and manufacturing and there was no leeway for software engineering where it is a very loose fit at best.
I hear rumours that "design for six sigma" is better suited to the software industry, but that would require more training...
So as you can see, not too impressed with six sigma.
The tight fisted, money grabbing bastards at the RIAA have announced today that they wish to impose a type of fee on anyone who buys music CDs indiscriminately to recoup supposed damages done by file-sharing. "We have doscovered that this is the main source of file sharing on the internet" said an RIAA spokeperson, "in fact I think that we will stop releasing music full stop, that'll get the pirates".
In a further bid to line their own pockets, there are rumours of imposing a fee on simply being a human being.
Slashdot Mirror
He has been the only person to go the parliament with honest intentions
CJC
I've said it before and I'll say it again, whilst I don`t doubt the fact that the temperatures are rising, I would like to point out that the natural state of this planet, out with, an ice age is (drum roll)....
NOT TO HAVE ANY ICE ON IT.
that'll be polar ice caps for you ice capped mountain loving pedants
thankyew
I'd would rather see Xbox prosper and grow and see Nintendo do likewise.
But then I'm a nice person and don`t really see why the Xbox should whither just to stop Nintendo from becoming a games producer.
Especially given that there are 6 billion people in the world, That's probably enough for 3 consoles.
CJC
According to my dutch friend, they give you at least 1 months wages.
Yhey might do more, but that seems pretty standard there.
CJC
Actually it was less to do with "Bloating it" and more to do with fixing bugs.
But then I read it.
CJC
bradley tanks shooting flames into the buildings...
CJC (and Bill Hicks R.I.P.)
They don`t have the kids playing Fat-Cat execs, who take all the money from record sales, and give none of it back to the artists.
Spend their time working out how to clone the next one hit wonder.
Set their lawyers onto 12 year old "evil-scourge-of-the-music-industry-pirate-scum" girls, and totally innocent computer users.
But then I'm sure that the school would not want to show a bias in anyway either...
CJC
It's a bug, their fixing it, whats the problem?
If you want to run linux then Mod your box, if you want to go Live then don't.
You want both then get 2 Xboxes, they aren`t that expensive.
When was the last time you checked *exactly* what was installed the last time you patched/upgraded, right down to the source code.
CJC (A happy Xbox user Ta)
Elite
thanksyouverymuch
CJC
Ok so this girl could now get sued for $150000 a song. In reallity unlikely, but just who is going to get the benefits of this cash windfall.
Will it be the artist that has been "ripped off"?
will it bollocks, bet your ass that all the money goes right back into RIAA profits, to push the next clone boy band through their one hit of fame and (RIAA's) fortune.
CJC
Your macro example isn`t macro enough. We are talking about the weather system of a planet. We may know a lot, but we by no means know it all.
There are very few external influences on the pouring of a glass of water into another, certainly enough that we can predict thatmost of the water will indeed pour into teh other cup.
A planet worth of weather system is a little bigger with a huge increase in influenceing factors that we just cannot comprehend or take into account.
CJC
ok I'll bite.
:)
He ain`t my president, I live in a far more enlightened country
CJC (basking in sunny scotland)
I guess my point is that there are an awful lot of factors that we have to take into consideration that we have no control over, far less any reasonably understanding.
Hell, I could theorise that all the CO2 that is being pumped out will cause the plancton in the ocean to devour more of it, and keep it out of the atmosphere. Or this could case a mass population burst of plantlife repeating the process. In that case we chop down all these trees, turn them into books (locking the carbon away) and replant everything that you cut down to take away more CO2.
Likewise I could argue that the increase in temperature will cause more water to be evaporated (leading to cooling), and gives us a greater cloud cover, which in turn block out more of the suns direct heat.
We just dont know, as someone else pointed out we have difficulty forcasting the weather for the next week far less the next century.
CJC
erm.... penguins = south pole(ish).
:)
South pole is actually a land mass so they can probably just kick about there quite happily.
The north pole mostly ice, so it's the polar bears heading south you want to worry about.
Me, I'm worried what they plan on renaming Greenland to when it is finally green
CJC
Well melting ice caps are all well and good, but I've yet to see real evidence that it is related to "global warming" in the sense that the warming is caused by pollution, and not say, the fact that we are still emerging from an ice age??
Historically (geologically speaking) we are not in an ice age when there is, essentially, no ice!
There are many reason purported to the rise in global temperatures, from greenhouse gasses, to sunspot activity to to earths position relative to the sun (Milankovitch cyclical variations) etc.
Also with the removeal of bulk of the ice glaciers, much of the land that was under the weight of the ice is actually rising.
So I've yet to be convinced that we are in any real trouble that we have brought upon ourselves.
CJC
The American government should arrest itself, it has been helping the Taliban for years before the 9-11 attacks... or is that all forgotten now?
I used LaTeX for my university dissertation, and I needed to know how to insert pictures into the document....
Lets just say that you don`t want to Google for "+latex +pictures"
Well, maybe you do, I dunno.
CJC
Why do we need yet another form of forgable identification. I have a passport and a drivers license, I can get credit cards with my phot on them, all of which go to identify me as a person. Does having an ID card stop criminals? I don`t think any of the european countries have had a sudden drop in crime because of it. Will it stop terrorism? No more than passports have I suppose. But then I'm just a pleb that that think that the government is there at out sufferance to serve our purposes, and I don`t think I asked them to start implimenting ID cards.
But maybe thats just me.
CJC
NonononoNo, you're missing the point.
Good, secure OS's does not cause terrorism, two groups of people, one of which hates the other sufficiently is enough.
Tackling the cause of terrorism has nothing to do with the terrorists choice of software.
CJC
Horse
Cart
If nation-states are planing terrorist activities, it has already been shown that they do not need free operating systems or software to execute its plans.
A terrorist group will perform it's act regardless of OS.
CJC
Actually some guys in Britain sussed it out before Messurs R S and A, but again were sworn to secrecy (working for GCHQ or equiv). I recommend The Code Book by Simon Singh as a more reliable source than my memory.
CJC
Well, now, you see, you've hit the nail on the head.
We got around this be implying that new functionality is quantifiable.
If we didn`t have the functionality then we had 1 million defects out of 1 million, everytime you tried to use the non existant functionality it wasn`t there.
So when we implimented the function we were 0 defects out of 1 million, now everytime you use the functionality it is there, doesn`t matter if it works...
And yet the "Quality" never improved, which I believe is what six sigma is all about
Oh and we have to do another project this year as well
As part of a companywide drive (Brought to you by the letters E and G though not necessarily in that order) where we were told that not completing a six sigma project would "affect" our performance review.
Anyways, come the end of March last year, six sigma deadline, stop coding and software test and release date. We all stopped production to complete our six sigma projects. And for the most part we swindled it something awful. We picked changes and additions to the software that we performed ages ago. Our premise being that before the change our software was 0% compliant (worse than six sigma) and now with this functionality we were 100% compliant (better than six sigma). So we all did that, past a test on basic statistics, and we all got our little certificates and we all got a pat on the back.
And with the "millions" saved through our six sigma projects we still couldn`t afford any training last year.
It was the rollout and attitude from management and the "six sigma blackbelts" that was the worst part. Six sigma was clearly aimed at production and manufacturing and there was no leeway for software engineering where it is a very loose fit at best.
I hear rumours that "design for six sigma" is better suited to the software industry, but that would require more training...
So as you can see, not too impressed with six sigma.
The tight fisted, money grabbing bastards at the RIAA have announced today that they wish to impose a type of fee on anyone who buys music CDs indiscriminately to recoup supposed damages done by file-sharing. "We have doscovered that this is the main source of file sharing on the internet" said an RIAA spokeperson, "in fact I think that we will stop releasing music full stop, that'll get the pirates".
In a further bid to line their own pockets, there are rumours of imposing a fee on simply being a human being.