I don't know of any instance of someone breaking into a newspaper's article database and rewriting history, but I don't know of any newspaper that checks, either.
Anyone pick up the 1984 reference, or am I being paranoid? What's really to stop person or organization from selectively editing history. With much of our text-based news coming from just a few on-line sources, such a future is conceivable, I think.
Along those lines, not too long ago there was an article in The New Yorker discussing how libraries are destroying or giving away their vast archives of newspapers. Without such hard copies, we make ourselves vulnerable to such attacks.
"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, pt. 1, ch. 1
There breakthrough still has not gone through any scientific testing (or it at least was not reported) to backup their claim.
In defense of their work, the phenomena that they report have been adequately demonstrated in the paper and have been duplicated by other groups. Their work is subject to peer review and the reputation of the scientists is quite high. Therefore, I don't think that the validity but the short-term usefulness is in doubt here. However, as other posters have commented, I dont believe that this work is as much of a breakthrough as it was touted in the media.
I am one of the authors of the work that Geoff Ozins techniques are based on (Synthesis of Macroporous Minerals with Highly Ordered Three-Dimensional Arrays of Spheroidal Voids. Holland, B.T.; Blanford, C.F.; Stein, A. Science1998,281, 538-540 [Abstract] and Synthesis of highly ordered, three-dimensional, macroporous structures of amorphous or crystalline inorganic oxides, phosphates, and hybrid composites. Holland, B.T. et al. Chem. Mater.1999,11, 795-805 [Abstract]).
In addition to the technological limitations of photonic computing, we are a long way from fabricating these materials on a length scale that will work for even a rudimentary application, such as a waveguide. As the article states on the first page, their silica structure has "a typical single domain size of 100 um". The templates are brittle (they are essentially artificial opals) and the defect control is nearly impossible. Defects in the material grossly affect the behavior, that is, whether they behave like a photonic band gap material or a waveguide or whatever.
I think another promising route that isnt mentioned here is covered in Fabrication of photonic crystals for the visible spectrum by holographic lithography Nature2000,404, 53-56 [ Abstract. Free registration required]. Rather than using an opal for a template, they have complete control over the shape of the void lattice by the holographic interference of several lasers in a polymer matrix which is replaced by a high refractive-index semiconductor.
As a grad student in the sciences at the U of Minnesota, we are officially half-time employees, paid for 20 hours of work. The official policy is that time in excess of those 20 hours is unpaid independent research. What happens, though, is grad students are routinely exploited: my job now involves computer and equipment maintenance, lifting and moving, and random toadying. There's some research, too.
I'm not bitching about it. I knew what I was getting into. Anyone have tales of advisor abuse out there?
One comment on the HGP that I didn't see was about the potential lack of diversity in the human population as we work toward having the "right" genes. It would seem that having less diversity would make humans less adaptable to whatever changes might be in the future.
According to Macintouch (it's up right now), Apple has reversed its decision and is calling up customers to explain. From the article: "People who ordered the G4/500 model that cannot be produced due to Motorola's production issues, will be offered a choice of the previous G4/450 configuration or a discount on the G4/500 configuration with the slower processor (as if it were custom-built and a 450-MHz processor were selected originally). The Apple Store will honor existing orders for the previous configurations at the previous prices. Once Motorola production has ramped up to the level that Apple expected - which may take another three months or so - processor speeds should again rise 50 MHz. to the level initially announced. (Answering another question among readers, IBM will be manufacturing the same G4 currently produced by Motorola, AltiVec functions included.)
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know of any instance of someone breaking into a newspaper's article database and rewriting history, but I don't know of any newspaper that checks, either.
Anyone pick up the 1984 reference, or am I being paranoid? What's really to stop person or organization from selectively editing history. With much of our text-based news coming from just a few on-line sources, such a future is conceivable, I think.
Along those lines, not too long ago there was an article in The New Yorker discussing how libraries are destroying or giving away their vast archives of newspapers. Without such hard copies, we make ourselves vulnerable to such attacks.
"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, pt. 1, ch. 1
There breakthrough still has not gone through any scientific testing (or it at least was not reported) to backup their claim.
In defense of their work, the phenomena that they report have been adequately demonstrated in the paper and have been duplicated by other groups. Their work is subject to peer review and the reputation of the scientists is quite high. Therefore, I don't think that the validity but the short-term usefulness is in doubt here. However, as other posters have commented, I dont believe that this work is as much of a breakthrough as it was touted in the media.
I am one of the authors of the work that Geoff Ozins techniques are based on (Synthesis of Macroporous Minerals with Highly Ordered Three-Dimensional Arrays of Spheroidal Voids. Holland, B.T.; Blanford, C.F.; Stein, A. Science 1998, 281, 538-540 [Abstract] and Synthesis of highly ordered, three-dimensional, macroporous structures of amorphous or crystalline inorganic oxides, phosphates, and hybrid composites. Holland, B.T. et al. Chem. Mater. 1999, 11, 795-805 [Abstract]).
In addition to the technological limitations of photonic computing, we are a long way from fabricating these materials on a length scale that will work for even a rudimentary application, such as a waveguide. As the article states on the first page, their silica structure has "a typical single domain size of 100 um". The templates are brittle (they are essentially artificial opals) and the defect control is nearly impossible. Defects in the material grossly affect the behavior, that is, whether they behave like a photonic band gap material or a waveguide or whatever.
I think another promising route that isnt mentioned here is covered in Fabrication of photonic crystals for the visible spectrum by holographic lithography Nature 2000, 404, 53-56 [ Abstract. Free registration required]. Rather than using an opal for a template, they have complete control over the shape of the void lattice by the holographic interference of several lasers in a polymer matrix which is replaced by a high refractive-index semiconductor.
What is this Imperial Tobacco award listed in the bio?
As a grad student in the sciences at the U of Minnesota, we are officially half-time employees, paid for 20 hours of work. The official policy is that time in excess of those 20 hours is unpaid independent research. What happens, though, is grad students are routinely exploited: my job now involves computer and equipment maintenance, lifting and moving, and random toadying. There's some research, too.
I'm not bitching about it. I knew what I was getting into. Anyone have tales of advisor abuse out there?
One comment on the HGP that I didn't see was about the potential lack of diversity in the human population as we work toward having the "right" genes. It would seem that having less diversity would make humans less adaptable to whatever changes might be in the future.
According to Macintouch (it's up right now), Apple has reversed its decision and is calling up customers to explain. From the article: "People who ordered the G4/500 model that cannot be produced due to Motorola's production issues, will be offered a choice of the previous G4/450 configuration or a discount on the G4/500 configuration with the slower processor (as if it were custom-built and a 450-MHz processor were selected originally). The Apple Store will honor existing orders for the previous configurations at the previous prices. Once Motorola production has ramped up to the level that Apple expected - which may take another three months or so - processor speeds should again rise 50 MHz. to the level initially announced. (Answering another question among readers, IBM will be manufacturing the same G4 currently produced by Motorola, AltiVec functions included.)
MacKiDo (reprinting a Mac Weekly Journal article) had an article weighing USB vs. Firewire last March that lists the advantages of 1394 over USB 2.0.