Let's use this technology against lazy/greedy professors.
Professors were always "updating" their textbooks every year, and forcing us to buy them for large $$. I want to be able to use this to diff the two versions of their textbook and see how few words were changed from the "12th edition" to the "13th edition" - and put this info out in public to keep professors (slightly more) honest.
paul
Everybody's not above average!
on
IT Unions?
·
· Score: 3
Every time unions come up here, people say "unions are for below average folks, and I don't need that because I'm l33t."
Well, guess what pal - the odds are somewhere around, say, 50-50 that you're below average. It reminds me of the stats that 80% or whatever of drivers say they are an "above average" driver...
So sure, unions are designed around the average, but given that half of all employers are below average in how they treat their employees, maybe the protections a union can offer are useful.
And given the increased power management has been given by the government and stockholders over the last few decades to screw their employees at no cost to the managers (how do you "accidentally" hire thousands of people you then decide you need to lay off and not get fired yourself), now might just be the right time.
Ever notice that there isn't a mouse attached to the register at McDonald's?
And that the "user interface" is little pictures of food you touch to select?
The moral is that the dumber the interface, the better. Even using a mouse is a learned skill that cashiers might or might not have learned. And using the tab key to cycle between options? Forget it!
Pushing simple buttons is the only answer. If you can't work with a touch-screen, the old reliable Function Keys are your next best bet and seem very popular in POS systems. Of course, don't forget to paint them different colors, and have them custom-covered with key labels like "New Customer", "Visa", or whatever...
To all intents and purposes, you have to design a POS system as if the user had never SEEN a computer, let alone learned anything about them. Fortunately, text-based displays work well with push-button input systems, but before you worry about what your going to draw on the screen, figure out how the brain-addled user is going to tell the system what to do.
from the SGI Refrigerator guy:
>>>The LED's should have been labelled GNDN* but instead I tell people the red led starts flashing when the beer supply runs low.;-))
Well, why didn't he rig up a sensor and make that happen? If you're going to use advanced technology, really use it!
Voting history is totally available, of course - in the business you can order voters by which elections they've voted in.
MANY candidates have gotten burned when the opponent does the simple look-up and found that they didn't vote in any school board elections, for exampple, when they claim to be an "education" candidate.
That's why you should restict your vote trading, like your love-making, to people you know something about.
However, that doesn't mean the idea is not appealing and powerful - just don't use an anonymous website, make some calls/send some e-mails to people you know and get Ralph his 5% without fscking the country by giving it Bush.
2) CHANGE the phone number on the AT&T "switch by cashing this" check to your SECOND line (which is a line you are legally responsible for, so it fits what the check says)
3) ENDORSE and cash the check.
4) ENJOY the money.
You see, you really do mean that they should switch your second line to AT&T. Honest!
Sadly, it seems you CAN'T switch your second line to a different long distance service from your primary one. So, AT&T puts the request into the system, and the system rejects it. But when you endorsed, you meant exactly what the endorsement text says, that you were trying to switch the phone number on the front of the check to their service. So sorry it didnt' work that way, AT&T, and thanks for the money.
The people that read the mail generally ignore mail from outside the Members district, and they also usually don't pay much attention to e-mail that doesn't contain a real, snail address that's in their district. Letters from people that can't vote for (or against) the Congressperson don't have much impact.
Thus, snail mail is by far more effective, but make sure you're writing to your own Representative.
Anyone remember "Sandkings" (I think by George R. R. Martin). Basically the creatures in that were little "Sims" that learned - unfortunatly for the protaganist, they were also not virtual, and he came to bad end by teaching them the wrong things...
This whole concept kind of scares me because eventually somebody will link Sims-type software and physical robots, and the next thing you know, they all turn on us!
>> when one can have a spacious house on several >> acres of peaceful, clean air, life-producing >> fields where nobody gets in your face?
So let me review: you boast about enjoy the "clean air" while you pump 30 miles a day worth of crap into the atmosphere from your car?
Do you see a possible logical disconnect here?
If you're driving towards a major city on your commute, you're making the air worse for the city folk, who are perhaps NOT using their cars. Urban sprawl is a problem, and the attitide that "the city's problems aren't my problems" ain't gonna make things better.
IMO, Python's white-space sensitivity is a good idea because it takes "you" and "me" out of the equation.
It's great that "you" have your own "consistent, easy to follow" code format - which is easy to follow for, well, YOU. But what if that format isn't easy to follow for "me" or "the next guy"? (see: much existing C and Perl code for examples)
By taking code formatting, braces, and other religious formatting arguments out of the loop, Python code is pretty much readable by any Python programmer.
Imagine if programming languages required writing and saving the code in Word/WordPerfect or some other proprietary format; you could say that "your" file format was best, but I couldn't necessarily read it. Fortunately, code is normally saved as ASCII text so I can read it in emacs or vi and not care how you wrote it. I look at Python's "format enforced/religiously neutral" system as providing similar benefits.
Exactly - you wrote the PUC yourself, and nothing happens. Duh.
The point of the previous poster was that your LEGISLATOR should do the writing, not you. Surprisingly, the PUC might have an incentive to listen to them, depending on how they are selected in your state.
In some states, they are only answerable to the Governor, so do some research before you use the government to intervene on your behalf.
And if it is a state where the legislature has in impact on the Commission, you're better off writing to your legislator if they are a member of the Majority party in whichever chamber they serve in.
In a recent argument with a hard-core Microsoft fan, he kept ranting that the mouse-based clicking interface was the "future", and hence MS was the best of all possible worlds.
I raised the concept of voice-based control, which is the real future (c.f. Star Trek IV). And which makes more sense to control with words, a point-and-drool interface, or a command-line one?
The more I think about it, the more I tbink this is the single best argument about why cli's are still the best choice; they only hurt your wrists NOW because we don't have the speech recognition technology where it needs to be, while mousing can't really be directly rationally with voice commands, unless you want to sit in front of the computer and go "uhh, move the pointer over to the left about three inches. No, not that much. OK, now shift it up a smidge, and click with the right button. While holding down the button, move the mouse over and... Oh the hell with it - computer, launch WordPerfect and load my document".
It already has happened, although the rival company was etoy, and the "victim" (a deserving one, but a victim nonetheless) was etoys.com. And at least in that case it wasn't about improving anybody's stock options. paul
The method I used to select a web hosting service was simple - I picked one because they had a banner ad on Slashdot that mentioned Linux and Apache. Not a very sophisticated consumer research method, but amazingly, its turned out well and they now host a half-dozen domans for me...
The only problem I see is that I'll have to perform my amazing feats of bionic strength in slow motion, while cheesy early synthesizer music plays in the background.
If they could figure out a way to capture the constant motion of the stylus on a Palm, and given the low power consumption of the things, perhaps then we could enjoy battery-free computing...
Don't know about god.com, but god.net is for sale (the bidding is at 100K and counting), so the word god isn't on the list of 'prohibited' domain names.
Slashdot Mirror
Professors were always "updating" their textbooks every year, and forcing us to buy them for large $$. I want to be able to use this to diff the two versions of their textbook and see how few words were changed from the "12th edition" to the "13th edition" - and put this info out in public to keep professors (slightly more) honest.
paul
Well, guess what pal - the odds are somewhere around, say, 50-50 that you're below average. It reminds me of the stats that 80% or whatever of drivers say they are an "above average" driver...
So sure, unions are designed around the average, but given that half of all employers are below average in how they treat their employees, maybe the protections a union can offer are useful.
And given the increased power management has been given by the government and stockholders over the last few decades to screw their employees at no cost to the managers (how do you "accidentally" hire thousands of people you then decide you need to lay off and not get fired yourself), now might just be the right time.
And that the "user interface" is little pictures of food you touch to select?
The moral is that the dumber the interface, the better. Even using a mouse is a learned skill that cashiers might or might not have learned. And using the tab key to cycle between options? Forget it!
Pushing simple buttons is the only answer. If you can't work with a touch-screen, the old reliable Function Keys are your next best bet and seem very popular in POS systems. Of course, don't forget to paint them different colors, and have them custom-covered with key labels like "New Customer", "Visa", or whatever...
To all intents and purposes, you have to design a POS system as if the user had never SEEN a computer, let alone learned anything about them. Fortunately, text-based displays work well with push-button input systems, but before you worry about what your going to draw on the screen, figure out how the brain-addled user is going to tell the system what to do.
paul
from the SGI Refrigerator guy: ;-))
>>>The LED's should have been labelled GNDN* but instead I tell people the red led starts flashing when the beer supply runs low.
Well, why didn't he rig up a sensor and make that happen? If you're going to use advanced technology, really use it!
>>>A Female's Guide To Logical Thinking
>>>Feminists Worth Marrying - The Complete List
Uh, dude, you forgot
The Successful Dating History of Slashdot User "H*rus"
Voting history is totally available, of course - in the business you can order voters by which elections they've voted in.
MANY candidates have gotten burned when the opponent does the simple look-up and found that they didn't vote in any school board elections, for exampple, when they claim to be an "education" candidate.
paul
That's why you should restict your vote trading, like your love-making, to people you know something about.
However, that doesn't mean the idea is not appealing and powerful - just don't use an anonymous website, make some calls/send some e-mails to people you know and get Ralph his 5% without fscking the country by giving it Bush.
paul
1) IF you have a second line for your modeming...
2) CHANGE the phone number on the AT&T "switch by cashing this" check to your SECOND line (which is a line you are legally responsible for, so it fits what the check says)
3) ENDORSE and cash the check.
4) ENJOY the money.
You see, you really do mean that they should switch your second line to AT&T. Honest!
Sadly, it seems you CAN'T switch your second line to a different long distance service from your primary one. So, AT&T puts the request into the system, and the system rejects it. But when you endorsed, you meant exactly what the endorsement text says, that you were trying to switch the phone number on the front of the check to their service. So sorry it didnt' work that way, AT&T, and thanks for the money.
paul
The people that read the mail generally ignore mail from outside the Members district, and they also usually don't pay much attention to e-mail that doesn't contain a real, snail address that's in their district. Letters from people that can't vote for (or against) the Congressperson don't have much impact.
Thus, snail mail is by far more effective, but make sure you're writing to your own Representative.
paul
Anyone remember "Sandkings" (I think by George R. R. Martin). Basically the creatures in that were little "Sims" that learned - unfortunatly for the protaganist, they were also not virtual, and he came to bad end by teaching them the wrong things...
This whole concept kind of scares me because eventually somebody will link Sims-type software and physical robots, and the next thing you know, they all turn on us!
paul
The reason for this "fad" is that TV producers/networks are terrified that there will be both an actors' and writers' strike next season.
Since "reality" shows don't need either writers OR actors, they want to fill up their schedule with lots of them, just in case...
paul
>> when one can have a spacious house on several >> acres of peaceful, clean air, life-producing >> fields where nobody gets in your face?
So let me review: you boast about enjoy the "clean air" while you pump 30 miles a day worth of crap into the atmosphere from your car?
Do you see a possible logical disconnect here?
If you're driving towards a major city on your commute, you're making the air worse for the city folk, who are perhaps NOT using their cars. Urban sprawl is a problem, and the attitide that "the city's problems aren't my problems" ain't gonna make things better.
paul
IMO, Python's white-space sensitivity is a good idea because it takes "you" and "me" out of the equation.
It's great that "you" have your own "consistent, easy to follow" code format - which is easy to follow for, well, YOU. But what if that format isn't easy to follow for "me" or "the next guy"? (see: much existing C and Perl code for examples)
By taking code formatting, braces, and other religious formatting arguments out of the loop, Python code is pretty much readable by any Python programmer.
Imagine if programming languages required writing and saving the code in Word/WordPerfect or some other proprietary format; you could say that "your" file format was best, but I couldn't necessarily read it. Fortunately, code is normally saved as ASCII text so I can read it in emacs or vi and not care how you wrote it. I look at Python's "format enforced/religiously neutral" system as providing similar benefits.
paul
Exactly - you wrote the PUC yourself, and nothing happens. Duh.
The point of the previous poster was that your LEGISLATOR should do the writing, not you. Surprisingly, the PUC might have an incentive to listen to them, depending on how they are selected in your state.
In some states, they are only answerable to the Governor, so do some research before you use the government to intervene on your behalf.
And if it is a state where the legislature has in impact on the Commission, you're better off writing to your legislator if they are a member of the Majority party in whichever chamber they serve in.
paul
To Have and Have Not (1944)
"You know how to release Whistler, don't you, Mr. Ballmer? You just put some crappy bug-fixes together and... blow."
Microsoft campus (2000)
I raised the concept of voice-based control, which is the real future (c.f. Star Trek IV). And which makes more sense to control with words, a point-and-drool interface, or a command-line one?
The more I think about it, the more I tbink this is the single best argument about why cli's are still the best choice; they only hurt your wrists NOW because we don't have the speech recognition technology where it needs to be, while mousing can't really be directly rationally with voice commands, unless you want to sit in front of the computer and go "uhh, move the pointer over to the left about three inches. No, not that much. OK, now shift it up a smidge, and click with the right button. While holding down the button, move the mouse over and... Oh the hell with it - computer, launch WordPerfect and load my document".
paul
They aren't entitled to non-profit postal rates.
They pay taxes on money they make (not money the raise, money they make, such as interest on money they store in the bank).
And of course, at least since the Nixon era scandals, contributions to Federal candidates aren't tax-deductible.
paul
It already has happened, although the rival company was etoy, and the "victim" (a deserving one, but a victim nonetheless) was etoys.com. And at least in that case it wasn't about improving anybody's stock options. paul
This is interesting. You complain that you only get a 10% discount on your company's product...
If you worked for Ford, you'd get a nice new free computer, but you'd get about an employee discount of about 10%(!) off a nice new Ford automobile.
Maybe you should ask Gateway to keep the 10% computer discount, but buy all their employees free cars!
paul
The method I used to select a web hosting service was simple - I picked one because they had a banner ad on Slashdot that mentioned Linux and Apache. Not a very sophisticated consumer research method, but amazingly, its turned out well and they now host a half-dozen domans for me...
dreamhost.com is the service, by the way.
paul
I can't wait to get me some of these...
The only problem I see is that I'll have to perform my amazing feats of bionic strength in slow motion, while cheesy early synthesizer music plays in the background.
paul 7e
If they could figure out a way to capture the constant motion of the stylus on a Palm, and given the low power consumption of the things, perhaps then we could enjoy battery-free computing...
In a fair world, Slashdot would have sold for 2.3 billion, and some Alta Vista would be on the board at Andover.Net...
Our little society doesn't do a good job of valuing things.
Don't know about god.com, but god.net is for sale (the bidding is at 100K and counting), so the word god isn't on the list of 'prohibited' domain names.
Hmm. God for sale. How ironic.
paul
I think that Heather Graham's part would have been much better if she'd been on rollerskates, at least once.