I thought so too, until I once got bored and asked a Radio Shack drone about the SSN requirement for obtaining a cell phone through them.
He said that the rationale was as follows:
If you want to enter into a contract with Radio Shack (or whomever they are reselling service for), then you must provide a SSN.
Since it is a contract, they won't enter into it unless you provide your SSN. Thus, it is not illegal for them to deny you services, and you cannot compel them through the courts to enter into a contract. They'll just tell you to go to their competitor, who will require the same exact thing.
The biggest problem is that the SSN is considered "secret" anymore. It is not, and it should not be used as though it were.
After looking over the link and reading the comments here, it sounds a lot like the old game Space Crusade (link goes to first hit on Google).
In both games, up to three players control marines searching through a map, with another player (controlling the nasties) able to drop new things in places the players can't see.
Space Crusade was fun, but fiendishly hard for the marines...which is where I think they got the idea:)
I thought that one of the requirements for the DMCA takedown notices was that the party making the claim about copyright infringement had to declare, under penalty of perjury, that the works were being copied in violation of copyright.
If someone deliberately put up a safe/public domain file with a misleading name and get sent a notification, could the people running this auto-DMCA service be hit with perjury charges?
I expect that would shut it down pretty quickly. I thought that a perjury penalty was put in there to make sure that it was only invoked when absolutely justified.
The airport in Tampa already does this (at least in one terminal). All of the power outlets along the walls are turned off, and there are credit-card-reader equipped outlets in some cubicles with tables for laptops. The rate for power was something like $4/hour, IIRC, whereas power here usually costs more like $0.25/kWh (so they are charging something like 500 times more for power than the local utility company, assuming a 30 watt load from the laptop).
Then, the next time they go to a supermarket and pay with a credit card, or go to the DMV, or the airport, or present an ID anywhere that can scan the implant (even without their knowledge or consent) then that place has an association between the RFID tag and the person's identity.
Sure, one supermarket chain here, one airport there, one state government yonder won't make much of a difference. But there are forces that make ubiquitous tracking very likely -- supermarkets already track buying habits, cell phones can be used to geolocate users with records that stretch back for months, and governments want to know where their citizens are at all times for security. All it takes is one court order (or PATRIOT-enabled search) to tie all of those records together.
That's just a little too invasive for my tastes. There may not be a hard-and-fast constitutional protection of privacy in the U.S., but I don't see any reason to make it easier for citizens to be tracked without their knowledge via RFID. It may just be a number, but at this rate, we will all be reduced down to just a number.
The reason to have a separation between the machine that prints the ballot and the one that counts the vote is this: to prevent the voting machine from printing a ballot that lists one candidate while secretly casting the vote to the other. Such an "error" would only be detected in a manual recount. If the ballot were made totally human-readable but easy to scan, then this weakness is, for the most part, cured.
Dan's Data has an amusing description of the various things you can do to destroy a computer, mostly in the form of bad habits that people have when it comes to care and feeding. Examples include not using static protection, blowing compressed air under chips or through fans, using excessive force, screwing up connectors, etc.
I haven't seen any mention here of
RAID 6 yet -- basically, it uses a second drive for another dimension of parity, such that two drives in the volume can fail without losing anything.
This should at least leave enough time for a hot spare to rebuild before another drive goes, which can be a problem for RAID 5 (as noted
here).
So, if one of those 400GB drives goes down, and you throw in another (or have a hot spare), how long will it take to rebuild the array so that it is once again redundant?
Disclosure: I'm not a parent, and I am not trying to criticize your method of parenting. I just want to make an observation based on personal experience.
A friend of mine in highschool had basically the environment that you describe -- raised Catholic, had a very close, loving, and spiritual family, no television in the house, and limited access to computer games. Everybody did a lot of reading, played games as a family on most weeknights, etc. He was a good student and a nice guy.
Then he went to college, and nearly died due to a previously unknown allergy to marijuana.
My point: once a child raised in such an environment is out on their own, they will still do whatever the hell it is they want. Reading E.B. White and Kipling is great; listening to NPR is commendable. But are they aware that there are people in the world that will try to manipulate, con, swindle, intimidate, or brainwash them? Do they know that there are people out there who will hate them simply for their beliefs, lifestyle, citizenship, or appearance, regardless of how nice, friendly, or smart they are? Do they understand that the world can be a rotten place? Have they had a chance to explore their sexuality, to question their faith?
If not, then once they hit the crucible that is college, then a lot of that may happen all at once. Since they are used to being smarter than their peers (at the top of their class) then they will assume, incorrectly, that they will get it right on the first try -- that they're smart enough not to overdose, become parents, etc. I've seen it happen more than once.
I've got a pair of Waltham pocketwatches, one with an 1898 movement, and one that is probably from the 1930s.
Both of them work, and keep good time.
I also have a pile of dead, broken down computer hardware, and can point to any number of software projects that are unmaintained, unfinished, or otherwise at the end of their lives. All of these are, at best, half the age of the younger watch.
If nothing else, carrying an old-fashioned watch is a reminder about building things to last...
I know I'm not supposed to play with the trolls, but this one looks so innocent...
DNA sequences can come in any length, including one or zero bases. So 7 is valid.
The pairing that you refer to comes from hybridization, in which each base bonds with its opposite: A with T, G with C.
So, if you really wanted to get technical, the complete hybridized double-strand would look like this:
GATTACA |--------------| CTAATGT
There is nothing wrong with having two 'T' bases (or two of anything) next to each other -- what you probably meant was that the base 'T' will not hybridize with itself, which is true. The difference is that along one strand, the bonds are strong, while between strands, the bonds are weak. A 'T-T' strong bond is possible, but a 'T-T' weak bond is not.
Finally, wouldn't a DNS sequence [sic] be a bit more like 66.35.250.150?
SunnComm is taking a stand here because we believe that those who own property, whether physical or digital, have the ultimate authority over how their property is used.
...unless the property is the CD, in which case, SunnComm believes that the owner cannot do with their own (physical) property whatever the hell they like.
"The strategy used for options in the default sshd_config shipped with OpenSSH is to specify options with their default value where possible, but leave them commented. Uncommented options change a default value."
In other words, simply uncommenting the line changes nothing -- the default is shown commented. For the SRPMS of OpenSSH-3.7p1, UsePAM is set to Yes.
Then again, if you believe that God is real, or at least a float, then the specific test that God == 0.000000 is likely to come back true. Now, the real question is whether having strcmp("Google", "God") > 0 being true is a serious theological problem.
This is why I think Asimov's laws regarding intelligent robots/software should be implemented today.
There's a minor problem with that statement, which is that robots aren't nearly bright enough to do any of those things. Not yet, anyway.
For the robot to be able to preserve human life, it must first be able to recognize humans reliably; then it must have a sophisticated situational awareness to understand in what cases a human's life might be in danger, and further, it must be smart enough to understand in what ways that perilous situation might be averted.
For the robot to obey a human's command, it must first be able to accurately interpret that command. Speech and speaker recognition are getting better, but they aren't there yet. And for the robot to again have the situational awareness to know what it is doing and what the results of its actions will be (including whether they endanger a human, as above), it is going to need to be much smarter than anything you can point to today.
Just recognizing humans reliably is a problem. The situational awareness part won't be happening any time soon. Asimov's laws require robots to be a hell of a lot smarter than they are today. By the time robots are smart enough to actually do these things, I'm not sure we'll even care about Asimov's laws (an actual set of ethical values might be a good substitute; hell, it works on humans, somtimes, anyway).
Slashdot Mirror
I thought so too, until I once got bored and asked a Radio Shack drone about the SSN requirement for obtaining a cell phone through them.
He said that the rationale was as follows:
If you want to enter into a contract with Radio Shack (or whomever they are reselling service for), then you must provide a SSN.
Since it is a contract, they won't enter into it unless you provide your SSN. Thus, it is not illegal for them to deny you services, and you cannot compel them through the courts to enter into a contract. They'll just tell you to go to their competitor, who will require the same exact thing.
The biggest problem is that the SSN is considered "secret" anymore. It is not, and it should not be used as though it were.
After looking over the link and reading the comments here, it sounds a lot like the old game Space Crusade (link goes to first hit on Google).
:)
In both games, up to three players control marines searching through a map, with another player (controlling the nasties) able to drop new things in places the players can't see.
Space Crusade was fun, but fiendishly hard for the marines...which is where I think they got the idea
I thought that one of the requirements for the DMCA takedown notices was that the party making the claim about copyright infringement had to declare, under penalty of perjury, that the works were being copied in violation of copyright.
If someone deliberately put up a safe/public domain file with a misleading name and get sent a notification, could the people running this auto-DMCA service be hit with perjury charges?
I expect that would shut it down pretty quickly. I thought that a perjury penalty was put in there to make sure that it was only invoked when absolutely justified.
The airport in Tampa already does this (at least in one terminal). All of the power outlets along the walls are turned off, and there are credit-card-reader equipped outlets in some cubicles with tables for laptops. The rate for power was something like $4/hour, IIRC, whereas power here usually costs more like $0.25/kWh (so they are charging something like 500 times more for power than the local utility company, assuming a 30 watt load from the laptop).
Then, the next time they go to a supermarket and pay with a credit card, or go to the DMV, or the airport, or present an ID anywhere that can scan the implant (even without their knowledge or consent) then that place has an association between the RFID tag and the person's identity.
Sure, one supermarket chain here, one airport there, one state government yonder won't make much of a difference. But there are forces that make ubiquitous tracking very likely -- supermarkets already track buying habits, cell phones can be used to geolocate users with records that stretch back for months, and governments want to know where their citizens are at all times for security. All it takes is one court order (or PATRIOT-enabled search) to tie all of those records together.
That's just a little too invasive for my tastes. There may not be a hard-and-fast constitutional protection of privacy in the U.S., but I don't see any reason to make it easier for citizens to be tracked without their knowledge via RFID. It may just be a number, but at this rate, we will all be reduced down to just a number.
...until somebody clones the chip and starts making fraudulent charges using your implant's ID. Then what? Surgery to get a new chip?
"pointing to more that 400 Chinese porn sites"
How do they know that all 400 are porn sites? Did someone actually sit down and visit every one?
Also, are they hiring?
The reason to have a separation between the machine that prints the ballot and the one that counts the vote is this: to prevent the voting machine from printing a ballot that lists one candidate while secretly casting the vote to the other. Such an "error" would only be detected in a manual recount. If the ballot were made totally human-readable but easy to scan, then this weakness is, for the most part, cured.
Link is here.
This should at least leave enough time for a hot spare to rebuild before another drive goes, which can be a problem for RAID 5 (as noted here).
Is this being used anywhere?
It could take weeks.
Meanwhile, if another drive fails before the new one is built, then everything is lost.
Disclosure: I'm not a parent, and I am not trying to criticize your method of parenting. I just want to make an observation based on personal experience.
A friend of mine in highschool had basically the environment that you describe -- raised Catholic, had a very close, loving, and spiritual family, no television in the house, and limited access to computer games. Everybody did a lot of reading, played games as a family on most weeknights, etc. He was a good student and a nice guy.
Then he went to college, and nearly died due to a previously unknown allergy to marijuana.
My point: once a child raised in such an environment is out on their own, they will still do whatever the hell it is they want. Reading E.B. White and Kipling is great; listening to NPR is commendable. But are they aware that there are people in the world that will try to manipulate, con, swindle, intimidate, or brainwash them? Do they know that there are people out there who will hate them simply for their beliefs, lifestyle, citizenship, or appearance, regardless of how nice, friendly, or smart they are? Do they understand that the world can be a rotten place? Have they had a chance to explore their sexuality, to question their faith?
If not, then once they hit the crucible that is college, then a lot of that may happen all at once. Since they are used to being smarter than their peers (at the top of their class) then they will assume, incorrectly, that they will get it right on the first try -- that they're smart enough not to overdose, become parents, etc. I've seen it happen more than once.
You'll notice that this AC has put the following words into Linus' mouth:
"...rather than blacklist Black people..." (emphasis added)
Linus was referring to "bad" people. This should be something other than Informative.
This was posted on /. a while ago under a similar story, but in case you missed it, there is a place to report spam on Google:
http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html
I now have it as a bookmark so I can hit it quickly.
The Onion had a Point-Counterpoint that I think applies here: My Computer Hates Me
I've got a pair of Waltham pocketwatches, one with an 1898 movement, and one that is probably from the 1930s.
Both of them work, and keep good time.
I also have a pile of dead, broken down computer hardware, and can point to any number of software projects that are unmaintained, unfinished, or otherwise at the end of their lives. All of these are, at best, half the age of the younger watch.
If nothing else, carrying an old-fashioned watch is a reminder about building things to last...
Looking at the US $1, on the face, there appears to be a pattern of berries in the bottom middle that follows might match as well.
Interesting.
I know I'm not supposed to play with the trolls, but this one looks so innocent...
DNA sequences can come in any length, including one or zero bases. So 7 is valid.
The pairing that you refer to comes from hybridization, in which each base bonds with its opposite: A with T, G with C.
So, if you really wanted to get technical, the complete hybridized double-strand would look like this:
GATTACA
|--------------|
CTAATGT
There is nothing wrong with having two 'T' bases (or two of anything) next to each other -- what you probably meant was that the base 'T' will not hybridize with itself, which is true. The difference is that along one strand, the bonds are strong, while between strands, the bonds are weak. A 'T-T' strong bond is possible, but a 'T-T' weak bond is not.
Finally, wouldn't a DNS sequence [sic] be a bit more like 66.35.250.150?
No!
From the top of sshd_config:
"The strategy used for options in the default sshd_config shipped with OpenSSH is to specify options with their default value where possible, but leave them commented. Uncommented options change a default value."
In other words, simply uncommenting the line changes nothing -- the default is shown commented. For the SRPMS of OpenSSH-3.7p1, UsePAM is set to Yes.
If God == 0, then Google = God would be false.
Then again, if you believe that God is real, or at least a float, then the specific test that God == 0.000000 is likely to come back true. Now, the real question is whether having strcmp("Google", "God") > 0 being true is a serious theological problem.
I could think of a number of other possibilities, like the pig-latin Linux fansite:
...or the browser project page:
/usr/share/dict/words) and simply register everything that appears.
inux.la
mozil.la
I think it's time to just do a (grep "la$"
This is why I think Asimov's laws regarding intelligent robots/software should be implemented today.
There's a minor problem with that statement, which is that robots aren't nearly bright enough to do any of those things. Not yet, anyway.
For the robot to be able to preserve human life, it must first be able to recognize humans reliably; then it must have a sophisticated situational awareness to understand in what cases a human's life might be in danger, and further, it must be smart enough to understand in what ways that perilous situation might be averted.
For the robot to obey a human's command, it must first be able to accurately interpret that command. Speech and speaker recognition are getting better, but they aren't there yet. And for the robot to again have the situational awareness to know what it is doing and what the results of its actions will be (including whether they endanger a human, as above), it is going to need to be much smarter than anything you can point to today.
Just recognizing humans reliably is a problem. The situational awareness part won't be happening any time soon. Asimov's laws require robots to be a hell of a lot smarter than they are today. By the time robots are smart enough to actually do these things, I'm not sure we'll even care about Asimov's laws (an actual set of ethical values might be a good substitute; hell, it works on humans, somtimes, anyway).
They'll have to fight Apple for it ("Think Different").
The biggest problem limiting the performance of our aircraft is that the human pilot can't handle additional G-force.
The reason our tanks are so damn bulky is to protect the human occupants.
What we need is not to put a human into a bigger can. What we need is to remove the human altogether.