One of the problems I see with shooting CD's into space (or even into orbit around our own planet) is that it would require a future race to have developed the same technology as we have. What if our race took a completely different technology path of everyone else (I recall a email joke I received once of an alien race meeting humans, and deciding that it was impossible to deal with us, since "meat" was talking...
In my typically fatalistic mental pictures, I don't think the future societies who receive our CD time capsule will have the ability to decode the data. For example, consider the ancient Egyptian heiroglyphics. We know they were a technological society, with engineering and such, but not too much else has been gleaned (although, IANAHistorian). But, from what I know, had the Rosetta stone not been found, the glyphs we know would not have been translateable. And that's just over time, knowing that we have very much in common with the other race. How much more difficult would it be for a completely alien race to decode our technology?
"Hey look Zborak, another AOL coaster..."
I know this is rather rambling, and combining 2 slashdot stories, (this one, as well as the time capsule one).
Slashdot I think suffers from a related syndrome. The environment here has grown a lot friendlier to Windows in a server environment, and with ad revenue being what it is and the relative size of the internet audiences for Windows vs. Unix... I'd just like to hear less about Windows. I don't care how stable it gets, it still treats sysadmin like it's a first person shooter dungeon, where you win by being at the console and knowing where the magic is, and being willing to click your way to it over and over... but, with all those Windows eyeballs, there's no way Slashdot is going to meta-moderate them all to hell.
So, the real question for sites like Slashdot's and Tom's is whether they can keep their "edge" by keeping their "edginess". It's a tough challenge.
Just my 2 bits here, but as a set of the Windows eyes, I'm glad/. is drawing us. I personally have wanted to find out more about the different *nix flavors, and see what the various advantages of each are. Since I started regularly reading slashdot (about a year ago), I've set up (and wiped, and re-setup, and wiped... etc) a very few of the systems (mainly RedHat based) with varying degrees of success. I like what I see, I just haven't had enough time to dedicate myself to learning enough about it to trust one in a production environment.
Did Slashdot make me want to set up a *nix box? No, it just gave me some tips, and some addresses of a few competent sysadmins who I could ask for assistance (as well as a ton of helpful links). However, had sites like this one not been around, I would've been much less likely to try my hand at meddling with Unix.... (seen too many movies about "meddling with powers you cannot possibly comprehend..." to want to try on my own.)
So, I, for one, am glad they are drawing windows admins, so maybe more of us can be exposed to the nightmare^H^H^H^Hjoy that is Unix... (sorry, MS training dies hard...)
This post not intended as a troll, though some will consider it to be one.
From what I saw, Junkyard wars (US Name), was airing on TLC on Wed nights. However, they seem to have stopped showing (showed the episodes from last year, and hinted at the "next season" episodes.). Anyone know when / if they'll be back on?
The absence of parens is not a cause of the RPN, but of the unexistence of operator priority. Order does matter. Consider the following, both without operator priority (calculated from the left to the right):
2 + 3 * 4 == 20
2 3 4 + * == 20
The problem is these damn operator priorities. And they even make the syntax of programming languages more complex. Operator priorities are from hell!
Perhaps I'm confused here (having not used RPN for a while), but shouldn't the second one be:
2 3 + 4 * = 20
Since, from what I remember, 2 3 4 + * = 14.
Of course, that's not even my opinion, I could be wrong...
Re:You've only got yourselves to blame
on
Copyrant
·
· Score: 1
It probably wouldn't be too hard to put some sort of mechanism in place whereby the install program can only be run on the machine on which it was downloaded. Sure, there would almost certainly be ways to circumvent this (which would, of course, be illegal)
I have to disagree with you there. Why should it be illegal to circumvent this? If I have 1 pc connected to the net, and want to install the software on another pc, why shouldn't I be able to download the app on my net pc, put on CD, and take to the other one?
For those who want a hypothetical real world example (HRWE), I live in the middle of nowhere (no broadband, limited dialup). I work an hour away, and have a nice fat net connection. I purchase a copy of win2010, and download to my work pc. As long as I do not install it at work, (and do not violate any internal corporate internet use regulations), why shouldn't I be able to burn it to CD (even if it's only a zip/cab/etc) and take home with me to install?
While these reservations are understandable, is it wise to be electing Tipper (censor all music) Gore to 1st lady? Pre-sexgate, does anyone else remember Hillary's "health care plan"? Not that Bush is much better.
So, either way, we're pretty much $rewed.
I do agree that everyone should vote for someone... if only to cancel out someone else's vote. daBum
Slashdot Mirror
One of the problems I see with shooting CD's into space (or even into orbit around our own planet) is that it would require a future race to have developed the same technology as we have. What if our race took a completely different technology path of everyone else (I recall a email joke I received once of an alien race meeting humans, and deciding that it was impossible to deal with us, since "meat" was talking...
In my typically fatalistic mental pictures, I don't think the future societies who receive our CD time capsule will have the ability to decode the data. For example, consider the ancient Egyptian heiroglyphics. We know they were a technological society, with engineering and such, but not too much else has been gleaned (although, IANAHistorian). But, from what I know, had the Rosetta stone not been found, the glyphs we know would not have been translateable. And that's just over time, knowing that we have very much in common with the other race. How much more difficult would it be for a completely alien race to decode our technology?
"Hey look Zborak, another AOL coaster..."
I know this is rather rambling, and combining 2 slashdot stories, (this one, as well as the time capsule one).
Just my 2 bits here, but as a set of the Windows eyes, I'm glad /. is drawing us. I personally have wanted to find out more about the different *nix flavors, and see what the various advantages of each are. Since I started regularly reading slashdot (about a year ago), I've set up (and wiped, and re-setup, and wiped... etc) a very few of the systems (mainly RedHat based) with varying degrees of success. I like what I see, I just haven't had enough time to dedicate myself to learning enough about it to trust one in a production environment.
Did Slashdot make me want to set up a *nix box? No, it just gave me some tips, and some addresses of a few competent sysadmins who I could ask for assistance (as well as a ton of helpful links). However, had sites like this one not been around, I would've been much less likely to try my hand at meddling with Unix.... (seen too many movies about "meddling with powers you cannot possibly comprehend..." to want to try on my own.)
So, I, for one, am glad they are drawing windows admins, so maybe more of us can be exposed to the nightmare^H^H^H^Hjoy that is Unix... (sorry, MS training dies hard...)
This post not intended as a troll, though some will consider it to be one.
From what I saw, Junkyard wars (US Name), was airing on TLC on Wed nights. However, they seem to have stopped showing (showed the episodes from last year, and hinted at the "next season" episodes.). Anyone know when / if they'll be back on?
Perhaps I'm confused here (having not used RPN for a while), but shouldn't the second one be:
2 3 + 4 * = 20
Since, from what I remember, 2 3 4 + * = 14.
Of course, that's not even my opinion, I could be wrong...
I have to disagree with you there. Why should it be illegal to circumvent this? If I have 1 pc connected to the net, and want to install the software on another pc, why shouldn't I be able to download the app on my net pc, put on CD, and take to the other one?
For those who want a hypothetical real world example (HRWE), I live in the middle of nowhere (no broadband, limited dialup). I work an hour away, and have a nice fat net connection. I purchase a copy of win2010, and download to my work pc. As long as I do not install it at work, (and do not violate any internal corporate internet use regulations), why shouldn't I be able to burn it to CD (even if it's only a zip/cab/etc) and take home with me to install?
Just my 00 00.
Brother can ya spare a .sig...
So, either way, we're pretty much $rewed.
I do agree that everyone should vote for someone... if only to cancel out someone else's vote. daBum
More on the traffic flow idea here.