I'm sure all these 3G gadgets will be cool and all, but what are they good for? What pointful activities can you do with a 3G phone that you can't do with a regular cell phone and a palmtop? Do you need your stock quotes in color while you're riding the train?
Is it just me, or are cell phones quickly becoming "The only electronic device you'll ever need"? Who needs a PDA? Before long, cell phones will be as functional as PDAs, with built-in wireless internet access to boot (not to mention that they'll still work as cell phones!)
But why stop there? Cell phones already have digital camera features. Media (e.g. mp3) playing functions can replace those devices. When they come up with a cell phone which can play CDs somehow, they'll have a replacement for just about every portable electronic device out there. Then you just need a portable screen and keyboard, and your cell phone can replace your laptop too:)
All that, and yet the general public will buy them just to call their friends and maybe play a few games. Cell phones will become portable computing for the masses!
The amazing thing? One of the arms was 600 miles away. So, they transmitted and translated the "commands" into motion in less than 300 milliseconds!"
That sounds very similar to moving a character around in an online game. 300 milliseconds is nothing as far as transmission speed goes. A 300 ping in an online game is awful (even with a 56k modem!) Somehow, I doubt that most of that 300 milliseconds was taken up by transmissing the data 600 miles. More likely, most of that time was actually taken up by computations.
Infrared still counts as wireless, and I still think that was either a clueless writer or a typo.
Perhaps the writer is clueless, but the whole "wireless" angle misses my point. Stop thinking about networking -- my idea is much simpler than that. My point is that there could be storage built into the mouse, whether it's a wireless, USB, or some other type of mouse. Ethernet base stations don't presently have any significant amount of built-in memory, and neither do wireless mice.
My point is that with flash memory in the mouse, you can do this: You work on a document for a while on one computer, click a mouse button, and the document is stored to the memory in your mouse via whatever connection it has. (Presumably it's just like other wireless mice nowadays, which use a type of infared link, but one which is different from IrDA. I don't see why the mouse couldn't be made so as to use IrDA, ethernet, or whatever for this functionality, though). Then you bring the mouse to another computer, click another button, and the appropriate program opens and loads the document, which is uploaded from the mouse.
This wouldn't be hard to do at all. With the proper drivers, the flash memory in the mouse would appear to be another disk, just like a USB disk-on-key device. Clicking the preset button just does a "save as" to the flash memory disk, or a combination "run program" and "load document" from the flash memory disk when appropriate.
Yes, that normally is difficult if there is "no connection between the computers". So is the mouse also a base station for wireless ethernet?!?
Perhaps the mouse itself stores data?
We can already assume that it's wireless, since it can move from a desktop to a laptop system. Perhaps in addition to sending mouse commands, the infared (or whatever) connection can receive data and store it in some flash memory built into the mouse. You click on a window to make it active, then press another pre-assigned button, and the data being accessed by that program is stored in the mouse's flash memory via the infared link. Then you move the mouse to another system, press another button, and the application (which was not stored, but rather exists on both machines) starts on the new system with the data you were working on already loaded.
Doesn't that seem plausible? Imagine doing the same thing with a USB mouse. It would be very much like a regular USB mouse combined with one of those "disk on key" devices. The only trick is to have an API for "automatically store data in active window" which the mouse driver can trigger when a key bound to this data move function is pressed.
What's the problem with this? Its a school computer, they get to say whats OK.
If UCSD started tossing controversial books out of their library, you'd better believe that people would complain. Sure UCSD _can_ do this, since they "own" the library. They'd complain that an educational institution, of all places, should allow individuals access to all opinions rather than censoring controversial ones. This situation is very similar. They're not preventing people from using a particular network protocol (e.g. not allowing P2P), they're actually editing certain types of content which is available. Perhaps the university can technically do this. But should they?
While you're thinking about this, remember that UCSD is a public, state-funded school, not a private institution. It's not really clear that UCSD does "own" the library or those computers in the same sense that a private institution does. The library and computers may technically be public property which is merely _administered_ by the UCSD (and general UC) bureaucracy.
On a related note, how do we know that burn.ucsd.edu is a university computer? It may well be a privately owned system using a ucsd domain name. Much like the Che Cafe actually owns the land which comprises the cafe even though it's on university property, perhaps they own the computer which hosts burn.ucsd.edu even though they're using a ucsd domain name. In the article, a UCSD official is quoted as saying that UCSD "provides network services". That makes it sound like burn.ucsd.edu is privately owned, but connected to the UCSD network.
It's not true. There were many factual errors in this joke, such as the "getting drunk bit". No alcohol is served at the Che Cafe, and in fact they'd get in major trouble with both UCSD and the law if they served alcohol on campus at an all-ages venue. And what about "bring them more publicity than they ever believed possible"? What, because they were linked to on SlashDot? Methinks that someone is overrating the popularity of SlashDot!;)
Not that most of us care, of course. It's a joke. But don't pretend that it's true when it's not.
AGP Texture bandwidth could have been solved by texture compression, but S3 ended up doing that. 32 bit colour was implemented by everyone except 3DFX. They could have saved a lot fo bandwidth if they'd have come up with better Z buffer algorithms, but PowerVR did that. They could have added programmable graphics, but that was left to ATI. They could have put T&L on the card, but that was left to Nvidia.
3DFX failed because they didn't innovate.
This analysis doesn't quite work.
First, you left out Matrox, who were never innovators but who are still around.
Second, you listed S3 as an innovator, but they're dead, which shouldn't happen if innovation leads to survival, right?
Finally, 3dfx made at least one major innovation later in their existence: the multi-core graphics card. Okay, so they and ATI may have both done this simultaneously (with the VooDoo 5500 and Rage Fury MAXX, respectively). Still, both companies must have been working on multi-core cards simultaneously for the release dates for their multi-chip products to be so close together.
Right now. Bidding starts at $25, serious bidders only! No AC's. Buyer buys handling charges. Canadian bids not accepted.
I can just imagine people falling all over themselves for the honor of being named "bravehamster". Why do 'ya suppose I find that amusing?:)
Re:Again: "Perspective"
on
Skydriving
·
· Score: 2
But fast ROLLER COASTERS are the great, perilous danger from which we must protect the masses.
Riiiight.
Aw, c'mon, you must be able to see the flaws in that argument.
First, skydrivers are well aware that they're doing something dangerous. If roller coasters are dangerous to normal folks, people sure don't know about it. There's no point in protecting people from risks they knowingly take, but there is a good reason to protect them from risks which they aren't aware of.
Second, how many people skydrive? Maybe a few dozen ever. Compare that to the number of people who go on roller coasters. It makes a lot more sense to regulate an activity which millions of people participate in every year than one which only a few participate in. I bet bungee jumping wasn't regulated at first, but there are regulations now (such as this one from South Carolina).
Especially when their "old" (2-3 years) home desktop or notebook PC works just fine for email and surfing job-search websites.
You're actually understating the issue. About the only thing which prevents 10-year-old computers from being fine for email and surfing job-related websites is the heavy requirements of modern OSes (GUIs, really). I have a 1996-era Pentium Pro system which has run both Windows 2000 and Linux-Mandrake (with KDE) at different times, and which can surf the web comfortably with either.
You really wouln't want to be out there working in the full heat believe me. It's probably a good idea!
That does make sense, though I don't know how hot it is inside the pyramid (where I assume the hidden chamber is). I tend to think of the inside of large stone structures as being cool. I don't know about pyramids, though.
Should we immediately start referring to Linux (et al) as an easy touch for these worms? This is now two serious vulnerabilities in the last three days. Sure, there are fixes available, but there are also fixes quickly available for similar Windows holes and, yet, when "sysadmins" don't apply them, everyone blames Microsoft. So, that means Linux sucks too, right?
First of all, this is the same worm as a few days ago. It's called Linux.Slapper.Worm.
Second, OpenSSL release 0.9.6e fixed this problem. It was released on July 30th. People should have already upgraded to fix the.htaccess vulnerability that was reported at that time and which was also fixed by 0.9.6e. This means that the only people who are hit by this worm are ones who didn't bother to protect their servers from the.htaccess bug more than a month ago.
What, you mean linus still produces patches for 1.1.x?
Actually, there are still new releases to the 2.0 kernel series, which is the "circa 1997" (think "Word 97") kernel series. They're at 2.0.40-pre6 right now.
Of course, perhaps the original poster meant that people should try OpenOffice not because patches are released for older versions of Open Source software, but rather because the upgrade to the latest, fully patched version is free?
And, these settlements don't even "punish" the companies involved as a result, since it "costs" them less to pay off the occasional suit than by changing their offensive business practices.
Unless they're a borderline-profitable dot-com which might be sunk by a big lawsuit. Like PayPal, perhaps?
The claim was that there are self-sharpening razor blades and that the technology is being held down by Gillette. I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by saying that if this was true there should be information out on the net that will shed some light on the issue.
When was the last time you saw a report on a product which is specifically not going to market? That sort of thing doesn't get reported, does it? Even if it did, would it be reported in an American paper, or a Brazilian one? (And can you read Portuguese?)
Sorry, but I still think you put too much trust in the 'net (and probably the English-language part of the 'net, at that). The original claim was that Gillette bought a Brazilian company over a decade ago, including all their patents, and then shut them down. So what? Companies buy out other companies all the time. As for the self-sharpening razors, Gillette may even now be improving the product for eventual release (or they may have released it already -- see below). They're not supporting the old products anymore (that's a reasonable interpretation of "shut them down"). This would be consistent with the original poster's claim, and yet so commonplace that nobody would bother to report it, except in passing. Heard anything about what nVidia is doing with 3dfx's video card technology lately?
This is not to say that the original poster's claim is true, by the way. In fact, I consider it uninteresting. Self-sharpening razors have existed for decades (one was patented in 1917), razor manufacturers offer them today, and corporate buyouts (with patents) happen all the time. Again, so what?
Link? Or is this just another unsubstantiated urban legend?
Perhaps the Internet does not in fact contain all the information in the world? Or if so, it's not all in a language we all can understand?
Or, perhaps the only people who put up websites about this sort of thing aren't very trustworthy, even if what they're saying may be true? What kind of website would you trust to push this thing past the "urban legend" level? A major newspaper would be sufficient, but almost anything else could just be some random wacko making up facts.
Not too long ago, my dad had to get a new cellular phone because he couldn't find batteries to his Nokia 8110 anymore.
Alternately, this might be an argument for using standard-sized batteries. My CD player, for example, just uses two AA batteries (I use rechargeable Ni-MH batteries). You can image how easy it is to replace them.
Having said that, I have no idea whether regular batteries meet the power/voltage requirements of PDAs, cell phones, laptops, etc. This could, admittedly, be a problem.
Just remember, that 'average salary' of 41k is the average of all teachers, even the ones that have been teaching for 20+ years( which is a pretty hefty percentage of the teachers). This means that in order to get to that 'average' mark, you've got to be a teacher for 10+ years to reach that average.
That's true for teachers, but isn't it also true for the national average? I assume that the average worker in the national average has been working for 20+ years too, and the ones who keep changing fields probably see their pay go back to beginning levels at each new type of job. That's normal.
I speak from experience here. My wife has been teaching for 6 years, and I make twice her salary (and salary is nowhere near the 41k mark.. My wife's mother has been teaching for over 25 years and I make more than she does, and I've been out of school for 6 years.
Again, I didn't say it payed well, I just said that the pay didn't seem as bad as you said. Actually, for people with college degrees, it may be below average. That didn't occur to me before. Then again, it may be above average for humanities majors:)
Anyway, from previous conversations I've had, I got the impression that the SlashDot crowd thinks that a starting salary below $75K is intolerable. Lots of higly paid computer specialists here:) But I also know that there are lots of people out there struggling to make it on minimum wage. On my last job, for example, there was a big fight over the low pay the janitors got (They were hired indirectly through a contractor, who charged $12.50 or so per hour, but paid $6.25 to the janitors). So to me teachers' pay just seems relatively average, but I thought that the SlashDot crowd might think otherwise, which is why I brought it up.
I'm to do all of this with just a piece of chalk,a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in many states.
Although I agree with many parts of this rant, I was really surprised by this comment on teacher salaries. Yes, they've historically been a major complaint about teaching, but I was under the impression that things were getting better. So I did a little web research.
First of all, starting salaries are starting salaries. You don't make much when you start in most careers. According to this page at the American Federation of Teachers website, the average starting salary for teachers in the U.S. was $27,989 in 2001. The average salary in general was $41,820.
Now, that isn't spectacular pay, but it's not exactly horrifyingly low either. The average pay is almost exactly the national median ($42,148), in fact. Yes, there are some states which are lagging on teacher salaries, but of course there are some which are ahead as well.
Why do I bring this up? Maybe so that people won't be completely scared off from teaching?:)
At 1500' over a heavily populated area the pilot could still be in trouble with the FAA. It is technically legal, but not necessarily safe or prudent. Simply put, there is not a whole lot of options for landing at 1500', and even less over a densely populated area.
Densely populated area? Not San Diego. San Diego isn't like those big Eastern cities. It's a large city, but it's really spread out. There are relatively few tall buildings except in the downtown area, due to a three-story limit on (most) new buildings that was in effect for a while (I don't recall all of the details). Also, there are lots of big open spaces, such as canyons, parks, golf courses, and of course, the ocean to the West. It's also surrounded by lots of smaller towns, which is where the pilot spent most of their time flying (according to the map on their webpage).
Landing in San Diego might still be hard, but it's probably not as bad as you think.
I just bought a computer for my son from Dell, and by dropping the option for MS Office Professional, I saved close to $400.
It sounds as though, by dropping MS Word, Dell computers just dropped in price by a _lot_. No wonder HP had to follow suit! I mean, what does WordPerfect cost? $50 tops, probably not even that for a big OEM purchase.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm sure all these 3G gadgets will be cool and all, but what are they good for? What pointful activities can you do with a 3G phone that you can't do with a regular cell phone and a palmtop? Do you need your stock quotes in color while you're riding the train?
:)
Is it just me, or are cell phones quickly becoming "The only electronic device you'll ever need"? Who needs a PDA? Before long, cell phones will be as functional as PDAs, with built-in wireless internet access to boot (not to mention that they'll still work as cell phones!)
But why stop there? Cell phones already have digital camera features. Media (e.g. mp3) playing functions can replace those devices. When they come up with a cell phone which can play CDs somehow, they'll have a replacement for just about every portable electronic device out there. Then you just need a portable screen and keyboard, and your cell phone can replace your laptop too
All that, and yet the general public will buy them just to call their friends and maybe play a few games. Cell phones will become portable computing for the masses!
At least it could happen that way.
The amazing thing? One of the arms was 600 miles away. So, they transmitted and translated the "commands" into motion in less than 300 milliseconds!"
That sounds very similar to moving a character around in an online game. 300 milliseconds is nothing as far as transmission speed goes. A 300 ping in an online game is awful (even with a 56k modem!) Somehow, I doubt that most of that 300 milliseconds was taken up by transmissing the data 600 miles. More likely, most of that time was actually taken up by computations.
Infrared still counts as wireless, and I still think that was either a clueless writer or a typo.
Perhaps the writer is clueless, but the whole "wireless" angle misses my point. Stop thinking about networking -- my idea is much simpler than that. My point is that there could be storage built into the mouse, whether it's a wireless, USB, or some other type of mouse. Ethernet base stations don't presently have any significant amount of built-in memory, and neither do wireless mice.
My point is that with flash memory in the mouse, you can do this: You work on a document for a while on one computer, click a mouse button, and the document is stored to the memory in your mouse via whatever connection it has. (Presumably it's just like other wireless mice nowadays, which use a type of infared link, but one which is different from IrDA. I don't see why the mouse couldn't be made so as to use IrDA, ethernet, or whatever for this functionality, though). Then you bring the mouse to another computer, click another button, and the appropriate program opens and loads the document, which is uploaded from the mouse.
This wouldn't be hard to do at all. With the proper drivers, the flash memory in the mouse would appear to be another disk, just like a USB disk-on-key device. Clicking the preset button just does a "save as" to the flash memory disk, or a combination "run program" and "load document" from the flash memory disk when appropriate.
Yes, that normally is difficult if there is "no connection between the computers". So is the mouse also a base station for wireless ethernet?!?
Perhaps the mouse itself stores data?
We can already assume that it's wireless, since it can move from a desktop to a laptop system. Perhaps in addition to sending mouse commands, the infared (or whatever) connection can receive data and store it in some flash memory built into the mouse. You click on a window to make it active, then press another pre-assigned button, and the data being accessed by that program is stored in the mouse's flash memory via the infared link. Then you move the mouse to another system, press another button, and the application (which was not stored, but rather exists on both machines) starts on the new system with the data you were working on already loaded.
Doesn't that seem plausible? Imagine doing the same thing with a USB mouse. It would be very much like a regular USB mouse combined with one of those "disk on key" devices. The only trick is to have an API for "automatically store data in active window" which the mouse driver can trigger when a key bound to this data move function is pressed.
What's the problem with this? Its a school computer, they get to say whats OK.
If UCSD started tossing controversial books out of their library, you'd better believe that people would complain. Sure UCSD _can_ do this, since they "own" the library. They'd complain that an educational institution, of all places, should allow individuals access to all opinions rather than censoring controversial ones. This situation is very similar. They're not preventing people from using a particular network protocol (e.g. not allowing P2P), they're actually editing certain types of content which is available. Perhaps the university can technically do this. But should they?
While you're thinking about this, remember that UCSD is a public, state-funded school, not a private institution. It's not really clear that UCSD does "own" the library or those computers in the same sense that a private institution does. The library and computers may technically be public property which is merely _administered_ by the UCSD (and general UC) bureaucracy.
On a related note, how do we know that burn.ucsd.edu is a university computer? It may well be a privately owned system using a ucsd domain name. Much like the Che Cafe actually owns the land which comprises the cafe even though it's on university property, perhaps they own the computer which hosts burn.ucsd.edu even though they're using a ucsd domain name. In the article, a UCSD official is quoted as saying that UCSD "provides network services". That makes it sound like burn.ucsd.edu is privately owned, but connected to the UCSD network.
It's funny because it's true.
;)
It's not true. There were many factual errors in this joke, such as the "getting drunk bit". No alcohol is served at the Che Cafe, and in fact they'd get in major trouble with both UCSD and the law if they served alcohol on campus at an all-ages venue. And what about "bring them more publicity than they ever believed possible"? What, because they were linked to on SlashDot? Methinks that someone is overrating the popularity of SlashDot!
Not that most of us care, of course. It's a joke. But don't pretend that it's true when it's not.
AGP Texture bandwidth could have been solved by texture compression, but S3 ended up doing that. 32 bit colour was implemented by everyone except 3DFX. They could have saved a lot fo bandwidth if they'd have come up with better Z buffer algorithms, but PowerVR did that. They could have added programmable graphics, but that was left to ATI. They could have put T&L on the card, but that was left to Nvidia.
3DFX failed because they didn't innovate.
This analysis doesn't quite work.
First, you left out Matrox, who were never innovators but who are still around.
Second, you listed S3 as an innovator, but they're dead, which shouldn't happen if innovation leads to survival, right?
Finally, 3dfx made at least one major innovation later in their existence: the multi-core graphics card. Okay, so they and ATI may have both done this simultaneously (with the VooDoo 5500 and Rage Fury MAXX, respectively). Still, both companies must have been working on multi-core cards simultaneously for the release dates for their multi-chip products to be so close together.
Right now. Bidding starts at $25, serious bidders only! No AC's. Buyer buys handling charges. Canadian bids not accepted.
:)
I can just imagine people falling all over themselves for the honor of being named "bravehamster". Why do 'ya suppose I find that amusing?
But fast ROLLER COASTERS are the great, perilous danger from which we must protect the masses.
Riiiight.
Aw, c'mon, you must be able to see the flaws in that argument.
First, skydrivers are well aware that they're doing something dangerous. If roller coasters are dangerous to normal folks, people sure don't know about it. There's no point in protecting people from risks they knowingly take, but there is a good reason to protect them from risks which they aren't aware of.
Second, how many people skydrive? Maybe a few dozen ever. Compare that to the number of people who go on roller coasters. It makes a lot more sense to regulate an activity which millions of people participate in every year than one which only a few participate in. I bet bungee jumping wasn't regulated at first, but there are regulations now (such as this one from South Carolina).
Oooh, a post just itchin' for a punch line!
... and a dedicated electrical generator.
... for installation (Requirements for use may be higher).
... and a two-button mouse.
... and a 14.4K or faster modem (doesn't AOL have something to do with the Internet?)
In an unrelated story, aol will be adding new features into aol 9, its min. req will be dual 3 Gig processor, 512 megs ram.
In an unrelated story, aol will be adding new features into aol 9, its min. req will be dual 3 Gig processor, 512 megs ram.
In an unrelated story, aol will be adding new features into aol 9, its min. req will be dual 3 Gig processor, 512 megs ram.
In an unrelated story, aol will be adding new features into aol 9, its min. req will be dual 3 Gig processor, 512 megs ram.
Especially when their "old" (2-3 years) home desktop or notebook PC works just fine for email and surfing job-search websites.
You're actually understating the issue. About the only thing which prevents 10-year-old computers from being fine for email and surfing job-related websites is the heavy requirements of modern OSes (GUIs, really). I have a 1996-era Pentium Pro system which has run both Windows 2000 and Linux-Mandrake (with KDE) at different times, and which can surf the web comfortably with either.
You really wouln't want to be out there working in the full heat believe me. It's probably a good idea!
That does make sense, though I don't know how hot it is inside the pyramid (where I assume the hidden chamber is). I tend to think of the inside of large stone structures as being cool. I don't know about pyramids, though.
The only way I know to air a show at 8pm Eastern and Pacific is to have it recorded! So now, is it live? Or is it recorded?
Isn't 8pm EST 4am in Egypt? Gawd, I hope for the archaeologists' sake that it's recorded. Let 'em sleep in for crying out loud!
Should we immediately start referring to Linux (et al) as an easy touch for these worms? This is now two serious vulnerabilities in the last three days. Sure, there are fixes available, but there are also fixes quickly available for similar Windows holes and, yet, when "sysadmins" don't apply them, everyone blames Microsoft. So, that means Linux sucks too, right?
.htaccess vulnerability that was reported at that time and which was also fixed by 0.9.6e. This means that the only people who are hit by this worm are ones who didn't bother to protect their servers from the .htaccess bug more than a month ago.
First of all, this is the same worm as a few days ago. It's called Linux.Slapper.Worm.
Second, OpenSSL release 0.9.6e fixed this problem. It was released on July 30th. People should have already upgraded to fix the
Take a look at the SecurityFocus article. I believe it states that the OpenSSL bug occurs on Windows systems as well.
This does not necessarily imply that the worm can be ported. Perhaps it depends on Linux-like behaviors in the underlying OS.
Contrary to the slashdot post, you only need to be up to 0.9.6e to be safe.
Or to put it another way, this bug was fixed a version or two ago... People do need to remember to upgrade, though!
What, you mean linus still produces patches for 1.1.x?
Actually, there are still new releases to the 2.0 kernel series, which is the "circa 1997" (think "Word 97") kernel series. They're at 2.0.40-pre6 right now.
Of course, perhaps the original poster meant that people should try OpenOffice not because patches are released for older versions of Open Source software, but rather because the upgrade to the latest, fully patched version is free?
And, these settlements don't even "punish" the companies involved as a result, since it "costs" them less to pay off the occasional suit than by changing their offensive business practices.
Unless they're a borderline-profitable dot-com which might be sunk by a big lawsuit. Like PayPal, perhaps?
The claim was that there are self-sharpening razor blades and that the technology is being held down by Gillette. I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by saying that if this was true there should be information out on the net that will shed some light on the issue.
When was the last time you saw a report on a product which is specifically not going to market? That sort of thing doesn't get reported, does it? Even if it did, would it be reported in an American paper, or a Brazilian one? (And can you read Portuguese?)
Sorry, but I still think you put too much trust in the 'net (and probably the English-language part of the 'net, at that). The original claim was that Gillette bought a Brazilian company over a decade ago, including all their patents, and then shut them down. So what? Companies buy out other companies all the time. As for the self-sharpening razors, Gillette may even now be improving the product for eventual release (or they may have released it already -- see below). They're not supporting the old products anymore (that's a reasonable interpretation of "shut them down"). This would be consistent with the original poster's claim, and yet so commonplace that nobody would bother to report it, except in passing. Heard anything about what nVidia is doing with 3dfx's video card technology lately?
This is not to say that the original poster's claim is true, by the way. In fact, I consider it uninteresting. Self-sharpening razors have existed for decades (one was patented in 1917), razor manufacturers offer them today, and corporate buyouts (with patents) happen all the time. Again, so what?
Link? Or is this just another unsubstantiated urban legend?
Perhaps the Internet does not in fact contain all the information in the world? Or if so, it's not all in a language we all can understand?
Or, perhaps the only people who put up websites about this sort of thing aren't very trustworthy, even if what they're saying may be true? What kind of website would you trust to push this thing past the "urban legend" level? A major newspaper would be sufficient, but almost anything else could just be some random wacko making up facts.
Not too long ago, my dad had to get a new cellular phone because he couldn't find batteries to his Nokia 8110 anymore.
Alternately, this might be an argument for using standard-sized batteries. My CD player, for example, just uses two AA batteries (I use rechargeable Ni-MH batteries). You can image how easy it is to replace them.
Having said that, I have no idea whether regular batteries meet the power/voltage requirements of PDAs, cell phones, laptops, etc. This could, admittedly, be a problem.
Just remember, that 'average salary' of 41k is the average of all teachers, even the ones that have been teaching for 20+ years( which is a pretty hefty percentage of the teachers). This means that in order to get to that 'average' mark, you've got to be a teacher for 10+ years to reach that average.
:)
:) But I also know that there are lots of people out there struggling to make it on minimum wage. On my last job, for example, there was a big fight over the low pay the janitors got (They were hired indirectly through a contractor, who charged $12.50 or so per hour, but paid $6.25 to the janitors). So to me teachers' pay just seems relatively average, but I thought that the SlashDot crowd might think otherwise, which is why I brought it up.
That's true for teachers, but isn't it also true for the national average? I assume that the average worker in the national average has been working for 20+ years too, and the ones who keep changing fields probably see their pay go back to beginning levels at each new type of job. That's normal.
I speak from experience here. My wife has been teaching for 6 years, and I make twice her salary (and salary is nowhere near the 41k mark.. My wife's mother has been teaching for over 25 years and I make more than she does, and I've been out of school for 6 years.
Again, I didn't say it payed well, I just said that the pay didn't seem as bad as you said. Actually, for people with college degrees, it may be below average. That didn't occur to me before. Then again, it may be above average for humanities majors
Anyway, from previous conversations I've had, I got the impression that the SlashDot crowd thinks that a starting salary below $75K is intolerable. Lots of higly paid computer specialists here
I'm to do all of this with just a piece of chalk,a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a 45 minute more-or-less plan time and a big smile, all on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in many states.
:)
Although I agree with many parts of this rant, I was really surprised by this comment on teacher salaries. Yes, they've historically been a major complaint about teaching, but I was under the impression that things were getting better. So I did a little web research.
First of all, starting salaries are starting salaries. You don't make much when you start in most careers. According to this page at the American Federation of Teachers website, the average starting salary for teachers in the U.S. was $27,989 in 2001. The average salary in general was $41,820.
Now, that isn't spectacular pay, but it's not exactly horrifyingly low either. The average pay is almost exactly the national median ($42,148), in fact. Yes, there are some states which are lagging on teacher salaries, but of course there are some which are ahead as well.
Why do I bring this up? Maybe so that people won't be completely scared off from teaching?
At 1500' over a heavily populated area the pilot could still be in trouble with the FAA. It is technically legal, but not necessarily safe or prudent. Simply put, there is not a whole lot of options for landing at 1500', and even less over a densely populated area.
Densely populated area? Not San Diego. San Diego isn't like those big Eastern cities. It's a large city, but it's really spread out. There are relatively few tall buildings except in the downtown area, due to a three-story limit on (most) new buildings that was in effect for a while (I don't recall all of the details). Also, there are lots of big open spaces, such as canyons, parks, golf courses, and of course, the ocean to the West. It's also surrounded by lots of smaller towns, which is where the pilot spent most of their time flying (according to the map on their webpage).
Landing in San Diego might still be hard, but it's probably not as bad as you think.
I just bought a computer for my son from Dell, and by dropping the option for MS Office Professional, I saved close to $400.
It sounds as though, by dropping MS Word, Dell computers just dropped in price by a _lot_. No wonder HP had to follow suit! I mean, what does WordPerfect cost? $50 tops, probably not even that for a big OEM purchase.