"You and your loved ones will be long dead. If the sun goes nova, the ones on outer colonies will surive, but those here on Earth are dead, anyway, so it can't just be compassion for fellow beings. So someone tell me why it's so important that humanity not die out?"
I don't quite follow the last part of your argument. Why does a doctor bother treating people who aren't his loved ones, or developing cures for diseases he'll never have? Out of a desire to do good, and a general desire to perpetuate the human race.
It's unlikely that the sun will go nova anytime soon (or, depending on who you ask, ever). Far more likely is that a sizable chunk of orbiting rock will slam into the planet, or that some nutcase with an axe to grind will precipatate a full-blown nuclear or biological distaster.
Both of those things could could certainly happen within my lifetime, though I certainly hope they don't. If they happened now they could easily leave a sizable portion of the human population dead, and a large chunk of the planet uninhabitable for a long time to come.
Under those circumstances I'd prefer that the human race didn't disappear or end up back in the dark ages. Even if no one I know and none of my descendants are personally involved.
It's pretty funny that the "Win2K is as good as Unix because you don't need to reboot it to change settings" mantra that I hear from MCSE's doesn't apply to this:o)
Interesting. Thanks for the link. But you don't need to reboot. Just stop and restart the service with the command line or GUI interface.
You very seldom need to reboot under Windows 2000 or XP. Some *nix advocates like to claim that Windows administrators don't know what they're doing. But it's often clear that those advocates are just as clueless where Windows systems are concerned.
Well someone's certainly being obtuse here, but it's not him. He was making an analogy, for heaven's sake, not stating that the police actually need a warrant to stop burglars. Sheesh.
Humans are ill-suited for all sorts of things that we do every day. Scuba diving, mountain climbing, crossing oceas, flying across continents, mining, handling hazardous materials, living in extreme climates. Because we felt doing these things were desirable or important to our long-term well-being, we devised means to accomplish them. Now they're second nature. Manned space exploration is really the same way. We've only really been at it for around 50 years; it's hardly time to give up already.
Besides, I've always believed that the only really vital goal of space exploration is to eventually set up permanent manned colonies. Robots can assist in gathering information and manage the prep work. But if you ever want to get all our eggs out of this one little basket then you'll have to send people out there sooner or later. We might as well get ready.
"And the really interesting thing about this new drug is that you can stay awake for long periods of time without any performance impairment, or even any sleepiness. Cool and scary at the same time..."
I think that remains to be seen, which is probably why the drug is still in testing. I suspect that sleep deprivation is a lot like alcohol consuption. You don't think you're impaired, but you are. Maybe not even intellectually, if this drug does what it claims, but emotionally and physically.
Sleep is important. I honestly don't understand why people are so obsessed with staying awake for days at a time, except under very exceptional circumstances. Sleep is like eating and breathing. Would anyone readily adopt a lifestyle that required them to deliberately malnourish or suffocate themselves, a little bit each day? Then why do the same with lack of sleep?
Read it again. It's "software maintenance", not systems maintenance or IT support. I suspect that what they're talking about is the cost for paid upgrades and vendor support contracts on the software, not staffing costs. Salaries likely come out of a completely different pile of money.
IBM's hard drive prices were never really out of line. Sometimes they were slightly more expensive (especially when first introduced), sometimes slightly less. I've bought a couple IBM drives in the last few years and was perfectly happy with the prices I paid.
Because the Internet is not yet fully mature. Many years ago when electricity was being rolled out to the nation, the extra demands placed on it by devices with a high power factor lead the electric companies to state, "We make electricity - it's ours. You may not use any equipment that has not been manufactured by us and connect it to *OUR* electric rails."
Interesting analogy. I presume that this was the case in the UK (by your address and the term "rails"), but I don't think it was ever the case in the US. There were company imposed restrictions on what "official" equipment could be hooked up to phone lines, but those have long since been removed.
OTOH, these are very legal concerns that the linked pages contain information that, in the hands of the wrong party could be dangerous to their operations, and being a public utility, they have to be concerned.
And, of course, removing web pages and censoring search results will save us all.
Here's an actual transript obtained from the idyllic future that awaits us:
[a German terrorist meeting]
Heinrich: "I have an idea! Let's sabotage a railway!"
Günther: "Brilliant! I'll do a Google search to show us how!"
[typing sounds]
Günther: "Curses! Google has no information on sabotaging German railways!"
Heinrich: "Oh, well. Nevermind. Let's go drink some beer."
"Why else would the student accept the lower grade without protesting it to the appropriate school governing committies? Maybe becuase he knew the evidence against him was rock-solid.
More likely it's because there's apparently no presumption of innocence, meaning that the the assigned Incomplete grade would screw up his schedule in the coming semester even if he later was found to be in the clear.
The article says as much:
"The freshman said he still thinks he is innocent, but found himself so distracted by his fight against the charges that he signed an agreement for a reduced punishment so his second term would not also be a disaster."
Seems clear enough to me. In a situation like this the school has a student between a rock and a hard place. They can appeal and protest, sure, but a student can't just place their academic plans on hold while awaiting the decision.
And you can't learn how to code by reading someone else's code, or even discussing a coding solution.
... So basically CS can't be approached like other disciplines - I can learn history from another history student, and I can learn approaches to a particular CS problem from another CS student, but I can only acquire problem solving skills by working by myself.
Er, what? You're mistaken. All learning is from experience, and experience includes watching and listening to others do what you'd like to learn. You may not become the world's greatest programmer _exclusively_ by reading other people's code, but you most certainly can learn to code by reading other people's work. Hell, I imagine most of the people here on Slashdot got started the same way.
And if CS is the only area of human knowledge where you feel problem solving techiques are needed, then I'd suggest you're likely to encounter some serious difficulties in life. Perhaps you should actually try learning some history or economics or engineering, for example, and seeing for yourself.
Second, imagine some radical group in the US. posting instructions on how to hijack some planes and fly them into skyscrapers on the internet. Don't you think your FBI would shut these sites down as soon as words gets out?
There goes your "free speech"...
I doubt it. They might frown in their direction, or even send someone to investigate and see if they represent a threat (as they should, it's their job), but I very much doubt that the FBI would attempt to have the pages removed "as soon as the word gets out." And they certainly haven't asked Google to do anything like this. That's the whole reason the suit wasn't filed in the US.
Since Sept 11th we've seen detailed documentaries and structural analyses of the collapse. That's certainly information that could help someone planning a repeat performance. Did the FBI censor it? Of course not.
There's tons of stuff out there that could be used for evil purposes, and some of it is even intended for evil purposes. Yet, by golly, it's still out there.
Because hemp has gotten a bad public reputation and has a high snicker factor. This is because many of the most visible advocates of industrial hemp sabotage their position by mixing it all up with pro-legalization rants. Linking those two issues is the worst of all possible tactics. Industrial hemp folks should vocally and strenuously distance themselves from that crowd at every opportunity.
Yes, but often it seems like big companies want stability if at all possible, and this would shake things up a bit.
Sure, every business would prefer a stable market and a steady supply of resources. But oil companies are more flexible than you might think. They're repositioning themselves as energy companies. Right now oil is the most profitable option. If that were to change I think they'd adapt.
And don't forget that a huge amount of that petroleum is used in the petrochemical and plastics industries. Switching to an alternative energy source wouldn't eliminate the need for those products or for the oil that they're made from.
I think it says something about the state of IT when they consider it a downside that Apache doesn't have a point-and-click web-based configuration tool.
And I think it says something about the state of open source development when people actually believe that making an application more difficult to configure properly is somehow advantageous.
I don't find text files "intimidating" at all. I do find GUI tools convenient and useful. To maintain that such interfaces are "toys" is just plain silly.
The fact of the matter is that many developers really suck at UI design. They have no interest in it, and therefore, they maintain, it must not be important. That's a narrow minded and shortsighted attitude.
There are people who are good at UI design, documentation, and other non-coding stuff, of course, but when they get no respect (such as when you call fruit of their profession a "toy") they have little incentive to contribute their skills.
"If I pay someone to dig holes for me for 1 hour, then I am entitled stand beside him and make sure he digs for that hour."
You load sixteen tons
And what do you get?
Another day older
And deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me
'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.
Of course you can stand next to him and stare at him for an hour. You can make him wear clown shoes, hop on one foot, and sing Russian drinking songs too, if you like. None of those things are likely to make him do his job any better, just the opposite most likely, but if they make you happy as an employer then that's your business. I imagine you'll have a lot of turnover, though. I wonder why?
Personally, I prefer hiring people I don't have to cajole into compliance or monitor every working hour. And I'd rather they got their work done correctly on time and trust them to go potty and snacktime all by themselves. That leaves me free to do my job, which includes lots of other stuff besides wasting my time enforcing pointless employment provisions and engendering constant fear of imminent unemployment.
I've never seen the need to treat my employees like elementary school students or indentured servants. I treat them with trust and respect, and if they prove undeserving of that trust and respect then they will need to change their ways or be replaced. So long as they do their jobs and do them well, I frankly don't give a damn if they chat or make personal calls. Why should I?
I think the interesting thing here is that the 2nd hand books pop up when you are browsing that title anyway. Thus, you are already showing an interest in that title. It seems to me that this is not doing a great deal to "encourage customers to explore".
Amazon's site suggests many books based on past purchases and purchases made by other customers. Many of these suggestions are likely to be for books and authors that the the visitor is not already familiar with. If I'm not entirely sure that I'll like a particular title, then a cheaper used book is an attractive alternative to the full priced new copy or no book at all. I think that's Amazon's point.
"The problem is: 'The current system' != 'free market'."
You are exactly correct. How many cable providers compete for our accounts? In most markets, it's exactly one, because they have been granted a local monopoly. Even when the local cable companies do something to really screw stuff up they are very seldom booted out.
How many DSL providers? Perhaps more than one, but they all have to go through the local telco to actually get anything done. And since the local telco is competing with them there's not much incentive to improve their service to the other providers or to their customers. Why is this possible? Because the government says it's ok.
How many posts on this thread complain that they'd switch, if they only had a good alternative? Sheesh, guys. What we have is the _result_ of governmental intrusion on the market, and more of the same isn't going to magically make things better. We need broadband providers to compete against each other in such a way as to make switching between them a rapid and simple procedure. That's the only way you'll see any improvements in service, because market pressure is the only self-sustaining agent of change.
"But think about what the equivelent to a standard cable connection (100 - 200 K/sec) would cost if it was bought as a T1 line, and ask how their business plan would look if they provided it for $39.95/month."
That's not a valid comparison. The cost of T1 and other "dedicated" lines has always been kept artificially high by the providers of those lines.
Sure, they'll charge as much as the market will bear, and since most of their market consists of corporate customers with deep pockets that's a pretty good sum. But don't pretend that they're not making any money off the deal, or that they couldn't afford to provide it for less without going bankrupt.
You're right. But I think it's also important to remember that the Empire State Building's construction is very different from that of the WTC. The Empire State building is basically a big 3D grid of heavy steel girders. Quite different from the more modern (and in many ways, more efficient) construction methods used in the WTC.
Slashdot Mirror
"You and your loved ones will be long dead. If the sun goes nova, the ones on outer colonies will surive, but those here on Earth are dead, anyway, so it can't just be compassion for fellow beings.
So someone tell me why it's so important that humanity not die out?"
I don't quite follow the last part of your argument. Why does a doctor bother treating people who aren't his loved ones, or developing cures for diseases he'll never have? Out of a desire to do good, and a general desire to perpetuate the human race.
It's unlikely that the sun will go nova anytime soon (or, depending on who you ask, ever). Far more likely is that a sizable chunk of orbiting rock will slam into the planet, or that some nutcase with an axe to grind will precipatate a full-blown nuclear or biological distaster.
Both of those things could could certainly happen within my lifetime, though I certainly hope they don't. If they happened now they could easily leave a sizable portion of the human population dead, and a large chunk of the planet uninhabitable for a long time to come.
Under those circumstances I'd prefer that the human race didn't disappear or end up back in the dark ages. Even if no one I know and none of my descendants are personally involved.
Interesting. Thanks for the link. But you don't need to reboot. Just stop and restart the service with the command line or GUI interface.
You very seldom need to reboot under Windows 2000 or XP. Some *nix advocates like to claim that Windows administrators don't know what they're doing. But it's often clear that those advocates are just as clueless where Windows systems are concerned.
Well someone's certainly being obtuse here, but it's not him. He was making an analogy, for heaven's sake, not stating that the police actually need a warrant to stop burglars. Sheesh.
Humans are ill-suited for all sorts of things that we do every day. Scuba diving, mountain climbing, crossing oceas, flying across continents, mining, handling hazardous materials, living in extreme climates. Because we felt doing these things were desirable or important to our long-term well-being, we devised means to accomplish them. Now they're second nature. Manned space exploration is really the same way. We've only really been at it for around 50 years; it's hardly time to give up already.
Besides, I've always believed that the only really vital goal of space exploration is to eventually set up permanent manned colonies. Robots can assist in gathering information and manage the prep work. But if you ever want to get all our eggs out of this one little basket then you'll have to send people out there sooner or later. We might as well get ready.
"And the really interesting thing about this new drug is that you can stay awake for long periods of time without any performance impairment, or even any sleepiness. Cool and scary at the same time..."
I think that remains to be seen, which is probably why the drug is still in testing. I suspect that sleep deprivation is a lot like alcohol consuption. You don't think you're impaired, but you are. Maybe not even intellectually, if this drug does what it claims, but emotionally and physically.
Sleep is important. I honestly don't understand why people are so obsessed with staying awake for days at a time, except under very exceptional circumstances. Sleep is like eating and breathing. Would anyone readily adopt a lifestyle that required them to deliberately malnourish or suffocate themselves, a little bit each day? Then why do the same with lack of sleep?
Read it again. It's "software maintenance", not systems maintenance or IT support. I suspect that what they're talking about is the cost for paid upgrades and vendor support contracts on the software, not staffing costs. Salaries likely come out of a completely different pile of money.
IBM's hard drive prices were never really out of line. Sometimes they were slightly more expensive (especially when first introduced), sometimes slightly less. I've bought a couple IBM drives in the last few years and was perfectly happy with the prices I paid.
Interesting analogy. I presume that this was the case in the UK (by your address and the term "rails"), but I don't think it was ever the case in the US. There were company imposed restrictions on what "official" equipment could be hooked up to phone lines, but those have long since been removed.
And, of course, removing web pages and censoring search results will save us all.
Here's an actual transript obtained from the idyllic future that awaits us:
Amazing. I know I'm convinced!
More likely it's because there's apparently no presumption of innocence, meaning that the the assigned Incomplete grade would screw up his schedule in the coming semester even if he later was found to be in the clear.
The article says as much:
"The freshman said he still thinks he is innocent, but found himself so distracted by his fight against the charges that he signed an agreement for a reduced punishment so his second term would not also be a disaster."
Seems clear enough to me. In a situation like this the school has a student between a rock and a hard place. They can appeal and protest, sure, but a student can't just place their academic plans on hold while awaiting the decision.
Er, what? You're mistaken. All learning is from experience, and experience includes watching and listening to others do what you'd like to learn. You may not become the world's greatest programmer _exclusively_ by reading other people's code, but you most certainly can learn to code by reading other people's work. Hell, I imagine most of the people here on Slashdot got started the same way.
And if CS is the only area of human knowledge where you feel problem solving techiques are needed, then I'd suggest you're likely to encounter some serious difficulties in life. Perhaps you should actually try learning some history or economics or engineering, for example, and seeing for yourself.
I doubt it. They might frown in their direction, or even send someone to investigate and see if they represent a threat (as they should, it's their job), but I very much doubt that the FBI would attempt to have the pages removed "as soon as the word gets out." And they certainly haven't asked Google to do anything like this. That's the whole reason the suit wasn't filed in the US.
Since Sept 11th we've seen detailed documentaries and structural analyses of the collapse. That's certainly information that could help someone planning a repeat performance. Did the FBI censor it? Of course not.
There's tons of stuff out there that could be used for evil purposes, and some of it is even intended for evil purposes. Yet, by golly, it's still out there.
Because hemp has gotten a bad public reputation and has a high snicker factor. This is because many of the most visible advocates of industrial hemp sabotage their position by mixing it all up with pro-legalization rants. Linking those two issues is the worst of all possible tactics. Industrial hemp folks should vocally and strenuously distance themselves from that crowd at every opportunity.
Yes, but often it seems like big companies want stability if at all possible, and this would shake things up a bit.
Sure, every business would prefer a stable market and a steady supply of resources. But oil companies are more flexible than you might think. They're repositioning themselves as energy companies. Right now oil is the most profitable option. If that were to change I think they'd adapt.
And don't forget that a huge amount of that petroleum is used in the petrochemical and plastics industries. Switching to an alternative energy source wouldn't eliminate the need for those products or for the oil that they're made from.
Nonsense. If it takes someone a half-an-hour to change a setting under IIS then I really don't want them messing with my config files, either.
Does Webmin support the Win32 version of Apache? Doesn't look like it. Comanche apparently does, however.
I think it says something about the state of IT when they consider it
a downside that Apache doesn't have a point-and-click web-based
configuration tool.
And I think it says something about the state of open source development when people actually believe that making an application more difficult to configure properly is somehow advantageous.
I don't find text files "intimidating" at all. I do find GUI tools convenient and useful. To maintain that such interfaces are "toys" is just plain silly.
The fact of the matter is that many developers really suck at UI design. They have no interest in it, and therefore, they maintain, it must not be important. That's a narrow minded and shortsighted attitude.
There are people who are good at UI design, documentation, and other non-coding stuff, of course, but when they get no respect (such as when you call fruit of their profession a "toy") they have little incentive to contribute their skills.
agree with you completely. Treating people like that would be counter-productive and inconsiderate. But it would not be illegal.
Ah, ok. Sorry if I took your post out of context. You're right, though, it's not illegal.
"If I pay someone to dig holes for me for 1 hour, then I am entitled stand beside him and make sure he digs for that hour."
You load sixteen tons
And what do you get?
Another day older
And deeper in debt.
Saint Peter, don't you call me
'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.
Of course you can stand next to him and stare at him for an hour. You can make him wear clown shoes, hop on one foot, and sing Russian drinking songs too, if you like. None of those things are likely to make him do his job any better, just the opposite most likely, but if they make you happy as an employer then that's your business. I imagine you'll have a lot of turnover, though. I wonder why?
Personally, I prefer hiring people I don't have to cajole into compliance or monitor every working hour. And I'd rather they got their work done correctly on time and trust them to go potty and snacktime all by themselves. That leaves me free to do my job, which includes lots of other stuff besides wasting my time enforcing pointless employment provisions and engendering constant fear of imminent unemployment.
I've never seen the need to treat my employees like elementary school students or indentured servants. I treat them with trust and respect, and if they prove undeserving of that trust and respect then they will need to change their ways or be replaced. So long as they do their jobs and do them well, I frankly don't give a damn if they chat or make personal calls. Why should I?
The earliest Batman comics did actually use "Bat-Man". I'm not sure when they dropped the hypen, but it was a while ago.
"The problem is: 'The current system' != 'free market'."
You are exactly correct. How many cable providers compete for our accounts? In most markets, it's exactly one, because they have been granted a local monopoly. Even when the local cable companies do something to really screw stuff up they are very seldom booted out.
How many DSL providers? Perhaps more than one, but they all have to go through the local telco to actually get anything done. And since the local telco is competing with them there's not much incentive to improve their service to the other providers or to their customers. Why is this possible? Because the government says it's ok.
How many posts on this thread complain that they'd switch, if they only had a good alternative? Sheesh, guys. What we have is the _result_ of governmental intrusion on the market, and more of the same isn't going to magically make things better. We need broadband providers to compete against each other in such a way as to make switching between them a rapid and simple procedure. That's the only way you'll see any improvements in service, because market pressure is the only self-sustaining agent of change.
"But think about what the equivelent to a standard cable connection (100 - 200 K/sec) would cost if it was bought as a T1 line, and ask how their business plan would look if they provided it for $39.95/month."
That's not a valid comparison. The cost of T1 and other "dedicated" lines has always been kept artificially high by the providers of those lines.
Sure, they'll charge as much as the market will bear, and since most of their market consists of corporate customers with deep pockets that's a pretty good sum. But don't pretend that they're not making any money off the deal, or that they couldn't afford to provide it for less without going bankrupt.
You're right. But I think it's also important to remember that the Empire State Building's construction is very different from that of the WTC. The Empire State building is basically a big 3D grid of heavy steel girders. Quite different from the more modern (and in many ways, more efficient) construction methods used in the WTC.
"Kludge" (or "kluge") is a word with a long and noble history in hackerdom. Show the jargon some respect, Mr. AC.