Lockheed Martin screwed that one up. The specs called for all measurements to be SI, but a specific piece of software written by Lockheed Martin returned the value in imperial units - the error spread and ruined all calculations that depended on it.
Since this happened while calculating how to achieve the desired orbit, the result was a resounding disaster.
Tell me: what the hell is wrong with the Celsius scale?
0 - freezing point of water - A nice indicator that "It's freezing in here." is an appropriate remark. 10 - "Still cold in here..." 20 - Commonly known as room temperature (definitions may vary slightly) 30 - Average summer heat 40 - Major summer heat 50 - Crazy summer heat in the middle of the desert
My climate rarely even gets to 0 degrees Celsius, so I'm not in a position to comment on negative temperatures - someone else would have to add that part for me.
Last I checked, the US do not represent a majority of the world's population (the other two countries who do not use SI do not alter this significantly and are essentially irrelevant in industrial terms). Therefore, a majority of the world's population uses SI units (and thus degrees Celsius and Kelvin).
Your reluctance to accept SI is baffling, moronic even.
All systems of measurements are based on arbitrary references.
The difference is that SI is a coherent system of base and derived units with very simple relationships between them, all based on the number 10 and a series of greek prefixes.
Nobody ever asks themselves (*kids still learning the basics excepted) how many meters are in a kilometer. Knowing that, nobody is going to be left wondering how many grams there are in a kilogram or how many newtons in a kilonewton. The keyword is coherency.
SI is coherent within itself and with the numerical system used by nearly everyone on this planet (base 10). Imperial units are neither.
Also, SI is used in all but three countries. Don't you think those three countries might have done things wrong?
It is variable, but it has to be precisely controlled. Given what's at work, generous safety margins should be employed as well. What this means, in practice, is that it takes time.
Sometimes, you need a lot more power during the next 10 minutes and then you go back to your baseline. Nuclear isn't fast enough. Hydro is and that's why it's so popular as storage.
It's easy to memorize numbers you use a lot, especially if you have the feeling it'll save time.
Let me rephrase: I have nothing to gain from trying to memorize a few factors. As such, I will make no effort to try. That doesn't mean I don't end up remembering a few, like some 4 liters in a gallon.
It's far from ideal. You do get (most of) the storage benefits, but it doesn't help with organisation.
Filesystem-level deduplication is meant to save space from blocks that several files use (several full image backups will undoubtedly share a large portion of files that belong to the OS and common applications, for instance).
How does Valve restrict your freedom by giving you the option of using Steam?
Of course, Free is better than non-Free. You can't expect everyone else to bow to your every request, though. Feel free not to use their non-Free products and services, but don't expect them to waive their conditions just for you.
That is probably true for the traditional social network audience (kids), however, Facebook has a very large user base that arrived more recently and has a greater tendency towards inertia.
As I've said before, I have no doubt Facebook will somehow disappear. I'm just not sure how.
Myspace-esque replacement with something else? A new overarching medium to replace social networks? Some scandal that will drive users (and/or advertisers directly) away, making it less interesting for advertisers? Will it morph into something completely different, keeping essentially just the name? Will the process drag on for years? What will happen to everything that ties into Facebook today? We're talking about phones whose OSes integrate some Facebook stuff, appliances that integrate with facebook, websites that use facebook for authentication...
Or, of course, Facebook might live forever, but that is not what I'd bet on.
I'm not going to group Facebook with companies like IBM or General Electric. The former is absolutely dependant on the whims of millions of people. The latter two only have to sell (and support in exchange for big bucks) expensive items to businesses, instead of relying on advertising.
If you mean your car (I have no notion of how much 700 cubic feet is, nor do I want to, as I'm quite happy with SI units), don't forget it's not airtight. Be sure to cover everything with tape, so that your reserve doesn't disappear!
Slashdot Mirror
Bravo.
A trojan rabbit joke would also have been appropriate.
Degrees Celsius are acceptable for use with SI, as it's just Kelvin + constant.
But tell me: what's this aversion to non-integers?
The Mars Climate Orbiter...
Lockheed Martin screwed that one up. The specs called for all measurements to be SI, but a specific piece of software written by Lockheed Martin returned the value in imperial units - the error spread and ruined all calculations that depended on it.
Since this happened while calculating how to achieve the desired orbit, the result was a resounding disaster.
Can the deployment be successful if the object deployed failed the majority of its mission objectives?
Tell me: what the hell is wrong with the Celsius scale?
0 - freezing point of water - A nice indicator that "It's freezing in here." is an appropriate remark.
10 - "Still cold in here..."
20 - Commonly known as room temperature (definitions may vary slightly)
30 - Average summer heat
40 - Major summer heat
50 - Crazy summer heat in the middle of the desert
My climate rarely even gets to 0 degrees Celsius, so I'm not in a position to comment on negative temperatures - someone else would have to add that part for me.
I can think of an infinite amount of integers that most certainly do not divide 60.
I have to say, this general fascination with integers bothers me. Did nobody fucking teach you how to do math with fractions and Real numbers?
Oh, and here's something else you're missing: How the fuck do you suggest an "abstract" unit is to be used?
Next time stick to kilo, mega, tera... and centi, milli, micro, nano...
Your story doesn't make much sense to me, though:
"Hey, look! That guy looks like he's not from around here! Let's ask him for directions!"
A history much older than any other quantity's unit still in use today, most likely.
What's this generalized obsession with integers? Your life isn't simpler if you only work with integers!
Is 2,5 really such a difficult number to work with?
Hell, just use fractions!
Kelvin/degrees Celsius don't typically require prefixes, as numbers small enough or large enough to warrant prefixes aren't common.
As for time, minutes and hours are not SI units, but are acceptable for use with SI. Time is probably the one thing that is too ingrained to change.
So let's see:
SI - one quantity that deviates from the pattern
Imperial - there is no pattern
SI isn't perfect - nothing is. It's still a hell of a lot better than the alternatives.
ISO-31 specifically says either a decimal point or comma are acceptable.
Just don't mix them.
Last I checked, the US do not represent a majority of the world's population (the other two countries who do not use SI do not alter this significantly and are essentially irrelevant in industrial terms). Therefore, a majority of the world's population uses SI units (and thus degrees Celsius and Kelvin).
Your reluctance to accept SI is baffling, moronic even.
All systems of measurements are based on arbitrary references.
The difference is that SI is a coherent system of base and derived units with very simple relationships between them, all based on the number 10 and a series of greek prefixes.
Nobody ever asks themselves (*kids still learning the basics excepted) how many meters are in a kilometer. Knowing that, nobody is going to be left wondering how many grams there are in a kilogram or how many newtons in a kilonewton. The keyword is coherency.
SI is coherent within itself and with the numerical system used by nearly everyone on this planet (base 10). Imperial units are neither.
Also, SI is used in all but three countries. Don't you think those three countries might have done things wrong?
Allow me to divide one meter by the amounts you mentioned:
3 - 0,333mm (use as much precision as you'd like)
2 - 0,500mm
4 - 0,250mm
Now, allow me to do something you can't do trivially with imperial units:
How many centimeters does a kilometer have?
1km = 1000m = 100.000cm
Try doing that under 5 seconds with imperial units.
You only insult yourself by using such stupid arguments. SI is better.
It is variable, but it has to be precisely controlled. Given what's at work, generous safety margins should be employed as well. What this means, in practice, is that it takes time.
Sometimes, you need a lot more power during the next 10 minutes and then you go back to your baseline. Nuclear isn't fast enough. Hydro is and that's why it's so popular as storage.
Yes, but the Greens have way too much influence to be safely ignored. Politicians don't like throwing away votes that other parties will easily catch.
Where's the "-1 Earworm" option?
It's easy to memorize numbers you use a lot, especially if you have the feeling it'll save time.
Let me rephrase: I have nothing to gain from trying to memorize a few factors. As such, I will make no effort to try. That doesn't mean I don't end up remembering a few, like some 4 liters in a gallon.
My life contains 0 imperial units, unless some american comes along.
I have better things to do than spend time memorizing conversions for imperial units. I do know some, but I made no effort to learn them.
But he didn't define bottled. Must it be a bottle or is the act of storing air in a container, whichever it is, still bottling?
It's far from ideal. You do get (most of) the storage benefits, but it doesn't help with organisation.
Filesystem-level deduplication is meant to save space from blocks that several files use (several full image backups will undoubtedly share a large portion of files that belong to the OS and common applications, for instance).
Your principles seem to be in the right place.
However...
How does Valve restrict your freedom by giving you the option of using Steam?
Of course, Free is better than non-Free. You can't expect everyone else to bow to your every request, though. Feel free not to use their non-Free products and services, but don't expect them to waive their conditions just for you.
I'm not sure it's passed the fad stage.
That is probably true for the traditional social network audience (kids), however, Facebook has a very large user base that arrived more recently and has a greater tendency towards inertia.
As I've said before, I have no doubt Facebook will somehow disappear. I'm just not sure how.
Myspace-esque replacement with something else?
A new overarching medium to replace social networks?
Some scandal that will drive users (and/or advertisers directly) away, making it less interesting for advertisers?
Will it morph into something completely different, keeping essentially just the name?
Will the process drag on for years?
What will happen to everything that ties into Facebook today? We're talking about phones whose OSes integrate some Facebook stuff, appliances that integrate with facebook, websites that use facebook for authentication...
Or, of course, Facebook might live forever, but that is not what I'd bet on.
I'm not going to group Facebook with companies like IBM or General Electric. The former is absolutely dependant on the whims of millions of people. The latter two only have to sell (and support in exchange for big bucks) expensive items to businesses, instead of relying on advertising.
If you mean your car (I have no notion of how much 700 cubic feet is, nor do I want to, as I'm quite happy with SI units), don't forget it's not airtight. Be sure to cover everything with tape, so that your reserve doesn't disappear!
Of course, Facebook probably benefited from its timing. It just makes its demise all the more interesting.