I would be interested in learning more about the software and hardware side of Facebook. But after 15 seconds of scrolling I hadn't seen any... just a lot of tedious "gotta do this" journalism... and gave up. LOOOOOONG BOOOORING
I have to admit, I thought -very highly- of the Apple II era. The user manual was revolutionary (and user-friendly) and the system calls were part of empowering any user who wanted to learn how. THANK YOU for those (very fun) times (and the GS synth).
Then came the Mac era. The rainbow became the chrome crest. The fantastic build quality changed into OK build-quality. Software access sank into impossible obscurity for non-pros (e.g. getting serial configured for MIDI I/O). I bought a couple of products since then, and both suffered costly hardware failures.
I'd like to see another era like that first one, returning power over their own computers to the users. Impossible dream?
I just installed Linux Mint KDE a couple of weeks ago to dip my noob toes (after decades of PC ownership and programming) in the water. Not too shabby. So I decide to install a MIDI sequencer called Muse. It complains that it can't find "Jack". So I go to get Jack and there are two versions. I pick the newest package Jack2 and install it. Muse can't find Jack. Spend a half-hour googling to find that the problem might be solved with Jack1. I unload Jack2 and install Jack1. Music can't find Jack.
Etc. etc. Went through all this CRAP a decade ago when making computer music on major platforms meant spending 75% of the time fighting the technology. Hundreds of wasted hours. History. So LMK is now consigned to the "toy boutique" bin. There have been several other oddities that make LMK seem fragile. Love the speed and small footprint, but....
If you have specific objections to the content based on substantial personal knowledge/experience - but don't have time to do the editing (preferable) or to look up a bunch of citations - then bring your points up in the TALK page.
There they -will- be seen be serious editor(s) and (eventually) will be dealt with. The time this takes can vary from days to years. Faster results may result from snagging an ear in one of the community forums.
As a longtime Wikian, gotta agree that WP is long-overdue for some interface overhauls. And some imaginative, sort of "3D"-ish (expansive, connection-revealing,... ??) alternatives for viewing data. It has done well at emulating formatted texts, and taking elementary advantage of hyperlinks, but done very little serious innovation in modern/alternative forms of data-display, in linking, in user-customization and user-world-building... I could go on and on.
WP is a wonderful project, and I'm happy to have been a part of it, but I'd really like to see some leadership into taking advantage of all that data in some awesome, mind-blowing ways. Maybe it needs to run a year-long contest with BIG substantial PRIZES for world-class innovation -with graphics- (plug-in?) that enhances insights and utility by an order of magnitude.
Does it matter in what way? Rest assured that (Fo sho) the grammar coming out of the CEO of Barclay's Bank is still of the finest order (hot shit). Because those with the most to win or lose always make themselves as "acceptable" as possible (wrap themselves in a pretty package)(project a finished persona). Which is why politicians move away from newsies when they wanna vent their real feelings.
Those who are engaged in (is dishin) looser or informal conversation (da shiznit) can relax a bit (hang loose).
The G created a harsh climate at the rollout by deep-sixing early adopters (some well-known web personalities, trend-setters, creatives) without explanation or recourse just because they didn't like their log-in names (??!! You'd think they weren't around back when The Well was a hot item... or ever found time in their busy schedule to watch a TED talk that wasn't techie.)
Google is genetically incapable of 'getting' social networking. They threw away their golden halo years ago.
Mr. T. Boone (not to be confused with Slim) may be out of the game for now, but he gets big bonus points with me for being a pioneer and trying to lead the way. It won't be that many years before people like him will be belatedly lauded for clearsightedness and wisdom in the face of our $600Ba oil deficits.
In the meantime, there's plenty of other wind action happening across the US (not to mention China, which is trying to corner the manufacturing market). There's SO much wind energy being wasted in the Midwest that T. Boone might want to invest instead in some of those 15MW monsters the Spanish are building.
I can understand how many people might not know about such things. Those of us who back farther than early 'word processors' are more familiar with text files.
Many/most files created by 'word processor' and spreadsheet programs can be opened by any decent text editor. Once you've typed in a paragraph or two, save the file and have a look at it with something like TextWrangler (Mac) or Notepad++ (Windows). Much of the file may be unreadable, but very often identifying information can be found 'in the clear' somewhere.
I first discovered this when exploring the output of early versions of MS Word about 15 years ago. It's a good idea to have a look inside any file that you plan to distribute to the 'outside world' because of such 'helpful' inclusions.
And why not - it's a time-honored tradition to make code run anywhere you can. Those who owned C64s (especially those who read Transactor) will recall that for a while there, programming the 1541 floppy-drive CPU was just about as cool as could be.
Nowadays systems are so complex, and tools to study them / keep an eye on them are so relatively clueless, there could be^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H are dozens of things going on in our PCs that we are blissfully unaware of. Very unfortunate... making things simple enough / safe enough for grandma has diminished / lulled many of us into blissful ignorance.
People used to "do stuff" to C64's at the store, and to PC's at the store for years. While I spose it's annoying to the staff after a while, I have to laugh at people who take this sort of thing soooooo seriously. Some of you people need to check yourself for a Calvinist eartag.
I don't expect to find classical on the net any more than at most record stores. The demand's too small, and if they have any at all, it's usually by crappy little eastern Europe orchestras at bargain prices.
If you're anywhere near a big city, public libraries often have tastefully chosen recordings; often they show little wear. There are also quite a few classical stations listed in iTunes; many of them have PD's who know their music. MN Public Radio has long had an excellent station.
Once I hear something on there I know I'll be appreciating for a lifetime, I'll go buy it. Else the day will come when those recordings are only available used.
Does that 0.06 USD/kWh include the costs of mining & associated health costs, disposal of waste & associated health costs, cost of security to protect plants from terrorists? Point being: unless one can scrutinize the details, there's no way to trust such numbers.
The French people have come to terms with nuclear energy, which apparently has worked well enough for them there. US results have been less spectacular; many unplanned excursions resulted in lies and coverups that make it difficult for millions of Americans to accept claims for nuclear. The cost of new plants has skyrocketed into the $10-20 billion range. They remain uninsurable. Many make claims for new nuclear technologies, but there are few if any working demonstrations.
Storage is not a problem, there are many ways of doing storage. Britain for example has a huge facility that pumps water uphill into a lake 2000 feet above during the day; it is capable of powering a city for hours and can come online within a few minutes at any time. Nuclear is currently pumping the water; it could just as easily be solar thermal or wind. As someone else has pointed out: fossil-fuel energy saved during the day can be used at night. And, in the US, there is still a lot of waste that can be ameliorated by conservation measures, further reducing energy needs.
With wind energy quickly becoming a clear win around the world, and growing cheaper all the time (already competitive with the French rates your quoting) it's quite clear that the time for nuclear plants is drawing to an end. The dangers of nuclear proliferation are never far away so long as nuclear power continues to be acceptable. For cost, safety, and obsolescence reasons, it would be a poor idea to invest in such plants.
I realize that practical engineering should have nothing to do with this argument, but I'll try it anyway. I don't own a cellphone, but if I did, I'd prefer to have one with a spring-loaded telescoping antenna that pops or flips (like a switchblade) up (or down) when I want to talk. Then, unless I touch the antenna, it'd have a nice freespace location to radiate and receive in. Then, when I was done, I push on the top of the antenna and it would collapse into the body. In the case of the switchblade, I could also use it for personal protection or to scale fish.
ALL THIS JAZZ YOU'RE ARGUING IS UNNECESSARY. It's about fashion, NOT good engineering. The physics is elementary. The debate is childish. Thank you for your time, I return control of your screen now.
Stupid... of course getting a computer doesn't help you get educated. Being given a brain doesn't help either. It's about the software. Seen any decent educational software being developed in the past 15-20 years? See any talk about it anywhere... development or marketing? Nope; and as a trained educator I would notice. Can't give it away. So: no motivation, no software, no improvement.
Computers can be wonderful educators. But you can't just throw something at kids and say "Here kid, educate yourself." The problem is, nobody gives a rat's ass. So just keep blaming it on the kids. Cuz it's easier than admitting that we all just don't give a shit. And until we do, they'll keep learning to think and spell from their texting buddies.
First of all: aren't we getting tired of everything being called a 'crisis' all the time? Humanity has faced 'problems' for thousands of years. Only a few were a 'crisis'... demanding immediate action.
That said: this isn't a creativity 'crisis', it's a creativity-test 'crisis'. People are finding different ways to be 'creative' (by definition not something that typically shows up on cultural radar until it's well-advanced). And there is *shitloads* of creativity on the net. Is that being tested? By whom?
By the time society becomes aware of the products of 'creativity', it has already moved on to new spheres. Basquiat. So if the test is no longer working to detect 'creativity', that's 1. not a crisis, 2. about the test.
It's much more complex; there are many factors stopping the kind of creativity that was acceptable in the past. IP laws and "chemistry-set prohibitions", to name two. In conservative times, and bad economies, creative outlets and places to demonstrate creativity always suffer. Had Obama responded with an arts program like Roosevelt did, we'd probably be swimming in examples of creativity... what with so many youth un- or under- employed. Because, as the article points out, IQ scores tend to go up and up.
Give them opportunity and the technology and step back. And shut up about artificial 'crises'. Quit blaming the victim.
Sure! Just go to "google.com" and type in "Google Wave" !! Isn't that amazing? It says: "A wave is a live, shared space on the web where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more."
But you don't have to trust me: try it for yourself!
This tale by Robert Schoch is very revealing about the kind of resistance actual science gets from hidebound Egypt 'scholars'. (And a bit more about Hancock)
In the past year I've read enough new discoveries to suspect that a major paradigm shift about human history is building. How those big rocks got moved around is one of the more important pieces in the puzzle.
Slashdot Mirror
I would be interested in learning more about the software and hardware side of Facebook. But after 15 seconds of scrolling I hadn't seen any ... just a lot of tedious "gotta do this" journalism ... and gave up. LOOOOOONG BOOOORING
I have to admit, I thought -very highly- of the Apple II era. The user manual was revolutionary (and user-friendly) and the system calls were part of empowering any user who wanted to learn how. THANK YOU for those (very fun) times (and the GS synth).
Then came the Mac era. The rainbow became the chrome crest. The fantastic build quality changed into OK build-quality. Software access sank into impossible obscurity for non-pros (e.g. getting serial configured for MIDI I/O). I bought a couple of products since then, and both suffered costly hardware failures.
I'd like to see another era like that first one, returning power over their own computers to the users. Impossible dream?
I just installed Linux Mint KDE a couple of weeks ago to dip my noob toes (after decades of PC ownership and programming) in the water. Not too shabby. So I decide to install a MIDI sequencer called Muse. It complains that it can't find "Jack". So I go to get Jack and there are two versions. I pick the newest package Jack2 and install it. Muse can't find Jack. Spend a half-hour googling to find that the problem might be solved with Jack1. I unload Jack2 and install Jack1. Music can't find Jack.
Etc. etc. Went through all this CRAP a decade ago when making computer music on major platforms meant spending 75% of the time fighting the technology. Hundreds of wasted hours. History. So LMK is now consigned to the "toy boutique" bin. There have been several other oddities that make LMK seem fragile. Love the speed and small footprint, but ....
1. Tokelau is not a country, it's a group of 3 atolls.
2. It's 10 km^2 in size with a population of 1400.
3. Must be slow news day.
Try that on a frequently-seen article and see how it takes to get fixed. And (if serious enough) get you banned.
If you have specific objections to the content based on substantial personal knowledge/experience - but don't have time to do the editing (preferable) or to look up a bunch of citations - then bring your points up in the TALK page.
There they -will- be seen be serious editor(s) and (eventually) will be dealt with. The time this takes can vary from days to years. Faster results may result from snagging an ear in one of the community forums.
As a longtime Wikian, gotta agree that WP is long-overdue for some interface overhauls. And some imaginative, sort of "3D"-ish (expansive, connection-revealing, ... ??) alternatives for viewing data. It has done well at emulating formatted texts, and taking elementary advantage of hyperlinks, but done very little serious innovation in modern/alternative forms of data-display, in linking, in user-customization and user-world-building ... I could go on and on.
WP is a wonderful project, and I'm happy to have been a part of it, but I'd really like to see some leadership into taking advantage of all that data in some awesome, mind-blowing ways. Maybe it needs to run a year-long contest with BIG substantial PRIZES for world-class innovation -with graphics- (plug-in?) that enhances insights and utility by an order of magnitude.
Does it matter in what way? Rest assured that (Fo sho) the grammar coming out of the CEO of Barclay's Bank is still of the finest order (hot shit). Because those with the most to win or lose always make themselves as "acceptable" as possible (wrap themselves in a pretty package)(project a finished persona). Which is why politicians move away from newsies when they wanna vent their real feelings.
Those who are engaged in (is dishin) looser or informal conversation (da shiznit) can relax a bit (hang loose).
From -Rick Santorum- to -sanity : WTF is "Kaqf", and how is that linked to sanity?
Clearly the Oracle is also a Fudgemaster.
The G created a harsh climate at the rollout by deep-sixing early adopters (some well-known web personalities, trend-setters, creatives) without explanation or recourse just because they didn't like their log-in names (??!! You'd think they weren't around back when The Well was a hot item ... or ever found time in their busy schedule to watch a TED talk that wasn't techie.)
Google is genetically incapable of 'getting' social networking. They threw away their golden halo years ago.
I especially like that minimalist house beat, with someone playing the spoons for extra pzazz. Slashdot is clearly on top of the latest IDM.
Citation needed.
Mr. T. Boone (not to be confused with Slim) may be out of the game for now, but he gets big bonus points with me for being a pioneer and trying to lead the way. It won't be that many years before people like him will be belatedly lauded for clearsightedness and wisdom in the face of our $600Ba oil deficits.
In the meantime, there's plenty of other wind action happening across the US (not to mention China, which is trying to corner the manufacturing market). There's SO much wind energy being wasted in the Midwest that T. Boone might want to invest instead in some of those 15MW monsters the Spanish are building.
To hell with selling products ... it ought to be illegal to sell images that make me physically ill !!
I can understand how many people might not know about such things. Those of us who back farther than early 'word processors' are more familiar with text files.
Many/most files created by 'word processor' and spreadsheet programs can be opened by any decent text editor. Once you've typed in a paragraph or two, save the file and have a look at it with something like TextWrangler (Mac) or Notepad++ (Windows). Much of the file may be unreadable, but very often identifying information can be found 'in the clear' somewhere.
I first discovered this when exploring the output of early versions of MS Word about 15 years ago. It's a good idea to have a look inside any file that you plan to distribute to the 'outside world' because of such 'helpful' inclusions.
And why not - it's a time-honored tradition to make code run anywhere you can. Those who owned C64s (especially those who read Transactor) will recall that for a while there, programming the 1541 floppy-drive CPU was just about as cool as could be.
... making things simple enough / safe enough for grandma has diminished / lulled many of us into blissful ignorance.
Nowadays systems are so complex, and tools to study them / keep an eye on them are so relatively clueless, there could be^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H are dozens of things going on in our PCs that we are blissfully unaware of. Very unfortunate
People used to "do stuff" to C64's at the store, and to PC's at the store for years. While I spose it's annoying to the staff after a while, I have to laugh at people who take this sort of thing soooooo seriously. Some of you people need to check yourself for a Calvinist eartag.
I don't expect to find classical on the net any more than at most record stores. The demand's too small, and if they have any at all, it's usually by crappy little eastern Europe orchestras at bargain prices.
If you're anywhere near a big city, public libraries often have tastefully chosen recordings; often they show little wear. There are also quite a few classical stations listed in iTunes; many of them have PD's who know their music. MN Public Radio has long had an excellent station.
Once I hear something on there I know I'll be appreciating for a lifetime, I'll go buy it. Else the day will come when those recordings are only available used.
Does that 0.06 USD/kWh include the costs of mining & associated health costs, disposal of waste & associated health costs, cost of security to protect plants from terrorists? Point being: unless one can scrutinize the details, there's no way to trust such numbers.
The French people have come to terms with nuclear energy, which apparently has worked well enough for them there. US results have been less spectacular; many unplanned excursions resulted in lies and coverups that make it difficult for millions of Americans to accept claims for nuclear. The cost of new plants has skyrocketed into the $10-20 billion range. They remain uninsurable. Many make claims for new nuclear technologies, but there are few if any working demonstrations.
The costs of solar may be based on online technology, rather than one of the dozens of technologies in the pipeline. See for example this one: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/august/new-solar-method-080210.html
Storage is not a problem, there are many ways of doing storage. Britain for example has a huge facility that pumps water uphill into a lake 2000 feet above during the day; it is capable of powering a city for hours and can come online within a few minutes at any time. Nuclear is currently pumping the water; it could just as easily be solar thermal or wind. As someone else has pointed out: fossil-fuel energy saved during the day can be used at night. And, in the US, there is still a lot of waste that can be ameliorated by conservation measures, further reducing energy needs.
With wind energy quickly becoming a clear win around the world, and growing cheaper all the time (already competitive with the French rates your quoting) it's quite clear that the time for nuclear plants is drawing to an end. The dangers of nuclear proliferation are never far away so long as nuclear power continues to be acceptable. For cost, safety, and obsolescence reasons, it would be a poor idea to invest in such plants.
I realize that practical engineering should have nothing to do with this argument, but I'll try it anyway. I don't own a cellphone, but if I did, I'd prefer to have one with a spring-loaded telescoping antenna that pops or flips (like a switchblade) up (or down) when I want to talk. Then, unless I touch the antenna, it'd have a nice freespace location to radiate and receive in. Then, when I was done, I push on the top of the antenna and it would collapse into the body. In the case of the switchblade, I could also use it for personal protection or to scale fish.
ALL THIS JAZZ YOU'RE ARGUING IS UNNECESSARY. It's about fashion, NOT good engineering. The physics is elementary. The debate is childish. Thank you for your time, I return control of your screen now.
Astronaut-fed pork. We didn't think Armstrong and Aldrin went to Washington to plead for -science-, did we?
Stupid ... of course getting a computer doesn't help you get educated. Being given a brain doesn't help either. It's about the software. Seen any decent educational software being developed in the past 15-20 years? See any talk about it anywhere ... development or marketing? Nope; and as a trained educator I would notice. Can't give it away. So: no motivation, no software, no improvement.
Computers can be wonderful educators. But you can't just throw something at kids and say "Here kid, educate yourself." The problem is, nobody gives a rat's ass. So just keep blaming it on the kids. Cuz it's easier than admitting that we all just don't give a shit. And until we do, they'll keep learning to think and spell from their texting buddies.
First of all: aren't we getting tired of everything being called a 'crisis' all the time? Humanity has faced 'problems' for thousands of years. Only a few were a 'crisis' ... demanding immediate action.
... what with so many youth un- or under- employed. Because, as the article points out, IQ scores tend to go up and up.
That said: this isn't a creativity 'crisis', it's a creativity-test 'crisis'. People are finding different ways to be 'creative' (by definition not something that typically shows up on cultural radar until it's well-advanced). And there is *shitloads* of creativity on the net. Is that being tested? By whom?
By the time society becomes aware of the products of 'creativity', it has already moved on to new spheres. Basquiat. So if the test is no longer working to detect 'creativity', that's 1. not a crisis, 2. about the test.
It's much more complex; there are many factors stopping the kind of creativity that was acceptable in the past. IP laws and "chemistry-set prohibitions", to name two. In conservative times, and bad economies, creative outlets and places to demonstrate creativity always suffer. Had Obama responded with an arts program like Roosevelt did, we'd probably be swimming in examples of creativity
Give them opportunity and the technology and step back. And shut up about artificial 'crises'. Quit blaming the victim.
Sure! Just go to "google.com" and type in "Google Wave" !! Isn't that amazing? It says: "A wave is a live, shared space on the web where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more."
But you don't have to trust me: try it for yourself!
If you insist on a vetted answer (with controversial discussions, humorless asides, and potentially damaged POVs) try here: http://en.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Google_Wave
In the past year I've read enough new discoveries to suspect that a major paradigm shift about human history is building. How those big rocks got moved around is one of the more important pieces in the puzzle.