>Is there any site reorganization in the works, >or perhaps an expansion of the moderation system >to include the approval and rejection of article >submissions?
I'd like to back up this point and add that perhaps the poll could be used more productively to learn about the interests of slashdot's readers.
Sure, meta-moderation moderates the moderators... but is anyone really doing anything more than guessing when deciding what articles to accept and what articles to reject?
This nugget of information might be of interest to some.
I think I read this in the New Scientist - it basically discussed methods by which paralysed and/or crippled people may be able to walk again. It was discovered that, as opposed to traditional belief that the mind is fully responsible for one's ability to walk at all times, the mind only need send a signal down to the lower region of the body, and from then on, it already knows how to walk somehow.
The details of the discovery, and how accurate certain aspects of it are, I'm sketchy on unfortunately. But doctors were said to be looking into this to find ways that they need only open minor nerve connections to the lower body in order to allow someone to walk again.
The experiments were performed on rats, so there is more research to be done. But basically, the rats spinal cords were severed, and minor reconnections made suggesting that brain plays a smaller part in such operations, once the body has 'learned' them.
An interesting point, I thought, and a reminder that entrenched ideas and concepts are not to be confused with the mythical notion of truth.
I've never used, or even seen a Dvorak keyboard (I don't think). Obviously I currently use QWERTY - but I wanted to know:
Anyone out there know of any general typing speeds attained on the DVORAK system? I'm a pretty fast typist - in fact I average at 120wpm. I'd love to know if using DVORAK would be faster - but after getting so familiar with QWERTY I'm not terribly keen to attempt it unless someone knows of people who can type faster than 120wpm on DVORAK keyboards.
Noted in the current UK Edge magazine, it briefs over the Dreamcast. When speaking of the modem it suggests the modem is a plugin unit to the back of the Dreamcast unit - likely for the benefit of replacing it with better models at a later date. If that is, indeed, the idea - then it is perhaps a good one in light of your observation.
Just for those who wish to compare Microsoft and Sony (a funny thing to do in light of liberal comparison of Microsoft to - something becoming somewhat tiresome to say the least) I thought I'd remind people that Sony have openly proven to be an innovative company.
I'm not a business person and cannot comment on their business practices, but a company who spends a lot of money on R&D and does what it can to push decent technology, I can't complain about. These are the people who invented and fought for Betamax (better technology that unfortunately failed) - they invented MiniDisc... which looks to be thriving and yet to boom.
For those of you who aren't familiar with how Sony ended up in the games market, I'll just briefly cover the 'event'. Nintendo wanted Sony to develop a CD player for their famicom machine. After some development time, they suddenly dropped the project leaving sour feelings between Sony and Nintendo - the then boss of Sony told Ken Kutaragi (name/sp?) to keep developing it anyway, and here come back Sony to completely dominate the console market some years later. Now they've suggested they've come up with technology that absolutely flattens the current closest competitor... who's to say they won't make it? And who's to say they won't continue their tradional stance... they've pushed for things *I* consider to be 'for the consumer' more so than any of the other game console companies (mainly referring to Sega and Nintendo - I mean Net Yaroze... Linux system for NGPS development, free-er development than for other consoles - just look at how much software is available for the Playstation and compare it to the Saturn and Nintendo. Sure not all of it is great or even good... but there's so much of it there's a helluva lot of stuff that is good)
Anyway keep up the NGPS news slashdot guys.... I'm gagging for it.
I was wondering - given you obviously have strong opinions on the topics you talk about... but, as suggested by your instructive tone of writing, one can only assume you must be a serious authority on a hell of a lot of topics.
In the below excerpt from your article you have laid down a system where by you will dictate 'the way things are' and expect your readers to accept this.
Computing is as white an industry as exists in American life, as any high-tech worker can see just from peering around. Although middle-class African-Americans and other minorities are getting online in substantial numbers, there remains an enormous disparity between whites' computer use and blacks', especially among the so-called underclass.
Of course, I've picked on a small, harmless piece of text. The thing is, there's a general tone throughout 'JonKatz' articles that indicates you not only believe what you say to be, somehow, unquestionably 'true' - but given the context of you expressing yourself on slashdot, there is an intrinsic suggestion that this truth exists for everyone. Anyone who has the time to trundle through your previous articles will find plenty examples of the nature of your expression.
A great example was your 'Hellmouth' series. Sure, it was obviously a topic that sent a rusty nail to the heart of a helluva lot of people - but throughout your articles you wrote not of suggestions, ideas and potential reasons for the aftermath of the school killings - but you dictated why and why not things happened.
Just look at the way you write what would normally be considered mere 'opinion' - something "is" wrong... rather than you believe something to be wrong and why.
What I say now is more of a request than anything else. Throughout this article, you refer almost exclusively to America. Given that not only can the internet be considered racially-blind, but surely it is also geographically-transparent. If this book is as significant as you suggest - surely it would have a broader perspective. Consider countries like India, China - Some of the largest populations in the world. Surely they have some significance? It would be refreshing to see some more consideration to a country other than America in such articles. And if there is nothing to consider - then maybe the article shouldn't be written.
Certainly looking at the above article it seems like just another hype, bandwagon thing - but enough people have already suggested very decent arguments against what you've written. I would add, that if an article about race were to be written - it might cover more relevant topics... the BNP (British National Party) still exists and has a strong enough following in Britain... I assume the Klu Klux Klan is still surviving and the term "Redneck" was coined for a reason.
You spoke of how this book contains more smart, provocative thinking about the future and technology than a decade of Web-gassing and media hype. Well... interpreting "web-gassing" and "media-hype" as intrinsically useless by the very fact that it's the "hype" of the media and the "gas" of the web, surely you have really said nothing? If you explicitly refer to the worst part of the media and the web, then by definition surely anything would be more provocative and smart. If, however, you did not waste such a line and actually intended to refer to all material available from the media and on the web - then, well, that's a sweeping statement if I ever heard one. And a judging one as well. I only point it out because if the topic about which you speak is so significant, then - reiterating my above point - why does it only refer to America. Given that the internet is geographically independant (for most intents and purposes) there's a lot of people reading slashdot that care of such implications outside of America.
BlueSky
Convservation over Evolution?
on
Gene Leakage
·
· Score: 1
I think 'unpredictable consequences' is an important point. Since that's what evolution leads to, whether we like it or not. The domino effect seems unlikely... it seems arbitrarily appropriate for the chaos theory, but since when has the chaos theory preached that 'that butterfly should not have flapped its wings' to prevent storms across the world?
Maybe what will evolve from GM foods is the extinction of the human race. And maybe that will happen because the existence of humans 'wasnt stable enough'. Maybe there's destined to be a greater intelligence than is possible with human brains, who knows. Sometimes the plate has to be wiped clean.
At the end of the day, who knows. Maybe this will 'cause something huge to happen. You can't step out of nature just like you can't step out of evolution... we're part of it. And tomorrow is just as natural as today.
It's perfectly possible that through reproduction the tomato's gene mutates sufficiently to replicate the effect that you suggest. But then many things are perfectly possible.
If humans really are 'worth saving' and 'the soul' amounts to more than soft grey matter then hey, I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for saving us. Nature's power encompasses much more than a few species.
Convservation over Evolution?
on
Gene Leakage
·
· Score: 1
Maybe all we get is evolution?
I dunno, but seems this is how it's been done for millions of years. The word 'interfere' can't ever really be relevant since 'the evolution system' can never be 'stepped out of'.
Slashdot Mirror
>Is there any site reorganization in the works,
>or perhaps an expansion of the moderation system
>to include the approval and rejection of article
>submissions?
I'd like to back up this point and add that perhaps the poll could be used more productively to learn about the interests of slashdot's readers.
Sure, meta-moderation moderates the moderators... but is anyone really doing anything more than guessing when deciding what articles to accept and what articles to reject?
BlueSky
I can't help thinking that X is becoming the Open Source equivalent of bloatware.
At least someone is doing something about - and they deserve support - The Berlin Windowing System is an ambitious but extremely promising project.
And it's come a helluva long way.
This nugget of information might be of interest to some.
I think I read this in the New Scientist - it basically discussed methods by which paralysed and/or crippled people may be able to walk again. It was discovered that, as opposed to traditional belief that the mind is fully responsible for one's ability to walk at all times, the mind only need send a signal down to the lower region of the body, and from then on, it already knows how to walk somehow.
The details of the discovery, and how accurate certain aspects of it are, I'm sketchy on unfortunately. But doctors were said to be looking into this to find ways that they need only open minor nerve connections to the lower body in order to allow someone to walk again.
The experiments were performed on rats, so there is more research to be done. But basically, the rats spinal cords were severed, and minor reconnections made suggesting that brain plays a smaller part in such operations, once the body has 'learned' them.
An interesting point, I thought, and a reminder that entrenched ideas and concepts are not to be confused with the mythical notion of truth.
I've never used, or even seen a Dvorak keyboard (I don't think). Obviously I currently use QWERTY - but I wanted to know:
Anyone out there know of any general typing speeds attained on the DVORAK system? I'm a pretty fast typist - in fact I average at 120wpm. I'd love to know if using DVORAK would be faster - but after getting so familiar with QWERTY I'm not terribly keen to attempt it unless someone knows of people who can type faster than 120wpm on DVORAK keyboards.
Thanks
BlueSky
Noted in the current UK Edge magazine, it briefs over the Dreamcast. When speaking of the modem it suggests the modem is a plugin unit to the back of the Dreamcast unit - likely for the benefit of replacing it with better models at a later date. If that is, indeed, the idea - then it is perhaps a good one in light of your observation.
BlueSky
Just for those who wish to compare Microsoft and Sony (a funny thing to do in light of liberal comparison of Microsoft to - something becoming somewhat tiresome to say the least) I thought I'd remind people that Sony have openly proven to be an innovative company.
I'm not a business person and cannot comment on their business practices, but a company who spends a lot of money on R&D and does what it can to push decent technology, I can't complain about. These are the people who invented and fought for Betamax (better technology that unfortunately failed) - they invented MiniDisc... which looks to be thriving and yet to boom.
For those of you who aren't familiar with how Sony ended up in the games market, I'll just briefly cover the 'event'. Nintendo wanted Sony to develop a CD player for their famicom machine. After some development time, they suddenly dropped the project leaving sour feelings between Sony and Nintendo - the then boss of Sony told Ken Kutaragi (name/sp?) to keep developing it anyway, and here come back Sony to completely dominate the console market some years later. Now they've suggested they've come up with technology that absolutely flattens the current closest competitor... who's to say they won't make it? And who's to say they won't continue their tradional stance... they've pushed for things *I* consider to be 'for the consumer' more so than any of the other game console companies (mainly referring to Sega and Nintendo - I mean Net Yaroze... Linux system for NGPS development, free-er development than for other consoles - just look at how much software is available for the Playstation and compare it to the Saturn and Nintendo. Sure not all of it is great or even good... but there's so much of it there's a helluva lot of stuff that is good)
Anyway keep up the NGPS news slashdot guys.... I'm gagging for it.
BlueSky
According to Linuxgames the source code has already been released.
SMJPEG documentation
SMJPEG source code
BlueSky
JonKatz:
I was wondering - given you obviously have strong opinions on the topics you talk about... but, as suggested by your instructive tone of writing, one can only assume you must be a serious authority on a hell of a lot of topics.
In the below excerpt from your article you have laid down a system where by you will dictate 'the way things are' and expect your readers to accept this.
Computing is as white an industry as exists in American life, as any high-tech worker can see just from peering around. Although middle-class African-Americans and other minorities are getting online in substantial numbers, there remains an enormous disparity between whites' computer use and blacks', especially among the so-called underclass.
Of course, I've picked on a small, harmless piece of text. The thing is, there's a general tone throughout 'JonKatz' articles that indicates you not only believe what you say to be, somehow, unquestionably 'true' - but given the context of you expressing yourself on slashdot, there is an intrinsic suggestion that this truth exists for everyone. Anyone who has the time to trundle through your previous articles will find plenty examples of the nature of your expression.
A great example was your 'Hellmouth' series. Sure, it was obviously a topic that sent a rusty nail to the heart of a helluva lot of people - but throughout your articles you wrote not of suggestions, ideas and potential reasons for the aftermath of the school killings - but you dictated why and why not things happened.
Just look at the way you write what would normally be considered mere 'opinion' - something "is" wrong... rather than you believe something to be wrong and why.
What I say now is more of a request than anything else. Throughout this article, you refer almost exclusively to America. Given that not only can the internet be considered racially-blind, but surely it is also geographically-transparent. If this book is as significant as you suggest - surely it would have a broader perspective. Consider countries like India, China - Some of the largest populations in the world. Surely they have some significance? It would be refreshing to see some more consideration to a country other than America in such articles. And if there is nothing to consider - then maybe the article shouldn't be written.
Certainly looking at the above article it seems like just another hype, bandwagon thing - but enough people have already suggested very decent arguments against what you've written. I would add, that if an article about race were to be written - it might cover more relevant topics... the BNP (British National Party) still exists and has a strong enough following in Britain... I assume the Klu Klux Klan is still surviving and the term "Redneck" was coined for a reason.
You spoke of how this book contains more smart, provocative thinking about the future and technology than a decade of Web-gassing and media hype. Well... interpreting "web-gassing" and "media-hype" as intrinsically useless by the very fact that it's the "hype" of the media and the "gas" of the web, surely you have really said nothing? If you explicitly refer to the worst part of the media and the web, then by definition surely anything would be more provocative and smart. If, however, you did not waste such a line and actually intended to refer to all material available from the media and on the web - then, well, that's a sweeping statement if I ever heard one. And a judging one as well. I only point it out because if the topic about which you speak is so significant, then - reiterating my above point - why does it only refer to America. Given that the internet is geographically independant (for most intents and purposes) there's a lot of people reading slashdot that care of such implications outside of America.
BlueSky
I think 'unpredictable consequences' is an important point. Since that's what evolution leads to, whether we like it or not. The domino effect seems unlikely... it seems arbitrarily appropriate for the chaos theory, but since when has the chaos theory preached that 'that butterfly should not have flapped its wings' to prevent storms across the world?
Maybe what will evolve from GM foods is the extinction of the human race. And maybe that will happen because the existence of humans 'wasnt stable enough'. Maybe there's destined to be a greater intelligence than is possible with human brains, who knows. Sometimes the plate has to be wiped clean.
At the end of the day, who knows. Maybe this will 'cause something huge to happen. You can't step out of nature just like you can't step out of evolution... we're part of it. And tomorrow is just as natural as today.
It's perfectly possible that through reproduction the tomato's gene mutates sufficiently to replicate the effect that you suggest. But then many things are perfectly possible.
If humans really are 'worth saving' and 'the soul' amounts to more than soft grey matter then hey, I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for saving us. Nature's power encompasses much more than a few species.
Maybe all we get is evolution?
I dunno, but seems this is how it's been done for millions of years. The word 'interfere' can't ever really be relevant since 'the evolution system' can never be 'stepped out of'.