I'm amazed no one here actually sees this guy's point (yeah, yeah, I know - it's under his hat - ha ha ha - we're all amused). Attributing the human eye's color vision characteristics to survival of the fittest selections along with explanations is nothing but speculation.
It assumes that the vision spectrum capable is unbiased across all frequencies and selectable. It assumes that the selection conditions favorable to our particular spectrum were in place long enough to set them to this level. And that the eye hasn't changed since those conditions changed. And, finally, it implies that every property of our biology has to somehow be explained in Darwinistic terms.
Imagine if cats had infrared vision. Then, obviously, its because that was a characteristic that helped them hunt at night. But what about the fact that cats don't have infrared vision? Do we then say that natural selection screwed up? Oh - no - of course not. Its because that trait was never amongst the selectable options, darn the luck.
Now, before some zealot goes all Spaghetti Monster on me, I'm not arguing for ID or disputing evolution. I'm just pointing out that everything doesn't have to be forced into some universal theory. Maybe our eyes are the way they are just because they are. Nothing more. Stating anything else is purely speculative and should be phrased as such.
And that's a fine philosophy. Unfortunately, this particular incident isn't an example of it. Hence the down modding. Although I suppose off topic might have been better.
In case you're not getting why: some devs were using their main piece of hardware as a dev platform with beta software. It had problems (that were 100% reversible with very little effort - i.e. connect to iTunes and switch back to the release firmware) and that blew up into "bricked" and other false claims.
Unfortunately, around here there's also a problem with trying to correct people's FUD resulting in being called a "fanboi", etc.
:-) Oh yeah, mod me down. Open minds read at +6 Troll/Flamebait/Redundant/OffTopic anyway.
Funny, I specifically came to this thread to make sure that my +6 Troll/FB was working correctly. I hadn't considered doing the same for redundant and offtopic.
It would be much more mature to simply ignore them
The most ironic part about modding someone as a troll is that the act of modding them down is tantamount to feeding the troll. The moderator has both a) fed the troll and b) used a limited resource (mod points) in response to the troll. Intentional trolling could definitely be used at/. as a way to keep moderators that are likely to spend troll points away from posts that are not trolls but rather unpopular posts. In particular, trolling by posting opinions that are likely to get you modded down as a troll.
Just a thought, but also one that's on my mind at the moment due to some troll modding that occurred to me recently.
Re:Iran has NOT "offline" (Score:0, Troll) by konohitowa (220547) on Wednesday February 06, @08:29AM (#22321266) Wow. I'm amazed you got away with a +3 interesting on that [so far]. Any kind of coherent discussion that doesn't toe the party line around here usually dooms one to -1 Troll/Flamebait/Off Topic or similar. Nice job!
Wow. I'm amazed you got away with a +3 interesting on that [so far]. Any kind of coherent discussion that doesn't toe the party line around here usually dooms one to -1 Troll/Flamebait/Off Topic or similar. Nice job!
(this is a response to the chicken-littles replying who are able to find myriad ways for even the most trivial of engineering jobs to result in mayhem)
I find it difficult to believe that a packaging engineer has a life or death decision in their hands. I'm sure the pedants (aka the argumentative) out there will quickly come up with some scenario wherein a poor packaging job results in the subsequent death of some warehouse worker.
But get real - if my kid's Gameboy suddenly goes TU due to a circuit failure that's traced to poor design or parts spec'ing, the only adverse effect to anyone's life would be to mine when the subsequent whining starts.
Many engineering jobs are about spending time up front in order to save money in production - under the assumption that a large number of the items will be produced - for EE's it's the "parts count" obsession. Software is a completely different beast because production tends toward being free. Unfortunately, strategies that work well for managing physical engineering (machines, electronics, roads) don't work well with virtual engineering (software, web sites, firmware). That and the fact that the tasks that are typically relegated to software are the types of tasks that aren't easily done in other areas of engineering - tasks that are either unlike anything ever done before (i.e. nearly impossible to estimate) or that are subject to constant, unpredictable change and therefore prohibitively expensive to do in the physical realm.
Having said that, I work in safety critical software, and there is a lot of systems engineering, design, review, test (in essence, layers and layers of process) that go into any given build. However, control systems are one of the areas where a hardware engineering discipline translates cleanly to a software engineering discipline. This also equates to expense. Which goes downstream to the customer. That type of pedantry applied to MS Office would make it even more outrageously expensive than it already is. Same goes for the free electronic toys my kids get in their Happy Meals. It's just not worth it in those arenas
In a nutshell, the idea that calling something engineering somehow implies correctness and safety is not necessarily true.
A friend of mine uses Comcast in the Indianapolis area. I talked to him on the phone and he was surprised that I hadn't received an email from. We went through several tests and concluded that Comcast was indeed scanning his outbound email and filtering items that hit some type of keyword filter. He was able to send the email only when he slightly altered the subject text. The annoying part of it was that it was a "silent" filter - he got no indication that the email had been rejected. It just went straight off to/dev/null (so to speak).
It's only competition for the Airbook (yes - I know it's a "MacBook Air") if the intent of the Airbook was to lure droves of Windows users. As to the idea that it was "leaked" - please - this was nothing more than a press release in the guise of a leak. It was stunningly reminiscent of the Windows "yeah - we've got that too - next week! - so don't go anywhere" tactic.
The only really interesting response in this thread and me without mod points. Oh well.
I'd have to say I'm quite concerned that the TODO list implies that LittleSnitch is something they want to blacklist.... assuming I'm parsing the list correctly and understanding the semantics. Anything that wants to remove my network monitor goes straight to my dustbin.. - oops - it just turned into an eject button... huh - okay - hang o
Wow is right. I would have phrased that as "trading in your stupid-ass boiler for something more efficient". Witness that a winter heating bill far outstrips the fuel cost of driving an SUV [unless you've got a massive commute - which certainly includes some people]. Replacing something as inefficient as a boiler would be a big step forward.
As to the incandescent, in the winter all of it's energy output is used. I work in an office building that is passively heated [yes - that's correct - we don't have heat in the building]. As more LCDs displace our traditional CRTs, more people are bringing small electric heaters in to put under theirs desks. And yes, we're already wearing layers of cloths, and sometimes jackets and hats. Gloves make typing a touch on the difficult side, so fingerless is the only option, although it rarely gets quite that obnoxious.
I personally already use CFL [and have been since well before it became popular] for all of my house lights except for reading lights. The reason being that I prefer the light from an incandescent for reading. So I guess I'm going to have to stock up so that I hopefully have a lifetime worth of reading lights available. I just love legislated stupidity.
I was baffled by that comment also... Apple's been supplying X11 (XFree86 port) for OS X since what, 10.2? Whenever it was, it started as a download from Apple, then started coming on the install disc as an optional package, and in 10.5 is available on demand (installed by default and launches when needed).
So what that comment about is beyond me (and yes, sshd etc are also installed). Although you don't have a nice GUI for the X11 forwarding config.... so maybe that's what the parent meant. Well - whatever. I doubt there'll be a followup.
Either you're being tongue-in-cheek, or you didn't understand what I was talking about. Both Windows & OS X automatically scan the local wireless network area and keep track of open networks. In order to do so, they have to communicate with the wireless network. This is PRIOR to the user having any interaction with the system.
Obligatory car analogy: If my car explodes and kills someone, it's the car's fault, not mine (unless I rigged it to blow up).
"Access" means to gain entry to, instruct, or communicate with the logical, arithmetical, or memory function resources of a computer, computer system, or computer network. (7) Knowingly and without permission accesses or causes to be accessed any computer, computer system, or computer network.
By that definition, my operating system is in violation of the law whenever it scans for an available network and presents it to me for connection.
I'm glad I added the qualifier on the end indicating that I understood what your main point was. I really wasn't objecting to what you said per se, just have gotten a bit tired of the constant harping over even the most minute issue. Using your post as an opportunity to comment on that tiredness did run the risk of looking like a fundamental disagreement with your comments rather than a fundamental disagreement with the severity of the "WoW problem".
On a related note, I'll bet you just love "America. Love it or leave it!".
Many people like playing WoW. It brings them happiness to play it. I just don't happen to be one of them.
The provider of WoW has instituted a policy that I find objectionable.
Something must be done to correct this evil.
I frankly don't see why everyone gets their panties in such a bunch over this. The YRO discussion has gotten to the point where I find it hard to take any of it seriously. If it became possible to extract images from people's minds (with their permission - I don't even want to raise the specter of that being done passively), I can only assume it would then be a violation of one's privacy to look at them on the street and remember seeing them. Who knows what evil that person might be planning on perpetrating against them?
I play WoW. I make the implicit assumption that they're not scanning my drive and sending data back to use against me. It's a trust issue. Same as I assume that Frederick's of Hollywood isn't keeping track of the lingerie that I buy for... um... er... my wife. Yeah. That's the ticket.
Seriously, it's a disservice to actual 4th Amendement supporters to turn absolutely everything into a violation. It marginalizes the discussion.
(and yes, I do understand that your core objection was the "don't like it? don't play it!" retort)
Stuff like this is the reason I said if MS did a 'new features' list like the pety list Apple did with their 300 new features, Vista would have several thousand new features to list.
That seems about right. OS X 10.0 came out in March of 2001. XP came out in May of 2001. Since then, Apple has released 5 new versions [which have included major updates to most applications, added apps, etc] in addition to myriad "service packs". So, using Apple's petty list multiplier, that would be 1500 new features. In that time, Microsoft has released XP SP2 and Vista. To be fair, Microsoft seems to be in a trend where you go to their website to get new/updated apps or get them pushed via the updater. But most of Apple's 5 releases have also included multiple updates to the underpinnings, frameworks, and the like [I still clearly remember the pain of dealing with the myriad deprecated Frameworks interfaces in the 10.0.. 10.3 time frame].
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I'm amazed no one here actually sees this guy's point (yeah, yeah, I know - it's under his hat - ha ha ha - we're all amused). Attributing the human eye's color vision characteristics to survival of the fittest selections along with explanations is nothing but speculation.
It assumes that the vision spectrum capable is unbiased across all frequencies and selectable. It assumes that the selection conditions favorable to our particular spectrum were in place long enough to set them to this level. And that the eye hasn't changed since those conditions changed. And, finally, it implies that every property of our biology has to somehow be explained in Darwinistic terms.
Imagine if cats had infrared vision. Then, obviously, its because that was a characteristic that helped them hunt at night. But what about the fact that cats don't have infrared vision? Do we then say that natural selection screwed up? Oh - no - of course not. Its because that trait was never amongst the selectable options, darn the luck.
Now, before some zealot goes all Spaghetti Monster on me, I'm not arguing for ID or disputing evolution. I'm just pointing out that everything doesn't have to be forced into some universal theory. Maybe our eyes are the way they are just because they are. Nothing more. Stating anything else is purely speculative and should be phrased as such.
And that's a fine philosophy. Unfortunately, this particular incident isn't an example of it. Hence the down modding. Although I suppose off topic might have been better.
In case you're not getting why: some devs were using their main piece of hardware as a dev platform with beta software. It had problems (that were 100% reversible with very little effort - i.e. connect to iTunes and switch back to the release firmware) and that blew up into "bricked" and other false claims.
Unfortunately, around here there's also a problem with trying to correct people's FUD resulting in being called a "fanboi", etc.
Cue being called a "fanboi" in 3, 2, 1...
So basically what they're saying is that the debate is over and there's a scientific consensus?
Funny, I specifically came to this thread to make sure that my +6 Troll/FB was working correctly. I hadn't considered doing the same for redundant and offtopic.
The most ironic part about modding someone as a troll is that the act of modding them down is tantamount to feeding the troll. The moderator has both a) fed the troll and b) used a limited resource (mod points) in response to the troll. Intentional trolling could definitely be used at /. as a way to keep moderators that are likely to spend troll points away from posts that are not trolls but rather unpopular posts. In particular, trolling by posting opinions that are likely to get you modded down as a troll.
Just a thought, but also one that's on my mind at the moment due to some troll modding that occurred to me recently.
Need I say more?
Wow. I'm amazed you got away with a +3 interesting on that [so far]. Any kind of coherent discussion that doesn't toe the party line around here usually dooms one to -1 Troll/Flamebait/Off Topic or similar. Nice job!
(this is a response to the chicken-littles replying who are able to find myriad ways for even the most trivial of engineering jobs to result in mayhem)
I find it difficult to believe that a packaging engineer has a life or death decision in their hands. I'm sure the pedants (aka the argumentative) out there will quickly come up with some scenario wherein a poor packaging job results in the subsequent death of some warehouse worker.
But get real - if my kid's Gameboy suddenly goes TU due to a circuit failure that's traced to poor design or parts spec'ing, the only adverse effect to anyone's life would be to mine when the subsequent whining starts.
Many engineering jobs are about spending time up front in order to save money in production - under the assumption that a large number of the items will be produced - for EE's it's the "parts count" obsession. Software is a completely different beast because production tends toward being free. Unfortunately, strategies that work well for managing physical engineering (machines, electronics, roads) don't work well with virtual engineering (software, web sites, firmware). That and the fact that the tasks that are typically relegated to software are the types of tasks that aren't easily done in other areas of engineering - tasks that are either unlike anything ever done before (i.e. nearly impossible to estimate) or that are subject to constant, unpredictable change and therefore prohibitively expensive to do in the physical realm.
Having said that, I work in safety critical software, and there is a lot of systems engineering, design, review, test (in essence, layers and layers of process) that go into any given build. However, control systems are one of the areas where a hardware engineering discipline translates cleanly to a software engineering discipline. This also equates to expense. Which goes downstream to the customer. That type of pedantry applied to MS Office would make it even more outrageously expensive than it already is. Same goes for the free electronic toys my kids get in their Happy Meals. It's just not worth it in those arenas
In a nutshell, the idea that calling something engineering somehow implies correctness and safety is not necessarily true.
Dude - gimme a 00. What a A9 crap. Machine doesn't even C9 to a decent assembler.
A friend of mine uses Comcast in the Indianapolis area. I talked to him on the phone and he was surprised that I hadn't received an email from. We went through several tests and concluded that Comcast was indeed scanning his outbound email and filtering items that hit some type of keyword filter. He was able to send the email only when he slightly altered the subject text. The annoying part of it was that it was a "silent" filter - he got no indication that the email had been rejected. It just went straight off to /dev/null (so to speak).
Offtopic? What kind of moronic moderator doesn't recognize parody and sarcasm?
/. moderator apparently. Hint: this one is flamebait. Moderate accordingly.
Oh - a
In other news, Steve Jobs reports that "Leopard is the best OS X ever" with more than 200 new features.
Sweet! I really got a good laugh out of that. Nice job.
It's only competition for the Airbook (yes - I know it's a "MacBook Air") if the intent of the Airbook was to lure droves of Windows users. As to the idea that it was "leaked" - please - this was nothing more than a press release in the guise of a leak. It was stunningly reminiscent of the Windows "yeah - we've got that too - next week! - so don't go anywhere" tactic.
The only really interesting response in this thread and me without mod points. Oh well.
I'd have to say I'm quite concerned that the TODO list implies that LittleSnitch is something they want to blacklist.... assuming I'm parsing the list correctly and understanding the semantics. Anything that wants to remove my network monitor goes straight to my dustbin.. - oops - it just turned into an eject button... huh - okay - hang o
So, point of /. etiquette here...
Since we're actually talking about cars for once, does this mean that we're now obligated to make some type of computer manufacturer analogy?
I can't wait to get my hands on one of these. Finally, after more than 20 years of waiting, I can have a high-quality Windows experience.
Wow is right. I would have phrased that as "trading in your stupid-ass boiler for something more efficient". Witness that a winter heating bill far outstrips the fuel cost of driving an SUV [unless you've got a massive commute - which certainly includes some people]. Replacing something as inefficient as a boiler would be a big step forward.
As to the incandescent, in the winter all of it's energy output is used. I work in an office building that is passively heated [yes - that's correct - we don't have heat in the building]. As more LCDs displace our traditional CRTs, more people are bringing small electric heaters in to put under theirs desks. And yes, we're already wearing layers of cloths, and sometimes jackets and hats. Gloves make typing a touch on the difficult side, so fingerless is the only option, although it rarely gets quite that obnoxious.
I personally already use CFL [and have been since well before it became popular] for all of my house lights except for reading lights. The reason being that I prefer the light from an incandescent for reading. So I guess I'm going to have to stock up so that I hopefully have a lifetime worth of reading lights available. I just love legislated stupidity.
I was baffled by that comment also... Apple's been supplying X11 (XFree86 port) for OS X since what, 10.2? Whenever it was, it started as a download from Apple, then started coming on the install disc as an optional package, and in 10.5 is available on demand (installed by default and launches when needed).
So what that comment about is beyond me (and yes, sshd etc are also installed). Although you don't have a nice GUI for the X11 forwarding config.... so maybe that's what the parent meant. Well - whatever. I doubt there'll be a followup.
Now you're just being obstinate.
Either you're being tongue-in-cheek, or you didn't understand what I was talking about. Both Windows & OS X automatically scan the local wireless network area and keep track of open networks. In order to do so, they have to communicate with the wireless network. This is PRIOR to the user having any interaction with the system.
Obligatory car analogy: If my car explodes and kills someone, it's the car's fault, not mine (unless I rigged it to blow up).
By that definition, my operating system is in violation of the law whenever it scans for an available network and presents it to me for connection.
I'm glad I added the qualifier on the end indicating that I understood what your main point was. I really wasn't objecting to what you said per se, just have gotten a bit tired of the constant harping over even the most minute issue. Using your post as an opportunity to comment on that tiredness did run the risk of looking like a fundamental disagreement with your comments rather than a fundamental disagreement with the severity of the "WoW problem".
On a related note, I'll bet you just love "America. Love it or leave it!".
In your example, it's actually:
I frankly don't see why everyone gets their panties in such a bunch over this. The YRO discussion has gotten to the point where I find it hard to take any of it seriously. If it became possible to extract images from people's minds (with their permission - I don't even want to raise the specter of that being done passively), I can only assume it would then be a violation of one's privacy to look at them on the street and remember seeing them. Who knows what evil that person might be planning on perpetrating against them?
I play WoW. I make the implicit assumption that they're not scanning my drive and sending data back to use against me. It's a trust issue. Same as I assume that Frederick's of Hollywood isn't keeping track of the lingerie that I buy for... um... er... my wife. Yeah. That's the ticket.
Seriously, it's a disservice to actual 4th Amendement supporters to turn absolutely everything into a violation. It marginalizes the discussion.
(and yes, I do understand that your core objection was the "don't like it? don't play it!" retort)
That seems about right. OS X 10.0 came out in March of 2001. XP came out in May of 2001. Since then, Apple has released 5 new versions [which have included major updates to most applications, added apps, etc] in addition to myriad "service packs". So, using Apple's petty list multiplier, that would be 1500 new features. In that time, Microsoft has released XP SP2 and Vista. To be fair, Microsoft seems to be in a trend where you go to their website to get new/updated apps or get them pushed via the updater. But most of Apple's 5 releases have also included multiple updates to the underpinnings, frameworks, and the like [I still clearly remember the pain of dealing with the myriad deprecated Frameworks interfaces in the 10.0 .. 10.3 time frame].