I work for a wireharness company in the auto industry. Our group designs wiring shields, grommets, and terminals. Almost all the engineers have Unix boxes. All the windows boxes are on the desks of managers, purchasing and Evil HR. The engineers use different CAD software depending on who our customers are, but all are on Unix, whether SDRC-Ideas, Catia, or other. We engineers use Citrix metaframe for our MS office tasks. Its only the "other" departments that use 98 or NT boxes (for solitare or freecell)
Not really a joke, just an observation.
Fundamentalism vs. moral relativism
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Globalization
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I think a large part of our conflict stems from our open, largely tolerant culture. The openness of our culture tends to promote moral relativity in that what is "wrong" for one person or culture may not necessarily be "wrong" to another. Fundamentalists from a rigidly structured society would, I'm sure, view this as threatening to their culture and way of life. I'm not saying our culture is better in any way. We hesitate to label anything "wrong" or "bad" (aside from big business) even if there is serious harm induces. (Jeff Dahmer was just palately challenged.) I think if you apply this to current events, perhaps it allows you to understand the hatred for the USA in the Middle East. Of course, Americans aren't really liked MOST places.
A co-worker of mine had an interesting opinion on that. He said that we get most of our views on foreigners by the people we see in our own country. In other countries, they see mostly our richer, overbearing, (dare I say, snobbish?) citizens, and form their opinions base on them. We in the US tend to see immigrants, who tend to be poorer, and trying to make a better life for themselves, and we form our opinions on other countries based on them. I thought that was really interesting. Opinions?
This guy seems to be just what we need, someone who is willing to concider strange and unusual ideas no matter how far out they might seem.
He seems to have a good grasp of the issues, and makes a lot of sense. He also has quite a few things going for him, such as:
Money This guy is worth a lot
Reputation He as patents to his name, and has made millions with them.
Infrastructure He has come up with an easy way to create and distribute the H2 and O2.
Intellectual backing He has the praise of a growing number of specialists and intellectuals
I think this needs watching.
True, and reminds me of another...
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Review: Zoolander
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· Score: 1
The last movie I have seen that truly disturbed me was "The Talented Mr. Ripley". You may ask, "Why did that movie disturb you?"
ALL: Why did that movie disturb you?
It disturbed my because I under stood the character all too well. I come from a working class family. My father delivers packages for UPS. He worked long hours of hard labor (try it some time) to give us enough food and clothing, and struggling to let us go to private schools. (The public schools in the area were crap. Don't let that fool you though, we went to POOR private schools) I never really understood the sitcom characters on TV. What kind of problems did they have? How come they're not happy when they have all that stuff? (Logic of a 12 yr old) I have a little bit of resentment now for people that grew up with money, much to my dismay. Most of my suspicions about the rich, however, were confirmed in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" when I heard one of the characters state something about having money and hating it, but only really feeling comfortable around other people that "Have it and hate it." And there was the main character, looking in on this lifestyle and envying it. Envying the freedom, the wanton traveling and spending sprees. It made me wonder, How would I act in a similar situation? I'm an engineer now (Mechanical, not Computer, you elitists), so I'm not so poor anymore. Even so, I still remember what its like, and don't spend money needlessly.
Just a thoughtful aside. Zeus_tfc
BTW, I saw the movie for free. Some one I knew worked for the theater.
But would you have said the same things to Guillotine? How about Nobel, who created the prizes out of guilt for creating TNT? What about the creators of Napalm? Many people have greatly regreted what they have helped create. One of my favorite quotes illustrates this. When Oppenhiemer saw the destruction of the atomic bomb, he quoted the Bagivad Gita. "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." I'm not saying their wrong for what they did, only that they themselves rued their creations. Zeus_tfc
We're really sorry about that (sorta). We use the button thing to bait our resident Mac fanatic too. Nobody really cares about whether he uses a Mac or not, (Its not like we have loyalty to M$) but after a while getting called a "PC Weenie" gets a little annoying. Therefore, the button remarks.
Although, its not like he's real consistant when he responds. He states that you only need one button, just use the apple and flower keys. This is the same guy who refuses to learn any keystroke commands because "That's what the mouse is for." Ugh. Really, I have no problems with Macs. Its just fun to poke fun at the people who are so fanatical. From now on... Linux jokes!:-) Zeus_tfc
I resent the implication that just because you go to strip clubs and bars that you are lower class.
But seriously, there are still a lot of places that do business on a cash only basis. The convention center where I used to work (before my degree) was cash only for concessions, and that was everything from the circus and sporting events to rock concerts and amway conventions (shudder). Besides, do we really want to have a cashless society. People on this forum are constantly complaining about lack of privacy. Do we really feel comfortable about having every transaction we make being looked at by someone, or tracked and traced? You can tell a lot about someone by what they buy. Add to this the past controversies from Amazon changing pricing depending on the person, and the more recent article about page and mouse tracking on the internet, and you could find out just about everything you wanted to know about someone.
You can live in a cashless society if you want, but if I want to, I'll barter.
I'm surprised I didn't get mod-ed into oblivion. I didn't make this up, though. Try this out: Understanding Flight by David Anderson and Scott Eberhardt
I didn't say I agreed or disagreed with their reasoning, I was only offering it as an interesting POV Zeus_tfc
Actually, more and more scientists believe that Bernoulli's Principle, which states that differences in velocity over a surface causes pressure differentials, is NOT the force that makes airplanes fly. This not disputing Bernoulli , only saying that his principle is mis-applied. More and more people are coming to believe that what makes airplanes fly is air hitting the underside of the wing. When you talk about wings and flying, often you talk about "Angle of Attack". This is the angle at which the wing is in relation to the horizontal. While the wing is at an angle, the oncoming air strikes the bottom of the wing. This causes a force vector normal to the surface of the wing. The vector can be broken down into two normal vectors, one rearward on the plane (against the thrust) and one upwards (against gravity). With enough velocity, the upwards force can overcome the weight of the plane.
The problem with Bernoulli's principle as it applies to flight, is that there is really no logical reason why the air moving over the top of the wing should move faster than the air traveling under the wing. Just because it travels a greater distance does not mean it would speed up, only that it would reach the rear edge of the wing slower than the air traveling under.
I'm sorry, but I must disagree. A group of Jewish people sitting on a stretch of land so small you can spit across, and surrounded by enemies, and you blame them for being brutal for protecting thier land? They are not trying to take over the area, merely trying to SURVIVE. The Israeli motto is "NEVER AGAIN"... Never again will they sit by and let a group try to eradicate them. Never again will they be victimized.
With regard to your words about atrocities, both sides are equally guilty of brutality. Don't lay all the blame on Israel. The main reason why we side with the Israel, aside from the Holocaust, is the fact that SEVERAL leaders of Middle eastern nations have vowed to ELIMINATE the Jews. Not "get our land back," or "defend ourselves and our way of life," but ERADICATE the jewish people. All Jews everywhere. By aiding Israel we are not participating in a mass extinction, we are trying to prevent one from happening.
This is an important breakthrough of an already existing technology. I work in the auto industry, designing plastic injection molded parts. We use an SLA (Stereo Lithography somethingoranother) machine to rapid prototype concept pieces all the time. We use them to show new ideas to our customer, and to check to make sure that our ideas will work in the real world, and not just in a CAD tube. For a long time there has been talk of using machines like this in other enironments. The example I've heard most is using it for creating spare parts in space, instead of having a stock of various parts taking up valuable space. As someone else already pointed out, the problems with the old machines is that they used weak polymers that were not viable for functional parts.
I for one think this is pretty cool, but not entirely new. We won't upgrade our SLA machine, and won't replace our cheap aluminum tools for prototyping, but we are not the target buyers. Now, any astronaut with some CAD skills can replicate a whoopie cushion. Totally cool.
Zeus_tfc Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read. Groucho Marx
Believe it or not, there are people that think that this might not be a bad thing. First let me clear up that I am not one of them. However, there are some reasons why having a strong microsoft may be beneficial, especially to the US Gov. An american company that controls most of the desktops in the world could potentially be very usefull.
On a side note, don't ever think that MS is more powerful that the Goverment. We are in a Republic, and that means that the people (and corporations) tend to be left to control themselves, but that is not necessarily the norm. If the US gov wanted to come down on MS (perhaps nationalizing the company) how would you stop them? Legal action? Through the government??
Just a couple of quick (and admittedly not real well thought out) thoughts.
Zeus_tfc "Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." Groucho Marx
At the risk of being flamed, mod-ed down, and admittedly not having read the article, I think that this kind of trend may not be in our best interests. Patent laws don't just protect large corperations, they also protect ordinary people from large corporations. I know that the majority of people here think "intellectual property" is a joke, but when you start down that path, where will it lead you? Where does it end? Are all inventions now public domain? In this kind of atmosphere the "little guy" will get trampled. Imagine some "nobody" tinkering in his garage comes up with a new idea, a valuable idea. Without patent laws, any corp can snag the idea and make a mint because of production capacity and marketing, and the nobody stays a nobody.
At this point you say, "but we're not talking about inventions, we're talking about IP!" Where do you draw the line? Where do you make the distiction? A pharmaceutical company spends millions in research to come up with the correct combinations of chemicals that do exactly the right thing. How is this different that comming up with the right combinations of levers or parts to perform an operation or task?
Now you say, "But this is a treatment for a disease! Lives hang in the balance!" Again I say Where do you draw the line? It may not be as big a step as you might think from: Our people are dying, to: Our people don't have the quality of living that yours do.
Please don't get me wrong, I don't really sypathize with the swiss pharmaceutical company, or pharmaceutical companies in general. My problem is with this idea that nothing belongs to an individual or group. Yes I think things should be shared, but until we come up with a reasonable and concise way of determining how or when things should be co-oped "for the greater good," I don't think we should to it.
Then again when has my opinion mattered? Trick question: Never!
Zeus_tfc Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read. Grouch Marx
Funny how all the cultural fears of technology come from books and movies like Frankenstein, Brave New World, Colossus, (remember that one?) and 2001. All of which are fiction, and written the way they are to make an interesting story...
Just because something is a fictional story doesn't mean that it doesn't have something to say. I've never heard anyone say that Aesop's fables were to be ignored because animals can't talk. Fairy tales were also used to present points about how people should live, using the story in an easy to understand way. Often times the real fears of the masses are put into understandable terms by fiction authors. If you don't think so, read almost anything by Micheal Crichton. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Jurassic Park, all involved consequences of our uses of technology. All of them where our lack of understanding was the instrument of our own destruction, and, in the case of jurassic park and the terminal man, by things we ourselves created. Still not convinced? Read Hyperion, and The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. It has the same basic premise in a different sort of format.
I'm not saying that we should believe what happens in these books, or that they are portents of things to come, merely that literature echos the thoughts, hopes and fears of the populace, and for that, if nothing else, should be valued.
Zeus_tfc Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, its too dark to read. Grouch Marx
I think Macs have their place. I think its great that OSX is Unix based, and I think that Apple has been a real driving force in the industry. I'm sorry, though, I just can't but a Mac until they figure out how to make a mouse with more than one button. ~_^
Zeus_tfc
"Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a dog. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." Groucho Marx "A man is as young as the woman he feels" Grouch Marx
You guys get full cubicles?? I only get a half of one. Two walls with a set of hanging shelves on one, so my back is open to the aisle. Its good for conversation, but not so good for getting work done, or for privacy. Worse yet, I work in a glass building. From any direction you can see all the way through the building. I know it could be worse. I'm glad I'm not a manager. Managers get stuck in glass cubicles we call "fishbowls". Even worse, at my last job the desks were set up classroom style (no walls at all) -shudder- with the manager sitting behind us all -double shudder-. At least I get a desk.
I'm not in software, and I don't code, so sometimes I'm left scratching my head. This time, however, I definately understand. I work for an automotive supplier (I won't say whom) and the same things happen with parts we design. Our customer(also won't say whom) gives us requirements for any given part which are subject to change at any given time, and may or may not be physically possible.
Okay, time to model the part into 3D, and try and package the part in the car. Oh, wait, we don't have packaging information for half the parts in that part of the car. Time to go to the customer and find either a car or an engineer to give us some answers. Hey! We're in luck, they have a prototype car we can look at! Oops, our camera go confiscated. Oh, and by the way, three of the attachment points have changed, and the part has to be thinner because the customer thinks it will crash with part X, Y and Z. And it had to be kicked off last week to have parts in time for the prototype vehical build.
At this point, our engineers usually start random arguments for fun. (The last one was about whether "automobile" and "car" are equivilant, or if one is a subset of the other. Automobile is a subset of car.) If this fails, there is usually a rubberband fight.
It might be interesting to try and pay attention to what you DON'T see. This may sound nonsensical, but bear with me. I have not yet seen FF, so I can't say much about it, but here's another example: On of my favorite fairly recent movies is Chicken Run. (pause as people laugh at me) I'm a Wallace and Gromit fan, and also a claymation fan. I've watched the movie several times, and began to realize just how much detail was put into such an endeavor. Think for a moment about just how much is going on that you pay no attention. How do the characters interact with the environment? Lights, objects, and gravity are not offen done well is such situations. What about "Camera Work?" How were the scenes laid out? These are the types of things that, if done well, draw no attention whatsoever.
As I said, I haven't seen FF yet, and probably won't for a while, so maybe someone who HAS seen the movie could let us know how well this movie did in this regard.
I try to be skeptical whenever I read or hear anything anymore, so my fundamental answer is: We don't know enough yet to make a decision.
However I do tend to lean towards the "Don't believe it" side for several reasons. First and foremost, what data we have doesn't go back far enough to really make a case for global warming. We have recorded variations in the O-zone layer for what, thirty years tops? Its not even a blink of an eye in the life of the earth. We have recorded temperatures for 3-5 hundred years? Not even a noticable fraction of the life of the earth. So how then can we say that we know what changes are happening to the earth.
Secondly, (is that a word?) even if there is a marked change in the global climate, we can't be sure that a) its not "natural", or b) we caused it. aside(I put natural in quotes because I don't think we really understand this term yet. By definition we humans come from nature, so shouldn't anything we do be considered natural? Even buildings could be natural if you relate this to termites or wasps that build nests, but we could argue that for hours.)end aside As someone previously mentioned, the earth goes through changes and cycles that we don't yet understand, so why do we automatically assume that anything that happens is our fault?
Thirdly, (um, I think) we have not proven that we even have the capability to change the climate in this way. Volcanoes erupt all the time, spewing massive volumes of noxious chemicals into the air, many of which are greenhouse gasses. I have heard (though I don't know for certain) that Volcanoes emit more greenhouse gasses that the human race has ever produced in its entire existance. Still, we see no effect on the atmosphere or on the ozone layer.
Fourthly (I'm still not sure those are words) The earth is not an isolated system. The earth is involved in a larger (solar) system. Do we really understand the role and cycles of the sun and how it affects the earth? Not just with light and energy, but sun spots, solar flares, and a strong magnetic field among other things. We are NOT alone, and the truth may or may not be out there.
Lastly, The people that always speak the loudest about whatever crisis is going on are the Hollywood folks. C'mon, they're actors, of course they're going to make it sound like a big deal. It their jobs! But seriously, I wouldn't go to Meryl Streep for brain surgery or to get my teeth cleaned, and I'm sure as hell not going to let her tell me what food is safe to eat, or if the world is going to end.
I think we should watch our consumption of fossil fuels. This is only common sense, as it is a limited and valuable resource. We should curb our polluting. (I don't wanna breath smog, how about you?) But this is for OUR benefit, not to "Save the Planet!"
As usual, everything stated here is my opinion, and not subject to be taken seriously. Zeus_tfc
you are absolutely correct. Americans are egotistical and narrow minded (myself included). However, before we go villainizing them we need remember some things to reclaim some perspective.
First and foremost, it is not easy being an american. Most people think it is, but its not. I'm not talking about economic status, which we all know americans enjoy, I'm talking about cultural identity. Unlike other nations, america is not unified by its nationality. In France, all the citizens are french (with the exception of the soccer team). I am German by heritage, catholic by religion, and I am an American. This means that America lacks one of the fundamental unifying forces that other nations have.
America was and still is a grand experiment, but it sometimes seems like an experiment hovering on the brink of failure. You were right in saying that there is little tolerance in america for those who are different, I myself have felt this, but realize that america is different from other nations. Everywhere you look in america there are different nationalities living in close proximity. America has discarded the thought of ever being a "melting pot". It will never happen. In america, people cling to their ethnic differences. People from mexico, china, japan, and all over africa come here carrying with them their traditions and cultures. This is so much different than if you were to go to japan. All of japan's citizens are japanese. They all look japanese. In america, there are many different shapes and colors of people. I don't hesitate to say that this is a beautiful thing, but it causes tensions. It makes it easy to pick out the minority and the different.
Like I said, I agree that we in the USA need some perspective, and need to get over our self-centeredness. However, please forgive us. Please smile and chide us, but don't hold it against us. We all have our faults. Tnx
Originally, fairy tales were filled with blood, sex and violence. This was to prepare children for real life, which would not be pleasant.
How about Little Red Ridinghood? That red coat symbolized blood from menstration (yeah, I know its not blood, but...). The original ending left Red Ridinghood dead, eaten by the wolf, signifying rape and violence against women by men. This kind of thing is part of our culture, and right or wrong its not going to go away.
Slashdot Mirror
I knew they had a virus, but I thought it was cooties.
I work for a wireharness company in the auto industry. Our group designs wiring shields, grommets, and terminals. Almost all the engineers have Unix boxes. All the windows boxes are on the desks of managers, purchasing and Evil HR. The engineers use different CAD software depending on who our customers are, but all are on Unix, whether SDRC-Ideas, Catia, or other. We engineers use Citrix metaframe for our MS office tasks. Its only the "other" departments that use 98 or NT boxes (for solitare or freecell)
Not really a joke, just an observation.
I think a large part of our conflict stems from our open, largely tolerant culture. The openness of our culture tends to promote moral relativity in that what is "wrong" for one person or culture may not necessarily be "wrong" to another. Fundamentalists from a rigidly structured society would, I'm sure, view this as threatening to their culture and way of life. I'm not saying our culture is better in any way. We hesitate to label anything "wrong" or "bad" (aside from big business) even if there is serious harm induces. (Jeff Dahmer was just palately challenged.) I think if you apply this to current events, perhaps it allows you to understand the hatred for the USA in the Middle East.
Of course, Americans aren't really liked MOST places.
A co-worker of mine had an interesting opinion on that. He said that we get most of our views on foreigners by the people we see in our own country. In other countries, they see mostly our richer, overbearing, (dare I say, snobbish?) citizens, and form their opinions base on them. We in the US tend to see immigrants, who tend to be poorer, and trying to make a better life for themselves, and we form our opinions on other countries based on them.
I thought that was really interesting.
Opinions?
He seems to have a good grasp of the issues, and makes a lot of sense. He also has quite a few things going for him, such as:
I think this needs watching.
The last movie I have seen that truly disturbed me was "The Talented Mr. Ripley". You may ask, "Why did that movie disturb you?"
ALL: Why did that movie disturb you?
It disturbed my because I under stood the character all too well. I come from a working class family. My father delivers packages for UPS. He worked long hours of hard labor (try it some time) to give us enough food and clothing, and struggling to let us go to private schools. (The public schools in the area were crap. Don't let that fool you though, we went to POOR private schools)
I never really understood the sitcom characters on TV. What kind of problems did they have? How come they're not happy when they have all that stuff? (Logic of a 12 yr old)
I have a little bit of resentment now for people that grew up with money, much to my dismay. Most of my suspicions about the rich, however, were confirmed in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" when I heard one of the characters state something about having money and hating it, but only really feeling comfortable around other people that "Have it and hate it." And there was the main character, looking in on this lifestyle and envying it. Envying the freedom, the wanton traveling and spending sprees. It made me wonder, How would I act in a similar situation?
I'm an engineer now (Mechanical, not Computer, you elitists), so I'm not so poor anymore. Even so, I still remember what its like, and don't spend money needlessly.
Just a thoughtful aside.
Zeus_tfc
BTW, I saw the movie for free. Some one I knew worked for the theater.
But would you have said the same things to Guillotine? How about Nobel, who created the prizes out of guilt for creating TNT? What about the creators of Napalm? Many people have greatly regreted what they have helped create. One of my favorite quotes illustrates this. When Oppenhiemer saw the destruction of the atomic bomb, he quoted the Bagivad Gita. "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."
I'm not saying their wrong for what they did, only that they themselves rued their creations.
Zeus_tfc
We're really sorry about that (sorta). We use the button thing to bait our resident Mac fanatic too. Nobody really cares about whether he uses a Mac or not, (Its not like we have loyalty to M$) but after a while getting called a "PC Weenie" gets a little annoying. Therefore, the button remarks.
:-)
Although, its not like he's real consistant when he responds. He states that you only need one button, just use the apple and flower keys. This is the same guy who refuses to learn any keystroke commands because "That's what the mouse is for."
Ugh.
Really, I have no problems with Macs. Its just fun to poke fun at the people who are so fanatical. From now on... Linux jokes!
Zeus_tfc
I resent the implication that just because you go to strip clubs and bars that you are lower class.
But seriously, there are still a lot of places that do business on a cash only basis. The convention center where I used to work (before my degree) was cash only for concessions, and that was everything from the circus and sporting events to rock concerts and amway conventions (shudder).
Besides, do we really want to have a cashless society. People on this forum are constantly complaining about lack of privacy. Do we really feel comfortable about having every transaction we make being looked at by someone, or tracked and traced? You can tell a lot about someone by what they buy. Add to this the past controversies from Amazon changing pricing depending on the person, and the more recent article about page and mouse tracking on the internet, and you could find out just about everything you wanted to know about someone.
You can live in a cashless society if you want, but if I want to, I'll barter.
Zeus_tfc
I'm surprised I didn't get mod-ed into oblivion. I didn't make this up, though. Try this out:
Understanding Flight by David Anderson and Scott Eberhardt
I didn't say I agreed or disagreed with their reasoning, I was only offering it as an interesting POV
Zeus_tfc
Actually, more and more scientists believe that Bernoulli's Principle, which states that differences in velocity over a surface causes pressure differentials, is NOT the force that makes airplanes fly. This not disputing Bernoulli , only saying that his principle is mis-applied. More and more people are coming to believe that what makes airplanes fly is air hitting the underside of the wing. When you talk about wings and flying, often you talk about "Angle of Attack". This is the angle at which the wing is in relation to the horizontal. While the wing is at an angle, the oncoming air strikes the bottom of the wing. This causes a force vector normal to the surface of the wing. The vector can be broken down into two normal vectors, one rearward on the plane (against the thrust) and one upwards (against gravity). With enough velocity, the upwards force can overcome the weight of the plane.
The problem with Bernoulli's principle as it applies to flight, is that there is really no logical reason why the air moving over the top of the wing should move faster than the air traveling under the wing. Just because it travels a greater distance does not mean it would speed up, only that it would reach the rear edge of the wing slower than the air traveling under.
Just something to think about.
Zeus_tfc
I'm sorry, but I must disagree. A group of Jewish people sitting on a stretch of land so small you can spit across, and surrounded by enemies, and you blame them for being brutal for protecting thier land? They are not trying to take over the area, merely trying to SURVIVE. The Israeli motto is "NEVER AGAIN"... Never again will they sit by and let a group try to eradicate them. Never again will they be victimized.
With regard to your words about atrocities, both sides are equally guilty of brutality. Don't lay all the blame on Israel. The main reason why we side with the Israel, aside from the Holocaust, is the fact that SEVERAL leaders of Middle eastern nations have vowed to ELIMINATE the Jews. Not "get our land back," or "defend ourselves and our way of life," but ERADICATE the jewish people. All Jews everywhere. By aiding Israel we are not participating in a mass extinction, we are trying to prevent one from happening.
Zeus_tfc
This is an important breakthrough of an already existing technology. I work in the auto industry, designing plastic injection molded parts. We use an SLA (Stereo Lithography somethingoranother) machine to rapid prototype concept pieces all the time. We use them to show new ideas to our customer, and to check to make sure that our ideas will work in the real world, and not just in a CAD tube.
For a long time there has been talk of using machines like this in other enironments. The example I've heard most is using it for creating spare parts in space, instead of having a stock of various parts taking up valuable space.
As someone else already pointed out, the problems with the old machines is that they used weak polymers that were not viable for functional parts.
I for one think this is pretty cool, but not entirely new. We won't upgrade our SLA machine, and won't replace our cheap aluminum tools for prototyping, but we are not the target buyers.
Now, any astronaut with some CAD skills can replicate a whoopie cushion. Totally cool.
Zeus_tfc
Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read. Groucho Marx
Believe it or not, there are people that think that this might not be a bad thing. First let me clear up that I am not one of them. However, there are some reasons why having a strong microsoft may be beneficial, especially to the US Gov. An american company that controls most of the desktops in the world could potentially be very usefull.
On a side note, don't ever think that MS is more powerful that the Goverment. We are in a Republic, and that means that the people (and corporations) tend to be left to control themselves, but that is not necessarily the norm. If the US gov wanted to come down on MS (perhaps nationalizing the company) how would you stop them? Legal action? Through the government??
Just a couple of quick (and admittedly not real well thought out) thoughts.
Zeus_tfc
"Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." Groucho Marx
At the risk of being flamed, mod-ed down, and admittedly not having read the article, I think that this kind of trend may not be in our best interests. Patent laws don't just protect large corperations, they also protect ordinary people from large corporations. I know that the majority of people here think "intellectual property" is a joke, but when you start down that path, where will it lead you? Where does it end? Are all inventions now public domain? In this kind of atmosphere the "little guy" will get trampled. Imagine some "nobody" tinkering in his garage comes up with a new idea, a valuable idea. Without patent laws, any corp can snag the idea and make a mint because of production capacity and marketing, and the nobody stays a nobody.
At this point you say, "but we're not talking about inventions, we're talking about IP!" Where do you draw the line? Where do you make the distiction? A pharmaceutical company spends millions in research to come up with the correct combinations of chemicals that do exactly the right thing. How is this different that comming up with the right combinations of levers or parts to perform an operation or task?
Now you say, "But this is a treatment for a disease! Lives hang in the balance!" Again I say Where do you draw the line? It may not be as big a step as you might think from: Our people are dying, to: Our people don't have the quality of living that yours do.
Please don't get me wrong, I don't really sypathize with the swiss pharmaceutical company, or pharmaceutical companies in general. My problem is with this idea that nothing belongs to an individual or group. Yes I think things should be shared, but until we come up with a reasonable and concise way of determining how or when things should be co-oped "for the greater good," I don't think we should to it.
Then again when has my opinion mattered? Trick question: Never!
Zeus_tfc
Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read. Grouch Marx
Funny how all the cultural fears of technology come from books and movies like Frankenstein, Brave New World, Colossus, (remember that one?) and 2001. All of which are fiction, and written the way they are to make an interesting story...
Just because something is a fictional story doesn't mean that it doesn't have something to say. I've never heard anyone say that Aesop's fables were to be ignored because animals can't talk. Fairy tales were also used to present points about how people should live, using the story in an easy to understand way. Often times the real fears of the masses are put into understandable terms by fiction authors. If you don't think so, read almost anything by Micheal Crichton. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Jurassic Park, all involved consequences of our uses of technology. All of them where our lack of understanding was the instrument of our own destruction, and, in the case of jurassic park and the terminal man, by things we ourselves created. Still not convinced? Read Hyperion, and The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. It has the same basic premise in a different sort of format.
I'm not saying that we should believe what happens in these books, or that they are portents of things to come, merely that literature echos the thoughts, hopes and fears of the populace, and for that, if nothing else, should be valued.
Zeus_tfc
Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, its too dark to read. Grouch Marx
I think Macs have their place. I think its great that OSX is Unix based, and I think that Apple has been a real driving force in the industry. I'm sorry, though, I just can't but a Mac until they figure out how to make a mouse with more than one button. ~_^
Zeus_tfc
"Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a dog. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." Groucho Marx
"A man is as young as the woman he feels" Grouch Marx
You guys get full cubicles?? I only get a half of one. Two walls with a set of hanging shelves on one, so my back is open to the aisle. Its good for conversation, but not so good for getting work done, or for privacy. Worse yet, I work in a glass building. From any direction you can see all the way through the building. I know it could be worse. I'm glad I'm not a manager. Managers get stuck in glass cubicles we call "fishbowls". Even worse, at my last job the desks were set up classroom style (no walls at all) -shudder- with the manager sitting behind us all -double shudder-. At least I get a desk.
Zeus_tfc
I'm not in software, and I don't code, so sometimes I'm left scratching my head. This time, however, I definately understand. I work for an automotive supplier (I won't say whom) and the same things happen with parts we design. Our customer(also won't say whom) gives us requirements for any given part which are subject to change at any given time, and may or may not be physically possible.
Okay, time to model the part into 3D, and try and package the part in the car. Oh, wait, we don't have packaging information for half the parts in that part of the car. Time to go to the customer and find either a car or an engineer to give us some answers. Hey! We're in luck, they have a prototype car we can look at! Oops, our camera go confiscated. Oh, and by the way, three of the attachment points have changed, and the part has to be thinner because the customer thinks it will crash with part X, Y and Z. And it had to be kicked off last week to have parts in time for the prototype vehical build.
At this point, our engineers usually start random arguments for fun. (The last one was about whether "automobile" and "car" are equivilant, or if one is a subset of the other. Automobile is a subset of car.) If this fails, there is usually a rubberband fight.
Ahh, the life of an engineer.
Zeus_tfc
It might be interesting to try and pay attention to what you DON'T see. This may sound nonsensical, but bear with me. I have not yet seen FF, so I can't say much about it, but here's another example:
On of my favorite fairly recent movies is Chicken Run. (pause as people laugh at me) I'm a Wallace and Gromit fan, and also a claymation fan. I've watched the movie several times, and began to realize just how much detail was put into such an endeavor. Think for a moment about just how much is going on that you pay no attention. How do the characters interact with the environment? Lights, objects, and gravity are not offen done well is such situations. What about "Camera Work?" How were the scenes laid out? These are the types of things that, if done well, draw no attention whatsoever.
As I said, I haven't seen FF yet, and probably won't for a while, so maybe someone who HAS seen the movie could let us know how well this movie did in this regard.
Zeus_tfc
Star Trek DID take a few years off...
It was called Voyager.
Zeus_tfc
I try to be skeptical whenever I read or hear anything anymore, so my fundamental answer is: We don't know enough yet to make a decision.
However I do tend to lean towards the "Don't believe it" side for several reasons.
First and foremost, what data we have doesn't go back far enough to really make a case for global warming. We have recorded variations in the O-zone layer for what, thirty years tops? Its not even a blink of an eye in the life of the earth. We have recorded temperatures for 3-5 hundred years? Not even a noticable fraction of the life of the earth. So how then can we say that we know what changes are happening to the earth.
Secondly, (is that a word?) even if there is a marked change in the global climate, we can't be sure that a) its not "natural", or b) we caused it. aside(I put natural in quotes because I don't think we really understand this term yet. By definition we humans come from nature, so shouldn't anything we do be considered natural? Even buildings could be natural if you relate this to termites or wasps that build nests, but we could argue that for hours.)end aside As someone previously mentioned, the earth goes through changes and cycles that we don't yet understand, so why do we automatically assume that anything that happens is our fault?
Thirdly, (um, I think) we have not proven that we even have the capability to change the climate in this way. Volcanoes erupt all the time, spewing massive volumes of noxious chemicals into the air, many of which are greenhouse gasses. I have heard (though I don't know for certain) that Volcanoes emit more greenhouse gasses that the human race has ever produced in its entire existance. Still, we see no effect on the atmosphere or on the ozone layer.
Fourthly (I'm still not sure those are words) The earth is not an isolated system. The earth is involved in a larger (solar) system. Do we really understand the role and cycles of the sun and how it affects the earth? Not just with light and energy, but sun spots, solar flares, and a strong magnetic field among other things. We are NOT alone, and the truth may or may not be out there.
Lastly, The people that always speak the loudest about whatever crisis is going on are the Hollywood folks. C'mon, they're actors, of course they're going to make it sound like a big deal. It their jobs! But seriously, I wouldn't go to Meryl Streep for brain surgery or to get my teeth cleaned, and I'm sure as hell not going to let her tell me what food is safe to eat, or if the world is going to end.
I think we should watch our consumption of fossil fuels. This is only common sense, as it is a limited and valuable resource. We should curb our polluting. (I don't wanna breath smog, how about you?) But this is for OUR benefit, not to "Save the Planet!"
As usual, everything stated here is my opinion, and not subject to be taken seriously.
Zeus_tfc
When Akira will be re-released?
you are absolutely correct. Americans are egotistical and narrow minded (myself included). However, before we go villainizing them we need remember some things to reclaim some perspective.
First and foremost, it is not easy being an american. Most people think it is, but its not. I'm not talking about economic status, which we all know americans enjoy, I'm talking about cultural identity. Unlike other nations, america is not unified by its nationality. In France, all the citizens are french (with the exception of the soccer team). I am German by heritage, catholic by religion, and I am an American. This means that America lacks one of the fundamental unifying forces that other nations have.
America was and still is a grand experiment, but it sometimes seems like an experiment hovering on the brink of failure. You were right in saying that there is little tolerance in america for those who are different, I myself have felt this, but realize that america is different from other nations. Everywhere you look in america there are different nationalities living in close proximity. America has discarded the thought of ever being a "melting pot". It will never happen. In america, people cling to their ethnic differences. People from mexico, china, japan, and all over africa come here carrying with them their traditions and cultures. This is so much different than if you were to go to japan. All of japan's citizens are japanese. They all look japanese. In america, there are many different shapes and colors of people. I don't hesitate to say that this is a beautiful thing, but it causes tensions. It makes it easy to pick out the minority and the different.
Like I said, I agree that we in the USA need some perspective, and need to get over our self-centeredness. However, please forgive us. Please smile and chide us, but don't hold it against us. We all have our faults.
Tnx
For some interesting information, try this commentary from a catholic website. (don't worry, its strictly a political commentary)
Originally, fairy tales were filled with blood, sex and violence. This was to prepare children for real life, which would not be pleasant.
How about Little Red Ridinghood? That red coat symbolized blood from menstration (yeah, I know its not blood, but...). The original ending left Red Ridinghood dead, eaten by the wolf, signifying rape and violence against women by men.
This kind of thing is part of our culture, and right or wrong its not going to go away.