It's good in principle, but I oppose it because implementations are never foolproof, and when the result is death, there's no way to change your mind later.
My family came to America on the Mayflower. And we destroyed the civilizations that were here before us. It's been ten generations, and I still feel sort of bad about that.
And the "great" civilization that we have now, was built by many people from all over the world coming here and working together. How long after my family got here did yours arrive?
People are not "illegal". If you imagine that now that YOU are established here that no one else is welcome, then I feel very bad for you.
Every time people complain about cell phone service and prices and contracts, I feel compelled to post a link to Ting, where you pay for what you use, and the more you use, the less it costs, and it's $6 per phone on the account, with as many phones on the account as you want. Now THAT is a family plan that is fair. I'm saving more than 50% from what I was paying for an "unlimited" plan with Sprint.
Disclaimer: if you use that link and end up signing up, you get a discount and I get a discount.
Right, but you need a SIM card... somehow missed that part. But you don't actually need a cell phone contract for that - you can send and receive e-mail using SMS. Check out Email to SMS. Basically, you use the e-mail address associated with their phone number to send a text message. They text back, and you get an e-mail. And if you need mobile Internet, Ting does allow tethering, and sells mobile hotspots. See, I'm on topic!
Check out Ting. Brought to you by Tucows. They run on Sprint's CDMA/4G LTE network. I have voice, text messaging, AND data, and I'm paying less than $30 a month (no contracts) - less than half what I was on with Sprint.
Each component is priced separately, and you only pay for what you use - they automatically move you to the correct service level for each part at the end of each month.
They have awesome tech support - they actually turn off their hold system during the day, and the phone rings until a human picks up the phone... and then the person you talk to actually KNOWS something, not just follows a script.
The only "catch" is that you have to buy your phone - but honestly the "free phone" nonsense from other providers is just a way to rope you into a contract where you pay ten times the cost of the phone over the life of the contract.
Check them out!
(Disclaimer: Yeah, I get a discount if you use that link to sign up, but go ahead, they're freakin' awesome.)
Come on, we're Slashdot. Let's not misuse terms like "Open Source". Those words, together, mean something specific! This is a "free (as in beer)" web tool. It's not a software application at all, and it certainly isn't Open Source (which would imply that we have access to the source code, and a license like GPL, BSD, or Apache to use it).
Someone else already mentioned Sound Proof Windows, but in my house 90% of the noise comes through the walls, rather than the windows. I discovered this after upgrading my windows, of course.
If I were building from scratch using stick construction, I'd consider using staggered studs.
If I were really motivated, but not building new, I'd use Green Glue and just add that between the existing wall and an additional layer of new drywall.
There's plenty you can do on existing construction, but most of it is expensive, and a pain in the butt. The insulation and caulking you've added probably won't help much, since the exterior is attached directly to studs, to which the interior is also directly attached. It transmits vibrations easily, without regard for your insulation. The staggered studs and the green glue are the best ways I know of for dampening residential noise.
I really hope that Randall trolls the internet (or at least slashdot) looking for mentions of his name. It's like having a friend on the internet. He's a genius, and sometimes (well, most of the time), I feel like he's writing and drawing just for me. Thank you.
Games are the only consumer software worth paying for. Most productivity software is worth enough that businesses are willing to invest in open source projects like Eclipse, LibraOffice, Firefox, etc, and everyone, including home users, get to benefit from that. And AS a home user, I'm a good enough programmer, that I can build most of the utilities I need at home, by myself. But I'm not much of an artist or a storyteller. And unfortunately, IBM, Google, and Oracle don't feel the need to entertain their corporate minions. What it boils down to, is that the only commercial software applications I've used at home in a decade are games, and then, only the ones that run successfully and easily in Wine (like the original StarCraft). Sure, I want open source games, but that's an awful lot of effort with no corporate backing. So whenever a commercial game comes along that is fun and supports Linux (preferably without Wine), I'll buy it.
The last half dozen times I've flown, I managed to steer myself to a metal detector line, instead of an irradiating machine. A few weeks ago, though, they simply weren't using the old fashioned metal detectors, so I had my first "opportunity" to opt-out. I was really looking forward to being fondled and groped, but the TSA screeners were so uncomfortable, that they probably weren't able to determine definitively that I was male, much less if I were carrying something dangerous, like a comb or a camera. The dudes didn't want to touch me or look at me! While I was being not-fondled, one of the other TSA screeners unpacked and repacked my carry-on at least three times, and re-X-rayed it. I guess she was confused about why I would need two phone chargers (one for the wall, and one for the car). I mean, aside from that, there were two books and some napkins. Oh and a bottle of alcohol - but no one had any problem with that. I got the impression that she was just trying to punish me for daring to opt out. The guys just wanted to move on. It would have been cute, if the rules they were following didn't so blatantly violate good sense.
Nobody said the GOP was stupid - it takes a high degree of intellect to use religion to steal billions of dollars from the public and funnel it to their own personal interests. And even more impressive is how they convinced the public that the Democrats are actually different than the GOP and that there's any "choice" at all!
I use lots of math. Mostly trigonometry and geometry (software deals with mapping and displaying positions), probability (for the AI stuff), linear algebra (for drawing, calculating intersections, etc), discrete math (for dealing with data structures and database query optimization), and formal logic (for figuring out computer languages).
I have very occasionally used calculus, but mostly to prove optimality of algorithms and sometimes for physics stuff, but mostly as a software engineer, someone else already did the calculus, and you just need to be able to use the results. I cross the line a bit between research and application, so I do a little of both.
But the overwhelming majority of software people (even in my R&D organization) don't use math at all, beyond basic arithmetic and simple logic. Most software is just data storage and retrieval with a pretty interface. The libraries, languages, and operating systems do all the heavy lifting for you. But I would seriously hate my life if all I did was glue together parts built by other people, and had to tell myself that my area of expertise was "business logic", so understanding how the underlying stuff works is unimportant. I build those underlying parts, and that's why I need and know math.
My house too, and it is loud. It's my favorite sound in the whole damn world. And I miss it. Desperately. I now work at Dulles, and everyone always stops to watch when the new A380 flies over, but it's way too quiet, and not nearly as graceful. No one ever wondered if the Concorde would make it over the trees on takeoff. I need to go over to the Udvar Hazy Center and say hi to her again. She deserves the respect, as no one has the balls to make them like that anymore.
This is a shortage of female BUSINESS OWNERS not a shortage of female technical staff. There IS a shortage of female technical staff - but it has no affect on government contracts.
The "B" in BI stands for "bullshit that drives away nerds". If we want business news, we'll go to WSJ or... hell I'm so uninterested in business news, I can't actually NAME another source for it. Your readers are nerds, they like robots and programming and Linux and video games and kinetic sculpture. We don't care about products and ROI and... BULLSHIT. What the hell? Even goatse is better than this!
I'm okay with that. If you've got real experts and not marketroids, we welcome their participation. Any chance of getting Wil Wheaton (clevernickname) back?
More trains over land, more ship travel over sea, less personal automotive and passenger flight. That's the reality we're heading towards. Get over yourself.
I'd like to point out that passenger ships get about 37 miles per passenger per gallon at about 20 knots, while a Boeing 747 gets nearly 70 miles per passenger per gallon at over 500 knots. So unless you plan on sailing across the ocean, airplanes are still more efficient.
To be even more pedantic, it's Hydrogen Hydroxide, since the way it bonds is actually H-OH. This seems to make particularly sense when viewed from an acid-base reaction perspective where you neutralize an H-something acid with a something-Hydroxide base, you get a something-something salt in a Hydrogen Hydroxide solution.
Bottom line: You cannot "manufacture" durable goods using 3D printer technology. It's nice to dream, but dreams have their place.
No, but you can use the parts created by the 3D printer to make forms for injection molded plastic and dies for cast metal. And for something sophisticated with a lot of precision parts (like a car), printing the forms for the assembly line directly from the model, rather than trying to carve each one by hand will save you a LOT of time and money when trying to take something from model into production.
I don't often buy books at Borders. I browse at Borders. I even read at Borders sometimes. But I only buy books when I "need it now". However. I love Borders. It's my favorite retailer. And I spend a lot of money there on coffee. Which has far, far bigger margins than books. I would guess that they make better than $3 profit on each cup of coffee that I buy. I'd have to buy ten books for them to make that profit from book purchases. Books are simply the carrot that brings me in to buy coffee. (That, and since Starbucks has discontinued decaf fraps, Borders is one of the only places I can actually GET the cup of coffee that I want.) And I probably buy more cups of coffee than I do books. I firmly believe the arrangement works for everyone, and I hope it continues.
Slashdot Mirror
It's good in principle, but I oppose it because implementations are never foolproof, and when the result is death, there's no way to change your mind later.
Speaking of pesky laws of physics, o hater of all things right and good...
According to Wikipedia, only about 44% of the sun's electromagnetic radiation that reaches the ground is in the visible light range.. Photovoltaics are typically responsive to limited wavelength ranges. It would make perfect sense to tune semi-transparent photovoltaics to absorb radiation that falls outside the visible spectrum, while transmitting most of the visible light.
You get all the benefits of Low-E glass, plus electricity.
My family came to America on the Mayflower. And we destroyed the civilizations that were here before us. It's been ten generations, and I still feel sort of bad about that.
And the "great" civilization that we have now, was built by many people from all over the world coming here and working together. How long after my family got here did yours arrive?
People are not "illegal". If you imagine that now that YOU are established here that no one else is welcome, then I feel very bad for you.
Every time people complain about cell phone service and prices and contracts, I feel compelled to post a link to Ting, where you pay for what you use, and the more you use, the less it costs, and it's $6 per phone on the account, with as many phones on the account as you want. Now THAT is a family plan that is fair. I'm saving more than 50% from what I was paying for an "unlimited" plan with Sprint.
Disclaimer: if you use that link and end up signing up, you get a discount and I get a discount.
Right, but you need a SIM card... somehow missed that part. But you don't actually need a cell phone contract for that - you can send and receive e-mail using SMS. Check out Email to SMS. Basically, you use the e-mail address associated with their phone number to send a text message. They text back, and you get an e-mail. And if you need mobile Internet, Ting does allow tethering, and sells mobile hotspots. See, I'm on topic!
Check out Ting. Brought to you by Tucows. They run on Sprint's CDMA/4G LTE network. I have voice, text messaging, AND data, and I'm paying less than $30 a month (no contracts) - less than half what I was on with Sprint.
Each component is priced separately, and you only pay for what you use - they automatically move you to the correct service level for each part at the end of each month.
They have awesome tech support - they actually turn off their hold system during the day, and the phone rings until a human picks up the phone... and then the person you talk to actually KNOWS something, not just follows a script.
The only "catch" is that you have to buy your phone - but honestly the "free phone" nonsense from other providers is just a way to rope you into a contract where you pay ten times the cost of the phone over the life of the contract.
Check them out!
(Disclaimer: Yeah, I get a discount if you use that link to sign up, but go ahead, they're freakin' awesome.)
byuu, I'm sure you've got a million replies, but I wanted to add one more "thank you".
Come on, we're Slashdot. Let's not misuse terms like "Open Source". Those words, together, mean something specific! This is a "free (as in beer)" web tool. It's not a software application at all, and it certainly isn't Open Source (which would imply that we have access to the source code, and a license like GPL, BSD, or Apache to use it).
Someone else already mentioned Sound Proof Windows, but in my house 90% of the noise comes through the walls, rather than the windows. I discovered this after upgrading my windows, of course.
If I were building from scratch using stick construction, I'd consider using staggered studs.
If I were really motivated, but not building new, I'd use Green Glue and just add that between the existing wall and an additional layer of new drywall.
There's plenty you can do on existing construction, but most of it is expensive, and a pain in the butt. The insulation and caulking you've added probably won't help much, since the exterior is attached directly to studs, to which the interior is also directly attached. It transmits vibrations easily, without regard for your insulation. The staggered studs and the green glue are the best ways I know of for dampening residential noise.
I might have, if I weren't making an internet pun... right?
I really hope that Randall trolls the internet (or at least slashdot) looking for mentions of his name. It's like having a friend on the internet. He's a genius, and sometimes (well, most of the time), I feel like he's writing and drawing just for me. Thank you.
Games are the only consumer software worth paying for. Most productivity software is worth enough that businesses are willing to invest in open source projects like Eclipse, LibraOffice, Firefox, etc, and everyone, including home users, get to benefit from that. And AS a home user, I'm a good enough programmer, that I can build most of the utilities I need at home, by myself. But I'm not much of an artist or a storyteller. And unfortunately, IBM, Google, and Oracle don't feel the need to entertain their corporate minions. What it boils down to, is that the only commercial software applications I've used at home in a decade are games, and then, only the ones that run successfully and easily in Wine (like the original StarCraft). Sure, I want open source games, but that's an awful lot of effort with no corporate backing. So whenever a commercial game comes along that is fun and supports Linux (preferably without Wine), I'll buy it.
The last half dozen times I've flown, I managed to steer myself to a metal detector line, instead of an irradiating machine. A few weeks ago, though, they simply weren't using the old fashioned metal detectors, so I had my first "opportunity" to opt-out. I was really looking forward to being fondled and groped, but the TSA screeners were so uncomfortable, that they probably weren't able to determine definitively that I was male, much less if I were carrying something dangerous, like a comb or a camera. The dudes didn't want to touch me or look at me! While I was being not-fondled, one of the other TSA screeners unpacked and repacked my carry-on at least three times, and re-X-rayed it. I guess she was confused about why I would need two phone chargers (one for the wall, and one for the car). I mean, aside from that, there were two books and some napkins. Oh and a bottle of alcohol - but no one had any problem with that. I got the impression that she was just trying to punish me for daring to opt out. The guys just wanted to move on. It would have been cute, if the rules they were following didn't so blatantly violate good sense.
Nobody said the GOP was stupid - it takes a high degree of intellect to use religion to steal billions of dollars from the public and funnel it to their own personal interests. And even more impressive is how they convinced the public that the Democrats are actually different than the GOP and that there's any "choice" at all!
I use lots of math. Mostly trigonometry and geometry (software deals with mapping and displaying positions), probability (for the AI stuff), linear algebra (for drawing, calculating intersections, etc), discrete math (for dealing with data structures and database query optimization), and formal logic (for figuring out computer languages).
I have very occasionally used calculus, but mostly to prove optimality of algorithms and sometimes for physics stuff, but mostly as a software engineer, someone else already did the calculus, and you just need to be able to use the results. I cross the line a bit between research and application, so I do a little of both.
But the overwhelming majority of software people (even in my R&D organization) don't use math at all, beyond basic arithmetic and simple logic. Most software is just data storage and retrieval with a pretty interface. The libraries, languages, and operating systems do all the heavy lifting for you. But I would seriously hate my life if all I did was glue together parts built by other people, and had to tell myself that my area of expertise was "business logic", so understanding how the underlying stuff works is unimportant. I build those underlying parts, and that's why I need and know math.
My house too, and it is loud. It's my favorite sound in the whole damn world. And I miss it. Desperately. I now work at Dulles, and everyone always stops to watch when the new A380 flies over, but it's way too quiet, and not nearly as graceful. No one ever wondered if the Concorde would make it over the trees on takeoff. I need to go over to the Udvar Hazy Center and say hi to her again. She deserves the respect, as no one has the balls to make them like that anymore.
This is a shortage of female BUSINESS OWNERS not a shortage of female technical staff. There IS a shortage of female technical staff - but it has no affect on government contracts.
Not everyone on /. is like that. Many of us quiet readers idolize folks like RMS and you, Bruce.
-brian
The "B" in BI stands for "bullshit that drives away nerds". If we want business news, we'll go to WSJ or... hell I'm so uninterested in business news, I can't actually NAME another source for it. Your readers are nerds, they like robots and programming and Linux and video games and kinetic sculpture. We don't care about products and ROI and ... BULLSHIT. What the hell? Even goatse is better than this!
I'm okay with that. If you've got real experts and not marketroids, we welcome their participation. Any chance of getting Wil Wheaton (clevernickname) back?
I'd like to point out that passenger ships get about 37 miles per passenger per gallon at about 20 knots, while a Boeing 747 gets nearly 70 miles per passenger per gallon at over 500 knots. So unless you plan on sailing across the ocean, airplanes are still more efficient.
Sources
Ship
Airplane
The actual FAQ from NASA was posted two weeks ago. Nice of someone to link to it.
To be even more pedantic, it's Hydrogen Hydroxide, since the way it bonds is actually H-OH. This seems to make particularly sense when viewed from an acid-base reaction perspective where you neutralize an H-something acid with a something-Hydroxide base, you get a something-something salt in a Hydrogen Hydroxide solution.
No, but you can use the parts created by the 3D printer to make forms for injection molded plastic and dies for cast metal. And for something sophisticated with a lot of precision parts (like a car), printing the forms for the assembly line directly from the model, rather than trying to carve each one by hand will save you a LOT of time and money when trying to take something from model into production.
I don't often buy books at Borders. I browse at Borders. I even read at Borders sometimes. But I only buy books when I "need it now". However. I love Borders. It's my favorite retailer. And I spend a lot of money there on coffee. Which has far, far bigger margins than books. I would guess that they make better than $3 profit on each cup of coffee that I buy. I'd have to buy ten books for them to make that profit from book purchases. Books are simply the carrot that brings me in to buy coffee. (That, and since Starbucks has discontinued decaf fraps, Borders is one of the only places I can actually GET the cup of coffee that I want.) And I probably buy more cups of coffee than I do books. I firmly believe the arrangement works for everyone, and I hope it continues.