All the problems he mentions would certainly be valid points, but only if you're dumb enough to completely replace your phone system with VoIP!
Well, I guess I'm dumb because I replaced my POTS line with a Vonage account. I now pay $16.95 (taxes included) for my local phone service and I used to pay $35.00 for my old POTS line. I now get 500 minutes of local or long distance calls per month and get voicemail caller-id, call waiting, you name it. My old POTS line had NO features. We've had the service for about 7 months now and the most minutes we've used in a month was about 280. We have our cell phones which can call 911 without a problem.
I called a IBM technical support several years ago and got this guy with a peculiar accent (yes, there is a Canadian accent). He was very helpful and answered all my questions. Before he hung up, it started:
Me: "Are you in Canada?" Him: "Hmm..yeah, how'd you know?" Me: "Your accent" Him: "What are you talking aboot?" Me: "Nevermind"
In all seriousness, I've never spent much time in the English-speaking provinces, but I spent 5 months working in Montreal in the dead of winter. In spite of the bone-chilling temperatures I was left with a good impression of Canadians...yes...even the French-speaking ones.:-)
Cringely noted that there were 1000 GA aircraft currently on ifr flights. How many do you think were homebuilt? I doubt even a dozen. His idea works only if production GA aircraft carry these things.
You care to explain why? He was just nothing the number of IFR flights because they are more easily tracked. There is no reason this system could not be implemented in homebuilts or spam cans on VFR flights. The only possible downside to putting them in VFR ships is that the mesh would obviously lose nodes during IMC. However, most GA IFR flights are not flown in serious IMC anyways....they are usually flown through haze, fog and overcast conditions, not serious storms so the mesh would still deteriorate during bad weather.
BTW: I was just reading this morning that 15% of the entire US singe-engine piston fleet is now homebuilts (although I'm sure that fewer of them are IFR-equipped than production aircraft).
Finally, I'm not going to spend $1000 having an A&P mechanic install my $100 wifi router in my airplane. If I could just slap it in myself, that would be one thing; but with an airplane you're going to need a Form 337 approval at least, if not an STC (Supplemental Type Certificate). No big deal on the 337. It just takes time and thus money. That's money I'll be spending just help the wifi cloud when I happen to be flying? Uhh, I'll pass.
Sorry, this isn't true. This is not required for homebuilt airplanes if the original builder installs the hardware. The builder of a homebuilt plane is given a repairman's certificate by the FAA that allows them to do all the maintenance on the aircraft. The builder is also designated as the 'manufacturer' of the aircraft, so he or she can approve any equipment as 'original' for the airplane. No A&P required.
Your link doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You linked to some random bit about Israel's wall they've deemed necessary for their own security. I will agree that if the wall is being used in a land grab ploy it is a bad thing. However, we should remember that there is no such thing as international law because there is no such thing as an international governing body. The UN is not government. It is a forum for countries to meet and discuss issues. Israel is a sovreign nation and can build whatever it wants to.
I already have my federal, state, county and city governments. I'm all stocked up here and don't need anymore, thank you very much.
If your contempt is for the US consistantly using its Security Council vote to veto UN condemnations on Israel, the US always gives the same response. The US always requests the resolutions also condemn the Palestinian cafe/bus/wedding suicide bombers for targeting innocent civilians. And people say the US takes sides? How about all of these one-sided pro-Palestinian/anti-Isreal resolutions?
Hey, I'm not taking either side in the debate. I just think we should keep an open mind to both sides!
Well, it is probably important to note that all airplanes were once intended for military purposes. The Wright brothers envisioned selling their airplane to the army and even sold several to them. The Germans invented the jet airplane toward the end of WWII for the Luftwaffe. Just because research is done for military purposes, it doesn't mean that it will never see its way into less violent venues.
BTW: A short little Wired blurb about someone (with absolutely no supporting facts) is hardly something I would try to draw any firm conclusions from. I hate war too. Just don't let it cloud your judgement, friend.
Re:find those little speeding rovers!
on
GPS on Mars?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Well, your point is a good one. However, NASA has been toying with the idea of lauching a solar-powered airplane on Mars that would fly around in the atmosphere. A Mars GPS system would obvioulsy be beneficial to such a project.
My point is that the cop probably wasn't there for intimidation. Maybe he was there because the theatre was having problems with load teens disrupting movies. We don't know. But I think it's a little short-sited to accuse the theatre of taking part in the 'Great Right-Wing Conspiracy'.
Come on'...if the theatre owners/managers didn't like the movie, they just wouldn't show it!
At some F911 showings in rightwing areas, they have cops in the theater, supposedly to quell possible disturbances but in reality apparently just to intimidate people.
Hmm...you have any evidence to back that up? Maybe there's actual reason to fear far-left extremism and hyperbole that is thrown out by Michael Moore (I admit, his movies are entertaining...unfortunately they are chocked full of lies). You know, anti-capitalists have this thing about rioting (see: Seattle G8 summit) to prove that they are peace-loving, bleeding-heart individuals.
I think it's rather funny that because someone sees a police officer in a theatre in a conservative area you assume that it is for intimidation. Perhaps you should collaborate with Moore on his next film, since you guys seem to do the same level of research before spouting off something as fact.
BTW: I'm not a fan of Bush...in fact...I can't stand him. However, left-wing nuts must be pointed out along with the right-wingers....
Socialism is the person on the shore shouting, "Hey, shouldn't we do something to help?"
Actually, socialism is pointing a gun (a gun, BTW that only the government may own) at someone who has more than another and demanding that said person surrender their belongings to the other individual who is 'in need'. Remember, this is all under the guise of being benevolant.
Perhaps a less dramatic way to look at Socialism is the belief that your personal property and income are a priveledge granted to you by the Federal Imperial Government and that said priveledge may be revoked at any time or place, given a large enough constituency.
There's a reason our founders were afraid of democracy....(read: the mob mentality).
Yes, you need to use Windows, and yes, we can't really trust the government (the next government, or maybe the one after that) with our personal/sensitive data/pr0n, but isn't it a good thing in principle that this is happening?
Hmm....no, it's not a good idea. For libertarians like myself, this is simply not the role of government. There are plenty of free alternatives out there (OpenOffice, anyone). I'm not sure having a free productivity suite & remote hard disk storage is going to benefit anyone except the politicians plundering the state treasury for their little pet projects like this (yes, I RTFA, and I know that the company is fronting the money for this, but there is government cost involved as well, and there will be substantial costs after the two year 'free' trial).
Why can't governments get back to doing what their good at? You know, building roads and infrastructure, not deciding that the taxpayers need to foot the bill for peoples' spreadsheets...
And then there's that whole privacy thing....I won't even go there...
The RIAA is an industry trade group...it is not a record label. It doesn't have contracts with artists. I think you're referring to it's member companies.
Not being a physicist but having just enough knowledge to be dangerous, I've always wondered how the color black can be projected onto a white screen. I always thought that black is the absense of light. What am I missing here? Is the 'black' being projected just the color of the screen in the dark room?
The problem can be summed up in two words: Intolerance and Greed. Those two little words can sum up every problem ever encountered in humanity. Unfortunately this world is riddled with people infected with both.
Flame me if you like, but intolerance to many folks here on Slashdot (and around the world) means 'conservative'. Being tolerate means listening to all (even conservative) ideas and not immediately labeling conservatives as 'angry, greedy, racist white men'.
I'm not saying this is the intention or thoughts of the parent poster, but IMHO many liberals (all well-intentioned) tend to only be tolerant of fellow liberals.
I've been a Sprint PCS customer for five years. I originally used them because at the time they did not require any type of 'contract'. At any rate, I went through about three phones (all were completely CRAP). Every time I purchased a new phone, I was forced to pay full retail price for the phone ( > $150.00 ) while new customers were getting a new phone for almost nothing (gratis or ~ $25-$50) for signing a 'contract' which I was not even allowed to sign in order to get the discount on the phone! This makes absolutely no sense. Anyway....when my last phone broke I went to the store and bought a new cell phone. The only decent phones they had were the ones with the new color screens.
I took the phone home and activated it on-line. First, Sprint made me change my service plan because my new phone was a 'vision' phone and I had to get a service plan compatible with my new phone (bullcrap). I got a new service plan that costs $5 more a month and I get less minutes and no new services (no, I'm not using the 'vision' services). A couple of months later, I was reading my bill very closely I noticed that one of the 'features' on my account was a "Sprint PCS advantage agreement" that doesn't expire until this September. I had no idea how it got there until I called customer service. Basically, I got a year 'contract' for paying full retail price for a crappy phone and paying $5 more a month. When I complained, they said it was in the fine writing on the website. I asked them to send me some sort of proof that I signed a contract. Of course they couldn't. The lady just kept saying that I could pay the $175 fee and get out of the contract.
I asked her again, explaining that I had been a loyal customer for 5 years and had no intention of changing my service. She refused and kept saying it was in the fine print and I should have read it when I got my new plan.
I proceeded to cancel my wife's, my mothers, my in-law's phone and the Sprint PCS phones for my business (5 phones). In all I cancelled 9 cell phones. They are horrible. They don't treat customers fairly -- not even loyal ones.
BTW: Does anyone know the laws regarding online 'contracts'. They seem a little scary to me since there is no proof that a user actually 'agreed' to something on-line, much less the context of that agreement.
How would this be unreasonable search and seisure? They aren't seasing anything and they aren't searching anything
Very good point. However, how would you feel about this if they were placing it on your person (still no search and seisure!). What about requiring it for your shoes? Your overcoat? I'm being absurd, but my point is that there is a privacy line that can be crossed. I'm not sure where that line is...but it does exist.
It's important to remember that going into space and being weightless are separate things. Weightlessness is the effect of free fall; not some magic thing that happens once you reach space. You're only weightless in orbit because orbit, by definition, means that you're in a continuous free fall. Since this flight won't go into orbit (or anywhere close to far enough from Earth to ignore it's gravity), the weightlessness effect is simply a result of the flight trajectory including free-fall on re-entry
Actually, weightlessness is simply the result of your velocity being the same as that of your surroundings. If you and your surroundings (i.e. Space Ship) are traveling at approximately the same velocity (speed & direction), you experience weightlessness. Free fall is an example of this effect, not the rule. This is precisely how the NASA Vomit Comet works.
If your comment were correct, the Apollo astronauts would not have experienced weightlessness on their way to / from the moon.
I've been a Vonage customer for about 5 months now. My wife and I ditched our POTS because we realized it was costing us $34/month for absolutely no services (this was with Bellsouth). We decided to transfer our POTS number over to Vonage. Unfortunately, the old telco's like to rape customers by holding on to phone numbers for as long as possible (basically, the longer they hold your number, the longer you have to pay them). Bellsouth finally transferred my number to Vonage after about 90 days (bastards).
We haven't regretted switching ONCE. We use the lowest call quality setting and can't even notice a difference. We have a cheapest plane they offer ($14.99 for 500 local/long distance minutes / *every* feature they offer including caller id, voicemail, etc).
Perhaps our favorite feature is the web interface for doing everything. I mean, really...have you ever tried to set up your POTS line for forwarding? The web interface makes it very, very simple and there's no need to reference a manual.
I would recommend Vonage in a heartbeat. Perhaps the poster's wife could just ditch her traditional land line, get Vonage, and use Vonage's "virtual phone number" feature to get a local number in her office's area code.
You make valid points although most (maybe all) of your points could be eliminated by having multiple hosts render the same frame (a la SETI's response to people uploading false data).
Ok, so what's with treating corporate names as plural? Cisco have a new router? I've never seen this used when referencing other groups of people (i.e. countries). You never hear "Britain have nice cars". Why is this suddenly the style du jour on Slashdot?
If you're talking about the corporation as an entity, shouldn't it be treated as singular?
Seriously, could someone explain this? It's been bugging the hell out of me.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm....
...
well over $100,000/year
their (rich) friends see them
Hmm...
I must be rich and no one seemed to mention it to me before. > $100,000/yr is not rich. It's still firmly in the middle class.
All the problems he mentions would certainly be valid points, but only if you're dumb enough to completely replace your phone system with VoIP!
Well, I guess I'm dumb because I replaced my POTS line with a Vonage account. I now pay $16.95 (taxes included) for my local phone service and I used to pay $35.00 for my old POTS line. I now get 500 minutes of local or long distance calls per month and get voicemail caller-id, call waiting, you name it. My old POTS line had NO features. We've had the service for about 7 months now and the most minutes we've used in a month was about 280. We have our cell phones which can call 911 without a problem.
Man, I'm must be freaking retarded.
I called a IBM technical support several years ago and got this guy with a peculiar accent (yes, there is a Canadian accent). He was very helpful and answered all my questions. Before he hung up, it started:
:-)
Me: "Are you in Canada?"
Him: "Hmm..yeah, how'd you know?"
Me: "Your accent"
Him: "What are you talking aboot?"
Me: "Nevermind"
In all seriousness, I've never spent much time in the English-speaking provinces, but I spent 5 months working in Montreal in the dead of winter. In spite of the bone-chilling temperatures I was left with a good impression of Canadians...yes...even the French-speaking ones.
Cringely noted that there were 1000 GA aircraft currently on ifr flights. How many do you think were homebuilt? I doubt even a dozen. His idea works only if production GA aircraft carry these things.
You care to explain why? He was just nothing the number of IFR flights because they are more easily tracked. There is no reason this system could not be implemented in homebuilts or spam cans on VFR flights. The only possible downside to putting them in VFR ships is that the mesh would obviously lose nodes during IMC. However, most GA IFR flights are not flown in serious IMC anyways....they are usually flown through haze, fog and overcast conditions, not serious storms so the mesh would still deteriorate during bad weather.
BTW: I was just reading this morning that 15% of the entire US singe-engine piston fleet is now homebuilts (although I'm sure that fewer of them are IFR-equipped than production aircraft).
Finally, I'm not going to spend $1000 having an A&P mechanic install my $100 wifi router in my airplane. If I could just slap it in myself, that would be one thing; but with an airplane you're going to need a Form 337 approval at least, if not an STC (Supplemental Type Certificate). No big deal on the 337. It just takes time and thus money. That's money I'll be spending just help the wifi cloud when I happen to be flying? Uhh, I'll pass.
Sorry, this isn't true. This is not required for homebuilt airplanes if the original builder installs the hardware. The builder of a homebuilt plane is given a repairman's certificate by the FAA that allows them to do all the maintenance on the aircraft. The builder is also designated as the 'manufacturer' of the aircraft, so he or she can approve any equipment as 'original' for the airplane. No A&P required.
Your link doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You linked to some random bit about Israel's wall they've deemed necessary for their own security. I will agree that if the wall is being used in a land grab ploy it is a bad thing. However, we should remember that there is no such thing as international law because there is no such thing as an international governing body. The UN is not government. It is a forum for countries to meet and discuss issues. Israel is a sovreign nation and can build whatever it wants to.
I already have my federal, state, county and city governments. I'm all stocked up here and don't need anymore, thank you very much.
If your contempt is for the US consistantly using its Security Council vote to veto UN condemnations on Israel, the US always gives the same response. The US always requests the resolutions also condemn the Palestinian cafe/bus/wedding suicide bombers for targeting innocent civilians. And people say the US takes sides? How about all of these one-sided pro-Palestinian/anti-Isreal resolutions?
Hey, I'm not taking either side in the debate. I just think we should keep an open mind to both sides!
Well, it is probably important to note that all airplanes were once intended for military purposes. The Wright brothers envisioned selling their airplane to the army and even sold several to them. The Germans invented the jet airplane toward the end of WWII for the Luftwaffe. Just because research is done for military purposes, it doesn't mean that it will never see its way into less violent venues.
BTW: A short little Wired blurb about someone (with absolutely no supporting facts) is hardly something I would try to draw any firm conclusions from. I hate war too. Just don't let it cloud your judgement, friend.
Well, your point is a good one. However, NASA has been toying with the idea of lauching a solar-powered airplane on Mars that would fly around in the atmosphere. A Mars GPS system would obvioulsy be beneficial to such a project.
You know, I could bypass such security precautions very easily with a USB keyfob and tightly squeezed buttocks....
Uhh....neither.
My point is that the cop probably wasn't there for intimidation. Maybe he was there because the theatre was having problems with load teens disrupting movies. We don't know. But I think it's a little short-sited to accuse the theatre of taking part in the 'Great Right-Wing Conspiracy'.
Come on'...if the theatre owners/managers didn't like the movie, they just wouldn't show it!
At some F911 showings in rightwing areas, they have cops in the theater, supposedly to quell possible disturbances but in reality apparently just to intimidate people.
Hmm...you have any evidence to back that up? Maybe there's actual reason to fear far-left extremism and hyperbole that is thrown out by Michael Moore (I admit, his movies are entertaining...unfortunately they are chocked full of lies). You know, anti-capitalists have this thing about rioting (see: Seattle G8 summit) to prove that they are peace-loving, bleeding-heart individuals.
I think it's rather funny that because someone sees a police officer in a theatre in a conservative area you assume that it is for intimidation. Perhaps you should collaborate with Moore on his next film, since you guys seem to do the same level of research before spouting off something as fact.
BTW: I'm not a fan of Bush...in fact...I can't stand him. However, left-wing nuts must be pointed out along with the right-wingers....
Peace.
Socialism is the person on the shore shouting, "Hey, shouldn't we do something to help?"
Actually, socialism is pointing a gun (a gun, BTW that only the government may own) at someone who has more than another and demanding that said person surrender their belongings to the other individual who is 'in need'. Remember, this is all under the guise of being benevolant.
Perhaps a less dramatic way to look at Socialism is the belief that your personal property and income are a priveledge granted to you by the Federal Imperial Government and that said priveledge may be revoked at any time or place, given a large enough constituency.
There's a reason our founders were afraid of democracy....(read: the mob mentality).
Yes, you need to use Windows, and yes, we can't really trust the government (the next government, or maybe the one after that) with our personal/sensitive data/pr0n, but isn't it a good thing in principle that this is happening?
Hmm....no, it's not a good idea. For libertarians like myself, this is simply not the role of government. There are plenty of free alternatives out there (OpenOffice, anyone). I'm not sure having a free productivity suite & remote hard disk storage is going to benefit anyone except the politicians plundering the state treasury for their little pet projects like this (yes, I RTFA, and I know that the company is fronting the money for this, but there is government cost involved as well, and there will be substantial costs after the two year 'free' trial).
Why can't governments get back to doing what their good at? You know, building roads and infrastructure, not deciding that the taxpayers need to foot the bill for peoples' spreadsheets...
And then there's that whole privacy thing....I won't even go there...
The RIAA is an industry trade group...it is not a record label. It doesn't have contracts with artists. I think you're referring to it's member companies.
Not being a physicist but having just enough knowledge to be dangerous, I've always wondered how the color black can be projected onto a white screen. I always thought that black is the absense of light. What am I missing here? Is the 'black' being projected just the color of the screen in the dark room?
Yeah, like the states and local governments would be able to do a better job. Grow up, dittohead.
His point is that it is not the responsibility of ANY government.
I beg to disagree. As you get older, the cost of female companionship goes up.
Yeah, just ask Anna Nicole Smith.
The problem can be summed up in two words: Intolerance and Greed. Those two little words can sum up every problem ever encountered in humanity. Unfortunately this world is riddled with people infected with both.
Flame me if you like, but intolerance to many folks here on Slashdot (and around the world) means 'conservative'. Being tolerate means listening to all (even conservative) ideas and not immediately labeling conservatives as 'angry, greedy, racist white men'.
I'm not saying this is the intention or thoughts of the parent poster, but IMHO many liberals (all well-intentioned) tend to only be tolerant of fellow liberals.
We should all practice what we preach.
Of course customer service is horrible.
I've been a Sprint PCS customer for five years. I originally used them because at the time they did not require any type of 'contract'. At any rate, I went through about three phones (all were completely CRAP). Every time I purchased a new phone, I was forced to pay full retail price for the phone ( > $150.00 ) while new customers were getting a new phone for almost nothing (gratis or ~ $25-$50) for signing a 'contract' which I was not even allowed to sign in order to get the discount on the phone! This makes absolutely no sense. Anyway....when my last phone broke I went to the store and bought a new cell phone. The only decent phones they had were the ones with the new color screens.
I took the phone home and activated it on-line. First, Sprint made me change my service plan because my new phone was a 'vision' phone and I had to get a service plan compatible with my new phone (bullcrap). I got a new service plan that costs $5 more a month and I get less minutes and no new services (no, I'm not using the 'vision' services). A couple of months later, I was reading my bill very closely I noticed that one of the 'features' on my account was a "Sprint PCS advantage agreement" that doesn't expire until this September. I had no idea how it got there until I called customer service. Basically, I got a year 'contract' for paying full retail price for a crappy phone and paying $5 more a month. When I complained, they said it was in the fine writing on the website. I asked them to send me some sort of proof that I signed a contract. Of course they couldn't. The lady just kept saying that I could pay the $175 fee and get out of the contract.
I asked her again, explaining that I had been a loyal customer for 5 years and had no intention of changing my service. She refused and kept saying it was in the fine print and I should have read it when I got my new plan.
I proceeded to cancel my wife's, my mothers, my in-law's phone and the Sprint PCS phones for my business (5 phones). In all I cancelled 9 cell phones. They are horrible. They don't treat customers fairly -- not even loyal ones.
BTW: Does anyone know the laws regarding online 'contracts'. They seem a little scary to me since there is no proof that a user actually 'agreed' to something on-line, much less the context of that agreement.
How would this be unreasonable search and seisure? They aren't seasing anything and they aren't searching anything
Very good point. However, how would you feel about this if they were placing it on your person (still no search and seisure!). What about requiring it for your shoes? Your overcoat? I'm being absurd, but my point is that there is a privacy line that can be crossed. I'm not sure where that line is...but it does exist.
It's important to remember that going into space and being weightless are separate things. Weightlessness is the effect of free fall; not some magic thing that happens once you reach space. You're only weightless in orbit because orbit, by definition, means that you're in a continuous free fall. Since this flight won't go into orbit (or anywhere close to far enough from Earth to ignore it's gravity), the weightlessness effect is simply a result of the flight trajectory including free-fall on re-entry
Actually, weightlessness is simply the result of your velocity being the same as that of your surroundings. If you and your surroundings (i.e. Space Ship) are traveling at approximately the same velocity (speed & direction), you experience weightlessness. Free fall is an example of this effect, not the rule. This is precisely how the NASA Vomit Comet works.
If your comment were correct, the Apollo astronauts would not have experienced weightlessness on their way to / from the moon.
I've been a Vonage customer for about 5 months now. My wife and I ditched our POTS because we realized it was costing us $34/month for absolutely no services (this was with Bellsouth). We decided to transfer our POTS number over to Vonage. Unfortunately, the old telco's like to rape customers by holding on to phone numbers for as long as possible (basically, the longer they hold your number, the longer you have to pay them). Bellsouth finally transferred my number to Vonage after about 90 days (bastards).
We haven't regretted switching ONCE. We use the lowest call quality setting and can't even notice a difference. We have a cheapest plane they offer ($14.99 for 500 local/long distance minutes / *every* feature they offer including caller id, voicemail, etc).
Perhaps our favorite feature is the web interface for doing everything. I mean, really...have you ever tried to set up your POTS line for forwarding? The web interface makes it very, very simple and there's no need to reference a manual.
I would recommend Vonage in a heartbeat. Perhaps the poster's wife could just ditch her traditional land line, get Vonage, and use Vonage's "virtual phone number" feature to get a local number in her office's area code.
Too bad for Sony that 'Digiman' is so close to Digimon.
You make valid points although most (maybe all) of your points could be eliminated by having multiple hosts render the same frame (a la SETI's response to people uploading false data).
Ok, so what's with treating corporate names as plural? Cisco have a new router? I've never seen this used when referencing other groups of people (i.e. countries). You never hear "Britain have nice cars". Why is this suddenly the style du jour on Slashdot?
If you're talking about the corporation as an entity, shouldn't it be treated as singular?
Seriously, could someone explain this? It's been bugging the hell out of me.