Why should SDMI care? Under the abortion that is UCITA (yes, I know it's not passed hardly anywhere yet) they would not be responsible for the flaws even if they know about them.
About the only way to get a software company to fix anything these days is to broadcast the bug or abuse as loud as possible so they have to fix it to avoid having every script kiddie in the world using the bug in question.
And I agree, SDMI should look at the non-contest cracks as well. You'd think because it breaks their 'watermark' they would... no corp likes copyright/patent infringement, and this would let anyone with the crack make their own duplicates.
Technically, a mutant is an organism that has characteristics that neither of its parents had. Only in Marvel comics does mutant = super-powers.
So if someone has tetrachromatic cones in their eyes, and that person's mother didn't have it (from the article, all tetrachromatics are female), then that person would be a mutant. If the mother was a tetrachromatic, then that person would not be a mutant.
Well, look at it this way. No one is forcing anyone to pay $15,000 for one. If anyone is that desperate (highest I've actually seen myself is $1200, but I don't check that often) to get one, then they deserved to get fleeced. A fool and his money, after all...
If I had one, would I sell it on eBay? If I could get $15,000 for it, you're damn right I would. That's not the point though.
There will always be people who have to have the latest and newest toy. We're not just talking geek-toys like the PS2 either. Remember when it was "Tickle-me Elmo"'s turn? How about Furbys? Or even Cabbage Patch Kids.
It is that not-so unique phenomenon known as supply and demand. When the demand far outpaces the supply, you get rushes and cost inflation like this. It happens every Christmas, for Jah's sake. It should be no surprise that it is happening by this point. The only big difference this year is that it is a geek-toy.
And if you want SOTA, buy SOTA. Just don't be surpised that it doesn't stay SOTA for long.
The thing is, everyone _expects_ cars to be safe. Unsafe cars (or tires, in the case of Firestone) quickly grab the public's attention.
However, this is the same public, who if more then 0.01% read more of a software User Agreement beyond "I Agree", then it comes as a shock. The reason this is going by with just a whimper rather then an outcry is that it is not considered major news outside of computer/geek oriented magazines and sites. If it got reported on the Drudge Report, things would be different...
But humans are capable of constructing new 'commands' and and command structures. We are capable of learning from experiences and using those experiences to influence new experiences. These robots, AFAIK, cannot. Until that changes (and it isn't going to be soon), they will have no chance against humans. Beings incapable of creative thought will always lose to those capable of it.
Well, the 'robots' on automotive assembly lines only follow pre-programmed commands but no one has ever argued that they aren't robots.
The term you may be looking for (no online dictionary... drat!) is automaton. I tend to believe, from the Latin derivation, that an automaton would be able to 'learn' in a limited sense.
Heck, Lego Mindstorms also follow a pre-programmed set of instructions but it's still called the Robotic Invention System... Who are we (other then nerds and geeks) to go against mass marketing?
Okay, that's a bit facetious. But since most nanotech devices are 1) in early testing 2) have limited power supplies in terms of 'global' possibilities and 3) are incredibly fragile outside of very strictly controlled laboratory conditions, I don't see it as a major problem.
And the thing is, they're _potential_ dangers. Heck, I don't think there's been a whole mess of testing in real-world conditions (i.e. dirty smelly terra firma where you don't control every single electrical or magnetic field). What happens if nanotech gets too close to a fridge magnet? I don't know. Neither do you.
If and when there are broad applications for nanotech, then you can start worrying about attack of the 50x10^-9 meter monster. Right now, it's still pretty much in the "Oooo... look what we can do" stage.
Don't get me wrong, I like nanotech. I want to see all kinds of good sci-fi and SR applications come out of it. I just don't think it's going to happen this year, next year, this decade even.
I've always considered it more of a router. It's not like Napster stores anything on its own system. Rather, they allow the appearance of PTP connections through a pool of users.
Actually, I could consider it a completely connected graph, where every user is a point on the graph, connected by lines to every other user. It's just when you refuse to 'share', it's a directed graph. And considering that I'm not trying to traverse the graph completely, just search the data at each point, it still doesn't seem like a server.
I have to agree. Replacing the core electronics is not the same as hacking the original chips. Of course, it does allow the Furby to do something other then what was originally intended by the creator of it, so it could be considered a hack by others.
My question is, has the code for Furby's ever been posted anywhere? I would assume it is proprietary, but you never know...
Re:GM food is not a good idea yet
on
Golden Rice
·
· Score: 1
But pennicillin can be grown from molds...
Kierthos
(Also allergic to pennicillin, but luckily not ampicillin)
Re:GM food is not a good idea yet
on
Golden Rice
·
· Score: 1
> Okay, so advances in genetic engineering seem to offer us the chance to do a lot of good for
> world hunger, but the trouble is that we just don't know what effects this stuff will have on
> us. When it comes to new medicines we insist upon years and years of scientifically conducted
> trials before allowing them to be used on people, and even then look at the things that
> crop up years later.
The problem is that we at least allow testing. If it's a new experimental medicine with only a dozen or so side effects (look at the medicine commercials lately and tell me I'm wrong), it still actually gets to get tested.
Whereas if it's something that may feed millions of starving people it can't be let out of the labs for fear of "Kudzu: The Plant that Walked Like a Man" taking hold of the hysterical public.
> The wholesale introduction of GM foods into our food chain is just too risky at the moment. It's
> a new technology and mistakes are part of the learning process, and will inevitably be made.
Yes, but as with above, with other technologies, we at least allow testing. What is the problem here? Hey, we test new drugs on dozens if not hundreds of people per new drug. New techs are tested on user-study groups all the time. Why the big uproar over a new food? (Which it isn't, really... it's just rice with a lot of beta-carotene.)
> If history has taught us anything, it's that no new advance comes without teething troubles.
The problem is, we're shooting the child before he even teeths. God, I hate Neo-Luddites... I just never expected to see any on/.
> And given this, the last thing we should do is push for them to be used by the general public -
> a mistake now could cost millions of lives and contaminate other crops, making them tainted as
> well.
What, just because it can breed true? Come on, it might be able to cross over to other types of rice. I can believe that. But what other crops are you worried about? I can't see this even possibly crossing over to any other crop food, like wheat or corn.
And I find your use of terms like contaminate and tainted pretty damn loaded. You're already assuming that this golden rice is a Bad Thing, even before any testing has been done.
> Things like this seem innocuous enough, but you can't let one thing go through because it "seems
> harmless". Without investigation it could be even the smallest of changes that goes bad, and
> when it's something as fundamental as food, we can't afford a single mistake.
Bollocks. We have plenty of food. It's the starving people who can't afford a single mistake. And frankly, unless you're one of them, you don't have the right to speak for them. Maybe it's a bit harsh, but look at it this way. If the GE rice works, then they live. If it doesn't work, then they die. But since many of them were going to die anyway, shouldn't we at least find out if the rice is good? It might save people. We can't afford not to take that chance.
> GM food is just not ready now. We shouldn't let the greed of a few corporations and the advocacy
> of technology fetishists blind us to the very real potential for disaster.
Yeah, the inventory is so greedy he's trying to give the rice away. And speaking as one of the "technology fetishists", I'd rather we know what the rice may or may not do rather then blindly speculate on it while people die. Even if the golden rice doesn't work exactly as planned, it may give us some insight into a GE'd food crop that does work.
Worked fine for me... a bit slow, but I was able to get there.
What is.kr though? Korea?
Kierthos
Re:GM food is not a good idea yet
on
Golden Rice
·
· Score: 1
I agree... It seems that way too many of the posts on this topic are taking the "Jurassic Park" route, where any kind of genetic manipulation will result in horrible earth-shattering consequences for the main characters.
Of course, seeing as how the "main characters" in this little drama are starving people, maybe they'd rather have some food then listen to everyone and his grandmother bullshit on about how dangerous this rice may be in theory.
You want to find out how dangerous it is? Feed it to some starving people. Either they're going to live or they're going to die. But at least then we'll find out whether the rice is bad for humans or not.
Christ on a crutch... with the way this topic has been going, you'd think this was a TV movie. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hide in an underground shelter to avoid the latest meteor heading to earth. (Note to TV writers: Meteorite is the term you want to use.)
Actually, if you say that and the robot unleashes a laser attack, I definitely want one then... it will give me something new to do to the neighbor's yippy little dog.
Also, I figure it won't be long before someone gets one of these and mods it into a full Battlebot or something like that...
Imagine one of these things with a sawblade cutting arm...
Seriously though, this thing looks like a cross between an astronaut and a Transformer. Anyone know how good this thing is at balancing yet? I assume that since it walks without tipping over (at least on a level plane) that the balance arms were computed correctly. But how much flexibility is there in the balance structure for the robot to be modified? If I put a Voltron sword in its' hands, will it tip over when it walks?
*sigh* Yet another geek toy... I need more money at this rate...
Check me on this... how would you determine who gets to be the Object Id Root owner? Highest bidder? First bid over a certain amount of cash? What? Personally, I have no idea how ICANN got to where they are, but would it be that likely to go the same way, however that may have been?
Or even worse... ICANN somehow gets to be the Root owner for this too....
Okay then, so what's their arguement against.porn (or.xxx)?? I doubt there would be many people who would get one of their sites with that TLD who didn't put "appropriate" content there. I mean, if someone put porn on a.kid site, I can see people getting upset, but if you put up non-porn on a.porn site, who but the heavy-duty porn surfers (who are marginalized anyway) are going to give a rip?
That, and it would be so exceptionally easy to add to existing filtering software... If it's blah.porn, you can't go there with the filter active...
So just recompile Exchange without the gaping holes...
Oh wait... proprietary software... right...
Maybe now that the evil ones (M$) themselves have been hake by this, they'll actually do something. Yeah, it's been a few weeks with no word, but I figure that they've lost major productivity from the whole Florida election thing.
Or they could try the Mythical Man Month again by sending the code around the world and back to be worked on in 12 different time zones by coders who don't speak English as the native language....
Okay, wait a second... a one pound heatsink??? Can anyone explain this one to me? I thought heat sinks could be made light because what you're theoretically after is something shaped so it has lots of surface area and a good heat disapation index.
So how did they manage to make the sucker weigh a pound? Does the P4 generate so much heat (a bad sign, IMAO) that it needs a one pounder?
I have to wonder if the second or third generation P4's will be any better (well, from the looks of things, they can't get worse).
Christ, I think the heat sink on my POS computer weighs a couple of ounces...
Slashdot Mirror
...that life is like a Dilbert strip.
Kierthos
Why should SDMI care? Under the abortion that is UCITA (yes, I know it's not passed hardly anywhere yet) they would not be responsible for the flaws even if they know about them.
About the only way to get a software company to fix anything these days is to broadcast the bug or abuse as loud as possible so they have to fix it to avoid having every script kiddie in the world using the bug in question.
And I agree, SDMI should look at the non-contest cracks as well. You'd think because it breaks their 'watermark' they would... no corp likes copyright/patent infringement, and this would let anyone with the crack make their own duplicates.
Just my 2 shekels.
Kierthos
Technically, a mutant is an organism that has characteristics that neither of its parents had. Only in Marvel comics does mutant = super-powers.
So if someone has tetrachromatic cones in their eyes, and that person's mother didn't have it (from the article, all tetrachromatics are female), then that person would be a mutant. If the mother was a tetrachromatic, then that person would not be a mutant.
Kierthos
Well, look at it this way. No one is forcing anyone to pay $15,000 for one. If anyone is that desperate (highest I've actually seen myself is $1200, but I don't check that often) to get one, then they deserved to get fleeced. A fool and his money, after all...
If I had one, would I sell it on eBay? If I could get $15,000 for it, you're damn right I would. That's not the point though.
There will always be people who have to have the latest and newest toy. We're not just talking geek-toys like the PS2 either. Remember when it was "Tickle-me Elmo"'s turn? How about Furbys? Or even Cabbage Patch Kids.
It is that not-so unique phenomenon known as supply and demand. When the demand far outpaces the supply, you get rushes and cost inflation like this. It happens every Christmas, for Jah's sake. It should be no surprise that it is happening by this point. The only big difference this year is that it is a geek-toy.
And if you want SOTA, buy SOTA. Just don't be surpised that it doesn't stay SOTA for long.
Just my 2 shekels.
Kierthos
You'd think for $50,000 a TLD, someone would have done a little research...
Kierthos
The thing is, everyone _expects_ cars to be safe. Unsafe cars (or tires, in the case of Firestone) quickly grab the public's attention.
However, this is the same public, who if more then 0.01% read more of a software User Agreement beyond "I Agree", then it comes as a shock. The reason this is going by with just a whimper rather then an outcry is that it is not considered major news outside of computer/geek oriented magazines and sites. If it got reported on the Drudge Report, things would be different...
Just my 2 shekels.
Kierthos
But humans are capable of constructing new 'commands' and and command structures. We are capable of learning from experiences and using those experiences to influence new experiences. These robots, AFAIK, cannot. Until that changes (and it isn't going to be soon), they will have no chance against humans. Beings incapable of creative thought will always lose to those capable of it.
Not to say that they can't do some neat stuff...
Kierthos
Well, the 'robots' on automotive assembly lines only follow pre-programmed commands but no one has ever argued that they aren't robots.
The term you may be looking for (no online dictionary... drat!) is automaton. I tend to believe, from the Latin derivation, that an automaton would be able to 'learn' in a limited sense.
Heck, Lego Mindstorms also follow a pre-programmed set of instructions but it's still called the Robotic Invention System... Who are we (other then nerds and geeks) to go against mass marketing?
Kierthos
Scared by nanotech? Move a meter away from it. :P
Okay, that's a bit facetious. But since most nanotech devices are 1) in early testing 2) have limited power supplies in terms of 'global' possibilities and 3) are incredibly fragile outside of very strictly controlled laboratory conditions, I don't see it as a major problem.
And the thing is, they're _potential_ dangers. Heck, I don't think there's been a whole mess of testing in real-world conditions (i.e. dirty smelly terra firma where you don't control every single electrical or magnetic field). What happens if nanotech gets too close to a fridge magnet? I don't know. Neither do you.
If and when there are broad applications for nanotech, then you can start worrying about attack of the 50x10^-9 meter monster. Right now, it's still pretty much in the "Oooo... look what we can do" stage.
Don't get me wrong, I like nanotech. I want to see all kinds of good sci-fi and SR applications come out of it. I just don't think it's going to happen this year, next year, this decade even.
Just my 2 shekels.
Kierthos
I've always considered it more of a router. It's not like Napster stores anything on its own system. Rather, they allow the appearance of PTP connections through a pool of users.
Actually, I could consider it a completely connected graph, where every user is a point on the graph, connected by lines to every other user. It's just when you refuse to 'share', it's a directed graph. And considering that I'm not trying to traverse the graph completely, just search the data at each point, it still doesn't seem like a server.
Just my 2 shekels.
Kierthos
I have to agree. Replacing the core electronics is not the same as hacking the original chips. Of course, it does allow the Furby to do something other then what was originally intended by the creator of it, so it could be considered a hack by others.
My question is, has the code for Furby's ever been posted anywhere? I would assume it is proprietary, but you never know...
Kierthos
Don't hold back. Tell us what you really think.
Kierthos
But pennicillin can be grown from molds...
Kierthos
(Also allergic to pennicillin, but luckily not ampicillin)
> Okay, so advances in genetic engineering seem to offer us the chance to do a lot of good for
/.
> world hunger, but the trouble is that we just don't know what effects this stuff will have on
> us. When it comes to new medicines we insist upon years and years of scientifically conducted
> trials before allowing them to be used on people, and even then look at the things that
> crop up years later.
The problem is that we at least allow testing. If it's a new experimental medicine with only a dozen or so side effects (look at the medicine commercials lately and tell me I'm wrong), it still actually gets to get tested.
Whereas if it's something that may feed millions of starving people it can't be let out of the labs for fear of "Kudzu: The Plant that Walked Like a Man" taking hold of the hysterical public.
> The wholesale introduction of GM foods into our food chain is just too risky at the moment. It's
> a new technology and mistakes are part of the learning process, and will inevitably be made.
Yes, but as with above, with other technologies, we at least allow testing. What is the problem here? Hey, we test new drugs on dozens if not hundreds of people per new drug. New techs are tested on user-study groups all the time. Why the big uproar over a new food? (Which it isn't, really... it's just rice with a lot of beta-carotene.)
> If history has taught us anything, it's that no new advance comes without teething troubles.
The problem is, we're shooting the child before he even teeths. God, I hate Neo-Luddites... I just never expected to see any on
> And given this, the last thing we should do is push for them to be used by the general public -
> a mistake now could cost millions of lives and contaminate other crops, making them tainted as
> well.
What, just because it can breed true? Come on, it might be able to cross over to other types of rice. I can believe that. But what other crops are you worried about? I can't see this even possibly crossing over to any other crop food, like wheat or corn.
And I find your use of terms like contaminate and tainted pretty damn loaded. You're already assuming that this golden rice is a Bad Thing, even before any testing has been done.
> Things like this seem innocuous enough, but you can't let one thing go through because it "seems
> harmless". Without investigation it could be even the smallest of changes that goes bad, and
> when it's something as fundamental as food, we can't afford a single mistake.
Bollocks. We have plenty of food. It's the starving people who can't afford a single mistake. And frankly, unless you're one of them, you don't have the right to speak for them. Maybe it's a bit harsh, but look at it this way. If the GE rice works, then they live. If it doesn't work, then they die. But since many of them were going to die anyway, shouldn't we at least find out if the rice is good? It might save people. We can't afford not to take that chance.
> GM food is just not ready now. We shouldn't let the greed of a few corporations and the advocacy
> of technology fetishists blind us to the very real potential for disaster.
Yeah, the inventory is so greedy he's trying to give the rice away. And speaking as one of the "technology fetishists", I'd rather we know what the rice may or may not do rather then blindly speculate on it while people die. Even if the golden rice doesn't work exactly as planned, it may give us some insight into a GE'd food crop that does work.
Kierthos
Worked fine for me... a bit slow, but I was able to get there.
.kr though? Korea?
What is
Kierthos
I agree... It seems that way too many of the posts on this topic are taking the "Jurassic Park" route, where any kind of genetic manipulation will result in horrible earth-shattering consequences for the main characters.
Of course, seeing as how the "main characters" in this little drama are starving people, maybe they'd rather have some food then listen to everyone and his grandmother bullshit on about how dangerous this rice may be in theory.
You want to find out how dangerous it is? Feed it to some starving people. Either they're going to live or they're going to die. But at least then we'll find out whether the rice is bad for humans or not.
Christ on a crutch... with the way this topic has been going, you'd think this was a TV movie. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hide in an underground shelter to avoid the latest meteor heading to earth. (Note to TV writers: Meteorite is the term you want to use.)
Kierthos
Gort, Klaatu Barada Nicto!
Actually, if you say that and the robot unleashes a laser attack, I definitely want one then... it will give me something new to do to the neighbor's yippy little dog.
Also, I figure it won't be long before someone gets one of these and mods it into a full Battlebot or something like that...
Imagine one of these things with a sawblade cutting arm...
Kierthos
A leash attachment for the humanoid to walk Aibo.
Seriously though, this thing looks like a cross between an astronaut and a Transformer. Anyone know how good this thing is at balancing yet? I assume that since it walks without tipping over (at least on a level plane) that the balance arms were computed correctly. But how much flexibility is there in the balance structure for the robot to be modified? If I put a Voltron sword in its' hands, will it tip over when it walks?
*sigh* Yet another geek toy... I need more money at this rate...
Kierthos
Check me on this... how would you determine who gets to be the Object Id Root owner? Highest bidder? First bid over a certain amount of cash? What? Personally, I have no idea how ICANN got to where they are, but would it be that likely to go the same way, however that may have been?
Or even worse... ICANN somehow gets to be the Root owner for this too....
Kierthos
Okay then, so what's their arguement against .porn (or .xxx)?? I doubt there would be many people who would get one of their sites with that TLD who didn't put "appropriate" content there. I mean, if someone put porn on a .kid site, I can see people getting upset, but if you put up non-porn on a .porn site, who but the heavy-duty porn surfers (who are marginalized anyway) are going to give a rip?
That, and it would be so exceptionally easy to add to existing filtering software... If it's blah.porn, you can't go there with the filter active...
Kierthos
So just recompile Exchange without the gaping holes...
Oh wait... proprietary software... right...
Maybe now that the evil ones (M$) themselves have been hake by this, they'll actually do something. Yeah, it's been a few weeks with no word, but I figure that they've lost major productivity from the whole Florida election thing.
Or they could try the Mythical Man Month again by sending the code around the world and back to be worked on in 12 different time zones by coders who don't speak English as the native language....
All of a sudden, AOL looks safe...
Kierthos
That quantum physics isn't really fiction?
Kierthos
Okay, wait a second... a one pound heatsink??? Can anyone explain this one to me? I thought heat sinks could be made light because what you're theoretically after is something shaped so it has lots of surface area and a good heat disapation index.
So how did they manage to make the sucker weigh a pound? Does the P4 generate so much heat (a bad sign, IMAO) that it needs a one pounder?
I have to wonder if the second or third generation P4's will be any better (well, from the looks of things, they can't get worse).
Christ, I think the heat sink on my POS computer weighs a couple of ounces...
Kierthos
How about you start in APL, segue over to ICON, a couple of lines in FP, and then over to LISP to finish it all up?
And it must be understandable by a five-year old or a politician....
That would be the ultimate coding contest...
Kierthos
Add laser designation and smart-targeting software and you've got Obfuscated Slashcode.
Kierthos