Dont get me wrong I am not anti-NASA, I am just anti-mars right now. We could use that money for more important things.
"Like what? The ISS? Shuttle?"
Like what? Oh, I don't know - how about:
* fixing/replacing Hubble * completing/extending the ISS
If that's not enough, how about more money to environmental studies? Or more money to the study of the sun, our magnetosphere, our atmosphere or any of the planets in our solar system? In fact - any study or task with actual scientific value is fine with me, thank you for asking.
Ideally, I'd spend most of the money on a new Hubble replacement, a new version of the Cluster satellites that blew up in '98 during launch, a replacement for the Space Shuttle and researching for enviromentally less-hostile fuels for boosters. But hey - let's put a man on the moon again instead.
Although Rob Enderle IS laughable, I fail see the relevance of this article AT ALL. Why the hell is it on the first page of slashdot? It's not news. It's not interesting. It's barely related to technology. It's just a one-page ad for Acer.
So... thieves, privacy intruders, spam l0rds and terrorists are the ones using Google. Thats it - I'm using MSN Search from now on. Thank God for media like MSNBC for providing unbiased news coverage.
I would suggest using a VoIP software such as Ventrilo (www.ventrilo.com) or similar. The software can be used with a headset or speaker/mike combo or whatever, in or out of any game you like. That way you can communicate while playing the same game or speak to eachother out of game over IP just like in a phone conversation.
The really nifty thing about this is that she can talk to you while you are playing your favourite game! That's what you REALLY wanted, wasn't it ("I like games, she likes to talk")? You can keep a "conversation" with her ("Uhuh. Yes dear. Uhuh. Yes dear.") while fragging like a mad man.
I set up a Ventrilo server myself at home to be able to talk to my GF while playing games (I play Counter-Strike, she plays Civ3). But since we're sitting 5 feet from eachother we tend not to use the thing.
No, you're not alone. As a matter of fact, I can usually hear if a TV set is turned on in another room, even if the door is shut, or even on another floor (yes, the TV is muted) due to the high-frequency tone it emits.
The noise is generated in all CRT's; TV set, computer monitor, CRT projector, osilloscope, etc and is called the "line frequency". The frequency of the tone is 15.734 kHz, wich is well within the human hearing range.
However, modern equipment generate a lot less - if any - of this noise. The generated sound really is a biproduct of the frequency used to generate the line scan of the electron sweep. I am unable to hear any line noise from my brand new computer monitor but I can hear some (but not a lot) from my old TV set. Some really old TV sets and PC monitors make so much noise that I am unable to stay in the same room as the monitor for any period of time without developing a brain tumor.
Also, many (most?) people over a certain age does in fact NOT hear this sound, due to reduced hearing. Although reduced hearing is in no way something to crave, I wouldnt mind being unable to hear this tone. It can be terribly annoying and distracting and can even cause headache. In fact, many people who have trouble with headaches after a day of office work should try upgrading their monitors. Even if they are unable to conciously HEAR the sound, the ear is still recieving the noise (and the noise melting their brains - or something).
There is, AFAIK, no relationship between ADHD or ADD and being able to hear the line noise. Whether or not you ARE able to hear it would solely depend on your hearing. Bare in mind that you can have certain part of the frequency range reduced or "enhanced" due to various factors. For example, frequent visit to discos and clubs, where loud music is played, is a sure-fire way to remove that line noise from your hearing (although the tinnitus you'll develop can be even more annoying).
People always say "get them what you want, what you'd like to get, and you're home safe"...
...which is a load of CRAP! My family has been following that logic for years, and all I get is tasteless crap that they'd love to get for themselves, but I hate and wouldn't ordinarily touch with a ten foot pole.
Consequently: don't get your parents what you'd like to get yourself, or what you think they should have. Get them something they actually want. My guess is that a website/blog is NOT on the top of your their whish list.
P.S.: For those of you who whish to buy ME a gift, you (almost) can't go wrong with Thinkgeek D.S.
"The light requires no maintenance so it can be left in your home or car for a longtime but will still be ready to produce light. The bright LED will last for thousands of hours and does not burn-out like a typical lightbulb - it should never need replacement."
I tried to nominate Bender Bending Rodriguez, but the mail form is broken. Anywho, for those of you who STILL haven't discovered this great bending unit, here are some facts:
Bender (full name: Bender Bending Rodriguez) is a Unit 22 Bending Unit and was his mother's 1729th son born in a factory in Tijuana, Mexico. His father was killed by a can opener. Comprising of 30% Iron, 40% Zinc, 40% Titanium and 40% Dolomite, Bender later attended Bending State college where he majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American studies. He became a legend for his pranks while being part of the house Epsilon Rho Rho. Bender then took up a successful career in bending girders but tried to kill himself when he found out they were for suicide booths. He was saved by Fry and later took up the job of ships cook at Planet Express. His other pastimes include watching TV, smoking cigars and stealing. To be able to function properly Bender needs the chemical energy from alcohol, so excessive drinking is mandatory or he will become sober and unable to control his body. Magnets stuck to his head make him sing like a folk singer and his favourite drink is Olde Fortran Malt liquor.
[Info shamelessly stolen from http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/Encyc-8-Ben der/]
Favourite quote: Bender: "Bite my shiny metal ass." Fry: "It doesn't look so shiny to me." Bender: "Shinier than yours, meatbag."
Ahhh.... I think imna go watch a Futurama episode now.
If i understand correctly (and im not certain that I do - im just reciting my memory/limited knowledge here), the basics if quantum cryptography is this:
Using the quantum states of photons, you are able to encrypt information that cannot be intercepted; by observing the photons you are altering them, rendering the information useless.
This is a very fragile process, since a lot of things can influence the photon stream. There's no guarantee that the information will make it to the receiver, but thats not the point - the point is that you are guaranteed that the information has not been read by anyone unauthorized.
This technology was first thought of for use in military applications. The use of satellite transmission for sensitive information requires a secure encryption - one that ensures that the enemy doesnt get hold of the information. If the information falls into the wrong hands, the [insert your favourite enemy here] will win the war and take over the world!
You might have to send the information 1000 times to/from the satellite for it to get though in one piece, but at least the commies/muslims/terrorists/etc. never found out what we are up to!
To answer your question on whether a fibre cable link is the only media possible: no. The technology is supposed to give us open-air transmissions (using lasers) to and from satellites, between buildings, etc.
Also: the signal can be amplified, rerouted, etc. but not while in a quantum (optical) state. You need a reciever that decodes the signal, amplifies it and resends it.
Slashdot Mirror
The politicians will obviously do the only sane thing to control this menace: ban digital cameras.
There's a difference between love and lust? Hmm... whaddayaknow.
I'm looking forward to the day we can slashdot a website on another planet.
Dont get me wrong I am not anti-NASA, I am just anti-mars right now. We could use that money for more important things.
"Like what? The ISS? Shuttle?"
Like what? Oh, I don't know - how about:
* fixing/replacing Hubble
* completing/extending the ISS
If that's not enough, how about more money to environmental studies? Or more money to the study of the sun, our magnetosphere, our atmosphere or any of the planets in our solar system? In fact - any study or task with actual scientific value is fine with me, thank you for asking.
Ideally, I'd spend most of the money on a new Hubble replacement, a new version of the Cluster satellites that blew up in '98 during launch, a replacement for the Space Shuttle and researching for enviromentally less-hostile fuels for boosters. But hey - let's put a man on the moon again instead.
Although Rob Enderle IS laughable, I fail see the relevance of this article AT ALL. Why the hell is it on the first page of slashdot? It's not news. It's not interesting. It's barely related to technology. It's just a one-page ad for Acer.
Bah! Stupid slashdot!
</rant>
So... thieves, privacy intruders, spam l0rds and terrorists are the ones using Google. Thats it - I'm using MSN Search from now on. Thank God for media like MSNBC for providing unbiased news coverage.
3 24 0&mode=thread&tid=109&tid=126&tid=187&tid= 95
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/01/185
Your Slashdot membership is hereby revoked. You have one hour to clean out your journal and leave the website. Good day.
Or maybe thats just what he wants us to think...
"If I had mod points I'd mod you up.
Mod him up? What for-- +1, Slob?"
Perhaps '+1, Geek'?
ROTFLMAO! :-D
There's already a similar project out there, one with significant success. It's called OpenBSD.
Well, that IS sufficiently accurate for all practical purposes.
I would suggest using a VoIP software such as Ventrilo (www.ventrilo.com) or similar. The software can be used with a headset or speaker/mike combo or whatever, in or out of any game you like. That way you can communicate while playing the same game or speak to eachother out of game over IP just like in a phone conversation.
The really nifty thing about this is that she can talk to you while you are playing your favourite game! That's what you REALLY wanted, wasn't it ("I like games, she likes to talk")? You can keep a "conversation" with her ("Uhuh. Yes dear. Uhuh. Yes dear.") while fragging like a mad man.
I set up a Ventrilo server myself at home to be able to talk to my GF while playing games (I play Counter-Strike, she plays Civ3). But since we're sitting 5 feet from eachother we tend not to use the thing.
Learn Frontpage and become a web designer - there really cannot be to many of those.
Offtopic but still...
No, you're not alone. As a matter of fact, I can usually hear if a TV set is turned on in another room, even if the door is shut, or even on another floor (yes, the TV is muted) due to the high-frequency tone it emits.
The noise is generated in all CRT's; TV set, computer monitor, CRT projector, osilloscope, etc and is called the "line frequency". The frequency of the tone is 15.734 kHz, wich is well within the human hearing range.
However, modern equipment generate a lot less - if any - of this noise. The generated sound really is a biproduct of the frequency used to generate the line scan of the electron sweep. I am unable to hear any line noise from my brand new computer monitor but I can hear some (but not a lot) from my old TV set. Some really old TV sets and PC monitors make so much noise that I am unable to stay in the same room as the monitor for any period of time without developing a brain tumor.
Also, many (most?) people over a certain age does in fact NOT hear this sound, due to reduced hearing. Although reduced hearing is in no way something to crave, I wouldnt mind being unable to hear this tone. It can be terribly annoying and distracting and can even cause headache. In fact, many people who have trouble with headaches after a day of office work should try upgrading their monitors. Even if they are unable to conciously HEAR the sound, the ear is still recieving the noise (and the noise melting their brains - or something).
There is, AFAIK, no relationship between ADHD or ADD and being able to hear the line noise. Whether or not you ARE able to hear it would solely depend on your hearing. Bare in mind that you can have certain part of the frequency range reduced or "enhanced" due to various factors. For example, frequent visit to discos and clubs, where loud music is played, is a sure-fire way to remove that line noise from your hearing (although the tinnitus you'll develop can be even more annoying).
"Wake me up when their humanoid robot looks like a little blond boy"
MJ? Is that you? Did they let you out already?
Nope, I too thought of THE sun first.
When i got to the line "Sun is donating a fleet of servers" it got REALLY confusing.
This is one of the time I whish I could moderate a post "-1 Wrong" or "-1 Dumbass".
In other words - you're the kind of guy the TV companies don't have to worry about. You give them your money directly.
People always say "get them what you want, what you'd like to get, and you're home safe"...
...which is a load of CRAP! My family has been following that logic for years, and all I get is tasteless crap that they'd love to get for themselves, but I hate and wouldn't ordinarily touch with a ten foot pole.
Consequently: don't get your parents what you'd like to get yourself, or what you think they should have. Get them something they actually want. My guess is that a website/blog is NOT on the top of your their whish list.
P.S.: For those of you who whish to buy ME a gift, you (almost) can't go wrong with Thinkgeek D.S.
Wonder when I can buy this baby at ThinkGeek?
I hope I'm not the only one to see the irony of:
"The light requires no maintenance so it can be left in your home or car for a longtime but will still be ready to produce light. The bright LED will last for thousands of hours and does not burn-out like a typical lightbulb - it should never need replacement."
"One-year warranty."
Whoah.... that almost sounds like a challenge to run Linux on the MF.
I tried to nominate Bender Bending Rodriguez, but the mail form is broken. Anywho, for those of you who STILL haven't discovered this great bending unit, here are some facts:
n der/]
Bender (full name: Bender Bending Rodriguez) is a Unit 22 Bending Unit and was his mother's 1729th son born in a factory in Tijuana, Mexico. His father was killed by a can opener. Comprising of 30% Iron, 40% Zinc, 40% Titanium and 40% Dolomite, Bender later attended Bending State college where he majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American studies. He became a legend for his pranks while being part of the house Epsilon Rho Rho. Bender then took up a successful career in bending girders but tried to kill himself when he found out they were for suicide booths. He was saved by Fry and later took up the job of ships cook at Planet Express. His other pastimes include watching TV, smoking cigars and stealing. To be able to function properly Bender needs the chemical energy from alcohol, so excessive drinking is mandatory or he will become sober and unable to control his body. Magnets stuck to his head make him sing like a folk singer and his favourite drink is Olde Fortran Malt liquor.
[Info shamelessly stolen from http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/Encyc-8-Be
Favourite quote:
Bender: "Bite my shiny metal ass."
Fry: "It doesn't look so shiny to me."
Bender: "Shinier than yours, meatbag."
Ahhh.... I think imna go watch a Futurama episode now.
If i understand correctly (and im not certain that I do - im just reciting my memory/limited knowledge here), the basics if quantum cryptography is this:
Using the quantum states of photons, you are able to encrypt information that cannot be intercepted; by observing the photons you are altering them, rendering the information useless.
This is a very fragile process, since a lot of things can influence the photon stream. There's no guarantee that the information will make it to the receiver, but thats not the point - the point is that you are guaranteed that the information has not been read by anyone unauthorized.
This technology was first thought of for use in military applications. The use of satellite transmission for sensitive information requires a secure encryption - one that ensures that the enemy doesnt get hold of the information. If the information falls into the wrong hands, the [insert your favourite enemy here] will win the war and take over the world!
You might have to send the information 1000 times to/from the satellite for it to get though in one piece, but at least the commies/muslims/terrorists/etc. never found out what we are up to!
To answer your question on whether a fibre cable link is the only media possible: no. The technology is supposed to give us open-air transmissions (using lasers) to and from satellites, between buildings, etc.
Also: the signal can be amplified, rerouted, etc. but not while in a quantum (optical) state. You need a reciever that decodes the signal, amplifies it and resends it.