A couple milliamperes alone are enough to cause muscle to go into tight contraction. That spells "heart attack" if it goes through your heart.
Having measured myself, I know I'm 2.2 megaohms from one hand to the next. I'm told that, if you puncture the skin, that goes down to only a few ohms.
Seriously, Ben Bova wrote a couple of books on the political consequences of nanomachines. I thought that Slashdot, of all places, would have smaller percentage of nanoluddites than the general public. I mean, come on people. All technology comes with consequences. We usually accept these risks freely.
And, think about it. The types of nanotechnology Ben Bova described as dangerous were self-replicating. But aren't bacteria self-replicating? What about chemical explosions? Nuclear reactions?
The only types of nanomachines that are dangerous are those that perform only a minimal amount of precautions as to what specific things they can operate on.
Also, antidotes will come a lot more easily, should a nanomachine prove to have negative effects on health, there's no reason another nanomachine can't be built to specifically destroy the first. At the point when nanomachines become really useful, they'll be capable of recognizing entire molecules based on physical structure, not just on chemical properties. Nanomachines will be able to be built to specifically recognize the structure of the target nanomachine, and so developers will be able to precisely control what nanomachines will operate on.
Finally, I don't think people realize how difficult it will be to create a self-replicating nanomachine. It's a damned complicated process. It's not like computer viruses that can copy themselves with a hardcoded memcpy() command; self-replicating nanomachines would have to be able to build another copy of itself without using itself as a reference.
I have a friend who was accused of molesting his former roommate's daughter. His porn collection, all legal, was used as evidence, to attack his character.
AMD CPUs are about the same temperature as Intel CPUs of the same performance range. I don't know about the Itanium, though. It was intended to be a revolutionary design, and it runs at a much lower clock speed. It wouldn't suprise me if it was cooler.
I know the memory bus isn't changed. With a 64-bit bus, which we've had since the original Pentium, a 64-bit piece of data will occupy the whole bus.
Normally, when a memory request is made, the bus will grab a 64-bit chunk of memory, regardless of the size of the piece of data that's needed. That way, if any other data in that chunk is needed, it's already sitting in the cache.
With a 32-bit architecture, you're always gauranteed to grab at least two pieces of information. (More, if there are 16-bit and 8-bit pieces of information within that 64-bit chunk.) With a 64-bit architecture, you'll occasionally grab a sigle, large piece of data.
Savvy programmers have been storing data in the smallest possible amount of memory for years. It's no different now.
Never mind the fact that the tinkerer's version is more flexible. The Ambient Orb version supports 125 unique color combinations(5^3), while the tinkerer's version supports 729 (9^3).
Quite a neat way he did it, too. He pulses the LEDs instead of setting a constant current. That way, he doesn't need a DAC to get widely variable levels of brightness.
It did occur to me that they may be able to arrange for a kickback whenever they post a product link.
If the company offers a coupon code, then they're likely to get slashdotted pretty quick, at least for geek-cool products. A sort of purchased sales spike.
It would be really neat if they offered coupon codes specifically for Slashdot references.
However, if the editors don't exercise a great deal of caution in which products they post, they're going to alienate users. It would have to be limited to products lusted after by the/. community.
I've always wanted to be known as the Bastard Operator from Hell. After performing tech support for four years (through most of your teens), the name just draws you somehow.
Re:"Just say no"? "BUT I WANT IT!!!!1!1"
on
Open Source DRM
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· Score: 1
As a general rule, a class-action suit would be fully justified. And in order.
In the mean time, for the Disney example, her children can watch Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales, Teletubbies, Sesame Street, and any other of mind-numbing-yet-educational material.
Or her kids could watch movies by Pixar and Warner Bros. Or break out that mothballed VCR and rent something interesting from the library.
Re:The encryption IS wanted.
on
Open Source DRM
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· Score: 1
If you've accepted the license to use the DRM'd material, then the system will let you use it. It's your choice whether or not you find the material worth accepting the license.
I don't think you're giving your mother enough credit. If she's not afraid of buzzwords, then she has every right to know what she's getting into.
Her only problem was that she thought she understood more than she actually did. IMHO, rather than grumble at her ignorance, which you deem unnecessary, you ought to be pointing her to websites like Wikipedia, Ars Technica and Everything2, so she can drink from the wells of knowledge. That'll let her decide whether she wants to be "in the know," or whether she wants something that "just works."
As incentive, think about this: Wouldn't you rather she be able to fix her own computer? If she's interested in learning, she will.
Re:Admire the hilt on this pig sticker.
on
Open Source DRM
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· Score: 1
It's all in the license. If the license is written "properly," they won't allow duplication in nonDRM'd form. Then you're under contract not to screw around with it.
If your DRM-enabled player won't let you use content you have a right to (read, content whose license you accepted, and are following, in order to use it), then you've got a few options.
If the breakage is in the DRM specification, then don't use content protected by that form of DRM. If enough people do this, it's called a "grass-roots" movement. The providers will have to find a solution that satisfy's the consumer. (Of course, that's free-market doctrine, which doesn't always pan out.)
If the breakage is in the DRM implementation, then don't use that player. If the maintainers of that player want people to use their software, they'll have to find a solution. If it's a hardware player, demand a refund!
If the breakage is really the licenser saying "screw you" to those who accepted and followed the license, then don't use content from that licenser. He's shooting himself in the foot. Let him. Watch him. Laugh.
The encryption IS wanted.
on
Open Source DRM
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Actually, in both cases the encryption is wanted, by the people who have the right to encrypt it.
You have the right to encrypt anything on your machine, in the name of privacy.
You also have the right to encrypt anything you make before giving it to other people, then choosing when and how they can unencrypt it. This is called "DRM."
If an artist doesn't want his music sampled, well, sucks to be him. He's going to make fewer sales, and won't earn as much money. DRM protects a savvy user's authority. It doesn't protect idiots from themselves.
Only if the definition of "copyright protection measures" can't be expanded to include things that make it more difficult to track down/prosecute the violater.
Ugh. For those on Slashdot that don't think the DMCA is too broad, think about that for an hour or two.
Individuals don't have to see the negative side of spam, if they use something like Mozilla's spam filtering, or any of the unix MTA plugins. A defendant is likely to ask, "well, why didn't you use an anti-spam tool?" which would be a very good argument, at least in front of a jury.
I expect that businesses will be able to prove their case much more effectively, having to deal with millions of spam messages over very short periods of time. It's much easier for a business to prove damages, what with server and monitor logs.
Slashdot Mirror
A couple milliamperes alone are enough to cause muscle to go into tight contraction. That spells "heart attack" if it goes through your heart.
Having measured myself, I know I'm 2.2 megaohms from one hand to the next. I'm told that, if you puncture the skin, that goes down to only a few ohms.
Seriously, Ben Bova wrote a couple of books on the political consequences of nanomachines. I thought that Slashdot, of all places, would have smaller percentage of nanoluddites than the general public. I mean, come on people. All technology comes with consequences. We usually accept these risks freely.
And, think about it. The types of nanotechnology Ben Bova described as dangerous were self-replicating. But aren't bacteria self-replicating? What about chemical explosions? Nuclear reactions?
The only types of nanomachines that are dangerous are those that perform only a minimal amount of precautions as to what specific things they can operate on.
Also, antidotes will come a lot more easily, should a nanomachine prove to have negative effects on health, there's no reason another nanomachine can't be built to specifically destroy the first. At the point when nanomachines become really useful, they'll be capable of recognizing entire molecules based on physical structure, not just on chemical properties. Nanomachines will be able to be built to specifically recognize the structure of the target nanomachine, and so developers will be able to precisely control what nanomachines will operate on.
Finally, I don't think people realize how difficult it will be to create a self-replicating nanomachine. It's a damned complicated process. It's not like computer viruses that can copy themselves with a hardcoded memcpy() command; self-replicating nanomachines would have to be able to build another copy of itself without using itself as a reference.
I have a friend who was accused of molesting his former roommate's daughter. His porn collection, all legal, was used as evidence, to attack his character.
Nah...that's what admins sing occasionally if they're not running Linux.
AMD CPUs are about the same temperature as Intel CPUs of the same performance range. I don't know about the Itanium, though. It was intended to be a revolutionary design, and it runs at a much lower clock speed. It wouldn't suprise me if it was cooler.
I know the memory bus isn't changed. With a 64-bit bus, which we've had since the original Pentium, a 64-bit piece of data will occupy the whole bus.
Normally, when a memory request is made, the bus will grab a 64-bit chunk of memory, regardless of the size of the piece of data that's needed. That way, if any other data in that chunk is needed, it's already sitting in the cache.
With a 32-bit architecture, you're always gauranteed to grab at least two pieces of information. (More, if there are 16-bit and 8-bit pieces of information within that 64-bit chunk.) With a 64-bit architecture, you'll occasionally grab a sigle, large piece of data.
Savvy programmers have been storing data in the smallest possible amount of memory for years. It's no different now.
One might use an op-amp to multiply the current through the LED... Just a thought.
Never mind the fact that the tinkerer's version is more flexible. The Ambient Orb version supports 125 unique color combinations(5^3), while the tinkerer's version supports 729 (9^3).
Quite a neat way he did it, too. He pulses the LEDs instead of setting a constant current. That way, he doesn't need a DAC to get widely variable levels of brightness.
It did occur to me that they may be able to arrange for a kickback whenever they post a product link.
/. community.
If the company offers a coupon code, then they're likely to get slashdotted pretty quick, at least for geek-cool products. A sort of purchased sales spike.
It would be really neat if they offered coupon codes specifically for Slashdot references.
However, if the editors don't exercise a great deal of caution in which products they post, they're going to alienate users. It would have to be limited to products lusted after by the
Which means they're not likely to get pissed off when people mod it.
You're going to see overclocking, Linux game ports, probably a project for a gcc backend.
Someone's going to hack on a wireless adapter, and get it to run Opera.
When the manufacturers are supportive, or when they don't have billions of dollars, there's all sorts of things you can do.
No good...My CRT would keep the paint charged all night.
I've always wanted to be known as the Bastard Operator from Hell. After performing tech support for four years (through most of your teens), the name just draws you somehow.
As the tech support for a small ISP, I'm usually referred to as "that nice {boy|man}" or "the help" depending on which customer you ask.
My bosses (two of them), when talking about me, refer to me as "my son," "our son" or "Mike." Makes sense, as we're just one small happy family.
But believe me, I hear ya. After serving as tech support for four years, I occasionally twitch when I hear the phone ring.
See the Wikipedia.
As a general rule, a class-action suit would be fully justified. And in order.
In the mean time, for the Disney example, her children can watch Bob the Builder, Veggie Tales, Teletubbies, Sesame Street, and any other of mind-numbing-yet-educational material.
Or her kids could watch movies by Pixar and Warner Bros. Or break out that mothballed VCR and rent something interesting from the library.
If you've accepted the license to use the DRM'd material, then the system will let you use it. It's your choice whether or not you find the material worth accepting the license.
I don't think you're giving your mother enough credit. If she's not afraid of buzzwords, then she has every right to know what she's getting into.
Her only problem was that she thought she understood more than she actually did. IMHO, rather than grumble at her ignorance, which you deem unnecessary, you ought to be pointing her to websites like Wikipedia, Ars Technica and Everything2, so she can drink from the wells of knowledge. That'll let her decide whether she wants to be "in the know," or whether she wants something that "just works."
As incentive, think about this: Wouldn't you rather she be able to fix her own computer? If she's interested in learning, she will.
It's all in the license. If the license is written "properly," they won't allow duplication in nonDRM'd form. Then you're under contract not to screw around with it.
If your DRM-enabled player won't let you use content you have a right to (read, content whose license you accepted, and are following, in order to use it), then you've got a few options.
If the breakage is in the DRM specification, then don't use content protected by that form of DRM. If enough people do this, it's called a "grass-roots" movement. The providers will have to find a solution that satisfy's the consumer. (Of course, that's free-market doctrine, which doesn't always pan out.)
If the breakage is in the DRM implementation, then don't use that player. If the maintainers of that player want people to use their software, they'll have to find a solution. If it's a hardware player, demand a refund!
If the breakage is really the licenser saying "screw you" to those who accepted and followed the license, then don't use content from that licenser. He's shooting himself in the foot. Let him. Watch him. Laugh.
Actually, in both cases the encryption is wanted, by the people who have the right to encrypt it.
You have the right to encrypt anything on your machine, in the name of privacy.
You also have the right to encrypt anything you make before giving it to other people, then choosing when and how they can unencrypt it. This is called "DRM."
If an artist doesn't want his music sampled, well, sucks to be him. He's going to make fewer sales, and won't earn as much money. DRM protects a savvy user's authority. It doesn't protect idiots from themselves.
On Slashdot, the Yeas and Nays follow each other, with an occasional +/- mod thrown in to liven up the competition.
Only if the definition of "copyright protection measures" can't be expanded to include things that make it more difficult to track down/prosecute the violater.
Ugh. For those on Slashdot that don't think the DMCA is too broad, think about that for an hour or two.
To paraphrase the poster,
imagine Freenet with content geocoded. Kinda removes the privacy element, right?
Individuals don't have to see the negative side of spam, if they use something like Mozilla's spam filtering, or any of the unix MTA plugins. A defendant is likely to ask, "well, why didn't you use an anti-spam tool?" which would be a very good argument, at least in front of a jury.
I expect that businesses will be able to prove their case much more effectively, having to deal with millions of spam messages over very short periods of time. It's much easier for a business to prove damages, what with server and monitor logs.
I think it has the best immediate potential for things like ad-hoc 802.11 networks that consist of live cars on the freeway, and buildings nearby.
:)
Traffic jams would be ironic...your data could be moving faster than you.
Take a look at their list of restricted games. (Posted in a comment above)
Every FPS I've ever heard of is listed.