Once Again Duchovny Shuns Canada
on
The Truth Revealed
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I found it ironic that Mulder once again shunned Canada (when he ignores the advice of Kerst to go North) -- although it's probably a bit of an inside joke by Chris Carter. The show's downturn is widely held as simultaneous to when production moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Talk about the thing "going south". Apropos for the final episode to follow the same pattern to it's ultimate conclusion.
The winner of the 500 millionth result, Milada had the odds stacked against her. First, she is a she and we all know what the rates are there in the geek world. Next, she's not from the US (41.5% of SETI contributers are US residents), she's listed as Czech (only about 0.6% of the SETI contributers are Czech residents). And last she's only returned (as of this post) 92 results!
Such a combination is so astronomically unlikely, I think we've found our ET people!
But seriously I'm glad the prize went to someone who's got this unlikely profile, it just proves how truly global and widespread the SETI appeal is. Congratulations to SETI and Milada!
It should be noted up front that Verizon predicts 40-60 kbps will be the initial
routinely obtained transfer rate in Express Network service, that is, the same as one
would expect from a current V.90 dial-up modem. (Still, it's better than 14.4!)
The system architecture (currently at the 1X-RTT level) can easily be scaled up to
the 3X level, which would give it a 153 kbps transfer rate. The 3X upgrade works
by chaining together enough bandwidth for 16 voice calls and delivering them to
the same user.
Some of these statements are inaccurate. 1x-RTT offers rates even beyond 153 kbps today. Verizon is choosing to limit speeds within the scope of 1x-RTT, but 153 kbps is certainly available. 3x takes three 1x channels and sandwiches their spectrum offering max speeds in the Mbps range, not kbps. However, almost no one believes 3x will ever happen, since it requires major changes to the RF portion of the network infrastructure (read: megabucks), and of course like 1x, requires brand new hand sets/modem cards. Far from an easy upgrade.
IANAL, but it seems to me this case is about the U.S. Government versus Elcomsoft. Dmitry Sklyarov was in jail because of this DMCA thing. Sure Adobe whispered in the ear of some Feds to get it going, then backed down when the PR was bad. But now ElcomSoft is being tried for a crime. This is not a civil matter, it's criminal one. The plaintiff is the US Government. That's what makes the DMCA so incidious... it makes creating/using/distributing certain software a crime!
Methinks the confusion around application of commercial/civil law here is that Adobe was involved (at first), and that a fine is being proposed. I assume the fine is on the table since you can't throw a company in jail. If found guilty, the fine would be paid by ElcomSoft to the US Government! Sure, Adobe might go after them separately... in civil action. Remember how OJ was found responsible for wrongful death, civilly, although not guilty of murder, criminally? In the former he was assessed damages, in the latter he escaped jail or the death penalty. Big difference.
By far the most complex part of a cell phone is the RF design.
This is utterly false. Hundreds, if not thousands of shops can churn out a good RF design for a phone. But only a handful can do the chipsets. Look at 2G CDMA... there's only 3-4 sources total worldwide. Not to mention the firmware that runs on the thing. Have you even looked at the standards? The RF specs make up a tiny fraction, where the protocol specs are thousands of pages. All those Qualcomm engineers are not working on RF design (or Eudora bug fixes)... 2G/2.5G/3G is all about complex signal processing and protocol engineering!
The problem with internet cellular connections is that the DSP's and operating firmware in cell phones are competely dedicated to moving voice-data.
This is misleading at best. You say it yourself voice-data and digital. Even many analog phones can run CDPD, and all modern 2G digital phones do circuit-switched data.
This is the silliest press release I've seen in a long time.
What they are actually referring to is "CDMA 2000-1XEV". The "EV" stands for "Enhanced Voice".
VZW is rolling 1xRTT, 1xEVxx stands for EVolutionary
WCDMA: Wideband CDMA. It wil start to appear in Europe and some US networks later this year (IIRC). It will have a maximum data rate of 384Kbps (IIRC). However, it uses almost 5MHz of the spectrum (~2.5 forward link + ~2.5 on the reverse link)
Maximum data rate is NOT 384 kbps, this is just what the Japanese early FOMA adopters are limited to. The 5MHz is NOT split forward/reverse. Bandwidth and chip rate (3.84 Mcps) is same in BOTH directions.
1xEV-DO stands for EVolutionary Data Only
For those with even a slight interest in the actual facts and standards, there are two standards groups looking after the two 3G streams. The 3G Paternership Project is responsible for the GSM migration path aka WCDMA. The 3G Partnership Project 2 covers the Qualcomm migration to cdma2000 (1xRTT, 3x, etc) etc.
Firstenberg refused to disclose his diagnosis, which allows him to collect disability income
If he visits wireless-saturated San Francisco, three hours south of Mendocino, his devices go berserk and he experiences multiple symptoms, including an unquenchable thirst, a pressure in his chest and behind his eyeballs, and "buzzing sensations" in his lips.
Apparently it is possible to get on the gubment cheese by claiming an affliction derived from the plot of any Gilligan's Island episode.
I lived in Lethbridge for a few months over ten years ago. It was a small town then and still is, as you can see here (less than 70,000 population).
IMHO, Southern Alberta is an attractive region if you're into farming or ranching, but doesn't generally have a large enough population to support the University of Lethbridge on its own. Calgary is only a couple hours away by car, and tends to draw the more city-minded students.
It seems the U of Lethbridge has to use these clever gimmicks to attract enough students from outside the region to keep itself viable. By making the crypto test relatively simple, it taps into the ego of a wider number of prospective students.
I don't think cheaters should be caught and here's why. Cheaters won't learn and in the real world will not succeed as developers. So who cares if they pass a few courses along the way. I knew a cheater in school who later cheated at work and was fired.
But instituting a cheat-detector, especially as lamely as some have indicated, will force students to find "creative" ways to make their code different from their classmates. Not better, but different. These people will be educated enough to be successfully employed. But their code will be fraught with illogic and inelegance because of the ingrained "must be different" attitude. Coding standards will be ignored completely. People will begin to submit production code to the IOCCC. And software quality as a discipline will take a huge step backwards.
Don't know if it's universally available, but my alma mater allowed students to challenge courses. Just pay the fee and write the final exam. Repeat until degree complete. Theoretically, anyway.
If you are as smart and self-educated as you claim, this will take about 1 year (and plenty of $$) since not all courses are offered every semester. Otherwise, the first few failed exams will prove out just how much you don't get from reading the trendy books and working in the trenches!
Slashdot Mirror
I found it ironic that Mulder once again shunned Canada (when he ignores the advice of Kerst to go North) -- although it's probably a bit of an inside joke by Chris Carter. The show's downturn is widely held as simultaneous to when production moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Talk about the thing "going south". Apropos for the final episode to follow the same pattern to it's ultimate conclusion.
Cat-shaped Barcode Scanner Passes Radio Shack Tests
The winner of the 500 millionth result, Milada had the odds stacked against her. First, she is a she and we all know what the rates are there in the geek world. Next, she's not from the US (41.5% of SETI contributers are US residents), she's listed as Czech (only about 0.6% of the SETI contributers are Czech residents). And last she's only returned (as of this post) 92 results!
Such a combination is so astronomically unlikely, I think we've found our ET people!
But seriously I'm glad the prize went to someone who's got this unlikely profile, it just proves how truly global and widespread the SETI appeal is. Congratulations to SETI and Milada!
This being a geek site, we should know better. Spider silk comes out through spinneret spigots, not through the anus.
Aha, that explains the difference between poop shoot and poop chute. Thanks.
It should be noted up front that Verizon predicts 40-60 kbps will be the initial routinely obtained transfer rate in Express Network service, that is, the same as one would expect from a current V.90 dial-up modem. (Still, it's better than 14.4!) The system architecture (currently at the 1X-RTT level) can easily be scaled up to the 3X level, which would give it a 153 kbps transfer rate. The 3X upgrade works by chaining together enough bandwidth for 16 voice calls and delivering them to the same user.
Some of these statements are inaccurate. 1x-RTT offers rates even beyond 153 kbps today. Verizon is choosing to limit speeds within the scope of 1x-RTT, but 153 kbps is certainly available. 3x takes three 1x channels and sandwiches their spectrum offering max speeds in the Mbps range, not kbps. However, almost no one believes 3x will ever happen, since it requires major changes to the RF portion of the network infrastructure (read: megabucks), and of course like 1x, requires brand new hand sets/modem cards. Far from an easy upgrade.
... she wanna Perl Necklace ...
What's the point if an asteroid is going to hit what are we going to do exactly?
Hit it with an ICBM full of Preparation H! That stuff shrinks 'roids like nobody's business!
IANAL, but it seems to me this case is about the U.S. Government versus Elcomsoft. Dmitry Sklyarov was in jail because of this DMCA thing. Sure Adobe whispered in the ear of some Feds to get it going, then backed down when the PR was bad. But now ElcomSoft is being tried for a crime. This is not a civil matter, it's criminal one. The plaintiff is the US Government. That's what makes the DMCA so incidious... it makes creating/using/distributing certain software a crime!
Methinks the confusion around application of commercial/civil law here is that Adobe was involved (at first), and that a fine is being proposed. I assume the fine is on the table since you can't throw a company in jail. If found guilty, the fine would be paid by ElcomSoft to the US Government! Sure, Adobe might go after them separately... in civil action. Remember how OJ was found responsible for wrongful death, civilly, although not guilty of murder, criminally? In the former he was assessed damages, in the latter he escaped jail or the death penalty. Big difference.
Best one I saw was 0xBEDABABE.
...as long as John Cleese is nowhere within a 100 mile radius. Painful.
By far the most complex part of a cell phone is the RF design.
This is utterly false. Hundreds, if not thousands of shops can churn out a good RF design for a phone. But only a handful can do the chipsets. Look at 2G CDMA... there's only 3-4 sources total worldwide. Not to mention the firmware that runs on the thing. Have you even looked at the standards? The RF specs make up a tiny fraction, where the protocol specs are thousands of pages. All those Qualcomm engineers are not working on RF design (or Eudora bug fixes)... 2G/2.5G/3G is all about complex signal processing and protocol engineering!
The problem with internet cellular connections is that the DSP's and operating firmware in cell phones are competely dedicated to moving voice-data.
This is misleading at best. You say it yourself voice-data and digital. Even many analog phones can run CDPD, and all modern 2G digital phones do circuit-switched data.
This is the silliest press release I've seen in a long time.
OK, I'll give you this one.
Can anyone tell me the difference between a 'metric buttload' and an 'Imperial buttload'? Thanks.
I believe the imperial buttload is based on the size of Hing Henry V's rear end. Quite large, it was.
While the metric buttload is smaller, it scales nicely. For example, there are 10 metric buttloads in a metric shitload.
QED
Corrections and Extra Info
What they are actually referring to is "CDMA 2000-1XEV". The "EV" stands for "Enhanced Voice".
VZW is rolling 1xRTT, 1xEVxx stands for EVolutionary
WCDMA: Wideband CDMA. It wil start to appear in Europe and some US networks later this year (IIRC). It will have a maximum data rate of 384Kbps (IIRC). However, it uses almost 5MHz of the spectrum (~2.5 forward link + ~2.5 on the reverse link)
Maximum data rate is NOT 384 kbps, this is just what the Japanese early FOMA adopters are limited to. The 5MHz is NOT split forward/reverse. Bandwidth and chip rate (3.84 Mcps) is same in BOTH directions.
1xEV-DO stands for EVolutionary Data Only
For those with even a slight interest in the actual facts and standards, there are two standards groups looking after the two 3G streams. The 3G Paternership Project is responsible for the GSM migration path aka WCDMA. The 3G Partnership Project 2 covers the Qualcomm migration to cdma2000 (1xRTT, 3x, etc) etc.
Irish Inventor Says Cracks World's Energy Needs By Kevin Smith
C'mon people, the story is *not* reality, but just a few missing pages from the script for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back!
Firstenberg refused to disclose his diagnosis, which allows him to collect disability income
If he visits wireless-saturated San Francisco, three hours south of Mendocino, his devices go berserk and he experiences multiple symptoms, including an unquenchable thirst, a pressure in his chest and behind his eyeballs, and "buzzing sensations" in his lips.
Apparently it is possible to get on the gubment cheese by claiming an affliction derived from the plot of any Gilligan's Island episode.
Robert Putnam published Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community two years ago (the book is now out in paperback)
Although the book sounds mildly interesting, I think I'll wait to read it when it becomes available on-line.
I lived in Lethbridge for a few months over ten years ago. It was a small town then and still is, as you can see here (less than 70,000 population).
IMHO, Southern Alberta is an attractive region if you're into farming or ranching, but doesn't generally have a large enough population to support the University of Lethbridge on its own. Calgary is only a couple hours away by car, and tends to draw the more city-minded students.
It seems the U of Lethbridge has to use these clever gimmicks to attract enough students from outside the region to keep itself viable. By making the crypto test relatively simple, it taps into the ego of a wider number of prospective students.
Pretty smart marketing move, actually.
I don't think cheaters should be caught and here's why. Cheaters won't learn and in the real world will not succeed as developers. So who cares if they pass a few courses along the way. I knew a cheater in school who later cheated at work and was fired.
But instituting a cheat-detector, especially as lamely as some have indicated, will force students to find "creative" ways to make their code different from their classmates. Not better, but different. These people will be educated enough to be successfully employed. But their code will be fraught with illogic and inelegance because of the ingrained "must be different" attitude. Coding standards will be ignored completely. People will begin to submit production code to the IOCCC. And software quality as a discipline will take a huge step backwards.
I'd be looking to inform on some Chicago mobsters. The Witness Protection Program is about the only way he'll ever recover from this...
I sense a lawsuit from Crystal Light
Then I'd have an excuse to carry one of those cool silver flasks filled with vodka.
It's just for my laptop, dear!
<pun> I guess all those PHD's mentioned in the article would be spin doctors... </pun>
A slashdot fave, why not consider the Intrinsyc cerfBoard? It's small, got an ultra-low-power StrongARM CPU, PCMCIA for 802.11, and runs Linux too.
Don't know if it's universally available, but my alma mater allowed students to challenge courses. Just pay the fee and write the final exam. Repeat until degree complete. Theoretically, anyway.
If you are as smart and self-educated as you claim, this will take about 1 year (and plenty of $$) since not all courses are offered every semester. Otherwise, the first few failed exams will prove out just how much you don't get from reading the trendy books and working in the trenches!