Am I the only one who is as unconvinced by the arguments of the Believers as those of the Unbelievers?
Having read (at least some of) the links, I'm fascinated, if irritated by conspiracy theories outnumbering the circles themselves.
The doubters I have seen so far in this forum are yet to present convincing scientific evidence against -- and out-of-hand dismissal or ridicule doesn't count.
One thing I am sure of is that there is an explanation, even if we haven't found it yet, and this (no, I don't believe it's done simply with planks and ropes) would be interesting in itself.
Users of less-than-optimal quality compressed formats such as MP3 & Ogg use them because they are convenient to download (& share), and because they are manageable in terms of storage needs -- especially for those who like to keep them online. Such formats have taken over from the C90 audio cassette of my school days in that they provide the best medium for music-swapping. However they still do not provide the best possible digital listening experience, and I prefer to own my favourite music on CD.
So here's a radical idea that no-one seems to have taken seriously to date, and it's one which would suit all parties: Artists, Recording industry, Publishers/Distributors and Consumers.
The advantages of owning music on CD are: Quality, Variety, and Packaging. The music is in uncompressed format, the track collection may include numbers previously unheard (leading to new discoveries), and the packaging hopefully provides reading and pictorial material on the artist(s).
Now if publishers produced a package as a downloadable CD-quality image, incorporating uncompressed music and a multimedia "sleeve" (background, photos, soundbytes, interviews, videos, printable CD cover, etc.), such that I could burn this to CD, I for one could be persuaded to part with $$ for this. OK, it might take me 6 days to d/l until I get DSL, but the time has come to consider this.
I understand CD fabs are expensive, so the industry could pass on some of the savings they make [howls of ironic laughter from the crowd], with the standard CD price redefined at around say $5. Who would balk at that? The "single" or EP format will continue to appeal, and should also be offered, at lower cost. Recordable DVD offers possibilities for larger collections, movies and so forth (though how the network may creak under the load is for another discussion).
No-one is pretending that the swapping will not continue, but collectors are prepared to pay a small premium for extra quality if the price is right.
Is there any actual evidence that phones do interfere with flight electronics?
It would appear so. A recent article (dated Oct 13) on BBC News documents just such an incident, "believed to be the first of its kind recorded in the UK".
Details are unfortunately a little sketchy. I would be interested, for example, whether it was the ILS signals which were affected, or the onboard autopilot system. The author is also unable to name the airline.
Although UK cellphones use a different band to those in the US, this should be enough to dissuade all but the criminally insane from using their cells in the air.
I got a lot of fascination and fun out of SETI for a couple of years, and even burned my fingers a couple of times on the vent of my laptop (I swear you could fry eggs on that thing when it was looking for green men in SETI packets). There came a point, however, when it dawned that SETI had enough momentum to continue without me should I wish to look at other distributed processing projects.
Then I came across the Olson laboratory's FightAIDS@home project, and decided to take a look. And now I'm crunching HIV Research units, something which though arguably less spectacular/glamorous than looking for aliens, certainly deserves our more immediate (collective) attention.
So if you're casting around for something worthy to occupy your idle CPU, or even if you're just curious, why not take a look?
Slashdot Mirror
Am I the only one who is as unconvinced by the arguments of the Believers as those of the Unbelievers?
:-)
Having read (at least some of) the links, I'm fascinated, if irritated by conspiracy theories outnumbering the circles themselves.
The doubters I have seen so far in this forum are yet to present convincing scientific evidence against -- and out-of-hand dismissal or ridicule doesn't count.
One thing I am sure of is that there is an explanation, even if we haven't found it yet, and this (no, I don't believe it's done simply with planks and ropes) would be interesting in itself.
At least there's some damn good art there
You'll be asking us to believe they grow on trees next.
Users of less-than-optimal quality compressed formats such as MP3 & Ogg use them because they are convenient to download (& share), and because they are manageable in terms of storage needs -- especially for those who like to keep them online. Such formats have taken over from the C90 audio cassette of my school days in that they provide the best medium for music-swapping. However they still do not provide the best possible digital listening experience, and I prefer to own my favourite music on CD.
So here's a radical idea that no-one seems to have taken seriously to date, and it's one which would suit all parties: Artists, Recording industry, Publishers/Distributors and Consumers.
The advantages of owning music on CD are: Quality, Variety, and Packaging. The music is in uncompressed format, the track collection may include numbers previously unheard (leading to new discoveries), and the packaging hopefully provides reading and pictorial material on the artist(s).
Now if publishers produced a package as a downloadable CD-quality image, incorporating uncompressed music and a multimedia "sleeve" (background, photos, soundbytes, interviews, videos, printable CD cover, etc.), such that I could burn this to CD, I for one could be persuaded to part with $$ for this. OK, it might take me 6 days to d/l until I get DSL, but the time has come to consider this.
I understand CD fabs are expensive, so the industry could pass on some of the savings they make [howls of ironic laughter from the crowd], with the standard CD price redefined at around say $5. Who would balk at that? The "single" or EP format will continue to appeal, and should also be offered, at lower cost. Recordable DVD offers possibilities for larger collections, movies and so forth (though how the network may creak under the load is for another discussion).
No-one is pretending that the swapping will not continue, but collectors are prepared to pay a small premium for extra quality if the price is right.
After all, it is better to learn from the mistakes of others than from your own, right?
Not better, but more comfortable. You will generally remember better what you learn from making your own mistakes.
Not that I would discourage your approach (or curiosity).
Is there any actual evidence that phones do interfere with flight electronics?
It would appear so. A recent article (dated Oct 13) on BBC News documents just such an incident, "believed to be the first of its kind recorded in the UK".
Details are unfortunately a little sketchy. I would be interested, for example, whether it was the ILS signals which were affected, or the onboard autopilot system. The author is also unable to name the airline.
Although UK cellphones use a different band to those in the US, this should be enough to dissuade all but the criminally insane from using their cells in the air.
Ask these guys
I got a lot of fascination and fun out of SETI for a couple of years, and even burned my fingers a couple of times on the vent of my laptop (I swear you could fry eggs on that thing when it was looking for green men in SETI packets). There came a point, however, when it dawned that SETI had enough momentum to continue without me should I wish to look at other distributed processing projects.
Then I came across the Olson laboratory's FightAIDS@home project, and decided to take a look. And now I'm crunching HIV Research units, something which though arguably less spectacular/glamorous than looking for aliens, certainly deserves our more immediate (collective) attention.
So if you're casting around for something worthy to occupy your idle CPU, or even if you're just curious, why not take a look?