Well, the Spanish did bring along blankets from plague victims as 'gifts'. All the advanced weapons in the world aren't going to help if one is in bed dying from a disease unknown to your culture.
That's one of the things that I find so interesting all of this. We have a PhD in metallurgy taking years to reverse engineering a piece of metal made several centuries ago. How did the ancient blacksmiths figure it out? Were they just plain lucky to get an ore with the right amount of impurities?
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting account written by Spanish invaders about the weapons of the inhabitants of Central America. Apparently, the natives had wooden swords that had pieces of flint embedded along the edge. It doesn't sound like much, but they could decapitate a Conquistador's horse with one hit.
What's the point of having a global treaty like Kyoto, if several countries are exempted from it because they are classified as 'developing'? All that is going to do is encourage heavy industries that produce a lot of pollution to move to those nations. Kyoto needs to be changed to apply to all nations.
With the passage of the Clean Air act, the auto makers have tried to thwart the sale of aftermarket parts and have dragged their feet on giving other people details. All the while that if they did, people could use the information to bypass or disable the emission control systems. It hasn't worked out for them, though. I'm sure they would love to have a DMCA type law to apply to cars.
I remember the Jr very well. It was my second computer and was a work horse through high school and college. I still used it until about 92 or 93 when my office was flooded. I had replaced the 8088 with the faster NEC chip, it had 736K of memory, two floppies (a 360K and a 720K), and a 80M SCSI hard drive. It had the good keyboard though, not the chiclet one.
I can agree with you about the affordable part. The IBMs were expensive. A college friend had one of the original PCs. His dad originally paid $5000 for it. I originally wanted a Mac, but they were too expensive, so I had to opt out for a//c. I later traded the//c for the Jr.
and if it wasn't for MS the IBM PC (and its open standards) probably wouldn't be around today if it wasn't for them.
That's partially true since Gates insisted on being able to license it to other parties. However, I seem to remember a story that the only reason they did choose MS was because they couldn't get in contact with their original choice (Digital Research??). It also didn't hurt that Bill's mom was a friend of some IBM bigshot.
Actually, they licensed all of the original code from Spyglass (who got it from NCSA). Part of the deal was that Spyglass would get a cut from each copy of IE sold. Unfortunately for them, Billy gave it away for free and now they have been aquired by OpenTV.
Hmm...They are spending 3-4 times the markup on a SUV and $250 more a month in operating costs than a comparable car. Given that 85% of them aren't being used for what they were designed, but as a commute/basic transportation vehicle instead, I would certainly say that their owners have more money than brains.
That's a part of it. They *don't* learn. They just jump in it and drive it like they would a normal car w/o realizing that it is more likely to tip over due to the higher center of gravity or that it takes longer to stop because of the increased mass. I would see this all the time before the SUV craze with guys and their 4x4 pickups. Combine the over confidence produced by SUVs and the 80% greater chance that the occupants of a car hit by one will die, you can certainly see why many people don't like SUVs. Hell at least truck and bus drivers have to go through some form of training.
I doubt econoboxes are driving insurance rates up. The insurance industry has gone back and forth over this (for higher rates: safety, theft, higher liability, cause more deaths, etc.; against: safety for occupants). Allstate and Progressive charge more for SUVs while State Farm gives them a discount. Given that they waste about $250 a month on ego. For people to claim that SUVs are safer, they are only looking at from the aspect of being an SUV occupant in a crash. They are actually dangerous if you are in a car and are hit by one. Given that SUVs are less maneuverable and take longer to stop due to their mass, you probably have a better chance of avoiding an accident in a car. Since 85% of them aren't being used for what they are designed for, it is a waste. For most people, having a SUV in a metro area is just plain DUMB (let's have one person commute ina 10-15mpg vehicle, take up two parking spaces, or can't fit in some parking garages [a guy at work can't park his Excursion in the garage because it's too tall]). I can think of better things to spend my money on.
According to this article, an SUV owner spends an extra $100-$250 per month compared to a regular car in just operating costs on top of the extra cost of the vehicle. It would be better to put this in a retirement fund. Considering that 85% of these vehicles are never used for the conditions they are designed for, that really is a waste. All for ego.
Re:Yeah, it's SO much better to do NOTHING...
on
Triana Mothballed
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· Score: 2
Do you think all of the Soviet Union's nukes were scrapped when that country collapsed? China has been expanding its military and has recently allied itself with Russia in order to counteract the US. All its bitching about how the proposed missle shield would violate the ABM treay, Russia certainly doesn't have a problem with their extensive network of SAMs. Sure, they might not be good enough to knock down a missle as designed, but they could at least _try_ and get lucky. That's a big lead over what the US has, which is nothing.
As such it would cost a very small amount to develop software to integrate those pictures to generate an image of what the planet would look like from any point,
That's been done many years ago. I did something similar as an intern in 89 to make a video of the Earth rotating using satellite images.
There is already oil drilling in the area right next to the ANWR. The proposal only expands that area by 6000 acres into the ANWR. It's not going to be as difficult as you make it sound.
The scientific instruments were added after the project was started in order to get it past the NAS. We already have several satellites that are being used for global environmental monitoring. Friends of mine process and archive gigabytes of it every week. The only thing useful about Triana would be that it could take a picture of the entire Earth at once and no mosaicing would need to be done. However, it's probably too far away to be of any real scientific use compared to what's already flying. So it gets put in storage for a while. Big deal. It hardly deserves two Slashdot stories in as many days.
Re:Serious blow to open source & free software
on
Code Red III
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· Score: 2
They also make it sounds like IIS is the standard and that Apache is just an alternative. I guess they don't read Netcraft's reports. Just MS PR.
Then why is it that every time anyone mentions anything about urban sprawl, Portland is always mentioned as a metro area that manages growth the "correct" way and the example that should be followed?
Thanks for the link. It made Anchorage even more attractive.
You've just described what many urban planners hate nowdays: sprawl. Everyone is supposed to emulate Portland now and pack more people and businesses into less space. Didn't you know that people who leave their decaying neighborhoods and move into the suburbs have been reclassified as evil? They are supposed to be tolerant of the crack heads next door, the gangsters on the corner, the illegal immigrants across the street, etc. and stay in the crossfire. Where have you been?
I'd much rather live in the country. It's peaceful, cleaner, lower crime, less expensive, and IMHO, a better place to raise a family. I've been to SF, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Dallas, & Chicago and you couldn't pay me enough to live in any of those places. I think the only reasons I'm living where I'm at now are: 1) I actually like my job and 2) my wife squanders so much money that it's damn near impossible to save up any to move away.
The best programming job I ever had was at a Federal facility that most here would consider to be in BFE. We had lots of cool *nix machines to work on and interesting projects. At noon most of the programmers would go outside and take a walk along the neighboring corn fields. No smog, rarely any cars speeding by , and it was quiet so you could think about the latest algorithm that was puzzling you. Any resources one needed could be found on the internet [They were 10 years ago, should still be the same]. Unless it's an impulse buy, I don't purchase any geek toys at local stores and UPS/FedEx have regular delivery in rural areas. Sure, I would be paid less and it is cold in the winter, but I'd go back in a heartbeat.
When I went on an overseas trip I got a money belt that fit around my waist and one that had a loop to fit on my belt. I liked the last one so much that I use it all the time. My cash and cards are out of the way, safe, and I can use my pockets to carry other items. I'm on my 2nd one because I wore out the zippers on the first one. I don't think I'd ever want to go back to a regular wallet.
That certainly wouldn't motivate me to do anything but look for employment with a company that doesn't appear to be run by maniacs. I can see a bunch of kids doing that, but not an adult.
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Well, the Spanish did bring along blankets from plague victims as 'gifts'. All the advanced weapons in the world aren't going to help if one is in bed dying from a disease unknown to your culture.
Well, the Conquistadors thought it was flint at the time and that's what they described it as. But not that you mention it, it was obsidian.
That's one of the things that I find so interesting all of this. We have a PhD in metallurgy taking years to reverse engineering a piece of metal made several centuries ago. How did the ancient blacksmiths figure it out? Were they just plain lucky to get an ore with the right amount of impurities?
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting account written by Spanish invaders about the weapons of the inhabitants of Central America. Apparently, the natives had wooden swords that had pieces of flint embedded along the edge. It doesn't sound like much, but they could decapitate a Conquistador's horse with one hit.
What's the point of having a global treaty like Kyoto, if several countries are exempted from it because they are classified as 'developing'? All that is going to do is encourage heavy industries that produce a lot of pollution to move to those nations. Kyoto needs to be changed to apply to all nations.
I stopped using it when I got a 386 in 1992(!) How many of you have used a machine full time for that long? :)
I have and it too was a PCjr. See my previous comment about it. I wish I still had it.
With the passage of the Clean Air act, the auto makers have tried to thwart the sale of aftermarket parts and have dragged their feet on giving other people details. All the while that if they did, people could use the information to bypass or disable the emission control systems. It hasn't worked out for them, though. I'm sure they would love to have a DMCA type law to apply to cars.
I remember the Jr very well. It was my second computer and was a work horse through high school and college. I still used it until about 92 or 93 when my office was flooded. I had replaced the 8088 with the faster NEC chip, it had 736K of memory, two floppies (a 360K and a 720K), and a 80M SCSI hard drive. It had the good keyboard though, not the chiclet one.
I can agree with you about the affordable part. The IBMs were expensive. A college friend had one of the original PCs. His dad originally paid $5000 for it. I originally wanted a Mac, but they were too expensive, so I had to opt out for a //c. I later traded the //c for the Jr.
and if it wasn't for MS the IBM PC (and its open standards) probably wouldn't be around today if it wasn't for them.
That's partially true since Gates insisted on being able to license it to other parties. However, I seem to remember a story that the only reason they did choose MS was because they couldn't get in contact with their original choice (Digital Research??). It also didn't hurt that Bill's mom was a friend of some IBM bigshot.
Actually, they licensed all of the original code from Spyglass (who got it from NCSA). Part of the deal was that Spyglass would get a cut from each copy of IE sold. Unfortunately for them, Billy gave it away for free and now they have been aquired by OpenTV.
Hmm...They are spending 3-4 times the markup on a SUV and $250 more a month in operating costs than a comparable car. Given that 85% of them aren't being used for what they were designed, but as a commute/basic transportation vehicle instead, I would certainly say that their owners have more money than brains.
That's a part of it. They *don't* learn. They just jump in it and drive it like they would a normal car w/o realizing that it is more likely to tip over due to the higher center of gravity or that it takes longer to stop because of the increased mass. I would see this all the time before the SUV craze with guys and their 4x4 pickups. Combine the over confidence produced by SUVs and the 80% greater chance that the occupants of a car hit by one will die, you can certainly see why many people don't like SUVs. Hell at least truck and bus drivers have to go through some form of training.
I doubt econoboxes are driving insurance rates up. The insurance industry has gone back and forth over this (for higher rates: safety, theft, higher liability, cause more deaths, etc.; against: safety for occupants). Allstate and Progressive charge more for SUVs while State Farm gives them a discount. Given that they waste about $250 a month on ego. For people to claim that SUVs are safer, they are only looking at from the aspect of being an SUV occupant in a crash. They are actually dangerous if you are in a car and are hit by one. Given that SUVs are less maneuverable and take longer to stop due to their mass, you probably have a better chance of avoiding an accident in a car. Since 85% of them aren't being used for what they are designed for, it is a waste. For most people, having a SUV in a metro area is just plain DUMB (let's have one person commute ina 10-15mpg vehicle, take up two parking spaces, or can't fit in some parking garages [a guy at work can't park his Excursion in the garage because it's too tall]). I can think of better things to spend my money on.
According to this article, an SUV owner spends an extra $100-$250 per month compared to a regular car in just operating costs on top of the extra cost of the vehicle. It would be better to put this in a retirement fund. Considering that 85% of these vehicles are never used for the conditions they are designed for, that really is a waste. All for ego.
Do you think all of the Soviet Union's nukes were scrapped when that country collapsed? China has been expanding its military and has recently allied itself with Russia in order to counteract the US. All its bitching about how the proposed missle shield would violate the ABM treay, Russia certainly doesn't have a problem with their extensive network of SAMs. Sure, they might not be good enough to knock down a missle as designed, but they could at least _try_ and get lucky. That's a big lead over what the US has, which is nothing.
Maybe we can get the Europeans to launch Triana.
Maybe that's what Gore is doing in Europe besides growing a beard: trying to talk the EU into sending his pet sat into orbit.
As such it would cost a very small amount to develop software to integrate those pictures to generate an image of what the planet would look like from any point,
That's been done many years ago. I did something similar as an intern in 89 to make a video of the Earth rotating using satellite images.
There is already oil drilling in the area right next to the ANWR. The proposal only expands that area by 6000 acres into the ANWR. It's not going to be as difficult as you make it sound.
The scientific instruments were added after the project was started in order to get it past the NAS. We already have several satellites that are being used for global environmental monitoring. Friends of mine process and archive gigabytes of it every week. The only thing useful about Triana would be that it could take a picture of the entire Earth at once and no mosaicing would need to be done. However, it's probably too far away to be of any real scientific use compared to what's already flying. So it gets put in storage for a while. Big deal. It hardly deserves two Slashdot stories in as many days.
They also make it sounds like IIS is the standard and that Apache is just an alternative. I guess they don't read Netcraft's reports. Just MS PR.
Then why is it that every time anyone mentions anything about urban sprawl, Portland is always mentioned as a metro area that manages growth the "correct" way and the example that should be followed?
Thanks for the link. It made Anchorage even more attractive.
You've just described what many urban planners hate nowdays: sprawl. Everyone is supposed to emulate Portland now and pack more people and businesses into less space. Didn't you know that people who leave their decaying neighborhoods and move into the suburbs have been reclassified as evil? They are supposed to be tolerant of the crack heads next door, the gangsters on the corner, the illegal immigrants across the street, etc. and stay in the crossfire. Where have you been?
I'd much rather live in the country. It's peaceful, cleaner, lower crime, less expensive, and IMHO, a better place to raise a family. I've been to SF, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Dallas, & Chicago and you couldn't pay me enough to live in any of those places. I think the only reasons I'm living where I'm at now are: 1) I actually like my job and 2) my wife squanders so much money that it's damn near impossible to save up any to move away.
The best programming job I ever had was at a Federal facility that most here would consider to be in BFE. We had lots of cool *nix machines to work on and interesting projects. At noon most of the programmers would go outside and take a walk along the neighboring corn fields. No smog, rarely any cars speeding by , and it was quiet so you could think about the latest algorithm that was puzzling you. Any resources one needed could be found on the internet [They were 10 years ago, should still be the same]. Unless it's an impulse buy, I don't purchase any geek toys at local stores and UPS/FedEx have regular delivery in rural areas. Sure, I would be paid less and it is cold in the winter, but I'd go back in a heartbeat.
When I went on an overseas trip I got a money belt that fit around my waist and one that had a loop to fit on my belt. I liked the last one so much that I use it all the time. My cash and cards are out of the way, safe, and I can use my pockets to carry other items. I'm on my 2nd one because I wore out the zippers on the first one. I don't think I'd ever want to go back to a regular wallet.
Why not use the sort mentioned in the paper by Uri Guttman and Larry Rosler? It was made for this.
That certainly wouldn't motivate me to do anything but look for employment with a company that doesn't appear to be run by maniacs. I can see a bunch of kids doing that, but not an adult.