I didn't expect much less. But still stands. It's one thing when a tech or science issue is in the politics scene. (ie: global warming, diebold voting machines, etc). But can we please try to avoid purely "political" crap.
I get enough of that from every other news source - thank you very much!
Don't they know? "Every time they send a teacher up on the shuttle - it's catastrophic!"
*sighs*
- Once again safety last, just proves NASA learns jack from it's mistakes - Potential for a great test case in real world situations avoided.
If lives weren't involved, I'd want NASA to be wrong just so we'd get them to stop being pig-headed. For all the money involved in NASA, if it was put out as prize grants we'd probably get a lot more space presence and learning.
Come on, can we avoid turning slashdot into another whiny political site.
*sighs*
SPAM - the stupid side of things...
on
Storm Worm Rising
·
· Score: 1
Government and Big Corp always seem to be there when you don't want them. But they're never there when you do.
For year's I've wondered why we have such a persistant SPAM problem. There are number of things that can be done - but aren't.
- I don't believe there is ANY excuse for old viruses to circulate the web. I understand a new virus, but once a virus is known it should be stopped at the ISP & backbone levels.
- Where is the government? SPAM supposedly costs business' billions of dollars a year. That would mean to me that a portion of the trillions of dollars paid to the U.S. government in taxes should be allocated to it's cessation. Nail the spammers, and nail them hard.
- I get the same Myspace SPAM message a few times a week for a year now. So do most others on MySpace. The spam uses the same image for finance loans over and over. WHY? It should have been stopped ages ago.
- How to stop it...well, the easy way is to have a government or corporate entity utilize the SPAM service and trace the money back to it's source. Oh, and don't tell me that it's outside of our jurisdiction in some 3rd world country.
- If it's in a third world country. Let's help that nation's economic situation. A nice reward for x individual and company to be shut down would do wonders. Now, if that $10,000 reward happens to have Storm Controller's head removed from his body. It'd be a downright dirty shame...but not much more.
Multiple people + tripod. Equals just about ANY amateur photo group getting together. I mean, a bunch of us from a hobbyist photo site got together at Glenn Rock State Park to shoot waterfalls it equated to 20+ photographers and half that number of tripods.
I am sure the second gathering in Washington D.C. equated to about the same. So this DIRECTLY affects amateur / hobbyist photographers.
And frankly, if enforced it will one day go from shooting cameras to shooting bullets. (And dead photographers and guilty police.)
Honestly, I am getting so sick and fucking tired of these sort of controls. The perpetual infinite contracts where you have to cancel on the one day a year of renewal or you are hit with either an early termination fee or another term of contract.
It's getting ridiculous....
I've reached a point where I have no respect for copyright. 10 yrs ago things were different. But I'm sick of the price gouging and pseudo-controls. Why are all the stores charging $30 for a USB cable that used to cost $6.95. And that I can still go to Costco and get two + an extension cable for under $8. And they're gold-plated too boot.
The worst part of it, is people are so bloody apathetic these days that when there should be a revolt - there isn't. And so much money is dumped into welfare systems that enable people who don't work to buy HDTV's, cable, DSL, a Lexus, and what not without a care for where the money comes from. That hard working people can't even influence the system by not spending money. Cause we'll simply be taxed and have our money given to someone who will spend it.
I used to work at a company that shipped hazardous materials. I remember occasions where we'd get a return for leakage. Mind you, what was a 12" tall box was usually crushed accordian style to 8".
We were always left wondering what the hell they were doing. And if they could read the hazardous warning labels? (Mind you toxic warning labels also include pictures so if you're an illiterate fool you should still GET THE PICTURE!)
I am often amazed that ANY electronic device still works after postal services are done with them.
Unimaginative minds are doomed to be unimaginative.
This argument is easily dismissed, IMHO. First off a number of premises must be made. And a number of associations taken for granted.
I. That travel by sea to continents which took months as compared to travel in space taking years is drastically different.
This is not necessarily the case due to the increase in knowledge. See those few month voyages were much more difficult than a longer voyage would be today due to our knowledge of medicine, diseases, health, etc. Much of the loss and death at sea was due to health and not travelling.
That said, a 20 yr journey would be quite hard and difficult and require immense planning and good equipment. But let's look at the journey to Australia in 1600 versus 1800 versus 1950 versus modern day.
In the 1600's it was nigh impossible with the technology available. In the 1800's it was difficult but possible. Took quite some time. In the 1950's it was relatively easy and safe. Still took time but nothing like before. Now in present day you can be in Australia safely in one day's travel. WHY?
"Technological Advancement"
On the same hand. I could use the argument of how long it took to send a message or letter which was months originally to instant telephone communication. So let's see, how does a few months journey compare to mere milliseconds of delay? That would if taken the same way as Chris' argument, lead me to presume that space travel will be quite plausible once the technology is available.
The other premise the author relies upon is the inability to travel at or even faster than light. Now this may be accepted understanding than many. And though it may not be possible to travel faster than light in a normal real-time/space environment. I am one who believes such likely to be possible via other means. Be it dimensional hyperspace, or quantum entanglement molecular reconstruction. Who knows....
But most of what we do every day in travel and leisure would have been considered impossible 500 yrs ago. And was, due to lack of knowledge.
I always find it arrogant of scientists to believe they "know it all" and to exclaim impossibility for the future merely because of their lack of knowledge and understanding.
So what if habitable planets are 100 yrs away. Given time, man will find a way. We always have....
75,000+ miles while talking on a cell phone. Never been in an accident while talking on the cell phone. In fact, only one accident way back when I was 19. No tickets either.
I see little point in getting off the cell phone when I am still driving better while on the phone than 90% of the rest of the people on the road. And driving way better than 99% of the truckers who are allowed their CBs.
So unless we pass laws banning CBs while driving. I see little point in me stopping the use of my cell phone. In fact, it's probably prevented me from getting into a number of accidents while driving home real late while tired. Same reason we often have a friend along as a passenger for really long road trips.
A year ago I got a 17" widescreen Dell notebook with 1920x resolution. DualCore 2ghz. 2gigs of RAM. A 100gig 7,200rpm drive. Windows XP MCE. And several other add ons.
I was able to purchase said laptop for about $1,600. I looked at Macs and the equivalent specs were approaching $3,000.
Yes, I use a coupon. But they are readily and publicly available and even without the coupon the laptop was under $2,400. A full $600 less than the Mac.
No, but few of us use our computers while driving, walking, cooking, or involved on another task.
And voice recognition while decent is not perfect. And I find it often more dangerous fuss with a hands free kit or sit there repeatedly having to tell voice-recognition. No, "try again" not that, no, "try again"...no..."try again"
Where as my phones that had large tactile surfaces I could have the most common number programmed and simply press and hold "1", or "2" and easily dial the corresponding person with little trouble. And I found such to be the safest methods of dialing while occupied.
You mean my Windows mobile crappy re-boot a couple times a day PDA phone. Oh, to be sure, I love what it should do. Getting it to do it and do it logically is about as easy as getting a suntan at the south pole.
I mean, having even a basic logical way to close an application would seem a no brainer. I'm nigh of the opinion all present PDA phone manufacturers CEOs should be dragged out of bed and beaten. NO ONE I KNOW is HAPPY with their cell phone PDAs. We just need what they offer and we endure.
I for one and over-joyed for the iPhone. Why? Cause at the very least it will get Microsoft to move it's but. And other phone vendors to try new things. Nokia, HTC, LG, you name it. They know if they do nothing and the iPhone works as displayed and is a success then they are looking at a market 5 yrs from now where iPhone is synonymous cell phone as iPod is to MP3 player.
As the NJTA is the property of the people. Such should be public knowledge. But I'd expect this crud from a state like New Jersey.
Almost 90% of all my LJ phone posts were made while traveling through N.J. I don't know what it is about that miserable state that it is the only state out of half the nation I've driven through that is so piss-poor to drive through as to cause me to post in frustration.
DON'T EVER GET OF AN EXIT IN NEW JERSEY...JUST HOLD YOUR SHIT IN TILL YOU GET TO ANOTHER STATE (Jersey seems to think that having food/gas/etc signs for facilities over 5 miles away is acceptable for their highways system. You get off for a McDonald's and 45 minutes later get there only to find that the McDonald's closed at 9pm.
No enforcement in educational, charitable aspects or if end product is not done for profit. (ie: In other words open source software would not have to pay licensing for patents. A non-profit company that does charitable work would not have to pay patent licensing. Thus could allow even commercial products to reduce the cost of educational/non-profit versions of software or equipment.)
* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and [FAILED: I consider this a clear failure, there have been numerous wars, and puppet wars.]
* to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and [FAILED: Can we say Rwanda, U.N. security forces sitting back and watching a genocide. Seems like a complete failure to me. And that is not the only example.]
* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and [MODERATE: Some success, some failure.]
* to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, [FAILED: When nations like Sudan, Syria, etc not only continue but are given places of leadership or even kept on future leadership rosters. Then I consider such to be quite failed.]
"Some peoples of this world need and/or want a totalitarian government (e.g. Venezuela), why should we judge them for that?"
This is about as valid an argument as those made nearly 200 yrs ago that some Africans want to be slaves. And most slaves are happy to be in their roles.
Now, I believe most all peoples want to simply live, and have the opportunity to prosper their family. That said, many do not know or have the means to do so. And when starving, a dictator who tosses food to the masses may be more popular than a corrupt democracy with no bread. But that is not to say that there is not a desire for freedom.
The desire is for freedom + life's essentials + pursuit of happyness.;)
To that, I think few oppose. That said, many oppose the freedom of others and may force their views on others with violence. Just because this happens resulting in a segment of a population that has control and other segments under subjection does NOT mean that such is necessarily desired.
There are a great many in Venezeula who do not want a dictator. Even more who if you asked would they prefer a "free and prosperous society for all" would say yes. Many of these situations are do to a failing of such as opposed to a dislike of such.
Otherwise, I must assume that all those being persecuted, raped, tortured, killed in Darfur actually want that. I mean, since that is the government and culture they have...it must be what they want right.
PLEASE TELL ME WE ARE NOT THAT NAIVE?
"As far as Sudan, et. al. are concerned: the UN recently replaced the Commission on Human Rights with a new body, the Human Rights Council. Neither Sudan nor Syria [wikipedia.org] have been granted access to the council, due to their disrespect of human rights."
Step in the right direction. So it only took 15 yrs. And on top of that nothing has been done in Sudan as of yet of any real substance. FAILED...FAILING... I'd like to see SUCCESS, but I fear it will be WILL CONTINUE TO FAIL.
"Many of those nations see the UN as a means to further their intergovernmental powers rather than as an independent supranational government. Thus, they are constantly brokering for power, in vain of the stated mission of the UN."
On this, we are in full agreement.
"The role of the UN as an intergovernmental or supranational body is well beyond the scope of this post. However, if you insist on vilifying the United Nations, at least understand the underlying issues it faces."
I do. And that is why I dismiss the U.N. I see it as compromised and no means to free itself from being so. It's foundationally wrong.
I believe that a new body should be formed and the old allowed to fade, just as was done with the League of Nations. The new should learn from the old.
I believe the new body should provide a forum for all nations but only those nations which adhere to a minimum bill of rights and protections for it's citizens are eligible
Okay, your eyes can't distinguish dots 2mm wide on a billboard a 1/4 of a mile away. So...
That said, is there a noticeable difference between 720p or 1080i and 1080p. Absolutely...even if only at 4ft away.
Is this an unrealistic distance? No, not really...when I had a 61" TV and a crowd of people be it for movies or Xbox it was NOT uncommon for a bunch of us to be on the couch and chair (8ft+ away), some sitting against the coffe table. And a few lying on the floor 3-5ft away from the screen.
At these distances, said resolution makes the TV viewable or not viewable. In fact, one might argue the higher the resolution the closer you can sit to the TV and maintain enjoyable quality.
An old 320 standard resolution 50" projection TV required nearly 10ft of distance for you NOT to notice the lines. My 61" 1080i HDTV required about 4-5ft. Essentially, 1080p allows a lot of people to crowd around a TV and still enjoy the quality. The 1080p also provides better playback for action (can we say sports, which is probably the #1 reason people crowd around a big screen TV).
So is it a noticeable quality difference. I'd say so...
***
All that said, the quality is noticeably better IMHO for a second reason. When I first saw these in a store I noticed that this one television had a much sharper image than the others. I looked around, and noticed two other HDTVs that looked noticeably sharper than the rest. They were also 1080p.
So without even knowing they were coming to the market I noticed a clear and present difference. I am actually glad that 1080p is being released because I believe that since it's announcement 720p & 1080i will fade away in a few years and 1080p will become the standard. I don't expect anything really beyond 1080p for a while. But 1080p gives the advantage of both 720p and 1080i with neither of the disadvantages. Therefore consumers will eventually choose it over the other. It's like a re-cap of the VHS vs Betamax, but not the is VHSBMX which gives the advantage of both and for minimal economic cost. (Sure, 1080p are pricier than the old resolutions but they are far far less for an initial role-out. You can already get a 1080p for as low as $1,500 if you hunt around.:)
Regardless of the cause of global warming, and I am a skeptic that it's all man, all man....fear for your lives. I truly believe most of it is solar, orbital, cyclical issues. That said....
I still support cleaning up pollution. Freeing ourselves from the I.C.E. (internal combustion engine). Advancing clean energy sources (hydrogen, solar, even nuclear when done right). Reducing emissions. Trash. Etc.
ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE GOOD THINGS TO DO AND STRIVE FOR REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU BELIEVE THE WORLD IS ENDING OR NOT
Sadly, the global warming alarmism has essentially killed most other aspects of environmentalism. You want to cool the planet. Change how we build our cities and homes. Make them like hobbit wholes with grass and trees growing over them. Instead of as it is today. We cut all the trees to make farmland, than clear the farmland to pave parking lots and suburban sprawl. Eliminating a vast amount of biomass which would extract your precious CO2 from the air. Ironically, one of the main likely reasons for man caused warming is nigh completely ignored as the whole topic is made about oil and national socialism of wealth distribution. Hmmm....and is it any wonder so many cry foul when this is more about politics, global governance, etc than cleaning up our act?
- Saj
Oh, and how little praise given for the current President's establishment of the largest U.S. national park and the preservation of 70% of the United States of America's coral reefs. Funny, all these years of being told how precious these marine environments are (and having studied marine biology for 5 1/2 years I believe they are). But you'd have thought it was worthless. Had Clinton been the one to do such an environmentally beneficial act we'd still see it in newspapers every week for 4 yrs afterwards.
No, this isn't about science or environmentalism...this has become all about politics!
How can one say we know much more about the climate than we do the sun. When the sun is the #1 affecting factor of climate. Therefore, the less we know about the sun, the less we know about the climate.
Most people have no clue about Galileo and what happened. In fact, just the other day someone told me in defense of global warming and criticism of religion "That's why they had Galileo killed!"
Er...they didn't.
In fact, the issue with Galileo was one of politics, scientific peer review, and merely being an egotistical jerk. The Catholic Church has a doctrine that if a natural event can be proved to be true that their interpretation is what is flawed as God made the natural world. So if Galileo had proved his viewpoint then the doctrine of the church would have been altered.
The problem is that Galileo did not have proof and had numerous flaws, but instead of essentially releasing his views as a "theory for peer review" made affirmed statements of fact. He basically by-passed the peer review of the day.
On top of that, other scientists who's work could have assisted in proving and giving serious credit to Galileo's work had been dismissed by Galileo as foolishly wrong. (I believe this may have involved Keppler and another. One of which was that the orbits were elipitical to which Galileo dismissed and rudely did so.) So essentially, Galileo called other peer articles of the day which could have supported his own as false.
Then after all this, he wrote a discourse that essentially publicly insulted the pope. Who had been rather favorable of Galileo.
What Galileo did was Akin to publishing an article stating a new discovery or thought as fact, not having the article peer reviewed and then publicly saying that his fellow peers who were doing similar work were ignorant and off-based and their articles were completely wrong. Than to top it off, doing an interview in a newspaper and stating that the editors of the scientific journal were mere simpletons. And many aspects of Galileo's work were indeed wrong.
Even after all this, the result was to censure Galileo and not kill him. He breached many ethical lines of behavior. Instead, the Pope had him put on house arrest. (Mind you, this was essentially living a decent upper class life with catered food/servants, etc. Think Martha Stewart during her house prison term. And when you consider that scientific work during that day was usually supported by patronages (pretty much either of the nobility or commonly the church) what was done essentially allowed the Pope & Church to censure Galileo for his foolishness and then provided Galileo with a life-long patronage to continue his research.
But many atheists like to use the case of Galileo as a means of attack against religion when there is so much more at hand with the issue. And so much mis-understood. Mainly because we are mis-taught history. No worries. I used to have the same understanding of Galileo and the church until recently as well. Then an interesting historical science fiction novel opened my mind to a slightly different picture and after that I went searching numerous online sites about Galileo and discovered that my understanding was quite incorrect.
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't the non-beta release already out?
LOL
Modded down...*ha*
I didn't expect much less. But still stands. It's one thing when a tech or science issue is in the politics scene. (ie: global warming, diebold voting machines, etc). But can we please try to avoid purely "political" crap.
I get enough of that from every other news source - thank you very much!
Don't they know? "Every time they send a teacher up on the shuttle - it's catastrophic!"
*sighs*
- Once again safety last, just proves NASA learns jack from it's mistakes
- Potential for a great test case in real world situations avoided.
If lives weren't involved, I'd want NASA to be wrong just so we'd get them to stop being pig-headed. For all the money involved in NASA, if it was put out as prize grants we'd probably get a lot more space presence and learning.
*sighs*
Come on, can we avoid turning slashdot into another whiny political site.
*sighs*
Government and Big Corp always seem to be there when you don't want them. But they're never there when you do.
For year's I've wondered why we have such a persistant SPAM problem. There are number of things that can be done - but aren't.
- I don't believe there is ANY excuse for old viruses to circulate the web. I understand a new virus, but once a virus is known it should be stopped at the ISP & backbone levels.
- Where is the government? SPAM supposedly costs business' billions of dollars a year. That would mean to me that a portion of the trillions of dollars paid to the U.S. government in taxes should be allocated to it's cessation. Nail the spammers, and nail them hard.
- I get the same Myspace SPAM message a few times a week for a year now. So do most others on MySpace. The spam uses the same image for finance loans over and over. WHY? It should have been stopped ages ago.
- How to stop it...well, the easy way is to have a government or corporate entity utilize the SPAM service and trace the money back to it's source. Oh, and don't tell me that it's outside of our jurisdiction in some 3rd world country.
- If it's in a third world country. Let's help that nation's economic situation. A nice reward for x individual and company to be shut down would do wonders. Now, if that $10,000 reward happens to have Storm Controller's head removed from his body. It'd be a downright dirty shame...but not much more.
*growls*
Multiple people + tripod. Equals just about ANY amateur photo group getting together. I mean, a bunch of us from a hobbyist photo site got together at Glenn Rock State Park to shoot waterfalls it equated to 20+ photographers and half that number of tripods.
I am sure the second gathering in Washington D.C. equated to about the same. So this DIRECTLY affects amateur / hobbyist photographers.
And frankly, if enforced it will one day go from shooting cameras to shooting bullets. (And dead photographers and guilty police.)
Fuck you I won't do what you tell me...
Fuck you I won't do what you tell me...
Fuck you I won't do what you tell me...
Honestly, I am getting so sick and fucking tired of these sort of controls. The perpetual infinite contracts where you have to cancel on the one day a year of renewal or you are hit with either an early termination fee or another term of contract.
It's getting ridiculous....
I've reached a point where I have no respect for copyright. 10 yrs ago things were different. But I'm sick of the price gouging and pseudo-controls. Why are all the stores charging $30 for a USB cable that used to cost $6.95. And that I can still go to Costco and get two + an extension cable for under $8. And they're gold-plated too boot.
The worst part of it, is people are so bloody apathetic these days that when there should be a revolt - there isn't. And so much money is dumped into welfare systems that enable people who don't work to buy HDTV's, cable, DSL, a Lexus, and what not without a care for where the money comes from. That hard working people can't even influence the system by not spending money. Cause we'll simply be taxed and have our money given to someone who will spend it.
*bah*
"Free Mars!!!"
This seems to be a re-hash of the WhyNot.net concept of sharing ideas.
*shrugs*
- Saj
Amen to that...
I used to work at a company that shipped hazardous materials. I remember occasions where we'd get a return for leakage. Mind you, what was a 12" tall box was usually crushed accordian style to 8".
We were always left wondering what the hell they were doing. And if they could read the hazardous warning labels? (Mind you toxic warning labels also include pictures so if you're an illiterate fool you should still GET THE PICTURE!)
I am often amazed that ANY electronic device still works after postal services are done with them.
woot
Now all the Candian pennies I've collected over the years will be worth something!!!!!
Unimaginative minds are doomed to be unimaginative.
This argument is easily dismissed, IMHO. First off a number of premises must be made. And a number of associations taken for granted.
I. That travel by sea to continents which took months as compared to travel in space taking years is drastically different.
This is not necessarily the case due to the increase in knowledge. See those few month voyages were much more difficult than a longer voyage would be today due to our knowledge of medicine, diseases, health, etc. Much of the loss and death at sea was due to health and not travelling.
That said, a 20 yr journey would be quite hard and difficult and require immense planning and good equipment. But let's look at the journey to Australia in 1600 versus 1800 versus 1950 versus modern day.
In the 1600's it was nigh impossible with the technology available. In the 1800's it was difficult but possible. Took quite some time. In the 1950's it was relatively easy and safe. Still took time but nothing like before. Now in present day you can be in Australia safely in one day's travel. WHY?
"Technological Advancement"
On the same hand. I could use the argument of how long it took to send a message or letter which was months originally to instant telephone communication. So let's see, how does a few months journey compare to mere milliseconds of delay? That would if taken the same way as Chris' argument, lead me to presume that space travel will be quite plausible once the technology is available.
The other premise the author relies upon is the inability to travel at or even faster than light. Now this may be accepted understanding than many. And though it may not be possible to travel faster than light in a normal real-time/space environment. I am one who believes such likely to be possible via other means. Be it dimensional hyperspace, or quantum entanglement molecular reconstruction. Who knows....
But most of what we do every day in travel and leisure would have been considered impossible 500 yrs ago. And was, due to lack of knowledge.
I always find it arrogant of scientists to believe they "know it all" and to exclaim impossibility for the future merely because of their lack of knowledge and understanding.
So what if habitable planets are 100 yrs away. Given time, man will find a way. We always have....
75,000+ miles while talking on a cell phone. Never been in an accident while talking on the cell phone. In fact, only one accident way back when I was 19. No tickets either.
I see little point in getting off the cell phone when I am still driving better while on the phone than 90% of the rest of the people on the road. And driving way better than 99% of the truckers who are allowed their CBs.
So unless we pass laws banning CBs while driving. I see little point in me stopping the use of my cell phone. In fact, it's probably prevented me from getting into a number of accidents while driving home real late while tired. Same reason we often have a friend along as a passenger for really long road trips.
- Jason
A year ago I got a 17" widescreen Dell notebook with 1920x resolution. DualCore 2ghz. 2gigs of RAM. A 100gig 7,200rpm drive. Windows XP MCE. And several other add ons.
I was able to purchase said laptop for about $1,600. I looked at Macs and the equivalent specs were approaching $3,000.
Yes, I use a coupon. But they are readily and publicly available and even without the coupon the laptop was under $2,400. A full $600 less than the Mac.
So I call BS on this post...
Sorry, you were patented....please pay $xx,xxx.xx in order to continue living!
No, but few of us use our computers while driving, walking, cooking, or involved on another task.
And voice recognition while decent is not perfect. And I find it often more dangerous fuss with a hands free kit or sit there repeatedly having to tell voice-recognition. No, "try again" not that, no, "try again"...no..."try again"
Where as my phones that had large tactile surfaces I could have the most common number programmed and simply press and hold "1", or "2" and easily dial the corresponding person with little trouble. And I found such to be the safest methods of dialing while occupied.
You mean my Windows mobile crappy re-boot a couple times a day PDA phone. Oh, to be sure, I love what it should do. Getting it to do it and do it logically is about as easy as getting a suntan at the south pole.
I mean, having even a basic logical way to close an application would seem a no brainer. I'm nigh of the opinion all present PDA phone manufacturers CEOs should be dragged out of bed and beaten. NO ONE I KNOW is HAPPY with their cell phone PDAs. We just need what they offer and we endure.
I for one and over-joyed for the iPhone. Why? Cause at the very least it will get Microsoft to move it's but. And other phone vendors to try new things. Nokia, HTC, LG, you name it. They know if they do nothing and the iPhone works as displayed and is a success then they are looking at a market 5 yrs from now where iPhone is synonymous cell phone as iPod is to MP3 player.
Duh!
As the NJTA is the property of the people. Such should be public knowledge. But I'd expect this crud from a state like New Jersey.
Almost 90% of all my LJ phone posts were made while traveling through N.J. I don't know what it is about that miserable state that it is the only state out of half the nation I've driven through that is so piss-poor to drive through as to cause me to post in frustration.
DON'T EVER GET OF AN EXIT IN NEW JERSEY...JUST HOLD YOUR SHIT IN TILL YOU GET TO ANOTHER STATE (Jersey seems to think that having food/gas/etc signs for facilities over 5 miles away is acceptable for their highways system. You get off for a McDonald's and 45 minutes later get there only to find that the McDonald's closed at 9pm.
Nope...no doubt about it NEW JERSEY SUCKS
Limited short term rights.
No enforcement in educational, charitable aspects or if end product is not done for profit. (ie: In other words open source software would not have to pay licensing for patents. A non-profit company that does charitable work would not have to pay patent licensing. Thus could allow even commercial products to reduce the cost of educational/non-profit versions of software or equipment.)
"This represents a potential shear with the left-wing blogosphere."
Come on...
Most Republicans and die-hard conservatives hate RIAA as well.
* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
[FAILED: I consider this a clear failure, there have been numerous wars, and puppet wars.]
* to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
[FAILED: Can we say Rwanda, U.N. security forces sitting back and watching a genocide. Seems like a complete failure to me. And that is not the only example.]
* to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
[MODERATE: Some success, some failure.]
* to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
[FAILED: When nations like Sudan, Syria, etc not only continue but are given places of leadership or even kept on future leadership rosters. Then I consider such to be quite failed.]
"Some peoples of this world need and/or want a totalitarian government (e.g. Venezuela), why should we judge them for that?"
This is about as valid an argument as those made nearly 200 yrs ago that some Africans want to be slaves. And most slaves are happy to be in their roles.
Now, I believe most all peoples want to simply live, and have the opportunity to prosper their family. That said, many do not know or have the means to do so. And when starving, a dictator who tosses food to the masses may be more popular than a corrupt democracy with no bread. But that is not to say that there is not a desire for freedom.
The desire is for freedom + life's essentials + pursuit of happyness.
To that, I think few oppose. That said, many oppose the freedom of others and may force their views on others with violence. Just because this happens resulting in a segment of a population that has control and other segments under subjection does NOT mean that such is necessarily desired.
There are a great many in Venezeula who do not want a dictator. Even more who if you asked would they prefer a "free and prosperous society for all" would say yes. Many of these situations are do to a failing of such as opposed to a dislike of such.
Otherwise, I must assume that all those being persecuted, raped, tortured, killed in Darfur actually want that. I mean, since that is the government and culture they have...it must be what they want right.
PLEASE TELL ME WE ARE NOT THAT NAIVE?
"As far as Sudan, et. al. are concerned: the UN recently replaced the Commission on Human Rights with a new body, the Human Rights Council. Neither Sudan nor Syria [wikipedia.org] have been granted access to the council, due to their disrespect of human rights."
Step in the right direction. So it only took 15 yrs. And on top of that nothing has been done in Sudan as of yet of any real substance. FAILED...FAILING... I'd like to see SUCCESS, but I fear it will be WILL CONTINUE TO FAIL.
"Many of those nations see the UN as a means to further their intergovernmental powers rather than as an independent supranational government. Thus, they are constantly brokering for power, in vain of the stated mission of the UN."
On this, we are in full agreement.
"The role of the UN as an intergovernmental or supranational body is well beyond the scope of this post. However, if you insist on vilifying the United Nations, at least understand the underlying issues it faces."
I do. And that is why I dismiss the U.N. I see it as compromised and no means to free itself from being so. It's foundationally wrong.
I believe that a new body should be formed and the old allowed to fade, just as was done with the League of Nations. The new should learn from the old.
I believe the new body should provide a forum for all nations but only those nations which adhere to a minimum bill of rights and protections for it's citizens are eligible
Okay, your eyes can't distinguish dots 2mm wide on a billboard a 1/4 of a mile away. So...
:)
That said, is there a noticeable difference between 720p or 1080i and 1080p. Absolutely...even if only at 4ft away.
Is this an unrealistic distance? No, not really...when I had a 61" TV and a crowd of people be it for movies or Xbox it was NOT uncommon for a bunch of us to be on the couch and chair (8ft+ away), some sitting against the coffe table. And a few lying on the floor 3-5ft away from the screen.
At these distances, said resolution makes the TV viewable or not viewable. In fact, one might argue the higher the resolution the closer you can sit to the TV and maintain enjoyable quality.
An old 320 standard resolution 50" projection TV required nearly 10ft of distance for you NOT to notice the lines. My 61" 1080i HDTV required about 4-5ft. Essentially, 1080p allows a lot of people to crowd around a TV and still enjoy the quality. The 1080p also provides better playback for action (can we say sports, which is probably the #1 reason people crowd around a big screen TV).
So is it a noticeable quality difference. I'd say so...
***
All that said, the quality is noticeably better IMHO for a second reason. When I first saw these in a store I noticed that this one television had a much sharper image than the others. I looked around, and noticed two other HDTVs that looked noticeably sharper than the rest. They were also 1080p.
So without even knowing they were coming to the market I noticed a clear and present difference. I am actually glad that 1080p is being released because I believe that since it's announcement 720p & 1080i will fade away in a few years and 1080p will become the standard. I don't expect anything really beyond 1080p for a while. But 1080p gives the advantage of both 720p and 1080i with neither of the disadvantages. Therefore consumers will eventually choose it over the other. It's like a re-cap of the VHS vs Betamax, but not the is VHSBMX which gives the advantage of both and for minimal economic cost. (Sure, 1080p are pricier than the old resolutions but they are far far less for an initial role-out. You can already get a 1080p for as low as $1,500 if you hunt around.
Regardless of the cause of global warming, and I am a skeptic that it's all man, all man....fear for your lives. I truly believe most of it is solar, orbital, cyclical issues. That said....
I still support cleaning up pollution. Freeing ourselves from the I.C.E. (internal combustion engine). Advancing clean energy sources (hydrogen, solar, even nuclear when done right). Reducing emissions. Trash. Etc.
ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE GOOD THINGS TO DO AND STRIVE FOR REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU BELIEVE THE WORLD IS ENDING OR NOT
Sadly, the global warming alarmism has essentially killed most other aspects of environmentalism. You want to cool the planet. Change how we build our cities and homes. Make them like hobbit wholes with grass and trees growing over them. Instead of as it is today. We cut all the trees to make farmland, than clear the farmland to pave parking lots and suburban sprawl. Eliminating a vast amount of biomass which would extract your precious CO2 from the air. Ironically, one of the main likely reasons for man caused warming is nigh completely ignored as the whole topic is made about oil and national socialism of wealth distribution. Hmmm....and is it any wonder so many cry foul when this is more about politics, global governance, etc than cleaning up our act?
- Saj
Oh, and how little praise given for the current President's establishment of the largest U.S. national park and the preservation of 70% of the United States of America's coral reefs. Funny, all these years of being told how precious these marine environments are (and having studied marine biology for 5 1/2 years I believe they are). But you'd have thought it was worthless. Had Clinton been the one to do such an environmentally beneficial act we'd still see it in newspapers every week for 4 yrs afterwards.
No, this isn't about science or environmentalism...this has become all about politics!
How can one say we know much more about the climate than we do the sun. When the sun is the #1 affecting factor of climate. Therefore, the less we know about the sun, the less we know about the climate.
Most people have no clue about Galileo and what happened. In fact, just the other day someone told me in defense of global warming and criticism of religion "That's why they had Galileo killed!"
Er...they didn't.
In fact, the issue with Galileo was one of politics, scientific peer review, and merely being an egotistical jerk. The Catholic Church has a doctrine that if a natural event can be proved to be true that their interpretation is what is flawed as God made the natural world. So if Galileo had proved his viewpoint then the doctrine of the church would have been altered.
The problem is that Galileo did not have proof and had numerous flaws, but instead of essentially releasing his views as a "theory for peer review" made affirmed statements of fact. He basically by-passed the peer review of the day.
On top of that, other scientists who's work could have assisted in proving and giving serious credit to Galileo's work had been dismissed by Galileo as foolishly wrong. (I believe this may have involved Keppler and another. One of which was that the orbits were elipitical to which Galileo dismissed and rudely did so.) So essentially, Galileo called other peer articles of the day which could have supported his own as false.
Then after all this, he wrote a discourse that essentially publicly insulted the pope. Who had been rather favorable of Galileo.
What Galileo did was Akin to publishing an article stating a new discovery or thought as fact, not having the article peer reviewed and then publicly saying that his fellow peers who were doing similar work were ignorant and off-based and their articles were completely wrong. Than to top it off, doing an interview in a newspaper and stating that the editors of the scientific journal were mere simpletons. And many aspects of Galileo's work were indeed wrong.
Even after all this, the result was to censure Galileo and not kill him. He breached many ethical lines of behavior. Instead, the Pope had him put on house arrest. (Mind you, this was essentially living a decent upper class life with catered food/servants, etc. Think Martha Stewart during her house prison term. And when you consider that scientific work during that day was usually supported by patronages (pretty much either of the nobility or commonly the church) what was done essentially allowed the Pope & Church to censure Galileo for his foolishness and then provided Galileo with a life-long patronage to continue his research.
But many atheists like to use the case of Galileo as a means of attack against religion when there is so much more at hand with the issue. And so much mis-understood. Mainly because we are mis-taught history. No worries. I used to have the same understanding of Galileo and the church until recently as well. Then an interesting historical science fiction novel opened my mind to a slightly different picture and after that I went searching numerous online sites about Galileo and discovered that my understanding was quite incorrect.
What did I do... "I learned!"
- Saj