I disagree with you. I believe society can now handle a "patentless/copyrightless" society.
I do NOT believe they are beneficial in their current form. Most artists and inventers receive next to nothing in compensation when corporations and associations gain all th economic benefits.
And at the same time, these rights have been so extended (both in time and in scope) as to be unconstitutional...
Frankly, I think it's time some damage is done. However, I believe said damage should a) not harm life or limb, b) not harm non-combatants (such as myDoom virus)
There is a tremendous amount of dumb thinking going on here...
First off, people claiming that "Backwards Compatibility is worthless..." really have no clue do they?
Okay, how many games are available during a new console's release, on avg.???
Usually 8-20 games....
How many of those are GOOD???
Usually 3-4....
It take a while to get an installed base of games. And as so many claim "it's all about the games"
Now, PS2 made gold by being BWCompatible. If it wasn't, Christmas would roll around and a child would receive a new fangled console with what...one game...maybe two??? And with many kids beating games within a weak and most early games being sub-standard. That amounts to a short amount of fun. Then comes the re-hooking of the old system. The swap between the two. Trying to fit multiple systems in the entertainment center (especially if you own a PS2, Gamecube and Xbox, and now have to fit a PS3, Gamecube, Gamecube 2, Xbox, and Xbox2. Yeah...alright...now I need a room just for game consoles. Sure I can toss out my old unit. But wait, I've got a few games that I really like, say like Morrowind or Fable, etc. that aren't out for Xbox2. Now how do I get my game fix?
No...this is a concern...but Microsoft could pull off a mastermind.
1. Continue with this "no backwards compatibility fud"...don't state such. Just NEVER answer the question...keep dodging it. This will make SONY think they have an edge. Heck, they might even decide to save some money and drop compatibility if they know Xbox won't be compatible.
2. As the game console will have around 10x the processing power. Write an emulator. State that NOT all games will work properly (make no guarantees). But get it to the point where 90% of games work without a hitch and that less than 2% of games are incompatible to the point of preventing game play.
3. Now here's the real catcher....add features to the emulation. Particular FULL SCREEN ANTI-ALIASING. You've got 10x the power of the old. To emulate you probably only need 4x the power. You've still got overheard and you've got a processor that can do full-screen anti-aliasing. When coding the 'emulator' code it so that it can automatically take advantage of such advanced function. (In other words, anti-alias all Xbox1 games...). Have a setting so that said feature can be both 'disabled' and temporarily 'de-activated'.
Now you've got a killer marketing gimic. Get XboxII and play the future....not only does the XboxII allow you to game like never before....but it also allows you to play the past. Drop in an original Xbox game and don't be surprised if it's clearer and crisper than ever before. That's right, not only does XBoxII play games for the original Xbox system but with full-screen anti-aliasing your old games will look better than ever before.
All this is coding in software (sure, it requires a fair amount of investment in coding time)...but it also negates any cost for additional hardware. Thus they gain the feature of backwards compatibility but do not raise actual manufacturing costs. And the advertising gimic alone of being able to play old games in higher visual quality than before should help show Microsoft is really in for the long-term and on the cutting edge. It's one thing to add features and improvements for new games on a new platform. It's another apple when you can take and improve on older games. (Think of it akin the line doublers for HDTV's to improve older broadcasts. Are they as good as an actual HDTV signal? NO WAY...but they're WAYYYY BETTER than the original signal was.]]]
I will second "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" but People are seeming to forget some of Heinlein's best works are not his novels at all but his short stories...
DEFINITELY read "The Green Hills of Earth" collection.
Also "The Unusual Profession of Jonathan Hoag and Other Collected Works" is fairly interesting as well.
Lastly, one of my favorites "Time for the Stars" a short novellete geared a bit more to youth.
First off, do the terrifying...submit to CNN.com or ZDNEWS....
"Entire Charter One Internet Communications Divisions Security Jeopardized....what data was collected? Why was nothing done to stop this...even after a client reported the crime in progress!"
Than file a lawsuit or insinuate, by paying a lawyer to make a call and claim that his client is considering filing for damages....blah..blah..blah.
But the truth of the matter, most of our recent laws are there for two reasons.... a) to protect the powerful, b) to keep the massess subdued.
Almost none of them are designed to punish actual criminals or protect the common citizenry. Face it, our justice system in America is dying...
I am a fan of the Star Fleet Battles (Starfleet Command on the computer) game based on the Star Trek universe. In this board game version of Star Trek there is a race called the Kzinti (based on a race in the cartoon version of Star Trek). Now some have accused them of blatant theft from Man-Kzin Wars. However, I have also heard that you were in fact involved in writing the cartoon episode featuring the Kzin. I am very curious, were you involved in it or was the concept flat out stolen?
(yeah, I tried to share it with you all but everything I ever post get's (rejected). No matter that is is more on topic to this site or the times than half the crap that gets posted.
But this too me is revolutionary....
The potential of this ranges from military applications (camaflauge clothes and vehicles) to commercial (clothes that you can change the color and style of instantly). Link includes a picture...
And yeah, sadly, most of you wont see this cause it'll be mod-down because I am griping about a post submission rejection. But frankly, I am tired of it. I've submitted several interesting articles. But it seems that unless you've got some status...expect to be rejected. How the above can not be thought of as News for Nerds, or a Stuff that Matters. Frankly, I'd put the technology there in the top 20 list of really cool inventions of the the 21st century!
Could have simply been to create a situation in which an item would have hit and damaged the Columbia during launch, leading to a launch explosion. (Note, the Columbia did get hit by an object at launch.) The shuttle did launch successfully, although, sadly, it did not return successfully.
Thus that is one possibility. Two, if tiles were deliberately damaged / loosened so as to expose an area to the super-heat of re-entry the shuttle would be destroyed on re-entry.
Although it is true, that there is no anti-air missle currently available to track and target a a vehicle at an altitude of 200,000+ miles travelling at Mach 18+, it does NOT preclude the possibility of a terrorist attack. And to me, the fact they dismissed outright the possibility of terrorism and so quickly is troublesome.
Trust me, the U.S. government's standard policy toward terrorism is to try to explain it away with mechanical failure.
How can you have a game console that is faster than anything currently out there, broadband capable, and has 32,000 games to choose for not including casino and adult related?
Simple...
It is a PC, in a small profile system, running a 2ghz chip and either ATI or NVIDIA card. The unit, essentially, just plays all 32,000 PC games out there.
Look at it this way, these guys actually COUNTED how many PC Compatible games have been made.
FLASH, is probably one of the best 10 web technologies out there.
Problem, is most people don't KNOW what FLASH is.
You all are downing FLASH, but that's because all you understand about FLASH is that it's an vector animation and presentation tool.
It is now, much, much more. It is now a dynamic data conveyance tool. It is a graphical object model that can potentially rival and replace HTML.
I could understand such comments when FLASH was naught but a simple "ooh/ahh animation" and "this is taking too bloody long to download".
But it's now advanced a far beyond that point. And is advancing further. I've observed examples of Flash tied to ColdFusion and SQL apps in which schedule changes were made simply by dragging and dropping the event on a different location. NO page refresh. The FLASH app went out contacted a ColdFusion component, passed relevant arguments, processed said actions, requested information, received it and displayed the updated information to the user.
All the user saw was himself clicking the event, dragging it to another day, and releasing it. Now that, is potential power potent enough to alter the web.
Yes, good utilization of FLASH is "rare". But if you see an application that uses FLASH to it's full extent, it will blow your mind. It blew me away. My jaw dropped.
In fact, a lot of people see the potential for FLASH to replace HTML on J2EE applications as the interface of choice. Further added improvement being the scalability of a vector based interface which can scale from desktop, to Palm unit, to billboard.
Interesting article, although it drones on after a while...er, a short while that is.
First off, much of the writer's premises are totally fractured and broken. And the key, is in fact, the lowly Hobbit.
This is the "unexpected hero" the non-Hercules. The average individual. The proof of evilness is found in the Shire. The Shire, home to a race of simple and peace loving creatures who's home is destroyed by the evil of Sauron and his followers (Saruman).
In fact, if you were too look at anything of Tolkien's work in the LoTR and what it expresses it is the following: the goal, is contentment....to be content in our life is the greatest state of existence. However, at times one is called to do that which they do not necessarily want to do. And although the task is the farthest from our desire the truly noble individual is the one who endeavors to do that which needs to be done. Frodo was not seeking glory and fame. He was doing what needed to be done. His desire was not to be written as "Frodo the Hero" but rather to warm his feet by a fire in Baggs End. Samwise Gamgee was not a "hero" of bravery or strength or skill or cunning. No, he was a hero in faithfulness. A friend that stuck closer than a brother.
These were the heroes of Tolkein's realm. Not the famous Hercules, or mighty wizard. Rather, the humble and contrite spirit of the Hobbits.
When one understands this, one gains a greater understanding into the message of J.R.R. Tolkien!
Oh, read the comments....I just read one exclaiming a missile is easier to destroy than a slug. Because a slug has a steadier trajectory.
Well, frankly, I think some of you should read Harry Turtledove World War Series.
Take a big slug, say a real big on like what's launched from the U.S. Iowa class. Fire anti-missiles at it....hey, if you're luck you're knock it of course a bit. But there is so much inertia that it just keeps going.
Another way to describe it. Say you could track a.44 round in flight and shoot it with a BB. Even if the BB hit, it will have minimal effect.
The issue at hand is that this was the first successful (publicly announced) test that succeeded in stopping a traditional artillary SLUG.
Missiles are often used in artillary due to a higher accuracy and laser-guided controls. Slugs, one advantage had been near instoppability. This is why Iowa class battleships are still used as super-longe range artillary platforms.
This enables the destruction of a solid slug (probably by superheating)...
Now, when these are reduced to fit on a main battle tank or troop transport (like the M-1 Abrams or M-3 Bradleys) you give your vehicle the ability to be immune to other tanks.
Imagine what a single division of M-1 Abrams could do if they had a system that neutralized the effectiveness of the enemy's main battle tanks, anti-tank missiles, etc. They would cut thru like butter...
And as someone else stated, in 30 yrs, when this technology is increased in effectiveness it might be possible to disable large armies with minimal casualties.
Imagine units controlled and linked to a satellite, instead of killing the men they target the weapons...literally melting the AK-47's in their hands.
Wouldn't a bloodless war be nice.
As for the comments on the previous election...I am frankly sick and tired of the people claiming Bush stole the election. First off those recounts WERE finished. Every single re-count I read about concluded in the end that Bush still won.
So please, and that was in the light of college students voting twice for Gore (yes, in many states college students were voting twice thru loop-holes), the fact that that a lot of DEAD people some how manage to make it to the polls to vote for Gore. I mean, come on....enough.
First off, the detonation you refer to is an Aerosol detination. (small forceful explosion to spread liquid out as a mist) A flamatory detonation would in fact kill most virus and bacteria. (Same reason you cook your food.)
In fact, a laser, is probably the only system that might be able to nullify a biological bomb by the fact it can super-heat the missile and thus kill the majority of bacteria. They might even be able to eventually modify such a system to go to a wider-spread beam upon detonation to super heat the air and ensure biological elimination.
Slashdot Mirror
Sorry...
I disagree with you. I believe society can now handle a "patentless/copyrightless" society.
I do NOT believe they are beneficial in their current form. Most artists and inventers receive next to nothing in compensation when corporations and associations gain all th economic benefits.
And at the same time, these rights have been so extended (both in time and in scope) as to be unconstitutional...
Frankly, I think it's time some damage is done. However, I believe said damage should a) not harm life or limb, b) not harm non-combatants (such as myDoom virus)
There is a tremendous amount of dumb thinking going on here...
First off, people claiming that "Backwards Compatibility is worthless..." really have no clue do they?
Okay, how many games are available during a new console's release, on avg.???
Usually 8-20 games....
How many of those are GOOD???
Usually 3-4....
It take a while to get an installed base of games. And as so many claim "it's all about the games"
Now, PS2 made gold by being BWCompatible. If it wasn't, Christmas would roll around and a child would receive a new fangled console with what...one game...maybe two??? And with many kids beating games within a weak and most early games being sub-standard. That amounts to a short amount of fun. Then comes the re-hooking of the old system. The swap between the two. Trying to fit multiple systems in the entertainment center (especially if you own a PS2, Gamecube and Xbox, and now have to fit a PS3, Gamecube, Gamecube 2, Xbox, and Xbox2. Yeah...alright...now I need a room just for game consoles. Sure I can toss out my old unit. But wait, I've got a few games that I really like, say like Morrowind or Fable, etc. that aren't out for Xbox2. Now how do I get my game fix?
No...this is a concern...but Microsoft could pull off a mastermind.
1. Continue with this "no backwards compatibility fud"...don't state such. Just NEVER answer the question...keep dodging it. This will make SONY think they have an edge. Heck, they might even decide to save some money and drop compatibility if they know Xbox won't be compatible.
2. As the game console will have around 10x the processing power. Write an emulator. State that NOT all games will work properly (make no guarantees). But get it to the point where 90% of games work without a hitch and that less than 2% of games are incompatible to the point of preventing game play.
3. Now here's the real catcher....add features to the emulation. Particular FULL SCREEN ANTI-ALIASING. You've got 10x the power of the old. To emulate you probably only need 4x the power. You've still got overheard and you've got a processor that can do full-screen anti-aliasing. When coding the 'emulator' code it so that it can automatically take advantage of such advanced function. (In other words, anti-alias all Xbox1 games...). Have a setting so that said feature can be both 'disabled' and temporarily 'de-activated'.
Now you've got a killer marketing gimic. Get XboxII and play the future....not only does the XboxII allow you to game like never before....but it also allows you to play the past. Drop in an original Xbox game and don't be surprised if it's clearer and crisper than ever before. That's right, not only does XBoxII play games for the original Xbox system but with full-screen anti-aliasing your old games will look better than ever before.
All this is coding in software (sure, it requires a fair amount of investment in coding time)...but it also negates any cost for additional hardware. Thus they gain the feature of backwards compatibility but do not raise actual manufacturing costs. And the advertising gimic alone of being able to play old games in higher visual quality than before should help show Microsoft is really in for the long-term and on the cutting edge. It's one thing to add features and improvements for new games on a new platform. It's another apple when you can take and improve on older games. (Think of it akin the line doublers for HDTV's to improve older broadcasts. Are they as good as an actual HDTV signal? NO WAY...but they're WAYYYY BETTER than the original signal was.]]]
- Jason
theSaj@porthaven.com
There is a reason I no longer recognize such laws....
=(
!@#$% i am now officially an 'anarchist'...why, because I think it's become saner than 'beaucracy'
The Hubble issue has NOTHING to do with Bush's plan. It was nothing more than a political scare tactic used as a headline on CNN.com
The reason for skipping the scheduled maintenance mission is the fact of safety.
Please note, none of the shuttles are currently blasting off for safety reasons!!!!!
Um, could be that there is no BLOODY way to do the mission?
We can tell, the movie sucks just by the name...
This whole hoopla was done deliberately in order to raise awareness of the film and build interest in seeing it.
Where as most of us would have not even noticed such a film, 10% of us will now at least pause and consider such a film!
Frankly...
I've reached the point with the patent office in which I believe John Deer is needed.
As in about 20 big dozers to knock that building to the ground....
I so so have been wanting and waiting for this unit...
(so hoping it has all the features I heard about, including support for DVI)
=)
Going to read review now...
*sigh*
I will second "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" but People are seeming to forget some of Heinlein's best works are not his novels at all but his short stories...
DEFINITELY read "The Green Hills of Earth" collection.
Also "The Unusual Profession of Jonathan Hoag and Other Collected Works" is fairly interesting as well.
Lastly, one of my favorites "Time for the Stars" a short novellete geared a bit more to youth.
They have three words and these guys think they can call it Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica
Cylon
Viper
& a handful of names now meaningless...
Let's talk about two steps backwards???
I mean, I think we have less "black men" in the new BSG than we did in the 79/80's show...go figure?
I frankly am nearing the point where I think we need to bulldoze and take down RIAA's national headquarters with sledge hammers, bulldozers, etc.
This is getting sickening....
Frankly, Orin Hatch, is a danger to society...
yeah, I was rejected too...
I think it's all politics...sometimes I can't believe the crap that gets allowed and then others get everything rejected.
*shrug*
but hey, that's life, if I don't want to get rejected I might as well build my own site...
*LOL*
Well I have a 61" RCA Scelenium (paid $1899 for it a while back)...
It has a DVI input. In fact, when I was looking at HDTV's they almost ALL had DVI inputs now. (I am referring to projection not plasma/LCD.)
Funny, looks surprisingly similar to a design I drew up last year in 2002.
i f
http://www.porthaven.com/archiveimages/dreampda.g
If you can't beat em, join'em!
First off, do the terrifying...submit to CNN.com or ZDNEWS....
"Entire Charter One Internet Communications Divisions Security Jeopardized....what data was collected? Why was nothing done to stop this...even after a client reported the crime in progress!"
Than file a lawsuit or insinuate, by paying a lawyer to make a call and claim that his client is considering filing for damages....blah..blah..blah.
But the truth of the matter, most of our recent laws are there for two reasons.... a) to protect the powerful, b) to keep the massess subdued.
Almost none of them are designed to punish actual criminals or protect the common citizenry. Face it, our justice system in America is dying...
First "shocking" Xbox controller will be followed by a Slashdot.org article titled "First shocking Xbox controller DEATH"
*freak*
A 2 yr Television series....
That follows the ups and downs of a tramp freighter captain and his crew...
It'd be cool cause we'd see all the planets and homeworlds of the various races....
The question would be "when" it should take place. Personally, I think immediately after ROTJ. When the galaxy is in chaos....
I am a fan of the Star Fleet Battles (Starfleet Command on the computer) game based on the Star Trek universe. In this board game version of Star Trek there is a race called the Kzinti (based on a race in the cartoon version of Star Trek). Now some have accused them of blatant theft from Man-Kzin Wars. However, I have also heard that you were in fact involved in writing the cartoon episode featuring the Kzin. I am very curious, were you involved in it or was the concept flat out stolen?
CNN.com has an article on what I think is one of the coolest things ever.
b le .ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/02/07/japan.invisi
(yeah, I tried to share it with you all but everything I ever post get's (rejected). No matter that is is more on topic to this site or the times than half the crap that gets posted.
But this too me is revolutionary....
The potential of this ranges from military applications (camaflauge clothes and vehicles) to commercial (clothes that you can change the color and style of instantly). Link includes a picture...
And yeah, sadly, most of you wont see this cause it'll be mod-down because I am griping about a post submission rejection. But frankly, I am tired of it. I've submitted several interesting articles. But it seems that unless you've got some status...expect to be rejected. How the above can not be thought of as News for Nerds, or a Stuff that Matters. Frankly, I'd put the technology there in the top 20 list of really cool inventions of the the 21st century!
Could have simply been to create a situation in which an item would have hit and damaged the Columbia during launch, leading to a launch explosion. (Note, the Columbia did get hit by an object at launch.) The shuttle did launch successfully, although, sadly, it did not return successfully.
Thus that is one possibility. Two, if tiles were deliberately damaged / loosened so as to expose an area to the super-heat of re-entry the shuttle would be destroyed on re-entry.
Although it is true, that there is no anti-air missle currently available to track and target a a vehicle at an altitude of 200,000+ miles travelling at Mach 18+, it does NOT preclude the possibility of a terrorist attack. And to me, the fact they dismissed outright the possibility of terrorism and so quickly is troublesome.
Trust me, the U.S. government's standard policy toward terrorism is to try to explain it away with mechanical failure.
Vaporware = yes
Impossible = no
How can you have a game console that is faster than anything currently out there, broadband capable, and has 32,000 games to choose for not including casino and adult related?
Simple...
It is a PC, in a small profile system, running a 2ghz chip and either ATI or NVIDIA card. The unit, essentially, just plays all 32,000 PC games out there.
Look at it this way, these guys actually COUNTED how many PC Compatible games have been made.
AMEN!
FLASH, is probably one of the best 10 web technologies out there.
Problem, is most people don't KNOW what FLASH is.
You all are downing FLASH, but that's because all you understand about FLASH is that it's an vector animation and presentation tool.
It is now, much, much more. It is now a dynamic data conveyance tool. It is a graphical object model that can potentially rival and replace HTML.
I could understand such comments when FLASH was naught but a simple "ooh/ahh animation" and "this is taking too bloody long to download".
But it's now advanced a far beyond that point. And is advancing further. I've observed examples of Flash tied to ColdFusion and SQL apps in which schedule changes were made simply by dragging and dropping the event on a different location. NO page refresh. The FLASH app went out contacted a ColdFusion component, passed relevant arguments, processed said actions, requested information, received it and displayed the updated information to the user.
All the user saw was himself clicking the event, dragging it to another day, and releasing it. Now that, is potential power potent enough to alter the web.
Yes, good utilization of FLASH is "rare". But if you see an application that uses FLASH to it's full extent, it will blow your mind. It blew me away. My jaw dropped.
In fact, a lot of people see the potential for FLASH to replace HTML on J2EE applications as the interface of choice. Further added improvement being the scalability of a vector based interface which can scale from desktop, to Palm unit, to billboard.
Interesting article, although it drones on after a while...er, a short while that is.
First off, much of the writer's premises are totally fractured and broken. And the key, is in fact, the lowly Hobbit.
This is the "unexpected hero" the non-Hercules. The average individual. The proof of evilness is found in the Shire. The Shire, home to a race of simple and peace loving creatures who's home is destroyed by the evil of Sauron and his followers (Saruman).
In fact, if you were too look at anything of Tolkien's work in the LoTR and what it expresses it is the following: the goal, is contentment....to be content in our life is the greatest state of existence. However, at times one is called to do that which they do not necessarily want to do. And although the task is the farthest from our desire the truly noble individual is the one who endeavors to do that which needs to be done. Frodo was not seeking glory and fame. He was doing what needed to be done. His desire was not to be written as "Frodo the Hero" but rather to warm his feet by a fire in Baggs End. Samwise Gamgee was not a "hero" of bravery or strength or skill or cunning. No, he was a hero in faithfulness. A friend that stuck closer than a brother.
These were the heroes of Tolkein's realm. Not the famous Hercules, or mighty wizard. Rather, the humble and contrite spirit of the Hobbits.
When one understands this, one gains a greater understanding into the message of J.R.R. Tolkien!
Oh, read the comments....I just read one exclaiming a missile is easier to destroy than a slug. Because a slug has a steadier trajectory.
.44 round in flight and shoot it with a BB. Even if the BB hit, it will have minimal effect.
Well, frankly, I think some of you should read Harry Turtledove World War Series.
Take a big slug, say a real big on like what's launched from the U.S. Iowa class. Fire anti-missiles at it....hey, if you're luck you're knock it of course a bit. But there is so much inertia that it just keeps going.
Another way to describe it. Say you could track a
The issue at hand is that this was the first successful (publicly announced) test that succeeded in stopping a traditional artillary SLUG.
Missiles are often used in artillary due to a higher accuracy and laser-guided controls. Slugs, one advantage had been near instoppability. This is why Iowa class battleships are still used as super-longe range artillary platforms.
This enables the destruction of a solid slug (probably by superheating)...
Now, when these are reduced to fit on a main battle tank or troop transport (like the M-1 Abrams or M-3 Bradleys) you give your vehicle the ability to be immune to other tanks.
Imagine what a single division of M-1 Abrams could do if they had a system that neutralized the effectiveness of the enemy's main battle tanks, anti-tank missiles, etc. They would cut thru like butter...
And as someone else stated, in 30 yrs, when this technology is increased in effectiveness it might be possible to disable large armies with minimal casualties.
Imagine units controlled and linked to a satellite, instead of killing the men they target the weapons...literally melting the AK-47's in their hands.
Wouldn't a bloodless war be nice.
As for the comments on the previous election...I am frankly sick and tired of the people claiming Bush stole the election. First off those recounts WERE finished. Every single re-count I read about concluded in the end that Bush still won.
So please, and that was in the light of college students voting twice for Gore (yes, in many states college students were voting twice thru loop-holes), the fact that that a lot of DEAD people some how manage to make it to the polls to vote for Gore. I mean, come on....enough.
First off, the detonation you refer to is an Aerosol detination. (small forceful explosion to spread liquid out as a mist) A flamatory detonation would in fact kill most virus and bacteria. (Same reason you cook your food.)
In fact, a laser, is probably the only system that might be able to nullify a biological bomb by the fact it can super-heat the missile and thus kill the majority of bacteria. They might even be able to eventually modify such a system to go to a wider-spread beam upon detonation to super heat the air and ensure biological elimination.
Sorry, but you fail to understand the race....
There is always wind, perhaps only a knot or two...but the earth's atmosphere is always moving.
The game is to beat the opposing vessel. Not get around the course in a certain time, but rather get around the course before anyone else!