Honestly I figure that in order to get capped or warned you just have to be going over the top. I have done some serious downloading and even uploading (well what you can shove over 768k) so I cannot imagine what it takes to piss off an ISP.
So just what do you do to do this and was is authorized by your contract with your ISP to do it?
People only want freedom to do what THEY want. They will claim that these cameras are there to prevent crime but the problem is, what becomes a crime later on that isn't now? What about smoking on a public street? Drinking? In some areas those are probably crimes to one extent or another.
We already have cameras in many public and private buildings. How long before someone government official gets the idea to link them all for the benefit of the public? and... since the government is recording this data the questions become...
1. how long is it retained. 2. who has access. 3. who can use the courts to gain access (for personal suits, etc)
I see crime being used as a great excuse to place these things where you would never suspect them, like hotel rooms and restrooms (of course only monitored by professionals). How long before they enter private homes? First for the monitoring of "known criminals", then possibly anyone getting government money or housing. Its all possible because people want freedom provided it keeps other people from being bad.
Isn't it amazing how much people want freedom and they when asked there are always exceptions? Like worship, sex, and drugs (legal and illegal).
Why? Because nothing more will actually come from it. Outside of the very active small group of Serenity fans, many of whom seem to be active Lucas haters, there are very few if any who have heard of it. Look, its an online poll, these get skewed so fast as to be meaningless in seconds.
Why was Serenity important? How was its story new and different? Those are the questions that when answered really determine how important a movie was to the genre.
Look at whats missing. Look at some of the entries that people are dismissing as silly yet at the same time claiming that others on the list are worthy.
Some missing list entries Logans Run Empire Strikes Back Close Encounters of the Third kind Star Trek 2 (what really brought it back)
Better yet, pick any midsized overpowered v6 sedan; the 250-300hp range that is ever so popular these days. Build me a 100mpg vehicle that performs like that and I bet you will get people lining up for them.
Even with the dangers, see below, its high time we came around and brought vehicle standards up to new levels.
Dangers:
First, overlooked. If it cost less to drive people will drive even more. Urban sprawl would increase and traffic deaths would as well.
The used car market would implode if such technology appeared overnight. Such a change would probably be a boon in the short term for manufacturers because if the pricing were right and the vehicles looked like todays most people would switch. Another area that will see big hits is current lease holders of older engine tech cars and trucks. Throw in the multitude of people needed to support the current engine technologies and not all of those jobs would survive the changeover.
If this progressed into commercial vehicles then the government might have to act as the write off of capitalization from the rapid depreciation of the of older vehicles could put a crimp into tax generation.
The other concern for taxation is decreased use of fuel from gasoline and diesel sales. Governments won't stand for that so expect the taxes to increase thereby hitting anyone who cannot afford the new tech even harder.
and for what? I can already make my Apple iTunes songs DRM free. The higher quality? I have been wondering when 256bit was coming. That was the rate used by the local radio station (pretty sure most use it). So Jobs can now increase the price and make us feel good about it.
I guess he is magic
He could probably sell a Hummer to a Greenpeace activist:)
Lucas may have abused the series in the minds of some people but its a feat bound to never be replicated, at least anytime soon. Still he brought forward an epic dream and who is to say he can't revise parts of it. I have read books that have later versions (some were considered classics) that had revisions or additions.
and he just isn't Star Wars...
being on USPS stamps only goes to show he is forever part of our culture
Whether this is from pre-sale keys remains to be seen. They will be pushing nearly 1 million MORE keys for open beta which starts Friday. The game releases at the end of April.
As you stated, nothing really catches the interest of most players. Summed up, its the setting without the story. Its got most of the areas expected, the features look right, but the story really isn't there. The NPCs look like zombies with no real animations to speak of. think Night of the Living dead with even less talking:) Combined with instancing needed to enter buidlings, going to some zones from others, and a trait system which is nothing more than a grind, it will probably only appeal in the short term relying on name alone.
It does have some of best landscapes seen in a MMORPG with full reflections and shadows. Character equipment is really amazing at the highest detail levels. The problem is character animations are barely better than the NPCs. AI seems dead even with the acqusition of a product that specifically targets that. Combat was boring, seemed very slow and not-connected. Last time I played they didn't even animate blocks, parries, and dodges, like many other games do.
Right now related forums are stocked full of fanbois as Turbine was quick to boot negative testers during beta. The fanboi brigade is already armed and ready with many posts already waiting the "unwashed masses".
Turbine has yet to prove themselves capable of running a good long term MMORPG outside of AC. AC was unique at its time with selectable skills (no classes), unique mobs, and incredible lore. The last two games since AC2 relied on other people's IP to sell the game. As seen with DDO their execution suffers. It will be interesting too see how tolerant the LOTR fans are of Turbines implementation. They have mages and mana but disquise them by changing the name of the mechanics involved. I believe they turned mana into "morale" or such nonsense. The Loremaster is a mage for all intents and purposes, the have a priest/cleric complete with "mana/morale" based healing in their bard class. There are some melee types to top it off but too much still comes across as "magic"... So... how will the true LOTR fans react? Outside of awe at seeing some of their favorite areas rendered I doubt it will entirely be favorable.
Hey, try for yourself, its open beta and i am sure keys will be easy to come by
Look, US based companies are at a tax disadvantage. They pay taxes on profits earned here and abroad while foreign based companies don't.
I was under the impression that the government was supposed to be responsible for education? What, its not? Oh, thats right, when you can villify a corporation its best to do so, regardless if it doesn't make a bit of sense.
Profits? Wow how dare they. Look, they make profits to pay for their expansion and research. Don't try and tell me that these companies are not pouring a sizeable percentage of their profits back into their business. If they don't they get supplanted by those who do or have to buy those who do. Worse they get bought by others.
We have had decades of politicians successfully embedding the idea that corporations are some kind of mad evil organization to be reviled when they make money. They point to profits but never the margin as is famously done with oil companies. They point out the millions made and such all the while hoping you don't see all the taxpayer money they waste buying votes by building bridges to nowhere and research butterfly diseases.
Don't go putting the blame elsewhere. The blame starts with us. We elect politicians who don't do what we want them to do and we just reelect them. Worse many elect politicians not based on their ideas to improve society but instead on "what they can do for me", "who they can take money from because its unfair someone has more", "whom they can make laws against because they don't think like me", or far worse, which political party they are.
It isn't the corporation that is responsible for the US slowly sinking in technology. Its the people of this country who no longer hold themselves or their government accountable. They want freedom but only so much, it usually stops when it gets hard then they run to the government to "make it alright". Build in a flood zone and get flooded, well the government can pay. Can't sell your art because it sucks, well the government can make those ignorant savages pay for it. Someone makes too much money, well the government should step in make them "contribute a fair share".
Damn, its this reliance on government that is our failing, not some damn CEO of a company most of us will never interact with except maybe through our 401Ks.
Sorry but to simply make an article out to be good based on a person's current job or education doesn't cut it for anything but hard sciences. When it comes to soft sciences, politics, religion, or hell even fashion, who is going to be the deciding factor?
Whats to prevent some anti-(insert favorite group) person getting in with credentials? They can then prevent edits to articles they get stewardship over. What if the group you use to determine an article's accuracy all has the same view? Its not hard when you get into politics. Just assuming they will be fair is meaningless when they can determine what is fair.
Sorry, I doubt it will be better than Wiki. Wiki is at least being held to new levels of scrutiny because they screwed up. This new one is just trying to gain traction by pointing towards the successful one and going "look at me, look at me" and spouting good sounding, at the surface, ideas in hopes people will pay attention.
I'll stick with Wikipedia for now. I know where their bias is and avoid those articles.
the local butcher shop just moved, same with the local "specialty" grocer, the wonderful little curio place, and that local coffee shop.
When the economy is good, and it is and has been for some time, these little things pop up. We have a local butcher here in metro Atlanta, notice I did not say Atlanta because this is in one of the counties surrounding it, away from any real city. Why is it here? Because people feel good about themselves and for many its an indulgence that makes sense. Same with that corner bookstore near me, sure I could get stuff cheaper but the place is very nice, sells good coffee and treats, and is next to other cool places.
What too many people fail to realize is that many mom&pop places exist and new ones start everyday. Just now most are moving where the money is. Strip malls near large residential areas. Mom&Pop stores can compete, they just have to find the niche. If they enter the wrong market they are going to struggle and possibly fail. You cannot blame Amazon if someone opens a local bookstore that is nothing more than shelves of books and they fail. Same for opening a little grocery when Kroger is a few miles down the street. Make a good business decision at the start and you have a better chance to succeed.
the first three novels in the original Dune series were very good but the latter ones simply started going downhill and then set out trying to go beyond bottom.
His son did very well, the only problem I had with his books were the sudden deaths of some characters and the few attempts he made to one up his father by introducing something that was "new" when featured in his fathers books (as in tech related)
About the only author following in their parents footsteps I really enjoy it is Anne McCaffrey's sons writings for the Dragonriders of Pern. Of course it helps that mom is alive and kicking, probably more of the kicking helps
NASA's budget is unaffected by the Iraq war, the money would never have been considered for NASA. Unless NASA can find some pressing reason to exist beyond the small means it has now Congress is never going to pour money into it.
A Moonshot was a us versus them, it gained votes because supporting it was politically smart.
The shuttle at first was also a grand idea, the program being spread over so many states to make it even more politically viable.
The space station was exciting how Reagan imagined it, it never really became that vision but he had such a grip on the American public that it was politically smart to support it.
Thats why I always liked Bush's groups proposal for the Moon base and going to Mars. We need to get the public dreaming again, thinking about space, whats out there, and getting kids back into science. If this could catch on it will again become politically smart to give NASA money.
BTW - being politically smart means spending money there because it gets you votes which keeps you in power. Politicians in DC don't really give a flip about NASA beyond one or two of them. Its like Iraq or any other hot button issue, they take sides because of how the votes will line up for them. The only real concern they have is being reelected. Science is only used for Congress to determine how best to do mailings.
climate I would be curious what side effects they think this will have on our world other than electromagnetic issues?
Does sunspot activity correspond to an decrease in the amount of radiation hitting the earth? If we are at a low point now for sunspots will their increase be truly noticable?
I am only wondering as some scientists have put forward the idea that the sun's activities plays a much greater role in our environment than many give it credit for.
So will an increase in sunspot activity affect us? ( I have no idea, hence I am asking from people who do)
they are considering the expected lifetime of the vehicle.
they don't even cover the issue of replacing those batteries.
as for the comments attempting to discount the study because it was a student study group. they have been around a long time and check out their other work, lots of insight backed by real facts.
cynic mode : if they had come out with a study supporting the prius how many would question it? too many times we are skeptics of someone else's information because it does not jive with what we believe, factual or not
they are more equal to the boys these days than ever before.
and insurance companies are catching on quickly.
of note, in my area on the news when a boy crashes a car or dies behind the wheel it is usually just him or at most one other but girls seem to fill the car which makes their fatal crashes even more so troubling.
as for video games leading to it, if theres money to be had a lawyer will find it
If its just for exploration then cooperation is fine. Now, what if they decide to band together and lock out private competition? They can if they get together as that would lock up the majority of worldwide tracking and communications. They could also all setup similar rules for "safe and accountable access to space" that makes it to difficult for private enterprise to keep up.
but seeing that its an "internation group" I fully expect it to post lots of great ideas up front and then rely on 2 or 3 of the members to foot the bill
My org is VP -> Director - 4 Managers -> 5 Managers -> Programmers
How screwed is that?
Worse, we spend 6-8 hours each week doing time tracking and work notes (all required)
combine with email and we move at the speed of sloths
What it takes is for the real upper management to realize just how convuluted the lower management is making the place. Combine that with gutting the middle layers and IT might stage a comeback
If a manufacturer starts losing sales due to bad word of mouth then they will either increase support or get marginalized in the environment they compete in. If people continue to buy their stuff then obviously they aren't doing enough research before buying. This is the biggest issue I have seen where bad companies persist, people love to claim doing great research and get stuck on a product because of one or two things that pique their interest losing focus on the bad sides.
If you feel as if your getting the short end of the stick then why continue to use their product ? Also, make sure others know about it. If your not willing to take the time to let others know about the issues then it can't be a major problem.
Slashdot Mirror
because "Hybrids" are the "in thing" currently.
Honestly I figure that in order to get capped or warned you just have to be going over the top. I have done some serious downloading and even uploading (well what you can shove over 768k) so I cannot imagine what it takes to piss off an ISP.
So just what do you do to do this and was is authorized by your contract with your ISP to do it?
because Freedom is just a word.
People only want freedom to do what THEY want. They will claim that these cameras are there to prevent crime but the problem is, what becomes a crime later on that isn't now? What about smoking on a public street? Drinking? In some areas those are probably crimes to one extent or another.
We already have cameras in many public and private buildings. How long before someone government official gets the idea to link them all for the benefit of the public? and... since the government is recording this data the questions become...
1. how long is it retained.
2. who has access.
3. who can use the courts to gain access (for personal suits, etc)
I see crime being used as a great excuse to place these things where you would never suspect them, like hotel rooms and restrooms (of course only monitored by professionals). How long before they enter private homes? First for the monitoring of "known criminals", then possibly anyone getting government money or housing. Its all possible because people want freedom provided it keeps other people from being bad.
Isn't it amazing how much people want freedom and they when asked there are always exceptions? Like worship, sex, and drugs (legal and illegal).
Why? Because nothing more will actually come from it. Outside of the very active small group of Serenity fans, many of whom seem to be active Lucas haters, there are very few if any who have heard of it. Look, its an online poll, these get skewed so fast as to be meaningless in seconds.
Why was Serenity important? How was its story new and different? Those are the questions that when answered really determine how important a movie was to the genre.
Look at whats missing. Look at some of the entries that people are dismissing as silly yet at the same time claiming that others on the list are worthy.
Some missing list entries
Logans Run
Empire Strikes Back
Close Encounters of the Third kind
Star Trek 2 (what really brought it back)
Hell even ET could be on that list as a classic.
Better yet, pick any midsized overpowered v6 sedan; the 250-300hp range that is ever so popular these days. Build me a 100mpg vehicle that performs like that and I bet you will get people lining up for them.
Even with the dangers, see below, its high time we came around and brought vehicle standards up to new levels.
Dangers:
First, overlooked. If it cost less to drive people will drive even more. Urban sprawl would increase and traffic deaths would as well.
The used car market would implode if such technology appeared overnight. Such a change would probably be a boon in the short term for manufacturers because if the pricing were right and the vehicles looked like todays most people would switch. Another area that will see big hits is current lease holders of older engine tech cars and trucks. Throw in the multitude of people needed to support the current engine technologies and not all of those jobs would survive the changeover.
If this progressed into commercial vehicles then the government might have to act as the write off of capitalization from the rapid depreciation of the of older vehicles could put a crimp into tax generation.
The other concern for taxation is decreased use of fuel from gasoline and diesel sales. Governments won't stand for that so expect the taxes to increase thereby hitting anyone who cannot afford the new tech even harder.
and for what? I can already make my Apple iTunes songs DRM free. The higher quality? I have been wondering when 256bit was coming. That was the rate used by the local radio station (pretty sure most use it). So Jobs can now increase the price and make us feel good about it.
:)
I guess he is magic
He could probably sell a Hummer to a Greenpeace activist
How do you tag stories for later in Slashdot?
Lucas may have abused the series in the minds of some people but its a feat bound to never be replicated, at least anytime soon. Still he brought forward an epic dream and who is to say he can't revise parts of it. I have read books that have later versions (some were considered classics) that had revisions or additions.
and he just isn't Star Wars...
being on USPS stamps only goes to show he is forever part of our culture
Whether this is from pre-sale keys remains to be seen. They will be pushing nearly 1 million MORE keys for open beta which starts Friday. The game releases at the end of April.
:) Combined with instancing needed to enter buidlings, going to some zones from others, and a trait system which is nothing more than a grind, it will probably only appeal in the short term relying on name alone.
... So... how will the true LOTR fans react? Outside of awe at seeing some of their favorite areas rendered I doubt it will entirely be favorable.
As you stated, nothing really catches the interest of most players. Summed up, its the setting without the story. Its got most of the areas expected, the features look right, but the story really isn't there. The NPCs look like zombies with no real animations to speak of. think Night of the Living dead with even less talking
It does have some of best landscapes seen in a MMORPG with full reflections and shadows. Character equipment is really amazing at the highest detail levels. The problem is character animations are barely better than the NPCs. AI seems dead even with the acqusition of a product that specifically targets that. Combat was boring, seemed very slow and not-connected. Last time I played they didn't even animate blocks, parries, and dodges, like many other games do.
Right now related forums are stocked full of fanbois as Turbine was quick to boot negative testers during beta. The fanboi brigade is already armed and ready with many posts already waiting the "unwashed masses".
Turbine has yet to prove themselves capable of running a good long term MMORPG outside of AC. AC was unique at its time with selectable skills (no classes), unique mobs, and incredible lore. The last two games since AC2 relied on other people's IP to sell the game. As seen with DDO their execution suffers. It will be interesting too see how tolerant the LOTR fans are of Turbines implementation. They have mages and mana but disquise them by changing the name of the mechanics involved. I believe they turned mana into "morale" or such nonsense. The Loremaster is a mage for all intents and purposes, the have a priest/cleric complete with "mana/morale" based healing in their bard class. There are some melee types to top it off but too much still comes across as "magic"
Hey, try for yourself, its open beta and i am sure keys will be easy to come by
thats my view.
Got an item I want, I'll go to Best Buy or even Wal-Mart first now.
Look, US based companies are at a tax disadvantage. They pay taxes on profits earned here and abroad while foreign based companies don't.
I was under the impression that the government was supposed to be responsible for education? What, its not? Oh, thats right, when you can villify a corporation its best to do so, regardless if it doesn't make a bit of sense.
Profits? Wow how dare they. Look, they make profits to pay for their expansion and research. Don't try and tell me that these companies are not pouring a sizeable percentage of their profits back into their business. If they don't they get supplanted by those who do or have to buy those who do. Worse they get bought by others.
We have had decades of politicians successfully embedding the idea that corporations are some kind of mad evil organization to be reviled when they make money. They point to profits but never the margin as is famously done with oil companies. They point out the millions made and such all the while hoping you don't see all the taxpayer money they waste buying votes by building bridges to nowhere and research butterfly diseases.
Don't go putting the blame elsewhere. The blame starts with us. We elect politicians who don't do what we want them to do and we just reelect them. Worse many elect politicians not based on their ideas to improve society but instead on "what they can do for me", "who they can take money from because its unfair someone has more", "whom they can make laws against because they don't think like me", or far worse, which political party they are.
It isn't the corporation that is responsible for the US slowly sinking in technology. Its the people of this country who no longer hold themselves or their government accountable. They want freedom but only so much, it usually stops when it gets hard then they run to the government to "make it alright". Build in a flood zone and get flooded, well the government can pay. Can't sell your art because it sucks, well the government can make those ignorant savages pay for it. Someone makes too much money, well the government should step in make them "contribute a fair share".
Damn, its this reliance on government that is our failing, not some damn CEO of a company most of us will never interact with except maybe through our 401Ks.
Sorry but to simply make an article out to be good based on a person's current job or education doesn't cut it for anything but hard sciences. When it comes to soft sciences, politics, religion, or hell even fashion, who is going to be the deciding factor?
Whats to prevent some anti-(insert favorite group) person getting in with credentials? They can then prevent edits to articles they get stewardship over. What if the group you use to determine an article's accuracy all has the same view? Its not hard when you get into politics. Just assuming they will be fair is meaningless when they can determine what is fair.
Sorry, I doubt it will be better than Wiki. Wiki is at least being held to new levels of scrutiny because they screwed up. This new one is just trying to gain traction by pointing towards the successful one and going "look at me, look at me" and spouting good sounding, at the surface, ideas in hopes people will pay attention.
I'll stick with Wikipedia for now. I know where their bias is and avoid those articles.
the local butcher shop just moved, same with the local "specialty" grocer, the wonderful little curio place, and that local coffee shop.
When the economy is good, and it is and has been for some time, these little things pop up. We have a local butcher here in metro Atlanta, notice I did not say Atlanta because this is in one of the counties surrounding it, away from any real city. Why is it here? Because people feel good about themselves and for many its an indulgence that makes sense. Same with that corner bookstore near me, sure I could get stuff cheaper but the place is very nice, sells good coffee and treats, and is next to other cool places.
What too many people fail to realize is that many mom&pop places exist and new ones start everyday. Just now most are moving where the money is. Strip malls near large residential areas. Mom&Pop stores can compete, they just have to find the niche. If they enter the wrong market they are going to struggle and possibly fail. You cannot blame Amazon if someone opens a local bookstore that is nothing more than shelves of books and they fail. Same for opening a little grocery when Kroger is a few miles down the street. Make a good business decision at the start and you have a better chance to succeed.
the first three novels in the original Dune series were very good but the latter ones simply started going downhill and then set out trying to go beyond bottom.
His son did very well, the only problem I had with his books were the sudden deaths of some characters and the few attempts he made to one up his father by introducing something that was "new" when featured in his fathers books (as in tech related)
About the only author following in their parents footsteps I really enjoy it is Anne McCaffrey's sons writings for the Dragonriders of Pern. Of course it helps that mom is alive and kicking, probably more of the kicking helps
whats wrong with them?
There are many good sci-fi films.
Just apparently they don't fit the need of the writer?
there are many sub fields within it and I do not doubt he would qualify for many.
it isn't all about algorithms and considering what some schools teach in CS these days...
NASA's budget is unaffected by the Iraq war, the money would never have been considered for NASA. Unless NASA can find some pressing reason to exist beyond the small means it has now Congress is never going to pour money into it.
A Moonshot was a us versus them, it gained votes because supporting it was politically smart.
The shuttle at first was also a grand idea, the program being spread over so many states to make it even more politically viable.
The space station was exciting how Reagan imagined it, it never really became that vision but he had such a grip on the American public that it was politically smart to support it.
Thats why I always liked Bush's groups proposal for the Moon base and going to Mars. We need to get the public dreaming again, thinking about space, whats out there, and getting kids back into science. If this could catch on it will again become politically smart to give NASA money.
BTW - being politically smart means spending money there because it gets you votes which keeps you in power. Politicians in DC don't really give a flip about NASA beyond one or two of them. Its like Iraq or any other hot button issue, they take sides because of how the votes will line up for them. The only real concern they have is being reelected. Science is only used for Congress to determine how best to do mailings.
climate I would be curious what side effects they think this will have on our world other than electromagnetic issues?
Does sunspot activity correspond to an decrease in the amount of radiation hitting the earth? If we are at a low point now for sunspots will their increase be truly noticable?
I am only wondering as some scientists have put forward the idea that the sun's activities plays a much greater role in our environment than many give it credit for.
So will an increase in sunspot activity affect us? ( I have no idea, hence I am asking from people who do)
Hell they made it higher than anything Rutan has put forward and the way people act Rutan is the second coming.
Look, they are doing a great job. Second flight at they reached 200 miles! Thats beyond the ISS.
they are considering the expected lifetime of the vehicle.
they don't even cover the issue of replacing those batteries.
as for the comments attempting to discount the study because it was a student study group. they have been around a long time and check out their other work, lots of insight backed by real facts.
cynic mode : if they had come out with a study supporting the prius how many would question it? too many times we are skeptics of someone else's information because it does not jive with what we believe, factual or not
Sci-Fi could make a movie out of it.
they are more equal to the boys these days than ever before.
and insurance companies are catching on quickly.
of note, in my area on the news when a boy crashes a car or dies behind the wheel it is usually just him or at most one other but girls seem to fill the car which makes their fatal crashes even more so troubling.
as for video games leading to it, if theres money to be had a lawyer will find it
If its just for exploration then cooperation is fine. Now, what if they decide to band together and lock out private competition? They can if they get together as that would lock up the majority of worldwide tracking and communications. They could also all setup similar rules for "safe and accountable access to space" that makes it to difficult for private enterprise to keep up.
but seeing that its an "internation group" I fully expect it to post lots of great ideas up front and then rely on 2 or 3 of the members to foot the bill
My org is
VP -> Director - 4 Managers -> 5 Managers -> Programmers
How screwed is that?
Worse, we spend 6-8 hours each week doing time tracking and work notes (all required)
combine with email and we move at the speed of sloths
What it takes is for the real upper management to realize just how convuluted the lower management is making the place. Combine that with gutting the middle layers and IT might stage a comeback
If a manufacturer starts losing sales due to bad word of mouth then they will either increase support or get marginalized in the environment they compete in. If people continue to buy their stuff then obviously they aren't doing enough research before buying. This is the biggest issue I have seen where bad companies persist, people love to claim doing great research and get stuck on a product because of one or two things that pique their interest losing focus on the bad sides.
If you feel as if your getting the short end of the stick then why continue to use their product ? Also, make sure others know about it. If your not willing to take the time to let others know about the issues then it can't be a major problem.