They are *not* passing any information on their subscribers back to MGM or any other party. They're passing along these letters at the behest of parties, who provide comcast with an IP and timestamp. Beyond that, Comcast doesn't care what you do with your connection. They're just obligated to pass on these warnings under DMCA. The only time comcast will provide subscriber information to another party is under court order.
Your forgeting that the beam isn't made up of a single stream one photon wide. It will spread as a function of the precision of the optics transmitting it so that the beam that may have been say, a foot wide at the transmission point becomes much wider by the time it reaches us. So assuming then that multiple points on earth(there's no need to spread them out far enough that relativity comes into play, given instruments sufficiently precise) pick up the beam, triangulation becomes a matter of simple geometry. Also, if the detectors lock onto the beam for any length of time it becomes possible to figure out the source's motion relative to the earth.
Not that this really matters. Anything sent to get there at sublight speeds will still be obsoleted by the FTL craft developed a few centuries later. Leading some poor, confused guidance program lightyears from home only to have it blown up and/or arrive years after first contact is just silly.
I concede that finding the original source would be difficult, what with celestial bodies moving about all the time. However, triangulating the original source isn't hard at all. Just be sure you detect it from multiple points at once. Since the origin is a single point(or near enough to one), the difference in direction recorded is enough to give you a fix on the location. Now if only those pesky aliens would sit still for a few millenia, my missles might have a chance!:)
Eyestrain is as much a function of refresh rate as anything else. This design looks to have a VERY high refresh rate since the whole backplate transmits electrons at once, and thus should be easy on the eyes.
I get eye strain from LCDs in poorly lit rooms anyhow:P
Lasers are subject to distortion just like any other light source. Gas clouds, crystals, even gravity will spread and distort the beam like a wet noodle over large enough distances. Also the beam will spread out the further from the transmission point you get simply as a function of the optics aiming it. Aim a laser pointer at a house a few hundred feet away and you'll see what I mean.
They're looking for aliens firing lasers at ANYTHING. Most likely earth was in the way. Once you find the laser light, triangulate the source of the transmission, and send our Interglactic Destructo Missles(tm) to blow them up. Look, the bottom line is that coherent light sources(aka lasers) are as unnatural as sequenced radio waves, and a dead giveaway of intelligent alien life.
Slashdot Mirror
*waits for the obligatory comment about the matrix being too information-dense to viualize, except as symbols*
They are *not* passing any information on their subscribers back to MGM or any other party.
They're passing along these letters at the behest of parties, who provide comcast with an IP and timestamp. Beyond that, Comcast doesn't care what you do with your connection. They're just obligated to pass on these warnings under DMCA. The only time comcast will provide subscriber information to another party is under court order.
...the article didn't mention keenspot.com at all, esp since they host so many different comics.
Your forgeting that the beam isn't made up of a single stream one photon wide. It will spread as a function of the precision of the optics transmitting it so that the beam that may have been say, a foot wide at the transmission point becomes much wider by the time it reaches us. So assuming then that multiple points on earth(there's no need to spread them out far enough that relativity comes into play, given instruments sufficiently precise) pick up the beam, triangulation becomes a matter of simple geometry. Also, if the detectors lock onto the beam for any length of time it becomes possible to figure out the source's motion relative to the earth.
Not that this really matters. Anything sent to get there at sublight speeds will still be obsoleted by the FTL craft developed a few centuries later. Leading some poor, confused guidance program lightyears from home only to have it blown up and/or arrive years after first contact is just silly.
I concede that finding the original source would be difficult, what with celestial bodies moving about all the time. However, triangulating the original source isn't hard at all. Just be sure you detect it from multiple points at once. Since the origin is a single point(or near enough to one), the difference in direction recorded is enough to give you a fix on the location. Now if only those pesky aliens would sit still for a few millenia, my missles might have a chance! :)
Eyestrain is as much a function of refresh rate as anything else. This design looks to have a VERY high refresh rate since the whole backplate transmits electrons at once, and thus should be easy on the eyes.
:P
I get eye strain from LCDs in poorly lit rooms anyhow
Lasers are subject to distortion just like any other light source. Gas clouds, crystals, even gravity will spread and distort the beam like a wet noodle over large enough distances. Also the beam will spread out the further from the transmission point you get simply as a function of the optics aiming it. Aim a laser pointer at a house a few hundred feet away and you'll see what I mean.
They're looking for aliens firing lasers at ANYTHING. Most likely earth was in the way. Once you find the laser light, triangulate the source of the transmission, and send our Interglactic Destructo Missles(tm) to blow them up. Look, the bottom line is that coherent light sources(aka lasers) are as unnatural as sequenced radio waves, and a dead giveaway of intelligent alien life.