thats basically what I said. I used pressure because it was the closest thing I could think of to what actually happens to the target. Naturally, the laser does not push the object away. Like you said, that would require enormous amounts of power.
The laser used was invented back in 1978, i imagine the past 20 years have been spent perfecting the mirror. The adaptive optics computer has probably been made small enough to be useful with todays technology...
of all government divisions in america, counties are generally the poorest. Most counties are using 40 year old machinery simply because they can't afford anything else. Much less hiring hundreds of temp workers to count things (the florida counties had a hard enough time finding people WILLING to do it). Therefore, hand counting is NOT a solution. Granted, I think the federal govt should subsidize voting equipment.
Another problem is perception. If the public even THINKS that a vote COULD be corrupted, they will claim it's invalid. Such is the case in florida. There were oversite committees all over the place, but they still claimed bias. You cannot get around this with a hand count. Even it is factually untrue, it doesnt matter. Public perception of a valid election is *key* to public order and acceptance of results.
This is why an electronic system will have to be overengineered beyond belief to gain acceptance. It must be done in a black box that has no external access except by voting booths.
Mirrors have no effect on this whatsoever.
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Laser-equipped 747
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Mirrors are not effective. A megawatt+ laser would blast right through them.
Read here, why this is so
I would love to know what kind of mirror design they use for the thing. The most crucial component of any high powered laser the mirror, because it has to withstand over a megawatt of energy pressure and heat, AND must be comprised of computationally intensive adaptic optics technology to cancel out the jitter of the airframe and atmosphere. This is what 20 years of hard work to do
the real damage done by high power lasers isnt so much from the light itself, but the PRESSURE which the light hits the object with. If you fire one of these lasers at a normal mirror for instance, it'll blow the thing to smithereens. Chroming a missile would have no effect because the raw energy of impact would melt and ding the material suffciently to destroy it.
Military 747's equipped with countermeasures
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Laser-equipped 747
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the plane used as air force one, for example is replete with electronic anti-missile systems from flares, to chaff, to infra-red masking systems (a stinger operates off infra red, if you mask the heat signature - and they do this - then the missile will not acquire target or fire)
All the zealots are going crazy over microsoft, but first open your ears and minds and figure out why this is good.
All 3 of these companies are on relatively good standing. This is not 5-person startup eVotingMachine Inc. which might go out of business a year after delivering their systems to the nation, thus screwing all of us when things break. This means that we can expect this system to be kept in good working order.
With 3 companies working on it, they will all have to be privy to the source and specs for everything involved. This will include numerous security audits by all sides. Who knows, they might even release the source code to the public (it would be in their interests to do so, and good PR)
And despite what some claim, all these companies have lots of money to throw at figuring out the best interface for the system. What works best for the public? Which is easiest and idiot-proof?
First, try and understand america and its history. Back in the 60s during the civil rights movement, voting for many was a precarious thing due to threats, dirty tricks and other shenanigans. How would an X marks the spot system be immune to being altered? Or having extra ballots entered? In the 60's it was not uncommon for ballots to be altered (indeed, today there are dead people still voting in some areas of the country...). This is why machine's were brought in, to try and reduce the amount of ballot corruption.
Australia is also a bit smaller than america population wise. A hand count of 300 million would be impossible in the length of time required (electors cast their ballots in mid-decemeber, AS REQUIRED BY CONSTITUTION). A hand count would never be done in time.
According to this article WinNT and other win systems are used for the station LAN, which allows the astronauts to trade e-mails back and forth. Hardly what I would call critical systems.
The article also states that astronauts "run the station" using thinkpads running solaris. "Run the station" is something of a vague term.. I imagine the truly critical systems such as lifesupport are mostly autonomous. And certainly not being ran on windows, nor I imagine would they entirely depend on the two thinkpads (which probably arent space-certified)
Discs are by far a more reliable and compact means of storing data. With DVDR coming soon, I don't think we'll see this taking off outside of perhaps the professional recording realm.
SuperVHS has about the quality of a DVD, but it didnt take off. Don't expect this to either.
when starting a company you figure out what you need to purchase. If everything else he's doing is OS, whats his money going to? Hardware I assume. Perhaps he should consider purchasing Billing software. I imagine this would be the most valuable software purchase, as this is the software that allows him to collect money...
He should scout out vendors and see who can give him the best deal for his needs.
its just your typical 15 year old with no friends or social skills to speak of. He (and it almost certainly is a he) looks for attention in any way he can get it. Our socially-lacking speciment here probably is infatuated with shock-rock/rap bands because they get tons of attention that he doesnt with their "shocking" lyrics. Such monkeys are best dealt with by pointing out their lack of social skills.
Cuba is tiny. Economically worthless. China is the world's largest market. With their markets opening up more and more, they are the most lucrative place on the planet to do business.
well since the home windows market is *still* compatible with old dos programs that are 15 years old, I would assume they're going to put in a large number of backwards compatiblity in the products.
only problem is, m-soft has 90% market share. People (and companies) hate giving up their current stuff and moving to other stuff, so don't expect companies to run like mad at open source.
What about Radiation hardening?
on
Macs In Space II
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Space is a nasty environment to put a computer. Radiation causes errors like you wouldnt believe (which is why most computers up there are about as powerful as a 386 at most..it takes a long time to develop a rad-hard chip!)
Much less a brand new G4.. sounds too crackpot to me.
The FCC has ruled, at the behest of the corporations that OWN broadcast stations, to stop analog transmissions after a date (the specific date escapes me..2004 or 5 i think). Therefore, the broadcast stations WANT this, so they can offer high quality viewing to entice people away from cable.
im talking about broadcast stations, which would probably give converter boxes away. Also, stopping analog transmission would release the space on the radio spectrum they currently take up for other uses.
A quick cursory scan would say "wait, this sounds almost racist" but reading in between the lines you're right. And what you're saying is the truth there that most people ignore.
Why are there few women in the tech industry? Society says "Because women just aren't good with technical stuff like cars and computers". Utter bullshit of course, but its the perpetuated myth that boils down in how parents raise their daughters "here, learn something useful, like sewing instead of that computer".
We need to be looking at the perpetuated myths of one's "place" in society. It's not just in white culture, it's in every culture, race, religion and gender.
Analog TV is obsolete. It has been for several years. You can bet that local tv stations will give out converter boxes for free. A. It's good PR, and B. lower/middle income families are their prime advertising target. I imagine one could simply put a small add-on between the antenna lead and the TV and it would work just fine. Very cheap, and free for the consumer.
Digital TV has been in use for many years, in the form of DirecTV, any cable system that used converter boxes...
All HDTV's are digital TV's, but not all digital TV is HDTV. Go to best buy and count the number of square-screened "digital ready" tv's. These are not HDTV, but are digital.
To use digital tv broadcasting on an old analog TV merely requires the use of a cheap converter box. Since most public tv advertising is directed at low/middle income, you can bet tv stations will give out free converters to anyone who wants one (good for PR, plus keeps their viewer numbers up for advertising..)
Converter boxes are no big deal. If anyone with a tv that just has an F-type jack (such as myself) has bought a dvd player, then you know you have to go get an RF modulator (about $30) to make it work.
Analog tv has been obsolete for several years. How long have cable converter boxes been around? DirecTV? Several years. The FCC finally made this obsolete form of broadcasting to be phased out in a few years, which is well past its useful lifetime.
"someday computers may be under 10 tons" - popular mechanics. Well, they were indeed right.
Ordinary TV's once cost several months salary. The cost of HDTV has been reduced in half, yearly. In a few years, HDTV will indeed be in the realm of affordability (and note, digital tv is different than HDTV..digital tv is the same thing as what you get through your DirecTV, or many cable systems.. receiving digital tv on a "normal" tv merely requires the use of a cheap converter box, and all of those "digital ready" TV's you see in best buy just have this converter built in)
analog is due for replacement in a few years, as per ruled by the FCC. Many (if not most) major stations are already broadcasting simultaneous analog/digital signals at this time. Turning them off requires a mere flip of the switch.
Slashdot Mirror
The laser used was invented back in 1978, i imagine the past 20 years have been spent perfecting the mirror. The adaptive optics computer has probably been made small enough to be useful with todays technology...
Another problem is perception. If the public even THINKS that a vote COULD be corrupted, they will claim it's invalid. Such is the case in florida. There were oversite committees all over the place, but they still claimed bias. You cannot get around this with a hand count. Even it is factually untrue, it doesnt matter. Public perception of a valid election is *key* to public order and acceptance of results.
This is why an electronic system will have to be overengineered beyond belief to gain acceptance. It must be done in a black box that has no external access except by voting booths.
Mirrors are not effective. A megawatt+ laser would blast right through them. Read here, why this is so
I would love to know what kind of mirror design they use for the thing. The most crucial component of any high powered laser the mirror, because it has to withstand over a megawatt of energy pressure and heat, AND must be comprised of computationally intensive adaptic optics technology to cancel out the jitter of the airframe and atmosphere. This is what 20 years of hard work to do
the real damage done by high power lasers isnt so much from the light itself, but the PRESSURE which the light hits the object with. If you fire one of these lasers at a normal mirror for instance, it'll blow the thing to smithereens. Chroming a missile would have no effect because the raw energy of impact would melt and ding the material suffciently to destroy it.
the plane used as air force one, for example is replete with electronic anti-missile systems from flares, to chaff, to infra-red masking systems (a stinger operates off infra red, if you mask the heat signature - and they do this - then the missile will not acquire target or fire)
All 3 of these companies are on relatively good standing. This is not 5-person startup eVotingMachine Inc. which might go out of business a year after delivering their systems to the nation, thus screwing all of us when things break. This means that we can expect this system to be kept in good working order.
With 3 companies working on it, they will all have to be privy to the source and specs for everything involved. This will include numerous security audits by all sides. Who knows, they might even release the source code to the public (it would be in their interests to do so, and good PR)
And despite what some claim, all these companies have lots of money to throw at figuring out the best interface for the system. What works best for the public? Which is easiest and idiot-proof?
Australia is also a bit smaller than america population wise. A hand count of 300 million would be impossible in the length of time required (electors cast their ballots in mid-decemeber, AS REQUIRED BY CONSTITUTION). A hand count would never be done in time.
The article also states that astronauts "run the station" using thinkpads running solaris. "Run the station" is something of a vague term.. I imagine the truly critical systems such as lifesupport are mostly autonomous. And certainly not being ran on windows, nor I imagine would they entirely depend on the two thinkpads (which probably arent space-certified)
SuperVHS has about the quality of a DVD, but it didnt take off. Don't expect this to either.
He should scout out vendors and see who can give him the best deal for his needs.
This line alone makes this whole article pleasant to read.
its just your typical 15 year old with no friends or social skills to speak of. He (and it almost certainly is a he) looks for attention in any way he can get it. Our socially-lacking speciment here probably is infatuated with shock-rock/rap bands because they get tons of attention that he doesnt with their "shocking" lyrics. Such monkeys are best dealt with by pointing out their lack of social skills.
Cuba is tiny. Economically worthless. China is the world's largest market. With their markets opening up more and more, they are the most lucrative place on the planet to do business.
as in the new OS will still run win32 programs, just like win9x will still run win3.1 software...
That would be the logical choice.
only problem is, m-soft has 90% market share. People (and companies) hate giving up their current stuff and moving to other stuff, so don't expect companies to run like mad at open source.
Much less a brand new G4.. sounds too crackpot to me.
The FCC has ruled, at the behest of the corporations that OWN broadcast stations, to stop analog transmissions after a date (the specific date escapes me..2004 or 5 i think). Therefore, the broadcast stations WANT this, so they can offer high quality viewing to entice people away from cable.
im talking about broadcast stations, which would probably give converter boxes away. Also, stopping analog transmission would release the space on the radio spectrum they currently take up for other uses.
Why are there few women in the tech industry? Society says "Because women just aren't good with technical stuff like cars and computers". Utter bullshit of course, but its the perpetuated myth that boils down in how parents raise their daughters "here, learn something useful, like sewing instead of that computer".
We need to be looking at the perpetuated myths of one's "place" in society. It's not just in white culture, it's in every culture, race, religion and gender.
Analog TV is obsolete. It has been for several years. You can bet that local tv stations will give out converter boxes for free. A. It's good PR, and B. lower/middle income families are their prime advertising target. I imagine one could simply put a small add-on between the antenna lead and the TV and it would work just fine. Very cheap, and free for the consumer.
All HDTV's are digital TV's, but not all digital TV is HDTV. Go to best buy and count the number of square-screened "digital ready" tv's. These are not HDTV, but are digital.
To use digital tv broadcasting on an old analog TV merely requires the use of a cheap converter box. Since most public tv advertising is directed at low/middle income, you can bet tv stations will give out free converters to anyone who wants one (good for PR, plus keeps their viewer numbers up for advertising..)
Converter boxes are no big deal. If anyone with a tv that just has an F-type jack (such as myself) has bought a dvd player, then you know you have to go get an RF modulator (about $30) to make it work.
Analog tv has been obsolete for several years. How long have cable converter boxes been around? DirecTV? Several years. The FCC finally made this obsolete form of broadcasting to be phased out in a few years, which is well past its useful lifetime.
Ordinary TV's once cost several months salary. The cost of HDTV has been reduced in half, yearly. In a few years, HDTV will indeed be in the realm of affordability (and note, digital tv is different than HDTV..digital tv is the same thing as what you get through your DirecTV, or many cable systems.. receiving digital tv on a "normal" tv merely requires the use of a cheap converter box, and all of those "digital ready" TV's you see in best buy just have this converter built in)
analog is due for replacement in a few years, as per ruled by the FCC. Many (if not most) major stations are already broadcasting simultaneous analog/digital signals at this time. Turning them off requires a mere flip of the switch.