Yes, it's a bush. That bush may tell us how plant cells adapt to conditions, and they are accurate, living records of thousands of years of climate data. It's not just "another bush".
"Recent advances in global positioning software (GPS) systems and antenna technology coupled with the declining cost of processing power and two-way networking make the possibilities for new devices and services really exciting,'' Wozniak said in a statement.
A report in the New York Times on Wednesday said Wozniak would not immediately announce what products he is developing. A spokesman for the company was not immediately available to comment further.
If he's interested in hyping up his GPS doo-hickey, perhaps he should tell us what it is.
Pinning messages in mid-air, using the location's Global Positioning System (GPS) reference, could become the next craze in communications. The messages are not actually kept in the air: they're stored on an Internet page. But that page's Web address is linked to coordinates on the Earth's surface, rather than a person or organisation. As you move about, a GPS receiver in your mobile phone or PDA will check to see if a message has been posted on the website for that particular spot.
I don't see why we would want to force the Internet into the reality sphere.
Of course, GPS scavenger hunts are fun, but what would this be used for?
Advertisements.
It's not useful for community-rating or for espionage because everything there is not in the air, but on the Internet. And all GPS data goes through a small network of satellites, so if you stop in the middle of a playground in Bethesda, MD. the spies may not see your message, but they know you stopped there if they have access to GPS data, or at least know the last coordinates you took.
So what it's useful for is e-biz and advertising. I don't think its worth exchanging our privacy for this advertising. I don't want everyone to have to carry a GPS phone, which has so many other security caveats, in order to plug into a new layer of advertising.
Microsoft edged it out. Netscape lost its competitiveness. In a straight comparison, IE kicks Netscape's ass now. The innovation departed from Netscape.
The purchase of Linux by AOL will come with a big PR campaign about AOLinux or whatever. There will be a standard, SINGLE image of Linux in the brains of most consumers, and then AOL will take that up against Microsoft, which will easily defeat it in many consumer-level preference comparisons.
Then, the consumers will forget Linux, not knowing that there are dozens of different flavors out there.
I recommend keeping all linices entirely without involvement by non Linux corporations, for these cultural reasons.
Great fbi opportunity
on
Million Man LAN
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
this LAN party will be a great opportunity for FBI entrapment stings on warez distributors, hax0rs, movie pirates, and, of course, terrorists.
Technology has enabled me to write things that thousands of people read on the Internet. People actually go to the site to read what I and others have wrote. In the old days I'd have had to build a huge marketing and advertising and distribution enterprise to do this.
I think that if our schools trained people in how to work for themselves in the world of information, the new tech would support more people than it limits.
If it was "natural" for people to use self-published informational websites for much of their research, and to pay those people, then there would be lots more useful information on the Net and many more knowledgeable people supported by the Net.
It is our culture that trains us to use technologies in conservative ways -- as consumers or in support of traditional workplace methods-- rather than to create completely new information-centered industries.
If more countries start doing this, MS is going to get mad.
They will contact their friends in the American government, who will also get mad.
They will be mad because of an infringement on their "sovereignty." Remember that the government considers its trade and communications channels part of its sovereign territory, even if it's outside the borders of the United States.
The protection of the MS monopoly is definitely our sovereign right, when it's construed that way.
Will there be an invasion of Korea? Not likely, but I could see some OS requirements being put into international trade regimes such as the W.T.O.
Unfortunately, if it becomes widespread, more jobs may require computer use and more jobs may force commuter time to be worktime.
I for one will miss my opportunity to sing at the top of my lungs while I sit there trying to drive on the freeway while fielding phone calls and writing voice-controlled spreadsheets.
Others, though, may like the notion of getting paid for their commuter time.
Will you be able to use these in New York State, which outlawed hand held cell use while driving? Not until voice control technology gets richer and broader.
I hope Microsoft sues the author of this emulator, who has probably already taken a BIG chunk out of the sales for the X-Box.
X-Box is expensive, and most gamers are poor and already own a computer. In these economic times, they will probably opt for the slightly poorer play/graphics quality and the small amount of work involved in getting and installing the emulator.
The console is meant for more than simple game play - Microsoft is intending to build lots of new gaming methods and communications in it due to its ability to connect to the internet. People who opt out and choose the emulator will miss out on all of this stuff.
Choose what you will, but consider the consequences carefully.
I dunno why anybody would release code that even a very small market wants, for FREE, in this economy.
At least give them something of value for it.
If the code belongs to a small group of individuals, offer to pay them or exchange services (like web design or web hosting?) to the people who own it. Help them advertise themselves and start a new business for themselves.
There is little tolerance for email petitions and other such forms of protest in this day and age. Few can afford to be generous.
Linux: a thing that is used on a very few desktop computers.
It is used on a lot of: servers and back-endy type things that very few consumers use.
So here comes this Linux PDA. Okay, that's cool. Proof of concept, etc. But where do we go from here?
Most people use their PDA with their desktops.
If the Linux PDA bundles mostly Win software, it won't encourage puchase by Linux-desktop users (a small market).
If the PDA bundles mostly Win software, it won't encourage purchase by Win desktop users (a huge market).
It can do a combo, but it's a PDA. It has limited space, and if it wants to compete in the PDA market it had better have the same bells and whistles as your average Palm or Handspring with a proprietary OS on it. So, it can't have a 50/50 balance.
It has to pick one, Linux or Windows?
I think Linux PDA's need to be Win desktop compatible. This will introduce Linux by the back-door to many consumers, while maintaining a competitive product!
The only worry is in the minds of Linux purists, who will feel underrepresented here. However, they are (from a marketing perspective) irrelevant.
Anyone who actually wants to make money on Linux will be thrilled to see it in small appliances and PDAs like this one.
the thing w/a weblog is you want specific information., there are plenty of other places where we can read press releases from microsoft and speculate about them. spend story-energy here focusing the Linux developers, etc. rather than diffusing it in meaningless microsoft related arguments.
separate wires and trunks and routers and networks, to be free. We need a geographically distributed Intranet that is incapable of connecting to the Internet, where the FBI can snoop using Magic Lantern or any other tool it wants.
The government wants to protect its corridors of free information and commerce instead of its borders, or territory. This redefinition of sovereignty is really a justification for imperialism.
If one accepts that logic, though, the only thing to do is to create a sovereign and inviolate internet, separated by an airwall from the Internet. Info between the two can be carried via disks that are rigorously scanned, if necessary.
I can't wait to see some secret cables being dug and laid by freedom-loving people.
Time for a new Continental Congress
on
The Eyes Have It
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
It's time for a new Continental Congress.
That is a gathering where citizens decide on a new constitution. Sort of a constitutional convention.
The government is, in this case and many others, taking responsibility for things it has no right to control.
Either we must stop the government from violating the SPIRIT of the 1st and 4th amendments, or we make a new Constitution without these freedoms.
We do have the right to abrogate these freedoms, to voluntarily give up our right to free speech and against search and seizure, but we can't give them up and "swear to uphold and defend the Constitution" in the same breath!
1) My friend is a black male and is intimidatingly smart.
2) He has tried suing, especially in the 2nd firing, but lawyers won't take many race discrimination cases because most of the money is in sexual harrassment cases. Women who prove harassment tend to get the big damages.
A friend of mine worked as a trader in various places, and finance is an area where your merit is proved quite objectively -- by how much money YOU make for the company.
He was fired from 3 different jobs at MAJOR international and national banks, in large downsizings, even though he consistently made more money than everybody else in his department.
State-mandated, systemic, global solutions are needed. They involve rules, coercion, force, and surveillance of the free market. Capitalism says that merit is the only way to hire and promote, if one wants the most competitive edge. Unfortunately, major decisionmakers tend to choose racism every time over more profits.
The Three Gorges Dam sucks whether they can restore this temple or not. Millions of people have to move out of the way of the dam, and the government isn't helping them very much.
Just like the people who cared about the Buddha statues in Afghanistan, and got the U.N. to protest at levels unheard of since the Taliban came in, the int'l community opposes the dam because of the archeological wonders, not as much the people.
Digital aids in solutions to the problems of the Three Gorges Dam are oriented towards the preservation of a temple, rather than helping the people in the way of the dam.
China gives more of a shit about tourism than its billions of people. It executes thousands of them a year to sell their body parts! And this is the country that we have just given permanent normal trade relations, and let into the W.T.O.
The magic recipe will eventually be hit upon - monitors and video screens of very high quality will be produced cheaply, and people will begin putting them everywhere.
There are many uses for ubiquitous screen technology. But the more video we see and watch during a day the closer we get to a certain question. Will the video representation of reality become more comfortable for people than the real thing?
Many people already see more TV than they do real world outdoor imagery during a day. What happens when we all do? At least one issue to consider is that the cultural norms for the appearance of a healthy, sexually appealing human being will have even more to do with TV than they do today.
VOD causes ad avoidance, which forces advertisers to find new and untested ways to reach consumers.
As in the Depression days the advertising industry gets bolder and more raucous during times of privation.
We need to keep people's consumer spending up at least at somewhat respectable levels. In fact I believe that the fact we are immersed in advertising media is what makes our consumer confidence more resilient than it would be otherwise.
We should not destabilize vital parts of the economy like airlines or advertising. It's truly a matter of national security.
Really, there are people who will call this an evidence of the U.S. crusade against Muslims, because we don't track the Ramadan Fairy, just Santa Claus.
I remember when people said the software was gonna be free, it was thru support and documentation that they were gonna make money.
Now the documentation is going into the GNU-virus? How are people around the computer field supposed to make money?
If, on the other hand, you are trying to de-legitimize Linux as an economic activity, making it an artistic activity instead, this isn't the way to go about it. You need guns for that.
People have to make money (in this society) when they spend a lot of time and resources in something. Otherwise they starve or they lose sleep or other needed resources. They will fight for this availability to make money, no matter what.
The U.S. and the Russians are arguing over the I.S.S. already. This is why the Russians would not send up their cargo module.
It's gotten beyond the point of treaties for international peace saying "we all own space." No nation will go into space, and neither will any company go there, without some way of deriving profit.
Before anyone sets a toe down anywhere in the name of anything, let's figure this out.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, it's a bush. That bush may tell us how plant cells adapt to conditions, and they are accurate, living records of thousands of years of climate data. It's not just "another bush".
A report in the New York Times on Wednesday said Wozniak would not immediately announce what products he is developing. A spokesman for the company was not immediately available to comment further.
If he's interested in hyping up his GPS doo-hickey, perhaps he should tell us what it is.
If he's interested in hyping his stock, he should hang out with Dubya.
Pinning messages in mid-air, using the location's Global Positioning System (GPS) reference, could become the next craze in communications. The messages are not actually kept in the air: they're stored on an Internet page. But that page's Web address is linked to coordinates on the Earth's surface, rather than a person or organisation. As you move about, a GPS receiver in your mobile phone or PDA will check to see if a message has been posted on the website for that particular spot.
I don't see why we would want to force the Internet into the reality sphere.
Of course, GPS scavenger hunts are fun, but what would this be used for?
Advertisements.
It's not useful for community-rating or for espionage because everything there is not in the air, but on the Internet. And all GPS data goes through a small network of satellites, so if you stop in the middle of a playground in Bethesda, MD. the spies may not see your message, but they know you stopped there if they have access to GPS data, or at least know the last coordinates you took.
So what it's useful for is e-biz and advertising. I don't think its worth exchanging our privacy for this advertising. I don't want everyone to have to carry a GPS phone, which has so many other security caveats, in order to plug into a new layer of advertising.
so the Cartoon Network can keep buying them and playing them during the stoner^H^H^Hdaytime hours.
is about what this here is worth for AOL.
What happened with Netscape?
Microsoft edged it out. Netscape lost its competitiveness. In a straight comparison, IE kicks Netscape's ass now. The innovation departed from Netscape.
The purchase of Linux by AOL will come with a big PR campaign about AOLinux or whatever. There will be a standard, SINGLE image of Linux in the brains of most consumers, and then AOL will take that up against Microsoft, which will easily defeat it in many consumer-level preference comparisons.
Then, the consumers will forget Linux, not knowing that there are dozens of different flavors out there.
I recommend keeping all linices entirely without involvement by non Linux corporations, for these cultural reasons.
I think that if our schools trained people in how to work for themselves in the world of information, the new tech would support more people than it limits.
If it was "natural" for people to use self-published informational websites for much of their research, and to pay those people, then there would be lots more useful information on the Net and many more knowledgeable people supported by the Net.
It is our culture that trains us to use technologies in conservative ways -- as consumers or in support of traditional workplace methods-- rather than to create completely new information-centered industries.
If more countries start doing this, MS is going to get mad.
They will contact their friends in the American government, who will also get mad.
They will be mad because of an infringement on their "sovereignty." Remember that the government considers its trade and communications channels part of its sovereign territory, even if it's outside the borders of the United States.
The protection of the MS monopoly is definitely our sovereign right, when it's construed that way.
Will there be an invasion of Korea? Not likely, but I could see some OS requirements being put into international trade regimes such as the W.T.O.
Unfortunately, if it becomes widespread, more jobs may require computer use and more jobs may force commuter time to be worktime.
I for one will miss my opportunity to sing at the top of my lungs while I sit there trying to drive on the freeway while fielding phone calls and writing voice-controlled spreadsheets.
Others, though, may like the notion of getting paid for their commuter time.
Will you be able to use these in New York State, which outlawed hand held cell use while driving? Not until voice control technology gets richer and broader.
I hope Microsoft sues the author of this emulator, who has probably already taken a BIG chunk out of the sales for the X-Box.
X-Box is expensive, and most gamers are poor and already own a computer. In these economic times, they will probably opt for the slightly poorer play/graphics quality and the small amount of work involved in getting and installing the emulator.
The console is meant for more than simple game play - Microsoft is intending to build lots of new gaming methods and communications in it due to its ability to connect to the internet. People who opt out and choose the emulator will miss out on all of this stuff.
Choose what you will, but consider the consequences carefully.
At least give them something of value for it.
If the code belongs to a small group of individuals, offer to pay them or exchange services (like web design or web hosting?) to the people who own it. Help them advertise themselves and start a new business for themselves.
There is little tolerance for email petitions and other such forms of protest in this day and age. Few can afford to be generous.
Linux: a thing that is used on a very few desktop computers.
It is used on a lot of: servers and back-endy type things that very few consumers use.
So here comes this Linux PDA. Okay, that's cool. Proof of concept, etc. But where do we go from here?
Most people use their PDA with their desktops.
If the Linux PDA bundles mostly Win software, it won't encourage puchase by Linux-desktop users (a small market).
If the PDA bundles mostly Win software, it won't encourage purchase by Win desktop users (a huge market).
It can do a combo, but it's a PDA. It has limited space, and if it wants to compete in the PDA market it had better have the same bells and whistles as your average Palm or Handspring with a proprietary OS on it. So, it can't have a 50/50 balance.
It has to pick one, Linux or Windows?
I think Linux PDA's need to be Win desktop compatible. This will introduce Linux by the back-door to many consumers, while maintaining a competitive product!
The only worry is in the minds of Linux purists, who will feel underrepresented here. However, they are (from a marketing perspective) irrelevant.
Anyone who actually wants to make money on Linux will be thrilled to see it in small appliances and PDAs like this one.
the thing w/a weblog is you want specific information., there are plenty of other places where we can read press releases from microsoft and speculate about them. spend story-energy here focusing the Linux developers, etc. rather than diffusing it in meaningless microsoft related arguments.
separate wires and trunks and routers and networks, to be free. We need a geographically distributed Intranet that is incapable of connecting to the Internet, where the FBI can snoop using Magic Lantern or any other tool it wants.
The government wants to protect its corridors of free information and commerce instead of its borders, or territory. This redefinition of sovereignty is really a justification for imperialism.
If one accepts that logic, though, the only thing to do is to create a sovereign and inviolate internet, separated by an airwall from the Internet. Info between the two can be carried via disks that are rigorously scanned, if necessary.
I can't wait to see some secret cables being dug and laid by freedom-loving people.
It's time for a new Continental Congress.
That is a gathering where citizens decide on a new constitution. Sort of a constitutional convention.
The government is, in this case and many others, taking responsibility for things it has no right to control.
Either we must stop the government from violating the SPIRIT of the 1st and 4th amendments, or we make a new Constitution without these freedoms.
We do have the right to abrogate these freedoms, to voluntarily give up our right to free speech and against search and seizure, but we can't give them up and "swear to uphold and defend the Constitution" in the same breath!
1) My friend is a black male and is intimidatingly smart.
2) He has tried suing, especially in the 2nd firing, but lawyers won't take many race discrimination cases because most of the money is in sexual harrassment cases. Women who prove harassment tend to get the big damages.
Discrimination is a systemic problem.
A friend of mine worked as a trader in various places, and finance is an area where your merit is proved quite objectively -- by how much money YOU make for the company.
He was fired from 3 different jobs at MAJOR international and national banks, in large downsizings, even though he consistently made more money than everybody else in his department.
State-mandated, systemic, global solutions are needed. They involve rules, coercion, force, and surveillance of the free market. Capitalism says that merit is the only way to hire and promote, if one wants the most competitive edge. Unfortunately, major decisionmakers tend to choose racism every time over more profits.
The Three Gorges Dam sucks whether they can restore this temple or not. Millions of people have to move out of the way of the dam, and the government isn't helping them very much.
Just like the people who cared about the Buddha statues in Afghanistan, and got the U.N. to protest at levels unheard of since the Taliban came in, the int'l community opposes the dam because of the archeological wonders, not as much the people.
Digital aids in solutions to the problems of the Three Gorges Dam are oriented towards the preservation of a temple, rather than helping the people in the way of the dam.
China gives more of a shit about tourism than its billions of people. It executes thousands of them a year to sell their body parts! And this is the country that we have just given permanent normal trade relations, and let into the W.T.O.
The magic recipe will eventually be hit upon - monitors and video screens of very high quality will be produced cheaply, and people will begin putting them everywhere.
There are many uses for ubiquitous screen technology. But the more video we see and watch during a day the closer we get to a certain question. Will the video representation of reality become more comfortable for people than the real thing?
Many people already see more TV than they do real world outdoor imagery during a day. What happens when we all do? At least one issue to consider is that the cultural norms for the appearance of a healthy, sexually appealing human being will have even more to do with TV than they do today.
VOD causes ad avoidance, which forces advertisers to find new and untested ways to reach consumers.
As in the Depression days the advertising industry gets bolder and more raucous during times of privation.
We need to keep people's consumer spending up at least at somewhat respectable levels. In fact I believe that the fact we are immersed in advertising media is what makes our consumer confidence more resilient than it would be otherwise.
We should not destabilize vital parts of the economy like airlines or advertising. It's truly a matter of national security.
than trick kids into believing in Santa.
Really, there are people who will call this an evidence of the U.S. crusade against Muslims, because we don't track the Ramadan Fairy, just Santa Claus.
I remember when people said the software was gonna be free, it was thru support and documentation that they were gonna make money.
Now the documentation is going into the GNU-virus? How are people around the computer field supposed to make money?
If, on the other hand, you are trying to de-legitimize Linux as an economic activity, making it an artistic activity instead, this isn't the way to go about it. You need guns for that.
People have to make money (in this society) when they spend a lot of time and resources in something. Otherwise they starve or they lose sleep or other needed resources. They will fight for this availability to make money, no matter what.
A cheer for code you can verify yourself before you trust it to secure your computer for you.
It had a bad roll and had to draw up a new character.
we had better work out who owns it, etc.
The U.S. and the Russians are arguing over the I.S.S. already. This is why the Russians would not send up their cargo module.
It's gotten beyond the point of treaties for international peace saying "we all own space." No nation will go into space, and neither will any company go there, without some way of deriving profit.
Before anyone sets a toe down anywhere in the name of anything, let's figure this out.