#include {getoffmylawn.h} One of the things that MOST attracted me to Facebook originally was the LACK of shit and fluff on peoples pages. There were well defined sections for interests of all sorts, a place for education and work history, a separate space for pictures, simple messaging and a plain wall for public posts. *sigh* It was all clean and functional, unlike the all-singing, all-dancing, animated, music playing, embedded video eye-rape that is a typical Myspace page. It was also nice that only university students or grads could join, 'cause lord only knows there are enough 'tards on the net. Narrowing it down to only College-Educated-'Tards was a plus.
Now I know some apps are good, and I even use one or two, but 99% of all apps are shit, and it's because anyone can write one and put it up. If Facebook had decided on a vetted system for apps, we would (most likely) still have the good ones, and certainly much less of the fluff.
Now, with the now open-enrollment and allowing any dumb app that comes along, Facebook has opened the floodgates to Lake Shitty-ka-ka of the internet. "New" Facebook may have increased it's user base a ton, but as a result it is now more like Myspace; that's a loss in my book. The Bait-and-switch of Facebook pissed me off, but so many of my friends use it and it's still a bit better than Myspace (despite their efforts).
The point of all this being: If something FOSS could replicate the way Facebook was, I'd join in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, the momentum is so great I don't see that happening.
I guess it remains to be seen. TB is one tough bugger, the way it forms cysts can make it hard for any drug to even get close enough to work. But since it is already treated with a cocktail, adding this might be cost effective: kill cells with the usual drugs, but use this to help keep any new ones from taking their place and hope for a 1-2 punch.
...and the Seattle Health Department made sure I took the drugs.
You bet they did. I'm sure you are aware of this, but others should know a doctor and judge can have a person locked up in JAIL and forced to take the meds if they decide to be non-compliant with TB treatment. I think TB is the only disease where this allowed. It happened in my hometown a few years back, according to the old-timers at the sheriff's office.
Having spent the last couple years living in a developing country where TB is endemic/epidemic (Tanzania), I am usually pretty jaded when it comes to things like this- malaria and TB being "forgotten" by the rich world and all that jazz.
However, I take encouragement from two things about this:
First is that it's an older drug, which means it will probably be off-patent soon (anyone know?). This should guarantee it's fairly affordable. Also, it's a proven drug with a clean track record so far. Both of those mean that governments like Tanzania are more likely to implement it's use for TB.
Second is that it may (and I'm speculating here) shorten the treatment time for TB. That could be big. Current treatment time is on the order of months, if the drugs are more effective then it follows that the treatment might be shorter. That would be good for compliance: In the rich world it's hard to get people to take pills regularly for months on end, and it's no different anywhere else. People forget, or they feel better and don't think they have to continue, it happens.
Tanzania has a TB control program which provides free medicine and Tanzanians can take medicine just as well as the rest of us. Sadly, rural clinics often don't have enough drugs to give out a whole course of treatment to everyone, so people have to return for more pills, and again for check-ups. That often means a large disruption in daily life (imagine walking an entire day to get to a clinic, then going back), and the decisions presented are not easy: skipping work regularly to go get your medicine/checkup could impact your crop, your herd, get you fired etc. I wonder how many cases of TB have relapsed or spread due to this sort of coerced non-compliance? Less disruption is a win on all fronts.
On a less serious note, I am reminded of a particularly bad cross-country trip where I was crammed in the back of a ricketty Land Rover 110 with at least 12 people (just in the back compartment, I think the total headcount was over 20, not counting chickens). I was directly across a man who was a textbook case of kifua kikuu (TB), and the ride was almost 12 hours, with breakdowns. At a certain point, I just resigned myself to catching it.
Amazingly, I didn't. I didn't get malaria once either.
But in the end, malaria, TB and HIV were about the only things I didn't get at some point.
I've stripped and crimped a good deal of cat5, and there's not a lot of *actual* wire in there. Sure it's well insulated, but it's THIN. Very thin. I'd guess maybe around 18-gauge all combined, and half that if you wanted to use one cat5 for both + and -. That's NOT a lot of copper.
Unless you are combining a TON of cat5 to make fat cables, I don't see how this would work, though I CAN imagine how they might think the twisting of wire pairs improves sound signals.
Given the cost of plain-jane 12-gauge "99.99% oxygen free" copper speaker-wires, and bulk cat5, I don't see this being a "cheap" alternative in any way, unless very small gauge speaker wires are acceptable.
Thank god for someone-else who understands that SKU is not a synonym for package or model. The often incorrect use (abuse) of "SKU" on Slashdot has been grating on me for a while now.
Why do people complain about this? You must be new here...
It's simply annoying when jargon is used unnecessarily and incorrectly. It comes off like a poser trying too hard to be "cool".
In every appearance on Slashdot I've seen, SKU is used as a "cool" jargon word, without explanation of what it stands for or means, in situations where simply using "model" would be more clear and accurate.
Once people figure out that "model" is what the writer meant, they incorrectly assume SKU is a synonym for model. Jargon is useful because it describes a concept better than standard language. Back-forming jargon into a general language use defeats the whole purpose. It's not like we lack sufficient synonyms for "model" anyhow.
It's late (or early- insomnia) but to give another example that gets me: 'hacking' being used instead of 'editing' or the like. e.g. "he hacked the program" to describe editing a.conf file, "my email was hacked" when the password was written on the desk. Hacking has a jargon meaning that goes far beyond mere configuration or observation.
PS Whoever moderated me down: I'd grudgingly accept -1 Off topic, but "Overrated"??? At least moderate the right option.
Just wondering, why do people constantly use the term SKU? E.g. "Sony may release a new PS3 SKU"
All it means is "Stock Keeping Unit". It's a term for one of the (sometimes) bar-coded number systems on boxes, and is used for tracking inventory and billing.
It does not have anything to do with different "models" of a product, other than that each different model would likely have different SKUs. BUT, This is up to the whim of the companies: they can and often do change a model and keep the same SKU.
Additionally, a different SKU doesn't necessarily imply that the product is different, e.g. a 2-pack would have a different SKU than a single or 3-pack of the same item. SKUs don't even have to be physical items. Warranties and delivery charges can have SKUs.
Stock KEEPING Unit, got it? It's for tracking inventory and sales.
Universal Product Code (UPC) is fairly similar as an item tracking system, but with the difference that different UPCs DEFINITIVELY indicate different products (i.e. different models or pack-ins).
For some reason, we don't see people saying "Microsoft released 3 Xbox360 UPCs", even though that would be a more correct way of saying MS released 3 different Xbox360 packages (core, premium, elite IIRC)./Rant
What with so many people disgusted with Vista compatibility issues, there is a real opportunity here.
Heck, even when people "downgrade" (upgrade?) to XP, I've heard there can be missing or broken driver issues with some new hardware. Companies figured they would only write Vista drivers for certain new parts.
Linux has made many advances in "average Joe" usability. Combine that with hardware compatibility so good that Linux "works out of the box" BETTER than windows, and Windows starts to look a lot less like it's worth all that money. This could be huge for "mainstream" users.
Here's hoping that the next computer my Grandmother gets is windows free.
Watch the NON-camera-phone video, he wasn't merely shouting, he was thrashing about on the ground.
It isn't assaulting the police per se, but he was quite clearly struggling with the police after he was on the ground and after repeated warnings to stop. They pinned his arms, but when they moved to put the hand cuffs on they were unable to cuff him because he kept flailing his arms about.
He was still resisting and trying to break free, and thus still a danger. They could have waited longer to see if he eventually calmed down, but who knows how long that would have taken? They gave the dude PLENTY of time to stop struggling. Waiting longer would have increased the chances he had to escape or to injure himself or a restraining officer.
Tasers accidentally kill a few people with heart problems. That very small percentage makes Taser use a big problem. Barring that, I think it's a better to take a transient shock than to be beaten up*, but YMMV.
*I've been shocked by 110v, 220v, a BIG Van de Graaf, electric fences of various make, cattle prods, a defibrillator, and lightning- but not a taser or stun gun. I've also been sucker punched in the face and hit full force in the arm with a stick-ball bat (about as thick as a police club but longer) I'd rather take any shock (except lightning) over the punch or the clubbing.
A small breadboard, with some flashing led's on a pretty girls shirt, certainly does not look like a bomb.
How many actual home-made "terrorist-style" bombs have you seen? I knew a bomb squad cop back in High School, and I saw some of the dummy bombs he trained with: loose wires and a 9v? Check. Without specific bomb squad training, it's not reasonable to expect Joe Blow cop can make the call that it's harmless. FURTHERMORE, you couldn't see what was on the opposite side of the board.
Also, how could the cops have known there wasn't explosive wired up elsewhere on her body: under her baggy shirt, in shoes, etc? it even says she was carrying modeling clay or play-doh! Is that not suspicious?
If suspicious, investigate it I guess...I'd think undercover observation for a few minutes could have effectively deflated this situation rather easily
They did investigate- appropriately. Are you saying that when airport security spot a potential bomber, they should just wait and watch?. That is plain crazy.
Now charging her with a crime... I don't know. I don't think there was malicious intent. She either did this as a stunt, or she got an F in "Common Sense 101". (Honestly, who expected this kind of dumb from an MIT student?) I would think a stern warning and a few hours in custody for questioning would be enough of a punishment.
Then again, I have a friend who was arrested for having pyridex (which was purchased legally, for a film project) in his own room. Granted, it was assembled into "bombs" for special effects, but they were about as strong as what you buy at a fireworks stand, and constructed specifically to cause as little damage as possible- they were made to be strapped to the body with minimal padding to simulate exit-wounds.
Police do not fuck around with explosives, real or suspected.
The police came up to him and grabbed him. They never asked him politely to step back or to walk with them.
?Why not walk up to him and calmly say, "Sir, we have to ask you to leave the building."?
I've seen a second, better quality video from a better angle, and I still can't make out what the cops say as they first touch him, but from the looks on their faces I'd guess it was something like "Ok buddy, time to leave." or "You need to leave the premises now". Regardless of what they said, the officers were calm and not abusive.
The police could have stopped for two seconds and asked him calmly to follow them, or said anything to him. Instead of treating him like a person, they treated him like an animal.
From my perspective the police started out quite calmly. When the police first touch him it is not a submissive hold: the police touched, then took hold of his arms at the elbow and gently moved him down the isle. Things were all very civil at this point, even if he was still shouting his head off (he was so loud the police officers were quite in comparison, but I doubt they were whispering). Nobody was being treated like an animal. Mr Protest complied for a few steps, and if he had continued walking out with the officers, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Unfortunately, he started thrashing about trying to break free. He escalated the situation! That was when he became a danger, and parallel escalation of force was needed to control him.
The guy's attempts at resisting were not putting anyone in any significant danger. He was obviously already overpowered with ease
He broke free of the officers once, and was flailing about crashing into people. It looked to me like he might have taken a swing at one of the cops, and he definitely pushed them. Combined with his lunatic screaming, that is a dangerous situation.
ALL they had to do was hold him down until he agreed to stop squirming
Even after they had him on the ground, he continued to fight, kicking and swinging his arms, preventing the officers from hand-cuffing him. He was NOT under control, and prolonging that situation would have created a greater danger to the officers and others.
Fact is, he never complied with the officers requests for him to stop fighting until AFTER he was tasered. They warned him that he would be tasered if he didn't stop struggling and he was given plenty of time after the warning to comply before they zapped him. After that they were able to cuff him and lead him away.
Also, the whole time he was trying to incite the crowd to his defense. When the police are fearful that a crowd will turn mob that further escalates the situation.
Others have mentioned that the police followed him into the building. I don't know if that's true, but it implies they know something more about him. If you ask me, he seems mentally unbalanced, e.g. worrying about "the government" killing him after being cuffed, and rambling incoherently.
You're right I wasn't implying that the police should have ultimate, unchecked power, but when a police officer gives you a lawful direction, you are obliged to comply.
I've seen a second, better quality video from a better angle, and I still can't make out what the cops say as they first touch him, but I from the looks on their faces I'd guess it was something like "Ok buddy, time to leave." or "You need to leave the premises now". Those would be lawful directions from a police officer.
When the police first touch him it is not a submissive hold: the police touched, then took hold of his arms and gently tried to move him down the isle. He complied for a few steps, and if he had continued like that we wouldn't be having this conversation. Unfortunately, he started thrashing about trying to break free. That was where he became a danger, and escalation of force was needed to control him. He never complied with the officers until AFTER he was tasered, and they warned him it would happen if he didn't stop struggling. Also he was trying to incite the crowd to his defense, which further escalates the situation. If you watch the video below, he seems mentally unbalanced, e.g. worrying about "the government" killing him after being cuffed.
They Tazered him because he was still resisting. That means there was still a threat to the safety of the officers and bystanders. They warned him to stop, but he did not, and they could not just stop attempting to handcuff him.
At that point the cops had to escalate force to subdue him. That means "pain compliance" (i.e. beating him), or a stun-gun (Tazer the brand name actually shoots electrodes out, while a generic stun gun has fixed electrodes IIRC). What if they had used a baton instead? They may have broken a bone in getting submission, or torn something; surely he'd have had some bruises. Would we be happier if he had a broken arm instead?
Point is, he continued to resist, and police made a choice to use electricity rather than a beating.
If stun-guns prove to be too dangerous (accidental deaths and all), that just means police will have to go back to good old fashioned beatings in more situations.
IS TO REMAIN PASSIVE! This dip-shit's thrashing around could have injured a cop or an innocent bystander. He was putting people in danger by struggling and at that point subduing him was the right thing to do. Was it right to stun-gun him? Maybe not, but the alternative was to hit him with baton or fist until he stopped trashing about. I've been hit by lightning, and I'd take a beating over that. I'm not sure a I'd take a beating over a taser, which I've heard is more like a cattle prod (which I've also experienced)
I watched the videos and heard this dude screaming like a kid having a tantrum. I HIGHLY doubt the cops were completely mute. Even people close to the camera got drowned out at times. It's highly probable that the cops were speaking in less hysterical voices and it just wasn't picked up by the camera.
As for the rest of it, I saw him clearly resist the officers attempts to remove him. He was kicking and screaming and thrashing about. That is undeniably resisting arrest, which is illegal even if you are being arrested for a crime you didn't commit. The place to fight it is in the courts, and if it is truly unjust the ACLU will probably jump up to defend you.
Nonetheless, if a cop puts his hand on you and you start trashing about like a spaz, they are going to take you down. If you continue to struggle once they have you subdued, they can't just let go of you until you are "cooperative".
This dick was trying to cause a violent confrontation. Gandhi would be ashamed of this tool.
Indeed, musicians and other performers use beta blockers to keep the heart rate down and to keep hands from getting sweaty.
The International Olympic Comitty had to ban beta blockers as performance enhancing drugs because (IIRC) athletes in shooting events used it to steady their hands while shooting. I wouldn't be too surprised if I heard that military snipers used it in combat.
Beta blocker block reception of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). Stops the whole "fight or flight" response at the gate.
In my experience, you have to return the joystick close to center to click reliably, which is asinine, and the tactile response is poor and uneven.
What makes it worse is the way they are implemented. I hate it when a game requires a click in a context where you are already using the joystick for aiming or movement (Like zooming in). The only worse sin is when a click makes you do something you really don't want to do, like lie down. I've curse over that one a few times.
I would have added buttons on the grips for the ring fingers before clicky sticks.
I've tried it, and it's pretty darn good, but I like my classic games on the period controllers they were designed for. I've maintained a stable of NES, SNES, Genesis and 64 controllers, and repaired more than a few rather than buy some 3rd party replacement. Anything broken beyond easy fix would be a perfect fit to turn into a Bluetooth wireless.
As an extra bonus, they could also be used on a PC with emulators (if I'm remembering correctly)
I know the NES, SNES and Genesis controllers were done, but do you know if anyone has hacked a 64 controller to interface with the Wii yet?
Like I said, I'm not a programmer, but I do enjoy playing around with homebrew stuff.
As for the Gamecube, you wouldn't have the Wii remote at all (unless there is some interface I'm not aware of). That pretty much kills it if you want to play around with Wii remotes.
For the PC: has the sensor bar been successfully interfaced? If not then the interface is still broken. Even then, you could have a lot of fun messing around with a Wii remote and Bluetooth PC. But you're tied to a PC, and it's my understanding that NOT being on a PC is the attraction to homebrew for some people.
PS, I'm a dude. The name has a long and stupid history, funny mostly to those who were there at the time. Think "Ode to the Nut-shot"
I know I made a big assumption* in the parent post, but I wanted to ask the question about the second step, if we ever get there.
It's just too bad that there isn't some way to compromise to allow a Wii "sandbox" to play around and develop in without allowing full fledged piracy. Maybe a modified (i.e. slightly crippled to prevent full piracy) Wii dev-kit open to all for a reasonable cost?
Just throwing the idea out there
*I know getting past the encryption will be no easy task, and may not be feasible at all with current technology. IANACR (I am not a cryptology researcher) but I know that elliptic curve encryption is pretty strong stuff, and 300+ bit key is pretty big.
(Assuming that this discovery allows people to write new, arbitrary yet signed data into a save file on a SD card that the Wii will recognize as a "valid" save)
The next step will be to search for an exploit in the console or in a game that allows execution of that data. The final step is to figure out how to get that newly loaded code to do something useful. I know this has been done before, but I'm under the impression that the exploit (in a 007 game) was found by chance. After that lucky break, the code-something-useful part came very fast.
Is there any way to search for such an exploit other than brute force testing of games? Are there things to look for that normal players might see, or do you have to just try to execute code over and over and over in various situations, hoping to find a hole? In short, how can I, a non-programmer, help?
I have hundreds of SNES and NES carts. I would love to be able to run those games on the Wii without having to buy them a second time or wait for N to trickle them out. Now if I can just hack together some Wii wireless SNES and NES pads, I'll be in heaven.
Slashdot Mirror
#include {getoffmylawn.h}
One of the things that MOST attracted me to Facebook originally was the LACK of shit and fluff on peoples pages. There were well defined sections for interests of all sorts, a place for education and work history, a separate space for pictures, simple messaging and a plain wall for public posts.
*sigh* It was all clean and functional, unlike the all-singing, all-dancing, animated, music playing, embedded video eye-rape that is a typical Myspace page. It was also nice that only university students or grads could join, 'cause lord only knows there are enough 'tards on the net. Narrowing it down to only College-Educated-'Tards was a plus.
Now I know some apps are good, and I even use one or two, but 99% of all apps are shit, and it's because anyone can write one and put it up. If Facebook had decided on a vetted system for apps, we would (most likely) still have the good ones, and certainly much less of the fluff.
Now, with the now open-enrollment and allowing any dumb app that comes along, Facebook has opened the floodgates to Lake Shitty-ka-ka of the internet. "New" Facebook may have increased it's user base a ton, but as a result it is now more like Myspace; that's a loss in my book. The Bait-and-switch of Facebook pissed me off, but so many of my friends use it and it's still a bit better than Myspace (despite their efforts).
The point of all this being: If something FOSS could replicate the way Facebook was, I'd join in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, the momentum is so great I don't see that happening.
I guess it remains to be seen. TB is one tough bugger, the way it forms cysts can make it hard for any drug to even get close enough to work. But since it is already treated with a cocktail, adding this might be cost effective: kill cells with the usual drugs, but use this to help keep any new ones from taking their place and hope for a 1-2 punch.
All in all, I'm just darn happy I didn't get it.
...and the Seattle Health Department made sure I took the drugs.
You bet they did. I'm sure you are aware of this, but others should know a doctor and judge can have a person locked up in JAIL and forced to take the meds if they decide to be non-compliant with TB treatment. I think TB is the only disease where this allowed. It happened in my hometown a few years back, according to the old-timers at the sheriff's office.
Having spent the last couple years living in a developing country where TB is endemic/epidemic (Tanzania), I am usually pretty jaded when it comes to things like this- malaria and TB being "forgotten" by the rich world and all that jazz.
However, I take encouragement from two things about this:
First is that it's an older drug, which means it will probably be off-patent soon (anyone know?). This should guarantee it's fairly affordable. Also, it's a proven drug with a clean track record so far. Both of those mean that governments like Tanzania are more likely to implement it's use for TB.
Second is that it may (and I'm speculating here) shorten the treatment time for TB. That could be big. Current treatment time is on the order of months, if the drugs are more effective then it follows that the treatment might be shorter. That would be good for compliance: In the rich world it's hard to get people to take pills regularly for months on end, and it's no different anywhere else. People forget, or they feel better and don't think they have to continue, it happens.
Tanzania has a TB control program which provides free medicine and Tanzanians can take medicine just as well as the rest of us. Sadly, rural clinics often don't have enough drugs to give out a whole course of treatment to everyone, so people have to return for more pills, and again for check-ups. That often means a large disruption in daily life (imagine walking an entire day to get to a clinic, then going back), and the decisions presented are not easy: skipping work regularly to go get your medicine/checkup could impact your crop, your herd, get you fired etc. I wonder how many cases of TB have relapsed or spread due to this sort of coerced non-compliance? Less disruption is a win on all fronts.
On a less serious note, I am reminded of a particularly bad cross-country trip where I was crammed in the back of a ricketty Land Rover 110 with at least 12 people (just in the back compartment, I think the total headcount was over 20, not counting chickens). I was directly across a man who was a textbook case of kifua kikuu (TB), and the ride was almost 12 hours, with breakdowns. At a certain point, I just resigned myself to catching it.
Amazingly, I didn't. I didn't get malaria once either.
But in the end, malaria, TB and HIV were about the only things I didn't get at some point.
Any other RPCV Slashdoters?
BAD MOD, No cookie! Referencing the parent and making a JOKE about the current state of affairs? Cut the guy some slack.
Maybe English isn't the mod's first language, but even if you don't get the joke, it's hardly off-topic.
Somebody woke up on the grumpy side of bed I guess.
That... it's so... My god, IT'S FULL OF STARS
My head asplode.
To shreds you say?
Oh dear.
I've stripped and crimped a good deal of cat5, and there's not a lot of *actual* wire in there. Sure it's well insulated, but it's THIN. Very thin. I'd guess maybe around 18-gauge all combined, and half that if you wanted to use one cat5 for both + and -. That's NOT a lot of copper.
Unless you are combining a TON of cat5 to make fat cables, I don't see how this would work, though I CAN imagine how they might think the twisting of wire pairs improves sound signals.
Given the cost of plain-jane 12-gauge "99.99% oxygen free" copper speaker-wires, and bulk cat5, I don't see this being a "cheap" alternative in any way, unless very small gauge speaker wires are acceptable.
Thank god for someone-else who understands that SKU is not a synonym for package or model.
The often incorrect use (abuse) of "SKU" on Slashdot has been grating on me for a while now.
Why do people complain about this?
.conf file, "my email was hacked" when the password was written on the desk.
You must be new here...
It's simply annoying when jargon is used unnecessarily and incorrectly. It comes off like a poser trying too hard to be "cool".
In every appearance on Slashdot I've seen, SKU is used as a "cool" jargon word, without explanation of what it stands for or means, in situations where simply using "model" would be more clear and accurate.
Once people figure out that "model" is what the writer meant, they incorrectly assume SKU is a synonym for model. Jargon is useful because it describes a concept better than standard language. Back-forming jargon into a general language use defeats the whole purpose. It's not like we lack sufficient synonyms for "model" anyhow.
It's late (or early- insomnia) but to give another example that gets me:
'hacking' being used instead of 'editing' or the like. e.g. "he hacked the program" to describe editing a
Hacking has a jargon meaning that goes far beyond mere configuration or observation.
PS Whoever moderated me down: I'd grudgingly accept -1 Off topic, but "Overrated"??? At least moderate the right option.
Just wondering, why do people constantly use the term SKU? E.g. "Sony may release a new PS3 SKU"
/Rant
All it means is "Stock Keeping Unit". It's a term for one of the (sometimes) bar-coded number systems on boxes, and is used for tracking inventory and billing.
It does not have anything to do with different "models" of a product, other than that each different model would likely have different SKUs. BUT, This is up to the whim of the companies: they can and often do change a model and keep the same SKU.
Additionally, a different SKU doesn't necessarily imply that the product is different, e.g. a 2-pack would have a different SKU than a single or 3-pack of the same item. SKUs don't even have to be physical items. Warranties and delivery charges can have SKUs.
Stock KEEPING Unit, got it? It's for tracking inventory and sales.
Universal Product Code (UPC) is fairly similar as an item tracking system, but with the difference that different UPCs DEFINITIVELY indicate different products (i.e. different models or pack-ins).
For some reason, we don't see people saying "Microsoft released 3 Xbox360 UPCs", even though that would be a more correct way of saying MS released 3 different Xbox360 packages (core, premium, elite IIRC).
For your edification:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_Keeping_Unit
What with so many people disgusted with Vista compatibility issues, there is a real opportunity here.
Heck, even when people "downgrade" (upgrade?) to XP, I've heard there can be missing or broken driver issues with some new hardware. Companies figured they would only write Vista drivers for certain new parts.
Linux has made many advances in "average Joe" usability. Combine that with hardware compatibility so good that Linux "works out of the box" BETTER than windows, and Windows starts to look a lot less like it's worth all that money. This could be huge for "mainstream" users.
Here's hoping that the next computer my Grandmother gets is windows free.
In the case of my workstation in a college lab, it's next to the radioactive waste.
...From immuno-assays. It was so low-level it barely registered on the Geiger counter. But it was in a 55gal drum.
True story
Watch the NON-camera-phone video, he wasn't merely shouting, he was thrashing about on the ground.
It isn't assaulting the police per se, but he was quite clearly struggling with the police after he was on the ground and after repeated warnings to stop. They pinned his arms, but when they moved to put the hand cuffs on they were unable to cuff him because he kept flailing his arms about.
He was still resisting and trying to break free, and thus still a danger. They could have waited longer to see if he eventually calmed down, but who knows how long that would have taken? They gave the dude PLENTY of time to stop struggling. Waiting longer would have increased the chances he had to escape or to injure himself or a restraining officer.
Tasers accidentally kill a few people with heart problems. That very small percentage makes Taser use a big problem. Barring that, I think it's a better to take a transient shock than to be beaten up*, but YMMV.
*I've been shocked by 110v, 220v, a BIG Van de Graaf, electric fences of various make, cattle prods, a defibrillator, and lightning- but not a taser or stun gun. I've also been sucker punched in the face and hit full force in the arm with a stick-ball bat (about as thick as a police club but longer) I'd rather take any shock (except lightning) over the punch or the clubbing.
A small breadboard, with some flashing led's on a pretty girls shirt, certainly does not look like a bomb.
How many actual home-made "terrorist-style" bombs have you seen? I knew a bomb squad cop back in High School, and I saw some of the dummy bombs he trained with: loose wires and a 9v? Check. Without specific bomb squad training, it's not reasonable to expect Joe Blow cop can make the call that it's harmless. FURTHERMORE, you couldn't see what was on the opposite side of the board.
Also, how could the cops have known there wasn't explosive wired up elsewhere on her body: under her baggy shirt, in shoes, etc? it even says she was carrying modeling clay or play-doh! Is that not suspicious?
If suspicious, investigate it I guess...I'd think undercover observation for a few minutes could have effectively deflated this situation rather easily
They did investigate- appropriately. Are you saying that when airport security spot a potential bomber, they should just wait and watch?. That is plain crazy.
Now charging her with a crime... I don't know. I don't think there was malicious intent. She either did this as a stunt, or she got an F in "Common Sense 101". (Honestly, who expected this kind of dumb from an MIT student?) I would think a stern warning and a few hours in custody for questioning would be enough of a punishment.
Then again, I have a friend who was arrested for having pyridex (which was purchased legally, for a film project) in his own room. Granted, it was assembled into "bombs" for special effects, but they were about as strong as what you buy at a fireworks stand, and constructed specifically to cause as little damage as possible- they were made to be strapped to the body with minimal padding to simulate exit-wounds.
Police do not fuck around with explosives, real or suspected.
The police came up to him and grabbed him. They never asked him politely to step back or to walk with them.
?Why not walk up to him and calmly say, "Sir, we have to ask you to leave the building."?
I've seen a second, better quality video from a better angle, and I still can't make out what the cops say as they first touch him, but from the looks on their faces I'd guess it was something like "Ok buddy, time to leave." or "You need to leave the premises now". Regardless of what they said, the officers were calm and not abusive.
The police could have stopped for two seconds and asked him calmly to follow them, or said anything to him. Instead of treating him like a person, they treated him like an animal.
From my perspective the police started out quite calmly. When the police first touch him it is not a submissive hold: the police touched, then took hold of his arms at the elbow and gently moved him down the isle. Things were all very civil at this point, even if he was still shouting his head off (he was so loud the police officers were quite in comparison, but I doubt they were whispering). Nobody was being treated like an animal. Mr Protest complied for a few steps, and if he had continued walking out with the officers, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Unfortunately, he started thrashing about trying to break free. He escalated the situation! That was when he became a danger, and parallel escalation of force was needed to control him.
The guy's attempts at resisting were not putting anyone in any significant danger. He was obviously already overpowered with ease
He broke free of the officers once, and was flailing about crashing into people. It looked to me like he might have taken a swing at one of the cops, and he definitely pushed them. Combined with his lunatic screaming, that is a dangerous situation.
ALL they had to do was hold him down until he agreed to stop squirming
Even after they had him on the ground, he continued to fight, kicking and swinging his arms, preventing the officers from hand-cuffing him. He was NOT under control, and prolonging that situation would have created a greater danger to the officers and others.
Fact is, he never complied with the officers requests for him to stop fighting until AFTER he was tasered. They warned him that he would be tasered if he didn't stop struggling and he was given plenty of time after the warning to comply before they zapped him. After that they were able to cuff him and lead him away.
Also, the whole time he was trying to incite the crowd to his defense. When the police are fearful that a crowd will turn mob that further escalates the situation.
Others have mentioned that the police followed him into the building. I don't know if that's true, but it implies they know something more about him. If you ask me, he seems mentally unbalanced, e.g. worrying about "the government" killing him after being cuffed, and rambling incoherently.
You're right I wasn't implying that the police should have ultimate, unchecked power, but when a police officer gives you a lawful direction, you are obliged to comply.
I've seen a second, better quality video from a better angle, and I still can't make out what the cops say as they first touch him, but I from the looks on their faces I'd guess it was something like "Ok buddy, time to leave." or "You need to leave the premises now". Those would be lawful directions from a police officer.
When the police first touch him it is not a submissive hold: the police touched, then took hold of his arms and gently tried to move him down the isle. He complied for a few steps, and if he had continued like that we wouldn't be having this conversation. Unfortunately, he started thrashing about trying to break free. That was where he became a danger, and escalation of force was needed to control him. He never complied with the officers until AFTER he was tasered, and they warned him it would happen if he didn't stop struggling. Also he was trying to incite the crowd to his defense, which further escalates the situation. If you watch the video below, he seems mentally unbalanced, e.g. worrying about "the government" killing him after being cuffed.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20070917/BREAKING/70917014
They Tazered him because he was still resisting. That means there was still a threat to the safety of the officers and bystanders. They warned him to stop, but he did not, and they could not just stop attempting to handcuff him.
At that point the cops had to escalate force to subdue him. That means "pain compliance" (i.e. beating him), or a stun-gun (Tazer the brand name actually shoots electrodes out, while a generic stun gun has fixed electrodes IIRC). What if they had used a baton instead? They may have broken a bone in getting submission, or torn something; surely he'd have had some bruises. Would we be happier if he had a broken arm instead?
Point is, he continued to resist, and police made a choice to use electricity rather than a beating.
If stun-guns prove to be too dangerous (accidental deaths and all), that just means police will have to go back to good old fashioned beatings in more situations.
IS TO REMAIN PASSIVE! This dip-shit's thrashing around could have injured a cop or an innocent bystander. He was putting people in danger by struggling and at that point subduing him was the right thing to do. Was it right to stun-gun him? Maybe not, but the alternative was to hit him with baton or fist until he stopped trashing about. I've been hit by lightning, and I'd take a beating over that. I'm not sure a I'd take a beating over a taser, which I've heard is more like a cattle prod (which I've also experienced)
I watched the videos and heard this dude screaming like a kid having a tantrum. I HIGHLY doubt the cops were completely mute. Even people close to the camera got drowned out at times. It's highly probable that the cops were speaking in less hysterical voices and it just wasn't picked up by the camera.
As for the rest of it, I saw him clearly resist the officers attempts to remove him. He was kicking and screaming and thrashing about. That is undeniably resisting arrest, which is illegal even if you are being arrested for a crime you didn't commit. The place to fight it is in the courts, and if it is truly unjust the ACLU will probably jump up to defend you.
Nonetheless, if a cop puts his hand on you and you start trashing about like a spaz, they are going to take you down. If you continue to struggle once they have you subdued, they can't just let go of you until you are "cooperative".
This dick was trying to cause a violent confrontation. Gandhi would be ashamed of this tool.
Indeed, musicians and other performers use beta blockers to keep the heart rate down and to keep hands from getting sweaty.
The International Olympic Comitty had to ban beta blockers as performance enhancing drugs because (IIRC) athletes in shooting events used it to steady their hands while shooting. I wouldn't be too surprised if I heard that military snipers used it in combat.
Beta blocker block reception of epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). Stops the whole "fight or flight" response at the gate.
Amen.
In my experience, you have to return the joystick close to center to click reliably, which is asinine, and the tactile response is poor and uneven.
What makes it worse is the way they are implemented. I hate it when a game requires a click in a context where you are already using the joystick for aiming or movement (Like zooming in). The only worse sin is when a click makes you do something you really don't want to do, like lie down.
I've curse over that one a few times.
I would have added buttons on the grips for the ring fingers before clicky sticks.
I've tried it, and it's pretty darn good, but I like my classic games on the period controllers they were designed for. I've maintained a stable of NES, SNES, Genesis and 64 controllers, and repaired more than a few rather than buy some 3rd party replacement. Anything broken beyond easy fix would be a perfect fit to turn into a Bluetooth wireless.
As an extra bonus, they could also be used on a PC with emulators (if I'm remembering correctly)
I know the NES, SNES and Genesis controllers were done, but do you know if anyone has hacked a 64 controller to interface with the Wii yet?
Like I said, I'm not a programmer, but I do enjoy playing around with homebrew stuff.
As for the Gamecube, you wouldn't have the Wii remote at all (unless there is some interface I'm not aware of). That pretty much kills it if you want to play around with Wii remotes.
For the PC: has the sensor bar been successfully interfaced? If not then the interface is still broken. Even then, you could have a lot of fun messing around with a Wii remote and Bluetooth PC. But you're tied to a PC, and it's my understanding that NOT being on a PC is the attraction to homebrew for some people.
PS, I'm a dude. The name has a long and stupid history, funny mostly to those who were there at the time. Think "Ode to the Nut-shot"
I know I made a big assumption* in the parent post, but I wanted to ask the question about the second step, if we ever get there.
It's just too bad that there isn't some way to compromise to allow a Wii "sandbox" to play around and develop in without allowing full fledged piracy. Maybe a modified (i.e. slightly crippled to prevent full piracy) Wii dev-kit open to all for a reasonable cost?
Just throwing the idea out there
*I know getting past the encryption will be no easy task, and may not be feasible at all with current technology. IANACR (I am not a cryptology researcher) but I know that elliptic curve encryption is pretty strong stuff, and 300+ bit key is pretty big.
(Assuming that this discovery allows people to write new, arbitrary yet signed data into a save file on a SD card that the Wii will recognize as a "valid" save)
The next step will be to search for an exploit in the console or in a game that allows execution of that data. The final step is to figure out how to get that newly loaded code to do something useful. I know this has been done before, but I'm under the impression that the exploit (in a 007 game) was found by chance. After that lucky break, the code-something-useful part came very fast.
Is there any way to search for such an exploit other than brute force testing of games? Are there things to look for that normal players might see, or do you have to just try to execute code over and over and over in various situations, hoping to find a hole? In short, how can I, a non-programmer, help?
I have hundreds of SNES and NES carts. I would love to be able to run those games on the Wii without having to buy them a second time or wait for N to trickle them out. Now if I can just hack together some Wii wireless SNES and NES pads, I'll be in heaven.