Heh, who needs an army when big brother USA is around to defend the hemisphere? Just think of it as a hidden foreign aid cost. Or, from Costa Rica's point of view, a no cost asset on the national balance sheet.
The owner/publisher of Linux Journal moved to Costa Rica some years back and hasn't been subtle for his reasons, namely the DMCA. Now in an ironic twist, the paradise he moved to is considering making VOIP illegal, a technology I'd bet he uses. I'd look for Phil to lead the charge against this one.
You seem to have an obsession with SUVs that is disturbing. Where was Land Rover built before the term SUV became fashoinable? (Hint: It wasn't the USA) Almost any form of motor racing is more popular in Europe than about any other part of the world. Does this not contribute to CO2 emissions, or does European racing get a pass? For the record, I love Formula One racing. Aside from NASCAR, I think the amount of motor racing per capita in the USA is far less than in Europe as we have the NIMBYers shutting down tracks all over the place.
Quite honestly, I think the SUV is a straw man argument as the vehicles for sale here in the US must meet some rather stringent emissions standards (compared to just a couple decades ago). How long will it take for you to honestly consider China and the Asian countries as far greater contributors to greenhouse gasses than the evil USA?
According to an auto show program I saw on Speed TV last year, China is now the fastest growing market for SUVs and other vehicles. Right now the Japanese are the largest importers into China--not the US manufacturers. I would wager that the vehicles heading into China aren't equipped with the emission controls mandated elsewhere in the world.
I'm not going to tout this page from the Weather Underground as the last word on the subject, but there is clearly much to understand on this issue. I think the most interesting part of this page is the graph of the historical temperatures taken from the Greenland ice cap.
There is much sound data and research in the field of climate study that isn't completely understood, while there is a lot of political hyperbole as well. I'm trying to learn as much about it as a layman can while avoiding the political agendas.
Yup. You're well within the ballpark. I just dropped $5500 to do a bunch of small repairs to my 29 year old tractor. 2/3 of that was labor.
To the GP, if the farmer/rancher's computer is used in the course of their business, then they will either expense or depreciate it and count your service call as a business expense. On the other hand, if it's not in any way used for business, i.e. the kids game machine, etc., then let your conscience be your guide.
Don't be ashamed to charge a fair market rate to another business even if they are self employed.
And it's not that retailers should, rather it's that MS should be forced to allow retailers to bundle third party software. This is where the DOJ and pundits get it all wrong.
Re:What could firefox hacks possibly cover?
on
Firefox In Print
·
· Score: 1
I just downloaded a the Firefox 1.0+ nightly this morning and I haven't seen the Slashdot layout bug yet, so perhaps it will be fixed in 1.1. There is a new table text layout issue (bug 276466) that appeared around December 30 and affects text in a table wrapped in the center tag or align-text: center style.
Take a look at this page in Mozilla 1.8a5 or older and FF 1.0 or older then look at it again in 1.8a6+ or a FF nightly. IE 6.0 agrees with the older Moz browsers.
Certainly the rules in the U.S.A. don't preclude anyone from creating their own WiFi transceiver. However, if that transceiver is found to interfere with a licensed radio service, e.i. Amateur Radio in the 2.4 GHz band, and found to exceed the limitations in Part 15, then you would be required to stop transmitting until the device meets Part 15.
If the interfering operation continues, be prepared to pay the fine(s). Historically Part 15 devices must not cause interference to licensed services and must accept interference from licensed services.
Actually, the FCC does indeed have rules covering the sale of transmitters in the U.S.A. It was at one time known as 'Type Acceptance' and a manufacturer had to submit a sample of the unit to the FCC so the FCC engineers could verify that it met the rules. The system has since been modified and renamed slightly, but the fact remains that a good way to attract unwanted FCC attention is to start selling non Type Accepted transmitters.
The rules for Amateur Radio are different, however, the manufacturers must submit their models to the FCC for approval for sale. Even Part 97 limits the number of RF amplifiers an amateur radio operator may build or modify that operate from 25 to 30 MHz. There have been petitions asking for elimination of these rules in recent years.
The ham rigs that you assert will broadcast on any frequency do require internal modification to do so. Why do they transmit outside the amateur bands? Because the radios are also used for MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System) and CAP (Civil Air Patrol) which use frequencies outside the ham bands.
Part 15 devices, which WiFi cards operate under, must meet the Part 15 rules plus the FCC specifies in its rules that Part 15 devices not be modifiable in any way by the user. So, the manufacturers are very much correct in their assertion that the interface to modern WiFi cards remain closed.
Don't believe me? Just manufacture and sell cards that violate Part 15. Eventually you will attract notice from the FCC.
Does this device work with Linux? The page doesn't say. It appears as though audio can't be patched into the unit except through the USB port via the attached PC. Bruce's application involved hooking the FMkit up to his ham transceiver which makes it a simple audio hook up independent of a computer.
As always, it's the responsibility of the individual putting a transmitter on the air to observe all local regulations regarding such transmissions.
Thanks for making my point. You have helped to prove that rural areas do have broadband options today/Real Soon Now and that BPL will just be another pipe (an RF noisy one at that). The problem as I see it is that BPL proponents are using emotion (we must do something for the poor rural areas, sob) and people are buying into the nonsense that no broadband options currently exist in rural areas.
In fact, DSL was available to every customer in a rural area near here served by a progressive independent telco before it was available here in the county seat (population 3500 or so) from SBC. SBC has offered DSL for about a year, cable has offered broadband for several years and the same independent telco has offered wireless DSL here in town for at least two years. I'm scheduled to get hooked up with the wireless sometime this month. This same independent telco has offered wireless DSL for at least 18 months in the rural area around town as well (plans up to DS1 rate).
There are a number of small towns in northeast Kansas who now have wireless DSL available where no other broadband options exist. BPL is a day late and a dollar short.
Sorry, bub. The amateur radio opposition toward BPL is most assuredly not a telco astroturf campaign. I could accuse you of being an astroturfer for BPL, but I shall refrain from doing so.
BPL is poor technology and will not significantly factor into lowering the overall cost of broadband services or raising the general speed of such services. If the blackout of '03 demonstrated anything, it's that the power companies should focus on providing power not becoming a quasi ISP.
Do you realize that BPL is being touted as the "rural broadband savior" in order to convince congress that this is a good idea? I live in a rural area and I can tell you first hand that BPL will not be a viable option in the rural areas until the deployment costs can subsidized by build-outs in urban areas or rural service is mandated and subsidized by congress.
For the rural areas wireless or satellite is by far the most cost effective option as proven by several local independent telcos in this area.
I've been around this game long enough to watch the rural areas used as a techno-political football plenty of times. BPL as its being proposed is just another in this series of tech boondoggles.
The link above refers to US/ITU Region 2 allocations/band restrictions. The tsunami happened in ITU Region 3 which can have completely different allocations/band restrictions in the same frequency range. Because of this, the operators in other regions/countries can often use phone transmissions where US amateurs are restricted to Morse Code and data transmissions.
Hearing this from Patrick is good news. I started with Slackware '96 and used it for a few years until I went all Debian. With Pat's illness in the news, Slack was brought back to the forefront in my mind. I dusted off the old 486 and did a minimal install for a ham radio TCP/IP experiment. Even at version 10.0 it is still familiar and fast.
While I still love Debian, Slackware is great for a fast, small system. Keep up the good work, Pat.
There are devices out there that mount to the bottom of the bike to activate the sensors that work through inductance. I've heard of riders putting a large magnet under the frame. Running the starter is an interesting idea. With the engine cases being aluminum there is not as much magnetic shielding.
I wonder if the starter on my 650 is large enough to do the trick. Alas, she's put away for the winter (well not so put away that I could get it going in a few minutes:).
Well, they have the capability to detect motorcycles and bicycles, but often the street dept. lowers the sensitivity to the point that only vehicles larger than a small car are detected. This is well documented on many motorcycle discussion boards.
Often times a motorcyclist must wait until a car appears behind them to activate the sensor. Alternate action requires dismounting the bike and pressing the pedestrian button. In frustration some have waited several minutes in the hope a vehicle would appear to trip the light and when none have they finally felt safe to procede only to be stopped and written a ticket. It seems the only way to change the situation is to take it up with the street/highway dept. and/or the local government--not helpful hundreds of miles (km) from home.
Fortunately, there is only one sensor activated light in this town, but one of these days I'm going to be on a day ride and get stuck in one.
Re:Uh.... does this strike anybody else as wrong?
on
NASA's Deep Impact
·
· Score: -1, Flamebait
Yes it does. I'm quite surprised that this hasn't hit the major media outlets and caused a stir. I'm sure it probably will as July 4th draws near.
I think that it is one thing to send a probe to something and explore/sample it in as non-destructive manner as possible, but it's quite another to (perhaps) wantonly destroy something. We don't have the slightest clue about a comet's purpose other than it's eye-candy in our sky. I'd be very interested to see why and how this one got through all the layers of bureaucracy as a Good Idea (TM).
At first glance this just seems like a poor idea with possible ramifications we can't fathom. But then, I don't know as much as a rocket scientist...
In my mind when I hear anything about the Green Party, they seem to be joined to the hip with such groups as PETA, the Sierra Club, and many more who've worked at the federal level to impose their prefered restrictions. It follows that given their past behavior they would continue to pursue their agenda at the federal level eschewing states' rights and private property rights.
Glad I could awaken your understanding of plebian voting.;-)
Another thing that truly scares me is this sudden movement to amend the Constitution to allow a naturalized citizen to become president. It's sucking a lot of people in because "it's for Arnold". Apparently many don't understand the far reaching ramifications such an amendment would have. Anyone who truly loves the USA and believes in its sovereignty must oppose this amendment and educate its supporters of its danger.
Personally, I am opposed to amending the Constitution for any social ill de jur. Even as a church going Christian I am opposed to amendments focusing on school prayer, flag burning, gay marriage, and on and on. The Constitution is not the place to "fix" these perceived ills--it begins at the local level and ends at the state level. If the majority in Massachusetts wants to recognize same sex unions and the majority in Texas do not, then the minority in either state can a) put up with it b) educate the majority and persuade them to their point of view, or c) exercise another of their freedoms and move elsewhere. This is the situation the Framers expected and codified into law.
Sadly, over the past half century special interest groups have been wildly successful at cowing the federal government into doing their bidding whether it be through the courts or the legislative process. Now the populance is conditioned to think of fixing social problems at a federal level that the federal government by law has no authority to deal with.
The federal (feral?) government was never supposed to interact with the population directly--that was left to the states and local governments. Now, we have the melding, once again, of pseudo science with the knee-jerk reaction of lawmakers who tell themselves "we must be seen as doing something!" and we will be left with a book full of silly and ineffective legislation.
I was with you right up until your second to the last paragraph. I'm not so sure that either the Green or Libertarian parties won't continue the subversion of the Constitution given the chance.
The problem we have these days is being able to overcome the political class and set the Constitution right again. I'm sure the Framers figured that at some point their work would be undone. Their only uncertainty was when it would happen.
I suggest, like you, that the Civil War undid much of their work. I would also submit that once people who did not own property were allowed to vote much more was undone. Now we have the case where those who wish to receive a government bounty now can out-vote those who provide it. Now that the electorate can vote itself the largesse it will not work for, the doors to the Treasury are wide open and there seems to be no end in sight.
The Framers' success did last about 150 years before the federal government took the first major steps down the road of the Welfare State. Now, short of a civil war or revolution, there seems to be no way back to the representative republic outlined in the Constitution ratified in 1787.
I'm new to proxy servers and all so I really don't have any idea what kind of authentication the squid server is using as I don't have access to any of that info nor would they (the other half of the IT dept I work in) allow me to know it. I do know that IE works seemlessly and FF doesn't go through the proxy at all, so that is where I am stuck.
Last week I found a squid mailing list discussion that referenced a Mozilla.org page that described the method above, so I am really at a loss. I'd love to "prove" that FF is as capable on our company network and right now I'm confined inside the intranet. In the past the company used Novell Border Manager and FF worked with it just fine. Within the past two weeks the switch to Squid took place and I'm stuck.
I'd be happy to learn some troubleshooting tips in this area.
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks for the update. I haven't kept much up-to-date with his where-abouts lately.
Heh, who needs an army when big brother USA is around to defend the hemisphere? Just think of it as a hidden foreign aid cost. Or, from Costa Rica's point of view, a no cost asset on the national balance sheet.
The owner/publisher of Linux Journal moved to Costa Rica some years back and hasn't been subtle for his reasons, namely the DMCA. Now in an ironic twist, the paradise he moved to is considering making VOIP illegal, a technology I'd bet he uses. I'd look for Phil to lead the charge against this one.
You seem to have an obsession with SUVs that is disturbing. Where was Land Rover built before the term SUV became fashoinable? (Hint: It wasn't the USA) Almost any form of motor racing is more popular in Europe than about any other part of the world. Does this not contribute to CO2 emissions, or does European racing get a pass? For the record, I love Formula One racing. Aside from NASCAR, I think the amount of motor racing per capita in the USA is far less than in Europe as we have the NIMBYers shutting down tracks all over the place.
Quite honestly, I think the SUV is a straw man argument as the vehicles for sale here in the US must meet some rather stringent emissions standards (compared to just a couple decades ago). How long will it take for you to honestly consider China and the Asian countries as far greater contributors to greenhouse gasses than the evil USA?
According to an auto show program I saw on Speed TV last year, China is now the fastest growing market for SUVs and other vehicles. Right now the Japanese are the largest importers into China--not the US manufacturers. I would wager that the vehicles heading into China aren't equipped with the emission controls mandated elsewhere in the world.
I'm not going to tout this page from the Weather Underground as the last word on the subject, but there is clearly much to understand on this issue. I think the most interesting part of this page is the graph of the historical temperatures taken from the Greenland ice cap.
There is much sound data and research in the field of climate study that isn't completely understood, while there is a lot of political hyperbole as well. I'm trying to learn as much about it as a layman can while avoiding the political agendas.
Why don't you just say "no", rather than giving two options that are blatently chosen to make them say no?
Because that is the beauty of my system. They convince themselves that I shouldn't do it. Perfect system as I don't have to do gratis work any more.
Yup. You're well within the ballpark. I just dropped $5500 to do a bunch of small repairs to my 29 year old tractor. 2/3 of that was labor.
To the GP, if the farmer/rancher's computer is used in the course of their business, then they will either expense or depreciate it and count your service call as a business expense. On the other hand, if it's not in any way used for business, i.e. the kids game machine, etc., then let your conscience be your guide.
Don't be ashamed to charge a fair market rate to another business even if they are self employed.
I tell them $50 per hour plus hardware/software they may need. Then I say that I'll support Linux for free. So far no takers on either offer. :-/
And it's not that retailers should, rather it's that MS should be forced to allow retailers to bundle third party software. This is where the DOJ and pundits get it all wrong.
I just downloaded a the Firefox 1.0+ nightly this morning and I haven't seen the Slashdot layout bug yet, so perhaps it will be fixed in 1.1. There is a new table text layout issue (bug 276466) that appeared around December 30 and affects text in a table wrapped in the center tag or align-text: center style.
Take a look at this page in Mozilla 1.8a5 or older and FF 1.0 or older then look at it again in 1.8a6+ or a FF nightly. IE 6.0 agrees with the older Moz browsers.
Certainly the rules in the U.S.A. don't preclude anyone from creating their own WiFi transceiver. However, if that transceiver is found to interfere with a licensed radio service, e.i. Amateur Radio in the 2.4 GHz band, and found to exceed the limitations in Part 15, then you would be required to stop transmitting until the device meets Part 15.
If the interfering operation continues, be prepared to pay the fine(s). Historically Part 15 devices must not cause interference to licensed services and must accept interference from licensed services.
Actually, the FCC does indeed have rules covering the sale of transmitters in the U.S.A. It was at one time known as 'Type Acceptance' and a manufacturer had to submit a sample of the unit to the FCC so the FCC engineers could verify that it met the rules. The system has since been modified and renamed slightly, but the fact remains that a good way to attract unwanted FCC attention is to start selling non Type Accepted transmitters.
The rules for Amateur Radio are different, however, the manufacturers must submit their models to the FCC for approval for sale. Even Part 97 limits the number of RF amplifiers an amateur radio operator may build or modify that operate from 25 to 30 MHz. There have been petitions asking for elimination of these rules in recent years.
The ham rigs that you assert will broadcast on any frequency do require internal modification to do so. Why do they transmit outside the amateur bands? Because the radios are also used for MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System) and CAP (Civil Air Patrol) which use frequencies outside the ham bands.
Part 15 devices, which WiFi cards operate under, must meet the Part 15 rules plus the FCC specifies in its rules that Part 15 devices not be modifiable in any way by the user. So, the manufacturers are very much correct in their assertion that the interface to modern WiFi cards remain closed.
Don't believe me? Just manufacture and sell cards that violate Part 15. Eventually you will attract notice from the FCC.
Does this device work with Linux? The page doesn't say. It appears as though audio can't be patched into the unit except through the USB port via the attached PC. Bruce's application involved hooking the FMkit up to his ham transceiver which makes it a simple audio hook up independent of a computer.
As always, it's the responsibility of the individual putting a transmitter on the air to observe all local regulations regarding such transmissions.
Thanks for making my point. You have helped to prove that rural areas do have broadband options today/Real Soon Now and that BPL will just be another pipe (an RF noisy one at that). The problem as I see it is that BPL proponents are using emotion (we must do something for the poor rural areas, sob) and people are buying into the nonsense that no broadband options currently exist in rural areas.
In fact, DSL was available to every customer in a rural area near here served by a progressive independent telco before it was available here in the county seat (population 3500 or so) from SBC. SBC has offered DSL for about a year, cable has offered broadband for several years and the same independent telco has offered wireless DSL here in town for at least two years. I'm scheduled to get hooked up with the wireless sometime this month. This same independent telco has offered wireless DSL for at least 18 months in the rural area around town as well (plans up to DS1 rate).
There are a number of small towns in northeast Kansas who now have wireless DSL available where no other broadband options exist. BPL is a day late and a dollar short.
Sorry, bub. The amateur radio opposition toward BPL is most assuredly not a telco astroturf campaign. I could accuse you of being an astroturfer for BPL, but I shall refrain from doing so.
BPL is poor technology and will not significantly factor into lowering the overall cost of broadband services or raising the general speed of such services. If the blackout of '03 demonstrated anything, it's that the power companies should focus on providing power not becoming a quasi ISP.
Do you realize that BPL is being touted as the "rural broadband savior" in order to convince congress that this is a good idea? I live in a rural area and I can tell you first hand that BPL will not be a viable option in the rural areas until the deployment costs can subsidized by build-outs in urban areas or rural service is mandated and subsidized by congress.
For the rural areas wireless or satellite is by far the most cost effective option as proven by several local independent telcos in this area.
I've been around this game long enough to watch the rural areas used as a techno-political football plenty of times. BPL as its being proposed is just another in this series of tech boondoggles.
The link above refers to US/ITU Region 2 allocations/band restrictions. The tsunami happened in ITU Region 3 which can have completely different allocations/band restrictions in the same frequency range. Because of this, the operators in other regions/countries can often use phone transmissions where US amateurs are restricted to Morse Code and data transmissions.
Hearing this from Patrick is good news. I started with Slackware '96 and used it for a few years until I went all Debian. With Pat's illness in the news, Slack was brought back to the forefront in my mind. I dusted off the old 486 and did a minimal install for a ham radio TCP/IP experiment. Even at version 10.0 it is still familiar and fast.
While I still love Debian, Slackware is great for a fast, small system. Keep up the good work, Pat.
Or to be even more pedantic, he should have specified the GNU/Linux/XFree|XOrg/Mozilla/OpenOffice/etc. OS.
Ducks!
There are devices out there that mount to the bottom of the bike to activate the sensors that work through inductance. I've heard of riders putting a large magnet under the frame. Running the starter is an interesting idea. With the engine cases being aluminum there is not as much magnetic shielding.
:).
I wonder if the starter on my 650 is large enough to do the trick. Alas, she's put away for the winter (well not so put away that I could get it going in a few minutes
Well, they have the capability to detect motorcycles and bicycles, but often the street dept. lowers the sensitivity to the point that only vehicles larger than a small car are detected. This is well documented on many motorcycle discussion boards.
Often times a motorcyclist must wait until a car appears behind them to activate the sensor. Alternate action requires dismounting the bike and pressing the pedestrian button. In frustration some have waited several minutes in the hope a vehicle would appear to trip the light and when none have they finally felt safe to procede only to be stopped and written a ticket. It seems the only way to change the situation is to take it up with the street/highway dept. and/or the local government--not helpful hundreds of miles (km) from home.
Fortunately, there is only one sensor activated light in this town, but one of these days I'm going to be on a day ride and get stuck in one.
Yes it does. I'm quite surprised that this hasn't hit the major media outlets and caused a stir. I'm sure it probably will as July 4th draws near.
I think that it is one thing to send a probe to something and explore/sample it in as non-destructive manner as possible, but it's quite another to (perhaps) wantonly destroy something. We don't have the slightest clue about a comet's purpose other than it's eye-candy in our sky. I'd be very interested to see why and how this one got through all the layers of bureaucracy as a Good Idea (TM).
At first glance this just seems like a poor idea with possible ramifications we can't fathom. But then, I don't know as much as a rocket scientist...
In my mind when I hear anything about the Green Party, they seem to be joined to the hip with such groups as PETA, the Sierra Club, and many more who've worked at the federal level to impose their prefered restrictions. It follows that given their past behavior they would continue to pursue their agenda at the federal level eschewing states' rights and private property rights.
;-)
Glad I could awaken your understanding of plebian voting.
Another thing that truly scares me is this sudden movement to amend the Constitution to allow a naturalized citizen to become president. It's sucking a lot of people in because "it's for Arnold". Apparently many don't understand the far reaching ramifications such an amendment would have. Anyone who truly loves the USA and believes in its sovereignty must oppose this amendment and educate its supporters of its danger.
Personally, I am opposed to amending the Constitution for any social ill de jur. Even as a church going Christian I am opposed to amendments focusing on school prayer, flag burning, gay marriage, and on and on. The Constitution is not the place to "fix" these perceived ills--it begins at the local level and ends at the state level. If the majority in Massachusetts wants to recognize same sex unions and the majority in Texas do not, then the minority in either state can a) put up with it b) educate the majority and persuade them to their point of view, or c) exercise another of their freedoms and move elsewhere. This is the situation the Framers expected and codified into law.
Sadly, over the past half century special interest groups have been wildly successful at cowing the federal government into doing their bidding whether it be through the courts or the legislative process. Now the populance is conditioned to think of fixing social problems at a federal level that the federal government by law has no authority to deal with.
The federal (feral?) government was never supposed to interact with the population directly--that was left to the states and local governments. Now, we have the melding, once again, of pseudo science with the knee-jerk reaction of lawmakers who tell themselves "we must be seen as doing something!" and we will be left with a book full of silly and ineffective legislation.
Amazing.
I was with you right up until your second to the last paragraph. I'm not so sure that either the Green or Libertarian parties won't continue the subversion of the Constitution given the chance.
The problem we have these days is being able to overcome the political class and set the Constitution right again. I'm sure the Framers figured that at some point their work would be undone. Their only uncertainty was when it would happen.
I suggest, like you, that the Civil War undid much of their work. I would also submit that once people who did not own property were allowed to vote much more was undone. Now we have the case where those who wish to receive a government bounty now can out-vote those who provide it. Now that the electorate can vote itself the largesse it will not work for, the doors to the Treasury are wide open and there seems to be no end in sight.
The Framers' success did last about 150 years before the federal government took the first major steps down the road of the Welfare State. Now, short of a civil war or revolution, there seems to be no way back to the representative republic outlined in the Constitution ratified in 1787.
I'm new to proxy servers and all so I really don't have any idea what kind of authentication the squid server is using as I don't have access to any of that info nor would they (the other half of the IT dept I work in) allow me to know it. I do know that IE works seemlessly and FF doesn't go through the proxy at all, so that is where I am stuck.
Last week I found a squid mailing list discussion that referenced a Mozilla.org page that described the method above, so I am really at a loss. I'd love to "prove" that FF is as capable on our company network and right now I'm confined inside the intranet. In the past the company used Novell Border Manager and FF worked with it just fine. Within the past two weeks the switch to Squid took place and I'm stuck.
I'd be happy to learn some troubleshooting tips in this area.