Supposedly all the mechanical drawings and all existing tool and die setups for building Saturn V's were destroyed
Nope. They're all on microfilm at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
We simply do not have the infrastructure to build any more Saturn rockets. It's like asking Chevrolet to suddenly convert their assembly lines and start making 1965 Impalas again. Yeah, there's nothing stopping us technically.
Also, all of the maintenance and launch facilities for the Apollo program have been abandoned or converted for other uses. We use the old Saturn launch pads to launch the Space Shuttle now. It would actually be much cheaper and more efficient to design a brand new heavy lift vehicle
The Apollo program was a rush job and despite all of the amazing achievments, there were also a lot of cut corners and dust swept under the carpet. Ever wonder why the use those gigantic crawler-transporters to carry Saturns and Space Shuttles from the VAB to the launch pads? It's because in the 60's there wasn't enough time or manpower to lay railroad tracks or dig a barge canal. And so, to this very day, we use funky Jawa sand crawlers to move the Shuttle around at the Cape.
There's a lot more to launching rockets than just the rockets. You also need huge dedicated facilities and people to support the operation.
Cool! I know what you mean, Cowboy Neal. A laser never physically touches the vinyl. You could scratch all day long without wearing out the record.:)
One possible bad thing--vinyl records have that wonderful sound partially because of the needle riding in the groove. If you removed that interface it would sound different.
Scratching is fun. Check out this crazy setup that lets you scratch mp3s using a turntable interface.
The display would clearly be VGA and only standard ports would make sense.
high level languages and low level debugging and coding support
I would try to offer high level GUI ability in the high level language.
all the code would come with the machine and would be open source (unless someone like Steve Jobs [or JLG] convinced me to sell it).
Gosh. That sounds a lot like good old BeOS. This post is merely intended to spur on the usual rabid Slashdot speculation. I use both BeOS and Linux (also BSD) and love them all. Whaddaya think folks? What is Jean-Louis up to these days? Woz: do you keep in touch with the Be people? Talk about an awseome user & developer community! Apple has got nothing on BeOS when it comes to cool people developing and using the OS. C'mon Slashdot. We're all geeks here, let's hear whatcha think!
When one of the Apollo missions landed near an old Surveyor landing site, they found bacteria happily surviving dormant on the Surveyor. It had been on the moon for several years at that point. They returned the bacteria to earth, put it in a culture and it sprang back to life!
Current theories hold that Lake Vostok remain liquid due to the intense pressure and possible geothermal activity.
I think it would be incredibly cool to discover geothermal vents at the bottom of the lake. Similar vents (black smokers) exist in the open ocean and support entire ecosystems that live independant of the sun's energy.
I'm not sure how much energy a typical black smoker puts out. It might be too much to account for all of the ice surrounding Lake Vostok. Anyhow, I think it would be incredibly cool to find any kind of life down there. How about sending down an ROV with cameras? Photographs from the bottom of Lake Vostok, wooh!
Right on. There is a BIG difference between being a good shot in Quake and in real life. Ignoring the advantages of a fast framerate, mouse, lag, etc, the better Quake players are the ones with quick reflexes and good hand-eye coordination. It's all hand-eye coordination and spacial awareness. You only simulate running around.
Real target shooting is completely different. It requires intense focus and relaxation at the same time. Good shooters essentially meditate while preparing to shoot.
You might argue that tactical shooting (police training, IPSC, actual combat, etc) is more like a video game. However, have to manage your entire body. A gun is an extension of your arm--if even one part of your arm is askew your aim will be off. Quake only requires fine motor skills to aim w/ a mouse.
BTW, you don't see many biathletes gunning down their schools, eh?
I think Katz has raised a valid point. That is: that the big brother of the future will be the Corporation, not the government. But it's more complicated that that. The world is so integrated and tied together now that smart organizations can have a HUGE impact on what goes on in the world.
Big brother is not a spy camera in the hallway, He is not a microphone under your desk at work, nor is He the group of sluggish good ol' boys in your local government. Now and in the future, Big Brother is the media, mega-corporations, the insidious trails of misinformation crafted in plain sight; causing the subtle mind control that influences everything we do.
Rob, Hemos, Neal: how about logging the ip's of AC posters? Just automatically encrypt em and file them away somewhere.
I realize that abusiveness is a subjective thing. It would be cool if the slashdot administrators could pull up a log somewhere and see that, for example, 123.45.67.89 has posted a hundred AC comments about Natalie Portman in one discussion.
Keep the logs secure and private, but if it looks like someone is being *seriously abusive*, you could open that person's access rights up to moderation. Create an anonymized track record of every post from the alleged abuser's ip and allow moderators to decide if it's abusive.
If the moderators give it a thumbs-down, ban the ip.
Ack! end of rant. Everyone be sure to watch the Mars landing coming up in a few hours. I can't wait!
Rob, Hemos, Neal: how about logging the ip's of AC posters? Just automatically encrypt em and file them away somewhere.
I realize that abusiveness is a subjective thing. It would be cool if the/. administrators could pull up a log somewhere and see that, for example, 123.45.67.89 has posted a hundred AC comments about Natalie Portman in one discussion.
Keep the logs secure and private, but if it looks like someone is being *seriously abusive*, you could subject that person's access rights up to moderation? Create an anonymized track record of _all_the_posts_ from the alleged abuser and allow moderators to decide if it's abusive.
If the moderators give it a thumbs-down, ban the ip.
Ack! end of rant. Everyone be sure to watch the Mars landing coming up in a few hours. I can't wait! ^_^
There is also the further situation of two bodies being tidally locked with each other - the most likely candidate case being that of Pluto and its large moon Charon (discovered in 1977). Does anyone know whether such dual tidal locking has been confirmed in that or any other case?
Yes, it certainly can happen. I'm not sure that anyone knows if this is the case with Pluto-Charon yet, though.
One good example of "dual tidal locking" occurs right here around Earth, with satellites in geocentric orbit. Such satellites are oriented so they always point straight down at the center of the earth. Geocentric satellites orbit the Earth once every 24 hours and always remain over the a single point on the equator . . . very handy for communications.
What's more, most geocentric satellites actually use the same tidal phenomenon to stay facing Earth. It's known as a "gravity gradient". The denser end of the satellite is oriented below, where the pull from Earth is infinitesimally greater. The lighter upper half of the satellite experiences ever-so-slightly less of a tug from Earth. Without any other forces to upset the satellite in the vacuum of space the sublte gravity gradient acts to keep the satellite upright, just like a bouy that always wants to float rightside-up. The moon's gravity does cause a slight wobble, but it's not a big deal.
When the Hubble Space Telescope lost its third control moment gyro, ground control placed it in a stable attitude to conserve propellant. For now the Hubble must wait for repairs with its heavy end facing down, slowly spinning about its long axis.
Hell yeah! I remember that mag. As a kid I used to spend hours pounding the programs into a Laser 128. Those listings probably did more to help me learn how to type than any other single experience. Well, maybe not;)
Argument 1: The GPL [does not|cannot|may not] apply to minors in Canada because they may not be held legally responsible. Corel is protecting the letter of the law and covering their backsides by not allowing minors to d/l their distro.
Argument 2: Since EULA's of any kind do not apply to minors, (per Corel's arguement 1) it follows that 13-year-old Canadian warez d00dz are can't be held responsible for their actions either. Corel's logic here implies that even though warez kids break the licenses of the SW they pirate, you can't go after them. Let's compare a 13 year old downloading Corel Linux to one who distributes warez. Both kids broke a license. If one can't be held responsible, neither can the other. Oops!
No doubt China's priorities are misplaced. Even the countries that can better justify their space programs have trouble dealing with things like reality and the laws of nature. Och, I'm getting verklempt...
<COFFEE TALKI> has been said that government-run space programs are nothing more than welfare for the educated. Discuss amongst yourselves. </COFFE TALK>
Shenzhou vs the International Space Station
on
China Enters Space
·
· Score: 1
The Encyclopedia Astronautica has been updated with new info about Shenzhou.
It looks a lot like a slightly scaled-up Soyuz. This is no passing resemblance. I'd hazard a guess that Shenzhou will preform very simliarly to Soyuz.
This post is a bit long but please bear with me. The nice thing about Russia's own Soyuz spacecraft is that the technology is very mature and reliable. After 30 years of operation a Soyuz or Progress flight is a walk in the park, logistics-wise. Although Soyuz has its limitations we're able to depend on it and pull off missions with a minium of effort. However, the economical and political situations in Russia and Kazakhstan are making Soyuz ops quite awkward.
Without support from Progress and Soyuz flights the International Space Station f*cked. The ISS is hopelessly bogged down in bureaucracy and political cocksucking.
Shenzhou is a brand new (unproven) spacecraft that merely resembles Soyuz in the same way that Buran resembles the shuttle orbiter. It also hails from red China. China has a lot of bugs to work out and lots of experience yet to gain. If you ignore the political and economic factors, Soyuz still wins over Shenzhou, IMHO.
China's new spacecraft is coming at a very interesting point in history. The International Space station depends on flights from Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Progress-M's will be used heavily for resupply and Soyuz-TM's will be the only emergency lifeboat available until the X-38/Crew Rescue Vehicle comes online in 2006.
The US has been extra-friendly with China recently. I don't think that China is the kind of nation the US should be favoring. Their human-right abuses are well known. Despite that, I can forsee a future where NASA and China team up to complete the International Space Station. It goes like this:
Russia & Kazakhstan pull out of the space business.
NASA and the ISS partners say "oh shit, we're stuck and can't build the space station anymore!".
China demonstrates Shenzhou as a viable alternative to Souyuz & Progress.
Politicians in Washington decide to strike a deal with China.
Nike pays $ 2.5e6 to paint a big swoosh on the side of the next Long March rocket.
Scary, eh? Yeah, I know it's only hypothetical. NASA showed poor judgement, IMHO, by depending on the Russians so heavily. We knew that they have lots of problems of their own besides flying rockets. The ISS has been a white elephant for over a decade. Only problem is, now we've got components on orbit and the world is watching and waiting for it to get built.
Since when were Canadian DJs NOT allowed to use MP3s in their performances? As long as the DJ legally purchased the original record or CD that the mp3 came from I see nothing wrong with spinning mp3s. What an absurd law.
The article in Wired gives the impression that it was previously illegal to use anything other than the original media when DJ'ing for money...as if! Even the most backwards RIAA toad would agree that it's OK for DJs to create compilations for use in performances, as long as they own the originals and never distribute the compilation.
The CN$200 fee gives DJs a blanket license to make one reproduction of music released by most of the major record companies.
And we're supposed to act like this is a good thing? DJs have used homemade cassette tape recordings in their performances for years without anyone making a fuss. Granted, most serious DJs use vinyl or CD these days, but there's nothing stopping them from using minidiscs or DATs if they wanted. It looks to me like Canada has lifted a restriction where no restriction ever existed, along with adding a convenient new source or revenuse (from the $200 license). However, IANAC (I am not a Canadian). Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong;).
Using re-recorded media is nothing new. DJs have also been able to use samples of copyrighted media (within certain limits) for ever.
Better go turn myself in to the RCMP: one time I drove through part of Canada while listening to burned audio CDs made from mp3s. It's a good thing nobody else heard the music or offered to pay me for it, or I'd be in big trouble, eh!?
I used to be a student at Penn State, where a company small called Nittany Notes payed students $5 to $7 dollars a day for quality notes. You had to have at least a 3.2 GPA and be registered for the class you took notes in. Nittany Notes is completely private and not related to the university.
Back when I was a naive freshman I had no qualms working for the note company. Quite a few of the previous posters have already detailed the reasons _why_ they think it' okay to distribute notes, so I won't reiterate them here.
The faculty generally disliked Nittany Notes because they felt their "intellectual property" was being threatened. Any Joe Schmoe (or Joe Paterno:) could walk off the street and buy notes from any class on any day for less than a buck. Nittany Notes sells complete semester note subscriptions and 'exam packs' as well. For all I know, they could be online by now (I did this back in '95).
Nittany Notes' standing policy was that notetakers should NOT under any circumstances reveal themselves to professors. A few professors really _did_ have a bug up their ass about intellectual propery.
Yet, a different professor once remarked "I know one of you is taking notes for that company downtown, please be sure to announce that the quiz scheduled for next thrusday has been postponed...could you please change the previous days' notes to reflect this?"
It goes both ways, I guess. My opinion is: if you don't want people to take your information, don't teach. Duh.
You're right. I sort of simplified a discription of the war in order to make the comparison between Pearl Harbor and modern 3rd-wave warwafe.
The US Navy was very lucky to have its carriers out to sea on the day of the attack. In 1941 it was not yet apparent to the US admiralty how imporant carrier aviation would be in the upcoming conflict. If Japan had found the carriers as well as the battleships the war may have taken a very different course.
Certainly Midway was a major turning point in the war. I would also like to nominate the point at which the US cracked the Indigo cypher. The exact date is still classified, AFAIK. Enigma was declassified back in the 1970's but for some odd reason Indigo is still locked down tight. Wacky.
Using cyberwarfare can keep events like Pearl Harbor from happening again.
I guess so... but in another age the attack on Pearl Harbor was just as revolutionary as "cyber warfare" is today.
Pearl Harbor was the first coordinated, preemptive, carrier-based attack in the history of the world, AFAIK. It was a spectacular success (for Japan). In the attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese Navy targeted US Military targets exclusively. Nearly all of the civilian casualties were the result of US anti-aircraft shells falling back to earth in downtown Honolulu.
Staying on top of the Next Big Thing(tm) is a good way to win wars. Japan thought they had the US beat, but America came back with better intelligence (INDIGO, ULTRA, etc.) and unstoppable infrastructure and logistics.
Slashdot Mirror
Nope. They're all on microfilm at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
We simply do not have the infrastructure to build any more Saturn rockets. It's like asking Chevrolet to suddenly convert their assembly lines and start making 1965 Impalas again. Yeah, there's nothing stopping us technically.
Also, all of the maintenance and launch facilities for the Apollo program have been abandoned or converted for other uses. We use the old Saturn launch pads to launch the Space Shuttle now. It would actually be much cheaper and more efficient to design a brand new heavy lift vehicle
The Apollo program was a rush job and despite all of the amazing achievments, there were also a lot of cut corners and dust swept under the carpet. Ever wonder why the use those gigantic crawler-transporters to carry Saturns and Space Shuttles from the VAB to the launch pads? It's because in the 60's there wasn't enough time or manpower to lay railroad tracks or dig a barge canal. And so, to this very day, we use funky Jawa sand crawlers to move the Shuttle around at the Cape.
There's a lot more to launching rockets than just the rockets. You also need huge dedicated facilities and people to support the operation.
One possible bad thing--vinyl records have that wonderful sound partially because of the needle riding in the groove. If you removed that interface it would sound different.
Scratching is fun. Check out this crazy setup that lets you scratch mp3s using a turntable interface.
- The display would clearly be VGA and only standard ports would make sense.
- high level languages and low level debugging and coding support
- I would try to offer high level GUI ability in the high level language.
- all the code would come with the machine and would be open source (unless someone like Steve Jobs [or JLG] convinced me to sell it).
Gosh. That sounds a lot like good old BeOS. This post is merely intended to spur on the usual rabid Slashdot speculation. I use both BeOS and Linux (also BSD) and love them all. Whaddaya think folks? What is Jean-Louis up to these days? Woz: do you keep in touch with the Be people? Talk about an awseome user & developer community! Apple has got nothing on BeOS when it comes to cool people developing and using the OS.C'mon Slashdot. We're all geeks here, let's hear whatcha think!
When one of the Apollo missions landed near an old Surveyor landing site, they found bacteria happily surviving dormant on the Surveyor. It had been on the moon for several years at that point. They returned the bacteria to earth, put it in a culture and it sprang back to life!
offtopic? well, at least you got post #42 :)
I think it would be incredibly cool to discover geothermal vents at the bottom of the lake. Similar vents (black smokers) exist in the open ocean and support entire ecosystems that live independant of the sun's energy.
I'm not sure how much energy a typical black smoker puts out. It might be too much to account for all of the ice surrounding Lake Vostok. Anyhow, I think it would be incredibly cool to find any kind of life down there. How about sending down an ROV with cameras? Photographs from the bottom of Lake Vostok, wooh!
Real target shooting is completely different. It requires intense focus and relaxation at the same time. Good shooters essentially meditate while preparing to shoot.
You might argue that tactical shooting (police training, IPSC, actual combat, etc) is more like a video game. However, have to manage your entire body. A gun is an extension of your arm--if even one part of your arm is askew your aim will be off. Quake only requires fine motor skills to aim w/ a mouse.
BTW, you don't see many biathletes gunning down their schools, eh?
I think Katz has raised a valid point. That is: that the big brother of the future will be the Corporation, not the government. But it's more complicated that that. The world is so integrated and tied together now that smart organizations can have a HUGE impact on what goes on in the world.
Big brother is not a spy camera in the hallway, He is not a microphone under your desk at work, nor is He the group of sluggish good ol' boys in your local government. Now and in the future, Big Brother is the media, mega-corporations, the insidious trails of misinformation crafted in plain sight; causing the subtle mind control that influences everything we do.
Oops. The article was in P55-16 and is available here.
But anyhow, the logic behind attack trees looks solid. If you can compromise one system it you can use it as a stepping stone to move on to the next.
Phrack once ran an article called "Distributed Metastasis" which might make an interesting read.
Rob, Hemos, Neal: how about logging the ip's of AC posters? Just automatically encrypt em and file them away somewhere.
I realize that abusiveness is a subjective thing. It would be cool if the slashdot administrators could pull up a log somewhere and see that, for example, 123.45.67.89 has posted a hundred AC comments about Natalie Portman in one discussion.
Keep the logs secure and private, but if it looks like someone is being *seriously abusive*, you could open that person's access rights up to moderation. Create an anonymized track record of every post from the alleged abuser's ip and allow moderators to decide if it's abusive.
If the moderators give it a thumbs-down, ban the ip.
Ack! end of rant. Everyone be sure to watch the Mars landing coming up in a few hours. I can't wait!
Rob, Hemos, Neal: how about logging the ip's of AC posters? Just automatically encrypt em and file them away somewhere.
I realize that abusiveness is a subjective thing. It would be cool if the /. administrators could pull up a log somewhere and see that, for example, 123.45.67.89 has posted a hundred AC comments about Natalie Portman in one discussion.
Keep the logs secure and private, but if it looks like someone is being *seriously abusive*, you could subject that person's access rights up to moderation? Create an anonymized track record of _all_the_posts_ from the alleged abuser and allow moderators to decide if it's abusive.
If the moderators give it a thumbs-down, ban the ip.
Ack! end of rant. Everyone be sure to watch the Mars landing coming up in a few hours. I can't wait! ^_^
Yes, it certainly can happen. I'm not sure that anyone knows if this is the case with Pluto-Charon yet, though.
One good example of "dual tidal locking" occurs right here around Earth, with satellites in geocentric orbit. Such satellites are oriented so they always point straight down at the center of the earth. Geocentric satellites orbit the Earth once every 24 hours and always remain over the a single point on the equator . . . very handy for communications.
What's more, most geocentric satellites actually use the same tidal phenomenon to stay facing Earth. It's known as a "gravity gradient". The denser end of the satellite is oriented below, where the pull from Earth is infinitesimally greater. The lighter upper half of the satellite experiences ever-so-slightly less of a tug from Earth. Without any other forces to upset the satellite in the vacuum of space the sublte gravity gradient acts to keep the satellite upright, just like a bouy that always wants to float rightside-up. The moon's gravity does cause a slight wobble, but it's not a big deal.
When the Hubble Space Telescope lost its third control moment gyro, ground control placed it in a stable attitude to conserve propellant. For now the Hubble must wait for repairs with its heavy end facing down, slowly spinning about its long axis.
Hell yeah! I remember that mag. As a kid I used to spend hours pounding the programs into a Laser 128. Those listings probably did more to help me learn how to type than any other single experience. Well, maybe not ;)
Argument 2: Since EULA's of any kind do not apply to minors, (per Corel's arguement 1) it follows that 13-year-old Canadian warez d00dz are can't be held responsible for their actions either. Corel's logic here implies that even though warez kids break the licenses of the SW they pirate, you can't go after them. Let's compare a 13 year old downloading Corel Linux to one who distributes warez. Both kids broke a license. If one can't be held responsible, neither can the other. Oops!
No doubt China's priorities are misplaced. Even the countries that can better justify their space programs have trouble dealing with things like reality and the laws of nature. Och, I'm getting verklempt...
<COFFEE TALKI> has been said that government-run space programs are nothing more than welfare for the educated. Discuss amongst yourselves. </COFFE TALK>
It looks a lot like a slightly scaled-up Soyuz. This is no passing resemblance. I'd hazard a guess that Shenzhou will preform very simliarly to Soyuz.
This post is a bit long but please bear with me. The nice thing about Russia's own Soyuz spacecraft is that the technology is very mature and reliable. After 30 years of operation a Soyuz or Progress flight is a walk in the park, logistics-wise. Although Soyuz has its limitations we're able to depend on it and pull off missions with a minium of effort. However, the economical and political situations in Russia and Kazakhstan are making Soyuz ops quite awkward.
Without support from Progress and Soyuz flights the International Space Station f*cked. The ISS is hopelessly bogged down in bureaucracy and political cocksucking.
Shenzhou is a brand new (unproven) spacecraft that merely resembles Soyuz in the same way that Buran resembles the shuttle orbiter. It also hails from red China. China has a lot of bugs to work out and lots of experience yet to gain. If you ignore the political and economic factors, Soyuz still wins over Shenzhou, IMHO.
China's new spacecraft is coming at a very interesting point in history. The International Space station depends on flights from Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Progress-M's will be used heavily for resupply and Soyuz-TM's will be the only emergency lifeboat available until the X-38/Crew Rescue Vehicle comes online in 2006.
The US has been extra-friendly with China recently. I don't think that China is the kind of nation the US should be favoring. Their human-right abuses are well known. Despite that, I can forsee a future where NASA and China team up to complete the International Space Station. It goes like this:
Scary, eh? Yeah, I know it's only hypothetical. NASA showed poor judgement, IMHO, by depending on the Russians so heavily. We knew that they have lots of problems of their own besides flying rockets. The ISS has been a white elephant for over a decade. Only problem is, now we've got components on orbit and the world is watching and waiting for it to get built.
Indeed it is!
BeOS is the DJ OS.
Since when were Canadian DJs NOT allowed to use MP3s in their performances? As long as the DJ legally purchased the original record or CD that the mp3 came from I see nothing wrong with spinning mp3s. What an absurd law.
The article in Wired gives the impression that it was previously illegal to use anything other than the original media when DJ'ing for money...as if! Even the most backwards RIAA toad would agree that it's OK for DJs to create compilations for use in performances, as long as they own the originals and never distribute the compilation.
The CN$200 fee gives DJs a blanket license to make one reproduction of music released by most of the major record companies.
And we're supposed to act like this is a good thing? DJs have used homemade cassette tape recordings in their performances for years without anyone making a fuss. Granted, most serious DJs use vinyl or CD these days, but there's nothing stopping them from using minidiscs or DATs if they wanted. It looks to me like Canada has lifted a restriction where no restriction ever existed, along with adding a convenient new source or revenuse (from the $200 license). However, IANAC (I am not a Canadian). Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong ;).
Using re-recorded media is nothing new. DJs have also been able to use samples of copyrighted media (within certain limits) for ever.
Better go turn myself in to the RCMP: one time I drove through part of Canada while listening to burned audio CDs made from mp3s. It's a good thing nobody else heard the music or offered to pay me for it, or I'd be in big trouble, eh!?
I used to be a student at Penn State, where a company small called Nittany Notes payed students $5 to $7 dollars a day for quality notes. You had to have at least a 3.2 GPA and be registered for the class you took notes in. Nittany Notes is completely private and not related to the university.
:) could walk off the street and buy notes from any class on any day for less than a buck. Nittany Notes sells complete semester note subscriptions and 'exam packs' as well. For all I know, they could be online by now (I did this back in '95).
Back when I was a naive freshman I had no qualms working for the note company. Quite a few of the previous posters have already detailed the reasons _why_ they think it' okay to distribute notes, so I won't reiterate them here.
The faculty generally disliked Nittany Notes because they felt their "intellectual property" was being threatened. Any Joe Schmoe (or Joe Paterno
Nittany Notes' standing policy was that notetakers should NOT under any circumstances reveal themselves to professors. A few professors really _did_ have a bug up their ass about intellectual propery.
Yet, a different professor once remarked "I know one of you is taking notes for that company downtown, please be sure to announce that the quiz scheduled for next thrusday has been postponed...could you please change the previous days' notes to reflect this?"
It goes both ways, I guess. My opinion is: if you don't want people to take your information, don't teach. Duh.
You're right. I sort of simplified a discription of the war in order to make the comparison between Pearl Harbor and modern 3rd-wave warwafe.
The US Navy was very lucky to have its carriers out to sea on the day of the attack. In 1941 it was not yet apparent to the US admiralty how imporant carrier aviation would be in the upcoming conflict. If Japan had found the carriers as well as the battleships the war may have taken a very different course.
Certainly Midway was a major turning point in the war. I would also like to nominate the point at which the US cracked the Indigo cypher. The exact date is still classified, AFAIK. Enigma was declassified back in the 1970's but for some odd reason Indigo is still locked down tight. Wacky.
I am a Linux user and I'm OK, (so don't flame me)
</disclaimer>
It's wonderful to see more and more people taking BeOS seriously. Every OS need a good JVM (even Linux). Let's hope Sun is serious about this.
By the way, "BeKaffe" has been around for awhile now. They are an independent effort working on a Java AWT.
I guess so... but in another age the attack on Pearl Harbor was just as revolutionary as "cyber warfare" is today.
Pearl Harbor was the first coordinated, preemptive, carrier-based attack in the history of the world, AFAIK. It was a spectacular success (for Japan). In the attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese Navy targeted US Military targets exclusively. Nearly all of the civilian casualties were the result of US anti-aircraft shells falling back to earth in downtown Honolulu.
Staying on top of the Next Big Thing(tm) is a good way to win wars. Japan thought they had the US beat, but America came back with better intelligence (INDIGO, ULTRA, etc.) and unstoppable infrastructure and logistics.
"If we both agreed about everything, one of us would be unnecessary"