Maybe we could use this to close up some of those open mail relays that spammers love so much. All we need to do is start sending "State Secrets" through the relay, and alert the gov't.
I think a public execution would work wonders to get a few relays secured.;)
Ray Kurzweil addressed this issue extensively in his book "The Age of Spiritual Machines." He analyzed the trend in computing power from Babbage's first Analytical Engine all the way to the present (mid 1998), and found that paradigm shifts always occurred at just the right moment in the evolution of technology. Just as we reach the point of diminishing returns on improving a specific technology, the increasing demand for the resource inevitably spurs research in other technologies to continue the exponential growth.
The presidential candidates have been doing this as well, gearing up for the 2000 presidential election. It seems that this is just another way to attempt to silence dissenting opinion, instead of confronting it.
I don't have anything against the NAACP, but grabbing this domain isn't going to make the net any more racially tolerant. People who spew hate aren't going to give up just because the most obvious domain name isn't available.
I'm currently about 200 pages into "The Diamond Age" also. I grabbed both this and "Snow Crash" after I finished "Cryptonomicon". I didn't notice it in other two books, but it certainly seems like Stephenson gave his thesaurus a good workout when he was writing "The Diamond Age."
I pretty well read, and I like to think I have a broader vocabulary than your average American, but I've been stumbling over words that I've never heard nor seen before in this book. It's a little frustrating, since it seems that many times the meaning of the word can't be deduced from the context. I hate having to keep my Webster's next to me when I'm reading!;)
But I've got to admit, it's a pretty good read so far.
I have DSS and, for the time being, receive east and west coast feeds of NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX. Until recently, you could call up DirecTV and tell them that your reception of the networks was not adequate (mine isn't because I live in an apartment and can't install a rooftop antenna). DirecTV would hook you up and inform your local affiliates that you were receiving the national feeds. The local affiliates could challenge you, and come out and measure the signal strength. If it was adequate, DirecTV would shut you off.
Just last week, I received a letter from DirecTV stating that due to recent legislation, all network feeds were being discontinued on June 30 unless the local affiliates supplied you with a waiver, regardless of signal strength.
Of course, the local affiliates have no motivation to provide waivers, so I doubt that I'll get one. The new legislation doesn't benefit anyone except for the local affiliates. The satellite provider loses, since I'm not buying those channels anymore; the network loses, since I'm not watching them anymore; and the consumer loses, since I can't watch Futurama anymore. I suspect this will legislation will not last long, but in the meantime, it's pretty darn tough to get broadcast networks via satellite.
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I don't know where you went to price out upgrading your iMac, but when I did, I found I could upgrade it to 256Mb for $99.
Not to mention the fact that when you buy OS X, there's a copy of OS 9.1 in the box, so there's no need to buy it too.
I think spending $200 on a 3 year old budged-oriented computer is reasonable to be able to run the latest OS.
Let's see you spend $200 on your 3 year old low-end wintel box and run WinXP.
It was Venture, the original arcade version was made by Exidy. I wasted *way* too much time on that game when I was a kid.
Maybe we could use this to close up some of those open mail relays that spammers love so much. All we need to do is start sending "State Secrets" through the relay, and alert the gov't.
;)
I think a public execution would work wonders to get a few relays secured.
Ray Kurzweil addressed this issue extensively in his book "The Age of Spiritual Machines." He analyzed the trend in computing power from Babbage's first Analytical Engine all the way to the present (mid 1998), and found that paradigm shifts always occurred at just the right moment in the evolution of technology. Just as we reach the point of diminishing returns on improving a specific technology, the increasing demand for the resource inevitably spurs research in other technologies to continue the exponential growth.
The presidential candidates have been doing this as well, gearing up for the 2000 presidential election. It seems that this is just another way to attempt to silence dissenting opinion, instead of confronting it.
I don't have anything against the NAACP, but grabbing this domain isn't going to make the net any more racially tolerant. People who spew hate aren't going to give up just because the most obvious domain name isn't available.
I'm currently about 200 pages into "The Diamond Age" also. I grabbed both this and "Snow Crash" after I finished "Cryptonomicon". I didn't notice it in other two books, but it certainly seems like Stephenson gave his thesaurus a good workout when he was writing "The Diamond Age."
;)
I pretty well read, and I like to think I have a broader vocabulary than your average American, but I've been stumbling over words that I've never heard nor seen before in this book. It's a little frustrating, since it seems that many times the meaning of the word can't be deduced from the context. I hate having to keep my Webster's next to me when I'm reading!
But I've got to admit, it's a pretty good read so far.
I have DSS and, for the time being, receive east and west coast feeds of NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX. Until recently, you could call up DirecTV and tell them that your reception of the networks was not adequate (mine isn't because I live in an apartment and can't install a rooftop antenna). DirecTV would hook you up and inform your local affiliates that you were receiving the national feeds. The local affiliates could challenge you, and come out and measure the signal strength. If it was adequate, DirecTV would shut you off.
Just last week, I received a letter from DirecTV stating that due to recent legislation, all network feeds were being discontinued on June 30 unless the local affiliates supplied you with a waiver, regardless of signal strength.
Of course, the local affiliates have no motivation to provide waivers, so I doubt that I'll get one. The new legislation doesn't benefit anyone except for the local affiliates. The satellite provider loses, since I'm not buying those channels anymore; the network loses, since I'm not watching them anymore; and the consumer loses, since I can't watch Futurama anymore. I suspect this will legislation will not last long, but in the meantime, it's pretty darn tough to get broadcast networks via satellite.