I often wonder if the news was ever any better. I read recently in, I think, Time magazine an article about newspapers from the 1920s. They would also back candidates and bad mouth the opponents, take political sides when reporting stories (and which stories to report), etc. Nothing has changed there. I don't imagine papers weren't "making news" back in the day either -- it's hardly a novel idea. They need to sell papers and, just like Slashdot, there are slow news days. So you go and interview a politician or police captain or waitress and you hope that something more interesting comes out of it. If not, you have a nice "people" piece. But there wasn't any news until you started asking.
With the Internet news, it's likely not any different, it's just faster. 24 hour news can't possibly generate enough facts to keep people going, so even the "famous" journalists like Anderson Cooper are left with filling in the gap with their faces and open mouths. "Gosh, I remember when I was sick with the flu. I coughed and coughed. Really hurt. Really hurt my ribs when I coughed like that. With the flu. So...uh...so you don't want it. The flu. Or to cough."
I read Time magazine (paper edition) because they usually have one or two long, decently-researched articles (thrown in between what are essentially headlines for the rest of the "news" and some opinion pieces). Anything online is essentially under-researched nonsense -- I'd rather see constant updates, then, after a week, see a full write-up on the situation with sources, quotes, facts, etc. Let me know what's going on, as you hear it, but give me the NEWS at some point instead of just a bunch of repeated text.
I'm not sure the GP is disagreeing with you. Our laws may be written by corporate interests, and if so, it is most definitely the fault of the people. Our political system is hopelessly broken and needs to be redefined from the ground up. As long as people take office with the promise of power and money, rather than simply as a service to their country, we will always be corrupt. If you want power and money, try being a CEO. The government should be about the people by the people.
There are those who suggest that homosexuality isn't a choice, but a strong genetic predisposition.
You mean the people who don't listen to Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck and are not the Iranian president.
If we are chemical beings which, Paranormal Activity notwithstanding, seems likely, then the playing field is simply leveled. You either did it, or didn't do it, and motives be damned because it was preordained in your genetic structure that you had a predisposition to kill. Maybe get ahead of the game and screen for that gene. Abort the fetuses that have it.
While we're at it, I think the Alliance is working on an air additive that will calm the populace in general, and possibly counteract any violent tendencies brought on by genetic traits. What could possibly go wrong?
If we are nothing more than a chemical being, then where does personal responsibility come into play?
Free Will gene. Nestled between the Must Have Sex gene and the Must Listen to Wife gene. It's all there in the genome if you just take the time to look.
One of my scientist friends was on this team. We'd always go to the renaissance faires together -- she was always big into the art booths, always liked those renaissance period painters. Her work was on turtles though...
So when the super assassin that looks sorta like Markie Mark is known to be staying in a particular hotel room for a couple hours, the head of the team that created him can't just say, "Get a tap on that phone!" have her operator push a few buttons, and boom, you're listening to the trained killer order an extra large anchovy with original crust...that's going to all go away if we prevent unauthorized wiretapping.
Super assassin is in the hotel, but we've got to go find a judge, at this hour, to sign off on our report saying why we need to listen to this guy's pizza order. And what happens when our report claims that "anchovy" is really the president, "original crust" means a grassy knoll, and "extra large" means 50 caliber sniper rifle...then he goes to order a medium pepperoni with extra cheese. What the hell does THAT mean?
What I'm trying to say is...it's inefficient to have to ask to eavesdrop. Isn't the very DEFINITION of eavesdropping that you didn't ask?
I'm sure this rage over privacy will be moved to mainstream media soon, where the bad guy gets away because the judge had his cell phone turned off and the CIA wouldn't move on the tap without proper approval. The president is assassinated and do you SEE what your overvalued sense of privacy has done? Another politician dead! NOW what will we do?
Really early in the morning. Not even 9 AM here. Sorry for the stream of consciousness post.
I heard the problem was the weld between old and new steel. Temperature change caused the materials to contract or expand and, being slightly different, they changed at different rates, breaking the weld.
I'm a middling "security" company writing about a product i haven't tested but somehow, somehow, I've made the front page of Slashdot. If it wasn't open source I'd be wondering who to make the Check out to.
Err...even on my work desktop, the first thing I shut off in Vista is Aero. The cool effects completely clash with my matte black case. If I wanted the shiny on my GUI, I'd get the shiny on my hardware to match (re: I'd go Mac).
I can imagine the testing. How many super soldiers can be accidentally created by nuclear fallout from failed fission spacecraft launches? That's my question.
I agree with most of your points but I think you misunderstood mine. The equation of sex and getting punched was merely the "primal urges" and that you don't need anything more than your body. I didn't for you to equate sex with violence.
Not that I've read the story or anything, but my guess is they made a bunch of the products that Apple has tucked in a shiny case with superior GUI. Apple may be standing on Nokia's shoulders here. Imagine you develop a teleportation device -- it would revolutionize the world. You patent it. Then Apple goes and builds a phone that you can point at an object and teleport it to a person with another phone, using your patent. They make billions of dollars because of it, but you're still broke because they didn't license your property.
Is this a problem? Only if you don't think ideas are cheap. People invent and patent things all the time. But that doesn't necessarily mean money in the bank, if you don't strike a deal to make that money. Invention is the very first step and patenting is a way to merely a way to protect your idea while you go look for financing to make it real.
Nokia made their product off their tech. It's not as popular as the iPhone. Do they deserve to get some of the iPhone's share of money?
As a basic exercise: list the things relevant today that you can do on Windows 7 that you CAN'T do on XP.
Security and stability aside, and it doesn't stand to reason you need 1 GB of RAM to accomplish decent security, here's a quick list of relevant things I do today:
1) Check email 2) Surf the web 3) Word Process 4) Spread sheets 5) databases 6) SSH 7) Music 8) Multi-task
Now...that's a general list and the devil is in the details. I probably can't watch YouTube on Windows 3.1, or access Flash content in general. There's no iTunes for Windows 3.1 for me to upgrade my iPhone. There have been some minor upgrades to Word that probably make it more efficient for Office power users. I just need to type. It's #8 that really ends up being the issue.
It's interesting. Selling your body for sex is sort of like selling your body to give someone the satisfaction of punching a person. I think the problem some people have with it is that it's cheap. It requires nothing beyond yourself, physically speaking, and plays to a client's most basic urges.
Depending on who you are and why you're selling yourself, it may not be cheap emotionally. But, like joining a company that asks you to write PHP code instead of Python, you learn to shutdown mentally and do what you have to do.;-)
"In Minnesota we've got mosquitoes the size of sparrows. They'll drain a pint of blood before you say "Ow!" Spraying them with bug spray just irritates them. You could probably kill it with a crucifix, depending how hard you hit it."
Err...you mentioned undead...vampires...blood-sucking...mosquitoes. There's that segue.
Kindle is popular enough -- students aren't happy because you can't write notes in the margins -- that would be an easy extra with a stylus (I know, I know...no one thinks the stylus has a place anymore, but if you're one of those notes-in-the-margin types, being able to write on the e-book would be useful).
Fun, but kind of useless at that size, unless you're R2D2 and have a vital message for an older Jedi warrior. I can envision floor and ceiling mounted projection units mounted flush that will do this sort of thing to display mannequins, advertisements, and battle station blueprints. I would think with a large enough angle from the floor and ceiling you wouldn't need any side projectors.
I agree...the iPhone keypad has always been good for me. But I understand people who can type while walking or looking elsewhere...it's tough to do on a flat screen where you can't feel the keys. When I'm driving and texting, I always make certain to keep my eyes fixed firmly on the iPhone screen, because the auto-correct is good, but why take the risk your email might have a misspelled word? (sar-cas-m)
Not that basic research isn't a great thing, but a sports center, properly funded and located, generates income and doesn't need to be recycled every 3-4 years.
But I bet you'll find cheaper hot dogs at the Cloud Computing Center. Or centre.
Seems like all this could be accomplished with just a keyboard. Tap a key to activate "touchpad controls" and then just use certain keys to manipulate the environment -- A and D scrolls left and right. W and S zoom in and out. And many other combinations to mimic what this thing does, and my hands never leave the keyboard.
I think it might make an advanced FPS easier to play. Two hands -- one for looking and shooting, one for actions (running, jumping, ducking). You could even keep the normal WASD configuration -- just slightly divide up the pad into areas, just like a keyboard. One finger is directional movement, two fingers is angular, three is an action (ducking, rolling, etc).
Players enjoy certain aspects of particular genres:
1) In an RTS like Battle for Middle Earth, the draw is general defending large armies with large armies, the thrill of out-strategizing the enemy (AI), and the final devastating blow to your opponent's base. If you're playing well, and dominating the enemy, then make the game last a little longer: send out a large "backup" force from the enemy that really makes your main force struggle...but once your main force is weakened (or not), you're given time to rebuild. You may be prepared for these reinforcements to hit you and split your main force to flank them when they do arrive, etc.
2) In an FPS like Quake or Doom, you might reward run'n'gun playstyles with simply more enemies to slaughter, or be slaughtered by. More strategic FPS players may actually get the same reward, or perhaps have enemies begin to spawn behind them to make them start watching their backs, heightening the tension that comes from playing an FPS slowly.
3) World of Warcraft players might get the Amazing Sword of Brilliance if they actually attack two mobs at once instead of ganging up on one.
It has a lot to do with what people decide is fun in a game, and one reward system won't work for each genre -- but it may work for the majority of players in that genre. Find what the players are looking for in that game, and give them more.
The security pop-ups were certainly (sorry...ARE certainly annoying) when running in non-admin mode. But I'd almost say they were a necessary evil. Most users, even after you explain it to them a hundred times or have to reformat their computer because of a virus, still don't get the idea that running with full admin privileges is a bad idea. These annoying pop-ups may or may not have helped them figure that out, but it went a long way to keeping computers clean of viruses.
Slashdot Mirror
Either I couldn't find the rhythm in the poem or, like many a high school Shakespearean play, I'm going to need the translation on the opposing page.
I often wonder if the news was ever any better. I read recently in, I think, Time magazine an article about newspapers from the 1920s. They would also back candidates and bad mouth the opponents, take political sides when reporting stories (and which stories to report), etc. Nothing has changed there. I don't imagine papers weren't "making news" back in the day either -- it's hardly a novel idea. They need to sell papers and, just like Slashdot, there are slow news days. So you go and interview a politician or police captain or waitress and you hope that something more interesting comes out of it. If not, you have a nice "people" piece. But there wasn't any news until you started asking.
With the Internet news, it's likely not any different, it's just faster. 24 hour news can't possibly generate enough facts to keep people going, so even the "famous" journalists like Anderson Cooper are left with filling in the gap with their faces and open mouths. "Gosh, I remember when I was sick with the flu. I coughed and coughed. Really hurt. Really hurt my ribs when I coughed like that. With the flu. So...uh...so you don't want it. The flu. Or to cough."
I read Time magazine (paper edition) because they usually have one or two long, decently-researched articles (thrown in between what are essentially headlines for the rest of the "news" and some opinion pieces). Anything online is essentially under-researched nonsense -- I'd rather see constant updates, then, after a week, see a full write-up on the situation with sources, quotes, facts, etc. Let me know what's going on, as you hear it, but give me the NEWS at some point instead of just a bunch of repeated text.
I'm not sure the GP is disagreeing with you. Our laws may be written by corporate interests, and if so, it is most definitely the fault of the people. Our political system is hopelessly broken and needs to be redefined from the ground up. As long as people take office with the promise of power and money, rather than simply as a service to their country, we will always be corrupt. If you want power and money, try being a CEO. The government should be about the people by the people.
There are those who suggest that homosexuality isn't a choice, but a strong genetic predisposition.
You mean the people who don't listen to Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck and are not the Iranian president.
If we are chemical beings which, Paranormal Activity notwithstanding, seems likely, then the playing field is simply leveled. You either did it, or didn't do it, and motives be damned because it was preordained in your genetic structure that you had a predisposition to kill. Maybe get ahead of the game and screen for that gene. Abort the fetuses that have it.
While we're at it, I think the Alliance is working on an air additive that will calm the populace in general, and possibly counteract any violent tendencies brought on by genetic traits. What could possibly go wrong?
If we are nothing more than a chemical being, then where does personal responsibility come into play?
Free Will gene. Nestled between the Must Have Sex gene and the Must Listen to Wife gene. It's all there in the genome if you just take the time to look.
One of my scientist friends was on this team. We'd always go to the renaissance faires together -- she was always big into the art booths, always liked those renaissance period painters. Her work was on turtles though...
So when the super assassin that looks sorta like Markie Mark is known to be staying in a particular hotel room for a couple hours, the head of the team that created him can't just say, "Get a tap on that phone!" have her operator push a few buttons, and boom, you're listening to the trained killer order an extra large anchovy with original crust...that's going to all go away if we prevent unauthorized wiretapping.
Super assassin is in the hotel, but we've got to go find a judge, at this hour, to sign off on our report saying why we need to listen to this guy's pizza order. And what happens when our report claims that "anchovy" is really the president, "original crust" means a grassy knoll, and "extra large" means 50 caliber sniper rifle...then he goes to order a medium pepperoni with extra cheese. What the hell does THAT mean?
What I'm trying to say is...it's inefficient to have to ask to eavesdrop. Isn't the very DEFINITION of eavesdropping that you didn't ask?
I'm sure this rage over privacy will be moved to mainstream media soon, where the bad guy gets away because the judge had his cell phone turned off and the CIA wouldn't move on the tap without proper approval. The president is assassinated and do you SEE what your overvalued sense of privacy has done? Another politician dead! NOW what will we do?
Really early in the morning. Not even 9 AM here. Sorry for the stream of consciousness post.
I heard the problem was the weld between old and new steel. Temperature change caused the materials to contract or expand and, being slightly different, they changed at different rates, breaking the weld.
I'm a middling "security" company writing about a product
i haven't tested but somehow, somehow, I've made the front page of Slashdot. If it wasn't open source I'd be wondering who to make the Check out to.
Seriously.
Err...even on my work desktop, the first thing I shut off in Vista is Aero. The cool effects completely clash with my matte black case. If I wanted the shiny on my GUI, I'd get the shiny on my hardware to match (re: I'd go Mac).
I can imagine the testing. How many super soldiers can be accidentally created by nuclear fallout from failed fission spacecraft launches? That's my question.
I agree with most of your points but I think you misunderstood mine. The equation of sex and getting punched was merely the "primal urges" and that you don't need anything more than your body. I didn't for you to equate sex with violence.
Not that I've read the story or anything, but my guess is they made a bunch of the products that Apple has tucked in a shiny case with superior GUI. Apple may be standing on Nokia's shoulders here. Imagine you develop a teleportation device -- it would revolutionize the world. You patent it. Then Apple goes and builds a phone that you can point at an object and teleport it to a person with another phone, using your patent. They make billions of dollars because of it, but you're still broke because they didn't license your property.
Is this a problem? Only if you don't think ideas are cheap. People invent and patent things all the time. But that doesn't necessarily mean money in the bank, if you don't strike a deal to make that money. Invention is the very first step and patenting is a way to merely a way to protect your idea while you go look for financing to make it real.
Nokia made their product off their tech. It's not as popular as the iPhone. Do they deserve to get some of the iPhone's share of money?
As a basic exercise: list the things relevant today that you can do on Windows 7 that you CAN'T do on XP.
Security and stability aside, and it doesn't stand to reason you need 1 GB of RAM to accomplish decent security, here's a quick list of relevant things I do today:
1) Check email
2) Surf the web
3) Word Process
4) Spread sheets
5) databases
6) SSH
7) Music
8) Multi-task
Now...that's a general list and the devil is in the details. I probably can't watch YouTube on Windows 3.1, or access Flash content in general. There's no iTunes for Windows 3.1 for me to upgrade my iPhone. There have been some minor upgrades to Word that probably make it more efficient for Office power users. I just need to type. It's #8 that really ends up being the issue.
It's interesting. Selling your body for sex is sort of like selling your body to give someone the satisfaction of punching a person. I think the problem some people have with it is that it's cheap. It requires nothing beyond yourself, physically speaking, and plays to a client's most basic urges.
Depending on who you are and why you're selling yourself, it may not be cheap emotionally. But, like joining a company that asks you to write PHP code instead of Python, you learn to shutdown mentally and do what you have to do. ;-)
Paraphrasing Prairie Home Companion:
"In Minnesota we've got mosquitoes the size of sparrows. They'll drain a pint of blood before you say "Ow!" Spraying them with bug spray just irritates them. You could probably kill it with a crucifix, depending how hard you hit it."
Err...you mentioned undead...vampires...blood-sucking...mosquitoes. There's that segue.
Kindle is popular enough -- students aren't happy because you can't write notes in the margins -- that would be an easy extra with a stylus (I know, I know...no one thinks the stylus has a place anymore, but if you're one of those notes-in-the-margin types, being able to write on the e-book would be useful).
Fun, but kind of useless at that size, unless you're R2D2 and have a vital message for an older Jedi warrior. I can envision floor and ceiling mounted projection units mounted flush that will do this sort of thing to display mannequins, advertisements, and battle station blueprints. I would think with a large enough angle from the floor and ceiling you wouldn't need any side projectors.
No word as of yet whether the scientists plan on giving the mice control of the gun.
Just whisper this when you say it. Rodents have unnaturally good hearing.
I agree...the iPhone keypad has always been good for me. But I understand people who can type while walking or looking elsewhere...it's tough to do on a flat screen where you can't feel the keys. When I'm driving and texting, I always make certain to keep my eyes fixed firmly on the iPhone screen, because the auto-correct is good, but why take the risk your email might have a misspelled word? (sar-cas-m)
Not that basic research isn't a great thing, but a sports center, properly funded and located, generates income and doesn't need to be recycled every 3-4 years.
But I bet you'll find cheaper hot dogs at the Cloud Computing Center. Or centre.
Seems like all this could be accomplished with just a keyboard. Tap a key to activate "touchpad controls" and then just use certain keys to manipulate the environment -- A and D scrolls left and right. W and S zoom in and out. And many other combinations to mimic what this thing does, and my hands never leave the keyboard.
I think it might make an advanced FPS easier to play. Two hands -- one for looking and shooting, one for actions (running, jumping, ducking). You could even keep the normal WASD configuration -- just slightly divide up the pad into areas, just like a keyboard. One finger is directional movement, two fingers is angular, three is an action (ducking, rolling, etc).
Players enjoy certain aspects of particular genres:
1) In an RTS like Battle for Middle Earth, the draw is general defending large armies with large armies, the thrill of out-strategizing the enemy (AI), and the final devastating blow to your opponent's base. If you're playing well, and dominating the enemy, then make the game last a little longer: send out a large "backup" force from the enemy that really makes your main force struggle...but once your main force is weakened (or not), you're given time to rebuild. You may be prepared for these reinforcements to hit you and split your main force to flank them when they do arrive, etc.
2) In an FPS like Quake or Doom, you might reward run'n'gun playstyles with simply more enemies to slaughter, or be slaughtered by. More strategic FPS players may actually get the same reward, or perhaps have enemies begin to spawn behind them to make them start watching their backs, heightening the tension that comes from playing an FPS slowly.
3) World of Warcraft players might get the Amazing Sword of Brilliance if they actually attack two mobs at once instead of ganging up on one.
It has a lot to do with what people decide is fun in a game, and one reward system won't work for each genre -- but it may work for the majority of players in that genre. Find what the players are looking for in that game, and give them more.
I have been abused in every way possible — being called irrelevant, a saboteur, coward, homosexual, and even a betrayer of the community.
Gosh...this totally happened to me too on the original Everquest forums. And they never did fix paladins!
The security pop-ups were certainly (sorry...ARE certainly annoying) when running in non-admin mode. But I'd almost say they were a necessary evil. Most users, even after you explain it to them a hundred times or have to reformat their computer because of a virus, still don't get the idea that running with full admin privileges is a bad idea. These annoying pop-ups may or may not have helped them figure that out, but it went a long way to keeping computers clean of viruses.