I live in Louisiana and have been a computer geek, tech, and coder for 23 years. Sadly, these shennanigans are not new here, nor I suspect elsewhere. The Louisiana Radio and Television Technicians Board is clearly trying to set themselves up to regulate the PC consulting profession without the legal footing necessary to do so.
They're attempting to extend the definition of a TV (and they could also argue a radio) to include PCs. They lack the legal footing to redefine what constitutes a television, that is a matter for the legislature and the courts.
Simply because a device can be equipped (via hardware and software) to record and display a television signal does not a television make. A PC can be similarly equipped (via hardware and/or software), to listen to radio broadcasts, but this does not make it a radio.
I'm not going to pay the damned $55 fee or file the affidavit; I'm a computer guy, not a TV repairman. Any attempt to force it on me will be considered extortion and will be met with appropriate legal action. I'll have to take this up with my attorney and see what he thinks of a class action...
Some of you may remember a few months ago I posted my gmail address on/. to test the spam filters. I have to say that aside from a handful of messages - usually only 1-2 a day - that I don't get spam in my inbox.
However, I get about 50 messages or so per day in my spam folder. And I've had 0 false positives since I started using gmail. None. Zero. Zilch.
Some 'helpful'/.ers signed me up to get tons of spam and I'm happy to report that the filter takes care of 96% of it.
Did you know that your local grocery store carries everything you need to make WMDs? Its absolutley true! Chlorine bleach and ammonia, they mix into an extremely poisonous gas. You then need a way to store it (I suggest a complex gaseous storage device called a baloon). All 3 of these things are available at any grocery store.
That's what killed me. I closed the door to the bathroom to keep the cats out, and used both an ammonia-based cleaner and bleach-based cleaner. The resultant cloud of poisonous gas soon overwhelmed me, killing me within minutes.
This sounds like double-talk to me. I understand the rationale behind the GPL. I may go so far as to say that I agree with its intent in some cases, but it's a bit disingenuous to try to convince someone that a more restrictive license is somehow more "free".
I couldn't agree more. On its technical merits, I have to say that PHP rocks. However, from a licensing standpoint...*pfft* A better license would be the LGPL, which the article notes, the PHP folks have no intention of following. *sigh*
What's unusual about asking for information on the steam tunnels on campus? My alma mater had steam tunnels too. He might of heard of them and was curious. What's wrong with curiosity; it's not like he was asking for the plans to the Pentagon. Heck, maybe he wanted to design a level for his favourite FPS game - though if that were the case, I think the Feds would have been even more alarmed.
C'mon, asking for his student affiliations? Why he wears long hair?
I've been beta testing for a while. No, my account isn't for sale. Seems kinda cheesy and just about guaranteed to get shut down. Anyway, about gmail. I've found a lot of stuff to like about gmail and a lot of features missing.
Like: No spam. Not a single freaking message. Either they have an excellent filter or I haven't spread it around enough. Let's try an experiment: sclifford@gmail.com. Guess that'll be a good test of their spam filter. Cringe.
Anyway, the interface is uncluttered - just the gmail logo and a "star" flag for important messages. Everything else is hyperlinks or dropdowns. It's simple and fast.
But as a web application developer, I'm underwhelmed so far.
I think a simple icons-w/text-based GUI is easier to work with and not terribly bandwidth intensive. Anyway, there's no way to import my contacts yet, or my address book, or a PST file (or other mail format), or import mail from another service (that's stretching).
Anyway, while I think it's crass to sell your gmail account (and probably isn't kosher), doubly so for those who buy one. It's free, people - get a blogger account and make your own. Caveat emptor - it ain't worth $199.
Actually, water weighs 8 pounds per gallon. So your:
15 min shower = 600 gallons
60 gallon tub = 480 pounds
:)
So, how many bottles of Disante water would it take to fill a bathtub?:)
Desalination sounds like a good idea to me. It's not like the Atlantic is going away any time soon and while expensive to start up and maintain, you'll provide proof against fresh water shortages and drought.
This doesn't mean that it will be cool to water your lawn when they kick in the desal units to make up for a lack of fresh water - and your bill undoubtedly will spike regardless.
However, more communities that invest in desal plants (those near bodies of water that make that feasible) will feel less impact once the big squeeze comes as companies like Enron finish gobbling up fresh water utilities.
Add the WiFi capability to an mp3 player with a hard drive like the iPod and all sorts of fun comes to mind. With 802.11g it wouldn't be as fast as firewire or usb 2.0, but it would be fast enough to suit most folks. Wirelessly update your music, or share it. Use it as a wireless hard drive, a personal backup device, storage for a wearable, and etc. etc. Bluetooth for wireless headphones and mike, integration with phone (to capture conversations, video or pictures from your phone's mexapixel camera).
Then there's all the iPod cracking fun. "Let's see what that jogger has on his iPod..."
Contraire. Doom ushered in the FPS and its descendants really pushed the video card market. The 3D market arose from the demands of gaming; aside from that you really don't need more than 8MB of video for office apps to get 24 bit colour at 1600x1200.
But you're right - until the mid-90's business pushed the PC market, then gaming took over. True, business bought the most machines, but gaming defined the parameters of performance.
Seriously, though, I have to agree with you that the government is the last place you want programming standards to come out of. Shudder. The technology sector should develop its own standards in cooperation - sure, it leads to a BetaMax versus VHS situation sometimes, but in the end you get general interoperability.
Much as I hate to say it, I don't think that the computer industry would be as far along as it is today without games.
Games have driven the market and the platform of choice has been the PC. Why? Because it was there.
Apple became tied to its hardware/software model, expensive. (And excellent.) The IBM PC clone gained ubiquity by being cheap (And...cheap). Microsoft was in the right place at the right time and kept on the ball in crushing competition and playing bondage with PC manufacturers.
And here go my mod points and karma
I doubt that Linux would be where it is today without the domination of Microsoft.
I'll get flamed for saying this on/., but I'm looking for an ASP developer. Email me at webmaster@comm-craft.com for details. But basically I'm looking for Classic ASP (2.0/3.0), SQL Server 2000, at least 1 year of experience..NET is a plus - Linux experience a plus.
what can a human do on Mars that a robot cannot do - cheaper and faster?
Get votes.
Unless your friendly neighborhood robotic base has a Diebold product.:)
Seriously, though, I think we can bring it in for under $1 trillion; that kind of doughage is pretty ridiculous. Start off with a space elevator - that alone will shave tens of billions off the cost of developing lunar and Martian bases.
Still, even if it is $1 trillion, it's a damned sight better way to deficit spend than in imperialstic endeavours.
The AC who posted about the Slate article being insulting was right on the money. Obviously, they sent the wrong reporter to cover this story. Someone with a science background would have been able to say something meaningful about the Science Talent Search. I got far more from the synopsis than the Slate article.
I have to say, the work these young students have done is nothing short of amazing. Herbert Hedberg's work on analyzing telomerase inhibitors resulted in a tool that can run the analysis in 10 minutes compared to the standard method which takes 2 days. Imagine the potential impact that can have on the treatment of cancer patients, like his grandmother.
Boris Alexeev's work may yield this guy a visit from the NSA. With minimization of deterministic finite automata you have - as the article points out - a tool to reduce the memory and processing requirements of certain kinds of operations such as speech and optical character recognition - however, the article failed to point out another obvious application - signal processing with tons of applications in video and audio surveillance/recognition.
Ryna Karnik's work applies directly to processor manufacturing - using a focused ion beam instead of photolithorgraphy to etch wafers. I read about a similar technique, but using electron beams in a sub-.03 micron process.
Anyway, I was dumbstruck that these teenagers have produced such groundbreaking, original research. With encouragement and a suitable academic environment, teens can blossom - not just the gifted ones - and do amazing work that belies the stereotyping surrounding their age.
As gifted teens, I remember how few adults took me and my friends seriously, much less listen to our ideas. As a society, American really needs to invest more money, time, and expertise in our educational system to ensure that more of our youth can have futures as bright as these student-researchers.
During the bust, I managed to land a good gig at a small company in the piney woods of Louisiana about an hour away from the town I was living in. I make about half of what I could pull down in a major metro (and turned down a six figure salary to come here), but the cost of living here is low.
The hours can be long, but I really enjoy my job, work with a great team of people, and have much less stress that I would experience in a big city.
I started out as the "computer guy", though I'd been doing software development work for the previous few years - web development. Now I'm the IT Director with a growing staff and the inventory management web app I built has turned into a good source of revenue for the company, having been purchased by seven other companies.
I've since relocated to the little town (am posting from work on a late Friday night) to cut 10 hours out of my week and be less than 5 minutes from home.
I don't care for the "big city"; never have, probably never will. I've been with this little company for nearly three years and hope I'll be here for the next twenty.
The downside is that it's hard to find good IT folks willing to relocate to the sticks. I'm trying to hire a developer or two right now.
Sometimes you want to mod something to +6 Amen. This is one of those posts. I've got a DVD-CDRW and am about to pop for an 8x DVD+/RW burner since it supports whatever format someone is likely to hand me. God only knows what that may be. HD-DVD, BluRay; I don't care. Make it ONE standard. Pretty please with sugar on top.
Seriously, though, the technology looks pretty cool. The article likens it to a radiator so liquid is recycled in the closed system and liquid applied to the spot that needs it most. Only the requisite amount of liquid would be pushed through the system in order to reduce energy costs of pushing the liquid. Neat stuff.
Oh boo hoo. I got hit by a bad IBM drive (75GXP) 'deathstar' but I don't think I'd mind getting a new Hitatchi, even if it is still an IBM design. Got a 'travelstar' in my laptop that's been going fine for ages. So there was a bad lot a while back, get over it.
I got stuck with five of them - and was perfectly willing to shrug and go "okay, stuff happens - lets RMA." However, after multiple RMAs I was still stuck with 3 bad drives. I'd send a bad one back, get one that failed in a matter of days. Heat wasn't the problem (multiple fans, ion storm fan in front of drive, PC Power & Cooling power supply, conditioning UPS).
Anyway, IBM/Hitachi screwed me out of hundreds of dollars and many wasted hours on the phone and at the keyboard. The crappy replacements and crappier customer service means they've earned a place on my blacklist.
Even so, I'm glad to see the announcement. That can only mean that Western Digital, Maxtor, and the rest aren't going to be far behind with their own zillion gigabyte drives.
At $1 per it's only likely to be used in tracking high-dollar items, if used in an inventory chain at all. I write inventory software and am looking forward to cheap rf tags to make tracking and consumption easier; however, this ain't it - not yet anyway, at least for mainstream inventory tracking.
However, it's right up there for the applications they outline - pharmecutical inventory tracking where a vial of drugs can cost a couple of grand.
Slashdot Mirror
They're attempting to extend the definition of a TV (and they could also argue a radio) to include PCs. They lack the legal footing to redefine what constitutes a television, that is a matter for the legislature and the courts.
Simply because a device can be equipped (via hardware and software) to record and display a television signal does not a television make. A PC can be similarly equipped (via hardware and/or software), to listen to radio broadcasts, but this does not make it a radio.
I'm not going to pay the damned $55 fee or file the affidavit; I'm a computer guy, not a TV repairman. Any attempt to force it on me will be considered extortion and will be met with appropriate legal action. I'll have to take this up with my attorney and see what he thinks of a class action...
Some of you may remember a few months ago I posted my gmail address on /. to test the spam filters. I have to say that aside from a handful of messages - usually only 1-2 a day - that I don't get spam in my inbox.
However, I get about 50 messages or so per day in my spam folder. And I've had 0 false positives since I started using gmail. None. Zero. Zilch.
Some 'helpful' /.ers signed me up to get tons of spam and I'm happy to report that the filter takes care of 96% of it.
That's what killed me. I closed the door to the bathroom to keep the cats out, and used both an ammonia-based cleaner and bleach-based cleaner. The resultant cloud of poisonous gas soon overwhelmed me, killing me within minutes.
If I had only known, I'd be alive today. :(
I couldn't agree more. On its technical merits, I have to say that PHP rocks. However, from a licensing standpoint...*pfft* A better license would be the LGPL, which the article notes, the PHP folks have no intention of following. *sigh*
Good, I hope they get the max, both of them.
Yeah, poor poor Pluto Nash.
I use the hell out of caps lock; it's my "prone" key in FPS shooters. Others use it for radio, etc. Aside from games though, I don't use it overmuch.
C'mon, asking for his student affiliations? Why he wears long hair?
This is a case of bureaucratic stupidity.
Maybe instead of selling stock Google should auction off invites on ebay to raise a couple of billion $ :)
Me, I'll keep my gmail account thank you very much.
Like: No spam. Not a single freaking message. Either they have an excellent filter or I haven't spread it around enough. Let's try an experiment: sclifford@gmail.com. Guess that'll be a good test of their spam filter. Cringe.
Anyway, the interface is uncluttered - just the gmail logo and a "star" flag for important messages. Everything else is hyperlinks or dropdowns. It's simple and fast.
But as a web application developer, I'm underwhelmed so far.
I think a simple icons-w/text-based GUI is easier to work with and not terribly bandwidth intensive. Anyway, there's no way to import my contacts yet, or my address book, or a PST file (or other mail format), or import mail from another service (that's stretching).
Anyway, while I think it's crass to sell your gmail account (and probably isn't kosher), doubly so for those who buy one. It's free, people - get a blogger account and make your own. Caveat emptor - it ain't worth $199.
15 min shower = 600 gallons
60 gallon tub = 480 pounds
So, how many bottles of Disante water would it take to fill a bathtub? :)
Desalination sounds like a good idea to me. It's not like the Atlantic is going away any time soon and while expensive to start up and maintain, you'll provide proof against fresh water shortages and drought.
This doesn't mean that it will be cool to water your lawn when they kick in the desal units to make up for a lack of fresh water - and your bill undoubtedly will spike regardless.
However, more communities that invest in desal plants (those near bodies of water that make that feasible) will feel less impact once the big squeeze comes as companies like Enron finish gobbling up fresh water utilities.
Then there's all the iPod cracking fun. "Let's see what that jogger has on his iPod..."
But you're right - until the mid-90's business pushed the PC market, then gaming took over. True, business bought the most machines, but gaming defined the parameters of performance.
Seriously, though, I have to agree with you that the government is the last place you want programming standards to come out of. Shudder. The technology sector should develop its own standards in cooperation - sure, it leads to a BetaMax versus VHS situation sometimes, but in the end you get general interoperability.
Much as I hate to say it, I don't think that the computer industry would be as far along as it is today without games.
Games have driven the market and the platform of choice has been the PC. Why? Because it was there.
Apple became tied to its hardware/software model, expensive. (And excellent.) The IBM PC clone gained ubiquity by being cheap (And...cheap). Microsoft was in the right place at the right time and kept on the ball in crushing competition and playing bondage with PC manufacturers.
And here go my mod points and karma
I doubt that Linux would be where it is today without the domination of Microsoft.
I'll get flamed for saying this on /., but I'm looking for an ASP developer. Email me at webmaster@comm-craft.com for details. But basically I'm looking for Classic ASP (2.0/3.0), SQL Server 2000, at least 1 year of experience. .NET is a plus - Linux experience a plus.
Get votes.
Unless your friendly neighborhood robotic base has a Diebold product. :)
Seriously, though, I think we can bring it in for under $1 trillion; that kind of doughage is pretty ridiculous. Start off with a space elevator - that alone will shave tens of billions off the cost of developing lunar and Martian bases.
Still, even if it is $1 trillion, it's a damned sight better way to deficit spend than in imperialstic endeavours.
I have to say, the work these young students have done is nothing short of amazing. Herbert Hedberg's work on analyzing telomerase inhibitors resulted in a tool that can run the analysis in 10 minutes compared to the standard method which takes 2 days. Imagine the potential impact that can have on the treatment of cancer patients, like his grandmother.
Boris Alexeev's work may yield this guy a visit from the NSA. With minimization of deterministic finite automata you have - as the article points out - a tool to reduce the memory and processing requirements of certain kinds of operations such as speech and optical character recognition - however, the article failed to point out another obvious application - signal processing with tons of applications in video and audio surveillance/recognition.
Ryna Karnik's work applies directly to processor manufacturing - using a focused ion beam instead of photolithorgraphy to etch wafers. I read about a similar technique, but using electron beams in a sub-.03 micron process.
Anyway, I was dumbstruck that these teenagers have produced such groundbreaking, original research. With encouragement and a suitable academic environment, teens can blossom - not just the gifted ones - and do amazing work that belies the stereotyping surrounding their age.
As gifted teens, I remember how few adults took me and my friends seriously, much less listen to our ideas. As a society, American really needs to invest more money, time, and expertise in our educational system to ensure that more of our youth can have futures as bright as these student-researchers.
During the bust, I managed to land a good gig at a small company in the piney woods of Louisiana about an hour away from the town I was living in. I make about half of what I could pull down in a major metro (and turned down a six figure salary to come here), but the cost of living here is low. The hours can be long, but I really enjoy my job, work with a great team of people, and have much less stress that I would experience in a big city. I started out as the "computer guy", though I'd been doing software development work for the previous few years - web development. Now I'm the IT Director with a growing staff and the inventory management web app I built has turned into a good source of revenue for the company, having been purchased by seven other companies. I've since relocated to the little town (am posting from work on a late Friday night) to cut 10 hours out of my week and be less than 5 minutes from home. I don't care for the "big city"; never have, probably never will. I've been with this little company for nearly three years and hope I'll be here for the next twenty. The downside is that it's hard to find good IT folks willing to relocate to the sticks. I'm trying to hire a developer or two right now.
Sometimes you want to mod something to +6 Amen. This is one of those posts. I've got a DVD-CDRW and am about to pop for an 8x DVD+/RW burner since it supports whatever format someone is likely to hand me. God only knows what that may be. HD-DVD, BluRay; I don't care. Make it ONE standard. Pretty please with sugar on top.
Seriously, though, the technology looks pretty cool. The article likens it to a radiator so liquid is recycled in the closed system and liquid applied to the spot that needs it most. Only the requisite amount of liquid would be pushed through the system in order to reduce energy costs of pushing the liquid. Neat stuff.
I got stuck with five of them - and was perfectly willing to shrug and go "okay, stuff happens - lets RMA." However, after multiple RMAs I was still stuck with 3 bad drives. I'd send a bad one back, get one that failed in a matter of days. Heat wasn't the problem (multiple fans, ion storm fan in front of drive, PC Power & Cooling power supply, conditioning UPS).
Anyway, IBM/Hitachi screwed me out of hundreds of dollars and many wasted hours on the phone and at the keyboard. The crappy replacements and crappier customer service means they've earned a place on my blacklist.
Even so, I'm glad to see the announcement. That can only mean that Western Digital, Maxtor, and the rest aren't going to be far behind with their own zillion gigabyte drives.
Heroin, crack, ain't got nuthin' on a street hack of this, buddy.
Michael Dell stepping down from the helm at Dell and Godzilla going into retirement. Anyone smell collaboration?
However, it's right up there for the applications they outline - pharmecutical inventory tracking where a vial of drugs can cost a couple of grand.
Now if we could only get a port of FrontPage... :)