I submitted this story yesterday morning, as it was breaking over at the Drudge Report. The article there said that people could actually type about 40 words per minute this way, which is a slow down for most of us, but for those not accustomed to qwerty it would be a great, easy way to enter text. My only problem is that this system uses sort of a word guessing technology, such that it would be a pain in the ass if I wanted to enter, say, A$fg^bnp4+ or some other random string, for possibly a password or a software key.
Nowadays there's so much of an emphasis on code reuse that a person might not know what classes/libraries you use and therefore will have a hard time popping out specific code snippets.
On the other hand, you should ask questions and allow psudocode. This way, you can evaluate their thinking process. It's a little bit tricky, but you can also see their talent level in the specificity of their pseudo code. If they don't say very specific things and have some structure, even though it is pseudocode, you can tell they are bullshitting you.
This is a nice idea for a community but I suggest having user accounts in addition to one main guest account. If someone is going to come and use the machine enough, give them a restricted account so that they can personalize their desktop. KDE and Gnome both have good user management tools, so don't restrict yourself or your users if you don't need to.
Microsoft's EULA for Windows OS says don't copy it and distribute copies. People do that, and supposedly they're breaking the law.
AIM's EULA says don't make an automated chatting script, or bot, especially not to spam with. People do that, and apparently they get patents for it. How does this make sense to anyone?
Imagine backing up your files, reformatting your hard drive, then copying the files back over only to find your music no longer works.
Hard drives never fail? Right!
This is crap and will never happen. As long as there are people out there making up new ways to distribute data (a la Ogg) then people will be able to share it. Now, they may do so illegally, but so be it.
You moderators sure are quick today, why don't you focus on promoting some insightful comments like the guidlines tell you to... damn
PS - unless you can give me like negative 20 points for one comment then I'd suggest not even wasting your time.
I submit a perfectly relevant story to Ask Slashdot about laptops and going off to college, and this numbnuts submits a story with the wrong link, and look what gets posted. Sometimes I wonder if the authors read past the headline any more...
Re:Atmospheric Conductivity Issues
on
Going Up?
·
· Score: 2
Ah, I see. Well, like I said, I don't know all that much about lightning. I just hope this highly conductive material won't have problems with high electricity loads.
Mr. Laine said the material, expected to be highly conductive and 30 times stronger than steel, is not yet in production...
Highly Conductive... the article also states that they are looking for a region of the planet for the anchor where storms and high winds are uncommon. I'm not so sure this is going to eliminate any risks. It seems to me they are going to have to develop this thing so that it can withstand being struck by lightning many, many times. A perfect solution would be something that could actually store and use the power generated by multiple lightning strikes.
My point is just that we don't really know everything about lightning, and just assuming that because there aren't many storms in the region the cable will not get struck doesn't seem smart to me. A highly conductive lightning rod extending into space seems to me something that would attract electricity, no matter what the weather conditions. I'm just picturing something like a Van de Graaf generator attracting all the loose electrons in the area. They need to develop the system so that it accepts lightning and other electric charges and distributes them somehow, causing no damage, even while cargo is in transit.
Nationwide as in: accessible anywhere in the nation or is it Nationwide as in: there are spots of coverage dispersed throughout the country.
I have Sprint PCS Mobile service and I'm often dissapointed at the lack of digital coverage in many places that aren't right next to an interstate. Nationwide calling area is nice, but first you have to be on the network, and if you travel anywhere away from the interstate you'd better be ready to pay the analog roaming rate.
Have been asking about using this for bombs...
Well, the US already has these that carry bombs, we're using them in Afghanistan.
As far as this actual plane goes and any citizen trying to use one, it could never carry a bomb. It could, however, carry some sort of airborn biological weapon, but there are numerous examples of how hard it would be to actually hurt someone with a small amount of bio warfare.
What is an example of something else where you have to sign your life away before you see what you're getting into?
Seems to me software is the only thing ridiculous enough to have you agree to all the terms and conditions before you even install the thing, much less run it and see if it even serves you well.
You are so right on the money. What I don't understand is how they don't even change the products, but they charge a lot more for them. For instance "marine coolers"... I mean, they're exactly the same thing, but cost a LOT more.
Well, not really, I love swimming and fishing in the stuff, but it ruins everything...
My advice: use an airtight stainless steel box in the general shape of a computer but a good bit larger. Cut 4 holes in it, two on each narrow end (or wherever air will be able to flow). Fill those holes with some sort of air filter. Seal the edges around the air filter. Get the computer in there somehow. Make sure you seal around the holes for the cables.
Seriously, if saltwater gets in your computer, the thing will rust in no time from the inside out.
DirecTV has DSL for $50/month with no limits and a static IP address. You can't beat it, plain and simple. They are good to deal with and I've had no downtime so far. They will set up a network in your house for you, or they'll let you do it for yourself at no extra charge. It's the way to go, and for us they let us have the first 3 months at $30/month.
I graduated from an accredited engineering school with a focus in computer engineering. I took the exact same classes as the electrical engineering students up until my senior year, when I took things like Software Practicum, Digital Signal Processing, etc. I am an Engineer, if you don't agree, kiss my ass.
Some users of the mosquito-repelling program have reported headaches after long periods spent in front of a computer emitting the bug-repelling high-pitched whine.
As a graduate of computer engineering I sure would have loved to sit in the middle of downtown Athens (or on Bowman Field in Clemson where I went to school) and watch all the cute girls while having a remote X client window open to work on all my silly little projects. Of course, I may not have graduated then...
First of all, constructive criticism is great, but criticism is shit. All this guy seems to do is criticize.
Secondly, Macintosh may not be revolutionizing it's OS, but it remains to be beaten when it comes to ease of use. It has also upped it's power and flexibility, surpassing Windows and competing with Unix/linux. I've seen people who are totally clueless sit down, connect a mac, turn it on, and easily use it after just a few minutes. When a Linux GUI can beat that, they actually have something. Sadly, I don't think most wal mart customers are ready for Mandrake. Mandrake is easy to the majority of the people here, but I'm sure it's pretty intimidating to someone who's not familiar with computers.
Slashdot Mirror
Or will Winamp still distribute free players?
I submitted this story yesterday morning, as it was breaking over at the Drudge Report. The article there said that people could actually type about 40 words per minute this way, which is a slow down for most of us, but for those not accustomed to qwerty it would be a great, easy way to enter text. My only problem is that this system uses sort of a word guessing technology, such that it would be a pain in the ass if I wanted to enter, say, A$fg^bnp4+ or some other random string, for possibly a password or a software key.
Nowadays there's so much of an emphasis on code reuse that a person might not know what classes/libraries you use and therefore will have a hard time popping out specific code snippets.
On the other hand, you should ask questions and allow psudocode. This way, you can evaluate their thinking process. It's a little bit tricky, but you can also see their talent level in the specificity of their pseudo code. If they don't say very specific things and have some structure, even though it is pseudocode, you can tell they are bullshitting you.
This is a nice idea for a community but I suggest having user accounts in addition to one main guest account. If someone is going to come and use the machine enough, give them a restricted account so that they can personalize their desktop. KDE and Gnome both have good user management tools, so don't restrict yourself or your users if you don't need to.
OK, here's a good EULA question:
Microsoft's EULA for Windows OS says don't copy it and distribute copies. People do that, and supposedly they're breaking the law.
AIM's EULA says don't make an automated chatting script, or bot, especially not to spam with. People do that, and apparently they get patents for it. How does this make sense to anyone?
Imagine backing up your files, reformatting your hard drive, then copying the files back over only to find your music no longer works.
Hard drives never fail? Right!
This is crap and will never happen. As long as there are people out there making up new ways to distribute data (a la Ogg) then people will be able to share it. Now, they may do so illegally, but so be it.
You moderators sure are quick today, why don't you focus on promoting some insightful comments like the guidlines tell you to... damn PS - unless you can give me like negative 20 points for one comment then I'd suggest not even wasting your time.
I submit a perfectly relevant story to Ask Slashdot about laptops and going off to college, and this numbnuts submits a story with the wrong link, and look what gets posted. Sometimes I wonder if the authors read past the headline any more...
Ah, I see. Well, like I said, I don't know all that much about lightning. I just hope this highly conductive material won't have problems with high electricity loads.
Mr. Laine said the material, expected to be highly conductive and 30 times stronger than steel, is not yet in production...
Highly Conductive... the article also states that they are looking for a region of the planet for the anchor where storms and high winds are uncommon. I'm not so sure this is going to eliminate any risks. It seems to me they are going to have to develop this thing so that it can withstand being struck by lightning many, many times. A perfect solution would be something that could actually store and use the power generated by multiple lightning strikes.
My point is just that we don't really know everything about lightning, and just assuming that because there aren't many storms in the region the cable will not get struck doesn't seem smart to me. A highly conductive lightning rod extending into space seems to me something that would attract electricity, no matter what the weather conditions. I'm just picturing something like a Van de Graaf generator attracting all the loose electrons in the area. They need to develop the system so that it accepts lightning and other electric charges and distributes them somehow, causing no damage, even while cargo is in transit.
Nationwide as in: accessible anywhere in the nation or is it Nationwide as in: there are spots of coverage dispersed throughout the country.
I have Sprint PCS Mobile service and I'm often dissapointed at the lack of digital coverage in many places that aren't right next to an interstate. Nationwide calling area is nice, but first you have to be on the network, and if you travel anywhere away from the interstate you'd better be ready to pay the analog roaming rate.
Have been asking about using this for bombs... Well, the US already has these that carry bombs, we're using them in Afghanistan. As far as this actual plane goes and any citizen trying to use one, it could never carry a bomb. It could, however, carry some sort of airborn biological weapon, but there are numerous examples of how hard it would be to actually hurt someone with a small amount of bio warfare.
I was just about to ask that. Won't this be a direct violation of the DMCA?
Is there a way you can just be exempt from the new borders and cite the original declaration of land ownership from when you bought the property?
What is an example of something else where you have to sign your life away before you see what you're getting into?
Seems to me software is the only thing ridiculous enough to have you agree to all the terms and conditions before you even install the thing, much less run it and see if it even serves you well.
So where's the link to ICANN's take on the letter?
You are so right on the money. What I don't understand is how they don't even change the products, but they charge a lot more for them. For instance "marine coolers"... I mean, they're exactly the same thing, but cost a LOT more.
Well, not really, I love swimming and fishing in the stuff, but it ruins everything...
My advice: use an airtight stainless steel box in the general shape of a computer but a good bit larger. Cut 4 holes in it, two on each narrow end (or wherever air will be able to flow). Fill those holes with some sort of air filter. Seal the edges around the air filter. Get the computer in there somehow. Make sure you seal around the holes for the cables.
Seriously, if saltwater gets in your computer, the thing will rust in no time from the inside out.
DirecTV has DSL for $50/month with no limits and a static IP address. You can't beat it, plain and simple. They are good to deal with and I've had no downtime so far. They will set up a network in your house for you, or they'll let you do it for yourself at no extra charge. It's the way to go, and for us they let us have the first 3 months at $30/month.
Hmm, I always thought it was a war for Southern Independence, the CSA never tried to take over the union from what I know...
I graduated from an accredited engineering school with a focus in computer engineering. I took the exact same classes as the electrical engineering students up until my senior year, when I took things like Software Practicum, Digital Signal Processing, etc. I am an Engineer, if you don't agree, kiss my ass.
Some users of the mosquito-repelling program have reported headaches after long periods spent in front of a computer emitting the bug-repelling high-pitched whine.
Who would have ever guessed?
As a graduate of computer engineering I sure would have loved to sit in the middle of downtown Athens (or on Bowman Field in Clemson where I went to school) and watch all the cute girls while having a remote X client window open to work on all my silly little projects. Of course, I may not have graduated then...
PS: The story is here too
You're right on both accounts.
First of all, constructive criticism is great, but criticism is shit. All this guy seems to do is criticize.
Secondly, Macintosh may not be revolutionizing it's OS, but it remains to be beaten when it comes to ease of use. It has also upped it's power and flexibility, surpassing Windows and competing with Unix/linux. I've seen people who are totally clueless sit down, connect a mac, turn it on, and easily use it after just a few minutes. When a Linux GUI can beat that, they actually have something. Sadly, I don't think most wal mart customers are ready for Mandrake. Mandrake is easy to the majority of the people here, but I'm sure it's pretty intimidating to someone who's not familiar with computers.
Like it's really going to make a difference? Hell if he broke the DMCA I'd buy stock just in spite of stupid laws.