Time is a concept we impose on nature in order to order it (nature) to our understanding and utility: time "happens" when a human notices movement of objects. The natural universe has no need for measuring itself using the human perceptual concept we call "time."
In other words, nature doesn't use our concept of time, only we use our concept of time: it's a perceptual issue we humans impose on nature, not a state imposed on us by the natural universe.
Try this on for kicks: instead of using the word "time" replace it with the phrase "motion perceived and measured over distance." This is our human concept of time, in it's bare essence.
As for the paradoxen (heh), humans love to stumble over their own their own logics and words. Indeed, most human philosophers have excelled at defining reality and then stumbling over their own definitions.
The zen master knows the ineffability of the universe and is greatly aware how much his perceptions _alter_ what is real. This is true of all our means of perception, hence the instruments we build to extend our means of perception.
"...may not produce anything of note anymore, but they do appear to know how to..." be really, really annoying. Let me suggest that SCO (Caldera? SCOCAL!) would produce something of value if they just had an idea, ya know, a clue of what to do?
Here's a an idea from which SCOCAL can attempt to make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank ("Hey, get off my penguin you fat bastards!"):
The problem: I keep pop-ups "turned off" on my browser (Opera) because they are annoying and only occasionally useful, but that's the point I wish to emphasize -- they are occasionally useful but I have them turned off and that's a pain to change.
The answer: I want a little yellow (whatever color) tag window to pop up next to my mouse when I mouseover a link which is in fact a pop up; if I want the link, I click the tag next to my mouse and get the popup, but all other popups are still denied for the usual general purposes but do show a (very little) click tag next to my mouse when I roll over one.
There it is: a free, useful (emphasis on free) idea which SCOCAL can take to the bank. Did I mention free? It's so free an idea it's GPLed, right now, Fri Aug 1 00:12:49 MDT 2003!
Oh my! I was just informed that SCOCAL would want _me_ to create both the idea _and_ the code, then they, SCOCAL, would try to begin to make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank ("Hey, get off my penguin right now, you fat bastards!")
But wait, there's more: if and when they, SCOCAL, don't make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank from this free idea ("Hey, get off my penguin right now, you fat bastards!") they may become quite nasty about it and stomp and cry and and threaten and then sue ME if I decide to use some other company's mouse rollover tag instead of theirs because they, SCOCAL, are going to make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank ("Hey, get off my penguin right now, you fat bastards!") one way or another, regardless!
Well, poo on that idea! SCOCAL can just go _DO_ (note the emphasis on the word "DO", it's part of the clue) something else
and when they finally make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank, they will finally be OFF MY PENGUIN!
Seriously though, justifying unethical behavior just because it's "business" is pure BS (that's bullshit, not to be confused with B.S. though many say there is a direct corelation between the two.:) )
Thanks for the information about getting the subscription though, that was interesting and possibly useful provided I don't log in and see MicroShiite advertising for their latest attempt to cheat the fools and suckers of the world.
As for the great site -- it was, could be again, but until they get rid of this "business first" attitude, their product will continue to be seriously compromised. I know full well how good/. was before they owners sold it to the "business" folks.
- MS's poorly designed and implemented product is the primary cause we have a virus problem (80,000 + viruses at last count);
- first thing I see when I log onto/. are banner ads for MS product!
Doh, I forgot: Raking in cash is better than taking the high ground and considering one' s actions and behavior in the context of ethical social behavior.
Sheesh, not one mention in either the article header or the messages of what was probably the wildest, weirdest game of all time: Llamatron! *Beeyoooowwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaggghhhhhh I love youuuuuuu!*
I love that game. Minter is always good for something original that will make me laugh like a kid whilst getting my llama butt eaten by a frenzied burger.
Go Jeff Go!
Oy, now I gotta get that Atari ST emulator installed on my laptop and get the *tron. Man, you guys are cruel -- my schedule will be totally horked for the next week.
So the author of the article is irritated and instead of searching and finding the real source of his irritation he turns around and kicks the dog (Linux in this case.)
The GUI interface as it exists now is result of, what, 30+ years of research, experimentation and implementation? Why can't it get better? Here's a clue: the interface "bottleneck" is between the hardware and the wetware.
We'll get better/different user level interfaces when we get better better/different connectivity between the human and the machine.
You're assuming that what the law says is important (and it is) but the first question to ask, the more important question, is who has the deeper pockets.
Doesn't matter how much the law is in your favor if the other side can spend more than you can.
"These people will go to the lowest depths," said Cowles, of Bowling Green, Ohio.
I just loaded this Slashdot page and got an ad for a Microsoft product. So who is the lower, the spammer or the fool who sells out his principles for a quick buck (or in this case, probably a lot of bucks?)
Goodbye Slashdot, your credibility is gone. Hope the money was worth it.
...translates into some serious processing power, and it's a synergistic gain, not just an additive gain; it's possible that the combined abilities of multi-core chips will lead to some serious innovations in software design which is sorely needed as the advancement of software has lagged behind advancement in hardware in a big way. Indeed, it's the singular linearness of processors which have defined software development to date, so having processors with multiple core capabilities could lead to more capable software design and implementation.
Think systems on a chip vs. processors on a chip and the possibilities start poping up.
What's missing from Bollier's essay is the explanation of _why_ there is the push to wrap all commons in enclosure. It is implied that greed and selfishness are the motivating factors, but I suggest these two are not motivators but are instead the actions taken on behalf of a lower-level motivator; specifically, the human need to be and to be recognized as successful.
This leads to the question, "What values are used to determine success?" A corporate CEO who can look another CEO in the face and say, "My business made more money than yours did last quarter" is considered a success in our society even if the _true_ costs of his success are not reflected in the money he gathered via his business. This type of "success" is only possible when the measurement of success is made _only_ in currency.
The true, core problem is this: We've developed a economic system that only recognizes wealth when it can be measured in currency. The big problem with this is that the worth, or the value, of many things cannot be acurately measured in currency. In other words, wealth and currency are not the same thing. Traditionally, currency has been a symbolic function of wealth but we've seen the reversal of this; now currency is considered the wealth and what cannot be "currency valued" is considered worthless until such time as it can be valued in terms of currency.
When the _costs_ of doing business are measured only in currency, you see a similar warping of the concept of wealth. Who pays the cost of dirty air when car and truck manufacturers make the dirtiest engines they can get away with? Well, there is no cost to making dirty engines which foul the air because there is no currency valuation for dirty vs. clean air; clean air has no value in the market place because it has no currency value. Apply this same scenario to water, food, communications mediums, etc. and you start to see the scale of the damage done simply because certain things of tremendous value are not quickly and easily measured in terms of how many dollars they can fetch in the marketplace.
Another obvious problem with measuring wealth only in currency is that the intangibles which are part of the original wealth are usually stripped away, leaving only the husk of the original thing which is being currency-valued. Concepts are quick to be disgarded -- freedom, creativity, etc. -- simply because they cannot be given a currency value. So not only is the original wealth stripped away by the process of currency-valuation, but much of the fundamental wealth of the original thing -- the associated concepts -- is tossed out like so much distracting, annoying trash. Furthermore, in the process of currency-valuation of the original wealth, the process of marketing applies the concept of "least common denominator" and finally, in effect, renders what once was a item of wealth into the least valuable thing it can possibly be while still having currency value.
The argument used by the politicians and bureaucrats who give away the "commons" areas to business for commercial exploitation is this: the commons has no value until such time as it is being converted into currency (that is, profits for business.) If you don't believe it, go do some quick research and reading and you'll be quickly enlightened as to the supposed rational "reasoning" of our government when it comes to the public trust and anything which may be construed to be a "commons."
So we see the commercialization of _everything_ because that is the only way we as a society have come to measure wealth; in terms of our currency. I can't wait until I'm charged for the priviledge of breathing dirty, diesel-fume-reeking air, eating pesticide-poisoned food, drinking polluted water from the tap, seeing and hearing nothing but crap from commercialized media -- just so some ignorant asshole CEO can say aloud in his country club, "My business made more money than yours did last quarter."
Oh, wait, we're almost there! Any enterprising CEOs out there want to start charging us money for the act of breathing? Well, lucky us -- they just haven't yet figured out how to do that yet.
"I plead guilty to being a vicious serial spammer and occasional pud pounder because my genes make me do it and my mommy once spanked me for torturing the neighbor's pussy, er, cat and if you give me a break I know you'll always fondly remember that you didn't pass up on this really, really fabulous chance to win the cheapest insurance for your cheap Asian porn adventures in hot, steamy Borneo, courtesy of the owners of your new timeshare in Florida, where you can get cheap airline tickets to anywhere in the world and while there thank yourself for doing justice today. Thank you, your honor!"
"...(assuming this all takes place within U.S. jurisdiction)..."
Actually, I can see the Russian mafia folks wanting to get into this business. Get the legal stuff straight on this end, offer them a cut to get the bucks out of the hide of the Russian spammers. Might work in China too. If there's enough money in it, you might even get their governments involved for a cut of the pie. And if you're talking about really, really big money, the U.S. Congress might even want to get their fingers involved in solving the problem.
Hmm, well, if there were external forces pulling on the planet we'd see other similar effects throughout the side of the solar system we're currently floating through. Perhaps a small piece of blackhole material (wouldn't have to be very big at all) might be able to do this, but there would be effects on all the floaters (planets, asteroids, comets, etc.) in the solar system and such effects would be noticable pretty quick I'd think, but only if someone were looking for them.
That could really, really screw us up and for a long time too. Imagine if all those asteroids suddenly had their courses changed.
Bah, I'm blaming all this paranoia on too much diet coke, heh.
Well, two things. First, one day I was reading on/. and I was seeing a large number of negative posts, which resulted in the sig. I wanted to poke fun at all the negative posters and I have this love of the double entendre. Second, "suck" is a reference to the gravitational force which, if I remember correctly, manifests in all things with mass, so a more accurate sig might say "pulls" instead of sucks, but that would kill the double entendre.
Mark me down as a third "me too" on Bruce's "No." post.
Not only do I want to see the arguments, I want to see them debated openly, in detail, over a period of time. I'm extremely leary in light of the history of Western Civilization's legal systems' proclivity towards "embrace and extinguish" when it comes to freedoms: Wrap up the target in some seriously mangled language and then twist and turn (via precedent) until the target is dead.
MoritzMoeller-Her suggested an interesting compromise. Basically, Transgaming agrees to release versions under the LGPL after a years' time. This allows them the income to pay for their programmers and support staff and moves the code into the open after one year.
What do you think about this? I find it to be an interesting compromise.
I don't understand the reference you make to Vivendi, please explain.
Well, let's see. The one really big one that comes to mind is this company (maybe you've heard of it) called IBM. Database programs with support include Oracle, SAP and PostgreSQL (you can get support from them via contract if I remember correctly.) Same is true with MySQL, you can buy support from them directly. Basic Linux OS support can be purchased from most of the commercial distributions directly. You can also either retrain your current IT folks in Linux or, if they're too resistant, fire them and hire folks with more up-to-date skill sets.
There's plenty of support for Linux solutions, but just like anything else, you have to do some shopping and research.
The one thing you'll notice quickly about Linux is that once you're up and running, your _need_ for all that "service" you're used to with MS product dwindles to a trickle. It's one of the benefits of a really robust environment. There are a couple of links to TCO articles and Linux on the Linux Today site which you really should read if you're serious about considering Linux.
Concerning opensourse developers bidding on government-generated contracts, I don't know.
Slashdot Mirror
when writing large files -- most annoying. It's almost like my system locks up when doing the disk write.
Rumor has it that this particular problem goes away in 2.6 kernels. I really, really hope so.
Using a 2.4 kernel for now. (Hey SCO, see my middle finger?)
...the truth of this.
Time is a concept we impose on nature in order to order it (nature) to our understanding and utility: time "happens" when a human notices movement of objects. The natural universe has no need for measuring itself using the human perceptual concept we call "time."
In other words, nature doesn't use our concept of time, only we use our concept of time: it's a perceptual issue we humans impose on nature, not a state imposed on us by the natural universe.
Try this on for kicks: instead of using the word "time" replace it with the phrase "motion perceived and measured over distance." This is our human concept of time, in it's bare essence.
As for the paradoxen (heh), humans love to stumble over their own their own logics and words. Indeed, most human philosophers have excelled at defining reality and then stumbling over their own definitions.
The zen master knows the ineffability of the universe and is greatly aware how much his perceptions _alter_ what is real. This is true of all our means of perception, hence the instruments we build to extend our means of perception.
"...may not produce anything of note anymore, but they do appear to know how to..." be really, really annoying. Let me suggest that SCO (Caldera? SCOCAL!) would produce something of value if they just had an idea, ya know, a clue of what to do?
Here's a an idea from which SCOCAL can attempt to make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank ("Hey, get off my penguin you fat bastards!"):
The problem: I keep pop-ups "turned off" on my browser (Opera) because they are annoying and only occasionally useful, but that's the point I wish to emphasize -- they are occasionally useful but I have them turned off and that's a pain to change.
The answer: I want a little yellow (whatever color) tag window to pop up next to my mouse when I mouseover a link which is in fact a pop up; if I want the link, I click the tag next to my mouse and get the popup, but all other popups are still denied for the usual general purposes but do show a (very little) click tag next to my mouse when I roll over one.
There it is: a free, useful (emphasis on free) idea which SCOCAL can take to the bank. Did I mention free? It's so free an idea it's GPLed, right now, Fri Aug 1 00:12:49 MDT 2003!
Oh my! I was just informed that SCOCAL would want _me_ to create both the idea _and_ the code, then they, SCOCAL, would try to begin to make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank ("Hey, get off my penguin right now, you fat bastards!")
But wait, there's more: if and when they, SCOCAL, don't make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank from this free idea ("Hey, get off my penguin right now, you fat bastards!") they may become quite nasty about it and stomp and cry and and threaten and then sue ME if I decide to use some other company's mouse rollover tag instead of theirs because they, SCOCAL, are going to make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank ("Hey, get off my penguin right now, you fat bastards!") one way or another, regardless!
Well, poo on that idea! SCOCAL can just go _DO_ (note the emphasis on the word "DO", it's part of the clue) something else and when they finally make all the many millions they expected from riding Linux to the bank, they will finally be OFF MY PENGUIN!
non-anon
There ya go man, be as evasive as you can!
:) )
/. was before they owners sold it to the "business" folks.
Seriously though, justifying unethical behavior just because it's "business" is pure BS (that's bullshit, not to be confused with B.S. though many say there is a direct corelation between the two.
Thanks for the information about getting the subscription though, that was interesting and possibly useful provided I don't log in and see MicroShiite advertising for their latest attempt to cheat the fools and suckers of the world.
As for the great site -- it was, could be again, but until they get rid of this "business first" attitude, their product will continue to be seriously compromised. I know full well how good
Have a good one Mr. AC.
Ethically ironic isn't it:
/. are banner ads for MS product!
./ forgot too, eh?
- MS's poorly designed and implemented product is the primary cause we have a virus problem (80,000 + viruses at last count);
- first thing I see when I log onto
Doh, I forgot: Raking in cash is better than taking the high ground and considering one'
s actions and behavior in the context of ethical social behavior.
Guess
Wrong place, wrong question. Doh!
Sheesh, not one mention in either the article header or the messages of what was probably the wildest, weirdest game of all time: Llamatron! *Beeyoooowwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaggghhhhhh I love youuuuuuu!*
I love that game. Minter is always good for something original that will make me laugh like a kid whilst getting my llama butt eaten by a frenzied burger.
Go Jeff Go!
Oy, now I gotta get that Atari ST emulator installed on my laptop and get the *tron. Man, you guys are cruel -- my schedule will be totally horked for the next week.
fsck....
So the author of the article is irritated and instead of searching and finding the real source of his irritation he turns around and kicks the dog (Linux in this case.)
The GUI interface as it exists now is result of, what, 30+ years of research, experimentation and implementation? Why can't it get better? Here's a clue: the interface "bottleneck" is between the hardware and the wetware.
We'll get better/different user level interfaces when we get better better/different connectivity between the human and the machine.
You're assuming that what the law says is important (and it is) but the first question to ask, the more important question, is who has the deeper pockets.
Doesn't matter how much the law is in your favor if the other side can spend more than you can.
So where do I send my woman, when do I get her back and how long do the batteries last?
God, I love science. *gush*
#!/usr/bin/wish;puts stdout "Hello World!"
You can now rename your example to HELLO BLOAT!
"These people will go to the lowest depths," said Cowles, of Bowling Green, Ohio.
I just loaded this Slashdot page and got an ad for a Microsoft product. So who is the lower, the spammer or the fool who sells out his principles for a quick buck (or in this case, probably a lot of bucks?)
Goodbye Slashdot, your credibility is gone. Hope the money was worth it.
...translates into some serious processing power, and it's a synergistic gain, not just an additive gain; it's possible that the combined abilities of multi-core chips will lead to some serious innovations in software design which is sorely needed as the advancement of software has lagged behind advancement in hardware in a big way. Indeed, it's the singular linearness of processors which have defined software development to date, so having processors with multiple core capabilities could lead to more capable software design and implementation.
Think systems on a chip vs. processors on a chip and the possibilities start poping up.
Some applications might be:
- chemical analyzers for bonb detection, drug detection, polutant detection, purity analysis, etc.
- hydraulic applications such as you see in full scale in real life (a nano bulldozer, heh)
- steam engine applications maybe? Turn that AMD heat pig of yours into a small, closed-system electical generator
Anyway, I'm sure there are many more potential applications, but you get the idea.
What's missing from Bollier's essay is the explanation of _why_ there is the push to wrap all commons in enclosure. It is implied that greed and selfishness are the motivating factors, but I suggest these two are not motivators but are instead the actions taken on behalf of a lower-level motivator; specifically, the human need to be and to be recognized as successful.
This leads to the question, "What values are used to determine success?" A corporate CEO who can look another CEO in the face and say, "My business made more money than yours did last quarter" is considered a success in our society even if the _true_ costs of his success are not reflected in the money he gathered via his business. This type of "success" is only possible when the measurement of success is made _only_ in currency.
The true, core problem is this: We've developed a economic system that only recognizes wealth when it can be measured in currency. The big problem with this is that the worth, or the value, of many things cannot be acurately measured in currency. In other words, wealth and currency are not the same thing. Traditionally, currency has been a symbolic function of wealth but we've seen the reversal of this; now currency is considered the wealth and what cannot be "currency valued" is considered worthless until such time as it can be valued in terms of currency.
When the _costs_ of doing business are measured only in currency, you see a similar warping of the concept of wealth. Who pays the cost of dirty air when car and truck manufacturers make the dirtiest engines they can get away with? Well, there is no cost to making dirty engines which foul the air because there is no currency valuation for dirty vs. clean air; clean air has no value in the market place because it has no currency value. Apply this same scenario to water, food, communications mediums, etc. and you start to see the scale of the damage done simply because certain things of tremendous value are not quickly and easily measured in terms of how many dollars they can fetch in the marketplace.
Another obvious problem with measuring wealth only in currency is that the intangibles which are part of the original wealth are usually stripped away, leaving only the husk of the original thing which is being currency-valued. Concepts are quick to be disgarded -- freedom, creativity, etc. -- simply because they cannot be given a currency value. So not only is the original wealth stripped away by the process of currency-valuation, but much of the fundamental wealth of the original thing -- the associated concepts -- is tossed out like so much distracting, annoying trash. Furthermore, in the process of currency-valuation of the original wealth, the process of marketing applies the concept of "least common denominator" and finally, in effect, renders what once was a item of wealth into the least valuable thing it can possibly be while still having currency value.
The argument used by the politicians and bureaucrats who give away the "commons" areas to business for commercial exploitation is this: the commons has no value until such time as it is being converted into currency (that is, profits for business.) If you don't believe it, go do some quick research and reading and you'll be quickly enlightened as to the supposed rational "reasoning" of our government when it comes to the public trust and anything which may be construed to be a "commons."
So we see the commercialization of _everything_ because that is the only way we as a society have come to measure wealth; in terms of our currency. I can't wait until I'm charged for the priviledge of breathing dirty, diesel-fume-reeking air, eating pesticide-poisoned food, drinking polluted water from the tap, seeing and hearing nothing but crap from commercialized media -- just so some ignorant asshole CEO can say aloud in his country club, "My business made more money than yours did last quarter."
Oh, wait, we're almost there! Any enterprising CEOs out there want to start charging us money for the act of breathing? Well, lucky us -- they just haven't yet figured out how to do that yet.
May the heirs of humanity be so fortunate.
*grumble*
"I plead guilty to being a vicious serial spammer and occasional pud pounder because my genes make me do it and my mommy once spanked me for torturing the neighbor's pussy, er, cat and if you give me a break I know you'll always fondly remember that you didn't pass up on this really, really fabulous chance to win the cheapest insurance for your cheap Asian porn adventures in hot, steamy Borneo, courtesy of the owners of your new timeshare in Florida, where you can get cheap airline tickets to anywhere in the world and while there thank yourself for doing justice today. Thank you, your honor!"
Judge: *pound* Five million and five years!
"...(assuming this all takes place within U.S. jurisdiction)..."
Actually, I can see the Russian mafia folks wanting to get into this business. Get the legal stuff straight on this end, offer them a cut to get the bucks out of the hide of the Russian spammers. Might work in China too. If there's enough money in it, you might even get their governments involved for a cut of the pie. And if you're talking about really, really big money, the U.S. Congress might even want to get their fingers involved in solving the problem.
Okay, that last one is a stretch.
Hmm, well, if there were external forces pulling on the planet we'd see other similar effects throughout the side of the solar system we're currently floating through. Perhaps a small piece of blackhole material (wouldn't have to be very big at all) might be able to do this, but there would be effects on all the floaters (planets, asteroids, comets, etc.) in the solar system and such effects would be noticable pretty quick I'd think, but only if someone were looking for them.
That could really, really screw us up and for a long time too. Imagine if all those asteroids suddenly had their courses changed.
Bah, I'm blaming all this paranoia on too much diet coke, heh.
Hiya,
/. and I was seeing a large number of negative posts, which resulted in the sig. I wanted to poke fun at all the negative posters and I have this love of the double entendre. Second, "suck" is a reference to the gravitational force which, if I remember correctly, manifests in all things with mass, so a more accurate sig might say "pulls" instead of sucks, but that would kill the double entendre.
Well, two things. First, one day I was reading on
Thanks for the post though, was interesting.
Cheers,
Mark me down as a third "me too" on Bruce's "No." post.
Not only do I want to see the arguments, I want to see them debated openly, in detail, over a period of time. I'm extremely leary in light of the history of Western Civilization's legal systems' proclivity towards "embrace and extinguish" when it comes to freedoms: Wrap up the target in some seriously mangled language and then twist and turn (via precedent) until the target is dead.
Isn't that how snakes do it?
MoritzMoeller-Her suggested an interesting compromise. Basically, Transgaming agrees to release versions under the LGPL after a years' time. This allows them the income to pay for their programmers and support staff and moves the code into the open after one year.
What do you think about this? I find it to be an interesting compromise.
I don't understand the reference you make to Vivendi, please explain.
Thanks for the reply,
Well, let's see. The one really big one that comes to mind is this company (maybe you've heard of it) called IBM. Database programs with support include Oracle, SAP and PostgreSQL (you can get support from them via contract if I remember correctly.) Same is true with MySQL, you can buy support from them directly. Basic Linux OS support can be purchased from most of the commercial distributions directly. You can also either retrain your current IT folks in Linux or, if they're too resistant, fire them and hire folks with more up-to-date skill sets.
There's plenty of support for Linux solutions, but just like anything else, you have to do some shopping and research.
The one thing you'll notice quickly about Linux is that once you're up and running, your _need_ for all that "service" you're used to with MS product dwindles to a trickle. It's one of the benefits of a really robust environment. There are a couple of links to TCO articles and Linux on the Linux Today site which you really should read if you're serious about considering Linux.
Concerning opensourse developers bidding on government-generated contracts, I don't know.
Hope this helps,
"Recently I thought it might be neat to construct a water-cooled hat...something with fins and a fan to dissipate the excess heat.
:P )"
(Note: I work in a building without AC...it was 97 degrees in here yesterday when I came up with this brainstorm.
Dude, that's called a brainfart, not a brainstorm.
*comf*
to their webserver, it seems to need some serious help right about now.
The running score in the battle between Slashdotting and Webservers might look something like this:
Slashdot 4^12/Webservers 4