Why do you want to terraform Mars? "Because it's there"? We are not dealing very well with the Earth. Leave Mars for future generations. This pioneer spirit is dangerous. --
I am too lazy to find references but I will include: - The first computer virus. Self-replicating code that goes memely from program to program. Or was it from disk to disk? Was it inspired by Core Wars or independent? It had to be very tight. It was not useful but... I second that RTM worm as well. - Von Neumann architecture, I mean stored program instead of hardcoded. The program is data. - The process (first in Algol, Pascal?) by which you program a minimal compiler in assembler, and, from then on, you code the compiler in the high level language until you have it full.
Nikolai Bezroukov's article in First Monday, unfortunately, adds almost nothing useful to the debate. Instead, Mr. Bezroukov has constructed a straw man he calls "vulgar Raymondism" which bears so little resemblance to the actual content of my writings and talks that I have to question whether he has actually studied the work he is attacking. If "vulgar Raymondism" existed, I would be its harshest critic
"Quiche"? I am not versed in "the game" but how is "quiche" interesting for Echelon.
I'd bet words like }:-) : Semtex, sarin, Falung Gong, militia, lockheed, Air Force One, Republic, Monarchy, amonal, Quebecois, secession, Fatah, Bin Laden, Zhirinovskiy, Odessa, Makarios, Janata, Sikh, Stinger, Patriot, Egypt Air, would be but "quiche"? --
What really scares me is the huge amount of money, attention and brains that go onto military research.
And don't tell me that "if it weren't for the X millions invested in military research, we wouldn't have mobile phones, or the Internet, or whatever as a spin-off". Just imagine what kind of phones, Internet or whatever we would have if the money had gone straight into civil research (or be kept in our pockets).
We all are behaving like it won't happen but a big earthquake will strike California. It will at least indirectly affect Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles,...
Imaging the consequences for local, USA, Mexican and world economies and societies. --
It's not my field but I read somewhere a calculation showing that, even if we get the moral courage to do it, attempting to reduce significatively the incidence of undesired genetical characteristics by Nazi-style sterilization, simply doesn't work unless in a very very long term (centuries for the half).
Can somebody post that piece of office folklore that goes "Would you abort a foetus that will suffer deafness, and such and will be born in such a horrible family [...]" and ends "You have killed Beethoven."
But we are starting to depend on highly unreliably systems.
What if you use a Hotmail or other free account to receive "important mail"?
What if a page showing say stock quotes or temperatures is altered? Maybe not you and me but there are people who are leaving some decissions to systems this unreliable.
How is it that to run an OS designed by a Finn on hardware (monitor, diskette) made in Taiwan using Japanese technology, you measure it in _inches_? --
I once read that the Soviets knew that the inner measures of computer boards were based around inches. So they instead of using metric or Imperial, created the "metric inch"= 25'4 millimeters exactly. Then Soviet clones were like rest-of-the-world's but the parts weren't interchangeable.
The pieces about mental structures (I am still in day 1) remind me of the mutant superchildren in Nacy Kress' "Beggars in Spain". This is, I have the same difficulties to map their descriptions to my personal experience.
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I imagine that designing patterns for this will become a hobby as extended as designing "skins" for some program is now.
That's why Bill Gates is getting the rights for so many images. Uhm.
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Why do you want to terraform Mars? "Because it's there"?
We are not dealing very well with the Earth. Leave Mars for future generations.
This pioneer spirit is dangerous.
--
They also used Basque, and other Indian languages. It was something like Monday Navajo, Tuesday Basque,...
Isn't it?
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I am too lazy to find references but I will include:
- The first computer virus. Self-replicating code that goes memely from program to program. Or was it from disk to disk? Was it inspired by Core Wars or independent? It had to be very tight. It was not useful but...
I second that RTM worm as well.
- Von Neumann architecture, I mean stored program instead of hardcoded. The program is data.
- The process (first in Algol, Pascal?) by which you program a minimal compiler in assembler, and, from then on, you code the compiler in the high level language until you have it full.
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Be conscious that by contributing to this question, you are helping the Canadian army, as in "kill".
So if later Canadian troops walk into your country or your Quebecuois friend's house, you know whom to thank (marginally)?
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Robert X Cringely says Why the Internet Exemption From Taxes is Not Entirely a Good Thing.
He warns that it will lead to include an "Internet transaction" in your supermarket buy.
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"Operating System" is what Operating System makers deliver.
The concept varies widely with time. In a time, the disk system was not part of the OS. In some OSes, the graphic system or the communications is.
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Think of a wonderful open-source product that is fully documented in Chinese or worst, in Chinese pidgin English.
Would you profit of it? Would they profit of your contributions?
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"Quiche"?
I am not versed in "the game" but how is "quiche" interesting for Echelon.
I'd bet words like }:-) : Semtex, sarin, Falung Gong, militia, lockheed, Air Force One, Republic, Monarchy, amonal, Quebecois, secession, Fatah, Bin Laden, Zhirinovskiy, Odessa, Makarios, Janata, Sikh, Stinger, Patriot, Egypt Air, would be but "quiche"?
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What really scares me is the huge amount of money, attention and brains that go onto military research.
And don't tell me that "if it weren't for the X millions invested in military research, we wouldn't have mobile phones, or the Internet, or whatever as a spin-off". Just imagine what kind of phones, Internet or whatever we would have if the money had gone straight into civil research (or be kept in our pockets).
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You wouldn't say that a century ago. You won't say that in a century.
Goes with the country. Try to find a subtitled film in a medium-sized Spanish town. Try to find a non-English nor Spanish dubbed film.
The languages. But it's quite probably we'll switch to some form of Chinese.
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You may check .nu and .to NICs.
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2035: Entire Amazon basin becomes a secured "green zone." No human can come in or out without permission from Amazon zone police.
That will have to deal with the Indians, or the poor Brazilians that killed them.
I remember reading here that the jungle is not so important for world oxygen. Production and consumption are balanced.
But it could be interesting because of bio-diversity. Expect it privatised.
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We all are behaving like it won't happen but a big earthquake will strike California. It will at least indirectly affect Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles,...
Imaging the consequences for local, USA, Mexican and world economies and societies.
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What if it learns to mimick Windows 95?
(Bad influences and all that)
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It's not my field but I read somewhere a calculation showing that, even if we get the moral courage to do it, attempting to reduce significatively the incidence of undesired genetical characteristics by Nazi-style sterilization, simply doesn't work unless in a very very long term (centuries for the half).
Sorry I can not provide references.
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Has somebody else noticed that there is a mention to "Open Software"?
Does it mean to avoid a mention of source code or just to avoid a TM sign that could give some corporate prestige to Linux?
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Can somebody post that piece of office folklore that goes "Would you abort a foetus that will suffer deafness, and such and will be born in such a horrible family [...]" and ends "You have killed Beethoven."
Is it historically true?
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But we are starting to depend on highly unreliably systems.
What if you use a Hotmail or other free account to receive "important mail"?
What if a page showing say stock quotes or temperatures is altered? Maybe not you and me but there are people who are leaving some decissions to systems this unreliable.
Not life or death (by now).
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How is it that to run an OS designed by a Finn on hardware (monitor, diskette) made in Taiwan using Japanese technology, you measure it in _inches_?
--
I once read that the Soviets knew that the inner measures of computer boards were based around inches. So they instead of using metric or Imperial, created the "metric inch"= 25'4 millimeters exactly. Then Soviet clones were like rest-of-the-world's but the parts weren't interchangeable.
How many verstas did the Sputnik go misguided?
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Since Imperial units are so much better than metric, would you support substituting US dollars and cents by pounds, shilling and pennies?
How many guineas rich is Bill Gates?
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The pieces about mental structures (I am still in day 1) remind me of the mutant superchildren in Nacy Kress' "Beggars in Spain". This is, I have the same difficulties to map their descriptions to my personal experience.
I guess I'm a mere packer/sleeper.
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Hum. Watch what you wrote after "uses the phrase".
:) )
You should be fined. Or lapidated (as in "Life of Brian")
(I love self reference