I think that this is one of those interesting questions that there is no good answer to. As technology and technique progresses, each of the concerns you've raised above may become obsolete, or more easily over come. Human memory concerns? A more intelligent interface may make this irrelevant, making it so you never again have to remember what button on your 1000 button remote does what. Screen sizes? What about abandoning screens for neural interfaces, optic nerve implants, VR glasses, etc? None of these things are hurdles that we can't get around. Technology only looks limited if you assume that we'll never develop better ideas.
Geek-grrl in training
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art hot, and sticky, and make me wish for a cold shower."
I would beg to differ... Most people think of it as a technology website, but it's not, it's "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters." And who gets elected president most certainly is going to matter to the nerds (read geeks, if you prefer it, as I do.) With all the technology based political decisions that are coming up, it's silly to say that politics has nothing to do with technology.
There are a dozen or more editoral asides posted every day, all of them CT's personal opinion on something. It's not a part of the story, it's just him voicing his opinion, which he has every right to do.
Geek-grrl in training
"Outlook Express is like buying an elephant to move a grain of sand, and then chopping its legs off because it's too big."
Intriguing, but a little off, as far as I recall my physics class. Air molecules get colder and colder at high altitudes, finally cooling down to the temperature of deep space at the edge of the atmosphere. Less pressure=colder for a gas. What causes the extreme heat of re-entry is the friction of air molecules sliding past an item moving at extremely high speeds, either because of motion relative to the earth, or simply because it's reaching terminal velocity. Things entering the earth's atmosphere at slower speeds don't necessarily burn up. Geek-grrl in training
Perhaps it's because of the low quality of Christian that seems to argue on Slashdot. I've seen some very well thought out, convincing or interesting arguments for the existence of god(dess), but, baby, these ain't them. We seem to attract the fundementalist types that are reduced to whining "but I have faith, so I must be right!". The tragic loss of Christianity is that is promoting faith, and shunning evolution, it has also generally denied its followers the benefit of good rhetorical training. At least Judaism has it's tradition of debate. Christianity has very little. Geek-grrl in training
"Religion is the opiate of the masses, but I prefer acid."
Not to rain on your (very valid) comment, but marijuana cultivation for intoxicant purposes involves separating the male and female portions of the plant. Oh wait, I guess they'll have to expunge this/. archive, I just gave out drug making info. Bummer. Geek-grrl in training.
How DARE you propose to cut me off from my chocolate fix!? Fascist punk!
(FYI, cocaine comes from the leaves of the COCA plant, spelled like Coca-Cola. Bombing the world's supply of cocoa will do a lot all right, you'll have an army of women over-running the White House with their bare hands. Hope you don't have a girlfriend.)
But all that aside, what on earth would make you think you have the right to bomb another nation when we're not at war with them? And what makes you the arbiter of education? Education is the passage of factual information from one person to another, not whatever you decide it's right for people to know. So you're saying that discussing criminal activities is not free speech? What about treason? That's a criminal activity. That's also what brought about the Revolutionary War. That's the kind of free speech that's protected. If everybody approved of it, it wouldn't need protection from people like you that are willing to say "I don't like it, and therefore it shouldn't be said." Geek-grrl in training
The article was not drafted for you to be able to defend YOUR home. Or I mine. That is a portion of it, but the original intent was that the freedom of the people to choose their own government not be infringed. In other words, for the combined weaponry of the populace to be such that the military could be defeated in a full on conflict. Note carefully: I am not referring to a small subset of the population, such as a paramilitary group. But if an entire country finds themselves under seige from their own government, as was the case at the time of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers intended that the populace be able to defend themselves from THAT threat. And that means defending, in this day and age, against nuclear weapons, bullet proof vests, fighter planes, and tanks. I also deplore violence, in all it's forms, and would be very happy indeed if all conflicts could be resolved by a nice rousing debate or a riddling contest. But this is an imperfect world, and rather than wringing my hands about the evil around me, I acknowledge that people (governments included) are weak and selfish, and I make steps to work around that. Accept your world and work to change it, don't tell me how it should be. Geek-grrl in training
I know plenty of people who can't walk by a reflective surface without stopping, and they seem to be fascinated by the Internet.:) It doesn't take a brain to enjoy the Internet, this has been empirically proved several million times. Geek-grrl
Some people will always have genetic advantages over others. Whether those advantages come from generations of your ancestors always marrying the richest, smartest handsomest people they could find, or from a little tweaking with a test tube, the results are the same. there is no reason why you can't demand more for your genetic advantages, chances are that your current salary is directly related to your intelligence and looks. (Yes, looks are still a hiring factor, no matter what anybody tells you. There are plenty of studies on it.) So accept the survival of the fittest, and cash your check, knowing that there is probably someone coming down the evolutionary line that is better than you. Geek-grrl in training
I stand corrected. I always get confused, because banana trees reproduce by cuttings, so I forget that those ARE actually fruit. Thanks for the correction.
Geek-grrl in training
Re:And the point of this "article" is?
on
Universal Access
·
· Score: 1
It seems that most technologically savvy people would prefer to keep the Net an elitist area. How many times have/.ers bitched about "those damned AO-Lusers"? There's this desire to be the keeper of the mysteries, to maintain our job security by ensuring that other people remain clueless.
So it's not necessarily the popular view, once you start thinking about it. It is, yet again, Katz's personal opinions, which may or may not agree with the majority of Slashdot. On the other hand, discounting the soapboxing, it's an interesting article, once you contemplate the consequences of such things. Geek-grrl in training
Plus it gives them a technologically savvy and primed pool of workers 10-20 years down the road. There is such a shortage of high tech workers that all the big companies (like HP) are pushing to get computers in schools and homes sheerly for the sake of having more workers available in the future. "If we can't get them with visas, we'll get them from the cradle!"
Not that they don't have some philanthropic views in mind, and it looks good for them, but there is definitely some healthy self-interest underlying it. Geek-grrl in training.
Read more Marx? Marx is all about the "caste" structure created by capitalism, and how it's impossible for the lower classes ("proletariat") to advance economically, because the bourgoisie(sp?) keep them down with the power of their money. He's pretty much quoting chapter and verse, with a liberal translation. Not that it's inappropriate, Marx had some very good points as to the nature of the system, it's just that his solution to the existing problem was more than a little half-assed.
I generally find that the mere threat of lint is enough to frighten off most navel forces. Although when you're a small fleshy cavity, you can't apply much force anyway...
Tubers are a vegetable, as is any part that a plant uses to reproduce other than ones created from the ovaries of a flower. Including bananas. That's a vegetable smoothie you're drinking, m'boy!
What, you didn't read Jon Katz's literary efforts? Not only do we have people, we have real honest to god Geeks(copyright 2000 by Jon Katz) in Idaho. If nothing else, Hewlett Packard has one of it's largest sites here, including a huge set of call centers, all with computers. Since HP has a reputation for trying to be green and boost the local economy, someone should propose that they take up potato powered computing at the HP site. it can't be any more unstable than the stinkin' Pavilions they're supplying half their employees. (No, I'm not bitter, why would you think I'm bitter?) Geek-Grrl in training (Idaho resident for 6 more days!!)
Potatoes generally run about 10 cents a pound or less, if you buy them in bulk. Since it looks like there's about 5 pounds of potatoes there, that works out to about 50 cents every few days. Not ultra-economical, but cheap enough that you could probably support it comfortably even you made minimum wage. And hey, if you throw the potatoes into a compost heap, you can grow more potatoes with them. Renewable power source!
No, no, no, you get your props from your peeps, and your pabst from your pimps, and then prance around your pool. Whaz up wid you, fool, you not know no proper English?:) Seriously, I was told it's short for "propers", as in proper respect, a la Aretha Franklin. 'Scuse me while I burst into song at my desk, I think it's time to terrify my coworkers once again.
The public wants highly trained lawyers to make decisions for them, so that they don't have to bother their little heads about it. All people bashing aside, you know that the only people who are going to vote in a poll like that are people with strong opinions or a vested interest. The whole point of a jury is to get a random sample of "unbiased", and fully informed people to represent the people, rather than a highly biased non-random sample of people with a smattering of uninformed people who just like to have opinions. So the people are basically saying that it's better to enforce law with people who know all the facts than people who don't. And this is A Good Thing(TM). Mob law is ugly.
Bravo!!! I wish I had moderator points, this is a bloody insightful comment if I've ever seen one. No person should be held liable for another's KNOWING stupidity.
Slashdot Mirror
One at least! But I'll probably be hiding in the corner bonding with my own male.
Geek-grrl in training
Oh, damn! This is pretty funny. Mod up for creativity and use of higher math for trolling purposes.
Geek-grrl in training
I think that this is one of those interesting questions that there is no good answer to. As technology and technique progresses, each of the concerns you've raised above may become obsolete, or more easily over come. Human memory concerns? A more intelligent interface may make this irrelevant, making it so you never again have to remember what button on your 1000 button remote does what. Screen sizes? What about abandoning screens for neural interfaces, optic nerve implants, VR glasses, etc? None of these things are hurdles that we can't get around. Technology only looks limited if you assume that we'll never develop better ideas.
Geek-grrl in training
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art hot, and sticky, and make me wish for a cold shower."
I would beg to differ... Most people think of it as a technology website, but it's not, it's "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters." And who gets elected president most certainly is going to matter to the nerds (read geeks, if you prefer it, as I do.) With all the technology based political decisions that are coming up, it's silly to say that politics has nothing to do with technology.
There are a dozen or more editoral asides posted every day, all of them CT's personal opinion on something. It's not a part of the story, it's just him voicing his opinion, which he has every right to do.
Geek-grrl in training
"Outlook Express is like buying an elephant to move a grain of sand, and then chopping its legs off because it's too big."
Intriguing, but a little off, as far as I recall my physics class. Air molecules get colder and colder at high altitudes, finally cooling down to the temperature of deep space at the edge of the atmosphere. Less pressure=colder for a gas. What causes the extreme heat of re-entry is the friction of air molecules sliding past an item moving at extremely high speeds, either because of motion relative to the earth, or simply because it's reaching terminal velocity. Things entering the earth's atmosphere at slower speeds don't necessarily burn up.
Geek-grrl in training
Perhaps it's because of the low quality of Christian that seems to argue on Slashdot. I've seen some very well thought out, convincing or interesting arguments for the existence of god(dess), but, baby, these ain't them. We seem to attract the fundementalist types that are reduced to whining "but I have faith, so I must be right!". The tragic loss of Christianity is that is promoting faith, and shunning evolution, it has also generally denied its followers the benefit of good rhetorical training. At least Judaism has it's tradition of debate. Christianity has very little.
Geek-grrl in training
"Religion is the opiate of the masses, but I prefer acid."
Not to rain on your (very valid) comment, but marijuana cultivation for intoxicant purposes involves separating the male and female portions of the plant. Oh wait, I guess they'll have to expunge this /. archive, I just gave out drug making info. Bummer.
Geek-grrl in training.
Actually, it's because caffeine dilates blood vessels in the head, which relieves a normal headache.
Geek-grrl in training
How DARE you propose to cut me off from my chocolate fix!? Fascist punk!
(FYI, cocaine comes from the leaves of the COCA plant, spelled like Coca-Cola. Bombing the world's supply of cocoa will do a lot all right, you'll have an army of women over-running the White House with their bare hands. Hope you don't have a girlfriend.)
But all that aside, what on earth would make you think you have the right to bomb another nation when we're not at war with them? And what makes you the arbiter of education? Education is the passage of factual information from one person to another, not whatever you decide it's right for people to know. So you're saying that discussing criminal activities is not free speech? What about treason? That's a criminal activity. That's also what brought about the Revolutionary War. That's the kind of free speech that's protected. If everybody approved of it, it wouldn't need protection from people like you that are willing to say "I don't like it, and therefore it shouldn't be said."
Geek-grrl in training
The article was not drafted for you to be able to defend YOUR home. Or I mine. That is a portion of it, but the original intent was that the freedom of the people to choose their own government not be infringed. In other words, for the combined weaponry of the populace to be such that the military could be defeated in a full on conflict. Note carefully: I am not referring to a small subset of the population, such as a paramilitary group. But if an entire country finds themselves under seige from their own government, as was the case at the time of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers intended that the populace be able to defend themselves from THAT threat. And that means defending, in this day and age, against nuclear weapons, bullet proof vests, fighter planes, and tanks.
I also deplore violence, in all it's forms, and would be very happy indeed if all conflicts could be resolved by a nice rousing debate or a riddling contest. But this is an imperfect world, and rather than wringing my hands about the evil around me, I acknowledge that people (governments included) are weak and selfish, and I make steps to work around that. Accept your world and work to change it, don't tell me how it should be.
Geek-grrl in training
How else are they going to have a firewall?
Geek-grrl in training
I know plenty of people who can't walk by a reflective surface without stopping, and they seem to be fascinated by the Internet. :) It doesn't take a brain to enjoy the Internet, this has been empirically proved several million times.
Geek-grrl
Some people will always have genetic advantages over others. Whether those advantages come from generations of your ancestors always marrying the richest, smartest handsomest people they could find, or from a little tweaking with a test tube, the results are the same. there is no reason why you can't demand more for your genetic advantages, chances are that your current salary is directly related to your intelligence and looks. (Yes, looks are still a hiring factor, no matter what anybody tells you. There are plenty of studies on it.) So accept the survival of the fittest, and cash your check, knowing that there is probably someone coming down the evolutionary line that is better than you.
Geek-grrl in training
I stand corrected. I always get confused, because banana trees reproduce by cuttings, so I forget that those ARE actually fruit. Thanks for the correction.
Geek-grrl in training
It seems that most technologically savvy people would prefer to keep the Net an elitist area. How many times have /.ers bitched about "those damned AO-Lusers"? There's this desire to be the keeper of the mysteries, to maintain our job security by ensuring that other people remain clueless.
So it's not necessarily the popular view, once you start thinking about it. It is, yet again, Katz's personal opinions, which may or may not agree with the majority of Slashdot. On the other hand, discounting the soapboxing, it's an interesting article, once you contemplate the consequences of such things.
Geek-grrl in training
Plus it gives them a technologically savvy and primed pool of workers 10-20 years down the road. There is such a shortage of high tech workers that all the big companies (like HP) are pushing to get computers in schools and homes sheerly for the sake of having more workers available in the future. "If we can't get them with visas, we'll get them from the cradle!"
Not that they don't have some philanthropic views in mind, and it looks good for them, but there is definitely some healthy self-interest underlying it.
Geek-grrl in training.
Read more Marx?
Marx is all about the "caste" structure created by capitalism, and how it's impossible for the lower classes ("proletariat") to advance economically, because the bourgoisie(sp?) keep them down with the power of their money. He's pretty much quoting chapter and verse, with a liberal translation. Not that it's inappropriate, Marx had some very good points as to the nature of the system, it's just that his solution to the existing problem was more than a little half-assed.
Geek-grrl in training.
I generally find that the mere threat of lint is enough to frighten off most navel forces. Although when you're a small fleshy cavity, you can't apply much force anyway...
Tubers are a vegetable, as is any part that a plant uses to reproduce other than ones created from the ovaries of a flower. Including bananas. That's a vegetable smoothie you're drinking, m'boy!
What, you didn't read Jon Katz's literary efforts? Not only do we have people, we have real honest to god Geeks(copyright 2000 by Jon Katz) in Idaho. If nothing else, Hewlett Packard has one of it's largest sites here, including a huge set of call centers, all with computers. Since HP has a reputation for trying to be green and boost the local economy, someone should propose that they take up potato powered computing at the HP site. it can't be any more unstable than the stinkin' Pavilions they're supplying half their employees. (No, I'm not bitter, why would you think I'm bitter?)
Geek-Grrl in training (Idaho resident for 6 more days!!)
Potatoes generally run about 10 cents a pound or less, if you buy them in bulk. Since it looks like there's about 5 pounds of potatoes there, that works out to about 50 cents every few days. Not ultra-economical, but cheap enough that you could probably support it comfortably even you made minimum wage. And hey, if you throw the potatoes into a compost heap, you can grow more potatoes with them. Renewable power source!
Geek-grrl in training
No, no, no, you get your props from your peeps, and your pabst from your pimps, and then prance around your pool. Whaz up wid you, fool, you not know no proper English? :)
Seriously, I was told it's short for "propers", as in proper respect, a la Aretha Franklin. 'Scuse me while I burst into song at my desk, I think it's time to terrify my coworkers once again.
With witty commentary like that, I'm sure you'll be surrounded with us in no time... :)
(Just had to mock you a little bit)
The public wants highly trained lawyers to make decisions for them, so that they don't have to bother their little heads about it.
All people bashing aside, you know that the only people who are going to vote in a poll like that are people with strong opinions or a vested interest. The whole point of a jury is to get a random sample of "unbiased", and fully informed people to represent the people, rather than a highly biased non-random sample of people with a smattering of uninformed people who just like to have opinions. So the people are basically saying that it's better to enforce law with people who know all the facts than people who don't. And this is A Good Thing(TM). Mob law is ugly.
Bravo!!! I wish I had moderator points, this is a bloody insightful comment if I've ever seen one.
No person should be held liable for another's KNOWING stupidity.