Hmmm... I must confess I did laugh a lot with these "letters".
Maybe, it might be a fun idea to open an anonymous slashsex.org section with an anonymous Users Secrets section?
That way we can all wonder how bizarre and freaky/strange/weird/pathetic/wonderful/sad./kinky/distasteful/unusual/funny/exotic(remove adjectives to your own liking) or the sex life of geeks is? We can truly be amazed by the variety, and maybe Kinsey can write a new report?
Maybe, just maybe...
The 1st time I read about this idea, was in a book from Bruce Sterling (which title I unfortunately can not remember - could be Islands in the Net or one of his short stories). I vaguely remember that William Gibson also mentioned floating data centers in a short story (sorry, must be the old age that prohibits my memory from spewing the titles: maybe I should start rereading? I am sure that some or other of you youngster geeks will find the relevant title:) ).
A more recent mention and variation on this idea, is from Peter F. Hamilton in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindstar_Rising, where they have huge floating factories (offshore for tax purposes:)) and space launching sites. Expanding on that idea, Hamilton even has the Evans corporation own space factories which have their own cybernetic data-cores.
It is a public secret that Page & Brin are still in charge of Google's executive ideas and experiments. Those ships prove that those guys read their portion of SF and sometimes try out a few of them. So how long before we see Google's first orbital data-center?
Seems to me that Kurzweil has been reading way too much Peter F Hamilton (specifically Night's Dawn trilogy & Pandora's star). Could someone please reset his OCtatoos?
0) Evaluate your location: cabling issues are easier to incorporate in old-style sloped auditoriums than in "flat" spaces (unless there is a crawling space underneath).
1) Use a network-strategy (either a UTP cabling system with small keypad devices containing a micro-system with a NIC or use one of the proven wireless systems).
2) a) Degign the hardware using the LCP-concept (Lowest Cost Possible). Enough cheap hardware with correct networking capabilities (even wireless) can be found nowadays. b) Ask around to see whether the device (i.e. keypad design) can be improved with small but basic functionalities that no one thought about before. Such as basic yes/no/maybe buttons (almost all PRS-systems seem to lack them). Or a "cancel previous answer-accept new answer instead for my ID" button. c) google around to see if you can find a very very environmentfriendly and cheap powersource. Combine with 2) a).
3) In case of a cabled solution: use routers and hubs who can stand the traffic. In case of a wireless solution: don't forget the bandwith-bottleneck problems (enough receivers).
4) Design your software so that: each clicker/keypad can only give 1 and 1 answer only to each given question. Use OSS db's which can handle data quickly. Postprocessing (data-analysis) can be done later, once all data has been collected. Use an OSS language to postprocess all the data (that way you are a) platform independent and b) you can easily blame evil companies for being to slow;-))
5) Find an OSS-friendly university to field-test, debug and patch the whole concept.
6) License it as GPL (or lGPL or any OSS-friendly licence concept) so that it will remain available at low cost to any & all educational institute (and no company may try to incorporate it into their capitalistic expansion schemes). Education should be available at the lowest cost possible. Right?
7) Choose a nice.org domain name, and share the whole works with the rest of the world. Some just might be grateful.
8) Make sure you have lots of free time to pull this off, or know people who are willing to spend their time.
9) Tell/. about the wonderful working result (but please don't show up again to tell us the idea was good but the implementation wasn't possible because...).
I have always been told that the kind of statistical researches of companies like Gartner have some point or other to make. But having read the summaries of this research, one can only wonder which conclussion they are trying to reach? (I once saw a university medical statistical study proving that people living in the country and owning no cars are likely to have a higher risk of colon cancer!)
On all the new PCs I have ever bought over the years, some windows flavour had been pre-installed. In more than half of the cases, it was reformatted and promptly replaced by a Linux flavour.
Thus: if pre-installed desktop linux pc's are treatening for MS-sales and encouraging windows piracy, is the opposite not true and can it therefore not be concluded that pre-installed desktop windows pc's are treatening to linux and encouraging linux piracy?;-)
Let's us conclude that this kind of statistical research is not conclussively written in numbers, but should rather be written with astrological starcharts!
"Account for domain modasylum.com has been suspended" is the cryptic message now appearing on the site. It thus appears that the site has either been hijacked by some uncanny aliens, or has been impounded by the CIA, the FBI, the NSA and the Home Security Dept for revealing Pres. Bush's equipment (in which case I'm wondering about his mouse;-))
However, what I wanted to say is the following: It isn't the first time that a site has been slashdotted to such an effect. In this case the number of hits were so extraordinary that the provider decided to close the site. I don't think this was the sitemakers' intention. Nor slashdot's. Or was it?
Isn't it time we start wondering about the ethics of showing mentioning certain sites? For example: some amateurs invent something new for fun. Due to the slashdot effect their allocated and paid for bandwith is drastically drained because some nerd or other thought this might be fun to mention on/. Is it not a good idea for the/.-team to quickly mirror the small sites so that, in the event of the site being./-ted, the authors at least have the pleasure of having their work, plan, initiative still shown (even though the price of./-fame is the closing of their account)?
In other words: does./ have an ethical responibility towards smalltime websites being shown?
Let's ponder on this for awhile...
MadMan -- What does a fish know about the water in which it swims all its life? (A. Einstein, Memoirs)
international staroffice
on
CeBIT Tidbits
·
· Score: 1
I suggest you try to buy one officially from a "local reseller" when you are not living in the US nor in Germany.
Peace & Long Life,
Explain the Star Office comment
on
CeBIT Tidbits
·
· Score: 1
Sorry... What I meant was that according to their websites and the people of StarOffice I spoke to, StarOffice only has customers and resellers in the US and Germany.
They were slightly amazed that in neighbouring Belgium there is a rather big German speaking community.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmmm... I must confess I did laugh a lot with these "letters".
Maybe, it might be a fun idea to open an anonymous slashsex.org section with an anonymous Users Secrets section?
That way we can all wonder how bizarre and freaky/strange/weird/pathetic/wonderful/sad./kinky/distasteful/unusual/funny/exotic(remove adjectives to your own liking) or the sex life of geeks is? We can truly be amazed by the variety, and maybe Kinsey can write a new report?
Maybe, just maybe...
Hi, Actually this idea is not new!
:) ). :)) and space launching sites. Expanding on that idea, Hamilton even has the Evans corporation own space factories which have their own cybernetic data-cores.
The 1st time I read about this idea, was in a book from Bruce Sterling (which title I unfortunately can not remember - could be Islands in the Net or one of his short stories). I vaguely remember that William Gibson also mentioned floating data centers in a short story (sorry, must be the old age that prohibits my memory from spewing the titles: maybe I should start rereading? I am sure that some or other of you youngster geeks will find the relevant title
A more recent mention and variation on this idea, is from Peter F. Hamilton in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindstar_Rising, where they have huge floating factories (offshore for tax purposes
It is a public secret that Page & Brin are still in charge of Google's executive ideas and experiments. Those ships prove that those guys read their portion of SF and sometimes try out a few of them. So how long before we see Google's first orbital data-center?
Seems to me that Kurzweil has been reading way too much Peter F Hamilton (specifically Night's Dawn trilogy & Pandora's star). Could someone please reset his OCtatoos?
10 Easy steps:
;-))
.org domain name, and share the whole works with the rest of the world. Some just might be grateful.
/. about the wonderful working result (but please don't show up again to tell us the idea was good but the implementation wasn't possible because...).
0) Evaluate your location: cabling issues are easier to incorporate in old-style sloped auditoriums than in "flat" spaces (unless there is a crawling space underneath).
1) Use a network-strategy (either a UTP cabling system with small keypad devices containing a micro-system with a NIC or use one of the proven wireless systems).
2) a) Degign the hardware using the LCP-concept (Lowest Cost Possible). Enough cheap hardware with correct networking capabilities (even wireless) can be found nowadays.
b) Ask around to see whether the device (i.e. keypad design) can be improved with small but basic functionalities that no one thought about before. Such as basic yes/no/maybe buttons (almost all PRS-systems seem to lack them). Or a "cancel previous answer-accept new answer instead for my ID" button.
c) google around to see if you can find a very very environmentfriendly and cheap powersource. Combine with 2) a).
3) In case of a cabled solution: use routers and hubs who can stand the traffic. In case of a wireless solution: don't forget the bandwith-bottleneck problems (enough receivers).
4) Design your software so that: each clicker/keypad can only give 1 and 1 answer only to each given question. Use OSS db's which can handle data quickly. Postprocessing (data-analysis) can be done later, once all data has been collected. Use an OSS language to postprocess all the data (that way you are a) platform independent and b) you can easily blame evil companies for being to slow
5) Find an OSS-friendly university to field-test, debug and patch the whole concept.
6) License it as GPL (or lGPL or any OSS-friendly licence concept) so that it will remain available at low cost to any & all educational institute (and no company may try to incorporate it into their capitalistic expansion schemes). Education should be available at the lowest cost possible. Right?
7) Choose a nice
8) Make sure you have lots of free time to pull this off, or know people who are willing to spend their time.
9) Tell
Have fun!
Don't know how it's for you around other parts of the world, but Belgian users are getting "Connection refused"!
:-D ./ for sainthood!
I've never thought to see that happen! Yezzzzzzz
I have always been told that the kind of statistical researches of companies like Gartner have some point or other to make. But having read the summaries of this research, one can only wonder which conclussion they are trying to reach? (I once saw a university medical statistical study proving that people living in the country and owning no cars are likely to have a higher risk of colon cancer!)
;-)
On all the new PCs I have ever bought over the years, some windows flavour had been pre-installed. In more than half of the cases, it was reformatted and promptly replaced by a Linux flavour.
Thus: if pre-installed desktop linux pc's are treatening for MS-sales and encouraging windows piracy, is the opposite not true and can it therefore not be concluded that pre-installed desktop windows pc's are treatening to linux and encouraging linux piracy?
Let's us conclude that this kind of statistical research is not conclussively written in numbers, but should rather be written with astrological starcharts!
"Account for domain modasylum.com has been suspended" is the cryptic message now appearing on the site. It thus appears that the site has either been hijacked by some uncanny aliens, or has been impounded by the CIA, the FBI, the NSA and the Home Security Dept for revealing Pres. Bush's equipment (in which case I'm wondering about his mouse ;-))
/. Is it not a good idea for the /.-team to quickly mirror the small sites so that, in the event of the site being ./-ted, the authors at least have the pleasure of having their work, plan, initiative still shown (even though the price of ./-fame is the closing of their account)?
./ have an ethical responibility towards smalltime websites being shown?
However, what I wanted to say is the following:
It isn't the first time that a site has been slashdotted to such an effect. In this case the number of hits were so extraordinary that the provider decided to close the site.
I don't think this was the sitemakers' intention. Nor slashdot's. Or was it?
Isn't it time we start wondering about the ethics of showing mentioning certain sites?
For example: some amateurs invent something new for fun. Due to the slashdot effect their allocated and paid for bandwith is drastically drained because some nerd or other thought this might be fun to mention on
In other words: does
Let's ponder on this for awhile...
MadMan
--
What does a fish know about the water in which it swims all its life? (A. Einstein, Memoirs)
I suggest you try to buy one officially from a "local reseller" when you are not living in the US nor in Germany.
Peace & Long Life,
Sorry... What I meant was that according to their websites and the people of StarOffice I spoke to, StarOffice only has customers and resellers in the US and Germany.
They were slightly amazed that in neighbouring Belgium there is a rather big German speaking community.
Peace & Long Life,
It amazes me: I have seen a lot of suggested (and imvho quite excellent) reading material, but no online stuff.
On the brink of sounding like a spam, when you have the time just take a look at
the Unix Gurus Universe
http://www.ugu.com
that's my two E=0.1 (0.1 euro)