Well, for Inkscape we at Slashdot just take a small percentage of the purchase price for every copy shipped; maybe we could work out a similar deal for your product -- what it is? This works best if your product is high-quality open-source software;)
One of the coolest things about Inkscape is that it does a good job of converting bitmapped images to vectors, which is especially nice if you want to combine source elements created in a raster-art program at wildly different scales. This capability is found in other software, I know, but Inkscape makes it relatively simple and (at least if you're going to use the results *in* Inkscape) saves some steps.
This is also a fun way to decompose images into constituent color layers, separate them, and then play with the resulting layers -- cool high-contrast results sometimes in combining just 2 or 3 of the resulting layers.
Inkscape is one of the handful of apps (along with The GIMP, Firefox, OpenOffice, and some others that could round out a nice top-10 or top-20) that together make up a good base set of software that's more than good enough for most people's computerizing needs. (And, in keeping with that idea, it's included in the defaults for many distros, which is appropriate.)
What's funny is how limited / limiting the default software set is on Windows (a bit better on Mac OS X, but still falls short), if you're used to the kind of apps that come with a typical Linux distro, or are available for instant free download. The GIMP is not PhotoShop (you know how you can tell? You don't have to keep buying it each month... ), and Inkscape is not Illustrator (ditto), but they're both *good,* and mean you / the 900 students in the school down the street / etc. can be playing with and using them now, for free, forever.
No one can make anyone care about this or much of anything, but quality open-source / Free software has a lot of person-hours behind it, and its worth celebrating, especially when the releases are separated by such a long time.
Serious answer for a question I suspect is pure troll, but Hey, it's my day off, and everyone needs a hobby;)
There are ads on Slashdot (they're easy to spot, and they are what keep the lights on), but Nah -- this is just a topic of interest. Or, if there's a conspiracy of the kind you'd like, no one is in on it, which means... there isn't;)
But perhaps if this were a Michael Mann film, there would be.
Hey, that seems a fine way to finance space exploration -- why not? No need to replace -- just supplement. I like voluntary taxation; if the celebrities sign up in advance, it would be great for them to get naming rights, too. Imagine The Yellow Submarine, with the eventual remains (or portion thereof) of Paul McCartney, say.
No contradiction, though -- commercial purpose is a great way to get some pure science.
All you really need to know is the claim that it "can detect lies with 75% accuracy."
Nope; sorry, that's just *not* what polygraphs do; conflating "is stressed" or "showing a marked difference in measured body responses" with "is lying" is exactly the problem, no matter how accurate are the sensors.
Everyone should read (it's free!) The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. Subtract agenda as necessary, but don't ignore the meat of it: https://antipolygraph.org/lie-...
Naming even the view above I know has the disadvantage of seeding the discussion, so I tried to emphasize that the above list is purely illustrative, just a jumping-off point -- more of a scratchpad than a ballot. Seriously, more names in the hat is good, even if (especially if) the ones named are for whatever reason are outside the usual Slashdot Zeitgeist. Slashdot is always a weird mix of contrarianism, iconoclasm, and conformity.
Nominate Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and explain your reasoning!
(I am not kidding. In fact, call it THE INTERVIEW II: HAVANA GILA MONSTER" and make frequent in-joke references to the previous one, even though -- especially because! -- nearly no one has seen it.)
You might not agree with the author / his conclusions, but the "wild west" myth has a lot of myth to it. (Yes, many people were armed, but armed chaos certainly didn't prevail...)
But since people live in a wide variety of circumstances, with enough people to think about even minorities (let's say "people who can afford a smartphone and are actually in the market for a new one" in India) can be very significant, and it's not blocking. Lots of people have no indoor plumbing, but do have at least shared access to a cellphone.
"with everything in reverse again after your flight..."
At least *so far* they seem to let me off the plane and out of the pretend-it's-secured area without additional groping, so at least that part's only once per direction of travel;) (Except at some airports, like Phoenix, where a terminal change can make you go back through the pretend security.)
It sounds tempting as an explanation for their famous flops, like the Fire phone -- they pushed it on the front site of their giant e-commerce / do-everything site (I bet Amazon is a lot of people's homepage or startup tab set), so how could it fail, even if it barely succeeded? But plenty of companies have flops (I assume most, but then, I'm thinking of some high-end companies for which I can't think of any universally panned *products,* price aside, like Rolex... are there any terrible Rolex watches?), and Amazon's made some awesome ones, too. I did not expect to like it nearly as much as I do, but my e-ink Kindle is pretty amazing to me, for instance. (On the other hand, the color tablets seem fine for some people's use and mindset, but I find them very unappealing for being so far from stock Android, lacking Google Play, etc.)
I am so far more curious than cynical about the Echo; plenty of room to reject it, but I'm trying to let the cool possibilities balance it out until I at least see one in person. I don't think it's yet time to label it a flop. That time may be *close* (we'll see!), but it isn't *yet.* I think an audio search appliance is a neat idea. Will they make it more Kindle Fire (OK, useful, just not ideal, and stretchable https://www.youtube.com/watch?..., http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tec...) or more Fire Phone (cool cameras, but.... otherwise, oy).
If the products suck, then all the ads in the world can't make them otherwise. If they're good, really good, or great, though, the ads won't hurt;)
Huh -- I've always heard it translated as "The Base" (which is also what Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...); I think there was an SNL episode in which GW Bush referred to his "base" as his "al-quaeda," which I thought was a clever language joke...
My dad does not always seem to grasp the concept of fast food, at least not the part of the process that takes place at ordering time. He arrives at the front of the line as if to a new planet, one filled with wonder, and choices beyond numbering. He looks at the menu as if for the first time, asks many questions, then retracts orders, revises with new ones, makes requests about customizing each thing ordered, then tacks on more items or changes. At a kiosk? Endless new joys, and menus to explore menus!
What I'd like to see is a FIFO system where people who are behind, say, my dad, can order with an app on their own phone or tablet, and if their order is ready, it starts getting made.
At least there are no current / recent worries what might make someone want to call 911...
Actually, it's an interesting question -- just what is the threshold? Suspected ebola vomit? Suspicious bag on suburban street? Seems like it would be a very easy system to game, or even to unintentionally render useless. Takes a lot of goodwill and good behavior, all around.
I took a CPR class last night, and the instructor (a firefighter in his dayjob) basically encouraged people to use 911 more, even for things about which the caller might be on the fence. "We'll sort it out. Don't call about your kid's math homework, but don't *not* call because you're not sure it's serious enough" was the gist.
I've called 911 quite a few times, or asked others to (hypothermia case, guy on railroad tracks, gun shots, more gunshots, drunk drivers, etc), now I wonder what the mean / mode is for that;)
... to do all that pre-flight ignored nonsense before even boarding the plane, by video? Have it online when you buy a ticket. Have a kiosk at the airport for anyone who's still interested because they didn't buy their tickets online, haven't heard the same instructions enough times before to have it seared into their unconsciousness, or are just nervous flyers.
Maybe follow up with "If you'd like to know even more excruciating detail and see the scary pictures, check out the seat pocket in front of you, once you have boarded the plane and taken your seat. If you have further questions, please ask your flight attendants, who would be happy to show you how to buckle a seatbelt, explain what an "arrow" is, teach you how to read, etc."
I imagine that 12,000 years from now, when flights are routine between Earth and fully-terraformed Mars and up-and-comer Venus, there will still be an announcement that says "Please note that all flights on Morbo Express transportation, including interplanetary, are no-smoking. It is a violation of Federation law to punishable by being ejected into the cold vacuum of space to tamper with or destroy smoke detecting equipment in the lavatories. We care about your safety, but the cold vacuum of space does not." Even if no one has even tried to smoke on a plane in hundreds of generations. (The announcements on U.S. flights are so strange... can't they just put a big "No smoking sign" on the entrance to the plane, and douse anyone who tries to light up? I am *not* saying I favor smoking on planes, I'm just saying the strange protocol about announcing it is bizarre and anachronistic. Matches and most* lighters are banned anyhow;)) It would be like noting that hijacking is *still* illegal at the beginning of every flight.
* I think there are still some kinds of lighters you can bring on, like a zippo style with no fuel, but perhaps I'm way behind on that.
I think it was raised to 37 or 38 a few years back. (Second-hand knowledge from a friend who was interested and already over 35; FBI didn't work out, but State Department did...)
Anyone who wants to is free to get in touch with our advertising department to buy advertising (including free software or hardware projects), and advertising is what keeps Slashdot alive / pays for lights and servers, etc. So we like advertising, for that reason at least, but that's quite separate from the editorial department, despite some feverish imaginings otherwise.
We just like to find things we think are interesting on the internet, and suited to Slashdot -- the bulk of which comes through the Slashdot submissions system. Open source hardware projects are high on my list of interesting stuff. Hard to convince someone determined to believe othewise, I know, but that's how it works. We do have plenty of advertising (ahem), but it's all pretty obvious.
Horses for courses, but at least sometimes there are some opportunities for homeowners to do the last-mile stufff, and contract an upstream provider... we've had a few examples on Slashdot that are at least in the same (so to speak) neighborhood; here's one -- http://ask.slashdot.org/story/...
I took the submitter's words to mean something more like this, though: "You have a perfect right to free speech, but here's a reminder that it can land you in trouble in unanticipated or unfair ways."
Do you have a particular seller to recommend? I've been slowly replacing the bulbs in my house with LED ones instead, buying on the low end of the price range in brick & mortar stores. For some reason, I still trust Amazon far more than I do eBay when it comes to dealing with errors or disappointing products, but a lot of cool things are on eBay and not Amazon.
So: do you have favoritess? Model numbers to search for?
For a multi-purpose / general purpose tablet, I agree.
I bought a used Kindle Paperwhite, though, and I find it's a very neat device. Even as extra weight (7 or 8 ounces?) on a trip by plane, it's been good to have along, even with a Nexus 7 in the same bag. I can read a book on either, but the Kindle a) has a crazy-long battery life, saving the other device for things like checking Google Maps on the other side of the trip, and b) is easier to hold.
I intended to use it only for free / out-of-copyright stuff, but I have definitely been drawn into the web, just a bit, and recently bought several books that way. Easy to rationalize;) (Esp. when Neal Stephenson books go on $2 sale...)
Slashdot Mirror
Well, for Inkscape we at Slashdot just take a small percentage of the purchase price for every copy shipped; maybe we could work out a similar deal for your product -- what it is? This works best if your product is high-quality open-source software ;)
One of the coolest things about Inkscape is that it does a good job of converting bitmapped images to vectors, which is especially nice if you want to combine source elements created in a raster-art program at wildly different scales. This capability is found in other software, I know, but Inkscape makes it relatively simple and (at least if you're going to use the results *in* Inkscape) saves some steps.
This is also a fun way to decompose images into constituent color layers, separate them, and then play with the resulting layers -- cool high-contrast results sometimes in combining just 2 or 3 of the resulting layers.
Inkscape is one of the handful of apps (along with The GIMP, Firefox, OpenOffice, and some others that could round out a nice top-10 or top-20) that together make up a good base set of software that's more than good enough for most people's computerizing needs. (And, in keeping with that idea, it's included in the defaults for many distros, which is appropriate.)
What's funny is how limited / limiting the default software set is on Windows (a bit better on Mac OS X, but still falls short), if you're used to the kind of apps that come with a typical Linux distro, or are available for instant free download. The GIMP is not PhotoShop (you know how you can tell? You don't have to keep buying it each month ... ), and Inkscape is not Illustrator (ditto), but they're both *good,* and mean you / the 900 students in the school down the street / etc. can be playing with and using them now, for free, forever.
No one can make anyone care about this or much of anything, but quality open-source / Free software has a lot of person-hours behind it, and its worth celebrating, especially when the releases are separated by such a long time.
Serious answer for a question I suspect is pure troll, but Hey, it's my day off, and everyone needs a hobby ;)
Advertisement? Nah.
There are ads on Slashdot (they're easy to spot, and they are what keep the lights on), but Nah -- this is just a topic of interest. Or, if there's a conspiracy of the kind you'd like, no one is in on it, which means ... there isn't ;)
But perhaps if this were a Michael Mann film, there would be.
Hey, that seems a fine way to finance space exploration -- why not? No need to replace -- just supplement. I like voluntary taxation; if the celebrities sign up in advance, it would be great for them to get naming rights, too. Imagine The Yellow Submarine, with the eventual remains (or portion thereof) of Paul McCartney, say.
No contradiction, though -- commercial purpose is a great way to get some pure science.
All you really need to know is the claim that it "can detect lies with 75% accuracy."
Nope; sorry, that's just *not* what polygraphs do; conflating "is stressed" or "showing a marked difference in measured body responses" with "is lying" is exactly the problem, no matter how accurate are the sensors.
Everyone should read (it's free!) The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. Subtract agenda as necessary, but don't ignore the meat of it: https://antipolygraph.org/lie-...
Naming even the view above I know has the disadvantage of seeding the discussion, so I tried to emphasize that the above list is purely illustrative, just a jumping-off point -- more of a scratchpad than a ballot. Seriously, more names in the hat is good, even if (especially if) the ones named are for whatever reason are outside the usual Slashdot Zeitgeist. Slashdot is always a weird mix of contrarianism, iconoclasm, and conformity.
Nominate Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and explain your reasoning!
It takes only as much effort as any other post :)
if it lasts more than 4 hours.
- so that it's set in Cuba instead.
(I am not kidding. In fact, call it THE INTERVIEW II: HAVANA GILA MONSTER" and make frequent in-joke references to the previous one, even though -- especially because! -- nearly no one has seen it.)
But this time, assassinate Castro, instead.
Food for thought about the "old West, where everyone had a gun": http://jim.com/wild_west.htm
You might not agree with the author / his conclusions, but the "wild west" myth has a lot of myth to it. (Yes, many people were armed, but armed chaos certainly didn't prevail ...)
But since people live in a wide variety of circumstances, with enough people to think about even minorities (let's say "people who can afford a smartphone and are actually in the market for a new one" in India) can be very significant, and it's not blocking. Lots of people have no indoor plumbing, but do have at least shared access to a cellphone.
"with everything in reverse again after your flight..."
At least *so far* they seem to let me off the plane and out of the pretend-it's-secured area without additional groping, so at least that part's only once per direction of travel ;) (Except at some airports, like Phoenix, where a terminal change can make you go back through the pretend security.)
It sounds tempting as an explanation for their famous flops, like the Fire phone -- they pushed it on the front site of their giant e-commerce / do-everything site (I bet Amazon is a lot of people's homepage or startup tab set), so how could it fail, even if it barely succeeded? But plenty of companies have flops (I assume most, but then, I'm thinking of some high-end companies for which I can't think of any universally panned *products,* price aside, like Rolex ... are there any terrible Rolex watches?), and Amazon's made some awesome ones, too. I did not expect to like it nearly as much as I do, but my e-ink Kindle is pretty amazing to me, for instance. (On the other hand, the color tablets seem fine for some people's use and mindset, but I find them very unappealing for being so far from stock Android, lacking Google Play, etc.)
I am so far more curious than cynical about the Echo; plenty of room to reject it, but I'm trying to let the cool possibilities balance it out until I at least see one in person. I don't think it's yet time to label it a flop. That time may be *close* (we'll see!), but it isn't *yet.* I think an audio search appliance is a neat idea. Will they make it more Kindle Fire (OK, useful, just not ideal, and stretchable https://www.youtube.com/watch?..., http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tec...) or more Fire Phone (cool cameras, but .... otherwise, oy).
If the products suck, then all the ads in the world can't make them otherwise. If they're good, really good, or great, though, the ads won't hurt ;)
Huh -- I've always heard it translated as "The Base" (which is also what Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A...); I think there was an SNL episode in which GW Bush referred to his "base" as his "al-quaeda," which I thought was a clever language joke ...
My dad does not always seem to grasp the concept of fast food, at least not the part of the process that takes place at ordering time. He arrives at the front of the line as if to a new planet, one filled with wonder, and choices beyond numbering. He looks at the menu as if for the first time, asks many questions, then retracts orders, revises with new ones, makes requests about customizing each thing ordered, then tacks on more items or changes. At a kiosk? Endless new joys, and menus to explore menus!
What I'd like to see is a FIFO system where people who are behind, say, my dad, can order with an app on their own phone or tablet, and if their order is ready, it starts getting made.
At least there are no current / recent worries what might make someone want to call 911 ...
Actually, it's an interesting question -- just what is the threshold? Suspected ebola vomit? Suspicious bag on suburban street? Seems like it would be a very easy system to game, or even to unintentionally render useless. Takes a lot of goodwill and good behavior, all around.
I took a CPR class last night, and the instructor (a firefighter in his dayjob) basically encouraged people to use 911 more, even for things about which the caller might be on the fence. "We'll sort it out. Don't call about your kid's math homework, but don't *not* call because you're not sure it's serious enough" was the gist.
I've called 911 quite a few times, or asked others to (hypothermia case, guy on railroad tracks, gun shots, more gunshots, drunk drivers, etc), now I wonder what the mean / mode is for that ;)
... to do all that pre-flight ignored nonsense before even boarding the plane, by video? Have it online when you buy a ticket. Have a kiosk at the airport for anyone who's still interested because they didn't buy their tickets online, haven't heard the same instructions enough times before to have it seared into their unconsciousness, or are just nervous flyers.
Maybe follow up with "If you'd like to know even more excruciating detail and see the scary pictures, check out the seat pocket in front of you, once you have boarded the plane and taken your seat. If you have further questions, please ask your flight attendants, who would be happy to show you how to buckle a seatbelt, explain what an "arrow" is, teach you how to read, etc."
I imagine that 12,000 years from now, when flights are routine between Earth and fully-terraformed Mars and up-and-comer Venus, there will still be an announcement that says "Please note that all flights on Morbo Express transportation, including interplanetary, are no-smoking. It is a violation of Federation law to punishable by being ejected into the cold vacuum of space to tamper with or destroy smoke detecting equipment in the lavatories. We care about your safety, but the cold vacuum of space does not." Even if no one has even tried to smoke on a plane in hundreds of generations. (The announcements on U.S. flights are so strange ... can't they just put a big "No smoking sign" on the entrance to the plane, and douse anyone who tries to light up? I am *not* saying I favor smoking on planes, I'm just saying the strange protocol about announcing it is bizarre and anachronistic. Matches and most* lighters are banned anyhow ;)) It would be like noting that hijacking is *still* illegal at the beginning of every flight.
* I think there are still some kinds of lighters you can bring on, like a zippo style with no fuel, but perhaps I'm way behind on that.
I think it was raised to 37 or 38 a few years back. (Second-hand knowledge from a friend who was interested and already over 35; FBI didn't work out, but State Department did ...)
Naw -- just a cool project.
Anyone who wants to is free to get in touch with our advertising department to buy advertising (including free software or hardware projects), and advertising is what keeps Slashdot alive / pays for lights and servers, etc. So we like advertising, for that reason at least, but that's quite separate from the editorial department, despite some feverish imaginings otherwise.
We just like to find things we think are interesting on the internet, and suited to Slashdot -- the bulk of which comes through the Slashdot submissions system. Open source hardware projects are high on my list of interesting stuff. Hard to convince someone determined to believe othewise, I know, but that's how it works. We do have plenty of advertising (ahem), but it's all pretty obvious.
timothy
Horses for courses, but at least sometimes there are some opportunities for homeowners to do the last-mile stufff, and contract an upstream provider ... we've had a few examples on Slashdot that are at least in the same (so to speak) neighborhood; here's one -- http://ask.slashdot.org/story/...
Also of interest: http://ask.slashdot.org/story/...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Yeah -- sorry, we had a network glitch, which you caught a bit of, it seems. Seems to be fixed for now, at least.
Comcast isn't the government, you're right.
I took the submitter's words to mean something more like this, though: "You have a perfect right to free speech, but here's a reminder that it can land you in trouble in unanticipated or unfair ways."
Do you have a particular seller to recommend? I've been slowly replacing the bulbs in my house with LED ones instead, buying on the low end of the price range in brick & mortar stores. For some reason, I still trust Amazon far more than I do eBay when it comes to dealing with errors or disappointing products, but a lot of cool things are on eBay and not Amazon.
So: do you have favoritess? Model numbers to search for?
Actually the U.S. hasn't even had much luck getting the Cuban gov't to allow the Cuban people to hear uncensored *radio.*
What a crazy series of claims, overall. Would Cuba's overlords like a high-speed, uncensored internet link from Miami? Doesn't seem hard ...
Of course, the crazy runs deep and is bilateral: the U.S. has a crazy embargo, and has for decades.
For a multi-purpose / general purpose tablet, I agree.
I bought a used Kindle Paperwhite, though, and I find it's a very neat device. Even as extra weight (7 or 8 ounces?) on a trip by plane, it's been good to have along, even with a Nexus 7 in the same bag. I can read a book on either, but the Kindle a) has a crazy-long battery life, saving the other device for things like checking Google Maps on the other side of the trip, and b) is easier to hold.
I intended to use it only for free / out-of-copyright stuff, but I have definitely been drawn into the web, just a bit, and recently bought several books that way. Easy to rationalize ;) (Esp. when Neal Stephenson books go on $2 sale ...)