Well, in Singapore, the government and most statutory boards host their services online, accessible to all with an internet connection and proper identification.
From a central portal: http://www.gov.sg you can do practically anything from registering a business, a patent, sign up for National Service (conscription), apply for a provisional driving license, file your taxes, check your CPF (a kind of social security), apply for public housing, register on the list of voters, and practically everything that you might want to do as a citizen.
Besides this, Singapore boasts a computer literate judiciary. Most judicial documents are electronically transmitted, if possible. That probably contributes to singapore having one of the most efficient judicial system in the world:
http://www.gov.sg/judiciary/subct/justout/ar2000 /a chieve2.pdf
And of course, statutory boards communicate with each other electronically. this allows services to be integrated so that for instance the IRAS (IRS in singapore) can check with the housing board what kind of property you own, the Army can check your performance in school, and so on.
Not everything works perfectly of course.. the usual problems with getting government online and interconnected. But we try.
So I hope you will understand why i'm not especially impressed by this article. =)
You should try this online game called Shattered Galaxy. It's exactly what you described, players are grouped into factions which contest territories in a persistent universe. Whenever a battle starts, the highest "ranking" player, the one with the most "prestige points", is the commander. The commander and his underlings each control a small, custom-built force and they have to capture a majority of strategic points to win.
Of course, you are right that most people will not listen to the commander. Who would listen and commit his troops to someone you only met online? You wouldn't trust him enough to put your troops at risk and sacrifice your prestige. It costs money to maintain your force and repair them afterwards, so you'd pull out early if things were getting rough. In the end the battle ends up as lots of little fragmented bands fighting it out over the whole map. A good concept, but disappointing execution.
Free enegy has always been the holy grail of science. Fusion appears to be one step towards the realisation of such an energy source. The previous millenium's energy darling, nuclear power, has proven unfeasible due to the tremendous clean up costs involved. Fusion seems to have none of the same costs.
If the energy produced by fusion exceeds the cost of producing it (collection and production of fuel, maintenance of energy plant, cleanup and pollution) then we will essentially have a scenario where energy production can accelerate to the point where we can theoretically have all the energy we want, dirt cheap.
After that point is reached, anything is possible. Unlimited food production: Need light? No problem. Need water? Go boil some from the sea. Need fertilizer? Create your own lightning to get nitrates. Unlimited material wealth: need more raw material? Go on dig it out of the ground with your fusion powered machines. Factories can run all day and all night cos energy is free. Incredible high-energy research opportunities. Spaceflight! Basically everything will follow this principle: use energy to collect/generate raw material and use this raw material and energy to create means of production.. and then the final product in great quantity.
Of course, private energy firms will never produce energy in such quantity. but what if the government were to fund this? once energy production reaches a critical mass.. WOW!
That's because God gives us miracles when we ask, but only the really big miracles get written down. I mean, those really big miracles have been recorded and passed down for 3000+ years.... I don't think we'll hear about those small ones like how God helped the shepherd looking for his lost goat etc etc.
Power supply for Wearable Electronics
on
Solar Clothes
·
· Score: 1
I'm in the UK so there's no sun anyway..
You know, this could be just what the industry needs to go full steam ahead to research and develop wearable electronics. Right now they have wearable stuff but you have to carry a huge and heavy battery for the power, which doesn't last that long either. That really sucks. But now you can carry a smaller battery.. which will constantly recharge.
Levis and Philips have already developed a jacket which incorporates a mobile phone and MP3 player.. looking forward to strapping on a computer so i can play black and white on the train home.
That is a very interesting point you have there! However, if you look at it another way, you can own things but not use them if it breaks the law. For example in the US you can own a gun but you can't use it to shoot someone. So here i suppose you may own the seeds but you can't plant them without the license from monsanto because that would be illegal. (okay so the gun analogy was quite extreme but i'm sure you can think of others) =)
I really cannot see why we would need blender on a handheld. You see, there are two possible applications for this: 3D gaming or 3D design, neither of which handhelds are particularly well suited to do.
I mean, imagine playing counterstrike on your ipaq: "Oh damn i just got shot by that awm whore, where was he? oh yeah he's 2 pixels tall"
Designing dungeon walls with your fat stylus won't exactly be very good for your blood pressure either!
But as a purely challenging application of programming skills, I applaud NaN! After all, pushing the envelope is what brings about progress, and as we all know one of the strongest drives for progress in the computer industry is computer gaming. Full ahead!
It looks like a case of undecided authority here. Who's actually in charge of the space station? The russians? Americans? Or whoever's up there at the moment?
Isn't there already policy in place, guidelines to help in making these decisions? Sounds really strange that there can be conflict over this issue.
And the russians have picked a really terrible time to send him up. When there's things to do and the station's half constructed. Space is at a premium there.. sorry i meant pressurized space. He could just get in everyone's way.
For them to dig their own grave with. Looks like M$ is intent on making things as difficult as possible for companies which use M$ products. With enemies like that, LINUX doesn't need friends =).
Well that sounds interesting but will it work on a large scale? I imagine a forest of tangly cables and turbines crashing into each other.. just like kites in a park.
I've read the full text of the judgement and i agree with the Judge's decision. Okay here's how it goes.
Roundup Ready canola, engineered by Monsanto, can survive spraying of Roundup herbicide, also made by Monsanto. This allows farmers using this variety of canola to control weeds easily by spraying herbicide without killing their crop. Monsanto holds the patent on this engineered variety of canola.
The farmer in question, found Roundup resistant canola in field number 2. How that strain of canola ended up there isn't known, but it could have been accidental etc. He then deliberately saved those seeds from field 2, and then planted it over his entire farm, knowing that those seeds were Roundup resistant. Thus the judge said he knew those seeds were Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola and he wanted to use them. Even though the farmer owned those seeds, since they were grown and found on his land, he infringed the patent on the use of those seeds from Monsanto.
Anyway, what some people have posted about Monsanto going round planting seeds on your land and then suing you don't hold water. If you find Monsanto seed on your land and you didn't plant it there, Monsanto has to come over and clean it up for you at their cost, not yours.
So he's guilty, and it seems like it was a just decision too.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, in Singapore, the government and most statutory boards host their services online, accessible to all with an internet connection and proper identification.
0 /a chieve2.pdf
From a central portal: http://www.gov.sg you can do practically anything from registering a business, a patent, sign up for National Service (conscription), apply for a provisional driving license, file your taxes, check your CPF (a kind of social security), apply for public housing, register on the list of voters, and practically everything that you might want to do as a citizen.
Besides this, Singapore boasts a computer literate judiciary. Most judicial documents are electronically transmitted, if possible. That probably contributes to singapore having one of the most efficient judicial system in the world:
http://www.gov.sg/judiciary/subct/justout/ar200
And of course, statutory boards communicate with each other electronically. this allows services to be integrated so that for instance the IRAS (IRS in singapore) can check with the housing board what kind of property you own, the Army can check your performance in school, and so on.
Not everything works perfectly of course.. the usual problems with getting government online and interconnected. But we try.
So I hope you will understand why i'm not especially impressed by this article. =)
You should try this online game called Shattered Galaxy. It's exactly what you described, players are grouped into factions which contest territories in a persistent universe. Whenever a battle starts, the highest "ranking" player, the one with the most "prestige points", is the commander. The commander and his underlings each control a small, custom-built force and they have to capture a majority of strategic points to win.
Of course, you are right that most people will not listen to the commander. Who would listen and commit his troops to someone you only met online? You wouldn't trust him enough to put your troops at risk and sacrifice your prestige. It costs money to maintain your force and repair them afterwards, so you'd pull out early if things were getting rough. In the end the battle ends up as lots of little fragmented bands fighting it out over the whole map. A good concept, but disappointing execution.
The game is called Shattered Galaxy. Try it!
Free enegy has always been the holy grail of science. Fusion appears to be one step towards the realisation of such an energy source. The previous millenium's energy darling, nuclear power, has proven unfeasible due to the tremendous clean up costs involved. Fusion seems to have none of the same costs.
If the energy produced by fusion exceeds the cost of producing it (collection and production of fuel, maintenance of energy plant, cleanup and pollution) then we will essentially have a scenario where energy production can accelerate to the point where we can theoretically have all the energy we want, dirt cheap.
After that point is reached, anything is possible. Unlimited food production: Need light? No problem. Need water? Go boil some from the sea. Need fertilizer? Create your own lightning to get nitrates. Unlimited material wealth: need more raw material? Go on dig it out of the ground with your fusion powered machines. Factories can run all day and all night cos energy is free. Incredible high-energy research opportunities. Spaceflight! Basically everything will follow this principle: use energy to collect/generate raw material and use this raw material and energy to create means of production.. and then the final product in great quantity.
Of course, private energy firms will never produce energy in such quantity. but what if the government were to fund this? once energy production reaches a critical mass.. WOW!
That's because God gives us miracles when we ask, but only the really big miracles get written down. I mean, those really big miracles have been recorded and passed down for 3000+ years.... I don't think we'll hear about those small ones like how God helped the shepherd looking for his lost goat etc etc.
I'm in the UK so there's no sun anyway..
You know, this could be just what the industry needs to go full steam ahead to research and develop wearable electronics. Right now they have wearable stuff but you have to carry a huge and heavy battery for the power, which doesn't last that long either. That really sucks. But now you can carry a smaller battery.. which will constantly recharge.
Levis and Philips have already developed a jacket which incorporates a mobile phone and MP3 player.. looking forward to strapping on a computer so i can play black and white on the train home.
And why on earth is this "3, Funny"??
That is a very interesting point you have there! However, if you look at it another way, you can own things but not use them if it breaks the law. For example in the US you can own a gun but you can't use it to shoot someone. So here i suppose you may own the seeds but you can't plant them without the license from monsanto because that would be illegal. (okay so the gun analogy was quite extreme but i'm sure you can think of others) =)
I really cannot see why we would need blender on a handheld. You see, there are two possible applications for this: 3D gaming or 3D design, neither of which handhelds are particularly well suited to do.
I mean, imagine playing counterstrike on your ipaq: "Oh damn i just got shot by that awm whore, where was he? oh yeah he's 2 pixels tall"
Designing dungeon walls with your fat stylus won't exactly be very good for your blood pressure either!
But as a purely challenging application of programming skills, I applaud NaN! After all, pushing the envelope is what brings about progress, and as we all know one of the strongest drives for progress in the computer industry is computer gaming. Full ahead!
It looks like a case of undecided authority here. Who's actually in charge of the space station? The russians? Americans? Or whoever's up there at the moment? Isn't there already policy in place, guidelines to help in making these decisions? Sounds really strange that there can be conflict over this issue. And the russians have picked a really terrible time to send him up. When there's things to do and the station's half constructed. Space is at a premium there.. sorry i meant pressurized space. He could just get in everyone's way.
Actually i read it as
"Microsoft Screws Turning Customers"
For them to dig their own grave with. Looks like M$ is intent on making things as difficult as possible for companies which use M$ products. With enemies like that, LINUX doesn't need friends =).
Well that sounds interesting but will it work on a large scale? I imagine a forest of tangly cables and turbines crashing into each other.. just like kites in a park.
I've read the full text of the judgement and i agree with the Judge's decision. Okay here's how it goes.
Roundup Ready canola, engineered by Monsanto, can survive spraying of Roundup herbicide, also made by Monsanto. This allows farmers using this variety of canola to control weeds easily by spraying herbicide without killing their crop. Monsanto holds the patent on this engineered variety of canola.
The farmer in question, found Roundup resistant canola in field number 2. How that strain of canola ended up there isn't known, but it could have been accidental etc. He then deliberately saved those seeds from field 2, and then planted it over his entire farm, knowing that those seeds were Roundup resistant. Thus the judge said he knew those seeds were Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola and he wanted to use them. Even though the farmer owned those seeds, since they were grown and found on his land, he infringed the patent on the use of those seeds from Monsanto.
Anyway, what some people have posted about Monsanto going round planting seeds on your land and then suing you don't hold water. If you find Monsanto seed on your land and you didn't plant it there, Monsanto has to come over and clean it up for you at their cost, not yours.
So he's guilty, and it seems like it was a just decision too.