I think that many people are missing the point of the very real increase in worldwide "eco-terrorist" monkey-wrenching. These actions, and movements that they represent are anti-technology, not just anti-GMO.
I am a scientist, who uses the tools of genetic engineering to understand the natural world every day. I am also a green, left leaning environmentalist. We do need stronger controls, and more research on GMOs. And our capitalist consumer culture is fundamentally flawed . But science and technology are not the problem. Those that think so are being fooled.
Despite the multitude of slashdotters posting that they just got a patch
cable, digital convergence claims to have a wireless
product coming out (further down on the page than the cueTV cable).
Now, I don't care about their intended use of the thing - I'm going to get
one and see what it can do. The cue cat (properly modified to be
anonymous and with a switch to select the encoding) was a great tool (I
scanned in my 750 volume library with one).
It might be too much to
wish for that this thing broadcasts enough of the audio spectrum to use as
a MP3 broadcaster, but it might be a good low-bandwidth wireless
transmitter when used with some of the (baycom-like) audio-broadcasting
technology that HAMs have developed. Also, it seems there must be some
sort of memory associated with storing the information, which is also cool
and hopefully hackable. The company almost made hacking the cue cat too
easy - let's hope they still haven't a clue. I also hope that they keep
trying this sort of business model, so that I can do my part in getting
free stuff and causing them to go bankrupt.
While ATP is a universal energy-storing molecule, kinesins, the "motor proteins" mentioned above are only found in eucaryotes. A much more universal molecule, the
basis of all life if not the "secret of life" that the above article makes such a big deal about is ATPase (aka ATP synthase). The structure of
F1F0-ATP synthase was deduced a few years ago, and won Prof. Paul Boyer and Dr. John Walker a Nobel Prize. The press release provides a good
introduction to the discovery, and it's importance.
Interestingly, ATPase
is a nano-scale rotor/generator. There are some great movies of the
proposed operation from a berkley server. The ATP synthase motor is driven by the flow of protons from an area of high to a low concentration. Therefore it is not brownian motion directly, but osmosis that powers all life.
This is a great idea. Freeamp seems quite committed to free (as in beer & speech) and would probably want to wean themselves from Relatable. Another area this would work well in is with movies. The imdb makes their sources available under a (well, a restrictive) BSDish license.
Note that these sorts of systems don't cater to the majority opinion (ie tragedy of the commons) type of cool unless they are coded that way. They can just as easily support a fractured, sub-group, clique type of cool.
It seems to me that on the net at least we are moving into a time of nearly ubiquitous communication.
For example, the shear number of people who download any particular ad from doubleclick is staggering. Putting some steno'd information in an ad that you paid such an organization to disseminate would make the intended recipient of the hidden info almost impossible to pinpoint.
The amount of information exchange that goes on in the modern wold is amazing. Information can even be transmitted by such things at the time that a particular transfer takes place. Another illustrative example: the time of day that a person receives telemarketing calls, or pings (that are logged) from a particular address could carry information by some agreed-upon code. There is already a steno program where the unhidden communication is spam.
There is no way that anyone, in a position of authority or not could try to check all information exchange for some hidden content
"it [open source] potentially undermines the intellectual property of countries and companies"
Mr. Mundie "The goal of the G.P.L. is sweeping up all of the intellectual property. . . "
A few points, IMHO:
1) good for open source, as "intellectual property" is doublespeak - in US law, there never has been any ruling that says that copyright, trademarks, or patents are inalienable rights but rather a deal between the people and busnesses to maximise innovation NOT to make money. See the Supreme Court ruling in Fox Film Corp. v. Doyal: "The sole interest of the United States and the primary object in conferring the [copyright] monopoly lie in the general benefits derived by the public from the labors of authors."
2) Weather you are libertarian, liberal, or conservative, I think most people would be happy to limit the "rights" of companies and countries - they have been taking too "rights" for them, many at the people's expence.
So most people don't read their open code. This is why open source is not more secure than closed (but security holes ARE closed faster). It is possable to make the argument that the fact that they could look if they wanted to is a greater good. However, open source is more free (both ways). I have learned a great deal by being part of the open source community (ie running linux, perl scripting, ect). And I like the fact that my only payment is a personal urge to help create stuff. Money is really the least motivating drive I can think of.
Actually, the wind-up-radio has revolutionized the power of tribal groups in sub-Saharan African - now that they can get information about voting they do so. I know that in the UK the profit from wind-ups sold as "camping gear" to spoiled first worlders was used to subsidize them in the third world - for a time they were almost free. I know I would buy the simputer on that sort of basis.
The inventor of the wind-up-radio, Trevor Baylis, is quite a cool guy too - he basicly told everyone who said that his invention was pointless to go to hell (see http://www.worldlink.co.uk/stories/storyReader$82).
Slashdot Mirror
Many people who spend time thinking about the future see a growing anti-technology movement coming. I recently saw the director of the Human genome project speak, and he predicts that in 30 years there will be a powerful anti-technology movement, with violent fringe elements. In Freeman J. Dyson's 1998 Imagined Worlds he makes a similar point.
I am a scientist, who uses the tools of genetic engineering to understand the natural world every day. I am also a green, left leaning environmentalist. We do need stronger controls, and more research on GMOs. And our capitalist consumer culture is fundamentally flawed . But science and technology are not the problem. Those that think so are being fooled.
soapbox
It might be too much to wish for that this thing broadcasts enough of the audio spectrum to use as a MP3 broadcaster, but it might be a good low-bandwidth wireless transmitter when used with some of the (baycom-like) audio-broadcasting technology that HAMs have developed. Also, it seems there must be some sort of memory associated with storing the information, which is also cool and hopefully hackable. The company almost made hacking the cue cat too easy - let's hope they still haven't a clue. I also hope that they keep trying this sort of business model, so that I can do my part in getting free stuff and causing them to go bankrupt.
cuebox
Interestingly, ATPase is a nano-scale rotor/generator. There are some great movies of the proposed operation from a berkley server. The ATP synthase motor is driven by the flow of protons from an area of high to a low concentration. Therefore it is not brownian motion directly, but osmosis that powers all life.
biobox
Note that these sorts of systems don't cater to the majority opinion (ie tragedy of the commons) type of cool unless they are coded that way. They can just as easily support a fractured, sub-group, clique type of cool.
coolbox
For example, the shear number of people who download any particular ad from doubleclick is staggering. Putting some steno'd information in an ad that you paid such an organization to disseminate would make the intended recipient of the hidden info almost impossible to pinpoint.
The amount of information exchange that goes on in the modern wold is amazing. Information can even be transmitted by such things at the time that a particular transfer takes place. Another illustrative example: the time of day that a person receives telemarketing calls, or pings (that are logged) from a particular address could carry information by some agreed-upon code. There is already a steno program where the unhidden communication is spam.
There is no way that anyone, in a position of authority or not could try to check all information exchange for some hidden content
oldspy
Mr. Mundie "The goal of the G.P.L. is sweeping up all of the intellectual property. . . "
A few points, IMHO:
1) good for open source, as "intellectual property" is doublespeak - in US law, there never has been any ruling that says that copyright, trademarks, or patents are inalienable rights but rather a deal between the people and busnesses to maximise innovation NOT to make money. See the Supreme Court ruling in Fox Film Corp. v. Doyal: "The sole interest of the United States and the primary object in conferring the [copyright] monopoly lie in the general benefits derived by the public from the labors of authors."
2) Weather you are libertarian, liberal, or conservative, I think most people would be happy to limit the "rights" of companies and countries - they have been taking too "rights" for them, many at the people's expence.
some further reading
prolebox
rantbox
oddbox
The inventor of the wind-up-radio, Trevor Baylis, is quite a cool guy too - he basicly told everyone who said that his invention was pointless to go to hell (see http://www.worldlink.co.uk/stories/storyReader$82) .
Inventers are the hackers of the physical world.
For more toys see: http://windupradio.com/
oldbox