I like the secured room in Nueromancer (Count Zero? I forget) that you have to pay by the minute for complete privacy. No possibility of listening devices or transmitters. A complete 180 from this idea. Everyday privacy is being drawn and quartered. Granted a conference room might not seem to be the most secure place to discuss a sensitive topic, but a voice recognizing cluster of Linux boxes? Give me a break. What is to stop employers from deploying this technology throughout the office space in the name of security? See why 2002 will be like 1984.
Given the tremendous capital requirements in building a state of the art fab along with the incredible amount of enginnering man-hours required to leap to the next level, I think we are seeing a situation similar to the one for airliners: Airbus or Boeing. They are the only two that matter because the cost of entry into the airliner market is so prohibitive. This does not necessarily apply to Microsoft and it's OS monopoly as the Linux community has illustrated. Mindshare and marketshare are not always linked.
I have hopes for Intel producing the worlds best microprocessors as that would benefit s all. Simply advocating a move to Itanium for marketing reasons or to meet revenue targets does a disservice to the computer industry.
"The problem with the US trying peace is that it requires an intelligent, educated and compasionate population, the current population in America is none of the above."
Obviously, you don't understand the United States...maybe you prefer intelligent, educated and compassionate European bloodlust?
Yeah, you're right. The ABL is much larger. But this article mentions the COIL being used as an offensive weapon as well. I wonder what is the criteria for ground targets? The article mentions radar stations and communication lines. At this stage, it must be "soft" targets that have little or no armor. I could imagine supply vehicles, petrol depots and other easily flammable targets.
I agree. But the price of peace is eternal vigilence. And a couple hundred airbourne deathstars patroling the skies supported by AWACS is pretty vigilent.
Until the nanobots take over....
The New York Times had a blurb about this about three months ago. For the lazy, a chemical plant that fills about 3/4 of the cargo space feeds the lasing system in the turret. Desgined to be part of the "missile shield" for the US and allies. Seems like a boondoggle to me, but who knows? The article I read focused on the laser taking down cruise missiles and other aircraft. Not usable for ICBMs for obvious reasons. I didn't know that they were going to use these against ground targets. Yikes!
I had a fax spammer hit our Chicago office about a dozen times last fall. They were a discount travel brokerage out of Baltimore, MD. Despite repeated attempts to get them to stop, we had to resort to a cease and desist letter from our attorneys to stop them. Previous calls to them generated abusive language and hang-ups. Sent emails to the contacts at the FTC with no response. None.
Maybe they will actually fund and staff the elctronic incident center, but I doubt it. If they won't deal with spammers in the U.S. what is the chance that they will contact overseas abusers?
I think I am going to start short selling all digital content companies pretty soon. With the PVR technology, the ad revenue model of broadcast television is a dying business model. Maybe all TV channels will be carried over cable and cost money in the near future. All the ones that you would want to watch, that is.
Well, it looks like they finally have the basics right and the OS is moving in the right direction. I used OS 3.5 on the Visor and it was well integrated and easy to use. If the Palm OS is truly going to to compete with WinCE, they have to innovate yet maintain the Palm OS look and feel. True wireless support is the next step and it looks like they are planning to execute it well.
Dual screens are good, but I would much rather have a single 22" or greater LCD than multi-ple smaller ones. I find the seperate screen borders distracting. As a matter of fact, I am still awaiting a 54" LCD true desktop that I can write on and use as a true visible workspace.
But the Panasonic is a step in the right direction. The more screen space the better!
between the real and virtual. Actually, it is all virtual now. There is an interesting article in the months edition of Harpers magazine by Jean Baudrillard regarding terrorism and the society of the spectacle. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and it feels like I am dreaming. I love online worlds but sometime they contribute too much to the thought that the world is a game.
It seems that the various tones of the above mentioned pieces reflect a Microsoft good or Microsoft bad attitude. Unfortunately, the problem being discussed transcends the usual polemics of such a debate. Good security, whether from Microsoft, Sun, Novell, Cisco or others, is in everyone's best interest. If Microsoft has finally awoken to this fact, good for them. Their previous security through obfusication was a travesty and insulting. If my personal information is going to be stored on a computer that is linked to a network, I want the best damn security money can buy. For that computer, for the database software, for the firewall, for the remote machine at the local insurance agency that is accessing the info, et. all.
True Names are important for a reason.
It was interesting in it's time.....
on
VeriSign Buys .tv
·
· Score: 1
I remember reading the Wired article about the nation of Tuvala a couple of years ago during the heady days of the dot-com rush. My, my how times have changed. Now with the majority of internet users in the U.S. accessing the internet through a portal (AOL, Yahoo) do TLDs even matter? I mean $100,000 for mydumbshow.tv or coca-cola.tv or mcdonalds.tv? Didn't VerSign have a valuation of USD 10 billion at one point?
God, I'm glad the bubble crashed so I can get back to the Mac vs. Windows debate with my friends.
Rhetorical question
on
Browsing Alone
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
The premise is too complicated to be answered in a binary manner of yes or no. The answer is probably both, yes AND no. I don't interactive with my neighbor when I am on Slashdot. I am interacting with you as you read this. Instead of a flesh and blood interaction, it is mediated through distance, time and the cool glare of phosporus or LCDs. Is it better or worse? Humans evolved to interact on an small scale personal level like most intelligent animals. No we are evolving to interact via discoporeal means. Do mediating technologies throw our psycology off of balance. Probably. Is it bad that kids are getting fat sitting in front of TV and computers? Yes. Is it dehumanizing to interact with my girlfriend over the phone? Probably.
Things change. Life changes. My life changes daily, weekly and yearly through my aging, my growth and my development. Changing technology certainly affects my life. I used to call my folks all the time. Now I email. Less bandwidth. They don't hear the inflections in my voice. Good or bad? I write better than I speak, so my email to them tends to be more thoughtful than my speech. Good or bad?
Life is meant to be enjoyed. Mediating technology can be "value-free" with regards to this endeavour. Use it or not. The choice is yours.
Hopefully, this situation will change in the next couple of months. Palm would be foolish to let the BeOS developer base erode further given the fact that they could incorporate future apps into the Palm line.
However, given their previous screw-ups, who knows. Maybe Apple should revive the Newton....
Well, they have it half right. Hardware copyright protection is a pain to disable or bypass and would help [their] cause. That would work for DVD-RAM and the like imported into the U.S. But what about optical devices manufactured and sold overseas? How are you going to control that market, without resorting to shenanigans like strong-arming countries like the Ukraine. U.S. industry has to realize that it cannot dictate it's will to the rest of the world. See Microsoft vs. Chinese Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
Does anyone know if OS X is POSIX compliant?
Actually, the Sega AM2 and AM3 was a pretty respectible hardware platform at the time.
I like the secured room in Nueromancer (Count Zero? I forget) that you have to pay by the minute for complete privacy. No possibility of listening devices or transmitters. A complete 180 from this idea. Everyday privacy is being drawn and quartered. Granted a conference room might not seem to be the most secure place to discuss a sensitive topic, but a voice recognizing cluster of Linux boxes? Give me a break. What is to stop employers from deploying this technology throughout the office space in the name of security? See why 2002 will be like 1984.
Given the tremendous capital requirements in building a state of the art fab along with the incredible amount of enginnering man-hours required to leap to the next level, I think we are seeing a situation similar to the one for airliners: Airbus or Boeing. They are the only two that matter because the cost of entry into the airliner market is so prohibitive. This does not necessarily apply to Microsoft and it's OS monopoly as the Linux community has illustrated. Mindshare and marketshare are not always linked.
I have hopes for Intel producing the worlds best microprocessors as that would benefit s all. Simply advocating a move to Itanium for marketing reasons or to meet revenue targets does a disservice to the computer industry.
Then again, they are in business to make $$$....
"The problem with the US trying peace is that it requires an intelligent, educated and compasionate population, the current population in America is none of the above."
Obviously, you don't understand the United States...maybe you prefer intelligent, educated and compassionate European bloodlust?
Yeah, you're right. The ABL is much larger. But this article mentions the COIL being used as an offensive weapon as well. I wonder what is the criteria for ground targets? The article mentions radar stations and communication lines. At this stage, it must be "soft" targets that have little or no armor. I could imagine supply vehicles, petrol depots and other easily flammable targets.
I agree. But the price of peace is eternal vigilence. And a couple hundred airbourne deathstars patroling the skies supported by AWACS is pretty vigilent.
Until the nanobots take over....
The New York Times had a blurb about this about three months ago. For the lazy, a chemical plant that fills about 3/4 of the cargo space feeds the lasing system in the turret. Desgined to be part of the "missile shield" for the US and allies. Seems like a boondoggle to me, but who knows? The article I read focused on the laser taking down cruise missiles and other aircraft. Not usable for ICBMs for obvious reasons. I didn't know that they were going to use these against ground targets. Yikes!
Way to go!
Good luck and all that!
Funny. Very funny.
I had a fax spammer hit our Chicago office about a dozen times last fall. They were a discount travel brokerage out of Baltimore, MD. Despite repeated attempts to get them to stop, we had to resort to a cease and desist letter from our attorneys to stop them. Previous calls to them generated abusive language and hang-ups. Sent emails to the contacts at the FTC with no response. None.
Maybe they will actually fund and staff the elctronic incident center, but I doubt it. If they won't deal with spammers in the U.S. what is the chance that they will contact overseas abusers?
My two cents.
I think I am going to start short selling all digital content companies pretty soon. With the PVR technology, the ad revenue model of broadcast television is a dying business model. Maybe all TV channels will be carried over cable and cost money in the near future. All the ones that you would want to watch, that is.
Well, it looks like they finally have the basics right and the OS is moving in the right direction. I used OS 3.5 on the Visor and it was well integrated and easy to use. If the Palm OS is truly going to to compete with WinCE, they have to innovate yet maintain the Palm OS look and feel. True wireless support is the next step and it looks like they are planning to execute it well.
Well, we could always code a piece of software to remove them....
I read that article last night and it made me want to go buy a TiVo this weekend.
Just in time for the Super Bowl!
Dual screens are good, but I would much rather have a single 22" or greater LCD than multi-ple smaller ones. I find the seperate screen borders distracting. As a matter of fact, I am still awaiting a 54" LCD true desktop that I can write on and use as a true visible workspace.
But the Panasonic is a step in the right direction. The more screen space the better!
between the real and virtual. Actually, it is all virtual now. There is an interesting article in the months edition of Harpers magazine by Jean Baudrillard regarding terrorism and the society of the spectacle. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and it feels like I am dreaming. I love online worlds but sometime they contribute too much to the thought that the world is a game.
Yeah, I'm with you. I'm going over to X.
I just wish they had released the G5 so I didn't have to wait.
It seems that the various tones of the above mentioned pieces reflect a Microsoft good or Microsoft bad attitude. Unfortunately, the problem being discussed transcends the usual polemics of such a debate. Good security, whether from Microsoft, Sun, Novell, Cisco or others, is in everyone's best interest. If Microsoft has finally awoken to this fact, good for them. Their previous security through obfusication was a travesty and insulting. If my personal information is going to be stored on a computer that is linked to a network, I want the best damn security money can buy. For that computer, for the database software, for the firewall, for the remote machine at the local insurance agency that is accessing the info, et. all.
True Names are important for a reason.
I remember reading the Wired article about the nation of Tuvala a couple of years ago during the heady days of the dot-com rush. My, my how times have changed. Now with the majority of internet users in the U.S. accessing the internet through a portal (AOL, Yahoo) do TLDs even matter? I mean $100,000 for mydumbshow.tv or coca-cola.tv or mcdonalds.tv? Didn't VerSign have a valuation of USD 10 billion at one point?
God, I'm glad the bubble crashed so I can get back to the Mac vs. Windows debate with my friends.
The premise is too complicated to be answered in a binary manner of yes or no. The answer is probably both, yes AND no. I don't interactive with my neighbor when I am on Slashdot. I am interacting with you as you read this. Instead of a flesh and blood interaction, it is mediated through distance, time and the cool glare of phosporus or LCDs. Is it better or worse? Humans evolved to interact on an small scale personal level like most intelligent animals. No we are evolving to interact via discoporeal means. Do mediating technologies throw our psycology off of balance. Probably. Is it bad that kids are getting fat sitting in front of TV and computers? Yes. Is it dehumanizing to interact with my girlfriend over the phone? Probably.
Things change. Life changes. My life changes daily, weekly and yearly through my aging, my growth and my development. Changing technology certainly affects my life. I used to call my folks all the time. Now I email. Less bandwidth. They don't hear the inflections in my voice. Good or bad? I write better than I speak, so my email to them tends to be more thoughtful than my speech. Good or bad?
Life is meant to be enjoyed. Mediating technology can be "value-free" with regards to this endeavour. Use it or not. The choice is yours.
Hopefully, this situation will change in the next couple of months. Palm would be foolish to let the BeOS developer base erode further given the fact that they could incorporate future apps into the Palm line.
However, given their previous screw-ups, who knows. Maybe Apple should revive the Newton....
Why oh why do we chase the MHz
Why oh why indeed
When a 6502 will suffice
Without making my pocket bleed
...I could combine it with one of them nifty Lian Li aluminum cases, I start building a new system to replace my P2-300.
Well, they have it half right. Hardware copyright protection is a pain to disable or bypass and would help [their] cause. That would work for DVD-RAM and the like imported into the U.S. But what about optical devices manufactured and sold overseas? How are you going to control that market, without resorting to shenanigans like strong-arming countries like the Ukraine. U.S. industry has to realize that it cannot dictate it's will to the rest of the world. See Microsoft vs. Chinese Linux.