Haven't played with it much (but it does seem nice on first glance), but I do have a question that I am wondering if any of you could answer (otherwise I am going to have to dig a bit to figure it out):
How do I position this new toolbar within the rest of the "default" toolbars - right now I have "stacked": Menubar, Navbar, Bookmarks, PrefBar, then tabs - I would like to reorder this "stack" to position things better.
I haven't looked deep enough, nor have I googled extensively on the problem. Tell me what I need to change/modify/add - if it is possible, that is.
Also - if anyone can give me a pointer, is is possible to set up a mime type or something to have XINE play inside the browser (or heck, even just fire up) - can anyone reccommend a good site showing all of this extra goodness howto?
What you speak about is true - the "skin effect" is something that AC does, but is only truely effective at higher frequencies of AC, and not so much at the low frequencies of our power system (although, IIRC, some of the major grid interconnects use slightly higher frequencies and convert at each end to minimize losses and increase transmission distances).
Tesla's seems to have had a number of goals, all with the combined goal (ok, maybe not the ill-conceived flying bedstead aeroplane patent) of a world power distribution system. He was very keen on resonant frequencies, and the use of resonance to transmit power and information over long distances without wires (ie, Wardenclyffe) - ultimately making power "too cheap to meter". This goal of course was counter to that of his financial backers (Westinghouse, mainly), which of course eventually pulled their money.
Actually, Tesla didn't invent AC generators, but instead improved upon what was currently available. AC was known about by Edison and a lot of other inventors, what was difficult was the use of it, which is where Tesla came in - he invented improved (much improved, via his 3 phase system) AC motors, along with the rest of the power distribution system (transformers and such) - that allowed AC out of the lab and "scientific curiousity", to be able to do actual work for industry...
Most Barnes and Noble bookstore/dvd/music store mish-mash have a "B&N Cafe" - everything looks like "Starbucks" - but no logos anywhere. The truth is, they are Starbucks, they use Starbucks coffee, etc - they just don't show the brand name anywhere...
I tend to wonder if they are the "generic" form of Starbucks (same as how some store brands are actually name-brand products produced for the store, and sold for less than the name-brand, but otherwise identical)...
...was simple - a lack of patience. Indeed, throughout life one learns that most mistakes are caused by not taking time (to think things through, to actually do them, to looking at causes, etc).
This is as true today as it was 50 years ago. Furthermore, I think if you can't name "major" components on a motherboard, you shouldn't be messing with it - or at the very least, you should know this and *really* take your time.
I remember upgrading the memory, as a kid, in my TRS-80 Color Computer 3, from 128K to a whopping 512K. This was about 15 years ago. I remember the instructions (which I still have, along with the computer, and upgrade - and yes, it still runs great!) warning about handling the CMOS devices to avoid static electricity (when inserting each of the DRAM chips into their sockets). I ended up grounding myself using a length of steel wire tied to the kitchen faucet, then looped around my arm as I did the upgrade.
All in all, it took me about an hour to perform that first true "upgrade" on my Color Computer - being a 15 year old kid, impatient to get my upgrade going, but knowing that if I screwed up, my parents would be pissed (they paid for it, after all) - I took my time, grounded myself, and made sure I did everything right. So what do I have to show for it?
Well, patience, number one - but I also can still whip out my Color Computer 3, with floppy drive, monitor, and 512K of RAM - and boot it into OS-9 (8 bit multiuser/multitasking, baby!)...
Want to know what the buzz likely was? A dry bearing on the fan. Vibration sets up, "finds" the resonant frequency, and "buzzes". When you stop it, and let it start again - it is OK, for a little while. Sometimes, if you let it go on long enough, it will drop out of the frequency for a little while, but then sooner or later, it will be back.
The best way to fix it is to get a new fan, and install it into the power supply (don't just buy a new PS unless you need it for a good reason, a fan will be a lot cheaper).
Barring this, remove the fan, remove the label from the fan, and pop the retainer ring (don't loose it!) off the fan shaft. Remove the fan blade/magnet assembly, apply a drop of silicone oil (or a bit of petroleum jelly) to the shaft, reinsert it into the bearing (spin the fan to distribute the oil on the shaft), and reattach the retainer ring. Clean the area for the sticker (of any grease or oil), and put on a new one (a cheap paper "garage-sale price" label works good).
Such a simple repair takes only minutes, and will last for several months, if not longer (why spend the money if you don't have to?).
Of course not but if we tweak the headlight to point in a different direction we can pawn it off as something new
I am not sure if you are intending it or not, AC, but I think you might be talking about the new Lexus with its lights which point into turns, right?
The sad part about this is the fact that a TON of people will think this is a new and great thing - when the reality of it is that this "improvement" was available 50 years ago on the Tucker Torpedo. It made sense then, still does - but once again, Tucker is (posthumously) getting the shaft from the auto manufacturers.
One man's porn is another man's everyday activity. Did you know that there is just about a sexual fetish (and thus a porn market) for just about anything? A well known example are images (and video) of a woman wearing high heels stepping on wine glasses. No nudity, just the act alone.
Some people find this highly erotic, to them images of the act could be considered "pornographic". To the rest of society, it is just "odd". In a similar vein, you have the whole "furry" fetish...
The fact is, one can only tell what porn is based on their world view - in some cultures, the sight of a woman's breasts would arouse little or nothing. Other cultures drape curtains on their statues.
First, read some fictional items - the following books should have you feeling pretty dreadful by the time you finish all of them:
George Orwell's 1984 (also read Animal Farm)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Third Force by Marc Laidlaw
Then, read some non-fiction - once you get through this list, you may become suicidal:
The Inquisition - Hammer of Heresy by Edward Burman
True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier, edited by James Frenkel (various authors, including Vernor Vinge)
Database Nation - The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century by Simson Garfinkel
You Are Being Lied To, edited by Russ Kick (various authors)
Hitler's Scientists - Science, War, and the Devil's Pact by John Cornwell
I guarantee you will go through all the emotions a human can conjure up once you finish with these two sets and think about it all for a while. Your social and political viewpoints may change. You may feel like running and hiding (or curling up into a ball on the floor).
Another option would be to couple this set with the set I mentioned regarding Network Theory and Emergence, and you might come up with a solution toward a way out of the nightmare advancing on the world. Add a detailed knowledge and practice of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) - heh, who knows? You could probably start a very successful cult...
Here is a list of books, when read (and reread) and understood, each in context with the others, which will alter how you look at computers, mathematics, life, etc:
Out of Control - The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World by Kevin Kelly (ISBN 0-201-48340-8)
Emergence - The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software by Steven Johnson (ISBN 0-684-86875-X)
Linked - How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means For Business, Science, and Everyday Life by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi (ISBN 0-452-28439-2)
A New Kind Of Science by Stephen Wolfram (ISBN 1-57955-008-8)
I guarantee that if you read each of these books, then let the ideas simmer around in your head, you will walk away with a completely changed viewpoint on not only computers and software, but society, government, biology, and the universe itself.
As others have noted here, robots in hospitals are nothing new. What hasn't been mentioned is just how *old* this is.
I have read several books published in the early 1980's which talked about these kind of robots. Most of them were about the size of a small chest freezer (about.75m x 1m x 1.5m), and followed a line on the floor, or a buried wire of some sort. Beacons or bar codes allowed the robots to recognize where they were at on the route.
While I don't have any references for these books, one book I do own, entitled "The Robot Book" by Robert Malone (copyright 1978, ISBN 0-15-678452-1), shows on page 22 a picture of a robot called the "Lear Siegler Mailmobile" - looks basically like a large and mobile mail slot tray. I encourage anyone with an interest in robotics to get a copy of this book - lots of large, great imagery of various robots, real and fictional, as well as automata and other "automatic" machinery from earlier periods (it includes several large images of Hughes Aircraft Mobots, and a great picture of the GE Hardiman exoskeleton).
Ever wonder why the "standard" test for a simple robot is a line following 'bot? Simply because this is a major industrial task used in a variety of robotic systems, even today (very robust if done properly). I remember taking a tour of a new newspaper publishing plant in my hometown when I was a kid - they had similar robots for loading large rolls of paper into the presses...
I want to appologize if I offended you, as that was not my intent in the least. It just amazes me to hear stories like that, considering that at the time computers weren't looked upon as "something every kid should have", simply because they were so expensive and "unique". It was an interesting time, somewhere between novel and few, and ubiquitous.
It is great to hear what really happened, and to know the old beast still runs (I recently had a nostalgia fit and built an "emulator box" on a PC, running Jeff Vavassour's CoCo emulators - I then transferred a large majority of my old CoCo software to the machine, then once I had it built, I made an image of the system on CD - so I have a copy of all my old junk now)...
Were your parents rich or something? I remember drooling over this system in the the Radio Shack catalog (I was stuck with a "lowly" Color Computer 2) - a full blown 16 system ran close to $10,000 at the time (cheap for an office system, though)...
Or maybe - are diffraction gratings a form of a hologram?
What I am trying to get at, is that they appear to have used a microdisplay to generate a diffraction grating pattern that generates the resultant image - similar to how the el-cheapo laser pointer keychain devices use small diffraction gratings to "project" words and drawings on walls.
Is there more to this? Am I missing something? Whatever the case, it looks like very interesting and promising technology...
Gee, I wonder why this really is - couldn't have nothing to do with people actually checking on their own, could it...?
Yeah, yeah - I know it is ostentaciously there to prevent people from pumping gas into a garbage bag (and I am sure that has been done), but still - makes you wonder...
Most of that information is still classified, I would bet. I know that there were a few publicized "duds" - depending on your definition of "dud". Which is to say that the weapon test worked, but it didn't yield what was calculated and expected. If there was ever any that didn't work at all, I haven't read about them.
Conversely, there were plenty of tests that yielded way larger explosions that what was calculated and expected...
An atomic bomb is a (somewhat) simple device to build - a simple "gun-type" bomb, like was used on Hiroshima (IIRC), doesn't really have many parts. The difficult part lies in the uranium enrichment process, and being able to figure out and manufacture the two subcritical "pieces" of enriched uranium (U-238?), and then assembling them without them going critical. A multi-stage atomic bomb is even trickier to design and assemble.
When you get into thermonuclear (H-bomb) designs, things get really hairy, really quick - the Mike device was a *huge* machine, about the size of a small house (but it did have a 10 MT yield). Once a working design is built, then efforts to miniaturize it can be done.
My fear is that we are losing our fear of atomic and thermonuclear bombs. They are seriously being considered (or have been considered) by our current administration (here in the US) for use in war, as tactical devices (like bunker busting and such). We have the capability to build such small nuclear bombs (one of many tests done during the 50's and 60's was a balloon mounted device which yielded an explosion around 190 tons - that small!). But should they be used?
Most peoples recollections of the devastation manifested by a nuclear bomb come from the aftermath images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These images, as horrific as they were (and honestly, if you compare them to the firebombings of Tokyo or Dresden, they look similar), pale in comparison to what modern devices are capable of. The fact that most large cities had bomb patterns of 6-8 large (1 MT or >) bombs - the devastation that would have resulted is unfathomable (there would likely be nothing left standing - the craters left would have been huge, and all around them would be molten slag). We really don't know what would happen, though - I hope we never get to know, ever.
An interesting side note - there were a few survivors of Hiroshima who were damn near right at ground-zero when the bomb went off. IIRC, they were inside the hospital, and protected from the initial heat and blast by the building and grounds themselves. It is amazing to think that they could be that close, yet come out (initially) unscathed (meanwhile, there were further "survivors" who had major 2nd and 3rd degree burns, who wandered into a river to cool thier bodies - and found that that water was boiling hot - shudder)...
As a whole, we are a hateful and hurting species unto ourselves...
...they could easily buy a small, high-resolution "lipstick" camera, a microphone, and a 12 volt RV VCR - shove it all in a backpack and go in, and it would be near impossible to detect the camera. If you wanted to miniturize it a bit, a smaller camcorder or something with video-in (eliminates the microphone, too).
Sure, the movie is going to look like crap, but it isn't like it doesn't already with a hand-held camera. You might even be able to hide the camera behind some of those oversize granny sunglasses if you wanted to. Such a rig wouldn't be cheap, but it would be under $1000.00 (US).
Right now, they could defeat such a scheme by not allowing bags or backpacks in the theater (though that might get some ladies pissed), but when pocket video recorders are out (heh, as if they aren't close already) - what will stop it then? Strip searches? Frisking? Both?
I am not saying bootlegging movies is right - it obviously is a blatent copyright violation. But their approach is very shortsighted (and it makes me wonder, with its shortsightedness, just how asleep at the wheel these guys are)...
If you want to really be scared, try writing your representatives sometime.
It will take (depending on your rep, I suppose) anywhere from a few months to never for you to receive a response.
Maybe it is just my state (AZ), but my representatives seem to be the most clueless on the planet, nor do they seem to give a f--k about me or any of the other citizens of this state or country. Of course, it isn't like our population is all that bright, either (how many crooks have we elected to be Govenor of this state? Furthermore, if they aren't crooks, they are dumber than rocks).
I would write my representatives on this issue again, expressing logical arguments on why this won't work, why it has never worked, etc. I am certain, though, I will get back yet-another-response containing more words of "for the children" and "against terrorism", and other stupid, emotion-button pushing drivel that serves no purpose in the face of logic and reason.
When you see the responses (and I pray that the responses I receive from my reps aren't indicative of the whole group of reps for the nation - but a portion of me feels that, on the whole, it is) that come back to you - you will really be scared...
Actually, we don't have computers on our desktops that are more powerful than what was available to develop the hydrogen bomb.
Up until late 60's or so, a lot of development work was done with live tests of nuclear devices. As test-ban treaties were made, these tests were moved to underground tests, then finally - no (sanctioned) tests at all. However, you still need to be able to "test" your devices before, during, and after you build them. So, what do you do?
You simulate them, on a computer. Actually, you simulate them on very fast parallel processing vector computers, which is *not* something we have on the desktop, nor is it something that is easily built. A beowulf (or other) cluster is *not* a vector parallel processing machine. Fast vector machines need special purpose CPUs, ultra-fast interconnects to memory, etc.
That isn't to say that some design work or simulation couldn't be done on such machines (using older or current technology). It most certainly can. Nor am I saying nothing can be done with a desktop machine - there is a lot that could be done - but large scale detonation simulation is not one of them.
I agree with your sentiments and logic, though - attempting to stop the tech won't do any good. We developed the H-Bomb using good-ole fashioned 60's tech, with plenty of above ground and other nuclear detonations. The test-ban treaties mean nothing to countries that didn't sign them - they will test whenever, whereever they want to. Plus, any legislation as shown ignores the fact that other countries are jsut as capable as us in developing the technology needed (as needed - its a big jump to just get an atomic bomb, and one would think that would be enough, but the next stage is even harder to attain).
Ultimately, our lawmakers (whatever country they reside in) need to get past this idea that countries are somehow isolated in the world based on those damn lines on a map, and come to terms with the fact that we are all on one big rock. We need to learn how to live with each other, how to accept each other, how to understand each other, and how to help each other. Somehow, we are able to (mostly) do it in each of our "petty" countries - why is it so damn difficult to do the same worldwide? If we don't learn to do this, we run the great risk of wiping ourselves off this planet...
...but the main magazines I get and read are Nuts and Volts (hobby/professional electronics), Servo Magazine (spin-off from N&V, focused on hobby/pro robotics), Game Developer (managed to get that one as a free rag, somehow), 2600 (been a subscriber for a long while), and New Times (Phoenix area edition, local news/magazine)...
Actually, if you read up on the Flostation (I misspelled it, I think, in my original post), you will find that it actually worked very, very well. The chair was designed to minimise pressure points on the user, to mimic "weightlessness" (it was designed and built under a grant from NASA as a system to train astronauts) - thus you became a "head" floating through space (as closely as possible). The hemisphere screen was big enough that focussing of the user wasn't as big of an issue as it is with an HMD (which causes eyestrain). Plus, while the flicker-glasses weren't used in the Flostation, they wouldn't be an issue on contrast or resolution (such a system is used all over in CAVEs - they have fantastic resolution and brightness, its just a rear-projected image).
However, I will say your compromise solution is interesting (kinda like a stripped-down Poetic Tech workstation) - and it is one that could be built (prototyped) damn cheap - three or four el-cheapo Ben-Q LCD monitors, a lounge chair mounted on a lazy-susan bearing, an IR-based encoder wheel system for the rotation, a motor, some switches (or software control)...
Suspicious files? What if all (or even a part) of the pr0n pics on the alt.sex.* hierarchy are actually stego-encoded images? Furthermore, that stego'd data could actually be "pre-encrypted", before the stego operation, thwarting any surveillance efforts easily. Are the going to trace everyone looking at/for pr0n?
Hmmm - I wonder if my truck meets EPA fuel mileage studies...
Somehow, I highly doubt it - 25 gallon tank, and you can watch the fuel gauge drop as you drive...
BTW - Before anyone flames me (this is anything but an SUV, folks), I only use it as a "recreation" vehicle - off-road, etc. It isn't a daily driver (hell, there is no A/C in it, and I had to bypass the heater core because it has a leak) - for that my 1994 2.3L 4-banger Ranger suffices...
Slashdot Mirror
How do I position this new toolbar within the rest of the "default" toolbars - right now I have "stacked": Menubar, Navbar, Bookmarks, PrefBar, then tabs - I would like to reorder this "stack" to position things better.
I haven't looked deep enough, nor have I googled extensively on the problem. Tell me what I need to change/modify/add - if it is possible, that is.
Also - if anyone can give me a pointer, is is possible to set up a mime type or something to have XINE play inside the browser (or heck, even just fire up) - can anyone reccommend a good site showing all of this extra goodness howto?
Thank you in advance...
Tesla's seems to have had a number of goals, all with the combined goal (ok, maybe not the ill-conceived flying bedstead aeroplane patent) of a world power distribution system. He was very keen on resonant frequencies, and the use of resonance to transmit power and information over long distances without wires (ie, Wardenclyffe) - ultimately making power "too cheap to meter". This goal of course was counter to that of his financial backers (Westinghouse, mainly), which of course eventually pulled their money.
Actually, Tesla didn't invent AC generators, but instead improved upon what was currently available. AC was known about by Edison and a lot of other inventors, what was difficult was the use of it, which is where Tesla came in - he invented improved (much improved, via his 3 phase system) AC motors, along with the rest of the power distribution system (transformers and such) - that allowed AC out of the lab and "scientific curiousity", to be able to do actual work for industry...
Most Barnes and Noble bookstore/dvd/music store mish-mash have a "B&N Cafe" - everything looks like "Starbucks" - but no logos anywhere. The truth is, they are Starbucks, they use Starbucks coffee, etc - they just don't show the brand name anywhere...
I tend to wonder if they are the "generic" form of Starbucks (same as how some store brands are actually name-brand products produced for the store, and sold for less than the name-brand, but otherwise identical)...
This is as true today as it was 50 years ago. Furthermore, I think if you can't name "major" components on a motherboard, you shouldn't be messing with it - or at the very least, you should know this and *really* take your time.
I remember upgrading the memory, as a kid, in my TRS-80 Color Computer 3, from 128K to a whopping 512K. This was about 15 years ago. I remember the instructions (which I still have, along with the computer, and upgrade - and yes, it still runs great!) warning about handling the CMOS devices to avoid static electricity (when inserting each of the DRAM chips into their sockets). I ended up grounding myself using a length of steel wire tied to the kitchen faucet, then looped around my arm as I did the upgrade.
All in all, it took me about an hour to perform that first true "upgrade" on my Color Computer - being a 15 year old kid, impatient to get my upgrade going, but knowing that if I screwed up, my parents would be pissed (they paid for it, after all) - I took my time, grounded myself, and made sure I did everything right. So what do I have to show for it?
Well, patience, number one - but I also can still whip out my Color Computer 3, with floppy drive, monitor, and 512K of RAM - and boot it into OS-9 (8 bit multiuser/multitasking, baby!)...
The best way to fix it is to get a new fan, and install it into the power supply (don't just buy a new PS unless you need it for a good reason, a fan will be a lot cheaper).
Barring this, remove the fan, remove the label from the fan, and pop the retainer ring (don't loose it!) off the fan shaft. Remove the fan blade/magnet assembly, apply a drop of silicone oil (or a bit of petroleum jelly) to the shaft, reinsert it into the bearing (spin the fan to distribute the oil on the shaft), and reattach the retainer ring. Clean the area for the sticker (of any grease or oil), and put on a new one (a cheap paper "garage-sale price" label works good).
Such a simple repair takes only minutes, and will last for several months, if not longer (why spend the money if you don't have to?).
I am not sure if you are intending it or not, AC, but I think you might be talking about the new Lexus with its lights which point into turns, right?
The sad part about this is the fact that a TON of people will think this is a new and great thing - when the reality of it is that this "improvement" was available 50 years ago on the Tucker Torpedo. It made sense then, still does - but once again, Tucker is (posthumously) getting the shaft from the auto manufacturers.
Bastards.
Only within the context of your worldview.
One man's porn is another man's everyday activity. Did you know that there is just about a sexual fetish (and thus a porn market) for just about anything? A well known example are images (and video) of a woman wearing high heels stepping on wine glasses. No nudity, just the act alone.
Some people find this highly erotic, to them images of the act could be considered "pornographic". To the rest of society, it is just "odd". In a similar vein, you have the whole "furry" fetish...
The fact is, one can only tell what porn is based on their world view - in some cultures, the sight of a woman's breasts would arouse little or nothing. Other cultures drape curtains on their statues.
Then, read some non-fiction - once you get through this list, you may become suicidal:
I guarantee you will go through all the emotions a human can conjure up once you finish with these two sets and think about it all for a while. Your social and political viewpoints may change. You may feel like running and hiding (or curling up into a ball on the floor).
Another option would be to couple this set with the set I mentioned regarding Network Theory and Emergence, and you might come up with a solution toward a way out of the nightmare advancing on the world. Add a detailed knowledge and practice of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) - heh, who knows? You could probably start a very successful cult...
I guarantee that if you read each of these books, then let the ideas simmer around in your head, you will walk away with a completely changed viewpoint on not only computers and software, but society, government, biology, and the universe itself.
I have read several books published in the early 1980's which talked about these kind of robots. Most of them were about the size of a small chest freezer (about .75m x 1m x 1.5m), and followed a line on the floor, or a buried wire of some sort. Beacons or bar codes allowed the robots to recognize where they were at on the route.
While I don't have any references for these books, one book I do own, entitled "The Robot Book" by Robert Malone (copyright 1978, ISBN 0-15-678452-1), shows on page 22 a picture of a robot called the "Lear Siegler Mailmobile" - looks basically like a large and mobile mail slot tray. I encourage anyone with an interest in robotics to get a copy of this book - lots of large, great imagery of various robots, real and fictional, as well as automata and other "automatic" machinery from earlier periods (it includes several large images of Hughes Aircraft Mobots, and a great picture of the GE Hardiman exoskeleton).
Ever wonder why the "standard" test for a simple robot is a line following 'bot? Simply because this is a major industrial task used in a variety of robotic systems, even today (very robust if done properly). I remember taking a tour of a new newspaper publishing plant in my hometown when I was a kid - they had similar robots for loading large rolls of paper into the presses...
Good story - painful to read, though...
It is great to hear what really happened, and to know the old beast still runs (I recently had a nostalgia fit and built an "emulator box" on a PC, running Jeff Vavassour's CoCo emulators - I then transferred a large majority of my old CoCo software to the machine, then once I had it built, I made an image of the system on CD - so I have a copy of all my old junk now)...
Were your parents rich or something? I remember drooling over this system in the the Radio Shack catalog (I was stuck with a "lowly" Color Computer 2) - a full blown 16 system ran close to $10,000 at the time (cheap for an office system, though)...
Or maybe - are diffraction gratings a form of a hologram?
What I am trying to get at, is that they appear to have used a microdisplay to generate a diffraction grating pattern that generates the resultant image - similar to how the el-cheapo laser pointer keychain devices use small diffraction gratings to "project" words and drawings on walls.
Is there more to this? Am I missing something? Whatever the case, it looks like very interesting and promising technology...
You are right, AC - right after I posted that, I knew I had my word screwed up. Thanks for pointing it out...
Yeah, yeah - I know it is ostentaciously there to prevent people from pumping gas into a garbage bag (and I am sure that has been done), but still - makes you wonder...
Conversely, there were plenty of tests that yielded way larger explosions that what was calculated and expected...
An atomic bomb is a (somewhat) simple device to build - a simple "gun-type" bomb, like was used on Hiroshima (IIRC), doesn't really have many parts. The difficult part lies in the uranium enrichment process, and being able to figure out and manufacture the two subcritical "pieces" of enriched uranium (U-238?), and then assembling them without them going critical. A multi-stage atomic bomb is even trickier to design and assemble.
When you get into thermonuclear (H-bomb) designs, things get really hairy, really quick - the Mike device was a *huge* machine, about the size of a small house (but it did have a 10 MT yield). Once a working design is built, then efforts to miniaturize it can be done.
My fear is that we are losing our fear of atomic and thermonuclear bombs. They are seriously being considered (or have been considered) by our current administration (here in the US) for use in war, as tactical devices (like bunker busting and such). We have the capability to build such small nuclear bombs (one of many tests done during the 50's and 60's was a balloon mounted device which yielded an explosion around 190 tons - that small!). But should they be used?
Most peoples recollections of the devastation manifested by a nuclear bomb come from the aftermath images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These images, as horrific as they were (and honestly, if you compare them to the firebombings of Tokyo or Dresden, they look similar), pale in comparison to what modern devices are capable of. The fact that most large cities had bomb patterns of 6-8 large (1 MT or >) bombs - the devastation that would have resulted is unfathomable (there would likely be nothing left standing - the craters left would have been huge, and all around them would be molten slag). We really don't know what would happen, though - I hope we never get to know, ever.
An interesting side note - there were a few survivors of Hiroshima who were damn near right at ground-zero when the bomb went off. IIRC, they were inside the hospital, and protected from the initial heat and blast by the building and grounds themselves. It is amazing to think that they could be that close, yet come out (initially) unscathed (meanwhile, there were further "survivors" who had major 2nd and 3rd degree burns, who wandered into a river to cool thier bodies - and found that that water was boiling hot - shudder)...
As a whole, we are a hateful and hurting species unto ourselves...
Sure, the movie is going to look like crap, but it isn't like it doesn't already with a hand-held camera. You might even be able to hide the camera behind some of those oversize granny sunglasses if you wanted to. Such a rig wouldn't be cheap, but it would be under $1000.00 (US).
Right now, they could defeat such a scheme by not allowing bags or backpacks in the theater (though that might get some ladies pissed), but when pocket video recorders are out (heh, as if they aren't close already) - what will stop it then? Strip searches? Frisking? Both?
I am not saying bootlegging movies is right - it obviously is a blatent copyright violation. But their approach is very shortsighted (and it makes me wonder, with its shortsightedness, just how asleep at the wheel these guys are)...
It will take (depending on your rep, I suppose) anywhere from a few months to never for you to receive a response.
Maybe it is just my state (AZ), but my representatives seem to be the most clueless on the planet, nor do they seem to give a f--k about me or any of the other citizens of this state or country. Of course, it isn't like our population is all that bright, either (how many crooks have we elected to be Govenor of this state? Furthermore, if they aren't crooks, they are dumber than rocks).
I would write my representatives on this issue again, expressing logical arguments on why this won't work, why it has never worked, etc. I am certain, though, I will get back yet-another-response containing more words of "for the children" and "against terrorism", and other stupid, emotion-button pushing drivel that serves no purpose in the face of logic and reason.
When you see the responses (and I pray that the responses I receive from my reps aren't indicative of the whole group of reps for the nation - but a portion of me feels that, on the whole, it is) that come back to you - you will really be scared...
Up until late 60's or so, a lot of development work was done with live tests of nuclear devices. As test-ban treaties were made, these tests were moved to underground tests, then finally - no (sanctioned) tests at all. However, you still need to be able to "test" your devices before, during, and after you build them. So, what do you do?
You simulate them, on a computer. Actually, you simulate them on very fast parallel processing vector computers, which is *not* something we have on the desktop, nor is it something that is easily built. A beowulf (or other) cluster is *not* a vector parallel processing machine. Fast vector machines need special purpose CPUs, ultra-fast interconnects to memory, etc.
That isn't to say that some design work or simulation couldn't be done on such machines (using older or current technology). It most certainly can. Nor am I saying nothing can be done with a desktop machine - there is a lot that could be done - but large scale detonation simulation is not one of them.
I agree with your sentiments and logic, though - attempting to stop the tech won't do any good. We developed the H-Bomb using good-ole fashioned 60's tech, with plenty of above ground and other nuclear detonations. The test-ban treaties mean nothing to countries that didn't sign them - they will test whenever, whereever they want to. Plus, any legislation as shown ignores the fact that other countries are jsut as capable as us in developing the technology needed (as needed - its a big jump to just get an atomic bomb, and one would think that would be enough, but the next stage is even harder to attain).
Ultimately, our lawmakers (whatever country they reside in) need to get past this idea that countries are somehow isolated in the world based on those damn lines on a map, and come to terms with the fact that we are all on one big rock. We need to learn how to live with each other, how to accept each other, how to understand each other, and how to help each other. Somehow, we are able to (mostly) do it in each of our "petty" countries - why is it so damn difficult to do the same worldwide? If we don't learn to do this, we run the great risk of wiping ourselves off this planet...
...but the main magazines I get and read are Nuts and Volts (hobby/professional electronics), Servo Magazine (spin-off from N&V, focused on hobby/pro robotics), Game Developer (managed to get that one as a free rag, somehow), 2600 (been a subscriber for a long while), and New Times (Phoenix area edition, local news/magazine)...
However, I will say your compromise solution is interesting (kinda like a stripped-down Poetic Tech workstation) - and it is one that could be built (prototyped) damn cheap - three or four el-cheapo Ben-Q LCD monitors, a lounge chair mounted on a lazy-susan bearing, an IR-based encoder wheel system for the rotation, a motor, some switches (or software control)...
Suspicious files? What if all (or even a part) of the pr0n pics on the alt.sex.* hierarchy are actually stego-encoded images? Furthermore, that stego'd data could actually be "pre-encrypted", before the stego operation, thwarting any surveillance efforts easily. Are the going to trace everyone looking at/for pr0n?
Somehow, I highly doubt it - 25 gallon tank, and you can watch the fuel gauge drop as you drive...
BTW - Before anyone flames me (this is anything but an SUV, folks), I only use it as a "recreation" vehicle - off-road, etc. It isn't a daily driver (hell, there is no A/C in it, and I had to bypass the heater core because it has a leak) - for that my 1994 2.3L 4-banger Ranger suffices...