If it's regulated like alcohol (no driving under the influence, age restrictions, etc) then drugs should be legal.
Good idea.
Drugs should be regulated in proportion to their tendency to harm society. Tobacco smoke can be inhaled by non-smokers, so its use should be regulated. Alcohol impairs judgement, so its use should be regulated. Marijuana has some features of both, so its use should be regulated.
By the same token, PCP makes people into violent supermen, so its use should be forbidden.
I know aluminum tends to be brittle, and copper is very malleable. Perhaps they chose nickel because it's between the two? Any mechanical engineers want to comment?
Species become extinct because they are no longer viable in their environment...
Yes, but... I don't like the distribution of critters that our man-made environment is producing. Rats, pigeons, crows, starlings, cockroaches, flies, etc. There's nothing wrong with those animals in their natural environment, but they are the only non-domestic animals that seem to be adapting well to the environments we are creating.
I don't know about you, but I want a bit more variety. Remember that monocultures are vulnerable. (And those animals are ugly besides.)
...didn't recognize the dwindling numbers and finished them off...
The idea that Man should be a preserver of other species is very recent. I would be interested to hear an example of intentional conservation of a species that happened before 1900.
Hopefully they have something more in place than "uh...don't use the network unless you paid".
PersonalTelco uses a program called NoCatAuth (http://nocat.net/) to inform users about the service before they can use it. I assume that Starbucks/T-mobile is using something similar, only it confirms a paid account as well.
In fact, it's impossible to prove that there are any Lychrel numbers.
Actually, it might be possible to find a non-constructive proof of the existence of Lychrel numbers, that gives you no insight to whether 196 is one, or why they happen.
Of course, it's always interesting to see slaves rationalize their slavery.
Slavery isn't slavery when the "slave" can leave any time he wants to.
Your job only becomes slavery when you have placed yourself in a position where you cannot afford to leave. In such a case, you are rarely a slave to your employer. Rather, you are a slave to your creditors, and must submit to your employer to meet their demands.
I basically agree with you, but I'd like to raise a question. Why is it that a choice to conform is somehow seen as restricting our freedom? Forcing someone to rebel is just as bad as forcing someone to conform.
I'd say that a 100kW IR laser at close range would do a lot more than blind you. In fact, your incandescent ash would probably blind plenty of people by itself.
I have this feeling that you don't know what bandwidth means.
Here's a hint: it isn't the total quantity of data transferred over a period of time.
Yes, the term "bandwidth" was created to mean the width of the frequency band your transmission uses. However, there's no reason why it must remain so narrowly defined. Because Shannon's Channel Capacity Theorom states that channel capacity is directly proportional to bandwidth (for a given noise level), the two terms are used interchangeably.
That's all fine and dandy, but lasers are typically very inefficient. A typical 5kW industrial CO2 laser has an efficiency of around 10%. If the military laser is about the same, that means you have to generate 1MW of power (and dispose of 900kW of heat). Not quite as easy...
The most important problem of the x86 architecture is the lack of general-purpose registers. All of its (many) other shortcomings can be compensated for. Compilers have to jump through hoops to keep all the functional units busy while generating large numbers of additional reads from and writes to memory because they can't keep all the operands in registers at once. (Register renaming is nice, but only helps for sequential re-use of a register. If you're simultaneously using more values than you have registers, you're out of luck.) The Hammer processors help this problem out by doubling the number of GP registers. The instruction set is still ugly and still burdended by the embarassment that was the 286, but it looks like AMD has fixed what really needed fixing.
That is absolutely false. Lying is no more and no less than an attempt to control the thoughts and actions of another person by controlling the information they base their decisions on. It doesn't matter if you give false information, or you withold relevant information. If your intent is to control their actions, you are lying.
If "gold" were to suddenly lose its scarcity, it might itself be used in some form of fiat currency, or (I believe more likely) people would simply shift to silver, or paladium, or platinum, or even iron.
I used gold as the example because the term "gold rush" means more than "iron rush". However, please note that every metal which is important to our society is present in massive quantities in asteroids. Simply shifting to another metal (discouting the obstacles inherent in such a shift) would not help in that case because _all_ metals would suddenly become non-scarce.
It doesn't matter what the medium of exchange is, it is only important that no one or no small group control its supply. With that control comes abuse, as is seen with fiat currencies everywhere and everywhen.
I wholeheartedly agree. The problem is finding a medium of exchange whose supply is neither controlled by corruptable people, nor controlled by the vagaries of chance.
The fat part is genetics and laziness more than eating a lot.
While it's true that genetics and physical activity have a lot to do with body weight, bear in mind that in order to build that much body, you need food to build it out of.
The very fact that we have poor people who can be idle and still get enough food to build a large body with says a lot in my opinion.
Industry, both business and personal, flourishes when external factors, such as money supply, are stable. That is why a hard currency standard is a good thing, and prevents the boom/bust cycle that fiat currencies foster.
But please don't ignore the effects of a gold rush on an economy based on gold.
For example, consider what would happen to a gold-based economy if asteroid mining became commonplace. Eros, an asteroid of unexceptional size, contains more aluminum, gold, silver, zinc, and other metals than have ever been excavated from the surface of the earth. If such an asteroid were ever mined, any economy based on those metals would be subjected to massive inflation. People would be begging to convert to a fiat currency just so they could buy groceries.
- Rechargable cells die. What do you do with a PalmV that no longer charges well? LiIon cells only last a year or two before they start to degrade quickly.
You buy another pair of rechargable AAAs. LiIon may only last a year, but NiMH AAAs last by the recharge (around 1000). How long do you think that would last you?
I believe what the previous poster was referring to is the non-removability of the Palm V battery. The Handera 330 on the other hand, can use either AAAs or an optional rechargable battery pack.
What more would it take to extend that capability by powering an asteroid back into your favorite Earthbound enemy nation?
A heap of fuel.
We're not even sure if we could divert an asteroid's course if our existence depended upon it. If you have the energy to move asteroids, there are much more convenient forms of it that can be used as weapons.
select what you want, and hit install I select what I want, not what the developer thinks I want
That's fine, if you know what you want.
Inexperienced users need to be able to install software. If they can't, we will never get any more experienced users, because they will give up on Linux and we will never have the privilege of having them as members of our community.
Packages need to have reasonable defaults. Complex programs need a simple and user-friendly way to install a usable subset of their full configuration.
Make the common case fast, and the uncommon case correct.
Quantum encryption wouldn't help. It is very low bit rate, and depends on a very clean transmission medium to allow detection of individual photons. It is used for long-distance provably secure key exchange. These planes would receive their keys before they're launched.
Slashdot Mirror
legalize everything
Bad idea.
If it's regulated like alcohol (no driving under the influence, age restrictions, etc) then drugs should be legal.
Good idea.
Drugs should be regulated in proportion to their tendency to harm society. Tobacco smoke can be inhaled by non-smokers, so its use should be regulated. Alcohol impairs judgement, so its use should be regulated. Marijuana has some features of both, so its use should be regulated.
By the same token, PCP makes people into violent supermen, so its use should be forbidden.
TTFN
I know aluminum tends to be brittle, and copper is very malleable. Perhaps they chose nickel because it's between the two? Any mechanical engineers want to comment?
TTFN
Species become extinct because they are no longer viable in their environment...
Yes, but...
I don't like the distribution of critters that our man-made environment is producing. Rats, pigeons, crows, starlings, cockroaches, flies, etc. There's nothing wrong with those animals in their natural environment, but they are the only non-domestic animals that seem to be adapting well to the environments we are creating.
I don't know about you, but I want a bit more variety. Remember that monocultures are vulnerable. (And those animals are ugly besides.)
TTFN
...didn't recognize the dwindling numbers and finished them off...
The idea that Man should be a preserver of other species is very recent. I would be interested to hear an example of intentional conservation of a species that happened before 1900.
TTFN
Hopefully they have something more in place than "uh...don't use the network unless you paid".
PersonalTelco uses a program called NoCatAuth (http://nocat.net/) to inform users about the service before they can use it. I assume that Starbucks/T-mobile is using something similar, only it confirms a paid account as well.
TTFN
In fact, it's impossible to prove that there are any Lychrel numbers.
Actually, it might be possible to find a non-constructive proof of the existence of Lychrel numbers, that gives you no insight to whether 196 is one, or why they happen.
TTFN
Of course, it's always interesting to see slaves rationalize their slavery.
Slavery isn't slavery when the "slave" can leave any time he wants to.
Your job only becomes slavery when you have placed yourself in a position where you cannot afford to leave. In such a case, you are rarely a slave to your employer. Rather, you are a slave to your creditors, and must submit to your employer to meet their demands.
TTFN
I basically agree with you, but I'd like to raise a question. Why is it that a choice to conform is somehow seen as restricting our freedom? Forcing someone to rebel is just as bad as forcing someone to conform.
TTFN
...that is the one which will break cryptography as we know it.
Only public-key cryptography based on algorithms like RSA will be broken. Symmetric-key cryptosystems will be unaffected.
However, public-key crypto is what makes secure communication possible without prearrangement, so perhaps you are correct after all.
We just have to hope that a discovery that breaks RSA wouldn't break other public-key systems at the same time.
TTFN
Back in the 80s a poly-time algorithm for factoring was given, assuming a poly-time primality test.
Put your money where your mouth is. If you know such an algorithm, you could be very famous very quickly.
Primality testing is very fast. This is what makes RSA usable.
Factoring is very slow. This is what makes RSA secure.
TTFN
The "finish line" may not have room allow a glide-in landing.
Well, the obvious answer to that is a parachute-assisted landing. Once you're over the target area, cut the engine and deploy the chute.
TTFN
I'd say that a 100kW IR laser at close range would do a lot more than blind you. In fact, your incandescent ash would probably blind plenty of people by itself.
TTFN
I have this feeling that you don't know what bandwidth means.
Here's a hint: it isn't the total quantity of data transferred over a period of time.
Yes, the term "bandwidth" was created to mean the width of the frequency band your transmission uses. However, there's no reason why it must remain so narrowly defined. Because Shannon's Channel Capacity Theorom states that channel capacity is directly proportional to bandwidth (for a given noise level), the two terms are used interchangeably.
TTFN
100kW=134HP
That's all fine and dandy, but lasers are typically very inefficient. A typical 5kW industrial CO2 laser has an efficiency of around 10%. If the military laser is about the same, that means you have to generate 1MW of power (and dispose of 900kW of heat). Not quite as easy...
And here's your thirty pieces of silver.
Right this way to the Potter's Field.
The most important problem of the x86 architecture is the lack of general-purpose registers. All of its (many) other shortcomings can be compensated for. Compilers have to jump through hoops to keep all the functional units busy while generating large numbers of additional reads from and writes to memory because they can't keep all the operands in registers at once. (Register renaming is nice, but only helps for sequential re-use of a register. If you're simultaneously using more values than you have registers, you're out of luck.) The Hammer processors help this problem out by doubling the number of GP registers. The instruction set is still ugly and still burdended by the embarassment that was the 286, but it looks like AMD has fixed what really needed fixing.
It's not lying when you conceal the truth.
That is absolutely false. Lying is no more and no less than an attempt to control the thoughts and actions of another person by controlling the information they base their decisions on. It doesn't matter if you give false information, or you withold relevant information. If your intent is to control their actions, you are lying.
If "gold" were to suddenly lose its scarcity, it might itself be used in some form of fiat currency, or (I believe more likely) people would simply shift to silver, or paladium, or platinum, or even iron.
:)
I used gold as the example because the term "gold rush" means more than "iron rush". However, please note that every metal which is important to our society is present in massive quantities in asteroids. Simply shifting to another metal (discouting the obstacles inherent in such a shift) would not help in that case because _all_ metals would suddenly become non-scarce.
It doesn't matter what the medium of exchange is, it is only important that no one or no small group control its supply. With that control comes abuse, as is seen with fiat currencies everywhere and everywhen.
I wholeheartedly agree. The problem is finding a medium of exchange whose supply is neither controlled by corruptable people, nor controlled by the vagaries of chance.
Got any ideas?
The fat part is genetics and laziness more than eating a lot.
While it's true that genetics and physical activity have a lot to do with body weight, bear in mind that in order to build that much body, you need food to build it out of.
The very fact that we have poor people who can be idle and still get enough food to build a large body with says a lot in my opinion.
Industry, both business and personal, flourishes when external factors, such as money supply, are stable. That is why a hard currency standard is a good thing, and prevents the boom/bust cycle that fiat currencies foster.
But please don't ignore the effects of a gold rush on an economy based on gold.
For example, consider what would happen to a gold-based economy if asteroid mining became commonplace. Eros, an asteroid of unexceptional size, contains more aluminum, gold, silver, zinc, and other metals than have ever been excavated from the surface of the earth. If such an asteroid were ever mined, any economy based on those metals would be subjected to massive inflation. People would be begging to convert to a fiat currency just so they could buy groceries.
- Rechargable cells die. What do you do with a PalmV that no longer charges well? LiIon cells only last a year or two before they start to degrade quickly.
You buy another pair of rechargable AAAs. LiIon may only last a year, but NiMH AAAs last by the recharge (around 1000). How long do you think that would last you?
I believe what the previous poster was referring to is the non-removability of the Palm V battery. The Handera 330 on the other hand, can use either AAAs or an optional rechargable battery pack.
if you believe in quantum mechanics....
That's the funny thing about reality. It continues to work whether or not you believe in it. It's sort of the definition.
What more would it take to extend that capability by powering an asteroid back into your favorite Earthbound enemy nation?
A heap of fuel.
We're not even sure if we could divert an asteroid's course if our existence depended upon it. If you have the energy to move asteroids, there are much more convenient forms of it that can be used as weapons.
select what you want, and hit install
I select what I want, not what the developer thinks I want
That's fine, if you know what you want.
Inexperienced users need to be able to install software. If they can't, we will never get any more experienced users, because they will give up on Linux and we will never have the privilege of having them as members of our community.
Packages need to have reasonable defaults. Complex programs need a simple and user-friendly way to install a usable subset of their full configuration.
Make the common case fast, and the uncommon case correct.
Quantum encryption wouldn't help. It is very low bit rate, and depends on a very clean transmission medium to allow detection of individual photons. It is used for long-distance provably secure key exchange. These planes would receive their keys before they're launched.