There's another myth about projects -- the requirements were actually correct.
Odds are, if someone is rushing for you to get a project done on an unrealistic timeline, they haven't done their analysis of the project correctly, either. Having _any_ prototype up there can help drive the requirements analysis, so that you can figure out what needs to be changed.
But yes, then you scrap that entire thing, so you can do it correctly.
If you're making minor modifications to an existing system, then yes, you most likely wouldn't need a whole new prototype, but then again, you'd not be designing from the ground up, either, I would hope. [unless you get one some idiot manager who decides a new language is better, or you have to make some sort of fundamental internal change]
Oh -- and if an outside contractor asks for a couple of weeks of logs of the former systems, get rid of them -- a couple of _months_ will not identify cyclic trends that may be present. [especially when you work for a university, and it's the summer]
But be realistic of your goals for the project -- sometimes you're working to optimize on CPU, optimize on memory, optimize on disk usage, or optimize on the programmer's time. Until you get _everything_ running, you won't know which one will be the bottleneck. [although prior experience can give clues]
Most maps are available online -- yet ADC and other companies still exist, who package and distribute maps. People still buy TV Guide, and yet again, it's something that people could get online for free, if they knew where to look.
I've written code to parse the NOAA's collection of METAR information, because my boss didn't want to pay some service provider for them to supply us with the information that had been converted to a more readily understood format.
But that's not to say that there is no sustainable market for those people who sell the information. In the case of TiVo, they're selling more than just the information, as you're also paying for the rest of your system, and continued R&D. [and of course, lining someone's pockets, but we'll just assume that part isn't a significant number].
There are plenty of things that are sold where the initial sale results in a loss, but additional money is made over time to justify the cost. Cell phones are a prime example -- they give the phones away, so they can make a profit by selling service. If TiVo wasn't selling service, they'd have to charge you more upfront. [and in fact, there's the 'lifetime' charge, which takes this into consideration, however, they're still losing money in the expense of their modem banks, and whatever else it takes for them to supply to information and distribution infrastructure]
Just because you aren't willing to pay for the service, doesn't mean that no one else is willing to pay for convenience. We live in a commercial society where people are willing to pay extra for time savings (prepackaged meals), and to show off (luxury vehicles, oversized homes)
I'm not going to claim that I can predict that TiVo is going to flop, or not, and I did work with my roommate on building a TV-connected game system that was also a PVR a few years ago, and I thought the process was a pain in the ass. I do know that I don't bother using it with the current software, and I haven't gone to the trouble of rebuilding it. I'd probably pick up a TiVo, and recycle that system, rather than go to the process of updating it.
Anyone can throw a computer in a pretty case and call it by whatever name they want -- the big deal is the price point they claim to be able to deliver (similar to a console, which MS already did with the XBox), and the concept of a 'subscription' (with a delivery mechanism) for games.
Showing a physical unit off at the CES is like showing a MMORPG without any multi-user support -- it might look pretty, but it's missing the core feature that's supposed to make it special.
If you had attempted to take classes while you believed that the degree wasn't worth anything, you would have slacked off, and possibly have subconciously attempted to prove yourself right.
Actually caring about what you're doing, be it your work, or you school, can make a significant difference in how well you do it.
My former boss's roommate said that he was glad that he didn't go straight to college after high school -- because it gave him a chance to appreciate how important the degree was, and if he had gone straight to college, he probably would have spent all of his time partying, and have failed most of his classes.
'blog's are defined as whatever's convenient to show that readership in them is up 58% in this last year.
I worked on Fark before I had even heard the term 'blog', and the nature of it has changed so much since then, that it's say if it's now more or less like a 'blog'. [hell, we even looked at advertising back then to offset the costs, and we got rejected because we didn't generate content, only linked to other people's content, of course, that was before readers could comment]
Here are a few independant parameters that no one can seem to agree on in their definition:
Personal vs. Group Administered
Personal vs. Group Contributors
Frequency of Updates
Ability for Reader Comments
Type of Funding
Amount of Editorial Oversight
Broad / Narrow Subject Focus
Generated vs. Linked Content
Opinionated vs. 'Neutral'
In the early days of the term, it seemed to be more of the 'online diary' type pages, but came to include sites that were collaborative efforts. I'd have listed anything that updated frequently, with a relatively narrow focus (even if that focus was 'things that Bob finds interesting'). Of course, that definiton would have included sites like AlertBox, ScoopThis, or The Onion.
These days, the media seems to use the term to apply to any site that posts opinionated information without vetting, and updates on a semi-frequent basis, and in this case, I'm guessing it was whatever they needed to prove that it was a potential 'growth industry' to support whatever agenda they might have.
The cost is negligible when you're looking at the cost of the cable vs. the labor costs of installation.
I've used shielded for long, crowded data runs, when you're trying to get to the building demarc, or through some other area that's not in your control.
The real problems I ran into were that it was thicker than unshielded [which is a real problem when you have to go through a rather small hole that's already loaded with cables, which is why we were using shielded in the first place], and it's less flexible, so you can't thread it through 'interesting' areas.
Most situations that might've required shielded can instead run a fibre strand, and send all of their data over that. The only times that I'd still run shielded is when you're going through areas that you're not in control of, and can't restrict access, so you'd have a high chance of someone accidentally breaking your fibre.
[or if if you're in a small company, that can't justify the cost of the fibre termination]
Oh -- and we were using the shielded for ISDN and T1s -- so it was networking, it just wasn't LAN networking.
I'd probably also use shielded in a machine shop, or something else with lots of EMF, but had a high chance of failure through accidents.
As much a troll as the parent might've been, he does make a valid point in that people's time is valuable.
I can't stand it when someone posts a URL to some mailing list, telling everyone to go and look at it, without telling us why we should care about it.
When taken without neighboring information, the only clues that Slashdot gave about the article was that it was in the 'IT' section, and had a 'bug' picture next to it, so we know it was a technology problem, which most computer geeks would have known from 'overflowed 16-bit counter'.
It doesn't take that much extra effort to add a little more detail so that people can make a decision if it's of sufficient interest to spend our time reading the article:
According to the Cincinnati Post, the Comair system crash that resulted in 1,100 airline flight cancelations on Christmas day was caused by an overflowed 16-bit counter.
Of course, we're constantly bombed with xrays from outer space too, though.
Actually, we're not.
They can't make it through the atmosphere, at least, not to sea level That's not to say that there isn't plenty of radiation that does make it through the atmosphere (eg, visible light).
There are reasons why there aren't any ground based x-ray observatories -- they're all space based, such as Chandra and Yohkoh
You're comparing how products perform under a specific test that you have devised. (which ideally, is similar to your production environment).
Tuning can have a dramatic difference in performance, and unless you're familiar with all of the products involved, it's impossible to get the best performance out of each one.
The original poster is talking about where one of the systems has been modified so it is not a default install, and specifically customized before being sent to the testor, so that they will perform better. (like with ATI's Quake 'optimization').
As another example, there were some folks trying to get higher rankings in SETI@home, who would return bogus results -- as that was faster than actually performing the calculations. If someone knows that the results won't be checked for accuracy (or can't), and only for time, they can boost their rankings dramatically.
Most people I know refered to the 'All-in-One' macs as 'Luggable'. They didn't have batteries (well, other than for the clock), and they had a seperate keyboard and mouse. You could move them, but it wasn't very small. (I still have an SE/30 w/ carrying case in my basement... I think I have a zero-footprint 45meg SCSI drive down there, with carrying case, too).
The official Apple designation is 'Classic Macs, but that gets confusing, as there was a Mac Classic
I'd classify the iMacs and eMacs in a luggable category, as well. Along with any of the monitor-included Performas, the TAM, and all of the iMac and eMac lines.
The designation 'laptop' didn't happen until they had reached the point where if you placed them on your lap, they wouldn't cut off all circulation to your legs, and require medical attention.
The original Mac Portable was almost 16 lbs. It wasn't even a full pound lighter than the same era Mac Plus. (almost all of the weight savings from the CRT was taken by the battery). The PowerBook 100 was about 5lbs, or 1/3 the weight. Even the ultra-light (for the time), PowerBook Duo line weighed in over 4lbs.
Weights crept up through the PowerBook G3 nearing 8lbs (some versions weighed near 6, though). The original TiBook was still over 5lbs. [it was thin, but dense]. The current generation G4 powerbook is still almost 5 lbs, as is the current iBook.
... represents a potential Achilles' heel for our financial stability and physical security if the networks we are creating are not protected...
And I agree with this part -- companies used to pay for maintaining seperate physical networks, but you bring in a few IT consultants, and they tell you about how you can save so much money by paying them to phase out your outdated frame relay cloud, and move to 'The Internet'.
There's a whole lot of traffic out there that doesn't need to be routed through the main internet -- sure, you can make a little page for some upper level management to check the status of the nuclear reactor from the comfort of his home, but it's just not worth the risk if it means you remove the air gap between networks.
I don't agree with most of the other statements that he made, but companies who connect to the internet need to understand the responsibilities that come along with connecting, and their ISPs need to inform them of those duties, or provide it for them.
The hotter things get, the more likely that people are going to install, and use air conditioners. Air conditioners dump their excess hear outside (warming the environment), and they require power, which most likely is some sort of thermal process. [both fossil fuels and nuclear dump waste heat]
And, if it's fossil fuels being used for energy, then there are extra greenhouse gases created, as well.
Yes, there may be strain on the power grid, but that's just something that humans will compensate for, and correct.
The only built in governor kicks in when the planet gets to the point that humans can no longer survive (or our food and water supplies can't keep up).
Okay, well, it started out as Doom, then Doom II, then Duke 3D, then Quake... a little bit of Counter Strike... you get the idea.
5:00 to 5:30pm every workday.
The boss accepted it, as we explained that it was 'network testing'.
For some reason, my coworkers accused me of being Dogbert after replying to the suggestion box in a negative way, after working 'till 2am to get the annual report for our group done, and then answering the questions, while the others had gone off drinking:
We had to implement a strict rule that you didn't answer people's questions when you weren't working -- if you get stopped while you're at the grocery store by someone who recognized you, then you recommended that they call in, or drop by the office, and talk to someone who's currently working.
[and as for the stalking -- I've had an unlisted number for 6 years, because of a problem with a _coworker_ stalking me, after I helped her... she said that I just didn't understand -- how much do you need to understand when I said stop sending me stuff, and she didn't?]
You mentioned the age range, but didn't say if this was a full day thing, or after school, or maybe just an hour or two. It might also span multiple sessions, which makes it even more difficult.
Assuming it spans multiple sessions (or maybe even if it doesn't), you'll want lots of stages to build up to. This may also be useful if you're unsure of how long things will take, as you may only be able to get to 5 stages, when you planned 7, but you don't have to tell the kids that.
I'd also advise against using soldering irons, unless you had a high number of adults to supervise the kids, or you're just asking for lots of kids with second degree burns. It's probably not worth teaching wire wrapping, but if you can afford breadboards, or can have some sort of board made that you can screw down to, you should be fine.
Here are a few ideas of things that build on each other --
simple closed circuit, light an LED
add a momentary contact switch, so they can make the light turn on when pushed
modify the circuit so the light turns off when the button is pressed
add a sensor so the sensor triggers the LED lighting up
build a second system, to trigger the first one (maybe use IR LED, and an IR sensor?)
add a 555 or similar to make it blink.
change to pots so you can vary the blinking speed
you can also teach them how to read circuit diagrams as you go, and have them follow along in the pictures, and maybe give them the instructions and parts to do the other projects if you run out of time.
I'd probably run it as teams of 2-3 kids, if the group was too large, there was a low adult/child ratio, or there was especially short time.
Did anyone look at the stats on the Samsung site before claiming this?
a roughly 20% reduction in depth, and a 10% reduction in weight. (mass, weight, whatever, I didn't do so well in Physics).
100mm is less than 4 inches. It's still 417mm deep -- that's over 16 inches... and 44kg? That's almost 100lbs.
So, the great break through is that you won't have to punch out the back of whatever cabinet you're trying to put the TV into. You'll still need help moving it so you don't throw your back out, and still need some sort of cabinet to put it in, as it's not light enough to be directly wall mounted without some reinforcing first.
I'm not saying this isn't a improvement, but it's not any real breakthrough -- things have been getting smaller for years. They'll continue to get smaller.
There are currently three space-bound observatories for astronomy. For instance, Spitzer meets the qualifications you gave, the difference being that it operates in the IR range, while Chandra looks at x-rays.
Hubble works in the visible range. But that's not to say that it's the only space-based visible spectrum satellite, as there's also SOHO, which points at the sun, and isn't used to point anywhere but the sun.
[I'm not an astronomer, but I work on the STEREO and VSO projects]
The president's real impact comes from a few minor powers --
They can deploy the military. (they can't declare war, however)
They nominate people in a few key positions (attorney general, CIA director, secretary of defense, etc)
They act as the public face to visiting dignitaries
They can veto new laws
We've seen the impact of the first one from the current president -- he can send the troops in, and effectively pressure the legislative branch to declare war. The second one can have an effect, as we've seen w/ Ashcroft's pressure for the PATRIOT act. The third one is one of the bigger ones -- do you have someone who's going to provoke other countries, or try to get along? [and don't get me started on those who said Gore would've been a better president -- did you watch the debates?]
So we come to the veto -- the ability to veto means that it's signficantly more difficult to pass a law that the president doesn't want -- instead of the normal simple majority (just over 50%), they need a 2/3 majority.
As to the overall direction of the country, however, you're right -- just a change in president won't directly turn the country around. The judicial branch acts as a stabilitizing group, preventing things from changing too fast, as they're appointed for life (one of those folks the president can impact), and the legislative branch should act as a more representative distribution of the population, to help balance things out.
You have to be a little insane to want to be a politician.
That being said, he's already explained what the problem is with a direct popular vote:
Going to a straight popular vote would, perversely, represent the end of American democracy. Candidates would be inclined to cater to a few urban areas where they can buy the most votes for their buck (or their promise), effectively disenfranchising rural voters. To the extent that the presidency is a representative office, it should represent Peoria and Birmingham as much as it represents New York and Los Angeles.
I personally liked the comparison to the world series -- it's not how many total runs you get -- it's a series of smaller games. Likewise, the election is a series of smaller 'races' -- you have to win a lot of smaller competitions, so that you can get enough points to win the final victory.
Slashdot Mirror
There's another myth about projects -- the requirements were actually correct.
Odds are, if someone is rushing for you to get a project done on an unrealistic timeline, they haven't done their analysis of the project correctly, either. Having _any_ prototype up there can help drive the requirements analysis, so that you can figure out what needs to be changed.
But yes, then you scrap that entire thing, so you can do it correctly.
If you're making minor modifications to an existing system, then yes, you most likely wouldn't need a whole new prototype, but then again, you'd not be designing from the ground up, either, I would hope. [unless you get one some idiot manager who decides a new language is better, or you have to make some sort of fundamental internal change]
Oh -- and if an outside contractor asks for a couple of weeks of logs of the former systems, get rid of them -- a couple of _months_ will not identify cyclic trends that may be present. [especially when you work for a university, and it's the summer]
But be realistic of your goals for the project -- sometimes you're working to optimize on CPU, optimize on memory, optimize on disk usage, or optimize on the programmer's time. Until you get _everything_ running, you won't know which one will be the bottleneck. [although prior experience can give clues]
You're paying for packaging and convenience.
Most maps are available online -- yet ADC and other companies still exist, who package and distribute maps. People still buy TV Guide, and yet again, it's something that people could get online for free, if they knew where to look.
I've written code to parse the NOAA's collection of METAR information, because my boss didn't want to pay some service provider for them to supply us with the information that had been converted to a more readily understood format.
But that's not to say that there is no sustainable market for those people who sell the information. In the case of TiVo, they're selling more than just the information, as you're also paying for the rest of your system, and continued R&D. [and of course, lining someone's pockets, but we'll just assume that part isn't a significant number].
There are plenty of things that are sold where the initial sale results in a loss, but additional money is made over time to justify the cost. Cell phones are a prime example -- they give the phones away, so they can make a profit by selling service. If TiVo wasn't selling service, they'd have to charge you more upfront. [and in fact, there's the 'lifetime' charge, which takes this into consideration, however, they're still losing money in the expense of their modem banks, and whatever else it takes for them to supply to information and distribution infrastructure]
Just because you aren't willing to pay for the service, doesn't mean that no one else is willing to pay for convenience. We live in a commercial society where people are willing to pay extra for time savings (prepackaged meals), and to show off (luxury vehicles, oversized homes)
I'm not going to claim that I can predict that TiVo is going to flop, or not, and I did work with my roommate on building a TV-connected game system that was also a PVR a few years ago, and I thought the process was a pain in the ass. I do know that I don't bother using it with the current software, and I haven't gone to the trouble of rebuilding it. I'd probably pick up a TiVo, and recycle that system, rather than go to the process of updating it.
Anyone can throw a computer in a pretty case and call it by whatever name they want -- the big deal is the price point they claim to be able to deliver (similar to a console, which MS already did with the XBox), and the concept of a 'subscription' (with a delivery mechanism) for games.
Showing a physical unit off at the CES is like showing a MMORPG without any multi-user support -- it might look pretty, but it's missing the core feature that's supposed to make it special.
If you had attempted to take classes while you believed that the degree wasn't worth anything, you would have slacked off, and possibly have subconciously attempted to prove yourself right.
Actually caring about what you're doing, be it your work, or you school, can make a significant difference in how well you do it.
My former boss's roommate said that he was glad that he didn't go straight to college after high school -- because it gave him a chance to appreciate how important the degree was, and if he had gone straight to college, he probably would have spent all of his time partying, and have failed most of his classes.
I worked on Fark before I had even heard the term 'blog', and the nature of it has changed so much since then, that it's say if it's now more or less like a 'blog'. [hell, we even looked at advertising back then to offset the costs, and we got rejected because we didn't generate content, only linked to other people's content, of course, that was before readers could comment]
Here are a few independant parameters that no one can seem to agree on in their definition:
- Personal vs. Group Administered
- Personal vs. Group Contributors
- Frequency of Updates
- Ability for Reader Comments
- Type of Funding
- Amount of Editorial Oversight
- Broad / Narrow Subject Focus
- Generated vs. Linked Content
- Opinionated vs. 'Neutral'
In the early days of the term, it seemed to be more of the 'online diary' type pages, but came to include sites that were collaborative efforts. I'd have listed anything that updated frequently, with a relatively narrow focus (even if that focus was 'things that Bob finds interesting'). Of course, that definiton would have included sites like AlertBox, ScoopThis, or The Onion.These days, the media seems to use the term to apply to any site that posts opinionated information without vetting, and updates on a semi-frequent basis, and in this case, I'm guessing it was whatever they needed to prove that it was a potential 'growth industry' to support whatever agenda they might have.
The cost is negligible when you're looking at the cost of the cable vs. the labor costs of installation.
I've used shielded for long, crowded data runs, when you're trying to get to the building demarc, or through some other area that's not in your control.
The real problems I ran into were that it was thicker than unshielded [which is a real problem when you have to go through a rather small hole that's already loaded with cables, which is why we were using shielded in the first place], and it's less flexible, so you can't thread it through 'interesting' areas.
Most situations that might've required shielded can instead run a fibre strand, and send all of their data over that. The only times that I'd still run shielded is when you're going through areas that you're not in control of, and can't restrict access, so you'd have a high chance of someone accidentally breaking your fibre.
[or if if you're in a small company, that can't justify the cost of the fibre termination]
Oh -- and we were using the shielded for ISDN and T1s -- so it was networking, it just wasn't LAN networking.
I'd probably also use shielded in a machine shop, or something else with lots of EMF, but had a high chance of failure through accidents.
I thought .NET was supposed to be language agnostic -- ie, it was SOAP. [although, document/literal, as opposed to early SOAP that was rpc/encoded]
I wasted way too much time before I found a decent explaination of the different SOAP encoding styles
I can't stand it when someone posts a URL to some mailing list, telling everyone to go and look at it, without telling us why we should care about it.
When taken without neighboring information, the only clues that Slashdot gave about the article was that it was in the 'IT' section, and had a 'bug' picture next to it, so we know it was a technology problem, which most computer geeks would have known from 'overflowed 16-bit counter'.
It doesn't take that much extra effort to add a little more detail so that people can make a decision if it's of sufficient interest to spend our time reading the article:
They can't make it through the atmosphere, at least, not to sea level That's not to say that there isn't plenty of radiation that does make it through the atmosphere (eg, visible light).
There are reasons why there aren't any ground based x-ray observatories -- they're all space based, such as Chandra and Yohkoh
- wikipedia explaination
- Time and Date explaination
(and it was based on Biel, not Zurich, being the place of Swatch headquarters)You're comparing how products perform under a specific test that you have devised. (which ideally, is similar to your production environment).
Tuning can have a dramatic difference in performance, and unless you're familiar with all of the products involved, it's impossible to get the best performance out of each one.
The original poster is talking about where one of the systems has been modified so it is not a default install, and specifically customized before being sent to the testor, so that they will perform better. (like with ATI's Quake 'optimization').
As another example, there were some folks trying to get higher rankings in SETI@home, who would return bogus results -- as that was faster than actually performing the calculations. If someone knows that the results won't be checked for accuracy (or can't), and only for time, they can boost their rankings dramatically.
Most people I know refered to the 'All-in-One' macs as 'Luggable'. They didn't have batteries (well, other than for the clock), and they had a seperate keyboard and mouse. You could move them, but it wasn't very small. (I still have an SE/30 w/ carrying case in my basement ... I think I have a zero-footprint 45meg SCSI drive down there, with carrying case, too).
The official Apple designation is 'Classic Macs, but that gets confusing, as there was a Mac Classic
I'd classify the iMacs and eMacs in a luggable category, as well. Along with any of the monitor-included Performas, the TAM, and all of the iMac and eMac lines.
The designation 'laptop' didn't happen until they had reached the point where if you placed them on your lap, they wouldn't cut off all circulation to your legs, and require medical attention.
The original Mac Portable was almost 16 lbs. It wasn't even a full pound lighter than the same era Mac Plus. (almost all of the weight savings from the CRT was taken by the battery). The PowerBook 100 was about 5lbs, or 1/3 the weight. Even the ultra-light (for the time), PowerBook Duo line weighed in over 4lbs.
Weights crept up through the PowerBook G3 nearing 8lbs (some versions weighed near 6, though). The original TiBook was still over 5lbs. [it was thin, but dense]. The current generation G4 powerbook is still almost 5 lbs, as is the current iBook.
There's a whole lot of traffic out there that doesn't need to be routed through the main internet -- sure, you can make a little page for some upper level management to check the status of the nuclear reactor from the comfort of his home, but it's just not worth the risk if it means you remove the air gap between networks.
I don't agree with most of the other statements that he made, but companies who connect to the internet need to understand the responsibilities that come along with connecting, and their ISPs need to inform them of those duties, or provide it for them.
In the early days, you had people point you to news.announce.newusers or later, rfc1855 Netiquette Guidelines if you misbehaved. It's now the blind leading the blind.
The hotter things get, the more likely that people are going to install, and use air conditioners. Air conditioners dump their excess hear outside (warming the environment), and they require power, which most likely is some sort of thermal process. [both fossil fuels and nuclear dump waste heat]
And, if it's fossil fuels being used for energy, then there are extra greenhouse gases created, as well.
Yes, there may be strain on the power grid, but that's just something that humans will compensate for, and correct.
The only built in governor kicks in when the planet gets to the point that humans can no longer survive (or our food and water supplies can't keep up).
5:00 to 5:30pm every workday.
The boss accepted it, as we explained that it was 'network testing'.
For some reason, my coworkers accused me of being Dogbert after replying to the suggestion box in a negative way, after working 'till 2am to get the annual report for our group done, and then answering the questions, while the others had gone off drinking:We had to implement a strict rule that you didn't answer people's questions when you weren't working -- if you get stopped while you're at the grocery store by someone who recognized you, then you recommended that they call in, or drop by the office, and talk to someone who's currently working.
[and as for the stalking -- I've had an unlisted number for 6 years, because of a problem with a _coworker_ stalking me, after I helped her... she said that I just didn't understand -- how much do you need to understand when I said stop sending me stuff, and she didn't?]
Assuming it spans multiple sessions (or maybe even if it doesn't), you'll want lots of stages to build up to. This may also be useful if you're unsure of how long things will take, as you may only be able to get to 5 stages, when you planned 7, but you don't have to tell the kids that.
I'd also advise against using soldering irons, unless you had a high number of adults to supervise the kids, or you're just asking for lots of kids with second degree burns. It's probably not worth teaching wire wrapping, but if you can afford breadboards, or can have some sort of board made that you can screw down to, you should be fine.
Here are a few ideas of things that build on each other --
- simple closed circuit, light an LED
- add a momentary contact switch, so they can make the light turn on when pushed
- modify the circuit so the light turns off when the button is pressed
- add a sensor so the sensor triggers the LED lighting up
- build a second system, to trigger the first one (maybe use IR LED, and an IR sensor?)
- add a 555 or similar to make it blink.
- change to pots so you can vary the blinking speed
you can also teach them how to read circuit diagrams as you go, and have them follow along in the pictures, and maybe give them the instructions and parts to do the other projects if you run out of time.I'd probably run it as teams of 2-3 kids, if the group was too large, there was a low adult/child ratio, or there was especially short time.
Did anyone look at the stats on the Samsung site before claiming this?
a roughly 20% reduction in depth, and a 10% reduction in weight. (mass, weight, whatever, I didn't do so well in Physics).
100mm is less than 4 inches. It's still 417mm deep -- that's over 16 inches... and 44kg? That's almost 100lbs.
So, the great break through is that you won't have to punch out the back of whatever cabinet you're trying to put the TV into. You'll still need help moving it so you don't throw your back out, and still need some sort of cabinet to put it in, as it's not light enough to be directly wall mounted without some reinforcing first.
I'm not saying this isn't a improvement, but it's not any real breakthrough -- things have been getting smaller for years. They'll continue to get smaller.
I just have to ask -- if you're getting the hardware for $100, are you going to shell out $300 for software?
I don't remember there being so many complaints about software piracy when it was $3-4k for the hardware, and maybe $20-50 for most software.
All that you're going to have is more people who can afford the hardware, but can't afford the software on top of it... and more piracy as a result.
Yes, there are things that Hubble can do that no other satellites can do, but not for the reasons you listed.
Hubble is one of multiple telescopes in NASA's Great Observatories project.
There are currently three space-bound observatories for astronomy.
For instance, Spitzer meets the qualifications you gave, the difference being that it operates in the IR range, while Chandra looks at x-rays.
Hubble works in the visible range. But that's not to say that it's the only space-based visible spectrum satellite, as there's also SOHO, which points at the sun, and isn't used to point anywhere but the sun.
[I'm not an astronomer, but I work on the STEREO and VSO projects]
- They can deploy the military. (they can't declare war, however)
- They nominate people in a few key positions (attorney general, CIA director, secretary of defense, etc)
- They act as the public face to visiting dignitaries
- They can veto new laws
We've seen the impact of the first one from the current president -- he can send the troops in, and effectively pressure the legislative branch to declare war. The second one can have an effect, as we've seen w/ Ashcroft's pressure for the PATRIOT act. The third one is one of the bigger ones -- do you have someone who's going to provoke other countries, or try to get along? [and don't get me started on those who said Gore would've been a better president -- did you watch the debates?]So we come to the veto -- the ability to veto means that it's signficantly more difficult to pass a law that the president doesn't want -- instead of the normal simple majority (just over 50%), they need a 2/3 majority.
As to the overall direction of the country, however, you're right -- just a change in president won't directly turn the country around. The judicial branch acts as a stabilitizing group, preventing things from changing too fast, as they're appointed for life (one of those folks the president can impact), and the legislative branch should act as a more representative distribution of the population, to help balance things out.
That being said, he's already explained what the problem is with a direct popular vote:I personally liked the comparison to the world series -- it's not how many total runs you get -- it's a series of smaller games. Likewise, the election is a series of smaller 'races' -- you have to win a lot of smaller competitions, so that you can get enough points to win the final victory.
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HardOCP is a gaming website. Last year, they ran an article questioning the Infinium Phantom Console which had been announced, but no one had yet seen.
The article did some probing into the company, and some of their claims, such as the history of the president of Infinium.
Infinium stated they would sue HardOCP over the letter, and sent e-mail to tell HardOCP to change or remove parts of the article. HardOCP didn't cave, and so, there was a lawsuit, and now it's progressed to this (which isn't really a win).