Company X decides to stop supporting product Y (e.g. by making spare parts etc)
How is this any different than, say, Ford discontinuing its Aerostar minivan line?
It's different in that if you're lucky or persistent enough you'll always be able to find spare parts for your Aerostar minivan in some junkyard or on e-Bay. Some creative Taiwanese company might also have compatible parts. However this is like Ford hitting a kill switch on such and such a date, and suddenly all Aerostars in the world stop working on purpose. Doesn't matter if yours was fine or not. Or if you were in the middle of the desert. What is worse, thanks to the DMCA, if you're in the US and try to get your "Aerostar" working again you are now a CRIMINAL.
I've been here long enough to know about our beloved slashdot car analogies, but sheesh if you can't see the difference, perhaps you need bi-focals after all.
Only on Slashdot could the bleeding sarcasm in parent comment be modded "Insightful" or "Interesting".
Yes, but you should know by now that that's because Funny mods don't give karma, whereas Insightful or Interesting does. So we cheat, because some sarcastic bastards deserve some karma once in a while.
Still.... *throws chair* is better than "take a seat over there"...
And plants everywhere are happy. There are studies that show that increased atmospheric CO2 is sequesteredmore quicklyby plants. After all, if you eat more burgers you're bound to get fat. Feed the plants more CO2 (while avoiding toxic levels), and they will find a way to use it.
Not to mention the fact that the coal power plant is still operating regardless if you plug your car in or not.
Yeah but when enough people start plugging cars in, they'll have to build another coal power plant. Of course there's nuclear, do you mind if we leave the waste in your back yard?
Much depends on engine efficiency, which gets better all the time.
No, that's the whole problem. It doesn't get better. Which is why the government has to make laws to OBLIGE the auto industry to improve the efficiency of their engines. Otherwise the only "efficiency" you will see is a Hummer...but boy you want that sexy Hummer don't you?
Suddenly, all those weeds out there become a biomass base, and farmers will be more than happy to ship the plant waste from growing corn, wheat, rice, etc. to a cellulosic processing plant to turn into biofuels.
Provided the fuel used in shipping all this stuff is less than the fuel produced....
There are just a few other contributors to that, you know -- including some major fields currently down due to the effects of weather, but mostly because China is on a major petroleum buying binge.
Agreed. But it's a publicly traded commodity. The price has nothing to do with the REAL supply and demand, only the PERCEIVED supply and demand. Oil prices rose in the first gulf war too, remember? And then they stabilized once it was over. Oil started rising in 2003, and I will argue that SPECULATION, not "China" or "India" is keeping the price where it is. After all, oil is a "safe bet".
Nigerian idiots disrupt a pipeline that provides a PUNY 160,000 barrels a day (a drop in the fucking ocean) - Price jumps 10%. Supply and demand of actual oil has NOTHING to do with it. Why should traders stop buying? I can see $200 a barrel oil soon, can't you? There's no ceiling, only a floor.
If you want to understand why righties think it is treasonous to protest an ongoing war
Dr. Goebbels would be so proud of you.
This "war" is a misuse of an army to "police" a civilian population. They've even finally given up on calling them "terrorists" and "insurgents" and are now calling the resistance "criminals". Only with the possibility of facing summary execution if they act suspiciously or carry something that looks like a weapon.
Soldiers are not policemen, and they never will be. Soldiers mixed with civilian populations for any great period of time THROUGHOUT HISTORY have only brought disastrous results - usually at the expense of the civilians.
But you are saying that people should passively accept this COMPLETE misunderstanding of what an Army is supposed to do. We should continue to pay for the continued deployment of troops that are the CAUSE of the resistance in the first place? Remember that we're paying this two ways - first, the government is (again) borrowing money to fund the war. Money that could have been saved, or could have been spent on infrastructure HERE. AND you are also paying directly with $118/barrel oil.
And you think we should just be quiet, otherwise the "terrorists win"? My friend, the terrorists have ALREADY won. America has changed its way of life, spent a shitload of money, lost a lot of troops and equipment (not to mention the injured), and polarized the entire arab world against it more than ever. Mission Accomplished.
One thing is treason, another thing is "Intelligence". Is it treason when a government acts against the wishes of 70% of its people? Should we hang the 70%?
vote the current administration out of office in November.
Are you kidding me? Remember Bill Clinton and that little gem he left us, called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? Why can't I play a DVD that I bought at a store legally under linux? How come what was a minor violation of civil law is now a criminal offense complete with jail time and all - even if all I wanted to do was copy my kids' VCR Disney movies (which I paid for) onto a DVD? How come people are going to JAIL for modding their X-boxes?
The Democrats are no better. Unfortunately America just can't ever imagine voting for an independent candidate. So it's going to be the same bullshit no matter WHO you vote for.
it would be treated something along the lines of refusing to give a breathalyzer sample.
Yes but you see, when you sign for your driver's license if you read the fine print, you are signing an agreement at the same time that you will give a breath/blood sample if you are pulled over for suspicion of DUI. When you refuse to provide the sample, you are violating an agreement between yourself and the state, and that's why they can lock you up, hold you, take your license away and take your car.
It's not because they "assume" you have something to hide. It's because you're breaking the agreement and just gave them the right to take the sample from you forcibly.
Someone would be stupid to travel across a border with a laptop full of child pornography, well I guess they get what they deserve anyway - however what happens with gray area, pictures of young looking females who you have no idea where you downloaded the images from and can't provide proof of their age? After all, there's not much physical difference between a legal 18 year old and an illegal 17 year old.
Diseases are not only caused by viruses/bacteria. Example: Pneumoconiosis. Or imagine a life form that emits gamma radiation as part of its life process? Hawking is just too smart for you.
2: I suspect there's no other intelligent/space faring life in our galaxy, but probably there is in other galaxies. (Fermi paradox and Tipler-Barrow arguments both are pretty convincing to me).
Other intelligent/space faring life?
Perhaps I'm a little cynical, but I would hardly call the human race "space faring". Oh we put a couple probes on some of our neighboring planets, have another few that are hurtling towards termination shock and running out of power. We've been to the moon a couple times and brought back some rocks, have a handful of people in low earth orbit, and have space vehicles that disintegrate around 1/50 times. We're not really the cosmonauts of this galaxy IMO.
As for intelligence, just look at our sense of nationalism, religion, politics, and pride in sports teams. Look at "road rage". We're ready to kill each other at the drop of the hat for completely nonsensical reasons (ie not necessarily "survival"). Nope, I wouldn't call the human race intelligent either. Oh we're all sentient. Some of us are curious and yearn for more understanding. The rest just cash in on the work of the few members of our species that approach intelligence.
"Learning" games suck. No one will "play it". What they fail to realize is that MMO's are all about spawn camping, ganging up on the weaker noobs and stealing their stuff or at least destroying it, for the epic lulz.
America's Army works because you get to shoot other players. Period.
NASA wants to somehow create a multiplayer "game" that will teach you science??? Unless I can breed mutants on a space station by genetically altering their DNA using cosmic radiation and then unleash them on an unsuspecting Earth, I just don't want to play!
Two bombs, no Air-to-Air capability other than playing "How not to be seen." really well, and subsonic speeds just seemed to make the F-117 come across as oddball in my eyes.
Remember this aircraft was designed during the cold war, for a very specific mission (ie taking out Russian ground based radar sites - before all the other air-to-mud pilots crossed FEBA). Sheesh, haven't you ever read a Clancy novel?
Slashdot Mirror
No, they fixed that after the bad press they got from the Pinto line.
Company X decides to stop supporting product Y (e.g. by making spare parts etc)
How is this any different than, say, Ford discontinuing its Aerostar minivan line?
It's different in that if you're lucky or persistent enough you'll always be able to find spare parts for your Aerostar minivan in some junkyard or on e-Bay. Some creative Taiwanese company might also have compatible parts. However this is like Ford hitting a kill switch on such and such a date, and suddenly all Aerostars in the world stop working on purpose. Doesn't matter if yours was fine or not. Or if you were in the middle of the desert. What is worse, thanks to the DMCA, if you're in the US and try to get your "Aerostar" working again you are now a CRIMINAL.
I've been here long enough to know about our beloved slashdot car analogies, but sheesh if you can't see the difference, perhaps you need bi-focals after all.
Only on Slashdot could the bleeding sarcasm in parent comment be modded "Insightful" or "Interesting".
Yes, but you should know by now that that's because Funny mods don't give karma, whereas Insightful or Interesting does. So we cheat, because some sarcastic bastards deserve some karma once in a while.
Still.... *throws chair* is better than "take a seat over there"...
The used CD market is looking a lot more attractive now, innit?
Yep, I download my used CD's every day. Well, SOMEONE used them.
SO the amount in the air goes up.
And plants everywhere are happy. There are studies that show that increased atmospheric CO2 is sequestered more quickly by plants. After all, if you eat more burgers you're bound to get fat. Feed the plants more CO2 (while avoiding toxic levels), and they will find a way to use it.
Not to mention the fact that the coal power plant is still operating regardless if you plug your car in or not.
Yeah but when enough people start plugging cars in, they'll have to build another coal power plant. Of course there's nuclear, do you mind if we leave the waste in your back yard?
Much depends on engine efficiency, which gets better all the time.
No, that's the whole problem. It doesn't get better. Which is why the government has to make laws to OBLIGE the auto industry to improve the efficiency of their engines. Otherwise the only "efficiency" you will see is a Hummer...but boy you want that sexy Hummer don't you?
Suddenly, all those weeds out there become a biomass base, and farmers will be more than happy to ship the plant waste from growing corn, wheat, rice, etc. to a cellulosic processing plant to turn into biofuels.
Provided the fuel used in shipping all this stuff is less than the fuel produced....
There are just a few other contributors to that, you know -- including some major fields currently down due to the effects of weather, but mostly because China is on a major petroleum buying binge.
Agreed. But it's a publicly traded commodity. The price has nothing to do with the REAL supply and demand, only the PERCEIVED supply and demand. Oil prices rose in the first gulf war too, remember? And then they stabilized once it was over. Oil started rising in 2003, and I will argue that SPECULATION, not "China" or "India" is keeping the price where it is. After all, oil is a "safe bet".
Nigerian idiots disrupt a pipeline that provides a PUNY 160,000 barrels a day (a drop in the fucking ocean) - Price jumps 10%. Supply and demand of actual oil has NOTHING to do with it. Why should traders stop buying? I can see $200 a barrel oil soon, can't you? There's no ceiling, only a floor.
If you want to understand why righties think it is treasonous to protest an ongoing war
Dr. Goebbels would be so proud of you.
This "war" is a misuse of an army to "police" a civilian population. They've even finally given up on calling them "terrorists" and "insurgents" and are now calling the resistance "criminals". Only with the possibility of facing summary execution if they act suspiciously or carry something that looks like a weapon.
Soldiers are not policemen, and they never will be. Soldiers mixed with civilian populations for any great period of time THROUGHOUT HISTORY have only brought disastrous results - usually at the expense of the civilians.
But you are saying that people should passively accept this COMPLETE misunderstanding of what an Army is supposed to do. We should continue to pay for the continued deployment of troops that are the CAUSE of the resistance in the first place? Remember that we're paying this two ways - first, the government is (again) borrowing money to fund the war. Money that could have been saved, or could have been spent on infrastructure HERE. AND you are also paying directly with $118/barrel oil.
And you think we should just be quiet, otherwise the "terrorists win"? My friend, the terrorists have ALREADY won. America has changed its way of life, spent a shitload of money, lost a lot of troops and equipment (not to mention the injured), and polarized the entire arab world against it more than ever. Mission Accomplished.
One thing is treason, another thing is "Intelligence". Is it treason when a government acts against the wishes of 70% of its people? Should we hang the 70%?
vote the current administration out of office in November.
Are you kidding me? Remember Bill Clinton and that little gem he left us, called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act? Why can't I play a DVD that I bought at a store legally under linux? How come what was a minor violation of civil law is now a criminal offense complete with jail time and all - even if all I wanted to do was copy my kids' VCR Disney movies (which I paid for) onto a DVD? How come people are going to JAIL for modding their X-boxes?
The Democrats are no better. Unfortunately America just can't ever imagine voting for an independent candidate. So it's going to be the same bullshit no matter WHO you vote for.
USB keychain around your neck? Better yet, a memory stick in your pocket, with a USB adaptor.
AFAIK there's not too much metal in those memory sticks, just the gold on the contact leads. And you can encrypt it, too.
"Why no officer it's blank"
it would be treated something along the lines of refusing to give a breathalyzer sample.
Yes but you see, when you sign for your driver's license if you read the fine print, you are signing an agreement at the same time that you will give a breath/blood sample if you are pulled over for suspicion of DUI. When you refuse to provide the sample, you are violating an agreement between yourself and the state, and that's why they can lock you up, hold you, take your license away and take your car.
It's not because they "assume" you have something to hide. It's because you're breaking the agreement and just gave them the right to take the sample from you forcibly.
Someone would be stupid to travel across a border with a laptop full of child pornography, well I guess they get what they deserve anyway - however what happens with gray area, pictures of young looking females who you have no idea where you downloaded the images from and can't provide proof of their age? After all, there's not much physical difference between a legal 18 year old and an illegal 17 year old.
Provide proof or go to jail?
Diseases are not only caused by viruses/bacteria. Example: Pneumoconiosis. Or imagine a life form that emits gamma radiation as part of its life process? Hawking is just too smart for you.
2: I suspect there's no other intelligent/space faring life in our galaxy, but probably there is in other galaxies. (Fermi paradox and Tipler-Barrow arguments both are pretty convincing to me).
Other intelligent/space faring life?
Perhaps I'm a little cynical, but I would hardly call the human race "space faring". Oh we put a couple probes on some of our neighboring planets, have another few that are hurtling towards termination shock and running out of power. We've been to the moon a couple times and brought back some rocks, have a handful of people in low earth orbit, and have space vehicles that disintegrate around 1/50 times. We're not really the cosmonauts of this galaxy IMO.
As for intelligence, just look at our sense of nationalism, religion, politics, and pride in sports teams. Look at "road rage". We're ready to kill each other at the drop of the hat for completely nonsensical reasons (ie not necessarily "survival"). Nope, I wouldn't call the human race intelligent either. Oh we're all sentient. Some of us are curious and yearn for more understanding. The rest just cash in on the work of the few members of our species that approach intelligence.
Once your average Scientist hits 30, their mind will slow down, and it's likely you won't see much groundbreaking research from them.
There is research that contradicts your theory. In fact if anything the average age at which earth-shattering discoveries are made is INCREASING.
However since you've proven you're not a scientist at all, we won't be expecting much from you.
BUT - will it run linu..... oh, nevermind.
In the distance you hear the thundering roar of a Finger of Death.
Persona deleted.
Play again? [Y | N]
I can just see it now, the "Marlboro" shuttle.
"Learning" games suck. No one will "play it". What they fail to realize is that MMO's are all about spawn camping, ganging up on the weaker noobs and stealing their stuff or at least destroying it, for the epic lulz.
America's Army works because you get to shoot other players. Period.
NASA wants to somehow create a multiplayer "game" that will teach you science??? Unless I can breed mutants on a space station by genetically altering their DNA using cosmic radiation and then unleash them on an unsuspecting Earth, I just don't want to play!
Well, that all depends on the density of the liquid you plan on throwing it in...? You can't change the laws of physics!
OK ok I agree, usually it's water, and no it doesn't float; but on slashdot, who knows!
Obligatory: 122,000 errors should be enough for anybody.
Two bombs, no Air-to-Air capability other than playing "How not to be seen." really well, and subsonic speeds just seemed to make the F-117 come across as oddball in my eyes.
Remember this aircraft was designed during the cold war, for a very specific mission (ie taking out Russian ground based radar sites - before all the other air-to-mud pilots crossed FEBA). Sheesh, haven't you ever read a Clancy novel?
As far as I know they don't hover too well, either. GP must have taken some bad acid that day.
Don't forget about Raptor Jesus, he went extinct for your sins!