We used to test the structural integrity of our creations by dropping them 3 stories onto concrete. If nothing came off, it worked.
...and then there was the time I built a house, and my younger brother and I both jumped on it at the same time and it held...
...and I've done movies with 'em too...
...and made the LEGO-hajj to Billund...
...and had long late-night arguments about how large-scale LEGOs could be used to build human-sized houses - want to add a room? no problem! just re-build...
...and lusted in my heart after the "Super Car" model, with a V-8 engine, four-wheel steering, 5-speed transmission, and fully adjustable seats...
OK. I don't do this often, but after seeing this vest, it's time for me to invoke the Gay Man's Fashion Commentary Prerogative and declare: that vest thing is hideous. I don't know any self-respecting queen, geekish or no, who would be caught dead in something like that, and if I were to wear one in public my dateability quotient would plummet.
I think I'll keep my pockety pants and courier bag, thank you very much.
And this is precisely why every single news source [TV, radio, print, etc.] needs to have one or more dedicated technology correspondents. Every other arcane-yet-important [like law or medicine] field has its own senior correspondent, where the reporters can get "expert" advice on the latest Supreme Court decision or pharmaceutical breakthrough - why shouldn't they have a chief technology correspondent? All they'd need to find is someone who can adequately translate geekish to something Joe Sixpack can get his mind around, and who can provide intelligent commentary on technology issues.
Of course, with our luck, they'd hire some photogenic smooth-talker to spin the corporate line - "Open source is communism! Napster is theft! Buy Microsoft or you're going to go to hell when you die!" etc.
The "7 Dwarves" virus [check the Symantec write-up on W95.Hybris.gen] does, in fact, check for new functionality on a particular newsgroup - it isn't just rumor. Those plug-ins are a sneaky idea.
If anything, I'm surprised the media isn't paying more attention to SirCam - they could sound all serious and say "It's a violation of your privacy because it sends all your personal crap all over the Internet", then follow that story with an ad for MSN Internet Service.
for Earth-bound versions, they'd have a lot of engineering to do first.
While it'd be very cool to have your own droid to boss around ("Droid! Do the laundry!" "Droid! Clean up my desk!" "Droid! Bring me a martini!"), I don't think they'd be affordable - or practical - for quite a while. Plus, NASA currently doesn't have the resources to support the necessary service. And why buy a NASA droid when you can build one yourself using LEGO? Not only would that be cheaper, but it's much geekier.
The space versions, however, show great promise. Good article.
There have been cases of hallucinations caused by sleep deprivation; it took about 100 hours [a little over 4 days] to get there. AFAIK, though, nobody has died as a direct result of a lack of sleep. I'll try to find documentation if I get the chance.
OK - you've got me on semantics, but I can't come up with a better car-related analogy there.
While the steering wheel or gas pedal are both interfaces to the car's hardware, it's damn near impossible to commingle the steering wheel function with the gas pedal function without sacrificing physical safety. [I suppose you could make the car accelerate when the wheels are pointing forward, but I'm not sure I'd want to drive a car that does that - to control speed, I'd either have to do small swerves [like they drive in the movies!] or ride the brakes.]
Alternately, you could consider a chauffeur or bus/cab driver an "interface to the hardware", but that's reeeeeally pushing it; also, with what do you commingle a driver? [and, short of medical cut-and-paste á la _Frankenstein_, how?]
And while you can execute BIOS code all you want, a box is essentially useless without an OS of some sort. [kind of like a car without a driver...]
But yeah. Anyway. The point is, car!=computer, so it's a bad comparison.
First, many car manufacturers purchase their parts from third parties; very few parts are actually made in-house. [cf. this whole Ford/Firestone mess.]
Second, there is currently no monopoly in the U.S. in car production; if you like, you can buy from any number of different companies.
Third, most consumers buy pre-integrated systems; for proof, visit your local Best Buy or Gateway store.
And fourth, and perhaps most critical, just as gasoline makes the automotive "hardware" run, the OS makes the computer hardware run, and commingling other functions with the OS is similar [IMO] to having your gasoline double as your brake fluid.
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Yeah, fine and dandy, but just wait until EVERYBODY is planting this variety. Can you say Ireland, 1840?
We used to test the structural integrity of our creations by dropping them 3 stories onto concrete. If nothing came off, it worked.
...and then there was the time I built a house, and my younger brother and I both jumped on it at the same time and it held...
...and I've done movies with 'em too...
...and made the LEGO-hajj to Billund...
...and had long late-night arguments about how large-scale LEGOs could be used to build human-sized houses - want to add a room? no problem! just re-build...
...and lusted in my heart after the "Super Car" model, with a V-8 engine, four-wheel steering, 5-speed transmission, and fully adjustable seats...
...geez, I am such a geek.
Nail, head, bang. It's to the point that the Matrix is an easy parody. Mod this post up, please.
I think I'll keep my pockety pants and courier bag, thank you very much.
Of course, with our luck, they'd hire some photogenic smooth-talker to spin the corporate line - "Open source is communism! Napster is theft! Buy Microsoft or you're going to go to hell when you die!" etc.
If anything, I'm surprised the media isn't paying more attention to SirCam - they could sound all serious and say "It's a violation of your privacy because it sends all your personal crap all over the Internet", then follow that story with an ad for MSN Internet Service.
While it'd be very cool to have your own droid to boss around ("Droid! Do the laundry!" "Droid! Clean up my desk!" "Droid! Bring me a martini!"), I don't think they'd be affordable - or practical - for quite a while. Plus, NASA currently doesn't have the resources to support the necessary service. And why buy a NASA droid when you can build one yourself using LEGO? Not only would that be cheaper, but it's much geekier.
The space versions, however, show great promise. Good article.
*****
While the steering wheel or gas pedal are both interfaces to the car's hardware, it's damn near impossible to commingle the steering wheel function with the gas pedal function without sacrificing physical safety. [I suppose you could make the car accelerate when the wheels are pointing forward, but I'm not sure I'd want to drive a car that does that - to control speed, I'd either have to do small swerves [like they drive in the movies!] or ride the brakes.]
Alternately, you could consider a chauffeur or bus/cab driver an "interface to the hardware", but that's reeeeeally pushing it; also, with what do you commingle a driver? [and, short of medical cut-and-paste á la _Frankenstein_, how?]
And while you can execute BIOS code all you want, a box is essentially useless without an OS of some sort. [kind of like a car without a driver...]
But yeah. Anyway. The point is, car!=computer, so it's a bad comparison.
So how do y'all all like those new, um, thingys?
First, many car manufacturers purchase their parts from third parties; very few parts are actually made in-house. [cf. this whole Ford/Firestone mess.]
Second, there is currently no monopoly in the U.S. in car production; if you like, you can buy from any number of different companies.
Third, most consumers buy pre-integrated systems; for proof, visit your local Best Buy or Gateway store.
And fourth, and perhaps most critical, just as gasoline makes the automotive "hardware" run, the OS makes the computer hardware run, and commingling other functions with the OS is similar [IMO] to having your gasoline double as your brake fluid.
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