"Technically, haven't we terraformed Earth by cutting down forests, building cities where heat builds up in localized areas, and by raising the temperature of the globe? We definitely have the potential for it, but we need to work on applying it positively."
Technically, no. But nice try with that greenpeace environmental spin thing going on there. Everybodies favorite source defines Terraforming as:...the process of modifying a planet, moon or other body to a more habitable atmosphere, temperature or ecology. It is a type of planetary engineering. The term is sometimes used very broadly as a synonym for planetary engineering in general; see that article for related information. This article primarily focuses on the modification of atmospheric and thermal conditions.
You're simply describing indiscriminant environmental change of the accidental non-engineered sort that can't even be conslusively proven as being man made, considering the Earth continues to natural cycle through cooling and warming period, etc, etc. I don't have time to dig up the links for you as this is a well beaten, kicked and molested horse. But feel free to read Micheal Crighton's new book on the topic.
Environmental soapboxes aside, i think you're really stretching the definition there regardless.
"I've also decided to go on a huge roadtrip in 2015, but I too have no idea how I'll get there... Nor do I know what I'm going to do with my current vehicle (a 1975 Honda civic) once it is scheduled to be retired (2010 at the latest). But don't you worry, I'll manage to pull it off somehow...;)"
Well back in my day, we didn't even have a Honda Civic! We had to build our Honda from the ground up! We had to smelt the parts with our BARE HANDS, little gipper! AND WALK BOTH WAYS IN THE SNOW TO ORBIT AND BACK!!!...But it's funny. NASA managed somehow back then, too.
"Over at Apple Matters Chris Seibold writes an interesting piece hypothesizing that Apple's strategy may bank on people pirating OS X for their Intel boxes.
I seriously doubt it. It's not as if there is any resistance to them putting their OS on those boxes to begin with, let alone the need to "pirate" the software over. Apple hasn't even made a effort to push it over. If they were willing and there is no signifigant resistance to stop them, why wouldn't they do it themselves in the first place? Everything they wanted to accomplish they could do through "offical" distribution channels and do it more effectively to boot. ESPECIALLY when they'd be in control of the distribution and profit. Somebody mentioned it worked for Windows 3.1, but that's apples and oranges. That's a product built for the platform it was on with a company actively intending to make money off of it through sales. Sure it may have become popular through piracy, etc etc after the fact, but the circumstances and motivations are ENTIRELY different.
Sorry, but I'm thinking this is nonsense. Besides, what would happen to Apple hardware market share if you could all of a sudden get arguably the best OS on hardware with the cheapest doller/power ratio that nobody has direct control over? too many neagtives in this equation to even think Apple is doing this purposely, IMO.
"You gotta get yer foot in the door first, before you can change things."
Ok, I'll give you that one, but there's no way for anyone to possibly know that's their actually motivation. As far as even remotely comparing our free speech to china, you're on crack.
This alone is enough to make me seriously consider open source. Any coporate entitiy that is complicit to the supression of human rights and free speach to such a degree is evil. That goes for Google too. I know that sounds extreem, but really. Think about it. We have two notable companies basically turning their attention the other way in the pursuit of profit, one of which has professed publically to be "the good guy company". You can't have it both ways. Either you're the good guys and support free speech or you really just don't give a damn and chase after the phrase "Show me the money".
I used to not give a crap about opensource and the like, but from this moment on, Microsoft and Google are on my shit-list.
A lot of people are griping that using your freezer is an inefficient method of providing the cooling element, that you're just moving heat around, etc, etc...
...But can we all agree that his freezer is going to be on and in use anyway??? Like yours?? I know we all like to be slashnot experts, but come on. Nitpicking at that level is pretty much declaring mental bankruptcy.
Agreed. We didn't discover much of anything here. We hypothisised that by a stars wobble there maybe a planet orbiting a star. Infact, if you read the aritcle it's full of conjecture and theory. Which is fine. They may be right, they may not be. But they didn't discover a rocky planet, let alone can say with 100% certainty that a planet is even there.
"Err, I'd go in for a group order, but I don't need two million at once." As if you actually HAD a spare $600,000 just lying around in the first place, right? let alone the $150,000 you'd need to get the discount in the first place.
I know it's a toss-up between those CueCats or a Ferrari, but...
Well it's a good thing Slashdot covered this little nugget. It's not everyday you can get a failing product to turn sales around overnight as a novelty item.
So, did the people flaming microsoft today also note that Google the Wonderchild Company basically did the exact same thing a few months ago? Somehow, i don't think you'll see half the outrage over THAT incident, if only because this one involves "M$"
"The internet has profited many people but it also has brought many problems, such as sex, violence and feudal superstitions and other harmful information..."...like religious freedom, political freedom, free speech, the unregulated sharing of knoledge and ideas, etc, etc. I mean honestly, is anybody really fooled by this? I'm almost ashamed that my country is actually doing business with these jokers.
But this is not just a "desktop replacement" trend. Sure, you can emulate nearly every function on a laptop that you could get in a desktop, but that was true back when too. Sure, the price has gone down, but what's really changed?
I don't think the wireless explosion is getting nearly enough credit here. Now your truly portable PC can take advantage of the most influential and pervasive phenomenon of the 21st century anywhere and everywhere. Coffee shops. Parks. The back yard. The laptops utility has been magnified 100 fold just by the wireless networking trend alone. It's so much more than a portable document holder now. You now have access to real time information anywhere, an unparalleled knowledge base at your fingertips on the go, keep in contact with people friends, family and partners instantly, etc etc etc. Wireless LAN? Standard equipment on nearly every machine now.
I have no doubt the price drop has helped, but the utility and popularity of the laptop has absolutely exploded because of the wireless revolution that is still evolving at this very moment.
"MIT media lab has created an alarm clock that, when you press the snooze bar, runs off into a corner, a different hiding place every day"
Something tells me the creators of this bastardized piece of technology are going to have to emulate the same behavior after this thing hits the marketplace.
"However, many of its launch titles are just watered-down versions of PS2 games and Sony has no experience in portable gaming..."
Watered down versions of the previous console... Now where have I heard that before? Wait, it's coming to me... YOU MEAN LIKE EVERY FREAKIN GAME IN THE NINTENDO LIBRARY ??? Look, I enjoy fanboy bias as much as the next guy, but lets try not to make it so blatantly obvious. And lest we forget that Sony didn't have any console experience prior to the PS1 either, an event that has marked a steady decline in Nintendo marketshare to this very day. Please. These contrived talking points are absolutely meaningless, especially when compared to what Sony has done with their virgin hardware to date. Yes, it can be done, if for no other reason because they've already done it.
"Apparently, ripples from inflation in the early universe may account for the observed expansion rate of the universe."
Can't we just admit we don't have a freakin' clue and move along? "Well shoot, I think TOMATOES might explain the expantion of the universe! LOTS and LOTS of TOMATOES! That are, um, dark. Which is why you can't see them. And they ripple. And stuff."
Offtopic? OFFTOPIC?! I'd say a post on how to get a PSP for free is damn well on topic you blithering twit. What was the name of this story again???
And you can get a Free PSP too!
on
PSP Launch Coverage
·
· Score: -1, Offtopic
Come on, you know this was coming... But don't tell me it ain't an awesome deal. WARNING! Not for people with the attention span of a nat! Remember free ipods? Same deal. pay attention, use a disposable email addy and you should be fine.
"Physorg is running a story about OmniTread: a serpentine robot designed to traverse extremely difficult terrain, such as the rubble of a collapsed building."
Slashdot Mirror
"Technically, haven't we terraformed Earth by cutting down forests, building cities where heat builds up in localized areas, and by raising the temperature of the globe? We definitely have the potential for it, but we need to work on applying it positively."
...the process of modifying a planet, moon or other body to a more habitable atmosphere, temperature or ecology. It is a type of planetary engineering. The term is sometimes used very broadly as a synonym for planetary engineering in general; see that article for related information. This article primarily focuses on the modification of atmospheric and thermal conditions.
Technically, no. But nice try with that greenpeace environmental spin thing going on there. Everybodies favorite source defines Terraforming as:
You're simply describing indiscriminant environmental change of the accidental non-engineered sort that can't even be conslusively proven as being man made, considering the Earth continues to natural cycle through cooling and warming period, etc, etc. I don't have time to dig up the links for you as this is a well beaten, kicked and molested horse. But feel free to read Micheal Crighton's new book on the topic.
Environmental soapboxes aside, i think you're really stretching the definition there regardless.
Besides, Burt Renolds is a professional at this sort of thing.
And I thought tin-foil hats would NEVER go out of style.
"I've also decided to go on a huge roadtrip in 2015, but I too have no idea how I'll get there... Nor do I know what I'm going to do with my current vehicle (a 1975 Honda civic) once it is scheduled to be retired (2010 at the latest). But don't you worry, I'll manage to pull it off somehow... ;)"
...But it's funny. NASA managed somehow back then, too.
Well back in my day, we didn't even have a Honda Civic! We had to build our Honda from the ground up! We had to smelt the parts with our BARE HANDS, little gipper! AND WALK BOTH WAYS IN THE SNOW TO ORBIT AND BACK!!!
"Over at Apple Matters Chris Seibold writes an interesting piece hypothesizing that Apple's strategy may bank on people pirating OS X for their Intel boxes.
I seriously doubt it. It's not as if there is any resistance to them putting their OS on those boxes to begin with, let alone the need to "pirate" the software over. Apple hasn't even made a effort to push it over. If they were willing and there is no signifigant resistance to stop them, why wouldn't they do it themselves in the first place? Everything they wanted to accomplish they could do through "offical" distribution channels and do it more effectively to boot. ESPECIALLY when they'd be in control of the distribution and profit. Somebody mentioned it worked for Windows 3.1, but that's apples and oranges. That's a product built for the platform it was on with a company actively intending to make money off of it through sales. Sure it may have become popular through piracy, etc etc after the fact, but the circumstances and motivations are ENTIRELY different.
Sorry, but I'm thinking this is nonsense. Besides, what would happen to Apple hardware market share if you could all of a sudden get arguably the best OS on hardware with the cheapest doller/power ratio that nobody has direct control over? too many neagtives in this equation to even think Apple is doing this purposely, IMO.
"You gotta get yer foot in the door first, before you can change things."
Ok, I'll give you that one, but there's no way for anyone to possibly know that's their actually motivation. As far as even remotely comparing our free speech to china, you're on crack.
This alone is enough to make me seriously consider open source. Any coporate entitiy that is complicit to the supression of human rights and free speach to such a degree is evil. That goes for Google too. I know that sounds extreem, but really. Think about it. We have two notable companies basically turning their attention the other way in the pursuit of profit, one of which has professed publically to be "the good guy company". You can't have it both ways. Either you're the good guys and support free speech or you really just don't give a damn and chase after the phrase "Show me the money".
I used to not give a crap about opensource and the like, but from this moment on, Microsoft and Google are on my shit-list.
Agreed. We didn't discover much of anything here. We hypothisised that by a stars wobble there maybe a planet orbiting a star. Infact, if you read the aritcle it's full of conjecture and theory. Which is fine. They may be right, they may not be. But they didn't discover a rocky planet, let alone can say with 100% certainty that a planet is even there.
Why can't we at least build the Macross Fleet BEFORE purposely advertising our position to everybody under the sun? ...Sigh.
"Err, I'd go in for a group order, but I don't need two million at once."
As if you actually HAD a spare $600,000 just lying around in the first place, right? let alone the $150,000 you'd need to get the discount in the first place.
I know it's a toss-up between those CueCats or a Ferrari, but...
Well it's a good thing Slashdot covered this little nugget. It's not everyday you can get a failing product to turn sales around overnight as a novelty item.
So, did the people flaming microsoft today also note that Google the Wonderchild Company basically did the exact same thing a few months ago? Somehow, i don't think you'll see half the outrage over THAT incident, if only because this one involves "M$"
Why is that? You can tell by the webpage that this guy is a blowhard.
:p
Uhg, somebody shoot us all and get it over with
"The internet has profited many people but it also has brought many problems, such as sex, violence and feudal superstitions and other harmful information..." ...like religious freedom, political freedom, free speech, the unregulated sharing of knoledge and ideas, etc, etc. I mean honestly, is anybody really fooled by this? I'm almost ashamed that my country is actually doing business with these jokers.
But this is not just a "desktop replacement" trend. Sure, you can emulate nearly every function on a laptop that you could get in a desktop, but that was true back when too. Sure, the price has gone down, but what's really changed?
I don't think the wireless explosion is getting nearly enough credit here. Now your truly portable PC can take advantage of the most influential and pervasive phenomenon of the 21st century anywhere and everywhere. Coffee shops. Parks. The back yard. The laptops utility has been magnified 100 fold just by the wireless networking trend alone. It's so much more than a portable document holder now. You now have access to real time information anywhere, an unparalleled knowledge base at your fingertips on the go, keep in contact with people friends, family and partners instantly, etc etc etc. Wireless LAN? Standard equipment on nearly every machine now.
I have no doubt the price drop has helped, but the utility and popularity of the laptop has absolutely exploded because of the wireless revolution that is still evolving at this very moment.
"You will end up with 2560x1024 pixels of screen real estate, enough to increase productivity substantially"
Ah, so that's what they're calling gaming these days...
"...It's a workstation!"
And don't forget to tip your waitress on the way out! Goodnight!
You want theft? Let's try the price of popcorn at the movie theaters. How much did this movie make again in it's opening day, again? Pah-LEASE.
"MIT media lab has created an alarm clock that, when you press the snooze bar, runs off into a corner, a different hiding place every day"
Something tells me the creators of this bastardized piece of technology are going to have to emulate the same behavior after this thing hits the marketplace.
"However, many of its launch titles are just watered-down versions of PS2 games and Sony has no experience in portable gaming..."
Watered down versions of the previous console... Now where have I heard that before? Wait, it's coming to me... YOU MEAN LIKE EVERY FREAKIN GAME IN THE NINTENDO LIBRARY ??? Look, I enjoy fanboy bias as much as the next guy, but lets try not to make it so blatantly obvious. And lest we forget that Sony didn't have any console experience prior to the PS1 either, an event that has marked a steady decline in Nintendo marketshare to this very day. Please. These contrived talking points are absolutely meaningless, especially when compared to what Sony has done with their virgin hardware to date. Yes, it can be done, if for no other reason because they've already done it.
"Apparently, ripples from inflation in the early universe may account for the observed expansion rate of the universe."
Can't we just admit we don't have a freakin' clue and move along? "Well shoot, I think TOMATOES might explain the expantion of the universe! LOTS and LOTS of TOMATOES! That are, um, dark. Which is why you can't see them. And they ripple. And stuff."
Offtopic? OFFTOPIC?! I'd say a post on how to get a PSP for free is damn well on topic you blithering twit. What was the name of this story again???
Come on, you know this was coming... But don't tell me it ain't an awesome deal. WARNING! Not for people with the attention span of a nat! Remember free ipods? Same deal. pay attention, use a disposable email addy and you should be fine.
"Physorg is running a story about OmniTread: a serpentine robot designed to traverse extremely difficult terrain, such as the rubble of a collapsed building."
I thought Remote control mice were taking that job.