For the same reason you want your servers' data backed up off-site: it is beneficial to have access to it even if the area of disaster is utterly destroyed - in the case of a black box, think "lost at the bottom of the atlantic".
They're (hopefully) not talking about using EC2, but just using those terms as shortcuts for the principles they embody: storage over network, so your data is somewhere else, preferably redundantly.
> Personally, I would give my vote to something that delivers a lethal injection on confirmed violation.
That's too harsh - "confirmed violation" is something that, for those consequences, should be determined by a jury, not an autonomous device or a single officer doing the monitoring.
Imagine this scenario: you hit a kid with your car. The jury decides that while it was accidental, you were definitely driving too fast and wild, so you get, say, six months. While you're tagged, at some point you're getting robbed on the street. You flee, but this unexpectedly takes you outside your allowed boundaries.
You may have escaped the robber, but you just got a nice dose of cyanide in your ankle. Enjoy.
Also, and specifically, have a look at the Simon Singh case. In one of his columns, he raises objections about the British Chiropractic Association claiming that "their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying". The BCA immediately tries to shut him up with a libel suit, even though there's not a shred of evidence to support their claims. He eventually won the case, but I don't wanna imagine how much it cost him.
Lawsuit societies are only a good thing for those who can afford more lawyers than the other side.
those kids are what, 15, 16 ? At that age you're capable of a lot more critical thought than what the law gives you credit for. At least, you are if you've been allowed to use your brain in those years - some school systems actively discourage that, of course.
Also, adolescents tend to not have too many fixed thinking pathways yet, so may actually come up with novel ideas and insights that most adults will never consider.
If this excercise is well-guided, with plenty of discussion about the ethical side of things, I fail to see the problem. Hell, half of them probably kick ass at counterstrike and whatnot anyway - it's not as if they're not used to violence in games and on TV.
As far as I'm concerned, this is A Good Thing, regardless of how much some would like to close their eyes and pretend they're in their happy, non-violent place.
Strictly speaking, correct, but given a fixed voltage (in the US, 120V, in more civilized parts of the world usually 230V) and the other necessary specs (probably AC, 50 or 60 Hz) it provides all the information you need: make sure your device doesn't draw more than 26 amps average. For purposes of the competition, maybe even never more than 26 amps peak.
There is much truth in what you say. However, I suspect that, in a more varied landscape with no single dominating offering, users would have at least gotten more used to looking for, say, "bold" functionality instead of "fifth button from the left".
No, because similar sleeves are already obligatory in the government buildings that use RFID access cards.
Contrarily to what seems popular opinion, I do not believe there is a global plot to subdue the people of the world. There are just incompetent and stupid politicians.
It's not as if you can read RFID from ten meter away, really. The sleeve protects against things like shops tracking customers as they walk through the security gates.
As a Belgian, i've always been used to having my ID card with me. I don't see a major issue in that - it facilitates identifying oneself, and has no major drawbacks, privacy or other. (Because it's a normal thing, police don't tend to find it a thrill to stop random people and ask for the cards. It has been so for decades, and none of the doom scenarios that get spouted here on occasion have happened.)
A few years back, the standard plastified thingies have been upgraded to smartcard ones. This was a minor worry for me on account that there *could* be information on there that joe average could not read off it, but that's not a major issue, and no related incidents have been reported.
As soon as we upgrade to RFID ones, however, you can be sure that I'll be keeping it in a protective metal sleeve. Protective for me, that is. I suspect that such card holders will soon become commonplace, too, as they already are for credit cards.
Sure I have my card with me, officer. Sure, I'll show you, here it is. What ? Oh, that's just a protective sleeve, metal-backed for sturdiness.
It's a computer. If you have access to the system, of course you can make it do something else. Now show me you can make it run pacman within the time and means you have when in a voting booth.
Correct, although it's worth pointing out the difference between slang and (tech) jargon, also: jargon is used as shortcuts for otherwise long descriptions of specific concepts. (Knowledgable) use of it also shows subgroup, but only as a side effect.
And, honestly, "to google" and the like are slang, not jargon, and thus the "tech savvy" have nothing to do with it.
Slashdot Mirror
Welcome to a world where marketeers abound.
For the same reason you want your servers' data backed up off-site: it is beneficial to have access to it even if the area of disaster is utterly destroyed - in the case of a black box, think "lost at the bottom of the atlantic".
They're (hopefully) not talking about using EC2, but just using those terms as shortcuts for the principles they embody: storage over network, so your data is somewhere else, preferably redundantly.
> Personally, I would give my vote to something that delivers a lethal injection on confirmed violation.
That's too harsh - "confirmed violation" is something that, for those consequences, should be determined by a jury, not an autonomous device or a single officer doing the monitoring.
Imagine this scenario: you hit a kid with your car. The jury decides that while it was accidental, you were definitely driving too fast and wild, so you get, say, six months. While you're tagged, at some point you're getting robbed on the street. You flee, but this unexpectedly takes you outside your allowed boundaries.
You may have escaped the robber, but you just got a nice dose of cyanide in your ankle. Enjoy.
Oh, for pete's sake. Just point out to Ballmer that his pet search engine is using open source data. A few chairs later, and it'll all be over.
Am I the only one who thought this guy was building a terminator ?
> What's broken is the massive expense required to fight a court case not the actual law.
No argument there.
"wring", indeed.
Speak for yourself, heretic.
Someone building a decent Zergling controller.
http://www.libelreform.org/
Have a look at what british libel law can do.
Also, and specifically, have a look at the Simon Singh case. In one of his columns, he raises objections about the British Chiropractic Association claiming that "their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying". The BCA immediately tries to shut him up with a libel suit, even though there's not a shred of evidence to support their claims. He eventually won the case, but I don't wanna imagine how much it cost him.
Lawsuit societies are only a good thing for those who can afford more lawyers than the other side.
Don't tase me, bro. Remember that guy's freedom of speech ?
Glue tiny mirrors all over the inside and burn things from a distance.
It's been done before, reputedly by the old greeks first, but it's still a worthy endeavour. Burning or blowing up things always is.
The server was trouble, so he shot it.
those kids are what, 15, 16 ? At that age you're capable of a lot more critical thought than what the law gives you credit for. At least, you are if you've been allowed to use your brain in those years - some school systems actively discourage that, of course.
Also, adolescents tend to not have too many fixed thinking pathways yet, so may actually come up with novel ideas and insights that most adults will never consider.
If this excercise is well-guided, with plenty of discussion about the ethical side of things, I fail to see the problem. Hell, half of them probably kick ass at counterstrike and whatnot anyway - it's not as if they're not used to violence in games and on TV.
As far as I'm concerned, this is A Good Thing, regardless of how much some would like to close their eyes and pretend they're in their happy, non-violent place.
Strictly speaking, correct, but given a fixed voltage (in the US, 120V, in more civilized parts of the world usually 230V) and the other necessary specs (probably AC, 50 or 60 Hz) it provides all the information you need: make sure your device doesn't draw more than 26 amps average. For purposes of the competition, maybe even never more than 26 amps peak.
As a systems admin, I can assure you that there is definitely a difference.
Trained monkeys get free bananas and are allowed to fondle their bits in public, to name but two.
There is much truth in what you say. However, I suspect that, in a more varied landscape with no single dominating offering, users would have at least gotten more used to looking for, say, "bold" functionality instead of "fifth button from the left".
So which is the bad one ?
No, because similar sleeves are already obligatory in the government buildings that use RFID access cards.
Contrarily to what seems popular opinion, I do not believe there is a global plot to subdue the people of the world. There are just incompetent and stupid politicians.
It's not as if you can read RFID from ten meter away, really. The sleeve protects against things like shops tracking customers as they walk through the security gates.
As a Belgian, i've always been used to having my ID card with me. I don't see a major issue in that - it facilitates identifying oneself, and has no major drawbacks, privacy or other. (Because it's a normal thing, police don't tend to find it a thrill to stop random people and ask for the cards. It has been so for decades, and none of the doom scenarios that get spouted here on occasion have happened.)
A few years back, the standard plastified thingies have been upgraded to smartcard ones. This was a minor worry for me on account that there *could* be information on there that joe average could not read off it, but that's not a major issue, and no related incidents have been reported.
As soon as we upgrade to RFID ones, however, you can be sure that I'll be keeping it in a protective metal sleeve. Protective for me, that is. I suspect that such card holders will soon become commonplace, too, as they already are for credit cards.
Sure I have my card with me, officer. Sure, I'll show you, here it is. What ? Oh, that's just a protective sleeve, metal-backed for sturdiness.
Personally, I don't mind football players. It's the actual game that I have no interest in whatsoever.
:-)
The players themselves can be quite hot, actually
It's a computer. If you have access to the system, of course you can make it do something else. Now show me you can make it run pacman within the time and means you have when in a voting booth.
Silverlight is at version 4. Flash is at version 10.
That's the most obvious choice I've seen in a long time.
Correct, although it's worth pointing out the difference between slang and (tech) jargon, also: jargon is used as shortcuts for otherwise long descriptions of specific concepts. (Knowledgable) use of it also shows subgroup, but only as a side effect.
And, honestly, "to google" and the like are slang, not jargon, and thus the "tech savvy" have nothing to do with it.