Actually, in the lab, I would see this being more useful as a means of keeping the lab environment sterile. Heck, you could probably use this puppy in a clean room environment.
Could also be a BIG deal in medical environments as a means of reducing places where bacteria can hide.
And how would a toilet know who was the owner vs. a guest for proper response? I wouldn't want my doctor notified I had something nasty if it was really a friend who had dropped by...
Actually, your friend might have the larger complaint. I would not want to have someone else notified of my medical conditions because I used their toilet while visiting...
I want my friends to buy net-enabled fridges that I can hack into.
"Hmm, I feel like having a couple of brews tonight, lets see who I should go visit. Jim? Nope, all he's got is a half-six of Budweiser. Dave? Well, he does have a few Heinekens... What about Sean? Jackpot! He just put in a case of Guinness this afternoon!"
Oh, yeah, I can see it now. Someone starts hacking famous people's toilets to send emails.
On the Ricky Martin fan page....
Ricky has flushed his toilet 12 times today. 5 times for urine only, 3 times for feces (One re-flush to clear a really big log), 3 times for no apparent reason, and 1 time for a dead fish.
This all came about over a copyright fight because model Estelle Hallyday did not like that nude photos of her had been scanned from a magazine and posted to free website AlternB.
One VERY important note from the original case is that the plaintiffs did not even TRY to identify the poster of the "offending" material. They specifically targeted the ISP. In fact, it seems that it would have been quite trivial to identify the owner of the pages.
There are a couple areas of industry that really need the protection that patents give. These are industries such as pharmeceuticals, where the amount of time and money put into developing a new drug is so enormous that the patent serves as a way to earn back those expenses before your competitor can manufacture it and sell it for less. Pharmeceuticals are also the reason why patents currently last so long. Since the patent is usually applied for before testing begins, by the time lab testing, animal testing, limited human trials, larger clinical studies, and full FDA approval are granted, there may only be a couple of years left on the patent. And, up to this point, the drug company has invested millions of dollars with no income.
Without patent protection, you can kiss any new drug research goodbye.
That being said, there needs to be much more differentiation in the amount of time a patent lasts. For pharmeceuticals, 17-20 years is fine, it's not a lifetime monopoly, since many drugs stay on the market for 50 years or more, after release.
For "business models", algorithms, software, and other non-tangible products, patents should only be granted for 1-3 years. Patents were intended to allow a new business to recuperate R&D costs, and get a foothold in the market before their competitors could use their ideas. They were not intended to give full life-cycle monopolies.
AOL probably won't have to prove when the work occurred.
A. Just about every large company has contractual clauses stating that whatever you invent during your employ belongs to the company. Now, granted, these things don't always stand up. However, when the product in question is directly related to the work you were hired to do, you're on very shaky ground.
B. Calling themselves Gnullsoft was cute, but there's an obvious relationship in the name to Nullsoft, which is now owned by AOL, which could be used to prove that they were working as agents of AOL.
The whole thing reeks of naivety. They were trying to prove that just because they sold out to AOL, they hadn't lost their souls, and that they could still do whatever they wanted to. Guess what? They were wrong.
The GPL might have been Justin's biggest mistake. AOL does give software away, but they tend to want extreme control over how it is used and distributed. AOL actually might have approved of development of an mp3 server, but it would have been done with Warner's input, and would definitely have relied on some proprietary server interface ala Instant Messenger so they could shut out other companies' client software, thus generating more visibility for AOL.
I wonder if Justin noticed that little sucking sound as his soul left his body when AOL (aka, the Devil) gave him all that money. Did they make him sign in blood?
It was pretty naive of him to expect that a mega-company like AOL was going to let him continue to develop whatever he wanted to without getting it cleared through their legal machine.
One of the more interesting points is that he may not have had the right to release anything under the GPL. Very likely, anything he produces from here on in belongs to AOL, and therefore any licensing terms would have to be approved by them.
Don't forget corrosion from exposure to salt water spray. I remember going on a cruise with the USMC. We loaded our Harriers onto the carrier, and within two days, every tiny scratch in the paint on a metallic object had a little bloom of oxidation. They ended up repainting a significant portion of every aircraft...
It doesn't matter if the green resistance to Nuclear power fades anymore, the damage is done. No new nuclear power plants have been initiated in the past few years, and with the length of time it takes to build one in the US, even if a major utility decided to build one tomorrow, it would likely take 20 years to get it operating. In another few years, there might not be any more engineers qualified to design these plants, as the current group retires. (My father is a nuclear engineer who designed power plants, a large number of his peers have already transferred into other areas of engineering, or retired.)
moderation serves two purposes: screening out junk and raising the profile of good posts.
Actually, I'd say it serves a third purpose as well. It reduces the number of messages I have to wade through. I read Slashdot several times a day, but if I had to skim through all of the messages, I'd either have to stop reading or stop working. I do miss some good comments now and again, but this is the price I pay to keep things manageable, and keep food on the table.
The only time I drop to -1 is when moderating, which is infrequent enough not to be a problem. Actually, it's nice to do it now and again. Flames can be entertaining, sometimes through their creativity, sometimes through unbelievable ego/ignorance.
Try http://www.virtualvision.com/eglass.htm for a rather nice-looking monocular unit at SVGA resolutions. They're not selling it to the consumer market, so my guess is that the price will be rather high.
Either way, I wouldn't worry too much, I've seen more monocular prototypes than stereo for standard computer applications. The only applications that really "need" stereo are gaming and VR.
I also use the Microsoft keyboard, and I find it has significantly decreased my incidence of wrist pain. However, for a pointing device, I've got to go with the Logitech Marble FX. I used to get *horrible* wrist pain from using the mouse, but since switching a year ago, I've yet to have a single incident.
On the original subject, my desk is an old-fashioned, solid hardwood executive desk I picked up for $200 at a used office furniture warehouse. Ergonomically, it leaves a little to be desired, since the keyboard is not at the "proper" height, but when I'm heavy into a large project, having 2 square meters of desk space is invaluable (The desk is 1x2 meters) I've got the monitor on one of those swing-arm mounts so it doesn't take up any desk space. And, I've got all the drawer space I need.
Now I just need a good chair that won't send my accounts into shock. I love the Aeron, but there's no way I can afford one.
It seems that the FBI has realized that performing an investigation against someone can be used as a punitive measure. We are, of course, all aware of their recent "investigation" of the Y2K movie spoof.
The problem is that in many cases, these kind of actions can work. It certainly has done a lot of damage to the ISP who was hosting the Y2K movie. Having been investigated for treason can certainly adversely affect your career and personal life. I imagine it would also completely eliminate any chance that you could get a job with a security clearance.
Normally, only the courts can declare punishment for an offense, but in these cases, going to the courts may be completely unnecessary for the FBI's purposes, even if it stood a snowball's chance in hell of actually making it into a court proceeding.
Of course if they do it too much, it could backfire, since not having been investigated means you haven't done anything interesting:)
For serious work, I prefer Victorinox's SwissTool. First, it's much heavier/sturdier. Second, all of the tools lock. I can't tell you how frustrated I'd get every time the screwdriver on my Leatherman would fold itself back up. Third, all tools open from the outside of the tool, which is much more convenient. The one downside for me is that it's pretty big.
Standard Knife Blade
Serrated Knife Blade
A file that actually works on metal
Punch Awl
Phillips Screwdriver
Four Flat Screwdrivers
Chisel (no, really)
Wire Stripper
Wire Scraper
Can Opener
Bottle Opener
Wood Saw (pretty wicked and darned sharp)
Pliers/Wirecutters
Ruler
This is definitely going to last a long time, too. No plastic parts.
I can't wait to see what she comes up with, since I got her a bunch of X-10 stuff a few weeks earlier. (Picturing robots running around turning lights on and off)
This is not exaggeration, either. HotJava was actually worse than IE 1.0. And, instead of fixing it, Sun abandoned it, and told the world, "see, it is possible to build a browser in Java, now try it yourself!" And the rest of the world said "yep, it is possible to build a browser in Java, but why would I build something that sucks?"
In the end, all we got was a really bad taste in our mouths, and a dislike for desktop Java applications.
Maybe someone will try again. But I'm not holding my breath.
#1, I got 1 moderator point burning a hole in my pocket for the first time.
#2, when I started browsing the articles, with an eye toward spending my newfound point, I noticed that almost every posting has been moderated, with a very abnormal number of posts moderated to +5.
Why do I have this strange feeling that EVERYONE was granted a moderator point? At the very least, a whole lot more people than usual are moderating.
At first I was pretty happy about having moderator prvileges. But after realizing that a whole lot of others also had it, it wasn't so impressive. In fact, I probably won't bother to use it.
The SEC got involved because the stocks themselves were illegal. In one case, the company didn't even EXIST yet.
Form what I've read from the SEC, I don't think they would actually care about legitimate sales of legitimate stocks on eBay. All three of these cases, however, were not legitimate.
The SEC is prosecuting for selling stock that would be just as illegal if sold by any other means.
eBay has "outlawed" all sale of stock through their site, because there's no way they could keep up with what is, and what is not a legal sale.
It looks like everyone's doing their job pretty well IMHO.
I like Classical for the long coding sessions, especially those that last all day. Vivaldi, James Galway and Rimski-Korsakov are very nice.
For short, intense sessions, I tend to prefer Jazz. Wynton Marsalis, Vince Guaraldi, Thelonious Monk and Alien Fashion Show work pretty well.
Mixed in between, I'll listen to Blondie, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and such for a little contrast. Something to shake me up and keep from "zoning out".
Overall, anything except country will do the job, though I will listen to Junior Brown on occasion. (Surf music from a country artist, go figure)
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, in the lab, I would see this being more useful as a means of keeping the lab environment sterile. Heck, you could probably use this puppy in a clean room environment.
Could also be a BIG deal in medical environments as a means of reducing places where bacteria can hide.
They may have been bought, but it wasn't the money.
Taken from the Wired News article:
"Co-author Matthew Skala of Canada signed a similar agreement giving up his rights for one dollar."
I don't really consider one dollar to be much of a payoff, do you?
And how would a toilet know who was the owner vs. a guest for proper response? I wouldn't want my doctor notified I had something nasty if it was really a friend who had dropped by...
Actually, your friend might have the larger complaint. I would not want to have someone else notified of my medical conditions because I used their toilet while visiting...
I want my friends to buy net-enabled fridges that I can hack into.
"Hmm, I feel like having a couple of brews tonight, lets see who I should go visit. Jim? Nope, all he's got is a half-six of Budweiser. Dave? Well, he does have a few Heinekens... What about Sean? Jackpot! He just put in a case of Guinness this afternoon!"
Oh, yeah, I can see it now. Someone starts hacking famous people's toilets to send emails.
On the Ricky Martin fan page....
Ricky has flushed his toilet 12 times today. 5 times for urine only, 3 times for feces (One re-flush to clear a really big log), 3 times for no apparent reason, and 1 time for a dead fish.
Anyone remember how this case got started?
This all came about over a copyright fight because model Estelle Hallyday did not like that nude photos of her had been scanned from a magazine and posted to free website AlternB.
One VERY important note from the original case is that the plaintiffs did not even TRY to identify the poster of the "offending" material. They specifically targeted the ISP. In fact, it seems that it would have been quite trivial to identify the owner of the pages.
Article from March, 1999 in Wired News
The implications of this decision are FAR worse than a cursory examination would reveal.
I'll reiterate, you're very naive.
There are a couple areas of industry that really need the protection that patents give. These are industries such as pharmeceuticals, where the amount of time and money put into developing a new drug is so enormous that the patent serves as a way to earn back those expenses before your competitor can manufacture it and sell it for less. Pharmeceuticals are also the reason why patents currently last so long. Since the patent is usually applied for before testing begins, by the time lab testing, animal testing, limited human trials, larger clinical studies, and full FDA approval are granted, there may only be a couple of years left on the patent. And, up to this point, the drug company has invested millions of dollars with no income.
Without patent protection, you can kiss any new drug research goodbye.
That being said, there needs to be much more differentiation in the amount of time a patent lasts. For pharmeceuticals, 17-20 years is fine, it's not a lifetime monopoly, since many drugs stay on the market for 50 years or more, after release.
For "business models", algorithms, software, and other non-tangible products, patents should only be granted for 1-3 years. Patents were intended to allow a new business to recuperate R&D costs, and get a foothold in the market before their competitors could use their ideas. They were not intended to give full life-cycle monopolies.
The system is broken, but it's not evil.
AOL probably won't have to prove when the work occurred.
A. Just about every large company has contractual clauses stating that whatever you invent during your employ belongs to the company. Now, granted, these things don't always stand up. However, when the product in question is directly related to the work you were hired to do, you're on very shaky ground.
B. Calling themselves Gnullsoft was cute, but there's an obvious relationship in the name to Nullsoft, which is now owned by AOL, which could be used to prove that they were working as agents of AOL.
The whole thing reeks of naivety. They were trying to prove that just because they sold out to AOL, they hadn't lost their souls, and that they could still do whatever they wanted to. Guess what? They were wrong.
The GPL might have been Justin's biggest mistake. AOL does give software away, but they tend to want extreme control over how it is used and distributed. AOL actually might have approved of development of an mp3 server, but it would have been done with Warner's input, and would definitely have relied on some proprietary server interface ala Instant Messenger so they could shut out other companies' client software, thus generating more visibility for AOL.
I wonder if Justin noticed that little sucking sound as his soul left his body when AOL (aka, the Devil) gave him all that money. Did they make him sign in blood?
It was pretty naive of him to expect that a mega-company like AOL was going to let him continue to develop whatever he wanted to without getting it cleared through their legal machine.
One of the more interesting points is that he may not have had the right to release anything under the GPL. Very likely, anything he produces from here on in belongs to AOL, and therefore any licensing terms would have to be approved by them.
Don't forget corrosion from exposure to salt water spray. I remember going on a cruise with the USMC. We loaded our Harriers onto the carrier, and within two days, every tiny scratch in the paint on a metallic object had a little bloom of oxidation. They ended up repainting a significant portion of every aircraft...
It doesn't matter if the green resistance to Nuclear power fades anymore, the damage is done. No new nuclear power plants have been initiated in the past few years, and with the length of time it takes to build one in the US, even if a major utility decided to build one tomorrow, it would likely take 20 years to get it operating. In another few years, there might not be any more engineers qualified to design these plants, as the current group retires. (My father is a nuclear engineer who designed power plants, a large number of his peers have already transferred into other areas of engineering, or retired.)
In this case, the Luddites won.
The resolution is 600x800, but they don't say what the color depth is. 6x8 at 10" has got to be annoying, though.
Ah, but don't forget Virginville, PA
My grandfather got himself a shirt:
"I went to Virginville, but I stayed at Intercourse"
moderation serves two purposes: screening out junk and raising the profile of good posts.
Actually, I'd say it serves a third purpose as well. It reduces the number of messages I have to wade through. I read Slashdot several times a day, but if I had to skim through all of the messages, I'd either have to stop reading or stop working. I do miss some good comments now and again, but this is the price I pay to keep things manageable, and keep food on the table.
The only time I drop to -1 is when moderating, which is infrequent enough not to be a problem. Actually, it's nice to do it now and again. Flames can be entertaining, sometimes through their creativity, sometimes through unbelievable ego/ignorance.
Try http://www.virtualvision.com/eglass.htm for a rather nice-looking monocular unit at SVGA resolutions. They're not selling it to the consumer market, so my guess is that the price will be rather high.
Either way, I wouldn't worry too much, I've seen more monocular prototypes than stereo for standard computer applications. The only applications that really "need" stereo are gaming and VR.
Actually, if you go to Prolume's site, you will note that BioToy is a division of Prolume. So, yes, they are all the same company.
Nothing wrong that I can see.
Months are returned as zero-based array indexes. (january == 0, december == 11)
I also use the Microsoft keyboard, and I find it has significantly decreased my incidence of wrist pain. However, for a pointing device, I've got to go with the Logitech Marble FX. I used to get *horrible* wrist pain from using the mouse, but since switching a year ago, I've yet to have a single incident.
On the original subject, my desk is an old-fashioned, solid hardwood executive desk I picked up for $200 at a used office furniture warehouse. Ergonomically, it leaves a little to be desired, since the keyboard is not at the "proper" height, but when I'm heavy into a large project, having 2 square meters of desk space is invaluable (The desk is 1x2 meters) I've got the monitor on one of those swing-arm mounts so it doesn't take up any desk space. And, I've got all the drawer space I need.
Now I just need a good chair that won't send my accounts into shock. I love the Aeron, but there's no way I can afford one.
It seems that the FBI has realized that performing an investigation against someone can be used as a punitive measure. We are, of course, all aware of their recent "investigation" of the Y2K movie spoof.
:)
The problem is that in many cases, these kind of actions can work. It certainly has done a lot of damage to the ISP who was hosting the Y2K movie. Having been investigated for treason can certainly adversely affect your career and personal life. I imagine it would also completely eliminate any chance that you could get a job with a security clearance.
Normally, only the courts can declare punishment for an offense, but in these cases, going to the courts may be completely unnecessary for the FBI's purposes, even if it stood a snowball's chance in hell of actually making it into a court proceeding.
Of course if they do it too much, it could backfire, since not having been investigated means you haven't done anything interesting
This is definitely going to last a long time, too. No plastic parts.
I'm 33 and I got my wife Legos.
Got her the book, too.
I can't wait to see what she comes up with, since I got her a bunch of X-10 stuff a few weeks earlier. (Picturing robots running around turning lights on and off)
Sun built a 100% Java browser, called HotJava.
Unfortunately, it sucked rocks.
This is not exaggeration, either. HotJava was actually worse than IE 1.0. And, instead of fixing it, Sun abandoned it, and told the world, "see, it is possible to build a browser in Java, now try it yourself!" And the rest of the world said "yep, it is possible to build a browser in Java, but why would I build something that sucks?"
In the end, all we got was a really bad taste in our mouths, and a dislike for desktop Java applications.
Maybe someone will try again. But I'm not holding my breath.
Something's definitely screwy.
.sig, it would go here.
#1, I got 1 moderator point burning a hole in my pocket for the first time.
#2, when I started browsing the articles, with an eye toward spending my newfound point, I noticed that almost every posting has been moderated, with a very abnormal number of posts moderated to +5.
Why do I have this strange feeling that EVERYONE was granted a moderator point? At the very least, a whole lot more people than usual are moderating.
At first I was pretty happy about having moderator prvileges. But after realizing that a whole lot of others also had it, it wasn't so impressive. In fact, I probably won't bother to use it.
- If I had a
The SEC got involved because the stocks themselves were illegal. In one case, the company didn't even EXIST yet.
Form what I've read from the SEC, I don't think they would actually care about legitimate sales of legitimate stocks on eBay. All three of these cases, however, were not legitimate.
The SEC is prosecuting for selling stock that would be just as illegal if sold by any other means.
eBay has "outlawed" all sale of stock through their site, because there's no way they could keep up with what is, and what is not a legal sale.
It looks like everyone's doing their job pretty well IMHO.
I like Classical for the long coding sessions, especially those that last all day. Vivaldi, James Galway and Rimski-Korsakov are very nice.
.sig, it would go here.
For short, intense sessions, I tend to prefer Jazz. Wynton Marsalis, Vince Guaraldi, Thelonious Monk and Alien Fashion Show work pretty well.
Mixed in between, I'll listen to Blondie, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and such for a little contrast. Something to shake me up and keep from "zoning out".
Overall, anything except country will do the job, though I will listen to Junior Brown on occasion. (Surf music from a country artist, go figure)
If I had a