...the value of the network increases with the square of the number of participants.
Where does this intuitively-obvious statement come from? How do we know that it's squared? I believe that it's true in general: that value increases geometrically as N increases. Who has run the numbers on this phenomenon, and where can we go to find descriptions of epiphenomena related to it?
If this is true, then doesn't it follow that it is in the best interests of the IM networks to establish peering agreements with each other so that their users can directly contact users on other networks without having to install each client?
It seems that when people are investing resources (money, effort and time), it's seeing the actual numbers that will convince them. Anybody got references at hand?
I agree. The point I was trying to make is that this legislation would prevent a lot of obvious, sensible, GOOD new inventions and non-criminal uses of technology. The carriage and buggy-whip industries did NOT have the right to try to outlaw automobiles, and we who want "cars," metaphorically speaking, are facing an industry with quite a bit of money and some technologically clueless legislators. To Arms!(Yes, that's a metaphor, too; ACs please google Paul Revere)
Sure you can, legally. In a few years, where are you going to get the equipment to do it? The point is that they don't care if the required standards break your computer's ability to compute. They don't care if you're able to do what you need or want to do with your equipment, that you've bought, with your money. They want to sell new, proprietary gadgets, to keep control of their cash cows, and to seek power.
Do you want the good Senator to stick these few companies' hands this deep in your wallet by force of law (if you live in the States) or by imposing an "American Goods Tax," both monetary and intellectual, on the rest of the world? I didn't think so. Keep writing, and start talking, too.
And so it's a good idea to ASK people if they'll permit this kind of access to the routers which are THEIR private property. That's only IF somebody can show that the plan will work in the first place. The firefighter you describe is there to get the people (like the router's owner) out of danger and then to save their property (like the router and the building they're in) if possible. He's not there to compel others in the general public to help him. 'Net performance is so good that we can even discuss such an application as GPS-in-realtime for escape or rescue because of the unforeseen, beneficial, qualitative changes in the system that have been wrought by massive increases in a lot of the stuff that people DO think of and choose to pay for.
That's why the current discussion is so important. It sounds nice to make efforts to help people like this; it's the implementation that's going to take effort and thought. What empirical data do we have? What gives the best result when we cannot predict the nature, frequency and scope of disasters or have exact knowledge of the technological assets we'll have in a few years?
The astonishing speed and usefulness of 'net is a direct result of its having expanded to its current size and pervasiveness WITHOUT the stated goal of helping emergency workers or anybody else. A parallel is that sport climbers used Kevlar(tm) for slinging chocks before it ever showed up in fire-protective clothing (and (*shameless plug*) the stuff is great!). Let the 'net grow, encourage free, unfettered access and the free flow of traffic, and emergency workers will have better tools, as will we all.
SURE we can. Lots of our neighbors have guns, so the criminals can't depend on having a "safe workplace," as they do in the parts of the world where governments disarm the law-abiding.
The.30-'06 cartridge was the official rifle cartridge of the United States from its adoption in the year 1906 until the mid-1950's or so. Perhaps you've heard of World War I and World War II? The.30-'06 cartridge is largely responsible for there NOT being just one official language (German) from Lisbon to Moscow to North Africa. I hear that a lot of folks in Asia were kind of pleased that it existed, too.
Reduce: the money that I don't spend on extra things is STILL in my account, for me to spend on whatever I want. For me, that means having fewer things but better ones. Some goes into my retirement account in an index fund (when the market's down, JUST KEEP BUYING!). Toys that I don't buy can't end up in the trash from my waste stream. From the manufacturer's perspective, products that aren't selling well are made in smaller numbers than if they're going like hotcakes.
Reuse comes in a lot of forms: we've all used hand-me-down computers at some stages in our lives. Older and slower computers can still serve a lot of office or homework functions, while the newer and faster ones get used for graphics, video work and the all-important games. Reuse works in other areas, too: an old Crescent wrench or Craftsman screwdriver works just fine. I also recommend a hobby of mine: Thrift Stores! Right now I'm wearing a Brooks Brothers shirt ($1.75 during the 75% off sale last weekend), Lands End khakis ($1.25, same sale) and a good leather belt (25 cents, ditto). No holes, frayed edges or stains on any of these, and the shirt had been donated fresh from the cleaner (tag still on it). How did they get to the thrift store? With office clothes especially, it's not because they're worn out. It's because somebody gained ten pounds and stayed that way, or because his wife got tired of them (watch out for stains, though). And if you have to show up in a suit sometimes, why tie up a bunch of capital? Pay twenty bucks for a top-grade suit that fits, have it altered for not-too-much compared to the price of new, and you're set.
He got me earlier today, with his posting on the Passport story {It's Karma Time! (Score:0, Troll) by ekrout on Friday November 02, @06:50PM (#2514541)(User #139379 Info|http://slashdot.org/)}Thanx, assho^H^H^H^H^H fella! It gave me (Opera 5.12 under Win98) an explosion of repetitive window openings, leading to a browser crash. - You've seen the old joke:
"Press to Test"
{CLICK}
"Release to Detonate"
At the project web site (http://www.vebjorn-sand.com/thebridge.htm), they list the original design length as 240 m, then as 1,1155 feet. When I went to grade school, 240m was about 790 feet. Does anybody know what the original length was?
Slashdot Mirror
Where does this intuitively-obvious statement come from? How do we know that it's squared? I believe that it's true in general: that value increases geometrically as N increases. Who has run the numbers on this phenomenon, and where can we go to find descriptions of epiphenomena related to it?
If this is true, then doesn't it follow that it is in the best interests of the IM networks to establish peering agreements with each other so that their users can directly contact users on other networks without having to install each client?
It seems that when people are investing resources (money, effort and time), it's seeing the actual numbers that will convince them. Anybody got references at hand?
I agree. The point I was trying to make is that this legislation would prevent a lot of obvious, sensible, GOOD new inventions and non-criminal uses of technology. The carriage and buggy-whip industries did NOT have the right to try to outlaw automobiles, and we who want "cars," metaphorically speaking, are facing an industry with quite a bit of money and some technologically clueless legislators. To Arms! (Yes, that's a metaphor, too; ACs please google Paul Revere)
Do you want the good Senator to stick these few companies' hands this deep in your wallet by force of law (if you live in the States) or by imposing an "American Goods Tax," both monetary and intellectual, on the rest of the world? I didn't think so. Keep writing, and start talking, too.
Are you Bill Gates with a pseudonym?
Back In My Day, we only had Ones and Zeroes! And we were happy to have 'em! Happy, I tell ya!
Wow - even if you mis-spell the name of the state? Those clerks really ARE clueless.
And so it's a good idea to ASK people if they'll permit this kind of access to the routers which are THEIR private property. That's only IF somebody can show that the plan will work in the first place. The firefighter you describe is there to get the people (like the router's owner) out of danger and then to save their property (like the router and the building they're in) if possible. He's not there to compel others in the general public to help him. 'Net performance is so good that we can even discuss such an application as GPS-in-realtime for escape or rescue because of the unforeseen, beneficial, qualitative changes in the system that have been wrought by massive increases in a lot of the stuff that people DO think of and choose to pay for. That's why the current discussion is so important. It sounds nice to make efforts to help people like this; it's the implementation that's going to take effort and thought. What empirical data do we have? What gives the best result when we cannot predict the nature, frequency and scope of disasters or have exact knowledge of the technological assets we'll have in a few years? The astonishing speed and usefulness of 'net is a direct result of its having expanded to its current size and pervasiveness WITHOUT the stated goal of helping emergency workers or anybody else. A parallel is that sport climbers used Kevlar(tm) for slinging chocks before it ever showed up in fire-protective clothing (and (*shameless plug*) the stuff is great!). Let the 'net grow, encourage free, unfettered access and the free flow of traffic, and emergency workers will have better tools, as will we all.
SURE we can. Lots of our neighbors have guns, so the criminals can't depend on having a "safe workplace," as they do in the parts of the world where governments disarm the law-abiding.
.30-'06 cartridge was the official rifle cartridge of the United States from its adoption in the year 1906 until the mid-1950's or so. Perhaps you've heard of World War I and World War II? The .30-'06 cartridge is largely responsible for there NOT being just one official language (German) from Lisbon to Moscow to North Africa. I hear that a lot of folks in Asia were kind of pleased that it existed, too.
The
Kewl - I'm gonna use that!
One virus. Two VIRUSES. (Yeah, it's been explained before).
Reduce: the money that I don't spend on extra things is STILL in my account, for me to spend on whatever I want. For me, that means having fewer things but better ones. Some goes into my retirement account in an index fund (when the market's down, JUST KEEP BUYING!). Toys that I don't buy can't end up in the trash from my waste stream. From the manufacturer's perspective, products that aren't selling well are made in smaller numbers than if they're going like hotcakes.
Reuse comes in a lot of forms: we've all used hand-me-down computers at some stages in our lives. Older and slower computers can still serve a lot of office or homework functions, while the newer and faster ones get used for graphics, video work and the all-important games. Reuse works in other areas, too: an old Crescent wrench or Craftsman screwdriver works just fine. I also recommend a hobby of mine: Thrift Stores! Right now I'm wearing a Brooks Brothers shirt ($1.75 during the 75% off sale last weekend), Lands End khakis ($1.25, same sale) and a good leather belt (25 cents, ditto). No holes, frayed edges or stains on any of these, and the shirt had been donated fresh from the cleaner (tag still on it). How did they get to the thrift store? With office clothes especially, it's not because they're worn out. It's because somebody gained ten pounds and stayed that way, or because his wife got tired of them (watch out for stains, though). And if you have to show up in a suit sometimes, why tie up a bunch of capital? Pay twenty bucks for a top-grade suit that fits, have it altered for not-too-much compared to the price of new, and you're set.
Sorry, but I live out in the sticks. SF is one of the five; what are the other 4? (NY, HK, Bangkok, Tokyo, KL, London, Paris, other candidates ?????)
He got me earlier today, with his posting on the Passport story {It's Karma Time! (Score:0, Troll) by ekrout on Friday November 02, @06:50PM (#2514541)(User #139379 Info|http://slashdot.org/)}Thanx, assho^H^H^H^H^H fella! It gave me (Opera 5.12 under Win98) an explosion of repetitive window openings, leading to a browser crash. - You've seen the old joke:
"Press to Test"
{CLICK}
"Release to Detonate"
Thanx, assho^H^H^H^H^H fella! - "Press to Test" {CLICK} "Release to Detonate"
OOPS - I should have written 240m and 1,155 feet as the lengths given in the project web site.
At the project web site (http://www.vebjorn-sand.com/thebridge.htm), they list the original design length as 240 m, then as 1,1155 feet. When I went to grade school, 240m was about 790 feet. Does anybody know what the original length was?