Moderate John Carmack Up! (and read this ;) )
on
Five Years of Quake
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· Score: 1
I'm surprised Quake's success isn't more appropriated to John Carmack. The game engine of Quake I/II/III are very advanced from previous engines. The concept is perhaps not new, but the technology involved has made leaps and bounds since 1992. Game engines that John Carmack have created have almost entirely created the need for personal 3D video cards, a very huge industry nowadays. John Romero is a storyteller within a society that is loaded with storytellers. John Carmack is a 3d engine Guru that has created the de facto standard for what is considered a GOOD 3D engine.
I could give a shit about the story. I've read hundreds of books that offer me a story of one theme or another. Stories are good, but Quake (and other FPS games) are interactive. You are the story. You live it, you decide it. Especially games like Counterstrike, ones where you play the role of something more based in reality, but the ending and journey are based on the players' actions alone.
I see the FPS genre move towards large interactive multiplayer themed games, where the players work together as a team against either other players or an aggressive and challenging AI enemy. For a slightly eh example there's World War II Online (extremely buggy). WWII Online is also an example of what happens when a 3D game does NOT step upon the shoulders of John Carmack. It's engine is HORRIBLE. No matter the amazing plot, theme, and realism of WWII, because the engine is quite buggy and ineffecient, the game will not be as successful as it could be. Poor Cornered Rats (the developers).
KYLLO v. UNITED STATES (99-8508)
Web-accessible at:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-8508.ZS.html
Argued February 20, 2001 -- Decided June 11, 2001
Opinion author: Scalia
Suspicious that marijuana was being grown in petitioner Kyllo's
home in a triplex, agents used a thermal imaging device to scan
the triplex to determine if the amount of heat emanating from
it was consistent with the high-intensity lamps typically used
for indoor marijuana growth. The scan showed that Kyllo's
garage roof and a side wall were relatively hot compared to the
rest of his home and substantially warmer than the neighboring
units. Based in part on the thermal imaging, a Federal
Magistrate Judge issued a warrant to search Kyllo's home, where
the agents found marijuana growing. After Kyllo was indicted
on a federal drug charge, he unsuccessfully moved to suppress
the evidence seized from his home and then entered a
conditional guilty plea. The Ninth Circuit ultimately
affirmed, upholding the thermal imaging on the ground that
Kyllo had shown no subjective expectation of privacy because he
had made no attempt to conceal the heat escaping from his home.
Even if he had, ruled the court, there was no objectively
reasonable expectation of privacy because the thermal imager
did not expose any intimate details of Kyllo's life, only
amorphous hot spots on his home's exterior.
Held: Where, as here, the Government uses a device that is not
in general public use, to explore details of a private home
that would previously have been unknowable without physical
intrusion, the surveillance is a Fourth Amendment "search," and
is presumptively unreasonable without a warrant. Pp. 3-13.
(a) The question whether a warrantless search of a home is
reasonable and hence constitutional must be answered no in most
instances, but the antecedent question whether a Fourth
Amendment "search" has occurred is not so simple. This Court
has approved warrantless visual surveillance of a home, see
California v. Ciraolo, 476 U.S. 207, 213, ruling that visual
observation is no "search" at all, see Dow Chemical Co. v.
United States, 476 U.S. 227, 234-235, 239. In assessing when a
search is not a search, the Court has adapted a principle first
enunciated in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 361: A
"search" does not occur--even when its object is a house
explicitly protected by the Fourth Amendment--unless the
individual manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in
the searched object, and society is willing to recognize that
expectation as reasonable, see, e.g., California v. Ciraolo,
supra, at 211. Pp. 3-5.
(b) While it may be difficult to refine the Katz test in
some instances, in the case of the search of a home's
interior--the prototypical and hence most commonly litigated
area of protected privacy--there is a ready criterion, with
roots deep in the common law, of the minimal expectation of
privacy that exists, and that is acknowledged to be reasonable.
To withdraw protection of this minimum expectation would be to
permit police technology to erode the privacy guaranteed by the
Fourth Amendment. Thus, obtaining by sense-enhancing
technology any information regarding the home's interior that
could not otherwise have been obtained without physical
"intrusion into a constitutionally protected area," Silverman
v. United States, 365 U.S. 505, 512, constitutes a search--at
least where (as here) the technology in question is not in
general public use. This assures preservation of that degree
of privacy against government that existed when the Fourth
Amendment was adopted. Pp. 6-7.
(c) Based on this criterion, the information obtained by
the thermal imager in this case was the product of a search.
The Court rejects the Government's argument that the thermal
imaging must be upheld because it detected only heat radiating
from the home's external surface. Such a mechanical
interpretation of the Fourth Amendment was rejected in Katz,
where the eavesdropping device in question picked up only sound
waves that reached the exterior of the phone booth to which it
was attached. Reversing that approach would leave the
homeowner at the mercy of advancing technology--including
imaging technology that could discern all human activity in the
home. Also rejected is the Government's contention that the
thermal imaging was constitutional because it did not detect
"intimate details." Such an approach would be wrong in
principle because, in the sanctity of the home, all details are
intimate details. See e.g., United States v. Karo, 468 U.S.
705; Dow Chemical, supra, at 238, distinguished. It would also
be impractical in application, failing to provide a workable
accommodation between law enforcement needs and Fourth
Amendment interests. See Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S.
170, 181. Pp. 7-12.
(d) Since the imaging in this case was an unlawful
search, it will remain for the District Court to determine
whether, without the evidence it provided, the search warrant
was supported by probable cause--and if not, whether there is
any other basis for supporting admission of that evidence. Pp.
12-13.
190 F.3d 1041, reversed and remanded.
Scalia, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which
Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Stevens,
J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and
O'Connor and Kennedy, JJ., joined.
Every cell has some kind of telomerase activity. You have to think of that activity as the probability that the telomerase enzyme will function or whether it won't at any one point in time.
The age of a cell, if you measured it by the length of the telomeres in its DNA, would decrease exponentially, not linearly, unlike how most computers tell time. Very few processes in biology are linear...so the way a lot of people on Slashdot think about biology is completely off.
Biological processes are all about parallel processing, with multiple rates of enzyme activity, binding, transport mechanisms all working at the same time, arriving at an 'event' (like cell replicating, or a muscle contracting) that seem linear from a general view, but are actually the result of an innumerable amount of competitive or cooperative cellular functions all working and forming a very complex pattern of results.
1) What is your opinion on the effeciency of government and the comparison between the effeciencies of a State and Federal government?
2) Do you believe that programs offered and controlled by the Federal government have advantages to similar or same programs offered by a State government, and why?
3) Do you believe that programs offered by the Federal government, such as Social Security, should be given/offered to people who do not wish to be covered by the program, and why? Do you consider the opinion of the individual to be subserviant to the collective opinion of the whole in matters of national healthcare?
Modern Judaism has evolved just like any other 6000 year old religion. 6000 years ago, life was much more hostile..so in order to keep Justice and Law intact the laws were generally strict. Judaism was not a religion 6000 years ago..it was a system of government and lifestyle, given (or created for the agnostics/atheists), so that people will know what is wrong and what is right and how to be more right than wrong.
Modern Judaism still contains all those precepts..that man is not perfect, and that he should try to be good. Knowing the difference between good and evil, in Judaism, is an absolute. Without a written set of rules (the Ten Commandments for starters) one could easily mistake evil for good, and think one is doing good when one is really evil. For an example, look at Hitler.
Israel's government is NOT based solely on the religion. In fact, the government is entirely secular, with an organization of Rabbis (the Rabbinate) advising the Knessat (their Congress) on issues dealing with modern day conflicts between Judaism and internationally accepted law.
If you ever go to Israel you'd see that the majority of people are secular Jews. They are ethnically and culturally connected to Judaism, but they don't follow it as a religion.
In the future, get your facts straight before spewing onto/. All you're doing is spreading misinformation and ignorance.
This week's sucked, but last week's rocked
on
X-Files FPS Episode
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· Score: 1
I'd have to agree with the majority of people posting...this week's episode pretty much sucked. I guess not a whole lot FPS players were on the writing staff of this game... In what game do you just sit there and shit at things coming at you w/o moving? Even the tamest of FPSs would kick your ass if you fail to move at all...Not much action really..just guns blazing/w random things dying.
But..last's week's episode was kickass. I think they did a fantastic job teaming up/w "Cops" to make that show. It was funny, but scary at the same time...and had the same flavor and feel of realism as "Cops".
While the EU is using their apparant economic disadvantage to the U.S as an excuse to release everything they know about Echelon, I'm all happily for it!
This is the most information I've read on Echelon and I'm glad that the EU finally made it all public.
I think the perception of what Echelon does (rather than what they have the potential to do) is made much more clear in the report. While Echelon can monitor most communication media available, they won't..because they don't care about it all. From reading the report, which can be considered at least non-biased towards the NSA since the EU is basically accusing the NSA of spying and wouldn't leave the more controversial info out, one can see that Echelon generally doesn't spy on American or British citizens. The problem arises when military + economic information interception accidentally collects private, non-related information. I see this as not a purposeful attack of personal liberties, but a failing of the technology.
The NSA doesn't care about the latest hack you did against some web page. The NSA doesn't care about your kiddy porn.
They're looking for the military and economic advantage over other countries..and they have so much information to process and disseminate that tracking foreign national security matters AND domestic 'small time crimes' would be a waste of resources.
I think anyone who wishes to retain their privacy and is doing something they're afraid others will find out should use PGP. It's pretty simple. Elsewise, I don't think the NSA will care about your non-encrypted email to a domestic friend about your latest script kiddie prank.
And if Echelon gives the U.S an economic advantage over others, I applaud it. If it allows the U.S to retain its edge over the IT industry, I think it's worth it. I forsee no 1984 scenario..that's just paranoia sweeping in.
I think as more people get broadband wireless access as well as cheaper and more effecient PDAs, people will be more likely to use an online newspaper instead of a hard copy. I want a newspaper, whether it's on my PDA or on printed paper, to consist of all the news I'm looking for...breaking world news, insightful political editorials, tech news, comics, etc. Of course, this will change from person to person, but that is EXACTLY what an online newspaper can do that a printed version can't.
An Online paper can tailor its content to meet the needs and desires of the specific viewer. When the Chechnyan war broke out it got a lot of coverage, yet it is still waging on, yet I hear no coverage about it...why not? Maybe I want weekly updates on it..maybe I didn't care about it in the first place. Why shouldn't I be able to 'click' on "Keep Me Informed Of This Topic" on my PDA online newspaper for it to everyday send me new information on the topic?
True, local newspaper might not ever die..their coverage is specific enough for their area that those who purchase the newspaper generally want local news.
What I want to see, however, is the Associated Press get up an independent online PDA version of a newspaper and have it send exactly what I want to my PDA every day for $0.35 cents a day. No paper, no ink, just bits and good reporting. Then, perhaps, I might subscribe to the Wall Street Journal's online version for in depth economic information or the Times for cultural/political updates. I can accept a balance between short and concise, real time news reporting and in depth, slightly outdated feature topics, yet I will pay more for a newspaper that covers an extremely current and newsworthy topic both in depth and on time.
I've been interning this past year with a bunch of grad students and professors who do just this: Tissue Engineering. I'd have to say that Tissue Engineering is a not that new, contrary to what the article says. Both Organogenesis and American Tissue Sciences (two companies who deal in Skin & other Tissue engineering) have created layers of epidermal skin for use with burn patients. Skin is an organ, complete with its own tissue layers.
The article might just be hyping up some new technique or method in Tissue engineering. The "first step" has already been taken and tissue engineering is already a reality.
Now, artificial organs like hearts, lungs, kidneys will definately be harder to synthetically create from cells than skin. There are many obstacles toward creating these synethic organs. The cells must properly differentiate into the functional groups of each organ. The scaffold the cells are seeded on will need to mimic the structure of the natural organ, including spaces for capillaries for blood flow, microtubules for the various secretions, excretions, and inputted fluids. In order to create an artificial kidney, you would need to structurally induce a flow from ingoing blood and allow outgoing blood an outlet.
There's also the problem of seeding the scaffold with cells. You can't seed every bit of the scaffold with cells and the cells won't necessarily move on their own. In fact, cells really don't like to attach to most synthetic scaffolds. You need to coat it with a protein like collagen or fibronectin, which are extracellular proteins within the body.
Overall, Tissue Engineering will soon provide humans the ability to replace dead organs..or create new organs from partial organs. Skin is already in production while other organs are more complex, and will probably not be seen for perhaps 5-10 years.
To make this a more specific post about CT, I will skip all the previous corrections other./ers have made, but I fully agree with the separation of CRBN and CT as two entirely different forms of attack.
CyberTerrorism is not about physically damaging a nation's infrastructure. It is about, temporarily, reducing a nation's core support infrastructure (power, telephone/data lines, travel (train/air)) in order to 'soften up' a nation before physically attacking them.
It is quite possible for a terrorist group to hire a capable cracker group to shut down the power grid of a major city prior to a physical attack, whether it's conventional bombings/explosives or more scary biochem/chem warfare. This combined CT/physical attack would not only increase the likelihood of the terrorist's success, but it would also create a sense of panic and fear among the populace.
Communication helps to disperse fear and panic in almost any situation. Once one's communication is physically or 'softly' cut, it doesn't matter whether a backhoe or a sophisticated CT program was used. The only difference is that of the duration and timing. Thus said, the only use of a CT attack would be to properly time it in accordance with a separate, more physical attack..one that has more duration. Nevertheless, a CT attack is not necessarily less powerful. The ability to shut down an entire nation's power infrastucture is something no tactical nuke can do. Thus, while CT may have a wider, more effective 'soft' area of successful attack, its duration may be short and its multiple-use effectiveness may be limited.
CyberTerrorism is also not a target specific attack usually. Elite hackers may well be able to infiltrate specific targets looking for specific information or to cause 'soft damage', but in terms of warfare, these acts are not as effective as a loss of one's core infrastructure. In attacking a nation's data/power infrastructure, it is very possible that some systems may be attackable while others are more secure due to their OS, configuration, and connectivity to outside invaders. For CT to be more than an annoyance to lazy, insecure banks and improperly run govt. sites there has to be the threat of a national loss of infrastructure for a long duration, happening at a specific time, simultaenously. CT just doesn't cut it when making it your primary method of attack.
As for the ability required to make a CT attack: Once an exploit in an OS or configuration is found by an able cracker, the cracker can code a program to reproduce his ability to exploit the hole and allow any ol' 'script kiddie' to take advantage of that exploit without having prior knowledge of how the exploit allows access or how to regain access once the exploint is fixed. Anyone can do it.
This is exactly what 'gumption' is! I applaud you. If more and more people would stop whining about their 'racial' inequities and do something to make themselves more equal *without* the government's assistance. As for the price for internet connectivity, it is steadily decreasing to $0. Yes, FREE. There are at least four companies out there (Gateway, Compaq, Dell are a few I think) that offer free PCs with a pre-installed advertisement window that stays on the monitor at all times. Or you can buy a computer for $200 and be contracted to buy service from an ISP for 3 years or so. Either way, there are definately opportunities out that allow people to gain internet access without shelling out over $500. My opinion is that as the govt. and other political leaders consistantly emphasize the inequalities based on race, more and more people feel that they are the 'victims' of society and _deserve_ instant gratification because of that.
Salis
I am neither a racist or a bigot, but to discriminate a person based upon your race, color, or origin for negative OR positive intentions is racism. There's such a double standard when dealing/w 'racism' that the word no longer means what it used to mean.
I was watching this press brief on C-SPAN last night. It looked like a cross of engineers and marketers answering the questions of idiot reporters. Most of the questions revolved around "So will (insert system here) crash past Y2k?!" followed by "No, most likely not. Next please" There were no technical discussions at all...which bothered me. I'd rather have a technical discussion than a fury of "No, probably not"'s...even if this totally confuses the reporters.:) When were we..or anyone else..assured of our safety from the words of a reporter? Salis
Concerning reviewing journal articles for methods, I must have depleted at least $20 worth of copy cards in the nearby Tech/Medicine library. The graduate student I work for insists that I look up everything and be told as little as possible; so while it's quite frustrating, I suppose it has gotten me used to reading journal articles.
Currently, I'm helping the aforementioned graduate student (Jane Tjia) study phagocytosis of keratinocytes. We're using the confocal microscope to quantify the fluorescence of conjugate antibodies of a certain type of integrin.
I think one of the coolest things I did in sophomore year was program a clunky D&D type game in Turbo Pascal. I miss on-the-fly programming for fun hehe. I don't think I ever finished the entire thing, but it sorta looked like 'Blademasters' from the old MajorBBS system, without multiplayer support. Howard Salis
Here's a decent suggestion: In another section of Slashdot (perhaps a slashbox), one could post questions dealing with research techniques. I've only begun my experiences in the research community, but I've found that finding out that one piece of obscure information on how to do (insert here) just right or how to do two specific things at once while ruining neither can be a laborious process of looking through article after article, reading their methodology.
Specifically, I've been working with Confocal Microscopy and different flourescent dyes. If I had the ability to ask a specific, technical question to a large audience of technical people and receive an answer within a few days, that could save me an afternoon of searching (or days of searching, ugh) . I'm sure others feel the same way.
I feel that Slashdot has enormous potential for expanding its technology discussions to not only computers and internet-related tech, but to biotech, engineering, and physics.
One large problem they'll face is trying to clone enough of the different subspecies of the bird in order for the species to be genetically viable. This may be jumping the gun a bit (if they clone one, I'm sure everyone will be excited), but without a wide varied number of specimens to clone the species will eventually die out from genetic stagnation anyways. Perhaps they're just scraping off cells from those high-fashion feathers. There should be enough of them floating around that the feathers used will all come from different genetic samples (different birds). Salis
If you read more closely, you'll find that one gets 'credits' for each computer one donates. Imagine how much time you'd get if you donated a 386..an hour perhaps? There is no way they can allocate one month of computing to each donater and expect a few hundred donaters.. This is most likely a scam, or perhaps a little-thought out, but good-intentioned project a couple of bored techs thought up. A bit too idealistic and very improbable. Howard
Slashdot Mirror
I'm surprised Quake's success isn't more appropriated to John Carmack. The game engine of Quake I/II/III are very advanced from previous engines. The concept is perhaps not new, but the technology involved has made leaps and bounds since 1992. Game engines that John Carmack have created have almost entirely created the need for personal 3D video cards, a very huge industry nowadays. John Romero is a storyteller within a society that is loaded with storytellers. John Carmack is a 3d engine Guru that has created the de facto standard for what is considered a GOOD 3D engine.
I could give a shit about the story. I've read hundreds of books that offer me a story of one theme or another. Stories are good, but Quake (and other FPS games) are interactive. You are the story. You live it, you decide it. Especially games like Counterstrike, ones where you play the role of something more based in reality, but the ending and journey are based on the players' actions alone.
I see the FPS genre move towards large interactive multiplayer themed games, where the players work together as a team against either other players or an aggressive and challenging AI enemy. For a slightly eh example there's World War II Online (extremely buggy). WWII Online is also an example of what happens when a 3D game does NOT step upon the shoulders of John Carmack. It's engine is HORRIBLE. No matter the amazing plot, theme, and realism of WWII, because the engine is quite buggy and ineffecient, the game will not be as successful as it could be. Poor Cornered Rats (the developers).
Salis
KYLLO v. UNITED STATES (99-8508)S .html
Web-accessible at:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-8508.Z
Argued February 20, 2001 -- Decided June 11, 2001
Opinion author: Scalia
Suspicious that marijuana was being grown in petitioner Kyllo's
home in a triplex, agents used a thermal imaging device to scan
the triplex to determine if the amount of heat emanating from
it was consistent with the high-intensity lamps typically used
for indoor marijuana growth. The scan showed that Kyllo's
garage roof and a side wall were relatively hot compared to the
rest of his home and substantially warmer than the neighboring
units. Based in part on the thermal imaging, a Federal
Magistrate Judge issued a warrant to search Kyllo's home, where
the agents found marijuana growing. After Kyllo was indicted
on a federal drug charge, he unsuccessfully moved to suppress
the evidence seized from his home and then entered a
conditional guilty plea. The Ninth Circuit ultimately
affirmed, upholding the thermal imaging on the ground that
Kyllo had shown no subjective expectation of privacy because he
had made no attempt to conceal the heat escaping from his home.
Even if he had, ruled the court, there was no objectively
reasonable expectation of privacy because the thermal imager
did not expose any intimate details of Kyllo's life, only
amorphous hot spots on his home's exterior.
Held: Where, as here, the Government uses a device that is not
in general public use, to explore details of a private home
that would previously have been unknowable without physical
intrusion, the surveillance is a Fourth Amendment "search," and
is presumptively unreasonable without a warrant. Pp. 3-13.
(a) The question whether a warrantless search of a home is
reasonable and hence constitutional must be answered no in most
instances, but the antecedent question whether a Fourth
Amendment "search" has occurred is not so simple. This Court
has approved warrantless visual surveillance of a home, see
California v. Ciraolo, 476 U.S. 207, 213, ruling that visual
observation is no "search" at all, see Dow Chemical Co. v.
United States, 476 U.S. 227, 234-235, 239. In assessing when a
search is not a search, the Court has adapted a principle first
enunciated in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 361: A
"search" does not occur--even when its object is a house
explicitly protected by the Fourth Amendment--unless the
individual manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in
the searched object, and society is willing to recognize that
expectation as reasonable, see, e.g., California v. Ciraolo,
supra, at 211. Pp. 3-5.
(b) While it may be difficult to refine the Katz test in
some instances, in the case of the search of a home's
interior--the prototypical and hence most commonly litigated
area of protected privacy--there is a ready criterion, with
roots deep in the common law, of the minimal expectation of
privacy that exists, and that is acknowledged to be reasonable.
To withdraw protection of this minimum expectation would be to
permit police technology to erode the privacy guaranteed by the
Fourth Amendment. Thus, obtaining by sense-enhancing
technology any information regarding the home's interior that
could not otherwise have been obtained without physical
"intrusion into a constitutionally protected area," Silverman
v. United States, 365 U.S. 505, 512, constitutes a search--at
least where (as here) the technology in question is not in
general public use. This assures preservation of that degree
of privacy against government that existed when the Fourth
Amendment was adopted. Pp. 6-7.
(c) Based on this criterion, the information obtained by
the thermal imager in this case was the product of a search.
The Court rejects the Government's argument that the thermal
imaging must be upheld because it detected only heat radiating
from the home's external surface. Such a mechanical
interpretation of the Fourth Amendment was rejected in Katz,
where the eavesdropping device in question picked up only sound
waves that reached the exterior of the phone booth to which it
was attached. Reversing that approach would leave the
homeowner at the mercy of advancing technology--including
imaging technology that could discern all human activity in the
home. Also rejected is the Government's contention that the
thermal imaging was constitutional because it did not detect
"intimate details." Such an approach would be wrong in
principle because, in the sanctity of the home, all details are
intimate details. See e.g., United States v. Karo, 468 U.S.
705; Dow Chemical, supra, at 238, distinguished. It would also
be impractical in application, failing to provide a workable
accommodation between law enforcement needs and Fourth
Amendment interests. See Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S.
170, 181. Pp. 7-12.
(d) Since the imaging in this case was an unlawful
search, it will remain for the District Court to determine
whether, without the evidence it provided, the search warrant
was supported by probable cause--and if not, whether there is
any other basis for supporting admission of that evidence. Pp.
12-13.
190 F.3d 1041, reversed and remanded.
Scalia, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which
Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Stevens,
J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and
O'Connor and Kennedy, JJ., joined.
Every cell has some kind of telomerase activity. You have to think of that activity as the probability that the telomerase enzyme will function or whether it won't at any one point in time.
The age of a cell, if you measured it by the length of the telomeres in its DNA, would decrease exponentially, not linearly, unlike how most computers tell time. Very few processes in biology are linear...so the way a lot of people on Slashdot think about biology is completely off.
Biological processes are all about parallel processing, with multiple rates of enzyme activity, binding, transport mechanisms all working at the same time, arriving at an 'event' (like cell replicating, or a muscle contracting) that seem linear from a general view, but are actually the result of an innumerable amount of competitive or cooperative cellular functions all working and forming a very complex pattern of results.
My question has multiple parts:
1) What is your opinion on the effeciency of government and the comparison between the effeciencies of a State and Federal government?
2) Do you believe that programs offered and controlled by the Federal government have advantages to similar or same programs offered by a State government, and why?
3) Do you believe that programs offered by the Federal government, such as Social Security, should be given/offered to people who do not wish to be covered by the program, and why? Do you consider the opinion of the individual to be subserviant to the collective opinion of the whole in matters of national healthcare?
Salis
Modern Judaism has evolved just like any other 6000 year old religion. 6000 years ago, life was much more hostile..so in order to keep Justice and Law intact the laws were generally strict. Judaism was not a religion 6000 years ago..it was a system of government and lifestyle, given (or created for the agnostics/atheists), so that people will know what is wrong and what is right and how to be more right than wrong.
Modern Judaism still contains all those precepts..that man is not perfect, and that he should try to be good. Knowing the difference between good and evil, in Judaism, is an absolute. Without a written set of rules (the Ten Commandments for starters) one could easily mistake evil for good, and think one is doing good when one is really evil. For an example, look at Hitler.
Israel's government is NOT based solely on the religion. In fact, the government is entirely secular, with an organization of Rabbis (the Rabbinate) advising the Knessat (their Congress) on issues dealing with modern day conflicts between Judaism and internationally accepted law.
If you ever go to Israel you'd see that the majority of people are secular Jews. They are ethnically and culturally connected to Judaism, but they don't follow it as a religion.
In the future, get your facts straight before spewing onto /. All you're doing is spreading misinformation and ignorance.
Salis
I have never seen it.
I'd have to agree with the majority of people posting...this week's episode pretty much sucked. I guess not a whole lot FPS players were on the writing staff of this game... /w random things dying.
/w "Cops" to make that show. It was funny, but scary at the same time...and had the same flavor and feel of realism as "Cops".
In what game do you just sit there and shit at things coming at you w/o moving? Even the tamest of FPSs would kick your ass if you fail to move at all...Not much action really..just guns blazing
But..last's week's episode was kickass. I think they did a fantastic job teaming up
You make some good ones and bad ones...o well.
Salis
While the EU is using their apparant economic disadvantage to the U.S as an excuse to release everything they know about Echelon, I'm all happily for it!
This is the most information I've read on Echelon and I'm glad that the EU finally made it all public.
I think the perception of what Echelon does (rather than what they have the potential to do) is made much more clear in the report. While Echelon can monitor most communication media available, they won't..because they don't care about it all. From reading the report, which can be considered at least non-biased towards the NSA since the EU is basically accusing the NSA of spying and wouldn't leave the more controversial info out, one can see that Echelon generally doesn't spy on American or British citizens. The problem arises when military + economic information interception accidentally collects private, non-related information. I see this as not a purposeful attack of personal liberties, but a failing of the technology.
The NSA doesn't care about the latest hack you did against some web page. The NSA doesn't care about your kiddy porn.
They're looking for the military and economic advantage over other countries..and they have so much information to process and disseminate that tracking foreign national security matters AND domestic 'small time crimes' would be a waste of resources.
I think anyone who wishes to retain their privacy and is doing something they're afraid others will find out should use PGP. It's pretty simple. Elsewise, I don't think the NSA will care about your non-encrypted email to a domestic friend about your latest script kiddie prank.
And if Echelon gives the U.S an economic advantage over others, I applaud it. If it allows the U.S to retain its edge over the IT industry, I think it's worth it. I forsee no 1984 scenario..that's just paranoia sweeping in.
Howard Salis
I think as more people get broadband wireless access as well as cheaper and more effecient PDAs, people will be more likely to use an online newspaper instead of a hard copy. I want a newspaper, whether it's on my PDA or on printed paper, to consist of all the news I'm looking for...breaking world news, insightful political editorials, tech news, comics, etc. Of course, this will change from person to person, but that is EXACTLY what an online newspaper can do that a printed version can't.
An Online paper can tailor its content to meet the needs and desires of the specific viewer. When the Chechnyan war broke out it got a lot of coverage, yet it is still waging on, yet I hear no coverage about it...why not? Maybe I want weekly updates on it..maybe I didn't care about it in the first place. Why shouldn't I be able to 'click' on "Keep Me Informed Of This Topic" on my PDA online newspaper for it to everyday send me new information on the topic?
True, local newspaper might not ever die..their coverage is specific enough for their area that those who purchase the newspaper generally want local news.
What I want to see, however, is the Associated Press get up an independent online PDA version of a newspaper and have it send exactly what I want to my PDA every day for $0.35 cents a day. No paper, no ink, just bits and good reporting. Then, perhaps, I might subscribe to the Wall Street Journal's online version for in depth economic information or the Times for cultural/political updates. I can accept a balance between short and concise, real time news reporting and in depth, slightly outdated feature topics, yet I will pay more for a newspaper that covers an extremely current and newsworthy topic both in depth and on time.
Salis
I've been interning this past year with a bunch of grad students and professors who do just this: Tissue Engineering. I'd have to say that Tissue Engineering is a not that new, contrary to what the article says. Both Organogenesis and American Tissue Sciences (two companies who deal in Skin & other Tissue engineering) have created layers of epidermal skin for use with burn patients. Skin is an organ, complete with its own tissue layers.
The article might just be hyping up some new technique or method in Tissue engineering. The "first step" has already been taken and tissue engineering is already a reality.
Now, artificial organs like hearts, lungs, kidneys will definately be harder to synthetically create from cells than skin. There are many obstacles toward creating these synethic organs. The cells must properly differentiate into the functional groups of each organ. The scaffold the cells are seeded on will need to mimic the structure of the natural organ, including spaces for capillaries for blood flow, microtubules for the various secretions, excretions, and inputted fluids. In order to create an artificial kidney, you would need to structurally induce a flow from ingoing blood and allow outgoing blood an outlet.
There's also the problem of seeding the scaffold with cells. You can't seed every bit of the scaffold with cells and the cells won't necessarily move on their own. In fact, cells really don't like to attach to most synthetic scaffolds. You need to coat it with a protein like collagen or fibronectin, which are extracellular proteins within the body.
Overall, Tissue Engineering will soon provide humans the ability to replace dead organs..or create new organs from partial organs. Skin is already in production while other organs are more complex, and will probably not be seen for perhaps 5-10 years.
Howard
To make this a more specific post about CT, I will skip all the previous corrections other ./ers have made, but I fully agree with the separation of CRBN and CT as two entirely different forms of attack.
CyberTerrorism is not about physically damaging a nation's infrastructure. It is about, temporarily, reducing a nation's core support infrastructure (power, telephone/data lines, travel (train/air)) in order to 'soften up' a nation before physically attacking them.
It is quite possible for a terrorist group to hire a capable cracker group to shut down the power grid of a major city prior to a physical attack, whether it's conventional bombings/explosives or more scary biochem/chem warfare. This combined CT/physical attack would not only increase the likelihood of the terrorist's success, but it would also create a sense of panic and fear among the populace.
Communication helps to disperse fear and panic in almost any situation. Once one's communication is physically or 'softly' cut, it doesn't matter whether a backhoe or a sophisticated CT program was used. The only difference is that of the duration and timing. Thus said, the only use of a CT attack would be to properly time it in accordance with a separate, more physical attack..one that has more duration. Nevertheless, a CT attack is not necessarily less powerful. The ability to shut down an entire nation's power infrastucture is something no tactical nuke can do. Thus, while CT may have a wider, more effective 'soft' area of successful attack, its duration may be short and its multiple-use effectiveness may be limited.
CyberTerrorism is also not a target specific attack usually. Elite hackers may well be able to infiltrate specific targets looking for specific information or to cause 'soft damage', but in terms of warfare, these acts are not as effective as a loss of one's core infrastructure. In attacking a nation's data/power infrastructure, it is very possible that some systems may be attackable while others are more secure due to their OS, configuration, and connectivity to outside invaders. For CT to be more than an annoyance to lazy, insecure banks and improperly run govt. sites there has to be the threat of a national loss of infrastructure for a long duration, happening at a specific time, simultaenously. CT just doesn't cut it when making it your primary method of attack.
As for the ability required to make a CT attack: Once an exploit in an OS or configuration is found by an able cracker, the cracker can code a program to reproduce his ability to exploit the hole and allow any ol' 'script kiddie' to take advantage of that exploit without having prior knowledge of how the exploit allows access or how to regain access once the exploint is fixed. Anyone can do it.
This is exactly what 'gumption' is! I applaud you. If more and more people would stop whining about their 'racial' inequities and do something to make themselves more equal *without* the government's assistance.
/w 'racism' that the word no longer means what it used to mean.
As for the price for internet connectivity, it is steadily decreasing to $0. Yes, FREE. There are at least four companies out there (Gateway, Compaq, Dell are a few I think) that offer free PCs with a pre-installed advertisement window that stays on the monitor at all times. Or you can buy a computer for $200 and be contracted to buy service from an ISP for 3 years or so. Either way, there are definately opportunities out that allow people to gain internet access without shelling out over $500.
My opinion is that as the govt. and other political leaders consistantly emphasize the inequalities based on race, more and more people feel that they are the 'victims' of society and _deserve_ instant gratification because of that.
Salis
I am neither a racist or a bigot, but to discriminate a person based upon your race, color, or origin for negative OR positive intentions is racism. There's such a double standard when dealing
I was watching this press brief on C-SPAN last night. It looked like a cross of engineers and marketers answering the questions of idiot reporters. Most of the questions revolved around "So will (insert system here) crash past Y2k?!" followed by "No, most likely not. Next please" :)
There were no technical discussions at all...which bothered me. I'd rather have a technical discussion than a fury of "No, probably not"'s...even if this totally confuses the reporters.
When were we..or anyone else..assured of our safety from the words of a reporter?
Salis
Currently, I'm helping the aforementioned graduate student (Jane Tjia) study phagocytosis of keratinocytes. We're using the confocal microscope to quantify the fluorescence of conjugate antibodies of a certain type of integrin.
Howard Salis Biochemical Eng., Rutgers U.
I think one of the coolest things I did in sophomore year was program a clunky D&D type game in Turbo Pascal. I miss on-the-fly programming for fun hehe. I don't think I ever finished the entire thing, but it sorta looked like 'Blademasters' from the old MajorBBS system, without multiplayer support.
Howard Salis
Specifically, I've been working with Confocal Microscopy and different flourescent dyes. If I had the ability to ask a specific, technical question to a large audience of technical people and receive an answer within a few days, that could save me an afternoon of searching (or days of searching, ugh) . I'm sure others feel the same way.
I feel that Slashdot has enormous potential for expanding its technology discussions to not only computers and internet-related tech, but to biotech, engineering, and physics.
Howard Salis Rutgers University, N.J
One large problem they'll face is trying to clone enough of the different subspecies of the bird in order for the species to be genetically viable. This may be jumping the gun a bit (if they clone one, I'm sure everyone will be excited), but without a wide varied number of specimens to clone the species will eventually die out from genetic stagnation anyways. Perhaps they're just scraping off cells from those high-fashion feathers. There should be enough of them floating around that the feathers used will all come from different genetic samples (different birds).
Salis
If you read more closely, you'll find that one gets 'credits' for each computer one donates. Imagine how much time you'd get if you donated a 386..an hour perhaps? There is no way they can allocate one month of computing to each donater and expect a few hundred donaters.. This is most likely a scam, or perhaps a little-thought out, but good-intentioned project a couple of bored techs thought up. A bit too idealistic and very improbable.
Howard