the DOJ said the government would not enforce several portions of the regulations.
Is it just me, or does anyone else wish that the government was forced to enforce its own laws, instead of picking and choosing when and where to do so? There are a truly ridiculous number of laws on the books that are rarely enforced, until the prosecutors feel they have a "good" case to drop the hammer on some poor schmuck.
The public doesn't care about laws that aren't enforced, so most people break the law every day blissfully unaware. It would seem that laws that nobody cares about need to be done away with, instead of criminalizing large portions of the population.
I just hope the feds never try to housebreak a puppy.
Ironically, at a university there actually IS anonymous e-mail, since most large universities have computer labs where anyone can sit down and use the net, and then you can use any of a variety of anonymous emailer services available on the web to send the email. The only possible record they might have is a video tape, and if you're careful I'm sure you could avoid that.
Lithium Ion batteries are great for a couple of reasons - first, they have relatively high energy densities compared to NiMh or NiCd batteries. For example, right now on my desk I have an AA factor LiIon battery that puts out 3.6V for 2500 mAH. Compare this to a NiCd that will have 1.2V for about 1200 mAH. The downside is that the LiIon battery costs about $8.
The second reason LiIon batteries are superior is because of their discharge characteristic. They tend to hold their voltage until almost completely discharged, then the voltage drops like a rock. This is great for portable electronics that require a relatively stable voltage supply to operate. NiCd and NiMh batteries have discharge curves closer to that of a standard Alkaline AA, in that the voltage tends to fall as the battery discharges. This means that the actual amount of time the battery is good is less, since some of the stored energy can't be used because the voltage on the battery isn't high enough for the electronics to use.
The point is, what if you can't go to a different provider because the only one in your area owns all the lines and isn't required to let anybody else access them?
Right now that is the situation where I live - there are two ISPs, one for DSL and one for cable. When the DSL company capped my access at 4 GB/Month and $5/GB after that, I voiced my displeasure and switched over to cable. The cable company has discussed capping downloads as well, and plan to implement it in the next year. What do I do then?
When there is a substantial investment in infrastructure that must be made before a service can be provided, there are going to be relatively few competing service providers, and little to stop them from implementing each other's annoying ideas to milk more money from their captive consumers.
In a related story, the SciFi channel has just brokered a movie deal with the space worms. It is set in Perfection, Nevada, and will star Kevin Bacon.
Locals aren't as thrilled about the possibility of movie stardom, however. Said local resident Burt Gummer when asked about the film, "I ain't afraid of no space worms. All I'm afraid of is running out of ammo before I've stomped 'em all and wiped 'em off my boots."
Ironically, the Manos episode of MST3K is probably its finest hour.
My votes go to Young Frankenstein, The Big Lebowski, and Go. You really can't beat Marty Feldman as Igor (it's pronounced eye-gore), what is probably John Goodman's greatest role, and the gay guys from Party of Five.
Typically, yes. The software liscense is valid only in the country of sale, and in fact it may be illegal to take it to another country.
While working as a sysadmin, one of my sheep was going to take a position with the company overseas for about a year. Since the length of stay required a work visa instead of a regular tourist visa, there was some weirdness. Since she of course wanted to take her laptop with Win2k on it with her, we asked a customs official if this was okay. After about 2 weeks of internal arguing, a US Customs official in DC contacted us and told us that the laptop could not be shipped overseas with Windows installed on it, and likewise could not be shipped back. And this was to Germany, a country we are supposedly friendly with. We were forced to purchase a German copy of Windows, in Germany, and have the vendor install it on the laptop.
Okay, I am feeling the need to clear up a common misconception - neither the Baby Bells, or any other company, has any responsibility to the public whatsoever. Just because the public may have paid for some of the lines, they are not then forced to act in some manner which wouldn't be maximally profitable out of thanks if they are not contractually obligated. They have a responsibility to make money for their owners. That is why companies exist, to make money. They
should use every legal means in their power to do so.
It is the government's job to force companies to act in a legal and socially moral way through regulation and to slap down those companies that get out of line. It is the job of the people to get the government to do so in the way they want.
Of course, having said that, corporations have far more power these days in determining what goes into regulations than the people, because the lawmakers have been bribed with fat donations, and nobody ever gets slapped down for breaking the rules.
Don't get upset with the corporations for acting like greedy little piggies. Get upset with the system that allows them to get away with it, and try to change it.
Solar is still too expensive - too expensive to manufacture the panels and too expensive to repair them when the birds gum them up because they are warm in the winter.
Hydro is basically tapped out - most of the places in the country that could use hydro are using it. The problem comes that for every hydro plant there is a dam, and for every dam the cropland below it is destroyed and the cropland above it is covered in water.
Nuclear power is probably the best alternative, but is too hot (no pun intended) politically to be viable. On a side note, I read somewhere that coal plants put more radioactive material into the environment every year than nuke plants (trace elements in the coal). Can anybody back this up?
Re:I don't see how slowing down light helps.
on
Time Travel
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· Score: 1, Interesting
Light does travel different speeds through different substances. The speed of light we are always talking about is speed in a vacuum, and outside of gravitational influences (gravity bends light). If I remember right, the speed of light in a fiber-optic cable is roughly.7 the speed in a vacuum.
On a slightly different note, the speed of information can be faster than light, such as when transmitting a signal over a conducting wire. The electrons themselves move on the order of 1 m/s, but they push all the others in front of them along. Imagine a frictionless tube of sand a billion miles long. Push the sand on one end in with a plunger, and as soon as you do, sand falls out the other regardless of the length of the tube. Imagine just using a really long stick. Weird, huh?
Slashdot Mirror
Is it just me, or does anyone else wish that the government was forced to enforce its own laws, instead of picking and choosing when and where to do so? There are a truly ridiculous number of laws on the books that are rarely enforced, until the prosecutors feel they have a "good" case to drop the hammer on some poor schmuck.
The public doesn't care about laws that aren't enforced, so most people break the law every day blissfully unaware. It would seem that laws that nobody cares about need to be done away with, instead of criminalizing large portions of the population.
I just hope the feds never try to housebreak a puppy.
No, I'm a Slashdot reader. The Yello Face burns us.
And how!
Hmmm...Does it come with a free Frogurt? Is the Frogurt cursed?
Ironically, at a university there actually IS anonymous e-mail, since most large universities have computer labs where anyone can sit down and use the net, and then you can use any of a variety of anonymous emailer services available on the web to send the email. The only possible record they might have is a video tape, and if you're careful I'm sure you could avoid that.
This has indeed already been put into place in many markets. Check out this article for one example of such.
The second reason LiIon batteries are superior is because of their discharge characteristic. They tend to hold their voltage until almost completely discharged, then the voltage drops like a rock. This is great for portable electronics that require a relatively stable voltage supply to operate. NiCd and NiMh batteries have discharge curves closer to that of a standard Alkaline AA, in that the voltage tends to fall as the battery discharges. This means that the actual amount of time the battery is good is less, since some of the stored energy can't be used because the voltage on the battery isn't high enough for the electronics to use.
Every time I see the SCO story emblem, I think of a Pokemon Poke-ball. That leads me to a new motto for SCO - "Gotta sue 'em all!"
Of course, we all know that the Flux Capacitor is simply a modified Interocitor.
In today's market, India outsources YOU - to Soviet Russia.
Or Zero Cool?
Eventually we'll have to just give it up and call it DMCA-Firebird.
I guaruntee you they'll let you bring your guns. Have you ever been to Colorado? It's like a rodeo with movie stars in the winter.
Right now that is the situation where I live - there are two ISPs, one for DSL and one for cable. When the DSL company capped my access at 4 GB/Month and $5/GB after that, I voiced my displeasure and switched over to cable. The cable company has discussed capping downloads as well, and plan to implement it in the next year. What do I do then?
When there is a substantial investment in infrastructure that must be made before a service can be provided, there are going to be relatively few competing service providers, and little to stop them from implementing each other's annoying ideas to milk more money from their captive consumers.
Apparently it is from an article in the Wall Street Journal, August 27 1996, p. B2. The article is mirrored here.
Locals aren't as thrilled about the possibility of movie stardom, however. Said local resident Burt Gummer when asked about the film, "I ain't afraid of no space worms. All I'm afraid of is running out of ammo before I've stomped 'em all and wiped 'em off my boots."
Rumor has it a TV series is also in the works.
Don't you mean Nerdvana?
Ironically, the Manos episode of MST3K is probably its finest hour. My votes go to Young Frankenstein, The Big Lebowski, and Go. You really can't beat Marty Feldman as Igor (it's pronounced eye-gore), what is probably John Goodman's greatest role, and the gay guys from Party of Five.
The ancient ones knew Buckaroo Bonzai?
While working as a sysadmin, one of my sheep was going to take a position with the company overseas for about a year. Since the length of stay required a work visa instead of a regular tourist visa, there was some weirdness. Since she of course wanted to take her laptop with Win2k on it with her, we asked a customs official if this was okay. After about 2 weeks of internal arguing, a US Customs official in DC contacted us and told us that the laptop could not be shipped overseas with Windows installed on it, and likewise could not be shipped back. And this was to Germany, a country we are supposedly friendly with. We were forced to purchase a German copy of Windows, in Germany, and have the vendor install it on the laptop.
It is the government's job to force companies to act in a legal and socially moral way through regulation and to slap down those companies that get out of line. It is the job of the people to get the government to do so in the way they want.
Of course, having said that, corporations have far more power these days in determining what goes into regulations than the people, because the lawmakers have been bribed with fat donations, and nobody ever gets slapped down for breaking the rules.
Don't get upset with the corporations for acting like greedy little piggies. Get upset with the system that allows them to get away with it, and try to change it.
Solar is still too expensive - too expensive to manufacture the panels and too expensive to repair them when the birds gum them up because they are warm in the winter. Hydro is basically tapped out - most of the places in the country that could use hydro are using it. The problem comes that for every hydro plant there is a dam, and for every dam the cropland below it is destroyed and the cropland above it is covered in water. Nuclear power is probably the best alternative, but is too hot (no pun intended) politically to be viable. On a side note, I read somewhere that coal plants put more radioactive material into the environment every year than nuke plants (trace elements in the coal). Can anybody back this up?
On a slightly different note, the speed of information can be faster than light, such as when transmitting a signal over a conducting wire. The electrons themselves move on the order of 1 m/s, but they push all the others in front of them along. Imagine a frictionless tube of sand a billion miles long. Push the sand on one end in with a plunger, and as soon as you do, sand falls out the other regardless of the length of the tube. Imagine just using a really long stick. Weird, huh?