Otherwise, it doesn't take Adam Smith to figure out that people will just ship the low-priced goods to the areas where they sell for more, undercut the "official" channel, and make a profit.
It already happens in the camera business. It's called the 'gray market'. Most manufacturs refuse to warranty or even repair (for cash) such cameras.
I am running Windows 98 and using a really slow (26K on good days) connection. Recently, I had inadvertently bound the M$ client to tcp/ip. Soon, there were three users attached to my computer (and I was disconnected from the LAN).
So, even if you're running old and slow, they will still try to get you.
(And I need to find an open source program that looks for spyware - I am already running AVG and receiving daily updates.)
Your loaded question implies there's a serious problem with the current system in the U.S, and that's just not the case. Fresh water is cheap and plentiful in the majority of the U.S. and that's not about to change any time soon.
Incorrect. The situation is already changing. And it is going to get worse soon.
Redwood City, CA,...
You can't dispute the fact that fresh water is cheap and plentiful in the majority of the U.S. by giving one or two counterexamples. 'Most' does not equal 'all'
The problem is that people are congregating in places that simply can't support the population. If they want to enact local laws in an attempt to fix the situation, more power to them. If you still choose to live there, you choose to live with the restrictions.
Meanwhile, it's silly that people who live in the Great Lakes area have a hard time buying a toilet that uses enough water to actually flush away the waste.
By the way, water that is flushed down the toilet isn't destroyed or wasted. It goes back into the septic or sewage system, is purified, and finds its way back into the local waterways or aquifer. This is called the water cycle. It works very well in areas that aren't overtaxed by the local population.
Commercial pressure-flush toilets do, in fact, need high-volume supply plumbing. This eliminates the need for a reservoir tank.
Home units have a pressure tank (if you lift the lid, you'll see a small sealed tank). The tank empties quickly when you flush, and takes a while to refill -- just like a standard toilet.
By the way, those old pull-chain units with the tank over your head are pressure flush toilets. You get about 1 PSI for every two feet of elevation.
Why is it that the US, one of the most advanced countries in the world cannot get their $#!^ together, pun intended:-) when it comes to plumbing issues that most of the rest of the world seems to have solved years ago?
When our old toilet developed a leak, we went to a store that had some of the old-style fixtures that use lots of water (there is no water shortage in Michigan), and some of the newer mandated 'water saver' fixtures. The new fixtures that require two flushes to remove all of the stuff were the cheapest, the 'classic' fixtures were more expensive, and the new power-flush fixtures were the most expensive. We opted to spend the extra twenty bucks and get a power flush.
So, the new fixtures are definitely available. If you want one, go buy one. If you're building a new house, tell the builders what you want.
1. The Onion is an obvious parody
2. The Onion is not going to be confused with the actual brands in question
Those issues have been covered adequately. It is not an obvious parody, it is often confused, and the parody defence doesn't work in this case, anyhow.
I have every right to parodize you, your username, or anything else I please.
No, actually you don't have that right. It's covered under the laws that protect us from libel, slander, and defamation of character.
To be more exact, you have the right to use a phony name that is similar to mine, but you don't have the right to pretend to be me. Using something like a signature or a seal or a trademark definitely crosses that line.
If you misuse the Nabisco, Ford, or Slashdot logo, you will get the same reaction. Trademark laws exist for a reason. If I'm buying a Nike shoe, I want to know that it's really a Nike shoe. If I am selling something, I don't want to be misrepresented by someone else.
If someone logs onto a forum with your name, and says stuff that defames you, you are likely (rightfully so) to get very angry.
People will die in mass over population if the government give us this technology.
We are already achieving Zero Population Growth in many developed countries. In fact, birth rate is below replacement rate in some.
The countries with declining birth rates will be in crisis in a few years when there literally won't be enough able-bodied (young) people to take care of the aging (retired) population.
This technology isn't coming a minute too soon! We need to keep the older folks (us) strong and healthy or we're going to end up with over-worked young people and/or abandoned (or even euthenized) old people (that's us).
Also, many people choose to have children now rather than later because "the clock is ticking". Many career-minded people end up trying to concieve in their 30s and 40s. Some succeed, some fail, others use extreme measures.
We got married at 34 and 30, and we started our family right away. If this technology had been available, we would have waited a few years, gotten some maturity under our belts, and gotten some cash in our bank accounts. Who knows how long we would have put it off.
The future is Logan's Run (no old people) without having to kill the old folks (that's us).
For instance, consider that even the lowest resolution that you can get on the computer monitor you are viewing is 640x480 whereas the best resolution that the finest analog TV can give you is a maximum of 480 horizontal lines. Compare this to at least 1024x768 resolution...
What is he trying to say here? He's telling us that the resolution on a TV sucks compared to that of a computer, then uses it as a reason to change monitor technologies from CRT to plasma. Hey, the 1024x768 resolution he mention generally comes from a CRT.
...apart from the new attractive technology they use instead of the mundane CRT
Plasma displays are not new. They were invented back in the 60s or earlier (I remember reading about them in the 60s).
Now the problem in plasma (unlike OLED) is that the light photons thus released belong to the Ultraviolet band and are therefore invisible to human eyes.
There is nothing inherent in plasma technology that requires the use of ultraviolet. In fact, the 'plasma' word sounds cool, but we're really talking about the same technology that's used to power the little neon indicator lights in old radios, and the neon displays you find all over the place -- not to mention fluorescent lights, mercury vapor lamps, low and high pressure sodium lamps, and the like.
But the word "plasma" does sound cool and high-tech, not to mention expensive.
An acronym for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Surveillance Technology. A system developed by the US Government which allows at attacker to analyze the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the hardware used in a cryptosystem in order to determine secret information including cryptographic keys. (from google)
Essentially, any piece of secure equipment must be very well shielded to prevent third parties from reading electromagnetic radiation eminating from the equipment.
Creating a tempest-safe computer case, cables, monitor, keyboard, mouse, power supply connection, and a lot of things that you probably would never think of is a serious engineering task, not something that's going to be thrown together by a computer technician.
If they need secure computers, they need to buy computers that are certified by NSA (or someone like that) as secure. If you try to build your own, someone is going to have to spend a lot of money testing them.
Your best bet is to buy computers that DOD trusts to be secure.
I used to work on secure equipment. You would not believe some of the steps they take to make them secure. I could give you details, but [insert old stale joke here.]
The shuttle was designed in the early 1970s, and was first slated to fly in 1979. A 1970s car is retro. A 1970s fighter jet is sold to third-world nations. A 1970s space ship is... state of the art?
The shuttle design was a compromise to begin with. It's time to come up with something else.
Power limits are in place to prevent greedy users from stepping on the whole band and locking out others.
This is true, but a prohibition of directional antennas makes no sense. Directional antennas squirt out more power in one direction at the expense of every other direction -- sort of like the reflector on a flashlight. The advantage is that you can get a tight beam and not bother anyone outside the beam.
Also, there are plenty of examples of home-made antennas being connected to FCC type-accepted transmitters. Home-made CB antennas, for instance, are perfectly legal.
In any case, as a licensed ham operator, I can make as many as I want. As a matter of fact, I can modify the card, run the output through an RF amplifier, modify a microwave oven to spit out some serious power, or....
Mooooa ha ha ha ha!
Sorry, got carried away there for a second.
Anyhow; 1) Make sure it's a ham frequency; 2) Identify the transmission with my call letters; 3) Turn off encription; And I'm good to go.
Oh yah, there is the small matter of staying within the (typically 2000 watt) power limits.
If the person is too weak to lift his own body for very long, he is getting very little exercise. If, however, this device allows him to move around for an extended period of time, he'll be getting more exercise.
It isn't a new concept. People who are too weak to handle normal exercise often use water aerobics.
Besides which, yes it's a dumb patent, but is that MS's fault, or the patent office's? If I ask you for a thousand dollars and you give it to me, thus ending up unable to pay bills, isn't that your fault for being stupid enough to do it?
If you ask someone for my thousand dollars, and they give it to you, I'll be pissed at you both.
I'd agree that at 45MPH and below the AC is less efficient, but start getting up to faster speeds where the turbulance caused by open windows creates a *lot* of drag and I think the difference will be pretty obvious.
Without turbulence, aerodynamic drag increases linearly with velocity. With turbulence, it increases with the square of the velocity.
What in the world ever happened to building a web site to help people, to spread information, and to build a "community." Even more so, when did money become the primary goal of a web structure?
So what's wrong with making money? My kids have this habit, you know... they like to eat, and prefer to have a roof over their heads.
Slashdot Mirror
Otherwise, it doesn't take Adam Smith to figure out that people will just ship the low-priced goods to the areas where they sell for more, undercut the "official" channel, and make a profit.
It already happens in the camera business. It's called the 'gray market'. Most manufacturs refuse to warranty or even repair (for cash) such cameras.
Nope, not April 1.
I am running Windows 98 and using a really slow (26K on good days) connection. Recently, I had inadvertently bound the M$ client to tcp/ip. Soon, there were three users attached to my computer (and I was disconnected from the LAN).
So, even if you're running old and slow, they will still try to get you.
(And I need to find an open source program that looks for spyware - I am already running AVG and receiving daily updates.)
If you honestly want to read it, just use the mouse to select the text.
What is the professional thing to do?
Enjoy your free vacation! Think of it as a "paranoia tax" paid to you by your employer.
The problem is that people are congregating in places that simply can't support the population. If they want to enact local laws in an attempt to fix the situation, more power to them. If you still choose to live there, you choose to live with the restrictions.
Meanwhile, it's silly that people who live in the Great Lakes area have a hard time buying a toilet that uses enough water to actually flush away the waste.
By the way, water that is flushed down the toilet isn't destroyed or wasted. It goes back into the septic or sewage system, is purified, and finds its way back into the local waterways or aquifer. This is called the water cycle. It works very well in areas that aren't overtaxed by the local population.
Commercial pressure-flush toilets do, in fact, need high-volume supply plumbing. This eliminates the need for a reservoir tank.
Home units have a pressure tank (if you lift the lid, you'll see a small sealed tank). The tank empties quickly when you flush, and takes a while to refill -- just like a standard toilet.
By the way, those old pull-chain units with the tank over your head are pressure flush toilets. You get about 1 PSI for every two feet of elevation.
Why is it that the US, one of the most advanced countries in the world cannot get their $#!^ together, pun intended :-) when it comes to plumbing issues that most of the rest of the world seems to have solved years ago?
When our old toilet developed a leak, we went to a store that had some of the old-style fixtures that use lots of water (there is no water shortage in Michigan), and some of the newer mandated 'water saver' fixtures. The new fixtures that require two flushes to remove all of the stuff were the cheapest, the 'classic' fixtures were more expensive, and the new power-flush fixtures were the most expensive. We opted to spend the extra twenty bucks and get a power flush.
So, the new fixtures are definitely available. If you want one, go buy one. If you're building a new house, tell the builders what you want.
I use a tree.
"People are stealing from us, so let's damage their property."
That attitude might be slightly justifiable if everyone infected was guilty of stealing.
1. The Onion is an obvious parody
2. The Onion is not going to be confused with the actual brands in question
Those issues have been covered adequately. It is not an obvious parody, it is often confused, and the parody defence doesn't work in this case, anyhow.
I have every right to parodize you, your username, or anything else I please.
No, actually you don't have that right. It's covered under the laws that protect us from libel, slander, and defamation of character.
To be more exact, you have the right to use a phony name that is similar to mine, but you don't have the right to pretend to be me. Using something like a signature or a seal or a trademark definitely crosses that line.
If you misuse the Nabisco, Ford, or Slashdot logo, you will get the same reaction. Trademark laws exist for a reason. If I'm buying a Nike shoe, I want to know that it's really a Nike shoe. If I am selling something, I don't want to be misrepresented by someone else.
If someone logs onto a forum with your name, and says stuff that defames you, you are likely (rightfully so) to get very angry.
People will die in mass over population if the government give us this technology.
We are already achieving Zero Population Growth in many developed countries. In fact, birth rate is below replacement rate in some.
The countries with declining birth rates will be in crisis in a few years when there literally won't be enough able-bodied (young) people to take care of the aging (retired) population.
This technology isn't coming a minute too soon! We need to keep the older folks (us) strong and healthy or we're going to end up with over-worked young people and/or abandoned (or even euthenized) old people (that's us).
Also, many people choose to have children now rather than later because "the clock is ticking". Many career-minded people end up trying to concieve in their 30s and 40s. Some succeed, some fail, others use extreme measures.
We got married at 34 and 30, and we started our family right away. If this technology had been available, we would have waited a few years, gotten some maturity under our belts, and gotten some cash in our bank accounts. Who knows how long we would have put it off.
The future is Logan's Run (no old people) without having to kill the old folks (that's us).
For instance, consider that even the lowest resolution that you can get on the computer monitor you are viewing is 640x480 whereas the best resolution that the finest analog TV can give you is a maximum of 480 horizontal lines. Compare this to at least 1024x768 resolution...
...apart from the new attractive technology they use instead of the mundane CRT
What is he trying to say here? He's telling us that the resolution on a TV sucks compared to that of a computer, then uses it as a reason to change monitor technologies from CRT to plasma. Hey, the 1024x768 resolution he mention generally comes from a CRT.
Plasma displays are not new. They were invented back in the 60s or earlier (I remember reading about them in the 60s).
Now the problem in plasma (unlike OLED) is that the light photons thus released belong to the Ultraviolet band and are therefore invisible to human eyes.
There is nothing inherent in plasma technology that requires the use of ultraviolet. In fact, the 'plasma' word sounds cool, but we're really talking about the same technology that's used to power the little neon indicator lights in old radios, and the neon displays you find all over the place -- not to mention fluorescent lights, mercury vapor lamps, low and high pressure sodium lamps, and the like.
But the word "plasma" does sound cool and high-tech, not to mention expensive.
An acronym for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Surveillance Technology. A system developed by the US Government which allows at attacker to analyze the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the hardware used in a cryptosystem in order to determine secret information including cryptographic keys. (from google)
Essentially, any piece of secure equipment must be very well shielded to prevent third parties from reading electromagnetic radiation eminating from the equipment.
Creating a tempest-safe computer case, cables, monitor, keyboard, mouse, power supply connection, and a lot of things that you probably would never think of is a serious engineering task, not something that's going to be thrown together by a computer technician.
If they need secure computers, they need to buy computers that are certified by NSA (or someone like that) as secure. If you try to build your own, someone is going to have to spend a lot of money testing them.
Your best bet is to buy computers that DOD trusts to be secure.
I used to work on secure equipment. You would not believe some of the steps they take to make them secure. I could give you details, but [insert old stale joke here.]
That's not necessarily true. If they can make $$$ by mass-marketing it to us 'mere mortals', they'll do it.
By way of example, look at the sophisticated microprocessors that are marketed to us 'mere mortals'.
It's all about profit.
It's for US residents only...
If you want to use it, get a DBA (Doing Business As), a US post office box, and a US bank account.
They aren't going to ask for a green card, fer cryin' out loud. Don't ask, don't tell.
The shuttle was designed in the early 1970s, and was first slated to fly in 1979. A 1970s car is retro. A 1970s fighter jet is sold to third-world nations. A 1970s space ship is... state of the art?
The shuttle design was a compromise to begin with. It's time to come up with something else.
I was wondering if there were any other old pharts here.
Maybe it is illegal -- if you happen to be using PCB oil as the coolant.
Power limits are in place to prevent greedy users from stepping on the whole band and locking out others.
This is true, but a prohibition of directional antennas makes no sense. Directional antennas squirt out more power in one direction at the expense of every other direction -- sort of like the reflector on a flashlight. The advantage is that you can get a tight beam and not bother anyone outside the beam.
Also, there are plenty of examples of home-made antennas being connected to FCC type-accepted transmitters. Home-made CB antennas, for instance, are perfectly legal.
I really doubt it.
In any case, as a licensed ham operator, I can make as many as I want. As a matter of fact, I can modify the card, run the output through an RF amplifier, modify a microwave oven to spit out some serious power, or....
Mooooa ha ha ha ha!
Sorry, got carried away there for a second.
Anyhow;
1) Make sure it's a ham frequency;
2) Identify the transmission with my call letters;
3) Turn off encription;
And I'm good to go.
Oh yah, there is the small matter of staying within the (typically 2000 watt) power limits.
If the person is too weak to lift his own body for very long, he is getting very little exercise. If, however, this device allows him to move around for an extended period of time, he'll be getting more exercise.
It isn't a new concept. People who are too weak to handle normal exercise often use water aerobics.
Besides which, yes it's a dumb patent, but is that MS's fault, or the patent office's? If I ask you for a thousand dollars and you give it to me, thus ending up unable to pay bills, isn't that your fault for being stupid enough to do it?
If you ask someone for my thousand dollars, and they give it to you, I'll be pissed at you both.
I'd agree that at 45MPH and below the AC is less efficient, but start getting up to faster speeds where the turbulance caused by open windows creates a *lot* of drag and I think the difference will be pretty obvious.
Without turbulence, aerodynamic drag increases linearly with velocity. With turbulence, it increases with the square of the velocity.
Money, money, money...
What in the world ever happened to building a web site to help people, to spread information, and to build a "community." Even more so, when did money become the primary goal of a web structure?
So what's wrong with making money? My kids have this habit, you know... they like to eat, and prefer to have a roof over their heads.