You're absolutely right about everything up until the reason they were banned.
Anabolic steroids were criminalized not because of fear of cheating in sports, but because of fear of use by children. If professional athletes use steroids, then college players start using to have a better chance of going pro, and then high school players start to have a better chance of getting a college scholarship. The side effects of steroids are much more severe in boys who are not fully developed and in women, which is the primary reason they were banned.
Of course making steroids a scheduled substance just means that those who are going to use them have to get their drugs from the black market instead, which means that they come from some guy at the gym instead of a doctor and may not have the quality controls that the FDA would be able to provide if they were legal to obtain from your doctor. The guy at your gym may or not have issues with distributing them to minors, either. It sounds great for members of congress to say they are protecting the children, but there is little to back up their words. What they are doing discussing the issue in congress now when they are already illegal to possess in the US under federal law, I don't know.
This guy bought a product, and it failed after an absolutely unreasonable timeframe. And you're saying he should have _purchased_ (ie. PAID MORE MONEY!) to protect against such an occurance. So... In other words, it's not the manufacturers responsibility if the product doesn't work?
Yes. There's a tradeoff between the cost of the product and the support burden on the manufacturer. If you want to require Microsoft to warranty their product for a "reasonable" timeframe then you have to be willing to pay more for your XBox.
As much as I hate having an extended warranty shoved down my throat at a retail outlet, I do appreciate the fact that at least I have a choice. If I want insurance that my product will work for 3,4,5 years then I can pay more and get it, but on the otherhand I also have the freedom to buy the product with the manufacturers rather limited warranty and not pay any more than I have to for the product. Nothing is free, reliability costs money and so does support. At least making the extended warranty a separate purchase gives the consumer the choice.
There is absolutely No justification for stealing, regardless of the quality of the product...Either way, there is no justification for theft
I agree 100%, but you cannot equate downloading a movie off of the internet with theft. Simply denying a corporation of profits that it might otherwise have earned is not theft. If it were, then any money conserving strategy could be construed as theft (ie inviting all your friends over and pay-per-viewing a movie or event, waiting for a movie to transition to the discount cinema or dvd, borrowing books from the library rather than purchasing them, taping songs off the radio instead of buying albums, drinking at home rather than paying $6 a drink at a restaurant or bar).
Are those examples all theft? If not, what is the difference between these actions and downloading a movie that makes one theft and the other not? Hint: what was stolen and who was it stolen from?
1Gbps ethernet would take 22 hours to transfer 10 Terabytes at maximum network utilization without incorporating any over head costs for packetizing the data and error checking.
In the same amount of time you could transfer a truckload of 200 GB hard drives.
A command prompt isn't graphical and therefore not a GUI. Sure it's a user interface, but not a graphical one.
Maybe the book should have been named UIdebook.
According to their balance sheet, they had $3.7B in cash as of Dec 27, 2003. At that time they also had a little over $300M in debt. The numbers add up with what is reported in the story, so I wouldn't say there is any reason to believe it isn't true. I would think that something like this would make a press release, but maybe they are waiting for the market close?
I graduated from GT as a CompE in Dec 2001 and got a job in Austin, TX starting at more than the $53k average. Every one of my friends got a job paying close to the average. There were a lot of higher paying jobs, but they were in cities with a much high cost of living. It doesn't surprise me that $53k is the average, but take it with a grain of salt because $60k in Northern California is more like $35-40k in other parts of the country.
> How is this better than biometrics?
There seems to be a lot of confusion about what this technology is meant to do. In my opinion, there are two separate technologies that this device could be used for.
Think of it this way: there are usernames and there are passwords. This technology could be either a universal username or a universal password. It should not be both. What do I mean by this? When you purchase with a credit card you provide a username and a password. The user name is the credit card number. The password is your signature. The credit card number is meant to identify your account. The password is meant to certify your approval of the charge and provide a means for verification. If someone else steals your number, you can use the incorrect signature on false purchases to prove that you didn't make them. ATM cards/PINs work the same way.
Now imagine you have an implated RFID. You could use this as your credit card. Instead of swiping the card, you scan your RFID chip. You still have to sign for the purchase. Someone with a duplicated RFID tag still doen't have your signature. So you could replace the credit card with this device and you wouldn't have to carry around a wallet anymore. The RFID could be a credit card, ATM card, drivers license, sams membership card, etc. There is no end to the number of functions it could serve. Every business buys a scanner and sets up a database and uses my unique ID to identify me so that I don't have to remember account numbers or carry a card.
But wait, you could also keep the credit card and get rid of the signature. Instead of signing a document you scan your RFID. This seems like a weaker application for this technolgy. The only benefit is if the RFID tag is harder to forge than a signature. This is where biometrics has enormous possibility. It is harder to defeat than a signature, RFIT, or a pin.
Why not both, seems to be a better question. If I scan my hand to retrieve my account number, and then use biometrics to verify my identity, theft is virtually impossible. Someone would have to fake my RFID chip AND fool a biometric scanner into thinking they have my retinal pattern, finger prints, etc.
Because then you don't need the card. You can still use the biometrics (or PIN, signature, etc)to verify the identity so someone with a faked RFID tag (or an extracted one) can't access your account, but now you don't have to keep track of a silly plastic card to have access to your money.
The implantable RFID device would simply store a userid which would be used to identify the person in order to make a transaction. Any number of security measures could be implemented on top of it including signatures, passwords, biometrics, etc. The technology is simply a way of never losing your credit card / drivers license / etc. You'd never have to carry a wallet again.
Do you actually think that a clerk at best buy is going to ring up your purchases when you bring someone's severed hand to the checkout counter? This technology is no more insecure than carrying around a wallet with all your cash / credit / checkbook in it. In fact if implemented properly it would be far more secure. It could eliminate petty theft completely. No one would steal your implant if they knew they would need your biometrics or pin to do anything useful with it. How are you going to mug me when I don't even carry a wallet?
Until you are 18 years old, you don't exist as a legal entity in the US. You cannot sign binding contracts, cannot sue or be sued, etc. They can sue her parents who are legally responsible for her actions. It is completely inaccurate to say that she will be sued because that cannot happen in US courts.
This should do a lot for AMD's credibility as a server processor manufacturer. According to the current top500 list, you have to go to number 84 to find an AMD based supercomputer. If these articles are correct, you'll soon have 2 in the top 5. That's quite a change of events.
I would think that this sort of thing would work out as well or better for mainstream films than for kids movies.
Pros:
Same price as a VHS/DVD rental
Don't have to leave the house
Don't have to be worried about availability
Unlimited viewings for 30 days
Nothing to return
Cons:
Requires a computer
Requires a reasonable internet connection
Have to have the proper software installed
Have to have a credit card
Have to watch on computer monitor
Have to wait for download
Fuel cells are certainly a promising technology, and it is no suprise that they will eventually make their way into consumer devices. NEC apparently will offer this model as early as next year, but a few details are missing from the article.
How much space does the fuel cartridge take up compared with an average laptop battery? How much does the fuel cartridge weigh compared with an average laptop battery? How much is the initial fuel cell cost compared with an average laptop battery? How much is the incremental cost of refilling the fuel cartridge compared with recharging an average laptop battery?
It gets big points from the geek factor of being the first on your block to have a fuel cell powered laptop, but predicting whether it will 'cell' to more than a few who are desparate to impress requires a lot more information.
Despite the fact that the movie claims that the quote is from the bible, only the last sentence is a direct quote. As far as I've been able to determine, the part about shepards and etc, etc is something they just made up, although parts of it sound like the 23rd Psalm ("The lord is my shepard...")
Ezekiel 25:15-17
15 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 16 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast. 17 I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD , when I take vengeance on them.'"
I don't know about anyone else, but personally I don't consider adding to the number of tasks performed by my hands to be an engineering acheivement.
Why don't they work on steering with your feet? Then I could have both hands free while driving.
However, the way that US taxes work is not sensible. In the UK you pay your taxes based on how much you earn. If you earn a certain amount you pay, say 27% on that. If you earn more than that amount you pay 27% on the amount up to that level, and then maybe 40% on everything over it.
Unlike the US system it means that you should always accept a pay rise. The American system means that if you are just below the threshold you need to make sure your next raise jumps you far enough over the threshold to make sure you actually take more money home.
It works the SAME WAY in the US. I don't know where you are getting your info, but we have the same system here. You get taxed at 10% for the first $15,000, 15% for next $whatever, 27% for the next $whatever, etc. When you get a raise, you will make more money after taxes. The situation you are talking about doesn't exist here.
The article says that the studios are becoming more and more dependent on DVDs to make their money, which doesn't really surprise anyone. That doesn't exactly forecast doom for the industry. Times are changing, and the bulk of the money comes from DVD sales. As long as it is coming from somewhere, the studios will be fine.
The real problem creeps in when and if DVD copying becomes rampant and cannabalizes a significant percentage of revenue from DVD sales. This hasn't happened in the US, and doesn't appear to be a concern for the near future.
Much ado about nothing, it seems.
Why are speakers designed to emit sound at frequencies undectable by humans in the first place? I can't imagine that the designers of computer speakers had these types of applications in mind. Does the program work with any speakers, and do some speakers offer better high frequency performance than others?
Slashdot Mirror
You're absolutely right about everything up until the reason they were banned. Anabolic steroids were criminalized not because of fear of cheating in sports, but because of fear of use by children. If professional athletes use steroids, then college players start using to have a better chance of going pro, and then high school players start to have a better chance of getting a college scholarship. The side effects of steroids are much more severe in boys who are not fully developed and in women, which is the primary reason they were banned. Of course making steroids a scheduled substance just means that those who are going to use them have to get their drugs from the black market instead, which means that they come from some guy at the gym instead of a doctor and may not have the quality controls that the FDA would be able to provide if they were legal to obtain from your doctor. The guy at your gym may or not have issues with distributing them to minors, either. It sounds great for members of congress to say they are protecting the children, but there is little to back up their words. What they are doing discussing the issue in congress now when they are already illegal to possess in the US under federal law, I don't know.
As much as I hate having an extended warranty shoved down my throat at a retail outlet, I do appreciate the fact that at least I have a choice. If I want insurance that my product will work for 3,4,5 years then I can pay more and get it, but on the otherhand I also have the freedom to buy the product with the manufacturers rather limited warranty and not pay any more than I have to for the product. Nothing is free, reliability costs money and so does support. At least making the extended warranty a separate purchase gives the consumer the choice.
Are those examples all theft? If not, what is the difference between these actions and downloading a movie that makes one theft and the other not? Hint: what was stolen and who was it stolen from?
Still doesn't have anything on UPS or FedEx.
1Gbps ethernet would take 22 hours to transfer 10 Terabytes at maximum network utilization without incorporating any over head costs for packetizing the data and error checking.
In the same amount of time you could transfer a truckload of 200 GB hard drives.
A command prompt isn't graphical and therefore not a GUI. Sure it's a user interface, but not a graphical one. Maybe the book should have been named UIdebook.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=aapl
According to their balance sheet, they had $3.7B in cash as of Dec 27, 2003. At that time they also had a little over $300M in debt. The numbers add up with what is reported in the story, so I wouldn't say there is any reason to believe it isn't true. I would think that something like this would make a press release, but maybe they are waiting for the market close?
I graduated from GT as a CompE in Dec 2001 and got a job in Austin, TX starting at more than the $53k average. Every one of my friends got a job paying close to the average. There were a lot of higher paying jobs, but they were in cities with a much high cost of living. It doesn't surprise me that $53k is the average, but take it with a grain of salt because $60k in Northern California is more like $35-40k in other parts of the country.
> How is this better than biometrics?
There seems to be a lot of confusion about what this technology is meant to do. In my opinion, there are two separate technologies that this device could be used for.
Think of it this way: there are usernames and there are passwords. This technology could be either a universal username or a universal password. It should not be both. What do I mean by this? When you purchase with a credit card you provide a username and a password. The user name is the credit card number. The password is your signature. The credit card number is meant to identify your account. The password is meant to certify your approval of the charge and provide a means for verification. If someone else steals your number, you can use the incorrect signature on false purchases to prove that you didn't make them. ATM cards/PINs work the same way.
Now imagine you have an implated RFID. You could use this as your credit card. Instead of swiping the card, you scan your RFID chip. You still have to sign for the purchase. Someone with a duplicated RFID tag still doen't have your signature. So you could replace the credit card with this device and you wouldn't have to carry around a wallet anymore. The RFID could be a credit card, ATM card, drivers license, sams membership card, etc. There is no end to the number of functions it could serve. Every business buys a scanner and sets up a database and uses my unique ID to identify me so that I don't have to remember account numbers or carry a card.
But wait, you could also keep the credit card and get rid of the signature. Instead of signing a document you scan your RFID. This seems like a weaker application for this technolgy. The only benefit is if the RFID tag is harder to forge than a signature. This is where biometrics has enormous possibility. It is harder to defeat than a signature, RFIT, or a pin.
Why not both, seems to be a better question. If I scan my hand to retrieve my account number, and then use biometrics to verify my identity, theft is virtually impossible. Someone would have to fake my RFID chip AND fool a biometric scanner into thinking they have my retinal pattern, finger prints, etc.
Because then you don't need the card. You can still use the biometrics (or PIN, signature, etc)to verify the identity so someone with a faked RFID tag (or an extracted one) can't access your account, but now you don't have to keep track of a silly plastic card to have access to your money.
The implantable RFID device would simply store a userid which would be used to identify the person in order to make a transaction. Any number of security measures could be implemented on top of it including signatures, passwords, biometrics, etc. The technology is simply a way of never losing your credit card / drivers license / etc. You'd never have to carry a wallet again. Do you actually think that a clerk at best buy is going to ring up your purchases when you bring someone's severed hand to the checkout counter? This technology is no more insecure than carrying around a wallet with all your cash / credit / checkbook in it. In fact if implemented properly it would be far more secure. It could eliminate petty theft completely. No one would steal your implant if they knew they would need your biometrics or pin to do anything useful with it. How are you going to mug me when I don't even carry a wallet?
Once you have that, everything else is only a few clicks away...
Until you are 18 years old, you don't exist as a legal entity in the US. You cannot sign binding contracts, cannot sue or be sued, etc. They can sue her parents who are legally responsible for her actions. It is completely inaccurate to say that she will be sued because that cannot happen in US courts.
until the terrorists attack the plentiful hydrogen stores that are lying around everywhere...
then they will take down the power grid
This should do a lot for AMD's credibility as a server processor manufacturer. According to the current top500 list, you have to go to number 84 to find an AMD based supercomputer. If these articles are correct, you'll soon have 2 in the top 5. That's quite a change of events.
I would think that this sort of thing would work out as well or better for mainstream films than for kids movies.
Pros:
Same price as a VHS/DVD rental
Don't have to leave the house
Don't have to be worried about availability
Unlimited viewings for 30 days
Nothing to return
Cons:
Requires a computer
Requires a reasonable internet connection
Have to have the proper software installed
Have to have a credit card
Have to watch on computer monitor
Have to wait for download
Fuel cells are certainly a promising technology, and it is no suprise that they will eventually make their way into consumer devices. NEC apparently will offer this model as early as next year, but a few details are missing from the article.
How much space does the fuel cartridge take up compared with an average laptop battery? How much does the fuel cartridge weigh compared with an average laptop battery? How much is the initial fuel cell cost compared with an average laptop battery? How much is the incremental cost of refilling the fuel cartridge compared with recharging an average laptop battery?
It gets big points from the geek factor of being the first on your block to have a fuel cell powered laptop, but predicting whether it will 'cell' to more than a few who are desparate to impress requires a lot more information.
"He proposed a worldwide treaty organization that would ban germ-line genetic engineering"
This is just yet another case of the difficulty balancing our scientific curiousity with our (often warranted) fear of the unknown.
To present the other side of this argument, try reading this.
Despite the fact that the movie claims that the quote is from the bible, only the last sentence is a direct quote. As far as I've been able to determine, the part about shepards and etc, etc is something they just made up, although parts of it sound like the 23rd Psalm ("The lord is my shepard...")
Ezekiel 25:15-17
15 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 16 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast. 17 I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD , when I take vengeance on them.'"
Movies != Reality
Somehow I don't think that's what they meant.
a Ford Concept Car that includes Bluetooth technology as well as Cradle-to-Cradle design strategies
This technology makes it into eyeglasses or contact lenses ?!?
I'd love to be sitting in my cube at work watching Office Space on my contact lenses!
I don't know about anyone else, but personally I don't consider adding to the number of tasks performed by my hands to be an engineering acheivement. Why don't they work on steering with your feet? Then I could have both hands free while driving.
However, the way that US taxes work is not sensible. In the UK you pay your taxes based on how much you earn. If you earn a certain amount you pay, say 27% on that. If you earn more than that amount you pay 27% on the amount up to that level, and then maybe 40% on everything over it.
Unlike the US system it means that you should always accept a pay rise. The American system means that if you are just below the threshold you need to make sure your next raise jumps you far enough over the threshold to make sure you actually take more money home.
It works the SAME WAY in the US. I don't know where you are getting your info, but we have the same system here. You get taxed at 10% for the first $15,000, 15% for next $whatever, 27% for the next $whatever, etc. When you get a raise, you will make more money after taxes. The situation you are talking about doesn't exist here.
The article says that the studios are becoming more and more dependent on DVDs to make their money, which doesn't really surprise anyone. That doesn't exactly forecast doom for the industry. Times are changing, and the bulk of the money comes from DVD sales. As long as it is coming from somewhere, the studios will be fine. The real problem creeps in when and if DVD copying becomes rampant and cannabalizes a significant percentage of revenue from DVD sales. This hasn't happened in the US, and doesn't appear to be a concern for the near future. Much ado about nothing, it seems.
Why are speakers designed to emit sound at frequencies undectable by humans in the first place? I can't imagine that the designers of computer speakers had these types of applications in mind. Does the program work with any speakers, and do some speakers offer better high frequency performance than others?
What I really need is a disposable cell phone that explodes 5 seconds after my minutes are used up.