If you think that the precision of a calculation is related to the number of digits you show in the result, I really pity you.
If you assume a human is about the same shape as a cylinder, the volume you will calculate is going to be very imprecise, even if you use 5 digits in the measured radius and height.
Fellow slashdotters are probably amongst the net users that hate SPAM the least: they know how to filter it, and can avoid most of it by not giving their e-mail adress on newsgroups or public websites.
I know a few people that are trying to stay away from e-mail because SPAM frustrates them so much!
Slashdotters are just the ones noticing that SPAM is killing e-mail.
1. A trite or overused expression or idea: "Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in ordinary public use... scholars were giving it increasing attention" (Anthony Brandt).
2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial: "There is a young explorer... who turns out not to be quite the cliche expected" (John Crowley).
I was very surprised when I read this quote from the article:
Given that students are consumers of an educational product for which they pay dearly, I am expected to cater to their desires not just to be educated well but to receive a positive reward for their enrollment.
I recently got into an interesting discussion with a prof about this, exactly. He said that COMPANIES are actually the customers, setting goals, and defining knowledge they need from their employees.
As a teacher assitant, I have been extra careful to mark fairly - ok, maybe a little harsly - but I feel that students get more out of it, and may get better this way.
Nothing in life come easily. Get students to work harder, and they are going to learn more!
Have you ever tasted wood? It's made of cellulose, a sugar polymer. Doesn't taste anything like sugar, does it?
Adding the sugar monomer is a very good idea to get the bacteria to break the long chains into smaller parts quickly. A nice idea, if I ever saw one. The question is: can such polymers be constructed so that they keep the same mechanical properties, at a low enough cost so that they are used...
If life came to earth from a meteor hit, that would have many relevant repercussions [...]
2- We would know life on other worlds must exist, or at the very least, must have existed in the past.
I believe that you said it backwards. We will not be able to PROVE that life came from a meteor until we know that life existed somewhere else. Until then, we can only PROVE that cells could have survived a meteor hit.
The exact same command will work for mozilla
#!/bin/bash
mozilla -remote "openurl(about:blank, new-window)" || mozilla
For other remote commands in Mozilla, see
www.mozilla.org/unix/remote.html
I used to use Outlook Express under win98. Then I tried Mozilla. That's what got me to switch.
Mozilla E-mail client made easy my transition into the Linux World. It is consistent across platforms (i.e. at least this part won't change) and under Linux, it IS manager different identities under different logins.
I also heard of Ximian Evolution, but I didn't get a change to test it.
By the way, I was very impressed by the drivers support for Mandrake, and by the usability of the interface. Not 100% logical, but finding the stuff is easier than when I had to switch versions of windows (think NT4 & 2000 - same stuff, completely different interface)
You missed a very interesting discussion about the same idea a few threads higher. I'll summarize:
What's porn? Who will decide? Nobody agrees on a definition, even in the united states. What some people see as art, other people think is pornography (example: the statues at the Justice Dept. that Ashcroft thought were indecent). If you compare the same definition across cultures, over the world, it's even worse.
How would you enforce it? Build another great wall of china? Force porn-webmasters to register to.xxx? They won't volonteer, as it restricts their potential market! What about doing the opposite: considering every site as restricted until proven otherwise... you got work on your plate now!!!
Whould you let any governement agency control what you can see on the net at a library? Giving censorship power to any agency is very risky...
The main idea is: there is nothing that can replace parental supervision. Filters cannot be perfect; making it illegal is unenforcable and sex spam gets to your inbox anyway.
May I suggest that you talk your French friends into trying the "French Canadian" keyboard? [Available in both Windows and Linux]
A little hard to learn (as it relocates a few key characters like '\' and '~', but it is a QWERTY based keyboard layout that allows me to use all the french accents without any problem... including the capital letters. 'ÀÈÏÔÇ'
As for Poincaré, I would say: "Pwain Ca (CAtastrophic) Ray", as you did, but I would roll the "R"... But as this sound doesn't exist in english, I suppose it's hopeless to try to teach it here!
I took a look at BBC news lately after a collegue of mine suggested the site. I really didn't like it.
The news stories may have been based on fact, but the editorialization of the stories made it look very bad. Not the place to look for an objective treatement of news stories. A lot of biased titles and carefully choosen emphasised comments.
Ok, I happen to agree with some of the opinions presented, but it's not the point. Journalism is supposed to be OBJECTIVE.
On a side note, I'm still looking for a sort-of-unbiased news website. Maybe with the google new NEWS tab...
M$ hasn't been outsmarting the Linux DEVELOPPERS. It has been outsmarting the Linux MARKETTING and the Linux BUISINESS.
Windows dominates the PC OS market, MS Office dominates the PC Office suite market... not because of a superior product, but because of their BUISNESS strategy of abusing their MONOPOLY, and buying out all the good startup out there.
The pros (assuming that the DRM implementation is perfect, i.e. cannot be cracked):
Computer free of viruses and script kiddies are stopped.
Copyright infrigment is stopped, completely and definitely.
The cons (independant of the implementation quality):
Limited innovation (your l33t stuff can't run on most "typical" computer). Just think about MODS that can no longer be spread because you need a DRM enabled machine to play the game, but it won't let you run something else without licensing it.
Limited privacy
Your giving away the possibility to get Pay-per-listen / Pay-per-view for MP3 and Videos that you listen. It could become a "rental" service rather than a "bought CD".
The way I see it, DRM is a Bad Thing (tm), even if it's implementation is perfect.
And everybody knows that an invulnerable piece of code (especially as complex as an OS) can't exist... so we lose on all counts.
I completly lost the author when I read this quote:
Very few applications exist in the open-source world, at least those that would be useful
to the average user.
Completely false! Especially for "average user". Tons of applications to suit all my need were installed automatically when I installed Mandrake. And I could easily complete by looking on the web (gimp, OpenOffice).
The average user needs a browser. Konqueror, or Mozilla, or derivatives will do.
The average user need a mail reader. Mozilla, Kmail, will do.
The average user needs a word processor / spreadsheet. KOffice, or OpenOffice, will do. The average user needs a MP3 player, and instant messaging client,.... There is some on linux already.
What else do you REALLY need? The author certainly didn't look much before making this affirmation. There are plenty of applications for Linux. And more are coming our way every day.
The author also says that the GPL is an incetive killer for developper. For COMMERCIAL applications only. The way I see it, there is a lot more programming done with no commercial intentions. I like to code; and I always though of releasing some of my stuff as shareware or freeware. GPL is even better! Someone might improve it!
What I think the author doesn't get is that the GPL intends to change the buisness model of software makers. And that is a good idea.
High taxes in canada, maybe. But they don't help the ISPs...
In fact, it might be the opposite. Major broadband ISPs (Bell - DSL, and a few cable companies Cogeco, Rogers, Videotron) are not governement subsidised, but have to live with high taxes and stronger regulations.
Although we have the same problems as those mentionned in the article: little competition for the last-mile. As a result, my DSL cost me 5$/month more that it used to. (And I can't even switch - no cable broadband on my street)
My experience: broadband is great, and worth the money - I can't live without it; but the service is getting worse, and the price increases. There is something wrong there that needs to be investigated.
Moore's Law is not a law, it's a marketing scheme.
I saw last week a very nice talk by Dr. Stephen Boyd from Stanford University. He explained very clearly what Moore's law is: an expectation for consumers/chip designers and a target for chip producers.
Because of the observed trend (the chip density doubled every 18 months at first), it became the trend to follow.
It became a marketing sheme. To be able to sell your chip making process, it HAS to track Moore's Law. It is not a prediction, not an observation; it is a compelling target. It also allows designers to design their chips based on technology that ISN'T AVAILABLE yet.
Personnaly, I think Moore's law is the reason the technology grew so quickly in the last 20 years or so.
Re:where do they get these numbers??
on
WarTalking Arrest
·
· Score: 1
The correct quote:
District Clerk Charles Bacarisse told the paper that
no confidential information was disclosed but the alleged intrusion eventually resulted in the county closing its wireless LAN only a month after it was activated.
But the reasoning should be pushed further. Are you sure that it was REALLY different thirty years ago? Alexis Patterson would probably not have made the news, at all. And you wouldn't even know about it, if it wasn't for the web!
What I'm saying is that the media itself cannot be trusted to propagate any information OTHER than the one that gets him numbers.
Just do not trust any single source!
Changing the subject slightly, what about slashdot? It's definately a one-sided opinion (against MS) that we see here. Nothing wrong with it, but you got to see other sources as well.
Personnaly, I don't think anyone, including the media can be objective AT ALL. Even without the money incentive, everything you read is biased. The only way out is to read both opinions before you make up your own.
The media, right now, is a good source of one-sided information. Take it as it is, and think by yourself... nobody should EVER think for you.
The media and their sharp titles...
on
Is Linux Dead?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Again, the media industry try to hit hard.
As usual, their whole editorial point is in the title. If you read any newspaper, you'll notice that the titles rarely describe accurately the content of the article.
If I understand properly, the newspaper EDITORS, i.e. the managers, have the final saying in the title (not the journalist/writer).
I believe the same thing happened here. The article isn't that much of a Linux bashing, and more a statement of the fact that Linux still hasn't made it to the home computer yet.
And CmdrTaco, as a great Editor-wanting-more-hits, also twisted the story to get a flashy title. Geesh...
As a fellow Canadian, French-speaking from QC, currently living in Hamilton, ON, I think I can give you some advice: use your vote as you wish, and say what you want, but stop posting anonymously.
Among the "French-speaking PM Quebec born candidates" is your beloved Trudeau, loved everywhere but in QC. Also, I point out that QC didn't elect Chrétien, Ontario did.
Don't blame where the PM are from, or what language they speak. Blame who elected them (and keeps them in place).
You also blame French corruption for all your problems. If that's the problem, why don't you let QC separate? That would solve your problem, right? I don't think you really want it, so what do YOU want?
Also, your anti-French comments are as bad as antisemitism, sexism, or racism, and go against anything that Canada stands for. If you REALLY want Canada to be a strong and nice country, start working out the bad things in you.
If I understand you properly, you're suggesting that MS becomes involves in AV, and that it should include anti-virus tools with each version of windows?
And I just though they just have been found guilty in a major trial for using those kind of buisiness practices....
I agree that everyone should use a good AV (with autoupdate, for the newbies who forget to update), but I'm certainly not ready to give this market to MS.
Maybe the computers manufacturers should take care of this (to put an AV license all in their packages): I believe most are doing it already.
Slashdot Mirror
If you think that the precision of a calculation is related to the number of digits you show in the result, I really pity you. If you assume a human is about the same shape as a cylinder, the volume you will calculate is going to be very imprecise, even if you use 5 digits in the measured radius and height.
Fellow slashdotters are probably amongst the net users that hate SPAM the least: they know how to filter it, and can avoid most of it by not giving their e-mail adress on newsgroups or public websites.
I know a few people that are trying to stay away from e-mail because SPAM frustrates them so much!
Slashdotters are just the ones noticing that SPAM is killing e-mail.
cliché also cliche Pronunciation Key : (kl-sh) n.
1. A trite or overused expression or idea: "Even while the phrase was degenerating to cliché in ordinary public use... scholars were giving it increasing attention" (Anthony Brandt).
2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial: "There is a young explorer... who turns out not to be quite the cliche expected" (John Crowley).
As a teacher assitant, I have been extra careful to mark fairly - ok, maybe a little harsly - but I feel that students get more out of it, and may get better this way.
Nothing in life come easily. Get students to work harder, and they are going to learn more!
Adding the sugar monomer is a very good idea to get the bacteria to break the long chains into smaller parts quickly. A nice idea, if I ever saw one. The question is: can such polymers be constructed so that they keep the same mechanical properties, at a low enough cost so that they are used...
Being responsive only means ANSWERING to the e-mail, ACKNOWLEDGING the bug, and saying that you are TRYING to fix the problem.
The exact same command will work for mozilla #!/bin/bash mozilla -remote "openurl(about:blank, new-window)" || mozilla For other remote commands in Mozilla, see www.mozilla.org/unix/remote.html
Mozilla E-mail client made easy my transition into the Linux World. It is consistent across platforms (i.e. at least this part won't change) and under Linux, it IS manager different identities under different logins.
I also heard of Ximian Evolution, but I didn't get a change to test it.
By the way, I was very impressed by the drivers support for Mandrake, and by the usability of the interface. Not 100% logical, but finding the stuff is easier than when I had to switch versions of windows (think NT4 & 2000 - same stuff, completely different interface)
Remove Ashcroft from my comment, then. I'm still sure that most people don't agree on what's art and what's porn!
What's porn? Who will decide? Nobody agrees on a definition, even in the united states. What some people see as art, other people think is pornography (example: the statues at the Justice Dept. that Ashcroft thought were indecent). If you compare the same definition across cultures, over the world, it's even worse.
How would you enforce it? Build another great wall of china? Force porn-webmasters to register to .xxx? They won't volonteer, as it restricts their potential market! What about doing the opposite: considering every site as restricted until proven otherwise... you got work on your plate now!!!
Whould you let any governement agency control what you can see on the net at a library? Giving censorship power to any agency is very risky...
The main idea is: there is nothing that can replace parental supervision. Filters cannot be perfect; making it illegal is unenforcable and sex spam gets to your inbox anyway.
A little hard to learn (as it relocates a few key characters like '\' and '~', but it is a QWERTY based keyboard layout that allows me to use all the french accents without any problem... including the capital letters. 'ÀÈÏÔÇ'
As for Poincaré, I would say: "Pwain Ca (CAtastrophic) Ray", as you did, but I would roll the "R"... But as this sound doesn't exist in english, I suppose it's hopeless to try to teach it here!
The news stories may have been based on fact, but the editorialization of the stories made it look very bad. Not the place to look for an objective treatement of news stories. A lot of biased titles and carefully choosen emphasised comments.
Ok, I happen to agree with some of the opinions presented, but it's not the point. Journalism is supposed to be OBJECTIVE.
On a side note, I'm still looking for a sort-of-unbiased news website. Maybe with the google new NEWS tab...
Windows dominates the PC OS market, MS Office dominates the PC Office suite market... not because of a superior product, but because of their BUISNESS strategy of abusing their MONOPOLY, and buying out all the good startup out there.
Try Linux, you will be impressed...
The pros (assuming that the DRM implementation is perfect, i.e. cannot be cracked):
- Computer free of viruses and script kiddies are stopped.
- Copyright infrigment is stopped, completely and definitely.
The cons (independant of the implementation quality):- Limited innovation (your l33t stuff can't run on most "typical" computer). Just think about MODS that can no longer be spread because you need a DRM enabled machine to play the game, but it won't let you run something else without licensing it.
- Limited privacy
- Your giving away the possibility to get Pay-per-listen / Pay-per-view for MP3 and Videos that you listen. It could become a "rental" service rather than a "bought CD".
The way I see it, DRM is a Bad Thing (tm), even if it's implementation is perfect.And everybody knows that an invulnerable piece of code (especially as complex as an OS) can't exist... so we lose on all counts.
Just my 2 cents...
I'm afraid it's going to stop innovation (or the use of new, innovative products).
The average user needs a browser. Konqueror, or Mozilla, or derivatives will do. .... There is some on linux already.
The average user need a mail reader. Mozilla, Kmail, will do.
The average user needs a word processor / spreadsheet. KOffice, or OpenOffice, will do.
The average user needs a MP3 player, and instant messaging client,
What else do you REALLY need? The author certainly didn't look much before making this affirmation. There are plenty of applications for Linux. And more are coming our way every day.
The author also says that the GPL is an incetive killer for developper. For COMMERCIAL applications only. The way I see it, there is a lot more programming done with no commercial intentions. I like to code; and I always though of releasing some of my stuff as shareware or freeware. GPL is even better! Someone might improve it! What I think the author doesn't get is that the GPL intends to change the buisness model of software makers. And that is a good idea.
In fact, it might be the opposite. Major broadband ISPs (Bell - DSL, and a few cable companies Cogeco, Rogers, Videotron) are not governement subsidised, but have to live with high taxes and stronger regulations.
Although we have the same problems as those mentionned in the article: little competition for the last-mile. As a result, my DSL cost me 5$/month more that it used to. (And I can't even switch - no cable broadband on my street)
My experience: broadband is great, and worth the money - I can't live without it; but the service is getting worse, and the price increases. There is something wrong there that needs to be investigated.
Moore's Law is not a law, it's a marketing scheme.
I saw last week a very nice talk by Dr. Stephen Boyd from Stanford University. He explained very clearly what Moore's law is: an expectation for consumers/chip designers and a target for chip producers.
Because of the observed trend (the chip density doubled every 18 months at first), it became the trend to follow.
It became a marketing sheme. To be able to sell your chip making process, it HAS to track Moore's Law. It is not a prediction, not an observation; it is a compelling target. It also allows designers to design their chips based on technology that ISN'T AVAILABLE yet.
Personnaly, I think Moore's law is the reason the technology grew so quickly in the last 20 years or so.
But the reasoning should be pushed further. Are you sure that it was REALLY different thirty years ago? Alexis Patterson would probably not have made the news, at all. And you wouldn't even know about it, if it wasn't for the web!
What I'm saying is that the media itself cannot be trusted to propagate any information OTHER than the one that gets him numbers.
Just do not trust any single source!
Changing the subject slightly, what about slashdot? It's definately a one-sided opinion (against MS) that we see here. Nothing wrong with it, but you got to see other sources as well.
Personnaly, I don't think anyone, including the media can be objective AT ALL. Even without the money incentive, everything you read is biased. The only way out is to read both opinions before you make up your own.
The media, right now, is a good source of one-sided information. Take it as it is, and think by yourself... nobody should EVER think for you.
As usual, their whole editorial point is in the title. If you read any newspaper, you'll notice that the titles rarely describe accurately the content of the article.
If I understand properly, the newspaper EDITORS, i.e. the managers, have the final saying in the title (not the journalist/writer).
I believe the same thing happened here. The article isn't that much of a Linux bashing, and more a statement of the fact that Linux still hasn't made it to the home computer yet.
And CmdrTaco, as a great Editor-wanting-more-hits, also twisted the story to get a flashy title. Geesh...
The start page manage to crash my IE 6.0. Surprising.
As a fellow Canadian, French-speaking from QC, currently living in Hamilton, ON, I think I can give you some advice: use your vote as you wish, and say what you want, but stop posting anonymously.
Among the "French-speaking PM Quebec born candidates" is your beloved Trudeau, loved everywhere but in QC. Also, I point out that QC didn't elect Chrétien, Ontario did.
Don't blame where the PM are from, or what language they speak. Blame who elected them (and keeps them in place).
You also blame French corruption for all your problems. If that's the problem, why don't you let QC separate? That would solve your problem, right? I don't think you really want it, so what do YOU want?
Also, your anti-French comments are as bad as antisemitism, sexism, or racism, and go against anything that Canada stands for. If you REALLY want Canada to be a strong and nice country, start working out the bad things in you.
I'll stop now. That troll really worked me up!
And I just though they just have been found guilty in a major trial for using those kind of buisiness practices....
I agree that everyone should use a good AV (with autoupdate, for the newbies who forget to update), but I'm certainly not ready to give this market to MS.
Maybe the computers manufacturers should take care of this (to put an AV license all in their packages): I believe most are doing it already.