On topic: The USPTO was corrupted by the George W. Bush administration, partly by taking money away from it, because that is what the big corporations wanted. A corrupt USPTO makes it more difficult for small companies to enter markets. (Sorry, had to get on topic for a moment.)
But what about: BING -- But... It's Not Google!!!
And Bailin' Palin. She needs a job. Will Steve Ballmer hire her? She's been a governor! Think of the support Microsoft would get from the bible states.
"... I don't fault them for something like this because it's an energy density issue."
There are ways the problem of energy density can be solved, such as using an embedded circuit breaker. We all use circuit breakers to prevent house fires.
But, in general, I agree with your underlying point.
Another subject: In spite of what appear to me to be lies about Steve Jobs, it seems the company is becoming a different place now that he is less influential.
The problem, as I see it, is that there are often attempts at humor that are not actually funny. And often those attempts dominate an important discussion.
Often it is possible to know immediately if some new idea makes sense. Just read the initial Slashdot comments. If everyone is making jokes that are not connected to the subject, it's a bad idea.
If everyone has alternate ideas, as they do in the few comments above, then Slashdot readers don't believe the explanation given in the article, and in my experience the explanation is likely to be wrong.
I'd prefer fewer attempts at humor, but the humor indicates a lack of interest.
Microsoft has a long, long history of letting its mid-level managers and employees believe one thing, when the top managers intend something else, something very unfriendly and sneaky.
For example, Microsoft employees believed that they would be allowed to finish their work. But, in spite of strong opposition inside Microsoft, Windows Vista was released.
Other products released before they were finished:
Windows XP (Okay after SP2, a lot of grief before)
Windows ME
DOS 3.0
Since Microsoft has acted against the best interests of its customers in many ways in the past, people think that will happen this time.
I listened to this interview of you: Sam Ramji of Microsoft Tells all. It's obvious that you are intelligent and well-meaning. I would tend to trust anything you say if you have control over it. However, I think it is likely that you have no control. I'm guessing that it is likely that some vicious Microsoft top manager has some plan to cause trouble.
Why do I think that? Because sneaky behavior by Microsoft has cost me tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
Understand the sociological background.
Briefly, the situation is apparently this, in my opinion:
In recent past years, there was extensive TV footage of Israeli-owned U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopters operated by Jews firing at Palestinians on the ground throwing rocks. I saw that numerous times on TV. The footage was apparently taken from Blackhawk gun cameras, apparently by people who disagreed with the violence. Now, however, apparently because of the negative reaction, such footage is no longer shown.
The TV coverage upset 3 groups of people:
1) Arabs and Muslims. There are 1.1 billion of them, and they don't like being killed. Note that, in the entire world, there are an estimated 14 million Jews.
2) U.S. taxpayers. The money to buy the helicopters was apparently available due to U.S. government corruption. The U.S. government gives billions of dollars of taxpayer money to Israel every year, with the understanding that the money will be used to buy U.S.-made weapons. That is very profitable, apparently, since the Israelis are not in a position to negotiate a low price.
3) Jews who don't like the violence. There are Jews who think the violence will eventually be bad for all Jews everywhere. One Jewish leader said that the weapons were like throwing gasoline on a fire.
The first group has often threatened violence in return. Iranians, for example, have threatened Israel. This threat has been exaggerated by people in the U.S. who want to profit from another war.
Some Jews in Israel feel frightened by the threats from Iran. If there is a nuclear attack on Israel, a simple chemical that could repair radiation damage done to the body would be very popular. Any company offering such a chemical could expect plenty of investment by Israelis.
"In general, Europeans and Asians are the folks who migrated out of Africa to reach geographic endpoints: Poland, England, Russia, Japan, etc. The migration subjected these folks to harsh climatic conditions. Those who were sufficiently smart survived. Those who lacked adequate intelligence died. Over thousands of years, these evolutionary pressures significantly boosted European and Asian intelligence."
I suppose that is a common idea; a Jewish man told me the same theory last week. However, it is not scientifically valid to say that any such differences are caused by "evolutionary pressures" if that means genetic differences.
There is a theory that Ashkenazi Jews are not related genetically to other Jews. The Wikipedia article about Ashkenazi Jews says, "A study by Michael Seldin, a geneticist at the University of California Davis School of Medicine, found Ashkenazi Jews to be a clear, relatively homogenous genetic subgroup."
Another theory says that, many centuries ago, a dictator with no genetic connection with Jews decided he wanted to be Jewish. He decreed that the people he ruled must consider themselves Jews. The theory says that is the genetic origin of Ashkenazi Jews. I have no idea how likely that is; I'd be interested to know what other people think.
My own extended family has no connection whatsoever with Jews or Judaism. I find the subject interesting, however.
'The medication works by suppressing the "suicide mechanism" of cells hit by radiation, while enabling them to recover from the radiation-induced damages that prompted them to activate the suicide mechanism in the first place.'
My opinion is that makes no sense. If a cell is damaged, and the body would normally eject the cell, a "protein" will not fix the damage. The cell will still be damaged, and will not be able to function normally.
Living cells are extraordinarily complicated. If they experience the widespread grossly applied damage caused by radiation, one protein certainly will not repair them.
I'm guessing that the company needs money to begin mass production. Also, it is interesting that an American company will not manufacture the drug in the United States. One reason for that may be that it takes years to get FDA approval from the U.S. federal government.
"Oracle bought Sun because buying Innodb didn't kill MySQL."
I don't understand that.
There's nothing else that Oracle can likely do with the other assets of Sun other than sell them for parts. I refuse to believe that Oracle has either the ability or the impetus to continue any of Sun's hardware or non-DB software.
Why has Sun Microsystems not done particularly well in the last few years? Why are they finding it necessary to sell themselves to Oracle? My theory is that the highly reliable hardware Sun Microsystems sells is no longer popular because it is far cheaper to use consumer-grade hardware with software that is fault-tolerant. The excellent 2008 book Planet Google describes Google's experiences on page 54: "For about $278,000 in 2003, [Google] could assemble a rack with 176 microprocessors, 176 gigabytes of memory, and 7 terabytes of disk space. This compared favorably to a $758,000 server sold by the manufacturer of a well-known brand, which had only eight multiprocessors, one-third the memory, and about the same amount of disk space."
Why would Oracle buy Sun? Possibly because there are difficulties in making Oracle database products work with the new fault-tolerant technology. For example, fault-tolerant technology may require performing all database modifications on 4 computers at the same time, and Oracle may not want to sell 4 licenses for one application at the same price as the 1 license used with the more expensive high-reliability equipment.
What are your ideas about the sale of Sun, and Oracle's interest? There are many people with far more knowledge about this than I have.
To anyone who doesn't already know: NoScript prevents Javascript scripts from running unless they are chosen from a menu. That even protects against vulnerabilities that haven't been discovered yet.
The worst part of global warming, for me personally, has been the unusual cold. I was living in Brazil during the summer that already finished there, and we didn't have a normal warm summer.
Last winter in the U.S. here, it was so cold and icy it was not safe to go downtown for several days.
Do a Google search for Lifestyle Lift. In the first three pages of Google
results, ALL EXCEPT THREE are from web sites operated by Lifestyle Lift,
apparently.
This is the most intense attack on social, psychological, and
technical weaknesses than I've ever seen. In my opinion, it is likely to be
dishonest.
And the company was only fined $300,000, an amount that is likely to
be less than a day's income, I'm guessing.
"The overall problem is that the message still hasn't gotten out to people."
A more immediate problem is that this story on Slashdot is likely to bring Lifestyle Lift more customers. Look at the before and after photos.
"If you know that, why would you believe anything on the internet with testimonials, blogs, Google ad links, Myspace links and the like?"
In the particular case of Lifestyle Lift, it is difficult to detect what is actually happening. Are the before and after photos completely dishonest? I don't know.
Infomercials often take advantage of the weaknesses of people and there is an intense search for methods of intensifying the attack on those weaknesses.
Slashdot Mirror
LOL.
On topic: The USPTO was corrupted by the George W. Bush administration, partly by taking money away from it, because that is what the big corporations wanted. A corrupt USPTO makes it more difficult for small companies to enter markets. (Sorry, had to get on topic for a moment.)
But what about: BING -- But... It's Not Google!!!
And Bailin' Palin. She needs a job. Will Steve Ballmer hire her? She's been a governor! Think of the support Microsoft would get from the bible states.
It cost $38,235 per kilometer, perhaps a reasonable price.
Any properly designed UPS would certainly not allow ANY noise to be conducted to the wall power plug.
All UPS units convert AC do DC, and then back to AC. The better ones have extra hardware that adjusts for low input voltage conditions.
There is a big capacitor across the DC which would certainly act as a short for any keyboard signal.
Funny.
"... I don't fault them for something like this because it's an energy density issue."
There are ways the problem of energy density can be solved, such as using an embedded circuit breaker. We all use circuit breakers to prevent house fires.
Good explanation. I wish you were a Slashdot editor.
"Apple will block it..."
Getting a story on Slashdot cannot be considered blocking the news. And Apple has made the story far, far worse by attempting to block it.
Just Google it: iPod Fire, and Google news: iPod fire in the news.
But, in general, I agree with your underlying point.
Another subject: In spite of what appear to me to be lies about Steve Jobs, it seems the company is becoming a different place now that he is less influential.
The problem, as I see it, is that there are often attempts at humor that are not actually funny. And often those attempts dominate an important discussion.
Often it is possible to know immediately if some new idea makes sense. Just read the initial Slashdot comments. If everyone is making jokes that are not connected to the subject, it's a bad idea.
If everyone has alternate ideas, as they do in the few comments above, then Slashdot readers don't believe the explanation given in the article, and in my experience the explanation is likely to be wrong.
I'd prefer fewer attempts at humor, but the humor indicates a lack of interest.
"Trebuchet... catapult"
Slashdot readers put a lot of mental effort into being funny. Often Slashdot story comments are dominated by humor.
Another subject: The story to which Slashdot could have linked: Was your ancestor a social climbing soldier in the Hundred Years War?. That story leads to a story that contains a link to the database. I didn't want to post that link because it might be Slashdotted.
Sam, I mean this sincerely:
Microsoft has a long, long history of letting its mid-level managers and employees believe one thing, when the top managers intend something else, something very unfriendly and sneaky.
For example, Microsoft employees believed that they would be allowed to finish their work. But, in spite of strong opposition inside Microsoft, Windows Vista was released.
Other products released before they were finished:
Windows XP (Okay after SP2, a lot of grief before)
Windows ME
DOS 3.0
Since Microsoft has acted against the best interests of its customers in many ways in the past, people think that will happen this time.
I listened to this interview of you: Sam Ramji of Microsoft Tells all. It's obvious that you are intelligent and well-meaning. I would tend to trust anything you say if you have control over it. However, I think it is likely that you have no control. I'm guessing that it is likely that some vicious Microsoft top manager has some plan to cause trouble.
Why do I think that? Because sneaky behavior by Microsoft has cost me tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
Blu-ray will become cheaper as soon as the new Blu-ray competition gets started.
December 28, 1968, almost 41 years ago: Melittin used as a Protective Agent against X-irradiation
Understand the sociological background. Briefly, the situation is apparently this, in my opinion:
In recent past years, there was extensive TV footage of Israeli-owned U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopters operated by Jews firing at Palestinians on the ground throwing rocks. I saw that numerous times on TV. The footage was apparently taken from Blackhawk gun cameras, apparently by people who disagreed with the violence. Now, however, apparently because of the negative reaction, such footage is no longer shown.
The TV coverage upset 3 groups of people:
1) Arabs and Muslims. There are 1.1 billion of them, and they don't like being killed. Note that, in the entire world, there are an estimated 14 million Jews.
2) U.S. taxpayers. The money to buy the helicopters was apparently available due to U.S. government corruption. The U.S. government gives billions of dollars of taxpayer money to Israel every year, with the understanding that the money will be used to buy U.S.-made weapons. That is very profitable, apparently, since the Israelis are not in a position to negotiate a low price.
3) Jews who don't like the violence. There are Jews who think the violence will eventually be bad for all Jews everywhere. One Jewish leader said that the weapons were like throwing gasoline on a fire.
The first group has often threatened violence in return. Iranians, for example, have threatened Israel. This threat has been exaggerated by people in the U.S. who want to profit from another war.
Some Jews in Israel feel frightened by the threats from Iran. If there is a nuclear attack on Israel, a simple chemical that could repair radiation damage done to the body would be very popular. Any company offering such a chemical could expect plenty of investment by Israelis.
The body does not repair cells that have been extensively damaged. The body expels damaged cells as waste, and makes new cells.
What we need here is a car analogy.
If a tank fires artillery rounds at an automobile, will sprinkling a chemical on the car fully repair it?
To a cell, radiation from a nuclear bomb is like artillery fire.
MODERATORS: Please don't mod the parent comment down. Whatever you think of it, it is a widely held belief. Let people have their freedom of speech.
Whoever posted the parent comment tried to link to the Economist magazine. I notice that the Economist has run numerous articles about Ashkenazi Jews.
Quote from the parent comment:
"In general, Europeans and Asians are the folks who migrated out of Africa to reach geographic endpoints: Poland, England, Russia, Japan, etc. The migration subjected these folks to harsh climatic conditions. Those who were sufficiently smart survived. Those who lacked adequate intelligence died. Over thousands of years, these evolutionary pressures significantly boosted European and Asian intelligence."
I suppose that is a common idea; a Jewish man told me the same theory last week. However, it is not scientifically valid to say that any such differences are caused by "evolutionary pressures" if that means genetic differences.
There is a theory that Ashkenazi Jews are not related genetically to other Jews. The Wikipedia article about Ashkenazi Jews says, "A study by Michael Seldin, a geneticist at the University of California Davis School of Medicine, found Ashkenazi Jews to be a clear, relatively homogenous genetic subgroup."
Another theory says that, many centuries ago, a dictator with no genetic connection with Jews decided he wanted to be Jewish. He decreed that the people he ruled must consider themselves Jews. The theory says that is the genetic origin of Ashkenazi Jews. I have no idea how likely that is; I'd be interested to know what other people think.
My own extended family has no connection whatsoever with Jews or Judaism. I find the subject interesting, however.
Fraud? Slashdot has run numerous articles about "scientific advances" by companies that want investments. Is Slashdot paid for those articles?
The article referenced in the Slashdot story, Cure for radiation sickness found? says:
'The medication works by suppressing the "suicide mechanism" of cells hit by radiation, while enabling them to recover from the radiation-induced damages that prompted them to activate the suicide mechanism in the first place.'
My opinion is that makes no sense. If a cell is damaged, and the body would normally eject the cell, a "protein" will not fix the damage. The cell will still be damaged, and will not be able to function normally.
Living cells are extraordinarily complicated. If they experience the widespread grossly applied damage caused by radiation, one protein certainly will not repair them.
The Cleveland BioLabs web site says, as part of their logo, "Controlling Cell Death to Protect Human Life". The stock reached a low of $1.34 on March 9, 2009, and is now at $4.41.
This article gives more information: Report: Jewish Doctor In Ground-Breaking Cure For Radiation Sickness. Quote: "The company's subcontractor in Europe is already prepared to embark on mass production."
I'm guessing that the company needs money to begin mass production. Also, it is interesting that an American company will not manufacture the drug in the United States. One reason for that may be that it takes years to get FDA approval from the U.S. federal government.
"Oracle bought Sun because buying Innodb didn't kill MySQL."
I don't understand that.
There's nothing else that Oracle can likely do with the other assets of Sun other than sell them for parts. I refuse to believe that Oracle has either the ability or the impetus to continue any of Sun's hardware or non-DB software.
Wow.
That's correct. I was mistaken. I gave a correct answer, but the only perfect way to know which URL is to go through the Mozilla web site.
Why has Sun Microsystems not done particularly well in the last few years? Why are they finding it necessary to sell themselves to Oracle? My theory is that the highly reliable hardware Sun Microsystems sells is no longer popular because it is far cheaper to use consumer-grade hardware with software that is fault-tolerant. The excellent 2008 book Planet Google describes Google's experiences on page 54: "For about $278,000 in 2003, [Google] could assemble a rack with 176 microprocessors, 176 gigabytes of memory, and 7 terabytes of disk space. This compared favorably to a $758,000 server sold by the manufacturer of a well-known brand, which had only eight multiprocessors, one-third the memory, and about the same amount of disk space."
Why would Oracle buy Sun? Possibly because there are difficulties in making Oracle database products work with the new fault-tolerant technology. For example, fault-tolerant technology may require performing all database modifications on 4 computers at the same time, and Oracle may not want to sell 4 licenses for one application at the same price as the 1 license used with the more expensive high-reliability equipment.
What are your ideas about the sale of Sun, and Oracle's interest? There are many people with far more knowledge about this than I have.
Careful.
The official NoScript site is http://noscript.net/.
To anyone who doesn't already know: NoScript prevents Javascript scripts from running unless they are chosen from a menu. That even protects against vulnerabilities that haven't been discovered yet.
The worst part of global warming, for me personally, has been the unusual cold. I was living in Brazil during the summer that already finished there, and we didn't have a normal warm summer.
Last winter in the U.S. here, it was so cold and icy it was not safe to go downtown for several days.
Do a Google search for Lifestyle Lift. In the first three pages of Google results, ALL EXCEPT THREE are from web sites operated by Lifestyle Lift, apparently.
This is the most intense attack on social, psychological, and technical weaknesses than I've ever seen. In my opinion, it is likely to be dishonest.
And the company was only fined $300,000, an amount that is likely to be less than a day's income, I'm guessing.
"The overall problem is that the message still hasn't gotten out to people."
A more immediate problem is that this story on Slashdot is likely to bring Lifestyle Lift more customers. Look at the before and after photos.
"If you know that, why would you believe anything on the internet with testimonials, blogs, Google ad links, Myspace links and the like?"
In the particular case of Lifestyle Lift, it is difficult to detect what is actually happening. Are the before and after photos completely dishonest? I don't know.
Infomercials often take advantage of the weaknesses of people and there is an intense search for methods of intensifying the attack on those weaknesses.