Besides, just because a dialup is a sufficient way to recieve information now doesn't mean it will be in the future. By the time my children get into school, I'd like them to be able to do some VALUABLE research on the internet. Fully interactive multimedia sites are more fun than reading text.
So because the History channel has better info and research potential than FOX, we should subsidise cable to the home? Not a chance.
Subsidised broadband for kids research? Sure, in the schools and libraries.
I don't want to pay for the idiot down the street to have Highspeed AOL (gag) so he can find the latest pic of Britney, or play some mindless game. If he wants it, he should pay for it. And I don't want to pay for YOU to d/l the latest RedHat ISO! If YOU want it, go get it. Don't ask me to pay for your playing around.
If it is such a good idea, then it would be more profitable than it is. Companies would be lining up to feed the pipe to your house. As it is, it is just hanging on. Rollout is going very slowly.
Besides...do you really want gummint sponsored net access? What info will they be collecting as your bits go through the system they paid for?
It's not just the file format, it's also the actual drive mechanism.
When was the last time you saw a 5 1/4 floppy drive? Or an 8"? Still have a working and installed drive for all those old tape backups you did 10 years ago?
Are you "sure" you'll have a working CD drive in 50 years? (or 20, or 10)
Will your beneficiaries know how to open and read those files?
Paper is pretty universal.
"most military people just do busy work when not at war."
Not even close, Sunshine. In the USAF, the daily mission is the same in combat or peacetime. Support the flying mission.
Basically, only the pilots job is different. Drop training bombs or real bombs.
As a recent USAF retiree and programmer, I have a coupla comments.
The AF has been using MS stuff since long before Win3.0. Changing all the desktops and Exchange/NT/2000 servers to *nix would be a *tough* row to hoe. The decision to use M$ was made long before *nix was a viable option. And long before the various holes and security concerns were publicised.
As in any huge organization, there are thousands of small, medium, large custom apps that handle a lot of the daily business. I wrote some of em. Obviously, it couldn't be done all at once. Training, rewriting all those apps, etc, etc...It would literally take years.
Going to Linux on the desktop is probably not a viable option. Too much momentum.
Up until a coupla years ago, the AF was Uncle Bills biggest single customer. Still may be. So yes, they can put some pressure on M$.
They use a lot of Oracle, too. Even though Larry says it is unbreakable (ha), 9i has already broken. *No* connected software is truly secure.
Bug fixes? The mil really needs to have a POC to talk to about a particular problem or hole, not just a disconnected group of eyeballs fixing it. Yes, bug and holes in Linux do get fixed, probably faster. But for national defense, I would not want to rely on that. I need to buttonhole a particular office or person, and say "You fix this"
The Army's solution (Apple) is worse. Sole source for hardware AND OS. When/if Apple changes focus, or goes under, or simply stops making desktop PC's, the Army is up the creek. The holes there are yet to be found. But they are there.
M$ stuff can be made as secure as anything else. A lot is in the admin. But no software that needs to talk to some other software is truly secure, so far.
Slashdot Mirror
In many places, if you want to read your city's laws, you need to pay for a license or go down to city hall and read their copy.
Many, many cities, and probably all States have their searchable Code online.
You can also search the Codes of quite a number of cities here
Ti eyeglasses are weak at the joins between parts. I've broken my last two pair at the bridge.
freakin $400 a pop, too
Bike construction depends mainly on design and geomotry, rather than material.
Alu, CroMo steel, Ti, Carbon fiber...any can be made great, or any can be made a noodle.
Besides, just because a dialup is a sufficient way to recieve information now doesn't mean it will be in the future. By the time my children get into school, I'd like them to be able to do some VALUABLE research on the internet. Fully interactive multimedia sites are more fun than reading text.
So because the History channel has better info and research potential than FOX, we should subsidise cable to the home? Not a chance. Subsidised broadband for kids research? Sure, in the schools and libraries.
I don't want to pay for the idiot down the street to have Highspeed AOL (gag) so he can find the latest pic of Britney, or play some mindless game. If he wants it, he should pay for it. And I don't want to pay for YOU to d/l the latest RedHat ISO! If YOU want it, go get it. Don't ask me to pay for your playing around.
If it is such a good idea, then it would be more profitable than it is. Companies would be lining up to feed the pipe to your house. As it is, it is just hanging on. Rollout is going very slowly.
Besides...do you really want gummint sponsored net access? What info will they be collecting as your bits go through the system they paid for?
It's not just the file format, it's also the actual drive mechanism. When was the last time you saw a 5 1/4 floppy drive? Or an 8"? Still have a working and installed drive for all those old tape backups you did 10 years ago? Are you "sure" you'll have a working CD drive in 50 years? (or 20, or 10) Will your beneficiaries know how to open and read those files? Paper is pretty universal.
"most military people just do busy work when not at war."
Not even close, Sunshine. In the USAF, the daily mission is the same in combat or peacetime. Support the flying mission.
Basically, only the pilots job is different. Drop training bombs or real bombs.
As a recent USAF retiree and programmer, I have a coupla comments.
The AF has been using MS stuff since long before Win3.0. Changing all the desktops and Exchange/NT/2000 servers to *nix would be a *tough* row to hoe. The decision to use M$ was made long before *nix was a viable option. And long before the various holes and security concerns were publicised.
As in any huge organization, there are thousands of small, medium, large custom apps that handle a lot of the daily business. I wrote some of em. Obviously, it couldn't be done all at once. Training, rewriting all those apps, etc, etc...It would literally take years.
Going to Linux on the desktop is probably not a viable option. Too much momentum.
Up until a coupla years ago, the AF was Uncle Bills biggest single customer. Still may be. So yes, they can put some pressure on M$.
They use a lot of Oracle, too. Even though Larry says it is unbreakable (ha), 9i has already broken. *No* connected software is truly secure.
Bug fixes? The mil really needs to have a POC to talk to about a particular problem or hole, not just a disconnected group of eyeballs fixing it. Yes, bug and holes in Linux do get fixed, probably faster. But for national defense, I would not want to rely on that. I need to buttonhole a particular office or person, and say "You fix this"
The Army's solution (Apple) is worse. Sole source for hardware AND OS. When/if Apple changes focus, or goes under, or simply stops making desktop PC's, the Army is up the creek. The holes there are yet to be found. But they are there.
M$ stuff can be made as secure as anything else. A lot is in the admin. But no software that needs to talk to some other software is truly secure, so far.