Thanks although with the increasing influence American English has on British English - you're right it has been lost a little. These days people just say they work in "local government". There's a sixth form college I used to go to that now calls itself the "Birkenhead Sixth Form College Corporation" - wasn't called that when I was there though - they've tagged on Coporation in the past few years.
Nope, you can own a TV - watch your personal videos on it, use it as a display for a Playstation/ 2, console etc - many uses other than watching TV! It's a household thing anyway - if you must know how the enforcement side works - they just have a list of addresses that don't have a TV licence - so they visit/ maildrop them every so often (and generally hastle people without a TV listening to the radio). If they were radio satellite broadcasts it'd be ok.:) You can own a TV & not watch broadcast TV on it & legally not have a licence. The licence is to for the privelege of receiving TV pictures (in either colour or B&W) - not a "TV owning" licence. You get something off if you're deaf, something off if you're blind - it free if you're old. If you're deaf & blind they wonder why you need one in the first place.;o)
They're not publicly funded (from tax pounds). If you want to choose not to receive television pictures at home, then you don't have to pay a licence fee (which goes to fund the BBC). They get their money from television licences (about approx US$160/year for colour). There used to be radio licences too (years ago). They still have their own agenda though - although you're right - they aren't as concerned with profit as a business would be. The C in BBC does stand for Corporation though....
It depends when you date a technology - from an idea in someone's head - or a practical application of a (sometimes not yet discovered) scientific idea/ discovery. I'm tired - I take things literally......
"look: Those 20th century yahoos were practicing picotechnology and they didn't even know it" - except they'd say 21st century not 20th. Check the calendar - years 2001-2100 are 21st century & years 1901-2000 are 20th century. If it hasn't dawned on you yet - we've been in the 21st century for two and a half years. Descendants 10 centuries from now would be in the 31st century.
Firstly - I live in England and have been educated here between '84-'99 and '02-'03. In the halcyon days of the 80s there were BBC Micros (there still are in primary schools (ages 5-11)). In the early 90s they were all BBC Micros in secondary school (ages 11-16). It was in about '94 that things changed.
What's scary now is that through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Microsoft supply the local public libraries here too.
"I can't really venture as to the exact reasons for this... but perhaps it's because the British are used to doing things one way."
It's not - it's to do with politicians and school management deciding in the mid-90s to go down this route which has led to the problems we have today.
"I mean, we only had a single national telecoms provider"
BT was privatised in '84 - and it wasn't the only telecoms provider - see Hull. Now there's NTL, Telewest, BT etc.
"a single national gas provider"
This is for historical reasons. Originally the people were too poor to have gas - so the local authorities bought it collectively leading to a government monopoly - eg British Gas. The gas market has been open to competition for a while though...
"and a single national postal service"
Well Royal Mail pretty much still has a monopoly - although it's gradually weakening.
> until ten years ago. Therefore, when schools > only show that Microsoft is the way..
It's the quality of the teaching staff though. Half of the computing staff think that computer = PC and there is only one operating system in the world and it's called Windows.
> the > average Brit will nod and use it.
Some of us aren't as nieve to think that way - mind you - I've never been an "average Brit".
Usually computer experts don't go into politics.;o) Politicians are on the main accountants or lawyers.... there might be some campaign - but that's be focused on educating our MEPs (Members of the European Parliament). Mind you in the UK - European directives don't become domestic law until it gets made an act of parliament - which can take a few years! You're right however - once it's been voted on - it's very difficult to reverse.
Thanks for the link. However I'm based in the UK - and the laws here are slightly different. Sorry to be picky. Although I did look up the European Software Directive which was very interesting....... I hadn't heard of it before.
Regarding (2) - if it's a public company (which IBM is) - for not very long..... however a major lawsuit (such as this) would have to be declared as news on the stock exchange as it could (if lost) affect the future profitability of a public company. See the tobacco companies for a similar scenario.
Here in the UK it would be a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 and possibly the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Oh and the psychological evaluation would fall under the Access to Health Records Act. These carry serious fines (but not jail sentences) if organisations disobey them. The DPA '98 is based on an EC directive and came into effect a few years ago. It's run by the Information Commissioner. Of course - here you might run up against Crown immunity - which simply put means that the government can't be held liable for breaking one of its own laws. The problems of insecure wi-fi networks have been well highlighted here - especially in London - there've been many cases of drive by hacking via laptops.
Re:The nicest Unix front-end ever?
on
Jaguar is Over
·
· Score: 1
It's not just selling them to consumers - it's selling them to the "right" consumers - eg buyers for government, big business etc. Unfortunately the world has heard of Microsoft - but Apple in many people's books remains an unknown quantity...
I have borderline high-functioning autism myself. Regarding "special talents" (with me anyway) - it comes and goes. I can't switch it on/ off. Regarding the chairs if there were 6 rows of 8 chairs it isn't that hard to count. The ability to remember musical melodies isn't that difficult - and can be learned. It's part of most musician's training to be able to memorise not just a riff but entire pages of music. If you've taken a music exam you have to sing back a few phrases played to you - which is not far off playing them. I get the tension headaches too - one of the downsides of the frustration caused by having a communication disorder and being misunderstood.
A piece of software is covered under copyright laws - the same way a piece of art or music is. If the EU go the route of the US in allowing software patents it damages software development in the long term.
Q. In the long run, will biology rewrite computing or will modern day technology concepts and theory be integrated into biology? If both are true, which will have the greater effect? I understand long run is ambiguous in this question, but Iâ(TM)m interested in all thoughts using any applicable definition.
Biology will (extremely slowly) be integrated into modern day technology. There will be some technology ---> biology transition too. However biology is far more adaptable. It's not a case of rewriting - it's just a case of historical progression.
In answer to your second question - technology concepts, computing etc as they're designed by biology are already in mainstream use eg:-
computer phone automobile etc
Biology affecting technology has had less of an effect eg Velcro - however the balance will change over the next few decades. Biotech is already advancing in great strides.
There isn't any definition as such - predicting the future is all guesswork. You can use statistics - all kinds of methods - in the end it comes down to a gut reaction.
Q. How will the nature of computing, and how we perceive it, change due to biology integration?
It'll become easier for biology to use eg:-
handwriting recognition voice recognition etc etc etc (all fifth-generation tasks - read up on sixth-generation if you like)
This is due to technology "evolving" to become more link biology though. The change'll happen too slowly to perceive.
Q. More to the point, how much of the theory we learn today may change?
The fundamentals still remain the same - like mathematics though - it just gets more complicated.;o) If we jumped forward a hundred years - what we know now would be seen as primitive and childlike dabblings at it. Look at how old fashioned 1903 seems now (when cars were "modern technology").
Q. What will be the biggest issue determining the success of the adoption of biology-integrated computing?
Economics. When computers cost millions of dollars only governments and large organisations could afford them. The second problem is marketing (read persuading people they need them). It'd take years though - look at the computer mouse as an example.
Q. Will it be technology factors or will it be societal factors (e.g., rebellion by the Right Wing), or something else?
It'll just happen - although factors will influence how slowly/ quickly certain parts of it do. Technology in the end comes down to ideas + money.
Q. What things must hold true to make the idea succeed?
That we can understand biology & manipulate it to serve us (probably other things too).
Q. And perhaps the hottest issue of all: Is there anything inherently wrong with pursuing this avenue?
Not in my opinion - although all technological advances bring ethical dilemnas - who do you sell it to etc? What (out of many) uses do you put it to?
Q. What may be some of the consequences?
A lot of them have already happened or are in the process of happening.;o)
A society that suffers from greater obesity, global communication, increasing reliance on power production etc etc etc
A lot of the businesses on broadband here are on the residential style 100k/128k . Single user BW caps of 1Gb/day at the ISP end prevent most of these problems. Yes - you have the occassinal problem with viruses etc - but good IT security at both ends should prevent that.
" To limit contributition to the problem the fuse should disconnect the shool/small ISP giving the IT staff time to examine the fault offline."
That's very disruptive. The IT staff may be on callout (eg spend an hour to get there), part-time - asleep, at home etc. Best to automatically e-mail/ page the tech with the problem rather than pull the plug on the network (unless it's really serious)....
What variables would you want to be able to alter on the fuse? Bandwidth usage is highly variable anyway (even with normal patterns of usage). How can you tell the difference between an employee downloading a large pdf file and an employee uploading a copy of your fileserver? There's also a fine line between security & convenience - and with logs you get the "little elves" problem too. It depends how bothered you are about IT security I suppose. I've seen plenty of corporate broadband connections without even firewalls - and managment is still IMHO pretty clueless about computers. At least they've moved on from regarding them as an unecessary luxury expense.
Slashdot Mirror
How big are American quarters? I've never seen one...
Thanks although with the increasing influence American English has on British English - you're right it has been lost a little. These days people just say they work in "local government". There's a sixth form college I used to go to that now calls itself the "Birkenhead Sixth Form College Corporation" - wasn't called that when I was there though - they've tagged on Coporation in the past few years.
Nope, you can own a TV - watch your personal videos on it, use it as a display for a Playstation/ 2, console etc - many uses other than watching TV! It's a household thing anyway - if you must know how the enforcement side works - they just have a list of addresses that don't have a TV licence - so they visit/ maildrop them every so often (and generally hastle people without a TV listening to the radio). If they were radio satellite broadcasts it'd be ok. :) You can own a TV & not watch broadcast TV on it & legally not have a licence. The licence is to for the privelege of receiving TV pictures (in either colour or B&W) - not a "TV owning" licence. You get something off if you're deaf, something off if you're blind - it free if you're old. If you're deaf & blind they wonder why you need one in the first place. ;o)
They're not publicly funded (from tax pounds). If you want to choose not to receive television pictures at home, then you don't have to pay a licence fee (which goes to fund the BBC). They get their money from television licences (about approx US$160/year for colour). There used to be radio licences too (years ago). They still have their own agenda though - although you're right - they aren't as concerned with profit as a business would be. The C in BBC does stand for Corporation though....
It depends when you date a technology - from an idea in someone's head - or a practical application of a (sometimes not yet discovered) scientific idea/ discovery. I'm tired - I take things literally......
"look: Those 20th century yahoos were practicing picotechnology and they didn't even know it" - except they'd say 21st century not 20th. Check the calendar - years 2001-2100 are 21st century & years 1901-2000 are 20th century. If it hasn't dawned on you yet - we've been in the 21st century for two and a half years. Descendants 10 centuries from now would be in the 31st century.
Firstly - I live in England and have been educated here between '84-'99 and '02-'03. In the halcyon days of the 80s there were BBC Micros (there still are in primary schools (ages 5-11)). In the early 90s they were all BBC Micros in secondary school (ages 11-16). It was in about '94 that things changed.
What's scary now is that through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Microsoft supply the local public libraries here too.
"I can't really venture as to the exact reasons for this... but perhaps it's because the British are used to doing things one way."
It's not - it's to do with politicians and school management deciding in the mid-90s to go down this route which has led to the problems we have today.
"I mean, we only had a single national telecoms provider"
BT was privatised in '84 - and it wasn't the only telecoms provider - see Hull. Now there's NTL, Telewest, BT etc.
"a single national gas provider"
This is for historical reasons. Originally the people were too poor to have gas - so the local authorities bought it collectively leading to a government monopoly - eg British Gas. The gas market has been open to competition for a while though...
"and a single national postal service"
Well Royal Mail pretty much still has a monopoly - although it's gradually weakening.
> until ten years ago. Therefore, when schools
> only show that Microsoft is the way..
It's the quality of the teaching staff though. Half of the computing staff think that computer = PC and there is only one operating system in the world and it's called Windows.
> the
> average Brit will nod and use it.
Some of us aren't as nieve to think that way - mind you - I've never been an "average Brit".
They'll be joining the EU next year too - which'll make trade far easier!
Usually computer experts don't go into politics. ;o) Politicians are on the main accountants or lawyers.... there might be some campaign - but that's be focused on educating our MEPs (Members of the European Parliament). Mind you in the UK - European directives don't become domestic law until it gets made an act of parliament - which can take a few years! You're right however - once it's been voted on - it's very difficult to reverse.
Surely the copyright and trademark laws are strong enough not to need software patents (at least here in the UK anyway)?
Thanks for the link. However I'm based in the UK - and the laws here are slightly different. Sorry to be picky. Although I did look up the European Software Directive which was very interesting....... I hadn't heard of it before.
Well if I did - it might just pay for future & past Windows licences - lol.
Regarding (2) - if it's a public company (which IBM is) - for not very long..... however a major lawsuit (such as this) would have to be declared as news on the stock exchange as it could (if lost) affect the future profitability of a public company. See the tobacco companies for a similar scenario.
Has the legal status of EULAs been clarified? 1) You don't sign them and 2) They often contain illegal clauses.....
Here in the UK it would be a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 and possibly the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Oh and the psychological evaluation would fall under the Access to Health Records Act. These carry serious fines (but not jail sentences) if organisations disobey them. The DPA '98 is based on an EC directive and came into effect a few years ago. It's run by the Information Commissioner. Of course - here you might run up against Crown immunity - which simply put means that the government can't be held liable for breaking one of its own laws. The problems of insecure wi-fi networks have been well highlighted here - especially in London - there've been many cases of drive by hacking via laptops.
It's not just selling them to consumers - it's selling them to the "right" consumers - eg buyers for government, big business etc. Unfortunately the world has heard of Microsoft - but Apple in many people's books remains an unknown quantity...
I have borderline high-functioning autism myself. Regarding "special talents" (with me anyway) - it comes and goes. I can't switch it on/ off. Regarding the chairs if there were 6 rows of 8 chairs it isn't that hard to count. The ability to remember musical melodies isn't that difficult - and can be learned. It's part of most musician's training to be able to memorise not just a riff but entire pages of music. If you've taken a music exam you have to sing back a few phrases played to you - which is not far off playing them. I get the tension headaches too - one of the downsides of the frustration caused by having a communication disorder and being misunderstood.
" If only I was smart enough to figure it out." - yep that's why the world has lots of patent lawyers. ;o)
Q. Now, the question is how do we get the U.S. government to adopt this standard?
;o)
A. Lobby your politicians
Q. Will it be like the Metric system, where we are
too entrenched to switch to a better system?
A. Nope, converting to metric is easier - however the software to do it is patented.
A piece of software is covered under copyright laws - the same way a piece of art or music is. If the EU go the route of the US in allowing software patents it damages software development in the long term.
I meant on total bandwidth (which is a total of down and up). :P Anyway - point taken.....
Q. In the long run, will biology rewrite computing or will modern day technology concepts and theory be integrated into biology? If both are true, which will have the greater effect? I understand long run is ambiguous in this question, but Iâ(TM)m interested in all thoughts using any applicable definition.
;o) If we jumped forward a hundred years - what we know now would be seen as primitive and childlike dabblings at it. Look at how old fashioned 1903 seems now (when cars were "modern technology").
;o)
Biology will (extremely slowly) be integrated into modern day technology. There will be some technology ---> biology transition too. However biology is far more adaptable. It's not a case of rewriting - it's just a case of historical progression.
In answer to your second question - technology concepts, computing etc as they're designed by biology are already in mainstream use eg:-
computer
phone
automobile etc
Biology affecting technology has had less of an effect eg Velcro - however the balance will change over the next few decades. Biotech is already advancing in great strides.
There isn't any definition as such - predicting the future is all guesswork. You can use statistics - all kinds of methods - in the end it comes down to a gut reaction.
Q. How will the nature of computing, and how we perceive it, change due to biology integration?
It'll become easier for biology to use eg:-
handwriting recognition
voice recognition
etc etc etc (all fifth-generation tasks - read up on sixth-generation if you like)
This is due to technology "evolving" to become more link biology though. The change'll happen too slowly to perceive.
Q. More to the point, how much of the theory we learn today may change?
The fundamentals still remain the same - like mathematics though - it just gets more complicated.
Q. What will be the biggest issue determining the success of the adoption of biology-integrated computing?
Economics. When computers cost millions of dollars only governments and large organisations could afford them. The second problem is marketing (read persuading people they need them). It'd take years though - look at the computer mouse as an example.
Q. Will it be technology factors or will it be societal factors (e.g., rebellion by the Right Wing), or something else?
It'll just happen - although factors will influence how slowly/ quickly certain parts of it do. Technology in the end comes down to ideas + money.
Q. What things must hold true to make the idea succeed?
That we can understand biology & manipulate it to serve us (probably other things too).
Q. And perhaps the hottest issue of all: Is there anything inherently wrong with pursuing this avenue?
Not in my opinion - although all technological advances bring ethical dilemnas - who do you sell it to etc? What (out of many) uses do you put it to?
Q. What may be some of the consequences?
A lot of them have already happened or are in the process of happening.
A society that suffers from greater obesity, global communication, increasing reliance on power production etc etc etc
A lot of the businesses on broadband here are on the residential style 100k/128k . Single user BW caps of 1Gb/day at the ISP end prevent most of these problems. Yes - you have the occassinal problem with viruses etc - but good IT security at both ends should prevent that.
" To limit contributition to the problem the fuse should disconnect the shool/small ISP giving the IT staff time to examine the fault offline."
That's very disruptive. The IT staff may be on callout (eg spend an hour to get there), part-time - asleep, at home etc. Best to automatically e-mail/ page the tech with the problem rather than pull the plug on the network (unless it's really serious)....
What variables would you want to be able to alter on the fuse? Bandwidth usage is highly variable anyway (even with normal patterns of usage). How can you tell the difference between an employee downloading a large pdf file and an employee uploading a copy of your fileserver? There's also a fine line between security & convenience - and with logs you get the "little elves" problem too. It depends how bothered you are about IT security I suppose. I've seen plenty of corporate broadband connections without even firewalls - and managment is still IMHO pretty clueless about computers. At least they've moved on from regarding them as an unecessary luxury expense.
Actually the byproduct of hydrogen combustion is H2O - which in the wrong places acts as a greenhouse gas....