Oddly enough I was thinking about this in the shower this morning. Of course all I was thinking was "Hey I wonder if you could use a plant's ATP producing ability like a battery?" I didn't actually figure out how to do it in the shower, just that it would be cool. This is much more impressive.
Solve them...just becasue I chose not to solve the problem mathematically doesn't mean I couldn't have. I'm perfectly capable of writing software to find the solution (and I suppose if I knew e to 1500 digits I could do it without software) but that wasn't the point. I'm saying that if the answer is out there already why waste the time solving it? Why expend the time and energy to do something that is already done for me? As an exercise in proving I know how? Seems silly doesn't it? I'd much rather use my time posting pointless responses to comments made on slashdot.;-)
Technically I get a failure after every session. I never reboot (at home or work) unless there is a failure. Those failures may be weeks apart, but they are failures that terminate sessions. If they are harvesting info from 1.2M computers there is no way that they are analyzing the cause of the failure. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't investigate the cause of the reboot or the uptime before the reboot. (The areticle mentions neither) Allow me to propose a different scenario for Windows. One more like mine. Most PC users at work happily go about their day and shut down their computer at the end of it. They experience a failure maybe 1/50 days. People like me push their computer to do alot and never reboot it. I experience a failure 1/1 times, but only every 7 days. Others genuinely have problems with their pc and when they reboot their system fails immediately upon restart creating a higher than average or 10/10 failures in a single day. All of these come out to 8% failures. I did no math here...just guessing on the average.
What about people making home videos of little nelly celebrating her first birthday? Or can you imagine needing to procure a license from hollywood in the future just so you can make a video recording of big nelly's wedding?
This story is silly. Nobody would ever name their daughter "Nelly".;-)
determine fair value for IP would be to auction the IP and see what the competitors would pay for it
This still has serious issues. If the auction system exists to determine fair market value so that it can be taxed then I, as your competitor) have a vested interest in overvaluing your IP. If your IP is valued too high you pay higher tarrifs on it and thus your end product costs are too high to compete with me. In essence I can gain competitive advantage over you by bidding up your IP. Unless you are talking about actually selling the IP at auction. In which case you don't have the IP anymore and you can't use it.
For things like "looking at a radiogram and analysing it for fractures" we already know the market price -- it is what the average customer is paying. Right now, the hospitals and insurance companies are pocketing the difference.
This works great for existing technology, but if you are exporting the technology to a different economy then it has to have a different value. (i.e. a radiogram does not have the same market price in Africa--kinda like canadian drugs)
which it has to do to not destroy the economy
The real gains in outsourcing are not lowering costs in the US. It is increasing the size of teh American market for exports of our IP. Like Ipods designed by Apple (An American Company) that end up in the hands of Indians.
Where I see this being useful for outsourcing is when you can say...Apple you are designing your iPod in the US, and Manufacturing it in China. Exporting your design to China has to have some taxable value. We do this when we export anything else, but since it is just a bunch of digital bits sent over a wire...its not considered an exported good.
Maybe thats not where you were going with that, but it struck me as a good idea in that regard.
I think this is one of the most creative, and truly useful solutions I have heard to solving the trade defecit and the outsourcing "problem" in the United States. Since we have become a service exporter it makes sense to charge tarriffs on our exported ideas. Unfortunately I don't have a clue how something like this would be implemented. You would ahve to determine fair value for IP and that is near impossible. if someone sees how this could be done, I will write a letter to my congressman suggesting it tomorrow!
if we're not allowed to complain when somebody (UofT) breaks the law and denies us our (Well, Americans') rights, when ARE we allowed to complain?
Texans are following an ever increasing trend of denying us our rights. Why does this surprise you? I am prety sure that sticking up for the students could be seen as a violation of the patriot act. If not I'm sure we can find a way to prosecute you under the DMCA.;-)
Personally I think if you have not voted in the past 3-4 elections you should begin to lose your rights as a citizen of the United States. The Constitution is based largely on the "Social Contract" I think that if one party (The voter) is not fulfilling their duties in the contract, the other party (the govt) should be exempt. Essentially what I am saying is that if you haven't voted in the last 12 years you should have your welfare cut off your fire/police coverage taken away and you should be sent to another country where the government no longer protects your borders. Hell I don't think you should even be required to pay taxes. If you don't vote, you should be banished from this country.
Hmm...Here's an interesting (maybe) thought. If China begins to use Linux as an alternative to windows, will they contribute their changes back to the community? China has no real incentives for doing so other than to keep on a standard. Other arguments suggest that China does not want to be dependant on a US corporation, so I can imagine a "Western" standard is no better. If China does not contribute back its changes is there any way to enforce the GPL? Somehow I don't think the WTO will be interested in defending the GPL. My guess is that the WTO is not a big fan of the GPL as it threatens IP and profitability of software trade.
The problem is that people try to hang on to things, such as US Steel.
Actually I would say the problem stems from letting elected officials make economic policy decisions. Can you imagine a presidential candidate getting up and saying "I want to end farm subsidies" or "I want to get rid of subsidies to US Steel" Try getting elected without the unions and the farmers endorsing you. You're screwed.
But you are absolutely right. If we could fairly engage in produce trade we would have a world that was much better off. Again, except Africa.
I'm not talking about the government creating jobs directly. I'm talking about them creating new industries (and thus creating jobs) through research. Think of the jobs that could be created by the next big scientific discovery. If the government had not invested so heavily in predicting mortar/artilery trajectory in WWII we would not have the multi billion dollar computer industry. If the space program had not fostered a need for metals like titanium, we would not have a competitive and (R&D focused) golf club industry. If we had not built the a-bomb (govt. funded) nuclear medicine would not exist in its current form. The computer industry, golf club research and nuclear medicine are all products of our govt's interest in science. There are thousands more examples that I'm sure either of us could come up with. Each of these examples is now heavily supported by private money and has a huge economy supporting high paying jobs. If the govt is unwilling to take on the initial risks and fund science, it will not create tomorrow's jobs. Abandoning hte space program just at the time when it is an attainable goal in private industry is a HUGE mistake. Capitalism will sustain itself quite well, but sometimes it needs that extra nudge. Arguably that is one of the reasons businesses pay taxes. To allow the government to continue to perform research that fosters new markets.
We are reaching the upper limits of my economic knowledge here, but how can the Indian economy compensate? If there are billions of US dollars in japanese (and chinese) hands right now aren't they directly tied to the dollar? If the dollar fails doesn't the japanese economic value become ~0. Sure the Indian economy can step in and buy the goods, but the asian economy will be in ruin and unable to even get the raw materials to create these high tech goods.
After scratching my brain a bit I think i might be starting to understand. India over the next 20 years or so begins to send its money to asia for high tech goods. They then account for 50% of japanese exports and thus prevent a US implosion from being a worldwide implosion. But doesn't a destruction of the US economy spell a destruction of the Indian economy as well? Aren't they heavily dependant on US $ for exported jobs as well? How do they become independant enough to absorb a US downturn in spending?
I would say that the only saving grace in this whole mess is that we are all so interconnected anymore, that imports/exports don't matter. If we could just see that and have enough sense to end tarrifs altogether we would all come out in the wash. Except Africa which has no resources to speak of and would continue to wallow in poverty. (there's my American arrogance talking again)
Well maybe, but we are also the ones buying all the japanese/chinese goods that allow them to be so heavily invested in the dollar. If they were to pull the pin on us, it would be self destructing. We are like symbiotic parasites. They need us and we need them.
We may be living on the brink of economic destruction, but if we go so does the rest of the world. After all who is gonna rescue the French if the US can no longer afford a strong military?;-) Wow do I sound like the stereotypical arrogant American after that one.
Just a little while ago an article about missing the broadband boat (which admittidly I did not read) and now the space shuttle. I realize that we have not cancelled our space program, but this is concerning to me.
We are losing our low paying jobs to other countries and supposedly replacing them with higher paying research/science positions. How can we do this with a government that is not committed to science (Shutting down a space program) and is not committed to infrastructure like broadband. If we give up on the low paying jobs don't we then need a strong commitment to the high paying jobs of the future?
It seems that all of the computer companies have outsourced tech support. So the expectation has been lowered for support calls. You can have a middle of the road tech support ranking if you outsource your support. There is no advantage to having support in the US becasue nobody else has support in the US.
Would a fledgling computer company be able to boost sales and charge a premium by advertising its quality of service? Is this a competitive advantage, or will that company be wiped out by the low cost leaders? We cannot complain about support if we won't pay for it.
I'm sure I am in the minority as I am "tech savvy", but I wonder about others who are not as adept with technical devices.
That being said I don't think the QOS is any better in the US. You still have some idiot on the other end who has no clue about the product he is supporting. But I get what I paid for I guess.
that's all that's left to digitize
Yes I was trying to be funny. But I think we are making the same point. I was saying they won't need a camera becasue Lucas will turn everything digital including the actors. Since he can't make the film he "wanted to make" with real actors he will have to go all digital.
Maybe after looking at the LoTR movies and seeing them marry digital and cinema quite well Lucas will take some pointers. Of course Peter Jackson has more talent in his pinky finger than Lucas when it comes to directing...but I digress.
I think this suggests you could vote by CATscan! Hop in the machine and it will decide based on your results who you are going to be casting your vote for.
I may have missed a whole story on this I don't know, but TiVo's website claims (with no real detail yet) that soon they will have TiVo To Go :
Coming Soon... TiVoToGo(TM)!
Leaving town? Take your favorite shows with you! TiVoToGo(TM) offers unprecedented portability, extending your digital recording with the ability to transfer recorded programs from your TiVo® box to your computer. Only with TiVo® service.
Seems pretty cool to me you can see for yourself here
With all of the talk about TiVo getting greedy and not adding features, they seem to be following the demands of their consumers pretty closely. They just made the home media option free, you can share stuff between tivos. I for one will continue ot give them my $12/mo as long as they continue to churn out new features and offer them to me for no extra charge. Go TiVo
I'm not sure at all what the merits of this device are, but if you live on $2000 a year you DO NOT have $250 to spend on a COMPUTER. Think about that 1/8th of your income on a computer. lets assume for a moment that we are talking about a $40,000 American Income. Thats $5000 for a computer. Granted I don't want for much, but I feel like 40,000 is not that much after my student loans, rent, gas, and what not, and there is no way in hell I would spend 5k/yr on a computer. Hell I wouldn't even spend that much on a car payment per year. Somehow I think the same is true for a family living on 2k/yr?
I consider the Internet a specific place and thus deserving of capitalization.
Where exactly is the "Internet"? I would have to say that it is absolutely not a "specific place". In fact the very idea of an internet implies that there are several interconnected networks of networks!
Slashdot Mirror
Oddly enough I was thinking about this in the shower this morning. Of course all I was thinking was "Hey I wonder if you could use a plant's ATP producing ability like a battery?" I didn't actually figure out how to do it in the shower, just that it would be cool. This is much more impressive.
Solve them...just becasue I chose not to solve the problem mathematically doesn't mean I couldn't have. I'm perfectly capable of writing software to find the solution (and I suppose if I knew e to 1500 digits I could do it without software) but that wasn't the point. I'm saying that if the answer is out there already why waste the time solving it? Why expend the time and energy to do something that is already done for me? As an exercise in proving I know how? Seems silly doesn't it? I'd much rather use my time posting pointless responses to comments made on slashdot. ;-)
Interestingly enough this will give the answer, faster than ever writing a program for it.
Do you think if I told them I Googled for the answer they would give me the job?
Technically I get a failure after every session. I never reboot (at home or work) unless there is a failure. Those failures may be weeks apart, but they are failures that terminate sessions. If they are harvesting info from 1.2M computers there is no way that they are analyzing the cause of the failure. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't investigate the cause of the reboot or the uptime before the reboot. (The areticle mentions neither) Allow me to propose a different scenario for Windows. One more like mine. Most PC users at work happily go about their day and shut down their computer at the end of it. They experience a failure maybe 1/50 days. People like me push their computer to do alot and never reboot it. I experience a failure 1/1 times, but only every 7 days. Others genuinely have problems with their pc and when they reboot their system fails immediately upon restart creating a higher than average or 10/10 failures in a single day. All of these come out to 8% failures. I did no math here...just guessing on the average.
What about people making home videos of little nelly celebrating her first birthday? Or can you imagine needing to procure a license from hollywood in the future just so you can make a video recording of big nelly's wedding?
;-)
This story is silly. Nobody would ever name their daughter "Nelly".
determine fair value for IP would be to auction the IP and see what the competitors would pay for it
This still has serious issues. If the auction system exists to determine fair market value so that it can be taxed then I, as your competitor) have a vested interest in overvaluing your IP. If your IP is valued too high you pay higher tarrifs on it and thus your end product costs are too high to compete with me. In essence I can gain competitive advantage over you by bidding up your IP. Unless you are talking about actually selling the IP at auction. In which case you don't have the IP anymore and you can't use it.
For things like "looking at a radiogram and analysing it for fractures" we already know the market price -- it is what the average customer is paying. Right now, the hospitals and insurance companies are pocketing the difference.
This works great for existing technology, but if you are exporting the technology to a different economy then it has to have a different value. (i.e. a radiogram does not have the same market price in Africa--kinda like canadian drugs)
which it has to do to not destroy the economy
The real gains in outsourcing are not lowering costs in the US. It is increasing the size of teh American market for exports of our IP. Like Ipods designed by Apple (An American Company) that end up in the hands of Indians.
Where I see this being useful for outsourcing is when you can say...Apple you are designing your iPod in the US, and Manufacturing it in China. Exporting your design to China has to have some taxable value. We do this when we export anything else, but since it is just a bunch of digital bits sent over a wire...its not considered an exported good.
Maybe thats not where you were going with that, but it struck me as a good idea in that regard.
I think this is one of the most creative, and truly useful solutions I have heard to solving the trade defecit and the outsourcing "problem" in the United States. Since we have become a service exporter it makes sense to charge tarriffs on our exported ideas. Unfortunately I don't have a clue how something like this would be implemented. You would ahve to determine fair value for IP and that is near impossible. if someone sees how this could be done, I will write a letter to my congressman suggesting it tomorrow!
if we're not allowed to complain when somebody (UofT) breaks the law and denies us our (Well, Americans') rights, when ARE we allowed to complain?
;-)
Texans are following an ever increasing trend of denying us our rights. Why does this surprise you? I am prety sure that sticking up for the students could be seen as a violation of the patriot act. If not I'm sure we can find a way to prosecute you under the DMCA.
This is also an inducement to REGISTER to vote. So it shouldn't matter either way.
Personally I think if you have not voted in the past 3-4 elections you should begin to lose your rights as a citizen of the United States. The Constitution is based largely on the "Social Contract" I think that if one party (The voter) is not fulfilling their duties in the contract, the other party (the govt) should be exempt. Essentially what I am saying is that if you haven't voted in the last 12 years you should have your welfare cut off your fire/police coverage taken away and you should be sent to another country where the government no longer protects your borders. Hell I don't think you should even be required to pay taxes. If you don't vote, you should be banished from this country.
Hmm...Here's an interesting (maybe) thought. If China begins to use Linux as an alternative to windows, will they contribute their changes back to the community? China has no real incentives for doing so other than to keep on a standard. Other arguments suggest that China does not want to be dependant on a US corporation, so I can imagine a "Western" standard is no better. If China does not contribute back its changes is there any way to enforce the GPL? Somehow I don't think the WTO will be interested in defending the GPL. My guess is that the WTO is not a big fan of the GPL as it threatens IP and profitability of software trade.
The problem is that people try to hang on to things, such as US Steel.
Actually I would say the problem stems from letting elected officials make economic policy decisions. Can you imagine a presidential candidate getting up and saying "I want to end farm subsidies" or "I want to get rid of subsidies to US Steel" Try getting elected without the unions and the farmers endorsing you. You're screwed.
But you are absolutely right. If we could fairly engage in produce trade we would have a world that was much better off. Again, except Africa.
I'm not talking about the government creating jobs directly. I'm talking about them creating new industries (and thus creating jobs) through research. Think of the jobs that could be created by the next big scientific discovery. If the government had not invested so heavily in predicting mortar/artilery trajectory in WWII we would not have the multi billion dollar computer industry. If the space program had not fostered a need for metals like titanium, we would not have a competitive and (R&D focused) golf club industry. If we had not built the a-bomb (govt. funded) nuclear medicine would not exist in its current form. The computer industry, golf club research and nuclear medicine are all products of our govt's interest in science. There are thousands more examples that I'm sure either of us could come up with. Each of these examples is now heavily supported by private money and has a huge economy supporting high paying jobs. If the govt is unwilling to take on the initial risks and fund science, it will not create tomorrow's jobs. Abandoning hte space program just at the time when it is an attainable goal in private industry is a HUGE mistake. Capitalism will sustain itself quite well, but sometimes it needs that extra nudge. Arguably that is one of the reasons businesses pay taxes. To allow the government to continue to perform research that fosters new markets.
Indian market will soon be able to compensate
We are reaching the upper limits of my economic knowledge here, but how can the Indian economy compensate? If there are billions of US dollars in japanese (and chinese) hands right now aren't they directly tied to the dollar? If the dollar fails doesn't the japanese economic value become ~0. Sure the Indian economy can step in and buy the goods, but the asian economy will be in ruin and unable to even get the raw materials to create these high tech goods.
After scratching my brain a bit I think i might be starting to understand. India over the next 20 years or so begins to send its money to asia for high tech goods. They then account for 50% of japanese exports and thus prevent a US implosion from being a worldwide implosion. But doesn't a destruction of the US economy spell a destruction of the Indian economy as well? Aren't they heavily dependant on US $ for exported jobs as well? How do they become independant enough to absorb a US downturn in spending?
I would say that the only saving grace in this whole mess is that we are all so interconnected anymore, that imports/exports don't matter. If we could just see that and have enough sense to end tarrifs altogether we would all come out in the wash. Except Africa which has no resources to speak of and would continue to wallow in poverty. (there's my American arrogance talking again)
Well maybe if I had a 100Mb broadband connection like in South Korea and I wasn't waiting for the article to downlaod I would have time to read it.
Well maybe, but we are also the ones buying all the japanese/chinese goods that allow them to be so heavily invested in the dollar. If they were to pull the pin on us, it would be self destructing. We are like symbiotic parasites. They need us and we need them.
;-) Wow do I sound like the stereotypical arrogant American after that one.
We may be living on the brink of economic destruction, but if we go so does the rest of the world. After all who is gonna rescue the French if the US can no longer afford a strong military?
Just a little while ago an article about missing the broadband boat (which admittidly I did not read) and now the space shuttle. I realize that we have not cancelled our space program, but this is concerning to me.
We are losing our low paying jobs to other countries and supposedly replacing them with higher paying research/science positions. How can we do this with a government that is not committed to science (Shutting down a space program) and is not committed to infrastructure like broadband. If we give up on the low paying jobs don't we then need a strong commitment to the high paying jobs of the future?
It seems that all of the computer companies have outsourced tech support. So the expectation has been lowered for support calls. You can have a middle of the road tech support ranking if you outsource your support. There is no advantage to having support in the US becasue nobody else has support in the US.
Would a fledgling computer company be able to boost sales and charge a premium by advertising its quality of service? Is this a competitive advantage, or will that company be wiped out by the low cost leaders? We cannot complain about support if we won't pay for it.
I'm sure I am in the minority as I am "tech savvy", but I wonder about others who are not as adept with technical devices.
That being said I don't think the QOS is any better in the US. You still have some idiot on the other end who has no clue about the product he is supporting. But I get what I paid for I guess.
that's all that's left to digitize
Yes I was trying to be funny. But I think we are making the same point. I was saying they won't need a camera becasue Lucas will turn everything digital including the actors. Since he can't make the film he "wanted to make" with real actors he will have to go all digital.
Maybe after looking at the LoTR movies and seeing them marry digital and cinema quite well Lucas will take some pointers. Of course Peter Jackson has more talent in his pinky finger than Lucas when it comes to directing...but I digress.
On the otherside its all just rumors until the cameras start rolling...
Will they need cameras for the next star wars movie? Sheesh!
I think this suggests you could vote by CATscan! Hop in the machine and it will decide based on your results who you are going to be casting your vote for.
I may have missed a whole story on this I don't know, but TiVo's website claims (with no real detail yet) that soon they will have TiVo To Go :
Coming Soon... TiVoToGo(TM)!
Leaving town? Take your favorite shows with you! TiVoToGo(TM) offers unprecedented portability, extending your digital recording with the ability to transfer recorded programs from your TiVo® box to your computer. Only with TiVo® service.
Seems pretty cool to me you can see for yourself here
With all of the talk about TiVo getting greedy and not adding features, they seem to be following the demands of their consumers pretty closely. They just made the home media option free, you can share stuff between tivos. I for one will continue ot give them my $12/mo as long as they continue to churn out new features and offer them to me for no extra charge. Go TiVo
This seems like the best solution of the day!
I'm not sure at all what the merits of this device are, but if you live on $2000 a year you DO NOT have $250 to spend on a COMPUTER. Think about that 1/8th of your income on a computer. lets assume for a moment that we are talking about a $40,000 American Income. Thats $5000 for a computer. Granted I don't want for much, but I feel like 40,000 is not that much after my student loans, rent, gas, and what not, and there is no way in hell I would spend 5k/yr on a computer. Hell I wouldn't even spend that much on a car payment per year. Somehow I think the same is true for a family living on 2k/yr?
I consider the Internet a specific place and thus deserving of capitalization.
Where exactly is the "Internet"? I would have to say that it is absolutely not a "specific place". In fact the very idea of an internet implies that there are several interconnected networks of networks!