Hello? Welcome to the United States. The internet infrastructure is built and controlled by companies. It's not like our government agencies have their own internet. If a Secret Service Agent needs to send an email to the home office, he'll pick up his sidekick, his Blackberry, his Palm, his laptop, etc., connect to a service provider like T-mobile, Verizon, Comcast, etc. and send his message or store his files. Probably encrypted, but maybe not always if it's not a considered a very sensitive communication.
A lot of people have crazy delusions that secret agencies live in some far off technical wonderhome, where all communications are encrypted with some super 733t MD67 algorithm never before seen by any other person in the world, all access is controlled by handprint and retinal scan identification and everyone walks around with James Bond gadgets in their pockets. It's just not so. These people live and work in normal offices and normal homes and deal with the same crappy, bug-ridden and insecure hardware and software that the rest of us do. It's probably a bit better than your normal corporate office, but not by much.
... The scientists also mentioned that they had named two of the robots that showed especially good survival characteristics "Architect" and "Oracle."
Said one of the scientiests, "We believe these two will really push the limits of what is possible with carnivorous robotic machines today and will do great things in the future."
Except that the reporter had already reported on Firefox a number of times before.
Firefox/Mozilla are much more mainstream than you think...
The ad was a news event itself that required commentary from the tech section. The article wasn't a reward, nor was it a directive from some "clueless higher up." Just a normal day in the good reporting at the NYT.
umm, because they want to record. Do you know how much it costs to put together an album in a studio? Thousands and thousands of dollars (if you want any sort of quality). Most independents don't have that sort of cash just laying around and so the decision comes down to 1) get signed and record the stuff now and use it to promote yourself, or 2) wait 2 years to scrounge enough money together independently to get an album out and constantly have to tell people they'll have to wait when they ask you for recordings after your shows. Most bands would prefer the former. Whether you sign with an indie label or with a big label, it's still all about getting an album made sooner rather than later.
In a unique pilot program, L.A. and Chicago will deploy test units in high-crime areas.
Hmmm... Let me guess, the south side of Chicago and Compton?
Rather than looking for pro-active solutions to lowering crime in lower-income neighborhoods, like good education systems, quality health-care, living wages, etc. we continue to see crazy-ass reactive schemes like the above camera system that don't do anything to solve the real problems. In the meantime, as these useless systems become the norm, our society moves closer and closer to the ultimate police heaven, where everyone is monitored every second of every day. When's it gonna end?
Hey, golly-gee-whiz, it sure is a neat technology, Wally.
But like most things of that sort, no one's actually thought about how it actually makes things better, or how it can make things worse. So you catch a few people shooting guns, so what? They end up in jail, their families get torn apart, their chances of actually becoming a productive part of society diminish and they end up back on the street shooting a gun again, which is caught on camera, etc. etc. etc. Wow, crime sure is decreasing now.
It's nice to talk about being tough on crime, but oftentimes what's really needed is not the cracking of a whip, or the monitoring of a camera, but rather a signature on a diploma, or on a paycheck. If you start suspecting everyone as a criminal, then they start seeing themselves as criminals and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you first look at people as raw material that can be shaped and molded into something productive, well, you see what I'm getting at.
I'm getting sick of reading about high-tech crime monitoring systems, but it's appearing to be inevitable that we will live with them in our daily lives now and in the near future, so let me practice my indoctrination recitation:
"I for one, welcome our all-seeing camera overlords."
Yes, I believe this review can easily be summed up as...
"Worst... Celebration... Ever..."
Re:Getters/setters bad?
on
Holub on Patterns
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
In the OO world, objects come in two basic flavors: data objects and interface objects.
Data objects are just groupings of data. The member variables should be public and accessible to it's users.
Interface objects, however, encapsulate their data. They don't require the user to know about their internal data members and only provide methods members that the outside world can use to perform actions with that object.
In the first case, you don't need getters and setters because the members are already public.
In the second case, you shouldn't provide getters and setters because you're breaking the encapsulation.
If you have classes with lots of getters/setters, then those classes are really just data objects and you should just make the members public and save yourself a bunch of typing.
Apparently some of the neighbors are concerned about having a large tank of hydrogen near their homes.
As opposed to what, a large tank of GASOLINE near their homes? Or maybe that large tank of heating oil sitting right outside their home? Or perhaps the direct natural gas feed right INTO their home?
The difference is that with performance capture, you also capture facial expressions. Most motion capture only takes into account large body movements of the torso, arms and legs. Performance capture tries to get more of the actual actor's acting into the capture as well, with all it's subtle nuances.
Unfortunately, the current technique doesn't capture eye movements, so you end up getting great facial movements but lifeless eyes, making the characters look like the walking dead, which is why this movie will be difficult and boring to watch for many.
Your name sounds very ominous. Are you a terrorist organization? No matter, we will soon find out.
Your request for audit logs and other miscellaneous data has been rejected. We feel that providing this information to the public would allow terrorists a clear view inside our political process, which they might then use to influence future elections. We cannot allow that to happen, therefore, the logs will be kept under lock and key until a time far in the future when no one today will be alive to be held accountable for any mistakes.
In addition, we feel your questioning of the voting process undermines the public's faith in our democratic system and we wouldn't want any facts or numbers to confuse people and cause them to lose faith, would we? We also feel that no one should ever question the government, because anyone who does so is obviously out to destroy America and that's just wrong. Who does that?
The FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, IRS, SEC, DHS, AFSPC, ANG, ATF, BOP, CBIAC, CDC, and OSHA will all be paying you a visit to "straighten things out."
Let the Republicans do whatever they want. Don't fight them on any issue. Let them pass any legislation they want, appoint any judges they want, spend any money they want, cut any taxes they want. Let them have free reign of the government. They want a chance to prove their system works? Give it to them. In fact, whenever they ask you to support them on an issue, go willingly, go gladly and give them everything they want.
In 4, 8 or 12 years, let's see how things turn out. If it's really that bad, then the Democrats will easily be able to regain control of everything. If things are going well, then we'll know for certain that the conservative agenda works and we will have a clear mandate for the future.
It's time for the democrats to fall back and watch for a while. It may be a lot to suffer, but I think it's the only way for us to get past the divisiveness. If the Democrats continue to fight the Republicans, they will continue to get blamed for the lack of progress in this country and continue to be labeled as whiners and obstructionists. By not making challenges, then they can't be blamed for mistakes, and if there are costly mistakes, it will be easy to turn the country in a different direction and start again. For the liberal America, this is your trial by fire.
Re:Is this where computer building is going?
on
The Art of Cable Folding
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Ah, so when you light a fire, do you prefer rubbing two sticks together rather than just lighting a match?
Although it wasn't with a virtual actor, they actually did something similar in Jurassic Park towards the end of the movie, when the girl falls through the ceiling panel. The stunt was done by a stunt-woman, and then they digitally replaced her face with the actress' when she looks up toward the camera while hanging above the velociraptors.
Slashdot Mirror
Server load is a complex thing, of course -- more complicated than what OS is on the servers.
Then why did you bring it up and only mention what servers they were running?
Hello? Welcome to the United States. The internet infrastructure is built and controlled by companies. It's not like our government agencies have their own internet. If a Secret Service Agent needs to send an email to the home office, he'll pick up his sidekick, his Blackberry, his Palm, his laptop, etc., connect to a service provider like T-mobile, Verizon, Comcast, etc. and send his message or store his files. Probably encrypted, but maybe not always if it's not a considered a very sensitive communication.
A lot of people have crazy delusions that secret agencies live in some far off technical wonderhome, where all communications are encrypted with some super 733t MD67 algorithm never before seen by any other person in the world, all access is controlled by handprint and retinal scan identification and everyone walks around with James Bond gadgets in their pockets. It's just not so. These people live and work in normal offices and normal homes and deal with the same crappy, bug-ridden and insecure hardware and software that the rest of us do. It's probably a bit better than your normal corporate office, but not by much.
Except that Slashdot doesn't go around to other sites talking about the stories it has and linking back to itself, as Roland does.
You are an AC supporting RP, so you perhaps you are he?
... The scientists also mentioned that they had named two of the robots that showed especially good survival characteristics "Architect" and "Oracle."
Said one of the scientiests, "We believe these two will really push the limits of what is possible with carnivorous robotic machines today and will do great things in the future."
So, you mean I *shouldn't* start to live a life of debauchery and fornication, knowing that life now has no meaning and no future?
Sex and drugs and party, party, party are right out, you say?
Ah, well, hmmm... Yes, well then, I'll be going now. Never mind all that. I'll clean it up later, thanks.
Would someone call my doctor for me please? I seem to have developed a little rash from last night...
Outsourcing is now a mainstream phenomenon and is affecting more and more workers, in nearly every knowledge-based sector.
So, if you want to avoid being outsourced, find a job that requires no knowledge. Management, marketing, PR and McDonald's come to mind.
You mean slashdot posts are *that* far behind???
Better headline:
Slashdot reports on NYTimes reporting on Firefox.
World goes back to bed.
Except that the reporter had already reported on Firefox a number of times before.
Firefox/Mozilla are much more mainstream than you think...
The ad was a news event itself that required commentary from the tech section. The article wasn't a reward, nor was it a directive from some "clueless higher up." Just a normal day in the good reporting at the NYT.
...is the world coming to?
Power over ethernet! Internet over power lines! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass Hysteria, people!
Did they file bug reports on those 985 items?
Hey, this is a news for nerds site! Discussions of sperm count and fertility and "getting the girl" have no place here.
I mean, it's not like anyone here will ever have to worry about their sperm count. Warm 'em up, boys! Warm 'em up!
umm, because they want to record. Do you know how much it costs to put together an album in a studio? Thousands and thousands of dollars (if you want any sort of quality). Most independents don't have that sort of cash just laying around and so the decision comes down to 1) get signed and record the stuff now and use it to promote yourself, or 2) wait 2 years to scrounge enough money together independently to get an album out and constantly have to tell people they'll have to wait when they ask you for recordings after your shows. Most bands would prefer the former. Whether you sign with an indie label or with a big label, it's still all about getting an album made sooner rather than later.
bravo, bravo, mod parent up.
"Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more."
In a unique pilot program, L.A. and Chicago will deploy test units in high-crime areas.
Hmmm... Let me guess, the south side of Chicago and Compton?
Rather than looking for pro-active solutions to lowering crime in lower-income neighborhoods, like good education systems, quality health-care, living wages, etc. we continue to see crazy-ass reactive schemes like the above camera system that don't do anything to solve the real problems. In the meantime, as these useless systems become the norm, our society moves closer and closer to the ultimate police heaven, where everyone is monitored every second of every day. When's it gonna end?
Hey, golly-gee-whiz, it sure is a neat technology, Wally.
But like most things of that sort, no one's actually thought about how it actually makes things better, or how it can make things worse. So you catch a few people shooting guns, so what? They end up in jail, their families get torn apart, their chances of actually becoming a productive part of society diminish and they end up back on the street shooting a gun again, which is caught on camera, etc. etc. etc. Wow, crime sure is decreasing now.
It's nice to talk about being tough on crime, but oftentimes what's really needed is not the cracking of a whip, or the monitoring of a camera, but rather a signature on a diploma, or on a paycheck. If you start suspecting everyone as a criminal, then they start seeing themselves as criminals and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you first look at people as raw material that can be shaped and molded into something productive, well, you see what I'm getting at.
I'm getting sick of reading about high-tech crime monitoring systems, but it's appearing to be inevitable that we will live with them in our daily lives now and in the near future, so let me practice my indoctrination recitation:
"I for one, welcome our all-seeing camera overlords."
Yes, I believe this review can easily be summed up as...
"Worst... Celebration... Ever..."
In the OO world, objects come in two basic flavors: data objects and interface objects.
Data objects are just groupings of data. The member variables should be public and accessible to it's users.
Interface objects, however, encapsulate their data. They don't require the user to know about their internal data members and only provide methods members that the outside world can use to perform actions with that object.
In the first case, you don't need getters and setters because the members are already public.
In the second case, you shouldn't provide getters and setters because you're breaking the encapsulation.
If you have classes with lots of getters/setters, then those classes are really just data objects and you should just make the members public and save yourself a bunch of typing.
Apparently some of the neighbors are concerned about having a large tank of hydrogen near their homes.
As opposed to what, a large tank of GASOLINE near their homes? Or maybe that large tank of heating oil sitting right outside their home? Or perhaps the direct natural gas feed right INTO their home?
Christ, some people are stupid.
The difference is that with performance capture, you also capture facial expressions. Most motion capture only takes into account large body movements of the torso, arms and legs. Performance capture tries to get more of the actual actor's acting into the capture as well, with all it's subtle nuances.
Unfortunately, the current technique doesn't capture eye movements, so you end up getting great facial movements but lifeless eyes, making the characters look like the walking dead, which is why this movie will be difficult and boring to watch for many.
They just received a response:
Dear BlackBoxVoting.org,
Your name sounds very ominous. Are you a terrorist organization? No matter, we will soon find out.
Your request for audit logs and other miscellaneous data has been rejected. We feel that providing this information to the public would allow terrorists a clear view inside our political process, which they might then use to influence future elections. We cannot allow that to happen, therefore, the logs will be kept under lock and key until a time far in the future when no one today will be alive to be held accountable for any mistakes.
In addition, we feel your questioning of the voting process undermines the public's faith in our democratic system and we wouldn't want any facts or numbers to confuse people and cause them to lose faith, would we? We also feel that no one should ever question the government, because anyone who does so is obviously out to destroy America and that's just wrong. Who does that?
The FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, IRS, SEC, DHS, AFSPC, ANG, ATF, BOP, CBIAC, CDC, and OSHA will all be paying you a visit to "straighten things out."
Thank you for your time.
Your Government.
My advice to the Democrats:
Let the Republicans do whatever they want. Don't fight them on any issue. Let them pass any legislation they want, appoint any judges they want, spend any money they want, cut any taxes they want. Let them have free reign of the government. They want a chance to prove their system works? Give it to them. In fact, whenever they ask you to support them on an issue, go willingly, go gladly and give them everything they want.
In 4, 8 or 12 years, let's see how things turn out. If it's really that bad, then the Democrats will easily be able to regain control of everything. If things are going well, then we'll know for certain that the conservative agenda works and we will have a clear mandate for the future.
It's time for the democrats to fall back and watch for a while. It may be a lot to suffer, but I think it's the only way for us to get past the divisiveness. If the Democrats continue to fight the Republicans, they will continue to get blamed for the lack of progress in this country and continue to be labeled as whiners and obstructionists. By not making challenges, then they can't be blamed for mistakes, and if there are costly mistakes, it will be easy to turn the country in a different direction and start again. For the liberal America, this is your trial by fire.
Ah, so when you light a fire, do you prefer rubbing two sticks together rather than just lighting a match?
That's a kooky idea of progress.
They folded their cables. We folded their servers.
Although it wasn't with a virtual actor, they actually did something similar in Jurassic Park towards the end of the movie, when the girl falls through the ceiling panel. The stunt was done by a stunt-woman, and then they digitally replaced her face with the actress' when she looks up toward the camera while hanging above the velociraptors.